Wednesday, August 11, 2010: Light & Shadow

Finding the "right" light in any shot is what separates the novice point and shooter from the skilled photographer. To do this one must aware be of the type of light they are working with.

These two shots were taken around mid afternoon so the sun's light is pretty harsh. Both shots were taken looking up almost directly at the sun.

In this shot the flowers provide a really nice and colorful silhouette. Bugambilias en el Sol

In this shot there are a lot of bright objects reflecting off the sun's direct light. My goal was to get the [____, I forgot the name of the instrument?! Comment if you know the answer] at the correct exposure. So, even though the bright objects in the top right corner of the shot seem over exposed, the instrument is at the correct exposure and in focus.

Hanging with Succulents

I am getting better at controlling the aperture and shutter speed in manual. I still need to work on manual focus and depth of focus. I'm currently working on setting up a proper portrait studio in my apt for my shoot of the week. Stay tuned!

Monday, August 9, 2010: California

When people think of California a number of things come to mind... mostly cliche... As a new comer, I too still think of cliche California... beaches, sun, tans, surfers, palms, perfect weather, earthquakes, Lakers, The Beach Boys, etc.

But of all the things that come to mind when I think of California... one image remains constant... A house in the hills surrounded by palms, sunshine and clearest of clear blue skies... So here is my tribute to "California" and what it means to me...