Christmas Dinner 2012

Two light sticks on each side of the table at half power pointing up the the ceiling corner to light up middle of the table to the back. Another flash head at full power bounced back to a white sheet to light up the front part of the table.


F 14, 1/30sec. ISO 640

Here's a video clip of our celebration courtesy of Miguel Meola.


Christmas 2012 from Miguel Meola on Vimeo.

Street Photography - NYC 12-15-12

Broadway

Bond St.

Street Photography - Herald Square NYC

Here are three more shots from Herald Square last July with a Zeiss 28mm.

Street Photography - Street Vendor

I had a chance to test out a Zeiss 28mm manual focus lens and so I took off in the streets of midtown Manhattan and took this image of a vendor in his booth. I love it when a complete stranger allows me to take their picture and even more rewarding is the conversation we have as a result of sharing this moment. The gentleman above works hard to send his two daughters to college. He says that life here in the U.S. is 100% work but better than having no prospects back in his native country.  Now everytime I pass by his booth, we both waive at each other and smile.

Street Photography - Flute Man

Took my daughter to New York city the other day for lunch and afterwards a stroll down Bleecker street for some street photography. I approached this gentleman with a flute in his coat pocket and respectfully asked for permission to take a photograph of him. He was sort of  perplexed as to why I would want to take his photo and shrugging his shoulders responded " Yeah, sure. If you want to...." I snapped this image and respectfully thanked him and bid him a good day. I watched my daughter nod her head as we walked away and looked at me as if saying " hhhmmm... I didn't think it was possible to approach a complete stranger and ask him/her to pose for a picture." My daughter is the shy type and part of this exercise was to show her that you can step out of your comfort zone and try new things.

I have forgotten how wonderful street photography is. I used to walk around the city on the weekends and just get lost taking photographs. I also enjoy the challenge of approaching people and connecting with them thru photographs. I love the hunt for visual dialogue and reacting to what I see.

Balancing ambient light and cross lighting strobes

This scene is lit by 2 strobes and the ambient light from the overhead lanterns.

First, I had to establish the ambient light to burn in the lanterns which was around ISO 1250, f7, 1/15.

Next step was to cross light 2 strobes set at around 1/16 power. The flash freezes the subjects instantly while the slow shutter speed allows the lantern and the light from the shed to burn in.

The image below uses the same lighting setup with the added touch of sparklers.

Onboard flash set to manual exposure

Exposure based on ambient light then onboard flash set to manual.

Off Camera Flash balanced with ambient lighting

Exposure based on ambient lighting then cross lit with two flashes across the dance floor.

Exercise: Manual Focus

Practicing manual focus. Tried focusing on her left eye.
Canon 24-70mm @70mm 2.8
Lighting info: Sun as backrim light. Face lit by reflection from the house's siding lifting shadows.

Exercise: Composition

I asked my wife and daughter if this image did anything for them. My wife looked at it for 4 seconds and said "No. It's just a wall." My daughter took a little more time to look at it ( a good 10 seconds ) and said "You know what would be interesting ? Is if it was a brick wall with graffiti and a man coming around from the left side. All set in New York City". Hmmm... I guess I just saw it differently.

I saw a composition based on juxtapositions. I see the big brownish square on the right side and a narrow bluish rectangle on the left. I see the thermostat dial as a dot on the upper right hand side of the total rectangular frame with negative space. It also contrasts the rectangular frame of the three light switches. Then I come back to see both of them framed within the brownish square wall butted to a cold bluish rectangular space. Contained in this bluish rectangle are more elements such as part of another door and a smaller switch plate toward the bottom. Lines everywhere.

Does it do anything for you ?

Today, I got an offer on my 2006 Harley RoadKing Custom. If everything works out, she may go to a new home on Tuesday. This prodded me to get up and shoot a personal project that I've been kicking around in my head. It also kicks off one other project that I've been planning for a while. The Project is called "Buy American, by Americans". If the least that I can do is raise awareness that we have to support American Brands, goods and services and in the process, create more American jobs, then I have conributed to the cause.

Buy American by Americans.

My Daughter Morgan Rose is turning 5

Test : Inside a Tool Shed

Test shot inside a tool shed with a table lamp in the background and an overhead bulb outside the frame.