Last Days in London!

The last few days in London were by far the most amazing time i have ever had. There was art everywhere and inspiration was at every corner. I spent a good amount of the trip visiting museums and walking the city.
I spent one day at the TATE modern and that was my biggest inspiration. I went through a photo exhibit of photographic work. One room had a bunch of photos of the NYC subway. I feel dumb i dont have the artist names in front of me but the work was so full of emotion and depth. It focused more on the lower end of life in NYC. Another artist made almost floor to ceiling prints of industrial sites where he removed all the windows and doors of the main building and it was so striking and freaky at the same time.
The city had so much architecture, and a second hobby of mine is sketching buildings. There was such a range from high arches in gothic churches to protruding glass windows of new modern high rises. I loved seeing the old cobblestone walkways and brightly colored window boxes.

On a personal note i must tell you about my wonderful adventure back to the States. Getting to the airport I took the "Tube" or train and i really think it was super easy and well set up. We got there early so i had time to get myself coffee and chill listening to music. Getting back to the states went smoothly and i was able to get a window seat this time. On the way to London i was stuck in the middle of the plane. A few hours after takeoff while serving the lunch meal i looked out my window and saw a plane flying under ours with what looked like black smoke behind it. I at first thought i was seeing things and then I looked again and no it was dark grey shooting out from under the wings. Now i do know a thing or two about aircrafts so i dint really get alarmed but i had to ask the stewardess about it. Ends up it was just the plane was flying on the shadow side of the sun so we were seeing the normal jetstream you normally dont see. Learned a new thing!

Big Thank You

This whole summer has been a non-stop journey around the world. I started my summer in LA where i worked with Claudia who got me in contact with Mark who gave me a great welcome and invitation to Chicago that i gladly took.

So first things first I need to write up a huge thank you to both Claudia and Mark for giving me a huge opportunity and time in there schedule to help me!

Claudia, i know how much you value your work and could have easily just said thanks for the photos but you did a little extra and put in a good word for me and that i never expected. I guess sometimes i dont give myself enough credit but you know how much I look up to you and to have you on my team, so to say , means the world! Thanks for helping me get the courage to get out to your side of the world and get in the game!

Mark, I cant say I idolize you like i do Claudia but i can say i am greatly inspired by you. While working with you you opened my eyes to many new ways to look into shooting a photo. You taught me how to connect with the subject and keep my eyes off the back of my camera. You have a great foundation behind your work and you apply it so well. As for your photography, after watching you work creating the image seeing the outcome made me notice how sometimes simple is better. I found that I dont need to go over the top to get a striking image.

London - Day 1

Today was the actual full first day since we landed in London yesterday. The days right now seem to all blend to one due to the time change. It feels as if I went through a time warp and never made it to -- well even know im still not sure. I just know from the time we left from the USA to the time we landed in London seemed like a never ending (2) days. Take off in the middle of darkness (10pm) and 3 hrs in the air the sun is blinding you.

The first day was fully chaotic because I totally forgot about the different power outlets in England, so a good chunk of the day was trying to fins a store that sold a UK version of my camera power charger cable. By the time everything was set and ready it started raining. I am so unhappy because the architecture and details in the city are so amazing but the weather is causing it to be so hard to catch any of its amazing beauty. I went to visit Kensington Palace and Gardens but the weather just wouldn't hold out long enough! It was such an amazing place, nothing overly fancy but the garden was beautiful. Just have to hope it clears up enough for me to get some photos.

"Why do you shoot RAW?"

While at the studio with Mark he asked me a question, "Why do you shoot RAW?" Seriously at first I couldnt think up an answer, then I just blurted something out. That night, because I am that much of a loser (haha) I asked myself that question again. I really didnt know why i shot RAW, i knew there was a reason i just couldnt put it into words. So I sat there reflecting on all the times I shot raw over JPEG or JEPG over RAW.

My conclusion? Simply, RAW is my safety net.

THis is what i mean. When I first got a DSLR I had no clue why to shoot in RAW until that fateful day when i was shooting JPEG and i forgot to change the white balance. Yes, all my beautiful landscapes where blue. I for some reason or another googled "RAW" format and there was my answer.
Shooting RAW has helped me catch my mistakes,fix them, learn from them, and hopefully not do it again.

My Style: Fashion Post Processing

Before I tell you how its done you have to start with a decent photo. This technique works best on clear focused and properly exposed photos. If you shoot RAW make sure you do any raw editing first (I tweak sharpness and exposure in ViewNX then convert them to a JPEG).

The main focus of this is getting that flawless look and even light.

I originally found this video tutorial online here and modified it to my own needs. I will be showing you my way but you can always go watch the video if its hard to understand.

First off open you photo in photoshop.

Next you are going to duplicate the background layer 3 times.

Select the "background copy" layer and make it black and white (desaturate)

(image > adjustments > desaturate)

Select "background layer copy 2" this will be the "blur" layer.

(filter > blur > surface blur )

for this dont worry about over doing it just make sure that it is blurred enough to have an even look. this will be cleaned up later.

With your "blur" layer on go to your channel window and hold the "command" key (for mac) and click on the RGB channel. (you should see an area that is selected)

Next go back to your layer window and with your "blur" layer selected add a layer mask. (the button that looks like a square with a circle inside it)

You will want to hide the "b/w" layer now and with the layer mask on the "blur" layer use the brush tool to add or remove any blur you like.

Once it is to your satisfaction flatten the layers and add any dodging or buring or any other tweaks you may like.

My Style: Low Budget Outdoor Portrait

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: 50mm 1.8 prime
WB: flash
F-Stop: 2.2
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 200

The image above is straight off the camera with no alterations. I will show you how i went about to get this results using my on camera flash and natural light.

Light:

First off this was shot late in the day around 4pm (summer season) under a good amount of tree coverage. Shooting durring this time the sun was at a good spot to be used as a back light for the photos.

For this to work I positioned the subject a few feet away from a large tree in its shadow so the sunlight only hit behind the subject not on it.

I used my popup on camera flash as a fill light balancing the amount of light behind the subject with the amount of light the flash gave off.

Expensive Camera = Amazing Photos?

The oh so well known statement. "Having an expensive camera will get better photos." In reality yes, but only if you know how to use the camera to its full extent. Heres where that statement if wrong, just throwing money down on a high priced camera wont get any better results. Those who love "snapshot" photography and let the camera do all the work will not see much results when buying an upgrade.

Talking from experience I can say talent wasn't what made my photos decent, it was learning. After I learned then i developed my talent. This applies to anything, even if you don't see yourself as great soccer player you can still learn to kick and move the ball. Practice and motivation is what helps build talent.

Amazing photos can be made from any camera, and to tell you the truth some of my best work came out of my first digital camera. My first camera was no more than a four megapixel sony cyber-shot. That camera was the biggest help in my work today because many people jump right to entry level dSLR's but have no idea what a manual mode is for. Today the lower end of the dSLR's are still made with full Auto modes letting those who would rather just click away never see the full potential in that camera.

In short, the camera isn't what make the image. The image is made my the photographer, the camera is just your tool.