So lets set the world on fire.

This may not be a blog post about photography, well not 100% about photography. It is more about inspiration and what inspires my style of photography.

So...what does inspire my style of photography? My answer to that question would be "everything". there is no magical recipe of perfect things to inspire you. Maybe a leaf blowing in the wind is enough to get the creativity juices flowing. Maybe a little depression, or a little happiness. For me, most of the time, my inspiration comes either when I am riding my bike or by listening to music, sometimes while reading a book. Maybe it is triggered by just a word, or a phrase, maybe by the actual music, but it happens a lot. 

When I am riding my bike (which is at least 11 miles on a daily basis, when not in winter season) I think about a lot of things, but at the same time the sound of gravel and dirt colliding with the tires is relaxing enough to make me ponder about stuff, random stuff most of the time. The water dress image I did came to me in one of those bike rides. Just thinking that "...it is too hot. I wish my clothes were made out of water" was enough to convince me to do this shoot. It took a while (about 5 months) to make it happen but the idea was there. 

Water Nymph

Another example, is when I read a book, maybe a phrase like "A murder of crows" will lead up to something like this next image. 

The Fall of the Crow Princess.

So lately I have been listening to this song, in repeat, and can't stop doing it. And this just one song evokes a lot of things in my core. Stuff like feelings of homesickness, loneliness, appreciation, happiness, thirst and a lot more. Which are perfect for inspiration, but at the same time it inspires me to not hold the camera that much, to be on the other side, not hiding behind the lens but enjoying the "spotlight" sort of speak. To be carried home, and to carry someone home (You'll understand when you listen to the song below). The song is "We are Young" by Fun (yes, that is the name of the band), and here is the video, take a couple of minutes to listen to it. Note: This is my favorite rendition of the song.

I have a lot of ideas in my head, and probably tomorrow I will be in front of the camera, I have a great idea for a self portrait. And it was just inspired by this song. The thing is that I am reminded of the idea every time I listen to this song, and probably it will not make a lot of sense when you see the final image and go "This was inspired by that song?" but that is how inspiration works. It is not a literal thing. And that is why photography has been a huge part of my life. Because you can do a lot of things in a portrait but it has little meaning, and at the same time you can do so little that means so much. That is why it is an art and not just something that you pick up and do. So let's set the world on fire, we can burn brighter than the sun.

Note: Sorry if you have the song stuck in your head right now. I know it is kind of catchy.

Modernizing Fantasy....once again.

So, after I finished the water nymph image, and after I posted the blog, and the image on Facebook, etc, I started planning my next shoot. It will be called "Valkyrie in the battlefield", and while checking for ways to do it, I kind of took a break. And on that break I went back to some other images that I wanted to use. And as soon as I saw this image of the model not looking at the camera with a "tree like" pose on her I immediately got an image of a "Dryad" (forest nymph sort of speak) in my head. And after I finished the water dressed nymph I knew that I was up to the challenge and that I would not stop until I got this image out of my head and into "reality"

So without further ado here it is. I call this image "The dance of the dryad", enjoy!

At the park with the Cangemi's...

I have been a little bit busy and not that I have forgotten about blogging, but sometimes the schedule doesn't let me. I have been working on some projects (that I can't post about just yet) and those are taking a lot of my time. Logistics is a time consuming thing in the world of photography.

But excuses aside, I wanted to show you a couple of images from a shoot I did of the Cangemi's. A lovely family, that loves each other so much. They wanted simple pictures of their kids and this is what I got for them. Hope you enjoy.

Yes I am a NERD...and proud of it!

The term "nerd" is used freely nowadays, but I remember when being a nerd was a not only a lifestyle but a status, if you were a nerd then you wouldn't meet "chicks" and will live a lonely life. Probably you will work on some computer business type of work and you will make lots of money, but still you would meet "chicks". And I am an old school nerd, since I was little I was obsessed with video games. It started when my parents got me and my brother an Atari 2600, since then I was hooked. I still played outside, and we still rode our bikes once in a while, but with the arrival of the NES at my house those stuff got shoved under the "this stuff takes away from my gaming time" rug. So obviously I got a GameBoy. Yes the old white huge brick, and a clear one. And those shades of green was the best thing since sliced bread. I could play games on the go. Then came the Sega Genesis, and the SNES. Me and my brother had both. We still played outside and rode our bikes, but we had to make up time for that.

Then Sony comes out with this thing called a "Play Station?", worst name ever. But still we got it, well my brother did. My cousin got the Sega Saturn but that system didn't pan out that well. But then I got the N64 and Goldeneye, and that was college life awesomeness. Every year I would get hooked more and more on video games, and the love for graphic design. This lead to my love for photography anyways. Then came the PS2, the Sega Dreamcast and the Gamecube. And those where the days. Never got into the Xbox bandwagon because I thought that Microsoft was going to drop the ball on that one. But as it turned out it wasn't that bad so they came up with the new version, the Xbox360. And achievements, and now I am still hooked on games, even more so now that I can buy the games that I want without asking my parents for money.

But I had never loved a video games series more than Mario (and all the different iterations of that franchise) until I put it this new game called Gears of War on my brand new Xbox360. It was love at first chainsaw kill. I got so hooked in that game that I finished it in 2 days. And then came back for more and more. So then I read somewhere that they were coming out with novels inspired on Gears of War, novels that would expand the story and the universe, and I had to have them. I read every page of those books like a fat kid goes trough a cupcake (I am fat so its okay for me to use the "F" word). I devoured them, and then they came out with Gears of War 2. Better graphics, more story, and awesomeness all around. I was in heaven. A few books came out that expanded the story even more. And of course I got them and read them. And all of that lead to this day, September 20, 2011, a day that will always live on forever as "The Day Gears of War 3 came out".

I had preordered the game, but the store had me for the regular edition. But since I had the Limited editions to both previous games it wouldn't be right to just buy the regular one, so Thank The Stars I found one. I of course bought it without hesitation. And here it is, the unboxing of the best Gears of War Limited Edition box (yes, I did a photo shoot on a video game box). Hope you enjoy these.

Complete box, front and back respectively.

Without the jacket (left), it splits open (right). That is the video game disc right there.

You pull the top part and you have the Octus Medal granted to Adam Fenix for his work on the Hammer of Dawn (left), You pull out the disc box and under it is a C.O.G. Flag (right)

Cog flag unfolded (left).
Inside of the flag there was all this stuff. Adam Fenix last will, schematics for the Hammer of Dawn, two pictures (he looks like Marcus on the bottom one), a letter he wrote to Marcus when he was younger, and the Octus Medal "diploma".

Again, Yes I did a photo shoot on a video game box. Some people have cars, others have motorcycles. I have photography, bicycles, and video games. Yes I am a nerd, and even thought I cant play the game yet (because I have a photo shoot in about 1 hour from posting this, and if I put it in the console I wont be able to go), I cant wait to do so. Brothers until the end, because we are all stranded now. See you in the battle field, I'll bring my Lancer Rifle. I told you I was a nerd.



Did you know that photographers have a life outside photography?

Is a doctor, a doctor 24 hours a day of his life? Is a dentist a dentist 24 hours of his life? Is a mechanic a mechanic 24 hours of his life? I surely hope (for their sakes) that they answer with a profound "NO!". We photographers have a life outside photography. Not everything we do revolves around photography (well most of the time it does but still). Some have other jobs, others like to have different hobbies, and others just lay around and play video games and watch movies like regular people. I know of some that even go out on dates and go out to dinner.

My personal life outside photography involves being with my wife, and two cats. I like to play video games (cant wait for Gears of War 3), but most of the time I do something that I treat as much of a passion as I do when I am out photographing. And that is bike riding. I love it with a passion, and can't get enough of it.

This is Clementine. She was born on April 26, 2011 at Big Poppi Bycicle Co. hospital, and I love her to death. (picture taken with my phone)

 I usually ride every day, at least 11 miles around the beautiful linear trail around Manhattan, KS. And a couple of days ago I had the courage to go in the mountain bike trail near the Linear Trail, and my love for this bike went up 10 fold. She loved it too, even tho I had to give her a bath afterwards. But there is nothing more soothing than the sound of your tires on dirt. There is a great saying by Louis J. Helle, Jr. and it says "Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own.", and I cant be more in agreement to that statement. It relaxes the mind, it soothes the soul, it is heaven in vehicle form. I have even gotten some great ideas for photo sessions (which I have not done yet) while riding Clementine. And there is nothing better than conquering a mountain or the elements and finishing up a ride with that accomplished feeling.

But with the coming of winter I will be riding my bike less and less everyday around Manhattan. But to my surprise (and Google's awesome engine) I found out about indoor trainers, so no need to stop cycling even if the snow is 4 feet high outside. The only difference will be that I won't have the beautiful scenery. So I'll be going to the bike store and get me one of these things, so now not even the weather can get between me, my bike, and the awesomeness of the ride (even if it is in my garage). After all, I spend less money on gas, about $65 a month, so the bike actually payed for itself. Also I am losing weight since I got it, around 65 lbs, since April 26, 2011, so that is a big plus. The least I could do is keep on enjoying it, right?

But like I said, photographers are not photographers 24 hours of the day (well at least we try not to be), and we are just like regular people. I happen to be the kind that loves riding his bike. I have yet to mix both, well I did it once and loved it (click here for the images). But I want to mix it a little more, but I am kind of scared of riding in my back with a 5D Mark II on a backpack. So untill I buy a point and shoot I might have to pospone that mixture.

If you like bike riding, and/or are interested in it you should definetely check out Big Poppi Bycicle Co. in Aggieville, Manhattan, KS. They are awesome.

Not just one season....

I lived most of my life in Puerto Rico. And even thought most people think it is a paradise and it is way too beautiful (which is both) I still moved away from the island to the States. And where in the States? Basically to the exact middle of the U.S., Manhattan, KS. Yes I know that Puerto Rico is beautiful and that there are a lot of beautiful images to be taken there. Yes it has great beaches all around, and a lot of vegetation, and yes even thought it has the occasional Hurricane coming in, or it rains almost 50% of the time, it is still a Paradise. But I still moved away from it. After 30 years of living in the island (with the occasional stint away from it because of the ARMY) I think that it was time and I keep on thinking that I made the right decision.

Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, Cabo Rojo, PR

As I said before there are a lot of beautiful scenery around Puerto Rico, from the lighthouses, to ruins, to Old San Juan and it's streets. Really beautiful stuff. but living in the island for 30 some years I was so used to it that I don't see the beauty as much as people who visit it once in a while. And I think I know how it feels since I moved to Kansas. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the Flint Hills, the parks, the lakes, Pillsbury Crossing, and I can go on and on and on.

Sunrise at manhattan, KS.

But the thing that makes me smile the most is that I actually can see the seasons go by. In Puerto Rico it is always hot (of course if you live there you are used to it), but it is hot every day of the year. In summer is extra hot, and on winter the coldest it gets is like 73 degrees at the most. Here in Manhattan, KS I got to see snow for the very first time in my life (it is magical), spring is not that bad with the occasional rain or thunderstorm but everything growing back looks amazingly beautiful. Summer is not that hot (even at 114 degrees) but Fall is the most colorful season with all the different colors on the trees and the leaves and the grass, simply beautiful.

Four Seasons, Manhattan KS

Do I miss the island paradise that is Puerto Rico? Yes, I do. Do I regret coming here to Manhattan, KS? A definite NO! I love it here, and hopefully I will stay as long as I can, so mother nature bring everything you got, and let the seasons show themselves throughout the whole year.

...it really does make perfect.

Was is the key to getting better in photography? It is not reading books, it is not buying new equipment, it is not going to all the seminars they have to offer, and it is not watching all the YouTube videos out there. Yes, this can help in the quest to getting better, but the actual KEY to getting better in photography is practice. If you don't practice what you read in those books then what was the point in reading them? If you don't practice with that new equipment you just bought then what was the point in wasting your money on it? If you don't practice what you learned on that awesome seminar you just attended, then what was the point of going? If you don't practice what you see in YouTube video tutorials, then what was the point of wasting the bandwidth on it?

You have to practice as much as you can, you have to go out and take pictures that you don't think you could ever get, and then keep on trying until you get what you wanted in the first place. Conceptualize the shoot before it happens. And there are a lot of ways you can practice for any kind of photography. I will give you an example on how I "practice" for children photography, and you will not guess what it is...I'll give you a minute to think and guess. Ready? I go to the zoo. Did you guessed right or wrong?

You might ask "The zoo?", but here is why. I go to the zoo because the animals at the zoo don't care if you have a camera in your hands. They don't care if you have the settings right before you take the shoot. they don't even care what they are doing at the moment. And kids are like that, you go into their world, not the other way around. Just because you have a camera the kids won't behave if they don't do so normally. And just because you tell them smile, they do it if they want, not because you told them too. They move around a lot, and you have to kind of travel into the future even if for just a second to have the shot you were looking for before it happens. Again, go to a zoo and you'll learn a lot of how to shoot kids.

Another thing that I do is that I practice with my equipment what I read from a book, or what I saw in an image, or what I heard in a seminar, or a YouTube video. The more you practice, the more it becomes ingrained into your skull, I've been saying to myself "Head in a clean spot, Head in a clean spot!" for a long time, but now I don't have to do it because I KNOW. It is just like driving, remember that first time you got into the driving side of that first car? You slammed the brakes every two seconds. But after a while, and with practice, you can drive your car and not even think what you are doing, but you are just doing it.
It is easy to press the shutter and take 1000 images and then just delete the ones you didn't like. But it is better to just have that image in your head, set everything up and after a few clicks you have it, your done, on to the next one. Practice every time you want to try something new. You don't have a model? Make one up. I have used soda cans, spray bottles, I even used my bike helmet to see how would a mask would look like in a shot. In this following shot I was testing the octabox that I just got, so I used this little bottle to test it out, and then I took just this one shot of myself afterwards. After that I have done countless light tests with the octabox, so I can make "smart" and "educated" decisions instead of "wing in it" and "praying that there is a least a good image" at the time of an actual shoot with a client.

The key to get better in photography is to practice as much as you can. you can fix things in post process but why would you spend more time in front of a computer when you can take better images on the shoot and do less work in post processing. Practice makes perfect, so go out and practice more. You're images will thank you!

In brightest day, in blackest night

    ...no image shall escape my sight. That is how I feel about photography. Like a superhero. We photographers use light to make our images, that is the basic principle of photography. But how you manipulate that light is the actual "superpower". It doesn't matter what kind of lighting you have, if it day or if it is night, fully bright or pitch black, you can always take the images you want. Some photographers work with natural light only, others with controlled "studio" lighting, others mix and match both. Maybe an off camera flash used as fill light to better expose the sky in the background. Maybe gel the light with different colors to make the images more dramatic. Use a reflector, or a softbox, or a diffuser, or all the nifty gadgets that are out there. Or even having a low shutter speed or using the camera in "Bulb" mode. But at the end of the day what we did was control light.

    Photography is all about light, the same image in two different light scenarios will express and convey different emotions. For example:

Almost identical images with different lighting situations. The one on the left is kind of more "moody" and...well, dark (pun not intended). And the one on the right is more "lively", still moody but not as much as the one on the left. By the way that is me rocking my Gears of War COG tags

That is the magic of knowing how to light a subject. The light you use depends on the final "emotion" or "feeling" you want to convey in the person that is looking at your image. There are a lot of techniques out there. And a self respecting photographer should at least know how to light a subject, even on natural lighting. Just because the sun is out doesn't mean that you can't use a flash, or a reflector, or a diffuser. All these tools are here for a reason, and the more you practice with them the more you get to see the light before it is even there. Here is another example:

    It was a particularly sunny day, and this image was taken around noon. But the location, which was a bench under a tree that was surrounded by flower bushes, was casting shadows all over the place. This was because the light was coming from the sun, trough the tree leaves, and then on the subject. So basically the lighting looked like camouflage on top of the skin. So how did we finish with this image? Well we used two reflectors on each side at 45 degree angles, the one on the left was exactly on top of the subject that way we made our own shade. And then we added an off camera flash to have the light streak you see on the top left corner. The image turned out exactly as I envisioned it in my mind.

    Now take this two self portraits for example:

    We can stop motion with a flash. Once you know what you want you'll start knowing how to set the lights, and how each light is going to light the scene. In this images I only had a flash right behind me, because I knew that once that flash fired the water in my hand would be like a giant mirror reflecting that light all around. The hardest part of this shot was keeping my eyes open.

    Stuff like this makes photography fun and spontaneous, but at the same time controllable, because you don't have to feel that you missed an opportunity because the lighting changed (or will change). Instead if you control your light you have better results and less time "fiddling" (is that even a word?) with the settings on the back of the camera and concentrating more on the client. So my advice is: "Be a superhero and control your light. Your clients will love you even more"