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: Full Steam Ahead!

I know that i have not written a blog entry in a while and I have to blame my "addiction" to video games and movies for that. I mean, Gears of War 3, then Assassins Creed Revelations, with a little bit of Ico/Shadow of the Colossus in between, before tackling Batman: Arkham City.  And there are a lot of video games I do want to play. Thank God I didn't start playing Skyrim because then i would have not be writing this blog entry. Not to mention watching The Immortals, The Muppets, and a lot of replaying Super 8.

Anyways, I had been planning a shoot with a really good friend of mine for a while. It would be part of my Modernizing Fantasy Collection and the idea came to me while doing the Dryad. I had one word for the theme and a rough sketch of what I wanted, the word was "Valkyrie". And then I started to do some test on wings, and clothes, and fabrics, and background. This was interrupted by the video games and the movies (seriously I have watched Super 8 like 25 times as of this writing). But then I came back on track when I finally did the shoot for it. My friend, she is a natural model and she doesn't even know it. After 5 frames I already had what i needed, but went and took different poses just in case.

So I started working on the images immediately, editing the background, adding wings, a lance, skirt, buckle, and just when I thought that I had the image finished I took a break from it. The image looked good, but I always let it rest for a couple of days before I finish it, that way I see it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind. And even thought I had finished editing the image, inspiration hits me once again. I usually get new ideas while finishing an image, and most of the time I use those ideas for other shoots. For example when I did the Dryad I thought about putting wings in it, and that is how I came to do the Valkyrie.

Inspiration hit me while watching the movie "The Rocketeer" (a highly underestimated-while-ahead-of-it's-time movie). I thought about doing something Steampunk style, and I thought about doing another shoot with this theme. But in my head all I could see was tackling the Valkyrie in a steampunk way. And it took some time to do it, but here it is. I call it The Flight of the Valkyrie. I hope you like it as much as I do. This is probably the final image, but since I thought the same thing about the Valkyrie I am not sure anymore :). All I know is that I have a special place set aside for the huge print in one of the walls of my office.

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!

Modernizing Fantasy

Imagination is the best form of creativity that I can think of. At least for the photography world. It takes skill and lots of work but when the final image comes out better than what you intended or imagined , then everything just falls into place afterwards. And even more so when that first idea you had becomes "reality" trough your camera, more ideas keep popping in your head, the worse part of it is filtering them.

A few weeks ago I did a shoot for myself. Some photographers might say "It is for my portfolio" and even tho I can use it for my portfolio, the intention was for it to be printed and hanged on the wall of my office. Also it is a little bit "great idea" and a little bit "let's see if I can pull this out" but once you do it all the other ideas that you had doesn't seem as crazy or as unattainable. But it all comes down to logistics.

The logistics of a shoot are not as simple as anyone might imagine. You need the right equipment, the right set of skills, and the perfect model. I had an idea of trying to modernize fantasy, even if it is just changing the wardrobe of the model while maintaining a "fantasy" setting. But at the same time inspiration comes in with new ideas, new visions, new images on your mind. For example I was riding my bike one day in a 104 degree weather, and maybe it was because I was dehydrated, or just hallucinating, but all I could think about was "If only my clothes were made out of water". I got home and started writing down my ideas, and started researching. Because 1) I wanted to check if someone had done it before, 2) check if a lot of people had done it before, 3) I wanted to see if it could be done without having to hire Industrial Light & Magic or Weta Workshop (which I don't have the money to hire anyways) and 4) to see if I was "imagining" something unattainable at the time. This was around 6 months ago. But now I can say that it was so much worth the wait. But a little back story before I show you guys the image.

So what have I been doing for the past 6 months? Well a lot of practice. A lot of tests, and a lot of time in the computer trying to figure out my limitations to achieve that picture that was sitting in my mind's eye. Also a lot of "model scouting". The perfect model for the shoot is what will make the shoot "real". I have been browsing Model Mayhem, and doing different "normal" shoots to see if that particular model is right for the shoot. Also I have been looking at a lot of their galleries if I couldn't set a day to do a shoot with that particular model. But planning for this coming shoot has not deterred my imagination, if anything it has made it more alive. So once I took pictures of a subject I would think "She can pull this other idea I have". 

This image was another idea I had. It was born in my head about 4 months ago. But was kind of in the back burner because, if I couldn't find a model for the "water" idea, then I wouldn't find someone for this other idea I had. And the idea came to me because another friend of mine, Bree Gerth, makes these AWESOMELY AWESOME leather masks. I saw one and I had this idea of "modernizing fantasy". Trying to give fantasy a modern flavor to it. Maybe with just the clothes or the location. I had that mask in my possession thinking I would never find someone for the idea I had. But then I did a shoot with a great friend of mine and immediately knew that she would be perfect for it. And she was. She didn't get it at first, but she rocked the session. The images turned out great but I was looking for that "perfect" image, so I could start working on it. 15 minutes after I started clicking the shutter the image came to life. But it needed a lot of love before it was as close as what I had in my head.

And it came out just as I envisioned it. A warrior princess talking with a fairy. And when I actually finished it I got the courage to tackle the one that I thought it would be a lot of work on my part. So I contacted the model to see if she wanted to do it, and she was up for it. I explained to her what i wanted and said "The end product might take a while to be done", and she was OK with that. Again after 15 minutes I already had the image that I needed. So I did a small photo shoot for the model so she could have images of the day. Just regular fashion/beauty shots, because I thought that the "water dress" would take a LONG time in the making.

But I underestimated my drive to get the image out from my mind's eye and into "reality". The day after the shoot I started working on it, laying the "ground work" on it. Editing the little details that I knew would make my life and job easier. After half an hour I had a water dress flowing. And that is when I thought to myself "This will take a lot less time than I thought". So I started working hard on the image, an hour here, 45 minutes there. Taking some breaks, of course, so I could have a life. Went bowling with some friend and the next day woke up with a "I am going to finish this image today" kind of attitude. And that is when the exact same image I had in my head came to life.



A water nymph walking away from the city. This image (and the one before it) will be part of my Modernizing Fantasy Collection, in which I try to have images of fantasy "characters" but with a modern flavor to it. In the first image is just a shirt and some jeans, in the second image she is wearing a leather jacket and leather boots. And I call it a "collection" because even before I was done with this second  image I already had ideas for two more, and I know they will keep on coming as more of my mental images come to life. Next project is called "Valkyrie" and that one will be awesome (if it comes out just as I imagine it)

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.



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"