the accordion player

One of the reasons I love photography is that you are able to capture the emotion of a person in a single moment and immortalize that moment. Whenever I see this photo I remember exactly where I was, how I felt, the smells, the sounds, the heat, everything. That is what I find incredible about photography.  I love this photo for the way in which it portrays this man fully in his element. He was sitting against a wall across from the beach in Maceió, Brazil playing music with two other guys. I had to stop and take a picture.
If I hadn't have taken the time to capture this, I never would have remembered this man. I am so glad I did.

flow in curitiba

I was looking through some of my Brasil pictures the other day and amidst my nostalgia I found these two pictures that I liked. I think they work well when demonstrating flow and rhythm. I also think the word "rhythm" looks weird. I dont know why. But thats besides the point. I took these photos in a city called Curitiba. I had had a super stressful week and decided to fly down there for a day and just scope it out (man, I miss the benefits of working for an airline and flying for free whenever I wanted). This was a great little trip in the aspect that I was able to spend time taking photos and just relax. The first picture is beneath an opera house made completely of steel poles. They call it the "wire-frame" opera house. It really was stunning. The photo is actually the structure of the bridge leading to the opera house over a moat. I just really like the complex flow of the shot.

Yeah, I just think its neat.

There are plenty of things I lke about this shot. To name a few; flow, contrast, rhythm, the reflection.

I am fairly pleased with this to say the least. Fun times in Curitiba. 

blue lips

These photos are the result of an abstract portraiture I had to do. I was really into Regina Spektor at the time, and she has a song called Blue Lips so I decided to create some photos after that song. Super cheesy, I KNOW. 

I actually didn't use this photo, but i actually like it more now. I think it has to do with where the focus of the picture is. Initially you look at the blue lips, which are out of focus, and your eyes are drawn to her neck/shoulder. 

This is the photo that I actually used. I still really like it, but not as much now. Pale white skin contrasted with bright blue. Not nearly as abstract as I wanted them to be, but I kind of like the subtle abstract. 

leading lines

This week while I have been reviewing some of my photos I began to focus more on flow and rhythm, and consciously look for these characteristics in some of my work. As you may know, when most people look at an image, they dont look at the whole image at once. They see different objects or features that lead the viewers eyes to different parts of the image. These can be different lines or objects that create a path or flow for the viewers eyes.

Notice on this image how the window lines on the building, as well as the roof, draw your eyes from left to right towards the center of the image where the two structures meet. The structure on the right plays a part in keeping your focus from going off of the page.

This may be the most simple and blatant example of leading lines. The car lights draw your eyes towards the back of the image, but the light on the rock at the back gives your eyes somewhere to rest.

love local

About a year ago I did some photo work for a few local shops; SLOWTRAIN and FICE. I was really into small aperture stuff and I felt pleased with how they turned out and I was thrilled to promote some local shops. I am a huge supporter of local businesses and local artists. I think these are two incredible shops and I think that we locals need to take more advantage of what we have around us. 

FICE

SLOWTRAIN

These are two amazing shops and we should all do our part to make sure they stick around. 

SUPPORT LOCAL

chain-link

I would like to focus this post around three images of the same object. I, for some reason, have always really enjoyed these images. I think they are a good example of what I enjoy photographing: normal mundane objects we see everyday.
Although these images are not extremely distinct from one another, they are at the same time. I guess one of the reasons I like the three images together is that each of them has somewhat of a different feel to them.

I feel like the top two images have a colder feel to them, whereas the bottom one has more warmth, due to the sepia tones incorporated in it. Maybe I am just weird for being stoked on pictures of a chain-link fence, nevertheless, I am stoked on them. I think the sharp focus on a certain parts of the bent links creates a flow and rhythm that is pleasing to the eye. Then again, maybe I am just weird.

time in images

This week I have been somewhat obsessed with shutter-speed. I think it is amazing how we can capture the movement of light in such a vivid manner. My goal when shooting, was not only to show the beams of light but time in relation to the photo. When I say that, I mean actually depicting how time can pass in a single image and make you feel the movement occurring. 

The shutter speed in this photo isn't too long. Just enough to capture the movement of the cars and of my movement. I took this while driving(not recommended, probably worse than texting and driving), so you can really see my movement in the street lights relative to the cars in front.

This image obviously has a longer exposure, I believe it was around 25 seconds. I like constancy of the flow of light with the random variations due to the height of the vehicles. Also the light hitting the furthest rock just before the turn gives your eyes something to rest at after being lead there by the car lights. 

I especially like the variation in this photo. There is the movement of cars all along the freeway, yet the fireworks seem to lock you in the moment. I have always been stoked on this shot. I just wish there was more flow of lights guiding you to the fireworks instead of away from them. You win some, you lose some right?