Photography Blog: A Review

There is a plethora of photography websites, some great and some not good. I’ve been through a series of them always on the look out for something great to share. I found one the other night that is  a great comprehensive site. It helps slow down the search and keeps you on one site, helping you navigate in the right direction. They have a list of colleges, great blogs, websites, how-to articles, and anything else under the sun relating to photography.

They have great lists like:

* The Top 100 Photography Blogs

* 100 Best Free Photography Tools on the Web

* 50 Amazing Nature Photography Bloggers

* 50 Fabulous Fashion Photography Bloggers

If you want to give the googling a rest, try this out and go through all of their links. They have done the hard work for you and there is a lot to learn!

New Media: CBS, Entertainement Weekly Ad

Recently fans of technology saw their Entertainment Weekly Magazines in their mailboxes. What they saw were the first of its kind video ads, INSIDE of a magazine! Amazing right? We did the commercials for the CBS/PEPSI/ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ads on the B2B website. Expect this new technology to sweep across the advertising world as video becomes evident in everything from magazine ads to shopping carts! We were happy to be a part of the photography process and shooting the new media commercials for this great product.

Ad for CBS/Entertainment Weekly Magazine

Snow Leopard Review

It’s fassssssssssssssst! That’s all. Get it.

UPDATE:

Dear Apple Computers,

When you release a new program, please have the decency to let us know that some of our old software may not work with the new OS system, put it on the packaging so that I can decide if it’s worth losing one of my photography programs just to have the newest OS X from you guys.  Geeeez! I lost 2 programs.

Review: Canon PowerShot SD780 IS

I bought a cheaper Fuji camera and returned it the next day. I will let Fuji out of the spot light because they never claimed to be THE BEST. They made your typical small camera for the Sea World Dad types. For me, I love to use manual mode on my professional camera (as most photographers do) but I want my point-n-shoot to be quick. I want it to focus very fast, do its thing and get me a good picture. The Fuji did not perform but for $139, I got what I paid for.

Me and my new Powershot

Then I walked into a BestBuy store. I knew Canon was the best, but I wanted something small, something stylish and something at a good price. Guess what I ran into? MY NEW CAMERA! I saw it, picked it up and fell in love with it. It’s black, it’s ALL BLACK! It shoots HD, takes an SD card, and has fast focus. The menu is very easy to use, and it’s small.

I looked at the other options for HD VIDEO and Pictures in a small size. The Canon clearly was the front runner for that store. It shoots at 12 Mega-Pixel rate which is far too much for anyone, but nice to have should I want to blow a picture up wall-sized. At this point, I feel cameras keep upping the Mega-Pixels just like cars claim to hit 0-60 in a few seconds. Big deal, you’re not doing 60 MPH in 4 seconds on most of our freeways. The same goes for camera Mega-Pixels. How big are you really going to enlarge an image to?

Asthetically, it’s beautiful. To me it was the nicest ones in the store. It’s small, it’s dark, and it’s masculine. My last camera was teal blue (Iknow, I know…. impulse purchase).

The pictures come out beautiful, the lens is quality, and the colors accurate. The HD video? Impressive. I have not yet played it on a large TV but on the computer it does well and the mic quality is also great! I plan on using this camera to shoot more BTS of upcoming shoots.

FINAL WORD: If you can afford something about $230, buy it! You will love this camera.

Look What I found?! (High School friend’s Organic business)

I was on Facebook tonight, super late and found an old high school friend with crazy hours like me. I said hello and after talking for a minute I found out she has a new business that bakes All-natural, vegan desserts. Her business is new but so far has done great things and was featured at Coachella 2009.

Besides supporting a small business, I am happy to support a childhood friend! Visit her website. She takes orders for weddings, large parties, movie sets, etc… Her prices are excellent, and it’s all organic and vegan. I just ordered a bunch for my shoot this week.

Anyways, her business name is Luscious Organic Desserts and you can reach her at 949-378-7102 … I figured since she sat behind me in Mrs. Penn’s English class all year and let me cheat off her paper, this is the least that I can do.

How awfully kind of me!

New, Free, Cool (Google App for Blackberry)

I haven’t written in a while. I was busy, but in the middle of everything I came across a cool application from Google. I was getting tired of the app for just about everything under the sun that the iPhone carries and when they throw scraps for us blackberry users, I jump and I jump high.

Anyhow I did discover this cool little application. It does not take much room on your phone, VERY easy to use, and is one of my most used applications. You see Google did a great thing by letting us speak into the phone for the searches we need. You ask if I am that lazy? Yes I am and I am also a southern California driver, where we cannot use our phones to text or call on the road. Of course you can use your blue tooth but have you seen people who use the blue tooth? I have two fears for the bluetooth. The first being that I don’t feel it’s 100% researched and it could be dangerous for us long term and the second fear is the that I will forget it on my head and walk around the store with it. I once didn’t pick a roommate because he walked in with a blue tooth on his ear but he was not on the phone. That should illustrate how much I dislike people who walk around with that thing on.

Anyways back to the Google application: it lets you talk into it and finds your search. It also locates you by GPS and says on the bottom of the screen what city you are in. That makes the searches that much more accurate. I used it the other day when I was helping my sister move. I pushed the button (the call button) and spoke into it. “Carl’s Jr” and after a 5 second search, it found the Carl’s Jr. in our city and its links (phone/address) and of course map.

I also used it the other day for a shoot. I need to find someone that rented a camera last minute because mine took a dive at the start of the shoot. One push of a button, click one link, and 15 minutes later someone in Downtown LA was renting the camera that I needed. She dropped it off for me, I continued on my shoot. Thanks Google Application!

Look, I know it’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread. I know the iPhone has millions more apps, but for now let me have this moment of joy with my new application for my curve.

New DVD – Flower DIYvas

Just directed and produced a long-form DVD called Flower DIYvas. It’s a subject I did not know too much about, wedding flowers but it is quite educational. The idea was to give the wedding industry a high quality DVD which does not contain the typical elements of cheese-factor. So we got our inspiration from many of the cooking shows, used multi-cameras, shot on HD, and went all out.

Without its official launch, the product is already on theknot.com ‘s radar and they will feature it as one of their hot items. Apparently the knot is a website every female in the world has an account on… ring or no ring on their finger. If you ask me, you’re not really engaged unless you have an account on the all-important Knot.com

The DVD was shot in Anaheim, CA at the Spiraled Stem studios. The DVD features Christine Saunders who is a local florist and quickly being recognized for her ability to have “Green Weddings”. The other host is Dawn Hansen of Huntington Beach who owns Lavender Hill and they do some amazing work also.

We filmed every aspect of planning a wedding, documentary style and studio. We traveled to the LA flower district, show the actual wedding they planned for, and every other detail. The DVD should be available at many stores soon and online merchants. It is designed for the bride who wants to do her own flowers and would like to save a few bucks, but has no idea where to start and how to do it right.

Here are images of the shoot, behind the scenes images shot by Maya C.

Hair/Make-up

The start of a loonnnnng day

16th hour, almost final hour

"The View" section

Pina Zangaro Portfolios (VISTA) Review

 

Pinazangaro

I know we are in a digital age, instant access at your finger tips and for photographers this is an exciting era. With a few clicks my images can be seen anywhere in the world on your computer screen or blackberry. It’s amazing, it’s exciting, but it’s not like holding the real thing in your hand. 

Computers will never be the same as the hand-crafted book that holds the images seen in our mind first, then through the eye. There is something special about a book, something about 11×14 in size and with pages that you can flip. It is not flash, but it’s flashy that is exactly what my new portfolio is. 

I was going to my friend Brian’s house to watch the Premier episode of his show, and decided to stop at DickBlick on Beverly. Ridiculous name, right? Right! Anyhow I went up and down the shelves until something sleek, sexy, and modern was good enough to present my work. After all, it IS my image so I have to have it perfect. 

The store had many options but the neatly packaged, nicely designed, and newly styled acrylic portfolio is what I picked. I picked the Vista, it’s beautiful and white. Unlike it’s aluminum counter-part which is also beautiful … the white version has something about it that was an instant winner. 

The people at the store were very helpful and told me about the options of each portfolio, the ups and downs of it. My little Vista came out on top and I bought it! I wish I had purchased 2 of them, because I am like that. I need 2, just incase coffee spills on it. I don’t drink coffee, but just in case. I am the same guy that If I win the lotto I’d place the ticket inside a ziplock baggy to protect it from water damage. Then I’d put a brick on the plastic bag, incase the house floods in the middle of the night and my ticket will stay in place. Back to the portfolio…it was beautiful. I wish I purchased another color as a backup portfolio. I like to have one with me, while one makes the rounds to clients for work. 

When I got home from my friend’s house, I put my first magazine publication in there! New things excite me! Putting the pages in  was easy, almost too easy. The portfolio comes in a handy little bag, packaged beautifully, and with 10 sheets (20 sides). It also comes with extra long screws should you need more pages in your book. I picked the white one!

Bottom line: I love it, I recommend it, it’s nice to look at. Buy a Pinazangaro Portfolio.

Review: Vagabond II from Alien Bees

 

Everyday Minerals Cosmetics, Spring Campaign

For those that read the previous posts, I just shot the Spring 2009 campaign for Everyday Minerals cosmetics. We filmed in beautiful Laguna Beach, almost entirely with natural lighting and reflectors. I know many photographers shiver at the thought of telling people how a photograph was done, but really…. who cares, right? This blog is about helping and sharing, which is really the foundation of any good art.

Anyhow, I wanted to bring portable power with me. We filmed inside a cave, about 30 feet deep and the sun could not reach the inside of the cave, even with our reflectors. Instead I had my assistant hold out my B800 overhead (hand-held) and we powered it up with the new Vagabond II from Alien Bees. 

Because of our extreme limited time to fit the many looks in the schedule, I had only a couple moments to try the flash route. I was convinced we could use the lights and still create a natural light look. I think we did a good job by placing a honeycomb (also from Alien Bees) over the light. It lit the model’s face, only like a nice cloudy day cover. But the star of the shoot was not the model or the photographer, it was the light and easy-t0-carry Vagabond II unit. It comes in an attractive nylon carrying bag, it’s designed beautifully, and really is how they describe it…. portable! 

It was a last minute decision, but my little Vagabond II gave me hope for future shoots. The pack is actually light enough to have it around my assistant’s shoulder, like a woman carries her handbag. He was very mobile by carrying the Vagabond and the B800 at the same time. Once again, Alien Bees scores with a great product and a great price at it. 

I would also like to note that the honeycomb I used from Alien Bees was the 20 degree model. I have to say that most of Alien Bees products are greatly priced, but I found this honeycomb to be over priced for what it really is. They should consider lowering the prices for this, considering that if we buy the honeycomb from them then chances are we’ve already spent a lot of money on their products. Give us a break Alien Bees! But don’t let the overpriced Honeycombs change your mind on the Alien Bees. Their amazing customer service department alone makes up for any short comings, but they don’t have to. Alien Bees makes a great product at a great price (minus a few accessories that are WAY overpriced).

Here is the picture of the model from the Everyday Minerals Cosmetics shoot. The color is part of their new Spring line, the image can be seen here first and later this week on their website. Again, it is a pleasure working for a company that actually has a product that I believe in. Natural, organic, vegan, mineral make-up sounds amazing doesn’t it? Ladies give them a shot.

Cosmetics Campaign, assistant needed

Hello everyone,

Very shortly I will photograph the summer campaign for everyday minerals, an organic and mineral make-up line. It’s growing at a GREAT rate and actually blowing up in Europe, where the northern part of Europe is very wise to healthy and organic products. I did photograph the current campaign which is up on their site now, but we will do some new shots at the beach soon.

If you are looking for a gig as a PA let me know. Just leave your comments here but don’t post your private information please. Also I am looking for a great lighting assistant who understands beauty. Is that you? If it is, and you HAVE experience in lighting outside and working with beauty let me know. I am always open to helping people out.

If you have tried some cosmetic brands and feel that it’s not for you, I really do urge you to check out this brand. They are all vegan, all mineral, and all organic materials. To be honest with you, as a guy I am not sure about all of that but I have heard great things about them. I have used them on set, or seen them being used on set and people love how they apply to the skin. As a photographer I love how it is photographed. 

If you are unsure about your foundation color or if this is a good brand, please order their free makeup samples. They are generous sizes so that you can determine if Every Day Minerals is right for you. You can Youtube them, google them, or go straight to the website. As a photographer, I am always proud to work on a product that I actually believe in…and anything that is all natural, organic, and vegan is great.

UPDATE: Assistant hired.