Category Archives: Assignment

Assignment

Live demonstration at South County Photo Club

My splash screen that I used as the backdrop for my presentation
My splash screen that I used as the backdrop for my presentation

2015 did not end well.

I was rear-ended on the freeway resulting in my trusty GMC Safari van being totaled.

I was uninjured. Walked away without a scratch.

But I was determined not to let it set the tone for this new year.

Thankfully my insurance company  furnished  me with a rental car while my claim was being processed so I was able to keep my appointment to  speak with the SCPC, South County Photo Club.

As the guest speaker, I was the last person introduced and I was given about an hour’s worth of their time. Continue reading Live demonstration at South County Photo Club →

Assignment, Gear

Using speed lights at Tios Tacos Restaurant2

Ariana backlit by late evening sun lit by Photoflex Octodome softbox fitted with 2 CTO gelled Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites
Ariana backlit by late evening sun lit by Photoflex Octodome softbox fitted with 2 CTO gelled Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites
In my previous post about using small flashes at  Tios Tacos restaurant, I made some pictures of Izzy and Kavita with some behind-the-scene pictures to give you a sense of the conditions we were working with.

So it’s time to see what my students came up with.

A misconception that many folks have about instructors teaching portraiture and photography in general is: the instructor wants all his students to take the picture exactly he would.

In my case, I don’t want that. Continue reading Using speed lights at Tios Tacos Restaurant2 →

Assignment

Using Speedlights at Tios Tacos restaurant

Bringing together 5 beginning students of off-camera-flash with  5 models I recruited in unfamiliar surroundings  last Sunday was a lot of work.

But the results from my students made it really worthwhile.

In the 2nd part of my Small Flash Lighting workshop, we took what I showed them in the confines of the indoors in Part 1 on location to Tios Tacos restaurant.

It’s a whimsical place that Martin Sanchez, the owner,  has built over the years using recycled items from his restaurant like bottles, tin lids, bottle tops, oyster shells, barbie dolls, broken pieces of electronics and stuff that folks throw away.

For photography purposes though, this location is certainly a challenge. Continue reading Using Speedlights at Tios Tacos restaurant →

Assignment

Riverside’s 2015 Day of the Dead festival

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Riverside-DDLMEvery year I look forward to Riverside’s El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival.

Though it is in its twelfth year and I’ve attended each and every one of them, I still look forward to it because of its uniqueness.

Folklorico dancers in pretty pink dresses perform for the crowds at the Aztec stage. This ground level stage is always packed during performances and very difficult to shoot. I used a monopod to raise my camera above the crowds in front of me. I used a remote cable release and guessed about the framing which is why this is often called a "Hail Mary" by news photographers
Folklorico dancers in pretty pink dresses perform for the crowds at the Aztec stage. This ground level stage is always packed during performances and very difficult to shoot. I used a monopod to raise my camera above the crowds in front of me. I used a remote cable release and guessed about the framing which is why this is often called a “Hail Mary” by news photographers

Unlike the other festivals, this is probably the only one where folks attending expect to be photographed because they come all decked up in costume and makeup.

So if you like taking pictures of people, this is one not to miss. Continue reading Riverside’s 2015 Day of the Dead festival →