Tempus Fugit

Today I made something. I made the image you see above you. Its a composite of a few different photographs. Mr. William Twitty is the model for this shot. Its funny how these things just come out of no where and overwhelm me. I couldn't get this thing out of my head all day. But!!!! I'm always up for comments. I love feedback and constructive criticism.

Urban Camouflage

Today I stumbled across this artist by the name of Liu Bolin. He is a Chinese artist that is better known as the invisible man. He blends in to his surroundings perfectly and then takes a picture. Its fascinating. It's the modern day Where's Waldo!!! Or Where's Liu? Normally I would link to the artist's website or blog but I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to find it, if it even exists. If you'd like to see the article where I first discovered Liu then

Today I shot my first maternity shoot. This lovely lady will be delivering her baby girl next Tuesday. This shoot definitely came with a different set of challenges but all in all I believe it was a success.

Mmmm Mmmm Good

Rob Kunkle, founder of Good Lux Photography , has caught my eye tonight. His work features dancers. I believe dancers are the most gorgeous thing on the planet. All the movement they do. I wish I could have been a ballerina. I wish I was just that graceful. His work is beautiful. Check out the Good Lux Blog Here.

My Parents Were Awesome

These are NOT my parents but someone else's instead. I stumbled across this FANTASTIC website tonight called My Parents Were Awesome. It is a place where people can come and show off what their parents used to look like, back when they were awesome. Believe it or not your parents were once awesome if only for a day or two. Everyone is stressed out at the moment so take some time off to have a little laugh at My Parents Were Awesome. It wont disappoint.

Musical Inspiration

For my photo essay in photojournalism I will be featuring the music of Olafur Arnalds. He is an amazing musical artist from Iceland. This video was made by Esteban Diacono, an Argentinian motion graphics artist based out of Brazil. His music keeps me going on those stressful nights when everything comes crashing down.

The Best but Better

I've already posted this once but this is a refreshed version. I added a background =]

Executive Portrait

For my executive portrait I had the pleasure of photographing the new Janitor Mrs. Linda. She was really very nice and patient with my awkwardness. 

Amusing

I found this photographer by the name of Ryan Robinson. His work is amusing and full of color. The image above is a cover he did for Time Out Chicago magazine. Below is a video of Ryan building the set for this shoot. After looking at Ryan's website take some time to stop by his blog as well.

Time Out Chicago Cover shoot from Ryan Robinson Studio on Vimeo.

Mystery Google

Has anybody seen this? Google now has a Mystery Google search engine. Mystery Google is unlike regular Google. With Mystery Google you search for something but get what the person before you searched for. It can be really funny sometimes. For Example: I typed GTC Photography into Mystery Google and it searched for this.

Photo Essay

I'm working on my photo essay for photojournalism. My mother is the topic. My mother and her daily struggle. This is just an update on how the project is going. Its coming together. Things are getting tougher for my mom but I know she can handle it.

New Inspiration

When bouncing around the inter web this morning I came across my newest inspiration. The photographer in question is Zach Gold. He seems to favor motion shots. Lots of models in water thrashing around. It might not sound like a good photograph but check him out and see for yourself. He has even done some commissions for my favorite tv show, The Office. All in all his style is really unique and i have been inspired. He makes me want to experiment with motion.

You wont see that in an Apple Store

Silly Microsoft. =]

Fascinating

So my mom rented the movie Star Trek (the new one), directed by the very talented J.J Abrams. The movie was awesome and everyone should see it if you haven't already. One of the main characters is Spock, played by Zachary Quinto. I happen to think he is very pretty. I was on his website, looking through the picture when I saw the name Joe Quinto on one of the pictures. Joe Quinto is Zachary Quinto's brother and also happens to be a photographer. He does a lot of celebrity portraits and musicians. His clients include Epic Records and Roadrunner Records.

Holiday Portraits

Last night the lovely Danica and myself went up to Gwinnett Tech. She got her picture made by Mr. Twitty at the GTC Holiday Portraits. I absolutely love these pictures. The set is beautiful. So get your picture made at GTC.

Executive

Monday we shot for our executive portraits in advanced portraiture. Here is the deal: We pick a name out of a hat. We have to find that person introduce ourselves, set up, and shoot in 15 minutes. Its only a little bit nerve wracking. Last year Brian Hall did a really funny portrait of Chef Kari. If you'd like to see more of Brian's things click here.

Old Inspiration

I was just bumming around my hard drive tonight when i stumbled across this picture. I took this picture years ago with my Sony Cyber Shot. This was one of the pictures that got me into photography. It was only the beginning and its amazing to see how far I've come. I miss that camera. We had some fun times. Now it clicks when you press down the shutter button. It also makes rnererererere noises.

Tom Hollyman

Photographer Tom Hollyman died at the age of 89. Hollyman was the president of the American Society of Magazine Photographers. He trained in photojournalism but specialized in landscape photography. To read the whole story on PDN click HERE.

Fill Flash

This past weekend I went out with Ana to shoot for the fill flash assignment. This assignment was tough and I didn't come out with something perfect. This is my favorite picture from the weekend.

Environmental?

In Photojournalism we have to do an environmental portrait. As I said in an earlier post(were you paying attention?), I went down to the Eagle Gun Range in Macon GA. Obviously this is not a picture from that adventure. I really didn't like what I got at the gun range so while I had the JTL lights checked out I snapped some shots of my grandmother for a possible environmental portrait. I like this picture a lot. I really love reflections.

Day at the Range

Well yesterday Ana went with me to work on my environmental portrait. I went to the Eagle Gun Range down in Macon GA. My sister's boyfriend Will works there. So I took his picture. Well since we were there I made Ana shoot. She shot the 22mm and did really well. Shooting guns is a great way to de-stress and since this photo essay is really getting to us....we took a little time for some fun.

Rated R

Gabriel Wickbold is an amazing photographer. He uses color like crazy and its one of the things I love about his work. If you think you love color then check out his work. It's guaranteed to blow your mind. He has a whole section dedicated to his nude work. So this is not a blog post to show the kids.

Artist Highlight

Phillip Tolendano is an amazing photographer with a very distinct style of his own. His work is like nothing i have ever seen. ButI like it ! His project Days With My Father is by far my favorite. I cried my eyes out. Everyone should check him out.

Mi Madre

This is my mom. I love my mom. I've decided to highlight my mom for my photo essay. She is going through a lot right now but you'd never know it. She has to basically take care of my grandmother. We just found out my grandfather has cancer so she is going up to South Carolina multiple times a month. She runs two households. About 6 months ago she lost her job and is still putting in long hours trying to find another job. My mommy doesn't know yet that she will be my photo essay, wont she be surprised! How can she say no to me??? (very easily actually)

oh and I used a fill flash for this picture. =] its trial and error there

Fantasy Shoot

The other day my friend Casey let me shoot him for my fantasy assignment in advanced portraiture. It did not end up looking as I had hoped so I'll have to reshoot. I wanted a darker and creepier feel to it. I tried to shoot it again yesterday but my flash stopped working so it looks like another take is needed. This is one of my favorite shots.

Past Due

It's way way past time I highlighted Jeremy Cowart on here. I love love love love his work!!! His use of post production texture and effects fascinate me. This is what I want to learn how to do. He works with a lot of musicians and such. If you'd like to check out his blog click here. The photo above is the artist Imogen Heap and its my favorite image from his website. These two seem to work together a lot which makes my inner artist happy.

Interview

So this week I had the chance to sit down with Ana and do a little interview. She asked me about the Pride Parade as well as many other things. To listen to the entire interview click Here. Enjoy!!!

The Indian Festival& Pow-Wow

Today Ana and I went to the 10th annual Indian Festival & pow wow at Stone Mountain Park. It was an interesting event. We might even have gotten Ana a topic for her photojournalism essay, but I wont spoil the secret. My favorite thing of the day was the dancing competition. All the colors and costumes were a sight to behold. We even saw someone from lower quarter there. All in all it was an awesome day.

Little Patriot

Today Ana and I went downtown Atlanta to shoot the Veteran's Day Parade. It was a fun day and an interesting parade. I checked out a Vivitar 285HV flash from the school. It seems like an old school flash but thats coming from someone born of the digital age. I really wish the flash I ordered would be here....like now! All in all it was a good day though.

Help Portrait

So I was just bumming around the internet today and I found this really cool website. Help Portrait is a charity that encourages photographer from around the world to come together and use their talent to give a gift this holiday season. On December 12 photographers from all over the world will gather together to take a portrait of a needy person this holiday season. Its a chance for us to use our talent to give hope to someone who needs it. There is a location in Atlanta and I'm really inspired to go. If you'd like to check out the actual Help Portrait Atlanta website click here. Check out the video below.

TOTALLY AWESOME~~~

Check out this video made by Dabe Alan. He filmed it in stop motion while being tattooed. I love tattoos and its amazing to see it done like this. Check out Dabe Alan on flickr.

Holiday Portraits

So everyone has been working really hard on the set for holiday portraits. I've been working on keeping the blog up to date but I would really appreciate it if anyone who takes pictures would send them to Ana's email. Check out the GTC holiday portrait blog.

Flash Basics

Today I went out shooting for our Wednesday Walks with Ana and Mr. Twitty. We went our to attempt to learn how to use a flash. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Amanda let me borrow her flash which is a Nikon SB-600. This is a basic tutorial on how to use that flash. Hopefully my flash will be in soon!!!!!

So, I'm kind of a Dork

I'm fascinated with Fisheye Photography and I'm kind of a dork. So, rather than buying a fisheye lens, I made my own. It was really simple. Check out the How-To. It isn't perfect but at least its something to play around with. All I did was...

1.)Get a lens cap and drill a hole through it

2.)Get a door viewer. or a peephole as I call it

3.)Glue the peephole onto the lens cap and voila.

This is what it looks like. And this is an image that I took with it.

Check out this interview

I was searching on Youtube and I found this interesting interview with commercial photographer Greg Hren. He seems to have an interesting point of view on the industry right now. This video makes me want a sticker on my car that says Photographer.

Pride 2009

Like my last few posts have mentioned that I was at Pride Fest 2009 this year. It was so much fun and I got some good pictures. The one posted here is one of my favorites. =]

chasing the shot

I'm on the prowl for a feature. This photographer is not playing around. Its do or die time, the final hour. I have a good feeling about today. I'm coming back with a shot. Ana and I are going to the Pride Fest again today. This will be my motivation.

Repent Repent

Today Ana and I went to Pride Fest. We talked to a lot of people and it was a very new experience. The thing that got to me most was the Bible thumpers. I'm not going to get into religion on here because everyone's beliefs are different and I respect that. Lets just say Ana and I got a talking to from some religious folk. This is a shot I got of one such religious folk at the entrance to Piedmont Park. I look forward to going back tomorrow....or today depending on the time I finish this post.

Today is the day

IT HAS BEGUN. Today Ana and I are heading up to the pride festival in Piedmont Park. I have a good feeling about today especially since its Halloween. I'm planning to get something to use for my feature in photojournalism. It will be a little scary just like the last time I attempted to get a feature. Confidence is key and I'm just really excited. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Its silly post time

Jogtography. what comes to mind when you see this word? Maybe jogging? Maybe photography? Well for those of you who are cinematically inclined, you might remember a movie titled Yes Man. It stars none other than the awesome Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel. Well, in this movie Jim Carrey's character is attempting to woo Zooey Deschanel's character. She teaches a Jogging photography class. I wondered if such a thing existed and because of the movie it apparently does. There is a Flickr photostream dedicated to the art of Jogtography. There is also a facebook page.

Another TED post

In my last post I talked about the TED awards and James Nachtwey. Another notable photographer who won the prize back in 2005 was Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky is famous for showing the impact man has made on nature in his photographs. He focuses on our dependence on nature but the fact that were killing the earth as well. The photograph above is of a copper mine in Western Australia.

the TED awards

I've just recently become aware of something called the TED awards. TED stands for technology, entertainment, design. Each year the TED award is given to three remarkable people. These people are granted "one wish to change the world". After a few months they unveil their wishes at a conference with thousands of people. A notable photojournalist person who won this award was James Nacthwey in 2007. This is a video of Nacthwey unveiling his wish. If you would like to contribute to his cause and help out click here.

Sports Photojournalism

To all you who really enjoyed the Sports portion of our photojournalism class you might want to pay attention. According to Sports Shooter, there is a sports shooter academy to take place in April of 2010. The Sports Shooter Academy is scheduled to take place April 7-10, 2010 in Southern California. Click here to download the application. Check out the rest of the article here.

Check it out

Check out this photographer I found! His name is Chris Searson. His images are really nice but I was most impressed with the video he did titled Showreel. If you'd like to see more of his video work click here.

Hall of Fame

In Malaysia,  Ng Kok Leong, the photo editor at The Star was just recently inducted into the Canon EOS Hall of Fame. He is one of only nine Malaysian photographer to be accepted. Canon's EOS Hall Of Fame is a new exclusive and elite circle for photographers who are masters of their craft and who use Canon Equipment. If you would like to read the rest of the article click HERE.

As Promised

This is my favorite picture from The Wednesday Walk Ana and I took today. I just finished editing it. Today was a lot of fun and I cannot wait till next Wednesday. =]

Multimedia project

Last quarter we were given an assignment to make a music video. I made mine to the song Diary of Jane(acoustic) by Breaking Benjamin. This video isn't perfect but I was extremely happy with it for a first attempt. It stars my friend Beth who is an awesome sport.

Wednesday Walks

Every Wednesday Ana and I go on a photo adventure. Today we went to historic Duluth. We couldn't seem to find much there but I got some pretty cool shots that I'll share with you soon. This seems to be an every Wednesday thing so if you can join us, Do it!

A Break From Reality

Our next assignment is a glamour/fashion/fantasy shoot. I believe that I'll be doing a fantasy shoot. I'm gonna get my friend Casey to help me with this. I'm gonna drop him into a creepy alley with a top hat and cane. It might be a Jack the Ripper deal. I really want to keep this shoot from being a fashion shoot.

Dedication

Behind every photograph is a story, some more powerful than others. This photo may not be my best but it is by far my favorite just because of the story behind it. My grandfather always sits in this chair, underneath where the light is hitting. We just recently found out he has an advanced stage of bladder cancer. I know that once hes gone this image will mean even more than it does now. I'm not looking for sympathy and I don't want it. I simply want to show everyone that there is a point to photography. It is to tell a story. You have to figure out what that story is of course but once you figure it out, your eyes will open.

A Blog About Nothing

Well, I wasn't so sure what to blog about so I asked my mom. She said I could make a post about nothing. So I typed NOTHING into The Google and this website is what I got. I also typed NOTHING into google images and got this lovely picture. It is titled "Held By Nothing". The artist's name is Dennis Sibeijn. Further investigation of his work has proven very interesting and I think you should all check him out here.

I think, therefore I Blog

I was reading Ally's blog and she referenced this 100- meter photograph by Simon Hogsberg. It reminded me of the gigapan photo from Obama's inauguration. A gigapan photo is a GINORMOUS photograph. It uses a special camera called The Gigapan Epic which can take thousands of photos and stitch them together to make a single panoramic photograph. This is basically awesome. Check out some more gigapan photos here.

IT'S ALIVE!!!

I FINISHED!!! Bwahahahaha. This took me almost a day to complete. It's a composite with five images total. I'm pretty happy with it at the moment but let me know what you think. Constructive Criticism is always helpful. =]

SOS

HELP HELP HELP!!! I found this picture today and started messing with it in photoshop. I've gotten to this point with it but I feel like it needs something more. I need suggestions on how to improve it. This is a composite with a total of four pictures as of now.

The Bird Whisperer

Gary Walter is quickly becoming known as "The Bird Whisperer." He uses a simple point and shoot camera to get extremely close to wild birds. He is a self proclaimed Buddhist who believes in God. He says that he feels a mystical experience while photographing these wild birds. For all the geek minded people, Gary uses a Panasonic Lumix FZ 20. Check out the entire article here. It gave me quite a laugh. If you would like to support Gary check out his website The Love Of Birds.

Atlanta Adventures

Well, today was an amazing day, no lie! Ana and I tentatively ventured into Atlanta for a bit of an adventure. I say tentatively because everytime I drive into, near, or around Atlanta I almost get into a wreck. Needless to say I'm a bit frightened of Atlanta. We went around in circles trying to find Little Five Points but eventually found it. I met a rapper named Bobby who had really pretty eyes and very chill music. But most importantly Ana and I TALKED TO PEOPLE. Ana talked to this guy named Old Man Frank and I talked to this guy named Copper John. It felt great to come out of my shell and break that invisible barrier. I know that this is only the start of greater things to come. After all, the first one is always the hardest.

We're going to try to make this an every Wednesday thing. Which should last until the work picks up at school. In the meantime check out my flickr page to see the best photos from our Wednesday Walks.

Reading Material

Well the other day I was reading Zach Arias' blog and I came across a really good guide to street photography and portraits. He also mentioned a photographer by the name of David duChemin who has written a fantastic new book called Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision. Here is a review of the book. Well i bought the book on amazon for 26 dollars and I'm really excited to read it. I hope it helps!!! I'll keep things updated on all the great advice it gives.

Business Cards

So i know that later on in the year we will make actual business cards but I wanted to have something on me just in case I needed it. Well this website Vista Print gave me lots of options in what design I wanted on my card. It was free to make them and I just had to pay for shipping. For shipping I chose the cheapest option which guaranteed the card's arrival in at least 21 days. I got them in less than two weeks. So, in short I have 250 business cards that only cost me about 6 dollars.

Its a good choice if you don't want to pay a lot of money, which I never want to do. =]

Photo Shoot

I just had an awesome photoshoot with Amanda. She shot me for her low key assignment. It went really well. Be looking for some photos to go up from that shoot.

Get Low Low Low

Well, today we shot our low key assignment today and the most awesome person in the world, Ana was my model. She was very patient with every torture I put her through. Click on the picture below to be directed to my flickr photostream.

Put On Your Grr Face

So this weekend I went to the Highland Games at Stone Mountain. It was a lot of fun and I got some interesting pictures like the one you see above. I give major kudos to that guy. The weight he has in his hand weighs around 50 pounds. He had to swing that 50 pound weight over his head into the air and make it over a bar around 10 feet over his head. Even though he didn't win this competition, he did put his "grr" face on. So Kudos to him.

Low Key Assignment

Tomorrow we shoot the high key/low key assignment in Advanced Portraiture. I'm so excited. This is my idea. I have provided a picture of my thumbnail which is basically a sketch we have to show our teacher explaining our vision. The other picture is just the chains and rose I bought for the assignment. I bought about five feet of chain but I think I'll have to go back tonight to get more.

My New Flickr Account

I made my new flickr account and I'd love for you to check it out.

I'm feeling a bit Scottish

So today I went with my friend Beth to The Highland Games at Stone Mountain. If you don't know what the Highland Games are then click here because it would take way too long to explain. So today I got to see a lot of men(and women) in kilts, but mostly men. It was a lot of fun and I'll post some pictures later. I'm going to try and go back tomorrow for the last day. So if you'd like to meet up and shoot let me know. It was really cold and muddy there but the smell of tobacco seemed oddly comforting. All in all it was an awesome day.

Experimenting in Photoshop

I had a day where there was nothing to do so I decided to look up some tutorials for photoshop. I found this really cool one here. Let me know what you think in a comment. I would love some feedback. Its not finished but I had to stop since my eyes were glazing over. =] The image up top is the worked up one and the one below is the before.