Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Squeezing in

I know I said my next post would be about my trip to California but before I left I went out street shooting and was able to get some images I felt needed to be shown while I work on my California photos and posts. Since I've been doing alot of street shooting lately I figured I would give you my top 4 tips for successful street photos if that's what you wanna do.

1.) Follow your gut. If you wanna take a photo of someone on the street you first have to decide if you're going to ask them for permission or not. If not, act quickly and get the shot but don't be a creep about it and linger. Wait until their focus is on something else and not paying attention. If you're going to ask, be friendly and introduce yourself, tell them you're taking street photos and you like meeting new people.

2.) When shooting during the day use a smaller aperture like F/8. I do this during the day for a few reasons. Since there is plenty of light available this helps because if you need to raise the camera to your eye quickly and snap off a shot you know whatever is in your frame is gonna be in focus because of the deep depth of field from smaller apertures. There is nothing worse than getting that shot but completely missing focus on your intended subject.

3.) When shooting at night use your camera's highest possible useable ISO and a large aperture fixed focal length lens like a cheap 50mm F/1.8 (they can be picked up for less than $100). I do this because when shooting at night there is obviously alot less light available. Instead of using a slower shutter speed to let in more light. Use your higher ISO and large aperture so you don't get motion blur from moving subjects. There is nothing worse than getting the shot and while the background is in focus your subject is blurry from their movement and being capture by a slow shutter speed.

4.) Get in the zone. Street photography is special because its real and raw. Photography in general is not a spectator sport and great images are not going to make themselves. Observe your surrounding and pay attention for something that catches your eye. The higher your power of observation becomes, you'll get better photos and a higher percentage of keepers.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my advice and if you have any street photos you took that you wanna show me send them to my email at Ricopico8@gmail.com

Working hard for the money

His massive chain caught my eye


Lighting her ciggy

I met this girl and her friends, it happened to be her 21st birthday




Bros leaving Le club

This person didn't say a word and didn't move at all
Bokehlicious


These dudes work late
Shot this from the window of my moving car while turning at an intersection


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Staying interested

As an always learning photographer I am constantly looking for something to capture. I recently read a blog post with someone saying they felt a lack of interest in their photography. I feel it's of the utmost importance to expand your photography so that way you continue to be interested in what you're doing. It's alot more fun when you're enjoying what you're shooting. If all you shoot is models, mix it up and get out to a sports game or take it to the streets. To accompany this topic ill drop a quote from a famous photographer Garry Winogrand. "If I saw something familiar in my viewfinder, I would do something to shake it up."  This past weekend I actually shot alot of film which is more of a true passion for me because it does take alot of time, effort, and money to shoot this way. I was able to get to "A" mountain for a sunset so that was a bit different from my recent work. Finished off my shooting for the weekend with my lovely friend Rose at Tucson Botanical Gardens. Overall I was pleased with what I was able to get my lens on. This Friday I'm going be headed to LA for the weekend so expect a big post and lots of photos when I return.

Loading a fresh roll of Fuji Film Velvia 50 into my Canon AE-1 Program. Taken with iPhone 5
You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find one of these on a Sunday. Battery for Canon AE-1 Program

Facing West from "A" Mountain

Tucson

Homeless. 9:24am

Color

B&W

B&W

Always on the phone haha

Last shot of the day

Breaking Balls. Taken with iPhone 5



Friday, January 11, 2013

Strong start

As I look forward to some big changes this year, I decided to get in some productive photo time during my long weekend. First up was a nice shoot with my friend Rose. We've been working together quite a bit recently and it's always a good time shooting with her. She definitely has an aura about her that I feel shows in the photos. Lately I've been watching a whole mess of digital rev tv videos and have been quite impressed with Mr. Kai Wong's street photography. While I knew about the street style in the past I had never really given it a chance myself. Shortly after being thrown straight into the deep end of downtown Tucson, I realized street photos are a rush. This is a big departure from a posed shoot your model session I did on Friday. Everything changes so fast and is happening without your control. If there is one thing that really bugs me is missing that moment, so you truly have to be on your toes with camera ready. I hope the people who read this can enjoy the photos and give some feedback about how they feel. If you think they suck, tell me, I wanna know. Until next time

Le Rose

I personally favor B&W portraits













Just to show you I don't have a thing against color