Tuesday, August 31, 2010

THIS BLOG HAS A NEW HOME!!!


For any followers of my blogger site, please resubscribe to my POSTEROUS account!! I switched to it because of its newer features like auto posting to Facebook and Twitter but also because I will be premiering my podcast soon!

Thanks again for viewing this blog and continue to follow me and my posts on my new blog*!

*All posts from this blog has been reposted on my new blog, so you'll get to go back to my old posts!

So what are you waiting for?! CHECK OUT MY REFRESHED BLOG!

Monday, August 30, 2010

BTS: jCp Workshop

Had my first one-on-one workshop teaching photography and was even more glad that we had a model to practice my "student's" newfound skill set. This model happened to be my good friend Lauren whom I've known since high school. Special thanks to JuJu Li (elitestylist.com) who provided terrific hair and makeup!

Above is Lauren changing shoes--the last piece to her outfit in preparation for our shoot.

Here's a pic of Diane taking various shots of Lauren as JuJu makes adjustments for Lauren.

It wouldn't be a shoot if everyone didn't have fun. While Diane took majority of the pictures, that left me making Lauren laugh to get some real nice natural shots.

Location wise, this was set at Pacifica's Rockaway Beach. Diane and I met at Nick's Restaurant (although i was the only one who ate breakfast haha) Despite it being foggy (actually a photographer's preferred shooting conditions) and windy (which made JuJu work harder) we had a good session.

Here's the group pic (left to right): Diane, JuJu, Lauren, and I before we parted ways.

Thanks again to everyone for a great session!

Thank you to Diane for learning and Lauren for modeling with JuJu providing hair/makeup. Good mini workshop y'all!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

This Is How I Feel

While this a Posterous test (in the process of switching from Blogger as far as posting), I thought I'd share a pic of how full I feel courtesy of my friend Darryl's phone. This would be pretty ridiculous if I just "let go" hahah

Tag: Posterous

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Digital Cameras?! Forgetaboutit!! Why Film Can Be Better than Digital. Gasp!



A friend of mine showed me this video late in the am while conversing online. He kept cracking up on how he saw this commercial air in the wee hours on NBA TV haha So I took a look at it and while I was laughing, the video has some good points. With that being said, I will say that in some occasions, 35mm film photography is much easier and more practical.

Since this post was originally just to highlight this video, I'll give reasons as to why "regular" film photography can actually be better than digital photography:

1. Shoot for Keeps
Face it: when's the last time you actually held a photograph in your hand? I know you have a digital camera and I know you post pictures to your Facebook and even email them to friends and family...but when's the last time you actually felt a photograph? Shooting 35mm film photography is the easiest way to get them in your hand. You don't need to download your memory card to your computer, go through them, upload to a printing service and then have it shipped. Just drop off the roll of film to Walgreens or Target and by the time you're done shopping or running your errands, your roll of film is done!

2. Share Your Photos
The video did a good job in illustrating the ease of sharing your photos: you simply give them to your friends and family. It's also called human interaction. In the day of digital, everything is easy since you can send information in an instant. I admit, I love it. But what I also love [and now miss] is the actual interaction of humans! I use to play video games at friend's houses... now more often is playing online. I actually had a penpal but now email is just easier. So having a picture you can send to a friend or family in mail once in awhile is truly a needle in a haystack which makes it even more special. So take time and share your photos by actually giving a photograph and not a file.

3. Travel Light without Having Your Camera Insight
I purposely rhymed..I know...but you bought your digital for $200-400 for your pocket digital camera and now you're going on to a trip. Well you did buy that camera for photography purposes but maybe you're double thinking about bringing it to an area that it can possibly be damaged or even stolen. This is where the film camera comes to play: it's lo-fi so it's not going to be a thief's wanted item and because of its relatively low price, you wouldn't mind if you damaged the camera. And God forbid it gets stolen, it only cost you a couple of $20 bucks. Bonus! Once you get your prints, put them in actual album :gasp!: in which you can keep of all your travels. When guests come in, it'll be great conversation fodder!

4. Film Hones Your Skills
The great part about digital photography is you can take more than 300 shots in one digital memory card. The worse part about digital photography is that you don't need more than 300 shots...especially if it's all taken during one event. Depending on your roll of film, you can take anywhere between 27-36 shots in one roll. Meaning, you better make sure you make every shot count! If you're shooting with film, you're practically force to take better pictures! You don't 5 shots of close up shots of your shoes or a particular place--one shot is good enough. I've taken a film camera when I traveled and it definitely tells a story much better than going through hundreds of digital photos.

The upsides of film is that it trains you take better pictures and become a better storyteller.

5. Film Has the Element of Surprise!
Once you're done with your roll, take it to wherever you get it developed (nowadays, a developed roll runs for about $8-9.. it's gotten up over the years =/) but while it is getting developed, relax, shop around, read a book--do something! When you get it back, you can relive the moments you had. I know instant is nice and all--digital photography has allowed us to make life move faster by capturing images and sending it immediately. But with film photography, that roll of film you have is your time capsule. Once you drop off that roll and you get the pictures, it immediately sends you back in time as you hold the photographs and go through each one.

Bonus! 35mm Photography Can Be Fun!
If you're wanting a simple point and shoot film camera that can enable cool effects without having to work with them in Photoshop, check out the camera on Lomography. Yes they are pricey but do some research [check out B&H Photo & Video or eBay] and I'm sure you can get a good price.

I actually own 2 cameras from Lomography and it definitely makes shooting photography fun--the SuperSampler and ActionSampler. Another lo-fi camera that's one of my favorites is the simple Vivitar Slim & Wide.

Here's links to samples of those cameras via Flickr:
SuperSample samples
ActionSampler samples
Slim & Wide samples

Since I'll be going to the Philippines for the majority of September, I will most likely bring one 35mm camera to make life much simpler.

Hope this inspired to actually consider film again! Happy [35mm] shooting yall!

E-Session: Patricio and Melanie (08/22/10) - Teaser

For my friend and director Patricio Ginelsa, he definitely had a vision for his engagement pictures with his fiancé Melanie. It was definitely fun and since I've been on his music video sets more than a couple of times, I've grown to know how a day will unfold working with him: In short, it was fun while putting in hard work in the day.

Now I don't want to spoil it for his wedding day when he'll use this so I'll only show a few of the pics that I liked.

To start it off, I had a mini "studio" session with Pat and Mel. You can't tell from this picture, but both are wearing his custom shirt that reads "indie" which represents Pat's role as an independent filmaker. There's also a nifty story to the vintage video camera he's holding and it was great to learn how it worked back in the day. Oh the advances we've made!

We headed to San Francisco's Embarcadero where we strolled along the pier. If you read the BTS post on this shoot, they wanted to be pictured with their food loves The Coffee Bean and Tuttimelon.

This shot is from the "scene" Pat had in mind to be photographed in. Basically, Pat and Mel spent a lot of time on the road promoting on the Filipino-American movie The Debut. And when they say long time on the road, it really was a long time driving to different cities promoting the film several years ago. And so for this scene, he wanted to recreate the scene of them in their Honda Civic wearing the shirts and tags driving on the road. I loved how both were really into it despite already going to different locations and dress changes--yes we had wardrobe changes like on a film set! haha

For the last location, Pat wanted to go to the location that is very dear to him. This location in Daly City is where he shot his 1st trilogy when he was a teenager and then also revisited it for a scene in his premiere movie Lumpia that was toured across the nation. While Pat and Mel live in LA currently, both are natives of Daly City and I was glad to use my hometown as well as part of their engagement session.

Many thanks to Pat and Mel for having me take their photos and also to Nicole for assisting me the entire day [I had another engagement session prior to this one]. Can't wait to get all the photos edited for you so you can for sure use them for your wedding day!

ADLs: Music Man

ADLs: "Music Man"
Taken on August 25, 2010

Went over to my friend Mikey's house to join in with a few others on their "jam session." My friends Mikey and Nathan produce beats as two other friends Darryl and Lauren worked on the voice tracks. Pictured above is Nathan working on his mobile music studio in the dining room.

--
The blog roll "ADLs" is a series of images of my "Activities of Daily Living". It is a nursing term to describe a patient's activities that s/he does in a daily basis. This is my feeble attempt to combine my trade nursing and passion photography together.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

When you have a choice, toss a coin.


I took this photo from Certified Fresh's blog and totally agree. I should implement this now in my decision making process although if it's a Yes/No decision, it's usually a Yes but I just need someone or something to justify it. haha

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

E-Session: Patricio and Melanie (08/22/10) - Behind the Scenes

All photos by Nicole Velazco

After my session with Louie and Bern, I had a mini break before heading out to my next engagement shoot with Pat and Mel.

You may be wondering why this is the first picture of this BTS series post... well, low and behold that actually is me when I was about 3-4 years old! This engagement session was for my friend Patricio who is also a director for his Kid Heroes Productions. When we were kids [meaning for me, I was the baby of them all], we'd play baseball with all the other kids in the neighborhood. He and his brother made actual baseball cards of most of the kids who played baseball and so when I arrived, he wanted to show me my very own card circa 1990-1991. haha!

Knowing Pat, he previsualized his very own engagement session and so I was there to help accomplish his vision as well as chime in with my very own direction.

I ain't gonna lie: directing an actual director is daunting haha But remembering Pat and Mel as friends made the whole shoot smooth.

Pictured above is Pat's brother Darriel while Pat gets a really old video camera prepped for the shoot. In the back, Mel is getting ready with make up.

I have Pat and Mel review the pics we shot in their director's chairs before we proceed to the next location.

Before we took our pics at Embarcadero, they wanted to be pictured with their favs Coffee Bean and Tuttimelon frozen yogurt. They were nice enough to grab Nicole and I some too to beat the weather!

Just noticed in the above picture that we all seem to be pointing with some concerned looks haha I believe this is where I'm talking to them and letting them know where we'll head soon afterward.

Where we were pointing at is where we are now.. at one of the piers with the Bay Bridge in the background.

One of the last locations was at Hillside Park in Daly City. This certain location Pat has used couple of times in his featured videos like his 1st trilogy Kid Heroes and Lumpia.


Again showing them a preview of the shots I took to ensure everything's A-ok!

Per tradition, I take a group photo with everyone involved in the shoot: here's a pic with Dar.

And then my assistant and I...
..and as always, the Funny Face pic!

Thanks again Pat and Mel! Can't wait to show you both the final pics and of course be present at your wedding! =)

E-Session: Louie and Bern (08/22/10) feat. MotionScope Studies

All photos taken by Nicole Velazco

Pictured left to right: Nicole (Assistant), Francis (Video), Ryan (Video), Bern and Louie, myself (Photographer), and cousin of Bern, Ian.

I'll first start off this post with a group picture of those present on this engagement session with my grammar school friend Bernadette and her soon to be hubby Louie. This was taken on School of Motion's glidetrack in which my assistant, Nicole, placed her Canon G10 on top of while we post in back of Coit Tower in San Francisco.

Here's Ryan and I waiting for Bern and Louie to arrive as we also make some final adjustments to our equipment.

During this shoot, we definitely hit two birds with one stone as in between locations, Ryan would interview the couple and answer a few questions about who they are and how they meet for example. Professional audio and video were taken so you can imagine how this scene looked like in such a public [and beautiful] spot.

While it may look like this as I'm photographing them...

It looked like this from afar haha

Francis and I battling it out to get "the shot."

Next spot was taken at a place where they actually met: Jefferson High School in Daly City. Glad that the gates were open despite it being a Sunday.


We took a few shots around the school and was glad that they chose a spot that had special meaning to them both.

While I showed them how they can possibly pose, I joked about the poster that hung right next to me haha

This was one of the last shots I took before calling it wrap. Francis [pictured at left] was taking some BTS video that he and Ryan will incorporate in the couple's love story video.

For old times sake, Bern and I took a photo and reminisced real quick on our years at Thomas R. Pollicita where I got to know Bern from 7th and 8th grade. Good times!

Thanks Bern and Louie! I'm so happy to take your photos and even more thrilled to be covering your big wedding day! =)

Stay tuned for some images.

Event: San Francisco Food Festival 2010 (08/21/10)

My girlfriend happily walks to the San Francisco Food Festival. After a long day at work for her, she's ready to eat...

...for me, I'm happy to be here where I know I can eat to my heart's content in which I only brought $20.

While the lines were long [averaging about 15-20 min] it was definitely worth it. While you had to be selective, most of our eats were really good.

1st stop was Los Cilantros' corn that has been spread with mayo and then sprinkled with salt and spices.

And yes it was goood. It happened to my girlfriend Cher's favorite.

Quick story: the whole corn is $8 while half of it is only $3. We figure we'd be ok if we just got the smaller corn and when we paid a total of $6, the cashier forget what we ordered and the guy fulfilling the orders just gave us two whole corns. We quietly and quickly...walked away... haha

On to my favorite.. the fried chicken from Aziza! I love their organization: the girl took the orders, wrote your name on a Post-It and then went through them in order.

The primary reason why it was my favorite: just look at that fried spicy goodness!

Here's Cher enjoying [another] corn.

While waiting in line for our fried chicken, I figure a quick sweet bite would be nice and here's Neococoa's bittersweet chocolate truffle brownies.

If I had cold cold milk with this considering it was a nice and sunny day, it would've been so much better.

Cher and I agree: the major flop was these Korean Tacos [and I won't say from where to save some embarrassment if they ever come across this]. I will say they're near the Ferry Building in SF though... First off, it happens to be a "taco" because the seaweed isn't rolled... hmm ok. But worse is when you bite it--you can't! The seaweed is already chewy due to the heated meat meaning this isn't bite-food. The solution? Cher and I stuffed the entire thing in our mouths and then it resembled what it was: a sushi. haha It tasted good, but execution was quite bad.

Now bang for the buck, this wins: $3 Bacon-Wrapped Hotdogs =) from Lucero's Hot Dogs.

That's the base but I added a bit of mayo and some ketchup, mustard, and some jalepeños.

Cher wanted the spice so she added a whole lot of jalepeños!

Lastly, to top off our full stomachs, we got a $5 pint of Cookies and Cream from Three Twins Organic Ice Cream. Delish!

My high school friend Lauren [pictured on the right] was able to make it through and brought along a friend to enjoy the food.


Definitely worth the trip to a busy SF/24th & Folsom street! When this happens again next year..totally down!

Quick tip: Before coming to the festival, I bought a 6 pack of Fat Tire beer and emptied 3 bottles to my Nalgene Bottle. So I had about a liter of beer for the same price of a cup that they sell at the festival. =)

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