Film Trailer: Beautiful Losers

Came across this film when reading magazine Creativity. If anyone reading this is interested in advertising in print, web, and video, this magazine is definitely something you should check out. They just changed their print format from using staples to magazine-like binding which makes it far easier to read [Before, I always get it folded since the mailman had to squeeze it in the box].

Beautiful Losers, directed by Aaron Rose, is basically a documentary following artists in the East Coast of how their forms of art came to be without influence from the "mainstream" art. So this includes skateboarding, graffiti, sculptures, etc.

It's primarily screening in the East Coast but I think it's a definite watch for anyone interested in the culture. Hopefully, they bring it here sometime in the West.

Fore more info on the film, go to Beautifullosers.com

DJ Busy B: Gallery Now Posted

DJ Busy B : "Defy"

The images of DJ Busy B are finally edited and posted on my website. Feel free to check them all out and tell me what you think!

Click HERE to go to jcasasphotography.com

Gallery is posted under PORTFOLIO > DJ BUSY B

Tonight 6pm: Manny Pacquiao vs David Diaz

Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Manny Pacquiao faces David Diaz tonight 6pm at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. Tune in to HBO!

If Pacquiao wins, he will be the first Asian boxer in history to win 4 world titles.

You can read an interview of Manny and FOXsports.com here.

Shouts and screams are bound tonight with my mom, aunt, and grandmother in the living room. Pictures to update tonight.

Birthday Card: Jacob's 1st Birthday

Front: Jacob's 1st Birthday Candle card

Today, I made a birthday card for my [hang on now..] girlfriend's friend/co-worker's son named Jacob. It's his birthday party today and instead of buying a card, I told my girlfriend I'd make a card instead.

It's a fairly simple sketch: just one birthday candle representing his 1st birthday. Hand drawn in Photoshop and colored there too. The usual thing I do to add depth is to darken the colors mimicking shadows using the Burn Tool set on a low opacity.

Inside: "happy 1st birthday jacob"

For me, the interior is always kept simple. Nice clear text with the message inside leaving plenty of room to write on both sides of the card. Although when I make these cards, I intend to write on the left side of the card leaving the right side of the card with the message clean.

Back: Personal logo

The backside with my personal logo.

Patricio Ginelsa Wins LA Film Festival Sponsored by Canon

Being Reel - Patricio Ginelsa from fatfreefilm on Vimeo.


A friend of mine, director Patricio Ginelsa (Lumpia, Bebot [Black Eyed Peas]), just recently won LA's Film Festival sponsored by Canon [he received a Canon HD camera as a prize!] The contest itself was a 72 hour competition which had him pitted against 3 other film makers to produce a film within those 72 hours. I know many many entered and it all came down to a 4 person battle.

Watch the video above and please support indie artists!!! Pat produces a nifty shirt as well:
Click here to purchase one!

For more info on him please visit his website at kidhereos.net

Airport Food Sucks.

Ok.. it doesn't suck that bad. But it sure sucks because of the price. An 8 piece sushi of unagi cost $12.95. So my mom wanted to eat and BAM! An easy $30+ for two people for 8 piece sushi!!

Had to for the Text Box project.

My mom eating her sushi. Major ups to her for pretty much staying up for more than 24 hours without sleep! She wakes up daily at around 10:30am, goes to work 3pm and comes home 12:10am. So when she came home, she immediately packed and got ready to leave the house by 4:00am. And from there, she pretty much didn't sleep until we finally gave up and went home by noon.

Me and my sushi. I on the other hand, did get some sleep--I pretty much fell asleep during the wait in the numerous gates. Yet, once I got home, I immediately fell asleep for another couple of hours!

Flight/Trip Cancelled...

All the flights are booked the entire day!! After arriving in the airport by 4:30am and rushing through the security to catch the 6:05am flight (which boards at 5:30am), we ended up getting rolled over 3 times until we finally gave up. We're headed for home. Maybe in another weekend this summer we'll go for New York again.

Flight Update: Did not make 1st flight...

...OR 2nd flight! We're getting rolled off again for the next flight. From gate 87, we're now at gate 83 and my mom just overheard we're gonna go to gate 80 for the next flight.

New York flight...slim chances?

As of now, my mom and I are waiting for open seats for our flight to NY since we are standby. My uncle who works at United checked the seats last night and the first in the morning looked just fine. Well that changed this morning when they're actually looking for volunteers to give up their seat =/ And it'll be harder to try and find a flight tomorrow since it's Friday. :Crossing fingers!:

Out of Town: 06/26 - 07/01 - NEW YORK

Note: Yes yes... I've used this same image when I went to San Diego last month.

But yes, I will be going to New York [along with my mom] to spend some time with her brother and my cousins. It's also my mom's aunt's 90th birthday. Most def I'll be updating through my phone throughout my trip.

And when I do come back, my Pelican case I ordered from B&H Photo Video will be coming in. So I have a lot to look forward in the next coming days.

Will have some images to be used in the project Text Box as well.

Haven't hung out with the high school boys in awhile...

Originally shot by Eunice Bengco

But for about two days, got to see two of the six "SI Boys." Here I'm pictured along with Joey and Darryl at Naan 'n Curry in Irving [San Francisco]. Glad to get some good grub while catching up on times.

And afterwards, we ended up talking at Starbucks for a good solid 1.5 hours[?], debating with Joey, and talking more again in the car. Glad to know when friends are back, things seem to fall into its place automatically as if it was high school again.

Oh, and the other night, I was with them but also with some other high school friends watching YouTube videos throughout the night. I'm not a good follower of YouTube but there are really some good funny stuff out there.

Photoshoot: DJ Busy B

Remember the concept images for DJ Busy B last month? Well, I finally got the chance to have a photoshoot with DJ Busy B with the magician theme in mind.

[Sidenote: My girlfriend asked at the shoot "So.. why the magician theme again?" I replied: "Well, he's a DJ.. I'm sure he spins the the records magically." And to add onto that, DJs in my view, if they're good that is, have this ability to put a crowd in a trance-like state that keeps them moving. As a DJ, you have this capability and with music, you're performing this on going trick with that music]

We went out to San Francisco's The City Shopping Center [the one with Best Buy and Mervyn's on Masonic] to shoot at the parking lot. I originally had in mind to have the shoot using the city scape as the background but when I got there, I changed my mind and saw the loading garage gate and decided to move the shoot there. We shot well over 150+ shots and I've yet to narrow it down, but I found two images to share to show how the output will look like. When editing this morning, I decided to go along the magician theme but with a 30s-40s look to it hence the edited images.

If you glance over the concept image, there will be two records floating which I still need to do later in post-production.

I wanted that look you see in old books...an eery and mysterious feel to the images. Jokingly with my girlfriend, I coined this look "Newold"--as in new-old feel to the images as its created now but mimics those of the past. There are plenty more to come in this style and will be making color versions, the preference of DJ Busy B.

Overall, it was a short but sweet shoot. I wish I had behind the scene photos which my girlfriend would've taken but it was so damn windy she had to hold still the light stand that held my light. But here's my equipment used listed:

• Sony A700 DSLR with Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 lens
• Alien Bees ABR800 with 30" Moon Unit attached [diffuser] mounted on a [cheap] lightstand
  
• Lights triggered by Paul Buff's Cybersync remote control and powered by Paul Buff's Vagabond II battery
  

At the end, my girlfriend Cherry took some photos of us after all the equipment was teared down.


It ain't an official photoshoot if there ain't no jumping pictures. DJ Busy B's expression when he saw the photo on the camera's LCD was "What the??! I didn't even see you do that. How'd you do that?!" hahah

Look at my height clearance. I clearly practice a lot.


--
More images to follow once they're finalized.

BBQ at Vallejo

Cherry preps the car for its trek from SF to Vallejo

This Saturday afternoon, I go along with my girlfriend as well as her mom to their family BBQ home party at Vallejo. Today, the heat wave in California continues so by the time we reached Vallejo, Cherry's car says the outside temperature was a scorching 102 F!!!

About an hour later we arrive at the house and I'm glad we don't spend too much time outside because of the heat!

Cher has been hyping up her cousin in law's BBQ for the past few days so I was ready to eat once we got there!

Although it did take awhile for the food to get ready, Cher and I sat in the living room couch and watched tv. We moved from A League of Their Own [that All-American girl baseball movie with Tom Hanks, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell.. and for some reason I can't come up with the main girl.. Gina something..?], The Parent Trap [we had to find something "appropriate" for everyone], and finally gave up and went to where we're comfortable--MTV which was airing America's Best Dance Crew.

I didn't take much photos of the available food but there was some Cesar salad, mango/avocado salad, grilled shrimp on skewers, fresh fruits, etc.

A photo of the ladies that were present.

So here's the "famous" BBQ that Cher and her family speak highly of. Slowly baked in the oven for hours and finished off in the grill and then back to the oven to keep warm for everyone.

Filipino means lumpia and the chili sauce.

Here's my first plate: the real good mango/avocado salad [along with cilantro, red onions, and topped with some lemon and pineapple juice!], grilled shrimp, grilled veggies, and the BBQ wings. I also had a good portion of the ribs too but it's not pictured here.

Still working on the Text Book project.

And of course, can't end without a dessert--baked chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. With the weather going on right now, everyone deserves ice cream!

Limited Preview: "Beginning Photography: George Washington 2008"

LIMITED PREVIEW: 100 DOWNLOADS (via Yousendit.com)

Today, I decided to allow viewers a special preview of the actual book I produced entitled Beginning Photography. Continuing from my previous post, the book showcases the 6 student photographers from the class.

The book itself is only 32 pages but surely the images will leave an impression that these kids have a keen eye for photography.

The link below is to the .pdf document used to proof the book with my boss. So once it is proofed, it will be sent out to be printed.

Another edition of Beginning Photography is on the works but for Westlake Elementary School. It is scheduled to be done by the end of June.

Enjoy!

--

Link to Beginning Photography: George Washington 2008 via Yousendit.com:
https://download.yousendit.com/09AC90537A78AD8D

New Book: "Beginning Photography"

So after the 6 weeks I've been teaching photography to kids in the after school program, I just finished the 32-page book that showcases the 6 students of the class. I've sent the proof to my boss and will be waiting for her approval so I can send it out for print. All in all, I was impressed with what the students came up with using both digital and disposable 35mm cameras.
I gave the students the chance to edit one image which would be their favorite. I used a photo editing program and I noticed right away that kids love bright super saturated colors. I had them edit their own photo by telling them "Tell me when to stop" as I move the adjustment sliders up/down to make the photos brighter/darker/more contrast/more saturated, and darkened corners. Most if not all, chose to make theirs very colored and all the kids were giggling as they saw the photo magically changed colors.This page from the book as well as the one below contain my two favorite photos of the students using the film cameras. The one above is by Jorge of his classmate Hericberto and I guess he accidentally forgot to use the flash on the right image. When I first saw this image it quickly reminded me of those images shot in the 40s-50s when portraits were shot in black and white and had a lot of grain to the images. Plus, the composition [either accidentally or purposely] was real good making it an unconventional portrait.
This image is of Jorge shot by his classmate Hericberto. When I saw these two images I knew I had to pair them up for the book's layout.

For the book itself, I lost count of how many images are presented but each student had any where between 3-5 pages displaying their photos. I'll post again about this book once it's available online.

Wedding Photographer Claire Lewis @ Books Inc (The Marina)

Claire Lewis and I smile for the camera

Last night, I went to Books, Inc. in the Marina to catch Bay Area wedding photography Claire Lewis with my girlfriend. Unfortunately, we left the house too late (7:50pm [the talk starts at 7:30pm]) in order to catch her talk so this is what happened instead:

At approximately 8:25pm, I enter the bookstore and head towards the back. There I see empty seats and two women talking. I go over to where her books are at and pick one up and then ask one of the ladies (the other one is already walking out). I ask her if this is her book and she immediately says, "Oh no, you must looking for that girl" as she points to the other lady dressed in black. I say "Thank you!" and then rush towards the other lady.

"Excuse me! Ms. Lewis!!"
"Oh, hey!"
"Hey, I missed your talk. I was rushing here with my girlfriend because we left the house late and she's still finding parking. But hey, can you sign this?" I give her the book I just took from the table moments earlier.
"Sure! Who do I make this out to?"
"To me--my name is JJ."
"Just 'J', 'J'?" Funny how that usually happens quite often.
"Yeah!" As she signs the book, there's this usual awkward silence that follows. "And yea, I actually take photos too here in Bay Area."
"Oh really? Hey, tell me then what you think of the book ok? Email me once you're done."
"I will. Thanks again for signing."
"No problem, you take care, k?"
"Will do. Bye!"

So I paid the book and then call Cherry to see where she's at and then glance over to the book that I just bought without ever knowing who she is. I just came because I saw it on the Literature Events in the Book section in SF Chronicle.

Exposed: Confessions of a Wedding Photographer

"To JJ. Best Wishes. - Claire Lewis"

Chestnut St in the Marina

So I'll come back to this book once I'm done reading this and tell yall how it really is.

Olive Garden Interview

I'm sitting down in the cafe section of Olive Garden (Stonestown) waiting for an interview for a summer job/experience. I've been wanting to have a waitering job so maybe this summer ill have that job. Wish me luck.

Thank You Card: Garcia Family

For most occasions, I make my cards--birthdays, congratulations, and thank you cards. This time, I made a thank you card for my friend's family since they welcomed me and my girlfriend along the trip for their daughter's graduation at UCLA [meaning, they paid for lunch and dinner and such]. My girlfriend and I will be giving something along this card as well.

Card: Thank You Card - Garcia Family
Size: 5x5 [folded], 5x10 [opened]
Medium: Printed in Black & White on white cardstock.

Front: Faces of everyone on the trip.

Inside: Simplicity at its best.

Back [Personal logo "jjCC" for my full name: Jasef Jaicee Camara Casas]

LA in Sum

On Friday morning, we got dropped off by my cousin to SFO by 7:45am. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:05am so we had time to relax and duel on our DS's.


We arrived at LA by 11:10pm and Ghia and Dan picked us up. We ate some of their leftovers, played some Smash [Bros], and then headed for bed. Next morning, it was Ghia's graduation ceremony at UCLA so we and the family headed there in the sweltering heat to wait for her name to be called.

Congrats again to Ghia for graduating with as a Sociology major!

After her graduation, we ate lunch at this Japanese restaurant called Ami. They give UCLA students a 15% discount so that was helpful when the bill came along.

A crying picture for fun before we sleep at Best Western. Disneyland was to come tomorrow! And yea, that's a Breathe Right nasal strip. Reportedly it works.

Our photo from the Hollywood Tower of Terror. All our reactions are priceless.. especially Ghia's younger brother JC [the kid in front wearing the white shirt].. looks like he was confused whether or not he should be screaming.

The heat got to us while waiting in line for rides but luckily I brought one of those fans with the spray bottle to mist ourselves. We cooled off too with some drinks and ice cream [$3.75 for a frozen banana chocolate!!!]

Our family photo before we leave the park at around 11:20pm.