Don't Label Me

Buying a camera makes you a camera owner. By that same logic, owning a photography business doesn't make you a photographer, it makes you a business owner. You can label anything, but a photographer isn't defined solely by the depth of their portfolio, but by their passion for creating. Writers write, photographers make photos, and bloggers blog. None have to make money or gain notoriety for their accomplishments to be any of those things.

Labeling people into how deserving they are of your time and knowledge makes you a photography fan-boy. There are many people getting paid to make photos that, in my opinion, are ugly or over-processed. But SOMEONE out there likes it. And as long as there’s a market for people to enjoy their taste in photos, a girl/guy with even a GF1 (which I love 'borrowing' from my wife) can create works of art despite not knowing the technical stuff or having an 8×10 camera.

The camera doesn't make the photographer, but as a TOOL, it can inspire you to create. View camera vs 35mm rangefinder, TLR vs SLR; every tool is suited to a person's needs. Sometimes people just click (pun intended) with their camera and all the technical stuff melts away. I would like to be a full-time paid photographer at some point, but I’d be proud at being a part-time photo-maker if it means that at least a handful of people are moved by my images. And that’s what photography is: capturing light, capturing stories, capturing people’s hearts.

Try to label that.

Party Time

Went to a party with my wife and got some cool shots. The atmosphere was a mix of revved up fun and laid back; everyone was just enjoying themselves!

Ortiz Family

I'm going to include a couple more photos from the photo shoot now, and then come back to them in a little while. I love these three because they have a dreamy, nostalgic quality to them. Enjoy!

Ortiz Family Photo Session

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of making photos for the Ortiz's. They are a fun-loving family and photogenenic to no end! We started downtown and made our way over to the Riverwalk. Once there, the sun slowly started to set. These are three of the photos they kept; three of my favorite photos as well. I'll be posting more soon!

Camera Testing

Another couple of test photos with color film to make sure the camera was working properly. 

The girl was kind enough to strike a pose for me! 

Cool Kid Swag

As usual, feel free to live a comment or say hey!

An Opportunity (Long Story)

My wife and I get out of the car at Wal-Mart, just another day. I look up and see an awesome classic car sitting all by itself. I have my film camera with Tri-X, the perfect pair to capture this fine automobile. I walk up, inspect the best angle with a nice, clean background. I set my guess for the exposure, bring the camera up, and click up the metering button. With a gentle "snick" I cock the film lever and press down the shutter. To my everlasting dismay, the mirror came up and did not come down. This shot was ruined. Snick.. nothing. Snick.. nothing. No luck. We walk around the store and I'm on my phone searching the internet for what the problem could be.

Once we get home, on exposure 30 of 36, I have to remove the film. I mess with the camera and it manages to starting 'firing' correctly. So, I used this opportunity to start fresh with a color roll to make sure the camera is still working. With this in mind, I decided that I would shoot the roll as fast as I could (versus a couple of months of being super selective). And because of this, I got photos I would never have gotten but wanted to try something different just to get the photos made.

I'll be posting a photo every couple of days showing what I ended up with, so make sure to check in to see what's new!

Autumn Sketches

 

JapanFest

I'm a realist and a dreamer. This difficult dichotomy permeates how I interact with others and my photography. On the one hand, I like saying things how they are. My choice of words are blunt; the image I may make has no underlying statement. Likewise, I also want to hope for the best and create images that move others; to create images that make me proud to have created them.

With that said, visiting JapanFest was a chance for others' words, actions, and art to move ME. Part of it was the welcoming culture. As if I were a close friend, the people there gave off a positive vibe. Their body language was kind and comfortable. Their smiles were genuine. It was a completely different pace than most day to day encounters. Most people, even at work, barely notice your "Good Morning" and "How are you?", let alone even acknowledge you with a response; so I was at ease being submerged in this setting.

And the art, wow. I don't mean art in the quote-unquote drawings and images. It's... style. The way one man shot an arrow at a target. How, with care, vendors made and served food. Kids dressed in traditional clothing while their faces were painted as Japanese cartoon (anime) characters that would bring an instant smile to my face. Then there were the photos of the devastation in Japan. It was, honestly, surreal. They inspire me to document what I see. They inspire me to appreciate what I have and move past what I've lost.

I had a wonderful experience at JapanFest and hope that next year my wife and I have more time to spend there. Whether you go for the color, the culture, or the culinary delights, it's worth the trip.

Trip to the Aquarium

Over Labor Day weekend we had a chance to go sightseeing, and one of our stops was the Tennessee Aquarium. It was pretty incredible! There were ocean and river creatures from tiny plankton to sharks and sea turtles. I felt like a little kid: captivated by all the interesting colors, shapes, and textures. Here are a few photos:

Abstract

I believe that as a photographer, or creator in general, one must be willing to experiment. There has to be something else out there to help fine tune your skill and creative vision. In this case, I've been experimenting with Macro and have fallen more deeply in love with my visual side. These are two of my results; more to follow.

Creating: An Update

It has been a little while since I last posted and, for that, I am sorry. I've been working on different sides of my creative self from photo to video. Alongside that, I even started writing again! I recorded @jonathan12uiz's review which featured on a website. So, a lot is getting done but not reflecting on my blog.

I've given myself a week to make some photos and post them.

For the Fun of It

When it comes to people's hobbies, sometimes people are just a little too serious. Yes, we all want to get better at our hobby. I want my photography to move and inspire. At the same time, photography is a way for me to calm down and get to know myself. What I choose to photograph defines me as much as what I wear, if not more so. In light of this, here are a few photos of things that I think are amusing, interesting, or just plain funny!

Lemon Drop

Quinceañero

Please free to leave a comment or shout-out! Thanks for watching.

If you have trouble seeing the video, please follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z76rfU4ueSI

The Runner

Smiles and Bokeh

A handful of photos from a recent Quinceañero.



Big Park, Big Personalities

I enjoy natural light and taking photos outdoors. There's that 'what will happen next' aspect that keeps me riveted. Keeping an eye out for these comical creatures, it's usually the big personalities that find me! So without any further long-windedness, here are a few photos from the park over the last four days. I hope you enjoy viewing these as much as I enjoyed capturing them.

As always, comments are more than welcome!




Striking a Pose




Peek-a-Boo



March of the Mallards

The Legion

Hop. That is all.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and looking through my photos. If you're passionate about photography, share your love with others!

Mr. Uncle

My wife's uncle: Marathon runner, social guy, idealist.

Where's Waldo and 4x6's

Yesterday, after a hiatus, I had some prints made of some of my photos. Most were 4x6's, one was an 8x12. Duplicates were made of all the 4x6's for a very special reason. I plan on sharing my direct memories with family members in a physical form. My photography is shared in bulk online. I take a photo, tweak the color and exposure slightly (if digital), and then it's off into Internet land. Through normal mail, family members will be able to hold, touch (and smell!) my photographs. There's a certain spirit to ink and paper that a computer screen cannot duplicate. Maybe it's the immediacy a computer gives; a computer can load an image quickly, it can be removed from existence quickly. The press of button can delete a ten thousand photos. A physical photograph can be ripped and shredded, put into water, and still the most efficient way is through burning them. Now THAT'S  tangible.

Looking at my prints though.. it's like the first time I had prints made from my 110 "Where's Waldo" point and shoot camera I had bought with tickets at an arcade called "Fun Fun Fun". To my parents' horror, every photo had Waldo in the photo. And no, he wasn't tiny and we didn't have to squint our eyes while standing on our heads to find him. He took up a quarter of our 4x6's! And to add insult to injury, these were timeless Christmas photos. Yes, Waldo would will spend the rest of time in our Christmas photos. And that is exactly what makes them so memorable. That's what makes me smile about photos that I took almost twenty years ago. Those are the photos that let me know that we existed and had fun and made mistakes as a family. Photographs are our lives. They reflect who we are and who we aimed to be.

Photographs are memories. They are what we saw on that day, on the hour, at the minute, on that very instant. Whether our photos are recorded chemically or digitally, it's that physical aspect that I had lost touch with.

Don't let your photographs become nothing more than 1's and 0's on your hard drive. Bring them to life again and share your lasting memories with loved ones.

Yearly Bloom

Extreme humidity and temperature fluctionations are what springtime brings here. The mornings are cold and damp and the days are filled with sticky heat. People retreat to the shade and pool for solace. Children run through sprinklers, ablaze with steam rising from their skin. The fire hydrants wear a permanent grimace.

All jokes aside, the closing of spring leads to summer break and tans. Everyone is making the most of their time to find those little slices of heaven that will become their fond memories. One of mine is here, right near the end of spring: the tiger lilies finally bloomed in front of our house. I've been looking forward to them since last year and thought they might never make an appearance. They're as fragrant as they are colorful. The lillies really brighten my day and that's why I'd like to share a couple of photos of them.

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Too Much of a Good Thing

I've been playing around with a lot of concepts lately from cars, to portraiture, to video ideas. I may have spread myself a bit too thin, but I'm learning a lot about many different methods. Because of this, I'm taking my time and not updating my blog willy-nilly. I do, however, want to keep this blog going so here are a couple of photos from the last week.

Lots of experimenting going on... I'm loving it!

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