Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't usually my cup of tea. After high school, getting dressed up just seemed to be too much work although last year, I managed to pull off what I hope was a decent "Joe the plumber". I know, too easy, but that was the point :-)

This year, I didn't get dressed up but I did go out shooting. I had a blast taking photos and seeing many cool costumes. You can see photos of BB's 25th Annual Halloween Bash on the Palm Springs Metromix website. The party was enormous with several of the main ballrooms at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort hotel packed with costumed party goers.

Experimenting

I recently came across some event photos taken recently at a local club by photographer, Kyle Hendrix. He had taken photos in a way I never thought to for events and I was curious to find out how he did it. He never did get back to me with all of the details but I was surprised when he told me how long he "dragged" out the shutter speed, sometimes to over 1 second. Knowing the space he was shooting in, it explained why he was able to get the background to look the way it did and his flash(s) took care of the subject matter just great. The rest of the look, I'm assuming, was done while post processing.

So last Friday night while shooting for Metromix, I decided to experiment a little. So I kept my ISO down to about 500 (which can be low at the Red Barn) and set the time to about one second, aperture at around f/10 (which is REALLY small for the Red Barn) and snapped a few. Well, I'm sure shooting a portrait of people standing still would great but when you're photographing musicians who are all over the place... not so good. I of course got the ghosting I expected but I did get a little bit of a sharp subject matter. I didn't give up there though. I had always wanted to try a zooming technique. Basically, as the shutter is opened, I would change the zoom. Well all I have to say is, "way cool", especially when you have neon lights behind your subject! That's how I got the photo of "D" singing.

The next photo is "Mondo". I'm posting that here because, while I didn't deviate to much from my usual shooting style, I did have the shutter set at 1/10 of a second, where normally I'm at about 1/60th.

This allowed me to catch the ambient light behind him nicely. What I really like about this photo though is that I feel I captured "Mondo". He's got that big smile on his face and it's genuine. He loves performing and B Movie Superstars as a whole love being on the stage and singing their hearts out. The last photo is Martin, their lead guitarist. Here's a guy who would never look up while playing and when he does and I've got the camera ready... lol. I get the meanest looks but it's all in good fun (I like to think we're pretty good friends).

By the end of the night I already had what I needed for Metromix so I decided to have some fun and pulled the flash off the camera and attach the wireless trigger. I shoot with a Gary Fong Origami Fold Flat Diffuser attached to my flash and held the flash pointed so that the diffuser reflected light up towards Martin and slightly towards the wall. So even though the light was primarily an up-light, the wall acted as a reflector and filled in nicely from the side, still giving me the shadows I wanted on his right side.

Here are the rest of the photos from that night. The very first photo is an example of the first technique I tried.

Take care for now.
-A

-B Movie Superstars website-

Good Times

Once and sometimes twice a week you'll find me wandering around the local watering hole camera in hand taking photos for Metromix Palm Springs. Metromix Palm Springs is THE local internet entertainment website guide to find out what's going on in the Palm Springs area. It's a website that I wish existed 8 and a half years ago when I first moved to Palm Springs. Then again, there wasn't much going on for folks my age.

I truly enjoy going out and photographing for them because I have an opportunity to catch people having a great time out on the town and many times I get to see talented local artists performing or attend some of the coolest after parties.

These past two weeks I was at Shakerz in Palm Springs and captured everyone enjoying the Afro Classics, Provoked, Three Strykes, Jack Patron and DJ Odysey and then "One Night Only", a show put on at Confession Night Club in Palm Springs to benefit the Desert Aids Project.

If you see me out there, say hi and don't forget to smile for the camera!

Work Life -vs- Personal Life

Yesterday, I went mountain biking for the first time in a really long time. Something I've been promising my brother I would do once I got a bicycle helmet (The last time I really rode bicycles, there weren't bicycle helmets). Well, my cousin visited last month and was nice enough to purchase a helmet and left it for me. You would think that for my first time we would go for a nice easy ride. Yeah right. The climb up was painful. I thought I was going to pass out, throw-up, and or have a heart attack... several times. The ride down, painful, but only because I crashed into a bush that happened to be on the ground. I'm not really complaining though. I had fun and while I probably walked most of the time, I spent that time with my brother. Something that I take for granted. It's always work work work and now I've realized that work is just something you do to pay the bills. What is important is the time you spend with your friends and loved one's. If only I realized that eight and a half years ago, I may have not devoted as much time to my job as I had.

After my ride, I took some time to help my friend, Richard Byford of Byway Entertainment, out and take some photos of him for a website he is working on. Richard has been making a large effort to show that even in the event industry, they can do their part to help the environment. It was nice spending time with him and catching up on things. Richard is a very hard worker and you would never believe how, eh hem, how old (or young?) he is. Sadly, as hard as he works, I don't feel that he gives himself enough "Richard" time and I wish I could get him to realize that it's ok to put the phone down after normal work hours, sit down, grab a drink and relax for a few hours. The work will be there tomorrow.

sigh...

I know, It's been over a month. I'm currently going through some personal troubles (don't worry, Monica and I are just fine and still happily engaged).

After eight and a half years and countless hours of sacrificing my free time, sleeping on the office floor to get the job done, coming up with ways to save money, and working closely with clients on both small and large projects, I was laid off from The Show Factory, Inc., where I ran the lighting department, due to the bad economy and complete lack of work. I was told that they would possibly bring me back in October depending if work picks up for them.

In the mean time, I have been neglecting my photography while I try and figure out what the next step in life is. I still take photos whenever possible and have a couple of galleries on the Palm Springs Metromix website from the past month and a half.

Start spreading the news...

Today is the day after one of the biggest moments in my life. I proposed to my girlfriend of over two years. I don't like to brag but I think I pulled it off very well with a nice romantic stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge a drop to one knee and then the question. I think she was pretty happy, as I am.




Taken by a random couple that happened to be standing nearby. I walked up and asked "Can you please take a picture of me and my new fiance". Their response was "aw, when did you get engaged?" to which I replied "two minutes ago". I think they were just as surprised as Monica.


This is a random un-touched photo I took while Monica made a 'few' phone calls.

Adventure Time!

I'm off! Well, actually, I've arrived already... to NYC that is. I'm on a little vacation get away to visit family, friends, and the city I love and used to call home, New York City. It's day one and I've just finished uploading my last Metromix assignment, the "Move" party at Dink's Ultra-Lounge. The point of the trip is to get some rest and have some fun so I'm not sure if yet if I'm going to post photos while here. Here is one photo though from last Friday's party. You can find more HERE. There will be more posted on the Palm Springs Metromix site on Monday.