Photo Story

Bay Area Militaria Collectibles HDR interiors

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Bay Area Militaria Antiques & Collectibles, quite the unique shop on Central Ave - 9-bracket HDR f/11 ISO 200

This shop was in my mental queue to photograph for quite some time.  It is right next door to Raw Vibes, the gallery/dance/performance studio where I had my haikyo photography exhibition in November.  After finishing up shooting the interior of Raw Vibes for owner Laly, I asked the owner of the militaria, who was as usual sitting in a chair in front of his shop, if I could take a few quick photos of the inside of his place.  After a little hesitation he said go ahead.  

The next time I visit I want to take a more careful look around - 9-bracket HDR f/11 ISO 200

I was already setup to shoot HDR, so I made quick work of these shots, pausing only to find the best composition to fully show the shop in just two vantage points.  The HDR method allowed me to get the exterior window and interior collectibles exposed properly, otherwise I would have had to of chosen one or the other.  

I do not know if I will push my luck and ask to shoot inside again, but maybe once the owner sees these images he will be happy to have me return.  

Jason's new headshot with Nikon D300

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Finally, a kind of photographer's stereotype headshot for me.

I have few photographs of myself, at least not many "headshot" or "portfolio" type shots of myself.  I have shots of me jumping across a canyon, hanging out in the French Quarter, hanging out with some kids in Cambodia, jumping off boulder in New Mexico, hanging out in Chinatown in San Francisco, crossing half-tree bridges, jumping off more boulders in Korea, hanging out with hipsters in Korea, and even me skimboarding in Japan.  The above is my first stereotypical photographer's headshot, i.e. some dude holding a camera.  

This was just a quick attempt made on my back patio with some help from f8 Consortium colleague and friend Marc, who took the shot.

Which era Jason do you like best?  Let me know in the comments below.

Who will follow the leader?

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Seagulls on the wall at Vinoy Park - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/2500thOne of my favorite spots to be in the St. Petersburg is the tip of Vinoy Park.  It is usually entirely devoid of people and is the gateway into the small harbor in front of downtown that offers views of what cityline there is, the Pier and then a sweeping view of Tampa Bay.  Dolphins hunt along this seawall, manatees amble buy, and of course birds of all kinds use it as a rest stop.  

All this makes for a great spot to just sit, think and observe, as well as a great location for photography.  

Sea gulls are common, but I liked how they were all lined up with one of them deciding to fly off.  Did he/she hope that all the others would follow?  Did she/he hope to be able to fly off alone?  These are the kinds of things that constantly pop into my head.

Street Portrait Series 02 - University of Tampa 2

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Tanya volunteered for a street portrait on the University of Tampa campus - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th Nikon SB-600 handheld to frame left

This is more a part 2 to the first entry in the Street Portrait Series, as these shots were made on the same day.  This series is about asking people you just see on the street if you can make their portrait.  Tanya, pictured above, was just hanging out on the University of Tampa campus.  I asked her (and Stephanie) if she would not mind letting me take a few photos of her.  She said sure.  So the hard part in street portraits is just getting the nerve up to ask someone.  In my experience so far it seems many people are willing to let you photograph them.  They just want to know what you will do with the photos, so I tell them it is part of a street portrait series I am doing and that I will use them on my website.  That is usually good enough explanation for them and they agree to let me photograph them.

Downtown Tampa provides the backdrop for this shot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th Nikon SB-600 handheld off camera

Both of these shots were done with my "quick and dirty" method of off camera flash, which just holding the strobe outstretched in my left hand while holding my Nikon D300 in just my right hand.  

How I processed these photographs: 

  • RAW files first processed in Aperture 3 (Nikon D300 default setting)
  • exposure & color correction in Nik Color Efex Pro 3 (polarization, pro contrast, tonal contrast filters)
  • Unsharp Mask applied in Photoshop CS4 (exported from Aperture as a 16-bit TIFF)  
  • some cloning out of the edge of a building in CS4
  • lens distortion filter used on the top image to straighten the building

Street Photography - Hula Hoop Dancer

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Street Photography in St Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1600This Hoola Monsters dancer was easily the most talented person with a hula hoop I had ever seen in my life.  By the applause and reactions from the crowd, I was not the only one nearly mesmerized by the gravity defying motions of the hula hoop as it moved from head to toe, floating at each spot, on this dancer's body.  

It was a rare chance to do some interesting street photography in St. Petersburg.  However, still photography, in this case, cannot do justice to what I witnessed first hand.  HD Video would be far better suited for this.

Hoola Monsters impressed me greatly - Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/2000

As with most street photography, random people straying in front of my lens were large obstacles in getting the shots I wanted.  As my subconscious shoo-ings of a few people were having no effect, I had to strafe to a break in the people to sneak these shots in between passersby.  This is one, when doing street photography, if you see a shot, TAKE IT.  Any hesitation could (and most likely will) result in missing the shot.

Street Portrait Series 01 - University of Tampa

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Street Portrait of Candid Coeds Chatting -- f/11 ISO 200 1/125th SB-600 handheld off cameraWant to get new ideas?  Go to a photography workshop, even a free one.  My newest photo series, "Street Portraits," was inspired by a workshop by the Lighten Up and Shoot crew who talked about just approaching people on the street and asking if you can make their portrait, or even have them be your model for a little while.  Their workshop was free.  

Combine the inspiration from that workshop with the experience I had during my 2nd DSLR Photography lesson with student Kelley in downtown Tampa, and boom, the Street Portrait Series was born.  All these shots were actually made during Kelley's 4th DSLR photography lesson.  See our setup for the bench shots here, though I only used a single off camera strobe for mine.  He used the dual-strobe setup.  

These dudes were all business -- f/11 ISO 200 1/125th SB-600 handheld off cameraThe basic concept of the street portrait is to setup your lighting gear, then anyone you see walking by, ask them politely if they would like to have their portrait made.  If they say no, just say thanks.  If they say yes, say thanks too!  I always offer to send the person(s) the photograph as well.  Basically you combine street photography with candid portrait photography with off camera flash, with a good amount of being able to be outgoing and brave enough to just ask a stranger to let you photograph them.  I will admit, it certainly helped to have Kelley there, as he is not shy about asking people to let us make their portrait.  

People on the UT campus were very open to be photographed -- f/11 ISO 200 1/250th SB-600 handheld off cameraHowever, I approached the girl (and her friend) above to join in our street portrait experiment.  I would have to say things went very well and several more people (not pictured) let us make their portrait.  Now, all these people were on the University of Tampa campus, no doubt a more likely crowd to let themselves be photographed.  It will be interesting to see how different areas of the city prove to be for street portraits.  I am excited to continue this series and just hope my nerve holds up, especially if I try it alone!

How I processed these photographs: 

  • RAW files first processed in Aperture 3 (Nikon D300 default setting)
  • exposure & color correction in Nik Color Efex Pro 3
  • Unsharp Mask applied in Photoshop CS4 (exported from Aperture as a 16-bit TIFF)
  • "Portrait Drama" filter in Topaz Adjust 3 applied  

Gallery & Art Performance Space Promotional Portraits

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Local art scene friend Laly wanted some promotional shots of her to rebrand Raw Vibes

It is always nice when I can work with friends, so when Laly called me up asking if I could make some promotional shots of her inside Raw Vibes for some rebranding she wanted to do, I said, "I'd love to!" She did not want static, posed shots of her just sitting in her art performance space/gallery or anything like that, which was fine with me as I like to specialize in candid style and putting the person in motion makes for an interesting creative and technical photography challenge.  

This promotional shot of Laly mirrors the curve and flow of the image she wants to put forth for Raw Vibes

To make these shots I put my Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on my light stand at its max height of 9' above and to frame left.  I shot with my Nikon D300 using my Nikkor 105mm VR micro lens from way on the other side of the gallery/performance space triggering the strobe in commander mode.  I used aperture priority mode / f8 / 1/60th / ISO 200 / SB-600 @ -0.3 (about)

The challenge was to catch Laly in just the right frozen motion as she danced herself into the candid pose.  She described to me earlier what she envisioned for the shot and I concentrated on waiting for that exact moment and after quite a few tries, I was able to frame everything right and capture Laly at full extension.  It always feels good going from idea to actuality in photography.