Photo Story

Pigeon dreams of being the black swan

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Is this pigeon dreaming of being the black swan?I often wonder what someone, something, anything animate or inanimate, might be thinking.  I believe even an inanimate object can feel, thus I would never haphazardly toss my shoes into the closet, or set something heavy on top of them, for example.  It is much easier to wonder what animals are thinking since they are sentient, but cannot speak English.  Thus, they have to be thinking something, but they have no verbal way of telling me.  So, I am left to observing their behavior and concluding from that what possibly might be going through their minds.

Such is the case with the above pigeon.  It was reaching elegantly and gracefully for its closest tail feather.  It instantly looked to me like a ballet dancer reaching for her toe over her back.  That lead me to thinking of BLACK SWAN, the 2010 movie starring Natalie Portman (my movie review).  Might this pigeon want to be the Black Swan?

Pelican in the Matrix

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Brown Pelican - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thVarious quotes from songs, movies, books, etc. get stuck, or rather burned into my mind and float to the forefront of my visual cortex at their leisure.  One such quote is, "It's the question that brought you here.  You know the question, just as I did."  "What is the Matrix?"  Since 1999 those four words spoken by my boy Keanu have become like canon to me.  Perhaps I have not revealed before my true desired profession, that being:  philosopher-poet.  The matrix itself appeals to me because of the ability to alter the perception of time within it . . . time being another obsession of mine (example time essay).  

In my mind the physics of the true Matrix exist, and I burn energy in attempt to project that reality onto the common world.  

Photography helps show evidence of the Matrix, as seen above.

Street Portrait Series 03 - Downtown St. Petersburg

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Model: Savannah -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightAfter a long absence, my Street Portrait Series continued this time in downtown St. Petersburg.  I met up with some fellow local photographers, including Michael Thompson of lightenupandshoot.com fame.  I first learned the street portrait approach technique from Michael last year.  I always have a lot of funning doing street portraits so I hope not to take as long for the next entry in the series as I did this time.

Pictured above is Savannah who volunteered to be a model before heading to a concert at Jannus Live.  Savannah said she had never done anything like this before, so to make her feel more relaxed I had her swing around the stop sign post and do a little leg keep to encourage a more natural, and more fun pose.  I think she did a great job!

Model: Clare -- Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105 mm VR micro f/2.8G natural lightClare was the first person photographed that evening and a super good sport as several people gathered around her shooting away.  With more than one lens around, you definitely need to feel comfortable giving the person/model instruction to get a shot you want.  Someone had already asked Clare for an angry look, then I asked her to look at my lens so I did not have to settle for just a profile shot.  She works at Frankie D's Tattoo on 1st Ave North in downtown St. Pete.

Models: Rob & Ashley -- Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens Strobist: SB-800 on light stand to frame leftThere is often a great purple toned twilight sky backlighting the buildings of downtown St. Petersburg, and that evening was no exception.  I asked Rob and Ashley to stand on the corner so I could include as much of that purple twilight sky as possible in the shot.  I chose to shoot off level horizon to avoid some obstructions in the shot.  Even with that, I had to delete a building from the right side of the frame.  

Thanks again to all the volunteer models.  I have already sent them all a copy of the photos I took of them, which is proper street portrait etiquette.  I hope to be back out making street portraits again soon.  If you want to learn more about DSLR Photography and combine that with doing street portraits, I have 1-on-1 photography lessons available!

Published in 2011 Metropolis Japan Calendar

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I became more serious about photography in August 2008.  I already had plans to leave Japan in February 2009.  In that six month period I had a goal of getting a photograph published in the "Photo of the Week" section of Metropolis, the #1 English magazine in Japan.  To my great surprise I reached that goal on October the 24th.  Though no money was involved, for a few minutes it felt like I had won the lottery.  

Then almost two years out of Japan, Metropolis contacted me for permission to have one of my photographs considered for their 2011 calendar.  I had originally submitted it in January 2009.  I said, "sure."  I was then told it was selected for the month of January and the copies they mailed to me across the sea arrived this afternoon.  I was also happy to find out I was sharing space with two other old Japan photographer friends, Vladimir and Alfie.  I was with Vladimir when I made the above photograph, and really only went out shooting that day because of his invitation.  So I guess I have him to thank most!  The photograph is in fact, one of my own top five all-time personal favorites, and a shot I am rather proud of.

Getting a photograph published in Metropolis I feel is still a sort of right of passage for a photographer in Japan, and perhaps Tokyo especially.  It results in a sort of Who's Who of photographers.  A small, but nice honor.

This got me to thinking this afternoon about where my photographer career would be if I had stayed in Japan.  Alfie is a true professional photographer with many connections and he was starting to appreciate my work.  Could I have gone on to be more of a photojournalist like he is?  Would I still have pursued lifestyle photography in Tokyo as well?  I can imagine wedding shots with Mt. Fuji as the background, or family portraits taken under the cherry blossom trees in full bloom.  Who knows . . .

Warm Pass-A-Grille Florida Winter Sunset HDR

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Pass-A-Grille Beach Florida sunset - Nikon D300 f/11 ISO 200 5-bracket HDRAs I sit here in shorts & a t-shirt with all the windows of my apartment open, and the ceiling fan on, let me extend a welcome to everyone who is perhaps suffering from a less palatable winter to visit the tranquil & warm Pass-A-Grille Beach at the very tip of St. Petersburg, Florida.  This beach is a great escape, with just the right mix of available entertainment and solitude.  Plus, how cool will it be to tell your friends & family you visited a place called "Pass-A-Grille?"

If you do visit this lovely place, please consider preserving your memories with professional beach photography.  I offer several candid portrait packages for families or individuals.  What would look better than a photo of you (and your family/friends) printed on a beautiful canvas gallery wrap hanging on your wall to remind you of Florida's warmth the next time a snow storm makes going outside just an impossible thought. 

Brick Walls of Ybor City Tampa

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th - Ybor City Tampa FloridaSeveral lifetimes ago I actually occasionally visited Ybor City by choice at night for a multi-month stretch.  I remember knowing of this "secret" location to park for free thinking it very clever.  As a lifelong non-drinker I did not go there for any particular liquid, but for concerts and even sometimes, if one can fathom it, to dance in rock clubs (Empire!).  I have long since retired from dancing, so this visit in broad daylight to Ybor City was to scout locations for an upcoming car photography gig.  This lead to a most unusual mini-set of photos with a brick wall theme.

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/160th +1 ev - Ybor City Tampa Nobody noticed me hanging out behind this warehouse & "showroom."  You could feel the oldness of the place just standing next to it.  It was still functioning in some capacity though as you can see a truck picking up or dropping something off.  I stood there wondering, "is there really any glory in tagging a dumpster?"

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th - Ybor City TampaAlong another road the brick walls of this building seemed to stretch the entire block.  No tags to be seen on its walls though, which I guess means whoever the owner is that person commands a lot of respect.  The white vehicle would be mine.  In this part of Ybor City the brick just goes on and on making one feel strongly confined, as if in a drivable prison.

CLICK PHOTO for LARGE version - 4-shot panorama - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/320th

There was a way out of all these walls . . . and you could even hop a train to the modernity of downtown Tampa!  One rumbled by me giving me a good scare just as I finished making this panorama shot.  

It was a pleasant reacquaintance with Ybor City this afternoon . . . 

Philosophy of observing or acting - Izu Japan Surfer

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Nikon D80 Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G with texture overlay of original image

  • Tutorial for how to make a textured overlay image at dPS

 

Observe or act?  One cannot do both.  If one has great surfing skills, would one ever set them aside for even one day to be a great surfing photographer?  The surfer above was by far the best surfer in the water the two days I spent at a beach on the Izu peninsula in Japan a few years back.  I have very limited surfing skills, so on that occasion I was content with only observing.  

I find myself wondering, why would one choose to only observe?  Is it entirely due to not being able to perform the act under observation?  Therefore . . . if one can, one does; if one cannot, one observes.  Is that a rigid truth?  

Perhaps one could categorize photography as a powerful act of observation.  If so, then maybe one can both act and observe.  I feel very strong instincts to observe as well as to act depending on the situation.  Perhaps then observation leads to action?  Certainly many people see photographs made via strong observation of a photographer that in turn inspire them to take action, and vice versa.  A strong act inspires observation and thus photography.  This seems to be yet another example of the duality of all existence.