VSCO film - Day 3 'Ballerina test'

  This is the third blog post about VSCO film, and thought to use it with some images of the talented and beautiful ballerina Michele Moreno which I had the pleasure to photograph. I think that in order to get more out of the VSCO film presets, and an overall better result, it's important to use light, natural or artificial, with a pretty close vision to what you want the final image to look like. I really like how Jeremy Cowart processes his images using VSCO. Check out his work! I absolutely recommend it.

Well, this is all for today. More coming soon..

Thanks!

VSCO film – B&W test Day 2

  I must say I'm really enjoying VSCO film. Headed out today around Soho to get a few shots, and converted them later to B&W with VSCO film. I think this is by far the closest you can get to that film feel. All images were taken with a Nikon D300. As usual, feedback is always very appreciated. Thanks!

VSCO film - Quick test Day 1

I just started exploring VSCO film, and here are some images that were sitting around my hard drives that I used for that. VSCO simulates the different film looks, from Kodak Portra to Fuji film, Kodak Tri-X, T-MAX 3200, and more. All presets are customizable by adding/subtracting grain, fading, and adjust levels, etc. Guess what! It works for video as well!

All these images were shot with my Nikon D3s, which I sadly just sold. :( The reason is that I haven't used it that much for work, since most of what I do now is video work. I could have kept it, but felt like it was often a pain carrying it around. It's a fat DSLR camera! That is why I love to take photos with my iPhone. It's on you all the time. You see something that catches your interest, and voilà, photo!

I own different great cameras that I can use for my photography gigs, however, I've been really mouth-watering for the new Fuji X-Pro 1!! So hot and sexy! Kidding aside.. I like the smaller form factor, and the old vintage, Rangefinder camera look that the X-Pro 1 has. I heard some great things about its dynamic range, color rendering, and low capabilities. Mmm.. My birthday is coming up. Just saying..  ;) Hey who's on Pinterest? I just started.. Check it out here.

I'll post more images using VSCO film in the next coming days.. Feedback is appreciated!  Thanks

Candy for friends!

   I'm sure everybody loves chocolate, candies, and cookies! Well, here we go! My friend Anna is a very talented Pastry Chef, and teaches with some of the best Chefs in the world at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. Luscious dark chocolate ganache, apricot jam Linzer cookies, and delicious real fruit flavored marshmallows are just some of the mouthwatering creations she creates with great passion.   Anna didn't have a website, so she asked me if I would take some photos of her desserts, and create a simple webpage and blog to display her work to offer a chance to anyone interested to find out more about what she does, and place an order!   Enough with me talking! Go check out Anna's new website 'Candy for friends' at candyforfriends.com.   Please, feel free to leave a comment on her blog page, and follow her!   Next time you plan a party, have a wedding, or want to thank someone with a sweet gift, think of Anna's 'Candy for friends'!   Here are some suggestive images..

                 

'Muted. Dreams' - a kickstarter.com project

  Lots of new exciting projects lately.. and much more coming up! Among those, a video and photoshoot for entrepreneur, and writer Antonio Brown with his book 'Muted. Dreams' coming out soon. 'Muted. Dreams' is a Memoir about his childhood, depicting his experiences through abuse, molestation & family issues.

Antonio Brown's website is finally ready. Check it out here! www.antonio-brown.com

The video I created will be featured on kickstarter.com to raise funds to publish the book. The kickstarter.com page is currently being completed, and will be published in the following days. Part of the donations will also go to 'protect a child', a foundation created by Antonio Brown to help children victims of abuse. Here is the video. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Some frame grabs from the video..

Frame grab from the Times Square shoot - Timelapse filmed with Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Frame grab from Wall Street footage - Filmed with Panasonic GH2, Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Frame grab from commentary - Filmed with Panasonic GH2, Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens.

Frame grab from footage filmed with Nikon D3s, Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens.

'Muted. Dreams' book cover.

A short video showing how well the new 'Warp Stabilizer' in Adobe After Effects work with stabilizing shaky footage. I used it for several shots on the 'Muted. Dreams' video.

These are some images from the photo shoot.

Reena + Ajay

A couple of weeks ago I went to Pennsylvania to photograph Reena and Ajay's Indian engagement party.I had a great time, also thanks to their whole family who made me feel completely at ease.

Lots of colored costumes , spiced delicacies, and exotic scents..

Here are a few photos from that day.

Since there was a two and a half hour drive to get there I decided to make a little timelapse out of it.

Here it is..

A big thank you goes to Oscar Leon, who assisted me all day long. You can take a look at his website here.

Thanks for reading..

Pluie

Hi!

Just shooting a quick line about a little test I did the other day while it was raining..

I played with the rain on my apartment's windows, and created a short timelapse.

I color corrected the footage in Premiere, After Effects CS5, and Magic Bullet Looks, and think it could be a cool addition to any future film or video I will work on.

Feel free to leave a comment..
 
Thanks!
 

Central Park again..

I spent a few hours in Central Park the other day.. Played a little with timelapse and tried out some other things(see 'Central Park timelapse'). I wanted to experiment with long exposures by using a neutral density filter.I have a variable neutral density filter I use mostly for video. It is good enough for video, but not so good for photography. The filter I'm talking about is the Genus ND Fader Filter, much cheaper than the Vari ND filter from Singh-Ray. Now I know why! These filters are supposed to darken, and lower the exposure, allowing you to use longer exposure times. The cheaper Genus Filter doesn't give you an even exposure throughout the frame at least when you go down to -8 stops or so. It almost works more like a graduated filter. Here is a pano I shot using the Fader Filter.

I am looking forward to photographing a beach using long exposures. Let 's see what happens!

Hope you like the image I created. Thanks!

Central Park timelapse

 
After I came back from Washington DC where I attended Canon Filmmakers Live seminar with Philip Bloom, I still had fresh in mind all that timelapse stuff he talked about. Cloudy day here in New York two days ago. So why not make a timelapse? Clouds will probably look cool! This is the result of 2-3 hours spent in Central Park..

Here is the timelapse.. Make sure you watch it FULL SCREEN and HD!

 
I would love to get some feedback from you guys! So feel free to leave a comment.
Hey, I'll be back soon with more timelapses!
 
Thanks!
 

It's cold in New York!

Hi folks!

The other day I felt like going for a walk in Central Park. It was cold! Most of the snow has already melted. This year I didn't feel like getting up at 5 am to see the first snow. I remember last year though, got up at 5 am, and knew I was going to find all of Central Park covered in snow. Freezing but beautiful! I took that pano (about seven images stitched together in Photoshop) above that morning at around 6 am. It was worth getting up that early! If you'd like to see the panorama of the snow fountain in a larger size click here.

Above is another image from last year, It was snowing, and snowing and this corner of Central Park looked just so wonderful with the glow of the lights of the Plaza Hotel and the other lights. Winter wonderland in Manhattan..

The following image was taken two days ago when I entered Central Park from the West Side on 72nd Street. Every time I walk by there are people paying an homage to John Lennon.

I promise I'll try to blog more often!

Thanks