Happy Holla Days from the City

A little Christmas spirit in San Francisco… on a double decker tour bus!

I rarely do touristy things in San Francisco since I grew up around here, but this was a great first experience that was blended in with some nostalgia. From the Macy’s in union square (although this year was filled with a lot of distracting messy views of construction around) to the Embarcadero Building Center Lights to the views from Treasure Island, it only needed some white snow to top it off!

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SIX more days until Christmas. Continue on with the non-stop Christmas music, Christmas light shows, and bottomless hot chocolate.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays Holla Days, and Happy New Year!

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Shot with: 50mm 1.8

#TheFutureisWatching

You know that saying, “Normal is boring”? Well, this shows you what that doesn’t look like.

My dude Toreno (whom I shot with earlier in this blog) hit me up this summer asking to do a fashion shoot for him and his friend Jasko, who designs and embroiders his own clothing, and his friend Dav. These jawns are WILD and they’re guaranteed to turn your head all around. I’ll just stop trying to describe it and you can check for yourself.

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This was the first time I got to bring out the super duper wide angle and it is ridiculously wide. Emphasis on the w  i  d  e. It made it effortless to capture everything around the subject, and sometimes a little too much around the subject. The hardest part for me was composing with the wide angle and isolating the subject because I was so used to the 50mm perspective, but it was a new challenge (and challenges are a MUST in the world of fotografie) and absolutely fun to experiment with new focal lengths to stretch my “eye”.

I think the 35mm is the best length for this portrait and street mix.

ALSO, I can confirm after this shoot that yellow is my favorite color.

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Stylist – Toreno: @toreno__

Designer – Jasko: @le_bosniaq

Model – Dav: @gameover_young

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Shot with: 50mm 1.8, 14-24 2.8

Firsts: Red Lights, Haze, and Earplugs

Last week, I attended my first Indie Folk concert, AND I got to dip my toes in concert photography!

My brotha Miguel (bassist for @BeforetheBrave) hooked it up with the opportunity to shoot their concert in the city, and they even got me an ultra exclusive, all-access press pass! Well, there wasn’t an actual press pass that I got to wear at the venue, BUT I did have a press pass next to my name on the list so I guess it was unofficially official, only people around me couldn’t see it. One day, I will get to wear a press pass somewhere. One day. (Coachella 2020 I’m coming for you)

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Here are some of my favorites:

Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue

Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue

Madi Sipes & The Painted Blue

The Singing Limbs

The Singing Limbs

The Singing Limbs

The Singing Limbs

The Singing Limbs

The Singing Limbs

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

Before the Brave

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Concert photography is a whole new playground with the same set of rules.

Here are a few quick points from my experience:

• Lighting at concert venues can be REDiculous
• Put in ear plug, your eardrums will thank you later
• Processing in black and white is more addicting than ice cream

The inconsistent lighting was what made it complicated, but it was also what made the most unique shots. I learned beforehand that it was important to anticipate lighting so I tried to anticipate the lighting throughout the concert, but it changed patterns every few seconds, and from song to song as well so I couldn’t anticipate (I’m blaming the lighting guy lol). I had to hop on an angle as quickly as possible once I saw cool lighting that I liked, like an ultralight beam from above or backlit subjects. The haze was also really cool because it gave the lighting a more visible effect, and it gave a faded, foggy appearance.

Then, there’s the red light, which is the most irritating color of light ever. I noticed it mostly in the highlights during post. I forgot the sensor is much more sensitive to the red and blue light because it only detects red, blue, and green, so you have to really underexpose to make sure the highlights aren’t completely blown out when there is so much red light on the skin. Often, the light wasn’t on the face either, but it was shining on the outline of the head or body. I was so tempted to make all my shots black and white because it fixed all the coloring/lighting issues (except for blown out highlights), and I loved playing with the shadows and contrast for black and white.

Fortunately, I had a full frame camera and a fast lens because concert photography is generally dark so I was able to crank up the ISO before images got really grainy. I generally shot manual around 1/200 at f/1.8-2.0 and ISO 1600, but I’d probably go higher in shutter speed for the next time depending on the stage lighting.

These are the areas I want to really really really pay more attention to for the next time:

• Focusing
• Movement and action
• Underexpose
• Facial expressions

Finally, I just wanna say this was SUPER fun (so shouts out to Miguel and Before the Brave for the awesome awesome opportunity). I was definitely nervous since I’ve never even attended an Indie Folk concert, and here I was taking pictures at one. I definitely loved the challenge of finding shots in a very unfamiliar and unpredictable environment, and all that while listening to some really good music.

Check them out if you like Indie Folk and don’t like overplayed mainstream radio music!

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Bands:

Madi Sipes & the Painted Blue – @madisipesmusic

The Singing Limbs – @thesinginglimbs

Before the Brave – @beforethebrave, check them out on Spotify (I highly recommend their track Poet’s Prison and Hand Holding is Encouraged 🙂 )

Venue: Rickshaw Stop

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Shot with: 50mm 1.8, 80-200mm 2.8

Throwbacks: Toreno x Derrick

I got a lot of pictures stuck in my archives from the past since I didn’t have a blog to share them on back then so I’m going to share some of my favorites here and there throughout with a “Throwbacks” series.

These shots are from a collab’ shoot in ’16 with Toreno and Derrick. The shoot was in SF in a few different settings, and here are some of my favorites:

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Midas Touch

*Cue Chris Brown – Yo (Excuse Me Miss)

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I love the street because you can use anything on the street that you find that fits your aesthetic and perspective. The possibilities are almost limitless! Red bricks and green leaves are a basic, but awesome backdrop. It allows the model to stand out, but it isn’t a plain white wall and it gives different textures. The outfits they were wearing were perfect for the clean and minimal aesthetic as well. I thought the stained glass windows in the cathedral were visually beautiful with the light coming through it in the dark room of the church so I wanted to focus on that and the architecture, and I made sure to compose to get both in the background near and around the subject.

COLLABIN’ is the word of the day.

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Models:

Derrick: @der_ipsni

Toreno: @toreno__

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Shot with: 50mm 1.8

When You Accidentally Cross the Golden Gate…

Last week, I got to catch up with my good friend Albert from high school. Our plan was to go to Marin Headlands, but I missed the last exit before the toll and ended up crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. So, we ended up going to Golden Gate Park and Sutro and this is what I got that day…

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Shot with: 50mm 1.8