Golden Hour Shooting

One of my favorite hours to shoot is during the golden hour. It's that time of the day, usually the hour or so before the sun sets, when there's this warm hue to everything, the sun's light isn't so strong and the shadows are longer. I think above all, it is the shadows element of the golden hour that I really love.



We were at the famous Griffith Park Observatory (this post is merely a continuation of the day from the previous post) doing our final run of the lenses we rented. I'm really glad that we decided to do this, pick out the observatory as our spot, and the time we left to do this. I really love how the sun is low to the horizon that when you see people walk in front of the sun, the shadows cast veils people's faces. Whenever I see and experience this hour in a populated place, everyone comes off as walking silhouettes. Just a beautiful moment for me.



It's funny but everytime I hit up a "tourist" spot, I sometimes catch myself thinking about the people that are there. Whether or not the next person I see is just a local spending their last weekend admiring the place or if they're from out of town and experiencing some place they either seldom see, that is, if they visit LA alot, or a place they'll never see again. I guess it's evident that I don't travel alot and it is something that I'd like to do much more of. The only other city I find myself visiting often is San Francisco. I've been to New York once. That's about it. Anyway, I wonder what these visitors think of my beloved city. I would hope, and like to think, that they come out of it and go back with having a positive impression. I'm sure that on this very day, during this particular golden hour, these people did...

Eye Catching

A couple of weekends ago, me and my friends decided to hit up the Griffith Park Observatory to have some fun with a couple of lenses we had rented for a wedding shoot before returning it. One lens was the 14mm f/2.8L Super Wide lens and the other was the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. Parking in that location is horrendous to say the least and it was a Sunday so it seemed everyone was there to spend their last weekend relaxing amidst a historic site with an awesome view of Los Angeles. Normally, it would take hours just to find a place to park within the immediate parking lot. The lot is so small and the crowd is so big that they close off the entrance and you'd either wait and drive around until they open the entrance again, or park downhill and walk your way up the hill to the observatory. We lacked the patience so we decided to hit up the exit area of the lot which is on the other side of the hill, park our car and enter through there.

I already had the 70-200 locked and loaded on my 7D and once my friend had parked his car, I walked out and immediately started shooting the downtown skyline which wasn't all that great of a view from where we were at but I wanted to test out the capabilities and quality of the lens. All said, I love the lens and am sad that we only had just a few days with it and I can't afford such a lens yet.

We started walking up the hill to the observatory and everytime I visit that place, I'm captivated by the architecture and how beautiful that place is. I always think about how visitors many years...decades ago saw the place and what life was like then. Upon reaching the top of the hill, I was rather surprised to see this vintage Schwinn bicycle. I'm not sure if it was an authentic vintage Schwinn but that's neither here nor there. It was just there and it seemed like an apt and complimentary greeting for me. Other than the modernity that surrounded me that day, the cars, people and LA air quality, the only thing that looked out of place (and appropriate at the same time) was the timeless look of the Observatory itself, and this beautiful bicycle...

Lines & Curves

The more you look at any particular photographer's body of work, you start to notice a recurring theme with regards to the subjects in the photos. I've seen many photographers who tend to shoot people off the streets (street photographers), photographers who tend to shoot obscure stuff they just happened to find, emotive subjects, found objects etc.

It may be just me, but I see no theme with me. There is a theme with respect to my approach with post work but that's totally different than the subjects in my photos. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere. I'll try to focus on one type of subject for "x" amount of time and then I'll go on to another type of subject. Not to say that I purposely avoid getting into themes. I'd like to find myself shooting a particular style so that I can get really good at it. I just tend to shoot alot of things. Maybe someone other than me will see and think otherwise about my body of work.

All this said, one particular style or theme that I've seen from other photographers that I love are those that deal with curves and lines. I don't know how they do it but I've seen some amazing compositions where the various curves of a particular building just seems to blend and meld with the geometric straightness of the lines from a street block and those of light posts and/or various signs. Really just amazing and inspiring stuff.

This was my first attempt at trying to blend all those elements into a fairly good composition and I emphasize the word attempt! I was at the beach close to sunset and I first noticed how the setting sun cast this lovely bit of shadow from the wood fence that was lined across the edge of the beach. That was what initially made me want to take a photo of it but as I was bending down and focusing my lens, I then noticed the waves and curves of the sand due to the wind blowing surprisingly briskly that late afternoon.

After loading up all the photos onto my laptop and seeing this particular photo, I fell in love with the shadows. Shadows of and from the fence, the shadows on the peaks of these mini dunes and the shadows that were cast from these curvy mounds of sand. It was obvious to me to put this image through a black & white treatment but what wasn't so obvious was what it was I was taking a photo of. Was it the lines and curves like I had seen initially? or was it now the shadows?

-Q

If you would like to see more of my work, please stop by my page on Facebook, 17thletter Photography, and become a fan!

Suavecito

I really love the medium of street photography. I was never really comfortable with model portraiture in the past because I always had this grand idea and image in my head and they never really turned out the way I wanted them to. I chalk it up to that bit of perfectionist within me (actually it really is more like A LOT and not a bit...). Street photography is vastly different. I can still do portraits (given the right situations) but I can go into a situation without no prior image or idea in my head and take the shot. The majority of the resulting images I get really satisfy me because I'm able to capture a person's essence in that particular moment in time which really is a beautiful thing to me. Everytime I'm satisfied with one of my street portrait photos, it helps build my confidence and allows me to be more comfortable in model situations.

This is one of my favorite images I've taken. It was during the May Day rally in Downtown Los Angeles and there was this one band setting up their equipment on a corner of the sidewalk and when the rally started to march down the street, these guys started to play this beautiful sounding Mexican ska that felt charged with emotion in a political/social issue type of way if that makes any sense. As I walked up, I was able to capture this shot of the singer just before he sung out the first words to the song.

Visit 17thletter Photographyon Facebook!

Evil Eye

Sometimes people just don't like being photographed. I understand that. I don't like it but I understand. This photo was taken during the grilled cheese festival that happened a couple of months ago. My friend had asked me to document his entry into the competition by taking photos of him while cooking and crowd shots of the event. I had finished doing one of my sessions of shooting my friend so I decided to take a couple of crowd/people photos and there was this guy who had just picked up a sample of my friend's sandwich and I thought I'd get a photo of him doing his judging thing. So as soon as he was writing down his verdict, I pulled the camera to my eye and I'm focusing the lens but no sooner as I had the eyepiece on my eye, no joke, he stopped dead in his writing tracks and SLOWLY raised his head and his eyes and looked dead center of the lens and gave me this look of disgust and disbelief. The look he gave me seriously scared the shit out of me and made me feel uncomfortable like I did something horrible. I probably did. Oh well. I snapped the photo and got the shot. Not the shot I was looking for or expected, but this was a memorable moment.

Visit my Facebook page!

A Child's Wonder

I find myself drawn to a person's private moments all my life. My parents would tell me as a young kid, I have a good amount of these moments where it seemed I was in my own little world. Those moments would occur when I'm not being mischievous and getting into trouble and that happened alot. I digress but those early moments, I don't remember but as I growing, I do remember being fascinated when I see someone in their moment. Even to this day I still am. As I take notice, I think about what it is that person is thinking about. Are they worried about something? Has something taken their interest that made them stop being physically active and become more...brain active...imaginative. Wanderlust? Now that I'm more active with my photography, I'll get lucky every now and then and capture these moments as I see them.

A couple of months ago, I went out to the California Poppy Reserve with two of my dear friends and their lovely kids and towards the end of our trip, as we were collecting our things and heading back to the car, I find their son having his own personal moment. Now, I've taken a good amount of these kinds of photos and moments but rarely do I get to see and capture a kid's personal moment and these photos are particularly special for me because they remind me of how I was told I was and because I don't remember them. In a way, I get a glimpse at how I probably was as a kid in that moment. That said, recognizing and shooting this moment brought a great deal of warmth within me.

For whatever reason, this poppy garnered the attention of this kid and I can't begin to think what exactly was going on in his head. I'm sure it was something very imaginative and magical...

Trainsetters

Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. Sure, all the technological advancements we've made are all fun and good, but I always find myself drawn to all things classic and vintage. Everytime I find myself within the walls of Union Station, I feel like I've been transported to a different time. Other than the new section of Union Station that houses the entrance/exit to the Metro Red Line subway and Gold Lines, the place hasn't really changed much. At least to my knowledge. From the vintage, boxy seats, to the arched entrances and walls within its walls, the place is truly classic in every respect. I'd even go on to say the place is timeless.

It really is a weird thing to be in Union Station when you take into consideration how well kept and original the place is and the present day. Sometimes I expect to see well dressed people walking through the halls, much like people used to do when they traveled. We've seen the old photos. Train stations filled with men in their slacks and suits, wearing fedoras and the women wearing lovely, knee length dresses and their little hats all doing their best to look like Jackie O. I don't see many well dressed people inside Union Station much. Just a bunch of people that look...comfortable. Sign of the times I suppose. I'm not going to try to dissect the reasons or causes of this. It just is.

To my surprise, I happened to see these two lovely and stylish women walking through Union Station. I was at UA for a shoot with the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and I was positioned to take a photo of the station's long and somewhat cavernous main hallway and these two women caught my eye as they entered the hallway from the newer hallway, possibly coming from the subway. They were pretty stylish enough to help strengthen the fond images of Union Station's past and traveling back in the day etc. So I waited until they were close enough to take somewhat of a portrait type photo and all the way through, I saw that they were having some sort of great conversation. Laughing and smiling as they walked towards me. The closer they were getting, the more I thought to myself "please don't see me and walk out of my frame" because I knew if I caught them the way I wanted to, I'd capture a bit of magic and when I snapped the photo, I think I did. I was able to compliment the style of the women, with the timeless walls, architecture style and colors of Union Station. All the while capturing them in a moment of enjoying the conversation they were having. One of my best photographs I've taken and one of my favorites.

Little Things

I try to do a lot of exploring. Many times I would find myself just getting into my car and driving off somewhere or taking public transportation to whisk me off somewhere in the hopes of finding and capturing something special. Something interesting. Something people will most often times miss...me included.

I had some free time on my hands one day a week or two ago and I felt compelled to go on one of my little journeys. I ended up in and around the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles and decided that this is where I'll do my exploring. So I parked my car on La Brea and did my walkabout in the area. Oddly enough, I was at a loss as to which direction I'd go. As I was walking, various thoughts were running through my head. I could head west and see what I could find along the way to LACMA. There's the El Rey and the Tar Pits. I could head east and probably do some street as there's Starbucks and a school towards that way or maybe I would catch some more interesting street subjects if I just keep heading south on La Brea and if I was up for it, keep walking all the way till I reached Roscoe's and maybe have a meal at the end of my journey. Juggling all these options in my head, I found myself on the corner of Wilshire & La Brea waiting for the light to turn green as I was leaning towards heading west. I looked at the sky to gauge how I would set up my camera to shoot whatever it is I'll end up shooting. The light was taking it's sweet time to turn green and I look on the concrete to see if there were any unique stencils spray painted on the ground. I notice a sticker or two on the light pole and as my head starts to move up, I came upon this little thing written. I thought about it for a good minute or two. What would compel a person to write this? What was his or her intention? Meaning? I finally lifted my camera and took a shot and did a little smirk. I think I got it...

Fearless!

This little Filipino girl was AMAZING! I was in Venice Beach, CA last Sunday and I was shooting some street photography. I found myself shooting most of my photos at the skate park located there and there was a lot of talent there! This little Filipino girl was one of the few that caught my attention. When I first saw her, I thought it was cute that such a young person, a girl no less, was out there in the skate park and working on her skills. I didn't think she was serious business. As wrong as it is, and boy was I wrong, my first impression of her was "Aww how cute! A little girl on her board all suited up with a helmet and pads and everything!"

Well, as soon as I saw her, she totally surprised me. She had her board on the ledge of the pool/pipe and jumped right in and handled her business like a pro. She totally owned the pool during the time she was in. I assume she was a regular because everyone else gave her right of way and let her handle her thing. This girl was what? probably no more than 7 years old? FEARLESS! She caught some MAJOR air. Her skills rivaled many of the kids there! The deepest part of the pool to the ledge of the pool was probably 8 - 9 feet deep. When she caught her air, she accomplished probably 5 ft above the ledge for a total of 13 - 14 ft! I was able to pop a shot off when she did this...



During the time I saw her do her thing, I was fucking inspired. All the air she caught, all the tricks she did...my god it was BEAUTIFUL! As young as she was, and as serious as she was...really inspired me to be as fearless as her. I was also a bit envious because as old as I am, I have to say that I've become a bit more fearless...more of a go getter with how I go about things, but as much as I've grown lately in that respect, I'm not even a quarter of how much guts and courage this little lady has.

I feel terribly bad for "judging a book by it's cover" when normally I try not to. I've done it before plenty of times and everytime I've been proven wrong but I've taken something out of watching her. She probably started young with her skateboarding and with more practice, in a couple of more years, she'll become even better and probably go pro. I sensed the dedication and love she had for skateboarding and I need to follow suit with my various passions. I've been getting better at recognizing my talents and skills but I think I can do better. I always think I can do better but I need to step it up a bit more. It is the experiences like this and the past couple of entries (which unintentionally had a running theme) that allow me to catch myself and reassess everything and I'm always thankful for such experiences.

I think I'll try and go back on another Sunday and catch her again and hope to gain just a little bit more inspiration from her.

Youthful Exploration

Here's another story about the fearlessness of kids. Like the previous entry, this was taken in Descano Gardens and this photo occurs before the one in my previous entry. I'm right along a stream and I'm trying to take another awesome photo of water flowing much like this one (sorry if the link is bad, flickr is notorious for hyperlinking photos based on their site...) and I'm taking...3, 4 shots and as I'm shooting, these kids walk into my frame and at first I'm thinking "get out" but after thinking about how I need more "people" photos, I figure, hell if you're going to be in my frame, I might as well keep shooting you and see what I can get. I didn't really expect them to come any closer. They saw me with the camera and well, normally people would walk away from a perceived shot or just stay where they are you know? Not these kids!

I took one shot after they initially came into my frame and they came closer. Took another shot from their new position (while I stayed in mine) and they came closer again. I'm thinking, "do these kids know what I'm doing? or do they just don't care?" and as they kept coming closer, I kept shooting and it dawns on me that these kids know what I'm doing and they just didn't care. The way they were talking and interacting with each other, it almost seem as if I didn't exist to them! They just kept going on and on about using their sticks to pick up the moss and algae that was gathering on the side of rocks. Then, they came awfully close to the point that if I were to take a shot, they'd finally realize what I was doing and ask me about it or just say something to me and this was the shot I took.

Did they then turn to me and say something? talk to me about what I was doing? Nope. One of them was able to lift up a good sized lump of algae while the other congratulated him and they walked right past me and went on their merry little exploring way.