Off To A Good Start!

Well today has gotten off to a good start! I woke up and checked my email and was greeted by a notification that I've sold a print! The sale itself wasn't what really made me happy (I'll admit though, whenever I do sell a print, it does bring a bit of joy). What really made me happy was that this is the first sale since I implemented my UNICEF donations for every print I sold! Even though the percentage from this sale equates to a little under $4, that's money to and for the kids and a cause I really care about! This little charity project is ever ongoing so there will be (hopefully) many more sales to go towards UNICEF. Here's the inaugural print:



I know in my previous entry I promised some photos from this past weekend's photoshoot on the set of filming but I just haven't had the chance to get around to looking at them. However, I just remembered that I had intended to post up some photos from the De Lacy Collection photoshoot that I did a month or two ago but forgot. I had to wait for the "ok" to post the photos so without further adieu, here are just some of my favorite photos from that shoot:






If you'd like to see more photos from the De Lacy shoot, visit my 17thletter Photography fan page on Facebook (and while you're at it, become a fan if you haven't already ;) )

Exhausted

I am SO exhausted from this weekend. Had a very long shoot on Saturday shooting photos for a film project. The filming itself called for a night shoot but the call time was at noon so I figure I'd be punctual and do the BTS (behind the scene) thing but not everyone was there at call time and things didn't begin until about 5. Having had no sleep the night before didn't help with my energy levels but I was the trooper and held strong up until the later hours of the filming when I started to feel the effects of said lack of sleep. I'm not sure when filming ended since I left at midnight and from what I heard, they had two more scenes to film so I can only guess when filming did end. I have the photos already uploaded onto the computer but I'm not going to look at them until tomorrow. Documenting overload! I don't care to look at another photo, nor pick up another camera until the end of this week but I figure I'll start working on the photos and have them up sometime middle of the week.

With the little energy I have left (as I'm still rather tired at this very moment), I've managed to add two new photos for sale onto my Etsy store:



Classic Lean 5x7 Machine Print



Coin Operated 8x10 Machine Print


If you should feel so inclined to purchase, remember that 25% from each sale made will go towards a charitable donation to UNICEF's US general fund! Should you not feel so inclined, visit UNICEF's site!

Sleep!

DTLA Art Walk

This is one of my saddest entries. For a long time, my friend Alex had been pushing me to hit up the monthly Downtown LA Art Walk and from the day he spilled the details to me on the event, I've always wanted to go but for everytime I wanted to go, something came up with work. See, I work nights on call so I don't have much flexibility to do anything I want to do outside of work, during my work schedule. Whenever I thought I had enough off time to check out the event, I get called in. Whenever I try to play it by ear, and when I say that, I mean if I don't get called in by 7pm, it ends up being too late to go and I end up not making the effort. Well last night was different.

Usually when I get called in for work around 5p-6p, I do what I need to do and have alot of time left over until I get called in again, if ever. Last night was one of those instances so I was sure I'll be in DTLA to take in all that is the art walk. I was SO excited because I've heard so many great things and it seemed like my type of scene! So I got everything ready. I sort of dressed for the occasion. I didn't dress all fancy but what I felt would fit in. Eh, consider it a half attempt but not half assed. Wore some comfortable gray denim, my newly purchased Beautiful Tears T-shirt, and my black Dickies jacket and winter cap to keep warm. Checked the battery level and memory card on my camera to make sure I capture the walk. Looked (somewhat) good? Check. Camera ready? Check. Did my work thing and off I went to the art walk!

It seemed like it was going to be a solo mission but I got word from a friend that she was going to be there so once I arrived Downtown, my first priority was to meet up. I walked the couple of blocks to meet my friend and I couldn't believe how many people were there at Gallery Row! All types of people were there, hanging outside of various galleries and eateries, having fun...a really festive environment. I loved it instantly! I managed to meet up with my friend around 8p and we all headed down to one of the lots where all the food trucks were parked to grab a bite to eat. I was told a lot of food trucks were in the area to serve the patrons of the walk but I was amazed at the amount of trucks there at the event. There were 3 lots dedicated to them! Instead of my idea of this being an all art event, it transformed into an art/food event! Who doesn't love great art and great food?

I have nothing but grand things to say about this event, had a great time with friends, so why is this my saddest entry? Well not long after having my bite to eat, I had to leave 30mins later for work. I didn't really mind that because I had a great time while I was there. Didn't enter any galleries. Wanted to. But from the moment I got there, met with the friends, grabbed a bite to eat then had to go unexpectedly, there was no time. Understandable in hindsight. I think what really disappointed me tonight was the fact that I took no photos. I REALLY wanted to take photos. I took a couple of shots here and there but nothing worthy of uploading and showing in this entry. My inaugural DTLA art walk and I have no photos to mark the occasion. Bad ninja.

There will be another art walk as it is a monthly event. I think for the next times, I'll dedicate the night solely for the art walk and ask for the night off so I can have a proper immersion for the event. Last night, I just got my feet wet. The next time/s, there will be photos. Oh, there will be photos!

***BTW***

I hope you guys like the new addition to ELYH. I added a music player with a 7 song playlist that'll be changed on a monthly basis.

Beautiful Tears

When it comes to all things style, I'm a sucker for many things. Classic shoe styles such as Converse All Stars and Adidas Originals (to name two), Levi's denim (I swear by them) and beautifully designed T-shirts. OMG T-shirts! I used to go crazy with them. My collection is too big to fit into my closet so I have off season sets and a set of T's readily hung because they're just too cool to put away. Lately I've been a good boy in my T-shirt purchases. I bought only 3 this year and even though we are in the Fall season, I couldn't help myself in picking up this lovely little number by Beautiful Decay called Beautiful Tears!



Picked it up on sale and got the last one in my size. Meant to be!

Making Change

Not too long ago, I was asked by a member on Etsy to join a collective of political and social artists/activists called Making Change. Being the progressive that I am, I was highly interested and eventually joined the collective. That said, I'm quite political. Not overtly in the sense that I'm preachy. I know of some people who are political to the point that their views come off as elitest and preachy. I'm no better than you and I'm just trying to find ways to make the world a better place.

As far as my work goes, I have done some political, progressive oriented works. Mostly photojournalist in style by documenting various political rallies and/or street photography but that's as far as my work goes politically. So far...

Even then, said work isn't much. I don't do much street work as I used to and I don't do as much street work as I would like to and even living in a lively city such as Los Angeles, political rallies and protests are few and far between.

A lingering yearning to make more of a difference has been on my mind as of late which is why I joined such a collective as Making Change but I still would like to do more. It dawned on me recently that one effective way I can start to make some semblance of a change is to utilize the sales of my photographic prints and separate a portion of the sales to go towards donations to a cause I'm interested in helping out. So I've decided that effective today, 25% of all sales I make from selling my prints, by way of my Etsy shop, any future online stores I open, and private dealings, will go towards UNICEF's US General Fund.

Why UNICEF? For one, it is a non-partisan group. Two, and most importantly, it goes towards helping children. It is my firm belief that the path to a better future for our species and civilization lies with children. I think it's fair to say that we're very fortunate to be living in modern, industrialized nations such as the US, England, France etc. Despite the problems within said countries respectively, our kids don't have to worry about whether or not the water they drink is clean, that is, if they are able to get water from the start. They don't have to worry about getting a good and proper education (the American education system is debatable and is rather on "par" but that whole subject is another story...). Millions of kids living in developing countries suffer from malnutrition, lack of clean water, lack of education and various other problems that need solving. As fortunate as we are, I think we need to do more to solve such issues for children less fortunate. As fortunate as I am, I feel I need to do my part.

Regardless of whether or not you or anyone ends up buying one of my prints, I ask that you visit UNICEF's site and make a contribution of your own if you can. It doesn't even have to be UNICEF. That's my cause. If you have a cause of your own that you wish to contribute to, please do so. Breast cancer research, HIV/AIDS research, world hunger, Red Cross disaster relief funds, whatever your choice may be, make that contribution.

I apologize for the last couple of sentences as they are rather preachy but I hope for it to be taken as the good kind of preachy. Obligatory...

Inspiration

I'm quite lucky to know a lot of photographers and every photographer that I know or have met are quite talented. As many as I know, there are only a handful of photographers that have really inspired me to go that extra mile and work on building and growing my art and skill in photography. Here are two that I know:

Beautiful Pasadena

John Wood

I know John from Flickr. What makes John stand out from the other photographers that I know, other than his obvious talent for being able to see and capture things, is his amazing post work talent. His HDR images are AMAZING! I've seen my fair share of HDR photos and alot of them turn out really surreal in an unnatural looking sense. Take that however you will but for the record, I mean no disrespect to any HDR artists who happen to read this blog. Anyway, what I really love about his HDR work is that their stunning and striking but at the same time subtle? Subtle in the sense that I wouldn't be surprised if I find myself seeing a scene like his HDR images in a natural setting. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of HDR work because a lot of the HDR images I've seen, like I've said, come off as unnatural to me. Also, I've dabbled with HDR work and they all turn out crappy or unnatural. That being said, John's HDR work inspires me to try a little harder with my HDR photos.

Micargi Beach Cruiser

Alex Coupet

Alex is a dear friend of mine that I've known for over a decade. I'm fortunate to know him and shoot with them on a number of occasions. We started shooting Holgas and various toy cameras many years ago (apologies, I forget exactly when). There was a time when we would go out to various areas every weekend and shoot whatever we fancied. He has one of the best eyes I know. His photographic style is close to mine so it isn't a surprise when I say he's one of my favorite shooters around. He captures moments. It really is tough for me to point out which types of works from him that I find outstanding because I find 90% of his work to be that, but there's something about his Street work that REALLY captivates me. They're quite humbling to me in that they remind me of how beautiful life is.

There are others that I would have liked to include in this entry but I either didn't get permission from them to use and include their work, or they just don't have any readily available online as hard as that is to believe (seriously, get your stuff online! you know who you are...) but I'd also like to mention more notable and established photographers that have inspired me such as Ari Marcopoulos, Helmut Newton, and fairly recently, Terry Richardson.

Lust

The other day, a friend of mine had posted a new addition to the family of Canon Lenses. Great discussion had, but it had me thinking how much I lust after particular lenses. Lenses don't come cheap so I don't find myself owning most or all of them in my lifetime unless I win the lottery or get some serious cash from photography gigs. It is nice to dream though and I think I'll share my dream with you.

In no particular order are the lenses I wish to add to my (soon to be growing) collection:


14mm f/2.8L II USM
$2300

I've used this lens and OMG this thing is just AWESOME on my camera! My camera is a cropped sensor camera so I'm not getting the full 14mm frame but since I'm primarily using a 50mm, when I threw this lens on, a whole new world emerged! I can't wait for the day to call this lens my baby. Really an amazing lens...


85mm f/1.2L II USM
$2200

My friend owns this lens and it's a MONSTER of a prime lens. We both have 7Ds which is already a pretty heavy camera and when you put this lens on, be prepared to have sore wrists when shooting for long durations. Super sharp and fast lens and it's a great lens for portraiture and I can see some usefulness when using it for street on a cropped sensor such as our 7Ds.


100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
$1000

I've never owned a good macro lens but I've seen some amazing photos using this prime macro lens and because of that, I want!


70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
$2500

This is another lens that I was lucky enough to have used and another amazing lens that I find great for street photography. Super tack sharp and super fast being at 2.8. The 200mm zoom on a cropped lens gives it about the range of close to 300mm and that's great when you're trying to shoot someone without being seen or anywhere near the subject where you can be noticed. When I had used it, I was able to capture some great uninterrupted, raw moments.


TS-E 17mm f/4L
$2500

I've never used this lens. I can't explain fully why this lens is so awesome but to give you an idea.


8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM
$TBD

This is one of the newest lens to be added to the Canon EF lens line and the first fisheye L series lens. I'm going to be honest here, I still regard fisheye lenses to be "one trick ponies" but I'd be lying if I said that I haven't found any cool looking photos using fisheye lenses. I'd like to own this because 1: it's an L series lens AND the first ever fisheye L series and 2: I'd like to see what I can do with fisheyes. It hasn't been released yet so the price is unknown but I'm going to put it in the $2000-$2500 range.


50mm f / 1.2L USM
$1600

I already own a 50mm. A 1.4 actually. This is the only lens I own for my 7D and the one I use primarily. Why the need for another one? Because it is much faster being at 1.2 and has great DOF (depth of field). And it is an L series also. So...why not? Still don't know if I can accept the $1600 price mark. This will probably be the last lens I'll buy. My 50 is already fast and great and has done me no wrong.

So what's the count at now? About $14,000! That's a down payment on a European luxury car! I'm not even mentioning the other lenses I want (because I haven't decided to go zoom or prime on a particular focal range). This isn't even including the other camera I'd also like to get which costs about $5000 alone!

The dream still remains just that. However, slowly but surely, they will become mine. Work hard and keep grinding is what I have to do. Winning the lottery sure would help though...

365 And Other New Things

Last Saturday weekend, I started something new. There's this ongoing project on Flickr. It goes by many names and ideas but for the sake of being simple, I'll called it 365. The premise is easy: take one photo a day. Like I said, there are many different ideas regarding 365. Just to name a few, one project entails you taking a self portrait each day of the year, while another has you taking a photo of an object (and even then, there are different projects regarding specific objects to 365) each day of the year. Alot of the different 365 projects are pretty cool and I might get into one of them these days but for this one, I decided to do the one photo a day of whatever I feel is worth capturing or documenting. Take it as a blog approach which is what I do already so it comes easy and simple to me. Although I'm just starting this project so late in the year, I've always wanted to do this but it didn't occur to me until now. In the past, what stopped me was my main use of film but now that I have a DSLR, I can readily have images on the web the next day. So, starting with last Saturday, my project 365/2010 begins...

3 Towers [289]

The past couple of days have been really overcast and sometimes foggy in the morning. I've been meaning to capture such a morning by taking a photo of these three powerline towers that sit right in my backyard. It wasn't as foggy as I would like it to be so I did the high contrast b&w treatment with this photo.

Everyday Traffic [291]

Another day, another moment sitting in LA traffic. The Summer is gone and we're upon Fall so gloomy and grey skies lie ahead for us Angelinos.

The Rains Have Come [292]

Well the rains have finally come. Although not as heavy yet, Los Angeles is all wet. I used to get down and out when it rains and I never really liked it. The gloomy grey sky, the effect rain has on the way people drive and how that translate to even more shittier LA traffic. I don't mind the rain all that much anymore. I'm more inclined to find it beautiful and soothing. That is unless I'm out on the road...

I sat in my room and looking out of the window pondering how nice it would be go to out and shoot in the rain and properly testing out the weather proofing of my Canon 7D. The sight of lightning and the sound of thunder stopped me.

Favorite [293]

I became brave and ventured out into the rain today to pick up an Itoya portfolio album. I could've stayed local but I decdided to hit up my favorite camera store in Los Angeles...Samy's! Granted, Samy's is a bit more marked up and pricey, I just love this store and walking up and down the many floors and camera departments. I always come out feeling sad though because I can't afford the stuff I'd like to get my hands on there...

Zeta Takes A Break From Defending The World To Do Laundry [294]

Today was laundry day for me and such a chore is really tedious and boring. So I made the best of it by bringing my camera and my Kidrobot Fatcap series 2 Zeta figurine and took some shots!

$2 Shot In The Dark [295]

Today the Mega Millions lottery jackpot was $100 million. Hey, what's $2 at a chance of hitting it big? Unfortunately, I didn't win...

Printed Out [296]

I stopped by the lab to pick up a print that I'm selling. It's always nice to see your photos in a physical print. One thing to see it on a computer screen but when you see it physically as an actual print, the photo takes on a whole new character espeically once you get it framed. This is a cross processed image of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles.

I've also added some new works up for sale this week. It's been quite awhile since I've done so. Here are my latest offerings:


Sails 8x10 Digital C Limited to 10 Prints



Metallic Fin 8x10 Digital C Limited to 10 Prints



Out Of The Dark Into The Light 11x14 Machine Print

My Worth

I've always been a fairly generous person. Some would even say that I'm probably TOO generous. I can't really help that part of me as I've been raised that way. My generosity trickles down into my photographic work. I've been questioning that aspect of mine, with relation to my work, and have been having thoughts of whether that generosity is hurting me more than it is helping me.

Last week, a friend of mine introduced me to this website where artists sell their work and thought I should sell some of my stuff on there. I took a look at the site and saw some of the prices other photographers were valuing behind their work and a lot of them tended to go over the $500 mark and some even went beyond $1000. Seeing that was surprising to me because I thought many of them didn't really deserve that kind of pricing other than the technical aspect of said photographic print (what kind of finish, the type of printing process etc.). What was also surprising is that many of the photos I saw asking for such a price, were photos I would normally take...my style. I've been charging MUCH less than that but that's because most of my prints aren't...luxurious and I'm speaking in terms of technical aspects but other than that, my photos are just as good as theirs if not better. I can't seem to find myself asking for such a price behind my prints and I'm wondering if I'm either being too soft, nice, or undervaluing my work...

Maybe it's a little bit of everything that's the problem. You see, as a photographer/artist, I want my work in as many people's hands and homes as possible. I want my name out there and in order to do that, I had it in mind and practice to price my work inexpensive and reasonable but now I'm finding that could be a problem because should the case be that I do get my name and my work out there, I'd be known as a cheap photographer and so would my work. I don't want to be known as that and what's funny and sad at the same time is that my friend has been telling me this in the past and I'm JUST finally getting it!

So am I going to start selling my photographic work in the thousands now? Definitely no. I'm not (well)known all that much yet. I still have to crawl before I walk. I will however stop undervaluing my work both in selling my photographic prints and in my freelance jobs. As far as my print selling, I think I'll be doing a two pronged approach. I'll start offering more quality prints. Not saying my previous prints are not quality or bad but I'll start doing more better quality prints. Digital Cs and Inkjet prints which will cost more than what I've printed in the past but they will be more better. I'll also still sell the more affordable prints so people who can't afford hundreds of dollars in one print can still buy my stuff. All said, now, all of my prints will be priced according to the value of my work, my skills, and how great the photo itself is.

As far as my freelance gigs, I've got to stop being as nice as I am. I've had paid gigs before but I've priced those jobs really cheap and I've done more free stuff than I've done paid. I'll probably still do the free thing on certain conditions...a friend etc. but they'll be much fewer than I've done in the past. I'll be asking for more in compensation also.

I'm (finally) taking a stand in my work. Why did it take this long? I'm going to put more of the blame on my arrogance, stubbornness, and ignorance than my propensity to be nice on this one.

Incase x Ari Marcopoulos

I'm a pretty big fan of Incase products. They make some really durable but stylish bags and cases for various products. I'm also a big fan of Ari Marcopoulos so when the two come together, the possibility of a sick collabo is almost certain and I believe they've done so with this super sexy camera bag!



This bag has everything I need and would be ideal for when I go out on my many street photography/location scout outings. A nice snuggy compartment for my DSLR and one or two lenses OR, I could set it up to hold my DSLR AND my 35mm film SLR with a lens compartment (possibly two with one already attached to a camera). Lots of smaller compartments for things such as business cards (to which I have yet to make), rolls of film, and an iPad compartment (which I plan to get someday soon) so I could show possible clients my portfolio! Oh, also it is a sling type bag which I find much better suited than a typical backpack setting. With one sling around, I could unzip the bag, switch a lens or a camera on the go, and get the shot where as a backpack, I'd have to set it down and ruffle through the insides to get whatever it is I needed.

I was ready and set to buy it today when the dreaded "sold out" marker was plastered on the page. Hopefully they'll make another run at it but hearing of it's limited edition run, it'll probably never happen. Fingers crossed though! It would make for a perfect self birthday present!