This, I’d have to say, was very exciting even though I didn’t make it to the finals.  I looked at the finalists’ and winner’s photos and they all deserve to be there…fantastic photos!  Congrats to them!

I gotta say that I am now more determined, not only to win a contest, but to shoot at a higher creative standard.  These finalists’ and winner’s photos have all inspired and motivated me.  Time to get crackin’!

Here was my entry that got me into the semi-finals:

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Photography is NOT about money.  Photography is NOT about prosperity.  Photography is NOT about wealth.  Photography is NOT about being that famous photographer.

I’ll tell you what photography is…it’s about the passion in capturing life in that fraction of a second on film (Yes, I said film…I’ll get to that in a bit).  Life is constantly moving and changing around us and photography captures the art of and within it.  It is a medium that expresses joy, pain, excitement, fear, disappointment, love, gratitude, disgust, beauty, flaws, imperfections.  It can tell us a story or make a quick statement.  It can ask a question.  It can answer a question.

If you take a look back at the photographs of the great masters, you’ll see how through their pictures how they were all in love with life.  From Henri Cartier Bresson to Ansel Adams to Alfred Stieglitz to Richard Avedon.  Look at those pictures…but don’t just look, see.  And don’t just see, feel.

Now, I mentioned film because if it wasn’t for film, I don’t think I would have appreciated photography for what it actually is.  Taking pictures on film, developing the negative, developing the actual print…the motions you go through to get that one shot turns photography into an artform.  This artform is being lost with the advent of inexpensive dSLR’s and software programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture.  Sure, you can argue that this is not being lost, but more like it’s evolving.  And I agree, but you can’t have it evolving if you don’t have the foundation and/or understanding of what photography actually is.  At the very core, it is simple.  Photography is light…how we see light and how we record light on film or digitally.  Philosophically, photography is life…why we are taking photos and of what.  This is what I believe.

Stop looking for the money in photography, and start enjoying photography for what it is and for what it teaches you about life.

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I’ve been doing a lot of photography for Oversee.net, one of which were corporate headshots of the CEO, Jeff Kupietzky.  To my surprise, I just found out that those photos were featured in this month’s Smart Business Magazine.  I got the cover as well as a double page spread and a 1/3 spread.  Very exciting stuff!

If you would like to read the article, it is available online at Smart Business’ website.

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“WriteGirl is a nonprofit organization for high school girls centered on the craft of creative writing and empowerment through self-expression.”

I think Keren Taylor, Executive Director and Founder of WriteGirl, and everyone that helps out in this organization does a phenomenal job and deserves to be recognized for the amount of dedication and work they do.  The event held was a year-end celebration with all the girls that took part in this 22-week program each taking turns reading their writings.  Congratulations to all the girls!

One of my photos was published in the Pasadena Star News today accompanying an article:

The entire article can be found here on Pasadena Star News website.

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I picked her up in the late afternoon and headed out to the park.  It was an extremely nice day and everyone was picnics and barbecues making it a bit challenging for me to get a good backdrop.  Although headshots most often than not have a blurred out background and cropped in tight around the face, it’s still a good idea to get a pretty uniform backdrop, nothing in it that’ll distract from the face.

I was lucky to have Katie’s roommate come along and offer to hold up my light stand as the wind was having it’s way with it, knocking it to the ground.  Thanks Bree!

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Obviously, I can’t shoot this without a skater. That’s where Greg Lontok comes in.  He’s been an awesome friend , a co-worker and  just happens to be a skater too.  Woke up early and headed out to a skate plaza in Boyle Heights.  One of the advantages of living out in Southern California is the great weather and on this morning we had clear, crisp skies.  The sun was sitting just perfectly for the silhouette shots that I wanted.

Thanks Greg for being my model!

Click on this last image to get the full effect:

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Kim is the most positive and radiant being in this world, which makes my job all that much easier.  No matter how I pointed my camera or what settings I have on it, the picture would come out looking fantastic.  The following pics are the best of the best that I really love.  The rest can be seen on my main website.

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The Fairmont Miramar Hotel is a very awesome and beautiful hotel. As the event photographer, I was able to roam about the facilities and shoot to my heart’s content without any security guys asking if I was a terrorist (I’m sure every photographer knows what I’m talking about). The hotel did a very nice job with the confence, including the exhibit hall, session hall, breakfast and lunches (which was held outside around their enourmous fig tree), plus all their polite and courteous staff.

The first party was held on the hotel grounds and the did a fabulous job. They transformed the room where breakfast and lunch were into something very much like a classy dance club.

The second nights party was at The Getty.  They had food and a couple of the galleries were open for us.  It was just a very classy night.

And the last party…wow!  This was at the Playboy Mansion.  *sigh* …the curse of being a photographer.  Beautiful mansion, beautiful food, and of course beautiful people.  I’m not just talking about just the models and playmates when I say beautiful people but the domainers, sponsors, and attendees of DOMAINfest.  These people are a happy and fun bunch.  Everyone has this positive energy flowing and it’s just great fun taking pictures of and hanging out with them.

I used my Nikon D700, an SB-24 flash, and rented 2 lenses for the entire event. The lenses I rented were the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 and the Nikon 70-200 f2.8. Having shot events before, I knew I needed a wide angle for shooting individuals in crowded spaces (exhibit hall) as well as trying to capture the entire breadth of a room (session hall). For getting closeups of people interacting with each other, speakers and panelists, and the keynoter of the event (which was Tony Hsieh, CEO of zappos.com), I chose to go with the 70-200. Both these lenses are fast and sharp…only thing is the 70-200 lens is one heavy sucka! If you are going to be using this lens and are hand holding it like I did, make sure to invest in a wrist brace.

I know, where are the pictures right??  They are coming, I promise.  I’m a photographer and it’s in my blood to scrutinize each picture I take…and I took alot!  Follow me on Twitter to keep updated on my blog.

Here’s to a wonderful week of DOMAINfest!  Can’t wait til next year!

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• kelvin temperature adjustment: you can really dial in the white balance with this.  You can also shift the white balance so you can expose your image to a higher temp or cooler temp, thus shifting the colors warm or cold.
• multiple exposures from 2 – 10:  creating multiple exposures in camera is really fun and with the options of having 2 – 10 exposures on one image can really challenge your creativity.  I’ll need lots of practice with this one.
• interval timed shooting: you can set the camera up to take a shot every x-number of seconds.  Great for time-lapsed photos!
• lots of custom saving banks: you can save your settings into custom banks.
• d-lighting: this has been reviewed at other blogs, but basically it balances your images when there are extremes in lighting darkening your highlights and brightening your shadows.

I’m sure there are many other features that I have yet to discover, but am looking forward to.  Of course, this wouldn’t be complete without images…

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This will be an ongoing series for I don’t know how long.  I also want to practice being more intimate with my documentary subjects…so check that site often.  You can also signup to be emailed of any updates.  Feel free to leave me any feedback and comments.

http://www.focusedout.com

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