street fashion

we took a class trip for the photo plus expo in new york city today. it was great to be back in the city. i realized how much i missed the fast pace life out there and the expo was very overwhelming.

i always try to think of new and fresh ideas for my personal work. i was inspired by amy arbus after i picked up one of her books while i was waiting for a friend at a book store a long time ago. just like her mother, she photographed random people all over new york city but focused on fashion.

during the expo, i met up with an old college friend for lunch and he later walked me back to my bus. while we were on our way, two guys walking towards us caught my eye. their style was completely opposite from each other. one had an old fashioned style (which i absolutely love), while the other was more urban. i asked if i could take some shots of them and the old fashioned one surprisingly said, "yes! i have ALWAYS wanted to model!". his name was david.

here are the shots:






david's friend, elliott:




i can't wait to go back to the city to continue this project, along with many others. new york is such an inspiring city for photography.

(images slightly sharpened, shot with the Mamiya 645AFD II medium format camera with the Leaf Aptus 22 Digital Back and natural lighting)

liquor and coins

a friend of mine from new jersey threw a birthday party in atlantic city. i never been there before but i was always told it was "like an amusement park, for adults." we stayed at the trump taj mahal casino/hotel and when i first went in, i was surprised with the overload of decorations and colors everywhere. the place seemed very outdated with an 80s theme. i took my elf camera for the trip.

my first shot when we entered the lobby:


there were a lot of these:


self portrait:


view from our room the morning we left:


(minor cropping on the second image, shot with the Canon PowerShot SD1000)

flash fun

we finally got to play around with the external flashes today. the weather was a bit muggy and rainy, but we made the best of it. we had to practice shooting indoors, outdoors, and use of color.

indoors:


outdoors:




color:


(shot with the Canon EOS 5D camera with Canon Speedlite 580EX II)

burgh with an H

on my way to brazil last year for christmas/new years eve, the airline screwed up and gave me a free flight ticket anywhere in the states. i decided to visit my old college buddy in pittsburgh. while we were in college, ben and i would always find new places to eat or just find a place to explore. i love hanging out with him because he shows me new things, and i document them with my camera.

i took two cameras with me for the trip:
my "everyday" camera (or as i would like to call it, "my third hand") the Canon PowerShot SD1000 and the school's Mamiya 645AFD II. since the Mamiya's speed is slow and heavy, i work a lot with the elf camera for trips because it's small, easy to carry, and you can shoot practically anything at any time.

he first took me to a malaysian restaurant for dinner. here's a shot of the menu:


the next morning he took me to a vegetarian breakfast burrito place:


cruising around the streets of pittsburgh:


we were invited to a bbq and i took a shot of the beer cooler, inspired by our color assignment a few weeks back:


panther statue at the university of pittsburgh campus:


(all of the shots above were unedited and taken with the Canon PowerShot SD1000)

some extra shots with the Mamiya 645AFD II:
outside of the vegetarian breakfast burrito place:


walking around downtown:




experimenting landscape shots at the famous mount washington:




saying goodbye at the airport:


(minor cropping done to the second and last image, all of the shots above were taken with the Mamiya 645AFD II medium format camera with the Leaf Aptus 22 Digital Back)

jude

i never heard of northampton until today. we took a class trip over there for a shoot to practice using our new digital backs, the place reminded me of st. marks in new york city, very artsy and inspirational. i decided to branch out and partner up with a different student, who turned out to be an amazing model. our assignment was to shoot "break up of lines, color, different point of view, and depth of field."

break up of lines:


color:


different point of view (displayed on the plasma):


depth of field (displayed on the plasma):


extra shots that didn't make the cut:




(minor retouching done, shot with the Mamiya 645AFD II medium format camera with the Leaf Aptus 22 Digital Back)