Monday, March 31, 2008

Attempt 2: Hitting the Ice

So, our last class was shooting hockey. The lighting was a little better, but everything came out pretty underexposed (despite my exposure meter). It was also harder to get in a good spot and to shoot through the "glass." Here's how I did.







Sunday, March 23, 2008

Sport Photography - Attempt 1: Basketball

After some thinking about what it is I like and if it can be combined with photography, I've signed up for Sports Photography at the School of Visual Arts. Our first shoot was league basketball at Chelsea Piers and well...I'm no protege for this stuff. Despite not wanting to post only "okay" shots here, I'm going to make an exception with these. We can see how I grow during the class...hopefully.

My only caveat (not excuse) is that I don't really have the ideal lenses for this type of photography, but here's what I got with what I do have. There are definitely some "that could've been great if _________" shots. Enjoy!







Sunday, March 16, 2008

Jackson Heights, Queens

Yesterday, some friends and I went on a cultural adventure to Jackson Heights in Queens. Our focus was the few blocks known as "Little India." Here you can find shops dedicated to Indian foods, clothing, gifts, music, dvds, etc.

I tend to focus on the details, so here's an attempt to shoot wider.



Back to my details (that was quick)...look at this sad mannequin. Poor guy. Perhaps yellow isn't his color. I like this photo for the young girl reflected in his head. An added visual treat!



We stopped in a sweets shop for a chai break and some cherry naan. Delicious!



I liked this shot grabbed at the vegetable market. It makes me want a pina colada perhaps more than Indian food, but nonetheless...



We ventured up into the 80s where the neighborhood completely changes. This area is more populated by Latinos and the street under the elevated subway track is lined with food carts (definitely another adventure to be had there). Whatcha looking at fella?



Interesting indeed! (that's a splayed out pig if you can't tell, but the tamales to the right looked mmm, mmm, good!)

Friday, March 14, 2008

Costa Rica

I recently took a trip to Costa Rica. It was more of an adventure vacation than a photo op, but I did get a few shots I like.

We went to La Fortuna and hiked to the La Fortuna Waterfall. This is the path there.



And here is the waterfall.



In Monteverde we went to the Hummingbird Gallery where lots of hummingbirds flitted about the many feeders in the area.



We also took a tour of an organic coffee plantation. The quintessential shot.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Gong Hai Fat Choi! (repost)

I'm having to repost this due to virus laden comments. Ergh.

Gong Hai Fat Choi! or "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth" for the Chinese New Year. As our most recent cultural outing, we ventured to Chinatown for some dim sum and the parade.

This year marks the year of the rat (and awfully cute ones at that). For an awesome explanation of the traditions and more, check out my friend's blog.



We were in Chinatown insanely early for the dim sum part, so we walked around the streets before the parade started. We got our bags of belly-ache-inducing sweets and checked out a few other shops. I thought this captured the energy of Chinatown - a lot of red with a dash of chaos.



We actually got right up to the barricade for the parade, so were ready to fire away. These people were smart enough to stand in the sun. Of course there's no sun in this photo because those were too contrasty. =)



The parade was awesome and there was so much to shoot it was hard to pick just a few selects to show our experience. I really liked this one though. It has the festive balloons and the falling confetti. I loved the rockets that blasted confetti and little red parachutes high into the air. Well, until one was pointed at my head anyway. I'm still finding confetti in strange places.



Of course the best photo ops came with the dragons. The two person dragons with the big heads and fluttering eyelashes were great, but this was my favorite subject. No Lens Baby, no photoshop trickery on this one. This is pure fun with panning.