Message from the Pulp

When I was ten years old I saw the movie Pulp Fiction in the movie theater. Not the best movie for a ten year old to see and at the time not a movie I liked. I'm walking through Target today passing some DVDs and it just stands out to me for some odd reason and I buy it.

I just finished watching it and it is a totally different movie from the way I remember it. I like it a whole lot more than I did at ten years old. I now find it humorous, original, and thought provoking. In the last chapter of the movie Tarantino revisits a scene with Jules and Vincent not shown earlier in the movie. By some miracle they're untouched after being shot at multiples times while caught off guard. Jules (Samuel L. Jackson's character) describes it as "divine intervention" and starts viewing the world differently.

Earlier today I think I may have had some divine intervention take place. I went on a long bike ride and ventured further than I've ever gone down a particular path that runs along highway 470. After riding for about three hours I start to feel my thighs tightening up, so I start to ride slower but when I reach parts of the trail that go uphill the feeling comes back. I soon get to the point where I have to stop and that's when the real pain began.

Once I stood and had my legs straight both my quadriceps immediately tightened in an excruciating pain. It felt like my muscles were being crushed and they were hard as rock to the touch. I couldn't even bend my legs so I just stood there waiting for it to pass. As I stood there I turned to the highway and noticed a black car that stood out to me as it passed by, no big deal.

The pain finally goes away and I can bend my legs again so I start to ride, much slower and careful this time. Soon I can hear sirens up ahead but I don't know why. I get closer and I see a fire truck, two police and an ambulance. I expect a car accident but I see no car...until I get closer. The same black car I saw earlier had driven off the highway and crossed the trail and landed into some bushes.

After hearing about Samuel L. Jackson speak of divine intervention it had me thinking. Had I not had to stop riding earlier, I wonder if I would have been closer to the part of the path the car ran into? It's unlikely but it just has me thinking. The car by the way looked just like my very first car, which was a black 1994 Honda Civic EX coupe. What year did the movie Pulp Fiction come out?

Another Shoot with Alyssa

Put the new camera to use and did another shoot with Alyssa. She was once again great to work with. Last time we shot I suggested Alyssa model with a motor cycle and a car we found in an alley hoping the owners didn't come back. This time she suggested we do a little trespassing and hop a fence, haha. I like that she's adventurous, open minded and willing to put the extra effort for an interesting photo.

It's been months since I've worked with her and I can tell I've improved as a photographer since we last met. I just felt a lot more confident and way more photos turned out the way I wanted.

You can see the rest of the photos from our shoot here.

...And Now It's On!!!

My 5D Classic breaking on me got me really discouraged and I felt it was time to finally step it up and upgrade to my dream camera, the Canon 5D MkII. This camera is amazing and so far I've had a lot of fun with it. Even the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 that was mis-focusing I was able to micro-adjust on this camera and get working properly. I absolutely love the combination of this body working with this lens, the results are amazing and I hope to post samples soon.

Getting this camera is a big deal for me and I thought it would be cool to do something special and artistic to announce its arrival. Completing this photo took many hours spent over three days to finish. I had this vision of what I wanted to create but it was a challenge figuring out how to pull it off. Looking back there probably are some easier ways I could have done it.

My 5D Classic was able to be fixed by Canon and it was used to create this photo which will sadly be the last time it is used. Like the 35mm which was sold recently, this will be sold also to make up expenses of the new camera. Another unfortunate side note is that my Gorilla Pod was broken during the making of this photo.

Lights Out...

My day starts out with excitement over getting a new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens. I'd ordered it a week ago and was greatly anticipating it's arrival. When I get it everything seems great. I admire the new finish and size of the front element. It appears to focus correctly only to disappoint me later on as I find out it front focuses. Damn Sigma, you got me again!!!

But the nightmare doesn't end there as my camera starts to no longer meter correctly. Everything is underexposed and I'm like wtf?! I take another picture when suddenly the image through the viewfinder shakes and goes black. I look down the lens and I see my reflection (to those who don't know, that's not supposed to happen). I take off the lens and out falls the mirror. Trying to put it back is no use as it just falls out again, it doesn't even look like it was firmly set in the first place. Funny how I'd been warned of this happening to this particular camera only a week ago. Hopefully I can get this fixed, but in the mean time it's game over for me...

Pikes Peak Drift Event

1.) You wait in line.

2.) You drive to me...

3.) I take your picture!

A Healthy Addiction

I got another tattoo today, this time from Curtis at Tribal Rites Tattoo in Fort Collins. I was super excited as I had scheduled the appointment about four months ago and had been patiently waiting. This tattoo I had done on the inner part of my bicep to complete my quarter sleeve all around.

Curtis did a great job and more than met my expectations, I would recommend him to anyone. Tattoos are very addicting for me and now that I've found an artist who's style I really like, I plan to get more. I currently have another deposit for another tattoo....:)

Photos were taken with my 35mm f/1.4 to prove it's still alive.

Asahi Pentax K1000

So, I didn't actually break my 35mm lens; just kidding! ;)

I always take good care of my stuff, I wouldn't let something like that happen as I plan to have my equipment for a very, very long time. One of the things that my father has had for a very long time is the Pentax K1000, which he purchased back in 1976. He's kept in very good shape since then and is planning on passing it on to me.

The original K1000 were manufactured in Japan but later on were made in Hong Kong. The original Japan made cameras are distinguished by the "Asahi" designation above Pentax on the pentaprism housing. Given the camera's good reputation and popularity it has become a collector's item.

The camera in the photo is not my father's, it is one I was able to find off Craigslist over the weekend. The body is one of the original Japanese bodies, however the lens is not. The one my father has is completely Japanese made and I'll look forward to when I can have it as it is currently on the opposite side of the world.

Photo was taken with my Canon 85mm f/1.8, which I've been neglecting and would like to start using more.

$1,500 Paper Weight

The problem with having nice things is that when you break them it tends to suck really bad... really, really bad.

This photo was taken with my 28mm which I was planning to sell since I had this 35mm, but now I guess I'll keep it.

Hipsters Are Everywhere

I'm sure you've seen them before, they're everywhere these days. Individuals who think of themselves as more creative, independent, witty, and cooler than you because they refuse to go along with what's popular. You'll commonly find them at coffee shops, libraries, and anywhere in Wash Park. The music they listen to is always better than what you got on, their taste in literature is beyond what you'd consider interesting, the bikes they ride have one gear, and they take pride in making you think they don't care what they're wearing.

My personal opinion is that being a hipster is just another fad and is becoming part of pop culture to the point where being a hipster can no longer be seen as cool. Too many kids dub themselves as a "hipster" to be a so called individual when in actuality they are just conforming to another trend. I've seen adults follow suit too and it's getting ridiculous because you'd think as adults they would have some kind of self identity by now.

I've always hated labels because they generalize a group of people so that everyone has a common conception of them. I have to admit, there are things I like that can be considered hipster but I'm not going to change my life so that everything follows what it means to be a hipster. I think that personalities are too complex to have labels and I think that to be truly an individual is to embrace who you really are.

While the girl in the photo may actually like how she looks; it's really quite terrible. While you should embrace who you are, you should also have some self respect to present yourself as a value to society. This girl was actually quite pretty and it was immensely down played by her hipster fashion sense. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would disagree with a lot of what I'm saying, but being an individual is being able to speak your mind.

Photo was taken with my new Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens acquired with the departure of my 7D (you will be missed).

Photo Session with Karissa

I met Karissa a few weeks ago and over this past weekend got to meet up with her to take some photos to add to our portfolios. I think she did great and is a natural in front of the camera. Weather was challenging due to high cold winds, but we had a nice overcast sky.

Photo was taken with Canon 50mm f/1.4 with bare Canon 580EXII. I ended up dropping the 580 on the concrete due to cheap light stand adapter connection. Luckily it survived but it has a lot more character now, haha. Also special thanks to my buddy Ken for letting Karissa know I was a photographer, without him this shoot might not have happened.

Los Angeles, California

Last weekend was pretty sweet, I got to go to Los Angeles for the first time. My buddy Alex wanted to check out the opening event of Formula D in Long Beach being the drift enthusiast/driver that he is. I'm always up to check out cool cars, cute girls and new places so I was all for it. Tickets were purchased early in advance so we got a good deal for the plane, hotel, and rental car.

We arrived in LA at the butt crack of dawn, still tired from not much sleep. There's no rest for the wicked so we sped along to the Westin Hotel in our rented Nissan Versa! I was thinking it was going to be a pretty shitty car but surprisingly that car was pretty cool, nice pep and maneuverability which came in handy for the way people drive there. Good times usually start with some beers so we headed to a bar as fast as we could and then headed to Formula D to check things out.

To our surprise the first day of the event kind of sucked, not many people and the models were out shopping or looking hot somewhere else. They also had a giant fence which made all my photos of the cars drifting look horrible. But I was mainly there to have fun so I wasn't going to let that bother me and decided it was time for more beers!...or so I thought. I actually got pretty dehydrated and had a killer headache and was tired so after a nice meal went to sleep! Hell yeah hardcore!!

The next morning we were fully rested and ate at a nice French restaurant where I got fresh squeezed orange juice and crepes, so GOOD! We decided to do some sightseeing so Alex drove us to Venice Beach where we hung out and sipped on smoothies. Then after went to Hollywood to check out all the tourist spots there but it was getting late in the day and needed to head back to Long Beach to catch the second day of Formula D. Los Angeles traffic is pretty notorious but we managed to get back without much headache.

We got there with two hours to spare and this time the place was packed with people. The drifters were also doing tandem runs to determine the winner of the event, the skills they had were amazing. There was just so much going on it would have been nice to have had more time to take photos but I still was able to get a few decent photos to remember everything by. From there it was time for eating and drinking, so we went to a seafood restaurant that had some of the best catfish I've ever had. Bar hopping was next on the agenda where I discovered a beer I've never had called Kilkenny that was really great. We got pretty toasty and called it a night as our efforts to find a cool night club were unrewarded.

The final day in Los Angeles was really nice and laid back. It was my turn to drive so I took us to Huntington Beach where we rented bikes to ride along the trails by the beach. We walked around also checking out volleyball players, surfers, and other people just enjoying the wonderful weather. From there I took us to Beverly Hills to just kill time and check out the area. The place had really nice homes and expensive cars everywhere, it was impressive. But then it was time to go home and head to the airport, our trip had come to an end. I had a great time and I hope to visit California again.

For the trip I packed the Canon 7D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and 28mm f/1.8 and borrowed Alex's 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS. I didn't know this at the time but in the picture with the two girls, the one on the left is Playboy Playmate DJ Alie Layus...

For the Love of Photography

My buddy Alex recently gave me a Canon EOS 630, which is a film camera that was in production back between the years of 1989 through 1993. It was in great condition and since I'm able to use the lenses I own for my digital cameras on it, I was pretty excited to try it out.

One of the first things that stood out to me was the small size despite being a full frame camera. I'm so used to the heavier magnesium bodies of my 5D and 7D. There is also only a single auto focus point, which wasn't a problem to get used to. Manual mode is available on the camera however it's cumbersome to use so I found myself using aperture priority the whole time.

But the biggest difference compare to digital is that when shooting with film I found myself being a lot more careful with each photo. I'd make sure my composition was good, there were no distracting elements in the frame, my aperture was set correctly, etc. With digital there isn't any consequence of shooting as much as you want, with the exception of the time spent deleting the photos that suck. So at times there isn't as much care taken into each photo.

My evaluation of the film camera might seem funny to some who have had more experience with them in their life time, but I really had no interest in photography before about a year ago so the only film camera I ever used before were those disposable plastic ones and a cheap Olympus I used once on vacation. I don't think I will use the film camera much because I think there are a lot of limitations to it, but it was a nice tool to remind me to slow down and think more; instead of mindlessly shooting hoping something will be good.

Photos shown are untouched original scans of the developed matted prints which included the white outer border. Lens used was a Canon 50mm f/1.4. I don't remember what kind of film I used but it was expired, haha!

The Other Side of the Tracks

I recently moved a few weeks ago to be closer to work and get out of having a roommate. My old roommate Cassie was a great girl who I got along with just fine, but I enjoy my personal space just too much! I now live in Englewood and I absolutely love it here so far. I'm so centralized and everything is so close and convenient. I also am able to take the light rail train to work now which is really nice too.

One day on my way home riding the train out the window in the distance I spotted a neat group of buildings with really impressive graffiti work. Most of the stuff I see around town isn't that great but this was different. On one of my free days I made a visit to see it all up close and was very impressed. I later went to use the graffiti as a background to some of the photos I'd done for Dj Tommy Michael and just a few hours ago joined my brother in shooting our cars.

One of the reasons the graffiti here is so good is that the artists have permission to add there work here without fear of getting covered up or getting in trouble with the law. I think it is a great idea and I appreciate the talent involved. Photo was taken with my Canon 28mm f/1.8, which hasn't seen much action since the PI trip so I thought I'd show it some love. Along side my Canon 580EXII flash, I used a new Sunpak PZ42X flash I got a smoking deal on.

DJ Tommy Michael

Last Sunday I did my first promo shoot with local Colorado Dj Tommy Michael. Not only is Tommy a Dj but he is also the marketing coordinator for Beta Nightclub and was the one who allowed me to do my club shoots there. He enjoyed a lot of the photos I'd done there and requested a session with me and I immediately jumped on the opportunity.

Tommy is an awesome Dj and a great guy to work with. I was experimenting with a strobe I borrowed from my brother and he was very patient with me which I appreciated since I wanted to do my absolute best. I was also experimenting with a new lens I've added to my line up, the Canon 85mm f/1.8. This lens is amazing and is hands down my sharpest out of my three primes.

With every photo session I do, I learn more and more. This one was no exception considering it was the first time doing portraits at night. I think the knowledge I've gained will only help to build upon all of my experience so far to make me a better photographer.

Photo Session with Alyssa

I had the opportunity to photograph Alyssa this weekend, who was really great to work with. It was very casual and a lot of fun to try out different lighting set ups. I'm not yet the kind of photographer that knows all the great locations to shoot so we just walked around Downtown Denver and shot what ever we thought looked cool. The motorcycle in the photo is unfortunately not Alyssa's although she looks great with it, just one parked in an alley we happened to stumble upon.

Photo was taken with my new Canon 5D with 24-105 mm L lens and a 43" umbrella with a Canon 580EX II flash.

Join the Club

I've finally joined the group of full frame camera photographers with the purchase of my Canon 5D! The image quality improvement is amazing and the wider focal length is very useful. I still really like my Canon 7D as there are things like fast shooting speed, better auto focus system, and hd video that the 5D doesn't have. Not to mention there is great sentimental value with how much I've used it that I plan to keep it.

My first time out with the new camera body was shooting at the Beta Nightclub again. I was very pleased with the results of image quality, but I wasn't happy with the very short battery life however I think this will be resolved with newer batteries as the ones I received were used. It was a good thing that I brought my 7D as back up so I could continue shooting as the two sets of batteries for the 5D didn't last the night.

The DJ headliner for the night was Martin Solveig from France, who had one of the most amazing sets I've ever seen. He really knows how to please the crowd, it was a crazy night!

The top right and bottom left images were taken with the Canon 5D. It is hard to notice the image quality difference at this resolution but they are there believe me!

If Thou Desire Rest Desire Not Too Much

So I went on a little break from posting on my blog, but I'm back! Sometimes we all need time away to avoid being burned out, but it's always important to get back to work before you get left behind. I also find I do some of my greatest work when I get back into the swing of things.

Since my last post I've still taken plenty of photos. I've managed to do multiple photo shoots with individuals for portrait work and last night had the great opportunity to be a guest photographer at Beta Night Club. I've been to Beta many times before and always have fun. The venue is great and I was thankful I was able to finally bring my camera there.

Initially I was a little nervous about taking pictures in the club because I thought it would be a challenging environment. You're working in very low lighting, your subjects are moving, there is a lot going on at once, and you have to be able to interact with many people. Thank goodness I've gotten over my shyness over the years somewhat and my photography skills are decent! Once I started taking photos I just got in the zone and time flew, I had a lot of fun.

Special thanks to my brother for letting me borrow his Canon 17-40mm lens, the Beta staff, and all the great people I was able to photograph last night. This marks my 50th post, what a great way to celebrate!

DJ shown above is Denver's own DJ Trajikk, who I've been a fan of ever since I first started going to clubs. The title quote is from engravings from Denver's Byron White United States Courthouse.

Excited for the New Year

It's a new year and I hope to have another great one. I still have a bunch of ideas for photos, places I want to see, Photoshop techniques I want to learn, and artistic non-photography related projects to complete. So, there is still more to come!

However while I have been updating this blog every week for the past 8 months, I'll be taking a little break to focus on other things. I will continue to post when I can but hope to get back to my normal schedule once I'm ready.

Photo is of a popular Filipino souvenir I picked up while I was in the Philippines called a "Barrel Man". I have him shown without his barrel to display the detailed wood work. Special thanks to my roommate Cassie for letting me use one of her Victoria Secret ads for this.

Philippines: Week 3

My trip to the Philippines has come to an end, it all went by so fast. There have been so many experiences and places I’ve been that I’ll remember forever. The third week started out with a visit to my grandparents’ grave at the Holy Mary Memorial Park in Angeles City. I never was able to meet my grandparents on my father’s side, but it is nice to at least pay tribute to them by visiting their resting place.

As we were nearing Christmas we made sure to visit all the relatives we did not get to see in the previous weeks. We visited my mother’s side of the family again, this time I was able to see more of my other cousins. My sister’s husband is fond of playing basketball and was able to have a game with my cousins and other locals. Of course my mom’s side of the family put together another wonderful lunch and dinner. It was also interesting to have such fresh chicken, haha! We had a great time and I can’t get enough of their generous hospitality and kindness.

On another part of the week my sister, her husband and myself went on a two-day trip to Manila. We decided to save on travel costs and rode the local public transit bus that took us there. We ended up staying at the Hyatt Hotel which was first class and I was very impressed at the view of the ocean from outside our bedroom window. We took a stroll along the boardwalk along Roxas Blvd and caught a shuttle to the Mall of Asia. We ate at a Filipino buffet restaurant, visited numerous stores, and then caught a 3D IMAX screening of Tron, which was very cool. When we arrived back at the hotel we visited the music bar which was very hip and had a really cool bartender that gave us tours through their private club rooms and even hooked us up with free shots of Patron! The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast buffet at the hotel and lounged out at the pool, it was very relaxing.

The last day of our trip was Christmas day in which we had a big family gathering at my aunt Aida’s beautiful house in Villa Teresa, Angeles City. Once again I met family members I’ve never met before but was happy to meet and had lots of food. Christmas is an important time of the year for family and so a lot of other relatives who live outside of the Philippines were able to attend the celebration which made it all the more special. Being around so much family warms my heart and I will miss everyone.

The next morning we set out for the airport and I said my goodbyes to my parents. I got the same flight out of Manila as my sister and her husband so we said our goodbyes once we arrived in Beijing, after which I continued my journey alone and was able to reflect on my whole trip during the long flight home.

This year has been a really exciting year for me as so much has happened and I’ve experienced so much, all the while being able to capture such great moments with my new hobby of photography. This will be my final post of the year and I think it is a great way to end it. I look forward to all the new experiences and photos the future brings and I want to thank everyone who visits my page, without you I would have no reason to do any of this!

Philippines: Week 2

Week 2 was great; it started out with a visit to my mother’s side of the family who were all very happy to see us. The house that they had been working on when I last visited is now finished and the young cousins I met before have all grown. There have also been new additions to the family, my cousin Ren Ren and Goddaughter/cousin Margaux. It will be interesting to see how they’ve grown the next time I make a visit to the Philippines. My aunts and grandmother prepared a terrific lunch and dinner, which included Miki; a favorite dish of mine that I had for the first time on my last visit and one that I hope to have in future visits to come.

My parents during our stay here hired a driver to take us around, one of the locations was a visit to Baguio City, which is located in the mountains of northern Luzon. There were beautiful views and interesting little shops to visit. Souvenirs in this part of the country had a phallic theme as seen through their wood carvings, which I found funny. Kids here don't seem to be afraid of heights as I would see many of them walking the road barriers on the edges of the road where the hillside drops off steeply. In traveling through Baguio we were able to visit the Korean War memorial, the Philippine Military Academy, and the Mansion House which is home to the president of the Philippines.

On another day our driver took us to Subic Bay, which has beautiful beaches and resorts. This was really great for me considering I’ve never been to a beach before. There were many other attractions as well, one of which was a tree top tour where you can bungee from the tall trees or zip line across them. I was tempted to try it but thought otherwise once I watched other people do it; I figure I'd like to make it back home in one piece. While there was a zoo that we were able to visit, the wildlife was present outside the zoo as well during our encounter with monkeys hanging out on the side of the road that we stopped to feed bananas.

My uncle Dick invited us over to his home for dinner on another night. He lives in the same subdivision as my parents so he was within walking distance to visit. We brought over a popular Philippine beer called San Miguel, which I tried for the first time and didn’t think was bad. The dinner at my uncle’s however was terrific! He cooked goat stew, squid with spinach, fish balls, sinigang and a fish called Dori which I thought was the greatest thing I’ve eaten on the trip so far. Once the San Miguel was kicking in we partook in my uncle’s karaoke system. I thought I sounded horrible but I had fun nonetheless. My sister and myself's rendition of Enigma's "Return to Innocence" was priceless.

There were days to relax and hang around also, which was nice. Since not many people have washer and dryers here, we washed our clothes by hand and set them out to dry. Having my mother’s cooking again was nice as she prepared various foods I loved eating growing up. To stay active we started running at a nearby cemetery, I feel I can run much harder here with the lower altitude, I love it. I've been enjoying hanging out outside and soaking up the sun and forgetting all the stresses I left behind on the other side of the world. I feel that I can really relax here and it is nice to get a taste of a simpler life.