Tripod Diaries

San Francisco Marathon pictures

2013-06-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the 2013 San Francisco Marathon went off without a hitch. Thousands of people came out to run full marathon, half marathon, a 5K, as well as support their friends and families. The sun was shining bright and the wind was just a slight breeze making this SF Marathon one best as far as weather was concerned.

I was lucky enough to get on the official photographer team with Marathon Foto. We started candid images at 4am which kicked off our 10 hours of race coverage. The experience was great. Marathon Foto team leads seemed to execute their game plan for the event flawlessly given how many freelance photographers they brought on. Well done guys.

Congratulations to everyone that ran in any of the events yesterday. You can visit marathonsfoto.com to find your picture from the days event in a week or so I'm guessing. There were easily 15+ photographer on the team, and if my image count (around 3,200 images) is any indication of how many images need to be sorted and processed.. Well I'm sure you get the idea.

Thanks for stopping by the original Tripod Diaries here at blogspot. I leave you with an image of the sun rise over the Bay Bridge from that morning. Cheers!

Fresh Roasted Friday!!

2012-10-12T23:54:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days where I didn't get coffee until about 12:30 this afternoon.. And... Go... :P

While I was rounding out my day I had to do a watch photo for work (aandewatches.com). Straight forward into the light box outta the light box, into lightroom, into photoshop, back to lightroom. These photos aren't made really big or used for a billboard so over processing is almost better then under processing in my opinion. If you look at Jewelry and Watch photography today it is outta control. Doesn't even look real anymore. I guess that's just the trendy thing to do right now.. This is the Cartier - Tank Francaise

On my way home from the day job I was inspired by the sun beaming through the clouds out by the Point Bonita Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is located in the Marin Headlands among bunker ruins from when the Army occupied the area during WWII. On the way there you realize how many bunkers are just scattered over these hills. Made me think; "How many land minds are out here?" Tho this image is of an old dock that has been destroyed or not kept up over the years, the bunkers are going to be the focus of the next outing to the area I now call my backyard.

This photo didn't mean much to at all when it was taken. The broken down dock again, adding the little white house on the cliffs edge, and then it really hit home that this image can be soo metaphorical. Fragility, destruction, their balance, and how much (which isn't much) separates the two.. My favorite image of the day.

I always forget my tripod.. Or don't think that I'll use it.. I'm always that guy you see leaning crouch and hugging any foreign object to steady the camera for slower shutter speeds. This photo painting was a serious task. I think I shot about 30 or 40 bracketed images to get one that isn't even tac sharp.. I'll be buying another tripod to keep in the truck here pretty soon. Along with a wide angle lens.. some polarized and neutral density filters.. HAHA.. This one was with a 30mm prime lens. Does anyone know where to get a sponsor!?

All and all it was a productive day... I rounded it out with a few beers, a post processing session of my walk, and an event invite for a friend of mine. It's now almost midnight and I'm pretty much up for the next two hours watching the back of my eyelids until this coffee runs off..

What do you do with your time when the coffee buzz is getting you jacked for the task at hand?

Throw Back Thursday

2012-10-03T21:45:00.001-07:00

We as people, artist, mechanics, athletes, politicians, et.. have to start somewhere. In getting to where your going its always good to reflect and learn from where you've been. To kick things back into gear around here at the Tripod Diaries; I'm going to be theming for the next couple of weeks to show more work, share my feelings on various topics in art, and hopefully get some feed back on the way!

Throw Back Thursday (clique yet fitting) is going be in full effect!!

*drum roll*

This week is going out to the Oakland Athletics (my home team) for accomplishing what was said to be impossible at the beginning of the 2012 season. American League West Devision Champs! Has a nice ring to it right?

These two photos were from 4-5 years ago when the A's weren't so hot. My younger Sister and her friends always seemed to be at the games whenever I showed up. True die hards. Makes these pictures even more memorable for me given what the team has accomplished this season.

These two were having a great time 2 rows behind us in the bleachers.

On the migration into the coliseum you'll get opportunities to by merchandise at a discounted price, and honestly I would recommend this for the simple fact that Lew Wolf doesn't spend money on the team why should you (aside from your tickets of course to be there to support a great team on the field).

At any rate these images were taken with a 35mm film camera, zero compositional elements, and a twitchy shutter finger. Nothing exciting artistically here exempt the memories.

Cheers to you 2012 Oakland Athletics.

Get Paid for Photography

2012-07-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have really great photos sitting on their hard drives. Just sitting.. on their hard drives. Those photos aren't getting printed, their not being shared, and their, well.. .just sitting there. I've been a stock contributor for some time now, and honestly I don't make enough money to pay the bills with my photography yet (keyword "yet"), but I am making some money from my family and vacation photos. I even get the bug to do studio stock every now and again.

At any rate:

visit this link above and get started selling your photos today..

And if your a designer who needs photos I've come up with a link for you as well:

Hopefully next time I'll have my slideshow finished from our Cabo Trip!!

MIA

2012-07-10T21:36:00.001-07:00

Wow.. I've been completely MIA for the past few months since our trip to San Jose Del Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I've taken a lot of images, processed them, and now in the middle of creating a sideshow from scratch for the very first time using more of my favorite Adobe products. Both Adobe Premier and Adobe After Effects are great stand alone editors for many uses, however; combining the two has huge advantages. Think Lightroom and Photoshop. Just a great workflow. At the moment it's a bit slow going, but I'm starting to pick things up. Look for a few different slide show in the not to distant future.

Group Travel - "Jamaica"

2011-12-01T01:39:00.001-08:00

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Group Travel - "Jamaica"

Group Travel has become a very popular way to travel among friends, and other like minded people that want that dream vacation but don't want to break the bank. It is hands down the best way to travel to a new destination. There is a pre-trip meeting where you meet a bunch of people going on your journey, the bonding at the airport, and of course the friendships you take home with you.

Our group consisted of 28 people from Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, and Florida. There might have been another location involved as well that I can not name off hand. This group ranged in ages from 13 to who'. A good diversity in personalities and personal interests, but all there for an experience that may only happen once at a particular destination. I can highly recommend reaching out to your local travel agent to find out about any group trips forming in the not to distant future. Or if you have your own group simply set the dates. Great times.

Our trip to Ocho Rios Jamica was absolutely awesome. The people of Jamaica are very kind, relaxed, and have a sense of humor that doesn't quite. Every local that I had personal contact with was more then willing to tell you the history, good places to eat, and a good place to go for night life.

We stayed at the Riu which was a 4 star hotel located right on the beach. The beautiful white sand beach led out to 80+ degree water that was crystal clear. A perfect get away for the beach lover. Activities at the resort were not limited to: Volleyball, aqua aerobics, game shows, dance parties, and snorkeling to name a few.

Dare to adventure the real essence of Jamaica and visit the shopping located just minutes away. Be ready to buy tons of stuff because the people of Jamaica know how to run a bargain and let you know about it. There is also horseback riding, zip lining, river tubing, and off road vehicals that are tons of fun!

I would recommend a personal tour guide for your first time. I met Seymore Samuels who had the island down pat, and whish I would have met him at the beggining of our trip. A very knowledgable person who can show you anything you'd like to see or learn about Jamaica.

Personally a return to Jamaica would be a no brainer. With Jerk Chicken, warm weather, fulled by positive vibes, "every'ting be irie, yah-mon."

If you would like more information about contacting Seymore Samuels for a guide please feel free to drop me line at jurphotographer@gmail.com.

The photos that appear above were my favorites from the trip. The island is not camera shy whatsoever, and would take a life to truely capture it's beauty.

To hire JurPhotographer for commercial travel work please feel free to contact him through his website www.jurphotographer.com or the email address above. Thanks again for visiting the Tripod Diaries.

SRJC Photgraphy

2011-10-21T23:20:00.001-07:00

SRJC Photgraphy, a group on Flickr.

The SRJC Photography Group is in full effect!! Come join the group if your SRJC student. Drop me an email and jurphotographer@gmail.com with your flickr id and what semester/photography class you've taken. I look forward to building this group further!

Artist Direct Prints!!

2011-10-21T23:02:00.000-07:00

Sonoma County Sunset was taken while I was out on a photo shoot with a great couple who recently got engaged. They were looking for a very simple and natural look. So we headed out to one of my favorite places to photograph (shhhhhh.. it's a secret) couples. Towards the end of the shoot I turned around to witness this scene. The great gold glow of California Sunsets can not be beat. You can purchase this print with a White or Sandstone matte ready to be placed into your favorite fame (frames not included, however; if you'd like please send me an email and I will work something out in the price for your).

Sugargloaf State Park is home to a beautiful waterfall in the Sonoma County area. It's located on highway 12, nesteled in the heart of Sonoma's Wine Country, and provides great hiking as well as camping. This photo was one of my very first landscape images that really made me take a look at the type of photography I wanted to get into. To this day it's one of my favorite images.

If your interested in purchasing prints please feel free to visit the Prints Gallery page at www.jurphotographer.com

Thanks for stopping by!!

Buy Now!!

2011-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

It's officially official!! I stayed up all night last night up dating the website with Buy Now buttons from Paypal, and currently taking on the tasking of becoming a paid photographer specializing in fine art landscape, stock, and small event/portrait photography sessions.

I was completely inspired by the Rodney Lough Jr. gallery near peer 39, and decided to stop slacking and get this show on the road!

We are going to kick this new function of the jurphotographer website with this panoramic image of the Bodega Head in Bodega Bay California. 50% of the proceeds will go towards charity and the fight against Breast Cancer.

Hang Art for a cure!!

Visit the Buy now page for Bodega Pano to purchase a print and support the fight against Breast Cancer.

Thanks for visiting the Tripod Diaries.

The River 2011

2011-08-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

The River this year was an amazing experience with tons of good people, food, and entertaining conversations. Of course that's to be expected now a days. This was my second year out with the Dudes, and I'll tell you it's a riot of fun. The first year I got skunked because Costco lost my rolls of film that I had developed, and wouldn't you know it this year I didn't get skunked par-say, but I got a grand total of two photos. That's right two. I took these the first night we were there and later that same night the shutter release cable was never released. Thus the battery was killed over the course of 5 or 6 hours while I slept. You can't win them all is what they say, however; packing the back up batteries to your camera is essential to success. Problem for me was my back up batteries didn't arrive on time to even charge let alone put them in the bag.

Lesson: Go out and buy some back up batteries for your camera as soon as your finished reading this article. If you take photography seriously you will not wait until 4 days before you leave (I waited until there was only 5 days) to purchase, charge, and then test those batteries to make sure they are in good working order. At that point you will be confident in said such batteries and can put them into your camera bag before journeys such as this.

Of course not all was lost on this exploration into the wilderness. I created a small video using the trusty iPhone and a movie editor apps called Splice. Once I receive a few more snap shots from fellow journey men I'll up load the video to tell the story.

Thanks again for checking out the tripod diaries.

BlogPress App for iPhone

2011-08-03T10:22:00.001-07:00

So here we are testing the BlogPress App for iPhone on the Tripod Diaries. I'll be using this app from time to time to chronicle the adventures as they unfold. This first entry is all about test and preparation for the short backpack trip into the low Sierras. I've packed my pack for 2 1/2 days in the wild near a beautiful river with some close friends. I'll be using the CompuRover Aw from Lowepro with a twist on the traditional placement of gear and the addition of 2 bungie chords. I'll be taking a Nikon D80, the kit lens, 70-300mm Sigma, tripod, cable release, 3 camera batteries, Nikon speed light, and a multi use reflector. Also strapped up will be a tent, sleeping bag rolled with clothes, 3 days of food, flash light, and a single Coleman Lantern.

I'll keep things current with pics from Jurs Phone Phone, and upload the photography photos when I get back.

Thanks goes out to Lowepro for the hook up on such a versatile bag to work with. It really can carry everything including the kitchen sink.

via iPhone
www.jurphotographer.com

Location:California 116,Cotati,United States

Troubled with Available Light

2011-06-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Using only the light available to you at the time of capture can be a great way to express the mood, or state of mind of a person that you are photographing. This example is a photo of my younger brother who hasn't had the best opportunities in life. Since the age of 15 he has been in and out of juvenile hall, boys homes, and prison systems all over California.

He has been troubled by drugs and bad influences across the board since a very early age. He does what he can to stay afloat, and it's not working a 9-5 job that most of us would be happy with. The power and self destructive power mentally and physically make him an intimidating person, however; his ability to permanently or knowingly hurt another person is furthest from his heart. He just does what he has too in the moment.

When we took this photo it was about 1am, and he was explaining to me that this would be the last time we would see each other. While I assured him otherwise, he sat at the computer desk, the desk lamp was silhouetting his profile fairly well, and I couldn't resist grabbing my camera. Just before I snapped this photo he grabbed a lighter as if he was going to light his cigar assuring me he wasn't actually going to light it. The result has great balance of light and shadow, a good hard edged profile of his face, and the symbolism (at least on a personal level) at the time was this feeling of love and being within a serene moment knowing that at least until the sun came up we could be us. Brothers.

JurPhotographer.com

2011-05-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's Official!!! JurPhotographer.com is officially up! I've been working on this site when I found time off from school, work, and now being a father. In turn my photography projects have seemed to take a back seat, and of course less pictures here on the Tripod Diaries. However; now that the bulk of the web site is finished and I'll only have minor details to work out, more photography will soon be flowing back to the Tripod Diaries very very soon! Thanks for following the Tripod Diaries, and I promise it will be back in full swing soon!! Head over to JurPhotographer.com and check out my site!!

BuildaSign.com

2011-02-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

BuildaSign.com and the Tripod Diaries has teamed up to get the word out! I was contacted by Mellissa Pont of BuildaSign.com for some cross traffic from the Tripod Diaries in exchange for a product of my choice. I got a hundred 3x10 bumper stickers in exchange for a link to the BuildaSign.com site where you can create a variety of different products. You can create bumper stickers, banners, signs, and much much more at BuildaSign.com. The prices are really good, the customer support is absolutely excellent, and the bumper stickers I received are awesome.

BuildaSign.com will work with you to get your images just right, and make sure that your product is exactly what your looking for. With just a few back and forth emails on finalizing my design here, the bumper stickers where shipped in a nice and tight envelope to ensure that the stickers wouldn't get bent along the way. There was even "DON"T BEND" printed directly onto the envelope.

All and all this was a great experience working with BuildaSign.com, and I'm proud to be linked to their site in my side bar to the right as well as the numerous links with this post. I highly recommend BuildaSign.comfor any of your signage needs.

There are plenty more advertising opportunities with the Tripod Diaries. Please send emails with your ad requests to: jurphotographer@gmail.com

Thanks again for checking out the Tripod Diaries. If your interested in getting your own Tripod Diaries bumper stickers send an email to the address above and we can work something out!

Caira Nike (Knee-Kay) 365

2011-01-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Becoming a father is something words cannot explain. The pain and suffering women go through with labor, the ups and downs of the 9 month roller coaster ride we call pregnancy, and the great finally when your child is actually in your arms. I could go on and on and on about preparation for becoming a parent, but that would be boring and absolutely pointless. The truth is your going to deal with it in your own way. Your going to buy things you think or don't think you need to make your partner happy. However; all the books you read or are told to read are going to go right out the window when it comes down to it. Child birth and becoming a parent is as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The four seasons are going to change just as your baby's mood. Trust me.. I know.. And I've only been a dad for 2 days!

Alright, alright, alright.. This post is about "Caira 365." Caira Nike (Knee-Kay): The start of something brand new in our lives. These photos will appear new at least every other day documenting our daughters first year of life. You may follow these photos on my flickr page.
page.

Caira weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long. She was born two days late on 1/20/2011.

Thank you so much for everyones support and best wishes. I truly cherish each and everyone of you.

JR
jurphotographer@gmail.com

These are the first two images in the Caira 365 series. I've also added a bonus photo of my mother or Caira's "Nana."

Flash Photography

2011-01-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Flash Photography can be fun with extraordinary results. It takes a tremendous amount of time and practice to master flash photography, but again the results can be well worth the effort put into this area of photography.

Most of us can agree that direct on camera flash can be un-flattering and tends to have blown out highlights. There are numerous ways to correct this such as using a diffuser, bouncing your flash of a ceiling or bounce card, and my personal favorite removing the flash entirely from the top of your camera.

Removing the flash from the top of your camera truly is the best way in my opinion. You can hold it in your hand high above your head, hold it away from your body with an extended arm, or you could be get a tripod or light stand to hold your flash if your subject is going to be in a particular area where there isn't going to be much moving around. Having a portable flash/strobe system is awesome for on location studio portraits, and other uses such as my example here skate photography.

My set up I'm using here are these budget priced Cowboy 4 Channel Wireless Triggers. The main trigger goes onto the hot shoe of your camera, and a receiver is placed onto the bottom of your flash(s). These bad boys take AAA batteries to operate with a great battery lifespan if your ontop of shutting them off.

Try and think about backgrounds or what else may show up in your images with your main subject. As usual composition plays a big part in how people view your image and what your trying to convey to the viewer. A plus about working with flash is that it can freeze motion without super fast shutter speeds so it give you a bit of play when it comes to selecting aperture.

There are also numerous modes on most external flashes such as TTL (through the lens), Auto, Manuel, and others. My best advice at this point of what I know is experiment! Have fun and READ THE FLASH's MANUEL to get the best results from your flash.

Also I'm stoked to announce my good buddy Logan Missner has decided to start his own photo blog! Congrats to Logan and you can check out his version of our shoot at his blog: LRMphotography Blog.

Questions about photography are welcomed at jurphotographer@gmail.com. Thanks again for stopping by!

Product Photography

2010-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

I was feeling like taking photos and product photography looked like a lot of fun. From setting up the shot, taking the photos, and then post processing. Although I am not a product photographer I have fun with this simple shot. I used three lights for this shot. One above as my master and two strobes as slaves. In photoshop I cleaned up a small reflection (which is still there a little bit) in the lens, removed the background, brought back some shadow, and then I added a fake bottom reflection to fill the photo.

I hope the people at VZ don't mind that I used some goggles I bought years ago. Next week part two of Tahiti!! Thanks for stopping by.

This is the light tent I used.

French Polynesia Part I

2010-11-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome Back! Sorry for such a lengthy time between posts. New job, vacation planning, and the the pay off vacation. However; I'll be back to my usual posting of 1 a week or every other week. Here is part one of Tahiti!

What can I say... The French Polynesian Islands are absolutely amazing. This was my first trip to Tahiti and I can say that it will not be my last. Beautiful waters, flowers, vegetation, waterfalls, and coral reefs are the norm. Opportunity for great photography is all over the place. I was there 10 days, shot about 1000 photos, and still haven't finished going through them. However; I'm was eager to share these photos with you guys.

The mountains and clouds meet the sea everywhere creating great landscapes. I tend to shoot into the sun a lot because the "burst" that can be made with small apertures around f22.

Using the environment around you is something that I'm going to try and work on further. This photo of our cruise ship the Paul Gauguin showed me the power of "framing" and how it can be used for effect. Getting this photo taught me a lot.

All in all the trip was a great time! I would like to thank my wonderful girlfriend Candy for doing soooo much work to get the most out of this vacation for us. She did tons and tons of research. Thank you. Next time I will not forget my tripod (so does this even count as a Tripod Diaries installment if I didn't use a tripod?), I will bring neutral density and gradient map filters, and I will take even more pictures.

Part two of French Polynesia coming soon. Please feel free to contact me about prints for your office, home, or restuarant!! jurphotographer@gmail.com Thanks again for stopping by the Tripod Diaries.

A year and a half of Landscapes!

2010-09-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Over the past year and a half I've done a lot of photography. Photographing landscapes, family portraits, products, and random things for micro stock photography. Over the past few days I've been going through the photos, trying to put together a portfolio of any given subject, and have learned that I'm not satisfied with what I have. Each gallery only has about 5-10 images. Is this because I still have a lot to learn? Is it because I'm hard on my self? I don't believe it's any of these things in fact. I hear all the time to be good you need to keep evolving. Meaning the photos I've taken over the past year or so were great (to me personally) at that moment, but when I go back there really isn't much there that is new (to me). I want to take photos that you'll find something new in each and every time you look at it. If it's the first time or the millionth time. Almost always something new will pop out at you.

Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice looking photographs that I do like.. All I'm saying is to be good you need to evolve.

So I've put together the landscape/other images that I like into a photobucket slide show. It has a mix of flowers, buildings, straight landscapes, HDRs, and a few other things that may or may not provoke your eyes. Please enjoy!

Also I would love to see your photos!! Any photos that you have that you would like me to post onto the Tripod Diaries please send them to JurPhotographer@gmail.com. At this time I would only like to see straight images (exposed from the camera, and then only processed using levels, saturation, cropping). Include a little story about the photo, what you like/don't like, and perhaps the camera settings. We can all learn from one another here, and learning from your peers is a great way to explore photography. I'll post the best three photographs I receive each week.

Thanks again for stopping by the Tripod Diaries.

JR

Santa Rosa Artists

2010-09-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kevin Soriano just got back from an adventure of a life time! I caught up with the artist earlier today, and he told me a bit about his travels over seas. I asked him how much he think he spent and replies with "I have no idea!" Turns out that he vistited so many countries that every two days he had to get a different currency. Kevins focused on visiting art museums all over Europe. Getting a first hand experience of culture, art, and pizza. That's right pizza. It was a way to push throught the hard times you know. Focus on that next slice and you'll be all right. From cheap rooms to 4 bed employee quarters in the belly of a cruise liner Mr. Soriano got what he was looking for from his travels. If it wasn't for his furry feline friends here he might not have come home after a month half of traveling.

Kevin Soriano painted this piece before he left, and asked me to come by to photograph it for his web site. Cafe Azul is also showcasing Kevin Soriano's art (http://sorianoart.com/ for the next three weeks. Please stop by Cafe Azul and take a peek. Send me an email of what you think of his work! You can also visit a number of links about to SorianoArt.com. (the photo pictured here is a low resolustion image that can not be printed for all of you looking for freebees).

Earlier in the week some friends friends of the family needed some family photos done (that wasn't redundent). Jennifer, Kevin, and Kaeden where really fun to work with. We headed out to the most popular place in Santa Rosa to these photo Juliet Park. Tons of photographers use this park because of the nice lighting it gets in the later afternoons, as well as the convinience of location. There are bridges, a small stream, and other good "art" pieces through out the park. Not to mention the Luther Burbank gardens are just accross the street. A lot of photographers are probably like "wow.. I can't believe he just told everyone in the world about our spot," but honestly it really isn't that big of a secret anyway and will have to get creative with other locations. It was a really good time hanging out with these three. Kaeden doesn't smile, he tends to smirk as if he knows something us adults have no idea about. Reminds me a lot of Stewie from Family Guy which cracks me up! He is genuinley a cute kid that has a great set of parents. Picture perfect in fact. Thanks guys for calling me up to take your photos!

I'll try and get the "Roader" photos up next week. Until then keep in touch: jurphotographer@gmail.com

Art in Farsi Clothing line Product Shoot

2010-08-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

Ali Faraz was nice enough to give me an opportunity to photograph his clothing line. Art in Farsi is a great combination of art and designer wear. The designs are good, the prints are quality, and there is plenty of variety for your individual style. This shoot was a lot of fun and there were some really great people around to make the shoot fairly seamless. Faraz is a great calligraphy artist that has found a good balance in the designer/art industry.

As an added bonus my younger sister got her modeling debut! She handled the whole situation like a pro. She was all over the shoot, running around, changing into outfits, and was working hard to keep pace. At the end of the day she was tired. This product shoot gave her an idea of what modeling was really all about. I was really proud of her in the end. She really came through and made an impression on all of us that were involved in the project. I'm sure she will get tons of work in the not so distant future. We just need to expand on her portfolio a bit more which shouldn't be a problem (Call me sis when you got time!?)

The shoot consisted of a roof top location as well as an on the fly studio set up with four strobes. There was a key light, fill light, backdrop light, and a hair light. I had some problems keeping consistency due to the changing models, and trying to keep a good pace on time, however; I now know that keeping consistency is more important than how many hours your there. I say this because post processing become a nightmare when you need to "fix images" or "create consistency" out of thin air with photshop. I learned a ton of things from this experience and would not have changed it whatsoever.

Art in Farsi for some great clothes that really are a work of art that you can wear.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about photographing products (equipment, posing, bidding, etc..). I'm also available for local shoots here in the Bay Area. Product photography for small products, clothes, and other nic nacs that you may need photographed.

Again that you all for stopping by and checking out the this product photography installment of the Tripod Diaries.

-JR

Contact:

jurphotographer@gmail.com

Photography Trip (Kinda Sorta) Preview

2010-08-23T23:41:00.000-07:00

Tripod Diaries is going to be back in full effect over the coming weeks. I hope everyone is ready for more Photography, stories, how too, and other random things relevant to photography.
Next week I'll be posting about the Art in Farsi clothing line photo shoot. We had a great time shooting some really good designs by a great artist. I'll give you some ways to avoid hang ups, and be able to create the "vision" before you start shooting.

The week after that will be all about the Photography Trip I'm taking. In fact I'm leaving in about 4 hours! I'll be heading up the road from Oklahoma, thru Kansas, Colorado, SLC Utah, Nevada, and back to California. I know a few of you told me to take lots of pictures, but I decided to leave my camera at home... HA! Just kidding.. There will be tons of photos to illustrate our travels.

For now here are some photos of some of the people I hold close to me. Cheers guys!! By the way I need you to fill out a model release.. :P
Remember when your subjects are back lit like this California Sunset to turn your flash on. Under exposing a little for the bright sun in the back will help hold the colors better. You can work with the out put on your flash, use a filter, or just step back a little bit until you get the look you want.

Any questions feel free to ask!

Sonoma County Sunset

2010-07-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

It was the 4th of July and we went on a hike with the Land Paths organization. It was a great view of Sonoma County just above the fair grounds for fireworks! I know I know.. The 4th of July was 3 weeks ago, however; I've been busy trying to win the Nor Cal photo contest! No no no.. I didn't win. Congratulations to the winners.

I revisited the the shots from the beginning of the month to be sure that there wasn't anything I needed to work on. To my surprise there were a few things that I did indeed need to work on. To the left you'll see a sunset that I recently submitted to another contest (figures are crossed). There is also a water tower that I shot on the way up to our vantage point for fireworks.

The fireworks show was really good! However; shooting down on fireworks presents the problem of street lights. While I didn't like my location for the fireworks show, I decided to use some out of focus focus, and really just do some trial and error shooting.

I found out that a decent depth of field of f11 or f16 with shutter speeds ranging from 2-15 seconds works great! My next fireworks show will be better planned as far as location, and shooting position to add a bit of depth to my photos. Possibly placing something in the foreground, or something interesting that gets lit up by the explosions over head.

Below is a slide show of what I came up with. Enjoy!

Nor Cal Clothing Photo Contest!

2010-07-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

So this was a really really fun shoot! I found out about the Nor Cal Clothing Photo contest 3 days ago. I new I had to act fast so I put out ads on multiple web sites for models, asked a friend of mine to help out, and started to generate a theme for our shoot.

We used the highly un-likely scenario of Hot Girls break down in their new car, and lucky Guy spots them as he drives past.

Mi Amor actually came through with the models last minute which was a huge help.. Thanks Babe.

A huge thank you goes out the Models Mara and Margaret as well. They were out there in the cold doing their thing. Amazing job ladies. Alex as well (our male model) did a good job for his first time out. This wouldn't have happened with out everyone that helped. Huge thank you!

For this shoot we used a mix of reflectors and flash for this project. We ran through a couple of scenes before we settled in, but all in all the shoot came out great! I'm really happy with the results.

Study of Light in Relationship to Colors

2010-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Study of Light and it's Relationship to Color. That's a mouth full right? That was I was thinking when I picked up a book on Color. The book isn't even about the study of light and it's relationship to color at all. It's actually about painting with oil, acrylic, and water colors which was absolutely a hoot. I was just looking for inspiration in other mediums when I came across this book at the SRJC Library. After reading the first page on how much colors mean so many different things to so many different people, how light can literally change a colors tonal value because of it's direction, and did you know that there are actually colors that complement one another?

With all of this on the first page of the book I was excited to wake up today and put all of this theory to work. So this is going to be the first installment of my "Study of Light in Relationship to Color" with table top photography (Thanks Mike for the inspiration). Hopefully I'll get my buddy Mike to write a "Creative Approach to the Study of Light in Relationship to Color." *Hint Hint*

So the main differences your going to see in the photos that accompany this post are the direction of light. The tonal values of whites, greens, and blues. As well as a photo comparison of artificial and ambient light.

Please take note as your going through the photos where the light it coming from, the tonal vaulues of the Coffee/Tea Cups, and consider how each differs from the previous.

Back lighting back lighting back lighting. Love this look. the rim of the tea/coffee cup stays white, while the front of the cup is completely in engulfed into it's own shadow.

Side lighting on the white coffee/tea cup shows us a different shade of white. Almost a cream color.

Here we are looking at top lighting on the white backdrop. The top of the cup remains true to it's color, while the bottom of the cup has a bit darker shade of white which is from the reflection coming from the paper.

There are more photos on my flickr page.

Please feel free to contact me via email or phone with any questions you may have, freelance jobs you need full filled, or anything else photography at jurphotographer@gmail.com

Thanks again for stopping by.