Joey Celis Stock & Commercial Photographer

Golf Cake in 'tych

2011-08-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Red velvet cake dressed liked a golf ball.

The joys of printing

2011-06-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

The other night I decided to dust off the old HP A636 and print off some photos and I can't even begin to tell you how much more impact a photo has when you can actually hold it in your hand. Such a different experience looking at a photo on paper than on a screen.

I'm gonna dedicate a wall to prints I've made and change them out frequently from now on.

Unwanted flares

2011-06-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

Original scan direct from the negative.

I noticed flares in the last batch of film that was processed. Never understood why as I was making sure not to shoot directly into the light. I had thought perhaps my 50mm was having issues however photos shot with the 80mm were having the same flares as well.

This struck me as odd as I didn't have this issue with it before. So I thought long and hard and noticed all the shots with flares had a B+W UV filter attached.

Processed imaged from the lead photo.

I thought boulderdash! I've used UV filters for ever and not once had an issue. So to make sure it's the UV filter and not the actual lens, I'll shoot the next roll without the filters and if they come out clean then no filters for The Broni.

The Canon lens work A+ with the filters so I'll leave those on.

Infatuation

2011-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

It maybe because I've just recently received the camera but I find myself taking The Broni out more than my EOS. It's just a lot more funner to use. No digital nothing, just the loud kerplunk of the mirror. Plus everyone gets a kick out of seeing my eyeball through the lens as I set up for the photo.

Will this love affair continue or will I end up having an affair with another system. Who knows?

Hey, it's summer. And we're all entitled to a little summer love aren't we?

*Lead photo was made by focusing an iPhone at the waist level finder of the camera. Lens used was the 50mm ƒ/3.5

Wide on the cheap

2011-06-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

I know I said I wouldn't but that should have been one big sign that I would. I found a 50mm ƒ/3.5 lens the other day for less than a pair of Vans * and I just couldn't resist. Shoot the B+W filter cost more than the lens (yes, I'm a see through lens cap person)

I've only shot 1 frame with it so far but I'm already liking the focal length as it's nice and wide without too much distortion.

Of course, if you know what I have in my digital kit, you'll know I'll be adding one more lens to my film kit after this. After that, I promise to stop.

Now on to make more photos on film!

* This is the older "S" model seen with the orange band and not the newer "PS" which would be around 5 pairs of Vans.

Shooting Analogue

2011-06-04T00:38:00.001-07:00

I've heard that shooting with film is a totally different experience than shooting with digital that I wanted to give it a try. Is there a difference? No. In the end, the film ends up on the computer for me to edit in Photoshop like I do with my digital photo.

So where is this difference people talk about. I believe it isn't actually the film but the camera itself that is different. Digital cameras are fast, so many things happen automatically plus, you can see your photo right after you take them.

Film cameras (the limited ones I've used) have none of these features. It's all manual and it takes a bit more time to make a photo. But this extra time, is what I like to call "The Photographer's Time". When you have your head buried in the finder, focusing and composing your shot, it's just you. No blinking LCD's or beeps to be mindful of, just you.

All of a sudden the photography process slows down to a crawl and you start to create. This is what I believe makes it different. The lack of any information being projected onto the viewfinder, the lack of being able to see your photo right away. All of this makes you slow down, even more so, and think about the photo before you press the shutter.

First Roll

2011-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Finished the initial roll in The Broni today. Given the fact that I sucked with The Mat I'm not hoping for much this time around.

So I'll just settle for photos of the camera made with the iPhone for now.

Portable Darkroom

2011-05-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

The quality of the iPhone 4’s camera as well as a wide selection of processing apps make creating photos on the go easy and fun.

My general iPhone work flow is to first capture the image using Camera +, as it allows me to separate the focus from the exposure. Those that shoot their main rig in manual will appreciate this feature a lot. Those that don’t, this is a great intro on how to control the overall exposure of your photos.

Then depending on how I want the finished photo to look like, I’ll edit the photo with a combination of Camera +, Best Camera, Camera Bag or Adobe’s portable version of Photoshop then save the final version in my camera roll.

A portable darkroom that simple and fun that fits in your pocket.

*Photos used in this post where made with the iPhone 4 and are available for license on Getty Images. That’s right, I use my iPhone for stock work as well. Don’t let the lack of a “real” camera stop you from creating

Another film camera

2011-05-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

So I'm still messing around with film. First was The Mat (which is now on the other side of the world) and now it's The Broni.

I'm not gonna get fancy with this by making it look like a fully armored VF-1 complete with grip, prism and a sparkling lights.

Just gonna keep it in it's base form. I believe this version would be considered the Canon Rebel of the medium format world. Stripped down, no meters or anything, the only thing electronically controlled is the shutter. And if the battery dies it defaults to 1/500.

And Mouse Girl answers that burning question: Bronica or Canon.

Analogue

2011-05-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I like or dislike film. But then I look at this photo and there's just something about it. Sorta like using an old Juno 60 or Minimoog, it's not gonna be clinically perfect but that's not the point. If you want to see a few more photos made on film just click here.

Doesn't matter now though since I've sold the camera.

Vogue Nippon April 2011

2011-04-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

Never thought while I was standing under the hot sun out in the middle of a cattle ranch that this photo would find it's way into Vogue.

Photo is top right page 152.

The Ninja Pocket Camera

2011-04-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

Generally, if you're walking around with a large SLR (Nikon D3 or Canon 1D) people are gonna notice you and either tell you no photos allowed or run for cover. But if you walk around with a small point and shoot most don't pay you any mind. But why even bother with picking up another camera when you can use the one that comes with your phone?

With camera phones being ubiquitous in today's world most people don't even look twice or at all. Talk about a stealth camera.

Granted, most will turn their back at the noise of these small sensors. But I find that the noise really work out great for black and white as well as certain low light photography.

Using one light to photograph eleven people

2011-04-16T12:41:00.000-07:00

This photo is part of a project I'm currently working on for a client. They wanted a room full of people enjoying drinks and smoking cigars. Problem here is that the way the concept was framed it would be really hard for me to light the models without getting the light gear in the shot.

The way I worked around this was to shoot each group individually and combine them in post.

In the video you can see I'm actually using a gridded softbox on a boom with a CTO'd speedlight triggered by some trusty PocketWizards.

The gridded softbox allowed me to have a much more focused beam of light. The CTO helped match the room/ambient light and to give it a much warmer color than without one.

Then in post, I combined the photos together to produce the final image where each model is lit with no photogear in sight.

Cheating With Your Sync Speed

2011-04-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

For the most part typical SLR cameras have a max sync speed of 1/250 of a second. Any faster and you'll have issues exposing the entire frame and end up with a darker band on the lower portion of your photo.

But depending on what you're shooting that dark band might not really matter as much. In the photo above the lower portion is asphalt which is dark to begin with. So making it a bit darker isn't gonna matter so much.

With this in mind, I was able to shoot the photo at 1/500 of a second which didn't affect the street so much but allowed me to shoot at my desired aperture of ƒ/1.8.

Another trick is to hold the camera upside down and use the darken area as a quasi ND. Great for darkening the skies a bit while still allowing you to use a faster shutter speed.

Word to the wise: don't think that you can start shooting at 1/8000. Your flash isn't gonna be quick enough for that. You'll need to experiment to see how fast you can go with your gear.

Even cheating has it's restrictions.

I'm curious. Aren't you?

2011-03-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

Clone Stamp Tool

2011-03-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Even with content aware I still find myself using the clone stamp and this quick tutorial from Sean of Fstoppers takes it to the next level.

Le projet

2011-03-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

To everyone that reads my random blog about photograph-ish things (cough Tafari) I've been working on something lately and I'm pleased to report I've reached the 10% mark, of part 1, of my project.

Hurray for 10%!

Lensbaby Sweet 35

2011-03-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

One of the issues I've had with the Lensbaby Composer was with the swappable aperture rings that you had to carry around with you to lose. But the Sweet 35 option allows the Composer to ditch those rings in favor of a standard aperture setup.

Like normal lenses, twist the ring and the aperture opens or closes. Genius right?

The Eyes

2011-03-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

One of the very first things I do when viewing portraits is to look at the eyes with the loupe. The eyes are one of the most important features of the face. They reveal a lot about the person.

So when I'm photographing someone I'll speak with them on how to pose their eyes. From an "OMG I have some crack in my pocket" to "we all sip some sizzurp and now it's moving kinda slow".

As Tyra Banks has said time and time again, "Smile with your eyes."

Joe Wigfall

2011-03-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Really liking these WNYC shorts. Here is Joe "Mr. Shoot with my hands" Wigfall.

Check out his impressive Flickr Stream

Bruce Gilden

2011-03-08T22:50:00.000-08:00

A few years ago a good friend showed me this piece by WNYC on Magnum Photographer Bruce Gilden. And since that time I've watched this segment over and over again.

I know for one, if I ever got into street photography I wouldn't have enough nerves to do it in his style, even though I wish I could.

Also check out the rest of WNYC Street Shot series if you haven't already. Really interesting seeing different photographers take on what makes a great street photographer.

Faces

2011-03-07T23:27:00.000-08:00

A single face can have many stories. Imagine what kind of stories a bunch of faces could tell.

Gangsta

2011-02-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

Visited a few of my friends last weekend and one of them noticed the gear I was toting along and asked if I could photograph him and his son. I said sure and outside we went.

I asked what type of loving father and son portrait did they want and he replied… hardcore.

I was like, ok…

Bentley Supersports Ice Speed Record 2011 (205 mph)

2011-02-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

Make sure you watch it in 1080p. And would you look at the use of the ND Grad.

Brown Egg on Button Tuck

2011-02-16T14:51:00.000-08:00