Three hundred sixty five days of Photography by Dustin Diaz

This happened

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Thu, 2 Apr 2009 20:51:18 -0800

As the book nears (this is strobist® info) I figured I'd pull another outtake from a few years back.

If you look close enough at his right hand... you can tell what he was up to. Other than that, this photo basically says it all and tells a funny story

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:38:06 -0800

353/365. Free Mickey — and let him fly

Everyone, this is George, Sherry, and...well... Mickey.

George and Sherry are recently engaged, and they thought they should bring their best pal Mickey to Aquatic Park with them.

In other news. 12 days left!

strobist info:
SB-900 @ 1/1/ @ 35mm into 43" reflective camera right
SB-900 @ 1/1 @ 35mm into 43" white shoot-thru camera left.

camera info: Nikon D3 | 14-24mm(ƒ/2.8G)@14mm | ƒ/8.0 | ISO 320 | 1/250s — via pocket wizard ii's

Day Three Hundred Sixty Five

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:27:11 -0800

365/365. The End (and making of)

Good bye everyone.

Day Three Hundred Sixty Four

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:31:12 -0800

364/365. Ending Credits — meet Trammell

If you were waiting to hear some final words... well then pay attention because these are them.

First, this is the Internet's Mark Trammell. He was kind enough fill in for the 364th spot.

Other than that... So it seems that the time has finally come where I'm rolling the credits before the curtain closes on this long, painful, and educational project. Throughout the day I've had repeating lyrics in my head from Lose Yourself since I've never felt such an overwhelming pressure to produce something amazing for my final photo (tomorrow).

Regarding thanks.... well, there's Erin. And... yeah. Then of course there's about a hundred other people, but really; I'd just end up leaving people out.

Regading the project itself. I started this thing to learn, grow, and share. I honestly didn't think it would earn Mashable's Flickr Photographer of the Year, or be featured on the Flickr Blog, or even yet, land the most flattering Strobist Interview. It truly feels like I Forrest Gump'd my way through this.

Regarding all of you. This is important for you to know. I am not the greatest at this. I see things the way I see them — then I take pictures of them in light, angles, and colors that I see fitting. And then I shared them with you. Hopefully, removing some of the magic behind it by documenting them in a way that made most sense to me had I been picking up this thing for the first time. I can only hope it was useful for you. Plus it was free. As in beer.

Anyway, if you're interested in keeping up with what I'm doing outside of the photo world — I'm on Twitter as @ded.

Last but not least, here's some classic text info (old shule style).

strobist info: SB-900 @ 1/16 @ 17mm w/ 1/2 CTO into 50" big mama softbox 8' away camera left.

camera info: Nikon D3 | 85mm(ƒ/1.4D) | ƒ/1.4 | ISO 1000 | 1/25s — Handheld via Pocket Wizard II's

Day Three Hundred Fifty One

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:56:36 -0800

351/365. Fresh scents — can unexpectedly appear

This time of year, everything is a blur. Oh will I ever look forward to January 1st.

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Forty Seven

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:04:13 -0800

347/365. My Christmas Scarf — my first one ever, too

.... And we're back on schedule.

Today Erin bought me a scarf. It makes me look festive. From my look, it's quite obvious I'm extremely looking forward to finishing these last 18 days. Seriously.

It got me thinking after my last shot about others who have inspired me throughout the year.

So this time I want to point everyone to an amazing portrait and lighting artist I've admired long before I started this project. See Ryan Rodinis. Dig deep into his photos. He's been doing this far before I knew how to connect a flash to a transmitter.

... and for those still paying attention...

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Sixty Three

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:28:27 -0800

363/365. City Morning — get out of bed

This is what my morning commute looks like. Had a weird hunch before I left for work... and thought to myself "I should bring my camera"

Anyway, this is the view from the Yerba Buena bridge looking north/east toward the bay.

Stay tuned... just two more days ;)

Day Three Hundred Forty Eight

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:22:16 -0800

348/365. Exit strategy — as the end approaches

My mind is starting to check out early as I ponder only 17 days left of the 365. My creative juices didn't take me much farther than sitting me down and throwing light at myself. A road I've been down many times.

So tonight, make your time useful and browse another great source of inspiration I've had this year from a guy whom coincidentally also started his 365 at the same time I did, Ed McGowan. Ed, you completely rule.

Day Three Hundred Sixty Two

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 23:17:09 -0800

362/365. Woosh — and you're there

Consider this the final BART shot of the year. It was very kind to me getting me to nearly every location shoot in the city.

For this particular shot I "wooshed" down to Montgomery... and set 'er down for 4 seconds @ ƒ/16

Subsequently I returned home, then spent an hour in photoshop removing dust spots.

Perhaps in the new year I'll take my camera in for a cleaning and stop investing in crappy take-home lens cleaning solutions.

And that is that. See you tomorrow. 3 days left!

Day Three Hundred Thirty Six

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:05:14 -0800

336/365. This is how it's done — join this dance party

Everyone, this is Shakuntala. A client we shot this evening who graciously allowed me to post one from the series for the 365.

Not only that, it was her request that we get a shot of her jumping. With that in mind, I only asked that she "jump like this" - and this is what came of it.

And yes, this is yet again the famous charcoal making another appearance. And with proper white balance, you can get this deep blue.

Lastly, the lighting for you strobist freaks (that's what we are), you're looking at a lighting setup pretty darn near this setup with some extra help from Erin.

And holy crap. It's December. See ya tomorrow.

Day Three Hundred Sixty One

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:16:47 -0800

361/365. Every man dies — but not every man lives ~ William Ross

I haven't fully accepted that this photo project is going to end in just four days.

I wish I had more inspiring words right now.

I don't.

In other news, a book will hopefully shortfly follow in the new year with plentiful photo setup and documentary goodness.

Speaking of...

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Forty Four

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:04:07 -0800

344/365. Suicide — this is my subtitlte that links to a larger version

Ok. Everyone in the world knows how to create shots like these. So I'm purposefully disabling comments (yeah yeah, "nice bokeh" bla bla). You want to see some who is actually talented at this? Everyone, see Roger Lim. Hands down, best out-of-focus photographer. See you tomorrow.

Day Three Hundred Sixty

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:54:18 -0800

360/365. Leap of faith — can also get you wet

I took the train downtown to take this one shot. No lights. No fancy setup. I shot it. Went back home, then stared at it for 20 minutes on my screen.

I have no idea what it means... which means we could conclude that I'm clearly run dry of daily ideas.

I'm telling you, as soon as the new year hits, I'm sleeping for a week straight.

Day Three Hundred Thirty One

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:26:16 -0800

331/365. Black Friday — never looked so good

Holidays and work and drinking... all stumbling blocks getting thru the 365.

The light in this shot was provided by fluorescent bulbs about 5 feet above.

Lastly, thanks again everyone for your support. It's only a matter of a weekend and the month of December.

Cheers.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Nine

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:35:46 -0800

359/365. I am Santa — and I like apples

Except of course, not this one - because it's wrotten.

Hey, who said my ideas would start to make any sense by the end of the year?

Anyway, Merry Christmas folks. Don't waste your time here. Go play with some new toys ;)

Or of course, see the details...

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Forty

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sun, 6 Dec 2009 22:39:36 -0800

340/365. Untitled — just a flower

I feel bad even posting this, because really, flowers are *really* not my thing and it hurts my soul a little.

What this means is I basically threw up my arms tonight and went for the table decorations.

I'm even too embarassed to post the setup photo deoting that I actually spent time on this. But for your own housekeeping records, I threw I SB-900 @ 1/64 @ 24mm into a 43" reflective umbrella, high camera right.

Good night.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Eight

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:35:36 -0800

358/365. Erin — awaits santa

This is Erin. Merry Christmas. Now to go eat cookies.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Four

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:50:50 -0800

354/365. Perchance to dream — Ay, there's the rub

Had a Christmas present shoot today which was a gift from Linda (shown in photo) to Stephen (the other half). This was shot in the Montgomery Mall center thingy place... outdoor... place... yeah. You'll also see Erin holding a lightstand in the setup shot too. 'Twas a great end to a long weekend.

11 more days!

... and of course, you lighting folks that made this such a great year... let's do this.

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Fifty Six

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:54:03 -0800

356/365. The commute — join me on a walk

Yesterday I did a shoot for a friend in the evening, but realized I didn't request permission ahead of time to post any... so that's where that day went.

Anyway, I've had Sublime's Don't push on repeat for what seems like 5 days straight (It's even playing as I type this). Not entirely sure why.... but it's fun to quote it randomly.

In other news, 9 days left. Hell yes.

And if you're wondering what I'm going to do on the 365th day... I still haven't a clue... only in that I've been thinking about it every day since day 1.

Moving right along.... to the important stuff. This shot was a simple setup (all things considered).

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:20:12 -0800

349/365. Love — be spontaneous

Everyone, meet Megan, Claude, and their Moms. They just got married.

Continuing along with the end of the year favorite photographers, I wanted to call out Maxime Villalonga, a Paris based Photographer from whom I've also gathered much inspiration and has heavily influenced my own photography. Give his work a look and click back a few pages.

strobist: SB-900 @ 1/16 @ 17mm w/ 1/2 CTO thru 50" big mama softbox. front left of frame.

Day Three Hundred Forty One

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Tue, 8 Dec 2009 01:20:41 -0800

341/365. I am not a permanent — and the only thing keeping me dry is where I am ~ Postal Service

I can feel my throat getting dry.... which means I shouldn't be taking photos like this outside in the freezing San Francisco weather. As I'm typing this I may have finally caught that cough I've been avoiding all year.

Anyway, today was a Monday. This is how Monday's go.

Lighting geeks, do your thing :)

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Thirty Nine

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sat, 5 Dec 2009 16:53:02 -0800

339/365. The Red Zone — color yourself

Today we had quite a fun outing doing a paid shoot, and of course, with proper permission, was allowed to post this one for the 365.

My recommendation for others... if you're scouting places for shooting well-lit portraits... never pass up a red wall. ever.

rearding the lighting, unfortunately i don't have the setup shot for it since we move along quite quickly, but you'll be happy to know this was one simple SB-900 @ 1/2 @ 24mm thru a 43" white shoot thru umbrella.

camera info: nikon D3 | 14-24mm(ƒ/2.8G)@16mm | ƒ/5.6 | ISO 100 | 1/250s — Handheld (of course) via pocket wizard II's

and oh yeah. still up for voting? do that while there's still 7 days left.

Day Three Hundred Thirty Four

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Tue, 1 Dec 2009 00:51:10 -0800

334/365. Untitled — view large

"When you can't get a day off, you get an off day in return" - Me

See you tomorrow.

Day Three Hundred Thirty Three

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:26:50 -0800

333/365. Is that a lens cap in your pocket? — why yes it is, sir.

quite a few things...

this is in fact a separate shoot altogether, separate from yesterday, which means as you can tell I'm still excited about this new charcoal background. I feel like no matter what I shoot can go straight to a magazine ad.

That is of course, with proper lighting. Which is why I've been doing a bit more in the studio lately since it brings forth a new challenge of obtaining "perfect light"

The difference is, when going outside in the deep darkness of the city, carrying softboxes, speedlights, and telephoto lenses, it's more of a miracle that I even get lights to those places, since I usually travel alone and don't have a car (and don't need one).

Which brings me to the point of shooting in the studio. It comes with an unsaid rule of "if you don't take a good photo, then you suck" (yeah, that's what's going on in my head). Afterall, you're in a controlled environment, and able to fiddle with lights all day long without worrying about bums asking for change, or rushing to beat the sunset, or timing your "in the middle of the road" shot before a trolly runs you over.

What's all this mean?

Shooting in the studio is hard, and it takes time, and involves making a lot of mistakes.... like.. a whole lot.

On a related note, when you're behind the camera AND in front of the camera, it takes double-time. But really, throwing on a nice jacket every once in a while doesn't hurt your photos. Sure beats the 'ol t-shirt 'n jeans.

Ok, enough typing of words that most folks blow by. Let's do this...

setup, camera, strobist info: see here

Day Three Hundred Thirty Two

polvero+photography@gmail.com (Dustin Diaz) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:25:15 -0800

332/365. Underestimation — forget about it

Some of you knew already, but this is my first play with the new charcoal seamless, and it's completely awesome.

Plus I got to finally sport my new Ted Baker Jacket (purchased in Paris during our Honeymoon)... and I'm pretty sure I made the jacket look better than they did on the Ted Baker website.

On another note, turns out I'm in competition with a Youtube star for "Flickr" Photographer of the Year. So if you're still up for this quest that seems to be taking forever (Mashable allows you to vote once a day (gah this makes me sick to my stomache)), you can still do this....

But nevermind that now, we've got real problems.... let's check out this stupidly complex setup!!

setup, camera, strobist info: see here