retouching VIDEO!

in a follow up to my last post, I've finally gotten around to using my youtube account for something more than watching videos; I posted my first video today! I basically recorded the screen as I retouched a photo, then compressed that 58 minutes down to under ten.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_KPAEvPrqA

Ashley Ybarra

This last month has been an odd month for me, I've felt really down about my photography as if i couldn't do anything right at all. Well, I'm back! Today was such a wonderfully wonderful day of photography. I've yet to go through all the photos from today, since I shot well over a few hundred, but so far I'm liking what I've seen.

Shot with a new girl today, she'd never modeled before, but i think if she sticks with it she's got a shot at the 'real world'. Hopefully, I'll be there and famous at the same time that she is and our paths cross again. Needless to say I had to work on at least one of today's photos so I spent the past hour working on one of my favorites; and trust me, it was a hard choice to pick just ONE photo to work on.

I hope to work with her again soon, I think now that my photo juices are flowing again we could stand to make some great art, or at least some good photos. :)

Nicole Bell

Reworked an old shot of Nicole Bell today after looking through my library. Something that I'd marked but never done anything with. I tried out a new toning process and am somewhat pleased with the results. Again, I like to do everything manually and have a bunch of custom toning procedures that I created and I think this one might get added to the list.

These kinds of nude are by far some of my favorite, where the model is nude but there isn't anything shown. There is something calming and tranquil about Nicole's pose here that I really love. Being that she's a former gymnast and currently dances does nothing but help. Great model to work with.

Aliciya Angel

I shot with my good friend Aliciya Angel (myspace / facebook ) on Friday. She's a very talented musician and I wanted to portray her in the spot light so i decided on a large front light and a snoot behind her and shoot with an angle that would give a lens flare. She's an up and coming star and I know she'll go far and shine brightly for some time and I hope that my photography plays on that concept.

She's been played on the radio and has played many live shows and I know she's already got a following locally. I recommend checking her out, you might just like what you hear.

Becky B. photo shoot.

I shot with the wonderful Becky again today. We went out to a field near sacramento and did some nudes as the sun set in the distance. I love shooting outdoors when the light is warm and low in the sky. I used a flash for fill but it was mainly the sun doing the lighting.

Post work was minimal, just some clean up and some curves. I toyed with the notion of black and white but I just couldn't stand to loose that beautiful warm sun light. in the end I'm glad I left it as is.