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First Travel VLOG - Europa Park

Finally got myself into video. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long! I’ve messed around with video here and there, but never really did a vlog before. I’ve been heavily influenced by Casey Neistat and other vloggers out there on Youtube. Decided to give it a try.

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling in Asia last year with only photographic journaling. Now that I’m in Europe I’d like to try something new with my travels.

Things I have apprehensions about:

Vlogging in public 

I’m not comfortable about doing this. I think it feels weird to go out in public talking to a camera. My first thoughts were that I’m disconnecting myself with the world while in public. 

VLOG format 

Having photographed weddings in the past I know that the way to shoot the wedding is to shoot it as if I was preparing the wedding album. Look for photos that would fit certain layouts and find photos that can be put in a diptych together. I’ve seen how other vlogs look like and everyone has their own flow of how they put their vlog together. I need to find my own way of finding what format works for the final product. 

This will be a fun addition to traveling. More epic adventures to come!

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Gear Bag Updated - Fujifilm X-T1 kit in a Pelican 1510

Bags, bags, bags. As photographers we go through a lot of them trying to find the perfect bag for just the right occasion/job. 

I was having some issues with the bags I currently own:

Had to carry a separate bag for lighting

Not enough storage space

Not durable enough for the jobs I’m on

Amazon was having a sale on Pelican cases a while bag. I thought one of those cases could be the solution to my problem. I’ve taken it to 2 shoots so far. Best thing about this bag? The Pelican 1510 acts as a stepping stool! A great feature for me as I’m vertically challenged for life. 

Things I’ve added to this case:

1519 Lid Organizer

1515 Padded Organizer

Is the Pelican 1510 case the best case for photography gear? For the jobs I need to do in the next couple of months it is. Let’s hope it survives...

Stay tuned.

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Street Photography Kit - Digital & Film

If you been following my Instagram feed you can see that most of my street photography is with my Fujifilm X-T1. I haven’t completed my X-T1 review yet, but it’s been a great experience especially with the tilt screen.

Lately I’ve been adding film to my street kit with half-frame cameras and other compact 35mm film cameras. Shooting with film is such a different experience that I’ve enjoyed. It forces you to be patient, think throughly about your shot, and makes you think how much money it costs every time you expose a frame. With digital memory cards you can keep shooting until you get what you want with almost no consequence. Not the same experience with shooting with film.

I’d added a New Mamiya 6 medium format rangefinder to my street kit. The original Mamiya 6 is from the 1940s. The New Mamiya 6 was released in the late 1980s. Its simple 3 lens system and collapsible bellows were features that attracted me to this camera. 

So far my favorite lens for the New Mamiya 6 is the 50mm F4. Great for the street and environmental portraits. I haven’t used the 75mm F3.5 as much and I’ve been experimenting with the 150mm F4.5 in headshot sessions. I don’t like the 2 meter minimal focusing distance with it, but most rangefinders are not great for close up portraits. 

This isn’t a full review as I have yet to play with this kit some more, but I’m liking with what I’m working with at the moment. More updates to come. 

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It took some coaxing, but I convinced my girlfriend to have her headshots done by me. I kept debating on how I should shoot this headshot session: as her boyfriend or in the way I am trained to shoot as a headshot photographer. In the end I shot Paula as both her boyfriend and as a headshot photographer. 

So how did this session turn out? You can see it in her facial expressions.

=)

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Kindall brought her game to her headshot session and knocked it out of the ball park!

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Had an awesome session with Tammy! She's part of our Seoulighters group (#filmisnotdead) in Seoul and a fellow travel buddy when I was in Osaka, Japan last month.

Tammy was recently featured in Groove Korea for her work in Goseong. Go check it out! http://groovekorea.com/article/slowing-down-scenic-goseong

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Deanne is a good friend of mine who just launched her media publishing company along with her boyfriend Steve in Seoul, Korea. Be sure to check out Adroit Fashion Media here: http://www.facebook.com/ADROITFashionMedia

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Robert recently won the D93 Toastmaster's English Speech Contest in April 2014 in Seoul, Korea. He's now going to represent D93 and South Korea at the 2014 Toastmasters International Convention in Malaysia.

Robert is hip, cool, and ready to take over the world. Watch out world, Robert is coming to get you!

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Okie did an awesome job in front of my camera yesterday! We had lots of energy during the headshot session, worked a lot of angles in a short amount of time, and even got our groove on with the background music. My favorite look was when Okie gave me a look like she just smelled durian. Oh man that fruit smells horrible ha!

Okie, can't wait to see you use your headshot photos in the world as your graduate from university this year. You're going to do great things, I believe it. 

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Had an hilarious shoot with Renee. She was very comfortable in front of the camera, as if she's had a headshot session before! 

Added a 7-stop ND filter to help bring the aperture to 1.2 on my Fujifilm 56mm 1.2 lens. When using Face Detection everything is in focus. 

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Sam is my first headshot client shot with my new Fujifilm X-T1 and 56mm F1.2 lens. I've had to create a different workflow not being able to tether to a larger screen while shooting, but I'm sure Fujifilm will soon come up with a firmware update to tether directly into Lightroom.

Right Fujifilm?

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Seoul Fashion Week 2014 has just ended! It was blast being able to be part of this event. 

Having worked at fashion shows before (not as big as this one) I know most people don't know what goes behind the scenes. Lots of work is done from set designers, hair/makeup artists, wardrobe stylists, videographers, photographers, the people who get coffee, coordinators, security, the organizers, and others who make this event happen.

The photos/video are only a small tribute to the hard work everyone put in the last week. 

All images in this post taken by my Fujifilm x100s.

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Melanie recently got her braces off and is happy to show off her beautiful pearly whites!

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Derek was chill'n like a villain at our headshot session.

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Earlier this week I had a chance to touch, taste, smell, and feel the new Fujifilm X-T1. I’m trying to lighten my load of camera gear. My Canon 5DMIIs are just too heavy for me. They pack weight when traveling. I'm a small guy so I can’t carry much with me. I was hoping to switch over completely to Fujifilm with this camera (I do own a x100s).

My first impressions of the Fujifilm X-T1 tested with the 18-55mm F2.8-4 and 35mm F1.4 are the following:

Much lighter than my Canon 5DMIIs!

The grip feels solid.

The EVF magnification is amazing.

Auto focus works like a charm. Much faster than my x100s.

I don’t like the lock on the ISO dial. That should be on the exposure compensation dial.

The focus assist button in the back can be accidentally be pressed. It's not one of the customizable programable buttons.

Couldn't get the Fujifilm app to work with the iPad.

One thing still in question: is cable tethering an ability of the X-T1?

The X-T1 manual does say that there is a USB connection that can be used to connect to a computer, however that doesn't immediately mean cable tethering is available. The current history of Fujifilm X cameras shows lack of support for cabled tethering. Eye-fi cables and the camera's built in WIFI are currently the only way to see results onto a larger display. I would love to not change up my current workflow and have cabled tethering with this camera. 

Is there a workaround for this issue? I'm sure I could use the WIFI to load into a folder and have Lightroom actively seek the JPEGs that are being sent to the folder. I would still have to reload the RAW files at the end of the session. Having the RAW files already in my system would be one less upload I have to do. 

Is this a deal breaker for me? Yes. I'm comfortable with my studio/on-location workflow and want to keep it. Adding more work and time to my workflow isn't what I need. 

Good news is that the local shop that I tested the X-T1 will let me bring in my laptop and cables to test out the possible cable tethering capabilities. I'm going in next week. 

More to follow!

UPDATE:

http://isounlocker.com/ has an attachment that will make the T-X1 ISO dial the same as the other dials. 

UPDATE 2: 

Went back to the store yesterday to test cable tethering. Answer is no (tested with Capture One Pro 7 and Lightroom 4.4. I'm hoping Fujifilm does a firmware upgrade as well as Capture One Pro 7/Lightroom).

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Happy Year of the Horse! With the new year comes reflections. This time I reflected on the awesome people that have been a great influence and friend to me. Scrolling through my Instagram posts I found posts of some of the my favorite photographers I got to shoot with, assist, or meet up with for the first time in 2013.

From Left to Right from Top to Bottom: Tracy Wright Corvo - http://www.tracywrightcorvo.com/ I finally got to meet Tracy in Hawaii on my way to moving to Seoul, Korea. She's a great headshot photographer, a Peter Hurley PH2PRO associate, and a fun friend. The photo was taken by me in her Honolulu studio prior to her recent haircut. 

Nami Dadlani - http://www.namidadlani.com/ I met Nami in Washington DC several years ago assisting another photographer at an extravagant Indian wedding. We kept in contact over the years and off-camera lighting techniques with each other. The photo was taken in Orlando, Florida where I flew to assist her at a wedding and test out my Fujifilm x100s at a live wedding. 

Mike Schreiber - http://www.mikeschreiber.com/ I've been following Mike's work since I saw his book release video. I found that Mike was going to be in LA at the same time I was last September via Instagram and met up with him. One cool dude. 

Melly Lee  - http://www.mellylee.com/ Melly is silly and quirky. I think that's awesome. Meeting her in person in Huntington Beach, CA was a direct reflection of her blog posts and her portfolio. She's also a no-nonsense kinda girl. Watch out world, Melly's coming through!

Alex Cena - http://www.alexonlocation.com/ Alex and I are graduates of Peter Hurley's Headshot Intensive and we frequently critique each other's work. I got to hang and help him out on a shoot in Dallas, TX last July. Congrats to Alex for recently becoming a Peter Hurley PH2PRO associate!

Craig Kohlruss - http://craigkohlruss.com/ I met Craig at Fulton 55 in Fresno, CA while he was manning his awesome photobooth (see here for the crazy photo of my sister and I). We met up later on. Ever since we met up I've been running into him when I get to Fresno, CA. 

Leif Hurst - http://www.leifhurst.com/ Leif and I are graduates of Peter Hurley's Headshot Intensive (Peter Hurley's workshop is great way to network with awesome people!). We got to meet up and talk shop while I was in San Antonio, TX last summer. 

Rendy Lai - http://www.rendylai.com/ Rendy is based out of San Francisco. We've known each other for years through mutual friends. He taught me that dogs are great for picking up chicks. Need to get a dog soon. 

(1 of 2 )Skip Klein - http://www.skip-snaps.com/ Skip and I took Peter Hurley's Headshot Intensive together in NYC. We met up regularly in our monthly Google Hangouts as part of the Intensive. Last May we shot together in his awesome studio near Baltimore, MD for an all day headshot event with proceeds going to a local charity. 

(2 of 2) Wes Linda - http://www.weslinda.com/ Wes is also a graduate of Peter Hurley's Headshot Intensive. He helped out at the headshot charity event with Skip and myself. 

(1 of 2) Nathan Abplanalp - http://www.nathanabplanalp.com/ Nathan and I met at Ryan Brenizer's workshop in DC. He's been a great assistant to me in Charlotte, NC when I have headshot sessions in the area. The photo was taken during our road trip to Charleston, SC. 

(2 of 2) Christina Bernales - http://www.christinabernales.com/ I also met Christina at Ryan Brenizer's workshop in DC. Workshops are some the best places to meet awesome people! She's out of Vermont, but that didn't stop her from coming down to the south for a trip to Charleston, SC. 

I hope in 2014 I get to meet up with some really cool photographers in Seoul, Korea!

PS I've noticed I somehow wear the same blue shirt when I meet other photographers. I need a new wardrobe...

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A couple of weeks ago in Hwacheon while visiting for the Ice Festival I woke up to snow on day 3! When I first checked the weather for the weekend I didn't see any forecast of snow present, but when I woke up there was white powder all over the place. Back in California where I grew up I didn't grow up with a lot of snow. Our family had to go to the snow because there normally isn't any (except for that one odd time in the 90s). 

All photos shot with my Fujifilm x100s.