My blog has moved!

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My blog has found a new home, now in the same place as my new portfolio website, Elementum Photography. Not to worry, all the content is still there. Only the style has changed from very dark to minimalistic white. I hope you like it! Note that the blog you are seeing now will no longer be updated, so bookmark the new blog instead. If you scroll to the bottom of the new blog, you can leave your email address if you would like to receive updates when new entries are posted there.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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Sunset Boulevard – Part 3: Sunset Pacific

In this post I wanted to highlight one specific location along Sunset Boulevard: the Sunset Pacific Motel. Good old times in their decay, in a glorious Hollywood style. Boarded windows and doors, rust, mural paintings painted over, wiring hanging loose, fences, condemned signs: it was all there.

“Sunset Pacific I”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 55 mm, 1/250 s at f/4.0

“Glory Gone”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 146 mm, 1/320 s at f/5.0

“Sunset Pacific Doors”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 171 mm, 1/80 s at f/6.3

“Closed to the Public”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 123 mm, 1/320 s at f/5.6

“Sunset Pacific II”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 90 mm, 1/100 s at f/5.6

Sunset Boulevard – Part 2: Black and White

This post is about the second assignment I had given myself while strolling along Sunset Boulevard. I wanted to capture the ordinary thing and turn it into something more interesting in postprocessing. For a while now I have been interesting in black and white, but have not been spending much time with experimenting with it in postprocessing. This time I wanted to play with split-tone. The highlights have a beige tone, the shadows have a blueish-grey tint.

“Door on Sunset Boulevard”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 109 mm, 1/13 s at f/5.0

“Theater Woodwork II”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 187 mm, 1/15 s at f/5.6

“Metal Abstract I”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 55 mm, 1/1000 s at f/4.0

“Metal Abstract II”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 208 mm, 1/60 s at f/5.6

“Paru’s Restaurant”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 90 mm, 1/100 s at f/4.5

“Sunset Boulevard I”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 79 mm, 1/200 s at f/4.5

“Sunset Boulevard II”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 55 mm, 1/250 s at f/7.1

Sunset Boulevard – Part 1: Color

Finally – a new post with new photos! Last weekend I went scouring for interesting sights and places along Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. I had given myself two assignments: I wanted to shoot very bright colors, and I also wanted to capture the ‘fabric’ of the street: ordinary sights made interesting, processed with split-tone black and white. This post is about the first. As you can see below, some of the colors are extraordinarily brilliant, especially in the midday summer sun.

“Sunset Yellows”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 187 mm, 1/100 s at f/5.6

“Sunset Red”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 96 mm, 1/125 s at f/5.0

“Sunset Blues”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 55 mm, 1/60 s at f/4.0

“Sunset Chevrons”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 90 mm, 1/60 s at f/4.5

“Door at Sunset Boulevard II”
Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
ISO 100, 96 mm, 1/320 s at f/5.6

New Website!

The past two months or so have been silent on the photography front. Not idle time though: having been sitting on some ideas for a new website for a while now, I finally got around to put it all together and now my new website is there!  The title is ‘Elementum Photography’.

‘Elementum’ is Latin for element, referring to the components that make up a photograph: compositional elements, objects and persons, as well as ‘the elements’ or weather, lighting and ambiance. It also relates to my vision of photography: use as elemental components as possible to convey an idea, concept or view. In other words, less or simpler is more.

I hope you like it! And of course I would love to hear what you think; please post any tips and comments you have. Some alignment issues between browsers (especially Internet Explorer) and operating systems might still occur. These will be fixed as soon as possible, so bear with me.

Here are some screenshots. This is the home page, with an autoplay slideshow.

An example of a gallery, in this case ‘Southwest USA’ under ‘Landscape’.

Each gallery can also be viewed full screen, as can be seen here on a 15″ Macbook Pro screenshot:

Flower Study in Black and White (mostly)

This weekend I decided to utilize my home studio (a flat surface against a white-ish wall and a lamp), to photograph flowers. I had bought a dozen or so gerberas of a beautiful red color the other day, thinking that the elegant shape of the petals were great subject matter. I really need to do this more often, it’s simple to set up and so much fun! As it turns out though, the shots look better in black and white. Most are just really really red, which can be cool but not the look I was aiming for today. See for all shots the Photo Gallery > Subjects > Flower Study.

Today I aimed for a subtle, summer-like look in black and white: not creating a strong contrast, but finding a nice range of tonalities on the lighter side. Also the decision was made to use a white background; the petals of the gerberas were highly suitable for this approach. Next time I will try a black background, that might work well too.

“Petals I”
Pasadena, CA
ISO 100, 214 mm, 1/3 s at f/5.6, +2 macro filter

“Petals II”
Pasadena CA
ISO 100, 194 mm, 1/3 s at f/11, +2 macro filter

After zooming in on details whilst having all gerberas together, I started taking flowers out for a simpler composition, and was left with two.

“Two Flowers II”
Pasadena, CA
ISO 100, 60 mm, 0.6 s at f/11, +1 macro filter

A very pretty feature of these flowers is the difference in color and texture of the top side and underside of the petals. So I experimented a little with these sides to create composites. Here the color version works out well, so I am showing both the color and black and white versions. Which one do you like best?

“Two-Sided I and II, Black and White”
Pasadena, CA
Left: ISO 100,  131 mm, 6.0 s at f/29, +2 macro filter, flash
Right: ISO 100, 116 mm, 8.0 s at f/29, +2 macro filter, flash

“Two-Sided I and II, Color”
Pasadena, CA
Left: ISO 100,  131 mm, 6.0 s at f/29, +2 macro filter, flash
Right: ISO 100, 116 mm, 8.0 s at f/29, +2 macro filter, flash

After posting this yesterday, I thought of another possible composite. This one may turn out to be my favourite!

“Two-Sided I, BW and Color”
Pasadena, CA
ISO 100,  131 mm, 6.0 s at f/29, +2 macro filter, flash

Portrait of a Dancer

This is the final post with photos of the Caltech Dance Show 2010. Here I am zooming in on the face of the dancer on stage, up close and personal. As you can see below, each of these shots was taken at 200 mm, as close as I could get. All photos of the event can be found on the Photo Gallery > Caltech Dance Show 2010. The draft of a photo book is close to ready, I will post a notification when it can be ordered.

If I have learned one thing from shooting this event, it is that it is extremely hard to create photographs that portray expressions. To make shots that convey the emotion and passion of the dancers, while keeping them in focus, well-composed and personal. A challenge for sure, but a lot of fun to practice! Hopefully I will get a chance to do so again soon.

“Portrait of a Korean Dancer”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 200 mm, 1/125 s at f/2.8

“Girl Dancing I”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 200 mm, 1/125 s at f/2.8

“Medieval”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 200 mm, 1/30 s at f/2.8

“Swing Dancer”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 200 mm, 1/13 s at f/2.8

“Ballerina I”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 200 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

Dance Show

Part three of my blog posts on the recent Caltech Dance Show. Now it is time for some actual dance photos! The show had great variety: pieces ranged from classical ballet to traditional Irish and Korean, and from hip-hop to medieval dance. In the photos below, I tried to showcase some of the diversity in the performances. See for all the shots the Photo Gallery > Caltech Dance Show 2010.

“Traditional Korean”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 75 mm, 1/60 s at f/2.8

“Strong Silhouette I”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 80 mm, 1/25 s at f/2.8

“Lift”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 70 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

“In the Moment”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 70 mm, 1/100 s at f/2.8

Being present at several occasions around the dance show made me realize that not just the actual dancing part was interesting subject matter. Preparation (see the previous post), as well as the aftermath provided great opportunities. This shot below was taken during the curtain call – people waiting for the last dancers to join the rest of the cast on stage. The stark constrast between the adrenaline rush of the performers before as well as during the show, and the passiveness of waiting afterwards was striking.

“Curtain Call”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 130 mm, 1/60 s at f/2.8

Preparing for the Show

Here is the second post on the Caltech Dance Show 2010. This one is about preparation – about what a dancer does before giving it all on stage. Checking the lighting setup, make-up, stretching, practicing. See for all photos the Photo Gallery > Caltech Dance Show 2010. The shots in this post are all black and white. I guess I like the way that black and white photography of people tends to focus on shape and expression by foregoing the distraction of color.

“Dress on a Hanger”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 140 mm, 1/30 s at f/2.8

“Make-Up I”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 115 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

“In Thought”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 400, 200 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

“Stretching”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 200 mm, 1/30 s at f/2.8

“Warm-Up Pose II”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 100 mm, 1/50 s at f/2.8

Dancing Feet

Recently I had acquired the assignment to shoot at the Caltech Dance Show. Very exciting, I would be able to practice photographing people, and do so with top-of-the-line equipment! I ended up renting the Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens. A little heavy to my taste, but the optics are fantastic. This post is the first in a series covering the Dance Show. For all photos, see the Photo Gallery > Caltech Dance Show 2010. Additionally, a photo book is in the works. When it is ready I will post an announcement here, so check back soon.

This post is, like the title indicates, about feet. When most people watch dance, the dancers’ heads and arms typically draw most of their attention. But having danced myself, I know how essential the footwork is. Hence a little study of feet – dancing.

As it turned out, most shots looked best in black and white. The lighting caused a strong red and violet color cast, sometimes even saturating the red. But I also enjoy the stylized look that some black and white shots often get, as well as the grainy character of others, for example the photo below.

“Latin Style”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 155 mm, 1/30 s at f/2.8

“Irish Solo”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 70 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

This shot is one of the few that came out nice in color. As the dancers were lining up for the curtain call at the end, an interesting composition appeared.

“Red Shoes”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 75 mm, 1/250 s at f/2.8

“Dual”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 200 mm, 1/80 s at f/2.8

“En Pointe II”
Caltech Dance Show, Pasadena, CA
ISO 800, 150 mm, 1/40 s at f/2.8

More posts on the Dance Show will follow very soon!