Portraits of Emma

So I'm trying to build up a portfolio of portraits and develop a wider range of shots to pull out of the bag...different looks and styles, environments, lighting conditions, etc. Aside from the typical "candid shot" type portraits, this was my first attempt at purposely going out to shoot portraits of someone. Enter Emma.

I first met Emma while trying to find something to shoot for the Not@Work exhibition. I took a couple shots of her at work and made a three piece collage..unfortunately I didn't get it framed in time for the show and now it's sitting on the wall at home. There's an image of that piece in a previous blog Quickie For Woodbrain. No loss though as I was taken by Emma's willingness to sit for a photo and her friendly attitude and smile...she's also got gorgeous eyes...wow.

So I took a few photos of her this weekend. I'm currently trying to figure out what kind final look I want to process them with, and these were a few really quick tests.

A little bit of a blur to soften up the image.

Leaning towards a sort of high key look on this one, but I think I may have pushed it a little too much.

Slightly different variations. The left one is pretty much how the camera saw things. The middle picture is slightly softened around the edges. The image on the right is a bit harder in terms of harsher contrast and desaturated a bit. Not necessarily a 'lomo' effect but in that direction.

Another shot that was pretty much 'as is' from the camera. I actually shot black and white that day, but used RAW so I could pull out colour shots as well if I wanted to. I had taken my lighting gear with me that day with the intention of also getting in some strobist practice, but the cafe was a little too busy, so these are all natural/available light shots. At least we were able to score a window seat. A little reflected or strobe light for rim lighting would've given Emma much needed separation from the background. Oh well...lesson learned for next time. A few more I left in black and white or toned.

I'll be heading up to Castlepoint with a group of friends for the long weekend this coming weekend (Oct 20-22). The infamous "Argies" have rented a pretty big house on the hill overlooking the beach and lighthouse. Should be a good time. Little do they know they'll all be my portrait guinea pigs though...haha :) I'll post more portrait shots as I continue to learn and experiment.

Boombox Gallery - Opening Night

Friday October 12, 2007 - Grand Opening party for Boombox Gallery. 56 Ghuznee Street, Wellington, NZ. A graffiti art gallery and graffiti/hip hop inspired clothing store.

Graffiti is pretty prevalent in Wellington, so much so that you'd think it was legal. I've always liked one artist in particular but didn't know who it was. To my luck, I was walking past an alley last week and noticed some spray cans lying on the ground. I poked my head into the store at the end of the alley and met Elie. Owner of Boombox Gallery. To my luck, 5 minutes later he introduced me to Ceap.One, the artist I've been looking for. Fast forward a few days, and I'm talking shots at the opening party for Elie. So here are a few snaps from friday. If you want to see more, check out the rest of the pics on my Flickr site here.

Tools of the trade...a box of spent cans. Good to know Ceap.One cleans up after himself :)

Inside the store. This was taken 2 days before the opening. Still a bit of setup and cleaning to do.


A few random shots. Invite only party kept the numbers to a manageable size inside the store and outside in the front alleyway. No matter where you go, everyone seems to love there hand signs.

A peek inside the girls' changeroom. All graffiti inside and outside the store was done by Ceap.One...he rolls with the Triple "S" Crew, don't ask me what any of that means...I just call him by his 'normal' first name.

A peek inside the mens' changeroom.

Elie outside in the alleyway the next afternoon. I was surprised he was awake and working the next day. Super friendly guy as well.

Just chillin'.

What's a graffiti/hip hop influenced store opening without a DJ? Couple of 12s, a CD 12, and a Numark.

Check the fresh matching kicks.
















Some people actually stopped to check out the art.
















Kickin' it to the fresh beats.

Some of Elie's crew.

This guy reminded me of Jose...haha.

West wall of the alleyway.

Thistle Hall Art Gallery

I didn't take any pictures from the photo exhibition opening, or the gallery itself. Luckily a couple of the other guys did. Thanks to James Ogle and Francisco De La Torre for letting me post some of their pics on my blog.

Mel James (aka Astroboy) pouring out a few bottles of red, white and champagne in anticipation of the thirsty art goers. Mel and James were the two organizers for the exhibit.

A saturday afternoon gallery shot. Note the nice looking weather outside. This weekend was sunny and warm for a change. Of course this entire week is miserably cold and rainy.

Some fellow Weta peeps sneaking in a weekend viewing. Wow, who hung those pictures on the wall, it looks so expertly done! hahaha.

I have NO idea who this is...but I thought I'd put it in anyways.

Fernando enjoying some of the wine. I wonder how many people would've come out if we didn't have free wine?

(right to left) Ula, Inge and their mom. Absolutley NO family resemblance here eh? :)
Ula designed the poster for the exhibition (see below image) and Inge was one of the people who helped me find a place to live here.

C'est tout!

Am I A "Professional" Now?

Guess what? I sold a photo! How cool is that! Ha. I'm pretty stoked and very flattered at the same time. Pretty exciting for me. If you've ever sold a photo or painting before, then you'll probably not see the big deal, but I've never done anything like this before so it's all new and fun for me.

That's it on the right hanging on the gallery wall. From the photo exhibit I mentioned a few posts down. I went with a dark brown wood frame and off white/light cream textured mat. I was super happy with how it went together with the print. It took me about 5 minutes in the store to choose the frame. Not too difficult as I pretty much knew what I wanted, and I only had to choose between the black and the dark brown versions. Then another 15 minutes going through different white/cream coloured mats, and putting them beside the print and frame to make my decision...final decision Regis.

So in most sports, what separates the 'amateurs' from the 'professionals' is whether or not you get paid, or whether or not you're eligible for prize money should you win. So does this make me a 'professional photographer' now? HA! ...I highly doubt it. I won't be quitting my day job to do this full time any time soon.

As for the show, it runs another week. The opening on Thursday night was awesome! 4 of us spent the day measuring and hanging all 54 prints, then setting up the food and drinks for a 7:30pm opening. 2 cases of champagne, 1 case of red, and 1 case of white. It was all gone in a little over 2 hours!! It was shoulder to shoulder in the gallery at one point. Mostly Weta peeps, friends and family, and a few 'Gallery Ho's' as Mel calls them...the girls who show up to any art gallery opening for the free booze. Whatever...

I worked two shifts watching the gallery. We're all taking turns so the gallery can stay open a little later in the evenings and on weekends. It's a double edged knife watching people stop and react to your photo in a positive way, and then others pretty much walk right by it. Oh well, can't please everyone.

Room With A View

Ok, so to this day I still haven't posted any pictures of where I call home. I'll get around to taking some pics of my apartment soon, I swear. In the meantime, here are a couple pics of the view from my apartment. I take it for granted sometimes, but every once in a while I realize that not everyone has a view out the front of their house or apartment...except for the view of the house across the street, or the condo next door...so I'll take what I've got without complaining.

This first shot is the view out the front of our building and also the view out of my apartment. The front wall of my unit is pretty much just windows. I took this standing at the window. Our building is about 9/10ths the way up a hill, hence the view looks down over the rest of this part of the 'burbs...facing east...oh, and that big black diagonal line is the power line that runs down the hill to some houses below.


This next shot faces south, looking through my kitchen window. The blue stuff is the Cook Straight, the patch of ocean that separates the North and South Islands, about a 5 minute car drive to the water from my place. There's a couple small beaches there, but you won't catch me swimming in that freezing water. Kiwi's are nuts!!!


You might notice from the pics that the homes look a bit like antiques...that's because they are! Around Wellington a house that is 30-40 years old is considered "new", I'm not joking. Most of Wellington is quite hilly, so all the streets wind up and down the hills and valleys. There are NO straight roads, no grid pattern streets or pre-planned cookie cutter subdivisions. For that stuff you have to go to other parts of New Zealand. Christchurch reminds me of home...straight roads with sidewalks, you can see way down the road ahead of you, not just another corner or the bottom of a hill.

There are newer subdivisions around Wellington, about 10-15 minutes drive up the 'highway'. Like any city, property in the core is insanely expensive, especially considering this is Wellington, not exactly the international standard of a metropolitan city. But still no housing developments like north america where they bulldoze a couple farms and then build a few thousand houses that all look the same. Here you purchase the land from the developer, hire an architect to design your home, and the developer's build it. That means the land itself is a bit cheaper, but then they stick it to you by forcing you to go with their builders, and hence their prices. Well, at least your house won't look like any other on the block.

Quickie For Woodbrain

So it's been a while. Been busy at work and running around with other things. Andrew wanted some new pics, so here you go Woodstain...well, one new and one old at least.

There's a photo email group at work, basically an email alias for anyone who wants to share their photos with other photogs, ask questions on techniques, software, etc. There are some really good photographers here at work, some coming from film cameras with 10-20 years behind the viewfinder, and others brand new with point and shoots. No discrimination, it's all just about the photos.

Anyways, this is the second year that the photogs at work have gotten together to rent out a small gallery in town, to post their personal works. This year's showing runs September 20-29. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to find something to print and frame, I think I'm my own worst critic. These are two of my final choices. Ta Prohm from my recent trip to Cambodia this year, and a 3 shot series based on Kaffee Eis, THE BEST gelato in town.

Ok, that's it Andrew, ya I know, what a lazy ass. I'll try to post some real stuff soon.

Some Leftover Vacation Pics

Just sorting through the last of my vacation pics. Mostly stuff from my second day of site seeing in Siem Reap. Out of all the photos I took, there sure was a lot that ended up in the garbage bin.

Banteay Srei. This complex is a little farther away from the other main complexes at Angkor, about a 30-40 minute drive from Siem Reap. Made of pink sandstone, this temple has a very distinct look with very intricate Khmer Art carvings.

"Reclamation". Witness Nature's eventual reclamation of all things built by man. Seedlings sprout amongst the stone ruins at Banteay Srei.

A closer look at some of the detailed sandstone carvings at Banteay Srei.

Another closeup of some carvings. Banteay Srei was a Hindu temple. Historically, Cambodian kings were either Hindu or Buddhist, with regimes switching back and forth over the centuries. Many temple carvings were desecrated by successive kings, often carving their religious symbols over top existing ones, in temples built by previous kings of the opposite religion. Buddha sitting with crossed legs vs. Hindu god sitting in Lotus position.

This is Pre Rup. Late 10th century temple. I passed it on the road travelling up to Banteay Srei and thought it looked interesting, so I asked the driver to stop on the way back. Besides myself, there were about 3 other people touring this site in the late morning, and about 10-15 workers doing groundskeeping. It's got a view just above the treetops, and is a recommended spot on some websites for watching the sunset. It's not exactly close to the city so I wasn't interested in coming back for sunset.

Doorway at Pre Rup.

Steep steps at Pre Rup. Many of the temples at Angkor feature rather steep stone steps. This guy was from Australia. He's in another picture somewhere. Sometimes pictures are boring with nobody in them, so you gotta make the most out of strangers you meet...

Groundskeepers keeping Pre Rup looking tidy. How would you like to cut your lawn and do all the weeding with only a machete?

Yup, here he is again. Some of the ground level ruins at Pre Rup.

I passed this while making my way out of Pre Rup and thought it would make an interesting picture. What is it? ...just the ground near the bottom of the temple wall.

A view of Pre Rup from the inside courtyard, first level.

Art Lounge back at Hotel De La Paix in the late morning. Chess is a large part of Cambodian heritage. No intricately carved wooden pieces? No problem, they'll even use bottle caps for pieces. There was a pretty nice photo exhibit called "Chess" showing in the lounge, taken by an emerging Kmher photographer.

Mmmmm...breakfast....or at least part of it. Hotel De La Paix has a pretty nice selection of fresh fruits, fresh juice, cereals and breads...in addition to their menu...

...and this was my choice on the menu...waffles with carmelized apples and cream...and no, I didn't eat all that cream.