but this is me.

foto republic shoot.

Headed out to Seoul a couple of weekends ago to help my photographer friend, Denise, with some photoshoots.  She put out a facebook ad offering studio time for anyone who wanted photos.  A good handful of people responded, mostly just regular, every day people who wanted to treat themselves to really nice photos.  Some posed for glamour shots, some sat on a motorcycle, some danced, one kickboxed, one even rolled around on the floor and did flutter kicks (yep, that one was an interesting shoot).  It was a great experience working in a studio setting.  I held the big reflector, took some pictures of Denise taking pictures, held the dog's leash, and whatever else that needed to be done.  Denise had a lot of her friends helping out so it made for a fun weekend.

There was a make-up artist and a stylist that made people look amazing.  It was cool to see the transformation in people.  Many came a tad apprehensive, not sure what to do in front of the camera.  They felt like they'd never looked good in pictures.  It didn't take long for people to relax and just have fun with it.  The whole crew was so encouraging and friendly that it helped people to become comfortable with their inner model and simply shine.  And people couldn't believe that they could look so good.  And they really did.  It was super to be a part of that.  Here are some pics from one of the days.

make-up: Jieyi
stylist: Oscar

And I met Andrew, a fellow Filipino, who dropped by one night and shot some video of one of the shoots.  His calling card reads "Webdesigner | Filmaker | Photographer | Magician"...and did he ever baffle us with a couple crazy tricks.

Check out his video (I'm in it, woop woop).

back at 'er again.

Way back when, my 50mm project went kaput when my lens broke last year. The lens was fixed but I became unmotivated.  Until now.  I felt pretty disappointed in myself for not having been able to complete the a-photo-every-day goal.  I hate the idea of the 2008 attempt being incomplete, so instead of starting new this year, I decided to just pick up where I left off and fill the gaps where I need to.  So my project will be a two-year undertaking.  No big deal.  It should be an interesting combination mixing 2009 photos with 2008 ones, being that I'm now in a different country.

So a reminder of my parameters: shoot and post a photo every day, use only a 50mm lens, and no touchups, cropping, or post-process editing of any sort.  And here's a little extra fun - although my lens was put back together, my autofocus mechanism was unfixable, which means I'll get to hone my manual focusing skills.  Yahtzee.

simply simple.

Michael Kenna: There is something about his photographs that make me want to take in a deep breath.

via: yewknee

taking vocabulary to a photographic level.

"the photographic dictionary is dedicated to defining words through the literal, figurative, and personal meanings found in each photograph."

ht: yewknee

the story-telling power of photography.

When I was around eight years old, I had determined what I wanted to become when I grew up: a photographer for National Geographic.  I had already started dabbling with the hobby of photography, using an awkward, but sufficient 110 film camera.  Made for not so great photographs, but I loved looking through that lens.

My tastes in photography have changed over the years.  I began with shooting strictly nature.  I didn't want any sign of people in my shots, even if it took waiting a long time for that one tourist to evacuate my viewfinder so that I had a purist shot of whatever mountain, field of flowers, or tree I was shooting.

Then I slowly began to discover that people actually could make a great photograph.  However, not just any portrait shot, but one that placed them in a context, a specific surrounding, that told a story powerful enough to evoke some sort of emotion inside of you.  I took lots of pictures, LOTS, growing up.  Of family vacations, high school trips, more mountains, flowers, trees.  Again, not that many of them were publish-worthy, but it was good practice.  Then I had opportunities to travel in the world.  And I discovered cultures and the colours, the sights, and the faces that also told stories, foreign but just as intruiging, fascinating, and beautiful.

I'm not saying these are photographic highs other people don't experience; it seems like everyone is a photographer nowadays.  And every photographer wants to capture a story or your story.  The photojournalistic style has made its way into weddings and family portraits and birthday parties and other lifestyle-types of themes.

As much as I have enjoyed taking photos of friends' portraits, pregnancies and weddings, I've been reminded of the type of photography that truly turns me on.  Recently, I was flipping through a National Geographic and I was stirred by the photographs that filled the pages.  Images of places and faces that depicted narratives that either educated, amused, or revealed worlds or issues that one may have never been aware of before.

All that is to say, I came across this TED talk by David Griffin, the Photo Director for National Geographic.  Whatever it is that you like to photograph or whatever calibre of a photographer you think you are, maybe it will inspire you to continue to not just take pictures, but to tell stories.

(original source: TED: David Griffin on How Photography Connects Us With the World)