my.black.book

Belle of the Ball

2010-08-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys;

Thanks to a fellow photographer and now friend, Charles, I was able to get access to a studio and get some pictures done. I wanted to do something simple and elegant, full hair and light make up. Originally I wanted all the photos to be black and white but was later convinced to include some in color. The shoot was set up sort of last minute, I ask my lovely cousin Angelique if she was free that Thursday and looked to a good friend, Ian, to get the hair and make up done. One big soft box light and a grey background, beautiful woman and viola. The Belle of the Ball.

when you think you're working hard, work harder.

2010-07-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here we go again; a new blog post.

I've spent the past weeks in contemplation of the next set of moves I'm going to have to make to reach the success I can only humbly wish and hope for. With that said I've also been busy taking pictures and speaking to many people who are interested in either taking photos are giving some of my work exposure. I still feel I have tons of growing to do, then again I've been told you are your harshest critic, so, I'm going to grab the opportunities by the horns and ride em till the wheels fall off.

As my photography grows and I venture off more into fashion & portrait photography, it's beginning to become very clear that, fashion photography, at the least; is not a one man show at all! I'm in crucial need of networking and creating alliances with working professionals who are not only talented but creative, punctual, and reliable. And with as many wanna-be's out there, you would think it was easy? WRONG. Many folks are all talk, or if not, they may posses the professionalism and reliability but I just do not see their work meshing well with mine. Its a struggle, as everything worth having often is just that, a struggle. But mama ain't raise no fool, I will pick through the masses and select what and who I need for that success and the rest, well, shall be history.

Enough talk; now to the photos =D. I recently had the opportunity to shoot with two very beautiful and talented friends. First, was my girl Myra, who, you've seen before on the blog, for the "secret gardens" shoot a few months back. This time we shot right around my area in the Mt. Eden section of the Bronx. The original intent was to go more glamor, have her hair done, face beat, and very flashy styling. However, truth be told, the morning of the shoot persons went M.I.A. So in the end it was just Myra and I. We chatted, walked around and got some lovely photos. I would def love to do something very high fashion and sleek with Myra, all in due time.

Here she goes, right off the top of some stairs, natural light, I threw in a little extra flash to make sure her face was properly lit. I wanted to use a reflector, then again, who would hold the reflector? (this is where an assistant would be ideal, any takers? lol) I still love the photos, the dress and shoes were from All Saints.

This time we had Myra in all black, with a drop crotch pant and a button up that had coat tails..very neat.

Here I tried a very harsh black and white contrast, with a blue tint to it. I tried to make it feel a little more raw and a little less glam. I'm please with the result, I'm sure I will try it again soon.

About a little after a week, a good friend of mine, Casper, contacted me to take photos. Casper has always been a fan of my work, and always looks for me when he wants quality images taken, and for that I'm always grateful. He actually has been in magazines before and has worked with another, more established, photographer. So basically hes a working model in my opinion. I've shot Casper before, in the winter, before I had the blog up, he was great then and even better now.

I borrowed some lights from a fellow photo enthusiast and great friend, Bryan. I had the lights for almost two weeks I would say, and I wanted to take every opportunity to utilize and learn about the lights. Manipulate them and make em do what I want. So with Casper there I decided to get a classic, black background, portrait. I also however wanted to catch him in laughter, not only does he have a great smile, but the emotion of him smiling will communicate in the photo. I wanted his face directionally light from the side, natural & classic were the key words. Tell me if you think I nailed it.

face

laughter

Next we had some fashion to shoot!! Casper came well prepared with plenty of looks, and I had a few jazzy pieces to include myself. Ultimately we went with 3 looks and 2 made it off the chopping block... so we have "Dandy Paperboy" which are the first 3 sets of photos with the rosy hue to them. Then we have more of a urban gritty look, with the lazy ski cap and desert boots (former 3 sets). I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

I'm all too aware that my photos lack a "high-fashion" look, and instead they read from a more street level, I was told by a professional that my work looks like brooklyns finest photo ops. I think he meant that with some sarcasm, but I took it as the biggest compliment ever. I know what high fashion wants, more of a contrast, reflectors, superior styling, amazing locations and most of all, flawless models. however, for now, I'm taking photos of my beautiful friends in nice clothing, in my hometown of the Bronx; and I'm having a fucking blast doing it. Thanks. And for being self taught and a hobby I took up about a year ago, I'm beyond proud of my progress, and can only imagine where I will go from here and how my photography transforms. For heavens sake I'm using a $500 consumer camera!! But I still make it look good =D

P.S- A HUGE shout-out to fashion blogger Jeremy Dante !! Recently his blog was featured on SWIDE.COM (if you don't know, familiarize yourself) and I'm sure he will be getting emails soon about collaborations with the site, *crosses fingers* or maybe even writing for them. He is such a sincere individual, who always gives me great tips and advice with my photography work. He's a west coast boy, so I can't wait till he gets his ass over here and we can celebrate. Here is to the new generation, of self-proclaimed, self-made, self-starters of the 21st century. Ahhh what a good one this will be =D visit his site if you want to know any and everything about the industry, models, designers, photographers, he covers it. (www.jeremydante.com)

5Pointz w/ Amanda Baez

2010-07-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

Hey Guys;

Its been about a week since my last blog post and a lot of planning is underway..=D very excited to see what the future holds. I have some stylists and make-up artist requesting to work with me, which to me is such an honor. I guess people really like my photographs ..!! Im still hoping to upgrade very very soon, lets see whats in store for me.

Sooo, this past week I was able to shoot the lovely Amanda Baez for a personal shoot. She is the younger sister of my good friend Matt (he's been in photos on the blog before). You might recognize her from the 4th of July cookout/bbq/pool-party fiesta photos I posted last week. Amanda saw my work and wanted to get some personal pictures done. I talked with her for a bit and discovered that Amanda had a deep love for graffiti and all things street art. Also, she mentioned how she wanted to show a more feminine side of herself. My brain got to working, and I realized shooting Amanda at 5pointz in a nice dress could do the trick. If you don't know, 5pointz is an area in Queens, about a block radius, covered in graffiti. From murals, to portraits, and just tag-ups, 5pointz has all forms or spray art.

It's not even far, about 4-5 stops into Queenz on the 7 train. You give a donation to the artists on the premises and they let you shoot all day. Take a look at the photos we were able to get.

Oooh, and this has nothing to do with 5pointz, but I did get to see my baby nephew, Evan. He's growing up so fast, his hands are huge!!! Hes about to hit 10 months old. What a handsome fella he is.

hot like the 4th of July

2010-07-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

This past 4th-of-July weekend, I spent out in New Jersey at a good friends house. The house had everything to offer and more.. a pool(of course), jacuzzi, grill, bonfire... best place for a nice group of 20-somethings to spend the day and make sure everyone stays out of trouble.. I was worried recently, returning from Florida and in middle of butt-booty summer that I would lose my enthusiasm to take pictures; usually I'm good at reading myself when I know my work will go into remission so to speak. But I'm glad I was dead wrong, everywhere I go I have & will have my camera, its just that simple. Might sound tacky but I'm growing closer to my camera, I know exactly how to push her buttons now =D, and I can read a scene faster then before. Moral of the story : I feel I'm getting better, and here are some pictures to see if you decide so as well.

Self Portrait, lol, before leaving the house.

Picture of EZ, the bestie & the roomie, at a concessions stand in the subway station, no attendant tho...

Some of the group upon arrival at Casa de Berardi.

Mr. Jon "Famous" Rod, taking a dip in the pool. I love this photo..the expression, the color, I shot it from the deck, and the silhouette you see there is a plant holder.. =D

Jacuzzi time. =D Jets, Bubbles & all.

A la Bonfire..very grainy image, had to use a super hi ISO to get a still shot. I like the grain tho, it adds to the picture tho, very painting-like.

All I see is fireworks...

Like everywhere I go I tend to want to extend my stay..lol. I always ask first !!! So I stayed over and spent an extra day out in Rutherford, NJ. Next day was the beginning of this serious heat wave hitting the Northeast, so we lounged around the pool, listened to music... & the pool had a sprinkler that could be attached, naturally we wanted the whole experience and had a friend attach the sprinkler. I fell in love.. I've been on this trip of learning to love and appreciate the small things, and free things in life, detach myself a bit from the materialistic view on things. Try and change my mentality to not think I have to go out and pay big bucks to have a good time, enjoy life simply as it is; and the sprinkler was a great way to start. My creative mind started to race and I wanted to play with shutter speeds and capture the beads of water shooting off the sprinkler. Raced to grab my tripod, and tada !! check it out...

First image, Matthew is slightly out of focus and his sister, Amanda, is nice and sharp, the sprinklers shooting from behind.

Im really proud of this image =D I was able to dial up the shutter speed, get a good aperture going..and freeze the droplets, and that is Amanda in the background getting out the pool. =D

Justin (owner of the play house) had a friend who invited us over for her post-fourth-of-july cookout/pool chill out. So here is Willy (travel buddy, same friend who stood with me out in Orlando for a bit) Amanda, and a slither of my shoulder, on our way to the second cookout.

Photo on the left, upper right corner, there is Justin! and this was the friends pool, I love the pink floaties against the aqua blue of the pool. So I photographed it =D

Lastly, upon leaving. I was able to snatch a picture of Matthew, Amanda's brother, and another residence at Casa de Berardi. Dude has swagg for days & fellow Mac Missionary. =D

Fun times, Fun times. Now to read another novel. Some suggestions please?

Oo Florida

2010-06-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

So its been a really long time. A really, really long time. I'm pretty ashamed of myself actually, I feel not only have I let my 5 fans down, lol. But I let myself down. In my defense sooo much as happened since my last post. So guilt aside, lets get to business.

I took the most amazing vacation, with the best people in the world. A whole group of about 20 youngin's straight out of NYC (and the jersey area, lol) decided to head down and take over Miami for 6 days. And boy did we do just that. Here is a few snap shots ::

View of South Beach from the plane, right before landing, how promising does it look ?!!

Street shot, second day of vacation, walking around. Feeling very tourista =D If I'm not mistaken this was on Collins Ave, few blocks down from the hotel.

Our lovely hotel. The staff, the rooms, the pool, the service, everything was perfect. I would recommend to anyone staying in south beach. No ritz, but very humble and again, just effin perfect =D

Love, Love, Love & Adore this picture, and the young gentleman staring at me in it. Justin Valle, what a sweetheart. They don't make them like him anymore. Nuff said.

Most of us, layed out on the beach like a bunch of chicken cutlets. A sexy group of chicken cutlets if I say so myself =D.

Party, Party Time. Some of the front, some of the back. That young woman right there, will grown up to be very classy, and a very very bad B*@^H. She will tell you herself. Heart of gold tho.

So the Miami trip wrapped up on Monday the 14th, but I didn't get enough. Better said, I was not ready to head back to NYC. I knew what was waiting for me back home. The same routine, same people, I was ready for a quick change. Try something different, and I stayed over 2 weeks extra. Stood with some great people, had some fun times, matter of fact, still having some fun times =D. Let me show you Orlando real quick.

Somewhat of the "Party House" well across the street was the party house. But over here a lot of the houses are copy & paste. Seen em once, seen em all.

Beautiful sunset, 3rd night at Orlando. Backyard of the party house.

I had to, how could I come to Orlando and not have a Disney photo?

yet another sunset, this one from downtown Disney, honestly that's half the reason I stood, the skies are spectacular down here. The clouds are white, fluffy, and sunsets are vivid and intense. In NYC the building take away, and I could never see a horizon.

Of course, me being the great thinker that I am. I spent a lot of time doing just that, so I decided to take a few pictures of me doing what I do best. I titled the photograph(s) changing skies, in ode to Lady Gaga's new song. I swear the universe bends to me just when I need her to. The song describes a lot of how I am feeling right now. You live, you learn, and you get your ass back home. I'm ready for you New York, more then I've ever been. God Speed my friends.

changing skies, cha-cha-cha-changing skies.

Its been forever and a day =/

2010-05-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Yeap, thats just the right amount the time, forever and a day..at least that's what it has felt like.

Let me give you a quick update on my life. So first off, I finished The Alchemist, great book, many lessons to take away, most of which I already knew or were familiar with, but I'm never one to shy away from a "re-awakening" if you will.

Follow your heart and listen.., that's where the treasure lies. the end.

I also participated in a project with a NYC based artist Justin Violini. The name of the project is titled "Instant" involves a Polaroid, orgasm faces, and a moment in time... check out his website (http://fear-less.com/index.fear?less=instant) . The project will be on display at the Robert Goff Gallery in Chelsea, one day only, June 17th.

Lastly, and certainly not least, I was able to shoot with a good friend and aspiring model/actress/webshow host extraordinaire.. Danielle Moore. We did two looks, the first was a little on the edgier side of what I've done, but definitely part of where I want to go; a one piece black suit, long ponytail, studs and snake skin. We worked with what we had and I've very very proud of what was the outcome. The second was more casual, coral dress, gold and colorful accessories, at the local park. also very pleased with the outcome. With every shoot I gain a little more confidence, now all I need is a good reliable team to depend on, cause FASHION photography is not a one man show unfortunately. =/

I'm working hard, drawing inspirations and trying to network a bit. I'm a skip & a jump away from feeling confident enough to work with signed models.

AMBITION

love you guys

longer then I wouldve liked.

2010-04-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days longer then I would've like since my last post, but I had a nice and relaxed weekend, wayyy over due in my opinion.

Friday kicked off with a surprise party for a homeboy of mine named Stewie. All the boys were there, then the girls eventually came, shots were pouring, beers spraying and nothing but laughing and drunked falls to be heard. One of those nights for the books. New York City kids at their best.stewie (bday boy) & me

celebration

young love.

my boy Bryan gettin it in.

So the Stewie Surprise was just the kick off to my bomb-ass-chillax weekend, =D
Saturday was met with an opportunity to head to Jersey and kick back wit a few buds, I seized the chance, packed my camera and The Alchemist, grabbed my bestie and got our asses on a bus out there. It was a much needed "getaway". Sunday morning never looked so beautiful.

the bestie. ez

me.

the attic

front porch. amazing light spectrum gradient overlay (photoshop talk)
laughter.

hideout.

nighttime experimentation.

I'm taking wayyyy to long to finish The Alchemist.

time to build up...

2010-04-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys, thanks for coming to my blog. Been here before? I LOVE YOU =D

First time? THANK YOU =D I mean it.

Ok, so this week was a little busy. I was able to link up with a few models and good friends to get some pictures in. Practice makes perfect, although no one is perfect. Fuck it, I'll try and see how close I come =]

First is Mayra, gorgeous girl & very punctual! She's not a working model, instead shes a pretty friend of a friend who now is basically my new muse. She arrived 15 mins before I asked her to, thats what I call a woman on the go; shes a do it yourself, don't give a fuck, she's a rush type of girl with a disgusting addiction to shoes.... and you know what? she has her very own blog too!! checkkkk it out. ( http://blackoutmgmt.blogspot.com/ )

And then, there was Angel. Handsome fella off of Model Mayhem. If you don't know the site, you should check it out. I would say its the facebook of the fashion industry; models, photographers, make-up artist, designers and even re-touch specialist can all make a profile page. I meet up with him after Mayra, he's the model and he was late 15 mins, but we will let that slide =D

I'm following my dreams, I suggest you all do the same. A really good friend has lent me the book The Alchemist...and please please please, find the time to read that. Every few pages I break out in tears..I'm sure the millions of people who read it feels the same way: but I feel Paulo is talking directly to me, maybe it has something to do with the main characters name being Santiago or just the words of wisdom spilling over every page.. lemme share a bit...

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity...."

&

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it..."

now go read it. NOW. xoxo

capture to share

2010-04-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

Consistency is Key, I have to remember that.

I've enjoyed myself an hiatus of a few days; allowing myself time to gather up some work to share with you guys. If I do it everyday, might grow a bit stale...?? Either way, I have a good amount set aside to share, so, lets get to it.

sunset at hawkstone

I captured this lovely sunset on the roof of my best friends house. I bike rode to his house to practice carrying my gear and riding around. It was a little tough, my gear is probably a good 10-15 lbs and maybe thats why I was I winded as shit..? Either way, I got there, we chilled, and I waited for 7 o'clock to make my way to the roof top. I wanted to capture the actual sun and maybe a horizon line, but then I thought about it and its damn near impossible to get a straight horizon line in the city, there are buildings everywhere!! So I set up my gear; Aperture Priority mode, with an Exposure Comp of -1/3 I wanted to keep it as saturated as possible. A tad sharpening in camera raw and viola! sunset at hawkstone.

cross at ground zero.

between the title and second picture of the plaque, you can kinda get it all. Very sad if you think too hard and long for it. Remember it like it was yesterday; the cross was relocated not too fare from ground zero; the original location was of course part of one of the towers.

soho with eddie.

I did not take this photo, a good friend who was with Eddie and I took the picture, however it was with my camera, on my settings, and I edited it, so I used it. lol. No, but I do not intend to take credit for the photo, Willy Rodriguez took it and therefore he receives honorable mention and praise, thank you Willy! This was around 4 in the afternoon, SoHo area, and it was a real moment captured, no posing, quick snapshot. I was on the phone, speaking to another friend to meet up in the area, I promised willy earlier he could take a picture with my camera, so I seized the opportunity. Gave willy the camera, explained him the basics, and here we are. I must say, I love the composition, and I was surprised to see Eddie in the background, but its the best surprise I received all year arguably. I love this picture, for once, I was captured too, in a moment.

spring is here

2010-04-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

such a spectacular day =D hope everyone is enjoying it; I know I sure am.

I know it is kinda early; but I'm sitting here with a few spare hours and one too many pictures I would love to share with you guys. !! Got a early start to my day; on my way back from the gym along the Grand Concourse; saw this beautiful tree in full bloom and I could not stop staring, so I decided not to be rude and just took a picture =D

Early day, so sun was still set in the east; west side of the Concourse. Sun is the light source, although I probably should've filled in with some flash; had to use fill light in Adobe Raw. Still; loving this image; Bloom. Confirming Spring is here; longer days, fun nights; and more memories.

live.create.capture.

mah bodega.

thank you for visiting my blog; xoxo

Consistency is Key

2010-04-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

uh oh; second consecutive day, I feel responsible. =D

2 new images; pursuit & landmark

The location of this photo is the Yankee Stadium Metro North station. It was late afternoon, so I was able to enjoy the solitude of post-rush hour madness. I was looking forward to having a good day uptown by Riverside. The reason for this picture was for the cloud mural on the left; a mosaic if you will. You cant really tell by the photo, but the tiles had an irridescent sheer to the them; very very beautiful, then I thought of my reason for getting dressed; my motivation for the day. And it was, and still is in a way: the pursuit of happiness. I wanted the wind in my hair, beautiful sunset; and a smoke =D; and I got it all.

On the way; I saw this beautiful bridge, out in the hudson river* I believe. It was a landmark on my way.

thank you for visiting my blog; =D. seriously.

Slacker of the Week

2010-04-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

so yeah....

I initially set out to make this blog a everyday thing; and already I managed to let maybe 5 days slip away, one post and I think I'm done. I'm embarrassed. Well putting all that behind me and moving forward, I'm gonna try to post as often as possible; fair enough? And When I do, I will go viral with the message and let everyone know. =D

again; thank you for taking the time to come visit my blog first image, I call Possibilities. It was taken at a friends house, early morning. Good friend, through many years managed to maintain somewhat of a relationship, although with a lot of bumps in the road. I knew some alone time was needed with some talk, so we did just that. And my thoughts became a little more clear and I saw some possibilities in patching things up. The light source was the sun, right in through the window you see there.

second image, Lazarus. If your familiar with Catholicism somewhat, then you might know that St. Lazarus was the patron saint of the sick and poor. Long story short, My grandmother had close affiliation with this saint; they told her if she prayed to him for help, he will give her good health and keep her fed. She passed two years ago, but I still think he helped. Light source, the sun at her full glory; noon.

ok, so third and final image : Free. This image was taken in the basement of a good friend of mine. The light comes from a off-camera flash attached with a sync-cord; held the flash in my left hand and the camera in my left (God I can't wait to upgrade, get some wireless going on) It was decided to have Ru Paul's Drag Basement; in honor of his show on the Logo Network. I love anything creative and any reason to celebrate life; so this was right up my alley. Two gir- I mean boys; two boys decided they will perform in drag for us, and a select few (I was one of the select few =D ) would be judges and so on. Point is:: I felt a part of these boys was liberated; and the feminine divine (whom I believe rest in all of us; a little more in gay men) was allowed to show herself through two men. I wish I could feel this free.

thank you for reading, I love you for that; seriously.

xoxo

first.blog

2010-03-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

hello & thank you first off, for even taking your time to come and visit my blog. seriously; thank you.

I decided to make a blog, cause lets face it; its what all the cool kids are doing. And I want in.

Not exactly.

I'm making a blog to share my journey. The journey I began to embark on a little less then a year ago, and that's my journey with photography. It began as a hobby and now has blown up to be my full blow passion; my very reason for getting by day to day. Yeah, it's gotten that serious. I'm starting to withdraw a tad bit from society too, less temptation to hang out with friends and have a good time; now I rather sit at home and read up on flash photography and study old Avedon work. Now I begin to see the world in terms of light, and get eaten alive every moment deciding what I want to do with that light; how could I make it do what I want it to..?

So here begins my journey with light, photography, people, life... hopefully you like, and enjoy. Either way I'm doing it.

Picture everyday, try to. And some words to go with.

First image, I call Power. Little brother screaming and flexing his muscles. We were doing laundry; grey and wet outside. We had a little spat earlier in the day, he's growing up and this picture shows me that.