Sharing The Roijoy

Just let your love grow

2012-02-01T00:19:00.001-08:00

Not only is it February, it's also a leap year! Valentines day should be quite an occasion this year! As predicted, I've had a flurry of sales of "lurv" related images and I expect they'll tail off toward the end of this week.

This month has kept me busy with corporate shoots and portrait work. I've been pushing images to some new areas and have been added to The U.S. Yahoo Editorial Collections and have also had some really good new enquiries through Yahoo's flickr site. I was also able to shoot some new stock imagery which has been successfully submitted to the image libraries.

And here are my first and last image sales of January.

After the gym...

2012-01-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

I'm back to my gym regime properly again after a few months of physio for some injuries that came my way. I'm aiming to get back to the shape I'm used to by the middle of March as a birthday present to myself :)

I went for a quick walk in the sunshine after my session and encountered dragons in Union Square. Chinese New Year celebrations are well under way and today Verizon was offering an amiable dragon to pose with anyone who wanted to take pictures with him for free. All you had to do was supply your own models and camera.

Putting My 3 R's Into Practice

2012-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

In this case "Roijoy Rapid Response". Everyone in San Francisco will not need to be reminded that we have been having some rain. Not the pretend rain where you still nip out in to do errands. No, it's been as if the whole city has set up camp at the base of Niagara falls!

So on Saturday when the sun came out, the streets were filled again as people caught up on their days that had been lost to the wet and stormy weather. It was14:00hrs and my phone rang.
"Isn't the weather beautiful today" said the voice at the other end.
"Yes it's fabulous", I agreed.
"Can we do my shoot now? I'm over in North Beach and it's so great outside."

I'd been emailing with this prospect and when he had asked about timings to do his portrait session, I had told him that I could be very flexible.

"Yes. Sure." I said. "I'll meet you at Montgomery and Green. I'll be there by 16:15hrs".

The voice in my head shouts "Go, go, go! This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill!"
I grab a camera body, 2 prime lenses and a wide angle zoom. 2 speedlites and a ring flash adapter. Check my bag once more before I zip it all up and rush out of the door.

I'd chosen the location because it also had some high elevations. This would be important because the sun would be dropping down toward the horizon quite quickly that late in the afternoon. But I would also be able to use it as both a backlight and a fill light depending on the shooting directions. Anyway the client and his friend were so much fun it really made the rush worthwhile. We got great pictures and we all had a good time.

It's always nice to have a little notice, but the Roijoy Rapid Response service is always there if you need it!

Being A 3-armed Parent Without Getting Surgery

2012-01-19T01:36:00.000-08:00

I re-shot a product range and lifestyle images for a company named Mother's 3rd Arm. They are migrating to my photography over the next few months on their website and packaging. I think it's actually a good product and works really well. I got to test drive it in cars, the park, playground, home and other spaces using child models and their parents. The above shots were done in my studio with my main lighting. Most of the location shots were done with speedlites, reflectors and diffusers to cope with the varied lighting conditions and also give me the ability to react quickly as the children did their unpredictable thing and we move quickly from space to space and locations.

In the picture above, I'd actually stopped shooting when suddenly the little girl started grinning and I was quick enough to capture this shot which was exactly one of the images my client was hoping for.

The little girl below did exactly the same thing and waiting till we thought we were done before she brought out her best smile!

Dancing and Swearing at City Hall

2012-01-15T00:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, January 8, I attended the inauguration ceremony of Mayor Ed Lee at City Hall in San Francisco. Before he was officially sworn in, we were treated to dancing and music from Asia, Latin America, Hawaii, as well as orchestral renditions.

I was shooting with no auxiliary lighting and also wanted to retain movement in my images. The dancers were excellent and the costumes were quite beautiful. I'd never been inside City Hall prior to this and was very impressed with the architecture.

You can see more of the dancers in a gallery here

Look, No Pants!

2012-01-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today was "Global No Pants Subway Ride" day. The weather in San Francisco was very pleasant today which I'm sure was very much welcomed by all the participants here.

End of the first week of 2012...

2012-01-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

The last of the holiday stragglers make their way back home and the rest of the population resign themselves to the fact that there is another year of challenges ahead of them. For many this is an exciting time while others are filled with trepidation. I'm of the extremely excited persuasion!

As I expected, my fitness images are outselling my other subject matter at the moment, but I have noticed 2 Valentines type images sold this week. So do you know what you'll be gifting yet on Valentines day?

I was doing product shoots for Tez Marble at the end of last year. I shot just over 2500 items for the business. The images are now live on their website under the products heading.

Christmas, done that, been there.

2012-01-04T00:26:00.000-08:00

I stopped in Union Square for a while today watching the giant Christmas tree being dismantled and taken down. Christmas is over and the stores need to start promoting the next shopping event!

The whole thing is in sections and hollow on the middle. So it's not really a tree? But I don't want to be picky, and it did look impressive while it was up. There is still a lot of evidence of Christmas in all the stores with the emphasis now being put on window banners and displays that continue to wish us all a happy, and sometimes, prosperous New Year.

Well, as soon as you get home from the sales and congratulate yourselves on all those Bargains, you need to rush straight back out and get that Valentine's gift
Don't say I didn't remind you!

My First Photos Of 2012 Are Extremely Hot!

2012-01-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

45 minutes ago I looked out of the window of my apartment to see this!

There was a fire raging in Masonic and as you can see from the photo, just a few buildings from me. Right now the fire service has got it well under control and have contained it remarkably well.

Not the situation of choice, but we also got to wish all our neighbors a Happy New Year face to face as we gathered on the roof of our building to hose it down with water to lessen the chances of the many hot cinders landing on our roof, to take hold and start another fire.

Great Expectation

2012-01-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

2012 has the potential to be apocalyptic or a huge wet squid. It's a year that has so much to live up to for so many people. Many people have already spent millions in anticipation of "surviving" 2012 while others are hoping to make millions from those who want to "survive".

For me? It will be yet another fabulous year of opportunity, fun, and excitement :)

I woke up this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see that I have already started selling stock images on New Year's day. Well whoever you are working with images today - thank you!


First and last image sales of December 2011

I'm expecting a rise in sales of my fitness themed images during the next 2 weeks before themes become more general again. I'll be out and about doing more editorial shots during this first month. Editorial image sales have been good and steadily rising. On the other side, I already have a couple of assignments booked for the business sector. One of the companies I will be working with in particular, have stressed they want a creative approach and I believe them. Looking forward to a very fun shoot downtown for that. In the meantime - Happy New Year everyone!

David & Goliath - a Christmas Story...

2011-12-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

... not just a little cute squeak of a sneeze. No, this one was wet and very wild and came with a force that could just as well have parted the Red Sea! Even though my camera took most of this broadside, with my face being only 2 feet away from the extremely functional nostrils and opened mouth of this suffering little 2 year old, I still found my face bathed in a warm wet soup of Picornaviruses. I smiled while wiping down my face before drying off my camera and Lens

The weekend before Christmas, I had been hired to shoot a 2nd birthday party at Ghiradelli Square when this incident happened. For a moment I thought, "I hope I don't get ill", but quickly shrugged off the thought. I even attended a "Grown ups" party later that same night and felt great. On my way home I realized that I was probably being silly to think that one tiny little boy's sneeze could take down someone as strong and healthy as I thought I was.

Well, by Christmas Eve I was a miserable sniveling shell of a being and struggling to breathe through my nose. Goliath was fallen, again.

The story does have a happy ending though. Even though my head was still a little cloudy, we enjoyed all the Christmas festivities and still managed an afternoon walk along Ocean Beach.

No pixels were harmed in the publishing of this photograph

2011-12-07T17:24:00.001-08:00

I had another fitness shoot today with a model named Rico. We've worked on a project before so it was a fun and relaxed shoot with the opportunity to try a few shots for a few things I had in mind too. This shot is a single exposure from my camera and is presented here with no retouching at all. These are the pixels as captured by my camera.
Obviously, I'll have to give out a prize to the first person who correctly tells me how I did it!

Enjoy :)

The Joy of Yoga

2011-12-01T21:30:00.001-08:00

Model: Wataya Corset supplied by Dark Garden http://www.darkgarden.com

I've completed a fair amount of yoga shoots this year but this one had exactly the kind of twist that I like. Wataya is an independent Anusara-inspired Yoga practitioner and among other places you can take one of her classes at Yoga Kula in San Francisco. Dark Garden supplied this gorgeous corset and bra.
While she dressed and had her makeup done, I built the set in my studio. A few light checks with my mannequin and we were ready!

Even though Wataya insisted that she wasn't very comfortable in front of a camera, we soon created a mood where it was fun for everyone and I was able to capture a lot of successful shots. There are also some pure fun shots when we did a costume change which will probably pass through my online portfolio at some point :)

Here are my first and last stock image sales for the month of November.

One Wedding and no funeral

2011-11-28T20:20:00.001-08:00

The weather turned out to be really nice for the wedding shoot in Castro Valley on Sunday. It was a small wedding with a really lovely couple getting married. I wish them every possible good wish for their married lives!

I had arranged to be picked up by another photographer so that we could drive down to the address together. Coming From San Francisco, I took the BART to West Oakland to meet.

I arrived a few minutes early and stepped out of the station. It was Sunday morning and still overcast. I had felt the BART ride was a little esoteric and now I found myself standing in a kind of concrete wasteland, looking better dressed than felt comfortable for my surroundings. As I stood there attracting glances from the people who passed by me, I became very aware of the fact that I was standing in this exposed location with close to $10, 000 of gear in my bags!

All I had to do was stay calm and look confident, but to give myself a tiny bit of reassurance, I found a surveillance camera and took my position in full view of it.

As 15 minutes passed, my ride came and whisked me off to more familiar environments...

Fame? And Fortune?

2011-11-21T08:58:00.001-08:00

When I went to my computer this morning I discovered, to my delight, that someone had made a rather large purchase on one of my stock images. In the image as you can see, I've included myself as one of the models.

From the rights purchased I can see that the image will be used at a large size and also will be printed across multiple media.

Does this mean that sometime soon I might confront myself in poster form while out on the streets?

Well it has happened before when I was featured on large posters that were part of an ad campaign that was placed all over the London Underground. So if you do come across this image, let me know. I'm very curious to see what I'm promoting :)

Maybe I caught some celebrity dust after shooting at Cirque du Soleil last week! I had a great day with the tour coordinator and met every single member of the touring show "Totem", as I photographed each one of them. It's quite an insight to see how this "family" of artistes and support teams manage to create some sort of normality out of their very "not normal" lives. For the artistes I would also add, their "not normal" abilities!

They tour with 3 teachers so the kids get schooled everyday. I spoke to one of the performers who told me how life had been for him these last four and a half years of non-stop touring!

As it got closer to showtime, it was quite surreal to see people in various stages of costume and make-up making the whole site resemble an extension to the bar scene in Star Wars.

Everyone was a delight to meet. Even when we couldn't communicate in sentences because of the many language differences, I could still feel the warmth and welcoming of their characters. They do a great show, but I can see that it's a tough life they have all chosen in their quest to push the boundaries of what we think is humanly and physically possible.

Anyway, I was there to work. If you want to know how it went from a client perspective, scroll down to "Customer reviews" HERE

Into the final quarter

2011-11-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

The title is far more dramatic than this posting is. I've recently returned from a trip to Jamaica where I was fortunate to meet up with my father and also siblings and other relatives, who had flown over from the UK. But now that the tropical sunshine slowly becomes another memory, I am once again focused on completing the fourth quarter of 2011. Where has the year gone?

As is usual from me at the end of each month, below are the 1st and last stock image sales of September.

I almost didn't submit the coconut shot since it was more of a test than an actual set shot, but I'm glad I did now because it is making sales. Since coming back from Jamaica I've been busy with more product work and finished off the month with a portrait session.

2000 Shots and Counting

2011-10-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Celebrating shot number 2000 almost at the end of a week of product and showroom photography!

It's been a very busy week. I was busy shooting all the images that are to be used on my clients website. They are a Marble, Stone and Tile company with 4 locations in the Bay area. So far I've shot over 2000 items and you can see me celebrating in the shot above during my 2000th exposure of the job!

All those individual items had to be taken down of the wall by me, photographed and then put back in place. Then each display area of each showroom had to be shot. Luckily for me, all the locations played music that I love throughout the showrooms so I just got into the zone and wiggled a little to the music from time to time. By the way, marble is heavy!!

I managed to also learn a lot about marble and stone products and the owner even commented that he should hire me to join his sales team. But for now I just need to check all the images and get them all delivered.

Shooting the larger pieces of granite and marble involved a crew with a fork lift truck with clever adapter that allowed it to be used like a small crane and position each sheet of stone so that I could get the shots needed. You can see how it worked in this video clip.

And that was September

2011-10-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

First and last picture sales for the month of September

For some reason I had been thinking that September would be a little quiet for me giving me time to concentrate on getting more new content uploaded to the stock image libraries I contribute to. But, and I'm not complaining, the work kept on coming.

I did extend my work days anyway because I felt it was still important to increase the images I have with the stock libraries. Sales are consistent and so it makes sense that the way to keep sales increasing is to increase the quantity of images I have on the various sites. I currently contribute to 12 stock image libraries! Microstock, Royalty Free and Rights Managed are all catered for and I have seen sales every weekday of the month and increasingly at weekends too.

Included in the work I'm shooting for clients is a regular creation of portraits. I keep on looking at ways that I can make the portraits more than just a picture and am currently having success exploring a take on occupational/recreational portraits. To show you what I mean, here is an image from a portrait session I shot in September of a woman who is exploring her expression through art.

Tomorrow I'm leading a photowalk in the Castro as part of Worldwide Photowalk 2011 And then on Monday I kick off October with a full week of Product photography.

Shiny Trinkets is now live

2011-09-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Version one of this site is now up and running at http://www.shinytrinket.com
All the photography on the site is done by me and shot in my studio. I've just finished another shoot for this company and the images should be integrated into the site shortly.

Shiny Things

2011-09-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I shot all the product for a new jewellery site - jewelry if you're in America. In total I shot 60 pieces and some additional shots with pieces being worn by a mannequin.
This week I will be doing a second shoot for this new San Francisco based company.

Sport - T

2011-09-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

This is "T" who was the model for a very recent sport and fitness shoot on location in San Francisco.
We started with a studio session before going out on location to do the running, stretching and general fitness shots.

"T" is a lot of fun to work with and has a really infectious laugh which she never lost - even after having to repeatedly jump into the air, run up steps and pose in all kinds of strenuous positions. She's impressively fit and as a model, a real joy to work with.

Also many thanks to the 2 lighting assistants and the grip who assisted on what was a very smooth shoot!

Cooking something up in the kitchen

2011-09-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

I had lots of fun shooting this dress with a really fun model. We shot in a kitchen using an umbrella and 2 speedlites. The model is Carla. She's based in Wisconsin but I've worked with her before here in San Francisco.

We really worked the dress which is really a one-piece shortie outfit. But very cute! The shoot was about an hour and everyone was happy with the final images.

Sites In The City

2011-08-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

A page from the Bleuflamme site

I've just shot 3 websites for 3 different Clients in the city. The Bleuflamme site is up and running now and, except for the "Bleuflamme Live" page, all the photography (including all the fabric swatches), and videos on the site were shot, retouched, and edited by me. The 2nd site I shot is a jewelry company and hopefully they will be live in the next few days. Once they are live then I can show the work I've done. And the 3rd site is for an Artist based here in San Francisco. Again, once the site is live I will be able to feature the work here.

I continue to submit and sell stock images through various photo image sites. In August I also began submitting to Alamy. I will be doing another big push of stock photography over this coming month to ensure I have fresh images to keep the sales turning over. Here are my first and last stock image sales for the month of August.

First Last

I have a few more shoots I'm still processing right now and will share them with you as each shoot is processed and delivered.

Finally, a reminder that I'm leading a photowalk in October as part of the Worldwide Photowalk Event. The walk is free and you can get more details and sign up here.

4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk 2011

2011-08-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Scott Kelby Announces the Fourth Annual Worldwide Photo Walk The Largest Global Social Event for Photographers

TAMPA, FL – August 24, 2011 – On Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, the whole world will be walking again with Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and #1 bestselling computer and technology book author, in his Fourth Annual Worldwide Photo Walk™ — the world’s largest global social photography event in the history of photography.

This year, the Photo Walk will take place over two days in October giving more photographers from around the world a chance to participate. In 2010, more than 30,000 photographers walked in over 1,000 locations taking 6 million images in just one day. We anticipate that this year’s Photo Walk will be one of our biggest events.

Local photographer Roi Brooks is helping San Francisco take part in this worldwide event by organizing a Photo Walk in The Castro on October 2 at 1:30pm. For more information, visit http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/san-francisco-ca-united-states-the-castro/, where you can also sign up to participate in the Photo Walk.

The Photo Walk is free and open to anyone who owns a camera. More Photo Walk details are available at: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/ or visit the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk Facebook page.

The 2011 Photo Walk is co-sponsored by Adobe. Additional sponsors include Wescott, KelbyTraining.com, NAPP, Peachpit, Mpix, Wacom, Manfrotto, onOne Software, Tamron, Tiffen and B&H.

About NAPP The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is a dynamic trade association and the world’s leading resource for Adobe® Photoshop® and Photoshop® Lightroom® training, news, and education. An award-winning team of Photoshop and photography experts, authors, consultants, and trainers lead the association – keeping its members on the cutting edge of Photoshop, Lightroom, and photography techniques and technology. With 72,000 members in 106 countries, NAPP is the largest digital imaging and graphics association worldwide. Visit http://www.photoshopuser.com for more information. 

Media Contact:
Mary Laurinaitis
NAPP/Media Manager
813-433-5005, ext. 162
MaryL@KelbyMediaGroup.com

Hair I Go!

2011-08-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

I had a great shoot on Saturday at a Hair Salon in the Castro.

It was a great space with a fabulous hair stylist and some great models. I also had the pleasure of working with a make-up artist I really enjoyed working with in the past.

Once I've processed the shoot I'll share more details with you but in the meantime if you want a great hairstyle, just contact

Chanin Murphy, Hairstylist The Barber Lounge
854 Folsom Street, San Francisco
(415) 934-0411 www.barberlounge.com

and ask for Chanin Murphy.

Enjoy!

Jamaican Winter Sports Hero

2011-08-12T03:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post with some of the shots from my Errol Kerr shoot. These images were all shot at Lake Donner in Truckee, CA.
You can read the story behind the shoot here.

Errol is the sole member of the Jamaican Ski Team, living in Reno, and training in Tahoe. He is also a successful X-Games competitor.

He made his World Cup debut in January 2008 with a twelfth place in Les Contamines, then in March followed up with an eighth place in Meiringen-Hasliberg . In the 2008–09 season he was thirtieth place in St. Johann in Tirol and fifteenth place in Lake Placid, going on to tenth place worldwide at the Skicross World Championships 2009 in Japan.

Errol finished ninth overall at the 2010 Winter Olympics. This is the best placing by a Caribbean athlete at any Winter Olympics.
At the recent X-Games he finished fifth in Ski Cross at Winter X Games XV.

We had beautiful weather the whole weekend we were there for the shoot which in itself was lots of fun to do!

Errol Kerr head to head with Filip Filsar of the Slovenia Ski Team

Bollywood to Hollywood

2011-08-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of shooting a portrait session for Dipika Parmar. She's an actress and entertainer and has had recent successes in the Bollywood film industry. Her latest release was PAPPU - Mr Intelligent.

Dipika has also done a host of TV and film shorts, commercials and modeling.

At the Crown & Crumpet

I first met her when I took some candid shots for her and some of her friends. At one point they decided to have tea at the Crown & Crumpet and I did a whole series of shots for her at the location. I met the manager there who turns out to be British and had a royally delicious pot of tea during the proceedings. If you find yourself in Ghiradelli Square and you yearn for a real cup of tea - with all the trimmings, I recommend you drop in.

Dipika is set to do some film work on these shores too and is busy back and forth to Hollywood at the time of this writing. She's a really bubbly, fun, individual and I wish her continued success!

And so we reach the end of another month and so as usual, here is my first and last stock image sale of July.

Quick off the mark

2011-07-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

I was out walking and taking photos with Jazzluv on Ocean Beach a couple of weekends ago. At first it was quite dull and hazy but being San Francico, we knew that the weather and light could change at any moment. And it did.

As the sky turned blue along came a brand new Beach Patrol unit. It stopped on the beach about 50 yards from us and screamed out to me,
"I'm a stock photo opportunity, please photograph me."

So I did. The driver watched me as I approached and seemingly ignored him to go and crouch by the front of the truck. I didn't want to miss the moment so I said hello to him after I had got my shot. I submitted the photo to a Stock Image library and was please to see that within an hour of it appearing on their site it started selling. I found it interesting that the very first sale was in India.

Below are some of my other images that I know started to sell within an hour of being available online.

Pride and Roijoy

2011-07-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Dykes on Bikes traditionally leading the parade

The San Francisco annual Pride Parade took place in June and I made my way to line Market Street in good time to get a front row position to the parade. I managed to get quite a few shots which have been taken up by image libraries for their editorial content.

Unfortunately the great shots that I could see coming together in the street often got ruined by the very zealous and enthusiastic security guy who kept stepping out into the center of my camera frame so that he could either, cheer, collect freebies, or see what was going on in the distance. Moving would have meant losing my front row advantage and I suppose he wanted to have fun too while he was doing his job.

Anyway, I did manage to get enough usable shots and was able to get them accepted into the image libraries. While on the subject of stock imagery, here are the first and last images I had sold for the month of June.

As well as regular family shoots and portrait sessions, I was also busy with headshots for all types of people. It's great to meet all these people and hear about the amazing and diverse lives, inventions, or occupations they experience.

It's quite inspiring and refreshing to hear how diverse the world is from talking to just 10 or so individuals who have no obvious connections with each other.

Some people come from out of the city and for others I do the traveling. I also really enjoy seeing people become relaxed in front of my lens and remark how enjoyable they have found the experience of being the subject of one of my shoots.

I've also completed a range of product shots this month including these shirts for Bleuflamme Clothing.

June also resulted in the making of 5 more videos too, some of which I'm still busy editing. Which is what I'm getting back to right now...

Lakes and mountains of the Olympians.

2011-06-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Donner Lake

Last weekend we had the pleasure of driving up to Reno to spend time with and photograph Errol Kerr of the Jamaica Ski Team. When we arrived at his home we were also introduced to Filip Flisar who is a member of the Slovenia Ski Cross Team. Both these athletes competed at the last Winter Olympic games and competed against each other recently at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. As friends as well as competitors, Filip was spending some time visiting the USA.

Before reaching Errol's home, we had spent an afternoon lounging around and picnicking on the shores of Lake Tahoe, before continuing on to spend the first night at a hotel in Downtown Reno. An experience that was balanced by a surprisingly pleasant walk by the river and tea at Java Jungle. There was even an incident during the night when someone, a little worst for wear, fell down the hotel stairwell and landed on the 8th floor!

But, the real fun was hanging out with Errol and his friends and meeting his mother and his girlfriend too. Errol also shared with us an amazing dvd that showed how he had built jumps in the yard of his mother's home in Truckee to practice and hone the skills that have eventually allowed him to become an Olympian. It's an amazing thing to watch as the young Errol literally flies through the air around the house. At one point his mother even allowed him to build a snow jump from the roof of the house!

Sharing a Jamaica Ski Team Jacket with Antonella

For the shoot we drove down to Donner Lake and had a session by the lakeside using speedlites to tame the glorious sunshine in the clear blue sky. Filip was also happy to assist with the lighting and was a real sport allowing me to address him as tripod 2. For speed and flexibility I allocated a speedlite each to Antonella and Filip making them into human tripods so that I could verbally and instantly change the lighting as I shot.

In the next few days, I'm going through the shoot to pick out the best shots and once done and approved, I'll post some. The last thing I have to say here about Errol Kerr is, he is deeper and wider than you would ever have imagined. At his present young age, he probably already has the experiences of 2 or 3 lifetimes of someone twice his age! A great and really genuine person to know.

We had a nice easy drive back to San Francisco on Monday to complete a really fun and worthwhile weekend.

It's all good!

2011-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've just had a wonderful time in the tiny Central American country of Belize. The weather was great and the beaches were wonderful making the whole experience worthy of being called Paradise.

A tree whose branches are right up by the house, regularly plays host to many birds. Especially a flock of green parrots who visit it 2 or 3 times a day to eat the fruit buds that sprout from the trees branches.

We stay at a fairly remote location when in Belize which allows us the possibility of encountering all types of wildlife. So as well as pelicans, herons, frigates, hawks and all kinds of other birds, there were armadillos, snakes, raccoons, and many other animals including a visit from a puma one night.

My stock images sold well and here you can see my first and last image sale for the month of May.

Finally, I'm also happy to report that my Tamron Di lens is repaired and back with me after 2 months at the repair center. I had dropped the lens onto a wooden floor and the auto focus and vibration controls no longer worked correctly. Also manual focus was only accurate within a limited focal range. I contacted United Camera Repairs, got a quote and boxed up the lens and sent it off to them. The lens got back to me just in time for my trip to Belize and actually works a little better than before it was dropped. They had to strip the unit down and rebuild it so I had the benefit of my lens being carefully reassembled by hand.

They have an excellent online tool for tracking progress and when I was getting anxious about timing, Jennifer Tarpening, from their customer service center, was fantastic and personalized the experience for me, including having the lens flown next day delivery to me at no additional cost. I do recommend United Cameras if you need a repair.

Ok, time to do more shooting now!

Sunshine & Mangoes

2011-05-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Our mango tower on the verandah

These past few days the weather has been typically tropical with glorious sunshine. We've been stocking up on fresh food and water and have been doing lots of lounging around before we start any real sightseeing.

To get our provisions, we drove north to Dangriga, a Garifuna town, to the market there. A neighbor of ours asked us to pick up a couple of things for him. We successfully found one of the items, but for today at least, there is no cottage cheese in Hopkins Village or Dangriga!

One point already worthy of note is that it is now mango season here in Belize and we have our first batch of freshly picked specimens to eat our way through. I ate one just before writing this - delicious!

Taking stock for April

2011-05-02T01:31:00.000-07:00

Just a brief status at after a very busy month. Stock continues to go well and I've shown my first stock image sold in April and my last one sold in April.

The first image was shot in my studio in February 2010. Although this particular image has only sold 4 times, there are also variants from the same session also selling through the stock libraries. The other image has sold 6 times and also has 2 similar images from the same shoot which have also bolstered the sales from the shoot.

The model here is a fitness instructor and the shoot took place at a gym in the San Francisco financial district.

The first working day of May is here now so I'm hopefully that sales will resume after the weekend with the demand for my images that I've grown used to.

Another Header

2011-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Photokore stock photography library in Asia, is using another of my images on their homepage in the revolving header graphic.

The image is a 2 part comp. I set up the room shot and then went up to Twin Peaks to get the shot that you can see as the city scene in the background.

The Model is Raymond Lee from San Francisco. You can see the un-cropped image below.

I met the Jamaica Ski Team today - in Tiburon

2011-04-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had a business meeting today at a Cafe just next door to the Tiburon Ferry. While we talking we noticed a sudden rise in activity outside in what had been a sleepy little village. Suddenly there were lot's of police and other people walking around with two way radios. It all became apparent when the cameras came out and 2 showroom clean cute little fiats drove into the now closed off street.

There was a Fiat commercial being filmed in Tiburon today and this was it. So what? Just another car commercial, except for a really cool piece of kit.

Camera lifts off for another take.

Camera hovers in front of approaching Fiat

It was thoroughly entertaining to watch this little chopper piloted skilfully into position above the street to get the shots and angles as the 2 Fiats were driven toward it. Needless to say, if you're wondering what you could ever buy me for a gift for any occasion - well, now you know:)

DSLR rig attached to remote controlled helicopter

We could have stood and watched for ages but we had work to do and time was moving along.

The yellow car takes a turn in front of the camera

The real highlight for me was after my meeting was over and I was headed back to the car park. I noticed a guy standing with the film crew and he was wearing a sport top with the Jamaican flag on it. My parents are from Jamaica and I immediately connected with this visual reference to the beautiful country that I have visited many times. I walked up to him, shook his hands and we exchanged pleasantries. he did look familiar somehow but I thought nothing more of it. As we parted, we exchanged cards.

As I walked away I noticed the Jamaica Ski Team logo on his card. Thinking that he probably worked for them in some capacity. Then, as I sat in the car and turned the ignition switch, a switch turned in my head. The name on the card was Errol Kerr. Of course! Errol Kerr, Olympic Ski athlete who managed an amazing 9th place in the 2010 Winter Olympics!

Springtime and I'm busy like a bee

2011-04-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

This year spring seems to have clearly brought the business community out of hibernation. The weather is also attempting to live up to it's reputation too. I went for a walk in Golden gate park last weekend and the weather was beautiful. It was also Sunday Streets in the area all the way down to the Ocean so there was an even more pronounced sense of celebrating long, lazy, sunny, weekends.

So after some friends of ours drove up from south of the peninsula, we set off for an afternoon walk with their dog Moo excitedly tagging along.

It was also fun to run into Rollergirl and a friend of hers as they went about their Sunday cycle ride. More about Rollergirl another time or you can contact me to find out who she is :)

I've done some more studio and model shoots for various things and this is Eve who I recently worked with.

I've also completed all the processing from the Rico shoot I mentioned in my last posting and here is another of the shots I took of him.

I've been working with a few artists on and off and I regularly catalog works created by JJ Levine. He creates the most fabulous wands from twigs and sticks, sometimes using wool and string too.

As always I'm busy with images for stock and other assignments and here is an outtake from a stock shoot I did earlier this week.

I've completed quite a few shoots that I'm now processing with lots of really good images that I will be able to sell and market through my various outlets. 2 weeks ago saw a particularly exciting and fun shoot and the images that have resulted have made me really pleased.

It was a location shoot (indoors) and we had fun with 3 characters we had invented. The model was great. In fact she played the parts so well that when she saw one of the final images, she commented that she was a little scared of the woman in the photo,
Here is the sneekiest of a preview :)

An finally, I had company one day while I was out in the Mission getting my fix of street photography. It was fun to hangout with "JazzLuv" and capture some great images together.

The rain has gone

2011-03-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

At least for the next few days anyway. I've kept busy with studio work and even an outdoor in the rain shoot. Even though my camera got a little wet, happily the weather seals did exactly what they're supposed to do. I also spent more time with my always there studio assistant - Flat Eric. Star of a European Levi's ad campaign a few years ago.

It was also good timing in respect of a large job that I just completed that involved shooting over a hundred products and doing some Photoshop work to accomplish exactly what was needed by my client.

I was also busy with some pure retouching jobs including retouching images for quite a renowned photographer based in the US.

So you can see that even if the weather had been amazing, I would probably have not been able to get out and enjoy it. Things get busy again from the middle of this week but I'll still be able to get out and about and also get some Street Photography done and maybe get some editorial shots that can be sold. In the meantime, here are a handful of outtakes from my recent shooting.

Outtake from a model set from concepts for "after work", "relaxing" and "a nice cup of tea"


From a family shoot - The little boy was absolutely adorable and a perfect model.

And this is Rico a young San Francisco model. A really fun personality and great with direction and actually contributed quite a bit to the session.

And finally below is an outtake from the wet weather shoot I completed. Happy to report that my camera and lights are all still in perfect working order :)

I want my baby back!

2011-03-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Shutter speed: 1/2000 at f/2.8. ISO 200, 35mm - Lens is Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC

The image above is not my baby, but it is a picture that was captured with my baby. Yes, it's a lens and I'm starting to really miss it now. I normally love walking about the city with a fast wide zoom and this Tamron is a real joy to use. I was doing a shoot in January when I dropped the lens from chest height onto a wooden floor. I picked it up and it looked ok except the zoom action was now a little stiff. Also at wider apertures it was obviously only focusing properly on one side.

Autofocus went from intermittent to non-existent and the Vibration Control had definitely left town! Still, by putting the lens and camera into fully manual mode it was still possible to take really sharp clear pictures providing the available conditions would allow shots to be composed at the optimum f stop and shutter speed for the occasion.

I was able to prove this to myself by having some of my shots accepted by an extremely picky photo library that were taken with my now badly wounded lens. I really didn't want to part with it but couldn't bear to see it suffer as it continued to try and turn out sharp images for me no matter how it suffered and creaked.

So on the February 5th, I wrapped up my lens and boxed it and sent it off to be cared for by United Cameras. As you can see it's been gone a while now and I'm told that "parts are on order for the repair."

I really looking forward to it coming come! Incidentally, the lady in the photo was gracious enough to pose for me last June as I walked through Yuerba Buena Gardens with my Tamron 17-50mm attached to my camera.

Stock Library Hero

2011-03-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

I noticed that one of my images is one of eight that rotate on the current homepage of Photokore based in Asia. The Asian market appears quite large so I'm hoping to do well with this library too.

Leroy is on his way again

2011-02-28T23:14:00.000-08:00

In a very recent post I introduced you to Leroy. Well over the weekend Leroy gave me a call and let me know that he had landed a job and was due to start today (Monday).

This was such great news to hear for so many reasons but also it was the manifestation of Leroy's optimism and proactive determination to regain control of his life in this time of worldwide economic difficulty. And also proof that, as I had surmized, he is a man of action and is able to turn his words into something tangible.

So this morning I was privileged to meet with Leroy and take this portrait in downtown San Francisco, as he made his commute for his first day back at work. It was taken at the same spot where I first met him and heard his story.

He's promised to stay in touch and let me know how things go but as I said before, I can only see success and fulfillment for this amazing man!

The rest of the day for me was driving to Emeryville to photograph an art installation at an artists residence. The weather was sunny and golden today and all in all a very uplifting day for me.

San Francisco this morning.

2011-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Did I really agree to meet Sai at 6:15 this morning or did I just dream it? It's 5:45 am now and I realize that it wasn't a dream! I jumped out of bed, got ready and grabbed my camera bag.

We drove up Market Street and set up our cameras on the pedestrian overpass just by Romain Street. Sunrise was due at 6:39 am and we were ready for it.

As the sun peeped over the distant hills the view changed from black and gray to a display of golden and red light made the more intense by the dark clouds hanging above the bay.

It was very cold but the show was worth it. I can't help noticing that 6:30 in the morning is a very busy time with joggers and dog walkers making up the major population. It's also really cool watching the lights go off in the city as daylight marches in unstoppable.


Moments before the sun appeared.

Sunrise: Wednesday, February 22nd., 2011.

The sun came back to town

2011-02-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

After many days of rain it was wonderful to be out in the sunshine again. I'd been to the gym and now I was walking along Market Street. There was a gap in the steady procession of pedestrians and I found myself caught in a smile with the guy selling the Street Sheet Newspaper who was standing on the sidewalk.

I walked over to him and asked how he was doing. Not surprisingly he told me that times were hard but he was hopeful that his fortunes would be changing around April time. I was interested to hear his story and he was happy to be exchanging conversation outside on this glorious day.

It turns out that Leroy was originally from Jamaica and had spent some time in the UK and the Caymans before coming to the USA. Things had been good until a few months ago when his employment took a hit under the constraints of the economy. But Leroy has a plan and a very realistic and workable one, and I'm fairly convinced that he's going to be just fine.

He's a thoroughly interesting and humble individual and I spent about a half hour talking with him. Even if the sun hadn't come back to town today, the time I spent chatting with Leroy would have still brightened my day. As I left him, he was kind enough to let me take this portrait of him.

Wishing you success Leroy!

Where oh where is the Batman?

2011-02-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

It was another gloriously sunny day so I wrenched myself away from my computer to go and get some air and some rays. I've been busy all day making sure I have everything in order to meet with my tax accountant in the morning. As soon as UK tax is sorted for the year, then along comes US tax! Oh well. c'est la vie.

So here I was walking along Haight Street when I notice that Batman has either had a very rough night and has crawled off somewhere, or, whatever he came upon last night frightened him clean out of his boots...

It was a brief walk but I had my camera in hand and here are some of the captures along Haight Street.

January Shooting and an updated site!

2011-02-04T00:26:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over and the world of work seems to have finally returned to it's deeply grooved pattern again for the masses. For me, it means that more opportunities are becoming apparent now that everyone has their new year resolve to make 2011 better than 2010 ever was. The gyms are full to heaving and everyone is focused on their new targets in all of the fabric of society.

To get into the spirit of things, I've also updated my website which is now live at roibrooks.com.

My stock images continue to sell across 6 libraries and I took the opportunity to visit Chicago and get some snow shots. I also composed a few Valentine themed shots that I was able to get accepted by the stock image libraries. I also submitted other Valentine themed images and my best seller so far is this one with the heart-shaped keyhole surround

Still on a sort of romantic note, I also did a shoot called Vampirish. And did a very quick cut video of behind the scenes from the actual shoot.

There are always head shots to be done too.

There is a great company in the Bay area named Revel Systems who are using iPads to run programs that enable them to work as point of sale systems for all different types of businesses. The customization and options of how you manage takings and inventory are gi-normous! Anyway I shot some products for them and then shot and produced 6 videos too.

Recently published - "Is this George Michael?"

2011-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

I just received an email from James Madelin to let me know he has updated his company's site and one of my pictures is featured in his product's promo gallery. And who is James Madelin? If you haven't already followed the link, he's the CEO of the company that created and produced the Orbis Ringflash system.

The picture featured on the Orbis website

James saw this picture on my Flickr photostream and saw in the descrpition that I had lit the shot using an Orbis Ringflash. He contacted me to discuss usage for his website. The conversation went well and now the image is live. I delivered the file un-captioned, and without any prompting, the Orbis team came up with the caption, "Is this George Michael?"

Well is it?

Vampirish Activities

2011-01-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some personal images to compliment an addition to Roijoy Photography which I will be unveiling later this month. When I work with my clients I'm in the habit of producing some sort of visual before the shoot. In this case, I wanted to be able to talk to the models, MUA and the rest of my team in a way that everyone would have a clear idea of my concept. So, I produced a visual and circulated it to aid discussions.

Originally, I wanted to shoot outside but the weather turned rainy on the day. I had planned for just such an event and set about making use of the indoor location I had earmarked.

I also tried different poses and very slight costume adjustments. I will be posting some of the finished images online in the next few days.

I was pleased with the way the shoot went and the shoot team were a fabulous group of people - Thank you all!

You can see how the shoot came together and get the names of the team by watching this video.

My first and my last.

2011-01-04T22:25:00.000-08:00

This was my last stock image sale of 2010

This was taken on location in San Francisco, California.

And this was my first stock image sale of 2011, taken in my studio.

December shooting overview

2011-01-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

I spent some of November and December away on vacation so did a very limited amount of shooting for work. As always, I still shot loads of frames for my personal needs but had very little time to do anything commercial. Still, here are a few shots from a few things I did manage to get done in December.

This first picture on the left is from a property shoot that I completed for an insurance company here in San Francisco. I logged the whole building for them, front, back, etc. They're a regular client and the thing that I really like about their work is that it takes me all around the city sometimes to some very obscure places. This has been great not just for really knowing my way around, but also for discovering really cool and interesting locations for future shoots. I usually pack my camera bag and take a bus for these jobs so that I can explore the area and see what I can discover without being isolated by being in the car. I'm also able to keep my camera ready and shoot at an instant if I see something that I would otherwise miss while driving.

Above are some fabric samples I shot for a custom shirt manufacturing company. Again, I shoot these from time to time each time they create new patterns and fabrics. I think in total there were about 50 shots. I set this all up in my studio so that I could add the wave to each sample. The shots are used on the internet so it's important for customers to be given a really good representation of the fabric's colour and texture. The wave allows the light to bounce of the swatch much as it would if it were being worn as a finished product.

During December I also shot some collars and cuffs for the website too. Again I set up the shots in my studio and supplied the final images as cut-outs. It's not creative photography but it still requires good lighting skills and good lenses to deliver what is needed.

I've been working with The Quest For Cool as their venture get's into gear and gathers momentum. Their shoots are always fun. This time all the shots were in studio.

This next job wasn't a paid job but it was a lot of fun.

My friend is a designer and also a writer and we had been trying to collaborate for a while. The shoot went really well and was so much fun! We were successful in getting the shots each of us wanted and these are a few outtakes from the day.

The weather wasn't so great the day we did this so it was great to do some fun shooting the studio.

And finally, these are some pieces of art I shot for an artist who is based here in San Francisco. I do a lot of his archival photography and it includes flat art and paintings as well as sculptural pieces like these.

Enjoy!

Evolution of a shot

2010-12-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

I recently completed a shoot for a bank that was opening a new branch in a California location. It was to be a lifestyle image to appeal to customers looking for a personal banking service to compliment their busy and affluent lifestyles.

The image on the right is the final one as it appears in one of the print advertisements.

I was happy to be able to deliver a image that was relaxed and easy made all the more achievable with great clients and models on the day. This was just one of 3 locations we covered on the day. I had brought 5 models along to the shoot and an assistant and on this day the weather was also cooperating with our needs. The sunlight was very strong by the time we got this shot and I was using a large diffuser with fill flash to retain all the details in the shadows and also the highlights of the white clothing. The dog wasn't originally part of the concept, but while we were on location one of the clients spotted it and asked if I'd be willing to work with the dog and see if I could add something to the shots by using it. I always carry releases with me, so with a quick bit of negotiating and a couple of signatures, we now had 6 models!

With a selection of models at our disposal we were able to shoot a good set of variations for the concept we were working to. You can see a few of the contact sheets that I made and supplied to the Creative Director at the Bank's ad agency.

In the top image you can see that while the models were waiting for their starring roles we gave them cameo roles in the backgrounds of some of the shots. There were many many shots plus the ones we took at other locations - which will be used for other ads. So the final choice was made and it was time to go back to my raw file and give the client something that was right for print usage.

The image was shot as follows: RAW. Exposure program - Manual. Shutter - 1/3200. f/4.5. focal length - 17mm. ISO 200. With diffuser and off camera flash. Below is an animation showing the basic steps I used to bring the image to it's final state.


Click on the image to view the animation. (Approximately 45 seconds long).

Enjoy!

An Apple today made me see red.

2010-12-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Pictures taken with iPhone 3G 3 megapixel camera

I met a friend to have lunch and catch up today. She had a birthday while I was away on vacation and she had also been away from the city too. The weather was drizzling when I left home to go and meet her so I decided I would just take a point and shoot with me instead of an SLR camera. I've learned from past experiences that a lot of truly great photo moments seem to happen when you don't have a camera handy and so I've got into the habit of always having one with me when I go out.

I've got a great, trusty, Canon point and shoot with a titanium body and it fits easily into a pocket or on some occasions, my man-bag :-) I also have my iPhone 3 with me all the time with it's miniscule sensor and bare minimum array of pixel depth. Since I have differing avenues for using or monetizing my photography, I try to use my Canon with its 10 megapixels sensor as my minimum choice.

So after lunch we notice the weather is clearing up and we decide to go for a walk over to the Castro to run some errands and window shop. As we walk up the street, the first of many photo opportunities presents itself. As I pull my Canon out of my pocket, point and frame the shot, the display starts flashing as it informs me that the battery is fully discharged. Time for an Apple.

So we were able to carry on snapping. And even though I was seeing a lot of red, it was, in this instance, a very good thing. The point I'm making here is don't let your creativity and artistic expression be stifled because you're waiting until you can afford a "better" camera, a longer lens, or some other item on your wishlist. Just get out there and let it flow!

And most important of all — enjoy!

Where did November go?

2010-12-09T09:46:00.000-08:00

I've just got back to the USA after a short trip to the Caribbean & Central America and was preparing to sum up November when it hit me really hard that it's already almost 10 days into December! November was a very busy month and you can see some of the outtakes from my assignments here. I notice, checking through my stats, that my stock image sales are still doing well. And December all round looks like it is also full of promise, even if I've missed the first 10 days of it!

I realized that I was hearing more and more carols being played everywhere, and when I switched on the TV finally, Whoa!!! — it's definitely that time of the year!

On my recent trip, most of my time was not spent photographing. No, instead I was doing lots of digging. Digging was interspersed with dragging driftwood up the beach from out of the sea. I spent so much time behind cameras in November that I thought it would be good for me to be more actively involved on the other side of reality. Digging was fun though and was a start to a landscaping project that I hope to continue over the coming months of 2011. I still managed to sneak in a few shots that will hopefully make good stock images, but on the whole this trip was a change that was as good as a rest.

I was out of the USA for Thanksgiving, but I was here on Bonfire Night. Bonfire Night?? Yes, we observe the day that Guy Fawkes plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London England in 1605. It's not celebrated in the States but normally consists of lots of fireworks and big outdoor bonfires. However, this year, with The San Francisco Giants winning the World Series, there were plenty of fireworks to enjoy!

I also had a few Family Holiday portraits to do in November and have a few more to shoot this month too. It's fascinating being able to observe 1st hand how family units interact together and seeing how the often, extremely differing personalities somehow come together to function as a whole entity.

Anyway, since November has whizzed by, I'm going to be back to regular posting and as always, I'm also happy to answer any questions or respond to comments.

Enjoy!

Well they don't edit themselves!

2010-10-19T00:55:00.000-07:00

Press the shutter button and hear that electronic shutter respond to whatever speed you dialed in for it. Maybe switch to continuous mode so that you don't miss that all important moment. How about some bracketed exposures to cut down on your post production time. Or as it's also known - editing. And if you've been partaking in any of the practices above, you'll know how quickly the number of exposures demanding your attention soon build up. Especially so with digital.

And there, I've said the "E" word. Of course there are some people who will insist that you're not a proper photographer if you have to do any editing apart from choosing which shots to keep and which to discard. Me? Well I mostly shoot RAW so my computer is also my darkroom. And while I'm "processing" my images, I'm not adverse to making adjustments to them if I think it will enhance the final result. Those of you who practice this dark art will know that 1 hour of editing often becomes 2, 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8, and so on! And if you've spent all day shooting a wedding - well let's not go there right now.

As I talk about editing here, I'm not including retouching or image manipulation which to me are a separate stage. For me editing is primarily colour adjustments, levels adjustments, colour conversions, and sharpening. I also include keywording at this stage in my workflow.

There's a plethora of software out there that you can edit with. Some solutions are quite expensive but a few are completely free! (Have a look at GIMP). I use 3 main solutions and the choice of which one to use depends on what type of shoot I'm editing, camera and lens, quantity of frames, and the designated end uses for the images. The three solutions I've chosen are;

Adobe Camera Raw

Capture NX2

Capture One Pro

Any one of these packages is fine as your only package but bear in mind that Capture NX2 only supports Nikon RAW file formats (NEF). A very large body of photographers also favour Lightroom. I'm not going to recommend any software over the other. If you find something that you like and it works for you, then that's probably the solution you should choose. I try not to follow trends just for the sake of it but rather to find solutions that have the tools that I need and suit the way I work. I'm an "end result" type of person when it comes top photography. I much prefer the image to speak to me than have someone explaining how many layers they had to create etc., etc., to get the end result.

Adobe Camera Raw works seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop and I use it mostly when I've decided I'm only going to edit a small shoot or a few individual images. It's also my tool of choice for mono conversions.

If I've been using a Nikon and working in really tricky situations, I choose Capture NX2. When you open a RAW.nef file in NX2, you are presented with a set of the exposure and adjustment functions of your Nikon camera. So you can continue to tweak the file using camera settings as if you still hadn't pressed the shutter yet. But here you can see the end result in real time based on the file you are working on. Just as with any processing software, bear in mind that if you have completely over or under exposed the shot, dump that frame and move on! Although they can get you out of some tight situations, none of these solutions have a magic ingredient so you do need to be trying to get your shot properly captured in camera. Capture NX2 also lets you work on an image, copy the adjustments you made with one click, and then apply them to another image with one click.

By the way Capture NX2 has a very cool and powerful set of tools for handling colour adjustments. Even if you're not a Nikon user you should follow the link and watch the demo video. It turns operations like adjusting the colour of the sky behind trees, hair, or other complex shapes into something that just takes seconds!

Capture One Pro is sold by Phase One and is my workhorse for large shoots and anything that requires lots of technical control. It's a very powerful tool who's algorithms allow the output of beautifully rendered files with excellent noise control and colour management. It too has the facility to copy and paste adjustments. It goes even further and lets you copy and paste adjustments to thumbnails in the programs own browser windows. You can also rotate images at thumbnail level. It also has a very powerful background engine for outputting processed files, so you never have to wait to move on the the next image if you are not batch processing.

So that's where I've been. Getting up to date with my editing.

Hold perfectly still...and... Action!

2010-09-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Click (image) For Kicks

Like all things in life, people are demanding much more from a photographer. The last 2 years have seen a gradual blurring between the specialist who shoots and supplies still images, and the other who supplies moving images. This blurring has been aided by the growing numbers of DSLR cameras that are also able to capture Hi-Definition video. "So what," I hear you say, "my point and shoot has been able to record video for years. Some of it isn't quite HD but it looks fine on Youtube and the likes".

When you build video capabilities into a DSLR, suddenly you have access to a lot of high end movie techniques simply from the fact that you can now shoot with interchangeable lenses for differing types of view. Wide angles, zoomed shots, and macro can now all be recorded at will. And you can now control depth of field for more cinematic treatments like focusing on the main subject by knocking the background into a non-intrusive aesthetic blur.

And so it was that recently a client of mine asked me to shoot some of his product for him. He then went on to ask me to shoot the videos that were required to be used along with the product shots on his website. Also by shooting in Hi Definition, we would have the option too output for use in other media without loss of image quality. I have continuous lighting as well as my strobes and I have shot a fair amount of video on other formats in my time, so I said yes.

The models turned up from Japan, I shot the footage that was needed and edited it all down as required. Today I delivered the product shots and the videos.

More and more photographers are finding that clients want to engage "image makers" who can produce and deliver a package of images, rather than having to deal with multiple vendors. Video production on DSLR's still has some way to go, but for many applications users are finding them to be extremely capable tools in the right hands.

But don't be seduced that because you're a photographer and your holding a DSLR, that all you have to do to great moving images is switch to video mode and shoot away. No, you need to think in terms of viewer angles, scenes, and be able to visualize how a fade or a pan would work best and a host of other considerations. Some photographers may feel resistant to this other side of creating images, and others are doing very well thank you as they are. But for many professional photographers, there will be a market driven encouragement to embrace this additional function that is appearing on more and more of our expense new cameras.

A few DSLR's with video capability are listed below:

Mount Diablo's Hairy Inhabitants

2010-09-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

A view from the summit of Mount Diablo

I went for a walk around the summit of Mount Diablo in California at the weekend. We can see the peak across the bay on the East side from our apartment, and it had been beckoning for quite a while now. It was a cloudy day in San Francisco. The cloud seemed to be quite low. So it made sense to assume that if we went up to the top of the mountain we could still enjoy the sun over the weekend. And off we went.

A break in the cloud

As we entered the National Parks area we started driving along the five miles of road that would take us up to 3000 feet. It wasn't long before the cloud thinned enough for us to realize that we were approaching the top of the cloud layer. Aah, sunshine!

But what was that! True that up till now the rather nonchalant squirrel population had been mandating that I drive around them as they frolic in the road, but this creature was a totally different shape. It was also a little smaller, though not by much. It was hairy yes, but it was also black and had eight legs - a tarantula!

With a smooth instinctive Jedi movement I was crouched in the road with my camera already raised to my eye focused and on the target. The sun went behind some clouds at the same time and I hadn't taken a flash with me this day. I hung around for a while but we just got more and more engulfed by the cloud that was caressing the mountain. Appearing tarantulas seem to be a regular phenomenon here so I will be going back specifically to take some detailed shots and maybe use some for stock submissions too.

The sun did burn the cloud of quite quickly so by the time we were at the summit we were bathed in the afternoon sun. By the time we decided to leave, another wave of cloud was coming in but as we drove down the mountain toward the valley we were able to continue to enjoy the sunshine of the late afternoon.

A Hip Camera Gadget

2010-09-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

While shooting an event and carrying 2 cameras, Antonella mentioned to me that she was concerned at how my posture was looking crooked as I tried to shoot multiple angles with one camera while trying to balance another over my shoulder without it slipping off. I'm fortunate that my posture is very good, but Antonella expressed that her concern was I might lose it long term due to the way I was almost permanently contorted while balancing 2 cameras. She was right. I was very aware of what I was doing with my body and promised her on the spot I would find a remedy for this situation. And I have.

Today I went out with my camera to field-test my newly purchased B-Grip. When I'm around town with my camera, I prefer to walk or use public transport since I find it easier to spot, and take advantage of, the many photo opportunities that are endless in San Francisco.

Camera locked in place on the B-Grip

So I strap my camera onto my B-Grip around my waist and set of to catch the MUNI downtown where I've arranged to meet a friend for coffee. Once I've walked about 3 blocks I can see up to the top of a distant hill and see if a train is approaching my stop, and there was! I'm about 250 yards from the stop at this point, and I know that if I run like I mean it, I'll get to the stop in time to board the train. I've done it so many times before but this time I have my Nikon strapped to my waist, and held in place by a very clever, but insignificant looking, lever and catch device. Well I don't want to keep my friend waiting and the B-Grip videos make a big deal of showing people running and jumping with the product and none of them ended in tears.

And I'm off. Sprinting along the street, my camera feels well balanced and moves with my body. No swinging, flapping, or banging about. It's almost as if my camera is no longer there. It is still there isn't it? I glance down to my side. And there is my Nikon hugging my waist and moving in unison with my body. I jump aboard the train and the doors close. Unlatching my camera from my side, I give it a quick once over. I had the lens locked in place so no worries about that. And after checking all the basic functions, I'm happy to report that my camera had taken the whole episode in it's stride.

I got off the MUNI at the Embarcadero and ran up the stairs. Both hands completely free while my camera snuggled, nicely weighted into my waist and hip. I had almost reached the coffee shop when I noticed the Raygun Gothic Rocketship by the bay. I reached to my hip and flicked the released and raised the camera viewfinder to my eye in one easy motion. Once I had explored the Rocketship's angles, I guided my camera back to my hip where it clipped instantly back into the B-Grip.

So now I have my posture back, and the freedom to run after buses and trains, have my hands free, and all while I'm carrying a camera. I did look at a few alternatives but based on needing to be active while shooting, this looked like being the best solution for me. I'm really satisfied with my purchase and all I'm going to do now is — enjoy!

Sometimes The Future Looks Too Bright

2010-09-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Harsh lighting can be unflattering even for the most beautiful people

How often have you seen someone with a camera outdoors posing another person for a portrait and saying,
"You're in the shade there, move over there into the sunlight so that I can get a good shot."?

Well it sounds logical. The more illuminated something is, the clearer it is to the eye, right? But then you wonder what's wrong with your camera because the pictures suffer from heavy shadows, blown highlights and weird skintones. And what's up with all those squinty-eyed people! Even a basic point and shoot camera is a very sophisticated piece of equipment capable of analyzing all kinds of subjects you might choose to point your camera at and shoot.
The result is that you can invite your family and friends round after a vacation, or your child's acting debut on the school stage, lock the doors and then entertain your hostages with the 400 frames you fired off during the event.

I actually love looking at pictures but rather without the blow by blow commentary and explanations, ("...and this is us sitting at the dining table, oh and this is us when we asked the waiter to take our picture..."). And with the convenience of digital, quantity is king and editing is barely existent in many circumstances.

Anyway, getting back on track. The metering systems on cameras today will generally give you a reasonable rendering of any scene you point them at. But even the most expensive pro-dslr cameras will protest to some degree when you ask it's metering system to make something of a scene that is primarily harsh sunlight.

So do you have to settle with harsh squinty shots from your travels when the thing you want to photograph or be photographed with isn't practical to move? It's 11:00 am and your tour bus has stopped by the Great Pyramid at Giza for a half hour. You realize that the angle that will give the best composition of you with the pyramid in shot means that the already brilliant sunlight is directly in your eyes. You take a quick look at the first shot that is taken and you see that your white linen outfit has become featureless, your skin blotchy, and the area under the brim of your sunhat has became a dark void where your eyes used to be.

Bright sunlight with fill-flash

The quick fix here is not to ask your friendly guide, Ahmed, if he could have the pyramid moved slightly this way or that. No, the trick is to set your camera to under-expose slightly (If you have this function on your camera your manual will tell you how to set it), and then turn on your flash. This time when the shutter is pressed the flash will work as a fill light and keep you more evenly illuminated cutting down on the harsh shadows on your face, while the background will still be well lit from the overall sunlight.

If you're taking photos of your friends outside and want really beautiful, naturally lit results. Get them to step out of the bright sunlight and stand in the shade of a tree, the shadow of a building, or such. You'll see that all the harsh shadows have become softened and you still have the option of being creative by introducing some flash if you want to. By the way, off camera flash is the way to go if you want really great results here.

Which brings me round to the joy of a bright overcast day. When shooting portraits, much of the time photographers are looking for someway of lighting their models to give nice flattering skintones. Although not always the case, you may be after a super edgy look or some other creative experience. But to get the classic look, many people have reverted to shooting in a studio and using softboxes to modify bright lights into an evenly diffused glow.

Well the largest softbox know yo man it actually free to everyone although not always available on demand. It's the bright overcast sky! So next time you're contemplating doing some portrait work, don't put it off if the sun isn't out and you don't have access to a studio. Get outside and play with that glorious, free, soft lighting.

And most important of all — enjoy!

Headless But Not Chicken

2010-09-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

I spent some time down at The Ferry Building at the Plaza today watching some guys skateboarding. It was fascinating to watch as they tried increasing complex and daring tricks on their boards. It became very noticeable that "lots of air" was a key component to pulling off their stunts. The higher and longer they could stay airborne, the more numerous the moves they could pull before landing, — hopefully at least — back onto their decks.

As I sat and studied they way they were using their bodies to gain some mastery over gravity, I noticed how they started to look the same way as the seagulls nearby as they spread and flapped their wings to launch themselves to escape velocity. With arched backs and heads tucked, these lads seemed in denial that they too couldn't break free and soar into the air!

It was very bright and sunny so I decided to shoot mainly for black and white and try to capture these boarders at the moment they felt they would break free and fly. I was fascinated with the headless looking forms they struck and tried to time my shots to capture just that.

You can view the images here.

Preparing For Committment

2010-09-08T00:55:00.000-07:00

I spent the whole of the labor Day weekend in glorious sunshine. I heard that the weather in San Francisco wasn't so summery on Saturday, but I was further south shooting a wedding, as I said, in glorious sunshine. Friday night was the usual check and re-check before a shoot. I created a checklist for all my gear and checked everything off as each item was first loaded into a gear bag and then loaded into my car. When I'm finished at the venue, I'll use my checklist again to make sure I have all my gear heading back home with me. I had been down on Thursday to have a last look at the premises before the actual wedding on Saturday, so I was happy with just using speedlites for the evening jollifications. The main lighting issue was going to be balancing with the direct sunlight that would be bathing the unsheltered area where the ceremony would take place.

My solution for this would be having a reflector facing the bride and groom to feather them with some fill light. This way I can hold the sky sky behind them without the couple and the wedding party turning into silhouettes.

We arrived at the bride's hotel at 10 am signaling the start of a long day. There was also an acute sense of tension in the air. No, not the usual, "oh my god I'm so nervous" tension. It was more "I'm gonna kick someone's ass in a minute" tension.

It didn't take long to see what the cause of the feelings were and once identified it was easy to stay unconnected to the cause. Our bride seemed to really like us so all I had to do know was give her a happy record of her wedding day and also document all that was going on in a way that she and her husband would be proud and excited when sharing the memories with their family and friends.

There are some basic things to bear in mind if you are shooting a wedding and most of these things fit neatly under one heading. Preparation! I've already mentioned a check list for my gear. It's not a good idea to wait till just before you leave to grab your favorite camera and lens only to realize you didn't bring a spare card or your batteries are only half charged because you grabbed the wrong ones as you left home. Make a list and get everything ready the night before. That way you can rest properly and enjoy some calm in the morning before you leave for an assignment.

Always try to get to the venue before the actual day. For this wedding, I actually visited the venue at the same time in the day that the wedding was planned for. This way I was able to see how the light would fall on the day. I was also able to work out some angles and locations for shots that would probably work really well on the day. I remember on one engagement shoot in particular, I was moving the couple from shot to shot and to a few locations that helped to tell the story of their engagement. At one point the guy said to me,
"This is so easy I'm really enjoying this. We know exactly where we need to go and we now what kind of shots we'll be taking when we get there. It's as if you came here before and worked it all out".
"I did" was my answer.
I had also told them it would be a 2 hour shoot and although I hadn't been looking at my watch, when I said, "We're done".
He said, "Wow, 2 hours just like you said. Very professional!"

If you've done your homework, deciding what gear to take with you will be easier. Weddings can be very physically demanding and you'll be surprised how many miles you can cover from moving quickly to capture those angles around the hotel and the event venue. Especially when the venue is in an acred countryside setting! I've never had a camera fail on me yet, but I still always have at least one backup with me at a wedding. If nothing else, I can have 2 cameras with different lenses always at the ready negating the need to change lens and possibly miss that all important shot. Whether you use SD or CF cards, take more than you think you'll need. I always carry extra cards. I also carry a portable multicard back up drive with me too. As I shoot at a wedding, I'll often swap out a card for a new one and also backup the one I've been using on my portable drive. That way, I'll need to be struck by lightning twice to lose that data!

With the popularity of documentary/journalistic style wedding shots, grab the fastest glass you can. F 2.8 is good and anything wider is very cool. I try to use reflectors before I introduce flash to a wedding. My reflectors are not just the ones I bring but are also walls of buildings, low white or light coloured ceilings, mirrors, light coloured tablecloths, and anything else I see around me that reflects and affects the light in a way I might light to make use of it. Even though I try to keep it natural, I do always have at least one speedlite in my gearbag when I shoot a wedding.

Batteries and chargers, need I say more?

You also need to be passionate about producing beautiful art that will be a meaningful memory for someone. In all of this, remember that you are also a guest at the weeding and the more unnoticed you can become, the more surprised and delighted the Bride and Groom will be when the see those amazing moments you captured without them even realizing you were right there for them... sharing their the joy!

Totally Exposed

2010-09-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

How I cleaned up my act.

Fiddlesticks! (This is a family show people). I've got dirt on one of my camera sensors and I have an important assignment to shoot tomorrow. After poring through some of my photography magazines and doing some research on the web, I'm now convinced that if I try to clean my sensor myself I will totally screw up my camera and void my warranty! I know, I'll just shoot with one camera tomorrow and address sensor cleaning another time.

But what if my shutter jams, or I drop my camera, or any number of catastrophes befalls the camera I take. I could take one of my other cameras as a back up but for the assignment I'm doing I'll be more comfortable with the choice of lens and camera body I had originally planned to use. Also I'm feeling that Murphy's law is just itching to get a look in. Ok Roi, it's your professional responsibility to manage risk on behalf of the client. Rats! (Family show people). I really need to have at least one back up camera with me. But being a high value assignment, my back up needs to be able to complete the job just as well as my primary tool will. Deep Breath. I need this camera body so I need to clean it today - myself.

I've circled the offending dirt particles that were residing on my sensor

The first company I call in my quest for sensor cleaning materials and tools is Adolph Gasser in San Francisco. I know, what a name. Anyway, Scott answers the phone and asks how he can help. Suddenly my body is taken over by aliens. Instead of asking for the cleaning materials, I hear

"Do you provide a sensor cleaning service?", spill effortlessly out of my mouth as if I had been rehearsing those exact words for the last 2 weeks.

" Yes we do, and if you bring your camera in now, I'll do it while you wait".

"I'll be there in an hour", I answer to Scott, Knowing he has no idea that I have just decided to marry him and have his children!

"Hello, I'm looking for Scott", I say to the man at the counter.

"I'm Scott, who 's looking for him?"

So I tell him who I am and am immediately whisked downstairs to the service department and Scott takes on the role of maestro. The lens cap is off, the loupe is over my naked sensor. (It's ok this is still a family show). The next 10 minutes I am reassured, guided, and educated, as Scott cleans my sensor explaining all that he is doing as it happens. Once the cleaning is all done, I'm invited to go outside and take an exposure of the sky so we can check that there is no debris residing on my sensor. All clean! So if you're in San Francisco and you need your sensor cleaned, don't stress yourself with the worry of screwing it up, get on down to Gassers and ask for Scott.

Scott showed me the proper technique for one method of cleaning my sensors. As long as they don't get too dirty, I can routinely clean them with a Giotto Rocket. But rest assured that anything that can't be shifted by this method will be placed in Scott's capable hands at Adolph Gasser in San Francisco.

Taking Stock

2010-09-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

A Nice Little Earner

"You can make $$$ from your camera just by selling pictures you have already taken" We've all see the ads promising the secrets of how to make this happen. You just send them a one time fee for their "in-depth" materials and you sit back and count the moulah as it comes avalanching in. Don't fall for it! You do not need to pay anyone to tell you how to sell your own pictures. They'll get you all whipped up and excited at how your local news editor is gagging for that picture you took of your 8 year old son scoring the winning goal against you and his mom last Saturday in the park. They'll unveil the fact that there are beautiful models just streets away from you who have realized the only thing holding back their career is that they haven't begged you to take portfolio shots for them. Of course you'll charge them a reasonable rate though. Don't want to take advantage do you! And imagine if your local art gallery or greeting cards shop found out that you had some "adorable" photos of your cute little kitty. Could we be talking never having to work again?
No, No, No, No, No!

Seriously though, it is actually true that "You can make $$$ from your camera just by selling pictures you have already taken". One way is by creating and selling stock photography.

Stock photos are generally images held by a commercial library that anyone can buy and download and use, only being restricted by the kind of license attached to the image. These images are often used by newspapers, magazines, bloggers, websites, the advertising and marketing industry, and so on. If you decide you need a picture of a woman changing the wheel on her car. Instead of finding a photographer, setting up a shoot, and getting models, props and location sorted out, you can just go to an online stock library and enter your keywords. Although I still maintain if you want an absolutely bespoke image, you should call me and I'll set it up and shoot it for you. Oh Oh, there's the plug!

How to get started
Do an online search for stock photo libraries and look at the kind of images they have on their sites. Many of these libraries have a contributor area where you can go and learn about the technical requirements that need to be met, their preferred aesthetic, and in some cases what kind of images they are seeking, and images they definitely do not need. Once you have chosen the library you want to submit to and you feel your pictures meet their technical and aesthetic requirement, go ahead and complete their approvals process. If you're successful, Great! If not, read the feedback and maybe try again.

Let me just state right here. If you can't take criticism and rejections, then stock photography is not for you!

One of the benefits I've enjoyed from shooting stock, is the discipline of making sure the images have commercial value, are properly composed, and are technically well captured. The technical standards of a good stock image will allow for the fact that a designer may take your image and push it even further in post production. An image that has lots of tonal information, no noise, and no JPEG artifacts will allow this. If a stock library feels your image already has all the processing it can take, they may shy away from accepting it, unless it is incredibly compelling just as an image. So if you're a photographer with thick skin and you want practical feedback from a commercial perspective, submit some stock images. You don't even have to become a committed contributor to enjoy this valuable feedback. Many of the libraries have forums where you can submit work to be critiqued for it's commercial viability.

In the main, a stock photo is a product from a photographer which in turn is used to sell a product or concept. So that technically perfect photo you took while on vacation, of the sun setting over a picturesque cornfield may get rejected for "LCV" — low commercial value.

I was asked to supply a model release for this silhouette.

So what should you shoot? Answer, If you were/are a designer what would you be looking for? Don't you hate it when people answer questions with another question?

People doing things that tell a story or relate a concept are always in demand. But don't forget to get a model release. Even if you shoot yourself, you'll need a signed and witnessed model release. Don't get too arty with your stock images, leave that to the designer. Also most libraries will instantly reject any image with hard shadows, since these start to look like "snapshots". Borders, vignettes, special effects, or gratuitous Photoshop work is in the main frowned on.

Oh yes, the money. Well don't just expect to get rich on stock photography, although there is no reason why some of you won't. But I prefer to think of it as a residual income and if it does better than that, then — Good Times!! Remember, you can't tell the end user what to buy or what size and usage to purchase. But you can create compelling, high quality images that people will want to use and pay good money for :)

This is just a broad introduction to Stock Photography but if you have specific questions I'll do my best to answer them. When shooting stock, I try to understand where markets are trending, influences from politics and popular culture, and lifestyle choices. And don't forget obvious calendar events like, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Years, Diwali, Eid, Christmas, and everything else. So do your research and start submitting!

You can make $$$ by taking stock... Enjoy!

2010-09-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Spice of Life.

Many people have been encouraging me to write about what I do and finally here I am, writing. Well, typing really, but you know what I mean. I do subscribe to the view that "variety is the spice of life" or at least one of them. So even though I introduce myself as a photographer, the next question might be, what type of photography do I do? Most of it involves a lens and some source of light! But let me give you a respectful answer and you'll see variety is very much embraced in the photography I do;

Portraits, Product, Packs, Stock, Flat art copying, Events (Dinners, Engagements, Weddings etc), Real Estate, Insurance, Headshots, Families (babies and children too), Street, Sets, I'm also very comfortable with complex retouching and image manipulation, and the list goes on.

With all of this going on, a camera has become a significant part of an outfit when I go out.

One of the things I like about this range of subjects is that, at least for me, it has helped me to think of my photography a little like the way a linguist may function. Each genre is like it's own language with its individual aesthetic and technical requirement. Some people are happy with just mother tongue. Me? I've opted for "the spice of life" — variety.

It's nice to be able to move comfortably in and out of conversations no matter what language is being used and that is how I view my choice to shoot in many styles and for many applications.

By the way, none of what I write here is "the" approach, it's just one approach that works really well for me and the way I like to experience life. And another thing. I whole-heartedly believe that life is for living, otherwise, wouldn't it be called something else?

So 12 months ago, I renamed my business activity "Roijoy Photography" and today I'm starting this blog in an effort to share some of that joy.

From tomorrow, I will begin writing with a specific topic in mind each time. I'm not here to tell you how you must do something, but am more than happy to share my experiences and techniques with you. I approach photography as a creative medium which means there is always room for subjectivity.

I love looking at photography and am in awe of most of the work I see around me. So if you are on Flickr or other such site, I'm probably in awe of you!