Corey Nickols Photography

New Blog, New Website, New Everything

2011-07-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I decided after much time to move my blog and website to a new website! This will be the last post I do on this blog. My new website is:

www.CoreyNickols.com

And my new blog is:

www.CoreyNickols.com/blog

Look forward to seeing you guys there. Cheers!

--Corey!

It has been a while...

2011-04-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know I have been lacking on updating this puppy! I have a lot of new stuff to show but I am in the middle of redoing everything. From my website to my book to my blog. I am in a huge transition process. Plus I got married a few months back so I have been a little behind on everything ;)

For now, here is another stopped motion that I put together while in Berlin. Cheers!

Ravensbrück

2010-10-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

I recently took a trip to Europe with my Fiance and her family. It was amazing! Instead of taking photos the entire time, I ended up trying to make a stopped motion movie of all the places we went and the things that we did. One of the movies from this day came when we were in Germany and went to Ravensbrück. Ravensbrück was where a women's concentration camp used to be just 2 hours north of Berlin. Such women as Betsie and Corrie ten Boom. The visit was so radical. You spend your whole life learning about the hell that was Nazi Germany...but to actually be there. To walk where over 90,000 women were murdered. To see what they saw...words can not describe the feeling. It was such a dark part in our history....

Mark and Molly

2010-10-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am shooting Mark and Molly's wedding on October 16th, 2010. Being interested in stop motion lately, I took a shot at it and created my first ever stop motion video with Mark and Molly. They are such an awesome couple and I can not wait to be capturing their celebration! Check out the video I made!

Filter!

2010-08-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

I recently did some promo stuff for the band Filter for their new album coming out this month! It also gave me a chance to direct my first video ever too! Pretty shweet!

Fantasy Factory

2010-07-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

My photo shoot I had back in November for Young Reckless has wound up on the show Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory as wall paper. They ended up talking my photos and blew it up as wall paper. Check it out :
http://www.mtv.com/videos/rob-dyrdeks-fantasy-factory-season-3-ep-1-the-skateboard-car/1643072/playlist.jhtml

Kinect

2010-06-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

I did some event stuff for Xbox Kinect which is set to release this winter. Super fun as always. Check out some of the photos from the event http://www.flickr.com/photos/projectnatalxbox360/

The times...they are a changin

2010-06-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

It's crazy when I look back even a year ago at how much has changed. It seems weird to think that in a year, I will most likely look back and discover that this process of change has continued and will continue until the day I die. In the two photos I found recently while going through old stuff....I found a photo of me when I weighed 200 pounds (*note....the stellar stash!) and one of me just days before getting rid of my mohawk. The final one is what I look like today. Crazy....I hardly recognize myself....

Valley Response

2010-05-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the work I did recently for the May issue of Valley Response. It was an interesting article on a very serious issue. To check out the full issue, go to www.valleyresponsemagazine.com

Little Kicks

2010-05-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

I took some set photos on the Kick Ass music video. Pretty cool stuff....looking forward to more celebrity work! Here is a photo from the shoot of Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl).

The Shape of Pony To Come

2010-04-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of exciting stuff has been going on lately. In the past month, I won a gold Addy for an article I shot in Valley Response Magazine, was brought on to be the photographer for Bakersman....a very successful production company here in LA and because of them, I have been able to do portraits of some really cool celebrities. They have given me such wonderful opportunities and I can not wait to see where we as a team go! I will be posting celebrity work soon! The image I posted was something I found as I was going through old stuff. This is my friend Clint who I met through Reality LA. Cheers!

Addy Shack

2010-04-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

I won my first gold Addy shooting for Valley Response Magazine. I am extremely excited and grateful for such an amazing staff! I look forward to seeing the collaboration continue...

Corey says Relax...

2010-03-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

Once a month or so, Brion Hopkins, Adam Rindy and I get together and have a fun day to shoot models and try new things. Mainly it is a day where we don't have any pressure or anything....just a fun day to rediscover the reason why we love photography. Here is what came out from the day. I had a blast and can't wait for the next one. Cheers!

Happy Late Valentines Day

2010-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Yes....I am late but I remember taking this photo about 3 years back and it seems right for the occasion. hahahaha.....

White Chocolate Chocolate

2010-01-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Katie Eischen and I went to Sequoia National Park. We walked around, went sledding, visited the General Sherman (biggest tree in the world) and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. Never have I laughed so hard or had more fun....it was amazing! And those awesome pink boots were on loan from my mom...oh yes! I look forward to future trips together....

Petty Cash

2010-01-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

Did this shoot recently of a band called Petty Cash. They only do Tom Petty and Johnny Cash covers. They are amazing guys doing amazing things with their band. Here is some of the promotional stuff I shot for them. Cheers!

Leave a fire after the beep....

2009-12-24T09:29:00.000-08:00

Did a few articles in the latest Valley Response Magazine for Fresno. It is Fresno's second issue and I am excited at how well received this magazine has been. Enjoy!

Destination Truthiness!

2009-12-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

The latest issue of Valley Response, I got to cover Rex who is a medic for the show Destination Truth on the SyFy network. Probably some of my favorite stuff I have done yet for the magazine. I want to start doing more satirical shoots for Valley Response Magazine. People like Annie Lebovitz and Mark Seliger kill it when it comes to satire in photography. One day at a time....

Young & Reckless

2009-12-08T09:06:00.001-08:00

Last month in November, I shot a Nation wide ad campaign for Young & Reckless clothing line. The line is ran by Drama from MTV's Fantasy Factory. The models consisted of Nicole Gale Anderson, Hey Monday's lead singer Cassadee Pope and Drama. It was all shot in downtown LA. Images should be up in all Zumiez and Pac Sun stores come Spring time. Pretty stoked....

They also made a movie on the shoot. Check it out:

I am trying to update every Monday. Failed yesterday due to me being dead to the world from running the Sacramento Marathon on Sunday. Cheers!

Badfeet from war stories

2009-11-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

On the 27th, the day after Thanksgiving, Badfeet played a house show at my friend Chad Cheverier's place. His house is this really cool funky place that feels stuck in the 70's. I decided to edit it and go for more of a film look that would bring it all together. Quite pleased with how they came out. Enjoy...

My family is awesome.....

2009-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

At the end of August, my dad and two elder brothers took part in an Ironman. It is where you swim 2.5 miles, bike 110 miles and then run 26.2 miles.....in a row. All of this took place in Louisville, KY. It was one of my favorite family trips I have taken with my family in a long time. Were already looking into doing an Ironman again next summer in Sonoma County up north in California. Only difference.....I am joining them in their insanity!

Call and Valley Response

2009-09-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last month, I did some more stuff for Valley Response. I was actually most thrilled with the way this issue came out. Had some good stuff come from it. Hope you enjoy :)

My first cover...

2009-09-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

I recently did a shoot for OC Weekly. I ended up getting the cover shot for it. Pretty stoked! One of my goals was to get a cover shot with in 1 1/2 years of getting out of college....and to meet that goal in 1 year feels really good! I am excited to see where the next year takes me.....

Corey Says (re)LAX

2009-09-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

About 2 months ago, Chad Cheverier and I went to LAX airport to take pictures of planes. I had so much fun that day! It is so fun to shoot something with no expectation on how the images come out but rather on just enjoying the time being spent with a friend. Chad....what is next? John Wayne or Bob Hope?????

Human(e) Testing

2009-08-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have not made a valid update in such a long time! My bad! I have been pretty busy. A friend from Church shoots video for weddings. What makes it so unique is that he uses movie film and caters more so to the top of the market. His name is Paul Korver and he shoots weddings and events in either 8mm, 16mm, or 35mm. Recently, he has been teaching me how to use a Da Vinci color correcting machine which corrects the film while being scanned in through the Telecine. It is super rad. Makes me realize that all weddings should be shot on film. If nothing else, at least 8mm because of how awesome it looks. I am learning how to color correct so that I have a better understanding on how I will do my job as director of photography for a documentary that we are going to start filming probably sometime before the end of the year. The whole process has me so excited for what is to come!

Two weeks ago, Adam Rindy, Brion Hopkins and I all met up in Adam's loft and tested some light. We just wanted to have a good time messing around with gels, fog and what ever else we felt like. I see more so now how important it is to have fun days in photography. You need it or else you become so stuck in routine and forget to explore the world of photography and lighting. The pictures you see are some of the pictures from the day. It was a great day of shooting and just having fun.

Let me tell you about the birds and the...birds...

2009-07-17T15:36:00.001-07:00

So remember how I did Joe and Laura Ruggeri's wedding back in May in NY? Well it turns out that they were submitting the images from the wedding to magazines and a nature magazine picked it up and featured a web exclusive of their wedding on the site. Thanks Joe and Laura for submitting for me :)

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/webexclusives/wedding-webexclusives.html

Ugly Pretty Things

2009-07-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

I recently have been taking photos of colors and textures where ever I go. Been wanting to mess around with mixing blending modes with these finds. Then I get in these really weird artsy feeling modes where I take pictures of things that don't matter in quick notions where I don't have a chance to think about framing or anything...I just shoot the moment. Moments = die die die my darling mind :)

Video Blog for turtles and dogs

2009-07-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

I recently starting doing video blogs on things in the photographic realm. I am getting more and more energetic with every movie I make which is kind of scary....but more so ridiculous. Hope there is something to be learned. Cheers!

White Lightning

Canon Prime Lenses

Canon 5D Mark II Comparison

Creativity

Pinecrest

2009-07-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Pinecrest. I am sure everyone has one place in this world, when ever they go there, they feel so safe. So at peace. So inspired and moved to become the person you always wanted to be. Pinecrest is that place for me. I have been going there every summer since I was born. I look forward to it every year. I am very blessed to have such wonderful family :)

Sunless Studio Sells Sea Shells By The Sea Shore

2009-06-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

I did this shoot for Sunless Studio back in late May. Sunless Studio is an up and coming sunless tanning salon in Beverly Hills. They came to me and wanted an AD that was different than anything out there for Sunless tanning. They wanted it to be like my style but very memorable. Their slogan that goes along with the image is "Practice Safe Sun." I came up with a concept for the shoot that could be recreated in other shoots for other ADs. I am extremely proud of this image and would consider it top 3 favorite images I have ever done. Everyone at Sunless Studios loved it as well. They were extremely fun to work with and I can't wait for the next shoot!

A-Salted Sea

2009-06-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Few weekends ago, Jesse Carmody and I went on an awesome trip to the Salton Sea. It was such a fun trip. We camped by the sea, played Weezer while roasting marshmallows and were amazed to be the only people in the entire camp site. It was almost straight out of a horror film. hahaha. We took this trip to break the norm of what we have been feeling. With this in mind, there were no digital cameras, no strobes....just film 35. Shooting film again made me think of how it used to be. How much simpler life is with out technology. I am so thankful that we could take on this adventure. It is so far one of my favorite moments of 2009.

The images below are horriable scans (seeing that I am not going to school anymore, I do not have access to a film scaner) but they are the raw images of what was shot. I used Provia 400 cross processed. I also set my ISO to 250 and from there over exposed 2/3rds of a stop. In processing, I pulled it 2/3rds of a stop. I just wanted to see what I would get. Such a different cross process look....for sure.....

Double Dutch

2009-06-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

I did a shoot with Marcus a little while ago in Downtown LA. Wanted to try a slightly different look in post. We will see........

It was a great shoot. Marcus is a awesome guy and Kaycee Krieg was a wonderful stylist. Cheers!

Maple Maple my stomach of staples!

2009-05-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Almost 2 years ago now, I took a trip to see how far north I could make it along the West Coast. I slept out of my car every night and brought just the bare essentials (hahahah....and maybe my acoustic bass). I wanted the trip to be different so I brought 3 rolls of 400 Provia film and cross processed the whole thing when finished. Made it all the way to Vancouver, B.C. It was the best trip of my entire life. Being by myself made the trip just that much better. I just remember being in my car and all the times I would be laughing and just simply enjoying life. I didn't need another person in the car to make the trip special. The trip was special enough....beautiful enough to laugh the entire way. Here are some of the pictures from the trip. Maybe one day I will finish scaning in all the images.....

Valley Response Magazine = bunnies and warm feelings

2009-05-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

I loved the photo credits because everyone looks all professional and I look...well....you can't be that surprised if you know me. hahahaha

So two months ago I did some photoshoots for a magazine called Valley Response Magazine which is ran out of Visalia, CA. Their staff is full of awesome warm hearted people. They have a lot of respect for those who shoot for the magazine and are always making sure you know how much they appreciate the work you do. I recently shot for the next magazine last week. Here is some of the work I did for the latest issue. Can't wait to do more work with them in the future. This job also provides me with a chance to see my family while working as well. Something I am very greatful for.

Joe and Laura....and maybe a blue footed boobie....

2009-05-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

I got to have the pleasure of making my good friend's Joe and Laura Ruggeri the first wedding I have ever photographed. They flew me out to NYC while the wedding was held in New Rochelle (I love that town!). This is just a few of the images from the day. Thank you so much for taking care of me while there. And for all the people I met, especially those who took part with me in dancing until 2am to a car that was bumping tunes in the reception tent.....I had an awesome time!

I spent about 1 week in NYC after the wedding meeting up with at least one person every day. Met up with ESPN the magazine, Deutsch, DDBO, Oglivy & Mathers, DDB, Paper magazine, The Bonnier Corporation, and Devito / Verdi. Meetings were awesome. Have some really amazing opertunities in the works right now. I am going to wait and if it all starts to work out then I will talk more about it. Super exciting though.

After the business side of NYC, I got to have a little fun. Went to see The Colbert Report (my hero), saw my sister-in-laws opening night off broadway show "Everyday Rapture", went museum hopping with John Avelluto from Joe and Laura's wedding, went to Freemans which is quite possibly the best restraunt in Manhattan, got magnolias cupcakes (ahhh!!! so good!), and I got to say hi to everyone at Mark Seliger's studio. It was kind of sad to see that most of the people I knew while there are now gone due to the economy. But it was still a good visit.

I have a lot of things going on in my work life but I will talk about that more as I find out more. In the mean time, yeee hawwwwwww!!!!!

That guy gets his salsa from New York City! NEW YORK CITY?!

2009-05-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

I am still in Manhattan....here til Friday morning. Things are going pretty good. I am learning a lot about myself as well as a lot about people in the industry. Don't have much time to talk. I am meeting up with my friend Carlo who works at BBDO Worldwide today so i gotta go soon. But when I get back into Los Angeles, I will write more about my whole experience. Lots of good stuff. I am so excited about May. So much work!!!! It will be awesome! I also have more news about the documentary I am involved with. Skippy!

Furd Turgesen

2009-04-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

I did a photo shoot last Sunday in San Clemente with my friend Julia Boone's grandparents. It has been a while since I did something to help out my portfolio. I realized that I have forgotten that improving my portfolio is just as important as looking for jobs. It shows that I am an active photographer to those I have met before and continue to show interest in working for. So that's what I am going for right now. I want to do more old people shoots and even more model shoots. All in all, I just want to photograph what ever I can. I am excited to be a photographer....let alone a working photographer. I am leaving for NYC this Thursday to shoot a friend's wedding and meet up with more ad agencies. Life can be really fun if you allow it to be :)

Raw Raw!

2009-04-15T16:12:00.001-07:00

So I randomly took this the other day through my window looking into my neighbor's window. After realizing how creepy this must seem to anyone who could see me, i stopped and pretended like my camera was working just fine. Really different for me but my mind has been wanting to get more into just random stuff like this.....

Pow Pow Pow!!!

2009-04-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Working on some head shots I did recently for Broadway actress Betsy Wolfe while she was in LA visiting family. I am very pleased with the outcome of the shoot. Above is one of the shots taken during the day. I also love the fact that this was shot outside in the middle of the day at 1:30pm. on a white wall. Like I have said before....if you know how to control light, you do not need a studio. Betsy later showed me a Japanese restaurant in South Pasadena that uses the EXACT SAME yogurt machines as Pinkberry. Only difference was their large (which was huge!) was only $4.50. I love Japan!

Nards!

2009-04-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

So I realize it has been about a month since I last updated this puppy. Here is what I have been up to:

I did the photo shoot for Valley Response Magazine which went really well. I was challenged fully for every shot (between lighting for indoors, photographing my first African American with my style and shooting a little boy who would not dare look at the camera) but was totally ready for the challenge. For those of you who are frowning on the African American part, any photographer will agree it is hard because the skin absorbs all the light. It is hard to get a reflection out of it so you have to pump more light with out making the skin look Ash-like. I was really happy with the over all results. They liked my work so much they they told me they want me to photograph every issue from here on out and to show they mean business, increased pay. Its always such a great feeling when people respect your work and show you that you are valued. The people who run that magazine are amazing people who are really good honest people working in the industry. I wish more magazines were like them in the way they treat their employees to be honest.

I also started to get into doing head shots for people who are in the councilor business (mental, emotional, etc.). I have actually had great personal satisfaction come from this area. I mean, its nice to be paid but what I love most about it is seeing how happy these people are when I give them their images. My biggest drive is making people happy with the work I provide them. If they are stoked on the work, I am floating from happiness. My last job I did was with a woman named Lisa Steadmen who has her 3rd book coming out called "Its a breakup, not a breakdown." After all the work was done, she said, "As a personal coach, I am just letting you know that you charge too little on the photoshoping side of your business. You need to double it. It takes you this long to perfect the images you do, you need to up the price." Then we started to talk about the whole "cop-out" of the economy. Everyone loves to take advantage of the shape the economy is in. Now don't get me wrong, deals can be cut and that is all full and well. But I know I am always willing to sell myself short on the value of what work I provide. That's why I have always said you have to believe in your work first in order to have an effective business. I need to stop talking and start doing huh? hahaha.

I also have some other things coming up which might lead to more work. I met with some people today about doing some Ads for their spray on tan company. They have some good business direction and I can not wait to get the whole thing going. I think we are going to have a solid final product. Curious to see where it goes.

I have been thinking a lot lately as to what I want to do to expand my photography to new heights. I want to start experimenting with HDR in my work. I just want to play. See what I can get. All is know is that Photoshop's HDR system is not that great and I need to get something better. I also want to start photographing more old people and add to my series. I think next week I am going to start volunteering at retirement homes again.

During the past 3 months, I learned a valuable marketing lesson. What ever you do, what ever happens, you must stay focused on your marketing plan. You have to. I lost sight of it for 3 months and paid deeply for it. All I wanted to do was work. Work for anyone doing anything. I got so caught up in trying to make any money at all that I wasn't able to do...anything. I was spreading myself so thin that I had nothing of substance to give to anyone. Its scary at times to go with full force into just one thing. Fear of commitment, fear that it wont work out, fear of the future. I learned that I HAVE TO stay consistent with marketing. Always put out those promos once a month to the 80 people on my list....even if it doesn't feel like it's working. Continue to put myself out there. Continue to meet new people. Go to art gallery openings. Just put yourself out there. Please don't make the same mistake I made. I lost about 3 months. I just thank God it was not more time than that.

And finally, I have been listening to the Reality LA podcast a lot lately. Anyone who knows me knows that I openly talk about my relationship with God. But all I can do right now is thank God for everything that has been coming my way. I really can not explain how blessed I am. Not to mention the change in my attitude. I know I used to complain at things more than not (Ref. my rant on new logos a few months ago....). Anymore though, I don't want to talk about anything negative. Especially with the state of the nation right now. I remember reading about people who survive these brutal events like being lost at sea on a life raft and they always say that those who have a positive mind set almost always make it through. I know many are putting their hope in Obama. Hope in the economy. Hope in all these things. The only problem with putting our hope in people is that...well...they are people. We are bound to be let down when we trust people. I am in no way saying that I do not support Obama. All I am saying is that when we put all of our trust in people (i.e. girlfriend, friend, family, job, etc.) we will never be fully satisfied or happy. I have been happy lately because I have been putting my trust in Jesus. It isn't like Jesus is this genie or tax payer where "I did all this work for you God. I held up my side of the bargain. Where is my stuff?! Where is the speed bumps in front of my house. Where are my paved roads!? We had a deal!" It's not like that. It is the comfort to know that no matter what comes, there will be the comfort of Jesus....the knowing and fully understanding. I hope who ever is reading this would be interested in checking out the podcast of Reality LA. It is really good.

Above are some images that I took while home a month ago. I love March in Visalia. Its so beautiful....

To Ralph....

2009-02-20T00:52:00.000-08:00

I first met Ralph when I was about 7. He and his wife Ruby had just moved in next to my parents. Right off the bat, they introduced themselves and instantly we all became friends. They were the nicest couple. I would go to there house when I was in 3rd grade spend hours over there telling them about my days at school. My parents would have to call letting Ralph and Ruby know that I had spent way too much time over at there house and that it was time for me to come home. I can still remember sitting in that recliner, my feet not even able to touch the ground. Just rocking back and forward talking about anything and everything my big mouth could. They would let me borrow videos such as his Looney Toon Collection with special Fog Horn Leghorn episodes. Even special videos that had the world's best roller coaster rides with 3D glasses that you wore while the video gave you a virtual ride on the coaster. I even remember little things like my first time having A1 steak sauce over at their house (from then on out, I ALWAYS had to have A1 on any steak). I remember spending hours on end in their hot tub. When I was at that age of wanting to work but being too young and inexperienced, I remember Ralph letting me do yard work. I wanted to make enough money to buy a new golf club. Looking back, I just laugh thinking about how they already had a yard cleaning crew that came once a week. I think he just wanted to let me know that I was needed and most importantly, that he along with Ruby just wanted to care and support me. Ralph was a funny man. Right before they moved in, him and Ruby won the lottery, instantly making them millionaires. This was a sign that it was time to retire seeing that they were of age anyways. Upon their new fortune, Ralph wanted to get a new car. Of course, his idea of big spending was going out and buying a used car which he drove for the next 8 years of his life. I am sure this gives you a grand idea as to the type of person Ralph was. Ralph and Ruby were simple people. Despite winning the lottery, they found no real reason to change the way they were living. They never spoiled their children or grand children with the money. They pretended as if they had never won the lottery. Ralph was one of the first people I went to when I told him I wanted to become a photographer. He then told me all about how he was a photographer. Maybe I would have found this out sooner had I not always talked so much upon visiting. Ralph went on to say how he was the first photographer in the Central Valley to use color film for portraits. He also told me about how he went to Brooks Institute of Photography when it first opened. And it was there that he did a photo shoot with Norma Jene (Marilyn Monroe). He was offered stock in Polaroid and turned it down because he thought it would never be successful. Maybe he saw a little too far into the future and saw that it would eventually fail. What is funny about Ralph is the moment I told him I wanted to become a photographer, he went home, looked through all his photo stuff and then came next door to give me....everything. Photo magazines from the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's in mint condition. Books upon books of these amazing photographers such as Karsh and Leibovitz. He then gave me a Mamiya RB67 with a 180mm lens, 90mm lens and 24mm lens. Also threw in the extra film back and Polaroid back. He also gave me a tripod to go with it. That camera is awesome. It is a tank. I remember thinking it was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I mean, he not only took interest and supported what I wanted to do but gave me all of his remaining equipment to help me achieve those dreams. When I went to school, every time I came back, he always wanted to see my work. To see what I had produced. Ralph always expressed how proud he was of me. And even when I forgot to stop by, he would always catch me as I pulled into my drive way to say hi and if I had a chance, I should stop by his place and show him what I have been up to. He never stopped his love for photography and bringing his good spirits with him where ever he went. Ralph would always take pictures of Ruby when she was asleep, print off the pictures and then give it to her when she woke up. That's just the way Ralph is. Ruby then would seek revenge by taking pictures of him in his sleep. Today was no different, Ralph went to go take a nap and Ruby snuck in a picture while he was asleep. Except today, Ralph never woke up from his sleep. My parents called me today to tell me that Ralph passed away around 4pm today in his sleep. I am devastated. Ralph was always so encouraging, so loving, such a great guy. He was so friendly, always wanting to talk, even if just in passing. Money was nothing to him. All he really wanted was relationships with the people around him. Ralph played such a huge part on me becoming who I am today. He will be missed dearly. Thank you Ralph for everything. Words can not express my gratitude for everything you did for me. You fueled my passion for photography and showed to the fullest what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. You were such a kind hearted loving person. Rest in peace my friend....

Dear Deer

2009-02-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

So this video is awesome. I love it when people keep videos simple and yet still make it epic. This video is proof that ideas are far more powerful than money. It isn't about owning the latest and greatest gear. The gear is not what defines you as an artist, its the idea that drives the piece. Joseph Stalin said it best when he said, "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas." Just something to think about. Now watch this music video. It is so good!

Tree forts and navy ports

2009-02-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (the 31st) I went with Dina and Yoshi to help out on Extreme Home Makeover. It was really sweet. Out in the middle of nowhere and full of joshua trees and dirt. I can not believe how many people contribute to helping out families on that show! It is unreal. And we were there the day before they even demolished the house which has hundreds of people! I got to help light for the family while Dina did the portraits. They were a super nice family who deserved the help they were given.

Dina has been extremely awesome to me lately with giving me advice and just being so encouraging in an industry that can burn you out at times. Everyone should check out both her SITE and BLOG. Also, Check out Yoshi's SITE. He took really cool video and snapped the wonderful shot of me holding a light that you see at the top of the page. Super cool people!

Stickam and its stickiness....

2009-01-24T13:22:00.001-08:00

I just got a Stickam account. You can check it out by going to http://www.stickam.com/setfiretothedressonfire

Its a live video interaction type of thing so if you on it, become friends with me. My hope is to reach out to people interested in photography and talk about it with them. Hopefully I could answer some questions they might have about cameras, photoshop or anything like that. So if you get this....add me as a friend and maybe we can talk shop. Cheers!

Corporate desperation in a logo change

2009-01-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

What in the heck is up with all the corporate logo changes?! I feel like I am going mad. Yesterday I was in the car with Dave Hill and his wife and we started to notice all the places with a different logo. I mean, do corporations think that in a time of recession, a $100,000 logo change is going to help promote business?! And here is another thing, most of the logo changes have looked HORRIBLE! They look like cheap frilly suggestions. Here are some of the company logos that I am talking about:

Jiffy lube now looks like a "d". Isn't that....wrong?

Even google changed their little icon then you are on their site which clashes with their other "G" logo on the instant google search bar. Are you kidding me?! Two logos at the same time?! Im not even a graphic designer and even I know that confusing the user by using multiple logos is "no-no" #1.

Starbucks changed to be represented by a fat ugly woman now. And they are brown. This was done right before the 600 store downsize.
hahahaha....I gotta give it to walmart for changing their logo for the better. Lighter and more "friendly" of a logo. That star from before was a little too violent. hahaha. But it does crack me up how they replaced the star with a combination of a daisy flower and the power symbol on computers.

El Pollo Loco's design is kind of sad. I feel like their old logo was a lot better. Maybe is how unstable the font is. It just looks retarded.

Baskin Robbins changed their logo about a year ago but still, I used to work at baskin robbins for 2 1/2 years growing up and this is a sin. Come on! It looks so silly!

Super 8 changed their logo to look more like a "road trip." In a way, I think it is kind of smart. In another way, anyone who knows the quality of a Super 8 knows that by doing a logo change is just like polishing a turd.
This one gets me the most. How in the crap is this a pepsi ad?! How! I have been driving around Los Angeles for the past 2 weeks trying to figure out what ad this was. You know what I came up with as my answer? They are ads for Korean Air. Taking a logo that I have hardly seen and then putting it everywhere on every building possible is the stupidest thing ever! Especially when that logo is very similiar to another company. And here is the worst part of all, Pepsi changed their logo and yet YOU CAN NOT FIND THE WORD PEPSI ON ANY OF THEIR STUPID ADS! I actually only found out that this was a Pepsi ad by Dave's wife saying, "I think the new Pepsi ads are really bad" as she pointed to the ad on the building. Come on Pepsi! Your bigger and better than this! Yes the economy is going down but do we really need to "reinvent" ourselves?! Especially when companies are spending $100,000+ on theses ideas and changes. They are so bad. Hey Pepsi, I will come up with a logo change for you for $20,000. What do you say?!

Free Ringtones for all!!!!!

2009-01-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

For everyone who reads my blog, I will now give you a treat I discovered. Ok so here is how you make and send ringtones to your phone (any phone too!).

Open up itunes. You will need to go to prefrences, import settings, and change it from AAC to MP3 (*note, I recommend changing this once you finish because any cd you upload will be in MP3 format which is way less quality than AAC). From there, go to any song on your itunes and convert it into an mp3 by right clicking on the track and clicking the "Create MP3 Version". Once this is done, right click on the recently created mp3 and click "Get Info". From there, you will look in the summary tab and find out the specific location of the file. Remember this. Then go to http://www.myxer.com Put in your information to sign up (its free....don't worry). Then you can select what server and phone you have. From there, go to the "home" section. You can upload a file. From the mp3 location we refrenced earlier, select that file and upload the song. After the upload, a window will appear where you can select any 30 seconds from the song. Select what section you want, click the "Send To Phone" button (for iphone, click the "dowload for iphone" button. It will then give you a 3 step process. Click the link to download the file (I recommend downloading it onto somewhere you can easily access like your desktop. Just makes it easier). In step 2, it tells you where to email the file to. For example, if you have Verizon, email it to your number @vzwpix.com. So attach the file to your email and email it to your phone. then when you get the text, open it and click the options part of the text. You will have an option to "save as ringtone." Do just that and you are done. Enjoy :)
*Note: Took me 3 days to figure this out. Verizon is so retarded! hahahahaha

Say Whaaaaa....

2009-01-16T21:30:00.000-08:00

So I am trying to get into LA Models and be a photographer so I can make some money that way. Couple of my friends who are models for them are trying to help me out since its been a while since I have photographed beautiful people. I am pretty stoked to be honest. It was also the first time I had lit something so differently than I normally do. It was nice using a 200mm lens for a change. So we will see if more is to come.....I hope so because I had a really good time shooting this. And a side note, this is proof that you do not need a studio. I shot this at 12:00pm on my roof! Who needs a studio?!

Go Grandma!

2009-01-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is a new image that I did a little while back but finally finished up retouching it. Just another image to add to my old people series!

Zaireeka!

2009-01-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

I just got the album "Zaireeka" by The Flaming Lips. If anyone has a cd player they want to join and be a part of....HIT ME UP! For those who don't know, Zaireeka was an album released in the 90's that is 4 discs. The Flaming Lips realized the speakers can only produce certain frequencies at a time. Your supposed to play all for discs at the same time and it creates this sound you can not get out of one cd player. The frequencies mix and create new sounds! They also have parts play that are not on all the cds (like one cd has group vocals and added drums...etc.) It even has a warning lable on the cd which states "This recording also contains frequencies not normally heard on commercial recordings and on rare occasion has caused the listener to become disoriented." How awesome is that!!!!!!

Back in the saddle....

2009-01-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos I took a while back. I came across them recently. I got to do this thing a few years ago for testing out Adobe Lightroom and so I got to shoot with Colin Finlay. It was a fun day to say the least.....

Visalia

2008-12-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

So I am spending time in my home town with my family. Took a few photos. I would like to take more if I can this week. Before I do....I need to clean the sensor in my camera. My goodness its dirty!

CHRISTmas Merry

2008-12-25T22:52:00.000-08:00

So Merry Christmas to all. My big gift this year was a new modifier for my ring flash. I already had the 56 inch octibank along with a cookie that re-creates another ring flash that is diffused. Pure awesome. But I wanted to get the 36 inch octibank for my ring flash....but this one comes with tons of cookies that will make awesome catch lights in the eyes. As you can see, the example of my dad was done in no time at all in my back yard. I just wanted to see how it would work. I think I want to use this for more of my dog photography. We will see :) Either way, I am stoked to have it.

In years passing, seasons and life's outlooks change so much. When I think about it, I am so oppisite from what I used to be. I used to love rainy days with no sun in sight. I used to love the night. I used to feel like I was on estacy when November and December came around. Now, I only want sun, I am basically afraid of the night and I felt practically homeless this winter. I felt so out of my element. Last year I broke a 5 year tradition. I always make duct tape cards, write on them with sharpie and deliver them at 3am Christmas morning to all my friends. Last year, I was so out of it and just so burnt out that I didn't have it in me to do it. I was tired of a lot of my friends taking my deliveries for grantit. And this year, I ended up making 7 cards for 7 deliveries at 4am. But this year was different. I didn't care if one person even said thanks. I finally understood what giving is. You give because it is an action that does not need human aproval. Giving just makes you a better person. It is a very humanizing and Christ like action. When you sacrafice the reward of giving for the reward of people and their opinions, you will always feel empty in the end. Driving around in the dark this morning made me realize how much my heart has been wanting to give and how much my body has not allowed it. I love to give though. I have become so consumed with trying to make it in the industry that I forgot how to give. The more I tried to find myself and my place in the world, the more I lost sight of who I was. The more.....I began to hate myself. There is a song by Mewithoutyou where the lyrics say "The glass can only spill what it contains." It is so true though. I have had nothing to spill. Being home has made me realize this. Hopefully, I can put my faith in God and He will fill the glass once more.

Gifts are funny. Today was proof that the most expensive gift is not always going to be the best gift. Out of all the gifts I got today, only two really matter to me. First would be all the different ways my parents would try to write the To: and From:. They would make up all these funny lines about things that has happened in the last year. For one of them they wrote To: The Papa Poser From: Your not so photogenic parents (in reference to my photo series I did with my Grandpa and how my mom blinks any time you ever try to take a picture of her. Its pretty funny). I kept every one. The second gift that I treasured most was a gift my dad gave to me. It was my first orniment. He teaches wood shop at the high school and he made me it. Its a wooden white snow flake with a pinguin waving on it. So preacious. That gift alone made my Christmas. I loved it. Just the compassion, time and love that had to go into making it. It was the best gift I got today. I love my family. I am so blessed to have such loving parents and awesome brothers. Really....I am so blessed....

Yes! I want to work!

2008-12-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

Yes! I realize that I am in a market that is so over saturated with photographers that I am retarded for living here. Yes! I realize that no one really wants to give you a chance and Yes! the economy blows right now. But I want to work. I am trying to work and I feel like no matter how hard I try, nothing is coming out of it. Today...my heart sort of hit rock bottom. So I came up with this crazy idea to try to market myself to people who have pets. First I tried the lazy way....craigslist. Craigslist is so retarded when it comes to trying to find work. No one in their right mind should ever look for work on Craigslist! Why? Craigslist is for bargain shoppers. I know for a fact if I do photo jobs on craigslist, I will hate myself by the end of it because I would have to charge $100 for a job that I would normally charge at least $500+ for. And when you tell someone how much you actually charge, they reply trying to "burn you" by saying how overpriced your work is, how there are tons of photographers on the site who will do what your doing for less and basically you are ridicules for trying to make ends meat. Craigslist will make you hate your life. It makes you think less of yourself. Makes you doubt every ability that you have. As for me, I am a specialized photographer so of course I can charge more. I offer something that extremely few can. I spent over 2 years trying to get to where I am now in image minuplation. Took forever because I had to figure out a lot of it on my own. I was stupid and thought it would be a good idea to offer myself as a photo consultant on Craigslist. I was charging $100/hr which I feel is good compared to people who do photo classes or conventions for hundreds of dollars. And I feel like I would be able to cover a lot more stuff too. This guy was interested, found out it was $100/hr and then said, "wow, that's so much. If I do it, I want my stuff to become your style. You can just show me how to make my stuff look like yours in photoshop." First off, my style is my baby. I am not giving my baby to anyone! That is priceless to me due to all the time spent on it. For $100 he felt that was how much learning how to do my style was worth. I refuse to even write him back after that. I feel like I have been pissed on. I know I am not worthless but dang....that really hurt.
So today I went around promoting myself to people who work at any place pet related in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica (the richer cities). I gave business cards that looked like this:I told all the people I gave it to if I got clients from it and they were refered to me by them, I would give them $50 for every person they brought me. Sounds like a good idea right? I had to go home an hour early because my heart was just on the floor. Everyone is either a skeptic and it doesn't seem like it is going to happen or they already have a photographer. One place I went to called Urbantails on Beverly Blvd. had a loft with this photographer who has been doing portraits for them from the start. I felt so stupid even going in there but the owner was nice and let me just put business cards out on the table. The other place I went to asking about it, I had to stop towards the end of my deal offer and say, "judging by your face....you get this a lot...yes?" He said, "first of all, yes. Second, we have a paying customer who does animal portraits so we only recommend him." That was when I decided to quit for the day. That guy went from being super friendly at the start of our conversation to being very blunt making me feel like I should just go as fast as possible. I basically had to throw a card toward him as a "just in case" which probably came off as "im a jack-ass heeeee haaawwwww heeeee haawwwwww." I think what bummed me out is how we as people in LA have just been burned by everyone. So much to where making an honest easy buck is just as bad as stealing. All they would have to do is say, "hey, I know this guy who does great pet photography if your interested." Give them a card and if they come through, the person would get $50 for promoting me. I thought I would go into this with people being stoked on it. People being able to have a chance to make even more money while they work. It's so funny, I just want to work and yet I feel like I am worthless because no one wants me. In a moment of desperation this last week, I filled out 10 applications to 10 different Starbucks. I....just....want....to....work. I want human interaction. I want conversation. I want myself to become human again. I feel like I am loosing myself to a city. A city that doesn't even deserve it. I want to work. I do. But I am running out of options and that is starting to scare me.

Tanks Giving

2008-12-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

So I went to Sacramento this Thanksgiving. It was at my brother and sister-in-laws house. Had a ton of fun! The picture you see is what I took of my brother's dog. I wanted to do some animal portraits. Expand my market. The next day, we got to go rock climbing at this place called Pipeworks. I wish there were more places like that in LA or even Visalia. Such a cool place. Its funny because on thanksgiving I started to read this book called Body Type Diet and Lifetime Nutrition Plan by Elliot Abravanel. It talks about why certain diets only work for certain people and their body type. You take a quiz to find out what body type you are and then it tells you what you can or can not eat. I found out I was a Thyroid type and that basically everthing I was eating was the worst thing for my type. It also explained why despite running and working out at least 4 times a week, not one pound was being shed. So now I eat meat at practically every meal, can't snack and my food portions are super small compared to what I was eating. I feel light though and I have noticed that a lot has changed. So far, I wake up so much easier (this morning went on a run at 6:30am), I no longer fart (which those who know me might be in shock over that alone), and surprisingly, I feel like I have more energy despite my strict no caffein, no sugar rules. So today is day 4 of my diet. They say that I will lose 5% of my weight in the first week alone. Pretty crazy! Lets see if I can keep up with it. I figure the diet + working out will shed the pounds off the fastest. I just want to lose at least 20 pounds by Christmas. That way when we have our family get togethers....I don't have to explain how I gained all this weight due to the anti-anxiety medicine I was taking. My body hates me when I take medicine. Seriously.

Set Fire To The Face On Fire

2008-11-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

Went to Santa Barbara today to do a photo shoot at the retirement home in which I volunteer at. While there, a huge fire broke out. It was insane. Ash everywhere, power out all through out the town. Hills burning so close you could see the flames whipping around. It was just chaos! Why does chaos excite me so?

muffin rooftop

2008-11-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

I had to take some pictures today. To feel like I accomplished something at least. Here are a couple photos from my roof...

The land of Turrets

2008-10-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

So I got back from Manhattan yesterday. I was so tired due to me always going to bed at 3am. While out there, I met with a lot of really cool AD agencies and two awesome magazines. The trip was extremely worth it and I am so glad I did it. I am excited for what is to come while holding optimistic views along the way. While out there, my friends Joe and Laura showed me around parts of Jersey (the better parts at least..hahah) and Sleepy Hallow. All was extremely beautiful with the leaves changing. I have always been a fan of taking out of focus pictures but this trip....that's just about all I did. I found myself getting more and more enthralled with how much my mind was able to wander more in these pictures than adding the sharpness of reality. And so, that is what I did. Now, I realize that what I am doing may seem retarded. It might not make sense and you might be thinking I wasted the "moment" by not focusing. Thats fine....I can live with that simply because I took these pictures for myself. They actually bring a better memory to how the scene was that day due to the picture not being so much of a picture but more so a white canvas. You can be given a chance to see what you want to see. Tell a story that reflects more so to your life. Create characters that you know and have fully functioning emotions with. And with that, I hope you enjoy my NY pictures....

pooples

2008-10-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot that I was messing around with a macro lens a while back and took some weird eye shots. hahahahaha....sweet

Going to NY

2008-10-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

So I am going to NY tomorrow and I am pretty excited. It has been exactly a year since I was last out there doing an internship with Mark Seliger. Now I am going to promote myself. Show as many people as possible my book. I am meeting more with ad agencies than anything else. Being 23, I know I will most likely not get any jobs. The key is to just meet people. Stay in touch with them as long as I can and then maybe when i am older, they will throw me a job. Either way, I am just excited to try and make something out of photography. I feel so blessed to have such a supportive family who pushes me and pushes me to make the most of myself. To try and get jobs that I want rather than settling for crap I don't want to shoot. So if you are reading this and are in NY, hit me up! My email is corey.nickols@gmail.com I am going to have time to spend with others so please feel free to email me! Other than that....good times!

Tires and tires and tires!

2008-09-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

So today I just reshot my tire test shoot for the 3rd time. It is so draining to shoot and reshoot the same thing 3 times. But....I am so glad I did it! As you can see each step forward in my photographic progression....the 3rd one is by far the best. I am thinking Randy will be really excited with this one. hahahahaha....lets hope!

1st shoot:

Second Shoot:

Third Shoot:

Green Ball

2008-09-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

I recently got a job with Green Ball Tires. They are a great company with a great direction. It is kind of funny because I never saw myself shooting product but I am actually kind of liking it. All of the experimenting with light and trying different things to get the product to look its best. I have had two test shoots so far....but I think I really got it this last time. Who would have ever thought photographing tires was so hard! hahaha.....but right now I am stoked with where I am at on how the images look. I am someone who will not stop until I feel like my work is better than what has been done before. So I was looking at different off-roading magazines to compare on tire ads. I think this is a good step forward. Cheers!

5D Mark II

2008-09-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

I have been running it through my head for the past couple days since Canon's announcement of the new 5D. This thing sounds perfect....too good to be true. Basically, it is almost exactly like the 1DS Mark III except it only shoots 3.9 frames per second. I mean....it's 21.1 megapixels, has highlight preservation and with a power grip can reach an ISO of 25,600. Then when I heard about the fact that it was going to be sold for $2,700....I just about lost it. That is the best thing to ever happen to the "up and coming" photographer. But why....why would Canon take a different version of their top camera and sell it for $5,300 cheaper than their top camera? And today, it hit me. See, Nikon has ruled the consumer market. While 90% of most professional photographers shoot with Canon, maybe 20% or less of consumers shoot with Canon. So this is where Nikon has just dominated the market. I think since canon has realized this, they are now pricing their stuff at a Consumer price. I mean, they just released the G10 (newer version of the G9) which is a point and shoot camera that shoots at 14.7 megapixels and shoots in RAW! Not to mention they are selling this camera for $500. That is insane to think that a camera with this much quality costs $500. Oh and the frickin G10 has a hot shoe and shoots in TTL! So ultimately, I believe Canon wants to take more of a cut from the "common" consumer. About frickin time. Some photographers would see this and feel threatened by it. "Great, now the average person out there can own a camera with 21 megapixels. Just another person who thinks they are a photographer ready to blackball me in a bid for a job." I have heard it all and all I have to say is this....if your work....your ideas are special then that is what they will pay you on. It is never about the quality of your gear....its about the quality of your vision. Your direction. That is what sells. Proof of that is Diane Arbus. She saw something no one else did and ran with it. Most of the time she shot with an on camera flash. So even though you can blow your image to be the size of a billboard....you need to have the right concepts and ideas to first get there. Not to mention that you can't expect to shoot on the P setting to make your images pop. You actually have to know whats going on from a technacal aspect. With all that being said, I want to buy my parents a G10 for Christmas. My parets are probably the best people in the world. I love them to death. I think its about time they got a new digital camera :)

Tanner's Birthday

2008-09-20T10:57:00.001-07:00

I had a lot of fun going to Tanner's 40th birthday party. Here are some pix from the night...

Promos

2008-09-03T10:42:00.001-07:00

I recently hired Jonathan Haggard to design me a business card along with promo cards and even a simple © design I can put on images that I give to people over the web. His prices are insanely reasonable:
Business card - $50
Promo Card - $20
© design - $20
Full rights to put designs on my site - $10

Additional $10 for every new mock-up.

Here is the results so far (Wood is just for presentation):

Where the orange dots are on the business card is where there will be a hole so it is kind of like a small view finder. I love it though. Check out his main website: www.jonathanhaggard.com

Working on a book

2008-08-18T16:39:00.001-07:00

A couple months back, I decided that I want to work on a book. I wanted to do something fun, off beat and interesting. I realized that I loved taking pictures of old people and making them come to life with character, motion and simply the ability to get faces out of them that one would normally never get to see. I have always viewed the elderly and the young as being discriminated just the same. Not many take both sides seriously and in a way, take away their voicing as real people with real emotions and feelings. There is such a connection lost....especially in the older generation. The older one gets, the more they are placed in the category as a teen. Unable to drive, make good decisions or simply be able to make it to dinner unless reminded. So this book would be of older folks doing the unexpected. Something that shows that there is still so much life and heart and that age means nothing. My goal is to produce around 30 different images for the book which I hope to have finished within a year from now. Since everyone in my family has a masters or higher in school degrees, I knew that I would never achieve this. They all wrote a thesis which was made into a book. So maybe this could be my thesis. And besides....school is really about what you get out of it. Degrees are simply to impress those around you. If I can't do it with a degree, then I will do it with a book. Here is one of the images that I intend to put in my book.

Tankers for wankers

2008-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

Some of the best things that you do in life are done through trespassing with friends. Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I enjoy the time I spend with Brion Hopkins. A while ago, we went to the oil refinery in Ventura. One which you have to dodge a few fences to get into. Why is it the best places to photograph at are always off limits to the public?! I guess that in itself would be what makes it so great. So here is some of the stuff that I photographed while there. Brion....I beat you my friend. You know what I am talking about :)

I know I already put it up but I had to do it again....hahahahahaha

Tahoe

2008-08-08T18:20:00.001-07:00

Tahoe is such an awesome place! I love it!

Love my brother and his wife. I was so happy I got to take this picture for them :)

Target....The Afterparty

2008-07-22T18:46:00.001-07:00

After the shoot, Brion needed some polaroids. Here is the result. As you can tell, I am still going through my blurred phase. HIZZAAAHHHHHH (To the tone of Tobias Funke)

B Diddy

2008-07-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Brion and I went to photograph the abandoned oil refinery in Ventura last week. There are plenty of stuff to come from the shoot but here are some of simply Brion during the shoot. Good times :)

hahahahaha
*The opinions expressed in the following message are those of the shell patrolium company and in no way misrepresent the business interest of the corporate omedia in which it originally appeared.

Of Broomsticks and Rubber Faces

2008-07-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

My roommate Mitch Hawkins got a black eye while playing baseball the other day. I figured that this would be perfect for just having fun with a shoot. I was right :)

It was all done in one shot by the way. I hate cutting people out and pasting them into an image. I would so much rather do it all in one if I can.

Hot sailors! Better yet, Hot Seame........

2008-07-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I took my 5D along with one 2 gig card and just a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I went to my friend Brenna's wedding in Newport Beach. It was awesome....and was one a Yacht. It was perfect for natural light and testing out the lens. Here are some of the results

I have been starting to become a huge fan of blurred pictures like the last one. When I was in NYC about 3 1/2 years ago, I went to a museum that had this exhibit called "The face of Jesus". It had about 8 different head shots of different people with different race and culture (judging by the clothing). But it was awesome because every image was blurred so you could not see the face....but just make out colors and light details. Presenting a blurred image allows the viewer to think and sharpen the image themselves. Photography is like nudity. When you show the viewer everything....the mystery is gone. There has to be something covered up that makes the viewer want to see more.

P.S. There was a photographer that they hired. I just did all my stuff when she wasn't around :)

Test Icicles

2008-07-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

Brion Hopkins is someone who I really look up to when it comes to photography. He is someone who really helped me when I was at school. The guy is just fun and always inspiring. For some reason, when ever I talk to him I just want to shoot my brains out (photographically speaking). If it weren't for him I would:

not have started this site
would not have gotten white lightnings
would not have the photoshop skills that I posses today (not everything is his technique but he sure played a tremendous part in getting me to where I am now)
Would not be pushed to be the photographer that I am today

So to add one more to the list....he mentioned how he has been loving his 50mm f/1.4 lens. I have a 50mm f/1.8 lens that has just been collecting dust. So I am going to take my camera and that lens alone and try just shooting some fun stuff in Santa Monica over the next couple days. Here is one test that I did in my room just using christmas lights as my lighting. hahahaha....gotta love cheap self portraits :) Thanks Brion for always encouraging me to seek the endless means of photography and being the inspiration of such a medium. You really have guided me to be the photographer that I am today!

I also found a way to add more depth to this duo-toned image. I need to do a before and after post sometime on here. I for one always love seeing how far an image has come to be what it is.

Oh and P.S. Check out Brion's website Here
#1 photographer recommended by pirates!!!!!!!

Dragonball Z-tarded

2008-07-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

As of the last two days, I have formed an addiction that has left me using a bed pan due to the cartoon suspense of Dragonball Z. Sadly, in the last two days I have watched 52 episodes of DBZ. I wish I could be making this up but....it's true. 52 episodes at 20 minutes/episode = 17.3 hours. This means that I would have had to spend more than 8 hours each day for this to be possible. Please.....do not go to this site or else you too will be doomed. It has EVERY episode ever made. So I will capsize what the highlights were from episode 225-276. Goku went Super Saiyan 3 bringing his power to an ultimate level.
Goten and Trunks learned how to fuse. Not only that but they learned how to go to Super Saiyan 3 as well. They were known as Gotenks

Buu Transformed like a million times into different looking Buus. In the end, he transformed into his original form which was Kid Buu in which his master originally made him (Bibbody). Buu lost due to a Spirit Bomb made by Goku. Sad.Goku and Vegeta fused becoming Vegeto. I preferred Gogeta but that's besides the point.

Then the earth was destroyed and so the Dragon wished everything back to normal. Yay.

All in all....It was worth it....I think? And yes....I am a nerd. But dangit! I have loved this show since I was 9 years old! I used to wake up at 5:30am every saturday to watch one 1/2 hour episode. Then I would have to wait another week. It was almost like childhood candy. I was so limited. And then when you move out of your parents place, you splurge and gain like 20 pounds. I consider this my 20 pounds of Dragonball Z. I have tasted the forbidden fruit and it tastes good!!!!!!

Vanity Affair

2008-07-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

As a person, sometimes you have to realize what your strengths and weaknesses are. Looking like a goon is a much better look for me than being serious I have come to find. Dang I love being a retard :)

Testing Light

2008-07-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I invested in some lighting gear. Went with White Lightnings because it offers so much for such a great price. I got:
2 3200x strobes
1 2500Zeus pack
2 Zeus heads
1 Ring flash w/ 56" reflector + modifiers
3 portable battery packs with 3 back up batteries
1 transmitter
4 receivers
1 beauty dish w/ diffusion
2 edge light modifiers w/ grids
1 octibank w/ grid
4 reflectors w/ 4 grids
2 c-stands
2 sand bags
1 case for everything

All said and done around $5,500. Kind of makes me wonder why people spend so much on Profoto gear when White Lightning offers all of this for that price (at least for starting off). Not to mention the 5 year warrenty which comes automatically with each purchase. Even if I am totally at fault for breaking a light....they will still replace it. Did I mention that replacing burnt out lights are maybe $30. Oh....and the modeling light is just a $3 light bulb from any grocery store. I also love the people who think that because you buy such cheap lights, they some how magically reduce the quality of light produced. How is that even possible? Oh yeah, Profoto produces light that not only will make your images look amazing, they even provide your skin with radiant sustenances which will make you live 20 years longer looking like you just exploded out of the womb singing "To Hell With The Devil" by Stryper. Amazing what the power of a dollar does to our thinking. Here is some testing that Brion Hopkins and I did :)

I can not wait to continue my old people series with my new lights. They should be even better. Check out my site to see some examples :)