Creative Challenge

Before I start this post I have to say that the colored mountain and the black & white for Cassie won. (Click here to see what I'm talking about)

George back once again!

   Every now and then when I want to clear my head I take the camera and go for a walk. Sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes 3 hours. And usually I just take two of my primes, if not then just a zoom. But this time it was different, I wanted to challenge myself to produce images with limited gear (besides the challenge, I got tired of lugging around a lot of gear). I thought about it, and I decided to pull out my 24mm and head out. Take a look at the results:

   I have to admit this was an interesting challenge. I had to keep in mind what I had & what I could do. I didn't have a long lens, so I wasn't shooting birds. I didn't have a very fast lens, so I didn't shoot in the deep shadows. I didn't have a very wide lens, so I wasn't shooting landscapes. I knew what I was going to shoot and brought only what I needed.

   My question for you is this. Do any of you do anything to spring your creative juices back into gear every once in a while? What is it? Leave your comments below.

   Until next time, this is George saying... Adios.

Black & White Battle

George Here!

   There are many choices in our photographic/videographic career that we have to make. Should I splurge and get the better body, or get a less expensive body and invest in some lenses? Should I shoot at this angle at that F stop or in that angle in this F stop? In my case, I have the hardest decision ever made by a photographer... Black & White... or Color?

   Okay okay... not seriously that important, but it is an interesting question. Last week I went to Arizona and took some great landscape photos. And for some of the photos, I made them B&W and made others color. But my problem is, I cannot choose between the B&W or the color version of the same photo. Take a look at this compressed landscape shot:





While I'm here, I'd like to share this photo that I have the same problem with:





Leave comments on which way you like the photos processed. Or use the poll's below:




And as always... thanks for reading.

My New Favorite Lens

   Hey guys... Sorry it's been so long since my previous post. I've been busy with multiple things, some in the film world, some not. And you'll get to hear about those events in the posts following. But right now I want to talk about my what I might call... my new favorite lens. My Canon FD 24mm f/2.8.

   Since I shoot on a Crop-Sensored camera, it's harder to get a wider shot. This lens isn't particularly wide on a crop. But at 38.4mm after the crop, it's wider than my new second favorite lens, Canon FD 50mm f/1.4, which equates to about 80mm on a crop. So it is a little bit wider, and that opens up things I could shoot vastly. I can be in tighter quarters and get a more pleasing shot, and since it's a wider lens, it a lot easier to manually focus.



  This shot is amazing. And currently, I could have only gotten it with that lens.

   That's it for now. I'll try to update the blog more often and get you guys more current media to enjoy. This is George saying, ¡Adios!

How to Choose Your Best Shot & Competition Update

I'm here again!

   The reason I posted this today rather than next monday is because I wanted to go over my process of picking my best photo.

   First thing I did was look through my portfolio. Your portfolio should be made of your best images, nothing else. I have had people ask me how many images are in a portfolio. I tell them, "If you only have one good image, then your portfolio is one image. If you have two solid images, you have a slightly larger portfolio." So it just depends, you can click on my portfolio up in one of the tabs to see how many I have.

   After I looked at my portfolio, I narrowed it down to two pictures (Click here to see them). Then what I did was I printed out some 4"x 6" pictures at home and showed them to some people. Some strangers, some friends, and some family. I took a tally of what they all liked and then chose the best one. Now remember, your choosing your best image. They're not choosing it for you, they're just giving you something to think about. Keep that in mind, you make the final decision.

Update on the Competition:

   Unfortunately I didn't make it into the contest. Better try again next time! Take a look at the video below:


   That's all for now. Until next time, George out!