The Almas presentation reminded me how important it is to keep defining my own style, my own vision, through my photographs. So, I am renewing my efforts to present a style that is cohesive across all my galleries. As a photographer, of course I shoot the things I love and subjects that fascinate me. But that is only the first step, really: After the shooting, styling, recoloring, and finishing touches, the last step is juxtaposition and presentation. I am focusing on that last step as its own kind of art form. Let me know what you think of the results

Botanical Garden, Grand Rapids MI

Botanical Garden, Grand Rapids, MI

After finishing up four photo shots for the “Men Over 50″ series in Palm Springs, we did a little traveling to Prescott, Arizona. While there, we went to Gabby’s Kitchen for breakfast in nearby Chino Valley, Arizona, and I was captivated by their Coca-Cola memorabilia, corporate monopoly be damned! Gabby’s French toast is the best anywhere, so maybe I was under the influence of maple syrup when I snapped these photos. These images were captured with my Blackberry 8320. Yes, the photos have gone through a Photoshop treatment for toning and contrast adjustment; out of the camera, the raw images reminded me of a plastic Holga. You don’t quite know what you’ll get with a Blackberry camera, but the results can be rewarding.

Then we headed to the Getty Center in Los Angeles on the way home. This man walked right into my frame while I was trying to compose my masterpiece, but he is the one that made it happen.

Somewhere on Interstate 5

Supposedly WordPress is more search-engine-optimization friendly, and I’ll find out soon. These days, almost every business relies on web presence via sites such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, as well as through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Like all photographers, I want to be friended, liked, and searched!

If you visited the Tommyphoto site previously, you’ll notice that there is no longer a “Wedding” category. It’s true, I am no longer promoting weddings, as I shift my focus toward commercial and editorial work and realize some creative projects.  If you would really like Tommyphoto to cover your wedding, however, I’d be happy to oblige, as long as I can find the time!

If you are looking for new headsot for your business or just updated the half dozen years old photo, I have a deal for you.  Find out more by clicking here.

This year World Press Photo (WPP) selected Jodi Bieber (See below for more info.)  In 2003, I was fortunate to see the exhibition in Hamburg, Germany.  As a fledgling photographer at the time, I was blown away by some the amazing images and bumbled by the photographers’ talent.  Since then I visit WPP website every year to keep up with the winners and its participants. The image below gives me pause and ask what happened and why and couldn’t help keep staring.  There are so many thoughts gone through my mind for it’s unexpected and unsettling emotions.  This is an iconic image indeed.

In this image, the winner of the World Press Photo Contest 2011 by Jodi Bieber, South Africa, Institute for Artist Management for Time magazine, is Bibi Aisha, an 18-year-old woman from Oruzgan province in Afghanistan, who fled back to her family home from her husband’s house, complaining of violent treatment. The Taliban arrived one night, demanding Bibi be handed over to face justice. After a Taliban commander pronounced his verdict, Bibi’s brother-in-law held her down and her husband sliced off her ears and then cut off her nose. Bibi was abandoned, but later rescued by aid workers and the American military. After time in a women’s refuge in Kabul, she was taken to America, where she received counseling and reconstructive surgery. Bibi Aisha now lives in the US. (AP Photo/Jodie Bieber/Institute for Artist Management/Goodman Gallery for Time magazine)

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Is the future of visual communication here already?  Are still images the dinosaur of the past?  You tell me.  Vincent Laforet has been the champion of merging still images and motion pictures since the debut of Canon 5D II about 3 years ago.  Thanks to his ingenious marketing and social media skills, the fusion concept took on a life of its own.  I found this contest fascinating yet challenging in terms of story-telling by seven winners.  With the inclusion of HD capability in many of the new crop of DSLR nowadays, it democratizes film making from the hands of Hollywood elites.  No matter what your budget is, good story and tight editing are some of the key ingredients of good film.  You can find them here in the short film below by seven directors.

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The Story Beyond the Still – All Chapters – FINAL COLLABORATIVE FILM from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

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Take a look at this dizzying panoramic capture by Steve Mellon of Pittsburgh Post during opening kickoff of Super Bowl in Dallas.  Does it give you a sense of you are there kind of feeling?  It does in a weird sort of way to me because of its very distorted view let alone at time can be dizzying as you pan to see a 360 view.  There are few software plug-in and standalone in the market to do the stitching, visit Panoguide for more on how-to.  Personally I have never done 360 pan images but have done stitching a few images to create the panorama of my mind’s eye while capturing landscape.  Since I mainly use 35mm DSLR, the format is too small to capture the scene comparing to a view camera such as 4×5 or 8×10.  By stitching, you can cheat your way to achieve the larger format look without dealing with the hassle.  The image below consisted of 3 frames and combined in Photoshop Photomerge CS5.  It did an amazing job in overlaying the final layers and masking.

Sedona, AZ

Super Bowl XLV Panoramics

What’s constitute a portrait has been debated ever since 35mm SLR invented.  Most artists/photographers associate portraits as a well composed image of the sitter who usually looks at or to the side of the camera.  With today DSLR, the traditional sense has changed somewhat.  According to Marcel Saba, any image of a sitter that gives the emotional impact and pause for a second look regardless of whether it’s captured in studio or photojournalism style can be a portrait.  Follow the link below to see his explanation.

To see the video and more images here.

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