Who says you can’t party on and have a wedding on a Thursday night? I think the last time I saw so many people rockin’ out on a Thursday was when I was in college and there was no class on Friday! Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Chris & Lisa from making sure they had a good time during their wedding at The Woodcliff Lake Manor in NJ. We sure had an equally great time capturing their special day and I sincerely wish them all the best!

Photo info: Nikon D700 w/ 24-70mm f/2.8 G; ISO 1000: 1/125th sec @ f/2.8
Post info: Color & curves adjusted in Adobe LR2.1

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest baseball fan. I’m a fair weather Yankee fan at best, but I do enjoy watching baseball in person rather than on TV. This is a shot from my Canon (!) point & shoot (!!!) that I snapped at the Phillies vs Nationals game at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly the other day. Phils won 1-0 in what was a rather boring game, but tailgating, garlic fries, and good company made it worthwhile.

Camera info: Canon Powershot SD1400 in auto mode (f* yeah auto mode!)
Post ino: “Monday morning smear” filter + contrast & curves adjusted in LR 2.1

One of my favorite photogs, Chase Jarvis, says that “the best camera is the one that you have with you.” That definitely rings true — you can have the most expensive camera in the world and the nicest lenses, but if you don’t have them on you at the right time at the right place, you could just miss that opportunity. I was at Adorama yesterday, and there was an ad on the wall that said, “Life doesn’t stop for pictures.” Great quote to drive home Chase’s point. It’s also a great reason why I love having a phone with a decent P&S camera on it for those times I just want to shoot and the DSLR is not in tow.

This photo was shot on my iPhone while I was driving on the Ben Franklin Bridge towards Philly the other day. While the photo doesn’t do the sunset justice with it’s low dynamic range, I was still glad I had my phone to capture the moment. (Shooting & driving….don’t try it at home, kids!)

Photo info: iPhone 4 Camera app, ISO 80: 1/140s @ f/2.4
Processing info: Curves, saturation, and vignette blur added in PSmobile app

The swim start of most triathlons can be summed up pretty well with one word: “chaotic.” There is a lot of elbowing and kicking and jostling for position when there are swimmers to your left and right and behind you, all trying to get ahead. What’s even crazier is in this photo at the Ironman Lake Placid swim in Mirror Lake, all 2800 athletes start at exactly the same time. Talk about chaos and a whole lot of swimming for 2.4 miles in the water.

I must say, it’s always super fun for me to spectate and take photos at races, especially ones of this magnitude. Marrying photography and triathlon into something I could be proud of is quite possibly the best combo since PB&J…or PB & Gnutella, as I was introduced to this weekend!

Photo info: Nikon D700 w/ 70-200mm f/2.8; ISO 1000: 1/1000th sec @ f/2.8

A tad late on week 29’s post, so I’ve tried to make up for it by updating live from the Ironman Lake Placid Triathlon in Lake Placid, NY! We are here to cheer on Drocc as he traverses 140.6 miles, swimming 1.2 miles, cycling 112 miles, and then running a full marathon of 26.2 miles. Crazy indeed!

There are 2800+ triathletes that have “brought their talents” to Lake Placid ranging from 18 years old to 79 years young and the town is buzzing with athletes & endorphins. This photo is of the transition area set up in the Olympic oval where the 1932 & 1980 Olympics were held. Will check back in a future post with links to more race coverage photos!

Photo info: Nikon D700 w/ 10-20mm Sigma f/4-5.6; ISO 1000: 1/3200 sec @ f/4.2

Quick break from our regularly scheduled Project 52. I was sifting through some images from the last wedding I shot in Chestnut Hill, PA and saw these two I originally overlooked. These were taken in the musician’s loft on the balcony at Our Lady of Consolation Church. I really liked the dramatic lighting up there along with the beautiful, old-fashioned organ. There was something very rustic about the scene up there, even the old sheet music, which was already yellowing and riddled with someone’s hand written notes. I decided to take these detail shots and apply a more painterly feel to them. While these may look like HDR images, they’re actually victims of my new favorite plugin, the Tonal Contrast Filter, in Nik Color Efex 2.0.

The title of this post translates to “Church Song/Music” in Latin (I think, someone please correct me if I’m wrong!).

Photo info: Nikon D700, Left: ISO 2000, 1/200th sec @ f/3.5; Right: ISO 2000, 1/200th sec @ f/2.8
Post info:

I’m sure by now it’s safe to say that most people have used Citysearch or Yelp and other contributor-review based websites. Well, while we were in SF this past weekend, my friend and avid foodie, Rachelli, pointed out over dinner that she wanted to start being more of a contributor in the realm of restaurant reviews and the likes, since she felt that she has benefited from the helpful dining tips of so many that it was time to weigh in and impart her honest feedback on future patrons.

Nevertheless, I agreed with her to Yelp at least two times a month in order to chip in my 2 cents to an online community of patrons and consumers. First up: Good Mong Kok Bakery in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The food is equally as awesome as the name of the place and if that’s not intriguing enough, check out my very first Yelp review.

Above is a shot of steamed chicken buns or ’siopao’ as us Pinoys would call ‘em. White, doughy stuff on the outside and hot, delicious meaty goodness on the inside.

Photo info: D700 w/ 50mm f/1.4D; ISO 200: 1/800th sec @ f/1.4

I shot another wedding with Annie Hosfeld in Philadelphia on Friday, where Jenny & Jon got married and celebrated at The Ballroom at the Ben. It was a beautiful day and gorgeous weather for a wedding. This photo, taken between the ceremony & reception, took place in the Azalea Gardens just behind the Philadelphia Art Museum by Kelly Drive where Jenny & Jon got engaged. Congrats to the bride & groom and thanks for being such a pleasure to work with!

Photo info: Nikon D300 w/ 70-200mm f/2.8 lens; ISO 320: 1/160th sec @ f/2.8

We are officially halfway there with Project 52 with this week’s post. If you’ve followed me up to this point in my year long journey, thank you for continually checking in! It’s been a lot of a fun and certain weeks where I have no motivation to create, I must admit that the Project has pushed me to go out and shoot. I really don’t know how people pull off a Project 365, but perhaps that’s on next year’s agenda.

This photo of someone zooming into the transition area on their bicycle at the Wyckoff Sprint Tri. I saw this patch of sunlight creeping in between some trees and casting a sliver of light onto the ground in front of me while spectating. Instead of whip panning yet again, I thought I would go for subtle with the shadowplay and I’m pretty pleased with the turnout. On the flipside, congrats to Team T3 and Bert for finishing strong at the Philadelphia Triathlon this weekend!

Photo info: Nikon D700 w/ 24-70 f/2.8; ISO 3200: 1/4000th sec @ f/8
Post info: Curves, contrast & orientation adjusted in LR2.1; Ink filter @ 25%

Four years ago, we set out on our first triathlon at the Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Sprint Tri in New Jersey with Team in Training and my friend Derick memorialized the passing of his mother to cancer with each stroke, pedal, and step of the way. Four years and dozens of races later, here he is racing the same race wearing his cause loud and proud on his sleeve. He has formed a charity in honor of his mother, Zenaida, aptly named F*cancer and continues to inspire with his one pointedness and dedication to the sport and to fighting cancer. On July 25th of this year, he will climb new heights, both literally and figuratively, as he traverses 140.6 miles at the Lake Placid Ironman Triathlon. Read more of his inspiring story here.

Photo info: Nikon D700 w/ 24-70 f/2.8; ISO 250: 1/2000th sec @ f/2.8