Spring 2012 Demo Reel

Central Florida Zoo

The Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, FL was surprising underwhelming. From a photographer's standpoint as well just feeling sorry for these animals, there was barely any space for the animals, especially the big cats and the fences were just absolutely terrible to take pictures through. Here's some snaps from today though. 

New Acquisition: 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII

So today I took the steep $2300 dollar plunge and purchased one of the greatest lenses ever: the 70-200 VRII. I've known how amazing this focal length is for awhile now, having used other's Sigmas and Canon variants. But this month I've been renting the Nikon version for photoshoots and films and my god, words cannot describe. I've been one of those guys that only has one lens in his collection and has been satisfied. I use my 50mm f/1.4 for every single one of my photos and I love it. The soft bokeh, the wide open aperture, the contrast, and the portability of the lens makes it my favorite lens I've used. Actually scratch that the 85mm 1.2L from Canon is my most favorite lens I've used, I would seriously get a Canon camera just for that amazing lens. But shooting video, there's a lens for every situation and a 50mm isn't ideal for all of them.

Here's my ideal wishlist when it comes to lenses I want that would cover all of my needs: 
-A 24mm f/1.4 
-A 50mm f/1.4 (Check)
-A 70-200mm f/2.8


And as of today, I've checked off another lens off that list. I was literally blown away from the image quality this lens gave me straight out of the camera. It's so sharp, the bokeh is fantastic, and the contrast is unbelievable! I just turned 21 about a week ago and my mom and dad just graciously helped me out by giving me a thousand dollars towards the lens, I pulled out all the money I had in my account (which I was saving up for this lens) and just placed my order. 


Life is so amazing and I'm so lucky to have such a supportive family and a good circle of friends. Ever since I turned 19 and picked up photography and film as hobby, and now as a career, I've met so many inspiring people. And to think I've in turn inspired others, it's something I can't fathom. I'm so happy waking up and realizing that I have something that drives me, something that I can only do better for the rest of my life, and it's all because of a dslr camera. It's crazy how one thing can give you a whole new lease and perspective on life. 

A Quiet Farewell: Completed film.

A short one minute film with no dialogue and music for a Directing 1 class, written and directed by my buddy Sean Osorio. Cinematography and editing done by me. The rain, while there was some during the shoot, it wasn't visible with the close up being shot at 1.4, so we composited some in to add to the dramatic effect. Shot solely on a D300s with a 50mm f/1.4 all on sticks, since no camera movement was allowed. 


I'm working on 9 projects being shot in March, so my god will it be an exciting and exhausting month.

"A Quiet Farewell" preview.

Just a couple of unedited stills from a short film I worked on as the cinematographer and I'm currently in the post-production process of editing. This was a fun project because the film has no dialogue,music, or camera movements. So the film relies solely on camera angles and performance. All shot on a D300s and a 50mm f/1.4g lens. Written and Directed by Sean Osorio.

UCF Photography Club Photo Walk: Leu Gardens

I've been president of the photography club at UCF since November and this is some footage I took during our photo walk to the Harry P. Leu Gardens. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout of members seeing as the weather was incredibly bad all day, we did get an hour of sunlight during the walk so it was great. Click past the break to check out a short video I shot on my D300s with the 50mm f/1.4 and a member's 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye, as well as the few photos I took in between shooting video. 

Creating a Photo Collage.

Some people online wanted to see how I created this photo for my project 365, which you can find here. This is actually very, very easy to do and you need to be an advanced user in photoshop or anything to create. In fact, for this tutorial, I'll be using a free program that's similar to photoshop called Gimp, which is available for both Mac and PC. I'm terrible at talking continuously, so after 50 failed tries at doing a video tutorial, my first one will be a step by step. But who knows, I'll try harder with video tutorials in the future. Click the after the jump for the tutorial.