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. 

The upcoming Nikon D800, hit or miss?

Being a huge depth of field nut (Of course, I know when I need to stop down, unlike some photographers) and a hater of noise in low light, I've been wanting to upgrade to full frame for a long time now. But also being heavily involved in video, which I'm going to school for, I couldn't find the heart to get a D700 (which lacks video recording) and switching to Canon wasn't my biggest desire*  The D700 has been in need of a major refresh, being on the market for almost 4 years now, while its quality hasn't dropped, the features on the camera has slowly become outdated. So I've been waiting patiently, saving money, and checking Nikon Rumors constantly. 

With the announcement and upcoming release of the D4 and seeing its insane specs and video, it makes it even harder to wait for this baby to the right. But man will the wait be worth it. I am hesitant though, on a few things. It has been reported to have a 36mp sensor, which sounds fantastic for avid studio users and making obscenely large prints, but I fear that its low light ISO performance is going to take a hit, which was what made the D700 so great. It looks like Nikon has smartly, and unfortunately split the market even more with its two FX cameras. The D4 will have insane low light performance and fps for sport photographers and the D800 will be for those who shoot in the studio. The D800 will be the rival the 5D MIII whenever Canon decides to release it, so the specs it has makes a lot of sense. But what the D700 lacked with video, it made up for with its incredible photos. There has been footage from Canon's new video camera, the C300, where they are shooting at insanely high ISO speeds in order to stop down at night, and that's what I was hoping for with the upgrade for the D700. Being able to shoot video at night with little to no noise, without having to be at a low f-stop. But we will see. I might just upgrade to a D700 or the still phenominal D3s for photos and get a dedicated video camera like a RED Scarlet... if money grew on trees that is. Regardless, this camera is going to be amazing. Will it be a worthy sucessor to the D700, instead of just continuing the megapixel race with Canon and adding video? Only time will tell. Check out the reported specs here. 

Places to find me: 

flickr | youtube | tumblr | facebook



*I just prefer Nikons. Simple as that.

The Visual Forest of Tu Do

'Sup readers, the name's Tu Do, and I'm a filmmaker who's equally in love with photography. Those things have always gone in hand since the early 1900's but these days, creating films and incredible photographs has become more and more accessible. I first bought a D5000* on my 19th birthday, excited about taking photos and making short films I would see in magazines and online. It was a quite a huge shock to learn that you actually have to know how to take photographs and not just snap and go. Almost two years later, I've barely scratched the surface. But I'm getting there. You can find me on various websites already, but this is going to be the primary place to read my insights on current photo/video news, get the latest information on things I'm doing, and answering questions as well as tutorials. Hope to see you back soon!

Places to find me: 

flickr | youtube | tumblr | facebook

*I use a D300s now