Search results for - newest show first

Remington - Portra 400

Posted | Views: 4,132
Remington Indiana 2021


Abuela Mami Coffee Neon Sign

Posted | Views: 3,417
Abuela Mami Coffee  -Neon
The backout paint over-brush is a real example of the imperfect human touch of neon.
Film is the best medium to photograph neon. Digital photos can't compete here.
One of the coolest things I can think of is a neon sign. I’ve always wanted a neon sign. We had a custom neon sign made for my company, Abuela Mami Coffee, it was very exciting.

What’s cool about neon, even more so in the digital age, is that it’s completely manual. You need a skilled craftsman. You can’t just pull up a website and make one.
Our Neon sign is portable and battery powered. We bring it to coffee events and it's always a hit.


Atlanta downtown skyline

Posted | Views: 3,757
 Atlanta  
 Jackson Street 
 Bridge 


Shooting Cinestill BW Double-X film at a Cattle Show

Posted | Views: 3,583
2022 MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE, HORSE AND CATTLE SHOW
Cinestill B/W Double-X film
DOUBLE-X FILM
I thought it would be fun to photograph a cattle show with the same 35mm film stock used for the movie Raging Bull. 
I think this bull won something, They were waiting to take a photo.
My brother Kiki Valdes wearing our late grandfather's (Abuelo Papi) open road Stetson hat.
Francisco. How do I know? It's written on his leg.
The way this film renders grays are awesome. The grain is very fine. 
Dancing Mexican ladies.
Miami-Dade Police Tank Truck!
SHOOTING ON MY NIKON F6 WITH


Spiders in Miami

Posted | Views: 4,386
Spiny Orb Weaver.
Mabel Orchard Orb-weaver or a Black Widow, I'm not sure.
Spiders 
I’ve seen in

My-Am-E.


Can a bee feel or sense vibration reduction on a lens?

Posted | Views: 3,695
Vibration reduction
Not in this photo but one time a bee was floating around and drinking water from a hose. I had a vibration reduction lens and I got closer to take a shot. When I half pressed the trigger to focus the vibration reduction turned on and the bee immediately reacted and started to fly away. 

I backed up, waited for the bee to settle and it went back to drinking water. I moved in again, half press the trigger. Vibration reduction turned on and the bee freaked out again, started buzzing around and moving away. I did that a couple more times and then that’s when I realized maybe they can sense the vibration.


A Normal Day In Miami...

Posted | Views: 1,106


Cinestill 800t Halation

Posted | Views: 4,770
Oh the Halation!
I love shooting film at night. Cinestill 800t is a really fun film to do this. It’s marked as 800 ASA/ISO film and what I really like about it is the halations. Halations happen because light bounces back into the film and bleeds outward on highlights. (It has something to do with Kodak movie film, ask a dork or checkout cinestill’s website for a better explanation.) The halation creates this halo effect around bright lights and it’s really cool.
Cool & Interesting

What I think makes halations cool and interesting is that when you take a photograph you never really know what you’re getting until you develop the film. The halations adds to that mystery. It adds another element of excitement. Was the exposure right, did I miss focus because I shot in the dark, did I shake the camera… Now I get to also wonder how the halation will look.

Each element changes or improves the look of a photo. Some people shoot photos for the experience of shooting. Other shoot for the final photograph. I enjoy shooting film for both of these.
Wrigley field, Chicago
Chicago
Cinestill 800t at night
The glow of halation at night


FIlm and Digital

Posted | Views: 4,386
Film & Digital
iPhone 13 Pro
Kodak Ultramax 400
Homemade French baguette bread.


Double exposure on FIlm

Posted | Views: 3,287
Some of my favorite double exposure shots
When everything goes right this is what happens - Kodak Portra 160
This one reminds me of a Florida t-shirt - Kodak Ektar 100
Double exposure at night with flash really gives an unreal look. Almost looks faked, but its real because its film - Shot on Cinestill 800t
This is a random one but I love the heavy vignetting - Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400
Underpass by the Design District Miami - Shot on Kodak Portra 800


Post title...

Posted | Views: 1,032
Add some text, Yo! Click this text box to change the text, style, color and fonts.
  Fun Facts to 
Help You Seem Interesting at
               PARTIES!
By Sam Ortiz

Fun Fact Many people mistakenly think plutoids and dwarf planets are the same thing. 
Plutoids are a subcategory of dwarf planets. Plutoids are dwarf planets that are farther than Neptune in the solar system. Ceres is in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, so Ceres fits the criteria for being a dwarf planet, but not the one for being a plutoid
Fun fact: Every part of a shoe has a name.
You’ve probably heard of a shoe’s soles and tongues or maybe even it’s eyelets. From a shoe’s collar to it’s eyestay, every part of a shoe’s anatomy has a nam
Fun fact: The only difference between perfume and cologne is its concentration.
There’s different categories for scents you apply to yourself based on its concentration. These categories are Eau Fraiche, Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, and Perfume (or parfum) with Eau Fraiche being the least concentrated and Perfume being the most concentrated. The amount of time the scent lasts is determined by its concentration.
Fun fact: There are different tiers of Barbies.
arbies are categorized into “Labels”. First, there are the dolls meant for play. These dolls do not have limited numbers and they are not labeled. Next, there’s the pink and black label Barbies. They also do not have limited numbers. Pink label barbies are keepsake barbies, like Holiday or Birthday Barbies. Black label Barbies are meant for older collectors. Next, there’s the Silver and Gold labels. Silver Label barbies are limited to only 50,000 dolls, and Gold Label Barbies are limited to just 25,000 Barbies made. Platinum Label Barbies are the rarest of them all. The Platinum Label limits each Barbie to less than 1000 dolls made. Platinum Label Barbies can go from anywhere between $200 to $2000. Official One-of-a-kind Barbies are included in the Platinum label like Barbie by Stefano Canturi, a doll with multiple real diamonds on it, which sold for $302,500.
Fun fact: Some dog breeds don’t exist anymore.
Lots of dog breeds like the Blue Paul Terrier and the Cumberland Sheepdog have stopped existing. They could’ve gone extinct for some factors that aren’t related to humans or simply because they weren’t very popular.
Fun fact: The reason why bubblegum is pink is because that’s the only colour the creator had.
The creator of bubble gum only had red food colouring on hand. When added to the gum, it became pink.
Fun fact: Cranberries grow on vines.
Cranberries grow on vines in places called cranberry bogs.
Fun fact: Professional crayons exist.
Lots of artists use crayons in their work. The crayons artists use are different from kid’s crayons because of their formula. Artist’s crayons are more expensive and they’re made to be able to blend colours evenly.
Fun fact: The world’s smallest flowering plant is the size of a sprinkle.
The Wolffia Globosa, also known as duckweed, is the world’s smallest flowering plant.
Fun fact: The Times New Roman font was designed for a newspaper.
The Times New Roman font was specifically designed for a newspaper. It was later adapted to suit longer texts like books.


Neon at night - Biscayne Blvd Miami, Florida

Posted | Views: 3,738
Portra 800 handheld
I don’t like tripods but love night photography. I wanted to challenge my steady hand and loaded up my Nikon FM2n with Portra 800. I used a wide a 24mm 2.8 lens to help minimize motion blur. I don’t remember the shutter speed I used but it was slow. Maybe 1/30th or 1/15th of a second. Then self developed with CineStill C41.
I've never had a hotdog from Dogma but they get 4 out 5 on Yelp, so maybe next time.
Not sure if it was broken but only part of the neon sign of Gold Dust Motel was on.
Across the street from Dogma.
Film is awesome!
The Vagabond motel sign is cool but I perfer this one on side of the building.
Night Film photos on Biscayne Blvd
In Low Light
When I scanned a few of these I did bump up the exposure just a bit. I was surprised how well they turned out. 
The South Pacific Neon sign is just the coolest!


"Flowers on 37th"

Posted | Views: 6,961


Claudete Colvin

Posted | Views: 874
I
            Claudette Colvin: The Fifteen-              Year-Old Civil Rights Pioneer
By Jade Perry
     In 1955, two African-American women famously refused to give up their seats to white passengers in Montgomery, Alabama. 
     One of those women was Rosa Parks, a name everyone recognizes as one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement, and for her significant role in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. 
     The other name is lesser known: Claudette Colvin.
     While many people believe that Rose Parks was the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat, that simply isn’t true. Claudette Colvin was the first, refusing to give up her seat just nine months before Parks, and doing so at the age of fifteen.
     Colvin had boarded the Montgomery bus on March 2, 1995. The white section of the bus was filled when a white woman boarded, so the driver told Colvin’s row to stand so the woman could sit. 
     Colvin refused to get up from her seat and had to be pulled off the bus by two police officers. Actual accounts vary on how she acted while being arrested. 
     While some of her classmates claim she fought the cops, Colvin herself says that she went limp and didn't fight back in fear of the cops hurting her. Some sources may say that Colvin was pregnant during the time of her arrest, though this rumor is false. Though Colvin had discovered she was pregnant the summer of that year, she was not during the initial arrest on the bus.
     Claudette Colvin made the same stand Rosa Parks did nine months earlier, but is hardly remembered for it. 
     Colvin and Parks even knew each other, Parks would often let Colvin stay overnight at her house. They both laid the road for civil rights activism in Alabama, working together to get rid of segregation. 
     Both women are incredibly pivotal figures in the civil rights movement and deserve to be remembered for their activism.


Escalator Terror!

Posted | Views: 916
Add some text, Yo! Click this text box to change the text, style, color and fonts.
Escalator Terror

     
By Nick Kleeman

      For some, the idea of getting on an escalator is terrifying. 
     Sounds like a pretty irrational fear, right?
      There are countless safety measures taken to avoid accidents or injuries on the part of manufacturers, and it would be unlikely that one could get hurt from doing something as simple as standing on an escalator.
     Though the odds of being seriously hurt by an escalator are slim, there are certain risk factors that can increase the likelihood of being injured. For example, loose shoelaces, long dresses, and baggy clothes can all become stuck in the stairs, which can lead to getting stuck, hurt, or at the very least ripping your clothing.
     Also, young children and the elderly are more likely to be injured by escalators than adults, because they can move too slowly to step off of the stairs and onto the platform. Children have also fallen from escalators by climbing over the edge.  
     So the next time you’re faced with going up an escalator, it may be a good idea to make sure you’re not wearing anything that could put you at risk, check that all your companions can move quickly, and warn children against playing on the escalator.




Wordle!

Posted | Views: 1,044
Add some text, Yo! Click this text box to change the text, style, color and fonts.
null
 Wordle Fever!
By Jade Perry 

     Wordle is the new word puzzle game taking the world by storm.
     What’s a Wordle? 
     The basic premise of the game is you have to find the five letter word of the day by typing in words of the same length. When you type a word that shares a character with the word of the day, it will be yellow or green. 
     Yellow means you have found a letter but it is in the wrong spot, and green means that the letter is in the right spot. You have six chances to get the word right. The game is simple, yet addictive.
     “Wordle stimulates the brain and is a fantastic way to start the day," said Nick K., local Wordle enthusiast.
      “Wordle is a daily competition between me and my husband; my current streak is 27.” Mrs. Kloc. said. 
     Wordle has completely enthralled the public with its simplistic game style. 
     According to the New York Times, Wordle has over 300,000 daily users, and the numbers only continue to grow!
     What’s the best part of all this? Wordle is completely free to play! 
     You can play on the main site once a day, but if you want to play more than once a day you can check out the Wordle archive site which hosts over 200 previous Wordles, just don’t catch the Wordle fever!


Sharks!

Posted | Views: 855
 Sharks: The Misunderstood Rulers of the Sea
 By Jade Perry

     If I were to ask you what the most dangerous animal in the sea was, you would probably say sharks. But what if I told you the iconicity of a bloodthirsty shark was nothing more than a misconception?

      Many people believe that sharks have a natural hunger for human meat, but that simply isn’t true. Sharks are marine animals, meaning that their prey would consist of fish and other sea creatures, not land animals like humans. In fact, Sharks have no interest in eating humans at all. “If a shark sees a human splashing in the water, it may try to investigate, leading to an accidental attack. Still, sharks have more to fear from humans than we do of them.” Writes the National Ocean Service. Unprovoked shark attacks are often caused by the shark mistaking the human for a seal or another natural prey to sharks, and they typically stop after realizing their prey is not a marine animal as they have no desire to feast on humans. On average in America, there is only one fatality to an unprovoked shark attack every two years. You are over 4x as likely to die to a vending machine than a shark. So, Sharks are no more dangerous than a brown bear, but how did the many misconceptions even start?

     In 1974, a novel about sharks called Jaws came out, and was soon adapted into the popular film. This novel/movie iconically featured a great white shark that found its prey on a small beach town, painting the shark as a monster. Before the release of the novel, sharks were seen as harmless, but Jaws instilled a new fear in people of sharks causing sharks to be seen as a threat. This would have devastating consequences for the shark population.

     Since the release of Jaws, the shark population has seen an estimated 70% decline in population around the world. While overfishing does have a part to play in this decline, many people also sought after sharks to kill as trophies. Not much was done for the shark population, as many people only saw them as bloodthirsty monsters thanks to Jaws. The shark population continues to decline even today with 100 million sharks being killed each year.

     Despite sharks being less dangerous than a vending machine, many people still fear them. The misconceptions spawned from Jaws, and similar movies to release since, have instilled a fear in the general population that resulted in 70% of a harmless species to be wiped from the planet. While conservation efforts are in effect, the number of sharks continues to decline steadily each passing year. It is crucial that we work to get rid of these harmful misconceptions through educating the public on the true nature of sharks. Sharks are critical to the marine ecosystem, and their extinction may bring drastic consequences to the oceans as we know them.