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Why not add a panorama to the mix!
Victoria's patented and insured with Lloyd's of London long legs did the rest!
Victoria the Queen of Facebook & the iPhone! Just couldn't resist.
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This image was captured with the fabulous Fuji X-E1 and 35mm f/1.4 lens. Dreamy bokeh produced by this lens.
No diffusion in these images. Put some shades on, let the sun do its thing and just have some fun!
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Dolphin great Nat Moore in attendance.
These images will be used on a new iPad style menu system as well as for web site and marketing campaigns. Please stop by Nikko (186 SE 12th Terrace) for a great meal and tell Sunshine Raul the Photographer sent you.
Images captured with my Canon 5DMKII and Tamron 90 f/2.8 macro lens. Lighting with two Einstein strobes and several reflectors. Sunshine requested bright well lit images with greater depth of field to capture food details in the presentation.
Here's a sampling of the images - let the Pan Asian adventure begin!
For the Duck lovers!
Pad Thai with a Sea Serpent
This should be named the Don King Roll!
Gotta love the Penguin egg!
No Soup Nazi in this kitchen!
Surf & Turf
Master bath is impressive
Spectacular bay view
Beautiful chandelier overhead
Panoramic view of the front - luxury living at its best!
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Couldn't resist using the fish eye lens for the distorted effect!
Shot several panoramas as well as 360 virtual tours for their new web site.
We spent the morning in the shade to avoid the raccoon eyes effect. However, when in doubt and you want to catch that sunlight, ask the model to close their eyes and look up to the sky!
This wooden background is actually an entrance door to an outdoor studio for commercial shoots.
We couldn't resist the alien graffiti wall - Nina's favorite background. Nothing subtle about that background! LOL
We finished at noon and went straight to Gigi's for lunch. Nina was cold so she put on the Eskimo gear. With my Fuji X-E1, I captured my favorite image of the day. Expect the unexpected when you finish a shoot!
These images will be used for church publications as well as stock images. Images captured with the Canon 5DMKII camera and 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens, 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens & Zeiss 21 mm f/2.8 Distagon wide angle lens. All images captured with available interior light.
Some motion blur...
Fisheye views...
These HDR or High Dynamic Range images (7 combined exposures) will be available for sale as prints on my Fine Art America website.
http://1-raul-rodriguez.artistwebsites.com/index.html
and the Black & White version...can you say Edgar Allan Poe
Two more HDR images of the majestic organ pipes.
Loved the vintage British ragtops!
Cute bubble bee colored Citroen - funky looking ride!
The Austin Healey 3000 MKIII was my favorite.
Nina Standing next to her favorite - the pick up Mini!
We stopped for Sushi in the Grove and this roll was delicious! The image will no doubt join the stock portfolio.
Gotta love the Harleys in the Grove on a Sunday!
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Images captured with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L lens and 5DMKII.
Here's another graduation portrait for very pretty Dayme who graduated from the University of Florida with honors.
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Images captured with Canon 70-200 f/2.8L and 5DMKII.
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Images captured with the Fuji X-E1 and 35mm f/1.4 lens.
What's a horse race without a lady wearing a hat!
Cigar girl. She reminded me of the pin up queen Bettie Page. She needs a new headshot so stay tuned for a future Bettie Page lookalike shoot.
Beer Girl
Beautiful Dawn striking a pose
The clouds rolled in...
Sports Photographers on the job...
Dawn & Carlos...Bloody Mary's need a refill!
Dawn and Mary Ann
One big tractor!
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A panorama of the entrance with majestic oak trees.
A panorama of the spectacular rear view.
Luxury living at its finest.
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Of course I added myself to the mix for some generic stock images!
The James Dean leather jacket bad boy look, in this case bad boy middle age man look!
Blue!
Waiting for our ride to begin at the bright yellow bench!
Aymee's expression was priceless when we hit full speed. Notice the cotton balls in our ears to soften the very loud engine noise.
Our young guide was full of enthusiasm and shared lots of local knowledge. Forgot his name but it was with initials like TJ or JT or TL or......
Image captured with the Fuji 18-55mm f/2.8 zoom.
We stopped at a small Indian Village in the middle of the swamp that was last inhabited in 1978.
Sewing machines in the Everglades! Who would have thunk it!
Of course, what's the Everglades without an alligator!
Arriving at Terminal 2, Gate 29...
The airboat ride ended with some optional play time with the local critters. Please don't try this at home!
Next stop the Clyde Butcher Gallery to admire his beautiful black & white landscapes.
Beauty in of the Everglades. This image was captured in the Grand Cypress Preserve. The cypress trees are majestic but the real beauty lies in the profile of Aymee. Love the bokeh of the 35mm f/1.4 lens shot wide open at 1.4.
Looking up at God's creation.
This image was also captured with the 35mm f/1.4 shot wide open at 1.4, incredibly sharp image.
The trip continued for a short stop to Everglades City. A VERY small town in the middle of the swamp. I photographed the yellow bench so of course I went looking for a yellow house as well!
Beautiful little church in small town USA.
The road trip continued to Naples to catch the sunset. We got ripped off - no sunset!
But I did manage to catch this lady staring into the abyss from the Naples Pier.
No great sunset but the clouds did provide a dazzling display of cotton balls.
Miss fishing with my father.
Thank you Aymee for a wonderful day in paradise.
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Images captured with my Fuji X-E1 and excellent 35mm f/1.4 lens.
Eyes still sparkling!
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Another double exposure. Scene - grocery shopping at Publix with my daughter. Made a brief stop at the legumes aisle - can you say beans! Got some crazy stares from the onlookers...LOL
Image captured with my handy Fuji X-E1 & 35mm f1.4 shot at ISO1250, f/2.2 at 1/250 sec.
Day 20 - Band Sisters
My Day 20 image is from a portrait shoot (see separate blog post) for a new Country Western group called the Band Sisters. Four lovely girls with magical voices needed some images for an upcoming promo and cover. The Band Sisters are on the rise soon to be performing in Nashville.
Image captured with my Canon 5DMKII & 70-200 f/2.8L lens shot at ISO100, 93mm f/5.6 at 1/100 sec, tripod mounted on timer.
Day 21
No frills day. Scene setting - Sugarcane Restaurant in midtown having lunch with my beautiful daughter.
Image captured with my Fuji X-E1 & 35mm f1.4 lens shot at ISO1250, f/2.8 at 1/50 sec.
For those keeping tabs on me you may have noticed I'm missing Day 18. True story - I captured a great image in my house on the 18th and the next day I had a sudden lapse of judgement and deleted all images on the memory card! Finally realized what I did a couple days later and after several attempts to recover the file - no success. Ay caramba!
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
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Nothing extravagant today. This image was from my field testing of the Fuji X-E1 with my new 35mm f/1.4 lens in South Beach. Image details - ISO200, f/5.6 at 1/50 sec.
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
Here are a few images from this morning. Some of these will be joining the stock portfolio.
Have you ever been hounded by those lovely restaurant hostesses on Ocean Drive. Well I turned the tables on them and captured a few images of willing models. These shots were all taken with the maximum aperture of f/1.4. Even at 1.4 the images are very sharp. This is an exceptional portrait lens that will be used in some upcoming sessions. Notice the dreamy background rendering. Love this lens!
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An early celebration of my birthday began at Gilbert's in the Keys on Saturday the 12th with great friends. A big thanks to Mary Ann & Tony for always providing some unforgettable moments. Gilbert's is a great getaway from the Miami routine. Briefly forget your trials and tribulations and enjoy the sights, sounds and libations. Day 12 was a shadowy day with a walking dog. The scene was the small dock behind Gilbert's just prior to sunset - the Golden Hour! Image captured with my Fuji X-E1 and a brand new lens, the Fuji 35mm f/1.4. A spectacular prime lens with outstanding image quality and a very dreamy bokeh (rendering of the out of focus area in the image) when shot wide open. Image shot at ISO200, f/5.6 at 1/640 sec.
Day 13 was almost missed! This was a last minute shot taken prior to midnight. The scene was my office sitting in front of my PC. The monitor created catch lights in my eyes. Taken with my Fuji X-E1 and the 35mm f/1.4 lens which is quickly becoming my favorite camera/lens combo! Image shot at ISO2000, f/1.4 at 1/60 sec. Black & white conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro2.
Day 14 was a scouting run to locate a good background location for an upcoming portrait shoot with a country theme. Country in Miami is an oxymoron! Shot taken with my 5DMKII and 70-200 f/2.8L lens at 70mm, ISO100, f/5.6 at 1/200 sec. Sepia conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro2.
Day 15 scene was at my parents home with the Fuji X-E1 and the new 35mm f/1.4 lens. Image shot at ISO800, f/2.8 at 1/160 sec. Black & white conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro2.
My mother is in the background, out of focus, which these days is meant both literally and figuratively as she is suffering from Alzheimers. The house has a door facing the north which I opened to light the room. My mother was front lit while I was back lit. There's a certain glow surrounding her. The image captured a moment of brief clarity in a world of vast uncertainty! How long will I be in focus?
I love you Mami!
Day 16 scene was at Cibo Wine Bar in the Gables celebrating my birthday this evening with a group of friends pictured in the background. After a few attempts I managed to get this one. Shot with the Fuji X-E1 and the 35mm f/1.4 lens at ISO1250, f/1.4 at 1/50 sec. Black & white conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro2. Gotta love the bokeh and grainy look at ISO1250.
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
]]>I was very busy with some photography assignments so I had very little time to capture self portraits for my 365 project. Nevertheless, I was able to keep on track and capture a few daily images with my handy Fuji X-E1.
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
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I honestly did not believe I would make it this far! But another day bites the dust. Scene setting - my kitchen, inside the oven, now that's a small studio! I used one of my favorite lens, the Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye. The creativity potential for this lens is only limited by the users ability. I placed a Canon 580EXII Speedlite inside the oven manually powered at 1/32 and triggered by a Pocket Wizard. The light was bounced off the ceiling of the oven to soften the blow. The 5DMKII was set at ISO 800, f/8 at 1/25 second shutter speed. Focusing on these super wide lenses is relatively simple since they have such a great depth of field. B&W conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro2.
Now you know what a turkey feels like on Thanksgiving day! God bless the Turkey!
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
This was a no frills photography day. I hit the road to check out some bags for my new Fuji at Pitman Photo and stopped along the way at my favorite fast food Tex Mex restaurant Taco Rico on US1. The couple of ounces of Mayan blood running through my veins demands a Mexican fix before I hit extreme Yucatan withdrawal! I was a happy camper! Image taken with my handy Fuji X-E1. By the way, the wait staff must have thought I was missing a few screws by the funny stares. LOL
For those just tuning in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
Ok, let's ditch the black background. How about my bookcase? That can work but we'll need a shallow depth of field. The equipment - my Canon 5DMKII with the venerable Canon 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens shot at ISO100, f/1.8, 1/200 sec lit with 2 Einstein strobes at very low power with 24 inch Lastolite soft boxes. B&W conversion with Nik Silver Efex Pro2.
When was the last time you read Curious George?
For those that just tuned in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
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I'm on a roll! Set up my home studio for a quick shoot with my Canon 5DMKII and 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens. Clam shell lighting, that's 2 lights at about 45 degree angles to the subject using my Einstein strobes. Used 2 small lastolite 24 inch soft boxes. Main light to the right set at f/5.6 and fill light to the left set 2 stops less at f/2.8. One speedlite overhead on a boom set at low power for rim/separation or traditionally called a hair light.
Only had a few minutes to shoot since I was invited to a friends house to celebrate the first soirée of the year. My friends are always looking for a reason to party! A big thank you by the way to Terri for hosting a great party. It turned out to be a fun evening with Carlos telling some hilarious stories.
Back to the 365. Never get between a man and his loaf of Cuban bread! I'm speechless...
For those that just tuned in, this is my ongoing attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
Wow, one more day and one more picture. This image is a double exposure from my Fuji X-E1 zoomed at 18mm, IS0200, f/4, 1/160 sec. A very slick feature that's lots of fun. The trick is finding the right combination of images that produce a final product that isn't too busy or distracting yet conveys the sense of a single image. The image was taken in the Wynwood district. I was accompanying my daughter to an audition in the area and was able to capture a few shots while she did her modeling gig. This was my favorite. The B&W conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro2 rendered a very interesting final product. Gotta love all the graffiti walls!
For those that just tuned in, this is my attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned as the shutter clicks!!!
For those that have just tuned in, this is my attempt at a 365 photo project - this mad man is hopelessly attempting to capture a self portrait every day this year. Stay tuned!!!
Let's set the scene. My garage! It's a mess! Let's start with a very cluttered background. Way too distracting so let's make it out of focus. One speedlight from the side housed in a Lastolite Easybox. For you novices that's basically a big lamp shade to soften the light! My gear - Canon 5DMKII with the 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens shot at f/2.8 at 1/60 sec with the speedlight powered down 2 stops.
I have no idea what I was trying to accomplish in this image but it's going straight to my stock portfolio. Some agency will no doubt want to purchase an image of a middle age man trying to screw his head with a power tool! BTW, I really need to clean my garage!
Here's day 1. What do we have here? Let's start with a black background. One strobe from the side fitted with a 10 degree grid to control the light spill. One strobe overhead and slightly from behind for a rim effect and separation. My gear - Canon 5DMKII with the great 70-200mm f/2.8L lens shot wide open at f/2.8 at 1/160 sec.
In the mood for a half face! Something dark and somber. Dude, way too serious! And you need a shave! Just for Men is on sale too! BTW, just got out of bed hence the wrinkled tee shirt!
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Here's a panoramic shot.
Marley's everlasting impact...
Some Blues along the way...
Could not resist the Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens on a few shots!
Here are are few images from South Beach.
The Clevelander before the TGIF crowd!
One of the nice features of the X-E1 is the ability to produce double exposures - way cool feature that can get addicting!
Here's a few double exposures.
I decided to add these to my stock portfolio and they are selling like hotcakes!Cute ole farts do sell! My father with the stylish beret...
My daughter and niece - Girls just wanna have fun!
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The shoot was at the MJHS main campus location. I also photographed the campus as well as a couple employee headshots including the MJHS Chief Medical Doctor. A big thank you to Ellen of MJHS!
Couldn't resist the black & white conversion with this strong back lit scene.
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These were captured with the venerable Canon 50mm f/1.4, a great portrait lens.
High speed sync with a Canon 580EXII speedlite.
Three cheers for the lovers!
Bubbles were a must!
Here are a few images from the back streets and not so common sites from Key West in Black & White.
Does anyone ever really rents these things? I just walk!
Got a pair of brand spanking new All Stars while in New York recently – reminded me of my high school basketball days! They may be stylish but are NOT meant for walking!
Backyard of an artist studio…eclectic!
How appropriate are these signs leading to the Key West Cemetery? What’s up with the bullet holes?
Very interesting and diverse architecture. Key West still has that renegade pirate spirit after all these years.
In search of symmetry…
For the Serendipity lovers…
This must be the doorway to Heaven in Key West…
Of course, can’t leave out the Southernmost point on a stormy day!
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I couldn’t resist the B&W conversion – the clouds were perfect! By the way, I must have walked the length of a marathon over 4 days!
Here are a few shots of the fabled Brooklyn Bridge.
The Freedom Tower. The spirit lives on…
There’s still a dark cloud over the site but life manages to prevail…
The 9/11 Memorial entrance. Set the X100 on a temporary wall, put on a polarizer, activated the neutral density filter, and stopped the lens all the way down to f/16 to produce a long exposure to create the blur effect of the line of visitors.
9/11 feels like a blur…
Life underground…
Reflections of New York…
Times Square. Gotta love the huge billboard ads!
Always looking for symmetry and it always manages to find me even when I’m not looking!
Amazing Architecture…yesterday next to today...
Pastels in the Village…
Can't leave out the graffiti...
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Here are a couple shots of the road leading to Gilbert’s. One of my parents favorite places to dine many moons ago and the place is going stronger than ever!
Took a few shots for the Whale Harbor management for some upcoming promos…
Idyllic…
Arrival at Key West. Praying and sinning…
One of the few towns where Walgreens announces a birthday!
So close but yet so far to my roots…
Captain Jack Sparrow!
Wondering how many UFOs have been spotted in Key West…
Shots followed by tattoos or vice versa…
Stopped by Bahia Honda on the way back…
Quick stop for a few sunset pics…
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A big thanks to the Public Relations Conroy Martinez Group for this golden opportunity.
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The Shiraz staff did a great job setting up a Polynesian theme in the colorful garden setting. Here are a sampling of images I captured using a variety of lenses and a handy tripod for some of those long exposures.