Dan's blog about Photography and things

I was going through my pictures and I thought I'd post some photos taken during my Mexico trip in 2001 stay. I really like this photo of this young mother. Look at the wonder of the boy's face, seeing a foreigner for the first time. The mother's body curved around to protect the child. Her face is generous and welcoming. This somewhat symbolizes motherhood for me.  This was shot with a Mamiya C330 twin lens reflex medium format. I enjoyed shooting that camera. Very quiet shutter, and built like a tank.  This young girl's eye caught my eye. I liked the background with the bus and the people. I was waiting patiently for something to happen in the foreground.  The girl turned to see what I was doing. This was shot with a Hassleblad with a waist level finder.  The finder came in handy for this shot because it allowed me to raise up the camera so that I can show the group of people entering the bus.  A little girl running in a playground. Shot with a Hassleblad ...

I've had an opportunity to shoot Dan Choi, one of ex military personnel who is fighting for equal rights for lesbians, bisexuals and gays in the United States military.  Series of my photos ran in this magazine and also the Advocate Magazine. I brought my battery pack for the studio lighting for this shot. I chose to shoot without a softbox or umbrellas since I wanted to get the hard lighting effect.  Some light from the studio light spilled onto the marble background probably around 2-3 stops lower than the subject so that allowed the subjects to stand out from the background. Here he is sharing his support for family members and friends who were discriminated by the military for their sexual orientation. There were a lot of emotion that day in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington VA.  I grabbed this shot very quickly, as Dan and his partner was walking toward the area where I wanted to shoot the portrait. There were a lot of people walking about the area, so...

I've done some night photography in the past with my trusty old Hassy of mine. Long exposures slow BW film, pull process... It sure was fun but a bit nerve wrecking, since you have to wait to develop the rolls. I've always wanted to do nights in color but color processing in your own darkroom could be a bit hairy.  Now with my 5dmk2 I can finally explore the colors of the night... Well, colors of sodium vapor I guess. I've tried night shots with "older" digital cams like Nikon D200, but I wasn't too happy with the results. Overheating and battery consumption was some of the issue. But the 5d performed perfectly with long exposures (30 sec to 2 minutes) without any heating. Battery lasted almost 4 hrs. I think this was about a minute exposure.I got lucky with the almost full moon. I like to keep the iso setting pretty low to keep the noise down on the image. Of coarse a sturdy tripod is a must. You have to be careful sometimes, during a long exposure the tr...

I was fortunate enough to be featured in the October issue of Popular Photography! I was one of 8 professional photographer to be interviewed about taking intimate candid photographs of family members. I remember flipping through that magazine when I was starting up, learning everything I can about photography. They usually run more 'techy' articles so I was surprised that they were planning to publish more 'personal approach' story. This was the photo that ran in the article. This was shot with a Hassleblad 500cm with 80 2.8 CF Below is my answer to all the questions that Popular Photography has asked me about photographing candids of family members. Enjoy!  • pleasures you take in shooting candids • background selection • background manipulation or improving • composing thoughts • establishing relationships with subject(s). • conversational tactics • strategies for coaxing photogenic behavior (especially from children) • observation techniques •  specif...

When I photograph, I always ask myself, "what's so interesting about that?" I thought this was interesting with the gentleman's head. I was going to just shoot the statue but I think this is better. In this blog, I more or less investigate my fascination about photography.  The camera is just a machine that does not have a mind, and millions of cameras are out there but when this is controlled by a human it takes on a different life as an artistic equipment, if one choose to. When the photographer asks, "what's so interesting?" This question is really about what the photographer values. It doesn't have to be all that deep but it touches on what makes each one of us different. As artists, all we do is explore that difference. Here, I surprised myself by using a very shallow depth of field and rendering the background into something abstract. I think a good picture happens when whatever the photographer thought was interesting is clearly comm...

Just finished shooting for the Ideal schools . It is a private high school in Ashburn VA. The founder Deep Sran's approach is much like a typical graduate school in a graduate school setting. With a doctorate degree in Critical Thinking and background as corporate lawyer, he has both academic and 'real' world knowledge. The students are encouraged to think for themselves to come to a conclusion, as opposed to learning how to get better test scores. The classes are very small. The space is well thought out to promote interaction and provide a very comfortable relaxed atmosphere. The school has a very hands on approach. Students will build their own wooden surfboard. They will touch on subjects like hydrodynamics, physics, and math during the project. They even get their hands on running a real business. Group outing for lunch to a local outdoor restaurant, Ultimate Frisbee or kickboxing for gym class! It was a pleasure experiencing this new method of ed...

I contribute regularly to Arcangel Images which is England based photo-agency that specializes in book covers. They have an excellent selection that is more artistic/dramatic. Here's some recent books with my photos on them This photo was taken near Virginia/Maryland border on a small country road. Its a small motel. The long exposure (4 minutes) allowed the clouds to look velvety.  This photo was taken in D.C. during the Chinese New Year parade. The mixture of colors and wind blown flags captured my eye.