New Blog Post – JayRodPhotos – Blog
August 12, 2010 – 10:20 pm | by J. Rodriguez
| Posted in » Canoe or Not Canoe…?
August 4, 2010 – 11:41 pm | by J. Rodriguez
I once noticed a sign on a copywriters wall that said:
When shooting rapids in a canoe, if you say ‘I don’t know’, the river will decide for you. In marketing if you don’t know what to do, the river of consumerism will drop your brand right over the falls.
You and your team need to have a clear detailed plan of where you’re going and how to expect to get there. And equally important, that plan needs to be actively managed by the team, with changes and alterations as the consumer landscape data is refined into information and analyzed into knowledge.
Climb into you canoe – and get ready to ride the rapids.
Remember, things are not easily done over night. Success takes hard work, studying your competition and last but not least, make sure you involve your team in your next venture.
Keep moving forward, your time will come. Build a niche and mold an effective brand!
Rest in Peace My Lynx – 1 year Later
July 23, 2010 – 12:27 am | by J. Rodriguez
A year ago today I lost my best pal Lynx due to kidney failure, I know many of you may say “Oh Boy, Get over it!” But that’s not the case. The main reason I still carry this on my shoulder is because Lynx was not only my best pal, he was like one of my children. Everyday, every morning Lynx made sure I had his attention and he had my attention as well. Lynx was not your ordinary cat, he was one to hold a conversation with anyone who was willing and dedicated to speaking and listening to him.
Lynx gave love to everyone who walked in the door. Human or Animal Lynx was there to share his expertise in love giving.
Last year I went on vacation when all of a sudden he got sick on me. For 10 days straight we went from one expert vet to another, we got nowhere, Same results and no good news. Our final stop was to a specialist local in our area. Lynx lasted 3 days with them. With the best of care every hour, every minute, every day this special team of vets ran tests and couldn’t come up with any solution to save Lynx and that’s where I got the suggestive bad news. I had no other choice, he was suffering and I was suffering. He was in pain and I was crushed inside wishing I was in some third-world country where they would build him an iron lung that’ll help him live at least 10 more years. After my family and I agreed to the choice we gave our final “Good-byes”. We took it in harder then we thought!
Lynx, you will always been in our hearts!
Lynx was my sunshine!
I miss you and I love you Lynx!
I refuse to say goodbye… so I’m going to say see ya later my friend!
Hugs and Kisses <3
RAINBOW BRIDGE POEM
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When a pet dies – one that’s been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable, fear and worry free.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and the vigor of youth. Those who were abused, hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again just as we want to remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them – someone who had to be left behind. That someone who was kind, gentle and loving. That someone who took the extra step, stayed the extra minute, reached out and touched with love, even once.
The animals all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent, his eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face, your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look into the big, trusting eyes of your special love, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together. . . . . . . . . . . . .
~Author Unknown
Re-Post: How to shoot fireworks – By: Greg Mellang
July 1, 2010 – 9:49 pm | by J. Rodriguez
Everyone seems to have their own technique and I’ve tried a few over the years but what the best way for me to get predictable fireworks photos is by using the following technique.
What you’ll need:
Camera with manual settings I prefer a digital SLR for complete control, but you can make this work with compact cameras with either a fireworks setting or manual override
Sturdy tripod I know many people say this, but if you want clear straight lines, a dependable, adjustable but sturdy tripod. You don’t want this slipping and shaking during your exposure
Remote Cable Release I prefer one with a lock and one at least 30 inches in length. You’ll use this to trip the shutter and hold it open for longer bursts
5×7 inch black non-reflective card To cover the lens and adjust your exposures
Flash Light To help you review your settings or possibley paint your foreground with light.
Water, Insect repellant and comfortable shoes You have to take care of yourself, right?
It helps if you can scout the location prior to the event. Preferable getting an obstructed view and a place to place your blanket and cooler and relax. I try to find a place that could offer some interesting reflections or silhouettes.
Set your camera on the tripod and make sure the legs are secure from slipping. Connect the cable release and test to make sure it’s working and get out your black card. Set your camera to manual setting and put your shutter speed at B (bulb). You will dictate the shutter speed using your cable release and black card.
Now decide if you want the skies to be black or if you want some detail or colour in the background. Or if you have a building in your foreground you may want to include some of that detail in your exposure. I prefer black skies and will use the following as starting points for exposure settings for sensor sensitivity/ISO and your aperature.:
ISO/Sensitivity: 100, Aperature f/4
ISO/Sensitivity: 200, Aperature f/5.6
ISO/Sensitivity: 400, Aperature f/8
ISO/Sensitivity: 800, Aperature f/11
ISO/Sensitivity: 1600, Aperature f/16
Keep in mind that the fireworks are extremely bright and will clip out very easily. The lower your ISO the darker the skies and the limited amount of detail you’ll have.
Now you’re ready to shoot.
When it’s time for the fireworks, place the black card in front of your lens, trip the shutter (lock it if you can) wait for the trailer to shoot up and once it disappears, lift the card away from the lens and capture the burst.
Place the card back in front of the lens. If you want to capture multiple bursts repeat this process. If you’re satisfied with one burst, release the shutter, review the exposure (assuming you’re shooting digital) and adjust the f/stop or ISO to suit your camera, lens and environment.
Now this seems like a lot of detail for getting the shots, why not just trip the shutter and let it go? By all means, do it, have fun with it and see what you get. Shooting fireworks is a lot about adjustments and experimenting, but if you can predict what it’s going to look like and being able to adjust will help you increase the number of amazing fireworks photos.
So what kind of lens do I use? Most of the time, I’m shooting with an 18-55 lens. Moderate wide-angle to normal. But shooting with a telephoto zoom can help you create some nice abstract light paintings.
Things to consider for the quality of your image
With higher ISO you will increase the grain/noise of your image plus it will detect a lot of the bomb smoke. While it can provide some great effects, you may want to experiment and adjust
To capture the trails/bursts, you’ll have exposure times for a single burst around 4-8 seconds, This can create some great light trails from other sources but may also create hotspots around street lights. Just be aware.
Reflections of water are generally between 1/2 and a full stop below your normal bursts but are amazing if you can get them just right.
If you’re shooting the grand finale you will see an enormous amount of bursts in a single area and you may experience some blown out areas in your image.
Experiment and have fun. I’d love to see what you shoot for fireworks this season.
Cheers!
~fotodog
Carlos Baez See The Light…
April 27, 2010 – 11:44 pm | by J. RodriguezCarlos Baez takes us behind the scenes and shows us the process behind his magic.
Get Off Your Ass Photography (G.O.Y.A) – JayRodPhotos.com
April 16, 2010 – 12:35 am | by J. RodriguezOkay, so I know I’ve been slacking on the blog posts lately. Thing is I don’t really have much to write about everyday as of late. The good weather is coming in and small shoots here and there are coming along. Also to add the 9-5 project and collecting my marketing ideas has been keeping me busy.
So, for the past few weeks I have taking some clicks at things I want to show with you all. Feel free to comment and/or add suggestions… Remember, I’m all open for all C&C!
The shots above are a couple of lighting test shots taken by Daniela & myself. We took some time to make some poster style looks and came out winning after a couple of frames. click the images to view larger shots!
Click Save…. ALWAYS!!!!!
April 1, 2010 – 5:20 am | by J. Rodriguez
I had a really cool blog post ready for you all today. I was typing it out after I wrote it out. While I was reading everything I typed I went to attach the image, the… GONE… All gone! My laptop battery went on me without any warning. Serves me right for not paying attention to the pop-up bubble warning! I’ll type it out later this week!
Have a Happy Easter Everyone!
