JP BRANDANO: FLORIDA'S FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHERS

Friday, January 7, 2011

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION..OK BRING IN THE SUPPORTING CAST!!!

At each wedding everyone knows who the stars are, the Bride & Groom of course. If they're not there, there's no wedding (try saying that fast). But just like in every great movie the people who make the day interesting, fun and memorable are the supporting cast. They can be childhood friends, work place friends, aunts & uncles, sisters & brothers, grandparents, nieces and nephews, the ladies in red ( as photographers do you notice yourself taking their pictures a lot, liking waving red in front of the bull) and the dancers. The dancers can include all of the previous groups but the real dancers are the ones that start dancing and never seem to come off the floor. These are all the people that bring fun, love and memories to the wedding day. So don't forget the little people, the extras, the supporting cast!!

Future Brides

Sisters

Sister & in Red !!!

Nieces

Sisters

The young bridemaids

The Dads

Grandmother

The Aunt and friends

The Ladies in Red!

The Hands On Groomsmen

The children

The beautiful people

The lovers

The Dancers

You name this one :) !!!

More Dancers

DANCERS????

The Moms

The Dads

The Supporting Cast

The Future!

The Dance Acts!!!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Reality & Fantasy The Two Sides Of Romance!!

I read an article the other day that got me thinking. It basically was the writer's "hall of shame" of techniques used in weddings and romance sessions. His list included adding textures to an image, selective coloring and placing an image of the couple into a brandy sniffer. I do agree that some of these techniques are from different decades and not ones that I would use all the time or ever.
What I do not agree with is just taking all these ideas and never using them. Two years ago I started having brides ask about selective coloring and if I would do it. While you might not know what selective coloring is, I am guessing you have seen examples of it. The images of a bride in B&W but her flowers are in full color would be selective coloring. I had one bride tell me that she always like it , her mom and dad had a picture of their wedding where it was used. She also told me that one photographer told her he would not do it because he thought it was tacky. You might understand why she was still interviewing with other photographers. Now I am not saying that each wedding should have many examples of it or even 3 but if the bride & groom want it, I do not see the problem with it. I always liked the idea of "having it your way".
I feel that a bride's wedding day is very special to her and her groom and is something she has been imagining sense she was a child. I am guessing that some fantasy was part of those thoughts. I have always thought that a wedding day should be 90% reality and 10% fantasy ( adjust as you will for the couple).
I try and capture the fantasy with special lighting techniques and posing but I do use photoshop to achieve some of the fantasy. I can hear it now" OH MY GOD YOU USE PHOTOSHOP TO MANIPULATE AN IMAGE". Yes I do and I have been known to add light with flashes, isn't that manipulating an image?
I am not saying every image or even half of them but I would say about 1-2 images a wedding out of close to a thousand images.
Sometimes we create the fantasy by using a flash light outside at night to give a kind of story book light to a shot. Why would I not add a glow to an image with PS? Some of my images are in B&W, they were not B&W when I took them, they were in full color. But we think that is ok.
All I am saying is like most things use it in moderation it can add to the fantasy, add to the romance and make the bride and groom remember their special day with a smile. If that is not part of the reason you do this then you" ain't got no heart" and it will show in your work. Below are some examples, each of these images were included in an album or bought as a print.

Lit by Flashlight at 11PM

Processed in B&W

Added Glow to window light

Blurred background

Added a torn look to edges and slight glow

Added a glow to both images Above and Below

Added texture to wall and boosted colors

(click on image to see enlarged image)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

"Can't See The Ocean Through The Sand" a Life Lesson!

Yesterday I posted some images from our trip to South Beach in Miami. The trip was a fun day to a part of Florida we had never visited. I posted about a dozen images, including this one. Truth be told I was rushing when I downloaded them, process and posted them to this blog. It was a busy day here and I wanted to include them on our site before the day was out. So I saw each image and worked on each of them to varing degrees,posted them and then later in the day I did a check of the post again ( my usual practice). I find that looking at the entry after an hour or so helps me to see the images as you might see them for the first time. I was pretty pleased with the results when I saw them and really liked one image in particular, a shot of the beach with seagulls, blue cabanas, white sand, blue ocean and someone parasailing. Well then it was supper time and then our nightly walk and I had other things on my mind but something kept pulling at me. Well around 11 PM as we were getting ready to go to bed, I went back online to look at that one image again and as I sat looking at it I realized that I really liked it, I mean really like it. I began to realize this might be one of my favorite images that I have ever taken. I went to bed and first thing this morning looked at the image once more and I honestly feel it might be one of, if not the best image I have ever taken.
This started me thinking about how we sometimes are to busy to see what we really appreciate in life. There is a saying about not seeing the forest through the trees and I think we do that much to often in our busy lifes. How much are we missing, as photographers how many images are we missing. Have you ever driven by a scene at the end of a 10 hour day of shooting and thought it looked interesting but kept driving because: A) It was dinner time, B) your tired, C) you convince yourself that you will get it tomorrow, which of course you won't because the light will not be the same, D) traffic is heavy and you will need to turn back, E) insert your excuse.
It does not matter what you think about this image, although I would love to know, it matters that I love it and almost didn't really see it. I was in a rush, busy as always and half a dozen things were on my mind. I don't make new year resolutions but maybe this year I will. SLOW DOWN, enjoy my life to its fullest and see, I mean really see, all there is to see.
Are you missing out on your life, not really enjoying your family & friends? Are you not seeing your kids as they grow into adults, not seeing what is happening to the planet around you?
Are you truly seeing how lucky you are to live in this country, to be with your partner in life, hell just to be alive? Slow down, see the forest, smell the roses, see the ocean and pull on the cape of your creativity. It will make you a better photographer and person!!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

First Visit To Miami Beaches Art Deco District on Ocean Drive!

As some of you know we just moved to Florida and we love it. We are excited about visiting all different areas of the state. I thought I might post images and thoughts of these areas as we visit them
Yesterday Phyllis and I visited Miami's famous South Beach, to check out the area, before our shoot there during the Miami Art Deco Weekend. It will be held during the weekend of January 14,15 and 16th. and sounds like a pretty exciting and fun weekend. We arrived around 1PM and after meeting with Amanda Bush of the Miami Design Preservation League (http://www.mdpl.org/) who are running the weekend, we started out to explore the area. What an area this is for a Monday it was packed, of course it was the day of the Orange Bowl but we were told that during this time of the year it is normally busy. There are also many hotels some built in the 30s, many with the art deco look, which are just fascinating to see. You might wonder what is Art Deco, instead of me trying to explain it below is a description copied from the league's web page

Art Deco

In the United States, Art Deco was a product of new ideas and movements and found its inspirations in many distinct early 20th Century European design styles such as Cubism, French Art Deco, German Bauhaus and Expressionism, Dutch de Stijl and Amsterdam School, Vienna Secession and others.

The term Art Deco came into common usage in the 1980s as public interest in the style was renewed and is generally used to cover several distinct periods. Art Deco became known as the Skyscraper Style for the buildings that sprang up in every big city in the mid to late 1920s. This was classical Art Deco, as first popularized at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925, featuring expensive materials, angular yet voluptuous with elaborate motifs of fountains, nudes and flora.

Miami Beach’s building boom came during the second phase of Art Deco known as Streamline Moderne, which began with the stock market crash and ended in most cases with the outbreak of World War II. It was less decorative—a more sober reflection of the Great Depression. It relied more on machine-inspired forms, and American ideas in industrial design. It was buttressed by the belief that times would get better and was infused with the optimistic futurism extolled at America’s Worlds Fairs of the 1930s. Stripped Classic or Depression Moderne was a sub-style often used for governmental buildings, the U.S. Post Office being the best example in Miami Beach. Miami Beach architects used local imagery to create what we now call Tropical Deco. These buildings feature relief ornamentation featuring whimsical flora, fauna and ocean-liner motifs to reinforce the image of Miami Beach as a seaside resort.

Art Deco — What to look for
Over-all symmetry, ziggurat (stepped) rooflines, glass block, decorative sculptural panels, eyebrows, round porthole windows, terrazzo floors, curved edges and corners, elements in groups of three, neon lighting (used in both exteriors as well as interior spaces).

There are also many new hotels that look very expensive, that look out over the beach. But the Art Deco are the stars and there are some great examples on Ocean Drive and this alone would be a great reason to visit but there are many things to do here including the wonderful Miami beach. White sand, blue sky and warm water that is my idea of a great beach. If your hungry from all the swimming or site seeing your in luck there are many types of restaurants . You want Italian it is here, a hot dog its here and naturally seafood really fresh seafood. We decided to try Cuban food at Larios restaurant located on Ocean Drive. We were seated immediately at a table right in front of the restaurant, this is the usual seating in all the restaurants we saw. It is not private lol but it adds to the excitement and atmosphere of being there.
The food was great, I had grilled fish with moro rice and plantains, Phyllis had a grilled seafood dish that I had to help finish. Excellent food, service and the Mojitos were also really good. Phyllis said the best she has ever had.
The great thing about sitting out side was that it allows you to do what is maybe the more interesting activity and that is people watching. This is prime people watching territory lol. You see young guys walking up the street selling their CDs, young women with trays hung from there necks selling " cigarettes , cigars, cigarettes, cigars". I thought for sure I would see a bell boy yelling "Call for Phillip Morris" ( if your younger then 50 you might not get that reference lol) You might also see the best example of " not everyone can or should wear a bikini". Especially when they are in there 50s ( a guess) and a bearded man. You will also see many people that belong on a beach, great looking men and women can be seen everywhere.
We also saw a commercial being shot, many families walking Ocean Drive and many classic cars parked on the street. Including one with Bogie in the front seat.
There was a giant pink snail sitting there looking very peaceful and bright !! People are walking, riding biking, para sailing and some just laying in the grass.
We saw the Versace house, in front of which is where he was killed, it is now a private club.
Photographically it is a very colorful place and affords the opportunity for nature/ landscape, street candids, portraiture, food and architecture photography all on one street.

We can't wait for the Art Deco Weekend, should be one exciting weekend and we both would recommend people visiting then. If you see us say hello and Smile when we take your picture!!