Sweet Quinceanero

Today I had to do a shoot for a Quinceanero. This is the Spanish version of a Sweet Sixteen but it's done when the girl reaches the age of 15. This is also a pretty big deal like a Sweet Sixteen in which it ends up being handled much like a wedding. What I was doing today was shooting the photo that will be used on the invitations that will get sent out to all of the guests. Like I said, handled like a wedding. The actual celebration (her birthday) isn't until March but as you can tell, they've been working hard on preparing this all ready. This beautiful girls name is Frances and R&B Photography would like to wish her a Happy Quinceanero as well as many more birthdays to come. Frances, I enjoyed seeing your face light up when you saw the photo after I finished processing it and I just knew that this is what you were looking for. Enjoy and relax your time until the Quinceanero and I can't wait to capture that moment as well.

Skin Re-Touching

One of the things that I am repeatedly asked at R&B Photography is if we do "airbrushing" or "skin re-touching" on portraits or close up pictures. The answer is always a big YES and I wanted to show an example of such technique here on the blog. Look at the example below:





This was just a candid shot that I decided to apply this technique to. As you can see, there is a noticeable difference between the two pictures. This technique allows for the natural redness and blemishes of her face to disappear. As a result, this automatically draws your attention to her beautiful eyes. This is just one of the many techniques that we can perform in the Digital Darkroom to give the client the look that they are looking for.

Me In Action!!!!

This is me on the hunt for wildlife. To me this is so freaking relaxing and it makes me enjoy my photography so much. I love getting down and dirty chasing wildlife for the perfect shot. There is no pressure, no client to make happy, not a real time frame, nothing like that at all. It's just me (and Beej now that she's learnnig and enjoying it as well) enjoying God's creations. I can sit in a position all day long and not get the shot I want and go home perfectly happy with a big smile on my face. I guess that it's what a lot of people get out of fishing. They may not catch any fish at all, spend money on bait but are very happy and keep on going at it day after day. This is my fishing, fishing for pictures. On this particular day I was hunting for Bald Eagles along the Delaware River. This was taken just south of Minisink Ford, NY where they have Eagle viewing stations set up. It's a little too early for them

So I didn't get any shots but none the less enjoyed myself greatly. I hope everyone finds an out every once in a while and get to enjoy yourselves and your lives. These shots were taken by Beej whom was accompanying me on this great day. She is having a lot of fun learning photography and I am enjoying teaching a willing student. I'm trying to get her to start a photoblog of her own but I am being met with some resistance. I'll just have to keep trying harder I guess. I have another month or so up here in upstate NY and I hope to get many more images from wildlife and great scenery. Believe you me, I will certainly be out there chasing the perfect shot. I hope you guys enjoy the images and feel welcome to leave any comments or critiques on any of my posts.

-Ray

Hawks Nest

This is the view from Scenic Byway 97 (Route 97). This unique highway follows the Delaware River, connecting the rail road city of Port Jervis to the bluestone village of Hancock. A snakelike portion in Sparrowbush that has been featured in many car commercials.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Aperture: f/8

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Beej

This is on Route 97 just outside of Port Jervis, NY. It is beautiful country up here and can find myself spending a lot of time trecking through the woods. My work will have me here for another month or so and i will be busy shooting.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec

Aperture: f/8

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 100mm

Enjoying Nature

This is on Route 97 just outside of Port Jervis, NY. It is beautiful country up here and can find myself spending a lot of time trecking through the woods. My work will have me here for another month or so and i will be busy shooting.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1 sec

Aperture: f/22

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

R&B Photography Portable Studio 2

Just got to processing some pictures from a recent photoshoot. This shot was taken in a small hotel room using one of R&B Photography's portable studios. Everything I need fits into two bags and I can shoot just about anything a client requires. My first bag is a LowePro Vertex 300 AW backpack. In this bag I carry my two bodies, lenses, flash (I keep one in the bag in case I am out and about and need to use it), external battery pack for the flash, Stoffen Omni-Bounce, Rocket Blower, cleaning solution, shutter release cords, wireless triggers, memory cards, bunch of Eneloop batteries and various cables.

The second bag is a KATA OC-97 Organizer Case. This case is made for small to medium lighting kits with 4 heads and light stands but that is not portable enough for me. I use small flashes to light my subjects. I like the bag because it's a padded hard case which I can check on an airplane without concern. In it I carry additional flashes, light stands, tripod, monopod, flash bracket, umbrellas, reflectors, colored gels for flashes, battery chargers, medium sized foldable light tent, back drops and more. Seems to be working out great for me as I just carry the back pack and pull the organizer case (it has wheels) and i'm off to a photoshoot in a rather small package.

For this shot I used three strobes. Had the 580EXII as a master mounted on the 40D. 430EX camera left with silver bounce umbrella as my key light. 430EX camera right with shoot through umbrella for fill.

Ready For Battle!!!

Ready For Battle!!!, originally uploaded by Rehuel.

I had to do some work at this firehouse in NYC. All of their gear is lined up ready for the bell to ring. These guys were out in less then a minute and a half from sound of bell to trucks rolling.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/140 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 640

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 42mm

Who's Got Next?

I thought these were cool when I first saw them. They are scattered around town in the different parks and people can work, eat, hang out and even play Chess on them. Not a bad idea.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: f/4.5

ISO: 200

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 25mm

Park Life

This guy was taking a nap at City Hall Park in NYC, lower Manhattan. It made me sleepy just looking at him.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec

Aperture: f/5

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 235mm

Brooklyn

View of Brooklyn from the Seaport Pier in Manhattan's Financial District.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 640

Lens: Canon EF 24/70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Off To Work

Took a snap shot of this guy early in the morning headed to work. He doesn't look too happy to be up this time of the day. Oh well, everybody has to earn a dollar.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 800

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 70mm

40D

Still bored in my hotel room and still playing with lighting.

Strobist: 580EX set on 30D fired at 1/8 power set to master. 430EX camera left set to full power fired through umbrella set to slave. 430EX camera right even with subject fired with red gel set to 1/4 power.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: f/22

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 45mm

Solitude

Small park in Bristol, PA just outside of Philladelphia. My company has an office there and I was sent there for some training required by our government contracts. I've seen this park before while visiting this office but never had a chance to visit it. We got some snow last night and I figured that it would be a perfect time to go visit this park.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 200

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 70mm

Golden Child

Golden Child, originally uploaded by Rehuel.

Visited Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo, NY. I highly recommend it if you are in the area. This was one of many fields protected on the property. You will also find a lot of nature waiting for their pictures to be taken.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec

Aperture: f/6.3

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 70mm

Kiss of Light

Well if you guys can't figure it out, I took a week off of work to come home. I have turned my son into a model because that's what abusive photographer fathers do.

Strobist: Speedlite 580EX camera left on stand via off-shoe cord directly infront of subject. 1/32 power and manual zoom to 80.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 1/25 sec

Aperture: f/16

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Drink of Life

Drink of Life, originally uploaded by Rehuel.

This is another attempt by me at playing around with lighting. Placed subject in Photek Light Tent with black background. Canon 30D on tripod, Speedlite 580EX mounted on lightstand with off-shoe cord above camera firing down on top of light tent set to 1/32 power and used as master. Two Speedlite 430EX's, one camera left and one camera right, fired wirelessly by 580EX set to 1/64 power for fill.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 32mm

Times Square

This was the first time I visited NYC and of course, had to go to Times Square. This city really is larger than life. What really surprises me is that this shot was hand held. Everyone gets lucky from time to time.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: f/4

ISO: 640

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Structurally Sound

Structurally Sound, originally uploaded by Rehuel.

This is an old Leather Tannery in Johnstown, NY which is near Albany. We thought that this building would come down rather easy by looking at its outward appearance. Boy were we wrong, it was tougher then some of the new buildings i've messed with.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec

Aperture: f/11

ISO: 160

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Niagara Falls

Went to Niagara Falls as I was told that they use colored lights to light up the falls and I wanted to play with some long exposure shots. I was very happy with the outcome aren't you?

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 24 seconds (bulb)

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Can't Fight Time

Found this abandoned old truck at one of my job sites in Picayune, MS (don't look it up, you won't find it). It was parked there many moons ago and just left there and nature took it's course all over it.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Classic Yellow

Taken at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. I loved the bright yellow color of the car and when I saw the see through vents, I felt like I just had to take the shot.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/2500 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/28L USM @ 66mm

Tiger

This picture was taken at Big Cat Rescue which is the biggest in the country. It is located in North Tampa, FL. Check them out at www.bigcatrescue.org

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Priority: 1/640 sec

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm

Lowrider Magazine Car Show 2007

This was taken at the Lowrider Magazine Super Show in 2007. The show was held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, FL.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO: 400

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM @ 24mm

Callaway X18

Golf and photography, today was a good day... I didn't have a good picture of my golf clubs so I decided to play around and take some pics. Can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec

Aperture: f/5

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 150mm

Clouded Leopard

This was taken at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL. I've been wanting to go there and photograph for a while and finally took the time to do it. I'm glad I did as most people seem to really enjoy this shot.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Aperture: f/5

ISO: 160

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 200mm

Jobo's Beach

Local fisherman found in Jobo's Beach which is located in Isabela, Puerto Rico, North-West side of the island.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec

Aperture: f/4.5

ISO: 160

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 100mm

Ruins

This was taken while I was on Aguadilla, PR for vacation. These are some ruins at Ramey Air Force Base which is now open to the public so we can enjoy the beaches.

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Priority: 1/2500 sec

Aperture: f/5

ISO: 160

Lens: Canon EFs 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm

Cabo Rojo Lighthouse

I took a vacation to visit my family in Puerto Rico. My uncle and cousins are photographers as well and I told them that I wanted to run around the island taking pictures of points of interest. This was taken in Cabo Rojo which is located on the West side of the island (West Side!!!!!).

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speed: 1/3200 sec

Aperture: f/5

ISO: 160

Lens: Canon EFs 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm

Intense

This is at the USF vs Pittsburgh game in 2006. I just completely fell in love with shooting football and got to do it a few times. This was right after USF lost to Pittsburgh and I wanted to capture the expression on their faces as they walked to the locker room. I think that I succeeded don't you?

Canon EOS 30D

Shutter Speet: 1/1600 sec

Aperture: f/6.3

ISO: 400

Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm

Taking care of business

That's me on the right at my regular day job. I work for an environmental remediation firm and get to play with hazardous chemicals all day long. I can't complain, it pays for all of the camera gear. This is part of the clean up activities for Hurricane Katrina.

Canon EOS Rebel XT

Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec

Aperture: f/14

ISO: 400

Lens: Canon EFs 18-55mm @ 50mm

Looking Into Brooklyn

I was granted permission to go to the roof of the hotel I am staying in while in NYC so I decided to set up the tripod and try a nice long exposure shot. Very happy with the results and will be trying more from different angles in the future.

Canon EOS 40D

Shutter Speed: 13 seconds (bulb)

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L @ 24mm

Low Light Photography

Today's DSLR's have some serious technology built into them and their performance is amazing. One of the big improvements I see is in high ISO performance. This gives the photographer the ability to shoot in low light conditions with out the need of a flash. I took this as an opportunity to experiment with my camera and push it to the limits. In my opinion, it is very important to know and understand your equipment and its capabilities because you never know where your next shoot is going to be. You have to be able to get that oh so important shot when it counts and the sun is going down. You have to quickly adjust your settings in order to properly expose your subject and cranking up that ISO is just one way to do it. You don't want to tell your client that you couldn't get the shot that they were looking for or that it didn't come out right because you lost some much needed light. Sure, most can be fixed with a little PP but personally, I like to get the shot I want in-camera. I want to do as little post processing as possible as it can be very time consuming and lets face it, time is money. For this shot, I was waiting for the subway train to come and decided to take the shot with out the use of flash. Now, anybody that has been in the subway knows that the light isn't the greatest down there. I cranked the ISO to 800 (I normally don't like going past 200 if I can help it but felt the need to push the camera) opened the aperture all the way (f/2.8 on Canon's 24-70L lens) and pulled the trigger while the train was slowing down. As you can see, the noise performance is great and honestly I could've cranked the ISO a lot more by looking at the results. I was able to set the shutter speed fast enough (1/160) to stop the train's movemet and get a decent exposure under these low light conditions which makes me love my camera even more. All in all, the moral of this story is to experiment with your equipment and learn to push it so it helps you get the shot that the other photographers missed.

Stock Photography

Working for my current employer, I get the opportunity to do quite extensive traveling as a contractor for the EPA. It's all of this traveling that gets me the opportunity to visit various places, mostly along the East coast, and get some great stock and travel photography. Once I get settled in to a new city, I immediately go on line and look for nearby nature preserves and research the city's history. This usually gives me enough information and locations to go shooting for a few weekends especially the nature preserves as I love to camp out and wait for the perfect shot. Not only does this let me relax in my element of looking through the view finder but it also has let me build up a nice collection for R&B Photography and my portfolio. The attached image was taken at Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo, NY. It is located in a very industrial area where I never would've stopped if it wasn't for Mapquest telling me that this was the place I was trying to find (this is where the research was very helpful). After realizing that I had quite a collection of travel photography, I decided to see if I could go ahead and sell the better ones as stock. After researching and asking on forums for stock photography sites, I ended up applying at Photoshelter (http://www.photoshelter.com/). I went through the process and they reviewed and commented on my images and were happy to report that they had been accepted (I was so happy). I am in no way associated or sponsored by Photoshelter but if you are looking to get into stock photography jump on over to their website and check them out.

Brenda & Carlos

I had an engagement shoot last Saturday for a wonderful couple. Brenda is a friend and co-worker of mine (yes I still have a regular job while R&B Photography gets off the ground full time) and she approached me to take her engagement shots as she and her future husband Carlos are getting everything in order for their upcoming wedding ceremony. She told me this great story of how she and Carlos would go visit this outdoor amphitheater located in downtown Tampa accross the canal from the University of Tampa when they started dating. We decided to go ahead and shoot the engagement shots there as it had sentimental value to them both. It was located next to the Tampa Museum and little did we know that the museum had been torn down and was in the process of being rebuilt as a bigger and better version of itself. When we got there, the place looked abandoned, the grass was taller than the remaining concrete benches that were still standing. There was construction safety fence and caution tape everywhere and I could see in their faces as they arrived (I was already there with my assistant) that they weren't too pleased. I immediately greeted them and told them that it would be ok as I had already scoped the place out and found some good places to take some shots. I ended up using just my 24-70 f/2.8L USM and a reflector to control the shadows on their faces. They ended up having a lot of fun and we got some wonderful shots and turned a bad situation into a good one. I can't wait till their wedding day, I know that it will be a great event.

Harsh Florida Sun

Mark and I shot this wedding under the harsh Florida sun here in Tampa. The sun down here can be brutal at times by washing out colors and creating some serious hot spots with out a trace of detail in them. You have to pay a lot of attention to the light meter in your camera when shooting outside under ever changing natural light. Mike and Ariana's wedding began at 4:30 in the afternoon and due to the placement of the gazebo where they were married, we had the sun in our eyes for 90% of the shots. Very tricky lighting that called for a lot of control and composition but overall I think we did great and kept the client happy. In this shot I had to do a lot more post processing than I like, but, I think that the back lighting worked great. In fact, I think it made the shot. I like how you can see the rays of sunshine flowing between them adding a great effect to the whole image. Just goes to show that no matter how much attention you pay to all of the little details, sometimes the best things are pure luck!!!

R&B Photography Mobile Studio

I wanted to share with everyone my first real experience with my mobile studio. I shoot with Canon equipment so the numbers and names that I rattle off will be Canon related generally. My mobile set up consists of 1-580EX II, 1-580EX and 2-430EX's, light stands, shoot through and bounce umbrellas. I also used my mobile backdrop system on this shoot as well. I am using a Canon 40D paired with the 580EX II mounted on camera as a master. This combination lets me control the other flashguns completely from the menus in the camera body itself. This was also my first time really trying this new wireless system out and I was very pleased with the outcome. Both Mark and I have similar set ups and are very happy with the capabilities of the small strobes and feel confident that they will keep the clients very happy. The model in the picture is my sister Theana whom was very patient with Mark and I as we "honed" our strobist style skills and the look in her face is 100% genuine. Talk about rolling your eyes. That is what makes this picture to me, how real her expression was. This was all done in the living room of a house with natural and ambient light coming in from all directions and is why I wanted to test it there to see how well the small strobes would perform and control the lighting.