Once in a Blue Moon

Its only Once in a Blue Moon that I take self portraits of myself and so decided to share a self portrait from this past summer in India for the last post of this year and the special day of Once in a Blue Moon ( two full moons in the same month and on new years eve!- happens every 19 years). This picture was taken at Halebidu. Its just a random pose I did...but i like it! so enjoy! :)

Self Portrait #1

Merry XMas

Jumping with Joy
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/125
ISO: 160
Aperture: f/8.0

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone. Im heading to Yosemite this holiday so cant wait to take pictures! This picture was taken at a recent Toys giveaway by YMCA of San Diego. I am actually interning for YMCA now as their intern photographer for marketing. My job is to get their events on camera and have photoshoots of the amazing people in San Diego doing great things in YMCA. Its so exciting to be working for such a big company as YMCA. I get a badge and all & my boss is super sweet! Im in love with this job and cant wait for more events/photoshoots to take for them. YAY! Its really sweet when dreams come true...a dream of becoming a photographer! and hopefully a professional one soon! :) so with that happy news... have a Merry Xmas! and Happy Holidays! stay warm and have lots of fun with family and friends! and keep dreaming because nothing is impossible!

The Wish List

Just some things ive been hinting at for this holiday :) Thought i would share it on here. Some are on the expensive side (ahem ahem CS4...lol!) but some are just few bucks making photography fun:

Behind the Scenes

After about few weeks, the behind the scenes video from the Arthur St John photo shoot is up! :) and I'm in it. Well actually i tried to dodge the camera as much as i can but i really liked the way this video turned out so putting up here to keep it as a part of the memory lane. I adore watching behind the scenes videos of numerous photo shoots. Its just awesome to see how much work gets put into the day for the wonderful results. I'm always you tubing Fashion/Magazine Photo shoots like the Bebe photo shoot 2009 safari and any of the Annie Leibovitz videos for Vogue, which are some of my favs. So with those great examples, i was very exited to see this video and decided to share it with you guys. So here it is:

if you cannot view this version check out the youtube version: ArthurStJohnphotography

ps: the lens the photographer used was my 24-105mm

Happy Thanksgiving!

Having started this blog beginning of this year, Ive learnt so much within these few months. I'm close to 50 posts (yeah!) and slowly getting opportunities in the field I enjoy: Photography! So I just wanted to take this Thanksgiving day to thank all. First and foremost I want to Thank my Mom for always being my guidance to do well, Dad for supporting me, my brother for pushing me to work harder and Friends for encouraging me. I also want to give out a HUGE thanks to all my followers and growing friends who have stumbled on to my pictures and left kind thoughts about each of my work. These are what push me to do better each day! So thank you all!
I am also going to use this wonderful Thanksgiving day to share some pictures of my equipment which I love and cherish. Nothing much said other than I LOVE my collection of lenses and am so grateful for my Canon 5D classic. So here are the pics and Have a wonderful rest of the year! :)

R2L ( Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Standard Zoom Lens - **fav**, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Telephoto Lens)

Lenses + 5D classic

Photoshoot- Photo Assistant Job

So exactly a week ago today, I had my first job in the Photography Industry- Fashion/Glamour photography to be exact. I worked under Arthur St. John as he photographed a calendar issue for his client in a Newport Beach Mansion. Go check his website and updates for behind the scene action. I have to say I was oblivious entering in on the day, but learnt so much from this photo shoot and had a lot of fun in this experience. I hope to get more of such experiences and grow my photography skills. So here is a collage picture of what went down. Enjoy!

Photoshoot- Brother

I am getting myself immersed in Photography. I'm falling in love with it and wanting to capture life more. So with this campaign I have started asking my friends and family to do some photo shoots with me. So basically I would do location scouting and picturing/planning in my head to get that certain look with that certain person who has volunteered to be my model. It is probably better to go on to websites like model mayhem to scout out models who know what to do, but I feel that it could be a better learning journey for me and the person i have to chosen to do the modeling. Its because i can learn how to work someone and also learn to please them as a customer- an important talent needed for photography. I can also try to bring out their personality, since I know them to a certain extent.
The First photo shoot I did was with my brother. I know, that's immediate family, but I think he looks good. I am actually hinting him to try out modeling for fun since he has the height and features to be one and would probably be better than some people in the industry- cus he has a brain! :) Well here is our trial - my brothers and mine- since it was both of our first trials! Enjoy!

Simple American
Focal length: 28mm
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

Searched Out
Focal length: 35mm
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

Influenced
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.6

Looked Up To
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.6

Anticipating
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

Fall is in
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.5

Longing
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.5

Reviewed
Focal length: 45mm
Shutter speed: 1/40
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.5

A Simple Smile
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/125
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/2.5

October Sky

I love the skies in October. They look like beautifully crafted cotton candy. Haha..yes Cotton Candy! Here in San Diego - the sunsets are the most famous! And in such a month as October- the beautiful cotton candy skies give out some amazing sunsets!

Festival of Lights

Festival of Lights
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/800
ISO: 1600
Aperture: f/1.4

The Festival of Lights, or what the 6 billion of people of the religions of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism celebrate as a triumph of Good over Evil is called Diwali or Deepavali. It is celebrated around this time every year during the New moon day (no moon day). It is the Festival of lights- the lighting of deepas (oil lamps), hence Deepavali or Diwali. Each religion has its own meaning for the celebration. And so it is a national festival in India, and is celebrated bigger than xmas in this part of the world, with deepas, poojas, yummy food and fireworks.

These pictures were not taken in India as most might have assumed. But rather here in my home town - San Diego- for the first time. As more and more Indians are being recognized here in U.S., we are able to take a step into recognizing out festivals and culture. With the Festival of Lights today, I had a great opportunity to capture beautiful light, as it was lit by everyone. :) The wonderfulness of togetherness. So happy Diwali and enjoy a wonderful year!

An Ornate Light
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/250
ISO: 1600
Aperture: f/1.4

A Decoration of Lights
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/640
ISO: 1600
Aperture: f/3.2

Lined up Deepas
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/250
ISO: 1600
Aperture: f/3.2

Since this post is late a week- BELATED DIWALI WISHES! :)

Sequoia National Park in Fall

Moro Rock View Point
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/20
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

Nothing much have to be said about this place other than the title: Sequoia National Park, which tells you that this place is full of Sequoia Groves. We basically went to see fall colors and just to walk some trails. Ive been to this park early last year during spring, so you can check back on that post to see the difference in colors: Sequoia National Park (spring). Here are some pictures of the place this fall:

A View of Burnt Trees
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/50
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

A Vacation Spot
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.5

Sunset from Moro Rock
Focal length: 105mm
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

Purple Mountains
Focal length: 58mm
Shutter speed: 1/25
ISO: 400
Aperture: f/5.0

Forming a Column
Focal length: 58mm
Shutter speed: 1/4
ISO: 320
Aperture: f/4.0

Colors in Sequoia National Park this Fall 09!

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Cross
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/60
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/11.0

About few weeks back my mom and I headed to a nearby missionary for capturing old buildings and architectures. California was discovered from Native Americans by the missionaries. I would never state it as discovered for the first time as there were people living in this land before white settlement. So these Missionaries, set out by these white settlers to spread Christianity as well as to find new land to settle in, are historic landmarks to view the lifestyle of the first white settlements in the west. The buildings and lifestyles are greatly influenced by the Native American living as well as the Mexican lifestyle. So enough said, here are the missionary pictures:

The Church
Focal length: 28mm
Shutter speed: 8sec
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/11.0

Holy water
Focal length: 65mm
Shutter speed: 2.5sec
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

Pink Water Lilies
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/2.8

Purple Water Lily
Focal length: 105mm
Shutter speed: 1/125
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.0

I won EarthShots.org Yesterday!

As my daily routine when i get online I check my emails and flickr explore. I also check National Geographic Photo of the Day and Earth Shots Photo of the Day. I feel like these websites have some of the best choices of Photography. The Photographers behind these photos have and are striving to bring some of the best captures of wonderful places or things in their everyday life.

So I hadn't checked Earth Shots for couple of days since my Internet was down. And this morning I decided to catch up on the winners and their websites. I was looking at today's winner and slowly scrolled down to find my picture. It took me a second to realize...that's my shot! This was a shot i had submitted a month ago and after submitting the picture they tell you the best way to see if your shot won is by checking this site everyday and most likely will appear in a month if you win. Back then I didn't think I had a chance to win on this website. But man was I so happy that I won yesterday! So I checked out my picture and the comments and rushed to tell my family and friends. I was so happy today for getting some recognition for my picture. I just wanted to say thank you Earth Shot for choosing my picture and thank you Earth Shot followers for wonderful comments. And as for you guys following my photo blog...i want to thank you as well for giving me comments from time to time. It really gives me a lot of inspiration when I get feedback. So check out Earth shot and my picture: Morning Bath

End to Vacation in India

One this most memorable day of my generations history, I would like to finish my Summer India Trip photos. So with just about a week left in India, we decided to just hang out with the relatives and visit some nearby places. Right after we got back from grandparents place, we visited another state- Andhrapradesh and its famous temple: Venkateswara Temple in Thirupati. We visited another beautiful temple, a.k.a. Arunachaleswara temple at Thiruvannamalai, only few hours from Chennai and saw some amazing architecture. At the temple, I was able to photograph some Sadhu's wandering and meditating as this was a famous site for pilgrimage. During this visit we were able to visit a nearby ashram and had a chance to capture free nature (wild animals roaming freely).

During the last week, we visited a museum with the different varieties of rural South Indian homes and lifestyles. This included weavers, potters, artisans, and other members of the society that brought their lifestyle into art. It was amazing to see them recreating some of these scenes with people from the same lifestyle. There were Saree makers, potters, and glass blowers, all following the old methods of making the traditional art. It was definitely a blast from the past scene. And the amazing part were the beautifully decorated houses dressed in its tradition. So here are the scenes from all these places. If you would like to know more about each picture, click on it so you can go to the Flickr link. Thanks and Enjoy! :)

An Indian Fast Food, Thirumala Venkateswara temple at Thirupathi
Focal length: 67mm
Shutter speed: 1/15
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

A Welcoming Hand, Thirumala Venkateswara temple at Thirupathi
Focal length: 73mm
Shutter speed: 1/250
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/8.0

Brotherly Love, Temple Aashram at Thiruvannamali
Focal length: 400mm
Shutter speed: 1/100
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.6

A Worried Mother, Temple Aashram at Thiruvannamali
Focal length: 330mm
Shutter speed: 1/100
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.6

Peacock, Temple Aashram at Thiruvannamali
Focal length: 400mm
Shutter speed: 1/30
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/5.6

An Orange Robe for the wise, Arunachaleswara Temple at Thiruvannamalai

Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/30
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

A White Gopuram, Aruachaleswara temple at Thiruvannamali

Focal length: 24mm

Shutter speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/10.0

A Meditating Yogi, Arunachaleswara Temple at Thiruvannamalai
Focal length: 28mm
Shutter speed: 1/100
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/7.1

A Window to another world, Dhakshinchitra

Focal length: 28mm

Shutter speed: 1/10
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

All eyes on you, Dhakshinchitra

Focal length: 73mm

Shutter speed: 1/15
ISO: 320
Aperture: f/4.0

Handcrafting a Saree, Dhakshinchitra

Focal length: 24mm

Shutter speed: 1/15
ISO: 320
Aperture: f/4.0


Blue Doors, Dhakshinchitra
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/4.0

Sunset in India, Tamil Nadu
Focal length: 24mm
Shutter speed: 1/640
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/9.0