9th Generation - IPhone 6s & 6s Plus

The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

 

It's that time of year again when we, hardcore IPhone fans, welcome the newest incarnation of our favorite gadget. A few hours ago, Apple's CEO Tim Cook unveiled the 9th generation of its popular smart phone in California-- the IPhone 6s and its larger sibling the 6s Plus. Tim referred to the new models as "the most advanced smartphones in the world."

 

Among its newest features are the upgraded 12 megapixel camera and a more advanced touch-screen capability called 3D-touch. Although a lot of people have already scrapped buying traditional cameras in favor of their cell phone cameras for years now, with the 6s' 12 megapixels sensor, the IPhone has finally crossed and complied with the technical specs. of a good consumer grade point and shoot camera. The larger sensor is now 4K video capable and offers optical image stabilization (on the 6s Plus). It also has superior low-light performance (temporal and special noise reduction) compared to past models as well as better color accuracy and tonal performance. The front facing camera is now capable of taking 1080p video and 5 megapixel stills with support for slow-motion video, "selfie panoramas" and a "True Tone Flash" on the display that matches the ambient light for true to life color and natural-looking skin tones (the Retina Flash allows the display to flash 3 times brighter than usual). To enhance the 6s' photo taking capabilities, Apple has also added "Live Photos," 12 megapixel photos with motion (short video clip) and sound snippet that result in more dynamic photos.

 

The 6s and 6s Plus comes in 4 metallic colors

 

The next generation multi-touch technology called "3D Touch," offers enhanced pressure sensitivity as well as feedback. Aside from the more familiar touch-screen gestures like tap, swipe and pinch, Apple has added peek and pop. According to the literature, 3D Touch "lets you do the things you do often faster and with fewer steps. Many of the actions can even be done with a single press, right from the Home screen. The improved multi-touch capability will also deepen the experience of your favorite apps and games."

 

The new A9 chip is not only faster, it is also a capable gaming console with robust graphic performance. A third-generation chip with a 64-bit architecture, it has a 70% improved CPU performance and a 90% boosted graphic performance from the previous model. The M9 motion coprocessor is integrated directly into the A9 chip which results in better battery life, despite the improvement in power. The 6s supports 23 LTE bands with LTE Advance* and improved Wi-Fi, doubling its previous band speed.

 

Made from 7000 series aluminum used in the aerospace industry and the most durable cover glass (dual ion-exchange process) on any smartphone now available on the market, Apple has reinforced the new models to eliminate the fragility issues seen on the IPhone 6 Plus. Aside from the gold, silver and space grey, the 6s also comes in rose gold. Both models will be available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB configurations.

 

Although I am really excited about the camera improvements, I will personally be passing on this version, only because I have found that skipping a generation is the best way to upgrade our IPhones within the family. I upgraded to the 6 Plus last year (and so did my daughter), so it is my wife (and my son's) turn to get the 6s this year. It just goes to show that this gadget/tool has become such an essential part of our lives, that it has become a permanent item on our yearly  family budget. 

 

--Photos from www.apple.com 

Weekly Street Photos #36

This week's theme: SILHOUETTE

Photographing silhouette is an imaging technique commonly used by most photographers, because it is fairly easy to do. But it is also one of the most stunningly graphic ways we can create photos, particularly in Black & White. Here are three examples: two high-contrast (1 dark, 1 light) and one low-contrast, I shot recently.   

(Click on Photos for better viewing)

"Into The Light" Singapore

 

"Bars And Wires"

"The Edge Of Darkness" Los Angeles, USA

--All Photos are the exclusive property of Atom Magadia

My 2015 Oscar Predictions

 

Over the past several years, I have sporadically posted my pre-Oscar picks particularly when I believe that the year had a good selection of films in competition.

 

This year was an exceptional year for the movies, maybe because only the best non-blockbuster scripts gets funding beyond the slew of franchised animation, remakes, sequels, prequels, bestseller and comic book adaptations that come out from Hollywood these days.

 

Anyway, here are my picks for each of the major categories for the Academy Awards. I usually get 50% of them right. Let's see how I do tomorrow night:)

 

Postscript: The winners are out (my guess in red, actual winner in yellow). I got 8 out of the 14 categories I included here in this blog-- a 57% hit! I am getting better every year...

 

For some reason, I seem to be always in the money for Best Director and Best Cinematographer. I guess it just shows that I am really familiar with my chosen crafts ;)

 

BEST PICTURE

American Sniper

Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood - winner

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Alejandro G. Inarritu - winner *

Richard Linklater

Bennett Miller

Wes Anderson

Morten Tyldum

 

BEST ACTOR

Steve Carell

Bradley Cooper

Benedict Cumberbatch

Micheal Keaton - winner

Eddie Redmayne

 

BEST ACTRESS

Marion Cotillard

Felicity Jones

Julianne Moore - winner *

Rosamund Pike

Reese Witherspoon

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert Duvall

Ethan Hawke

Edward Norton

Mark Ruffalo

J.K. Simmons - winner *

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette

Laura Dern

Keira Knightley - winner

Emma Stone

Meryl Streep

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Emmanuel Lubezki - winner *

Robert Yeoman

Lukasz Zai/Ryszard Lenczewski

Dick Pope

Roger Deakins

Why I Shoot "Street"

My favorite "Street" film camera, a 1960s B&H Dial 35

To go forward, we sometimes have to step back...

 

That is exactly what I did when I decided to branch out formally into "Street Photography," six months ago. After being involved in the Photographic Arts for more than a third of a century, the practice of taking photographs was beginning to lose its magic. From an amateur hobbyist, I had successfully transitioned into a professional who specialized in commercial studio photography. But after years of doing that, photography became "work" and I lost the yearning to photograph anything outside of the "studio," without the "proper" camera set-up-- lenses, filters and lighting equipment. It became so bad, that I actually refused to bring a camera on vacation for several years (even during my Honeymoon, w/c my wife still refuses to forgive) thinking that it would be better to miss a shot than to execute one that was crappy-- of course, I was being seriously philosophical about all this. To me, it was a real choice between bringing tons of heavy equipment or bringing nothing at all, so I gave my wife the lame excuse that it was better for both of us if she just brought her own camera, because she would just lose her patience with me lugging a heavy bag on our vacations, then waiting around for the "right light" to present itself. In truth,  I actually did not want to be weighed down by anything whatsoever when I was on R&R, preferring to "live for the moment" than to be burdened by necessity.

 

"Levitation" Los Angeles, USA (shot on film)

I have been a student of "Zen" since I was a teenager-- reading books as well as practicing "Zazen" in private. I got into Zen Buddhist philosophy because I was practicing Martial Arts during that time and was attracted to the spontaneity it brought its practitioners, particularly to artists. For a while, I even regularly attended early morning "Zazen" sessions with the Monks in the Zenshuji Soto Mission Temple in Los Angeles, and contemplated monkhood. But my photography went the opposite direction. As I got more involved with photography and cinematography while formally studying these disciplines in film school, I slowly associated the process of making good pictures with deliberateness and precision-- with the methodical studio-based approach espoused by Hollywood. I became engrossed in the graphic simplicity and idealistic formality of studio photography, particularly in Fashion (Avedon, Penn, Newton) and Portraiture (Karsh, Newman, Halsman). To me this type of photography was beautifully "Zen" like in spirit; but learned, at the same time, that the techniques involved in their execution were consciously methodical. Their measured quality appealed to me deeply-- both aesthetically and emotionally. So I strove for this standard in my photographic work for years, after all isn't "art" rooted in "art"-ifice? But this rigid approach gradually boxed me in.

"Hound Dog" Los Angeles, USA (shot on film)

Of course I admired master photojournalists like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange and Sebastiao Salgado for years. But their type of photography belonged in an alternative universe to mine. I thought that there was a natural chasm that existed between "idealism" and "realism" in photography, that I came to believe that studio photographers and photojournalists were distinguished not only by their specialties and skillsets, but also by their personalities-- which I imagined to be polar opposites. For a long while, I firmly identified with the "photo-romanticists" (editorial and commercial photographers), who created images from their mind's eye, and not with the "photo-realists" (news and documentary photographers) that dealt with the more messier and unpredictable images from real life. I confused specialization as a choice between these two opposing camps.

Boy was I wrong! Because after much soul searching, I found out that like my photojournalistic brethren (and sisters of course), I do have a natural predilection for photographing/filming people more than any other subject. Like them, I am also curious about people-- I love stories and find nothing more compelling to capture on camera than human drama. I other words, I finally realized that I am a voyeur by impulse!

"A Brief Interlude" Hong-Kong, China

8th Generation - IPhone 6 & 6 Plus

 

The new IPhone 6 and 6 plus

 

It has become a tradition of this blog to review IPhones as they come out. If you look to the right-hand column of this page, you can still see the ancient IPhone icon I still use to display my commercial portfolio. I have been an IPhone user since version one and have upgraded almost from one generation to the next with the exception of the last two versions (5 and 5s/5c). My wife continued to upgrade, so I have been suffering comparison with my old 4s for three 3 long years.

My reason for sticking with my 4s was two fold: I have a 64GB version and Apple never expanded the internal memory of the IPhone 5/5s beyond that; and the specs. of the camera on both versions remained essentially the same as the 4s-- 8 megapixel f 2.4 (f 2.2 on the 5s, big deal). Aside from the cellphone, text and email functions, I use my IPhones to take snap shots (occasionally for fine art photography) and as my main music player/IPod. I have been needing a larger capacity smartphone, but Apple has been keeping its maximum memory at the same levels. With just my music and Apps, I have already been topping out at 60+ gigabytes for the last two years. Why would I invest more money on a device that is essentially similar to the one I am already using?

I got a Samsung smartphone as a backup since a lot of people have been raving about them, but quickly got disenchanted because the interface is light years away from the IPhone's. It's hard to describe-- its like driving a Hyundai to Apple's BMW. They are both good functional cars, but they are just not in the same class. A lot of people are critical about the IPhone lagging behind Samsung technology, but I guess to me and to a lot of diehard IPhone users, it all boils down to feel and user experience. I want my smartphone to be an extension of me, not a fiddly gadget I need a manual to figure out. The IPhone's thoroughly intuitive interface, by itself, has kept me loyal to the brand.

When Apple finally announced the newest version of its smartphone last week, the IPhone 6 and its larger twin, the IPhone 6 Plus, the first thing I checked were their maximum memory capacity and their camera specs. I was so relieved to find out that both versions come in 128GB models, although 164GB would be more than welcome. The camera remains at 8GB with essentially the same specs. as the 5s, but with a new sensor equipped with "Focus Pixels" that Apple claims to provide more information on the image resulting in better autofocus, face detection and exposure control. The newer features that got me excited are the camera's capacity to shoot video at 60 fps in 1080p and 240 fps at 720p as well as shoot time-lapse with continuous autofocus and cinematic video stabilization (optical image stabilization too in the 6 plus version). Despite what I still consider to be slight camera upgrades, these are features I gladly welcome since I can now finally take serious video footage with my favorite smartphone.    

 

The camera now features super slow motion and time-lapse.

My 2014 Oscar Predictions

I have to apologize for my sporadic blogs these days, I have been uncharacteristically busy these last couple of months, that I actually had to work through the Holidays (during a family trip abroad). But we all have to make a living somehow, right? Anyway, I actually had a few hours of free time this Saturday morning, and I thought that it would be a great time to catch up on my Blogging.

 

What better subject to start 2014 than the Oscars right? I know more than a few people out there who hate this iconic Hollywood tradition with a passion.  But even the Academy's most stauch critics cannot deny that it is a global phenomena and that it is still the most anticipated award event for Cinema in the whole world.

 

As a filmmaker, I still celebrate the Oscars and look forward to the ceremony as an annual global tradition to celebrate the filmmaking skills at the most biggest and most financially successful "dream factory" in the world (at least in this era)-- Hollywood.  Like a forbbiden fruit, Hollywood still beckons  to filmmakers from all over the world, as the ultimate arena where they can test their skills against the world's best.  Hey, the Oscars is actually the oldest "Reality" program on TV.

 

So let the battle... I mean contest begin!

 

Here are my personal picks for 2014: 

 

BEST PICTURE

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers club

Gravity - winner

Her

Nebraska

Philomena

12 Years a Slave

The Wolf of Wall Street

 

DIRECTING

David O. Russell

Alfonso Cuarón - winner

Alexander Payne

Steve McQueen

Martin Scorsese

Lucas Bought By Disney

George Lucas with Disney CEO Bob Iger signing the media deal of the year

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

 

Like a giant Black Hole, Disney just swallowed another big star in the media universe.  This time it's none other than the empire simply known as Lucasfilm, Ltd.-- The home of the "Star Wars" and the "Indiana Jones" franchise.  Like Pixar Animation Studios (which Lucas also originally created), Marvel Entertainment, Muppets Studio (by Jim Henson), ESPN Inc., ABC Television, A&E Networks and for a short time, Miramax Films, Lucasfilm, Ltd. follows the fate of a dozen other highly successful media companies that eventually became a part of the Magic Kingdom.

 

The Star Wars and the Disney franchise blend into one

 

According to George Lucas, creator of the franchises and sole owner of Lucasfilm, Ltd., "I'm doing this so that the films will have a longer life... I get to be a fan now... It's a lot more fun actually, than having to go out into the mud and snow."  The "Star Wars" and the "Indiana Jones" franchises have taken a life of their own, with a global fan base of billions of fans; George is just tired of being at the helm, a position that makes him the primary target of biased fan critism and ridicule.  Recently, he has become the object of derision when he release the 3-D versions of the 6 "Star Wars" films. For years, die-hard fans have branded George of being a commecial sell-out and for ruining his original creation-- the first three "Star Wars" movies.  George sums it up simply, "Why would I make any more (movies) when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"

 

 

After the vicious reception of his prequels, George vowed never to do any more "Star Wars" films and he is holding on to that promise.  But now that the franchise is owned by Disney, a new trilogy is planned, starting with "Episode 7" continuing the story of Luke, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond "Return of the Jedi."  After that, Disney plans to release a new "Star Wars" movie every two or three years.  George will remain as a key advisor to the upcoming projects, but they will be headed by mega-producer Kathleen Kennedy, current co-chairman of Lucasfilm and the upcoming division president under Walt Disney Studios.

 

Disney is purchasing Lucasfilm, Ltd. for $4.05 billion, paying half in cash and half in newly issued stock.  George will end up owning 40 million Disney shares, 2.2 percent of the total when the transaction is completed.  The deal includes Lucasfilm, Ltd., its franchises and its divisions-- Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound. 

 

George had a wild ride for more than three decades, which started when the first "Star Wars" movie became a mega-hit.  He wished upon a star (wars) and his wishes came true... in fact, beyond his wildest dreams.  It's time for him to hang his laser pistol belt and his light saber and enjoy a much deserved retirement.  Now it will be up to Disney to regale us with the continuation of George dream.  Will Disney turn out to be allied to the "Force" or in league with the "Darkside," only time will tell... 

6th Generation iPhone - iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 is slightly bigger than its predecessors

The sixth generation iPhone was just unveiled several hours ago. Dubbed the iPhone 5, it is actually the 6th iPhone down the line from the 1st model.

As expected, Apple upgraded its most popular product inside out. While it retains its shape and general cosmetic appearance, the iPhone 5 is actually slightly longer and thinner than the 4s and now has an anodized aluminum back (same material used in Apple's notebooks). IPhone 5's new length accomodates its 4 inch (diagonal) widescreen fingerprint-resistant display with 1136-by-640-pixel resolution. The headphone jack has also been relocated to the bottom, beside the built-in speaker and the more durable "lightning connector" (w/c replaces the older 30-pin connector from previous models).

The new phone is 4G LTE capable and supports advanced networks such as HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA. It has Dual-band 802.11n wi-fi connectivity for faster browsing and downloads, up to 150 mbps. The new A6 chip offers better graphic performance and is more efficient, twice as fast as the A5 chip in the 4s.  The camera in the iPhone 5 remains at 8 megapixels with essentially the same hardware specs, but has better low-light performance (2 stops better), improved noise-reduction and improved video image-stabilization. It also has a new panorama feature - with one smooth motion you can shoot 240 degree high-resolution panoramas, up to 28 megapixels.

For details on the iPhone 5's features go to:  http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/

Would I upgrade? I probably would, since I have upgraded from every version of the phone since its inception. But I am in no hurry. I am happy with my current 4s model and the features on the new iPhone 5 can wait until after the Christmas rush is over.

--image from Apple.com

The Tragedy of Tony Scott

Tony with his 3rd wife, actress Donna Wilson and their twins.

Hollywood is again in shock... as one of its best and brightest takes his life on the pinnacle of his career.

Hollywood Blockbuster Director/Producer Tony Scott died yesterday (Aug.19), after jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, near the Los Angeles Harbor.  According to eyewitness reports, they saw a man around noon park his Toyota Prius, climb the 8 foot fence and jump from the bridge.  Tony's body was found 3 hours later by search and rescue teams.  They found a suicide note in his office.  He was 68 years old.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge where Tony committed suicide

It has been widely reported that Tony has an inoperable brain cancer (autopsy results are still pending), but according to TMZ, Scott's wife told investigators that the rumours are absolutely false and that Tony did not have any other severe medical issue that would have cause him to take his own life.  Friends close to him (including a host of Hollywood celebrities who have worked with him) also express their shock at the suicide, citing that Tony Scott was one of the most positive, energetic man they knew.

Tony (left) with brother Ridley (podium) accepting an award

Tony is the business partner and younger brother of Director/Producer Ridley Scott.  His film directing work include:  "Top Gun," "Beverlyhills Cop 2", "Days of Thunder", "The Last Boy Scout", "True Romance", "Crimson Tide", "Enemy of the State", "Spy Game", "Man On Fire", "Domino", "Déjà Vu", "The Taking of Pelham 123" and "Unstoppable".  He directed more than a thousand TV commercials.  He also produced movies and television shows including "The Good Wife", "Gettysburg", "Numb3rs", "Labyrinth" and the mini-series "Coma".  Tony had more than 30 projects in development when he died, including several directing projects like "Top Gun 2," "Narco Sub," "Emma's War" and "Hell's Angel."

Hollywood and film fans worldwide mourn the loss of this wonderful filmmaker.  We could only wonder at what possessed him to take his own life at such a prolific stage.  A thrill-seeker by nature and a director who portrayed characters winning against all odds, Tony opted to end his life on his own terms.  Is it tragic or is it heroic?  Only he will know.  Ron Howard simply sums it all up, "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day."

Art Center College and 30 Years of "TRON"

The Movie 'Tron' with Jeff Bridges

I am a proud product of the two colleges I attended: USC and the Art Center College of Design.  So everytime I find an interesting article related to either school, I always highlight it in this blog.

This article is from the Art Center College of Design's Blog, Dotted Line:

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Disney’s Tron, the movie which introduced a generation to light cycles, identity discs and a glowing spandex-clad Jeff Bridges. It was also the first time most filmgoers marveled at computer-generated special effects.

The history and evolution of Tron wouldn’t be the same without the work of a number of members of the Art Center community who were involved in the original 1982 film - Syd Mead (TRAN '59), its 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy - Eric Barba (TRAN '92) and the current Disney XD animated series Tron: Uprising - Annis Naeem (current ENT. Design).

Click here for the Full Article:  http://blogs.artcenter.edu/dottedline/2012/08/02/tron-at-30-how-art-center-helped-power-the-grid/

My Very Own Superfriend

Anne's favorite Superhero is Wonder Woman... mine is Superman

If a Hero is someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength; someone who goes beyond their limitations for the sake of another, then Anne Prado is a true Hero by any definition.  She has battled extreme adversity that most people would give up on.  But her deeds are not widely known, except to a few loved ones.  I have witnessed these acts of bravery and self-sacrifice, and I sincerely believe they should be made public.

Anne was a pretty and exceptionally talented child

Anne was born Anna Marie Prado on March 2 (Her birthday is today).  She was a precocious child who loved to sing, dance and entertain people.  Entertaining patients in her mom's dental clinic as soon as she was able to walk, she was offered several times to be a professional actress but her parents refused.  Poor Anne had to contend herself with using hairbrushes and flashlights during her impromtu concerts.

Anne finally blossomed when she attended school (Assumption & Maria Montessori).  She discovered Elocution and quickly became the favorite, winning gold medals year after year.  She also had a knack for writing, which she used to pen stories and essays.  Her first real trial came at the age of seven.

Growing up in a dysfunctional extended family, Anne suffered from blatant favoritism and discrimination early on.  She was systematically excluded and picked upon by her maternal aunt and uncle from participating in their outings or from using any of her cousins' toys for as long as she can remember.  So one day, while everyone was out having a good time, Anne snuck out a cousin's bike to take a quick ride around the block.  Not knowing the bike's brake was broken, She lost control of the bike going down a hill... Anne got thrown off and the bike landed on top of her.  What followed was a hell that lasted for more than four years.

Her spine was broken.  Anne had to have a major operation to fuse her back.  She went from one Specialist to another hearing the same negative prognosis -- she will never walk again and most probably will never have children.  A brilliant Doctor (Dr. Victor Reyes) finally took on her case as a personal challenge and the operation (after suffering substantial physical pain and anguish) was a success.  But that was just the start of her battle.

Anne had to undergo extensive physical therapy just to gain some sensitivity to the lower half of her body.  Upon gaining sensation, she had to relearn how to move and use her legs, suffering endless hours of gruelling excercises administered by tough therapists.  After months in bed (crawling from one room to the next), then in traction, she finally could go back to school in a wheelchair-- where (sadly) she had to endure ridicule and incessant teasing by her schoolmates for being a cripple.  When she finally conquered the wheelchair and had to wear a full back-brace, she was rechristened "Robo Cop" by some of her classmates.  For someone proud and strong-willed, these taunts were excruciatingly painful.  But Anne endured.  Except for a big scar on her back, she was able to regain all her faculties back through sheer determination and years of hard work.

Anne around the time I met her for the first time

When I finally met her in her mom's dental clinic for the first time, she was a beautiful, smart and outspoken normal High School student from St. Scholastica.  I would not even know that she had serious spinal surgery, until we started dating a few years down the line.  We instantly liked each other and we had a lot of common interests such as Art, Philosophy, Religion, the Occult and Debate.  Opinionated and naturally arguementative, we were both members of our High School interscholastic Debating Teams (Anne ended up competing internationally and was an accredited World-Championship Adjudicator), drama clubs and (by coincidence) both award-winning Elocutionists.  But I was living in Los Angeles during that time, so we only saw each other sporadically.  But we continued our friendship whenever I visited Manila.

After a string of unsuccessful relationships, many years down the line, I called her to have lunch.  I just broke up with my last girlfriend and I needed a friend.  We have not seen each other for three years at that point, so I was stunned when I saw her again.  She had blossomed into a beautiful and vivacious young woman.  I just couldn't stop looking at her.  So ended up asking her out for a couple of more dates before going back to LA.  To cut my story short, I went back to Manila the next year and after a few more months of dating, I asked for her hand in Marriage.  I had no plans of getting hitched, but the question just popped out one evening while we were arguing on the phone.  It just felt natural and inevitable-- I wanted to be with her forever.  She told me that she felt the same way too.  Little did we expect, that our love for each other would result in a lot of anguish and turmoil for everyone involved.  

Pre-Oscar Inspirations

Douglas signing his prints for the exhibit

Douglas Kirkland's special new exhibit for the Oscars (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), "Out of Character" opened today, Feb. 11 at the AMPAS's Grand Lobby Gallery.  One of the most prolific celebrity/movie-set photographers in the history of Hollywood, Douglas was commissioned by the Academy to photograph all 20 of the Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress nominees for this year's Oscar race.  Only three sets of the exhibition prints will be produced, with each nominee receiving a signed copy of their individual photos.  The images will also be featured in the Oscar Awards telecast this year.  The larger than life portraits will be on exhibit at the Academy’s headquarters at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills until March 18.  “Out of Character” will be open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free.  After the exhibition, one complete set of the large-format portraits will become part of the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library photograph collection.

Douglas in the AMPAS Grand Gallery among his prints

Douglas' work has been a constant inspiration to my own portraiture work.  He is and always will be one of the great ones I look up to in both technique and artistry.  Please come and visit his new Oscar portraits if you can.

Here are some words of wisdom about photography, from some of the artists that inspire me:

Grounded 1: Meditations On The Terra Firma

Ribbon-cutting for "Grounded 1" last Dec. 7

I have been a practicing Photographer for more than thirty-three years.  Photography started out as a hobby at the age of eleven, and it has been a constant presence in my life ever since.

When I turned professional five years ago, I decided to keep a part of my photography personal and experimental.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is my first Series dedicated to the original impulse I had when I received my first camera -- to explore the medium of Photography and to use it to see our world in a different way.

I decided to start this personal (experimental) photographic journey at its core.  Light, shadow, texture, line, shape, color and composition comprise the most basic elements of the visual arts -- the fundamental building blocks of Photography.  “Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is pure photography, concentrated on the most essential elements of the Art.  All the photographs in this Series were shot as is, without photo manipulation.*

Beside the "Grounded" Exhibit poster in Ayala Museum

I opted to use a simple camera from the onset, devoid of any controls, to force myself to focus on these crucial elements.  I ended up using an IPhone, instead of my Holga or my Polaroid cameras, because my cellphone is always with me.  It is the modern day counterpart of the Polaroid and the Instamatic camera, and everyone is familiar with it (very few remember what Polaroids are).  After all the camera, no matter how simple or complex, is just a gadget that captures images.  It is our ability to ‘See’ and delight in what we see that dictates what we photograph.

“Grounded: Meditations on the Terra Firma” is also my initial foray into Abstract Photography.  Inspired by the avant garde work of Aaron Siskind, I wanted to retrace the possibilities of  Abstract Expressionism in Photography.  Siskind deliberately obscured his subject matter by concentrating on form, texture and simple visual elements to push Photography into the realm of abstraction; Simple and direct, without employing elaborate tricks and gadgets.  Upon discovering the possibilities of abstraction Siskind exclaimed, “For the first time in my life subject matter as such, has ceased to be of primary importance.  Instead I found myself involved in the relationships of these objects, so much so that the pictures turned out to be deeply moving and personal experiences.”

Preparing the Prints for the exhibit

I was walking down Hollywood Blvd. one afternoon, when it dawned on me that the pavements on this street are probably the most photographed side-walks in the whole world -- Pavements normally ignored, but have transcended the mundane by virtue of the names and hand/footprints of the media celebrities imprinted on them.  Why not photograph regular pavements and celebrate them in the same manner?  Aaron Siskind had a series of photographs of ‘tar-marked asphalt roads (his last Series 1986-88),’ which he elevated into Abstract Art -- because they contain interesting calligraphic-like elements that most people overlook.  Since Siskind’s photos were mostly in Black & White, I became excited by the thought of doing mine in color -- a small but significant variable that can heighten visual impact.

“Grounded No. 1” was born.  Seventeen different Los Angeles Cities ‘abstracted’ in a quatrain of photographs like the stanza of a poem ...distilled from the most basic visual elements of the ground we work and play on.  Gravity grounds us to the earth and nothing is more constant in our lives than the firmament beneath us.  Art exists around us, if we just took the time to ‘Look and See.’  “Grounded” is my photographic meditation on the Terra  Firma, the terrain we live and walk on.

*Technical Notes - I used an IPhone App. called ‘Camera Bag’ in the ‘Lolo’ setting to heighten saturation -- a digital approximation of Medium Format Color Reversal Film (square format). But the pictures remain as they were originally shot (no tweaking in Photoshop), with color gradations reflecting the natural daylight color temperature shifts during the time of the day they were captured. No special lenses or attachments were used.

Michael Grecco's "Naked Ambition"

My colleague and fellow Advertising Photographers of America (APA) member Micheal Grecco, is having a photo exhibit from January 15 to February 25 at the Edgar Varela Fine Arts gallery.  Images from his documentary and book "Naked Ambition - An R rated look at an X rated industry" will be on display.

Reception: January 15th, Saturday 6-10pm
Address:  Edgar Varela Fine Arts (EVFA)
727 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90014

Here is a clip from the documentary:


--Photo and video clip from "Naked Ambition" by Michael Grecco.

California Incentives for Runaway Productions

Last February, Governor Schwarzenegger approved California's first-ever tax incentives to lure runaway productions back to the State. Some say it might be too late, since the number of movies shot in California has dropped to less than half of what it was in 2003.

In July, he approved the first 25 film and TV productions to qualify for the 20 to 25 percent tax credit.

Is it good enough? Canada, which began offering incentives a decade ago, now has state of the art production facilities in place to challege Hollywood... 40 other States are also offering similar incentives, some with even higher tax credits and less redtape...

Better late than never, I guess?

Read the Reuters August 13, 2009 Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE57C01N20090813?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

Recent Movies Filmed Outside California
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINTRE57C01W20090813

--Photo and Articles from the Reuters Archive.