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::Happy Valentine's Day::   -L-  carlos

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::Warped Reflections::

I was working with a magnifying glass and saw the reflection.  So I took several shots of it in portrait, landscape and magnified.

-L-

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::Binder::

The coils of a binder book on binding.

-L-
carlos

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::Light Build - Test One::

Had an old computer power supply, so I took some wires from it and built this lamp.  I used a blue background.  This bulb was running off of three AAA batteries.

-L-
carlos

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::Ribbon Flower::

I was playing around with this ribbon.  It was some left over ribbon from when I worked at Godiva.  I had made a rose from some red ribbon and then I decided to make one with this green ribbon.  It is wire mesh and difficult to work with.  Here is the result of my efforts.

-L-
carlos

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::Mont Blanc::

One of my favorite writing instruments.  A gift I received last summer.

-L-
carlos

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::Assassins in the Fog::

I have been having so much fun with this setup.  I added fog effects to this scene and also changed the lighting.

-L-
carlos

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::Golden Tips::

A walk on the golden wild side.  These were interesting when I saw them.  I took them down and shot them individually then grouped them together and like how the reflections looked.

-L-
carlos

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::Shadow Stalkers::

Fantasy setting before a fight.

::Ghostly Stalkers::

Fantasy setting from a ghostly view point.

-L-
carlos

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::Color Abstract::

There are several crystals or should I say, plastic gems, behind this clear one.  I love how the colors come through.  These have been with me for a very long time.  This is the first time I have actually photographed them. This one is a keeper, it's going to get printed large!

-L-

carlos

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::Blue Ice::

This weather has brought us some cold temperatures here in Dallas.  Todays subject, I decided to give cold a chance.

-L-
carlos

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::Trinity River Arch::

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::Intimate Rotini::

I was looking for the nice color that translucent subjects give off when back lit.  This Rotini did a wonderful job with the color yellow.  Above color is lightest and then you have a deeper yellow with the shadow playing nicely above them all.

-L-

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::A Warm Neptune::

I would imagine that the warm planet Neptune would be so beautiful, its oceans bubbling with yellow lava in a sea of blue, the horizon brilliantly lit with spectacular yellows and aqua skies, drops of water falling upward to the stars only to return to the surface of the blue ocean as lances of ice.

-L-
carlos

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::Dallas Design District::

Ever since the Dallas Design District has been upgraded with side walks, lighting, manicured lawns, it has been a really nice location for photography.  This is my first, but not the last.  It started raining after my sixth shot.  So had to pack it up and go.  I did manage to get this shot, really nice.


-L-
carlos

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::Rolled Tissue Paper::

I have created some really nice, non-photo, artsy projects with tissue paper.  This time around, I decided to make it my subject.  I tried different lighting, worked the paper in different ways, then I decided to make a flower with it since it was one of the very first things I had learned to do with it back in my elementary days, and I used back lighting.

-L-

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::The Nightmare Guardian::

This evening, after watching "The Birdcage", a favorite by the way, I noticed how shadows were playing in the movie, so I decided to have Shadows be the Subject for tonight.  I have to tell you, this was fun.  I created  a series of them.  This one is titled The Nightmare Guardian, the others are as follows:
The Protector
The Ghoul
The Innocent
I could have continued but decided to leave it as is and post my work.  This one, "The Nightmare Guardian" came out perfect! I did not add any color to the image, it is as is, I just increased the black level in Raw Processing, that's it.

-L-
carlos

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::Metal::

Shopping at the hardware store today and I saw this in a bin.  I picked it up and decided it was going to be my subject of the day. I like the texture of the outside and the smooth threads on the inside.

-L-
carlos

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::Blue::

Once you try this with color and water, you will have fun with it.  I know I did.

-L-
carlos

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::Twisted::

Twisted Light...  I could not decide from 4 images.   I took about 65 shots different perspectives.  But this one, is just beautiful!

-L-
carlos

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::String Theory::

My subject here was light.  I was looking for some different light diffraction and liked this best.  It almost seems like a string.  Gives the sense of sound and movement.

-L-
carlos

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::Gummy Bears::

I decided to do gummy bears today.  I was at the grocery store and saw these guys and thought, how wonderful to shoot these translucent candies.  So I got a handful of them.  I took shots of each color solo, then grouped them together and this is the one I liked the best.

-L-
carlos

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::Downtown Dallas View from CitiPlace::

I was coming home from Fry's up north in Plano.  It was the beginning of Twilight time and figured I would head down town to get this image.  I shot the scene at ISO1600.  I wanted that Grain!

-L-
carlos

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::Aza Not Feeling Well::

She has had a tough time these past few days.  I have not been able to focus very much, but have still been able to keep her fluids up and hoping she gets over her fever.  She is just a very little girl, she just turned one in Nov 2010.  I just hate seeing her like this.  So my photo for the day is of her.  I have been with her all day.  I left for about 20 minutes to run to the store and pickup some baby food for her to eat. She has to eat.

-L-
carlos

021 of 365

::Lights::

I hung these lights on the divider and I remember the image I had taken back in Summer of 04, when I had joined my first Photographers Group.  It was a Photo Shoot we had gone to at the Dallas World Aquarium. I had fun in there!  There was this window on the sub level floor or maybe it was the second floor, these windows had some kind of paper on them, but the light behind was multi colored, so I took a shot and loved how it looked.  This kind of reminds me of it. The lights are visible here, but on that one photo it was a beautiful transition of warm to cool colors.

-L-
carlos

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::Dallas Tollway::

Love this type of photos.  I like the lights how they create tubes going down the roads.

-L-
carlos

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::Tonights Moon::

Tonights moon looks really nice.  It is not the full moon, but I figured I would try this.  My mirror lens was building up dust, so I took it out for a night in the Moon Light.

-L-
carlos

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::Peanut Butter Oatflour Muffin::

A try at photographing some food.  I baked this delicious muffin and decided to use it as my subject, unfortunately, it did not last.  I had to eat it.

-L-
carlos

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::Down Town Dallas in Fog::

Foggy evening after work.  I decided to take a second look.  It's been foggy the past few days and this evening was no exception.  I shot a couple of frames off.  I like this one, it has the Kuai Renaissance Tower and with the lights on the rooftop it gives the beautiful glow in the fog above.

-L-
carlos

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::Dirty Light::

I was inspired to do this light bulb due to the glass fuse enclosure. I also did some with gel filters between the lens and the light.  I got some really good shots, but this one was way better, details the glass fuse enclosure really nice.  I decided to name this Dirty Light, since I did not clean the bulb before the shot, the shots with the color gel was done with a clean bulb, but this adds character and also shows the outline of the bulb.  The gel filtered shots did not have this.

-L-
carlos

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::Fallen Hyacinth::

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::Bokeh OPBG::

Color Out Of Focus!

-L-
carlos

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Looking at a Snow Globe that was given to me by a co-worker while at Godiva.  It was from England. I decided to take a closer look at it.  Here is one of the towers in the Snow Globe House of Parliament.

-L-
carlos

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Light

I love light.  I like how it shapes our world.  This was a pen I had from several years.  It has these twisting shapes inside and the light blinks or is on.  This is the one shot I like the best.

-L-
carlos

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::I'm Blue::

This kind of looks like something taken out in the ocean.  It had that sea life look to it.   I had fun with this project.  I had another view of it and decided this was more appealing.

-L-
carlos

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::Bubbles::

Gave this a try, looked at the bubbles while washing dishes and thought about it and then went ahead and did it.  I will definitely come back to this project.

-L-
carlos

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::Hyacinth::

I was out for dinner this evening and had these on my mind when I saw them. I was thinking of getting a flower or two to shoot today.  So dinner and then right to shooting.  I had a wonderful time with this flower.  I got some other shots, one in particular that has become a favorite.  I may post it later.

-L-
carlos

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::Cafe'::

Breakfast in a cup!

Need I say more?

-L-
carlos

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This was a tough subject.  I have no experience with citrus fruits, but I like a challenge.  I will definitely come back to this one again.  Don't know if lime will be done, but I'm open to the yellows too.

-L-
carlos

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I was thinking about doing something with leaves, but could not find a good one this time of year.  I decided to check this out with macro extension tubes.  I like how this came out.  Colors are all good and sing together nicely.

-L-
carlos

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Chaotic Life of a Crystal:

I imagined getting additional views, but this was the best of the lot. I have others with titles of

Crested Crystal
Violets Peak
Crystal Fairies Dance

But this one...it had more character and seems to bursting with life. I guess another title for it would be A Crystals Life Cycle.

-L-

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:::::Tube Lighting:::::

I had these glow bracelets for a while now. I believe I got them back in '07.  So I had the idea of using them to light some small objects.  I then got caught up with the lights that I decided to make them my focus.  This is a simple image, but I believe it gives the best look, feel, and smoothness of the tubes.  The lighting was difficult, since the three need different exposures, so I tested them all and decided to make the exposure where the green light did not over expose.  Keeping the green light smooth, but also keeping the orange light from falling off too much.  I had some other ideas and did photograph them in clear plastic boxes, i also had them on glass to give the reflection, twisted them and had them moving to show motion, but after it all, I preferred this as the best image.

-L-
carlos

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Fragile Worlds:  Arlington Hall @ Lee Park.

I had a tough time with this one.  Since I dropped the crystal onto the pavement, another fragile piece destroyed by gravity. So I managed to get the crystal positioned where the defects were not so visible.  It was cold this evening, so my hands were not working properly.  I had to find warmth as soon as possible.  So I managed to take about 20 shots and this was the best of them.

-L-
carlos

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One of two sculptures i picked up at A-CON Summer of 2010.  I was checking to see what the best lighting on it would catch the textures and ferocious look.  The three quarter portrait was best with a shallow depth of field.  The Winged Lioness to debut later this year.  Black/Mid/White were set and image converted to Black and White using Calculations.

-L-
carlos

001 of 365

One of my first images of the year.  I will be working on the 365 images this year. Working on the back lighting and the focus of the subjects clear properties.

-L-
carlos

Working with Color

Something I am working on is creating recognizable characters using color and water.  I hope to have a complete series of this soon.  It is very time consuming and I have to figure different ways to make the color work how I want it to.  Oh, btw, this is a photograph!

Enjoy,
-L-
Carlos

Some Art

Here is a drawing I made.  It was a 5 minute drawing.  I was in Arkansas at the time.  A growing experience that I wish not to repeat.  But I digress, This 5 minute drawing was done using a photo from a magazine, I cannot remember the name of it.  But I timed myself using a stop watch.  The photo was an 8.5x11 in the magazine. No touch ups.  This is what I finished with.  You should have seen me, I was moving very fast, but still trying to keep it neat and tidy.  This link will take you to the larger image >>  http://www.cdpaa.com/p839700642/h181bd7e9#h181bd7e9

Later
Carlos
-L-

New Images coming soon!

I will be posting some new images on my website. I just have to find the time to make the changes. Flash is not a software that is easy to work with. It can do some fun things, but not easy.

Later,
Carlos

At an End...Tripoli Gallery

My Gallery Show at the Tripoli Gallery has come to and end. I have removed all my art from their walls yesterday, Sunday. I want to let everyone that attended the "Meet the Artist" reception on July 31, a heartfelt Thank You. It was fun and I was so happy you were able to make it. I am working on another venue for a future gallery show. I will post here when I acquire the space.

I would also like to thank the folks at La Cima. They were wonderful. Listened to my every needs. Allowed me access to their Club when I needed. Thank You!

Thanks Everyone,
Carlos
-L-

Gallery Show at La Cima's Tripoli Gallery

Well, it is done!

John, Ron and I finished with placing the pieces of work on the walls. We got there a little after three pm. We finished at about six. I was under the impression I would have more wall space, but was a little less than expected, so I was able to get 18 pieces up. I brought back 16, not bad. I figure once the works begin to sell, I can replace it with the extras. Works out quite well. I did get a very nice welcome from several of the employees there. I am quite happy. I cannot wait till July 31. I am so excited now.

Later...
Carlos

Passion

I found this wonderful flower in my neighbors yard about 15 feet up on a vine and it was with another vine that flowers yellow/purple flowers. I liked how it smiled at me when I took this shot. I had to get on a ladder that was very high and was close to the top. While on the ladder and composing my shot, the ladder was swaying and well, I am happy I did not fall. I'm not afraid of heights, but looking down did give me vertigo.

Carlos
-L-

Prep for Show

Wow, how time flies, looks like the show date is approaching. I have been busy with new work I will be showing that is not on my website. I will add them to it after the show is over at the end of August. I have May to finish up the invitations and send them out, then I have to send over my bio for display and for the advertisement in the La Cima magazine. There is quite a bit that has to be done. Then I have one day to setup. This is going to be a challenge and I love it. I sure hope for a great show! I won't be expecting anything since it is free for two months.

Carlos
-L-

Completed the NYIP Course...

I have completed my NYIP Course in Professional Photography. Now I await the final review of the submitted assignments.

It was 6 assignments that I needed to choose from. I only needed to submit 4, but I submitted 5 plus some additional images. They always ask for us to submit more than the assignments chosen. They like to see how far we have progressed. So, I have submitted the product shot, city skyline at night, head and shoulders portrait, and the glamour shot.

I struggled with the last unit. I had to find a new model, they did not want a model I had shot in the previous assignments. Not an easy thing to schedule, since I do have a day time job. Then I had to find a good view of downtown Dallas and decided on the northern view of downtown. I had the help of some friends letting me into their apartment in the evening. I also went out looking for a unique building to photograph. I found the Hunt Financial building off of Woodall Rodgers interesting. I also had to do the glamour photo and the model was to be either clothed or unclothed. I was able to get this image with the same model that I did the head and shoulders portrait.

So there it is. I will see what other courses I can take with NYIP. I just love their correspondence course. I also must confess, I have been looking at the Hallmark Institute of Photography. But they are based out of Mass. I would have to move there, take out a loan for the course, and it is a 10 month intensive course, Monday thru Friday of Photography lessons, Business in Photography Lessons, Color theory lessons, etc. This just sounds like a really good school to go to. I would be interacting with the staff and students. It's is a big step, having to get a loan for the entire course of just 10 months, but at the end, I will have all the skills and training for business in Photography. Looks like I have a big decision to make. Maybe I will take the course in 2010. Maybe.

Later,
Carlos
-L-