"Pittsfields Slopes."

My parents, girlfriend and I drove up to Pittsfield, Massachusetts this weekend and stayed at the Vaction Village of bershire's ski Resort. As we were driving up we noticed the amount of snow kept getting greater and greater the closer we got to MA. I was extremely surprised to find to see snow since we havent gotten any out here in New York. I was talking to many of the residents and they said they had a huge snow storm on halloween that actually made Massachusetts cancel halloween! They said it was too "dangerous."
Driving around made me realize I will probably never leave new york. The nearest food place was 20 minuets away from the resort!
I noticed plenty of open fields, farms and a few mom and pop conviences stores. Of coarse I had my camera with me at all times. I took tons of pictures. This is actually the first one i uploaded and edited. I like the overal composition in this one. I used a small aperture, I believe it was like f.10-f12 at 18mm to ensure that everything was in focus. I had a great trip and got some really interesting photographs from it. Enjoy -NIVLEK

ASMP Photographer's Work Shop!

I attended ASMP of long island's photography workshop at Briarcliffe College. The workshop was extremely helpful. I was surprised at how much information the photographers gave us. I didn't think any of the photographers were going to give us real life prices on how they charge and what to charge. It was interesting hearing from the others too like the assistant and the art/graphic design director. I will definitley be interested in attending another one! -NIVLEK

"The Other Side."

This image was taken this weekend in Queens, NY right out side of the infamous Citi Field. I took the photograph for my final project in our Digital 1 class.  I choose to photography paths/alleyways or anything course along which something travels on. The picture shows citi field from "The Other Side." The side noone really sees when they enter the ball park. I found this location extremely interesting especially because our government can spend millions of dollars building a ball park but can't come up with sufficient money to fix our roads. I was also amazed by how "poor" this part of queens was. I didnt dare to drive over 5MPH on these roads! The exhaust on my car scarped the street multiple times because of the uneven concrete. I dont know how people can operate a business under these conditions, its absouletly mind-boggling.


On to the image, I took the photograph around 10pm. I was EXTREMELY cold and windy saturday night BTW. I set up my tripod and took multiple images at different angles and perspectives. I forget how long the exposure was but it was most likely something like 15 seconds or so. I choose to photoshop and play around with this particular photo because it really shows the contrast between the two. Standing where I was in this picture really shows te viewers how close to citi field I was. I will most likely go back to get more images when the weathers a bit nicer. -NIVLEK

"Dramatic Sunset."

This was taken in my backyard!

I noticed the sun was setting when I looked out my bedroom window. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside to take a few pictures. This was the one that I liked the most. I'm not quite sure but the old sneakers hanging on the branch compliments the photo nicely.

Visit to Jim Lennon's Studio

First, I'd like to thank professor Naideau for giving me the opportunity to meet Jim Lennon at his studio in Hauppauge, NY. I was very impressed! When I first walked into the studio I noticed it was very neat and organized. The studio itself was like the perfect size. If I ever open up a studio it would definitely be a similar set up, not too big; not too small. What really strikes me the most is the camera he was using.... 52,000 dollars?!?!? The clarity and sharpness that his HASSELBLAD produces is unbelievable. Another thing that I really liked was the workflow he uses. Its like almost impossible to have an error or lose an image when Jim and his wife's daily procedures. The visit to his studio was definitely something I would love to do again. I feel like i could sit there and ask questions all day.

"The Reform of Art."

The images were shot at "5PTZ" in long island city. 5PTZ is an outdoor exhibit space in New York where legendary artist/writers from all over the world come and paint on the 200square-foot building walls. Painters must show the building owner a portfolio of there work in order to obtain a permit that enables them to paint on the walls. The 5PTZ curator has set a goal to convert the 5 story building into a graffiti art museum. 

I choose to use these images for our "Social Reform" project in Digital 1. The objective of the project was to capture modern day change in society. I decided i wanted to come to 5PNTZ and photograph the ART. I really wanted to show how art has changed over the generations. I have other images that actually show painters actually coming together and making a mural on the walls, which to me, defines "Social Reform" -NIVLEK

"INFARED CITY."

This image was taken in Long Island City at a board walk which gives you an amazing look of NYC. I initially went to this spot with out my camera! Can you believe that?!? I knew I'd have to come back with my camera ASAP. One of the reasons why i prefer driving to NYC rather than take a train is because you can drive around aimlessly and run into scenes like this one. The first time i found myself at this spot my friends and I went to "5PNTZ" to look at the art work on the buildings then drove around the area looking for something "interesting." We noticed this park/board walk and gasped as we walked towards the view. The following weekend, I grabbed my friend and went to both 5PNZ and this spot and took over 100 images that day. I used a bunch of different filters to give the photos different moods and effects. I liked how this image looked with the red filter, that explains why the image is red. Overall, i had a great day and will go back when its snowing to see what i can get. -NIVLEK

"My Dream Gig."

Here's a video I found on the web on Car Photography. I found this video EXTREMELY interesting. I sent it to Professor Naidaeu, he enjoyed the video too. I thought I would share it with all of you guys. Click the link below and Enjoy.

http://vimeo.com/glosspostproduction/porschecgimakingofglosspostproduction

"Hood Fame's MURDERED OUT ES1 CIVIC."

Our assignment was to take an image that would appear as the front cover of the magazine we subscribed to. The magazine I choose was "Super Street" which is one of the more popular magazines for Import/Tuner cars. Right off that bat I knew I had to take a motion photo. Almost 8/10 Images on the cover are "rolling shots". The second task for me was finding the right car. Thankfully, I found someone that would participate as soon as I asked. Being that the majority of my friends on Facebook are car enthusiast made it very easy to find a car. I simply asked if anyone was willing to participate for a class assignment and that I need to take a rolling shot of a car. Ant, Owner of this 2001 Civic was the first person to reply to my post, so he was the winner haha. It all worked out perfectly cause I was going to give him a call if noone was willing. Ant is part of a local group of car enthusiast that go by the name "Hood Fame." They probably have one of the most "eye catching" group of cars on Long Island.

Overall I was satisfied with the way this image came out, it's nice and sharp and the background isn't too distracting. For anyone that is interested in doing these types of shots, i suggest that you take a HUGE amount of photos. Out of 50 i took i was probably satisfied with 5! It looks like we were going super fast in this photo but in reality we were actually going about 20mph. I used a very slow shutter speed and followed the car with my camera. This was the only image i got to edit, i will probably post another depending on the results. Enjoy.  -NIVLEK

"Disturbed Reading."

On saturday 10/22/2011 I met up with Professor Colombraro and her History of Photography class at Penn station. We walked into Chelsea, NY and visited multiple art galleries. It was definitely worth going, I seen some really interesting stuff. From the moment we got out of penn station i started snapping away. NYC has such a different vibe than Long Island. I feel like everything is picture worthy when i'm out there. Out of all the photo's I took that day, this one struck me the most for me.

The image was taken at the Lisette Model Self Reflections exhibition on west 24th street. This was actually someones office space! I had to double take when i seen this. At first it looked like a peaceful library like setting but then i seen that image on the wall. This for me MADE this photo. (oh yeah, the whole in the wall is awesome too) I decided to name it "Disturbed Reading." I choose this name because  this setting was like an Oxymoron, to the right its a normal person reading and then you have this scary image to the left of her looking right at her. I feel this image was successful, I really like this one.
-NIVLEK

"America's Craftsmanship."

Its amazing how you can find "art" anywhere! Just look around you, if it interest you; shoot it! This image is appealing to me because it shows the complexity of a train system. It shows the hard work and effort the goes into Americas creations. What also interest me is all the movement in the image, there lines going in every direction. I choose to make this image a black and white because color wasn't an important factor when shooting this. I didn't want the viewers to be distracted by color since the image is already very busy.

So here's the run down. I took this photograph a few weeks ago somewhere in Queens, NY. This image was actually taken outside the sunroof of my car! I was in the driver seat and my girlfriend was in the passenger seat. I was at a traffic light and happend to look up and witness this scene. I tell my girl friend "Hurry and grab my camera, its in the back seat." I knew i was only going to be able to get one shot so i needed the exposure to be close to perfect before even shooting. I quickly programed my camera to manual and guessed an exposure. I un-buckled my seat belt and aimed at the subject through the sunroof. I was able to get one shot before the light turned green. I'm glad i took this image, it makes me think a little bit every-time i look at it. -NIVLEK

"Visual Cocaine."

One of the HUNDREDS of photos i took for the INSPIRE modeling agency.

It was a looooooong saturday for me. About two weeks ago Owner/CEO of INSPIRE gave me a call and asked if i was willing to do a shoot for a local casting call. The photo shoot ended up being about 7-8 hours long. This shoot was a big deal! I certainly did under estimate the job. I shot both kids and adults (about 20-30 in total) We had hair and make up stylist and several wardrobe changes throughout the day. I got to see some cool behind the scenes activities while i wasn't shooting. The models acted a script that was made right on the spot and also did a bit of runway. It was a GREAT experience for me. It was the first time a shot with a backdrop and umbrellas! I kinda learned where and where not to place the umbrellas as i was shooting lol

All the images were done with a tripod and on Manual. I turned off all the lights in the room/studio so that the only light present were the umbrellas. I had some issues with getting proper exposure. Many of the decent exposure were with slower shutter speeds because i DID NOT  use flash, a gray card or an incident meter. I think i did fairly good for the equipment i had. I'll definitely plan head next time and study some more lighting techniques before the next shoot. Oh yeah, Inspire hired me as their long island photographer! :)

"Take Full Footnotes."

This photo was taken last week for our first assignment titled "Shadow/Lighting"

It was an interesting shoot, to say the least. I'm glad i used my girlfriend as a model because I was learning "lighting" as we shot, so the shoot was  much longer than expected. It was a great opportunity for me to play around with light to create shadows and set a mood. I shot in my room and used my desk work lamp for lighting. Placing it at several angles and distances from the subject until i was satisfied. Then, i made the room completely dark, so that the only light present was the work lamp. I put blankets over the windows to block off any additional light. Set up my tripod, attached my camera and began to play with the camera meter to get the proper exposure. Due to low light and a low ISO the shutter speed was very slow. I put the camera on self-timer to prevent any camera shake when pressing the shutter and asked my model to stay as still as possible. I have many shots i am pleased with and will do more work with this style. I believe i was successful creating a restful, intimate and relaxed atmosphere and will get better at lighting as time progresses. -NIVLEK

"The Best Lovers Die Together."

Here's an older photo i took for my AP Portfolio in high school... I believe our task was to create a sequel or a story line with 12 images or so. From the jump, i knew i needed to do something that would set my work apart from the others. I came to the conclusion that my photo should have a double meaning or somewhat comical to grab the viewers attention. A few days later i found my mom in the kitchen getting ready to cook. I noticed she had the egg carton on the counter and i grab two then began to draw on them with a permanent marker. I tried to make faces on the egg to make them have human-like characteristics, but i got too detailed with them. I  drew eyebrows, hair, teeth etc. it started to get too messy. I must have went through 6-8 eggs! I decided to draw two x's for eyes and crack the shell for the mouth and these were the results! This is one of my favorites for the simple fact it can have multiple meanings. I have more from the sequel, i'll most likely post more down the road. -NIVLEK

"One Clean DA9."

Here's a recent shot i took of my buddy Johnny's 1992 Acura Integra Gs-R.

One of the greatest clichés of the car modding culture is that your work can never be duplicated, you are truly the originator of your work of art. A great advantage car enthusiasts hold is they don't ever have to worry about granny passing along with the same exact car! or struggling to find they're car in a parking lot filled with 100's of cars that look identical to theirs! For anyone that has ever attempted a build like this, will understand the hard work and money that goes into this hobby to make a car "Presentable". Johnny is a Honda Enthusiast who pursued his passion by making his ride resemble a DA9, a Japanese Honda Integra. Many of his parts like his headlights have been shipped from japan into the states to give his car that aggressive look.

Anyways onto the shoot, I grabbed my tripod and my camera and met up with johnny at a local gas station. As we were on the sunken meadow parkway heading out to our location we noticed there weren't many cars on the parkway so we decided it was a great opportunity to get a few rolling shots. The technique used is called Panning, which can produce amazing results if you perfect it! The idea behind Panning is following your subjects motion as the picture is being taken to give your background that blurred effect. So, we slowed down to about 30-40 mph and i began to shoot. As my friend was driving to the left of the car i rolled down the passenger window and began to take many pictures at different shutter speeds. I tried to stay at relatively low shutter speed to get more of the blurred effect in the background. Out of the 20-30 pictures i was only satisfied with 2 or 3! It is important to take a great amount of pictures when doing something like this. All in all, it was a good shoot. I had a great time along with a few friends who came along to watch this happen. -NIVLEK