Untouched Beach

I drove to the middle of no where today to a road with no boundaries. Hills rolled by by me and there wasn't a single sole in sight. I gathered my 8 rolls of 120 film and my Kodak Duaflex camera and started to walk west. 11.2 miles i walked until i reached the ocean. I climbed down almost vertical cliff to a protected cove with no foot prints, no beer bottles, no cigarette butts, no evidence that anyone has ever been there.

I sat there with my feet planted in the sand observing how beautiful nature is without the presence of humans. Everything was where it was supposed to be. Untouched shells in the sand, unbroken sand dollars and perfectly smooth sand.

Life was near perfect. Alone on a beach with a camera in hand and the sound of crashing waves.

I left without leaving any evidence I was there, and made my way back to the horrible place I call civilization.

It's a real shame no one can just get away forever.

10.2 miles

This morning i left my house around 6:30 to set out on a 8 miles hike.  My plan was to drive to point reyes and hike tomales point trail, a 4 miles hike.  i hiked the trail that i had planned to hike, i just decided to go all the way to the very point north point of point reyes.  

i arrived at the parking lot around 7:15 and started out.  I had about 40 pounds of gear on my back.  camera equipment, food, all that stuff.  it took me nearly 3 hours just to hike 4 miles to the end of the trail.  i decided that i wanted to push myself harder and hike 2 more miles to the very tip of point reyes.  the trail no longer exists and it's just walking through thick push and sand, really difficult to do.  

I finally arrived at the tip and was amazed.  i took the self portrait at the point of point reyes.  I snapped a few other photos along the way, but i only like a few, one posted above.  

the views there, were breathtaking, absolutely amazing.  i saw hundreds of elk, 2 snakes, dozens of mountain lion tracks, and only 3 people. i would really like to stay out there for sunset, but because its summer, the sun doesn't set until 9 ish.  driving back home would suck!

anywho.  the whole hike was a thrill.  10.2 miles by myself, jobless, and not caring about anything else in the world.  a great little vacation.  

there are a few more photos on my flickr from the hike. check those out.

peace.

Oh jesus, what is going on.

oh boy. i really just haven't had anytime for this at all.  i've been stuck working 39 hour weeks at quiznos, shooting concerts left and right, and falling far far behind in editing photos.  but there is a lot of good happening in a very short amount of time. read on to learn more. :)

so. first off, 39 hour weeks at quiznos.  that is a lot. sorry but standing on your feet for almost 8 hours each day, serving the bitchiest customers known to man, and just having a shitty job really drains you.  but good news.  i no longer have to work those 39 hour weeks.  today was my last day at a quiznos.  i probably will never go back to one unless i absolutely need a job until i find a better one. 

with quiznos out of the way, i plan to be assisting a truly amazing photographer in santa rosa.  she shoots weddings, and my god, i am just blown away.  seriously, i didn't even think i was possible to capture a candid moment like that.  i am very very excited to start working for her, and learn how to become successful is photography.  

i wont be attending college anytime soon, it's just way to expensive and i would rather learn the things i would learn in college on my own.  having something taught to me, just doesn't work out as well as it does for others. i learn better on my own. 

any who. now that i am semi jobless, tomorrow, i will be hiking about 10 miles through Point Reyes in search on new light.  aka, awesome photos.  I was planning on driving down highway 1 to santa cruz for a day or two, just to relax, clear my head, and start new, butttttt with gas being so expensive, and me being broke, that just wont work out. 

anyways, that's whats up with my life.  

i do have many many new photos on my flickr. 

but i will be posting once i come back from my hike. 

:D enjoy. 

i have not posted in a long long while.  may 4th i believe.  a lot has been going on too, too much for me to sit down and write.  

i haven't gone out and taken photos in a few weeks.  today was the first time, and it was great. a real refreshment.  i dragged my friend masen to an unknown beach with me and explored.  most of it was intense rock climbing to escape the the crashing of the waves.  it was fun.  took the photo above. the end.

i think that i've hit a road block in my photography, yet again.  i've just had no motivation to go out there and shoot everyday like i used too.  i still take photos almost everyday, i just don't even uploading or view them.  i hope this passes soon. :/

So it's been a while since i've had time or something to blog about.  but now i have tons to write about.  

few days ago i decided to spend some money and buy a 107 inch seamless background.  a seamless background for those who don't know is just a large thick piece of paper rolled up on a big tube.  you hang it high on tripods or a stand and when it rest on the ground it creates a seamless background. no creases from a folded point.  it's awesome.

anyways, with tabi's light set i've been playing around with it a lot and i am just amazed by how cool it is.  before, for a background i would just use a wrinkled sheet, and i would have to blow out the background with a flash to remove the wrinkles.  with the paper as the paper as the background i can finally take a decent portrait and have it look professional.  i'm very happy.

i haven't experimented with full body shots, i haven't been able to produce anything i like yet, but using the seamless background as just a paper background for portraits has had awesome results.  

if you are ever thinking about purchasing one, DO IT! you wont be disappointed.  

though, the price for one does put a dent in your wallet unless you build your stand instead of spending 189.99 on one. 

i purchased two $50 high end flash stands.  i then went to Home Depot and for $7.35 i got a 10 1.5 inch PVC pipe and various turns and bends.  i constructed my own stand saving myself about $100. 

i have a few more photos on my flickr, so definitely check that out. 

view flickr

A little duaflex 2 action baby!

OH MY GOSH, ok ok ok, so!  

I got a Kodak Duaflex 2 a while ago, but never really used it, just had it because.  Anyways, i load a reel of modified 120 colored film in the camera and go shooting.  When these were developed i was in awe at what i was seeing.  only 4 photos out of 16 came out, which was alright, first roll was expected to fail miserably, but god it didn't at all.  

The first two images above are from the roll of film. something about the square crop and the dirty lens just makes the photo so interesting.  i could easily duplicate this effect in photoshop but there is just something about shooting with a medium format camera that is just so cool.  sorry, right now i am so happy with this project! 

Anywho, because it cost me $13.65 to buy and have the roll developed i decided that i needed to create a layer and action in photoshop to duplicate this effect.  I started by created a tube that lead from my macro lens of my rebel xti to the view finder on the kodak duaflex.  this is called 'through the viewfinder, ttv'.  i faced the duaflex to a white wall and took an over exposed image on my digital slr.  i took this photo to duplicate the look of what you would get from shooting film.  i could of just easily just cropped a regular image and added a border around it, but no, this way way cooler.  

after taking a photo through the view finder to capture the unique border the camera gives and the dirty lens i cleaned it up in photoshop.  the last image shown is an image i took last month out in napa, ca.  to get it to look like it was shot through a duaflex 2 camera i cropped it to a square, messed with the colors of the image to give it that older film look.  i then took the image i got from the view finder and adjusted the blending mode to have it become transparent. 

Surprisingly, it worked really well. no one seems to know the difference, well... until now. WOO!

if you are interested in using the layer for your own projects, send me an email at photo@ryanjay.com. i can hook you up.

i love you all.

view flickr

At night.

So every night i am at my laptop either editing photos, talking to people on ichat, or doing this, a blog.  the past few nights while chatting and editing were slow i would look down at my keyboard and notice the detail in my hands.  my dry skin brought out the best detail in fingers and the blood pumped veins were bursting through my skin.  i thought about trying to take a photo, but was skeptical because of the lighting conditions and the fact that the shutter would have to be longer than 5 seconds.  there is no way i could stay still for 5 seconds, i have ADHD people. come on now.

Bored got a hold of me last night and i decided to try it.  i positioned my camera above my laptop and set the correct exposure.  i was in shock when i found out i had to sit there, perfectly still for 13 seconds. though surprisingly i was able to do it.  the first dozen or shots didn't come out at all. horrible. but right as i was about to give up i decided to try once more and this is what i got. 

editing was, well.. editing. :)  few level adjustments, burn and dodge, USM, and a slight desaturation.  

Hope you like it

view flickr

view new website!!!

Meet my brother

This is my brother, austin.  my siblings let me photograph them all the time, though none really come up, it's just something to do.  anyways, i've been screwing around lately in photoshop coming up with new editing techniques.  so far i have a few lomo / film effects, some cool black and white and HDR effects, and now this.  I don't really know what to call it, so its just this. lol.

it feels really good to photograph someone who i make stand in front of my lens and have the image come out and look good.  most of the time i get no images and everything was just a waste of time.

yeah, i dont really have much more to say, but it's been a long long day and i'm ready for bed. :)

editing was way too intense for my to explain, but it's composed of about 10 layers, 3 adjustment layers, and some sweat. and 2 hours of my time. 

view flickr

hiking, it's fun.  i woke up craving some fresh air and the sound of wind blowing in the trees.  packed what was needed for the small of Sugarloaf National Park, then hiking 9 miles up the mountain, then 9 miles down the mountain.  Nature had other plans though.  

I decided not to do the really long hike, instead just do a shorter 5 mile hike and spend hours taking photos.  i drove up the mountain and found a turn out that had an amazing view.  none of those photos came out.  but as i took photos i heard the sound of a water fall and decided to climd down the 200 foot almost vertical mountain face to check it out.  Thats where i took the first image.  

After that i climbed all the way back up, got in my car, and continued to the original trail head a few miles up. when i arrived i opened my door, took my pants off and changed into shorts.  as i was changing into hiking boots again i looked out to my left and saw two mountain lions run from one side of the road to the entrance of the trail head.  i slammed my door shut and refused to go hiking by myself knowing mountain lions were on my side of the trail. fuck that.

so then i came home, and being disappointed in the failure of the hiking trip, my girlfriend and i took photos.  I've been wanting to do something like this for a while.  i did a shoot few months ago with a girl to advertise Seven jeans. didn't really turn out how i wanted them too.  so i tried again with the advertisement sorta artsy thing. i came up with this

this will probably look better viewed larger. so again.

view flickr

What's up.  Photo's have been slow the past few days, but finally i have something to post.  Christian and i were asked to photograph a benefit show for the awareness of self injury.  It was two girls senior project so whole atmosphere in the Phoenix was just awesome. because all the bands played for free, they just totally rocked out and had fun.  which makes the best photos.  

I got a new camera a few days ago, upgraded to a Rebel XTi, finally.  It was a used camera, in really really good condition and really cheap. So i got the camera the day of the show, and it was my first time using it that night. Two major differences from the rebel xt and the rebel xti is the display style and the flash.  i highly dislike that you have to click the display button on the xti for it to show up and go away. very annoying.  the flash on the xti also needs a lot more time to charge.  really annoying when i need it several times in a row to capture some band members jump off the stage. 

all in all, it was a good show, and the new camera is awesome.  hope you enjoy.  

view flickr

Food and wine?

today was a long long day.  i really don't mind working all serving people, but when i got to work and got the news that i would be training the 3rd new employe since i've been working at this job for 5 weeks really irked me.  sure i know that i am taking the responsibility to better myself in the future, but still.  i've been there for not even 2 months and i am already doing what a manager should.  it doesn't bother me, nope, what bothers me is, i'm still being paid minimum wage.  i'm not getting paid enough to train dumbass people. ok sorry.

so this photo was taken with my girlfriend. she had to take a 'magazine cover style' photo for her class.  i decided that i wanted to try something out, and was glad i did.  her focus was on the wine glass and as interesting as it was, i figured i would try something different. i figured this photo would be more fit for the actual wine company rather than just wine. 

editing was as simple as it could get. a 4x5 crop was it then save for the web.  this is straight from the camera. i hope you enjoy it. 

again, if you read these, and enjoy... bookmark it by pressing (PC) ctrl + D or (mac) ⌘ + D.  

view flickr

Old friends

My old friend Ashley called me yesterday and asked if i could take photos for her.  she was auditioning for a movie from the local film festival.  when she asked me i was really unsure because i'm not too fond of photographing people without really thinking poses through, location, and lighting.  most of the photo shoot wasn't successful because of the difficulties i was having with my camera, but i did get a few really good portraits. this one above is my favorite.  this was a complete candid after i cracked a joke to help her loosen up.  

the one reason i dislike doing portraits is because i'm not fully capable of having my subject feel comfortable.  they always seem tense and too focused on looking good.  for this shoot i just decided to be myself and act like a total dumbass and it paid off in the end.  

Editing was pretty minimal. I used a cumstom action i created to give it a 'lomo' style effect. A slight USM and that was it.  

view flickr

I really have no idea if anyone are reading these.  It would be awesome for someone to leave a comment just so i know they are being read. :) 

This is my sister, Alayna.  I was planning on having this shot be a self portrait, but after several, several failed attempted i called her.  i saw some lady stare like this today at work.  while she ate her quiznos sandwich she just stared at nothing.  i couldn't see any emotion in her face, none at all.  i hoped to try and recreate the image i saw at work with my sister.  i had her stare off into the umbrella and i told her to just stare and think about what ever. a good 10 minutes went by with me texting a friend when i looked up, focused and took the image.  she had no idea.

editing was minimal. conversion to black and white, a small lens blur and thats it. 

i hope you like.

view flickr

A walk around town

So after taking photo out on ELy Ext. Christian came over, the friend i might move out with to Merced.  We talked about what might happen with the move, and then decided to go downtown and walk and take photos.  We parked in the garage by the Phoenix Theater and started by taking a few shots from the roof of the parking garage.  Wasn't very interesting.  We headed out towards downtown and seriously walked a good 5 miles.  Too much walking while carrying tripod and camera.  

These are a few shots.  The first two of the church and parking garage are HDR.  Both composed of 3 exposures, process in photomatix pro.  The third shot was process in plain on CS3 using a lomo action i created. i had originally planned to have this photo be a high grain black and white, but this scheme fit it better. 

The day started off with real heavy clouds in the sky and is ending with a purple sunset.  too bad there aren't any clouds out now, or else i'd hop in the car and head down the street to capture the sunset.  

as i talk to my girlfriend over ichat, ive come to realize that the last photo in the group of three above, is my new favorite photo i've ever taken.  :)

view flickr

Down the road

so this morning i woke up kind of early.  I looked outside and saw just gray ugly clouds.  I stumbled around my room for a hour or so and then looked back outside.  what i saw was pretty interesting.  the clouds has broke apart and blue sky was shining though.  I got in my car and headed out to Ely Ext. and set my camera up. 

 I had originally gone out there to shoot the clouds with the mountains but an older man was there flying his remote control plane.  the plane had crashed in the street and i walked out to it to pick it up for him.  as i stood up i notice the view.  i've taken many shots like this, but all have been at night.  

again this is an HDR composed of 3 images.  processed in photomatix pro then a slight curve adjustment in photoshop.  I think this is one of my better 'landscape' HDR's.  but then again, i really like the golden gate bridge shot. 

more photos on my flickr.

A day of driving.

So this is my first post. My first blog ever.  I hope to post something every time I take a new photo that people seem to enjoy.  Not all my photos are appealing, but I try.  

Today my girlfriend and I drove for 3 hours to Merced, CA to scope the town out and look for a new place to live.  When we arrived we almost felt at home.  It looked and felt just like where we lived now.  Once we started to actually drive and see the place, we were both really disappointed.  Bars on the doors and windows totally turned us away.  I did find one apartment complex in North Merced that looked promising, but at this time I haven't made up my mind on whether or not I want to move. 

So now to the photo.  On the way there we took the 'back way', avoided the highways.  It was a nice drive.  On the way home we decided to take 580 West, it took up through San Francisco.  We go there a lot, well used to.  I have seen almost everything there is to see in the city, from the business district, to the slums, and still when I return I am at awe at everything.  

This was our first time stopping at Vista Point, and my god there was people everywhere.  I had seen a photo that I really liked taken from this point, and I decided it was time I visited.  We parked the car, got out, walked 5 feet, snapped a few photos and hurried back in the car.  Gosh it was cold.  

I used the AEB feature on my Canon Rebel XT to snap 3 photos are 3 different exposures.  I got home and combined them all through Photomatix Pro.  I wasn't quiet happy with the ending product, so I opened it up in photoshop and adding contrast to the hills, sky, and water. Adjustment Layers.  With a quick USM I saved it and was quiet happy with the result.  

View flickr

Also, in the future, I wont be capitalizing my i's.  I only do that for school essays :).  I'm lazy.