Capturing the moment numero tres!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Today marks my 3rd and final entry into this week's "Capturing the moment" photography starring Jeremy Morgan. Sit back and enjoy the rest of your flight!

Our final shot in this series takes place at the historic landmark known as Fort Mason. This fort was once an active military defense post for San Francisco and it served the city for over 100 years. Now it's just a tourist attraction for the outsiders. For us shredders though it serves as an incredibly fun, yet risky skate spot (you can receive a ticket here). The top sections serve as perfect pyramids, banks and hips...all of which we skaters fancy so much (yes fancy is common word among us street riders).

This particular bank sits at the edge of the old bunker. I spotted it and asked Jeremy to pull a flip for me. Jeremy obediently obliged (good boy) and pulled several flips on it's short, sharp surface. The result is what you see below. Pretty fantastical (skater lingo) air he caught wouldn't you say?

For the editing I actually made a significant amount of modifications. I tweaked every color you see individually. I adjusted sharpness and shadows. I twitched the lighting, cropped it's original wider perspective and modified the contrast on several different levels. I even got a second opinion from my photo advisor Liz Hanowsky. In the end Jeremy's trick (the focal point) maintains it's vertical feel and the photo becomes more lively with the color enhancements.

You guys and gals all know the routine so I won't repeat myself. I'll just say: speak up like Danielle did and earn your kudos for keeping it real on rudysolis.com. Til next time - peace

Capturing the moment 2!

Whats is the funnest part about photography? Capturing a moment that not only looks stellar, but isn't planned. Tonight's photo features of course Jeremy Morgan! 

This shot was taken on Treasure Island...you know the man-made island across from San Francisco who's foundation quite literally rests on toxic landfill! In fact the landfill is so terrifically toxic that residents are only allowed to stay in 5 year spans. How magnificent is that?

Ok enough craptastic facts on the island, lets talk about the picture. The wonderful thing about this shot was..well...we didn't plan it at all. I mean I did tell Jeremy to stand in front of the ocean and act natural, but neither of us expected the shot to turn out like this. The real kicker came after the first 2 snaps. An NYK freight liner slowly came into the frame and then I saw a fantastic opportunity fall into my lap. I snapped away knowing something cool had just happened to my shot. Once I was done shooting we uploaded the SD card and viewed the end result, which was nothing short of spectacular. The ship instantly added balance & interest to Jeremy's position. Not only is Jeremy's posture smooth, but the ship sits perfectly into the composition adding an interesting dynamic between the two subjects. This was post skate session and it so happens to be one of my personal favorites.

Editing was fairly minimal. I barely cropped, touched up on shadows, fiddled with little color and I dabbed on the lighting. Other than that this photograph was incredibly solid from the get go. Well gang what do you think? I challenge you to leave a comment!

Stay tuned this weekend as I bring you a third shot of my favorite subject JM! By the way how amazingly awesome is this publishing deal going on with Train Me Gamble? I for one can't wait to get my hands on this trade. Be sure to check in on that news right here on rudysolis.com and twitter! Til next time peace.

Capturing the moment.

For those that have been keeping up with this site, my apologies for not sharing photography from Carnaval, but in all in honesty there wasn't anything there I shot, worth sharing. I attended the event with a focus on particular styles of composition. This event didn't do it for me to say the least. So if any of you are that interested in seeing footage then I recommend checking out David Yu's photo gallery here .

So in today's post I'll be sharing a photo I shot of Jeremy Morgan. Not only is he one of my best friends, but he is also one of my favorite subjects to work with. He is flexible, patient and most importantly..willing.

As you all know I'm an avid skateboarder here in San Francisco and the only other thing I love doing if I'm not skating at a spot is capturing skating at a spot. It's not easy, but when you're passionate about anything, I believe the learning process can be enjoyable. Especially since you're fuled by eager determination.

The main thing to keep in mind is your angle and of course proper camera settings. The delightful thing about this shoot is Jeremy is an excellent skater. In fact he is a former amatuer pro. Morgan undoubtly has great control and as a result I didn't have to worry about taking any licks from him or worse the board. The trick you see here is a "backside tail slide" and he landed about 80% of them. When you're working with a sport such as skateboarding, it pays to be as close as possible for these types of shots. Jeremy's skills stick out like a sore thumb and it's a privilege to work with a great skater. Many thanks to my good friend, I look forward to our next shoot.

This shot below was taken at 3rd & Army, one of San Francisco's famous skate spots that is (thankfully) still alive. I kept the editing simple with this one. All I did was fiddle with cropping, color, lighting and shadows. Now if San Francisco had late afternoon sun as this picture illustrates, then we'd be in the same pollution boat as Los Angeles. Having said that I humbly thank you photoshop.

Stay tuned this week as I bring you more of my work! This week will also feature more of my subject: Jeremy Morgan. As always I encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Til next time - peace

 

Bay to Breakers (B2B) Photography!

Last Sunday was the 98th annual San Francisco footrace known as Bay to Breakers. Originally started in 1912 as a way to lift the city's spirits after the devastating 1906 quake. It is one of the longest & largest footraces in the world. Average participants range from 60k to 90k. San Francisco broke the Guiness record book by having  a total of 110,000 participants in 1986! How cool is that? This race is all about community and health (seriously). I'm not sure how many of you actually know this but Breathe California is a big beneficiary to the Bay to Breakers race. BC is a local public health organization who's efforts are dedicated to the fight against lung disease and the promotion of cleaner air for everyone now and in the future. So everyone is encouraged to make a donation to that cause and to the 1500+ who help organize & produce the race for all of us to enjoy and partake in. Thanks to all of the volunteers and Breathe California!

However the B2B has also been labeled as the "drunk march". Cause well...it is also a race filled with tens of thousands who get dressed up in eloborate costumes, follow the actual racers and drink til they can march no more. Some of the most impressive costumes come from local artists who make their expected appearance and most other city street events. So show your support to those artists if you can spot them..think of it like a "Wheres Waldo" game.  This race is definitely a spectacle and is considered the kick off of all the fun events that take place in the city during the Summer, such Carnaval which starts today in the Mission Distict.

So today I leave you with a photo I shot & edited of B2B. I'll bring more B2B photography to you this weekend and follow it up with my Carnaval footage next week. So leave your comments and stay tuned as I bring you the latest in my world. Happy Carnaval everyone!

Street Photography.

Happy Easter! Ya know maybe it's me but bunnies, eggs, and the ressurrection of Christ go together about as well as the Virgin Mary and Ron Jeremy. But hey that's just me.

So today's Easter egg comes to you in the form of my street photography. This photo was shot downtown. It's a simple, straight forward picture. Can you see whats wrong in this photograph? Bike rack..check, bike lock..check, bike...aww %&#@!