Yesterday I spent the day bonding with my Canon 7D. I usually leave her at home because she takes away my attention. I turned on the mono preset for black and white shooting to make my random shooting interesting. It also allowed me to monitor my exposer. With the contrast, I could see right where the light was hitting.
We spontaneously went to LA yesterday for a Pink’s chili dog. I started shooting out the window and made jokes like, “Drive by shooting in LA”. It also help me notice the city details.
When we went to Melrose for a walk I started to snap photos by holding my camera in front of me. At times I had no idea what I was shooting. I was breaking all the rules. The benefit of digital is you can snap as many photos as you want.
Briana is one of my best friends, I refer to her more as a sister. When I told her I wanted to do a shoot with her, she wasn’t too thrilled. I had to show her my shoot with Krista to get her excited about taking photos. Finally she agreed. I then describe to her the style of shoot I wanted to do, “You will be lost and confident, living in New York.”
I must admit, I don’t know how to shoot at night but it was fun experimenting and testing out my flash which I need to buy a better one. Anyways, Briana came out great and we both had a ton of laughs. It was awesome to see how an outfit can transform a person.
My friend emailed me the photos that he took from our shoot. We both thought it was interesting how we came up with different visions. There is a lot to say about a photographer’s photos. The photographer’s perspective is captured.
Maybe I’m getting too deep but I would say Hector captured a side of me that I’ve never seen in a photo; I’m mysterious, confident, and little crazy. As if I’m about to do something big. haha.. The funny thing is, it’s true…be afraid.
One major reason I enjoy traveling so much is because my ears, eyes and heart are open. The first few days in Seattle, I felt like I couldn’t see what this city was trying to tell me. Though my purpose for this trip was to be a student at a workshop, I knew I was in this city for deeper reason. As I walked downtown I was looking at the buildings, the strangers walking the streets but still it wasn’t saying anything to me.
A Door: Any gateway marking an entrance or exit from one place or state to another.
One of my random goals has been to enjoy a cup of coffee in Seattle. I thought I accomplished this on the first day but it wasnt until I shared one with others did I get the full experience.
The first cup was with Jenny. She lives in Vancouver but is from Ireland. She was the first person I met from the workshop. After the class, we went to a corner cafe and talked about film making and life back at home. I told her she needs to make a film cause I know I would like her style. She joked and said she would make 200 days of Autumn for me. I laughed and told her how I really want her too.
The second was with Corey and his friends. We drove away from downtown and ended up at this cool place where the streets were full of fixie bikes and young people with laptops. We enjoyed our drinks and talked about Seattle’s love for coffee.
The last was with an unexpected person. Just a few hours before he was a complete stranger. We sat and talked about family and shared our life stories.We walked around Capital Hill and ate burgers from Dickie.
As I was getting my stuff ready to go to the airport, I realized the city had spoken to me after all. I was looking for the door alone, but I needed others to be a part of opening it. The people I met brought the city to life and gave me confidence to exit the door of fear and enter with courage.
Now I see that Seattle was preparing me for Vancouver next year. If I could meet amazing new people in a few days imagine a year in a new city. I have nothing to fear and everything to hope for.
San Francisco is a city that inspires creativity and individuality. I decided to take a small road trip up north to practice some photography. I knew there would be a million things to take photos of, and I was right. It’s such a great place to take photos of people as well as landscape.
You can click on any one of the images and see more from this set on Flickr.com/monicabriano
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