A Riverside Walk

I went for a walk today after lunch down Riverside Walk. Its a simple name, but I'm pretty sure that they call it that in English and not using a Portuguese Name, althought, I very well could be wrong. This is Poty River, one of the two rivers here. Let me explain something while you're giggling. Its not pronounced "Potty", even tho sometimes it smells like one. Its pronounced Po-CHEE. Po as in Po' Boy.

Its a well-kept area of the city because its also a bar district. A neat one for tourists and foreigners like me.



The bar like the one above is called a Quiosque (Kiosk) and they play music while people sit outside near the sometimes stinky river. But the view is nice, and sometimes the smell is the food cooking on the grill in the back. This one "Caneleiro" is known for playing rock music while other ones play some local and Brazilian styles.



During the day, people hang out like this woman above in the hammock. She's probably one of the venders or someone who works nearby taking a lunch break near the river.



Its hot during the day, so you don't see much activity on this street. As the sun goes down, people get off of work and go for a jog down the sidewalk and it goes for several miles. I, obviously, didn't walk those several miles for a few pictures.



People hangout near the sidewalk and sell things to people. Here are a bunch of flags for Brazilian soccer teams. The flag on the far end is the team of the recent champion, Flamengo. They are a team from Rio de Janeiro. The professional team here is a third-tier minor league team and never wins, so people choose teams from Rio de Janeiro or other places in the country.



I concluded my walk when I stopped and found this great view of part of the city.

Company Christmas Party!

Company Christmas Party!

So, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
However, I used it as an opportunity to experiment with some different settings for dark, outdoor setting.

Here's what I did. I slowed the shutter speed significantly and used what is called a "rear flash" on my Nikon SB-600. I experimented with everything from 1/2 second shutter speed to 1/60.

I tried not moving the camera during the slow exposure and I tried motion as well, such as spinning the camera or horizontal movements.

Sometimes, it created an interesting effect, and other times it created crap images. That's why I always try it over and over again, until I get lucky. Out of 20-30 shots, I might get one that's worthy of keeping. IF I get more, it means I'm getting a little better.








This past semester, I've had the opportunity to take my camera to a few parties. I've always struggled with getting GOOD party shots. I don't know what other photographers do to get good ones, but I've begun setting myself some rules for good shots.

1. First. Posed shots of people doing a toast are better than group shots. Generally, everyone wants to be included (especially in Brazil) in large group pictures whenever there is a party. But its just not practical. This one below works, because while they were asking me to do a group picture, I asked them to do a toast. It provides interest to an otherwise normal or even boring picture.



While there is nothing wrong with the people in this picture being in a large group. I've begun to feel that its just so impersonal. Big parties aren't experienced in groups of ten. Even though you may sit with 10 others, or arrive with 10 others, you don't talk to ALL ten at the same time. Or at least, not usually.



2. Shoot in small groups. Groups of 2-5 are the ideal 'group shots' at parties. There is less coordination of "blinks" or smiles. And it feels more intimate. You can fill the frame better with 2-5 people than you can with 10-20. Because with 10-20, it begins to feel impersonal.



3. Play around. Don't be a boring photography. Be a part of the party. just because I have an expensive professional camera doesn't mean I can't treat it like a point & shoot. The two below were trying to take pictures of themselves, and I used my camera as a third party perspective to capture it. It was interesting, I felt.



4. Show the most important people. Hahaha.
I included this picture below because they are two of the many who have been so helpful to be staying here. Colleagues, and supervisors alike, they have helped me survive here in Brazil and they take good care of me.



And finally, I wanted to include some pictures of my daughter in this blog. She recently turned 3 and will be starting primary school in February. I'm very excited because its one of the better private schools in the city and she will go for 4 hours a day in the afternoon.





COMING UP: I'm currently working on a project for a friend of mine. She recently opened a snack restaurant here, and I'm taking pictures of the place and food products so they can create a beautiful website. I did some pictures the other night, but I still have some more work to do. I'll post those when I get them.

Backdoor Barbeque....Brazilian Style

Ok. So not much to say here. I've taken a liking to adding photos on top of another. An easy photoshop layer technique, but I think it gives a professional magazine feel to the images.

Over the next few weeks, I plan delving more into the layers world and trying some new things. I've found that layers in photoshop, while at first can seem very complicated, are actually very useful once you know how to use them well...and I don't even know how to use them well.

"Desfile de Biquini"

Or in English "Bikini Fashion Show"


Oh, Lord! How have I been in Brazil for nearly 6 months and not had the opportunity to go to a Brazilian Bikini Fashion Show?!

A friend of mine invited me to go, and I took my camera and 'posed' as one of the photographers. They didn't know the difference, but I was allowed backstage before the show and got to be near the catwalk alongside all the other media photographers.

While there were also men modeling male bikini's, I didn't feel compelled to share those pictures. I hope you understand why. One of the obvious reasons is I didn't focus that much on them.

Okay, so there isn't much to say about this entry other than, for me, it wasn't a sensual experience. As a photographer, I felt it was a great opportunity to have a new type of experience and to add some more work to my portfolio. Something that I haven't been able to do much of lately.

So, if you enjoy Bikini fashion shows. Here are my pics!