How to say "Hi" in Brazilian...

How to say "Hi" in Brazilian..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 65.
The thumbs up, which means good job in the U.S. is a way to say hello or goodbye in Brazil.

It complements the common portuguese greeting "Tudo Bom" or "Tudo Bem" which means, "Everything good" or "Everything well".

This is a similar pose to what I've done in the past, but I love the depth of field caused by the f1.8, and I used it as much as possible. It only complicates my photoshop work

Pucker Up!

Pucker Up!, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Pucker Up!

Day 64.
Saturdays are probably my worst day to get a picture. I teach four 2-hour groups for English as a Foreign Language, and its my day with my daughter after that, so.....I usually end up very tired to get something decent. Occasionally, it works.

Last night, I went to a birthday party of my girlfriend's family.

The picture is a picture of her sister, who is going to do an upcoming photo shoot with her son.

Only Human

Only Human, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 63 of 365.
A concept that kind of pieced itself together as I took the pictures and began editing. One of the only times that I have actually used text in the picture. Normally, I think its amateur. I did it for my day 50, but I wanted to convey something that needed a little push.

So, I didn't want to say "We all make mistakes"..and I didn't want to say "Frustrated with myself"..I thought of something simpler that conveys the same message.

At the end of the day, I think of you..

At the end of the day, I think of you.., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

At the end of the day, I think of you..

Day 62 of 365.

This was really one of my first and only 1x1 aspect ratios. I'm not a big fan of that ratio, but I really felt like it worked here. There was too much negative space in the original photo, and I wanted to emphasize Silvia.

after a hard day's work...

after a hard day's work..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

day 61 0f 365.

Enjoying my indoor hammock. For you american's back home. Most of you don't get to enjoy this treat. These hammocks are great!

They're so common, you can use them inside your house, because its just awesome like that.

I chose black/white, but the color shows the sun's effect on my naturally pasty white skin..its browned with flip-flop marks.

yay!

Don't believe everything you see...

Don't believe everything you see..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Don't believe everything you see...

Day 60 of 365.

So, I guess in about 2 weeks, I will reach the 20% mark of the project. Yeah, I'm a nerd. I have to think in percentages sometimes.

2 Months into a daily project. That's not so simple!

I played with some ideas/themes today that will be good for future days. Such as Photography is a journey, but I need a long empty road for that. I'm still working on a concept for a shot where I'm walking through a wall....

I've discovered something about myself in photography. I really enjoy using photoshop to create things that are unbelievable or interesting. Kind of like a magician. I was always fascinated by magicians. Principally Harry Houdini. I even had not one, but 2, harry houdini magic sets when I was a kid. I guess photography and photoshop allow us to use our imaginations to do things that we could never really do or show things that we often would never really see if it weren't because of photography.

So, to quote a terrible magic movie "Magic Man" Don't believe everything you see...

Feeling Saudades (homesick)

Feeling Saudades (homesick), originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 59 of 365.

So I've been away from the U.S. for exactly 14 months. Being an Expat is often very difficult, depressing and emotional. In a city where very few Americans live (maybe 3 to 5), it's very easy to feel alone. You wonder what's going on in your country. You think about your friends.

For me, living abroad for a year has given me more patriotism and love for my country. Your entire perspective of the world changes - or at least mine did.

And the tattoo on my arm, a reminder of the city I love (Fayetteville, Arkansas).

*mom, don't worry, the tattoo is photoshopped in. :)

Para meu amigos brasileiros que não falam inglês, desculpa que não posso dar um tradução pra isso.

Rapaz: Killing my Demons.

Rapaz: Killing my Demons., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

I gave it the name Rapaz, which is a Brazilian portuguese word for Man, Dude or Boy. its often used in the same way americans say "man, I just don' tknow what to say, or "DUDEEEEE!"

The processing on this was really quite simple. It looks more complicated than it as. I'm glad i was able to make the body black/white, but the table he's laying on not. ....

i knew i wanted a duplicate of me and the table and this was the most solid idea that came out..the others had little or no value to them.

I stayed simple with lighting because I've begun to feel that the more I process the colors and the background, the faker it looks....

so..hope you enjoy!

a bad idea?

a bad idea?, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

This picture was the creativity..the day after little sleep and a late night watching a Beatles cover band in Brazil.

I liked it. My daughter always plays with my phone...today she discovered the the voice memo feature and was singing brazilian children's songs and recording them..

cute!

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

day 56/365.
brazilian beatles cover band comes to teresina, brazil.
this guy is supposed to play the role of george harrison.
this band is actually very impressive and they sounded so much like the beatles, you'd actually think they were the beatles..

Was it all a dream?

Was it all a dream?, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

The concept came out well, but I felt it was missing something in the pose. I think the artistic compositions are coming along well, but I'm struggling putting something around the pose.

Criticizing myself here..i think I struggled with the theme of this picture. Goind from a thoughtful pose to creepy, dreamlike coloring and lighting.

Its the only thing I don't like about this photo, otherwise, I love it.

Teresina Graffiti - August 18, 2010

Teresina Graffiti - August 18, 2010, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 54 of 365.

I saw this last night, and walked 10 minutes out of my normal walking route to get to it. Since using a DSLR is not safe in Brazil, I had to watch out for thugs and crazy traffic. So I didn't spend much time thinking about good angles. It's just a random wall near the mall and I wanted to record the graffiti.

Sunglasses at Night.

Sunglasses at Night., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

I changed my Flickr account to a Pro Account, so I will begin posting more photos. I will also be going to parties, taking random pics of people to post on flickr...This will be a way to get some visits to my site to be able to get some people calling or asking for me to do some photography work for them.

My business email is j.lee.fotografia@gmail.com. If you know anyone who could benefit from my services, please refer them. I have very affordable rates and prices for my serices.

I wear my sunglasses at night..

I wear my sunglasses at night.., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 53 of 365.

There's a bit of a story behind this. In Brazil, almost everyone has sunglasses. The sun is so strong in South America near the equator that its recommended to always have sunglasses and sunscreen. I have neither. My girlfriend is always on my case about that.

Another thing about Brazilians is that they love...no wait, they LOVE, 80s music!

We were sitting in my apartment tonight and Silvia and I were brainstorming 365 ideas. She loves this project, by the way. And I told her about this idea...and about the song "Sunglasses at Night"...a song which (though she loves 80s music) has never heard. She even acted like she hated it and thought it was stupid. Nonetheless, that was my inspiration for these pics!

Teresina Pano

Teresina Pano, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Teresina Pano

This was the shot that was almost selected for my 365, but I've done panoramics before, and another style shot...would have been better for this project.

Teresina...Tilt-Shifted

Teresina...Tilt-Shifted, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 52 of 365.
This is my first tilt-shift ever. The Frei Serafim Bridge has a slight overlook of Raul Lopes Avenue. For me this was a great opportunity to try one. While it wasn't the best subject matter for a tilt-shift, I was pleased with the shot. I have some future 365 ideas for the tilt-shift. I'm planning a mall-food court shot with a tilt-shift.

Be very quiet!

Be very quiet!, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Be very quiet!

Day 51 of 365.
This was an experiment. I saw a tutorial on the internet for something like this..and I absolutely did not like the results. So I tried it my own way...and still didnt like it, but its better than nothing. So this was day 51!

day 50

day 50, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

day 50 of 365.

Day 50 arrived on a Saturday. Being an english teacher makes getting a picture on saturday difficult..i'm a foreign english teacher, so i teach it as a second language. Today, I got home with my daughter and just put something together.

I spent about 5 minutes playing around...and about an hour in processing.

This project 365 has turned out to be difficult, and tiring. Today was a day that I didnt feel inspired, and I'm finding that the uninspired days are almost always followed by great inspiration days.

I'm on a holiday weekend here in Brazil for day 51 and 52, so lets see what I come up with.

Trapped

Trapped, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Tonight's session was focused on the gate at my condiminium. I've often wondered what it would be like to be in prison, especially since this place has high walls..if i could never leave the apartment complex, it would be like prison...

Exploring the skies...

Exploring the skies..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

This day began trying to plan a shot where the girlfriend is upset over something I did. I have those shots, when I upgrade to a Flickr Pro, they may get posted, but they werent as effective as this one. I really liked this one a lot.

trustworthy light poles....

trustworthy light poles...., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 47 of 365.

Hope you caught the sarcasm. This city loses its power often, and I've always wondered why. Today, that case has been solved. Look at this mess of a power line. Now, I'm no expert, so maybe I'm completely wrong, but THIS is not normal, is it?

When I hold you next to me...

When I hold you next to me..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 46 of 365.
This was an accidental shot. I was holding the camera, and the concept was my girlfriend's. And I guess the camera's focus point focused behind us...and I ended up liking how it turned out.

I think they call this bokeh, but someone on flickr will probably try to say its not. Bokeh is basically artisitc out of focus...

bokeh is the japanese word for blur...

so yeah..its bokeh.

What she did...

What she did..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 45 of 365.

I wanted to simulate something dark and creepy.
This picture was shot in my door way from the floor using my wireless control.

Hanging around....

Hanging around...., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Hanging around....

Day 44 of 365.

Brazilian Father's Day is significant for me since I moved to Brazil just to be my daughter's father. This day's shot of her playing was the worthy choice in the 365.

Uploaded by J.Lee.Photo on 8 Aug 10,

It was a great week to be a father. First of all, I received something from my daughter that she made at school everyday. Then on Saturday morning it was a dad's day at the school...and had a good lunch with her today. This picture is from the restaurants playground.

She always likes to go to these restaurants...

she just never likes to eat or leave....

Just a shake of the head....

Just a shake of the head...., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Just a shake of the head....

day 43 of 365.

My girlfriend was reading something a brazilian model said. She said all you had to do was shake your hair for the camera as the photographer told you to look.

of course, it was just a joke, but I was playing with hair shaking today...

Uploaded by J.Lee.Photo on 8 Aug 10, 9.53AM BRT.


Compose your blog entry

before sunset...

before sunset..., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

I know this is two blog posts in one day, but I really wanted to blog this one. I was going through more pictures of my recent trip to Barra Grande, Brazil and I found this one. The unedited photo isn't much to look at, but really looks like a dull dark picture. But a few minutes of touch-up in Lightroom really breaks out the emotion, romance and passion in this image.

I loved this image, as well as this beach. Its a statement that the kitesurfer is in the background, because this beach is famous for those competitions and this weekend was the weekend before a big competition for kite surfing.

I keep looking at this picture and think of the good memories that were made when I was there.

In fact, I'm going to change my computer desktop image to this right now...

Okay, that's done!

I hope you've been enjoying the blogs. Please post a comment on here or on facebook to let me know what you think or if they're even being read. Just say "hey"...or something else.

Pensamentos (Thoughts)

Pensamentos (Thoughts), originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Today, I had my beautiful girlfriend lookout my apartment window as I was wanting a perspective from behind, looking past the person. This came out well, and it could have gone in many different directions. I wasn't interested in showing the body, the window, just the background, which is my subjects foreground.

I also hit 1000 views today on my Flickr stream...which oddly feels like an achievement. Not sure if it is. I've been getting more comments and traffic, partly due to the fact that I've amped up my involvement with several groups on the site. I love flickr. Its been a really great photography experience that has taught me a lot simply by inspiring me with other people's photos..who are 10x, 20x, and even 100x better than me.

Hold her still.......

Hold her still......., originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

She was going crazy. She wanted to run away.
She didnt like the news she just heard, so she had to be held down. She had to be restrained.

Day 41 of 365.
Some light painting.

I played around a lot with different ideas, and nothing I did really worked. Light painting on human bodies is nothing to wink at. It's difficult. So, I'll plan another in the future and spend some more time doing it.

Lagoa do Portinho

Lagoa do Portinho, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Lagoa do Portinho
Little Gate Lagoon.

This is an awesome place! There are restaurants right on the water with sand dunes on the other side.

Its in Piaui, Brazil in a city called Luis Correia. The Northeastern Coast of Brazil is completely beautiful!

If you ever get a chance to come, mark this lagoon down as a stop.

Where's the relief?

Where's the relief?, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Mirrors are great for photography. Black & Whites as well. Both almost instantly double the emotional impact an image can carry.

Have you ever sat in your bathroom and just looked at yourself? Thought about your life? I have. Its kind of emotional if you really do it seriously. (just make sure the bathroom doesn't stink).

Looking at yourself physically, strangely, for me...helps you look inside yourself. In movies, we see this image, in photography, and its representative but also, it accelerates our ability to self-reflect while looking at our reflection...

A Kiss to Remember

A Kiss to Remember, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 39 of 365.

This is a concept somewhat borrowed from a previous concept, but I felt this was executed slightly better, I took more time with this one while the other was taken at a bar, with very little preparation.

While planning this shot, I spent all afternoon experimenting. Many of those experiments were just as good as this one, but I decided on this one for a few reasons. A) The girlfriend liked it and B) its an actual image of people...rather than random objects of experimentation.

I'm really happy with how it came out. In the post-processing I experimented with a black/white background and a color photo on the iPhone screen, but felt it was very amateur in the sense that there are so many people who know how to pull all but one color out of a picture. For this reason, I felt it was amateur. I've also wanted to incorporate a bit of black/white emotion to the image on the screen that makes it more memory-like, which is essentially what pictures are all about, right? So, I felt that this picture kind of conveys the process of making memories.

Barra Grande, Piaui

Barra Grande, Piaui, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Barra Grande, Piaui

Panoramic of Barra Grande Beach in Piaui, Brazil. Just outside of the city of Luis Correia. The site is famous for its kitesurfing and its remote nature being far from the civilization and resembling a fisherman village. Very little modern society exists and its truly a getaway.

I made this trip with my mother, my daughter, and my girlfriend. There are many more pictures to post, but this one, I thought, captured the essence of the trip!

Read much?

Read much?, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Day 38 of 365. Today in school, we began organizing some books that are very old and in the library. There was a lot of Shakespeare, which is weird, considering its an English school..and Shakespeare is VERY advanced for these students. Nonetheless, it made me want to read them.....

You know, I didn't read much in the USA, and now I can't really frequent bookstores that sell current titles in English. They don't really exist here, and I'm a little afraid to buy them online, and if I did, I would pay an arm-and-a-leg for it. Books here are really expensive, so, any suggestions for english books that I can request to be sent from the USA?

Don't think I'll have time for it, but maybe I will eventually.

Through an Old lens

Through an Old lens, originally uploaded by J.Lee.Photo.

Today, i didn't take time to really take a good picture. I feel really exhausted, I'm kind of sick...and it just wasn't my day for a 365...but i managed something...anything...but nothing special.

Here's what it is.