Taking Wedding Photos

I love the journalistic approach of taking photos of a bride and her groom.

The kiss in the park

The mother preparing the bride

Getting hooked

The bride preparing the groomsman

Ready Bride

The Bride Posing for a Souvenir

The Bride’s Arrival

Go On My Dear

The Loving Smile

Signing the Vows

Just Married

THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF THE FRATERNITY BALL

The Stage:

The Ball Room:

Brothers and guests arrive......

Welcome, prayer and anthem 

The guest of honor

The fraternity chapter's officers

The awardee

The guests

The fraternity chapter's president

Brothers re-entering the ball room for the candle light ceremony

Let there be light

And lights flashed

As brothers discussed

Rock and roll

The chapter president and his lady dance

Brothers dance, dance, dance

Dance and love

Until the last brother left, standing

By the Los Angeles River

Down by the river, I saw:

  • Wild geese marching off like cars on the freeway in the early morning  
  • A teenage girl biker entering the gates to the river’s  pathways
  • Doves on the powerlines
  • A dove among the rods on the concrete floodway
  • Horsemen coming through from their tunnel under the I-5 freeway

  • Geese flying above an equestrian riding back to her stables
  • Serious and not-so-serious joggers
  • The creepy shadow of a palm tree growing on a concrete wall
  • A photographer’s shadow on the graffiti
  • Homeless wanderers resting
  • Bikers in all shapes
  • Guys fishing
  • White herons fishing
  • A man who must be stopped from feeding wild fowls  

I have posted photos of what I saw by the river at my website www.bacosastudios.com.

Impressionist Photos of Yosemite

The first time I visited America’s finest national park, Yosemite, I took photos of its magnificent views with the world renowned Ansel Adam’s Yosemite photographs as my inspiration. See www.anseladams.com. But I think most of the 3.5 million persons who visit Yosemite National Park each year, point and shoot at the same photo subjects that Adams superbly worked on during the many years he lived in Yosemite. So when I visited the Park during the third week of May, 2010, I tried not to use “cut and dried” techniques in taking photos of Yosemite and yet still capture this valley’s timeless grandeur.

The first photo below and almost half of the Yosemite photos in my website (www.bacosastudios.com ) were taken through the use of a non-conventional photography technique called swiping. It is done through using a short exposure (say 1/8 second, 1/4 second, etc.) under the shutter priority mode and swiping the camera downwards while its shutters are still open. Those said steps are done through trial and error until the desired impressionist image is achieved. After executing this technique, I did not perform any post-camera photo software layer or blend adjustments on my Yosemite impressionist photos.

IMG_1349_sgnHalf of my Yosemite photos, however, are faithful and unswiped renderings of (to quote what Ansel Adams said of Yosemite)    “the very heart of the earth speaking to us”.

IMG_0241_sgn

Impressionist Photo Alternatives for Gorman Hills

Let me share with you these photos I took of Gorman Hills in California. There are two versions: a sharp one and an impressionist one. Gorman Hills Image 7253  Sharp Version

Gorman Hills Image 7253 Impressionist Version

You may view my other Gorman Hills photos with two versions at my website www.bacosastudios.com  .  If you like any of  these  Gorman Hills photos, you may want to have the chance to receive one free printed photo of your choice as a present from me.  Just send me your answer to the single question on which type of photos you like (the sharp ones, the impressionist ones or both). Click on  this link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VT9JBLR to give your response.  This question and/or this instance of expression will cease to exist  by the 30th of  June, 2010 so  please send me your response before that date.                                           

Two lucky persons who answer the question through the link above will each receive a free 8.5" x 10" printed Gorman photo from me. My wife and my cat will choose ten possible recipients. I will spin a wine bottle (after I empty its contents) to point to the two lucky recipients and I will  then get in touch with them by the 1st week of July, 2010.  Recipients can obtain their printed photo gift either from my representative's  office in the U.S. or from my Makati, Philippines address (please refer to my website to know these addresses).  Based on  standards in the photography industry, the recipient of a photo, who can be from anywhere,  has to be willing to answer for the cost of shipping the printed copy.  To preserve proprietary rights and to ensure professional quality standards, I cannot provide print quality electronic copies of my photos. 

Cheers!

Bernie B

Joshua Tree Rocks

I have nothing against travelogues; I am just not inclined to largely have a documentation of my trip and the features of a place. What I have been aiming for is to present a divine perspective, aura or drama in a place. That aim takes me back again and again to places like the Joshua Tree National Park in California. No matter how I plan my trip, however, I find myself facing unexpected situations. The weather forecast may say  my destination will be partly cloudy but actually its sky may be drab and sunny. Disappointment slightly sneaks in as the pre-visualized dramatic images that I would like to take are not feasible.

The turnaround: although prepared for the forecast, I tackle the unexpected.

No beautiful cloudy skies; so I zero in on the rocks and grounds for the center of interest and/or the background.

Behold, unexpected rock climbers. I asked this adventurous couple if I could take their photos while they were climbing Joshua Tree’s rock walls.

This I learned indeed: forecast and prepare for the expected but readily, creatively, and effectively tackle the unexpected.

See other Joshua Tree photos at www.bacosastudios.com

Must See Big Sur Destinations

In the span of 3 years, my wife and I have camped 5 times in Big Sur, California.  We immensely enjoy the beautiful scenery and irresistible stopovers in Big Sur’s 90 miles (145 km) Highway One coastline from Ragged Point to Carmel. See http://jrabold.net/bigsur/ There are more or less 15 camping grounds (with a total of over a hundred campsites) to choose from in Big Sur. There are also about 15 resort lodges or inns in the area. See http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/.

These are our favorite stopovers thus far from north to south:

  • Bixby Bridge - 18 miles south of Carmel stands one of the world's highest single-span concrete arch bridges. Over 260 feet high and over 700 feet long, this structure is said to be the most photographed object along the coastal route.

           

  • Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park – The Park is 37 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. Don't confuse the Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park with the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park which is 12 miles or so north. The must-see in this park is McWay Falls,   an 80-foot waterfall that drops from granite cliffs into the ocean.  Aside from the falls, the park also has trails, picnic areas and environmental campsites on the west side of Highway 1. There are other trails of on the east side of the Highway  and for  an update about their condition please see  http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=578

  • Pfeifer Big State Beach - Going south, turn right at mile marker 45.64 of Highway 1. There is a sign for Pfeiffer Beach once you turn right off the unmarked downhill one-lane road. Follow this windy Sycamore canyon road 2 miles down to where it ends at the sands and rugged rocks of Pfeiffer Beach.

  • The Camaldoli Hermitage – This monastery is located at Lucia, about 25 miles south of Big Sur village, about 50 miles south of Carmel, and 85 miles north of San Luis Obispo. (See http://www.contemplation.com/Hermitage/home.html.)  Go up the two-mile road going to this hermitage perhaps not because you may want to become a monk, to have a catholic religious retreat or to hear mass but to enjoy  wonderful vistas, have a picnic and finally to go the site’s bookstore. Be introduced to the paintings of Father Arthur Poulin (see http://www.iwolkgallery.com/artists/Father_Arthur_Poulin/index.html, browse the bookstore’s interdenominational collection of spiritual books and CDs, religious icons from various countries  and try the store’s yummy fruitcakes.

  • Kirk Creek Campground area – 53 miles north of Carmel (3 miles from Lucia) is the Kirk Creek Campground. Forbes magazine and Sunset magazine put Kirk Creek as one of the top ten best campgrounds in America. Aside from having a scenic coastal camping area, it has trails going up the Los Padres National Forest and one trail adjacent a creek going down to the rocky beach.

  • The Ragged Point Inn vicinity –This is the place to stopover to see a beautiful garden and Big Sur's rocky coastline at no cost especially if you do not want to travel all the way up north. Lodging, meals, and gasoline here are of course not free.

Additional must-see:

Before going back home south or north, you may want to take a road less traveled: Take Highway 46 West and go east towards Paso Robles. Enjoy rolling hills filled with vineyards, and majestic oaks  and hop from one winery to another for a wine tasting trip. See www.paso46westwineries.com. (Let me dwell more on this next time.)

Check out www.bacosastudios.com