Happy Thanksgiving!

I was cleaning out my old school papers and stumbled upon this thing I wrote in 8th grade. Reading it now, at age 25, I'm so thankful to be doing what I've always dreamed of. :)

new stuffs!

Here's my cousin and I enjoying our new technologies! He got to test out his new 24-70mm prime lens on my Canon 5D Mark II, while I got to test out my new iPhone 4s HDR camera! Of course it's not as nice as the canon, but I must say it's pretty fancy smancy for a phone!

Love!

Outside of art and design, I'm looooooove about badminton! Last year, I had the opportunity to design for a badminton company's shuttle packaging, Quantum Badminton!...Finally got the finished products last week! Here's some quick pics of the design, taken at practice today!

Captivating!

So thankful to my friend, Hen, for sharing this video with me. Ryan Woodward uses both mediums at their best, using movement to capture such profound emotions...so inspiring!

The Confident Creative

The other day I found out that a friend of a friend went out and bought $5000 worth of camera equipment. The idea of a non-photographer having access to better equipment than me had ticked me off. When normal consumers have access to prosumer products, I assume they will abuse and exploit the mediums of good photography and design. My attitude was that common folk weren't entitled to use equipment that people like me have been trained and dedicated to work with. It's like saying any old Joe Shmoe can be a doctor, just because he bought a white coat and stethoscope.

I caught myself internally fuming! ...but in that moment, I realized that I was missing something very important. Confidence.

Confidence....meaning full trust. I feel like it's something you acquire with a combination of experience and humility...something admirable and not arrogant. Confidence has no room for insecurity and cynicism.

So here are a few more thoughts on what confidence means to me...

• Welcomes criticism, without being defensive
• Actively listens to ideas, not waiting to speak
• Encourages and mentors
• Is open-minded, yet maintains integrity
• Is willing to make mistakes and learn from them

Confidence is something I want to continually practice.

Lio Fox!

My puppy sleeps like a fox!

How to Photograph with the Correct Exposure

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PHOTO BASICS PDF

Aperture and shutter speed are your two primary controls to adjust the exposure of a picture. These controls affect how much light enters into the camera and exposes the sensor to light.

• EXPOSURE: The amount of light that enters into your camera.
• APERTURE: The size of the lens opening, which controls the amount of light that enters into your camera. This controls the depth-of-field, telling the camera how much of the scenery you want in focus.
• SHUTTER SPEED: The amount of time light can enter into the camera. This controls how much of a given moment you want to be recorded.

1. Think about what you want to capture (i.e. Close-up shot vs. large scene and blurred motion vs. in focus fast scene). This makes a difference on whether you want to start adjusting your aperture or shutter speed first.

OPTION 1: APERTURE
When controlling the amount of depth in focus is most important to you, setting your aperture, before shutter speed is the way to go.



OPTION 2: SHUTTER SPEED
If capturing the motion of your subject matter is most important, you should set your shutter speed first. Shutter speeds are measured in fractions of a second.




2. Once you set your first control, check your camera’s light meter with your second control until the meter reading aligns to the center of your meter bar. Once you get this perfect exposure, you can always adjust.

Notes: Shutter speed and aperture work inversely to each other. For example, if you have the right exposure set, but decide to adjust the aperture one stop higher, you would need adjust the shutter one stop lower by doubling the time the shutter is opened.

Free Chicago Landscape Backgrounds

Download Tribune Tower BG

Here's two versions of the Willis Tower in Chicago.

Download Chicago BG

Download Chicago Color Processed BG

Good Photographers Make Good Comedians

Ok...not exactly...but it does take that similar skill of social awareness, control, and timing to get what you're looking for.

Last week, I had the opportunity to do my first engagement photos. It was a great learning experience. When it's not straight-up documentary photography, you have the challenge of manipulating the mood and emotions as your composing a shot. Here's some things I've learned from this engagement photoshoot:

1. Make the couple feel all cheesy about each other by asking them those coupley questions (i.e. how'd you meet, how did you propose, etc.)
2. If you're shooting with natural light, try to shoot early in the day or near dusk. Mid-day is the most challenging, because the sun is high, which creates harsh shadows.
3. Think about the mood you want to portray the couple and shoot in the style you are good at.
4. At the same time, ask the couple what they're looking for and ask for examples of what they like. It's always a fun challenge to fuse both what the couple wants and your own style...in the end, you both end up happy!
5. Always remind yourself to take a step back from your camera every once in a while and really look around for some beautiful moments that you could have missed otherwise.


So here's a preview of what I've got so far, along with post-production!

//Before//

//After//

//Before//

//After//

oh children..

oh children.., a photo by kimruelo on Flickr.

I was looking through some old photos on my harddrive and this one never fails to crack me up!

From the Heart of Joe

A few weeks ago, a spent a couple hours meeting this father, Joe Gura. He experienced the loss of his son who battled leukemia from 2-5 years old. Pastor Jason, from Faith EUMC is hosting a Leukemia benefit concert in a couple weeks. Feel free to come and join us! This band, called The Wrecking, will be playing, along with guest speakers Craig McKenzie and Phil Zielke of Phil's Friends.

Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church
Saturday, September 10
7p-10p

Easter Video

I was requested to make a video that follows a theme of Light Entering a Dark World for NewCom's Easter service. They wanted it to be a celebratory video of Christ's resurrection. Light represents God and darkness represents anything that is separate from God (sin).

Oftentimes Christ-followers talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit. It's a feeling that's hard to describe and is unique to each person who experiences it.

I wanted to make an intangible experience into a concrete visual. The goal was to show what it would look and feel like to be shaken and filled with the Holy Spirit.

Generous Justice

A lot of new things going on since the last post, one of which is that I joined the video ministry team at New Community church!

Pastor Peter asked me to create a motion graphic that introduces his sermon series, called Generous Justice.

It got me thinking about mini people, you know, the ones used in train sets. Each shot closely personifies these figures as people in need and those who are often marginalized.

Working with the motif of trains, we encounter people every day in passing, but this video challenges viewers to take a closer look at their surroundings. We are more than just individuals living separate lives, it's up to us whether or not we decide to reach out to others, beyond our fears of discomfort.