Nicaragua / Costa Rica

Hola,

Just down in little ol' Costa Rica, doing a bit of work and a little fun.  Tomorrow: surf excursion, and planning the next stop after our lodging fell through ("overrun by a third party." Doesn't sound like a fun party).  But, here's a few highlights from the trip so far - only day 4 of 18.

2010 Pan Mass Challenge

Hello!!

This year I'm riding the Pan Mass Challenge with my dad, brother, uncle, and friend.  It's a 192-mile, two-day ride across Massachusetts, from Sturbridge to Provincetown.  It's also the single biggest fundraising event in the US, and all donations go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

AND, I just finished an online storefront to accept donations and send out prints!  The storefront is below, or at codygantz.com/fundraiser.html

Thanks,
Cody

Art Show

Just got confirmed as an artist for H.E.Art Alliance benefit show!  It's at Space Gallery, 1141 Polk St. in San Francisco, on May 6th, 7pm-Midnight.  Sounds like fun - 21+, bar, DJ, and a silent auction - all proceeds going to disaster relief.

Fanatic food photographers

My friend Dave sent me this article from the NYTimes.com: People Who Photograph Food.

It's by Kate Murphy, about people documenting what they eat.

The only trouble with this, is trying to decide whether to enjoy the meal in the environment, or to make a picture to enjoy later. I don't usually want creating a photograph to interrupt a nice meal - I'd rather just appreciate the beauty, then dig in.

That said, I find most of the images I take with my phone are food images - the light hits just right from a cafe window, your comfortable, you can smell the ingredients - it's just something that's nice to remember and try to capture.

(Hiroko Masuike for The New York Times (center); photographs by Nora Sherman)

CS5

Here's a cool video about a new feature - content-aware deletion/fill. Shows how easy it has become to alter images!

Geek explosion

There are some things I like to get geeky about, and some things I'd rather pass up and make a nice breakfast.  This is one of those things to get your suspenders out for : Adobe's release of CS5.  A whole new suite of apps, and coupled with Lightroom 3 beta in it's second evolution, this is pretty neat for photographers especially (if you happen to use adobe products).

iPhone goes Solar

Just came across this cool green doodad (spelling?).  A photovoltaic charger for the iPhone from Novothink!  Seems to have good reviews, and is certified by Apple.

Anyone tried it yet?  Some cool videos and pictures on their blog, like this one from AtlantaTrails:

Last Day to enter Communication Arts Photo Competition!

In case you forgot/didn't know/procrastinated, today is the deadline to enter Communication Arts 2010 Photography Annual. I just uploaded two entries, and it was quite easy. Just wanted to give a motivational pat-on-the-back to anyone else who was thinking of entering. Do it!

Here's the info!

100th Post

Just found this site, CodeOrgan from my buddy (and famous beard purveyor) JD Beebe - plays what your site sounds like.

CodyGantz.com sounds pretty cool - http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=www.codygantz.com
This blog? Unfortunately awful - http://www.codeorgan.com/?url=www.codygantz.blogspot.com

New edit from knife catalog

Spent a couple hours this event editing this photo from a catalog I photographed last year.  Reminds me of Nip/Tuck, except without the weird ménage à trois vibe.  I like the texture on the metal, and played around with blending to make the background more subdued and get the knives to shine.



It's funny the different directions you can take a raw image.  The background is a light blue, button-down shirt, but I decided to make it dark to match the edgy look to knives.  Let me know what you think

Ridiculously awesome video

Synchronicity! Old cameras? Just got sent a box full of goodies - a couple Twin-Lens Reflex, Polaroid, bunch of filters. Architecture? Started working with an architectural photographer in LA.  Now, there's this sweet video by Alex Roman at Third & Seventh combining the two! It's 12mins, so give yourself a nice long break. Love the swings in depth of field, and it's paired with awesome music.


The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

b-uncut - new art marketplace

 My friend Sydney Townsend sent me news about this site.  From what I gather, it's an online art gallery, or a place to get emerging artists' work out to people who might want to purchase it.  You can read the background at b-uncut.com. At the very least, it's a collection of like-minded creative people, which is pretty cool.

Anyway, one of my photos was featured today - Floating Donut. You can see it online here, and I've also posted it. One of Sydney's images is right next to mine, too!

Gas Station - Beverly Hills

Took some photos the other night at a gas station nearby. Just playing around with processing and exposure blending - really crunching it up. Looks nothing like it actually did at capture - the sky nearly dark when I took these. That's the power, good or bad, of digital. Let me know what you think.

Angeleno Magazine event photos

Angeleno Magazine - a high-end fashion/food/entertainment publication in LA - used some of my event photos in their January issue!  I photographed their 10th Anniversary party in December, and it's pretty cool to see my images in print.

You can see the issue online at the Modern Luxury Media, I believe it's page 59.

Bokeh Video

Just playing around with holiday decorations and street lights, making super out-of-focus balls of light.  I like how the colors overlap. Plus, who doesn't like a little Otis.