cwg - brain waves : Cody Gantz's blog

General Store Stuff

2011-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

There's an awesome store in Outer Sunset called General Store. They sell mostly things made by local people, and most of which happens to be hip, in a foggy, laid-back sort of way.

I picked up these patterned placemats, made by Jo Bartels, and knew I had to use them as a background before I spilled too much salsa on them.

Here's what I have so far:

Seesaw

2011-03-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I can't remember the last time I was on a seesaw, but Seesaw cafe in Hayes Valley offered almost as much fun (and some Four Barrel coffee). I've walked by this place a few times now, and decided to bop in yesterday. The decor is something Alvar Aalto would love, and its concept is pretty cool: kids play space and cafe that also does workshops and private events.

My girlfriend and I loved the chocolate chip cookie and lavender/sea salt shortbread. Also, the owner is really nice and loves kids. It sounds like they're going to have some music or art events (beers, anyone?) in the evening, so it's fun even if you don't have any rugrats.

Oh, here's some photos, too:

Last day to enter!

2011-03-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the deadline for the Communication Arts Photo Competition! Here's the one I submitted - my favorite from last year - as well as a few others that I found in my archive:

babycakes cookies

2011-03-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

vegan bakery in NYC

Just tried a recipe from the Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna. She started Babycakes bakery in NYC, which is almost all vegan and gluten-free. Even though I love bread and butter (a lot), it was fun to try cooking with some new ingedients. And, the results were pretty tasty - here are some photos of the cookie sandwiches:

Forgotten from 2010

2011-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

I have a few projects from 2010 that I completely forgot to post! I photographed a few places for Eater SF, and had a blast cruising around to different spots around San Francisco. Way back, even before the Giants won the World Series, I shot at Pedro's Cantina, over by AT&T Park. Here's a link to the article with my pictures.

the new place

2011-02-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

After looking at 27 places, Natalie and I finally found and awesome place. We live right by Alamo Square Park - walking distance to Divisadero Street restaurants and shops, and straight down Fulton Street to catch the surf at Ocean Beach.

I thought it'd be fun to make a video of moving in - the music is just something I made on the computer.

Also, there was an awesome sunrise the other day, so here's some pics of that as well.

ASMP Strictly Business 3

2011-01-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

In my photo career here, I often think: how can I be more like my dad. He's a 'business man' - he knows how to travel, talk on the phone, get stuff done, speak in public - all the stuff most people aren't inclined to do for fun.

In that sense, Strictly Business 3 was awesome. It's an ASMP event that just happened in Los Angeles, all about getting better at those 'business' things that make or break photographers.

Meeting other photographers at different points in their careers was great. While I didn't learn too much new stuff, it was nice to get a refresher course on things like licensing, sales, negotiating, and portfolios. Plus, the instructors and members are super accessible - got a question particular to your situation? just ask them in the hallway! Everyone there is all about meeting new people, sharing ideas, making money, and doing what you love.

Coming up there's are SB3 events in Chicago and Philidelphia - all the info is on their website at ASMP.org

Nicaragua / Costa Rica

2010-12-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-05-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

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

Geek explosion

2010-04-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-03-26T14:05:00.001-07:00

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

2010-02-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-18T22:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-26T12:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

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.

The fire of photography

2009-12-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

I just thought of this wacky simile. Photography is like a fire. Someone just put a bunch of fresh logs on - digital photography. In the ashes are glass plates, daguerreotypes, tin types (though I saw an awesome exhibit Joni Sternbach's Tin Types at the Peabody Essex Museum this summer). The embers underneath the fire, still glowing, is film.

I've been playing around with cameras and film this winter. Here are some images from a trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

Film is great for trying to be more creative. You have less control of the process in a way, because you can't see immediately how your images turned out. You can either plan your shots more carefully. Or just look, see, and press the shutter, and move on.

3D to 2D

2009-12-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

One of the weirdest things about photography for me, is thinking of how a scene will look after the picture is taken. Ansel Adams was big into pre-visualization - imagining the final print before pressing the shutter button. What makes this difficult is that we see in three dimensions, but an image is only two dimensions. This means objects get flattened out, and with the right lenses and lighting, it produces an interesting visual effect, like this image below:

This image is of a building with a curvy front facade along Wilshire Ave, in Beverly Hills. But, by using a telephoto lens, and removing other elements that might give perspective (like trees, or telephone wires), the image becomes abstract. It reminds me of a barber shop pole.

Worst Horror Movies

2009-10-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween

from Slate Video, a great multimedia news site.

Why it's tough to print stuff?

2009-10-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a few graphic design jobs right now that involve getting things printed. There's a lot that goes in to preparing artwork or files for printing, and since I just got business cards printed I thought I'd explain the process a bit.

Anyone who's printed images straight from their computer knows that the pictures don't look exactly like they do on screen. Part of the reason has to do with light. On a monitor, or television, the colors are additive. If the red, green, and blue colors combine in pixels, they create white. But, when you look at inks printed on paper, you're seeing subtractive color - all the inks would combine to black - think two-year-old playing with water colors.
One easy way to remember additive/subtractive:
A screen when it's off, starts out black. You have to add light to get color.
A paper with no ink, starts out white. You have to subtract light to get color. (subtract light by adding ink).

Another difference between screens and printed materials, is how they generate colors. Screen combine varying degrees of red, green, and blue (RGB). Printers most commonly use four colors in varying degrees to create colors, called a four color process. Printers use cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). As you might imagine, colors made with RGB have to be replaced with CMYK colors before being printed, which is not always identical.

There's a ton more about reproducing colors in print and on displays - color management is a field of expertise - but these are some basics to think about.

Anyway, here's a look at my business cards - I really like how the blue color came out.

And here's a look at Gutenberg

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg - Printing Press 1440's

Phone Pictures

2009-10-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

There's been a ton of buzz about mobile phone pictures recently because of some cool applications available for phones these days. The two most recent (and useful) iPhone apps I've come across for taking and editing pictures are: TheBestCamera, and PS Mobile.

The Best Camera (is the one that's with you), is the brainchild of Chase Jarvis, who is always offering creativity tips and ways to make better images on his blog. I think he's a marketing genius - creating buzz for himself in a selfless way, by making and discussing ways to improve photography, creative projects, and collaboration. In the iPhone application, you can take a picture, or use and existing one, then easily apply or delete various filters - from warming/cooling or brighter/darker, to other more unique ones like "jewel," or "slate," which play with contrast, vingnette, and saturation. The coolest thing about the app is the ability to easily share photos to multiple outlets - twitter, facebook, email, and TheBestCamera gallery, which is constantly updating with a live feed from the application.

Here are some before/after images with TheBestCamera:

PS Mobile is from Adobe - a mini version of Photoshop, as well as a way to share images. Immediately, I wished I could send my photos to different outlets, instead of just the application's community page. Also, I didn't see a way to easily remove edits - for example, if you make a bunch of edits, you have to go back to the original image if you just want to remove the red tint you added. However, the finger motions to control the edits I found very intuitive, and I like the range of editing - instead of choosing "brighter," I can choose how much brighter I want to make the image by sliding my finger on the screen.

Here are some before/after images with PS Mobile:

So these apps are neat. What does that mean for pro photographers, designers, and creatives? Well, the best development is "accessibility." With a phone, you can take a picture, make a creative decision, then publish if for others to see and comment. This creates a community where hopefully, better ideas get shared faster. If I see someone's cool picture of X, maybe that gives me an idea of a picture of Y, which I show my friend who then creates Z, all from a little tool that most people always carry with them. A sort of creative "pay-it-forward" idea.

Headed to Big Sky

2009-10-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Here's an image from somewhere in Indiana. It's actually three images merged for exposure using Photomatix (exposure blend, not HDR). Another cool thing that I believe is new in Photoshop CS4, is auto blend with images at different depth-of-fields. Translation = super in focus images at all distances to lens.

Leaving MN today, headed to Denver for the weekend.

Camper Bike

2009-09-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

After completing the first leg of my cross-country road-trip, as well as spending an afternoon people-watching in the Mall of America, it was nice to come across this eco-groovy travel alternative:

This camper bike is an idea from Kevin Cyr, a prototype and also the basis for some paintings. He's also working on a camping cart - a shopping cart with a pop up tent. There are some more pictures on his website, but no images of the interior. Definitely a far cry from my parents' awesome Airstream, nonetheless it looks like a fun way to get around, as long as you don't mind sweating a bit in the process.

Digital Camera Capture

2009-09-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Snapped this while going about 60mph in the opposite direction. The
truck looks tilted because of how digital cameras make images - a sort
of scan from top to bottom (I don't think any capture horizontally).

This is from I-90, just outside of Chicago. About to go see the Cloud
Gate sculpture (the metal bean).

9/11 Logos

2009-09-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

I just found these logos on Brand New - A blog devoted to corporate brand identity. A few days late on this, but I can't decide which logo I like more. The before has such a unique viewpoint, yet is quiet and reserved. The newer one is much more accessible. I guess it will be the more public logo for the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which is supposed to open in 2011.

I love logos mostly for their simplicity in communication. It seems an impossible task for a designer to take all the weight of what the World Trade Center symbolizes, and translate it to a few words and simple graphics. When successful, logos I think are poignant - simple, but not easily forgotten.

Xray

2009-08-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

This is an xray of my elbow. I broke it in 2000 playing lacrosse, but it's pretty much good as new. I just think it's a cool picture.

Woodstock poster artist

2009-08-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I went to the International Poster Gallery, on Newbury Street in Boston. It's such a cool place for anyone into graphic design. It's filled with posters and vintage graphics from Art Deco, to Soviet, to Travel.

They invited the artist who designed the iconic Woodstock poster to talk a bit about it's creation. He also designed a 40th anniversary tribute poster that was for sale. One detail I found interesting: because the venue and band list wasn't set until close to the event, they organizers printed the poster without the black plate (text) first. They added it later once the information set.

Old Google

2009-08-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

...And other past versions of sites. Although the website is hard to navigate, Archive.org catalogs all the incarnations of websites. The "WayBack Machine" lets you plug in a URL and returns results with dates of older versions. So much for the ephemeral state of the Internet!

1998 Google

Mail Project

2009-07-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

After moving twice since I acquired this "junk," I finally found time to take some photographs.

I worked at the New England Journal of Medicine, and sorted some mail while I was there - tons of crazy places of origins all over the world. The patterns of stamps and rips and ink I thought looked neat. The pieces of mail seemed to tell their journey through their roughed up packaging.

Let me know what you think.

Open publication - Free publishing - More photography

DNA art

2009-07-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

I saw a little ad at the back of WiredMagazine (June 2009) for this art. Pretty cool idea to take something unique and display it in a high end way. The idea comes from two guys - a designer and a biotech guy.

dna11.com

More Tilt Shift

2009-07-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

The Canon 24mm TS-E is awesome. It's a bit different from using a view camera; takes a little getting used to the knobs and controlling the axes (took some brainpower to realize I needed to use the tripod head as a rear standard, not the lens).

Part of the the fun / trouble, is choosing between getting the lines vertical, or using the low depth of field (f/3.5) and miniaturizing things. For the image with the statue, I took the image "out-of-whack," then corrected the lines in photoshop to try and achieve both effects.

Another cool use is to merge photos. The image below of the door is actually three separate exposures - I simply shifted the lens, left, center, right. In photoshop, I chose File > Automate > Photomerge - then followed the dialog box. There's an article on this in the July/August Picture Magazine

New Website

2009-07-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Finished my website update last Friday. Trying to keep it simple and clean is so tough. I used the Apple website, and a few other photographers websites as guides. Let me know any feedback about appearance or ergonomics - codygantz.com

Tilt Shift

2009-07-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just received some lenses from Borrowlenses.com - a 100mm Macro, and a 24mm TS-E II. I'm excited for both because they create much different looks than other lenses. Also, I want to try some video with each of them - slow-motion closeups of bugs or turtles or something with the macro, and try the miniaturizing effect with the tilt-shift in Boston.

Anyway here are some images I just took with the tilt-shift. It's also great for correcting lines in architecture, so more to come from this. AJ, you would love this lens.

Issuu - Publishing Site

2009-07-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

I mentioned this site in my post on publishing and creativity. Just testing it out for myself now, by uploading a brochure - student work from Hallmark.

The site operates like a bookshelf. You can search or browse the library of uploaded content (that users make public), and can then bookmark the content - anything from presentations, to catalogs, to newsletters. This adds it to your 'shelf,' where you can organize things into folders (like most email programs), or share, or download.

The makers of Issuu pretty much hold your hand through the whole process with little videos, which is nice. Plus, the website interface is simple and easy to use anyway. One of the coolest things, though, is that you can implement their slick document presentation on your own site. Haven't come across any sites using this feature yet, but I'm testing it out offline.

Open publication - Free publishing - More ben and bills

2009-07-08T22:01:00.001-07:00

Publishing

2009-07-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching Chase Jarvis' talk : Consequences of Creativity. He spoke to ADCD (Art Director's Club of Denver) and ASMP, a photographer's organization.

One point that stuck me, and anyone who reads anything these days, is that creative people can now also be the ones who publish / share their work. It doesn't have to be "validated" by an ad agency or magazine editor, you create stuff and throw it on the web and instantly people can watch your latest cat-themed-youtube video.

The cool thing about this, is that there's and abundance of stuff to find, created by people with no other motive than just to create. For instance my friend Eric Millard - a great musician - just put up some of his songs on facebook and myspace. The 'goal': simply to meet people with similar interests. With social network and publishing sources like TubeMogul and Issuu, the 'why' of publishing is more of a 'why not' - it's so easy.

I started thinking of all this while I was searching my bookmarks and came Motionographer, and this strange video by Terry Timely: Synesthesia. For some reason, it seems less outlandish after returning from Beijing last night. (And yes, there are cats).

Macro video to Radiohead song

2009-07-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

I found this video on my friend Sydney's blog - she's a west coast artist.

I love the slow-motion combined with macro scenes. And insects make for great subjects with the lyrics.

Polaroid resurrection attempts

2009-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is a link to a New York Times photo gallery - a collection of polaroids sent to the paper in response to a story about resurrecting a polaroid factory.

There are ton of cool adaptations with the film, mixing funky lighting and development, with illustrative things as well.

For sure the film was cool, but I'm scanning old 35mm film right now, and it's awful. Digital polaroids, anyone? I guess that's why there's Photoshop

iPhone photos

2009-06-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Andy Bardon showed me some cool iPhone photo applications.
This photo uses 'polarize' and 'toy camera.' Photo is from Shelburne
Falls- not looking forward to the hills on the bikeride back

The Crane Estate

2009-05-31T10:41:00.001-07:00

Beautiful rolling landscape up to the 'castle'. It's closed inside,
but the interior sounds awesome - mix of gothic, art deco, and other
styles.

Afterwards, questing for more fried clams.

Type is Art

2009-05-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a stop action film I made - took a bunch of still photographs, where I moved the graphic elements just a tiny bit each frame. Got the inspiration from two places: Sue Tallon - my favorite food and conceptual photographer right now; and TypeIsArt, a website where you can mash around parts of letter into graphic art pieces. The song I created last fall, and it's just been kicking around my head with no outlet. I think it fits with this video.

Cool Reel

2009-05-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Really like this guy's reel (Matthieu Bessudo). Funky take on the old cartoon aesthetics.

Sunset at Falmouth

2009-05-25T16:51:00.001-07:00

Hip to the Internet

2009-05-24T07:03:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the last few posts - I'm trying to figure out all these
connections between mobile gizmos, social networks and blogs. And yes
even twitter

2009-05-23T17:47:00.001-07:00

Test

2009-05-12T19:48:00.001-07:00

Testing out emailing in a blog post

--
Cody Gantz
codygantz.com
508-397-3156

New York Aerial

2009-05-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Found these this virtual flight over NYC from a recent post from Chase Jarvis, an awesome photographer in Seattle.

http://www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/2009/newyork/

Still some use for turntables!

2009-04-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

I have my parents' turntable in the corner of my apartment, but I'd never thought of doing something like this. Maybe I just like the wolf costumes...

Tuckermans

2009-04-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of one of the two avalanches we saw last weekend at Tuckermans Ravine on Mt. Washington. I photographed the remnants later on, and got some cool ski photos as well. Thanks Geoff and Tucker for getting me to come up to the mountain for some awesome weather and skiing. I'll will post some of my photos soon.

Athlete Portraits

2009-04-23T13:05:00.001-07:00

Thanks Josh and Lukasz for modeling. Luke graduated and rowed with me, and Josh is a senior at BU this year. Let me know what you think.

Swiss Chard?

2009-04-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Do you ever find yourself with a lot of swiss chard left over from a photography shoot? You might like this recipe I tried recently:

Heat up oil and balsamic in skillet.

Dump in some chard and top with some ground and crushed red pepper.

Let it cook for a bit (doesn't get as limp as spinach), then top with some feta cheese.

First Race of the season

2009-04-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

BU won last weekend up in Hanover against Dartmouth. Here's an image from the end of their first race agaisnt Northeastern. They lost by a length or so.

Metallic Spray paint

2009-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

I spray painted a couple things with this cool metallic paint. I'll probably try some other things as well soon. Trying to find a way to spice up my "reflective metal" assignment.

Self Portraits

2009-04-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

These are some self portraits I've done. The pale one is pretty creepy I think.

Deer Island

2009-04-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

Easter walk around the sludge tanks. yay

Eggs and Bears

2009-04-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

Still lives from home

Wayland Landscapes

2009-04-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Trying out some black and whites from home

Superman

2009-04-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

Saw this on the Colourlovers website. I only saw two animators listed in the opening credits. Pretty impressive

Website

2009-03-19T22:36:00.001-07:00

I updated it again. Turned out the last one was pretty buggy in IE.

codygantz.com

HDR - High Dynamic Range

2009-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

HDR is a technique to merge multiple exposures of the same photograph. It's an attempt to show what our eyes are capable of seeing, in terms of brightness differences. Eyes see about 10 "stops," where each stop is twice as bright - that's how you can look out the window on a bright day, as well as see where the trash bin is under your desk to throw out your eighteenth "to-do" list of the day. Cameras can only capture about 4-5 stops of light.

This is a studio shot of my friend Andy (thanks for getting soaked). The high contrast and "plasticy" look is typical of HDR. Let me know what you think.

For more HDR by a Hallmark student, check out Trevor Lee Photography - he's got cool stuff.

Video on creativity

2009-02-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

I saw this video on my friend JD Beebe's blog - The New Anti-Social

More Phase III work

2009-02-24T15:49:00.001-08:00

CD Design - Hot Coffee and the Breakfast Meats

Advertisement - Illy Coffee. I just wanted to imitate a shot I had seen of lips.

Glassware

Metal

Outdoor Portrait

Phase III Final Work

2009-02-23T14:23:00.000-08:00

Architectural - BU School of Management

Brochure Design (Cover) - Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium

Low-key in the studio

Alternative portrait in the studio

Tilt shift time lapse = awesome

2009-02-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting video, made with tilt shift lenses and time lapse. It's from Keith Loutit at http://keithloutit.com/

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Executive Portraits

2009-02-13T11:04:00.001-08:00

I called in the talent last weekend, for an "Executive Portrait" shoot in Boston. Harrison and Mike, both friends from the BU rowing team, met me at the School of Management dressed for success. Thanks for modeling.

Coney Island

2009-02-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots from a December trip to Coney Island. It was freezing and windy, but it's a funny little place that's dead, but still has people strolling around.

Textures

2009-02-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

These images are all from different places, but as I was looking through my photo library, I thought they seemed related in texture.

Art Historical Reference

2009-02-09T12:00:00.001-08:00

This was a recent project. The goal - to mimic a famous art piece and recreate through photography and photoshop skills.

You can probably tell which is the original and which is mine. Thanks, Sarah, for modeling.

Some more playing around

2009-02-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

Tilting the focus plane, and selective focus with super fast lenses (50mm, f/1.2). The last one is just shadows on snow.

Food

2009-02-05T05:44:00.001-08:00

Here are some food shots I've been taking

Tigercity Concert

2009-02-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

Tigercity concert at Great Scott in Allston, playing around with lens flare

Liquids and glass

2009-02-05T05:31:00.000-08:00

Just some personal stuff from the winter months.

Environmental Portrait

2009-01-26T11:08:00.003-08:00

A cook at the local italian restaurant

Self Portraits

2009-01-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

Family Portraits

2009-01-26T11:05:00.001-08:00

Portraits

2009-01-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

These are few portraits from my latest assignments. The first two are exploring "magazine cover" lighting. The second is a PR shot for Loring Brinckerhoff, an educational consultant, for his website which I recently built - loringbrinckerhoff.com

HOCR

2009-01-08T07:04:00.000-08:00

Head of the Charles Pictures from 2008.

Conceptual Photo

2009-01-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

For this shot, I was trying to imitate another image I saw of a donut sprinkled with powdered sugar. I like the way this turned out, both of these images are pretty different from the original. I rigged the donut with thread as you can see in the second image.

Photo Mosaic

2009-01-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

This is a little exercise from class. We used a free program to fill in images to create a mosaic of one of our files. Here is the original and finished result from a photo of an Ecuadorian medicine man.

Shadow

2008-12-15T10:40:00.001-08:00

This is a shot from this fall in the Great Falls Discovery Center in my town.

Aerial

2008-12-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Took a flight last week to get some aerial shots. We flew in a propeller plane with the wings over the body, so we could get shots of the ground not the wings. These were two of my favorites.

Thanksgiving slideshow

2008-11-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

This is a slideshow I put together from last night. The quality is low so it would be easier to put on the web. Enjoy.

Still Life shots

2008-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot from commercial studio this week. We started using digital backs on the large format 4x5 cameras.

Glass

2008-11-17T07:54:00.001-08:00

We shot glassware in commercial studio last week, but I don't have my film back yet. Theses are two shots from the studio, and one from my phone taken at a friend's house.

Photoshop design

2008-11-17T06:59:00.001-08:00

Now that the winter is coming, we've been spending more time on the computers. Here's a design from a photoshop class:

Photo selected for gallery show

2008-11-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

One of my photos was selected for a gallery presentation at the Shelburne Falls library. Every year, students take a field trip to Shelburne to explore color and lines, and this year the town wanted to see what the students produce. Here's my image, showing "warm" colors:

Personal Project

2008-11-16T19:02:00.001-08:00

Our teachers recommend personal projects as a way to stay motivated with photography. One thing that always catches my eye is the way cream drifts through coffee, so I've been documenting that effect once in a while.

Baked eggs

2008-11-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

I'm getting interested in food photography. I've been cooking a ton recently, and some of the meals are almost edible now. If you're looking for a tasty breakfast with a good aesthetic, I recommend this recipe from Saveur.com

I took some pictures of the preparation, too.

Baked Eggs

SERVES 2
Wonderfully adaptable, baked eggs (sometimes called shirred eggs) are made by baking or broiling eggs with various ingredients. This recipe produces firm whites and velvety yolks.

1 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tbsp. cooked chopped spinach
that's been squeezed to extract excess liquid
4 eggs into each dish
1⁄2 tomato
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 slice bacon, cooked and chopped
2 tbsp. grated parmesan
1⁄2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1⁄4 tsp. grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oven to broil and place a rack 10" from the heating element. Grease two 8-oz. gratin dishes with butter. To each dish, add 2 tbsp. spinach. Using your fingers, make 2 wells in each pile of spinach and crack 2 eggs into each dish.

2. Cut tomato into 4 wedges and nestle 2 wedges on opposite sides of each dish. Pour 1 tbsp. heavy cream into each dish. Add half of the bacon to each dish.

3. Sprinkle each dish with 1 tbsp. parmesan, 1⁄4 tsp. thyme, 1⁄8 tsp. nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to oven rack and broil until the cheese is golden brown, the whites of the eggs are set, and the yolks are still slightly soft, about 5 minutes.

4. Use tongs and a kitchen towel to transfer dishes to 2 serving plates lined with paper napkins to prevent the dishes from slipping.

Arcade Fire

2008-11-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

Jesse knows something about these guys. Cool elevator music.

Friends Like These

2008-11-12T20:59:00.001-08:00

Friends of Tigercity. The Mobius Band - "Friends Like These"

California Wedding

2008-11-12T20:13:00.001-08:00

Congratulations Gil and Cristina. Here are some photos from the wedding weekend.

Phase One final images

2008-11-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the photos I submitted as part of my first phase final assignment:

Submitted Photo to JPGMag.com

2008-11-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Just put an old photo in a 'severe weather' posting on JPGMag.com. I think this should link to it.

If not, here's the photo anyway:

The Macris Group

2008-10-30T22:45:00.000-07:00

Oxbow Media is still alive and kicking. I'm working freelance on some websites. Here's one I put together this week: The Macris Group (Putting a link on this site is going to help it show up on Google searches).

Also, during my photography program, I'll be designing a new codygantz.com. It'll hopefully be a simple preview of my portfolio images. Still focusing on basic lighting, portraiture, and design.