This particular was taken with the Nikon D700 and the 14-24 2.8 lens. This is an HDR image made of 5 bracketed shots.

I shoot this image at sunset from Lipan Point on Desert View Drive, I believe this is one the best view points to catch the sunset, as you can also see the river from there.

The image is an HDR made of 5 different exposures, as always combined in Photomatix Pro, and finished in Lightroom and Photoshop CS5.

[ps-gal-flash height=390 width=590]http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery/Miami-Railroad-Museum/G0000OnelD_8xNAI[/ps-gal-flash]

This was my first time shooting a motor-sports event, so I learned a lot and had fun, one of the most challenging situations besides that the cars really go fast!!!, was the climate, it was pouring almost the whole day, so I tried to keep my gear as dry as possible using just plastic bags, fortunately it worked fine.

The gear I used was my Nikon D300, with the 80-400 and the 24-70, and I also carried a Gitzo monopod that was very useful for the bigger lens.

Earlier in the morning I concentrated in the boxes and garages, there are plenty of opportunities there for good images, as I was trying to gather as much as I can to help me tell the history, I also focused in drivers and technicians. Then went down to the track to try some panning and action shots.

Here is a gallery of the shots I most like from that day, it was fun and I’m looking forward to do it again…

[ps-gal-flash height=390 width=590]http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery/Fara-Races/G0000Akj7PUBGqHo[/ps-gal-flash]

That’s all for now…

My Faves Gallery

This gallery contains just the collection of my favorite  images posted in the blog, there is no particular reason or specific theme, I just like them so I decided to create a gallery to gather them together.

[ps-gal-flash height=390 width=590]http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery/My-favorites/G0000PYre3eJq3Xg[/ps-gal-flash]

Composition, lighting, textures, are just some of the elements photographers are constantly looking to create compelling images.

I can see images almost everywhere, even when I am not taking pictures I can see frames going through my mind, and because of this I observe things in a different way. I can easily perceive details in objects and places that other people might not see; I can see and enjoy the beauty of highlights and shadows, colors and textures.

Oh yes, when I walk around I also look everywhere, not only what is in front of me, but on the sides, in my back, up and down, because images can be found anywhere.

And of course if I walk around with the camera… oh my… people just don’t get it, I can’t count how many times people passing by asking me what I am shooting at, when they see me pointing the camera down the floor or just to a empty rusted wall… “dude… don’t you see it? I am just shooting the texture in the wall”

And talking about textures, a couple of weeks ago I went to Lake Worth, here in Florida to see the “street painting festival” which is really great, a lot of artists get together to participate in this event and paint in the street showing their art, and one of the images I love from that day is this shot of the pavement almost from the floor, showing lots of colors and textures of an area where kids where doing their own paintings.

Also, during a workshop I took back in January, during lunch we needed to go out and shoot something to bringing it back to the class, and I found this very simple electrical wire going across a rugged dark wall, and I just loved the texture and color contrast and just shot it.

So there you go, photography trained my eyes and brain to distinguish and perceive the world around me in a different way and see beautiful things where other people just can’t, and I love that…

That’s all for now folks, more to come soon, in the meantime get out there and shoot something…

Needless to say my camera was always with me, but I’ve decided to travel light and just brought with me the Nikon 18-200 VR and the Sigma 10-20 mm in both occasions.

Man, what a great place!!! Nassau has it all, from perfect sandy beaches, to the most impressive luxury resorts. I leave you with some of the pictures I most liked, and I really hope to get back there soon, with more time to shoot.

That’s all for now folks, more to come soon, in the meantime get out there and shoot something…

Nassau, un lugar idílico en el Caribe

Durante los últimos 60 días estuve dos veces en Nassau, Bahamas, la primera vez fueron vacaciones familiares y luego viaje de negocios…

Y como es de esperar mi cámara siempre estuvo conmigo, solo que en ambas ocasiones había decidido no llevar demasiadas cosas y solo cargue con la lente Nikon 18-200 VR y el Sigma 10-20 mm.

Que lugares!!! Nassau lo tiene todo, desde playas perfectas hasta los mas impresionantes hoteles de lujo. Acá te dejo algunas de las imágenes que mas me gustaron, realmente espero poder regresar pronto, esta vez con mas tiempo para hacer fotos.

Es todo por ahora, luego te cuento mas, mientras tanto, salí por ahí y saca algunas fotos…

Anhinga Trail is a great place to shoot birds and some environmental photos, getting there by car is just about an hour from where I live.

I brought with me a Tripod, the Sigma 10-20 mm for landscape shots and also the Nikon 80-400 VR for the birds.

Here are some of the pictures I like the best.

And also some nice captures of birds.

That’s all for now folks, more to come soon, in the meantime get out there and shoot something….

Anhinga Trail, un lugar fantástico en los Everglades en Florida.

Ayer me levanté temprano para hacer una excursión rápida al Anhinga Trail en los Everglades de la Florida, con algunos amigos del Kendall Camera Club.

Este es un lugar fantástico para fotografiar pájaros y paisajes, llegar hasta allí solo me lleva una hora de manejo desde donde vivo.

Sólo lleve un Trípode, el lente Sigma 10-20mm para fotos del lugar y también el Nikon 80-400 VR para algunas fotos de los pájaros.

Aquí hay algunas imágenes de las que mas me gustaron.

Y algunas buenas capturas de pájaros.

Es todo por ahora, luego te cuento mas, mientras tanto, salí por ahí y saca algunas fotos…

Just brought with me the Nikon 70-200 2.8, as primarily wanted to do some portraits and didn’t want to be changing lens there in the beach.

Quite interesting subjects and characters, beyond the windy-sandy day… I came back with some interesting pictures, from fortunetellers, magicians, pirates, to falcons and owls.

I am pretty sure I’ll go back to the one in Deerfield Beach, which starts February 13^th, for information on the festival, just click here.

That’s all for now folks, more to come soon, in the meantime get out there and shoot something…

Festival del Renacimiento en Virginia Key

Ayer estuve en Virginia Key, en Key Biscayne aquí en Miami tomando algunas fotos en el festival del renacimiento.

Solamente lleve la lente Nikon 70-200 2.8, ya que principalmente quería sacar algunos retratos y no quería estar tener que andar cambiando lentes cerca de la playa.

Mas allá que me toco un día vento-arenoso he conseguido algunas fotos interesantes, desde adivinadores de fortuna, magos, piratas, incluso hasta algunos halcones y búhos.

Estoy seguro que voy a regresar al festival que van a realizar en Deerfield Beach a partir del 13 de Febrero, si querés mas información hacé clic aquí.

Es todo es todo por ahora, luego te cuento mas, mientras tanto salí por ahí y saca algunas fotos….

About 4 weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot at the “Wings over Homestead” Air Show, where the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds returned to the Homestead Airbase after 17 years of absence.

The world famous jet fighter acrobatic team was the star of the show, but the show also hosted other aircraft, including from biplanes to supersonic jets and rocket cars.

During the morning and most part of the afternoon the weather was awful, shooting with this really overcast sky was very challenging and difficult, but in photography patience always pays and by late afternoon those clouds opened up a bit allowing us to get some nice images.

I worked from the side of the runway with my Nikon D300 and the Nikon ED AF VR Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D. Some people claims this lens to be outdated and very slow to focus as is not an AF-S lens, in fact it’s one of Nikons slowest focusing lenses, however worked very well for me that day and I didn’t feel any compromise.

I used the 3D Tracking mode that also worked very well, but my technique was to start to track the airplane trajectory with the lens at 80mm and then move the zoom ring all the way to 400mm while following the airplanes path.

I stayed at ISO 200 most of the time and my Aperture was about f11 also all the time because I wanted the shutter speed to be at a minimum of 500 to freeze the action.

It was a really great experience and I hope they keep coming to sunny Florida.

That’s all for now folks, more to come soon, in the meantime get out there and shoot something….

Fotografiando Pájaros…. Pájaros bien grandes…

Hace aproximadamente 4 semanas, tuve la maravillosa oportunidad de fotografiar al show aéreo “Wings over Homestead” donde los Thunderbirds the la fuerza aérea de los Estados Unidos se volvieron a presentar en la base aérea de Homestead después de 17 años de ausencia.

La maravilla del show fue mundialmente famoso equipo acrobático de jets, pero durante la muestra también se presentaron otros aviones, desde antiguos y clásicos biplanos hasta jet supersónicos y autos cohete.

Durante la mañana y gran parte de la tarde el tiempo no colaboró, trabajar con el cielo totalmente nublado fue bastante complicado, pero en fotografía la paciencia siempre es bien recompensada, y por la tarde  las nubes se abrieron permitiendo la oportunidad de obtener algunas buenas capturas.

Con mi Nikon D300 y la lente Nikon ED AF VR Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D. trabajé desde el costado de la pista de aterrizaje. Algunas personas concluyen que la tecnología de este lente esta ya un poco atrasada y que no es lo suficientemente rápido a la hora de enfocar ya que no es un AF-S, en realidad es que si es uno de los lentes mas lentos en la línea de Nikon, aunque para mi trabajó bien y en ningún momento me sentí comprometido por su desempeño.

Mi técnica fue utilizar la opción “3D Tracking” que realmente me funcionó muy bien, lo primero era comenzar a seguir los aviones con el lente 80mm y luego mover el zoom hasta 400mm siguiéndoles la trayectoria.

Me mantuve en ISO 200 la mayor parte del tiempo con una apertura de f11 porque necesitaba que la velocidad de obturación se mantuviera al menos en 500 para freezar la acción.

Es todo es todo por ahora, te cuento mas pronto, mientras tanto salí por ahí y saca algunas fotos…