{ Image Blog by Marc Orbito }
{ Image Blog by Marc Orbito }
(The final part of my San Francisco series)
The architecture of San Franciso has always fascinated me; its topography, density and spacing is quite unique and and the buildings themselves offer quite a variety of modern and classic. San Francisco is quite the character. I aboslutely love the Victorian facades of the homes and the eccentricity of Chintatown. The Golden Gate Bridge is awe inspiring as is the Palace of Fine arts, which I was surprised to find, was located the middle of a residential area; it is a jaw-dropping spectacle. Walking beside the columns and under the archways, I took a moment take digest it all - I wasn't in Europe or the Medeterranian, but on U.S. soil, and on the West coast, no doubt.
I shot most of these with my trusty 24-105L f4 "walkabout" on my 5D Mark II. The fisheye photos are courtesy of a 15mm. I used a graduated neutral density filter, which underexposed the skies by 2 stops and pulled the details in the clouds out (excitedly) afterwards with Lightroom 4. (This was the first set of pics I edited in LR4, so I may have gotten a little excited and overtweaked them.)
I think I hit a fairly good amount of locations in one day. My shoot setup did not include a tripod, which could have resulted in more stylized shots and perhaps less photos, but I stand by my semi-documentarian style choice. :)
(part 2 of 3 in my San Francisco series)
Street photography is very much like fishing. You pick a time and place, prep your gear, head out there, and just hope you are keen and lucky enough catch something...
I shoot the streets when I'm in need of a photographic rejuvination. I enjoy commercial work, but it can sometimes be strict in its creative opportunities. Rendered images or pre-conceived shoots of people or models often stimulate the "groins" of the Facebook generation more than anything - it's wonderful at drawing fans and exciting bunches of people, but sometimes it hides truth and honesty and throws viewers brains out of the window. I needed a change of pace.
When I first started, I shot the streets because I had nothing else. I did it to learn. I did it for the pure love of photography. Often times I have to remind myself: life and humanity have much to offer. And there is great thrill in what the unknown or unscripted provide - situations that are unparalleled in its beauty and far more wonderous that anything I could ever plan or set up. To shoot the street is to feel life's pulse. It is to feel MY pulse.
Unlike part 1 ("Alcatraz"), people living is very much the theme here. Where that post was almost entirely desolate, in this second series of images, I try to fill the frame with people...
Now that the kids are older, we decided to participate in the 2012 Great Aloha Run. My wife is an active member of the Moms in Hawai'i internet community and they put a group together every year and we figured we'd join in on the fun. The kids didn't do too bad - there were a few points where I had to pick them up and put them on my shoulders so we could continue because the tears started streaming, but we finished. Perhaps the most rewarding part of the day was congratulating them on a job well done and applaudung their perserverance - life lessons that I am hoping they can take with them. We'll work on bettering our finish times next year, and the year after that. For now, enjoy the photos!
Went up to Maui for a funeral on Tuesday. Afterwards, I had some time to roam the island and take some photos. I have a soft spot for small towns and historic places and many of these spots spark nostalgia in me...
Howdy! My name is Marc Orbito. I'm a general photographer in the state of Hawaii who enjoys photographing people!
I'm also a father, husband, Apple geekboy, writer, Disney junkie, Miami Heat basketball fan and washed-out cinephile.
I invite you to look around. Hopefully you'll like what you see and and maybe even hire me!
Contact me for rates at marc @ orbito.net
