VSCO film - Quick test Day 1

I just started exploring VSCO film, and here are some images that were sitting around my hard drives that I used for that. VSCO simulates the different film looks, from Kodak Portra to Fuji film, Kodak Tri-X, T-MAX 3200, and more. All presets are customizable by adding/subtracting grain, fading, and adjust levels, etc. Guess what! It works for video as well!

All these images were shot with my Nikon D3s, which I sadly just sold. :( The reason is that I haven't used it that much for work, since most of what I do now is video work. I could have kept it, but felt like it was often a pain carrying it around. It's a fat DSLR camera! That is why I love to take photos with my iPhone. It's on you all the time. You see something that catches your interest, and voilà, photo!

I own different great cameras that I can use for my photography gigs, however, I've been really mouth-watering for the new Fuji X-Pro 1!! So hot and sexy! Kidding aside.. I like the smaller form factor, and the old vintage, Rangefinder camera look that the X-Pro 1 has. I heard some great things about its dynamic range, color rendering, and low capabilities. Mmm.. My birthday is coming up. Just saying..  ;) Hey who's on Pinterest? I just started.. Check it out here.

I'll post more images using VSCO film in the next coming days.. Feedback is appreciated!  Thanks

Candy for friends!

   I'm sure everybody loves chocolate, candies, and cookies! Well, here we go! My friend Anna is a very talented Pastry Chef, and teaches with some of the best Chefs in the world at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. Luscious dark chocolate ganache, apricot jam Linzer cookies, and delicious real fruit flavored marshmallows are just some of the mouthwatering creations she creates with great passion.   Anna didn't have a website, so she asked me if I would take some photos of her desserts, and create a simple webpage and blog to display her work to offer a chance to anyone interested to find out more about what she does, and place an order!   Enough with me talking! Go check out Anna's new website 'Candy for friends' at candyforfriends.com.   Please, feel free to leave a comment on her blog page, and follow her!   Next time you plan a party, have a wedding, or want to thank someone with a sweet gift, think of Anna's 'Candy for friends'!   Here are some suggestive images..

                 

Promo video for NY Real Estate firm 'SPIRE'.

A few weeks ago I shot a promotional video for NY Real Estate firm called 'SPIRE'.We filmed over two days using a Panasonic GH2 camera, with Nikon 24mm f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f/1.4, and Sigma 10-20mm lenses. I used one Westcott TD6 for lighting, and an H4n Zoom with two wireless Sennheiser mics for audio. Everything was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. The time lapses where filmed with a Nikon D3s camera from the Top of the Rock, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan, and edited in After Effects.

I also like this image that I took with my iPhone using the Instagram App.

'Muted. Dreams' - a kickstarter.com project

  Lots of new exciting projects lately.. and much more coming up! Among those, a video and photoshoot for entrepreneur, and writer Antonio Brown with his book 'Muted. Dreams' coming out soon. 'Muted. Dreams' is a Memoir about his childhood, depicting his experiences through abuse, molestation & family issues.

Antonio Brown's website is finally ready. Check it out here! www.antonio-brown.com

The video I created will be featured on kickstarter.com to raise funds to publish the book. The kickstarter.com page is currently being completed, and will be published in the following days. Part of the donations will also go to 'protect a child', a foundation created by Antonio Brown to help children victims of abuse. Here is the video. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Some frame grabs from the video..

Frame grab from the Times Square shoot - Timelapse filmed with Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Frame grab from Wall Street footage - Filmed with Panasonic GH2, Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Frame grab from commentary - Filmed with Panasonic GH2, Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens.

Frame grab from footage filmed with Nikon D3s, Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens.

'Muted. Dreams' book cover.

A short video showing how well the new 'Warp Stabilizer' in Adobe After Effects work with stabilizing shaky footage. I used it for several shots on the 'Muted. Dreams' video.

These are some images from the photo shoot.

Times Square timelapsing..

I have been shooting more than usual lately.. I'm just trying to play around and experiment ideas, new things, and trying to figure out how to use my new Panasonic GH2 at its best. Here is a quick timelapse I did with the Nikon D3s, after I spent a couple of hours testing the GH2 in Times Square.

For this timelapse I used a Nikon D3s, with a Sigma 10-20mm, and simply mounted it on Gorillapod.  

Thanks for reading!
    

Reena + Ajay

A couple of weeks ago I went to Pennsylvania to photograph Reena and Ajay's Indian engagement party.I had a great time, also thanks to their whole family who made me feel completely at ease.

Lots of colored costumes , spiced delicacies, and exotic scents..

Here are a few photos from that day.

Since there was a two and a half hour drive to get there I decided to make a little timelapse out of it.

Here it is..

A big thank you goes to Oscar Leon, who assisted me all day long. You can take a look at his website here.

Thanks for reading..

Interview with rapper Flavor Flav!

I had a chance to work with show host and producer Leah Guy from ‘A Girl Named Guy Productions’ who interviewed rapper Flavor Flav, one of the founding members of legendary rap group Public Enemy.

 
Here is the interview I shot at the Hue-Man bookstore in Harlem on 125th Street.

It was shot with a Nikon D3s, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens, and Zoom H4n for audio.
I used Magic Bullet Looks, and PluralEyes for syncing the audio.

 
More thanks!

Montauk Point Lighthouse

 
My original plan was to rent a car, head North to Upstate New York, and shoot something interesting.. When I got up yesterday morning I started thinking of Long Island, and its beaches. Cool! 'That's where I'm going!', I thought.

Got my Zipcar, and headed East - Destination: Somewhere cool in Long Island!

Here is my car for the day.

I wanted to have a convertible car on purpose to document the road-trip with a timelapse, and have a better view since it's cabriolet.
 
Here is a little video I made of the drive to Montauk, Long Island.

 
This is the setup I used to film the timelapse from inside the car. Nikon D300 with 10-20mm lens mounted on a Delkin Dual-suction Camera Mount.
 

 
When I got to Montauk Point It got incredibly foggy.. The Lighthouse looked great! I felt as If I was in some scary movie.. Speaking about scary! The day after my trip to Montauk, my friend Sabrina sent me a link to this wiki page about the so-called Montauk Monster. What the hell! Look at where I spent almost 3 hours alone in the dark!! Sabrina could have warned me!! What If one of those things jumped out of the dark..?? That's it.. Finito! Muerto!
 
Here is something I put together to show the Lighthouse in the fog.

 
Since I had limited access, I shot this using only one angle, and then zoomed in in post. Music is 'It's deserted' by James Newton Howard from the movie King Kong. You can find it here on iTunes !

In the end I'm alive, and had a fantastic day..

I have to go back to this place!

More thanks!

Pluie

Hi!

Just shooting a quick line about a little test I did the other day while it was raining..

I played with the rain on my apartment's windows, and created a short timelapse.

I color corrected the footage in Premiere, After Effects CS5, and Magic Bullet Looks, and think it could be a cool addition to any future film or video I will work on.

Feel free to leave a comment..
 
Thanks!
 

Linda Vojtova celebrating 10 years

 
A few weeks ago I've got a chance to document supermodel Linda Vojtova's celebration of 10 years of her career. We started at her apartment for a 'behind the scenes/getting ready video', and ended up later in a Gallery in Chelsea, where a photographic collection by some of the most influential photographers in the fashion industry was the main part. Steven Meisel, Peter Lindberg, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein, and Tiziano Magni, are just some of the names she worked with..

The night ended in a club in the Meat Packing District for her 10 year career party, along with David Bryan, Bon Jovi's  historical piano player, celebrating his birthday.

BTS

GALLERY

PARTY - DAVID BRYAN (FROM BONJOVI) BIRTHDAY

Comments are greatly appreciated..
 
Thanks for reading!
 

Central Park again..

I spent a few hours in Central Park the other day.. Played a little with timelapse and tried out some other things(see 'Central Park timelapse'). I wanted to experiment with long exposures by using a neutral density filter.I have a variable neutral density filter I use mostly for video. It is good enough for video, but not so good for photography. The filter I'm talking about is the Genus ND Fader Filter, much cheaper than the Vari ND filter from Singh-Ray. Now I know why! These filters are supposed to darken, and lower the exposure, allowing you to use longer exposure times. The cheaper Genus Filter doesn't give you an even exposure throughout the frame at least when you go down to -8 stops or so. It almost works more like a graduated filter. Here is a pano I shot using the Fader Filter.

I am looking forward to photographing a beach using long exposures. Let 's see what happens!

Hope you like the image I created. Thanks!

Central Park timelapse

 
After I came back from Washington DC where I attended Canon Filmmakers Live seminar with Philip Bloom, I still had fresh in mind all that timelapse stuff he talked about. Cloudy day here in New York two days ago. So why not make a timelapse? Clouds will probably look cool! This is the result of 2-3 hours spent in Central Park..

Here is the timelapse.. Make sure you watch it FULL SCREEN and HD!

 
I would love to get some feedback from you guys! So feel free to leave a comment.
Hey, I'll be back soon with more timelapses!
 
Thanks!
 

Necklace/camera brace!

Last Thursday I happened to be in Washington DC for Canon Filmmakers Live where DP, Director, and filmmaker Philip Bloom conducted a day long seminar.I had a great time, and learned a lot of new stuff! After the workshop we had a fun meet-up in a Pub next door. We all were with our cameras having great conversations.

At some point Philip Bloom notices my camera brace I was using with my Nikon D3s to film him..

I love the high end gear! However, if you're broke, a student, or just can't afford right now spending the extra money on your video gear, here is an alternative.

It is the Sima SVP-3 Mini, it is only $20, and it works pretty well for hdslr cameras. If you have a viewfinder such as the Z-Finder from Zacuto, you have an additional point of contact. I got some pretty stable shots with the combination of the Sima SVP-3 and the Z-Finder.

ciao!

Harlem Pond

The other I was sitting at home, I had just recovered from a couple of days of being sick, and decided to grab my camera and head to Central Park North, just a few blocks away from where I live.

I saw the beautiful snowy landscape, the iced pond, a little duck family, and a couple of pigeons.. Let's make a little movie!

I spent some good three hours hanging out in the park and freezing my butt off.

It was filmed with a Nikon D3s, 50mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, Glidetrack HD slider. Edited and graded in Premiere CS5, and After Effects.
 
Music by Prokofiev ‘Carnival of the animals’: Aquarium and performed by Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchetra. You can buy it on iTunes!
 
Hope you enjoy!

Drifting - The movie

Hi everybody!

I'm thrilled to announce the first trailer of the movie Drifting, which will come out soon! Drifting is a collaboration between singer/songwriter and composer Simona D, Jason Verga [Brando from the neck down (2004), The mooch (2008), Consequence, Ed, White Embers (theater), The Refuseniks Trial (theater)], and myself. Ballet dancer Michele Moreno, whom I photographed in a couple of occasions (see Ballerina, and this image gallery) is also part of the great cast! Original music by Simona D and John Maida.

'Drifting' will take you into the creative life of four artists with different backgrounds and one common path that will bring them eventually together.

The sense of sadness and desperation caused by the struggle of expressing one's talent will be fulfilled by a surprise event that will change the characters' lives.

Fluttering in a world of imagination until the day inspiration will be transformed into reality.

Drifting is a story about life, art and dreams. Here is the trailer of Drifting (make sure you watch it in HD!). 

Check out www.drifting-movie.com, Drifting's official web page where you can find out more about the movie, the cast, and visit Drifting's blog which will be launched soon featuring behind the scenes, and other cool stuff!

Hope you enjoy the trailer!

Thanks

It's cold in New York!

Hi folks!

The other day I felt like going for a walk in Central Park. It was cold! Most of the snow has already melted. This year I didn't feel like getting up at 5 am to see the first snow. I remember last year though, got up at 5 am, and knew I was going to find all of Central Park covered in snow. Freezing but beautiful! I took that pano (about seven images stitched together in Photoshop) above that morning at around 6 am. It was worth getting up that early! If you'd like to see the panorama of the snow fountain in a larger size click here.

Above is another image from last year, It was snowing, and snowing and this corner of Central Park looked just so wonderful with the glow of the lights of the Plaza Hotel and the other lights. Winter wonderland in Manhattan..

The following image was taken two days ago when I entered Central Park from the West Side on 72nd Street. Every time I walk by there are people paying an homage to John Lennon.

I promise I'll try to blog more often!

Thanks

Juliana+Norbert ..Just married!

 
Juliana + Norbert from Giovanni Ferlito on Vimeo.
 
Back in August I photographed Juliana and Norbert to celebrate their engagement (see blog post 'Juliana & Norbert). They got married in September, and I had a chance to film their special day.. This is my first attempt making a wedding video. I used my Nikon D3s, a couple of lenses, a tripod, and a Glidecam; for some of the audio I also used a Zoom H4n.
 
What a wonderful day!
 
More thanks..