San Francisco Pt.II

A Photowalk through San Francisco – Revisited..

I flew through a whole bunch of shots in my files to look for a set to experiment with – one where I can begin to exercise some really flabby Photoshop muscles… but really – to say that I was exercising a new-found skill would be saying WAY TOO MUCH… in reality… if I’m exercising what little PS muscle I do have, then Barry Bonds hit every home-run without.. well… you know… help (c’mon, I’m a full on Giants fan – I’m in denial, remember! Blind and Die-Hard support! My Giants can do no wrong! Haha..)… Well as I was saying, if it looks like I’m punchin out my photos in Photoshop like a pro, then I definitely have some… ahem… help… Actions! Totally Rad Actions! No really, that’s the name… TRA for short… and these things saved my life…

Here are some of the ‘rejects’ (they aren’t really rejects – they just didn’t make the initial cut list) from my solo photowalk through my hometown a few years ago… (for the first set of photos from this photowalk check out San Francisco)... Goin' for that old town feel, I worked with a few Actions that I thought could help me develop a ‘look’ or ‘theme’ of nostalgia… all for the goal to tell a story… on of a beautiful city full of culture and history… enjoy!

Saint Patrick’s Church – from what I remember from my childhood, this church was one of the biggest on the block and really made a difference in the surrounding skyline… Now - it is just dwarfed by new high-rise buildings….

You can’t tell from the angle of this picture, but this really talented break dancer only has one leg… He was crazy good too!

This one of the cable car turnaround is Vaness’s favorite of this set =)

I’m learning of myself - that as a photographer - the necessity and beast of post-processing, in whatever program you choose, is still something I don’t really wanna spend my whole life learning ‘how to do’… I want something simple, fast, and most of all – professional… and all the work that I spent trying to learn with the books I read could only give me a base for what I needed to know to take my photos to the pro-level… disclaimer: I’m not quite pro yet… but, facing reality, I know that my post-processing skills are going to be limited by my expertise in a computer program – and that’s kinda sad in a way! I mean I am in no way hatin on CS3 experts out there... in fact, I envy you… I wish I had that skill set to just know the ins and outs of the program… I wish I just knew what to do when I want that effect – that set of steps that makes the colors pop even more – that set of moves to tighten up my photos… but, alas… I am learning to be a photographer – not a graphic artist! So in comes Actions… a program plug-in that gives me – the guy with only a basic knowledge of a layer and a mask – the ability to bring the best out in my photos (still with a natural, less-is-more approach)… and in turn… it gives me the knowledge base to ‘make my own actions’ if you will… all while giving me the option to venture out into the digital/film-effect world that I would normally not go to… a world bombarded and accustomed to fancy graphics and artificial effects – one that I have to, and in some ways – enjoy, getting acclimated to… This part of my professional development is indeed necessary… Actions really has stepped my knowledge of CS3 that much farther that much faster… and it has really saved my life… in the pro-photo-shooter-caught-in-a-digital-world kind of way…