*** GRAFITI AND STREET ART PHOTOGRAPHY *** CALI, COLOMBIA ***
COLOMBIANS ARE TIRED NARCOS MOVIES AND THE COCAINE PERCEPTION Even though Pablo Escobar has been dead since the early 1990's Colombia often times has a negative perception by people. Dangerous narcos and the Farc is in the past now; I see Colombia as a hip place to be; hard working business people, great food, they embrace who they are and the culture and country is colorful and beautiful.
***Above image was taken on my balcony with a Canon 5DMKII and 135mm 2.0 lens. I had to push the ISO, but I dig it because the noise is exaggerated from the Hipstamatic filter.
CALI HAS SOME FUNKY STREET ART
I dig that some of the graffiti is dark. Seems to be a lot of pain in Colombia.
I don't always give a crap about noisey images after playing around with the iPhone the past few years. Filters, Instagram, shitty Facebook compression, limitations of phone cameras have all played a part in the acceptance of lower quality images. Everyone has the ability to make an artistic statement presets giving so much artistic fun. In the end I have grown to love the LoFi and high ISO. I say bring on the noise and over saturate the colors.
Bring on the NOISE
THE SALSA KINGS LAST SUPPER
Really cool salsa bar in San Antonio called La Topa. Highly recommended to go if you want to dance and see old school vibes. Young and old love this place.
Cool chalk piece in the park.
Local artisan, Don Jose. Really cool cat and I had the chance to shoot his portraits. I used all natural light...yeah I saw the light situation and ran inside the house to get my Camera and a reflector. Gotta see the light baby!
Taken on the "Boulevard" one night. Beers, pizza and conversation is what's all about on the Boulevard. Big mural of Hector Lavoe, a famous salsa musician from Puerto Rico. I heard stories that he would come to party with mafiosos in Cali and Medellin. So you see his face all over Cali (known for party and salsa dancing).
Political?
During a Sunday
THE ROOFTOP FROM MY APARTMENT
ABOVE THE DOOR OF LA TOPA
This dude was just bad ass next to that heart graffiti. He was such a poser.
Wide shot of one of the above
Shot with my 135mm 2.0 in all natural light
View from my roof during the day
some really nice captures as always... I especially like the portrait of Don Jose, and the mural with the ape.
Have you considered doing a workshop type thing on here? I was thinking maybe along the lines of your "lighten up and shoot" stuff, with a little lesson, and then an assignment... you could even run it like a contest (contests seem to get a lot of attention here)...
I'm not familiar with running contest on Steemit. Can you give me some info on that? I like the idea.
There is not an 'official' way to run a contest, you just kinda make it up.
So, lets say you do a post/tutorial on something specific... like using a speedlight as a rim light. you then announce the 'contest' with the qualifications to enter; timespan (7 days typically to align to post payout), requirements for the image (must be a new image created for the contest, must use a speedlight as a rim light, whatever you want...), and then decide the payout. several other contests run something like 50% of the post payout to the winner, 12.5% to the next 2 runners-up (or honorable mention or the like). you get to keep the other 25% after the post pays out, you announce the winner and transfer the SBD :) make sure to tag the post with 'contest' and 'photography' as well as any other tag you would normally give it.
It might take a while for a new contest to take off, but it could be fun and profitable :)
Amazing post ..
Being the first, or at least the first 5 commentators can provide many benefits. This will help the next visitor see what others are saying to one post. And if they find that your opinions are unique, interesting and useful, then most likely they will be interested to know you further. However, do not rush to comment. Always take time to thoroughly read the article and understand what is being said.
you are exactly right. I hate it when I see people comment without actually having looked or read my post.
The grain really works for you, @lightenup. You made Don Jose look like an angelic figure. The heart graffiti capture is amazing.
Don Jose is a powerful dude. His family displaced by the Farc, he now resides in Cali with 25 of his family members working hard to survive through their native artistry.
Colombia is an amazing country. Some of the most genuinely warm and friendly people you could wish to meet.
Personally I found it much safer than most of the other countries in South America I visited and certainly more so than Peru and Ecuador which get tonnes of visitors by comparison.
Narcos is a sensationalised representation of Colombia in the 90's. It's a very different place today!
Exactly! Well said and I could not agree more.
Amazing shots!!! I've saw some of your posts and they are really great. Colombia is a wonderful country with really nice people. I'm going to follow you. Keep up with the good work!
Thanks fuego.
I dig this stuff! Killer job! Noise is a good thing too! Keep it up!
Hell yeah! First person to agree with me on the noise thing.
@zenithwombat