Oakland Museum of California's SDCC Exhibit

The Oakland Museum of California has one of my photos from San Diego Comic Con on display in their exhibit: Sunshine and Superheroes: San Diego Comic-Con. A few days ago I had the opportunity to visit and took some photos.

The exhibit runs from May 23, 2014 to May 31, 2015.

Below is the photo I took at SDCC in 2013 that they used. It's taken on the escalators leading up to the ticket booths.



Full set of photos can be found here.

Here are some of my pictures from the museum and the SDCC exhibit:





That's me standing in front of my photo blown up to the size of a wall!














The museum is comfortably small and had a lot of school children visiting. If you are in the area, give it a visit.

Photos from San Francisco

I was up in San Francisco in late November and early December last year. It was a very last minute trip, but one I wanted to do for such a long time. I've always wanted to get some shots of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in SF-- without any fog. My prior visits have always been foggy and I could never see the full bridge.

Well, this trip was somewhat dedicated to visiting the bridge several times to get some shots-- to which I was finally able to get some shots without fog. You can view the full album here.

Here are some of my favorite shots:

Foggy Night
Buy prints: http://500pxart.com/photo/54092228


Golden Gate Bridge's Fog
Buy prints: http://500pxart.com/photo/54093138


Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise
Buy prints: http://500pxart.com/photo/54112886


Golden Gate Bridge's Clear Night
Buy prints: http://500pxart.com/photo/54143106

Google Plus Photographer's Conference

Last week I attended the Google+ Photographer's Conference in San Francisco, May 22-23, 2012 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The day before, I attended a photowalk at Golden Gate Park which I blogged about already.

Some things I observed and learned at the conference:

• Adobe Lightroom 4, Bridge, and Photoshop seem to be the digital tools of choice of many photographers.
• There are just as many Nikon users as there are Canon users.
• Be a good editor and curator of your work/portfolio. Only show your best work, and when you are ready, organize by a theme.
• When writing Google+ posts, write to share, not to impress.

One of my favorite sessions were the Blind Photo Critiques, where photographers submit a set of photos (two to five pictures) to be critiqued live on stage, in front of everyone on the big screen. I just learned a lot listening to the panel on what makes a good photograph in terms of composition, lighting, focus, and so forth.

Some Day 1 Video Sessions:

• Google+ Photographer's Conference Opening Keynote with Scott Kelby and Bradley Horowitz
• How to Host a Successful Hangout with Trey Ratcliff and RC Concepcion
• Building your brand on G+ with Guy Kawasaki
• Tips and Tricks for G+ Panel with Brian Rose, Mike Wiacek, Vincent Mo, and Chris Chabot
• An Evening with Jeremy Cowart

Some Day 2 Video Sessions:

• 10 Things to help Photographers on G+ with Matt Kloskowski, Trey Ratcliff, and Colby Brown
• Optimizing your Images for G+ with RC Concepcion
• What do you want next from G+ with Brian Rose and Mike Wiacek
• An Evening with Trey Ratcliff and Closing (along with Scott Kelby)

A quote that I really enjoyed from Trey Ratcliff:

The left brain is for getting through life, but the right brain is for living.

Sunrise at Golden Gate Bridge from Battery Spencer at 6am.


I used the Canon 5D Mark 3's HDR feature to take the picture above. I post processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1 (RC2). I took about a dozen shots of the bridge, but chose only to show my favorite. Again, editing which was a little difficult.

The registration desk


The lounge




Scott Kelby giving the opening keynote


Scott Kelby speaking with Bradley Horowitz


Catherine Hall


Matt Kloskowski


Colbey Brown












Adobe showcasing Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4


Guy Kawasaki on building brand on G+


Trey Ratcliff taking a picture of Jeremy Cowart


Blind Photo Critique


Live photoshoot




Some tai-chi going on early morning outside




RC Concepcion joining in for the second blind photo critique

Google Plus Photographer's Photowalk at Golden Gate Park

Last week I was up in San Francisco May 21-23 for the Google+ Photographer's Conference. On Monday, there was an optional photowalk at about ten locations. I attended the one led by Scott Kelby at Golden Gate Park.

The photowalk was pretty fun. It's the third photowalk I've been on so far, and in general I like to stray from the group, go at my own pace, and take shots of everything I find interesting. I socialized a bit, but the part I enjoy is seeing how other photogs at the same location on the same day take photographs.

The weather was a bit dreary with a lot of overcast. I ended up using a lot of HDR to help spruce things up. I used the Canon 5D Mark 3's HDR feature to produce the pictures. I post processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1 (RC2). I also used some nifty Adobe Lightroom Instagram Presets on a few pictures.

I'll have a post on the actual conference soon.