Chris Ramirez

B&W Photography

2011-07-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

"Color photography is like a novel that spells everything out in detail, whereas black and white photography is like poetry-its strength isn't in what's said, it's in what's left out" ~ Heinrich Van Den Berg

Color photography is relatively modern. It had not been invented until the 1930s but was not popular until much later. It has been become increasinly popular since the evolution of digital methods. Unfortunatley, black and white is becoming less and less popular. Many point and shoots no longer include a monochrome setting and now have to be converted in post processing.

My first exposure to black and white photography was in high school. I had the greatest opportunity to learn how to develop prints in the darkroom. Depending on what you're photographing, color can be distracting, black and white images eliminates that distraction. Rather than looking at vibrant colors your focus is on shapes composition and use of light to attract a viewer's attention.

Yellowstone National Park

2011-05-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

I recently took my first trip ever to Yellowstone National Park with my family. When we drove into the park I spotted some elk just off the road, with a composition in mind I got out of the car with my Canon 5d II and a 70mm-200mm Lens. As I attempted to get the shot I wanted, I noticed something very unusual, it turns out that my lens became a fixed focal length. In layman's terms, my $1700 lens no longer zooms in and out. I was extremely disappointed that I could no longer get decent shots of any wildlife. I was forced to shoot only with a wide angle lens, limited to shooting landscapes.

A few days later into our trip I began looking for local photography shops that might rent out lenses. I was in luck, they had a 300mm lens that allowed me to photograph some wildlife. From buffalo, elk, bears, ravens to beavers I was now able to capture it all!

Other than the trails that circled some of the geothermal features, no hiking would be done while we were there. Hiking trails were closed due to bear activity. I suppose during the spring time the bears begin to come out of hibernation and are probably grumpy from sleeping and not eating for 4-6 months, depending on snow levels. I get that away after about six hours of not eating.

Snow levels were still pretty high. Snow covered peaks surround the caldera, making landscapes especially aesthetically pleasing. If prepared, we would've cross-countried skied, gone snow shoeing, or possibly even ride some snow mobiles, but none of these were on our itinerary.

Engagements

2011-03-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

As a photographer begins to book engagement sessions, he or she must know that wedding season is just around the corner. Engagement sessions are great for getting to know the wedding clients and creating rapport.

Sean and Sahar are a couple that I photographed recently for their engagement session. We had a blast! We ended up hiking 4 miles to our location to shoot in front of a 70 foot waterfall. We also intend to shoot at multiple locations within the next month or so.
Steven and Kim are another couple I photographed recently. We started the shoot at UCI, where the couple met and fell in love. I shot still photos and some video of these two love birds at different locations at the campus ending at a lake in Irvine to create a photo fusion for them.

2011-01-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

From babies to boudoir is quite the leap for any photographer to take. Its way more intimate than a sitting with a child. You still need to make sure your subject is at ease and are providing a comfortable and safe environment.

Sometimes there's a little nudity or implied nudity so its important for the client to feel comfortable around you as you're photographing them and not feel humiliated or embarrassed.

These types of images are meant for that special someone in your life, it really captures the essence of romance and intimacy. What makes my style of boudoir distinguishable is in the post-processing of the images. I believe it enhances my subject's natural beauty.

Photofusion

2010-11-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

There has been a revolution brewing up in the Photography business. With the advent of HD video being built in with digital SLRs, still cameras are being used to create multimedia slide shows with photos, video, audio and music that we have started calling Photofusion.

Learning video has been quite the journey.I hesitated to do any kind of video for the longest time. Photography is so different from video in several ways. There are certain elements that are similiar that need to be considered like lighting and composition, but this also true of most art mediums. The biggest difference lies in time. Video allows you to tell a story within any amount of time you limit yourself to, however, with still photography, you have up to 1/60th of a second to take a photo (depending on how still you hold the camera and movement of subject). Yeah you could take several images to combine to tell a story, but all it takes is one great image.

Two factors slightly made me change my mind about video. First being that, since Im shooting with a 5D II, I should defintely utilize the camera to its full potential. Second, lately, I've really been opening up to new ideas for services to offer my clients. The power of combining these mediums can create a very emotional response.

Here is my first attempt at Photofusion.

Animals in Need

2010-10-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've always had a love of all animals, wildlife as well as domesticated. I recently visited a few non profit organizations that focused on caring for abandoned domesticated animals. Two in particular really touched my heart, the Shoestring Ranch in Long Beach, CA (http://www.shoestringcityranch.org/) and Living Free in Idyllwild,CA (http://www.living-free.org/). Shoestring Ranch accepts any animal that is in need of a home, mostly those that would usually be found on a ranch or farm. From goats, to sheep, chickens, ducks, rabbits, donkeys, llamas, and horses.

Living Free; saves cats and dogs that are ready to be euthanized from various shelters around southern California, rehabilitates and finds qualified home for orphaned and abused cats and dogs. What makes this organization really unique is that the animals are not caged and are free to roam in designated areas allowing them to show their true personality. Animals that don't get adopted live out their entire lives at the shelter.

On Saturday, October 16th from 10am to 5pm, I will be vending my fine art at an event to support Living Free. I have donated a gift certificate for $150 to be auctioned off that can be used for any of my photography services. I am also going to give any of you who attend the event a $25 gift certificate just for attending. There will also be a special celebrity guest appearance, entertainment, other Arts/Crafts vendors, Antique car show, pumpkin carving contest, face painting, and plenty of food. Suggested donation for this event is $5. http://www.living-free.org/about/news.html

Designing

2010-08-25T02:07:00.000-07:00

As an artist, I am constantly trying to come up with creative services that I can offer my clients, hopefully, something that most photographers will not offer. I have an unique way of designing composites and albums. Every single one of my designs is uniquely designed for each client. I use my own photographs to add texture and often use my photographs to create photoshop brushes.

Two page spread of an album I designed from the latest wedding I photographed.

Composite I created using photos of my client's baby and the background is a random wall I photographed in downtown LA.

I used a photograph I took of the Nusbaum family hand prints in their backyard to create this composite.

I designed this business card for a group of belly dancers,Bella Oasis, using my photograph of the group.

Lindell Wedding

2010-07-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I photographed a wedding in Santa Maria for Shawn and Noreen Lindell. What a pleasure! Just about everyone at the wedding was warm and welcoming, I felt like part of the family.

Most weddings that I have photographed have been organized slightly different. I have not photographed many that had the bride getting ready, the ceremony, and the reception all at the same venue. This gave us less time to take photos because it was harder to pull the couple away from all the guests and the time allotted for photos was condensed. As opposed to, normally having my clients moving from venue to venue, which makes it easier to slip away without explaining to everyone what we were doing.

Having to adapt to something your not accustomed to is common with Wedding photography. You must also be aware of both the bride and groom's culture. Their family members might not get your jokes or could find them offensive if they are of a different culture.

Sunset Portraits at the Beach

2010-07-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I took a workshop on creating portraits at the beach under different lighting conditions and focused a little on posing.

A few of these shots we just watched the couple play. There was very little posing done and more capturing the couple playing.

I love silhouettes, you'll see a lot of them in my work. They're so easy to take, but they always look so beautiful to me.

This photo was taking using a LED video light which a lot of photographers are using instead of a flash. The constant lighting allows you to capture images without having to wait for flashes to recycle their power for the next shot.

Vanessa and Izzy

2010-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Before my recent trip to Hawai'i I got together with a friend of mine from high school to do a photoshoot with her and her daughter. I was very excited to do this type of shoot, it wasn't going to be the type of shoot I do often for family portraits,babies or weddings. It required a slightly different style that I am not used to. My friend had her hair done, had her makeup done, and we had lots of props to work with.

Izzy,the younger of the two ladies, was such a delight to photograph and it was easy to distract her with the props that we used, so there was no issue with her being comfortable.

We were fortunate enough to use James Noonan's wearhouse which houses all types of props for all types of events at very reasonable prices. www.eventsbynoonan.com

Wedding Season!

2010-04-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed that I have been neglecting my blog these past couple of months. I have been struggling to balance working at our family ran Income Tax Service and my photography work. A typical day for me would start at 4:30am and end at around 12am the next morning with a great deal of my free time spent commuting on the 91 freeway.

Now that tax season is finally over, wedding season is right around the corner. Despite the long hours spent at our tax office, the transition is running smoothly for me. I already have seven weddings booked for the summer with several engagement sessions already photographed and even more pending. I just need to find the time to catch up with editing my images I have already photographed.

These images are from one of my latest engagement sessions I have photographed.

Practice makes Picture Perfect!

2010-01-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I had the privilege to attend a photography workshop on the skills needed to photograph Bald Eagles in their natural habitat; for this our workshop group travelled to Big Bear. The workshop was sponsored by Canon, because of this we were able to use top of the line camera lenses. I got to use a 600mm lens, which can cost up to a retail price of about $8,000.00; which incidentally I almost dropped from a slip while I was walking on ice to follow an Eagle.

Now I never really had an interest in photographing birds, this is mainly due to the fact of required or “essential” equipment needed for this style of photography; not to mention birds are just in general difficult to photograph! However, I recently began having the desire to photograph Bald Eagles in the wild when I saw a Bald Eagle at the Santa Ana Zoo.

I photographed this bald eagle at the zoo.

After seeing this majestic bird, the urge to see one in the wild became overwhelming. The photographing of a bird that has been such an important symbol to our country was a great honor, but to capture the Bald Eagle in its full majesty, it needed to be photographed while in flight; only then can the beauty of the Bald Eagle truly be appreciated. The eagle we found was a young or immature; which is an eagle that is less than 5 years old and hasn’t fully matured, because of this, the Bald Eagle we found didn't quite have the look that Bald Eagles are most known for.
Once an eagle was spotted, we had to wait patiently for the eagle to leave its spot; the purpose of this was to capture in-flight images of the Bald Eagle. Photographing a Bald Eagle was more waiting than anything else and not to mention the Ravens that were often chasing off the eagles. Needless to say, when the moment was right, It was all worth the while.

Into a New Decade

2010-01-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

It is now 2010, another year has conveniently gone by and with all circles, a new one is just around the corner like a wave at a coliseum getting ready to come down on me without notice. 2009 was a struggle for me; between working for myself and working for another company I had little time for family, and my personal life. But this year things will change, this year I plan to spend more time with my son, Anakin. Three and a half years have gone by since his birth and it feels like time is going by faster and faster as he progresses with his development and I need to make sure I am an important role in that development.

Along with spending time with my son, I plan to spend more time with my family in general. This year is going to be crazy, and I can’t wait! We are already planning a few trips; the biggest ones are to Pennsylvania with the potential of Hawai’i as well. Of course, these trips won’t be pure leisure; with my camera and equipment handy, there will be time where it will still feel like work. I already have great ideas for shots in Pennsylvania, and when that day arrives, I will share them with all of you to see and enjoy.

Not to sound too cliché but with every New Years, there are the traditional resolutions, I would like to share mine with you all.

My New Year’s Resolutions are:

1. To reconnect with old friends and make a couple new ones.

2. Follow my financial Plan for the year

3. Keep in shape

4. Just out more and have fun!

Oh, also; i had the privilege of attending my good friend's Meike and Matthew Rusting-Morey's New Year's Eve party. It was a blast! I took some pictures to catalog the event. It was decided to be a formal event. Nothing like good times with good friends, to bring in the new year.

Myself and Matthew:

My brothers Ron and Rudy also attended, here is Rudy, dressed to impress:

My Girlfriend Cellanae was there as well with one of her sister's and their boyfriend:
And not to forget the man of the hour, Norm the Gnome and all his glorious splendor:
I hope to see all you in 2010!

Big Bear

2009-12-31T00:38:00.000-08:00

The holiday seasons are the best times of the year to spend with your families. This year, during the Christmas time holiday season was even more special for my family. It felt even more like Christmas, as my family and I spent the weekend before Christmas in Big Bear during which time, most of the peaks were covered with snow. What beautiful views! No matter how many times I visit this area during the winter, I Still find it hard to believe that such a cold and wintery place can be seen here in Southern California.

We spent 3 days and 2 nights with my girlfriend's family in a nice and cozy cabin close to Bear Mountain Ski Resort and Moonridge Zoo. Moonridge Zoo is a small zoo in the Big Bear area that has a lot of animals unique to the mountain range, and other animals more commonly seen as well. We got to enjoy the Grizzlies, Bald Eagles, Owls, Wolves, Porcupines, Mountain Lions, Wood Bison, and even a Snow Leopard. If you're ever in Big Bear, you must check this zoo out! It’s small, but has many beautiful animals. http://moonridgezoo.org/

This trip was my son, Anakin's, first time experiencing the snow. He was a little apprehensive at first, especially after seeing other children speeding down the neighboring hills of snow. He was so nervous, he didn't even want to get on the sled. After a few times of showing him that it was fun and safe, he finally tried it. He went so fast I thought he'd be scared. To my surprise, he got off his sled and said, "Again! I want to do it again!" with a big smile on his face. He absolutely loved sledding and playing in the snow and despite having gotten wet from several of his many “sled crashes”, every time he got back up eager to try it again.

With every vacation I take, a large portion of my itinerary is dedicated to my photography. I had planned to go snow shoeing before dawn or before sun down up one of the peaks that overlooked the area; unfortunately, squeezing this plan in with 10 other people, all wanting to do something different proved to be very difficult. Instead we decided to focus on taking family portraits. I ended up printing a large print of the whole family for my girlfriend's parents. Now when I go to visit their family at their home, I'll always be reminded of this wonderful weekend we all had together; and Anakin’s first experience in the snow.

Landscape Photography -- Not for the Weak

2009-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

Landscape photography is much more difficult than most individuals give credit for. I’m sure you've all read some form of magazine, from the beautiful landscapes on National Geographic or Backpacker Magazine to the mountain background for a “rugged” vehicle on Maxim or Cosmopolitan. One thing most individuals do not think of is how much trouble some photographers go through to provide these images to the world.

I recently attempted this myself by venturing out to brave the wilderness of the San Bernardino Mountains, just south of San Gorgonio; is one of Southern California's largest mountains, to capture the mountain with one of the most dramatic effects you can have on a landscape, snow. Snow can be very difficult to travel in, especially when weather is bad. Yes I checked the weather before I left! It was supposed to be scattered showers; instead we received rain for 6 straight hours. My brother and I only hiked 4 miles total, but the weather was brutal! It rained, snowed, and hailed non-stop while we were hiking through San Bernardino Mountains. Even as we sat down to eat our lunch, it continued to pour down rain, so we ended up eating soggy sandwiches, not very appetizing. After hours of waiting for the rain to subside, my brother and I looked to each other and agreed that a part in the clouds was not going to be a part of our trip. It was at this point that I had enough I was cold, wet, and with the weather coming down on us as persistent as it was, we tallied up the score, and began the hike home, Mother Nature=1 Chris=0. Though our trip was long and the weather was rough, we were nowhere near where we wanted to be, but due to the weather as well there was almost no chance of getting the shot I was hoping to get. I hate to sound cliché, but it is true what they say about mountaineering, most accidents happen on the way down. On the way back down, I must have fallen about ten times. One time I fell and hit my knee on a rock, I still feel it strain caused by it too! I even lost my water bottle while I was “stumbling” down the mountain. It was flooded in the area, so when there is an abundance of water in the snow, it becomes slushed, slushy snow is NOT fun to walk in, let alone hike. I was so bummed to have not one shot, so I decided to take a quick self portrait of myself to document the trip. My camera got so wet just from taking it out for one shot; it is amazing to think what professional landscape photographers go through to get these shots and the lengths they travel to obtain them. I only went 4 miles and only got this one shot! Though I am not at the caliber of a professional landscape photographer, I will be, until then I will continue to train and practice, I am ready for round 2 next week :) who’s coming with me?!

Looking a lot Like Christmas

2009-12-12T01:56:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again, and with the holidays just around the corner, and I am just now starting to market my work towards this season. It has been a rough month, as my time has been divided between helping my father run his income tax business, and handling the responsibilities of my photography business as well. So, despite being a little behind, I am prepared for anyone else who is also behind on their personalized holiday family photos.

My first holiday themed photo session for this year was taken with the Nusbaum family. What a joy! I met the Nusbaum family while working for Our 365 portraits. I was sent to their home to photograph their daughter Isabell and we hit it off despite the fact that I was an hour late to our session. I was pleased to hear back from them after I left the company, it seems my professionalism and skills as a photographer made a great impact! It’s been very enjoyable being able to see their daughter grow. Children grow so fast! I know it sounds cliché, but you truly never realize it how quickly children grow until you have children of your own; all of you parents know exactly what I am talking about. Anyhow, the holiday themed session went smoothly, despite having to include two dogs and a one year old in the photo. During the photo session I do tend to notice my faults, I tend to rush certain types of sessions out of bad habits obtained from working at my previous employer. Having a deadline of up to 8 sessions in a day with locations varying from 10-20 miles apart from each other, it is easy to get lost in the time it takes to create quality photos. So unfortunately, by habit I have conditioned myself to rush through photo sessions; this is definitely a habit I intend to break. Despite this, these images came out beautifully as you can see :) I also went on to turn this picture into a greeting card designed by myself for the Nusbaum family.

If anyone may be interested, am offering reasonably priced in home sessions starting at $80 with some packages including low res CDs and custom made Holiday Greeting Cards. Review my website for more info on my holiday deals. Tell your friends about my offer and I will give you either a cash referral fee or credit towards prints for future sessions with me. I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday with your loved ones!

My Exploration through Photography!

2009-12-09T00:07:00.001-08:00

Hello, and welcome to my Blog! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Christopher Jonathan Ramirez, and I am a professional photographer that markets myself through my company “CJR Photography.” I have decided to start this blog to share a little bit of who I am, my photography, and my ongoing personal life with both my clients and friends.

Though I have always been interested in photography, my extreme passion for photography had developed during my high school years. It wasn’t until I decided to take a trip to Hawai'i with my sister, that I would realize how much photography would impact my life. This was the first time I had been so far from home let alone to an exotic place such as Hawai’i. Never before had I ever been exposed to such beautiful landscapes and sunsets that had more color than some of the best rainbows here in California; in person anyway. Eager and anxious to bring back my memories to my family back home, I used my brother’s Canon Rebel(35mm SLR) and began to take as many pictures as I could, documenting, as well as a teenage “explorer” could, as much of this trip as possible. I must have shot about 40 rolls of film; and using all my previous birthday money I had been saving up for a special occasion, I had developed all the film. This was the first time I had ever picked up a SLR (or a Single Lens Reflex style camera) and was pleasantly surprised to see the results of all the images I captured. This prompted me to look further into photography and my new fascination, so I decided to take a class in high school where I learned the basics fundamentals of photography and how to create and develop slides, as well as black & white film. After I took this basic photography class, I knew I wanted to do more with photography, so I joined the ATA (Arts and Technology Academy) at school. This was a program at my high school that allowed students to apply their artistic abilities with most of their high school curriculum and help to integrate them together.

A few years after high school, my photography started generating some income. I began to receive offers from friends that needed a photographer for baptisms, quinceaneras, weddings, and personal or family portraits. This experience led to an eventual job as an in-house baby photographer for a portrait company, called “OUR 365 Portraits”. This provided an in-home photo session for newborn babies, so families could capture a professional style studio portrait without having to leave the comforts of their own home. A year later with over 800 photo sessions under my belt, I went off my own. I am now exploring different styles and types of photography, and this, my new blog is where you can share this exploration with me :)