High in the Mountains

I took four people from the US and Mexico to Angeles de Medellin today. We had a blast taking pics of the kids and visiting Marcos. Here are some of the pics from today:

Michael shooting a shooter

95 year old man in El Retiro. He perked up when we told him we wanted photos.

Killer portrait taken by Marco. Creative lighting!

This dog was eating flys that were buzzing around his head.

Lightenupandshoot "Tag Along" Crankin' Out Images

I shot with 4 photographers who flew in from Orlando, New Orleans, Monterrey, Mexico, New York City for the Lightenupandshoot "Tag Along" in Antioquia, Colombia.

Old man in El Tiro, Colombia shot by Aaron Wilson:

Shot of fashion photographer, Esteban Esbor by Michael Thompson:

Shot of Alex, producer of Lightenupandshoot by Michael Coto

Shot of a typical Paisa in the Parque El Retiro, taken by Michael Coto. This is the 1% shot!!!!

Model from NYC - Laura E.

My friend, Laura, is a model from NYC and we put together a production in Tampa Bay, Florida.  Laura was cool enough to model, direct and shoot while I had a video crew film the whole process.  Here's a small sample of some natural light shots from the end of the shoot.

Shooting Vivi

I was on a popular TV show in Latin America called "What's Up."  One of the cool things about being an international photographer is reconnecting with old clients.  The producers of Teleantioquia contacted me and put me in touch with a pop singer, Vivi, that needs photos for her new album.  The two of us met a few days to go over creative ideas and today we shot.  I even persuaded Vivi to let me roll video of the entire process.  Here's a peak:

Calarca, Colombia

My first time in the Departamento de Quindio, which is in the beautiful coffee region south of Medellin, Colombia.  I was fascinated by the slight difference in architecture to that of the Departamento de Antioquia. 

Here's a roughly stitched street scene of three images.  When I took the shots I didn't think of stitching them together;  as I was looking through images in Lightroom I realized that the three pictures needed to be one.  Walking through the streets had me thinking of what it must have been like 150 years ago (not much has changed).

This pic was taken in one of the many small pueblos in Quindio called Calarca. 

blanco y negro corto - (black and white short)

Enjoy this short video:

Finished up my 10 day photography trip in South America

I could not have asked for a better trip! I have countless photos and videos to go through. The trip went something like this: we blazed out of Medellin and first stopped in Jardin for two days to cut our teeth on video and photo techniques. After getting to know our strengths we bolted down to Valparaiso to shoot a small indigenous tribe before spending the night in Supia. We had heard that we could ask around the town to see if we could find a guide to take us into the goldmines. With a little luck and over a few beers we found a guide and met up at the goldmines in the morning. The video is going to be awesome!!! Leaving the goldmines we settled into Manizales and froze our tails off! We decided to take a day of rest and crank out a video. The hostel was overrun by our computers and planning for the next leg, Armenia. When we arrived in Armenia, we connected with a photography school called Contacto Escuela. They took us under their wing, showed us around and lined up a shoot for us on the rooftop the following day. After the shoot Troy and I gave a presentation for the students; my first attempt at a presentation in Spanish! Finishing up in Armenia we headed into Salento for a shoot with two models from Contacto. More video and photos to come! It's time to recover and sift through hours of video that Troy shot.

10 Day Photography Adventure in South America!

If you want to read the whole skinny and watch the video be sure to check out the latest post on my trip to Colombia Photography Trip.  In the meantime enjoy some of these photos taken the past few days:  Jardin, Valparaiso, Supia and Manizales.

Gearing up for 2012

Self-portrait - Playing with Hard Light

I completely destroyed my bedroom while working on some lighting ideas.  I wound up doing a self-portrait.  I used my ML-L3 remote for the first time.  Serious look, red scarf and two light set up.  More to come...

mixing, moving, shaping, playing with light

I have started playing with a very affective light set up that gives me tons of flexibility.  It's rather simple;  I point two lights towards each other and then shove the model directly in between.  I can then move the model in and out of the two lights while shooting from all different directions.  I don't have to move the lights...I move and I move the subject until I find the shot. 

Crazy shoot yesterday.  Almost started a riot in the hood, parrots showed up out of no where, 4 cop cars blocked the street while I shot.  When I asked my model, Laura E., what kind of music she wanted to hear she said, "Metal."

New York City - Architecture

I was walking around Sunday in New York City after a long week of teaching a workshop and giving a presentation at B&H Photo.  I decided to do some shooting for myself and ventured into the lower east side.  I became fascinated by rooftops and this is my vision.  Simple set up:  24mm lens and a ND filter to produce some vignetting.  A little messing around with color kept me inspired in post.

St. Louis Cemetery in New Orleans - Voodoo!

New Orleans has always been one of my favorite cities to visit.  From the smells of debauchery on Bourbon Street, the sounds of the origin of jazz, the aroma of French creole cooking and the vibe of back porch voodoo, New Orleans has a special place in my heart.

I'm in New Orleans hanging out with a group of photographers this weekend.  We are about to set out on a photo adventure that captures the essence of New Orleans.  I managed to get some shoot time before everyone else arrived and soak up some of the vibes.  I walked around one of the above ground cemeteries shooting with my Lensbaby fisheye and a ND and noticed some voodoo being practiced in the cemetery.  Check out the last shot of this series.

Jenna Z

I had a great time shooting with the Backpacker Studio in Cocoa Beach.  I've decided to get back to my roots of traveling light and having fun.  Less gear, more communication, experience the adventure and search for the Holy Grail of shots.

I found an old mobile home park in Clearwater that I like.  It has a weird vibe to it, I felt like I was stuck in the 1950's with a bunch of old people staring at me.  But,  the pics are kind of cool.  Amber and I went for a retro vibe.  I used a beauty dish, octabox, bare bulb, softbox, ND filter, 50mm 1.4 and broke my Westcott.

No assistant today.  Windy as hell, semi-hot, full sunny conditions and strange location.  You can feel it in the pics.  But,  I like the strangeness of these images.