Isoy

Unassuming

© 2014 Rob Castro

Taken one Friday night at the street of Claremont, California. I've been in a rut. I haven't been creative. I was getting depressed. I needed to go out.

Gallery http://www.justanobserver.com/

Blog http://www.juzno.com/

Helga checks her email

Helga is waiting for her date. But her date is an idiot. Russell always forgets his schedule. (He has done this before with his other dates - but that's another story.) So he sends Helga a message.

"M on my way. Ritz Carlton OK with U?"

Helga is amused and takes another drag from her electronic cigarette.

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Physician heal thyself: This is really a botched shot but I really like the gesture so it's a keeper for me. It's for the most part blurry (by accident) and I should have been focusing on her face but ended up focusing on her cell phone. This is pretty common in street photography when anything (in this case it was me) would be moving and unpredictable (also me). Almost all photographers make this mistake. Maybe Apple will like this photo and use it for their next iPhone 10.0.

[Fujifilm X-Pro 1, 35mm, Buda, Hungary]
Copyright 2013 Rob Castro

Dahil Sa Iyo

Michelangelo:  Where are you originally from?

Juzno:  From Mars.

Michelangelo:  I will sing you a song from your place.

Juzno:  Okay.

Michelangelo (singing):  Dahil sa iyo … nais kung mabuhay...

Earl while his mojo is working

© 2014 Rob Castro

Juzno:  Can I make a request?

Earl:  I don't do request. Can't you see that I'm a hip old jazz artist portrayed in classic film-noir black and white?

Juzno:  How did you get those streaks behind you?

Earl:  I don't know but every time I play the sax they seem to follow me.

Juzno:  You really are a hip old jazz artist.  Are you portrayed in colored?

Earl:  Never.  Colored is a bad word.

Juzno:  Oh.



Gallery http://www.justanobserver.com

Where are we?

"Where are we?" Mildred cried out.

Captain Hook had taken the children to his secret cabin. In the meantime, Vera and Chuck were arguing with one another on who is the greatest of them all. Vera thought that she could out do Mildred who was the presumptive leader. She tried to convince Chuck of this since she was older than him. Chuck made the argument that he was the only son and therefore heir to the throne.

Teenage Hobo Dude

Alleen

© 2014 Rob Castro

Alleen is her middle name.  But she goes by Kamilah.  Sometimes I refer to her as KC in my writings.  Rose calls her Baboo.  But most of the time she is just our Pangga.

Shot last Autumn.  I needed a model to test my lighting set up.  KC is always willing to comply.  I think I used a small soft box on this one. I must have read somewhere that one is suppose to point the light on the subject's nose.  I think I pointed it at angle instead.  Don't really remember.  But it seems that way now that I'm looking at it.  Or maybe she turned her head when I took the shot.  Yet I am quite content with this test shot.  It's all that matters.

The Fat Lady Sings the Blues

© 2014 Rob Castro

For me, one of the highlights in our tour to Spain was watching a flamenco show in Seville.  We enjoyed the dancing and the flamenco guitars.  But the best was this Diva whose voice captivated everybody.

A Day at the Library in the Age of Innocence

Babe 1:  Oh, great, they still have Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.  That's got to be heavy.  I'm checking it out.

Babe 2:  I wonder if  I should check out Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House or should I go for Neil Young's Waging Heavy Peace?

Hope your day is going well.

If not, then here's something to cheer you up.  The age of innocence.  Youth.  The future.  I know you will not let them down.

Have a great weekend.  Peace. - R

Cool Scott Pose

© 2014 Rob Castro

He is a rebel.

I was fortunate to get this shot.  Taken on available light outdoor with a vintage Zeiss Ikon Nettar (circa 1949) using Kodak TMAX 400.  The popup viewfinder is pretty much useless when it comes to focusing.  One just have to guess how far to focus.  I figured about four and half feet.  The view finder only serves as a guide in framing one's composition.  I didn't even meter this and just went for broke.  Except for this exposure, everything I shot on the film roll was botched.  I developed the film using generic solutions, and scanned the negative.  The scanned image was processed in PS for dodging and burning, and darkening the background.  I know the image is not comparable to Irving Penn but I am quite proud of this shot.

David and the Mindlessly Jejune World

David:  Mommy, when I grow up - I want to be a rock and roll musician.

Mommy: Now David - which will it be?  You can't be both.

Stealing Avedon

Art © 2014 Rob Castro

A wise photographer once said, "The lights don't matter.  The camera doesn't matter.  The lens doesn't matter. The only thing that matters (to a portrait photographer) is, how do you get that look in their eyes?"  Yowsa.

Making Cocktail

© 2014 Rob Castro