Frame x Frame: Shots in the Street

*Before I continue this post, I will disclaim that I am NOT a photographer, but a man with a nice camera who likes to take pictures. There is a difference. 

Yesterday, while I was out in the street and had some time to kill, I would take a couple of pictures. I wasn't prepared to just snap at any random thing or object; I was going to shoot people walking by. In preparation for NYC's Fashion Week, happening in a couple of weeks, I wanted to practice taking some street-style photography, which is a popular art among most freelance and fashion photographers. My initial feelings were nervous and excited. There I was, standing in the middle of Downtown Brooklyn, with camera in hand, ready to capture the most fashionable people to my eye. 

(Click FULL ALBUM to see all the pictures)

At first, it was hard to take pictures of people because everyone was walking fast and I was afraid to get in a person's face with a camera, so most of the shots were taken from behind (a lot of people have this hidden fear of cameras, which I dub "camerophobia"). Most shots were also too far away, due to the limited focal length of my lens (in other words, I wasn't able to zoom in closer to take better shots). I learned that speed and precision is crucial when taking street photos. I almost felt like a street assassin; I had to stoop down for the shot, aim accurately and shoot my subject all before they either "dodged" the shot (moved out of the way), or walked off. Not prepared to chase someone down for a picture, there were some good opportunities that got away, but I stay determined to capture some good stills. Outside of speed and accuracy, courtesy was another tool that I didn't realize could come in handy. Most people, when asked if a picture can be taken of them by a random stranger, immediately raise their defenses with a load of questions and rejections. Aware of this, I experimented on two individuals by asking nicely if I can take their picture. After I explained it was for my blog, they politely and skeptically inclined and I took the shot, no bloodshed. 

After my shooting spree in the street, I reviewed my photos over a nice hot chocolate from Dunkin' Donuts. I noticed, throughout the day, I kept shooting women with red jackets on. After noticing this, I was determined to find more ladies with red jackets on, as to develop a theme. I think that inspiration came from the mind of Bill Cunningham (an extraordinary street-style photographer for the NY Times; his documentary was amazing). He would usually find a common trend to focus on and find people in the street with a similar style or look. Though not intentional, I did catch a few red-topped ladies, which in Cunningham fashion, I called the style trend "Cherry on Top." My favorite pictures were of people in motion, whether crossing the street (which is the best place and time to take pictures of people), running for some reason, or just standing around, waiting for something. Overall, it was also a challenge to find people who I considered fashionable, but I went about it by finding the people most well put together and unique in my taste.

After all this, I have something to show off and be proud of. I wish I had a better lens for street photos and some more experience capturing people in the moment, but as I said in the beginning, I'm just a man with a nice camera who likes to take pictures.

-Video Vix[o]n

Frame x Frame: Crooks and Cooks

With most of the free time I have had on my hands after my seasonal stunt at UPS, I found the time to become creative again, with my camera as well as in the kitchen.

My first project for the year was a music video that Joshen spearheaded with an artist named Sin. When Joshen first approached me about the video, it sounded like an opportunity to get my hands busy after a long creative hiatus (despite it being a paying gig, I was more than willing to help). When he told me the name of the song "Daddy was a Crook," at first thought, it didn't sound very positive or meaningful, but when he explained the concept of the video further, it translated differently into something I could understand. I haven't had the opportunity to work on much music videos except my own musical spoofs that I produced on my Youtube channel. Nonetheless, this gig would give me a better idea of how to pull off a music video step by step. What I took from the experience is it takes a lot of people to make a music video successful and dedication to complete the project in a proper time frame. Though the weather was blistering cold at some points and these were some gaps of time when nothing was happening, the video came out visually pleasing. Completing this video has inspired me to want to direct my own music video with an upcoming artist just to get the experience under my belt. Hopefully, I will find a willing participant who will want me to make their musical vision a reality.



While searching for my creativity in video, I've become more free to exploring my creative juices in cooking. With the help of my significant other, I have been creating different dishes that have been coming out pretty good. When I was younger, my step mom always wanted me to be in the kitchen to learn how to cook, but I was always more into eating the food than preparing it. I never had the confidence to cook due to my accident-prone behaviors. These days, I have more patience and confidence in finding a recipe, shopping for ingredients and making the things that I like to eat. This, by no means, makes me a culinary master. I still have a lot to learn and I'm sure all the things I have made thus far hasn't been the best. Cooking is similar to videography in they both take a lot of elements to work, in the sense of color, taste, getting the right look and preparation. Even referencing the process of rendering a video as "cooking" makes that correlation even more prominent. As one who enjoys food, I'll continue to make food dishes and perfect my craft as I do in video-making; the end result is that something comes out delicious.

The Internet Goes Black

*UPDATE: THE SOPA/PIPA BILL HAS BEEN POSTPONED FROM VOTE!!!
(Visit Sopa Countdown for more information)

The only time people look forward to countdowns are their birthdays, Christmas or vacation time off of work. The countdown above, however, is for none of these celebratory dates. 

The countdown represents the day after January 24th, 2012, when Senate will be voting to pass the SOPA bill. For those who aren't up to speed, the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) or the PIPA (Protect IP Act) bill was introduced to House of Representatives as a means in preventing sites on the Internet from facilitating and hosting copyrighted materials on the web. The idea of this bill has good intentions; prevent sites from promoting the piracy of intellectual property by others and hold those sites accountable legally with jail time and fines. The main effects of the bill would be to fine pirate-affiliated sites, block search engines from directing to the site, ban online advertisements related to the pirate site and ultimately, forcing ISP (Internet Service Providers) to prevent any access to said sites. Though I agree with protecting one's intellectual property more than the next person, from my research, the ripple effects of this bill can cause greater issues than stopping a few Internet pirates; it can cause the censorship of the whole Internet.

Let's take Youtube, for example (considering I make Youtube videos and all). Let's say, under the SOPA bill, "Youtuber A" uploads a video that contains copyrighted materials, such as a clip from "Company B", as a way of sharing with their audience their views on a topic. "Company B" comes across "Youtuber A's" video and discovers their IP (intellectual property) has been used unfairly. Under the act, "Company B" can decide to take legal action and report "Youtuber A," which would lead to Youtube being reprimanded for hosting pirated property and eventually being blocked by internet searches, then... Armageddon, right on schedule.

For the sake of Youtube, and other sites out there that are threatened by this bill, I'm using January 18th, 2012, dubbed Internet Protest Day, to voice my opinion about this bill and stand up for the Internet. The Senate needs to understand the snowball effects this bill can have on the rest of the internet. Become a good Internet citizen and go to this site (after January 18th, 2012) and send a letter to your Senators, telling them NOT to pass SOPA. As Captain Planet would say "The Power is Yours!" Don't let the Internet become "All Black Everything."

-Video Vix[o]n

Sh!t Everyone Says

It all started with a short 1 minute video by creators Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard almost a month ago. Weeks later, it has become of the most popular and re-created videos on Youtube. The concept was so simple, but genius: A guy in a wig, mocking what girls would typically say or do on a regular basis. From this video, Billy Sorrells took the ball and rolled with it a few days later, creating the color counterpart called "Shit Black Girls Say," which also became a hit.




From that moment, other video makers on Youtube took it upon themselves to add to the snowball of this new viral meme of "Shit ___ Say" and, safe to say, a lot of people were going viral simultaneously. I've dubbed this Internet trend "Chain Viral." From the original link that became popular, other links were added that received the same stream of popularity as the first one. Though some links may be smaller or weaker than others, the chain itself became longer with each video made based and inspired by the original.

It's no surprise to see why these, and other "Shit, Say" videos are blowing up on Youtube. Everyday, we say things and do things that we don't notice to be comedic, but when they are brought to light, they become funny to us because they're familiar. Take for instance, when the two girlfriends met in each video, they screamed in excitement to see each other. In real life, it seems like a normal thing, but the video creators realized that it happens so often where most can relate to it and laugh at its accuracy. In essence, these videos help us to laugh at ourselves and realize we all are the same, whether a white girl or black girl (or any other type of person a video has been made for). Even my video partner, Joshen, jumped on the "Shit, Say" coaster and made a video about Shit Poor People Say, which came out pretty funny.

I'm just glad that I was able to witness a new Internet viral meme be born. Hopefully, one day, I can become the creator of a viral hit and have everyone saying shit about it. Until that day, you'll have to stay tuned.

-Video Vix[o]n

Frame x Frame: New Year; New Blog

"Happy New Year to everyone. They say 2012 is suppose to be the end, but we'll show 'em it's the beginning of something dope." 

I shared this status on all of my social media sites as the new year rang in. Most people have been associating 2012 with "The New Apocalypse" ever since people discovered the Mayans ran out of months on their calender. I think of it as if we survived Y2K, we can survive an expired record of time from an ancient civilization. From what I've learned from "Doctor Who," the human race is quite resilient.

I spent the Eve with most of my close friends, being productive and merry; no Time Square, no crowds, just watching Dick Clark once more on the tube with my significant other. On New Year's Day, we decided to hit the town and just live within the NYC streets and the aftermath of the New Year buzz. We mainly went shopping and got some food, all to enjoy the NYC weather and the fresh 2012 air (despite the rain the followed later on that evening).

The New Year also dawned some new aesthetic changes to the blog; including a new header, links to my social networks and a new "Rewards" tab that viewers can receive points for visiting the site, as well as sharing my posts. The most significant change I made was deleting the majority of my old posts. For some, that may come as a shocker, but I think the issue with my blog was some of the old content was weighing down the new content. Plus I didn't want to continue focusing on what my blog was more than what my blog can become. Outside of that, I felt deleting posts would have been more progressive than deleting the whole blog all together. With some of these changes, including the addition of my new picture posts ("Frame x Frame"), I'm getting a new found rejuvenation to blog again. 

I could call all of this a New Year's resolution, but I rather call it a new commitment for a new year (possibly the same thing, but I digress). Happy New Year everyone and here's to the new posts coming ahead. 

-Video Vix[o]n