Only in Texas - Weird prison Sign
Interstate Highway I-35 between Laredo and San Antonio, Texas.
August 28, 2008
July 10, 2008
Paraty at Night during FLIP 6
Paraty is one of the most beautiful colonial towns in Brasil. In addition to the cobblestones and gorgeous colonial architecture, Paraty has the added bonues of being a costal city with a charming port and a beautiful bay. Paraty is south of Rio de Janeiro, and its the last municipality on the Rio de Janiero state coast line. The next municipality going south is Ubatuba in the north coast of the Sao Paulo state.
Paraty is home to one of the most famous literary festivals in Brasil and Latin America. Every year its "Festa Literaria Internacional de Paraty" FLIP attracts thousands of people from all around the world. Its latest edition finished last weekend and it was, as always, a success. Here are some pictures of Paraty at the time of the 6th Edition of FLIP. You can click on ony of them to visit their flickr pages.
Striking image of the streets of Paraty at night. White houses and colorful doors and window frames and their reflection on water in the middle of a cobblestone street.
This is one of the large tents in which the FLIP was help. You can see the silhouettes of the people participating at the event as well as the reflection on the nearby canal.
Two girls read with attention one of the Panels displaying children's art at the 6th FLIP.
July 04, 2008
My light blue truck
I recently bumped into this guy who was very proudly riding his light blue Chevy truck on the Fashion district of Sao Paulo, the Oscar Freire Street. As you can see in the picture, all kinds of people were very excited with this very cool truck. The color is also remarkable, as I remember that light blue was quite commen when I was a kid, 30 something years ago. I hope you like it. Click on the picture for its flickr page. Can you see its Chevy logo with the map on Brasil in it?
June 28, 2008
Fishing for Tainhas in the South of Brasil
The winter in the southern hemisphere of the world is quickly approaching. The water near the poles starts to get colder and colder and as a result of that many variety of fish emigrate to warmer waters traveling up north. Right now, states like Santa Catarina in the South of Brasil witness the migration of large groups of fish like the Tainhas as they pass through their coast line.
The groups of Tainhas are also identified by the presence of a variety of dolphins which is commonly known as Boto by the locals. If there is Boto on the water, you can pretty much count with finding schools of fish around. Tainhas are caught wising nets that can be either small and deployed by a person or large and deployed by a group of fishermen.
I recently published a sequence of 12 photos showing how fisherman wait and then deploy their fishnets into the sea. Here are a few of the photos, click on any of them to visit its flickr page and see the rest of the sequence there. There are 12 of them, and only 8 published here.
This is the start of the sequence. A fisherman has the fishnet in his hands and waits for the right tide to deply his fishnet.
This is the second picture on the sequence. The fisherman starts to move his body similar to a golfer to be able to swing the fishnet as far as possible from the shore.
This is the fifth photo of the sequence. The fisherman makes a powerful swing with the net to cast them as far as possible.
Picture 6 of 12: The swing of the fishet is in full motion. Look how the movement of the fishnet is captured perfectly on this shot.
Picture 7 of 12: The fishnet is finally on the air as it goes out of the fisherman's hands. The fisherman secures the net by a rope.
Photo 9 of 12. The fishnet is fully open and flying through the air.
Photo 11 out of 12: The fishnet starts to hit the water, fully opened.
Final photo: The rounded splash of ths fishnet is captured.
June 17, 2008
World Naked Bike Ride meets Sao Paulo's fashion district
Last Saturday, I was walking and taking photos in São Paulo’s upscale fashion district, the Oscar Freire Street. Oscar Freire is basically a city street turned into a mall that hosts the most exclusive boutiques in town. In many ways, it is not different from NYC´s Fifth Avenue or Beverly Hills´ Rodeo Drive. The people’s behaviors are not different from those in other upscale fashion districts either: you see lots of well dressed men and women carrying bags with the most famous luxury brands in their hands. The people seem to be trying to imitate fashion show models as they walk through the street. They are serious and somehow arrogant.
But all of this was suddenly interrupted this last Saturday, June 14th 2008. The street was suddenly filled with cyclists participating on the global event, World Naked Bike Ride. The event, also known as WNBR, it is an ecological protest against car usage in which its participants all ride bikes naked through the city streets. It has been a very successful event in cities such as London, Chicago, Amsterdam and many others.
In the case of the São Paulo version of WNBR, people were not allowed to ride naked. The police actually used violence against demonstrators at the start of the event. Participants ended up riding their bikes on swimsuits.
But coming back to Oscar Freire Street, the serious attitudes of the people in the district, all of the sudden changed. People stopped to watch the parade of bicycles. Most people laughed and made gestures of surprise. People that were working in the stores went out to look closely with their own eyes. In summary, the tight attitude was replaced by a very relaxed, Carnaval-like atmosphere.
Here are the photos of the event. Click on any of them for its flickr page. On my flickr account you can also find many more shots of the WNBR Sao Paulo 2008 event.
June 13, 2008
Two Romantic Photos for Dia dos Namorados
Yesterday, June 12th was Dia dos Namorados, the Brasilian equivalent to St. Valentine's day. For the ocassion I published a photo that was very visited in flickr. It got more than 500 visits in a single day. Brasilian's celebrate Lovers on June 12th, on the eve of the anniverssay of St. Anthony, which is said to be the saint for lovers.
Here is the photo that I published for the occassion (in natural black and red) and then a black and white version of the photo. You can click on any of the photos to visit its flickr page. Wishing you a happy time full of love for this weekend.
"Feliz dia dos Namorados", the original photo in its natural colors. The photo was shot with a long exposition time and using a red bulb to create the color seen here.
Dia dos Namorados in black and white. For this version I created a much different feeling by making the image brighter and making the lamp much brighter than in the original one.
Which one do you like better?
June 10, 2008
The Eye-Fi, the SD Flash card that adds Wi-Fi to any camera
The Eye-Fi is a very cool product that combines a compact SD card with a built-in Wi-Fi Transmitter. The whole product is built on the tiny SD card. In other words, it is physically the same as any other SD card, but it has the Wi-Fi functionality built on it.
SD cards are basically becoming the standard on many digital cameras given the compact size, the large capacity (now you can find cards up to 32GB) and its cost (they are way cheaper than Compact Flash, Memory Stick and other popular formats).
To explain how this works, let me explain how it will work for me. I own a Canon G7 that has a SD card slot. If I had one Eye-Fi, I could simply set it up once to my computer and WiFi router. From that moment on, any time my camera is turned on in a region of my house covered by my router, my G7 will automatically start to download my new pictures into my computer. Since I take many photos every week, this is a true blessing and one that prevents accidents such as accidentally erasing photos that I have not downloaded to my PC when I run out of chips.
In summary, a great and very innovative product. The only caveat, its price: its $100. Read another article from gizmodo on the Eye-Fi here.
June 04, 2008
What is the best entry-level DSLR? Engadget readers respond
Here is a blog post in which you can skip the text completely and go straight to the comments section. On this post the Engadget crew asks its readers what is the best entry-level DSLR camera. With summer holidays quickly approaching and SLRs becoming a more common item, this is a very interesting place to look at for advice.
Of course, if you been to photography for a while, you will find no surprises… you will see lots of Nikon and Canon advocates with a few folks going for Pentax or Olympus. Just like in real life.
Here is the address of the post.
June 03, 2008
Flying above the Caribbean
The Caribbean is famous for its wonderful beaches across many different countries and cultures. Among other things, its beaches are famous for its colors, who usually range from green tones to blue tones with many different varieties in between. Here is an interesting picture I shot recently of a Caribbean Island when I was on route from Miami to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
June 02, 2008
Guatemalan Folkloric Dance
I love the pink lights on this typical guatemalan dance on Antigua Guatemala. Click on the picture to access its flickr page.
May 18, 2008
Patricia retro dress pictures
Recently, I shot a good number of pictures of my Patricia wearing a colorful retro dress. I have just loaded a few of them to my flickr account. Here are a couple of pictures that I like a lot given her beautiful smile and expression. Click on any of them to visit the photos in flickr and check out my Patricia set, which has dozens of great pictures of her.
May 17, 2008
Life through the Mexico City Metrobus window
I was for a few hours in Mexico City yesterday and had about one hour to take some shots around the World Trade Center area in the south of the city. I did mostly shots of people walking, people on their way to ride the Metrobus and in the Metrobus itself. You will find the pictures published on my flickr strem in the next few days. For now here is a picture of a section of the Metrobus (a rapid urban bus that runs through confined lines). As you can see, by chance, this section was occupied by women. Some of the women are absobred on their thoughts, some are watching the street and some are looking right at me as I took the picture.
Click on the picture for its flickr page and an explanation of how I shot this.
May 08, 2008
Waterfall in the middle of a pool picture
This picture is from the bottom of a waterfall in the middle of a pool at the Termas de San Joaquin Hotel in Coahuila, Mexico. It looks fantastic in LARGE or Original sizes, which are available on its flickr page. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
May 07, 2008
Sell your photos on line
One interesting opportunity that is available for professional photographers and serious amateurs is to sell their pictures online at the Microstock sites. Microstock sites are sites of stock photographies who are very popular for advertising and design agencies. They usually charge a very small fee ($1-$5 dollars) for each picture that a customer downloads. Beyond the small fee, microstock photos are usually royalty-free, which means that the photos purchased can be used many times and are not limited to just a period of time. Traditionally, stock photos were "leased" for a fixed time and for a fixed use and usage beyond the limits was charged via a royalty fee.
But what is the business for the photographer, if the final cost for the agency buying the picture is let's say, $1 dollar? Well, the interesting thing is that microstock, given its small prices becomes a strong incentive for agencies to buy and use more images. A very good image can attract thousands of downloads and if each download is pay at let's say 50 cents that one image can make an income of thousands of dollars.
Here you can find a very interesting article in DP Journal about how to sell photos on-line. Please note that the author of the article makes an income of more than $20,000 dollars selling its portfolio of photos over the internet.
Yoga by the Park picture
A young man does yoga in this pleasant scene captured in Parque da Aclimacao in Sao Paulo, Brasil. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
May 06, 2008
Miami's Brickell Avenue at night, part 1
Here is a very nice photo of the skyline of Miami's Brickell Avenue, the heart of its financial district. The photo was taking from the nearby Mandarin Hotel. I will publich more photos of Brickell at night in the following days or you can go to my flickr stream and see for yourself.
Click on the photo to get its flickr page, you can find also many other nice pictures about Miami in my Miami set, accesible through that page.
Miami's Brickell at night. The brige in the lower right connects an island called Brickell Key with the Avenue.
May 02, 2008
Flickr problems continue: many group pools appear empty now
Well, it certainly seems that Flickr technical issues continue to pop up on a weekly basis. Beside the all too common "Flickr has the hiccups" message, we have today another major problem: group pools seem to be empty. This of course affects the many users who post their work to groups to reach a broader audience for their work.
There is no public announcement yet as to when this issue will be fixed.
April 29, 2008
Mayan Woman sculpture at Xcaret
I shot this picture recently at the World Economic Forum on Latin America opening dinner hosted by President Calderon. This is an scupture of a Mayan Women with her kids, all lighted up under a very bright green. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
April 25, 2008
South Beach Miami pictures
I visited Miami a couple of weeks ago (and today, but today I just have a very lenghty layover at the airport). A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity of shooting pictures, both of beautiful South Beach and its people as well as from the Brickell Avenue skyline. You can find them all in my Miami flickr set.
Here are some of the pictures of South Beach and its people. Click on any of the pictures for its flickr page. Have a great weekend.
April 18, 2008
Mayan Woman walking at the beach in Cancun
While the World Economic Forum on Latin America was about to start in Cancun, this Mayan girl was walking at the beach in front of the Hilton Resort and Golf Club. The girl was probably completely unaware of the security measures at the hotel, the navy vessels parked close to the beach, the helicopters transporting the Latin American presidents to the gala dinner and the hundreds of VIPs that were at the Hilton for the event.
I just love the tones of blue of the water in Cancun. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
April 10, 2008
Joy at the beach picture
Patricia makes a very joyful expression at this picture taken in Miami's South Beach. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
April 04, 2008
Boy trying to get a hug from girl at Ipanema Beach in Rio
This is a nice candid scene from Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro. Boy tries to get hug from a girl, until he gets it. Click on any picture for its flickr page.
April 01, 2008
People Silhouettes at Oscar Niemayer Museum in Curitiba
These are photos I shot over the weekend at the gorgeous Oscar Niemayer Museum in Curitiba, Parana, Brasil. I love how the yellow reflections of part of the main building illuminate the crystal floors of this corridor. Click on any picture for its flickr page.
March 31, 2008
Teatro Positivo opening in Curitiba
I had the opportunity to spend this last weekend in Curitiba, the beautiful capital of Parana, Brasil. Curitiba is a very well organized city, often seen as a case study for urbanism and public transportation. I was there invited by my friends at Positivo Informatica, who as part of Grupo Positivo, were opening a brand new mega theater in the city.
The new Theater is called Teatro Positivo and its the largest facility of its kind in the state of Paraná. Teatro Positivo can accomodate up to 2,400 people on its main sitting auditoriunm and about 100 more in its private boxes. The Opening of the Teatro Positivo was made on the day of the 315th anniverssary of Curitiba. The major of the city, the governor of Paraná, ministers of state and many different authorities were present for this grand occasion.
The inauguration night of Teatro Positivo hosted a concert by spanish tenor José Carreras and Chilean soprano Verónica Villarroel. The night was wonderful as they sang pieces of Opera, Zarzuela and popular music. The last song in the program was Granada, a song from Agustín Lara that is one of the favorities on Carrera's repertoir. However, Granada just served as a great entrance to a long number of encores. The encores featured Brasilian classics such as Manhã de Carnaval and Eu Sei que Vou te Amar. This last song was interpreted by Verónica Villarroel and was clearly one of the highlights of the night.
I will be uploading the photos of the event to this flickr set. It only has a few photos now, but it will be mostly done by the end of this week.
José Carreras at Teatro Positivo opening night.
Verónica Villarroel at Teatro Positivo opening night
March 19, 2008
Kids Having fun at the Water park pictures
The heat is starting to come back to parts of the US and Mexico. I had the opportunity to visit Monterrey with my kids and take them to Plaza Sesamo theme park. Plaza Sesamo is themed with Jim Henson's Sesame Street characters. The Park has many different rides, including a section of water slides, pools, water playgrounds and a river.
The park is very nice, especially for little kids like my sons. Many of the rides are actually designed for little kids (below 9), so they had a great time without experiencing too much fear. Here are some pictures that I shot last weekend of kids going down a slide on one of the water playgrounds at the park. On the pictures, I play with high tones, saturated colors and high contrast to build strong contrasts between the kids and the water splashing them. Click on any of the pictures for its flickr page.
For more pictures like this, go to my flickr photo stream. Subscribe to Ricardo's Blog on the upper right column to get the articles, photos and links by e-mail or RSS.
March 15, 2008
Freedom and Joy at the Beach
My Patricia sometimes tries to express a lot with her hands and arms. She does that a lot in person regardless of how many people are in her audience. I guess it is something that comes from her Italian heritage as it is common to see Italian people in Brasil express a lot with their arms and hands. A nice by product of this is how she tries to express with her arms in photographs, usually placing her arms up and to the side as if sending a warm embrace thorugh the image.
Well, another nice representation of her ability to express herself with her arms is what you will see next on this post. Here, you will see a series of five pictures taken last September in which she is playing with her arms and legs at the beach. The result are figures drawn with Patricia's body. The result is very pleasant and has brought out many different initial reactions in flickr. Some people see it as funny, some others see it as a symbol of freedom and somebody suggested the idea of what she does can bue turned into a book.
Here you have the pictures of Patricia expressing her self with her body at the beach. If you like one of them just click on it to access its flick page. The more traffic a photo gets, the better I'd know which one is the picture everybody liked best.
March 12, 2008
Little Girl Jumping on the Beach
I love to walk around the beach whenever I have the opportunity to visit the coast. Sometimes I do it by myself and many times I do it with my beloved Patricia. Sometimes I pick up my camera and like to catch people as they enjoy the water, the surf and the sand. Here is a picture I took recently of a family in which a little girl is up in the air traying to avoid the waves. Her mother and her silbing are next to her, completely calm getting the wave to hit their legs and feet.
Click on the picture for its flickr page. Find more pictures from my walks along many beaches on my Beach Candids set.
March 11, 2008
Picture of two boys and a tattooed girl walking at Guaruja, Brasil
Here is a scene that I captured recently our of Guaruja beach, near São Paulo, Brasil. Click on the photo for its flickr page.
March 10, 2008
More Flickr troubles, now it's the time for uploading
Less than two weeks ago, flickr had a series of functionality issues that took more than 48 hours to resolve. The issues back then were related to the inability of the site to display the latest photos from your contacts (see my blog article about it here ). Well, there is a new site-wide functionality problem today, and now it is one that strikes the very essence of the site.
On Its latest problem, flickr is not been able to upload new photos from its users. Yes, you hear it right, the service that is proud about having thousands of new photos added every minute, is not being able to add new photos for now. Additionally, it seems that one of their server farms is down and I guess all the stored photos on that farm should be unavailable for the time being.
Is flickr having growing pains or it is just being poorly managed? It just doesn't seem right that the service is having very basic problems that are impacting each and every user of the site and of all the blogs and websites who re-publish their photos. Anybody has an idea of what is going on?
March 08, 2008
Pictures of Aurora Borealis
Using Stumble Upon, I discovered this site with pictures of Aurora Borealis, as it was seen in North America on November 7-8 2004. I hope you enjoy it.
March 07, 2008
A close up of the Pink Hat Cowgirl
Earlier on the week, I published a photo of Brasilian Model Marcia Ventura wearing a cowgirl outfit under very subtle light. The photo has been very sucessful in flickr. Now, here is a close up of her, with a different angle. Tell me which one do you like best. Click on the picture for its flickr page.
March 06, 2008
SLR Photography Primer 4: Depth of Field Calculator
On the SLR Photography Primer 3 I wrote last year, I was discussing the implications of choosing a low aperture or a high aperture of your lens. In short, a small aperture number (e.g. 2.8) means a high aperture of the lens as the number is actually the full lens capacity divided by 2.8. If you have a high aperture number, let’s say 11, you will have the shutter opened to 1/11th of its capacity.
A large aperture (lets say between 1-4) means that the shutter is wide open and also means that the depth of field (DoF) will be pretty shallow. A shallow DoF means that the focus area in the picture will be very small, maybe a feet or much less. The focus area is usually calculated as the distance from the focused subject to the camera. A shallow DoF is used for things such as getting a portrait in which the subject is focused, but the background is nicely blurred. Beware of choosing a DoF that is too shallow, it can make portions of the actual face fall out of focus.
A small aperture (let’s say 9 and above) means that the shutter is quite closed and the DoF will be pretty deep. In another words, the focus area will be quite large. An example of this is pictures in which the focused subject is sharply focused and all the background is also in focus. Use a deep DoF when you want your subject and the background to appear in the picture well focused.
Now, to help you calculate the zones of focus for your camera, focal length, aperture and speed, here is a very handy tool. This on line DoF calculator can tell you for a given camera and lens focal length (leth say 70 mm) where is the area of acceptable sharpness. Remember that the area where focus is acceptable is at a distance from the camera, so play a little bit with the calculator to know what is the right aperture to use for your shooting matter and style. For example, if you shoot in a studio at 10 feet you can see what are the settings to have sharp and well exposed pictures. However, if you shoot landscapes you might need a completely different set of settings to make killer shots.
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