Brno, Masquerade 2009

I have rescued this photographs from my archive, they were taken the starting of the Ignis Brunensis festival, the afternoon of may 22th, as a ceremony previous to the fireworks show. It was held on Náměstí Svobody and it was very nice, a lot of actors dressed in "weird" ways that made the show visually interesting.
Usually as a photographer I would have taken tons of pictures, but I have learned that sometimes is better simply enjoy the show without the worries of to try to get a god photo. So, despite the fact I had my camera, I decide just snap or make just the minimum effort to try to get something really good. The consequences were: I did not take a t very nice photos I could have taken, so in other words, I miss them but in the other hand I really could enjoy the show.

Brno, Masquerade 2009 - Images by Carlos Lopez

P.S. Sorry for the delay but as I said these photographs were hidden in my archive.

What The Duck: Hard news

What The Duck: Hard news

Diversity drive innovation.

In the company where I am working actually it was held an internal photo contest where one of the themes was "Diversity drives innovation" So this is a multinational and intercultural company where is easy to find people from different countries and backgrounds.

So I decided represent this diversity with my toys, one dragon called Milušk and a monkey called Jimmy. The idea can be ridiculous for some but I like the results.

Ground pollution

My personal project Ground pollution is based in a personal quest for a self-discovering and understanding. Trough pictures of the ground I look for representing and showing my anxiety, fears and doubts. The ground in this case is more than a subject if not a mirror.

The idea of call it Ground pollution is because I am in some way expropriating its nature and putting my emotions on it, so I am "contaminating" the earth, taking its real form to transform it on my own benefit. In the same way the big industries (oil extraction, mining, etc) do to our planet.

The fragments of ground I show in my photographs have colours over saturated in some cases, fact that complicate the reading or understanding of the image due to an abstraction not common in photography where the object is usually recognized at first sight. But it's this diffciculty, to recognized the subject, which allows the viewer make his own interpretation.

There is an artificial beauty on this images, but not because of that less worthy. The strong and vibrant colours in some photos are like signs of a silent sickness or wounded skin. A cheerful decadence we could say while in others of dark tones there is some little optimism, a quick message telling us that there's still hope. As if our death will come tragically one morning of summer and the medicine that will save us would be inside an old mossy bottle.

I hope you like it.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare...

Janmashtami is the joyful celebration of Lord Krishna's birth. Major celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami takes place at midnight as Krishna is said to have made his divine appearance in that hour. These photos are from the ceremony held in a small temple called The understanding temple, located in the village of Chosica, Lima Peru  in 2004.

      

Eggs

As in my previous post, boredom sometime give me ideas to explore, in this case the subjects were eggs.
Four

Three:

Two:

One:








Wait for the explosion...

Flowers, a hard task.

A while ago I was at home bored, it was Sunday afternoon, nothing to do at all. So in my boredom I got an idea, I decided to take some photos of flowers, not my specialty. It was hard, a lot of ugly and bad shoots were taken but from all I got these shoots.

I should keep photographing flowers, dont you think?

Lighting the sky

Some months ago, here in Brno was held the anual fireworks festival  Ignis Brunensis but for bad luck I could  not go to main shows that usually held at the lake Prehrada where is kind of "easy"  take nice photos. But to be honest I am not good with the fireworks, this is my third time (the two first were in Peru at some traditional religious celebration) trying to get something really nice but no success.

From those days I like these two photographs they are like the eruption of some volcan or some galactic explosion.

I belive.

Last sunday we had the visit of the Pope Benedict XVI, he visited the city of Prague and Brno, around 100 000 people came to see him, people from Poland, Austria, Germany etc.
So while I was looking into my archive I found some that I would like to share.


This is photo was taken in bar in Mazatlan. Strange place for such a image.


An image of Jesuschrist on top of some kind of alter in the street du to the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Manzanilo, Mexico.


Procession of the Lord of Gualamita (Señor de Gualamita) in the town of Lamud, Amazonas, Peru.


A nice and expressive  sculpture of Jesus Christ in a park close to my home.

Thanks God for all what I have.

Sad cloudy days

The autumn has started in part of the planet, Czech Republic, and the cloudy sad days have come. For the people who like the summer as me, this season is a challenge, the nice natural bright light of the sun has gone. Now we have a plain gray sky. But this season for me is the best to take urban landscapes, I like it because is easier to walk around the city and don't feel hot and sweetie, specially if you walk with your tripod and a bag with you camera and a set of lenses.

Cloudy days are specials if you want to transmit some loneliness and melancholy.

Here are some:

I know those are not from Czech Republic, there is a sea in those. : ) The first one is from Belize and the second one from Martinique, so come back soon, I will post some from the city of Brno in the next days.

Bartosz Liszkowski

Some time ago I received a positive critic about my art photographs from travel polish photographer Bartosz Liszkowski so is time to give back the favor now that I see a "relationship" between some of his clouds images and my Sky photos.

His strongest images are the sea landscapes, good composition, strongs colors and simplicity over all. My favorites photos are one from Greece and one from a cloudy sky. I would like just to see less galeries and more images in each.

Enjoy his photos and buy some too. : )

Look up!!!

As a every craft in the world, photography is practice, practice and a lot of practice. So even if you think that you are good try something new. As an example simply check the case of Chase Jarvis, an advertising american photographer, whose philosophy the best camera is the camera you have with you gave birth to a book of artsy photos and a big community of "iphone photographers".

Personally, I do not like be snapping with a cellphone camera, is just a matter of feelings. I prefer take my "big" Canon 20d and walk around. I know is bulky and heavy but I like to have control in the exposure that let it to the camera.

Anyway the result of this habit some years ago was this:

All this photographs and more can be seen in the gallery Sky and my fine art website.

Projects, coming and going...

As photographer, I must say that when you start a project sometimes it changes in its process and you finish with a group of photographs very different that you original idea. Other times, it just stop for any reason, you move somewhere else, your "mood" change and you start to see your subjects in other way or simply you dont like your idea anymore.

The "consequences" are that you get singles photos that will lay on your archive. Now in these days, obviously you can share them by means of blogs or any other social media in the internet.

Here are some of mine:

From project "Wounded skin"

From the project "Sculpture workshop"

From the project "Other world"

From the project "Nocturna"

The anonymous rock band.

Once upon a time there was a rock band, who made music just for them, never recorded a CD, never played a concert.

Always hidden in a garage, from their fears and doubts. They made great songs that none ever listen.

They did not have a name, they chose to be forgotten.

This their only evidence.

Dreams and nightmares.

I used to dream with a world where everything was blurry, those were days of confusion and despair...

When I was traveling by sea, those port cranes where like living robot dinosaurs...


and finally, the dark side of the human nature.

Prague Biennale 4 and Prague Biennale Photo 1

(Press release)

4 May 14 — July 26, 2009

Karlin Hall, Thamova 8, Prague 8

Polymorphous, multifaceted, multicultural and in continuous dialogue with itself as well as with its audience; these are the qualities of PRAGUE BIENNALE 4, presented this year together with PRAGUE BIENNALE PHOTO 1.

Prague Biennale directors Giancarlo Politi and Helena Kontova have created an open forum on painting, presenting this issue through several declinations and manifestations: locals, nationals and internationals. The result is EXPANDED PAINTING — a title coined on the occasion of Prague Biennale 2 and inspired by Rosalind Krauss’s “Sculpture in Expanded Field.” This term becomes the starting point for a series of sections which aim to spotlight and engage the actual state of painting in Central Europe together with other countries like Mexico, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, in cooperation with a team of active and creative curators.

The counterparts of this parade of paintings and painters never seen before internationally are ART IN GENERAL and FOCUS ITALY, which confi rm once again the Biennale’s mandate and its attention to a multiplicity of interests and themes. ART IN GENERAL captures the current situation in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, featuring peculiar and unexpected curatorial visions, while FOCUS ITALY brings ‘on stage’ a fraction of Italian artistic production that is often overshadowed.

PRAGUE BIENNALE PHOTO 1

Alison Brady,Untilted, 2008

Debuting this year, PRAGUE BIENNALE PHOTO 1 is an extensive overview of new photographic production in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, through a curious link to the United States, reaffi rming the importance of photography in these countries.

Featuring four sections, this counterpart of the Biennale confirms once again the nature of such an event: synergy, juxtaposition and pluralism become the ingredients for this Prague Biennale, which is the sole rendezvous for artistic production in Central Europe and beyond.

Do you want to be an artist?

Be aware of this:

1._ People who need to make art make art no matter what.

2._Do you want to know how to be an artist? Make art. Do it because you need to do it.

3._Your art reflects your surroundings, and you can live like a pauper, but that limits the range of your art.

read the whole article in Brazen Careerist

How canon lens are made!!!

Watch these videos really interesting and surprising.

Rock!!!

I am not a musician but I would like to have the talent to create melodies for the spirit, to express the anger, sadness and loneliness. That desire is the reason of my interest in photograph musicians and rock bands during their shows, because if I am not able to make songs at least I can try to show the bands and express what their songs want to say by means of an image and at the same time express myself.
In this selection of photographs, the light, color and shadows are as well subjects together with the musicians which does not compete with them but create a stronger message.
Music and photography have been always linked in personal work and this photographs is a small sample of my interest for create or capture images that represent the musicians and their music and help me to express myself through the photography.

Rock made in Peru - Images by Carlos Lopez

Model photos

After a long time in silence, I am back!!!
Well, so first I want to say that the little boy inside the box for the Christmas post is my son now 5 months old. He is cute, isn't?
Anyway, well here are some pictures of a photo session that I had during my trip to Lisbon, Portugal, due to a exhibition of some my photos. Enjoy it:


Neuza Diza - Images by Carlos Lopez

She is a model friend from Portugal called Neuza.

The photo-shoot took place in a small room illuminated mainly by a window and a small bounced on the ceiling and wall to fill the shadows. Nothing complicated.