James Nguyen Photography

Seeing Today's Big Apple, Yesterday

2007-12-29T15:15:00.000-05:00

While surrounded by legions of photographers touting cameras with 3" LCD screens, Morton Rosenberg's photographic tool of choice is often rejected by a society obsessed with the latest and greatest.

Armed with a Bessa-L Rangefinder, Rosenberg masterfully produces timeless photographs that triumphant even the best of digital imagery, using his paltry technology of yesteryear.

Although Rosenberg's shots are of modern day New York City, viewers will be pleasantly tricked into believing that they have traveled backwards through time. This is achieved by his skillful method of processing the images, bringing about a sense of historic warmth.

Please take the time out to view Morton Rosenberg's gallery of New York City!

Writing with Light (Literally): Mindful Motion Photography

2007-12-24T20:51:00.000-05:00

"A photographer, writer and artist," words that Vanessa Van Ryzin, the mastermind behind Mindful Motion Photography, uses to describe herself. Words that are often heralded by every photographer -- young and old, aspiring and professional.

However, there is nothing amateur about Ryzin's photographic creativity.

She has successfully managed to build the perfect segway between photo (light) and graphy (writing); two conjoined terms that are so closely united, but never fully intertwined. I am most impressed with her unique gallery entitled "Visual Poetry," which literally, uses words within her photography.

Beyond the creativity, Ryzin nails a perfect 10 out of 10 with technical details. Her knowledge with depth of field and color are professionally expressed within shots such as this sea shell on the right. Doing so has added three-dimensionality, an element that exacerbates the beauty of her subjects.

Kudos to Mindful Motion Photography for duly occupying an hour's worth of my time!

Sony A700 Goodness

2007-12-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I have yet to plop down a grand and a half for the Sony A700.

However, those who are on the fence about purchasing the A700 will enjoy these three links which further praise Sony's Advanced Amateur dSLR.

"Luminous Landscape: Sony A700 Field Report" - written by Douglas Brown, this article spends very little time "pixel-peeping," and instead, more on the camera's real-life usability.

"My experience with the Sony Alpha 700" - this piece focuses on upgrading from the Konica Minolta 7D.

"Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 Review" - Phil Askey & Simon Joinson's review analyzes the camera's technical abilities: from start-up time (in seconds) to noise grain (as compared to the Nikon D300, Canon 40D, and other similar cameras in this class).

Moving Up: Steven Laxton (Warning - Nudity)

2007-11-10T09:21:00.000-05:00

Ladies & Gentlemen, this is the type of stuff you can find in a museum.

PopPhoto.com recently wrote about up & coming photographic artists in an article entitled, "Emerging Artists 2007." My favorite highlight focused on Steven Laxton, who has a portfolio of "abstract body shots." He enlisted the aid of the New York City Ballet to stand under a beautifully lit studio and pose as his models.

Please note that Mr. Laxton's portfolio does contain nudity. However, they are by no means pornographic. Laxton's work actually reminds me of a modern day Discobolos - sculpted by Myron. Laxton's abstract bodies accomplish the same feat; it emphasizes the beauty of the human body - similar to Myron's work during the classical Greek period.

I urge all of you to take a look at Laxton and all of the other photographers featured in PopPhoto's featurette!

A Digital Brawl: Canon 40D vs Sony A700 vs Nikon D300

2007-11-09T23:07:00.000-05:00

Three formidable opponents. Three very usable cameras. Who will come out as top dog?

As a Minolta 7D shooter, I have invested thousands of dollars (camera bodies, lenses, misc. equipment, etc.) into their A-mount. Now that they are bought out by Sony, I have to decide whether I should stick with their new offering - the Sony A700 - or sell my stuff and jump to a different camera brand.

One of my biggest pet peeves about the Minolta 7D was the (excuse my language) shitty autofocus speed. Their older film SLR cameras had a faster AF speed - simply inexcusable!

Popular Photography recently ran camera tests on the Canon 40D and Sony A700. I still await their test on the Nikon D300 - which might be *the* camera that dethrones Canon.

In the interim, the two reviewed cameras seem very similar. PopPhoto finds that...

Canon and Sony's AF speeds are very similar except in dim-lit situations. Sony's AF starts to stink, thereafter.
Canon edges out Sony in the noise department. It seems that Canon's smaller 10mp CMOS sensor (vs. Sony's 12mp) and experience with CMOS technology (and their handle on noise) edges out the Sony in this department.
PopPhoto reports that the Canon has better color accuracy than the A700.
A700's ergonomics are better than that of Canon's - a subjective debate.

What do I think of all this?
I am, by no means, a "pixel peeper" (meaning I do not magnify and analyze every single detail in a picture).

Frankly, all of the cameras appear to be very usable. Plus, the Canon 40D and Nikon D300 bodies cost a few hundred more - on top of the cost associated with switching systems. Money is still an issue for me and most other non-professional hobbyists.

I foresee my current 7D being demoted to secondary (or even retired) status by either Christmas 2007 or early 2008.

2007-10-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

I didn't even need to say, "smile and say cheese."

Julie is easily one of the best clients that I have worked with. Not only is she camera-friendly, she was more excited about the shoot than I was -- and it takes a lot of excitement to surpass me with doing photo shoots!

I also learned that she loves sunny days. She did not understand why photographing people under the high sun was very difficult. Thankfully, the clouds were out, serving as nature's soft box. I hope this gallery of her photo shoot changes her mind!

Roger, We Have Liftoff!

2007-10-21T02:43:00.000-04:00

James Nguyen Photography >> Galleries

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
New look, new content.

One of the 'Betz': Re-Defining Professional Photography

2007-10-05T17:30:00.000-04:00

It's not everyday that a "professional" photographer gets to shoot a "professional" sport - such as a Major League Baseball game. When these "professionals" aren't shooting high-intensity events, they can turn everyday objects (such as pasta - everyone knows my obsession with pasta) into photographic masterpieces.

I was perusing around the Internet and ended up sifting through Ed Betz's website. This man has an AMAZING portfolio. I especially admire his sports shots, such as the one of Todd Zeile of the New York Mets sliding into second base against the Boston Red Sox.

I am only 22 and simply am an amateur, at best. I haven't even updated my own website in half a year and have lost a little bit of my motivation to go out and shoot. I wish I could pinpoint the answer to the question, "why?" Perhaps it's because I am in a transitional phase of my life (graduated college, starting a new job, etc.) but I simply cannot find that "spark" anymore.

However, looking through Ed Betz's collection has re-inspired me to go out and continue building my own collection of images.

It doesn't matter whether a photographer uses the new Nikon D3, the Canon MarkIII, or whatever he/she may choose. One's eye for photography and posession of various skills needed to operate the tools re-iterates my belief that these pro-grade cameras are all very good in their own rights.

We, as photographers, need to remind ourselves that nothing in this world is perfect, including dSLR bodies. Most of the excessive pixel-peeping that I often see with any and every camera brand is, quite frankly, a waste of time as one could be devoting such time to take awesome pictures -- like the ones Ed has.

I encourage you to visit Ed Betz's website at: http://www.edbetz.com

A Compact Camera Buyer's Guide for the Average James

2007-10-01T19:16:00.000-04:00

Take every piece of advice with a grain of salt.

Before continuing with my guide on buying a camera, I would like to point out that I used to sell cameras at a big-box electronic retailer for a living. That doesn't mean what I, or the salesman at the store, says is 100% objective. For example: a camera may fit nicely into the palm of my hands, but maybe you have bigger hands than I do.

Although online vendors tend to offer slightly better prices, I would recommend purchasing cameras from a store that you can walk into. Take advantage of their return policy and remember that your own preferences are more important than the words you are about to read.

One last point to keep in mind. This guide is aimed towards the novice and amateur crowd s looking to own a good camera for both fun and artsy pictures. The "Professional" crowd wouldn't be reading this anyways...
"I want to take better pictures. What's a good camera to buy?"

That is one of the most common questions that a former salesman/now photographer, like myself, is posed with. Let's look at all of the deciding factors in buying a camera.

Before going deep into detail, here are some frequently updated buying guides from reputable photography websites. Have no fear - I generally agree with most of their picks.

Imaging Resource's Top Picks
DCResource's Top Picks

None of these guides outline, in detail, what a buyer should look for when hunting for a camera. That is why I am doing just that. If you don't feel like reading, here are my top three picks in a nutshell.
Canon Powershot A850IS Canon Powershot A570IS Olympus SP-550 UltraZoom w/ stabilization

Megapixels
Even though a camera boasts a high megapixel count, it doesn't necessarily mean you will get sharper/clearer pictures. In many situations, the opposite is true.

Think of the time when you were in a small, crowded elevator and thought, for the first time in your life, you were clastrophobic. Without getting technical, manufacturers are doing just that: cramming more pixels into a tiny camera.

The result is a "noisier" picture (click on the Fairfield University mug to the right to see digital noise at ISO 800). Noise exists in every digital picture you see, but are more apparent when you enlarge pictures to poster size (11x14 and up) and especially at higher ISO sensitivity settings. More on ISO sensitivity later!

The plus side to having more megapixels is that you have more flexibility to blow pictures up into larger poster-size. Pictures are less pixelated (in other words, it's less "blocky" and looks clearer) when you have more pixels to work with.

This shot, taken in my own living room without the flash flash, was then downloaded straight out of my camera and was not re-touched. It's extremely grainy (similar to the old-school grain in film photographs) - except this type of grain is ugly.

How important are the megapixels in a camera? Examine your own habits: how often are you *really* going to enlarge pictures? You won't notice a difference in sharpness or noise when you view them at a reduced size on the computer, or on a printed 4x6.

In a nutshell: Megapixels, to me, are a moot point unless you enlarge pictures beyond 8x10. As of October 2007, I am more than content with my 6 megapixel pocket camera.

Battle of the Zooms
This one may seem pretty obvious. The larger the zoom, the closer you get with a picture.

Buyers be weary of the misleading "digital" zoom.

Digital zoom is essentially the camera electronically magnifying a shot. Sounds cool, right? What's the catch?

Digital zooming is the SAME thing as magnifying and cropping a picture on a computer. If you "magnify" the picture within the camera, you lose the un-zoomed part of the image. Whereas if you shot the un-zoomed photograph and later cropped it on a PC, you now have the flexibility of keeping the original OR keeping the cropped version.

Magnified shots are also less sharp and a bit more noisy (as you are essentially enlarging a portion of the image).

Optical zoom is the good one of the two brothers. This is where the camera is physically moving the glass closer to your subject without compromising most of the image quality.

Larger zoom cameras tend to be big. You won't find large optical zoom cameras in a credit card style camera.

A close match: While maintaining awesome picture quality, one of Panasonic's known gems is the Lumix TZ3; a small'ish camera with a large 10x zoom!

Size
"Credit card size" cameras pack less features (such as a lack of Aperture, Shutter, or Manual modes gives you more control over the pictures you take). If you are looking for a party camera, slim ones are created specifically for you.

They tend to have large LCD screens, a thousand different scene modes (e.g. Beach, Snow, etc.) and offer an overall no-frills experience. One example is the Olympus Stylus 750. With 7.1mp, 5x optical zoom, a small exterior, and its not-so-hefty price tag of $250 (as of October 2007), you can't go wrong ... unless you want something more than a "fun" camera.

A reputable review for the Stylus 750 by DCResource.com states that the camera has "softness around edges of frame; fuzzy details." Such image quality issues are common with slim cameras.

Image Quality
Then how does one judge image quality?

Generally speaking, image quality goes hand-in-hand with cameras that allow you to set and/or adjust the following variables:

Aperture Value
Shutter Speed
White Balance
ISO Sensitivity

or best of all...

Manual Mode (where the photographer can adjust all of the aforementioned variables).

To keep it simple: cameras that allow for these adjustable values have a higher image quality as those who know how to manipulate them, will also be able to recognize good image quality vs. bad image quality.

Intimidated? Explaining what each of the variables do is an article on its own!

Luckily, all of the cameras that have the adjustable values still possess an "Auto" mode. The same goes with Scene Modes (such as Beach, Snow, etc.). Auto and Scene Modes simply know when to pick a correct combination of the aforementioned settings - but not all of the time.

A camera is sometimes too unintelligent to choose the right settings. That is why advanced photographers usually want the ability to adjust the White Balance, or the Aperture, etc. depending on the moment.

Image Stabilization
This feature is quite useful when the photographer opts to disable the flash. Under poor lighting conditions and without the aid of flash, pictures are more prone to being blurred. Image Stabilization doesn't work miracles (especially when there is very little light available) but it does help to a certain degree.

Look at this picture of my friend Michelle and her puppy, Rocky, taken under a normal kitchen fluorescent light. If you look closely, it's already a bit blurry. "IS" saved the picture from being completely blurry.

For coffee drinkers like myself, our hands can be pretty shaky. It won't shake as much as for someone who, unfortunately, has arthritis. But the hands of someone amped up on caffeine does shake *just enough* that it can blur a perfectly good picture. In many cases, IS does a good job of compensating for this faux-condition.

Battery Type
Cameras eat battery power like candy.

That's why I love cameras that can take Double AA's. If your camera's battery runs out of juice while you are on the road, you can just stop into any convenience store and buy Double AA batteries!

On an environmentally friendly level, they sell rechargable Double-AA batteries. The 1-Hour charger and 4 batteries cost about $20-$30. One investment in this puppy will prevent you from having to buy AA's every single time your camera runs out of juice.

Non-conventional batteries (the square or rectangle shaped ones) restrict you from doing just that. You'd have to run home and stick your battery into the charger. This poses a few of the following issues:
- What if you lose your charger?
- What if you lose the battery?
- Where do you effortlessly buy extra non-AA batteries?

I'd recommend the Duracell 1-Hour Charger, though they do make 15-minute chargers. If you are the procrastinating type that waits until the last minute, get the 15-minute version.

My Own Top Picks:
As of October 2007, here are my own top picks for small cameras broken down into general categories.

Slim Credit-Card Style "Fun" Camera:
Canon Powershot SD850IS (8mp with 4x optical zoom)

It lacks many of the manual features (such as Aperture or Shutter). But it does a damn good job of staying small and taking good party pictures - especially if you do not know how Aperture, Shutter, White Balance, and ISO values work. It doesn't take AA batteries so you will have to order do a little detective work on where you can buy a genuine or generic spare.

Regular Zoom Compact Camera for Novice/Advanced Users:
Canon Powershot A570IS (7mp with 4x optical zoom)

I have the older A540 and I love it. The A570 is its successor as it maintains the awesome image quality when compared to other non-professional cameras. There are a lot of customizable features (such as Color Vividness), along with the advanced manual settings (Shutter, etc.).
Long Zoom That Is Not-So-Compact for the Advanced User:
Olympus SP-550 (7mp with 18x optical zoom)

From everything that I have read, this camera is amazing! It's definitely not something you can even try to put into your pocket. But you get a huge 18x optical zoom, image stabilization, manual controls, a huge LCD, and it takes double AA batteries!

Home-Made Studio Backdrop

2007-07-30T20:59:00.001-04:00

This is really neat. With a cheezy set of tools from Ikea, one can turn an ordinary room into a faux-lighting studio with a backdrop. Credit goes to my former college house-mate, James Burns, for finding this!

http://yellowfence.blogspot.com/2007/06/cool-photo-backdrop.html

Phoebe the (Ph)eline

2007-07-27T01:46:00.000-04:00

I'm house-sitting for my professor (while she's gallivanting the city of Paris) instead of sleeping in my new apartment. But hey, sleeping here has its perks too!

The prof.'s cat's name is Phoebe. She's a house-cat (hates being outside). She dances around you for food when it is 7:30pm on the dot. When she's bored, she comes into the room, looks at you with that "pet me" look. You pet her and after 2 minutes, she gets bored and walks away. During the lonely afternoons, she demands that somebody put on classical music so that she can lay in the room for hours on end listening to the likes of Mozart. What a diva!

Street Love

2007-07-23T00:37:00.001-04:00

A Glimpse at the Less Fortunate

2007-07-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

Cities are astounding with their bright lights, bustling activity, and overall magnificent nature. Unfortunately, there is an unglamorous reality on the other side of the street lamp.

While walking around the little city of Amherst, Massachusetts, I found this guy sitting at a storefront playing his instrument, which my ignorance prevents me from identifying. He used to reside, along with his musical comrade, inside the subway station before being "forced" out when the Department of Transportation installed a high-fidelity audio system at strategic points throughout the tunnel.

It irks me to think how people with this unforgiving lifestyle survive during the harsh months of the winter season, or even at all!

The Power of the Photographer

2007-07-22T12:12:00.001-04:00

Whenever us photographers are in a rut (as we begin to blame the camera for its shortcomings), it's important to remind ourselves that the person behind the camera that ultimately makes this picture.

Below is a shot I stumbled upon from an awesome photographer, by the name of Kevin Chung (Kayce Photography), who is around my age and has an extensive portfolio of model portraits and fine-art photography.

(Aperture: f/2, Shutter: 1/200th)

Question: What camera was this taken on, you ask?

Answer: A really old 3.3 megapixel Sony pro-sumer, compact digital camera used under a studio-lighting setup. It goes to show that you don't need an 18-mp beast with lenses that are heavier than 20lb dumbbells to get good shots.

Three Casual Portraits of a Classy Friend

2007-07-20T01:30:00.000-04:00

So instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour, I decided to stay up and fiddle with a few recent shots that I took of my friend, Jaimee. A few hours have passed and it is now a guarantee that I'm going to be grouchy at work tomorrow (due to sleep deprivation).

But hey, the pics came out nice (in my opinion). Thus, my rationale is that the time has been well spent touching up little details in the pictures (e.g. brushing out birthmarks and weird hair strands). :-)

The Home Left Behind

2007-07-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

After setting my heart on Fairfield University's library as the prime location in which I'll spend the rest of the day studying for my Health Insurance Licensing Exam, my heart was crushed.

In an attempt to procrastinate from studying this 200 page book containing useless insurance information that has no relevance to my job, I stopped into the school bookstore to buy two things:
1.) Highlighters
2.) A Fairfield University Alumni decal and/or license plate frame.

Once I set foot in the store, one of the helpful workers asked if I needed help with anything. I politely asked for her to direct me towards the vehicle license plate frames. Without hesitation, she said, "we currently don't have any alumni license plate frames in stock."

My face turned a ghostly white as I realized I couldn't spend another minute trying to recapture my past. I have no idea as to how the worker knew I was an alum as summer courses were in session (thus, my young complexion could have allowed me to pass as an active student).

I'm now sitting in the nearby Borders Cafe, too shocked from my experience to even set foot in the school library. It's too bad because the library offers free wi-fi access (versus Border's $10/day pass). I just couldn't bear myself to sit in the same spot where many late-nighters were pulled.

The Final f/Stop?: Part I - Flash Woes

2007-07-16T22:11:00.001-04:00

I'm very close to jumping ship.

After attending the New England Camera Club Conference this past weekend, the one demonstration that really hit home was the versatility of wireless strobe use. Specifically, renowned photographer, Vincent Laforet, demonstrated his use of Canon flashes along with diffusers and reflectors. Never before have I been so intrigued by artificial light!

Having piqued my curiosity, I investigated the wireless flash options available on the Minolta/Sony A-Mount. Here's a gist of what I found (credit goes to photojournalist David Kilpatrick for the well-written article):

http://photoclubalpha.com/2007/06/12/flash-choices-for-the-alpha-dslrs/

The Minolta 5600HS/Sony HVL-F56AM - this puppy gives inconsistent exposures! While using the e-TTL mode, there is a "preflash" that can cause subjects to blink and/or produce the lazy-eye look. Not to mention, it has a pretty poor flash recycling speeds (around 6 seconds).

The Metz 54 MZ-4 - this thing seems to be the best bang for the buck (even though it is the most expensive as it retails for almost $400). There is none of that preflash crap when using the unique thyristor auto mode. However, it overexposes the image!

The Sigma EF-500 DG Super - this guy is the cheapest of the bunch. However, it has no hookups for remote cables or battery packs. This limits the purchase of a wireless remote or a power pack that allows for fast flash recycling. My take is that saving the extra $100 will actually come back to haunt the user once he/she wants to get a little bit more advanced.

I admit it - I'm a newbie with flash usage. But that's why I'm trying to learn and from reading actual photographers' testimonials, the Sony flash system is equally as weak as my knowledge of it! I don't know much about the Canon lineup but what I saw was impressive, to say the least.

Granted, any of the flash systems are (supposedly - again, no personal experience) very powerful once the knob is turned to Manual Mode. If/when I get a little studio up and running, it becomes significantly easier to make an educated guess at the proper f/stop and shutter speeds for accurate exposures.

My main concern lies in TTL mode; when I'm on the field, I can't sit there and fiddle with settings (at least not where I am in my photography skill-set). Perhaps Sony will fix the crappy flash system in its much-anticipated line of semi-pro dSLR bodies that are soon to be released.

Planting a Tree: The American Express Way

2007-07-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

Upon logging into American Express Online to pay my credit card bill, a big advertisement smashed into the center of my screen - in a good way.

Normally, my eye hastily veers away from most advertisements (I fall into that hard Male/19-24 years old demographic in which marketing companies find us to be...difficult...to gauge). However, AMex is in the midst of running a program called "The Members' Project."

The gist of this project is that AMex donates a dollar for every voting cardholder and ultimately putting five million dollars towards a member's winning idea. Ideas range from finding a cure for AIDS to preserving music within the public education system. In a perfect world, I would honestly vote for most of these causes (specifically, the ones that potentially advances society in a meaningful way).

However, I voted to "Plant a Million Trees - Global Reforestation." If you've seen Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, you'll know EXACTLY why I voted for this cause. Democrat, Republican, Left, Right, Up, Down, whatever - global warming is real.

P.S. I know it's been a long time since I've posted - the hiatus is now officially over.

New Goodies

2007-04-13T09:32:00.000-04:00

In the April 12th, 2007 hard-copy issue of The Fairfield Mirror, my shot of the Jazz Ensemble concert made it to the front page! Although no one has picked up on it, the layout designers mirrored (pun intended, ha-ha) the photograph (meaning it was flipped horizontally) for aesthetic purposes. To the top-right corner is the genuine, non-flipped version.

What Did I Shoot Today? April 7th, 2007

2007-04-07T23:21:00.000-04:00

In various digital photography communities, such as DPReview's Minolta SLR forums, members have started a fun project called "What Did You Shoot/Process Today?" for anybody and everybody to contribute to.

Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5, Picture 6

My contribution for today was shooting the Fairfield Men's baseball game vs the Saint Peter's Peacocks. Although I only stayed for three innings (my hands were numb from the dry, heaving winds after the first inning -- that's how cold it was), I still managed to get a few good shots though!

Digging for Buried Treasure

2007-03-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

I finally got the chance to process through most of my Quebec pictures. Although most of them are just fun, touristy snapshots, there are a few worthy of mentioning (such as the one above). My initial criticism was the huge flare and the spotlight from the corner of the shot. After sleeping on it, I've come to realize that it adds to the character of the picture. Go figure!

The best part about this picture is that I did NOT know I shot this. It was buried in my collection of 400+ photos from that weekend. :-)

New Batch of Pictures!

2007-03-22T18:23:00.000-04:00

I went crazy and posted a huge batch of photographs.

My portraits gallery was struggling a bit; it had exactly one picture in it of Dr. Kevin Dawson, professor at Fairfield University. Back in October, I was asked to do a photo shoot for a friend so we decided to pick a beautiful fall day and go camera crazy. I added four of my best shots from that day to the portraits gallery.

Amateurs beware: photographing in the high sun is not recommended, especially for photographing people. It causes ugly shadows and harsh lights on the subjects' skin tones. When doing outdoor portraiture, it is best to photograph during the early morning (sunrise until around 10am), late afternoon (around 3pm onward), or cloudy days (the photographer's natural softbox because of the diffused light).

You can tell that I find non-studio photography is fun as I love being able to manipulate natural light and use it to my advantage. That also has to do with how I am a poor college student that does not have the resources to set-up a photo studio.

I also added a shot of the Regina A. Quick Center, the auditorium at Fairfield University. This beautiful auditorium is used to host many live events from theatrical performances to captivating speakers such as Tim Russert from NBC's "Meet the Press." The shot was used on the front page of the Fairfield Mirror's Entertainment section on November 9th, 2006 for a story called, "So Quick you didn't catch it."

The Brighter Side of an Explosion

2007-03-21T19:33:00.000-04:00

Eddie Adams, a famous photographer, captured this image of a Vietcong soldier being murdered. Although disturbing, this shot won the Pulitzer prize in 1969.

Anger. Hate. Death.

The cruelties of war stands out in the minds of every person familiar with the term's definition. When the fighting is at a minimal, the more human of emotions from those involved in the fighting, the soldiers and civilians, are often forgotten.

Those who know me know that I have an anti-war stance, primarily because I am naturally a pacifist. But from a purely photographic standpoint, Sergeant Melissa Thornhill successfully captures these diverse emotions hidden in the pools of bloodshed; her gallery showcases a range of emotions including happiness, contentment, and depression. Below are two of my favorites from her album:

Out on missions I get most of my attention from the little girls. They seem so fascinated with me, wanting to explore but afraid to get too close. They often hide behind their mothers and peak out when I'm not looking until they become more comfortable with me. I often wonder which one of us is more fascinated by the other.

Scent-ilating Memories

2007-03-19T00:29:00.000-04:00

For some, it is the aroma of newly printed money that gets their jollies going. For others, it could be the spices from last night's dinner that was made for a king. For me, the smell of happiness, albeit artificial, comes from a Glade air freshner.

During the last four years at Fairfield, I've used Glade's "Mountain Berry" air freshner in all of my past living habitats as it has the most refreshing smell that both sexes can enjoy. The women particularly enjoy the scent of the pleasant odor. The men find the smell is delightful since it's not heavy nor strong; it doesn't suffocate the guys who live with me.

We don't have the "guy stench" found in many other male-habitant households.

Parallel to that, smell is the best trigger for memory. This Glade air freshner reminds me of the great memories I've had living on campus. It's the closest thing to discovering a time-warp machine. It's a special feeling that is unique to only myself and my past.

With time running out at school, the feeling of nostalgia is slowly emerging, day-by-day. There's nothing I can do about it so why not just cherish the memories? Thus, I will be leaving the Glade candle, Mountain Berry flavor, burning for the rest of the night as a joyful remembrance of my wonderful life.

Professional or Amateur Status?: Getting Closer to the Client

2007-03-18T17:57:00.000-04:00

Leon the Professional once said, "the closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client." That isn't true.

After shooting the Fairfield University Men's Lacrosse game versus the Harvard Crimson approximately two hours ago, I thought my fingers were going to fall off. What was more interesting, at least to me, was seeing a professional photographer use her (what I guessed to be the) Nikon D2x and a HUGE G-lens.

Judging by her equipment, you could tell she was a professional.

What baffled my mind was that she stayed in one spot throughout the game. With no intent to offend, the technique of staying idle while shooting can be a drawback because you lose out on the variety of angles.

However, my paltry and now obsolete Konica Minolta 7D with the beercan (70-210mm/4) did a more than adequate job taking shots. These two shots have not been cropped.

Especially on sunny days/well-lit conditions, it goes to show that one doesn't need a camera setup that costs as much as a college education (huge exaggeration, but it gets my point across) to shoot sports games.

But what do I know? I'm just a silly college student with what the professional community considers to be "inferior and antiquated equipment."

The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me

2007-03-17T10:16:00.000-04:00

My laundry list of "dream jobs" partly consists of becoming a baseball announcer, instant billionaire, or prostitute (just kidding). However, becoming a Magnum photographer has piqued my curiousity. In a nutshell, Magnum Photos is an elite agency of documentary photojournalists whose works are very dramatic and powerful; we're talking some of the best photographers in the world.

This shot is from Elliot Erwitt, Magnum member since 1953.

The catch?

Applicants need not send resumes or cover letters to these people. Job and internship openings are only for junk paper-pushing positions. You have to be selected to join the agency. Here's a quick blurb from their website:

The photographers meet once a year, during the last weekend in June, in New York, Paris or London, to discuss Magnum's affairs. One day at this meeting is set aside for considering and voting on potential new members' portfolios. Successful applicants will be invited to become a 'Nominee Member' of Magnum ... After two years of Nominee membership, photographers then present another portfolio if they wish to apply for 'Associate Membership' ... In each of the last 5 years, between zero and four new nominees have been selected from among the many portfolios presented.

Yeah, it sounds like a cult though I highly doubt the photographers meet and drink suicide punch to reach transcendence (a Family Guy reference for those not in the know). Death does have a connection to Magnum as the organization was formed by four World War II-era photojournalists whom were all emotionally disturbed by the brutalities of their time.

On a lighter note, this agency has collected thousands upon thousands of photographs. They've published plenty of books that anyone can pickup at any bookstore when perusing the Photography section.

It kind of stinks that even if a photographer gets nominated, he or she is still "not in" the circle. The tune that Kermit the Frog sings to may seem silly, but it appropriately sums up the aspirations behind this photographer because you could possibly see my name in a Magnum book at your local bookstore one day...

What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing? And what do we think we might see? Someday, we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.

Duck, Duck, Dog

2007-03-16T15:05:00.000-04:00

Moving on from cigarette butts to animals, new shots of various ducks from Olde Mystic Village have been added. There's even a shot of my roommate's dog, Gracie. They can all be found in the "Other" category of the Galleries section.

It was pleasant to find that the pictures came out extremely detailed and properly exposed. The biggest challenge was having to shoot with the sun high in the sky (making for harsh lighting and fast-falloff shadows). A technique that I've picked up over the years designed to overcome this obstacle was to position myself at a 90 degree angle from the sun (that way, the bright light was on my side).

In the next few days, I plan on adding my best shots from Quebec. For the moment, here's a "teaser" called "The Road to Frontenac" (the famous hotel iconic to Quebec City). It's about $150 US/night to stay in a room that has the least frills.A quick blurb about the Chateau from Wikipedia (as of March 16th, 2007):

The Château Frontenac was named in honour of Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, who was governor of the colony of New France from 1672 to 1682 and 1689 to 1698. The Château was built not too far from the historic Citadelle, whose construction Frontenac had begun at the end of the 17th century. The Quebec Conference of 1943, in which Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt discussed strategy for World War II, was held at the Citadelle while much of the staff stayed nearby in the Château Frontenac. (William Lyon Mackenzie King was invited to some meetings as a courtesy to Canada.)

Smokin' Your Way to Death

2007-03-15T00:40:00.000-04:00

During a random excursion to Olde Mystic Village located in Mystic, CT, a box full of cigarette butts located right outside one of the stores had caught my eye. As this shot was being taken, the store owner ran outside and started yelling at me since he thought his window merchandise was being photographed. WHOOPS!

For those who do not know, the Mystic area is very famous for it's small Mom & Pops shops, the aquarium, Mystic Pizza (the famous restaurant featured in the Julia Roberts' late-80's movie), the seaport, picture-friendly landscapes, sandy beaches, the list goes on.

As far as smoking is concerned, I admit to having puffed a couple cigarettes throughout my young life (by couple, I legitimately mean two or three). However, I do not advocate smoking - it leads to cancer, makes your teeth yellow, and your breath smell. I would highly reconsider dating any girl if I found out she frequently inhales this stuff...

Special thanks goes to "The Journal of a Photographer" for his extremely detailed tutorial on how to properly convert color photographs into dramatic black & white images within Photoshop.

Live from Quebec

2007-03-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

Quebec is BEAUTIFUL!

Stupid me forgot to bring the cable and card adapter for my memory card so I don't have pictures yet. However, I've been walking around all day and the scenery is astounding (even though it's been cloudy/rainy/snowy the whole time). It reminded me of walking through the streets of Europe; tightly-packed buildings, some narrow streets, etc.

A message to the camera gurus: don't knock the Konica Minolta 7D kit lens, it's a sharp lens (especially when stopped down to about f/8 through f/11). The range is versatile (17-70/3.5-5.6) and it performs well in crappy weather (eliminates the risk of ruining my more expensive lenses in bad weather).

More on Quebec tomorrow when I go and buy the card adapter.

Canada-bound

2007-03-09T08:51:00.000-05:00

In less than three hours, I will be departing off to Quebec City in Canada. This means my camera will be getting a good workout but I just hope neither the camera or us human beings freeze over. Specifically, it's about 20 degrees Fahrenheit here in Fairfield County and -6 degrees Fahrenheit in Quebec.

Below is a shot of the Ice Hotel (located about 20 minutes outside Quebec City), courtesy of their website. See ya in four days!

Sony SLRs Announced at PMA

2007-03-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Ever since Sony took over Konica Minolta's camera division after their ship sank, every A-mount user was a little worried about how much effort and dedication they were going to put into keeping this entity alive.

Well kids, speculate no more. According to Gizmodo's adventure to the Photo Marketing Association's trade show (which opens today), they announced two higher-end digital SLR bodies and ten lenses! Details haven't been released yet but this is great news for those who own Minolta and/or Sony lenses and need the legacy to continue.

To put things into perspective, people spent A LOT of money last summer on Konica Minolta stuff because they were going out of business (that means quality camera stuff for cheap). However, if the camera were to die or if users needed extra lenses down the line, what does one do if Sony stopped manufacturing lenses?

Just remember that when someone buys an SLR, they are buying into a system - you can't use Canon lenses on a Sony body, for example. Long live the Minolta/Sony A-mount!

New Additions

2007-03-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

Two new shots have been added.

The first shot was featured in my article entitled, "Gay students navigate mix of acceptance and ignorance at F.U." The article and photograph are special to me because it focuses on my college roommate who courageously allowed his orientation to be publicized.

Even though I'm straight, I have NEVER had a problem living with someone of a different orientation. Heck, one of my other close friends is also gay. I just don't understand how people can have issues against the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transexual) community. We're all human beings...

The second shot was from the morning of March 31st, 2005 - I had pulled an all-nighter because of some silly paper that I don't even remember the paper's topic. However, the spring sunrise was so beautiful that I had to go check it out. Taken at Sasco Hill Beach in Fairfield, this shot received Honorable Mention in The Fairfield Mirror's 1st Annual Photo Contest (this was before I aligned myself with the newspaper).

New Month Means New Shots

2007-03-02T00:24:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the new month of March, I have unveiled a few new shots.

This is exciting for me as I am able to reminisce about old memories through the wonderful photographs that have been captured as the years have gone by.

From the Ground Up

2007-03-01T00:27:00.000-05:00

Almost one year later, James-Nguyen.com is now back from the dead. The re-design is ultimately a comestic one as I wanted to change the color schemes to something a bit more neutral. The new black, white, and gray colors are very pleasing to the eye and allows for the content, the photographs, to stand out on their own.

Not all of my photographs are up. As of this writing, I estimate having barely a fraction of my good shots posted. Currently, most of the galleries have some shots with the most notable ones including:

Three different galleries of the Fairfield University Men's Basketball team in action

A few shots of Florence, Italy (including the Uffizi, one of my favorite museums in the world)

The Queensboro Bridge in New York City (a favorite of mine)

All of these galleries are accessible via the navigation links to your right.

From resizing a picture to watermarking it, it takes time to optimize each picture for web viewing. My near-future goal is to add at least one shot per day.

Originally, James-Nguyen.com started as a final project for my Digital Writing class at Fairfield University. Now, it serves as an expression of life as seen through the eyes of yours truly.

Anything but LAXadaisical

2006-04-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

While sifting through my Photojournalism homework folder, I found a bunch of shots from the Fairfield University Women's Lacrosse game against the Villanova Wildcats from late February. The shots came out really well (with a little cropping and sharpening) even though it was a brisk & cold day -- my fingers were NUMB by halftime. It was also extremely difficult to quickly focus on the players in motion with my "prosumer" Panasonic camera (since the AutoFocus system isn't as quick as a traditional SLR). Nonetheless, I'm proud of these batch of shots. :)

The Short-Term Plan

2006-04-28T04:18:00.000-04:00

So far, the website is coming along great! I've received quite a few positive comments and thankfully, no negative ones though I am very open to them as it can only make you better. Here is the agenda for the next few days:

I want to throw up a tutorial on photo composition (how to properly frame a shot when you're taking a picture).
Get James Scholl's gallery of pics up.
Expand on my own set of photographs by adding material to specific categories.
Adding a hit counter (or at least a hidden stat tracker) so I can effectively judge the # of visitors, how long they're spending at the site, etc.

Again, I'm open to constructive criticism. Any feedback is good feedback!

Possible Digital SLR Purchase?

2006-04-28T03:15:00.000-04:00

Finally, a post about me. Woohoo! So I've been heavily considering the purchase of a digital Single Lens Reflex camera as I'm starting to realize and push the limits of my current camera, the Panasonic FZ15. It's not to knock the Panny but like any "prosumer" (non-SLR cameras that have SLR-like features) camera:

Indoor shooting without flash stinks! Period.
Shooting sports games is tough because the AutoFocus system isn't quick enough to capture the fast action.
The viewfinder (the glass piece that you put your eye against) is electronic, so there is a slight lag between you moving the camera and the image actually updating.

Looking on the bright side, the Panny has some really amazing upsides:

Built-in image stabilizer (which compensates for your hand shaking when you take shots)
Long-zoom lens (12x optical, equivalent to 432mm in film if I remember correctly)
Leica lens -- what a nice piece of glass!

But if I were to purchase a dSLR, this means plopping down at least $1,000. And for those who know me, you know that I do my homework before I spend my hard-earned money. So I've looked into the Konica Minolta Maxuum 5D, a 6 megapixel dSLR (opposed to my Panny's 4mp) and this, too, has some awesome features:

Built-in image stabilizer IN THE BODY! Most dSLRs (even the famed Canon ones) don't have this feature, and lenses that do have "IS" built into it can cost around $300/piece.
The kit which includes the body and a basic 18-70mm lens (about 35mm-100mm equivalent in film) goes for $700 at Ritz Camera. That's cheap for a good quality camera.
Like all SLRs, indoor/fast-action/etc. will be significantly easier to shoot.

The only problem is? I don't have $1,000. Anyone want to donate? :)

Modern Day Pop-Art

2006-04-28T01:47:00.000-04:00

In the mid-20th century, a new artform called "pop art" emerged. Led by artists such as Andy Warhol, people worldwide were intrigued by paintings which captured the beauty of commonplace items and people. Most famous were his paintings of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell Soup cans.

Elyse Raby has successfully captured a shot which reminded me of the old pop-art phenomenon. She managed to do so with a few bags of Dunkin Donuts ground coffee -- a staple of American life. Yet another thumbs up for this young photographer!

Escape to the Beach!

2006-04-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

With summer around the corner, just imagine all of the fun that you may be having on the beach! For college students, there is one barrier that shields them from this nirvana: FINALS! While I was putting up the gallery of pictures for Elyse Raby, she took a photograph that made me feel like I was ready to lounge on the beach with my friends. What a warm, soothing shot that just makes you relax and forget about life for just a moment!

Oh, and if you look closely, you can see a seagull flying across the horizon!

Latest Update while Looking Ahead

2006-04-26T02:20:00.000-04:00

Not to dwell on Ms. Briggs, but her gallery is nearly complete. All three of her submissions are on the website. The only thing that's missing is her autobiographical information!
Looking ahead, I plan on developing Elyse Raby's gallery of photographs. She has submitted 24 pictures...crazy! Hopefully, I can also unveil my own gallery as part of the next website update. It is admittingly time consuming to add each photograph, include its EXIF data (shutter speed, aperture, etc.), and making sure the actual photograph/webpage is displayed properly.

Featured Photograph - Relaxing on Water

2006-04-18T18:24:00.000-04:00

While sifting through pictures from her vacation on the Norwegian Spirit cruise vessel, this photograph taken by Ms. Julie Briggs immediately caught my eye. My initial reaction was, "wow...this looks like something from one of the cruise line's brochures!"

The shadows from the strong sun adds emphasis to the basic shapes found in the shot. For example, the shadows highlight the cylindrical shape of the lemon drink, the roundness of the plate, and the rectangular nature of the purse.