addicted to gadgets and technology - my latest series in alamy

© Joselito Briones

same guy from the previous post. this is just a play on how in the old times men carried their cigarette packs folded in their t-shirt sleeves.  rebel-bad-boy sort of stuff - and also wearing one's addiction on one's sleeve - only this time it's addiction to gadgets and technology.  i submitted this concept to stocksy, but the editor said he didn't get the context, so i did a reshoot of the same thing and submitted it to alamy.  it's part of my latest series there.

© Joselito Briones

image above is part of the series.

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i hate this model

© Joselito Briones

because he wore my clothes better. there.

i do love tho that i didn't have to source clothes for him to wear (we wear the same size, all my stuff is fair game) and that he was a real trouper during the shoot.  stocksy said it wanted some sartorialist-style street fashion photo, so there.

vintage pirate coat from vivienne westwood (this one is charles'), suede chukkah boots from a.p.c., iggy jeans from agnes b., hooded sweater from diesel (which the model smirked at, comparing the style of the hoodie to foreskin) and hat from dior homme.

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romantic ideas

© Joselito Briones

remember when i said the people from stocksy sometimes suggest what to shoot?  i was gonna do a gay-themed series of photos, but there wasn't necessarily an inspiration board for this, so i thought, why not just do the moodboard for couples?  here's what the editors of stocksy think are good couple photos. great, right?  i thought, those are mostly young (except for one) white (except for one) hetero (except for two?) couples. what if just try to recreate those moments, but with a gay black couple? (photo above, they're models of course, and may or may not be gay in real life).  i was curious to see if they'll be perceived to be just as romantic (not at all? even more so?).

© Joselito Briones

but then there were just so many hours in a session and i ran out of steam, so i continued the next day with another pair of models (photo above).

the results, plus a lot of variations (i tend to veer off path when shooting), are in this gallery (first day) and this gallery (second day). they're not all there yet as i'm still going through the photos and might actually do a third day of shoot for the set-ups that i missed, but they'll end up in those galleries.

this, for example, is a lame attempt at "a touch to the lips" - i should've gone closer, over the shoulder of the guy touching the other, more intimate - ah well.  and this, which i like, is a combination of "love at every age" and "roof".


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more directions

© Joselito Briones

in another post i mentioned about how i directed the models on what to do, and last weekend i joined a group shoot where another photographer said i'm actually good at it, so i thought, how about i share more on what i tell the models before clicking the shutter?

in the photo shown above, i told the taller model to dry his hands (we were doing dishwashing photos before this), the other model to help him remove his apron, while asking his opinion about something important that he has to decide on but doesn't know what to do about.

this is part of an lgbt series of photos that i'm doing for stocksy.

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meet meynard

© Joselito Briones
dave and norie's old yellow lab. he's in pond5.

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don't you just love it when they get it?

© Joselito Briones

all i said was, you're these bored party people, spoiled brats - they came up with this, from a shoot i did last sunday.  in the photo are diego, michelle, mitchel, and hallie.

photo stuff update:  i guess sales are picking up (and i hope it continues) - bme (best month ever, if you're not familiar with stock photographers' sales talk) for alamy, stocksy, and imagebrief.(well, considering this is my first month)  and tho not bme for pond5, still not bad.

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first rm sale via alamy

© Joselito Briones

i've had several rf sales from alamy before, but this was the surprise first rm sale.  good timing i guess, since i've just uploaded some new stuff there.

photo above was taken in bagan, myanmar (formerly burma), on a lovely hot air balloon ride at sunrise.

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correction:  oops. i did a double check and turns out it was rf (royalty-free) after all.  i was confused because the sale was for an amount that another agency used to charge for rm (royalty managed). ah well.

my mother's crew of sewing women on a website's splash page

© Joselito Briones

above is a photo of the women sewing doormats in the hut next to our family house in the philippines. it's currently used by a company in their website. my mother's the one standing at the back, taking a break from making their lunch to be in the photo.

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first sale @ imagebrief

© Joselito Briones

just got my first (hopefully not the last) image licensed at imagebrief.  it's basically a company that caters to specific requirements of companies needing images by sourcing them directly from photographers worldwide. the big draw? they take out the smallest commission in the industry.

the image that got licensed was from the shoot pictured above (tho not this specific image) with scotty, anton, and jordy - taken in maplewood.

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and it just started snowing

© Joselito Briones

maybe they were just happy that the shoot was over, but they all seemed in their most relaxed in this last photo i took of them, taken at the front stoop of the building where i live.  i've finally processed and submitted all the images from the series, all for stocksy , including the ones taken in their apartment.

was supposed to do another shoot yesterday, but model said he slipped and injured himself, so i guess that'll have to wait until next week.

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stock imitating life imitating stock

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

on top is a photo from a recent shoot in the east village in new york for stocksy, inspired by the photo below it, taken spring of 2009 in the peak district in the uk (taken to look like a stock photo) with friends, in a really, really old cottage we rented for the weekend.

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blue potato and chinese sausage getting sauteed in olive oil and thyme before joining chickpeas and leek soup

© Joselito Briones

we thought the blue potatoes were really pretty (we bought it at the jesus market), and we've had these chinese sausages in the fridge for a long time already, so i thought i'd spruce up left-over chickpeas and leek soup with these. no idea how it comes out, still on the stove, sure is pretty tho against the pale green and yellow of soup.

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portioned, marzipanned, decorated, and wrapped the christmas cake.

© Joselito Briones

so we decided to share one of our home-made fruitcakes with our neighbors (we still have one soaking in brandy).  charles made marzipan from scratch (very good).

we went to the east village to get a present for one of our neighbors' new baby, then to broadway panhandler and got those green and red bits for cake decoration (above photo). we weren't gonna get anything from there - one of those things where "oh it's just there, let's see what they have" and of course we walked out with the cake decorations, a spatula, and an all-clad roasting pan.

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early christmas present from the sims

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

we were just about to have our coq-au-vin (photo above, burning in brandy flames before going in the oven), after a recipe from the two fat ladies, when the sim family (our neighbors from upstairs) came over and gave us early christmas gifts - japanese desserts.  shown on top is white chocolate mochi covered in green tea powder

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eating mini christmas cake at 2:30am

© Joselito Briones
whoever said that patience is a virtue obviously doesn't know the smell of baking christmas cake.  this is fresh from the oven, and is supposed to be drip-drowned in brandy for days before consumption, but i'm eating it now.  the large, proper-sized version is still in the oven (charles and i started baking late at 10pm), hopefully that one will last until christmas.

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late for the party

© Joselito Briones

this one's from a recent shoot for stocksy united. we have this thing going on where someone in the creative team (brianna?) suggests a trendy topic to shoot, and one of them was balloons.  was a few weeks back but am only starting to get back my momentum in doing shoots, so - ah well, as they say, better late than fat.

in the photo is alek sandar

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running theme

© Joselito Briones

let's get literal, shall we?  i thought i should have a series of photos with a running theme, and i was too lazy to think of one, so i just did one of friends running, everywhere we travelled. pictured above are marco and gau , the photo was somewhere in tuscany.

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

© Joselito Briones

and photo above was the last one, in birmingham, uk.

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just trying out that gif thing

+Google+ is now allowing animated gifs for profile page background banner picture or whatever they call it so i thought i'd try one:

© Joselito Briones

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helping take down city hall xmas tree

space is pretty.

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mejillones en escabeche from conservas ria de arosa

rainy-day-can't-be-bothered-to-go-out food. got this from a grocery in hayes valley selling food from spain.


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'house of trixxx' first draft is done!

© Joselito Briones yay! first draft of "house of trixxx" is done. thanks to wil and charles for their crits. I read somewhere that once the first draft is done I'm supposed to put it away and step back for some time, and that's exactly what i'm gonna do. now off to scout locations. XXX

I voted for Obama

squash blossoms

© Joselito Briones

saw some squash blossoms at the produce market and decided to stuff it with shiitake mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and parsley.

© Joselito Briones

dipped in batter (flour, cornstarch, beer) then deepfried. yum.

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round-up part 2

image used by cosmopolitan

... more from yesterday's post:
hot sex stories and fantasies - cosmopolitan.com
who works 9to5 anymore? - msn.com living
subjective time - timeandmandate.com
sharing is caring? - fourcemag.com (dynamic url content, photo might be gone already)


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round-up of photos used recently

photo used by esquire.com

once in a while i like to google myself to see which among my photos are used recently, and found these:

tips on how not to become drunk - esquire.com
sex and the busy life - redbookmag.com
tips on gaining work experience - careerking.net
skinny jeans - kroq
picnic tips - 9and10news

thanks!

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aim high

Print by David Shrigley

bought this print by david shrigley from his ybca exhibit called "brain activity".  it's kinda moronic in its simplicity and crudity (as most of his works are). i just like it because it says if you aim too high you're likely to miss the point entirely.

anyhoo.  the print is called "aim high" and according to the ybca site:
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is proud to announce a new limited edition woodblock print by David Shrigley. The print is 22 1/2" x 16 1/2" on Hahnemühle Copperplate 300gr paper, printed at Kala Art Institute in an edition of 250 signed and numbered by the artist.

was surprised to find out that it costs more to have it framed in the simplest possible type (am guessing my choice to make the framing of the "archival" type made it more so).  maybe i've just gotten too used to disposable ikea frames.


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the house of trixxx

© Joselito Briones

i have been both very busy and very lazy at the same time. busy because i've been banging like a madman on my keyboard, working on a full-feature-length screenplay. very lazy because in doing research, i've been spending a lot of time on my ass watching movies, tv episodes, and documentaries on the subject of the screenplay via netflix. i've also been reading books and watching dvd's i borrowed from san francisco public library (photo above is my library card).

no, it's not a paid gig, i'm doing it on my own and for myself.  keeping myself occupied. 

the status:  i am temporarily calling it "the house of trixxx".  yes, it's about what it sounds like it's about.

it is now completely outlined and i've fleshed out almost half of it. 

the plan:  i'd probably want to do a an amateur no-budget movie out of this.  or more likely, a web series.  i'd probably post a kickstarter fundraiser for this project end of this year or early next. 

the why:  because!!!  and why am i telling you this?  because if i didn't, i'd be too chicken to make anything of this when i'm done writing it (or worse, i might not finish writing it).  so there.

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beware of the company you keep

American Idiot at the Orpheum Theatre

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the music (and the conductor doing his thing at the corner of the stage as part of the performance) - it got too loud at some point, but that only served to heighten the effect of the quieter numbers;  van hughes as johnny (he was understandably miffed when he saw that not everybody gave him standing ovation at the end of the show, he seemed to have given it his all); the staging 

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the gratuitous wire number (i swear if i ever see another production number in any show with cast dangling on wires i'll heckle and boo the whole thing); the performance of the rest of the cast and company (st. jimmy choked a couple of times, whatshername was all athleticism and no grace, the guy who opened the show with the first few lines of the title song seemed to have been a cast-off from "the big gay musical", and the rest of the ensemble was bleh)

judging from the number of times the boy with the bieber-mop hair who sat next to me flipped his head, cued by punctuations from the show, it was a success with even the youngest members of the crowd.  That the parents accompanying him seemed to have given him the "i'll explain later" look whenever there was swearing and simulated sex in the performance (there was a lot of both) gave me the impression that it was more embarrassing than entertaining for them.

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strawberry mochi

© Joselito Briones

mochi with strawberry filling (much better than the ones with ice cream filling) from sf japantown's benkyodo company

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