Advanced IGer Workshop in Chinatown

***Due to Popular Demand: the workshop has been changed to an advanced class and the date has also been moved. Please make note of the changes, thanks!

I've been asked a lot of questions and requests concerning my Instagram account. How should I process my images? How do I grow my followers? Should I or shouldn't I use hashtags? Is a smartphone good enough or should I invest in a proper camera? What apps should I use to process my images? I've done my best to answer these questions here and there, but it never felt complete. I've run many private workshops, account takeovers, and coffeeshop conversations concerning the power of Instagram so I decided I better start a series teaching it in person. For those who are interested in the value of this visual based social media platform and how it can accelerate your brand, please go to Studio 126's website for more information. My friends Ryan and Anna are hosting the event so if you have any questions, direct it towards them. Due to popular demand, my first workshop will be on advanced Instagram techniques and management. If you are currently a competent photographer and IGer but still want to learn some new tricks, this course is for you. If you are a business and want to up your IG game on how to increase your brand awareness, this is also a good workshop for you. For more info please go to Studio 126's website. For now check out some of my Instagram images I've posted using my iPhone 6s:

iPhone - Smartphone Street Photography Workshops

iPhone 5S. 1/2933 sec f/2.2 @ ISO 40. Douglas Coupland's Gumhead at the Vancouver Art Gallery

I announced back in the summer that I would start doing photography workshops... and then I went silent. Not because of lack of interest or desire on my part, but because I was busy on many other smaller projects. However, I was continually teaching and running private workshops for individuals and groups. The recurring question and inquiry I was getting was how I'm able to take 'professional' pictures with my iPhone. If you look at my Instagram Feed, 95% of the pictures are taken with my iPhone and post processed using mobile applications (VSCO, Camera+, PS Express). I've been very transparent with how I take the pictures and post process, but many have suggested I start workshops to physically show people how it's done.

My website is not yet set-up for on-line registration (it will soon!) so if you're interested in my 2 upcoming workshops in Vancouver, please email me at takeatbigheadtacodotcom. I will run my first workshop this Saturday afternoon (1:30-4:30pm) at 40% discount because of the short notice ($60 per student), and next weekend (either Sat or Sun) at full price ($100 per student). I will only take 5 students maximum per workshop so I can give as much attention to each student. Thank you again for your patience and I look forward to meeting you. If there is any interest for those in Hong Kong ( I will be there late November to early December), please email me and I would be happy to arrange for either a private or a group workshop on street photography or smartphone post processing. 

Thanks for all your support and happy shooting!

Best regards, 

Take Kayo

BHT

Street Photography, iPhones and Instagram

All images taken with iPhone 5S and edited with Instagram, VSCOCam, PS Express, and/or Camera +

I love reviewing cameras and I enjoy street photography. I only review cameras that interest me and want to use while shooting on the street. I care less about absolute image quality, but focus on what camera is best for shooting quickly and discretely, important qualities while taking street images. Funny thing, I've been spending much of my time shooting with my iPhone and using Instagram as the primary platform for my street photography work. When I upgraded my iPhone 4 with the latest iPhone 5S back in December, I saw a leap in image quality and felt it was powerful enough for me to shoot with it as a serious imaging tool. What makes smartphone cameras ideal for street photography? Here's a few things I've learned while using my iPhone and sharing my images via Instragram during my street photography project...

iPhone 5S: An Awesome Panorama Camera

iPhone 5S. 1/120th sec F/2.2 @ ISO 160. Original file 8.2mb 7742 x 2448 image

I've recently upgraded my dying iphone 4 (not the S!!) from 3 years ago to the latest and greatest iPhone 5S. Before the iPhone I was a Palm Pilot guy (Palm T3 was my last one), and even before digital PDA's I always used a paper daily planner with phone numbers, notes, to do list, calender, etc. When the iPhone came out I was excited, as it merged a phone with a digital organizer... little did I realize that this little gadget would change how I viewed photography!

The new camera on the latest iPhone and the software that runs it is very simple and intuitive to use, but it also takes great images. Yes the dynamic range isn't what I would get on a "proper" camera, but the convenience of a camera on our phones can't be denied. Take a picture, edit it in-camera, and immediately share it with the world. I know the new iSight camera has many cool features, but specifically I wanted to talk about the panorama camera feature. I'm currently reviewing the Fuji X-E2 and I've always loved Fuji's "Motion Panorama" feature; the best of all the major manufacturers I thought... until now.

Bokeh Test: iPhone, Ricoh GRD, Fuji X100S

I've been testing different cameras recently and I've been talking about depth of field and the importance of it in certain types of photography. The more the better if you're shooting food or products, especially if you're trying to keep everything in focus (which is usually the case). Let's begin by taking three different cameras with 3 different sensor sizes: iPhone 4 with a 1/3.2" sensor, Ricoh GR D IV with a 1/1.7" sensor, and the Fuji X100S with a APS-C size sensor.

I've taken the same image and tried to see how much of the food is in focus from front to back. I'm sure the waitress thought I was crazy, but hey, it's sushi. It's not like it's going to get cold! I focused all three images on the salmon skin rolls on the bottom left, and see how much depth of focus we can get by looking at the fruit in the middle, and the raw tuna and salmon on the top left. Alright, let's take a look at these pictures!

Ricoh GR Trio: The Tiny, Full-Frame & APS

I finally have in my possession the latest and greatest Ricoh digital camera, the Ricoh GR. Unofficially it's called the GR V or GR 5 since it's the 5th generation Ricoh GR digital camera. The big deal with the new GR is of course its APS-C size sensor crammed into its slim little Japanese camera body.

Preview: Ricoh GR-1 vs GR-Digital IV

Full Review of Ricoh GRD IV here

I've recently retired my beloved Panasonic LX-3 after 4 years of faithful service. It's been to Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore and other faraway places and it's never let me down. It's replacement? I don't know yet, but I'm testing the discontinued Ricoh GR Digital IV. Why test a discontinued camera you ask? Unlike many digital cameras that are easily forgotten, for some reason the Ricoh GR series cameras tend to be come cult classics as soon as they come out. From the original GR-1 film camera (pictured above with the GR-D IV), to the latest and greatest APS-C sensor equipped Ricoh GR V (I know that's not the official name), Ricoh cameras seem to have staying power. Just type in Ricoh GR on E-bay or Craigslist and you'll see what I mean.

Cool Grandpa = Fedoras, Aviators, Hoodie and Leather Shoes

I was heading downtown the other day and I saw the coolest guy sitting at the back of the bus (where else right?). It didn't matter that he was an older gentleman. It didn't matter that he was mixing different genres and generations of fashion. If you're cool, you're cool. If you have the right attitude and style, you can almost pull off any look! He even had a really cool varsity ring on his left hand too, but you can't see it in the picture.  Look at the killer way he has his foot up against the seat...

Upcoming Camera Review: FUJIFILM X-E1

Ok the secret is out...well it wasn't much of a secret I guess.  The kind folks over at Fujifilm Canada has graciously loaned me the all new Fujifilm X-E1 with the standard kit lens for review.  I have 3 pages of notes so far, and I'll put together either a short preview or a full review in the next week or two.

What I can say about my testing process is that it will be more like Luminous Landscape and not like DPReview.  I don't care about pixel-peeping or a run down on every single feature and how fast or long things take in milliseconds. As a camera nerd I don't mind knowing those things, but I want real world tests, not what it can do in a lab or a very controlled environment.  Don't you find that you skip to the end of a DPReview 20 page camera test to the "conclusion" section anyway, since that's what counts the most: the opinion of the tester?

Fast Food Faster: Express Self Ordering?

I walked into my new neighbourhood A&W and noticed they only had a single-cashier set-up and I thought that was odd for a fast food joint. Then I noticed the 'Self Order' kiosk. I didn't realize that minimum wage was too expense for these places to operate, thus replacing humans with robots!! Self check-out at grocery stores, self-pump at gas stations, and now self-ordering at fast food joints. What's next? 

My guess is that in the future movie theaters, airports, dry-cleaning, department stores and even restaurants (computerized self-seating and self ordering) will all be run by machines and computers. We can go all day without coming into contact with other humans in the future. Don't worry, we'll all have smart phones and tablet computers to keep us company instead. Doesn't that sound like fun?

iPhone 4 Run Over by a Car!!

While driving around Saturday morning with Cocof0sho, we saw an iPhone just laying in the middle of the road, face down.  Running out onto highway traffic and retrieving it, we realized it had already been run over, multiple times perhaps. We plugged it in, wondering if it may still kinda work.....nope! Although the screen was completely destroyed (but surprisingly still sticking together like a car windshield), look at the back, it's intact! I think the thin yet protective carbon fiber-esk decal kept it in one piece, even though it's also made of glass....


What's the lesson here? Don't drive with your iPhone dangling out your window while driving? Maybe. Don't just throw out your old iPhone out the window like a cigarette butt just because you've recently upgraded to an iPhone 4S (not really an upgrade) and you're rich enough to just throw it out the window of your Ferrari? Also a maybe.

I think the real lesson here is that no matter what you throw out the window of a moving car, if it looks like an iPhone, you're not really littering, because some fool will eventually pick it up!!  Hey, maybe we can plug it into a computer and download some personal pictures? Cocof0sho? Anything interesting?

Do You Give a Hoot about Truck Graffiti?

I've been noticing graffiti on white trucks lately, and I don't know if it's true graffiti, or if the owners are allowing random artists to spray their trucks.  This one looks like a commissioned job.  I thought it was cute. Owls are pretty cool. Big headed birds. Although this owl can actually change his face to look like a bat when it senses danger or competition. Insane!!

Drink Water Week Advertised on a Toilet?

I posted this on Twitter a week ago but decided not to post on my blog, but now I change my mind! Bike to Work Week, yes. Butt Out Week, yes. Mental Health Awareness Week, yes. But Drinking Water Week? Isn't this just common sense? And how about not just a week, but for the rest of our lives!!  Drink water people!! I also thought it ironic that the advertising for Drinking Water Week was on the side of a public toilet.... leaves a bad taste in your mouth, no?

Monochromatic Graffiti Style in Gastown

There's an alley just off Cambie St. in Gastown that has graffiti from one end to the other, and on both sides. I often see photographers using it as a backdrop to a fashion shoot, to give it some edge and street-legitimacy.  As I rode through it one day, all I could smell and see was urine and dumpsters, so I know it's not a "fake alley" with graffiti; it's the real thing. Much of the art is simple and cliche, but I noticed one that stood out. It's a single colour piece, but with different shades.  I wonder if the artist had multiple shades of black and gray spray paint, or if there is some technique to create the different shades? It's a pretty complicated piece of graffiti, working with shades instead of colours, so I thought I would share......

Mural to iPhone to Blog in Minutes!

I haven't posted in a while since I've been mostly home-bound the past few weeks. I got out today on my bike and got shooting immediately. What I noticed most about Vancouver is the increase of murals, official and unofficial (aka graffiti art). I love this one, although I'm sure this is a digital print on aluminum substrate and mounted in multi-pieces. It doesn't take away from the coolness of the image though...... 

I wanted to take a straight on shot, but not possible. Fortunately, I knew I could edit later with Jotnot Pro for iPhone, and as you can see, it corrected the angle of view just fine. 

I also did a quick touch up in PS Express for iPhone (contrast, sharpness, frame) and then sent via email to my Blogger acount. I shot, edited, wrote and emailed all from my iPhone.....

I went back in later on my laptop to fix the layout a bit, change font, and add labels (not possible in e-mail mode), but other than that, all done on my iPhone.......

Telephone Pole Poster Art:Pt 2

My most viewed blog entry is my Telephone Pole Poster Art that I posted last summer.  I don't know if it's the same person looking at it over and over again, or if I found the right combination of words to get lots of Google search hits.  Either way, I enjoy the look of these things.  It truly does add colour and flavour to something really bland.  I found these while walking along West Broadway, from Arbutus to Oak Street. 


Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @bigheadtaco

Super Champion Bike Shop

One of the coolest bike shops I've been to on either side of the ocean is Super Champion on Main St. in Vancouver.  It's located in one of the worst parts of town, the Downtown East Side, the poorest neighbourhood in Canada. Why do cool shops exist in the worst neighbourhoods?  

John Cusack said it best in the movie High Fidelity, explaining why his record shop was purposely located in the bad part of town: "It's located in a neighbourhood that attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers.  I get by because people make a special effort to shop here". 

So true. Notice the guy laying down in front of the shop writing his Please Help Me sign right in front of their sandwich board? This is normal for this area. As discrete as the store is, I think their name and logo is very hipster and pop-culture worthy.  So cool, that Lifetime Collective makes clothing in collaboration with them.  I've bought a couple of jackets and t-shirts, all very awesome indeed!

In fact, I bought a bike magazine in Tokyo and look at what I found in it!  Yes, a Super Champion and Lifetime collaboration ad.... in a magazine in Tokyo!!   However, as connected as they are, their on-line presence is almost zero!!  Check out their Facebook Page.  That's pretty much all they have. It's pretty sad.  But maybe it's self-inflicted? Either way, their bikes are cool, and so is their clothing!!  Check them out.

Japanese 'Closed' Sign

I noticed in Japan, it is very common to have 'Closed' signs when a business is closed for the day.  It's like putting out a sandwich board announcing that you aren't open for business, which seems backwards here in N.America.  But for the Japanese, it makes sense.  In fact, many stores give you the hours they are closed instead of the hours they are open, especially convenience stores that are often only closed for 4-5 hours a day (for instance closed M-F 2am-6am).  But this picture isn't from Japan, but in Vancouver!  The restaurant? Suika on W.Broadway. Suika means watermelon in Japanese. Try it.  I hear it's good.  Make sure you don't see the closed sign though........

Ride on Vancouver: Pink Helmet on Grown Man

Took this picture from a vehicle (as the passenger). The title is self-explanatory. 'Nuff said.

iPhone Gucci Fashion Shoot at the Mall

Ok, this wasn't really a fashion shoot, but those are Gucci's, we were in the mall, and I did use my iPhone to take this image. My point is how powerful a tool the iPhone can be when it comes to its ability to take decent pictures and post them online in a matter of minutes. My wife bought a new pair of shades and I wanted to take a snapshot for her to see how she looked in them (because we all know that an image is different than looking into a mirror).  I quickly found a white wall with decent lighting and took this shot.  You can tell we're at the mall by looking at the reflection in her shades (I'm the blob on the far right). Of course I could have brought my huge D-SLR and my 85mm F1.4 lens, but how much attention would that have drawn to me and my wife? And what are the chances of me carrying that thing everywhere I go? This was convenient, quick and discrete. Thank you Mr Steve Jobs.