Thursday, December 3, 2009

Black dots and sharp plants...

Right outside my front door are some unique plants...a great opportunity to practice on composition and depth of field (DOF).  The first three are slightly different settings on basically the same setting.










Notice the very different mood between the first and third photo.  Black dots.

I like the position of the subject in the next photo.  I guess some might say the cactus should be a bit lower or higher on the vertical....but I like it where it is.



The focus of the next several photos show the different locations of the cacti outside my front door....









Hope you like the pictures and my little blog.  If you want to see more, please click on Bob Ochoa Photography web site located in the "Key Links" section above.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Weird venue...one person's dream.

About 1/2 way to Tubac off Interstate 10 stands about 3 or 4 baby blue watch towers and a whole lot of desert...such a curious site.

So curious that I had to find out what purpose they served.

Sunday, November 22, 2009 - approx. 12 pm.

Exit the 10 Fwy on Sunshine Blvd to Milligan rd. About 1 mile down a dusty road and there is an entrance to this deserted no-named entertainment - go kart - concert venue.



Turns out there were more like 20 watch towers that stand about 25 feet tall with doors but no ladders.



I had to find out what this used to be...so off to google I went...an hour or so later...no hits!




I finally had to call the Eloy city manager's office to find out.



Turns out that this was one person's dream to bring entertainment to the sleepy town of Eloy, AZ twenty plus years ago.









The park never opened.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Inspiration -- Tubac

It only takes a weekend in Tubac to put the creative thoughts into action. Here are some shots from this weekend...






The first two were taken at a great pottery shop near St Ann's Church.

This last one is of our family room in Tubac


A weekend in Tubac always does the trick to get the lens
cap off.

Note: My website is taking on a face lift. Look for the unvailing later this month.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Skyfire 2

One more photo of the Tubac skyfire!


-- Posted from my iPhone

The sky was on fire!!!

Tubac Arizona 2009 - Sunset:

There are many things to love about Tubac; at the top of the list would be the magnificent sunsets!


This leads to a question....is there any real photographic talent in shooting a spectacular event of nature? I think the answer is (as in most cases) yes and no. Yes there is talent for some basic reasons:
  • It takes talent to know where the camera is at the time of the event
  • It takes talent to know that the window for shooting sunsets is short and one better hustle to get the camera to take the shot
  • It takes talent to point the camera in the direction of the event
  • and it takes talent to press the shutter.

Seriously, the real talent is in the composition of the photo. It is taking a look at the scene, picking out the vantage point and the area that speaks most to the photographer. It is the color, the texture, and the contrast of the key areas that bring the viewer into the photo.


This was a special evening in Tubac and of the many photos, these are some of my favorite shots. Never sure a camera and a sole photographer can do justice to the full experience of a night where the sky seemed to be on fire.


Hope you enjoyed the pics...I know I had fun taking them. Please check out my smugmug site here!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cactus flower and friends

Hi....

Here are some recent pictures of a hummingbird, a huge cactus flower, and some other plants...

We have a table center piece that has these dried plants and the way the light comes into the room adds a real cool look and feel. It is hard for me to resist taking the picture!


Ligtht, texture, and color made me take this picture.

Hummingbirds...what a wonderful bird to watch...taking their pictures is not very easy to do. However, provide some sugar water and or a bright red bottle brush plant...and the task becomes a lot easier.

Our cacti this year have grown so much, so fast! Especially exciting is this one flower that just started growing about a week ago.
This picture is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Right behind this version is the one below in black and white with high structure. I love it!


I have been listening to many podcasts lately and the suggestion is for a photographer to really focus on one style of photography. With this blog, maybe my style is all about nature....but I am not convinced yet. So for now...off to take pictures of many things. Look for an update soon.

Be sure to check out my site!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Old Mission - Tubac







Add Image


Interesting places close to home? Time to grab the camera and take some shots. Down the street in Tubac Arizona is the old mission at Tumacacori National Historical Park. Not the best time of day to take pictures -- smack dab in the middle of the day. This did not stop me...here are some pictures of the mission and one pretty large resident bug.




As you can see, many interesting angles and shapes. Imagine if this was at sunset or sunrise and how different the lighting would be...




















Check out the bug...I say it was 2 or 3 inches, my wife would say less than an inch. I don't like bugs...not sure why I thought it would not attack me if I had my camera.



























The next two photos are of old vintage bowls or pots from the 1800's. Love the shades of brown and the shapes.




Hope you like the pics...I enjoyed taking them. Check out my site for more pictures.



Jazz Hats...

Sometimes we go to a familiar event or location for a specific reason...like the annual jazz concert we go to in Southern California each year and all is as expected...great music, good people, hot weather. However, sometimes a camera helps one to look at the usual in an unusual manner.

This is the case this year. In looking for a theme my eye kept being drawn to the wonderful hats throughout the event...here are a few...
























I wear a hat and it does not look this cool...






























I could have easily done a theme of pictures on sunglasses...some great ones at the concert.
















Hope you like the pics...check out my site for the rest of my pictures.

Bob Ochoa Photography

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Tubac - 400 cool cars 2009

Time to catch up on updating my blog. Back in early 2009 there is an annual car show in Tubac, Ariziona where approximately 400 cars come to the sleepy artist community of Tubac to show off their vehicles. Fortunate for us, we had roadside seats as the cars filed into town one after the other to find their place on the golf course lawn at resort



Several of our neighbors gather on the road early in the day and watch the parade of cars....

Vintage, color, style are part of the parade....

From the street to the golf course...


Once on the lawn we walked up close and personal to the cars finding some interesting shots...





All in all, a great day, great friends, great cars and some pretty good pics. If you are interested in more of my work, please visit my site.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Still life...

Here are a few quick photos of a vase in our family room. The light and the texture dried arrangement piqued my interest...hope you like them!





Vegas, umbrellas, and buildings

Debbie and I love Vegas!

The shows, the restaurants and now we have some friends that live there...all is good in Vegas. One of our friends celebrated her 50th birthday in Vegas and we were invited. I couldn't help taking pictures of some of the buildings and the umbrella art displayed at the Venetian Hotel.


The one thing I tried is not to take the picture that I believe the typical tourist would take. For instance, just before I took the picture above another person was taking a picture of the Planet Hollywood neon light...I choose a building under construction across the street.



This picture was more about the artificial feel of people dining at an patio cafe -- in reality it was inside the massive Venetian shopping area. The good news...the people all seem to be engaged in their own world.

The following pics are of the umbrella art...the light, colors and shapes just begged to be photographed.



This next picture I like was accidental...going up the escalator taking random shoots and I caught another person taking a picture with a different perspective...


Here is one more of the umbrellas....I like the soft colors.