Essays on robotics, startups, artwork.

In this one I created a separate layer and used a mask to selectively saturate the colors of the jewelry and the colors around Dijana’s eyes. Using a mask allows me to alter the jewelry without modifying the other parts of the image. I also used a screen layer to lighten those parts as well.

I know lens flare is cheesy, but I couldn’t resist. In Photoshop look under Filter -> Render -> Lens Flare -> awesomeness. Note the vignetting in this picture is not a lens artifact or photoshop magic, rather it is caused by the flash, a one point light source coming from the top right. Since there…

This picture is one of the first where I really went all out on every step in the hierarchy of making a professional photo from two point lighting to lots of photoshop. In addition Karen added to this hierarchy with her jewelry, selecting the clothes and William for make up (hence those crazy eye lashes).…

Happier organized a post positive psychology conference happy hour. Apparently all the hot shots of positive psychology had attended this conference. I met some interesting people for example, Robert Biswas-Diener. He’s described as the “Indiana Jones of positive psychology” because he has studied subjects in remote places such as Bangladesh and Kenya. I’ve covered a…

I had to take some headshots for an interesting startup company called Happier. Happier is a company built around positive psychology. They provide tests and exercises to measure, track and improve your happiness. It’s kinda buddhist if you ask me. They have even worked with bigger companies like google. Positive psychology has gained a lot…

This Ukranian is a die hard regular at XPLR. I mean literally die hard. A couple weeks ago Pogo was rushing to class on his bike and got “doored”, broke his collar bone and now has a chunk of titanium in his left shoulder. And still this guy shows up at our photo rides. I…

One part I love about photography is that it gives you license to meet some very interesting people you would otherwise not approach. This weekend the Penn Alumni Club spent a morning with the elderly at Casa Farnese, a home for assisted living, by bringing spring cheer with gifts and conversation. I helped out with…

I covered the Penn Alumni Club happy hour at the Devil’s Alley today. The event was a welcome to the new alumna (recent graduates of 2009). This restaurant is a great photo opp with lots of wood, big plants, a couple windows in the ceiling and a huge window in the front. I particularly like…

I got to shoot a happy hour for the Penn Alumni Club. It was held at Table 31, which is a cool outdoor bar in front of the new Comcast building here in Philadelphia. The event started at 6PM which was at exactly the right time for me as sunset always gives nice lighting. Some…