iamjasonhuang's Xanga

Monday, October 08, 2007

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:40:50 GMT

Monday, June 04, 2007

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 06:37:27 GMT

To purchase prints from the show, click here: jasonhuang.smugmug.com

So here's the backstory:
I saw an ad on Craigslist on Friday for a photographer job on Saturday night. Pretty low pay, 2 lines of details and an anon email address. I sent an email saying I was interested in helping out. I rarely get replies to craigslist emails, but I thought I'd take another chance.

Well, I'm sooo glad I did. The organizer, Geena, calls me up Saturday afternoon at 2pm while I'm in the middle of doing laundry and tells me that they still need a photographer to cover the rehearsals of this dance show from 3pm-7pm. Their original photographer had said they could cover the whole thing from 3pm-9:30pm, but in the last minute couldn't make it to the rehearsals.

Long story short, I agreed to do it. I am sooo glad I did.

Hype, the Choreographer's Showcase (www.hypetheshowcase.com) was an event put on by one girl, Geena (the one who called me). Her reason for putting on this showcase was to honor and recognize local dance choreographers who usually go unnoticed. A handful of dance groups came to perform in the show, each highlighting their respective choreographers.

One choreographer in particular really stuck out to me. It was Geena's choreographer and they actually took a few minutes before intermission to talk about the impact he had made on his students' lives. There were 6 students and just from their short testimonies, I could tell that this guy not only teaches dance moves, but life long lessons. He's a caretaker with a passion for dance. Not a dancer with a passion for people. These types of people are very rare today and it was such an honor for me to witness the show.

Anyway, on to the pictures! I used pretty high iso's since the lighting was pretty dim (yes, even the stage lighting was dim), so some of them are pretty grainy. ARG! Anyway, i snapped 2100 photos and here are the few that I really liked.

If they ever have a show again, I am SOOO there! Everybody was so talented and it was seriously one of those FEEL GOOD events. Man, so fun!

To purchase prints from the show, click here: jasonhuang.smugmug.com

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Wed, 23 May 2007 07:04:44 GMT

Here's a remix of a video I made but never posted. A few months ago, I was invited to a 1 year old's birthday party as the photographer. I snapped a lot of pictures that night and threw together a little slideshow that was about 8 minutes long. This "remix" is about 4 minutes long and is a significant improvement above version 1. I also removed the music-to-slide-change-synchronizing to allow all the pictures to fit one song.

I also learned a few more things about ProShow Gold that I like that put it back in front of David Jay's Showit! Web. Of course, Showit! is a little easier to use, but ProShow allows for a little more control of my slideshow. A couple functions that I found useful were:

1.) Adding blank frames
-I didn't find a Showit! equivalent
2.) Custom timing for beginning and end of slideshow
-Showit! has this ability too, but it was a little harder to customize
3.) Easier "sync to audio" capabilities.
-Showit! was a little easier to set custom timings, though.

I agree that Showit! is overall easier to use, the interface is cleaner, sharing is better, and rendering takes less time. But, I think I would choose the custom abilities of ProShow over Showit! for now. Then again, the clean layout and ability to easily share the gallery and slideshow is pretty appealing.

Anyway, check it out and let me know how I can get better! Thanks!

Slideshow #2

Wed, 16 May 2007 05:58:47 GMT

I have created another slideshow! This one was created with the images from Karen and Matt's session a few months ago. They were one of the first ones to allow me to "professionally" photograph them! Thanks guys!

I have decided to try out different slideshow programs. David Jay's Showit! was really easy to use, but I feel like it lacked certain capabilities that I found useful in Photodex's Pro Show Gold. Shrug, I guess I should've spent more time with Showit!'s demo. Maybe next time! In the mean time, enjoy....and please let me know how I can improve.

Ok, so I played around with David Jay's Showit! Web today and found it to be a lot faster! Haha, man. I think one thing I can do with ProShow that I can't do with Showit! is add blank slides. Unless I just have a default black image or a default white image. If there's a way, I didn't see it. Either way, once I start making money with this photography thing, I'll probably purchase Showit! Gotta stop the bleeding somewhere!

Something Different

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:45:28 GMT

A few city shots from a while ago. Dallas can be so beautiful sometimes. More on my flickr.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 06:18:57 GMT

One overcast Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in my room on load 2 of a total of 5 loads of laundry when my friend Sue Jean called. She originally wanted to borrow one of my lenses for some engagement pictures her friend wanted to take. When she came over to pick up the lens, she looked like she was going to puke or pass out so she asked me if I wanted to come along. I reluctantly obliged, mainly because I had so much laundry to do, but I'm so glad I went.

Elaine & Geoff are a beautiful couple who don't think they are photogenic, but the following slideshow will prove that they were wrong! This is my first published slideshow, so suggestions/comments would be appreciated. I used ProShow Gold to make this and I actually worked on it, unlike my previous ones where I just put pictures to some music. Haha. Hope this works!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 05:37:02 GMT

I'm sorry that it's been so long between posts! I've been wrestling with a cold/flu these last 7 days. I feel like I am finally over the whole thing. It really put me in a slump with my work life, social life, and took almost all my inspiration out of everything. Everything except photography. Despite being death-bed sick, I defied all odds and stayed up too late editing and learning more about photography.

Anyway, here are a few shots from a friendly little shoot at the Dallas Arboretum. This shoot got me a free dinner! Wheee! It was a lot of fun and the day was beautiful. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the flowery backdrops. HAHA! For one, I think the subjects make the picture come to life, not the background. Secondly, there were sooo many other photographers out at the arboretum. I was so intimidated by the millions of dollars of high class equipment and the collective level of experience all around me. What a scary environment to be in!

I also just started using Adobe's Lightroom this week. It has made things a lot faster and a lot easier! I'm really excited about the possibilities as I continue to expand my library. I feel like I've cut down my workflow by at least 50%. That's a huge increase in productivity and a great feeling!

contact: jasonhuangphotography [at] gmail [dot] com

My name is Jason Huang and I am an aspiring photographer in the Dallas, TX metroplex. I have 7+ years of experience in photography, beginning with film on the beaches of Southern California and moving to full Canon Digital format in June of 2005. I enjoy what I do and view photography as a way to document life, including all its tears, joy, and laughter. I aim to capture emotion in its rawest form abiding to the age-old proverb, "A picture is worth 1000 words." Currently, I am taking steps towards making a career out of photography so I am seeking clients who are flexible and looking for a basic package photographer to produce high quality photos. Excellent work is a philosophy, not a paycheck.

My preferred style is a photojournalistic and modern-creative portraiture approach. I have experience in portrait, wedding, family, and event photography, providing work in a wide range of situations. As I am starting out, I will be offering very basic packages at a low cost. In addition, my time will be limited due to my full time job, so flexibility in scheduling is a must! Because of that, I am willing to design custom, low price packages. Please contact me if you're interested (or if you have questions) and we can design something special for you!

Strangers to Friends to Couples

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:29:24 GMT

I have been friends with Karen since 10th grade or so. I remember her because she had one of the most beautiful voices in the youth group; we always wanted her to sing on the worship team with us. If there's one thing that could describe our friendship, it's that we both love Spring Creek BBQ. I've known Matt since my senior year in high school. We had a lot of students and not enough space back at good 'ole PSHS. One of my classes was actually held in a classroom split in 2 by one of those wall dividers. The crummy thing was that there was only one door to the room. Luckily, my class was on the side of the room with the door. Matt had a class on the other side of the divider and he ALWAYS came to class late, so we'd make fun of him every time he came walking through our class 5 min after the period started.

These two came together by some miraculous and beautiful story, got married at a gorgeous ceremony, and the rest, as they say, is the first year of marriage. I was fortunate to catch them on a fun day for a session. I've been asked by others if I did any posing for these images. I did very minimal posing asking them to make eye contact or stand closer. Occasionally, I would ask them to just start making out or "prove" their love, which is when things got REALLY interesting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this series as much as I enjoyed photographing them!

contact: jasonhuangphotography [at] gmail [dot] com

Family

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:13:39 GMT

As I grow older, I sometimes get an opportunity to dig up old photos of my parents. A lot of them are polaroids. In addition, I have a picture frame that documents my life when I was 5 years old, ranging from my Superman costume to the Thundercats' land roving fort/tractor that my dad built one afternoon as a surprise while I napped. Every time I look back, a feeling of nostalgia overpowers me and my heart seems to sink as I remember what it was like when life was "simpler." The emotions, thoughts, and events of a day that can all be brought back to life by looking at one picture are what make photographs so important. One day, maybe 10 years down the road, I hope that this family will look at this picture and realize how some things never change.

contact: jasonhuangphotography [at] gmail [dot] com

Photojournalism

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 06:53:36 GMT

The best part of a photojournalistic approach to photography is the ability to catch moments where deep emotions such as joy, laughter, and fun are exemplified for that fleeting split second.

contact: jasonhuangphotography [at] gmail [dot] com