About the Author: David McDonald is a local photographer in San Francisco and currently operates out of the Castro. He enjoys photography, music, and a good burrito. His photos and recent projects can be found on his personal site.

You have to be crazy to think of going to Burning Man.  I started going to Burning Man a few years ago after being urged by friends, and I always thought that it was a hippie experience that I could never really handle.  Turns out I’m a hippie.

Create.  These photos were all shot with my trusty Canon G11 since I wasn’t too stoked about taking the more expensive gear out into the desert.  There were a lot of moments to capture, but occasionally I felt like I didn’t have the proper gear on hand.  These times are when I was reminded of two of the ten principles of Burning Man: Radical Self-reliance and Radical Self-expression.  In other words, suck it up and take the shot.

Grow.  These photos not only hold a special place in my heart because I love the content of them, but they also remind me of an incredible moment in time.  There are true connections formed during the stay on the playa.   As far as photography goes, this shoot taught me nothing more than to be completely present to your surroundings.  The photos will come.

About the Author: Patrick Stern is a social media strategist and photo hobbyist residing in San Francisco. His personal blog can be found at patrickstern.me and can be contacted at @patrickstern.

Hey there,

We want to take a moment to thank all of you, friends and new friends, that have been following us over the past couple of months as we have begun building out Brotogs.com. We are slowly, but surely, focusing our blog to help Create, Show, and Grow people who are interested in Photography and hopefully much more. This evening’s post we are happy to announce our new initiative to bring in regular guest posts that showcase photographers from the Bay Area outside of the original circle of Brotogs. We want to go over a few basic elements that we would be looking for, but we basically show how you Create your work, Share it (your Blog), and talk about how you have Learned from that experience. We want to promote those that really have a unique style and represent the Bay Area with their work.

Aside from those elements, here are a few other points that we want anyone who is interested to consider:

- Have 15-20 images that have a theme or tell a story.

- Prepared to write a short blog on how you Create and Grew from the shoot. (see Christian’s recent post)

- Write a short bio about yourself (140 characters) including a link to your blog/social profile where you hang out.

If you or someone that you knows would be interested in showcasing your work, please send an email to brotogs at gmail dot com. Please provide a link to your work and we will respond promptly if we are a match. Students are definitely encouraged to submit, but any other photographer in the Bay Area or San Francisco are welcomed as well.

We look forward to having more content for you to enjoy and we will begin seeking unique and interesting photographers to showcase.

Keep on it,

Create.Show.Grow.

- Patrick and the Brotogs

About the Author:Christian Maike is a film-shooting photographer with a day job who resides in San Francisco. Using mainly his Contax, he shoots weddings, portraits, automobile lifestyle, and the cool things one might not notice. Click on over to his website, keep in touch via Facebook, or follow him on twitter at @christianmaike.

This is quite a post and for a couple reasons. Firstly, it has a good set of photographs. Secondly, it will contain a good portion of text which will include my review of Jonathan Canlas‘ Film Is Not Dead (FIND) workshop on Maui. But since I went to a FIND workshop, I can call him Jon. This post is dedicated to photographs taken during the workshop but a follow-up post will hit which contains only personal work shot while on Maui (Jon would be so proud…). This post will also be inverted with respect to grow/create because lets be honest, going to workshop is mainly about growing.

Here we go.

Grow:At the end of summer in 2010 I had a crazy thought – I’m going to sell my rad Nikon DSLR kit which included a D700 and all kinds of other goodies. Crazy, right? I wasn’t liking it anymore because whenever I lifted the camera to my face, people parted my path like the Red Sea. I wanted to capture in-the-moment instances and the camera was inhibiting that.

So I bought a digital Leica M9 after selling every last bit of my Nikon kit in September 2010. Then I bought a traditional 35mm Leica, an M6, to supplement the M9 in October 2010.

I shot with these two cameras and my 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens. It was perfect. Especially the M6. I then realized I wanted to shoot more film. It gave me a look without sitting behind a screen running scripts, etc. It was so simple.

Then I sold the M9 in December and bought a Contax 645 after using a friend’s Bronica 645. I was hooked. Medium format film had a calling for me. I was now digital-free sans my iPhone and I hadn’t even signed up for FIND yet.

2011 hit and I gave myself a new goal – to shoot the one thing I was uncomfortable with shooting. People. It was not my thing and I knew it would push me. And it did. The other thought was – people like looking at photos of other people. So, I was going to make myself shoot primarily people.

March 2011 came along and Jon posted about FIND Maui on his blog. I jumped on it and put down my cash. I also thought “what the hell have I just done?!” Fast forward to November 2011 and I’m on a plane to Maui by myself meeting up with people who I have never met before. Not something a lot of folks would say I would have done.

The workshop is split into three days and each day consisted of lecture then shooting real people, real couples, real families. Just… real situations with Jon offering his insights and support through  it all. Lecture included discussions of the various film stocks, how to properly expose, where to send your film, wedding scenarios, portrait scenarios, location, cameras, business, marketing, and so much other good stuff. Honestly, you should see the book Jon gives attendees…

The shooting days were also themed. One day was engaged couples, another was family, and another was newly weds. Each of these couples brought their own learning experiences for me because they were all new to me. I had to step up to the plate, give direction, find that (hopefully) rad pose and offer a sense of security. All challenging and oh-so-worth it.

The value in the workshop is priceless both from Jon’s “open book” approach and for all the friends you’ll make. There’s a private Facebook page that is both downright hilarious and utterly informational. Then there’s the private forum – yup, tons of extra resources and goodies. Remember, this workshop goes on for as long as you want.

The after hours are something else entirely. I won’t bore folks with this story but you will like spam musubi at the end of a FIND workshop. Guaranteed.

What were my takeaways? Too many. To this day I find an incredible amount of information, support, and motivation by staying in touch with other FINDers. I walked away with a totally new outlook on how I want to approach my 2012 and what I want to accomplish with my photography and thus far, the wheels are rolling.

Lastly, I have had some friends and other photographers ask “why would I take a portrait/wedding/family/lifestyle film-based workshop?” It’s a great question. What if you didn’t do any of the above? Then you’re the perfect candidate for a FIND workshop because it’s taking you out of your area of comfort, making your head spin, and spitting you out with a new sense of accomplishment. Even if you don’t continue in any of the above fields of photography you will have learned how to shoot film, shot film, met some of the most amazing people ever, and watch Jon take down fruit punch like it’s gong out of style.  Big thanks to Jon for running an amazing workshop and to Wendy Laurel for offering up her amazing home for three days to a bunch of camera and film-crazed photographers.

Create: All but one shot were taken with a Contax 645. Shot with a mixture of films including Kodak Portra 160, Porttra 400, Portra 800, Fuji 400H, and Ilford XP2. All scanned by Richard Photo Lab because they’re awesome. Yes, you read correctly, not one shot in the post was created with a digital camera. Get out there, find a used film camera (less than $100) and start to shoot the stuff. It really does look amazing.

About the Author: Ross Hendrickson’s work leans largely towards live event photography igniting his creative energy to get the camera out. He showcases is work with this collection.

Three things came together to make this post: a new lens, a trip to Phoenix and a model who loves to smile. All these elements made this one-day photo adventure in America’s south-west a success for me.

Create. I took the plunge and purchased a Canon 35mm 1.4/L.  The hype behind this glass is no lie. The focal length perfect for photojournalist style shots that show a ‘true’ field of view similar to what a person’s field of vision sees most of the time. That combined with a wide open 1.4 aperture allowing me to throw the background into a creamy dreamy haze of color makes portrait shooting very dynamic. When shooting landscapes the 1.4 allows me to shoot in low-light conditions where introducing light would be impossible.

As for the model, my friend Stacey is a kid at heart, which made every click of the shutter that much easier. She not only provided endless energy and enthusiasm, as a long-time Phoenix resident she knew exactly where to take me to capture beautiful scenes amongst the city. While much of downtown Phoenix may have a stark urban feel, Stacey’s involvement in the revitalization of downtown Phoenix gave her an arsenal of pre-scouted locations perfect for our photo adventure.

Grow. Phoenix. Finding beauty in the desert as well as ‘Middle-America’ can be a challenge. Though coming from San Francisco my eyes opened up to a lot of things that I wouldn’t get in the big city or the moving terrain of NorCal.  Big Skies and deep horizons make for some great compositional challenges.

About the Author: Patrick Stern is a social media strategist and photo hobbyist residing in San Francisco. His personal blog can be found at patrickstern.me and can be contacted at @patrickstern.

It’s not every day that you get great light, amazing landscapes, or perfect opportunities to capture a special moment. But I still shoot anyways, and do it so I can better understand the tools that I have. This was a difficult environment to work with, especially in light of trying to tell about an experience that I had on the lake. But there was a lot that actually came from this shoot, mostly due to a little patience.

Create. This was an odd shoot, being that I wasn’t shooting with a normal 24-70mm or even a prime lens that I would normally choose to go on a road trip to Clear Lake. I ended up borrowing my friend’s Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 (I borrowed this same lens and posted the ASP Surfing post with it using a doubler) just because there are so many great views and activities going on around the lake that a lens like this would allow me to get some unique perspectives. As usual, I had Canon T2i as well.

I had to massage these images a bit because of the lack of light when I shot these. It was completely overcast the entire trip, but I had a few peeks that resulted in some great shots (like the end shot). I have a pretty good idea for what to shoot though in the future so that I can manage the editing a little better. Over exposed is always the way to go, and I was half a stop to a full for most of these.

Grow. There is always many things that I pick up as I play with settings, adjust exposure, etc. But one thing that I really learned from this little outing was that simply going out and shooting makes a big difference. I became a lot more aware of my surroundings when I have a camera on hand. I have been coming to the lake since I was 17 (10 years), so I know a lot about it. However, there were elements that I never would have taken noticed if I didn’t have a camera in my hand. As an example, the humming bird came along while I was reviewing some images that I wasn’t too pleased with, and I wondered up a path to shoot the sunset on the clouds and found the old truck. When you go wondering, keep your camera ready you’ll come up with something great. As Christian always says, “Keep on shooting”.

About the Author: Zach's passion for computers, art, design, and endless tinkering earned him a degree in 3D animation. He lives in San Francisco. Check out some of his recent mobile and DSLR work.

In the late fall, I took a week-long trip to northern Spain. I visited Barcelona (Catalonia) and Bilbao (Basque Country). While Spain has a tremendously rich tapestry of food (tapas), art (Picasso) and culture (bullfights), I was particularly drawn to the unique architecture of past and present.

In Barcelona, the magnificent work of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí caught my immediate attention. His century-old work Modernist works feel they’re out of a Tim Burton film. A Hieronymus Bosch painting, even. The three buildings I focused my attention on were Casa Batló, Casa Milà and his unfinished opus, La Sagrada Família.

Though he’s American, Frank Gehry has left an impressive mark on the Spanish architectural landscape. Peix (Fish) is a sculpture built for the 1992 summer Olympics, one of the world’s largest. The Guggenheim Bilbao is arguably Gehry’s finest work of art. Metal panels twist and turn to create something radically brilliant. The museum houses a spectacular array of artistic work.

Stepping away from the obvious, I also took in some fascinating work by lesser known architects and designers. The buildings were extraordinarily fresh and playful, some paying homage to Spain’s rich past.

Create: I shot all of these images with a Canon EOS 7D and a handful of lenses, primarily a 24-105mm, a 16-35mm and a 70-300mm (all Canon glass). A minimal amount of editing was done in Aperture and Photoshop.

Grow: Shooting architecture is easy. Shooting it well is not. Lens distortion, poor lighting and compositional distractions can wreak havoc on an exposure. While shooting in Spain, I challenged myself with overcoming these obstacles and capturing what I saw in a tasteful and visually compelling way.

Hope you like what you see. Check out some recent work here.

Zach

About the Author:Christian Maike is a film-shooting photographer with a day job who resides in San Francisco. Using mainly his Contax, he shoots weddings, portraits, automobile lifestyle, and the cool things one might not notice. Click on over to his website, keep in touch via Facebook, or follow him on twitter at @christianmaike.

Create. There’s something about these photographs and while they may not be glamorous, they’re funny. They’re funny because of how we literally stumbled into this awesome lighting situation in San Francisco. And it’s all natural. It looks artificially lit but it’s not. Shot with a variety of equipment including a Canon 5D Mark II + Canon 135mm ƒ/2L, NIkon D700 + 50mm ƒ/1.4G, or a Leica M9 + 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron v.4. Only the black & whites were unedited JPEGS straight from the M9. Others were run through NIK Software’s Color Efex Pro 3.

Grow. Everyone is so used to shooting in their comfort zones and we may, or may not, venture far or out of that zone. I used to not be comfortable shooting people but this lighting was gold so I did what I could to get folks in this light. There’s a couple Brotogs in there too. Seeing this light helped me look beyond the obvious for “ideal” shooting conditions. A photographer can get great shots anywhere most of the time, you just have to keep a look out and expose properly. Correct technique will propel you regardless of your shooting environment or medium.

Enjoy and be sure to check out more of my work. You can also follow me on twitter @christianmaike.

About the Author:Christian Maike is a film-shooting photographer with a day job who resides in San Francisco. Using mainly his Contax, he shoots weddings, portraits, automobile lifestyle, and the cool things one might not notice. Click on over to his website, keep in touch via Facebook, or follow him on twitter at @christianmaike.

Yup, another wedding. I’ve been sitting on this one for a while and now it hits the blog. Nina approached me about shooting her wedding over the summer and  I happily agreed.

Create. I feel this one is somewhat self-explanatory, thankfully. For those folks who have shot weddings before, we know that there is no chance for a re-take. It’s a single day event and for most folks, it’s the most important day of their lives. Better get it right.

I set out to capture their wedding in the way that I knew how. I took the usual tool – Contax 645 with 80mm ƒ/2 – as well as my not-used-very-much Canon Elan 7e with a 35mm ƒ/2 and 135 ƒ/2L lens (I’m a Nikon guy), and my beloved Leica M6 with a Leica 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens. Oh, and some rolls of film.

Speaking of film… I used a few different stocks and varying formats – Kodak Portra 400 (220 & 135), Ilford XP2 (120 & 135), Ilford Delta 3200 (120), Kodak TMAX 3200 (135). All film developed and scanned by the amazing Richard Photo Lab.

Grow. As each of these types of events are invariably unique, you never know what situations to expect. There are certainties, however, such as bride and groom shots, guests, and the “dreaded” family formals. I told myself that I would attempt to do something different with my photography when it came to these types of shots. I told myself to get in there, to direct, and to take charge. A challenge in any situation. I feel I walked away with some great keepers.

Enjoy and be sure to check out more of my work. You can also follow me on twitter @christianmaike. I also have another post on weddings which wash of Josh and Kate.

About the Author: Chris Rebuck has a degree in media, specifically photography, adding a academic element to our group. Check out his photo blog.

I recently got sent up to Portland for work.  I intentionally checked my hiking backpack with plans to explore Mt. Hood after the work-week, was excited to take advantage of Portland’s surrounding wilderness.  Did some research, I found a great hike on portlandhikers.org called East Zigzag from Lost Creek.  Camping Saturday night solo at Burnt Lake, of the 7 camp sites, I saw only 4 tents scattered around the lake which is about a mile in diamater.  Day 2 I hiked to Zig Zag Mountain for an epic view of Hood.

Create. The 5DMk2 with the 24-105L is about the same weight as my 3.5 pound North Face tent but I was glad I had it.  In August the weather is still nice so the pack was lightweight.  Took about 400 snaps in 2 days.  Shooting landscapes I selected ISO 200 and closed down to f16, f20, f22 when I could for the greatest focus plane. Didn’t have a tripod so had to be careful.  Used the 2-second timer as a shutter release propping the camera on a hiking stick or rocks etc..  The scenery was breathtaking.

Learn. Mt. Hood is about 1.5 hours from Portland, the highest peak in Oregon (11,249 ft.) and one of 20 high cascade volcanoes in the mountain range.  The Cascade Range starts in California, through Oregon, Washington, and into BC Canada.  The weather in late August is nice for hiking, but unsafe for summiting the mountain because of the risk of hidden and deep exposed crevasses in the glacier fields.  The peak is snow covered year round from ~6,000 ft up.  Hiking below the treeline is spectacular for the views and nature, you could spend days trekking, as with most cascades there’s tons of trails branching off the lower circumference trail.  When the fog cleared I was able to capture the shot below with Hood in the foreground, and Mount St. Helens which is probably 70 miles to the north in Washington.  The last photo is Mt. Shasta in N.California from the plane I was on about 2 hours after taking the waterfall photo.  Soon I’ll have to post the 35mm pics from the Mt. Shasta summit expedition I did last year.

C. Rebuck [buckski.com]

About the Author:Christian Maike is a film-shooting photographer with a day job who resides in San Francisco. Using mainly his Contax, he shoots weddings, portraits, automobile lifestyle, and the cool things one might not notice. Click on over to his website, keep in touch via Facebook, or follow him on twitter at @christianmaike.

Create: The idea of this hobby/profession/field that we call photography is to get out there and capture moments. These moments can be static, they can include motion, they can include people, or inanimate objects.

You chose.

Grow: This post is about the inside of a rad coffee shop called Trouble Coffee in the Outer Sunset district of San Francisco. Why go? Because they have great coffee (iced coffee in particular), their Texas toast is simply to die for, and they serve coconuts. WHOLE COCONUTS. I also wanted to capture the cool pieces of the place with only 16 frames (Portra 800 only comes in 120 which means 16 frames on my Contax 645). Film.. Woah.

It also goes with the mantra that you absolutely must shoot personal work if you are to grow as a photographer. It’s all about a) finding your vision, b) refining that vision, and c) growing from continuing to shoot to further refine your vision and who you are as an artist.

Enjoy and be sure to check out more of my work. You can also follow me on twitter @christianmaike.