[BTS] Foggy Nights

This is a series where I post one image at a time, and share a story “Behind The Shot”, that could be something technical, a challenge, or just an anecdote from the day of. Feel free to explore past entries by clicking here.

This is one of those cases where we have a picture in our minds and have to wait for the perfect conditions to get it. I’ve always been obsessed with looking at photographs of NYC covered in fog, specifically the bridges, which are by far some of my favorite subjects to shoot in the city. It all happened back in 2018, on a foggy night just before summer started. The forecast was predicting another foggy night and I decided that was finally going to be the day where I’d be able to shoot the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge, at night, covered in the fog. I grabbed my trusty camera, a tripod, and biked down to the bridge as quickly as I could. This is one of the few angles I’ve tried and probably one of my favorite photographs I’ve ever taken of the bridge!

For the fellow Photography enthusiasts out there, here’s the equipment and settings used for this shot:

Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon 16-55mm 2.8 • 1s f/4.5 ISO 100

This is one of 10 photographs currently available at my print shot, in case you’re interested:

Just click here to see more details.

If you enjoy posts like this, you may enjoy the Newsletter I send every two weeks:

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[BTS] One World Framed

This is a series where I post one image at a time, and share a story “Behind The Shot”, that could be something technical, a challenge, or just an anecdote from the day of. Feel free to explore past entries by clicking here.

When visiting DUMBO, in NYC, 11 out of 10 people like to stop at Washington Street to photograph the classic view of the Empire State Building framed underneath the Manhattan Bridge, even if more than half of those same people don’t even realize that. They are probably just looking to get the bridge in the background. But one day, a few years ago, while walking near the bridge more towards the water, I realized that by looking at the other side, I could actually frame the World Trade Center right underneath the bridge instead, running away from the cliche (that I’m also guilty from, of course) and creating an equally interesting image, if not even more. What do you think?

For the fellow Photography enthusiasts out there, here’s the equipment and settings used for this shot:

Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon 16-55mm 2.8 • 1/500 f/6 ISO 500

This is one of 10 photographs currently available at my print shot, in case you’re interested:

Click here to see more details.

[BTS] Snowed Under

Starting a new series today where I’ll be posting one image at a time, and sharing a story “Behind The Shot”, that could be something technical, a challenge, or just an anecdote from the day of. Feel free to explore past entries by clicking here.

I’ve always been fascinated by New York City photographs during a snowstorm, but even though I’ve been living here for 7 years, it was only a couple of years ago that I started to venture myself out with my camera during snowstorms. For this particular shot, I found myself walking around DUMBO (in Brooklyn), and decided to try one of my favorite points of view completely covered in snow, and I couldn’t be happier with what I’ve got. This is looking under the Manhattan Bridge from the Brooklyn side. I rarely process my photographs in black and white, but there’s just something about it that makes it so timeless. You really can’t go wrong with that!

For the fellow Photography enthusiasts out there, here’s the equipment and settings used for this shot:

Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon 16-55mm 2.8 • 1/400 f/6.4 ISO 400

This is one of 10 photographs currently available at my print shot, in case you’re interested:

Just click here to see more details.

Reconnecting with Photography

Earlier this month something really incredible happened: I finally reconnected with Photography! Not that I haven’t been thinking about Photography during these 6 months of quarantine (should we even be calling this thing quarantine still?). I’ve been actually involved with a few photography-related projects through these months, but for some reason, I was feeling a bit lost about my own personal creative work.

Everything changed when I had to go to the UES for a dentist's appointment and thought I should bring my camera with me just in case. After the appointment, I decided to walk back home instead of taking any kind of transportation, and since I was so close to Central Park, I couldn’t think of any better way to do it that didn’t include walking through the park. I got in by the 72nd street entrance and started to walk with no route in mind, just to see where it would take me. At that point, I was still not feeling particularly inspired by anything on my way enough to turn the camera on and start photographing, until about 5 minutes later when I realized I was walking towards the Bethesda Terrace, one of the most popular areas of the park that also happens to be one of my favorites to photograph. Noticing how empty it was (compared to how things used to be) I knew I had an opportunity there, especially when I put my eyes on the lonely musician seated right in the center of everything. What a perfect opportunity for a symmetrical shot, right?

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This ended up being the first photograph I took intentionally, without any pressure or restrictions, after 6 months of isolation. After that, I kept walking south throughout the park and through Midtown, stopping for some other photo opportunities here and there, and time just flew by. I can’t remember the last time I felt that connected with a creative activity of any sort!

Here are a few more shots I’ve taken since then:

(All photos taken with a Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR)

San Francisco with the Fujifilm X-T2

One year ago I went to San Francisco for the first time (disregarding the one time I was in the city for just one afternoon) and coincidentally I’ve been thinking a lot about that trip, maybe because we’re living in a time where traveling seems such a distant concept right now... I had a blast walking around and exploring the city, and realized I haven’t really shared that many pictures from it. So here we go, hope you enjoy it!

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(All photos taken with a Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR)

NYC Pride 2019 with The Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps

One year ago I had one of the most incredible experiences of my life, personally and professionally, when I accepted the invitation to join The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps marching at the NYC Pride Parade. It was not only my first time walking from beginning to end, but also my first time photographing the event officially. What an amazing opportunity to do so amongst such talented and incredible people. Unfortunately, the event got canceled this year, but I decided to post my favorite photos here as a way to celebrate, remember, and thank LGBAC for the opportunity! I just can’t wait for the day we’ll be able to go back to the streets and celebrate life again!

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And last, but definitely not least, here’s a showcase of the incredible audience who stands on the sidewalk and put out the real show!

In-Camera Multiple Exposure With the Fujifilm X-T2

Multiple Exposure in Photography is not a new technique by any means, but it’s definitely still very enjoyable and, surprisingly, not explored by that many Photographers.

In a film camera, a ‘multiple exposure” consisted in pressing the shutter to take a photograph, but instead of advancing the film to the next frame, you would recompose, press the shutter again, and that second image would superimpose the first one, creating the most various effects depending on the lighting conditions and subject matter. Later on, with the advent of Photoshop, people started experimenting the same effects in the digital world, by simply layering different photographs on top of one another and playing with opacity, masks, bleeding modes, etc.

(old Victorian ‘ghost photography’)

(old Victorian ‘ghost photography’)

But what most people don’t realize is that a lot of the current digital cameras are also capable of creating the same ‘multiple exposure’ effect natively, without the need of a post processing software. I remember when I upgraded my DSLR from an entry level to a full-frame model, the one key feature that I knew my next camera would absolutely have to have it was a multiple exposure setting. I haven’t looked back since then, and it’s something that I am constantly experimenting with, on my personal projects, and also for some of my clients that are also attracted by that look.

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/200 sec at f/3.2, ISO 1600 - 70mm (EF 70-200mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/200 sec at f/3.2, ISO 1600 - 70mm (EF 70-200mm f/2.8)

The difference between DSLR and Mirrorless system for Multiple Exposures:

I always loved shooting multiple exposures on a DSLR camera, but there’s one thing on the mirrorless system that makes it even more enjoyable: the electronic viewfinder! When you’re shooting multiple exposures on a DSLR with an optical viewfinder, you have no idea how both images will blend, unless you are looking at the back at the camera, instead of the viewfinder, which is not always a good idea. With a mirrorless camera, like the Fujifilm X-T2, assuming that you are using the electronic viewfinder (highly recommended), once you take the first shot, you will be looking at it while framing the second one, until you fire the shutter for the second time. It’s magical to see the effect being created right in front of you even before you actually do it!

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

The only minor issue, for me, is that the Fujifilm camera automatically converts your double exposure file into a JPEG (even if you camera is set to shoot RAW only), as with other DSLRs I tested, the camera maintains the file as RAW, allowing you have much more control in post processing later on. Hope they are able to change that in the near future.

“So where do I find the multiple exposures setting in my Fujifilm X-T2 camera?”, you may be asking… Well, they couldn’t make it easier than this:

All you need to do is turn the bottom of the left dial from S (single frame) to the icon right next to it with the two “overlapping” photos, and you are ready to start experimenting! Take your first shot, accept it or retry (if you’re not happy with your first frame), and look for the second shot to be combined.

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

Many people will say that it’s much easier to jump into Photoshop and combine as many layers as you want with endless possibilities, but I personally still think that it’s way more interesting and fun when you are in a location and create unique images with what you have available right there for you. Here are more images to inspire you to try and have fun next time you’re out photographing:

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 16mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 800 - 16mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/4, ISO 200 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/500 sec at f/4, ISO 200 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/640 sec at f/8, ISO 100 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)

(© Leonardo Mascaro - 1/640 sec at f/8, ISO 100 - 55mm (XF16-55mm f/2.8)