Francisco Dias » Still

Sand Sculptures

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:10:51 +0000

I went to the beach to visit some friends and it just so happened to be Governor’s bay day! A day of the year where ships are paraded out to sea and sand castles are built on Rodger W. Wheeler State beach. I shot this with (you guessed it) a 50mm Nikkor, D90 Natural Sunlight.

Sunset on the Harbor

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:02:32 +0000

Photo of a plant in a harbor. I shot it with a 50mm Nikkor Prime (I’m really liking that lens) on a D90 handheld with natural light. Some work in post but not much.

Studio Setup!

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:47:43 +0000

I looked around the house to find an object that not many people have ever encountered. Upon finding a desert rose I knew I had my subject. I shot this with a Nikkor 50mm Prime, D90, 5 pieces of paper for a backdrop and 3 Clarke continuous lighting construction lamps (about 3 dollars each). I uploaded a short video showing how little there is to the setup. I also have another angle of the shot which I am willing to share:

Please leave a comment if you would like to me to elaborate on how to make a sub 15 dollar backdrop that got this result.

Proof of Concept – Photographn’ me some lightning

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:32:20 +0000

So. The Cisco Kid and I were hanging out the other day and he said He was so quick that he could shoot lightning. I said Ok, that may be but I bet I can take a photo of the bullet hitting lightning. It was dark out so you can’t really see the bullet but we both got it.

Here is a photo:

Naturally a nay sayer came by and said: There is no way you can do that again—it was just luck. Now it did take some time convincing the Cisco Kid not to have a shoot out at noon and all of that. We ended up with a compromise: we do it again—better.

BAM.

The really crazy thing was that the Cisco Kid shot them all with one bullet…oh it also got the nay sayer too.

Leave a comment I’d be more than happy to explain how to photograph lightning.

Typography 2 BSO Poster

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:56:16 +0000

In Typography 2 I made a poster for the Fall 2009-Spring 2010 Boston Symphony Orchestra Schedule. It was made to work on several levels while not compromising the massive amount of information it contains. The first level it need to work was from across the street, it needed to be attractive and informative. The use of color creates an optical illusion where it appears that there are several gradients used where in reality they are solid closely related blocks of color.
The second level that the poster needed to work on is up close. The information on when, what and who was playing needed to be easy to find and perfectly legible. The background color and type recede to the schedule information while still, allowing easy legibility. The color further helps the viewer sort out where dates are by suggesting where the schedule information for different dates begins.

Sex Drugs & Cocoa Puffs

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:38:37 +0000

Graphic Design 1 Book Cover

In Graphic Design 1 I designed a book cover for Sex Drugs andCocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. The class had to come up with several different designs, I came up with at least five and pushed three to at least a second round. On one thought path I went with a photographic cover, with large strategically placed type. I produced props for this this cover, a bowl of cerial, burning a piece of paper and adding the smoke in Photoshop.

A different Approach I experimented with was completely typographic. I intentionally put the large text on the front upside down because the book challenges society’s perception of what is normal and accepted and also, so that people would pick it up and try to fix it.

The iteration of Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs that I spent the most time and rounds on combines different elements from the book while literally depicting sex drugs and cocoa puffs. I really enjoyed making this cover, the simplicity of the characters and the joke about the author’s photo get me to really buy into the book.

Photo a week project Panorama on the lake

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:04:03 +0000

Shot in December 2009 I just stitched the panorama together again today. Shot 1/200, f14, ISO 1250, Focal Length 18 (27mm 35mm film equivalent). This panorama was 5 shots, shot in color and then adjusted in photo shop. Three layers were made and the curves on each color channel was adjusted (through adjustment layers clipped to the layer below), and then those layers fell under another adjustment layer that affects all layers below it. I’ve also included a print ready PDF of the Panorama on a lake with and without the light leak.

Photo A week project – Installment 1

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:11:29 +0000

Photo a week project

First photo of the week installment. Shot at night on July 4th 2010. There was little wind and almost no clouds. I shot this on my Nikon D90 at a Focal Length of 66mm (99mm 35mm Film equivalent). F/5.3 ISO 200 and exposure time of 4 seconds. I’m also including a pdf of the 4th of July Photo a week project that is ready for print. I can give a more in depth explanation of my technique on request. Enjoy!

Typography 1 Poster

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:50:13 +0000

My First real design class was Typography 1 with the great John Kane. When I started the class I knew literally nothing other than how to follow an online tutorial and apply those concepts to projects I wanted to create (horrible mismatched creations that violated typography and design principles left and right – really only good for demonstrating a knowledge of software). This poster is what I feel brought me the furthest in terms of design. I learned to use a column system and how to use color theory to illustrate depth. I also learned a significant amount about illustrator – Download a pdf of this Type1 Bodoni Poster for a better view.I am going through to illustrate the process behind this piece….adding it in later! 7/8/10 – Right now it’s about adding at least two or three posts per category……..

Photo A week project.

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:36:41 +0000

I have some time off so there is no reason why I should not put my efforts into displaying making and displaying one good photo per week. Just for kicks – More old stuff: