XYNNImagery

via xynn tii imagery.™ flickr.

I tell ya, if I got a nickel each time I heard that statement… well I’d still be broke, but the point is that I’ve heard it quite a few times. c;

This is one of several sculptures scattered around the Miami Dade College Wolfson campus in downtown Miami. It’s directly across the street from where I reside so I’m there all the time for images. It’s simply referred to as the “X” and it’s an common meet-up spot for many of the students.

What this location is mostly known for though is attracting musicians. Don’t ask how it has come about, it just is. I always see bands and spectators in the area, relaxing, more than likely waiting for their next class to begin. So with that, I felt it was necessary to get some musicians in the frame, creating a true representation of what the “X” is all about.

These guys were real cool and didn’t mind me taking the photo. Actually to be honest, I don’t even think they realized I was even there; they were mad focused on their tunes. 0_O

SO WHAT’S NEXT?
Another hdri image from the construction site I visited the other week. I’ve still got a couple more to share with you from that assignment, which was a great experience. Or maybe next I’ll share with you a shot I got of the American Airlines Arena just after the SOS Haiti Concert ended. I’m not really sure yet. =/

.stay tuned | see you soon.

SIZE DOES MATTER ➠ FULL SCALE IMAGE
_____________________________________________________________________

Are you a fan?! ➡ Facebook Fansite!

The only reason I’ll ever leave my balcony door open is to hear the sound of drills and jack-hammers raping the Miami streets [and also to save money on my energy bill! c;]

There is never a day that goes by where you will not come across a construction site in Miami, especially in the dwntwn area! It’s just human nature. As you may have already seen through some of my previous images, Miami is going through a serious facelift, or self-proclaimed “Manhattanization wave.”

29 floors and two blocks away from my place of residence is a relatively new construction site on the Miami Dade College campus. Apparently a premiere 13-level Culinary Arts building will be added to the MDC Wolfson campus by October of this year. 0_0

It was so frazy [fcukin crazy] how many people I had to go through just to get permission and access to this construction site. Affiliates of the MDC campus and managers of Turner Construction Co. were so focused on my safety, it was ridiculous. Everyone was afraid of getting sued in the event of me getting injured, so I had to wear the hard hat and vest, as expected anyway. =/

I’ll be posting several other eye-candy images from this construction site during the course of February, instead of all of once [everything in moderation].

HUGE APPRECIATION ↓
to Andrew Knight of Turner Construction Co. for getting me on the site smoothly. & thanks a billion to Lazaro, Manolo & Sergio [great Miami press colleagues of mine] for helping me choose the best image from this assingment to share with all of you. Make sure to see the larger version at xynn tii imagery.™ flickr! c;

& yes, I’m always in love with your fanbase! ^_^

SIZE DOES MATTER ➠ FULL SCALE IMAGE
_____________________________________________________________________

Your fanbase over at the xynn tii imagery.™ fansite is escalating beyond imagination and I sincerely appreciate all your comments/critique. I find myself just as engaged to your feedback and it’s definitely making me better at what I do. Keep ‘em coming fans!

Let’s Be Facebook Friends
Also! I’ve been getting an overwhelming amount of fans requesting my facebook friendship at my personal profile. You can become my facebook friend too! Make a quick trip to ➠ facebook.com/xynntii. Get it in! I’ve been chatting one-on-one with fans that want to know more about my technique and even Miami in general. I’m here to respond to whatever you’ve got, so request me now. c;
_____________________________________________________________________

IMAGE DETAIL↓
AHH! I wish you could see how many glass doors make up that entrance. Brings a new meaning to excessive. O_0

So, 4 consecutive upgrades containing images from the Inter-Continental Hotel? I think I may have a crush. Or maybe these are the only HDRI shots that I’m biasly [yea, that's not a word] deciding to prepare for the fans to see? =/ Either way I need to diversify a little bit more.

This was one of the first images I took before damn-near being raped by the Valet as I tried to head inside. I didn’t even come in a car, WTH!? All I had was my camera on a tripod that looked like a rifle at first glance. :p

A Serious Problem ↓
The flags on the far left were a serious pain to fix. Why did it have to be so windy yo!? Actually, I didn’t even really fix them. The typical Miami distraction [women] and American Idol kept me from altering its appearance in time, so I did what I could with the lack of focus I had.

This HDRI contains 3 exposures, tonemapped in Photomatix and color-corrected/masked in Photoshop CS4. Lightroom 3.0 did its thing as well, helping me with correct lighting sources. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did taking it!

.stay tuned | see you soon. ~_=

via xynn tii imagery.™ flickr.
_____________________________________________________________________

RECEIVE YOUR OWN PHOTOSHOOT ↓
Already, dozens of you have answered the call from xynn tii imagery.™ to host a photo session for you, your friends, and even those with their own company. Several clients have traveled from outside of Florida to receive the xtii. Treatment, which is extraordinary.  The xynn tii imagery.™ name is surpassing the Florida borders and appealing to models, entrepreneurs and businesses alike!

You don’t have to be left out! Just come to the Greater Miami Area and choose your very own Selection from the xtii. :Selection Forms. It cannot be stressed enough how wallet-friendly these selections are. They were set up strategically, catering to the bank accounts of broke college students, like myself. c;

A total of 6 selection categories are available within the :Midscale Selection. & :Upscale Selection. You also have the option to manually form you own Selection by using the “:xtiiCustomize” column.

Where’s My $ Going?
is something that might just be on your mind. xynn tii imagery.™ is proud to report that every single penny made by the company, stays within the company. Your money is directly used for company necessities such as camera equipment and advertising campaigns. c: Your support is literally what keeps xynn tii imagery.™ in process!

Have an open mind, take the initiative → contact xynn tii imagery.™ today to receive your personalized images! c;
_____________________________________________________________________

IMAGE DETAIL
Another interesting night at the Inter-Continental Hotel in dwntwn Miami. HOWEVER, I was unable to to comprehend why I decided to drink 2 liters of water before making my over there. T_T

What a coincidence that two people were leaving the bathroom and soon as I entered. I love privacy, but for different reasons this time. >_<

The lighting in this bathroom was frazy! Great illumination for a shot that I couldn’t resist. I had never taken this type of shot before so I decided to continue shooting even if someone came into the bathroom with me.

& not surprisingly about 4 total guys entered and left the bathroom within a 3 minute time-span, which was hilarious. All 3 of them looked at me like I was crazy, but I had to stay focused yo!

This is the first time I ever had so many thoughts going through my mind, in Korean, while editing an image. I decided to add them in, streaming vertically along the bathroom wall. Do you like? Something new! This HDRI was developed using Photomatix, Portraiture and of course, Photoshop CS4.

Love your fanbase!
.stay tuned | see you soon.

via xynn tii imagery.™ flickr.
_____________________________________________________________________

Oh damn, didn’t I say I was giving the HDRI artform a rest for a couple more vlogcasts™? Whoops, my bad. >_<Wish I knew then what I now know about the Inter-Continental Hotel in dwntwn Miami. Let me try to keep my composure when I say this: The lobby is frazy sexy! [Yes, frazy  is what I meant to say. c:] Hard to believe this place has been here since ‘82 and is still relative today.

But seriously though, what I enjoy most about the Inter-Continental Hotel is their culturally diverse business. It appeals to people from so many different countries, which is a really, really good look. I promise you: I heard at least 7 different languages while I was there.

Getting inside the lobby without a reservation was easier than I thought. Typically when you walk past Valet, they always want to interrogate you about where you’re heading [Or is that just with me?]

Upon entering one of the 10 double doors, you’re greeted by this enormous figure [as seen in the image] that favors the shape of a face. This thing is huge yo! But I seemed to be the only one fascinated by it, so I decided to head upstairs where I could get a good angle.

Next Obstacle = Security! O_o
Yea, I almost got in trouble when 3 security guards damn near walked through walls  to get to me for questioning [they came out of no where]. I did what I normally do though: took the photo then showed it to them so they could see my intentions. This move worked as usual, I gave out the business card and continued taking some more shots as they left me alone. So necessary!

SYMPATHY TIP: Whenever walking around with your DSLR camera mounted on its tripod, try to look as innocent as possible. You already appear suspicious enough because at first glance it looks as if you’re holding a rifle. So just be calm. c;
_____________________________________________________________________

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE with this HDRI image being added to the xynn tii imagery.™ portfolio. Why? It’s my first image without the xtii.™ logo. Insanity, or strategy? T_T

Your fanbase support is the sheeeiit! I appreciate all of your comments and replies over at the fansite and via twitter!

.stay tuned | see you soon.

via xynn tii imagery.™ flickr.

BIGGER IS BETTER ➠ SEE LARGER IMAGE

If I told you that this ’sour then sweet’ masterpiece didn’t have my heart, mind and soul, then I should be slapped…then shot in the face! ^_^ I love you Sweden!!

Sour Patch Kids has got to be the best invention called candy…ever! Believe me, I wouldn’t advertise it for free if I wasn’t seriously speaking from the heart. >_< I’ve been eating them since 1st grade, and I consume a 1lb bag every week. It’s just oh so necessary.

DO THIS NOW ↓
If you haven’t experienced the ’sour, sweet, gone’ orgasm, then please be more practive with your life and buy sour patch kids. Swedish Fish [the manufacturer] better not ever go out of business or I’m never taking photos again. :p

0_o Okay, so finally another horizontal image makes its way into the portfolio! Some of the fans were getting quite upset with all of my vertical shots, which wasn’t showing any diversity whatsoever. =/ For that I apologize.

While shooting some illegal digital images for my film photography class during the fall ‘09 semester, I had get a shot of my favorite candy. Not surprisingly, my ego wanted to include the xynn tii imagery.™ cards in the  frame as well. I shot this image in the privacy of my condo in dwntwn Miami.

The course assignment was; shoot a self-portrait, without physically being in the frame. =/ So I decided to shoot a couple subjects that described my taste for life: the candy and my company. c;

THIS IS NOT AN HDRI
I’m giving that artform a break for a couple more updates. c; Silver Efex Pro, an excellent photoshop plugin, converted this image to monochrome. This plugin is also responsible for the split tone, giving the image a yellow-blueish tint.

I hope you enjoy! & I also hope you’re enjoying all of the meaningful tweets via xynn tii imagery.™ twitter. Receive consistent links of other photographers who are inspirational to the hdri world by following xynn tii imagery.™ now! There’s also some social media involved.

Continue to have an open mind fans. I’m always loving your fanbase.
.stay tuned | see you soon.

via xynn tii imagery.™ flickr.

Receive the xynn tii imagery.™ VIP treatment via the facebook fansite! Seriously, the fans are treated like royalty, because they deserve it! All image upgrades are featured at the fansite before anywhere else on the web. 0_O That’s right, I said it: all xtii.™ images premiere at the fansite before heading to flickr and even xynntii.com! c;

10,000+ supportive fans | Once again, I have to express my appreciation to the entire fanbase that have responded to the call of diversity. I’m seriously in love! ^_^ Continue to share any and all images with credits and links to your friends, family and co-workers.

TWITTER! continues to gain appraisal from fans as well. When you follow xynn tii imagery.™ you will not only receive links to unreal images from other photographers in the world, but sneak-peaks on what to anticipate from xtii.™ in the near future. Yea, like I said: VIP treatment! Believe me, you will always be informed on anything and everything xynn tii imagery.™ So necessary.

IMAGE DETAIL
I’m not really too hung up on horizontal images, as my current portfolio suggests. But sometimes its just unavoidable. =/ View the larger size of the image; the smaller size looks so disgusting. Bigger is better.

While at Bayside Marketplace, across the street from where I reside in dwntwn Miami, I caught a shot of the lonely carousel to which I rarely see in action. When it’s in business, there are never kids riding on it. The carousel operator seems to treat it like an iPod, turning it on  just so the music plays, hoping to entice the kids that walk right past it every time] How embarrassing.

I kept debating whether to post this photo as color or monochrome. Then I came across a Photoshop plug-in that I used for the first time. Silver Efex Pro is the sheeeiit! It gives the photographer more options to play with lighting and structure within black-and-white shots! I really love it and I may just have to take more monochrome images from now on because of it.

Happy ‘10! >_<
.stay tuned | see you soon.

via xynn tii imagery™ flickr.

No, seriously, it really is! All these one-way streets in the dwntwn area is what really pisses Miamians off! I complain about it on Twitter all the time yo!

Now, from an Everglades on the Bay vantage point, looking to the north, you just might see the legendary Freedom Tower, American Airlines Arena, Marina Blue, 900 Biscayne, Ten Museum Park or even the ridiculously luxurious Marquis Miami. But none of that is what makes dwntwn Miami just straight-up weird.

It’s the fact that dwntwn has an unusual look to it, or at least for right now it does. =/ With all this construction going on you could see it as a renovation period, or what architects are dubbing a “Manhattanization wave”. But that’s just half the story.

What’s my Point?: nothing is being done to expand the roads in dwntwn, which is a major mistake. As I mentioned in an earlier vlogcast™ image detail, so much money is being invested to bring traffic and residents in, but Miami is simply too damn small for this movement. Some might say the city is ‘too far gone’ meaning an excess of construction has already taken place, eliminating the opportunity or room for road expansion. =/

Would you believe that construction on Miami Beach has created the same exact problem? Ha, but who am I to say: I’m just a broke college student! Oh well.

IMAGE DETAIL |
Another HDR brought you to via the Canon D7, my new Akemi >_< I actually didn’t have to edit this image too much; lighting was the main focus. Some artificial light was implanted on the main road [Biscayne Blvd] in the image to contrast it from everything else.

& yes, I have to admit the moon is fake, but give me credit; it looks pretty damn real. c; I added it using the selection tool in CS4 and it is placed behind the clouds. I also dodged the skyscapers to highlight them. I edited this image using the following software below.

NECESSARY SOFTWARE!
Photoshop CS4
Lightroom 3.0
Photomatix Pro

There are also several plugins for Photoshop which I also find useful. They will be revealed in the next few vlogcasts™ for xynn tii imagery.™ Anticipate progression and improvement from xtii™ in 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!
to the entire fanbase over at the xynn tii imagery™ facebook fansite! Love ya so much for your interest.

.stay tuned | see you soon. ^_^

via xynn tii imagery™ flickr.

[Ay dios mio, I need to stop taking so many vertical photographs. =/  What's happening to my diversity ;p]

It’s been dubbed “Unconditional Surrender”, a statue monumenting the epic kiss between a Navy sailor and a nurse of the WWII efforts in 1945. The situation took place in Times Square, New York City following the announcement of V-J Day. Naw, I don’t know what V-J stands for.

But, I’ve been able to research some controversial news regarding this statue. O_O Seems as if some [perhaps even most] Sarasota, FL natives are not too happy with this statue and its location, deeming it as a false representation of the real moment. What’s your take on that? I clearly don’t see how it’s demeaning in any way.

In fact, opposition has gotten so out of hand that an online petition has been going around to keep the statue in its place along Sarasota’s Bayfront coastline. I’m pretty sure the artist J. Seward Johnson is sweating bullets each and every day. ^_^

Seriously, “Unconditional Surrender” has been relocated several times within the past 4 years for security purposes. Prior to Sarasota, it was displayed in San Diego, CA. What is this about? & why is it now in Sarasota? If you know, please clarity via your comments.

As for the image itself, this is an HDR, using 3 exposures set at -2, 0, +2 with the new Canon D7. Masking was done in Photoshop CS4 using a couple of the original images to take away the excessive detail created by Photomatix. A program that I’m finding useful is Noiseware, which was used to create the blur effect of the clouds.

Loving your fanbase via the xynn tii imagery™ facebook fansite!

.stay tuned | see you soon.

via xynn tii imagery™ flickr.

Miami Int’l wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be the other day. 0_o

I headed to Tampa for the weekend to go see my Mother’s side of the family, but first of course I had to be statutorily raped by flight cancelations and delays. What a disgusting series of events.

My initial flight was terminated due to a crazy storm that made way into the Miami area the morning of. Then my alternate flight was delayed 3 hours. How fun!

But fortunately I was able to book a seat on a jet plane that got me to Tampa in half the time [ a little less than 30 minutes c; ] I love you Continental Airlines and I accept your apology!

During the major delay, I had enough time to watch Hannibal via Netflix and also to take an HDR shot inside the airport. Everyone obviously looked at me crazy because seeing a person take out a tripod in an airport usually raising suspicion. But I really liked what I saw when I looked toward one of the concourse alleys. The ceiling was insane! Hope you enjoy. c:

Happy Holidays to you and yours! Celebrate responsibly. c;

Join the fanbase via xynn tii imagery™ facebook fansite.