Miami Int’l Airport

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;

Warning ↓

You may like this so much that you’ll want to BUY THIS PRINT NOW @ the xynn tii imagery™ storefront! c;

Wow, Everglades on the Bay just displayed the condominium Christmas Tree today! Getting a snapshot was a must. Although I was very surprised it wasn’t a palm tree, but instead the traditional pine tree. This is a really good look.

I sincerely wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a responsibly-celebrated New Years! c;

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Twitter = The Best I Ever Had

Yea, it’s kind of a big deal to become an active Twitter user. For serious, make sure you’re following each and every tweet of xynn tii imagery.™ I like to think I am a true twitter user [& there goes the ego].

Some often get the misconception that Twitter is simply a social network where you only let people know what you’re doing every minute of the day. WRONG, WRONG! It’s more than that. Trey Ratcliff [the best HDR photographer in the game] will tell you firsthand that its about sharing the Internet with… with the Internet. Twitter makes it easier to share links with one another at the fastest rate possible.

Links are what make up the world wide web, and we’re constantly searching for news, inspiration, etc. Twitter is ideal for bringing all of this together as one big foundation. As a person that enjoys taking photos, I am constantly receiving links via the people I follow for inspiration and… everything. You can only get the most out of this Twitter by simply following the right people and being proactive and educational within your own tweets.

Look, the bottom line is: If you use Twitter for what’s its truly meant for and if manipulate all of its capabilities, you’re bound to discover that it’s actually quite useful and worth your time. Most importantly, follow xynn tii imagery™ c;

Image Detail.

The Marina Blue. Yea, it’s pretty sexy. It’s architecture is just ridiculous, and I mean that in a good way! It’s another relatively new condo residence of the dwntwn Miami area. It’s almost directly across the street from where the Miami Heat play [AA Arena]. I really don’t know much about it except that I know I can’t afford to live there… and that… it’s a sexy-looking skyscraper. ><

I wanted to lead the viewer’s eyes to the tower by finding an angle in which it would be centered and in the background. Do you think I accomplised that? =p I would love to go inside this place and hopefully within the next few days I will have the opportunity to shoot some images from one of their top floors. I would be able to get a decent shot of the AA Arena from up there, with the traffic strobe-lighted through the long-exposure process. Mhm, sounds like a plan.

Soooo, do you like this photo? Are you a Twitter user? Are you following xynn tii imagery™? Do you strongly dislike how the media is eating Tiger Woods inside out!? Tell me what you’re thinking. Comment this post and leave a comment via Twitter using the hastag #vlogcast. [ I will be able to find your tweet easier when you use the hashtag c: ]

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I’m officially in a relationship

…with my condo residence, that is. Ha It has begun. I’m now taking random hdr images of Everglades on the Bay. But it’s like a necessary-random, I think. This place has an incredible amount of eye-candy, especially the amenities level. But I seldom head down to this level for the 6 pools or the weight rooms. Why?

For one, we all know blasians don’t swim [ yes, I said it! and it's true >_< ] Secondly, there is still no one even living here, so the amenities level gives me that “I am Legend” feel. Awkwarrrrrddd. Although I do plan to check out that new spa that just opened. I’m secure enough with myself to say that busy men need massages once in a while. c:

OH & BY THE WAY: If you’re wondering whether or not this photo was taken in December… yea, it was, on a typically humid 85-degree day is good ol’ Miami, Fl. No snow, no breeze, no holiday feeling what-so-ever! Is this ridiculous? To me, yes it is. I’m used to having all four seasons [being from South Korea] and the humidity gets old after about… 10 minutes of living here.

So before you visit the Miami area during any part of the year, slap yourself for even considering to pack a scarf, let along a pair of jeans. c;

Dwntwn Miami is Growing

excessively fast; so fast that I doubt the city is ready for what it’s creating. It’s puzzling how the city continues to approve of mass land development projects for 50+ story towers and fails to consider expanding the roads within the area. They’re forming ways to lead traffic in, but not making room for them to leave=/ All I can say is WOW, let’s start thinking outside of the box ! please.

Okay praise-time: I love this condo residence in the center frame, which held its grand opening in January 2009 [it's actually still under construction]. &amp; If you know your history of dwntwn Miami [yea, I don't even know the history and I live here] then you are aware of the legendary Everglades Hotel being the predecessor of the land that is now occupied by these two 55-story towers called Everglades on the Bay.

The design has a real presidential look and even includes some sexual connotations within the interior design, which is quite common for perverted Miami. [ Oh, I decided to head to the front of the American Airlines Arena to get some of its title into the frame. Not too many Miamians really appreciate this arena, but l'm a serious fan of its architecture ]

So, whenever you decide to come experience the very chilly 500 degree weather of south Florida, make sure to stop by the Everglades on the Bay. It’s necessary ! c; Also, swing past the construction site of what is going to be the first Marriott Marquis in Florida, which is merely peaking out of the right side of the frame. It will open in July 2010.

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Whenever I pass through the lobby of my condo

residence in dwntwn Miami, I always take its scenery for granted, until today. It was around noon when I decided to take the front entrance of the tower I live in. [I had just come from class.] As soon as I entered I noticed something particular. It was so crazy how illuminated the lobby was; the sun was in the perfect place to cast shadows and brighten the indoor reflection off the marble floor.

I decided to go get my Canon D7

just to see what angles I could play with in the lobby. However, for about 10 minutes I got distracted with Jerry Springer, so the shadows started to disappear by the time I got back downstairs. Ha >_< & then I grabbed a snack too, so I’m grateful for what I was able to capture, despite my procrastination. I believe the reflection of the walls and objects within the area mixed in with the shadows creates a really good look. c:

So here is another HDR image I thought would be worthy of sharing. Also, I decided to grayscale another image I took from a different angle in the lobby as well. If you’re viewing this from the xtii™ facebook fansite, hop over the the BW&G album to see what I’m referring to. Stay tuned | see you soon. ^^

Image Detail.

I‘ve been meaning to upload this image for weeks now, as I took it in October for a school assignment. I really don’t like my film photography class at all [because I now despise film and its process] so I consistently find myself taking digital photos for homework. The professor gets really mad! Ha

I traveled a couple miles south of central downtown Miami to the Brickell district, where all of the true skyscrapers are located. There is a relatively new hotel/condo residence right across the bridge called the Viceroy Miami. The exterior and interior alike of the Viceory include an abundance of fine cosmopolitan art. Just off of Brickell Avenue are these awkwardly-figured statues, representing the theme of expression throughout the entire place. Swag-crazy !

I’ve attempted to enter the neighboring Icon Brickell condo residence to get some shots of the amenities level, but I keep getting rejected. =/ If you don’t live there [or don't know anyone who lives there, its hard to get access ] Regardless, when you’re in the Miami area, go check out these two masterpieces.

This image is an HDR, and I had to do several masking processes in Photoshop to get the lighting just the way I wanted. I also used ‘High Pass’ [a technique that I stole from my Miamian colleague Pedro Alvarez] to obtain the crisp detail within the statues.

In honor of the first one to do it, the late great André Kertész.

For class, I was assigned to mock the style of renown photographers.Thought it would be crazy boring, but I’m glad I did it. c;

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This is one of several courthouses in dwntwn Miami. Wouldn’t this make a nice postcard? ^_^

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Who said dwntwn Miami doesn’t have bright lights?

I was really grateful to have gotten this shot! I was actually allowed access to one of the highest levels of my condo residence in dwntwn Miami. I’ve been craving this opportunity for months. c; This image points to the south, toward the Brickell district. I am a serious fan of the Bank of America Tower [purple skyscraper at right] because decades it has managed to remain a highlight of the dwntwn Miami area, literally. It began groundbreaking in 1983 and to much surprise still has that modern look to it.

What separates this Bank of America Tower from its surroundings are the interchangeable LED lights that mock colors based on specific times of the year or event. [For instance, during Breast Cancer Awareness month, the tower was lit in pink] Remarkable idea, I love it. This image also depicts the architectural renovation process of Miami. You can clearly see that the buildings start to look more modern as you track from the bottom of the image to the top, which is a true representation.

It really is only a matter of time before the Hyatt Regency Hotel and James L Knight Center [white buildings at center frame] are renovated and the same goes for much of the dwntwn area. I think its necessary and I look forward to seeing how Miami will look in 5 to 10 years from now. c;

This is a high dynamic range image and also my 1st taken with my new Canon D7 ! I used a -2 to +2 exposure metering [where I merged 3 images together during post production] No photoshop! was used during this process. I developed the image with photomatix and lightroom. c:

Believe it or not, I believe the most interesting section of this photo is actually in the very back. You can see a cruise ship from a far that separates the water from the sky! That divide gives the background more of a 3D-rounded look. But hey! Please supply your critique on this image via commenting here or even via twitter. Is this image in or out ?

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