Ibarionex Perello - Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light

Improving Your Photography with Available Light

CHASING THE LIGHT:
IMPROVING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WITH AVAILABLE LIGHT

IBARIONEX PERELLO

NEW RIDERS
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)

Find us on the Web at: www.newriders.com
To report errors, please send a note to:
New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education.
Copyright 2011 by Ibarionex Perello

EDITOR: Rebecca Gulick
DEVELOPMENT AND COPY EDITOR: Elizabeth Kuball
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Hilal Sala
INTERIOR AND COVER DESIGNER: Mimi Heft
COMPOSITOR: Kim Scott, Bumpy Design
PROOFREADER: Patricia Pane
INDEXER: Emily Glossbrenner

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-75250-5
ISBN-10: 0-321-75250-3

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

For Cynthia, my biggest cheerleader
and
Mike Cohen, for the gift of learning to see.

Compiling a list of people to thank for all that they have contributed to the book that you hold in your hands is daunting. So many people have helped to inspire and encourage me that this list seems far too short. Thank you to:

My parents, who allowed me to handle their Kodak Reflex III and insist that they process the innumerable rolls of film that I put through it.

Mike Cohen and the Boys Club of Hollywood, which first introduced me to the magic of the camera and the darkroom.

Armida Bolton and Joe Dojcsak and the staff of the Collegian newspaper at Los Angeles City College, which revealed to me that there was something I was really good at.

My compadres at Alas MediaMarco Torres, Miguel Duran, Rosa Ruvacalba, Elizabeth Ruvacalba, and William Navarrowho are always great sources of inspiration.

The team at Peachpit Press, including Elizabeth Kuball, Rebecca Gulick, and Ted Waitt, for helping to make a lifelong dream come true.

My family, who has, each in his or her own way, helped inspire the way I see the world.

The thousands of people Ive met on my journey who have provided me the opportunity to turn my camera on them and record our momentary encounter during this all-too-brief time on Earth.

And God, for the eyes to see and the talent and the inspiration to make the most of it.

Ibarionex R. Perello is a photographer, writer, and producer with over 25 years of experience in the photographic industry. His photographs and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Outdoor Photographer, PC Photo, Digital Photo Pro, Shutterbug, and Rangefinder. He is an instructor of photography at BetterPhoto.com as well as an adjunct professor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Ibarionex is the co-founder of Alas Media, a multimedia production company. He is also the host and producer of The Candid Frame: A Photography Podcast, which features conversations with the worlds best emerging and established photographers.

Ibarionex lives near Los Angeles with his wife and their dogs, Spenser and Tracy.

When I first started reading this book, I immediately felt engaged with a passionate photographer who really cares about his work, and with someone who really wants to share his long experience with other photographers.

I have known Ibarionex since he worked for Werner Publishing, where, at the time, I was Group Editorial Director of the photo magazines. Ibarionex always had a passion for light, for photographing people, and for photography in general that came across strongly in his work and especially his photography.

That shows up again in this book. I love the photos and the stories you can see within them. Ibarionex knows how to get involved with life and capture that with his cameras.

But the book is so much more. Ibarionex has poured himself into the text to bring his perspective to photography to everyone. He shows us his photos and gives some perspective on how they were shot. I love the way he incorporates real stories of how he approached photographing certain subjects. He doesnt just tell you to be careful of photographing white clothing, for example, but tells you of his experience in photographing a young girl in her first-communion dress.

Ibarionexs joy in photography comes through, too, in both the text and the photos. These are positive photos that make you feel good about the world we live in, and they help you get to know the people in the photos as if they were good neighbors. His how-to explanations are the same, a positive, helpful approach that you feel good about reading. And you will definitely learn a few things.

This is a book that can be enjoyed and learned from simply by paging through the photos and reading the captions. Then it can be further savored while you learn about photography as you read the text. You will enjoy reading it the first time, and youll return to it as a reference again and again.

Rob Sheppard
Author, Photographer; Editor-at-Large, Outdoor Photographer Magazine

There is no shortage of books dedicated to the topic of photography. Despite photographys relative youth, countless words have been dedicated to this craft, which uses a little magic box to convert the intangible quality of light into something tangible, a photograph.

Ive learned from and been inspired by many of these same books, and I have to admit some feelings of intimidation at the thought that I have something to contribute. Yet, despite these feelings, I have every confidence that what I share here will help to contribute to your passion for photography.

Its not because I believe that my way is the better or best way to approach photography. I dont dare make that claim. What I do know, however, is that Ive been blessed with the gift of seeing, and that gift has been nurtured by the words Ive read, the photographs Ive seen, and the photographers Ive met. That gift becomes valuable only when I make the choice to share it with others. Sometimes that sharing comes in the form of a photograph, but it also takes shape when I help inspire others to discover their own unique ways of seeing.