"Blogger" grave

Back from the "blogger" grave and in full force ready to take 2013 by storm. Starting the new year with a few major goals: 1. to write more 2. to photo more 3. love more 4. pray more 5. play guitar more AND 6. eat (not so) more ... Let us see how each plays out in the nuevo year of 2013

If I can average TWO posts a week for myself, that would be awesome. Between work, post grad school, being a mom, wife and "after school" activities, life can get so busy that who has time to even breath. Not eye said the fly! But I need to challenge myself, so I am setting a goal for myself and wondering where it might take me. From my love of family, life, photos and of course coffee- I will share my adventures with the Internet world.

Happy viewing!

My little monkey and reason for not writing as much.

The Industrial Side of New York

New York City is filled with beautiful skyscapers, overpasses and underpasses, bridges that connect you from one borough to the next, and tons and tons of annoying construction sites that cause massive amounts of traffic (not my favorite part of nyc). Well, being 10 weeks post-partum and anxious to go for a jog I ventured off. The hubby had off from work and I immediately took advantage of the opportunity and set off with water bottle and iphone at hand. 

Now if you know me, you know that my eyes tend to be drawn to the softer side of life-flowers, lakes, sunset at a horizon, babies, portraits-anything that screams soft and beautiful. As I was running down southstreet, (my usual route), listening to my "No Pain No Gain" playlist, I couldn't help but notice that there was nothing really "beautiful" to look at. My surroundings weren't flowers and babies and sunsets- but an old highway above me, the garbage bins to my right, tall buildings that needed an entire face lift, the construction site that for some reason never seems to be getting anywhere, and gates that sealed off empty warehouses. It was just never ending and extremely difficult for me not to be sucked in to the hard side of NYC-the grimy, dirty, rough side that some might only think gets in the way of a great photo. 

So during my light jog (and I emphasize light..lol) I took a few photos and began to think a little bit about this thing we call beauty. Is there a way that beauty can be found in the rough side of nyc? Is it possible for the soft to co exist with the rough?  Well, I have decided to explore this concept and see what emerges. Feel free to take some time during the hussle and bussle we call life and see what you find.

And now begins a series I like to call- 

"The Industrial Side of New York"

Overpass on SouthStreet

A once upon a time Fulton Fish Market

Gated empty warehouse by Pier 17

Good old Brooklyn Bridge

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more on this series!!


PS Feel free to follow me on twitter  or Instagram for iPhone @dmsanabria

iPhoneography: Camera App for iPhone Users

The summer is in full force and with my new little bundle of joy, I have been LES bound! With that said, every street corner in my neighborhood is up for exploration. Now carrying my huge Canon camera is not so feasible these days. Leading me to an exploration of iPhone camera apps. My two loves right now: instagram and camera+.

Quick review of both applications

Using Instagram: Free

Well the best part about Instagram is that it is FREE!!! With all the money we spend on itunes, it is a plus to finally get something for free and that actually works. There is a batch of descent presets to work with and with a touch of a button your picture can go from bland to vintage. For those that know Instagram, Hefe is my go to! The good thing about this app is that even if you are not savy with a camera or technology, it is easy to manipulate any photo. There is a basic editing option of tilt shift, which is helpful and I love that you don't just have to save it to instagram. The application as the option for the photo to save in your iphoto library and you can upload to FB yourself, without the application. 


And it is fun fun fun!!

But my two favs about the app: the community of photographers you can follow and get inspiration from and the capability of uploading to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr at the same time.

Photo using Instagram:

View of brooklyn bridge 

Using Camera +: $3.99

I absolutely love right now!!  There is a lot more to work with than Instagram. More presets to choose from, uploading is smoother and the camera quality is better than Instagram. However, editing is still basic compared to other apps (which I will review at a later date). The usual crop, rotate, lighting etc., but there is a zoom option and the importing of photos is fun and you can store.

What I don't like is that u can't upload to your social networks all at the same time as you can with instagram. However the flow in which you can upload is better and allows for more detail.

My favorite part is that you can upload directly into an album on Facebook or a Set on Flickr. Definitely a plus for us overly organized photo enthusiasts.

Still exploring this app, so stay tune for more on Camera + ...

Using Camera +

At Southstreet Seaport

Be on the look out for more photos and reviews... 

One WIllow Presets

Marcy Lopez Photo Shoot

It has been awhile since I have posted: July to be exact, but the end of summer was busy with exciting photoshoots and traveling. Leaving me, of course with little time to post on my blog. The fall came and went with apple picking, grad school, work, God Belongs in My City, and so many other great moments. Now we are entering winter-filled with holiday dinners and celebrations. I hope you are enjoying the seasonal preparations of tree lighting, warm apple cider,  and gift shopping. However, try not to be too busy to take photos of each memorable moment. Images last a life-time.

Street 2 Street Photo Shoot

With that said, if you are interested in photography as a hobby and are looking for various editing techniques, I encourage you to visit One Willow Presets. She has great presets for both Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

Check her website and see for yourself!! 

Photo-shoot at DUMBO park

As many of you know, I have decided to take my love for photography to the next level and expand my portfolio with portraits of all kinds. From family, to maternity, newborn and engagements. My heart is extremely grateful for all those who have supported me and encouraged me over the past few months. Thank you for pushing me in the right direction. With that said, I had a photo-shoot on Sunday at the DUMBO park. Beautiful park and a great place to take pictures. Definitely adding this location to my bag of tricks :). 

Well, when I got there I checked out the area and found an awesome graffiti wall that I will def use in the future (thanks for the tip -u know who you are ;). 

I took some practice shots on the hubby (my in-house modelo) and can't wait to try it out on a few others. Steven tried so hard to make me happy by being in the fotos, even though I know he secretly wished he could be behind the camera. How could I resist taking pictures of such a beautiful man, inside and out?

Soon enough, the Mr and Mrs came with their adorable little 3 year old and it was an hour of fun with the camera. A very active little boy that does not like taking pictures, but we were able to get a few shots in. Marjorie and Roman are the sweetest couple and were very patient models. They were gracious enough in allowing me to take pictures of them. Thanks guys!! 


We walked around and found a few places to take photos. The best part was being able to have the view of the bridge, city, and water as a natural background. Who needs a studio in the summer when you have a view like this! 

However, we did have a sandal that went for a little swim and did not want to be rescued. But Marjorie was bold enough to roll up her skirt and snatch it back. Marjorie was grossed out by the water, and who wouldn't be in New York City. You just never know what you might find. But she was a brave soul and stuck it out, but not without a good laugh. Marjorie is a trooper and has a wonderful spirit to make anything fun! A moment to capture :) 

Here are just a few pictures that we took and survived the editing process. 

Thank you guys for being such amazing models and next time I will bring a little something extra to bribe Amaelian :). 

There is something about this picture that I absolutely love. I can't put my finger on it. I was trying to take a picture of Marjorie but saw Amaelian playing in the background and knew I had to take this picture. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but I love it.  

Vintage colored prints are probably my favorite! The color, the bridge in the background, and grassy feet all make this shot a cute one. Not to mention that 3ft cutie! 

The lovely Vail Family

Father and Son

Mommy and little man's toes! 

Interested: Check out www.sanabriaphoto.com and www.sanabriaphoto.smugmug.com 

Photoshop and Lightroom 3 Review

I have decided to challenge myself on the "ins" and "outs" of photography. My first project was to do as many trial runs of editing programs as I could possibly stomach. The first task was photoshop elements 8. I loved the ease in which I was able to edit my photos, from layering, to brushes to desaturation and bringing out only one color. Definitely worth the $99 dollars they are asking for, if you are interested in really taking your photos to the next level. The capability of editing that photoshop elements has for an amateur photographer like myself was awesome. And if you are savvy enough, you can google promo codes and get at least $20, if not even $30, off the program and leave the checkout with paying only $59.00.

However, this is not a workflow program. Editing only one picture at a time. Opening each file, one at a time was definitely an annoyance. Yes, Adobe Bridge is great to store, label and organize photos, but it takes so long to edit. Especially, if you are not doing anything but a single slide on the saturation scale or a slight punch of color. 

Overall, for the price, awesome program and if you are teaching yourself (like I do with just about everything in order to save money) you can check on-line for numerous amounts of free video tutorials. If you are willing to pay for a free tutorial, check out Adobe Photoshop elements website and subscribe to their mag for $60 bucks and you have access to ALL their online tutorials, which I think is actually pretty affordable. 

Now for my current love. Yes. I have become a bit biased. My 4th day of my Lightroom 3 trial and it has got to be the most amazing program I have worked with thus far. A totally different beast than PSE 8. It is meant as a workflow, which it does amazingly. Organizing files, importing them from other files on your computer is great. Not to mention their exporting!!!!! OMG. If you are anything like me, I export to flickr, facebook, picassa web and now smugmug. TIME TIME TIME. Each uploading process through their individual site takes an uber long time. When I would decide to walk away from the computer during the upload process, I would find the infamous "ERROR" msg. Not fun. 

Well, Lightroom has excellent Plug-ins that make it easy to export to any one of these sights. I can't brag enough about the ease of these exporting tools. If you are pressed for time, such as I, then this is definitely a great tool to have. So great! A smile once I see that the upload is complete for over 100 photos, after only a few minutes. Oh, and did I mention the watermarking tool. You can upload simply your name, or get sassy with an especially made graphically designed watermark (i am not there, yet).

So much still to explore with LR3, but the last awesome part of the program are the presets. You can download presets from other sights that photographers have so graciously posted or create your own. Taking a simple photo into something artistic. The colors just seem to pop from the press of a button. The desire to keep the essence of the picture, while adding a "little extra something". Whatever that something might be, well that is up to you the editing photographer. 

But I am addicted, nonetheless. Well, at least until the trial run is over and we will see if it is worth the $299. Once you try it, I am sure you will too. Pair LR3 with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and you have a great editing library. 

Flower photo taken at Botanical Gardens in Brooklyn. 

Other photos taken by me in Italy. 

For more photos please go to: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanabriaphoto/

or www.sanabriaphoto.com

Ode to Summer

We started the season heading to Phili to watch a soccer game: US Men vs Turkey-so excited! But as we were driving, I couldn't help but think about some of my loves- one being the Sun.

I am totally enamored by the beauty that only the Sun can bring out. Feelings of wanting to spend time with family and friends in the great outdoors, the transition from Sharaz to Pinot Grigio, the picnics, the bronze glow from tanning, and ofcourse that wonderful feeling of shopping and finding the perfect sundress to go with just the right sandal. Let us not forget to pair that up with a straw summer bag. Oh what a feeling!!!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone, as we toast to the beginning of many cool summer nights in 2010!!




Note: photo found on Flickr.com

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone