Once I was told

This:

"they're [referring to Gavins] a bit literal. Making the visual declaration, 'Look at me! I'm using Photoshop!' doesn't read as ironic; it comes across as naive."

To which I reply:

Special thanks to the 1990's, the stock market, and people with frank opinions everywhere.

[Cell Art] Top to Bottom

Let's Cell Art

Hello Readers,

This post is an open call for a cell phone art feature on the blog! I've been asked recently for exactly specifications of what I mean by cell phone art. Art made on, inspired by, featuring the cell phone. Pretty loose. I just want to put up cool works from talented folks.

Let's share some great stuff with the world.

To submit a piece get in touch with me. Facebook, tweet @gabrielcdiaz, email, phone. We'll get it figured out from there. Here's my submission! Watch out tomorrow, I'll post the next submission.

This one is by Gabe!
Let's all cell art!

Adorable Children, Antique Frames, Awesome

"You shouldn't photograph children. They don't have anything going on. They've got no baggage." Said my photography professor as I started my first black and white 35mm class. But there's a strong tradition of photography depicting children. Diane Arbus, among many others depicts children (and whatever baggage they might have) in a manner that's clear and compelling.

And also antique frames make everything seem more like "Art."

@GavinWassung: an inspiration

I've had the pleasure of working with Gavin Wassung (whose portfolio is available here) and been amazed by how his designs capture the essence of commercial messages. I recommended the portfolio for anyone looking for commercial design, or inspiration for commercial design.

Not so long ago, when I was looking at Gavin's artwork via his blog I was inspired to make something similar. Gavin makes me want to be a better artist. Since these types of works have no name, I shall henceforth refer to them as "Gavins." Making a Gavin involves using a circular rotation in the center of an image. I've added reflection (as opposed to rotation) to this technique, but rest assured that all of these images are Gavins.

Gavin the first: Stack

Gavin the second: Rocker

Gavin the third: Cycle

Gavin the fourth: Tree

Subterranean Robot Vacation Takeover

As many folks might have noticed, going on trips really inspires me to make artwork. Also while on vacation I had some coffee, and during the ensuing caffeine freak-out, I had a vision. What if I could convey to viewers images of the world that were normal, but present them in a manner that made them totally alien. Being the heavy-handed, explicit person that I am, I decided to do this with Arial Black text. So please enjoy being transported to a tropical paradise, which happens to be infested with under-ground robots, whose intentions are questionable at best.

Vacation Possibilities on Prezi

Want to own your own copy of this little story? Print it out an mail it to your relatives in Canada? Sure, download a pdf here. 

Absent, but not gone

Still making artwork?! Having this interobang laid on me over and over for the last three months, I hope here to lay the matter to rest. Yes, art is still being made by me, by Henry, by Sebastian and (indirectly) by Kirk. But some people named above have also been busy starting a company. Said company is called Atto and focuses on web design in the service of education. All of my work, of late, has been channeled toward this effort and I'm thrilled to share it below.

Readers can look forward to future posts by me including: Re: Branding (competing globally for the identity of Gabriel Diaz via google search results), more recent work updates, and some show updates!

For those of you who have gotten this far down the post, Thank you. Please note that these designs are available on T shirts at the Atto shirt store if you are really moved please CLICK HERE.

Buenos Aires

In March 2010 I took a two week break from financial services consulting to visit the country from which my mother immigrated in 1974. Buenos Aires, Argentina is only two hours ahead of the east coast of the United States, but is the opposite season. The toilets also flush in a direction opposite to that of the northern hemisphere. My work in Argentina, perhaps influenced by these factors, took a somewhat different turn.

While introspection usually inspires me to make images, in Argentina I made observational photos. In Argentina I was an outsider. Could it be that when outside their element people are more likely to look outward? It makes sense. Outsiders need to observe if they ever have a hope of getting “in.”

Not to mention, I was on assignment for Ali Van, who asked that I bring her back pictures of great architecture. In fact, this request was what first inspired me to make vertical panoramic photos. Well that and the fact that it can be difficult to make a convincing depiction of a WHOLE building using a 50mm fixed lens.
Was I really an outsider in Argentina? My Spanish leaves something to be desired. But my mother lived there for her first fourteen years. Does that mean that I belong there in some way? Buenos Aires is part of my family’s history. As for the rest I’m not so sure.

For those of you interested in seeing more, I have a whole facebook album dedicated to my trip. See it here! And finally, for truly dedicated fans, I am having a show in Greenwich, CT on December 8th. Details to follow soon.

Best Compact Digital Cameras for Fall 2010

Dearest blog readers,
in an effort to get more views on this page and provide you with something helpful, I will commit to answer any questions about photographs, photography, or cameras posed to me.  Feel free to email, text message, or facebook wall post. I will answer your questions.

So bring it.

Reader’s Demand:

I want a digital camera that I can use on my vacations. I want one that has good capabilities for darker, indoor lit places (but can also do outdoor scenes effectively as well). I want one that can use regular disposable batteries, preferably double A. Let me know your thoughts. If there is one that has a good price (on sale or something), that would be good too....

My Obsequious Reply:

Canon Cameras

The G-12

Suggested Retail Price: $499

I’ve take pictures with the cannon G-series compact cameras, you won’t see better images unless you are using an SLR. This camera is also loaded with features like low light optimization, image stabilizing, and HD video. This one gets the Gabe stamp of approval for camera to buy for trips. The battery is lithium ion.

Get the tech specs for the Canon G12
Buy the G-12 new for $499 with free shipping

Now if you really want something with AA Batteries:

PowerShot SX20 IS

Suggested Retail Price: $399

This camera has more zoom and megapixels. It is a bit bulkier, but it does run on AA batteries, just like you wanted.  This one is probably not as good in low light.

Get the tech specs for the Canon SX20 IS

Buy it new for $371.94 shipping included

Buy it refurbished for $285.21 shipping included

Now for some brand balance!

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Suggested Price: 499.95

It’s pretty much just like the G-12 above. It seems to zoom more. Also lithium ion powered. Also specialized for low light. Probably just as good or better. Wish I could have gotten my hands on one, but I have not used this bad boy.

Get the tech specs for the Nikon Coolpix P7000

Buy it new for $439 with shipping included

Nikon Coolpix L110

Suggested Retail Price $279

Great zoom, AA batteries, large resolution. However, it’s a bigger camera, and it probably won’t shock you at night. But if you’re looking for a good deal, this is it!

Get the tech specs for the Nikon Coolpix L110

But it new for $226.30 with shipping included

Buy it refurbished for $187.78 with shipping included

Vertical Panorama

Lois Conner carved her niche in photography by using a banquet camera to create amazing panoramic pictures of landscapes. The majority of her work is horizontal panorama, but there are some very beautiful vertical works. Her work inspired me to go out and give it a try.

Of course, a banquet camera, which Conner uses, is a very specialized piece of equipment. I aimed to make a similar product using some digital tech. I started out with the images below.

So now for the technical part: In Photoshop, hit Alt, then F, and then U. (Yes, it's very amusing.) In the Automate menu that opens, select "Photomerge," and there you have it: a menu that allows you to select the pictures that will become your panoramic image. Select them, hit OK, and you're rolling! This process in memory-intensive, so please be patient.

Photoshop, like a banquet camera, is complicated and expensive. I suggest trying out the free version of Photoshop, Autostitch -- a great tool for making panos. Should any of you need help with this, or Mac panorama software, I'll be happy to help out; just leave a comment.

No matter which piece of software you use, your results will probably have some distortion. What I usually do is crop the final product to a vertical rectangle shape that I like. Again, if you need help with cropping, please let me know and I can make a suggestion. Now, for the final product!

I encourage readers interested in this process to make images! I would be happy to post them and share in some reflected glory. But if you have questions, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you.

Central Park

For a long while I've wanted to make images that contained two different times of day. The white figure in this image is lit by ambient evening light and the colorful figure is lit by direct sunset light. Looks pretty slick in black and white as well. What's the theme? I'd say it's about protecting one's self from cute, transparent contamination.