Pahhhhhh-teeeeeeeee!

[Photo-John]

5 Color Cowboy Xmas party - San Jo, baby!

Get down, get down.

[livin4lax09]

cool shots. first or rear curtain?

[Photo-John]

It's set for rear curtain. But I don't think it really matters for photos like these.

[5colorcowboy]

eyes black like a shark,can't wait for the others.

[mtbbrian]

Why don't I get invited to parties like this?
:cryin:
Fun stuff as always John!
Brian
:thumbsup:

[photophorous]

Nice shots! I like the DJ, but please tell me he had more than one turntable.

Paul

[Photo-John]

Only one turntable. But he was actually scratching - a lost art. He was tearing it up! I'll take one turntable and a guy who can really work it over a couple of turntables and a guy who just spins records. A DJ has to be able to scratch to be a star in my book.

[pyxel]

How do you get such nice colours?

[Photo-John]

How do you get such nice colours?

What do you mean by "nice?" What do you like? I always do some Photoshop adjustment and these were converted from the RAW using Adobe Lightroom. But you have to start with a good original. Tell me what it is that you think is nice and I'll see if I can give you some tips.

[pyxel]

well I mean your colours seem to be so much more natural and have a more bright approach... I don't really know how I can explain this lol It's like I'm looking at it with my own eyes instead of through a photograph? If that makes any sense...

[Photo-John]

Well, one thing is that I don't accept what comes out of the camera as the final product. It's just the starting point. I take a good look at every image I want to share or otherwise use and I "optomize" it using masked Photoshop adjustment layers. I always do at least one layers adjustment for contrast and brightness. And I almost always do some color adjustment and pump up the saturation. I make it look like I remember and how I want it to make me feel.

Exposure is also important. If you blow the exposure it's hard to recover the image and make it look right. I always check the histogram and try to err on the dark side. Dark photos can be fixed. When the highlights get cooked, there's not much you can do.

Does that help? I'm not really doing any magic tricks. I'm just using the tools available to squeeze what I can out of my files.

[almo]

Awesome shots buddy!

I love to see these kinds of shots from you, you do them so well. The first is my favorite. The movement from sharp focus to blurry and all messed up is so good I can almost hear the buzz in the air!

[villenadecorte]

These shots make me homesick for the Bay, John!!!! That second shot is classic!

[Photo-John]

Good to "see" you

That photo is of three downtown San Jo veteranos. The guy on the left has been working, investing in, and promoting San Jose clubs and events for over 10 years. The guy in the middle is my friend, Johnny. He does my hair (flip), and it's his party. I've known Lou, the guy on the right, for about 14 years. He owns a restaurant in downtown San Jose.

[villenadecorte]

Dude, love the center guys shirt... O.G. San Jo style all the way. Love that single button up top! hahaha. I MISS THE BAY.... waaaah.