It's not about the Gear

When inquisitors approach me with questions about photography I'm always happy to answer their questions. But more often then not I will answer "it's not about the gear".

My trio of current go to lenses posing in afternoon California soft light. Image taken with a IPhone 6+

http://pimentelportfolio.com/

It's not about the gear.  It's so much More then the gear. I have this image that to this day when I look at it reminds me of this statement.  I took the image while living in New Mexico, attending UNM.  The concept of the image was to go outside of the bounds of camera equipment. We spent the days using cameras made from paint cans and Holga cameras. ( Holga cameras are actually Japanese toy plastic cameras that actually shoot film but have light leaks in the body that create beautiful eerie images). If you've never used one before and are interested in Photography do yourself a favor and spend the $20 to get a Holga and $20 for b&w 120 film and start here. 

  The reason I beg you to do this is so you will learn the simplest lesson about photography. And that is "it's not about the gear".  It doesn't matter what camera you have the brand the lens when you are wanting to truly learn about the art of images. The art is seeing, looking and connecting to a aspect a visual glimpse,  and teaching your mind to relay to your eye to capture it and compose it.  

My Holga images that I took that day in New Mexico I developed  the film by hand. I scanned the large digital 120 film formats on my Epson scanner and printed 11x16 prints. And the one print that captures my mind everytime I look at it isn't in crisp focus, it's not accurately exposed (it's actually double exposed due to the nature of the Holga). This image is far from perfect. But to me a Photographer who practices the art of Photography it's perfect. It's beyond perfect it's F'ing ART!!  And I love it's shortcomings because it taught me to look deeper. 

So ask me anything you want about Photography, but if you really want to know about cameras and ask me what type to get I will suggest a Holga!  

Cheers

Shoot more talk less!  

My name is Kimberly Pimentel and I am a Kansas City Photographer.  

My website is  

http://pimentelportfolio.com/

Top 5 Things to do before a Photoshoot. By http://kimberlypimentel.com/

It's important to prep before a shoot.  Here's my list of top 5 things to do before a shoot.

http://kimberlypimentel.com/

http://kimberlypimentel.com/

1.  Plan your location and time. Consider  weather, Time of day, and limitations to your shooting area.  We shot the above portrait in a Industrial area of Kansas City. Though quite trendy, it can be dangerous with trains, rust and dirt.

2.  Have your model bring several outfits so you have choices during final edits. 

3. Make sure your equipment batteries and memory are ready and backups are available.

4. Have some idea about what poses to consider for your model. This will help them to feel more at ease, if you have ideas on how to pose them. 

5. Prepare for the unexpected. Well what the heck does that mean? Exactly,  your client is expecting you to have all bases covered so you can be creative and make them an artistic image. Anybody can point a camera nowadays and shoot. But as a artist, to be comfortable and in the creative zone you must be relaxed and that can only occur if you are ready to go and have gone over your pre-shoot game prep.

Get out there and Shoot! 

http://kimberlypimentel.com/

Metering Light. By http://kimberlypimentel.com/

The Moment when you know your prep time, Educational time and Artistic Conscious all converge- to Create that one Image.  All images taken by Kimberly Pimentel a Kansas City Photgrapher. 

This was a Prep test shot I captured while shooting the Brouchure Headshots for the City in Motion KC Company dancers. The portraits were published for City in Motion.

contact me at  

http://kimberlypimentel.com/

The Giant

Last May I shot images in Yosemite

Every night I'd leave the Valley right before sunset. The images, the sights often had me in complete visual overload- I really need more time to digest these images. It's been almost a year and I jus took another look at some of my images. And even today I still get chills thinking of how Valley View was beyond Iconic - it was a moment I'll never forget. This image I captured is called " The Giant" - it was taken in Valley View at sunset - there were prob 100 of us Photographers here each evening at sunset.  I'll never forget jumping over moss mud covered rocks- crouching in mosquito beds - not blinking for fear I would miss one second of the Giant as he fell into nights sleep.

Sekonic Light Meter

We Metered the ambient light and used flash off camera with Beauty Dish Modifier and cowboy flash syncs. 

It's interesting I think to see what goes into capturing spectacular light - how to Modify it use it - I love this image - the sky is starting to pop and reminds me of a Wizard of Oz scene. I love the evening sky in the Midwest. 

Capturing the Missouri Evening

We were catching that magic light