Category: Photographic Imaging

Yoga and Photography

Posted on by martinbelgica

8 limbs of Yoga and Photography

YOGA AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Hello, What is my ultimate goal in life? The answer to that is to perfect my dhyana samadhi in the ways of purposeful enlightenment. Why photography and not just be a monk inside a cave? The answer to that is how can enlightenment be experienced visually and auditory when it is not visual and audible for some but an experience. How can I translate the experience of samadhi to media. Another question arises from the question of why photography? My goal in life is to translate my experience of samadhi in film or imagery.

SAMADHI

My samadhi experience is as simple as just being lucky with my pranayama. I was doing my pranayama work and when my body just jolted somewhere that made me feel bliss. It was partial not a full body experience but the reality of life became like the movies. The clouds smiled and the mountains near our village became something out of bollywood film, that experience made me want to show it in photographs and film making.It took me a couple of minutes to get back to my normal sense. Experiencing samadhi is priceless and I recommend people to experience it atleast once in a lifetime.

ENLIGHTENMENT IS EASY BUT MASTERY IS HARD

How to reach enlightenment? Enlightenment is just realization of the highest known, to me that is enlightenment, getting to a point of realization as a complete full absorption of thought and matter. A man realizing the full meaning of a topic or asking. That for me is enlightenment. Now how do we translate it to tradition it is simple Dhyana Samadhi completion. Samyama. It’s peak is enlightenment. It is easy to do. Methodology is to sit and meditate till you can fully reach a conclusion of its essence and meaning. Live like a sannyasi, walking the streets or sitting in meditation, it is hard at first but by time you just feel like a kid looking for answers in life. It is not that hard beggars do it all the time. Enlightenment is easy but mastery of what you know, can do and understand is what makes a difference.

EXPERIENCE IN IMAGERY

copyright martinbelgica.com chaosphere cameras

The big goal is to translate everything to imagery the experience, that is what I want to do on this website as a post but not as a mold for everything, there is a saying in chaos magick by Peter J Carroll “All is permitted and nothing is true.” the words applies to a healthy mind your enlightenment is not the highest of all for all is vast and all is permitted and the possibility of it not being true is always there for one thing in reality that is constant is change. Now putting time and skill in imaging has a dead line on how on our age of digital publishing can an experience be expressed? Light, shadow and subject the tools on this can be put on a sensor and on print.

From a chaos magician of the shadow path to a tantric disciple to a photographic enthusiast moving forward in time. What would be the future of information in images as translated. Let us enjoy the ride of the evolutionary truth of change and entropy.

3 Point Lighting Recap as an Idea

Posted on by martinbelgica

BANGING OF LIGHT
Light touches another is like a union of sensations. A subject when touched by two light sources is like a good old delicious sandwich. 1 point or 1 source of light is not enough to make a good photo. 2 light sources creates a mergence of two light sources creating an extra dimensional feel. Let me illustrate this. In the day we have 1 light source that is the sun and in the night we have the moon. 2 point lighting and 3 point lighting creates the sensation of having an extra dimension impossible to our native or primal senses. Here is an example of 1 point lighting photo.

KEY LIGHT

See the light that touches the subject makes it seen with enough drama such as chiaroscuro a contrasting image that makes a person think directly to observe. Observing these types of images tickles the mind for it is normal and primal and touches the inner guts of experiencing life. It is familiar, normal and full of direct seeing or observing. It evokes the past and what is everyday life. It makes us feel and remember the day or what can be tommorow the dimension of normalcy or the mundane expressed in a drama.

FILL LIGHT

2 point lighting now creates a mergences of 2 light sources. We all know that more light creates a more quality photo. An image with more light sources in 2 positions now creates the extra dimension that most people do not experience. A house with lots of light sources is illuminated and creates a magical appearance compared to a house with one light source per room. The magic of light now is created in 2 point lighting. See the mergence of light in the face of the subject. This gives us the sensation of something extraordinary, the unfamilliar the impossible in our primal brains. This technique emerged and became the standard for most for it creates that feel of having that extra dimension beyond what is normal or the expanded drama of what is and what is possible. Compared to what is 2 point lighting it creates an additional layer of dimension that evokes and sees the future while the 1 point lighting makes us feel what is real and makes us re think the past and what is.

BACK LIGHT / HAIR LIGHT

3 point lighting is the crowning glory of graphing light, photography made this the standard and in film because it made people look like royals infront of the camera. The hair light and back light made them like the holy saints of religious culture. Think about the aura, how can a person produce an aura in the physical world? The hair light or back light made this happen, a sense of royal divinity in photo imaging. This 3 point lighting technique is used in most glamour shoots and portrait shoots to create that feel of importance and royal status even though the person is not a real royal to the nation but a royal to its people as a sub culture and a society.

Enjoy 3 point lighting and my views about it, make use of it as a creative process and expression, my claims and ramblings about light and photography is not set in stone, we are forever evolving in understanding printing and light. The graphing of light continues to evolve even if Ai is kind of winning the game let us embrace the old techniques that are neglected and forgotten in time let’s keep and recelebrate the methods for the futures to come.

Fractal Orgone Pyramid Idea

Posted on by martinbelgica

Hello this is a blog post about the Orgone Infinity Concept Shoot, it is composed of a Citrine sphere stone, a Pyramid Orgone and two mirrors. The basic idea is to just create an infinite look or evoke and expansive feeling when you see the photograph, seeing the artwork behind orgone items I figured this will be a cool blog post.

CAMERA AND LENS

I will use a Nikon Entry level 3500 camera for this one, a low budget concept shoot for the website. Lenses I used are 11 – 50mm AF-P and 70 – 300mm AF P kit lenses. The two lens usually is with the d3500 camera as a package. AF-P lenses has good AF response and focusing system.

FIGURING IT OUT

The basic idea was in my head due to going to barber shops. As a kid it is amusing seeing an infinity effect on a face to face mirror, you see multiple versions of the same thing it is trance inducing while getting a haircut, experiencing that  made it memorable. I decided to create something of that nature and used the orgone pyramids I bought months ago. I placed it in a pattern like manner and took a photo. It looks good now lets duplicate this and make this like a sea of orgone pyramids.

THE CHALLENGE

 

First problem I had is how do I take a photo of the infinity when my camera is too big. If I buy a big mirror that would be really expensive. Taking the photo with a camera on the right or left side to be erased in photo editing was an option but doing it seems hard. I can’t fit the camera inside the frame and the only camera I have that is small is the Nikon sb5100 point and shoot. My phone was an option but its quality is not that good in my mind.

NOT ENOUGH MINERALS



 

Not having enough money to buy a micro camera (go-pros) or even do the amount of work necessary to materialize my imagination I decided to work around the subject by changing angles taking sample photos making the most of what I can capture just to get a feel on what will be possible and what approaches could work.

Camera placement and angles was explored, sometimes adapting to the condition is a better option than buying your way into a desired situation. Film making made me realize that quick.

TAKING THE PHOTOS

Doing my thinking for a couple of days before doing my formal shoot and concept I decided to slack and just have fun doing the shoot, it took me a couple of hours to finish my shot by just taking multiple focused exposures and using the infinity concept as a peripheral rather than my main focus. Taking good photos over obsessing with the idea. I still managed to get some infinity effects on camera but I will not publish all of it in this website. You can contact me to see it via email contactus@martinbelgica.com

Here is a Gallery of some Images I took with some processing.

ORGONE INFINITY
Produced in MJB STUDIOS
Produced by Majos Belgica
Camera : Nikon 3500
Lightsource : 50watts Bulb 
Lens : Nikkor AF-P DX 18 – 55mm
 and AF -P  DX 55 – 300mm 

3d Layering to 4d Video Experience

Posted on by martinbelgica

The big question in mind is how do we enjoy 4D rendered footage. Theoretically 4th Dimensional Videos are videos that is shot either in two angles or 2 types of exposure and is merged into one to be watched or percieved. 4d footage is not enjoyable layers of footage or imagery can create confusion towards the perceiver or watcher. 

Here is an example of a 4d footage. This type of footage works for video presentations and marketing reels and stock footages.

It is very confusing to watch. Inverted media with low saturation layered upon tweaked white balance and tint creates good imagery but is very confusing. The problem I want to solve is How do we fix the problem of confusion? One solution is to seperate the layers and display it in two windows. Video directors see the screen this way but usually this is for production purposes not as a final cut or for broadcast, some music videos do display this but it is for adding ornamental elements to the music rather than giving context and meaning. The confusion problem still remains but it is lesser. 

THE POWER OF CHOICE 

I think the entertaining factor in the 4d experience of video is the power of choice, you have 2 types of exposures or even more and the watcher could decide to focus on an element of the video rather than the whole. Left media or right media? Top media or bottom media? The perceiver decides. The power of 4d is more experiential and choice driven. 

Is 4d film making ideal or 4d production styles ideal for mass media consumption? I am still observing what can happen in the future. Stimuli, stimuli and more stimuli!

The magic of 4d media is you can experience the scenario in a more expansive way implying that the footage 1 played with footage 2 is happening at the same time just like a CCTV. Layering both creates a merged imagery that is confusing, seperation of footage creates a choice driven experience. Having the choice to look at the point of view of 1 can make you interact mentally with the footage by taking your eyes to footage 2 when action happens. This is entertaining to watch but is kind of overloading the brain with information. Video directors and security people can handle this much information but the normal viewer I think cannot. It is up to the future of watching media to decide if people are ready for this type of style of publishing media. 

THE 4D INDUSTRY STANDARD

I can say that the industry does put Augmented Cinema as a 4d experience. Augmenting the experience via VR or diversed theater experience can create that pheriperal choice I said earlier, this style fixes the confusion by putting a parallel experience based on a 3d film footage. If 4d cinema is Augmented reality designed as a parallel then this will fix the confusion problem, moving towards a different view of 4D but with similarities can work. Cinematic 4D can be different to Psychaunatic 4D.  I ate and Shit at the same time merging back to sitting and watching TV that is 4d to me augmenting my eating by expanding experiential stimuli of my eating alone can be a start in exploring 4D. Can we argue with the industry standards? Yes we can. 


Can we win? Nope cause we are all contributing factors towards this evolutionary way of displaying images and sounds. We all win in the end. 

Fireworks 2022

Posted on by martinbelgica

It’s been 2 years of keeping that tradition of taking photos of fireworks when the end of the year comes, my 2021 firework photos got deleted due to storage errors. I lost a lot of photos since 2014 and when I say a lot i mean really a lot like years of work and practice. I always felt like quitting this photography and imagine gig. Anyways 2022 is a New year lets hope for the best. I am writing this 2022 december cause I am such a liar. 
Sunflower Street Corner

RAW files and JPEGS

Posted on by martinbelgica

The eye sheds light on the topic. The natural colors of things are seen by the eye, making it as a guide of what is correct and not is key. Nothing is wrong with jpegs and Raw files. What is correct is what the eye can see and prefer to see.

RAW FILES gives flexibility and bending of reality in terms of color perception and tones. The sun can only do so much , your flash and light strobes can only do so much. RAW files can make you bend all these things. Give thanks to technology it became easy.

processed raw file

Jpegs are the nearest to what you can see and some people prefer jpegs to lessen the possibility of changing the captured photo. It is like if you fucked up that moment is fucked up. IF you got that moment right you got that moment right. It is a game of chance for me.

jpeg

The naturalist might prefer jpegs for a film negative is not natural to the eye what is natural is what you can see. Some RAW files can be processed to look like a better jpeg file but the question is how much can your eye make things in focus? it is the eye that guides the preference.

untouched raw file

creativity in raw though makes the art. Documentalist prefer the body of photos rather than the photo individually, the artist prefer the beauty of illusions that a photo can create rather than the original photo captured. they shoot RAW so they can process it and create something catered to their individuality.

Martin Joseph Belgica Self portrait 3 Overexposed

Skin Color and Exposures

Posted on by martinbelgica

It is interesting how skin color is based on light particles hitting the subject. Two images one is underexposed adjusted in post and other is overexposed adjusted in post.

Underexposed Photo(left) Corrected on post (right) 

Overexposed Photo(left) Corrected on post (right) 

More light means whiter complexion and less light means darker complexion. The main character of the image is based on the captured exposure that dictates the quality of the skin. 2 stops above and below could give you the desired base for adjustments.