Music Under A Blue Moon

Two random cars taken a while ago.

Anishka & Randy Wright

So I did my first wedding on Saturday. It was horrible....Just Kidding :D It was however a really tedious one as I had a guestbook as well as prints to prepare, I also helped the decorator from the night before so by the time the actual ceremony reached I was tired to the point where I sat at any spare moment I was given. The wedding itself started late as most trini events would, I didn't complain though, I took the opportunity to sit whilst still catching a few shots of the bridal party waiting on the bride.

This cutie got a bit restless whilst waiting but still stopped for me to get a pic.

The bride arrived in great style but was instructed to stay in the car for about 10 minutes longer.

As the wedding began and the bridal party began walking into the church I realized my flash wasn't working, or rather...I had forgotten to get new batteries. Anyways, I sucked it up and made ISO 1600 and 1/60 my friends and pushed my camera to the max. [IhatePopFlash BTW]

Before the wedding I had done quite a bit of research and viewed hundreds of photos with stuff I should look for creatively.

The ceremony was great. I got a lot of shots without much grain(noise) which I was really happy with.

Here's the happy couple at the garden where we did the bridal party shots(someone's backyard).

Vodka n Cake Anyone?

Apparently the background in this one was a bit too busy so I did over the shot.




Care for a slice?




Cheesecake courtesy my cousin.

Update + Photos

Hey guys. For the few of you that read this blog I'm sorry for being away for so long. I've been a bit under the weather and trying hard to fight it. So concentrating to write a proper blog entry is a bit tedious. Here are a couple photos to make up for my inactivity.


"i - The Self Portrait"
You could see the worry in my eyes. Hopefully by tomorrow that'll be gone.


My fav ring


"The Bathroom Flower"
DOF is monstrous but it's a bit too red.


Lastly....."Wodka"
Last time my mum was in Trinidad I stole one of these bottles from her......it was empty so I don't think she missed it.

Waiting On My Plane pt 1

So it's 3:12am local time, 4:12am Trinidad time and I have a problem. Unfortunately time is my problem and I'll leave you to figure out why on your own. I have an hour -of time that could have been spent staring at the insides of my eyelids- to kill.

My last day in New York was far from hectic but busy enough to call it a day well spent. From Famous Footwear to some Hispanic restaurant that I believe has me feeling upset at the moment.

Anyhow, I was standing in the corridor upstairs this massive four storey(fail americans don't accept that as a word) house and contemplating what to do and it comes to me......"Why not go update my facebook peeps on me heading back home"......that quickly became boring due to the fact that everyone online at this point in time back home would be the drunkards now home from a party.

SO FAIL.....on my part.

So, there;s a mixture of...brb

Slipping On A Noose + Book Updates

Looking into her eyes even from so far away, he could see the sadness that she was holding back. Her nose that was planted almost perfectly to the center of her face moved reluctantly, as she attempted to hide her sniffling. The smile that he had recently become a friend of gradually began to fade into the exact opposite. A noose wrapped carefully around her neck complemented her long dark hair. It was clear that she was afraid, but horridly vague of what. Tears slipped from the boundaries of her eyes as she would, strapped to a tree by her throat.

Over the past year I've procrastinated with almost every piece of writing I started, so as a change for the new year, I'm going to dedicate my writing time to two stories. "The Calling", a novel about a man who gives up entirely yet finds hope in music and love; and this one, "Slipping On A Noose", about a boy who saves a girl from herself more than he expected to.

Both are filled with mushy drama but different in many ways. The Calling has a slight supernatural twist to it and Slipping On A Noose goes a bit deep into the romance genre. So stick around for updates and sneak peeks into the stories, characters and the books themselves.

Follow the blog with a google account or even twitter. ^_^ And don't forget to share to facebook. The link is on the right of the page.

My Watermark

Forgive my ranting but this must be said.

Many of you may have noticed that most of my work have watermarks on them.

They look a little like the one across there and may vary from that to my name or even just my initials. Contrary to popular belief, it's not there for me to get popular or because I'm vain. Those watermarks are the only things linking my photography back to me after the final product is published into the public. They are the easiest way to promote my business(not myself) when I do jobs....and free jobs at it.

Over the past year I've had people ask me to come cover their parties and to do photo shoots for promotion in return. Ignoring the need for promotion, I took up the offers as they gave me something I viewed as a bit more critical in my progress as a freelance photographer, experience. With experience I've learnt so much more than what probably a classroom would offer.

Anyhow, after all the hours labouring, in most cases hot sun, and hard work behind a monitor in post processing(yes photography as easy as it seems is bloody hard work), certain individuals see it fit to crop out my watermark and disregard everything I've done. Whether it be printed in The Guardian or just posted as a profile picture, it still affects the photographer when you remove his "touch".

Think of it as pulling off the three stripes on an adidas sneaker or plucking the tick off a nike bag. Other people can see it and like it as much as they want, but they wont know who made it or where to get one.

Now there are cases where I don't mind if my watermark is removed. Those cases involve YOU asking ME....DIRECTLY! For example, a couple days ago I was approached by a local music who asked me to cover his concert a couple months back. He wanted to use one of the photos I took in a newspaper/magazine article but the watermark was being a nuisance for the paper, so I thought about it for a moment and we compromised. I removed the watermark and asked him to make sure that I was given credit for the photo in the article.


PS. Spelling my name wrong in credits is annoying but it isnt nearly as bad as cropping me out and omitting the fact that I did the photography. So everyone, kindly do me a favour and not remove my watermark, and if you still see it impossible to do, link the photo back to my blog(here) or my facebook page(here).

Thanks for reading.



Joshua Brizan
JBphotography/SnapShutters

Tamron and Sigma.....The Dilemma

Ok so I've been shopping around Amazon for new lenses and smart me bought a $400 sigma(Which I love) but missed this one straight. It's only a little more than 100 dollars and has quite a bit of great reviews. Unfortunately for me, I spent the bulk of my vacation money on nothing and I'm nearing "brokedom". Hopefully my mum won the New York lottery.





The Sigma I got last week

Calling (My First Novel)

Chapter One

Confiding in a paper bag, my troubles appeared to be extinguished by what I would usually call liquid happiness. However, now, it wasn't happiness. It was a sedative. I'd been having such a wonderful day of events that I took the opportunity to add to the excitement by running nonchalantly across an empty freeway, waving, as cars slowly drove past me. The afternoon's humidity in addition to the occasional smirking passerby complemented my pleasant mood. Who am I kidding? Today could be described perfectly as fabulously tragic. While I sat there, pity was the last thing I wanted. I could care less about the people walking past me and their dirty thoughts being emitted by their fake smiles. There was nothing I wanted more than to just pass out and end up in a freezer. Maybe then I'd feel at home. Well, whatever home was. The bench gradually started to feel as uncomfortable as my own mind was, so I got up. Staggering and falling every couple seconds, I felt no need to hold my stance. My mind had already given up on pain, so the ground constantly scraping away the skin on my exposed body meant nothing to me. I didn't care anymore.  

As darkness slowly encroached on the evening sky, a solitary voice seemed to envelope the atmosphere.  I'm not sure how, but it managed to get through me ignoring everything else. It fascinated my ears and somehow stimulated my senses enough to move my body towards it, even in the state of drunkeness I had graced upon myself. It took a while, but literally before I knew it, I was there. I fell half unconscious before whatever the sound was coming from, humming a tune I did not know. 

Within seconds my humming had elapsed the remainder of my strength and I was out cold. When I awoke, there was nothing but the stench of possibly my own urine, and the sound of cats fighting in the distant darkness. The sound that had called out to me was completely gone. Which led me to wonder if there was any sound at all. I couldn't remember anything from what I had seen, or if I had seen anything in the first place. My body was still numb from the alcohol and from the cars that seemed to enjoy playing foosball with me. My head however, felt like it was about to implode as well as explode at the same time.The skin on my nose was grated off from what I could only remember as me making friends with the asphalt ground. My eyes felt heavier than ever, but they were of no use.

The only light that I could distinguish was that of the moon. I had no clue as to what time it was but it didn't matter. Every one of my attempts at getting up or even crawling led to me kissing the ground in the most unappealing way possible. I laid there, for countless hours hoping for a ray of light to give my back my sight, but nothing. The darkness that I had enjoyed before had come torment me. The outside world had become much like the inside of my eyelids as the moon eventually deserted me.

  My peeling skin had began to burn after a few hours. I felt heat but saw no sun. The night slowly gained sound and by then, I had built up enough momentum and energy to actually get myself off the ground. I could hear chuckles and statements of disgust speed past me in the darkness. My clothes were now stained with something more than just what my body had let out involuntarily, I just couldn't figure out what. I tried to call out to the rushing voices but I could barely even hear myself. It made no sense. I was obviously still unconscious. That would be the only way to explain the heat that was lashing against my skin in this darkness. Either that or my mind was lost, the voices were all in my head.

I attempted to navigate my way around the park in the darkness, but after a few seconds I heard a screeching noise and immediately found myself numb again. Something had hit me. Something that preferred me laying flat on the ground had forced me back to the same spot I was in before. I writhed around for a bit, but there was no pain. As my body settled, I heard numerous voices and footsteps quickly approaching.  There was still no light. I saw nothing but a slight illumination in the darkness. 

This body that seemed so heavy before had a sudden jolt of what could only be called adrenaline. At this moment the pain all came back. I could feel every single cut from head to toe as if it was now happening. My muted voice broke through weakness and screamed till my lungs were empty. I continued to writhe in pain with pieces of the damaged asphalt floor forging itself into my back and neck. I felt another jolt, causing my body to shoot up onto its feet. And almost involuntarily, I was running in a random direction, still stumbling every couple seconds I might add. I was at a complete loss as to what was happening to me.

After about ten seconds of my body forcing itself to run for some reason, I was dizzy. I had to do something but I couldn't even see. The world had shut me out, and I was afraid. Eventually, I couldn't run anymore. In complete exhaustion I leaned to the left hoping that I would atleast get something sturdy. Unfortunately, it was someone. Someone sturdy enough to shove me in the opposite direction. My fumbling legs hit something hard and I toppled over a concrete step. I was practically dunked into water. There I laid, head submerged about one foot under. My legs propped up in the air by the step and as much as I was afraid to drown, I was relieved. My sore, now numb again body was being comforted by a surface that wasn't as harsh as the asphalt. My eyes felt different as it soaked in the water. I saw light, making me even more relieved to be in this spot. However, as light entered my eyes, my consciousness simultaneously drifted away. 

[It needs some editing but I'll do that at a later date.]