The Apple in the Crystal Jar I was in Shanghai this past December and I tried to get out every evening to see if I could find some cool places to photograph. It was mostly a bust though. One day I took a taxi to the abandoned apocalyptic mess that was once the World Expo and I ended up walking for a couple of hours in the cold, dark and rainy streets before I called it a day and went back to my hotel to lick my wounds. On my last night in Shanghai, I went back to the popular side of town where all the super trendy people go shopping and I saw this Apple store. As I was looking for a good angle I noticed the security guy at the entrance to the store mad dogging me. I gave him a goofy wave and smile and just kept taking pictures until he started to come over. I waited until he was half way between me and the entrance to his lair before I picked up my tripod and pretend to walk away. As soon as he tuned back, I set my tripod back down and waited for him to realized he had been bamboozled. He made it all the way back to his post before he noticed me! He had a look of shock as he saw me wave at him in naked defiance. I leisurely finished taking my pictures and then walked into the same store he was guarding. Hehe.

Christian OZ Photography

Limited Edition Prints (Each limited to 100 prints)

All photos are Creative Commons, Non-Commercial.

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Christian Ortiz > The Exile

She awoke cold and hungry as she looked out onto the alien landscape. The days after she had left her home planet all seemed to bleed into one another. How long had it been since she was forced to flee to this barren outpost on the edge of the known solar system? Her body still ached from the fight leading up to the exodus, but it was a welcome pain. It was the only real proof she had that she was still alive. Her mind was still fragile and teetering on the verge of depression as she remembered loosing her empire, her people and her beloved husband. She had to keep moving, keep fighting to survive. First things first ... where can I find something to eat?

Christian Ortiz > Inner Sanctum

I was recently contacted by the Stanford yearbook people because they wanted to include my photos in their 2012 yearbook. The sad ending is that it did not work out. I was willing to work with them on the pricing but I think they wanted the pictures for free. Do you guys get this a lot, where someone asks to use your photos for a publication or commercial use and wants them for free? I am all about sharing, which is why all my photos are Creative Commons, non-commercial which means you can download them and use them for personal, non-commercial purposes as long as you attribute the photo to me and link back to my website. Alas, all the nice folks at Stanford graduating this year will miss out on pictures such as this one from their beautiful campus.

Christian Ortiz > The Fabled Yellow Mountains

I recently visited China's Yellow Mountains (Huangshan) in the southern Anhui province. This place was tough to get to. I took about ten different modes of transportation and hiked my soul out to get up there for a short weekend visit. The jagged mountains rise above the clouds and are connected by a series of pathways that often times simply hang from the side of a sheer wall. When the weather is right, you can watch a sea of clouds pour into the canyons from every direction. It is an amazing natural wonder. Unfortunately, I was not there during the right season and I only got a chance to see one sunrise and one sunset which were both ... meh. Nevertheless, the place has amazing views just about anywhere you look. I took this photo at the Lion Peak lookout as the sun was rising in the opposite direction. If you look closely, you can see a small rock in the center of the frame that resembles a monkey looking over the cliff. They call that lookout point, "Stone Monkey Gazing Over a Sea of Clouds". Although, I can never be sure of the names for these places since every map I saw had different names for the same locations. Maybe I will call this place "Kick You In The Nuts Hard To Get To But Worth The Hike" lookout. Yeah, that seems appropriate.

Christian Ortiz > Returning Home

Another experiment in infrared photography.

Christian Ortiz > Infrared Grace

Not so long ago, I decided to send out my beloved Nikki (Nikon D90 given to me by my wife as an engagement gift) to get modified to only capture infrared light. This decision caused me much distress, but my curiosity won out in the end and I eagerly awaited her return. Would she come back an unrecognizable franken-camera? Would she resent me for adjusting her delicate sensor? When I finally got her back, she didn't look or feel any different but when I took the first picture I realized she was no longer the Nikki I had learned to shoot with. She was now a highly refined instrument of beauty.

It took me a while to figure out how to work with the raw image, but this is my first infrared photo taken in front of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. It took me much much longer to process partly because of the new software needed to correct the white balance, and partly because I decided to make my first infrared experiment a night HDR (I am a masochist.) Alas, now that I have infrared capabilities you will be seeing more of my crazy experiments in the near future.

Christian Ortiz > The Apple in the Crystal Jar

I was in Shanghai this past December and I tried to get out every evening to see if I could find some cool places to photograph. It was mostly a bust though. One day I took a taxi to the abandoned apocalyptic mess that was once the World Expo and I ended up walking for a couple of hours in the cold, dark and rainy streets before I called it a day and went back to my hotel to lick my wounds. On my last night in Shanghai, I went back to the popular side of town where all the super trendy people go shopping and I saw this Apple store.

As I was looking for a good angle I noticed the security guy at the entrance to the store mad dogging me. I gave him a goofy wave and smile and just kept taking pictures until he started to come over. I waited until he was half way between me and the entrance to his lair before I picked up my tripod and pretend to walk away. As soon as he tuned back, I set my tripod back down and waited for him to realized he had been bamboozled. He made it all the way back to his post before he noticed me! He had a look of shock as he saw me wave at him in naked defiance. I leisurely finished taking my pictures and then walked into the same store he was guarding. Hehe.

Christian Ortiz > San Fancisco Sunset

This past weekend I met up with my BFF and his family in Tilden Park to ride the miniature steam train. We used the kids as an excuse, but it was really us who wanted to ride the little choo choo that could. On the way down we stopped at an amazing vista point overlooking San Francisco and I made everyone wait an hour for sunset. The kids were running around, kicking up dirt while we were waiting for the right light to decent upon the city. All in all a pretty good day.

Christian Ortiz > Celestial Wildfire

Last night's sunset was just awesome. I rushed out of my house and ran down the street waving my camera in the air like a mad man looking for the right angle to catch the fleeting light. In my haste I forgot to bring my tripod and change out my portrait lens but I managed to get a nice picture anyway. The colors in the sky were changing so fast; within a few seconds this same cloud system was dressed down to simple white and blue. I don't know what is going on lately, but the sunsets have been getting more and more beautiful. Yay, 2012!

Christian Ortiz > Pegasus Gazing

(This is the color version of the previous post)

Christian Ortiz > War Horse

Ok, one more horsie picture then I am done ... I took these at the new Palladio shopping center in Folsom, CA.

Christian Ortiz > Pegasus Looking Up Into the Heavens

Christian Ortiz > Happy Holidays!

What better way to celebrate than a huge Christmas tree? Even our Chinese brethren are into it ... I found this tree in the lobby of the Peace Hotel in Shanghai. I wish everyone safe travels and good company during these holidays.

Christian Ortiz > The Hidden Mountain Village

This is another photograph from my very fruitful trip to the Longsheng rice terraces in China. I had many adventures here including: a stubborn donkey, a mad tofu scientist, the mischievous and lovable little kid that seemed to track me everywhere I went, a chance meeting with a wise old man and a clandestine bootleg rice-wine party with some of the local farmers. Ahh, the memories and adventures that came out of this simple little fog-covered town could fill up a room with warmth and happiness.

I sometimes think about going back, but I know that such experiences are not likely to present themselves again so I simply integrate them into the fabric of my being, and look forward with anticipation for the next fun adventure.

Christian Ortiz > Never Never Carousel

This weekend I took my family to the Santa Clara Global Winter Wonderland to see the lantern festival featuring various iconic landmarks from around the world. It was one of those cold winter days that makes you feel all warm and cozy inside and we were having a lot of fun seeing all the gigantic lanterns. My toddler daughter was tucked away in her warm stroller but she would direct us where to go with a tiny gloved hand. She eventually broke free of the stroller and ran towards this carousel and eagerly pointed at the horses. "Yes, we can go on, but we have to wait our turn in line." We waited in line for 20 minutes, but when we got to the front, the carousel operator would not let us in because we were short by one ticket. This was definitely a fail on my part for not getting additional tickets just in case, so I tried to reason with the nice man. I asked him if he would be willing to either take cash or let us in and we could come back and give him the additional ticket after the ride. He curtly shooed us away and closed the gate. It was infuriating and sad all at once. It was already too late and cold to wait another 20 minutes so we ended up leaving. My only consolation is that my daughter is still too young to really understand what happened, and she did not seem disappointed, but I promised myself that I would never again let her down for lack of planning.

The Apple in the Crystal Jar

I was in Shanghai this past December and I tried to get out every evening to see if I could find some cool places to photograph. It was mostly a bust though. One day I took a taxi to the abandoned apocalyptic mess that was once the World Expo and I ended up walking for a couple of hours in the cold, dark and rainy streets before I called it a day and went back to my hotel to lick my wounds. On my last night in Shanghai, I went back to the popular side of town where all the super trendy people go shopping and I saw this Apple store.

As I was looking for a good angle I noticed the security guy at the entrance to the store mad dogging me. I gave him a goofy wave and smile and just kept taking pictures until he started to come over. I waited until he was half way between me and the entrance to his lair before I picked up my tripod and pretend to walk away. As soon as he tuned back, I set my tripod back down and waited for him to realized he had been bamboozled. He made it all the way back to his post before he noticed me! He had a look of shock as he saw me wave at him in naked defiance. I leisurely finished taking my pictures and then walked into the same store he was guarding. Hehe.