Impression, Bamboo Forest - Octava This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian OZ Photography

Limited Edition Prints (Each limited to 100 prints)

All photos are Creative Commons, Non-Commercial.

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Christian Ortiz > Dante's Gates of Hell

Rodin, Rodin, you were a very talented and creepy man. I wonder if we would have been friends had we lived in the same time? But, I heard you were a bit harsh with Camille Claudel because you were jealous of her talents ... that was not cool. Either way, you made some great pieces of art, and my particular favorite is La Porte de l'Enfer also know as The Gates of Hell. I found this particular depiction of Dante's "Inferno" at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center.

When you see it from a distance it looks intriguing, and as you get closer and you start to make out more of the details and you get a deep gripping sense that something profound is being conveyed and before you know it you are caught in the sheer gravity of the scene. At first you are horrified at the wretched bronze portrayals of the human state, but there is something appealing that keeps you staring. It takes a few moments of quiet contemplation, but there is a bit of an inflection point when it ceases to frighten you and then becomes a thing of beauty. It is hard to explain unless you have stood in front of it, but that is why I chose to process the picture in a way that would make it look like some sort of discarded relic that you would find in a forgotten corner of heaven.

Caution: Do not listen to "Summer Overture" by Clint Mansell & Kronos Quartet while looking at this photo ... way too eerie.

Christian Ortiz > The Underground Lake

There is a series of cave systems that run under the huge mountains of Guilin in southern China. Reed Flute Cave is one of the more famous ones so I made a slight detour to go check it out. Like most places in China, there were a good number of tourists around so I quietly waited for them to pass so that I could have the place to myself and take pictures. The problem was that they would turn off the lights as soon as the tourists passed by so I was often left in the middle of a huge underground chamber with nothing but my cat eyes to guide me to safety. It was a little bit eerie, but all together awesome! I would point my camera at the ceiling and leave the shutter open for minutes at a time to collect all the faint light reflecting off some distant stalactite.

I finally made my way to the largest chamber where a small lake made a perfect reflection of the alien-looking rock formation on the other end. As I was waiting for my camera to gather all the light, my mind started to wonder what was lying deep in this ancient underground lake. As I kept staring at the dark water, listening to the single drops of water sliding off the stalactites and delicately swan-diving into the lake, I started to feel a hypnotic pull to walk into the lake. Lucky for me I was traveling with my guide, Bart, who tripped over something, made a loud noise and brought me back to the present moment … and that is why you hire a guide, ladies and gentlemen. They can keep you from taking a dip in scary underground lakes.

Christian Ortiz > Summer Break

I took this photograph at the Stanford photo walk led by Trey Ratcliff. There were over 200 people there so I started to wonder around and eventually lost the group but at least I got a good shot out of it. I was setting up for the shot when a group of kids were running in my direction so I waited until they were going under the arches and took my three shots. They were yelling "sorry for ruining your shot", but they actually made it so much more interesting.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Novena

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Octava

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Séptima

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Sexta

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Quinta

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden's bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

I will put up one piece every Monday, Thursday and Saturday for the next three weeks.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Cuarta

About This Collection

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Tercera

About This Collection

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

I will put up one piece every Monday, Thursday and Saturday for the next three weeks.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Segunda

About This Collection

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden's bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Impression, Bamboo Forest - Primera

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden's bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.

Christian Ortiz > Life in Mono

I recently found out that my camera has a monochrome setting and I have been going mono-happy. I took my new found affinity for a whirl at the Saratoga Hakone Gardens with the intent to see if photos look as compelling in black and white as they do in color. Yup, they do. =)

Christian Ortiz > Gnome's Got Your Back

Ok, I will be honest with you. I had a complete and utter lack of inspiration today so here is a random picture of a gnome fixing a clock. The unsettling thing is this was taken at a kid's winter play land ... "Christmas at the Park" in downtown San Jose. Sleep tight.

Christian Ortiz > Pod

If you were the San Francisco Academy of Science, what would you like to have on your roof? A space-age, rolling green pasture dotted with portholes, perhaps? It certainly targets your key demographics: cows, pirates and space aliens ... and space cows, or pirates in space. The thing is, I didn't see any of those patrons when I was there. Maybe went on the wrong day.

Impression, Bamboo Forest - Octava

This collection of photographs was the result of a happy mistake while walking through the Hakone Garden’s bamboo forest in Saratoga. I was messing around with my camera on manual mode, trying different angles and motions when I noticed the resulting images resembled impressionist paintings. I liked how the bamboo forest was implied though color, light and movement, so I sat there for a while and tried different things until I got the look I wanted. All of these photographs are single shots with very minor adjustments in Photoshop.