Make A Statement: Design for the Cure

by: Cristopher Beltran  

The 4th Annual "Make a Statement: Design for the Cure" Fashion Fundraiser kicked off on Oct 21 2010.  The event was held at the River East Art Center in Chicago Illinois.  

The event showcased some of Chicago's top designers. This included the Tie Bar, Heidi Heiss, Michelle Tan and many more.

The event was a success despite the late start of 9pm.

For more pictures: Click Here

2nd Ever

Karolina
by Cristopher Beltran

Karolina is my second shoot ever.  I have at this point owned my digital camera for a good 4 months now (January 2010).  I have slacked a bit and not taken any pics in-between.  I needed once again Conrad's persistence to keep me doing this.  Thank you Con!  

Karolina was kind enough to model for us.  She like Amanda has never done this kind of a shoot before, but was well enough and worked perfectly with our cameras.  The shot took a little over 5 hours between 2 photographers and wardrobe changes.  It was a fun afternoon and it was a much needed experience for myself.

JBB 1980

"Wild Orchid Fashion Show" benefiting the Lupus Research Institute of Chicago

"Wild"

by: Cristopher Beltran

The "Wild Orchid Fashion Show" benefiting the "Lupus Research Institute of Chicago" was a very exciting event last Sunday, Sept. 26. 

The event was held at the Architectural Artifacts Museum in Chicago; The venue was quite impressive.  UR Supermodels hosted this event, and they did a magnificent job. 

I was invited by Conrad Castelo to help out with equipment and to get some experience with shooting runway.  This was definitely an experience.  The event planners, models, performers, and guests were extending good vibes throughout the night. 

As usual, the UR Models carried the night with the marvelous designs by many top designers, but one really stood out from the rest: http://www.vexclothing.com/

Below is a link to an article reviewed by Fashion Chicago Magazine, using Conrad Castelo's images.

http://fcmstyle.blogspot.com/2010/09/ur-supermodels-present-wild-orchids.html

The link below is a link to Conrad Castelo Photography "Wild Orchid" images: (Facebook)

 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=239043&id=97563549454&ref=mf



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My many 1st

Amanda

by: Cristopher Beltran

She was my Uncles wife's co-worker.  No modeling experience, and was kind enough to let me take a picture of her.  I was in my 2nd week with the camera, and for the life of me, do not know what I'm doing, nor even know where the manual switch is on my camera.  Good thing Conrad was there to explain to me why and what these different settings are for.

To this day, this picture, of all my pictures is the most precious picture I took.  There were many firsts here; My first fashion type shoot.  A model that I just met.  Her first fashion type shoot.  We were both overwhelmed on what to do.  I shot mostly on landscape... LOL.  what a newb I am.

Do you see how she is looking at you?  The smile?  How about her posture? I totally screwed up this picture, but Amanda pulled it off to make the shot overall better.  I know its cropped... and cropped wrong. hahahahaha... Seriously, I just learned recently that I should not even be cropping.  That I should be getting the shot properly so I would not need to crop.  Just a warning, most of my shots are cropped still, as I am still learning.  I stopped cropping into boxes at least. 


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Great is my Aunt

Auntie Flor
by: Cristopher Beltran

My very first photo of a person came in the form of my Aunt.  She was literally my first model.  She was happy enough to do it, and by the end of the day we ended up at walgreens with printed pictures in hand and a couple of picture frames. 
It was a fun experience for both of us.  What a wonderful day.

There are many things that shapes our lives. Never ever forget, your Great Aunt.

Larger Picture


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Without a Degree

Without a Degree
by: Cristopher Beltran


I bought my first Digital Camera about a year ago.  Photography back then was limited to taking pictures of relatives, an interesting tree nearby, or a fireworks event at my local neighborhood.  
Photography a year ago is different to what I want photography to be now. Now I want "more".

"More" is currently in a chaotic mixture of many different types of genre.  I am finding that I love all types of photography, but realized that I need to choose to concentrate on a particular type, and be good at it.  For now, I am tasting the different mixtures and flavors that I can get a hold of. 

This I blame entirely on Conrad Castelo.  A freelance photographer located in Hoffman Estates IL.  My Mentor.

A MUA once asked me, "So, your the pro photographer taking her (the model) picture?"

and I answered "Yes, I will be the one taking her picture"

LOLz!

JBB 1980