Jorge Quinteros
Blogger, web enthusiast & avid photographer based in Brooklyn.

1st March 2010

A Worthy & Perfect Companion

Based on the amount of photographs in my Lightroom library, I’ve contructed this lame excuse to justify the shortage of shots I’ve taken in the year so far.

Photographic opportunities present themselves in countless ocassions and my lack of enthusiasm for taking advantage of them is due because I’m not always being up for carrying around the D90 all the time.

Granted the 50mm f/1.8 is my primary lens so I don’t have too much weight to complain about but there are instances where a pocket-sized camera is all I want to resort to.

Nevertheless, I still want to make sure that whatever compact camera I alternative with, that it still yields the same RAW capable and professional-quality prints that I would expect from the D90. In essence, I’m looking to free myself from DSLR a little.

Traveling and photography has always gone hand and hand for me and whenever I see tourist photographing monumental landmarks with a point & shoot rather than something as robust as a DSLR, I’ve never been one to judge because ultimately it’s what you do within the limits of that camera that makes the difference between a good photograph and a spectacular one.

Not having my D90 with me won’t make me less of a photographer. In fact it’ll grant the opportunity to demonstrate how much more can be accomplished because of it’s versatility.

There’s more to photography than just pointing and shooting. You have to decide on your subject, on framing your shot and in the process make decision on how you want to tell your story and if you can do that with an expensive camera, there’s no reason the same principles can’t be applied with one that doesn’t draw as much attention and make you feel more important.

In the Market For

On Sunday I spent a solid 3hrs reading countless reviews on 3 specific P&S cameras that have caught my attention: The Nikon Coolpix P6000, the Canon Powershot s90 & the rugged Canon Powershot G10. All with RAW support and megapixels higher or equal to 10 and the one that has fascinated me the most has been the G10.

I haven’t purchased it yet but I will be in the next couple of days and what honestly sold me on it was photojournalist Gary Knight’s commentary on how it’s been the perfect street camera for him and that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

I have big hands so I don’t want a camera as small as the s90 because it just feels uncomfortable and the G10 seems like the perfect middle ground and I’m enamored with how many accessories are available to extend its capabilities.

I love my D90 and I’m merely looking or a worthy and perfect companion for it.

23rd February 2010

9 Things I’ve Learned from Watching Kitchen Nightmares

Gordon Ramsay is a well-known chef, television personality and restaurateur with a show that I’ve become very fond of watching. It’s called Kitchen Nightmares where he spends a week with a failing restaurant in an attempt to revive the business.

If you’re not familiar with his advising tactics, you’ll be in for one heck of a surprise in watching an episode but it’s that same refreshing honesty that adds credibility that I as a viewer appreciate. In the process of it all, I’ve learned a few things and that seem to be a resonating theme throughout each episode.

In no particular order -

1. Keep shit simple. Don’t overcomplicate a dish, especially if the purpose is to compensate for how crappy the food may taste.
2. Don’t clasify yourself as a chef if your main tool in the kitchen is a microwave.
3. Choose fresh over frozen ingredients all the time. Customers will know the difference and will talk about it.
4. If saying that you own a business is more important than actuallly running a sucessful one, do yourself a favor and close down the shit because having a title means nothing if you don’t know what you’re doing.
5. There’s a difference between uniqueness and confusion when it comes to a menu.
6. Bad food is not the only thing that can bring down your restaurant. So can the driftwood that doesn’t believe in your vision and that you probably still refuse to get rid of.
7. If you’re running low on food products, don’t always assume it’s being sold because it just may be that an employee is stealing them.
8. If something you created is not working, don’t be against in admitting that it needs fixing. Sometimes swapping some ingredients or replacing the whole dish can be the best option.
9. Gordon Ramsey is one mean SOB but I respect him because of his achievements and because his f-bombs and healthy doses of criticism works.