Wise man knows he knows nothing

I've been interested in photography for the better part of 12 years now and extremely serious about it for about eight. I've taken everything from photography classes at the university to seminars at photo stores. I've watched countless hours of training videos and listened to photography podcasts on my daily commute for the last several years. I own MANY books on the subject, not to mention magazines but I will never kid myself into thinking that I know everything there is to know about this art that I love.

Which brings me to my friend and colleague, Michelle Perry. Let me start out by saying that I think Michelle is an amazing photographer whose work and style I admire. I had the good fortune of meeting her at one of the weddings I was shooting last year and we've remained in regular contact, both for support and advice. Funny enough, I was actually warned by the bride that she might be trouble and how right she was! 

I was able to sit down with Michelle this past weekend to talk shop for a while. We swapped stories and techniques along with business practices. I cherish the opportunity to network with a peer whom I respect. Long story short, we were going through some of the images from one of my recent shoots and she saw something that I hadn't. She saw an image within an image. After recomposing and editing, we took an image that was good and made it great. The new image, I feel is striking and tender. The emotion was already there, I just needed a different perspective. You can see below the original image straight out of the camera and the recomposed image.

Michelle definitely has a wonderful vision for beautiful images. You need look no further than her portfolio to see some wonderful examples.  I can see that I've got a lot to learn. As a matter of fact, I'll probably never stop learning as I try to continue to improve my skills and provide higher quality images.

Tony Llerena - Student of Photography Forever

Patience: Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything

Miyagi: Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything.
Daniel: Ever catch one?
Miyagi: Not yet.

So I haven't blogged in a while since I've been back because I've been trying to catch up with life and family. There are a few travel photography tips that I've been meaning to share. I'll be posting about a couple of tips and techniques that I used on my trip to Japan and how they helped me to create the best possible images given the opportunities that were afforded to me.

The first tip is have patience. Benjamin Franklin once said that "He that can have patience can have what he will." There are photographers that have waited 12 years to get the perfect shot. Scott Bourne had a specific image in mind when he created "Cranes in the Fire Mist." I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone wait that long to take a picture but I will suggest that you wait a couple of minutes for the other tourists and sightseers to leave the scene so you can get a pure shot of the monument or site you are visiting. The shot above was taken along the Philosopher's Walk in Kyoto. There were many other people around and I do have some shots with folks looking at the shrine. What I noticed is that I was standing in between two groups of tourists and if I waited for the right time, the first group would move on before the next group could make it into the shot. I would only get about 45 seconds of this unobstructed view so I was patient and waited for the opportunity.


Patience applies to all forms of photography. Whether it's shooting wildlife, sunsets, children or weddings, patience can be the difference between a good shot and a great shot.

~Tony Llerena Photography~

A time to reflect

I've been back home for a few days and I've now had the opportunity to decompress and get over my jet lag. I think now is a good opportunity for me to look back on my adventure while everything is still fresh in my mind and reflect what it meant for me to travel to a country so far and so foreign that it is literally on the other side of the world from everything I've ever known. Here's my list, take it for what it's worth:

• Laughter is universal.

• So is smiling.

• Saying "Hello" in english will make a group of school kids' day... in Japan.

• Nonverbal communication can be just as good in a pinch. I played many a game of charades for directions or information. 

• Don't buy new shoes before a trip. I paid for it with pain the rest of the time I was there.

• Pack less than what you think you need. I used about half the clothes I took. In fear of not having enough, I had too much. This goes for photography equipment as well.

• The Japanese people really are that nice and helpful. 

• An iPad is not as good as a laptop. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPad and it's great at what it does (web, email, games, video) but my experiment to use it as a laptop replacement failed miserably. It took me three times longer to edit images and post to my blog and did not have the capability to recover my corrupted card.

• Business is business wherever you go. The rules may be slightly different each place you go but for the most part it boils down to trust and making the customer feel appreciated and happy. Under-promise and Over-deliver.

• Pride: In your country, in your family, in your job, in your team... in everything. I would walk into Family Mart (convenience store) and be greeted to sounds of cheer and appreciation that I chose their store to shop in. ♫ Sumimasen ♫. There were many escalators that were off, the subway was hot, the lights on the Rainbow Bridge weren't lit and many other examples of energy conservation, all out of respect to the earthquake and tsunami crisis.

• No trash cans AND no litter? How can this be? When you go to to Japan, you'd be hard pressed to find trash cans anywhere. At the same time, you'd be hard pressed to find litter either. Pride in your country. There were several occasions where I saw folks picking up trash that was not their own.

• Fight for what you believe in. You may never get another opportunity.

• Did I say smile? : ) Works every time.

Thanks for joining me on my journey!

Tony Llerena

PS - If you've enjoyed reading my blog, please let me know what your favorite part has been either here or on facebook. I still have a lot of images that I'm editing and I'm trying to figure out the best way to put them out for everyone to enjoy.