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My fav assignment so far, photographed over 2 days! Shout out to my stellar model, C. 🖤 Between the styling, set & lighting, I'm so happy with how these came out. Especially given that some of these were photographed during mid-day, which can be so challenging for the natural light, I gained some really valuable practice in how to use mixed lighting & flash for fill light, between a speed light & strobe. Photos were made with my Nikon ZF, a Fractal prism filter, a Lightpix Labs Flashq Q20ii (speed light) & a portable Profoto strobe. I will indicate which photos used speed light & which used strobe. Styling by me. 🌼 View from a computer for the full experience! Click any image below to enlarge.  
Played around with a Fractal prism filter for these 2 photos. :)
 All photos up until here were photographed with only the speed light.
These 2 photos used both a portable strobe, synced with my speed light via "optical slave" (hate that word, but there hasn't been another industry term made to replace it yet 😕). Wanted to continue using the speed light to create more fill, but with the direct sunlight shining right on it, it had a mind of its own & the sensor that is supposed to detect the flash coming from the strobe just kept going off randomly, or wouldn't go off when I needed it to! I managed to get these 2 shots, but decided to put the speed light away after this. I'll have to research & see about a radio trigger for it next time, but I do know that the trigger that comes with the speed light can sync with multiple units at once via bluetooth. I might have to invest in a second speed light! All compositions below are photographed using only the portable strobe.
Rare photo of myself on the left, haha! The assignment required us to also make self-portraits, but I am just not a selfie kind of gal. However, I was comfortable at least getting in front of the camera for one shot if I was with my friend, & we actually really had fun with it! I also played around with a few other compositions, such as shooting through objects, as well as playing with the "freeze" mode on the strobe again to create the blurry effect of the flower petals dropping in the frame. I also got to practice my compositing skills with that one. 🤠 
This photos came out even better than I envisioned, with some of my classmates describing them as a "vibrant fairytale" & giving "Studio Ghibli vibes" — both compliments to the highest degree. 🥹 If it weren't for time constraints & our energy running low, there's a lot more I would have tried or changed. But for something photographed over 2 days & the amount of compositions I was able to create, I'm still soooooo happy with the results. Somehow I managed to make my friend look like such a movie star! 🤩 To view the rest of the work I've made during my time at GCC, please visit the tag: If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
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Back at the beginning of November, I got to check out one of Artronika's shows again. As some of you know, I've attended a couple of their events already & have had the opportunity to do some photography for them last year. This time, I got to check them out at the DS Night Market! I went to the night market once before, back when they were still located at Lax-C. Now they've relocated to the Chinatown Plaza & it seems like a great location for them. More foot traffic, more visibility, space, & also helps bring a little more life back to Chinatown. LA's Chinatown has seemed dead these days, among other underlying issues of gentrification that exist in Chinatown as well. With the cost of housing skyrocketing across LA County, we have vacant "luxury" apartments in Chinatown adjacent to small 1-bedroom apartments cramped with low-income Chinese seniors struggling to get by & survive — especially in Chinatown, where there are no grocery stores within walking distance. I often find myself riding the bus among Chinatown seniors on their way to Super King by our house, which is already nearly 4 miles away from Chinatown. That aside, it's nice to see community coming together in Chinatown again, united by art, music & the mouth-watering aromas of Thai street food — arguably some of the best I've had in ages, because the Thai food in Northeast LA sucks. 💀 Anyways, I'm not a food critic. I'm here to share some photography! I published a few videos on my YouTube channel as well. Check out my Artronika playlist. Unless otherwise stated, photos were created with my Nikon ZF, a 24-70mm lens & Lightpix Labs Flashq Q20ii. If interested in event photography, please send me an email! Click any image below to enlarge. I recommend viewing from a computer for the full experience.
 A few misc photos to start, haha. The top 4 were made using a Pocket Dispo lens. Below, we have Artronika’s Executive Director, Ireesh Lal, playing jazz trumpet over his DJ mixes of world music, with a focus on South Asian sounds. Neel Agrawal joined on tabla and Indian percussion, while artist Norton Wisdom painted live on a fiberglass canvas. Flyght Club also joined the lineup, performing a few of his original tracks.
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If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. Happy AAPI Heritage Month! I am finally back in the states after spending a total of 4.5 months traveling. I think it's safe to say I will be here again for a while, as I finish some outstanding projects & look for new work. Throwing it back to last year, I had a wonderful opportunity to work with Artronika & the South Asian creative community doing photography for their Chakras events at the Siesta Day Club near Chinatown, Los Angeles. The events included a 7-course food experience by Bombay Beach restaurant — each course corresponding with one of the 7 chakras & their colors — as well as cultural music, dance & visual art by a number of artists from various parts of the South Asian diaspora & adjacent. It was a pleasure to work with the South Asian community, whom I feel is often forgotten from the AAPI experience. Definitely make sure to follow Artronika on Instagram & catch their next event around LA County! Artronika is a non-profit arts organization that produces immersive arts programming showcasing South Asian talent collaborating with visual artists in non-traditional performance spaces. Executive Director, Ireesh Lal, is a trumpet player and Recording Artist that has been producing events throughout Southern California for several decades. Last year I'd just gotten my Nikon ZF, & I also took out some new fractal filters for a spin for the first time. Here's a selection of photos below made using a 24-70mm lens. Click any image to enlarge. View from a computer for the full experience. May 2025This was my first Chakras event. I didn't know what to expect, other than what I'd seen in YouTube videos from prior research. I remember it being very hot that day & I was boiling alongside the artists (haha), whom were all very welcoming & seemed to be having a great time regardless. The food & music were phenomenal. It was also my first time seeing a contortionist in-person. Paired with the food & music, my mind was a bit blown. 😅 Ireesh Lal DJ'd a mix of electronic and world music while playing jazz trumpet and synths. Neel Agrawal joined on tabla and Indian percussion. Norton Wisdom painted live on a fiberglass canvas. Choreography and dance by Lena Fumi. Body painting by Sig Aberin and Rio Sirah. Amita Batra hosted the afternoon and additional vocal performances by Arzeen Kamal & Ashwin Sriram. Several additional guest musicians were also featured throughout the event.                                                 August 2025This day was a lot cooler (in temps)! No fractal filter this time, but I came strapped with a flash unit after seeing how varied the lighting was at the last event. Plus, with the event starting later in the day this time around (after how hot the last one was!) & the sun going down, it really came in handy with the later performances. Saw some familiar faces from the last event as well as met some new artists. Also got to hang with some friends who came out, too! No food pics this time, but just understand that the food was of course remarkable once again. Ireesh Lal DJ'd a mix of electronic and world music while playing jazz trumpet and synths. Neel Agrawal joined on tabla and Indian percussion. Norton Wisdom painted live on a fiberglass canvas. Choreography and dance by Lena Fumi. Body painting by Rio Sirah. Comedian Dhruv Singh hosted the afternoon. Local underground South Asian songwriters performed a mix of original and covers throughout the event, including Vaishali Sanas, Flyght Club & Arzeen Kamal.                                                             Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts. If you are interested in hiring me for event photography, shoot me an email.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. |
NICA AQUINOIn this space I'll share digital previews of my film photography, updates on new artworks in progress, upcoming programs, inspiration & my other misc interests. Archives
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