Instax 365 Challenge Week 8

Not too much was happening this week. It mostly consisted of editing and following up with leads from the past week’s wedding show. This week was also featured another panic moment when I woke up one morning and realized I forgot to post the previous day’s picture. I usually take the picture whenever inspiration strikes, and then in the evening when I’m home and have the ability to write out the date and day on the photo, I do that and then upload it. Well, for Day 53, I had to post it on Day 54 because, as you’ll see, I was a bit distracted.

Day 50 (2/19/19)

I’m really loving just how well the Instax Neo 90 Classic captures shadows, and especially nature shots. As I’ve said in the past, I do think that the macro and focus leave a little to be desired, but overall I think the camera does perform solidly for what it is. The color on this plant is unique and reminds me of the photo from Day 6 despite it being a different plant altogether.

Day 51 (2/20/19)

This little decoration lives in my mother-in-law’s house. I was having a pretty good day overall, and his jolly, little face made me smile. He looks proud of his job, and now that I’ve seen that proud smile, I can’t interpret it as any other kind. I think I can see why my mother-in-law keeps him around.

Day 52 (2/21/19)

I was waiting for Amanda to get in the car when I looked at the steering wheel and thought this might make a good photo. Like I said above, the Instax Neo 90 Classic can leave some things to be desired, and in this case it is the overly powerful flash. There is a button to lighten/darken an image, but it is really hard to tell how a photo will turn out until you snap the picture. Once you’ve done that you can then adjust accordingly, but that isn’t in line with my 365 Challenge here. I’m going to have to dedicate a week to trying out each setting and seeing how that goes.

Day 53 (2/22/19)

Ahhhh, the picture that was forgotten. I took this picture and then I decided to jump right back into my childhood and play these games. I stayed up way too late and totally forgot about posting the picture. I woke up on the 23rd and instantly realized my mistake. Curse you nostalgia!

Day 54 (2/23/19)

We received our new business cards this day and they had to be delivered into the package box instead of the regular mailbox. I wanted to see how the image would look if I allowed the camera to flash with all the (what I think is probably) aluminum walls. I was surprised the light didn’t bounce as badly as I expected, and ultimately I like the shot. As I joked in my captions and hashtags for the picture, it looks like the inside of a safe to me.

Day 55 (2/24/19)

Amanda and I spent the majority of our day in Tampa. We turned it into kind of a date day as we were really there for business adjacent things, but then extended it out to include and nice lunch and chat over boba tea. Tampa has one of my top 2 favorite tea shops, and I look for any and every excuse to go visit and take Amanda. Anyways, back to the picture of the Ramada Inn. Our business adjacent business brought us here for a presentation to see if we could better our services. I am a little surprised at how dark the image came out though because this picture was taken at noon on a very bright day.

Day 56 (2/25/19)

Remember earlier when I said the Instax Neo 90 Classic does a great job at catching nature well? Well, here is another example. The colors have a great contrast to them and shadows are nice and deep. Originally, I wanted to take a picture of just the broken branch and preferably looking down straight on it, but… I was too short. I changed up my angle and despite it not being what I originally envisioned, I’m happy that we get to see a little bit of the sky popping through.

Favorite photo of the week:

Day 54. There is something about how simple this photo is that I really like. It isn’t busy, it isn’t overly fancy. It just look really simple and clean. And, in honor of the simplicity of that photo, I’m gonna leave this area really simple too by leaving my justification at that.

Make sure to check in on my Instagram (@miguel.mejias.florabloom)  to see more of the Instax 365 Challenge as I upload a each day’s photo. If you want to see more of our images, check out Amanda’s Instagram (@florabloomphotography), and if you’d like to reach out to us, be sure to do so here!

Instax 365 Challenge Week 7

Hey Everyone,
Sorry I got a little backed up with posting the last couple of Instax365 Challenge blogs. This year has really started to get busy. We are doing our best to make sure they are all published in order while getting everything else done for our brides. That being said, let’s jump right into the pictures of the week, shall we?

Day 43 (2/12/19)

It’s early February in Florida, and it feels just like this photo looks! Although we did hit a cold front for a little bit, it is hot. Feel just like sunny, tropical Florida. I was out running an errand when I stopped and had to take this photo.

Day 44 (2/13/19)

If you’re an Aldi shopper, you know this sign. I thought the pop of orange was great against the night sky. Unfortunately, the Instax Neo 90 Classic does fall short in low light conditions. I’m definitely spoiled from our Sony A7III. Those things have INCREDIBLE low light capability, and I’m definitely used to not having to worry.

Day 45 (2/14/19)

I bet you were expecting a Valentine’s Day picture. Not quite, but it does have some beautiful colors. I had to rush to get this photo. Amanda and I were leaving a store, and the sun was setting with all those beautiful colors. I had the camera already on me, but I wanted to find a more open spot that wasn’t so blocked by street lights or cars. By the time a ran down the sidewalk a few yards, the colors had changed even more. I love the deep blues and blacks mixing with the peachy colors of the sunset. In a way, it has a Valentine’s Day feel.

Day 46 (2/15/19)

I joked on my Instagram that I was gonna start a food blog with how poor this photo came out. I always overestimate the ability of the macro setting on the Instax. It does work great, but, again, I’m used to our Sony A7III with a macro lens. It’s a bit hard to tell what kind of burger that is from the picture though. Amanda made homemade black bean and quinoa burgers topped with avocado. It is one of my favorite meals.

Day 47 (2/16/19)

We took the boys to the county fair today. Lucas insisted he take his hat, but once we got to the rides, he quickly threw off his hat and ran to the closest one. I then had the esteemed honor of wearing his hat the rest of the day so we wouldn’t lose it. Lucas wanted to ride the train, and while I rode it with him, Amanda snapped this picture. I love moments like these.

Day 48 (2/17/19)

This was taken at the Winter Park Wedding Stroll. Our booth was on an endcap, so we had to change around our layout slightly. Because we had two open sides, I tried to take a ¾ shot of of our booth, but the booth across the way wasn’t done setting up.

Day 49 (2/18/19)

Last week there was a picture of Dash, so I figured it would only be right to showcase Daphne. She is generally pretty shy, so when I had this opportunity to snap her picture I had to take it.

Favorite photo of the week:

This one is tough because I love Day 47. I can never get enough of that little boy, and a picture where he is smiling so big and holding onto me is a HUGE + for it. I do think though that it is slightly beaten out by Day 45. I absolutely LOVE the colors that were captured. If I wouldn’t have been in such a harsh shadow on Day 45, it may have been the winner though.

Instax 365 Challenge Week 6

This week was all over the place! There were a couple last minute late night shots (we have a busy week ahead of us with a wedding show; give me a break!), an after consultation shot, a wedding shot, and more. Let’s jump into the photos below.

Day 36 (2/5/19)

So I just realized while writing this that I messed up on the date! Like I said in last week’s post, ever since hitting February, I can’t ever remember what day number we are on. I always have to refer to the previous day’s photo. I was so concerned with Day 36 that I then also wrote the date down to be the 6th! This picture was taken on the 5th after our monthly CFWA (Central Florida Wedding Association) meeting. We picked up the new issue of the Wedding Venue Map there, and I wanted to show it off. Amanda and I love looking through this thing every so often so we can check off what new venues we’ve photographed at, and what new venues have popped up for us to check out. They have over 350 venues highlighted on the map, so there are still a ton for us to see and shoot at!

Day 37 (2/6/19)

This photo is dated correctly, and thank goodness I only really look at the “Day” number and not the date, or I could have really thrown my entire dating system off. Amanda and I use Sony cameras, and recently Sony had a local event for photographers. We were able to make it out and try out some of their new lenses and cameras. It was a really fun event, and we got some swag like the alpha sticker. All of Sony’s cameras start with alpha + camera style (ex. a7iii). Just like how Canon always ends with D on their DLSR models (ex. 5D mk IV) and Nikon starts with a D (ex. D750). As a proud Sony shooter, I wanted to showcase my new sticker on my camera case.

Day 38 (2/7/19)

Amanda and I had a consultation on this day. We then had to pick up the boys from the babysitters house and do dinner. With all that in mind, it would have been really late, and as we hadn’t had dinner yet, we decided pick up some dinner so we wouldn’t have to cook and be eating even later. We planned on Chipotle, and I knew then that my photo was going to be taken there. Chipotle is known for their industrial aesthetic, but what many don’t know is why they went with that design style. The short answer: it saved money. Chipotle was supposed to be a stepping stone for the founder to open up a fine dining restaurant, but as it was his first venture into owning his own business, he needed to start cheap. Well I think the industrial style worked well for them, and people (including myself) seem to be a fan of it. While I was standing in line waiting to order my food, I was looking around at what I would snap a picture of. I saw the light and figured it would make for a great instant film photo. The light would taper off towards the further from the camera it was and the holes would cast out a neat pattern.

Day 39 (2/8/19)

I had to run out ot Aquatica to help a friend. Her car wouldn’t start, and she was stranded in the Aquatica parking lot. I got there, and after around and hour, we got her car back up and running. Tested it out a few times to ensure the issue the car was having wouldn’t happen again so she wouldn’t be left stranded again. By the time I had finished, the sun was starting to set and the Aquatica skyline was being backlit. I was grateful I packed my camera with me and took this shot.

Day 40 (2/9/19)

Amanda and I were guests at a friend’s wedding, and this was their table setting. Truth be told, there were so many beautiful things to make be the Instax picture of the day, but we decided to gift our friends a wedding video, so I was working most of the day. After seeing how this picture developed, I wish I would have put the camera into “Party” mode or “Dark” mode. Those are two settings that I want to try out more, but I’ve been hesitant to put out a bad photo.

Day 41 (2/10/19)

This was taken at a local brewery called Broken Cauldron. They have a unique story, but long story short they are two labels, Broken Strings and Black Cauldron, that have come together to make one brewery. I love that what some might see as two competitors have come together to a make community instead. That is actually one of the things I love the most about being a photographer in Central Florida. I’m actually friends with other photographers, and none of us see each other as competition. Rather we see each other as partners and help and encourage each other as we go. I like the symbolism this banner depicts with each label beginning on either end of the banner and then meeting in the middle to form the brew house.

Day 42 (2/11/19)

Meet Dash. He is a miniature dachshund and has been with us for about 8 years, but we haven’t given him as much camera time as he deserves lately with us chasing the boys everywhere. This is his one of his favorite spots. The only thing missing from this picture is a warm blanket for him to be snuggled under (no matter the temperature). He was too cute here not to take a photo of.

Favorite photo of the week:

Day 39! I may have to do more landscape photography. I love landscapes and the contrast between the sky and the and the foreground. I really like the deep shadows PLUS that picture just screams Central Florida to me.

Instax 365 Challenge Week 5

Hi Everone,

This is the week I’ve been dreading for a while now. I knew I had it easy in January, but this week was the turning point, and I HATE it. In January, labeling the day was easy. It was the same number as the date. January 13th was Day 13. EASY. I like easy. This week, we jump into February, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, so EVERY SINGLE DAY, that I am labeling a photo with the “Day …” I have to jump into Instagram or find the previous day’s picture to figure out what number I’m on. You’d think it wouldn’t be so hard, but I know I will mess up and skip a day or have a day repeated on accident. Enough of my lamenting though. Below are this weeks photos.

Day 29 (1/29/19)

This was another inevitable thing I was dreading. No, not the release of Kingdom Hearts III (!!!), but forgetting to post that day. Those of you who are following this adventure through Instagram or Facebook probably noticed I didn’t post on the 29th. Well, what had happened was…, I got Kingdom Hearts III, opened it up, took my picture, and sat down to play. I TOTALLY FORGOT TO POST THE PICTURE! It takes about a minute for the film to develop and about 10 minutes for it to be fully developed. I took the picture and put it down to develop while I booted up the game. Then I totally forgot about it. I took and uploaded the digital picture the next day. I guess I had waited 13 years for this game to release that my brain said NO MORE WAITING! I got the deluxe edition which came with a bunch of extras to really fill out my picture and I have zero regrets.

Day 30 (1/30/19)

Day 28’s mystery photo was such a big hit I decided to try and do it again. This time I tried for a slightly different effect didn’t switch the camera into macro mode and was hoping to get a cool bokeh effect. Instead of the background being out of focus and my foreground in focus; my foreground was out of focus with my background in focus. It turned out alright though because it made for another good round of “guess the picture” on Facebook.

Day 31 (1/31/19)

BUBBLES! I was doing dishes and saw the sink full of bubbles and wanted to see if I could capture that. I was expecting it to either bounce the light strangely or to be out of focus but I was pleasantly surprised with this. I’m definitely going to try some more bubble pictures.

Day 32 (2/1/19)

This is the day I was telling you about! When I went to write down the day number I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out. You’d think it wouldn’t be that hard, but I seriously had to dig out Day 31 to be sure. Two weeks in a row with carriage lights, but this one had a unique look to it. I can’t decide if it looks wintery/snowy or if it looks white with age. Regardless I really liked it. Enough so to make it my picture of the day.

Day 33 (2/2/19)

Amanda and I were at Luxmore Grand Estate photographing Michelle and Michael’s wedding. If you haven’t seen any of the digital pictures from that day yet, you NEED to go check them out here. It was a beautiful wedding and you’ll fall in love with the pictures. Everytime I walk through the front doors of the Luxmore my eyes are drawn to that impressive chandelier. We arrived a bit early, so I quickly ran up and snapped a picture of it before we needed to get ready to shoot a beautiful wedding.

Day 34 (2/3/19)

We had an engagement session at Cypress Grove on Sunday. Our awesome couple was so excited for pictures under the oak canopy road. While Amanda was taking their pictures, I took a few steps back to snap a “behind the scenes” shot. We love photographing couples. It really is the highlight of our day and we can’t wait for this couples wedding!

Day 35 (2/4/19)

Another picture of Amanda! When you are as busy as we were this weekend, you gotta edit and and work as much as you can. Including when you have a baby in your lap. He’s so big! Don’t worry though, I took him off her hands as soon as I snapped this picture. We don’t often post pictures of ourselves or our boys, but I do want to make an effort to do so a little bit more.

Favorite photo of the week:

This one goes to Day 33! We love working at Luxmore Grand Estate and this chandelier is a show stopper from the moment you walk in the door. I like the picture a lot. It is a different angle and one I never get while photographing brides. I like the windows being in the frame and casting natural light on the lit chandelier.

Instax 365 Challenge Week 4

We’ve made it four weeks! I’ve come to terms with the fact that with instant film no shot will be absolutely perfect. It does drive me a bit nuts at times because I like for everything to line up perfectly, but without a true and accurate viewfinder, that will seldom be the case. I’ve grown to appreciate things being off center a bit more too because, for whatever reason, it just seems more real that way. As always, below is each day’s photo and a brief little bit about it.

Day 22 (1/22/19)

I had to take this photo blind. I was shooting up towards a pendant light that was hanging over a bar height counter. In order to get the entire light in the frame, I had to lay the camera on the counter and just line up the lens with the light by eye. It sounds easy until you think of it like a crane claw prize game. You line up the claw and check around the corner to adjust the other axis only to return and see that you threw off your original position. I’m pretty happy that I was able to get it in and not cut anything off. It would have really been embarrassing to show up with a picture of only half of the light. I like the harsh shadow that was casted on the ceiling from the light, and the softer shadows on the different facets of the light itself.

Day 23 (1/23/19)

Central Florida never really sees true winter. Even when it is cold outside, everything still looks bright and green. That’s why when I look at this picture, I really like it. The sky was a light blue color and the light on the branches makes them almost look white. It looks like it was taken in winter!

Day 24 (1/24/19)

I scan in every instax mini, that way I can have a digital copy, and so I can add the pictures into the blog and instagram as well. Side note: if you haven’t checked out my instagram be sure to do so so you can see all of the Instax365 Challenge photos each day and some more behind the scenes. Anyways, back to the story, so I scan in each image with an app on my phone. I’ve found this to be the fastest way. For whatever reason, the app did not want to scan this image. Thanks to that hiccup, I only have this blurry digital copy of the photo. I promise the real copy is not blurry. This was taken on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom by Amanda. She was able to make it out to the park with some industry friends and snapped this picture.

Day 25 (1/25/19)

I still love my instagram caption for this photo: “Eat your heart out! Andy Warhol.” Amanda and I were out grocery shopping, and while passing the soup aisle, I was struck with the idea of this picture. It came out exactly as I envisioned it, and I was really pleased with myself for my stupid caption.

Day 26 (1/26/19)

Amanda and I were out exploring Winter Park with the boys. There was a little alley that had shops down it that fed back into a service alley. The service alley had this light on during the middle of the day, and I knew that would be my picture. The gas light was fairly high off the ground, and I consider myself short. I tried framing it from further back, but I really like the look of it up close. To account for my height (or lack thereof) I had to hold my Instax over my head and just approximate the shot. Unfortunately, I was still too short and I cut off the very tip of the light, but I think I still captured the essence of what I was going for.

Day 27 (1/27/19)

RENT: Live on Fox premiered this night. RENT is really important to Amanda and me, as seeing it live on stage was our first date. We planned our day around being settled in on the couch with the kids down to bed to watch this event and just have a stay in date. Unfortunately, one of the cast members injured himself, so the majority of the show was a broadcast of the previous night’s performance. In honor of our small date night, I pulled out Amanda’s RENT song book to take a picture. It almost looks like it is a movie poster.

Day 28 (1/28/19)

This was an abstract picture. I asked on Instagram and Facebook (where I post each image on the day I take the picture) what everyone thought it was. It ranged from iced window to beehives. The final answer is: it is the lid of a candle. I think the hammered texture was pretty cool and I wanted to get in close to and take the picture. I helped light the top the candle lid, but the flash still fired on the camera. This lit up a small part of the lid and while washing out my other light source. It also bounced light in a pretty unique way because of the hammered texture. I’m going to try to find some more opportunities for mystery photos.

Favorite photo of the week:

That is a hard question this week. I like a lot of the photos. If Day 25 were a larger picture I think that one would take the cake, but because it is a smaller format it gets runner up. My favorite photo of the week is Day 23. It just is a really clean and simple picture and I like that. It’s relaxing in a way.

If you want to see our Instax 365 Challenge as the pictures are published, check out my Instagram at @Miguel.Mejias.FloraBloom. I post each day’s Instax photo there first as well as other behind the scenes of our photography there. If you want to see more of our photography check our Instagram @FloraBloomPhotography. We publish a weekly recap of our Instax 365 Challenge here on the blog. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.