What does wedding photography have to do with a local school musical? Capturing timeless moments in good light, for starters. A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure — and I mean that — of hanging back from my seat during St. Jeanne de Lestonnac’s presentation of Oklahoma, and grabbing a few shots. The kids did a terrific job, from the singing, to the choreography, the sound, and yes, the lighting. I had a great time trying to capture a glimpse of their terrific work.

Eduardo Suastegui is an event and wedding photographer serving the Downey, Whittier, Los Angeles – Orange County, California area.

Here are a few photos I’ve selected so far as best-in-trip from my recent trip to Brussels and Bruges, Belgium.

I’ll keep mulling these over to see which if any merit specialized post-processing into a fine art print.

On a recent trip to Brussels, I found plenty opportunity go wide with my compositions. When I found myself with the wrong, as in not wide enough, lens while photographing the Grand Place, I decided to take a 10 frame composite with the Sigma 17-50 at 17mm. A quick stitch using my panorama software of choice gave me this image.

Just in case that didn’t turn out, I decided to not be lazy and swap in my Sigma 8-16 and get it all in one shot.

I tend to prefer that second shot because I managed to compose with less of a tilt, but the two samples get the point across. If you’re caught with a not-so-wide lens, remember that there’s more than one way to get the job done.

This weekend I did a little event coverage during The Spirit of Art reception at the Whittier Art Gallery. I spent most of my time, however, talking with folks about the work on display. Here are some photos I hope will give you a glimpse of the happenings. If you missed it, you can still check out the exhibit during the gallery’s regular business hours, Wednesday to Sunday, Noon to 5pm.

Though many say they don’t like it, I am a sucker for quirky wide angles, especially when big skies are involved. Here’s an favorite of mine, taken with the Nikon D80 and 10-24 lens.

Since then, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to explore and experiment with wide angles and the interesting perspectives they produce. Here are two recent shots, taken with the Nikon D7000. The first one uses the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 at its widest angle setting, and the second uses the Sigma 8-16.

One should be able to see the difference between the two shots. While both explore similar themes and subjects, the second is far more radical in its portrayal, and certainly less concerned with “realism” in its abandonment of vertical lines in favor of ones that “keystone.” Note also how the sky gets that radiating look in its cloud formations in the wider perspectives.

By of further demonstration, here are two shots, one below and one above Manhattan Beach pier.

Have you walked up to a scene, noticed a detail that interests you, and clicked shot after shot, only to come up empty? Think simplification.

We’ve all been there, working a subject with different compositions, none of which satisfy us in the end. This happens to me often, and I find I need to keep looking and searching until I boil the shot down to its bare minimum. Here’s a sequence of shots documenting one such search.

As it turns out, simplification does not end in the field. Once you get home, the simple act of cropping, or in this case, a black and white conversion that focuses more narrowly on the bare essentials of form, texture and tonality completes the simplification process.