Street Style... Franklin Ave., Roanoke

On Campus... Coffee Break, Virginia Tech

Street Style... "Stand Up Bass Player," Elmwood Park, Roanoke

Street Style... Tied up, Virginia Tech

 

First college student I have seen pulling off a 'Casual dress' look very well. Everything was well suited to his build, and the classic buckled dress shoes are definitely one of my style Do's, Very mature look for any college student. The only thing missing, (or not missing) were his socks, (sock-less) and this could have passed for Paris or Milan.  

(Oops! You can see my shadow there... hehe.. oh well..) 

Roanoke, More than just the Star City.

 

Last week I took my first trip to Roanoke to shot around town. Lets just say I can't wait to go back! I went during lunch and a little bit after, and mostly I was trying to find where most of the foot traffic is around town. I will differently make it a point to shoot in Roanoke at least once a month since its so close.

I look forward to going up on a Saturday when people are out shopping, which is always easy picking. I also visited Gardin Village in Roanoke and defiantly want to swing by there on a weekend as well as Salem's downtown which was promising also.

I did see many gentlemen wearing suites and pulling them off like seasoned pros, and stunning ladies in their business best, but the unfortunately, they were at their lunch hour. I've been trying to figure out how I can shoot people while they are on the go without stopping them, and I think the normal walking around  wont work for this. So the plan for my next Lunch time Roanoke trip is to set up camp at the busiest street corners (this is starting to sound dirty) and Just get them as they come towards me, or while they wait at the stop light. I think this will give me better numbers.

Did you know I'm on Facebook?

So I started a Facebook page about 2 months ago for the Blog so people could follow along on Facebook as well. I post once a week of the weeks post round-up. Click the link below and Like Angel's Point of View Facebook page.

Like Angel's Point of View on Facebook Here!

Here is the question, I don't get the whole twitter thing, but I know people have their tweets on their phones, laptops, computer, etc. Does anything think starting a twitter for announcing when I'm hitting the street or in other cities shooting is a good idea? The bigger question is, would you follow?

Its just an idea right now, leave a comments, opinion of this twitter idea.

FMDS 16 Block, Part 5... College Ready Looks

So once again my camera did the picking and not me, and I have the same model here. Either way, these were two of my favorite designs. I felt if anything would stand out, and still be completely street appropriate (around here at least) These are it. A fun skirt, and a T-shirt done right. Again, good job Ladies at Virginia Tech's FMDS.

FMDS 16 Block, Part 4... Who's That Girl?

I have no idea who this young lady is, but someone told me she was on America's Next Top Model, either way, she was stunning to watch.

FMDS 16 Block, Part 3... Blue is my Favorite Color

Blue is my favorite color, just visit my closet sometime.

FMDS 16 Blocks, Part 2... Blacks and whites

Even around town, I've noticed that black, gray, and whites are the top choice of color.

FMDS 16 Block, Part 1... Design Standouts

From the photos I was able to salvage from the show last Thursday, these were two of the more edgier looks. I think they are some of the student designs as well, very well done.

FMDS-16 Blocks Fashion Show, Blacksburg

Thursday I attended my first show since moving back to Virginia. 16 Blocks Magazine and the Virginia Tech Fashion Merchandising and Design Society put on this show in Downtown Blacksburg. Their were some impressive designs by some of the student designers, and some local stores were featured as well. I look forward to another show by the ladies at VT. I was very surprised to see many looks that were beyond the typical trends found anywhere along the Blue Ridge. If only the mens selection matched the classiness that I saw on the ladies, the show would have been perfect! Boys will be boys, and unfortunately, I don't think my opinion of casual and well dressed will every become the norm outside of cities and business class.

Working events and weddings, I understand that sometimes you are at the mercy of the venue, and lighting I think was the only element lacking along the runway. Though it didn't hinder my view from the front row, my poor little camera suffered. I spent most of the night adjusting the settings about every third photo hoping for better results, but moving objects and dim lighting aren't my cameras forte. So some of my favorite selections from the night came out blurry or not at all. It seemed that my camera had favorites, and the same few models seemed to come in focus more than others, What can I do.

I should have a new camera in about a year, but till then, I shall work with what I got, and stick to daylight hours.

Well, I got a lot of editing and touching up to do, next week will be a full week of posts all from the show, So check back every day next week.

Street Style.. Five Points, Columbia, SC

Street Style... Fall is Here! College Ave., Blacksburg

This is actually my first photo with someone I've already shot before. (see last Wednesday)

My Visit to the South

So I got back from my trip down to South Carolina. I was going to do some shooting in Charlotte, but time just didn't allow it. I did however drive through and locate all the areas where people live, eat, play in the city, and I am planning to visit on a Saturday here in the next few weeks just to do some Charlotte adventuring.

I did however get to spend some time around Columbia, SC. I probably walked most of the busiest parts of the city for about 2-3 hours both Saturday and Sunday, and I am shocked that Columbia is the capital of the state. It was truly a ghost town. I did make one mistake and not think to check if there was a football game since it is a college town, and I think that might have added to the ghostliness Saturday. I'm not kidding, I saw about 20 people total walking about on Saturday, and they were all homeless. Even Sunday failed to show me that Columbia had a even a small population of fashionable people. It is only a dimond in the rough kind of town I'm guessing, and I think next time I'm in town I wont spend too much town shooting, maybe just a short walk through one of the bar/restaurant/shopping districts, and call it a day. I have one picture I'll be posting sometimes this week from my trip.

So after my trip to the south, I have a day trip to Charlotte sometime before Thanksgiving in the mix, Old Town Alexandria is on the bill as for this winter, I'll be in Charleston, SC in December (where I know the fashionable will deliver), Richmond for three days in November, a day trip to Charlottesville in November, Lexington and Roanoke this week, and of course NYC in January.

Things are really going to progress with the blog through the winter into the spring. I am excited, because I do travel a bit in the summers, and also being I work in the wedding industry, I will also be posting photos from weddings once wedding season kicks in. FUN!! Happy Tuesday everyone.

Street Style... from Atlanta, Main St., Blacksburg

Street Style... College Ave., Blacksburg

This was a great find, each of these young ladies look great. I hope to find more groups like this to shoot.

Downtown... College Ave., Blacksburg

College Ave., Where It almost always happens

So Blacksburg is Small, very small. While I'm out looking to shoot people, so far 90% of everyone I run into is on this one small area of College Ave. weird.

Downtown.. The Stonemason, Blacksburg

Trusting Your Instinct..

As a street-fashion photographer/blogger, I have learned that you have to set rules to be successfully. It works like this, you walk around, you find someone you like, you walk up and introduce yourself, ask to take a picture, hope they say yes, give them a few seconds to get relaxed (as much as they can) adjust the camera settings, take their picture (I take 3), show them the pictures if they ask, give them website info, say thank you and walk away. All of this takes about 1-2 minutes. Its a fast, it works, and its fun.

 So today I saw a man out in suit with his date, and I got excited. So not to say that he didn't wear his suit well, It just wasn't what I would really be looking for if there were a large amount of suit wearers in this town.

So today, I broke one of my rules.

Rule Broken - If I'm going to shoot a couple or group, they both or all have to be what I'm looking for, not just one.

Sartorially speaking, this young mans date looked fabulous,and though his wordrbe was nice, he was clearly trying to hard too look cool. So I should have trusted my gut and not asked them for a photo. So your may wonder what happened? Well they were running late for a wedding, and I got my first 'No' since moving to Virginia, running late is a good reason to pass on me, and I respect that. Which could bring up another one of my rules.. Do not ask people for photos who look like they are in a hurry to get somewhere.

It was also a fresh reminder that Men in this part of the country do not get dressed up just for the sake of looking nice.. There has to be a reason, and that's too bad. Oh well.. Time to review the rule book and hit the streets again next week. Happy Weekend.

Downtown... College Ave., Blacksburg

So I went by 310 Rosemont Downtown while out on a walk, and had a great conversation with these two lovely ladies who work at this very cool boutique. On my way back around the block, I guess they were done with work and were off to class, so of course I had to snap a quick photo. Thanks ladies, I hope to stop by again soon.