IN OUR OWN WORDS.

BY KELLY AND MARISA OF CLIQUE

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LET’S MEET CT

On November 1st 2015, the Photographer @Neivy put together an instameet in Essex, Connecticut. We took full advantage of CT’s impressive foliage during the Fall while meeting some new friends.

These are iPhone 5s shots

GCYS

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GOT TAMALE?

Our very colorful Kelly Tamale has a band, the Kelly Tamale Band, and they played Dodd Stadium over the weekend.

Their new EP just became available on iTunes: https://itun.es/us/LrqV7

Here’s the hot girl team with cameras.

GCYS

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FRADIANI FRENZY

Throwback Thursday to the homecoming show for American Idol XIV winner Nick Fradiani, with his band, Beach Avenue. Marisa and Cristina were incredibly psyched to capture this moment, and so very proud of our friends in Beach Avenue. The crowd was overwhelming (in a good way) that day in Guilford, Connecticut.

GCYS

Photo cred: Cris Crocc, Nick Bellmore

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GOONIES SPRAY ART

Another majestic find by Kelly, this time it’s an entire mural dedicated to the GOONIES movie! This is also fantastically ironic, since she is such a huge fan of Cyndi Lauper and often covers “Good Enough” with her band.

The spot was hardly visible from the street, it is wedged between two industrial warehouses on the other side of the train tracks, it’s fascinating that she even spotted it. What an actual hidden gem!

GCYS

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CHASING WATERFALLS

It started out as a “tip” that there was a hidden waterfall on this trail, so we set out to location scout. We didn’t find a waterfall, but what we did find, was a very tall lookout chair in the middle of the woods. Seriously?

Naturally, Kelly climbed up the rickety, unstable chair ladder, and sat in the tree chair. It’s like a tree-house, except just a chair. A tree-chair. I swear this shit only happens to us.

Marisa L'amore

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AGENDA SHOW NYC

Some BTS of us running around Agenda in our RageOn.com onesies, among other various all over print apparel.

Photos by: Marisa L’amore

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MEETUP: MASHABLE x STREET DREAMS MAG FOR #MASHMEET So we jumped in the car and headed to Brooklyn for Mashmeet, which was held inside Coney Island’s Luna Park. The park is closed for off-season, but Luna Park opened up just for the event. It was cool running into friends from previous meetups + from the Instagram photography community in general, but I was most surprised to hear how so many people traveled from all over to be in attendance; from Miami to Montreal! My homies that I commuted with had never been to Coney Island before, so it was cool showing them around and giving them some historical facts about this wacky place that was considered the world's largest and premier amusement area during the first half of the 20th Century. We definitely weren’t ready for this kind of cold yet, so after a couple of hours we headed to Nathan’s Original and defrosted ourselves with heat and hotdogs. I got some shots that I hadn’t snagged during any of my other trips to Coney with the team, so that was pretty awesome too. It was a good day with Bianca + Jerry! Marisa L’amore

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HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH THE MOON IN MANUAL MODE

As I nearly drove off the road trying to check out a most immense looking moon one night in New England, I decided it was time I photograph the moon with an actual camera. I took a garbage iPhone photo and sent it to my friend Bianca, whom I find myself moon chasing with. “Look at la luna” my iMessage said to her.

Before you know it, a tripod was set up the sidewalk in front of our studio, and I was the only weirdo on the block outside.

EQUIPMENT

Everyone says you need a super mega zoom National Geo-Wildlife lens to capture the moon. Yeah well I snagged this shot with my 24-70mm L lens, so there. Select the highest millimeter lens that you own, grab a tripod, and move it outside.

SETTINGS

I flipped my camera into live mode, Manual mode, and manual focus. Then, I changed my manual settings to ISO 200, shutter speed 1/125, and F11. Make sure you're shooting Raw; you'll need the size so that you can crop everything out of the shot except for your moon. I wouldn't select automatic anything, because you're trying to capture a ball of bright light in front of darkness, and your camera won't understand. (That's the scientific explanation).

After I hit the "+" button on my camera twice, the digital zoom preview brought me in super close, and I was able to get a more precise manual focus, seeing the detail.

POST PRODUCTION

I like using Photoshop to sharpen my moon a little; I use the unsharp mask, but that's just my preference. I hope your moon comes out awesome!

Marisa L'amore

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#StreetMeetNY Hosted by: @thehundreds @van_styles 13thwitness July 23rd 2014, New York City Ok, ok, I admit it. The main reason I wanted to go to Steet Meet NY was to meet Van Styles and 13th Witness. When I first heard Van Styles and The Hundreds were hosting another street meet, this time on the East Coast and within my grasp in NYC, I knew I was going before I could hit the tiny like button on Van’s Instagram feed. When 13th Witness confirmed on his feed that he was definitely going, in my head I mentally checked out from the rest of life, in my head I was already there… Cut out of work early to head to NYC. Meet Van, 13th, and a large group of creative like-minded individuals, I could deal with that. In life you get limited opportunities, and when something like this comes your way YOU GO because it might not happen again. I knew of Van Styles before Instagram, but he and 13th were the first 2 photographers I followed on IG and have been a source of tremendous inspiration, so I knew this was going to be a special treat. The day of the meet I left work, hitched a ride to Union, got on the train and headed toward that place where everything seems possible, New York City. When I stepped out of Grand Central it was hot. That piercing, stagnant heat that only a city of New York’s magnitude can provide. It didn’t phase me though, I had other things on my mind. By the time I made it to The Hundreds store on Grand in SoHo I was literally soaked, dripping with sweat, but I barely noticed as soon as I rounded the corner and saw 30-40 kids already outside the shop. That feeling of excitement that is so hard for me to capture these days was creeping up. All ages, races, genders, rich, poor, everyone was represented. I’m guessing we ended up with a group close to 100. From young kids decked out in all the latest streetwear, to older guys in collared polos, all with every type of camera imaginable. Film, DSLR, GoPros, iPhones, everyone already had them out and were snapping feverishly. Van Styles was behind the counter in The Hundreds store talking lenses with some kid who looked so excited he could have been talking to Jesus himself. Everyone surrounded the front of the store to take a group photo, not even 10 minutes in we were already completely blocking traffic. It was going to be a good day. Everyone waits for 13th to arrive… 13th Witness arrives. Oooohs and aaaaahs from the crowd, a kid in a Supreme tshirt slowly lifts his jaw off the hot sidewalk. More group photos, then we form like Voltron with Van and 13th at the head, and head out towards Broadway. We literally shut down traffic on Broadway. Pause. We shut down traffic on Broadway. Kids are snapping photos throughout the street and on both sides of the sidewalk. Tourists are stopping and asking me whats going on. Everyone’s heads turn as our massive entourage rumbles through the city. All the while everyone shooting photos from every conceivable angle of every object and every human or animal that has the luck or misfortune of crossing our path. By the time we reach Chinatown and I see 13th Witness reach into a bucket and pull out a frog the size of a guinea pig for a photo opp, my head is about to explode from over-stimulation. We roll on, photo after photo, block after block, hour after hour. From Chinatown all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. No drama, no bickering, no fighting, everyone just there to do what they love. Take pictures. Van Styles and 13th Witness were amazing, posing for thousands of photos, as well as taking I’m sure close to that many as well. The whole time I felt we were all in one large group, not a group with a Van and 13th sub-group. I had the opportunity to speak with both of them briefly and it was just like talking to the homies. No arrogance whatsoever, and I could tell both of them were having just as much fun as we were! It was a sight to behold, photographers completely overrunning the streets of New York City. I would like to personally thank The Hundreds, Van Styles, and 13th Witness for hosting such a special day, and bringing the photographic community together like that. Without you guys an event like that wouldn’t have been possible. I had a blast, see y’all at the next meet! -Jerry @jerryskate1981

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EASTERN PULSE SKATE SHOOT

Last night I got to shoot the incredibly babe-tastic @JennyMurphs (IG) in Eastern Pulse skate shop apparel. EP are O.G.’s in the game, and have been around since…well they probably invented the skate park. 😂

These are just the iPhone BTS, cannot WAIT to drop the real shots from this shoot, you will drop your jaw. Followed by your pants. Relax, okay?

TEAM GCYS

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NYC ROOFTOP SNIPING CAUGHT ON GOPRO Street shooters overlooking Midtown Manhattan, Grand Central Terminal, and the underground are some of their sweet spots for NYC street photography. San Fran’s Matt Saatchi (IG: SaatchiPhoto) and NYC’s Nikki Vanco (IG: vankz) captured the city from above at golden hour on their Canon DSLRs with Marisa L’amore (IG: MarisaLamore) on the GoPro Hero3+. See the video (under 3 min.) by clicking here! All photos by Clique Edits include Photoshop presets by photosbywp

TEAM GCYS

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CAMERA OPERATORS HAVE SHITTY BACKS FROM OPERATING CAMERAS Let’s be for real for a second and think about the ratio of how many of us operate a camera - and whose backs hurt vs. whose backs feel like a dream. I don’t think that there are many (if any?) of us that spend several hours holding even light camera bodies that don’t feel it the next day - or 3 days later are flat on their back with spasms. What the hell we’re supposed to do about it: Get yourself a good chiro. At the time I was feeling like absolute garbage on a daily basis, I tried ALL of these first: Going to the doctor, the specialist, physical therapists, getting massages, stretching, applying heat, getting electro stimulation, “ultra sound” therapy, replacing my computer chair with better lumbar support, getting a Tempur-Pedic mattress, wearing a posture support top under my clothes every day (EVERY day), and getting my gear custom fitted to me….I was still hurting…. until I went to the chiropractor, who sent me for an X-ray, and told me my neck was in trouble. He applied heat and “stim” at the same time, then, he did something that no one else did. Acupuncture - (which at this point I don’t care if you “don’t believe in it” or not) and he also adjusted me so that my spine could start to go back in the right place. All of the strange positions we ninja ourselves into affect our posture, which catches up to us eventually. My chiro saved my life. Now that the compression in between my vertibraes are being adjusted to give me some relief, I have also had to retrain myself on how to stand, sit, and even sleep. I have to stretch evey day, and work on a core regimen, but it’s a million times better. And I can work again: you know, hold this heavy ass 5D Mark II camera. Marisa L’amore

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LYTRO: 500px to Host Open Source WebGL Player

LYTRO Unleashes Interactive Power of Living Pictures to the Web with New Lytro WebGL Player.

Mountain View, Calif. ­ (June 11, 2014) ­ Lytro, Inc. opened the doors of its living pictures ecosystem today with the announcement to open-source its code for the light field Living Picture player, bringing interactive imagery anywhere on the Web. The Lytro WebGL Player allows developers to seamlessly integrate galleries of living pictures taken with the LYTRO ILLUM light field camera into their Web properties.

Powered by Lytro’s proprietary computational photography software, the Lytro WebGL Player enables the living picture format to be integrated into any website or social media platform, giving creative pioneers more places to share their work. With the freedom to share their Lytro images anywhere, visual artists will help the living pictures ecosystem take root and spread throughout the Web and social spheres.

Audiences can alter the appearance of living pictures by adjusting perspectives, focal points and dimensions, offering a realm of possibilities for artists and photographers to explore visual storytelling in a compelling and interactive fashion. With living pictures, Web developers can drive increased user interactivity through Lytro’s library of cinematic animations that bring light field images to life. For users accustomed to passively viewing flat, 2D images, the ability to pan, zoom, tilt, re-focus and shift perspective opens up a world of possibilities for enjoying digital imagery.

Living pictures are the product of light field photography ­ a transformative way to experience digital images. Living pictures go beyond the traditional 2D world of digital and film by capturing the direction, color and brightness of the rays of light within the frame.

For a demonstration of interactive living pictures, visit the Lytro Picture Gallery here. The open source code for Lytro’s WebGL Player will be available at http://dev.lytro.com on July 15, 2014.

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BTS SET BUILDING: RETRO KITCHEN

It's ON! We recently found ourselves in need of a retro diner setting for shoots, so now we're being put to the test of construction. I can't believe we're actually going to go through with this; a bunch of camera nerds putting on the hard hat this time. Pictured above are the two stoves we've located so far. Decisions on rusted metal or not, scouring through estate sales, and trying to find the best bang for your budget (see what I did there?) are just the tip of this iceberg. This will be so dope you'll wanna play house in it tho.

TEAM GCYS

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BTS: SAILOR JERRY (SPICED RUM) PINUP PARTY We rolled up to the appropriately themed SJ party, high fived Lisa DeVito (top, left) who was conducting pinup makeup at her station under the Sailor Jerry tent, and proceeded to the tiki bar where we sampled custom cocktails from the SJ drink list. Sailor Jerry rum is pretty delicious, rated at a 90, AND it was served in a take home reusable aluminum mug. You already know it’s on display like a trophy on my desk at Clique Quarters. Just when you thought it ended at hot broads and good rum, there was also a temporary tattoo station, and check out the pop-up barber shop, while a (good) live band played covers at this outdoor patio party. I know, I wish you were there too. BTS mostly shot with GoPro Hero3+ Photos Copyright Clique Media Marisa L’amore

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BTS T-Micky + Wyclef’s Music Video Shoot

Last Summer, the official music video for Nou Pare was filmed downtown New Haven at the Russian Lady’s gigantic venue. Hosted by Grisel Carrano, Clique Presents BTS of this high energy shoot, complete with b-boys + b-girls, great looking models, and extras.

Produced by Joey A.X, we are always impressed how he pulls together these last minute productions (because they ALL, always are) which are never on time, or with all of the pieces of important details (like the venue, for starters). So, leave it to Mr. A.X to pull a complete production out of his ass in record time; the part that actually took the longest was the editing/wrap up. Better late than never! Shouts to our awesome awesome friends at NYLAHD who shot the official music video, and were friendly and knowledgeable.

Some BTS from the shoot, and the BTS video is coming coming coming.

TEAM GCYS

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REVIEW: CHARLES AND CHARLES WINES

Washington State’s notable winemaker Charles Smith along with Charles Beiler raise the bar with their brilliant trio of wines: a Cabernet, a Chardonnay + a Rosé priced around $13. These wines have been voted both best value by Wine Spectator as well as in the top 100 wines, so it’s clear why they can say their wines “Kick A$$” it’s that simple, they just do.

Oh, and ANYONE that uses Chuck Norris on promotional swag is my hero.

KELLY TAMALE