Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Random Walk-abouts

Greetings!
Well, tonight I decided I'd spent enough time sitting at the computer and snatched my camera, bag, and iPod on my way out the door to Philly for a calm walk-about.  As I'd said, I've read through Tom Ang's book and I really wanted to take my shots at his assignments.  Mostly, I want to improve what talent I think I have.  So, I took to the city streets to take a crack at the book's first assignment: City Lights.

Unfortunately, I missed the twilight hour and was kind of upset about it.  But that didn't stop me from my endeavor.  My goals for tonight were to use the city as my set to demonstrate Color, Composition, Perspective, and Textures.  These photos are also unedited.  I may play around later and repost my results.

Enjoy and comment!
(Don't forget that you can click to enlarginate them! Hahah)

Color

1/13s at f/3.5
18mm
ISO3200


Composition


















1/20 at f/5.6
55mm
ISO3200

Perspective













1/100s at f/4.0
65mm
ISO3200

Perspective


















1s at f/5.0
18mm
ISO3200

Texture













1/40s at f/5.6
55mm
ISO3200

Texture


















1/40s at f/5.6
55mm
ISO3200



My own critique: Stop using Auto ISO because I always get 3200 in low light and tons of grain.  lol

Friday, August 6, 2010

Gearbaggage!

I felt the need to write about something, so why not what it is that I use to create and retouch the images I capture?  Up until 2010, I've been using a Canon A640 point and shoot.
This little gadget was the gateway to my hobby and now my pursuit of photography.  Honestly, I was tired of sitting at my computer for hours, as a designer, trying to find the 'as close to perfect' photo for my projects that would only take minutes in my backyard to create.  At 10Mp, and a little under $250 when I bought it, it turned out to be a great buy.  Camera use was EASY, and even for the more experienced photographers, it allowed you to tweak the settings as best you could for the results you desired.  I spent a lot of my time in Tv (shutter speed) and Av (aperture) priority modes; as one of the 1st bits of advice I was given was to stay as far away from Auto mode as possible.  Which forced me to LEARN the camera.
This was also the camera I used for all of the Zombie Love scene shots.  It's near silent shutter was perfect for taking those candid, on set, shots while not disrupting the sound qualities.  Though, I did ruin a scene or two by not taping over the orange focusing light.  Lol.  Oops!  You can see the quality of these un-touched images from the early 2009 production of Zombie Love by American Dream Machine here:  CLICK ME!

Overall that camera was a great doorbuster into what started me down a hallway of opportunity, education, and fun in photography!

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This year I was finally able to get my hands on a piece of sub-pro quality equipment!  At 18Mp the Canon EOS 550D, AKA the Rebel T2i in the USA, sits above many of its competitors, currently.  I did as much research as I could, mainly comparing the quality reviews that I find in DP Review.com.  Where the 550D received the sites Gold Award, despite it's 77% overall rating. 
"All in all, the EOS 550D is the most compelling DSLR of its class that we've ever tested. It is hard to imagine how much more we might realistically expect from a product of this type, and although the improvements that Canon has made over the EOS 500D aren't revolutionary, the 550D is a better camera than its predecessor. In terms of both still and video capture, the 550D is currently the best camera of its type on the market." Here is a link to the full review:  CLICK ME!

I've been having a lot of fun, and a lot of luck, in learning this camera.  The package I'd gotten included the standard EF-S 18-55mm IS lens and the EF-S 55-250 IS Telefoto.  I've been extremely appreciative in being able to take advantage of every angle and shot that I could fathom between these two lens'.



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I feel extremely lucky that I've been able to acquire the tools that I've wanted for so long that I feel compelled to make the best use of them that I can find!  I've been trying to set up group outings, projects both personal and group related, and using any free time that I have to play!

Feel free to contact me at anytime to find out when another outing will be scheduled!

Here's my current baggage of gear listing:  Haha
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-Body
Canon EOS 550D Rebel T2i
Canon Powershot A640

-Lenses
EF-S 18-55 IS
EF-S 55-250 IS

-Accessories
BG-E8 Battery Grip for T2i
43" 5in1 Portable Light Reflector
58mm UV Lens Filter
58mm Lens Hood
58mm ET-60 Lens Hood
3x 4Gb HC SD Memory
6x 2Gb SD Memory

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My next entry should be interesting and I hope to have a few more readers to see what I'm up to.
I have read through Tom Ang's book: "Digital Photography Masterclass" and I plan to go through each of his Assignments in his book.  In the least it will be great practice and a learning experience in photography and what skills I might want to improve.  Tune in for next time!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Let the blogging begin!



Well, let's get this blogging business started!  My goal is to upload 2 shots a week that I really think are worth their stock or have made an impact to myself directly.  I hope you all enjoy!  These photos range anywhere from 2008 to last week.  Enjoy!  And all comments are welcome.  Cheers!

Walk about in Philadelphia with friends.



Philadelphia's Pride Parade - 2010

Philadelphia's Pride Parade - 2010

Philadelphia's Pride Parade - 2010

Philadelphia's Pride Parade - 2010

On the set of Zombie Love by American Dream Machine - 2009

On the set of Zombie Love by American Dream Machine - 2009

Street Performer on the AC boardwalk - 2008

Street Performer on the AC boardwalk - 2008

Dawn on the Atlantic City boardwalk. - 2008

Dawn on the Atlantic City boardwalk. - 2008

Dawn on the Atlantic City boardwalk. - 2008