Frozen in Time!

Back to basics...

That is what this post is about. I have noticed that my blog is surprisingly devoid of down to earth advice and works without supplemental light.

In it's essense photography is one thing. Light.

How you control that light is crucial to how your photo will turn out and the effects you can accomplish. Your tools to control light are your shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

The shot below was captured with only *insert shocked sounds* ambient light.

Canon EOS 5D mkII

Canon 200mm f/2.8L

1/500, ISO 800, f/4

Read more after the jump.

Soft kitty...

warm kitty. Little ball of fur.



If you havn't noticed already. I love playing with light, and through the University of Waterloo Photography Club (UWPC) I have access to some very powerful strobes. The club has several AleinBees strobes that are available for rent to its members. They also use them at their meetups.

I was recently asked to set up some lighting for a model who volunteered for the meet in return for photos for a portfolio. I thought I would share how I accomplished this photo.

Canon EOS 7D

Canon 70-200mm f/4L

1/250, ISO 100, f/18, 180mm

Click image to see fullsize

Read more about this shot after the jump.

Flash! Ah-Ah!

Savior of the universe!

And now I cant get Queen out of my head...

Flashes or speedlites can be fast, but how fast, and what's the point?

Canon EOS 7D

Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro

2/1, ISO 400, f/20

Fast enough. Welcome to the fast paced world of High Speed Photography.

More after the jump.

The Big Picture

Probably the worst part about shooting any event (for me at least) is wading through all the pictures I`ve captured and I realize exactly how trigger happy I sometimes am. Fortunately, sometimes when shooting away you capture a moment whose significance is not completely clear (that is, until the dust settles).

Canon EOS 7D

Canon 200mm f/2.8

1/160, ISO 100, f/2.8

It ends up being like one of those annoying 2000 piece puzzles where every piece looks exactly the same. But once you put them all together it's beautiful.

More after the jump.

Life Without Technicolor

Ever think that your photo might look better in Black and White only to make the conversion and drain your photo of any dynamic or pop? Well those days are over thanks to NIK software and their Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture plugin Silver Effects Pro.

Canon EOS 60D

Canon 50mm f/1.4

1/50, ISO 400, f/1.4

Want to see and read more? After the jump.

Regaining my (in)sanity!

Oh man has it been a while!

A long, busy summer meant this photog was all work no play! With little free time I had few real opportunities for creative photography let alone blogging! But now that the cold seems to have come back its time for me to curl up infront of my computer and play catchup!

Tonight's job- recapturing my sanity, with a little insanity?

View fullsize image here

Canon 5D mkII

Canon 17-40mm f/4L

1/6, f/4, ISO 100, -1EV

More after the jump.

Blinded By the Light!

Often times dances at weddings are some of the most intimate or fun events at a wedding. Dramatic lighting during these dances and lead to some amazing images. Some of my favourite images from my first wedding were of dancers.

See fullsize image here

The above image was shot with a bare SB-28 speedlight behind the couple. I managed to position myself so that the speedlite was visible which gave the large lens flare, and the single light point outlined the silhouette of the couple very nicely.

Read more after the jump.

Kids Do the Darndest Things!

So watch out for them!

See fullsize image here

Read more after the jump!

Details! Details! Details!

In my last blog post I mentioned that I recently shot my first wedding. It was a roller-coaster ride of nerves for sure, but my girlfriend and I managed to make it through. I have started sifting through the ocean of images, and here is the first sampling as well as some modest advice.

See fullsize image here

One big lesson I learned: Don't overlook the details.

Read more after the jump!

The Calm Before the Storm

This past Friday I had the pleasure of shooting my first ever wedding, and I only have one thing to say: Wedding photographers are crazy.

It wasn't a bad experience. The couple were very relaxed and the guests were fun, but the nerves were killer. The two nights before the wedding I could barely sleep, and the night before I spent most of the night going through gear and scenarios. The above image was shot with my phone and shows about half the gear that was used.

My girlfriend and I shot the wedding together, each with two bodies. Terrified of missing "the" shot we both wanted to be as prepared as we could. But of course nothing can prepare you more than experience, and that is probably what scared me the most! 

We knew the venue would be dark, so I even rented a Alien Bee studio strobe (with large softbox) from the University of Waterloo Photo Club as well. I figured the more the better! Turns out I needed less than I had, but I figured being more prepared was the safer route! 

Read more over my next few posts about my first wedding and how I probably knocked 10 years off my life!

Get Creative!

"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you might find. You get what you need"

See fullsize image here

Read more after the jump!

My Take on Fish Photography

I hope everyone's had a wonderful Valentines day! I certainly tried, although a calculus midterm put a damper on things, my girlfriend and I managed to escape for a little while and enjoy a nice dinner out. That said, I did not manage to get a post up... but what better way to celebrate the post-V-day bliss than a nice reminder of what last night's festivities often lead to. Babies!

See fullsize image here

Fish babies that is (hey, they celebrate too..... I'd guess). The above is an image of a young 20-day free-swimming Discus fry.

Read more after the jump!

Simplicity

Sometimes.... less is more.

See fullsize image here

I was out fueling my photographic addiction earlier with week with my girlfriend T on a local trail trough the woods (somehow I end up doing a lot of my photography in the woods!). The above picture was taken in an area where there were a bunch of narrow and tall trees grouped together with very few branches. The vertical lines of the trees in conjunction with the horizontal shadows and snow drifts provided a very pleasing scene. I accentuated the simplicity of the image by converting to black and white in lightroom as well as bumping the contrast and blacks.

Keep it simple!

With a Little Help from my Friends

Over the Christmas break I had the opportunity to shoot my very first e-shoot with arguably a couple of the most fun people in the world! Although it was the dead of a Canadian winter, cold, down a winding path to the Elora gorge, and worst of all- 8am on a Saturday morning... we survived. In fact we had a blast. Armed with my camera, my girlfriend was kind enough to act as my voice-activated-light-stand, towing around a monopod topped with a softbox. No easy task in the uneven and forested terrain of the area.

See fullsize image here

Read more after the jump!

Family are Guinea Pigs!

Well, firstly I'd like to apologize to those of you out there who have been checking back here periodically to see if I had posted anything new. School, family and life took the driver's seat and I haven't had as much free time as I would have liked. On the bright side I have a nice backlog of photos that are just dying to be shared. Now, less talk-y more post-y!

Read more after the jump!