Senior Portrait Session

Back in the beginning of March, I had an opportunity to do Senior Portraits for a friend's son.  Normally I prefer to do Senior Portraits in the Spring or Summer before the student's senior year.  Sometimes the Fall season works as well for last minute portraits.  March was a bit cold to be taking pictures outside.  Given it was a last minute request, I couldn't turn it down.

We met up at the local train station.  I could tell my friend's son was a bit unsure of the portrait session.  I immediately took charge and started to take pictures of him.  After the first ten shots, my friend's son started to relax in front of the lens and started posing for me.

Here's a sample from the photo shoot:

Her son is not an early morning person, so we agreed to meet in the late afternoon.  I spent two hours with my friend and her son taking his portraits at two different local locations.  I used both my 85mm/f1.8 and 24-120mm/f4 lens.  I used my 85mm for the first hour and literally had to "zoom with my feet" to get the right shot.  I used the 24-120mm lens for the second hour and at the second location.  It was a sunny day and I still used my flash for fill-in shots.

He really got into posing for me.  He was a natural at this and made my job easy and fun.  Moments like this is why I enjoy photography.

Guacamole!

Recently, I made a trip to Costco and bought a huge bag of Abuelita stone ground white corn tortilla strips.  I thought they would be good with some nice thick chunky salsa.  Hubby mentioned they would be good with guacamole.  Not a bad idea.  So I bought some avocados and waited for them to get ripe.

Tonight I made guacamole.  I used two avocados, half a lime, chopped sweet onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and garlic salt.  I can handle simple recipes like this one.

I'm always looking for an opportunity to take a few foodie pictures:

100mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

120mm, f/8, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

I'm still testing my 24-120mm f/4 lens.  The more I use it, the more I really like it.  The lens is sharp!

Hubby came home in time to finish the guacamole.  If he was a few minutes late, it would have been gone!

Spring Colors!

I'm so glad that it's Spring!  Looking forward to the many Spring blooms that should be appearing in our gardens over the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating.  I'm still wearing my winter coat most of the day.

So while it's chilly outside, I'm inside comfy and cozy and testing out my Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens.  I'm shooting everything at f/4...zoomed in or zoomed out and everything in between.  I really like what I'm seeing.  While this lens is no match for my Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 prime lens (and it shouldn't be), I'm enjoying the center sharpness and even the lovely bokeh it produces.

Spring colors!

This 24-120mm f/4 lens is a monster.  Okay, it's the biggest lens I have.  It's the heaviest.  Probably uses the largest filter I have ever owned...77mm.  It feels hefty in my hands.  When I have it on my camera, D600, it's beautiful to hold and to handle.  Now, I do notice the extra weight around my neck and I'm using the well padded Crumpler's Industry Disgrace strap.  I have to hold my camera by the lens.  It feels that heavy.

I read a review where the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is heavier than this one.  I can't imagine.

I've put my camera and my monster lens through some tests.  The first thing I noticed is how fast the lens focuses.  It's quick.  At first, it took me by surprise.  Now, I'm happily getting used to it.  The above picture called 'Spring Colors' was taken indoors in natural light.  More like not much light.  I set my camera to aperture of 4 and zoomed all the way out.  Auto ISO came out at 1600.  The focus was fast!  Not like my 24-85mm lens which would have spent seconds "hunting" for some better light.


Here are a few more pictures taken with my monster lens:

I'm a Nikon Nerd!

It's after 5pm and so bright outside!

The heavy limbs reminds me of fingers

In a hurry to get to the other side...as the commuter train is leaving....

In my head, I've decided to stop comparing lenses and use each one to it's fullest potential.  Each of my Nikkor lens has it's own personality.  Gosh darn, I hope I don't start giving each of them nicknames....

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I've been away for so long.  Close to three months?  That's ridiculous!  Sorry about that.  I have a lot of catching up to do.

In January, hubby and I went on an island adventure and visited the Eastern Caribbean.  February brought some minor health issues.  I also signed up for an online class in Design Concepts.  This month, I had an opportunity to take senior portraits for a friend's son.  In the month of April, I have a wedding photo shoot that I'm looking forward to.

I will be back with additional posts.  In the meantime, here are some pictures from our pre-cruise stay in Fort Lauderdale:

Ft Lauderdale beach:  life guard stand

Basketball court right on the beach!

Walking along the main drag near the beach

Out of the Dark Ages

I finally did it! I upgraded my 3Gs (v3.01) iPhone. I'm now the proud owner of an iPhone 5! What an improvement in screen display, apps, and especially the camera. It was definitely a huge upgrade for me.

I've played with the basic camera app and found it to be limited. I've tried out several different ones and finally found one that I like. It's ProCamera 4. Right now, it's on sale for $0.99. It has image stabilization, flash on/off, two focus points: one for the main object and one for exposure, ISO boost, add copyright, and various other settings. I like it because it takes the pictures quickly and I can do it continuously.

So, I've had my new phone for over a month now and I'm enjoying it immensely! Besides using the basic phone features, I'm using it more to take pictures. I think it does an awesome job. I can't believe I've waited this long.

I have tried out some workflow apps and I'm currently using Photo Studio. It has the basic crop and brightness/contrast and hue/saturation adjustments along with some cool FX effects (cool filters, borders, vignettes, sepia, B&W, and just cool stuff). I still have the PS Express app which I use for more post production edits.

I can also update my blog. This post was created from my iPhone. I've found a Google Blogger app that allows me to post, edit, and add pictures to my blog. Unfortunately, I can't add captions to my pictures. That's okay. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Here are sample pictures I have taken:

**  Update  **  

I just noticed that the pictures in this post are rather large.  I had used an iPhone Blogger application to create this post.  Will need to figure out how to post smaller pictures.  

What's In My Camera Bag Along with My D600 (and using iCloud)

It's been awhile since I've done a post of what's in my camera bag.  Equipment and bag has definitely changed.  When I'm doing a photo shoot for an event, I now carry two lens, my flash, lens blower, extra batteries, extra media cards, and my personal stuff.  This all goes into my Tamrac Aria 6 bag.

When I'm just "out and about" or traveling to a local place, I will have my 24-85mm lens and personal stuff.  This goes into my Tamrac Aria 3 bag.  Note:  This is one compact bag.

I love the Tamrac Aria bags.  They are lightweight bags and comfortable to wear over my shoulder.  In order to use the Aria 3 bag, I have to gut it out (remove the divider) and place my camera in sideways. Initially, it was a snug fit.  Over time and several uses, it has loosened up a bit.  Maybe it's conformed to my D600 with 24-85mm lens.  I'm hoping that Tamrac will come out with an Aria 4 or 5 model, so I can take along my compact SB-400 flash as well.

My brother has mentioned to me that it looks like I'm carrying a purse.  I like that.

My big guns Aria 6 bag can handle anything I throw into it.  At any given time, it will have my 24-85mm and 85mm lens or 24-85mm and 60mm micro lens.  I will also take along my SB-700 flash for the just in case difficult lighting moment.  A few times, I've thrown in my iPad.  Yes, at this point the bag can get a bit heavy and the bag will flex a bit under all that weight.

My primary use for the iPad (besides retrieving email, surfing, eReader, news reader, and some games) is to keep a portfolio of my pictures.  That way I can show potential clients my photography experience.  Has this helped?  Yes!  Anything is better than showing a 4x6 picture.  Plus, I can carry all my photos on a digital device versus carrying around a heavy or bulky photo album.  

How do I get my pictures onto my iPad?  Easy!  I use iCloud.  Right now, my workflow starts with a ultraportable Windows 7 laptop.  It was easy to install iCloud on the Windows laptop.  I copy my edited/copyrighted pictures into a folder.  iCloud will detect new pictures and upload them to this mysterious storage cloud.  I can then go to my iPad and wait for my pictures to download.  It's automatic (after you change an iCloud setting).

Ooops!  I ventured off topic.  I will be back to post more technology stuff later.  Back to the bags....

Both bags are black.  When I was looking at purchasing the Aria 3, I had every intention of getting it in the beautiful brown color.  The logic side of my brain overruled the creative side and so I ended up with another black bag.  I will definitely get a different color when (hopefully) Tamrac comes out with an in between model.

Photographing Another Wedding

I had another opportunity to photograph a wedding at my church.  It was an evening wedding.  Simple and casual was the theme.  The couple wanted to go the non-traditional route and change it up a bit.  No lighting of the candles, no piano music.  Just a harpist playing beautiful sweet music.

The bride and groom handed out leis and beaded necklaces to their family members before the ceremony

The married couple

Their beautiful cake was vegan

The happy couple!

I had a dilemma trying to decide which lens to use.  I brought my 24-85mm, 60mm micro, and 85mm lens with me.  I ended up using the 24-85mm for 90% of the time and the 60mm for close ups.  I also used my SB-700 flash with diffuser when the lighting became difficult to capture the moment.

While I enjoy photographing weddings at my church, I hope to do some weddings at another venue.  I would enjoy the challenge and change of environment.  We'll see.