Photo365-20100131 – A First Time for Everything, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 70mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)
Today I can say I had my first real gig as a photographer. My friend asked if I could help him out by taking a corporate head shot for his boss’ web site. Of course I told him it would not be a problem and that it was perfect timing as I am heading to my company’s winter meeting to do head shots of all my coworkers later in the week. The setup for this shot was three small strobes. One in a soft box at camera right as the key, one in a reflective umbrella on camera left as the fill and a third gridded and pointed up at the background from behind the subject. It turns out that the intended fill light became the key. I guess I am still learning the ETTL and ratios functions in the Canon system. However, even though they got switched on me, I like the overall picture. The lighting is clean and there is good separation from the background. Maybe next time I will leave just a bit more head room in the shot to allow for future clients to be able to frame their images.
Photo365-20100130 – Back to the 80′s, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/100 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 800, 35mm (EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS)
Our friends had an 80′s party tonight to celebrate a thirtieth birthday. We decided to take some high-key galmor shots to help remember the event. I broke out the white seamless paper and set up three flashes to achieve the almost completely blanked out background, a.k.a. high-key, photograph. Two flashes were used to light the subjects, one high and camera right and one high and camera left. Both flashes were equipped with a reflective umbrella and tilted down at forty five degrees to get complete coverage. The third flash was behind the subjects at camera right. It was only a few inches away from the background and aimed in such a way so the light was feathered across the background. I did this to avoid a hot-spot from appearing on the seamless papear close to the where the flash head was on the right side of the frame. To prevent any of the light from the background flash from getting on the subjects or into the camera lens, I used a gobo on it. While not a perfect high-key photograph, I think it is not bad at all for a first attempt at this type of shoot.
Photo365-20100129 – Thanks To A Tip, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/320 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 100, 50mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
I received a text message from a friend this morning suggesting that I take a look outside for a picture opportunity. Sure enough, when I peaked out the front door, I saw a beautifully lit sky. I grabbed the camera from inside and spent about five minutes shooting the sky in my pajamas. I love the color in this photograph, especially against the silhouetted houses.
Photo365-20100128 – TV Time, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 50mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
It has been a super long week. I think this picture speaks to my level of exhaustion. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for the project.
Photo365-20100127 – Photo Pit Shop, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
20.0 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
On my way back home from New Jersey this week, I took a short pit stop in order to take today’s picture. The Maryland welcome center on I95 is the last rest stop on my now weekly commute. I set up on the hill overlooking I95 with my tripod and 50mm lens. My goal was to capture the streaking lights of passing by cars using a long exposure. This twenty second exposure really brought out the little amount of light that was left in the sky.
Photo365-20100126 – A Lucky Lunch, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/3200 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 185 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)
I was on my way to Wegmans today to pick up some lunch to bring back to work when I spotted this hawk in a tree fifteen yards off the parking lot. Luckily I still had the DSLR in the trunk of my car, usually I bring it into work and lock it up during the day. I quickly parked the car and got to work getting my 70-200mm lens and flash put onto my camera. By the time I was ready to start shooting the hawk, she had flown about fifty yards away into another tree. I made the small trek and started shooting picture after picture when I could fill the frame with my new friend. I set the flash in a way to provide me a bit of catch light in the hawk’s eyes. Doing this gave life to the bird, without it, the hawk may have looked fake.
I spent about fifteen minutes taking different shots using both the wide-side, 70mm, and long-side, 200mm, focal lengths. In the process, I walked a complete circle around the tree where my friend stayed perched during the shoot. At one point I was about fifteen yards away from the the tree. The hawk did not seem to mind my presence and constant flashing. In fact, she was even kind enough to try several different head positions for me.
Photo365-20100125 – Hotel Life: Midnight Snack, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/60 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 400, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
Tonight I took a walk around the floors of the Marriott hotel looking for an interesting subject to capture for the project. The vending machine on the first floor, outside of the gym believe it or not, wound up being my target for the night. The single light in the vending machine offered interesting lighting on the bags of chips and other goodies found inside. I enhanced the effect slightly by adding a vignette in post processing.
Photo365-20100124 – HIttin’ the Road, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/30 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 3200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
I was about to head out the door for another week on the road when I remembered that I still needed to take a picture for the day. I decided to snap a picture of all my “luggage”. Two out of the four pieces of luggage are strictly camera gear. The two bags on the left contain my camera, various accessories, a portable light stand and convertible umbrella, tripod, and Wacom tablet. I figured that I can never be too prepared for being able to take pictures and work on them while I am hanging out in my hotel room each night during the week.
I used Matt Kloskowski‘s “The Cutting Edge” Lightroom preset in post.
Photo365-20100123 – The Circle of Life, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/400 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
Today I took a photo walk on one of the many trails Leesburg has to offer. This particular trail ran along Goose Creek all the way out to the Potomac river. I did not quite make it that far this afternoon, but I did have a nice hike. Towards the apex of my of walk, I found this downed tree covered in mold. The way the sun was hitting the log at a long angle made for some intriguing light.
I used another Matt Kloskowski Lightroom plugin in post-processing. The preset is called Matt’s Wedding Fantasy and can be found on Matt’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips blog.
Photo365-20100122 – DVR: The Business End, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/80 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 2000, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
No thrills here in today’s picture. This the “The Business End” of my homemade DVR. It can record all four of the network television stations in full HD at the same time. The DVR will also record one cable TV station in HD too. However, the killer feature is the commercial skipping. I am not talking thirty second skip or regular old fast forward like the TiVo or cable company provided boxes do. My DVR finds the commericals and skips over them instantly while we are watching a show. No wonder why I think I have an addiction to TV!
A self-proclaimed tech-geek, I enjoy anything powered by batteries or electricity. I'm not happy until I understand the full potential of any new gadget I get my hands on....
