Actually later today. Its 1am and i have to hit the sack after this post but wanted to get it up before i lay down.
Kickin back down to Melrose Lightspace a little before noon.
12 hours from now i'll be in the middle of shooting aspiring models looking to improve and/or build their portfolios.
I think there are 13 that are suppose to show up but it seems there are always at least 2 or 3 that flake and a couple that either leave early or arrive late but we really dont need more than 4 out of makeup and on the floor at any one time.
I think the number of photographers allowed to attend is 12 so the ratio is darn near 1-to-1 depending on how many actually show up. Last month i think we actually had one drop by for a visit just to say HI and she ended up getting thrown into the mix and worked it for a good 2 to 3 hours.
Anyways, its always a good time. This will be my 3rd Melrose Lightspace event and we are already seeing regular photographer attendees. Tyrone and Steve are a couple i can name right off the top of my head right now and of course Peter, the Host, very very cool guy.
ok, gonna give the D90 a workout tomorrow and will be posting pics on my sites Sunday and for the next 2 weeks at least.
Check out at least one of my photo sites and check back often, im shooting every chance i get.
Well. thats it for now.
Rate, Comment, Subscribe... err wait... thats youtube.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Last Weekend
Last weekend, Thurs thru Sunday, i was watching FREE online workshops from creativeLive.com learning about post production working with Photoshop CS5 and a few hours of tips using Photomatix for HDR.
Each day was 6 hours of instructions with a 1 hour lunch break in the middle.
The online courses are FREE to watch while they are LIVE but after the online session is done and over they sell recorded video of the full workshop for anywhere between 99$ and 150$, depending on which course your interested in.
This is what i'll be doing not this weekend, but the next, again. But its only a 3 day weekend course. Fri. - Sun.
I really think my Photoshop and Lightroom skill has doubled, if not more, since July.
If you look at what i was producing pre-July, and compare that to what ive put out in the last couple weeks i think anyone would agree there is a BIG difference.
Each day was 6 hours of instructions with a 1 hour lunch break in the middle.
The online courses are FREE to watch while they are LIVE but after the online session is done and over they sell recorded video of the full workshop for anywhere between 99$ and 150$, depending on which course your interested in.
This is what i'll be doing not this weekend, but the next, again. But its only a 3 day weekend course. Fri. - Sun.
I really think my Photoshop and Lightroom skill has doubled, if not more, since July.
If you look at what i was producing pre-July, and compare that to what ive put out in the last couple weeks i think anyone would agree there is a BIG difference.
Last night.
My buddy Bob, who helped me build my motor for my Camaro, invited me to Irwindale Drags last night. He also told me if i took pics of his car he'd throw me a few bucks. So, camera in hand, i spent a good 4 - 5 hours shooting his car and various others at the track. All of which can be checked out on any of my multiple sites.
PacificFreelance.weebly.com
DeviantArt.com/PacificFreelance
Facebook.com/PacificFreelance
i also have Flickr but i havent been updating that one as much as the others.
Check'em out, got some pretty good shots.
PacificFreelance.weebly.com
DeviantArt.com/PacificFreelance
Facebook.com/PacificFreelance
i also have Flickr but i havent been updating that one as much as the others.
Check'em out, got some pretty good shots.
Update.
Well. I havent been much of a blogger just because i have no idea who or why anyone would be reading or following my posts.
Just for curiosity i looked at my Stats Tab and was pretty surprised to see people HAVE been at the very least looking at my page.
So. ill try to step up my postings.
If for what ever reason you find anything on my page[s] interesting, please take the time to comment and/or follow.
Ive also setup my new cellphone number so i can do mobile blogging which who knows, might be kinda fun. We will see.
Just for curiosity i looked at my Stats Tab and was pretty surprised to see people HAVE been at the very least looking at my page.
So. ill try to step up my postings.
If for what ever reason you find anything on my page[s] interesting, please take the time to comment and/or follow.
Ive also setup my new cellphone number so i can do mobile blogging which who knows, might be kinda fun. We will see.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Group Shoots
A long time ago [10+ years] i remember someone telling me about he or someone he knew attended an event that had a dozen or so models with a couple dozen or so photographers and all the models were either nude or in lingerie in some mansions backyard and my first reaction to this was "holy cow id love to get into something like that!". But i had never sought after anymore information about it because i was married at the time and knew there was no way in hell i could get away with attending something like that.
Fast forward to last July.
I cant remember what got me thinking back to that day or that memory but i was sitting at my computer and did a quick google search for such a thing. After checking out a few links with no real exciting results i came upon a forum page that listed a couple dozen of those type events.
I sat up in my chair and started reading. Some of these events were pretty expensive to attend. Full NUDE group shoot, X amount of models, X amount of photographers at such and such location, 150$.
Hmm... unless im getting something more than pictures, im not paying 150$.
Then i saw another one listed right below it. 15 models, 5 MUAs, 20 - 25 photographers at a 2000 sq ft studio in W. Hollywood, 40$. Now that seems like a price i can do. I emailed the guy and ended up attending.
I was a BLAST. I got there early and was pretty nervous. The host, Peter, was super friendly and very accommodating. Pretty soon people were pouring in. Models getting their make up done by the MUAs, other togs pulling their equipment out of their bags and setting up lighting at the different back drops. Peter started taking some test shots and i just kinda followed him around taking pictures right next to him.
Pretty soon everything was in full swing. At any one time there was at least 4 models on the floor posing, 3 or 4 in makeup or changing outfits [this was a Swimsuit shoot by the way.] or 3 or 4 leaving early or arriving late.
From 11.30am to 5.30pm when we stopped i shot 1288 pics. I was exhausted and whooped.
I later got home and downloaded the pics from my camera to my PC and i was AMAZED at some of the shots i got. I couldnt believe some of these images where coming out of MY camera.
I spent the entire day on Aperture priority and i used all 3 of my lenses. The lighting was really good in some spots and terrible in others. I think i was using ISO400 or 800.
Pictures posted on both my Facebook photography site and my weebly site.
Fast forward to last July.
I cant remember what got me thinking back to that day or that memory but i was sitting at my computer and did a quick google search for such a thing. After checking out a few links with no real exciting results i came upon a forum page that listed a couple dozen of those type events.
I sat up in my chair and started reading. Some of these events were pretty expensive to attend. Full NUDE group shoot, X amount of models, X amount of photographers at such and such location, 150$.
Hmm... unless im getting something more than pictures, im not paying 150$.
Then i saw another one listed right below it. 15 models, 5 MUAs, 20 - 25 photographers at a 2000 sq ft studio in W. Hollywood, 40$. Now that seems like a price i can do. I emailed the guy and ended up attending.
I was a BLAST. I got there early and was pretty nervous. The host, Peter, was super friendly and very accommodating. Pretty soon people were pouring in. Models getting their make up done by the MUAs, other togs pulling their equipment out of their bags and setting up lighting at the different back drops. Peter started taking some test shots and i just kinda followed him around taking pictures right next to him.
Pretty soon everything was in full swing. At any one time there was at least 4 models on the floor posing, 3 or 4 in makeup or changing outfits [this was a Swimsuit shoot by the way.] or 3 or 4 leaving early or arriving late.
From 11.30am to 5.30pm when we stopped i shot 1288 pics. I was exhausted and whooped.
I later got home and downloaded the pics from my camera to my PC and i was AMAZED at some of the shots i got. I couldnt believe some of these images where coming out of MY camera.
I spent the entire day on Aperture priority and i used all 3 of my lenses. The lighting was really good in some spots and terrible in others. I think i was using ISO400 or 800.
Pictures posted on both my Facebook photography site and my weebly site.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Oh Em Gee.
havent been posting becuz i dont think anybody is reading my crap anyway, but im bored and got sometime on my hands and any typing practice i can get i take.
Last week i was aimlessly tripping around on the interwebs and did a google search for models and photography. Came upon one site then another. happened upon one that mentioned a model shoot, happening fairly close [within 60 miles] at a reasonable price [40$].
I sent the guy that started the post an email and he gave me the skinny.
I made a paypal payment and was a little apphrensive about what i was getting myself into.
Saturday i woke up. packed my camera bag. and loaded the address i was going to in my TomTom and off i went. The shoot was to be from 12 - 5pm. Not knowing what to expect of traffic i left kinda early and got to the location at 11.20am.
Peter, the guy running the show welcomed me and set out making test shots of a model that was out of makeup already. I unpacked my camera and just kinda followed around behind him. Other photographers started streaming in. I was expecting something to the effect of 20 - 25 models and anywhere between 50 - 100 photographers showing up but to my surprise, it was more of a 1-on-1 kind of thing. I believe there were 15 models and somewhere between 15 - 20 photographers.
Everyone was very pleasant and friendly. another nice surprise. The models were great to work with. the models and the Make Up Artists [MUAs] were very good at what they were doing. Once things started to roll, i felt like a kid in a candy store after the doors had been locked. At any one time 3 or 4 models were posing while 3 or 4 more were in make up or changing into other outfits. Some left early, some arrived late but there was no down time. I shot for 6 straight hours. 1288 images taken. Thank heavens i had a 16gig card in my camera with a 4gig backup card although i didnt need the back up. My 16 gig had about another 200 pics left to be taken. My Nikon also has the 2 battery grip and although it came close i didnt need to switch to the 2nd battery.
Needless to say i had a BLAST. I learned quite a bit in those 6 hours and a little more during the post processing later at home. I got a little creative with my 50mm lens using a narrow depth of field and even tried using my 70-300mm lens.
If anyone is reading this drivel, check out my pics folder Swimsuit Shoot July 2011 on my Pacific Freelance facebook page. or my PacificFreelance.weebly.com site but i havent been updating that one as much yet. Could prolly be doing that right now actually.
If your reading this, leave a messege/comment.
Got another shoot scheduled for this weekend so more pics coming soon!
Last week i was aimlessly tripping around on the interwebs and did a google search for models and photography. Came upon one site then another. happened upon one that mentioned a model shoot, happening fairly close [within 60 miles] at a reasonable price [40$].
I sent the guy that started the post an email and he gave me the skinny.
I made a paypal payment and was a little apphrensive about what i was getting myself into.
Saturday i woke up. packed my camera bag. and loaded the address i was going to in my TomTom and off i went. The shoot was to be from 12 - 5pm. Not knowing what to expect of traffic i left kinda early and got to the location at 11.20am.
Peter, the guy running the show welcomed me and set out making test shots of a model that was out of makeup already. I unpacked my camera and just kinda followed around behind him. Other photographers started streaming in. I was expecting something to the effect of 20 - 25 models and anywhere between 50 - 100 photographers showing up but to my surprise, it was more of a 1-on-1 kind of thing. I believe there were 15 models and somewhere between 15 - 20 photographers.
Everyone was very pleasant and friendly. another nice surprise. The models were great to work with. the models and the Make Up Artists [MUAs] were very good at what they were doing. Once things started to roll, i felt like a kid in a candy store after the doors had been locked. At any one time 3 or 4 models were posing while 3 or 4 more were in make up or changing into other outfits. Some left early, some arrived late but there was no down time. I shot for 6 straight hours. 1288 images taken. Thank heavens i had a 16gig card in my camera with a 4gig backup card although i didnt need the back up. My 16 gig had about another 200 pics left to be taken. My Nikon also has the 2 battery grip and although it came close i didnt need to switch to the 2nd battery.
Needless to say i had a BLAST. I learned quite a bit in those 6 hours and a little more during the post processing later at home. I got a little creative with my 50mm lens using a narrow depth of field and even tried using my 70-300mm lens.
If anyone is reading this drivel, check out my pics folder Swimsuit Shoot July 2011 on my Pacific Freelance facebook page. or my PacificFreelance.weebly.com site but i havent been updating that one as much yet. Could prolly be doing that right now actually.
If your reading this, leave a messege/comment.
Got another shoot scheduled for this weekend so more pics coming soon!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Moved.
Well. Packed as much as i could into my little Chevy Cavalier and set off for So Cal via 81 South to the 40 West. Left Greene, NY around 12 or 1pm Monday. Trip was pretty uneventful. Got rained on once in Oklahoma but it did very little to wash all the bugs off the front of the car that had accumulated.
Arrived in Lake Havasu City at 4pm Wednesday afternoon. It was 118* degrees. Stayed and visited my cousins i hadnt seen for years for a couple days then continued down into So Cal arriving in Monrovia, Ca around 7pm Sat. nite.
So. here i am. keep checking my sites; Facebook, Weebly and/or Deviant Art for my continued photography uploads as i shoot various events and places in my travels.
Hitting the NHRAs Twilight Cruise on the 6th of July. Im sure i will get a lot of nice pics there.
Arrived in Lake Havasu City at 4pm Wednesday afternoon. It was 118* degrees. Stayed and visited my cousins i hadnt seen for years for a couple days then continued down into So Cal arriving in Monrovia, Ca around 7pm Sat. nite.
So. here i am. keep checking my sites; Facebook, Weebly and/or Deviant Art for my continued photography uploads as i shoot various events and places in my travels.
Hitting the NHRAs Twilight Cruise on the 6th of July. Im sure i will get a lot of nice pics there.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Moving. Again.
95% chance im moving back to So Cal again. Got a buddy hooking me up with a part time job and another buddy providing me a place to stay. Will be packing up the Cavalier and driving out sometime before the end of June. Been here in upstate NY 9 yrs. this time.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Follow up to Red Barn Rant
Just wanted to add, ...
i came home from that incident, pissed off about the time and gas money i wasted driving down there for NOTHING.
I got home, laid out my PS3 parts on the computer desk, did a simple Youtube search for
"PS3 arctic silver" and got this as a first result to the search.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eytRmdhl4oc
I followed what this guy said, put it all back together, plugged the PS3 in and hooked everything up and so far, no over-heating problems.
The real test will be after a few hours use. But i did start watching a movie with it for a 1/2 hour or so, Land of the Lost. I think playing movies and of gaming puts a bit of a load on the CPU/GPU and again, worked fine.
I really dont use my PS3 for gaming all that much anymore but more as a media extender.
I download movies on the computer from newsgroups or Youtube, convert them if needed, move them to my portable 300gig USB external hard drive, plug that hard drive into the PS3 and watch the movies on my 37" HDTV.
Ive also upgraded the internal PS3 hard drive from its original 40gig to a 350gig drive so i can move favorite movies from the USB hard drive right onto the PS3 hard drive.
Also since having the CPU/GPU reballed [replacing the older original non-leaded solder with leaded solder] my PS3 is actually BETTER than new now.
Over the next few days i should be able to tell if i will still have over heating problems or if that last youtube instructional video did the trick.
i came home from that incident, pissed off about the time and gas money i wasted driving down there for NOTHING.
I got home, laid out my PS3 parts on the computer desk, did a simple Youtube search for
"PS3 arctic silver" and got this as a first result to the search.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eytRmdhl4oc
I followed what this guy said, put it all back together, plugged the PS3 in and hooked everything up and so far, no over-heating problems.
The real test will be after a few hours use. But i did start watching a movie with it for a 1/2 hour or so, Land of the Lost. I think playing movies and of gaming puts a bit of a load on the CPU/GPU and again, worked fine.
I really dont use my PS3 for gaming all that much anymore but more as a media extender.
I download movies on the computer from newsgroups or Youtube, convert them if needed, move them to my portable 300gig USB external hard drive, plug that hard drive into the PS3 and watch the movies on my 37" HDTV.
Ive also upgraded the internal PS3 hard drive from its original 40gig to a 350gig drive so i can move favorite movies from the USB hard drive right onto the PS3 hard drive.
Also since having the CPU/GPU reballed [replacing the older original non-leaded solder with leaded solder] my PS3 is actually BETTER than new now.
Over the next few days i should be able to tell if i will still have over heating problems or if that last youtube instructional video did the trick.
Rant - Red Barn Computers can kiss my ass.
i live in Greene which is about 15 miles from Red barn Computers in Binghamton, NY.
I called down ahead of time and asked whom ever answered, "If i bring down my PS3 motherboard and a tube of Arctic Silver, can someone there spread it around on the CPU/GPU for me?". The guy on the phone told me yes for a cost of 10$.
I took my PS3 apart again and jumped in the car and took off for Binghamton.
When i got there some guy wearing glasses asked me if he could help me. I told him i had called and was told i could get my processors smeared with my tube of Arctic Silver. he then asked me if i knew the name of the person i talked too on the phone and i said "no."
So then this "glasses guy" starts asking me all these questions about WHY do i need this done, WHAT are the problems i was having? so on and so on. As i felt all of these questions had ZERO to do with my request of JUST SMEARING SOME OF THIS GOOP ON MY PROCESSORS i started getting a little perturbed, but i wasnt in Be-A-Dick gear yet so i explained to him that i was having over heating problems. I had explained that i had tried smearing this stuff on the processors myself but i didnt know if i was putting the stuff on too much or too little? From Youtube videos i had seen there is a fine line between too little and too much so i wanted SOMEONE that has experience of working with Arctic Silver 5 and applying it to CPUs/GPUs to just do it for me, right? We are talking about a 5 minute job.
So glasses-guy tells me the guy i talked too must be the guy that is currently on lunch break [always the case isnt it?] and he would rather wait until that guy comes back and let him do it.
i was FINE with this and proceeded to wait.
So while im standing there minding my own business 2 other store guys ask what the problem is and glasses-guy trys explaining it to them and keeps adding shit to my story. Remember the simple task i asked them to perform? Simply smear this goop on these 2 processors. that is ALL i wanted done.
So the more glasses-guy walks around the store the more he is thinking about the situation and his pucker factor is doubling 2-fold every 45 seconds.
He comes back to me a couple times and asks me more questions about what started the problem and why do i think this will fix it, and i answer him nicely because i think im just waiting for this other guy to show up and do what im there for for the amount he told me on the phone, 10$.
Glasses-guy walks around the store some more and i can tell his panties are getting all twisted over my situation. He finally comes back to me for about the 4th or 5th time and started telling me, "You know, im just not confident putting this stuff on your processors is going to fix your over heating problems and i feel bad about charging you 40$ to do the work if it isnt going to fix it".
I told him "No, the guy on the phone told me 10$ and all i want is for someone that has worked with this Arctic Silver stuff before to apply it to my 2 components, thats all i want done, and you want to charge me 40$ for THAT?? Are you kidding me?"
To which he replies "well that is our standard fee..." at which point i stopped him by putting my hand up and said "so you guys wont put this on for me, right? is that what your telling me?"
He restarts telling me how HE doesnt "think" THAT is my problem and he would rather on-lunch guy just TELLS me how to do it... i cut him off again and tell him "you know what, just forget it. ill do it myself again and you just lost a loyal customer."
As i picked my stuff up and turned to walk out he said "have a nice day" to which i said "Fuk off."
Its companies, businesses and corporations that get this attitude that they dont have to do simple tasks for a simple price anymore because they have their business established and dont have to rely on things they used to do like this when they were starting out. They seem to forget that at one time they were HAPPY to provide any service they could to the general public but now they are too big for their own good.
You know what? fuk'm. support whomever gives you the best customer service is what i say and they just proved to me they dont desire me as a customer and i have no problem taking my business needs somewhere else.
/end rant
I called down ahead of time and asked whom ever answered, "If i bring down my PS3 motherboard and a tube of Arctic Silver, can someone there spread it around on the CPU/GPU for me?". The guy on the phone told me yes for a cost of 10$.
I took my PS3 apart again and jumped in the car and took off for Binghamton.
When i got there some guy wearing glasses asked me if he could help me. I told him i had called and was told i could get my processors smeared with my tube of Arctic Silver. he then asked me if i knew the name of the person i talked too on the phone and i said "no."
So then this "glasses guy" starts asking me all these questions about WHY do i need this done, WHAT are the problems i was having? so on and so on. As i felt all of these questions had ZERO to do with my request of JUST SMEARING SOME OF THIS GOOP ON MY PROCESSORS i started getting a little perturbed, but i wasnt in Be-A-Dick gear yet so i explained to him that i was having over heating problems. I had explained that i had tried smearing this stuff on the processors myself but i didnt know if i was putting the stuff on too much or too little? From Youtube videos i had seen there is a fine line between too little and too much so i wanted SOMEONE that has experience of working with Arctic Silver 5 and applying it to CPUs/GPUs to just do it for me, right? We are talking about a 5 minute job.
So glasses-guy tells me the guy i talked too must be the guy that is currently on lunch break [always the case isnt it?] and he would rather wait until that guy comes back and let him do it.
i was FINE with this and proceeded to wait.
So while im standing there minding my own business 2 other store guys ask what the problem is and glasses-guy trys explaining it to them and keeps adding shit to my story. Remember the simple task i asked them to perform? Simply smear this goop on these 2 processors. that is ALL i wanted done.
So the more glasses-guy walks around the store the more he is thinking about the situation and his pucker factor is doubling 2-fold every 45 seconds.
He comes back to me a couple times and asks me more questions about what started the problem and why do i think this will fix it, and i answer him nicely because i think im just waiting for this other guy to show up and do what im there for for the amount he told me on the phone, 10$.
Glasses-guy walks around the store some more and i can tell his panties are getting all twisted over my situation. He finally comes back to me for about the 4th or 5th time and started telling me, "You know, im just not confident putting this stuff on your processors is going to fix your over heating problems and i feel bad about charging you 40$ to do the work if it isnt going to fix it".
I told him "No, the guy on the phone told me 10$ and all i want is for someone that has worked with this Arctic Silver stuff before to apply it to my 2 components, thats all i want done, and you want to charge me 40$ for THAT?? Are you kidding me?"
To which he replies "well that is our standard fee..." at which point i stopped him by putting my hand up and said "so you guys wont put this on for me, right? is that what your telling me?"
He restarts telling me how HE doesnt "think" THAT is my problem and he would rather on-lunch guy just TELLS me how to do it... i cut him off again and tell him "you know what, just forget it. ill do it myself again and you just lost a loyal customer."
As i picked my stuff up and turned to walk out he said "have a nice day" to which i said "Fuk off."
Its companies, businesses and corporations that get this attitude that they dont have to do simple tasks for a simple price anymore because they have their business established and dont have to rely on things they used to do like this when they were starting out. They seem to forget that at one time they were HAPPY to provide any service they could to the general public but now they are too big for their own good.
You know what? fuk'm. support whomever gives you the best customer service is what i say and they just proved to me they dont desire me as a customer and i have no problem taking my business needs somewhere else.
/end rant
Updates - Moving Soon
My really good friend and someone i worked with for 3 yrs at Earthlink Network tech support has a job for me to slip into back out in So Cal. so im headed back out to the west coast sometime towards the end of June. Thanks to Facebook and the effort of communication i have with friends on both coasts i will also be staying at the parents house of another buddy i used to work with and if it wasnt for Facebook i would have lost contact with them long ago. Anyways, hopefully i can get back to work and take a photography class at Citrus Coll. this Fall semester.
As far as my truck and street/strip Camaro, i will have to leave them here for now and hopefully come back out next summer to get them. With gas prices being what they are i figure it will cost about 900$+ to drive my Silverado from NY to So Cal dragging the race car on a trailer behind it, so that will have to wait. Luckily, i have a great little gas mileage car that will get me back there for around 400$.
Will stuff my little Cavalier with my computers, cameras and some clothes. If i have more room i might try stuffing my 37" HDTV in there somewhere but with their costs coming down i can just buy a new one for like 400$. My current Olevia 37" is maybe 3 or 4 yrs old and has started with some unpredictable quirkyness. hasnt done it in awhile but sometimes, with no warning at all, the screen just goes black. the audio continues to play but the picture is gone. a simple restart fixes it, but it has done it maybe a 1/2 dozen times within the last 3 or 4 months so the thought of buying a new one isnt all that hard to accept after i move.
As far as my truck and street/strip Camaro, i will have to leave them here for now and hopefully come back out next summer to get them. With gas prices being what they are i figure it will cost about 900$+ to drive my Silverado from NY to So Cal dragging the race car on a trailer behind it, so that will have to wait. Luckily, i have a great little gas mileage car that will get me back there for around 400$.
Will stuff my little Cavalier with my computers, cameras and some clothes. If i have more room i might try stuffing my 37" HDTV in there somewhere but with their costs coming down i can just buy a new one for like 400$. My current Olevia 37" is maybe 3 or 4 yrs old and has started with some unpredictable quirkyness. hasnt done it in awhile but sometimes, with no warning at all, the screen just goes black. the audio continues to play but the picture is gone. a simple restart fixes it, but it has done it maybe a 1/2 dozen times within the last 3 or 4 months so the thought of buying a new one isnt all that hard to accept after i move.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Snow Snow Snow
Snowed yesterday. Wet heavy snow. when it all but stopped i grabbed the D90 and went for a walk. I quickly found out my lens choice could have been slightly better. I took my Tamron 70-300. I think i took 30+ shots in all. Got a couple good ones. Played around with exposure compensation, because i was shooting snow scenes i added +1 to my exposures using the exposure compensation meter.
To see a few of the pics i took either use Facebook and search for Pacific Freelance Photography and/or check out PacificFreelance.weebly.com
These are the sites i will be updating the most. And with warmer weather will come much more pics this year.
I also received my AlienBees transmitter/receiver this week. I also bought a small sealed lead acid 6v battery to use with my 285HV Vivitar flash so no more replacing AA batteries every 100 shots. Found a video on the youTubes to modify my flash so i can use a larger battery, pretty easy.
To see a few of the pics i took either use Facebook and search for Pacific Freelance Photography and/or check out PacificFreelance.weebly.com
These are the sites i will be updating the most. And with warmer weather will come much more pics this year.
I also received my AlienBees transmitter/receiver this week. I also bought a small sealed lead acid 6v battery to use with my 285HV Vivitar flash so no more replacing AA batteries every 100 shots. Found a video on the youTubes to modify my flash so i can use a larger battery, pretty easy.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Software and HDR
That whole HDR thing. still not sure im diggin it. Went to the Two Rivers Photography club meeting last friday night and the photo that won 1st prize was a shitty looking HDR "photo". There was nothing to it that reflected an actual photo at all. it looked 100% cartoonish and the closer i got to it the more retarded it looked. I do think HDR can be used to make better photos but there is a line were it goes from photo to ... something entirely different. From what ive heard Photomatix is one of the better programs for merging HDR shots but im not a big fan of paying for programs unless i really need too. I did a Google search for "HDR open source" and found a free HDR program. Unfortunately it didnt work so well with my Windows 7 64-bit OS. Ive installed it on my other WinXP machine [32 bit] and my laptop, but i havent actually done any testing on those yet.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Black and White
Here we go. For what ever reason i was under the impression my D90 could only take color images that could then be converted to black/white either with its in-camera processing or an external application. However after looking through the camera settings for some other thing i stumbled upon the settings for black/white [monochrome] shooting. nice. So yeh. Ill probably be shooting a lot of black/white again now that i know how to set up the camera to do so.
Can hardly wait to be done with this semester of Computer Science classes so i can start taking photography classes. Whether it be at the local Comm. Coll. or online classes like NYIP. Has anyone taken one of the NYIP courses? Care to share with me your experience?
Can hardly wait to be done with this semester of Computer Science classes so i can start taking photography classes. Whether it be at the local Comm. Coll. or online classes like NYIP. Has anyone taken one of the NYIP courses? Care to share with me your experience?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Tethered Shooting
Very cool. Since my Nikon D90 doesn't come with [that i know of] software for Tethered Shooting im using Adobe Lightroom. I do know [as far as i know] there is other software available provided by Nikon for an additional charge that i can use, but i need to put my money elsewhere if i can.
So anyways, i used a 3 foot USB cable plugged into the Camera and the laptop, opened Light room and started tether capture, took a few pics and BANG, pics displayed on my WinXP laptop. very cool. After digging around in my box of cables i also found a 4 foot USB extension cable so combined i have at least 7 feet until i can find a longer USB cable, which im sure i have around here somewhere, just got to do some more digging. So now, i have the option of viewing my pics as they are being shot on the cameras 3" LCD screen OR my 17" laptop. I also have a portable 10" DVD player im going to see if i can use. i wont be able to hook that up with the USB cable, but maybe the audio/video out from the camera. but i also have doubts that will be as good as the laptop since i have had the A/V out hooked up to my 37" HDTV and the quality was surprisingly lacking.
This doesnt really restrict me too much for the "studio" type shots im going to be trying later tonight at a friends place because my off camera flash is also on about a 10 foot tether until i can afford an AlienBees flash transmitter/receiver set, so, not too bad for now.
So anyways, i used a 3 foot USB cable plugged into the Camera and the laptop, opened Light room and started tether capture, took a few pics and BANG, pics displayed on my WinXP laptop. very cool. After digging around in my box of cables i also found a 4 foot USB extension cable so combined i have at least 7 feet until i can find a longer USB cable, which im sure i have around here somewhere, just got to do some more digging. So now, i have the option of viewing my pics as they are being shot on the cameras 3" LCD screen OR my 17" laptop. I also have a portable 10" DVD player im going to see if i can use. i wont be able to hook that up with the USB cable, but maybe the audio/video out from the camera. but i also have doubts that will be as good as the laptop since i have had the A/V out hooked up to my 37" HDTV and the quality was surprisingly lacking.
This doesnt really restrict me too much for the "studio" type shots im going to be trying later tonight at a friends place because my off camera flash is also on about a 10 foot tether until i can afford an AlienBees flash transmitter/receiver set, so, not too bad for now.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Not much Today
had a science and technology class.
after i tripped out to vestal to pick up my first ever digital prints. I ordered 2 5x7's just to check out price of each quality, gotta say im pretty impressed. i was also under some impression to get a very good print-from-digital picture you should stay with an ISO of 400 or lower but according to the guy behind the counter he said you can still get a great print from an ISO 800 or even 1000. So. I might give that a go and check out the results.
after i tripped out to vestal to pick up my first ever digital prints. I ordered 2 5x7's just to check out price of each quality, gotta say im pretty impressed. i was also under some impression to get a very good print-from-digital picture you should stay with an ISO of 400 or lower but according to the guy behind the counter he said you can still get a great print from an ISO 800 or even 1000. So. I might give that a go and check out the results.
Whipping it out
After getting the Camaro 95% back together last summer and putting it away for the winter ive decided to get back into my photography. I had my older cameras stuffed under the bed, i had lighting equipment stuffed in the closet, i had cords and brackets hiding in boxes, but i think i have found everything i have and im concentrating my efforts for learning portrait photography.
Mostly because it's been below 30* degrees here for the last 4 weeks. I have also picked up my first Digital SLR, a Nikon D90. At first i had picked up a D3000, but when i realized that camera body uses lenses with the auto-focus built into the lens, and i currently own 2 other lenses that work with a camera body with the auto-focus drive built into it i was really disappointed. Then i found out the D3000 is only 10 mega pixels. I then found a good wikipedia page that describes the D3000 as more of a "starter" camera and i believe im slightly more than a starter, so i took it back within a few weeks and traded up to a D90 which has the auto-focus drive in the camera body which will work with my 2 existing auto-focus lenses, its a 12 mega pixel camera and it is not quite a Professionals camera, but the next best thing to one.
Next semester i hope to take some photography courses at BCC if im still in the area, i will also be looking for work and will have to go wherever the wind blows me. but wherever i go, i will be taking classes, im sure of that.
Currently im learning how to use my new D90 with my Vivitar 285HV and what little lighting-studio equipment i have with a friend modeling for me named Rachael. When i get some photos i can be 1/2 way proud of, i will post them.
Mostly because it's been below 30* degrees here for the last 4 weeks. I have also picked up my first Digital SLR, a Nikon D90. At first i had picked up a D3000, but when i realized that camera body uses lenses with the auto-focus built into the lens, and i currently own 2 other lenses that work with a camera body with the auto-focus drive built into it i was really disappointed. Then i found out the D3000 is only 10 mega pixels. I then found a good wikipedia page that describes the D3000 as more of a "starter" camera and i believe im slightly more than a starter, so i took it back within a few weeks and traded up to a D90 which has the auto-focus drive in the camera body which will work with my 2 existing auto-focus lenses, its a 12 mega pixel camera and it is not quite a Professionals camera, but the next best thing to one.
Next semester i hope to take some photography courses at BCC if im still in the area, i will also be looking for work and will have to go wherever the wind blows me. but wherever i go, i will be taking classes, im sure of that.
Currently im learning how to use my new D90 with my Vivitar 285HV and what little lighting-studio equipment i have with a friend modeling for me named Rachael. When i get some photos i can be 1/2 way proud of, i will post them.
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