Not Graduations.

I feel like all I've been shooting for the past few weeks is graduation after graduation. I hear the song in my sleep. All the speeches sound the same. You really get stuck in that rut! But I haven't been shooting ONLY grads. Here are a few photos from the not-graduation assignments of the past couple weeks. A benefit concert by Jet Stream at The Canyon Club, for 15-year-old Taylor Messina. The concert, silent auction and raffle raised funds for Messina's treatment for Stage IV Midline Carcinoma.



Some wild art for Moorpark at Underwood farms. Little kids and strawberries. Let the insanity begin.









The One Gathering in Camarillo, 14 local churches came together for Pentecost. It was massive.







And on the other end of the spectrum... the wine and food fest for Casa Pacifica out at CSUCI.


(I love the shot above. I really, really wish it had run. Something different!)







I went out to the Camarillo Pond Rats pond for the very first time in Acorn history (we're fairly new to Camarillo) and shot some photos of the guys racing their RC boats around the pond. Those guys are FAST! The boats were super trick, I ended up with about fifty really nice shots. I normally wouldn't shoot so many, but I was having a good time playing with shooting angles and the water reflections and spray (plus my new lens' servo - first test!). I promised to post more photos here, so in a couple of days when I get all those edited I'll upload some additional photos from this event.










And finally, the Greek festival in Camarillo. The photo that ran was of the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star, who came to sign posters for her new movie "My Life in Ruins." I didn't think it was as interesting as these shots, but you know... celebrities... I guess just don't get that excited about them as most people do!





In other news, I am now on twitter! My twitter name is "snapitsiris"... yes, as in snap like a camera shutter. You can follow me and my daily adventures shooting. I'll add a direct link here to my twitter profile for easy access. And the 70-200 arrived safe and sound just before graduations began. It's a beast, a big lump of metal and glass to lug around, and it's already making me wonder if my chiropractor offers frequent flyer miles. But it shoots like a dream and I'm thrilled to have it. It was so nice for graduations. Next up: the photos from said grads!

Camping Trip!

Back from vacation in the June Lake Loop, bearing good and bad news.
Good news first - we had a great time! I shot some digital, brought along the Mark II for the very first time on family vacation, as well as the Yashica 124. Joe brought the field 4x5 and also his A2E. We shot some of our favorite films, 320 Tri-X in the Yashica, Delta 100 in the 4x5, some very old, color-shifted, semi-exposed Polaroid type 59, and we even shot one roll of Agfa 25. Oh how I miss shooting with Agfa 25. So in short, we enjoyed the trip immensely. I took a few digitals - mostly landscapes. But we did some fishing, some hiking, some fooling around town.

Here are a few shots.


















We stopped at Manzanar on the way home and left a 4x5 polaroid at the obelisk in the cemetary.











The bad news - I came home with a broken Mark II. It has started giving me Error 99 consistently, and it won't clear as normal. So I'm taking it in today and really hoping it will be fixed by the time graduations begin. We'll see.
I'm shooting with the 20D until it's fixed, and the 20D has a broken hot shoe. So I have an old bracket rigged up to hold the strobe out to the side... it's a pretty ghetto setup but it works.

That's all for now. Headed out to an assignment!

Catch-up and a wanted ad.

A bit of business to get out of the way first. I am in the market for a Canon 70-200 lens, either a f4 IS version or a 2.8 non-IS version. Hoping to pay between $750 and $900, hoping to find one that's in good working condition and tack sharp even if it has some normal wear on the outside. Email me if you have one for sale! Thanks!

And now on to the good stuff. I shot some interesting photos week before last that I didn't get in to my last post. Here are my favorites.

These were some swimmers from Calabasas High. Group shots are always hard, and one of the swimmers had a cast on his broken leg so an in-the-pool shot was out of the question. Here, standing them in the shallows and having a fill flash really popped out the portrait.



Here was a K-9 demonstration at the annual police department "luncheon with the chief." Very cool! Seeing the dog take down a "suspect" up close was impressive and made it obvious that having a K-9 unit would be extremely useful for the department.




Coach Gene Ubelhardt, who has taught football at Royal High School for as long as I can remember, is finally retiring. He's a really great guy and I will miss working with him when I shoot the team. This was just a very nice shot at his retirement dinner, where a ceiling bounce worked wonders for the photo.



And finally, a couple from the Pleasant Valley Museum living history day.

Turmoil & blue skies.

Well, it's a sad day here at the Acorn. We lost three very talented people in the first layoffs in the history of the paper. I can only wish them all the best in the future.
Fortunately, the photo department is running a very tight ship and therefore we were spared from any cuts. It was so nerve-wracking to hear about the layoffs, knowing that the photo dept is usually the first place publishers look to cut. But we're at three photogs for five papers and it's already tight. Here's to hoping that this is the bottom for us and we'll pull out of this hole a stronger, leaner paper. I know as a department we're still learning so much. The three of us make an excellent team. I have no doubts that this year, all three of us will be award-winning photographers in the CNPA awards. We can only improve... I know this year's graduations and sports finals will be fantastic, now that I have the 20D and the MkIIN. Having both bodies will be a major plus, and on top of that I'll likely be buying a 70-200 4.0 with my tax return. I can't afford pocketwizards, but I'm going to give the $60 set of Cactus V2s a shot for off-camera lighting and I'm planning on attending some lighting workshops and becoming an active strobist poster as well. With the improved gear and some added education, I think my photos should improve a ton.
So it's stormy in the office here but in other news, we've had ridiculously hot weather lately and bright blue skies. When it's that nice I pull out the polarizing filter every chance I get and pop those clouds.

Here are a few shots from this week:

Moorpark High School varsity baseball player Landon Hunt.










And a roofing company in Moorpark generously donated a new roof to the Little League snack shack. I found a nice banner flapping in the wind for some color.

Miscellaneous... playing with strobing.

A few different techniques for strobe usage last week. 


Balanced with late afternoon sunlight. I wish her family was better lit, but I would have had to flash them separately... This woman "won" a sweepstakes at the town center and got the run-around. She still hasn't got the car she supposedly won. Story here.

Bounced off the ceiling. I tried to make it a little unobtrusive here, balanced with the ambient lighting. Just enough for me to tone down the ISO a bit and reduce the noise.

Bounced off the ceiling here, with exposure set to completely obliterate the ambient. It was Thelma's 100th birthday. What a gorgeous woman!

Direct flash here, to balance with the sunlight. I wanted to flash off-camera from the front of the little yellow car, but I didn't have the equipment or time to set it up properly. Anyway, I was able to get the sky nice and contrasty with my polarizing filter and balanced with the flash. Looks pretty good.

Bounced off the low ceiling again here, upped the flash a couple stops for some drama. Worked well with the moody ambient coming in from those windows. Fortunately for me, the fluorescent lights in half the wrestling room were out, so I didn't have to wrestle with them.

Peeewww!

Today the local fire department set off a controlled burn at the Reagan Library to reduce the surrounding brush for the upcoming fire season. Nothing like a fire to make you stink all day. I might just do some swimming at the YMCA today (I haven't exercised in so long...) to reduce the stench!

This is a preview for shots that will be in this week's paper - it's a photo I wouldn't put in for publication because it doesn't show the action, but it's one of those shots I have a soft spot for - super wide and visually nice with good color and contrast.

Having shot a few assignments with the MkII now, I am extremely impressed with the ergonomics of the camera. I barely feel the weight. It's superbly balanced and everything is in the right place. I'm still bothered by the two-handed operation for setting aperture, iso, etc, especially for the upper LCD screen, but I can learn to live with it. But I just love that shutter - so quick and the sound is gorgeous. I'm a sucker for a pretty shutter. I only wish it was as quiet and pretty as my old Yashica TLR!

New Kit

The Mark IIN arrived yesterday and I spent a large portion of last night learning the features - mainly deciphering the button symbols, but I'm definitely impressed. 

The construction is much sturdier and while the camera is large, it's not bulky or awkward. Very comfortable. Grips are in the right place. That big prism is a dream. Shutter button feels sturdier and more durable. I love that the eyepiece keeps my face farther off the LCD - on cold nights I won't be worried about condensation on those menu buttons anymore. 

With the extra weight I'll be using the monopod much more often, and the two-handed menu operation is a little bothersome - but the increased speed and tough construction are spectacular. I was expecting the shutter to be quieter, but instead it's louder - won't be any better for shooting funerals or concerts. The good news is that the sound is much beefier. I can see why it's rated for 200,000 cycles. 

Should be a perfect workhorse. 

The Arrival

The 1D Mark II N is here... or rather, at my house. Joe got it from the mailman this morning, and the battery is charging up as we speak. I snagged the 17-40 from Canoga Camera last week, and it couldn't be nicer. So I should have the new kit up and running by tomorrow morning, at the latest.

I'll have a working hot shoe again! And less noise in the high ISOs. Thanks to all that is holy.

Hello, beautiful.

This is the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, birthed in 2005 and soon to be the replacement for my old, tired, beat-up 20D. A Christmas present from my generous mother. We're not loaded, so it won't be a new one, but a nice ebay model with low actuations should do nicely.

I'm still debating the lens to pair with the new body, since my workhorse EF-S 17-85 won't mount to the EF body. I want to stay as wide but there are not really any EF lenses that give me the coverage of the 17-85, which is actually a classic 28-135 with the 20D's 1.6 conversion factor. The Mark II has a 1.3 factor, so the closest I can get to that same spread is the 24-70 (a 31-91 with conversion factor) or 17-40 if I want to stay wide, but that means I would be relying on the cheapo EF 70-300 a lot more... ugh.

Anyway, I'm still thinking.

Thought I should add this shot, captured by my longtime friend and talented photographer Jon Gordon, at an event last month we were both shooting. He sent me this email along with it:

Dear Friends,

I am distressed to find that there are no depths to which paparazzi will go to get photos of celebrities, now even lurking in cemeteries. I captured a photo of this unscrupulous photographer the other day, and will be forwarding it to the proper authorities. Please let me know if you can identify this nefarious character.

With a heavy heart,

Jon Gordon

Looks like nefarious characters like me better find new places to shoot!