During a Koa dogsitting adventure I decided to test my 2 new cameras. The photo on the left is from the Canon G7X and the photo on the right is from the Sony A6000.
Koa Portraits
Camera Nubbies
I been away in Miami for 3 weeks. It was quite difficult being away for that length of time.
I did have some new stuff waiting for me though…
Portraits at the Kinney’s
We were invited to a Birthday/house warming party at Trish & Chris’s, so I thought I would bring along my G7X and a continuous lighting set up. Here’s what I got…
Post Halloween Shoot 2014
Schedules did not permit us to see Noah this Halloween. I heard he was going to be a Fireman, so I made arrangements to meet at our local fire station for a short shoot and as usual they were very accommodating. Having shot Noah a few times I thought I knew what to expect, but as usual he’s full of surprises.
Livermore Wines
Paul & Brenda invited us to go wine tasting in Livermore. We have never been there so we jumped at the chance.
Murrietta’s Well was our first stop.
On to Wente. We had to get past Hank though (major dogmeat).
Lunch was at Uncle Yu’s.
And finally Tenuta Wines.
Oakland LDS 2014
Last time I was here was 2008. I brought a gigantic DSLR and tripod. This time I used a tiny G1X2 and a travel tripod.
I did try a HDR software that came with the Canon RAW package.
Light Stick
A couple of people have asked me about this so I thought I would do a quick posting. I love using strobes when shooting portraits and since alot of those are environmental shoots I have to be mobile. Therefore my traveling light rig is as follows: Shurline 4-9ft paint pole. Kacey paint pole adapter, Wescott Rapidbox and of course a Canon 600EX-RT.
Now I can mount any light modifier on top this pole that can extend to 9 ft. Most recently I experimented with a snoot. The results were hit & miss but I did like the effect.
Blue Angels 2014
I’ve tried to shoot them a couple of times as they took off from the Oakland airport during their practice runs. Sunday after we got home from the wedding we made the last minute decision to ferry into the City to photograph the Blue Angels. Like an idiot I thought I would be the only one with this bright idea. The lines were so long and there was a serious delay in the ferry schedule. Just as we were pulling out of Oakland the show started. The outside seats were packed and with the roar of the Blue Angels, everyone rushed to the rails of the ferry and I was left behind a bunch of tall people using their ding dang camera phones!
I didn’t get very good photos but it was an experience. We were not allowed to stay on the ferry to do a round trip so after exiting and walking to the end of what appeared to be a 300-person line we decided to walk from Pier 41 to Pier 1 and bus it back home. What I thought would be a couple hour trip turned into a 6 hour journey.
Wedding Bells ♫
This past Saturday we witnessed the wedding of Mary Ann (Bunny) & Quan. The ceremony was at the Five Wounds Church. It was a full catholic mass… in Vietnamese. Not wanting to step on the hired photog toes I only shot a couple.
Reception was held at the Dolce Hayes Mansion.
Jenn & Dodger
I haven’t shot a portrait in awhile so what better time than now! Luckily our neighbor Jennifer was willing and I asked her bring Dodger. I couldn’t have chosen a worse day. The wind prevented me from using any light modifiers on my speedlites. I was just about to send her a text message to cancel when she showed up. Ok we’re shooting bare flash and we’ll get some harsh shadows, no problem.
Dodger was uninterested in the portrait process and it was difficult to get his attention. With most dogs I have an immediate bond. He couldn’t care less about me which was a blow to my dog ego.