Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day 2013

For Memorial Day 2013, I decided to take a trip to the Marietta National Cemetery. It was mentioned on the news that flags were placed on every grave, so I knew it would be picture-worthy. When I first got there,  there was a ceremony going on at one end, so I went to the other to get away from the crowds. 

I couldn't help but follow this guy around. He was walking by himself, going grave to grave reading every one. He turned out to be a great subject.


1/4000 f/3.5 ISO 250
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s

 1/6400 f/3.5 ISO 250
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s


 1/3200 f/3.5 ISO 250
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s




Afterwards I got a couple shots of the graves


 1/400 f/3.5 ISO 250
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s



 1/8000 f/2.8 ISO 125
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s






As I was leaving, they were just about to do a 21-gun salute, so of course I had to get a shot of this


 1/640 f/4 ISO 125
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s


1/640 f/4 ISO 125
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Super Full Moon

Tonight, there was a "Super Full Moon", but I didn't find out about it until the very last minute. I read that the moon would reach 100% illumination at 12:25am, so I packed up my gear and drove over to Acworth Beach by midnight.

I kept messing up. First, I left my tripod next to my car, so I had to drive back to get it. Then when I get there, I realized I forgot my remote shutter release. I also realized it was so dark but I forgot my flashlight. Then in the end, I forgot to shoot RAW, and was shooting just JPEG the whole time without even knowing it. I guess that goes to show that no matter how fast you're trying to work, make sure you're not forgetting anything! Double-check settings, and double-check your gear. 

I didn't stay for too long, but this is what I came up with in the end. I played around with my 24-70 at first but wanted a wider angle, so I switched to a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens. It's a really cool lens, and it's known to be sharper than its competitor, the Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 (which is $200 more too). Sigma has been designing a lot of really good lenses the past few years that are finally starting to compete with Nikon. This is one of those lenses that just really blows me away with the quality. 


2 second exposure, f/3.2 ISO 400
Sigma 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Nikon D3s


See the light coming from behind the trees? That's actually light pollution coming from Atlanta. It's very hard to get dark skies when you're close to a city. Atlanta is 30 miles from this location, but it'll still show. Rural locations are always the best to get a good night shot. You'll be able to use just the moon for lighting and more stars will appear in the sky.









Sunday, May 19, 2013

Rome Braves vs Ashville Tourists

Tonight I shot my first game for the Rome Braves, which is the Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, located a couple hours northeast of Atlanta. I was hired to shoot this game as well as next week. I haven't been to this stadium since April of 2011 when I watched Bryce Harper make his minor league debut, but I figured I could still work around and find good locations to shoot from. 

This was technically a double-header, since the game from the night before was rained out, so the game continued in the top of the 4th inning with 2 outs, then the second game would be limited to 7 innings to prevent tiring out the players. Luckily for the first game, Atlanta Braves 2012 first round pick Lucas Sims was pitching, and I really wanted to get some good shots of him. If he turns out to be a big star someday, these pictures would be great to look back on. 

Here's a few of my favorite shots of Sims from the day:


1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc
Nikon D3s


1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO
400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc
Nikon D3s


1/2500 f/4 1000 ISO
400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 tc
Nikon D3s



1/1000 f/3.5 640 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3


1/1600 f/3.5 640 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3






In-between games I ran out to get a good shot of the stadium. This one satisfied me enough, though I wish that car wasn't in the shot. 

1/400 f/5 200 ISO
15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Nikon D3s



BirdZerk was also in attendance. For those who have never heard of him, BirdZerk is a nationally touring mascot that puts on quite a show. Fans really seem to enjoy it.


1/640 f/3.5 640 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3


1/500 f/3.5 640 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3



1/1250 f/3.5 1600 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3



1/640 f/3.5 640 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3



1/1000 f/3.5 2500 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3





And here's a few more images from the game




1/5000 f/3.5 1000 ISO
70-200mm f/2.8
Nikon D3



1/6400 f/4 1000 ISO
400mm f/2.8 & 1.4 TC
Nikon D3



1/3200 f/4 1250 ISO
400mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s


1/3200 f/3.5 1250 ISO
400mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s



1/800 f/3.5 1600 ISO
400mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s



1/640 f/3.5 2000 ISO
400mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s



1/800 f/3.2 2000 ISO
400mm f/2.8
Nikon D3s





Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Couple Shoot At Sope Creek, Marietta GA

So today I did a shoot with my friend Caleb & his girlfriend Melissa. I've worked with them in the past and it's always a fun experience. They wanted to incorporate holi powder with this shoot, which is the same powder used for a well-known colorful celebration in India. I decided to use Sope Creek in Marietta, GA so we could have a nice background, as well as a good spot to have a colorful mess. 

I had only been to Sope Creek once before, but loved it from my first visit so I knew this would be a good location. 






It was a long walk to get to the creek from the parking lot, but eventually we got there and started off with a couple fierce looking portraits. I went with split lighting, switching sides for the both of them.
 1/320 f/2.8 ISO 500
SB700 shot through 24x24 softbox
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s


Next I looked for a good spot on the rocks where they could both throw the powder at eachother, but I found this to be extremely difficult because it was sunny out, with no clouds in sight, so I was dealing with a lot of unwanted direct sunlight which brought really harsh shadows. I finally found a spot in the shade under a tree, and so we began....

1/2000 f/3.5 ISO 1250
70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR I
I
Nikon D3


 1/2000 f/3.5 ISO 1250
70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR II
Nikon D3 


 1/2000 f/3.5 ISO 1250
70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR II
Nikon D3
 



1/2000 f/3.5 ISO 1250
70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR II
Nikon D3  


1/2000 f/4 ISO 2000
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s



1/2000 f/4 ISO 2000
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s



1/2000 f/4 ISO 2000
Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s


Afterwards I wanted to do a few portraits right next to the creek at the ruins of a paper mill... 


1/250 f/4 ISO 200
SB700 shot through 24x24 softbox, camera right
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s

1/250 f/5 ISO 1250
SB700 & SB600 shot through 24x24 softboxes, camera left & right
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s

 1/250 f/3.5 ISO 1250
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3s






For our last shot of the shoot, I wanted to have them kissing with powder running through the water. It came out just as I envisioned! 



1/200 f/4 ISO 1250
Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S
Nikon D3