Experimental Glass
I’ve been away and not posting lately because I haven’t had much to talk about. I don’t travel anymore and lately we have been so busy with photoshoots that I haven’t had the chance to sit down and write. However, I do have some tenative upcoming travel plans for a meeting in Philly. If things go right, I’ll land the gig. The freelance market is starting to work out for me and hopefully I can have some more of these in the future.
For now, I wanted to share some thoughts about some sweet glass I picked up. I rented the Zeiss 50mm f/2.0 Makro-Planar this weekend for an upcoming wedding shoot we have. This will be my first time working with Zeiss glass on a full frame Canon. The initial test shots right out of the delivery box were very pleasing.
That’s right out of the camera. (I’m limited in my office for subject matter)
But at first take this 4 day relationship is going to be sweet! I have read reviews on Zeiss glass until I am blue in the face and I cant find anyone saying anything negative about them. In fact, some of our idol photogs shoot exclusively with Zeiss on full frame Canons and have unreal results. Now granted, it would be expensive to switch the line up plans to a full Zeiss prime collection but I might be on board after the weekend is over. The color reproduction this glass creates is unreal. It doesn’t miss a beat. The only downfall I can see in Zeiss glass, is the manual focus. I love it, but I call it a con because my partner in crime prefers AF and when it comes down to it, we have to share gear so this causes my better half to shy away from it. I am hoping we can play around with this over the next few days and the level of comfort can increase so we have a shot at making this relationship with Zeiss primes a permanent one. At 2.8 the bokeh is awesome and I cant wait to get it outside and shoot it wide open to see the dreamy results. The focus ring is solid and makes for smooth focusing. The Makro (although not a true Makro) works great and has the ability to focus pretty close to its subject. WPP might have found its match.
Canon Rumors – Inside Information on Canon DSLR
I have three things I do in the morning as soon as I get to work. First and foremost, COFFEE. Second, I check my Google Calendar to see what I have for the day. (Google Calendar is awesome if you dont use it, you should) and third, I check the Canon Rumors blog for any updated posts. I’m not sure how much traffic this blog gets but I think he could be getting much more. I see the facebook followers arent extremely high which surprised me and makes me feel like it is a lay low blog that not that many people know about. I know he does well because he makes a living doing this, regardless of the amount of followers he has. My brother turned me on to this blog and I’ve been hooked ever since. The writer has a group of sources around the world that keep him up to date on Canon release information and product launches. In my profession, this is a valauble site. The equipment reviews here are very reliable. A great tool he uses is a price comparison chart that helps you find the best price online to buy your camera. If you click the link on the website it will take you straight to the site where you can purchase and it also gives a slight benefit to Canon Rumors. I’ve done this with both my recent camera purchases so hopefully it helped him out a little. Whoever you are Canon Rumors Guy, keep distributing that information. I too am waiting for the ever anticipated Canon 5D Mark III, and I know I will hear of its release here at Canon Rumors.
New Ammo
The newest, latest and greatest machine added to my arsenal. A Canon 5D Mark II paired with a EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM lens is about the most deadly combination for photojournalism. Watch out people. I might get crazy with the pictures on my last remaining adventures. This will be my primary camera now. In my opinion, its got to be the best still/video camera ever put on this planet until RED Rock Micro drops their greatly anticipated RED Scarlet that everybody has been ranting about for years. Their Red Rock Micro products are far superior to anything ever produced. But you cant beat the 5D Mark II with something that hasn’t been released yet. So until then, this bad boy is a winner in my book.
Gogo Inflight Internet
Even though American is in the hot seat due to my bag being destroyed they sure do know how to make it all better. Inflight Internet? Yes, Inflight internet. For a small fee you can now have high speed wireless internet at 30000 feet! Amazing. Its funny how they still ask you to turn off your electronics and cell phones during take off. So on a recent layover in the Admirals Club we discovered a coupon card that gives you a free connection. The password works every time as long as its on a different IP address. So use it as many times as you like on different computers. BTW,the first time logging on is paid for by American, then come prepared with the coupon.
Shattered iPhone?
Yes, there comes a time when our most precious gadgets do break. I was told not to say this out loud anymore but my iPhone changed my life. As whack as it sounds, it really did. Once I got that phone, things changed. When I shattered the screen on my iPhone, I was pretty heartbroken. Then I became extremely upset. I guess you are wondering how I broke it huh? Yes, every broken phone story always has some humor to it. I mean I have ruined phones in many ways; I’ve dropped them in the toilet, dropped them in my beer, I have even dropped it out my car window and then drove over it trying to back up to get it! I was in San Antonio, TX down by the Riverwalk with some colleagues when we stumbled upon an Italian restaurant that served 60 oz margaritas which were $30! Only in TX will an Italian restaurant serve margaritas. You know what? Do I really have to keep going? Let’s just say the RiverWalk was the RiverSwim that night instead. Somewhere in the mix, I shattered my phone.
I called Apple. In order to fix the screen I had to send my phone off to have it replaced and it was going to cost me $250! Let’s do the math. A new iPhone with a service agreement is going to run me $299. That is more than 50% of the cost just to replace a peice of glass. So I thought I was done for. I was just getting ready to tuff it out and admit to myself this was going to be my phone for the next 4 months until I could get an updgrade when I found it…. Craigslist had an ad for fixing iPhone glass. I checked out the post and found out there is a place in the Triangle Towne Center in Raleigh on Capitol Blvd that fixes this stuff for $75. The piece itself cost $25. If you want to fix it yourself, thats all you pay. Or you can have the guy fix it for you for another $50. Again, still expensive but worth it. It beats Apple’s price of $250. Try to avoid the Apple Store unless its your last resort. The name of the store is PRO WIRELESS inside the Towne Center Mall. These guys know what they are doing! Unless you feel confident, I wouldnt do it yourself. As soon as that broken piece of glass comes off, that warranty is done!
After Effects Training
I’m a firm beleiver of doing it yourself. In college, I did a lot of reading into different types of software. Granted, I did major in Production Technology so I did learn a lot in class about video editing and documentry film but the most important thing you can do for yourself is go out there and do it on your own. Final Cut Pro is where it all started for me. After mastering FCPS2, another world opened up to me. Adobe After Effects. This is some really powerful software. People who dont really know what this is completely under estimate its potential. That being said, the brand new CS4 suite w/o an academic discount is going to run you around $1k. Or you can do what I like to call… never-mind.
Point of the story is this… I’m no pro at AE but if you want to learn some basics you have to check out the Video Copilot website. A guy named Andrew Kramer runs this site and you wont believe the crap he comes up with. It’s pretty impressive. He offers tutorials that will teach you AE from the ground up. I’ve done a few of these tutorials and after completeing one or two of them you start to get a good understanding at how AE works and you begin to pick up on tricks that you can use in other projects. When I was in college, this site was on my top five, and he is still dropping tutorials like every month. Give it a whirl at http://www.videocopilot.net
did you say free?
Let’s face it, everything is better when it’s free right? CreativeTechs are offering webinars online that are teaching some pretty decent software. You can sign up and take a 10-week course on Dreamweaver. If 1000 people sign up to attend the webinar, it will air free. Thank you CreativeTechs! Other classes are also offered for things like Photoshop, Lightroom, photography, and Flash. http://creativetechs.com/tipsblog/free-photoshop-photography-web-classes/ Sign up!
A Glass Perspective - Cary, NC Wedding & Event Photographer 
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