Friday, January 25, 2008

My New Baby 1/25/08

Finally!!! After nearly a year of searching for a nice used copy of this lens, I found one for sale on Craigslist. This is like the 3rd time that Craigslist has came through for me for buying and selling camera gear. Behold the Sigma 10-20mm f4.0-5.6 EX DG. This lens shows less distortion and better sharpness than its Canon counterpart, the EF-S 10-22mm. This lens is also built way tougher than the flimsy Canon EF-S. After some testing, I concluded that this is a sharp copy and the lens does not have the decentering issue that some others have reported. I will use this lens for panoramic photo composites and up close action sports shots. I will be shooting with this lens tommorow and will post the results soon after.
The lack of a spinning focus ring promotes the use of filters.10mm doesnt come without distortion but this lens will do great with landscapes and action shots. GO GO GADGET ARM!!!Gawd I cant wait to take this stormchasing!!!




Friday, January 4, 2008

1/4/08 Dark Art

I am fascinated with the way the foreground leads you to the water while adding to the intimidation factor of the cliff face on the other side. I will be playing with this shot for a while as I think it has some serious potential as a fine art peice. Leave comments!!! I need feedback.
This shot also has potential but I find the halo to be distracting. I will re-work this one when I get some time.

I thought these turned out kinda cool despite not being realistic. The HDR treatment makes for some ghostly halos and evil contrast. These are fully intended to be art peices and they are mainly for shits and giggles. The original shots were completely uninteresting but I found that HDR + B/W can make something out of nothing. I am also toying with the idea of adding some old photo treatment suck as crackling and torn edges. We went digital for a reason right?

Thursday, January 3, 2008

1/3/08 First Post of the New Year

Oregon Coast Shots

Slightly before sunset just north of Manzanita, Oregon. I tried to get a wave smashing into this rock but it fizzled.
This was taken before the first shot but I love the really warm light that is hitting the waves and rocks.

This was the only sunshine I saw during my whole trip. We got a nice break in the clouds around sunset as we were heading south towards Manzanita on 101. I waited at this spot for half an hour for the light become optimal and began shooting away. All three of these shots are HDR but were edited to portray what I saw with my own eyes. I had no GND filter so this technique was used to capture the full dynamic range of the scene. These are pretty much the best shots from my trip. Unfortunately, the trip to the Columbia Gorge was a disaster but I am working on one possible keeper from that excursion. I had wanted to get a shot of Portland with Mount Hood in the background but it remained hidden in the clouds. The trip was a failure from the photography standpoint but being able to spend quality time with my family more than made up for that.