Is this thing on?

You'd think that someone who works in IT for a living might have been a little more aggressive in adopting a solution to link his blog with his facebook fan page.

You would think.

In any event, I've attempted to do so, and, if this works, I should be able to see this post on the FB page.

Here's hoping...

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The leaf is dead, long live the leaf!



Digging this shot, because you can see where the old leaf was, as well as all the new growth.

Living room window, with the 70-200, waiting out the breeze.

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Taken on Ilford HP5+ 400, with the 70-200.



I haven't been doing much post-processing on my film shots - the occasional contrast tweak, mild sharpening, and cropping are about as far as I've gotten.

For this one, I cranked the sharpen slider all the way up (to go with the subject, you see), did some dodging and burning (at least some of which is way too obvious to my eye), and played with contrast, the black level, and the highlights.

Eh.

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I've been watching this tree at the edge of the parking lot at work bloom, and I've loved seeing the white blooms against the green of everything else.



Took this from halfway across the parking lot to get the framing as close to right as possible.

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My buddy and I went out this evening to commemorate his continued survival, the successful completion of his first semester back to school, and his birthday, a few weeks early.

I'm cheap, so I figured I'd cover all three with one dinner. We also haven't seen each other for a few months, so, it was long overdue.



Our local chapter of the Mohegan Sun empire has some fairly decent restaurants, so, we headed on down. After dinner, and after he successfully lightened his wallet on the slots, we shot the breeze in the parking lot for around three hours.

As we were chatting, I shot the above. If I'm going to take night shots, I really should pack my tripod. This was the 70-200, on a monopod, with the ISO jacked up to 800.

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I think I missed a good opportunity with this shot:



This is, to my eye, a very compelling subject, and I'm having a hard time conveying that on film.

I do intend another crack at this, with the digital, so I can chimp the shots and see where I've gone wrong. I have some ideas, and I'd like to see how they play out on an LCD rather than waiting a week between the shot and the results.

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We had the moms and grandmoms over for a Mothers' Day Brunch, and this is one of the shots I took toward the end of the day:



I probably shot this at around f/4, and about 100mm, give or take. Pity that film doesn't store EXIF data. I did try to keep a log of my shots, but, that didn't really pan out. Again, pity.

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Today, I was able to lend my meager talents to a great cause.

A great friend and fellow photog has a niece with Cystic Fibrosis, and every year she participates in the Great Strides walk and fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Not fully understanding the nature of the walk (specifically, the walking part) I naively asked L if she'd like me to swing by and shoot her and the rest the walkers. At this point I was thinking that, since the walk was in Kirby Park, it would be around a track. I'd bring a nice long lens, a monopod, and maybe a chair. I figured I'd set up alongside the track, and get some portraits of the walkers.

She told me that she's been drafted as the official 'tog for the local CFF chapter, but, was gracious enough to invite me along anyway.

I never brought up the whole "track" thing.

So, for those of you out there who are unfamiliar with the concept, when a group like this gets together to walk, they walk.

A lot.

Everywhere.

For miles.

I knew my assumptions about the day were wrong when I pulled into the park at the same time as a group of walkers wearing Rainbow Walk shirts.

I said to myself "Oh." Just, that. Oh.

All of a sudden, my nice long lens looked more like a damn heavy lens. My walkabout lens looked like another damn heavy lens. The flash seemed like a damn heavy flash. The "good" digital body? Damn heavy. Even the monopod seemed damn heavy. Pack all that damn heavy gear onto a damn heavy photographer, toss in a few miles of hoofing it, and it adds up to a disaster. I consoled myself with the fact that I was in too much of a hurry on my way out the door to grab a chair. Why would you need a chair for a walk?

As it turned out, the walk portion of the day was scrubbed due to rain. Would I have kept up with the crowd? Hard to say. At least we got some good shots for the CF Foundation.



Right now, there are some really exciting developments on the CF front, but the realities of pharmaceutical research, trials, FDA approvals, and finally acceptance mean time and money, and lots of both. If you can help with either, I'd urge you to do so.

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So, I've got this shiny new lens, one of the finest lenses Canon produces, and what do I do?

I put it on a camera that's fifteen years old, loaded with cheap medium-speed film, and take it on a walk along a garbage-strewn path behind the office.

Heh.

Pictures soon - have to finish, develop, and scan the roll.



This lens is going to be way too much fun. I've finally broken the shackles of EF-S mount lenses. I'll never, ever, ever purchase another lens built for a crop sensor again. This baby works on all of my digital bodies, my current film body, and any other body I can see purchasing in the future.

I believe I've also broken out of my Tri-X prison, as well. This was shot on Ilford HP5+ 400, so, basically a direct competitor to Tri-X. It dries flat, like all the other Ilford films I've shot. Only downside, if you'll call it that, is that it's an extra minute in the tank developing it, but, I'm assuming that means it's even more forgiving of developing variations than Tri-X.

Anybody wanna buy some Kodak Tri-X 400? I've got a few rolls!

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Ho boy. So, I got a damn fine deal on a new piece of equipment. I've been lusting after looking at this lens for a while. I had considered the Non-IS version (to save a few hundred dollars), but, shooting at f/2.8 the other night indoors with the 17-55 proved that I needed the IS, even at high ISOs.

Version II of this lens was just released, so, the price did drop on the Mark I lenses. When one popped up on one of the sites I frequent, at a good price, and with IS, I told my wallet to look the other way and did it.



Yup.

EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS, Mark I

You want speed? It's got it.

You want reach? It's got it.

You want weight? It's got it.

You want bokeh? It's got it.



But since it's not about the gear (right?) let's talk about the shot.



I used a trick I've used in the past to light this.

There's a pane of glass suspended between the stools. On top of the glass is a piece of white posterboard.

Below this setup is the 580EX II at 1/8, through the LTP.

The two 430EZs, set to 1/16, are blowing out the background.

The 160WS Strobe, at a little over 1/8, and through the big softbox provides key on the shot.

Shot at f/8 for detail and the most in-focus areas I could get.

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So, I'll cop to having taken this shot a few days ago.



I pulled into work just as the skies opened up. I reckoned the deluge would pass relatively quickly (and it did), but, I didn't want to get drenched, and I had nothing better to do for a few minutes, so, I took the shot.

Eh. Better than nothing, I suppose.

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My folks and sister came over for dinner this evening.

The Missus and I made Chicken Marsala served over homemade fettuccine, and one my favorite tools in the kitchen, aside from the stand mixer, is the pasta roller:



And anything else I have to say is rendered (even more) insignificant right now - just watched The President tell us that our Special Forces killed Osama Bin Laden, and took his body into custody.