wedding photography

Had the pleasure to photograph Jeremy and Elizabeth's wedding this past weekend. I started out with Jeremy and the guys at the hotel. I like to use natural one directional light source whenever possible. So was the case here. I took all the photos of the guys in this spot.

I met the girls and Elizabeth at the A La Carte Pavillion in Tampa after finishing up with the men. Again I looked for a one directional light source. All this natural light would lead you to believe that I never use flash. Oh contrair, I use flash extensively. The photo below of the dining room was taken with 3 flashes and available light. Thank goodness for radio controlled flashes. One was on camera to light the tables in the front. One was held by my assistant to the left to light the tables near the background. Another was on a stand to the right of the room.

The dining room photo was taken with a fisheye lens. Love my fisheye.

Engagement photos

I just took some engagement photos of Erin and Michael at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida.

UT for everyone that is familiar with it. Michael, I found out, plays for the Marlins and went to school here. I like what everyone likes about UT and that is the architecture. Rain or shine you can always take photos because of the huge porch. The lighting is perfect because the overhang forces light to come from a low angle and not overhead. Great directional light.

When photographing couples I try to do poses that look real. I think of how a couple would hang out enjoying an afternoon together. Whether they are standing or sitting I like couples facing each other. Body language is important. When couples face each other it says a lot to someone looking at the photo. First it says they agree with each other and they are one. In contrast, have you seen photos where couples are standing back to back? That type of pose might be cute but what does that say about their relationship?

I also like the heads to just touch a little to show closeness.

Second, facing each other means you belong to each other. We wanted to go out on the field and do a few fun shots but there was a game. Oh well, we might stop hear on the day of the wedding. On the field with a tux!

Of course I had to get at least one photo with the Fisheye lens. The 15mm lens on the full frame 5D is just awesome! As a small image on this blog it might not look like much but enlarged this is great with detail everywhere. Depth of Field ? I focused on them but the minarets are tack sharp too.

A Day In New York City and B & H

No trip into New Jersey would be complete without crossing the Hudson River and taking in the sites of the Big Apple, a.k.a. New York City.

I took my Canon 5D, a 15mm Fisheye lens,the 24 to 70 Zoom, and the 70 to 200 Zoom lens with me. What is great about the 5D is it has a full size sensor.

Unlike most digital cameras that crop the image the 5D gives you the full viewing angle of the lens. No where is this difference more noticeable than when using the 15mm fisheye.

Look at the photo on the left and note how wide the angle is. The photo on the right is cropped because of the smaller size sensor found on most other cameras. It's just not the same. Two words to describe New York City are "tall" and "busy". All the buildings are tall and the streets are very busy. These are two things you don't want to crop out.

I especially like the busy streets. Where I live in Florida is great but people stay indoors. When we need to go to a store we get into our cars and go into the store. Then, we get back into the car and go back home. In a city like New York everyone walks everywhere because everything is fairly close at hand. You don't have to walk very far to find what you are looking for. In addition, there is something interesting on every block so even a long walk becomes pleasant.

For instance, look at some of the nice people I met on my way to B and H Photo. New York is truly the melting pot. As you can see in the photo on the left. These to guys owned an English pub of some kind and wanted me to go in for a drink. I think I upset them when I told them I didn't have time. Oh well.

When I got to B and H Photo I had to stand across the street to get the whole store in the photo. Wow! They occupy 4 floors in this building, 6 floors in a building across the street and 1 million square feet of warehouse in Brooklyn. Yeah, 1 million!

They have a doorman to open the door and greet you. When you go inside They have everything you can think of and things you would not have thought of.

The store is called B & H Photo Video. However, they also have everything in audio, surveillance, telescopes, binoculars, projectors, computers, screens, and more. If they don't have it here chances are it hasn't been invented yet.

They also have the Event Space. This is a meeting room that holds about 100 people. Free seminars are conducted here. Some really big names have and will lecture on every topic related to every product they sell. All FREE to the public.

As a matter of fact, they have scheduled me for a speaking engagement on Monday, September 14. Be there or you will miss out.

Their philosophy is that they are here to "inform" . Each rep is an expert dedicated to a specific section. They don't pull someone from audio to help a customer with a camera. This means that the person that is helping you really can help you.

I could write so much more because I was totally blown away with my whole experience. I have bought many things from them in the past and have no dought that I will by many things from them in the future.

Gotta love the Fisheye. I went outside and got a photo in front of the store with the 15mm lens.

What is New York City without the pigeons? These birds are afraid of no one. Don't mess with them cause they are tough. The one on the right kept giving me a dirty look. The one on the left kept saying something about giving me the "drop".

I didn't know what he was talking about but I figured I better leave.

Your probably wondering why I have this photo in twice. I mistakenly loaded it twice and can't figure out how to erase it. Oh well.

What's the next blog going to be about? Get tready for Boston!