ToasterWaffles

Yesterday Julia and I ran around town looking for a good spot to take photos. We eventually settled on a location and got started. It was pretty tricky; there were clouds going by making the lighting (and temperature!) change dramatically. Shady, full sun, full shade, hot, cold, warm, cold — it was madness. I think we got a few good shots; these are my top 3 of about 260 total.

I’d like to know what you think of them! We both have room to grow; what did we do well? what could we have done better?

So a friend of mine sent me some photos of her. I did some touch-up/modifications on a few of them and would like to share. Julia’s the model and the photog is Brian Goodloe. I’d like to know what you think of them! Leave a comment!

Strobist points out that Midwest Photo Exchange is having a big Kingston CF/SD card sale! I just ordered two CF 8GB Ultimate 133X cards. After rebate that’ll set us back $60/card.

Long story short, you guys end up with some really good deals on compact flash (and SD) cards. Unfortunately the rebates are U.S. only, there is a limit of two per household and they have a limited amount of cards. So, early bird gets the worm. And get those U.S. citizenship applications in ASAP.

How cheap? How ’bout 8gb CF for $49.95 after rebate? (And 4gb for $23.50 AR.)

to Higgins! Jess, Charles and I went up to LA on Saturday to pick him up from a breeder based out of Sacramento. He had a rough ride home, sleeping most of the way. Tonight after another brief introduction with Hannah we took some photos

It’s a shame, it really is. The best photography in London & Paris is simply not allowed. No photos in Westminster Abbey. No photos in the cooler parts of the Lourve. It’s all a shame, so I’ve done what I can.

Paris

London

Now that I’ve had some time to get Photomatix (the HDR tool) and figure out how to get it working I’ve got some photos from Frankfurt and Chicago to share! Click on the photos for some little captions.

On Wednesday night I decided that I needed a new lens before Jess and I headed off to New Mexico on vacation. I decided that Canon’s 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L lens was the appropriate one. I’ve been drooling over this lens for a while now for a couple reasons.

1. It’s constantly fast — the maximum f/2.8 aperture means that I can get shots in less light, more easily
2. It’s a good range: 24mm → 70mm is a handy range. Our 18-55mm was probably the one we used the most when the 100mm Macro wasn’t attached
3. The Ultra Sonic Motor in the focusing mechanism means that it’ll focus quickly and quietly.
4. It’s got nice glass in it that keeps contrast and saturation high, reducing the amount of work needed in post-production.
5. It’s a bit heavy. Honestly this is a good thing and makes it easier to hold steady.

On a side-note; I don’t see how local camera shops can stay in business trying to sell these things. I bought the lens & filter at B&H and had it sent via UPS Next Day Air for $50 less than just the lens + tax at a local store. That sales tax just kills the deal.
As is the standard blogger tradition when you get new camera gear, I took a picture of the cat.

On Sunday Jess and I decided to head out to the Wild Animal Park for some photography. Since we’ve got two decent cameras now we could both go fully equipped! We were pleasantly surprised at the nice weather; mild temp, mild breeze, decent sun (good lighting). It wasn’t very crowded either. All that let us take our time and wait for the pictures to come to us.

Between us we took exactly 250 photos. We went through every single one of them and picked out our favorite 10; that’s only a 4% keep rate. I’m really pleased with one in particular, see if you can guess which!

Like many other people have discovered, playing around with Photo Booth on newer Macs with iSights is really fun. Evidence:

Yesterday I took Jess up to LA to see Pan’s Labyrinth. On the way up we stopped at Tong’s which is renowned for it’s display tanks. Since we had the camera I snapped a few photos. I’d like to take all the credit for these, but Tong’s makes it reeeeally easy to take pretty pictures. The tanks are just astounding in person and taking photos is pretty easy.