Life Through Photos

Protea!

2013-04-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Every year on the second Saturday of April Pacific University puts on a lu'au. It's quite amazing and I've enjoyed it every single year. There's lots of great food, friendly parents, lei, and goods brought up from Hawaii. One of my favorite aspects of it is the country store. I can buy everything I've been missing from home at the country. This year I decided to buy my girlfriend a bouquet and it included some protea. Protea is a pretty interesting looking flower grown on the Big Island. I was able to photograph it before I gave it to her.

D7000 Focus Issue

2013-03-08T19:30:00.001-08:00

Well on top of me taking film photography, there is another force working against me posting on my blog. My D7000 has a confirmed focusing issue. I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner! I think I didn't realize it because this problem probably developed in the last six months. On 80% of my lenses it was back focusing. Most of the time I could use the AF fine tune to fix it, but on some lenses it didn't work. Everyone go out and double check your camera now! It's really easy and you want to find out if you have a focusing problem before your warranty runs out. Here's the step to check if your camera has a focusing problem.

1. Set camera so it focuses on a single point.
2. Put the camera in manual mode and ensure equivalent exposure for all images.
3. Set camera focus to single. NOT continuous.
4. Set camera to AF fine tune 0.
5. Set up a rounded object or multiple objects heading away from your camera.

6. AUTOFOCUS on a specific point on the object and remember it!
7. Switch to live view and manual focus on the same point.
8. Compare images.

Notice the difference between the two pictures below. I have already sent my camera to nikon. If this happens to you, you have a focusing problem!

I focused on the "tes" in "Deschutes." This was taken using autofocus with af fine tune 0. F/4 1/160 on tripod.

I focused on the "tes" in "Deschutes." This was taken using manual focus and live view with af fine tune 0. F/4 160 on tripod.

Black and White Photography

2013-02-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

As you all can see I haven't been posting much of anything recently. That's because I am taking film photography at the moment, so I've been spending most of my time in the darkroom. If I have some time I'll do a review. Also if i can scan a few black and white photos in i will!

Micro!

2012-11-22T20:04:00.003-08:00

I've always wanted to shoot micro and most of the time those extension tubes just didn't cut it. Well I saw a Tamron 180mm f3.5 macro for sale on ebay for a great price, so I jumped on it. These two shots are my favorites after testing it. The bottles were taking in my room, while the bug was outside.

I really like the color reproduction of this lens and the colors in the image. I was just fooling around with the bottles, but the shot actually turned out alright. It's amazing the detail you can see with the lens.

It was a really windy day, but I managed to pull off a few sharp shots. I just loved this one because of all the colors in the image.

How to do strobe photography

2012-11-20T23:04:00.001-08:00

You ever wonder how to do strobe photography? Well today i'm doing a combination of giving you easy steps for killer strobe photography and a little show and tell. Lets cut to the chase.

1. Materials

Strobe
Tripod
Wireless remote
Subject + cup + liquid

2. Set up

Get your camera on your tripod
Compose your shot. Make sure your background isn't distracting!

Pre focus your shot and put your camera and lens in MF mode. This guarantees the fastest communication between your camera and remote. To pre focus i put a chopstick in the middle of the cup and focused on that.

Set up your flash. On a tripod is easiest.
Fill your cup and make sure to use a dish to catch all the water! I used a flat pizza pan.

3. Camera and flash settings

Flash

Here's the deal. At full power your flash actually "flashes" for a longer period of time. This means the action won't be frozen or look cool! I recommend setting the power to 1/32. This is a shorter duration and will capture all the movement of the water. In order to get a good exposure with a low power put your flash close to the subject!

Camera

Stop down! You want all of your subject to be in focus. Anywhere between f8 and f16 is good depending on how close you are and what lens you are using.
ISO. I used 200, but experiment.
Remember to set your camera to remote mode.

When you take a picture without the flash it should be completely black. This is good! This means all your light is coming from your flash, which will give your nice frozen water shots.

4. Start shooting!

Now it just comes down to timing. Drop your subject and press that remote. Check the results and adjust your timing from there. Good luck!

Strobe photography can be very technical at times. Keep at it, and don't let all the failed attempts get you down. If your lucky you'll catch one of these.

Kore Ionz and Geo Concert

2012-11-05T08:38:00.002-08:00

Hey all. A few weeks ago Pacific University had a concert with Kore Ionz and Geo. It was amazing.

Gear used - D7000

- Tamron 28-75

Tips. I was shooting at iso 5000 for the entire concert. A camera that can go this high without major noise is very good to have. Also my tamron is able to shoot at 2.8. I also shot at 2.8 the entire concert. The 2.8 plus iso 5000 let me get a nice shutter speed of 1/400. Remember ear plugs! The majority of my pictures were taken while I was standing right next to the speakers.

Here are some of the pictures I got.

Experimenting with a low shutter speed. About 1/50.

Squirrels Again + Humming Bird

2012-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Gear Used

.Nikon 80-200 f2.8D w/ lens hood

.Nikon D7000

What would Pacific be without another squirrel album, plus a little showing by the humming bird.

Shot at 1/2000. Really like the water flying off the wings as it took a bath.

Mr.

Mrs.

Balancing act! Look at his toes. : P

Loop Ninja at Pacific University

2012-09-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

School + senior thesis + job + rugby = 24 hours/day

I tried to express my current life in mathematical terms. Strange. It's good to be back, and I hope you enjoy this next post. Thankfully I got to shoot some photos because it was part of my job. I got to photograph Loop Ninja. I have to say this guy is amazing. He's a one man band and records and compiles his music into a song on the spot. He plays everything from drums to tambourine. Lesson of the session ---> Sometimes you have to shoot your subject at noon, which means splotchy, inconsistent, and harsh lighting.The sb-600 as a fill flash was a savior.

Gear Used

D7000

Tamron 28-75 f2.8

Sb-600

What i didn't realize while shoot this was how amazing the black and whites would turn out. Just by chance his guitar was black and white, his shirt was white, the clock was black and white, and his glasses were black. I like the angle and contrast.

While the black and white looked cool, the color photos were also pretty amazing. The fall colors really cam through and added a nice background to this shot. (Notice how sharp the Tamron is. I shot it at f2.8 btw.)

While this shot isn't as artistic, I included it to give a sense of place. Trombley square is a venue with a nice atmosphere. Being among the cherry blossoms while you relax in the shade and listen to music gives a relaxing and comforting atmosphere.

Milky Way Action!

2012-08-12T22:55:00.001-07:00

Hello all!

Well well. Night time star photography. What a trip. I'm going to briefly describe what I learned at 2 am on top pupukea so you don't have to go through the same trials and failures I did. Here are a few tips for star photography.

1. Tripod. It's a must, no question. Sturdier the better. Make sure you are comfortable using it so you don't fumble around in the dark missing the perfect shot.

2. Flashlight. It's self explanatory. Shinning the light on objects in the foreground is really helpful for framing shots. Remember its pitch black, so looking through the viewfinder doesn't do much unless you have a nice bright reference point.

3. Light sensitivity. The key to getting nice crisp star shots is making your camera SUPER SUPER SUPER sensitive to light. You might say, come on mark, just use bulb and set the exposure to a few minutes. No. This does not work because the stars will become blurry with star trails. I found that, with the right settings, around 30 to 40 seconds is prime. The next few bullets will explain these prime settings.

a. Large aperture. I shot the below photos at 3.5. The wider the better. The tokina 11-16 f2.8 would be great or a prime f2 would be better. The wide aperture allows you to pick up the faint stars during the 30 second exposure

b. ISO. BUMP IT UP! Push your sensor to the limits because you want to capture all those faint stars. I shot the below shots at 3200. I should have experimented with 6400. I tried to shoot at 100 and 400, but it was terrible compared to 3200. Also if your camera has a noise reduction setting use it.

4. Light pollution. I'm coming out and saying it. It's a bitch. It's everywhere you go and is hard if not impossible to avoid in Oahu. Notice on the below shots the clouds are orange; this is from light pollution. Make sure your location is away from the city. Going on top a mountain on a clear night is preferable. All my shots were on a mountain with no street lights.

5. Hope you enjoy the shots. If you have any questions please let me know.

Ala Moana Beach Park Picnic w/ Nikonos

2012-08-07T21:21:00.004-07:00

I've been taking my Nikonos out recently and boy, it has been amazing. The quality isn't the best cause I'm using color negative and getting it cheaply developed, but it sure it fun. Thing about taking nice underwater pictures is you really need a flash. Without one, you end up using high iso film and getting poorer shoots. The last thing you want to worry about when the current is pushing you away from your tiny subject as you tread water while your mask fogs and fills with water is will my subject be in focus? When I went to Ala Moana Beach Park with family and friends I ended up getting some pretty good shots. Hope you enjoy.

Weird paddle boarding crop.

Owner of the paddle board. I actually like the picture quite a lot. The view of the land from the sea is quite refreshing.

Diamond Head and Waikiki in the background. Wish I get her feet and board in the shot.

Going for some intense landscapes! lol

Was really surprised the exposure turned out so nicely on this one.

Nikonos V at the North Shore

2012-07-29T18:16:00.001-07:00

About 3 months ago I purchased a Nikonos V. Nikon had an underwater film camera line that was discontinued in the 90's. This was the 2nd to last camera to be released. The last model, costing around $1000 used, was a fully functional underwater DSLR. I got the V for $50 on ebay. I just hoped and prayed for the seals to be water tight. Long story short, I tried to use this camera twice before, but every time I couldn't wind up the film after I was done. Turns out that little film winder is broken. Now I have to manually push the film back into the canister in a light proof bag. This was the first batch of film i got developed. I used ISO 800 fujifilm superia. The film is super grainy, but I purposefully chose iso 800 because I wanted a fast film that I could stop down underwater. (Stopping down is super helpful because the camera has a manual autofocus. You have to turn a nob to focus and read a dial to see how many feet are in focus. In other words, stopping down to F/16 and setting the hyperfocal distance is super convenient.)

This was taken close to the general store in Haleiwa.

Taken at the beach with plenty turtles.

This is my favorite shot. A little overexposed and crooked, but not bad. >< I have more shots on the way. Just need to get them developed!

I Have Strange Bananas

2012-06-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

Every week or so my father brings bananas home from the farm. I am thankful for these delicious home grown apple bananas. I haven't had any banana yet that can beat them. After the countless hands, a term to describe bananas, I have seen I have never seen one quite like this. It is strange and interesting how the hand ripened as if it were two separate hands. What was really interesting was when I decreased the Hue slider in lightroom for the green color only. It is then that the yellow in the green side of the banana shows. Pretty awesome. Download and try it for yourself!

Hoku: The Angel

2012-06-21T22:43:00.002-07:00

Hoku the angel. As I continue to volunteer in the hospital, I begin to come to the realization that life is precious and extremely short. (I know it sounds cliche, but you never know what may happen. One day you will appear to be fine and the next day you might have MS.) I have experienced on a personal level with my dogs. Sunny, not in the picture, is pretty sick and seems to have some sort of gastric obstruction. (She has lost so much weight that her hip bones and ribs protrude.)

Today I attempted to take some nice pictures of her before she passes, but alas, I did not get any. One of the cool pictures I did get was of Hoku. Gosh. It looks like i'm trying to take a mascot picture for the longhorns to put on one of those online picture databases so it could sell for .04 cents. I like this picture because of its light, youthful, and joyful feeling.

Bird Watching

2012-05-11T14:32:00.002-07:00

I attempted to do some "bird watching" today. I really wanted to get a nice shot of some wood peckers. Of course along the way I took pictures of other random stuff as well. This was all taken with my nikon 80-200 D f2.8; I feel like the pictures, in general, are soft. Tell me what you think.

"Failed Propagation"

The queen is definitely on the move. They're were swarming like there's no tomorrow.

Hunch back!

A few natural homes in a dead tree.

I wish Pacific built me a home for free!

Rice is the best!

2012-05-07T19:21:00.004-07:00

Hello all,

Once again, relieving stress has taken the form of photography. As usual I have taken pictures of squirrels! lol. I also caught a butterfly, which was pretty awesome. Wasn't sure if I should turn it into a black and white, so I left it in color. Enjoy!

Nom nom nom! A squirrel eating a block of hard rice.

If you need evidence to prove rice is the best, then here it is! If squirrels eat it, then it must be amazing :D

I really like the out of focus fore and back ground. It really makes the butterfly stand out, while giving the picture a sense of DOF.

Dahaha! Look at that dirty face. Priceless.

Why I bought my D7000.

2012-05-07T07:28:00.004-07:00

A lot of people wonder what camera they should buy. Should it be the new D3200 or an older D50? For a friend of my only spending a hundred bucks or so on a D50 was a much better deal than buying a new D3200 for $700. For me, the best option, at the time, was a D7000. I bought it because it's noise performance is amazing. I shot all of these shots at either 5000 or 6400. For dance performances you need good low light performance. It allows you to keep the atmosphere and the lighting of the show, while making the difference between good and okay pictures. Notice during the shots that the dancers hands are rarely blurry if at all. I believe i shot most of them at 1/500 or close to it.

Sometimes a small error can lead to the best picture.

It's nice to some guys getting in on the dancing action.

With my old D60, this wouldn't have been possible.

Some pieces can be extremely dark.

Flash would have ruined the atmosphere of this picture.

With iso 6400 f2.8 and around 1/500, I could capture the flow of her dress and freeze, for the most part her limbs.

It has been too long!

2012-05-04T16:41:00.003-07:00

Hey,

Boy it has been way too long. I haven't been behind my camera in weeks until today! That's what happens when you take organic chemistry, physics, perceptual motor learning, and advanced nutrition all in one semester. Hah. Well as the semester is winding down I needed a way to wind down. I went out for 15 minutes to snap some pictures of the beautiful Oregon flowers.

I really like the bright and light feeling of this picture.

Pacific always sprays mulch about two weeks before school gets out. I'm sure the plants hate it. I call this "Dirty Beauty"

Yes I know it looks like drugs, but it's Japanese Maple. I love the plant. It's leaves are just so attractive. I really like the silhouette in this picture.

Symmetry. Right on.

That's one fat droplet!

Pacific University 2012 Lu`au

2012-04-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

I took a few photos at the lu'au at Pacific University. I didn't have much time to take photos of the whole show, so i only have a few to share today. (I also danced in one of the auanas.)

This is a traditional dance from the Philippines called Tinikling. Dancers jump in and out of bamboo sticks that are being clapped to the beat of the song.

This was taken during fire knife. This was a practice run so there was no fire. Here dancers twirl sticks lit on both ends.

This is from a Tahitian dance.

This was taken from a traditional Hawaiian dance. As you can see the men are wearing malos.

This is another Hawaiian dance were the implements uli ulis are being used.

2012-04-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't expect silver falls to be so amazing. A word of warning: the full loop is four miles and took me about four hours. Doesn't sound long, but when you're taking photos the time really adds up. Also bring a good lens cleaning cloth. My lens, and i am assuming your lens will be constantly getting covered with mist. These water falls are huge! So you'd be surprised how far the mist travels. A tripod and neutral density filters will be helpful to get a nice blur from the water. Anyway enough of the tips, here are the photos! (They are in order.)

OMSI: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

2012-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Went to OMSI today for the first time. Pretty awesome place, but it drains the energy out of you like no other. Turns out there isn't much to take photos of except the animals.

Electricity at its best!

"Don't Touch me!"

Making Use of my Sigma 10-20 f3.5

2012-03-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get used to my sigma 10-20. The perspective and lines are really hard to get used to after using my tamron 28-75 f2.8 which has no distortion. The effect of height and camera angle make a big big difference on the flow of the lines in the picture. I am trying to utilize the 10-20 to enhance an object rather than take away from it.

Contrast.

Since i can get to down to 1/15 of a sec for my shutter speed, I can take nicely blurred pictures like this one.

This picture wouldn't have been possible without my wide angle. Getting the hanging branches added a nice touch.

"The Photographer"

The Fluffiest Bird in the WORLD!

2012-03-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all. It's been a while. I was trying to take pictures of humming birds at Trombley Square at Pacific University. Lets just say with a focal length of 300mm it is still extremely hard. (I have accounted for the crop factor btw.) This was one of the only good pictures i got. I must say it's the fluffiest bird in the world!

The Green at Pacific University

2012-03-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hello all. This night was a great night. How could it not be? The Green performed! I enjoyed the shoot, but it got pretty boring because i tended to be shooting the same pictures over and over. I tried to get some cool dread flying action. Enjoy.

Squirrel Love!

2012-02-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

More squirrels! I love it! I use photography as a stress reliever, so it was appropriate that I take a 30 minute photography break to "hunt" for squirrels. It just so happened that I stumbled upon these two frisky squirrels. Enjoy!

More squirrels on the way! :P

Symmetry!

Just chillin.

The contemporary dancing squirrel.

Squirrels!

2012-02-18T10:59:00.000-08:00

I once again went out to test my new 80-200 f2.8 D lens. I decided to shoot one of my favorite subjects, squirrels. Squirrels are quite simply the cutest, fuzzy, exciting, and most interesting creatures on this planet. Haha! I got some pretty generic poses this time, but for the next shoot I want to catch them jumping and what not. Anyway hope you like the photos.

Evolution?

So Dreamy!

I R Godzilla

Ninja!

Tight End Status!

Blending in!