Observe. Compose. Capture.

2017 In Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 21:49:00 +0000

Looking back, 2017 was a year full of enriching experiences for me. From traveling to new countries, to exploring new interests, there is a lot to be thankful for this year. Below in no particular order, are some highlights from 2017.

1) Seeing the beauty, tasting the food, and experiencing the culture of one of my bucket list countries, New Zealand, with Ruby.
2) Seeking out fresh angles and compositions for my wedding work.
3) Dipping my toes in the Atlantic, experiencing nightlife, and exploring an abandoned resort while shooting a wedding in Cancun.
4) Photographing Gareth Emery, my all-time favorite DJ, when he came to perform at the Republik.
5) Living with Ruby, and becoming closer as a couple.
6) Daily gratitude.
7) Falling back in love with landscapes through my iPhone.
8) Teaching myself about the stock market and investing in my first stock (Amazon!)
9) Watching Kay get sworn in to become an official U.S citizen.
10) Beach house weekend with my family
11) Chasing the Milky Way with Ruby
12) Taking in the sights and sounds of Miami while shooting a wedding there.
13) Learning more about mediation and conflict resolution.
14) Becoming smarter about finances.
15) Watching Ruby and her tennis team win the state title in Kona
16) Helping with Lindsey's surprise visit home to my parents for Christmas break.
17) Shooting Tina and Rob's engagement at the KHON2 Studio.
18) Finding new music with Spotify.
19) Four Seasons staycation with Ruby (work hard, play hard!)
20) Seeing the Secret Service in action when Trump came to stay in Waikiki.
21) Exploring mirrorless with the XT-2.
22) Shooting a wedding in Kona with 760 guests.
23) Getting up earlier.
24) "Cutlet Club" weekly lunches with my parents and grandma
25) Reading books to enrich my life (i.e "Leaders Eat Last")

iPhone 7 Plus Review

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 06:05:00 +0000

There's a few cameras that hold a special place in my heart.

The D200 was my first DSLR that I ever owned.
The D4s was the workhorse that could shoot anything that I threw at it.
And finally, the iPhone 7 Plus proved to me that it is possible to have an extremely capable camera in the palm of your hand.

After owning this phone for a little less than a year, I finally feel I'm in a place to properly review what it is capable of. Long story short, this phone has given me the ability to capture literally anything that I see on a daily basis. As the saying goes, "the best camera is the one you have with you."

This is review departs from my traditional DSLR or lens review, but I think it is very fitting, as the iPhone 7 Plus has, and continues to impact my photography on a daily basis. A heads-up before reading more. This review is NOT about the phone itself (call quality, buttons/controls, OS, durability, etc). What this review focuses on is the cameras of this phone.

First, the specs. The iPhone 7 Plus (for the sake of the review, I will abbreviate as 7P) broke new ground in carrying two cameras: a 28mm f1.8 wide angle, and a 50mm f2.8 telephoto. This was absolutely brilliant by the Apple engineers, as it allows the phone to "optically zoom" without having to house a complex zoom lens that would have added to the thickness of the phone. As you can see in the image above, the lenses are housed next to each other, and work in sync with each other. The default camera is the 28mm, and has a f1.8 aperture, letting in 50% more light than the earlier iPhones. When the user wants to zoom, the 50mm camera is activated. The 50mm is used for Apple's proprietary "Portrait Mode" (more on that later). According to Apple, around 1 billion calculations are made by the 7P's processor each time a photo is taken, which is pretty mind blowing!

For more 7P photos, feel free to check out my Instagram, which majority of the images were shot on the 7P.

This was one of the first landscape photos that I shot with the 7P and I knew right off the bat it would be a force to be reckoned with...

And that it had the ability to blur the background unlike any other phone I had owned previously...

Panoramas were also spot on...

And night photography was now possible with this camera.

One of the biggest things was not having to bring my DSLR when I would go traveling...

Because this camera could help me chase the good light when I saw it :)

AF Performance
I've owned the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 6, and the 7P's AF is the fastest hands down, in terms of focus speed and tracking. It's quick enough to track Mochiko running towards me at the dog park...

or to catch Ruby in action at one of her tennis matches. The 7P also has a burst mode which allows 10 fps, and you can choose to either keep all of the photos, or just keep certain frames.

Optical/Digital Zoom
One of the unique characteristics of this phone is that it has 3 cameras (two front facing for general photography, and one rear facing for selfies). The front facing cameras work in sync to provide a versatile zoom 10X zoom range. The photo above is taken without zoom at 28mm.

At 2X zoom, the 50mm camera kicks in. After that, the camera uses digital zoom, which results in loss of resolution.

At 5X zoom (digital), resolution still holds up well.

10X zoom (digital)

Flare
One of the remarkable aspects of the 7P's camera is how DSLR-like the flare is when pointed at a strong light source, namely the sun. This is probably due to the 6 element construction of the forward facing cameras.

Flash
The 7P features a Quad LED True Tone Flash which renders fairly accurate colors when used on a close subject. The photo of the left is ambient light, the photo on the right is with the flash.

Low Light Performance
Never thought I'd be writing this section for a camera phone review, but the 7P has proven to be quite capable in low light settings. I was able to grab some nice frames when I was shooting Gareth Emery for the Republik back in March. For the first time, I was able to get photos with my phone that weren't blurry when shooting in low light settings and had accurate color.

Panoramas
Best rendering I've seen in a camera phone, hands down. As long as you keep the camera fairly level when shooting, the phone is able to intelligently stitch together the frames, even with exposure variations from sunsets. Lines are kept straight as well.

Auto HDR:
Apple really outdid themselves here. The 7P renders HDR in a very beautiful manner, maintaining highlights and shadows within the frame.

I've noticed that the 7P is particularly good at maintaining detail in the sky when it would normally be blown out when they are multiple levels of exposure in the frame.

One important thing to note about the Auto HDR feature is that the subject needs to be static. If the subject is moving, you end up with a ghosting effect like in the photo above. This makes sense, as an HDR image is comprised of several images shot at different exposures, but using the same frame, so if the framing is off, the image won't work.

Another thing I noticed with the 7P's camera is that sometimes it would freeze, and I would have to hit reset the camera app to get it back up and running. This cost me photo opportunities in a number of instances, but isn't a deal breaker overall. I'm guessing since the 7P's camera was a radically new design for Apple, they still have some kinks in the software that need to be worked out.

Bokeh
This is one of my favorite aspects of the 7P. Being a camera phone, the 7P can render bokeh that approaches mirrorless/DSLR quality. As long as you're able to get pretty close to your subject and have a good amount of distance behind them, you'll get some good bokeh from the 7P.

Water droplets are particularly fun to shoot...

Shortly after the 7P hit the stores, Apple released a firmware update that would allow the 50mm camera to shoot in "Portrait Mode." This update basically creates a blur effect around the subject, using some very advanced algorithms. The technology is understandably not perfect, and sometimes fudges where the real edges around the subject are, but for the most part, works very well and can produce some very nice bokeh images, esp. with portraits. I've provided some examples below of the Portrait Mode. Original image is on the left, bokeh rendered image is on the right.

Summary

Pros:
--12 Megapixel resolution allows for high detail in images for a cell phone camera.
--Fast AF allows for capturing of fast moving subjects, both perpendicular and parallel to the camera's field of view.
--50mm camera allows for 2X optical zoom without sacrificing thickness or mechanical complexity in the camera housing.
--Flare mimics DSLR's and mirrorless cameras.
--True Tone flash is generally accurate with colors on subjects close to the camera.
--low light performance is the best I've seen in a camera phone, probably due to the f1.8 aperture of the main camera.
--panoramas come out very clean and balanced, in terms of exposure across the frame and stitching.
--Auto HDR function works remarkably well, esp. when sky is part of the frame.
--Bokeh is remarkable for a camera phone, and the Portrait Mode builds on the 7 Plus' ability to aggressively blur the background.

Cons
--Auto HDR can create ghosting effects if the camera's subject is moving during the exposure.
--camera sometimes freezes and the camera app needs to be restarted for it to work again.

Here are some parting images of what the 7P is capable of. Yes, the iPhone 8 is coming out soon (within the next week or so?), but if you aren't ready to drop a grand on a phone, but still want something awesome, there is the 7P. Just sayin...

Photography Interview on iEDM!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 05 May 2017 20:11:00 +0000

My sister Lindsey, who currently writes for iEDM.com, recently interviewed me of what it's like to shoot an EDM show, in light of Gareth Emery's March visit to Hawaii to perform at the Republik. It was an honor to be featured, and I'm stoked that I was able to shoot one of my favorite artists of all time :) More photos from the show to come later, but be sure to check out the interview here!

2016 in Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Tue, 03 Jan 2017 06:05:00 +0000

2016 was a year of growth for me, both as an artist, and as a person. I found a little more of my voice through the camera, shooting a variety of assignments, and working closely with some amazing couples. I learned how valuable it is to always have a camera with you (iPhone), for capturing those random moments that stand out in the end (one of my favorite photos of 2016 (seen above) was taken with an iPhone after some heavy rain). I learned the importance of being a mediator, the benefits of running every week, and the joy of traveling with people who mean the world to me. I also learned the importance of being grateful on a daily basis, because no matter where you are in life, someone always has it rougher. In no particular order, here are some highlights from 2016! (Gray text links to original posts/photos)

1. Shooting the Eddie Aikau

2. Traveling with Ruby to Disneyland to run the Star Wars Half Marathon and skiing at Big Bear
3. 54:46 finish time at the Great Aloha Run
4. Shooting 132 assignments with Isle Media.
5. Learning the importance of being able to mediate.
6. iPhone 7 Plus helping me capture daily moments
7. Attending WPPI for the first time with the Isle Media photo team
8. Watching Lindsey proudly hold Grandpa's photo on the way to her college graduation ceremony.
9. Isle Media turns 5
10. Exploring Instagram as mr.arare
11. Celebrating my mom's retirement after all her work and sacrifice over the years to help our family.
12. Learning from Mochiko
13. Cooking with Ruby.
14. Traveling to Oregon and Canada with my family
15. Adding the D810 and D500 to the team
16. Walking into Avis's first classroom that she was able to call her own as a teacher.
17. Discovering new music through YouTube
18. Coffee.
19. Staycation at Four Seasons Ko'olina with Ruby
20. Finding something to be thankful for every day.

iPhone in Monochrome

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 22:06:00 +0000

The iPhone 6 changed how I see photography. It was the first competent camera phone that could keep up with what I wanted to capture, and hasn't ceased to amaze me with its versatility. Among one of the features that I've particularly grown fond of is the Noir mode on the iPhone, which produces a very contrasty B&W image. I remember first playing with it on a hike up Hawaii Loa Ridge last year (pictured above). Since then, I've gotten some of my favorite B&W images with my iPhone from everyday life, which I've included below. Just comes to show the best camera is the one you have with you :) Enjoy!

mr.arare

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 06:53:00 +0000

Hey everyone, sorry that this blog has been neglected for so long! It's been pretty hectic with wedding season in full swing (just got back yesterday from shooting an engagement and wedding in Kona this weekend), plus growing our team for the summer.

I've noticed that I've been taking a lot more photos on my phone than before (it's always on-hand, after all), and decided that with all the craziness during wedding season, I needed a way to blog that was quick and easy. Enter Instagram. Signed up for it and so far, it's been a pretty cool experience, finding friends' pages, as well as those of photographers, music artists, and other online presences that I follow regularly.

If you have IG, feel free to look me up @mr.arare. If you don't have, you can follow my page here. I'll still be posting some content on Blogger, but the majority of it will be on IG from here on out.

Happy Monday everyone!

Amanda+Kurt

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 23:26:00 +0000

Super super fun couple to work with...it's like the camera almost can't take these two seriously lol. Full post over at the Isle Media blog!

Wedding season is kicking into gear so it's been a bit crazy, but lots of good people to be around :)

Happy Aloha Friday!

Kristine + Anthony

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 00:20:00 +0000

I've always wanted to do wedding formals using the Pow Wow murals in Kakaako and finally got a chance with Kristine and Anthony last month :) Kristine specifically requested Kevin Lyons' wall so we made that the top priority (pictured above). Kristine and Anthony made me laugh so much at their engagement session and their wedding was no different. Check out the full post here!

Nice End to the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 08:08:00 +0000

Been a while since I saw a nice sunset, so this definitely was a treat :) Happy Thursday everyone!

Fierce

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 06:00:00 +0000

In preparation for Isle Media's 5th Year Showcase, we did a fully dressed photo and video shoot the day before. This image was taken at the Honolulu Design Center. The rain was a few minutes away, and we had to work quickly. We decided to pose everyone in groups and I think it helped the image out a lot. 24-70 and D4s on tripod, triggered remotely.

Isle Media's 5th Year Anniversary Showcase!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 17:39:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Terribly sorry that I've been MIA from this blog for quite some time. Things were pretty crazy preparing for Isle Media's 5th Year Anniversary showcase that was held on June 2nd @ the Honolulu Design Center. With 200+ guests including past, current and future clients, as well as industry partners, friends, and family, it was awesome to see all the support for our team! Can't believe how fast time has gone...

Please check out the Isle Media blog for the full story, including our video and photo collection.

Time to catch up on some content I've been meaning to post on this blog! :P

Ferry Crossing

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Tue, 17 May 2016 07:25:00 +0000

Today, we took a ferry to Vancouver Island, crossing the Strait of Georgia. It was a cool experience driving our car onto the ferry and then enjoying the ride over to the island. The ferry is huge, and holds at least a hundred vehicles. We had calm seas, so the ride was very serene and peaceful, with the cool sea breeze in our faces. Shot this photo off the bow, and the seagull happened to fly into the frame :) Happy Monday!

You Did It!!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Mon, 16 May 2016 07:08:00 +0000

For my youngest sister...

Linds!!! It didn't seem that long ago that you first went up to Oregon to start your college career and now you're a graduate of Willamette University with a double major in English and Classics. How in the world you pulled this off, while being so involved in school (club volleyball and joining a sorority to name a couple), traveling abroad, and working, is beyond me, but you did it!!! I got chicken skin and teared up watching you walk in with the procession today, happily holding grandpa's photo. He would have been SO proud of you, and I'm thankful that he had such a positive influence on your writing. Judging by how your friends, co-workers, and professors responded to you throughout the day really shows how much you impacted people's lives in such a positive way at this school and that makes me incredibly proud :) Congratulations Linds!!

Fields of Peoni

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sat, 14 May 2016 07:01:00 +0000

Gonna be posting a few photos from the my family trip to Oregon and Canada for Lindsey's graduation! Today, we passed by some peoni fields on the drive to Salem and saw that they were all in bloom. We backtracked our way to them and were lucky to enjoy a vast stretch of them, pretty much all to ourselves. There's something incredible and arresting at the same time when looking at thousands of flowers in many shades of colors, with blue sky and sun over your head.

A Special Day

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Mon, 09 May 2016 07:25:00 +0000

First full day off in quite a while. Avis's birthday was today (same as Mother's Day) so was really nice to celebrate the both her and my mom today! My aunty was flying this koi outside her house for Boy's Day earlier this week, and I thought was a cool image to see the koi flying against the blue sky (ocean?)

Hope everyone did something nice for their moms today!

Kristin+Cheyne

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 06 May 2016 06:00:00 +0000

Shooting Kristin & Cheyne's wedding this weekend so thought it was appropriate to post this :) A little in-camera magic over at Ho'omaluhia Gardens in Kaneohe. Full post on here on the Isle Media blog!

Work Date

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Mon, 02 May 2016 05:30:00 +0000

These past few weeks have been pretty crazy for both me and Ruby's work, so we started to do work dates hehe. Nothing quite like working on an edit in Lightroom while sitting next to your girlfriend, drink in hand, acoustic music in the background :)

Alec+Jo

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 19:59:00 +0000

One of the coolest Australian couples I've ever worked with :) Full post on the Isle Media blog!

Micro Sushi Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 19:56:00 +0000

After helping out at a shoot on Sunday, Ruby and I went to each at Genki sushi and after being inspired by a Japanese video, we decided to try our hand at micro sushi with single grains of rice. From left to right: chili, chicken, kalbi, salmon, and salmon skin sushi! Our server was trying to figure out what the heck we were doing lol.

Sky Art

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 20:56:00 +0000

Sometimes, clouds just make you stop and appreciate the beauty of what's around us. This was one of those times.

Been spending a lot of time this month prepping for Isle Media's 5th Year Showcase so the blog has been a bit inactive. Got a few new pieces of equipment that I've been trying out at weddings, so I'm excited to share the results with you guys soon!

Krysty-Anne+Rob

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 02:00:00 +0000

Experimenting more in the world of double exposures...

Full post from Krysty-Anne and Rob's e-session on the Isle Media blog!

Ohana Selfie

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 09:37:00 +0000

I spent some time this evening thinking about my answers to some interview questions for our showcase video, and one topic was why I enjoy working with Isle Media. This photo from our Team Bonding outing at Secret Island pretty much sums it up. We're family, and we enjoy being around each other. We do work hard, but we also find time to play hard as well :)

Small Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Sat, 09 Apr 2016 17:44:00 +0000

Some of my favorite moments haven't been captured with a DSLR, but with my iPhone. Alan was playing with his girls at the office and they were laughing and giggling, making for the perfect chance to snap some shots with the iPhone. As they say, the best camera is the one that you have with you :) Happy Saturday!

2016 WPPI in Las Vegas!

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 06:06:00 +0000

Earlier this month, I got to go with the Isle Media Photo Team to attend the 2016 WPPI in Las Vegas! This is an event that I've been wanting to go to for quite some time now, so I was absolutely stoked that Alan was able to pay our way there to attend classes and the tradeshow. To say that we learned a ton is an understatement, and I'm excited for this year, armed with the new knowledge and industry insights that we gained :)

The photo above was taken during a Photo Walk that Kay and I participated in during WPPI...such a memorable experience! Head over to the Isle Media blog for the full BTS post. Happy Thursday everyone!

Mileage

noreply@blogger.com (Reese M.) — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Whew it's been a busy week! Did our annual company shoot for the Isle Media team at Studio 1013 (playing with ProFoto lights is always fun), engagement shoot with Matt and Ashley (got to try out some new glass), team bonding at Secret Island with the Isle Media team (noon portraits on the beach anyone?) and finally, a wedding with Jammie and Quang from New York (details details details!). Out of curiosity, I decided to check how my three cameras were doing, shutter count wise, so I shot a couple jpgs and uploaded to camerashuttercount.com. Since getting both D4s bodies in the spring 2014 and D750 in spring of 2015, I've logged the following:

1) 138,727 clicks on D4s #1
2) 140,276 clicks on D4s #2
3) 28,022 clicks on D750

That's 307,025 clicks in 2 years. Pretty crazy.