ROKChoi

The new blog!!

2010-07-25T02:53:00.002-04:00

I have bought my own domain and hosting to start a brand new blog. check it out!! www.rokchoi.com

happy birthday flickr stream

2010-03-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

Just updated my flickr pro account for the second time. Amazing how fast time passes by..

do anyone make real sh*t anymore?

2010-03-23T18:06:00.001-04:00

Recently, I got my hands on a Nikon Super Wide Angle AF-S Zoom 17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF, which I shot here. Not only was the lens built like a tank, but the case it came with could also withstand some major punishing. This leather-bound piece of craftsmanship can no longer be found in newer products. It almost gives you the warm fuzzies just holding it. Feast your eyes...

visit from a lady

2010-03-23T17:13:00.001-04:00

One night a lady invaded my room. But she was a bug. My first reaction was "GRAB THE CAMERA!"...kind of sad. The set up was thrown together relatively quickly after one shot of just using the bare flashes. The specular highlights were point sources even though the diffuser is many times the size of the lady bug. So I threw some A4 paper in front of the flashes and jacked up the power (lost

lighting a lens

2010-03-16T22:40:00.001-04:00

When I see a for sale post of something, pictures contribute to the decision so much. I hate seeing a stock image from the manufacturer used. Experience tells me that if I take some time to represent the item properly, the sale happens quicker and without any troubles. A set up I use when I photography lenses that I plan to sell or just making gear porn. This is a Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 I'm trying

$50000 ring

2010-02-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

Past weekend was the class of 2010's iron ring ceremony. All accredited Canadian engineering program's students are presented with one upon their completion of the program. It has been awhile where I felt a sense of accomplishment, but this is it. Though I don't know if engineering is truly what I want to do, I do feel that this is a milestone that I will cherish. A typical shot for wedding

more clamshell

2010-02-05T13:17:00.002-05:00

The UW photo club had a shoot yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't go to the right location where everyone else was. But the shoot was still fun and interesting. Tegan showed up and was very enjoyable to work with! Andrew brought a load of gear and I got to play with some interesting setups. First setup was a tried, tested, and true clamshell. But this time with light two Lastolite Ezybox

design at riverside

2010-01-22T23:42:00.001-05:00

I made the familiar drive down to Cambridge today, it may be one of the last. I am shooting the gallery located within the architecture campus for a piece that is to be written for Imprint. The gallery on display is called "Portraits from Above" documenting Hong Kong's rooftop communities by Rufina Wu and Stefan Canham. The images were beautiful. Even though I haven't been back to Hong Kong

photographer's block

2010-01-16T01:51:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit tough finding material lately now that school have started. But being back at school means that I can shoot for Imprint, the school paper, again for my final term. Hopefully I will keep myself sane from all the thermodynamics and the stress-strain curves with some photography. Stay tuned, there's stuff coming up...

DIY gel holders

2009-12-30T16:59:00.002-05:00

A cheap and effective way of holding gels to your speedlights is to use Velcro. However attaching the Velcro directly on to the piece of gel will reduce it's life and waste the Velcro when you have to replace it. Not that gels are expensive by any means, but I save where I can. I did not invent this and saw this at one of the strobist meetups I attended, taking from the idea of gel holders

secure hot shoe mount

2009-12-17T15:41:00.004-05:00

Being the cheapskate that I am, I take care of my gear because I can't afford to replace them. When you're putting a speedlight on a stand, for those of us with some of the newer speedlights (like an SB900 @ $500+), you are putting a lot of money into a very high place. Even though they're built like a tank, a 6 foot drop won't do it any good. I use these Impact umbrella adapters, they're

my flickr, my progress

2009-12-15T15:06:00.000-05:00

The topic of why I started this blog came up. First of all because everyone has one and I want one too. Secondly, it's something to compliment a portfolio when I have that up (soon). Lastly, I think when I look back on it some time from now, I can really see my progress in terms of my photos and my thought process on photography as a whole. This is more for me than for you. Just like my

strobist wino

2009-12-14T10:24:00.002-05:00

A great weekend with some fresh seafood (so fresh we didn't cook it) with good friends. I hosted a get together at my place so I did a lot of the preparation, rand around most of the night and didn't get a chance to snap some shots of everyone. Bought a set of new wine glasses too, even though they're not DF's 50 dollar/glass, so I want to show them off. I can't call myself a wine enthusiast

subtle HDR preset - thirty bench winery

2009-12-09T09:26:00.003-05:00

I'm a fan of HDR's and I could spend hours tweaking one to perfection (my version of perfection anyways). I personally have nothing against HDR's and have an appreciation for them as a methodology to to simply increase the range or a style when going for the dramatic, rendered effect. When executed with care, they turn out beautifully. This set was taken by bracketing at +/-0.7ev. +/-0.7 is a

lighting for a party room

2009-12-02T13:03:00.000-05:00

I make an effort to make the flash as seamless as possible relative to the environment. Gels are important for an on-location shoots where you want to balance the background with the flash. You often see indoor shots where the subject in the proper white balance while the background with ambient tungsten light is orangy-red. Adding gels to unify the temperature of the light avoid weird tints

Wine & Photography @ Anitas

2009-11-26T13:14:00.002-05:00

A wonderful event for wine tasting with Anita and her family and friends. We tasted Spanish and Portuguese wines, many of which were new to them. Everyone came with an open mind and ready to have fun with the wines. Fortunately, nobody was camera shy. I covered this event with a mindset of getting candid shots and the essence of the event without being intrusive. So I sniped away using mostly

collaboration

2009-11-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

A collaboration with my good friend DF on a project. Doing what we do best with our respective hobbies, wine & photography. I still recall telling DF to start a blog after several wine reviews on facebook. Seeing his dedication in writing is inspiring. This is another milestone when we get started. Exciting things to come, stay tuned! One of my favourite shots.

istockphoto - 1st rejection!!

2009-11-18T11:04:00.002-05:00

Looked at micro stock and decided to sign up with istockphoto. Went through with the application and submitted my first 3 photos for review. Rejected. Comments from the iStockphoto Administrator: These images are very similar in subject matter or style. We would like to see a demonstrated range of diversity and variety in subject matter, so if you have anything else you can show us we

fail-safe white

2009-11-17T20:02:00.001-05:00

After testing out the thunder gray (step-by-step set up here) with Ben, I found out how much of a newb I am with it and decide to just do a quick switch back to the trustworthy arctic white. Again, nothing crazy. Simple, elegant, and even a newb like me can make it look good. 2 SB-800s to nuke the seamless and a SB-900 on a shoot through as the key. I used a foam core as a reflector that's

step-by-step setup shots

2009-11-16T19:11:00.000-05:00

These set up shots have been well received and I have been getting a lot of hits from them. Please comment and let me know how you guys like them and what would you like to see! I believe it is more helpful for me to show all the mistakes I encounter when I setup a set rather than just what the final setup is like. It helps me keep track. Please feel free to comment, advise, share your

benjamin

2009-11-16T17:02:00.002-05:00

Benjamin is a doll. The shoot started off with a stroll in the park for him to run off some energy and also to do his business on the grass instead of on the backdrop. A pee stain would be cumbersome to clone out. Tested out the thunder gray, but moved back to the failed safe white near the end of the shoot. Enjoy!

Lights for 66

2009-11-16T14:51:00.003-05:00

PYeung is moving out of her home of 10+ years. Exciting times! They put a lot of time and effort to make it into a beautiful home. I took some time to document some of her designs for her portfolio. This display cabinet was home to her Coca Cola collection. I used 3 SB-800's and an SB-900 off camera to trigger in two groups via Nikon's CLS and on camera flash. The shoot was done with a

get into the head of a newbie strobist

2009-11-16T01:56:00.005-05:00

Opened up the thunder gray for Benjamin's shoot. Lovely neutral colour but more difficult to use than I expected! Using the white seamless for a high key look is easy, it's fail safe. It's a simple, elegant set up and hard to screw up; Two lights nuking the backdrop, light the subject properly and voilà. The gray requires more thought and understanding. It is very versatile so it's only

great food great wine!!

2009-11-14T08:27:00.012-05:00

It's always a treat at DF's, always. It was a celebration. I'll let him do what he's good at to talk about the food and of course, the wines (here and here). Please read about the wines, they're were spectacular (they better be at that price)! The night started off with great food and ended off with an awesome photo shoot with multiple wardrobe changes! When people are enthusiastic about the

clamshell lighting

2009-11-13T00:23:00.006-05:00

Clamshell lighting is a technique used by many fashion photographers to create a very flattering look with a 1:1 lighting ratio. It's almost a fail safe technique next to the 'umbrella-camera-top-right-@-45-degrees.' It makes the average person look good and make good looking people even better. Pairing this with a telephoto lens just makes everything come together that much better. The set