The Last Photographer - Photography, Photo Techniques, Videography

La Saint Valentin at The Waterfall Building

2013-02-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

I was at another event for The Sociables this Valentines. I was shooting at The Waterfall Building, a skylit structure that's pretty popular around here for a variety of reasons. It was a sexy art gallery venue and presented in part by LuvnGrace and Hennessy Cognac.

Read the review at The Sociables and see the full set of photos at Flickr!

Continue reading for technical nerd stuff below.

The shots were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 24-105mm f/4. I brought along a Canon 580 EX II flash but I ended up not using it.

I walked in on the middle of one of the fashion shows, so I took my place at a corner of the media area and started taking my photos. I started the first set with flash, at ISO 1250, F/4, 1/15s. I had to beeline for the media area and literally started shooting as soon as I got in position. It was on the fly and not very well thought out as I hadn't measured the light yet. The photos came out over exposed and had to be pulled down in exposure in post.

ISO 1250, F/4, 1/15s with flash. Flash makes it kinda crup.

Right after the first show ended, I walked along to the runway to measure the lighting, the exposure and white balance. There were mixed lighting which resulted in EV between 4 and 6 and color temperature of 2800K - 3200K along the runway. The background EV was approximately 3-4.

Because the place was relatively well lit, I decided to go without a flash, and shot the remaining shows at ISO 5000, F/4, 1/50s, or around EV 5, with NO FLASH. I went with one stop over exposure at the bright ends and decided that would be the look. The location lights were a couple diffused lights pointing along the runway and bounced by the white walls. I figured the directional and area lights will look better than the flash, especially considering the mixed colors. You just gotta have the guts to turn off the flash.

I take some photos in landscape to show the surroundings and break up the set.

Including photos of some of the live performers, skills in concert photography helps.

This is a traditional runway shot, mid strut, full body, long.

Here is a still life from location. It's like ticking off from a shot list.

Grab VIP shots when you can. Singer Sarah K

I... umm... I don't know.

These kind of shots are the most popular.

Anyways, getting the above right will result in better balanced photos, and will save time in post. At an event like this I will end up taking about 200-300 photos, and dump two thirds of them. And I need to turn these around quickly so I want to spend as little time in lightroom as possible (and forget about hitting photoshop, especially not for event reportage).

Born This Way Ball - The Lady Starlight Afterparty

2013-01-16T11:58:00.002-08:00

This was another variety show via Vernard Goud. Not only was Lady Starlight there for after the Born This Way Ball concert, the afterparty involved live performances, body paints, dance shows and fashion shows.

I was there for the media coverage and fashion shows for The Sociables.

See the full set at my Flickr!

See below for the story of difficult photographic decisions.

I was shooting at the Republic nightclub again. The shots were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 24-105mm f/4 + Canon 580 EX II. As per usual I left the flash at auto while the rest is set to manual.

Portrait of Lady Starlight

f/4, iso-160, 1/30s, 24mm

You can use wide angles for portraits too. It's funky and off kilter, and I guarantee it looks different from other people's photos. Getting this close was the difficult part, but I got to have a short chat with her and ask some questions for the sociables.

Some people won't like it for sure, but I worked at a portrait studio as a slave for years, and know some people somewhere likes these photos.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/6, no flash. This is an environment shot, I guess it reflects my preferences.

This is a pretty sexy venue, but the lighting makes shooting for a fashion show difficult. If I want to shutter drag to capture the ambient light, I'd have to get close enough to get the flash to expose only the subject, or it'll try to flood the entire scene.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/15s. I tried using iso 5000 to get enough ambient light for exposure balance. Until I realized there wasn't much to look at from the angle I was at.

f/4, iso-1250, 1/15s. I dropped to iso 1250. This was okay for the balance but at another -2EV.

The two above shots are at f/4, iso 1250, 1/15s. I was so close that the best shots I could get were close ups and horizontal medium shots.

f/4, iso 160, 1/15s. I pointed the flash straight back at the mirrors behind me to cast the shadows up against the wall. To create enough contrast I had to pump the flash power by lowering the iso to 160, making the flash compensate for the EV.

f/4, iso 5000, 1/6s, no flash. Just another environment shot of the last show. I don't normally use photographic effects for documentary photography, but motion blur is okay. Sometimes.

Timeline Boutique Fashion Show at Pink Elephant Thai

2012-12-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

I was at the Pink Elephant Thai for another fashion show hosted by LuvnGrace. Actually, I was there for two, Smooch Boutique Swimwear and Timeline Boutique. I missed the Element 7 Style show.

See the full set at Flickr!

Title pic: f/4, 1/10s, iso-5000, 105mm

The shots were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 24-105mm f/4 + Canon 580 EX II.

I got there late and missed the Element 7 show. And I was stuck at the wrong angle. BUT IT'S OKAY because the producer was there with me, so he missed the show too.

Each of the following are taken at f/4, 1/15s, iso 1250. The angles are wrong but it's the techniques that count. The EV in the room was approximately 2. The settings above was used to get a 1 stop underexposure for the background, and the flash was used at +1 EV to freeze the motion. and separate the subject from the background by 2 stops of illumination. Overexposure by 1 stop is okay for fashion.

For a short runway, I would have went with a fast focusing short wide zoom, like a 16-35mm. But I had a weak angle (I had to get low) so all my shots would have been a upshot. And I was stuck with a 5DII so I might as well have used a manual prime. Maybe a 35mm for the body shots. For the Element 7, I would have used a 70-200 for the closeups of the jewelry. And orange gel for the flash.

Beauty Night Society Fundraiser

2012-11-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

I was out at another event, a Variety show fundraiser for the Beauty Night Society held at the Fortune Sound Club. If you would like to read a proper review of the event, please go to the other blog thesociables.ca where I do proper nightlife journalism.

See the full set at my flickr!

But still, nerd stuff below:

This wasn't just a simple fashion show, it was a full on variety show featuring various types of artists and product demonstrations. We all know I don't like doing lens swaps these days, so I brought out a Canon 5dII, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 580 EX II flash. In reality as you will see, you'll be able to take these kind of photos from even entry level DSLRs with the kit lens, and even without a flash you can take sweet photos.

Body: I grabbed the Canon 5dII for the synergy with the 24-105mm lens. That's it.

Lens: 24-105mm lens for the range. 24-70mm would have been good as well, but I wanted the extra range and the IS for no-flash shots. It gets dark dude. 15-85mm on 7D would have been just as good or better, but I wanted the red ring on my lens to look legit. I don't do backroom stuff, but if I did I would bring a fast wide prime.

Flash: I brought my most powerful one. I always set the flash on auto with center weighted at +1 EV. I'm pretty good at math but I can't do 4 variable optimization. I'll trust the system to make the right choice. But many of my best shots are taken without the flash to take advantage of the fantastic mood lights and colours that was present.

I'll go through some of the photos I took, the settings I used, and the reasoning behind the choices.

This photo of the live paint battlers was taken with no flash at 24mm, iso 1250, 1/30s, f/4. There was already directional lighting and deep shadows from the ambients, so I wanted to use the lights already present. I sat here for a bit waiting for the right moment and pressed the shutter button.

This photo of Mandy Ross posing for me was taken with flash, 105mm, iso 640, 1/15s, f/4. I liked the background (bricks and such) and even though the colours matched her skin tone, there was sexy dark hair to frame her face and separate. Anyways, I can go with low shutter speeds and a increased gain on the iso to increase the exposure of the scene, and freeze the frame with the flash.

Here's a photo of the the glasses from Optical Boutique and scarf from One Piece Vancouver. I went for a medium close up to capture the accessories that were featured. It was taken with flash, 50mm, iso 160, 1/15s, f/5.6. I went a stop up with aperture to get increased sharpness, lower iso for lower noise, and to compensate I dropped the shutter speed to rely on the flash to freeze the frame. Then the flash will become the primary light source (instead of the location lights).

Here is Brent Ray Fraser in the middle of his performance. It was shot with no flash, 24mm, iso 5000, 1/40s, f/4. Image quality wasn't an issue, I just wanted the light casting through the smoke and the motion and lines expressed in his action. And I wanted the shadow casting across his figure with the mixed colors. If I used flash, all of this would instantly disappear. So I set the iso at the highest comfortable value of 5000, widest aperture I can get, and I just set the shutter speed to the correct exposure.

Another part of the show was live music performance. Here Diane Reyes is taken with no flash, 105mm, iso 5000, 1/50s, f/4. Again I wanted the mixed colors and shadows. The light casting from the mic on her face isn't very pleasant but I can just deal with it I suppose.

This is the first show with Rogue. This was shot with no flash, 55mm, iso 5000, 1/50s, f/4. I went full man mode and went for location lights. Why not, I already took photos of Rogue Designs a few days ago, this is just newgame+. So in trade for the extra challenge, I got the pleasant shadows and colours which would otherwise be mising if I used a flash.

This shot was from the same series but I changed shutter speeds as the end of the runway was better lit. This was shot with no flash, 105mm, iso 5000, 1/100s, f/4. Even with 1/100s shutter speed, shooting at 105mm is a crap shoot, as the models constantly change poses at the end of the runway. Most models end up conditioned to change poses after each flash, but I wasn't using a flash and a million flashes were going off at the same time. Full body shots weren't as useful because the lights only illuminated them above the knees at the end of the runway. Anyways, this series had a low hit rate due to motion blur, but anything that came out properly ended up being my favorites.

This was the second series with Rogue that night. I came out of full man mode and went back to the safe bet of using the flash. So it was shot with flash, 24mm, iso 160, 1/50s, f/4. Here I can fully show off the badass couture, chains and leather and all.

Just for fun. Because I forgot to mention in my thesociables article: Kevan Seng and J Won Suh from Golden Brush Art Events who hosted the painting competition. See, Mandy Ross knows where all the good looking guys are at.

See the full review at thesociables.ca, and see the full set at my flickr!

Trisko & Principals Year End Party

2012-11-26T12:36:00.001-08:00

I was out shooting for The Sociables at the Trisko and Principals Year End Party: Heroes and Villains held at Fortune Sound Club. A more comprehensive review can be found at thesociables.ca written by Elysia Rotaru. I was just there to take photos. Read further below to see how I took these photos.

See the full set at my FLICKR!

Nerd stuff below:

I've been shooting nightclubs around Vancouver (and other cities) for many years now, so I can do this with my eyes closed. Really, get a wide enough lens and you can just point in the general direction, or hip-shoot. For a nightclub, the range is really short so you need a super-wide angle lens to have the easiest time. But that said, I haven't done actually nightclub photography in quite a long time.

Lens and body: Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 with Canon 7D. This is one of the best super wide lenses around. I chucked the 16-35mm 2.8L on 5dII for this. Regardless, the image quality is awesome, but in reality nightclub shooting doesn't require the most superior optics for most clients. You can just as easily use the wide end of your kit lens.

Accessories: canon 580EXII. The flash is a MUST for nightclub shooting. Best way to go would be to use shutter drag (the photos were shot at 0.6s and iso-640 at f/2.8) and second curtain flash. The point is to illuminate the scene using the long exposure, and freeze the image at short range using the flash, as the flash won't have enough power to freeze the background (r^2 if you like math). Otherwise it'll actually just look like you shot in a dimly lit room.

Add a battery grip just to make the camera look bigger and more legit. Bigger camera = super pro. Not only does it work, it's near necessary to get attention.

See the full set at my FLICKR!

BUN 2012 Sesso Collection with Jennyfleur Loves & Rogue

2012-11-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

These are photos from another of Vernard's events that I shot for "The Sociables" @ thesociables.ca. It was the BUN Sesso 2012 Collection with Jennyfleur Loves & Rogue Fashion Shows. The venue was Chinois in Yaletown.

See the full set at my FLICKR!

Carola Bun has all the pearls and gems.

Nerd stuff below

This assignment was for a collaborative blog of city adventurers called "The Sociables" @ thesociables.ca. I've been shooting fashion shows for quite a bit now so I knew exactly what to bring. I brought out the Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II, and the Canon 580 EXII flash.

Lens choice: for this shoot, I was primarily concerned with capturing the jewelry . Ofcourse it's a part of the overall look, but there are going to be a dozen other photographers taking those photos. And it also means when a colleague accidentally happens to stand in front of my spot to take his photos, I can just shoot over his head (thanks to smaller angle of view). So I went with a tele zoom with shallow depth of field to shoot those necklaces, because the dress and shoes are the accessories here.

Flash: This place is way too dark to pull off that Club 560 thing using directional lights on location.

Camera body: I brought a full frame body in case I was too close to the front (as opposed to the 7D and the crop factor), which I was. And I also wanted some shots of the designers and it'll look awkward if I went across the room to take it. The problem of course is the focus accuracy. It just means I gotta take more shots.

Also, I didn't bring any other lenses since I had no intention of doing the media wall or backroom stuff. I brought an extra battery in the pocket but that was it.

Most of the photos were taken at f/2.8, ISO-160 at 1/100s. I could have went with a lower shutter speed (the flash would freeze the action) but the background actually lead in to the kitchen, and illuminated the pots and stuff. I decided to go with a dark background instead.

See the full set at my FLICKR!

Vancouver Fashion Week 2012

2012-09-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

I was called in at the last minute to provide coverage last day of Vancouver Fashion Week 2012 (Spring/Summer 2013 Collection).

I've shot at VFW a bunch of times before at the Empire Landmark Hotel, and I knew that venue inside and out. I headed out thinking it was going to be more of the same.

But it seems things have changed in the last few seasons I missed.

The venue was the Chinese cultural center, a major improvement in my opinion, way more room and high ceilings make the whole operation feel like a bigger production. Most importantly (for me) it had superior lighting that I'm sure many other shooter appreciated too.

These are some photos I took while getting footage of the various designers. I got there in time to catch six of the shows: PINGHE, Daniela Villa, Farida Lalji, SODDI by Solon Diego, Y!D.N.A. by Andy Hoan Nguyen, and George Bezhanishivili.

See more photos at my FLICKR!

Nerd Stuff Below

For this assignment, I brought out a Canon 5D mark ii and the Canon 70-200 mm IS II.

What? Yeah I never normally bring out the 5D to a fashion show, the auto focus is too slow and inaccurate compared to the 7D, and the shallower depth of field makes it more hard to miss some shots (or lose focus while pulling in video in this case). I actually brought it out because it doesn't get enough love, no real technical reason.

The photos are decent, but I have to take more pictures to make sure I get them sharp. I know, digital photos are free, but more photos mean I have to take time to sort through them and stuff. I would say about 2/3 of the photos came out sharp, while the 7D gives me better 9/10 sharp images. You can increase the number of hits with strong technique and timing too. Anyways, this is a feature of the full frame, shallower depth of field and larger sensor means it takes more processing power to get accurate focus.

It's okay, I still like the 5D for shooting things like landscapes and watermelons, things that don't move.

2012 Vancouver Pride Parade

2012-08-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned by QMG (queermediagroup.com) to cover the Pride Parade this year. Last year we had the abstracted parade route due to various awkward problems, but it was much better this year, going most of the full length around downtown.

See the full set of the leftover pics at Flickr!

Jenna Talackova

This dude was super stoked.

This one didn't want to dress up.

This is what the festival looked like.

Nerd stuff below

They were spraying water everywhere. Good thing for me I brought out a weather-resistant combination of Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II. While other dudes had to cover their cameras at the streaming barrage of liquid gear destruction, I was able to shoot away without problems.

See the pics at Flickr!

The Verge: What is The Verge

2012-06-01T11:51:00.001-07:00

The Verge is an independent web series being produced by James Choi.

Carole is a run of the mill, average girl living aimlessly in Terminal City. When a mysterious stranger blackmails her in to committing murder, she finds out that she is naturally talented. And that those she kill are more than human.

Production Detailz below

Casting: Whoever I can find.
Budget: The change I find under the futon.
Marketing: Facebook. Twitter. Youtube.
Resembles: The Matrix. Call of Cthulhu.

Written, directed, edited by James Choi.

I don't ever write or direct (or had any interest in those roles) so this will be maximum amusing for the derp value. The crew will be inexperienced so there's no point following standard procedures, and I'm not a film school teaching set etiquette, so I'll make a custom SOP for maximum DOP convenience.

All the equipment will be provided in house.

Trailer nerd tech stuff:

The entire trailer was shot with a 5dII with Olympus 24mm 2.8, SMC takumar 50mm 1.4, Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS II. Set at 24p, 1/50s and f/5.6.

Animal Encounters: New Zealand Fur Seal

2012-04-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is a short video about a New Zealand fur seal that I encountered in my work. I was shooting a nature documentary and this was a solitary female New Zealand fur seal that was just sunbathing in a secluded cliff side beach.

New Zealand fur seals are a species of fur seals. They have long flippers that lets them move very quickly on land, and are known to be quite aggressive to annoying humans.

When you encounter wildlife in nature, I recommend you leave them alone. Approaching wild animals is quite intrusive and stressful (for them), and may be very dangerous if they decide to be aggressive. The difference between a bro and me is that I have insurance coverage for dismemberment by wildlife.

See more photos of this fur seal at my FLICKR!

Technical info below-

The video and the following images were taken using a Canon EOS 7D with a Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD and Hoya 62mm ND filter attached. I brought this Tamron for this project to have a light weight super zoom lens to decrease the weight of my rig. You can see the image quality for the video, it offers very functional quality.

I would love to bring a sexy canon L glass like the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II but this lens is far... cheaper, and more expendable for this project. Keep in mind I'm independent, and my insurance only covers up to a certain amount of equipment damage overseas. Really, I used to stress over equipment a lot when I was lugging around all sorts of expensive gear.

Most importantly it's a weight issue, since I'll need to carry supplies and equipment, and I need to bring the most functional and the lightest gear. When I was free climbing with this camera on my back, I wasn't equipment stressed at all. Having a super zoom with good macro lets me replace many heavy lenses with one. I bring various manual primes as well as backups, but those weight pretty much nothing.

The footage was taken at f/8, ISO 160, 1/50s. The photos were all taken at f/8 and various ISO and shutter speeds.

This is the scar on her back, likely from a boast propeller.

This is what the place looked like.

Sharp teeth. She was yawning.

That's not a wink. She's missing an eye, probably from fighting.

See more photos of this fur seal at my FLICKR!

Runway at "ELEGANCE" by EVA CHEN

2012-03-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

It was another event by Vernard Goud from LUVNGRACE Entertainment, and I was invited to shoot at the event. Vernard's events always have all sorts of things going on, and involves a fusion of a variety of elements of culture and art. Featuring Eva Chen's "Elegance" collection, commercial photographer Erich Saide, Golden Brush Art: Bill Higginson + Richard Ma and Diane Reyes + Carole Lagimodiere, Make Up Artist Alysia Hamilton, and a bunch of other people and things going on.

I haven't done any fashion shows in a long time since I was busy on assignments shooting film. I even missed Vancouver Fashion Week this year, so I was looking forward to coming out to this.

Eva Chen's been showing for her awesome style at various events, so if you follow fashion you probably seen some of these already.

Included are a few photos from the event.

See the full set at FLICKR here!

Nerd Stuff Below

I didn't bring the right camera or the lens, but I did bring a flash... which I didn't use. Everyone else was using one but there was really weak background lights with an unbalanced exposure down the runway. If I used a flash, the background will just turn black from the auto exposure (except for that sweet spot at the end), shutter drag is questionable with the flashes going off from other photographers, and shots will look inconsistent at different parts of the runway. I preferred the environmental directional lights.

Equipment:

Canon 5DII, Canon 24-205 f/4, Canon 580EXII. That's it. Normally I'd bring the 7D for a fashion show (particularly at a low light venue) because of the lightning fast autofocus. I'd normally bring the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 as well for the range for the close-ups. I didn't because I thought I'd be doing more group shots, and I didn't want to swap lenses, and this wasn't for an assignment, so I didn't feel too particular about over performing.

That's why the photos look a bit like phone camera pics I suppose. 24-105 is a pretty good lens... for video, but for photo it looks like crup wide open. I shot these at 1/100s at iso-1250 and f/4.

Musket teaser trailer

2012-02-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

Watch the teaser trailer for the film Musket, which I'll be shooting later this year.

This is a fan funded independent feature film, and depend on the viewers for contributions.

If you like what you saw, check out the campaign page, and contribute by sharing the link or giving a donation!

Join the Musket Campaign Here!

Indiegogo: http://www.indiegogo.com/musket-1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Musket/215096338582886
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MusketFilm
Tumblr: http://musketmovie.tumblr.com/

2012 Cinematography Show Reel

2012-01-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

This is my new cinematography show reel for 2012, and contains various works in narrative cinematography from 2011. Enjoy!

Musket Teaser Shoot

2011-11-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

House of Leo Productions brought me on board again to provide the Cinematography for another project: "MUSKET" a Canadian independent feature film.

It is written and directed by Shane Monahan, and will be produced by House of Leo Productions.

The following are some screen captures from the ungraded unedited footage from the teaser trailer shoot.

The actual teasers will be released at some time later.

Technical notes below.

This was an extremely low budget production for just the teaser trailer. All the shots were taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EOS 7D cameras. For equipment, there was Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 Tripod, Glidetrack SD 1m, Lilliput 7" HDMI field monitor, LCDVF Viewfinder and Zoom H4n Recorder. These equipment were picked for agility as the shoots took place is multiple locations only accessible by feet (such as in the middle of the forest). Zoom lenses were picked for this shoot for quicker set up.

Photo 1:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with SMC Takumar 50mm F/1.4 lens

50mm, ISO 320, 1/50s, f/2.0, 1080 24p

Conveniently, we didn't actually have to go in the forest. We found a nearby park, and were able to pick angles that avoided children playing in the background.

Photo 2:

Canon EOS 7D with Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 Lens

15mm, ISO 640, 1/125s, f/2.8, 720 60i

This was a part of a sequence done in slow motion. A polarizer was attached to compensate for the sky and water. There was heavy rain and wind the entire time this was being shot, and involved dolly truck out on the Glidetrack while maintaining focus (in the rain so I could barely see). Conveniently, after attaching the LCDVF the camera could see better than I could.

Photo 3:

Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens

100mm, ISO 640, 1/125s, f/4, 720 60i

Conveniently the rain had stopped when we started this shot. The revolver was definitely not loaded (just pretend all the other shots were discharged and there's one under the hammer).

Photo 4:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens

100mm, ISO 320, 1/50s, f/4, 1080 24p

This was a dolly shot done at ground level. Again there was seriously heavy rain and wind, and we had limited time to shoot before the make up dissolved.

Photo 5:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with SMC Takumar 50mm F/1.4 lens

50mm, ISO 320, 1/50s, f/2.0, 1080 24p

A dolly track and pan with follow focus shot. The best feeling you could get is when you say "one more take, I can nail it" and then nailing it. Of course, if you fail after making such a statement, it would be extremely awkward.

Prosthetics and Body Paint: Lizard Girl

2011-10-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

This was a creative shoot with one of my favourite make up artists. Lisa Bradley does a lot of cool independent projects in body paint and prosthetics. I heard about the concept, and this was a portfolio shoot, it sounded really cool so I agreed to shoot it.

Model Emily was done up to look like a lizard, and put in a sexy dress.

Find the photos at my flickr!

2011 Vancouver Men's Fashion Week

2011-10-04T00:02:00.001-07:00

All of these images are screen caps from the video I captured.

I got an invitation to shoot at the Vancouver Men's Fashion Week (v.MFW), held at the Post Modern.

See the full set at my Flickr! All of the photos seen here are screen caps from the video footage I took for House of Leo Productions for coverage of this event.

The main event took place on October 1st, 2011. This event was formulated by Ramos & Fortier as the first fashion show of its kind in Vancouver, in an effort to give up & coming men's wear designers a venue where they can be recognized and brought together.

This was an excellent show featuring many local and international designers and brought many talents together.

Here's a list of Designers:
Dodjie Batu
Brittany-Anne Fisher
Frederick Fung
Nico Agustin
Anthony McRae
Steve Samson
Franz Patrick Albana
Desiree Mark
Ashli Soto
Sweat Collection
Theresa Chen
Bia Boro Apparel
Teodora Wong
Tomita Fenton Yasuhiro

She was hosting, wasn't actually one of the models.

Owen Chau performing Wu Shu

See the full set at my Flickr!

Technical Information Below:

Turn back if you have no interest in photography.

Nerd Camera Stuff, Where I talk about gear, problems, and solutions:

This was another House of Leo Productions commission for video event coverage.

For this event, I brought the Canon 7D, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II, Tokina 11-16mm, Sigma 30mm 1.4, Canon 580EXII, and manfrotto 546B with HD519 head.

Again, the 5D sits this one out. 7D is better for low light hand held video. If you think you're good enough to manually pull focus on moving subjects at full frame f/1.4 normal or f/2.8 tele by eye, either you're kidding your self or you're so good you probably do a lot more high profile things than this.

Now I've never been to the Post Modern before (weird, I've been to everywhere else). Once I arrived at the venue, I thought: I feel bad for the photographers.

There were several problems for a photographer to overcome. Low light (which is normal), use of flash allowed (which can be a problem), short distances, limited space (couldn't even use a tripod), and awkward model path.

The low light is mitigated by the use of flash, but in this situation, to have a nice picture, you'll need to illuminate the background by the use of shutter drag, otherwise you'll have heavy contrast against the background which looks very unpleasant (read nightclub photography articles). BUT if you drag the shutter, the photo will become exposed multiple times because everyone else will be using flash, creating trails and multiple exposure "ghost" artefacts.

The best way to solve this would be to use a fast prime with fast shutter speed (1/250 or more maybe), with high iso to bring out the background (suck it up and take the noise). Since the use of the Runway King (70-200) isn't possible, you'll have to use a short wide-zoom or a fast prime. I'd go with a fast wide canon USM prime (on a 5D) like the 24mm 1.4 or the 35mm 1.4, the 24-70mm's autofocus is way too slow, and in the inconsistent lighting, probably won't give you the amount of sharp images you'd like.

Another issue was the short range. Normally at fashion shows, you'd get plenty of space to use your tele lens to get those full body shots. In this venue, to get the nice runway shots (full body), you'd need to use a wide angle lens, which causes all sorts of unflattering distortions. Best way to deal with this is to get a low angle: it's MEN's fashion week, and you can definitely grab upshots of men without issue, and this would reduce wide angle distortion (i.e. big head) problems.

I had no problems with this because I was shooting video: I could use a fast normal prime for a medium close up shot and just pan up and down for each model to show the outfit. High iso and softness from wide aperture wasn't a problem either since my images are only 1920x1080.

Only real problem I had was with the flash (which I can do nothing about), and the changing white balance and exposure from mixed lighting. I basically exposed and white balanced for the end position when they briefly pause before turning around. This means most of the footage will come out cold (the key point is a very small section of the runway), but it fits the night club look.

Camera settings:

Sigma 30mm 1.4: f/1.4, 1/50s, iso 320, Picture setting: Neutral 0/-4/-2/0

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8: f/2.8, 1/50s, iso 1250, Picture setting: Neutral 0/-4/-2/0

I didn't even pull out the 70-200 for the runway.

2011 Vancouver Pride Parade

2011-07-31T16:11:00.000-07:00

Every year at the end of July (on the civic holiday long weekend), the Vancouver Pride Parade occurs. Hundreds of thousands of spectators stream in to the downtown of Vancouver, and many community groups and flamboyant floats parade about in the rainbow patterned streets.

Even old people.

And dogs.

And... uhh... police bear.

I was in an area where there were missing fences, and people kept getting in the way of the floats, crossing the street. There were tons of security people yelling at the mob to stop getting in the way of the giant mechanical floats... because... you know, they'll get run over. But people kept doing it anyways literally running back and forth while laughing, because parade spectators are annoying and belligerent, that's just how it is. The security guys were quite frustrated, yelling the whole time. Should have got more fences boys.

See more photos at my flickr!

Nerd stuff:

Canon 7D with tokina 11-16mm, fast and accurate autofocus combined with one of the sharpest wide lens around. Most of the shots were made at iso-160, f8, 1/400s. Key is to get right up to the crowd, fortunately, having a huge camera gives you press powers, people will get out of your way and allow you to get up close. So stick all those useless attachments (like the battery grip) and the biggest fattest flash you have on top and walk in with total power, camera raised, no one will stop you.

San Diego Comic-con: Black Cat Cosplay Photoshoot

2011-07-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Meet Black Cat

I wasn't actually at Comi-Con. This was a photoshoot I did for Black Cat, she requested I take some nice photos of her before she headed out to San Diego.

This is basically a portrait shoot, a zone I'm very comfortable with. It just happened that the client was dressed in a costume. I guess it wasn't so strange, I seem to do a lot of these weird kind of photoshoots. I should just rebrand my self as a cosplay photographer.

Outdoor Garden. We got a couple looks.

And this type of portrait shoot, I can jump pump out the photos, since I don't need to do any post-processing. The make up and costume pretty much does all the work for me, and I'm here to document the work (the cosplay) anyways, not create my own painting in faux-shop.

A few shots for green screen.

Black Cat leads Frodo out of Moria

But... I did take some photos in green screen so I can make some weird comps.

You can find a few of the photos at my flickr!

She was popular enough to be interviewed by NBC Here

Nerd Stuff:
For this photoshoot I chose the Canon 7D with a Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 lens, and a Pentax Spotmatic F with portra 400 film.

The Super Takumar has a soft focus kind of effect when used wide open, giving a slight glow on the subject, but when stopped down, it becomes pretty sharp and contrasty.

The crop factor allows the Super-Tak to be become a nice portrait lens, with an option to use the same lens as a normal with the film camera. Using two different mediums is something I do normally for certain projects, the film works as proofs and a backup. Ofcourse, no way I'd bring film to a regular event or club photography, manual is way too slow for that. But for other things like portraiture, posed photos, nature shots, manual film camera is a good backup to have (doesn't need batteries, pretty much can't fail.).

For lighting, I used two lights: A arri 750w HPL on a softbox and a arri 300w for hair light and a reflector for fill (this is what I usually bring, it fits in my pelican case). These photos were either taken at f/1.4 for the soft effect, or 5.6 for the sharp contrasty look.

Although, I've been contemplating swapping over to speedlights for photoshoots. Less to carry around, and I've seen some really good looking photos with them. I was trained on constant lights for portraiture, and I only use flash for events and TFP stuff, but I'll look in to investing in to a speedlight array.

Bboy Jam: Filthee Feet 10 year Anniversary 2011

2011-07-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

I came out to this one because a friend I haven't seen in years was competing in it.

Now, I shoot in night clubs a lot, and I've shot performance dance before, so I thought I would know what to expect. This was totally different though. People communicated to eachother through the power of dance. Everyone was a bboy (bgirl?), and they were all dancers. I was pretty much the only spectator, an outsider entering their world to document the unfolding events.

Seriously, it was weird. No rules (that I could understand anyhow), people got right up to the dancers, forming a circle. Now, I've seen this when I went to some clubs and parties where they had breakdance performers, but I thought that was just because it gets pretty cramped at a club. No, this was a big gym with plenty of space. It's just how things are.

Some details:
Apparently this was for something called the IBE Qualifier. Some sort of international breakdance competition, and the top 8 bboys in Canada will go to Holland for a convention called "Notorious IBE".

See the full photo set at: Flickr

Nerd Stuff Below

Equipment:

Canon 7D
Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS II
Olympus H.Zuiko 24mm 2.8

What I SHOULD have brought:

Canon 7D
Tokina 11-16mm 2.8
Canon 580 EX II Flash

Okay, this was my first time at a Bboy Jam. I expected camera policy for no flash. I expected more room. All wrong: there are no rules at a Bboy Jam. I should have brought a wider lens, because the crowd gets UP CLOSE to the dancers (like within hands reach). And people use flash.

Flash would have definitely helped. The room was fairly dark, and I had to use ISO-12800 at 1/200s with the Olympus. Manual focus isn't a big deal since autofocus won't work in low light anyways. Even then I had to push process one more stop during post processing.

There is significant loss of detail due to high iso noise. Hence, the poor image quality. Normally I would convert to black and white to walk around the noise issue, but not this time. I simply desaturated the images in post to reduce color noise.

Next time...

See the full photo set at: Flickr

Lisa's Night Out

2011-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is a short film being produced by House of Leo Productions. It is a young woman's journey of discovery of her sexuality, and promises to be sexy and funny. It will be submitted to several niche film festivals, with the focus bring the LGBT-oritented festivals.

Screenplay by Mauri Bernstein
Directed by Lauren Holmes
Produced by Stephen Sawchuk
Cinematography by James Choi

Portion of the profits will be donted to Vancouver-based LGBT Charity! Click the link to find out how you can contribute to this project.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Lisas-Night-Out

Vancouver Stanley Cup Hockey Playoffs 2011 Riot

2011-06-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Everything was on fire. Mobs looting stores and setting them on fire. Few individuals tried to stop them, the rest cheered at the destruction.

The stores are smashed open, and are quickly looted. There is large lineups trying to get in to loot the stores. The pillagers flaunt their spoils. Handful of people step in to stop the crowd. The mob is displeased that the show is interrupted. These select individuals take it upon themselves to discourage the rioters. The rest cavort about in reckless abandon.

Police took back the streets step by step, behind shields and backed up by loud speakers. The crowd has numbers, and brave few throws garbage as the officers. The cops sit there and take it. One member of the mob steps forward to show off to his audience. The officer takes a single step forward, and The crowd turns in to a sea of cowards running past me in fear of retribution. There is no strength in this gathering, no unity. It is a amorphous conglomeration of chaos.

Cars are smashed, flipped, and set ablaze. It took a few to start, but many join in, and those who don't are quick to cheer and give shouts of encouragement. Riot tourists step in to pose for photos beside the burning wreckage. This incites the rioters to further acts of destruction, they are eager to please the crowd.

Another fire, more glass breaks, a man stand upon a bench, plunder in hand. The crowd cheers in encouragement, and more breaks in to loot. They are united in purpose of destruction and lawlessness. There is too few willing to step in to stop this madness. At this point almost everyone has taken sides as active participants: those very few who will stand against it, and the vast majority who cheer and yell in the exultation of mayhem. They are outnumbered at least one to a hundred. Rest watch in silence.

*I don't know anything about hockey, and I'm not a fan in any way. I would never have entered the streets but I was forced out by a fire set to my building. All of this is within the block of where I live.

Equipment:

For this project I didn't have enough time to set up. I took up the Canon 7D (for faster autofocus afforded by the smaller sensor) and the Sigma 30mm 1.4 I needed a fast lens with quick autofocus so I can capture the night action at fast shutter speeds. It's a standard lens on a crop, so a good focal length for this kind of work: long enough so I don't have to step in, and wide enough to catch small crowds.

Seriously, for work like this, leave your big camera and huge lenses at home. Be discreet, don't be seen, and don't make the rioters feel like celebrities.

New Projects coming up

2011-06-09T09:31:00.001-07:00

Just a status update letting you know I'm working on a few projects at the moments. Expect to see some green screen lighting guides soon.

The Goblin Market. And New Webpage.

2011-05-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada right now making this update. I'm the cinematographer for the film "The Goblin Market"

A young woman's journey to the under belly, to confront those who claimed her sister's innocence, risks her own seduction.

Sounds sexy. I will be providing the cinematography and editing for this film. And some equipment. I will list my equipment soon.

And check out my new webpage at:

http://jchoi.ca

Nightclub Photography

2011-04-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Between a two day long lingerie shoot and filming the last day of Vancouver's Top Gay Model, I've been quite busy with work. And wasting time with some street photography, most money I made from that these days was finding a $5 bill on the ground. But I'll finally do an update about some more nightclub gear and techniques.

Go here to see the photos from the VFW after party from Aubar, Republic and Fortune.

I'll talk about the gear I used for the photos I took in the Vancouver Fashion Week After Parties.

Camera Body: Canon 7D

Why didn't I use a 5d2? Because of this lens:

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8

This bad boy (I didn't call it that, street photographer Emma did in the video overview of some of my gear.) is awesome for indoor party shots. This makes the 16-35L on a 5d cry like a spanked child, at 1/4 of the price (canon hate. no hard stop on the focus ring, why...). But there is a new tokina 16-28mm 2.8 for the full frame sensor now, I'll have to check that out. Sometime.

***
The top picture was shot at f/4, 0.6s, iso-400 at 16mm.

Explaination:
f/4: will darken the overall scene and allow wider depth of field. Autofocus is bunk is nightclubs since it's near pitch black with random strobe lights, so focus will have to be manual.

0.6s: extremely slow shutter speed will brighten up the scene and cause the scene to blur. BUT the short range of the flash will cause everything hit by the flash to freeze in motion. I.e. sharp up close and background blurred.

iso-400: again to brigthen up the scene and bring out the shadows. The point is to make the background look brighter to make the crazy nightclub strobe colors come out.

16mm: the long end of the lens, it's still wide enough and has less distortion. Having a wide angle lens allows for infinity focus at a shorter distance, allowing manual focus to become trivially easy.

For flash, I used a canon 580EXII. And a battery grip just to make the camera look bigger. If you've seen me around, I usually have a L-bracket mounted on the camera. Only time I take it off is if I'm going to a club. Bigger camera looks more impressive. (seriously).

Go here to see the photos from the VFW after party.

come back later to see how I do the crazy light trails and multiple-exposure effects.

After Party and Conclusion

2011-04-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

See more photos from AuBAR, Fortune, and Republic here!

What I was doing there:

I was commissioned by Stephen Sawchuk from House of Leo Productions to film(video) the fashion shows. You can contact House of Leo here! They are the official video production company for Vancouver Fashion Week.

You can find some of the videos I took at VFW 2010 for Blackout Productions last year here (again with Stephen Sawchuk, the modelesque Producer of House of Leo Productions).

Photos from the opening party are in this flickr page.

Miscellaneous photos not runway are found here. (i.e. group photos, press room stuff, interviews, Elysia Rotaru, etc)

Notes on Photos from the Fashion Shows:

Look in my flickr collection for photos from the shows I wasn't filming.

Something Awkward? You'll notice most of my photos are closeups of the face. It's for the makeup artists. All the official photographers down the center can get a million body shots of each, showing off the dress.

*I try not to talk to the models. The makeup artists will beat me up because I always make them laugh and ruin their makeup. I'm going to guess it's my haircut or accent or something.

Notes on the After Party Photos:

After party photos are here.

Nightclub photos. It's what I do. Well, when I'm not off filming in the jungles somewhere. Your chance of getting good photos increases when you come to the after party and hang out. Well, with me anyways.

*Nerd Stuff:

Equipment:

For the runway, I used a Canon 7D with a Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II.

For video, the crop sensor gives me a wider depth of field at the same light level using a full frame, making focus pulling easier. It also allows me to punch in to close ups to show details on the dresses.

Lauren Holmes was on the other side getting the wide angle with a JVC GY-HM100U ProHD camcorder.

Last year I used the 70-200 f/4 but this year I was taking photos for some of the shows, so I brought the heavier 2.8. Combined with the super fast tracking+autofocus of the 7D and 70-200 2.8 IS II, I was able to obtain sharp images 9/10 times (wider depth of field on crop sensor also helps for autofocus). And I automate all my processing, so I can pump out the pictures quick. I should just write a full on strategy guide for next season.

Anyways, photographing models is definitely easier than shooting platypus or monkeys.