Cheap Doesn't Mean Bad

I've noticed that there's a lot of amateur photographers out there who rush out to buy the latest and greatest (and often times the most expensive) piece of equipment they can find. Unfortunately, I haven't quite won the lottery yet, nor do I want to put my credit card into shock, so I have to pick and choose what I need to buy. And save up extra funds so I can purchase some of the lenses I want.

However, there's one lens in my arsenal that gets a *lot* of use, and that's the Canon 50mm f1.8.

It's a small, light-weight lens. The body is mostly plastic, but it's super tack sharp, and the best part? It's only about $70.00. How can you go wrong with that combination?

I took this lens to the Monterey Bay Aquarium during their Jelly Fish exhibit, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.



I had brought a monopod with me to help steady shots, but I found myself using the monopod more as a walking stick. Even in the extreme low-light situations of the aquarium, it performed incredibly well. The images were spot on, even with slower shutter speeds.

I've heard the arguments for using the Canon 50mm f1.2, and there is merit to having a little bit more faster lens. But at a few couple hundred dollars more than the f1.8, the f1.8 version is the best bang for the buck.

I suppose one day, I will purchase the f1.2 lens, but sometime after I win the lottery.

Picture of the Day: Taiko!

I just really like this one. The Taiko Drummers had such energy and had so much fun playing that it was infectuous for the crowd. Their outfits were so colorful that I wanted to isolate the main drummers from the others in the background.

Nihonmachi Street Fair: SF Taiko Dojo

My Friends' Weddings

I'm not very big into doing wedding photography, because I find the entire thing extremely stressful; what with the couple being stressed, the parents of the couple being stressed, and the *need* to just get the perfect shot at the perfect time.

I know some photographers who excel in that type of situation; I am not one of them. However, it hasn't stopped me from doing the occassional wedding for friends as a favor or at a reduced cost, but I don't do it often. I've probably done a handful of weddings in the past 5 years, which I think is pretty good rate. I've looked at other wedding photographers' portfolios thinking, "It's just really a matter of practice and doing this over and over to the point where you just get used to it."

However, it's the part of trying to get used to it that causes stress. Put yourself through stress so you get used to stress so you wont't stress out when you're stressed. Somehow that doesn't quite sound right to me. *lol*

So, I would have thought that doing various friends' weddings would help me get over that stress-level. Yet, I find my friends' weddings even more stressful as there is a certain emotional investment in doing a good job for them. So, I find myself doing weddings very rarely.


Personally, I like doing the pre-wedding shots. The ones where you can stage the bride with lighting and props to make her look good. No stress, no worries, but then again, that's not really wedding photography, is it?

Whenever I do a wedding, I find myself longing for just one more extra body so that I have the right lens at the right time. Heck, I'd even opt for an assistant who can anticipate my every move and hand me the right tool at the right time (much like a really good golf valet who hands you the right club at the right time so I've seen in the movies....)

But, it's just not the camera equipment either. There's also the outfit to wear to the wedding. For guys, this is easy with black dress shoes and simple black slacks and a nice button-down shirt. For women, this isn't so easy.

The one thing I've found with doing weddings is that I'm always on the move; getting shots of guests, family, of picturesque moments. This means comfortable shoes. However, when you're a 'photography guest', you should dress up so that you don't stick out like a sore thumb with jeans and a t-shirt.

On my very first wedding, I made the mistake of wearing heels. They were very low and normally very comfortable, but I hadn't anticipated being on my feet non-stop for 6 hours. OUCH! Luckily, I found some nice, modest, FLAT, comfy black shoes that should go with almost everything at my local mall.

But I still need to figure out some 'outfit' -- preferably not a dress or with any form of skirt -- that allows me to move around, blend in with guests, is comfy, and has pockets. I've gotten too used to wearing my photo vest around when I go out photo-shooting, or my comfy cargo pants with its multitude of pockets.

Unfortunately, most of the nice outfits with pants that fit this criteria make me look like I'm going to a power lunch instead of a wedding. I've tried various outfits, and nothing quite works the best. One day, I'll find the right wedding/photography outfit, preferably the next time I do a wedding (which will hopefully be in the far off future).

And, insofar as my own wedding and any photography for that special event? I'll be hiring one, preferably an acquaintance at most, and definitely not a friend. I don't want to put one of my friends through the stress.

Nihonmachi Street Fair

As my first post, I thought to post some images taken from the Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco. I had first heard about the street fair from some friends on a photo forum that I frequent for some Bay Area shooters. I decided to meet up with them, especially for the two events, the Lion Dance and the Taiko Drumming.

I have always loved the lion and dragon actors at various Asian festivities, and I also have a fondness for taiko drumming (as well as having friends who do taiko).

I checked the weather websites, and it had said it would remain around mid-to-high 60s with the promise of fog. Instead what I got was a beautiful sunny day with extremely harsh lighting. *sigh*

So, I decided to just have fun, and not worry too much. I slapped on an ND filter onto the camera, and went from there.

The Lion Dance was particularly fun, albeit a little loud with the strings of firecrackers going off. I managed to get in the front of the gathered crowd, albeit to the backsides of the lions, but still managed to get a few good shots off. The very young lion cub dancers were particularly cute, but performed very well.

With the harsh lighting, I just decided to see if I couldn't just shoot for B&W conversions later. But, even during the post-processing, a lot of the colors with the Lion Dance just screamed to be let out.

After the Lion Dance, the San Francisco Taiko Dojo set up to perform. It's just so much fun watching them, as they really seem to get into the rhythm, the beat, and just playing their hearts out.

For the taiko, I stuck my longer lens onto the camera, as I was a bit farther back than the Lion Dance (for which I used a wide angle lens).

During the second set of the taiko, I was fascinated by an older gentleman who was so intent on his playing that I could have watched him all day just playing on the drums.

I tried to get a lot of shots of him with his intense looks and whatnought, but after a while, I just stopped and watched him play. His expressions were just so serene, calm, and wonderful. It was just a pleasure to watchi him play. I didn't know who he was, but I pretty much figured him for THE teacher of the taiko dojo.

I showed the images to some of my taiko friends, and they pegged him as Seichii Tanaka, the founder of taiko movement in the U.S! It didn't surprise me at all.

Overall, for the street fair, I didn't take as many photographs as I thought I might originally, but I decided to just enjoy myself and experience the festival instead of just being behind the camera. Regardless, I think I got some decent photos out of the day; just a few select pieces, which makes me happy.

Picture of the Day: Lion Dancer Cub

Taken at the Nihonmachi Street Fair

Picture of the Day: Hands

Picture of the Day: Lion Fish Flower

For whatever reason, the stamen of this flower reminds me of a lion fish.

Picture of the Day: Statuesque

Picture of the Day: Maria

While adjusting the kicker, I got a bit of lens flare taking the shot. However, the shot was interesting with the flare, so I decided to play with the post-processing a bit to come up with an effect that I liked. The result was this 70-ish photo.

Canon 20D
ISO 100 F11 @ 1/250

Picture of the Day: Spokes of Rust

The one thing about cemetaries, like the Mountain View Cemetary, is all the cool entrances to the various crypts and masoleums. There’s a wide array of patina, rust, and other surfaces; not to mention the variety of types of doors and gates. For this particular shot, I set up the camera high on the tripod because the spokes were at a height taller than me. I manually focused on a lower portion of the door, then raised the tripod to about level with the spokes, and used a remote trigger to take the shot. It took a few attempts to get the shot I wanted.

Next time? I bring a step stool.

Canon 20D
ISO 100 @ 17mm f5.0 @ 1/30

Picture of the Day: Contemplating Heaven

There was some post-processing work to turn this into more of a sepia-toned image. I ramped up Curves in photoshop in order to totally obliterate the background, which was uninteresting at best with a low-brick wall. Then I converted to B&W, then sepia-toned. I wanted the focus to be completely on the statue itself.

Picture of the Day: Face of an Angel

Canon 20D
ISO 100 @ 22mm f8.0 @ 1/200