[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0503/trilobite.jpg&title=dreamy+vacuum][/url]

[url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001ZYYYM/ref=amb_center-3_88435_1/002-3097134-5138441]i am such a gadget geek.[/url] but it is SO cool. it’ll go and vacuum and then sit itself back in its charger. it’s completely self-sufficient! now that is one cool vacuum. too bad it costs $1800.

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i did two photoshoots over the weekend. both models are a little shy about showing the pictures taken, so nothing to see just yet. i’ll work on them. but it was interesting to work with them. it’s interesting because each person that you photography is different and you can’t apply the same techniques to photograph them.

personalities come into it, quite a bit. some are more reserved, some are more daring. i think that i’ve worked an interesting range of models. i think that i have definitely was lucky that the first several shoots i did were with people who were very comfortable in front of the camera and they had many ideas about how to pose.

but still it’s fun to do the shoots and i think that i’m learning quite a bit about portrait photography.

[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0426/IMG_5224.jpg&title=wilco][/url]

while i was waiting for one of my models to get ready, i was setting up the scene and lighting. while i was checking out the scene, jen took a picture of me. i think i need to invest in some kind of powerful super iron that can iron whole sheets at a time…either that or get backgrounds that don’t wrinkle. hmmm, anyone have about 6 yards of that wrinkle free khaki material?

[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0426/IMG_4922.jpg&title=][/url]

ooooh, i got some batteries in the mail. i really like [url=http://www.batteryspace.com]battery space[/url]. their batteries are cheap, they delivered quickly, and the batteries look like candy! these batteries were bought to power the two new flashes that are supposed to be coming my way. i don’t have any tracking information so i don’t know when they will be coming, but they are due ANY DAY NOW. so i spent a good part of the weekend charging all of these batteries. i really need to invest in a rapid charger.

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i did some research about slave flashes and i’ve come to the conclusion that slave flashes aren’t necessarily cheap. grrrr. but i’ve decided to go the cheap route and see if it works with my existing flash set up. the cheap route is $35 per slave flash. the less cheap way is a $105 per slave flash. yuck. and i want to get at least two more slave flashes… yuck, indeed. oh well, i guess we’ll see how this one slave goes and if it works out ok i’ll be quite happy and get another one…or two. we’ll see.

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this was a tiring weekend for me. i spent saturday afternoon with maureen taking pictures. the two of us ventured out to [url=http://www.villamontalvo.org/]villa montalvo[/url] where we took some pictures. there’s a sign in the courtyard that says “Professional photography or wedding photography prohibited without permit.” Heh, good thing i’m not a pro!

i think i ended up shooting around 500 images or so, of them, about 90 of them were usable, i thought. i was pretty nervous when i was taking pictures. i guess i felt that there was pressure on my part to make sure that i got good pictures. the last thing i’d want to do is waste all that time and end up with bad pictures to show for it.

so part of the shoot was spent on location and the other part was spent in my apartment in a more controlled environment. i got to use my newly made gels for my flashes and experimented with lighting. man, there’s a lot i have to learn about lighting. the one thing that i realized today was that i also need a small stool. just a simple prop, but i think it’ll go a long way. maybe i’ll head over to IKEA during lunch today.

i learned a lot this weekend about lighting, and i think that i need another light source…or perhaps i need to better allocate the ones i have now. either way, i think i need to buy another flash. i guess it’s time to do some research into what one would use for cheap slave flashes. i’ve heard that some flashes detect that a flash has gone off and use that. i guess i need to see what that means.

maureen has graciously allowed me to post up thumbnails of the shoot.

[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0402/IMG_4375.jpg&title=nikon+d70][/url]

nelson bought the [url=http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond70/]nikon d70[/url] and brought it over last night to poker night. it definitely is of a higher build quality compared to the canon digital rebel, but it was hard for me to use the camera because i’ve only been exposed to canon cameras all my life. but the basics were pretty easy to pick up.

nelson was telling me about one of the problems with the camera out-of-the-box was that the color tone from the factory are uneven. apparently, there is some kind of color tone fix that people have been using, but the images from his camera that i looked at were fine.

the lens that came as part of the kit is impressively wide and reasonably fast. i wonder how good the optics are, the images that came out of the camera felt a little soft, but i’m not totally convinced that i was taking pictures in complete focus.

if i wasn’t so heavily invested in canon gear, i think that the nikon d70 is currently the best digital SLR in the sub-$1000 range. the shutter is definitely softer sounding than my 10D. it sort of reminds me of a 1D shutter.

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[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0331/IMG_4307.jpg&title=200][/url]

i passed the 200,000 mark this week. holy cow!

[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0331/IMG_4360.jpg&title=homemade+flash+gels][/url]

ah, the fruit of my labor. custom fit for both of my flashes, the 500EX and the 420EX, two sets of gels for the two sizes. it’s amazing what kind of effect they have when used…now the trick is to figure out how to use them more effectively. i think that they are too hot in my initial testing, so i suspect that i will need to take longer exposures, but i’m not sure. i guess i have a lot more learning to do when it comes to lighting.

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[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0329/IMG_4304.jpg&title=q-cup][/url]

i had tea with dardy at the new san jose q-cup. this location is, by far, the WORST q-cup location i’ve ever been to. the complete lack of ambiance and cheap look of this q-cup was really disappointing to see. the quality of the drink, however, is pretty much on par with the chain. so if you need a quick fix, this is the place to go, otherwise, go elsewhere.

dardy was reunited with his puma jacket that i got from carol who got it from alice who found it at her place after dardy left it there after carol’s birthday celebration…man, her birthday was back in november or something. that was a long time ago. he seemed happy to be reunited with his jacket and what the first thing he did when he was reunited with it?

he gave it a good whiff.

no, he didn’t try it on, he inhaled deeply.

heh. only dardy.

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[url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0326/IMG_4285.jpg&title=flash+me][/url] [url=/image.php?image=/images/2004/0326/IMG_4292.jpg&title=flash+me][/url]

so my lightning equipment arrived in the mail today. i was pretty excited when it came and i can’t wait to really test it out. i took a few test shots today to play with it a little bit to see how well it works out. i had a hard time trying to figure out exactly what i should get and a large portion of my decision was based on reviews from [url=http://www.the-digital-picture.com]the digital picture[/url] and talking to [url=http://www.tow.com]adam[/url] about some choices that i had.

initially i was going to get the photogenic eclipse 32″ umbrella and 60″ umbrella, similar to the [url=http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Photogenic-Eclipse-Umbrella-Review.aspx]review[/url]. after talking to adam and seeing how big the 32″ umbrella was, i decided that the 32″ umbrella just wasn’t worth it. i was debating between getting one 45″ and one 60″, but ultimately what won me over was the fact that i liked symmetry and so i finally decided to get two 45″ umbrellas.

my initial impression with the umbrella is that they are pretty well constructed. i really like the fact that the wires are covered by the satin panel so that the wires aren’t seen in the reflection. i am definitely the happiest about the umbrellas.

i had a lot of anxiety over the clamps i bought that that holds the umbrellas and flash to the stand. i decided that the lighting setup i wanted to use would leverage the two flashes that i already own. i just don’t think that i want to invest THAT much in my lighting gear unless i’m positive that it is an integral part of my setup. i decided to get the [url=http://www.photoflex.com/photoflex/index.html?products/default.asp?product=LitepanelAccessories&1]photoflex shoe mount multiclamp[/url]. i was disappointed to see that the bogen swivel umbrella adapter required the use of the hot shoe stand so i decided to look elsewhere. i had some anxiety about this mostly because this alternative looked sort of cheap. it’s similar to what [url=http://www.tow.com]adam[/url] uses and his clamp looked pretty worn out and frail after all of his use and i was afraid that the same would happen to mine. so far it looks reasonably sturdy, so let’s hope that it lasts.

the last part was the light stand. i wasn’t sure again which one i wanted to get, but it seems that i have a rather high regard for bogen/manfrotto. because of this, i decided to get the bogen 3361 light stand. it’s an 8′ tall light stand. my biggest concern with this stand is its sturdiness. it’s very lightweight (which is good) but i wonder how easily it’ll tip over outside. i’m thinking about getting some weights of some sort to put on the legs of the stand if i ever use it outside. not sure exactly what that means…i’ve seen commercial products that basically look like sandbags. i’m not sure if that’s the way i want to go or if i want to just jerry-rig some weights whenever i use it. what actually looks pretty cool are some of these weights that are refillable with water. i’ll have to experiment with some gallon sized ziploc bags and see if they are big enough to weigh down the stands a little bit. but for indoor use, they seem quite sufficient.

i realize now, though, that i have so much to learn when it comes to lighting. i’m trying to find more useful tips on lighting online, but i haven’t been particularly impressed with what i’ve found so far. i’m wondering if i have to go buy a book or something. i’m also learning that there is still a lot i have to learn when it comes to portrait photography. where oh where do i begin?

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