Bronx Zoo

I remember this day very clearly...date...well, its beyond me...but I remember this day. We went to the Bronx Zoo, like an hour PLUS on the the 5 train. All the way to the South Bronx. Or whatever...it was the Bronx.

Monkeys, lions, and whatnot...it was a great day. I recall seeing this shot (and I really remember not knowing what I was seeing) and I shot away. Can you believe it? A Nikon F4s, Fuji film, and patience...something the digital world cares less and less about.

Rainy day Hawaii

Once again, its rainy...cold and rainy. Yes yes I know you East Coasters laugh when I complain (moan) about my wet weather woes but its cold and wet! It is currently 71 degrees with a low of 66. Yes, this sounds like a great day in New York or LA in late winter/early spring but when you live in perfect temps most of the year round, you get thin skinned and thin blooded. I rarely wear long pants, long sleeves, or socks. Really, life has become slippers, shorts, and sunglasses...but not today...or rather this entire weekend...lost to the rains.



It rained really really hard last night and parts of the day. It didn't wake me up but it surely did some damage. Flooding warnings chirped on late night tv and early this morning. I haven't seen the news today but I know it rained loads.

We have a large bowl outside filled with sand and sea shells and odd bits found here and there. Lo to our surprise, this morning we found it filled like our own miniature ocean. The rains pour over the Pali mountains right behind us and showered our little bowl filling it half way. Our own little Pacific, a mini-sea sand and shells sans life. Yukako said we should get a gold fish.



Poor thing would die in a week.

Power, Justice, and eventual pardons...

The new penthouse...$7 million of course.

Justice was sort of done today...I guess not much more could be done. I mean if the money is gone or hidden who has the power to force anyone to admit it. We do have a constitution and it means loads, regardless if the current regime would like to erode it further.

Yet, most of the victims will not get their cash back and by anyone's guess, ol' Bernie will get out on a pardon and rush off to Israel to enjoy the dough. Cynical? Yes...as one would hope not but someone will pull strings to let this poor man who has suffered so much out on a pardon. Marc Rich got one...

Well...to start...might Madoff have funneled mafia (Russian, Israeli, etc...) funds through his scheme? Might he start to blab about who did and what happened? Who knows...I feel there are way too many things that will never be known, said or afraid to be said. This goes very deep.

The Ides of MARC H!!!!!

Yes, I left a space btw the c and the h.

Why? Figure it out.

Well, the ides are a few days off but you get the idea.

All is quiet on the southern most western coast. The recession is slowly sinking towards us and its scary yet all is still unknown. Will the regime of Obama pull us out of the mess Carter/Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush put us in? Are we sinking further? Bernanke won't tell who's getting the dough. Trillions of bucks are going somewhere...but are they going to us?

How does a photographer work out a bailout plan for himself? As the news drones on about ballouts, scams, and whatnot, I can't help but to wonder about a handout coming our way in the photo industry. We, as most know, don't make enough of an impact to foster Congressional committees, Senate hearings, and labor union strikes. We carry on, holstering our depreciating army of cameras, computers, and the likes hoping the wire services, magazines, corporations, and events will call us, raise their rates, give us more jobs, and ensure we have enough jobs to carry us on through this dipping economy.

Ha! I can hear roar of the readers in the backroom! Obama's handouts don't flow this way says the hands that hold the money. We had better open a bank, insurance company, or a ponzi scheme to gain any greens that are being thrown out in absolute disregard. The stock market, along with our savings and investments, are tanking. The world is sinking.


Hmmm....I wonder.

SO how do we survive, fellow bugger off-ers? I don't know. Don't buy anything camera related is what I think. Start lowering rates and expectations as well as don't buy those once needed shoes, sofa, or six-pack if it means you don't have enough for gas, grub, and rent/mortgage. If you have a non-photo degree, start dusting off your resume and get ready...

beyond that...

I've though of ways to get a handout from the Obama regime:

1. Start a ponzi scheme. Make sure to sell to all races and colors to ensure you don't get called a dirty-"whatever." Carry a Bible, wear a kippa, or grow a beard to court and declare you are an oppressed minority and ask for a bailout to save yourself and your clients. All the while, stay in your penthouse under house arrest and defy public demands to turn over your 7 million dollar pad or your wife's multi-million dollar bank accounts (all FDIC insured, no less.)

2. Create an investment company, buy toxic debt, bundle it together (hide it) and sell it to other greedy investors hoping to make a quick buck.

3. Open a bank, make bad investments, and demand the tax payers bail you out.

4. Open an insurance company, make bad investments, threaten to sink the economy by not covering the insured, and demand taxpayer bucks.

5. Don't pay your mortgage on a house you never were able to afford (think--flip it in 3 years before the note balloons) demand the bank help and demand a handout from the gov.

6. Create a wonderful killing weapon, bomb, or missile. War is always vogue regardless of the party. "We'll get our troops out of Iraq and SEND 17,000 to Afghanistan!)

7. Get on Oprah (or similar talk show) and beg Obama to bail you out!

8. Pray to Jesus/Allah/Buddha or whomevah for some major help with that cell phone bill.

9. I ran out of ideas.

I guess best to just follow 8...and even then, who knows.

Venus and the moon

Venus and the moon are getting together and being quite cozy in the sky tonight. I think if I had looked out earlier I might have seen them closer. I will check it out tomorrow.

Photoshoping reality

I love this photo set. I really do. Beverly is a great looking blonde with a great body. She claims she lost so many pounds on whatever diet this company is hawking. When I was a kid, and they'd (yes, they) would show some diet commercial on tv (it was always some buxom babe in a bikini climbing up the ladder of a pool) my Mom would ALWAYS comment those the skinny girls who claimed they were once fat were NEVER fat! The best ones were the fatty girls commercials they'd show on Univision. Those were great as the Mexican girl who weighed like 400 lbs now looked like Sofia Vergara.



Well...Sofia is actually Colombian and I think if I recall, shes wasn't that skinny at times but whose complaining?

Ad execs could never sell a dime of a product if they used real people as models. We, the unwashed masses, are ugly. The models in the pix are good looking. A majority of people on tv, outside of Cops and reality tv are actual working models. Not all models are blessed like Giselle and co but are real people with extraordinary good looks; or, looks that define what a doctor, housewife, or football player looks like to the memory of the public. Think about it...there are all these war movies or tv dramas where you will see the same military officers or CIA guys as they are all casts as what Hollywood thinks these guys look like. And to the collective memory or belief of the public, those character models/actors are pretty good. What does George Clooney look like to you? How is he typecasted?

Damn--I already spun out of control with this blog...let me get back on track.

I doubt Beverly was ever a fatty. She is very attractive and I can't believe she'd let herself get that fat. Photoshop is just amazing.

You can tell its not her body on the fat model just based on the lighting.

Back in the day...haha...I sound old, when airbrushing was king and photoshop was just just getting started in the photo world, Oprah, back in 1989 was featured on the cover of TV Guide...

...with her head on the body of another model...


Seems this photo of the model, Ann Margaret, was taken in like late 70s. According to the net, it was alleged that neither Oprah nor the model were aware of the head slicing. The public probably would never have guessed but who knew?

title changed

I think its time for a title change. Don't know if I am happy with A Shutter Bugger but will keep it for a bit. What do you think? A coconutbuggery? Kokonut Kameras?



http://www.f295.org/wordpress/?page_id=71

interesting content on this site.

maybe I should just title it bugger off.

Working with the cast...what a pain!

So I got a last minute call do shoot a portrait for the NY Times of this local financial figure and they needed it shot the next morning before 2pm EST. Meaning the newspaper needed the shot no later than 10am Hi time. This is tough but always doable as its part of being a freelance/contract photographer. Like I've always said in the past, you are only as good as your last job. If you can't shoot it on deadline, someone else will and there are countless kids with 5Ds, Alien Bees, and the ability to shoot by 10am. Mind you they might not be able to pull off the best shot and experience is always better than willingness for a majority of the photo world but surely, these factors will change and a once considered crappy photo will be de rigueur, no?

I should mention I only had limited time, limited budget, and limited movement to shoot a quick portrait of David, my financial guru at a local botanical gardens. I feel I got a shot worthy of any client and don't know if I would have done better, cast or not. Yet, I was quiet pleased as were the clients. And thats all that matters. As long as the phone rings tomorrow, thats all that matters. As Tracey Woods always says to me, "its all about the benjamins," even if the rates are small.




Onto the cast, the doctors said it was a major strain and prescribed me to not to wear the air cast (I've silently nicknamed it the "air i-Cast" as it has so many little doodads and what not...I mean its like the old Nike Air pump shoes...it comes with a little hand pump! I'm just waiting to download some iTunes to jam...) It is proving to be a pain as I have to maneuver myself around the silly cast. A slow, gimpy pace, plastic grocery store bags around the foot to keep it clean, off and on to drive, I mean come on! But a few more days to go before I go without wearing this suffocating device. It does help me walk better though as it keeps my ankle straight and supported. But its gonna be party time when I am finally off this son of a gun!

ITS NOT BROKEN!!!!

AHHH....After waiting for like forever at the hospital to see the specialist, the diagnosis was not a crack, just a major strain with torn ligaments, blah blah blah. Bad part is I gotta wear this silly boot like 24/7 for 10 days or so. I don't know if I can handle it.



I gotta wear the storm trooper boot for like 10 days to bed, to eat, to whatever...i am already getting batty. I really am. My hip is hurting from like standing all uneven, gimpy-like.

9 days to go. Hey, I still got all that vicodin, though!

Dedication is only a word

On the third fairway as I scampered to catch Michelle Wie and that trio of golf goddesses, I remember mumbling about some damn volunteer and how he grabbed Jaymes Song and I and kept us from walking down a cart path cause the golfers hadn't gone thru. I got really irritated and was just about to scream at him but he let go of us and I marched on. Our "under the ropes" media credentials always seem to fail the media when they are needed the most and usually, the good natured, power hungry senior citizens who volunteer to be security for these golf events always seem to irk the media one way or another.

Either way, I was grumbling about one thing or anther and before I knew it, I was crumbled over gasping for air as my right ankle found a small divot in the ground and twisted my ankle about 90 deg in the wrong direction. Mind you I didn't dare drop or damage any camera but I did sit for about five minutes a bit disorientated about where I was, why my ankle hurt as such and wondering how far Michelle got.

I sobered up, slung the 400mm over the shoulder and marched on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW32tLb0zb4

A bit Alec Guinness, a bit adrenaline, and a bit "I can't let the giant or any other idiot take a shot away from me. And from my last post, you obviously know I soldiered on. I marched on covering the golf course feeling no pain or discomfort.

So after the final putt was put in the hole and everyone walked off the field, my ankle began to swell and pain like no tomorrow. I limped back to the media center and filed my images and doddered all the way home.

Now here is the fun part, my ankle swelled to the size of a golf ball and pained to walk on. I iced it and tried to get it under control on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, there was little doubt I had a problem. The swelling didn't subside and I knew it was time for a hospital visit.

Low and behold, I have a small hairline fracture and am now confined to wearing an air cast for a few weeks and popping Vicodin. Not a bad life with the pills and all. The docs said crack is pretty small and probably not too much of a problem but enough to get the works at the hospital...wheelchair, x-rays, ice packs, crutches and pills. I am a bit worried about the bill once I get it. I mean, can you imagine a ice pack for $129.74? I am guessing it doesn't cost this much but I probably won't be that that far from the mark.



The point of this blog is to show how dedication is only a word. When all the cards are down, you gotta keep marching on. You are only as good as your last job and any editor in the world will always look at you as such. If I had made a complete snap of my ankle I surely would have continued fearing bosses and the rest of my colleagues. Besides, I had to win. So if any of you are whining about the rain, ill tempered volunteers, or long distances, quit bitching. Soldier on and finish your job. The recession is gonna start taking jobs away from all of us. You can nurse your boo-boos once the job is done.

And if you are curious, I ended up telling that good natured power hungry volunteer off the next time I walked by him. I don't care for people to be grabbing me and ordering me around if they are not law officers. Some golfers were about 100 meters away and he freaked out that I was in their site. He tried to grab me and yank me off the trail. I pulled away and gave him a few syllables, all polite of course. Don't think he expected that...nether did I but I really don't like being messed with when I'm loaded for work.

Oh and to really put my injury in perspective, I am not all that bad. I will probably be walking around by this weekend sans cast.

What a difference nine holes can make!!!!!

You just never know how life can turn itself around in moments. I mean, the picture above was going to be the shot of Michelle Wie's first LPGA victory. She was well on her way to making a victorious win in her first tournament after becoming part of the tour. Alas, experience, pressure, and age all seem to drag a all but guaranteed win to an absolute train wreck. Well...thats harsh...but, as we said on the field, the wheels fell off at the last second and Michelle finished in second place.

I shot that victory fist pump while Michelle birdied the fourth tee. With global deadlines, and what seemed to be a looming victory for Michelle, AP moved that shot global linking the story with that photo betting she'd win, and that one image would capture the entire event.

But by the 11th green, Michelle shot a a double bogey and life fell completely apart.



Angela Stanford chased down Michelle and got a two point lead over her but the rainy weather seemed hint at a comeback. After a great fairway shot on 15, Michelle had a little over a three foot putt to cut the lead to -1 and put massive pressure on Angela to choke herself. Sadly, Michelle blew the putt and sank in grief. Cameras chipped away from all around and i got a great shot to replace the victory shot that said it all.

Never assume you got the shot cause you never know how an event will change. Nathaniel Welch gave me a great piece of advice once on why its never a good idea to be a sports photographer. You career will depend on what type of game, event, or score your subject will do. My first shot, as amazing it is, tells a completely perfect story if Michelle had won. She didn't and if I had just gone back to the media center and cheerily watched from an air conditioned room, drink in hand, my work would have been worthless. I had to hump out to the course, walk 10 plus holes with the leaders, hoping to tell the story. And my hard work, and sprained ankle, tell the story with the second shot.

AP made that photo an APTOPIX. When all over the world.

Oh, and for Michelle, we shouldn't feel too bad for her. A three day tournament and a Pro Am date lead to a second place prize of $108,000. Not bad for a 19 year old.

Journalists get laid (off)!!!!!!!

Thanks Gene Park for your t-shirt and inspiration to blog (blab) about...

Journalism is dying. Well, its been dying for some time. Why? Young people are gravitating towards their iPhones/Blackberrys for news and up to date information. Its quicker, easier, and its all in real time to get info off the net than to read day old news in a newspaper or week (month) old info in a magazine. There's the Drudge Report, Craiglist, and Facebook for all your needs. Rense, luminous-landscapes, etc...just so much ready-at-hand info so quick to get.

Or could it be that journalism has been deceiving the public for years. Whether its CNN telling us the pro-Obama (lets bawwwwwww like sheep for four years) babble or the Rush Limbaugh right is right doctrines. I think journalism has truly killed itself. There is no truth in media. How can Sam Donaldson be replaced by Nancy Grace? Much of CNN has become Entertainment Tonight. News casts have all been MTVed.

But maybe we are the unwashed masses Obama and the media speak to. American Idol did garnish more viewers than Obama's Inauguration.

Yet, newspapers are dropping readership, magazines readers are loosing interest, and in general, he media is really loosing their influence on the people. For me, I tire of the incessant bull that streams out of New York in a New York point of view. Now that I live in the furthest western state of the US, I sometimes take offense the media doesn't represent me. Much of the national news represents itself and cares little to leave the island of Manhattan.

The Star Bulletin recently let go 17 full timers...journalists that is. The Advertiser union negotiated a 10% pay cut for two years. Two years...what the hell is this about? Would Exxon, the gas company, or T Mobile cut their profits 10% to make it easier for the unwashed masses? I can't understand why a union would do this to its own workers. Well, maybe its better to keep a job at a lower pay than to loose a job all together but the Advertiser guy who is renting can't just turn around and ask his landlord to cut the rent 10%, can he?


I am not sure who is to blame for the layoffs or pay cuts...it hurts. I think we killed ourselves. I am not nor do I really consider myself a journalists but I do see how there is no one else to blame for the layoffs and the decline of news watchers. I would love to dedicate my life to writing, documenting, and capturing the ills, joys, injustices, and fantastic life around me but the unwashed masses have spoken. There just isn't any interest.

Pro Bowl 2009

Dallas Cowboys Jay Ratliff

I'm not a big American football fan these days but will watch college ball as well as the big events like playoffs and superbowls when necessary. I do shoot lots of UH games as well as the occasional Pro Bowl--not that its gonna be here anymore--but I have shot professional football.

The amazing thing about many of the pros is there absolute size and power some of these men have. This Cowboy was a very large man. I couldn't imagine this guy running full speed at me with hatred in his eyes. It would be quiet the sight.

Sadly, the Pro Bowl is leaving the Islands.

Why? A number of reasons...I can't really say but can speculate the age and condition of the ridiculous Aloha Stadium, distance of Hawaii from the mainland, and the waning fan base of this exhibition game.

During this recent game, the players seemed more interested in the vacation that actually playing a real game. At the end, most of the plays seemed soft there was no real drive to win. But what are these wealthy players really playing for? I remember they used to have skills competitions in the old days where quarterbacks had to test their accuracy, linemen competed to see how much they could lift, etc...

To me, it was a hot, lackluster event. I hate to see it go as Hawaii is loosing many of their professional sports events but it seems to me the government isn't doing enough to ensure Hawaii stays a premiere state and a location to sell to the world. Too much corruption, stupidity, and poor planning are really tearing this state apart. If the state could just think a head and really do something for the future, Hawaii could possibly live up to its wonderful reputation. I mean, perfect weather doesn't make up for ignorance.

Dogs

I've gone from cute girls to dogs...go figure.

I don't know why this dog was sitting on the roof of a local restaurant but I couldn't help but to shoot it. Cute dog as he was, he (maybe she) was really intent on finding his owner, roof top or not. Nice moment.

Chinatown parade

Did some scanning last night and wanted to share some images from a parade in Chinatown on Saturday. I found the parade to be of standard quality but saw the audience as a different character. Interesting to view. Interesting to snap. People oddly look at me as if I am a real photographer as I am not using a typical digital camera. They don't actually know what to expect.

The girl above just struck me. The man standing behind lined up after I looked at the film. Didn't notice him but he ads a dimension to the image.

I shot with my 50mm 1.4 lens and kinda feel its a bit cramped in the viewfinder. Not wide enough. However, the more I keep it on the M6, the more I enjoy seeing a few in a "normal" setting. My version seems to lack super sharp focus but it gives a nice feel to things. I've never shot with other versions but am happy with what I have.

With that said, I did actually crop the image in the shot as I felt there was way too much stuff around. The crop does well in my opinion. I usually like to showcase my film images full frame. Crops do help at times.



I rattled off half the roll of film until the kids faces came around. They were actually staring at a fat Ronald McDonald. Funny, he wasn't the usual slim guy as McD would like us to believe he is. The family was inside a restaurant and the parents were just as excited as the kids.



I didn't notice the girl staring or the older woman in the corner of the frame. I have a tough time learning to focus a rangefinder and I am finding I am loosing so many shots as I am fumbling with a camera I don't use as much as I should. Rangefinder shooting takes a skill. And within that skill, it takes a different eye. Its absolutely everything a digital camera is not. Thinking about composition, focus point, exposure, and feel all come into play. Once again, subconscious took this image. I am not to impressed but find all the elements falling into place.



The dog, which I think was a corgi Jack Russell mix, was shaking away seemingly started by the drums, dancing, and noise. Might he be afraid of his owners toes?

New Years on film

Although not the first digital shot of the year, it surely is the first organic shot of 2009.

Chinese New Year from the balcony

Whats the New Year without a dance?

Sony Alpha flash and conclusion

Ah, the Sony flash, the HVL-F58AM flash...what a nice tool to work with. The above picture was shot at sunset with the Alpha 900 with flash set to normal, 800 ISO and the EXIF reports 1/60th at F 5.6. If I recall, I had the camera set to Auto and let the fun happen. There is noise in the image which, like I stated in my previous post, should not exist in a 08/09 camera model but the flash really did a nice job. There is slight detail in the black, the white cards dangling from the lanyards are not blown out, and the skin tones are just about right. The image could have been a bit brighter but overall, the image is great. This is the image straight out of the camera. And at fine jpg setting at that! I wonder how a raw file would have done? The Alpha 900 metered, in my opinion, perfectly. Canon! Take note of the flash unit and metering Sony seems to have gotten right.

The Sony flash

is awesome with its rotating/pivoting ability. The shadows were always under the chin where they belong.

Everything about the flash and camera combo do speak of a (do I dare say!?!?) a glorified Cybershot. Yes, the 900 with the flash became a big point and shoot that leaves little to think about.

And why not? Why should I have to think about a mindless picture and create something fancy when I am just "doing a job." In my opinon, there really wasn't much to think about when using this camera and flash together. The Canon flash unit leave so much to wish for...after years of trying to understand its matrix metering, ETTL, and whatnot, it is a hit and miss game with the Canon.

I didn't spend anytime having to fuss with my Sony images after the shoot. No levels adjustment, no color correction, or any type of photoshopping. THIS IS WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY SHOULD BE LIKE (at times, mind you) where you don't have to do anything but shoot, download, burn a disc, and handover to a client.

Don't get me wrong, I constantly use the Canon flash for lots of work but compared to the Sony, the Canon can't hold its weight. Most Canon shooters would probably agree. Its never an issue of plug and play. Its lets dial down/up the flash, or the cameras get thrown off by a white dress shirt and black dress combo. It never seems consistent. The Sony flash got it right just about 90% of the time, and thats a wonderful ratio!

I mean with the Canon, I'd have a good exposure but a black background, or a nice background and blurry players cause of the slow shutter. The Sony flash took all the guess out.

The flash alone would make me jump over to Sony if there were more assets within the Sony system.

With this said, I will get to my conclusions on the Alpha system...

I like it. If all my Canon gear fell into the depths of the Pacific, I still wouldn't invest it all in Sony but I like the system. There is so much Sony needs to improve on and before long it probably will be a major player.

My buddy Hugh just purchased the Canon 5D Mark II with 1080 HD video capabilities. He finally told me all about the video capacity and he said it good for certain things but will never replace a real video camera. He also mentioned some of the bad things about it and what the 5D can and cannot do. With photography, there is not just one tool that will work for everything.

Sony does have the capability to create a "bi-user" system with great video and still capability. A Red system without the headaches. I could be wrong because Canon also has a video equipment company as well and they are on their way to creating a future video/still system. Until then, Sony will have to keep making their system stronger and better.

Improvements should include faster handling, easier user accessibility, a much more durable body and many other things I cannot really elaborate on. I can go on and on and complain about Canon, Sony or Nikon as nothing is perfect. If I could take all the systems and make a frankenstein type body with the Nikon glass look, the Canon handling, and the Sony flash...we'd have the perfect tool. Add near perfect web/tv video capabilities, and jacks for sound, and voila! Time will only tell.

If you haven't tried a Sony, please do. They are very very nice systems and make great images. Like I said, I don't know if its ready to roll around the beach waiting for a celeb to pop out, a journalist sitting in the back of a humvee, or jumping from the pool van to quickly catch a President eating shaved ice. A photojournalist needs a camera that can take it all, not a camera that is only good (rather, great) at a few things. If you keep it in a studio, you can't go wrong.

It's price point at $3000 for 24.6 megapixels, and market value lenses make it a contender for people who are starting out in the business. For me, I might wait to see what the 3rd and 4th versions will create.

But do we really need a camera that can shoot 21 frames a sec at 98 megapixels?


Sony 700, 24-70mm F2.8, Hawaiian sunset light.

The New York Times

GOT THE COVER OF THE NEW YORK TIMES SPORTS SECTION!!!

Actually, I wasn't sure what they were going to put on whether it was the front page or just sports. The bw shot was from the series. They chose the color digital image.

Always good to have a good subject to shoot.

Sony Alpha Review Part II

Sony Alpha 900 with 24-70 F2.8 at 200 ISO

SO after a week of using a Sony Alpha 900 and 700 bodies, a 24-70mm F 2.8 lens, a 70-200mm F2.8, and a 300mm F 2.8. Two HVL-F58AM flashes, batteries, etc., I think I can formulate a good yet limited opinion of the camera system.

Mind you, this review is not based any science, charts, direct comparisons, etc but based on straight use. Use based on real world experience shooting a mix of sports, events, and reportage. A use based on various lighting environments, lens use, and flash output.

If most of you reading this haven't figured this out, I am a professional photographer shooting just about everything you can imagine. See my website at http://marcpix.com to understand where I come from. I shoot pro Canon bodies but used to be a straight Nikon shooter so I am very familiar with all types of SLRs, medium format, and large format equipment.

What I can say right away about the Alpha system is this:

IT IS NOT A CANON AND IT IS NOT A NIKON.

And for many, that's the problem. I can pick up a Nikon digital body and within minutes figure out most of the setting without reading the manual. It was the same for Canon as I understood Nikon. Its not like the Sony bodies were that different but things like controlling the flash output is based inside the camera body software as opposed to the Canon flash having its own individual controls separate from the body.

I talked to the other photographers who were issued the Sony systems and this seemed to be their problems as well. No similar physical work flow continuation. You more or less have to read a manual to understand what the Sony camera is capable of...and in many ways, it is capable of lots!

The camera system is impressive. The big 24.6 megapixel camera pushes aside the current Canon 1Ds Mark II at 21 megapixel. The Alpha system seems well suited to work well for the studio/commerical photographer or non-news gathering guys. The files are bright, clean, and nice to work with. At 100-200 ISO, you get very nice current standard files from the camera. From the point of view of a shooter and not a fine art printer or reviewer with too much time on their hands, the files are fine. There are no complaints about the images.

At higher ISO, you get noticeable pixelation and noise which is not acceptable for a 2008-2009 year camera. At 800 ISO the images were fine and completely usable. But an examination of the red and blue channels seemed to show similar noise patterns to a Canon Mark II at 1600 ISO. Of course the Sony file is better but to convince photographers who are invested into their systems to switch is a hard sell. With Nikon making nearly flawless and noiseless pictures at 1600 ISO and beyond, Sony has no excuse. I considering jumping over to Nikon for their wonderful high ISO handling but just can't afford to start over.

This is a major issue for me using this camera as many times, I have to shoot in low light conditions. The Canon Mark II do wonders at 1600 for my purposes. A bit of what I would call grain never hurts. When its too perfect, like current Nikons, it might be a bit strange, kinda like seeing a false reality. Mind you, I wouldn't mind having that ability but film never made perfection hence its hold and realism in photography and history. Sony just can't compete with this fact now and the next versions of the camera should truly adjust to current market standards. Like I said, it is perfect for a studio/commercial environment where lighting is easier to control and situations don't usually change much. However, jumping from a a sunny golf course to a sunset dinner, to a night time concert was tough.

Day time shots proved to be flawless though with the camera. A neat setting was the Auto ISO choice where the camera would adjust automatically to the lighting. I left it as such and noticed most of what I shot remained at roughly 200 ISO. Nice but always best to be in charge of this aspect to ensure total control.

In order to convince photographers to leave their old brands behind for the Alpha system, Sony has to really improve their system or add something so unique, the market will have to jump over because of this uniqueness. From the week of shooting with the Alpha, its a hard bet for me.

With that said, I can only guess how the digital market will continue to evolve but with the intro of the Canon 5D MII and the current Nikon body with similar video capabilities, Sony is going to have to add this feature to their next pro body. Sony holds a large portion of the video industry so once they add this feature to their next generation of pro cameras, to me, it is more than obvious they will strongly compete with Nikon and Canon...and quiet possibly surpass.

The build of the camera itself is quiet nice. Nothing different although it seemed to lack the build of a heavy duty Nikon or Canon. According to different websites, the camera is weatherproof. Nothing more to say. Its a camera with buttons and dials.

As far as the lenses:

Nothing really to say as they are exceptional. This element of the Sony lenses remains similar to other lenses in the market. The lenses mirror the same zoom and distances of other brand lenses and if you didn't look closely, you'd be fooled into thinking the 300mm F2.8 is an exact copy of the Canon.

The Carl Zeiss glass is superb. Again, nothing more to say other than great, great optics. Truly the gem of the system along with their great flash units.


Alpha 900, 300mm 2.8m, 200 ISO

The above image is tact sharp. The camera did its job and the lens acted wonderfully.

Onto the bodies which I will not distinguish as I mostly used the 900 and found both the 700 and the 900 to be indistinguishable other than the file size.

The above golf picture was done on the 900 and if you notice the image is dead center. Years ago, Patrick Sison told me autofocus destroyed rule of thirds as the first few generations of autofocus pinpointed the focusing dead center, something classical composure strictly rules against. The focusing system for the Alpha seems to hark back to the days of old fashion autofocus systems. Don't get me wrong, it focuses quick and accurate but seems to lack any ability to shift focusing points manually to compose an image away from dead center.

I asked the other photogs who were using the Alpha system and they also couldn't figure out how to manual adjust the focusing points to get the system to focus outside of the dead center. Mind you, none of us read the manuals that came along with the cameras but this is what I mentioned earlier. The ignition for a car is always right of the steering column. If a car manufacturer were to shift it below the radio or inside the glove box, you'd be stumped for days.

Depending on what you'd point the camera at, the focus would shift and catch something to the left or right of center, above or below the center as well. I had this one situation where I had to shoot a guy at a podium and the camera default focus would pinpoint the podium and not the guy speaking. This proved to be a major drawback as I had to push the lens into manual and catch the subject that way. This is something Nikon and Canon would not have any problems with.

Another odd thing about the focus of the camera is that the autofocus would completely stop all together. I mean just absolutely stop, flash or no flash. Just completely stop. I'd have to turn off the camera and restart. Sometimes, more than once. I can't explain why it would do this. It just did.

More to come about the flash output and final thoughts.

Subconscious

I will constantly blab about pictures and this and that about subconscious picture taking and the likes but I really do feel there is something about not really seeing something in the visual world but seeing outside of the lens.

Take for example this shot of a golfer at the Sony Open in Honolulu. He knocked the ball off the fairway into a greenside bunker on the 3rd green. I lined up across from the pin to catch the shot he was going to make. I lowered the monopod holding my 400mm 2.8 but found the angle too busy as the course homes were in the background making lots of distractions. I walked a bit up the hill mingling with the gallery a bit and found a cleaner view with the lakes and water spout.

The odd thing of it all is the fact I lined up the view to have the jutting angles of the lake's grass mimicking the actual position of the golfer. The flag flapping in the foreground is just an added bonus. HOW I did this is beyond me. Is it a complete coincidence or was it something my mind's eye saw before hand. Do we really plan these shots or do they just happen? I did see the background but didn't expect things to line up like they did...or did I? Get what I mean, we see things beyond our actual vision.

Being a photographer is tough. You spend 99% of your time looking thru a little rectangle box via a round tube. Everything is either compressed into a small vision of the world or a distorted wide blur of life. Nothing is real reality. it is all what is defined by a glass maker, computer, or that brief 1/2000 sec of time. Meyerowitz said we can learn to see things in those quick snaps of a shutter. Either a slow 1/15 of a sec or a dazzling 1/8000 sec. Life via a camera is just a swish-click-clack-snap-pop of a shutter.

There is a Getty photog who really makes magic with his images. He shot last years Sony Open and made one of the most amazing shots of Tadd Fujikawa that only he could take. I realized he was talented but it was something more than just having a "skill." See the image here as i don't have permission to show it. There are three To me it takes a skill beyond the average person to capture moments as such. Funny thing is Fujikawa is known for his diminutive stature so the heights of the palms trees repeat who Tadd is.

Amamzing.

I didn't mention the golfers name as he isn't important to my story and the image isn't life making. I do feel it helps make me a better visionary. Whether is intentional, accidental or just a quick glimpse of life is beyond me. I'd like to view it as a capture of art in real life or possibly nothing more than a gimmicky shot taken in that 1/2000 second realm. That subconscious taking over and making life a bit more exciting.

The Conga!

I mean what more can I say?

Come on shake your body make it do the conga!

Sony Alpha cameras review

I've never done a camera review nor do I plan to start or compete with those websites that do. I do, however, am gaining experience with the Sony DSLR's given to me by the good people at Sony.

Lots of the reviews I've read on different camera lenses, systems, etc...are never made by professional photojournalist or pros who put their gear through the wringer. I mean there have been times when I've dropped any and all parts of my cameras, gotten them soaked in rain storms, covered in red dirt dust, ocean mist, sand, and general dirt. I've had so much soot on my sensors that I had to bite my teeth and shoot just to get a shot and hope photoshop will take care of the final product. I'm not shooting nature, my kids, dogs, friends, wife, or the house across the street. I am shooting assignments for AP, Conde Nast, Sony, and a multitude of clients. I know how to treat my gear and what I can expect from it and what I expect from myself when I use it.

I am currently shooting a tournament for Sony and they require that the photographers hired use only Sony made equipment. Imagine the faces when the Japanese president of Sony and the son of the founder when photogs arrive with Canon and Nikon flashes popping in their faces. How bad is that for their egos?!?!

This year when I was hired again to shoot for Sony, I received a grand package from Tokyo full of bodies, lenses, flashes, and the likes. I got a Alpha 900 and 700 bodies, a 24-70mm F 2.8 lens, a 70-200mm F2.8, and a 300mm F 2.8. Two HVL-F58AM flashes, batteries, etc... Enough gear and stuff to make a job go well.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The cameras are made well. The glass is Carl Zeiss so its heavy and sharp. The bodies seem to mirror all the other camera systems out there with their button/knob placement, card and battery compartments. Nothing really too different. The 900 and 700 do have a type of imagine stabilization built-in the actual camera and after using the camera it does seem to do its magic. Nice feature.

The odd thing is the camera has its own special setting made for Sony. The problem that I find immediately is you actually have to read the camera instructions to understand how to make the camera work well. For me this is my problem but I don't think I am unique. Most people out there don't want to read instructions and camera companies should understand this. Cameras are so common place that it should be something understood universally. P means program, A (AV) means aperture priority, etc... More on this later.

As far as first impressions, the flash is the best flash I have ever EVER seen before.



The flash has tilts up and down like standard flash head but also left and right. ABSOLUTE BRILLIANT. NO NEED FOR BRACKETS TO SHOOT VERTICAL. What an absolute brilliant idea. You can keep the flash head above the lens no matter where you shoot vertical or horizontal. I real piece of work.

This has to be the best surprise of the day to see this feature.

I have much more to write about as this will be a multi post listing.

More to come

Ode Magazine Cover

Got to shoot Jack Johnson and friends for the cover of Ode Magazine. According to the editor, seems to be a popular issue. People are asking where to get the shirt Jack is wearing.

Four years have past since the South Asian tsunami in December 2004.

I wanted to show a pix from my book, Hope for Renewal. A guy I photographed in Banda Aceh found me via facebook. I just so happen to stumble upon his wedding. It was very National Geograhic. Great image. Beautiful bride. The groom lost his mother in the tsunami. Life goes on.

View from the Lanai

Adios 2008!

As the sounds of firecrackers rip the rainy night sky in Honolulu (I can imagine Gaza probably sounds like this right now) I though I'd reflect on 2008 as a photographer. I know most of you probably will read this on January 1st, but as I write, we are still a few hours short and a second of the new year.

My career again expanded as my experience and client list expanded. Work has taken me from the itchy grass of the Sony Open...


to Beckham


to lava


to Waikiki Sunsets


to portraits for the NY Times


to pissing in the park


to Japan


to tough guys


and girls on film


and so much more...

as far as life goes, we purchased a condo, my bike got stolen, got to shoot in Japan, Texas, Molokai, and Lanai. Life was great in 2008 despite politics, and the other bull in life. Things were not all that bad. Got famous cause of my Obama on the beach pictures, and shot way too, too many pictures.

I blew a shutter on my 1Ds, broke a 14mm, got storage, got long hair, got a flat screen, a M6, a Drobo, a few new books, a few new friends, and things beyond description.

Thanks to everyone. I can't believe I am where I am in Hawaii. I am making a career here where I didn't think I could make it. I live in Honolulu. Not LA or NY. Things are good. Lets hope they last.