Tag

D90

February 26, 2014

Just plain ethereal

This is what happens when I start working on something before I have a clear idea in my head (which I generally don’t like doing). I’ve never been one to “freestyle,” so to speak. Sure, it’s liberating to grab a piece of marble and just start hacking away at it (this metaphor is not meant to belittle the work of master or even amateur sculptors so much as to convey my absolute lack of knowledge related to the craft), but it’s a practice I’ve never felt completely comfortable with.

This one started off as a simple levitation experiment before taking a rather oddly spiritual turn.

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April 2, 2013

This is the world that I know

This is how I view the world. Not to say that every sunset is an explosion of red and gold, but that there is beauty all around us that we take for granted way too often. We find ourselves mired in the petty minutiae of our daily lives. Deadlines, office politics, relationship woes, familial disputes. All of it gnaws away at our personal sense of innocence and wonder and leaves behind something lessened and jaded. Or at least that’s the way I feel from time to time.Read More

March 30, 2013

Good morning Columbus

Yeah, I guess that’s technically where I was. Last weekend was camping with the boys out near Fayettville and Columbus, TX. A friend of a friend of a brother’s fiance’s uncle’s brother’s family owns some land out there, so we packed up (or other people did) and we headed out for a raucous weekend full of shooting, grilling, bonding, and (unfortunately) getting Loko’d.Read More

January 19, 2013

One way out – Replacing my DX ultra-wide

It was a sad day when I parted with my Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, which had become one of my favorite lenses over the last few years. Purchased originally for a European trip, I figured I would have to have a wide angle to capture all the spectacular architecture I’d be seeing. After some research (taking into consideration the fact that I’m relatively cheap when it comes to glass), I opted for the ultra-wide angle Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX Digital Zoom Lens. It’s a become a bit cheaper now since Tokina released an updated version (to be honest, though, I can’t tell what they’ve changed with it to justify the $200 price increase).Read More

January 9, 2013

Twilight Over the Camel’s Back

I had a lot of fun shooting in and around the JW Marriott Camelback Inn while I was in Scottsdale awhile back. I got this shot after a pretty long day of shooting.

The sun had set while I was climbing down Mummy Mountain, so I headed back to the resort for some dinner. I ended up having the steak skewers and guacamole (along with a couple G&Ts) at the hotel bar at the suggestion of the bartender. And kudos to him, because all of it was top notch.Read More

January 1, 2013

Zeikos Battery Grip for Nikon D600 Review

My battery grip just arrived for the new Nikon D600 (my initial review of it can be found here) and I feel like I can breathe again! The added battery power and vertical grip are something I have grown quite accustomed to with the MB-D80 battery grip for the Nikon D90. For my D90s, I opted for the genuine Nikon grip, though there were quite a few available at highly discounted prices on eBay due to the age of that particular model. The same cannot be said just yet for the MB-D14, the Nikon grip for the D600. They are new and they are pricey.Read More

December 23, 2012

The unboxing! Nikon D600 review…

So here it is at last, the unboxing and early review of Nikon’s newest model and most affordable full frame camera, the D600. Serving as a bridge between the pro shooter and “pro-sumer,” the D600 includes many of the features from the more expensive D800 all packed into the body of a D7000.Read More

December 2, 2012

“Shine on, winter sun” receives top honors at BMA Lantern Awards

It was a great night, indeed, as the Business Marketing Association of Houston celebrated their 25th Annual Lantern Awards on Thursday, November 29. Brian C. Parks and Mike Killalea, representing the International Association of Drilling Contractors and Drilling Contractor magazine, picked up a Lantern Award for Best Original Photography on Thursday night, the BMA’s top honor. The IADC was previously honored with a Lantern Award in 2007 for Best Magazine and has also taken home numerous Awards of Excellence for editorial and design in the years between.Read More

November 14, 2012

Camelback at Dusk

First off, let me say that I am not a hiker. That being said, I will occasionally break out the sneakers and walk a trail or two. Luckily, I had some free time during my recent trip to Scottsdale to do just that. Scaling Mummy Mountain gave me a great view of the JW Marriott Camelback Inn and Camelback Mountain.

I hung out for awhile to catch what little I could of the sunset from my vantage point. Having missed quite a spectacular Arizona sunset the night before, I was determined to shoot one before I left. Unfortunately, the sunset this evening held only a fraction of the extravagance from the night before. But we do what we can, so I set up the tripod and started shooting away.Read More

October 30, 2012

Remember the Alamo?

Every time I visit San Antonio and have the opportunity to, I always make a point to visit the Alamo. Aside from the remains of the structure itself, I’ve always been fascinated by the monument across from the it (the Alamo Cenotaph, as it’s known). According to the San Antonio Ghost Tours, it’s one of the only monuments in the nation that features a spirit or ghost (and prominently, at that). The front of the monument features what appears to be a ghostly figure rising from the fire (the “Spirit of Sacrifice”).

On the other side is a sculpture of a woman (who I misinterpreted to be an angel) who is supposed to symbolize the state of Texas.Read More

September 26, 2012

Wednesdays, Take It Or Leave It?

Wednesday has always held a special place in my heart as the one day out of the week that I can never decide if I like or hate. Monday is easy. Monday blows. Tuesday is just kinda there (same with Thursday where your energy starts to wane in direct correlation with your growing excitement about the impending weekend). Friday goes without saying.

So Wednesday is where it really comes down to the whole glass-half-full vs glass-half-empty debate. And that really depends a lot on how my week is going, what’s in the cards for the weekend, what I had for breakfast, etc., etc.Read More

September 25, 2012

More Ring Flash Goodness

By popular demand (read: one or two requests), here are a few more shots using our DIY ring flash set up from last weekend. A lot more tweaking remains to be done to the rig itself, as well as to how we’re using it, but it’s a pretty cool toy to play around with.Read More

September 24, 2012

DIY Ringflash Project

This weekend I dove into a DIY project with the help of my partner in crime, Max McDonald from mondayshift. After reading David Tejada’s excellent (not to mention affordable) ring flash tutorial, I decided it would be the perfect project for someone like me (i.e., someone completely inept at anything remotely resembling handyman-dedness).

After raiding Home Depot for supplies, Max and I set to work. It was an arduous task requiring literally minutes of physical and mental labor. Following Tejada’s tutorial to the T (give or take skipping the last eight steps), we were able to create a crude flash adapter referred to in certain photographic circles as a “ring flash.” Or just a ring flash without the quotes.Read More

September 21, 2012

Happy Friday From the Cave

Here’s to a happy Friday for everybody! Took this shot yesterday while I was messing around in the garage trying to simulate a concert spotlight look.

Basically I just gelled the keylight with some blue and bounced it off the white wall to my right, then gelled the hair light with some orange and snooted it up in my face.Read More

September 18, 2012

Goofing Off (As Usual)

To continue indulging my habit of posting ridiculous pictures of myself, here’s one from a recent lighting test in my garage. Using the on-camera flash to remotely trigger the key light seems to work pretty well, though it does tend to leave a very small catchlight directly in the center of the eyes. I’ll have to rig up a gobo to prevent that in the future.Read More

September 14, 2012

Raiders of the Lost… Munitions Box?

So I’ve got this box. I love this box. Bought it at an antique store in… I don’t remember, but it turns out that it’s an old munitions box from who-knows-when.

For as long as I’ve owned it, sadly I’ve had no idea what to do with it.  It’s not really functional in regards to its original use (I don’t have many munitions), and it’s too heavy to use as a wallet. What to do???Read More

September 5, 2012

I Feel the Need, the Need for Speed…

Tracking a moving object to create motion blur of the background is really something I’d never really tried out before, so it was great to finally have the chance to do some experimentation at Dave’s Need 4 Speed in Lubbock. It was tricky nailing down the best aperture and shutter speed settings while following these little blurs around the racetrack, but I finally got a few that looked decent.Read More

August 29, 2012

Ah, the Smell of Irrigation in the Morning…

The road to Odessa was an interesting one. Though the forecast called for a mildly overcast day, I encountered a lot of strange weather–rain, horror movie levels of fog, ominous storm clouds, then oddly striated sections of clouds that let the light pour through in slices.Read More