CreativeLIVE

Fun with shadows. 50mm, f/13, 1/1000s, ISO 1000

So I've been spending a fair amount of time in front of my computer, just staring at the screen recently. No, it's not writer's block. I'm not pretentious enough to think that if I wait some better sentences will come out of my fingertips. It's also not pondering the universe, questioning the meaning of life, or having a narcoleptic attack. (I hope.)

Instead, it's that nefarious brainchild of Chase Jarvis, CreativeLIVE. Long story short, they broadcast photography classes live online for free, and then you can buy them to view and download afterward.

The first class I bought from them was Wedding Photography with Jasmine Star. I'm glad I bought it, because it took me about 3 months of watching it at odd intervals to really make it through it all. 3 days of solid information, and watching her shoot a real wedding. If you're at all interested in wedding photography, it's definitely worth it.

And then last December, CreativeLIVE was offering a deal on all of its weekend classes, basically at half price each. I'm a sucker for a deal, so I bit the bullet. Aaaand then life intervened, so I never really watched much of them. But I got reminded recently, when Jasmine did her second class, on the business of photography, and I watched it live. (Great class, but I'm glad I didn't have to buy it, because a lot of the information was repeated from the first class.)

Then I watched Zack Arias's Studio Lighting class. I don't have a studio, and I don't have the space for one, but I could not stop watching! He is a force of nature, and I learned so much about lighting from this class. If I ever have enough room to set up some white seamless I am SO THERE. Great class.

Anyway, all of this to say: if you've been living under a rock, and you didn't know about CreativeLIVE, well, now you do. And Zack's teaching another course this weekend, called Foundations of a Working Photographer. (See his great ad for it here.) So if you want to hang out on Saturday, well, I might be busy. Sitting in front of my computer, staring at the screen.

And taking mad notes.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

Ok, so remember that kool-aid I talked about drinking a couple of days ago?

On a (dangerous to my wallet) whim I shelled out for the new Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic. It fits into my Lensbaby Composer, and has the same selective focus as my regular Lensbaby optic, but it's wider - 35mm instead of 50mm - and it has adjustable aperture built in. For any Lensbaby aficionado this is BIG NEWS because the other optics: double glass, single glass, plastic, fisheye, etc., all had aperture rings you had to insert manually with a little magnetic thingy.

Kind of cool, yes. Certainly made you think about changing your aperture. A bit of a pain? Also yes. You had to really want to change your aperture. Also, I mislaid mine last week, so I can only shoot at f/2.8 now. Forever.

With the Sweet 35 I can change it on a whim. The camera still doesn't electronically register my aperture because I change it on a click wheel on the lens, but metering works just fine. However, that means I don't remember what aperture any of these images are. Oops! Sorry.

One of the first places I took it was the California Academy of Sciences. I liked this shot of the dinosaur in the entryway.

You'll notice that the glass is sharp where it needs to be, but it's also really contrasty. This makes images have a certain pop, but it also creates more blown highlights and blocked shadows than I would expect with another lens.

The oval bokeh is fun to play with. And like any Lensbaby optic, you can move the spot of focus to fine tune your composition.

I also happen to think it's a great lens for pets. The wide angle gives a bit of distortion close in, and the selective focus is really fun.

A shot from a Passover Seder I went to this past weekend.  I really enjoy the simplification that the spot of focus gives a crowded composition.

And a shot from an Easter celebration! Also a fun lens for flowers. Can't wait till Lensbaby makes a macro lens for this one.

And, because it's that time of year, and I can't resist, a couple blossom shots. As I mentioned before, it's fun to move the focus point around and really get your composition exactly the way you want it. With the 50mm double glass optic, it seems much sharper in the center than at the edges, but I didn't feel that way with the Sweet 35. It seems equally sharp just about anywhere.

So, a fun new toy to play with. And the secret behind yesterday's post! Definitely a specialty item, and not one I'd recommend to everyone. But I'm enjoying it.

*As I've said before, Lensbaby has no idea who I am, and I buy all their stuff with my own hard earned money. But if they wanted to sponsor me, I'd be all over it! Lensbaby? Call me.*

Mouseover Monday!

Mouseover the image to see it in color.

Ok, ten points for the person who can tell me what special piece of equipment I used to take this photo.

The answer to be revealed tomorrow!

Wrought Iron

Fishing

50mm, f/1.4 ISO 100, 1/8000s

Wide open. Oh, how do I love thee. This is my pretty 50mm lens, all the way wide open at f/1.4.

Oops, just checked the metadata. Turns out I was at 1.6. Probably because I was at my fastest shutter speed , 1/8000s, and couldn't open up any more without overexposing. Still, pretty lovely. Has its disadvantages, though. See that white blob to the right of the fishing pole? It's a bit hard to make out. That blob was a sailboat once upon a time. And then I made it almost disappear with my magical aperture.

Anyway, what about you? Do you shoot wide open? Do you care? What are your thoughts on that?

Personally I've come to believe that absolute measurable sharpness isn't that important. What's more important (for me) is relative sharpness in a picture. So, is my subject sharper than the background? Yes? Good. No? Not so good. Could the whole picture be sharper at f/8? Oh, definitely. But then I'd lose my relative sharpness, because my subject and the background would both be in focus.

Artwork