Fringe Photography
It's been a long time since I posted, so I thought I better check in. Things have been pretty hectic in my life, but for all good reasons.
I got my official Fringe Festival staff pass on Wednesday and have been busy shooting photos whenever I'm not at work. It's a lot of fun and I feel like I'm getting some good stuff for them. I rented a 70-200mm lens, which is helping me a lot.
My routine for the last few days (and for the coming week) is to get up as late as possible while still making it to work at an acceptable time, leaving work as close to 5pm as I can, rushing home to get my camera gear ready, racing around town to photograph events, getting home around midnight, and staying up until 1am or 2am editing photos to turn in for that day's slideshow.
I've been given the okay to post my Fringe photos to my Flickr account. Now I just need to find the time to do it. Hopefully I'll get some stuff up tonight or tomorrow. (Here it is!)
Last night I was up until 3am going through photos. I was exhausted and was really glad that it was Friday night so I could sleep in in the morning. No such luck.
I woke up on my own at 9:30am and just started to fall back asleep when I heard fists banging on my door. What the eph? It took a few minutes to register what was happening and my mind was racing. "Nobody ever stops over without calling. Is it the police? Did someone in my family die? Did my girlfriend race over to my house to escape bandits?" No. It was the paint crew that's working on all of the balconies in the building. I'm usually not one to complain much about things, but my apartment manager is going to get an earful as soon as the office opens. Seriously, 9:30am is way too early to expect people to be up and ready for an unexpected paint crew. Especially on a weekend.
Next weekend is Skooter Du, which I think will be good for photos like it was last year. I just hope the weather is nice.
In other news, it's my birthday on Monday. Yesssssssssss! I've already got one super sweet present from my mom. What is it? That's right! A brand spankin' new iPod! Mine was starting to die anyway, so this is perfecting timing.
Okay, gotta run....
Update
Time between posts will decrease...I promise. Here's what's been up since my last post:
My birthday came and went. I think I already mentioned that I got a new iPod (so awesome!). Other than that, I got money and new Leatherman, and THE BEST JAPANESE BOOK EVER. Gifts are great, but the best part of my birthday was being able to hang out with my brother for the whole day. Just a few months ago I wasn't sure if that would be possible. The day before my birthday, my sweet girlfriend took me out of town and I took a lot of photos of trains, graffiti, etc. It was a lot of fun. Tonight I'm getting together with some friends for a Bollywood/birthday party. Can't wait!
The Fringe Festival is over. I had a lot of fun shooting photos for them and am really happy with a lot of my shots. I learned so much and am really looking forward to next year. Hopefully I'll own a 70-200mm lens by then so I don't have to rent one. I'm thinking about doing a huge push on eBay and selling everything that I don't need to raise money for that lens. I need about $1,600.
There are a few photography classes at a local college that I might take this fall and I've started looking into gigs as a photographer's assistant. I'd really like to meet some local newspaper photographers and ask about going along with them for a day like Brian got to do. I think it would be nice to start doing some paid gigs to supplement my hobby.
Last weekend I shot about 400 frames at Skooter Du, the annual scooter gathering in Minneapolis. It was a blast! I started uploading to a Flickr gallery and have lots of photos left to add over the next few days. I'm hoping that some of my photos get published in Scoot Quarterly again.
Okay, I better go get ready for the party tonight. Later.
Short film shot on Canon 20D!
Patryk Rebisz, a filmmaker from NYC, shot a short film using a Canon 20d (yes, a still camera) because he "needed a new project that could be shot for no money and with no dialogue."
The 20d can shoot at five frames per second, which means that a four minute sequence of shots at that speed would contain 1,200 frames.
I was really blown away by how smooth some of the scenes were, but I'll shut up and let you go watch it.
Canon 5D
Digital Photography Review just posted a preview of the Canon 5D. I can't express how much I NEED this camera. I've been lusting over the EOS-1Ds Mark II for awhile, mainly because of the full-frame sensor, but at $8,000 there is no way I can justify buying one. The 5D is only $3,299. Still expensive, but for a full-frame camera it's much more realistic for non-professionals like myself. I guess it's time to start saving.
Canon 1D Mark IIn
Just days after freaking out about the Canon 5D, my friend Brian pointed out the soon to be released 1D Mark IIn. It's sensor has a 1.3x crop factor, compared to the 1.6x of the 20D that I have now. It's not full frame, but it's closer. Here are a few of the reasons why Brian thinks I should consider the 1D:
- The battery grip is built into the body, giving a much more solid feel and one less accessory to purchase.
- 8.3 frames per second. The 5D does 3.
- 45 point AF compared to the 9 on the 5D.
- When shooting in RAW+JPEG mode, it can save RAW files on CF card while JPEGs go on SD card. This is awesome for going through lots of images after a long day of shooting.
- Picture Style shooting modes - "6 pre-sets that simplify in-camera control over image optimization and processing. 3 user defined entries allows the possibility to create additional variations on the in-camera styles or install additional custom Picture Style files. Additional custom Picture Style files may be downloaded from Canon?s web site." (source)
What I am also drawn to are the moisture resistant seals and the ability to record voice notes for each photo. That would be awesome for keeping track of exactly where each photo was taken. I've heard that sports photographers use this a lot to keep track of their shots, since a lot of them turn out looking the same through the course of a game.
Now I'm just trying to decide is whether or not I should buy this $4,000 camera. I've really had no complaints with my 20D, but I think I could pull together the money if I sell a bunch of my stuff on eBay. I have a lot of audio equipment and instruments (drums) that I've been wanting to get rid of. Hmm, or do I just hang on to my 20D and get another year out of it while waiting to see what Canon releases next year?
Basecamp Redux
I just can't seem to quit. I'm back on Basecamp. I don't even remember why I thought I didn't need it. I think I had some delusion that I could save $24 a month if I just put a little more effort into staying organized. Whoops. I think I lasted two months before my personal and freelance projects started to overwhelm me. I signed up again on Friday and this time I'm in for good.
Free Opera Registration Codes
I don't normally use the Opera browser for anything other than an occasional site test. Why? Mainly because there are ads on the free version. Well, there's good news!
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Opera is giving away registration codes. I was a little skeptical, but within seconds I had an ad free version installed. Sweet!
(Found on Digg)
