{Self-Portrait Project} The Illusionist

exposure: 25sec f/stop: 13 iso: 100

Hi everyone! I had some sparklers left over from new years and I thought I could put it to some use with this week's photo project.

The photo was taken via remote control and I had the assistance of Marione controlling the sparklers making the ball of light. No flash was used in this shot where the only light was from the sparklers.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens

- tripod

- remote cable

{CameraGear} Annual Gear Photo

Hi everyone! This is my third annual photography gear photo for 2011. Its different from last year's photo because I have too much gear to fit in a photo, so I decided to just take a photo of my camera, lenses and flashes.

You can check out the previous annual camera photos by clicking the following links:

2010

2009

{Self-Portrait Project} Kitchen Trap

exposure: 1/60sec f/stop: 7.1 iso: 400

Hi everyone! Reflecting on the week that just passed, I noticed that I spent a lot of my time in the kitchen cooking and eating. It was an unhealthy week but we all go through those times once in a while. This photo is to represent myself stuck in that unhealthy week in the kitchen. I guess it would have made more sense if I had junk food in this photo to get my message across but I didn't have any left.

   The photo was taken with my camera and flash mounted on a tripod and triggered with a 10sec timer. I took two photos and made it into one and with the help of photoshop, I edited it with layers and made some small tweaks to the final image.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Carl Zeiss 24-70mm f2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F43AM)

- tripod

{CameraGear} Sony a77 pictures

 

Sony a77 front

 

Sony a77 back

Hi everyone!

As the time draws closer to the release date of the a77, images and specs begin to surface. The above images are of the a700 replacement and confirmed by SonyAlphaRumors. The camera is set for a late august announcement along with a whole lot of other products to be announced such as:

• a65 (a55 replacement)
• NEX-5N (NEX-5 replacement)
• NEX-7
• NEX-VG20 (NEX-VG10 replacement)
• 16-50mm f2.8 kit lens (A-mount)
• 55-210mm f4.5-6.3 OSS, CZ 24mm f2, 40mm f2 OSS (E-mount)
• Carl Zeiss and G series lenses
• Alpha and NEX accessories

All I can say is that it’s going to be a very exciting time for NEX and Alpha users.

To comment on the images, I think I’m going to miss the on/off steadyshot switch that I have on my a350 and I’m curious as to why there is a ? button on a camera of this class. The vertical grip looks a bit large but I’ll save my final judgement to when I actually get my hands on the camera. Everything else looks great. The rumored specs look amazing and it looks like my a350 will be retiring very soon.

{Self-Portrait Project} Face Painting

exposure: 1/500sec f/stop: 1.7 iso: 100

Hi everyone! This image was inspired by another photographer, who's name I'm guessing is Victor Wagner. I thought it was pretty cool and creative shot so I decided to see if I could do something similar. To add meaning to this photo, this project has been challenging and has influenced a new creative vision and therefore painting a whole new perspective of photography.

The photo was taken in the studio with my orbis ring flash held just above and in front of me by Marione. The camera was triggered via my remote and the lens I was using was my 50mm lens. The photo was converted to black and white through photoshop and Marione did a lot of other editing which I will never understand. I did add some vignette in the photo for more effect. Thank you Marione for helping me with this shot.

Gear used: 

- Sony a350 with Konica Minolta 50mm lens f1.7 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-F58AM)

- Orbis ring  flash

- tripod

{Self-Portrait Project} "Don't step on me!"

exposure: 1/100sec f/stop: 2.8 iso: 100

Hi everyone! I had little time to plan for this shot since I've been so busy lately but luckily it turned out alright with a simple setup and a simple concept. The only problem that I encountered whilst doing this photo was that it was freezing cold. This is pretty much another attempt of me trying to step out of my comfort zone with another weird facial expression (I was supposed to look scared that I was about to get squashed by a huge foot but when I looked closer I looked a bit happy about it). 

I took this shot with self timer and the flash was on the floor a couple of meters away from the camera using wireless flash. Marione's shoe was used to create the shadow and the flash was pointed at a certain angle and distance away from the wall to get the shadow large enough to make it look like it was about to step on me. Initially I was supposed to get a shadow of a hand in this shot but Marione's hand is so small and her fingers would disappear since they're so thin so we chose to use her foot.

Gear used:

- Sony a350 with Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 lens attached

- one flash (HVL-58AM)

- two light stands with Manfrotto 026

{Self-Portrait Project} The Karate Kid

exposure: 1/160sec f/stop: 9 iso: 100

Hi everyone! I'm not really a violent person but I thought I should start stepping out of my comfort zone to make this project even better. I recently watched the Karate Kid and this is my tribute to the movie. Thank you Mr Miyagi, you taught me so much about how to fight.

I took this shot with my camera mounted on a tripod, triggered by a two second timer via remote. I used my small trampoline that I set up in the studio to help me get the air time I needed for the shot. I used three flashes where one was on my right and two were on my left (one pointed towards the backdrop and the other pointed in line with my body).

Gear used: 

 - Sony a350 with Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 lens attached

- three flashes (HVL-F58AM, HVL-F43AM, HVL-F42AM)

- one light stand with Manfrotto 026

- remote cable

- tripod