Tuesday, February 09, 2010

White Balance "why?"



Water Features & Bridges
Originally uploaded by IronGambit
This photo is another entry for a Nikon D40/40x/60 weekly themed contests that I love to do.

The funny part is that I wanted to talk about the advantages of using Adobe Bridge, and my shot just happened to be a bridge!

One of the greatest benefits of shooting in RAW instead of JPEG and using Adobe Bridge to view and edit all of your photos is the auto white balance.

White Balance seems to be such a HUGE issue when it comes to photography. A lot of times when you see photos that appear to be yellow, it is because that's the actual color of the room, and or the environment around you.

"WE" see it as white since we've become so accustomed to it, so teaching your camera the difference is a huge pain and the white balance can quickly change with just a cloud moving over head.

So I don't really worry about the white balance, which is a HUGE weight off of my shoulders, and I just change it in Adobe Bridge, I would say that the accuracy is 97% correct, in fact - since I've discovered it, I would say that I've only felt like the white balance was only off one time!

As the white balance does not seem to make a large difference at a quick glance, this is definitely the difference from an everyday photo that "anyone" can take , to creating a photo how it should be and showing your true knowledge of your equipment and photography.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Blog writer

Ok , so i was able to find an app to
My phone where I can update my blog pretty easily from it. I can't upload photos to it, but I think that it will help make the blog more up to date faster , some of the main reasons on why people love facebook so much to begin with :)

I know it's pretty late , but it hit me while I was laying in bed, I pretty much spent the entire day rock climbing with some pretty cool friends.

It is very challenging and a some what inexspensive sport, but it is definetly not as accessible as cycling running and photography!


IMG_0188.JPG

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Max Hall - Photoshoot


Max
Originally uploaded by IronGambit
I had a photoshoot with Max Hall last night, he's a nice quiet young man, easy to work with and not full of words - you know like me?

Anyway, on our walk out to the basketball court I got him to open up a bit, this is kind of important I feel like in order to get some great shots together, the way the model/subject feels is very important , and that can easily reflect in their photos.

It was going to be a pretty quick shoot, because I already knew what I wanted and I had only promised him one good photo ;)

I actually had wanted the lines for the basketball court, but after a decent snow fall the night before that changed my plans pretty quickly.

Anyway, in the end you can't always predict your environment, and the photo still didn't come out too bad!

Monday, February 01, 2010

Bokeh Tamron 17-50mm 2.8

Blue Bokeh Tree
Blue Bokeh Tree
Originally uploaded by IronGambit
right now people in the photography world are obsessed with "Bokeh" as well as I am.
Most photographers are using "prime" lens with a wide aperture to create effects and backgrounds such as this.
I opted to go with an off brand in this case and I am using a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8

the 17-50 just gives me more options and has a SUPER wide range, this works for me personally because it allows for me to stand closer to a model/subject and am able to capture everything that I want in the photo without loss of details.

The lens is also great for macro photography, and of course landscape, architecture, and night photography if you do not carry around a mountable flash such as an SB-600 or higher. Sometimes shots without flashes have a really nice effect, and if you are outside, it's hard to find places to bounce the light off of to begin with.

I do not know for sure, but can only imagine that the flash would wash out the background/Bokeh which is something that we are trying to capture.

As I play around with more night photography PLUS this lens, I'll let you know how it works out.

NOTE: I have the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 lens without the built in motor, so it will not autofocus on the Nikon D40/D40x/D60/D3000 or D5000, since these are smaller body cameras and are built more for portability and work decently well with the stock lens the Nikon 18-55 Vibration Reduction lens.

So I have to manually focus the lens, which I actually don't mind too much and kind of like a lot. This gives me a LOT more control of my Depth of Field (DOF) and get effects that I want vs an auto focus. We will say that I am NOT chasing after a bunch of soccer players on a field, but more with models and inanimate objects and I will be able to get the best shot with a really good lens from it.
Also, because I am focusing it manually, the shutter speed, is VERY fast and very quick, this is also another plus another reason I believe that I like it so much!

Tamron has come out with a new lens that has (VC) Vibration Control, but you really don't need it with wide range lenses so much as you really do for zoom lens.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Photograhy


paul
Originally uploaded by IronGambit
I know that I've been a way for a long time, I guess it was because I felt like since I've come off of "The Road" I might have felt like my life is more boring, OR I feel like facebook has taken a lot of readers and have killed a lot of the blog world.

I guess I've been persuaded by someone that is very important to me to continue the blog, even and probably it will on be for myself.

Anyway, I guess I am still a cyclists for sure, I've conquered the world of marathons, and it looks like I will be doing a lot of talking about photography now.

I've ALWAYS taken some decent photos to begin with, and always have gotten a lot of compliments for my photos, but my skill level has definitely advanced recently !

So I will start it off with a photo of my friend Paul , it was his birthday a couple of days ago and he asked me to join him for some indoor rock climbing, it was a lot of fun and look forward to going again!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Urban Outfitters Bike Shop | Build

This is pretty sweet!  Urban Outfitters are selling custom single speed bikes for 400 bucks!  :)
Urban Outfitters Bike Shop | Build

Friday, August 14, 2009

Lance Armstrong to reunite with George Hincapie for Team RadioShack | Sport | guardian.co.uk

I don't know if I would do this if I were Big George, but Lance and George should just get married already :)

Lance Armstrong to reunite with George Hincapie for Team RadioShack
Lance Armstrong to reunite with George Hincapie for Team RadioShack | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

YouTube - Performance

THIS VIDEO is awesome!

Performance
YouTube - Performance

Monday, August 10, 2009

No Flash vs. Flash

No Flash vs. Flash
No Flash vs. Flash

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Friday, August 07, 2009

New Tripod!

I got a new tripod!  So I can take shots like this! :)

This weeks photo "Themed" contest is called 30 second exposure.  Click the photo for a larger and better view!

30 Seconds Exposure Contest

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Saturday, July 25, 2009

YouTube - Pi Kappa Alpha - Anchorsplash 2009 (Virginia Tech)

Done with NYC and leaving back to Chicago , it was nice to be back in NYC but it is bad/weird/ or wrong that I recognize so much and can navigate on my own around there?   Is it also wrong that I've pretty much lost track on how many times I've been to NYC now?  It seemed not that long ago that I was naive to the large city, lets just say that a lot has change!

I am on my way back to Chicago early in the morning!  I also talked with US Olympic Athlete Matty Reed while I was there.  Crocs sponsors him and he uses our recovery shoes after he's done racing, so that's my relation with him.  Probably the most embarrassing moment I had was when I "thought" he had left, so I grabbed a donut, as I turn around to put the donut in my mouth, here comes good ol' Matty Reed and was like "ayy!" haha, BUSTED/embarrased/ and left ashamed when an US Olympic Athlete calls you out at the NYC Triathlon !

I saw this video at the hotel that I am staying at right now, and I thought that it was cool enough to share if with you guys!


Pi Kappa Alpha - Anchorsplash 2009 (Virginia Tech)
YouTube - Pi Kappa Alpha - Anchorsplash 2009 (Virginia Tech)

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Team Astana Trivia



What country is Astana from?



*hint*    Borat!     hahah