So pleased was the Xshot corporation with my blathering the benefits of the Xshot that they have offered the readers of baldheretic.com and the Technology Bytes blog an opportunity to pick one up at a discount.
From now until July 15th you can go to xshotpix.com and order the Xshot and use the promo code GEEKRADIO at the time of checkout for a $5.50 discount. Just type GEEKRADIO into the box that says Coupon when you are checking out.
Look at me! I’m a shill! 🙂 Just kidding, I love my Xshot!
The Classy Chassis Car Show provided ample fodder for some more fake models. I know they’re cheezy, but I like ’em. You might recall Mini-Urquhart Castle and Mini-Arc D’Triumph posted previously.
When executing this eye/mind trick it’s good to have a strong down angle. It lends itself quite well to the table-top miniature illusion.
Slightly larger versions available by clicking the corresponding image
As I mentioned previously, I don’t have a way to shoot cars that I feel totally comfortable with, yet. Still, it was fun wandering amongst the chrome and steel with the wide angle and taking a few select shots.
Empowered by my previous success with the 20mm lens I decided to use it on my photo excursion on Sunday.
Every year my good friend Joe invites me to the Classy Chassis Car Show benefiting United Cerebral Palsy. Joe’s one of the organizers of the event and he’s understandably proud of it. And rightly so. This event brings in substantial amounts of money for the charity and boasts one of the finest gatherings of unique and rare automobiles you will ever see in one place in your life.
This year Joe was also wanting me to provide some photographic services for the event as they were somewhat short on photographers.
I gotta tell ya, shooting cars is not my cup of tea. Even the Art Car Parade, which I go to every year, doesn’t really provide me with much in the way of photographic inspiration. It’s not that I don’t think the cars are cool and interesting because they are. It’s just difficult for me to find a unique way of expressing a car photographically.
On the one hand, close ups can show interesting detail but on the other hand I feel compelled to show the entire vehicle for context. In the end I get frustrated and delete a lot of shots.
Still, I wanted to give it a try. It would be the first time at this event with the new dSLR and I thought this would be the ideal situation to play with my high speed 20mm f/1.8 lens. The lighting in Reliant Stadium is pretty amazing.
Walking in to the event I was struck by the idea that a panorama shot might be an interesting take on this so I shot a series of photos panning from right to left with the thought that I would find a way to stitch them together.
Well, I spent a good part of the afternoon playing with various trial versions of panorama programs and after a load of frustration I ended up with this:
You REALLY should click to see the larger size.
This smaller version simply does not do the picture justice!
In fact, I encourage you to have a look at the full size image which you can view here.
Keep in mind that Internet Explorer and Firefox will sometimes resize the image to fit in your browser window so don’t forget to enlarge it if that happens.
It’s pretty cool to use the slider bar and scan from side to side. The stitching is almost flawless.
The entire panorama is composed of 11 separate images, all shot completely hand held (no tripod).
More images coming soon.
So I have this Sigma 20mm f/18 lens that I picked up a while back. My thought was that it would allow me to shoot more stage content than the Sony 50mm f1/4
After taking it out and shooting a few shows I was rather disappointed in the quality of shots I was getting so I stashed it away and went back to the trusty 50mm Sony which consistently produces great images in low light.
Not being one to just sit on a few hundred dollars worth of high speed glass I decided to take it out for another run.
The Continental Club was hosting a show commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Monterey Pops Festival and I thought it would be fun to shoot that.
Not as crisp as I like, but I really do like wider angle.
Click for larger image
Allen Hill as Johnny Rivers
This time out, though, I think I stumbled upon this lens’s secret. By getting in close to the subject I was able to get some sharper shots and, with the wider angle, I was getting a bit more than I could with the 50mm.
Click for larger image
Allen Hill as Johnny Rivers
The above shot is of a member of a Moby Grape tribute band called Grape Jam. Who knew there was a Moby Grape tribute band? Go figure!
At any rate, I’m encouraged and will experiment more with the 20mm.
For concert photography I have been favoring my Sony 50mm 1.4 lens quite heavily. It’s a fantastic piece of glass and the results speak for themselves. Last night I decided to break with the 50mm and work with my Tamron AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di while attending the Wayne Hancock show at Fitzgeralds.
As you can see, the Tamron did fine in terms of clarity and exposure. On top of that I was able to capitalize on the wider angle when framing up my shot.
I was still interested in close up work and the Tamron did not disappoint there, either:
But the true joy of this lens is the ability to shoot at a wider angle and from a greater distance so I am not having to crowd the stage…
I am definitely going to experiment with this lens some more in the coming weeks.
