Welcome to 2011
Welcome, and Happy new year! (or “Happy Arbitrary Moment in Time” for those who celebrate other calendars)
Well it wasn’t the most productive of years for me coming off 2010 if you look at the business side of things, but as a dad, a whole different story of trials and tribulations.
As the little ones grow and gain a bit more self sufficiency I can slowly drift back towards photography. Don’t get me wrong.. I’m not complaining, especially since if it weren’t for my children I wouldn’t have even discovered photography.
I got into the world of photography later than I would have liked in hindsight. My parent’s never really were much into photography, we had a family camera, some boxy Kodak thing, the equivalent of today’s point and shoot, only with less function and quality… They did try to offer photography to me as an option, but their offering of choice was a Kodak Disc 4000. I guess it could be compared to a camera phone in some ways.. It was small and easy to use, but the film was tiny and brand limited, so it didn’t appeal to my interests in making things work differently, it merely had a power switch and a shutter button.
Canon EOS Rebel 300d vs Canon 40d
So here’s to 2011, and my Christmas purchase from e-bay on Christmas morning (literally hunched over my iPod Christmas morning much to my wife’s dismay) to replace the over used and suffering 300d, it’s got a big brother now! Additionally, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, I’ve got a 35mm Film Camera and a Medium Format 6×6 film camera to play with, expanding the range of both skill and product available.
Moving forward into 2011 I’m hoping to broaden my work with people, probably offering some great deals on portraiture, as well as further connecting with groups such as Toronto’s newest Roller Derby Team “The Chrome Molly’s” and interacting with other artists in the area for collaborative works. Let’s see what else the year will bring.. and make the most of whatever comes our way!
As one final note, I’m hoping to clean up the look of the site over the next little bit.. I’m just searching for a theme/look that fits my wants a bit more than the current one, so stop by now and then or keep track at http://www.twitter.com/@darkelflx
Cheers,
Sean
I shutter to think…
So many of you might know already, but my go to camera is none other than the ‘classic’ EOS Rebel 300d, 6.3mega pixels of goodness (as long as you stay at ISO 200 or less).
Needless to say, as one might expect, a camera that has been in use since 2003 has probably had some use.
Yes, it’s time for a replacement, you don’t need to tell me. But until money drops out of the sky, this camera is still capable of earning me money.
What concerns me is the fact that this camera is actually only expected to live less than 50,000 shutter actuations. In 7 years, that’s NOT a lot of pictures.
I’d love to hear how many shots people have had on their cameras, any shocking numbers out there? Horror stories of failure?
In the past two weeks the camera has shown signs of imminent failure, one time I was arriving at the canon service depot before the mirror dropped back down.
A random photo session ensued
Look into the light...
I got done writing up a few cable lists for a show in South Carolina next month, and was struck by inspiration, thanks to a pod cast I was listening to yesterday. (An interview with Mark Halper) I wanted to try a little something down in my dungeon of a studio to play with wrapping light from a large source close to the subject. The results follow.
This was shot hand-held with a 70-300mm @ 300mm ISO100 f 5.0 with a shutter of 1/160.
Canon 580 EX II triggered with my “Ebay Special” radio remotes firing at 1/8 power into a shoot through umbrella about 6″ away from the model’s face. Behind the model (off Camera left) was a custom 4′ x 6′ rip-stock nylon bounce.
The model, of course, is my favorite of all to shoot, My precocious daughter.
NAPP
