Ukrainian Ball, Chicago

Not knowing what I was in store for upon saying yes to meeting up with some friends at a Ukrainian debutante ball at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel last night, I ended up having a great time!  These people can dance!  Here's one photo out of hundreds I snagged during the 20 minutes of high-energy dancing with my Canon 50mm 1.4 lens.  Definitely not too sharp at 1.4, but who cares?  Who said there was anything wrong with blurry pictures if that's what you're going for?

Removing Contrast

It seems like I'm always adding contrast to my work in Photoshop post production.  But today, I decided to take some away.  It takes a little getting used to, and I'm not totally in love with it yet, but there might be something here!

My New Friend

I made a friend today!  Well..a few, actually.  Rebecca Parrish from Interchange Productions was nice enough to extend an invitation to me to do work out of her place today, so as to not be alone in a coffee shop or at home.  It can get pretty lonely when you're freelancing.

I took time away from marketing to capture "Niki" with available light at ISO 3200 with my Canon 5D v1.  I used to be scared of high ISO, but learned not to be.  A little digital noise is okay, especially when you add more grain to it with either the "Grain" filter in Photoshop, or Imagenomic's "RealGrain" plug-in.  Personally, the plug-in iz da bomb!

 

Creative Freelancer Conference, Denver, CO

Every time there's an out-of-town conference or seminar that has anything remotely to do with photography or freelancing, I get excited!  It's easy to justify spending the money to travel when it's continuing education for my photography business.  This "Creative Freelancer Conference" is no exception. 

Tweets about the conference are slowing growing in number as the internet marketing about it increases.  I've been doing some research on the credibility of the speakers, and have found them to be quite knowledgeable.  As much as I'd like to see Denver, I'm going to hold off on registering for a couple months to see if more sponsors sign on, and what other freelancers tweet and blog. 

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Review (or, brief commentary)

Got the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens today in the mail.  I thought Calumet had shipped me a box of air at first, the lens was so light.  Haven't given it much of a field test yet, but took some shots of the dogs. I think I'll enjoy the speed (f1.8) on this lens - which is the widest of any lens I've had thus far.  click images to enlarge

Both of these photos are at f1.8 1/20, ISO 3200, for your viewing pleasure.  I bought the lens for an out-of-town trip, as it's super small and fits anywhere.  The trip never happened, but I'm prepared for the next one.

The only thing I dislike about this lens so far is the small focusing ring.  I'm so used to the spacious ring on the 24-70mm 2.8 that my fingers grab the center of the shaft where nothing turns.  The focus ring is about the width of these shish kabob skewers, pictured here.  But for the price of $99, and the weight and size, it's a no-brainer.

A Little Liquor And HDR

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

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Walking Around Chicago With My Canon

Photos spanning a few hours of roaming the streets of Chicago, one of my favorite things to do.  Shot these with an older 5D with an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM.    click on images to enlarge