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My blog will now be hosted on my own server via Wordpress. Many thanks to Erik Lunsford (and his blog) who really helped me get started. Without his help I would still be lost in the code... (wouldn’t we all?).

The Canon 5D Mark 2- stats analysis [WARNING: May contain camera jargon]

So yes, the new Canon 5D Mark 2 looks amazing. I am sure the visual quality surpasses anything out there. It is a great step in the right direction. The 5D Mark 2 has built off what the Nikon D90 started (which came out a few weeks ago and was the first DSLR to do video).



5D Mark 2 strengths:

1080P video (D90 only does 720) 1080 should be good enough to pull stills as long as it is not too compressed.

12 Minutes until the buffer is filled (5 Min with the D90) If you shoot a clip longer than 12 minutes, then you’re doing it wrong.

Audio IN jack + built in mic (D90 only has built-in) Possibly the best thing the 5D brings to the table. I always use an external mic (wireless or shotgun) when shooting video. And you always need a built in mic as a back up.

21 Megapixels (13MP for D90) Fucking hell. 21? really? My D3 “only” has 12 and I have never felt like that wasn’t enough. When you are dealing with 200 dots per inch (only 72 for web) 21 is overkill and will just waste HD space. But whatever, the number is bigger so I guess that’s better for studio people.

Unlimited Jpeg- The buffer out-paces the shutter's frames-per-second. This means when shooting jpeg format (instead of RAW) you can put your finger on the trigger and never let go (until your card fills up).

$2,700 (that’s about $1,000 less than the original 5D Mark 1 when it came out)

25,600 ISO- Nikon D3 did this a year ago.


5D Mark 2 weakness:

4 frames per second- No where near what I need for sports, or even news for that matter. D3 does max of 11 FPS.

No Vertical Grip- Humans see horizontal, yes. But every so often vertical works better, i.e. portraits and sports. Yes you can just tilt the camera on it’s side. But for sports this is a bitch. Also, being a half-body means less buttons. Less buttons means the menu system has to be utilized more. Photogs always bypass the menu for a dedicated button when possible. Menus slow photogs down.

Build Quality- Half bodies are never built to last the abuse given by photogs.


What I want (Ideally in the Nikon D4, when ever it comes out):

15 MP- allows for cropping but won’t fill up my HD and DVD-Rs.

1080i- I need to be able to pull stills

20 Minutes of Video on the buffer- If I am interviewing someone I do not want to have to... oh wait, shoot, hold that thought...I just need to restart this camera.

Audio IN Jack + built in mic + Audio IN through the camera’s hotshoe- This way I can wireless mic someone while recording natural sound through a clean shotgun.

10 FPS- At least this, maybe 12 FPS

Full body- half bodies are for pansies


In conclusion:
The new Canon 5D Mark 2 is great, but not yet what a photo staffs need, just like the Nikon D90. But it is a step in the right direction!

Photo staffs need to invest in gear that is applicable with everything they shoot. I want to only have to cary 1 set of gear. Not still AND video gear... just the right gear.

Frankly, I am actually kind of surprised that Canon chose the 5D Mark 2 to start doing video. They should have done it with the Canon 50D (more consumerish, on par with the Nikon D90 or Nikon D300). The 5D series is designed for: (1) studio photogs (they do not care about video, yet) and (2) rich ass-holes (the photo market doesn’t care about, nor do I). For these reasons I do not think the 5D Mark 2’s video capability will get much play. We may not be seeing many videos produced on 5D’s.

Canon already has both of their top-end camera slots filled in the past year:
1D Mark 3- Designed for photojournalists with 10 MP at 10FPS
1Ds Mark 3- Designed for Studio photogs with 26 MP at 3 FPS

Nikon only has the D3 out as of last year.
D3- Designed for photojournalist 12MP at 9 FPS or 6MP at 11FPS

Nikon has a chance her to really “serve a death blow” to Canon with their next high-end camera, probably going to be called the Nikon D3x. It will have 24MP we know that for sure. The problem is that it will probably only have 3-5 FPS, thus only for studio photogs.

We will just have to wait for the Nikon D4 or Canon 1D Mark 4 to see where these video capable DSLRs really go...

Flooding hits Missouri

Water came in everywhere, and it took a lot with it. To the residents of the St. Louis western suburbs, the remnants of Hurricane Ike seemed like more than just a storm. This was a flood some had not seen in thirty years, but will be remembered for much longer.

Sunday was a day off for me. After having worked an extra long day covering the Missouri vs Nevada game in Columbia, Mo., I was awoken the following morning by hard rain on the four skylights in my apartment’s ceiling. Around 10:20 AM I received a call from my assignment editor, asking weather I was willing to work on my day off.

“The city is floating away,” he said.

I immediately agreed. My portfolio is lacking any good “spot news” images. I probably would have spent the day working on applications for internships and jobs, but this was more important.

I called one of the other photographers who was also covering the flood, Robert Cohen. He directed me to an intersection in Brentwood, a suburb, less than 10 minutes away from my place. I grabbed my two issued Canon cameras and got in my car.

I immediately came across obstacles.

Roads were blocked everywhere. Either by police cars, road barriers, or feet of water. I currently live in Webster Groves, which borders a few other suburban towns along Deer Creek, a major source of the flooding. I was still trying to find the intersection in Brentwood that Cohen had told me about. I was forced to weave through the maze of suburban streets. I found myself lost in no time.

I decided to just stay close to where the river should be. I’ll find my news there.

By the time I was starting to take pictures, the flood waters had crested. People had given up on their homes and cars. Now they all watched and waited.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/1600 of a sec
One of the first people in the water I came across was a man from the local gas company who had come to these condominiums. He had been ordered to shut off their gas lines. Without any protective clothing, he walked straight into the buildings basement in search of the shut off valve.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 640 ISO, f2.8 at 1/8000 of a sec
I continued to make my way around the creek, finally arriving in Brentwood at the intersection I was trying to find. There was one business already trying to clean up. This tire shop had sustain only a few inches of water.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/3200 of a sec
Down the street, huge tractor tires littered the sidewalk. They had been dragged blocks away from the store where they came from. Lumber and other warehouse inventory had floated for nearly a mile down-stream.

So far, all I had covered was the business side or the storm. Waters had nearly receded entirely. Now I needed the home element. I had spent the past few hours driving around making images of families waiting. Now they were getting in their homes and assessing the damage.

I grabbed some food on the way back to the Deer Creek area, only to find all my Canon Camera batteries were dead. So I swung by my apartment and grabbed my personal Nikon cameras.

I returned to a street where at least half the block had a few feet or more of water inside the homes. One of the house’s lawn was covered in damaged furniture, books and carpet. The home was occupied by an elderly couple and one of their sons. The family let me in and that’s where I stayed for a few hours.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 200 ISO, f4 at 1/320 of a sec
The grandmother and her daughter-in-law were debating weather or not to keep the flood-damaged bible. The grandmother decided to keep it.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/100 of a sec
The books had swelled so much with flood water, no one could pull them out of the shelf.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 4000 ISO, f4 at 1/160 of a sec
After stripping out all the carpet and padding from the living room, it was the grandson’s job to clean out the residual dirt and water with the shop vac.

A little bit later I found my way into the grandparent’s bedroom. This was a touchy situation because this was their personal room with the most valuable family pieces. Few which were spared. I watched as the grandmother and her daughter dragged soggy items, piece by piece, out of the bedroom closet. Future Christmas presents, clothes and old bills were now damaged and destroyed.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 3200 ISO, f4 at 1/30 of a sec
Later, they came across the birth certificates and house deed, all damaged by the water.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 3200 ISO, f4 at 1/60 of a sec
The grandfather was cleaning too. But he would take a step back and just watch every now and then. I do not think I ever saw him without a cigarette in hand. Something to deal with the stress, I imagine. They had no flood insurance.

At about this point I had already worked more than a full shift and people back in the newsroom needed my images for the Web site and the next day’s paper. I headed home and transfered what I had to the photo desk.

Today I went into the office at my usual shift start time of 10:00 A.M, tired from yesterday’s long day. I was immediately turned around to go find more images of the effects of the flood. David Carson, a fellow photog, had stepped in as the assignment editor for the day. He told me that I needed to take the day to work on finding a good spot new image.

“News gets jobs, “ he said, refereeing to the gap in my portfolio.

I followed up on ever house I had stopped by the day before. But I needed to find something new. I had been in contact with a writer who directed me to an apartment park in Brentwood which had been hit hard apparently. That was an understatement.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2
A couch, which had floated to the ceiling of an apartment living room, took out the window and most of the wall when the receding waters rushed out. Below the couch is his 60-inch LCD television.

The resident, a 27-year old Texas native, had just arrived back in St. Louis after visiting his family in the Lone Star State for the first days of Hurricane Ike. He said his family was not really hit at all, just some rain. He came home to find his apartment destroyed.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2
I had never seen the effects of a flooding so close. I was surprised to find that after a flooding, not everything stays wet for very long. Furniture eventually dries out. What the flood leaves is dirt and mud. Anything no taken by the flood waters, is covered in a thin film of dirt from the nearby creek.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2

Thankfully I can say I have never experienced a natural disaster so closely. I was only 4 years old in the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and our house was fine. I selfishly hope I only have to experience these events on the backside of my viewfinder, and not find myself in front of the lens.

Back 2 Back Football

Friday night was the typical high school football routine. This week was Granite City vs Belleville West.


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

What made this weekend different was that the next morning I got up early to drive out west to Columbia, Mo., to cover the University of Missouri's destruction of the University of Nevada's defensive line. Missouri beat Nevada 69 to 17. I have never seen a score get run up like that.


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

And the one that ran in the paper...

Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

Another day of portraits

Canon 1D Mark 2 with 50mm f2.5 (yes, 2.5), 800 ISO, f8 at 1/125 of a sec

This was a story meant to highlight this local woman's red velvet cupcakes. When I saw the red chair in her living room I knew I hit jackpot. After rearrange her furniture, I came up with this image.

First week in St. Louis, MO

Last Monday I started my internship at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I have shot a few assignments- having used a lot of my time here learning the system of the PD and getting around the my new city. In my first week here in St. Louis I have been able to shoot a large range of assignments. One of my first jobs was to shoot a portrait of a local business woman.

Susan Elliott was one of the first women hired by IBM as a programmer. As always, I tried to shoot more than one portrait with her. One themed and one not so themed. I do this incase some miscommunication between myself and the writer causes my themed portrait to be inappropriate for the story.

I arrived at Mrs. Elliott’s office building about half an hour early so I could grab a sandwich and walk around scouting for locations. The assignment sheet even suggested some nice red brick buildings in the area. I found a nice shady spot underneath a tree with a red brick wall has a backdrop. This would be my “unthemed” portrait because it could pretty much go along with any story about the individual. “Local business woman starts new internet company,” or “Local business woman save cat from tree.” That kind of stuff.

I had borrowed lights from another photographer and planned on lighting the shot. But of course I forgot that the lights were not battery operated. My lights from both previous internships ran off batteries. I felt bad having made this lady walk all the way out to this tree, so I shot it anyway so not to make her feel like it was all for nothing.


Canon EOS-1D with 70-200mm f2.8, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/500 of a sec

For my themed portrait I asked if she could show me around the office of her company. She showed me the cubicles and private offices. Nothing interested me. Then Mrs. Elliott mentioned their newly redesigned server room in the basement. Perfect!


Canon EOS-1D Mark 2 with 17-35mm f2.8

I really wish I had a third light to illuminate the area behind her head so that her hair didn’t blend with the background, but I worked with what I had.

Later that week I shot high school football. Oh high school football, how I have missed you. Your nasty lighting, and terrible smell are so unique. The great thing about high school football is that you can pretty much go anywhere you want (minus the actually playing area of the field). This was the first week of the games so I tried to shoot off the field as well.


Canon EOS-1D Mark 2 with 17-35mm f2.8


Canon EOS-1D Mark 2 with 300mm f2.8


Canon EOS-1D Mark 2 with 300mm f2.8

Arriving in St. Louis

I have just arrived in St. Louis after 4 days of driving across middle America. This was my tenth time driving from the west coast to the mid-west and I plan to be here for three months. I did the drive with my dad this time, and together we ruled I-50 and I-70 all the way from the Golden Gate to the Gateway Arch.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/200 of a sec

I will be living in this great room to myself on top of a detached garage from the house of another photographer from the paper I will be working at, the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Technically I am in a western suburb, Western Groves, which appears to have some historic downtown. More on that another time.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 800 ISO, f4 at 1/100 of a sec

I start my internship at the St. Louis Post Dispatch tomorrow. I am extremely excited and have very high hopes for this next season of work. I took the Summer off and am now very eager to start assignments again. Pictures of friends are great, but I am ready to move on.

Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA

I just got back from my second major trip of the summer: my family's annual week-long trip to Drakesbad Guest Ranch in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. After carrying my camera non-stop for six straight weeks in Europe, I thought I should relax my already over 20,000 actuated D3 shutter and keep it off the dusty trails of one of our most overlooked National Parks. But I just could not help myself.

Below are just a few images from the trip. Because I have family and friends who complain about the lack of images I tend to post, click here for a full photo gallery from the trip if you care so much. (WARNING: this photo gallery may contain embarrassing photos of family members, sister's boyfriends, and godmothers drinking hard cider).


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 3200 ISO, f2 at 1/40 of a sec
My dad


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/200 of a sec
Discussing hiking trails around Lake Tahoe


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 1600 ISO, f2, 1/60 of a sec



Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 3200 ISO, f2, 1/30 of a sec
My sister pouting because she was loosing in cards to her little brother.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 1600 ISO, f2 at 1/25 of a sec
Campfire in Warner Valley


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 4000 ISO, f2 at 1/20 of a sec
Star gazing

Castlebar, Ireland: green is everywhere

Castlebar is a medium sized town of about 12,000 people. More notably, it is the home town of Dwayne Corcoran. Born in 1986, his family immigrated to the United States when he was three years old. Our traveling trio had planned on spending three days in Castlebar, but after only two days in Dublin we were ready to move on, adding the extra days to Dwayne’s hometown.

The unofficial motto of this trip tended to be “relaxed travel.” We had spent a week in each city: Budapest, Prague, Munich, Paris, Brussels (not Dublin). This gave us ample time to not just see, but experience each city. To come as close to living in the town, without actually having to find jobs.

Castlebar is not the capital of a European country. And even though we were living with Dwayne’s Aunt Helen near the town center, we spent most of the time visiting his aunts and uncles who still lived in the surrounding farm country. This part felt like an entirely different trip. If the previous five weeks had been five course meal of Central and Western Europe, this last week was glass of brandy to settle our stomachs.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f9 at 1/400 of a sec


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f9 at 1/125 of a sec

Early in the week we visited Dwayne’s uncle Joe, who lived on a farm outside of Castlebar. We walked amongst the cows for a long while. Dwayne showed Ian and I an 800-year-old watch tower (now only a single wall), which resided on a small hill on his uncle’s land.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f4.5 at 1/400 of a sec
Dwayne searching the remnants of the 800-year-old watch tower for fossilized goods.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f4 at 1/1000 of a sec


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/3200 of a sec
Hoping electric fences to reach the hill top.

We spent the rest of our evening resting on the hill watching the burning sun set fire to a line of trees on the horizon.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/3200 of a sec


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/640 of a sec


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 400 ISO, f2 at 1/800 of a sec

The next day, Aunt Helen took us to Croagh Patrick, a holy mountain near Westport, about three minutes west of Castlebar, straddling the Atlantic Ocean. Every year a pilgrimage is made up these rocky slopes, many people with bare feet.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f8 at 1/160 of a sec
At the base of Croagh Patrick

The hike was difficult, and at times treacherous, as the rain began to fall on us in bucket loads. But the final view was worth it.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/1250 of a sec
View from the top of Croagh Patrick.

Every day we were meeting more of Dwayne’s past. His old families, old friends and old homes. We stopped by one home which he used to live in as a small child. Currently, a relative lives there with two young boys. Dwayne had not been back in Ireland for three years, so neither child remembered him (one was not even born then). Hopefully Dwayne was able to make an impression that may last till next time he comes back to the homeland.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/3200 of a sec
Dwayne with the younger of the two children living in his old house.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/1600 of a sec
Cows residing at Dwayne’s old house.

Faster than any other destination, Castlebar was gone. It may have had the least to offer a random passer-by, but we left with the most. Having met so many of Dwayne’s family was a fantastic treat. Getting to experience the rolling hills of the deepest green Ireland has to offer made it the most magical destination by far.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/100 of a sec
Our plane departing Shannon, Ireland, for home.

Now I am back in San Francisco, but tomorrow I leave for a family vacation and will be unable to update this blog for a little over a week. I’ll make sure to bring back some nice images from Lassen Volcanic National Park on my return.

Dublin: The land of real Guinness

I am now back home in San Francisco (arrived Monday), but I still want to make a few more posts describing our last week of the trip in Ireland. This Friday I will be leaving for another trip, to Lassen Volcanic National Park, in which there will be absolutely no internet (no electricity either) so the Europe trip posts will be done by then.

Dublin- So incase you did not know, Ireland is an island. Yeah, mind blowing right? While planing our trip, we came across the problem that trains do not travel on water. So how do you get form Brussels to Dublin? Well, you fly.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f22 at 1/125 of a sec
Walking up the flight of stairs to our plane

Flying, even for only an hour and a half, felt very odd after 5 weeks of trains through Europe. Security checks and that sticky airport air replaced the relaxed attitude and open-air fee of train stations.

First thing after getting into Dublin, Ian, Dwayne and I visited the Guinness Store House. This is more of a museum with a souvenir shop than anything else. No Guinness is made in the building. But there are some pretty good exhibits explaining the process. For example, the water that is used to make the beer. I can’t imagine they use this actual water, but the waterfall was cool nonetheless.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 500 ISO, f 2 at 1/250 of a sec
Waterfall at Guinness Store House

And of course you get the free Guinness at the end of the tour. Best... Guinness... ever.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f5.6 at 1/125 of a sec
Dwayne and Ian enjoying their Guinnesses (Guinnessi?)

We spent the rest of our time in Dublin walking around the city, through St. Stephen’s Green. This provide many images of Dwayne and Ian’s gay honey moon (the real reason for our trip).


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 100 ISO, f5.6 at 1/200 of a sec

And of course, more pints of Guinness were in order.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2, 6400 ISO, f2 at 1/60 of a sec

We were scheduled to stay in Dublin for five nights, but after only two nights we decided to move on. We probably could have spent more time in the city, but we were eager to spend more time in Castlebar (Dwayne’s home town). So after our second night in our hostel, he hustled out out of there.


Nikon D3 with 35mm, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/30 of a sec
Rushing out of the Dublin hostel to make our train for Castlebar, Ireland (Dwayne's hometown)