So this past weekend, I had the opportunity to pick up one of these badboys:

wacom intuos4 (large):

This thing is amazing.  You can program the buttons on the side to be shortcuts and help you in Photoshop and lightroom separately.  The OLED labels change for every app that you change to on your computer.   It’s hard to get used to but I think it’s going to help speed up some of my editing.

so here’s a couple of shots from today’s shoot in my alley:

lighting this was so much fun.  1. stand here.  2. let the sun do all the work.  3. stand back about 150feet. 4. shoot at 200mm:

and now.. a Becker headshot:

setup the studio in the garage:

A big thanks to Carmen and Diana who came by for this shoot… I had a lot of fun!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve posted.  Nothing has really happened in this off season except for meetings with potential clients and esessions.  This year is definitely going to be a fun one.  I’ve currently booked 26 weddings already and I’m starting to worry that it’s going to overwhelm me.  Finding balance with God, family, and work is going to be a tough task.  But God is good and I know his strength is sufficient to take care of all this. 

I also had a revamping of some of my equipment.  Transitioning to the new 5d mark II cameras instead of the older 5d’s.  I sold my 5d and some lenses to make room for the new bodies.  The stuff this camera produces just blows my mind.  Shooting in darker rooms will never be the same. I’m really excited about that for this year.  So I’ll be dual-yielding 5dmkII’s on a CameraSlinger for most of the wedding season.  I think it’s going to help me by keeping the work consistent and stress free.  Shooting with two of the same cameras should help b/c of the similar camera settings, lighting setups.. etc.  Last year, I felt like I had wasted a lot of time setting up the 5d and 1dmkIIn for a given situation to produce consistent results.  This way, shooting with two 5dmkII’s will take all that guessing work out and allow me to focus on composing and capturing quick, intimate moments while using two different lenses.

So in the gear bag this season…I’m going to try shooting a lot more with primes this year.  I LOVE the 85/1.2 and that thing is gonna stay glued to one of the cameras.  The other one will probably be a wider 24L or 35L.. haven’t decided yet.  For time being, I’ll still use the 16-35L for wides.. and the 70-200 IS for compression but that’s about it.  I’ll be bringing a 15fisheye, 100macro, and 50L with me for some quick shots.

I’ve also been blessed this year with a couple of domestic destination weddings.  That should be exciting.   I’ve never done it before and I’m praying that everything will be ok.  Right now, I’m already preparing how I pack my gear, what to bring and how to bring it.  It’s just nuts!!  I’m so used to throwing everything in the trunk of my car and enjoying the comforts of staging all of my gear from my car… picking out only what I need for the house, ceremony, reception.. etc.  Flying to another city for a wedding really makes you think about packing light but at the same time, packing without sacrificing the quality of the work.   If you have experience in this area, I’d love to pick your brain about it.  I think I already have a good headstart b/c I’ll be using some of the Thinktank products to travel with.  All of my gear should fit in the Thinktank International Roller and a Shapeshifter backpack, both which I’ll carry on.  I guess I’ll just check in my normal luggage.  For those of you who use light stands for off camera lighting, how do you carry those?  My first wedding of the year will be in a couple of weeks in New Orleans/Mobile, AL.   I’m SOOO excited about the trip.  I’ve never been to that area so I booked my trip a little earlier to enjoy some of the sites before I actually get to work.   I’ll be shooting Andre & Tahirah’s wedding down there… one of my best friends from Kenwood back in the day.  I felt so honored when he asked me.  Anyways I’ll be updating on my twitter so feel free to follow my adventures in Mardi Gras land: http://www.twitter.com/secondprint.

This past month, I enjoyed a meet and greet hosted by Misha Media. I also learned new ways to pose a bride and also how to use the given lighting.  That was a ton of fun.  Mike Fan and I always joke about hosting a hands-on workshop about shooting pictures between 7pm-8pm on Chicago downtown bridges.  Such a specific niche workshop hahaha.   Maybe this past meet will spur those dreams again.  Anyways,  here are some of the images from that meet and greet. 


off camera flash:


we also hired some birds for the photoshoot:




our model was such a pro!



having a moment with the dress




stay tuned for an awesome 2009 year!

Experimenting with HD resolutions now. I like this alot better than the previous videos. 

Anyways..  here’s a sneak peak into Eniola and Ubong’s wedding.  They’re this Nigerian couple I had the privilege to shoot.  It’s a series of esession photos, traditional Nigerian wedding and a western wedding.

Enjoy!  C&C always welcome

Couple: Eniola and Ubong
photography: myself
music: The Only Moment We Are Alone by Explosions in the Sky
edited: garageband/imovie

Here’s another one I shot right before the weather got nasty here in chicago….

comments and criticism please!

Hey everyone..  ok.. so I’m hoping to blog more and get used to doing it more often instead of trolling facebook all the time.    I really hope I can get my feet planted on this wedding stuff so I can quit my dayjob and really put some effort into this.  I look at other peoples’ work and I just marvel at how much I need to learn.  I often feel like my day job is hindering me from taking things to the next level.  The problem is, I love doing both.  Both are fun and rewarding.   Anyways,  I’ll still continue to press on and learn more.

So anyways, here’s a quick little animoto slideshow I just created of an e-session I shot with Cynthia & Andrew.  They’re getting married in October ’09 and I’m glad they didn’t waste any time to get their esession finished when the sun was still out and the weather was still decent.  I love animoto.  I’ve seen several folks use it now and I think it’s just another fun tool to have.

Enjoy 

Fusing the art of dancing and poetry we designed a live performance highly energetic, mind stimulating, interactive, educational program, that will keep you at the edge of you seats.
 
Since the beginning, the art of dancing has been expressed in many ways and for many reasons. From the time humans first learned to reason to the times of today, dancing has evolved into many forms and styles. One might interpret dancing as a form of expression, entertainment, physical exercise, therapeutically energizing, soul rendering, or more. 

Of the many arts and art forms, poetry it-self has long existed alongside dancing. Rhys Paraja, an entrepreneur and professional dancer, has come forth to help bring these ideas to light. Never before have the two art forms co-existed on one setting, one act, and one stage. Collaborating with some of Chicago’s best dancers and choreographers and Chicago’s finest Poet, Rhy-Mix productions challenge was to bring forth most optimal and extraordinary performances ever seen on one stage.

Pioneered by Rhy-Mix productions, this making has come into effect to modernize the theatrical world. Through the means of hip-hop and spoken word, acting and entertaining, our motivation is to stimulate the minds in a positive and unique performance. Our focus is also brining this form of entertainment to the public schools system and to inspire and spark the creative mind of the youth in the school system.

here’s my friend mike with a video showing the problems on his 5d mark2.

sorry for the lack of posting.  i’ve been soooo busy the past 3 months… it’s just been incredible.  i’ve had about 11 weddings since the last time i posted and i’m wondering why i’m not doing this full time.  my wife would kill me if i quit my day job.  anyhow….here’s a recap of just some of the stuff i’ve shot….  i’m too lazy to post more. enjoy

Doyle/Hatch Wedding…

Kontny/Larsen Wedding

I hope you guys know that the picture below was just a joke.  Alex and I have talked before about getting the most elaborate setup onto a digicam with a hotshoe.  and i was pretty bored at the moment.

wayne, poppers would be nice..  can’t complain about ettl and radio…    but why ver.2 and not the ver.1? 

You should see what I carry to weddings.