Inked…

So, I made a trade with a (now) buddy of mine that is a tattoo artist. Thus far, we have done 2 sittings/sessions, and we are almost finished (one more time for some color work). You know I HAD to take some pics!

These were all taken with my 30D (gripped), and most with the Sigma 24/1.8 from the last post. Almost all of these, if not ALL, were taken wide open, and I didn’t use a flash all night, just some good ‘Ol natural light (read: bright lamp). And yes, the vast majority were taken with a needle in my arm, including Godzilla, whom you will meet soon. Couple that with a 24mm Lens on a 1.6 crop sensor, and narrow focus line at F/1.8, and it was pretty tough to get the few (17) shots that I kept. Also note, 17 pretty good shot out of 101 popped off, is a pretty freakin good ratio, especially considering the situation.

Normally, I let the pics speak for themselves, but I think I’ll do a little ‘walk-through’ with this set… Anyone who knows me, will know just how much these fit my style. VERY contrasty (when you have enough, add more!), lots of great Bokeh (LOVE this lens), and fun perspectives. +3 Style Points, please?

I have lovingly named this needle, “Godzilla”. It’s a 13 mag, meaning there are 2 rows of tips, 6 on top, and 7 on the bottom. It’s pretty hardcore. Personally, and NOT bragging, I don’t mind it at all, but I hear that most people have problems with it. I’ve heard stories of people having to be forcefully held down/still, crying, and just plain walking away from the tat altogether. The point? Again, it’s a hardcore needle.

This is Rocky’s new gun. He build this from the ground up. That’s an 1800’s (sorry, can’ remember where it’s from) coin. I don’t really know much about the guns themselves, but in my opinion, this one is VERY cool. As my camera is to me, this is his baby, and after hearing what went into building it, I understand why…

Godzilla…

Liner…

Let’s just move to some random stuff…

Concentration…

More…

Notice the sideways action? The needle digs in hard. East Coast Style…

The custom gun, one more time… Notice that my focus point is on the coin, not the needle. Yes, this was purposefully done…

And last, but not least, Godzilla Returns!

My Amazing Wife & The New Sigma 24/1.8…

So, the 70-200 is gone. Can she please get a moment of silence? ……………

Ok, now. In her place, I now have a Sigma 24/F1.8. I am trying to stick with primes, which is partially where this decision came from. I didn’t really need the 70-200L (although I loved her), but I could use a moderately wide prime. The 24/1.8 is wideish on the 30D, but will be super wide (for a prime) when I finally get a 5D, so there is a tad bit of preemptive thinking here. So…

I had to knock off a few shots w/ her last night, as is expected, so I thought I’d share a few of them. They are all taken of my beautiful wife, Sarah. EXIF should be intact for those care to look. They were all taken on my 30D with a bounced flash. Even the stophen couldn’t quite contain the light in an all white room, so in most of these, there is also a New Balance sock pulled over the flash, and they are bounced behind me. The lighting was horrible, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? Almost all of them were taken with the 24/1.8, however, for the last few, I threw on the 85/1.8, which is my favorite lens of all time… I processed these to get the contrasty effect that I like so much, which I think is obvious. I like them a lot.

Again, impromptu with no prep, all handheld, and I haven’t gotten the hang of the new lens yet since it’s the first night with it. I will say, however, that I am in love with it. I’ll throw in a %100 crop to show you why. My favorite shot, with it’s crop, will be last…

Here is the %100 crop. That is freakin AWESOME! Completely SHARP, to the point that you can see my reflection in her eye. To make that a little more impressive, this was WIDE open @F/1.8!

Again… 1 Pic, 2 Different Processes…

I took this on the way home last night, so I thought I’d share..

1 Pic, 2 End Results…

So, I tiook this pics yesterday morning, and decided to go 2 different ways in post. I am torn as to which one I like best, so here are the 2 final images… Both were taken w/ my gripped 30D + 70-200 F/4L…

Backroads v.2ish

Someone of the Canon Forums asked me to make this shot from the other day into a B&W, so of course, I did! Here is that B&W that was requested. I was just playing around with it, so it’s WAY pp’ed and contrasty, but *I* like it.

A Couple From Last Night…

I decided to play a little on the way home last night, and these are the result. Not a lot to say really. The first is an HDR, and was taken with the 30D and 85/1.8. The second was taken with the 30D and 70-200 F/4L. I haven’t used the “L” lately, and I think she was feeling a little neglected. I guess it’s time to change that…

*edit*: Adding one more HDR that *I* thought was cool…

Unhappy Kitty…

Yea, I couldn’t resist sharing this.

This is Oscar. I took this over the long weekend, and as you can tell, he was not too happy about that. His ‘brother’ Meyer just sat and watched, and I’m pretty sure he was laughing on the inside. This was just a quick snap while he sat on the sofa. Taken w/ the 30D and 85/1.8, and a flash bounced above. IMO, this is very LOLCAT worthy, so that will be happening as soon as I get a chance…

Unhappy Oscar:

Sunday Adventures…

Today was fun. It was a family day, which are always the best. What most people find boring, we have fun doing. We ate breakfast at Trudy’s, which might be one of my favorite things in the world to do. Best. Breakfast. Ever. We then took the kids to “the bouncy place“, and they wore each other, and us, out. Then we just drove around and joked and laughed. I know, sounds lame, but it was a lot of fun, and that’s all that matters.

Somewhere along the way, in the middle of Taylor TX, we came across an Ostrich farm. I took a few pics while we were there, so here they are…

First, a quick couple of shots of my amazing wife…

On to the big freakin birds!

My Little Angels…

I try not to post pics of my kids online very often, but sometimes it’s ok. My wife and I have pics of them on Facebook, so why not put a few here? Besides, there is nothing I like to show off more than my kids. They are perfect, so I can’t loose! w00t!

The last lens I bought was the Canon 85/1.8. Over the last month or so, it has quickly become my favorite lens, surpassing even my 70-200/L. Of course, all of my favorite shots with this lens include my kids (coincidence?), so I thought I would go ahead and share a few.

These are all taken with a gripped Canon 30D & Canon 85/1.8 (most, if not all, are also wide open).

Yes, I know I shouldn’t take pics while they are eating, but I couldn’t resist… ^