After a few crazy years it’s good to see things returning to somewhat semblance of normality, Oz Comic Con being packed is one of those normal things = )
Was on the late shift this Saturday so not as many people as previous years, but that means less time photoshopping, so, you win some, you lose some ; )
click the above to view the album
Covid still lingering on but not dampening the enthusiasm for cosplay at the second Oz Comic Con of the year here in Sydney, some great work on display and I fortunately got to capture some of it.
Feel I’ve upped my game this year, breaking out of my comfort zone of natural light and shooting with flash has made a noticeable improvement, though still more work and testing needed I feel!
First 24 are shown below, click the title to go through the album on Flickr!
[flickr_set id=”72157720224425247″]
Last time I went to Melbourne’s Oz Comic-con I was mistaken for a professional photographer, this year, I was.
Quite different approach, I shot for two hours Saturday morning and have twenty eight more pictures than the two days of floor walking last time I was here with people queuing up for a picture.
[flickr_set id=”72157709147645556″]
Fun at this years Supanova, saw some familiar faces (well, familiar voices, totally didn’t recognise the faces!). Managed to find a good spot for taking pictures, end of an aisle with a nice black backdrop and bit of carpet (maybe it was supposed to be a stall and they cancelled late?), quickly snowballed as people started asking me to take their picture, even had a queue at one point!
[flickr_set id=”72157670203875528″]
Travelling light: one ol’ Nikon d5100, a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens, a manfrotto tripod and a corded remote shutter release (because, let’s face it, the cordless ones are shite).
I like Vivid, mostly for the chance to get the streaking lights from the ships as they pass the harbour. Not been since 2014 though, maybe I’ll put some of my faves from back then up too, see if I’ve progressed at all = p
[flickr_set id=”72157697406423094″]
Challenging shoot, models moving up and down a catwalk in a dark bar, the speedlight wasn’t an option, it was a necessity, even with my dislike for the harsh light it casts (even bounced and diffused). So there’s not a particular picture in the set that stands out that I’m proud of, usually in every shoot there’s one, one you look at and go, that one, that’s the one I’m most proud of here, these are just, generic.
Added challenge of about fifteen photographers on the night (and their helpers) even though it was supposed to be a group of ten so ended up with a lot of people getting in the back of shots, beating you to the angle you want or simply not paying attention to other togs and getting in the edge of shots, which annoyed me quite a bit, as a bit of consideration for others should be basic, though, the one who pissed me off the most was the one who in his rush to get in the way of about six other peoples shots walked into my gear and didn’t even apologise, I hope to not come across the dickhead in any future shoots (shouldn’t’ve been there in the first place, doesn’t even know how to use the camera – which is not an exaggeration, he’d spent about an hour at the start complaining he couldn’t get a sharp shot, bugging everyone for advice on settings, when it transpired he had the lens set to manual focus, not auto).
Anyway, enough bitching, if I keep up these fashion shoots I’m going to have to add a new category to the site!
[flickr_set id=”72157675632612514″]
Given how much fun last year’s “Trashion” shoot was I had to get down and shoot at the Summerama Festival when I saw Marina DeBris would be showcasing her unique style of work again.
[flickr_set id=”72157677812956810″]
BTW the close ups of the models is for the Hair & Makeup artists to use for promotion, if you were thinking it odd there’s a fair few portraits that don’t include much of the outfits = )
Spent the afternoon with the talented Roxy, Ivy & Pearl doing some web-promo shots for them, had a lot fun with these absolute pleasures to work with.
[flickr_set id=”72157672030736564″]
Nikon D5100
35mm Nikkor DX Prime Lens
ISO100
f/2.8
SS ??
In Canberra for the weekend with Pam so edit and uploaded this with my Galaxy Tablet, dont recall the details (shot on aperture priority) so will update the SS once I can check the exif data.
It’s been a busy week, especially being short with being in Brisbane on Monday, so had a lot on with work and nothing struck me for inspiration for this weeks challenge as my mind was all over the place elsewhere, when I saw The Old Parliament Building in Canberra though I thought it was perfect for the brief – evident whoever keeps the property enjoys the symmetry from the small details such as the signs either side and the trees – the OCD in me though wish the line between the paving slabs was a few inches to the left though 😉
No behind shots this week, it’s pretty much me stood half way out in the road (thankfully a quite one) as I grabbed this whilst wandering with the camera. It is kind of weird to see how different the image comes out on the computer now having originally edited on the tablet, goes to show no matter how much the computer firms push us, tablets are no good for content creation (and that’s not even saying Photoshop for tablets is more like Instagram than Photoshop and crashes more often than Stevie Wonder in a Dodgem).
Nikon D5100
14mm Rokinon Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8 lens
ISO100
f/2.8
SS 8 sec
Struggled to think of anything inventive for this week (it’s been a busy one) and we’re away for the weekend so figured I’d nip across the road from work and shoot the historic Sydney landmark come shopping centre, the Queen Vicotria Building – afterall, it is a nice doorway (and I figure doorway falls under the brief of Door(s)).
To get rid of the late night shoppers I opted for a few long exposure (30 seconds f/22) but even they were full of ‘ghosts’, this shot was massively overblown but when exposure corrected in photoshop it proved to be the best in terms of lingering people. Spent a bit of time in the lens correction as the distortion was quite evident at this distance, I also tried to adjust a little for the tripod not being happy in portrait alignment too (overhand a little, for the life of me I couldn’t lock it square on).
As with last week, not massively happy with the image, maybe it’s because the first few weeks offered such a chance to do so many different things and I’m simply at a loss on how to be inventive with the brief, so maybe I’m not happy with myself, rather than the picture.
