Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yum, Spaghetti and Meatballs! Tasted as good as it looks.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 84mm
Flash: Fired off camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 320
Flash Umbrella
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and unsharp-mask

Diaper Cake

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Diaper Cake

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/10.0
Exposure: 1/160
Focal Length: 75mm
Flash: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 500
Flash Umbrella
Tripod
Post processing included conversion from RAW, contrast adjustment, and unsharp-mask

Wedding Dress

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Wedding Dress

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.2
Exposure: 1/500
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 640
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, and levels adjustment

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Sunday Night

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Sunday Night

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.0
Exposure: 1/50
Focal Length: 85mm
Extension Tube: 12mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 1250
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and levels adjustment

Interesting Design

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Interesting Design. It is one of the speakers from the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound system.

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/13.0
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 92mm
Multiple Flashes: Fired off camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 320
Flash Cord
Post processing included conversion from RAW and healing tool

Like this shot? Why not order a print of it

Fossil Watch

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Fossil Watch

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/13.0
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 50mm
Extension Tubes: 12mm Flash: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 320
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, burn tool, and unsharp-mask

Retro Porsche

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Retro Porsche

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/25.0
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 160mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 500
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped 16x9, selection tools, gradient tool, burn tool, and healing/cloning tool

Diaper Cake

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Diaper Cake

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 47mm
Flash: Fired off camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 2500
Post processing included conversion from RAW, selection tool, refine selection, gradient tool, and high pass filter

Cufflinks

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Cufflinks


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/16.0
Exposure: 1/125
Focal Length: 85mm
Extension Tube: 12mm
Multiple Flashes: Fired Off Camera E-TTL
ISO: 200
Lightbox
Tripods
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, levels adjustment, healing tool, and unsharp-mask

Lights, Camera, Action! - Update

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Lights, Camera, Action! Long time visitors to this blog will probably remember a very similar shot I had taken last year with the same name, but at the time I did not have the Rotolight so I thought I would update it. I've been meaning to do a product review of the Rotolight for a while now, but I just have not had the time to do it yet. I'll try and get to it soon, but I can quickly tell you that it is a great little device!


Exif Data
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XTi
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/60
Focal Length: 50mm
Multiple Flashes: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL Ratio 4:1)
ISO: 400
Diffuser
Tripods
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, and healing tool

More Clip N Climb

Today's shots for the "Photo a Day" project are called More Clip N Climb




Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/50, 1/200, 1/125
Focal Length: 115mm, 120mm, 110mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 1600
Post processing included conversion from RAW

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM

Today's shots for the "Photo a Day" project are called Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM. As an added bonus, I've also included a mini review of the lens after the photos.




This is the latest addition to my lens lineup, and I have to say it is one fantastic lens. It is extremely sharp wide open, and gets beyond tack sharp at around f/2.0, but of course one doesn't buy this kind of lens and use it at anything other then wide open. At f/1.2 and with a relatively low ISO value you can get quite usable shots in very low light situations, where you would probably not be able to even get a shot with a slower aperture lens. This lens however is most suited for portrait photography, and was my main reason in purchasing it. Wide open, this lens produces a fantastic background blur (bokeh) which really makes the subject pop out of the shot. I find that the 85mm is the perfect focal length for anything from a 3/4 length to a tight headshot portrait on the full frame Canon 5D mkII camera.

This is the mark I version of this lens, so it does have a pretty slow focusing speed, however I have not had any major issues with this since I do not plan on using it to try and shoot any fast action sports anyway. That's just not what it was designed for. Shooting fast moving children can be a bit trickier with this lens, since it's focus speed is a tad slow for that, but I still have obtained some decent results even in situations like that. Although, for that particular situation I would rather use one of my other lenses which is better suited to the task anyway.

Interestingly, this is the only lens I have ever used that requires it to be on a camera and powered on in order to be able to manually focus. Yes, it has full time manual focus, even when in autofocus mode, however the motor inside which moves the focusing elements requires power to do so, even manually! Although this is not a big issue, it does take some getting used to and remembering to focus to infinity before shutting off the camera. This is because the front barrel does extend a bit during focusing (but does not rotate), and I like to keep it all the way in before packing it away.

It's quite heavy, coming in at 2 lbs, but I find that I actually really like heavier lenses. The lens hood is a clip on type, which rotates freely, but it's completely round anyway so that really does not matter. It also comes with canon's usual leather lens bag.

In any job, it's all about the right tool for the trade. If you are looking for the right tool for semi-stationary subjects and portraits, and want a dreamy silky smooth bokeh, look no further than the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens.

Baked Golden Brown

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Baked Golden Brown


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.2
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 85mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 500
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, and levels adjustment

Engineered For Power

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Engineered For Power


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/1.2
Exposure: 1/125
Focal Length: 85mm
Extension Tube: 12mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 3200
Post processing included conversion from RAW

Chow Mein with Butter Chicken and Vegetables

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Chow Mein with Butter Chicken and Vegetables. A FANTASTIC combination!


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 28mm
Flash: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL)
Flash Exposure Compensation: +2/3EV
ISO: 160
Tripod
Flash Cord
Shoot Through Reflector
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, liquify, and unsharp-mask

Mommy, Daddy, Baby

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Mommy, Daddy, Baby


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 70mm
Multiple Flashes: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL, Ratio 2:1)
ISO: 500
Flash Cord
Post processing included conversion from RAW, quick wand tool, lasso tool, and unsharp-mask

Henry of Pelham Ice Wine

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Henry of Pelham Ice Wine


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/80
Focal Length: 106mm
Multiple Flashes: Fired E-TTL
ISO: 400
Rotolight
Flash Cord
Lightbox
Tripods
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustments on different layers, dodge tool, healing tool, and unsharp-mask

The Rena

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called The Rena, a FANTASTIC luxury yacht!


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/16.0
Exposure: 1/400
Focal Length: 24mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 320
Post processing included conversion from RAW, cropped, levels adjustment, and unsharp-mask

If These Shoes Could Talk

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called If These Shoes Could Talk


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.5
Exposure: 1/100
Focal Length: 50mm
Flash: Fired Off Camera E-TTL
ISO: 250
Flash Cord
Post processing included conversion from RAW, conversion to black and white, and add grain

Sunrise Helicopters

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Sunrise Helicopters


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure: 1/200
Focal Length: 70mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 100
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and levels adjustment