Baby Time

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days, but we just had our second baby and it has been some very sleepless nights and busy days! I'll get back to the photo a day as soon as I get a little more time to myself again! Take care everyone.

Powerful Storm

We just had a crazy thunder/wind/rain storm pass through Ottawa about 2 hours ago. The wind was quite fierce in my neighbourhood, and the power went out for about 20mins. After the storm I went out for a bit with my gear, and just happened across a few downed trees very close to my place. So there are two shots for the "Photo a Day" project today, called Powerful Storm

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure: 1/40, 1/20
Focal Length: 35mm, 96mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and levels adjustment

Looking For A Wedding Photographer?

Finding The "Right" Photographer For Your Wedding

Many people often wonder: how do I find a photojournalistic wedding photographer who is professional, friendly, and talented at capturing moments. Sometimes more importantly, how do I find such a wedding photographer who has rates that are reasonable? The great news is that Fernando Matias Photography is a company operated by a professional photographer who specializes in wedding photography within the Ottawa area, and is ready to help you address these questions.

Speaking from experience, most people ultimately find a wedding photographer from a direct referral. In other words, people talk to others who have recently hired a wedding photographer and are provided with information that they then use to figure out who to hire for their needs. This is a great way to go, and in fact most of our business is obtained through direct referrals from previous clients. However, the Internet has now also changed this. You now have the power to find a professional photographer who specializes in Ottawa wedding photography by a simple web search. If you have not been directly referred to us by a previous happy customer already, we at Fernando Matias Photography would be happy to provide you with past testimonials from clients who can vouch for our passion and quality.

Experience Matters

There are several things you will want to keep in mind prior to making a decision. First, you will want to make sure that the photographer you are considering has been proven in the past. Your photographer should have a portfolio that you can browse, both in person and online. In addition, it's also important to find someone who specializes in wedding photography in your area. Capturing moments in the city that look just right is a skill that is acquired over time, and knowing which locations work and which do not will save you valuable time on an already overwhelmingly busy day. You want the very best wedding photographer for that special day in your life. Sure, the bottom line is important and wedding budgets are made for a reason. However, budget accordingly and remember that your wedding day photographs are memories that you want to last a lifetime. You won’t have another opportunity for these photos to be taken and cutting back on your photography funds can end up hurting you in the end.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line should be "Is this the right photographer for us?" and although the cost is important, it should not be your only point of reference when comparing photographers. A quick search will show that there is a huge range in wedding photography rates, from dirt cheap all the way to the insanely expensive. In most cases the photographer's rate is directly related to how much experience they have, and therefore a photographer that gives you a questionably low quote is usually very inexperienced and/or they will not give your wedding the attention it deserves. At Fernando Matias Photography we have limits on how many events we will accept in any given month so that we can be sure to provide 100% of our attention to your event.

Style

It is also important to speak with the photographer to make sure that your vision of the special day matches what the photographer is able to provide. Each photographer has their own style, and essentially this style is what you are hiring them for. If a photographer shoots entirely in black and white, and you want a mix of colour and monotone shots in your images then maybe they are not the right photographer for you. Find a photographer whose style matches your needs and then you’ll be assured that you get the photos you want. At Fernando Matias Photography our style is more photojournalistic with a strong emphasis on all the little details, and also plenty of candids. We know that posed photos are also an important part of your day for group photos and more formal shots of the newlyweds, and we'll not only do our best to show you how to pose so that you look your best but we also make formal photos fun!

Two Photographers Are Better Than One

There are many benefits to hiring two photographers for your wedding day. A single photographer can only be in one place at any given time and if you want photos of both the bride and groom getting ready it is very rare that they will both be in the same place at the same time. With two photographers one can dedicate their time to be with the bride as she is getting ready, while the other can focus on the groom. A single photographer will likely need to drive back and forth and miss once in a lifetime moments in your special day. If a photographer does offer you a second shooter, make sure that this person is also another professional photographer and not just an assistant or student. It is for these reasons and more that at Fernando Matias Photography our full day wedding packages provide two professional photographers to cover all of your wedding moments, the second being from Jeffrey Meyer Photography.

Communication

Communication between you and the photographer is very important for a successful day. You should always be able to contact your photographer and have your questions addressed quickly. The great news about working with a professional photographer from Fernando Matias Photography is that you will have your questions answered in a timely manner. This is important because once you make a decision as to which photographer to use, you don't want to find yourself constantly waiting to get answers to your important questions.

Contracts

The photographer you choose should provide you with a signed contract. This contract not only protects the photographer, but will also give you, the client, the security you need to make sure you obtain everything you were promised and in a timely fashion. The contract should stipulate exactly what you are required to pay in total, as well as exactly what you will receive for this fee. It is for these reasons, and many more, that at Fernando Matias Photography we always provide a full contract for every job we do.

Is Fernando Matias Photography the right photographer for you? Only you can decide, but we will do everything we can to earn your business. Do you have any comments or questions regarding what to look for in a wedding photographer? Feel free to ask us using the comments section below or by emailing us directly using our contact page and we will give you a frank and open answer.

Broken Hydro Pole

Today's shot for the "Photo a Day" project is called Broken Hydro Pole. If you were anywhere near Clyde Avenue this afternoon, you may have wondered why the police had closed off a section of the road. I know it was quite windy today, but wow!



Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/640
Focal Length: 200mm and 115mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 500
Post processing included conversion from RAW, levels adjustment, contrast adjustment, and unsharp-mask

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and wonderful New Year to everyone from us at Fernando Matias Photography!
Cheers!


Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D mkII
Aperture: f/2.2
Exposure: 1/30
Focal Length: 50mm
Flash: Fired Off Camera (E-TTL)
ISO: 640
Umbrella
Flash Cord

Blogger is Broken

I am sorry, but my post tonight might be delayed until tomorrow because Blogger will not let me attach a photo to my post. They are having issues, and as soon as it's fixed I'll pop my post up here.
Thanks!

Main Website Is LIVE!

Fernando Matias Photography's main website (www.fmatiasphotography.ca) has gone LIVE! I finally put the finishing touches on the website, and feel that it is now good enough and bug free enough to release it. Feel free to have a look, and I would appreciate any comments you may have about the new site (good or bad). If you encounter any bugs I would also appreciate a quick notification on how it happened and what browser you were using. You can contact me on our new Contact page!
Enjoy Everyone!

Main Website Is Back

The main website is back up and running for clients to access their photos, and I have moved to a more Canadian domain name, and host! The new website link is: www.fmatiasphotography.ca
What does this all mean to you, the client? Faster loading of your photos, and hopefully an all around better experience! The .com version will also be transferred over very soon, but I suggest everyone update their links to use the new .ca version of the main page.
The launch of the brand new interactive main website is coming very soon! I am just putting the final touches on everything and then it will go live! If you would like a sneek peek at the launch page, just join our facebook fan page and check the Wall Photo!

Main Website

Some of you may have noticed that my main website is currently not working and responds with a Account Suspended notice. I am currently working with my provider to get this issue straightened out and should have it back up and running soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me at fernmatias@gmail.com
Thanks for your patience.

Unboxing - Lexar 8GB Jumpdrive TwistTurn

I won last week's Tip Tuesday on Lexar's Facebook fan page, and as a neat little prize Lexar sent me this nice little 8GB jumpdrive. I figured I would do a quick little unboxing for this handy little drive.


The packaging is simple and to the point. There is nothing but the drive inside, which is fine since it's not like instructions or drivers are required for this type of device. There is not much plastic in the packaging either which is good on an environmental factor. The rest is all recyclable cardboard. It does not come with any type of chain or cord to attach onto the main loop on top, which is not a big deal for me since I never use them, but others may find that a bit of an annoyance.


Out of the packaging the drive is a decently small size. Not as tiny as some, but not huge either. Fully closed it is only 6.5cm in length. The rotating top serves as the cap protection for the dongle, and it clicks closed so that it does not just randomly open when not being used. It is made with mostly plastic, but it does feel like it could take a beating and still keep working.


This is what it looks like plugged into my laptop. There is a nice little red LED that blinks during activity. I am also glad to see that they went with a very standard size width making my second usb port also still available right beside it. I have had problems in the past with bulky USB drives that block the adjacent port!

All in all it's a decent little drive. 8GB is plenty for my daily use. Writing speed could have been better, I calculated an average of around 6-7Mb/s, while reading speed is very nice and steady 22Mb/s.

Many thanks Lexar for this fun and useful tool!

Contest Winner!

I just won a contest that was going on over at Quotidian Photography, where I get to choose any 3 of her shots from 2010 and receive them as 8x10 prints. I found Jessica's blog a few years ago, around the same time that I started mine, and I have been following her work ever since. It's interesting to watch as a photographer grows into their own style and technique. She has some fantastic photos, so it's going to be hard to choose just 3.
I thought this was a great idea, and I should also be hosting a similar contest here soon, but for now I just wanted to say thanks to Jessica for my winnings!

Got A New Camera? Want To Learn How To Use It?

Did you get a new camera these past holidays? Maybe as a gift, or maybe you went out and got a great deal on boxing day! Either way I am sure you have been excited to take it out and shoot away as often as you can, capturing memories that will last forever. The photography bug is an easy one to catch, and the only way to relieve the itch is by learning as much as you can to better your shots. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, there is always something you can learn about your camera, or a new technique to explore. A great and informative website that I enjoy contributing to is Digital Photography School. There is a multitude of information on their main website, and even more if you are ready to jump into their forum section. If you are fairly new to photography and/or cameras I would suggest the following compilation as a good place to start: 21 Settings, Techniques and Rules All New Camera Owners Should Know. It's a great collection of useful beginner, intermediate, and experienced information all in one handy link.
Some of the information there can be a bit daunting at first for a beginner. If you prefer I also offer one-on-one photography courses where you can learn whatever is most important to you with hands on instruction. Classes are tailor built to your own photography needs and can range anywhere from complete beginner (Point & Shoot cameras, SLR cameras, Camera settings, Get out of Auto mode) to more involved and experienced photography (Studio gear, Flash photography, HDR, Photoshop tips and tricks). If you are interested, send me an email (fernmatias@gmail.com) to get more info. I can get you on your way to becoming comfortable shooting outside of Auto mode, and moving toward making your shots amazing!

Unboxing - MSI Special Edition Military Class 4GB USB Flash Drive

A short while ago I kindly received an MSI Special Edition Military Class 4GB Flash Drive from a company I regularly do business with. Not only was it a very nice gesture, but it's also a very useful device for me to transfer my data from place to place. I figured since it was a special edition item, I should capture a short unboxing of it. So here it is... the MSI SE Military Class 4GB.


The case is actually quite nice, full metal case with a plastic window. It's a little bigger than it needed to be, but still quite nice.


Popping off the top reveals everything that comes with the drive. The drive itself is inside the little rubber military guy, and it comes with two types of rope attachments, one with a quick release, the other a screw on cap.



Here we see the front and back of the rubber protective military guy. To access the drive you need to slide it down and out the bottom using the hole in the back.


To give you a sense of scale, the 4GB drive is actually about the size of a Tonnie, as seen in the following front and back photos.



It really is amazing how small these things have gotten over the years. Here's a shot of it plugged into my laptop.


It's a nice little drive, but it has it's problems as well. It can be a little difficult at first to actually insert it into a USB port since it is so tiny and does not have the usual metal bracket. I've learnt that you really have to squeeze the rubber military guy while putting it into a slot so that the drive does not just slide back up into the holder. It's also not the fastest drive in the world. I get only around 4Mb/s write speed to the drive, which is terribly slow, and an average of 14Mb/s read speed, which is in the slow-regular range of speed.
Either way, it will come in handy!

Ebay Scam

I am always on the lookout for good deals on camera equipment and accessories. Unfortunately, this post is not to inform you of a great deal I found, and is rather a notice to everyone that you should be careful who you buy from on Ebay. Sometimes looking at the merchant's ratings is not enough, as I learned first hand over the past week. I found a very good deal on what I thought was a brand new, sealed, 16GB SanDisk Extreme IV compact flash card for my camera, but it turned out to be a fake counterfeit version. The deal looked solid; A merchant in Markaham Ontario Canada (a 5 hour drive from here), a 98% positive rating with over 130 sales (negative sales were unrelated to electronic equipment), labeled as Brand New and Sealed, Free Shipping, and Accepts PayPal. So I figured, "Why not? I could always use another CF card!" and I put in the winning bid. One week later I received my item in the mail, and the first thing I noticed was that the packaging was not sealed as was indicated in the listing.


But after opening it up I saw what appeared to be a SanDisk Extreme IV 16GB CF card, at least that's what the hologram stickers on it said it was.


So the first thing I did was pop it into my computer and that is when I saw that this in fact was only a 8GB card,


and on top of that it even had a photo already on it taken with a Sony A350 DSLR.


Therefore #1: This was not a NEW card as labeled in the listing, and more importantly #2: this is a fraudulent counterfeit 8GB card dressed up to look like a 16GB SanDisk Extreme IV. It would have been a convincing fake had they at least used an equivalent 16GB card, however there are several other ways to identify a counterfeit SanDisk card from a genuine one. Firstly, if you look at the corners of the metal plating on both the front and back of the card, a genuine SanDisk has rounded edges on all four corners, counterfeits do not.


Secondly, genuine SanDisk products have one line of white color serial number 'BH07xxxxx Made In China' on the bottom edge or 2 lines of 'BE05xxxxx' and 'China' on the side edge. Counterfeits may have no serial number, another variant of serial number, and may be produced in a different country. If it says anything other than Made in China, it is 100% that it is a fake. The card I received did say Made In China, however the serial number pattern does not match.


Thirdly, genuine SanDisk products arrive in a heat pressed, fully sealed plastic blister container that needs to be cut open with a pair of scissors to access all the items inside. Counterfeits such as mine are not sealed. Genuine Extreme IV's arrive with a full size CD with 'RescuePro Deluxe 4.0' software, while this counterfeit version arrived with a mini-CD RescuePro 4.0.


So what's the difference? Who cares? For starters, I care, I care a lot! I require genuine SanDisk products because I know SanDisk has a reputable and reliable history of providing compact flash cards that will not fail. Their cards have been tested to withstand rugged use without failure, while these cheap knock-offs have no such history and are just a time bomb waiting to go off. Loosing data while out on a shoot for a client, or even for myself, is NOT an option. I therefore only use top quality compact flash cards to ensure this never happens, because I know first hand how unreliable cheap flash media can be. Counterfeits also do not even come close to producing the speed a genuine SanDisk Extreme IV is rated to provide. The counterfeit I received only gives me 16.9mb/s while a genuine Extreme IV should provide 40mb/s.


In the end, because I paid with PayPal I was able to get my money back. However, I had to go through all the headaches associated with calling and dealing with PayPal, and obtaining proof from SanDisk that this was in fact not a genuine SanDisk product to satisfy PayPal's requirements.

Babies Photo Contest Winner

Thanks to everyone that entered the babies photo contest the past few weeks. There were some great shots of babies, and baby related items! The winning shot just stood out from all the rest. It was submitted by Rich Tremblay of his son Evan.


I decided on this shot as the winner because of it's wonderful diffuse lighting, perfect composition, and sharp focus. It also helped that it evokes such a wonderful happy feeling by just looking at it. That's what photography is all about, telling a story and filling you with emotion. If you can capture that shot, it's golden!
So congrats Rich for sharing us with baby Evan, and enjoy your prize!

Exif Data
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD790 IS
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/60
Focal Length: ~35mm
Flash: Not Fired
ISO: 160
Post processing: none

Babies Contest Now Closed

The Babies contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered! The winner will be announced as soon as I have contacted them to let them know they have won! A new contest may be coming soon, so keep checking here regularly.

Babies Photo Contest - 12hr left!

It's official, there are only 12 hours left to get your photo in for the babies photo contest! To see the contest details click here.
Good Luck!

Babies Contest!

It has been a while since I have had a contest on here, so lets give it a go! This contest starts right now, and will run for the next three weeks (ending February 22nd at 11:59pm EST). This contest will focus specifically on Babies, since my personal life has been revolving around babies in one way or another lately! To enter the contest email me a photo at fernmatias@gmail.com of anything having to do with Babies. All copyright licensing will remain the property of the person who took the photo (You), I just ask that you give me permission to display it here on my blog if you win. The rules of this contest are simple: YOU MUST take the photo yourself (no stealing other peoples work please!) and only one photo per person! The photo itself can be of absolutely anything having to do with Babies, so some generalization can be made but try to keep it at least relevant to the theme. Submitted photo size should be at least 1024x768 resolution please. Photoshop "adjustments" are allowed, but if you do so please try to explain what you did when you submit it. The winner will be decided by me at the end of the contest. The winner will get their photo showcased on this blog, with reference to them, and will also receive their shot printed on an 8x10! So get your photo in soon!

Need a little inspiration for the contest? Here are a few shots I took recently:

Sunset HDR Posted on WhyGo

One of my photos was posted on the WhyGo.com travel site as their photo of the day for yesterday (December 7th 2009).
You can still see the link to it here, where you can also view all their previous photos of the day.
You can see the original also on my website, Sunset HDR

Flower Photo Contest Winner!

Thanks to everyone that entered the Flower Photo Contest last month! There were some great shots of various different flowers, and flower related subjects. It was hard to pick a winner, but one shot just stood out above the rest. It was submitted by Jeffrey Meyer of Jeffrey Meyer Photography, and is entitled While You Were Asleep...


I decided on this shot as our winner because of the amazing lighting, depth of field, and composition. The only editing done on the photo by Jeffrey was a slight crop to remove a distracting element, the stem of another flower. The lighting was achieved by using a tiny flash light under and to the right of the flower. The exposure is perfect in my opinion, to give it a glowing, dreamy look. The focus on the pestle is nice and sharp and the depth of field drops off very nicely to make the pedals soft. Below is the exif info for the shot. Congrats Jeffrey, and enjoy your prize!

Exif Data
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure: 1/10
Focal Length: 200mm
Flash: Not-Fired
ISO: 800
Tripod, flash light, manual focus
Post processing included conversion from RAW, and cropped