Ho HO Time...

Happy holidays....
Well Santa came early and guess what he brought!!!!! no not a lump of coal that's for my stocking.
It was my wonderful wife, she got me a new 5D Mark II (Canon silly) for Christmas.
I must say that it was like pulling teeth without anything for pain.
My wife was great, she said here and handed me a credit card and said "body only" Gee bummer lol.
So off I go, not too excited because everywhere you look they say "now in stock" until you start to process your order and then they say "shipping soon" what the hecky. So, finally I found the right place who said they have it and now shipping for real hahahahahah yeah right. To make a long story short yes I did get a great price and yes I got screwed royally, but it will only hurt for a little while right,right???
This will be a good Chritmas. Pleasure and pain.
Enjoy,

Time Flies

Hola,

Well, much like some of our fellow photographer's lately, I have also been traveling and well, I wasn't going to brag too much but I could not help but share a couple of my images from my very busy last couple of weeks.
Let me just take a second here to say how amazing my trip to Puerto Rico was, I had a blast doing little to nothing well except for exploring and capturing lots of life long memories.
I went to the El Morro again, how can you not and toured the island with an amazing dear friend I can now say, thank you Ernest for taking us to wonderful spots that most tourist never get to see.





As I said time flies, so once I got home I was off to a photoshoot and again, I had an amazing time.









Let's not forget my photoshop training coming up. I am very excited but I must say, with over 3,000 images to edit I will have lots of late nights.
With that said,
Enjoy,

Nikon Huh

Ok it's true I just borrowed this content from another blogger.
I am sure he would not mind, but then again who cares.... My point here is that there are 24, that's right 24 fixes to Nikon's new camera.

My question is was it really worth it???

Does Nikon really fear that they had to get crap material on the market before the competition that bad....

Guess so.

Enjoy

…and a couple of bug fixes, too! Here’s a list (from Nikon’s support site) of what’s included in this free downloadable update, which was released on Friday:

1. The Highlights playback option has been moved from Display Mode > Basic photo info > Highlights in tthe playback menu to Display mode > Detailed photo info > Highlights.
2. The size and color of “Demo” displayed in the monitor with playback when No memory card? in the Custom Settings has been set to Enable Release have been modified.
3. The range of settings available for ISO sensitivity settings > ISO sensitivity auto control > Minimum shutter speed in the shooting menu has been increased from 1/250 - 1s to 1/4000 - 1s.
4. When shooting in hand-held live view mode and the frame is magnified prior to autofocusing, operation has been modified so that display returns to the magnified display rather then the full frame display.
5. Images captured with Rotate tall, in the playback menu, set to On, are not automatically rotated for display immediately after capture (image review).
6. A Copyright information has been added to the setup menu. When Copyright information is enabled, the copyright symbol ( © ) is shown on the LCD display, Shooting info menu.
7. Recent settings can now be displayed in the place of My Menu.
8. Custom Setting e3 Flash cntrl for built in flash ( e3 Optional flash when an optional Speedlight is mounted on the camera) can now be added to My Menu using the Add items > Custom setting menu > Bracketing/ flash.
9. The degree of the High ISO NR setting can now be confirmed in the shooting info display while the High ISO NR setting item, in the shooting menu, is being applied.
10. Ankara, Riyadh, Kuwait, and Manama have been added to the Time zone options for the World time item in the setup menu.
11. When a GPS device is used and no heading information is available, –.–° is now displayed for the Position / Heading option in the GPS item in the setup menu.
12. When shooting in live view mode using Camera Control Pro 2 (ver. 2.2.0 or later) with a PC-E lens, the aperture setting can now be adjusted from the computer.
13. Focus acquisition performance in dynamic-area AF mode has been improved.
14. Focus acquisition performance with contrast-detect AF has been improved.
15. Auto white balance performance has been improved.
16. The fourth digit in seconds display for GPS latitude and longitude information is now rounded off rather than omitted.
17. The current MB-D10 battery type setting can now be confirmed in the shooting menu display when R6/AA- size batteries are used with the Multi-Power Battery pack MB-D10.
18. An issue that caused an increase in noise when shooting in [M] exposure mode at a shutter speed setting of bulb with the shutter held open for less than 8 seconds and Long exp. NR enabled has been resolved.
19. An issue that prevented shutter release at the specified shutter speed when no operations were performed for 30 seconds in mirror up mode has been resolved.
20. An issue that caused abnormal image display when Image review was set to On and the playback zoom in button was pressed immediately after shooting at the following settings has been resolved.
21. Image quality: NEF (RAW) + JPEG
22. NEF (RAW) recording: Lossless compressed or Compressed
23. Image size: S or M
24. When the Speedlight SB-800 was mounted on the camera with flash mode set to distance-priority manual (GN) mode, and the camera recovered from standby mode triggered by the auto meter off function, the distance information in the SB-800 changed. This issue has been resolved.

Bald Eagle

Canon
70-200mm lens
180mm f/3.5 1/250


Recently, I had an urge to revisit some previous wonderful experiences that I encountered many years ago.

On a trip to Alaska back in the late 90's I had encountered one of the most breath taking experiences of my life.

From all of the beautiful green trees and landscapes to pure white snow covered peeks and valleys, there was something I was totally amazed by, it was a bald eagle soaring in the wild, now I know typically you would hope to see this while in that region, but until you are right there just taking in the wonderful natural surroundings and then it happens, this feeling is amazing and for me it only got better once I knew what to look for and where.

There was whale watching and moose running free but nothing compares to seeing this enormous bird soaring in the wild. The bright white head and enormous wingspan it is truly amazing.

So, needles to say I have snapshots but do you remember the days before digital???
Yeah that's right there was this little thing called film... You know those rolls of negatives that you may have lost or never took in to have printed on 4x6 paper! Do you know what I'm talking about.

Recently I took a trip to a zoo and I was able to have a little photo shoot with several of the animals, but my favorite were the snaps I got of the birds and monkeys, mostly because of the glass(Lens) I was using.

I had to shoot through plexiglass and net mesh in order to expose these wonderful creatures.
I had a lot of fun.

Well I hope you enjoy my Eagle and please click on Absolute Elegance Viewing in order to see or purchase some of my finest work.

Enjoy,

Carl Zeiss SLR Lenses for Canon

Hallelujah,



It's coming to town.... Recently announced are two new Canon mount lenses.

BUT,
These new lenses are the NEW ZE Carl Zeiss SLR lenses for Canon. So this for me is Absolutely awesome, because Carl Zeiss if you have never heard of was the leader in optics for years if not still.

Carl Zeiss glass is used for cameras, microscopes, binoculars and almost anything for magnification.

Unfortunately, not many know or maybe you do know and don't care about the magnitutde of how awesome this is.
Sorry, but do you know how long I have been waiting for this.

On the flip side who knows how well the engineering of the actual housing will be. I am sure awesome if Canon is picking it up.
Compare the Canon and the Zeiss here.

For specifics on the new 50 and 85 MM follow this link to check it out. This is going to be an expensive Holliday season for me.

By the way, ummmm Nikon??????

Enjoy,

Excuse me!!!!

What's wrong with this picture????



This Canon 10-22 Lens on my Canon 40D is so wide we picked up traffic. literally. I think this bee thought he was on a windshield. Nonetheless, lots of fun...

Enjoy,

CS4

Adobe Photoshop CS4

Alrighty,

Here it comes, in fact I have already reserved mine.

The question is.... Do you really need it???
Um, probably not. But I love soooo many of the new features, that I did not want to miss out.

I recently upgraded to Lightroom 2.0/1 and I thought, do I really need CS4. After still enjoying all of the new features in LR, I believe that this will really enhance my workflow even more, and as I said, I reserved my copy and can't wait to get it.

Hear is a before and after of what I did in lightroom.
Cool huh.

Enjoy,

Identity

Vs


Howdy Folks,

Alright sorry about that but it seems to be a trend lately and someone I have dogged here in the past started it. If you notice Kloskowski's and Kelby's blog you will notice that they have picked that up from That goofy salesman that I have dogged here in the past, we will withhold that name.
But it all relates to my post here today so brace yourself folks it's gonna be a long one and it's been so long since my previous posting so here we go.

Lot's of juicy content.....
I have noticed that some of the other blogs I read are slowing down on there posts and amount of content which is not a bad thing but it make s me wonder if there gearing up especially considering all that's going on. We just got done with the PSW Vegas which I am sad to have missed. Based on some of the postings it seems as though the West coast had some big dogs out there showing there goodies at the Tech Expo, wish I was there. Fashion week in New York finished up and Photokina is coming here soon. Let's not forget the release of CS4 and all of the cool iphone apps and updates.

So Kids here we go.
I just got done reading a blog that I read pretty religiously, the person is local and a big dog in the Adobe /PS World. I'm talking about non other than the One and Only Terry White. That's right folks there I said it and for only $9,000,000,000,000.... you can read it to just send money here and I'll give you the link. Oh shit I did it again sorry...

All joking aside the joke begins now, Mr. White actually began today with a disclaimer. I laughed my ass off but I guess when you are a big dog you have to kinda deflect crackheads and the best way to do that is with a disclaimer. Which leads me to"Identity" I will tell you right now I have no Identity issues when it comes to what tools I use to shoot with.

I am Canon. ever heard Gene Simmons say"I am Indy" he knows who is paying his bills. Well to each there own. I will tell you exactly why "I am Canon".

Have you ever seen a Nikon printer? Have you ever watched a Football game and seen all of those Canon's? Have you picked up this months issue of Photoshop user well if you didn't the first add in there is Canon.

When I started looking to invest in Canon, I asked the female salesperson what she liked and why, and she told me that the Nikon wasn't as big a Canon it was too much for her to handle and from then on I knew Nikon was a girls camera.
Then I researched the glass(lenses) and found it Nikon glass did not hold the same quality as Canon glass and the choice was a no brainer from there.

So what assures me that I made the correct choice!!
Every little "Nikonian" in the world wants to be the first with the latest and the greatest.

Which reminds me of the the joke about the baby bull and the Daddy bull on the top of the hill looking down on all of the cows feeding in the pasture, ever heard this one?
The baby bull says to the daddy bull lets run down the hill and screw one of those cows and the daddy tells the baby bull, No, lets walk down and screw them all. Do you get the picture.

I guess not if your a Nikon fan(sorry couldn't help it.) With that said I just read another comment about someone comparing Nikon's new D???? whatever the hell it is.... Doesn't count to me.

As I was saying Do you honestly think that Nikon did not know Canon was going to release video in the new 5D!
Of course they did that's why they had to hurry up and release theirs first. Do you honestly think that Canon gives a shit about Nikon????

Okay enough already, being a fan and kicking you when your down is cheesy and most people do not know the difference, I believe that is why Mr. White had to put up a disclaimer hats off Terry.
I guess it all goes back to Identity.

Now I know who I like and it reminds me of Ohio State, and I know that they will never be as good or better than Michigan!!! Never ever ever ever..... They will always try and copy they will never have the same respect ever....

Kinda like Rolex vs Citizen. Do I buy a watch cause I can, or do invest in a time piece that I will Love.

Bottom line here is that Nikon caters to the enthusiast amateur and Canon is for the big boy professionals. If you want a camera buy a Nikon cause tomorrow they will have another one.

But if you want to be a Photographer buy a Canon...

Well folks that will do it for me today, gotta run I gotta go do some Scheisting.. Just Kidding..

Enjoy,
Big C,

Memory Cards

Hey Kids,

I know I have been slacking, but what can I say it's summer.

Just a quickie here for you. We all know how original I am so here we go follow this link Rick Mead.
Check out what he has to say about memory cards.

I only use Sandisk. I find that works for me but hey if you know or have something bigger or better send it my way.

I personnally believe the bigger the better and I am anti-crash.

I have read and read and researched cards, re-selling cards you name it.

Unless you have an issue pretty much after you use it once or twice you should be alright, unless your cheap and as I said before me and cheap do not mix, if it does for you bargain shopper great but uh, yeah.

Don't get me wrong I will look for the right time to buy but pro- keds just aren't my style.

I haven't had one crash yet thank God but Sandisk does send backup software just in case you ever have an issue.

Have a good one and check it out.

S

Enjoy!

Slap My A@#

Ok I Did it!!!

I did my first model photo shoot  woo hoo, and well 

Lets just say I learned what not to do.

Lets jump right in.

First of all know the lighting. 

1. Lighting

Never let another person set up the lighting for you. I don't care if its the cheapest in yesterdays experience to the latest and greatest like my lighting.

2. Lenses.

Know your lenses and never ever ever let anyone tell you (even though thats how they do it) which lens to or not to use.

Jackas#es. Use what works best for what your shooting.

3. Take your time. 

Shooting tethered and live view were made for a reason.

4. Let the model work for themself.

Something made you want to work with them for some reason right. Make your plan and let her/him/them work.

Lastly, never shoot with dumbas#es just to Shoot, unless you are on the same wavelenth.

But don't worry I still made it work for me.

Lets leave it at that for now and I will post some pics next post.

Thanks for stopping by. 

S 

Tech Review

Hey Gotta say most my time is spent reading other blogs and good tech reviews.
A couple cool reviews that have caught my eye lately are the ones over on Terry Whites blog . I have to admit that I am a tech junkie and thats what got me into this mess. So go check it out.

Also, hats off to Zack Arias and his girlfriend. I wish them both best wishes with their recent successes. Check em out.

Enjoy,
S

Absolute Elegance

Lenses

Ok I'm back and Well I previously mentioned that I would discuss lenses

and I also mentioned that I would promise to keep my posts shorter so here we go.

If you haven't picked up the latest copy of Macworld magazine I highly recommend it.

Today's post is influenced by the article on p.86 on "How to Buy a Lens".

It pretty much says that you can buy a cheap ass camera but if you have the right Lens the amount of light your sensor catches through the Lens makes all of the difference or something like that.

If you get a chance head over to "Glass" this link it pretty much sums up what the differences in prime and fast lenses are and what to look for before you make that big purchase.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

Keep on Keeping on.

S.

Old school

Ok Ok I get it.
I ragged on a photographer in my previous post which made me think about why I ragged on him.

Let's get right to it. One reason is because some of the techniques he demostrated in the pre-conference class were very basic. What he did was tried to pass off techniques that what he perceived some great God taught him, and passed it off as his own. Essentially he was "selling" abc,s of photography. Which you should already know the first time you took photography a little more serious. Or when you bought that big camera.

Ok so that made me think about the photographer that I worked with and I thought wow this guy knows what he's talking about. He has been in business as long as I have known say 15 or more years which in my area is pretty amazing since everything else besides olan mills has come and gone. He shot my wedding.

Then I realized this guy is the same guy as the photoshop flake and at that point I realized these guys are both old school shisters.
www.urbandictionary.com
1. Shister
One who speaks bullsh#t fluently in order to fool people out of money or other possesions, often associated with used-car salesmen or photography.
That shister just talked me into paying for his ticket.

What these guys have learned and are teaching is that customers have no clue or care about quality. Customers want someone they know who is well known, or who is cheap.

Peeple dont value quality work or long term commitments.
I find this sad as hell because one of the things that drives me is crazy is that 10 years later I am still looking at my wedding photos and saying wow, I wish we didnt go with the cheap guy who didn't know how to focus his camera.

A great photographer told me that there are four occasions where quality is a essential,
1.Life
2.Baptism (insert religion or term/practice of choice)
3.Wedding day
4.Death. I know it sounds morbid but think about it.

Now if you take that into consideration think about all of the other occasions why quality is essential.
I can think of one or two at this very point in time.
How is your child's senior photo?
Graduation, only happens once hopefully twice. Those are glorious occasions that you should document forever.

I know I still have my moments in time documented and most of the photos are still in good quality.(besides my wedding) but I'm still married. For better or for worse until death do we part.

I'm not saying you need to rush out and get a a pro either, but it helps, and not just someone just trying to make a buck. It should never be "just alright" or tucked away. If you got it flaunt it.

Point here is to think about what you want, not who you want, the who will follow the what if you look in the right place.

Don't be cheap ask momma she will tell you "Yeah I still have your ___ picture". Or look at me there or now.
Followed by Wow

Thanks for taking the time.
enjoy.

Talk S#%t Tuesday

Say what you will and I promised myself that I would not do this BUT, that was then.
I believe in a lot of photographers, but what I can not stand is a photographer who is not open to change.
Isn't photography all about seeing things from different perspectives.
Also, I promise to keep things more brief in future posts.
Ok the culprit.
As I mentioned I recently went to Photoshop World and it was awesome. While I was there I signed up for a pre- conference session with a "So called" "Wedding Photographer "
I aspire to shoot weddings and I will. I shot one and had a blast.
Again I digress, so the reason why I say he is a
"So Called Wedding Photographer"
is because he is getting rave reviews for his work which mind you is I have to admit may be good BUT not great and if you are a photographer and look at his work you can tell me what is "not great" about it. Hmmm maybe I should start a contest, anyway who cares right? This guy is charging crazy money for s$$t work.
He uses cheap lenses which in my opinion is the biggest NO NO EVER.
That will be a later blog entry.
Ok so one of the reasons why I am not a big fan and why I am talking s#%t is based on his Raw perspective. This "So Called Wedding Photographer" charges piss crazy money for jpegs yes you heard me right. I believe in modest pay for a modest day. If you aren't familiar with the Raw file format a Raw file contains more information and is what we really aim for, If I was paying for service I don't have any interest in paying for assistants if the photographer cant get it right in the camera.Oh yeah look at his portrait work do ya see any catchlights in his wotk maybe he should use the right lens at the correct focal length.I want the most for my money. I know it is more work but with the right software it is exactly how it's suppose to be.
In short jpeg is quick and easy and Raw is work, isn't that what you pay for at crazy prices. "Work for me I think not" I love photography and welcome the work.

I'm not a "Hater" just the facts. ( sorry had to go there).

I would hate to think the American way is to charge outrageous prices for the least amount of work and be glorified as a great photographer. Maybe good businesman or crook but not photographer.

Thats it for today thanks for taking the time and don't forget to ask yourself

What have I shot today??

Orlando, Florida

Happy Place. 

Well one of them. 

Hi I'm Shawn and I'm a photographer.  

Absolute Elegance Photography.

All of my blogs will pretty much be photography related.

So let's get started. 

I recently took a trip to Orlando Florida which of course anywhere in Florida is what I consider my happy places.

Just a little history about me . 

I'm  originally from Michigan (Go Blue) and I moved to Hallandale Beach Florida, Best time of my life. Unfortunately, it was only for 6 months. 

In six months I was able to experience more in that period of time than all my life in Michigan. 

Nonetheless, as I said I recently went to Orlando, for a Photoshop convention and it was awesome.  However, when I lived in Florida I avoided this tourist trap (Orlando) like the plague. What did I know.  

While in Orlando, my wife decided she wanted to go to a Pirate show dinner and needless to say I wasn't to excited, but I did not rule it out, so we went and we paid extra for the vip tickets which I highy recommend for your first time. 

But as I said I am a photographer and I shoot with a Canon. Canon Love ya baby call me.

I digress as you enter the pirate show complex one of the first things they do is take a photo of you, well this is all good but what threw me off is that they use Nikon Cameras.

How in the hell could that be possible shooting someone with a Nikon over a Canon at a pirate show???

Don't get me wrong I could love Nikon (sorry Canon I'll make it up) but that's another entry. 

That's it for today trust me it will get better and I highly recommend the Pirate dinner experience.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy.