Tinker Bell at the Japanese Garden

Yesterday we shot more portraits of my friend's kid. I used his Sony NEX-3 again with the Sony 50mm 1.8 this time at the Japanese Gardens in Hayward, CA. The lighting conditions were great but we had to compete with the many wedding entourages that decided to take pictures here as well. I can't blame them since it's a great spot for photos. 

Even though it can be very challenging shooting kids, I was able to get some good images. I'm a bit more familiar with the Sony NEX interface now that it doesn't slow me down much as I switch modes. One luxury that I missed is the touch to focus feature on my Panasonic GF2. I'm sure the newer NEX models have a touch to focus feature but is not available with the older NEX 3n. If I were to use the 3n again, I'd practice focusing manually. It seems it would be easy since the LCD is high rez. 

Anyway, here are more photos of the very animated talent. 

I like this photo most

even though her eyes were partly closed, I like the lighting here and her expression

the tripod kept her from moving 

got this shot as she was observing the fish

with dada

Bower 7.5mm Fish Eye for Micro Four Thirds

A more detailed review will come in the next days. I'm tired lol.

At the end of August, B & H was selling the Bower 7.5mm F3.5 Fish Eye lens for Micro Four Thirds for 199. Normally it would cost around the 250 range or the Rokinon/Samyang version (same lenses under different brand names) would cost 299. I jumped on it and finally received it today.

Pictured are a few shots from our BJJ tournament. I shot a ton of interviews that will be posted within the week.

Depending on the lighting situation I'll keep it wide open at F3.5 under low light conditions and in bright light try to keep it around F8 - F11. 

I really like how the look of the distortion and can't wait to shoot video with it as well. Me and the Bower Fish Eye will be getting along just nicely!

2013 Golden Gate @Crissy Field

shot with Panny GF2 w/ 20mm 1.7

Went to go crabbing in the city. The first spot closed early so we went to Crissy Field which doesn't close I think. 

There was a good amount of people. Many brought their portable chairs, a cooler filled with drinks and whatever else to make the cold weather more enjoyable. We on the other hand went bare bones with just our nets and flash lights. 

I was able to get some good shots of the Golden Gate bridge. We caught a few crabs then released them back into the water. The highlight of the night was when someone caught a leopard shark!

screen capture from the Sony SR-11

Addendum

We were back at it again this weekend. This time we were a bit more prepared. We had lights, chairs, and fishing poles to go along with our nets. 

We didn't catch anything spectacular but we caught a good amount of crabs. The nets yielded the best results with chicken and a bit of dried fish as bait. The fishing rods worked well also but a bit harder to get the technique down. 

I was able to get a few more shots in with my other lenses (the fisheye and my 35mm) to play around with different focal lengths. 

mixed lighting with the fisheye. I didn't bother to adjust the horizon even though it would make the image a bit better.

with the slr magic 35mm 1.4. There's an anamorphic adapter of some sorts for this lens that may appeal to me in the future for more cinematic looking video/stills. 

trying to get it the rod to work!