After Peytyn's 1st birthday party, the family wanted to do a quick family portrait here in Kailua Kona. Claire had invited me along and since I actually had some free time, I joined her.
I really need to remind myself find a new place to host my blog, the image compression from desizing makes my images look so pixelated, unsaturated, and not so sharp yuck.
Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4
Kanai, and Koa had both their wedding and ceremony at Mauna Lani's Canoe House, and Terrace. Claire and I are off to waikaloa. It's always fun to see how happy the bride and groom get when they realize what they've accomplished. Here are a few images of their day.
Adam & Leah, got married not too far from where my wife and I had our special day. That morning it was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky! It's good to see that even though the economy is bad, people learn to appreciate the little things that really matter, a simple wedding that will provide for a life time of memories!
Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4, AFS 18-200 VR, AFS 70-200 f2.8 VRII (first time using this new lens, it's sharp, and heavy! would probably balance nicely with a D700 or D3x but I wouldn't know) My SB600's have always been more then sufficient enough for the work that I do, and I have been surprised with what I have been able to get away with using them. This was the first time where I was using my strobes @ full power for every shot (off camera) Some shots, I think I barley had enough power to overcome ambient, they were pushed to the limit. At least now I know the limits of the SB600, I may need to upgrade... anyone selling a pair of SB800's?
Keala, has a big 1st birthday party coming up, and I was asked to take some photo's that could be used on the invitation. We headed down to the nearest park, and let him do his thing!
Lenses used: Nikon AFS 50mm f1.4
I had contacted Debbie & Andy asking them if they had wanted to do a "free" sunset portrait session. The reason being, I really wanted to do something more for them since the weather and location wasn't able to do them justice during their recently past event (if that makes any sense) you could say I felt bad and it was eating away at me. Honestly I love doing the strobist thing every chance I get, so it's down to a secluded spot in Kona for another sunset shoot!
Strobist info noted. Lenses used: Nikon AFS 24-70 f2.8, & AFS 50mm f1.4, processed with Nikon Capture NX2 & Photoshop CS3
We had booked a small family affair at the "Keahou Hideaway" this was the first time I had been to this location, and proved to be the most difficult weddings I've had to shoot. We started off at 4:00pm with a wedding ceremony at 5:00, followed by the sunset which was scheduled to set at about 5:30. Combined with all sorts of mixed lighting, half-lit interiors and exteriors, busy backgrounds and a lack of time, I was a little worried how things would turn out. I think the most difficult thing I had to deal with was the confined space of the wedding ceremony itself. It was hard trying to frame shots with such busy backgrounds. Following the ceremony the bride and groom elected to do the group shots, I had set up my strobes for some sunset family shots only to find a huge kukui nut tree blocking the entire sunset (and a slightly overcast sunset it was) There were a lot of complications, that I found difficult but more so dissapointing. As a photographer you always wish for good lighting... I've learned to deal with bad lighting situations, and expect bad lighting rather then good and have learned to over come this. But this was the first time I had to deal with backgrounds I felt were less than ideal, and my DSLR didn't have the "terrible background compensation button" to bail me out. I know that the Bride and Groom were okay with it, but it was bugging me and it still is. We ended up staying an hour longer then contracted, and I had also offered to do a free sunset portrait of the bride and groom at a later date. Through no fault of mine, I just felt bad things were less than idea (in my honest opinion) Would it have been better if I had known before hand what this location had in store for me? Probably not, what could I have done if I had known... give them the cold shoulder? Even though it seems like I was worried (which I was) I think things turned out pretty good, and I think they'll be happy!
Strobist: I used a SB600 shooting through a umbrella camera left, and/or a bare sb600 camera right bouncing off of a high reflector for some of the group shots. which I havent posted which makes it pointless for me to even be talking about it. Lenses used, Nikon 24-70 f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.4. Processed with Capture NX2 & Photoshop CS3
I was thrilled when Angie and Chad had contacted me to shoot their wedding here in Kona. They were both very outgoing and easy to work with, we had fun photographing their event, and they had lucked out considering it was raining all week up untill the day of their wedding. Thanks for the corona's guys
Michael & Diane had invited me to photograph their small intimate affair down at Kikaua beach. No major expectations, just something simple and private, it was nice to see the couple so happy on this day reminds me of my own wedding which wasn't so long ago.
Shooting info: This was my first wedding I shot during the morning, and it was certainly a little different then what I was used to. Considering at the time I didn't have my 2.8's at my disposal although I was shooting from the shade it worked out good . Various shots were taken with a bare SB600 on a 8' light stand. 1st shot in sequence was shot a through umbrella 1/200 @ f10 ISO 400 flash @ 1/2, controlled with nikon SU80. Lenses used 18-200vr, 70-300vr, 10-24. Processed with NX2, some additional work through CS3. 
An afternoon in Kona with a blue sky and without sun blown out highlights... rare during this time of year. Every photoblog posting, I'm always in a battle against the harsh late afternoon lighting during this time of year in Hawaii. With a blue sky, clouds softening up some of the ambient light, out come the strobes for a portrait shoot during this small window of good lighting. The fist shot in this sequence is actually one of the last taken during the shoot, and you can see that the blue sky was only there for a few minutes before it had gotten overcast. Hawaii weather is so unpredictable.
Shooting Info: All images were shot using a single SB600 shot through an umbrella close to the subject and to the left of the each shot. Lenses used: Nikon 18-200mm VR f3.5-5.6. Processed with Adobe Photoshop CS3. The beauty about shooting strobist, is that you dont really need to use expensive lenses to get good shots, as if you were just shooting in a ambient light only situation. Fast glass doesn't really mean anything if your limited by your body's max flash sync speed. Heck you dont even need to have the latest and greatest body! simply being able to balance the light makes all the difference.
1/200, f9, ISO 100, SB600 camera left @ 1/2 light modifier - diffuser© Free Blogger Templates 'Photoblog II' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
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