Dance Photography

 

I recently got the opportunity to take some shots for a dance event and was reminded my love for the arts and for dance. I love music and the different movements.  I enjoyed my time out there and loved getting the opportunity to shoot something new. 

While shooting the event, I started out with my 50mm prime lens and took a few shots, then I knew I wanted to get tighter on the shots. I only had my kit lens in the bag, but I went for it. Even with a kit lens, we can make some magic happen.

It is all about knowing the capabilities of your gear. There was enough light to get some solid shots of all the dancers. I brought up the ISO more in order to compensate for the smaller aperture on the kit lens, but it wasn't a huge deal. The grain wouldn't even be that bad for people to hate the picture.

In the end, it is about capturing the moment and freezing the action. If people were shooting out of manual mode, they would have had some issues with the black backgrounds. Their camera would have blown out a few shots or they likely would be blurred out of their mind.

We delivered some quality shots on the night. What we felt was a great shot, wasn't necessarily a great shot to the studio. The studio was looking for form in the dancers, while we were looking for composition, exposure and capturing the moment. I think we found a good group of photos that we all thought were great.

For anyone that usually shoots these type of events, do you shoot out wide and then just crop it in post? I like to get things cropped right in the camera, but all the movement led to some cut off body parts. Just wondering how you all would shoot for something like this?

First time using BorrowLenses.com... and I love it!

We used BorrowLenses.com for the first time over the weekend for an engagement photo shoot. It was nice to get some new glass during the shoot.  We already had a few prime lenses for the shoot, but we wanted to get a chance to use a zoom for the day as well.

We borrowed a Nikon 24-70 2.4 lens for 3 days and everything worked well and was clean. I wanted to see how the service would work before we had to get going on a wedding. It worked out well.

The lens arrived on time and was ready for use out of the box. I placed it on my camera and was ready to shoot. The return dropoff was easy. I just took it over to FedEx and they picked it up for me and gave me a receipt. AWESOME! Out of my hands and good to go.

I can't wait to pick up more lenses for the different events that will be coming down the pipe. I expect to use this service often until I can afford to buy some of those pricey lenses. It would also be an option to use for any new gear that comes out that I would want to test. I wonder if they have the new D810 available right now....

I love the service that BorrowLenses provides. They have a happy customer so far.

Engagement Session in La Jolla | Kaeli + Carlo

Fiona and I went out to run an engagement session in La Jolla. We started out the day at the Salk Institute, trying to sneak a couple of shots around the facility. It didn't really end up working out for us though as the security came up to us as soon as we were setting up the first shot.

It could have been an awesome shot, but we could not make it happen. If anyone is trying to get an engagement session out there, keep the camera hidden until you are ready to take that shot. You might have to get out of manual mode to sneak the shots out.

Instead, we went out to the glider ports to get some fabulous shots overlooking La Jolla.

Our couple was a blast to hang out with during the day. They had the best attitudes and made our day easy.

Fiona and I worked them through a few poses all the way around. We turned out with some gems because of how great the two worked in front of the cam. They seemed super comfortable and enjoyed their day.

We ended the day as the sun was setting down by Scripps at the pier. and that is where we got that photo at the top of this post.  We just let the two play around at the beach and just candidly kept catching moments.

These two were amazing and have a great future ahead of them.

Last Day of the Del Mar Fair

The races at Del Mar will be opening up today, but I was recently able to go over a couple of shots from the last night of the Del Mar Fair. The sun was going down and there was some perfect shots to capture with the silhouettes of the carousel and such.

The skies were absolutely perfect to show off the beauty of the fair. This was all shot before I got my new cam, but still was able to make the sky pop.

Rainbow Clouds in San Diego

Did anyone see the rainbow clouds out in San Diego over the weekend?! It was a sight I had never seen before and it was absolutely phenomenal to see them. I was out in La Jolla and had my camera on me as always and was able to catch these few shots of the sky. I looked up the info on them and I guess they are called iridescent clouds and they are not seen a lot and they are not photographed a lot either. In the world of cell phones in everyone's pocket, there were a few people that caught those clouds. I was able to catch them with the Nikon though.

Here are some of the shots from the day.

San Francisco - Mission District, Fine Arts Palace, Alcatraz

Last day in San Francisco and we started out with the MIssion District to see the artwork on the walls.     Love this candid shot of the biker here. He was smiling at my little hanging on my arm. 

After the Mission District, we went out to the Fine Arts Palace to see the beautiful architecture. I decided to have an impromptu photo session with the kids while I was there. It made for a nice background for their photos. 

A little photo session with these seagulls also.  

Then we headed off to the Embarcadero to get out to Alcatraz.

And here is Alcatraz.

Big Sur and the Golden Gate Bridge

Today's travels have taken us to Big Sur and we got a nice little tour of the lighthouse at Big Sur. The view from the top was incredible. Here are some of the sights from up top.  

The views from up top are pretty ridiculous... in a good way. The ride back to San Francisco had it's own beauties as well. 

We arrived just in time to get some shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was going down, but I was able to sneak in a couple of shots. Didn't have a tripod to take photos, but that is what walls are for. 

Got back into the city and snapped one more shot before the end of the night. 

Day 3 of San Francisco - A Naked Dude Walking in the Streets

San Francisco had some interesting sights today. We started out the day in China Town:

 Walked over to Union Square for a bit, then returned back to China Town.

 

China

and then we ended up at North Beach:

Did a hike up to the Coit Tower... Not sure why I even brought a car on the day, but at least I didn't have to go on the ghetto Bart station.

 

Back to China Town to get back in the car.

Jason watering the grass

To the Embarcadero to fly kites:

A ride down Lombard Street:

and then the weird happened. We went to the Castro district and found this:

But this park was legit:

Day 2 in San Francisco: Ghiradelli Square, Embarcadero, Golden Gate

Day 2 in San Francisco and we are having a good time running around the city. We got up early in the morning and went out to Ghirdelli Square. The kids love everything about that.

These segway tours make me laugh every time I see them around.    After the square, we head over to the Hyde PIer to take a stroll

Does that say Eat Crap?

Then I couldn't help but grab some cadid shots of people

These birds give no cares about anything. This guy making a living with his guitar

This clown is just a little creep status

We made it to the Embarcadero   Finished up back a t Ghiradelli for some ice cream

   I think this dude was talking to his ice cream

  A little bboy sesh before we dip

 Then we get to Lambard Street

More bboy sesh

Spiderman

Golden Gate Park

Time for the bridge

San Francisco Day 1 - Found a dead whale

San Francisco time with the fam and the little bros. We woke up early in the morn to get out to San Fran and hit up Half Moon Bay for some breakfast and ended up seeing a dead whale to start out our trip. WHAT?!? Yup.... big dead fish floating around in the waters. 

Then we took a little trip out to Mavericks to see what the surf was looking like. Pretty flat on the day, but there was plenty of opportunities for some photos with the fam.

Then we got to San Fran and were tired as heck and tried  to check out Twin Peaks. What a fail of a foggy day that was. Will have to get that in on another day. Stopped at Haight and Ashbury instead and got some shots in there.

Time to get to the hotel and take a bit of nap! Will be heading out on that adventure in a bit.

Happy Birthday Georgia Grace

Birthday parties for the little ones are the best. Georgia Grace had her birthday and enjoyed the day with close friends and a cupcake all over the place. Here are some photos from the day at the park:  

Had to Skype in some of the family for them to enjoy the day with the rest of the friends.

The kid is such a blessing to all the people around her.

Wild Fires Bring Orange Sunsets

With the wild fires burning, there were going to be some really orange skies for the night. So we ran to Carlsbad to catch a few shots.

Cocos Fire - Did Some Exploring in San Marcos

Did a little bit of exploring just down the street. The fire literally was 3 minutes away from the house. Once I knew that the pad was safe, went on the road to explore the area. Here is what we got.

Just up on the hill, we can see the fire coming down:   Here is the exit at my house. The smoke going nuts and people standing over the freeway to see what is happening.  

Did a little bit of exploring and noticed this family fighting off the fire to save their house and property. 

A few more shots from fire season in San Diego

These fires are nuts. Had to evacuate work and the house, but was able to get some shots of the day with the epic sunset and the line waiting for food at In-N-Out.

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Driving home. you could see the skies starting to fill up with some smoke.

Just was sitting in traffic and had to take shots out of the window and got this shot of the bus carrying kids out of school.

The skies were full of smoke and it turned the world orange.

Just waiting in line at the drive thru at In-N-Out while the fires were going and noticed the sky.

Look at all these peeps that are trying to get their grub on.

Look at that sky.

Just trying to get that double double.

Fire Season in San Diego

It is fire season in San Diego. Fires are bursting out all over the place and one broke loose right by the office. Didn't have my cam, but I still had my phone to capture the madness.

La Jolla Shores on Mother's Day

Went out to La Jolla Shores during Mother's Day to enjoy the sun and water with the fam and caught a few candid shots of people around the beach. Was able to use the 200 mm around and catch people enjoying their time.

Been too long

Been too log since I was able to get out and shoot.... Only a couple of days... So I ran out the house late to steal a few shots before it got too dark

Moonlight Beach

La Jolla Shores Over the Weekend

Random shots out of the car on the way to LAX