DSLR

Sony NEX-VG900 Camera Review

Happy New Year everyone!

Recently I helped out a friend of mine Caleb Pike out on his podcast shoot for the new Sony VG900. It was a lot of fun! We went around the city shooting everything from crowds of people walking on State Street to the beautiful city architecture. Attached below is the video review. Check it out! It was a joy working with Caleb, he's very knowledgable. If you haven't already please check out his website, www.dslrvideoshooter.com for more reviews and such on anything DSLR related. As far as the camera goes I was pretty impressed with what Sony has brought to the table with this new camera. Albeit, it's a little on the pricey side, just like most Sony products in my opinion. It has a lot of great features though that our DSLR's don't have. Features such as low shutter speeds, clean HDMI out, and a handy nice top handle for hand-held shooting to name a few. It's has a very camcorder-like feel to it, different from DSLR's which is a bit foreign as I've been almost exclusively been working with DSLR's for quite some time now. Still it was nice to see there are other great products out there! Enjoy the video.

Strange Clouds

This morning I had a difficult time waking up because it was so dark outside. I checked my Facebook feed when I woke up as I usually do and I saw a bunch of my friends posting pictures of the sky. I decided to get up on my roof and see what it was all about. We've been having very hot weather here in Chicago. Yesterday it was supposed to be 98 degrees and it ended up being around 108 degrees.. I stayed inside all day knowing this. Here are a few of the images I took this morning before it started to pour.​

Chicago at Night

I often like to go out shooting on my own. I feel as if it clears my head and it's very relaxing. Sometimes I will bike down the Lake Shore path and bring my camera along with. I most often will find interesting things to shoot. Just last week I had a very interesting experience when riding. Here are a few of the pictures I took on that ride. 

Michigan Gallery

I went up to my lake house the other weekend and brought my camera along with me. Michigan is such a beautiful state! I love shooting images of nature and the outdoors. Here are a few of the images I took on the trip including one HDR image. Enjoy! 

A Pentwater Sunset

Me and my family have been venturing up to Pentwater, Michigan for sometime now. My family has built a lake house right on Lake Michigan. For years we have cherished it dearly. We go up every summer and it's like our own little getaway house. A mere 4 hour drive from Chicago and we're there soaking up the sun on the beautiful beach. One of the most memorable things about going up there is the sunset every night. It's a breathtaking experience seeing the sun set over Lake Michigan. This time I just happened to capture the moment just when the sun was setting. 

Gotham City

It's known by many that in the world of Batman, Gotham City is modeled after Chicago, Illinois. It was awesome to see Christopher Nolan's first 2 Batman films be shot in my lovely city. Unfortunately, the 3rd, The Dark Knight Rises was shot in Pittsburgh. I don't exactly know why. Chicagoans were a little disappointed by this. Nonetheless here is an image I took that  has the same dark tones as Nolan's Batman series. Enjoy.

Macro Photography

Macro photography is getting up close and personal. It allows for seeing minute details. I don't actually own a macro lens, but I have used them in the past. They are very fun to play around with. Everyday subjects such as a lamp shade can turn into photo masterpieces. When using macro lenses the focus can be fine tuned to the exact spot where you'd like it. Here is a shot I took of an Xbox 360 controller. I thought this was pretty cool.  

HDR is Fun

I just recently got into HDR photography after years of not really understanding what it was exactly. After I had gotten my DSLR I would bring it around with me and take pictures of nature, landscapes, architecture and other things that piqued my interest. I never used to be too big on editing images other than just slight color or light issues. HDR really changed my outlook on photography. For those who don't know, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It's where you take multiple images at different exposures using bracketing. After you've taken your pictures you can use a certain software such as HDR Efex Pro(What I use) which can be plugged directly into Photoshop and this is where you will combine the images you've taken. After this process is complete you can adjust the image to make it look the way you'd like it or add effects. It gives images a higher dynamic range of luminosities. Therefore, you can see the dark points, at exposure points, and over exposed vividly.  Below are some HDR images I have taken in the past.