Bond - Beginning of the end?

The utmost commitment,
to stay as one till the lights go out.

How heavy are those rings?

Interior Architecture Photography

This is one aspect of photography where tripod is really important. And i really lack a quality one. (in fact my present one is so jialat i have fridge magnets stuffed into the legs to prevent it from slipping) Anyway, just saw some pros' works and they seemed to utilize subtle HDR for more pleasant highlights rendering, so here's my take on a landmark site at the upcoming terminal 3.

3rd try, no major improvements

Taking a break off the post processing of photos from my 3rd wedding assignment, held at Fullerton. I was better prepared than before, in terms of equipment as well as exposure. However, as i looked through the files i brought back, it struck me how little i improved. Perhaps I was not properly briefed on what's going on, perhaps because there were pros around and i did not want to get in the way, perhaps the lighting condition was so bad my cheapo equipment could not cope, perhaps.... the usual 101 excuses. Now for the debrief...

Biggest changes since the previous assignments:

1. Better flash control. This is no doubt due to the more powerful (and expensive) SB800 being deployed, able to light up the whole room. Also because of more experience with flash during my SYD assignments, I was able to make the flash look more subtle.
2. More ambient shots. Fullerton hotel was so grand, the interior so well decorated that I couldn't stop myself snapping away at little details and textures. These pics work well for "fillers", but are not the money shots.
3. Natural light. I'm lucky to have a borrowed D50 body with me. Its iso1600 produces much richer and cleaner pictures than my D70 noise machine. I realised that I never went below iso800 for the whole of the assignment! However, this is still not enough to capture natural light shots during dinner reception. A check with the pro showed that he is shooting ISO 3200 (on a canon 40d), at F2!!! That is a wopping 2-4 stops of light ahead of me. Pro tio si pro... got money to buy fast lens and good bodies. Perhaps one day when i get a d3...
4. More closeups. Yes, the bazooka is out again. It got me lots of smiles and expression shots that i could never achieve before. However, even the bazooka is not fast enough for the damn dinner room.

I learnt a big lesson: No matter how up ur skills can be, equipment matters! I also lack the experience, unable to anticipate moments of rich expression. The pro (ckuang from 39east) was ALWAYS there when people were smiling, laughing and shaking hands. Call him a psychic. Patience... Now i have to quickly finish my processing, and prepare myself for the 2nd wedding reception shoot in Penang, by the same couple. I'm feel honoured to be flown overseas just to shoot, and it'd better be good.

A photo worth bashing for?

Deep in the fields off edge-field plains, there lies a large lalang cluster...

Together with a friend, we spent 30 mins bashing through the thick foliage only to find that most of the lalangs were unripe. Just as I felt pretty contented with a couple of closeups (shame...), I turned my head and spotted this grand rainbow. Phew... I knew this picture will save the day!

Tips for anyone else willing to venture to this spot: Wear long pants/jeans. If u are NSman (yes i am!) or NSF (hang in there!), go ahead and wear your combat boots. Thank god I did, else you'll have a nice chocolate shoe for dinner.

Wordless Wednesday