Trip to Arizona Part II – The Grand Canyon

Posted on August 31, 2015 by owencherry

Well, I crossed off another item on the bucket list in April with my visit to the Grand Canyon. I woke up at 5AM at the hotel in Flagstaff and hit the road before the sun rose so that I’d get to the canyon in the early morning light. I probably don’t need to say a lot about the place. It was epic and vast. I was there early enough that I was totally alone in some spots, without a person in site. That all changed a few hours later when it was teeming.

I walked down the Kaibob trail about 1200 feet and experienced a 15-20 degree (Celsius) temperature change compared to the top. The hike down was easy. The hike up was strenuous and parching.

I stayed past dark and parked myself at Lipan Point for the sunset and night sky shots. Unfortunately I ran the batteries out in the D700 but the X100s was up to the task! The night sky shot here is a panorama of X100s shots. Here are my 22 favourites spanning 7AM to 10PM. D700 and X100s, AF-S 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G and Sigma 35mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8G.

7 shot panorama with X100s

Trip to Arizona Part I – Everything but The Grand Canyon

Posted on August 31, 2015 by owencherry

In April one of my best friends, Mike, married Laura in Scottsdale, Arizona and I was lucky enough to get to fly down and shoot the wedding. After the wedding I hung around Arizona for another few days and headed north into the desert in a white Corolla. While the highlight of the trip was the Grand Canyon, the drive there and back was awesome as well! Here are my photos of Phoenix, Sedona and Flagstaff plus a few more from along the highway. Shot with the D700 and X100s.

Studio Cat Portraits

Posted on February 21, 2015 by owencherry

Last weekend I tried using my new background kit (stands + white seamless) to shoot some portraits of our cats, Gracie and Professor Noam Chomsky. For the key light I used an Alien Bee B800 with gridded beauty dish from camera right, somewhat close to the posing stool. A Paul C Buff Brollie Box on a 2nd B800 was the fill light, set back from camera left. Both lights were set to equal output power, so distance controlled the intensity on the cats. The background light was a 3rd B800 with barn doors to control the spill.

“Posing” the cats was an exercise in patience. While Gracie eventually chilled out on the stool and let me get a long series of shots, Chomsky had no interest. The lamb skin helped but I still only had 10 seconds after setting him down before he’d run away to the bedroom.

I shot withe the D700 + AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G on a tripod and cable release, allowing me to shoot from the floor between the camera and cats.

Simplifying Travel with a 35mm Lens – Part 2: Vancouver, BC

Posted on December 16, 2014 by owencherry

When getting ready for a work trip to Vancouver last week I must have re-packed my camera bag at least 5 times before settling on the Sigma 35mm f/1.4. Vancouver is a city with big views and as much as I wanted to simplify the travel kit I knew that there would be many occasion where a wide field of view would be needed. In the end I stuck with the 35 for its simplicity and beautiful optics and thankfully I had no regrets.

In the woods I shot at f/1.4 and ISO 1600. For epic landscapes I shot panoramas at tiny apertures. Again the focal length was perfect for capturing scenes just as I saw them.

All below are D700 + Sigma 35mm f/1.4. Some here are of my co-worker, Connor, trying to capture the perfect selfie. Others are of Clevelend Dam, English Bay and downtown Vancouver, Lynn Canyon, TRIUMF, and Granville Island.

Simplifying Travel with a 35mm Lens – Part 1: Toulouse, France

Posted on December 14, 2014 by owencherry

I recently travelled to Toulouse for work and naturally had a tough time deciding what lenses to bring for my time off. Wide + tele came to mind and is something I’ve done in the past with the AF-S 18-35/3.5-4.5 and AF-S 85/1.8. Or just the wide, or maybe a 50/1.4. In the end I chose the Sigma 35/1.4 as the sole lens for 6 days.

35mm has a nice, natural field of view for travel and often captures a scene similarly to how we remember it. It’s not so wide that the framing becomes difficult and not so tight that information is left out. In the cases where a wider field of view is needed it’s not a big deal to snap off a quick panorama and stitch later at home. The Sigma version has excellent sharpness and contrast, even at f/1.4, and has snappy and accurate autofocus – something equally as important as image quality i situations where you need to capture fleeting moments.

Here are a few shots from the trip with the D700. The weather was absolutely outstanding and the city had just decorated for Christmas.

Sloan – Starlight, Waterloo – November 21, 2014

Posted on November 21, 2014 by owencherry

I caught Sloan’s first of two sets tonight. I think this will be the first time I edit and blog show photos before the show is even over!

D700 with Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, f/1.4, ISO 1250.

Deltron 3030 – Starlight, Waterloo – July 11, 2014

Posted on November 19, 2014 by owencherry

Better late than never, some photos from the Deltron 3030 show at the Starlight this past July. Shot with the D700 and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art. I processed these by reducing the blue saturation in the Lightroom’s Camera Calibration, something that really helped with the super saturated blue lighting.

David and Miranda’s Wedding – Belwood Lake

Posted on November 5, 2014 by owencherry

David and Miranda are wonder people. Their love for each other shines through in everything they do from their infectious laughter to their adorable dancing. Needless to say, they put together a fantastic day!

Caroline and Dan’s Wedding – Hauser Hall, Heidelberg

Posted on October 1, 2014 by owencherry

The first wedding I shot this year was Caroline and Dan’s, just a few days after returning from the UK. Their easy going nature and great sense of humour helped ease me into the wedding shooting routine quickly and comfortably. Here are a few of my favourite shots from the day.

Kaitlin and Sean’s Wedding – Langdon Hall

Posted on September 24, 2014 by owencherry

Kaitlin and Sean got married this past June at the beautiful Landon Hall, just outside of Cambridge, Ontario. I’d already had the chance to photograph the two of them along with their adorable daughter, Alice, last winter so I know how wonderful they were to work with. I really admire how organized they were, especially when planning most of the wedding from Vancouver where they live. I also appreciated A Dream to Call Your Own Wedding Consulting for making the day run so smoothly. Bill Blyleven, a co-worker who I found in a pinch as a 2nd shooter, was a rock solid help and I was delighted to see how well his images fit in seamlessly with mine.

The perfect weather, awesome couple, beautiful scenery and killer guests made this a highlight wedding for me and I’m sure the photos reflect that.