When I'm not brewing beer..

[ajmartinez]

or suffering through engineering school, playing guitar, riding my motorcycle, or teaching people how to put bullets in the right spot the first time... I do this.

 

[machinelf]

Nice photography, sir!

 

[IrregularPulse]

I'd do this in my spare time too

 

[jmendez29]

I'd do this in my spare time too

Spare time, my azz. I'd be trying to make that my full time job.

 

[ajmartinez]

Nice photography, sir!

Thanks, I'm guessing I'm not the only photographer on this forum though.

I'd do this in my spare time too

Spare time, my azz. I'd be trying to make that my full time job.

I've "dated" (and by dated you know what I mean) a few of my models. Not this one though, she's attached. Sure I'm quite well trained in at least one method of making said attachment go away, but I'm pretty sure using them would put "dating" out of the question entirely.

 

[dataz722]

What equipment do you use?

 

[ajmartinez]

What equipment do you use?

Equipment list looks something like:

Body: Canon 5D

Lenses: Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS.

Light: 3x Vivitar 285HV speed lights, a slew of 1/4" and 1/8" grids, a few reflectors, some silver and white umbrellas (43") and enough Pocket Wizards to trigger them all. I like them for their portability, and ability to take abuse; I dislike them for their lack of power, and the harsh light generally created by such a small light source. At some point, some monolights will make their way into my possession.

Support: Benbo 2 tripod - a funky deal that goes up/down REALLY tall/low, is rock solid (and thus weighs a ton). I really only use it for night shots, or multiplicity stuff so I have the exact same framing in every shot. I also have a carbon fiber Gitzo monopod I bought for shooting motorcycle races. I have since photographed exactly one motorcycle-related event, and I forgot the monopod at home. It'd make a great hiking stick though. If I hiked.

 

[dataz722]

Light: 3x Vivitar 285HV speed lights, a slew of 1/4" and 1/8" grids, a few reflectors, some silver and white umbrellas (43") and enough Pocket Wizards to trigger them all. I like them for their portability, and ability to take abuse; I dislike them for their lack of power, and the harsh light generally created by such a small light source. At some point, some monolights will make their way into my possession.

I've been starting to get into small strobe lighting. They are great for what I do. I am assuming you know of stobrist.com.

 

[Bricetrine]

Nice work! H-town never looked so good...

 

[ajmartinez]

I've been starting to get into small strobe lighting. They are great for what I do. I am assuming you know of strobist.com.

Fixed the r for ya! I try not to go to strobist.com much anymore, because it always costs me money when I do! I will never get rid of my speedlights, but there have been times when monolights would have been more appropriate. I'm thinking a pair of AB800s and a Vagabond II will give me many more options.

Nice work! H-town never looked so good...

Thanks, the middle two were Houston. The top and bottom were Austin/San Marcos.

 

[dataz722]

I would love to get a couple AB's but I mainly do events (mostly bands) and product photography so they really are overkill and would probably be too big and get in my way.

I would use them for fun stuff but since I would really make money off of them I would rather get the lens that i've being eyeing up.

 

[dap325]

Great photos! I've been dying to get into photography for the last few months. I've done countless hours researching equipment and reading up on general photography technique. I'm jealous of your setup! I've decided on a Canon 5d myself with the 24-70L to get me started. I'm busy selling a little of the extra brewing equipment and car parts I have laying around to help fund my new hobby. Hopefully I'll have enough saved by the spring, just in time for the good weather so I can get out and start shooting. Thanks for sharing! I especially love the shot of the highway at night. You've got talent

 

[ajmartinez]

I would love to get a couple AB's but I mainly do events (mostly bands) and product photography so they really are overkill and would probably be too big and get in my way.

I would use them for fun stuff but since I would really make money off of them I would rather get the lens that i've being eyeing up.

Yeah, that's really why I haven't done it yet either. Most of what I shoot I can definitely get by with the speedlights. Definitely. ABs would be nice for maybe 1% of what I shoot, and I'll get them someday - but glass always wins in my book (as I'm sure you can tell from the equipment list).

Great photos! I've been dying to get into photography for the last few months. I've done countless hours researching equipment and reading up on general photography technique. I'm jealous of your setup! I've decided on a Canon 5d myself with the 24-70L to get me started. I'm busy selling a little of the extra brewing equipment and car parts I have laying around to help fund my new hobby. Hopefully I'll have enough saved by the spring, just in time for the good weather so I can get out and start shooting. Thanks for sharing! I especially love the shot of the highway at night. You've got talent

You really can't go wrong with that combo. Anything with an L at the end will amaze you. I've done entire events/weddings/photoshoots with the 24-70L, several times, and never regretted it.

 

[dataz722]

I just need to add



BOOOOOOOOO CANNON!!!!!

 

[ajmartinez]

You're just jealous L-glass is so sharp you get a red warning ring so you don't get cut

 

[dataz722]

yeaaaaaaaah

Cannon might have better body technology (2 years or more ago I would say hand down not as much now though) but their glass just doesn't comparable to Nikon. Price and quality both!

 

[ajmartinez]

LOL. To be honest, I bought a Canon because there was already Canon glass in the family. Once you're invested in high-end glass for one maker, it rarely makes sense to jump to another (unless you just happen to have stacks of cash, in which case you should send me some). I have no real allegiance one way or another, where cameras are concerned. I'm just used to my Canon stuff!

 

[dataz722]

I'm just giving you ****. I grew up in a "nikon family", my grandmother even used to teach a photography class and she always used Nikon. I guess I just grew up around it and just went that direction. A couple years ago before I bought anything current I seriously considered Cannon though. Anybody should be happy with either one.

 

[ajmartinez]

I have a running "ewww nikon" thing going with a few friends who shoot Nikon, so it fits right in with the normal way of things

 

[mordantly]

i would do her regularly!! any more?

 

[ajmartinez]

Lots more on my Flickr and/or Photography pages (links in my sig). I'd post here, but I don't want to step on any not really NSFW but maybe so if you work with monks toes. That and I'm drowning in a sea of calculus right now. I'll dig around for some more stuff to post at some point.

 

[sethga]

Thanks for sharing photos. As a hobby, I shoot drag racing.. use vivitar 285HV's as well, no PW's for me though, el cheapo chinese ebay triggers for now. actually are pretty damn reliable after some antenna modifications I did

 

[ajmartinez]

My equipment was all a post-war spending spree, so I went a little crazy. The PWIIs are nice, but certainly no more functional than any other radio trigger with a good antenna!

 

[dataz722]

I would love the PW's but just went with some ebay ones myself. They don't have the range and aren't quite as durable but I can buy 8 full sets for the price of one PW transceiver. Now if I had the money, I would have the pw's in a heart beat.

 

[ajmartinez]

I would love the PW's but just went with some ebay ones myself. They don't have the range and aren't quite as durable but I can buy 8 full sets for the price of one PW transceiver. Now if I had the money, I would have the pw's in a heart beat.

I do like the range a lot. Walls don't really get in the way. I had a model that was really shy once, and only wanted to shoot in one area of her house. I setup on a tripod, put my lights where I wanted them, and told her where to keep her head if she felt like having her face in focus. Used one PW2 as a trigger for my camera (and hooked it to my fill light), and another to trigger my main light. Kept a third in my hand and went to get a glass of water downstairs. I told her to shout when she was ready, and pushed the button every 5 or 6 seconds. She thought that was the coolest thing on Earth - saw the photos and got over the being shy part. The rest of the shoot I was actually behind my camera, and I'm not sure how I'd have got her more comfortable w/o having been able to trigger my camera through walls.