Austin Greene
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2012
- Messages
- 1,472
- Reaction score
- 855
- Location
- Mountain View, California
- Website
- www.austingreenephotography.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
Hey folks,
Having recently picked up the 85mm f/1.8 as a new addition to the portrait arsenal, I went out during UCD's 100th annual Picnic Day to give it a test run. The light was harsh, and I wanted to shoot exclusively with ambient light. Between that and the busy backgrounds (Davis' population doubles from 50,000 to 100,000 people in just under 12 hours), I was quite happy with the first run of the lens. In most cases I opted to push it towards f/2 or 2.8 for subject isolation. This only bit me twice, each time shooting from the hip where I missed focus.
1. First shot of the day. Getting a feel for the 85
Antonio by TogaLive, on Flickr
2. Getting used to a narrower DOF compared to the 70-200 at f/4, and how it works when shooting moving subjects.
Happiness is... by TogaLive, on Flickr
3. One of my favorite photos from the day. I missed the focus on the dogs eye once it moved, but I'm still happy with the feel of the image as a whole.
Smiles All Around by TogaLive, on Flickr
4. My favorite photo of the day. The girl was the cutest, shy little thing. The light was harsh, but I was happy with how things worked out. Taken from the hip as she didn't like it when I had the camera up to eye level.
Radiant by TogaLive, on Flickr
5. Last photo from the day. Harsh lighting meant I had to underexpose a bit to avoid blowing things out, but overall I was very happy with the photo. There is a great story that goes along with it, I'll include it below the photo for those interested.
Memories by TogaLive, on Flickr
Lens:
Overall I was quite happy with the lens. For the price, the thing is a powerhouse. It's small enough to not intimidate folks when I ask to take their photo, yet it has wonderful image characteristics, even down to the slight vignette. It handles highlights very well, only needing minor corrections for purple fringing. The bokeh is great, and the focus is damn fast. Overall, I'm a very happy customer. Best of all? I've had a chronic aversion to taking candid's, or asking random folks if I could take their photo. For whatever reason, that aversion has completely dissolved with the 85. I'm looking forward to many more exposures with it.
Story:
So in the above photo I approached the father and asked if I could take their photo, he graciously agreed, and then just went right back to feeding his son. As I commented on how expensive the food is at Picnic Day, he replied that he had gotten it for free. To give me a few more seconds of shooting time, I asked where the balloons were from, and he mentioned that he had taken them off of one of the many signs around campus for his son (there are tons of signs, and this was the end of the day, so it all goes to waste). The son's name was Quincy, and his father was wholeheartedly focused on him. At the end of the minute or so long conversation, the coolest thing happened.
He asked why I was taking photos, and I replied "I'm just a student photographer, and it's a nice day out."
He replied, asking how much it would cost to get a copy of the photo I had just taken. When I told him it wouldn't cost anything, and that he could just email me for the file, the guy seemed so happy. It was honestly one of the first times I've ever had where I felt like a photo I had taken actually made someone happy on more than a superficial level. I just thought it was the neatest thing.
Having recently picked up the 85mm f/1.8 as a new addition to the portrait arsenal, I went out during UCD's 100th annual Picnic Day to give it a test run. The light was harsh, and I wanted to shoot exclusively with ambient light. Between that and the busy backgrounds (Davis' population doubles from 50,000 to 100,000 people in just under 12 hours), I was quite happy with the first run of the lens. In most cases I opted to push it towards f/2 or 2.8 for subject isolation. This only bit me twice, each time shooting from the hip where I missed focus.
1. First shot of the day. Getting a feel for the 85
Antonio by TogaLive, on Flickr2. Getting used to a narrower DOF compared to the 70-200 at f/4, and how it works when shooting moving subjects.
Happiness is... by TogaLive, on Flickr3. One of my favorite photos from the day. I missed the focus on the dogs eye once it moved, but I'm still happy with the feel of the image as a whole.
Smiles All Around by TogaLive, on Flickr4. My favorite photo of the day. The girl was the cutest, shy little thing. The light was harsh, but I was happy with how things worked out. Taken from the hip as she didn't like it when I had the camera up to eye level.
Radiant by TogaLive, on Flickr5. Last photo from the day. Harsh lighting meant I had to underexpose a bit to avoid blowing things out, but overall I was very happy with the photo. There is a great story that goes along with it, I'll include it below the photo for those interested.
Memories by TogaLive, on FlickrLens:
Overall I was quite happy with the lens. For the price, the thing is a powerhouse. It's small enough to not intimidate folks when I ask to take their photo, yet it has wonderful image characteristics, even down to the slight vignette. It handles highlights very well, only needing minor corrections for purple fringing. The bokeh is great, and the focus is damn fast. Overall, I'm a very happy customer. Best of all? I've had a chronic aversion to taking candid's, or asking random folks if I could take their photo. For whatever reason, that aversion has completely dissolved with the 85. I'm looking forward to many more exposures with it.
Story:
So in the above photo I approached the father and asked if I could take their photo, he graciously agreed, and then just went right back to feeding his son. As I commented on how expensive the food is at Picnic Day, he replied that he had gotten it for free. To give me a few more seconds of shooting time, I asked where the balloons were from, and he mentioned that he had taken them off of one of the many signs around campus for his son (there are tons of signs, and this was the end of the day, so it all goes to waste). The son's name was Quincy, and his father was wholeheartedly focused on him. At the end of the minute or so long conversation, the coolest thing happened.
He asked why I was taking photos, and I replied "I'm just a student photographer, and it's a nice day out."
He replied, asking how much it would cost to get a copy of the photo I had just taken. When I told him it wouldn't cost anything, and that he could just email me for the file, the guy seemed so happy. It was honestly one of the first times I've ever had where I felt like a photo I had taken actually made someone happy on more than a superficial level. I just thought it was the neatest thing.
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