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Gear for Tomorrow's Gig

Gear List:
Canon EOS 5D (main)
Canon EOS 30D (backup)
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Canon EF TS-E 24mm f/3.5L Tilt-Shift
Canon Speedlite 430EX
Canon Speedlite 550EX
Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2
Canon RS-80N3 wired shutter release

Not Shown:
Tripod and Bogen Magic Arm
* Strapped outside the bag
Canon RS-80N3 wired shutter release



I have to shoot a golf club /resort for their brochure tomorrow. I tried to fit everything in one bag as I figured I would have to walk around a lot. Last time I had a job like this, I took a camera bag, a lighting bag, and a tripod /light stand bag. It was painful.

This is the first time I'm going to a gig without my favorite lens - the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L. It is quite heavy, I replaced it instead with the Canon 24-105mm f/4L. I don't think I'll need the 24-105mm, but just in case I need some semblance of a telephoto lens. I still might leave this lens behind and carry Pocket Wizards instead. I'm not happy with taking the Canon Speedlite ST-E2 Speedlite transmitter, but I can't fit the PWs in my bag without bending the antennas. With the money I'm going to make with this gig, I think I'm going to buy a set of the new Pocket Wizards - that way, I wouldn't have this problem and those would still be compatible with my old PWs.

I've never been to this place but I think I would only be using the 17-40mm mostly. The other lenses I'm taking gives me several options. This way I'll have Tilt-Shift (24mm), Fisheye (15mm), and Low Light (50mm) options. Which is why I'm open to leaving the 24-105mm behind and instead carry PWs.

I'm going to start shooting at around 4 or 5pm. Outdoors, I'll probably just do slightly longer exposures on a tripod. The interior shots, I'll just stick to what I know - two lights on sticks with the Stofen diffusers for the Bare Bulb effect. Except that they won't be on sticks - I'll use my tripod for one and use the Bogen Magic Arm with a Manfrotto Super Clamp for the other.

Well, off I go to charge batteries. I will post photos from this gig in a few days. Until then ...

A Fishy Review - Sigma EX 15mm vs. Canon EF 15mm

In true curber fashion, I found a good deal on a Sigma EX 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens and bought it! I have no intentions of keeping both. Initially, I had intended to keep the Sigma and sell the Canon as it would put more money in my pocket and since this would be a luxury since it is a lens that I rarely have the need for. In fact, after a year of owning the Canon, it only comes out of the bag during drunk moments ... "Lets take fffffffisheye p-p-p-photos!!!" And for that, I wouldn't really need sharpness, high lens IQ, etc.

First impressions ... The Sigma feels bulkier but not as well-built compared to the Canon. The two-part front lens cap of the Sigma might get annoying in the long run and that makes it two pieces that I may eventually lose. Oh, the Sigma rear lens cap ... Sigma lens owners know what I'm talking about. It is the scourge of the earth - frustrating at times, as it only goes in one way - you have to match the dots, unlike the Canon rear lens cap where you slap then twist, done! Moving on, the Sigma EX came with a pretty nice lens case. I can't say that with the Canon. In fact, I can't even say "it came with a case" with regards to the Canon. $650 for a lens, you can't give me a pouch, case, or something? I think this is essential for a novelty type lens considering that its not going to stay on the camera for long periods of time (unless that is your thing, to each his own). So dust accumulation might be a problem in the long run since the lens cap slides on instead of locking on - it may suck up dust while sliding it off or on. The zoom ring of the Sigma EX is also better, focuses faster and quieter. I didn't delve into the efficiency of the autofocus though. One weird thing about the Canon, when autofocusing, the lens barrel does not extend but the front element does! Its trippy to watch that big piece of glass moving forwards and backwards within the built-in lens hood. Another reason for the need of a pouch.

On to images ... I'm not a pixel peeper type of guy. I'm pretty much just into the aesthetic of the image. I don't really care if its sharper around the edges etc. etc. And with review of these lenses, barrel distortion shouldn't be a factor (or is it?). Anyways, on to the images ...

Sigma Shot # 1 (f/8 at 30 sec, ISO 100, Tungsten White Balance)


Canon Shot # 1 (f/8 at 30 sec, ISO 100, Tungsten White Balance)


Sigma Shot # 2 (f/7.1 at 30 sec, ISO 100, Tungsten White Balance)


Canon Shot # 2 (f/7.1 at 30 sec, ISO 100, Tungsten White Balance)


I took about 6 shots using the same process. Shoot with the Sigma, remove and mount Canon, Shoot. Repeat. The results were pretty consistent - not much between them BUT the sticking point is that it seems like the Canon produces brighter photos. By bright, I meant if it was "properly exposed" on the Sigma, it is very slightly overexposed on the Canon. This is illustrated in Shot # 2 above. HamburgCam from Flickr! commented on Canon Shot #2 above that:

Thank you for your comparison photos. From what I can see in the 1280Pixel Resolution samples, the Canon lets more Light in at f/7.1, it seems to be a tiny bit wider on the sides (hairsplitting, I know) but sharpness is difficult to judge from these samples. Especially since the Canon photos are brighter and lost more detail in the well lit areas.

My conclusion? I can't really come up with one because I think the color and sharpness comparisons would not really be the same since the Canon seems let in more light. Based on my Flickr! account - oddly enough, two people commented on the Canon photos, but not on the Sigma photos. Also, the Canon photos have been viewed more than the Sigma photos. Coincidence? Hmmm ... I think I'm keeping the Canon.

UPDATE: I listed the Sigma on eBay earlier ... it sold after an hour!

iPhone Light Painting

Today, I read David Hobby's post on Strobist about using an iPhone as a light source. There was a video of some guy using his mobile phone as a light painting instrument. I watched it and said "I can do that!"

I was going to sell my battery grip on eBay, so I thought I'd try it on that first. Here is my set-up:


First, I took a shot without using the iPhone:


Here is the exposure process with the iPhone light painting:





And here is the photo with the light painting:


A couple of firsts for me - first attempt at Light Painting and first time using iMovie. The conclusion is that i suck at both right now.

I will attempt this again soon - hopefully with a better video. Thanks for reading!

Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L

I found the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L tilt-shift lens on craigslist for $500. It retails around $1200, so even though I didn't have a need for it, or even have an idea how to use it, I bought it. Worse case scenario, I can always flog it back on eBay.

I was pretty excited to use it and play around with its unique features. Even though I've lived in Los Angeles for 13 years now, I had no idea where to go to be able to play with it. Yeah, I know - rarely get out.

After 15 minutes of driving around in Downtown LA, I thought my safest bet was the Walt Disney Concert Hall. When I say safe, i meant "pretty safe". Its dowtown, after all.

Can't go wrong with Frank Gehry's work. First thing I wanted to try was why this is the lens of choice of architectural photographers. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to do it. I just wanted to tilt and shift, if you know what I mean. Here is the best I can come up with:


I played around with it a little more to test the selective focus:




Quite fun, I must say. But unless I can learn more about architectural photography, I have no reason to hold on to the lens. I might as well sell it and and buy the new Lensbaby and pocket the rest if its just going to end up as that sort of toy. I'll take it out a couple of more times and decide. I'm still not sure if I like it.

Blogging Intro

The name ... I used to work for the Recycler Classifieds, a local Classifieds-only publication which back then was probably the largest resource of used vehicles and other stuff. That was before craigslist. Curbers are people who bought and sold cars without a dealer license. They would buy low and sell high. I dealt with a lot of them on a daily basis. They are usually not well-liked and thought of as a capitalistic opportunists. But hey, they are just trying to make a living from what they know best - automobiles. I'm pretty much the photographer version of these people. I make a little bit of money out of photography, but i'm not a full time photographer. I'm also a curber in the sense that I buy a lot of photo equipment to play around with, but I usually have to sell them on eBay to finance the next piece. A lot of lenses and camera bodies have gone through my hands

The content ... Primarily, I want to document my learning curve and growth as a photographer. This will include recaps of paid gigs and personal work. I also want to write reviews of gear that I've bought and played with, before I sell them.

The reason ... There is so much you can learn about photograph through the internet. You can be as good, if not better than some professional photographers from David Hobby's Strobist blog alone. Even though I've learned a lot over the last 18 months as a Digital SLR owner, I still have a long way to go. I will use this blog as a journal so I can look back and judge my progress and maybe someone who used to be as green as I was would find this information helpful.

The inspiration ... I sat through this video from Chase Jarvis' blog about Making the Web Work For You. In this video, Chase, David Hobby, and David Nightingale of Chromasia talked about the power of blogging. Chase actually said something along the lines of ... The only thing you can do wrong is not doing anything. So here I am. I also saw this video on youtube with Martin Prihoda shooting a band called Delerium where he described his business model as The best way to get ahead is by helping the ones around you get ahead. That philosophy has been stuck in my head and I really want it to be my business model as well.