Rob Brooks Photography » EF28-135mm

McGinniss Wedding Reception

Rob — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:22:37 +0000

Here are a few shots from the wedding reception that I shot for some good friends of mine.
The entire day was a great learning experience for me, and hopefully I’ve captured some important memories for them to look back on in the future.

NOTE: If any friends or family would like to purchase prints of any of the images from the day, just contact me @ brooksrl@telstra.com and I’ll be happy to discuss the options.

Prints will be sourced from my un-compressed, high-resolution original files. And are available in a number of different sizes, finishes and products.

© Rob Brooks Photography, 2009. Unauthorised use and/or duplication and/ or distribution of this material without express and written permission from the creator and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

First wedding shoot, pretty pleased

Rob — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:59:37 +0000

On the weekend just passed I had the pleasure/ challenge of shooting my first wedding for some friends of mine, although it was only the reception and some family portraits beforehand.
Given the constraints I had from time for shooting, the large amount of people and combinations that they wanted, and dealing with weather conditions (quite windy and late afternoon sun) I’m relatively happy with the raw results from the camera.
I would have liked extra time to get a lot more creative with the arrangements, but a late start, lengthening shadows and a schedule to stick to stiffled that a little.
However I am with the performance of the gear that I had at the time, and it has been a great learning experience for me in many ways. From the technical aspects of dealing with exposure metering, flash compensation and controlling depth of field to efficient arrangement of subjects and keeping things looking natural and not too posed.
Given the fact I have a close relationship with many of those I needed to shoot, made the job of ordering them around to do what I wanted a lot easier than it would have been with a bunch of strangers. And also being able to keep the whole experience pretty casual for us all made for some very natural shots.

The only real issue I had with my gear on the day is the gap in focal lengths I have between my 10-20mm and my 28-135mm. Due to the space I was working in and the group sizes I had, I found that I really need a lens covering the 17-40mm range if i’m going to continue doing this style of work. Also something with a wider aperture (F2.8 ) would have also given some nicer results in keeping the background out of focus a little more and making the subjects ‘pop’.
I found that I shot the majority at 28-40mm, but needed to change lenses to get a little extra width at 20mm on a couple of occasions.
**(also remember that I’m shooting with a 1.6x cropped sensor DSLR, so all focal lengths mentioned are multiplied by 1.6)**
The only other small issue I encountered was using “partial (centre 7% of frame) metering” in conjunction with “aperture priority” mode initially, which are my usual/ everyday-type settings. This gave me some over-exposed backgrounds as I had quite a lot of shadows on the subjects to deal with, which were within the metering zone of the camera.
A quick switch to fully manual control and evaluative metering soon brought things back into shape. This was also due to me having limited previous experience in using the speedlite in real world situations, and understanding fully the differences needed to gain correct exposures when using a speedlite.

Anyway, enough of a novel from me, as I have over 500 photo’s from the event to sort and edit, but all in all it was an enjoyable learning experience for me and I believe the happy couple will be pleased with the final results.

A few preview shots will be posted in due course…

Quick Edit and update:
Slowly getting there with the editing and should have some results by the end of today..
I NEEEEED a faster machine

UPDATE 2:

Editing is now completely complete, and i’m impressed with how the majority have come up, upon further inspection it appears that one person in the wedding party (the damn groom) is quite sensitive to the speedlite’s pre-flash.
but that was only on the occasions that i did not use the FEL function (Flash Exposure Lock)
some of the indoor shots lost a little detail in noise as I had to shoot at ISO 800 and a couple of times at 1600, but nothing that will stand out when printing at normal sizes.
Faster glass and better body will solve those issues in the future
A couple of sample images will be uploaded soon, once the couple have viewed them.

Has been a great learning experience for me, and I now know what I need to focus on and improve on next time around.

9 Mile Sunset

Rob — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:36:43 +0000

This one was taken on Saturday evening from Swanwick on the Freycinet Peninsula, looking west towards Swansea and 9 Mile Beach/ Dolphin Sands.

Shot with Canon 400D, Canon EF28-135mm, Tripod

Falling Apart

Rob — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:44:28 +0000

While on a lunchbreak at work i thought i’d take a leisurely walk around the local area with the camera and see if i could spot anything interesting worth shooting. I’m trying to expand my skills and process into architecture and after being inspired by some of Alex Wise’s, Balck and Whites (free plug!! you can find his blog on the sidebar over there >>>)

I saw some relatively interesting stuff, but the older buildings usually have a lot more character, and lend themselves to black and white a little more, due to the natural contrasts produced by their varying colours and textures. None moreso than Hobarts, Holy Trinity Church, which has recently fallen into disrepair with the sandstone begining to deteriorate, and evensome of the small spires falling to the ground below.

Shot with Canon 400D, EF28-135mm

Shot with Canon 400D, Ef28-135mm

Feel free to leave a comment or any advice you may have

My Other Hometown

Rob — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:48:57 +0000

Since I can remember, my family has been holidaying and living at Eaglehawk Neck (Near Port Arthur) on the Tasman Peninsula, in SOuth East Tasmania. Apart from the usual tourist attractions, it is one of the most beautiful parts of the state, and I feel lucky to ahve a lot of frinds and family in the area.
However, I have never really taken a lot of photographs of the area.
Being somethng that you see frequently, you tend to take it for granted. However I do have a couple of images i’d like to share, but rest assured, I intend on bulking out this part of my portfolio in the coming months!!

Sunset Reflections over Norfolk Bay (South East Tasmania) Shot with Canon PowerShot S3-IS

My Hometown

Rob — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:57:03 +0000

I was born in Hobart and have lived here all my life,

so it seems fitting that i should share some of my photography from the local area.

I hope you enjoy viewing them.

Hobarts Bowen Bridge and it's reflections across the Derwent River at sunset. Shot with Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm.

Another angle of the bridge from the same day, looking south towards Hobart City.

Hobarts Bowen Bridge, reflecting the orange sunset glow. Driving home from work I was presented with the great colours and reflections, and as always, the camera was “riding shotgun”. Shot with Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm

Sunset on the way home from work one evening, shot looking North West of Hobart from Bowen Cove, site of the first landing by white settlers into Hobart in 1801.

Shot with Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm

A shot steam being ejected from the “Zinc Works” zinc smelter on the banks of the River Derwent.

Shot with Canon PowerShot S3-IS, 30 Sec exposure, tripod, remote release

Thought i might add another one that I shot today before heading off to work.

Mt Wellington, capped in snow, as seen from Geilston Bay foreshore.

Shot with Canon 400D, EF28-135mm, tripod