A big part of being a photographer that often goes unrecognized in my opinion is the post-processing. When I was shooting most assignments in college I did not have the opportunity to process my images. Now I have no direction and a lot of experimentation to work with. The post-processing applied to a photo can control the feeling that it gives to the viewer. I went hiking the yesterday with my parents and my girlfriend. Here are several similar shots with some different processing done in Lightroom.

All of these were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and the 24mm f/1.4. I am still testing the combination of this camera and lens out. I have been frustrated with the 5D Mark II lately because most if not all of my raw images are appearing soft. I’m not sure if its the camera or lens but I think I might have to get both checked/calibrated or something. Do these images look sharp to you? Because on my monitor at full res they definitely aren’t sharp. I just started to read about a lot of other people who have experienced this with their 5DMKII’s so I’m beginning to think that this might be a known issue…I just want a consistently sharp full frame camera with some good glass.

Also, what do you think of the 24mm focal length in the shots? I really like looking at these shots but when I am taking the photos I sometimes feel myself wanting a little more. I’ll be using the 24mm some more but might try out a 35mm soon.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

I finally finished up editing the third day of the 2011 USAU College Championships.

Checkout the full gallery here: http://www.scaughtyphoto.com/Ultimate/College-2010-1011/2011-College-Championships-Sun/

You can also checkout all the photos on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/scaughtyphotography

Enjoy!

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 400iso, f/2.8, 1/1600, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 500iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1600iso, f/2.8, 1/1600, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Going into this semi-finals game I surely thought that Oregon was going to easily walk away with the win and I hadn’t really seen too much of Michigan throughout the year to develop an opinion of their team. The Oregon Women’s team is one of my favorite college women’s teams to shoot because of their athleticism, likeliness to huck, and big plays. They are fun to photograph. I felt like they got over confident as they knew they were a top team, and got complacent at a time where games really have to be earned. Michigan played a great game and showed that they deserved to play the next day in the finals. For this game Alex Peters, a fellow ultimate photographer, let me borrow his 40mm f/2.8. It sure did feel good to get behind some longer glass again.

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/4000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 400mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

By now you might have noticed that I shot the College Championships with a 300mm f/2.8. I usually shoot ultimate with a 400mm so making this change was quite easy. I definitely ended up with more usable shots, had to do a little more cropping than usual, and got less action on the far end of the field.

One thing that experienced sports photographers talk about is clean backgrounds. This photo below is a good example of beautiful action and athleticism that gets lost in a busy background.  Sometimes the background can tell help tell the story but for the most part in sports you want to focus on the action, which is why a lens like a 400mm f/2.8 is nice to create more of a separation between the subject and background.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

At this point in the tournament, this close to the finals, players really feel the pain of losing. It’s a feeling that most players will never forget and that will motivate them to work harder for another chance.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 200iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 800iso, f/2.0, 1/40, manual

Alyssa and I made sushi last week and it was awesome. It tasted just like anything I would usually get at a sushi restaurant. Making the rolls were pretty easy, but the surprisingly hard part was cutting the rolls. I love sushi and this is something that I definitely want to get good at. And that reminds me, I love spam masubi too…I need to get on that.

I recently picked up a 24mm f/1.4 for my 5D and had a hard time deciding between that and the 35mm. I tend to prefer a wider lens so I decided to try out the 24mm for a while. Having a prime is something I wanted because zoom lenses make me lazy and this will force me to move more and work harder for my photos. I am still trying to tell if the lens is sharp wide open at 1.4-1.8. I’m not very used to shooting with that wide of an aperture so its hard to tell if I am just missing my focus or if its the lens. What do you do if your copy is not sharp? Send it in? I need to look into that. Looks like for now I have more testing to do…I haven’t used it too much yet but I intend for it to be my smaller and lighter walk-around lens to replace my 24-70mm.

Is anybody else shooting with or used to shoot with the 24mm f/1.4? Opinions? Tips?

Also, the auto white balance on the 5D is driving me crazy. I don’t know if it was the lights inside the house but the raw files were so warm. Still getting used to this 5D too.

Enjoy some photos of our fine dining.

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 800iso, f/2.0, 1/60, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 800iso, f/1.6, 1/60, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 800iso, f/1.6, 1/100, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 400iso, f/1.6, 1/50, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 400iso, f/2.0, 1/50, manual

The Fuji X10 is slowly become a go-to camera when I’m out and about. I’ll usually let Alyssa handle it when I using my 5D.

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 400iso, f/1.6, 1/30, manual

Canon 5DMKII, 24mm, 400iso, f/1.6, 1/30, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Burning Skirts is one of my favorite women’s teams to shoot because they are always making huge plays, dominating, and having fun. Here are a few shots from the semifinals match up between UCSB and Stanford. Lots of familiar faces in this one.

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2500, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/3200, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual

Canon 1DMKIV, 300mm, 250iso, f/2.8, 1/2000, manual