Denim Spot

Nicole at Magos – Canon 5D Mark III + EF 50mm f/1.2L

I was recently out with Pete from Denim Spot after one of our creative collaborations. We settled over a glass of wine at Mango’s Antro and as always, began going over the days creative endeavors, what we would have changed, what we liked and what we would like to try on our next project. Before long we happened upon a young, lady called Nicole. We both thought she had great energy, personality and attitude. It was also pretty obvious she maintained an active lifestyle and great shape. All of a sudden we were talking about trying some of the looks we did not get to shoot that day because we just did not have any models that matched the looks.

Nicole was gracious enough to be our model. Even though she did not have very much modeling experience, her personality and attitude definitely made up for it. Ironically I have found this is often more important than looks and can make or break a photo shoot/project. We shot just two looks. I definitely look forward to more photo shoots with Nicole and working with her on more creative projects as she gets more time in front of the camera.

For this shoot I used the Canon 5D Mark III. For lenses I used the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and the EF 50mm f/1.2L. For fill lighting I used two Canon 430EX Speedlites with Photix E-TTL RF triggers. For behind the scenes shots we used the Canon 7D + EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM.

Retrospect Vintage Fashion exhibit at Demin Spot

Several Friday evenings ago I had some free time so I decided to get out a little. My plan was to visit my good friend Pete at Denim Spot downtown. He’s very much involved in the local fashion scene and is always exploring creative ideas and projects. On this evening he was collaborating with Hanna Be of Retrospect Vintage Fashion a local fashion designer with a very interesting take on retro fashions and style. They setup a live shop window mannequin set. It’s just one of many cool ideas I’ve seen them come up with.

I planned on stopping by and getting a few shots of the action before moving on to a Friday night photo outing all over downtown. I never made it passed Denim Spot. I ended up shooting various looks and indulging in creative and fashionable atmosphere. It was tons of fun and a very rewarding way to kill an otherwise lazy Friday night.

I really wasn’t ideally equipped for a fashion shoot. I packed just my Canon 5D Mark III and the Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 lens. I expected to take mostly casual night action shots both in tight bar/restaurant settings as well street corners. What made this fashion shoot particularly interesting was that I had to make do with what I had – an ultra wide lens.

The Tokina was surprisingly good. Since I had no flash, I shot wide open at f/2.8 to capture as much ambient light as possible. The 5D3 also permitted a much higher ISO so I could shoot handheld as I did not pack a tripod. I was even able to shoot HDR bracket shots hand held under very challenging lighting conditions. If you take a closer look at the photo to the left, you will notice this lens still has an impressively shallow depth of field for an ultra wide angle. A great benefit of having the ultra wide angle lens was that I was able to work in the small set spaces at the boutique and still capture full body shots showcasing the styles and looks. The Tokina 16-28mm is rectilinear, much like it’s more popular APS-C sibling the 11-16mm f/2.8 and manages to render surprisingly straight perspectives even at it’s widest.