Quick Trip to Lafayette

I went up to Lafayette last week to meet with Jacklyn and Jarad about their wedding photos and while I was there I got to stay with some friends I haven't seen in a while.

This, this is Kevin and his "Hey guys
I might switch to Canon" face.

Firstly, my good friend Kevin is moving to Los Angeles in about 2 days from now to start his career path towards becoming a world-renowned Director of Photography.

So if any viewers out there in the LA region have a job that needs to be filled - hit him up.

Best of Luck Kevin, and remember, Orange on Teal = Summer Blockbuster!

Triathalete? Check. Photographer?
Check. Ph.D.? Sooo close...

Next up, I hung out with Andy quite a bit. I do have to say one of the best things about Andy (aside from his personality, open couch, and a bunch of other stuff) is that he's got a bunch of fun toys and is willing to let me mess with them. So this weekend I took a 1d mk3, 100mm IS macro, and 24mm f/1.4 out for a spin in the woods. Here are the results:

[Click images to view larger]

Self Portrait. Hand held, f/1.4, 4lbs of camera - not easy or
comfortable for that matter.

Seriously, the 24/1.4 was made to be shot wide open,
its not worth the price tag for anyother use.

I think I have fallen in love with the 100mm IS macro.

No, seriously, its sharp, its a great focal length for
macro as well as portraits (Kevin's pic - look at his eye!)

It's ridiculously sharp.

Did I mention IS, because it has 4 stops of it...

Oh and it's price tag won't break the bank
clocking in at just under a grand before tax/shipping.

Because who doesn't want to get closer to this guy...?

One more thing about the 100mm IS Macro - the IS is killer when shooting video. Don't believe me? The video below was shot with the 100mm hand held (with a viewfinder). The only issue I have is when you start to pan it lags, but just once, before it recognizes you aren't just shaking.

Canon 100mm L IS Macro Handheld Test from Michael Carney Media on Vimeo.

a quick 2 shot test of handholding (with viewfinder) the Canon 100mm L IS Macro lens on my 60D. I think I've found a new object to drool over....

oops!

okay, So i've been neglecting the blog the last few weeks... my bad.

for those who are interested, the last few weeks of my trip to New Zealand went great. I spent more time shooting video than stills (as is reflected by the content of this post.

Since I've been back I've been to Chicago, Ft. Wayne, Lafayette, Bloomington, Columbus (IN), and Raleigh (NC). So I do have a little bit of an excuse for not updating religiously...

I've got a new website for my portfolio and prints now - www.mcarneyphoto.com - you can always click the link in the top left corner of the blog to go there.
(if you use the coupon code 'tweet' you'll get 20% off your order to boot!)


Went to the zoo the other day - not my best photographically, but not terrible either - check 'em out.













(oh, and here is the video from the last few weeks in NZ).

Aotearoa - New Zealand from Michael Carney on Vimeo.

Akaroa pt3

These are Fur Seals!





This is not a Fur Seal!

Akaroa pt2

Still more from the cruise on the Fox II


These Little Blue Penguins made their first appearance in two weeks for us, throughout the cruise we saw three individuals.


a bit wider shot of one of the Hector's dolphins


This is the boat we sailed in: the Fox II. The Fox is a 47ft wooden sailboat and was a delight to be on (way better looking than the giant power boats with 50+ people each)


The Fox II from the inside

Akaroa pt1

This last weekend I went to Akaroa on the Banks peninsula for some wildlife shooting, country touring, and of course landscape photos. I took 11GB of photos in one day, I haven't done that since October! here is the first bit:


The Marie Ann is one of the last two fishing vessels still operating in Akaroa Harbor


There are only about 7000 hectors dolphins left in the wild - and about 75 of them live in and around Akaroa Harbor. These marine mammals are about 6 feet long, fast as anything I've seen, and stupid hard to get a picture of...


Spotted Shag flying over the water in Akaroa Harbor


Black and White Shag hanging out on the rocks on the East coast of the harbor


One of the blocks controlling the sails on our vessel: the Fox II.

MALLARDS! They're EVERYWHERE!

Literally, the lawn of one of the buildings in my complex has like 20 resident mallard hens (not these ones). These gals were hanging out in the creek that runs through campus - totally not afraid of people at all - these hens would walk right up to me and pose, it was great!




The expression on this one's face reminds me of someone I know - Love ya' babe! :D

Sasquatch!!!

Since I picked up my equipment to shoot the Notre Dame football game a day early, I figure I should try out the 3D dynamic AF on my new D300 by shooting some birds out at horticulture park.

and of course the obligatory shot of the sasquatch squirrel.

gallery take 3

okay i'm gonna try this again, this time via slideshare.net

WPBC Gallery

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

definitely not as fancy as the lightroom flash galleries, but it works, hopefully, for everyone

[ Insert Title Here ]

yeah, couldn't think of a witty - or even good - name for this post, so here you go.

I R Slow

well here are some shots from before my camera broke. My friend let me use his D40 last night, so I'll have some campfire shots up later this week, but that's another day.





This shot taken by Austin Brady, edited by myself.