Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Lens Unboxing

I just received delivery of my new Tokina 11-16mm wide angle xoom lens for the D90. Usually the lens that are recommended for a camera are those manufactured by the same company, in this case Nikon. Rather than sticking to what rules would dictate, this lens made by Tokina is supposed to out perform even Nikon's own 12-24mm and 14-24mm wide zooms as reviewed here by Ken Rockwell, and others. So here it is... (shot with the kit 18-105mm)






Here are some initial shots with the Tokina 11-16mm...

11mm

16mm

This one is at 11mm at about 8in from my iMac's screen...


I'll post up more images from this lens at some point.  I'm planning on heading up to the North Georgia mountains to shoot the new year's sunrise early tomorrow morning.  We'll see how they turn out.

Nikon D90 18-105mm + Canon Wide Angle = !!!

Hello, it's been a while...I've been busy with the Holidays. Hope everyone has had some good times and good fortune.

So I've kinda put this off for a while and haven't thought much of it 'til recently...

I've been checking out lenses for the D90 lately and have actually ordered the renown Tokina 11-16mm Ultrawide today. It should be here by 7PM new year's eve!!! But that's another post all together. I've also been looking at Lens Baby's. These little lenses give the image a central point of focus with a gradient blur emanating from it. A very cool and artistic effect (if that's what you like).

By accident, I stumbled across a way to create this effect or at least a similar effect. Out in LA in October, I was primarily shooting video. The camera I was using was a Canon GL2 with a wide angle bayonet adapter on it. Specifically the Canon WD-58H wide angle adapter.

Now what I ended up experimenting with was placing this wideangle lens backwards up against the lens hood of the D90's kit 18-105mm DX lens. Actually the outside of the 18-105mm lens hood fit perfectly around those two little plastic lips on the top and bottom of the glass inside the lens hood in this image.
All I had to do was keep the lens zoomed out to 105mm and keep the canon wide angle from falling off. All the camera settings and focus settings stayed the same. Well anyways, I ended up with images like these.




Now what you're not seeing is the serious vignetting that was going on. But with a bit of a crop and some thought into framing the subject, all is well. Here's one without a crop...


So while this isn't necessarily a cheaper way or better way to do what a lens baby can do, it's still cheaper than a tilt/shift lens and produces a pretty good result. I think the hardest part was trying to pan with the cars with while holding that added weight at the end of the lens. So enjoy, and maybe if you're like me...a videographer with access to odd lens and adapters, feel free to mess around. Maybe you'll come up with something that hasn't been done before or just looks cool.

Thanksgiving - What I'm Thankful For

I'm thankful for many things, but I'll list a few on here.

1. God, for allowing us the opportunity to live rich and meaningful lives


2. My parents, for having an accident me


3. Finding my future wife, the greatest girl in the world


4. My two jobs, both of which allow me to do many creative things that I truely enjoy


5. All my friends and family, for being there for me and giving me the chance to be there for them

This post is brought to you by the color green and the number 3. That is all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Millenia 3 Christmas Card

I just finished up a card for our company (Millenia 3) to send out to our clients for the holidays. I couldn't come up with any designs, so I was out shopping around for some stuff for the house and saw this ornament at Pier 1 Imports.  I picked it up, got a shiny green shirt, and my shiny red basketball shorts and shot some photos.  Here's what I came up with.  Simple and got the job done with excellent results. Original pic on top.  Click for a bigger size. 

More Red News...

Jannard's Post on Reduser.net: 

"New announcement on Dec. 3rd. Everything has changed... just as we promised. :-)

Jim"

My hope with this announcement is some sort of projection system that will allow all this wonderous resolution to do some good.  Jannard went on to say,

"The 13th was insignificant... 

Jim"  

What could possibly make the 13th insignificant...?  Not really sure.  I don't think they would try and top the announcement of the new modular system, but simply create something that would complement or accessorize it.  

We'll wait and see in another week!  

RED: A Truly "EPIC" Announcement

I've got to tell you,  I've been waiting for this ever since rumors started to swirl a few months back.  Today RED announced a new camera system that should completely revolutionize the film/tv/photography industries.  The DSMC (Digital Still and Motion Camera) system, it utilizes a completely modular design allowing the user to not only customize the system to suit their needs, but also replace/upgrade pieces as they are released, needed, or as funds are available.  

The core of the new setup are these new mysterium based sensor blocks, called "brains".  These "brains" are physically simlilar, but are made up of different sensor sizes, frame rate capabilities, and lens mount options.  The sensor resolutions range from a new 2/3" 3k Mysterium-x (sub-$2500) all the way to this unfathomable, 186x56mm 28k (yes, 28000 x 9334 pixels) Mysterium-Monstro, with 6 other configurations in between.  Outside of the sensor block are numerous options that can be attached to the rig, including a new 1080p viewfinder, DSMC I/O plate (with timecode syncs, xlr jacks, and dual-link HD-SDI monitoring), and REDhandle (a new DSLR style grip that can not only power the camera but gives the user various camera specific controls right at their fingertips).

The camera can setup in a near infinite number of variations from a DSLR rig to purpose built film camera.

This is the most well thought out project I've ever seen.  They're really putting the creativity back into the user's hands and allowing them the possibilities to do anything.  Can't wait for them to release this.

Here's the .jpg of the full product release brochure [via Giz]

[Images via Engadget]

Photoshop...for realz!

This is what I'm talking about.  Sweet!

[via Make]

Andy Sapp: 2008 Driver Profile

I've known Andy Sapp for about 4 years now. He's a great guy, a talented digital artist, and also a wicked drifter. Please check out his last hoorah as he retires from professional drifting. Great job, Andy!


2008 Driver Profile - Andy Sapp. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.

Wrecked Magazine Issue #7 er...Vol 2 Issue 1

Well issue #? is done.  We had some major delays this time but we pulled through.  We also had to hold off to find out who was going to win the championship at Formula D Irwindale and then decided who was going to get the cover since Tanner Foust was on the last issue's.  

This is technically the first issue of the 2nd year for Wrecked Magazine.  It's a bi-monthly online magazine so the 7th issue is really Vol 2 (year 2) Issue #1.  Wrecked was started last October just before SEMA with the Art Direction under an incredible digital artist Andy Sapp.  I didn't take over until the 4th issue and have been loving it ever since.  

I was able to help out some of my spreads with my Nikon D90 this time, though any point-n-shoot would have worked for what I needed. A spread I did for an interview with the founder of the Ziptied All-star Bash required some quick pics of...you guessed it, zipties.  Over all the spread was simple and still allowed me to be a little different that what I usually do.

Nikon D90: Some shots from Formula D '08 - Irwindale

For more click here...