August 23rd, 2008 by Calvin Jung
I finally got around to washing my car (for the 4th time in 2008!), so I figured I should take advantage of this opportunity and test the rig on MY car! It’s a little harder setting everything up with only one person, hah. I forgot my Phottix wireless remote at home, so I had to set the timer on 10 sec. and run in the car, shut the door without causing too much shake that would transfer to the camera, get the car in gear, and roll. Let’s just say I did a lot of running back and forth tonight.
I think I posted a couple more in the gallery. 
August 22nd, 2008 by Calvin Jung
Since my car isn’t clean enough to test my rig on, I’ve had to wait to use others’ cars. This is why I love meets. Everyone wants to be my guniea pig, LOL! They provide me with clean cars to practice my rig on, and in return I offer the results. I won’t be charging for these shots until I get better, hah.
Last night Grant and I were able to test out the rig on a few rides. We even tried it on a Yaris! I found out the pole I’m using (~10′) isn’t long enough to mount on the roof of a g and get the entire car in the frame the way i want it to. The Yaris seemed consierably smaller, so we tested it on JJ’s.
I’m not too fond of how it came out, although I was happy that not much processing was needed to lose the rig – LOL!
I learned tonight that black cars and rig shots don’t get along so well. There’s just no “pop” to it. I’m sure there’s something I can do or maybe I’m doing something wrong. I’ll figure it out, I hope…
Then we tested it on Glenn’s CL. Before I go any further, let me just comment on how refreshing it is to shoot cars other than the G35. Don’t get me wrong, the G35 is a beautiful car and I love to shoot it, but it seems like that’s all I ever shoot. Anyway, back on track. Here is a shot of Glenn’s CL, WITH THE RIG!
All the shots posted above were taken with the car on with someone driving it. This introduced more camera shake than expected. The first night I had the rig we did the same thing – car on, driver driving in circles – with minimal camera shake. I guess we’ll experiment more next time with pushing the car, engine off, instead. Another lesson I learned: don’t make circles around a tree – LOL! Yes, that’s what the green blotch in the pics is. I didn’t really think about it at the time. It was a convenient marker to tell the drivers to drive around, hah! Oh well.
To see a couple more pics in higher res, please visit my gallery!
August 14th, 2008 by Calvin Jung
I made a trip up to San Francisco to visit my aunt Julie the first half of this week and I couldn’t not meet up with a member to snap some pics. I had to take advantage of the situation. That is, shooting in a new location. Probably one I won’t get a chance to shoot for a long time. We got lucky that the morning was clear (the Golden Gate bridge is typically swamped by heavy fog). Anyway, here are a few shots from the shoot.
PS – Yes, I know there are a lot of front 3/4 shots. I have shots from other angles, but I’m just too lazy to resize/upload those. :] I’ll resize/upload them later this week…
August 10th, 2008 by Calvin Jung
I’d write more, but it’s 2:45AM and I have to get up in a few hours to catch a flight.
zzZZzZZzZzzzZ
Goodnight.
August 8th, 2008 by Calvin Jung
A big thanks to Anh for getting this rig to me at the Chino Hills GTG last night! We tested it out on a couple rides last night and here is the one of the few shots!
August 6th, 2008 by Calvin Jung
Ray Flash Ring Flash Adapter – $300
I thought about picking up the ABR800, but I don’t like the idea of having to lug around a Vagabond for portable power. The Ray Flash Ring Flash adapter looks nice because it’s a unit that converts the 580EX II into a ring flash. Because it relies on the 580EX II as a light source, it requires no power. This makes it very convenient. Plus is got a nice little review on Strobist. However, I also came across the Orbis Ring Flash adapter. It comes out in September and is $100 less than the Ray Flash. I’m going to wait for a Strobist review before I make any purchases. This Orbis may be worth waiting for.
Canon Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Autofocus Lens – $355
I miss having a fast prime lens. I sold my 50 1.4 because it just didn’t have enough reach. The 85 1.8 would make a great portrait lens for me.
Canon E1 Hand Strap for EOS Cameras with Boosters or Vertical Battery Grips – $25
I actually already bought this a couple weeks ago. And I must say that I really prefer this over necks traps overall. It just makes holding the camera so much easier and more comfortable. I wish I bought it sooner.