WPJA 2009 Q3 Award Winning Photo

I have a good news to share before Christmas. I got another winning shot from WPJA quarter 3 contest (Jessie won in last quarter). This shot was taken in Vijay & Shawn's wedding. Jessie was shooting at the front and I followed Vijay. I think the leaves on the ground helped me to win.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

LCDVF & $2 Lens Caps

Christmas is coming. Are you ready? We will have a few weeks off from photography works. I expect to have some family events during this period and I will shoot some home videos. I'm happy to get the LCD viewfinder (LCDVF) which helps to do follow-focusing. As I'm not a full time video guy, I don't want to spend $400 for a Z-Finder (although it's the best).

After using 5D Mark II to work in this year, I feel very comfortable to shoot video with it. I can choose my own lenses and shoot with very high ISO. No other small Full-HD video camera can compare with it.

The $2 eBay lens caps arrived to replace Canon's original lens caps. Canon's lens cap design is extremely old and nonsense. When hood is on, it's hard to put the caps on lens. Moreover, we won't feel bad to lose $2 lens caps in weddings.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Short Film

Before starting next wedding shoot, I have time to work on my own project. Recently, I'm shooting a short film. It is a bit different from most trial bike videos online. I want to introduce trial biking to general public. This project may need months to complete because we just shoot this in spare time.

We are using 5D Mark II and other HD video function digital cameras to shoot this project.

Screen captures:






This is the trailer that I made in Pinnacle Studio 14 (first time use) because a lot of people recommended this software for Canon's EOS movie editing. However, I still prefer to work in Premiere CS4. I tried to keep my shutter at 1/60s or above (5D Mark only has 30 fps option). Some scenes needed ISO6400.


Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Website Is Back Online

It was our first time to have problem with Google and FireFox. Our host got security problem and it affected 2714 websites (at least). I re-uploaded the whole website last night and I hope nothing is missing. So, you can find our site on Google now.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Tammy + Ken Wedding @ Abbotsford

Ken is one of the best friends that I know in work places. I worked with him for 3 years and I missed his daily IT discoveries and stories in each morning. He is the most energetic guy that I've ever met. He played soccer with guys 10 minutes before his ceremony. I'm glad that he found his beautiful and caring wife, Tammy. It's good to have a partner playing Rock Band and Wii Golf in front of his huge TV, isn't it Ken?

Last Saturday was a cold day. Jessie and I were lucky to have Brian to help us on speeding up the photo session. We hope no one got sick. Rain started right after we finished the outdoor photo shoot.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Makeup and hair: Salon Picasso
Ceremony: Bakerview Church
Reception: The Rancho











This one is Brian's photo










Soccer time!






This one is Brian's photo

New Tech New Tool - 100L

We got the new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens this week to replace the old EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro. The new Hybrid Image Stabilizer from Canon is really amazing. At the same time, the photo quality from this lens is one of the best among all L-Lenses that I've used.

This week, I had an assignment of taking photos on a new package box. Photos should be for website use. I didn't have much time to set up anything because of client meetings and album designs. Therefore, I used the fastest and easiest way to get the job done.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca





This is the setting with lights on.

Cora + Stephen Maternity Session

Cora & Stephen's wedding was Jessie's first wedding assignment. Last year, we shot their anniversary session at Robson Street. This year, we are back for their maternity session.

We had good weather in the Halloween weekend but it was cold. We tried to shoot most of the photos indoor because we didn't want Cora to get sick.

Cora is a fun and cheerful person. We always enjoy taking photos for her. We wish her baby healthy and happy. :-)

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Award Winning Photo on WPJA Front Page

Jessie's award winning photo from last quarter was chosen to be one of the random samples on WPJA's front page.



Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Video Stuff

Other than photo works, we are busy with many other things. At the same time, my cough (sensitive air way) is slowly getting away. I just got a portable video rail for our 5D Mark II. I hope I will have to time to test it and do some modification on it, in this week. I want to make a fold-able stand/legs for the rail however, next wedding shoot is coming...

This week's biggest news for Canon users should be 1D Mark IV. As expected, it has all video function of 7D but it has better ISO performance. However, I'm a bit disappointed about 1D Mark IV stays at APS-H sensor. On video side, I think it's much better than 5D Mark II's video. At least, I don't see any rolling shutter problem from Vincent Laforet's "Nocturne". On the other hand, Canon told us that new firmware for 5D Mark II will be available in early 2010. I expect it will not have 720p @ 50 frames (PAL) and 60 frames (NTSC). Let's wait and see.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Vijay + Shawn Wedding @ Brock House - 10.11.2009

In this busy long weekend, we were lucky to work under good weather. It made everything smooth to work for the sweet couple, Vijay and Shawn. There was a small incident... their limo didn't come because of some reasons. However, everything turned out ok, and Vijay arrived on time.

Joseph is our new assistant. This wedding was his first assignment and he did a great job. We are happy to see our team growing.

Raymond
www.raymondleung.ca

Makeup Artist: Total Image by Susan
Ceremony & Reception: Brock House Restaurant



















This is Joseph's photo










This is Joseph's photo












This is Joseph's photo


This is Joesph's photo