Back again with Part 2 of the dA Crazies group shots from 2013...thought I'd better work on this since it's been over 2 months since the last blog entry.
I've been thinking about things and thought I'd try something a little different from the last blog post...instead of going over the technical aspects of each shot, I think I'll just type whatever comes to mind as I look at the shots...lets see if I can interpret what I'm feeling as I view each shot and put that feeling into words. Here goes...
The first two group shots were taken at Pounders Beach on June 15, 2013. I believe this was the first time I'd ever been there and was surprised to see Norris and Brandon that morning. I see Kyle was visiting from Kauai too (for Mother's Day?). Its been a while since that morning so I don't really remember much, except we did get some nice clouds and colors after the sun came up.
I really like how the first group shot turned out, although you can't really tell we were at Pounders Beach unless you know this cliff face well. But I wanted to avoid shooting into the sun or have the bright sky to deal with. I like the texture of the cliff face behind us although it does seem a little busy. Really enjoy seeing all the happy faces...reminds me how much fun we always seem to have when we go out to shoot the sunrise.
The second group shot was a challenge...they wanted to have the sun behind us (although I don't recall why) and it was really difficult to get the exposure right. I think I had a 2 stop ND filter on and I had to set the flash to full power (which wasn't quite enough power...I should have moved the flash closer to the group to get more light on the faces). I wasn't really happy with the situation, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while. And seeing all the smiling faces when I'm processing the image makes it all worthwhile.
The next group shot was taken at Sandy Beach on June 22, 2013. Boy this was a big group...I see this was the weekend we got to shoot with Kiall Frost (a really good landscape photographer from Australia!) and I recall this was the morning we ran into Alvin from the "I Wanna Shoot So Badly" bunch...he was leaving the parking lot just as we got there and didn't know it was him until we got to the rocks...was a nice surprise to see it was him.
As I recall, we didn't all meet up at the same time...as the morning passed and the sky started to lighten, more and more Crazies would walk down from the parking lot. There were 15 of us by the time we were ready to do the group shot...and let me tell you, it's not easy to do a group shot with this many photographers...they're all busy talking about gear or other photography related topics while I'm setting up and it takes a while to get their attention and rounded up into place for the shot. But the shot came out great (I think it's one of my best group shots ever) and I'm really happy with it. What a morning that was.
Oh...Janet isn't in the group shot because she was in Italy for a photography workshop (we were all jealous of her, but we all missed her).
The next group shot was taken at the Waimanalo Boat Ramp on June 29, 2013. And no, there's nothing wrong with your eyes...Kenway and Janet are not in the group shot. Janet was still in Italy at the photography workshop and I think Kenway was in Canada visiting friends. We sure missed both of them as well as the other Crazies who weren't able to join us that morning. But having a smaller group meant the group shot was a little easier to setup and do.
I think I processed this one only in Lightroom and didn't take it into Photoshop...I think I wanted to streamline my workflow a little, but I'm not really happy with the image...just doesn't seem as sharp as the others...but at least you can see Reid's face. Another great Saturday morning...
The next group shot was taken at Makapuu Beach on July 4, 2013 and we had another big group that morning. We were joined by Monica Royal (a macro photographer from San Diego), as well as a few members of the "I Wanna Shoot So Badly" group (Alvin, Phil and 2 others) and even Jared showed up (hadn't seen him in ages). Looks like we had a really nice morning (although I honestly don't remember) and with a group this big I probably had a rough time setting up for the group shot, but it turned out okay.
Shooting with a big group is different...lots of people to chat with, but who do you hang around with while you're shooting? Sometimes I'll just watch the others as they move about looking for a good vantage point for the shot they're trying to get. It's neat to see how others work and I try to imagine what they're thinking as they look for that one shot. And then it's always fun to see the images that are posted later...everyone's vision is so unique.
The next group shot was taken at Castles Beach on July 6, 2013...and no, I didn't know this was going on behind me as I took the group shot. I learned later that Glenn was pointing to a hole in Norris's shorts...Norris said he was sitting on the rocks (which were pretty jagged and sharp) and a sharp rock ripped a hole in his shorts.
This was the first time I'd been at this particular spot and since it was a fairly clear morning I was hoping the colors would be really nice, but the bold colors didn't appear and most of my shots were kinda bland. But no matter, it's always fun to do the Saturday sunrise with dA Crazies.
The next group shot was taken at a beach access spot in Lanikai on July 20, 2013 that was really different from most other locations...there wasn't much room for all of us in this spot, so a few of the guys braved the slippery rocks and went to shoot the sunrise from the water.
After a morning of shooting what we could, we managed to squeeze in for a nice, tight group shot. The guy with the foam shaka sign? I forget his name but he just happened to be there that morning to enjoy the sunrise and we asked him to join us for the group shot...he seemed to fit right in.
The next 2 group shots were taken at Kahana Beach on July 21, 2013 and this was the morning that the sunrise didn't disappoint one bit. Janet was letting me use her EF 16-35mm lens and I had a great time playing around with the wide angle aspect of that lens. It was this morning that we were treated to an amazing display by Mother Nature...the colors that morning were truly epic and pretty unforgettable.
After the sunrise we did our group shot on the beach and then as we were heading back to the cars I wanted to do another group shot under the trees. We were trying to look "gangsta" for the second group shot but I don't think we were able to pull it off. But I am pretty happy with the way the second group shot turned out, although I do wish I moved the camera a little more to the left so that the group was framed by the trees a little better. Oh well, next time...
The next group shot was taken at Magic Island on July 27, 2013 and it was the first time I've shot the sunrise from a location in town and I gotta admit, it was pretty good...Blue Hour provided some nice deep colors and the clouds were cooperating, showing nice red and orange colors as the sun started to rise. Tried to incorporate some of the lights from Waikiki in my early morning shots, but none of my pictures really stood out.
As the sky began to lighten, a few other Crazies showed up and I finally got to meet Tina Mahina in person. She's a really funny person and it was great to spend the morning with her. George got a great picture of her photo-bombing Kenway and Janet. I think I'm finally getting the hang of using fill flash for the group shots...I think this one turned out pretty good (although it's still kinda tricky finding balance between ambient and fill).
The next group shot was taken at the Hukilau Cafe after we shot the sunrise at Pounders Beach on August 3, 2013. We had been shooting the sunrise at Pounders Beach, but just around the time we were going to do the group shot, it started to rain really hard and we decided to skip the group shot and go have breakfast at Hukilau Cafe.
After breakfast Tom said he wanted to do a group shot and Anthony wanted to do one too, so I grabbed my tripod and flash from Kenway's car and we setup the cameras in the middle of an intersection (why yes, we do own the road...haha...) facing the cafe as the others got into place. Good thing it was early in the morning as traffic was pretty light and we didn't have to worry about our gear getting run over. So funny that we all didn't know which camera to look at as the shots were being taken.
I wonder if Hukilau would hang our group shot on one of their walls?
The next group shot was taken at Laenani Neighborhood Park on August 24, 2013. We were hoping that it wouldn't be windy and the bay would be glassy, but it wasn't to be. The weather was pretty nice and there were some clouds in the sky, but the colors just weren't there. At one point some high clouds did light up with some reds and orange, but it only lasted a few minutes and was gone.
Rather than shooting the sunrise I spent most of my time taking silhoutte shots of the others just to keep myself entertained. For the group shot I put on a 2 stop ND filter to help keep the sky from blowing out, but struggled trying to find a good balance with the flash power. And for some reason I really struggled with the processing on this shot...could have used a little more contrast with deeper blacks.
It took me a long time to get Part 2 of my dA Crazies group shots out...I'm going to try to get Part 3 out sooner. There has been a change in my work life that will actually allow me to focus more on my photography again. I'm no longer temporarily assigned as the supervisor of our section at work (which is a load off my mind, let me tell you)...the BWS finally filled the supervisor position (after almost 2 and a half years) and I don't have to worry about all that supervisory stuff anymore and I find myself looking at more photography websites and wanting to go out shooting again.
Hopefully Part 3 will be posted soon.
