DaveMazz Photography

Obsessed with Photography

DaveMazz Photography - Obsessed with Photography

I’m Back Baby

It’s been a year since I’ve posted anything, all three of my readers must be very excited that I’m back!  Between raising a three year old and a newborn, it’s been ridiculous.  I haven’t slowed down much with my photography though, so I have a ton of posts ready to go. Doing this as a hobby can be pretty tiring and it comes with a lot of legwork, but it is very fulfilling. It doesn’t affect me as much as it used to, mainly because I found an excellent health supplement called Kratom Masters that has been working great for me. It is natural, and very effective. I highly recommend it.  Here is a rundown of some of the things I’m hoping to post within the next month or so:

 

-Review of the Phototek Softlighter 2, 46 inch version, using a speedlight. If you are planning to rent a car for your next trip check this website to find all what you need to know.

-Adventures in newborn photography

-Food Photography:  Great practice with lighting.

-Adobe CC for Photographers – My Take

-Photo Reviews – Good or Shit?

Those are just a few posts I can think of off the top of my head.  So many things to post about, so little FREE time.

Hiatus and New D7100

It’s been months since I’ve posted, life has been crazy busy!  But I’m back, and getting into the swing of things again.  So many exciting things going on in the world of photography.  One of my favorite companies, Yongnuo, has come out with some new triggers, as well as a couple of speedlights.  I know there are many who dislike a lot of the Chinese companies, but I’m pretty excited for these new products, I’ll definitely have some reviews coming up.

I reluctantly retired my beloved D90 at the beginning of September.  It served me well for over 2 years and 40,000 shots.  I was close to getting the D7000 a few times, but now that the D7100 has been out for a while, I really thought it was a good upgrade to the D90.  The IQ of the D90 is awesome, especially for the price, but the D7100 has better ISO performance and dynamic range just to name a few things.  If I could afford it, I would have kept it for a back up!  I’m going to have a review of the D7100 compared to the D90 in a week or two.

Until then, I plan on updating the site with some new images in my gallery and a few other things.  Stay tuned!

Mixing Ambient with Flash

It’s been a while since I posted, the little one hit 1 year and is a wild man now!!  This post is from Christmas, finally finished it, enjoy!:

After spending some time re-reading David Hobby’s awesome Lighting 101 and Lighting 102 tutorials, I decided to create a holiday picture with our Christmas tree and Bichon, Cooper.  I wanted the picture to be kind of moody, almost looking like it is lit by the fireplace.  But I also wanted the main focus to be on Cooper.  I remember a while back I read a great post by pro David Tejada, and it was my inspiration for this particular shot.  Come and check it out after the jump.

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Printing Photos – Home Printing or Lab?

Canon Pixma Pro 100I recently purchased a Canon Pixma Pro-100 printer for a very good price from Craigslist.  More on that printer after the break.  I’ve been printing photos for a long time, and like many hobbyists, I used your standard all in one inkjet, albeit a pretty good one.  After doing a bunch of research I bought the Canon MG6220 about a year ago.  Being an all-in-one is a sure sign that 1.  It isn’t going to approach a dedicated photo printer quality and 2.  It’s probably going to be pretty cheap to buy and super expensive to replace the ink.  Right and right.  At the time, I figured a dedicated large format printer would be way out of my price range.  Looking back, I was definitely wrong….

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Lighting Jonathan – A Few Quick Shots

Since I haven’t actually posted any pictures in a while, I figured I’d post a few of my favorite subject, my 10 month old son!  He is finally changing his expression when he sees my D90 looming over him, as the first 9 months he would just stare at it in amazement, probably because with the battery grip it was about the same size as him.  Check it out inside, I posted a few of my recent favorites along with the lighting setups. No matter what your investment portfolio looks like currently, there is always new potential with each new season that comes your way, you can learn more here.

 

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Purchasing another 100 Dollar Yongnuo Flash

I’ve hYongnuo Flashes - DaveMazz Photographyeld back as long as I could, it’s time to purchase another 100 dollar Yongnuo flash.  I’ve been doing pretty well with the 2 speedlights I have.   If I think I need 2 lights, I’ll experiment with reflectors and speedlight position until I get the same look with 1.  If I need 3, I get by with 2.  There are times though where a 3rd would really be great.  It is mostly when I want to light the background separately, or add a hair light.  With the price of a lot of the Chinese speedlights so cheap now, I think I’ll make an eBay purchase soon.  After the break I’m going to break down a few that I’ve had my eye on, all pretty inexpensive…..

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Yongnuo YN-622N Review Part 2 – CLS Comparison and HSS

Welcome to my Yongnuo YN-622N review!  In the first part of my review of the YN-622N, I went over the basics, as well as compared some images in TTL and manual modes, using different EV values.  In the second part of the review, I’m going to be comparing the High Speed Sync (or Auto FP in Nikonese), and TTL capabilities of the 622N to the capabilities of Nikon’s CLS system, using the D90’s built-in commander mode.  I took a bunch of images, and have the results…..I’m also adding some more thoughts on these triggers, as I’ve had some more time to play with them.

Yongnuo YN-622N Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yongnuo YN-622N Review Part I – Introduction and Test Shots

I’ve waited months for these triggers to come out, they are finally here and I’m super excited to share my Yongnuo YN-622N review.  These triggers are about 80 bucks for a pair of two, many times cheaper than most name brand triggers, especially considering their features.  I ended up getting mine on eBay for about 90 dollars, shipped from Utah.  I paid the extra 10 bucks so I wouldn’t have to wait.  I’ve gotten lucky, as most of them are still being shipped from China, which could take a month to deliver.  I’m sure soon enough they will be shipping from the USA.  Read on to see if they were worth the wait….

 

Yongnuo YN-622N Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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