Photolog

My random life, infront of the lens.

Gear check.

My gear.

Alright, the number one question I receive is "what do you shoot with". Now normally this is easily answered with "Canon". Lately though I have been getting more serious inquiries as to what gear typically gets used. This is nothing super special and personally I do not have the super high end stuff... Yet... 

Going left to right. The first image is the bag I have recently began to use a little more. I enjoy having a couple lenses with me at all times, and since acquiring my 70-200 it's hard to have that on the camera, this bag allows that. This is an Amazon bag that was found for $10 online and could not be passed up. I have been looking into a camera backpack for a while and this was the winner due to the price. As you can see with the second picture a few things get crammed into there.  Not pictured is my iPhone 5 that literally is a life saver and took the photos you see here. Not the greatest due to the lighting, but did the job. 

Canon 50D with strap; yes i still like the strap, and spare battery and charger. Canon 70-200 F2.8 NON-IS, Canon 28-135 F3.5-5.6 IS, Canon 50 prime F1.8, Sigma 17-35 F2.8-4, Rokinon 8mm Fisheye all manual, Yongnuo YN-468 ii speedlite, Cowboy Studio wireless triggers for the speedlite, spare CF cards, a knock off cable release/intervolometer, GoPro hero2, small cleaning kit with lens pen, Square credit card reader, and shoe strings and zip ties. 

Basically this covers a little bit of everything so I can be ready for almost anything. Of course when going on a shoot I will not be carrying this exact set up, but you never know on a day to day basis what you might see, or need. Yes those are shoe strings, they tend to get used a lot when I need to stick the speedlites in a weird spot or hold branches, or other things out of the way for a little bit. They have saved my shots plenty of times and will always be in close reach. 

the 4th photo is the other stuff  may be used depending on what I need. Lowepro 150 shoulder bag, this thing is my day pack/travel life saver. My iPad fits nicely and I can carry a couple lenses and a speedlite. This is usually what I carry when I know what will be needed or for a daily bag. For traveling it works perfect as well as my personal bag, I DO NOT check my camera, ever. Too many horror stories of gear getting stolen. Included in this shot is my old manual lenses. these were some of my first purchases and helped me learn how to operate my camera and understand the basics. They are both M42 lenses with EOS adapters. 28mm F2.5 Vivitar and a 70-210 F3.5 MACRO Soligor. The Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 is my cheap telephoto that gets used rarely, it also has a MACRO setting that will get used for some off the wall stuff that gets shot. Cokin ND and polarizer filters and adapter ring for landscapes (ND and grad ND filters not pictured). Another Yongnuo speedlite, this is the yn-560 manual. Some shoot through and reflective umbrellas and a couple tripods. 

Finally my daily bag for random other stuff is my Timbuk2 bondage laptop bag. This little bag is an amazing example of efficiency and awesomeness. Macbook Pro mid 2009 for editing and emails/internet/Facebook machine/time waster. Bose MIE2ear buds, and my iPad. This was included in the photo, but it usually goes everywhere with me. Also included is my back up 500GB hard drive and card reader with cables. Wallet... yes my TGT wallet is included as i have used my ID and some tape to use as a makeshift bounce card for my flash or help as an optical slave with the on camera flash. 

So there you have it, nothing super special or crazy. These tools are what get used to create the images you see, and like on a daily basis. I plan on doing more gear related stuff as i get new toys. If there is something specific you would like me to single out and review or explain, please email me or leave a comment below. 

Jon

49/52...

this week i am using an image from a recent et i shot for a local tattoo parlor.

the media guy for Vishnu Bunny Tattoo sent out a Facebook post asking for some help with an upcoming shoot. they are working on monthly shoots that showcase the talents of their artists. in this case i was teamed up with another local artist named Arianna. she is a clothing designer in Sioux Falls, SD. she does some amazing work and is super creative.

unfortunately the original shoot we had planned fell through due to a winter storm that occurred. so this shoot was %100 on the fly and made in the moment. we moved a few thing around in her home workspace, and she wore a set of lingerie that she had recently created. i had to rely on 2 speedlite flashes and one shoot thru umbrella to get this set done. lucky for me she was into the idea that i presented and we were able to get it done fairly quickly, with no hassle.

please check out the Vishnu Bunny website at http://vishnubunnytattoo.com and if you are in town, stop by for a visit. they are also a local art gallery that showcases talent from Sioux Falls and the surrounding area. they art changes monthly and usually has a certain theme or featured artist.

here is a link to the full set on their website: http://vishnubunnytattoo.com/?page_id=695

Jon

33/52...

this week i did some shots of my son doing some "light painting". i have a few friends that do Poi, and my son has always loved watching them spin fire, and LED lights. a few months ago i found this toy at a local store, and purchased it for my son. after it being neglected for a while we took it out the other night and snapped a few pictures. i will be posting some of the other pics from that night in a few days. the big boys were plating with fire.

the best part of the whole night was the adults giving my son high 5s and genuinely being stoked on my son spinning. the smile on my sons face was priceless. I'm sure there will be some new LED toys coming soon.

Jon

@jonseaton - instaram @thejonseaton - twitter

11/52...

20120311-095653.jpg For this week, I used my fisheye lens for a self portrait. I found these earbud speakers the other day, and instantly thought of this shot. I have the "earbuds" plugged into my iPad.

For the shot, I used 2 off camera speedlites. One behind a 45" white umbrella above the camera pointing down. The other was shooting into a reflective 36" umbrella, bouncing the light from below and to the cameras left. The lower flash was used as a full light for my legs, and chest.

Post processing was done in adobe Lightroom 3 and photoshop cs5. Minor tweaks to the white balance and adding some contrast. Then cropping and adding my logo.

If you have any ideas for next weeks photo, please comment below!!! Any, and all ideas are considered.

Jon