PhotographyBanzai.com

I had checked the forecast a day or two before and noticed a moderate chance of showers. My decision was to use only the K-5 and DA* 55mm f1.4 lens. We ended up having some light showers once or twice while at the garden, so that decision worked out. I just kept using the camera as normal without any issues while the rain was coming down. The nice thing about meetups like this is that I can just focus on the basics, but I’m also inclined to do a more experimental style of framing my subjects. This leads to images that might receive some critical comments on first view, but when examining them further, they might see the intent involved. For example: Multiple times I noticed scenes where the foreground let in just a bit of something interesting. A visual hint of interest lies in the middle of the frame that you put a little extra time into trying to distinguish. On first glance, it might have an amateurish feel, but I don’t believe that is the case when my true intent realized. As...

Before Comic Con, I attended a small meetup at Cantigny Gardens in Wheaton Illinois. It is a large park with a lot of green space, flowering gardens, buildings, a tank park (yes, military tanks), and other various structures.  The equipment used: Pentax K-01 with the Pentax FA* 85mm f1.4 lens Pentax K-5 with the Pentax FA* 24mm f2 lens and Sigma flash. The LCD screen is a lot more vibrant on the K-01, so I had thought I was having issues with the K-5. In retrospect, both sets of photos turned out nice, although I did have a higher percentage of junked photos from the K-5 setup. Mostly from focus errors and not getting settings correct. Properly mixing flash and ambient was somewhat of a pain because lighting conditions were changing from minute to minute. Overall, I’m happy with the results.

A friend of mine set up a meetup at Anderson Gardens. We had initially intended to have this meetup focus on cosplay photography, but as things work out often in Rockford, only one cosplayer was able to make it. The largest issue being that most people in the convention scene live in the Chicago area.  EDIT: If you have plans to visit this garden, please respect their policies regarding photography. Groups would need permission or more likely paying for access after hours. They've had issues with cosplayers and photographers over the years, so be someone that sets a good example instead!  A pathway of the garden. The garden has a lot of chipmunks!  I’ll admit it is difficult sometimes making the 90 mile trip to the Chicago area for conventions and other events, so it’s understandable. The girl cosplaying is a character from the popular Sailor Moon (a show and manga target toward girls and women). EDIT: Dani, Rest in peace. :( Here are a few highlights of the excursion: ...