Skip to main content

Anderson Japanese Garden Excursion (with cosplay)

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:




My equipment for the day:

  • K-01 with the FA* 24mm f2 lens
  • K-5 with the FA* 85mm f1.4 lens
  • Promaster circular polarizer (for a few photos)

In a few photos I used pop-up flash and my friend’s single add-on strobe with YongNuo RF triggers. For post processing I do my normal tweaks in Adobe Camera Raw, but with a few extras. With such strong sun, it is helpful to use the adjustment brush and spot removal tool to minimize dark shadows under peoples’ eyes. Along with that I did modify some selective areas with the targeted adjustment tool (mostly areas that were too exposed for my liking).

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Viltrox AF FE 28mm f/4.5 VCM ASPH ED Lens Overview

Viltrox asked me if I wanted to take a look at this unique compact autofocus full-frame prime lens with a focal length of 28mm and a fixed f/4.5 aperture for Sony E-mount cameras. Viltrox agreed to my standard collaboration terms before sending me the lens.    In the video I talk about features, how it works in practice, and show photos I had taken on a photo walk with the Sony a7S as well as the APS-C a6000. Viltrox is starting this off as an Indiegogo campaign. They told me that it will eventually be sold through normal retailers: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/viltrox-af-28mm-f4-5-fe-chips-size-ultra-thin-lens They said it will be $99 USD or 109 Euros with discounts during the crowdfunding period. Check out Indiegogo for details. I am not an affiliate of that website. You can check on the status of availability through my usual affiliates: B&H Photo Video Amazon As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!    The front of the lens. K...
Read more

Camera Gear Reviews and Marketing Issues Exposed

A great overview by Gerald Undone on his experiences in the field of camera gear related videos! It is an important topic. The more open the better, I’d say. After over 13 years making photography and videography gear videos, I’ve not had a huge amount of success comparatively, but I’ve also never been especially brand safe to begin with for these companies to consider me. 🤣 I think his mentions toward the end of the video are especially important. The unwritten pressure, or worse with companies like Insta360 , shouldn’t be acceptable and should be publicly called out more often. That’s probably the only way things will actually change for the better. I created a video detailing my opinion on the topic further: More of my comments on the video… His YouTube channel. 4:30 I understand that’s what Gerald does, but are there situations where companies are paying for flights and hotel costs of other reviewers with the expectation of a video/article being produced? (EDIT: I’ve seen confirm...
Read more

First look at the Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 for Sony E-mount bought from KEH

I've use a Sony Alpha A6000 and the PZ 16–50mm F/3.5–5.6 OSS kit lens with my computer as a webcam for a long time now. It's a lower cost option that has been very consistent outputting 1080p at 30 FPS to a USB based HDMI capture device. The kit lens is generally fine, but it has a few quirks. The biggest issue is that throughout the zoom range the maximum aperture value is not fixed. This introduces technical challenges when I want to show detailed views of product or similar use cases. There are also other considerations I'll talk about later in this article. So I decided to buy the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C lens in E-mount as a replacement.  Links in this article are a mix of paid and through my affiliates. I earn from each in different ways. One is a flat fee and the others I earn from qualifying purchases. Considering them for your purchasing needs helps make the creation of this information viable!   I made a video unboxing the lens and trying it out with Open ...
Read more