PhotographyBanzai.com

My friend and fellow photographer Kings Cosplay set up a photoshoot at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. Though we had our fair share of issues such as part of the park flooding, we did manage to get a decent amount of time to take photos. Besides getting some photography in, I enjoyed the exercise and scenic views! I brought a pretty simple camera kit. The Nikon D600 along with a 28mm f1.8 and 70-210mm f4 lens. I also brought a single flash, but only used that for around 5 photos. My go-to for most of the event was the telephoto. I like the photos out of that ~$200 old used 1980s telephoto lens just as much as anything else. The lens is weirdly shaped, ugly, and with old school screw-drive AF, but does the job well. 

I recently joined in on a two-day photoshoot Kings Cosplay had scheduled with the local model Ari Jade. The theme was race queen with most of the secondary subject being motorcycles. Here are a few highlight photos: Day one equipment: Nikon 28mm f/1.8g lens Two flash with a stand, umbrella, and a 6×8″ diffuser. The first day was a bit rough photo wise. All we initially had to work with was a home garage and by the time we got out to a downtown parking garage later in the day it was really dark, so the background wasn’t usable.  The main issue I didn’t properly compensate for was the sodium vapor lamps the parking garage used, which produces monochromatic light. I also tried gels on my flash, which didn’t have a strong enough orange to match the garage lamps. The parking garage photos were best in monochrome. The garage lighting didn't work out well.  Day two equipment: 28mm f1.8 lens 70-210mm f4 lens Two flash with a stand and large 42″ brolly box softbox umbrella. I also had...