Photo goings-on

So as mentioned on my other, more cycling-photocentric blog (warning: self-serving link ahead!) TooFatToRace, I haven't been doing much MTB race shooting lately. There have been a couple of semi-local races that I wanted to hit, but a busy schedule kept me away. The summer race season is just gearing up and there are 8 or more local races coming up in the next month or two. So that will be a-changin'.

So while not race-shootin', I have been trying to put myself (and my photo skillz) out there in other ways...

Last week, the local Ferrari dealership (for whom I kinda work occasionally) hosted a shindig in honor of visiting Ferrari CEO Jean Todt. When they asked if I was available to be the official photographer, I jumped at the chance. People shooting is not my thing, but I figure if you don't push yourself to do things you're not comfortable with, you'll never grow beyond your comfort level.

Anyway, it was a ~3 hour event in the Ferrari showroom. Something less than 50 people total. I spent the first hour getting shots of the guests and the room (the dealership went all-out on decorations/catering). Once Mr. Toldt arrived, I was asked to follow him and take photos of his tour of the dealership. As he and his entourage were heading out at the end of the evening, we set up a quick group shot in front of the store.



When I got home, I dumped the images to my computer and went to bed. I haven't really looked over them to see how they came out (aside from the group shot above). My go-to lens for this type of shooting is still in the shop, so I had to rely on the semi-crappy kit lens that came with the camera. I think the next time I hit the lottery, I'm gonna buy a lens that replaces the kit lens. I would have loved to be able to shoot at f/2.8 all night, but I was stuck with f/4.5-5.6 which is significantly darker. Even when using the flash, balancing the foreground light (flash) with the background (ambient/dark), I had a lot of shots that required a high ISO.

Monday I was supposed to go shoot the local Red Cross chapter's charity golf tournament. Unfortunately, family obligation and a nasty head cold kept me away. Maybe next year.