Life's a Bokeh

Birthday Bicycle Video with Canon 7D

This is a continuation of my earlier Canon 7D video post.

Trying my hand with video on the Canon 7D. We had just given my son a new bicycle for his birthday and he was eager to try it out. Video shot hand-held with Canon 28-70 2.8 L, built-in mic and manual focus. Video was edited slightly in iMovie.

Since I am a real novice both shooting and editing video, this should be an example of of something anyone could do straight out-of-the-box.

Son's Birthday Party Pinata Video with Canon 7D

This is my first real effort using the HD video capabilities of my new Canon 7D. I'm a complete novice using video and even less so with a DSLR but given that my son is now three, it's time to learn.

The following video was shot at his 3rd birthday party using the old 28-70 2.8 L, manual focus and built in microphone, editing was done with Apple iMovie. Would have been even easier if I had discovered the "Quick mode" auto focus to get started.  I'm not qualified to give a critique but found shooting video easier than I expected and pretty straight forward due to the dedicated video controls. 

You'll notice that the pesky pinata was a bit difficult for the kids to break open so an adult had to step in (and immediately broke my son's toy golf club).  We had to add some strategic cuts to the pinata with a knife to get it started.

Next post is my son riding his new bicycle, same arrangement but this time I was out on the street using the Canon 7D and had less to stabilize the camera with.

Boys Love Trucks (updated)

Photos From New Canon 7D

Boys love trucks, it's true...but it reminds me of the line from Nissan commercials from years ago Dogs Love Trucks; one of the few advertising campaigns I really liked, although it apparently didn't work very well. I love the intense look on my son's face as he studies the features of his new truck.

Update 10/27: all files were processed in Lightroom 2.5 which has not received an update yet for properly handling images from the Canon 7D.  The result is excessive noise that is not nearly as evident when using the Canon Digital Photo Professional or DPP software. The issue is now well known and no longer speculation so the images on my site are not good representations of what the camera is capable of.

Canon 7D, 28-70 2.8 L and 580 EX flash

My dad was on hand last night to deliver some 3rd birthday presents for my son.  First came new clothes which our three year old hasn't learned to fake excitement yet (for the sake of the giver).  Next came a red truck and he let out the kind of yelp that comes unrestrained, at his age he can't formulate his words fast enough to explain his excitement or gratitude, but you can read it on his face.  This particular truck was a big deal...all of the doors open, which for my son immediately takes it to the top of his list of favorites.

Photo was taken in RAW with my new Canon 7D in our living room under very low light conditions, the lens was wide open and I bounced the flash off the white ceiling, ISO 1250. There was some minimal post-processing in Lightroom 2.5 and I'm very pleased with the final product although I wish I had a faster lens.  You may have known from earlier posts that I sold my 1D mark III for the Canon 7D so I can't compare them side by side.  I'm sorry I can't because my impression is that the 7D is slightly noisier head-to-head and the auto-white balance not as accurate, but that could also be due to the fact that Lightroom doesn't yet know how to read the files properly.

Here's Jack showing off the features of his new truck to the audience.

New Portraits with the Canon 7D

Updates

5/1/2010: If you shoot RAW in the Canon 7D, don't bother with any of the Lightroom 2 versions (currently 2.7) Lightroom 3 (currently beta 2) is the only one that processes the files to my satisfaction.

11/19/2009: Adobe products now support RAW files from the Canon 7D - Lightroom 2.6 and Adobe Camera RAW 5.6 for Photoshop have been released.  Since this is a recent development I have not had a chance to use either significantly but should make a dramatic improvement on image quality.

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Got a chance to give the new Canon 7D a little workout this morning and captured a few portraits of my son using my new Canon 7D and 70-200 L IS lens.

They were shot in RAW and processed in Lightroom 2.5 for expediency sake even though it has yet to be updated to accommodate the new Canon 7D.  As a result, the photos are less than spectacular up close using the loupe but plenty sufficient for use here.

My son Jack at a neighbor's birthday party this morning

Update 10/27: all files were processed in Lightroom 2.5 which has not received an update yet for properly handling images from the Canon 7D.  The result is excessive noise that is not nearly as evident when using the Canon Digital Photo Professional or DPP software. The issue is now well known and no longer speculation so the images on my site are not good representations of what the camera is capable of.

I have since done a follow up post on the Canon 7D with more observations and Canon 7D indoor shots with flash.

Ephraim's Birthday - Aluminum Clad Office Space

Ephraim's Birthday II, originally uploaded by jack'sdad.

Today the Creative team at Tiny Prints surprised their colleague Ephraim with an aluminum foil covered office. He's now trying to figure out how he can work without taking down the decorations, Exacto knife currently being used to access keyboard.

It's just how they roll...

The rest of the photos can be found in my Flickr album

Gratitude for Family

Grandma-Bucich-90th-Birthday-2009-2, originally uploaded by jack'sdad.

A couple months ago was my grandmother's 90th birthday. Since she is still very active, driving, going to church daily, surfing the Internet etc. it was quite a momentous occasion for all of us. Family drove in from Oregon and some flew in from Texas for the event in Southern California which included many people I had never met and yet some I could identify readily even though I had not seen them in do I dare say 30+ years. We're not what I would consider close so I am very appreciative of the effort so many made.

I would have made a bigger fuss at the time but my father and I swapped out memory cards at the time and he ended up with the photos I took. I shoot in Raw format and to make a long story short he couldn't access the photos.

Tonight he dropped off the memory card and I was able to see the photos for the first time since I took them. In the picture includes a great great grand daughter so it is not something I want to lose.

My son Jack who is her great grandson will be probably too young to remember the event a few years but I sure hope he gets the change to spend some time with her again sometime soon. She suffered several minor strokes immediately after the party, apparently caused by the excitement so her body is starting to fail her.

It took practically a lifetime to get all of these family members together. Better late than never - the memories are irreplaceable.

Jack with birthday balloons

Grandma looking at old photographs with family

Jack getting rejected?  Naw

My dad with party guest

Family around the table

A portrait of my 90 year old grandmother - looks great!

Happy Birthday Lea!

RLB_3320.JPG, originally uploaded by jack'sdad.

So it's a day premature, Lea @leaarmstrong was taking the rest of the week off so we (Tiny Prints Marketing & PR) surprised her with a little ice cream birthday cake and Ciao Bella gelato while we had the chance. Enjoy the time away!