Yesterday night was the first NewTeeVee Pier Screenings, which was organized by the beautiful Joey Wan. I got the chance to cover it as the official GigaOM photographer. The night turned out to be fabulous, and I got a lot of great shots in, including some long exposure photos like the one above. You can also view the whole set on Flickr.
Since this was my first semi-professional gig, I decided to rent some good equipment. I got the Canon 85mm f1.2, 35mm f1.4, and 580EX flash. The 85mm was unbelievably sharp and fast. I’ve read so much about this lens before, but it’s a whole other world when you get your hands on it. I was able to get shots that were previously impossible. The 35mm is a favorite among the photography socialites Lane Hartwell, Scott Beale, and Thomas Hawk. It’s a great walk around event lens that is both wide and fast.
In the end, I really enjoyed shooting the event. Since it was outdoors and unlit, the venue presented a unique lighting challenge. It was especially difficult to get large group shots in such a dark environment. I ended up doing some long exposures (one of my favorite techniques), which came out reasonably well.
Let me know what you think. And also, if anyone needs photography done for an event, send me a line at “jamesjacobyu (at) gmail (dot) com”.
May 27th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Nice photos and the fact that you could do without flash is great. I have the cheap 50mm 1.4 and although it works well in low light, it’s still quite long especially with the crop factor on my Rebel XT. 85mm 1.2 sounds like a nice lens. Where did you rent?
P.S. Nice meeting you at the screening.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Nice to meet you too!
I rented at Camulet — quite reasonable at around $20 per day per lens. I also have the really cheapo 50mm 1.8 (even cheaper than the 50mm 1.4). The 85mm is just superb! (but still not sure about that price tag.. yeesh!)