Today was the 2nd official "Day Trippin' So-Cal Field Trip" hosted by none other than local wedding photographers Joe Photo and Becker...  15-20 local So-Cal wedding and portrait photographers made the ~2 hour drive out past Palm Springs, Past Indio, to the Salton Sea.  Simply put, one of the strangest places in all of Southern California.

I had a blast shooting everything and anything under the (hot, sun-burning) sun...  Shot a few landscapes, a few portraits, and a few landscape-portraits...

You may remember me mentioning Hanssie from my photo shoot last week.  (When photographers can't find models or clients to photograph, they turn their cameras on each other!)

Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55, Sigma EX circular polarizer.
JPG image captured with my in-camera B&W preset "T-MAX"
Finished in Bridge CS3 using a modified cross-processing preset.

Nikon D300  -  Nikon 17-55 2.8  -  17mm  -  f/9.5  -  1/180 sec  -  ISO 100
Kelvin WB  -  Manual exposure  -  RAW capture  -  Bridge CS3 processing

Take care,
=Matt=

So, bear with me while I experiment!  Experiment results #1:  Shoot everything manual, and shoot RAW.  Auto exposure and TTL flash is just no good when you're shooting in static, controllable situations like this.  Especially when you want to shoot 20 shots in the same exact light when you're trying to "work it" with the model, ya know?

D300, 17-55, circular polarizer, off-camera SB800 commanded in manual mode.
(plus a little touch of sunlight hitting the other side of her face, bonus!)

The action, with expert location / wedding photographer Hanssie Trainor getting her shot...

Nikon D300, Sigma 50-150 2.8, off-camera SB800 commanded in manual mode...

I still feel rusty when it comes to nature photography.  I need to get out on a more regular basis.  I definitely need a better lens for landscape photography as well; my 17-55 2.8 is really not made for stopping down; it's made for shooting wide open.  That's perfect for weddings and events, I couldn't ask for a better lens.  But for landscapes...  I hope I can get the money for a 12-24 DX before Joy & I go on our honeymoon; that would really come in handy...

So like I said, I feel rusty.  I hope I can be forgiven for re-visiting the "same ol beach" for now, and taking generic-ish pictures.  I'm just trying to keep my eyes sharp!

Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55, tripod, circular polarizer, 2-stop soft GND filter...

Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55, tripod, circular polarizer, don't remember if I used a GND filter...

Nikon D300  -  Sigma 50-150 2.8  -  1/250 sec.  -  f/5  -  ISO 400

Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55, tripod, timer, flashlight, two different 30 sec. expoures "added" in photoshop.