by Pat on September 7, 2010
Hope everyone had a great Labor Day holiday! Kate and I had a great time doing a photo shoot with Thom and Heather yesterday. They’re expecting baby Logan at the end of November, so we decided to go and do a candid maternity shoot with the expecting parents. It was a beautiful day here, so we started the day at the park, then we had dinner and went back to the studio and finished the night there. We all had a lot of fun and got some great photos!
I haven’t had a chance to work on the park photos yet, but the previews of them look great. Kate’s park photos came out great, she will have them up on her website later on today! While I had the studio equipment setup, I decided to take some photos of Kate and I even snuck in there for a quick self portrait.
To check out Kate’s photos, check out her blog RetroShabby.com and on her Twitter.
Thom and Heather can both be found on Twitter!
Here’s some more shots from the studio shoot. Click on the photos to take you to Flickr if you’d like to see them larger.
by Pat on September 6, 2010
I love California. The nice weather, the beaches and beautiful sights are what keeps me in a constant day dream of going back. Since the company I work for has a couple offices in Southern California, I’ve had the opportunity to head out that way quite a few times. It’s great being out there on business since it’s a free trip. However, those free trips don’t usually come with much free time. So photography opportunities are very slim. Finally earlier this year we decided to go back, but for vacation. We had so much fun being able to just stroll around on our schedule.
Here’s a few surfers at Huntington Beach catching the last waves of the day as the sun sets behind the mountains. This was also one of the last frames for me for that night.
by Pat on September 1, 2010
Another shot from the 2010 Westfield Airshow. I was loving how close the rented Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens got me! This was right when those overcast skies decided to roll in. Here is a P-47N Thunderbolt named Jacky’s Revenge. Once a WWII fighter plane, it is now privately owned and is shown off at air shows. It’s always fun to see a bit of history still in operation!
After World War II the P-47N was used primarily to help rebuild the majority of the European airforces. This airplane was much easier to maintain and more forgiving to fly compared to the P-51. The P-47N was retired from the USAF in the 1950s when the USAF started to transition to jet airplanes.
You can see more detail of this airplane on my Flickr page.
by Pat on August 30, 2010
This has to be one of my top 3 favorite photos from my recent Yellowstone vacation! I specifically had this exact shot in mind while making the vacation planning. I was pretty excited to see what my minds-eye saw, in real life!
We set out one night to go star gazing in hunt for the Milky Way. I was amazed that it took until 10:30 PM for the stars to show up! The sky just didn’t seem to want to go dark. Once it did though, it was pitch black – you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
Before the trip, I had done my homework on how to find and photograph the Milky Way. So while we were in the car waiting for the stars to come out, I was refreshing myself on my notes. My notes said to look for the Big Dipper, then follow it to Cassiopeia, which leads you to the Queen of Ethiopia and from there you’ll see the Milky Way. Okay, no problem – right? I start following the constellations and I’m coming up blank – doesn’t seem to be lining up. Well, It wasn’t until I actually got out of the car that I finally saw it! We were staying in the car because we weren’t sure if we’d be getting a visit from some local wildlife. However once I saw the Milky Way, that thought went away. I was in awe with how crystal clear that white band streaking across the sky was. It was as clear as you see it in my photo. This mixed with the uncountable shooting stars was truly an amazing site. I can’t wait to go back!
You can see this photo in a little more detail on my Flickr page.
by Pat on August 24, 2010
LensRentals is my go-to place for when I need to rent a lens for a trip or special event. I’ve never had a problem trying to rent a lens with them. My most recent rentals were for my Yellowstone trip and for a local air show. I’ve broken this review down into different sections.
Lens selection:
LensRentals has recently revamped their website, and the new layout makes finding what you’re looking for very easy. You first select what type of camera system you’re looking to rent for. Then it narrows down the compatible lenses they have in stock. Each lens has a mini review attached to it, which I find helpful when looking at lenses I’m not familiar with.
They offer rental periods of 4 days, 1,2, 3 full weeks or 1, 3, 6 months. They also have an optional damage waiver you can add on to help protect your rental. Personally, I always select the damage waiver because, well, I don’t have money to repair these lenses! You are also going to pay for UPS 2nd Day Air round-trip shipping – which is good to keep in mind if shipping seems high. Once you’ve ordered the lens, they will email you and send you a Twitter direct message (opt-in needed), on status updates of your order.
Unboxing:
Now that the lens has arrived, the first thing I noticed was that the LensRentals name wasn’t on the shipping label. Which is a great idea so it doesn’t stand out. Everything inside is packed in a couple layers of bubble wrap and foam. Then each lens is wrapped in another layer of bubble wrap inside it’s own lens case.
Equipment packaged in bubble wrap and foam.
A rented Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II.
Lens Quality:
Of all the lenses I’ve rented from LensRentals.com, I’ve never had one with a scratch or flaw with the glass itself. Some have shown some signs of wear on the body, but that hasn’t affected the performance of the lens. Their website explains the system they have in place to inspect and test every lens that is returned.
Returning:
All the foam and bubble wrap will be re-used to pack the lenses so they can be shipped back. Bring the box back to a UPS Store and get a shipping drop-off receipt. Since the package has a pre-paid label you have to ask the counter clerk for the receipt. Once the equipment is back at LensRentals, you’ll get an email giving you final confirmation that everything is all set.
Conclusion:
There you have it – pretty straight forward and an easy process! It’s a great way to get a variety of lenses for the assignment you have at hand.
Special Notes:
- I am not getting any compensation for this review. In fact, LensRentals does not even have an affiliate program.
- Then why a review? I put this review together at the request of a few Twitter followers in an effort to help them out.
- Not sure if it’s needed but just in case, the logo is © LensRentals.com.
- If I haven’t covered something here, or you’d like more detail – let me know in the comments!
