I'm going to keep this short and sweet, and just show off a few quick images from the first two days of my ownership of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2.  The camera system has a ton of great features including anti-shake (which actually works well) while obviously having the ability to use many different Apps that are out there.

Anyways, I could go in depth and dig real deep into mobile photography, but its been done a thousand times, so instead some straight out of camera shots from the new Note 2 and then a few edited.

Example of a picture without and with Steady Shot

As you can see, the feature works very well. I imagine it will help some people save some photos.

Straight out of the camera shots. (resized)

And the photos edit up really well here I think!

And one shot into the sun, to show it doesn't have the same problem as the iPhone 5

As you see mobile phones totally hold their own, they aren't replacements for your DSLR, but damn they're getting closer to killing off point and shoot cameras. What I will say is I am getting more and more confident with every smartphone that I purchase that the camera will not let me down when I'm in a pinch and need a camera.

Want to see more mobile stuff? Let me know!

As I'm sure you all notice I'm a bit all over the place with my photography. I'm not sure I'll ever fit into one mold or style, experimenting is fun and I find it enjoyable. I've fooled around with long exposures in the past, but never to any extent where it was a serious thing, so after running into an article about using welding glass as a ND filter, I was inspired to do some DIY photography experimenting.

I could have gone all out and purchased the camera gear needed to do this from a store like Adorama or B&H, but that would have taken a little bit of the fun out of it. So I got on eBay and ordered two pieces of welding glass, some rings to hot glue the glass too and a few step-up rings to be able to use them on multiple lenses.

First day out, was a little rough getting things to work well, this is a trial and error situation since this isn't a standard setup, I was taking a shortcut by keeping the filter loose on the lens for quick removale for refocusing.. and the results were ruined images.

All the images started getting a weird reflection in them, which I believe now is from a bit of light leaking in and causing the aperture blades to bounce off the welding glass. Anyhow, a little bit more trial and error has wielded some good results in my opinion.

The downside of this method is the fact that it turns your photo completely green, and while it can be brought back into correct color with work, it is a pain. Below I'll give you a quick example, and don't hold it against me.. but I wasn't trying to get this spot on as it is just an example.

Anyhow, this has been a lot of fun and it is something that I plan on continuing to use for now, I will more than likely add in some real photography filters in the future, but I have every intention on continuing on with the DIY fun that this is.

Here are two other results.

     Sometimes it can get tough getting out of the house to make new photos, even tougher to scout for good locations, so on a whim I hit up a good photographer buddy of mine Ryan Silva who does amazing black and whites and decided to try out Rocky Point.... one of my favorite places of all time, at least when I was a child... long gone, but now converted from a waste of land rotting away to a beautiful walking path. I even ran into my friend Cinnamon there, of all places....anyhow it turned my boring day into a fun day. Lesson learned today, be more spontaneous and just go somewhere and see what you can produce.

Every month in downtown New Bedford we get the luxury of having a night where a bunch of people will head downtown for a special event, it's call AHA! Night ... simply put AHA = Art , History, Architecture which this city has plenty of.  We have a ton of great stores, coffee shops, restaurants and bars as well as many galleries with great art.

Interesting piece from the Ugly gallery (don't know the artist, sorry)

For me, the events can be kind of hit or miss aside from the fact that there are always some great live music. One of my favorite parts happens in front of the 767 Exchange they make sure we get our monthly musical dose of The O'Tooles at the very least (sometimes multiple musical acts) and usually we can find a live painting happening.  In the end, I usually meet up with a few fellow photographers walk around taking some photos and ending our night at the Pour Farm tossing a few back. It doesn't really matter what you are into there is always a good time to be had in one form or another.

The O'Tooles

 

   When I picked up a camera again after close to 10 years of a break, I never though I'd have beautiful women posing for me, I honestly had no intentions one way or another on what to shoot and not shoot. Less than a year back into photography I find myself doing new things all the time, and experimenting with different techniques and equipment. I've also had the pleasure of meeting some great photographers that have been willing to share their time and experience with me to help me learn some things.

   All these photos are shot with my NEX-7 and a Minolta 70-210 f3.5-4.5 , a Minolta 50 f1.7 or a Sony 16mm f2.8, using a trigger and off camera lighting.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and I hope to be doing a lot more fun shoots like this in the near future.

 Model: Tanya Harrigan

 MUA: Lesli Patrock

 Model: Kat Kimball 

 MUA: Lesli Patrock

Model: Mary Tsunami

Models: Jax Pterodactyl, Kat Kimball and Tanya Harrigan

MUA: Lesli Patrock