John Heil Blog » equipment

Polaroid….back from the dead! Well, sorta.

John Heil — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:27:00 +0000

Today is a historic day.

The return of instant film.

At least for a shortwhile.
Hopefully something long term will be announced in the future. That would super duper swellolicious.

http://www.polapremium.com/

Finally!

John Heil — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:37:00 +0000

Christmas comes early!
So very excited for this baby.

Bring on the snow!

John Heil — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:14:00 +0000

Snow season is upon us and it’s so awesome looking over at the north shore and seeing those snow capped peaks! Man I love this city. I’ve never been snowboarding but I’ve been dieing to go for years!!! So, this year I bought a Seymour pass and a board and I can’t wait to shred it up! Lots of my friends are big boarders so I’m stoked to spend lots of time with them on the slopes this season. Every year they go and I say I’m going to, but never do! Finally it will happen. I met up with my friend Monique the other day and we hit up some local shops to get me some new bindings and boots. I found a kickass pair of Burton boots and K2 Bindings at Comor. So tonight I threw up a mini strobe set up in my living room and did a few shots in my living room! Check it out

Final Wedding of The Year!

John Heil — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:31:00 +0000

I’m all packed and ready for Judy and Jo’s wedding tomorrow…..my last one this season! It’s kind of sad that I won’t be shooting another one for a few months, but, the time will be well spent catching up on some projects I’m way behind on. I have a lot of things planned over the winter months and I’m hoping I can stick to my ambitous plans and come out way ahead by the spring.

A few folks have asked what sort of gear I take with me to my weddings, so here’s a shot of my arsenal all packed and ready! Along with this, comes a large bag with my tripod and flash stands. I also take a smaller shoulder bag that I wear throughout the wedding to carry my essential lenses and memory on me. The rest is stored away at the wedding somewhere so I can grab things as needed.

24mm 1.4 – Purely Delicous

John Heil — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:12:00 +0000

About a month ago the newest addition to my optical arsenal arrived in the mail, my Canon 24mm 1.4 L Series Lens. 1 word can only describe my feelings on this lens: wow.
I am kicking myself for not buying it sooner. This baby can find light that even your eyes can’t see. I’m not even exagerating. Incredibley fast and razor sharp. I LOVE TIHS LENS!!

Being that I shoot on a crop sensor, it’s not quite as wide as on a full frame, but it’s about as wide as I need it to be, as it works out to be just over the standard. I have the 50mm 1.4 as well, which I equally adore, but find that it’s a bit long indoors sometimes…again, due to the crop. But having both now gives me some awesome flexibility when I need something wider. I think this could become my new workhorse prime!

I took this photo at close to midnight on the day I got it…..
No tripod.
No flash.
Nothing but the parking lot lights and the lights inside the windows, but look how much this lens picks up!

AMAZING!!

Radio Poppers finally shipping to Canada!

John Heil — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:55:00 +0000

Ahhhh……so excited! I just ordered my set of Radio Poppers and I can’t wait for them to get here. I was planning to get a set of Pocket Wizards last month and decided to hold off until shipping commenced for the RP1′s to Canada, and finally the wait is over.

These babies are the next delicous tasting in the evolution of off camera flash as they offer radio frequency transmission, coupled with ETTL and shutter speeds up 1/8000!! I’m stoked for this as it means opening up that aperature nice and wide (my favorite way) but without having the limitations of 1/250th shutter speed.

Ok, now I must be patient. 5-8 business days before there even shipped.
I can do it.

*tick tock, tick tock*

Macro Lens

John Heil — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:45:00 +0000

Ok, I just gotta say that B&H rocks so hard. Every single time I order from there I’m amazed at the speed of their service and delivery. And to boot, they are the cheapest retailer out there. Last week I finally ordered a new macro lens and it was at my door within 35 hours of ordering! I ordered it early Monday morning and had it Tuesday late afternoon. Amazing. I was able to test it out at my last 2 weddings and I am so happy with it. I ended up going for the Canon 60mm 2.8 Macro. It was between that and the 100mm but since I’m not using a full frame camera right now, 100mm was a but long I felt. I’m really happy with lens! Here’s a few shots. The first shot is Stacey’s absolutely gorgeous engagement ring. I shot her and Brian’s wedding this past weekend and will have some shots up soon! The second image is of Sabrina’s hair band from the wedding I shot the week before. Stunning!