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Anime on Display (AOD) is a yearly event that takes places in San Francisco. It’s a smaller local Japanese Animation convention compared to FAnime or WonderCon, but still draws an impressive crowd. Held this year at the beautiful Hotel Kabuki, we at Bui Photography was fortunate enough to receive media passes courtesy of AOD and you can see some samples of what we got below. You can also view all the photos in our gallery here. Thank you to all the wonderful and amazing cosplayers who we photographed!
Some people have wondered why we didn’t take any shots inside the beautiful Hotel Kabuki and the gorgeous garden they have inside is because we saw and knew there would be lots of other photographers photographing in those locations and we always pride ourselves on the challenge of doing things differently, so we selected parts around Japantown. You can also see behind-the-scene photos on our Facebook page here and here.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes video that you can also find on our Facebook page:
Tags: Anime on Display, AOD, AODSF.org, Bekalou, cosplay, event, Hotel Kabuki, Naxul, San Francisco, Yukai Shinobi
Posted in Event Photography, Photo Shoots |
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With the new year, Canon has released a new professional “L” zoom lens, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. This is a very popular lens among sports, journalist, and wedding photographers for many reasons. I currently own the Version I of this lens and love it. Nikon released their Version II follow-up to their 70-200mm with a few new improvements including a 4-stop VR and better optics. The reviews I’ve seen have been very positive.
So what is Canon offering in their latest 70-200mm? Here’s a simple comparison chart:
| SLR Lens |
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM |
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM |
Winner |
| Year Introduced |
October 20, 2009 |
September 2001 |
Mark II |
| Cost |
$1,849 |
TBD |
- |
| Image Stabilization |
Yes, 4 stops (3th generation) |
Yes, 3 stops (2nd generation) |
Mark II |
| Weight |
1,490g (3.3lbs) |
1,470g (3.2lbs) |
- |
| Max Diameter |
89mm (3.5in) |
86mm (3.4in) |
- |
| Length |
197mm (7.8in) |
197mm (7.8 |
- |
| Groups/Elements |
19/23, 1 fluorite and 5 UD elements |
18/23, 5 UD elements |
Mark II |
| Minimum Focusing Distance |
1.2m (3.9ft) |
1.4m (4.6ft) |
Mark II |
| Filter |
77mm |
77mm |
- |
Clearly Canon has made some very nice changes such as an extra-IS stop (4 vs. 3), the addition of the fluorite element will make this lens as sharp as its little brother the f/4-version, and the minimum focusing distance has been reduced by 8 inches. I’m a bit shocked as I was expecting Canon to incorporate their new Hybrid IS system or at least the 4-generation IS system that is used on the Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM lens (5-stop IS!).
I see a lot of nice features, but nothing ground breaking enough that I would upgrade to. If you are in the market for a professional 70-200mm, I would definitely recommend holding out until April and getting the Mark II version. Otherwise, the Mark I version should drop some in price and become a great alternative.
You can also read Canon’s press release here.
Tags: Canon, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, Nikon
Posted in General News, Product Review |
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© Coal Miki. Found on Flickr.com.
The Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 is a portable infrared wireless transmitter designed to wirelessly trigger Canon Speedlites. For the most part, it does that well. But unfortunately, there some severe limitations that makes it a waste of money. If you’re in the market to purchase a ST-E2, wait and read this post first before making your purchase, you won’t regret it.
Tags: Canon, Canon 550EX, Canon 580, Canon 580EX II, Canon EOS 7D, Canon Wireless Flash System, CWFS, Nikon, OC-E3, Sto-Fen, SU-800
Posted in Product Review, Tips and Tricks |
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Having never heard of this Japanese manga: NANA, I did some research online by reading the Wikipedia entry and even reading a few chapters of the English translated manga to get some insight. Nadia and Steff taking some pity on me, explained their respective characters:
It’s about two rival bands, one is a punk band and the other is a rock band. Nana [Osakai] and Layla “Reira” Serizawa (Nadia) are the respective vocalists. Shinichi “Shin” Okazaki is a bassist from Nana’s band. He kept the fact that he was underage a secret from everyone, and was actually sleeping around with women for money. When he met Reira, it started out to be like that, but they ended up falling in love. One of the things that these two have in common is that they’re half Caucasian and have had a hard time with it when they were younger. They were always hiding their relationship though, due to their age difference and their band’s reputation.
Certainly sounds interesting. Sounds like if they were Facebook buddies, their relationship status would be “It’s complicated.”
Tags: Anime, Anti-Ai-Chan, cosplay, Eric Lee, Fort Point, Layla Serizawa, Nadia, NANA, Pho3nix, Reira, Rendy Lai, San Francisco, Shin, Shinichi Okazaki, Steff
Posted in Photo Shoots, Portraits |
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© Robert Gumpert
Documentary photographer, Robert “Bob” Gumpert, is a good friend who produce some amazing and telling photographs. Since 1994, he’s been working on several self-funded projects, documenting the criminal justice system. With unfettered access to the jails in San Francisco, Bob is able to get up close and personal and interview many condemned souls as they tell him their story and struggles, in essence humanizing the institution that is often dehumanized in the media and society.
His latest project, Take A Picture, Tell A Story, Bob:
There is now a website for the latest segment of “Lost Promise: The Criminal Justice System.” ”Take A Picture, Tell A Story” (http://takeapicturetellastory.com/) is where you can find portraits and recorded stories from the two major projects of my 35 years in documentary photography. In “Locked and Found” prisoners in the county jails of San Francisco tell stories of their circumstances, hopes and sorrows. In “Tales of Work” workers tell of their lives and their jobs.
Visit the website and hear the stories.
Tags: documentary, Robert Gumpert, San Francisco
Posted in Photojournalism |
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It’s been awhile since we’ve last done an update on the blog as we’ve been busy in the meantime, but I’ll be putting up a series of new blog posts.
The first one is a photo shoot of the lovely ladies of United Underworld. The last time we had a chance to photograph the group was at the 2009 WonderCon event. You can see pictures of the photo shoot here and resulted in this shot that I really like:
Click in to see more.
Tags: Anime, Batgirl, CatWoman, Comic-Con, cosplay, Eric Lee, Harley Quinn, Rendy Lai, United Underworld, WonderCon
Posted in Photo Shoots, Portraits |
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For anyone who is looking to purchase Canon lenses, there are a number of rebates available from October 22, 2009 to January 10, 2010. Remember that rebates are only good at authorized Canon dealers such as B&H Photo Video and Amazon
to just name a few.
Tags: B&H Photo Video, Canon, rebates
Posted in General News |
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Ly and Rene’s wedding was a beautiful gala of Asian colors rich with Asian and Hispanic culture. Started off with the Chinese/Vietnamese Tea Ceremony at Ly’s house that included some Hispanic traditions that then progressed to a photo shoot at the gorgeous Warrior Lake on California State University Stanislaus (better known as Stan State). The reception was held at the American Legion Hall in Modesto, CA. I should note that Ly’s hair and makeup was done by her sister, absolutely amazing work! All the photography would not be possible without my amazing friends: Eric, Rendy, and Lynn shooting with me. Click in to enjoy the pictures and the slideshow (definitely watch the slideshow, has more pics).
Tags: American Legion Hall, California State University, California State University Stanislaus, CSU, CSU Stanislaus, Stan State, State University
Posted in Portraits, Wedding |
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Maritza and Erasmus’s Wedding on September 5 was both a beautiful and tornado-speed event! What an amazing couple so full of love, passion, and energy. It was non-stop action from the moment we met them up to the end of the night. We started from the gorgeous Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco to the Missionary Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (Maritza’s home church) for the amazing ceremony, to the Exploratorium for some pictures, and finally boarding the Hornblower for the reception. All this with a twenty-two person wedding party.
Click in to see some photos of the great fun-filled night!
Tags: Exploratorium, Hornblower, Missionary Temple Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, San Francisco, Sir Francis Drake Hotel
Posted in Wedding |
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