So here are some photo at the Criterion Hotel, as tried the 5D Mark III at some high ISO’s.

So my two cents on the new Canon 5D Mark III

First I have to say that I was never a fan of the 5D Mark II, as an expensive camera it always felt cheap (mine squeaked), its low light ability was OK, but not great, and it could not focus to save itself.  At low apertures (like f1.4) I would have to take 10 shots of everything, and hope to hell one of them was in focus (sometimes all 10 were wrong).  F 1.2 was a pipe dream to get in focus. I ended up getting the older 5D Mark 1 as a back up camera, and came to love it more.The mark 1 felt more solid and skin tones somehow seemed better.  Before Canon I used an old Pentax K100D, which despite being older and $3000 cheaper, was in many ways a much better camera.

There is a lot of hype over the 5 Mark III, and I have not used it enough for an in depth view, but some first look comments

• It ‘feels’ more solid and expensive, something close to my 5 year old Pentax (but still not as good).
• It focuses, Yay.  I am not certain this a great plus, as it is really something that the 5D Mark II should have done.  But I can now shoot at F1.2 and reliably get 1 in 3 photos in focus (my running kids make a challenging subject at these apertures).
• They say it focuses great in dark situations, I have not found this, it still hunts and you are going to need a flash assistance to focus in dark areas.  The black focus points hopefully will get fixed in later firmware releases – it really sucks.
• Its said you can shoot it at ISO 6400 to 12800 and still get usable shots.  I do not know if mine is a dud but I have not found this, I would not use it at 6400 ISO.  Not really certain I would use it above ISO 3200, I don’t think in the ‘real world’ it is much better than the 5D Mark 2.  Maybe a stop better – but not as great as the hype I have read.  Still I might be using it wrong or expecting too much. Some of the photos above were shot at ISO 5000, and needed some serious noise reduction to make them useable at small print sizes.
• I can dream, but I wish Canon could introduce some of the standard features my 5 year old $600 Pentax camera has, like ‘anti shake’ in camera, or a button that automatically sets your speed in manual mode.

All in all I am very happy with it,  but am wondering if it is just so great because its predecessor was so bad.  It is definitely worth the upgrade of the Mark II.  I am looking forward at using at the wedding this weekend, and try it out with some f1.2 apertures.

The all important wedding details

Celebrant: Karen Jarvis
Wedding Dress by : Lisa Ho
Wedding/Reception: Heron Island ResortMusic: Matt Zarb

Ok, now I am showing my metro-sexual side, but I was really stoked that I was going to get another chance to photograph a Lisa Ho wedding dress – they are just stunning in their simplicity

First the handsome Chris

Followed by the stunning Alison

Alison’s beautiful sister was her bridesmaid.

The ceremony was held on the ‘point’ at Heron Island, about 5 steps from Alison and Chris’s room.

I just love family shots, to capture the interaction and love of a family is just so important.

The beaches of Heron Island just makes a stunning backdrop

At the reception, Alison and Chris surprised everybody (including the photographer) by doing the ‘dirty dancing routine’, it was really done well.

Matt Zarb came all the way from Taree for the wedding, and learn t to play the mandolin just for their occasion, and he was really good.  So at the end of night I set up this shot to capture this moment.

So a big thank you to Alison and Chris for letting me be part of your wonderful day – and all the best in your lives together.

For wedding photographic enquires, please contact me at geoff@geoffreysinclair.com.au, ph 0420357201

My favourite of the day, just love the expression here.

Can’t wait till your wedding next week – all the best in your preparation.

For wedding photographic enquires, please contact me at geoff@geoffreysinclair.com.au, ph 0420357201

This was the wonderful wedding of Kaitlyn and James from Biloela (and yes it is fun to see how ‘foreigners’ pronounce it, try BEELOWEELA and you might be close).

The all important wedding details

Celebrant: Reverend Des Potter
Flowers: Judy’s Wedding Bouquet
Hair: Hair TM
Makeup: Amanda from Terry White Pharmacy
Wedding Cake: Taste of Luxury
Transport: CQ Limousines
Wedding: Anglican Church, Emu Park
Reception: Rosslyn Bay Resort
Music: DJ Marc

With the little things that are important and unique to every wedding.

First we have the boy James and his very close friends, looking very cool and suave.

Since I did Jerry’s workshop, I have placed a lot more time and attention on family photo.  Traditionally family photos at weddings have been considered as something that has to be done without much effort.  But with a bit of time and coaxing, they can become one of the most moving and important parts of the wedding day.  My aim is now to always do a bit of coaching to get photos like below, with a bit of glisten in Dad’s eye.

And equally important to get some lovely reactions with the Bride’s Maids.

And look how stunningly beautiful Kaitlyn ia.

The ceremony was at the little quaint Anglican church at Emu Park.

We started off with some wedding party shoots at the main park of Emu Park.

Then to back to Rosslyn Bay Inn gardens and hotel rooms, perfect for photography

And then onto the beach for sunset.

With a fun group shot to finish off with.  The beautiful bridesmaid Catherine on the right of this photo had a beautiful baby boy 3 days after this shot, what an amazing lady.

Thank you Kaitlyn and James, it was an honour to photograph your wedding, and all the best with your new lives together, Geoff

For wedding photographic enquires, please contact me at geoff@geoffreysinclair.com.au, ph 0420357201

Renee and Jay wanted a country style shoot, and organised their engagement session at the Rockhampton Heritage Village – a brilliant idea.

I (like Jay) cannot wait to photograph Renee all dressed up, she is going to be a stunning bride.

I think this is my favourite of the day, taken in the Ham Radio studio

Yes, again rule 57, find long grass and put somebody in it.  Looking forward to seeing you guys at the wedding, promises to be a great day.

For wedding photographic enquires, please contact me at geoff@geoffreysinclair.com.au, ph 0420357201

I photographed Katilyn and James engagement sitting a few weeks ago in the Rockhampton City Centre (before it started flooding again), a beautiful couple, high school sweethearts.  Here is some of the pictures from the afternoon.

For interest I drove past this location tonight, and it is now underwater – the joys of Rocky, which now seems to include waterfront views every year.

My first engagement session for the year was for Melitta and Ben, who are getting married next year.  They were just such a lovely couple, I cannot wait to shoot the wedding.

We photographed the engagement session at Melitta’s parent’s place which contained my favorite light – window light

Cloudy days can be a bit boring for portraits, so here I attempted to jazz up the light with a bit of flash.

More flash light showing off some very cool tattoos – this is my favourite.

Melitta and Ben also had two gorgeous children, which were too cute to miss.

For wedding photographic enquires, please contact me at geoff@geoffreysinclair.com.au, ph 0420357201

I just love this bel0w shot of Carmen.  Normally I would split light a girl, but when you are as stunning as Carmen, you can sort of get away with it.

Carmen also let me photograph her with man Stuart, where I got to try out my new flash setup in his house.

Approaching sunset we headed up to the hills for some direct light.

And the sun put on this lovely display of light to add as a background element

Thanks heaps Carmen and Stuart, I should have some prints to you soon for payback for all your help.

Kind Regards Geoff