blog | photography by David Kennedy » photojournalism

20th Annual NCSU Dog Olympics

David — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:06:04 +0000

(L-R) Nicole Schnell, Mason Savage, and Christine Park prepare to implant a microchip in Tonia Lutzewitz's dog, Amino, at the free microchip clinic offered by the Raleigh chapter of the American Kennel Club at the 20th annual NCSU Dog Olympics held at the College of Veterinary Medicine on September 10, 2011 in Raleigh, NC.

On Saturday, September 10, 2011 close to 1,000 people turned out on the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine campus in Raleigh, NC to enjoy their annual Dog Olympics. Five days later, after much editing and toning, I am happy to link to my NCSU Dog Olympics gallery at lightsedgeprints.com.

Home from an April Wedding

David — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:20:16 +0000

August Kryger and Amanda Shea's wedding ceremony at Alpine Park on 23 April 2011.

Last week I flew back to Columbia, Missouri to attend my friend August Kryger‘s wedding to Amanda Shea. I flew into Saint Louis on Thursday and the following day, a few hours after consulting with my committee members to figure out the right direction for my master’s project on Asian carp, a tornado touched down at the airport. By the time I flew out on Tuesday, STL was up and running once again, and plywood replaced the glass that had been shattered during the storm.

Driving up to STL in the airport shuttle on Tuesday 26 April 2011 in Saint Louis, Mo.

A few glass windows remain at the main entrance to STL on Tuesday 26 April 2011 in Saint Louis, Mo.

My best experience with CPS yet

David — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:03:52 +0000

Hulett House - April 2009 | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 144mm | Exposed 1/100 sec. @ f/6.3, ISO 800.

A brief history of CPS

While I believe that customer service should be important to all businesses great and small, it’s clear that it isn’t always the case. So when a company does something for one of its customers that is above and beyond all expectations, it’s a good feeling. It’s also something that should be recognized by the end customer and held up as an example of loyalty-earning service. There was a lot of complaining two years ago, when Canon Professional Services transitioned into a fee-based, tiered program.

I recall a few people asking why they should have to pay for “better service,” and I scratched my head. The airlines have had a tiered fee structure for years: pay the base rate and sit in coach, but pay them several dollars more, sit in business class, and get better service. Pay even larger sums, and sit in first class with an even greater level of service. I had only been a member of CPS for a year when they changed up the program, but I have to say that I’ve seen only improvements in the past two years. Sure, Nikon Professional Services doesn’t charge (yet), but that’s in part because they’ve cut costs by firing some of their beloved NPS representatives, such as Carol Fisher, who used to represent Nikon at photojournalism programs such as the University of Missouri.

So, for the past two years I’ve paid $100 per year and received a discount of 30% on repairs plus several equipment loans for evaluation.

The problem

So what is this all about? Last week I sent in my 550 EX Speedlite that I damaged in a shoot for my Advanced Techniques class in my second semester at MU. It’s sat on a shelf for close to two years after I melted its diffuser from an hour of firing at 1:1 on manual. Before asking, the answer is that I wasn’t thinking at the time. One of the last photographs that the flash helped me to make is at the top of this post. Both of my 550 EX flashes were mounted on light stands and firing against the white walls of the mixed martial-arts gym, Hulett House. Of course an hour of shooting at full power will do bad things. But how bad?

550EX test before CPS repair: damaged flash is labeled "B". Note that the identical units are zoomed to 35mm and firing at 1/16 power. Canon 7D and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 27mm | Exposed 1/100 sec. @ f/4, ISO 100

While behaving normally under E-TTL II mode, my 550EX that I had labeled “B” (for grouping purposes in wireless flash with the Canon ST-E2 transmitter) would only fire on full power in manual mode. The photo above shows just how badly the Speedlite had been damaged: both are supposed to be firing at 1/16 power, but the only one doing that is the flash on the left. So, after two years of my 550EX “B” Speedlite working only as a paperweight, I decided to send it in to CPS to be repaired and then sell it to recoup the cost of the repair.

An aside:

I have an odd hang up about broken gear: ultimately, I’d rather fix it and sell it to someone to recoup the repair costs than to let it rot on the shelf indefinitely. This is what I did a few years ago when I bought an Olympus 21mm lens off of eBay that turned out to be woefully scratched. I sent it into a man out in Colorado who gave it a new lens coating and then sold it, barely making up for the cost of the lens plus its repair.

Resolution

Refurbished Canon 580 EX Mk. II Speedlite from CPS

Last Thursday I packed up the 550 EX and shipped it FedEx to Canon’s Newport News, Virginia factory service center. One of the things I’ve come to appreciate about living in North Carolina is that FedEx Ground will get a package to Canon overnight. On Friday I approved the repair that was estimated to cost far less than I had mentally prepared for: only $77.

On Monday morning I received an e-mail that the factory was out of parts to repair the (discontinued) 550 EX, so they would be replacing it…with a 580 EX Mk. II Speedlite! I am completely convinced this would not have happened had I not been a member of Canon Professional Services.

Today, my Canon-refurbished 580 EX Mk. II arrived…and it doesn’t have a scratch on it. Sure, am I excited that I received a flash that retails for more than $450 by paying $77 and trading in my old unit? Absolutely. But it would have been far easier for Canon to tell me that they don’t have parts any more and simply ship my old flash back to me in its damaged state. This is the kind of thing that makes me think twice about ever switching brands–my loyalty has been earned with time, but it was renewed once more this afternoon when the package arrived.

Well done, Canon. Kudos on raising the bar for CPS!

Content © 2011 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Updates | Tags: Canon 550 EX, Canon 580 EX II, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D, equipment, photojournalism, repairs

My photo on NPR

David — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:07:36 +0000

An image I made for VOX Magazine in 2009 now accompanies Jennifer Ludden's article at NPR about the fall and rise of the divorce rate that has echoed the economy.

With a little help from my friends

Yesterday I got one of my favorite kinds of phone calls–the kind that I don’t get often enough–in regards to licensing one of my stock photographs for a National Public Radio story about the divorce rate in the United States and how it has mirrored the fall and rise of the domestic economy. I was more than a little curious how they found that photograph. As I suspected, it turned out that a good friend of mine from graduate school at the Missouri School of Journalism, Mito Habe-Evans–see some of her creative multimedia pieces for NPR–pointed them in my direction!

Canal Vignette Two

David — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:30:13 +0000

Tony Lopez, right, coils a rope while Steve Gray, left, rests against one of the winches on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." fleet boat on 20 October 2010 in Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100

The second of two images I “rediscovered” while going through photographs for my master’s project. One thing that I noticed throughout that day on the Albert C. was that my shutter speeds were remarkably high all day long–relatively large apertures (for limited depth of field) combined with the all-white ship resulted in a great deal of main and fill light all the time. What was amazing about that was I only needed my flash a couple of times, and even then only inside the pilot house.

Canal Vignette One

David — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:30:31 +0000

Capt. Dan Egan goes through one of the logs on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." fleet boat on 20 October 2010 in Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/5000 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 200

In preparation for weaving together a narrative for my master’s on Asian carp, a river flowing the wrong way, and people’s livelihoods caught in the mix, I have been going back over some of my photos for the project, and in the process I have found a couple that I had not toned and ranked only “one star” in Lightroom. This image, and the one I will post tomorrow, is now a three star image storytelling image and shaped up nicely with some simple white point, black point, and curve adjustments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

David — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:31:50 +0000

Scenes from our kitchen

Misty Martinez laughs as Herbie looks on at the Thanksgiving preparations in our kitchen, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 35mm | Exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

We’ll actually be going over to Carrie and Andy Olson-Manning’s house for Thanksgiving dinner later today. However, while her husband, Andy, prepared the turkey in their kitchen, Carrie and her friend Misty came to our house to make some side dishes while we did the same. Naturally, the dogs came, too!

Carrie Olson-Manning makes Swedish meatballs in the hours before Thanksgiving dinner, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/125 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

Elizabeth drizzles some more rum over the glazed sweet potatoes as they await their finish in the oven on Thanksgiving Day, Durham, N.C. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 25mm | Exposed 1/20 sec. @ f/4, ISO 800, flash fired @ +2/3 EV

Cal-Sag Canal Diptych

David — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:30:15 +0000

Portrait diptych: Brett Witte, left, and Heather Calkins, right, on the bow of the US Fish & Wildlife Service's electro-shocking boat on Oct. 7, 2010 on the Cal-Sag Channel, south of Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Master's Project, Updates | Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 85mm f/1.2L II, Chicago, diptychs, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism, portraits