The World Through Ian's Eyes

Canon 580EX I Repair

2012-01-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

We all know how much our gear costs and some of us depend on it to make a living.

I broke my Canon 580EX I speedlite's foot one drunken night in NYC, with a small amount of cash and good old google, I was able to fix it in under 20 minutes.

This time around, I lost the locking pin and spring so I'm hoping this helps some people out there.

Here's a link to the parts for the flash:
http://www.strappe.com/pics/manuals/photography/Speedlite%20580EX.pdf

Here are the instructions I first used to fix it:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2007/05/31/repairing-the-canon-580ex-hotshoe-foot/

Note, if you swap the sets of screws used to remove the foot and used to hold the small circuit board down, your flash may come apart at the foot as the screws are SLIGHTLY different in size yet still 'screw in'. This is actually how I lost the locking pin.

Dial direct: 732-521-7230
For the plastic foot, request part # CY2-1227-000

For other parts, refer to the pdf and find what you need.

Disclaimer, I take zero responsibility if you damage your flash. It's very simple but you can still screw things up royally. Make sure you remove the batteries before opening the flash up.

-ian

Tale as old as time...

2011-05-24T02:32:00.000-07:00

The Diamond Edition is trippy! Some things are better left to low-res I suppose but still a classic Disney flick.

Ok ok ok, to be honest with all... I wanted to title this post 'Beauty and the Beast' but I guess this is close enough.

I've known David for about five years now and he's like an older brother and mentor to me; he somehow caught his Belle, Helen, and they are ready to tie the knot in the coming weeks!

We talked about doing an esess for so long and finally got around to scheduling it along the 1 near Half Moon Bay but I was up in the city (who would have guessed?) and the weather was absolutely perfect. I called the audible and met them up for a great evening of laughs and pictures (I hope). I struggled to prune my favorites down and still ended up with a lot.

Thanks for putting up with me while I shot the sunset and for the delicious dinner!

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Learning...

2011-05-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

how to adapt and experiment with a technique all too common these days; it's fun being able to alter reality after the fact.

One random day, I decided to be an idiot and headed up to the cabin in Truckee. I arrived about 30 minutes before sundown and decided to stop by Donner lake to take some pictures. The 10+ foot tall snow walls didn't really click in mind at the moment, it was just nice getting some fresh air and enjoying the beauty of Northern California.

I sat there at the lake for about an hour before heading up to the cabin only to find it completely buried due to all the recent snowfall. The snow walls maxed out at around 20 feet with one car width of space plowed out for travel.

Well, I'm glad I went up and came back down without a single dose of traffic. Round-trip in less than 7 hours isn't too bad.

Enough blabbering, here's your treat(?):

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They grow too FAST!!!!

2011-03-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

Eager

2011-02-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

Shooting film takes patience, patience long lost since the digital age came upon us; technology is usually seen as a means to make communication (and maybe even life) easier.

From my first time setting eyes on electronic mail back 18 years ago to experiencing the ways I communicated with coworkers at the office via email and instant messenger.

We rarely look back at how we interacted with each other on a more personal level.

My parents now email asking me how I'm doing and what's wrong with their computers; they still call but I always seem to be busy (not screening their calls intentionally at all times!).

It never hurts to take a step back to where we came from and this holds true with our photographic roots.

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Timing is everything...

2011-01-05T02:26:00.001-08:00

This saying can span MANY aspects of life, photography in particular... Here's a picture of my nieces at a family function having fun with beautiful fall leaves.

Too much focus on the wrong points...

2010-12-10T19:09:00.001-08:00

More and more I've come to realize the insignificance of gear, to a certain point... I'm currently re-post-processing my friend's wedding shots and a lot of them just came out right, maybe some angle adjustments and adjusting exposure by fractions of a stop, but overall they were just fine.

An entry-level camera with a basic lens in the right hands can bring people to their knees by re-telling the captured story. The right emotions at the right time make all of our invested time completely worth it.

I'm still working on my wedding season compilation (ok, I'm lying... I haven't touched it since the season ended) but hope to re-tell the stories of all four weddings through my pictures.

Back to Mac 12 and my Friday night date with LR3.3.

Well, 1of4 weddings completed!

2010-09-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been bad at updating (not like any of you care) but it's been a wild time for me... Recently started contracting back at Acxiom and I'm loving it! I recently attended the wedding of Abe and Jenny and had an absolute blast thanks to Mr. Johnnie Walker, that cheeky bastard... Here's a slideshow of the happenings! I'll do a repost with my personal favorites.

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San Francisco on Fire

2010-06-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

My next post was actually supposed to be a compilation of the weddings I've had the honor to shoot but I never got my act together due to MORE shooting and now I'm sitting under a mountain of pictures to sort and post-process!

Here's a quick one though! Shot at an all typical spot on Treasure Island just like my other shots but with a surprise thanks to some in-camera experimenting.

Have a great and safe weekend!

Listening to: DJ DOC - 여름이야기

I Can See Clearly Now

2010-06-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like the rain is coming to an end (what a crazy year with resorts open during Memorial Day weekend!). I'm definitely looking forward to great weather in the bay and norcal and I have some engagement shoots to work on... Here's to a great summer.

Another teaching lesson on depth-of-field...

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Every dog has its day

2010-04-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of dog-sitting, I've learned how hard it is to raise a dog and have appreciated the amount of effort put into training our best friends. This post for all all the dogs in our lives and all the love poured into them.

Dulce was an adorable German Shepherd mix (possibly with a Beagle); she was fortunately adopted into a new loving home!

Sophia's, well, Sophia! A beautiful white Jindo!

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Rubber Duckie, You're the One!

2010-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ah, the great days of non-Barney daytime entertainment for kids:

Saturday, the 20th of March was a big family day with 두째고모's 70th birthday lunch and my dad's birthday dinner. We had lotsa time with baby Camille and I even managed to get some pictures of her smiling. She apparently loves bathtime and I was told I loved bathtime too.

On a side note, the sound of the mirror box flapping around started distracting her so I had to shoot in "silent mode" (live view / video mode -> continuous shooting = manual focus, awkward position = focus was off).

I've said it before and I'll say it many more times! I have the cutest niece evar, that's right!

Moon Flare?? Yes, Moon Flare

2010-03-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

I think a lot of us have seen the videos put out by the pre-production Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 1D Mark IV, it's truly amazing what these cameras can do! If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look at these links:

Reverie - 5D Mark II
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2326

Nocturne - 1D Mark IV
http://vincentlaforet.smugmug.com/Laforet-Videos/Nocturne-Canon-1DMKIV-Video/10024122_sqhwE#686345820_EeDCa-XL-LB

I'm not saying I intend to tackle such a crazy project (take a look at Vincent's latest post on what an HDSLR video shoot looks like):
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2010/02/24/so-what-does-an-hdslr-hybrid-shoot-look-like/

But I was able to capture these shots in Truckee at the cabin close to 11 PM, yes... PM!

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Babies are like sponges

2010-02-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

I became an uncle on the 21st of December, 2009; for those who know me, that's pretty scary, huh?

I believe it was a good month before I actually held Camille Allison 지위 Chang and I was pretty scared, she's so precious and *plop* she was placed on me as I was sitting down (against my will).

Her original due date was the 18th of December, 2009 and I was thinking, "cool, same birthday as two of my friends, I'll never forget her bday." The 18th, 19th, and 20th passed and I thought, damn, so much for that idea.

Then, on the 21st, I received a call from my family saying Camille was on her way! Sharing the same bday as her grandma (which I rubbed in my parents' face)!

This post is dedicated to the happy family and the always eating / pooping / crying / sleeping baby, Camille.

Rockin' the beanie.

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Tahoe 2010 | Mee-ah-mee 2009

2010-01-25T00:34:00.001-08:00

Damn, I'm pretty exhausted. Spent the weekend up in Tahoe, if you were thinking of going and didn't, shame on you. After all the storming and dumping last week, it cleared up Saturday for a PERFECT day to hit the slopes.

With Alice at the lodge + Blue Moon

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It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do...

2010-01-21T00:39:00.000-08:00

Just kidding, this post has nothing to do with the 98 Degrees song.

The hardest thing is actually finding a "starting point" for this blog after years of taking pictures; to make problems worse, I truly shoot everything. My suggestion to you? Suck it up and follow along as I vent the last few years of memories I captured behind my lens.

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So, here I am...

2009-11-18T13:24:00.000-08:00

Shooting... I was as curious as a cat when I first grabbed my dad's Nikon FE. He taught me how to focus and hit the shutter release. Photography remained at the back of my mind and has since become a true hobby of mine over the last five years.

I bought my first digicam, a Canon S400, that's now sitting limp with the 99 error (still need to ship it into Canon for free servicing). I outgrew the XTi after three months, a 30D for a little over two years, and now I'm in heaven with the 5D2. But we tend to easily forget that it's not all about the gear but the eye/mind/imagination of the one behind the lens.

I don't know if you can call me a photographer but I enjoy taking pictures and do so, not for financial reasons (although it's extremely draining on the bank accounts), but for fun / relaxation, I guess that's how a lot of people began their lives with photography.

As I approach different situations, I struggle / adjust / shoot / and review to take my learnings and apply them towards future shoots.

No formal education, plenty of wonderful professional photographer friends, real-life field learning.

Welcome to my blog; any and all constructive criticism is very much appreciated! You don't have to be a photog to have an opinion about what I capture/d with my camera.

A rare sighting of me in the wild.