Category: Cameras

Field Report: Happy Hour and Available Light

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Happy Hour. Bernie's Bar & Restaurant. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2018
Happy Hour. Bernie’s Bar & Restaurant. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2018
 

Photography and Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2018

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Field Report: Happy Hour and Available Light

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I was sitting at the bar at Bernie’s restaurant and bar in Glenside Pa. enjoying a delicious Ketel One martini when I finally realized why I like this place so much.  The food, beverage and sexy millennial wait staff is excellent. The modern well appointed interior space is beautifully designed accented by natures natural light. Well positioned, the bar faces west with large plate glass windows behind it looking out on to Glenside’s charming suburban neighborhood. There’s an outdoor seating area for diners as well.  I’ve observed on several occasions when the sun sets behind the bar on a clear day, it seems to have  a magical impact on the mood of the diners and wait staff.  Everyone seems to be happy in that moment. The light is deliciously seductive at that hour in this place.

I had my compact SonyRX100V camera handy and framed a few pics that I think captures the feeling during this happiest of  hours.  Camera was balanced for daylight with ISO 400, F-2.8 at 1/80th of a second. Zoom lens was set to 20mm. It’s hard to beat the nimbleness and refined resolution of this Sony capturing device.

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Happy Hour. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2018

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Tony Ward shooting with the SonyRX100V.
Tony Ward shooting with the SonyRX100V.

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About The Author: Tony Ward is a fine art photographer, author, blogger, publisher and Adjunct Professor of Photography at the University of Pennsylvania. To access additional field reports by Tony Ward,  click here: https://tonyward.com/2018/03/20/field-report-sony-rx100-v/

 

Field Report: Sony RX100 V

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Tony_Ward_Studio_dolls_window_trocadero_night_club_philadelphia_Display
Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2018
 

 

Photography and Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2018

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Field Report: Sony RX100V

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I’ve been working with the new Sony RX100V since December of 2017. It was first time that I made a complete switch in shooting style and I was mostly interested in a camera that was mirrorless, high in resolution and extremely portable.  I switched to digital capture in 2004 and worked my way through several single lens reflex DSLR’s before I decided to make a wholesale change with respect to day to day shooting.  There is nothing like a high end 50 megapixel  camera for making large exhibition prints. However, the RX100V is holding up extremely well with its 21 megapixel image sensor.

The photograph taken above speaks to the spontaneity inherent in keeping this small camera in my pocket; whenever I leave the studio. I was on my way to the Reading Terminal market in center city Philadelphia to test the camera in a fast moving environment, when I came upon this window display at The Trocadero, a famous night club in center city where I have  photographed to the wee hours of the morning in the early nineties.  This window display instantly captured my attention and reminded me of the fun times mingling with the interesting club goers at this iconic night spot.

With my camera set to Shutter priority at 1/60th, and ISO of 100, the cameras metering system calculated the f-stop at 2.8. With this setting I was able to capture excellent detail on the fly with no camera shake. By shooting in RAW I maximized the cameras pixel power and was able to crop out any extraneous information on the edges of the frame without a loss of image quality. The next big test for the camera is to make large exhibition prints.  I will report on printing results in another post.

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To access pictures taken at The Trocadero during the early 1990’s, click here: https://tonyward.com/early-work/alternative-lifestyles-1995-1998/

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To access additional pictures taken with the Sony RX100V, click here: https://tonyward.com/2018/03/09/george-krause-lunch-legend/

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Tony Ward Shooting With the Sony RX100V
Tony Ward Shooting With the Sony RX100V

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About The Author: Tony Ward is a fine art photographer, author, blogger, publisher and Adjunct Professor of Photography at the University of Pennsylvania. To access additional articles by Tony Ward,  click here: http://tonywardstudio.com/blog/george-krause-lunch-with-a-legend/