camera Archives - Marco Garcia Photography

Friday Night Lights OUT!

What I thought would be a typical Friday Night Lights, rather Saturday Night Lights college football game turned into something more exciting, and painful.

Last Saturday at the Western Carolina Hawaii game, an unexpected force crashed into my 400mm lens thrusting my camera straight into my face. The massive blow tore my forehead open and cost me a trip to the ER. Luckily, the cut, although deep, was relatively small and required no stitches but the doctor glued my wound shut with Dermabond.

Before the start of the game, I was trying to photograph Hawaii’s head coach on the field. I stood on the sidelines and was waiting for him to walk from behind a few players.

Marco Garcia at the Straub Hospital ER as a nurse wipes my laceration above my right eye. — Friday Night Light Out. A selfie at the Straub ER as a nurse wipes my laceration above my right eye.

I could see Hawaii’s QB making passes a few yards in front of me but I had tunnel vision as I was staring through my long lens at action on the other side of the field. Either the QB threw an errant pass or a player running knocked into me but I never saw it coming.

The blow was quick and sharp and was more startling than anything else. My ears popped, my jaw clenched, and I saw stars for about a second. I then felt my right hand squeezing tight around my monopod and then began to curse that my glasses fell of my face.

What I thought was sweat was blood quickly filling my eye socket and spilling on my shirt and ground. I stood there stunned for a bit not knowing what to do and worried whether my camera was busted and whether I could work through the game. Then someone from the visiting team came to see if I was alright and he ran off to find someone to help me.

Christina, a student trainer from UH, walked over and helped me control the bleeding. She cleaned my face off and applied pressure to my head wound. I didn’t think it hurt but it did. I sat on a bench with her attending to me while fans cheered as the marching band played along.

She then put a bandage on me and went to grab the team doctor, Dr. Inoue. I told her to meet me at the end of the field as I had to grab some different gear. When Dr. Inoue and another medical person arrived, they asked me how I felt and I got on my knees for her to take a look at the cut. They immediately said I needed a trip to the ER for a stitch or two. I argued that I had to work the game and they said to go straight after the game and not wait til the next day.

Throughout the game I had a dull headache and a mild throbbing at the wound site. I changed my bandage several times as it was soaked with a bit of blood but mostly sweat. I never really felt that bad but had a bruised pride and a dedication to finish up the football game as I knew someone, somewhere was expecting my images for the night.

During the game, I saw Dr. Nick Crawford who operated on my torn meniscus several years back. He served as the team orthopedic doctor and I saw him at most of the UH games. He heard about someone being injured and was surprised to see it was me. He quickly pulled me aside and looked at the wound and said it would be best to go to the ER as well.

I continued to photograph the game and got laughs and sympathy from most of my colleagues but didn’t let them get the best of me. Jamm Aquino was overly concerned for me and worried I had a mild concussion. I didn’t think the hit was bad enough to worry about it but the ER confirmed all was ok.

(Jamm took the photo of me walking at the game.)

After the game, Jamm, whom I shared a ride with to the stadium, took me straight to the Straub and offered to stay with me but I told him to go home and not to worry about me. I checked myself into the ER but was treated very quickly as my friend Aaron, who lives in my building, is like a head nurse at Straub and he hooked me up. He called ahead and told them I would be at the ER that night.

The ERs was a mix of drunks, real medical conditions, and one really attractive hooker. A nurse shuffled me in where I was asked a bunch of questions then led to a bed where another nurse doused my wound with ice cold saline then another came in and sealed my cut with Dermabond.

Dermabond is basically skin glue and when applied, it burns like a dozen fire ants are biting the same spot for about 15 seconds. It was horribly painful. Another nurse came in to administer a tetanus shot (which still hurts) followed by the ER doctor who checked me out and released me from their care.

All in all it was an eventful night, full of pain, dedication, care, and laughs. Before I left the stadium I sought out Christina and gave her a hug thanking her for her warmth and care. She was probably about 20 years old but cared for me like a mother.

Thanks Jamm for the kindness. Thanks Dr. C for your advice. And many thanks to everyone else who laughed and poked at me making the night fun. Oh and thanks Courtney for the Advil as it made the night bearable.

First Shutter Click

For some reason or another, my older brother gave me my first camera back in what I remember being 1987. He purchased the Pentax Super Program 35mm film camera from someone at work and it started me on my eventual professional career in photography. I remember seeing the cheap blue camera bag on the carpet of our house and marvelling at this magnificent silvery machine with mysterious knobs and dials. I can still smell the silica gel desiccant packets that were inside the black lining of the bag.

The camera came with a 50mm, a 70-210mm, some filters, and another lens or two not worth mentioning. Those other lenses turned out to be really cheap quality and took Instagram quality images. Attached to the camera was also one of those awesome retro camera straps that are sadly found on hipsters who are using retro cameras such as that Pentax.

I loved that camera but it wasn’t my first as I do remember my mother had a 110mm Kodak that I captured some of my first childish imagery on it’s tiny negatives that are still somewhere in the house on Huisache St. I guess my brother saw something in me and thought maybe I had some talent with photography. I guess he was right because I’ve made my career of taking pictures starting about the time I walked out into the world with that Pentax.

The camera still sits on a shelf near all the new fancy stuff. I almost threw it out but Sweetie made me realize the importance of that gift. I would imagine the camera still works if I put a fresh set of batteries in her.

As the last of the photo labs close in Hawaii, the Pentax becomes a relic lost within the pixels of the digital age. Thank you Brother for the most significant camera that helped start my career. But to tell you the truth, you should have given me a damn stethoscope!

III

I hate the Canon 5D Mark II. I hated mine copy so much I sold mine within weeks of purchasing it. Not because it busted while on assignment in Nara, Japan. Not because it didn’t make some amazing shots because it did. I hated it because of the handling. I hated the feel of the body. I hated the focus points. I really hated the focal points. But in reality, I hated it because to me, it wasn’t a 1D series camera. I purchased it as a back up to my full frame Canon 1Ds Mark II body. Canon’s 1Ds Mark III body didn’t match up to my expectations and I figured why bother doing an expensive upgrade when the gains were so little. But I sadly found the 5D was a fancy toy that non professionals used, not something serious pros would consider as a primary camera. (Just another GWC uttered in disgust as a wannabe wandered over to work next to us with a 5D.)

Yet, 5Ds were flying off the rental shelves at Hawaii Photo Rental. Major photographers were using the camera to make amazing stuff. TV shows and movies were being made with it. I made a timeless shot in Kyoto with the camera. The 5D Mark II can take some pretty amazing pictures and videos!

Maiko in Kyoto, Japan with a 5D MII

I know so many people who use it as their primary and love it. There are thousands of photographers and cinematographers who use it and do amazing work with it. But for me, a rough-and-tumble kinda photographer who uses a t-shirt to clean his lenses, the 5D Mark II is and was a toy. Mind you, so many pros, from White House photographers to travel-in-the-jungle photogs use and love it.

I didn’t.

Low and behold, Canon released the new Canon 5D Mark III with some major improvements. As I’m faced with upgrading my 1Ds Mark II (this is a whole different story…the Mark II is amazing…at times it feels like there is enough flaws within technology that its like shooting film…you get organic-ism, not perfect-ism.)

So thanks to Josh and the crew at Hawaii Photo Rental, I had the chance to test drive and review the new Canon 5D Mark III for the shop. What made it more exciting was I was going to lunch with two amazing photogs, Eugene Tanner, AP and commercial guy, and Jamm Aquino, full time bad ass staffer at the Star Advertiser. I pitched my review idea to Josh and he liked the idea that he’d here from three professional opinions on the newest Canon camera.

I picked it up from Austin and Natalie (and Christine) at Hawaii Photo Rental and immediately, I felt the camera was built a thousand times better than the 5D Mark II. Natalie quickly pointed out how the flash card door was now lined with a piece of “leather” making it harder for the card door to slip open. She, and Austin, noted the seals, feel, and design of the body stating Canon must have listened to pros and made major improvements. The selection dial on the left of the body now has a lock to keep your settings in place. That feature alone was one of the better and noticeable upgrades that can make it a winner. The menus were updated and a bit complicated with numerous upgrades and features.

We rattled off the motor drive and it was fast for a prosumer camera. Its about 4.5 frames a second? Plenty of time to do moderate action. But the greatest thing about the camera as the increased focus points.

The 61 focus points ROCKED.

Oh what joy to see a camera where you can actually find focal points throughout the frame. The ability to move your focal points to almost any part of the camera gives the camera a major improvement in handling. This was the main Achilles tendon of the camera for me…along with it just feeling like a toy. The Mark II always reminded me of my first Canon digital camera, the 10D. Just a prosumer camera off the shelf.

So I walked out with the camera and went to meet Jamm and Tanner for lunch over at Murphy’s Bar and Grill in downtown HNL. We were having a late birthday lunch for Eugene but it was a celebration none the less as it was good cheer around. We passed the camera around and all took pictures and made pro comments on the feel, style, and responsiveness of the Mark III…all over burgers, fish and chips, and a few adult beverages.

Kramer by Tanner.

Jamm, being a bit snobby in the use of in his gear, said immediately it was a GWC camera but after playing with it for a few minutes, he changed his tune. I think all three of us are snobs with gear as we rely so much on our cameras to give us 110% all the time that its hard for us to “trust” a prosumer camera. But again, we were quickly proved wrong.

The handling, structure and feel of the camera was reasonably good and beyond our expectations. Eugene liked the fact the Mark III could easily fill the void a Canon Mark IV’ cropped sensor lacked. But as we started to feel out the camera further, we three quickly noted several shortcomings and issues…all in reference to professional standards, conditions, and situations. Immediately we all said the response was good but was it good enough, rather quick enough? I stuck my Canon 35mm f1.4 lens on the body and took it for a spin down Ft. Street Mall. I immediately felt it wasn’t responsive as a professional body. Both Jamm and Tanner said roughly the same thing. It doesn’t fire when you want it to. Jamm pointed out it was probably a custom feature but we just felt it didn’t snap when you snapped. Those instances when the decisive moment appears, you need a camera that will do what you tell it to do.

Knocked kneed on Fort St. with the Mark III

Now, we really only had this new tool for a short time and can’t really speak with any major authority about the camera and its functions but the responsiveness was noticeable. So it could have been the custom function in the menu. Knocked kneed was out of focus. I aimed, fired, and the camera didn’t catch it. There are so many quirks that we are not accounting for (my lens being out of tune, the camera settings, my lack of precision to catch the focus properly…there are numerous things to ask before I judge this scenario) but I would have expected some reasonable sharpness on the girl. Who knows. On the elevator in my building, I tried to sneak a few frames of one of the maintenance girls in our building and shoved the camera in her face. Wouldn’t fire. Nada. Again, I have to refer back to Jamm and the custom functions in the menu but alas, no book and no time to fuss with buttons. I feel strongly that if you gotta mess too much with the menus, etc…then you can’t take a picture. Fire away and deal with the after mass later.

Lunchtime Stella

The one noticeable and wonderful feature was the lack of noise in high iso. 25600 is ABSOLUTELY useable. Why you, the average user, would need to hit this high is beyond me but its absolutely useable. Butter as some would say…silky smooth as butter. The above shot of the lunchtime Stella was shot at 2000 iso. Clean. Amazingly clean. Like shooting at 640 0r 800 iso on an older body. Just simply amazing a prosumer body is capturing files like this.

Padded elevator rising to 32nd at 2500 iso with the Mark III.

Now the issues we all agreed upon was the focusing and the buffer were not 1D series standards. Does that matter? Should any of our shortcoming decision force you to spend $6700 over $3500 for a little bit faster focus and longer buffer (think renting for at least $150/day versus doing a three day rental from Hawaii Photo Rental at $185)? I think not. Most of you who have been renting from Hawaii Photo Rental have probably used a 5D Mark II and know its a fantastic camera. Whatever short coming I (we) found or you might have figured out shouldn’t discount it. Now with the new Canon 5D Mark III, the game shifts drastically and you can now rent a semi pro camera that works as close as to a professional 1D standard as you can get.

Deep thoughts with Tanner by Jamm and a Mark IV.

In reality, the 5D Mark III is a super camera. The fantasy world we live in in reference to long buffers, etc…also reflect a world where we sometimes don’t live. 90% of what I shoot could be done with an iPhone. The camera, priced a little too high (a strong demand and possibly a lack of production due to tsunami damaged factories or last year’s Thailand flooding) but it is a camera well worth its weight. To rent it is to see where you stand with it. Jamm, Eugene, and I all felt it was a superb camera but lacked just a little bit to make it a professional grade body. Now does it matter as I stated above? To 99% of you GWCs who are going to use it to shoot your dog, family or friends, absolutely not. To those of you who will rent to shoot a wedding or paid job? Absolutely not (maybe if you are picky) but no way if you’ve done well shooting with a 5D Mark II. For a picky pro, its a great tool and if you are a pro you will have to know your limitations like anything. If you are shooting a sporting event and your timing and focus mean the difference between a paycheck or going home empty handed, you’ll have to know your limitations with the tool. And again, its a tool. You can’t shoot an elephant with a bb gun, but how often do you get the chance to shoot an elephant? The high ISO range expands your horizons drastically. You can literally shoot in the dark now with little notice. I find that option fantastic. What a great new tool.

To note, I didn’t process any of the raw files as my version of Photoshop isn’t upgraded to open the new Mark III files and I couldn’t be bothered to deal with downloading it at this moment. But the damn jpgs files are so damn good, its almost as if you don’t even need to shoot raw. The files are amazing. This is a superb camera and well worth renting from Hawaii Photo Rental.

We three photographers did not do any technical testing. This is just talk over beer (and a whiskey) over the use of cameras, handling, and whatnot.

I highly recommend renting this fantastic camera from Hawaii Photo Rental. Its a really, really nice camera and its a huge improvement over the Mark II. Well worth the rental fees.