Our Waitress

[drisley]

After a night of watching wrestling, some friends and I went to an outdoor patio and bar for some suds.
I had my camera along, and decided to try some pictures. It was LATE evening, and the patio was only lit by "christmas type bulbs", and few other small lights.
I thought this might be a perfect place for the 28/1.8 USM. Well, even at F1.8, and ISO3200, was only able to get 1/60s exposures.
Despite having a few pints of Guinness in me, and the shallow DOF, I was able to get a couple sharp shots at F1.8. This would just not have been possible at F2.8 (which is now making wonder if I should sell this lens).

This picture was SEVERELY underexposed at ISO3200 (hence the 1/200s exposure), so I had to run it through Ninja. With an aperture of only F1.8, there is a VERY small DOF, so only her eye is in focus. Oh, we were bugging our waitress, about taking her picture, so I snapped this one without looking thru the viewfinder. I just pointed up and clicked as she served us. Then she laughed and ran as fast as she could :lol:


Canon EF 28mm/1.8 USM (ISO3200, F1.8 )
http://images2.fotop.net/albums/sharpnsmart/wrestling/IMG_8932.jpg



Here is a not so sharp shot of my drink of choice (my shaky hands and shallow DOF are to blame)...
Canon EF 28mm/1.8 USM (ISO3200, F1.8 )
http://images2.fotop.net/albums/sharpnsmart/wrestling/IMG_8908.jpg

[ddelallata]

That waitress looks HOT!, but picture #2 is amazing! If only you had aligned the bottle correctly to fully read Guinness......Bokeh is incredible .

[Raj]

I like #1 a lot, although shallow DOF, it has a special appeal.
Thanks for sharing drisley.

[drisley]

Thanks guys.
Ddelallata, yes, you are right about her. And she represented the average look of the waitresses at that restaurant. :) I know for a fact that many guys go there because of the staff. The owners definately know what to look for when they hire. The place is always packed, and the food isn't THAT good. Odd isn't it? The bokeh and colour of this lens is very very good.
It's not an 8 blade design like most L lenses, but it does have 7 blades which is pretty darn good (better than the 5 found on the 50/1.8II, 28/2.8, and 35/2 lenses).
The colour of the lens is very good... slightly warm which can make average pictures look special.
That is what I liked most about these pictures, the colour.
Raj, the shallow DOF helps to give the illusion that the main subject is sharper than it really is.
The Guinness glass isn't sharp at all when viewed at 100% (again, my fault), but relative to everything else it looks pretty good.

Here is a 50% crop (http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/20d/IMG_8932.jpg)of the first image to show how sharp the eye is, even at F1.8.
Keep in mind, a fair amount of detail was lost because I underexposed this ISO3200 shot by over 1 stop, and had to use Noise Ninja (fairly agressive).
It was probably the equivalent of taking an ISO6400 shot (if there was such a thing).

[Dante King]

Yummie yummie Guiness. My favorite BEER!!!

[drisley]

Hmmm, somehow I don't believe you....
If it was your favourite beer, you would have spelled the name with two N's instead of one!!!
:)

[henleg]

...If it was your favourite beer, you would have spelled the name with two N's instead of one!!!

Unless he was under the influence of it! Then again, had he been that way, he would've spelt it with a "z"...:rolleyes:

[drisley]

Mmmmm... beeer.

[grego]

Well with the first one, her hand is a problem.

As for the beer, you should have gotten closer to it, and maybe shot it vertical. That would help blur out the dof even more.

[sixshot]

Someone get me a Guiness. Ohhhh, thirsty. A few years ago my 21st was in Dublin and I didn't drink the stuff for a year after that and now I live a long way from a good pint.

[schmoelzel]

Nice shots Drisley.......let's see if you can replicate the beer shot once you get your new L!! :)

[drisley]

Thanks schmoelzel. I had BETTER be able to!You PROMISED the new L would make anybody look like a pro photographer!! :)
Btw, grego, these were just snapshots, with the first one taken without me looking thru the viewfinder. It was amazing that the autofocus decided to lock onto her eye.
The reason I posted these is because I was amazed at how versatile the 28/1.8 lens is wide open.
Also, I thought the colour reproduction and bokeh was really quite amazing for this lens that many people tend to overlook.
Having said that, the lens is now no longer in my arsenal.

[RichardtheSane]

Just caught up with this thread :)

Those sure are great pictures, combination of a great photographer with cracking lens - winner. Looking forward to recieving it even more now :lol:

[cmM]

You done good, especially considering you were under the influence :-P
Interesting perspective on the waitress :) Did she know you took the picture?

[drisley]

Richard,

If I can take a sharp shot with the 28/1.8 wide open, in near complete darkness, at ISO3200, at barely hand-holdable speeds, with 3 pints of Guinness in me, AND without looking through the viewfinder, I expect you had better be able to do some good things with that lens! :)

cmM, we were bugging her about taking her picture, and she kept running away. So, when she came to clear the table, I just pointed the camera over my shoulder, hit * to focus, and took a shot just to scare her. I was surprised that the lens actually focused sharply on her eye.

Obviously these aren't pictures to write home about, but I just liked the colour and bokeh, and was surprised I could take any picture in that lighting without a flash. Otherwise, I probably just would have deleted them. It was because of how well the lens performed that night that I had a REAL hard time deciding whether or not I should sell it.

Ps. Richard, I think that lens is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean as I type.

[nat869]

You done good, especially considering you were under the influence :-P
Interesting perspective on the waitress :) Did she know you took the picture?


I was wondering the same thing, thats cool, the focus locked on her eye perfectly. If I ever make it to that part of Canada, I will have to eat there......for the scenery!! Great shots. Personally I like the Guinness pic the way it is.

[drisley]

Nat, if you make it here, I will take you there.
You would be amazed!

[Dante King]

Hmmm, somehow I don't believe you....
If it was your favourite beer, you would have spelled the name with two N's instead of one!!!
:)

Thats because I already had a few too many GuiNNess before typing! LOL :oops: