Orgasm Cocktail Drink

A very simple drink to make and very effective.

• 1 part Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1 part Grand Marnier
• 1 part Cointreu

add chunks of ice in a glass and all all the 3 liqueurs  one by one and still. 

i made this drink for a friend who wanted to have a cocktail of only liqueurs. no fruit juice or aerated drinks. 

how many orgasms can u handle?

The Best Portrait Lens : 50 mm 1.2 L or 85 mm 1.2 L

If u are an amateur or professional photographer , u might have asked yourself these questions

"which is the best portrait lens in canon?"
"is the EF 50 mm f 1.2 L good enough for portraits?"
"Is the 85 mm f 1.2 L II the ultimate in portrait photography?"
"i need to invest in one portrait lens, which one do i buy?"

I am an amateur photographer myself but as i own both these lenses , i want to answer the above questions in my own way and hopefully that will help you decide which lens is best suited to your photography tastes

Make Your own B 52 cocktail drink

Another very popular drink the B 52 has to be drunk in a shot glass. the origin of this drink is uncertain but it is said to have come from Alberta , Canada in 1977

How to make
relatively easy, all you need is a steady hand.

1. 1 part Kahlua - coffee liqueur
2. 1 part of Bailey's Irish cream
3. 1 part of Grand Marnier

Preparation :

make your own "Mojito"

Cuba is not just famous for Fidel Castro and Cigars. we have to thank the country for giving us the yummy rum based Mojito (pronounced MO HEE TOE), which is one of the most fav cocktail drinks around.

there are a number of different versions of this seskie drink and i decided to make one at home without the 'mint leaves.

INGREDIENTS

• chunks of ice
• Creame De Menthe 30 ml
• Bacardi Gold Rum 60 ml
• freshly squeezed lemon juice concentrate
• sugar 1 tea spoon
• sprite or 7 up
• glass off course

Make It How?

1. since i dont have mint leaves, i am using Creame De Menthe liqueur as a substitute.  pour 30 ml in a glass
2. add the chunks of ice
3. add 60 ml Bacardi gold Rum
4. shake the glass to look sophisticated
5. add the lemon juice concentrate and 1 tea spoon sugar and top it with sprite or 7 up.

stir the contents, drink and repeat

drink responsibly and die

PS : drink enjoyed better with Judas Priest "Turbo" playing in the background!

Make Your Own Hot Toddy

Make Your Own Hot Toddy featuring Jameson Irish Whiskey

I decided to post this coz Hot Toddy is my fav drink whenever i have a bad cold. Hot water and brandy is pretty common so decided to make this one instead.

Step 1. - add 90 ml of Jameson Irish Whiskey in a whiskey glass
Step 2 - add hot water

Must Have Wedding Photography Lens from Canon

Must Have Wedding Photography Lens from Canon - a totally biased review 

"The First Waltz" captured using EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II USM lens in low light, no flash

I have been asked this question hundreds of times by people who either are genuinely interested about wedding photography or by people who just love to troll. "which lens do u use for weddings? whats your fav lens for candid shoots?" etc etc, so i have finally decided to write a small review on wedding photography and also my fav choice of lens by Canon which is a "Must Have" if u are seriously considering to take up Wedding Photography as a profession. 

Wedding Photography and why its a big deal : The most important day for any couple anywhere in the world if u finally decide to "take the plunge". and what better way to relive those memories than taking good photos. i stress on the word "good" coz a lot of people prefer the dead pan , boring , traditional photos taken at weddings. those fake smiles and constipated faces have always been my worst enemy. it looks like the people who pose for photos are facing a 'firing squad' rather than a photographer. (oh well, a different kind of shooter). the same poses, the same group pics. 

and thats why i decided if i was going to shoot at weddings (which i do now), i will stress on taking photos that capture emotions which are found in abundance at weddings. 

My style of photography has always been "A Photo journalistic approach" where each and every pic must convey a story. and thats why i always preferred taking candid pics rather than asking people to pose for the camera. 

and off course, so how much do u charge for freezing moments in time? honestly , even i cant answer that question coz they are "priceless" but a pat on my shoulder wont put food on the table or pay for my bills. and more importantly , a professional set up costs several thousand dollars (lakhs of Rupees) and the photographer needs to recover the costs. I dont believe in exorbitant prices but one must remember the photos taken at weddings need to last for several generations and looking back at the photos 50 years down the line , i would rather have my 'clients' thank me for those precious moments which i have captured rather than say "haha we got him so such a cheap ass price"

No one's really going to remember what food was served or the glitzy decorations or which band played or the amount of money spent on booze unless its all photographed. and it tickles my funny bone when people boast of spending several lakhs of Rupees on a wedding but bargain with photographers to pay 1 percent of it as photography fee. Or is this just a problem in India? hmm

Enough of my rambling... now read on.....

Here is a list of 6 lens i always carry with me on Wedding and Portrait assignments. 

6. EF 8 to 15 mm f 4 L Fisheye USM : the most fun lens ever made by Canon , the sky is the limit when it comes to getting creative using this tiny but potent glass. one might just take 2 or 3 photos using this lens but the impact it leaves i pretty incredible. 

the first photo was taken in a room, indoors and i managed to get everyone to fit in the frame comfortable. while the second photo was an outdoor shoot and i was more interested in getting the massive background along with the married couple. 

5. EF 100 mm f 2.8 L IS Macro USM :  - why in the world would anyone need macro lens at a wedding? well if u dont know yet , here's why. weddings are all about detail. and nothing beats getting a crystal clear and sharp image of the brides jewellery, wedding rings, flowers and in case u didnt know already , 100 mm macro lens also double up as fantastic 'portrait lens'. 

Macro shot , hand held, of the brides ear ring. 

4. EF 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS USM :- this wide angle zoom lens is the standard kit lens when u buy the 5D mark II and Mark III. Most people would prefer the 24 to 70 mm f 2.8 L lens as it helps in low light conditions but the 24 105 has few advantages. its cheaper, lighter, has Image Stabilisation and gives u more focal length which comes handy. 

the massive crowd at a wedding function in Mangalore captured with ease using the 24 to 105 lens

the grooms sister leads the bride and the grooms brother in law leads him. just one of the rituals followed at Bunt weddings in Mangalore.

zoomed at 105 mm to get even close to the action. 

the first shows the massive crowd at the indoor hall, while the second and third pic shows the stage where the wedding rituals take place. i had maintained a safe working distance and managed to get 3 different kind of shots with just the one lens. 

and if u want great detail, then use an external speedlite like i have done in the above photo. i used 580 EX II and bounced the light off the ceiling. end result, great portrait and detail. this was off course an indoor shot (the ceiling should have given the clue) and if one needs to use a flash in the outdoors, i would suggest using a simple diffuser. 

3. EF 50 mm f 1.2 L USM - the most expensive 50 mm prime lens in the market with the widest aperture and another great walk around lens. being a prime lens, its fixed focal length does hav an advantage over zoom lens. its ultra sharp. and the 1.2 aperture sucks in a lot of light and hence its a fantastic lens to use indoors under low light conditions. its also a great lens for street photography as images from a 50 mm lens is considered to be similar to what the human eye reproduces. did i forget to mention, excellent for portraits!

2. EF 85 mm f 1.2 L II USM - considered the "gold standard lens" for portrait photography, i regret not getting my hands on this incredible chunk of glass earlier. i had borrowed a friends lens for a portrait assignment and the jaw dropping images it produced left me completely gobsmacked! this one's the ultimate choice for portraits and it destroys everything in its sight. the only down side is the massive price tag but then again its a "L" lens and you get what you pay for. this is also the big brother of the previously mentioned 50 mm 1.2 L prime lens

both the above pics were taken with the 85 mm 1.2 L lens and week later i picked up the lens for myself. totally worth it. 

1. EF 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II USM - "The world's sharpest zoom lens" according to Ken Rockwell who  does brutal reviews of cameras and lens and is a self confessed Nikon Fan boy. "The canon 70 to 200 L II lens poops on the sigma 70 to 200 lens" says Kai, presenter at Digitalrev who is also a self confessed Nikon Fan boy. in general i have not heard a single bad review of this 'beast' of a lens apart from the jealous guys who either dont own this coz they dont have the money or coz they decided to go for the more affordable 70 to 200 f 4 L lens. 

and why do i like this lens? coz it can literally do everything. from candid moments to portrait photography and everything thrown in between. getting close to the action without getting in your face! that pretty much says everything about this lens. the older 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L was a fav among photo journalists but this newer version is way better in almost every aspect from build quality to performance. a total win. 

example of a group photo. off course its not a wide angle lens but all i had to do to capture this was move a few meters back and get everyone to fit the frame.

another of my fav shots, the gorgeous bride gets candid during exchanging of the garlands. i clicked this pic at its max focal length of 200 mm.

another candid moment when i click the brides pic when she was not even aware of my presence. she was posing for the cameras while i got 3 peoples different expressions in one pic. the flower girl to the left seems bored, the bride happy and the bridesmaid looking out for her friend.

the bride and groom enter the hall. the presence of the brides best friend totally lightened up her face and i managed to capture this from far.

a nervous moment for the bride just a few minutes before her wedding. captured this portrait again working from a safe distance.

No wedding in India in complete unless the bride cries. someone 'has to' cry. it gets very emotional especially at the end of the wedding ceremony when the bride is given away to the grooms family. this pic above shows the caring husband consoling his wife. candid moment win

and another of my fav pics captured in  remote village in Mangalore. i was several meters away from the spotlight and thankfully i had an uninterrupted view of the first waltz.

so this is easily my all time fav lens. capturing candids at weddings is the easiest now thanks to this lens. as i write this, i have covered over 20 weddings and functions and i am happy to say, the 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II USM has been with me from day one. 

So there u have it. my list of "Must Have" lens to shoot weddings and Portraits. i have over 50000 photos clicked till date and have over 1100 albums on picasa but i decided to use these more recent images coz it seemed relevant to this post. 

and off course many might say i have missed out on another 'must have' lens, the Ultra Wide EF 16 to 35 mm f 2.8 L II USM lens which i hope to purchase sometime in the near future , but till then the above mentioned 6 lens is what i always carry with me.

what camera do i use? full frames please. i use the Canon EOS 5D mark II and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. i carry 2 cameras always coz its a pain to keep changing lens if there's only one body present. 

and how did i pay for all these lens? i Saved! i didnt get all these over night or pester my dad to buy me lens. i broke my savings to pick up the 70 200 f 2.8 L IS II lens and have been purchasing lens every 3 months after doing shoots and assignments. so i earn from my shoots and i spend on expensive gear. its a vicious cycle and i have decided to stop buying lens when Canon stops making L lens :)

cheers and happy clicking

PS: i have to confess i am a bit biased when it comes to fast aperture lens. having said that its all about capturing the moment and expensive gear doesnt necessarily mean excellent photos. its all bout having a keen watchful eye and my gear helps me capture those 'blink and you miss' moments. having said that even the standard EF-S lens on crop sensor DSLR's work just fine. but if u want to go pro then there's absolutely no compromise on image quality and there is nothing better than the "L" series lens in canon and full frame cameras. 

Pritham Denzil D'Souza

www.facebook.com/metalfarmerphotography

How to make a "SubMarino" cocktail drink

The SubMarino 

• the easiest cocktail to make using beer and tequila
• if u like your drink to be bitter, then this one's highly recommended

Serves one

How to Make: 

• Pour the beer into a beer mug or tankard. the beer needs to be chilled. 
• pour the tequila in a shot glass and gently "submerge" the shot glass in the beer mug/tankard

Eye Macro Shot with Canon 5D Mark III and Kenko Extension tube set

Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
ISO: 12800
Exposure: 1/60 sec
Aperture: 7.1
Focal Length: 100mm
Flash Used: No


Kenko Extension Tube : also called Extension rings are extremely useful in macro photography. they dont contain any glass elements and are hollow. what they do is, move the lens farther from the image plane. 
They are placed in between the camera body and the lens.


The Kenko Extension DG set consists of 3 rings or tubes at 12 mm, 20 mm and 36 mm, which can be used either singly or in combination depending on the magnification required.

Canon 5D Mark III Low Light Concert Pics, High performance in Low Light

Last weeks concert i attended at B52 in Bangalore will be a memorable event in my life for the following reasons

1. Its the first time i get to see Albatross live dishing out their twisted version of old school heavy metal with several slices of horror (lyrical content)
2. also the first time i get to witness Kannada Old School death metal band Dhwesha
3. But most importantly i finally get to use the 5D Mark III at a concert!!!

The Riff 52 gig on March 31st, 2012 featuring Shepherd, Dhwesha, Albatross and Bevar Sea in the first metal concert/gig in India to get covered with the Canon 5D Mark III

the venue was pretty perfect to test out the low light capabilities of the 5D Mark III. i had earlier posted some low light pics of people who were posing for me and sitting still but concert photography is a totally different ball game. No time for poseurs here. 

ok, speaking of the venue, its actually a photographers nightmare. The light was the lowest i have seen in all the gigs i have previously covered. and i was so tempted to use the 50 mm f 1.2 L prime lens but then again decided to go with the wide angle zoom 24 to 105 f/4 L IS USM lens. 

i shamelessly used the external flash for 95 percent of the concert but here are some pics with ISO ranging from 6400 to 12800 something i am sure was never done before.

Light Trails in Concert Photography featuring Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Bevar Sea

ISO: 400
Exposure: 2.5 sec
Aperture: 5.6

I recently attended a concert in Bengalooru , India on the 31st of March 2012 with 4 top bands dishing out music from death metal to stoner doom and old school.  The bands that performed that night were

• Shepherd (Doom from Bangalore)
• Dhwesha (old school death metal from Bangalore)
• Albatross ( Horror metal band from Mumbai)
• Bevar Sea (Beer soaked stoner doom from Bangalore)

and to my luck , this would be the first gig in India to be covered using the Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

i decided to get creative with the pics here as the venue was really small and crammed. there was no stage for the musicians and the audience was 2 feet away from the band. to make things worse, most photographers who turned up to cover the event were pretty much disappointed coz the lighting was abysmal.

Canon 5D Mark III Low Light Photos, test shots and Review

yes, i am passionate about photography and i have been a Canon fan boy for as long as i can remember, so u can imagine my excitement when i had made a decision back in October 2011 that i was going to purchase the yet-to-be-released 1DX model.

fortunately 5 years back i had invested in postal savings and the timing would be right for me to pick up the 1DX. but Canon made another announcement sometime in Feb end early March about the release of the Mark III, the successor to the awesome Mark II and now i was again confused on which to buy.

weighing the pros and cons i finally decided to go for the Mark III after discussing with several eminent photographers like Dr. Krishna Mohan and my good friend Krishna Prasad. and its probably the best decision i have made in a long time.

61 AF POINTS : is truly remarkable. its the same as the 1DX and makes the previous Mark II with just 9 AF points seem primitive.
If u can see the pic below, i selected manually the tip of my friends finger to be focused shooting under low light and all i can say is WOW.

Canon EF 8 - 15 mm f 4 L Fisheye USM lens review with test shots

I am not really good at lens reviews but i decided to try this one out anyways just because Canon have probably made their most fun lens ever.
Its a Fisheye lens, not something that i would have bought a few months back, simply coz i was happy with the gear i already owned. it was only until i managed to see a few shots taken with the Fisheye lens and the positive reviews given by Kai, presenter on Digital Rev Tv( a hardcore Nikon fanboy praising canon lens?)  i decided to dig into my savings and buy this piece of expensive glass.

Build Quality : its an L series lens. that means it has all the awesomeness of an L lens, Canon's flagship series of top of the line quality products. its small in size, and its also a bit plasticy, but its made from some very strong plastic. and its weather sealed.... so take it out anywhere , anytime... just dont try going underwater, coz that will be plain stupid.

Official Press Release of Trend Slaughter Fest II

Press Release:

ABIGAIL (Japan), CAUCHEMAR (Canada) and DYING EMBRACE (India) have just been confirmed to headline the second TRENDSLAUGHTER FEST on January 29th 2012, in Bangalore, India. According to the organizers (Cyclopean Eye Productions/Trendslaughter crew), the festival has been created to “bring Bangalore the best of underground metal by getting both foreign acts and local bands together and thereby creating a rock solid underground movement to spearhead the Heavy metal culture in India.” The fest will also have local support from Death/Grind band Gorified, old school Deathmetallers Dhwesha and Drone/Space Doom rockers Djinn and Miskatonic.

Last year the TRENDSLAUGHTER FEST was headlined by Bangladeshi bestial death/thrash metallers band Orator with local bands Dying Embrace, Bevar Sea, Culminant and Gorified and saw around 200+ fans congregate at the venue at Kyra Theatre, Bangalore, India for a good 8 hours Stoner, Thrash, Brutal Death metal, Death Grind, Doom and Old school Death metal!

Headliners Information :

About Abigail:
ABIGAIL is a Japanese black thrash metal outfit that was formed in January of 1992 by Yasuyuki (bass / vocals), Youhei (drums) and Yasunori (guitar) being inspired by early Black / Thrash Metal bands like BATHORY, VENOM, SODOM, BULLDOZER, HELLHAMMER, NME etc. From 1999, the band has heavily toured Europe, Asia, USA countless times appearing on big festivals like Hell Fest, and NWN Fest (Nuclear War Now) among others. The band has nearly 70 releases (which includes full length cds, splits, compilation and live cds/lps) and is one of the most well known bands in Japan today.

About Cauchemar:
Cauchemar was founded in 2007 as a collaboration between vocalist Annick Giroux and guitarist François Patry. With the goal of producing eerie, no-frills doomy Heavy Metal, the project eventually turned into a band with the addition of Patrick Pageau (ASILE, ex-BASTARDATOR guitarist) on drums. They have released in 2010 the "La Vierge Noire" MLP on American label Nuclear War Now! Productions, toured Canada, Colombia, Chile and Peru, and are currently writing material for a new album.

About Dying Embrace:
Legendary pioneering Death/Doom act from Bangalore have been in existence for twenty years with releases on international labels (7” vinyl on Legion Of Death Records, France, compliation CD on Psychic Scream, Malaysia) and have had the title of being India’s oldest Death Metal band. This is one band that brings both old metal heads (30+ years olds into Sabbath, Maiden, Priest) and the new breed of metal heads together.

Links to all bands:
Abigail - www.myspace.com/666abigail
Cauchemar- www.facebook.com/cauchemarmetal
Dying Embrace - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HJGT9YYDSo&feature=related
Gorified - http://www.myspace.com/gorifiedcorpses
Dhwesha - http://www.myspace.com/dhwesha
Djinn and Miskatonic - http://soundcloud.com/djinnandmiskatonic