Steve Maller Photography

In my Quixotic quest to have the best photographic tools available, I now have the very latest digital SLR from Canon, the EOS 5D Mark II. It has amazing video capability, some very interesting new imaging features, and truly stunning low-light sensitivity. Here are some examples of “100% crops” of a couple test photos I took, both “SOOC” (straight out of the camera, processed in Aperture) and processed through Nik Software’s DFine noise reduction software.

ISO sensitivity in excess of 10,000 is certain to usher in a new era in digital photography (at least for me!).

Your peripatetic blogger/photographer is on holiday for the next couple weeks with his family. It has been a very, very busy, rewarding and fun year, and it’s time to reacquaint oneself with one’s family and enjoy some adventures. This week we’re at the very southernmost tip of Baja California in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It’s quite beautiful here, and we’re loving the sunshine, the friendly people, the comida y cervezas and the togetherness. See y’all in 2009!

Meanwhile, here’s a few photos of the crew…

I recently was asked to do some product photography for a local company who has a really cool business model. They scan and restore your photographs, whether they’re negatives, slides or prints. If they’re old, their technicians will perform a certain degree of restoration work on them. And the photos are ultimately returned to you with a CD. The service looks really cool, and they’ve recently added a Gift Box to their product offerings (that is the part I did). So check ’em out! Click here to go directly to their site, or click the banner below.

(full disclosure: I’m an “affiliate”, so I will earn a small commission if you purchase their services)

Daniel is a delightful boy whose family have been friends for a long time. I had the honor of photographing his sister Lauren’s bat mitzvah a couple years ago, and I’ve been looking forward to celebrating again with Daniel and his family ever since. This was a huge event in the temple community, as Daniel’s father’s family have been members of the temple for decades. But despite the huge crowd, everybody seemed to really enjoy themselves and it’ll be remembered well for a long time.

Part of the success of this day was due to the efforts of Vicki Jaffe-Idzal at the Westin, to my good friend Marcia Barkoff and her awesome organizational wizardry, and Dan Ohrman (whom I refer to as “The King”), the master craftsman of the Art of the DJ.

My older son Max is a senior at Burlingame High School, and he’s playing Oberon in a 1960’s-style staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He’s the one in this first photo with the amazing hair (and yes, he’s one of the few kids in the play who isn’t wearing a wig). I offered to document this wonderful happening, and I am having a blast being part of this. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the final dress rehearsal last night…

And in case you’re interested in the technical details of these photos, you can look at the enclosed “EXIF” information. They were all shot on my Canon 1Ds Mark III with the 85/1.2LII lens. Most were shot wide open or nearly wide open at ISO of anwhere from 1000 to 1600. All hand-held, too.

Lisa contacted me and wanted me to do a portrait session with her and her daughter Heather. I was surprised when she told me they’d never done any photos together. So we chose a couple of spots out in the east bay. We went to a favorite restaurant of hers, as well as a beautiful local park. The fall colors were in their muted glory (California-style) and we had a blast playing for the good part of the day. I loved getting to know these two lovely women, and I’m so happy they decided to finally do some proper family portraits!

I love what I do for a living. Have I mentioned that lately?

Today’s photo shoot is for a San Francisco client who designs a line of breastfeeding products. I love these pillows. They’re so colorful and well-designed. But not exactly cooperative when it comes to sitting still on my cyc. So after rigging up a MacGyver-esque contraption to float them above the surface of the cyc (gaffer’s tape and clothes hangars are today’s ingredients), I cranked out this series of product shots.

All in a day’s work!

I’ve known Shelley since she was in elementary school, and it was a thrill and an honor to photograph her big “simcha” yesterday. Her brother Kyle and her parents Randi and Jim were all glowing with pride for Shelley, as were so many relatives and friends.

Additionally, I produced a live webcast of her bat mitzvah ceremony from Peninsula Temple Sholom for several relatives who were unable to travel to California because of health reasons. Aside from being a technological tour de force, I am so proud that I was able to do this mitzvah for Shelley’s family.

I recently photographed the bar mitzvah of a delighful young man named Jordan. His big “simcha” was a wonderful day, surrounded by lots of fun family and friends. Dan Ohrman of Denon and Doyle rocked the house as usual and we all went home exhausted, but very happy.

I was delighted to attend and photograph Andrew’s bar mitzvah yesterday. He is a delightful, studious and fun-loving kid. Yesterday was a wonderful testimony to the power of tradition, faith and community. Mazel tov to Andrew and his family!