Michael Hocter Photography Blog

Benjamin Charles Hocter, born Nov. 14, 2011

Michael Hocter — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:03:23 +0000

Our second son, Ben, was born on Nov. 14. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz., and he was 20″ long. He’s a beautiful, healthy little boy. Becoming a father for the second time is just as amazing as it was the first time.

Here he is at nine days old, sleeping as usual.

Happy Father’s Day! (And an Announcement)

Michael Hocter — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:27:51 +0000

Hocter, Boy 2.0

Two years ago, on Father’s Day 2009, I introduced you to my son Sam, who was a fetus at the time. He’s now a happy and healthy 19-month-old. He’s the joy of my life, and the frequent subject of my photography and star of my blog.

It’s only fitting that I take this opportunity, on Father’s Day 2011, to introduce you to my second son! Like Sam, he will be born in November, and I’m sure he will be every bit as awesome. He will undoubtedly be the subject of many, many, many of my photographs.

So here he is, in his first photograph, which I didn’t take but I’m all too happy to steal and share with you. Just like Sam, he’s a little bit camera shy in utero. :)

Another Calla Lily

Michael Hocter — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 03:49:13 +0000

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 100/f2.8 USM Macro, 1/250 sec at f/4.5, ISO 200

Calla Lily

Michael Hocter — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 03:05:08 +0000

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 100/f2.8 USM Macro, Sunpak Auto 16R Pro ring flash, 1/100 sec at f22, ISO 400

Sam’s First Haircut

Michael Hocter — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 00:46:58 +0000

Sam got his first haircut today.

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 24-105/f4 L IS USM @ 50mm, 1/40 sec at f/4.0, ISO 400

Self-Portrait at 41

Michael Hocter — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:38:00 +0000

I turned 41 years old today so I decided to take a self-portrait.

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 85/1.8 USM, Canon Speedlite 580EX II, Interfit 24″ Softbox, Westcott 42″ Reflector
1/200 @ f/16, ISO 200

Droidography: The Hallway

Michael Hocter — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:18:39 +0000

Posted from WordPress for Android

Sam, 15 Months

Michael Hocter — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:36:13 +0000

Sam turned 15 months old on Feb. 10. He is starting to look less like a baby and more like a little boy.

I already posted this on my gallery site and on Flickr a couple days ago, but I wanted to post it here on my blog as well.

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8 @ 47mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX + Opteka Mini Softbox, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200

Playing with Off-Camera Flash

Michael Hocter — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:24:20 +0000

Inspired by the Speedliter’s Handbook, I’m dedicated to learning how to get more out of my small flashes this year. I just purchased a second Canon flash (a 580EX II to go with my 580EX) so I thought it would be fun to play around with the wireless off-camera E-TTL features. For this shot, I used the 580EX II on-camera to trigger the 580EX in a mini softbox, which my wife was holding off to the right of the camera. (Thanks for being my light stand, honey!) The 580EX II on my camera was disabled so it didn’t contribute any flash to the exposure.

Sam was much more interested in the flash my wife was holding than the camera, which made for a great opportunity to photograph him when he wasn’t looking straight into the camera.

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8 @ 38mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX off-camera + Opteka Mini Softbox, Canon Speedlite 580EX II on-camera (disabled), 1/60 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400. Shot in manual mode with no flash exposure compensation.

Don’t Mess With Me

Michael Hocter — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 03:52:54 +0000

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 50mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX II, 1/250 sec @ f4.0, ISO 200

Sam is learning to feed himself

Michael Hocter — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 06:05:17 +0000

Sam is learning to feed himself. His methods are crude but effective…

Technical Info:
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 65mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX + Sto-Fen Omni Bounce, 1/125 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400

Pinkies Out

Michael Hocter — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:49:28 +0000

Sam can’t eat granola bars yet, but he doesn’t let that stop him from trying to eat the wrappers. Here, he demonstrates the proper etiquette for wrapper consumption.

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 53mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX + Opteka Mini Softbox bounced off the ceiling, 1/13 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400

Sam Throwing a Ball

Michael Hocter — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:16:27 +0000

Sam Throwing a Ball

Nothing artsy today… Just Sam throwing a ball. His right hand seems to be becoming more dominant lately, but he still switches it up once in a while. It’s still too early to know for sure if he will be a righty or lefty.

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 70mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX + Opteka Mini Softbox, 1/400 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400

V-Tech Zoom Zoom Racer

Michael Hocter — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:16:20 +0000

V-Tech Zoom Zoom Racer

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8 @ 70mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX + Opteka Mini Softbox (on camera, bounced), 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Another Photo of Sam at 14 Months

Michael Hocter — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:24:53 +0000

Sam, 14 Months

Here’s another photo of Sam from earlier today. Isn’t he just the cutest?

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 70mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX (on camera) + Opteka Mini Softbox, 1/125 sec at f/4.0, ISO 400

Sam, 14 Months

Michael Hocter — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:50:05 +0000

Sam, 14 Months

Sam turned 14 months old this week and continues to get more cute all the time. He’ll be driving before we know it.

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 28-70/2.8L @ 50mm, Canon Speedlite 580EX (on camera) + Opteka Mini Softbox, 1/500 sec at f/4.0, ISO 400

Stones in my passway

Michael Hocter — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 06:20:43 +0000

Stones in my passway

(Purchase prints of this photo at my gallery)

Droidography: Steeple

Michael Hocter — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:57:23 +0000

I saw this while I was picking up Sam at daycare, so I took a couple of seconds to capture it on my phone with the Camera 360 app.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Liz Ashley #147

Michael Hocter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:30:12 +0000

Here’s another photo from days gone by. This photo was taken back in July, 2007, when I shot with model Liz Ashley from Texas. Sometimes it’s good to go back and give a second look to photos you overlooked before.

Liz Ashley #147, Los Angeles, 2007

(Purchase prints of this photo at my gallery)

Tiana Hunter #267

Michael Hocter — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:27:41 +0000

Tiana Hunter #267, Los Angeles, 2008

(Purchase prints of this photo)