Before I get started, I must do a shameless plug for another comic book that I worked in that came out last week. It is Batman and Robin Annual #2 for DC Comics:

Writer: Pete Tomasi. Pencils: Doug Mahnke and Pat GleasonInks: Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Mark Irwin, Mick Gray, and Doug Mahnke.Colors: Tony AvinaLetters: Dezi Sienty and Taylor Esposito — Writer: Pete Tomasi.
Pencils: Doug Mahnke and Pat Gleason
Inks: Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Mark Irwin, Mick Gray, and Doug Mahnke.
Colors: Tony Avina
Letters: Dezi Sienty and Taylor Esposito

You can check out a preview of the first few pages here. This issue came out on the same day as the Catwoman #27 issue I also worked on; I don't remember the last time I had 2 books come out on the same day, so it's pretty cool!

The Terry Evanswood Magic Show!

Last June, I blogged about my experience being an event shooter and photographing fans with celebrity guests at Fanboy Expo. Following that weekend, friends from the Fanboy show took me to a very cool magic show performance by superstar magician Terry Evanswood. It was the first time I had ever been to an actual, professional, grand illusion type show (I had only seen them on television like most people). This certainly was not your average event magician who does only card tricks for school children!

The Wonderworks building where Terry performs.  Already a cool sight! — The Wonderworks building where Terry performs. Already a cool sight!

While professional photography and video are not allowed at the show, Terry did allow one part of his performance to be photographed. It was a very cool levitation with water act, and the spectacle did not disappoint. Thankfully I had my tiny Olympus E-PL5 with two lenses on me: the Panasonic Lumix 14mm/2.5 pancake and the Oly 45mm/1.8 prime. Sitting in the second row right in front of the stage allowed my 45mm/1.8 to get a perfect angle of view. The following photos were all shot with that lens, and post processing was some Camera Raw adjustments, and very slight Smart Sharpening in Photoshop. All shot at f/1.8, ISO 3200, and 1/200 second (there was a lot of movement). The camera combo did very well despite the extreme lighting conditions (click to enlarge each photo):

Click to see 100% crop of the great detail that can be captured with the E-PL5 and 45mm/1.8 combo.

So we sauntered over to the very cool museum with great displays of historical items and paraphernalia of the magic world. All of the following were taken with the E-PL5 and the Lumix 14mm/2.5 wide angle pancake lens, except for the very last photo (Oly 45mm/1.8). Again, click on each photo to enlarge:

100% crop of area in focus.  Impressive detail! — 100% crop of area in focus. Impressive detail!

Terry's Merlin Award, which is like the Oscar Award in the world of magic.

Bokeh power with the 45mm/1.8 lens.  If you're a micro four thirds owner, then do yourself a favor and buy the best bang-for-the-buck lens.  ;) — Bokeh power with the 45mm/1.8 lens. If you're a micro four thirds owner, then do yourself a favor and buy the best bang-for-the-buck lens. ;)

Thanks for looking. Hopefully, I'll finally have more naked chicks on the blog later this week.