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Alik Griffin

923 posts

A professional video editor, and photographer with a Bachelors in Film studies from UCSD. Based in Los Angeles, I have created commercials, trailers, and other video content for various clients and platforms since 2005. I also love to write about my passions and share my insights on my blog.

Flamingo close

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Lesser Flamingos – San Diego Wild Animal Park

Lesser Flamingos from the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Did you know their feathers' pink and reddish color comes from the carotenoid pigments in the algae and crustaceans they eat? I didn't realize that until I read it on a bit of board posted in front of the Lesser Flamingo exhibit. Now I do. And now you do, too. It's freaky how red their eyes are. It almost looks like they could have built-in lasers.

Seven Gods of Fortune

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Seven Gods of Fortune (Shichifukujin) – Nanzoin Temple, Japan

I found these little guys when I was at a Nanzoin Temple in Sasaguri, Japan. They are the Seven Gods of Fortune, or Seven Lucky Gods, or Shichifukujin in Japanese. The gold symbol behind them means treasure. The resident priest of this temple won the lottery and built the world's largest bronze statue at this site. The Reclining Buddha. This temple has become a hotspot for people who want good luck with money or to win the lottery.

Accessories For Fujifilm X100VI

UV Filters – Should You Use Them?

Should you use a UV filter? Let's dive into why having one on your camera can be helpful and when it's simply not required.

Santa Monica Pier HDR

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Santa Monica Pier – HDR

This was my first time shooting the Santa Monica Pier on my Canon 5Dmkii. It's a very popular spot for photographers but it's rare to get the timing of the lights right. If you plan on going here to shoot the amusement park on the pier, the best time I've found is to shoot after the sun goes down. Unless of course there is an amazing sunset happening which only occurs a few times a year in Los Angeles. Most of the time it looks like this.

Mudstones at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley

Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS II Review and Sample Photos

The Canon 70-200 f2.8L II lens should be in every Canon shooter's kit. It's one of those must-have lenses. The image quality is just so beautiful, and owning this lens immediately improved my portfolio. It's heavy, it's expensive, but it's a Canon, and it's worth every penny.

Malibu Pier Landscape Photo

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Malibu Pier In HDR

The coast highway in California is one of the greatest drives one can take. One city in particular that I like is Malibu. Although part of L.A. it really is its own little world with a completely different vibe from the rest of the city. It has some great surf, some amazing views, and lots of things to do. The area around the pier is a great place to go paddle boarding and take photos.

Fourth of July at the Queen Mary with Fireworks.

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4th of July Fireworks – Queen Mary

On this Fourth of July, I went to Long Beach, California, to shoot the fireworks show at the Queen Mary. Shooting fireworks can be tricky, but it really isn't that hard. It's important to shoot with a fairly stopped-down aperture and a slow shutter speed. Most of these photos were shot at around an f/16 with a shutter between 10-30 seconds. I also shot with bracketing of 3 photos at two stops for these photos. The camera was set to aperture priority. This gave me three shots, all with slightly different shutter speeds, for more variety.

Canon 40mm f2.8 Lens

Canon 40mm f2.8 STM Lens Review & Sample Photos

The Canon 40mm f2.8 pancake lens has very nice sharpness and clarity—better than my 24-70mm f2.8L @ 40mm. It has a slight vignette when wide open, but nothing to worry about. I've noticed it disappears at around f/4.5. It's also sharpest at the center and drops off slightly towards the edges. You won't notice this as much on a cropped sensor.

HDR Landscape Photo of the Horseshoe Bend

What is HDR in photography?

You see it popping up all over the place, and you keep hearing the term HDR. Even our smartphones have built-in HDR modes. But what is it?

Photo Tips

The Latest on Rolling Shutter Solutions and Fixes

After all the big updates to DSLRs this year it would seem they are still the only choice for the filmmaker on a budget. And it seems none of the manufacturers have done anything to help the distortion (also known as skew, or temporal aliasing) from the rolling shutter.

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