testing testing: the sigma at cu

last night i joined a college friend, who's visiting from california, at a great teachers event at low library on columbia's campus. it was kind of a fancy affair. men in dark suits, and ladies in floor-length gowns, sporting big baubles, bangles and beads. i was decidedly more casual, though i tried to give it a little ooh-la-la: a favorite top that i bought a couple of years ago at a boutique in le marais, and slim black slacks and slate grey heels from comptoir des cotonniers. it turned out to be a smart choice, as one gentleman that we became acquainted with that night, mr. hooper (i think he said he was class of '68?), asked me to take a few photos for him. having only my 50mm portrait lens with me, i had to sneak my way up to the front of the room, crouch down, crawl around to have any chance at a decent shot. i welcomed the opportunity though the photos, in the end, were not great. but i couldn't have tried to oblige him if i'd been in any kind of gown.

mr. hooper is himself a serious photographer (he taught digital photography at parsons, while working at citigroup) but i'm pretty sure he wasn't looking for photos of the dinner we were served. so i took these for me! the light was acceptable, and the plating was pretty. i wanted another chance to see what i could do with this lens, since i'd been a little frustrated before.

all of these are at 2.0 (and btw, delicious)...









these are not classic food shots, and the focus is a bit off, but i sort of like the look of them...

thoughts? i'm open to critiquing.

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a quick note about the event: the great teacher honorees were professors austin quigley, who was dean of the college from 1995-2009 and zvi galil, who served as dean of seas from 1997-2007.
also in attendance was the college's new dean, dr. michele m. moody-adams, the first female and first black dean in the college's history...