Area-51 SLC

Sunday night M and I went to local event at an club known as Area-51.  This reminded me of the days of the Reptile House in G.R., in the mid 90's without  the cage dancers -- but I digress.

A fashion show of sorts was to take place and M was going to model - so I brought my gear.  Once again I went light because I didn't want to look like a gear freak and I was confident I could just "make it work".

Since it was a "club" I figured the light was going mixed, if any at all -- and I had no room for a flash and frankly I didn't want a flash - as the conditions were right for the look an feel as I would learn anyway.

D3s and the 80-200 f2.8 af-s performed incredibly - and as I tweeted - it was like cheating with the D3s as it sees in the dark.  My zoom was maxed most of the time and that meant at least a 1/200 second shutter speed.  Why -- sutter speed matches the focal length to maintain sharpness.  Since the shutter speed was driving the exercise - that meant Shutter Priority.  I set the shutter and the D3s drives the rest.

Since I was basically in complete darkness -- well -- I figured I would be wide open at f2.8 and an ASA somewhere around 9000-12,000.  Yes -- those numbers are not typos; 12,000 asa and they are better than my D2h at 400 ASA.

I burned about 400 frames -- shooting continuous at 9 frames and it was a blast.  Frame, compose and shoot -- frame, compose and shoot.

Every once in a while the camera would choke -- I may have a bad memory card - that happened at the Race in Salmon -- I hit the release and I would pulling about 3 frames a second, not 9... I may have to send it in.

Here's something else -- there were some other photographers in the crowd - and I was really surprised at their actions upon taking a picture - they would instantly chimp.  Frame, chimp, frame, chimp -- it was painful... I don't get it...

So -- the set is really good -- and in this case - the gear made the shoot - I wouldn't have been able to get these photos with anything else..

A few weeks ago Scott Bourne said on TWIP that if he's not getting paid then he's not shooting.  

Well I tend to disagre as I've come to love shooting - and sometimes that means shooting for free.

I attended the wedding of my good friend M.S. - we were at 2/75 Ranger together - and although he had hired a photographer for the event I made it clear I was going to be in the "shadows" taking picitures.
I have the gear which allows me to go beyond the typical point and shoot and the skills to operate it - and for a good friend I would have felt empty not to do so.

Although everything about this struggling business has been geared toward the business side - website, cards, and pricing etc - I still love the freedom of no deadlines and the liberation of non responsibile shooting.

When it's non paid I can be purely creative - I can fail - I can quit - I can take a break - I can keep shooting or I can stop...

So - I had a few choices to make as I was with my wife, meaning I really had to scale back my intensity.  For me that meant a body and a 80-200mm f2.8 af-s lens, no bag and no flash.  I was able to enjoy the moments with my wife and at the same time I could "snipe" photos from a distance.  The hired photographer was going to do the heavy lifting and I would just shoot what I wanted to shoot.

The ceremony was against the sun and we were seating in a fixed position so movement wasn't possible and I did gather some ghosting and flare as the the event progressed but the photo which wins is below.

Interestingly enough -- the chairs were seatcovered in white -- and it acted like a big reflector.  As the couple walked down the aisle - all the natural light filled in the shadows and made both "pop".

Memorial Day 2011

Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City - a Soldier Salutes the Colors

Flava Flav would be Proud

But -- the I'm sure the cat is ashamed...

2011 AIA Sustainable Design Honor Award

FFKR Architects - Bogue Building

2011 Utah Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
Excellence in Sustainable Design Honor Award.


INDIANOLA - SALMON IDAHO

This has become one of my favorites as of late -- geometric, abstract, and full of tension. 

Photographed in a historic area near Salmon Idaho of a once rare Helibase.  Now closed due to 9-11 leglistation governing the use and storage of helicopters.

Sad.

Mostly it is known for a firefighters memorial where US Forest Service Helitack Jeff Allen and Shane Heath lost their lives on the Cramer Fire 2003.

*** I don't know what I was thinking -- I should have included the Memorial !

Soft in the "hairball"

Last weekend I photographed a 10K -- it wasn't a paid shoot, just a shoot.  But, as Vincent Versace says, the "hairball" got the best of me.  Vincent describes the moment of a stressfull situation while shooting as the "Hairball".

You see I thought I was all dialed in -- it was easy -- the subject was fairly static, the my zoom was maxed -- iso at 200 -- aperature priority - done !! 

Upon getting home -- the images were not that sharp - how ??  It was obvious - dialed in to 200mm I was only shooting at 1/135 second... I was so disappointed - and now I know to keep this in the mental toolkit.  As with film - your shutter needs to at least match your focal length -- if you are shooting a cropped sensor then double it to be safe. 

I knew all of this - but become complacent - now I know better - as doing things well is never easy.

And another thing - just because you are shooting the cat in the comfort of your own home, with no deadline -  stive to get into the "hairball" and challenge your skills.  It will pay off in the long run...

Old Skool Fifty

Everyone once in the while I dig for the 1982-ish 50mm f1.4 ais - this was a kit lens which came with Dad's FM-2.  I still have the FM-2 and bought it after it accidently went into the river on a canoe trip.  I paid for the repair bill - and it was mine.  I think I was in the 8th grade - that was 1983.

The fifty perfoms well - at anything over f2.8 -- I long for the new Af-S.

Wind Turbines sprouting like Dandilions in Hagerman

A bit of a blustery day with grey skys, a bag full of my camera gear, and the hope the sun would break through the misty madness.

I really wasn't much motivated but the masters before me where I've read have said that is the time you really need to push through and force yourself to keep shooting.  Well -- I did.

The images stayed in the camera for a few days longer then usual - I received some prodding from my father-in-law and that gave me some motivation to see what I got.  I didn't get the typical wind-turbine images -- these were grey with not much contrast or color saturation - but in that I found something.

These are interesting photos -- non-typical images of Turbines.

The majority of this installation work is assumed to have been done by Fagen Construction - the Turbines are GE, General Electric in the area of Hagerman Idaho near Tuana.

FLASHBUS

The FlashBus Tour came town yesterday -- hit the link for tour info - http://www.theflashbus.com/

    David Hobby aka www.strobist.com, with his in the trenches technique of homemade black straw snoots and Joe McNally, www.joemcnally.com, wielding the endless stack of Last-o-Lite panels brought the FlashBus to SLC Sunday.
    Hobby and McNally are a good fit with two different techniques, approaches, gear setups, and presentations.
    Hobby didn't use the term "Tupperware" once -- and McNally even in the middle of an 3-mile island equipment meltdown in the afternoon session didn't even swear.       
    Strobist started the event at 10am with a slide presentation of techniques of approach; layering a scene with Ambient as a base, Key, Fill and more.  Many photos of the on-site setup displayed the before, during, and after, of the shoot.
    Prizes for participation surprised the crowd - hit the sponsor list.
    He didn't flinch at any question asked from the crowd, and he knows his craft very well, as obvious because he's the Strobist.  I asked the first question -- and was labeled, the guy who is always going to ask questions -- there is always that guy... Sweet !
    Hobby's style is Gurilla - and for me that means creative, and by all means necessary - some of his gear is homemade and some isn't.  But I took away that Hobby and his roots and technique are earthy - but his product is polished, and the thought that if Hobby can do it - well than I may just have a chance.

-- lunch --

     McNally takes the stage and with a quick introduction displays a slide show of some of his best work.  Most of which I've seen and some of which I haven't.  I've read his two books and Kelby Training work.
     He was all hands on - as I tweeted "he has assistants, whoa!!"   
     A tethered Nikon D3s with a 24-70 af-s was handed to him and with a shutter click - nothing - another click - nothing... A total equipment meltdown as there was a hardware malfunction.   
    In true professional form McNally held it together, didn't skip a beat and in a few minutes - ok - a series of painful minutes - everything came back on line.
    The majority of the equipment was Lastolite - and of course a crazy amount of speedlites - and as with Hobby - there was a layered approach but with different gear.
    And, it was live - he was making it happen - every once in a while as an assistant would try to anticipate a move, McNally would change it up and do something different - on purpose or not it, was evident he was in control.
    Toward the end he introduced a member of the crowd, a dancer who volunteered to be photographed - and McNally with a 3 tree'd speedlite setup some 60 feet away produced some McNally esque work.  It was excellent.
    Manual - TTL - it didn't matter - McNally is a superstar with flash.
    It was wonderful seeing the creative process develop, unfold, succeed and sometimes collapse on itself.

    Did I mention that these two were in the room for only $100 admission - bargain -- Winning!!!   
    These two were very well worth the price of admission - Adorama was the sponsor and without their help it probably would have been more - I'm glad they came - I took away some some good techniques and more so - hopefully some of their passion for the craft.

STOTT - PRINT MATCH COLOR WORK FLOW

Pete Stott of www.stottphotography presented his Screen to Print match color work
flow the other night at a SmugMug even held at the Utah County Studio Co-Op sponsored
by the Utah County SmugMug User Group,

I can't say enough about SmugMug - I've been a pro user for about 2 years and it's some
great photo hosting - not only for the price but for the magic Mojo they provide your
portfolio.  It just looks great - the interface is clean - you have total control
over interaction - right click copy protection and they are constantly updating with
new services and functionality.  Check them out at www.smugmug.com

And -- they sponsor great groups like this -- where people come together and share
ideas, techniques, workflows and meet eachother -- thanks to Scott Jarvie at www.jarviedigital.com
for starting this up.

Color theory is no joke - and once you dive in there is usually no one to get help

from - I've even emailed the famous Vincent Versace for help with my Epson R2880
when I first started making prints with my new printer.

Stott described the whole process -- from shooting with an X-rite Color Checker Passport
to using their Color Munki Photo  to calibrate the screen and get ready for the print process. 

Although the presentation was "Sans" a printer I'm sure everyone came away with the idea the output would match.

I use the DataColor system - the Spyder3Elite and although I've been happy with it - Stott
has me thinking of jumping ship as the X-rite system seems much more integrated and easier to manage.

One more tip I've found - if when you print and your prints are too dark -- well it's a luminence "Briteness" issue on your monitor.  Make that adjustment - which may take you multipe tries and multiple prints.  That alone took me weeks to figure out ... as it took me forever to put together
Luminence equaled Brightness... for the love.

ZEBRA SHARBO X MULTI PEN LT3

I discovered the Pilot Hi-Tec-C a few years ago from a co-worker and have since
been purchasing them on Ebay from a Hong Kong Seller as they are not available
in the U.S. - go figure - WuBear is the Ebay seller.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a blogger the PenAddict and I've noted his
favorite pens and papers - it's a great site and he also links to other reviewers
of other pens and papers and journals.

I'm not too much of a pen geek - but I do like fine and unusual things and on that
list are writing instruments, watches, etc - and thru the PenAddict I found the
Zebra Sharbo X Multi Pen - it retails for $45.00 and is only available at www.jetpens.com.

It seems that JetPens is the only seller that has it -- which I find unusual.

LT3 addition in Black with a chrome clip - not a big fan of the chrome clip - .5 black
and .5 red pens and a .5 in the pencil.  I wouldn't go thinner than .5 for the pens
as they are right on the edge of being too scratchy on papers.  Although much of this
depends upon what papers are being used.

The LT3 is the only one in the Sharbo X series which is all metal - something which is
confusing to pick up on - I had to read the reviews on JetPens.  The ST3 has plastic
components.

I would like to see Zebra make the barrel a bit knurled for a better grip and this would
separate it from the typical pen crowd.

Pros - there is nothing else on the market like it - very well made all metal construction
Multi Pen

Cons - expensive - refills are exclusive - refills are small - slippery to the grip

THE POWER OF THE IPHONE

There is nothing particularly special about this series - other than it was taken and edited in the iPhone.

Shot in HDR - not a big fan of the HDR as it really morphs the reds a bit, edited in Chase Jarvis' Best Camera and then given a radial blur with Tilt-Shift.  I really like Tilt-Shift.

All done in camera and all done on the iPhone - 4

TILT SHIFT - OR - CHERRY PICKER

What happens when a tilt-shift isn't available ??  Get yourself a big Cherry Picker and make it happen.

I documented the aftermath from the December 2010 LDS Provo Tabernacle, Provo Utah, fire in January.
 

Part of the plan was to have all views as square in the frame as possible including closeups of the damaged window openings, including an overall of the East Side.  This was only possible with the use of what I call a "cherry picker", but would be more appropriately called a "Lift".  It was operated by the on site construction personnel while I captured the images.

After suiting up in a safety harness, hardhat and vest, and hooking into the bucket this image was captured about 1/2 way up the facade and elevated above the edge of the right-of-way below, just over the curb.

Same drill as with most Architectural subjects - the focal plane is square to the subject and the frame is elevated as necessary - in this case with a Lift.

Tamron 17-35mm f2.8-4.0 with a D3s - this is my grab and go lens and since this job was more of a document and let's decide where this is going to go, I had some flexibility for gear choices.

FFKR Architects, is leading the restoration study.

PASSENGER FORWARD

There are times when I want to take my gear - and there are times when I do.  It's a difficlut balence as becoming self absorbed can be off-putting to some and anoying.  I become very self concious and then sometimes stay in the shadows when I shoot.

Thursday we received some snow the night before and with the days foreceast of clear skys I thought It may be good to breing the gear on the way to work.  Since the goal was to get to work - well - that doesn't leave much time to become self absorbed.

85mm f1.4 D - personally prized for its color rendering - the focus is hit or miss depending upon if the target is moving or not as it's a screw driven lens of 90's design.  It has just been replaced by a new AFs version.  Yet it still keeps up when the planets align - my sharpest lens - and f1.4 to boot.

Aperture priority - with single point focus - f2.8 @ 1/100 - D3s
Developed in LRoom using x-equals Kodak Elite Chrome LRoom preset.  You will hear it over and over, and this is un-endorsed, but I can't say enough about what these guys out of Chicago are doing for the pre-set world.

wide and wider

A grand space with large forms; seating 15,000, screams for wide, and even wider.
 

I anticipated Nikon's 24mm PC-e Tilt shift would be just about the only choice, as a panorama would be one of the only options to capture this space and the forms.  And -- I didn't want the perspective shift of a super wide 14mm -- and any crazy scewing which is impossible to correct in post.

So -- where do I get a 24mm PC-e -- Lens Rentals -- shipped it to my door.  Three years ago I would have pretty much had to purchase it -- now today's possibilities are pretty cool.

Why Lens Rentals -- well -- I like their web site, and commentary the owner provides about his experiences with all of the hardware he carries - for some reason they struck a chord with me over Borrow Lenes.  I also think Lens Rentals is cheaper.

 

I knew I needed some wide shots, and the typical center straight on shot.  Upon approach I summed up the easy compositions and then as I work the scene or space I can unconsciously absorb and develop a view for the next and the next etc.  I rarely just shoot and shoot -- I set up and take one shot and break down the setting and move on.  View points are precious and fleeting and they either come to you or

they don't -- and when the frame "pops" -- you know it's a winner.

My style is single point perspective, geometric, structured, and relies heavily upon the grid.  Verticals stay vertical, images are tack sharp, and post production is minimal.  All were long exposures with high f-stops to maintain near/far depth of field with some exposures approaching 30 seconds.  The higher apertures protected the edge to edge sharpness and possible distortion and "purple-fringing".  I wasn't too concerned with the PC-e as some consider that to be Nikon's sharpest lens ever - it was the thoroughbred 14-24mm which can really get away from you.  I may have been too cautious and over-conservative, but on site thats the choice I made, an therefore needed to stay consistent.

The Panos were taken with the tilt shift in the horizontal position and then the three images were "stitched" in Photoshop - this technique worked very well.

 

Now on the to specifics of the 24mm PC-e.  Nikon really has to re-design this thing, or add a designer to the team.  The controls are swiss-watch like - and not very friendly; too small and hard to grasp and much too fragile.  I thought I was going to break it or strip a stop screw or something - I don't like to have to baby gear.

 

All the lobby photos were taken, once again, with the tilt-shift.  And just the Shift by it self, adds a magical element as the whole scene changes.  Just that alone can really make the frame come alive - it is difficult to explain and since this was my first experience with the shift, it really made an impact.  The only downside is the 24mm limit - but as in good design - constraints force creativity.

I could have photographed atmosphere of the lobbys all day -- the spaces are great and the sun constantly changed the highlighting of the forms.

Injecting Light

I just finished a photo shoot for a client an it got me to thinking about those who shoot only "available" light and those who also use flash.

More importantly I guess - I'm questioning those who vehemently defend the notion of only shooting available light.

For me there are two modes of shooting, paid and non-paid, for fun and not for fun.  When I'm shooting for fun I'm not on deadline and anything goes -- hell I can bag it...call it a day, wait for the sun - not wait for the sun etc... But if I'm on deadline, I need the photo, and I can't come back the next day.  That's what being a pro is all about - getting the photo no matter what.

Listen to me - I'm jabbering like I'm a seasoned pro - I'm far from the work Chase Jarvis commands - but I've had my days.

So - my point is this - if a client approaches you for work - and you take the job - the Sun may not make such a great appearance and you better have some options to present.

The following photo was taken this last weekend - tripod mounted, so I could have just set the exposure, gotten the shots, and been out of there in 30 minutes - but I've done that before and everything looks like mud - there is no pop - not excitement for the eye - so I decided to "Inject" some light with some off camera remote Strobe.

I'm also a fan of Blessing and Shulman.

I call it injecting light - because the strobe fires during the long exposure.

And you would never know there is any strobe at all - the eye sees what you tell it to see.

I'm very happy with the results.

Sealline Urban Shoulder Review

Color on the far Pole

Two P.M. and the early sunshine is replaced with dark clouded snow flurries.  I got out of my comfort zone and captured this photo of the only hint of color on I could find.  

Then developed with www.x-equals.com/blog Fuji Velvia 100 @ 80 Lightroom Preset

ENR - 2010 images of the year

In late October a co-worker received an email from Engineering News Record, www.enr.com, for solicitation for their yearly Construction photo contest.  

I was encouraged to apply as some of my street work and casual office photos is somewhat related to the construction industry, be it more of the conceptual side and not the hands on side, yet could be considered applicable.

I submitted multiple photos before the November deadline and I hoped for some recognition, but didn't dwell upon it - in Late December I received an email describing how I made the semi-finals and requesting more information about when, where and how this photo was taken.

 

A few days later I was informed I made the cut of the 32 selected photos.

http://enr.construction.com/photocontest/2010/detail.asp?itemid=30

 

Pretty cool.