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November 4, 2011
LensSkins
Wildlife photographers have had camouflage for their equipment for years now, but now photographers have the option of prettying up their photo gear as well. Lens Skins (B&H) are vinyl cut-outs that fit the shape and contours of a wide variety of lenses, and come in a huge variety of designs. The Lens Skins easily attach, and are easy to peel off again.
I was curious about getting one for my one lens – wondering whether people would react differently to a pretty camera rather than the menacing bulk of a big camera and lens. The Lens Skins are spendy, but my curiosity was piqued enough to get one.
Sometimes I feel like the photo-geek version of The Terminator when I arrive at a client’s home with two Nikon D3 bodies slung over my shoulders, each with an f2.8 zoom lens and flash. Maybe this psychedelic flowery pattern would be an ice breaker. And true enough, this lens is a conversation starter – kids to older folks ask me about it and strike up conversations. So perhaps it makes me look less intimidating. Really, who can be afraid of this big bad wolf if his camera looks pretty …
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October 10, 2011
Canon wireless e-TTL flash triggers / radio transmitters
A bridal portrait (taken during one of the photo sessions arranged by the Hudson Valley Click), where it is easy to see the advantage of using off-camera lighting.
The strong back-lighting is used as a way to highlight the background and have the rim-lighting etch our model against the background. Of course, having her turn her back to the sun also helps with not having our model squinting in the bright light. We immediately avoid unflattering hard light on her face. But we then do need to add off-camera lighting of some kind to cross-light her.
I used TTL flash here, since I often find this is the fastest and easiest way to get good flash exposure. The flash was diffused with a white shoot-through umbrella, and I used wireless TTL triggers to control my flash.
Let’s have a look at our current options that we have to trigger the off-camera TTL flash …
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September 9, 2011
Lea – moving portrait – Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II
Canon just released the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H), an update to an already highly-regarded lens, and I was able to get a review copy courtesy of B&H. I tried this lens out during a photo session with a model, Lea. Instead of just photographs, I decided to shoot video and create a “moving portrait” of her.
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September 2, 2011
Ring flash is one of those light modifiers that are quite trendy to use. It gives a distinctive halo-like diffuse shadow around your subject when used on camera. When used on-camera, it also gives very flat lighting. As a single light source this doesn’t suit all subjects, and this does mean that the ring flash has its detractors. But used in conjunction with other lights, it is a very useful addition to the photographer’s arsenal.
Stephanie, a frequent guest here, tried out the Orbis Ring flash (B&H),
a handy device which turns any speedlight into a ring-flash.
ring flash techniques with the Orbis Ring Flash
Bring up the topic of ring flash at a crowded table of photographers and opinions will vary greatly. You’ll hear everything from “It’s harsh ugly flat light.” to “This is the coolest, trendiest light out there!” to “It’s a great tool when used properly.”
For the new photographer or someone with limited knowledge of ring flash, such differences of opinion can be confusing. Some of the greatest fashion photographers out there regularly use ring flashes. But there are also examples of really bad work done with a ring flash.
So that brings up the question: Why would you use a ring flash?
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September 1, 2011
lens review: Nikon 50mm f/1.4G vs Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
The 50mm lens in general is an interesting optic. Not necessarily for what it does, but how it seems to have fallen out and back in favor over the years. For example, in the 1970′s pretty much all 35mm film cameras shipped with a 50mm lens. Zooms weren’t something that just came with the camera as a kit lens. It was the 50mm lens that was the “kit lens”. So the first thing the serious amateur would do, is dump the 50mm lens and get a zoom lens to get some variety in their photographs.
Then over the years, more compact and slower aperture zooms became the norm. Even more so during the digital era.
Now, as more of the newer photographers are realizing that a 50mm lens is an inexpensive way of getting super-shallow depth-of-field, the 50mm lens is seeing something of a resurgence in popularity. That super-shallow DoF is a look that your f5.6 kit zoom lenses just can’t give you.
With that, a 50mm lens deserves a place in your camera bag. It takes up little space, and is (usually) inexpensive. (Well, until you step up to something like the Canon 50mm f1.2L … but that’s another story.)
Nikon just released the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (B&H) as an update to the popular Nikon 50mm f1.8D (B&H), and as a more affordable option than the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (B&H) … so let’s look at how it performs.
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August 15, 2011
shooting in bright sunlight with flash
One of the most challenging lighting scenarios we’ll most likely encounter, is bright harsh sunlight. There are a couple of steps we can take to make things a lot easier for ourselves …
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August 6, 2011
review: Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom (lens review)
Venturing out again after posting a few initial test images with the Canon EF 8-15mm f/fL fisheye zoom lens, I tried for a more diverse range of images to show what this lens is capable of … and also compare it with the Canon 15mm f2.8 fish-eye lens to see how the brand-new zoom lens stacks up against the older fixed focal length lens.
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August 2, 2011
initial images – Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom lens (review)
I got my hands on the brand-new Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fish-eye zoom (B&H) today, and I just had to try it out. And what better place than Times Square in Manhattan. Enough tall buildings and billboards to fill the frame of a lens that gives a 180 degree view! Now, before I continue, I have to admit that even though I have a fish-eye lens in my bag, (the Nikon 16mm f2.8), I only occasionally use it. I feel that a fish-eye lens can be over-used very quickly when it draws too much attention to the distorted view that the lens gives, rather than the photograph’s content. That said, I haven’t had this much fun with a new lens in a long, long time!
[ updated: review of the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L fisheye zoom ]
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June 22, 2011
photo session with the Fuji X100 – camera review
First of all, for those who haven’t heard of the Fuji X100 (B&H) yet, it is a beautiful retro-looking rangefinder-mimicking 12 megapixel digital point & shoot camera (with a fixed 35mm equivalent f2.0 lens), that gives remarkable image quality. That about sums it up.
For all those reasons, quite a buzz developed around this camera. Quite unlike anything since … oh, the Leica X1. Or the Olympus Pen EP-2. Or the Sony NEX-5. There was greater excitement building up around the Fuji X100 though than other cameras, specifically for its looks initially. And then when news hit about the incredible image quality, the excitement and interest became more substantial. It’s a hot item right now, and for good reason. But more about the details and specs of this camera later on.
The reason why I bought this camera – well, the way I justify it to myself even though I have several Nikon D3 bodies and a Canon 5D mk II – is that I wanted a Day Off Camera.
My usual day working as a photographer, is where I’m slinging heavy cameras around and running myself ragged. Or else, a working day is where I slump in front of the computer. Because of all that, I’ve felt this need to take a day off during the week. On this mid-week “weekend” day, I would just like to roam around New York with a camera and take photos, and have lunch and relax. But the camera shouldn’t be a heavy Nikon D3 with a zoom lens. That would just be too much physical effort again. (As it is, I have tendonitis in my right elbow from not carefully handling the big cameras with a 70-200mm f2.8 lens.)
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So for a while now, I’ve been looking for a light-weight, top quality camera. My Day Off Camera. With the Fuji X100 (B&H), I finally felt I might have it. A stylish camera that is fun to play with, and gives great images.
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Before I even got to photograph a wedding with the Fuji X100, I had a brilliant idea for a review of this camera. I wanted to do a photo shoot with Anelisa. Now the twist here is that I wanted it to be a play on the idea that this camera is ideal for surreptitious street photography.
The styling of the Fuji X100 is like the classic rangefinder cameras which were the tools of the trade of the street photographers. However, I live in New Jersey. This land of suburbia and shopping malls isn’t exactly the kind of place where you can roam around the streets on foot with a camera, snagging images which are wonderful slices of life. Besides, street photography is tough. You have to pound the city pavements for months on end, looking for those interstitial moments where everything in the frame intersects just perfectly. It is long hard work building up a portfolio of street photography that doesn’t just consist of random boring snaps of stuff and people.
The brilliant idea was to test the Fuji X100 out as this inconspicuous and innocent looking, yet very professionally capable camera … by photographing Anelisa in a shopping mall in New Jersey. Doing this photo shoot without being noticed by the security guards and getting kicked out, would need some non-chalant moves by the photographer and model … and a camera that doesn’t draw attention. If you pulled out a big DSLR with a telephoto zoom and started to direct the model, it will surely be only a minute before security guards accost you and ask you for your permit and proof of insurance. Life in America.
Anyway, as I said, the idea behind the shoot was a tongue-in-cheek reference to this camera being this surreptitious street photographer’s camera. But in a New Jersey shopping mall. I know, I know, it’s not the same. But, just go along with the idea …
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June 20, 2011
by: Stephanie Zettl (St Louis wedding photographer)
Have you ever tried to connect your very expensive speedlight to a light stand or flash modifier with a coldshoe? Have you tightened the coldshoe around your very expensive speedlight and had that bad feeling in the back of your mind that with a little bump, the coldshoe would loosen and your very expensive speedlight would go crashing to the ground? I know I have.
Ten years ago, I did not have many problems with coldshoes. Part of the reason was because the coldshoe tightened around the flash foot and the flash itself had a rotating locking wheel that tightened the flash to the shoe. Since speedlights have gone to a pin and lock system, coldshoes have become much more unreliable. Most coldshoes are not built to have a pin lock into them.
Then came along the Frio. I have never been so excited about a $15 piece of plastic. If you use off camera flash or any coldshoes mounts, this is a product you might be interested in.
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