Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5 lens
Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5 lens
The quest to add an interesting, eye-catching element to a photograph, often leads us photographers to start working with lenses that have a distinctive bokeh. One of the more affordable vintage lenses that gives a distinctive bokeh and is also a perfect portrait focal length, is the Soviet made Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5 lens (for Canon / for Nikon). The 85mm Helios is also is surprisingly affordable as photography gear goes. The swirly bokeh is fairly distinctive of the Helios optic. Adding this kind of Read more inside...review: Profoto A1 flash
review: Profoto A1 flash
Profoto has a very strong reputation in the industry for making gear that are reliable, easy to use, powerful, and, well ... looks really good. When Profoto entered the market a few years ago with the portable Profoto B1 flash (affiliate), and then the Profoto B2 flash (affiliate), it was inevitable then that at some point they would make a grand entrance with a speedlight style flash. With this review of the Profoto A1 flash (affiliate), I wanted to show more how I would use it, than just cover the specs of the flash. I met up Read more inside...Lens review: Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R
Lens review: Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R
For any photographer moving from zooms to using primes as well, with a strong interest in portraits, the 85mm lens is your best choice. If you're a fan of Fuji, then the equivalent focal length would be the 56mm optic. And if you're a fan of Fuji, then you will already know that their lenses are razor-sharp. To test the Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R (B&H / Amazon), I photographed one of my favorite models, Anastasiya, using the flood of light from the billboards in Times Square. While not a thorough lens review of the Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 Read more inside...Lighting styles in wedding photography
Lighting styles in wedding photography
Two interesting questions came up in the Tangents FB group - both posted by Matthew Ciscart, one of the regulars: The first question was whether a client had ever asked for a specific lighting? Such, hard light, soft light, natural, or ocf? The other question was whether any of the photographers had a specific go-to style of using lighting. That one thing they do. My reply to this, relating it to lighting styles in wedding photography, was I haven't had a client ask for any specific lighting. However, I do believe my website shows a Read more inside...Featured on PDN: How to shoot cinematic time-lapses
Featured on PDN: How to shoot cinematic time-lapses
Just in case you're not aware of what PDN is - Photo District News is one of the premier photography industry magazines in the USA. And of course, since we are in the 21st century, they maintain a web presence and a Facebook page. So as you can imagine then, it was a big honor that the team at PDN asked me about how I shoot time-lapse videos, and what equipment I use, as well as tips on camera settings and such. This led to a 2-part video, of which the first appeared on PDN magazine's website: How to shoot cinematic time-lapse Read more inside...Solar Eclipse 2017 – New York
Solar Eclipse 2017 - New York
A time-lapse clip of ... well, the clouds on the day of the 2017 solar eclipse, where we had 71% partial eclipse viewable from New York City. My initial intention with this time-lapse clip was to show how the environment became darker, but the continuous cloud cover made it something different. I did have another camera for close-up photos of the solar eclipse. (The photos are shown lower down here.) There were short moments when the sun did peek out, so that we could see the progression of the eclipse. Even then, it was magical to see. Here is my Read more inside...On-location headshots
On-location headshots
With these on-location headshots of actor and TV presenter, Andy Peeke, there is a lot going on despite the apparent simplicity. The photos were done in a very short space of time - we rained out! So I had to work fast and still nail the images as intended. Also, - I wanted that out-of-focus city scene behind Andy, and I wanted it to appear bright. - The lighting, off-camera flash added to the ambient light, shouldn't intrude and make itself obvious. I wanted the light on him perfectly balanced with the way I intended the background to appear. - Unusual for Read more inside...Working on my New York bucket list
Working on my New York bucket list
Today I had my photograph taken by the New York photography icon, Louis Mendes. This has been on my New York bucket list for a long while now. I had to go in to B&H to return some gear, and when I saw Louis Mendes again on the corner of the street, I decided this is it - today! So I asked him to take a photo of me, and then had a friend take several photos with me with him. If you've visited B&H, or the Photo Plus Expo, you've seen this guy. He has this monster hybrid vintage setup that he uses to shoot polaroids of anyone who wants Read more inside...Bounce flash and choice of background & backlighting
Bounce flash and choice of background + backlighting
This is where style and technique intersect - the choice of how to use flash (or any other kind of additional lighting) at wedding receptions. Many photographers prefer the crisp look of multiple off-camera flash setups at wedding receptions. While I do think some of the photos look incredible, I am not convinced that the success rate is all that high. Hot spots in the background, and weird cross-shadows will mar many of the photos. My preference has always been for the predictability and flexibility of using on-camera bounce Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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