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We set up this scene on the hottest day of summer, back in June. I shot the setting -- seven-frame bracket, blended in photomatix, processed for warm tones. Santa was photographed separately... and processed substantially cooler. He is 'magically' semi-transparent, sparkling, and involved in his standard tasks: making list, checking twice; hanging stockings by chimney with care; and of course twinkling at the eye.
Happy Holidays!
Julie requested a portrait of the kittens... here is one -- Lola. Ruffina was not cooperating this morning. This one is pretty much untouched - She is seated on the back of an upholstered chair, which had to be brushed out of the lower left and right corners... but not fancy footwork other than that!
The anvils this summer were unbelievable. The microscopic building on the horizon is the famous Block Island North Light, but when nature overwhelms man's creation... well...
This is a new look I have begun working with -- dusky early evening light, multiple exposures to ensure enough data detail given potential dynamic range challenges, a bit of Orton where there's "too much detail," and a new tool I've been experimenting with: Topaz Adjust.
This one has been successful over on Flickr -- my 13th Explore!, but of more interest to me it has been picked up for evaluation by a gallery owner on Block Island -- I hope that works out!
Brother in law writes to ask what gear to buy. Excerpts from his note:
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i often shoot people in motion. i'm particularly interested in capturing expression, which is fleeting, so i like to burst shoot, for example shooting 20 or 30 frames of a laugh. i don't use flash, because it washes out flesh tones(again, i'm not sophisticated enough to understand-or properly program- a flash to make it do its job without washing out the shot before i grab the camera and start shooting. So- what i really mean is, i need something i can essentially point and shoot, sometimes in continuous shot mode, in any existing lighting conditions, that will yield crystal clear, unblured details, even if i'm at some distance from my subject, and even if my hands are a little(or a lot) shaky- which they are; something that -ideally- autofocuses, and doesn't need a lot of programming, that nonetheless yields crystal clear images of subjects, maybe in motion, without artificial illumination. have i explained myself adequately? does such a beast
exist?
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You should look at the Nikon D3, but my guess is the Nikon D700 will do. The D700 is lighter, but it has the same “full frame” sensor that the D3 has, which is enough detail to create an outdoor billboard. The D3 is $5k on its own, but it will last longer than you in terms of build quality.
The D3 will shoot I believe 5 frames per second, which should be more than enough. The trick to detail is the sensor (either of the above will do great) and light. If you have a big hole (an expensive, f/1.2 or f/1.4), you get lots of light. Lots of light, and you get nice details without flash. But wide open you also don’t get lots of depth of field – which of course is not to be confused with detail. If you need loads of detail across a deep field, you need a narrow whole (f/8 to f/64) and there’s no way to compensate for that except to add more light. If you are outdoors, this should never be a problem, but there are some hard core physics that have to be dealt with.
One thing that is improving is the pixel quality at high ISO or sensitivity settings. Used to be at ISO 800 or higher (Tri-X black and white is ISO 400) you got lots of “noise,” the appearance of red green and blue pixels where the subject should be black, or any other nicely blended color. With the newer sensors (like those recommended w/ D3 and D700), you get pretty high quality pixels up to ISO 1600 or 3200 or higher.
That means shooting faster – whether with faster shutter or ‘smaller hole’ – more depth of field.
As for lens, I would recommend one really really nice fixed-length lens, say a 50mm or 85mm, for shooting people from six to 12 feet away.
I took the pictures of Sarah’s performance and the family snaps around the theatre with that lens. No flash until the shots after the show. The picture at the top of this post was taken with the 85mm, but with flash... so it's not all terrible with flash ;-)
There is no comparing the overall image quality of a fixed-length or prime lens in my opinion. f/1.2 or f/1.4 are available, are really expensive, and are totally worth it. You can shoot in very low light with no flash with these babies.
Then I would get the Nikon 18-2oo f/3.5-5.6 VR. This will solve 90+% of your requirements. VR means vibration reduction, which means it will compensate, and very well, for shaky hands or body. It will work well for outdoor, though it will be a bit ‘slow’ for indoor except under very bright (pro arena event) conditions without flash.
That’s a start. B&H photo is the place to buy when you are ready – at least that’s what my photo geek friend from Scarsdale tells me.
A client, RSD, held their annual sales kickoff meeting high in the Alps above Gstaad, a fine community all right about an hour from Montreux.
This pic, a bit of a cliche to be sure, is the result of several key processing enhancements.
First, it's five frames blended and tone-mapped using Photomatix Pro. When I brought the TIFF into camera raw, I was amazed by the register accuracy. So just the same I went and made some detail / sharpness adjustments in camera raw.
In Photoshop, it required a crop from the original. I used Topaz -- quirky given the memory constraints but still a fine tool -- to bring up local contrast to create the texture, and to boost some of the saturation.
I used a mask to reduce some of the overzealous pixel effects, especially on the water.
Surface blur enabled me to remove some of the distracting detail in the surrounding trees. I really wanted to keep attention on the rocks and water.
Finally, an elliptical selection, quick mask, gaussian blur and fill with black: to produce a bit of vignette around those same tree detail areas.
Enjoy!
Tags: Alps, Alpine stream, synopshots, Switzerland, Suisse, Schweitz
9 exposures were required to get the range presented by this scene -- a beautiful and cozy hotel room in the Swiss Alps. Definitely a tutorial in the making... stay tuned!
Five frames, a tad of Topaz to bring some texture under the lamps. Love that bicycle.
This is a five-frame HDR, taken at about 9:30 at night, on Block Island -- AKA the Town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island.
