All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. This is my first trip with the 645D. Should be an interesting challenge as it includes a couple of big festivals, a few landscapes, a fashion shoot and a rock concert. Let the adventure begin…
Quick test to see if I could trigger my old hammerhead flash with a PocketWizard. In this shot fellow photographer Pete Leong is actually working as both model and assistant. He is holding the flash with his outstretched right arm and pointing it back at his face.
Voice for the Oceans Edo Heinrich-Sanchez is devoted to protecting Okinawa’s environment and promoting its culture. Edo Heinrich-Sanchez was born in the Caribbean, but grew up in the Canary Islands and the United States. He first came to Okinawa in 1981 as a F4 Phantom mechanic on Kadena Air Base. After his career in the military, Edo returned to the United States to study photography at the Colorado Institute of Art, and then broadcasting at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. In 1990, he moved back to Okinawa, and since then, he has been teaching, producing TV shows, and feeding his greatest passion－protecting Okinawa’s environment for future generations. Has your background in broadcasting helped you while on Okinawa? “The most recent project I have been involved in was working as a producer for a TV series titled Fantastic Festivals of the World. Episode number 11 was based on the kyu-bon and eisa festivals in Okinawa. The series was shown on the Discovery Channel and is still aired regularly. In December 2005, the Okinawa episode won the …
There are huge differences between shooting in the studio and shooting on location. Above all, it’s the degree of control. In the studio you can easily adjust the direction, quality and strength of light. You can make micro adjustment to the model’s poses, and then shoot, check and reshoot until you get it right. Yesterday was a wonderful example of having to relinquish control. With heavy clouds, sporadic rain, and several large horses, you have to work with what the conditions and the equine models will give you. Luckily things all came together. The overcast skies produced a nice even light, and the horses were kind enough not to throw Liz off their backs, or knock me (and the camera) into the water. Huge thanks must go to Liz Craig for modeling, Kim Clay for makeup, Pete Leong and Eboh Ajeroh for assisting, and above all Eve Carey, Makoto, Sly and Sky of Mihara Horse Club.
Pro wedding photographer Pete Leong came along on a fun location shoot with model Liz Craig and horses Makoto, Sly, and Sky. Pete took some wonderful behind the scenes shots, which pretty much explain all. So without further ado…
Here’s another good reference book, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait by Michael Grecco. It is an inspirational book that blends the best of the Rotovision series of books (lighting diagrams / camera info) along with interesting behind the scene anecdotes of a celebrity photographer (“We were shooting at Shaq’s home…”) The first sections are based more on types of gear and how to use them: cameras, lighting etc. Later chapters are based on concepts and case studies. Well written, great images, a quality book. On Michael Grecco’s website you can also get a good idea about his lighting setups by looking at his behind the scenes video clips. I particularly liked this clip showing a portrait of Scorsese, it shows a clever use of natural and strobe light along with a bit of smoke.
Here’s a quick shot from my latest studio shoot. Eboh and I were helping Nikki update the images in her porfolio. This image was lit from the front with a softbox that included a blue gel filter. Another softbox with an orange gel was angled from the side. The colored gels create an interesting look. Reminds me of the lighting in some of the C.S.I. crime labs. Model: Nakita Nedd Lighting: Eboh Ajeroh Makeup: Kim Clay
Last night there were some patches of clear sky and the moon came out. I decided it would be a good opportunity to try out the 400mm telephoto lens and a 2x converter. I experimented with various settings, the shot above was ISO 400, 1/60, F8. It is surprisingly difficult to focus on the moon, you can’t just set the lens to infinity, but need to make micro adjustments. A more significant issue is that as the lens itself is mounted to the tripod, the rear converter and then the camera are hanging mid air. I think I could gain extra stability and sharpness by having the body mounted on a separate tripod, although this will make any changes in angle a pain. (The other option would be a custom double mount but I imagine this would be prohibitively expensive.) One of the other key points about this exercise is that sometimes smaller sensors are very useful. In this case, the advantage of having a large sensor was made redundant by the fact I was …
A simple item that didn’t come with the 645D camera was a remote control. The Pentax O-RC1 is a simple device that allows you to fire the shutter without pushing the shutter release button. This is great for self portraits and family photos as it avoids the self-timer dash. More importantly for me, it means I can eliminate any micro wobble that may occur when pressing the shutter release button on a tripod mounted camera. As a bonus the remote control is waterproof, which in rain soaked Okinawa is probably a good idea. The remote control also works with other 2010 Pentax cameras including the Optio W90 .
