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Photography 101 Workshop – January 14th and 15th

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Photography 101 Workshop – January 14th and 15th

Who is the course for?

The beginner or novice photographer who has a digital SLR  and wishes to progress beyond the green fully auto mode. People who want to take better photographs of their friends and family rather than point, shoot, and hope for the best.

What do I need to bring?

Your digital  SLR camera, lens, your camera manual, memory card, battery and charger. You don’t need a particular brand of camera or lens. If you don’t have a digital SLR at the moment I can lend you one for the duration of the course.

What does the course cover?

Equipment – The anatomy of cameras, lenses, memory cards, filters and tripods.

Exposure – Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, Camera Modes, Metering

Composition – Angles, Repetition, Rules, Lines, Simplicity

Data Management – Sorting, storing and protecting your images.

This is a fun workshop rather than a lecture. As we cover new topics we will be taking photographs, reviewing the images, and discussing the results.  You’ll be learning by practicing each new skill rather than just reading about it.

Number of Students in the Class? Maximum of 4

Time and Place? 10.00 to 18.00 on January 14th and 15th. The class will take place at my home in Ishikawa (Uruma City), and surrounding locations. The workshop takes place both indoors and outdoors. It could be sunny or rainy so bring suntan cream and umbrellas! Bring some cash for the lunch breaks on both days.

What is the course fee? US$250 or ¥21,000

Who do I contact? To reserve a place send an email to chris@travel67.com (please write WORKSHOP RESERVATION on the subject line) Please state the name and date of the workshop you wish to book  A 50 dollar deposit is required. I’ll send a paypal request for the deposit to those who are booking the course.

Beach Yoga

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Yoga instructor Adriesa Kane

The first shot from a beach shoot with yoga instructor Adriesa. This is a good example of using off camera flash (in this case a 300W moonlight plugged into a portable battery pack) to fill in the harsh shadows created by midday sun. For more information on off camera flash there are still three places on the workshop with Pete Leong and me in January.

Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser

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A diffuser is a useful piece of equipment which can help you control harsh light. You place the opaque material between your subject and the light source (usually the sun) and it cuts down the light . It is similar to moving a person from outside into the open shade in a doorway or beneath a tree, except you’re moving the shade to them.

As with reflectors, most portable diffusers for photographers are circular and collapse in on themselves for storage. Lastolite make a range of triangular trigrip reflectors and diffusers which have an integrated grip and are easier to maneuver.

Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser

Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser

The medium size trigrip is a good size for putting a person or couple into shade when shooting in the harsh Okinawan sun. It is also a useful way to reduce the strength of the light when shooting into the sun backlighting the hair. In the shot below I used it to control the light on the model and her white dress. It also stopped her from squinting. The size of the diffuser will determine the  area of soft light, for example with a medium trigrip I wouldn’t have been able to put both the model and horse into shadow. (Lying on the beach is a large reflector rather than a diffuser.)

Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser

Using a Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser on the beach

There is one problem that can occur with the collapsible diffusers and reflectors and it has a lot to do with the design of samurai swords…

Samurai swords are made of both low carbon flexible steel and high carbon hard steel. Use only  low carbon steel and the blade doesn’t have a decent edge. Use only high carbon steel and the blade will shatter. Collapsible reflectors / diffusers whether circular or triangular work by having a steel band running inside them. For it to be able to twist and spring back into shape without breaking it must, I presume, use low carbon steel. One side effect of this is that things made of low carbon steel easily rust. If you are using your equipment on the beach, a little bit of salt water is going to make your diffuser do this…

Rusty Diffuser

On a previous shoot (model on a surfboard) one corner of the diffuser must have been dipped into the ocean. I dried it out before storage but the steel band is sown into the edge and I guess a little dampness was enough to unleash the rust. The diffuser still works fine, but looks a little worse for wear.

The solution for people who are working in wet or salty environments is to use a frame based diffuser made from aluminum such as Lastolite’s Skylite.

The Lastolite TriGrip Diffuser is available on Amazon, B&H and through some stores in Japan. It’s a great product just keep it away from water.

Skymark Airlines

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Skymark is Japan’s budget airline. Domestic flights in Japan are expensive and if you live in Okinawa they’re the only realistic option for getting up to mainland Japan. I’m visiting Tokyo for a few days in February so I thought I’d give Skymark a try. Hopefully I’ll save a bit of money, and at the least it will allow me to advise people better when giving travel advice.

Skymark Flights from Haneda

Skymark Flights from Haneda

I wanted to fly Naha – Haneda return, so I visited the Skymark website which has an English section. A flight from Naha to Haneda ranges in price from 9,800 yen to 24,800 yen depending on how early you book. The key thing to know is that you can book a maximum of two months in advance. Bookings start from 9.30AM and due to demand you have to book at exactly 9.30AM two months previously to get the 9,800 or 10,800 yen tickets.  I know this as this morning I entered my information at 9.32, selected the available web bargain flight and by the time I’d filled in the details form the ticket was no longer available.

Skymark Naha Haneda Prices

Skymark Naha Haneda Prices

I quickly returned to the flight selection page selected the still available 12,800 ticket, entered my details and again the ticket was no longer available. Repeated the process and this time got to buy a 13,800 yen ticket. I’m quite a fast typer, but I guess I need to use auto fill if I’m going to get the cheapest fares in the future.

Bounce Flash Bear

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This was just a quick test shot as an example of bounce flash. Put it up on Flickr and it turned out to be one of my most popular shots of the year.

Bounce Flash Bear

I recently bought a Pentax AF-360FGZ flash so that I could use it’s high speed sync functionality in certain situations. Will post more images taken with the flash and my thought on it in a later post.

Off Camera Flash Workshop – January 28th and 29th 2012

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Off Camera Flash on Location (Radio triggered hammerhead with Micro Apollo Softbox)

Pete Leong and I will be holding an Off Camera Flash Weekend Workshop on January 28th and 29th, 2PM to 6PM

The lesson fee is US$150 and class size is restricted to a maximum of 10 students. The course will take place at my home in Ishikawa, Okinawa and in the surrounding area.

Students should have their own SLR digital camera that they are reasonably comfortable using in manual mode. This is an intermediate level workshop. If you are not sure about things like aperture & shutter speed and how to control them then I’d recommend taking the Photography 101 class first. (The next one will be held January 14th and 15th) If you already have your own flash, sync cords, or triggers please bring them along, but Pete and I will have plenty for people to share and experiment with.

Let there be light - Take that flash off your camera

The course will start with an introduction to the types of flashes we will be using, the different methods to sync them to your camera, and ways to both mount the flash and modify the light it produces. If you think PocketWizards and snoots are characters from Harry Potter then this is going to be an eyeopener.

Off Camera Flash on Location (Radio triggered hammerhead with Micro Apollo Softbox)

We are going to practice our new skills in various  situations, so you’ll have the knowledge and skills to go out and try them yourself.
Pete’s a master at balancing flash with a blazing Okinawan sun. He’s one of the busiest wedding photographers in Okinawa, if not Japan, shooting dozens of weddings a month so we’re really lucky to have him sharing his knowledge.

Off Camera Flash with Wedding Photographer Pete Leong

Off Camera Flash with Wedding Photographer Pete Leong

We’ll also work on ways to control the flash so that your subjects are lit rather than simply blasted with light.

Off Camera Flash with Wedding Photographer Pete Leong

Off Camera Flash with Wedding Photographer Pete Leong

To book a place on the course please email me at chris@travel67.com I will then send you a Paypal request for the course fee.

In the Studio – Karima

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Karima Natural

A fun shoot with Karima last week. Makeup artist Summer Johnson did a natural look for the first image then flexed her artistic muscles for the second.

Karima in yellow and purple

For the natural shot I used a large octabox as the main light, for the makeup shot I used the beauty dish. You can see the different catchlights in the model’s eyes, and also the different way the light wraps around the face.