All posts filed under: Photography

Portrait Sessions

Now taking bookings for  April / May / June 2011. Current fees for a standard location / studio portrait session are: Standard Portrait Image Package Session plus 3 fully edited high definition images for personal printing – $250 Additional edited images files $50 each. Standard Portrait Image & Print Package Session plus 3 fully edited high definition images for personal printing, plus an 11″x16″ fine art print of each image – $400 Additional edited images files $50 each. Additional edited image plus fine art print $100 each. 16”x22” fine are prints are also available on request. Prints are made using the same archival materials used for my limited edition prints (cotton rag photo paper and pigment inks). Suitable for framing or modeling portfolios. Standard session usually lasts between 1 and 2 hours. Studio shoots are done in Ishikawa, Uruma City.  Location shoots take place at a mutually agreed upon location. Session fees do not include makeup / hair / wardrobe. To make a booking contact Chris on 090 1367 9198 or chris@travel67.com

Pentax 645D v Phase One P40+

Mark Segal and Nick Devlin recently did a comparative review of the  Pentax 645D versus the Phase One P40+. You can read the full review on the website Luminous Landscape.  An interesting read, with the overall conclusion being that very little separates the two beasts with regards to image quality. This might be expected as you’re comparing two medium format cameras with 40 megapixels sensors, but the price difference between the cameras is significant. The Pentax seems the far better option as a field camera, while the ability of the Phase One to shoot tethered gives it the advantage in a studio.

Chimping / Image Processing Speed

“Chimping” is the act of gazing at the back of your camera after taking a shot. It is easy to fall into the trap of concentrating on the screen and missing everything else that is going on around you, but instant feedback does have many advantages. Chimping allows you to immediately check the framing, focus, exposure and color balance so you can either confidently move on knowing that the shot is in the can or adjust and reshoot. Here’s an interesting bit of information about the 645D. On most modern cameras, there is not much of a delay between taking a photo and the image appearing on the LCD screen. Not sure what the technical name for this time is but let’s call it Image Processing Time. The 645D, due to it’s 40 megapixel sensor, is dealing with huge files. What this means is that the Image Processing Time on the 645D is around 11 to 13 seconds. If you take a shot and immediately glance at the screen, you will be greeted by an …

Extreme Close-Up

Met up with Pete Leong and Michael Anthony yesterday at the beach. I was really interested in the setup Michael used to get extreme close-up shots of flowers.  The images Michael was creating were fantastic. I’m going to follow some of his advice and ideas and try shooting some flower close-ups in the next few weeks.

Shuri Castle at Night

Shuri Castle in Naha is still undergoing renovation. It looks like they are in the second of three stages, concentrating on the roof line and the golden dragons that sit at either end of the apex. You can just spot the scaffolding in the above photo. Here’s a crop from the  image at 100%. It’s nice to see they paint the scaffolding red, quite thoughtful really as the castle still gets many visitors while the reconstruction is going on.

Inked

The Canon ipf5100 printer I use for creating my limited edition prints is fantastic. It uses the highest quality archival pigment inks, it takes rolls of paper rather than sheets allowing me to use the  thick cotton photo rag I love, and it produces images with great detail and wonderful color. It is, however, the size of a small piano and costs around 2000 dollars. As anyone with a exotic sports car will tell you,  the high initial cost is not the only concern, the running costs are just as significant an issue. The ipf series printers have two print heads and 12 ink cartridges. Print heads cost around 400 dollars each, and probably will last you several years. Ink cartridges are around 70 dollars each and their longevity will depend on a combination of how often you print and how often the printer needs to run the cleaning mode. If you are an occasional printer, this is going to make running the machine very expensive. Every time you turn on the printer it will …