Cheating the Sync

Most DSLRs these days have a maximum synch speed with the flash at 1/160 to 1/250. The shutter speed can be faster than the maximum synch speed but the flash will not fill the entire frame. This is problem when shooting in a studio where there's very little ambient light, but not that big of a problem when shooting outdoors where there's plenty of ambient light.

1D Mark III 24-70mm f/2.8 L
(ISO50, f/5, 1/400)

3 Canon 580EXIIs firing through a shoot through umbrella all at full power camera left.

I cheated the native sync speed 0f the 1D Mark III which is 1/250.

What's a good portrait lens?

What's a good portrait lens? I get asked this question a lot. There is really no such thing as a "portrait lens." Some lenses are better than others for portrait photography because of their focal length but just about any lens can be used for portraits. Typically 80-135mm is a good focal length range for portraits but sometimes I don't like being typical. This shot of Mandy was taken with a 400mm f/2.8 L IS. 400mm is pretty far from the typical 80-135mm range but the results are magnificent.

Lights on / Lights off

Lighting is as much about what you don't light as what you do light. As photographers, we have the ability to orchestrate the viewer's eye with composition, leading lines, and how we light. Light can put the focus on something specific and the absence of light can remove the focus on what's not important.

With the image above, I light the model's face with directional side lighting to emphasize her hair, eyes, and lips. I also placed a light underneath her dress to give it a glow and the lead the viewer's eye from her face to something almost as important; her wedding dress. I made sure the light didn't contaminate the background so then only thing that's visible is her.

In most cases, defined shadows can be distracting but in this image, the shadows adds a nice artistic element. I used a single strobe inside a beauty dish which puts out light that has a bit more contast that a softbox does.

DreamScapes

Photographs taken by me in Hawaii and Utah. Enjoy.

Worldwide Photo Walk

The Second Annual Worldwide Photowalk was yeterday. I decided to participate at two locations; Norfolk & Williamsburg. The Norfolk photo walk started at 10AM. Here's a group photo I took of all us.


The photo looks like it was taken more like 6AM. That's because I purposefuly underexposed the ambient light and used 3 speedlights to light us.

I thought I would do things a little differently this year and incorporate off camera flash in my shots. I spent about two hours with my buddy Mike Preston, just walking through the streets of downtown Norfolk looking for compelling people to photograph.

Here is a man I spotted passing by on his bike who allowed me to photograph him. I used three 580EXIIs mounted on one light stand, gelled with 1/2 CTOs, shooting through an umbrella.


After the photo walk, we had lunch at Gillians in Norfolk; bad food and bad service but getting to meet other photographers was worth it.

I made it home, changed my clothes, and made it to the Williamsburg walk just in time to be late. I eventuallty met up with the other shooters. Here is one of the shots I took in Williamsburg. I took a similar shot a few months ago but this time I added flash to the moving subject. Again, I purposefuly underexposed the ambient light and cranked up the flashes.


All in all, it was a fun day. I didn't get any award winning shots but it was nice to just get out there and strobe.

Ticked Off

I often go to great lengths to capture a compelling photo. I've been knee deep in fast flowing waters, standing on slippery rocks, trying to balance myself and my tripod/camera at the same time to capture a shot of the Upper Provo River, Utah. Seen here.




I was in a open helicopter (no side windows), leaning out over jagged knife like rocks and cliffs to capture a breathtaking scene of a reflected rainbow in Kauai. Seen here.



But, my scariest moment involving my camera was......
...last night when I found a tick on my back. I was at a local park near dusk photographing Ajike in her wedding dress this past Saturday. There were several times where I placed myself in high grass/weeds, thorn bushes, and layed in the grass to get the right angle and perspective. (She was low, so I got low)


Another shot from the same night



I went home with several mosquito bites all over me. Two days later, after scratching the itchy bites profusely, they turned into scabs. I felt what I thought to be a large scab on my back and checked it in the mirror. I asked my wife to look at it and from her initial reaction I knew it was a tick. ARRRRGGGHHH! I hate ticks! She got the tweezers and safety pin and dug that buried sucker out.

Note to self: Do a thorough check after an outdoor photoshoot
or
stay in the safe confines of a studio!