Not My Normal Self Portrait - Part 3 "The Post"

Hey everyone, here is the third and final instalment of my "Post Apocalyptic Corporate Headshot" series of the "The Shot," "The Shoot & The Gear," and "The Post."

Here's the video that shows how I created this image in Photoshop.

Cheers!

DC

Not My Normal Self Portrait - Part 2 "The Shoot & The Gear"

Part 2, "The Shoot & The Gear." The original concept for this image came to me when my wife asked me to take her to Michael's, a local craft store. It was around Halloween and they had all of their Halloween themed things out on display. As soon as we walked into the store I saw the skulls, which got me thinking about how I could possibly use one. My first thought was some kind of self portrait with the skull overlay, or a bones behind the face kind of thing. So I had to grab one.

I decided to try some sort of overlay so I knew I needed a headshot of both me and the skull. 

I wanted a dark look so I chose only one light to camera left and positioned it so I would fully light my right side, and have enough drop off to darkness on my left.  I needed to have the lighting the same for both shots, so I had to have both my face and the skull in pretty much the same position. I also chose a black background to keep the dark theme. Here's the lighting set-up.

I took a lot of test shots, and was tethered into Lightroom to see them a bit larger so I could assess the overall exposure and focus. Once I had both nailed down I did two things:

1) I turned the AF switch on the lens to "off" so the camera wouldn't try to refocus everytime the shutter was fired, and;

2) I placed a mark on the ground as a reference for my distance from the lens.

Here's the self-shot I used - this is the RAW shot converted to jpg, no post done yet.

Once I was satisfied with my self-shot I grabbed the skull for the next shot - again, this is the RAW shot converted to jpg, no post done yet.

As you can see I was holding it up at head level to try and get the same perspective. This is where the mark I placed on the ground came in. For the self-shot I was sanding over the mark, but for the skull shot I was standing behind the mark placing the skull above it closest to where my head would have been. This was key to get light to fall in same way for both shots, and also to try and match the perspective when I took both into Photoshop to merge them.  

Gear used for the shoot:
- Nikon D810
- Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8
- Nikon SB900 Flash
- Nikon SU800 Commander Unit
- Lastolite 24" Ezybox
- Black backgound with Manfrotto background stand
- Vello wireless Shutter Boss - remote trigger
- Tethered into Lightroom

Stay tuned for part 3 "The Post," where I'll show you how I created the final image in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Cheers!

DC

Out of the Mist, Into the Calm

Digging back into the archive again, this time 6 years ago and our Alaskan cruise. We sailed out of Whittier, Alaska, heading down to Vancouver, British Columbia. One of the stops along the way was Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

What I remember as we began navigating our entry into the park was that it was extremely cold, and extremely foggy. We brought our winter gear so we were able to stay warm, but couldn't do anything about the fog and mist. We were starting to get a bit disappointed thinking we were not going to see anything when something magical happened...we sailed out of the fog. And I mean that there was a wall of fog and mist behind us and it stayed there.

Once on the other side we were treated to a pretty clear blue, and some of most beautiful and tranquil sites I have ever seen. It was like we just sailed into another world.

We enjoyed the day on our balcony just taking it all in. Not much more to say about it so I'll just leave a few of my favourite images here.



Cheers!

DC

"The Post" - Part 3 - Milky Way Over Nelson

Hey everyone, here is the third and final instalment of my Milky Way over Nelson series of the "The Shot," "The Shoot & The Gear," and "The Post."

Here's a video on how I post processed my Milky Way images. Really simple processing using only Lightroom.



Cheers!

DC

Going to Photoshop World? Like HDR? Head to Nelson!

Continuing the lead up to Photoshop World 2015 in Las Vegas. I've posted before about checking out the Old Ghost Town in Nelson, Nevada. So if you're heading to Vegas for PSW2015 then definitely take the time to head down there, especially if you like HDR. Even if you don't like HDR there's a ton of shooting opportunities out there.

I'm a fan of HDR and the Old Ghost Town had been on my list for a long time. I finally got there last year for the first time, and I was like a kid in a HDR candy store! I was bracketing left, right and centre!! (I know, I know...insert groan here)

Tons of old buildings and run down cars & trucks, lots of texture, overall a fantastic setting to shoot. But don't forget, you won't be the only photographer there, so make sure you bring some patience and respect for others who are there to enjoy this place as you are.

Cheers!

DC

Photoshop World 2015 is Almost Here!

Last year was my first Photoshop World in Las Vegas. There was so much that I missed as there was so much to do. At the end of the conference I mentioned this to Scott Kelby and he looked me right in eye and simply said…”dude, come back next year!”

 

There's also a bunch of Pre-Conference workshops and I attended the Concert Photography workshop with Alan Hess (an amazing concert shooter), and Scott Diussa from Nikon Professional Services (also an amazing concert shooter). You get some classroom learning first and then the really cool part…you get to shoot a real band! Yup, you get the whole experience with a live band, a loud band, lights, dry ice, like you’re at a real concert, and basically you are albeit a private concert for photographers only. The band last year was called Rebel Soul, a classic rock band with a great sound who totally rocked it. It was hard to separate my wanting to shoot, and my wanting to just sit back and enjoy the show.



The other really cool part was after the workshop all participants were asked to submit 1 photo of the shoot. The instructors would then choose the top 3 images to be presented at the Keynote Address (yeah the one that kicks off Photoshop World that everyone attends) for a chance to win great prize from Nikon, thanks to Scott Disussa and the NPS Team. The crowd cheers would choose the winner. To my total surprise my image (at the top of this post) made the top 3! Unfortunately, I didn't win, but I got a tremendous amount of positive feedback from so many people. It was an amazing experience.

The Pre-Conference workshops fill up fast, however, it looks like the Real World Concert Photography workshop still has some openings so definitely check it out.

The whole conference was a great experience. I learned a lot and made some new friends.

You can check out all of the details and register here:

Photoshop World 2015 – Las Vegas

Cheers!

DC

Project Feline - (Part 1 - "The Shot! or Shots!")

Here we go with another installment of "The Shot", "The Shoot & The Gear," and "The Post."

The background goes something like this...my mother-in-law wanted some photos of our babies (i.e., our fur babies).  My wife went out and found a frame with 3 4x6 slots in a portrait format, which was perfect as we have 3 cats. So now I had 2 options, 1) scour my Lightroom catalog for existing photos, or 2) shoot new photos.

I did take a look through Lightroom, but I didn't see anything in a portrait format that had any consistency between the three; all of the backgrounds were different and I shot a lot of them in landscape orientation. So it was option 2...shoot new photos!

Stay tuned for Part 2 - "The Shoot & The Gear," where I'll review the lighting set-up among others things.

Cheers!

DC

In the Nick of Time!

You have less than 2 minutes to capture a perfect sunset...don't screw it up! 

Sometimes you see a gorgeous sunset, and it’s always slowly slipping away. This was the case for this image…and I almost missed it! 

My wife and I recently vacationed in Maui. On this day we had just returned from visiting Pearl Harbor on O’ahu and were driving back from the airport. We were heading west along highway 30 and the sun was slowly going down. We were on the twisty turny section of road between Maalaea and Lahaina and there was not really a safe place to pull over.

We continued to watch the sun going down and I was getting a bit anxious because I wanted to pull over and grab a few shots before it left for the day. We had just come out of the twisting section of road, and just as the sun was almost touching the horizon a left turn lane presented itself…like it was saying here’s your chance take it or leave it! 

Now for the record, being safe should always be paramount to getting a photo. I mean there is a sunset every night so it’s not worth causing an accident. However, judging by the way others were driving some just don’t care about safety…sigh!

So we pulled off (safely) and I scrambled out of the car, grabbed my camera from my bag in the back seat, and moved quickly to find a spot (by the way the sound silencers on the Think Tank Photo Retro 7 make it easy to get into your bag quickly). By this time the bottom of the sun had already started to drop below the horizon. Just to give you sense of timing my first shot was at 6:23:36 pm and my last shot after sun dropped below the horizon was 6:25:25 pm, so less than 2 minutes. This shot was taken right in the middle at 6:24:38 pm.

I was shooting with a Nikon D810 with the 28-300mm lens. I really didn’t check all of my settings because I was moving pretty quickly. But I do remember doing 3 things…on the run…AF switch on, check (it can get moved going in and out of the bag), VR on, check (shooting handheld with 300mm lens), and I also switched off bracketing mode that I was using earlier. 

I began shooting and made a couple of exposure adjustments on the fly. But I totally forgot to check my ISO so it was still at 100. Aperture was at f6.3 and I had dropped the EV Comp by 1/3 of a stop. When all was said and done I realized that I got away with 1/400^th shutter speed…whew! This shot was racked out at 300mm so having turned the VR on earlier was helpful for additional stabilization.

Sometimes you have to move quickly and make adjustments on the fly, and then hope that you made the critical choices. I was lucky that I got away with it…this time!

Cheers!

DC

I Broke a Cardinal Rule of HDR...But Really, It Wasn't My Fault

One of the cardinal rules of HDR photography is to always, always shoot with a tripod...and I always do, except for when I can't...or more importantly when I'm not allowed to.

It's obvious that we use a tripod to have a stable platform, especially when shooting multiple exposures for HDR images because we want to minimize any camera movement so all those exposures will align properly in post. However, there are some really great places to shoot, usually inside, that will not allow you to use a tripod or a monopod. Dundurn Castle in Hamilton is one of these places.

I found myself there not too long ago and saw that they do regular tours, but they don't allow tripods (or monopods) as the place is over 175 years old. It's an historical site and preservation is critically important.

So I'm inside, with some really good natural light, but in a number of rooms it was a little spotty. Knowing that I was going inside I immediately thought HDR would be my best bet to draw out all of the tones that a single exposure would leave behind. But without a tripod I had to shoot handheld. This is where things got a little tricky.

I had to raise my ISO to 1600 and sometimes push it a little bit further so noise was going to be an issue. I was shooting a 5 exposure bracket and my wide open exposures were getting up to 1/10th and sometime 1/5th of a sec...yikes! Handheld at 1/10th and 1/5th? That for sure will cause some issues. I was shooting with the Nikon 10-24mm wide angle lens at the 10-12 mm end, as well as bracing myself to walls, doorframes or anything else I could find, so I was hoping that I would be able to get away with a few of those exposures.

I was pleasantly surprised find that I had a few that worked out pretty well. More than I was expecting. However, some were a little soft with the slower shutter speeds...oh well, it wasn't my fault remember?!?

I got to try out Nik Software's HRD Efex Pro 2 for the first time and I'm totally sold on it! I love the new features. Finishing was done with Viveza and Color Efex Pro.

Cheers!

D

Waterfall Scouting

I haven't been out shooting for a little while so I decided to take a little bit of time yesterday to seek out one of the many waterfalls in my area. This one is just off the Bruce Trail, as pretty much all of the waterfalls are around here, on the Sleepy Hollow Side Trail... so I'm guessing that this is the Sleepy Hollow Falls.

Pretty simple setup using a Nikon D300s and 24-70mm f2.8. A tri pod is crucial as the shutter speeds are slower to get the silky look in the water. I used the Singh-Ray Vari ND filter as I needed the extra stops to get the slower shutter speeds. This filter gives me between 2 to 8 stops of neutral density, which allows a lot of control.

Landscape orientation:

I always like to do a portrait orientation for a different perspective. You never know which one you may like the best:

There's always the smaller run offs as you get further from the main falls. These are fun to shoot as there a usually many levels of drop off:

Enjoy!

DC

This is Mari, and This Time it Was Her Turn

So, two years ago I was in San Diego visiting family when my wife's uncle asked me to help out with some photography for one of his friends. At that time it turned out to be his friends daughter's Bat Mitzvah; her name was Halle. Well that experience got me invited back again this year for Mari's Bat Mitzvah.

I was really happy to be asked back to shoot this for Mari and her family. They have to be one of the nicest families that I have ever met and the camera just loves them. Now since I had the experience from 2 years ago I was a little more comfortable in that environment. I knew pretty much where I needed to be, but the Rabbi (the same one from two years ago) was again ever helpful in providing some good direction.

I was able to work with both a D300 and D700 so I had the wide angle on one and a longer lens on the other. Other than a few technical difficulties with my 2 SB900's, battery issues with fresh batteries and for the first time ever I set off the thermal cutoff alarm (seriously I thought it was my phone at first). But we persevere, and mildly curse our equipment (okay and ourselves, too).

Anyway, here are some of my favourite shots.

Enjoy!

DC