Cincinnati Photoshoot

Went out on a photoshoot with a couple of local photographers to Cincinnati on Saturday.  Spent the afternoon shooting around Vine Street, and then went out again at night both in the city and across the river to Covington, KY to catch the skyline.  I'll post some photos once I have a chance to go through them.  A couple of us are going to try to do photoshoots in cities around the midwest.

Cincinnati at night.

As always had a good time walking the streets after dark. 

Nikkor Beauty

It's that time again. Haven't posted in a LONG time. No excuses, just been busy doing other things. Still taking lots of photos however.

OK, here's what I've purchased since my last post. I upgraded to a Nikon D300s DSLR. This replaced my D200 which is now my backup camera. The main reason I purchased this camera was the high ISO ability. This suits my photo style very nicely since I do lots of late might photoshooting. Check out some of my images at: www.flickr.com/photos/sebimages

Also, I just purchased a uber Nikon lens, the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED. Wow, this lens far exceeds my expectations. I took it out as soon as it came in. Plug alert, I purchased it from B&H Camera in NYC. This piece of glass is to replace the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 that I posted about earlier. The Tamron is a fine lens, it's just that it didn't focus fast enough (or at all) in very low light situations. In most lighting or photo situations the Tamron will work fine, but I needed something speedier, and I think I found it. Love it so far. The downside is the huge price (I do this as a hobby so $1,750 is huge) and the weight. It's one of the heaviest lenses I have.

Here is a low light, hand held shot I took the other night. I had the camera set at apeture priority, f/2.8 and auto ISO.

 

I'll try to update more often.  In the meantime, pick up your camera and shoot something.  I do.

Fall Colors in Brown County

The weather started out rainy today, but I decided to head south to the Brown County State Park near Nashville, IN. I figured if I missed going out this weekend I wouldn't have a chance to go until after the leaves were all on the ground.

The photoshoot turned out well. The only problem was that yellow was the color du' jour. Not much variety.



This shot is taken with my new Nikon D300s, and a Tokina 12-24mm wide angle lens. I purposely blocked the sun to get the exposure and then moved the camera slightly to let the sun peek through. Wanted to get a flair effect.



Too bad I don't live in Canada any more. This is a great "I Am Canadian" shot ... get it a maple leaf. Anyway, this was taken with my Nikon D200 using a Nikkor 18-135mm lense. F-stop set almost as wide as it could go at 4 so that I could get maximum DOF blurring of the background.

Took lots of pictures today, which I try to do whenever I go out. Now it's your turn, pick up your camera and shoot away.

Wow, A Really Long Time

Where does the time go? This summer has been uber-busy to the point that I didn't get a chance to post anything on the blog. OK, so I'm going to try to get back into it again, and add more than just photo commentary.

First off, this past Saturday I went to an exhibit / showing of a local photographer, Paul D'Andrea, that I know at a studio here in Indianapolis called, Wug Laku's Studio & Garage. It's in an industrial area near downtown. After driving around a bit I finally found it. The studio has a cool vibe about it.

Paul's photographs were really good. Lots of nature images and textures. Very appropriate for the fall. He does some great stuff, especially his strobist work and some of his city scenes (which I particularly like).

If you are in the area check out Wug's. I'm going to get on their mailing list and hit a few of their openings.

www.wlsandg.com

Oh, BTW, go out and take photos.

Nikkor 35mm of Sweetness

Nikkor recently introduced it's new AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G DX lens. I've been anxiously waiting to purchase one since they came out, but alas they have been hard to get. Found one this weekend at Roberts in downtown Indianapolis. Sweet...

This 50mm equivalent lens on a DX sized sensor is uber fast with a maximum aperture of f/1.8. I took it out for a spin as soon as I purchased it. So far, I'm extremely happy with the lens. Here it is:



The lens (mounted on my Nikon D200) has ultra smooth, lightning quick focus. I was amazed at how fast I could set my camera speed which is very useful to capture fast moving action or in bright settings. I took it out on an extremely sunny day and took the following shot. Tack sharp.



For this image I set my Nikon D200 at F/1.8 in aperture priority. ISO at 100 and speed clocked at 1/2500.

I also brought the lens out at night to see how it operated in low light. I was not disappointed. Mounted on a tripod I was able to get a super sharp night shot at F/10, ISO 100 and shutter speed at 15 seconds. Also in aperture priority. Here is the shot.



I also played around with DOF using the F/1.8 to it's fullest affect. Amazing. I'll post a few of those shots later.

Bottomline, at only $200 I think the new Nikkor 35mm F/1.8 (50mm equivalent on a DX camera) is a must for any photographer's kit, whether you are an amateur or a pro. It's compact, it's fast, it's lightweight but sturdy, and affordable. Me Like!

OK, pick up your camera and shoot away. I do!!

Nice Legs!!

I mentioned in my post yesterday one piece of kit any photographer needs is a good set of legs ... I mean a good tripod. Like most things in photography the type of photos you take will point you to the right tripod for your needs. However, one bit of advice, don't be cheap. A good tripod will last for years and will help turn average images into much better photos. This is completely subjective, but expect to pay $250 or more for a full tripod.

If you take low light photography, macro or portrait photography I think a tripod is a must. Really, the only photo setting where I have not used a tripod is when I am doing my hand held street photography.

The 2 key advantages in my book to using a good tripod is 1) image sharpness is improved and 2) you can take lower ISO images in low light. To take tack sharp photos at night or in low light settings, or whenever you need to slow down your shutter speed below 1/50 of a second and don't want blur use a tripod. I've read that you can do away with a tripod if you have an uber fast lens or a good piece of glass with VR (i.e. Nikkor's 18-200mm VR). However, in my experience with low ISO even with fast glass or VR a tripod adds sharpness.

One hint, if you use a lens with vibration reduction (VR) on a tripod, turn off the VR.

I used to have a really inexpensive tripod that weighed a ton. Sure it worked, but man was it a pain. It took forever to set up and tended to drift with anything other than a prime lens mounted on my camera. It was useless and was just stupid (note, "stupid" is not a technical photographic term). I ultimately threw it away. I replaced it with a moderately priced (all in less than $300) Manfrotto component tripod. I purchased the legs and heads seperately. I would recommend that you purchase the legs seperately from the head like I did because it gives you more flexibility to select the head that matches your shooting style. Also if you need to replace a head you don't need to pitch the legs.

I purchased a Manfrotto 190XProB leg set. This is a very light weight black finished aluminum set of legs. The legs adjust with quick locking clamps and have friction tension at the head joint. It weighs almost nothing, is extremely portable, quick to set up, and handles ALL of my existing lenses up to a Tamron F/2.8 70-200mm lens. The legs can basically be set in any configuration.



Also after research and the advice of Roberts Camera I purchased 2 heads. I bought a heavy duty Manfrotto 804RC2 Basic Pan Tilt 3 way photo head. This head is used almost exclusively when I'm out at night or taking a set shot where I don't need to pan or move the camera very quickly or where I want precise settings. It's very sturdy.



For everyday use I purchased a Manfrotto 486RC2 basic ball head. This is a light weight head, and while it works fine, I'm not convinced it's right for my use. It handles all my lens, but it's a bit of a pain to adjust precisely. Also, you need to keep your hand on your lens or camera when loosing the adjustment nob. When you loosen the adjustment knob your camera free floats. Unless you have your hand on your camera or lens it will fall forward to the stops. Not very handy. However, for quick action (i.e. sports) or when you want to pan it works fine. I would rate it a solid 6 out of 10 for my use.



I keep this head on my tripod as a default. I change out to the 3-way head if I know I'm going to need precise settings. However, in hindsight I probably should have purchased a Manfrotto 322RC2, Heavy Duty Grip ball head instead of the 486RC2. This head has a handle with a quick release hand trigger. I've tried this a few times in my local photo shop and it would suit me better. Again, where did I leave that Christmas list?



Bottomline, I'm real happy with the Manfrotto kit, and I'm sure you will find there are other manufactures that make fine equipment and other Manfrotto leg / heads that will suit your specific needs. However, remember my caveat, leave your $50 WalMart tripod at home and get yourself a nice set of legs. I take mine with me all the time and they are always in the truck of my car.

If you want to check out the specs of the tripod go to www.manfrotto.com You'll find everything you need. BTW, I purchased my tripod and got good advice at the good folks at Roberts Camera in downtown Indianapolis.

OK, don't sit there reading this blog, pick up your camera, run outside and take some photos. I do!

After Dark Decisions

As you might have noticed from some of my earlier posts I enjoy going out after dark for late night photoshoots. The night brings our all types of images and photo opportunities that you don't see during the day. I've also found the colors generated from ambient light are very intense. Anyway, there's no one around to bug me, which is another benefit.

However, unlike taking photos during the day, shooting at night poses unique challenges. The lack of light and / or the excessive amount of ambient light (i.e. street lights) can make for some difficult decisions. You can get around the low light issue though a number of solutions, or combination of several. The ones I read and see most people (including yours truely) using are:

• Tripod
• Flash photography
• Auto ISO
• High ISO setting
• Slow shutter speeds
• Very fast lenses (with or without VR)
• Photoshop

I went to downtown Indianapolis this past Saturday (night before the Indianapolis 500 so the downtown was HOPPING) with the goal to take multiple nighttime shots using multiple techniques. Wanted to see what works best, and of course impart upon you - my loyal readers, some tips.

First, a few comments. I am by no means an expert at photography (speaking the obvious), and my equipment is advanced amateur only, but through practice I've been able to capture some really nice images. The key is taking lots of shots testing out multiple settings. You'll ultimately find what works best for you. I think the key is to get at least 1 fast lens (F2.8 or faster) and a good tripod. My secondary recommendation is a good flash unit, although that really depends on the type of shot you want to take. I take lots of motion blur shots and a flash is not needed for this. Want to be a paparazzi, get nice flash.

The first shot was near downtown on Washington Street.

I used a tripod for this shot. For really excellent after dark photography this is your number one friend. You can subsitute the tripod with a uber fast lens with VR (vibration reduction), but your wallet will be much lighter. Don't scrimpt on the tripod. Get a good one. I use a high-quality Manfrotto leg / ball-head combination. More on tripods in a later post.

Camera settings were F/10 (to get depth of field), ISO 100 (to minimize noise), 3 second exposure, Apeture priority & spot metering. I used a Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 lens (see earlier post), a manual cable release, and of course my tripod.

The goal of this shot was to take advantage of the ambient light behind me and over the building. I set my ISO as low as my Nikon D200 would go to minimize noise. I don't think this shot would have been possible without the tripod, slow shutter speed and low ISO. Notice how the colors are very rich and the details tack sharp.

The next shot was without a tripod. I wanted to take a few shots of people walking around town. To do this and avoid motion blur I had to either use flash or high ISO. This photo was of a young lady getting ready to head into a club.

On this shot I set my ISO at 400 and F-stop at F2.8. The larger apeture allowed me to blur the background and get the shot down to 1/45 of a second. Even with this setting I had to boost the levels a tad post processing using Photoshop (I have the older CS version).

The only ambient lighting was from street lights and lights from the club behind me. One note, I did ask if I could take her picture since I didn't want to come off like some kind of late night creep, and she just smiled. I guess that meant it was OK for me to shoot her picture.

I used a Tamron F/2.8 70-200mm lens with Apeture priority and Pattern metering. I took a few extra shots of others walking by with slower speeds and I picked up motion blur. One note, even at ISO 400 I was picking up lots of noise. It would be very hard to blow this picture up or crop it down much without the noise ruining the shot. I understand the higher end Nikons have this little problem (high ISO/low noise) solved. OK, where did I put my Christmas list?

So photo # 2, medium to high ISO, hand held, fast lens and speed just fast enough to avoid motion blur ... and of course, the gentle kiss of Photoshop.

Finally, I whipped out my trusty Nikon SB-600 flash (I know I should break down and get an SB-800 or 900, but remember I do this as a hobby and this is an expensive hobby). I also used my LumiQuest ProMax flash bounce. This time I wanted to take a few shows with higher ISO, faster speed and a flash unit.

This shot of 3 young ladies waiting outside of an Indianapolis 500 party was a good mix of flash photography, low ISO, a fast lens. All without a tripod.

The nice thing about using a flash unit is you can easily focus light and attention on your subject. By using a bounce flash unit with a defuser it avoids flash burns and red eye. No annoying blown out spots on the tips of these young ladies noses or cheeks. If I had used a flash without the LumiQuest (or similar bounce or defuser) this wouldn't have been possible. Also, we were outside on the street so there was no ceiling to bounce the flash off, so I had a defuser over my LumiQuest and the flash unit was straight on. I think it worked out well.

I was using my F/2.8 70-200mm lens at 70 mm. Apeture was set at 5.6 with ISO at 200. I manually set the speed at 1/60 of a second. I used Pattern metering. The combination allowed me to take a nice late night photo without post processing except cropping.

Photos after dark are enjoyable. However, they take practice. Try to avoid auto-ISO if you can. This is a personal preference since I find it creates way too much noice on my camera. I would recommend you get a good tripod and if the situation permits keep your ISO as low as possible. Get yourself a fast lens. A good 50mm F/1.8 is perfect for this and can be yours for under $250, or get yourself a nice flash unit.

Bottomline, practice, practice, practice. Pick up your camera, kiss your sweety goodnight and head out late at night and take some pictures. I do!