Approaching my early 40's has brought about a major change in the way I pack for assignments. I no longer feel the need to pack every light, every stand and light modifier I own. In fact I have learned to do more with less and improve upon the quality of the work at the same time. Send me out the door with a camera, a light bulb and one match and I will come back with good pics! With experience comes the confidence to 'make do' and utilize your surroundings and minimal gear to accomplish any assignment. Not every job will produce images worthy of 'Communication Arts', but that is also the case with most ( average ) assignments, even when you pack the entire studio! Knowing my desire to slim down the gear and give my aching back a rest from equipment overload, a friend of mine turned me onto the STROBIST weblog . It has become an invaluable resource for ideas on packing lite and working smarter, not harder! The link below will take you to his homepage and a wonderful article about the idea of doing more with less!
Note: Eventually this post on his site will move off his home page and be accessible in the June 2007 postings. But for now, this link will get you there.
Link Below:
On Assignment: On Vacation
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Packing Lite With The Strobist!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
EOS-1D Mark III... Stud or Dud!
Canon Camera has produced some of the best Pro DSLR's ever! I wouldn't want to do my job without one. So why is auto focus on these cameras appear to be getting less reliable? You can follow the link below to an in depth article by Rob Galbraith to read more on the problems with the EOS 1D mark III and autofocus reliability.
An analysis of EOS-1D Mark III autofocus performance
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Editing The Raw Files...Part 4
Continuing from the 'Editing The Raw Files' Part 3 post on Sunday June 17th :
11) Once you have completed your 1st edit of the images ( still in Raw Format ) and tagged the keepers, it's time to save the tagged files to your next Desktop Folder. Example: ABCorp_RawEdits. You are now ready to open the images in your Processing Software and see them as they really are, before any adjustments in color or exposure. Once you get familiar with your Raw Processing Software you won't have to keep referring to the Histogram display to judge proper exposure. It goes without saying that to judge color and exposure, you will have to have a high end color monitor that is color corrected with the proper software and screen sensor. I recommend using a LCD monitor for the best color accuracy, with the added benefit of Color Profiles that stay accurate far longer than CRT monitor technology.
Most Raw Conversion Software will allow you to click balance (color correct) your images by isolating an area of medium White or Grey. This will get you in the ballpark if you think the color of the imported images is a little off. Remember that accurate color is not always the best color! You can very easily take the Zing out of an image taken at sunset if you remove a warm color cast in favor of absolute 5000 degree Kelvin. Use your best judgement and apply the same color / exposure adjustment to all the images from the same setup.
More to come...
Portrait Retouch Challenge...
One of the Posters ( Mr. Eamon Hickey ) over at dpreview has posted a simple portrait shot of his girlfriend ( Simple head and shoulders ) and asked readers to try out their retouching skills on the image. Looks like a lot of fun! I may have to give it a whirl. Anyone interested can download the tiff Portrait image and work their mojo, then upload to the dpreview site and let others comment! I'm not sure how long the challenge will last, so you better check it out soon. Join the site ( free ) if you want to participate. You can follow the dpreview link above to the download page.
UPDATE: Our first submission by Dr. Pimento
Monday, June 18, 2007
New KODAK Image Sensor...
KODAK has designed a new image sensor technology that will help digital cameras see light in a similar fashion to the human eye. They have included a clear ( Panchromatic ) pixel to the sensor array with added sensitivity to low light levels. Software Algorithms process the extra data, effectively giving the sensor 2X - 4X times more sensitivity to light. You can follow the link above to the Kodak Website to read more.
Can't Get Enough Of Those Beans!
Coffee quote of the day:
"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln
No such problem with the brew I'm drinkin. It's mighty tasty and good to the last drop! My part- time, unpaid editor sent me home with some ' Bean Martin' Whole Bean Java from 'Larry's Beans' in Downtown Raleigh. It's a smooth, bold blend of Javalicious Goodness! Just what I needed to get my posts rolling.
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