Now that I have today's first post out of the way and several cups of fine java circulating thru my veins, I can get to the important task of 'Learnin you folks up about this thar Digitle Kamra Witchery. Cause you know I has a sertified degree in Think-Ology from the fedral Govm't.' With credentials like that, who can doubt me!
Canon VS Nikon VS whatever you shoot with:
Spend time on any Camera Forum and you will find the die-hards defending their particular imaging instrument against the slings and arrows of others who shoot with another brand or format. Photographers get emotionally involved with their camera choice and to hell with all the unbelievers. If you can't shoot with a _______ then you shouldn't be shooting at all. So , here I am to add to the fray and upset a few more people.
I used to shoot with Nikon.....exclusively, FE, FM, F3, F4 and F5. The last one ( F5 ) I could never afford to own, but I shot with one on more than one occasion........SweeeeeeT! So I don't have any qualms with Nikon or their optics. I made the transition to Canon Cameras when Nikon fell behind in their AF (auto focus) lens technology. Canon lenses focused faster and much quieter than any of Nikon's Professional lenses and the ergonomic design was, at least to me, a little more pleasing. To get those fine lenses, I had to switch from my beloved Nikon and start all over with a new Canon. I dove into the shallow end and got one of the consumer level cameras to test the waters and fell in love with the ( Elan 2 ) quick response, fast auto focus, and ease of use. This inexpensive little camera completely changed my thinking about Canon Cameras. Because I have at my disposal all the high end cameras and formats from 8X10 to medium format to shoot with at the studio, I don't have to personally own every piece of equipment under the sun to get my work done. When it was time to transition to Digital Capture vs Film, I had no second thoughts about going all in with a Canon Setup. Shooting with the Canon Eos 1ds mark II sealed the deal and there has been no turning back. The quality of the images produced with this camera are stunning, noise free and colorful. Having said all that...... I still shoot 99 % of my work with an 8 Megapixel Canon and Sigma lenses!
Blasphemy!!!
more on this later...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
My Camera's Better Than Yours !
Unicorn Burger Rocks!
Special thanks to Kristen Stewart over at Unicorn Burger who has graciously allowed me to use one of her T-Shirt illustrations for my Coffee Posts. You know I love the visuals and she has got some great images over at her website www.unicornburger.com and her page at deviantArt. Buy lots of stuff and send me some to! Remember, I wear an XL in a cotton Tee!
Maybe I can sweet-talk Kristen into drawing a new version with a Digital Camera in Coffee Man's hand? Did I mention how fantastically gorgeous Kristen is? You can check her out on her website too!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Packing Lite With The Strobist!
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
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
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