Tag Archives: Nikon - Page 3

Long Exposure lessons from the fail book.

Posted by on January 26, 2012 1 comment
Last night I decided to try out a neat technique using long exposure and strobe highlights.  in a good environment, this can be used to highlight areas and paint light into dark spots.  Unfortunately, if you don’t have the right subject, it just doesn’t come out right.

The plan was to set up the camera on a tripod, up on the deck of my back yard, overlooking the trees in the yard.  I set up a shot for F-16, ISO200, and decided on around 2-3min exposure.  Then I took my SB-600 out into the yard and flashed various parts of the yard and the trees to highlight them.

(Important side note, wear shoes you don’t care about if you own a dog that typically uses the back yard as his restroom)

The end result was not what I was expecting at all, and not in a good way.  The final picture looked like a picture of my back yard with spotlights on the trees:

The sky was very overcast, the angle was wrong, the subject of the trees just wasn’t that interesting.  The only thing this shot had going for it was the concept.  I understand the concept better now, it’s just a matter of finding the right subject.  I’ll certainly revisit this idea again in the future after a scouting trip to find a good shot.

Interestingly enough, one of the shots you can just make out a ghostly figure of myself in the distance.

Chili

Posted by on January 24, 2012 No comments

Decided I really need to step back up my picture taking so my goal is to try and get a good shot in at least once a week.  This doesn’t include the shots I take for Sarah’s food/craft blog.

Chili

Click to embiggen.

Self Reflection

Posted by on October 21, 2011 No comments

Decided to play around a little with a different subject…Myself.  Well, myself and my son.  I picked up a set of extension tubes to play with macro photography a bit and was frustrated when I found that the AF-S lenses auto close up their aperture when you remove the lens from the camera.  Without the electronics to “make it go” the $8 extension tubes were rendered useless because the view was too dark to accomplish anything.  I found a neat trick to get around that though.  Over at Nikon Rumors this article got posted about using a bit-o-plastic to jam the aperture open.  Worked like a charm!  Also took a few portrait shots to practice.  here are the results:

Multiplicity
The Many sides of Andrew
Window to the soul
Eye See You
Stars!

Chat Noir

Posted by on October 14, 2011 No comments

Chat Noir

Chat Noir

Sarah was out gathering food for the evening and ran across this bottle of wine. I thought it would make for a good shot.

Strobist info: SB-600 speed light on wireless remote trigger located roughly 2 feet off to the right of camera. Camera: Nikon D5100, 50mm F/1.8, 1/125, ISO-100.

One Year of DSLR

Posted by on October 13, 2011 No comments

A year ago I posted to my blog about a new gadget I picked up.  My Nikon D3000.  Thus began a full year of getting back into Photography.  As I have mentioned to many friends, I ended up a Nikon guy by chance.  I like to kid with my Canon friends, but the truth of the matter is that if the Pawn shop I went into had an in-expensive Canon instead of a Nikon, I would be singing a different tune.  Plain and simple, both brands have their merits and flaws and really I am not sure that any one is better.  But anyways, I was talking about me now.

So, a year ago I started tinkering with an entry level DSLR with a single Prime 35mm lens.  I look back on that now and realize how much I ave learned (and re-learned) over the last year.  The first big outing I did with the D3000 was to the Pumpkin patch. No post processing, and I think a few of those shots may have been on the big Green Auto.

Since then I have learned to use Lightroom 3.x, Upgraded my DSLR to the D5100, Purchased more lenses/equipment  than my wife is happy with, and expanded on my know-how for artistic shooting.  I have also gotten the opportunity to attend an official Model shoot, attend a sporting event as a press photographer, do Wedding and Engagement shots, Concert photography, and a slew of other incredible life experiences.

I am extremly happy with how this hobby has ended up for me.  There was a scare early on that I may just be doing it as a fad, but I think the last year has really cemented it into my life now.  I hardly leave the house without my camera in tow, because you never know when there may be something.

This weekend we will be venturing back to that first pumpkin patch.  I am excited to see what kind of shots an eye with a little more experience will churn out.

The Diffused Flash

Posted by on September 29, 2011 No comments

 

I learned a few important lessons at DragonCon. First and foremost, never let James talk you into laying down with a Jägermeister bottle if you really like your pants, but most of the lessons revolved around using my flash on my camera.  (the Jägermeister story will have to be asked of me in person if you really want to know.)
 
I had planned to take a lot of pictures at DragonCon (DC) of the various costumes and such, and I like to think I did a fair job, but there were some much more serious photographers there with much better gear.  I know I know, it’s not the gear, it’s the eye that goes with it, and there were some folks that had great gear but the shots I saw them make made me kind of weep.  But I digress, my biggest failing as far as gear went was my flash use.  

I’ll be honest, I am a little scared of my flash.  At least I used to be.  I have gotten pretty good at adjusting ISO, Aperture, and Speed, to get the right light and clarity, but when you throw a flash into the mix there is a whole new dynamic.  Nothing over 180 speed, F-stop is more for DOF than it is for light, and then there is the whole calculating how much flash for the distance to subject…..UGH!  Sometimes I felt like I was back in math class!  See, I have a SB-600 speed-light to use for Off camera shots and bounce shots, but I ate how harsh the light from it is.  Bouncing isn’t as bad, but at when the ceilings are too high and the walls are few….needless to say, I only use it for special occasions.

While at DC my biggest problem when taking shots of folks was lighting.  I was using both my 50mm and my 35mm f1.8 and they just weren’t giving me enough light without bumping to ISO 6400 (I had more grain than a 1930’s film!)  So I talked with a few of the other Photogs and got some tips on flash use.  Derek helped out a Ton with some of these tips.  The biggest one being DIFFUSE!!!!  I noticed a lot of guys using covers on their flashes, anything that would soften the harshness of the flash.  Some went all out with the Gary Fong stuff, while others just had basic caps.  There were a few that went simple with a bounce card.  Another huge tip was (and I feel kind of silly for not knowing this) Change the White balance to “Flash”.  Yeah yeah, say what you like, but when you don’t use a flash that much, this doesn’t occur to you!


No Flash = Lots of NR and Bright Background:

Camera Nikon D5100
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/1.8
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 6400
Flash No Flash
Exposure Program Manual
Subject Distance 2.51 m
Metering Mode Spot

_____________________

Bounce Card = Color, Clarity, Separation!


Camera Nikon D5100
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Flash On, Return detected
Exposure Program Manual
Subject Distance 0.94 m
Metering Mode Spot
Light Source Flash
White Balance Manual

_______________________


My Macgyver gene kicked in and I set about rigging up a simple white bounce card out of some tape and cardboard bits we had in the room.  I dropped my ISO to 100-200, Speed to 160, flash down to -1.8, and Aperture to 1.8.  Boom! Shots were clear, not too harsh, and great color.  I was amazed.  For the rest of the night I only had to adjust the strength of the flash to compensate for the distance to subject.  I even busted out the 18-270mm to get some wider angle shots.  (Although the D5100, with the SB-600, and the 18-270mm meant Zomg Heavy!)

What I found was that I had to do less noise reduction, I got a MUCH better seperation of subject and background, and the details of the subject came out much better.  Not to mention after having a few drinks my steady hand wasn’t so steady!  That cinched it!  When I got home I started looking up some different diffusers.  A lot of the guys at the con were using the Gary Fong Lightsphere but I couldn’t really justify $60 for something that did what a 20 cent piece of cardboard did.  Instead I found the Prolight Dome.  It was exactly the same as the Gary Fong, but only $13!  Sold!

A few days later it arrived and I have to say that most of my shots now are taken using this setup.  (indoors of course).  I tried a few using off camera, and then a few portrait shots.  Thankfully my pets are always willing subjects!  (well, almost always.)  Given this new found love for the flash, I think I may look at doing a few more Portrait type projects.  

So the important take away’s here are:
Diffuse that sucka!
Check your white balance!
Adjust for distance!
Profit!

Ok maybe not profit.

Husker Noir

Posted by on September 16, 2011 No comments

Now that I am done with the convention Pictures I can get back into some more artistic shots.

Strobist info: Nikon SB-600 set 4 feet to the right of subject using a funnel diffuser aimed at subject. Triggered using wireless trigger.

Husker Noir

Glowing Pockets

Posted by on July 14, 2011 No comments

Was playing around with my off camera flash while at pool the other day:

Glowing Pockets

Photography A la..Mode

Posted by on June 14, 2011 No comments

In the last year I have been playing around with the different modes of whichever camera I am using.  It started with the simple point and shoots I could pick up.  First thing is always to dive into the menu and learn about every type of mode the camera has to offer.  Most of them are pretty simple with you Portrait, Macro, Sunset, etc.  All the typical modes that every user will usually just ignore and leave their camera on Auto.  (kind of makes you shudder, doesn’t it.)  

Once I ventured back into the SLR world, I picked up a D3000 (and thusly my current D5100) to brush off the photography skill dust.  I noticed that the D3000 had a bunch of the same Modes on the dial, the only difference were the 4 special ones: M, A, S, P.  Catching up on my reading I learned what these were and how to embrace them for what they can do.  A friend of mine heard that I finally got back into DLSR’s and warned me that if I ever used anything other than M that he may disown me.  While I understood his intent, I really wanted to learn about all of the modes, even the more Auto-like ones.  

First thing I learned is that the Auto specific mode is great.  It takes great pictures and it good for something just point and shoot.  It doesn’t allow you the freedom to tweak your pictures in that way that the photographers eye can catch though.  Most camera’s have this mode, along with all of your other scene specific modes listed above on the Point and shoot style camera’s.  I like to call these “Guest modes”.  I am sure most of us have had to deal with this before. You are at a once in a lifetime event, you want a picture that has YOU in it (unlike all your other pictures) so you need someone to take the shoot for you.  You could A: give a strange the complete dissertation on lighting, shutter speeds, and aperture, B: Hand them the user manual for your camera and wait the 4+ hours for them to memorize it like you did, or C: flip the Camera into Auto, let them push the button and enjoy that picture of you and Lou Ferigno where he is holding you over his head like a twig. (Lou is actually a really nice guy.)

Now, Auto modes aside, that still leaves your M, A, S, P modes.  For those not in the know they are as follows:

M: Manual.  You control the Horizontal and the Vertical….Ok actually you control every aspect from ISO to Shutter and everything in between.
A: Aperture priority.  You control the Aperture setting and allow the camera to adjust the Shutter speed.  Fun fact here is that you really are controlling everything else.  You want that specific Depth of field (DOF) that a F/1.4 will give you but you are in a spot where the light keeps changing.  Slip into A mode and let the camera adjust the Shutter. You still control ISO
S: Shutter priority.  This is identical to A but you are controlling the shutter speed and letting the camera work the aperture.  This is ideal if you want a specific speed on your shot and not worried about your DOF. same here, you still control ISO
P: Program mode. This mode is damn handy some times. With P mode your camera will control the Shutter and Aperture, but you can adjust on the fly.  You are still setting the exposure levels and ISO but all of the speed and DOF are handled by the camera.  You may thing this is a lot like Auto mode, but you would be mistaken.  You are still in control of your lighting and even the speed (to an extent).  By adjusting P mode you can change your levels dynamically to tune your shot.  The best uses of P mode are those tourist type spots where you are moving around, want to grab a quick shot of something and don’t have the time to adjust each setting.    I will occasionally use P at a convention if I just want a quick shot of a Costume or booth and can’t have the person sit for 30+ seconds to adjust for lighting.  P mode is not a sin!!

Now, if you ask me where my camera is set to right now, I’ll tell you it’s in M.  Probably a good 85% of the time I will remain in M because most of the shots I take, I want the most control over them. Aside from that, I am not afraid to venture into other modes, and even the dreaded Auto, is allowed on my camera….just as long as someone else is using it.

Inside the Bag

Posted by on June 10, 2011 No comments

This week I got the chance to tag along on a photo shoot with a buddy of mine in an abandoned NIKE missile bunker.  It was pretty adventurous, but sounded like fun.  He had a model that was coming up for this and we aimed to make it as professional as possible.  Paul was the primary photographer on scene with his Assistant/Apprentice, Andy helping out.  I was on hand more for the behind the scenes shots to document the shoot itself.  Overall it was a blast!  I uploaded the Behind the scenes shots to my gallery and you can find the model shoots over at Paul’s Flickr stream.

This got me thinking about what all I am carrying in my portable kit and why.  So I thought I would break it down for anyone who may be interested:

 

Some of the things to draw attention to here:

      • The iPad: I mostly use this for very quick spot processing and shot review and looking up any info.  I can also do instant uploads  of shots if I need to send them out ASAP (depending on Signal on my 4G Thunderbolts tether).  The app I use the most for processing is Filterstorm.
      • The SB-600 is my Speedlight.  It’s a low end light but I am working to get some remote triggers for off camera lighting.
      • The combo of the GorillaPod and the Pistol Head tripod mount makes for a small easy to aim pose-able mini tripod that is great of remote locations.

The item that I catch the most grief for is the one that brings it all together.  You may have noticed that all of my gear is Nikon based, yet I have a Canon bag.  When I was shopping around for a backpack that would carry everything and not break the bank, the Canon one kept coming up.  It has protective compartments for everything and is small and light.  Sure it’s misleading sometimes but it gets the job done.

So there you have it.  All of my gear laid out for all to see.  now that I have shown you mine, how about you show me yours!