DLWS NY Day 1 – Firehouse Shoot

Nov 18, 2009 | Field Reports

We billed this particular DLWS event as the “Joe Tour” for a very specific reason, Joe has taken us to those places that are special to him in NY. Anyone who knows Joe or his photography knows his affinity for the FDNY. So a visit to one of his favorite houses was only natural.

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The entire house came out for the gang and a number of the fire fighters took on the role of a model. I wish I had time and the guys and gals to myself but that wasn’t the case so I made those clicks I could, giving folks ideas and then getting out of the way so they could shoot. This is shot with the 28f1.4 at f1.4 demonstrating the power of shallow DOF.

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I wanted to incorporate the hose sign on the backwall but it just didn’t work. So I moved and took it out. The jury is still out in my mind which is better.

Then there was Keith. What a guy! The challenge was not only shooting over the heads of folks from the back row, he never stopped talking! No matter, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these true heroes of 911 and friends of Joe!

Photos captured by D3s, 28f1.4 / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film

DLWS New York Day1 – PM

Nov 17, 2009 | Field Reports

After that great start, the DLWS Staff walked downtown to have a killer breakfast at Norma’s. We then proceeded down to Adorama which was kind enough not only to open its door to their Ed Center to us, but gave all the participants a store coupon which was quickly put to us. So with batteries charged and new goodies in hand, we boarded the bus and headed to Canal Street.

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It was a challenging shoot for me, just wasn’t feelin the love so I just walked and looked for patterns. Seeing the shadow of a water tower caught my eye so I made a click.

After a stop at Ladder 6 House (mk on that) we got back in the bus and headed to the Brooklyn Bay Bridge. This was a totally different walk across from the other day with a killer sunset lining up for us. Joe surprised the whole group by having a ballerina waiting for them on the bridge. Some marvelous images were made of her. We didn’t get there in time though, along with some of the participants, we were involved with photographing the Wall St skyline in the fading light.

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Then there was the sunset it self. Let’s just say it didn’t suck. The city was a silouhette and since tripods just don’t work on the bridge, I pulled the lights out using NX2. It’s not the best option but it works here. What a day, what a group and we still have more to come!

Photos captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 / 24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film.

Chambers Street Station is still way cool!

Nov 14, 2009 | Field Reports

Almost a year to the day, I was shooting again at Chambers Street Station. This is a way cool place, and architectural and craftsman masterpiece you don’t see being created these days.I first visited it with my dear friend Jeff Cable and this time I was with a whole group of new friends from the Adorama workshop. Attached to City Hall where Law & Order is filmed (and where we were chased away because we could be terrorists casing out the joint), the Station provides just this amazing areal tapestry for the lens. I do have a stiff neck today from shooting there but it was well worth it.

I tried a number of lenses as I started to get into the flow of the place. I found the 24-70AFS being the lens for me this morning. I shot the whole time thinking of just B&W so with that in mind, I looked for just patterns, shapes and light.

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This was in the dark, back corner that I found this design pattern. Shooting with the D3s, I simply decided to go for broke and crank up the ISO to 1600. I had shot the night before at this speed and liked the results so decided to keep exploring it. With the pressure of others from the class reviewing my images later, the results had to be there and the D3x delivered. Very cool!

It was hard to pick just a couple images to post from Chambers Station. I filed over 60 favorites from our hour shooting here and more than likely will be back again shortly. If you’re ever in the area, I want to encourage you to stop by and get your own stiff neck!

Photos captured by D3s, 24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

D3s & 70-200VR II – Just not what I expected!

Nov 13, 2009 | Field Reports

We spent the day with a most delightful group of shooters at our Adorama workshop. We started on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bay Bridge and ended up in DUMBO. I took advantage of the time to shoot with the D3s & 70-200VR II. To be honest with you, I really thought the D3s was no more than a D3 with video. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And the 70-200VR II, McNally had already told me it was saweet, but not that it was a vast improvement over the older model. Cutting to the chase, I’m blown away by both!

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I was totally captivated by DUMBO and all it offers the camera. What you see here is a finished D3s / 70-200VR II photo. What you can’t tell even when you zoom in on the image, it was shot at ISO 1600 (and shot in the shade)! The image you’re zooming in on is the NEF file saved as a TIFF with nothing more then the camera settings and then changed to 8bit and run through Zoomify which creates a big ass Jpeg. The results are amazing!

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Shooting the same building (Empire-Fultron Ferry State Park ) but now on the waterfront side, I just loved all the patina that life has painted on it. Again shot with the D3s & 70-200VR II, this one though is at ISO 200, click here to zoom in and see the detail in this image. What you see above is the finished image, the Zoomify is again is the NEF file saved as a TIFF with nothing more then the camera settings and then changed to 8bit and run through Zoomify which creates a big ass Jpeg. I’m loving the results.

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I really couldn’t get enough of this old warehouse. No one in the group could. If the wind hadn’t come up and literally blown us away (thx Ida), we would have stayed longer but we heard the call of the wild lunch so off to Bubby’s we went. This is another ISO 200 image, the finished is above and the original you can zoom in on here.

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The wind was so bad, the clouds so dark, that a usable shutter speed at f/11 wasn’t possible at ISO 200. I probably chimped more today than I have in the last year total as I kept checking my results. Seeing what I was getting at ISO 1600, I went up to ISO 1600 so I could shoot at f/11 (I had no tripod, everything is hand held here). Check out these results!

With the results I was seeing above, I called Mike, my bud at Nikon and asked point blank, “Is the sensor in the D3s brand new or just tweaked?” He said, “Brand new!” I asked if that was public knowledge and he said yes to which I replied, “Great job on the soft release!” The results from the D3s are gorgeous! This shot of the footings from Manhattan Bridge I just love, you can count the rivets!

One of our great participants was Debbie. This is the image that convinced me that the 70-200VR II is a spectacular lens. In the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, Debbie had her hood up and with the soft light, I just had to make her portrait. She was a really good sport about being in front of my lens. I think my baseball cap blowing off and going off into the traffic is what put the final sparkle in her eye. I would love to Zoomify this image so you too can see the quality, but I like Debbie too much to do that do her.

I really wasn’t expecting to see what I’m seeing in the results from the D3s. I have NO hesitation in recommending shooting at ISO 1600! Will I do it, I’m not that kinda shooter, did it today just to learn what the camera can do. In my mind, ISO 1600 is like ISO 400 or less on the D3. ISO 6400 on the D3s is like 1600 on the D3. Since I didn’t expect these kind of results, I didn’t have a D3 along to shoot side by side images. By the time I could do that in December, I’m sure others will post such comparisons. Now it’s totally up to YOU to make the call about this quality, I’m just putting out what I’m finding. Many have been writing in the last 24hrs if the D3s is worth the upgrade. I can unequivocally recommend upgrading!

I want to thank Adorama for hosting our event last night and today’s great workshop! Want to thank all the folks who came last night making it so much fun and those who walked with us today. Both were very special. I also want to thank my friends at Nikon, Mel, Bill and Scott and my teachers Steve & Lindsay who fed my need for new gear and information with a smile. Thanks all!

Pony Up, What’s With The Ghosts?

Nov 12, 2009 | Field Reports

Some of you were curious enough to email and inquire about the roof top ghosts. Of course, it all came about by accident in the beginning, the final image though was planned and shot a few times to make it all work.

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What you’re seeing is a reflection of Sharon in her sweats in the window. When I first started to shoot that first night, I had this funky little color tint in a photo. I looked and looked outside trying to see what the lens was seeing since it was basically smashed against the window. Well after looking really closely, I realized it wasn’t as smashed as I thought and it was seeing a little reflection of Sharon. So the second night I stood back from the window, got Sharon’s reflection where you see it and then had her move a little bit during the 1/4sec exposure creating the ghost. I shot about 20 frames to get the blur and its position where I wanted it, otherwise it was easy to do.