Jan 5, 2017 | Field Reports
P-40e Warhawk
capture by D5 / 105f1.4 AFS
I am convinced that one of the hardest things for a photographer to grasp is Depth of Field (DoF)! I’m constantly asked via every means possible, “What’s the best f/stop?” Lately, I’ve been flooded with links of articles asking me if they are accurate or not. And while reading is a valid way to learn photography, I’m old school where the best way to learn is by doin. DoF is one of those things you have to learn FOR YOUR photography by doing, YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY! This means taking pictures. There are great article outs there but DoF is all about storytelling and that is very much an individual activity. I want to pass along an old exercise I did long ago that helped me make DoH my friend. The lessons of the Six Pack Exercise is how I knew I wanted to use the 105f1/4 AFS on this photo of a P-40e (on the D5) to make the story the photo contains. DoF is not just about focal length or aperture, it’s also about where you stand, the distance and the light and what you want to say. There is no magic secret f/stop to seek and learning DoF takes more time than reading an article. Seek your own answer, give yourself time and the mystery will clear itself for YOUR photography!
Dec 28, 2016 | Field Reports
Icicle Drop
captured by D5 / 300PF / https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1052071-REG/nikon_2219_af_s_teleconverter_tc_14e_iii.html/BI/8449/KBID/9350/kw/NITC14EIII/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xNITC14EIII
So, you know how to use all the features of your camera when you need them? No matter if you just got a new DSLR or have had one for a while, playing with features is the best way to learn what might help your photography. Here’s a quick idea to get you started. Every year with the cold temps and snow, icicles hanging from our roof always grab my attention. I always go for the lazy man’s way of catching that drop as it falls. What’s the lazy man method? Thanks for asking as it pertains to this blog’s topic. I start by using HSC – High Speed Crop. This not only crops the FX sensor of the D5 but more importantly, speeds up the FPS by 1 frame per second. Next, I raised the ISO to 1600 and dialed in -1 exp comp, both giving me a faster shutter speed. I went to Auto Area AF to take advantage of its Closest Subject Priority and of course, I was in CH motordrive. So, shooting with the D5 / 300PF w/TC-14eIII, just as I saw the drop about to fall, I ripped off 8-10 frames real easily since I’m shooting 12FPS. How many of the features I mentioned do you know, know so well you can pull them out when you need them to make the photo at the moment? Playing like this is the best way to learn them so when you do need them, you have them. And it’s a helluva lot of fun too!
Dec 27, 2016 | Field Reports
Just get a new DSLR for Christmas? Had a DLSR for a year or two? Either case, is your firmware up to date (don’t assume new means up to date)? Nikon as well as other manufactures update their camera firmware continually. That’s a very good thing! And the majority of the time, the firmware is updated with no fanfare, it just gets released. For example, the Keymission 360 had a firmware update just last week! You need to go to your camera, toggle down in the menu to Firmware, check the numbers and then check if there is an update. You can check Nikon firmware updates here. Firmware updates can contain minor to major upgrades so it is important to keep them up to date!
Dec 22, 2016 | Field Reports
How do I shoot in snow? I’ve had that email and phone call a couple of times this week. To be totally up front, understand that I just don’t get cold. Sharon is always telling me to put on a jacket so I don’t make other people feel cold. With that said, my preferred way to work in the snow, is to not be in the snow. Both of these photographs were taken from the comfort of inside my office shooting out an open window. But I have the feeling that’s not really at the heart of the question I’m being asked. The Musk Ox photo I posted yesterday on Instagram, I was standing out in the elements at -30 shooting and that is the most common way we shoot, out in the elements. When it comes to the gear (like gloves), like everything else I do, I use the KISS theorem. Here’s how I apply it.
Red-Shafted Flicker
captured by D5 / 800mm
I start by avoiding breathing on the camera’s eyepiece. I gotta think about it, it doesn’t come naturally but having it fog up seems to always happen when there is something great to shoot (I do use the DK-17a Anti-fog eyepiece). Next, I have a clean, dry, white towel inside my jacket. I use this NOT to cover my gear … I don’t COVER my gear when shooting in rain or snow. I use the towel in snow to “snap” snow off. Snow stays as snow and doesn’t turn into water unless it gets warm. So if you use the towel to “snap” off the snow, it just goes away. How about condensation, I actually have more issues with that in places like the TX coast going from an air conditioned room to the beach than in the snow. In the snow, once I get back in the room, the gear I used instantly comes out, goes on the bed and is covered by a clean bath towel. There is sits until it becomes room temperature. Once it’s warmed, it gets cleaned and serviced then put back in the MP-1 V2 and zipped in. Then that gets placed in the coldest part of the room, furtherest from the heater. And in snow, I’ve not had condensation issues. And that’s it, that’s all I do.
Dec 15, 2016 | Field Reports
There’s a running joke amongst my circle of friends that starts with, “Do we need a flash” when originally they really meant to ask, “Should we bring a flash?” It became a running joke because I answered the original question with “I doubt it” not knowing what they were really meant to ask, to which the answer is “ALWAYS!” I always have at least one SB-5000 with me with freshly, fully charged Eneloop Pro AA batteries! The vast majority of the time, it never gets used but I ALWAYS have at least the one SB-5000 with me. Why? Light can be a bastard and there are just too many times an important opportunity instantly appears and flash is required to make the photo. In the old days when flash was a pain, I would do everything possible to avoid its use. That’s not the case anymore, I almost go out looking for the opportunity because of the drama it can create. Here are three instances when flash was a must. The first is a quick portrait of two dear friends, Alan Miller and Lt Col Dick Cole. You can see the shadows from the baseball caps the flash is filling in. Shot with the D5 / 24-70VR with the flash in the hotshoe, it’s a quick, clean shot. The SB-5000 was in the back pocket and I have just enough time to put it in the hotshoe and go click. The D5 was already set for the ambient light exposure (A Priority of course) and the flash was already set to -1/3 so I just turned it on and went click. Easy!
The next most common need for flash for me is in overcast light. In deep overcast light, the light has no character, no direction. Ed’s grandfather created the TFLM “Aleutian Tiger” nose art during WWII and that’s his grandfather’s patch he’s holding. Shooting again with the D5 / 24-70VR and SB-5000, using the WR-R10 I could have the SB-5000 off camera and aimed to light just Ed and the patch. That simple kiss of light brings the eye to the subject and that’s the goal of light even if coming from a can.
Then there are those times that colleagues ask for a “portrait” and the pressure is on to create more than just a portrait. Adam is a marvelous videographer with a killer crew so I was honored to be asked for the “quick” portrait. I wanted some drama though in the portrait cause we were all in our work clothes (working with aircraft, oil gets everywhere!). The solution was pretty simple, using “Betty’s Dream” as a background and the sun as a backlight, simply put the SB-5000 in the hotshoe, zoomed out to 14mm and shot D5 / 24-70VR at 24mm. The ambient light was underexposed and the flash normal making it the main light. All of these photos are simple memories, memories surrounding good friends where the “simple click” just wouldn’t do. With photography being all about light, that’s why whether I use it or not, I think you always need to keep light in your back pocket!
Dec 14, 2016 | Field Reports
It’s no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of IoSafe. You can read below how I depend on IoSafe to manage and safeguard my digital assets. Well, long before I owned the 1515+ system, I bought a IoSafe N2. It was my test unit which years later still works perfectly. The N2 has always been my video vault which just became full! Moving to new storage units has never been a job I’ve liked mostly because of the time involved and concern I did it all right and didn’t loose anything. Well, I started to look into what it was required to move up to a 6TB system. Well, I found out I could “simply” expand the N2. But how simple is simple, right? Well, my N2 raid is set up with the Synology Hybrid RAID making the migration of files a non-issue. I called up IoSafe, got their recommendation for new hard drives, plugged in and I’m up and running. Too bloody simple! It’s come a LONG WAYS from just years ago and man, am I thankful!
My love affair with the IoSafe 1515+ and Synology is stronger than ever! I have come to rely on DS File in a way that a year and a half ago I would never have guessed. The beauty is I can access all my photos from ANYWHERE in the world if a client needs them. This sounds grandiose but twice now, being able to grab the Nef for a client while in their presence made all the difference in making the sale. The ability to retrieve and send files from the IoSafe 1515+ from my iPhone using products like HIGHTAIL without ever logging into a computer has become a common occurrence now part of my workflow. WRP files are all organized and easy to find, every images has it’s own unique alpha-numeric code, a system we initiated forty years ago here making finding any ONE image in the 2.6 million simple. I thought when I went to the IoSafe it was just to safeguard our digital assets. I had no clue the IoSafe 1515 would rock our business by making every file accessible anywhere in the world! So six months after installation, it just gets better and better!
Here’s how I got it all up and working for our business
IoSafe 1515+ – Journey Begins
1515+ – What’s Inside That’s Special
IoSafe 1515+ – Connecting
IoSafe 1515+ 01 June Update
30 June IoSafe Update
IoSafe 1515+ is Done!
Snyology, DS File & IoSafe
IoSafe Connects 7600 Miles Away!
