Apr 29, 2015 | Field Reports
It started off as just a qwirk, going to London just for a Jack the Ripper tour. On our photowalk we had the owner of London Walks tours, Dave. He was a marvelous addition to our photowalk and just happened to ask off the cuff, “Do you do Jack the Ripper Tours?” At 19:30 we meet at the Tram Coffee Cart and off we went. To say it was marvelous is an understatement! This gas lamp, this exact one, was on the path Jack walked in 1888 after one of his grizzly murders! We visited a number of the sites of the murders, some like Mitre Sq are still present, others were blown away during the Blitz while others like his last murder site have been built on. It was a two hour walking tour walking the streets and paths Jack walked, at night. We can’t recommend the tour nor London Walks enough to you! Oh, The Bell you see below, one of a couple of the 1888 pubs still in existence that Jack visited and possibly, found one of his victims. That’s pretty creepy!
Apr 25, 2015 | Field Reports
We had an marvelous day in London with our Passion in a Click presentation! Such a great group of folks with some really great questions. It would seem even with my funny California accent, I was understood. It was a great day then at the end, the door of the conference opened and I see this familiar smiley face peak in. Then, it slipped back out and was gone. I couldn’t finish up fast enough because I knew what that meant.
Glen and Dave are dear and crazy friends we originally meet at Photoshop World. While they live in England, they don’t live in London. They made the trek in and found us in time to spent the evening together. They had fun educating us in the ways of London, customs and history and places to see. It was a brilliant evening. Three hours later we left the pub with side sore from laughing and the place barely intact! As you can see, the pub was unique to start with, serving the Juicy Bastard and was perfect for us! It was the most amazing start to our England adventure, we can’t thank them enough!
Apr 22, 2015 | Field Reports
This is BIG folks! – NO LIMIT BUFFER + More. Click on Banner to download
• Commander mode can now be selected for Custom Setting e3 (Optional flash) when an optional SB-500 flash unit is attached. *
• The Auto and Flash white-balance options can now be used with the LED light on the optional SB-500 flash unit.
• Auto white balance is now more consistent.
• There is no longer a limit on the number of shots that can be taken in a single burst at shutter speeds of 4 s or faster when a continuous-release mode is selected in exposure mode S or M. *
• There is no longer a limit on how long the shutter can remain open when “Time” is selected for shutter speed. *
• We have changed how focus points are displayed in the viewfinder if the camera is rotated between “wide” (landscape) and “tall” (portrait) orientations with Focus point and AF-area mode selected for Custom Setting a10 (Store by orientation) and different focus points chosen in each orientation. We have also changed how focus points are displayed in the viewfinder if a lens focus function button is pressed with AF-area mode selected for Custom Setting f19 (Lens focus function buttons).
• Some help text has been changed.
• The following issues have been resolved:
– If the user focused using the AF-ON button before shooting in continuous-release mode, the frame rate would drop under the following conditions: AF-S selected for focus mode, Single-point AF selected for AF-area mode, Focus selected for Custom Setting a2 (AF-S priority selection), and AF-ON only selected for Custom Setting a4 (AF activation).
– When an AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E lens was attached, “Err” would be displayed in the top control panel and pictures could not be taken under some exposure conditions.
– Images would sometimes fail to display correctly during image review if playback zoom was used while the memory-card access lamp was lit.
– Images would not clear from the display if an optional WR-1 wireless remote controller was used with On selected for Image review in the playback menu.
– The camera photo info display would not show the correct range for pictures taken with an optional flash unit in distance-priority manual flash mode (GN).
– When pictures taken using a PC-E lens were viewed in Capture NX-D and other Nikon software, the Metadata would list the lens as type E rather than type D.
– The photo information display for movies, movie stills, and photos taken with the Silent shutter-release option would sometimes list incorrect values for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity.
– If the camera was connected via HDMI to 4K a compatible TV, neither the camera nor the television would display menus correctly.
– Volume sometimes could not be adjusted if indicators were hidden during movie playback.
– If both XQD and CompactFlash cards were inserted in the camera when it was connected to a computer, the computer would not recognize the XQD card.
Apr 22, 2015 | Field Reports
I’ve had a few folks asking how I was taking my gear to England for our upcoming Passion in a Click. I’m taking my gear in the fantastic Think Tank Airport Int’l V2. I gotta have a roller for the simple reason is, my back. I’m taking this Think Tank because of the size, fits on the airplane and holds all I need plus a little more. Click on the photo above and you can enlarge it to see it all. Trust that helps you some time when you pack to travel.
Apr 20, 2015 | Field Reports
“Hey, I’m supposed to photograph my daughter for her prom at 4 but I’ll be flying. Can you do it?” When my good friend and partner in crime Brian asked me, what choice did I have? Of course, folks were out doin air to air photography and I was shooting a portrait. That seems perfectly normal. “I would like a plane in the photo, the Stearman. That OK?” Again, what choice did I have. The only choice I had was where the plane and portrait would be staged. I picked a spot where some afternoon light would be bounced off the hangar doors. The sun was still up, we had bald skies and I had not scrims, so to control the light, I put the couple in the shade and flash filled. Lucky for me, I had my new tool with me.
I brought the new Profoto B2 kit with me just in case. And this comes under the category of just in case. While I had tested the entire system, this would be the first field shoot with it. I set up one B2 head with the 2′ Octa (which I really like) and waited. I took a quick shot without the flash turned on to determine my ambient light exposure and had -1 dialed in the body and then -1 when for the flash. Shooting with the D750 / 24-70AFS, with everything dialed in, when the couple arrived I put them in the frame, made some clicks and sent them on their evening of fun. As you can see (above is with flash, bottom without), the B2 knocked out the exposure beautifully. I’m falling in love with the small, light size with the big power. mtc.
Apr 16, 2015 | Field Reports
“What metering mode do you use?” This question is rapidly going up the charts as most asked question that hits my inbox. My answer often brings back a confused look as if it can’t be true. I’m in Matrix Metering mode 100% of the time. And with that answer comes, the what ifs. “What if I’m shooting a concert?” I’m not, it’s not what I do. “What if you’re shooting an indoor sport event?” I’m not. “What if you’re shooting into the sun?” Now there something I do along with a bunch of other outdoor subjects. And my answer stays the same, Matrix Metering. Our relationship with light is very special. It’s what brings life to our subject, sets the stage for our subject in our photo and leads the eye around the frame to take this all in. So for me, it’s real simple. Exposure = Emotion
Recently I said that to a photographer and they said back to me, “That sounds great but how does that help me with metering?” The relationship of lights and darks in our photo sets the mood for the subject and therefore, the emotion. The meter does one thing and does it very well, gives advice. Our cameras are amazing machines but I still call them the Cold Hearted Bastards because they don’t have a heart. That is our job as photographers. So the advice the camera advises for metering must be run through our heart. And with that filter, exposure compensation comes into play. And exposure compensation all depends on YOU as it’s your story, your heart, your emotion. To help with that, I long ago came up with the Teddy Bear Exercise. This is an exercise for YOU to determine for YOUR style of photography, YOUR gear what’s the best exposure to tell the story. Because in the final analyze, you’ve gotta have faith, your heart is truly the best meter!
