Night Photography in Arches National Park, Utah
Had a FANTASTIC evening in Arches National Park last night. We climbed a mountain in the dark to get to Delicate Arch. It was 25 degrees. Huzzah for intestinal fortitude!
Testing out the Nikon Df for Night Photography
ISO 400 / 57 Sec at f/3.5
AF FIsheye-Nikkor 16mm f/2,8D
I had the delightful opportunity to go out shooting with good friend and Nikon NPS rep Joseph Carey over the XMas break. He brought along the drool-worthy Nikon Df and a sweet selection of Nikon glass I have not had the opportunity to shoot yet What a fun opportunity.
Joe brought us to an abandoned location he has shot previously and we went to town as dusk settled in...
First thing I did was to run an exposure test from ISO 6400 down to the native ISO 100. I didn't go all the way up because I was interested in the 6-stop High Exposure Test and discovering if there were noticeable quality differences on the way down to ISO 100.
Looking closely at the scene I chose, can easily say that this camera body surpasses my D700 in reducing noise in higher ISOs. It should - it has the D4 sensor in it! But keep in mind the temperature was around 36 degrees Fahrenheit – ideal for full-frame sensors doing longer exposures. (The higher the ambient temperature, the harder time a sensor has keeping hot pixels out of the RAW file.)
All below shot with the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G manually range focused because I forgot my high-powered flashlight (smacks self in head). Click for fullscreen to see the ISO, time and F/stop. NOTE: This uses a manual cable release, so the timing was not to-the-second perfect. But I was darn close!
And here is how the spread of exposure tests looks after I apply my special sauce in Silver Efex Pro.
Here is a little gallery of all the images. I did a small tweak to exposure, shadow tones and clarity to match my tastes. Click for fullscreen!
At first blush, it's very hard to see problems with the files at higher ISO settings than I am used to using on my D700. Makes sense, of course since it's a much newer sensor system, but it does make me seriously consider it as the successor for my D700.
I did very much enjoy the manual controls, which after some acclimation time were easy to use with thinnish gloves on. And the body is surprisingly lightweight. Felt more like a D7000 than a D700.
I'm looking forward to shooting with it again in different situations and when I have more time to put it through other tests of extreme exposure situations (grin). As Gabe would say, carpe noctem!
Thanks to JC for the fun evening out and the opportunity to shoot a new body and lenses.
Central Park at Night in the Snow with Jeff McCrum
I gladly joined my fellow night photography buddy Jeff McCrum this evening for some post-Hercules snowstorm shooting in the brisk somewhere-near-6-degree-weather. It was great. Here are my picks from the outing.
Bannerman Island 2013
We had a GREAT workshop this weekend past. I'll do a big writeup in a week or so, but for now, here is one image I processed between long recovering naps yesterday (grin).
Sine Wars: New 2D Cut Paper Art
Sine Wars
Original cut paper art and line drawing
Experimenting with line art like my sketchbook combined with cut paper. I'm enthusiastic about where it is going. Hope you agree.
Sine Wars - detail
Courses posted on creativeLIVE - SEO and Night Photography
I am humbled and delighted to participate in creativeLIVE's Photo Week 2013. I presented two courses and they are both online now for purchase and viewing, if you feel so inclined to learn from me :-)
I would like to send especial thanks to some wonderful people at creativeLIVE who made the experience fun, amazing and many other positive superlatives (grin): George, Arlene, Craig, Jo Ann and Kate. You guys are fab. Thank so much for making me a part of Photo Week.
First up is SEO for Photographers
Second and final course was Night Photography: No Light? No Problem!
If you watched either of them, I love feedback! PLease feel free to let me know in the comments or via email.
I did an email interview with them prior to the shows, and it was posted as "Meet the Artist.". Enjoy!
Teaching at creativeLIVE Photo Week 9/21!
I am delighted to announce that on Saturday, September 21, 2013 I will be teaching TWO sessions during creativeLIVE's Photo Week. I am both very excited and honored. You can watch live for free! After that, there ail be a fee to purchase one of three tracks they are offering.
Noon EST - 1:30pm
SEO for Photographers
1:45pm EST - 3:15pm
Night Photography: No light? No problem!
I am flying out to Seattle to join the over fifty instructors that are participating in Photo Week and present in person at their studios.
My presentations are polished up and ready for you! Watch me live, ask questions and we'll have fun learning together.
Philly: Urbex and Prison
Hector Martinez invited me out for a day of photography in Philly. Good times, fun shooting. Playing with HDR - still unconvinced. But experimenting.
Google+ 2nd Year Anniversary Photo Walk
I had a blast yesterday attending the 2nd-year anniversary of Google+ in the form a of 100+ person photo walk in NYC. Hosted by Alan Shaprio and sponsored by SmugMug, it was truly a friendly, quality gathering of photographers.
Our walk started in Chinatown, went to Brooklyn and back across to Manhattan. Rough mapping below.
I, as usual, brought a little too much gear to be constantly shooting, but I was happy. There was a team of us from MAC Group attending to spread the love and cheer about X-Rite, PocketWizard, Induro, MeFOTO, Sekonic, Kupo and more. I was celebrating by shooting Hypersync flash (example above). You know me, I prefer long exposures, so daylight I can do, but it's not my preference.
The quality of the people at the photo walk was excellent! I got to meet many new people and finally catch up with some others I've been wanting to shake hands with and chat. Good times! Looking forward to next year.
