My Camera Settings...

Very rarely do you see a photographer blogging about how their camera is set up.

That's like giving away the family recipe, isn't it?

In reality, this post isn't entirely altruistic... From experience I know (hopefully not soon) my camera will develop a sudden case of memory lapse and forget all of my settings. (As will I...) So without further delay, here they are. :-) Enjoy!

I use a Nikon D3s, so you Canon shooters will have to figure it out on your own... This post only documents the settings I have changed to suit my needs.

Shooting Menu:
Image Quality: RAW (Duh! :-)
Color Space: Adobe RGB
Active D-Lighting: High
ISO Sensitivity: ON, Max ISO 12800, Min Shutter 1/250

Autofocus:
AF-C Priority: Release + Focus
AF-S Priority: Release
AF Activation: Off, AF-ON Only (Camera in Continuous focus mode)

Perhaps the two best settings on the camera:

1. Auto-ISO (Have not missed a single shot since due to over/under exposure) Darken/lighten the image using the EV [+/-] button. I find I get beautiful, dramatic shots when exposed for the subject, then -3EV to -1EV.

2. AF Activation: Off, AF-ON Only. A bit complicated to explain but put simply; this allows you set lens focus and re-compose your shot without losing your original focal point when you press the shutter release. (But don't get too far off-center since this will invalidate your focal plane... especially at wide apertures!)

This will essentially let you use the center focal point (The most sensitive focal point) for every shot, then you can quickly re-compose your shot.

You will have to get used to pressing the AF-ON button then Shutter Release but it sure beats throwing the viewfinder focal point all over the place with your thumb, potentially losing your shot.

If you are using spot or area light metering, you may have to press AE-L before you recompose to maintain the exposure you are going for.

It sounds kludgy, but after a few hours practice I promise you won't go back.

Flash Modifiers News Flash!

Flash photography is something I normally avoid, with the exception of stylized shots or shots where some fill light is absolutely required.

Using my on-staff model Dante, (His enthusiasm is most noticeable here...) I did a before and after 2-shot series to demonstrate the benefits of a flash modifier...

(Click on images to enlarge...)
Here is Dante with the on-camera flash pointed straight up as I didn't want to angle the flash directly at our model. Cats are notorious for red-eye shots and possibly more notorious for just basically clawing ones' eyes out... red or not, as Dante's pose suggests here.

Notice the hot-spot on the pillows (Flash is bounced off the ceiling) and the totally under-exposed facial features. Not a great shot and I think Dante agrees.

Now, compare that to this shot using a simple flash modifier from Demb (www.dembflashproducts.com). The modifier is attached to the on-camera flash and is also angled straight up, along with the flash head.

The flash modifier allows the full flash to bounce off the ceiling but still reflects enough light to act as a secondary fill flash that appears to come directly from the flash unit, in essence creating 2 flashes from a single source.

Our subject is well-lit, there's no red-eye, and there's also good separation from Dante's head and the pillows in the background with no shadowing at all. There's also some great catch-lights in Dante's eyes.

Two seconds after this shot, Dante decided enough was enough and the weirdo with the odd-looking camera contraption just got his last shot of the evening.

Thanks for reading!
Scott

Photo Expeditions: Traveling Abroad

Having recently returned from a trip through Italy and Spain, I wanted to put some thoughts out there to help others who are thinking of doing a photo excursion abroad.

Business Cards:

Perhaps the biggest lesson learned during this trip. Eat with them, sleep with them, go about your daily life with them... but ALWAYS have them with you because you never know when an opportunity will present itself to hand one (or several!) to new friends.

Hiking Boots:

About halfway through our 3-week Europe tour I sprained my ankle. My wife and I were enjoying the marble boardwalk along the Nafplion waterfront in Greece when my right foot happened to find the only missing tile along the entire stretch. Down I went, along with about 30 pounds of camera gear. As I lay there waiting for the exquisite pain to wash over me like a deranged Mack truck, I knew already that this wasn't a bad sprain. I've had severe sprains and the pain is unmistakable. Regardless, a decent set of hiking boots (Also good for walking) would have made the injury far less traumatic, if not preventing it altogether.

Padded Camera bag:

(...also see: "Hiking Boots" :-) My camera gear is heavy but carrying it in a padded backpack made each excursion much easier. The padding also protected everything when I fell and sprained my ankle.

Exercise!

Above all, get acclimated to carrying your gear around for hours at a time. You will be happy you did.

Learn Local Customs:

Learn about the countries you're going to, the local customs, sayings like "Thank You", "Toilet" and "How much?" Learn also what to do and what not to do: In Greece, it is an insult to wave at someone with the palm of your hand. In Italy, the word "Terrific" means "Terrifying", or "horribly bad", so it's best not to compliment the chef (...or a tour guide!) with "That pizza was terrific!".

Packing:

I debated long and hard about what to bring on the trip, always considering weight of what I would be packing each day. Bottom line: If you have a home base, pack all your essentials.. You can pack out whatever you might need that day. I brought all my lenses and used all but one. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Memory Cards:

Almost immediately I discovered several problems with how I was handling my images after each days' shoot. My laptop was running low on drive space, and I only packed 2 32GB memory cards and I was eating about 5GB a day in images and using both cards in the camera in backup mode, meaning I only had 32GB of total space if I didn't use any backup scheme.

I adopted the following:

1. Become a LOT more disciplined in shooting. This saved me time and space with the knowledge I was only capturing the 'good' stuff. (Hopefully)

2. Use the 2nd 32GB card as a total backup for everything I was shooting. This approach made my workflow a lot more precise and saved a ton of disk space.

Overall I was able to use the 2nd memory card as a backup to the images I ported to my laptop. No matter what happened, I had a backup of everything.

Free Time:

Use this time to cull/flag/rate/edit your days' images. The excitement will still be there and the work will pay off when you get home for the final editing pass and eventual posting to your new galleries. Additionally I learned how to better sharpen images and streamlined my workflow.

Happy travels!

Scott

anthonyscottphotography.com

Airshows and Sunsets.

Some events are more suited for video.. others more for film (Or 'stills' as I will refer to them here from now on)

I think airshows are probably best suited for video. The difficulty comes into play when the photographer shows his work of an airplane upside down, frozen in the air, doing nothing but... freezing motionless upside down in the air. (Even worse is when the shutter speed is too fast and even a propeller seems to stay still in mid-air). There's just... nothing... but a picture of an upside down airplane... Not very exciting, is it?

Video captures a sequence of events, from the earth-shattering roar of a military jet screaming down the runway at mach 1-bazillion, igniting everyone's hair on fire and setting off every car alarm within a 4-county area. You can't capture that in stills, but it is damned fun on the ground when it happens on video!

Conversely, sunsets are incredibly well suited to stills. Remember the last time you sat watching a video of a sunset? Neither do I.

I shot 2 airshows recently. The first...I was so excited to get home and start proofing. About 5 seconds into the proofing process it hit me.

"These suck!"

...that's when I learned the difference about each medium and what they convey to the viewer.

Regardless, I remain undeterred. There is an inherent beauty in an aircraft, no matter if she is standing still or punching holes in clouds at mach 2.

So I will continue to bring my still cameras to airshows as long as I am able. I will fail miserably at this many times I can assure you but hopefully I come away with shots that may put a lump in people's throats and maybe even a tear in someone's eye....

Therein lies the challenge.

See my latest attempt at: http://anthonyscottphotography.com/seafair2010

Warm regards and thanks for reading,
Scott

The Sacrificial Lens...

Saturday. Beautiful weather. I was in my element, anticipating a full day of airplanes punching holes in the sky performing mind-boggling stunts, loops and dives.

The better part of Friday evening was spent gearing up, charging batteries, cleaning lenses, preparing to get some great shots and practicing in manual mode.

The mood in the warm Saturday morning air was calm but charged with excitement. After unpacking, I threw on my backpack, grabbed the camera and tripod and started towards the nearest taxiway.

And that's when time froze....

When time un-froze, my camera had crash-landed onto the taxiway and exploded in a shower of bright shiny fragments of what I could only assume were now useless (and very expensive) bits of metal and glass.

"This did NOT just happen!" my brain screamed at me. However, the evidence laying before me was unmistakable.

I had just dropped my camera and it was in many, irreversible pieces.

A sickening feeling filled my stomach as it tied itself in knots, and, yes.. I think my eyes began to well up. The camera lay on its back, helpless, and quite possibly worthless at this point, as well as any aspirations I had of being a great photographer. "Great Photographers don't drop their @!^$# Cameras, RAY!!"

I put my gear down, still numb from what just happened and bent over the shattered pieces. The body was first to be inspected. On it's display, instead of all the usual numbers, graphs, arrows and blinky-things was simply the following:

"Err"

A pained whimper escaped my lips. Still attached to the body were the shattered remains of a 2X teleconverter. Most if it was scattered around but a sizable chunk still remained attached to the body and wasn't coming off without a fight.

Next was the 70-200mm EG VR II lens. Again with the leftover remains of the 2X converter still hanging on to the bayonet mount. That part came off a little easier but still had some life left in it as it bit my finger during the extraction process...

Cradling the body, I cycled power. A tenuous display of graphs, numbers and blinky-things gave a familiar nod. Holding it face down, I gently shook it to see if any other vital organs failed... none did.

Next, I gave the 70-200 lens a tentative shake and was relieved it didn't sound like a large soda can full of of marbles and glass chunks. Twisting the lens back on, I said a little prayer....

Pressing the button, the shutter tripped. It.... took a picture!

I never thought it was possible for the human spirit to feel 2 polar opposite emotions at the same time but here was proof. I was both mortified at my own utter stupidity and ecstatic beyond words that my beloved camera was still operating.

The airshow went on, I took pictures throughout the day (Albeit at a somewhat lesser magnification power than I wanted) and came back with some good shots.

And that was perfectly fine with me. Here's the link to airshow gallery:

Airshow photos

What Happened?

During my walk out to the flight line, the camera strap had somehow become entangled around the tripod release lever. Pulling the tripod off my shoulder caused it to catch somewhere on my backpack which then released the tripod mount lever.

The 2X converter died that day, having sacrificed itself to save the others. It was a fairly inexpensive converter but that day it was worth it's weight in gold.

So... lesson learned. I'll wear that strap around my neck and you will never see me without that strap ever again. I'm also looking at insurance for my gear. I had been putting it off, but... time lost is gear lost.

Ray

...

Analysis Paralysis...

After speaking with the Art Director at our local Starbucks, it was time to order some prints for my upcoming exhibit (I like saying that, even if it is only at SB!).

Credit card at the ready... time to decide which ones go off to the printer... Uhoh... there's a flaw in that one... and gee... that one is really nice too... Should I order more? I have a budget I'm trying to stay under but they are all so nice.. what to do?

A quick calculation in my head reveals that the facility has room for maybe 10 prints.. 12 at the max but that's pushing it, given the sizes I want.

It's an interesting, but welcome problem to have.

Go here to see the gallery that will be on display:

http://anthonyscottphotography.com/travel-maui

Scott

Drowning in a Sea of Love...

After recently changing my website from in-house (read: Basement) to a hosted site (Zenfolio.com) Google has apparently decided that AnthonyScottPhotography.com no longer exists. Today I searched 100 pages of Google results for "Seattle Wedding Photographer" and came up with nada... zip... zilch. (For the record: There are more wedding photographers in the greater Seattle area than there are churches... Competition is tough!)

A search in various SEO forums confirmed I'm doing everything right. All my images have comments, descriptions... all site pages have detailed information, meta tags, etc... Created requisite Sitemap files... linked keywords.....

I know these things take time and that eventually I may pop up somewhere... provided the person in search of a great wedding photographer has the patience to wade through 11,000 other photographers all vying for the same work...

In the meantime.. the battle for SEO rages on!