It is here!!!

Well the Sigma 30mm 1.4 arrived Monday the 29th and boy is it a real beauty.  I am very excited about the addition of this lens to the kit, it offers such a wide scale of uses that it should be about the perfect lens for most areas.  They incredible thing about the 30mm Sigma is the super large 1.4 aperture.  An aperture this large is a true blessing with low-light situations in which you are either not allowed to use a flash in or do not want flash for artistic purposes.

Again the other benefit to this aperture is the extremely shallow Depth of Field it provides.  Everyone has seen those photos (particularly portraits) where the subject pops out at you from a blurred background.  This blurred background or “Bokeh” (a Japanese word) is a direct result of a couple of things, focal length of the lens, distance of subject from background, and the size of the aperture shot with.  Seems odd but the lower the number the larger the aperture ex…f1.4 (huge) f16 (tiny) the number increments in between are referred to as stops.  

I have not had a chance to give the lens a thorough running through and hope to have some great examples of what the lens is capable of.  For starters here is a shot taken with the E3 and Sigma 30mm 1.4.  Very unscientific, yet it demonstrates how shallow the DOF really is at f1.4…the focus point is at the 9 inch mark.

Thats all for now-

Ciao’

I can hardly wait for the UPS truck…

I did it and I hope it works out!  With much study, research, and contemplation I ordered the Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM http://www.sigma-photo.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3300&navigator=6 .  As some of you may know I am a big fan of shooting with available light and extreme shallow Depth Of Field, here is a good definition; 

The DOF is determined by the subject distance (that is, the distance to the plane that is perfectly in focus), the lens focal length, and the lens f-number (relative aperture). Except at close-up distances, DOF is approximately determined by the subject magnification and the lens f-number. For a given f-number, increasing the magnification, either by moving closer to the subject or using a lens of greater focal length, decreases the DOF; decreasing magnification increases DOF. For a given subject magnification, increasing the f-number (decreasing the aperture diameter) increases the DOF; decreasing f-number decreases DOF.

The Sigma 30 mm is an extremely bright (1.4) lens and should deliver the perfect DOF for my style.  This lens is defined as a prime lens, in other words it does not zoom, to best describe it you zoom with your feet.  I am a prime hound, I love these lenses, they are simple, usually of extreme quality, and make you work to compose your shots.  The current prime in my arsenal is the Olympus 50mm f2 macro.  It is a stunning lens with a fairly bright aperture and close up (macro) ability.  While it is a wonderful lens it has it’s limitations, with the 4/3′s lens mount it is affected by the 2x crop factor so it is actually a 100mm lens, slightly tight for most situations. 

For me the very large 1.4 max aperture is a dream, the challenge will be to make certain the focal plane is accurate.  With such a large aperture the in focus area can be as shallow as 1/4 of an inch.  For example, shooting a portrait (head shot) straight on if your focus point is the bridge of the nose the eyes will be out of focus.  It will arrive on the 30th of December, when it arrives I will give it thorough workout and update you all.

Thats all for now-

Ciao’

Workflow Part 2 After the shoot…

Part 2- after the shoot- Download and backup approximately 1 hour

You’ve just spent the last several hours with shooting your heart out in a myriad of different conditions.  You always try to for-see what the shoot is going to be like however they rarely goes as planned.  Over time you learn to adapt as necessary and overcome most if not all obstacles.  

The first and absolute most important thing I do after a shoot is backup, backup, backup.  The camera I shoot with uses the tried and true Compact Flash format for memory.  In my opinion CF is the most solid, durable, reliable, and versatile format of flash memory.  At one point my preferred card was the SanDisk Extreme 3 4 gigabyte card, I have recently started using PNY Pro 4 gig compact flash cards.  They are just as reliable a little faster and much less expensive.  

Most shoots (particularly weddings) require multiple cards to complete.  I always have on hand 8 4 gig and 8 2 gig cards giving me 48 gigabytes of space to cover the subject at hand.  This is almost always more than enough, even though I always shoot in RAW format.  

To backup the shoot I plug each card into my CF card reader and copy the files to my working hard drive.  I utilize what I consider to be a “hyper-redundant” backup system.  I utilize 4 500 gig 3.5 inch external hard drives (2 terabytes total) all of which are Seagate Pro E-Sata drives http://freeagent.seagate.com/en-us/hard-drive/external-hard-drive/Free-Agent.html.  Three of these drives are working drives and one is in a fire proof safe.  I also have 2 500 gig Seagate Free Agent Go drives http://freeagent.seagate.com/en-us/hard-drive/portable-hard-drive/Free-Agent.html, one of which is in another location across town in a fireproof safe.

To make certain everything is exactly the same I use a great program called Vice Versa Pro http://www.tgrmn.com/ . This program makes life a lot easier it allows me to set the parameters for mirroring all drives simultaneously and it will work real-time.  In other words, as I make file changes in my working drive Vice Versa Pro completes them on the backups.  VERY, VERY important!  Never, ever delete anything from your memory cards until after you have a minimum of two backups.  

That’s all for now.  Part 3 will be the software processing.

Ciao’

How things have changed in the photographic world…

Not long ago in the world of film photography the lion’s share of the work was done by the developer, in the event a photographer developed their own film all of the work was on their shoulders.  With the evolution of digital photography the workload has shifted, regardless of who prints the final product the lion’s share of the work is done by the photographer.

In the film days you snapped off 10 rolls of 24 exposure Fuji Velvia, sent it to the Pro lab and they would develop, touch-up, crop, and finish the paper, as a photographer there wasn’t much else to handle other than picking up the final prints and delivering them to the client.  With digital the requirements are much more demanding and if your digital work flow is not smooth, deliberate, and well honed you can spend many additional hours behind the keyboard of your computer.  The photographer is now the developer.

There are many high quality software products available to us as photographers, not the least of which are those used only for photo management.  As I contemplate what my workflow consists of I figured I would share a small part of what a job consists of.  I can tell this has the potential to become long and convoluted so I plan to do this in parts:

Part 1- The Gear and shoot- From 3 to 10 hours

I have had an affinity for the Olympus camera brand for about 15 years, my first SLR camera was an Olympus OM-1 with a 50mm 1.8 prime lens.  What an achievement in overall single purpose yet highly effective design.  Olympus has always been considered the underdog by most in the photo community, yet they continue to thrive.  

My current main body is the venerable Olympus E3   http://www.olympusamerica.com/e3

My current backup is the ultra small Olympus E420  http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1372

I have a myriad of lenses at my disposal with the main workhorse being the Olympus ED 50mm f2 macro  http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/lens/dea/products/lens/50_20M/index.asp  In my opinion the finest lens in the Olympus line-up, very versatile, makes you work hard, and gives you the most amazing image quality out there.  This is my lens of preference in almost every situation and it rarely finds it’s way off my cameras.

For flash photography (I use sparingly) I utilize two flashguns, the Olympus FL-50r is my primary (the r denotes remote capability) and FL-50 as a backup, both powered by Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries.  When shooting flash photography I recommend always using bounce and a diffuser.  I have tried several different diffusers (Lumiquest 80/20, Gary Fong’s PJII to name two) and one always comes out on top Joe Demb’s Big Flip-it with diffuser  http://www.dembflashproducts.com/flipit  this thing is stunning.  Lightweight, foldable, and very, very effective as a diffuser.  There are too many other small players in the primary equipment work flow to mention them all but these are the ones that make my list every single time.

Next up is the download and backup.

That’s all for now…

Ciao’

A recommendation for a great book…

You know, the Internet certainly does make things easier in many ways.  One of those happens to be the availability of information for both entertainment and education.  It is so simple to acquire information on ANY subject that we sometimes forget one of the prominent traditional methods through which we once gained knowledge, books. 

When browsing through our local Books A Million (a nice locale to burn some time) I once in a while come across a book which begs to be brought home.  One of my recent acquisitions is Joe McNally’s “The Moment It Clicks”.  I won’t go into Joe’s story or a review of the book, as I am not a great reviewer, and I typically find reviews to contain more information which does not affect my decision than does. 

That said, this book is amazing.  Joe practices the art of flash photography and has it down to a science.  I have always been fond of the term “available light”, most define it as nothing but natural.  However, Joe considers ”any” light (flash or otherwise) as available.  If you are truly interested in developing your lighting techniques get this book and read the WHOLE thing cover to cover.

The family photo session…

 

you know how it is, the landscaper has the worst lawn in the neighborhood, none of the auto mechanic’s cars run, and the chef is always going out to eat.  Same goes here, the photographer is always behind the camera and is always capturing everyone else’s family. 

After quite a bit of persuading my wife was able to get me to pack all the gear and head for a small session for the Christmas cards.  It was a beautiful day with a great location, the Lake Hollingsworth spill-way across the street from Florida Southern College.  Here is the link to the full gallery…  www.splitlightphotography.com/p773668812

 

A film I believe tells it all…

“The Impassioned Eye”.  A bio-documentary of Henri Cartier-Bresson, arguably one of the best -if not the greatest- photographers of all time. 

In these days of uber-cameras – digital and technological marvels that can take pictures in virtually every situation put in front of them, here was Cartier-Bresson showing a body of work taken over many decades, shot with a small Leica camera and predominantly a single 50mm lens, which wasn’t particularly fast in terms of aperture. It was quite a sobering thought. No autofocus, no evaluative metering, no picture modes, no image stabilization. Things that we take for granted these days. He utiilised the simplest and most efficient way of taking pictures. Just a man, his simple camera, and his eye. Compose, focus, press the shutter.

His thoughts on the images were humbling. He saw them as ‘memories’ from an earlier time, in much the same way as we look at our holiday snaps. Watching him look back at his pictures, you could sense the emotion he was feeling at the time. He handles the paper pictures like a pile of proof prints, and talks quite openly about the stories behind them, often with a tear in his eye. Nothing pretentious, and totally devoid of ego.

If you can get to see the documentary, then don’t miss it. It is one of those masterpieces of film making, that will inspire you to take better pictures.

Here is a link to a Blogger who has the film in segments, it is very much worth the time to see.

http://rollfilm.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/the-impassioned-eye-2006-documentary-on-henri-cartier-bresson/

-Where Light Is Life-

I truly enjoy being a photographer and the opportunities it provides me to share my vision of the world.  If I must choose my favorite photography genre it would have to be people and the segment within, portraiture.  Portraiture  is something truly personal and someone allowing one to capture their essence in still photos is truly rewarding.

Please visit my galleries to see more of my work:

www.splitlightphotography.com 

And email me of you have any questions:

Splitlightphotography@gmail.com

My first Blog and first post!

How amazing is technology?  I am simply astonished with the amazing number of methods of communication available to us today, it seems like just yesterday we were writing checks and licking stamps.  As I work through my self-training for Blog Dummies I ask for patience. 

My intent is to provide a place for me to share my thoughts about the daily going’s-on with myself, my family, and my photography.  Here we go….