Workshop at the Ranch – November 2014 – Your Questions & My Answers
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch (WATR) Thanks to all who are following me on my NEW Instagram page…and thanks also to many of you who have already purchased my book, The Way I See It in Digital format for all tablets and computer.
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch (WATR.) Your Questions are awesome, so let’s keep the answers going.
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Q…Hi Dave, Loved your seminar at Pictureline (Salt Lake City) I am anxious to get out and try the light painting techniques you talked to us about. I did try some the next morning but could use more instruction. Is there a place on your website that I should go to for the tutorial on the lighting techniques? Jay A….Hi Jay. Glad you enjoyed the Seminar on Lightpainting. You can use the Search Box on my website…just type in Lightpainting and a list of articles that I have written for my Workshop at the Ranch instructional blog will come up. Better yet, just go KelbyOne www.kelbyone.com and click Instructors, then click on me and you’ll see all my KelbyOne videos appear. There are 3 online classes that I teach regarding Lightpainting. You can either join KelbyOne and become member with unlimited access to view all videos by all the instructors, or you can give KelbyOne a test drive and simply rent any class for just $7 for 3 days. This Lightpainting of a Ballerina was made as an example to our Lightpainting Workshop class the morning after the Seminar at Pictureline. All the attendees had the opportunity to make their own Lightpaintings of a variety of small Table-Top setups. But everyone really had a great experience Lightpainting the Ballerina in the Pictureline studio…me included. Enjoy Lightpainting! Dave |
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Q…I’ve been a fan of your work for years and regularly read WATR! I shoot basketball year round and have come to rely on my 70-200 VRII and D4s combo. I also use the 200mm F/2.0 with and without the 1.4 converter. My question is this. Since I’ve realized a noticeable improvement in focus ability from the old 70-200 to the new VRII version of the lens, will I realize the same bump in autofocus performance from the VRII version of the 200mm lens? Any help would be appreciated and keep up the great work! Michael
A…Hi Michael. Thanks for your email. I have not used the latest version of the 200mm f2 lens and cannot speak specifically as to its improved performance. However, I have spoken to a couple of Nikon reps at NPS and their opinion is that you will definitely notice improvement.
I will add that the New Nikon TC-14E III 1.4x teleconverter is much improved over the older TC14E II… in sharpness and in Auto Focus speed and accuracy. It will improve the performance of your current 200mm f2 VR II lens with the older TC-14E II setup. This swimmer performing the butterfly was shot using the Nikon D4s with 600mm f 4 lens and the NEW TC14E III 1.4x Teleconverter. I was so amazed with its sharpness and Auto Focus speed, especially its ability to lock-on instantly as the athlete emerged from the water. Take care. Dave |
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Q… I am a passionate hobbyist photographer, who loves to shoot sports (especially wrestling). I am beginning to play with lighting and wondering what someone needs in order to begin to light small high school arenas? I shoot Nikon (D610, and SB910 speed light. I really love your images. Light painting and sports are my two favorite subjects, I’ve taken your advice about getting access to college events and thanks to it I’m now able to shoot Oregon State University wrestling meets, including the upcoming Pac-12 championships. My goal is to one day shoot Olympic wrestling. Thanks for your help. Jeremy
A…Hi Jeremy. Thanks for your email. It’s always nice to hear from a fellow sports photographer who is passionate about raising their own bar of photography. Regarding lighting High School and University sports arenas and gymnasiums I would recommend starting with 2 Nikon SB-900 or SB-910 Speedlights. You should easily be able to illuminate half of the gym floor (basketball court area), thus easily adding some Off Camera light to the wrestling matts. You could place the 2 Speedlights each on a light stand located as high in the bleacher seats as you can and place them opposite (across) from each other. If your gym has a mezzanine or balcony you could place your Speedlights there also. This will create a Cross Light that will illuminate your athletes no matter which direction they face. You would need a Nikon SU-800 Commander to fire the Speedlights Remotely from your camera. The SU-800 has greater range than the flash on camera would. Or you could use either the RadioPopper system or PocketWizard FLEX TT5 system to trigger your Speedlights. Back in 2000 I was shooting a pre-Olympic International Wrestling Tournament at the US Olympic Training Center which had a gym that held 3,500 spectators in bleachers. I used 4 SB-800 Speedlights and a Nikon SU-800 Commander (no RadioPopper or Pocket Wizard) to trigger the Off Camera Speedlights located in the last row of the bleachers. I was able to illuminate the entire gym floor of 2 competition wrestling matts. Hope this information is helpful to you Jeremy. Best of luck with your pursuit of sports photography and Olympic Wrestling. Dave |
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Image #4 Lean Times … Nikon D4s, ISO1000, 20 seconds at f11, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB4000K, Manfrotto Tripod with 410 Geared Head, Brinkmann Max Million III, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card. Q… Hi Dave: Met you at the Summit Workshop last month in Jackson Hole, WY. Was looking at light painting gear.. you have me hooked. Walmart seems to just carry the Max Million III (3M candle power). Any reason this is “too bright” to use? Thanks for your training last week. Dave S.
A… Hi Dave. Glad you enjoyed the Summit Workshop in Jackson Hole www.photographyatthesummit.com. It’s one of my favorite workshops that I teach at each year. I sometimes use my older Max Million II for small outdoor scenes like old cars and trucks, but the newer model MAX Million III with 3 million candles of power is actually a better way to go especially for larger landscapes. The Max Million III is the same size with more power, and as Scottie would say, “MORE POWER captain!” After the Summit Workshop in Jackson Hole concluded my wife Susan and I drove up the High Line region of Montana to visit our friends Janice and Larry, and do some Lightpainting. I used a Max Million III made by Brinkmann for this image. The additional power of 3 million candles vs my older 2 million candles with my Max Million II was exactly what I needed to begin Lightpainting the old house earlier during twilight, thus capturing a slice of sunset. (To learn how to Lightpaint, check out my Lightpainting video classes at KelbyOne www.kelbyone.com )
Great questions again this month. Thanks for sending them in via the Contact page. See you all next month here on WATR for The Year in Review…and follow me on Instagram @daveblackphoto http://instagram.com/daveblackphoto
Adios. Dave |
