Workshop at the Ranch – May 2010 – Little Lights, BIG Arena – PART 2
Hi and welcome to PART 2 of Little Lights, BIG Arena. Last month was a mammoth article that really sparked the interest of many sports photographers and generated lots of email requests for a continuing lesson at different venue. Well, here we go again. Let’s look at another sports facility where I strobed action using my Nikon SB-900 Speedlights, but this time with a different purpose in mind as I’ll only need 4 Speedlights in a classic rectangular arrangement.
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch on steroids. There is a lot of information and data in this very extensive article. Don’t give up, but hold on to the end and I think you’ll be glad you did.
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I receive many emails during the year that inquire “where is the Ranch, and how do I come attend a workshop.” Well, I do live out west, but the Workshop at the Ranch is still only my monthly website tutorial. Although I have yet to start my own workshop I am very much involved with teaching photography for a variety of wonderful companies, and so I’ve decided to devote this article to sharing about some of the workshops that I teach each year. Keep in mind these three workshops that I am writing about are only a sampling of my yearly workshop and presentation schedule. If you are part of a photography organization, College, University, or even an existing workshop and would like me to come teach, please contact me via the 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. My January article kicked off the New Year with an in-depth review of the NEW Nikon D3s camera. The response from readers was terrific with many of you requesting additional images and commentary. Well, as P.T. Barnum said, “Give the people what they want.” Here is a continuation of my D3s review, but rather than examine grid iron imagery, this time I thought we would see what advantages the New Nikon D3s camera offers in some other, more hospitable environments. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. The New Year ushers in a New camera, Nikon’s D3s. It is hard to believe that it has only been a couple of years since the release of the D3 and its transforming of the use of High ISO. We all thought a usable ISO of 6400 was impossible, but the D3 made everyone a believer. Today’s New D3s is like a D3 on steroids boasting even higher ISO settings of up to 12,800 and beyond. Because my business involves only still photography and does not include video I will be only addressing the still imagery capabilities of the New D3s camera and must defer the video critiques to those experts in that field. With still photography as our goal, and the New Nikon D3s as our topic, let’s delve into Nikon’s latest marvel of cameras. 
Hello and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. This month caps my 7th year writing this monthly instructional column. Let’s see,…that’s 7 years, with 12 months in a year, which adds up to 84 tutorials that are available to everyone who is interested in improving their photographic skills. Whoa, that’s a lot of photo information, pictures, and camera data! It is my hope that those of you who come read Workshop at the Ranch each month enjoy the lessons and continue to grow in your photography. 
Hi, and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Back in 2004 at the conclusion of the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece I decided to move forward in my career and take on new challenges, new projects, and new photographic techniques. This decision marked the end of my deep participation with the sport of gymnastics that I had been involved with beginning at age 8 as a student, a competitor, a coach, and a photojournalist. With the conclusion of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy I intentionally severed the tie from Olympic photographic coverage and proceeded onto new photographic endeavors …… until October 12, 2009. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I have said many times that Light is the greatest influence. I talk about it when I teach, I write about it on my website and in my new book, and I apply it when I photograph. The use of a single light source coming from a side angle to my subject creates drama and mood. How much to the side of my subject I place the light determines how much drama there will be. The more frontal the light, the less dramatic the feel. The more the light is to the side of my subject, the more dramatic the feel. For me, mastering the single off camera light is a necessary basic of lighting that prepares the photographer to move forward with additional lights and more creative lighting arrangements. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Many of the Workshop at the Ranch articles revolve around the use of light. Much of my work tends to make use of light from Nikon Speedlights and larger strobe systems made by Elinchrom. This month’s workshop is going to cater to the light that is available to all of us. Natural daylight is a wonderful light source that when controlled by the photographer can produce beautiful results. The key is to recognize the light within the scene and then compose your scene to best use the light to guide your viewer into the moment. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Sports event coverage rarely calls for the use of a Graduated Neutral Density Filter. As a result, I had little knowledge of the advantages in stylization one can add to an image until last fall while working in Florida. Many of the industry legends make use of this tool when photographing landscapes and so I decided to once again incorporate the use of a Cokin 3X Graduated Neutral Density Filter while working in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania this summer. 