Workshop at the Ranch – October 2014 – Your Questions & My Answers

Hi and welcome to this October edition of Workshop at the Ranch (WATR) Your Questions continue including one Q praising my newly launched Instagram page…and another Q asks about the re-release of 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.

Image #1 The Way I See It … 50 one page workshops. This is an instructional book featuring 50 of my favorite images from my Sports, Action Strobe Lighting, Speedlights, and Lightpainting portfolios. Each image includes the how and why the images were taken, all camera data and gear, and details about the photo assignments.

Q…Dave, I’m a big fan of your book the way I see it and even more excited that it is now iPad friendly. Finally I can take it with me on photo shoots so I can use the info to help my landscape light paintings. Thanks a bunch. John, Atlanta

A….Hey there John. So glad you are enjoying the NEW release Digital version of my instructional book… The Way I See It.

This NEW version of my book is for tablets and computers and I must say this iPad, Kindle, Nook, etc. version was long overdue. For those who haven’t checked out my Book Store page in a while, just “click” Book Store and you’ll see both the hard cover edition and the NEW Digital version of The Way I See It.

More good news…This winter I plan on finishing my instructional book devoted to Lightpainting, which I hope to debut in the early spring.
Glad you like the NEW Digital version John. Adios. Dave

Image #2 Welcome to my Instagram page. As of October 1^st 2014 my Instagram page at daveblackphoto began featuring my images and comments from my 35 plus years as a professional photographer.Q…Dave, can’t believe you are finally here on social media and Instagram @daveblackphoto http://instagram.com/daveblackphoto Thought it would never happen and then a friend told me you’re on Instagram. Can’t wait to follow you and your pictures. WOOHOO! One of your new followers, Beth, SD.

A…Hi there Beth…Yes, the day has finally come. All social media roads seem to point to Instagram and now that I’m a part of it all… well, I’m very happy with it. I guess my monthly Workshop at the Ranch articles consistently having thousands of Unique Visitors each and every month kept me from getting on board sooner with social media.

I’m just a “little” behind the large number following my Instagram friends Lucas Gilman @lucasgilman http://instagram.com/lucasgilman and Keith Ladzinski @ladzinski http://instagram.com/ladzinski who boast tens of thousands of faithful Followers watching their every move, pictures, and adventures. Hope I can keep pace with these 2 “young Turks”…I mean “dudes”…I mean…you get the idea.

What I plan for my Instagram image captions is to give quick photo tip about the image and a share my heart for photography. I love to teach and help people attain their photographic vision, and I also want them to know the journey that has been my life via photography.

Hopefully, this idea will connect with those who come check out my images on Instagram @daveblackphoto. Who knows, could Face Book next???…well, let’s not get carried away.

Glad you found me on Instagram Beth. Keep on Following. Dave

Image #3 Snow Bengal … Nikon D2x, ISO500, 1/500 at f2.8, 400mm lens, WB 6250K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Monopod, AquaTech cover, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

Q…Mr. Black:Just came in from a football game in the RAIN. How do you keep your cameras and lens dry in a rain storm? Do you use plastic bags? Thank you for your other videos on sports.Take care,LarryJoliet, IL

A…Hi Larry. I must lead a blessed life during football season. This image taken in 2011 during a Denver Broncos vs Cincinnati Bengals game was my last snowy weather football outing. The best long lens rain and snow protection cover is made by AquaTech www.aquatech.net They make all kinds of cover and encasements for camera gear including water housing for underwater camera use.

I hope this answers your question. Stay dry. Dave

Image #4 Black Curl … Nikon D3s, ISO3200, 1/1000 at f5.6, Nikon 400mm f2.8 with Nikon TC14E 1.4x Teleconverter (550mm), 8 Nikon SB900 Speedlights mounted in a double FourSquare all are High Speed Sync, Nikon SU-800 Commander, RadioPopper system, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

Q…Hi Dave,I was wondering how is it that you measure the distance to place your speedlight to the subject you are exposing? I know that the GN is somewhat reduced to half when used for HSS. But then again if using aperture and the distance of subject would give me about the GN number. However this is by using shutter speed. At the same time if one is using multiple speedlight on HSS, wouldn’t that be just too complicated? Thanks.David

A…For an outdoor action image lit with Nikon Speedlights and High Speed Sync I set my Speedlight Power output manually to Full power and place the Speedlight Off Camera. The distance from Speedlight to action subject is usually dictated by how close I can place the Speedlight to the action.

Sports action and Speedlight placement are first determined by safety. Always remember that the athlete and their safety is #1. I don’t want the athlete to be in jeopardy of hitting the Speedlight and injuring themselves. So I place the Speedlight where the athlete feels comfortable running, racing, jumping, swinging, throwing… etc.

For my outdoor action: Once the Speedlight placement is determined safety wise and the athlete approves that they can comfortably perform their athletic skill I simply make a TEST SHOT… at full power output. Keep in mind that I have already set my manual camera exposure to be -1.0 to possible -2.0 underexposed…depending on how much drama I want the scene to convey.

I make the TEST SHOT and then TAKE A LOOK at the LCD screen on the camera. I then make a power output adjustment based on the image. If there is too much light illuminating the subject I dial down the power manually…if there is not enough light illuminating my subject then I must relocate the Speedlight closer. And if I can’t place it closer because of safety for the athlete I will add another Speedlight until I see on the LCD screen the amount of illumination that I think looks best.

When you do this kind of lighting set up over and over again with a variety of athletes and locations you the formula becomes second nature to you. Practice makes perfect…get some athletes to volunteer for you so you can learn without the pressure of a job or client in the mix.
I hope this answer is helpful. Adios. Dave

Some outstanding questions again this month. Thanks for sending them in via the Contact Dave page. I hope that my answers have been helpful to those of you who are learning and improving their photography.

See you all next month here on WATR and on Instagram @daveblackphoto http://instagram.com/daveblackphoto Adios. Dave