Workshop at the Ranch – September 2014 – Your Questions & My Answers
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Image #1 Burn Stormer … Nikon D810, ISO1000, 1/2000 at f8, Nikon 16-35mm, WB 3030K, 4 Nikon SB910 Speedlights each with a Warming Gel, mounted in the FourSquare, Nikon SU-800 Commander, RadioPopper Transmitter and Receiver, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.
Q… Hey Dave, have you used the new nikon d810 camera yet??? I’m thinking of upgrading from my d800. thx. Phil
A… Hey Phil, YES…I traded in my D800 cameras and upgraded to the NEW Nikon D810 camera…and I love it! The file quality is amazing and the Autofocus speed is the same as the NEW Nikon D4s. Can life get any better than this! This is Donny, one of the hardest working guys in motocross. Donny hits top speeds of 90mph in the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb, a.k.a. “Race to the Clouds.” I’m not talking about a Super Bike…I’m talking a motocross bike! He was more than happy to fly through the air on his home race track. This image of Donny was my 1st demonstration shot of the day made for my class of sports photographers who were attending the Summit Sports Photography Workshop in Colorado Springs. www.photographyatthesummit.com My breakout class of 12 were eager to learn about Speedlights and High Speed Sync flash photography and I felt some high flying motocross action was just the subject to get them “into” this exciting lighting technique. Each student got their turn to make 10 or so High Speed Sync flash images of Donny while he flew by at about an arm’s length away. We used a White Balance of 3030K and then underexposed the scene by nearly -2.3 stops. This combo gave us a supper dark blue sky and background even though it was 3:00. Then we fired up the 4 Nikon SB910 Speedlights, each with a Warming Gel that is included with each Nikon Speedlight. The result is this super stylized image with plenty of action and drama. I am still making numerous test pictures with the NEW Nikon D810 before I write a detailed article, but I can tell you this…”I’ve never seen a file like this before…Absolutely STUNNING !” Thanks for your question Phill…more images and commentary to come next month. Adios. Dave |
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Image #2 Schwabacher Twilight … Nikon D800, ISO200, 30 seconds at f8, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 4000K, 2 Brinkmann MAX Million II handheld rechargeable spotlights, Manfroto Tripod with 410 Gear Head, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card. Q…Hi Dave, LOVE YOUR LIGHTPAINTING ! I’m thinking of attending one of your workshops soon and have looked at the one in Jackson Hole. Will you be taking us out at night to Lightpaint Schwabacher Landing? Hope so. Greg
A…Hello there Greg. Glad you are enjoying my Lightpaintings in my Creative Lighting Portfolio. Lightpainting is a true passion of mine…especially large scale landscapes like this Lightpainting of Schwabacher Landing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I will be teaching Lightpainting and taking a group out one evening at the Summit Nature & Wildlife Workshop in Jackson Hole, WY. September 28-October 3. http://www.photographyatthesummit.com/workshops/nature/ This workshop is one of Rich Clarkson’s Summit Workshop Series, and is a personal favorite of mine. Not sure about the road being open to Schwabacher Landing…I hope so too, but if not we will likely head to the Mormon Row Barns which is another favorite location near the Tetons. The Summit Nature & Wildlife Workshop has been a long time favorite of mine and features a faculty of great photographers and picture editors, many of which work for the National Geographic. Hope to see you there…and bring your Brinkmann spotlight with you. Dave. |
Image #3 Dream Flair … Nikon D4s, ISO4000, 1/1000 at f5, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 3030K, 4 Nikon SB910 Speedlights each with a Warming Gel, mounted in the FourSquare with Soft Box and Grid, Nikon SU-800 Commander, RadioPopper Transmitter and Receiver, , SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card. Q…Hello Mr. Black. I am a huge fan of your photography and very much look forward to your WATR Blog and also the new pictures that you add to your portfolio pages each month. Last month you added a very striking pictures of a gymnastic athlete performing on water. How was this accomplished? Thank you for your time. Michael. WA.
A… Hi Michael. Glad you are enjoying my website WATR Blog and my 3 Image Portfolio pages. This image of USA Olympic Gymnast, Alex Naddour was shot at International Gymnastics Camp (IGC) in the Pocono Mountains about 1 hour outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Each summer I go out to IGC and photograph Olympians and World Champions for a variety of purposes at IGC. I also teach their photo staff how to photograph the sport that I began my photography career with,Gymnastics. This image is part of an ongoing campaign and publicity series for not only the camp/sport, but potentially as PR for the upcoming Professional Gymnastics competition and new line of nutrition foods as well. This image makes use of a stylized lighting theme I use for many of my sports action imagery. I use a White Balance of 3030K and then underexposed the scene by nearly -2.0 stops. Then I used 4 Nikon SB910 Speedlights, each with a Warming Gel and shoot in High Speed Sync mode to both illuminate the athlete and freeze the action. The Pommel Horse was supported in the lake by resting it on top of a picnic table, which is submerged so that the top of the table is about 10 inches beneath the surface of the water. My assistant is also standing (thigh deep) in the lake and is keeping my Speedlights and FourSquare with Soft Box and Grid steady during the shoot. The owner of IGC and my boss for this series Gymnastics shoots is Brent Klaus. Brent is a great friend and is very hands-on with all the shoots we do at IGC. He is “manning” the fog machine, which is floating on top of a kayak. Our Olympian, Alex Naddour, was perfection each time he performed the “Flair” movement on the Pommel Horse. But the success of a picture like this also rests with the formation of fog behind him. Thus he needed to make several repetitions before the fog was a perfect complement to his athletic skill. I will be posting additional images from this very involved week of photography at IGC over the next monthly additions of images in my Creative Lighting Portfolio.
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Well, great questions again this month. I hope you all are enjoying these articles featuring Your Questions and My Answers. Keep filling my email box, and we’ll do it again next month. See you all next month here on WATR. Adios. Dave
