One of my favorite ways to shoot is with accented rim lights. And while I love the look this kind of light produces there is a bit of a trickery to setting those lights up.
The reason is that back lights create flare.
David Hobby came up with a pretty clever way to block flare generating lights using a frame made from coroplast (the same material used for DIY flags, and grids).
I am speaking at NAB again this year and prior to my afternoon session I met up with the guys and gals from Canon to get a hands-on look at the new Canon 1DX. It is an impressive beast with the heft and girth of a pro camera and features that will make any sports, action or wildlife shooter drool.
It’s a hybrid of sorts – merging the best of Canon’s full frame technology with a sports camera. The full-frame 18.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor and all-new Dual DIGIC 5+ processors make for an impressive package.
I was working with one of a very few pre-production units. The tragedy in Japan last year has pushed back production and release dates on this camera until June, 2012. Even in pre-production clothes, the 1DX impresses.
Let’s start with the autofocus. It is essentially the same autofocus as you’ll find in the 5D MK III. Based on my tests of the MK III – that’s a good thing. But there’s more to the story. Unlike the MK III – the 1DX has an additional DIGIC IV processor dedicated strictly to helping the AF so it’s even faster – and more accurate. You also get face detection in live view video mode.
There’s also a separate DIGIC 4 processor for the metering system. All these additional processors mean speed – and lots of it.
The frame rate on the 1DX is variable from 11 to 14 FPS (Nikon D4 maxes out at 12 FPS.) That should be fast enough to get about any serious action shot you need.
I was only able to look at pics on the back of the camera but it’s clear that the new SMOS sensor offers a great combination of speed, detail and resolution. Color and clarity were great.
Speaking of the back of the camera the 3.2″ TFT LCD is bright and anti-reflective.
The 1DX also has impressive video features that will make the pro video people very happy. I won’t go into too much detail since I didn’t shoot any video but on paper, it’s all there.
Canon says “The new 18-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor utilizes large pixels – 1.25 microns larger than those in the EOS-1D Mark IV sensor and .55 microns larger than those in the EOS 5D Mark II sensor – together with gapless microlenses to achieve enhanced light gathering efficiency, higher sensitivity and less noise at the pixel level.”
What that means is that low-light performance on the 1DX is in a class by itself.
When you throw in goodies like multiple exposure mode, high speed mode, record connectivity and two CF card slots (Thanks Canon!) it all boggles the mind – as does the $6800 price.
It will be hard for anyone but pro photographers to justify this price point, but if the shipping cameras are as good as the prototype I played with – I guarantee you I’ll own one or two 
I’ll have a review once the shipping product arrives on my door step.
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We are big fans of lighting cheat sheets, ever since with pulled our first one, featuring my former boss, which shows 24 positions of lighting for portraits. (Which was later nuked with a software creating a similar chart with 72 lighting positions using a 3d head scan from Infinite Realities).
Interestingly enough, a similar scan by IR was used to create the Virtual Lighting Studio an interactive chart that you can plug lots of lights into and position them anywhere. So as long as you don’t really care about expressions, hair or human interaction, you can light and shoot at the comfort of your living room. (Or make your mega lighting card cheat sheet)
Photo by Scott Bourne – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons
While this post will be most beneficial to wildlife photographers, it applies to anyone who shoots outdoors. You need to pay attention to sun angle. In bird photography we primarily “shoot on sun angle.” That means we point our shadow at the bird. We make sure the sun is as directly aligned as possible with the bird to bring out all the details in the feathers and to avoid ugly shadows.
While those of you who have never photographed an eagle up close might be happy to have this shot, as someone who sells and publishes bird photos I am NOT happy about it.
The reason is simple. I wasn’t on sun angle. The shadow cast by the bird’s beak makes this photo unacceptable to me. There may be those of you who like it, but none of you would be editors assigned the task of selecting images for “Birding” Magazine!
Photo editors, especially those who buy wildlife photos, are particularly finicky about this stuff. So whether or not you’re photographing eagles, pay attention to the direction of the light. For some subjects, you may want to backlight, sidelight, etc. But for wildlife, most of the time you’ll want direct front lighting. Point your shadow at the subject and fire away.
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Happy Easter/Passover everyone! I thought that this little video is a good fit for today, as the main character here is the Egg (no offense, Joe).
In this short video Joe Edelman uses an egg to explain a bit about portraiture lighting by having a single source of light move over an egg. It is kinda like our portrait lighting cheat sheet card, only in video.
If you want to see more of Joe’s great work, we have featured his excellent tutorials before.
If interested contact BourneMediaGroup@gmail.com – most things I offer for sale here sell very, very quickly so act fast if you have real interest.
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I’m selling my JVC GZ-HM1 High Definition Camcorder – it’s like new – 100% operational and comes with an additional JVC battery. I paid more than $1000 for it new. It comes with all cables and documentation, and a battery charger, remote and original box.\
Price $625 includes ground shipping via UPS. I accept Google Checkout only. I will only ship to your Google Checkout verified address – signature required. Must live in Continental USA – sorry no exceptions.
All items sold as is but work perfectly.
* 1920 x 1080i HD
* 64GB Internal Flash Memory
* SD/SDHC Memory Card Slot
* 10.6MP CMOS Sensor
* Konica Minolta HD Lens
* 2.8″ LCD
* 10x Optical Zoom
* Advanced Image Stabilization
* 10MP Digital Stills
* Remote Control
Polarizer filters can be used to enhance contrast and saturation in landscape photography and reduce reflections or glare on shiny surfaces such as water. The effect is maximized by aligning the polarizer on the camera so that the polarizing direction is perpendicular to that of the light you want to block.
On a bright day it works best if you are in a 90 degrees angle to the sun, but there will always be some light reflected by the surrounding or diffused by clouds which still reduce the effect. (See the differnce between the right and left sides of the image below)
This article shows how a polarizing filter for a flash allows to make use of the effect with artificial light. Some subjects will look gorgeous while others may be rendered in an odd way but it’s certainly fun playing with the effect and you can still vary the level by turning your filter on the lens. In a nutshell, we are going to polerize the light coming from the strobe to better control its specular higlights.
Every lightsource could be modified to emmit polarized light. But some devices (such as displays and some lasers) already emmit polarized light. See the images below for examle images illuminated with an iPad.
NOTE NOTE NOTE NOTE NOTE: The Photofocus Podcast Feed HAS CHANGED!
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Hosted by Rich Harrington – guest hosts Scott Bourne, RC Concepcion.
Guest Post by Catherine Hall
Follow Catherine on Twitter: @catherine_hall & @topmodelrelease
Over the years I have had to learn many things “the hard way”. Hopefully, the below tips will save you some blood, sweat and tears.
Humidity: Let your camera acclimate to the ambient temperature
Comfortably cool in your plush hotel room at some tropical resort, you decide to take a trip outside to shoot the local flora. The instant you step outdoors, your camera fogs inside and out. Damn. Try putting your camera in a ziplock bag and putting it outside in the shade for 15 minutes before you charge out. The bag will keep the moisture away while your camera acclimates.
Humidity: Pack LOTS of desiccant
In any wet environment, desiccant is your camera’s and electronics’ best friend. Imagine shooting all day in India, rushing back to download the day’s work, only to find that your laptop will not boot. Excitement quickly changes to a surge of dread and frustration (Yes, this happened to me.) Packing the laptop overnight into a moisture barrier bag with a bunch of desiccant was my only savior.
Desert: Never change your lens
When travelling to any arid environment, especially one prone to 80mph dust storms (like Burning Man), plan ahead. Visualize your shots and choose a lens that will best suit your needs. Then, don’t take it off till you get home. Airborne dust particles can wreak havoc on your image sensor. Some of this also could be applied to your card. A 32gb should hold the daily shots, only to be changed/downloaded once the camera has been returned to your nightly shelter.
Desert: Clean it and Bag it
Bring lots of big heavy duty ziplock bags. Literally stuff some in every pocket. If a dust/sandstorm does make an appearance, throw the camera in a bag, zip it, and run for your shelter! When safe, grab a can of canned air and clean every nook. Follow this with a wet-wipe rubdown.
Cold: Keep your friends close. Keep your batteries closer.
And I mean really close (Inside your jacket, against your body). Even full batteries have a habit of dying in freezing conditions. Don’t let them. If your camera dies, first try switching the battery with a warm one. You might even get a couple more shots out of the dead battery once it warms up again.
Cold: Beware of rapid temperature changes.
You have lost all feeling in your toes an hour ago. Your fingers are the color of a flamingo and have ceased their ability to press the shutter. It is time to pack it up and head for a warm room, a hot shower, and a drink. Don’t rush. Pay attention to rapidly changing temperatures. Moving from intensely cold space into a warm room poses a variety of possible challenges from condensation to stress on the glass and electronics. Like in a humid environment, a ziplock bag full of cold air around your camera will help slow the thermal shock to your gear when brought inside.
Water: Universal housing
Durable waterproof camera housings are a necessity when shooting on or under water. I recommend EWA-Marine housings as they are durable, pressure tested, and versatile (such as a single housing can fit multiple types of DSLRs). These housings can also be used to protect your equipment in any harsh environment: desert, tundra, or rainforest.
Protect your Gear in Transit: Select an appropriate carrer
Regardless of where you travel, there is a camera bag made just right for you and your destination. Lowepro, for example, offers a variety of bags that include features such as weatherproofing, shock resistance, light weight backpacks (for you mountaineering types!), and even low profile messenger bags (for the Urban explorer who wants an inconspicuous camera bag.)
Travel Smart: A local guide could save your life.
Blissfully shooting via kayak in northern British Columbia, I chose to (luckily) come ashore when I saw the waving arms of some frightened locals. Apparently, I had a near miss with a ship devouring maelstrom. In another instance, I accidentally meandered into the center of a dangerous drug zone in Salvador, Brazil only to be found and forcibly escorted out by the police. Scary? Yes. Preventable? Absolutely. Had I just hired a guide I would not only have been informed of the local dangers, but there would be some accountability. Local guides are cheap, especially in developing nations (often only $5/day). Your life? Not so much.
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Guest Post by Rich Harrington - Follow Rich on Twitter
Rich offers a tutorial on toning photographs in Photoshop 6.0.
DISCLAIMER: This post isn’t intended to be definitive – we’re not claiming this is the ONLY way or even the BEST way to accomplish this task in Photoshop, Aperture, iPhoto or any other post-prodcessing program. We’re merely offering it as A way you might accomplish this task. These tips are free, offered only because they might be helpful to someone.
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