Nikon Stuff

On Assignment: Armed with Preconceptions

dapp — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:16:00 +0000

Planning ahead is a good thing, and I always try to pre-think a job before I head out. It gives me ideas to fall back on if nothing jumps out at me at the location.

But you can pre-plan things too far. So much that they blind you to better ideas and leave you banging your head against the front windshield even as you drive away from the assignment.

That's exactly what happened to me last week when I was assigned to shoot one of the coolest pieces of tech I have ever seen.
__________

You are looking at a real, prosthetic limb in the photo above. But not just any prosthetic limb, as this limb has quite a bit of special sauce.

For one thing, much like your own mostly-dark-meat arm it can move in 22 different ways -- brushless motors everywhere. It has a ton of processing power inside the hand. Not a lot of space there, but you want the thing to be modular with the smarts at the end. That means you can attach it to partial limbs.

Much like Popeye, this thing has its power in the forearm. That is where the user-replaceable, rechargeable battery is. And it has power to burn. It can curl 50 lbs. That's more than my arm will do.

Oh, and did I mention it is designed to be controlled by the human brain? Just like in Firefox, where Clint Eastwood has to think in Russian to fly the advanced fighter jet he just stole. It gets impulses from the brain and provides neural feedback so your brain kinda knows what is going on with it.

My first thought when I saw it: Where is the rest of the cyborg it was attached to, and where do you have to shoot it to kill it. (People always aim for the head in the movies, but this thing has its brain in the hand. So it pays to ask.)

The folks at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab hate it when people write stuff like that, because they really are not trying to hatch a T-virus. (Of course, that's also what SkyNet said.) They just want to give high-level function back to people who have lost a limb.

And they are doing it, too. Live, clinical trials within a year with these things, thanks to a $34 million dollar DARPA grant. Sorry, Steve Austin. $6MM doesn't really cut it anymore.

So you can probably already tell how stoked I was when I got the assignment to shoot this thing for a local biz pub. And the fanboy stuff only got worse when I got to the lab.

Fortunately, I knew exactly what I wanted to do -- all planned in advance. I had a cool idea for a portrait of Mike McLoughlin, the head of the Modular Prosthetic Limb project. And I also wanted to get a sexy product shot of the arm itself.

For a variety of reasons, the portrait I visualized wasn't coming together. So I did the photo above which was perfectly serviceable for the assignment, but not what I had hoped. Then I circled the wagons and worked the product shot to salvage at least one of my preconceptions.
__________

The lighting was pretty simple -- on access light with an Orbis and four SB-800s spread around the floor to create highlights along the edges. On the clock face, the wrap lights were about at 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 and 11:00. Power levels were all about the same by the time the lights hit the arm. (I cranked up the Orbis a little to compensate for the light loss.)

Except for the Orbis, everything was hard light. This gave me a lot of shape and highlights. The Orbis mostly erased the shadows and makes the whole thing look strangely soft.

In the setup shot above, you can see the distances involved. You cannot see all of the flashes, but the highlights on the floor will point you to them. Dave Kile (who was helping me) piggy-backed my flashes with a channel-1 PW as I pulled the ring away between shots. (I was shooting through the ring for the actual shot.)

Background was a cheap poster board, in a complimentary color. I'll usually bring three or four different colors if I am gonna do a small product shot. Way easier/cheaper than background paper.
__________

While I was on location, I was thinking that the portrait I wanted which did not happen. But at least I got the product shot I visualized. It wasn't until I got back to the car and was reviewing photos until the photo I missed hit me.

The portrait I wanted would have been cool. But the iconic picture was right behind my subject the whole time.

I should have shot a still life at the workbench.

You know, just like any other DIY hacker's work area -- soldering iron, pliers, a smattering of little parts and a couple cyborg limbs that mark an amazing leap in bio-mechanical science just sitting around. Static, but a great narrative.

I am such an idiot for missing it.

Of course, I even fawned over the workbench while I was there. But I was so blinded by the pictures already in my head (especially 'cause one of them was giving me fits) that I did not see it.

Pre-planning is not a terrible thing, and I am not ready to give it up. But you can bet I will be on guard for awhile against stupidly missing found pictures because too much thought is being given over to the preconceptions.
__________

Read more::

:: APL to Test Thought-Controlled Prosthetic Limb ::

I Second That!

dapp — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:58:52 +0000

A couple of indispensable blogs were posted this week. First, John Loengard’s guest blog on Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider.

This I would suggest as a must read for photographers and picture editors alike. Tremendous economic pressures over time have fractured and adversely affected the historic and important relationship good picture editors have with the photographers they employ. This post, and John’s well reasoned and direct advocacy for the role of the photog in the world of publications, is very well taken.

The other is up on Strobist.

Greg Heisler burst onto the magazine scene around 1980 or so, and single handedly changed magazine photography. I am not overstating the case. His singular sense of light and color impacted so thoroughly that just about every picture editor out there was lining their magazine up for pictures that looked like Greg’s. He had lots of imitators (myself included) who devoured his stuff, looking at catch lights to see where he put what kind of flashes, and wondering what gel pack had produced the vibrant color palette that attended his pix. I could stand at magazine rack and look at a display of a couple hundred mags, and pick out a Heisler cover.

I have worked with Rudy, and can thoroughly corroborate what Greg breezily refers to as the “moment of truth,” on this shoot. This cover was done of Rudy at his personal zenith, and when a public figure is at such a point, their handlers are like a very effective offensive line in football, blocking all charges. The behind the scenes negotiating just to get Rudy to top of the Rock must have been intense. Then, of course, once he gets there, is gonna go up on the edge of the roof? Rudy’s actually pretty cool about that stuff once you get him to the location. Pretty down to earth, or edge of the building type of guy.

The planning of the light is very cool to listen in on. So is the lesson that could be easily glossed over. Research. A week of going to the location at the exact time of day to determine the look and feel of the light. This was an intense collaboration between an extremely talented photog, a picture editor who did and said all the right things to get the subject on board, and a magazine willing to go the extra mile to get something done right. This was the correct mix of craft, obsession, funding and preparation.

This photo is memorable, and memorable isn’t easy. You generally don’t get memorable from a $50 stock pickup. Rudy was an icon at that moment in time, and thus demanded an appropriately iconic photographer. That combination is the reason we are still looking at this picture.

More tk….

At least three more Nikon Coolpix cameras next week

dapp — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:27:57 +0000

On September 8th, 2010 Nikon is expected to announce at least 3 new Coolpix cameras:

Nikon Coolpix P7000:

10.1MP 1/1.7″ CCD sensor
28-200mm equivalent zoom lens with f/2.8-5.6
Lens shift stabilizer
The same old Coolpix RAW mode (.NRW)
720p HD 24fps
3” LCD screen, 920k
Neutral density filters
1.1 fps
Zoom memory function
Price: around $500

Nikon Coolpix S80 – replacement of S70:

14MP
OLED touchscreen
720p 30p video
Price: around $300-$400

Nikon Coolpix S810

Back-illuminated sensor (Nikon filed patent for a back-illuminated sensor was filed last week)
12MP
1080p video
Price: around $200-$300

Nikon booth at Photokina

dapp — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:49:53 +0000

Here are some visuals of the Nikon booth at Photokina:

Nikon Poland @ flickr via Fotoblogia

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Catching up: Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZF.2 lens announced today

dapp — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:19:08 +0000

Today Zeiss announced the previously rumored Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZF.2 lens (Nikon mount):

A full size sample photo can be seen here.

Full press release after the break:

Carl Zeiss presents a new moderate wide-angle lens

OBERKOCHEN, September 1, 2010 – A woman is sitting at the bar of a dimly-lit cafe. Lost in thoughts, she doesn’t notice the glass of wine the bartender places before her. From a distance, a photographer tries to capture her mood. He brings her face, which is leaning toward her phone, into focus. Everything around her becomes a blur, and the lights in the background coalesce into a wild “dance” of diffuse shapes.

This shot will only work with a fast lens with short focal length and harmonious bokeh. Carl Zeiss introduces a new lens for just such images: the Distagon T* 1,4/35.

By introducing the Distagon T* 1,4/35, Carl Zeiss is complementing the Planar T*1,.4/50 and T*1,4/85 lenses with a wide-angle lens that shares the same high speed. Crisp, sharp images work every time, whether at dusk or in the weak lighting conditions of a café, and without the need for a tripod. With its 35-mm, the Distagon T* 1,4/35 matches the classic and versatile standard focal lengths when used on cameras with APS-C sensor formats.

Due to the special bokeh effects in both the foreground and background areas, the Distagon T*1,4/35 opens up new creative possibilities, giving photographers more options to ‘play’ with focus. Thanks to its large focus ring, photographers can also create highly accurate, sharp pictures, even at maximum aperture opening. In addition, the optical construction of the lens guarantees high image quality across the entire image range. Furthermore, with one step less than the full aperture opening, the light fall-off toward the edges is just one f-stop.

With the ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating, its sophisticated stray light reduction and the excellent flare control the new Distagon also takes pictures of bright light sources without artifacts. The Distagon T*1,4/35’s extremely long-lasting and robust all-metal precision mechanics, for which Carl Zeiss is known, make this lens perfect for use on-the-go and for photo reports.

The Distagon T* 1,4/35 will be available in first quarter of 2011 at a recommended retail price of € 1385.71 (excluding VAT)*.

Technical specifications
Focal length 35 mm
Aperture range f/1.4 – f/16
Number of elements/groups 11/9
Focusing area 0.3 m – infinity
Angular field** (diag./horiz./vert.) 63/54/37 °
Coverage at close range 18 x 12 cm (close-up)
Image ratio at close range 1:5 (close-up)
Filter thread M 72 x 0.75
Weight 830 – 850 g
Length with caps 120 – 122 mm
Diameter 78 mm
Mounts ZF.2 (F bayonet)
ZE (EF bayonet)

* As of September 01, 2010
** relates to small camera format

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Carl Zeiss announce Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 ZF.2 lens

dapp — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:07:35 +0000

Renowned maker Carl Zeiss today announced a new lens in their Nikon F-mount compatible ZF.2 format. The Distagon T* 1,4/35 (or 35mm f/1.4 in other words) is a fast, moderate wide-angle that actually fills what is a gap in Nikon's current lineup. Nikon have a 35/2 in FX format, and a 35/1.8 in DX format, but no modern 35/1.4.

This CZ lens contains a CPU to communicate with the camera body, but in common with their other lenses does not have autofocus.

By introducing the Distagon T* 1,4/35, Carl Zeiss is complementing the Planar T*1,4/50 and T*1,4/85 lenses with a wide-angle lens that shares the same high speed. Crisp, sharp images work every time, whether at dusk or in the weak lighting conditions of a café, and without the need for a tripod. With its 35-mm, the Distagon T* 1,4/35 matches the classic and versatile standard focal lengths when used on cameras with APS-C sensor formats.

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 01.09.2010.
A woman is sitting at the bar of a dimly-lit cafe. Lost in thoughts, she doesn’t notice the glass of wine the bartender places before her. From a distance, a photographer tries to capture her mood. He brings her face, which is leaning toward her phone, into focus. Everything around her becomes a blur, and the lights in the background coalesce into a wild “dance” of diffuse shapes.

This shot will only work with a fast lens with short focal length and harmonious bokeh. Carl Zeiss introduces a new lens for just such images: the Distagon T* 1,4/35.

By introducing the Distagon T* 1,4/35, Carl Zeiss is complementing the Planar T*1,4/50 and T*1,4/85 lenses with a wide-angle lens that shares the same high speed. Crisp, sharp images work every time, whether at dusk or in the weak lighting conditions of a café, and without the need for a tripod. With its 35-mm, the Distagon T* 1,4/35 matches the classic and versatile standard focal lengths when used on cameras with APS-C sensor formats.

Due to the special bokeh effects in both the foreground and background areas, the Distagon T*1,4/35 opens up new creative possibilities, giving photographers more options to ‘play’ with focus. Thanks to its large focus ring, photographers can also create highly accurate, sharp pictures, even at maximum aperture opening. In addition, the optical construction of the lens guarantees high image quality across the entire image range. Furthermore, with one step less than the full aperture opening, the light fall-off toward the edges is just one f-stop.

With the ZEISS T*‘s anti-reflective coating, its sophisticated stray light reduction and the excellent flare control the new Distagon also takes pictures of bright light sources without artifacts. The Distagon T*1,4/35’s extremely long-lasting and robust all-metal precision mechanics, for which Carl Zeiss is known, make this lens perfect for use on-the-go and for photo reports.

The Distagon T* 1,4/35 will be available in first quarter of 2011 at a recommended retail price of €1385.71 (excluding VAT)*.

Technical specifications

Focal length:	35 mm
Aperture range:	f/1.4 - f/16
Number of elements/groups:	11/9
Focusing range:	0.3 m - infinity
Angular field** (diag./horiz./vert.):	63/54/37 °
Coverage at close range:	18 x 12 cm (close-up)
Image ratio at close range:	1:5 (close-up)
Filter thread:	M 72 x 0.75
Weight:	830-850g
Length with caps:	120-122mm

Samsung Epic 4G now on sale at Sprint

dapp — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:15:00 +0000

We told you it was coming, now the Samsung Epic 4G is on sale at Sprint for a cool $249.99 plus two year life commitment. In other words, it's time to let Sprint know whether this Galaxy S variant (with -- gasp -- working GPS) is worth the $50 premium over HTC's EVO 4G. Well, is it?

Samsung Epic 4G now on sale at Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On LIFE, and Loengard

dapp — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:07:23 +0000

LIFE is strange, right? And wonderful. It is, “Life Its Own Self,” as Dan Jenkins once famously wrote. I shot my first job for the venerable picture magazine that was once everybody’s TV in 1984. Became a staff photographer in 1994. Last one in a series of 90 staffers. Now, 26 years after my first frame, I just finished another project that, I’m proud to say, goes to print sporting that famous red and white logo.

Never written a guide before. Yikes. Lots of stuff to think about. There’s tons of info in it gained from 30 years out there with a camera in my hand. I’d sit down to write, and have this mental image of my brain as a dump truck, complete with backup warning, starting to pour stuff into my computer. Having done that of course, it would need to be shaped and formed, and I would somehow have to take my photo lingo shorthand and turn it into English. The book starts with the moment you open the box you just got, the one with the digital camera inside, and goes from those super basics right through lenses, light, color, composition to photo terms and concepts, and shooting strategies that make pictures better. Along the way, I drop in little blog like essays that relate field strategies and expertise in a fairly amusing and irreverent (hey, it’s me) way. The result is a guide that covers the basics, with anecdotes about how those basics save your butt when confronted with a photo situation that is decidedly not so basic.

Started on LIFE’s path years ago via being assigned by John Loengard, perhaps the most visually intelligent editor I have ever worked for.

A legendary shooter in his own right, he went from location work to the editor’s desk with impact and influence. (Not all shooters can do this. Many have tried, only to find they should have stayed on the street, and continued to do that which they were good at–shoot pictures.)

Not so John. He’s equally formidable with a camera, or a loupe. In his role as picture editor, to say he was provocative is to understate the case. He got you wired up for the assignment, made you nervous (at least he did me), and dropped incongruent and startling picture notions into your noodle. In short, he got you to think.

Thoughtful pictures are his forte. His book, Pictures Under Discussion, is a must for anyone who might want to do this seriously.

There are gifts that accrue from hanging in there and doing this nutty thing for as long as I have. One truly astonishing one–John wrote the forward for this book. His writing, just as intelligent as his photography, becomes a link between the historic LIFE of film times, and nowadays, with pictures as ones and zeroes. I followed suit in my writing. The book is all about digital shooting. But there are some film pictures in it. Why? Because none of the underpinnings of shooting good pictures have really changed. It remains, then and now, a situational, improvisational, nail biting, uncertain thing to do. It is first and foremost an art and craft powered by your head and your heart, and your sense of the world. The machine in your hands is immaterial. But–this powerful new digital machine can be mysterious and needs explaining. Hence the book.

I can say it has been a truly wonderful LIFE. I was a bit of a fireman for the magazine. Ever the generalist, I got sent to cover all manner of things. In Russia, I bounced around, weightless, in pseudo-space.

Spent time with Leonard Bernstein as he composed.

Went to Rwanda after the genocide.

Took the clothes off the Olympic team in ‘96.

Did a portrait of Kim, “the napalm girl,” and saw how someone’s entire life can spin on the snap of a shutter.

And, in a decidedly dad moment, put my kid on the cover. (Hey, I saved the mag some dough. No model fee. How’s that for a nice, juicy rationalization?)

In short, had the privilege of seeing and recording lots of different bits and pieces of life as people live it. Learned a lot of lessons. Tried to hold up, as best I could, the tradition of vibrant storytelling that was the indelible imprint of the magazine. In this book, I talk a lot about the how to. That’s a given. “How does this thing work?” is explained and re-explained. I also offer up notions about the “why for?” the “what if,” and the “you might just want to.”

In short, I talk about being a shooter. How you do it, and why you do it.

Many of the LIFE photogs were heroes and mentors to me. I was offered a small space in the book for a dedication. See below.

This book is dedicated to those who went before. To what they saw, and how
they saw it. And to the fact that, sometimes at great peril, in impossible
conditions, with all odds against them, they shot it well and beautifully,
and shared it with us. Their work is the stuff of all our memories.

More tk…

Weekly Nikon related news/links #73

dapp — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:19:08 +0000

£200 cashback on Nikon D300s in UK
Also in the UK: Jessops offers a free Nikon Bag and 4GB Card with every D3100 pre-order
The Nikon D700 will be sold as a kit with the new 28-300mm lens in Japan (Nikon-Direct website, starting September 2nd) – my interpretation: no D700 replacement any time soon.
More Nikon D3100 samples
FYI: several websites are reporting that a Finnish retailed has listed an accessory to be compatible with D400 and D5000s cameras. I do not expect Nikon to announce such cameras any time soon.
Another Nikon birthday cake.
The new AF-S 85mm f/1.4 lens gets unboxed (kind of)
Video presentation of the four new Nikon lenses in French
Nikon D90 vs Canon 550D durability test video after the break:

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Shooting the Moon

dapp — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:29:05 +0000

Hey gang…couple of questions from yesterday. The combo of the 600 plus TC1.7 was, frankly, all about, uh, size. Bigger lens, bigger moon. The above is shot with a straight up six. Below, I’m at about 170 zoom on a 70-200.

Figured we’re all up here in north country, howlin’ at the moon, so might as well shoot it. Above is lit with an Elinchrom Quadra, running through a Deep Octa soft box. Way up top, same deal as yesterday–line of sight TTL, raw flash, SB 900, hand held, camera right.

You get the moon and the lens big, what suffers? DOF for sure. The shot from yesterday was racked out to f11. Otherwise the moon looks like an out of focus blob in the sky, which it sorta does even at f11.

Have had notions of doing stuff like mixing flash portraits and the moon for years, and I suspect I’ll just keep after it. One of these days, might just nail it….you never know….more tk….