Equipment Review: 1g

Well, another short review for today, slot 11, the Giotto Rocket Blower. This is a great device because it is so simple and handy. Don't let the rocket shape fool you, it is nifty. If you change lenses on your DSLR(s) you will get dust on the sensor, even if you have one of those fancy new ones with dust removal vibrating functions! I know because I have three of them and I still need a blower. To use it, you simply remove your lens, invoke the 'sensor cleaning' function of your camera (I hope you aren't so timid that you won't even do this), turn the camera so that the lens opening is facing down, and without touching the sensor with the blower, blow on that puppy!

Some folks aren't sure how to tell if they have dust bunnies on their sensor. Let me first say that if they aren't causing you a problem, ignore them! Really, having some sensor dust is OK if it doesn't cause you problems ... just leave it alone! But if it is an issue but you don't know how to tell if your sensor is clean, here's what to do: take a properly exposed (just let your camera do it as usual) image in Av mode at a small f-stop, like f/22, of a homogeneous subject ... this usual means blue sky which is where most of us have trouble with the dust. Look at the image either via the enlarging function of your body or on your computer. If there are gray spots (or even black) then you have dust. It is OK not to have dust! But if you do, the very first thing to do is use your Rocket Blower. Sometimes it may take three or four iterations to get most of the dust off. I find this usually greatly reduces the dust. You don't have to get it all. It is OK to just reduce it to where it is not a problem. This is not something to have a hemorrhage about!

If you can't get enough of the dust off with the blower, then you need to "wet clean" your sensor. There are dozens of online tutorials about how to do this. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY IT! I have NEVER heard of anyone damaging their sensor if they follow the simple directions in the tutorials. It is not rocket science. It is easy, although the tools are pricey and you may have to do two or three iterations. Do not be distraught if the first pass or two doesn't clean it perfectly! I have had to do four rounds (which cost about $6/round) of wet cleaning sometimes. Just get over it ... that's how it is!

OK, next equipment review will be about batteries for flash. Since starting this tutorial I have upgraded my flash battery setup so I'll go over both AA's and my new Quantum battery!

Be Safe!

Dwight

Back from Club Med, Cancun, Yucatan, Mexico

I am back from Club Med at Cancun where I went for a week with my family. A grand time was had by all and I highly recommend it ... a bit pricey but well, well worth every dime, er, ah, I mean peso! The first image is the Club Med reception area. When you arrive they have warm towels to wipe off the travel grime and drinks to quench the thirst.

The next two images are of the general look and feel of the campus. The beaches are beautiful white sand, the clouds are amazing and water an amazing blue/green.


The last image is my daughter in a fashion show. Luckily she didn't insist that we buy the outfit. Unluckily that was only because she wanted one with more color that we did have to get her! :-)



Be Safe!

Dwight

Glamor: Janie Arnold

Every time I start blogging I am overtaken by events, but I am trying to keep posting. And while I will continue with the equipment review I think my Glamor Project is more interesting at the moment. The History: I bought a Bowens QUADX studio strobe system about four years ago as I had always wanted to try out those big fancy lights we always see in the "behind the scenes" photographs of models working. The images can really be stunning, but it takes a bit more care, time and experience than is immediately obvious. I used them a few times on family with some decent results. Then, about two and a half years ago we moved to our present house where there was an office and another room I am using as a studio. The studio is 10' x 17' with 9' ceiling ... way too small to be effective, but large enough to allow me to practice and experiment. It has taken me the last two years to finally get it mostly equipped ... there are still odds and ends like flags and gels that I need.

Back a couple of posts I talked about shooting Amber Rhodes, rising country singer/songwriter. I shot her for my friend Rick Barker. But my real goal is to learn to shoot glamor. And to that end I have joined ModelMayhem.com, an online resource for models, photographers and others in the industry. I also made a couple of contacts through Scott Sneddon, an Air Force sergeant and photographer currently deployed in Korea. Among much else, Scott introduced me to Janie Arnold, a 21 year old aspiring model and fitness student. While I have additional shoots in the pipeline and several more scheduled with various models, I'm going to briefly cover my two experimental shoots with Janie.

For the first shoot I wanted to work with a white seamless background along with my white studio walls and ceiling. I used two medium softboxes and some background lights in a very simple setup. As you will see in the accompanying images they are a bit overexposed, similar to the Amber Rhodes images ... an effect that I generally like. For the second shoot, I used black seamless, draped off the walls, used a beauty light for a main light, a softbox for fill, a gelled snoot for an accent light and low reflector/barn door head for side lighting ... a very different look.

I'm not really facile enough to give instruction in lighting at this point. I have spent countless hours reading forums and tutorials but it just takes a lot of hands on time to get the hang of it and I'm not there yet. So, enjoy the images. I will have additional glamor sessions to post in the future.

You can also see these images and many more from these sessions on my website in the Glamor Project section.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: 1f

I am, as always, busy. This afternoon I am shooting a family portrait or two for my good friend, Rick Barker (I can't mention him too much), promoter of rising country talent and after that, of Janie, a glamor model. I am just finishing work on Engelbert Humperdinck photos as well as Jan and Dean. I am awash in talent.

But today I want to acquaint you with my favorite lens from slot #10: a Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS. This is the lens with which I take my signature concert images: crystal clear head/shoulders shots normally taken from fifteen to twenty feet away in front of the stage. Far enough to be unimposing and near enough to count the freckles and see every imperfection. But lest you get the impression that am collecting a vast catalog of unflattering images of aging stars, I want to assure you that I throw all the unflattering images away ... sometimes 98% of these closeups.

The wonderful thing about this lens is that it is the biggest hand holdable lens in Canon's line. How do I know it is hand holdable? Easy, Canon makes the tripod collar removable and I haven't had it on the lens for over a year. Next obvious question is, aren't all the tripod collars removable? Nope! The slightly bigger brother to this lens is the 400mm f/2.8L IS, that I also own, has a permanent tripod collar. That puppy is just too heavy for hand holding, particularly on a 1D body. This is not to say some people don't do it ... but it is usually on a monopod, although I use mine on a big Gitzo legset with leveling head and Wimberley head. I'm including images of the 300mm f/2.8L IS on this big tripod setup, but isn't how I use it.

The Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS as seen on B&H PhotoVideo isn't cheap ... here's the full description link with a price of $4100, slightly MORE than I paid for it over two years ago. This is one of those classic lenses, like the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS that are so popular that they keep their value over long periods of time.

Here's an image of KC, from KC and the Sunshine band.

When shooting concerts at the casino I almost always have this lens on one of the two 1DMIII bodies I use. I carry both bodies with me, setting one or the other on the floor as I shoot, usually filling the buffer and switching to the other body/lens combination at that point. The images are usually superb from both, but there is something just a little sharper, a little contrastier and brighter from the 300mm f/2.8L IS. The only downside is that you can accidentally get too close and get inside the minimum focal distance.

And an image of the saxophonist from B.B. King's band.


This is a great lens. I have loaned mine a couple of times and caused several to be purchased.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Amber Rhodes: Singer/Songwriter and Lovely Model

I mentioned on Thursday that I was busy and doing all sorts of things that were delaying my Equipment Review. Still promise that it will continue soon. But in the meantime I wanted to share my session with Amber Rhodes (www.AmberRhodes.com) in my studio. I don't know Amber's music, yet, but if she needs a break from the recording studio she can certainly work in the photography studio. Amber is a photographer's delight. Gushing with personality and a natural beauty with perfect skin, she simply took over her own session. She marched in with three outfits and a makeup kit, spent ten minutes getting ready in her first outfit while I did a lighting test with her guitarist, and then marched into the studio already laughing ... a quick wit and ready smile already in high gear.

One of the hallmarks of professional experienced models is that they require very little direction and have a huge range of facial expressions. Amber is every bit of that. She posed. She twirled. She bent, jumped, twisted, turned, plopped down. She gave the 'Girl Next Door' smile, the sultry look, the happy, the pouty, the come-hither. I got to shooting so fast that I popped a circuit breaker twice and got black images where the strobes hadn't recharged.

Amber is an American singer/songwriter out of Lexington, KY. She writes country, rock and pop. She is on the radar, so watch out for her.

Oh, some technical details: all images shot with Canon 1DsMIII and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. Lighting is two Bowens QUADX 3000 generators and five heads. Post processing consisted of LightRoom conversion with some resizing, levels, and color temperature. No retouching ... none ... not a spot removed or skin smoothed. Amber is a natural beauty.

You can see about 60 images in her gallery at my website at http://dwightmccann.com/Glamor/AmberRhodes05222008.html. Let me know what you think.

And once again, I promise to get back to my equipment review project soon.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Lots of Shoots

Well, I got the 400 ballerinas shot: 2055 images. Now delivered to Mike Mesikep. Phew, lots of fun and lotsa work. And I have since shot a 4 year old for a birthday invitation. And last night I shot Amber Rhodes, rising country singer/songwriter in my studio. She was awesome and I will have some shots from the session at some point. Tonight I shoot Englebert Humperdinck at the casino. And Saturday I have a VIP event at the casino with Jan and Dean. Monday I have a model shoot back in my studio. So, I will be picking up on the equipment review sometime in the next few days hopefully but I have been very busy.

400 Ballerinas

I've been so good about posting that I didn't want anyone to think I'm slacking but I likely won't get the next installment of my equipment review for a few days as I am off photographing 400 little ballerinas (well, not ALL are little) through the weekend. The event is the annual Los Olivos Dance Gallery's Center Stage, being performed at Solvang's Theaterfest theater in the round in Santa Barbara County, California. This event is put on by Maggie and Mike Mesikep as the premier recital of dance of all kinds in our little Santa Ynez Valley. It is a community event with dozens of parent volunteers, support of Arts Outreach and many other organizations, and total exhaustion of Mike and Maggie and their staff. It is a joy to watch as well as photograph. [Disclaimer: My six year old daughter attends Los Olivos Dance Gallery and dances in the Center Stage production.]

I am given full and total access, although I have to stay out of the way of the bizillion dancers and stage personnel. But since I can see over the heads of most participants, who are four to eighteen with a few adults thrown in, that's not too hard. This year the tear jerker dance is "Fathers & Daughters" which includes about eight or ten Dads dancing with their own Jazz Dancers. I know a few of the Dads and it tugs strongly on my heartstrings to see them performing ... these are not your young new Dads, they are 40-60 and loving the opportunity.

I gotta download last night's images, so I'm off.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: 1e

Slot #9: I am one of the few photographers I know who carries a tripod in his case all the time: a Gitzo G0012 (discontinued) with a Manfrotto 484 ball head attached. I have at least two other tripods and various other tripod-like gadgets that I will review later on ... one of which is designed to clamp onto your car window ... very neat! And I have a very good monopod that I will also review even though I do think this item is overkill!

But today it's the little Gitzo that could! I did a quick review on the web and couldn't find one, but they ran about $180. Yes, yes, I know that's a lot of money for this tiny little gadget and that doesn't count the Manfrotto 484 ball head which is only $45 at B&H. But this setup is worth the price and trouble to carry it around all the time even when no one else seems to think so, sigh.

The first image is just the tripod and head. The second image is my 5D with 24-105mm f/4L IS lens. Also note that there is a split ring in the strap bracket. I'll talk about that later when I discuss remote shooting with cameras mounted overhead.

I have made two good uses of this puppy, both using my Canon 5D body. First, at concerts where I have access to the stage after sound check with all the instruments sitting there waiting for the show to start, I often pop a fisheye onto the 5D and put it on this little tripod. I then walk around the stage, setting this assembly near instruments and taking time exposures. I have gotten a number of very interesting images that I just couldn't have gotten without a tripod and probably couldn't have gotten with a fullsize one. The Gitzo has both extension legs (just one extension for about six inches) and the center post extends (for about six inches) although I have very rarely used either ... I did once to shoot a CD cover at a concert.

The other frequent use is at the Chumash Casino Resort "Supper Club" VIP events. These are invitation only buffet/sit down dinners with dinner music and entertainment hosted by Linda Nielsen. There are about a dozen tables for seating and each is elaborately decorated for each event by John Blair and his staff with hand made center pieces and lovely settings. While I have to rely on flash to capture these most of the time, I am occasionally able to use the little tripod for stunning ambient light images. I also shoot some of the handsome buffet lines as I did last night as shown in the third image ... no way to get that in ambient light without a tripod.

The last picture today is Ed Zajac with his percussion setup, including timpani, prior to my last Johnny Mathis concert. There would be no way to get this image in the very dim light available prior to the concert, let alone with enough depth of field to catch that harp in the left rear of the image, without a tripod.

I've also used it to capture bands in small clubs where I have a table with a clear view but that is infrequent ... although when I do manage it the images are unobtainable any other way. So take a tip from a Pro, get and use a tripod ... or two or three!

Be safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: 1d

Busy, busy, busy, busy! Lots of boxing work and family things. But I am back although this will be fairly brief, to do slot #7, which contains one of my Canon 1D Mark III bodies with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. I have two of both of these items. They are by far the most used combination of body/lens I own. This pair generally sits in their slot as a pair that I rarely take apart.

The Canon 1D Mark III [not to be confused with the 1Ds Mark III which has about twice as many pixels and costs almost twice as much] is a 10.1 MP photojournalism body. It can expose 10 frames per second, has very high speed AutoFocus (recently fixed by firmware update 1.2.3) and a huge number of features that I have barely tapped. I'm not going to go through the feature list as that is on the Canon website as well as many other places on the internet and there are myriad reviews of the body and lens. It is a photojournalism body because of its frame rate and adequate pixel dimensions. I will talk about how I use it for various things after I get through the general equipment review.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS [IS stands for Image Stabilization, a very useful feature for us old shaky people] is probably Canon's most often seen lens. When you see the newspaper 'togs lined up to shoot some celebrity, a large percentage will be shooting with the 1D Mark III and a large percent of those will have the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. It is just one fine combination. It comes in a non-IS version but that isn't nearly as useful. It also comes in an f/4 version.

Well, that's it for this entry. I promise things will get more interesting along the way. :-)

Be Safe!

Dwight

A Couple of Days of Boxing

ShoBox: The New Generation is Showtime's professional boxing entry level boxing production. They showcase young new boxers who have shown great promise. The Chumash Casino Resort will host two of these fight cards this year and one is about to happen. The fights will be tomorrow night, but there is quite a bit of action that will happen today: the Samala Room will be converted into a boxing arena with a boxing ring erected and lighted; the fighters will arrive in Santa Ynez, California; the California Boxing Commission will arrive and check the credentials of all the participants; Gary Shaw Productions staff will arrive and make sure the boxers and their entourages get their work done; weigh-in; and who knows what else. So, I will be at the casino for the action this afternoon.

And, in case I don't get back to this blog by then, I'll be back at the casino tomorrow afternoon and evening for the entire fight card. I'll try to get some pictures up here as things progress but it is a very busy time so no promises.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Just A Quick Update: Frank Doorhof Workshops

Frank Doorhof, who will be doing a two day workshop in L.A. in early June, just made a post to his blog talking about the many questions he gets about his mind numbing glamor photographs that I wanted to share ... it is HERE.

Equipment Review: 1c - 12 Compact Flash Cards

Slot #4, which is empty in my original image, sometimes holds these three Compact Flash card cases. Unlike the compact flash card case in slot #5 which I'll talk about next time, these three cases, each with four 1G Sandisk Ultra II CF cards are only used for a couple of special purposes.

So, why do I use Sandisk? I used to use Lexar. Unfortunately, on one of their very expensive cards that I purchased (about $450 if I recall), they had a problem with the embedded driver so that it dropped images, corrupted images and generally wrecked havoc on me. When I finally found out what the problem was, no thanks to Lexar, I also found out they were going to replace them. But, I had to pay to return the card and then wait while they then sent one back. So I was out shipping and without the card for a couple of weeks, without any compensation ... not even a credit toward the next card. So, there will never be another Lexar card in my cameras. I've never had any trouble with any Sandisk card. So, while I am sure there are zillions of folks without problems with Lexar, I think there are many fewer who use them in the very most expensive Pro line of DSLRs and utterly rely on them for their clients ... I simply can't afford that kind of arrogance.

So, what are my "special purposes" for these 12 cards? I have two actually. The first has to do with the Supper Club shots I do at the casino. Normally this is just me wandering around the Samala Room at the Chumash Casino Resort where a dozen round tables with elegant place settings, a four diamond catered buffet for about 130 people and dinner music and then entertainment is served up for invited guests only. I have the marvelous job of asking people who have come to have dinner and enjoy a show if I can take their picture while they are trying to eat! Sounds awful ... but after the first three or four events I got the hang of it and now everyone really enjoys it. Sometimes when I walk into the room with my camera hands go up at tables. In fact, I now stand just ahead of the buffet line and capture the guests while they are waiting in the line ... no food in teeth and something to entertain them. Many couples have albums of my little refrigerator pictures ... they get them in 4x6 prints.

But from time to time, we setup a themed photobooth, bring in studio strobes and then shoot & print immediately, put the pictures in frames and give them back to the guests before they leave. And when we do this, I need to shoot a few, give the printer operator the CF card that they print from, and start a new card. Also, since I need to provide digital images to the casino of all these prints, I can't recycle the cards. Turns out that a dozen 1G cards works out really well. And interestingly, I normally have a 12G Sandisk Extreme III in my primary body, although I expect I will get a couple of Extreme IV's to use in my 1DsMIII which supports DMA, a higher speed transfer protocol.

And the other use ... shooting boxing with an assistant. This allows me to shoot one or two rounds, pass the card to my assistant with a laptop, who can download, cull and edit the RAW images while I am shooting subsequent rounds or bouts. The reason for this fast processing is that Showtime (for whom I do this on rare occasions) or other media want the images as soon after the fights as possible to go with the ringside commentary that their writers turn in. They'd like to have the images before the fights but that isn't yet possible! :-)

Hope this gives some of you some good ideas or a different perspective.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Frank Doorhof Glamor Workshop in L.A. June 7 & 8, 2008

Many of you know that I am beginning to explore Portrait/Glamor photography. I've spent a bunch of money putting together a small studio in my house with high end equipment. I've spent a lot of time reading and experimenting. But when push comes to shove, the best learning comes from actually seeing what happens on a photo-shoot (as with the Jason Cole DVD I recently reviewed which has just started pressing and will be out in about two weeks) or even better, participating! Last year I attended Frank Doorhof's glamor workshop in Los Angeles and learned a huge amount. I had never used my lightmeter in the studio before the workshop ... I just tethered my camera to my laptop and did a long series of exposure tests until I got where I wanted. After seeing how to do this properly with my meter at Frank's workshop, it now takes maybe three test shots because the exposure is so close when I start. I now always do the first shot in every lighting change having the model hold a gray card to her face ... huge difference in white balance correction, as I saw in Frank's workshop. I also saw how to create subtle but interesting lighting on my background papers and how to use gels.

Since I can't recommend this kind of learning strongly enough and since Frank, from the Netherlands, is coming back to L.A. on June 7 & 8 this year, I wanted to make sure everyone was aware since he doesn't do much in the way of advertising. Frank runs sold out workshops back home every week. You can see a portfolio of his work at http://www.frankdoorhof.com/portfolio/ and his workshop schedule at http://www.fotografie-workshops.nl/ENGELS/overview.html with an email address to request a slot at a workshop.

So, you might ask if I am attending this year? No. I have conflicts with my casino work and will be out of the country immediately afterward ... and I had a free invitation, sigh. But Frank will be visiting with me for a couple of days to go wine tasting in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation where I live, visit a few missions, play at the ocean, and generally relax.

I'll have the next installation of the Equipment Review sometime in the next few days ... I'm very busy, as always.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: 1b

Some of this review will be kinda trivial for most of you, but there are always a few newbies who, when they don't understand something will either accept that they don't know it and keep quiet, or send me an email asking something they should have asked as a comment so that everyone else who didn't understand it could see the answer, too. Please, if you don't understand something I write about ask on the blog in a comment. Also note that you should be able to click on any of the images inline and get another version that includes EXIF and IPTC data for the equipment images that I take for my blog.

So, on to slot #1: Eclipse fluid is usually used with Sensor Swabs (slot #18) to clean the sensor of your dSLR. It will melt the finish right off your furniture (actually it just makes mine white) so don't treat it like lens cleaning solution (slot #18). On the other hand, it is not dangerous (although I don't think the TSA will let you take it on checked luggage and it cannot be shipped so you have to buy it locally) so don't get freaked out. In fact, don't get freaked out about wet cleaning your sensor ... it is not rocket science ... I know of no one who has done any damage to their camera by wet cleaning the sensor. Just don't use too much solution and do follow the directions that are all over the web with pictures and diagrams that I won't repeat here. Also in slot #1 are two "TC's" (Tele Converters, although Canon calls them Extender EF II), one is 1.4 meaning it will multiply the focal length of a lens by 1.4 times (400mm becomes 540mm) and the other is 2.0 and will double the focal length of the lens. Please note two things: (1) these only work properly when used with the lenses and bodies for which they are designed, and (2) they will also lower the light capturing ability of the lenses on which they are used, so that an f/2.8 lens will become an f/4 lens with the 1.4 TC. They attach as female on one side and male on the other. Most of us attach the TC to the lens first and then attach the lens/TC assembly to the camera. They are not cheap. Also note they have two red dots, one for aligning with the lens and the other for aligning to the body ... it will be pretty obvious which is which when you attach them. And finally in slot #1 I keep at least one quick release plate that attaches to my Bogen 3021 tripod with Manfrotto 3030 head. I like the quick release plates since you attach them to the camera and can leave them on while taking the camera on and off the tripod as they are light weight and don't get in the way when using the camera, although I don't leave them on if I don't expect to be using the body on a tripod. I will show them in use in a later equipment section when I discuss my tripods.

These pictures were all taken with the 1DMIII body shown in slot #2 of my diagram image. I will not be reviewing the 1DMIII bodies as there are many, many excellent reviews on websites such as Rob Galbraith, Photography-on-the.net and many others and you can read their specs at the Canon website (and almost anywhere you would buy one.) If you have specific questions about my usage I'm happy to answer or point you to a good reference. The same goes for the 16-35mm f/2.8L lens although I will talk about how/when I use this lens in a later section after reviewing the equipment.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: Part 1a

I'm going to back up for a second and talk about Pelican cases. First, they come in a huge variety of sizes and shapes and purposes. They are guaranteed against almost everything almost forever ... see the warranty here. I have five Pelican cases in three sizes. The one shown in my last post is a Pelican 1610 and is my primary case of which I have only one. I will also be showing my two Pelican 1510 cases and two Pelican 1660 cases. I bought all my Pelican cases from B&H in NYC. And I'll stick a quick disclaimer in here: I have no relationship other normal customer with either Pelican or B&H, but I am a customer because they deliver and are totally reliable for me.

I have two bits of information that are the core of today's post: (1) Pelican is very responsive to case failures, which do happen, and (2) the Pelican 1510 is a masterpiece.

First, yes, Pelican cases can fail. But you need to consider that they are designed to be waterproof and to withstand huge pressure changes. [Please note that this is my understanding and I am not guaranteeing anything personally ... you must verify this yourself with Pelican.] They have gaskets that need maintenance and replacement and they have pressure relief valves. Amazing stuff, eh? Yes, I had a failure on my Pelican 1610. This case has four latches. All the Pelican cases have more latches than minimally necessary. The left front latch on my Pelican 1610 broke upon opening one day. The other three latches were easily adequate for continued use. I filled out an online form at Pelican. Next business day I got phone call from a marvelously pleasant young woman. She asked me to describe the latch and it's failure. She assured me that I could easily replace the latch and she was sending me a latch replacement kit. She did. I did. And I have an extra latch, which I think will fit any of my cases as the kit contained two latches. No charge.

Second, and this can be VERY significant these days, the Pelican 1510 is within the size limits for carry-on luggage for continental and intercontinental air travel ... check the Pelican 1510 link above for details. Last summer we vacationed at Club Med in Cancun, Mexico. I wanted to take camera equipment but am unwilling to check it. So I loaded up my Pelican 1510 with my 5D and some lenses and Epson P-2000. In fact, my wife liked the case so much, mostly because of the wheels and handle, that I loaned her my second one for her carry-on. While one of the flight stewardesses thought it was too big for overhead and it did require some wiggling, it comfortable fit into the overhead luggage racks of four different aircraft. And it sure is nice, when your flight connections fail and you have to walk miles and miles in the airport, to simply pop the handle and roll it. There are also handles on two sides so you can carry it in the portrait or landscape mode. :-) And you can sit on them ... the 1510 was perfect for my then 5-year-old daughter to rest her weary bones.

The cases I have all have the option of inserts as shown in my 1610 image, or pick-a-part foam inserts or nothing. I believe they also have lid pocket inserts available but I don't use these so I am not familiar with them.

So that's it for now.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Equipment Review: What I Have & How I Use It: Part 1

I've been promising for a while in various places to explain what equipment I have and how I use it so I am starting a multipart series on just that. The way I am going to do it is to work my way through the several Pelican cases I use and then go to other equipment. I will do my best to include explanatory photographs.

So, here is my primary Pelican case and it's contents. This is a Pelican 1610 with dividers. I have labeled the compartments with both contents and numbers. I will use the numbers to talk about the contents. You should be able to click on the image here to see a much larger version where you can actually see the equipment and read the labels.

For this post I will just enumerate the equipment and in subsequent posts I'll talk about how I use it and give additional images as needed. #1 in the upper left corner has Eclipse Fluid for cleaning sensors. [Sensor Swabs for use with the Eclipse are in #18.] Under the fluid are a 1.4TC and 2.0TC in their provided cases. Finally there is a quick release clamp for my Bogen 3021 tripod.

#2 Contains a 1D Mark III body.

#3 16-35mm f/2.8L lens. The white booklet to the left is a 1D Mark III manual.

#4 Two slots that used to hold 1D Mark IIN batteries that are currently unused.

#5 CF case. There's CPF in there, too, where I usually have an Epson P-2000.

#6 Filter case.

#7 1D Mark III w/70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens.

#8 Some Ziploc bags. One has Etymotic ear plugs. One has Dynatech Gray Card. One has DEMB flash diffuser.

#9 Gitzo tabletop tripod.

#10 300mm f/2.8L IS lens. This is my very favorite lens although not my most used ... but I'll talk about that later.

#11 Rocket blower to get dust off sensors.

#12 Spare loose rechargeable batteries for my 580EX II and a battery test meter.

#13 Stack of business cards in Ziploc.

#14 580EX II. What you can't see because of the Ziplocs is a Canon Compact Battery Pack CP-E4 and two CPM-E4 battery holder inserts each with 8 rechargeable batteries in it. The holders slip into the Battery Pack. I'll talk about how I utilize these later.

#15 Trifocal glasses. I only use these for shooting and for that they are essential. Oddly I can't seem to get used to using them for anything else.

#16 Leatherman Charge tool in case.

#17 Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens wrapped in lens cloth on top of Canon 14mm f/2.8L lens wrapped in a lens cloth. I haven't found a better way to keep them both in there.

#18 TC-80N3 remote release. Flashlight. Sensor Swaps and lens fluid ... this lens fluid is not used with the Sensor Swabs.

#19 Several Mark III batteries that can be used in my two 1D Mark III's and my 1Ds Mark III.

#20 24-70mm f/2.8L

So that's it. That stuff goes with me almost anywhere I shoot with a few exceptions that I will discuss in subsequent posts. Please feel free to ask questions. I'll talk about each of the items in here and then move on to my other cases.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Glamor Photography Instructional DVD: Jason Cole

This is sort of an advert for Jason Cole's soon to be released instructional glamor photography DVD: The Passion of the Art. Jason is a wedding and glamor photographer out of Wollongong, Australia, down the coast a bit from Sydney in NSW. He has shot for FHM and Ralph among other well known glamor slicks. For reasons not clear to me, Jason decided to put his vast experience into a DVD tutorial. I found out about it as he posted for suggestions at Photography-on-the.net, an online, somewhat Canon oriented forum run by a Finn with a very large, world-wide membership in which I have been a very active participant for the last three years. Next thing I knew, Jason (who doesn't know me from Adam) asked if I would be a Beta reviewer for the DVD, getting it a month or so before GA and giving him feedback. I explained to Jason that I didn't know much about glamor photography and he pointed out that this is just what he needed: someone familiar with all the equipment (cameras, studio lighting, experience shooting lots of things) but not experienced in glamor. So, I asked, "What's in it for me?" As he does so frequently, he laughed (well, actually, he put, "lolol" in his email) and said that he'd give me a final copy of the DVD when done. So I agreed. And now, even though it will not benefit me a farthing (or whatever the Aussies use for currency) I want to make you aware of its existence ... well, in a couple of more weeks. This is a really useful reference.

The Passion of the Art contains three basic sections: equipment, models and shooting. Jason explains the equipment he uses (which is Canon and Broncolor), some tidbits about models with help from his MUA, and then four extensive photoshoot sections: one in the studio, one in a mechanic's garage with lots of machinery, and two at the beaches of NSW. This is the meat of the DVD for me. Jason gives one tip after another on dealing with the models and setups and then you get to watch him do the shoots as he again narrates his activities. The videography is first rate rather than just having a friend with a consumer video standing around like the YouTube spots. He explains why he selects his lenses and lighting choices and shows what some lighting options look like and how each addition enhances the overall effect he is after.

What impressed me most about this DVD was getting to see and hear Jason work with the models. How he communicates with them. How he gets them into the right mood. How he gets the right look. And the second, and for many the most important thing is, he explains in depth how to shoot a magazine spread. He explains what is needed and then talks you through the shooting and finally shows how the post processed images to be given to the editor look. Each of the four shoots has a theme and he shows how to tie them together to make a coherent story.

At my latest check Jason was offering the DVD, due out in mid-April, for $69 USD at http://www.jasoncolephotography.com.au/_portal_page/off-pages/dvd-vol1/dvd-vol1.html.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Pepe Marquez - The Latin Soul Review

Pepe Marquez & The Latin Soul Review is the Phoenix arising from the ashes of Shalonda & A Touch of Soul, two in a series of bands assembled by Eric Cuellar with the most recent being a collaboration with Pepe Marquez. I take photographs and maintain a website for the band in return for a couple of gigs a year. The first gig for me will be a benefit at the University of California at Santa Barbara Orfalea University Children's Center where both of my children have gone to daycare. The band is still coming together around the core group: Eric Cuellar (drums & vocals), Pepe Marquez (lead vocals & hand percussion) and De'Adre Marshall (lead vocals & hand percussion.) Other charter members include Billy Gonzalez (keyboards), Victor Gaza (bass & sound) and Ray Ybarra (Latin percussion).

My wife and I attended a small gig they did at the Creekside at 4444 Hollister in Goleta, California, last night and I shot a few images in a very dark dance room. There were two fill-in musicians due to vacancies (always the way with hobby bands!): Bill Avila (lead guitar) and Dave Tolegian (sax.) I shot images for a set and then my wife and I danced a few numbers ... We had a grand time.

I originally started working with Eric when he formed Shalonda & A Touch of Soul to do gigs at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, where I am the "House Photographer" for the Entertainment Department. I like Eric. He is an upfront guy with a huge amount of energy and lots of contacts. But, as happens so often, there were issues within the band and some members just couldn't manage to commit ... I've seen this since I used to shoot bands under a single light at the Ghostriders Tavern in Los Alamos, California, about seven years ago. People simply have their lives to lead in addition to their musical careers.

But LSR has a solid core, several occasional musicians such as The Saxman, Jared Yee. They are still trying to replace Ruben Arroyo on lead guitar. Ruben is a stellar player and just needed time for his family. And they'd love to get a permanent sax player and maybe another horn. They are working on CDs and other projects and are starting to get their name around.

You can click on their name at the start of this entry to see their website that includes the images attached here and some others. I will make an occasional entry about them whenever there is a noteworthy event or change.

Be Safe!

Dwight

Ever Noticed that Things Don't Always Go Right?

I guess this is a rhetorical question because if you do anything (and maybe even if you don't) you know stuff goes wrong much more often than you'd like, right? I do a lot of stuff and have to say the flow of unexpected events is pretty continuous. So I'm making this quick blog entry to give an example ... I wouldn't want anyone to think that everything always goes smoothly even with the best of plans ... see Always Have a Plan B below somewhere.

I shot the ShoXC Elite Challenger Series fights at the Chumash Casino Resort as you know from recent blog posts. As part of that exercise I provide images to Fight Wire Images (FightWireImages.com) by uploading images to their multi-user account at PhotoShelter.com usually via PhotoMechanic ... I'll talk about this another time. I usually do this Saturday or Sunday so the images are there for the Monday crowd looking to buy for their blogs, magazines and forums.

With PhotoMechanic fired up I clicked the upload button but FightWireImages wasn't on the menu as it has been for a year or so. I tried a bunch of things and double checked my upload configuration ... which I haven't touched since I got it working initially. PhotoMechanic has been rock solid for two years that I have used it. Nothing helped. I sent an email to FightWireImages and to PhotoShelter. Since the images are time sensitive I took them with me to my day job at UCSB and tried to logon to my own PhotoShelter account but couldn't seem to get into the photographers area. All very confusing.

Fortunately, my FightWireImages contact decided to send me a new "invitation" to contribute to FightWireImages (this is how you get connected) and that seemed to let me in again. I started uploading with the online uploader that you can just click to invoke, but it was slow. So, I downloaded the Java uploader and sent the images. Unfortunately PhotoShelter is clever enough to know how to handle files with duplicate names so I now have two copies of several images and some images aren't there. You can see the gallery here.

The good news was that when I got home to PhotoMechanic again it was working correctly. Today, a little late, I got an inquiry from PhotoShelter to see if my problem was resolved. I think that is a bit slow since I indicated the images were time sensitive but am not going to pursue it as I am the pimple on the ass of progress from their perspective as they have huge clients.

I would recommend PhotoMechanic, PhotoShelter and FightWireImages for anyone shooting boxing or MMA, and the first two for anyone shooting other sports although they are much more generally useful than that. Now I have rambled about all this I feel better.

Be Safe,

Dwight

ShoXC Elite Challenger Series: Fight Night

It was another wild night of MMA mayhem at the Chumash Casino Resort. I arrived at about 3:00 pm ... I always get to events at least an hour early and for fight nights a couple of hours early. Sometimes there are issues that need resolution or people who need help or opportunities for additional work. On Friday night I wanted to make sure that Tom Casino, one of my boxing mentors and a prize-winning boxing photographer, was ready. He has to travel out from New Jersey for these fights which leaves him open to equipment failures. Since he and I shoot with interchangeable Canon equipment I could loan batteries, lenses or even bodies. But, Tom is an old hand and rarely had problems beyond remembering which pocket has the spare CF cards. I also wanted check on Esther Lin, who also shoots with the same equipment I do, but is also a traveler albeit a bit closer. Everyone seemed to have equipment and the only issue was finding spots on the pad where everyone could shoot. Tom gets to stimulate his acrophobia by standing on a small platform just big enough for his feet so that he can shoot over the cage but the rest of us have to shoot through the chain link. Much of the platform around the cage is taken up by Showtime, the Boxing Commission, EliteXC and various other media and support types: sound & video.

With that done, I put a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS on one 1DMIII and 24-70mm f/2.8L on another 1DMIII and got my place on the cage. I always try to sit next to a judge who always have spots in the middle of three sides of the layout. All the boxing commission guys are very friendly and helpful and the judges are happy to explain what is happening in the cage. Usually the bouts end with two guys on the mat and I have no idea what happened ... it is hard for me to see if there was an arm bar or rear naked choke tapout ... sometimes even the judges can't see exactly what happened ... but, as I say, they love to explain what happened and why and it vastly improves my understanding.

After getting my spot "reserved", Dave Mandel, photographer for Sherdog showed up. Last time he was here we had problems with having room for photographers and he had to sit in the lap of one of the corners ... well, not literally, but it was close. This time we got him a decent spot, comfortable chair just on the other side of the judge I had staked out. He shoots the same lenses on two 1DMIIN bodies. Dave is a very mellow and knowledgeable 'tog who knows just about everyone and points them out. He is a pleasure to work with.

There were ten bouts scheduled. The first five, the undercard, are sent out over Internet TV and the last five are broadcast by Showtime as ShoXC Elite Challenger Series. The fighters collect in two draped off areas setup on the stage at one end of the Samala Room: red corner and blue corner. There they get their hands wrapped and whatever other treatments their trainers/corner men deem necessary. There are lots of boxing commission guys keeping an eye on everything ... mostly to be sure there aren't any drugs or equipment that aren't permitted I think. I always wander up there to see what's going on. It's usually crowded so I don't hang around, although again, everyone is very friendly and when I stop to ask questions or chat with a fighter I have shot before, everyone makes time for me.

Then I attended to my last "To Do" item: check in with Nikki and Nadia, two of the Ring Card Girls this night. I am going to be working with them on their portfolios over the next few months and needed to setup a dinner meeting at my house to map out a plan. I found them in their dressing room getting instructions from Monica Petty who is with Gary Shaw Productions. Once that was done, it was back to the cage.

Unlike boxing where I shoot with my elbows on the mat right under the ropes, the apron around the cage is about three or four feet wide, keeping us away from the chain link and making the autofocus very difficult. Friday it was particularly difficult because the lighting director had put bright lights right onto the cage so each link had a bright reflection that the sensors loved to focus on. Half my images were clear crisp shots of fencing!

Then the first bout started and was over shortly, stopped by the ref "due to unreturned strikes" which basically means one guy is pounding the snot out of the other guy who is simply crumpled on the mat and unable to do anything. If they are both just laying there doing nothing much the ref will separate them, stand them up and restart the action, but when one guy is actively striking the other who just lays there, that pretty much ends it.

The undercard was filled with guys with nicknames like "Tiger", "The Poet", "Vicious", "Fancy Pants" and "The Punk". I have no clue for most of the names but Fancy Pants was pretty obvious. Most of the fighters have tattoos and some have pretty extensive artwork. Some color their hair or have patterns or words shaved into it. Pretty much anything to draw attention to themselves.

The fights, usually three 5-minute rounds, go pretty quickly. A couple of hours of pretty constant shooting and then it's over. The earlier fighters have changed and are milling around with their buddies and folks they haven't seen for a while. Many are off to the bar across the street along with fans. People are pretty happy and glad to put another fight night behind them. I was!

Be Safe!

Dwight