Birds and Landscapes - Day 31 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ & Charleston Center for Photography Websites

ANDY'S DAY 31 PICS

Nikon D3 Camera and 400 mm Lens w/ Doubler

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-5.6 and 1/1500 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

Nikon D3 Camera and 400 mm Lens w/ Doubler

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-5.6 and 1/3000 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

Nikon D3 Camera and 400 mm Lens w/ Doubler

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-5.6 and 1/1000 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

I went to the stables to visit my horse, Sir Prize. I had a chilly ride with my girlfriend, Becky, while Andy chopped up fire wood near the stable ponds. I had every intention of shooting some pictures while I was at the stable, but didn't get a chance to.

On our way home from the stables, Andy and I went grocery shopping. FUN. After a quick store visit, I stopped by the swamps for a quick shoot. Andy harassed me the entire time. Why? Because he already shot his photos for the day. He made these beautiful bird photos, but don't tell him I was impressed. I have a reputation to uphold... he thinks I don't like them and that's how it's going to stay! LOL! Just kidding.

STACY'S DAY 31 PICS

Nikon D3s Camera and 70-200 mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 200, F-2.8 and 1/400 Shutter Speed

Nikon D3s Camera and 70-200 mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 500, F-2.8 and 1/1600 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -0.3

Nikon D3s Camera and 70-200 mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 500, F-2.8 and 1/8000 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -0.3

Nikon D3s Camera and 70-200 mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 500, F-2.8 and 1/6400 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -0.3

Day 30 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ Website & Charleston Center for Photography

I flew back to Charleston from NYC today. It was an early start to my day. But the thing is, I didn't sleep at all last night. I actually didn't "go to bed" at all. I was really paying for it today. I had a lot of work to get done and not enough energy to do it. The soothing rhythm of the rain beating outside enticed me to shut my eyes for a minute. In the end, a minute turned into a couple of hours. LOL!

Andy and I have been meaning to go on a date for some time. It's month a couple of months since we actually went to a movie in the theater. We went and saw Legion. The movie was... eh... well... I've seen better. Plus, we are kind of crazy about people talking during the film and we were surrounded by "movie talkers". Oh well, at least we had each other, which was the point.

Tomorrow I'll be doing to some outdoor photography and riding my horse. That's the plan for now. Oh, I didn't mention that Andy surprised me with stereo system upgrade. He picked me up from the airport today with my car. When I got in I saw his i-pod tethered to my stereo. Pretty neat. My car is an '06 model and didn't have an i-pod dock. Now I have one! Thank you honey, you're the best!

Here are our Day 29 and Day 30 photos for our Picture-A-Day Challenge. Can you tell whose pictures are whose?

Nikon D3 Camera and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 800, F-2.8 and 1/90 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

Nikon D3 Camera and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-2.8 and 1/8000 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

Nikon D3 Camera and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 50, F-2.8 and 1/500 Shutter Speed

Exposure Compensation: -1.5

Nikon D3 Camera and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 200, F-2.8 and 1/60 Shutter Speed

Manfrotto and Me

F8PJ WEBSITE & CHARLESTON CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHY WEBSITE

Today was a very interesting day. At 1:30 a.m., I ran out to a Diner with some of the folks from the convention. We had a good chat and lots of laughs. I came back to the hotel and posted my day's blog, which was sadly a bit late. Nonetheless, it got posted. Then I spent some time putting together the Belly Dancing video in Final Cut Pro and then ran the pictures through Adobe Lightroom 2, which I also posted to the blog. I truly feel I'm getting quicker at this video editing stuff. I am no Martin Scorses (never will be), but I accomplished the meat-and-potatoes in time for my presentation...which I'll get to in a minute.

Before my presentation, however, I met with Amy Kosh of Leica Cameras USA. She and I sat down and talked about the S-Series of cameras and she actually let me shoot it. Pretty neat. I'm pretty sure I have convinced her to come to the Charleston Center for Photography to give a one-day workshop about her cameras. She said that we could go on a little photo safari in the historic district and let students take some photos with her equipment. Sounds like fun. Keep an eye out for the dates because we are going to make this happen. PROMISE.

Ms. Amy also interviewed me for the Professional Women Photographers Magazine. We talked for a long time and I really enjoyed her company. I'm not 100% sure when the article will publish, but I'll keep you posted. By the way, if your a female photographer, you should look into joining this organization.

After our interview, I had to jam so I could give me presentation at the Manfrotto Distribution awards dinner. Initially, I hooked up my computer to ops check it and see how the projection looked. It was flat and the color was off. So my new best buddy, Joshua Fischer, from Datacolor helped get me on track. He hooked up his Spyder and in 5 minutes my show was perfect!! Thank heavens for tech-minded people, because I'm NOT gifted in that department. You know what's strange? I have patrons of CCforP ask me all the time what they should use. I never had an answer for them. After seeing this product in action... now I do.

Okay, back to me presentation. Based on everyone's reaction and words of appreciation, I believed they liked it. My fellow EAW pal, Evan Parker, is currently deployed to Afghanistan with the Army. His dad, Teague Parker, works for Manfrotto Distribution and just happened to be at the dinner. What's even cooler is that he won an award for being the biggest rock star representative for the company! KUDOS to Teague! Anyway, it was really touching when he thanked me for my presentation; I was humbled. In the end, it's nice to know that the work I've done means something to others. I just hope that I can keep having that impact for years to come.

All in all, my first trip to New York City was fun. I really enjoyed hanging out with my old friends from Manfrotto Distribution, Mark Astmann and Kriss Brunngraber, as well as Alyssa Adams (Eddie Adams Workshop) and Mirjam Evers (Photo Quest Adventures).

But I also got to make some new friends too like Michael Clark (pro photographer) and Joshua Fischer (Datacolor representative). Both Mark and Josh are going to come to the Charleston Center for Photography to hang out. Mark's going to bring some lighting gear from Elinchrom and Lite Panel for one of my photo workshops... and maybe some other fun stuff too like Lastolite modifiers... should be fun. Josh is going to help teach me how to keep my stuff color calibrated (VERY IMPORTANT) with my new Spyder! Hurray! Let's see, if he can do it in 5 minutes, I might be able to swing it too. (wink)

Did I mention I met the folks from Kata and Manfrotto? WOW! They are such nice people. As you know from past posts, I use both Kata and Manfrotto religiously. I have a dedicated Kata bag that I use to hold my Nikon SB900's and accessories. I also have a plethora of tripods and monopods stacked in my storage room, which I use daily. However, I've never had the opportunity to meet the folks that make these photo tools. Well, I love their products and I love the people who stand behind them. So, I am totally brand loyal from here on in! Just on a personal note, those Italian gentlemen from Manfrotto really know how to dress. I felt like a bum next to those sharp dressed guys! LOL! By the way, I think I am going to get their new fluid head and tripod to use when I do multimedia. I got to use that for the shoot at the Bathhouse and I LOVED it. I guess I should start pinching my pennies now if I want to get it though.

I can't wait to share-and-tell these great products with you when I get home. What's even better is you get to see their products up close at CCforP for yourself. I also can't wait for the representatives to come and share their extensive knowledge with you too. This is really shaping up to be a great year for learning!

Here's a quick little video I did of Josh explaining the Spyder. This was when he was saving me from a disastrous off-color presentation. LOL!

So much more to come,

Stacy

Spyder Datacolor Video from Stacy Pearsall on Vimeo.

Belly Dancers: Photos and Video

F8PJ WEBSITE

I shot everything with the Nikon D3 and Nikon D3s on Manfrotto tripods. I only used the Nikkor 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses. For illumination, I used Elinchrom and Lite Panel lighting. I also used light modifiers by Lastolite. Needless to say, I had THEE BEST of everything.

These shots were taken at the Bathhouse Studios in New York for the Manfrotto Distribution team.

Belly Dancers By Stacy Pearsall from Stacy Pearsall on Vimeo.

Day 28 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ WEBSITE

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual: ISO 200, F-5.6 and 1/125 Shutter Speed

Today, I flew into New York City to do some lighting demonstrations for Manfrotto Distribution folks. I shot some beautiful belly dancers at the Bathhouse Studios with Elinchrom lights and Lite Panels too.

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual: ISO 200, F-5.6 and 1/125 Shutter Speed

It's about 2 a.m., so technically I missed my deadline for the Day 28 blog. However, these pictures were taken well within the 24 hours of the Day 28 window. I still have to give a lecture so wish me luck. I'm off to bed.

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-4 and 1/90 Shutter Speed

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO 400, F-4 and 1/1500 Shutter Speed

Day 27 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ WEBSITE

Nikon D3s and 85mm Lens

Aperture Priority: ISO100, F-16 and 24 Shutter Speed

I spent all day behind my computer working on my presentation. Therefore, I left my Day 17 picture for the last minute. I am heading to NYC tomorrow to give a presentation, so I had to drop the dogs off at the dog sitter. Andy drove in order for me to concentrate on getting my picture. The above photo is what I got. It's a very long exposure. I wedged the camera between the windshield and dashboard to help steady the camera. As you can see, it's still very zig-zaggy. That was due to the car hitting bumps and curves.

Nikon D3 and 600mm Lens w/ 1.4 Teleconverter

Manual: ISO 50, F-8 and 1/1000 Shutter Speed

Andy decided to redo the "moon" photo from yesterday. Yup, he went out and got a bigger lens. As you can see, there are two moon photos. What's up with that? The picture above was taken during the day and the below image was taken after dark. Pretty neat.

Nikon D3 and 600mm Lens w/ 1.4 Teleconverter

Manual: ISO 50, F-8 and 1/1000 Shutter Speed

Day 26 of the Picture-A-Day Challenge

F8PJ WEBSITE

My picture for Day 26 is another graphic design inspired photograph. I took a picture of a tapestry in my house and ran it through Photoshop. I used the "Color Pencil Filter" and then applied the "Poster Edges Filter.

Nikon D3 Camera and 400mm Lens with a 1.4 Teleconverter

Manual Exposure F-5.6 and 1/1500 Shutter Speed

Andy gave me three photos to share with you today. Above is a nice picture of the moon. He used a fixed 400mm lens with a teleconverter. The converter magnifies the lens to 560mm without having to carry the extra weight of excess glass.

Of course, Andy brought his camera to the barber shop and he grabbed these photos. I like the picture above and I think it says "Barber Shop" more creatively then the image below. What do you think?

The Photocrati Fund — Photocrati – Photography Blog, WordPress Themes, Photocrati Fund

The Photocrati Fund — Photocrati – Photography Blog, WordPress Themes, Photocrati Fund

Posted using ShareThis

Day 25 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ WEBSITE

It was pouring down rain during my morning commute. So I grabbed this shot at one the many stop lights on my way to work. It's an interesting photo, but I wanted to do something more. I wanted to make it a graphic piece of art. So I did some Photoshop work...

This was a two-step process. My first step was to use the "Color Pencil Filter" and my second step was to apply the "Cut Out Filter". There you have it, my Day 25 Photo. The picture kind of looks like the Zoloft logo-guys. LOL!

Andy's Day 25

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority ISO 50, F-4 and 1/2000 Shutter Speed

Andy's Day 25

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority ISO 800, F-2.8 and 1/30 Shutter Speed

Who is Kenny McKeithan

CCforP Instructor Kenny McKeithan Biography from Stacy Pearsall on Vimeo.

Kenny McKeithan's Talks about Camera Gear

CCforP's Kenny McKeithan talks about camera gear from Stacy Pearsall on Vimeo.

Kenny McKeithan's Nature Photography Workshops

CCforP's Kenny McKeithan on Outdoor Workshops from Stacy Pearsall on Vimeo.

Day 24 of Picture-A-Day 2010 & The Intern Chronicles

F8PJ WEBSITE

Andy's Day 24 Photo

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority

ISO 400, F-4 and 1/1000 Shutter Speed

Can you believe it's the 24th already? Crazy. The month of January has flown by. Today I went to the stables to visit my horse and of course brought my camera.

I took these photographs during my visit. Here are my Day 24 pictures...

Nikon D3s and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority

ISO 400, F-2.8 and 1/640 Shutter Speed

Nikon D3s and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority

ISO 800, F-2.8 and 1/200 Shutter Speed

Nikon D3s and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority

ISO 400, F-2.8 and 1/640 Shutter Speed

Nikon D3s and 24-70mm Lens

Aperture Priority

ISO 400, F-2.8 and 1/640 Shutter Speed

More to come,

Stacy

The Intern Chronicles: Post & Photos By Jonathan Katzenberg

This past Saturday I assisted Stacy on an engagement photo shoot at the Center. She's showing me the ropes around a professional photography environment and rigid lighting manipulation.

I haven't shot in a studio atmosphere in almost a year, and more notably- I haven't shot with auto focus (or with a moving main subject in focus) in just as long!

I had some issues with autofocus yesterday, I started to notice a problem while I was shooting but couldn't figure it out, and once I was in the digital darkroom the results were as I suspected. I'm using a Canon 5d Mark II, focus mode is on one shot using the center point only.

I've been shooting with my ISO really high and was skeptical about going to high for this type of documentation, not knowing the results first hand. I still stayed relatively high around 1200, I think the shutter might have been towards the slower side for the amount of movement as well as the aperture too opened up. I felt slightly stuck because of the amount of available light.

Anyways, I'm really enjoying learning trustworthy information about strobe lighting, as well as handling clients.

We worked with rim lighting for their faces, hair lighting from overhead, as well as working with a beauty dish as the main light source from the front. As for my shots I was working with 2 different color temperatures from the room lighting and the modeling lights, which I initially thought would present a problem, but honestly it seemed to leave a pleasant cast.

As for the focusing I guess I have some issues to work out, but for now I'm enjoying slowly adding the lighting techniques to my repertoire.

Day 23 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ WEBSITE

It's Day 23 of the Picture-A-Day Challenge and it just-so-happens to be Saturday too. Even better, I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph Ashley Fogg and her fiance, Jon Baize. They are getting married one week from today! Congratulations Ashley and Jon. Ashley works as an OEF and OIF advocate at the Charleston VA Hospital and Jon is a C-17 pilot for the Air Force.

For this shoot, I had the help of my intern, Jonathan Katzenberg. We used a combination of Nikon SB900 flashes and Speedotron lights.

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 100, F-22 and 1/180 Shutter Speed

(2) SB900 Strobes and (1) Speedotron w/ Beauty Dish

I had one Nikon flash over head as a hair light and one bouncing off of the floor to act as a fill. The main light was the Speedotron head with a beauty dish.

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 100, F-22 and 1/180 Shutter Speed

(4) SB900 Strobes and (1) Speedotron

I had two strobes behind the subjects facing toward their backs and one flash over head as a hair light. There was also one bouncing off of the floor to act as a fill. The main light was the Speedotron head with a beauty dish.

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 50, F-22 and 1/180 Shutter Speed

(2) SB900 Strobes

I had one Nikon flash over head as the main light and a second on the floor to give them just a bit of fill.

Nikon D3 and 70-200mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 50, F-22 and 1/180 Shutter Speed

(4) SB900 Strobes and (1) Speedotron w/ Beauty Dish

The Speedotron with beauty dish was the main light for Ashley and the Nikon SB900 was the main light for Jon. I shot the light from opposite directions, to give the portrait more dimension.

Andy's Day 22 Photo

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 800, F-2.8 and 1/10 Shutter Speed

Andy's Day 23 Photo

Nikon D3 and 24-70mm Lens

Manual Exposure ISO 800, F-4 and 1/90 Shutter Speed

Day 22 of Picture-A-Day 2010

F8PJ WEBSITE

I got up early this morning to do my Day 22 shoot for the Picture-A-Day Challenge. Why? Well I feel like I've been pushing it to the end of the day. By the time I get to it, I'm so tired that I don't do more than I have to. Today was different. I felt inspired.

I wanted to share a technique with you. It's all about texture. Get a lens on your camera that can zoom in really close. I used the 105mm Macro lens for my texture gathering. I searched outside for different objects that had repetitive and graphic designs.

After I processed all of the files, I found a texture that I felt would be cool for a baby portrait. Here is that picture...

Outdoor Grill Cover with Moss

Nikon D3s and 105mm Lens

ISO 400, F-4 and 1/60 Shutter Speed

Using Photoshop, I opened the baby photo and placed the textured picture on top. I used the Layers Palette to subtract opacity. Then I used the Eraser Tool to take the textured layer away that blocked the baby's face.

The color of the textured photo happened to match the baby's outfit really well. Also, the texture gives the baby's photograph a more artistic finish. You can use this technique with all types of photographs. Have fun!

Window Treatments

Nikon D3s and 105mm Lens

ISO 800, F-4 and 1/13 Shutter Speed

Plastic Bag Covered in Dew

Nikon D3s and 105mm Lens

ISO 400, F-4 and 1/60 Shutter Speed

Dog House Roof and Screw

Nikon D3s and 105mm Lens

ISO 400, F-4 and 1/30 Shutter Speed