Jonathan Dear Lighting Seminar

Many Thanks to Jonathan Dear from an excellent one day AIPP lighting seminar in Newcastle.
Lots of new ideas and gizmos to buy.

Image of The Week No.5

This is an example of spontaneity, thinking on your feet  Some shots you know you are going for and others just present themselves.
 The lift in the Hilton in Sydney happened to have a mirror ceiling.  I got everyone to look up and caught them by surprise. It released a lot of tension at a time when the bridal party were a little nervous on their way to the ceremony.
I just managed to crop myself out without losing the upper right bridesmaid.

The technicals are Canon 5D11 ISO 2500 24-105mm at f4 and 1/60 of a second with flash.

Fulfilling a commercial brief

Ok, so this is not a wedding image. During the week my work takes me in to the architectural realm.
This week is was to try and emulate an artists impression of the new Westfield Sydney with a real photograph. When I first saw the brief I had some trepidation. Not only is the CGI excellent but trying to match the lighting, people and perspective was certainly a challenge.
First of to get the exact perspective would have meant standing in the road so that was a no no in central Sydney with a tripod and long exposures. Secondly the left side faces South and never gets any direct sunlight in winter. Thirdly, any normal lens could not capture the top of the Sydney Tower in one shot.
Lastly the traffic in this area is horrific so to get an open shot from across the road was going to be tricky.
Oh, and I only had 2 days to achieve this from first contact to delivery.
So, the decision was made to get up at 04:30, get the 5:06 train from Emu Plains and attempt the shot at dawn. The weather forecast was clear, the light would rise on the right hand East side of the building although largely blocked by the building protuding from the right.
I was praying that the lights from the shops would be switched on otherwise it was game over and back home for nothing.
Luckily the lights were on but the entrance to the Westfield was barricaded.  I set up at first light to see if I could fit the scene in. No. Way off.  I would have to shoot 2 shots with my widest 17mm lens and attempt to stitch them together later.  This necessitated shooting everything in manual mode including white balance as any discrepancy from the two images would show up horribly.
Very few cars at 06:30 but no people, aaargh.  I have now shot the scene bracketed 2 shots either side, making sure the exposures are the same as I have to combine the shots perfectly later.
There were coned roadworks in front of the Prada building so I knew I would have to retouch them later.
Timing the exposures between the traffic flows was hard but where were all the people.  The sun was rising fast and the balance of light between the sky and the lower section with the neon was beyond any cameras reach. I shot the scne about 10 times from the same position and then the barricades came up.
Finally a break, a train must have pulled in at St. James and about 20 people walked toward the building.
Hold fire, wait until they are just in the right spot and then bang, 3 exposures. Phew.
Pack and stack, back to the train and just missed it. Next one in 45 minutes. Blast.
The drama continues. Back at the office at 09:30 and the card is corrupt. All my hard work has disappeared from the card.  B*%ger.  Running the rescue software takes an hour and I have 4 other jobs to do today, so I won't know all day if I have them or not.
Finally return to discover that they have miraculously returned. Thank goodness.
Now I have to fit the jigsaw pieces together to make an image.  The straight stitch is woefully inadequate in its tonal range, the sky is nearly white and the office is near black.  From my bracketed exposures I ran an HDR  programme and tweaked it to make it look real.  Good but the HDR is a mess in the area with the people and cars so back to the drawing board. I am happy with the upper side and the office now so I then have to cut out the bottom area from my best people image and paste it on.
Bingo, nearly there now. A final tweak here and there. Selective contrast changes and change the hues a bit. Retouch out the roadworks in front of Prada. Hooray!
The final result is pleasing, the new client is over the moon and my level of satisfaction is high.
Some images take some considerable time and effort to achieve and this was certainly one of those.
I hope this gives an insight into the day to day problems and challenges of a professional photographer.

Image of the Week No.2

This is one of those images where you think it might actually be too clever for it's own good, but it has many elements that satisfy me as a photographer. 
At the getting ready stage at the hairdressers bride and mum sitting opposite each other.  They cannot see one another but through the tight composition they are mirroring their behaviour and looks. (If you cannot make it out, the bride is shown in her reflection in the mirror and the mother sitting behind)
It is a retrospective of one generation to the next. Will the bride being sitting opposite her own daughter 30 years hence?
From a technical viewpoint it was inside and relatively low light.  I needed a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the movement of the glasses and enough depth of field to keep mum and daughter sharp.  I chose ISO 500 f 1.6 and 1/125 s.
Looking back I would have been safer using f 2.8 and a higher ISO but I just got away with it.
When you deliver the images to a client you have no idea how carefully each image is assessed and appreciated or not, but trying to search out stories and seeing a picture's potential is where you remain true to your own signature style.


Canon 5D 11 85mm f1.6 ISO 500 1/125 s

Image of the Week no.1

This image of Eliza looking out the window before the off probably won't make the album but as a photographer it appeals to me. The image is composed in to thirds, with the subject only occupying the first third. Taken from outside looking through the window I had to meter carefully to get the skin tone correct as in a program mode the meter would have turned the white gray and underexposed the face. The reflection of the trees overlays the face and creates a sparkle contrasting to the dark interior of the room. I had to position the camera so the eye was clear.

Eliza is checking the weather (now starting to rain - I know because I am getting wet) and peering to see which guests have already arrived.  It is an emotional image, full of excitement and expectation. Months of planning will culminate in the next few hours fun and frivolity. She is prepared, confident that all has been done.

The heavens do indeed open for the ceremony but nobody falters.

Canon 5D 11 85mm f 1.2  ISO 500 f7.1 1/40 sec