Tuesday Night

See the rest of the Spirit Rock shots here.


See the rest of the PUB shots here.

Friday shoot, continued

Angela and Zack

_angela and zack
Originally uploaded by kdsns

This is from the photo shoot yesterday. It was done between the student union and the library. Thanks to Angela and Zach for being our models.

http://flickr.com/photos/hubertduong/ for more!

To be updated: Shoot from Friday 26th

Busy chimping.

And eating dinner.

We'll post images after a break from the trek.

Simply Light

Getting back to one light basics. You can probably guess the setup.

D70
1/800 5.6 ISO 200
SB-80dx @ 1/2 power
shoot through umbrella
triggered by Pocket Wizard

Photo shoot Friday @ 4:00 PM

Get ready for another one. Location to start at the Art Barn, we may move to another location afterwards. They will, for the seeable future, be all on campus so don't worry if anyone gets leftout. We make ourselves visible to the public when doing our photo shoots and you will not miss us, especially with all the gear laying out.

From between now, Tuesday, and the beginning of the Friday's shoot, I will create this site's cover image so come along for something spectacular.
Send questions to lpn07100@utdallas.edu or 217 718 2387

Looking for a new lens?

You fully assessed all the possible scenarios in use with your equipment, yet you find your gear still lacking in performance or not getting the job done. One particular situation that we all encounter involves purchasing new glass including which model, make, or type. Data sheets that tell lens specifications are not enough to justify a purchase; Instead, you have to see results created with those lenses. Seeing results is subjective depending on user but everyone has different tastes. A great place to find lenses that suit individual taste is pBase.

http://www.pbase.com/cameras

Pick a brand and find your lens/ or body. (P&S at top, DSLRs half way, lenses at bottom : all sorted by release date)

For example, you want a fast telephoto but you already determined that 2.8 is a must and it has to be a zoom:

Click Canon

Find 70-200mm 2.8 (on lower half of the page)

Browse through pictures taken by that lens.

At time of writing, there are 94,548 photos by 942 different users that have used the 70-200 2.8. So ultimately, you would have browsed though hundreds of images before deciding whether that lens suits your needs or not.

When you are looking at samples taken by a particular glass, look at the following:

Shooting data (EXIF)

Contrast

Vignette

Fringing on highlights

Corner to corner sharpness

Out of focus areas (bokeh)

pBase is not a good place to determine overall image sharpness because rarely do you find original image sizes. So pixel peepers will be disappointed. But for everything else, pBase will help you find lenses that meet your needs suit your tastes.

pBase holds record of ALL lenses and bodies ever created. So it’s also a good place to look up manual primes or favorite oldies. The top right of the page within each brand shows the hot list. The hot list shows which items are most viewed by the day. If it’s in the hot list, it’s certainly of interest among the public.

Remember to buy what you can afford now and get what accomplishes the job; stick with your purchase for as long as possible. Don’t find yourself in a position where you will have to upgrade in the near future. This creates a cycle that punches holes through your wallet.

Shoot from Thursday

I want to thank the people who have dedicated their time to model for the shoots. I never would have progressed this far in photography had it not been for your generosity.

Another shootout Thursday the 18th

1 PM on campus and will last about 45 minutes. Location will be by the outdoor water fountain. This shoot will be it's first in ~80 degree weather. All the other shoots were in hot, uncomfortable climate but as fall kicks in we should have more fun doing this.
Usual stuff though it has become apparent that I need helpers caring my full lighting gear, if I do decide to bring the entire set. Send questions to lpn071000@utdallas.edu or call 214 718 2387
If you have ideas on how to light a subject, let me know and I would like to help out. I have four reliable, portable lights for us to use and a full assortment of Rosco gels to colorize the lights.

1/15 8 ISO 100
gelled flash onto white background

I think that like painting, drawing, or creating any kind of artwork, it helps greatly to visualize the final image. Get a feel for the quality of light you want and figure out a way to obtain it. Also apply the design principles and elements. After visualization, all that needs to be is to get the right pose (if working with a model) or tweak the objects within the frame (if working with inanimate objects). Leave all the technical things out of the way because you would have already solved those in your visualization.

BTW, nice post and thanks for sharing, Hubert.

from the Friday 12th shoot

gina
Originally uploaded by kdsns

Here's one of my photos. What we learned was...to bring mosquito repellent! Also, we should find a more visually appealing background.

Another thing I learned was that the next time we shoot in the dark, we should bring a flash light in order for our cameras to auto focus. =)

Shoot from Friday 12th

Just to give you ideas on what we do during a shoot.
All you need is a camera with a hotshoe and a grasp on camera controls...
Then you get pictures like these.

Watch for mosquitoes.

Waligore's Digital Photography class

Not surprising to see that a 500w/s strobe overpowers a battery powered flash. This was my first experience using these A/C powered strobes, but I can already see some useful applications with this amount of lumen.

1/160 10 ISO 100
remote trigger

Live to shoot another day, Meet on Friday @ 4:00 PM

Another photo meet this Friday, this time in front of the ATEC building. Will last about an hour.
Come join in and bath in the light (natural and artificial). I will bring the usual gear. Call me if you are coming in later than 4:00 PM so we may meet; we tend to move to different locations.
Send questions to lpn071000@utdallas.edu or cell 214 718 2387


From personal experience, I've only been able to sync flash at 1/1000th on my D70; there are reports that it can go higher. For the unwary, most cameras can not sync above 1/250th. Typically, if your camera has a CCD type sensor and an electronic shutter, high speed sync is doable.

RadioPopper Jr. - Get ready for Pre-Orders

Those RP Jr's will do everything the Pocket Wizards do except for remote camera triggering. This is really big news and my guess is that in less than two weeks, they will offer pre-orders.
Doug... Hubert, I've mentioned these units to you guys almost every time we met and you know how valuable they are to wireless flash photography.
I am going to order a set for myself to write a comparison review with the PW.

I hold my thesis, devaluing of photography occurs at expense of free knowledge, to remain intact and thus not explain into detail valuable techniques/methods on this internet medium. But, the utdphoto site has not yet reached the critical public audience so I will shortly state out my method for those UTD students aspiring to improve their photography. One of my methods is this: off camera lighting makes your photos look better. The differing gap between those who use off-axis flash and on-axis flash exist not because of their skill but are restricted by personal budget. Enter pocket-emptying Pocket Wizards; the one* device that stops many of us from exploring off-axis lighting. The cost of one PW is equivalent to a light stand, light modifier, flash adapter, and flash unit. One can imagine how quickly the expense builds up after buying a minimum of two PWs. With the introduction of RP Jr., wireless flash photography can be affordable. So affordable that once you dive into off-camera lighting, the concept will change the way you buy camera bodies and lenses for the better, not to mention your photos too.

* There are actually two U.S. companies to date that produce wireless flash remotes. Pocket Wizard and Cybersync. Approx. $190/unit and $70/unit respectively.

Shoot from Monday

Fish building shoot

Photo by Leah.
Models are Hubert and Melanie.

Nikon D70
1/250 7.1 ISO 800 65mm
Gridded SB-24 on camera left @ 1/2
285HV on camera right @ 1/4
SB-80dx for BG @ 1/4
I may be off on the power settings. I forget.

Photo meet Monday morning @ 9:00AM

Those who met with me before, you know how this goes.
On location shooting on-campus beginning at 9:00 AM and will end at twelve noon.
We will meet at the outdoor water fountain precisely at 9:00 AM but we may move to a different location as the morning moves on; in fact, as the day gets hotter we will move indoors.
I will bring my lighting gear. Those unfamiliar with the lights I use, watch this video.


Anyone is welcome to show up and join, even if you do not have camera gear on you. Those who have a hot shoe mount on their camera may test out my Pocket Wizard and try out the lights. Models will be ourselves and whoever we can grab from the public.
Send questions to lpn071000@utdallas.edu

From Vincent Laforet's blog

Help enhance camera lust by watching this video of thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment in use. Not that I endorse fulfilling your gear acquisition syndrome. Requires Quicktime

Remember, only buy what you need. But if you are in a situation where you need a precise shot of a finishing race, ask these guys.

Calling for Subject

I would like to know who or what group created this piece of art on campus. I want to have a photo shoot done of this person(s), a portrait showing off your awesome work. Give yourself some credit and drop me a line through this here email if you want to get known for this masterpiece: lpn071000@utdallas.edu
Seriously, this has more eyes set on it than the spirit rock!

Update: Mario has been erased off the wall. I have a feeling the same artist will raise another one. Anyways, I still want to meet the artist!