The Dark Side

These new cameras have really amazing low light performance. This shot was hand-held, no tripod required. Nikon d700, ISO6400, 1/30, f/2.8, 14mm.

OK this post has almost nothing to do with my usual photography topics. But many portrait photographers use portable speakers and projectors for presenting images to their clients. And Logitech has been very bad at making these speakers compatible with the latest software releases.  After an hour of searching and hacking, I’ve come up with a solution, and thought that I would post it so as to be helpful to others. This post will also work for getting other Logitech products such as keyboards working with Snow Leopard, until Logitech can bother to get around to supporting their devices on the latest OS releases.

Step 1:  Download the Logitech Control Center: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/494/3129&cl=us,en I needed to do this step order to get the Macbook Pro to ’see’ the speakers.  This step is possibly also helpful in getting the speakers to work on older OS-X versions such as 10.5.x Leopard.

Step 2:  Snow Leopard won’t install the software, since it isn’t signed to support 10.6.x.  So rather than directly opening the Logitech Control Center Installer, you first need to locate the downloaded file in the Finder, then right click, and select ‘Show Package Contents’. Navigate to Contents>Resources and double-click Logitech Control Center.mpkg.  This will install the software.

Step 3:  Go to System Preferences>Hardware>Sound>Output.  Hopefully you see the Logitech USB Speaker listed as a possible output device.

That’s it!

So, as you probably can see, I like taking nature photos when I’m wandering around in the local woods around Boulder. It can be challenging to come up with creative ways to take new photos every time, when the surroundings appear to be the same. In the foothills of Boulder, we really don’t have too many big scenery shots other than the standard Foothills landscape. Our local pine woods are generally quite scrubby looking, with lots of visual chaos. I find that the tilt shift can really help in providing alternate perspective, as any ‘Perspective Control’ lens should! As you can tell I’ve really been getting into those lenses lately; they are the ones I go to when I want to just mess around. Too much fun!

As anyone who knows me knows, I really like the tilt shift. The limitless versatility allowed by changing the angle of the focal plane keeps the latent scientist in me entertained for hours. I’ve been using the 45mm version since way back in my Canon days of last year. When I switched to Nikon, I purchased the superior Nikon 45mm PC-E lens. The Nikon version allows for the added feature of being a 1:2 macro lens, which comes in handy for the ring shots and close up shots of eyeballs. The 45 is a standard lens, which means it can be used for landscapes and portraits, it’s right in the middle of the focal range. But it still is a little bit wide angle for a close up portrait, and sometimes I like my ring shots a little tighter, so I’ve been thinking about the 85mm version. But, at $1600, the new PC-E version is quite expensive. Well, I found a used older version of the lens, the 85mm PC on the DWF classifieds. The major difference is that the camera body can’t control the aperture, you have to adjust it manually. But, I figured I’d give the lens a try, and if I really use it a lot I might pony up the cash for the new version someday. Optically, I think they are mostly the same, minus some new lens coatings.

Well the lens came today, and I’m pretty excited about a new lens that I’ve never owned before. I took a couple sample shots here in the office, to compare the 85 to the 45. The differences probably aren’t huge to the untrained eye, but to me they are pretty significant! To me it’s easy to see how the 45 still has a wide angle effect to it, as seen in this first shot of the loose change on the window sill.  In the 45 shot, it looks like the dime and the nickel are at different angles, while they appear more parallel in the 2nd shot.  Interestingly, the lens causes the camera to perceive that the coins are at different angles, as you can see that the amount of reflected light off the silver coins is much different in the 45mm image than the 85mm image.  Also notice how I shot the stacks of coins at an angle, but aligned the focal plane along the tops of the coins, leaving the change below blurred out. This is what I jokingly call using the tilt shift “The Right Way”, when you are intentionally aligning things with the focal plane. Both of these lenses are excellently sharp, even hand held wide open at f/2.8.

left- 45mm .:. right- 85mm

Secondly I took a couple silly pictures of Richie in the foyer. Once again, the 45 has more of a wide angle to it. In this particular composition, I like the 45mm better.  But I’m pretty sure that if I was doing a close in headshot, that I’d like the more flattering flatness of the 85mm. In both these shots I’m using the lens ” The Wrong Way”, where I use the angled focal plane to blur out everything but the eyes.

left- 45mm .:. right- 85mm

Now I acknowledge wasn’t a particularly scientific “test” by any means. I didn’t even do a very good job of keeping the subjects face at the same angle so that you can compare the shots.  This was just an excuse to play with my new toy and to make funny faces for the blog!

I hired a new employee.  His name is Steve. Steves are cool. I was explaining to him how RadioPoppers PXs work, and that I can shoot off-camera flash way over the camera’s synch speed using High Speed Sync.  To show my point, I took this shot of him at 1/8000 of a second.  Because I wanted to be sure that his backlit leg hairs were as sharp as possible. I took this shot with 2 Nikon SB-800s at full power, with a Nikon D700, Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, 1/8000, f/4, 640 ISO. How cool is that for a first day of work? Steves are cool.

.: Nikon D700, Nikon 24-70 f/2.8, 1/8000, f/4, 640 ISO :.

My buddy Neil Van Niekerk is coming to Denver on August 18th to do a workshop on state-of-the-art flash photography techniques. This is an amazing opportunity and space is limited: head over to Planet Neil for more information about the workshop, dates, and how to sign up.

I did a great shoot this past April in New Jersey with Neil. It was set in the Paterson Historical Museum, and the modeling was done by Priscilla.

Part 1
Part 2

The world of digital photography is an interesting blend of art, classical and contemporary photography techniques, and straight up computer nerdiness.  In today’s digital age it is imperative to stay on top of all of the latest software updates to keep one’s photography at the top of the game.  For better or worse, I have the ability to sit in front of the computer for hours and hours, surfing the web for information.  Many times all I wind up doing is procrastinating pressing tasks.  But once in a while, I achieve a major breakthrough.  Last night was one of those nights, as I discovered Adobe’s DNG profiles and DNG profile editor. I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom to process my RAW files (NEF files for Nikon, CR2 files for Canon) for about a year now.  I love the workflow and the RAW editing power that the program offers.  I’ve read complaints from photographers who won’t use it, citing that they don’t like the skin tones that are produced by the Adobe RAW processor.  They say that Nikon’s Capture NX2 provides much better color.  But then I ask if that program is practically usable for volume wedding photography, and the answer is “no”. So at this point I stuck my head in the sand and went on my usual workflow.  I didn’t realize how different the results could be.

Meanwhile, I’ve been struggling with the skin tones that come out of many of my photos.  People appear very orange, very pink, and very saturated as a whole.  I’ve created my own Lightroom preset, called ‘Skin Shift’, which I use to adjust the skin tones on particularly bad examples, usually those people who are very red, and lit under tungsten bulbs.  But using the HSL color controls never really got me to where I wanted to be.  I knew that the Camera Calibration controls were available, but since I was never able to get the settings to a place I liked, I wasn’t sure how I could possibly come up with a profile that was better that what I was already using.  So I continued using the Adobe Standard profile.  It is Adobe’s attempt to make an average profile that works for every single camera out there that shoots in a RAW format.  You can imagine how well THAT works! ;>)

Then I found out about the Adobe DNG Profiles page.  Here there are specific profiles created for every camera out there.  Additionally, there are various modes for each camera, that are like the Picture Styles that you use in the camera if you are shooting JPG.  For the D700 there are:  Camera Neutral, Camera Portrait, Camera Standard, Camera Vivid, Camera Landscape, Camera D2X Mode 1, Camera D2X Mode 2, and Camera D2X Mode 3.  The last 3 Modes are similar to profiles that became available with the Nikon D2x camera body.  Additionally, there is a DNG profile editor where you can make your own profiles.  I haven’t gotten to that point yet.  In this article I’m just going to show you the differences between the Standard Nikon d700 profiles. One can also utilize these profiles using Photoshop CS3/Bridge CS2. I am blown away at the differences in the photos.  With these DNG profiles and/or the DNG editor, the adjustments to the color are much for fine tuned than is possible with the manual controls.  All my problems with Disney Cartoon skin appear to magically have been solved!  So here are some pictures to tell the tale. I picked this recent portrait because it was taken in natural daylight under overcast conditions without any flash. White balance is set to Daylight. Disclaimer: You may or may not be able to see the differences here depending on 1- your color trained eye (or lack of), 2- your color calibrated monitor (or lack of).

.: Nikon D700 NEF file converted using Adobe Standard Profile :.

.: Nikon D700 NEF file converted using Camera Neutral Profile :.

On a calibrated monitor viewed under proper lighting, the difference is huge! In the first photo the general tone of the man’s face is magenta, but that isn’t really the way he looks in real life.  His skin tone is much closer to the second image, a normal orange-brown hue.  I’m now going to include some close up, side-by side images of some of the profiles to give you an idea of the differences. But basically, ANY of them are better than using the Adobe Standard!  Keep in mind, the only setting changed between these images is the Camera Calibration Profile.

.: Nikon D700 NEF file converted using (L-R) Adobe Standard, Camera Neutral, Camera Portrait :.

.: Nikon D700 NEF file converted using (L-R) Camera Standard, Camera D2X Mode 1, Camera D2X Mode 2 :.

As you can see, the differences between the D700 specific Camera Profiles are more subtle, but the difference between the Adobe Standard is huge! In a large printed image, the differences would be easily discernible even by the untrained eye. Camera neutral is a good place to start. The profile itself is a bit flat, but contrast and saturation can easily be added. One of the other settings can also be a good starting point to have an image with more punch, straight out of the editor without any tweaking.

Even with as much improvement these standard camera profiles are, there is still room for improvement. I’ve seen some examples on the DWF where some advanced users show examples of odd discoloration and blotchy-ness in shaded or complex areas of photos using Camera Neutral. So there are still further steps to take to achieve true color mastery. The next step is to be to create a custom profile, using the DNG profile editor, based upon calibrated images taken from my actual cameras. Added to my personal recipe will be a little bit of my personal style and taste, that will make my color profiles truly unique, and unlike any other photographer. I will create one profile that is a ‘do it all’ type file, where I can process an entire wedding with all of its varying light conditions and backgrounds, and come up with natural looking, true color images that have a little extra pop of saturation and contrast.  After that, I plan to create some additional ‘artistic’ profiles, that I can use for particular conditions that I shoot often. These additional steps are icing on the cake for me.  Currently I am super happy to have found an immediate and easy solution to a nagging skin tone problem. All I had to do was download a simple executable file, install, and change one setting in Lightroom. Epic Win!

.: Nikon D700, Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 @ 200mm, 1/800, f/2.8, 200 ISO :.

Last year I decided to switch from Canon to Nikon. Switching and upgrading the level of my cameras and lenses was quite expensive, so I made a few decisions to try and cut costs. One of those decisions was to try and shoot a prime lens instead of a zoom in the telephoto range. So instead of replacing my Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS with a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR or a Nikon 80-200 f/2.8, I bought a Nikon 135mm f/2.0. I was hoping that I would be happier on a wedding day by having a lighter lens which can also shoot more wide open and achieve a creamy blur at f/2.  That was the intent, but in practice that isn’t quite how things have turned out, so I bought a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 lens to try out.  I compared this new lens to my Nikon 135, to try and find out if I was really gaining any performance by shooting a prime. Read about it after the page break…

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On my trip back East, there were two distinct parts.  The first was family time in PA.  The second half was NJ and NY.  My grandmother lives a train ride away from the city, so I stayed there and took a trip to NY.  I went to Manhattan for a day.  I didn’t want to bring all of my gear, so I decided to pick one lens, and shoot the whole day with only it.  That’s a tough decision for a gear head like myself!

So I decided to bring the most difficult lens I have, the 45mm tilt shift (Perspective Control PC-E in Nikon speak).  The difficulty provides an interesting challenge that I enjoy a lot!  This lens allows you to change the focal plane so that it is not perpendicular to the camera sensor.  So what this means is that you can make areas of the photo in focus (or not), that are not necessarily the same distance from you.

This lens is experiencing a fad-like popularity right now.  It’s somewhat easy to take a subject, like a person, and blur everything around them.  It’s only somewhat easy because you still have to manual focus the lens!  But you can get the effect and still be ignorant of how to use the lens to it’s full capability.  In this series of images I angled the focal plane to create visual ties between parts of the images.  So as you look at the images, pay attention to what parts of the photos are in focus, and what parts are not.  Trippy huh?  :>)

And if you aren’t interested in the technical mumbo jumbo . . . just enjoy the scenery from the most infamous parts of NJ! Haha!

I’ve been trying to decide if I need to buy a Nikon macro lens or if I can make due without it. I took the first photo with the macro feature on my Canon G9.  The photo below is with the 100mm macro on the 5D. Definitely sharper, and a more telephoto perspective.  I like the blurred areas much better in the photo below.  But then again, surprisingly similar.  Hmmmmm.