Bounce Flash Examples

Flash pointed directly at the subject. Notice the glare on the books and the hard flash shadow under the stool.




Flash tilted up to 45 degrees. Now the light comes from above (rather than hitting straight in the center of the orange, a really unnatural look). This is giving a more natural look with softer light coming from above -- but we still see glare on the books and little flash shadow under the stool.




Flash pointed straight up. Light is from above, glare is gone. In photographing people with this technique, we'd want to look at where the shadows fall on the face -- from above, the light can be blocked from the eyes by brow ridges, depending on the angle. In that case, using a card built into the flash or an index card attached via rubberband might be a good way to add a little fill. Alternatively, a flash diffuser or a reflector might help.





An example of "dragging the shutter" technique. Using about a 1/4 of a second shutter speed with the flash set to "2nd curtain sync" and moving the camera let the ambient light provide a little streaking / ghosting in the image.

Manfrotto 790B

Monopods are cool. A little bit of camera support when you need it, without having to carry around a clunky, three-legged thing. I have a few.

In my search to find small and light stuff, I ran into the Manfrotto 790B. It's particularly cool because it folds up to 15 inches in length -- but expands to be just fine for a six-foot tall photographer. Really lightweight, and well-made.

Don't put a huge camera with long glass on top of it. But if you need something to hold up a small DSLR and a reasonable lens, it's worth trying. I've been using one for a while, but I'm posting now because I noticed these have dropped to about half price.... Not a bad addition to a small photo backpack.

Holiday

Monday is President's Day. Or, Presidents' Day. (I'm still not sure.) I couldn't leave a red-white-and-blue chicken as the main photo on my page.

As James Joyce Said

This was, of course, in front of The Fillmore.

Last Man Standing

A sudden rainstorm leaves one last player on the field at Kimbell Playground in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011.

An Explanation Might Ruin It

I find I'm much more interested in photographing something if I don't understand it.

Why Mr. Fortune Quit Smoking

Whenever I see a crazy note, I feel compelled to photograph it. Especially one so systematically organized.

Exposure & White Balance with a Lastolite Ezybalance

Camera Decision
This shot used camera metering and Auto White Balance.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/160th
Here the white wall behind the apples fooled the meter, so the shot is underexposed.




Camera Decision Applied
I used the settings from the "default" shot.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/160th
When I put a grey card -- I used a Lastolite Ezybalance -- into the shot and used the same settings, I could clearly see this was an underexposed shot.




Metering from Lastolite Ezybalance
I set my white balance based on this card, and adjusted my exposure based on it as well.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
Now I adjusted based on the reading with the grey card. It turned out I was one stop under, so I changed from 1/160th of a second shutter speed to 1/80th. I then used custom white balance based on this card.




Settings Applied
I kept the exposure settings and White Balance I had set with the card. The White Balance is 7000k and a +8 setting toward magenta.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
This looks about the same way my eyes saw the scene. Great.




"Flash" WB
We can compare the WB with the camera's "Flash" white balance setting, which is 5500k and neutral between green and magenta.
ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/80th
This looks good as well -- though I do like the slightly warmer version I got basing my white balance on the grey card.

Word on the $treet

This is near the Boom Boom Room.

iRection

I really don't know what to say about this ad I photographed at Macworld in San Francisco yesterday. I had no idea Bruce Weber was even shooting for Apple.

3D, Give or Take a D

Philana Chiu demonstrates a process for 3D photography at the 2011 Macworld event in San Franciso, January 29, 2011.

Word on the Street, Cliche Edition

Despite its eventual fate, the ongoing Word on the Street project soldiers on.

In Love and Wha?

On my other blog on documentary photography I've been focused on photojournalism as a subject. So, lately, all of my reading has consisted of books written by photojournalists. I guess, if you think about it, that's not a great idea.

I mean, take people who are good at making pictures and ... have them write. Hmm.

That said, books about photojournalism don't have to be entirely about, you know, taking pictures. Sure, some photojournalists really consider that the important part. But if you want to sell some books, you might want to, you know, include other details.

Like, the specifics of your sex life.

Now, not everyone will be happy about that. You might get a mixed review here or there.

For example, here is Janet Reitman's review of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War, the latest book I've finished reading.

Bang-bang girl
Perhaps the first "cowgirl" memoir was Leslie Cockburn's "Looking for Trouble," a reflection of her highs (and occasional lows) over 25 years as a foreign correspondent and television producer. While filled with amusing insights, Cockburn's book, with chapter heads such as "Dinner With Drug Lords" and "Lunch With the Ayatollahs," rubbed many critics the wrong way. It suggested a blue-blood Yale graduate waltzing around war zones in designer bush-wear.

Now comes "Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War," Deborah Copaken Kogan's memoir about her life as a roving war photographer. It's an unfortunate title, but I was willing to give the book a shot given how rare young female war photographers are -- let alone those who write about the experience. Alas, "Shutterbabe" is not so much a cowgirl memoir as a "bang-bang" memoir: a self-aggrandizing story of the lusts and yearnings of a bored, post-feminist bad girl with a hankering to "see war."

Now that you know ... read it anyway.

Word No Longer on the Street

On my other blog, I've been shooting a series of Word on the Street photos. So, above, a glimpse at their eventual end: not with a bang, but with a really loud jackhammer.

My Alcatraz Photo #2

Above: Sunday, Jan 23, 2011. On my other blog you can see My Alcatraz Photo #1.

My Alcatraz Photo #1

Above: Sunday, Jan 23, 2011. On my other blog you can see My Alcatraz Photo #2.

Documentaries in the News, Real Cash Edition

You know what I need? Fifty ... Million ... Dollars.

The New York Times has a little article on how I can get that. I mean, they didn't name me specifically ... but I could really use the cash.

Ford Foundation to Put Up $50 Million for Documentaries

The Ford Foundation’s program, called JustFilms, will dole out money in three ways. The first involves partnerships with organizations like the Sundance Institute, whose Sundance Film Festival opens on Thursday in Park City, Utah. JustFilms will contribute $1 million a year over five years to support Sundance’s documentary film workshops, for instance.

Short of that, I need to set aside a little more time to get a couple of films finished and out the door.

Ah, send the money anyway.

Nissin 466

I'm teaching a unit on bounce flash techniques, so I needed a snap of my little, teensy-but-useful Nissin Speedlite Di 466.

(Yes, they make them for Canon and Nikon and they even have a Micro Four Thirds model in White.) Inexpensive, powerful enough, very lightweight in the camera bag, and a Gary Fong Collapsible Lightsphere fits on top.

Only in Threes, Powerline Edition

I think this was on 8th Avenue, near Golden Gate Park. (Photographed today, Jan. 15, 2011.)

Eeyore Does the Midnight Shift

Sponsors include seven different bran cereals and the fig advisory board.