mark_kolanowski

<p>Evan, The Lastolite EZ Balance is a great tool for confirming both exposure and setting a custom WB. By setting a custom WB it takes into account all the varibles such as ambient light, the age of the flash tubes, any light modifiers used,color of walls and ceiling etc. Images out of the camera ( jpeg or raw) are clean and require little post production. Also makes a great lens flag/gobo when shooting backlit subjects outdoors. Good Luck, Mark</p><div></div>

<p>Andrew, Shooting with large 8x10 /4x5 and medium format 6x7 2 1/4 cameras the studio stand was an essential tool for commercial illustrations and working to layouts. It allows very precise movements that can be locked down. Essential when inserting and pulling sheet film holders. Paired with a good head these movements could be made with fingertip control. It made repositioning and tweeking easy compared with fiddiling with 3 tripod legs. You can go from 6" off the studio floor to over 8' or more in height in seconds and rolled around to any area of the studio on casters that lock. Many feature trays to hold lenses, meters,film backs,loupe,CF cards,filters etc. We use a smaller 6' version with our digital SLRs and a joystick head in our busy Senior studio. It gives us very quick height adjustment and even a base that we can stand on to get us in a higher position. Camera stays exactly in position while we make quick adjustments of lighting,hair,props etc. It also is a little less of a trip hazard when things are busy than 3 tripod legs. And just for fun you can even surf around the studio on it ! Mark</p>

<p>Hi, I'm running a Dell XPS system with Vista 64 home premium. Dell 24" Ultrasharp monitor. Software is PS / CS4 and Lightroom 1.4. I have calibrated with a ColorMunki and am getting nice print output from a Canon Pro 9000. Here is my main issue. When I open an image in CS4 everything looks as it should. Good range of colors and contrast. When viewing the same images in Windows picture and fax user the images are very high in contrast and saturation. The images look like I blew the shoot and highlights are blown and unuseable. I open the same set of images in Lightroom 1.4 and they have the same look. Blown highlights and over saturated. I could deal with the Windows viewer...... :( but I use Lightroom as both an editing tool and for presentations to my clients / slide shows for friends and family. Again when I open up the same images in CS4 everything is looking great. Any suggjestions or ideas of how to resolve this issue would be much appreciated. Thanks, Mark</p>

 

<p>Ellis, This may work. The late Dean Collins showed me this at a Texas School workshop years ago. He called it a board pod and used it for shooting low camera angles at the beach and on grass. Basically it was a 2" x 6" board cut to 24" he counter sunk a 3/8" bolt through the board so he could mount a tripod head on the threaded bolt. He could either place his knees on either side of the board or place a camera bag or sandbags on either side of the board for stability. He used a waist level finder on his Hasselblad for viewing ease. A 90 degree finder/adaptor would work as well on a DSLR. Good Luck, Mark</p>

<p>Hi ! I'm using both Photoshop and Lightroom. Printing to Canon and Epson inkjet printers. Using identical image files. When I print from Photoshop the images look great as they did on the monitor and in the print preview box. When I try to print the same image using Lightroom the image is dark and muddy ( low contrast ) . It also appears this way in the print preview window. Quite awhile back I read a soloution to this ( settings in Lightroom ) but failed to find it in a search of the archives. Any help or suggjestions would be most appreciated. I would like to do more of my printing directly out of Lightroom. Thanks, Mark</p>

Are Photoshop 7 , Lightroom 1.4 and Windows Vista compatable ? Thanks, Mark

Christopher, Here is my usual workflow in shooting studio portraits with the tools you mentioned. I use a hanheld incident meter to set all the lights and establish lighting ratios and output of each strobe unit. Shoot a couple of digital previews to tweek as needed. Once I'm pleased with the test images I use a grey EZ balance card held by the subject or a stand in to confirm exposure. I fill the frame w/ the grey card and shoot a digital image. The histogram should yield a defined spike in the center of the LCD. Usually I'm within a few 10 ths of a stop. ( I calibrate my meter but there is some variation when using different camera bodies or lenses. ) Again I tweek as needed. I then set my digital body for a pre-set white balance and shoot the grey card one more time. This sets my custom WB for the images I'm shooting. Then its rock and roll time ! Shoot away, have fun. The images are properly exposed and white balanced, saving alot of time in post production. Also many of my clients like to see the images right after the shoot on the big monitor, they look great right out of the camera. I'll repeat the process for a lighting or location change. It sounds like alot to do but with practice it becomes second nature and having shot this way for several years I can do it very quickly while still maintaining a rapport with my clients. I will point out that this is a workflow that works for " Me " and how I shoot. As with most things photography related there are many ways to get great consistent results. Take all the ideas presented and make it yours. Good Luck, Mark

Sunil, Take a look at these two. National Geographic's : The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography. Natioanal Geographic also published a magazine format special edition in July, 2006, titled Take Great Digital Pictures. It may still be available on their website. Both are excellent starting references to the world of digital photography. I use both regularly to teach with and I myself refer to them often. As you grow in your skills and areas of interest there are many resources depending on what knowledge you are seeking. . Currently a few of my favorite websites are www.daveblackphotography.com, check out his Workshop at the Ranch series. www.strobist.com. Great for ideas on using small portable flash units to the max. On my coffee table sits several well thumbed through books. Joe Mcnally's : The Moment it Clicks. Monte Zucker's : Portrait Photography Handbook. Ross Lowell's : Matters of Light and Depth. Also a couple of Photoshop/Lightroom books by Scott Kelby.

Wayne, I own the Tokina 12-24mm f.4 and I have access to and use the Nikkor 12-24 mm at work.I use them for close range candid work and some landscapes,travel,kayaking photography. The images they make are almost identical in normal field use. The build quality of the Tokina is excellent. The Nikkor is quieter having AFS. I think you will be pleased with the Tokina. Mark<div></div>

I have a need for photographic wall calendars that show a full year along with

an image. I have used www.mpix.com with great results but they limit their size

to an 8x10 overall size. I would like to find something either a pro-lab or

software to make a larger overall size : 11x14 , 16x20 or larger that would

make the dates easier to read and a bigger image with more across the room

impact. Any help or suggjestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark

Steve, For some great ideas and use of bare-bulb flash techniques visit www.clayblackmore.com . Clay was a 20yr associate of the late Monte Zucker. Clay has a new DVD series out called " Posing and Lighting Combo" that I picked up from him at the recent PMA show in Las Vegas. One of the DVDs is Using Flash Indoors and Outdoors. Much of Clay's outdoor portraits are done using bare-bulb with great results. This combo is not yet shown on his website but if you drop him a e-mail I bet its available. Good Stuff ! Mark

Charles, Another way to hang multiple muslins is to hang them on wire. Place a 12" x 12 " 1" thick wooden board where the ceiling and wall corner meet. Screw into studs. Use eye bolts w/ turnbuckle adjustments to keep heavy gauge wire taught. In the 12" x 12" block you could easily place 3 wire runs. To hang the muslins we use 1" A clamps to hold the muslin material and hang them on the wire with zip ties that go around the wire and through a hole in the A-Clamps grip handle. A 10' - 12 ' wide muslin usually needs 3-4 clamps placed equally apart. Usually we can hang at least 2 muslins on each wire run. The muslins easily slide from side to side to make quick changes and if they need to be taught, without wrinkles or folds simply use A-clamps on each side to secure. I am away from the studio today but if needed I could e-mail or post a photo of our set-up. Just contact me. Good Luck, Mark

Nicholas, As mentioned the Nikon ML-3 is an option . $ 175 @ B&H. It is infrared rated by Nikon to 27' . Also line of sight might be a consideration depending on your intended usage. The other option : A Pocket Wizard set-up. This route would set you back almost $ 600.00. 2-Pocket Wizard II Transeivers + a 10 pin remote cord. The advantage with this set-up is a very reliable range. 1000ft + and around corners and walls. Also the Pocket Wizards can provide you with dependable remotes to fire off camera flash/studio lighting if thats in your shooting repitore. Good Luck, Mark

Alan, As Ellis mentioned a Minolta IVF is a great tool. I've used Minolta meters ( Flashmeter III , Auto Meter IIIF, IVF, VF ) Over the last few.. (25) years. The VF features a pie chart display that is helpful for balancing your flash to ambient ratio. If you can find one used, great. Since Minolta is out of business. I will add that I recently have begun using a Sekonic L-358 flash meter. $ 240.00 @ B&H Photo. The features I like are the % display of flash to ambient, and it can use a Pocket Wizard chip ($50) to fire test flashes using Pocket Wizard remotes. Very nice ! Mark

Sam, I agree with some of the other posts that drive time vs photographing,fun,and down time is an issue to be aware of. Landscape images take some time and effort beyond the typical tourist turnouts on the roads. The good/great landscape shooters usually put in some time to work an area and get to know its subtle nuances. I did get to spend 6 days in the Banff area last June. May and June can be wet and cloudy in this area. I experienced alot of grey/white skies that made my landscapes a bit dull.The town of Banff itself was under major construction. I still shot alot just for the memories and practice. The Bow river was running very high and muddy due to alot of snow pak runoff. This made the fishing slow ... my other passion ! Also some of the major hiking trails were still closed in early June. I did hike and photograph the Hoodoos area,Lake Minnewonka,Johnson lake,Castle Mountain lookout and Lake Louise/ Moraine Lake areas. It is incredible ! Very clean , a bit expensive, I would go back again without hesitation. Safe Travels, Mark<div></div>

<div></div>

Hugh, This was the first auto-focus lens I bought to go with a then new N90s film body. It then saw use on my F100. On the film bodies it was a great general purpose candid,wedding and party, lens. Now on my DSLRs, D70s and D200's. It has become a great performer for shooting portraits. Its very sharp and has reasonably fast AF on these bodies. Fast enough that as of late its seen use on the basketball court with good results. For general candids it is not wide enough on a digital DX body for my needs. I end up using either a 12-24 or 18-70 for this kind of work. Enclosed is a recent portrait using the 35-70. Good Luck, Mark<div></div>

Bill, Here are my thoughts.I have 3 SB-800s and just sold my SB-600. The SB-800 is the more versatile tool.I took alook at your website and it looks like you are doing alot of off camera flash work shooting BMX and skaters. The SB-800 has far more control being used as either a commander unit or as a remote using CLS in different groups. It has a built in PC connection for using Pocket Wizards or other remote triggers. It also has a very sensitive optical slave function built in the SU-4 mode. The included gels,soft dome,5th battery holder and a bit more power are nice also. The main reason though that I sold my SB-600 in favor of another SB-800 is because the menu and control layout on the SB-600 was much harder to navigate around.The SB-800s menu seems more logical. When using multiple SB-800s that all use the same menus and custom functions I can be ready to shoot and make on the fly changes much faster and easier. Good Luck, Mark

Christopher, If you want a softbox to use with an SB-800 on camera. I would have to agree with the other posts that it is clumsy and a PITA... without getting alot of improvement in the quality of light. The Sof-ten , Lumiquest or Lightsphere modifying tools are more suited for on camera work. If your intention is to get the light off camera. Here is a set-up that works well for me. A Bogen-Manfrotto umbrella/shoe mount fitted to a lightstand. Place the SB-800 in the dead-shoe. I too like the Apollo 28" Soft box. It works like an umbrella but encloses the strobe.The weight of the Apollo is supported by the bracket and stand not the SB-800. The strobe can either be pointed at the rear of the box for maximum diffuison or at the front surface for a crisper/sharper light. The front diffusion screen can also be dropped out of the way and you can have a very efficient directional umbrella. This feature also makes it easy to access the SB-800 to make power changes. Shooting at ISO 100-200, I can shoot at f.5.6 to f.8 with the box 3' from subject. Usually with the SB-800 at 1/2 power. Add a Pocket Wizard and maybe a reflector and it makes a great on the go set-up. If you are interested e-mail me or I can post a photo of the set-up later. I'm away from my image files right now. Good Luck, Mark

Kent, For this situation I would suggest keeping things simple so your energy and attention can be directed to your subjects.You were not specific about what type of lights or modifiers you have access to. For a basic 3 light set-up that can accomodate groups of 2-8 or so try this. Place your largest (42" to 72") umbrella 6-8 ft.above the camera axis 8-12 ft. from the subjects. This will act as your fill light. Place your main light with a softbox or umbrella ( 24 " x 36 " softbox or 42" umbrella at a 30 degree angle to the set 4-8 ft. from subject. Next place your hair or seperation light on a boom above and slightly behind the subjects. Idealy this would be a 36" x 12" strip light. For metering and ratio you want to keep it reasonably flat to give good detail in a wide range of skin tones, outfit colors, and posing direction ie: active children. . Meter the fill light alone @ f.5.6 . Meter the main alone @ f.8 . Then meter the two lights together. Combined this should give an overall reading of about f. 8.5 . This will give you a pretty wide depth of field zone for the groups. For the hair/seperation light try setting this to meter at f. 5.6 . This will give adequate seperation for dark hair or clothing but not blow out blondes or bare shoulders.When placing this light watch for lens flair. A piece of velvet or a cutter card can be clamped to the front edge of the strip light. Your strobes should overpower any ambient light. Make sure the set is safe and you think about access and traffic flow. Tape all cords down and mark the position of your lights in case they get bumped or moved. Make sure your boom is properly counter weighted. If your set is dark the 4th light could be used to open things up a bit. And as a final thought carry backup gear. At the least a spare camera rig w/ on camera flash, memory,batteries etc. Good Luck, Mark

Jen, Amherst Media publishing also just published the Portrait Photography Handbook by the late Monte Zucker. Its worth a look for classic lighting and posing techniques. Good Luck, Mark

Bob, I just bought a pair of the Pocket Wizard Plus II. They do ship with a mini-phone to P.C. short cord. And AA batteries . As others have mentioned the lanyard that it comes with makes it easy to hang from the flash bracket or light stand knob. For any other cord needs look at the paramount brand for a full selection. Good Luck, Mark

Photo girl, The 80-200 2.8 works well as my outdoor portrait lens.The rotating collar and background control is great. For studio work, location interiors,hand held work or traveling lighter I use my old 37-70mm 2.8 D Nikkor lens. Its sharp,bright through the view finder and I can tweek the focal length as needed. On my D200 it becomes a 52-105mm effective focal length. I have seen clean used ones for $400-500. The 85mm Nikkors 1.4 and 1.8 are both sweet optics for portraiture but can be a little long in some situations on a Dx format. Good Luck, Mark

Marc, We have used http://www.croplines.com to etch custom croplines in over 20 Nikon bodies. Scott Heilburg provides fast service. Nice clean lines but not so distracting that you can't compose full frame if desired. $ 195 Good Luck, Mark

Vale, The Lowepro Computreker AW is a great set-up. It will hold a 15.4 " laptop and 2 DSLR bodies,3 lenses,flash,meter etc. with plenty of room left over for batteries, cables,Cds,field or travel guides etc. It has comfortable shoulder straps and hip belt to keep the weight manageble. Check it out at www.lowepro.com. Mark