Of course, most of us associate that expression with the precise moment we first took firm command of our bicycle.
flickr image by rob_from_ca
Ahhh…the freedom. That expression, however, is something you never will — or want to — hear from a photographer, unless, in the remote chance, he or she is doing some risky work that requires remote firing.
Today, I volunteered to take some group shots for my office. As I returned to my office, I hastily put my D300 down on my desk. Little did I realize that it was resting precariously on top of an uneven notepad.
Bonk!
Ouch!
When I was a kid, there nothing more exciting than taking things apart to see the inner workings of electronic gadgets, not to mention trying to see if I could restore them to working order. As an adult, seeing the gears, chips, and other innards of a lens is not my idea of fun. Granted, this is not one of my better lenses, but it’s a tried-and-true walk-around lens. Add to that, as I’m starting out in the business, little can I afford to break my equipment.
In spite of the heartache, I’ve quickly culled two lessons from this mishap.
- Slow down – There was no reason why I put the camera down so quickly, other than I was trying to get back into the flow of work. A few extra moments to put my camera back in my backpack would have cost far less in time than the $250+ it’ will take to replace or upgrade this lens.
- Insurance – This is an area that I’ve read about, particularly as I’ve been building up my equipment list. So often the focus is on lost or stolen gear, not drops. I suspect that many of my colleagues have suffered the gut wrenching drop of a camera, lens, strobe or computer.
I want to give a special thanks to a number of fellow photographers on Twitter who expressed concern and offered advice (get insurance!).
What’s the most unfortunate mishap, bungle, or break you’ve experienced with your gear?
If you aren’t aware, I love tilt shift photography (or selective focus)–when done well. When not done well, it pretty much looks like a blurry picture. Though tilt shift photography hasn’t received the same amount of attention and uptake by photographers and the general public as HDR (high dynamic resolution), I find that tilt shift produces a interesting and unique perspective. I look at the work with the fascination of a little kid.
In a nutshell, tilt shift photography is a technique where special lenses are used to overcome the restrictions normal lenses have when it comes to depth of field and perspective. To achieve the tilt shift effect, the lens rotates against the image plane (tilt) and also moves along the image plane (shift). Through application of the Scheimpflug principle, the photographer can take an image with a very shallow depth of field using tilt and a larger aperture. Here is an example of a tilt shift lens.
Recently, I’ve noticed the use of tilt shift in an Allstate Insurance commercial as well as a scene in the movie A Serious Man.
Just today, a fellow photographer shared this great tilt shift video by Sam O’Hare on Twitter.
So, what’s shooting technique or style piques your interest?
As a number of you know…because I shot out a note on Twitter…I did a photo shoot for my first commercial client. I have been encouraged by the number of requests for prints (singles and series). Recently, though, a representative for a company saw some of my images and inquired about using me for a shoot. My heart leaped and a lump grew in my throat. Can this be? Is this really my first request for a commercial shoot? Of course, it was coupled with nervous thoughts. “Do they really want me?” “Am I good enough for this?” Fortunately, I put those nerves and jitters on the shelf and accepted the job.
I tried to read as much as I could about negotiating fees and determining what rights would convey and those I would retain. I’m sure, like many others, my first contract negotiation was generous. I don’t mind, though. The bigger picture for me is that this shoot marks, what I hope is, a step in the direction I would like my professional photography career to take. That is, editorial/commercial photography.
Once all the paperwork was taken care of, my thoughts immediately turned to executing the shoot. I’ve been to a few photography studios recently, but, thankfully, my friend Sarah Mattingly graciously let me do the shoot in her studio. Not only did Sarah allow me use the space, she bent over backwards to help me set up and using studio lighting. I cannot thank Sarah enough for all her help and encouragement! While I can’t reveal the images from the shoot yet, I should be able to post some soon, or at least provide a link to client’s site where they will be used.
Inspired by Chase Jarvis, here are some videos shot on the day of the shoot, captured on my Canon G10. (I am making a mental note to pick up a Flip HD camera–or borrow my friend’s D90. The image perfectionist in me would like the video quality to be better.)
My intent was to shoot some behind-the-scenes shots to share my experience. Naturally, I got a little caught up in the shoot and didn’t do as much video as I had hoped. You’ll notice that I didn’t get to show you what gear I was working with.
I did all the shots with my Nikon D300. I had several lenses with me, but ended up shooting with a Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. I kept the focal length nearly 50mm. (I SO need to get a 50mm 1.4!) Sarah’s beautiful studio is equipped with a number of AlienBees flash units and Pocket Wizard transmitters. We used three flash units on the shoot. One unit was used exclusively on the near-white studio wall to produce a clean white background.
On an aside, I must admit that I engaged in a fair amount of daydreaming while in Sarah’s studio. Someday, I would love to have a space like hers to call my own.
All told, I shot about 300 images. I narrowed the number down to 60 for the client’s contact sheets. I’m happy to report that the client was extremely happy with the proofs and asked for final processing of nearly 1/2 of the images provided.
What a great way to end 2009! I am hope this is just the beginning of what will be many opportunities in 2010.
Happy New Year!
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