Nocturne by Vincent Laforet

This is an absolutely incredible show of the capabilities of the modern DSLR when it comes to video reproduction. I am an avid Nikon shooter but I have to admit that Canon is at the head of this game with their 5D Mark II and the new 7D. Their 1080p movies although without the feel of cinema film are fantastic when put together as well as Vincent Laforet does. This video is all available light with no supplementary lighting at all. Also the video was shot at 6400 ISO and if you can find any noise I think it is negligible. So sit back and enjoy.

Nocturne from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Walk in The Park

Had a great day today hanging out with the photoministry from my church. Glad to see all those that could make it and hope those who could not are doing great. Also had a great time hanging out with my good friend Dan and then going to Oggi's for a little after the photo shoot chow and adult beverage. It was a great day for some interesting photos. The sky was overcast badly for much of the morning and we even got a few sprinkles here and there however, when I see those gloomy skies I immediately think of HDR. HDR just seems capable of making a low contrast, dreary sky into something magical. I am always blown away by the way the processing can bring the best together and yield some mind blowing images. I hope you enjoy the pics, they were rushed a bit and I tried a few new tweaks here and there. For anyone who is wondering, I start my workflow in Lightroom (Currently 2 until the full release of 3 comes out). I then select the photos for processing and export to Photomatix then it is back intoLightroom (I love the Photomatix - Lightroom integration). After the import back intoLightroom it is off to Photoshop where the final curves adjustments, levels adjustments, masking and noise reduction (Noiseware by Imagenomic <----- Love this does an awesome job) is completed. Of course Photoshop (CS4 by the way) is tightly integrated with Lightroom so the pics are saved right back into Lightroom. Well that about sums up my workflow. Honestly most of my wedding, event, corporate etc. etc. workflow can be easily handled in Lightroom but HDR requires a lot more finesse to get a final product I am happy with. Well gotta go gonna loose an hour of sleep tonight from some reason or other. Till I blog again you stay sexy.

My Next Lens Just Arrived

Well Nikon finally made some new lens announcements and since I am not honored to be among the testers I am learning of it first hand and sharing with you. The lens I now lust after is the new and just announced, drumroll please, Nikkor 24mm F1.4 ahhhhhhh. This is a lens I have been desiring for some time now. I love my 50mm F1.4 but in certain situations just wanted something wider. I currently have the 14 - 24mm F2.8 which is a phenomenal lens all on its own but can not throw focus like a F1.4 and after all an F1.4 has 4 times the light gathering ability so you can shoot at two full stops less in ISO in order to preserve image quality. I love using F1.4 at weddings especially to get those natural light moody shots and let's face it getting a shot with just candle light is plain awesome. I will be first on the list to get this lens when it is released and will post some work with it as soon as I can. Until next time take care and God be with you. By the way I apologize for not being on here as much as I wanted to but life happens. I promise to keep new information and work coming at a greater pace in the future.

Here are some of the Stats:

Main Features

• A fast, wide-angle lens with a fixed focal length of 24mm at the maximum aperture of f/1.4
  
• Fast lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4 that allows users to capture images with beautiful blur characteristics
  
• ED glass and aspherical lens elements are utilized for a new optical design that achieves high resolution and good balance in terms of aberration for pleasing blur characteristics
  
• The adoption of Nano Crystal Coat effectively reduces ghost and flare
  
• Quiet focusing with built-in Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
  
• Two focus modes selectable - M/A and M

Till next time take care and stay sexy!!!!!!!!!

Surfing the Sky

I found this awesome video footage most of which was shot using the new Nikon D300s camera. The scenery is incredible seeing these waves of clouds rolling in just like an awesome set on a west coast beach. The serenity of the lone hang glider surfing these waves in the sky as graceful as a bird. This was an awesome undertaking seeing the engineering that the photographer had to overcome in order to get the shots his client wanted. Makes me think of the creativity which needs to go into the shoots we do and being able to think outside of the box in order to get extraordinary results. Enjoy the video.

Randy Moves On

My brother by another mother Randy Torres, photographer extraordinaire, decided to fly the coop and head east to the Big Apple. Randy was an integral part of the photoministry at East Lake Church where I also attend and am active in the ministry. Randy was a mentor to me and is sorely missed for his expertise, knowledge, compassion, companionship and friendship. But on the plus side I have a place to crash when I attend the next PDN Photo Expo YAY!!!

On a different note the above panorama, from Randy's going away wake, was actually taken and stitched all in my iPhone. Randy is the one in the awesome pork pie hat. I use a nice little piece of software available form the iTunes App Store called Pano ( I in no way get an compensation from Pano for this review, unless they insisted then OK). The software is very simple to use and has overlapping exposures so that you can line up all of your shots. It then gives you the option of using the shot or taking it again. After that you just sit back and let the software do the work. It dumps the final product right in your camera roll on the phone and is then available for uploading to your favorite social network or whatever. I was amazed when created my first panorama and continue to love to use it when the right moment strikes. If you use and iPhone please go check it out and give it a try I think you will be pleasantly surprised as I was.

A Little Monkeying Around

This past Thursday I had a great opportunity to photograph the life development team at Eastlake Church in Chula Vista for there next children's series based on an Indiana Jones theme. The team did a great job with some props and their costumes were spot on for the shoot. They are a great bunch to work with always willing to follow a little artistic direction and not afraid to offer up some ideas of their own. These are the folks that work directly with the children every weekend and they do a phenomenal job keeping the children interested and plugged in to the teachings of Jesus Christ. My own children attend these classes and never complain about having to go to church.

For the technical aspects of the shoot Mr. Dan Castrellon provided his Norman strobes for the main lights and also provided the background and technical support. I provided my Hensel's to help blow out the background for a high key effect so that it would be easier to mask. I did the shooting using my Nikon D700 set to F16 at 1/125 and ISO 400. The lights were set at varying ratios with the mains being fired into silver umbrellas and the rear fills using a softbox and a beauty dish. There was also a third background light that was aimed directly at the backdrop bare bulb.

I also need to give a great big shout out to Nikki Wells of Nikki Wells Photography who is also a member of the photo team at the church. She bravely answered the call of the wild when no one else was willing to step forward and wear the super happy monkey costume. Nikki you made a fabulous monkey and I think your kids will be scarred for life after seeing there Mom's head on the monkey body when the monkey head came off.

All in all I am very pleased with the results and I know the team will do a great job in post and putting together another awesome presentation for the kids. Good job guys on continuing to do the work of the Lord glad I could help.

Park View Little League Homecoming Pics

If you read my previous post you would know that a client of mine, Steve Eicher of It's Time Public Address Announcing, hired me to document the Park View Little League Homecoming to Chula Vista CA. I thought I would post up a few of the pics I took that day for your viewing pleasure. I love my art of photography and this style of journalistic coverage is very appealing. First in a journalistic style you have the freedom to flow with the events as they unfold. You also have to have your head on straight with eyes and ears wide open to try to anticipate events as they are coming up. This was especially true at this event as much of my information on what was coming up was gleaned from staff as they were talking and I was within earshot. I love the freedom my clients give me to be able to use my best judgement to be able to document as I want and feel. That is what this art is about to me it is about emotion, movement, light, moments all rolled into the same exact point in time when my shutter clicks. Man I love my chosen art form. So here are some photos from the event for you to enjoy and hopefully they will impart some of the emotion that was felt during the event by me and all, approximately 10,000, who attended.