Pocket Wizard Flex TT5/TT1 for Nikon Review...

If you're a Nikon shooter I know you've been jealous of the fact that the Canon shooters out there have had the Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 and TT1 now for a long time.  Long time did I say?  Almost two years in fact.  Now while I knew for a fact that before going into the beta test of these devices I could do a lot of what I already do using my SU-800 Speedlight commander, the allure of a RF High Speed Shutter Sync at up to 1/8000th of a second at up to 1,000 feet?  Yea, pretty awesome.  But that's not all that I was concerned with when I was able to test these Nikon Flex Beta Units.  I was not only worried about how they performed under extreme conditions, but I was worried about how they would perform in every day conditions as well.

First off I'd like to mention that I was not paid for this review, and am not going to say 100% positive things about these units, however I know that the units that I tested were in the beta stages and most of the very few problems that I encountered have been solved in the final hardware that is shipping over seas even while I write this.  So for you tech nerds out there, are you ready for the nitty gritty?  Hope so, because there's a lot of it.  For you photo nerds out there, I hope the pictures are just as interesting...

 

Anyone who shoots with Nikons CLS system knows how hard it can be to shoot TTL in the snow.  Luckily the day that I received my beta units was the largest snowstorm we have received here in Indianapolis all season.  Not only that, but my friend David VanDeman had also invited me to tag along for his photoshoot with the Fashion Wrap up.  Needless to say with all the snow, and the capabilities of these Flex units plus the style of Kaitlin Elyse, (That's Kaitlin above trying not to freeze while I do a light test), the look of Chelsea, hair and makeup by Allure Salon and the accessories of Apricot Lane.......we had an exciting afternoon in front of us. 

Nikon D3s, 100ISO, Nikon AFS50mmF1.4, 1/1600th@F2.  Single Nikon SB-900 Speedlight set to iTTL zoomed in to 85mm shot through a 32" translucent umbrella attached to a Pocket Wizard TT5 Transceiver on the end of a paint pole and Kasey Pole softbox attachment adapter Speedlight fired by Pocket Wizard TT1 attached to the camera. 

That's Chelsea there.  Very pretty girl, very good at the modeling gig.  She did an absolutely outstanding job in such a terribly cold environment.  She struck the poses, and made the shots very instinctively and very smoothly.  It went especially well since we stopped about every other minute to put a jacket on her.  Despite how cold it was though, and despite every bit of white that was out there, this shot was done shooting nothing but TTL and the Pocket Wizard FLEX units.  A single Flex TT5, and the TT1 on my D3s as the shooting info suggests.  In just a few frames I had this shot, and it was just like I wanted.  The units performed just as flawlessly as Chelsea.  The FLEX Units performed so flawlessly in fact, that during the course of the shoot I fired only 50 frames, including test shots, and shots of David scraping the windows of his car...

Nikon D3s, 160ISO, Nikon AFS28-70F2.8@70mm.  1/200th@F13.  Single Nikon SB900 zoomed to 200mm with a 1/4CTO fired by a Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 attached to a SC-28 off camera cable on a pole to camera right set to iTTL. (SC-28 Off camera cable was used to attach the TT5 because the TT5 was too large to fit into the hot shoe mount of the Softbox stand adapter I was using).  Second SB-900 Speedlight zoomed to 200mm about 30' to camera left with a 1/2 CTB, set to iTTL -3.0.  The camera was also set to -.3EV to account that the light on the left wasn't dark enough.) 

That there is another Canon shooter that if you've read the you'll recognize as Michael Guio.  Mike was gracious to donate an evening of his to help me as a model while I evaluated the units in several ways.  The first thing we did though, was test the units in my every day shooting style.  I easily could have that the image above with the SU-800 (and some shots that evening were actually shot with it, instead of the Flex Units), but what I wanted to know was how the Flex Units did in terms of predictability.  Here's what his basement looked like without the lights...
 

Ambient Light in Mike's basement.  Nikon D3s, 1600ISO, 1/40th@F2.8

This is where I had some of the very few issues that I had with the Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 and TT1 units.  When it came to TTL and 1 light, they were flawless.  When it came to TTL and 2 lights, they seemed to be cancelling each other out in cross lighting situations.  This was easily remedied by changing the lights to Manual, and probably could have been remedied by attaching the SU-800 to a TT5 unit or with an AC3 command unit.  I was not supplied with an AC3 unit, and was also unable to get my SU-800 to function with my Beta units, but I have been assured the issue is corrected in the final hardware revision.  I know that all sounds horribly technical, and for that I apologize, but either way the punchline should reach home for everyone.  I got the shot.  It just wasn't like I thought getting the shot would be (which it often isn't anyway, which the previous blog talks about more).  In the card Shark shoot, I was using two hard lights because I wanted to simulate a hard puddle lit back room in a club; where this guy could be dangerous. I did attempt several shots using a softbox on one light, but it just didn't provide me the shot I was looking for. 

Nikon D3s, 200ISO, Nikon AFS28-70mmF2.8@50mm, 1/200th@F13.  Single Nikon SB900 zoomed to 200mm with a 1/4CTO fired by a Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 attached to a SC-28 off camera cable on a pole to camera right set to iTTL. (SC-28 Off camera cable was used to attach the TT5 because the TT5 was too large to fit into the hot shoe mount of the Softbox stand adapter I was using).  Second SB-900 Speedlight zoomed to 200mm about 30' to camera left with a 1/2 CTB, set to iTTL -2.0.  The camera was also set to +.3EV as I needed to make a small adjustment, but didn't want to go back to the left speedlight.) 

I definitely found that the TTL on the Flex TT1 and TT5 worked better on Spot metering, but in terms of actually firing the lights held up to the epic standard that pocket wizard is known for.  The units were very, VERY reliable.  My only concern is that they fell asleep a few times while I was shooting.  Playing around in the ControlTL software, I was unable to find a way to shut the sleep time off either, which annoyed me.  Either way if you are conscious, it's not a big deal.  Just burn an extra frame before you start going to wake them up, and you're in business.  Not that I want to miss a shot because my units were asleep though. I did make sure to mention it several times in my writeup to Pocket Wizard.

These New pocket wizards not only support High Speed Sync, but also support up to 8fps firing rate if your flash is set low enough that it can handle bursts at that speed.  Me, being the fool that I am made my first attempt using TTL at this speed, to which I was pleasantly surprised.  Again spot metering was king of this test, and from time to time the camera would slow down while in TTL, but it was still surprisingly snappy when used that way.

This string of shots were shot at 8fps, with a Nikon D3s.  While the added light of the Pocket Wizards made the 4000ISO very clean and usable in commercial print, I deemed that the frozen speed-bag action wasn't what I was looking for. 

In the end the high speed 8fps test wasn't what I had hoped even though I got  few shots that looked very nice; but it also begged me to realize something I myself in the past have preached.  Just because you can do something; doesn't mean you need to...

Nikon D3s, 400ISO, Nikon AFS28-70F2.8@45mm, 1/200th@F11.  Camera set to -2EV with the Pocket Wizard TT1 on the hot shoe.  Nikon SB900 Speedlight zoomed to 75mm set to iTTL with a light green Gel attached to a Pocket Wizard TT5 Transmitter.  Nikon SB900 Zoomed to 200mm above camera left with a Theatrical red Gel, set to TTL on a Pocket Wizard TT5 Transmitter as well.  Both Hard lights, no modifiers. 

So instead, I found a better way to test the 8fps High Speed Sync with the Flex units with my girlfriend Shannon.

Nikon D3s, 200ISO, Nikon AFS70-200F2.8N VR2@110mm, 1/1250th@F6.3.  Pocket Wizard Flex TT1 Unit on the Cameras Hot Shoe, Nikon SB-900 to Shannon's right about 15 feet in the air angled down attached to a Pocket Wizard TT5 Transceiver. 

Shannon loves the snow; especially playing in it.  She is also a Poi Dancer, which is something else I'd like to shoot her doing, but it seemed a bit too frigid to have her out swinging fire around in spandex.  Snowballs seemed appropriate.  It was easy for her to work up to throwing snowballs at me as relatively frequently I say or do something that gets her aggravated at me, but I think the snow playing got the best of her as every frame I have she's grinning like the happiest girl int he world.  Just the way I like her.  Again as mentioned before, the Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 and TT1 Units performed Flawlessly outside, even at a distance (albeit a small one as compared to the guys over at Fstoppers).

Some will notice my lack of light modifiers in these tests, and I noticed it too as I am mentioning it now.  The thing is that I did use soft-boxes and umbrellas for a few other things, but felt the shots that were without Created more desirable images.  Rare, I know, but true.  Plus I may or may not have a few other images I'm  holding back from these tests for the future, so keep your eyes peeled. 

Conclusion: (finally, I know right?)
Will I buy em?  Hell yea!  Will they be epic?  HELL Yea!  Do I still have some experimenting to do?  Hell yea! Wait what?  Like I said earlier, I couldn't get my SU-800 to work with my beta units.  I also was not given an AC3 unit to test with my TT1 and two TT5 units.  This leaves a window of testing that is very important to me untouched.  I LOVE the iTTL capabilities of my Nikon SU-800 and Accompanying strobes, and that's why a lot of people own Nikon Gear.  It's not the Resolution, Autofocus system, or the fact that the lenses are black.  It's the fact that they can light stuff very intuitively, and that is the part of this system I didn't get to play a whole lot with.  That seems like a BIG part though right?  yes and no.  Is having 1/8000th of a second shutter-speed  available in RF important, even if the strobes are on manual?  Hell yea it is!  That and shooting outside with these so I can use my 85 F1.4, or my 50F1.4, makes them totally worth the money (at least for me).  The other part is that these units are capable of syncing with the older Plus II Transcievers, which makes the 7 of those that I have even more valuable to me.  Now, I can't do a high speed sync, but I can set a light pretty far away, and just trigger it like normal; and there's nothing wrong with that.

The saavy shooters out there, are now saying that nothing I've done here is groundbreaking, and they are right.  Having only 48 Hours to evaluate the units, I wanted to test what was most important to me; and that was the functionality.  I had no time to get an 800mm Lens from Sigma like fstoppers.  I did find time to physically break one of the units, but that's part of the test right?  If they weren't meant to be used, why would you buy them?

Hopefully this quick review of the Beta units sheds some light on their operation to at least a few people.  I've got a set pre-ordered from Roberts here in Indianapolis, where I buy almost all of my equipment.   Get on the list, as the list is LONG.  These units are most certainly worth buying if you like using your speedlights to shoot everyday, or just from time to time.  For more information, check the following links:

Pocket Wizard Website (For more information)
Roberts Camera  (For pre-order)
The FStoppers Review, and their latest Photoshop Contest 
Another Reivew

More Soon.

Just one....

During this time of the year when things start to wind down, while taxes are being evaluated, while Christmas gifts are bought, while trying to put things on the calendar for next year; you always need to take a moment to see the actual holiday around you. Take a minute to Breathe.

I did the final critique of the Advanced Lighting class at Ivy Tech earlier this week, and after talk about Strip lights, and Gobo's, beauty dishes, and softboxes; I always go back to a quote by the Great Frank Espich.  "God started out with one light, the Sun.  Why not try starting from there?".  Although I heard this quote only recently I know exactly what he means, and even though I am no longer in front of that Advanced Lighting class looking at their portfolios (which were excellent for the record); I would still like to pass on the point that Frank once again reiterated to me.  Don't make things more complicated than you have to.  Sometimes one light is more than enough.  Don't overthink it, you might get stressed out.  The holiday's have enough stress not photography related, so take it easy.  Take a break.  Try it with just one light.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 160ISO, Canon EF100F2.8Macro, 1/160th@F13.  Single 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th power shot through a 32" translucent umbrella from almost directly above the flower.  Light triggered by Pocketwizard Plus II Transciever)

On a side note I'm very disappointed and borderline stressed out at how unsharp that image actually is on blogger.  It's only about 70% as sharp as on my computer.  Fixed this, apparently I was uploading a file that was too high res.... Either way I'm  very much looking forward to the New Blog, and Website within the week..... More Soon.

Just one Light...

A lot of people ask me about my lighting techniques, and how I come up with some of the things that I do in order to light things effectively.  The last blog post was definitely one with a complicated light setup in it too.  This one is a little differently.  I believe it was Zack Arias that recommended originally that anyone learning to light should learn to do so with a Single 60" umbrella and that's it.  Mainly  because that's all you really need.  Not that hair lights, and fill lights, and background lights aren't necessary in some cases, but in most cases they totally aren't...

 

(CANON 5D Mark II, 250ISO, Canon 70-200F2.8IS@200mm, 1/40th@F10.  Single Canon 580EX Speedlight to below camera left at 1/4th power zoomed to 70mm shot through a 32" Translucent Umbrella fired by Pocket Wizard)

Nicole here is the Neice of the owner of Ceez Genesis Salon here in Indy.  Had two lights set up to start and totally according to plan one didn't fire giving me this.  The other one with both lights looks pretty solid too, but I love the way the light defines her face in this; and so does she.  Only one light thought, and it most definitely works.  It wasn't even a 60" Umbrella like I was pushing above the pic! 

The one light isn't just a fill light from on camera though and unless you have a ring-light, direct on camera flash as your only light source should be last resort.  Ring-light is a very style specific piece of equipment that can be used for either that style, or at a very low power as a fill light.  Personally I'm not much a fan of the ring-light, but that's another story for another day; back to the Umbrella.  Say you don't have an  umbrealla and can't afford one?  There are lots of things you can do with a single solitary light without an umbrella....

 

(Nikon D3s, 1600iso, Nikon 18-23F3.5-4.5@22mm.  1/40th@F5.6.  Single SB-900 Speedlight zoomed to 200mm on a light stand set to 1/16th power aimed directly down on the bride and groom fired by Pocket Wizard)

My Pal Scott at Roberts Distributors reminded me the other day that a little bit of hard light can go a long way sometimes.  The above photo was made using ambient light as a very little bit of fill light, with a single bare bulb strobe behind the Bride and Groom.  Yes it took several shots to get this one, in fact I'm pretty sure I have about 50 shots of the light blasting me in the eyes......but in the end this shot was worth the effort, and the bride and groom have something very unique to remember the moment with.  

Doesn't take much light sometimes.  Earlier this week I shot a semi commercial job using a single hard light actually.  It was kind of a last second job with no staff or budget, but we made it work.  Vincents Furs wanted some photos of their jackets, and the ads are going to look like a night out on the town.  Due to lack of any other preparation we went with the Single Speedlight approach.  Seemed to work ok.....

 

(Canon 5D Mark II, 320ISO, Canon 16-35F2.8L@18mm.  1/100th@F5.6.  Single Canon 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th Zoomed out to 24mm held directly over the table from camera right attached to the end of a Home Depot Paint pole fired by pocket wizard held by one of the Male models waiting for their turn to be shot.)

That's an outtake from the shoot.  Not sure if its what they are looking for or not, but we'll find out.  Probably would have been nice to have had drinks or something on the table, but with a lack of budget we weren't going to buy 12 beers for the cast and crew and then either finish the shoot a little beer'd up or leave them there....  

Sometimes though, you just need to go all out, or maybe just observe things are they are.........behold the beauty of photography.  Had a lot of different experiences the last two weeks since I've blogged.  Roller Derby Nationals is coming up in Chicago next weekend.  I won't be attending as I've got a few gigs here in Indy that I booked prior, but I will be represented by photography up there in programs and as some trading cards.  Derby season has started up again too.........but this is all too much to go into now....More Soon.

Big Jobs with Small Flash...

A few weeks ago I was offered an opportunity to redo all of the marketing material for a retirement community here in Indianapolis. As it turns out Justus homes isn't just a custom made housing company, but they also own several retirement villages. This opportunity came a little differently than a normal shoot like this would, as this one came through the newspaper as opposed to from the outside world. Anybody who reads the blog, knows that I prefer to use Speedlights when on location, but sometimes getting down to low 100 or 200ISO can be tough with speedlights. Advancements in cameras allow us to climb relatively high into the ISO scale to accomplish what we need with minimal noise though. I've shot jobs with lights that have taken me all the way up to 2500ISO for commercial print. The D3 is an amazing camera when it comes to High ISO noise, but despite that fact, the lower you can stay in an ISO range, the better. That's not why I chose to shoot this assignment for the newspaper with my personal Nikon gear though. I chose to shoot this with my personal Nikon gear instead of the 5D Mark II and L lenses they provide me is because of the Nikon iTTL Wireless Speedlight system.

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-F4.5@26mm. 1/50th@F5. Single SB900 Speedlight behind the wall to camera right pointed towards the coffee drinking lady at the table shot through a 43" Umbrella on a stand set to TTL+/-, Single SB900 Speedlight set to TTL-1 zoomed to 70mm Fired into the opened refrigerator door to illuminate the food prep lady. Both Speedlights fired by Nikon SU-800 Speedlight Commander on Camera)

The director of marketing had some very specific things in mind when it came to the shots we were to take at the Crestwood Village retirement communities. (At the time of this blog, the media on the website aren't mine. The media on the Direct mail is though). These communities are especially known for hosting an active lifestyle, and all of the residents that I met were genuinely ecstatic to be not only there for the photos, but to live there in general. The staff was very helpful as well, always making sure peoples concerns and needs were taken care of, which in this next photo was something we wanted to show.

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 50mmF1.4G, 1/400th@F2. Two SB-900 Speedlights zoomed to 70mm set to 1/4th power sitting on the desk pointed into a bedsheet draped on the wall to camera left. Both Speedlights were fired by SU800 Speedlight commander unit from on camera.)

Aside from that yellow office being yellow, it was significantly smaller than it looks in this photo. Made sure to use the trusty bed sheet for lotsa reasons. All the residents thought I was out of my mind when it was pulled out of the bag, but when they saw the result on the back of the camera I received half of my perceived sanity back. There were still plenty of thigs I did later that day that removed that last bit of percieved sanity though, which is why I kept track of getting it back I suppose. Things like this...

(Nikon D3, 250ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@35mm@35mm. 1/30th@F8. Single SB900 Speedlight to above camera right set to 1/4th power fired by pocket wizard through a 16" FotoRosa softbox. Single SB900 Speedlight in the hallways fired by pocketwizard into the hallways ceiling set to 1/4th power. Single SB800 Speedlight zoomed to 105mm fired by SU-4 Magic eye set to 1/2 power shot directly into the lamp on the bedstand to the left of the frame, and the bed.)

This may look like someone looking at a laptop on a bed, but really it's someone looking at a laptop on a bed while being lit by a strobe bounced off of a lamp. Like I say when I give lighting workshops; light is like a kid in a mud farm, it picks up the color of anything it touches. In this big blue room I couldn't use the walls to bounce the lights, and I didn't want to waste the models time going back out to the car to get yet another light modifier like a reflector. The white lampshade in the corner of the room did just fine. Really it was a bit of a gamble, I had no idea how much spill there was going to be, but happy accidents are just as good as planned accidents in my book.

(Nikon D3, 400ISO, Nikon 85mmF1.4D, 1/60th@F8. Single SB900 Speedlight fired through a 42" Umbrella set to iTTL +1 to above camera left. Single SB900 fired through a 43" umbrella set to 1/4th to behind the left of the subjects fired by SU-4 Magic eye. Single Nikon SB800 Speedlight sitting on a table to camera right set to iTTL +2 shot into the wall to camera right as to illuminate the ambient in the scene.)

Those guys were more than eager to play poker for us for a little bit. The room was relatively large, but the three speedlights made relatively short work of it all, creating media that the director was very pleased with capable of being printed poster sized which made the client incredibly happy. I'm pretty sure the three gentlemen continued to play poker for a while after we left too, which was too funny as I have no idea how they actually concentrated while I was there. Speaking of concentrating though, These ladies got the good end of the deal; we gave them cake!

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 85mmF1.4D, 1/200th@F2. Single SB900 Speedlight 20 feet to camera right set to iTTL+1 shot through a 43" umbrella. Single SB900 to above cameara left set to iTTL +/-0 fired through a 43" Umbrella as well, Single SB800 Speedlight zoomed to 105mm set to 1/4 shot into the ceiling 45ish or so feet behind the table being photographed. All speedlights were fired by a Nikon SU-800 Commander Unit from On Camera.)

This room is probably about 75 feet deep, and 40 feet across, and the small strobes I packed in the bag did a wonderful job of lighting this for me. It's definitely an advantage of using the Small strobes out places, but what really makes things work well is the wireless iTTL of the Nikon speedlight system. Without this, it would have taken me much longer shoot these photos, having to moved to adjust the lights every time there was a mistake, or having to figure out the ratios during setup. As it was, I traveled 147 miles that day to four different Crestwood Village locations and was able to provide quite a few usable images to the client; many more images than were shown here.

Shooting with small strobes is greatly versatile, Nikon and Canon have given photographers the power to quickly light things like never before. It's not just about being able to take your camera up to 1600ISO if you want to, because you should only do that when you NEED to. Now it's about being able to shoot ANYTHING for glossy poster quality. Anything's possible in any space. Joe McNally once used 47 speedlights to light up an aircraft. What could you do with a few? More Soon.

Going Green...

Going green seems to be the trend these days. Rechargeable batteries that you can charge 10,000 times and will hold their charge for 900% longer. Laptops that are made out of fewer parts, so there is less waste than ever before, and can also be recycled when they are done into lord knows what. Probably flowers, maybe that's the secret ingredient to the batteries that last 900% longer;recycled laptops......mixed with Cheetos.... Anyway, everybody seems to be going green. Not long ago I was assigned to to shoot some photos for the Indianapolis Public Library system who just recently started using green library bags. Apparently you go into the library and pay a couple bucks, and in return you get Green (yet not actually GREEN) Library book bag.

(Canon EOS5D Mark II, 200ISO, Canon100mmF2.8 Macro, 1/125th@F3.5. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight put through a FotoRosa 16" Softbox set to 1/4th power raised above right of Sue Fired by Pocket Wizard.)

That's it. LIke I said, it's not actually green, but it is definitely a green bag. Made out of some not so space age material that is good for the environment. Unfortunately the librarian that was assigned to me didn't exactly know what the chemical makeup of the bags were, not that I'd have understood exactly what all that meant anyway, but I assure you that these were Green/Good for the environment bags.

(Canon EOS5D Mark II, 200ISO, Canon EF16-35mmF2.8L@16mm. 1/40th@F5. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight shot through a FotoRosa 16" Softbox set to 1/4th power fired by pocket wizard to camera left. Single Canon 580EX SPeedlight zoomed to 35mm behind Sue set to 1/16th power bare light fired by pocket wizard.)

That's Sue Kennedy. She runs the Irvington Library branch of the Indianapolis Public Library system. She was the major lead to the story in information regarding the bags. I asked her immediately if she invented these bags, and if the blue coloring was a side effect of the fact that the bags were actually green. She didn't know. She did however seem to know the library like the back of her hand. She was continually putting books away as we were walking around the library. She knew exactly where they were, even spotting when one was out of place. I don't know where half the things in my house belong, much less would I be able to recognize it being out of place at a glance. She seems to know her profession the way that most people dream of knowing what they do, but only a small percentage actually do. May we all one day be so lucky. More Soon.

Making a Scene...

So the last few posts I've done have been more photography related news, and my own announcement of publications I've helped produce being published than anything of recent or instructional photographic value. The latest posts have NOT been heavily related to individual photographic efforts, or photography that I have taken in general, nor the wild harebrained effort involved in getting the shot. As I know that some people read the blog just for things like that, this post is dedicated to none other than a Senior Community.

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@24mm. 1/30th@F5.6. Nikon SB900 Speedlight set to 1/2 power zoomed to 70mm to camera left pointed at the ceiling for diffusion. Single Nikon Sb900 Speedlight set to half power zoomed to 200mm Pointed at the ceiling for diffusion to camera right, back by the wall. Both Speedlights fired by SU-800 Speedlight commander linked to a SC-28 off camera cable held where both speedlights could see it by Michael Guio)

Yup. It's like that. Crestwood Village Senior Living community and apartment homes. Exciting huh? I'd easily say that falls under the category of the non glamorus side of photography, except that it provides a very unique opportunity assuming you have an idea in your head, have a dream in your head, want to MAKE an image instead of take one. Generally this can be difficult as there isn't always time to consider your creative options, but part of being a photographer is making something out of nothing. It's what most of your clients will ask from you, and as long as you have an idea in your head, even if it seems like it's left field; why not try it out? LIterally do what they ask, and make something from nothing.....

(Nikon D3, 250ISO, Nikon 28-70mmF2.8@38mm 1/160th@F10)

That shot is the ambient light shot of the photo I want to take, barring a few minor changes. The best way to make a photo out of nothing, is to start with exactly that, adding lights where you want them. Showing what you want to show. My thoughts on this image were that of out of a wedding. It's usually very dark at a wedding, it's usually lit by spotlight, and usually it's very romantic. The hardest part about photography is having enough light in most cases. This is a great opportunity where there is enough light, but you can tailor it into whatever you want it to be.

(Nikon D3, 250ISO, Nikon 28-70mmF2.8@60mm, 1/160th@F10. Single SB800 Speedlight set to SU-4 mode pointed up at the piano player from on the keys set to 1/32nd power, zoomed out to 24mm. Single SB-900 unit zoomed to 200mm set to 1/2th power in the background on a stand. Single SB-900 unit set to 1/4th power shot through a FotoRosa 16" softbox held above the couple dancing by Michael Guio. The SB-900's were fired with the SU-800 Speedlight Commander from on Camera, the SB800 was fired as a result of the flash from the SB900's)

That's the final shot. Little puddle lighting, little spotlight flare, little romantic dance light. A lot like a wedding which was what I was looking for. I don't think these two are getting married, but they could have been married 75 years, which is definitely a reason to dance. I think it could use a little color, but at the time I was running a bit behind and I had to go back and take the safe shot. The shot that is the first one shown in the blog is the safe shot, and yea I shot that one last. I went for the gold straight away, which isn't always the best way to do things, but in the end I'm relatively happy with the image. There are things I'd do differently next time, but that's what you learn by trying new things. I also think that the lady on the piano is scary beyond all reason. She'll probably get cropped out of the final image that gets used by the Village, but that's ok as sometimes clients crop things like you wouldn't, or use things nowhere close to how you want. For all I know, the Village would rather have what I consider to be the very bland shot that I started this post with. Whatever they decide, as long as they are pleased with having options to choose from.

In the end, starting with nothing and making something is always a great option. It's not often that I get to do something like that and would love to continue doing more of it. It creates a much more dynamic image, which in some cases is point. Making something normal, and making it better than that. Don't take the picture, make the picture. More soon.

Water Droplets....

A few weeks ago I gave a presentation to the PhotoVenture Camera Club here in Indianapolis on Macro Photography. I unfortunately wasn't as prepared for that presentation as I'd have liked to have been because I hadn't shot water droplets and I wanted to show them something that I know a lot of people have interest in (other than bugs, flowers and diamonds of course). So at the end of my presentation I made sure to specifically promise an in depth tutorial about shooting water droplets. Here we go...


List of materials needed is as follows:
-Colored background (important)
-At least 1 strobe that can be fired either via wireless flash, pocket wizard, or off camera cable
-Water (duh)
-Plastic Baggie
-Trash can
-Paper towels
-Thumb Tack
-Tripod
-Cable release
-Snacks
-Fishbowl, large snack bowl, Flower Vase, Basically a glass or plastic transparent vessel to put water into
-Patience

The thing to remember is that you may not get this on the first try, but once you get the idea you'll get some really cool stuff. You'll want to set your camera to Manual Focus and set it to where you think the water drops will land. (AIm for the middle of whatever you are using to drop them into). Keep in mind that you aren't going to have much depth of field to work with if you are using a macro lens and are getting close up. So you may not get sharp shots every time, but keep at it as it'll take a few drops. I used Ziplock bags and a regular thumbtack to make the hole to start the drips, because that's what I had on hand and because the plastic in those bags is usually pretty good meaning that the hole wasn't going to tear and create a waterfall on me.


The REAL key here is the light. You don't actually light the water droplets, you light the background. Water is transparent, and has very similar qualities to glass in some aspects. The easiest way to light glass is to light around it. This is why you want colored backgrounds. I took things one step further, buy providing two colored backgrounds. In my case it was Red and Blue, which gave the overall feel of the water a red one, but gave the highlights of the water a blue hue.

I used a cable release as to avoid touching the camera while firing the shutter. Like I said, you have kind of a slim depth of field while doing this, so any bit of camera movement you can avoid would be good. Also if I did it again I'd find a much larger vessel to put the water into, the smaller vase worked alright, but I'd rather shoot through as little glass as possible for something like this. Every layer of glass between you and your subject is a texture, blur, or other that can get in the way of the sharpness of your image.

(Photo By Brad Clampitt on his iPhone to illustrate the lighting of the background)






It doesn't look like much (and the video was towards the end when I was getting faster while looking for drop on drop action) but believe it or not that setup can yield results....


The final image is here:

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 105mmF2.8VR Macro, 1/125th@F25. Nikon SB-900 Speedlight zoomed to 135mm fired into the red binder sleeve behind the vase set to 1/4th power Fired by Pocket Wizard. Camera fired by MC-36 Digital Remote Release. Side note: the above photo shows two speedlights. Only one was firing, the other was setup in case I wanted another one, which I didn't)

I'll have to say that I was pleased with the result, yet at the same time there are things I'd have done differently, which is mostly getting a larger tank. Keep in mind that it takes some time to get the timing down, and you wont get this on your first try. I took 576 shots yesterday afternoon while doing this, and there are a lot where the drops didn't land where the camera was focused, or where i was just a little too slow, or fast to catch it. To avoid this problem you can buy or make an audio trigger for your camera. I however just decided to wing it, and burn a few shots. I learned a lot, and I hope anyone that reads this learns a few things too. Coming up I've got a few interesting entries. One details the use of a Nikon D2x while shooting a concert along side a Much newer and more advanced D700. Others include the engagement of some friends as seen below, so definitely check back because as always: More Soon.

(Nikon D3, 200ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@24mm, 1/160@F22. Single Nikon SB-900 Speedlight set to TTL +3 held on the end of a light stand by Joseph Lee fired by an on camera SB-900 set to master mode.)

Your own worst critic...

Ever watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000? Those guys are some tough movie critics if I ever saw any. No movie is safe from their judgmental eyes. I like to tell people that they are their own worst critics when it comes to either photos of themselves, or their photography in general. I am no different, and a good friend of mine made mention to me that it never seemed like I was happy with anything that I shot. EVER. I told him he had a good point, and reminded him of the previous statement. In fact however, last friday I had a shoot that I ended very happy with (except for maybe the travel time to shoot time ratio...)

(Canon 5D Mark II, 250ISO, Canon 16-35mmF2.8L@30mm. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th power shot through a 42" Umbrella to camera right fired by pocket wizard)

That's John. He is an honorable mention in the IndyStar's Salute to Nurses that I mentioned in the previous post. I drove 45 minutes to Anderson Indiana to take this photo of John, which required my simple go to lighting scheme. A single speedlight with a 42" umbrella. Simple, effective, I like it. The Hospital liked it too, and that's more important than what I think in the end, but I DID take 45 minutes to drive up there, so I wasn't about to be done shooting after 15 minutes. It turns out that this particular hospital in Anderson is on the top of the list for Computers in the rooms at patients bedsides. These computers give the nurses tons of information about about each patient immediately at their fingertips. Plus it lets them update their facebook, or watch movies while at work..... ok well maybe not, but I did actually ask... This is the shot I came up with.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 320ISO, Canon EF70-200mmISF2.8L@70mm. Canon 580EX Speedlight snooted set to 1/16th power shot into the computer monitor fired by pocket wizard, Single 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th power snooted with a FotoRosa Snoot and zoomed to 105mm set to 1/16th power fired by pocket wizard aimed directly at the patients head.)

This shot took a few more minutes to set up, as we had to find a nurse to volunteer to be the patient. I also used two lights, both with snoots to selectively light parts of the image. At the end of the day, I shot in the hospital for about 1/2 the amount of time as the round trip travel time, but at the same time I was pleased with the two setups that I ended up with.

In the end my buddy Mike was right. There are still things I would change about these photos, and I am a believe that there is no such thing as "good enough". Despite that fact, I do like how these two shots turned out and can only hope that the more I shoot the luckier I get to where I'll like a lot more of them right out of the gate. I can tell you one thing though, my best photo has yet to be taken, but I'm looking for it. More Soon.

Back in Action...

It's been a while since I've made a post, which goes completely against what I was trying to go for. Unfortunately I don't have internet tubes at home currently which makes posting every week (or twice a week was was my recent goal) somewhat difficult. Either way, I still have been shooting, I still have been lighting, I still have been carrying entirely too much equipment around, and I have been mixing Jalapeno Cheetos and peanut butter on occasion just to spice things up a bit. During the slight off time though I have been asked to give a few presentations, I've been asked increasingly more lighting questions, and I've definitely been asking more people where I've parked my car.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 640ISO, Canon EF100MMF2.8Macro, 1/25th@F14. Single Canon 580EX through a 42" umbrella set to full power camera left fired by Pocket Wizard. Single Canon 580EX fired through another 42" umbrella set to half power to camera right fired y pocket wizard. White balance set to Cloudy Day to bring out more of the orange in the sunflower.)

Been asked to go back to the Photo Venture Camera club on April 1st to give a presentation about shooting Macro Photography. Great group, I've spoken there before except last time it was about Sports Photography centering in Roller Derby. Great group of people who are extra eager to learn anything they can about photography, and I look forward to speaking to them again. The shot above was shot on the nicest day of the year thus far, during last week. Unfortunately it was also shot artificially lit inside the garage of a florist...


(Nikon D3, 800ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@175mm, 1/250th@F4. Single Dynalight 400JR to camera abott 70 feet behind camera right bare bulb set to just under full power, Single Dynalight 400JR set to a little above half power about 70 feet behind camera left bare bulb. Both lights fired by Pocket Wizard Plus II's.)

Also been asked to go speak to a new photo group named the Indy MU Photo Club about Sports Photography prior to a club trip to the Roller Derby in April. They are also very interested in some on location lighting that I have done, which ties in nicely with a lot of work that I have done lately with the Salute to Nurses here in the Indiana Area. As I've mentioned before, working in hospitals can be extra tough as you have patient rights and identities to consider, as well as they are not the most expansive of venue's. See the photo below for an indicator on that, and keep your eyes peeled. LOTS more soon.

(Look for more information about this shoot coming up soon)

Indy Warehouse Photo Group...

A few weeks ago my buddy Joe Lee asked if I'd be interested in doing a shoot in a building he knew of that was covered in professional grade griffiti. What? do I look like someone that says no to something like that? At least I'm not as scary as this dude:


That's my buddy James, who showed up for about 10 minutes in the middle of all the commotion. He may look like the back alley guy that's looking for trouble but he really is one of the nicest guys you'll meet. He saw the event happening on facebook, and I told him if he showed up he'd probably end up with at least one cool photo of himself. He seemed to like this one when he saw it, and I can't complain about it either. It was a quick 5 minute shoot, which is my favorite kind. Got him in front of the wall, bing, bang and done. Easy as pie. That's what the workshop part of this was for though. Joe wanted to get some Pro's together with people that wanted to become better photographers so there would be kind of this learning collective thing going on. Personally I think it could have used a little better planning over all, but either way I met some people that got some shots they were pleased with, and the very little I did actually shoot; I was pleased too.


That lovely lady is Joe Lee's mom. Back when he first spoke to me about this event he asked if I would mind taking a minute to take a photo of her for him, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. She was a lovely lady, who was incredibly excited to be a part of this event, and I was thrilled the opportunity to take her photo. I wanted to do something a little different for her, and so I had the lovely Brittany stand in front of a light, as though she was spray-painting the graffiti. Originally i wanted it to appear as though Mrs. Lee was one of the graffiti artists, but now that I see what I came up with it appears as though Mrs. Lee is the supervisor. Either way you want to take it is fine. You could also think she was catching the artist in the act although I prefer to think of her as the rebel...


Speaking of Rebels, this lovely lady is Brittany. Pretty girl who wanted to do nothing that night but go outside. So outside is where we went alright; outside through the window onto the roof of the warehouse. She wanted the same thing that I wanted originally, which was something to do with the Skyline. I was more than up to the challenge of this, except that the one and major recognizable building in downtown Indianapolis wasn't lit up. That one building was the Chase Bank Tower in the center of the downtown. This is the shot that I really liked out of the set we shot though This could have been shot down on the ground, I realize this; but now I have the story about how I climbed through a window, used a work light to weigh down my umbrella and strobe, and then stood with wet shoes on a vinyl bar stool that was already unbalanced. It immediately reminds me of when I introduced myself to some of the people at the warehouse. One of the guy's responded with, "Yea I met you before, you like to climb on stuff don't you?" Busted... If I didn't climb on stuff though; I wouldn't have been able to get above the snow to catch that wicked green tint from the Mercury Vapor street light on the snow behind Brittany. Was it worth risking life and limb for? I think so, but then again I also think that if I spin in circles nobody can see me so you should probably decide for yourself.



The last shot that I did that night was of Jamaar. I saw him standing there, and another shooter brought a guitar with him. It just seemed appropriate, I won't even lie. I guess I thought he had that Lenny Kravitz thing going for him or something because this is what I saw. Quick 5 minute shoot to end the night.

Everybody seemed to have a good time there, some people shot really well, others weren't as happy with their performance as they would have liked but in the end it was a learning experience for everyone. There is already talk about doing another one, and I'm going to try to have more of a part in the organizational standpoint in that because like I said earlier; there were a few logistical things we could have done better. Otherwise I think everybody had a good time, and I guess next time I look forward to doing even better. More Soon.

Scary Hot Stuff.....

Scary hot can be a term used to describe so many things. The Sun for example can be considered scary hot. After all it probably is the hottest thing us as humans know to exist; other than of course another star someplace else.... either way it's the closest hottest thing we know of. Personally right now I'd describe the amount of work I've had to do as Scary Hot. I can't complain whatsoever, however it's detracted from certain things that I should be doing as a typical 25 year old, like having boatloads of fun (sometimes even on a boat...), Blogging..., sleeping, eating glue, accepting candy from strangers, and did I say sleeping?

I've been doing a lot of side shooting from the newspaper lately on top of what was already a wicked busy time at the newspaper; and that's been excellent. I can not complain at all as a lot of the stuff I've done recently has really worked out for me in the end. The amount of hours and time I've spent awake and shooting the last few weeks. That can definitely be considered being Scary Hot right now. Honestly though I love what I do and despite the fact that I may not make it out to a bar on some weekends or do some of the things that a typical 25 year old does; I'm cool with it. It's a little bit of prospecting mixed with a dash of already found, along with a pinch of slightly off my rocker that makes for a good combination of photography; at least in my world anyway. Especially when you have to do some things exceedingly quickly in some cases.


That was a 5 minute portrait that I shot at the Fight with Flight last weekend. Some people who read this will have seen it already, and some won't. I wanted to shoot a portrait of a Redbull girl while at the RedBull Fight with Flight event because I was there for myself; and that's what I wanted to do. In the Newspaper Biz a 5 minute portrait is usually 4:30 longer than whomever you are shooting figures it needs to be. Either way, it turned out pretty solid for very little planning and a little faith in the Nikon iTTL system. I was pleased with the result, and so was the lovely Emily. Most of what I do is on such a tight deadline, you need to be setup and ready to go before you even go and get the talent into the room. After all, their time is worth more than yours (whether that's true or not, if you think that way you'll never be in trouble). You can get in trouble though, because Emily is a Senior in High School. Does she fit into the Scary Hot category? HECK YEA. I'm pretty sure she's got to be 18 to work for RedBull, but just goes to show you never know....

With other events in mind I'm sure everybody noticed all the advertisements around for the, "Big Game." I won't even lie that since the term "Big Game", is somewhat ambiguous I'm going to agree with my friend Grand Ref Otto (Grand Theft Otto to the drunks). We are pretty sure everybody who mentioned "The Big Game" was referring to the roller derby bout last weekend. The Naptown Tornado Sirens beat Memphis last weekend and it was an awesome bout to see. You can check out the photos from that event here.



Speaking of the Roller Derby, and 5 minute portraits; that's the lovely miss "Kickabroad Crane". Rumor is that she's so touch she broke her foot while kickin a$$ and she kept on kickin. Literally, she was wearing one of those plastic boot things you get from the doctor after breaking your foot, so she was easy to commandeer to be a light test subject for something I wanted to see. Simple 2 light setup, not much photoshop required except to put the two shots together which was easy enough that I managed to figure it all out in just a few minute. I need to come up with a derby name that is somewhat mormon related so that way I can have many derby wives, becuase lots of these ladies would definitely fit into that description of Scary Hot that I mentioned earlier in the blog. That photo was taken tonight at the Practice Base after I got done taking the photos of the Freshest Fresh Meat for the programs at an upcoming away bout. Simple. Easy. I like it. I could definitely use more of the simple easy. More Soon.

Fight with Flight....

Last weekend I had the great experience of being invited out to accompany my friend Joseph Lee to shoot at the Red Bull 'Fight with Flight' event. That's right, the name of this post has no significance to me other than the fact that it was the name of the event that I shot. What a great event it was too. More than enough sugar and caffeine in all of the Red Bull that I drank to ensure that most of the photos that I shot were fuzzy due to shaky hands. I was there in no official capacity but was there just to shoot something new, different and on my own. I figured I'd either have the images for portfolio use, convince the newspaper to run a story about the event, or sell the images to someone. None of which has happened to this point, but I had a hell of a time for sure as it was an opportunity to do a few things that I haven't really done since I owned my D2x. Despite that I wasn't initially credentialed after a quick review of my photos I was granted a media credential for the day of competition. I'd like to once again thank Brittany, James, and Joe for helping make it all happen for me that day.

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@18mm. 1/100th@F5. Nikon SB-900 Set to iTTL +1EV zoomed to 200mm aimed with my left hand about arms length out fired by an SU-800 Speedlight commander unit on camera.)

The event was about flatlanding. It's basically flat land stunts on BMX bikes. Standing on the back of the bike using your foot to propel yourself, jumping onto the front handle bars and standing on it while the bike is moving, riding the bike backwards with one wheel up in the air eating Cheetos with peanut butter while yodeling...... Ok maybe not the last one, but it was definitely a pretty cool thing to see much less photograph. The guy in the photo above is Tyler Gilliard and whether you want to believe it or not that is not a photo of him falling. That's one of the tricks that the guys would do on the Bikes, is standing on the back and leaning far over while rotating in circles. Wild, Wild stuff.

(Nikon D3, 200ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@18mm. 1/40th@3.5. Nikon SB-900 Set to iTTL +0.7EV zoomed to 200mm with a warming gel aimed with my left hand about arms length out fired by an SU-800 Speedlight commander unit on camera. White balance set to 3050Kelvin)

In this photo of Jean-William Prevost, you can actually use the same effect as in the first photo with a bit slower shutter speed and a little color trickery. It's much more exciting and dynamic in my opinion than just seeing a guy frozen in time on a bicycle. For all you know the guy could be riding backwards when he's frozen in time. Subsequently I also have quite a few photos just as I describe here, but you do have to get the safety shots. Saftey shots being shots that you know people look for. You can get the artistic shots, the crazy shots, the wild idea shots; but only after you know you have something you can turn in at the end of the day to complete your assignment. You definitely can go after your wild idea shots ahead of time, and lord knows I do my fair share of last minute safety shooting, but overall you want to get your safety shots first.

(Nikon D3, 1600ISO, Nikon 70-200F2.8VR. 1/250th@F3.2. Nikon SB-900 Set to 1/16th power zoomed to 105mm fired by pocket wizard superclamped to a railing on the second level of the airplane hangar.)

That would be one of those shots actually. Like I said earlier, it was amazing what these guys can do on these bikes. I'd have killed myself at least 3 times had I been the one on the bike, but then again I'd probably have attempted the Cheetos yodeling thing I mentioned earlier because; why go unless you go all the way right? Most of the stuff that I shot during competition was like that, but Practice was really when I got to play around and thus earn my credential at the event.

(Nikon D3, 320ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@35mm. 1/250th@F7.1. Nikon SB-900 Set to 1/4th power zoomed to 200mm fired by pocket wizard aimed by Jeremiah underneath the plane wing to my right)

That's definitely not what the venue looked like, but sometimes you'll try anything to get a low ISO in awful lighting conditions. That's where my Experience with my old D2x came in; and that's where the idea for the shot above came from. The easiest way to get out of the rut of ISO is to make available light unavailable, which is exactly what I did above. Yea that's Tyler Gilliard again, he was the only one that seemed to accommodate my request to get closer to the airplane wing that I was laying on. Yea, I was laying on the wing of a 737 for this shot. I was far enough down that I was face over one side with the camera, and feet off the other side. I'm pretty sure it wasn't recommended but it's not recommended to accept candy from strangers either, and yet I do that quite a bit.

It was definitely something fun to attend, and even shoot even without the normal press credentials that I usually enjoy at these kinds of events. Despite my lack of any authority at all, I still managed to pull people aside and shoot a few out of the ordinary things. I find that not having a piece of equipment, or having certain permissions will just help spawn creativity. I have a great photo of Terry Adams that I can't post just yet. I had no idea who he was a the time, but I asked the Red Bull man in charge of the event (James) to help me find someone I could take 3 minutes to make a wicked photo with. He liked the idea, and introduced me to Mr. Terry Adams. I've got a nice portrait of one of the lovely Red Bull ladies in attendance, as well as some shots of two guys that helped make this event happen here in Indianapolis. Ironically out of all the sports images that I shot, it's the few 3 minute portraits that I did that I like the best. Lord the Irony. I'll be sure to alert everyone when the rest are up online as soon as I'm cleared to post them. More Soon.

(Nikon D3, 200ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@18mm. 1/60th@F4. Nikon SB-900 with the warming gel set to 1/2 power shot through a 20" square softbox to above camera left fired by pocket wizard. Single SB-900 Speedlight set to 1/8th power fired by pocket wizard superclamped to the Flight attendant station in the back of the airplane cabin. The camera's white balance was set to 3050kelvin to give the rear strobe that cool blue glow.)

Catching Bankrobbers...

First off I'd like to thank everyone for the wildly awesome feedback I received in regards to the last post about the Roller Derby time Lapse. I wish I'd have been able to catch it on a double header, but this seemed to work out alright. Because of all of the derby related traffic I've decided to follow up with another derby post, except this one is out of the 2010 Roller Derby Calendar.

(Nikon D3, 250ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@80mm, 1/30th@F7.1. Dynalight 400JR set to 1/2 Power hard light about 15 feet above the car to camera right fired by pocket wizard. Dynalight 400JR set to full power in the adjacent parking lot left set to full power with a 20 Degree grid fired by pocket wizard. About 15 feet in front of the car Renee was holding a snooted SB-900 zoomed to 200mm at 1/2 power fired by magic eye to illuminate Jen X's face (in the hat). To her right stood Mike Guio with a snooted SB-800 zoomed to 105mm set to 1/2 power fired my magic eye to illuminate Racer Xtacy's face. (far right).See the diagram below for a better explinatoin.)

This was easily one of my favorite shots out of the calendar this year. Not because of who is in it, not because it was a good concept, and not because of the car. It had to be one of my favorites because it came out almost exactly as intended. This shot is exceedingly close to straight out of camera. It wouldn't have happened without the help of Renee Petrina, Mike Lightening, Tom Klubens, Andrew Hoelting, Megan Gill, Michael Guio, and Jason Pittman. I also can't forget Kevin and Julie who own that beautiful 1929 V8 Ford Hot Rod. Gorgeous car. (Subsequently also the car that ate my SB-800 Speedlight last July also.)

The shot featured was one of the last ones that I shot, and it took just about all of us to pull it together.

Don't let this diagram fool you. It actually took me about 8 attempts to get it to look like this, and it's still barely legible; thus explaining why I don't diagram much...

The girls looked amazing, the outfits turned out great and the light ended up being perfect. Sometimes it's possible to have too many people helping on a shoot, but in this case we had just enough and might have been able to use one more. The money bags are actually pillow cases that we filled with shredded paper that we pilfered from the paper disposal recycling bins near Racer Xtacy's house. In other words, considering I still have the money bags in my garage, I'm probably holding someone's medical records and don't even know it.

We started the night working a little differently though. I wanted to try something a little more night getaway style with some cooler colors. The only thing I got out of that were some goofy test shots....


That got submitted to Light-Test.com but I don't think it actually ended up going anyplace. I enjoyed it though. That was about our 40th test shot with the three guys, I couldn't get the light just the way I wanted on those shots. I was much happier with the original concept when we shot it. Either way, it was a heck of a fun shoot. We all had a good time, everybody learned a thing or two, and the girls look as beautiful as ever.

It was a memorable shoot for everyone, including all the car club guys who were on the other side of the fence watching. For a few minutes they had forgotten about their cars to check out the ladies modeling. Then of course someone lit something on fire, and the crew had to drag even me back to the set. It was a late night because of all the test shot problems, but the girls and the crew were all troopers. As usual, you can find more of the behind the scenes shots here. The shot turned out to be one of my favorites, and I think the ladies in it are happy too, and that's all that I can ask for. More Soon.