For those of you that missed the FlashBus tour last spring, it's now available on DVD. The seminar covered everything off camera flash. The manual method of David Hobby and the TTL method of Joe McNally was covered by either slideshow or live demo. I was present for the Buffalo date and found it both informative and entertaining. However I found that David lost track of what we were there for late in his 1/2 of the show. He went into great detail on how he is changing his business model with his HOCO 360 project, sorry but I came here to learn about lighting. Unfortunately his second lighting dvd training set also suffered from the same off track marketing pitch. I was just interested in lighting, not how you intend to run your business in the future. Hobby's first lighting DVD set is more useful I found.
I've Ordered the DVD and will update this post with a review...
Update (15-Dec-2011): Haven't received it yet and regret the purchase already.. see next post "Adorama and Canadian Orders"
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Size Matters II - Moby C the Giant Polaroid Camera
I recently watched a Kelby Training video "A Day with Joe McNally" where he discussed his time spent using the Giant Polaroid Camera aka "Moby C". There are plenty of the 'large' Polaroid 20"x24" format cameras out there, but there was only one 'Giant' a 40" x 106" format behemoth. The camera has since been decommissioned with Polaroid falling on hard times and the closure of film production facilities.
Joe was first introduced to the camera while working on a story about the "Moby C" for the National Geographic magazine (the article was never published). He used a ballerina friend as a subject and had great success using the quirky camera. Then the 9/11 tragedy struck and Joe thought what better use of the camera than to photograph some of the people impacted by this monumental disaster. Within days he received funding for the project, which was huge considering each image cost $300 and within two weeks of 9/11 he proceeded to capture approximately 300 images.
Moby C is the size of a garage and requires three operators, two are actually encased in the camera itself. Your subject must be placed equidistant in front of the lens with the distance of the lens to the film holder. It's critical that the distance be equal since the lens even at f45 only provides a DOF of just 1/2 an inch. The camera has no focusing device so you move the subject back & forth until you have a focused image. Since the camera also has no shutter, your subject must remain in place as you kill the lights in the room as the camera operates as a camera obscura (a darkened chamber). The film is then loaded into the holder the lens cap is removed and you fire a huge amount of flash at your subject. Just like a typical Polaroid 90 seconds later you peel off the back and you have your image. The camera is essentially a copier which can duplicate a life size image of almost anyone on the planet.
The images were shown all across the country in the "Faces of Ground Zero — Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th" show, and again most recently in New York City as part of the 10th anniversary ceremonies. The show raised over 2 million dollars for the recovery fund. A Mamiya 6x7 camera was mounted just under Moby's lens and was used to trigger the flashes, the transparencies produced were used in two books which also helped raise funds for charity.
Moby C by the Numbers:
75lbs - weight of the U2 spy plane lens used.
F45 - fstop of the Lens
30,000 - watt seconds of flash required to light the subject.
1/2 inch - depth of field (DOF).
40 in x 106 in - width and length of the images produced.
300lbs - weigh of prints when framed.
$300 - cost per image.
$100,000 - cost of the "Faces of Ground Zero — Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th" project.
An amazing story about how this huge camera was used to capture the heroes and survivors of that tragic day. The rest of the video was spent showing what it takes to produce some very powerful and graphic images of two different styled dancers on location in a large warehouse. Insight into how locations are located, secured, insured etc.. was also provided by Joe's production assistant.
Joe was first introduced to the camera while working on a story about the "Moby C" for the National Geographic magazine (the article was never published). He used a ballerina friend as a subject and had great success using the quirky camera. Then the 9/11 tragedy struck and Joe thought what better use of the camera than to photograph some of the people impacted by this monumental disaster. Within days he received funding for the project, which was huge considering each image cost $300 and within two weeks of 9/11 he proceeded to capture approximately 300 images.
Moby C is the size of a garage and requires three operators, two are actually encased in the camera itself. Your subject must be placed equidistant in front of the lens with the distance of the lens to the film holder. It's critical that the distance be equal since the lens even at f45 only provides a DOF of just 1/2 an inch. The camera has no focusing device so you move the subject back & forth until you have a focused image. Since the camera also has no shutter, your subject must remain in place as you kill the lights in the room as the camera operates as a camera obscura (a darkened chamber). The film is then loaded into the holder the lens cap is removed and you fire a huge amount of flash at your subject. Just like a typical Polaroid 90 seconds later you peel off the back and you have your image. The camera is essentially a copier which can duplicate a life size image of almost anyone on the planet.
The images were shown all across the country in the "Faces of Ground Zero — Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th" show, and again most recently in New York City as part of the 10th anniversary ceremonies. The show raised over 2 million dollars for the recovery fund. A Mamiya 6x7 camera was mounted just under Moby's lens and was used to trigger the flashes, the transparencies produced were used in two books which also helped raise funds for charity.
Moby C by the Numbers:
75lbs - weight of the U2 spy plane lens used.
F45 - fstop of the Lens
30,000 - watt seconds of flash required to light the subject.
1/2 inch - depth of field (DOF).
40 in x 106 in - width and length of the images produced.
300lbs - weigh of prints when framed.
$300 - cost per image.
$100,000 - cost of the "Faces of Ground Zero — Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th" project.
An amazing story about how this huge camera was used to capture the heroes and survivors of that tragic day. The rest of the video was spent showing what it takes to produce some very powerful and graphic images of two different styled dancers on location in a large warehouse. Insight into how locations are located, secured, insured etc.. was also provided by Joe's production assistant.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Size Matters - DSLR Size
Upgrading or buying a new camera? Here is a web site that will allow you to compare the physical size of two cameras bodies. It displays different views front, back and both sides for most models and will also let you stack one camera in front of the other to directly compare the size of the two bodies. The images of the cameras are very well done and can be used to compare button layout changes between models if you're planning an upgrade. Unfortunately the model selection seems to be limited to only a few older models (ex: Canon x0D line only contains the 50D forward).
Camera Size
Camera Size
Friday, October 21, 2011
Kelby Photoshop Power User - Toronto
Kelby training is coming back to Toronto on November 16th putting on a PhotoShop CS5 Power User course. As usual NAPP members can save $20 on the $99 fee , but if you order before November 1st you can save an extra $10.
Update (18-Nov): The training was great, Dave Cross is one of the best presenters I've seen live here in Toronto so far from Kelby. Great sense of humor that makes learning easier if entertaining at the same time.
The Bang Bang Club
The core group was made up of Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and João Silva other war correspondents like James Nachtwey were also present during the conflict. Their story was made into a movie which premiered during the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 which closely followed the earlier released book (2000) under the same name "The Bang Bang Club". The movie although interesting didn't capture the internal conflict of what these guys were going through at the time. When someone is being murdered in front of you do you take the shot or try to intervene? Marinovich won a Pulitzer for an image of a burning man being attacked with a machete. When a fellow photographer is wounded as was the case with Marinovich and Oosterbroek (who died of his wounds) do you capture an image before providing first aid? Kevin Carter who captured a Pulitzer prize winning image of a vulture stalking a starving Sudanese girl was often questioned by the press "What did you do to help the girl after taking the shot" nothing. He committed suicide shortly after losing his friend Ken and dealing with all of the violence he had seen during the conflict.
If you haven't seen the movie I suggest renting it, but please go get a copy of the book it is a really good read, and provides a small taste of what these guys went through on a daily basis putting their life on the line to get the shot, chasing the Bang Bang.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Henry's Fall Camera / Video Show
Henry's Exposure: Camera Video show takes place this weekend at the Toronto International Center
Update (15-Oct): Went to the show today took in a couple of the seminars NIK software ( I was really impressed with some of their plugins) another was a bird photography introduction at the Nikon booth (less than impressed).
One thing Henry's needs to do is regulate the sound systems used in the booths and competing demonstration areas. There were companies blaring unnecessary musical introductions to there product videos that were drowning out presenters who were trying to communicate with attendees of training demos. I can understand that they are trying to attract customers but audio that fills the entire hall is annoying and just plain rude.
Update (15-Oct): Went to the show today took in a couple of the seminars NIK software ( I was really impressed with some of their plugins) another was a bird photography introduction at the Nikon booth (less than impressed).
One thing Henry's needs to do is regulate the sound systems used in the booths and competing demonstration areas. There were companies blaring unnecessary musical introductions to there product videos that were drowning out presenters who were trying to communicate with attendees of training demos. I can understand that they are trying to attract customers but audio that fills the entire hall is annoying and just plain rude.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Toronto International Film Fest 2011 (TIFF)
TIFF continues to move events downtown away from Yorkville. They added another gala venue this year the Prince of Whales Theater (PAW) on King street getting rid of the Varisty Theater from their line up. PAW has limited fan space but at least there is a dedicated area unlike the Elgin which I tend to avoid and thankfully seemed to have fewer big name attendees this year which was good. Roy Thompson Hall (RTH) seem to be the place to be this year, I only made it to Ryerson one night and once to the new PAW venue for a matinee gala of Coppola's "Twixt". I found that regardless of the venue people are starting to show up earlier each year to grab some prime real estate on the rail. Also standing on a crate is a must even in the front row to get over the heads of the camera crews who insist on filming every possible second of autograph signing. I mean how much footage is enough, it's not even being broadcasted on TV, used just for the local big screens around Toronto (get out of the way already!!).
The guest list (those that attended, not the list posted on the TIFF site which is often wrong) contained a lot of new faces for me along with a few repeats which allowed me to obtain better images from the old point & shoot days. Directors Coppolla and Schumacher returned this year, guys that I captured in the very first years of doing this craziness. Other repeats included Nic Cage who I saw back in 2002 but the images were such crap I never posted them. Others included Brad & Angie, Clooney, Butler, Cornish and Garner to name just a few. A stand out repeat was Viggo who laughed when I asked about his cherished HABS, he proudly flashed his fan provided Canadiens bracelet, great guy. The big names this year were Clooney, Pitt and Jolie who were all great with the fans, showing up early and spending a lot of time signing autographs etc...
One of the biggest names that was new for me and not on the TIFF list was Robert De Niro who I missed last year due to the Elgin location. Surprisingly he too was great signing autographs which I thought would never happen. Another new face was Jason Statham who made an encore appearance at the rail to sign and spend time with the fans he may have missed first time around. More new faces than repeats this year I think. Glenn Close, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Olivia Wilde , Philip Seymour Hoffman, Val Kilmer and Anna Kendrick were just some of the new faces of the many this year...
Oscar winners this year included: Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Geoffrey Rush, Nicolas Cage and three time winner Francis Ford Coppola all repeats from previous years. Some new Oscar talent seen this year were: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei and two time winner Robert De Niro.
It was a pretty good year overall, spent some time with the usual suspects (friends) that I've made over the years. Holding your space on the rail sure is easier when you know someone and can share looking after each others stuff when nature calls. Someone lost, or should I say had their camera stolen when they took their eyes off their Nikon DSLR for just a second.
