Unending Faith
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/100 second, f/4.5, ISO 100
TV Time – Senior Citizen Stock Photo Shoot
One of my most popular stock photo themes this year has been the series I did in August featuring active senior citizens. This past Saturday I revisited the subject with another photo shoot at a local assisted living facility. Today’s image is a quick sample from the session. Mary and Gary (the models in this image) were FANTASTIC (all caps definitely warranted!) to work with. They truly blessed my life with their eagerness to help and great senses of humor.
On the technical side, this image is my tried-and-true television setup consisting of a 14×14″ softbox placed in front of the couple. I would have liked to have removed the picture frame from the top-right corner, but I was moving fast and it was bolted to the wall. I will probably eliminate it from the final stock image in editing.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/100 second, f/5.6, ISO 100
Save the Date: Scott Bourne Speaking at Pictureline 11.17.09
Earlier this month at Photoshop World, I was involved in a conversation with Scott Bourne and Nicole Young about a possible event featuring Scott in Salt Lake City. I am pleased to announce that we have finalized the details and are now taking sign-ups.
The event is scheduled for the evening of November 17th at Pictureline in Salt Lake City at 7:00 pm. The two hour session will begin with a short presentation (by me) on “Giving Back” before handing the microphone over to Scott for the remainder of the time. Scott will be showing his work and talking on the subject of “Previsualization”. In addition, he will be giving a gear demo and displaying examples of his stunning wildlife photography.
Here are the details from the registration page at Pictureline.com:
“Scott Bourne is a digital media pioneer and has been involved in photography for more than three decades. He’s the author of four photo books including, 88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography, Captivating Wildlife, with David Middleton, 88 Secrets to Photoshop for Photographers, and 88 Secrets to Wildlife Photography with Rod Barbee. Scott’s also authored three photography-related titles for Lynda.com.
His website, www.photofocus.com, is a widely used resource in the photographic industry.
Scott has led workshops and seminars for, Palm Beach Photographic Center, Cooperative Communicators of America, WPPA, The Professional Photographers of America, Seattle Art Center, and Olympic Mountain School of Photography. He holds the designation Apple Certified Professional Trainer (T3) for Apple’s Aperture. He’s also previously held the designation Certified Adobe Photoshop Instructor.
Scott is a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the National Association of Photoshop Professionals and the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA.) To see Scott’s bird portfolio or his general wildlife portfolio go to http://www.avianstock.com or http://www.photodiary.com.
Come to pictureline and listen to Scott’s presentation on pre-visualization and the impact that it has had on his life in the photo world. We are thrilled to have him speaking to us and look forward to having the great Salt Lake photo community in attendance. Reserve your seat today and receive a gift card of equal value when you attend the seminar.”
There is a $10 cost for the event, but as a great gesture of support Pictureline will be giving each attendee a $10 Pictureline Gift Card.
Space is limited, so I recommend signing up early. To view the registration page and reserve your seat, CLICK HERE.
I hope to see a great group of photographers on the 17th!
Canon G11: Applebee’s at ISO 3200
In yesterday’s post, I wrote that the #1 reason for my upgrade from the Canon G7 to the G11 was the improved low-light performance of this little point-and-shoot camera. Last night after band practice a group of us stopped at Applebee’s for some half price appetizers (after 9:00 pm M-TH!!!). Here’s a shot I took in the parking lot. This is an unedited JPG at ISO 3200 (full resolution available here). I’ve got to say that my initial impressions are quite favorable.
I’ve had a few people ask why I opted for this camera (the G11) rather than going for the Canon S90 with the same sensor, a more compact form factor and faster lens. The simple reason for me is that the G-series has a dedicated hotshoe which allows me to use my Speedlight flashes and PocketWizards.
A detailed “My Thoughts…” post about the G11 will be coming in the next week or so.
Canon G11 – 1/30 second, f/4.5, ISO 3200
Upgrade time: My Canon G7 makes way for the G11
My 3 year old point-and-shoot camera, a Canon G7, stepped aside today. The replacement: a Canon Powershot G11. I’ve only had the G11 for a couple hours and am still getting to know the camera. Since the biggest reason for the upgrade was the improvement in low-light/high ISO shooting I thought I’d share a quick sample.
The above image was one of the very first I took with the camera. It was shot with existing light at ISO 800. While the 100% crop sample of the eye shows a bit of digital noise, the image is quite usable. When contrasted with the nearly unusable results from the G7 at ISO’s greater than 400 (and even 400 was pushing it), the G11 passes with flying colors.
I will be playing around with this new camera over the coming days/weeks and will post back here with my impressions later on.
Canon G11 – 1/60 second, f/4.5, ISO 800
Save the Date: Old Greek Town (Salt Lake City) Photowalk
Photographer Ann Torrence on a recent Salt Lake City Photowalk. (image © Nicole Young)
The next Photowalking Utah event will be a walk around the Old Greek Town area of downtown Salt Lake City on October 17 @ 6:00 pm led by Nicole Young (that’s me!). The Old Greek Town area is just Southwest of “The Gateway” shopping district along the Trax line on 200 South.
This will be an evening photowalk to catch the “golden hour” of the day, and we will be photographing urban decay, older buildings, your fellow photographers, etc.
The event is free of charge and open to all photographers, regardless of skill level. We frequently have people bring point and shoots, SLRs, and even camera phones.
Location: Old Greek Town Trax Station (550 W. 200 South)
Time: 6:00-8:00 pm
Cost: Free!
Parking in this are is limited so consider riding Trax to the photowalk. I will be riding from the Sandy station at 4:44 pm to the Arena station, and walking to our meeting location.
For those planning on attending please join in on the Flickr discussion group. Hope to see you there!
Things are Looking Up
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/14, ISO 100
Dancing Through the "To Edit" List
I’m spending today wrapping up the image editing of last month’s ballroom dancing photo shoot for my stock photo portfolio. As I type this, I have no less than six other shoots on my “To Edit” list. I spend the majority of my worktime sitting at the computer editing/uploading/keywording images. That is one of the biggest things I have come to realize in the two plus years that I have been shooting full-time for iStockphoto. Years ago as a child when I dreamed of a career as a professional photographer it never occurred that this is what it would entail – sitting at a computer for hours on end.
My switch to Lightroom from Bridge this past summer has helped to speed up my editing workflow, but I still edit each image individually creating on average 5-6 layers in Photoshop before uploading.
Please don’t get me wrong though. I love being a photographer and with that the time spent in Photoshop. I would not want to change my job for anything in the world. I truly love what I do and feel blessed to be able to make a career of it.
Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100
