PhotoWalkPro

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I had a little spare time this weekend so I ventured off to the deep dark recesses of my backyard with my video camera in tow so I could shoot a little tutorial.  I have spent a lot of time talking about processing HDR images but I’ve never really touched on one of the most important factors and that is capturing the necessary images for making the HDRs.  So today I present a short video on how I set up my camera when I am preparing to make HDRs.  I used a D300 but the settings should work with whichever dSLR you choose to use.  Enjoy!  And please,  no comments on how high my grass is. 

Here is the image that was created from the shots I took in the video.  The HDR file was created using Adobe Photoshop, the tonemapping was done with Photomatix Pro Ver. 3., and the image was then finished using ACR and Photoshop. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

What I really liked most about this show is that it was all about the photographer.  It is smaller than PMA and PhotoPlus but it had a nice feel to it.  It wasn’t about selling to the suits where the back meeting rooms are more important than what is on the show floor.  This is a show put on by photographers, for photographers and it shows.  Having said that, most of the exhibitors at the show were not showing anything that was brand new.  There were no unveilings going on.  Most of those are going to happen at PMA or, in the case of Sony, Casio, and Samsung, at CES.  So here are just a couple of things that caught my eye:

Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper – This stuff is just amazing.  I had certainly seen the press releases and heard others talk about it but this was my first chance to actually see it and touch it in person. Let me tell you, the buzz is definitely worthy of this great product.  I’m definitely going to buy some for my own stuff.  The only downfall for me is that there is no custom profiles for my older model 2200 printer.   As for the printers, the R1800 and R2400 printers are both great but for me, it is still the 3800 that still makes me giddy.  This thing just rocks, and it isn’t much larger than my 2200.

Nikon –  Nikon was of course showing off their newest DSLR cameras, the D3 and D300.  I won’t go into great detail on these because there are quite a few great reviews floating around the web.  What I will say is that these two cameras are amazing and make me feel like my D2Xs is a lesser camera (I never thought I would think that).  Along with the new bodies, Nikon was showcasing their new lenses.  The 14-24 and the 24-70.  Both lenses are f2.8 and are some of the smoothest focusing and sharpest lenses turned out by Nikon in some time.  They also had the new big boy lenses, the 400, 500, and 600, up for display.  Very sweet!

Canon of course also had their newbies out for display.  The 1DS Mark III which, although I am not a Canon guy, is a very impressive rig.  There is also the 40D which I have had a little time playing with and is a great option for the prosumer.  The Canon G9 is also making some noise as one of the best point-n-shoots that is definitely professional grade.  A very nice camera indeed.

Wacom – I had a chance to stop buy and see the new Cintiq 12WX.  I don’t even know how to describe this other that WOW!  It takes the pen tablet to a whole new level.  You don’t have to give up your monitor either.  It splits the video signal so that you can see it on the Cintiq as well as your monitor.  Wacom has definitely hit one out of the park with this one. 

Lumedyne - was showing off their new shoot-thru ring flash.  This is one of those hot portrait lighting techniques that will be made much easier with this new flash system. 

Hoodman – From the people that brought you the camera ldc loupe, Hoodman was showing off a new UDMA Firewire card reader.  It doesn’t sound like much but if you are going to be using ultra-fast UDMA memory cards, you are going to want a reader that will take advantage of that speed when downloading. 

Gallery Wrap Prints – This seems to be the big rage for large format printing.  I saw at least a dozen vendors that were offering this type or large format printing option on canvas and I have to say that it is pretty cool.  If you are offering your customers large format canvas, you will really want to look into this. 

Tons of Book Binders – I spent some time talking to renowned wedding photographer and all around great guy David Ziser at the show and we both agreed that the album/book market is exploding.  Wedding photographers are getting away from those traditional albums and moving towards the printed books that were made popular by Apples iPhoto.  There are now so many options for delivering your images that it almost makes me want to get back into the wedding business (I said almost). 

Kelby Training – The folks over at Kelby Training set up their first booth for the promotion of their new online training subscriptions and it was a great success.  That was due largely in part to having all those great Photoshop instructors on-hand to give a taste of what would be received with a subscription to the new service.  The entire Photoshop User TV crew was there (Scott, Dave, and Matt) as well as RC and Corey from Layers TV.  If you haven’t had a chance to check out the new training sessions, you should do yourself a favor and get on over to KelbyTraining.com.  It’s like going to Photoshop World without having to find a hotel room.

On a personal note, I was very psyched to visit the Kelby Training headquarters as well as the set for Photoshop User TV.  Yes, I got a peek behind the curtain to see how all the magic was made.  It was definitely a blast and was also nice to put some faces to the NAPP and Kelby Training folks that I have talked to on the phone but never previously met.

That’s all from sunny Tampa and the imagingUSA Expo.  I’m back on a plane home later today and back to work tomorrow.  See you then.

While browsing my morning blog run I made a stop at Terry White’s Tech Blog. Terry had a review of the Nikon 70-200 VR f/2.8 lens that he recently purchased. Seeing this inspired me to share my thoughts on a lens that I recently used for the first time. I am lucky enough to have access to a wide variety of photographic equipment and the lens I chose was the AF-S VR NIKKOR 200mm f/2G IF-E.

This is one magnificent lens! It is undoubtedly one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used. The excellent color rendition and saturation instantly improves your images without further processing. The bokeh is incredibly smooth and the shallow depth of field allows for some amazing isolation of your subject. As one reviewer on the B&H site noted, “objects transition from in-focus to out-of-focus in such a smooth and natural manner that it is almost imperceptible and makes viewing the images effortless.”

This would be an amazing lens for portraiture. The only downfall is that the 200mm focal length makes it a bit much with anything other than a full-frame camera (unless you like your portraits shot from across the room). The focus of the lens was extremely fast, as fast as any previous Nikon lens that I have used. The VR is rock-solid and that lovely large aperature allows you to keep shooting when the light gets low, long after everyone else has unpacked their tripods. Speaking of tripods, there is a rotating tripod collar that would work well with a monopod or tripod and feels very well balanced between lens and camera body.

So here’s the downside to this lens. It is BIG! It weighs in at a hefty 6.4 pounds. It is just the reality of using a telephoto with a large aperature. That weight will really start to get old fast when you have this attached to a DSLR. Don’t even think of using a neck strap unless you have the the neck muscles of Arnold. In addition to its weight is the size of the lens. It looks really impressive, especially with the lenshood in place, but it is bulky and doesn’t lend itself to being carried around in a shoulderbag with other equipment (it comes with its own luggage). The last item that would really put someone off from buying this lens is the pricetag. At a whopping $3999.95, it costs more than most DSLR cameras on the market today. I wouldn’t expect to see your average prosumer with this lens in their bag. I would think that you really need to make a living with this lens to justify the cost (doctors, lawyers, and Bill Gates excepted).

Here are a couple of examples from this lens mounted on a D200 body: