60d is one HOT MESS!

Haven't taken many fotos with my Canon 60d the past few weeks.   Instead, I have been researching Nikon 7100 and trying to find a way to fund it.  I called Canon regarding my concerns of my 6 month NEW 60d and was not impressed with the response. Each time I think I may have found a solution to either keeping my 60d and investing into a much nicer lens or embrace the Nikon 7100 and its very expensive lenses a fresh, more confusing problem will arise sending me back to the drawing board. The current thought is to keep the 60d and purchase a Sigma 85mm 1.4 lens - primarily for Portrait work.   I had worked my way to being comfortable in this decision until further research showed that the Sigma 85 mm 1.4 is designed for FULL frame cameras and my 60d has a smaller sensor.  It can mount on a 60d, but it will set the frame to 136mm which for my small 200 square foot studio I just don't think will give me enough space to take in the whole picture.

So, the journey continues.  Do I "dump" my Canon 60d and its inconsistent focus, no sync port, but has a great battery life?  Or, do I run into the arms of Nikon 7100 super sharp focus, high contrast, but so expensive I will have to sell a kidney to fund it?

I have been abducted by Aliens!

... Alien Bees that is.  My two ab800s arrived today.  Easy to assemble.  Easy to learn settings.  The only hiccup was on my side with my Canon 60D. It does not have a sync port!   But, I dug around my speed light equipment and was able to use my radio trigger.  The light with the ab800 is incredibly bright and powerful.  I was instantly impressed.  Going to purchase a 22 inch Beauty Dish to get the most out of the light.  So far so good.  Will update.  

Russia, As I See It

Soon, I will have an exhibit of my Russia & Ukraine images entitled : Russia, As I See It.  I started this Photography blog as part of the exhibit and it has quickly turned into a way for me to study my images and  reflect on the entire processes.    Although it will always be about photography, there will be posts from my models sharing their perspectives.  

Please feel free to comment, suggest and share.  

Soon, ......................Image

Brutal Foto Scene 2013 Part I Model: Andrea Jones

Just 2 days after arriving home from a 2 week trip to Russia and Ukraine I set up 3 fashion photography shoots!  I had seen a Vogue Fashion Photography contest campaign open to ALL photographers and I thought it was worth a shot.  My 3 models were Andrea Jones, Jessica Stark and Soraia Pargali. With Andrea Jones, we designed a dress out of a 15 ft of sheer black fabric which was inspired by a tornado.   Creating the dress took several hours of thought and creativity, but we came up with a dress that was unique and would convey our vision of Mother Nature - tornado and empowerment.

Feeling pretty good about our results we then began the actual photo shoot.  Andrea is a skilled model; she is active in various film productions and modeling gigs.  She worked the dress and her expressions brilliantly while I yelled: “Be the tornado!”  It quickly became apparent that the images were out of focus.

Fast forward through the hours of standard, and then not so standard, camera and lighting adjustments and we painstakingly managed to get a few workable photos.  I still have no idea what happened.  Why the camera could not focus on her face and eyes is still out of my realm of photography knowledge.    Maybe the light was absorbed in all the black?  One thing I can say with certainty is it pays to have creative, reliable, never say die models.  Andrea worked incredibly hard and the process was brutal!  She did everything she could. The failure was on my side.   She is the one who was able to make it happen and get the stellar photos that evening.    Image