With the days now getting longer and the night brighter, it means it’s getting closer to summer. In some ways this is a good thing and hopefully we should get some better weather, however over at Churchdown skatepark it means even more little kids running madness at the park late into the evenings. So now the only really way to skate and shoot photos is at night! Only bad thing is that the park doesn’t have floodlights (yet??) but not to worry as who needs that when you’ve got flash power to play around with.
Taken off the SBC – Skateboard Canada site, photographer Ryan Allen. Ryan tells us about how his approach to photography has changed over the years, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his iconic container shoot with Rowley and more.
Well it’s been a while since I’ve shot film on my Bronica, but what better way to see if I’ve still got it than to bring it along to a weekend trip to London and shoot some skateboarding with Jake Watt.
I was a little bit worried about this being a 100% film trip as they are so many things that could go wrong when shooting skateboarding on film. Timing the trick is the biggest worry as you can’t see if it’s timed right or not and also making sure that the metering is spot on as well. So that goes for metering the scene as well as making sure the flashes are metered correctly.
Nevertheless I still went ahead with the idea and shot the whole trip on just 120. Below are two shots, more were taken but saving some for the book I’m working on (and trust me, they all turned out just right as well)
That’s right………after how many years of shooting photos I’ve finally got my first ever photograph published. Below is a scan of the photo, which appeared in the local Gloucester newspaper – The Citizen, on Thursday 23rd February.
Here’s the orginal version of the photo
I actually sent the photo into The Citizen back in June last year, after taking a walk around the Forest of Dean. Never heard anything back until now. It’s quite a nice feeling to know that they actually took the time to use the photo, as they must get quite a lot sent through to them, and making that final cut on what to use must be hard.
Well here’s to the first of hopefully many photos getting in print this year and years to come!
That’s right, Nikon have now just released their next DSLR camera the Nikon D800.
The styling of this camera looks very similar to the D4 in terms of the way Nikon have made the angle of the shutter button feel more comfortable in your hand, whether it does feel any different I’ll have to wait and see. One thing that Nikon seem to be doing now is increasing the megapixel count as the D800 now has a massive 36.3 FX sensor (that’s 3x times more resolution than the D700)
In addition to a new Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor and the new EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, specifically optimized for Nikon digital SLR cameras, the D800 is equipped with a new 91K-pixel (approximately 91,000 pixels) RGB sensor that supports the Advanced Scene Recognition System with its noteworthy advances in scene recognition performance. The camera is also equipped with a number of new functions, including Multi-area mode Full HD D-Movie that enables movie recording using either the FX-based movie format or the DX-based movie format.
One thing that has got me a bit confused is although it now has a massive sensor, so the file sizes are going to be a lot larger, the main reason why I went for the D700 was for the high fps this camera could cope with. However now it seems that the D800 can only fire at 4 fps consecutive shooting in FX/5:4 crop modes. 5 fps in 1.2x/DX crop modes. (Almost the same as what the older D3x can shoot at, although it’s still a little bit quicker than the Canon 5D MKII) So now what happens for those people who can’t afford the D4 but still want FX and a high burst mode?! We shall have to wait and see…..
The Nikon D800 is also compact and lightweight which is ideal for the production environment. Its features are very practical and functional usable by both filmmakers in the field and in the studio or filmmakers. Filmmakers have the option of multiple resolutions and frame ranges, including Full HD 1080 and HD 720 30/24p to 60p. By using the method of data compression B-Frame, the user can record video in H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC up to 29:59 minutes per clip. The optimized CMOS sensor reads the image data on rates incredibly quick results almost instantly.
The D800 also allows videographers to keep the resolution high-definition (1080p) regardless of the selected scene mode. Users can also compose and easily check critical focus for HD LCD monitor 3.2 “and 921 000 pixels with reinforced fabric, automatic control of brightness and wide viewing angle.
Check below for the video that was shot 100% with the new D800, make sure to watch it in HD!!
So overall this camera seems like a big advancement in technology but takes this camera more into the specialized field that the D3x was went it was first brought out. Yes having more mega pixels is nice but do we really need them unless you’re doing massive prints or professional studio work?! We shall have to wait and see.
One last video showing you a quick overview of the camera
I was a bit fed up of having that little pop up box on the About page for a list of the equipment I own. Therefore I thought I’d make a page listing all the stuff on as well as having a photo. Much nicer to look at and now no more pop ups.
Take a look here at the new equipment page by clicking here, otherwise hover over the About link on the site and there it is.
As photography keeps advancing into smaller, quicker and fast processing cameras, the same can be said with mobile technology and the cameras within them. Also with the next generation of smart phones, photography has seen a big improvements. Higher megapixel count, focus control the list goes on. However the one thing that makes todays smartphones even more clever are with the help of apps. This was the main reason why I went for an iPhone, due to the vast amounts of apps you can downloaded. Some are just a tad bit silly but some actaully are very useful and powerful tools. Therefore I’d thought I’d share with you some of the photographic Apps I’ve got installed on my iPhone and the reason behind them.
Flickr – This isn’t actually the Flickr app, just the mobile version of the site as I found the mobile app to be a bit too basic for what I was after. The Flickr web app is pretty much the same as the normal desktop version but just geared towards mobile devices. I think it’s just a nice way to see whats going on without having to fire up a desktop/laptop and still have the same power in my pocket! See who’s been commenting on my photos, see what others have been uploading, everything you get from the normal desktop site.
Instagram – App Store Link - One of the fastest growing photo sharing apps to date! Basically you take a photo of whatever you like, apply some effects (different film styles, add some “creative blur”) upload and hopefully some of your followers (similar to Twitter) will comment or like your photo. I’ve only just recently downloaded this app, mainly due to the fact I had an app which was similar but found that sharing the photos to Twitter to be very long-winded. Therefore changed to this one. Enough different effects to keep everyone happy and you’ll also be very surprised who you can find to follow on Instagram as well! If you guys fancy following my images my Isntagram profile is here – mattthomasphoto
Strobox – App Store Link – I did a quick review back in 2009 about this app and still have it installed on my iPhone since then. Haven’t really used it much but should defiantly be using it a bit more now for lighting diagrams to coincide with my book I’m doing. If you fancy reading the review take look now, although the app and everything has changed a little bit since then!!
Snapseed – App Store Link – One of the best editing apps out there!! Made by Nik software, who also make a load of software plugin’s for Lightroom and Photoshop. This app just does everything you’d every want. Change white balance, creative HDR style photos, crop, tilt/shift, selective adjust and you can even sharpen a photo. If you’ve got an iPhone, into photography and have always wanted to improve your iPhone photos…………download this app now. Below is a little video showing you the features of Snapseed on the iPad (although very much the same on iPhone)
Dev Chart – App Store Link – Haven’t really shot B/W film in quite a while, due to the fact I went on the cruise ship for a year and all my developer went off!! I’ll be getting back into it very soon though. This app is very much just a working model of the online site by Digitaltruth. You can select the developer you have, film, ISO you shot at, mixture you’re using to develop and away you go. It then tells you the time to develop for, when to use your stop bath and everything else a film buff needs to make sure his B/W comes out just right. There are soo many different settings you can play about with as well, it’s an app worth getting if you have no time for CF cards and more at home with 120 Tri-x 400 @ 800.
LightMeter – App Store Link – Surprising this app is actually pretty correct in giving exposure information. Yes I know today’s SLR cameras have the meters built-in etc etc however camera like my Bronica SQ-A don’t. With this app you basically pick whether you want to know the shutter or aperture value, take a picture and then feedbacks the correct settings. I’ve actually tested this against my D700 and was presently surprised at the outcome. extremely useful if you own an old film camera and don’t have access to a light meter.
NDCalc – App Store Link – If you own a 10 Stop ND filter (like me) having to guess the correct exposure or without having do some in head maths to work out the correct shutter speed can be a pain. However with this app you just say what the shutter speed is and it then tells you the correct one with the filter added. Also has a handy little timer to say when the time is up as well.
Photosynth – App Store Link – Quick and easy way to make pano images. Tap the screen to start and then to move the camera around the scene and the app snaps the images together. Once you’ve finished you just let the app render the completed pano and it’s done. Worth having if you just want to stitch two photos or even twenty-two. You can also be very creative with the app and have people three or four times within the same photo.
Well all in all that’s the overview of the photo apps I have installed on my iPhone and why. Some were free, some you had to pay for, but all of them give me an extra tool in my pocket to enhance my photography in some way.
Maybe it’s a tad geeky, but if everyone knew how memory cards worked my job at work would be soo much easier. Quite good knowing how each part plays it’s own role in capturing that file…..
Well it’s only been 18 days since I came up with the idea of doing this book, and I must say I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about it. At the moment just waiting for these cold winter nights/days to stop so I’m not freezing my fingers off when I’m shooting photos! Well below is a quick teaser of what to look out for, (well it’s mainly just one video from a photo I shot the other day, but still)
It’s not every day I let someone else hold my D700, or infact any part of my photography stuff. However today I was feeling a little bit on the kind side………plus I wanted to try and get this trick caught on camera. James Greenshields (who’s normally feeling the force of my flashes) was lucky enough to hold and snap and quick little photo down at Churchdown of me.
Makes a change from never having photos of me I guess!! Also Maverick, the people who built Churchdown, were kind enough to post it on their site here.
