The Digital Photo Guy

The Camera Loves Emily

In a previous post, I promised to post more photos of Emily as I finished processing them. Here are the ones I’ve finished to date. All images were made with a Pentax K-1 with a Pentax HD D-FA 24-70/2.8 and processed in Lightroom Classic.

If you’d like to photograph Emily in a workshop with assistance and instruction, register for the Red Bench Spring Fling Photo Extravaganza Weekend Workshop in Jerome, AZ (April 27-29) where Emily and other models will be available for workshops as well as 1-on-1 photo sessions. Instructors will also be available for individual mentoring. If you’re at all interested in nude and/or bodyscape photography, you will learn more in this one session than any other workshop this year.

Honest, Yongnuo Doesn’t Pay Me!

To date, I’ve written about the Yongnuo YN-622C-TX TTL flash controller, YN685 Canon TTL flash, YN560 manual flash and YN14-EX-C ring light for Canon TTL. Now, I want to tell you about the Yongnuo YN300-III from B&H.

I wanted a set of continuous lights to make it faster and easier to light art for reproduction. Based on my previous experience with Yongnuo products, I decided to try these and YN didn’t disappoint. First, the price can’t be beat – $63 for a light with accessories including 4 gels/diffusers and multiple mounting options. Next, it offers both 3200K and 5500K lights. I can have all 5500K or all 3200K or a mix of both. Third, this light can be controlled with a remote as well as an Android app. Finally, it can be powered by either 120v or LiON battery. Sadly neither the 120v power brick nor a battery are included but both are relatively inexpensive.

The integrated barn doors are very effective and the whole unit looks and feels well made. It’s not a pro grade light but, for projects around a home studio, it’s an outstanding value. Another cool features is the ability to control the lights in either 10% or 1% increments. So, if the light is set to 100% (full power) and you want 10%, it’s 9 clicks of the remote instead of 80. Conversely, if you decide you want 19%, 9 clicks of the 1% button gets you there. Last, if you use multiple lights, the controller can be set to different channels so they aren’t all adjusted each time you adjust one.

I haven’t done any stringent testing but they’re certainly well within the limits of my needs as measured with my Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478D-U Light Meter.  I can usually get within 1/10 stop with just a few adjustments. White Balance also appears very close when checked in Lightroom. If you need/want continuous lights, this is the best value.

A Pet Peeve (rant)

I’ve been noticing more and more “wanna be Rambos” in the news. These are people, usually men, who wear unauthorized military regalia and medals and spin fantastic yarns about secret missions behind enemy lines or some such baloney. There’s a whole network of real special operators whose personal mission is to uncover these fakes and expose them for what they are – cowards, liars & thieves, stealing the honor and valor of real heroes.

If you meet someone claiming to be a Vietnam-era Navy SEAL who partook of secret missions they can’t talk about but happily blabber on, you can bet your paycheck that they’re full of it. One of the biggest tells is if they claim their service records were lost in the 1973 National Archives fire. Given that only about 2-3 dozen Navy and Marine Corps records (out of approximately 18 million Army and Air Force records,) were lost in that fire, the chances of them being affected are between zero and nil.

There are many sites dedicated to unmasking these phonies. A quick Google search can help you find them. However, be aware that, unless they’re using their baloney for financial gain (fraud,) it’s not illegal to wear undeserved medals and tell lies. Just know that they’re cowards, liars and thieves.

In Vietnam, 80% of the personnel were support. I was an elite Remington Raider in a REMF unit. If you know what that means, you’re a real vet. If you don’t know, buy me a beer sometime and I’ll regale you with hair-raising stories about my 364 days “in-country.”

The Camera Loves Emily (contains nudity)

I met Emily last summer and was impressed with her intelligence, drive and “girl next door” good looks. I felt she had the qualities of an excellent model. Our first shoot was themed “Monsoon” where I wanted photos of Emily in a monsoonal rain, drenched from head to toe. As you can see, that idea was a bust. Our shoot was on a beautiful day with nary a cloud in sight. I did, however, get a chance to see Emily’s cute, adventurous nature mixed with her quick mind.

Last week, I invited Emily to participate in a nude shoot at Red Bench Photography Studio in Jerome, AZ which is owned by one of my favorite models, Zushka Biros. Being so new to the world of modeling, I was expecting her to be shy, tentative and/or nervous about posing nude. To my surprise, Emily jumped in with both feet and an enthusiastic, “I’m in!“

Emily turned out to be fearless in following directions as well as contributing her own ideas. And, the camera loves her. With new models, I’m lucky to get 5% good images; with Emily, I’ve identified over 50 good images and 15 or more great images. I’m still working on the rest so stay tuned for more of Emily in the near future.

All the photos were made with a Pentax K-1 and Pentax D FA 24-70/2.8 and processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Spring Fling Photo Extravaganza 2018

Speaking of the near future, Emily will be one of the models at Red Bench Photography’s Spring Fling Photo Extravaganza Workshop on April 27-29 at the Jerome studio. I can’t emphasize enough the studio’s beautiful light and artistic ambiance. I’ll be leading several sections on bodyscapes. You’ll have the opportunity to book time with the models to practice what you learn. Check it out and register soon because space is limited and there’s a huge discount for the first registrants.

Enough Talk, Finally Some Photos

I finally have enough experience with the K1 to make real photos. These aren’t controlled tests where I capture two photos under the same conditions with the K1 and 5D MkII and compare them side by side. If that’s what you want, click HERE. Be sure to select the appropriate cameras from the drop down menus.

In Feb 201, I had the opportunity to photograph two models, one in a studio and the other outdoors using natural light. For both shoots I primarily used the Pentax K1 although I made some shots with the Canon 5DII. In the studio, I controlled a pair of Yongnuo YN685C with a Yongnuo YN560-TX manual flash controller.

Here are a few of my favorites. In the studio, I stayed with my favorite genre of B&W bodyscapes but followed the model’s lead on some of her ideas.

This was the first time I’d worked with this model so it took a while to get into sync with each other. She’s an excellent model who isn’t afraid to give feedback on my directions.

The 2nd model is someone I’ve previously worked with several times. For her shoot, I asked some friends to use their property. This series was all natural light with a little help from a reflector.

Sometimes, it’s difficult to see minor differences in photos resized for the web but I believe the Pentax K1 advantage is significant. If not, you’ll have to take my word on it until you can get your hands on a K1 to see for yourself.

The next thing I want to evaluate is Pentax K1 Pixel Shift technology. The hold up is the search for a better RAW converter than the included Pentax SilkyPix processor. Right now, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom does an acceptable job but Adobe has made it clear they don’t intend to put anymore effort into it. I’m also reviewing RAWTherapee and Affinity Photo but neither has gotten much of a workout up to now.

It’s Been an Exciting Summer

My main laptop was bricked by a Microsoft update at the beginning of summer. Being on the road, it was difficult to get anything done so I simply put the blog on a backburner until I got home. Upon my return home, I discovered my Epson 7800 had croaked and I no longer had the capability to print 24″ wide prints. Of course, I had a stack of print orders to be printed so I ran around like a chicken without a head. In the process, I met a fellow who had just installed a Canon 44″ imagePROGRAF PRO-4000.This was fortuitous since I had been thinking of jumping ship to Canon. After creating ICC profiles using an X-Rite ColorMunki Photo, I was able to turn out prints very close to what I was getting from the Epson. I’m now slowly getting back to where I was in April 2017. I hope to get this blog back on schedule by mid-January. Thanks for reading.

Things to Consider When Moving to a New Camera System

Changing camera systems is much more involved than it appears on the surface. If you read my previous article about upgrading from a Canon 5D Mark II to a Pentax K1, you might think all I considered were the technical specifications. In this post, I’ll cover some of my other considerations such as lenses, accessories, flash and, even, software.

Lenses – The Soul of a Camera

All things being equal, a good camera with a mediocre lens will never be as good as a mediocre camera with an outstanding lens. Canon has many outstanding lenses. Pentax has fewer but just as outstanding lenses. If you’re a professional photographer who needs to cover a wide range of of focal lengths, Canon is your best bet. However, advanced amateurs usually only need 6-10 lenses at most. Over the last few years, my “go-to” Canon lens has been the 24-105/4L. The Pentax 24-70/2.8D FA nicely fills that range. In addition, a $15.95  adapter lets me mount two excellent 50 year old manual focus lenses, a Pentax Super Takumar 55/1.8 and a Tele-Lentar 135/3.5. That pretty much covers my lens needs for the Pentax at this time.

Flash – Third Parties Rule

If you use flash a lot, things can get a bit messy but the Speedlite gods were looking out for me. Flash is not Pentax’s strong suit and, as far as I can tell, there aren’t many 3rd party flash systems for Pentax. Canon, on the other hand, has a powerful and sophisticated Speedlite system with many 3rd party products.

A few years ago, I decided to go with a Chinese Yongnuo (YN) knock-off Canon systems. Today, I have just one Canon flash left in my stable, everything else is YN685. Of course, YN doesn’t make Pentax flashes as the market is too small. But, it turns out YN makes a manual flash controller for their Canon compatible flashes. So, a YN560-TX controller on my Pentax gives me full manual wireless control over my YN685 flashes. The controller manages all the YN flashes while the Pentax only issues a trigger. Of course, there’s no Pentax P-TTL mode but that’s not a problem for me since I never use TTL. In other words, I set the flash power via the controller and, when the shutter is released, the Pentax tells the system to fire, easy peasy. If all this sounds confusing, drop a comment and I’ll explain further.

Filters – Bigger is OK, Smaller is a PITA

The only filters I use are Circular Polarizer (CP,) InfraRed (IR) and Graduated Neutral Density (GradND.) The biggest front element on my current lenses is 77mm. Unfortunately, the Pentax 24-70/D FA has an 82mm front element so I need bigger filters. I can put bigger filters on smaller lenses but not the other way. Good filters (B+W, Hoya) from B&H cost about $125 each so add another $375. This stuff adds up in a hurry.

Thanks for the Memories!

I have a stack of Compact Flash (CF) cards for my Canon system. The Pentax uses SD cards. In fact, the K1 has two card slots. I don’t have to put in two cards but files can be written to both slots at the same time for redundancy so I want two cards. Granted memory cards aren’t all that expensive these days but four cards at $20 each is another $80.

Juice, aka Batteries

The Pentax K1 D-Li109 battery seems to have good battery life but per Murphy’s Law, batteries always die at the most inopportune moment. No photographer ventures into the field without spare batteries. At $50 each, that’s another $100 or so.

Software Can Cause Hard Problems

There are the usual update issues such as Adobe Camera RAW lag for new camera support but the usual workaround is using the manufacturer’s software. Bigger issues with cameras like the Pentax K1 involve new features that Adobe hasn’t yet fully implemented. Pixel Shift Resolution (PSR) falls into this category. Adobe Lightroom doesn’t really know what to do with PSR files. LR6 recognizes and can process PSR files but many report it’s not a great implementation. I haven’t yet used PSR to any degree so I can’t really say but if that’s the case, my workflow will suffer until Adobe catches up.

A lesser problem is Tethered Capture which requires a Pentax (Ricoh) plug-in for LR. It doesn’t offer the full range of controls but it’s a serviceable workaround. I use tethered shooting for studio work.

Upgrade Path to the Future

For me, this is a biggie. My next upgrade will be to Medium Format (MF.) With Hasselblad’s management woes adding to the company’s uncertainties and potential instabilities, I want a known, (somewhat) stable upgrade path. From a Pentax K1, the MF path is the Pentax 645Z, an outstanding 50MP MF with large, beautiful 5.3 micron pixels. Also, many K1 accessories will work with the 645Z.

There are rumors that Canon will introduce MF after the 5DS/R but that’s just a rumor. The Pentax 645Z is a proven winner and will be that much better by the time Canon releases a MF. Bottom line, I want a known path, not a “potential” rumor. The only downside to a 645Z, at this time, is the $7000 price tag. I’m betting the price will drop in the future.