Sunday Suit Shoot

For a while I have wanted to put together a portfolio for Rocky (Tanya’s brother) in the hope that it might generate some modeling work for him to raise some extra funds while he is studying. Last Sunday saw the first photo shoot. While he was a little nervous initially, he soon chilled and got into the swing of things and became as relaxed, confident and motivated as a photographer could wish for.

Copyright John E V Bailey 2009

The location was Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter which, among the myriad of modern developments and derelict buildings has some great little photographic locations. Tanya and I had cycled around before the shoot to do some location scouting to remind me of what was available and we found three or four great little “sets”. As it turned out we only had enough time for one before heading back to the studio for the session there.

Fashion Photography By Bitstream

We arrived at the first location at about 8:30 am (where assistant John was already waiting) to find a wonderful beam of sunlight breaking through the surrounding buildings. It was perfect. We quickly set up and started shooting and before we knew it the allocated 2 hours had passed.
The gear was loaded into the van and it was back to the studio for a cuppa, a change of tie and a flick through some fashion mags before setting up the lighting for session two. Two hours later and we were done. The images were backed-up to computer and optical disc before we headed off for a pub lunch.
Both the tailor and I were acutely aware of the potential problems with moiré that the cloth in this particular suit could create. As a precaution I shot a couple of rolls of film during the shoot, just in case. However, the images taken with the tripod-mounted Leaf Aptus 75 and the Mamiya 120mm macro prime lens were so sharp that every thread of detail was captured with no issues.

Photography by Rob, ably assisted by John E V Bailey (www.johnevbailey.com).
Suit, shirt and tie by Clements & Church (www.clementsandchurch.com).
Tanya was seconded as catering executive.

Pet Portraits From Photos

 

Tanya, my other half is so good when it comes to presents. She always manages to buy things that are creative, that have emotional value and this last Christmas she did well, even by her standards. 

Like a kid I like to nag her, demanding clues as to what I’m getting. Last year though she gave nothing away. Sneakily, she had been over to my parents (when she told me she was going to see her own family) and had gone through my photo collection to find some photos of our two treasures. The photos that she chose were about 15 years old and were snaps that I had taken when I first got into photography. She then sent them to an artist who specializes in pet portraits who created this wonderful pastel masterpiece.

Pet Portraits From Photos

What a nice surprise it was too on Christmas day. My parents got quite emotional when they saw it as these two have had such an impact on our lives and the picture captured them perfectly. 

If you would like one visit http://wendyatton.com for more information. She is highly recommended. 

Free Download: Photoshop Brushes

Here are some Photoshop brushes that can be used to add some “character” to photos – to make them look like they’ve been in your pocket for years, used as mats, folded and generally look, well grungey.

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Most of the time when I am out and about I have a camera with me, just in case something catches my eye. I created these brushes from textures that I have photographed in Birmingham.

Photoshop Brushes

The photos are loaded into Photoshop, converted to grayscale with some contrast adjustment applied before being converted to brushes (approx. 2500 pixels square). To use them, download the file, uncompress it and copy the .abr file to the Photoshop brushes folder. They can then be used to paint texture into your photos.

Cybercino Product Photography

I have something of a love/ hate thing with these machines. I love looking at the images when they’re finished but the mirror finish is spectacularly difficult to photograph.

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This one, the Cybercino can make you a fine cup of coffee, in fact while its grinding the beans and frothing the milk it could probably book you a flight too! Five years in development at a cost that could be confused with Fracino’s phone number, this machine is their new flagship model. The photos for the brochure (and potentially for the fleet of vans) had to reflect the quality of the manufacturing and of course they needed to be pin sharp with plenty of resolution and detail. Their sales manager also asked for a range of detail shots that would highlight the various features of the machine to supplement the main product shots.
For this assignment I used the Leaf Aptus 75 on the Mamiya 645 AFD. The main images were taken with the 150 mm prime, for the detail shots I used the 120 mm Macro (one outstanding piece of glass).
Keep an eye out for one in your local cafe or bar.

Book: Ansel Adams – Examples

Ansel Adams - Examples

To play the piano was the vocational future for Ansel Adams, that was until he was given his first camera (a Kodak Brownie) by his parents to take photographs while on a family trip to Yosemite National Park. From that point on his life (and the future of photography) was going to take a different direction.
School didn’t hold much for Adams junior and after the first disruptive years he was tutored from home. Luckily, his parents gave him the space to develop into whatever he wished, to follow his chosen path. As it turned out, photography was what inspired him and the impact that he had on it could not have been greater.
Inventor of the zone system, consultant to Polaroid, a master printer – he became the father of light. Prints in his exhibition are the sharpest, most detailed photographs you are ever likely to see, well worth a visit if you get the chance.
This book is about how he made forty of those photographs. It describes what he was thinking at the time, the equipment he used, what his motives were for taking the photographs and refreshingly, the mistakes he made along the way.
For me, a highlight is his description of his capture of Moonrise, an image lit by the setting sun. Having set up the shot for what was an opportune moment, he realized that he hadn’t got his exposure meter, so he worked out the exposure from the luminance of the moon (250 c/ft2) while taking into account the filter factor too. Truly a master of light.
An entertaining read that offers an insight into the mind and the processes of one of photography’s greatest ambassadors. Oh and forty rather nice prints as well.

Cleaning The Glass

 

You know the saying – look after your tools… I think that this applies to photography as much as to any other profession. Your camera, lenses, flashes, batteries etc. will reward you countless times with great images that you will want to keep forever. They can also p!ss you off royally when not working as they should. Wasting time in Photoshop removing lens specs and sensor marks can be really frustrating but at the same time can be easily avoided with a little care and attention. 

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Having spent a small fortune on glass I like to look after my lenses (and in a geeky way I find it quite therapeutic). Cleaning them at least once a month is par for the course. Even when I haven’t used a particular lens I still get it out and give it the once-over. That way I can approach jobs with complete confidence in the the gear I am using. 

I clean my lenses in stages, starting with donning a pair of rubber gloves (no its not a fetish, honest). Before taking the lens caps off the barrel gets a brush, wipe and a vacuum – that way I know that I’m not going to re-introduce dirt and dust later. Then the lens caps get the same. When shooting I try not to put lens caps (although sometimes it is difficult) in my pocket. It is surprising how much dust and fluff they can pick up as well as scratches if you have money and keys in there. 

The next thing is to clean the U.V. filter. I keep these on the lenses to protect the front element (as well as to minimize the amount of U.V. light hitting the sensor) but remove them when shooting critical work in the studio (which has no ambient light anyway). Then its time to clean the glass and contacts. If the contacts look dirty then a pencil rubber and a toothbrush can work wonders. 

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The glass is where the real care needs to be taken. I clean the glass first by holding the lens upside down and using a blower brush, blowing and brushing to remove the loose stuff. If there are any marks left then its time to crack open the fluid, the tissues and the buds. These are always kept in sealed bags and opened only when I need to use them. 

Golden rule no. 1 – I don’t spray cleaning fluid straight onto the glass, I spray it onto the tissue/ cotton bud. If it gets down into the lens mechanism it can affect the lubricants that help the elements move smoothly when focusing and/ or zooming – not good. 

Firstly I turn to the tissue, it is softer than the buds. I scrunch and fold the tissue and use it almost like a brush, never putting it over the fingertip and rubbing the glass like some people do. If that hasn’t worked then I wait a few seconds, get another piece of tissue and try again. Sometimes the fluid can soak into the contaminants and lift them while you wait. If any marks remain then its time to bring in the buds. Again, put fluid onto the tip then with a twisting motion try to lift the marks of the glass, once. Then again with the other end if needed. There isn’t much that can’t be removed like this. 

Golden rule no. 2 – Never re-use tissue or buds, never! Once they have been used to clean something then they are dirty. Even with one wipe. It may not be immediately visible to the naked eye but the contaminants on the buds and tissue can turn them into microscopic sandpaper. 

Golden rule no. 3 – Don’t apply direct pressure on the glass. The modern lens coatings are more robust now but are still sensitive and can be easily damaged. Try as much as possible to let the fluid do the work. I find that cleaning a mark several times gently is preferable to trying to remove it once with pressure. 

Golden rule no. 4 – Prevention is better than cure. Keep a filter on the lens and if you are super-keen, give your hands a quick wash before you shoot.    

Equipment – stiff paint brushes, lens cloths, fluid, cotton buds, blower brush, polishing cloth, gloves, vacuum. 

Custom Viewing Mask For Phase One H10 and Sinar P2

If you can’t find something, why not make it?
A while ago I bought a Sinar P2 to make available all of the unique benefits of a view camera in the studio. Both of the backs that I use are Mamiya 645 AFD fittings and it took some considerable digging around online to find a sliding adapter plate that didn’t cost as much as the camera itself. I bought one from China via a leading auction-based website, not really knowing anything about it or the company that supplied it I was pleasantly surprised (as well as slightly relieved) when it arrived.
The adapter didn’t fit the back on the P2 but luckily it did fit the back on my F1 so after a little shuffling I got the system up and running.
The size of the CCD on a digital back is considerably smaller than the size of the film (5” x 4” in this case) and so I needed a viewing mask to see just what would be included in the capture. Finding one for this relatively obscure sliding adapter and for the particular digital back would be like finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so why not make one I thought?

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The Phase One documentation gave me the exact size of the CCD for the H10. I dug out the calipers to measure the exact size of the viewing screen on the adapter. I used Photoshop to create an outline document with the exact dimensions for both and printed a test on a piece of A4. I cut it out with a scalpel, attached it to the screen and tried it out. I quickly setup a product shot and composed it close to the frame edges so that I could tell just how accurate the screen was.

Product Photography In Birmingham By Bitstream

Shooting tethered, it was possible to see straight away on the laptop display just how close the mask was to what the CCD had captured and it was a great match. I went back to Photoshop and printed the document again, this time on clear acetate. While I was at it, I created a couple of variations, adding more vertical and horizontal lines to create a few different masks. After more surgeon-like trimming I had several viewing masks for the H10 and the P2.

Bitstream Product Photographer

New Blog For Bitstream Photography

Hi all,

This is the blog set up for Bitstream Photography – providing professional product and packshot photography in Birmingham. It will feature reviews, tutorials, case studies, tips and tricks and other photographic goodies.

I hope you will find it useful and will visit it regularly.

Rob, Bitstream Photography.