David Carr of Third Day invited Brad Moore and me to shoot there concert last night. Had a great time... they are one of my favorite bands. Hope you enjoy.
Photoshop World Orlando Recap
Been a busy week, to say the least! So I thought I would give you guys a little look into what went on last week in Orlando. The conference is a mixture of pleasure and pain... the pleasure of learning and seeing all your friends, and the pain of no sleep and not wanting to miss anything.
Let the games begin! Dinner the night before the Conference. Seen here... Starting left and going around the table. Dave Clayton, Matt Kloskowski, Corey Barker, Glyn Dewis, Scott Kelby, Erik Kuna, Jeff Revell, and Aaron Barker.
One of the great things about doing something like this is getting to hang out with like-minded folks that you genuinely enjoy being around. I hope that translates to the attendees when they see us truly having fun with each other.
The day before the official start of the conference is call Pre-con day, and we have multiple extended classes on subjects such as light painting, concert photography and ACE Exam prep course.
RC is going through the ACE prep course, and he is using this stylish image of our friend Ken Falk to make a point. I don't remember the point because I was busy texting Ken to make fun of him at the time. :D
I met Jeff down in the Concert photography Pre-Con taught by Alan Hess and Scott Diussa. What a fun class.
After leaving RC's class I met up with Jeff Revell in the Concert Photography class and we went for an afternoon Photowalk in Downtown Orlando. We spent a couple of hours with some great folks swapping stories and pictures.
My partner in crime Jeff Revell. Even though he has written numerous book on how to use both Nikon and Canon cameras, his own seems to be giving him issues. (Just kidding... he just had gas.... sorry Jeff, I am a 12 year old trapped in a 42 year olds body.)
Some of the Photowalkers... including Anders all the way from Switzerland! (Far Left... hope I got your name right! :D)
Here Robert takes a picture of a swans butt... yes we all gave into the urge at some point and shot them. They were asking for it. Damn swans! :D
Getting ready for the keynote... first day!
Getting ready... Kevin Stolhmeyer took this great shot of us preparing for the show. I am the one in silohette. :D
During the keynote Adobe lets us in on Double Naught secret spy stuff. This Julieanne Kost giving us the 411.
The Expo floor is a great place to see gear and teaching. I took a picture of this guy teaching... I am not quite sure who he is, but he seemed to know his stuff. :D
The classes covered all kinds of topics from photography to illustration. Here is the phenomenal Aaron Blaise showing us some of his work. Definitely a don't miss instructor if you have the chance.
And finally I will finish off with a picture of the after hours party, because that is really what it feels like to be here. Even though it is a long week, it is like a family gathering that you learn stuff from and party with... even your weird cousin Goober doesn't seem so weird with all the great stuff happening. So if you get a chance just us next time and become part of the family.
If you are interested, here are highlight videos of the conference:
Pre-Conference Highlight: http://youtu.be/FABpPpg5SJY
Day One Highlight: http://youtu.be/Gog3dacBoSo
Day Two Highlight: http://youtu.be/bWBgq2JGdeE
Day Three Highlight: http://youtu.be/T278uLt_z3E
PSW Expo Product videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7tRjmRHz3kCTR3KCMUG7hqz3nHPr1xAJ
Little bitty camera
Ok so I had a little camera with big potential. It all started when I found out that I was going to shoot the Tavistock Tournament. I was talking to Erik Kuna, the head of our video department and he told me that he had always wanted to try out using the Nikon 1 V2 for a golf tournament. Being the generous sole that I am... I decided to steal his idea and take one out for a spin... or shoot.
Now the V2 is a tiny little camera, but it has a couple of neat things going for it... First it is mirrorless which means it is silent and fast... 15 Frames per second... or more. Second, if you use the lens converter for your regular lenses, it gives it a 2.6x teleconversion: so that means that you can use a 70-200mm as a 520mm lens at F2.8 on the long end.
To find out how it went... keep reading.
Steve and Mike with their big cameras... me sporting the mighty mirrorless. I put it on a tripod to be cool like Mike!
Ok, so this shot below is shot at 200mm f2.8... which means 520mm due to lens conversion. The bokeh is not quite as creamy as a prime at F2.8... I would say it is more like F4 or F4.5 but to have that kind of reach for the price is definitely a thought. The camera body itself will run you about $700 and then the converter is about $200 (Average price at this time) so for around $900 you could now shoot long with a lens you probably already have.
Besides the extra zoom, I really like the idea of being silent. Sometimes I enjoy watching what is going on with the players while someone else is putting. With my Canon I have to keep one eye on the guy setting up and only shoot when it won't disturb them, but with the silent but deadly mirrorless, I can spot a good pose or player interaction and not have to worry about my noise.
What about image quality? I was quite happy with the quality that I got from the V2, and at 14 megapixels it is going to be more than enough for most anything you are going to need it for. If I was going to shoot this tournament again my ideal setup would be to have two of these cameras... one set for a wide angle that I can shoot environment shots around the tee and the green and a second with the 70-200mm for the long shots. I had the lenses to swap out from one to the other, but I missed a few shots because of fiddling with lenses.
The silence of the mirrorless allows for shooting throughout the swing and at 15 FPS means that you can capture new angles like when the player is tensed just before the ball strike... or make a really annoy animated .gif like this one. :D
Here is a shot from right behind the player and even though I got the shot of him in his backswing, I liked this shot better. This would be an ideal situation to set up one of these with a wide angle with a remote beforehand.
Ok, so I tweaked this one a little... vignette and added some extra blur, but I am still happy with the shot. Hey, I am not shooting this for a newspaper or magazine, so I can play around a bit more.
Another shot at 200mm... or as the EXIF info says... 35mm equivalent of 520mm.
Another blatant Tiger shot... well because I can. :P
Here is what I am talking about capturing the moment right before the ball strike with the player all tensed up... even though the background is not my favorite I like the action.
Battery Life: because of the EVF (electronic view finder) battery life was not great. I had two batteries and needed every bit of each one, even though I was only doing part time shooting with it. So you would want to have a spare for sure or be very careful with power usage.
The second thing that you will want to know if that it has a lot of features... almost too many... you can do so many different things with dials and buttons. I found that the buttons were a little too sensitive and I keep toggling certain functions on and off inadvertently, but that may not be an issue if i shot with it more. I was not thrilled with the responsiveness of it getting back on subject after I took a shot, until I figured out that I had the review setting switched on and even if I hit the shutter button, it wouldn't switch back to shooting mode as fast as I liked. Once I turned that off, it was much smoother... so much so that sometimes I wasn't sure if I took a shot since there was no feedback from the buttons or sound, and so I would hold the button down longer to make sure, only to find out I had taken 40 very silent shots... when I only wanted one or two. :D So there is definitely a learning curve to using this camera just like any new toy, but I have to say I am impressed with what this little camera can do.
So am I still a Canon shooter? You bet. I even checked with double naught spy contacts at Canon and asked about what would be comparable. Canon has an EOS-M (mirrorless) but it only shoots 4.3 FPS, and it isn't on par with the Nikon... so in this case I have to give a win to the other guys. But when we start talking about the high-end stuff, give me a 1DX any day. But if you are a wedding shooter who needs a silent system or someone who is trying to start shooting sports and can't afford the big glass, this may be a great option... provided you shoot Nikon. I hope this helps you if you are thinking about this camera.
Golfing with Tiger
Ok, so I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to go shoot the Tavistock Cup tournament in Orland this Tuesday. I had a great time thanks to Mike Olivella... FSU Athletics' photographer and general troublemaker... my kind of guy! Mike puts the word Foe into Photography... I got so tired of having to teach him which end of the camera to use and showing him where to stand he was just useless. (For those of you who haven't read Scott Kelby's or Matt K's blog, Mike is the man when it comes to doing this stuff and I was following his lead most of the day... so I compensate by making fun of him... it doesn't help me shoot any better, but I somehow feel more superior and that is really what it is all about isn't it? Thanks so much for the opportunity Mike!
I also was privileged to hang out with the third leg of our photo tripod... Steve Gustafson
Steve is a great to be with... sarcastic, laid back and super nice... his photos are really good too! Dang it! :D He and Mike may the day a joy and I hope I made two new friends, which in the end is more important than the shots I took.
Left: Steve Gustafson looking snazzy in his fancy hat. Right: Mike Ollivela showing his best side. :D
Ok, this will probably be a two part blog. I will show some shots today and then on the next one talk about my experience shooting with the Nikon 1 V2 mirrorless on the next installment.
Let's jump in:
So I needed to meet Mike at his hotel in Orlando at 7:45 AM, leaving from Tampa meant about an hour and 45 minute drive. I am not a good sleeper when I need to get up early, so my anxiousness woke me around 2:30 AM... needless to say I was in Orlando a little early. :D
Once I met the gang, it was off to the course: We got set up on the first tee... and it was freezing! Now Matt K. shot the tournament the day before and told me that is was ideal shorts/sweater weather... only he didn't factor in the wind... I was a bit miserable. I triple dog dared Mike to stick his tongue to the metal bull statue by the tee, but I think he saw the movie "Christmas Story" so no fun for me.
I was playing around with a mirrorless camera from Nikon... yes I am still a Canon shooter. More about this experience on the next blog. Suffice it to say... I was practicing shooting the tee shots with the silent Ninja action that made no noise.
Bubba Watson teeing off on the first tee
Whenever you shoot any sports, there is a breaking in time of getting your rhythm and timing. So often you will find your first shots of the day not as good as later... it is if you eye and mind need to warm up. So plan to arrive early and practice on anything you can before the main action starts if that is going to be the only chance you get to shoot that subject. In my case I knew I had hours of shooting, and the background of the first tee was too busy with flag poles and speakers and people, so I used that early time to warm up and practice shooting in real close to eliminate a lot of the visual junk.
Tim Clark lines up his putt
Because of the way the tournament is set up, there are a lot of people that are spread around the players and tend to show up in the background to most images, so the game is to try to get a shot with no spectators.
Webb Simpson fish and chips
A good time to shoot is around the green when the players are chipping... the ball is moving slower and more vertically so it is easier to capture in the frame. Here is another issue... lots of legs and folks in the background... do you get rid of the distractions or leave them in. If i was shooting for a magazine or newspaper I wouldn't change anything, but since I have a little bit of knowledge of Photoshop, I got rid of 4 people in the back of this image... but left the ball alone. :D
Ricky Fowler looking cool as the crowd looks on... except the guy texting. :D
Now when you are shooting sports you will here folks tell how editors will always want to see the ball in the shot. No ball no good. But since I am not shooting for a magazine, but rather for myself I sometimes like a shot that may be after the ball has left, but there is still a lot of good action and emotion in it. If push comes to shove, I know a program that can add a ball into it. :D
Augusta native Charles Howell III
Now most folks want to see Tiger, and I will show you some shots of Him in a bit, but I took time out to go see Charles Howell III. Charles grew up playing at the course where my father was the head tennis pro. Dad wanted me to say hey... and Charles was very gracious... so there you go dad. :D
Fred Couples blasting out of the trap
Ok, I have to admit I will always pull for the players to go in the bunkers The clean background and the drama and action of the sand makes for fun shots. Of course I don't tell that to the players. At least when I am within club length. :D
Fred up close
Fred Couples was in Tiger's group and while a lot of eyes were on Tiger, I kept an eye on Fred. He is just a nice guy to shoot. In the photo up above I like how you can see his reflection in the club head.
What are you looking at? Fred checking me out... at least that is what I tell myself. :D
I grabbed quite a few images of Fred and Tiger interacting... there is a nice calm between these two, in a sense hanging out playing golf.
Tiger lining up his putt... the shot is just ok, but I like the shot of Steve in the corner shooting. :D
I like this next shot because it is just a matter of timing, It looks like he is looking at me like I am a goober... which I am, but he was just looking in my general direction. Sometimes it amazes me what a still image will produce and how a split second can change the mood of the image.
Tiger checking me out
Next two shots are from the same green... like the clean background, and the eyes are actually lit pretty well by the white cap.
Putting... yeah, catchy title.
Tiger pose
And I leave with the End of Tiger... his second shot into the 18th green. I had to beat up a few small children and one gentleman taking photos with his Ipad to get into position for this one. (Actually I had a media badge so it wasn't that bad, but it sounds better with the extra violence thrown in.)
Closing shot
So that is my quick tour of the day... it was a fun time with Mike and Steve made even better by the fact that Matt picked Monday to shoot and Tiger was a no show... sorry! :D Stay tuned for my next installment to talk about the joys and tears of using the Nikon mirrorless.
Hockey with Scott and the gang
So right on the heels of Vegas... Scott has a weekend class on shooting Hockey. I went along to help... translation sneak in and act like I belonged. I shot a lot of the behind the scenes and tried to get shots of each participant doing his or her thing. Here are a few of the shots from the weekend.
Practice Saturday Morning
Three "Ice Holes" with cameras... yeah, I know I am immature. At least you don't have to live with me.
Doing the Goalie lean
A little chin music at the dance
Gratuitous Ref shot
High sticking
Troy's shirt is bright pink... trust me, I am doing you a favor by converting it to black and white.
where is he putting that stick?
Game time
Vegas wrap-up.
Last week was a whirlwind in Vegas with WPPI. It was a great chance to connect with some great folks. Here is a rundown of the week... visual style.
Smug Mugs... Nick Pappagallo, Michael Bonocore and RC Concepcion. During a Smugmug photowalk... Vegas style.
passing out SmugMug swag
The Copper Cowboy... says I am funnier than him and then he shot me.
Went to Nelson with RC and the Nikon guys...Bill Pekala, Bill Fortney,Mark Kettenhofen, and Brien Aho. and try as they might... I am still shooting Canon.
Yes, this is just weird... fill in your own caption.
Took time to play around with the Sony NEX6 and enjoyed. Better image quality than I expected.
Early morning walkabout... stopped by France... should have bought a Croissant.
One of the big highlights of the time was getting invited to go out shooting with Dan Steinhardt of Epson and Jay Maisel of Jay Maisel. We took Fremont street by storm... or at least by sarcasm. The top left image is Jay giving me the business for trying to "Street shoot" the master. :D
Random Flying Elephant
Ok, so this was part of my idea for Scott Kelby's blog, that I didn't finish.
Drew everything in Photoshop. I created a long repeating cloud pattern ala Scooby Doo and then made a screen recording while holding the shift and down arrow... how is that for making Hi-tech as low as possible. Yep, that is how I roll.
Now with music thanks to my buddy @jeffrevell for reminding me.
Anti-social media?
It seems that we as a society feel the need to let the world know everything that is wrong with anything and show that we are better, smarter and faster. If you see a post or a comment that bothers you... write the person individually and communicate with them as one human being to another... there is no need to broadcast your dissent with their conclusions and inform them that they are lacking intelligence in the public arena. Yes, there is definitely a place to bring up a point about something being in error, but each of us should ask ourselves a several questions before we type... or better yet before we hit the SEND button.
1. Is this error important? Is it the main point of the issue, or will my correction distract from the main purpose?
2. Am I the right source to bring correction? Do I have the relationship and right to interject my ideas?
3. What are my motivations for calling this out? To help the other person or show my brilliance?
4. How is my correction coming across? Encouraging and caring or Demeaning and Haughty?
5. Is this the best avenue to bring about change?
6. Am I focusing on a side issue and missing the point?
7. Do I remember that the recipient of my correction is a person with feelings?
8. Is the goal perfection or communication and growth?
9. What does it say about me that I feel driven to correct an issue? Should I spend more time thinking about my heart vs. their stupidity?
10. Could I spend my time being more productive elsewhere?
Negativity and criticism is so easy, but it takes real wisdom to encourage and build up others in an environment where everyone is so distracted and demanding. This story of life is not about you... you are not the center of the universe...and the goal is not to win... it is to live and love... everything else is just noise.
Inka Gold
I have been playing around with Layer styles in Photoshop and I came up with a nice look that I randomly called Inca Gold... then after playing with it some more decided it would be cooler and hipper to call it Inka Gold... get it word play... wow I am good! D:
So here is a time-lapse of a random design that I just started with a blank page and nothing but a plain brush set with Inka Gold layer style and went to town playing. I actually tweaked the final image a bit more after this, but not too majorly. I hope you enjoy it.
A sketch in time
Here is a time-lapse of a sketch I did on Photoshop User TV for the Photoshop World -a-thon. Sorry the sound starts a few seconds late, since I didn't have time to tweak it. For the individuals who were paying attention, yes I was putting this together during the Grid. :D I did the sketch in my trusty sketchbook and then took a picture of it with my Iphone. For this image I didn't do a lot to the original sketch, just adjusted the blending mode and added color and shading, but it is always fun to watch the process. I recorded it in Screenflow and then took it back into Photoshop to speed up the time and add music and the final still image of the finished work. CS6 makes playing with video easy enough that even a Luddite like me can get it to behave. Been real busy working on classes for Photoshop World and the NAPP website, so it is fun to just play. Hope you enjoy.
Thirsty?
Here is an illustration I have done for an upcoming class on Illustration and Photoshop. Wanted to have fun with text and freehand drawing. Started the T with only a hint of what direction I wanted to go... liked how it was vine/plant like and let it grow from there. I would like to say that I have a perfect game-plan and execute it quickly and precisely with minimal layers and no wasted effort. However, I have about twelve different variations of backgrounds and treatments of the plants... I just keep working it until I am satisfied. Finally happy with the whole image... and then the battle over what type of frame/background to include. I need help... the angst I put myself through trying to decide between a grungy frame versus a clean white border is not good for the heart. But in the end, if I am not happy with the whole... I won't rest. So the struggle during pays off when it is done and I can step back and smile. I hope you enjoy this one.
A little editing
Processing a batch of pictures from a wedding the RC and I did for Jenn, who was our video producer. These pictures will be used for an upcoming article for Photoshop User Magazine. I am preferring Black and White, even though the color is nice... just a preference choice. :D
I will add more images after the article comes out, but I had a great time shooting with C during the wedding. What made it really good is that RC likes to shoot wide and up close and I like to shot from a distance with a good bit of zoom. This picture is an example of that in action... RC is directing them and their attention is on him, so I can walk around and get different angles.
Keep that in mind when you are choosing to shoot with someone else especially for something like a wedding... how you two shoot and communicate can make a big difference.
Makin' Bacon
Working on a project for my friend and playing with some vector goodness. I need to add shadows and some other things but I like where this is going. :D
Lost tiger
Here Kitty, Kitty! (Work in progress)
Ok, so how many of you lose images that you are working on, only to find them in the stock image folder that you started working on something else earlier? Usually most of my digital drawings start with a cool textured background I can usually find them in my folder for "paper" or "texture"... makes sense... So when my tiger drawing was not showing up in the usual places, I had to eventually admit defeat and use Finder. turns out is was in the "Animal" section... go figure! Now, for some of you that is not a big deal... but for me there are two things wrong with that... first I am a guy and for some reason that just feels like surrender... who cares if I spend twenty minutes looking for it... at least I didn't give up and admit defeat! I am man... I must conquer! :D Also, a lot of times I forget to name my stuff correctly or I have eight versions of the same drawing with different variations of the word "sketchy" or worse, just the stock file name... something like Fotolia 4857463.psd which doesn't help when searching. So i was just wondering if anyone else out there does the same thing? Tell me I am not totally by myself in this sadness that is my workflow. I need... I need... I need... I am doing the work... I am baby-stepping. :P
Horizontal creativity
Well, I went in and filmed two shows of Photoshop User TV and felt like crud the whole time... left the office right after and came home. I talked about the image I created yesterday and I wanted to play around some more. So I am literally lying down on my bed typing and messing with Photoshop with one eye buried in the pillow and the other one doing all the heavy lifting. I took a neat painterly background that I got over at Fotolia.com and started playing around with it. Just adding filters, changing blending modes and rotating parts of the image. Nothing special, just kind of liked the end result, so i thought I would share it, and then take a nap. Have a great day.
playing with paint
Playing sick
So this weekend I have been struggling with headaches and feeling like I was going to throw up... no fun. Went into work for awhile this Monday morning and had a meeting... randomly breaking out in sweats and feeling like crap... so I headed back home. Didn't want to be a total bum so I decided to play with some techniques that may be helpful for future tutorials... I figure if they stink... blame it on the sickness. Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to play. I came up with a couple of neat trick and this is one of the images I created using nothing but one picture, and I didn't even move anything around... can you figure out what the picture was when it started? If you can... I need to ask you about next weeks Lottery. :D
Now I will crawl under the covers and sleep with the knowledge that I am still awesome in my own mind! :D I hope that is the drugs talkin' :D
One picture heavily filtered
New Year... new opportunity to drink
I need a drink... :D
C'mon, you know you feel the same way... resolutions are just another way to make you feel like you are once again falling short of that self-conceived perfection that you can never live up to. I wake up in the morning already feeling like I am behind... and I go to bed pretending that the things I failed to accomplish during the day don't really bother me. Truth is... I am in a rat race with my own heart... and I can't seem to find the cheese.
Will this year be the one where I feel satisfied? Will this year be the one that everything comes together and I become the perfect husband, father, son, employee and friend? Will this be the year that I discover the cure for cancer and how to make Little Debbie Swiss Rolls as nutritious as broccoli? I have this nagging feeling that I must prove that I belong and am worth bothering with by the magnitude of my accomplishments... isn't that the record playing in the back of all of our minds? Performance equals love and acceptance?
We all live in this constant state of fearing failure and being rejected... and it is keeping us stressed and uptight and ironically... isolated. What if this year I try not to fixate on striving for perfection and as a by-product become a little bit better? Maybe if I give myself and others a little more grace, we could see some amazing things happen this year. By drinking at the fountain of Grace, I may stop being so self-absorbed and have the heart to say an encouraging word to you at the right time which may give you the courage to paint a new picture or love your family better. Or I may take a risk and step away from the computer and go sit and talk with my kids about something that matters... or something totally gross and useless but just as important. Perhaps we can be a little more alive and a little more full of love this year. That would be cool. Remind me that life is more about relationships and less about conquering... I want to win hearts... not arguments.
I hope this year is more about joy and less about fear... will you help me with this journey? Let us drink deeply of this thing called grace and pass it out freely to ourselves and those around us. Cheers!