Cool Savings on Hot Products for Photographers

Hi everyone! I hope you are all keeping cool. Hot as heck here in NY.

Speaking of cool and hot, here are some cool savings on some hot products for you this weekend. 

Photomatix - cool HDR program. You can save 15% when you order Photomatix by using this code: ricksammon.

Lowepro camera bags. Need a cool camera bag? You can save 20 percent on any Lowpro bag by clicking here and using this code: LP20. Above: That's me with my Lowepro Dryzone bag.

SmugMug. Save some bucks (20 percent the first year) when you make a personal Smugmug site/gallery! Click here for a trial version and to save. Use this code to save: RickSmug20.

Alien Skin Software. You can save 15% when you order any AlienSkin plug-in by using this code upon checkout: RSA0901.

HDR Efex Pro - newest HDR plug-in. Save 15% off HDR Efex Pro if you use this code - RSAMMON - upon check-out on the Nik web site. Actually, you can save 15% on all Nik plug-ins - including Color Efex Pro! Just use the same code. 

Topaz Adjust . Above I used the Spicify Effect in Topaz Adjust. Click here to order Topaz Adjust. Hey, save a bundle when you order a Topaz bundle.

Amazon.com is running a super savings on one of my book, Rick Sammon's Travel and Nature Photography. Check it out!

Have fun and keep cool!

Explore the light,

Rick

7 Photographic Wonders of the World

I' m working on a worldwide photo project that could involve... you!

It's called the "7 Photographic Wonders of the World." Still in the planning stages.

I did a project like this, although on a much, much smaller scale a few years ago: "Seven Underwater Wonders of the World." I had Sea Hunt's Lloyd Bridges involved and folks from National Geographic, Smithsonian, NOAA, Wildlife Conservation International, etc.

Stay tuned here for more info.

Explore the light,
Rick




P.S. Book is out of print.

Today's Friday's Fab Photographer: Frank Doorhof

Today's Friday's Fab Photographer is Frank Doorhof, a cool dude I met at Photoshop World.

Each week, I select a photographer - pro or amateur - to spotlight here on my blog.

Take it away Frank!

• • •

Understanding light can save you money!

Well actually understanding light not only can save you money, it can make you money also. If you understand light you can start playing with it and make images that you actually not always see, so you can set yourself apart from the rest.

For the shot above I used one lightsource. In this case a standard Elinchrom reflector with grid. By placing the model close to the background and aiming the light the correct way you can create the effect you see here. Do remember that setting up a shot like this can take you some test shots if you want to get it right. You can speed up this process a lot by using a light meter.

The first thing you do is measure the face of the model with an incident reading, let’s say we choose f/11 for this one.

Now switch the light meter to spot metering and measure the background. Remember that if the value is now also f/11 the background will be rendered as 18% gray (middle gray). If you want the background a bit lighter you will have to change the angle of the light and move it slightly more towards the background, if you want it darker move it slightly away from the background. Do remember to measure the model again when you change the position.

By using different grid sizes you can change the “bundle” of the light.

If you want to store this setup and recreate it use your EXIF.

You can for example store it like this: RS S + 1. That means the background has to be one stop higher measured over the right side shoulder. This way you can very easily set it up again and get the same effect.

Above: Never use this kind of light. 

The main problem with rules is that a lot of people live by them and will never use light a bit more creative. One of those rules without a doubt is that one should never use light from the bottom up.

However when combined with the right “look” and some shadow play I love to play with this sometimes. In this image I used an Elinchrom reflector with grid aimed from a low angle straight on the model.

So the tip is :Always experiment with light, even if you think (or being told) that it cannot work, or cannot be used.

• • • 

Thank you Frank for a great post!

Explore the light,

Rick

Can One Millimeter Make a Difference In A Lens? You Bet!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Canon 14mm lens.

When it comes to super wide-angle lenses, most Canon pros I know shoot with two lenses: the Canon 14mm lens and the Canon 15mm lens. I took the photograph above with the 14mm lens. I took the photo below with the 15mm lens.

Buddhist temple, Kent NY. Canon 15mm lens.

Here are the major differences between the lenses:

The 14mm lens sells for about $2,250.00, while the 15mm lens sells for about $800.00.

The 15mm lens is a fish-eye lens, and gives you that fish-eye look (on a full-frame image sensor camera), while the 14mm lens is what's called a rectilinear lens, which offers little or no barrel or pincushion distortion.

The 14mm lens is larger and heavier than the 15mm lens because the 14mm lens has more glass.

Like my fellow pros, I choose a lens for the effect. For example, as with my Buddhist temple picture, I like the distortion in the image. It's up to you to embrace the distortion or to go for a more realistic image.

Also, both lenses let you work in confined spaces, as illustrated by the HDR image below.

All these images are HDR images. For more in HDR, see my iPad app: iHDR.

Los Osos, CA. Canon 15mm lens.

If you like fish-eye lenses and wide-angle photography, keep your eyes out for the release of the Canon EF 8-15mm Fish-eye Ultra-Wide Zoom. I sure am! You can take a tour here.

Canon EF 8-15mm lens.

Here's a tip when using fish-eye and extremely wide-angle lenses: make sure your feet and the feet of your tripod are not in the picture.

Yes, yes, yes! We can correct and create the fish-eye lens effect in Photoshop. I'll save that info for another post.

To see all my gear, click here.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. We shoot at the Buddhist temple on my Croton Creative workshop.

Guest Blogger: Jason Lykins

First off I want to thank Rick for the opportunity to share my images with you. I am humbled to be included with the likes of Frank Doorhof and David Turner.

When it comes to light, I’m not a gear snob. I use whatever accomplishes my goal of that particular shoot. I’ve been known to use a $7 bed sheet to diffuse a window, a bi-fold door to flag a strobe, or an antique medical light as a main. My go to lighting gear is a collection of speedlites and White Lightning strobes; all of these lights accompanied by a slew of modifiers from parabolic umbrellas, to softboxes, to beauty dishes. 

Let me talk about that last one for a minute. I tend to use my beauty dish a lot. I use it so much because it is so versatile. With the sock on it becomes a soft modifier somewhere between my large softbox, and a strait flash, perfect for female models. With the sock off, it provides me with a really specular, hard-edged light that still somehow stays just a bit softer than a strait on flash. With no sock a beauty dish is perfect for male subjects.

This shot was done with just that, a beauty dish. I was helping teach a two-day workshop last summer on lighting here in Cincy. One of our models had this really soft cream scarf on and during a background change she started playfully wrapping it around her head. I immediately saw a shot that I had floating around in my mind for some time and told her to stop right where she was. The image is done with a single beauty dish, a 30degree grid, and the sock on. The strobe was just camera right at f/11 about 3 feet from the model’s face. Let me touch on that quickly. The key to creating beautiful soft light with a beauty dish, or any light for that matter is distance to subject and size. Just like anything else in lighting, the closer you move the light source to the subject, the larger the light source becomes and the softer the light will be. In this case, 3 feet was the perfect distance.

I want to say thank you again to Rick for giving me this space to share my images. If you’re in the Cincinnati area I’ll be teaching a workshop alongside of Don Giannatti November 12th and 13th. For more information click here.

To see more of my work please visit my website.

Also follow me on twitter: @JasonlPhoto.