I am NOT an architectural photographer but sometimes.......

This image is a PhotoShop merge of five files.  I shot on my Canon 1dmk2n with the plain vanilla 20mm f2.8 Canon lens.


I have high regard for real architectural photographers.  I'm talking about the rare ones who really understand architecture, who love good furniture, who have studied design and art history and bring something layered and nuanced to the equation.  Too many photographers out there do interiors strictly as documentation and they don't do it very well.  The latest trend it to light everything flat, shoot multiple bracketed frames and then do (auto) HDR in PhotoShop.  Yes.  You can see all the details.  No.  You have no idea what the architect's original intention was.  Having a tilt/shift lens and a Canon 5d2 or Nikon d700 and a bucket of PhotoShop doesn't make you a "real" architectural photographer.  Only passion, education and experience can do that.

I have no room to talk.  I have no interest in architecture.  No interest in interior design.  And beyond the comfort of my favorite chair I have no interest in furniture.  Sorry,  I also have no real interest in landscapes.  You just can't be into everything.....

But occasionally I'll do a project for a client and they'll want a quick shot of their lobby or the front of their building.  Our core mission might be to document doctors working or to make interesting portraits, and most times the architectural shots are an afterthought.  It doesn't make sense for my clients to bring in another photographer and I'm hardly technically handicapped when it comes to shooting straightforward stuff, so I often get pressed into doing this kind of work.

The lobby above is nice but it's tight.  I learned long ago that the best shots are usually right from the doorway.  I keep an old Canon 20mm f2.8 around for this kind of work.  It's wide on my 5D2 but not so wide on the 1D2N's cropped (1.3x) frame.  And on friday I wanted to shoot with my 1d2N.  I put the camera on top of my tripod and leveled it.  I put it in the vertical orientation and shot five shots, without changing any of the exposure or focus parameters.  I corrected on file in Lightroom and synced the other four to the same specs.  Then I tossed them in PhotoShop and hit "photo merge."  A few seconds later, out popped this pano.  Easy as pie.  The client is happy.  I'm happy and that's cool.

I spent my early years as a "jack of all trades" and shot many magazine features about historic houses and buildings.  I did "rack" brochures for hotels and resorts.  And we did it all with 4x5 view cameras. But what I've learned over the years is that everyone has stuff they love to do and then stuff they have to do.  The more you can do of the first the less you have to do of the second.  I never mind taking a few documentation shots but I try never to fool myself that just pointed a camera at something makes it art.  Or that snapping the shutter makes me an artist.

A post in two parts. 1. Putting together photos for a book is drudgery. 2. I had a blast at Bill's class today.

Writers (pretty much all "pure" writers) have it dirt easy.  They need only string together 30,000 or 45,000 well chosen words (for an instructional photo book) and they're off to the races.  I contend that's the easiest part.  You pour a big cup of coffee, sit down at your computer and type till your fingers cramp.  Then you walk it off and come back for more.  If you've done your research, and you've actually used the techniques and the gear you are talking about, over and over again, the words should flow like water onto the screen.  In the world of pure writing there are several layers of "lifeguards" who police the turbulent literary waters and keep writers out of trouble.  There are editors who suggest things to keep writers safe from future embarrassment.  And there a proofreaders to make writers seem smarter and less error prone than polite society.  But they are relative wimps when compared to the all terrain vehicle which are the writer/photographer book producers.  We actually have to kick start both sides of the brain with that single cup of coffee.

I would have finished my LED light book before Christmas but I felt like I needed lots of examples to show what I was talking about.  I'm an okay writer but I still subscribe to the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words.  When I went over the flow of the book in my mind I figured I'd need a couple hundred decent photographs to prove......I mean illustrate.....many of my points.  From the basic, "No! used properly these new lights will not turn your watchband green..."  to "Look, the models are cute no matter what you light them with."  

The cheat-y thing is that writers can just make stuff up and write it down and few people nudge them on the fine points.  But when you write book aimed at other photographers they can be merciless photo experts.  They sometimes demand image quality over content but are happiest when they can have both.  

My brain can't do both things at once so I have to write everything out first and then go back and re-translate everything I've written into a language called, "Photo."  And, unlike pure writers,  I wanted images of beautiful people in my books which meant that I had to find said beautiful people (talent scout), work with their schedules (project manager) and negotiate for their appearance in the book, with signed model releases (lawyer work).  In the end it's the temporary acquisition of models that's most vexing.  Did I mention that novelists are free to just make up people?

I tend to overdo  stuff so when I sat down to edit thru the folder I'd set up on my computer for LED book photos I was shocked to find nearly 12,000 to choose from.  Don't feel inadequate, most are not life changing images.......

I came over-prepared, like the test taker with five hundred, sharpened #2 pencils.  Once I edit them all down and match them up with the right words I have two more tasks to complete.  I have to caption everything and I have to create lighting diagrams for the "hard of imagining."  But it's fun to know that it's not been in vain.  I've learned so much about lighting and new technology.  Anybody need an LED consultant?  

The photo above is the set up I had for shooting the image below.  I wanted to light and shoot a camera and lens because that's the product I end up with in my hand most days.  The 60D is my favorite video camera.  I wanted to show it off.  And I love the way the lens looks.

Part Two:  I've been speaking to students for the last two weeks.  I'm getting some good practice at public speaking and now I don't get nervous when I walk into a big auditorium full of people, or, like today, when I walk into an intimate setting with nine students and one very well informed professor.

With big groups all you can really do is entertain.  Thank goodness "50-something" people have actually done enough to have stories to tell, but are young enough to remember and to tell them without mumbling......

With small groups you really need to show up ready to rumble.

I love what Bill Woodhull (the photography dept. chair at Austin Community College) does with his associate degree plan.  He makes students take an intensive course on the business of photography.  No gear, no gorgeous models, just:  How do you make money, save money, grow a business, calculate your real cost of doing business, market yourself, protect and leverage your intellectual property and  so much more.  Bill needs to take his course on the road and hit the other thousands of college students whose four year programs never touch this stuff.

Anyway, I'm on the advisory board at the college and I get invited to come in every semester to tell them what I think the imaging industry is doing and how I deal with the same concepts I've outlined above.  Usually the class sits silently and I talk and then we all go home.  Today's class was exceptionally focused.  They asked tough questions.  They engaged.  And that always makes me think.

Here's my "take away" thought from the class:  I think the market for corporate and advertising photography is returning.  And doing so in a big way.  Marketers have a desperate need to re-brand, re-launch and reinvent themselves and imaging is a big, big part of branding and customer communications.  We've got pent up demand from almost four years of radically declining image replenishment.

In a word, I'm "OPTIMISTIC."  But this new energy and demand is meaningless if we let the emotional context of the last three years keep us fearful in the face of re-emerging clients.  We need to stand up and be strong about keeping prices commensurate with the value we create.  And we need to be extra vigilant about keeping a tight hold on our intellectual property ownership.  We need to mirror our clients and ramp up OUR expectations.  Because the way we handle business during this recovery year will doubtless set the stage for the way this business will go for the next ten years.  Time to "spine up" and charge based on your value and the value of your IP and not how many hours you can work.  We bring value beyond commodification.  It's time we got back to acting like it.

Thanks.  Having fun in Austin, Texas.  Wish you were here to pick up the tab for the next round.....

Book Achieves Critical Mass. Light at Tunnel End. Work Gets Easier.

I don't know what possessed me.  I was freaking out about finishing the LED book.  Didn't think I had enough images and what not.  So, when I suspended blogging a week and a half ago my aim was to assess what I had and what I needed.  Turns out I have ten or fifteen thousand shots from my LED experiments/shoots/playtime.  I've learned a tremendous amount about these new lights since last August when this brilliant idea struck.  Now I'm more relaxed.  I'm editing down the photo selection, thinking about writing informative and witty captions (good luck!) and generally getting everything into the right place.  I'm much further along than I thought I'd be.

What have I found out?  That the light source is secondary to your regular day in, day out vision.  That most scenes just need a little boost of light to be successful.  That it's pretty damn fun to light with continuous light sources.  That LED's don't have some bad mojo that you need to tread carefully around.  And that they work really well for video projects.  That's about the long and short of it.

Above is Jana.  She's standing under a covered patio at my swimming pool and I'm filling in with two very small LED panels, covered with diffusion materials.  I'm shooting close to wide open with an 85 and not worrying about sync speed or radio triggers or cables or........any of that stuff.

Too much fun.  Thanks.  Kirk

Hanging out with really good photographers is cool.

Will van Overbeek.  Photographer.

Living in Austin as a photographer is a bit like living in Beverly Hills for film buffs.  I stumble into my local Starbucks and there's Dan Winters.  Head out for BBQ and run into Wyatt McSpadden.  Drop into the neighborhood library and there's Michael O'Brien.  Every once in a while there's an Arthur Meyerson sighting and, once in a blue moon, lunch with Elliott Erwitt at El Azteca....

So I didn't exactly faint when Will van Overbeek called on Monday to ask if I'd take his photo for a project he was working on.  I love taking photographs of other photographers.  They seem to know how they're going to look best or, at least they know what they want the photo to say.

I grabbed a Canon 5d2, slapped the new Zeiss 85mm 1.4 on the front and got to work.  I used a giant Fotodiox 70 inch octabank on an Elincrom Ranger RX AS head and pack system, nice and close.  Will was happy and I was happier.  I had visions of my camera falling apart in my hands or the front element falling off the lens and I was trying so hard to be "professional."

Will was going to take me some place really snazzy, and probably healthy, for lunch but that particular food trailer was closed so we headed over to ArtZ  RibHouse instead.  The special on Monday is "Country Style" Pork Ribs.  We'll take two plates.

It's fun to photograph the very people you look up to in  your business.  Hell, everyone needs a role model.  Might as well be someone who loves good BBQ.

(Confession:  As good as Artz is Will actually made me a few racks of ribs during the last of the cold snaps in Feb.  If he weren't busy working for cool magazines he would have made one heck of a BBQ chef.)

Bonus: Restaurant Review: Today, Belinda and I had lunch downtown at a place called "Maria Maria" and the buzz is that it's owned by Carlos Santana  (Yes, that Carlos Santana).  The chicken flautas were the best I've ever had and the mango and spinach salad was just right.  Big place, high ceilings, tables far apart.  Loved it.  

Being an Austin Texas Photographer can be pretty sweet.  Who's coming to SXSW?

More stuff from the ancient Texas town.

"If only I had a __________ I could take photos like ___________ and my career would explode like an aerosol can in a campfire!!!"  I hear it all the time.  Photographers seem so convinced that the big block between them and the holy grail of photography is that lousy camera they're stuck with.  I like the image above.  I took it in a dusty room with some light coming thru a dirty little window right behind me.  But I forgot to bring my treasure chest full of Nikon Speedlights, ala Joe McNally.  I forgot my 8x10 view camera, ala Dan Winter.  Most painful,  I neglected to bring my busload of assistants and groupies, ala Chase Jarvis.  Nope.  I managed to pull this off with a six year old, eight megapixel camera and a 50mm lens.  To make matters worst,  I shot it in the Jpeg mode.

Am I saying that these fun, casual images are in the same league as the "amazing" images my better known colleagues are shooting?  That's hard to say.  Because lately everything I see leaves me a little ho-hum-ish.  I think I've seen Joe and David rim light just about enough stuff with little flashes and sponsor reflectors.  I've never been able to pick Chase's stuff out of a line up of other quasi sport/quasi catalog shooters' stuff and I haven't seen as much from Dan Winters as I used to.  Not sure about his adaptation to digital yet.......time will tell.

But I will say that for the past few months the gear seems so secondary to me.  Yes, I still love the lenses and yes,  I'm still "academically" interested in the latest cameras from everybody but.....when it comes to actually loading up some spicy Lexar or Sandisk and heading out to freeze some photons it really doesn't matter what I grab.  I like shooting all of it.

I know this will seem like an odd confession; afterall, I've been shooting photos for nearly thirty years but I have to say that this year is the first time I can remember thoroughly liking all of my photographic work.  I like the way it looks and I like the way it feels and I like the process of creating it.  I could never look at a portfolio before without cringing a little on the inside, but now?  I see fun stuff in the finished images.  I see little details and little tones that make me feel happy when I rediscover them.  

Does this mean I've lost my critical faculties?  Does this mean I've ruptured my humility gland and replaced it with pompous self love?  Hardly.  I know that my work could be better done.  Better seen, better post processed and better cultivated.  But I've come to the gut level realization that it's just not about perfection and there are no absolutes in art.  There's no grading scale, as much as the inhabitants of DPReview crave one.  There's no hierarchy of good, better, best in the creation of a personal vision....as much as the Flickerati would love one.  I've just become comfortable with the idea that I look at things the way I like to look at them and everyone else looks at stuff and shoots it in a different way than me.  And that's okay.

In the end it's all about making yourself happy.  If you shoot for a different audience,  if you shoot for your mom's approval, or to impress the guys in the camera club, or because you think you should shoot in a style that the silly-ass consultants say is most popular with the art buyers then.....you've already lost.  Because you'll be chasing the same things as the hundred thousand other photographers in your sphere.  It's only by doing it your way that you really win.  Because in the end you can't know what's in anyone else's head.  You might as well fill yours with fun.  Viva old cameras and 50mm lenses.  And 35mm lenses and 85mm lenses.  Viva the process of shooting for fun.

How to get the best images from your lenses. And a quicky review of the Zeiss 85mm ZE.

I'm not quite finished with the project that has temporarily sidelined the Visual Science Labs English language blog but I thought I needed a break from all the discipline of writing a book and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to toss out a "Sunday Rant."  So, "Hi Everyone!"

In the course of researching facts for the book I've become aware of how much is accepted for "fact" by the great majority of web users.  A case in point is the anecdotal acceptance or condemnation of this or that lens.  One reviewer is not able to focus the lens well and in months and weeks the web froths up these facts like egg whites in a souffle and pretty soon it becomes "general knowledge" that X lens is unsharp.

I've learned the three best ways to get the best results out of any lens you happen to buy and I want to share them with you right now.  1.  Put the right subject in front of your lens.   2.  Only put interesting subjects in front of your lenses.  3.  Never put a boring subject in front of your lens....

Back to the general rant.  When I started researching Zeiss lenses for the Canon EOS cameras I started reading all sorts of reviews that talked about focus shift and soft performance with the 85mm 1.4 until you got to an f-stop of about f4.  Reading these things stopped me from buying this lens for months and months.  Recently I decided to forget all that I'd read and try the lens myself.  On my own cameras.  I had high hopes, afte rall I'd tried and then purchased both the 50mm 1.4 and the 35mm f2.0 Zeiss lenses and they have both been stellar performers.

I ponied up for the 85mm and just shot 2,000 frames with it on both the Canon 5dmk2 and on my current vogue camera, the Canon 1Dmk2N.  I never use the "focus and recompose" method when I'm working close.  It doesn't take a crash refresher course in trigonometry to understand that when you are working in close with a long, fast lens depth of field will be small, human focusing errors cost big time, and little shifts of distance make for big problems.

The lens is wonderful.  When I follow good focusing procedures the camera and lens combination rewards me with results that I like very much.  And that brings up an important point:  Good focusing technique takes practice.  Whenever I write a column about the need to consistently practice technique I get lots of feedback from people with non-photo jobs virulently defending the possibility of having good technique in spite of sporadic and periodic engagement with their tools.  I'll just summarily say,  "I don't think so."  Take the camera to work and practice focusing while you're waiting for the next great thought to strike....

When used properly no microadjustment was required for either camera.  No special stopping down routine was needed.  Just straight forward technique.

How to get the most out of any lens?  Use it all the time.  Experiment and engage.  Be fearless.  And never insult your lens by putting crap in front of it.  Literally or metaphorically.  (Non color corrective) filters make good coasters.  Not good adjuncts to carefully designed optical systems.  Cats are fun to pet but have visual relevance only to your close family.  This goes for most cars, most girlfriends and boyfriends and nearly every overweight person you've found parading around in a swim suit (unless you are Martin Parr).  This limits your range of subject possibilities enormously but it does serve to concentrate your talent and focus it rather than dilute it like a pound of ice in your Big Gulp cup of cola.

If the fish aren't running try another stream or take a break to eat a sandwich or watch the clouds go by.  If you're out for a "photo walk"  (which really just means a walk with your camera along.  Do we really need a special phrase for it?) and there's no interesting subject matter a quick detour into the mysteries of convenient cracking paint and accommodating shadow doesn't make an equivalent replacement for the subjects to which you are really attracted.  We're not in an image race here.  It's not enough to fill the bucket if all you're filling it with is chum.

Why did I buy yet another 85mm lens?  I always wanted this one.  The economy has been kinder this year and seems to have a trajectory that gives me a sense of relative security and happiness.  I've been doing more and more video projects and I like the look and feel of the MF Zeiss lenses and their buttery focus rings.  I've loved the focal length for years and always wanted to know what the Zeiss version added to the equation.

I bought it on my way to speak at Dennis Darling's photo class at the University of Texas School of Journalism, on Thursday.  I used it yesterday in Pedernales to photograph a doctor for an ad.  I used it this today to photograph Selena out at Willie Nelson's place.  I shot 1200 shots this morning.  I like a lot of them.  Do I think you need this lens?  Nope.  If you have something in this focal length that makes you happy you're set.  Will this lens make me a better photographer?  Not as much as getting more sleeping, showing up more places and getting my book project finished probably would.  Did I really need it to pursue the video business?  Nope.  I have a perfectly serviceable Canon 85 that works just fine for video.

So why?  Sometimes I like to reward myself for long jags of work.  Sometimes I like to see if other brands have something special (they generally don't).  I was nostalgic for manual focusing.  It's the same reason people buy sports cars with manual transmissions.  And no,  it's not logical and it doesn't make any sense.  Some times I do things just to make myself happy.

Remember:  The number one way to get better stuff out of your lens is to put interesting subjects in front of it.  There is no other thing that will work so well, and across all formats.  If you are shooting something just to show off your technical skills or the technical qualities of your gear you missed the point.  But my regular readers know that nothing matters if the photo is not interesting....

Back to work.  Hope everyone is well.

 Zeiss 85mm at f2.8,  Handheld

All the best from Austin, Texas.  From Kirk Tuck.