It was the end of a long shoot day and we needed to do a quick candid type shot of our model as a nightclub singer.  So we lit the scene with two tungsten lamps -- one in the rear with a red gel lighting the girls hair and flaring the camera, and the other shining directly onto the models face.  The photo was taken with a Nikon D3s set to ISO 200 and the 135mm defocus Nikkor lens at f/2.  From beginning to end, this shot took less than five minutes to set up and shoot.

Below is a simple picture of a brain model I took in the studio.  To create the photo above I imported the one below into Photoshop where I inverted it to create a negative image.  I emphasized the glow along the middle then added color, a background glow, and binary numbers coming out of it to suggest computer technology.

 

Did some more still life stock videos today, mostly of food situations.  This one is of a meal is being prepared.  As always, I also did a series of still images of each scene.  The bottom photo is three images combined with photomerge in Photoshop.  Everything -- video and stills -- was shot with the Nikon D7000 and new 40mm macro lens.

This is another of the video scenes we did of produce.  It is also a three image panorama combined with photomerge in Photoshop.

Two variations on a vintage microphone and "On Air" sign, both lit with a single tungsten light and red filter mixed with a small amount of ambient daylight, and taken with the Nikon D3x and 60mm macro lens.

Riding my bicycle early along the East River in Manhattan I came upon this scene of the Manhattan Bridge from underneath the FDR Drive.  The weather had been predicted to be rainy, but the sun was just trying to peak through the clouds, and the scene was predominantly monochromatic.  I was carrying my Fuji X100 because it was both light and small and fit in the pocket of my sweat shirt.  Shot this at f/5.6.  The Fuji lens is 23mm, which is a 35mm equivalent in full frame.

Photographing in the opposite direction, I captured this scene of the Brooklyn Bridge.  The X100 has one fixed lens that could not fit the entire bridge so I took two panned vertical images and photomerged them in Photoshop.  Combining images this way effectively increases the resolution because it is almost like shooting with a sensor that is twice the size of the one in the camera.  The sharpness and detail are amazing, although it is not apparent in this small format.

I captured this image of dawn just minutes before the sun came up today.  As I was pouring my morning coffee, I noticed the sky color and light intensity changing rapidly and realized I had very little time to grab the shot.  I picked up the Nikon D7000 with 70-300mm zoom and did a quick pan of three images.  Later these were assembled into a panorama using the photomerge feature of Photoshop.  A few seconds after taking this photo, the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, over-intensified the light, and destroyed the subtle calm of the scene.

It is raining hard today and I'm at home, not at the studio, so I looked around for a blog project to do without going outside.  These photos were done to conceptually illustrate the current financial debt crisis going on in the U.S. and Europe.  I intentionally kept the photos gritty by using old coins and bills, and by applying an aged look in Photoshop.

Both images were taken by weak window light with the Nikon D7000 set for ISO 400 and the new Nikon DX 40mm macro lens at f/8.

We had two models for a shooting in our daylight studio and had just finished covering a variety of business situations.  The assistants had begun removing the set except for this lone computer.  I asked one of the models to come back, pose with her head on the desk, and stare up at the monitor.  The shot was taken at desk height with the Nikon D3s and 85mm f/1.4 Nikkor at f/2.2. 

This image was created completely in Photoshop.  I considered adding more elements, but keeping it simple provides a designer the ability to easily add to it.

My studio has wrap-around windows and is usually bright enough to shoot hand-held at a standard ISO.  Yesterday was an exception.  The day was very dark.  So I lit this model with a single tungsten light from behind and several white reflectors in the front to act as fill.  I allowed the tungsten to flare out into the shot.  Taken with a Nikon D3s and the exceptional 85mm f/1.4 Nikon lens at f/2.2 and ISO 400.  I wanted a shallow depth of field and a pin point focus on the eyes and lips.

Reflector fill to lighten the hair and natural, soft daylight were all that were needed to light this image.  Taken with the Nikon D7000 and 50mm f/1.4 Nikon lens at f/2.2 and ISO 200.  For shots like this I often use a smaller APS sensor camera because I find they seem to add more of a film quality to the photos.  The larger professional sensors are almost too sharp and grainless.

Both the video and still image of colorful pills were taken with the Nikon D7000 and new Nikon 40mm f/2.8 macro lens with wide open aperture. The panorama still image is made up of two shots assembled in Photoshop.

I saw this view of the Empire State Building while coming out of the subway station.  I had my Fuji X100 set for monochrome capture.  Whenever I do that, I also set the camera to capture in both RAW and JPG.  That way I can always redo the monochrome from the full RAW file in Photoshop where I have more control, or I can keep the color version if that is more interesting.  In this case I was torn between the two versions.  The color image had an overall warm ochre cast that resulted in a monochrome look anyway.

Here is the full monochrome image.  It has more of a nostalgic feel and strong graphic of angular lines.

For this shot I kept the focus manually set for infinity.  This kept the hand out of focus and the sky area with sun sharp.  My purpose was to throw more emphasis onto the sun.  By putting the hand off to the left, I had space on the right for a designer to use for type.  Photographed with the Nikon D7000 and 16-85mm Nikon zoom set to 35mm and a wide open aperture for shallow depth of field.

For the life-size stone wheel I used the same construction technique as the cave wall in the blog post of last Wednesday.  I photographed it on a large rock surface in Central Park, removed the background, and put a sky in using Photoshop.  The idea was to suggest the dawning of civilization.  The original photo of the wheel was shot with the Nikon D7000 and Sigma 8-16mm zoom set to 11mm and f/8.

It was a slow picture taking day so I put this image together in Photoshop using an old back x-ray I found.  Back pain and injury are major medical concerns and, consequently, popular stock photo topics.

One of my favorite photo ops is a conceptual idea I find right in front of me.  This photo is of my wrist watch and illustrates "precision".  It was shot with the Nikon D7000 and 60mm Nikon macro lens wide open for shallow depth of field.  ISO was set to 800, and the photo taken in the available light right at my desk.

A different chronograph, same photo technique for a lighter, vertical version.  Both images are a 1:1 macro ratio.

Images of ancient cave paintings amaze us with their suggestion of the first spark of Man's creative spirit.  To recreate that concept I first built a section of a cave wall  in the studio and painted in some early drawings.  A single tungsten lamp and gold foil reflectors gave the appearance of light from a fire.  The hand of an assistant was oiled and blackened to complete the illusion.  Photographed with the Nikon D3x and 24-70mm zoom at f/9.

I am beginning a series of images on flowers and plants.  The series will be both monochrome and in color.  In addition to the regular commercial stock photo market, these images are intended for graphic sales in prints, posters, cards, etc.

The images here were taken back lit against a soft window light with the Nikon D7000 and 60mm macro and 50mm f/1.4 lens.

As part of the September 11 observance in NYC, lights representing the twin towers illuminated the city skyline beginning at sunset.  The new World Trade Center building can be seen rising on the left. These photos were planned for a few minutes after sunset to preserve the detail and color in the city and sky.  A cloudy sky absorbed the color of the city, producing a reddish glow on the horizon.

Both images were captured with a Nikon D700 camera and 24-70mm Nikon zoom.  Exposures varied as the light changed, but generally ranged around 1-2 seconds at f/5.6.  For information on the importance of timing in taking night photographs like these, visit my learning blog by clicking here.

Midtown Manhattan also made a nice photograph with the sky absorbing the city lights.  Photographed with the Nikon 70-200mm zoom.

Symbol of New York, the old yellow cab, silhouetted and cleaned up in Photoshop.

This old scale is another flea market find.  Some post-processing in Photoshop resulted in a faded photo nostalgic look.

I found this guy, a large black and yellow Argiope Spider, in a plantation garden.  It is sometimes referred to as a "writing spider" because of the zig-zag pattern it makes on its web.  Shot up close with the Nikon D7000 and 24-70mm zoom lens set to 70mm and f/2.8.  This created a shallow depth-of-field that threw the background out of focus.  Otherwise, the background would have had too much detail that would detract from the spider. 

This area in Charleston is called "Rainbow Row" because of the colorful buildings, all of which are lit up by the early morning sun.  The photomerge action in Photoshop was used to create a panorama from two images taken with the Leica M9 and 90mm Elmarit lens.



One of the oldest cultural traditions in South Carolina is the making of sweetgrass baskets.  It is a craft that was brought over on the slave ships from Africa in the mid 1800's and still practiced today.  The woman whose hands are pictured here also made the baskets shown below.

All photos were taken at an indoor market with the Nikon D7000 and 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens at ISO 800.

The estate homes along the battery of Charleston Harbor represent some of the historical restorations typical of the city.  Photographed here with the Leica M9 and 21mm Elmarit lens.



The city of  Charleston abounds with colorful architectural details.  Shot with the Fuji X100 and its fixed 23mm (35mm full frame equivalent) lens.

A low country tidal water way in South Carolina with an overhanging live oak and Spanish moss.  Photographed with the Nikon D7000 and Sigma 8-16mm zoom set to 8mm.  I use this lens because it is the widest rectilinear available for the APS sensor.  8mm is equal to 12mm on a full-frame camera.

Photo was taken from River Street in Savannah with a Leica M9 and 90mm lens.

Spanish moss hangs from live oak trees all over Savannah.  This photo was taken with the Fuji X100.

I am on a short travel journey in the south of the United /States.  Arrived in Savannah, Georgia today and took a brief walk around to become acquainted.  This is the fountain in Foley Square, one of the iconic symbols of Savannah, shot with the 135mm APO-Telyt lens on a Leica M9 camera.

Here is exactly the same scene but taken with the 21mm Elmarit on the Leica M9.

I went back to the World Trade Center site as part of my on-going project to record the building progress from the beginning to completion.  Progress on the building is now proceeding at a rapid pace.  Next week will by the tenth anniversary.

Both images were photographed with one of my favorite shooting combos, the Leica M9 and 21mm Elmarit lens.

No, this was not taken in the tropics.  It was photographed in a flower pot decorating Broadway in New York.  Nonetheless, it will serve as a background photo for tropical situations in stock.  Taken with the Fuji X100 camera at f/5.6.  The X100 has both an optical and electronic viewfinder.  Using the electronic finder made it easier to place the sun precisely for the star effect.

The X100 has only one lens, a 23mm (equivalent to 35mm in full frame), but it does have a macro mode, which is how this image of sunflowers was taken.

I liked the rustic character of these tomatoes and table surface.  Also taken with the Fuji X100 at f/5.6 and ISO 200.