Tamron Macro Photography Workshop

The situation with depth-of-field is very unusual when shooting with a long (180mm) macro lens, even at very small apertures the focus will remain VERY shallow. Most of these shots were at f/22, and as you can see, there's certainly less than one inch of sharp focus. And, in most cases, it's significantly less. Focusing is critical, and a good tripod, like the Manfrotto Neo Tech makes life easier.

I had a great time last weekend near Philadelphia, teaching a Macro Workshop with my friends from Tamron.

We started off on Friday nite at New York Camera for the orientation session, where we had a technical discussion on the unique techniques used in macro flower shooting. The actual shooting session began on Saturday morning in Ottsville, at the Parkside Orchid Nursery, where the loaner lenses were divvied up among the attendees. And, what a cool place this is. They let us have free reign of their 14,000 square foot nursery / greenhouse set-up. Here in LA we can't hardly set-up a tripod without being attacked by over-zealous security guards. It's nice to be able to roam freely, and think about the artsy stuff.

These 2 identical images of this amazing, egg-shaped bloom were shot with one flash unit placed behind the orchid, to create a subtle glow. A second, soft light, was used directly above, and in really tight, just out of the frame. Both flash units were Metz 58's and the one to the rear was unmodified, on Manual power, at 1/64th power. The main, front light, had a LumiQuest Big Bounce attached, to increase the source size, and soften the light. This unit was manually set to 1/32nd power.

The image was shot in color, and converted, using NIK's Black and White Conversion, plug-in.

I've included a short video clip, so you get a feel of what the place looks like. You'll see all the lenses that were loaned out, as well as the big assortment of tripods provided by the guys (and Lydia) at Bogen. And, as usual, at all these Tamron weekend seminars Expo Disc had product to test....and tons of door prizes from all the sponsors, to wrap up the day. And to fill the group in on some Orchid Trivia, we had a really informative lecture from John, one of the owners, before the shooting began.




I've also included a few of the images I got on Saturday. They were all taken with Tamron's 180mm macro lens. Everything was lit with small, battery powered flash units, off camera, triggered by Skyports. And every one was lit with 2 lights....in very tight, at super low power.


The video below will show some of the behind-the-scenes activities at this 2 day seminar. If you'd like more info on these Tamron Weekends, give us a call, or check their website at www.Tamron.com

California Coastal Redwoods

Last month we spent a few days in the most amazing location.

The shots above were taken just a mile or so south of the coastal village of Trinidad. It's like all the cliche coastal-elements are gathered right here, in this easy to access location. About 15 minutes separated the timing of the images above. Both captured using Tamron's 18-250mm zoom. The upper at 250mm and the bottom file at 18mm. Both, using a tripod and mirror lock-up. A 3-stop Lee ND grad filter held the detail in the bright sky on the wider view.

The Northern California coast hosts an unusual merging of lush green, fern-filled tropical forests, butting right up against the classic, rocky, wave battered coast. All this drama, and its even more incredible when you see the addition of the massive redwood trees, herds of elk, and a world class wildflower display.

Three days wasn't nearly long enough....and, we tried to cram as much as possible into the time slot.

We witnessed a couple of the most breathtaking sunsets, ever. And, in this part of the state, famous for it's perpetual fog, it was a real treat. We DID have plenty of fog, but, just when we needed that extra visibility, everything cleared up, and it was quite a show! And, quite a load off my mind, as far as providing suitable photographic locations for the workshop group. Instructors have reputedly been pushed off cliffs after dragging the group to a remote location, only to witness a less than photogenic sunset. I was safe for awhile, anyway.

And, ironically, right in the heart of these towering redwoods are some macro-sized subjects that can easily be overlooked. Slimy and slippery, the majestic Banana Slugs are everywhere. You just don't see 'em, cause the other visual distractions are causing photographers to look for the

trophy landscape panoramics. And, as a result, our heroes, the under-rated slugs, often get overlooked. And, occasionally stepped on.

But, not by us. And, not today. We set up an external, off-camera Metz flash, shooting thru a Westcott pop-up scrim to light up this guy. And it worked out great for a couple macro shots.

You think they look weird from a distance.....check 'em out thru the Tamron 180mm macro lens at 1:1 magnification. "Tack-sharp slime!" You won't read those words on any lens advertisements.

The footing in most of the Redwood forests is certainly questionable. And, almost never is there anything resembling a flat surface to place the tripod onto. The nice feature with the Manfrotto Neo Tech model is that the legs can be quickly adjusted for height, and the positions available as far as leg-spread are limitless. My friend, and student, Jesus Sousa, took this candid shot of the tripod in use, as I shot the image of the fallen log and ferns.

The reason for the wide variation between the color of the two images above is the White Balance settings used on the 2 different cameras. Jesus had his set for "shade" for the shot of me. And, I had used an Expo Disc on my camera to record the colors exactly as they appeared....pretty stunning comparison. And, it saves a lot of post production time getting the colors right.

Flash-Fill Demo in Austin

This video clip was shot by Ken Hubbard, a great photographer, who works in Tamron's marketing department. For this weekend seminar, he was wearing several hats....and what you'll watch shortly features him as the "video-guy" and "photo assistant".

The still images and story below, are also related to this video, and explain part of what's missing in the clip..........

Austin, Texas Photo Round-up

Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a Tamron workshop with Precision Camera in Austin.  And, in true Texas form, we had cowboys, horses and even a couple traditional bar-b-ques.  Not to mention a model, and all the expert assistance from the very savvy staff at Precision

For one of the demonstrations, I wanted to get a photo of cowboy Bill and his trusty horse, Dusty.

Not just a picture, but a nicely lit portrait, using an off-camera soft box as a light source.

So, before the session started, Bill wanted to make sure that the bright flash from the Metz wouldn't spook ol' Dusty.  So, I handed him the unit, and he simply showed it to the horse....and then we fired the flash a couple times to get him acclimated.  The end result was a pretty nice shot, with an almost studio quality light on Bill's face.  We also added a second, slaved flash....off camera to the left to add some sparkle and detail to the saddle.

The next session had Bill galloping along a trail as our group shot with slow shutter speeds to record an intentional blur.  After a few test shots, the consensus was that a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second was perfect.  And panning the camera during the shooting further blurred the background, while keeping the subject fairly sharp.  In most cases, you'll need to set the ISO to the lowest option, and the aperture to the smallest f/stop possible.  Doing both of these things will force the slower shutter speeds needed for this effect.  And, if that's still not enough.....which may be the case on a bright day, adding a polarizer or a neutral density filter will further reduce the shutter speeds.

Macro Photography....with Off Camera Flash.

The California Central Coast is an unbelievable place to get some of the most classic "rock and trees meet water" shots anywhere in the world.  But, it also holds a great variety of very small wildflowers...sometimes overlooked by the photographers looking toward the west.

The video clip  below shows one technique for getting in REALLY close.....and modifying the ambient light with a tethered flash unit and a small soft box.

The flowers in the shots above are about one quarter inch in diameter!  The camera position didn't change....only the lighting was modified to result in the three very differing results.

The German Alps

Italian Cat House

During our stay in Venice, Italy we had rented a second story apartment for the duration of the workshop. One morning, Cathy Laffin looked out the window and was laughing out loud. But, by the time we all ran over to see what was up, (or down) it was too late.

Our neighbor, also on the second floor, apparently found it easier to lower her cat out of the window, in lieu of a loo....or, in this case a litter box. So, several times each day, this is the unique circus-type entertainment we were provided.

When the flying feline was ready to return home, he simply jumped back in the basket and waited for a ride.

Not a real tecnnical challenging subject.....all we had to do was wait for the proper location of the basket, pre-frame the composition, and use a shutter speed fast enough to capture the action.

ISO at 400 / custom white balance, using an Expo Disc / Tamron 18-250 zoom at 60mm / f/5.6 at 1/200th

To see more of the shots from this trip, which also included a stint in the German Alps, check out the GALLERY section on the website.

The video below shows what it looked like in real time, from the voyeur's perspective.

Desert Abstracts

After the really great light from sunrise has long passed, there's still plenty of stuff to shoot that doesn't require the warm, dramatic quality of that first few minutes of daylight.

The sand dunes of Death Valley offer endless opportunities to create some really unique compositions....especially right after a big wind storm has cleaned up the dunes. No footprints to deal with, other than the ones you make yourself.

Wide Angle Close-Ups at Death Valley

Sometimes you can walk right by some pretty amazing subject matter. Especially, if you're intent on finding a specific shot, or looking for a particular subject to shoot. And, that's what happened on this morning at Death Valley.

We were out looking for the huge, sand dunes images, and almost missed this really cool close-up opportunity. And, the super wide 11-18mm zoom made the drama of distortion even more interesting.

There's 2 different elements included in this snake's eye view of a VERY small dune. The small piece of dry, crusty, mud is just inches away from the front of the lens......and the small branch in the background is no more than 3 feet away. But, the visual distortion created by the super wide lens really expanded the perceived spacing, and created a nice illusion.

Panoramic Stitching in Death Valley

Here's a little, hand-held stitching demo from a recent trip to Death Valley.

The software used to create the final composite image was "Panorama Maker Pro"

It took only about 2 minutes, and it automatically compensated for the slight variances caused by the obvious lack of a tripod.  You'll still get much better results using a tripod and bubble-level.....but, in a pinch this way works, too.  There will simply be less usable area in the final composited file.....which means you'll need to do some cropping to clean up the perimeter.