~ Stuart Scott (Former ESPN Anchor)
To see more images from this event please visit the gallery here. Thanks for stopping by this week. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below.
Ease of use isn’t the only reason I use the Gigapan to shoot panoramas. The main reason is because I can get far more detail in the overall image. So you can understand the amount of detail you can get with the Gigapan, here is a panorama I shot of the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park, Utah last weekend, along with a 100% crop of the same image. If you've never had the opportunity to visit Arches I would highly recommend it. It is an incredible sight to behold, and probably the closest thing you would ever get to being on the surface of Mars.
Fiery Furnace – Arches National Park, UT
Fiery Furnace – 100% Crop (Just slightly left of center from original image)
For most of the images in this series, I used a Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens at f/10. Each pano was anywhere from 70-210 images, depending on the width. Each one of the following images are 3ft x 10ft at 300dpi, which is huge, but keep in mind that most of the panos I shoot have a source file that has a length of anywhere from 24-36 feet in length. The longest panoramic I’ve shot with a Gigapan had a source file of over 300 feet long (not kidding). I always keep the original source file, but scale down a copy since it’s not feasible to print something that large in most cases.
Landscape Arch – Arches National Park, UT
Park Avenue – Arches National Park, UT
Skyline Arch – Arches National Park, UT
Turret Arch – Arches National Park, UT
And there you have it! Keep in mind that I do this stuff for a living. The Gigapan is a luxury niche item, and isn’t something that many full-time photographers use. If you want to put a little time and effort into getting good results just use your camera on a tripod. Always shoot wider and taller than you need for the desired result, and leave about a 10 degree overlap on each photo. Always shoot panos in fully manual mode (if your camera allows), to prevent color shifting across the final pano. Then invest a few bucks into some panoramic stitching software, such as Photoshop or PTGui. Even better, you can save your money and get Hugin panoramic stitching software for FREE. Shooting panoramas can be frustrating, but the end result is amazing with enough practice.
Be sure to keep checking back to my Arches National Park gallery over the next several days, as I will be uploading lots more photos from my latest trip. If you enjoyed this week’s post or have any questions, feel free to leave comments below.
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The first thing I do with the image (after putting the images on my network attached storage and cataloging) is to open the image in a program called PortraitPro by Anthropics Lab. The program asks you to choose whether the subject is male or female, and adult or child. Once you make your selection (in this case I would choose adult female) the program runs an algorithm on the subject and makes a general determination on where certain features are located, such as the eyes, nose, mouth, and facial curvature. It’s accurate, but most of the time I need to manually move the waypoints slightly to give a better rendition. If the waypoints are off, then the adjustments you make have a tendency of bleeding over into portions of the image you don’t want it to.
Once I’m satisfied with the alignment, I then determine what I want the image to look like in the end. Since this portrait is a modeling image and has a glamorous sort of feel to it, I move around the sliders to enhance that look. Here is the part where all the magic happens. I didn't really like the overall darkness of the image, and even though it was exposed correctly, I decided to brighten it up quite a bit. I decided that I wanted to brighten her eyes, enhance her mascara, brighten her lipstick and face, and finally brighten and smooth out her skin without washing out the texture completely.
The entire feel of the image changed after making the adjustments. Before, it looked like a pretty decent portrait, but after it has a dreamy, surreal look to it. All women want to feel beautiful and glamorous and I’m pretty confident I achieved it in this case. If I had really wanted to, I could have changed her eye, lipstick, or hair colors but in this example there’s no need. My focus point of the image was her eyes, and that’s what I wanted the viewers to be drawn to. After finishing up the Image in PortraitPro, I then export it as a new file. But I don’t stop there. I drag that new image into Adobe Photoshop so I can clean up small blemishes, dust spots, flyaway hairs, and add sharpening. Then I finish up by cropping the image to taste. Once that part is done I then save the image. Now we’re done! Here is the final image.
To make it easier to see the before and after, here is a side by side comparison of the original on the left and the finished version on the right. The difference between the two is like night and day. Making a few simple adjustments completely changed the overall look and feel of the image.
Keep in mind that the workflow I use for portraits isn’t the same as I would use for something such as sports or even landscape photography. Each one is approached differently. There are even times when the workflow might change per image from an entire shoot. It’s all a matter of the look you’re going for.
Although it was a brief, I hope you guys enjoyed this week’s post. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.
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Backpack:
My main pack is the Think Tank Photo StreetWalker Hard Drive. It’s built like a tank, and has more than enough space and compartments to carry plenty of equipment to get the job done. It also has a padded, breathable lumbar support, which is good when carrying a heavy load. My quick grab-n-go bag is a Hazard 4 Photo-Recon tactical optics sling pack. Built for combat photography, this bag is slim line and covered with molle webbing. This is a great feature, because the molle allows for a fully modular bag with the addition of extra pouches on its exterior. Plus, it’s carry on approved so you don’t have to worry about baggage handlers destroying your expensive equipment. Nice…
Computer:
The computer I use for a majority of my work is the late 2016 15” MacBook Pro w/Touchbar. I won’t go into a huge amount of detail on it, but it’s a great machine that can handle just about anything you can throw at it. The biggest drawback (and you’ll hear many complaints about it if you read the reviews), is that there are no USB 3.0 ports whatsoever. Instead, Apple decided to adopt the newer USB-C technology, which allows data and power transfer all in one cable. I don’t see this as much of an issue, since as a photographer I tend to carry all types of dongles, cables, and adapters for card readers and other devices anyways. It’s not nearly as powerful as a Mac Pro tower, but it allows me to be mobile. If I need to edit on-site and deliver images to a client on the spot I can do it, and when I have an extensive amount of editing to do at home I simply connect it to a 27” Dell 4K monitor for more screen real estate.
Cameras:
The two cameras I shoot presently are the Nikon D810 and a Nikon D3. When I need high-resolution, but can sacrifice the frame rate I grab the D810, since it shoots at over 36 megapixels. Unfortunately, it only delivers 6 frames per second at its highest setting, and under optimal conditions. On the other hand, when I can afford to sacrifice the high-resolution for speed I grab the D3. It clocks in at a whopping 11 frames per second, and was built with the photojournalist in mind. Don’t get me wrong, this camera is by no means a slouch, but nevertheless it shoots 12 effective megapixels. While I’m on the topic of megapixels, keep in mind that in most cases a camera’s megapixel count is just marketing fluff. I’m not saying that it isn’t important, but there are more important factors in a camera’s ability to deliver, such as pixel density, that really matter. In general, the denser the pixels, the better the overall resolution capability will be. I can print images from either of these cameras much larger than most people would ever need on a wall. Soon, I plan on adding medium format back into the mix by purchasing a Pentax 645Z, which yields 51.4 megapixels.
Lenses:
The lenses I currently have in my arsenal are the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G VR, Nikon 300mm f/2.8 VR, Nikon 60mm f/2.8G Micro, Nikon 85mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 UMC fisheye, and a Nikon TC-14E III teleconverter. My two main “go to” lenses are the 24-70mm f/2.8G and the 70-200mm f/2.8G VR. If I’m going for creative and/or distorted I use an ultra-wide angle, such as the 14-24mm f/2.8G or the Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 UMC fisheye. Even though the Rokinon fisheye is a fully manual focus lens, it is a really cool lens that gives a full 180-degree diagonal angle of view. For up close and personal, I use the 60mm f/2.8G Micro, and for portraits I grab the 85mm f/1.8G. When shooting sports (and sometimes the occasional long-distance portrait) I carry the 300mm f/2.8 VR, but I don’t carry it in my backpack because it is a beast of a lens. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to test out the new Nikon 105mm f/1.4G, and it may be my new favorite lens. Time to save up some money!
Memory Cards:
At any given time, I carry at least four each of the Lexar Professional 16GB and 32GB 1066x compact flash cards, and a couple of 64GB Lexar 1066x SD cards. I keep all of them in a Think Tank Pixel Pocket Rocket, which is a foldable card wallet that is sort of like a padded Rolodex for memory cards. For those of you not old enough to know what a Rolodex was, Google is your friend. Why so many you ask? Here’s why. There’s nothing like being in the middle of a shoot, only to have the dreaded “CARD ERR” message pop up on your camera’s LCD screen. In short, that means it can’t read the card, either because it’s not supported or it has become corrupted. If that happens, chances are you lost everything you just shot. All electronics are prone to failure, so I carry much more than I need just in case. Having a backup to the backup is essential when working with clients. The D3 has two CF slots, so I use two of the same card and write to both simultaneously for good measure. The same goes for the D810, with the exception that it has one CF slot and one SD slot. Look at it as a prepaid insurance policy.
Flashes:
The two flashes I typically use are the Nikon SB-900 and Nikon SB-910. These are two of the best hot shoe flashes Nikon offers, and although the SB-900 was replaced by the SB-910, it is still a great flash and works perfect. One word of advice I can give you all about using any hot shoe flash, no matter the brand, is to use a low discharge rechargeable battery, such as the Panasonic Eneloop. Here’s why. Regular off-the-shelf AA batteries can’t handle the heat dissipation like Eneloops, and can literally melt the flash head from repeated firing in a short time span. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen, although I’ve never managed to do it myself…yet.
Batteries:
I’m a gravitationally challenged guy with small hands, yet I prefer the bulk of a larger camera because it balances out better. So, I use a Nikon MB-D12 Battery Grip on the D810 to make it bigger, and as a bonus, it adds a vertical shutter release button to make the transition from portrait to landscape mode easy peasy. Spare camera batteries are an absolute must, so I carry 3-4 spares for each camera. If you’ve been paying attention without getting overly bored you already know why I carry the Eneloop batteries.
Odds & Ends:
Even when I’m shooting outdoors without flash or strobes I always carry a Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478D-U light meter, along with a 5-degree spot viewfinder. Most people think that light meters are just for studio work…wrong. They also work great to help adjust your exposure for the ambient light settings, since most of the time the in-camera metering is off one way or another. Plus, most of the time the camera’s histograms are completely worthless. Some other things I always have in my bag are various filters, a Leatheman multi-tool, business cards, a notebook, pens, rubber bands, dust blower, sensor cleaning tools, coffee filters (yes you read that right!), and a roll of gaffer tape (very important!). Why coffee filters and gaffer tape? Coffee filters, although an integral part of making that perfect cup of warm goodness, can also be used as a flash diffuser or white balancing tool in a pinch. Just wrap one around a flash head, secure it with a rubber band, and boom you have a cheap diffuser. Gaffer tape is one of the most important items in a photographer’s bag. This type of tape leaves no residue, and can be used for a multitude of things, such as securing a zoom ring on a lens so it doesn’t move, taping a flash to a wall, or taping down long cords. Tripping yourself or clients isn’t good. As a bonus, it also makes the perfect coffee holder. Can’t beat that!
Not in my bag, but carry on me:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…wait wrong story. Let’s try again. A long time ago, I used to wear a shooting vest that had a million pockets for film, lenses, filters, etc. I had a system in place to keep track of what was where, but when you’re in a rush all that goes right out the window. Not only that, and even though I’m not a fashionista, I also felt it looked ridiculous. I just couldn’t help but to laugh at myself every time I put it on no matter how much I loved photography. Well that was then, and this is now. I’ve since one-upped the ridiculousness by using a Spider Dual Camera Holster. If you love old westerns, and always dreamed of playing the role of John Wayne, except as a photographer, then this is your ticket. It really does look like something straight out of the Wild Wild West, and since I’m in Nevada why not!? It allows me to carry a camera on each hip so I can quickly draw and fire. Doc Holliday would be proud! Does it look ridiculous? Absolutely! Does it really work? You betcha! When I don’t feel like playing the old west photo slinger, I grab my BlackRapid RS-Sport camera sling. It’s not as flashy as the holster, but it works. When I need a monopod support, I use the Induro Grand Stealth Series 3 Carbon Fiber monopod, with a TH2 tilt head. It can support up to 22lbs and weighs only 2lbs. It can also be used as a walking stick, a crutch, or a cane for all the back pain I endure from carrying such as heavy backpack.
So, as you can see, this is an enormous amount of equipment to carry all at once. And that’s just one bag! It’s heavy, bulky, and doesn’t fare well with long-distance treks. I adjust my bag as needed, depending on the shoot. Remember that the gear listed above only scratches the surface to the entire assortment of other gear I use on a regular basis. But we will save that for another time.
Feel free to leave any comments or feedback below. If there is something you want to learn about, let me know and I’ll do my best to write up something specific if there’s enough interest.
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