Links
The quest for an extreme macro
Tue Jul 31st - 5:43pm
A brand new blog by John Lega launched today and it kicks off with a detailed discussion of how John conceived and executed an extreme macro shot of a fly's head. Great picture and an informative read.
Inside the Associated Press
Tue Jul 31st - 10:29am
The BBC has an audio slideshow about covering conflicts for the Associated Press with commentary from two Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers and the AP's current global director of photography. It's a short and fairly lightweight piece, apparently just an appetite whetter for the new AP book Breaking News, but there are plenty of good photos included from Vietnam and Iraq. You might want to turn the photo captions on as they're turned off by default.
Photographing a tragedy
Mon Jul 30th - 3:58am
Dayton Daily News photographr Ty Greenlees writes about his experience of photographing an air show crash in which pilot Jim LeRoy was killed:
What it was like to photograph crash:
A dreaded scene, a sickly feeling
I quickly focused on the plane as it skidded down the runway, clicking away until it came to a rest in the grass next to runway 24R-6L. Flames shot out from under the wings and it was soon engulfed. A sickly feeling fell over me.
The wives of the pilots were crouching a car's-length away, holding each other. I felt horrible for them.
[...]
My hands were shaking as I tried to take the disk out of the camera.
The thing I never wanted to see or photograph had just happened.
Here are the photos of the crash and aftermath (thanks Wes Hope for the link) and a video of the incident shot by a spectator (thanks Doug Murray).
Strobist Lighting 102: Cooking Light
Wed Jul 25th - 6:12pm
The latest Strobist lighting challenge is up and running. Cooking Light is the first challenge in the Lighting 102 series of tutorials and practice assignments.
The assignment is to photograph one or more kitchen utensils – knives, forks, spoons, whisks – whatever you like. The look you are going or is that of ordinary object elevated to high art. Or at least commercial art, as this is the kind of thing that might appear as a catalog cover or in a calendar or on the wall of one of those ubiquitous "fast casual" restaurants.
Due to a heavy workload over recent weeks I wasn't able to take part in the earlier learning exercises so for this assignment I chose a difficult object and learned the techniques while doing the photo. I don't think I've quite nailed the double diffusion yet but I'm nearly there. Click here for set-up shots.
By the way I do know that the photo's rubbish! 
Vanity Fair cover shoot behind-the-scenes video
Wed Jul 25th - 1:11pm
This behind-the-scenes video doesn't feature much about the photography side of the latest Vanity Fair cover but you might find it interesting if you're really really really into that sort of thing. (Thanks Sam Song for the link.)
Iraq war slideshow and video
Wed Jul 25th - 7:25am
Two documentaries on the Iraq war:
News In Transition is an audio slideshow by LA Times photojournalist Rick Loomis. (Be warned that Loomis' web site will try to resize your browser window, tut tut.) Informative and touching in equal measure, and a good insight for any photogs interested in conflict coverage. You'll be amazed to learn how they test for clean air after a possible chemical attack. (Thanks Kevin Kreck for the link.)
Inside the Surge is a video by Guardian photojournalist Sean Smith, most noticeable for the openness of the featured soldiers who are clearly angry at the politicians back home. (Thanks Shaun Ward for the link.)
Lyrebird mimics camera sounds
Wed Jul 25th - 4:45am
Now that I've figured out how to post videos we'd might as well have another one. This is a clip of an Australian Lyrebird mimicking various sounds including a camera shutter, camera with a motor drive, car alarm, chainsaw, and other birds. It's really quite amazing how accurate the sounds are. (Thanks to Kevin Sperl who posted the link over on SportsShooter.)
[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3433507052114896375[/googlevideo]
Chimera 15′x40′ light bank
Wed Jul 25th - 4:03am
Ever wish you had a larger softbox?
Also check out this less expensive but in some ways more impressive solution. For those following the current Strobist project, note the double-diffusion sheet to control specular highlights.
New sensor cleaning products
Wed Jul 25th - 3:09am
I've tried a few sensor cleaning products over the years. Bulb blowers tend to leave more dust behind than they remove. Compressed air doesn't work with stuck-on dust and the procedure itself is way too risky for my liking. Visible Dust brushes worked great on my 1D but couldn't get into the edges of my 1Ds and I once got my sensor in a terrible mess because of residue from the canned air that you need to blast the brush with before use. Whatever I try I keep coming back to the ever-reliable Eclipse + pec pad method which is always a little scary but it does the job and, so long as you're careful, seems to be fairly safe.
Two new methods that you might want to consider are Dust-Aid and Sensor-Film. When I first looked at them this evening they both looked nerve-wrackingly dangerous but the sales pitch videos have convinced me that they might be worth trying. The only real problem I've found with the Eclipse + pec pads method is that you generally need to swipe the sensor, do a test shot and swipe it again several times to get all the dust, which increases the stress and of course takes longer. Both of these new methods promise to do the job in one go.
In this Dust-Aid video I thought the 'click' when he pulls it off the glass sounded too loud and perhaps the "ultra low tack" coating isn't quite ultra low enough. But when he cleans the 1Ds it doesn't seem too bad. At $39.99 it's a reasonable price although I suspect we'll end up paying £30+ in the UK.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFAGwI_afY0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edust%2Daid%2Ecom%2Finstruction%5Fvideo%2Ehtml&locale=en_US&persist_locale=1[/youtube]
Watch this Sensor-Film video right through to the end. At first this method looks like exactly what you don't want to do to your sensor but when you see the whole process it actually looks okay. It does fall short on a few points though: You've got to be very careful with the edges of the sensor, the tiny bit of paper you need to use will be too fiddly for some, and it takes around four hours for the film to dry. But I'd guess that the results will rival any other product on the market and at around $30 for a bottle of the fluid it's one of the cheapest methods.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoWLoz4JKZI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esensor%2Dfilm%2Ecom%2Fcleaning%2Ehtml[/youtube]
(Thanks to Jonathan Kau and dcumminsusa for posting the links in this discussion in the Strobist group on Flickr.)
Reuters blog: Story of a 1700mm portrait
Tue Jul 24th - 12:01am
Catching up with the Reuters photo blog this evening and I found one story of particular interest, detailing the efforts that one photographer made to get a specific image of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Shooting with a monster 1200-1700mm lens (Nikon modified for use on a Canon body) at the Bastille Day parade, Mal Langsdon had only a 15-second window of opportunity to capture the image of Sarkozy from half a mile away.
Click here to read the blog entry
What I really liked about the story was Langsdon's attitude as he is openly competitive, and enthusiastic about taking a risk to get that one killer shot:
I focussed in on Sarkozy, a nice large image in the viewfinder, but he was waving only to one side of the avenue, his hand mostly blocking his face. Then it was over.
Indeed a lot of time and effort for a less-than-perfect frame. But we did push the limits a lot further than the opposition, who were there with their standard 600mm’s and monopods.
Whether it be intelligent use of remotes, trying unusual lenses, using new untested technology or simply taking the risk on a totally unorthodox shooting position, “daring to be different” is what distinguishes Reuters photographers from the rest. After more than 30 years in this business the biggest kick is still from taking a measured risk and pulling it off.
One thing that I'd really like to see happening around here is for the papers to assign more than one photographer to the larger events. (Reuters had two photographers at the parade.) When there's a dozen togs all covering an event independently, either on separate assignments or shooting on spec, they're all going to commit 99% of their time to getting the safe shots. But if you've got two guys covering the event for a single publication then you can have one doing the safe shots and one doing the more risky shots. That's going to lead to better coverage, more iconic images, awards, improved reputation and ultimately increased sales.
