Full moon over Floyd County, July 2008.
I love taking photos of the moon and enjoy pulling it in close for detail. The photo above was shot with a Canon EOS-1Ds MKIII, a 21.7 megapixel DSLR, and a 400mm f/2.8 Canon telephoto lens.
As I await arrival of my Canon 5D MKII camera, I am discovering more and more of what others are doing with this incredible tool that mixes high definition stills and video.
Check out this offering from Engaging Films, a collaboration of filmmakers and photographers from Los Angeles and Miami. The short film, set to premiere on Christmas Day, was shot in 48 hours using the 5D MK II.
In a few days, I hope to have some video of my own to post from this amazing camera.
I’m waiting, with much anticipation, the arrival of a new Canon 5D Mark II — a 21.1 megapixel still/video hybrid that photographer Vincent Laforet calls a “game changer.” It is, as the video above, shot by SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill, clearly proves.
If you haven’t seen Laforet’s stunning short film, Reverie, you owe it to yourself to do so. The video, shot entirely in 1080p high definition video on a preduction 5D MKII is incredible. The fact that Vincent had never attempted a video project before makes it even more of an accomplishment.
I’ve been shooting video for a number of years now. Amy and I produced a 30-minute documentary (above) on Floyd’s famous Friday Night Jamboree in 2003. It was shot in standard definition DV with two Canon XL1s cameras and you can tell the difference between it and the high quality of HD.
Homecoming from Doug Thompson on Vimeo.
The video above was shot with a Sony Z1U HD videocam that shoots in 1080i. We’ve since upgraded to a Sony V1U that shoots 24p in 1080 and we’re working on a number of other projects, including a high-definition update to the Jamboree film. Adding the Canon 5D MKII to our arsenal seems a logical step because it allows me to use all my existing Canon lenses and adds a lowlight capability previously available only on videocams costing $100,000 or more. The 5D MKII has an extendable ISO capability of 25,600. Images show in incredibly low light are low in noise and feature extreme detail.
Jeff Snyder at Adorama was kind enough to put me on a high-priority waiting list for the new camera and an email yesterday said the camera is on its way. With luck I’ll have it next week.
User reports will be posted as soon as I have it in hand and put it through its paces.
American Biker: A motocyclist with a tattered American flag cruises by the State Theater in Falls Church, VA, on Sept. 15, 2001 -- four days after the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon in nearby Arlington.
In an earlier post, I talked about grab shots. This one has paid more bills and given me more exposure than any photo I’ve taken over the past 40-some years. It was four days past the 9/11 terrorist attacks and I drove my wife to the doctor — the Kaiser Permanente Health Center in Falls Church, VA. I saw the flag hanging from the marquee and the message on the front of the State Theater on Washington Street so I decided to shoot a photo of the theater while waiting.
As I walked up to the theater, I heard the sound of approaching motorcycles. I shot three images with my Nikon D1 as the bikes roared by. This was the shot that went out on the newswires the next day.
Musicians practice before an appearance on stage at the Friday Night Jamboree in Floyd, Virginia. Photo taken in March 2007.
A reader who noted my list of equipment wanted to know why I didn’t list any flashes. I don’t use flash. Never. I’m a believer in natural light. I don’t like fill lighting or using supplemental lighting in a shot. I’d rather shoot with available light to try and preserve the visual that the eye sees.
Often, low light, shadow and backlighting provide a more dramatic lighting for a scene. The shot above uses two available and natural light sources: The light from the lamp on the table and the early evening light coming in the windows.
Setting sun over Christiansburg, Virginia.
I keep a Canon G9 digital camera in my car console and motorcycle saddlebags for those shots that pop up when you least expect it, like this setting sun near Christiansburg, Virginia. The Canon is a 12.1 megapixel point and shoot with a lot of pro features and is a popular “grab shot” camera for professional photographers.
Sorrow as Floyd County falls 35-20 in State Football final at Salem Municipal Stadium on Saturday, December 6, 2008.
A reader of the Floyd Press wanted to know why I took photos of the Floyd County High School players crying after their loss to Gretna in the Virginia High School League Championship game in Salem last Saturday.
“Why couldn’t you let them have their moment of grief in private,” she asked. “Both you and The Roanoke Times took photos of them while they were crying.”
Yes we did. Eric Brady of The Roanoke Times and I both had photos of the emotion and grief that followed the game. It was a major part of the story of the game. Floyd went into the championship game 13-0 and, like the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl earlier this year, hoped to finish the season undefeated.
Sadly, that wasn’t to be and the disappointment in the players’ faces was part of the game. Other photos here.
Martha Spencer, a musician with the White Top Mountain Band of Grayson County, Virginia. Photographed at FloydFest in July 2006 with a Canon EOS-1D and a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom.
I get a lot of questions from photography enthusiasts about the equipment I use for most photo assignments.
As a pro shooter my cameras are the tools of my trade and the tools depend on the job at hand. I shot with Nikons for most of my professional career, starting with my first Nikon F single-lens-reflex in 1965 through the D2H digital that I used until I switched to Canon in 2004.
Now my primary camera bodies are the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and the EOS-1Ds Mark III. The 1Ds at 21.7 megapixels, is one of the highest resolution DSLRs on the market and produces stunning photographs. I also have a 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II as backups along with a 40D.
For most non-sports shooting assignments I use two camera bodies with a 28-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 zooms. For football, baseball, track and soccer, the primary action lens if a 400mm f2.8 (on a monopod) with the 70-200mm as backup. I also use the 28-70 for crowd and closeup work. For basketball and volleyball I like 300mm f2.8 for primary action work and the 28-70 for close in shots. Two good prime lenses for basketball and volleyball are the 135mm f2.0 and 85mm f1.2.
The 85 and 135 are also good lenses for shooting music events and portraits. I often use the 70-200 for music shots at the Friday Night Jamboree and FloydFest.
Other lenses in my camera bag include a 17-35mm f2.8 zoom, a 100-400 zoom plus 1.4x and 2x tele-extenders.
A musician performing outside the Floyd County Store in Floyd, VA, during the Friday Night Jamboree, a gathering of bluegrass fans held every week.
…is to discuss photography: Techniques, equipment, photojournalism, issues, etc. We hope to provide a forum for the discussion of photographic issues. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Thanks for visiting.
Memo to Nikon users: Get out your checkbooks, up the credit limit on your Visa cards or tap the home equity line of credit. On Dec. 19, Nikon ships the new king of the hill in the digital single-lens-reflex megapixel wars.
The Nikon D3x is a 24.3 megapixel monster with a monster price tag: $7,999.99.
But that’s the same street price that Canon has normally charged with its megapixel king: The 21.9 megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark III.
Since I shoot with Canon and mortgaged my soul earlier for the 1Ds MKIII, I don’t have to rush out and buy the new Nikon but you can bet a lot of people will.
Which begs the question: How many megapixels are enough? At what point does the detail delivered by the megapixel giants become more than the eye can see?
My previous high-megapixel top dog in the camera bag was a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II which — at 16.7 megapixels — delivered tack sharp enlargements up to poster size: 36 by 24 inches. I shoot high school sports and other photojournalism assignments with a Canon 1D Mark III: A high-speed 10 megapixel camera that delivers more than enough detail for newspaper resolution.
I started shooting digital for journalism work in 1999 when Nikon released the 2.7 megapixel D1. I shot dozens of assignments until replacing it with a 4.1 megapixel D2H in 2003. Problems with the D2H led me to change from Nikons (which I had used since 1965) to Canon in 2004 when I bought the 8 megapixel 1D Mark II and 16.7 megapixel 1Ds.
Canon replaced the Mark IIs with the 10 megapixel 1D and 21.9 megapixel 1Ds late last year but some shooters reported problems with the autofocus on the 1D and a number of shooters switched back to Nikon because the new D3 offered 12 megapixels, a better autofocusing system and incredibly high ISO capability (up to 25000). Canon upped the ante recently with the $2,700 5D MKII which offers 21.9 megapixels, the same high ISO range as the D3 and high-definition video.
The digital age means a shorter lifespan for camera bodies. In the film days, a professional SLR body from Canon or Nikon had a market life cycle of 10 years. The digital bodies have a shelf life of about two-and-a-half years.
I’ll stick with Canon. I have a tidy sum invested in camera bodies and lenses and haven’t had any of the autofocus issues with either of my MK IIIs. But then I’m old-school and focus most of my shots manually anyway.
The cost of professional photo equipment has reached the point that when I drive to cover a sports event at Floyd County High School, I’m hauling camera equipment that cost more than twice the sticker price on my Jeep Wrangler.