Higher res version available here.

Work begins on the new studio. Hands on construction by Dave Klemmer and crew. Design/Build by Jim McAuliffe and Rich Carroll of McAuliffe + Carroll Architects. Jim and Rich also designed the other projects on our property; back patio/shed (here and here), main floor/front entrance (this image plus the next three.)

Video was shot with a Canon 1D Mark IV, edited in Final Cut Pro, and grading/color styling done in Color.

I’m realizing I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks other than earlier this evening. There have been assignments but I have also been gearing up for my first film assignment. It’s part of an annual report shoot. I’ll be creating a dozen environmental portraits (still images) and then producing/directing/shooting six short video pieces to accompany the annual report when it appears online.

The nature of the job is such that it is more cost effective to buy the needed equipment (HDslr, sound, continuous lights) than to rent because the work will be spread out over a significant amount of time.

Over the years I have owned between five and eight cameras at any one time. With the switch to digital that got whittled down to three and with the current generation of cameras, they’ve been rock solid, so I’ve only needed two. I shoot with Canon 1Ds Mark III’s. That body is pushing three years old so it does not have HD video.

Prior to this assignment I kept video as a professional option at arm’s length, even questioning the convergence of still and video. I was shooting video for myself but I was content knowing that when video reached the camera models I use, I would be able to dip my toe in then. Well… times change and so do clients’ expectations. With HD quality video becoming more prevalent in higher end dslr cameras and with the demand for video growing, clients are beginning to ask for and expect video.

So, for me, the first step was figuring out which camera body to get. In full disclosure, the film project I need to complete could be shot with a pro-level video camera. In fact, on a certain level it might be simpler that way. But if I’m going to do this I need to do it in a way which takes advantage of my current stable of lenses, my knowledge of still cameras, and sets me up for future projects. Those factors point toward getting a dslr with HD capabilities and which can create the shallow depth of field film look those cameras are known for.

Since I shoot Canon the options were the 7D, 5D Mark II, and the 1D Mark IV. I can’t go wrong with either of these for the upcoming assignment so it became a question of which will benefit me more after the assignment. Each camera has its strengths and weaknesses. The undisputed king is the 5D Mark II because of its full-frame sensor but it is also the most temperamental of the three. It doesn’t have the range of HD settings of the other two, it can be hard to focus, and it doesn’t play nice with external monitors once you start recording. It also does not have the build quality of the 7D or the 1D Mark IV.

In the end I went with the 1D Mark IV as much for it’s similarity to what I currently use as anything. Same body size, same build quality, same batteries, same accessories, same button layout. What it will add to my kit for the future is higher ISO capability along with the video strengths mentioned above. Would I rather have full-frame (the 1D Mark IV’s chip has a 1.3x factor)? Yes. Are the odds of Canon announcing a replacement for my current cameras, the 1Ds Mark III’s, this August good?  Yes, they are very good and, yes, it will probably have HD. But I need a camera now and one which can be vetted prior to this assignment starting.

While this has no bearing on the upcoming assignment – here’s a quick test of the 1D Mark IV’s low light capabilities:

This was shot a few nights ago, about 10PM. 1D Mark IV, handheld, 50mm f/1.2, @ 1.2, 1/50, 30p, 1080P, ISO 12800. The only tweak to the camera was to set the picture style to Neutral.

I am amazed you can see levels of detail in the trees, in the clouds, and those dots at the end are not noise. They are stars. Here’s a larger version (you can see the stars better.)

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09/01/10 – Realizing that Firefox does not play well with self-hosted *.mov or *.m4v movie files. It presents them as dark and contrasty. Safari works fine. So, if you are viewing this video (or any others on the blog) via Firefox don’t expect to see the detail I describe above.

Videos hosted by third-parties (e.g. Vimeo, YouTube) appear fine in any browser. I will look into these or WordPress’ VideoPress in the future.

Yesterday at the Shanghai World Expo Canon exhibited a new camera concept, the Wonder Camera.

Fans everywhere of Sleeper inspired design rejoiced…

Engadget story on the Wonder Camera and via Electronista.

I’ve been spending time going through lots and lots of images as I prepare new print portfolios. One group of images sits in a sort of quasi-netherworld, not full-on produced portraits but not candids either. These are images I created for the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

It was a fun project which ran for just over four years, portraits of faculty members and administration. These graced the walls of the light filled hallways, just outside the primary lecture hall, and just off the atrium of their main building, Roberston Hall.

WWS Faculty, 2004-2007, (click to enlarge.)

What stayed consistent over the years was the setup: full-frame Canon digital camera, 85mm f/1.2 lens shot anywhere between f/2.0 and f/4, and the subject lit a stop or so under ambient with a Canon flash in an XXS Chimera softbox. Whenever possible the photos were taken outside so that they would feel fresh and open. This also allowed me to challenge myself. Each portrait was limited to ten to fifteen minutes of set up time and ten minutes with the subject. Working with those constraints and photographing as many as fourteen subjects in a day, I did my best to vary the background on each and every image while still staying within a stone’s throw of their main building.

Beyond the lobby display, the portraits were used for publications, press, and development.

Apple released OS update, v10.6.4, today. Word is that it adds tethered capability for the Canon 1Ds Mark III , Canon 5D Mark II, and for other Canon bodies. 10.6.4 also updates the way Aperture 3.x handles metadata, making it more widely readable in third-party programs.

I look forward to testing both of these changes. With tethering, Canon’s DPP and EOS Utility have been rock solid but since all my files end up in Aperture, it would be great to cut to the chase.

With metadata, issues have arisen due to inconsistencies in standards between programs. A case in point, Photoshop doesn’t handle metadata consistently between Bridge and CS4. With Aperture 3.x, neither Bridge nor CS4 read all of Aperture’s metadata but Bridge read much more of it. Regardless, it’s incumbent upon Apple to make Aperture as metadata friendly as possible – most images end up in Photoshop at some point (if not in-house, then when they reach the client.) So, the situation where CS4 deleted most of the metadata if an Aperture produced file was re-saved in Photoshop was unacceptable.

MacCreate article

ApertureExpert.com article

6/16: Metadata updates/corrections are confirmed. Export a file in Aperture, open it in Photoshop, and then open File Info via the File menu. Everything is exactly where it should be – IPTC, Description, Caption, etc.

6/16: Tethered support: here’s the updated list from Apple.

Memorial Day Parade:

Princeton, NJ, May 29, 2010

World’s preppiest dog:

Fireworks for Princeton University’s Reunions:

Kayaking, May 30th, enjoying the late afternoon sun:

Carnegie Lake, Princeton, NJ, May 30, 2010

Delaware & Raritan Canal, May 31st, Isabel goes solo:

Stills and video, Apple iPhone and Canon G10.

As I continue to shoot with both of these lenses neither disappoints. Neither has needed an AF microadjustment and both lock focus quickly and accurately.

I first mentioned the Canon 24mm f/2.8L II and the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II in the KGB post last week. A few days after the KGB assignment I was shooting for a private secondary school, creating marketing images for their print and online use. Acting in fly-on-the-wall mode both lenses saw a lot of use.

The 24mm f/2.8L II

Canon 24mm f/1.4L II; f/4 @ 1/60, ISO 800, full-frame (click to enlarge)

100% Crop, focus point in the camera was on her eyelid, toward her nose.

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II; f/4 @ 1/1000, ISO 400, slight crop (click for full-frame)

100% Crop, focus point in the camera was to the left, just outside of the frame.

The 70-200 is the biggest surprise. The prior generation lens was very good but the new lens follow-focuses really well (AI Servo mode on a Canon.) It’s the first time since shooting with a Nikon F5 (on film and with a telephoto zoom, mid to late-90′s) that I feel I have an equivalent setup in terms of its ability to follow a moving subject.

A week ago Friday I was at the KGB Bar on East 4th in NYC to photograph writers reading from their works. The light in the bar was as low as low can get. Not wanting to disturb the activity with a flash, I had the bartender turn all the fixtures up full. This provided the bare minimum of light needed to work (ISO 3200, the limit on my Canon 1Ds Mark III’s.)

85mm f/1.2L II, f/1.2 @ 1/60

85mm f/1.2L II, f/1.2 @ 1/60

85mm f/1.2L II, f/1.2 @ 1/60

As fun as it is to be a fly on the wall with the 85mm f/1.2 II lens, it was a blast to continue to push the new 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II and the new 24mm f/1.4 II lenses to their limits.

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 135mm and f/2.8 @ 1/10

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 100mm and f/2.8 @ 1/8

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 150mm and f/2.8 @ 1/40

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 70mm and f/2.8 @ 1/10

Probably not a big surprise but there was more light on the street at 9pm than in the bar. These images are at ISO 1600.

24mm f/1.4L II, f/1.8 @ 1/40

70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, 70mm and f/2.8 @ 1/15

Both lenses are great improvements over their predecessors. The 24mm f/1.4 II is just shy of the new 24mm TSE II lens in terms of quality. It has little to no chromatic aberration, less distortion, and is noticeably sharper overall. Wide open it has none of the fuzzy hazy dreamy look common to Canon’s older f/1.4 lenses.

The 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II builds on the previous generation (a very good lens in its own right) and kicks it up a few notches. It’s sharper, focuses faster, and as seen above, it extends the IS range. Getting sharp images at 1/8 second with the new lens is very easy. The old model lens was about 2/3 stop more limited, with it 1/15 second handheld was my limit.

The new 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II is also a more consistent focuser than the old version. My copy of the old version would often have trouble with vertical images. It was not uncommon to get a vertical sequence which would miss focus when a horizontal sequence of the same subject was fine. I have yet to have this occur with the new lens in three weeks of shooting.

I assume the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II and the 24mm f/1.4 II both have Canon’s new lens coatings, similar to the 24mm TSE II and 17mm TSE. I don’t know how they work but work they do. Combined with the lower distortion, images from the new lenses feel crisper and more three dimensional.

All of the images above were processed in Aperture 3 with no noise reduction and only a touch of sharpening added to the sized-down jpegs.