Thursday 31 January 2019
Bowens is Back from the Dead with the XMT500 Flash Head
Bowens is back. After being acquired by the European investment group AURELIUS in 2016 and shuttered in 2017, the lighting equipment brand just returned from the grave along with its XMT500 flash head.
When it decided to shut down Bowens two years ago, AURELIUS cited the rise of cheaper lighting equipment out of China as one of the primary reasons. While companies like Godox have continued to grow and develop innovative new products, AURELIUS seems to have had a change of heart.
The resurrection of Bowens was announced by Wex Photo Video, the camera store that AURELIUS owns (along with Calumet).
“We are pleased to announce the Wex Photo Video exclusive relaunch of Bowens, beginning with the XMT500 Flash Head and Twin Head Kit,” Wex writes. “This is complemented by a wide range of light shaping tools, a two-year warranty and special limited-period launch offers.”
The XMT500, a battery-powered 500Ws monolight, was first announced back in 2016. Features and specs include Canon/Nikon/Sony TTL, a built-in receiver with 32 channels and 5 groups, 500 full power flashes on its charged Li-ion battery, a 0.01-2.0 second recycle time, a 9-stop power variability, an LED modeling lamp, flash durations as short as 1/10,309, fan cooling, and HSS up to 1/8000s.
Wex is now selling the XMT500 by itself for £699 (~$917) and in a twin head kit for £1,399 (~$1,835) in the UK. B&H in the US is selling the flash head by itself for $700.
It appears that this is more than an effort to sell remaining stockpiles of flash heads, as Wex is saying that the XMT500 is only “the first product announced” as part of its exclusive relaunch of the Bowens brand.
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/31/bowens-is-back-from-the-dead-with-the-xmt500-flash-head/
How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant
The post How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.
Whether you’re a professional photographer or a passionate amateur, I insist that you need a photography assistant.
You may think that you can lug around your own gear and do a great job on your own, but no matter how good you are, a photography assistant will make you better.
It’s not just about carrying your gear around. Your photography assistant takes on the tasks that clutter your mind and smother your creativity. When your assistant carries the load of the little things, your mind has room to roam and allow creativity to flow.
Your assistant frees your working memory to be creative. While you’re spitting out ideas, they’re taking note and making sure everything happens right. Meanwhile, you’re paying attention to nothing but your subject and the creative ideas coming together in your mind. They’re your second brain and second set of hands that you wish you were born with.
The practical implications of having an assistant
If you love street photography but are too shy to approach people for portraits, you can bring a chatty friend to be your assistant. They can strike up conversations with people and then say, “can my photographer friend take your picture?”
Your assistant can document your process through candid photos of you at work as a photographer. This is perfect for your blog and other publications.
During a wedding day, they’re organizing people for photos and handing you lenses as you need them. Your mind is free to focus on creative ideas and details that normally escape you.
Even when you’re photographing a landscape they can become your model when you wish there was a person in the scene.
Together, you and your assistant are an incredible partnership.
On the other hand, an assistant can ruin your work when they become a liability.
Here is how to find the perfect assistant who won’t let you down.
While I’m taking photos, my assistant is checking my list and adding to it as we have new ideas.
The traits of a great assistant
1. Loves to learn
The first thing to look for in an assistant is somebody who is obsessed with learning. They will love working with you and soak up the entire experience. They are eager to help with everything. Somebody who loves to learn and explore, and who can’t wait to work with you through new experiences.
2. Agreeable
When you find somebody obsessed with learning, they also need to have an agreeable personality. An assistant must be willing to do whatever you ask them without objecting to your ideas. Some people simply can’t handle being a helper – insisting on being in charge. You don’t want that sort of person because you’ll always be bumping up against them in conflict.
3. Polite
Your assistant must be capable of being extremely polite. Don’t risk jeopardizing your shoot with somebody who is rude toward your clients. They should also be enthusiastic and not shy about strangers.
4. Hardworking
The perfect assistant is hardworking and willing to be on their feet. They will be willing to run around without rest all day if necessary. They must be orderly and know where everything goes, and keep everything in place and ready for you.
If you work in high pressure situations, then your assistant must be capable of embracing stress without crumbling.
Look for assistants wherever you can find them. Sometimes an older sibling can help you make the infants laugh! My actual assistant is crouched behind the seat making sure the infant doesn’t fall.
Where can you find an assistant?
Your assistant doesn’t need to be an actual photographer. This may sound crazy, but it really doesn’t matter if they understand photography as long as they can assist you in the way you need them to. In fact, a non-photographer may offer insights that a fellow photographer would overlook.
Maybe your assistant should be a painter, musician or engineer. Each one will help you overcome different challenges in their unique way.
But if you are looking for someone who is a photographer to assist you, perhaps you could begin at a photo club. Many people at photo clubs are not working professionals, but they may be incredible photographers nevertheless.
You could bring a professional photographer to assist you. If that’s the case, I suggest a photographer who is the opposite of you.
I assist a local photographer from time to time and we love working with each other because we are exact opposites. He is orderly, precise, in tune with the details, and works with strobe lighting. In contrast, I prefer chaos, haphazard camera work, tuning into the big picture and using terribly challenging ambient light. It is a thrill to bring such opposites together!
I often let kids use my camera during family photo sessions. This candid photo was captured by my assistant.
When to fire your assistant
Don’t hire an assistant unless you are strong enough to fire them some day.
Fire them if they hinder your work and won’t change their ways.
But even when you have an amazing assistant with perfect chemistry, fire them as soon as they’re ready to have their own assistant. Don’t hold them back. Push them out so that they can grow too.
In the meantime, enjoy having the perfect assistant who frees your mind to let your creativity loose.
Feature image by: Greg Gelsinger
The post How to Find the Perfect Photography Assistant appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.
from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/find-perfect-photography-assistant/
Ricoh Unveils Pentax 11-18mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/2 K-mount Lenses
Ricoh today announced two new lenses for Pentax K-mount DSLR cameras: the Pentax HD Pentax DA* 11-18mm f/2.8 ED DC AW and Pentax HD Pentax-FA 35mm f/2.
Pentax HD Pentax DA* 11-18mm f/2.8 ED DC AW
The new Pentax 11-18mm f/2.8 lens is a Star series (*) APS-C lens that is designed to stay relevant into the era of “super-high-performance digital cameras of the future.”
“It delivers high-resolution, high-contrast images without blurring at the edges, and assures excellent imaging performance, even at open aperture,” Ricoh says.
The 11-18mm focal range is equivalent to a 17-27.5mm lens in 35mm terms, and it’s geared toward landscape and outdoor photographers.
Features of the lens include a high-grade HD coating that minimizes flaring and ghosting, a dust-proof and weather-resistant build, a Focus Clamp Mechanism that locks the focal point even when the focus ring is rotated, a dew heating strip that prevents condensation without affecting focus-ring operation, a rounded 9-blade aperture, 16 elements in 11 groups, an 82mm filter thread, and a weight of 1.55lb (704 g).
Pentax HD Pentax-FA 35mm f/2
The new Pentax HD Pentax-FA 35mm f/2 is a full-frame wide-angle lens that’s designed for everyday use. On an APS-C camera, it offers the 35mm equivalent focal length of 53.5mm.
Features of the lens include 6 elements in 5 groups, a multi-layer coating that reduces flaring and ghosting, a stain-repellent coating, a 6-blade aperture, a 49mm filter thread, and a weight of 6.81oz (193g).
Pricing and Availability
Both lenses are available for pre-order starting today. The Pentax HD Pentax DA* 11-18mm f/2.8 ED DC AW has a price tag of $1,400 and the Pentax HD Pentax-FA 35mm f/2 costs $400.
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/31/ricoh-unveils-pentax-11-18mm-f-2-8-and-35mm-f-2-k-mount-lenses/
How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos
The post How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.
Next to light, color accuracy is another important element in photography. Color temperature is annoying enough to deal with in terms of camera settings and editing. You spend all this time and effort on editing your photos and making sure they match your photography style. But sometimes the final product can be off if viewed on an uncalibrated screen. While having an accurately calibrated screen is ideal, there are still some things you can do to ensure that the colors are as close to the real deal as possible.
1. Photographing in raw
Completely overexposed sunset in the Grand Cayman. I love the little sailboat in the distance and tried to correct the image in post.
The sun is still overexposed and not perfect, but because I photograph in Raw 100% of the time, I could put down the exposure, highlights, contrast and my other normal editing steps. I was able to get some of the details back.
This really is key and I am a huge proponent of photographing in RAW 100% of the time. The colors can be adjusted easily on raw files in editing software like Lightroom, Photoshop, and others. But with jpegs, they’re already baked in. It is not impossible just harder to achieve the exact match.
In Raw files, all the original image data is preserved. In fact, when RAW files are opened in post-production software like Lightroom, a virtual copy is made and used. Edits are made in a non-destructive format so the original RAW file is always available for changes at a later stage. This is very useful when you want to edit images in different ways at different times in your photographic career.
Since a JPEG image is essentially a RAW image compressed in-camera, the camera’s computer makes decisions on what data to retain and which to toss out when compressing the file. JPEG files tend to have a smaller dynamic range of information that is stored and this often means less ability to preserve both highlights and shadow details in the image.
2. Use Kelvin WB mode on your camera
If photographing RAW is not something you can do, or don’t have space for on your flash drives (RAW files tend to be really huge), try photographing using Kelvin White Balance mode instead of Auto White Balance. Not all cameras may have this function, so check your camera manual to figure out the exact menu option and also how to adjust the value. Kelvin lets you adjust the white balance in camera rather than in post. In general, in your camera manual are the ranges of Kelvin values for the various lighting setups. You will have to tweak the values depending on your style and how you want the final image to look.
3. Use a good display screen/monitor
Cheaper screens have smaller color ranges, so the better your screen, the more colors that can be displayed. This is where you’ll be looking at the photos, so you don’t want your image to be limited in that way. At the very minimum, if you’re editing photos, you need a 99% sRGB screen. 100% Adobe RGB capable screens (which is generally better) are also relatively affordable now. That said, most media on the web generally uses sRGB format, so sRGB is perfectly adequate. People generally recommend editing in that color space anyway. In general, for built-in displays like laptops, most modern Mac screens have really good color accuracy and distribution.
This outdoor space was very hazy when we visited because of many forest fires in the area. That haze and overall air quality and temperature gave a very pink glow to all my images, one that I missed the first time I edited my images on my computer. But then I went back and edited to a more accurate representation of what the scene actually looked like.
4. Calibrate your monitor
Not enough people realize how big a difference calibrating your monitor makes. If your entire computer screen is shifted to be purple, when you look at your final images in a color-calibrated medium, it’s going to end up green. There are several in the market that do a good job like Datacolor Spyder 5 or X-Rite ColorMunki. At the end of the day, they all essentially have the same functionality. Plug in the color sensor, put it against your screen, run the software, and it will automatically install the color profile for you.
5. Edit in a color neutral workspace
Where you sit and work can also make a difference to how you edit. As funny as it may sound, it is true. If you have bright warm sunlight flooding your computer screen, you will likely edit cooler. The eye is automatically going to compensate for the warmth by gravitating towards cooler tones. If you have cool indoor lighting flooding your editing room, that might not work either. Believe it or not, the ideal editing environment is actually a totally dark room, so you don’t pollute any of the colors. I know I cannot edit in a dark room because starting at the screen for too long in that space gives me a headache. If you must edit somewhere with another light source, do your color calibration in that room. The Spyder and ColorMunki can both accommodate the ambient light in your environment.
The image was shot and edited in the same room with side lighting. Had I not seen this in another room and on another computer, I would have missed the uneven lighting and tonality from the left to the right side of the image, giving it a look of almost photographing with a flash, which was not my intention.
6. Use multiple devices to spot check color
If you are really doubting your color tones and edits, double check them on another device. Most people have iPhones these days, and iPhones are surprisingly well-calibrated. Unfortunately, you can’t use the calibrators on most phones, to the best of my knowledge, so just send your photos over to your phone, and you should get an idea of how most people are seeing your images.
The blueish tone in the image here would have been completely missed had I not seen the image on an iPad and an iPhone prior to sending out to a client. I prefer true to form white backgrounds when working with stock photos.
Unfortunately, most people, including myself, don’t pay too much attention to color accuracy in their photos. Most of the color matching stops at editing. Sometimes we even call it ‘photography style’ and leave it at that. But if you really want to understand color and how images can actually look versus relying on a specific style or edit, try one or all these steps. It is actually fairly simple once it clicks.
What techniques do you use for maintaining your color? Share with us in the comments below.
The post How to Achieve Color Accuracy in your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.
from Digital Photography School https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-achieve-color-accuracy-in-photos/
Wednesday 30 January 2019
Crash Test Photography: An Inside Look at Shooting Car Safety Tests
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a US nonprofit that researches vehicle safety on behalf of car insurance companies. Here’s a 5-minute behind-the-scenes video showing how the organization photographs its respected and widely publicized crash tests.
The crash tests (and shoots) are carried out in a giant crash hall that was designed with photography in mind. There are high ceilings and a massive custom-built lighting array that puts out 750,000 watts of soft diffuse light.
“It’s important that our light doesn’t cast hard shadows and reflections,” says IIHS VP Pini Kalnite, “and it has to be very bright for our state-of-the-art digital imagers, or slow-motion cameras.”
In addition to shooting the crashes from multiple angles with high-speed cameras for super-slow-motion footage and with car-mounted cameras for in-cabin views, the IIHS also brings out high-resolution Hasselblad cameras for still photos of crashed cars.
All the footage and photos are used to understand exactly what happens in each crash test and to communicate the findings to the media and public.
Image credits: Video and still frames by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/30/crash-test-photography-an-inside-look-at-shooting-car-safety-tests/
WikiShootMe Shows You Local Wikipedia Spots In Need of Photos
Interested in contributing your photographic talents toward the collective knowledge base of humankind? Check out WikiShootMe. It’s a tool that can show you locations near you where Wikipedia is lacking photos in.
A project of the Wikimedia Foundation, WikiShootMe features a map-based interface that’s littered with circles that represent different types of objects. Larger green circles show Wikidata items that already contain photos.
If you’d like to find photo ops to shoot as a volunteer, look for the larger red circles, which show Wikidata items (which are used in Wikipedia articles) that are still in need of a photo.
The different types of objects are on different overlay layers that can be toggled on and off.
Clicking a circle brings up information about that object (including the coordinates where it’s located) and provides a way for you to upload your own photo of it.
Users can even create new objects on the map for other people to contribute photos to as well.
You can find more detailed instructions on how to contribute your images here.
Head on over to WikiShootMe if you’d like to start browsing for nearby spots to visit and shoot.
(via Wikimedia Foundation via Reddit)
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/30/wikishootme-shows-you-local-wikipedia-spots-in-need-of-photos/
Photo Chemistry Giant Tetenal Closing Shop After 172 Years: Report
In late 2018, it emerged that Tetenal, one of the largest photo chemistry companies in the world, was in serious financial turmoil. It now appears that efforts to save the business have failed, and Tetenal will reportedly be closing up for good after a whopping 172 in the analog photography industry.
The German photo industry publication foto-contact.de reports that Tetenal employees in Norderstedt, Germany, have been informed that Tetenal is set to be wound up and closed on April 1st, 2019.
The company had reportedly been searching for investors to keep it afloat after seeking insolvency protection in October 2018, and while there had been parties that expressed interest, Tetenal failed to secure any binding commitments. Without a lifeline, the business is now forced to cease operations.
Tetenal’s business was established by Berlin-based entrepreneur Theodor Teichgräber back in 1847 when he began selling photographic chemicals for wet plate collodion photography through his drug wholesale store. The Tetenal trademark was registered 63 years later in 1910.
The demise of Tetenal may have a huge ripple effect on the film photography industry, as the business produced chemicals for major brands such as Ilford and Kodak. It remains to be seen just how much damage the closure has on the industry, but the loss of such a long-standing name certainly can’t be good for film as it struggles to make a comeback.
(via foto-contact.de via Emulsive)
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/30/photo-chemistry-giant-tetenal-closing-shop-after-172-years-report/
ON1 Photo RAW 2019.2 Brings New AI Masking Feature
ON1 just announced the latest update to Photo RAW 2019. Version 2019.2 brings a new AI-powered masking feature and new performance enhancements.
The new AI Quick Mask tool lets you create high-quality masks. All you need to do is provide a few strokes as guidance, which gives the AI an idea about color, tone, and textures to figure out the boundaries in the shot and the detailed mask you want.
The masks are created “in a fraction of the time compared to other masking techniques,” ON1 says.
In the area of performance, a computer’s video card (GPU) is now utilized to help boost the speed of common tasks — things like returning to Browse, copy and pasting layers and masks, exporting, and plug-in functions.
The full list of new features and camera incompatibilities can be found here.
ON1 Photo RAW 2019.2 is available starting now as a free upgrade for ON1 Photo RAW 2019 owners or $100 if you’re a new customer. Owners of previous ON1 products can upgrade for $80, and there’s also a subscription-based membership for $130 a year.
from PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/2019/01/30/on1-photo-raw-2019-2-brings-new-ai-masking-feature-and-more/