Joe McNally - Repeating Flash

This is the last video by Joe McNally of Repeating Flash posted at the Nikon School. This is a advanced technique that uses the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System) used on the Nikon SB Flashes.

This example and technique is awesome. Joe explains how to light a set with 14 different strobes for the technique of stroboscope. He produces some very beautiful images with this technique. Unfortunately Joe makes it look really easy, but I know it’s not.

Take a look at Joe McNally video on Repeating Flash at Nikon School.

If you missed the last two video here is the links to those posts:

Learning with Joe – part 1

Learning with Joe – part 2

I hope you enjoyed these video post. I know that I learned something new in these videos.

Have a great day. May your horizons be straight, and your focus clear.

Joe McNally - Control of Color Part 2

Here is the second video of Joe McNally teaching Control of Color from Nikon School. As Joe did in his first video, he teaches techniques of  using multiple flashes in off camera mode. Show the importance of identifying the correct ambient light and adjusting to the proper white balance. Joe also shows you how to place a flash for hair highlights.

Here is the link to the second video Control of Color part 2 at the Nikon School. If you missed the first video here is the link to that as well Learning with Joe – part 1

Joe McNally - Control of Color Part 1

As I cruise through my daily blog reading I ran across an old post from a Photo Blogger I follow Scott from Weekly Photography Tips. He posted a series of three videos from on of my favorite photographers Joe McNally. For those of you who may not know of Joe McNally he has a few very popular books out there that really have put a turn in my photography, especially portrait photography using small strobes. His first book I read is The Moment it Clicks and the other book, his most recent release is The Hot Shoe Diaries. If you are looking to improve your portrait photography especially with the use of small strobes I encourage you to read these two books.Like I said before Scott posted three video of Joe McNally teaching on location about setting up shots and using available light or small strobes during a portrait session. Joe shows you how to recognize lighting, color  and reflective surfaces. This video is a little over 10 minutes long, but it worth every second.

Click to download the video - Control of Color – Part 1 If you don’t want to download the video here it the link to the Nikon School Control of Color part 1 page for the video.

More videos to come, enjoy and have a great day.

In this video, Matt shows us how to adjust the symmetry in your photos. This is a quick tip that I have used several time to adjust the tilt when photographing a high-rise building from the ground while using a normal lens.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will showcase an exhibit featuring the work of photography legend Richard Avedon. This event promises to be unforgettable as it is the only time that a U.S. museum will feature Avedon’s photography throughout his lifetime. The exhibit will include almost 200 photographs as well as a collection of vintage magazines.

Richard Avedon was a renowned photographer of high profile subjects such as politicians, artists, writers and movie stars. He was known for his unique style which rejected the traditional staged poses and instead sought to capture emotion in the faces of his subjects. This exhibit will span the length of his career, which began with photographs of street scenes and moved on to cover Paris fashion pictures and celebrity portraits.

To read more about Richard Avedon and his life and career, go to his Wikipedia page, click here to link to the page.

If you are fascinated in Astrophotography and how they do it, wired.com has a great article of how Rogelio Bernal Andreo does his Astrophotography. He walks you a quick tutorial of how it’s done and the equipment that he uses to make his fantastic images of the stars. Here is the link to Wired.com article “The Making of a Mind-Blowing Space Photo”.

My attempts have never show the results that Andreo has produced. The closest celestial body to earth is the only thing I can get a good image from in space.

Take a look at his work and how he approached his subjects. He includes a video so you can see as he put it “His Dork like approach”. Here is the link to his Blog post: Street Portraits :: NYC 09/2009 :: Video + Stills

One of the blogs a frequently read is the Strobist. In some incestual way all these blogs are linked together. I first started to read Scott Kelby’s blog Photoshop Insider. I have read most of his books and I am a huge fan of his Business Plan and work ethic, not to mention I enjoy his writing style and photography.

Next is Matt Kloskowski. Matt has the very popular Adobe Lightroom Killer Tips blog that I read. Also, Matt works for NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals). Now Scott Kelby is the editor and publisher of Photoshop User and Layers magazines, president and co-founder NAPP and author of many books, and co-author with Matt on a few books. So Scott is Matt’s boss.

Then there is Joe McNally’s blog. I am a new reader to his blog. He has been a photographer for over 30 years and his expertise and experience is educational. He has recently released a book called “The Moment it Clicks…”. Ever since I read this book I have become a fan of his work and a subscriber to his blog.

Joe is a regular contributor to NAPP’s Photoshop User magazine. He also has on-line classes on the new Kelby Training web site. Do you see where I am going with this?

This leads us to David Hobby. Yea that’s right his last name is Hobby. What a great name. Months ago I stumbled across his blog (Strobist) and found it interesting and fascinating. David is a master of off camera lighting. Either he uses a flash or strobe or studio lighting, but his focus is getting the light away from the camera. He is also a big fan of D.I.Y. (Do it Yourself) projects. I am currently working on a D.I.Y. project that I read about on his blog, that he got from another blog.

Back to the incestual part of this post. I read Joe McNally’s blog about his trip to Dubai to teach photography techniques. Also on the trip were Scott Kelby and David Hobby. David went into the desert one evening to help with a photo shot. I say this because he assisted in setting up the Nikon SB-800 Light Tree for off camera lighting.

I imagine it will only be a matter of time before Scott Kelby will Assimilate David Hobby into the NAPP Collective. If it hasn’t happen already.

David on his blog this morning has added a link to another blog. This blog talks about the use of rope lighting to show action. Here is a picture and the link to the blog. It is well worth a read. I have some new ideas now.

Journeys Yosemite National Park
What Adams Saw Through His Lens
By LOUISE STORY
Published: April 27, 2008
Many know Yosemite’s sights by name, but more know them by sight alone, as captured through the lens of the legendary American photographer Ansel Adams. mIsSiNg LiNk:

Ansel Adams at Point Lobos, California, 1979.
©David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
Adams, Ansel

Now for the real exciting news. Scott Kelby has just written and published The Digital Photography Book Vol. 2. Woo-hoo… Once I found out there was going to be a sequel, I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.com. It arrived a few days ago.

Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. According to the author Scott, “This isn’t a book of theory-full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it.”

Here is a list of other books on Amazon.com that have been written by Scott Kelby. Good luck, and may your images always be tack-sharp.