Re: Recent Professional Works 2

[NickT]

A shot from the Serenity Room inside UC Jacob's Medical Center from our shoot a few months ago. 

Very pretty! Nicely done sir.

[BernardLanguillier]

Wood's Cider Mill, VT
H5X and Credo 40

Hi Doug,

Love this! May I ask what lens you shot this with?

Thanks.

Cheers,
Bernard

[JoeKitchen]

A shot from the Serenity Room inside UC Jacob's Medical Center from our shoot a few months ago.  Love how the benches grow out of the floor.  The whole building is so "shwoopy"!

Very nice!

[MichaelEzra]

These two photographs, a portrait of a teenage girl and a glorious form of a musical athlete in free flight, which both are of the same person, captured just a few minutes apart, finally allow me to reflect on a theme that has been brewing in my mind for many years. It is about Becoming - becoming someone and something new with every moment, every step, every effort, becoming a new version of self.

[BobDavid]

These two photographs, a portrait of a teenage girl and a glorious form of a musical athlete in free flight, which both are of the same person, captured just a few minutes apart, finally allow me to reflect on a theme that has been brewing in my mind for many years. It is about Becoming - becoming someone and something new with every moment, every step, every effort, becoming a new version of self.

The first one of the set is sublime. Would you consider cropping out the floor?

[MichaelEzra]

The first one of the set is sublime. Would you consider cropping out the floor?

Thanks. Not entirely sure, but clearly a possibility:) Distance to the floor gives additional context, especially next to the image on the right.

Here is the color version, different feel of course:

[drmike]

One thing I do enjoy about these photographs is that you can explore details within them. The way you bring out the muscles in tone values which is why B&W is so effective (IMO of course). You could crop just just the one leg in the left hand B&W shot and still have an interesting image. The hand and the foot are a delight as well. I can see these as massive prints and just gaze at them.

I can't recall how large is the format here? I assume not 5x4, some digital camera?

[MichaelEzra]

This is shot with Pentax 645z (51MP) with very fast flash duration, so there is no motion blur. Prints can be made in any size really:)

[drmike]

I'm a little surprised. I used to shoot Pentax and was very interested when the 645 was released but I was never sure you could tell that a shot was taken on that or just a plain old K7 when viewing on the web. I guess all those pixels help with the tonality but I suspect it's more to do with your skill in lighting and post processing.

[MichaelEzra]

It is really a sum of all parts. MF gives a different feel and crispness. Indeed surprisingly it is apparent even in downsized web images.
Post processing alters ~100% of the image anyway. ...Tools, I just love MF:)

[drmike]

Although I said I was never sure if you could see a difference at web sizes I did actually think you could if the PP was suitable. At the time I might just have been able to justify (to myself at least) the purchase of a 645Z but not any more as my income is way lower and it's heavy gear. I think there were a load of film 645 lenses available although how well they work for digital I don't know.

Keep them coming

[MichaelEzra]

645z and film lenses work well, just need to select the better lenses and use them at their best. I am happy with 35A, 75FA, 45-85FA, 80-160FA, 120A. I started another thread  under MF forum, whether is a good time to buy 645z, take a look http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=114269.0

[Chris Barrett]

Michael, I've thought before that I'd love to see your work on large format.  Your tonalities in an 8x10 contact print would be stunning.

IMHO

[MichaelEzra]

Hi Chris, I agree with you:) Thank you! In fact, I was planing to switch to large format, although 4x5 since I have a 4x5 enlarger, but then digital came along and it never happened. May be one day!:)

[chapel]

Hi Michael,
The picture of the flying girl is great. Can you share your lighting setup? I just got a 645Z and am inspired by your work. I'm in no means a pro but good lighting is good lighting.
Thank you
Greg

[Rob C]

Hi Michael,
The picture of the flying girl is great. Can you share your lighting setup? I just got a 645Z and am inspired by your work. I'm in no means a pro but good lighting is good lighting.
Thank you
Greg

Clearly, my name's not Michael, but I can say this: having somebody give you a written set of directions is dumb. You have one route to lighting that works: try it out for yourself, and thus learn. If you don't have enough lights or a studio, then it's academic anyway. You have to learn to read a photograph, though true, with digital, that becomes ever more unreliable a method because the fibs get bigger, just like Pinocchio's poor old nose. Or some models' tits.

Rob

[chapel]

Thanks Rob for the helpful insite on the lighting setup. To me a forum is a useful place to share experiences and info. I was wondering more about if a HSS system was used like the Pirolites, since the 645Z has a sync speed of 1/125 and the young lady seems pretty sharp for 1/125, than written instructions on how to use the lights.
Greg

[MichaelEzra]

I am with Rob on the lighting setup in general, as I think it is of better value to experiment and find one's own. I never document and take notes of my lighting, may be I should:)?

I don't use HSS with 645z in the studio. I used my portable Flashpoint 360 lights at 1/64th power (thus very short flash duration, as I recall, near 1/10000) with highly reflective modifiers. Bumping ISO to 800 on 645z was sufficient.

I used HSS with D800e previously. The issue is that recycling time becomes too long and I hate wasting power, even though there s plenty in those batteries:) With the settings mentioned above I could shoot multiple frames per second, but I also found that to be a waste. Shooting just a single frame during the jump seems to work exactly right. With multiple frames one does not know what is being captured.. might as well use 8K video.. With a single capture per jump one needs to get a good feel of rhythm with the model and master around the shutter lag. That's pretty much it.

[razrblck]

Are your results consistent using low power flash and high speed shutter?

I have seen that same flash model sold here (as a Godox). Was a bit skeptical at first, but I guess even a crappy tool in the right hands can create something spectacular!

[chapel]

Thanks Michael. I've had the Z for about two weeks so I'm definitely going to try out different things as I go along.
Greg