Yesterday I was able to play with a prototype of the new PocketWizard FlexTT5 for Nikon. Yes, that’s right, Nikon. I was able to shoot with two strobes, an SB900 and SB800 while triggering from a Nikon D3. I shot in normal and High Speed Sync mode. Everything I tested worked without a hitch.
PocketWizard is planning on doing the first phase of extensive testing soon, this is known as Alpha testing. They’ll be working with the new PocketWizards on as many different types of Nikon cameras as possible in as many different shooting situations possible. This will enable them to lock down the features and eliminate the majority of glitches.
After the Alpha Testing is complete a public Beta test will be announced. From talks I had with the guys over at PocketWizard they will be inviting a wider range of photographers to test there gear to make sure everything works before the final release.
You can stay up to date on all the details by visiting PocketWizard.com. Of course I’ll post any news I have as soon as I’m able to do so.
Some photographers get it. They know that what’s in their head is much more important than what’s in their hand. I’m impressed with photographers like Andre of Striped Shirt or Michael Seneschal who take iPhone photos two an entirely new level.
These guys, and many like them, are a constant source of inspiration to me. Unfortunately you may have never seen their work before. Well, Adorama is trying to change that by giving everyone a place to post their best iPhone shots. For the next two weeks you can post your best work on their iPhone Photo Contest site. They have a panel of judges ready to look at your work and then hand out some very groovy prizes.
The thing I love about iPhone photography is that it lets you concentrate on the story that you’re telling without worrying about the technical aspects of the shot. It also allows you to build your skills at making images instead of simply taking images. If you’ve been a reader of our blog for a while you know that I’m a big fan of the iPhone and it’s abilities. Here are a few of my favorite iPhone lessons:
Inspiration in the Rocks
A couple of years ago I challenged a friend of mine to a photo duel. He was having a tough time finding things to shoot with his new super fancy camera. So we took his camera and my iPhone out to a pile of rocks (literally) and started shooting. Before long he was able to forget about all the technical barriers and free his mind to simply shoot. You can read all about it by clicking here.
Capturing the Moment
My trusty iPhone was also the camera I used to capture some of the images that are most memorable to me. I recently had the privilege of meeting James Nachtwey. His work has had a huge impact on my photography and how I approach life. Without my iPhone I would have no documentation of our meeting. Read more about my experience of creating a “disgusting” photo.
Getting Closer
Last year I took a very close look at what photography meant to me on a personal level. I discovered that my iPhone helped me document and process events that were very close to my heart, like my dog Luka undergoing treatment for an unknown illness. Later we discovered he had Cancer. The thousands of iPhone photos we took during his lifetime helped us remember him after his death.
“Photography is an extension of who I am. Photography is a way for me to document, remember, share, and quantify my experiences. It’s the way I tell my version of the story.” – Mark Wallace
So what about your iPhone shots? Do you have a story to tell? Are you looking for inspiration? If you do then visit the Adorama iPhone Contest site and get involved. Sure you can win a bunch of great prizes, but more importantly you can inspire someone to try something new.
The live version of the Mark Wallace US Meetup Tour sponsored by PocketWizard begins at 1:00PST February 6th, 2010. You can watch the live version (and the replay if you missed it) in the window below.
If you’re tuning in live you can tweet your questions to: @jmarkwallace. Use the hashtag #mwtour so everyone can see your tweet.
I’m excited to announce that Snapfactory is partnering with Adorama.com to bring you a new series of Digital Photography One on One videos, product reviews, and a brand new show that will debut next month.
We began talking five months ago and agreed early on that we wanted to do something big. Really big. Here’s what we have in store for you this year.
50 New Episodes
Digital Photography One on One is now a weekly show. That’s right – weekly. Adorama is sponsoring the show for a full year (50 episodes). We’ve decided to release a new episode every Monday beginning in mid-February. The episodes will be available on YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.TV, Adorama.com, Snapfactory.com, StudioLighting.net, and other sites on the web.
iTunes!
You told us you wanted to be able to download the episodes and we listened. Digital Photography One on One will be available for download on iTunes! These will be full HD episodes that you can download to your computer and watch at your convenience.
Free
Adorama and I both agreed that it’s crucial to keep the show true to the original intent, showing you how to do things with your camera, and we plan to do just that. Adorama is dedicated to education and we’re happy to partner with them because it means that we get to keep making the videos and offer them to you free of charge. There is NO CHARGE for these videos.
New Series: How’d They Do That?
We are also creating a brand new series called How’d They Do That? This series will go behind the scenes to show you how the Pros create stunning images and videos. We’ll show you the techniques and gear they use and show you how you can get similar results with the gear you own.
How’d They Do That? is also a weekly show. There will be a new episode every Tuesday and just like Digital Photography One on One it will be available on YouTube, Vimeo, Adorama.com, Snapfactory.com and (of course) iTunes – free of charge.
Product Reviews
But wait, there’s more! We’re just getting warmed up here. I’ll also be doing product reviews every week. Every Wednesday you’ll get a dose of cool gadget reviews. I’ll be taking a look at cameras, tripods, printers, video gear, meters, post-production tools, filters, lenses, and… well you get the point. If it has anything to do with Photography we’ll be talking about it at some point.
Ok, so you’re catching on now. You’ve probably guessed (correctly) that these product reviews will also be available on numerous websites and (yep) iTunes.
Behind the Scenes Videos
But we aren’t stopping there. We’ll be adding our own behind the scenes videos throughout the week as we brainstorm, shoot, travel, edit, and create all of this content. It’s going to be a LOT of work and we want to show you how we do it as we do it. We’ll be posting at least three videos a week that show you what we’re doing behind the scenes.
Talk To Us
All of our videos will encourage viewer participation. We want you to write in and ask us questions, make suggestions, post photos and videos you created using the techniques you learned from the videos.
And when I say “we” I’m talking about myself and Diane and our two brand spanking new employees. When we agreed to create all of these videos we knew we’d need to hire a couple of people to help us make it a reality. We think we got the best. Let me introduce them to you now.
Kelsey Hazlewood
Kelsey Hazlewood is our new Producer. She’s responsible for all of the logistics of these new videos. She’ll be working hard to get equipment in for reviews, scheduling models, finding locations, following up with artists for interviews, updating our newsletter, shipping gear all over the US, booking travel, making coffee runs, and a million other things I’ve forgotten to mention.
Kelsey recently graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. After graduation she went to work for Wired Magazine. Have you read their cool gadget reviews in recent months? Kelsey helped create those reviews. In fact she was so good at it we executed a perfect coup d’etat and hired her to work for us. Yep – we’re patting ourselves on the back for a job well done. Kelsey is a rock star and we’re honored to have her working with us.
Elizabeth Shell
Elizabeth Shell is our new Video Editor/Camera Operator and Director. Yes, it’s a long title but I’m not sure how else to describe what she’ll be doing. She’ll be setting up the lighting for our videos, shooting editing and posting videos, keywording, brainstorming, animating, storyboarding, scouting, and a million other things I forgot to mention. Hmmm, maybe her title isn’t long enough.
Elizabeth graduated from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism last year with a Master of Mass Communication, Journalism and Multimedia. Elizabeth has worked as a journalist for News 21 (Phoenix, AZ) and Cronkite News Service. She was the Managing Editor and Producer for Election 2008: Who Won and Why, Inside San Carlos, and many other documentary and multimedia productions.
Elizabeth is an avid reader, film buff, and has an impressive understanding of current events and the world around her. Did I mention she studied the Middle East in 2005 through the American University in Cairo, Egypt? Oh yeah, she also has a degree in Political Science and Economics from Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI.
I can’t tell you how excited we are to welcome Elizabeth and Kelsey to the team at Snapfactory. Kelsey begins tomorrow and Elizabeth will begin February 1st after she returns from a couple of weeks in London.
Stay Tuned
We’ll be posting more information about our partnership with Adorama as the days go by. We’ve been keeping a tight lid on this project for months (it seems like years) but now that the cat is out of the bag we’ll be giving you regular updates.
The Mark Wallace US Meetup Tour sponsored by PocketWizard continues to be a blast. We’ve been to Miami and Seattle and are headed to NY tomorrow. At each of the stops I’m encouraging participants to upload their shots to the Mark Wallace Tour Flickr Group. Follow the link to see all of the shots (or upload your own).
We’ve had some pretty amazing shots along the way. Here are a few that give you a hint at the type of fun we’re having at the event. We even have a bonus stop action video shot by Adrian Collier (click the photos for credit and Flickr info):
I had a blast in Miami this past weekend and I’d like to say “Thank You” to all of you who made it to the Meetup. MAPS Studios was a terrific location.
The evening before the meetup a few of us went to Books & Books Cafe’ to have some coffee and chat about photography. I really enjoyed hanging out and meeting a few new friends:
The next day we were all in the studio having a blast. Here are a few shots from the event taken by some of our participants:
A few of the attendees posed for a group shot. This was lit using a single Profoto AcuteB 600R head.
Mark Demonstrating the PocketWizard FlexTT5 with Model Jocelyn Binder.
Mark outside demonstrating High Speed Synch with the PocketWizard Mini and Flex.
Mark demonstrating the Xrite ColorChecker Passport Lightroom plug-in. Perfect skin tones!
Another lighting demo.
Mark walks the group through the steps of using high speed synch to get great bikini shots. Our Model, Izabela S, was freezing in the white robe behind Mark.
Here are a few behind-the-scenes videos from a recent shoot for iGo. We shot 6 videos for the iGo product line, one of the finished videos is at the bottom. We were honored to be chosen by our good friends at SiteWire to shoot these videos.
Last month I shot a short video of Greg Gorman for Xrite. Here’s a short breakdown of the production.
The video was all shot on a Canon XH A1. This is a great little camera and perfect for shooting on location when you need to keep things simple. I only had a few hours to shoot everything so speed and mobility were key.
I used a modified Zacuto newsman kit to help keep things moving along. When shooting on a tripod I used basic Zacuto baseplate and Zamerican arm with a Marshall HD Monitor. When I needed to shoot handheld it only took about 3 minutes to rig the camera for a shoulder mount kit.
The Zacuto rig and Marshall Monitor. The indoor interview was lit using natural light.
Shooting the studio session.
The Zacuto rig in action.
A closer look at the newsman rig.
I used a Rode NG-3 shotgun mic with a Dead Cat wind screen for all of the audio. I was very impressed at how well the Dead Cat worked so close to the ocean. It was pretty windy and the Rhode gear handled everything perfectly.
The Rode NG-3 and Dead Cat.
Everything was edited in Final Cut Pro and then converted to H.264 for the web using Compressor. And here’s how it all turned out:
