Show from the heaven

Taken today, June 13, 2009 with a Canon 1Ds 3 Mark 2 + EF 85/1.2L, an otherwise normal day. After a big rain 2 days ago, I noticed the sky was unusually blue for this time in Bangkok, since yesterday.

I did my usual things today..... in late afternoon, while about to jump up to my truck going home, I saw this splendid sky show, quickly grab the camera I kept inside the car, fire off a handful of shots, this is one of them.

Portrait

Portrait is always a challenge, for many reasons, because people sees people differently. There is really no rule. This picture made at Ko Chang, Thailand, Thailand, is one of my favorite, and I am not too sure if I can explain it clearly. I think it is about the color, the mood, the composition, the pose.....
Shot with Contax 645 mounted with Phase One P45, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 45-90mm.

The Big Bag

A straight forward fashion shot for Sunny Rose bag. The focus is of course the bag, but the attraction is the presentation by the lovely Canadian model. I have Jenna, the model, to pose by using the bag as her dress for this image, carefully stage the bag as center of focus while gives the bag the right human touch, rather than just another bag.
Shot by using Canon 1Ds 3 with EF 85/1.2L. Using a 85mm lens means I need to stand by a little far away from the model but it also gives a feel of space and a little more glamorous look. In this kind shoot, I did not tether my camera to computer as I typically do, because I might lost the impulsive and spontaneous.
It is a pity that given the technology today, there is still not a reliable and efficient way to wirelessly connect the camera and computer that works for fashion, for instant review, or for the matter, at least to synchronize the storage to always have a safety back up.
The software I use for tethered shooting, the Phase One Capture Pro 4 is perhaps the best I have tried for many years and still using it. The shooting speed for a Phase One digital back is good but nearly not acceptable for camera such as Canon 1Ds3 or Nikon D3X, may be due to the USB in use? Should these camera comes with a powerful wireless module, that can allow simutaneous CF card and mass storage back-up (wireless) thru the capture software, it would be very welcome.

Aleksandria

On location at Tarudao Island, southern Thailand, for this beautiful Serbian model, Aleksandria. Balance the right ambient light with artificial light is difficult especially at this swift light changing time.  Shot with Contax 645 with Phase One P25, Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 45-90mm, at 1/30s - a slow and very dangerous shutter speed for medium format digital, hand-held on the sand beach but I got my luck.  The artificial light is a bron-color ring-light powered by the bron-color mobile power pack - placed on a rack behind me. 

Portrait of a camera

Made this shot in my hotel room while traveling to Kolon, Germany. The shadow is one of my most favorite camera, Contax G2, mounted with the beautiful Carl Zeiss 2.8/21mm Biogon, on a small Gitzo tripod, the camera recorded its own image, the setting sun bathe the hotel wall resulting a pleasing warm color. Original shot on Velvia.

Window Dresser

A shot I took in Vienna, Austria. It was a weekend, I was walking around a small shopping avenue behind the hotel I stayed, with my Contax N Digital mounted Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 28-85, I snapped this picture thru the display window on a window dresser who was painting for the new display layout..........

Original a jpeg, Photoshop to make the watercolor look.

Black and white

This is a swimsuit shot made a while ago, on a lovely model from Texas, America, Tara. It is a simple picture with clear elements.

The model has a strong black hair, nice contrast with her fair skin, the main studio light on the model, in this shoot 3 Elinchrom light unit, 2 powered by generators and one a monoblock for background fill; her while swimsuit, the white studio background was lit while enough to differentiate from the subject. The choice for the high heel is black, so that it balance with the dark hair and the picture will not look top heavy. The use of just black and white delivers this image with a simple and subtle presentation. Shot with Sinar Hy6 mounted with eMotion 75LV, Schneider AFD 80/2.8.