Nikon D700 and Nikon D3 ISO Noise Demonstration

I confirmed using data from DxOMark that this test is valid for the Nikon D3, too.  Both cameras are perfectly noiseless from ISO 100 (LO 3) to ISO 640.  For each ISO in the camera's range, a frame was made with the lens cap on, manual exposure, f5.6 @ 1/250s. Then in Photoshop CS5, each frame was cropped to 3x actual pixels and adjusted with auto levels to uncover any trace of noise.  I highly recommend running this test, especially if you shoot Canon gear.

This new version is updated for HD, with changes made to allow viewing in Germany.  Music by Chris Guiney as Second Signal.

Portrait Theory: Single Light #2

I was going through my old fashion portfolio and came across this shot of Ron Ames and thought is would make a good illustration for a second installment about classical portraits and single light setups.  I think it is always the case that that a classical style photographic portrait aims to emulate window light.  I this case, the "window" has Venetian blinds to add a little drama and mystery.  I found when I was lighting this shot that adding any additional lights or reflectors detracted from the overall graphic effect.

The lighting came from a single Broncolor flood/spot head in spot mode shown through blinds suspended from a boom arm.  Lighting from the left adds tension because is breaks from the convention established in painting.  The background is just white seamless paper. 

This picture is a digital copy of an 11x14 gelatin silver print made on the rich warm Agfa Portriga Rapid, which was partly bleached in potassium ferro-cyanide, then treated in Kodak Selenium Toner.  I always liked the blue/sepia split tone effect this processing yields.

Technical
Camera:	Leica M2
Lens:	Leica 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit-M
Exposure:	Agfa Pan 400, f/5.6 @ 1/30s
Lighting:	Broncolor studio strobe
Support:	Gitzo Studex Tripod with #2 Pan/Tilt head
Location:	Globe Building Studio, St. Louis, MO
Dates:	Capture - April 17, 1991, Processed April 17, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3

Blue Moon, HDR Test

This picture is the result of five brackets stacked in Nik HDR Efex using the "Foggy Night" preset as the starting point.  The long exposures smeared the trees and clouds somewhat.  I'll be working on it further, but thought I'd share this first test.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni Lens"
Exposure:	ISO 400, 5x brackets around f/2.8 @ 1s, Daylight WB, RAW
Lighting:	Moonlight
Support:	Gitzo Basalt Tripod, Acratech GP-2, RRS L-Bracket
Location:	Ballwin, MO
Dates:	Capture - April 17, 2011, Processed April 17, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Full Moon, April 17, 2011

View from our back yard this evening.  The image was processed in Lightroom 3, Nik HDR Efex, Photoshop CS5 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED "Leni Lens"
Exposure:	ISO 400, f/4.0 @ 1,3s, Daylight WB, RAW
Lighting:	Moonlight
Support:	Gitzo Basalt Tripod, Acratech GP-2, RRS L-Bracket
Location:	Ballwin, MO
Dates:	Capture - April 17, 2011, Processed April 17, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Untitled detail In Dark City Variations

This detail of "Untitled" by Keith Haring in City Garden was taken from a vantage point just a few feet away from my last post, "Arch and Old Courthouse In Dark City".  The faint detail in he middle is the top of the Old Courthouse.  Pete Turner used to pump up the saturation and contrast of his pictures by making multiple generations of Kodachrome dupes.  I did the same thing here using Nik Color Efex Pro to convert the picture to Kodachome 64 Professional twice.

The Tintype preset for Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 uses a sharp blue filter to emulate the vintage process.  The result here feels very Zen-like to me.

This is the first generation Kodachrome conversion and the basis for all the monochrome conversions.

Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 has a vintage preset called Yellow 2 that I've uses a few times now.  I like the dingy yet glowing feel it can impart.

This cyanotype conversion has the longest tonal scale of any of the processes I used.

Finally, this partial solarization made in Nik Color Efex Pro was split toned sepia with blue shadows in Lightroom 3.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/8.0 @ 1/400s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Morning daylight and shade
Support:	Handheld
Location:	City Garden, St. Louis GPS
Dates:	Capture - April 11, 2010, Processed - April 9, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Arch and Old Courthouse in Dark City

This starting picture of the Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse, as seen from City Garden, is the result of an autochrome processing experiment.  I started by introducing noise with Nik RAW sharpener, then ran the file though Nik HDR Efex to emphasize the grain and map tones using my "Dark City" preset.

To add to the impressionistic effect, I added a Glamor Glow in Nik Color Efex Pro.  I think it now have a Steam Punk Autochrome.

The partial reversal was made using the solarization tool in Nik Color Efex Pro, followed by a blue/sepia split tone in Lightroom 3.

A cyanotype, from Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 makes a good day for night conversion.

Photoframe Free has a number of hand coated emulsion effects.  If finally realized that you can resize them!

To finish, a gum bichromate made with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/8.0 @ 1/400s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Morning daylight and shade
Support:	Handheld
Location:	City Garden, St. Louis GPS
Dates:	Capture - April 11, 2010, Processed - April 8, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Dark City: Door of Return

 The "Door of Return" by Kan Yasuda has entered Dark City, by way of Nik HDR Efex, Vivenza and Nik Color Efex Pro.

Monochrome courtesy Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 using the Yellow 1 preset and selective color tool.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF NIKKOR 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/8.0 @ 1/400s, Auto WB, RAW
Lighting:	Morning daylight and shade
Support:	Handheld
Location:	City Garden, St. Louis GPS
Dates:	Capture - April 11, 2010, Processed - April 6, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Silver Efex Pro, Nik Color Efex Pro

Gregory Heisler at Webster tonight

From the promo:

Gregory has photographed more than 70 Time magazine covers and several Time "Person of the Year" covers. His work can be seen in many magazines including Esquire, GQ, GEO, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times Magazine. He is a former Arnold Newman assistant and is renowned for his technical and artistic mastery of the medium.

Click the post heading for more info...

Portrait Theory: The Psychological Portrait

Edward Steichen's 1903 photogravue of tycoon J.P. Morgan is frequently cited as a prime example of the psychological portrait, one that shows the inner man.  It is one of Steichen's most celebrated works.  The fierce expression, stiff posture and highlight on the chair arm looks at first glance like a  trench knife is thought by many critics to catch Morgan revealing himself as a sociopathic business man.  But is that the case?

I've been meaning for some time work through the general assertion that great portraits should all be a deep psychological study that reveals the soul or some deep inner truth about the subject.  This came to a head for me when my wife, Susan, read to me that John Updike, and others, criticized portraits by John Singer Seargent for "not being deep enough".  Irving Penn's portraits get a similar note, being called cool and distant.  What on earth could that mean?

In response to the idea of the phsychological portrait, I developed a thesis, which I found is not new or unique to my thinking, that a portrait cannot capture anything like the heart and soul of the subject.  In fact, I think the concept of the phychological portrait is fatuous.

My Exhibit A is this mug shot of actor Nick Nolte.  It has all the elements we associate with a psychological portrait.  We can see a man in apparent crisis, caught in a vulnerable moment, all pretense dropped.  There is a defiant resignation in his stare.  Would Sargent have painted a picture like this?  Highly unlikely.  Was the photographer seeking to capture the inner man?  Well, it is a mug shot, not a sitting for Vanity Fair.

Looking at examples critics hail as psychological portraits, they all seem to have these characteristics in common:

• The picture is not flattering.  J.P. Morgan rejected his portrait.
• The sitter must look fierce, uncomfortable, drunk, vulnerable and/or lecherous.
• The more severe the "hatchet job" is on the sitter, the more celebrated the picture is as being "deep"

I really think any powerful portrait reveals more about the artist and viewer than it does the subject.  Penn and Sargent don't enter the sitter's world - they pull the subjects into theirs, without apology.

I'll close with a quote by one of my favorite portrait photographers:

"I am convinced that any photographic attempt to show the complete man is nonsense. We can only show, as best we can, what the outer man reveals. The inner man is seldom revealed to anyone, sometimes not even the man himself." - Arnold Newman

Ring Light Flash: Phoenix Smart Flash RF46N Test

Mother of Pearl Balls and Bowl

Today a Phoenix Smart Flash RF46N Macro Ring Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras was waiting for me when I came home, so, of course, I wanted to click off a few test shots.  The Phoenix unit gets mixed reviews on Amazon, mostly about cheap construction.  It is also the unfortunate star of this Gary Fong video, which looks like he shot in a hotel room with a pro, and I don't mean model:

You go, Gary!  Well, I ordered one anyway and I'm happy I did. I captured these two samples with the Phoenix mounted on an AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 D and D700, ISO 200, manual f/16 @ 1/60s.  The strobe is iTTL only.

Silk Flower at 1:1

The Phoenix build quality and finish is Spartan, but better than I expected.  The only control is an on/off switch, so iTTL is the only mode option.  The strobe works in full automatic, manual , exposure priority and aperture priority modes.  All the curtain modes work as expected, as did all the flash bracketing modes.  Color balance is right at 5500K.  The default adapter ring is 52mm, perfect for my 105mm Micro-Nikkor.

Dried Chrysthanemum

I purchased my Phoenix RF46N from Amazon.com for $95.
More to come with fashion subjects.