Suzanne Lay Spring 2014 Separates Catalog v2 0

Blood In Water II

Testing 60fps on the Nikon D800.  Music "A Dark Noise" by Nine Inch Nails.  Made with two drops, one for the background and second for the main drop.

camera: Nikon D800
lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D
light: L.E.D.
support: Gitzo Basalt with Acratech GP2

Blood Drop In Water

This is a frame grab from a video, which for a project like this, is a great way to work.  I'm shooting background and inserts for a fashion video project. 

camera: Nikon D800

lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D

lighting: Various LED

exposure: ISO 100 @ f/8 @ 1/60s @ 30fps @ 1080p

processing: Adobe Lightroom 4.1

Blue Moon, August 20, 2013

The full moon that rose Tuesday, August 20, 2013 was not just a Blue Moon — it's also the Full Sturgeon Moon, the Full Red Moon, the Green Corn Moon and the Grain Moon.  See the Space.com explanation of why this only full moon of August qualifies.

camera: Nikon D800
lens: AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 D
exposure: manual, ISO 500 @ f/8 @ 1/1000s 
support: hand held
processing: moon and sky filter simulated in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

Twelve Camera Memory Card Care Tips

For all memory cards, there is a limit to how many times files can be written and erased.  Memory card experts recommend these best practices that can prolong the life of a card.

Date Your Memory Cards

Memory cards have a limited life span.  Expect a heavily used card to last about six years.  A seldom used card can function about ten years.  By tracking the card’s in service date, you can replace the card before it goes bad.

Erase Pictures by Formatting the Card in the Camera

Formatting is less wear and tear than individual file deletion because only writes to the file allocation table.  If you let image import programs like Lightroom delete files after transfer, the individual file deletion shortens card life because the of the .

Don’t Completely Fill a Card

Because most camera file formats, including RAW, have some compression and therefore size variability based on subject matter, even the best cameras can’t predict exactly how many shots will fit on a card.  One shot too many with a full buffer can write over the card headers and make it unreadable.  To avoid problems, the general recommendation is to swap out cards when the camera shows 10-15 shots remaining.

Switch Camera Off Before Inserting or Removing a Card

This is in every camera manual, but it bears repeating.  Make sure the file writing L.E.D. is not lit or blinking and turn you camera off before ejecting the memory card.  Turning the camera off flushes the file writing buffer.  If a card is ejected mid file transfer, the file system can be damaged.  It also cuts off current to the card, which avoids a possible card killing voltage spike as the card ejects.  The same care applies to card readers.  Make sure you explicitly eject the card before removing it.

Rotate Your Cards

Most of us have a number of cards.  Rotating the cards spreads out the wear.  This tip applies to camera batteries, too.

Avoid Static Charges When Handling Memory Cards

Try to ground yourself before touching a card.    

Avoid Environmental Extremes

Cameras and cards are rated for certain max and min temperatures operating ranges, which should be observed.  Powerful magnetic sources and x-rays can damage cards.  If you’re traveling, the walk-through machines probably OK, but the stronger x-rays used to examine checked baggage can ruin a card.

Keep an Eye on the Camera Battery

If a camera battery voltage drops below specification or the battery goes dead with files still in the buffer, card corruption is likely.  Two bars, or 25% left, is time to change batteries if possible.

Avoid Editing and Deleting Images with Your Camera

This is known to cause problems, especially with SD cards, probably because they don’t have a controller on board like CF cards.  

Perform Low Level Format Every 3-6 Months

Lexar and Sandisk recommend you use a tool like Lexar Image Rescue to low level format cards a few times a year.  The low level format returns the card to factory condition.  More important, it can identify and block writing to dead areas on the card.  Lexar claims this practice extends the life of memory cards by as much as 25%.

Two Cards Are Better Than One

For important shoots, if your camera supports the setting, consider having your camera write to two cards simultaneously.

Watch for Firmware Updates

Camera and external card reader makers issue firmware updates on occasion. to fix stability problems, so it is a good idea to stay current.

 

Nikon Lens Autofocus Calibration

My setup for adjusting autofocus.

Nikon's How To Article describes using a book and ruler. I replace the book with a focus target.  The ruler beside it is glued to a small carpenter's triangle to make it easy to stand up at 45 degrees.
On my D800, all six of my lenses needed between +5 and +12 adjustment.



  

Review of Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8 G

 

The deserved praise that has been given this lens is somewhat marred by quality control problems.  I think it is worth the effort to find a good copy if you need a sharp, fast, wide angle prime for stills and video.  I returned four of these to Amazon.  The serial numbers were fairly close, so I assumed that Amazon had a bad production run.  I ordered a fifth copy from Adorama, and it meets my expectations.

 

Specifications

Nikon seems to have thrown quite a bit from their optimization arsenal at this lens, including two aspherical elements, Super Integrated and Nano-Crystal coatings and Rear Focus.  See Nikon's Web Site for more information.

 

Performance

The first place I look for a lens assessment is DxO Labs.  Their review called the 28mm f1.8 "a stellar performer", which is some cause for excitement.  See the full DxO Mark review to see how it compares with other makers, including Zeiss.

 

My initial performance observations, based on using the lens with a Nikon D800 are in fair agreement with other reviewers:

• Auto Focus speed fairly good, similar to the Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G
• The lens is very light weight
• Bokeh is very nice, especially for a wide angle lens.
• Compared to its f1.8 siblings, the build quality seems lower

 

Quality Issues

How do you know if you have a good copy?  Here are the problems I found.

• Crunchy or gritty feel when the lens is focused manually.  This is an indicator of AF problems.
• Auto Focus sticks in one place.  Every so often, three copies I tested would just not focus until I switched to manual mode, moved the focus collar a bit, then switched back to AF.
• One sample was just flat out, obviously fuzzy. 
• Pronounced lateral chromatic aberration.  Some samples were worse than others, but the quality was definitely poor.  See the LCA comparison below.
• The Nikon gold lettering has a brassy orange matte look compared to any other Nikon lens I've seen.
• Extreme focus shift when stopping down.  Some focus shift can be expected with a fast prime, but it is usually within the increased depth of field when stopped down.  Some tests shooting a brick wall looked less sharp at f5.6 than f1.8 because the focus shifted so much beyond the wall.

Lateral Chromatic Aberration

I shot the same target in the studio using a Nikon D800 on a tripod, tethered to a laptop using Nikon Camera Control Pro 2, triggered remotely.  Both exposures were ISO 100 @ f/1.8 @ 1/80s.  The lenses were fine tuned for auto focus before shooting the target using the technique recommended by Nikon.  Both copies needed to be adjusted for back focus.

 

The first image clearly show a problem with LCA for a lens I returned last week.

Here is the same test shot with the sample I'm keeping.  LCA is still present, but looks more like the 10µm measured be DxO labs.  Each 5µm LCA results in 1 pixel of false color for high contrast subjects on the D800.  At 200%, it looks like 1 or 2 pixels. 

 

Vignette

At f1.8, vignette is pronounced...

 

 

Vignette is completely gone by f/5.6. 

 

 

Focus Shift

I need to run quite a few more tests, but it looks like the sample I have has it under control.  Shots like those above, where focus is on the brick wall, had better sharpness on the building behind the wall at f/8.0. 

My Review of Nikon 28mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens - Nikon U.S.A. Warranty

Originally submitted at Adorama

Nikon 28mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens - 5 Year U.S.A. Warranty

Nikon 28mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens - Nikon U.S.A. Warranty

Reasonably Sharp, Build Quality Suspect

By Preston from St. Louis, MO on 4/18/2013

 

3out of 5

Pros: Close Focus, Good contrast, Sharp, Light weight

Cons: Poor build quality, Slow auto focus

Best Uses: Video, Landscape/Scenery, Architecture, Indoors/Low Light

Describe Yourself: Pro Photographer

Was this a gift?: No

I returned four samples to Amazon before getting one from Adorama that I did not consider defective. Common issues I found are a gritty feel to the manual focus, pronounced chromatic aberration and poor sharpness. All the defective models a strange, tarnished orange look to the gold Nikon lettering on the lens, so maybe all came from a bad production run.
So one star off for poor construction that feels much cheaper than either the 85mm f1.8 or 50mm f1.8 and led to evident quality control problems. Another star off because it costs $200 more than it should, given the quality. Rather than being excited by my new lens, I feel like I'm settling for an inferior product.
I'd recommend this lens with some reservations. Be sure to test it thoroughly.

(legalese)

Alison Jo Makeup Artistry Video

The final cut just finished, stars Abby Stahlschmidt and Madeleine Heppermann, with makeup by Alison Jo, clothing stylist Omar Samy, photography and video by Ray Meibaum and Preston Page, photo styling by Susan Page and music by Alex Clare.

Editing
I had been using Avid Studio, but it crashes under Windows 8.  There is now no mention of Avid Studio on the Avid.com support site, so I scrambled for alternatives.  The workflow for this video turned out to:

1. Organize, trim and color correct clips in Lightroom 4, then export to a working folder.
2. Assemble the music and clips in Photoshop CS6 and exported to a full HD file.  This approach is actually effective and straightforward, delivering a fairly polished rough cut.
3. End titles added with Cyberlink PowerDirector Ultimate 11. The interface is similar to Avid, but it is stable and much faster.  
4. Cyberlink uploaded the web optimized video to Vimeo and YouTube.  

Technical
Cameras: Nikon D4 and Nikon D800
Lighting: Lowell Tungsten and Broncolor modeling lights
Support: Acratech Video Adapter, Opteka Shoulder Stock, Miller Fluid head.

Moon Rise with Poplars

It is great to have the time to grab a few shots again.  This a view from our bedroom, March 27, 2013.  This picture is the result of three hand held 1-stop bracketed shots processed in Nik HDR Efex 2, with minor touch up and cropping in Photoshop CS6.

New to OnOne Perfect Suite 7 is Perfect B&W.  This picture was made the Albumen Print preset, after which I applied a sepia/blue split tone in Photoshop CS6.  I'm fascinated by the look of early photographic processes and it is nice to have tools that support exploring them easily.

Technical
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED
Exposure: Three 1-stop brackets around f/2.8 @ 1/15s @ ISO 1600
Support: Handheld
Software: DxO Optics Pro, Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS6, Nik HDR Efex, Perfect B&W

Tree of Influences Redux

Irving Penn, 1949

In his wonderful book, "A Notebook At Random, Irving Penn shared his "tree of influence" sketch.  The exercise is remarkable, showing painters as the roots, photographers as the canopy and art directors as the trunk linking the two.  

Irving Penn's Tree of Influence
A Notebook At Random, 

Finding myself at something of an artistic crossroad, I decided to attempt something similar.  The task seemed easy; just list my favorite painters and photographers.  When my list grew to about 48 photographers, it was clear that, while I really love all forms of photography and appreciate a wide variety of styles, if I was to figure out which artists had been nagging at my subconscious for the past 50 years, I really had some painful sorting and ranking work to do.

The result of this effort so for is this single web page, Ten Photographer's Influence, which ranks in order the photographers who most influence my thinking, and example photographs and quotes by the photographer.  Irving Penn is, and always has been, at the top of my list.  I credit one of his pictures, an ad for Oreo cookies, as triggering my interest in photography.  

Mimi With Gold Walther PPK, 2012

It looks like the entire content of this blog was lost I changed the title, so I guess this is reboot for 2013. What better way to start fresh that with an image from the "Femme Fatale" project?  Thank you to my collaborators, the marvelous model Mimi Graczyk, hair by Kris Theohar, makeup by Christoper McKinney and photo styling by Susan Page.  I hope to pick up the pace on this and other art projects this year.

Workflow
This workflow has become pretty much my standard for fashion and beauty work:

• Capture tethered to a laptop using Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 and ViewNX 2
• At the end of the day, import pictures to a new Lightroom catalog for tagging and sorting
• Process the RAW picks in DxO Optics Pro 8, output as DNG files and import to Lightroom
• From Lightroom, run through basic beauty and fashion retouching in Photoshop CS6
• Apply a standard "look" using a custom recipe in Nik Color Efex Pro 4, which for me usually involves application of tone and contrast filters. 
• Finish in Lightroom with a develop preset to complete the look.  For this series, I'm using a split tone with a sepia wash and blue shadows.

Technical
camera: Nikon D800
lens: AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D
exposure: ISO 800 @ f/25 @ 1/80s
lighting: vintage Broncolor beauty dish

Links
Preston Page Studio
PrestonPage.com