April Songbirds

Well here we are another spring season, yet still quite cool in temperature. I've taken a few songbird photos. I wanted to get what I could without the vegetation on the trees. Sort of like different bird species in almost the setting or background. I find these photos look good paired together enlarged on my walls. Time has been so tight with building the in home studio and finding models, taking photos then editing everything, but I really love it and can't get enough, it's just taking longer than i expected especially with finding models.

  

Headshot Composites

Here are a few more comps that i did about a month ago. It's been really slow with getting models, they keep cancelling, so this past month has been driving me nuts! So anyway, 
This is Bree. I only did head shots of her and she was so relaxed and natural at it, she seems pretty excited to do more so hopefully i will be posting more soon. This was also a TFP shoot so i wanted to give her prints of just headshots to start off and not over whelm her, and she really does have an awesome look about her, very beautiful. I also wanted her to sign a model release before posting, even though i know it's not needed for this purpose but I like to make sure it's taken care of before moving on. I sure hope things pick up soon.

 

 

Composite Portrait of Lori

Thought I'd do another of Lori. I really need to find more people for portraits so, if anyone in the Windsor area likes getting their picture taken let me know at craigspics.tk@gmail.com and I'll write back with more details. So back to this post, not much more to say here. This is the same set up as the other post of Lori and her dog. Of course as you can see the background is of the Detroit river done in HDR and processed in photomatix pro.

Selfie Portrait

Ok this is one I did of myself. I usually don't like doing pics of myself but at the time I was bored and had no one to tie to a chair. This was taken a few months ago and I figure I'd post it. The background is in HDR and under Ouellette ave. in Jackson park, Windsor Ontario. This was three lights and don't ask me what I was trying to say with this one. Just thought a little attitude would look interesting.

3 and 4 edge light photos

This is my niece Lori. It's who we decided to spend new years eve with. So while everyone had a few drinks i set up my lights and took some photos. I use 2 small softboxes, one on each side and a little behind the subject and a umbrella, i think it's around 36 inches as a shoot through up above the camera and another smaller umbrella below aiming up from the floor, now this smaller umbrella I usually use for fill also but for under the chin like a butterfly lighting but here i used it for the lower half of her body since in this case i used a wide focal length lens (10mm) and aimed it down and above her. I did not bring my background stand, It would not fit to well in their living room. I also don't mind the lights in the photo because i remove the subject and place them in another background and in this photo of Lori i just made a white background in photoshop and placed her in it. The only thing i had to do was ad a little shadow near her feet also done in photoshop.
Now for her dog Gemma i used the same setup only my stands that i use will only go down so far so i had to aim them downwards and i only used the large umbrella in front for fill, then there's the fact that the dog did not want to stay still so having her in the exact spot was impossible, this was the best shot that worked ok with the lights. Then of course in photoshop i placed Gemma in an HDR background that i took last summer downtown Windsor and processed it in photmatix pro. I guess I should ad that i use Yongnuo YN-560 II portable flash units triggered from camera with a flashwave II wireless radio save to one flash unit and the others trigger from the built in optical slaves which work very well and have not misfired yet in about eight months i've had them.
The lens for Lori was the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 lens and for Gemma was a Sony 18-55mm kit lens, Sony alpha 580 camera, both photos 1/125 sec. f8 100 ISO.

I would like to ad one more important fact, when usually I use a wide lens with someones face close to the lens which destorts and whatever is closest to the lens looks larger, I use the liquify tool in photoshop to shrink the nose back to a more normal look. Click on the photo and look at the unfinished and finished photos to see the difference.

   This is the original photo only with the skin retouching done.

Original photo

The background

Outdoor portrait

This is my daughter In law. Lea. She was kind enough to sit in for a photo. This was back in the summer when I got a few more of the Yongnuo YN-560II flash units. I was just playing with them in the backyard and asked Lea to model for me. I think she looks amazing and for something i didn't plan, this came out pretty good, She really should do more.
I used 2 20" softboxes for the main and fill lights and a bare flash for a backlight which created the smoke to show up so well and i love the way it lit her face. This is the way i love to use light, I can't get enough of the way it looks. I also used photoshop cs6 and a wacom tablet for post.

Composite portraits in HDR backgrounds

Here are a few of the neighbours daughter i took a month or so ago. Two photos that are of the same portrait i took in the studio and were placed in different backgrounds with a soccer theme, which she plays for her school and the other was of her in her everyday clothes on a background of stairs taken downtown Windsor, Ont. 

    

Yongnuo Speedlite YN560-II

At the beginning of the summer this year 2013, I had decided to buy two Yongnuo Speedlites (YN560-II) after tons of research and now it's the middle of September and I just bought two more. These are awesome, I have been using these for all my portraits and they have not let me down once. They are manual only flashes and that's all i ever use except for wildlife, Birds mostly, and that is a dedicated through the lens flash but a totally different topic. These flashes i use with two 24 inch softboxes and a 40 inch umbrella and my setup is usually like Joel Grimes, three edge lighting technique. So my point is if anyone is looking for a decent manual Speedlite these are cheap and well made. I'm not going to get into the specs, you can google these and there is tons of info on these all over, i will leave a link "here" if you don't mind waiting a few weeks to get these. Shipping is free and there's no duty. So with these four i don't have to use my vivitar 285, wich is falling apart but will do for an extra for now.
This first photo i took when i got the first two flashes playing around in the garage, the second i took is an orb Weaver in my back yard.

Weekend Composites

Well last weekend was labor day weekend and I needed some more backgrounds, so Michele and i went downtown Windsor on Saturday and i took more photos. The week before that, we went to Grand Bend, Ontario. I got one photo i really liked from that weekend somewhere in a small town. So i went and picked up my Nephew Robert on Sunday and i set up a studio in the living room and did a shoot for three backgrounds i picked. Robert is awesome to work with, when i explain what i want him to do, he understands what i'm trying to achieve with my backgrounds and he is very easy to direct. It sure makes the session more enjoyable in studio photography and he's pretty natural at it.
The first photo was a 3 light setup, two 24 inch softboxes from behind and on both sides about 5 feet high and a 40 inch umbrella directly camera for fill about the same height.  And I used 50% glycerin and 50% water to get the sweat look on his face.
The second photo was lit with two lights with only one 24 inch softbox from camera left, 5 feet high and 40 inch umbrella above camera at 5 feet high, and the third photo was the at same angles but lowered because he was kneeling down, almost sitting on the floor. I then used photoshop to remove Robert and place him in the backgrounds. 
You can view these photos large by clicking on them.

Composite Potraits

Well, this is what I have been spending my time on lately.
This is my nephew Robert. I decided to take his portrait while everyone was having a few drinks one Saturday night, I don't drink so I took these shots of him in the backyard and it was the perfect excuse to get my equipment out and play around. This was at night using two 24 inch softboxes, one on each side and a 40 inch umbrella only a few feet in front and at about 1 foot above him. Then in photoshop I did some skin smoothing and removed skin blemishes and dodging/burning, then placed him in some backgrounds I took last summer in downtown Windsor. The backgrounds, I used Topaz adjust for the effect they have. You can view these large by clicking on them.

Songbirds in the yard

Ok, Well here are a few more songbirds and a squirrel that keeps taking all the food. I have found the squirrels dragging the peanut and suet feeders across the yard, I don't know if they thought they would be able to carry it up a tree but they always end up near one. Now i just put more feed in areas they can access the food and it works Ok for the birds with their own supply. I thought i would throw this photo in of the Squirrel cause i like the this portrait shot. As for the birds i have a few that were feeding their young again, this year i have seen quite a few species that i did not get photos of, it's been hard with working and finding time when you need to do chores on your days off.
I am now starting to do some people portraits and will be posting them here soon, I've been wanting to get back into portraits and now with spring being over with, it's when i do songbirds mostly and near the end of summer i find more interesting insects so for the in between stuff and throughout winter i can do portraits of people, so that will be here within a couple of weeks.

                                      f/9 @ 1/100 sec. ISO 800 420mm

                                         f/10 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 800 500mm

                                           f/11 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 400 500mm

                                          f/14 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 400 500mm

                                            f/11 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 800 500mm

                                           f/10 @ 1/125 sec. ISO 200 500mm

                                           f/14 @1/80 sec. ISO 400 500mm

                                             f/8 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 400 500mm

                                           f/8 @ 1/80 sec. ISO 400 500mm

Mourning Dove in the rain

I guess we can all relate to this poor dove with how much rain we have been getting.
I did not use flash for this shot, I wanted the rain to show in steaks to show the motion of the drops and I used a medium slow shutter speed. I also used topaz adjust to bring out more detail in the rain although it did bring out more noise, but I still like this shot.

                                                             

                                           f/6.3, 1/60 sec, ISO 1600.

Ojibway Park Wildlife

Here are a few i took at Ojibway park a few months back.
As I was taking photos at Ojibway in the area they feed the birds, this Mallard duck came walking up closer to me as I'm standing behind my camera and this big lens, the clicking of the shutter noise and flash caused her to tilt her head in confusion to what I was.
The Raccoon was walking in front of me on the other side of the railing and noticed me sitting there then started to run back the other way, I had to grab another camera I had in my pack already with a 55-200mm lens attached and I had no time so I metered as quick as I could and I used fill flash with the cameras pop up flash hoping it would be enough, I leaned over the railing to compose and the raccoon looked back at me and this is what I got. I love fill flash, even the catch lights in the eyes bring it to life.
As for the the Red bellied woodpecker, I love these birds and every time one comes down to feed I just gotta Press the button. And of course the White tailed deer often come in just before sunset and this deer came about four feet from me, again using the other camera and this happened just after the raccoon, so I was ready but with the flash being so close to the camera ( pop up ) I was worried I would get steel eye but this came out pretty good, there still is some but I was surprised at this shot with how the eyes looked.   

                                         

Female Mallard Duck

  

f7.1, 1/125 sec, ISO 400 Fill flash.

 Raccoon Backlit from sun

f8, 1/125 sec, ISO 100. Hand held

Red bellied woodpecker

 

f8,1/125 sec, ISO 400.

                                                      Red bellied woodpecker

                                                                       f8,1/125 sec, ISO 400.

                                                                      White tailed deer

                                                                   f8,1/125 sec, ISO 400. Hand held

                                                                 White tailed deer

                                                         f8,1/125 sec, ISO 400. Hand held

Song birds rain or shine

Sorry for my absence. I needed to take a break from this blog. But i have a few photos i would like to share from this new year and i will start posting more regular now. We have got so much rain this year and what i thought i would do was just take photos of song birds in the rain and make the best of the drab weather. I may not have been posting but, I have been taking quite a few photos this year already, between my backyard and Ojibway park. So here are a couple for now, hope you enjoy, thanks.

                                                  Wet Starling

                                   f13,1/80 sec , 800 ISO. Fill flash was used.

                                             Female Red winged blackbird. In the rain

                                             f/11, 1/80 sec, 800 ISO. Fill flash.

                                               Female Red winged blackbird.

                                                

                                         f10, 1/100 sec, 200 ISO. Fill flash was used.

                                              Female Red winged blackbird.

  

                                              f10, 1/125 sec, 200 ISO.Fill flash was used.

                                                       Female Downy Woodpecker.

                                                 f10, 1/125 sec, 400 ISO. Fill flash was used.