Mega Megapixels

In a world of “more is better” I often find myself fighting for the “less is more” concept. (see Mr. Critical’s prior post) But today, I’m here to tell you, that more megapixels IS better … at least when you couple that with a medium format Phase One digital back, a Hasselblad camera and a superior lens.

First, let me say that not all megapixels are created equal. I’ll go into detail in a subsequent post. The main point is that a bigger sensor size makes for happier megapixels.

So, wanna see what comes from a 31.6 megapixel digital back?

Here’s the final image which is cropped close to full frame.

Here are a few images taken from the image at actual (1:1) size.

Can you see what I mean?

Stay tuned for more happy thoughts and opinions about megapixels.

-Kyle

Planning Ahead

We all know that planning ahead is a great way to make the most of any task. Last Fall (mid-October) I began planning for today … when artist David Arms would show his art in a Fall-like setting.

Because I don’t show client work until it’s published I’ve not shown this image until now. This is an undisclosed location … a bit of a hike but once you arrive you’re in the middle of a lush environment … complete with an abandoned stone fireplace. The Fall colors are fantastic. I love it.

There was one downside to this particular shoot … poison ivy. Two out of three of us got a big dose of it. But, now with that behind us, I’m very happy with the results of our shoot, and planning.

You can see David’s work here: www.davidarms.com

- Kyle

Whisky Business

I couldn’t resist the pun. Forgive me.

Sometimes objects themselves serve as inspiration for me. I’m a sucker for anything old … for the most part … old cheese isn’t top of my list. Anyway, I found this old whisk on a recent outing were I end the day with a car load of photo props I use in my food photography.

So, here is what was in my head the day I purchased said whisk.

Until next time …
- Kyle

Wine Pour – Photography Style

In the commercial photography industry there is a specialty known as a “pour”. This is a test I did yesterday. I think I went through about a dozen or so glasses of wine … shooting, not drinking.

The challenge is stopping motion but at the right time. There are certain equipment limitations which prevail … the most prominent is flash duration. Normally you’d think you can just set your shutter to as fast as you can but flashes to do not sync well when shooting fast than 1/250 of a second … hence the black half of an image … the shutter curtain.

The other factor that plays into this type of photography is the depth of field. The more detail you want to retain aka broader depth of field, the more you have to stop down the aperture, then the more light you need, then the longer the flash duration … leading to more motion blur.

The trick? Many small strobes with very short flash duration. This image is my second test. In my next test, I will be pushing the limits with greater depth of field. Maybe I’ll choose a Riesling next time.

Until then, cheers.

-Kyle

Splash Photography

Well, today was a testing day. Needless to say, the studio is a little more wet than … well … it’s never this wet. It’s been a fun day of red wine, whipped cream and strawberries … not all in one shot.

This is one of the successful splashes. Just like any other day of test shots, today was a learning experience and I’m excited about testing more next week.

You’ll have to wait for the wine and whipped cream …

-Kyle