Bailey in Tall Grass

Summer has passed and with it's hot and humid weather hopefully. The feel and sense of Autumn is strong now with cool crisp evenings almost here. There are a few leaves beginning their colorful transition on campus but it is the gorgeous late afternoon that shines the strongest. I have been itching to (hopefully) take advantage of the fall landscapes around campus that magically appear during this time of year. However that sad, yet exciting and happy, one week window has not occurred yet and I am left wanting to do something autumny that's creative.

Last weekend my friend Annika did a gorgeous shoot at a really fun spot on campus, both of which inspired me to do a portrait shoot. Here is a link to her website:

Anyway, I shamelessly decided to use the cool spot she found for a shoot, but instead of midday light like she used I decided to go for the golden hour. Next up was finding a model who would want to do a shoot, luckily Bailey was excited and willing! We decided on a darker dress to contrast with the light and grass.

My main focus when shooting was to work with the light as much as possible; using flare and the very warm temperature of it. I shot digital with my 7D using a 50mm f/1.4 lens (thanks Annika!) and my 135mm f/2.0. For film I shot two rolls of Fomapan 100 in my Pentax 6x7 using a 55mm f/4 and 135mm f/4 lens. Interesting enough, even though the lenses between the camera systems have the same focal lengths (roughly) they have completely different angles of view. The 55mm f/4 for the Pentax has the same angle of view as a 28mm on a full frame camera, and the 135mm f/4 has the same angle of view as 68mm lens on full frame.

When editing I was really working with dual toning the images, having the shadows a deep navy blue and the midtones to highlights a glowy warm golden hue. Using curves mostly to get the color I ended up with quite an intense curve block.

The duo-tone curves adjustment I used

I still have yet to develop the film, as I am in need of some fresh developer, but I am very happy with how this shoot went. I managed to get the look I wanted to achieve both during the shoot with the proper poses and with the color in post. It is rare that this actually happens.

I left this shoot excited even more for fall to finally hit its "peak week" on campus where I can crack out the Pentax and shoot the last of my 120 Kodak e100s slide film that I have saved.

Learning how to use a Glide Cam

One of the most distinct marks of good production value is smooth choreographed shots. The simple addition of a seemingly gliding or flying camera can dramatically increase the impact of a shot and scene. Rigs such as the classic Steadi-cam and now Glide Cam (and its cheaper knock-offs) are easily available to the masses of amaetuer and student filmmakers. I so happen to be lucky enough to have access to one of these wonder rigs and had the opportunity to spend a weekend learning how to use it.

The first I noticed with the off brand Glide Cam I was working with was how much easier it is to balance and tweak compared to the much more expensive, and cheaper built, Steadicam Merlin I had used before. Not only did I decently balance a camera within 30 minutes of picking it up I was able to tweak it on the fly to accommodate filters that would normally require rebalancing. After the ease of balance came the ease of use, relative to the Merlin. The rig allows for a much larger range of pivot with the gimbal handle separated from the top plate. Within a few minutes of me playing with it I could get a smooth tracking forward and backward shot. While more difficult, turning the rig and camera using gentle touches and inertia was also easier. 

Having said those things, these counter balanced contraptions still have a very steep learning curve and the shots I did get with them definitely are nowhere Hollywood perfect. However the freedom I experience being able to walk and run with a camera and get a (decently) smooth shot was enlightening and invigorating. Creatively my mind is teeming with new ideas for shots.

Also, with infrared ideas fresh in my head, I managed to capture some infrared video! Using an old Canon 5D mkII and 17-40L lens with a 720nm filter I managed to just get a bright enough exposure for infrared black and white video, albeit with 360 shutter at f/4 ISO 3200. And I will say that while it looked awesome on the back LCD the image looks pretty noisy and mushy on a real monitor. Still a fun weekend nonetheless.

Quick Infrared Shoot

The infrared spectrum, just outside the lower end of visible light, has an amazingly unique way of rendering different tones in black and white. The greens of chlorophyll in plants reflect it profusely creative very light vegetation and the sky absorbing the deep red rays creating stark blacks. The landscape that infrared paints is surreal, dreamlike, and seductive.

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Beginning of the Wasson Ravine, freshly cleared trail 

One of my goals recently has been to shift myself to take more nature and landscape shots. Somehow the quiet calm and easy pacing of hiking and shooting with tripod has not appealed to me. Compounding this thirst or need of revival was the lack of digital work I've done lately. It is odd that I would prefer to shoot digital with a landscape shoot was in mind, the merits of film over digital in the context of landscape photography, such as quality, look, and pacing, are almost always enough to persuade me to grab my big Pentax and a roll of Fomapan (Arista .EDU). However the need for instant gratification and color prevailed. So I grabbed my Canon, took off the vertical grip, and put on my wide lens. In the process I grabbed a few filters and realized that I still have an infrared filter that would fit my lens. 

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My favorite part of the ravine, a lookout like area overseeing two ravines that merge farther down

The last time I shot anything infrared was over a year and half ago where I walked with a roll of Rollei IR 400 in my 35mm camera attempting to take handheld snapshots, made very difficult by the effective ISO of ~3 with the filter on. This lapse of use made the idea of shooting infrared, let alone with my digital Canon, very novel. I snagged the filter and headed out to my usual outdoor nature spot at school, Wasson Ravine. I left at 4 in the afternoon to get the light that was still bright (more infrared light) and made my way done the recently cleared trail. 

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Perhaps my favorite shot from the short hike. The light and atmosphere were surprisingly cool.

Shooting infrared with my Canon 7D is tedious. With the 720nm filter my exposures were all around 30-60 seconds at f/5.6-8 with ISO 400 the highest I dared go (for the sake of noise). Focussing wasn't as much as an issue I surprisingly .The LiveView feature of the camera, with MagicLantern firmware, made it possible to focus through the filter.

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Base of the Ravine looking back at the trail up to the campus

Overall it was a much needed shoot that became more of a nostalgic trip than I had originally planned. Of the dozen or so frames I took I am happy with only one or two. Even with the relatively low "hit rate" I am very much happy that to give my nature, non portrait, photography some long needed practice.

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Canon 7D w/ 17-40L, 720nm filter, and a cheap exposure remote