That’s right, an HD video/documentary course, in Junction, Texas, Texas Tech University satellite campus, May 12 – May 27. If you are frequent readers, you know I’m a photography instructor (of sorts) at Texas Tech University, and for five years now, I have been teaching a field photography course with Wyman Meinzer at the Junction, Texas, campus. This year, we’ve decided to test out a new course in high-definition video. I’m basing it off of the foundations of the photography course, which is “get your feet wet working like a professional.” For 15 days, students and instructors alike work tirelessly, pursuing the story of the land and the people on it. Each year is a treat, finding ourselves with a new bunch of students and some familiar and veteran areas of the state to point our lenses. We travel well over 1,000 miles during our 15 days, and we see a lot of country. If the video/documentary course turns out anything like the photography course, and it should (we’re going along with them), then it’s bound to be a challenging, yet inspiring, experience for all parties involved.

If there’s anything that can be said about our classes in Junction, it’s one of the only times you can receive that much one-on-one mentoring for the price (which by the way, is a great deal more affordable than other workshops). Also, you don’t have to be a TTU student now to take the course (that’s right, this is sort of a pitch). However, before you sign up, you will have to submit an application to Tech, a formality, to be enrolled in the course. If anything (if you have a degree or not), you’ll get three hours of college credit in 15 days. How cool is that!?

If you’re interested, please shoot me an e-mail. I’m sure there’s some technical details I left out, but I can dig up anything!

Late as always! I’ve actually been pretty absent from the blog and my Twitter account here of late to finish up a few assignments. I’ll have another Field Lighting, if not two, up this week to make up for last week.

In the meantime, I have uploaded the free March desktop calendar for your downloading pleasure. It’s that time of year again in Texas, when livestock, particularly cattle, begin to calve out. Growing up on a ranch, I never really noticed how interesting cattle look from straight on when bearing young. You just get the feeling like they’re ready to give birth by this time!

Dr. Robert Paine, a forensic anthropologist at the university, amazed me when we got to talking about the skull he is holding in the above image. To be brief, he described it as a multiple gunshot incident, and he explained to me that inferring from the hairline crack in the skull from the first shot, that it was definitely a homicide. I couldn’t do his explanation justice here, and in light of being accurate, I’ll leave it at that.

What I can explain, however, is the lighting! The idea for the story was to create edgy images, but not necessarily in the same light that you would see those characters on a CSI television show. That being said, it was important to interestingly tell the visual story of a science dealing with a certain unique character about it. The shot above is a composite of two images that I used to show the editor what was being shot, but both images were shot with exactly the same setup. The main light was a 39-inch Elinchrom Rotalux Octa placed behind, above, and to camera left of the subject. This kept the spill from invading the black background, which is essentially the black reflector up against a chalkboard. The second, “kicker” light on camera right was created by a Canon 580EX speedlite, gelled blue for the skull shot alone. It was powered less than the main light, used only as a tool to create an edge against the background and throw a little different color in to the mix.

I can’t ever leave the scene without a close-up, and it’s always good to take the subject’s facial characteristics in to consideration. Dr. Paine has a fairly unique face, and one rad beard. Same lighting, just a play on composition in the shoulders, and you have a quick and easy (and different) headshot.

Here’s a diagram photo (sorry for quality, iPhone pic):

As well as a backed out setup shot:

I have some more from this story, but I thought this would be a nice introduction to the lighting that went on. Simple, yet effective and dramatic!

Thanks to Dr. Robert Paine for allowing me to make a few portraits of him. It was incredibly interesting to hear him speak about what he does and how he does it!

Some days I think I could live without it. Somedays I know and do live without it. But then there are the days that I know I’m going to use it, and I’m going to enjoy the utility it provides. Photoshop is officially 20 years old!

Just think of all the terrain this revolutionary software application has seen in the past two decades! Think of all the controversy it has caused (or perhaps we should say the user has caused), how many people should be thankful for its inception, all the images that get processed on a daily basis using this single application. The list could go on! Above is a short documentary that unites the creators and earliest Adobe adopters in a conversation about Photoshop!

Although long for Internet video standards, it’s worth a watch. No matter how you feel about Photoshop, this is fairly insightful, and if you walk away with anything from it, just imagine how amazing it is that this software is the root of many, many things (minute 15:00 of the video states this fact in more eloquent terms). It is useless to beg the question, “What would it be like if it had not been created?” because it would have inevitably happened, potentially later and under a different moniker. The question to ask is “What are we using it for now, and why, and how?”

After you watch the documentary, visit PhotoshopUserTV for live coverage of an event held in honor of the software package that changed and created a lot of what the technical end, as well as the conceptual and perceptual ends, of photography has, in some ways, transformed in to.

***DISCLAIMER: No matter where you’re at in terms of photographic/philosophical/ethical perspective on the very existence of Photoshop, this is just part of the conversation that will continue to take place in the arena of images, photographic or other. I think my first few sentences pretty much sum up my satisfaction AND frustration with the software, feelings I think we as photographers all experience!

I mentioned in a post last week, that when hiking, you shouldn’t pass up the little things that often get passed by on your way to “the shot.” I’m not sure what it was about this group of leaves that stuck out to me, probably the blue sky reflection in the water and the multiple variations in color of the leaves themselves, but I couldn’t walk away from it. If you find yourself in that situation, just take the shot. Don’t fight worrying about it, whether you should take it or not. If anything, you come up with a nice study shot, like this one. There’s something pleasing about the above image, and it’s certainly not the composition. But it’s there. Somewhere.

Let’s face it: often times as a photographer, you’re pressed for time. Hopefully you’re never late for a shoot, but when we start working with light and other people, we’re involved with highly dynamic variables. On a clear day, light is pretty predictable, but sometimes that sneaky set of clouds will set in right before sunset, and you’ve lost the shot you were looking for, only to find another (again, hopefully). And people, well…will always be people, you included! The point of all this is that sometimes, you only have a small window of opportunity to get the shot you need!

Ever since I made this portrait, I keep going back to it, remembering how much pressure there was to get the shot under the particular environmental conditions. Randall Jeter, Ph.D., is a bacterial geneticist at Texas Tech University, and I was photographing him for a university research publication a couple of years back. Instead of photographing him in his lab with the prototypical white lab coat on and a microscope nearby, I decided to put him in a field of spring wheat. I couldn’t begin to intelligently explain what Dr. Jeter researches (if you want to find out, click here), but after we spoke on the phone the day before, I had an idea that part of his agenda was analyzing the water on the Southern High Plains. So, where else but an irrigated field would work the best!

OK, talk about working fast (this is why I love reflectors). It was windy. Real windy! Speedlites and umbrellas/softboxes are out of the question in West Texas when the wind is blowing over 20 mph, I don’t care how much weight you have on the stands. Luckily, I had two assistants in tow for this shoot, and each of them grabbed a reflector. I don’t go anywhere without a Westcott 6-in-1 reflector set (I like the 42″ version), and in quick situations like this, it comes in super handy!

So, how was this shot put together? The subject was standing with his back to the sun, which was coming in from extreme back and right. It was coming in at so much of a direct angle, that I was a bit afraid of overexposing the sky, but it held. Next, one assistant standing in line with the sun on camera left, bounced light into Dr. Jeter with the daylight reflector. The other assistant (standing  barely to camera right) used one of the diffuser panels included with the reflector kit to bounce much, much softer light back in to the dark shadows the initial reflector created. The key here was not to bounce to much fill light in, taking away the drama in the light. I used a telephoto lens to draw that background in a bit, making sure the background served a compositional and storytelling purpose for the shot, and that’s it!

We were done with this location in less than five minutes. Thank goodness for reflectors!

Photographers are often outdoor enthusiasts, and there are a slew of shooters out there that have made successful livings out of their passion for the outdoors and what exists in the natural world. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to work in this area over the past several years, and I’m never more excited to shoot than when I get to explore some place new or revisit areas that have offered shooters great images in the past.

A great way for photographers to access this world is though hiking the literally thousands of trails created and maintained by various entities throughout the world. Here are just a few tips for photographers to consider when preparing for and going on day or overnight hikes:

1. The trail is there for a reason: sniff it out! Whether you know it or not, this is why you are at the trailhead anyways. Historically, areas set aside in part for your hiking pleasure (i.e. national and state parks, historical sites, conservation areas, etc.) exist because they mean something to us! Many trail hikes in these areas are even named in such a way to represent their historical significance. Consider this part of the experience! A photograph tells a story, and a story that accompanies the hike you are on can often inspire a variety of images. If you’re at a national or state park, pick up some literature at the HQ or access points, and you never know what you may find out that you didn’t read on the Internet before you got there!

2. Save your back (as much as possible). It’s hard enough as an outdoor enthusiast to not take all the cool camping and hiking gear you were so stoked to buy for a specific excursion, but it’s even harder to combine that with being a photographer, right? I’m as guilty as the next photographer that thinks he/she needs all the gear that one could possibly fit inside a camera backpack, but after several years of doing so, as well as hearing from other outdoor photographers, it doesn’t necessarily make for the most comfortable, and subsequently enjoyable, hike out there. Again, for some, it’s hard to pair down what you actually need for a hike, but consider this: justify every piece of gear you carry with you. Simple as that. Have a vision in mind, and work toward it to determine your gear needs. If you need three speedlights on a hike (which I often take for lighting plants; more on this later), then take them. But if you are not sure about taking that honking 400mm f/2.8, then it might not be the best thing to haul that extra 13lbs around.

3. Do your research, and plan your trip/shoot. This suggestion goes along with #1. It pays to go in to a situation and have been somewhat versed in what to expect. The Internet is a great resource for this type of information. At any time, you can access all of the state and national park services’ Web sites (here’s the link for the National Park Service). Also, take a look at your social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, and find those organizations/individuals that are in “the know.” I frequently find interesting links to information about parks, hiking gear, and histories from folks like @thehikingcenter, @trailgirl, and @nature_org. There are literally tons of sources out there, and I would encourage starting with these folks to find others! Lastly, talk to your local experts. I’m a huge fan of the local outdoor shop, and some of the best tips, suggestions, places to find, etc., can be found through talking with those that live and breathe it everyday!

4. Consider taking a tripod. And extra cards. And a filter or two. And… Alright, why’s the gear tip so buried in this post. If you’ve read this far, then you probably know why, but gear is essential for photographers on a day or overnight hike. While you do want to minimize to literally save your back later, think about the images you looking to get. More than likely, a sturdy, light tripod would work to your advantage (obviously, carbon fiber sticks are the lightest). If you’re hiking anywhere near water, this piece of equipment is essential! Extra memory cards (or rolls of film for that matter) are light, and really, who doesn’t need more of these. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Take several! I’ll be the first to tell you that filters are not my thing, but they do come in handy when in the mountains and around water. Consider taking a neutral density or graduated filter along with you, just in case you see the need. There are other essentials, but many of them, you will have to determine for yourself. Keep in mind your chiropractic visits in the future while you decide…check out ultra-light bags as well, such as Andy Biggs’s (@andybiggs) Gura Gear Kiboko. It weighs under 4 lbs!

5. Don’t just think about “the shot.” Not that “the shot” isn’t worth taking, but like I said before, a trail has a story written all over it. You might be hiking a certain way through the mountains to get that awesome shot of the Tetons and the Snake River that Ansel Adams made so famous, but don’t forget about what you see along the way. It’s your turn to tell the story of the land, so don’t forget all the smaller things that work their way up to the grand finale!

6. Build endurance before you make the hike. Don’t go in to a hike, particularly if it involves elevation changes and/or climbing, without having prepared physically for the terrain. I see this affecting more photographers at workshops more than anything, and not anticipating a bit of a workout while hiking can change your attitude about the entire day, and it may keep you from getting where you want to be. Take it easy when you need to though, and be safe. Also, make sure you are carrying in enough water. Dehydration is a wicked, wicked thing to chance!

7. Think about your feet. Besides the water recommendation, this may be the most important thing you consider when getting ready for the hike! We can talk about jackets, breathable shirts, climbing pants, hats and sunglasses all day long, but in the end, you are going to be on your feet. Our doggies take a beating, so it pays in spades to dedicate a portion of any hiking gear budget to a nice pair of terrain-worthy boots/sandals and socks. I’m a fan of Keen sandals, because I like my toes to be guarded (although Chaco’s are great as well), and they make a nice boot as well. My favorite pair of socks at the moment is a pair of Smartwool hiking performance socks (@smartwooligans), and I was just turned on to Falke socks today through a tweet from @codevader.

8. Be considerate, and DON’T LITTER! The heading should say it all, but unfortunately, you will often come across someone else’s garbage. Don’t let the next person come along to yours. Clean up, pack out what you packed in. Remember, you’re not the only one (human or otherwise) on the trail. The trails stay enjoyable because of all the people that care about them, and it’s all of our jobs to make sure it stays that way!

This list is not exhaustive by any means, but it’s a start! Leave any other tips in the comments below for future readers! The outdoor community is definitely unique in their connectedness, so it works to our advantage to pass on resources and information to others!

During high school, I was part of the plant identification team, and I became fond of bluestem grass. As funny as this sounds, bluestem always seemed like a graceful organism to me, much like the gracefulness of a willow tree. It flows along with the wind in such a way that it seems like a flock of synchronized birds moving together in the sky. At the right time of year (and at the right time of day, evening in this case), bluestem will exhibit colors a photographer salivates to capture, and when the sun is just about to go below the horizon, this particular field of bluestem threw off the brightest pink I’d ever seen in grass. A lot of grasses in West Texas are golden in nature, so this was a treat!

Shots like this remind me of images from one of my influences, Jim Richardson. Particularly, his work in the Kansas Flint Hills, which serves as a testament of the beauty seen in the calm flowing terrain of the plains!

Some time ago, I wrote about photographing with big light sources, such as large soft boxes. One nice thing about soft boxes is that they provide a large, soft light source that’s not stark and brutally intense like a bare-bulb speedlight or strobe. Before recently (ah, within the past several years, since the popularity of the Strobist movement), you couldn’t find manufactured soft boxes small enough for most speedlights. However, they were commonly found for larger, more traditional lighting rigs. Even today, the really large softboxes are manufactured for studio-grade kits (even though, technically, there’s nothing stopping you from sticking a speedlight inside an 84″ octa, but that’s a discussion for another time). While the speedlights are nice, especially when in the field, there is still something nice about knowing you have enough power to over power the sun during the middle of the day with more than a few watt-seconds of power.

Each spring, I teach a photography lighting course at Texas Tech University, and while teaching in the studio is fundamental and necessary for a good deal of this course, that’s not what this lighting series is all about. At least two weeks out of the semester, we’ll drag the lights out of the studio, and commence throwing photons around outside, in an attempt to learn how to work with the ambient light, shoot in a variety of environments, and lug equipment around in the heat (essential for all field photographers)! Since the class is composed of 10 plus students each spring, we are never short of models. Alison Church (@SwinginSquirrel) put her camera down for this particular setting, allowing the rest of the class to work around her and the light.

As I was saying, more powerful lights allow you to override the ambient light, even at 1:00 p.m. on a clear day in April. As long as you are controlling the aperture, a soft box with enough light pushed through it creates a nice, focused (yet soft) source of light that will start to fall off quickly (tip: shoot at the maximum shutter speed the kit will allow you to knock out the ambient; if it’s still not enough, close your aperture down and control the light exposure from the power pack/lights). If it’s an extremely bright day, shutting the ambient light out may create more depth of field in your shot than you wanted, so be aware of your aperture.

Using one light is fairly popular today, and the only source for these shots is a 16″X24″ softbox, running through an 1100 watt-second pack, dialed down about half way. By reverse-engineering the shots, you can tell the top image has the light placed slightly to the left of the camera, and the center of the light source (the soft box) just barely above her head, creating that small shadow dropping down from her nose (a small butterfly lighting effect). The second shot is obviously more dramatic, with the same soft box to the extreme left of the model, slightly above her head again. This allows the shadow side to sink in to the darker levels of the histogram, and by stopping down the aperture and shutter speed, the fall off of light becomes more evident, and in this case, more leading and intriguing. The final shot is actually a movement made on my part, moving in front of Alison. Now, the shadow side doesn’t see so mysterious.

Keep in mind the environment. This corrugated tin background worked well for us, and if you can knock out the ambient all the way, you’ve just created yourself an outside studio…in the middle of the day!

Well, better late than never. It’s been a busy couple past weeks, and I’m settling in to February…finally. The February 2010 desktop wallpaper calendar is set, and all you have to do is click on the image above to see the large version. Right-click the image, and save it to your desktop!

Monsoon season hits the Big Bend area in far West Texas in the late summer/early fall of each year. This image was taken from atop a ridge at Cibolo Creek Ranch, one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the opportunity to visit. It’s settled right underneath the Chinati mountain range, about 25 minutes south of Marfa. If you’re ever in the area, it’s well worth the visit!