Wet walk with the 7D at my favorite lake where i spent most of my summer days as a child. Inspired by a great week and fink in my headphones. This is a personal peace of (he)artwork, hope you like it!
Music: Fink – Perfect Darkness (finkworld.co.uk)

Filmed with Canon EOS 7D (i wish i had brought my 5DmkIII that day with its amazing low light capability!) the 50mm/1.4, 24-70/4.0, 85/1.8 and 70-200/2.8 II. Had a very small lightweight slider with me i ordered at igus.de, and a little manfrotto tripod. Edited in Final Cut Pro 7 (yes i still don´t uses FCPx) color graded with 3 way cc, nothing else (didn´t have magic bullet installed on that machine). The light leaks (i know, it´s almost too much, but i totally fell in love with the way they connect the music and the pictures here) are downloaded from Jesse Rosten´s Blog, also made some on my own the way he describes it. Nice idea, just take the lens off the camera and start lightpainting with LED on your sensor.

Download the screen grabs in HIGH RES (3MB)

… to be continued very soon …

Thanks to my assistant Mélanie Dawes for helping me out with this self portrait!

Sharing our thoughts, experiences and from time to time our frustration makes it much easier to laugh about it and go back to work with a smile. And remember what it´s all about: “Photography, i love you!”. This will be the title of the next self-series you hopefully will be part of! So, let´s share! ;) Send your self to office@christiananderl.com or post a link here in the comment area. Or, if you are on flickr, join this group and post your picture there.
I hope to get enough pictures to build a nice little freakout-wall here soon with photographers freakin’ out ;-) LET IT OUT!

P.S.: In case you NEVER have this “one more and i freak out” feeling in your life and job, you are adorable, a yogi and PLEASE have to share your meditation methods as detailed as possible! Thanks!

What i really wanted to have when i was on bali last december was a compact camera, at least almost as good as a DSLR. Who doesn´t :) The Canon G12 was a good choice for pros and motivated amateurs in the past. But the G1X offers even more. Big sensor (1,5″) high ISO (12.800, and still looking quite good at 6.400) speeeeed (6fps) and 14 bit RAW. Just to list some of the great features i found amazing on a compact camera.

Canon G1x Demo in jpg mode, Ray Flash Ring Adapter on 580EXII

Canon G1x RAW mode, edited in Lightroom 4

Canon G1x RAW mode, edited in Lightroom 4

Shot at Canon Raodshow 2012 with Profoto - Canon G1x RAW mode, edited in Lightroom 4

Shot at Canon Raodshow 2012 with Profoto - Canon G1x RAW mode, edited in Lightroom 4

Canon Powershot G1 X specification highlights

» 14MP 1.5″ CMOS sensor (18.7 x 14mm)
» 28-112mm F2.8-5.8 lens
» Optical viewfinder
» ISO 100-12,800
» 3.0″, 920,000 dot swivelling LCD
» Extensive manual control
» 14-bit Raw shooting
» 4.5fps continuous shooting (up to 6 frames)
» 6.8Wh NB-10L battery rated at 250 shots (CIPA standard)
» HDR mode & ND filter

I didn´t want to write another detailled tech review here, i just wanted to give you an overview. And, to keep it short, let me say – you will love it. As i already mentioned, this is a compact camera for the pro, exactly what Canon wanted it to be. I definitely will have this in my bag from now on, as it will give me much much more possibilities to shoot stuff on the way i missed in the past. If you need to have all the details and comparisons, there are a lot of detailled tech reviews online, f.e. this one, including comparisons with the G12 and Panasonic Lumix DMC – http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x.

Flash is some kind of monster to most aspiring photographers and beginners. For some it is more frustrating than doing a tax declaration, visiting the dentist or having a discussion with your girlfriend about how “you spend too much money on camera stuff”. There is so much to know, the technical stuff, the maths – it´s easy to get lost in this chapter of photography. Nevertheless, it is one VERY important section if you really want to be a photographer. It is LIGHT. And photography is WORKING with light. So, if you are one of those people that say “I love available light, I love ambient light, I don´t really need flashlight”, here´s the first step for you: Be honest and stop lying to yourself!

I was once a liar too. I tried working with flashlight, failed, then put it aside. Tried again, failed, and put it aside again. And every time I told myself (and everybody else that didn´t want to hear it) “I love available light … blah blah blah …” I did this until these words smacked me in the face (and thank god they also hit my brain too):

“The only reason you are afraid of flashlight, is because you are afraid of flashlight”.

True! Let´s call this “RULE #1“. There is no other (logical) reason for this kind of behaviour. Once you understand that light is no monster you have to fight, but a friend that helps you do a better job and bring out the best of your photography, you will be wondering how you could ever live without it (landscape photographers can forget these words of course ;-)

If you´re still reading you already know that you have flash phobia, i don´t have to overexplain. So what can you do to get rid of it? This is a short version of my experiences and how I made it work for me:

RULE #2: Note this:

Flash is NOT a monster you should fight. It is LIGHT, and light is your BEST FRIEND!.

Find some photographer you trust when it comes to flash. There are lots of great photographers with interesting blogs out there, books, DVD´s … F.e. Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias, Vincent Laforet,… I will add a list of blogs that I follow down here. You simply have to go back to school. And don´t get this “oh shit, school” attitude now, it´s more like “yeaaaaah, school!!! When I come out of here, I´ll have new skills I always wanted to have!”
For me it was Joe Mc Nally. If there is one photographer who understands and controls light, it´s him. My first book from Joe was “The Moment It Clicks“. Read it in one night, and then ordered “The Hot Shoe Diaries” the next day. If you want to lean back and just watch him at work with small flash you can also order his DVD – “The Language of Light“. Not cheap, but absolutely worth it!

Here´s a little clip from the DVD. Joe explains how he uses one flash and a small softbox to light a portrait. And how small changes can make a big difference!

Now that you´ve read a lot of blogs, books, watched DVD´s etc. … Flash might seem even more irritating. You have tons of information, but still if you use your flash, there´s no way to get a proper shot? The answer is quite easy – PRACTICE! That´s all. One of the most commonly seen failures is people who say they want to get better, they invest in books, workshops a.s.o. and think when they leave the workshop they are already doing a better job. No, you´re not. Like everything in photography, this will take time and practice! Don´t get too frustrated. Prepare to fail. Not only prepare, but look forward to failure. Fail, fail again, fail better! I know that´s not what you want to hear at this point. It´d be better to hear “Do this, and this, and your flash pictures will look fantastic”. But that´s not how it works. Practice is – like photography its own – key!
Experiment with different setups. There are a lot of ways to use flashes. Big lights, speedlights, wireless triggered, wired, ETTL, manual, color gel… Do it step by step, and take your time. Don´t stress yourself out, no one is behind you.

RULE #3:

Get your flash OFF your camera!

For me flash on a hot shoe only looks good in extremely rare cases. You will definitely get better results if you bring your flash off your camera. Therefore you will need some equipment.

Basic off camera setup.

What kind of setup you use will depend on what you plan to do. Some people already give up at this point. Softbox? Umbrella? Beatuy Dish? which wireless trigger?… too much stuff, too expensive, ah, didn´t I say I love ambient available light? I don´t need fla…. Shut up and go on ;-)
My first basic setup for example was a Canon 580EXII, Profoto wireless trigger (non TTL), Manfrotto lightstand, Lasolite 90cm Umbrella (Silver and diffuser) and a tilt/swivel head to point the flash in the direction you want. Otherwise it will always shoot straight forward. I don´t think you will find some concept where you really need this.
This is definitely an affordable setup and you can do more great stuff with it than you think. If you don´t want to spend the money for the wireless triggers, you can also find much cheaper wireless triggers online or start bringing your flash off the camera with a simple TTL cord. Much cheaper and you can use the TTL function of your flash, but of course they´re not as flexible as wireless triggers.
So I took it all outide and started to shoot. Of course, what i saw on my camera was not good at all. I think I´d call it creepy supershit. But step by step I started to learn and understand. It´s like playin’ around with tools as a child. HAVE FUN with it, don´t be stupid and put pressure on yourself. The only result this will bring is this bad feeling and lots of frustration. Photographers are people with their eyes and mind wide open so they can see! You won´t see anything good around you if you´re in some Jack the Ripper mood. Relax. Think. Try again. And please, pleeease don´t practice on client shoots. You won´t believe hof often I´ve seen this. Then your frustration will be shared with a client you won´t ever see again. Not a good thing.

Finally I went back home with my first outdoor portrait that looked great. It felt as if it was not from me but someone who “really is a photographer”. Honestly, I was excited. This was my point of no return as i thought if I can do this once, I can do it again and I will get better doing it. No frustration could ever keep me away from flashs again. To the contrary – every time I failed it just gave me more motivation to get better.

So, get over it. Accept the fact that small flashes are asholes. Lots of buttons, functions, and numbers you don´t understand. And maybe for the first time in your photography-carreer you really have to grab that … what was the word … instruction manual! And read it. It might feel a bit like a tax declaration, you don´t want to do it … but – other than the tax declaration – what you get out of it is GREAT!

Don´t get fooled, or fool yourself, there is not one single photographer on this planet who bought a camera, went out and did a great job. I know, nowadays people say “well, cameras are affordable, and digital photography made it cheaper and easier for everyone to shoot great photos”. This is a good thing of course. But it does not mean owning a expencive DSLR makes you a good photographer. Whenever somebody says “oh your camera makes beauuutiful pictures” I just answer “oh, you should see how fantaaastic my oven is cooking!”. Trust me, they understand ;-)
So whatever trouble you face, whatever frustration you are going through, keep in mind that this is part of the game, its a long way, and every photographer you admire for his work went through it all!

Now, I will shoot some making of-videos, put them together with some I already have and promise to give you as much insight as possible on how I use flashes (small and big ones) on set. Therefore you can go out and put a basic flash setup on your shopping list, order it, put it together and SHOOOOOOT! When we meet here next time we´ll do the next step…

All photos below were shot with 1-2 small flashes, wireless triggers, umbrella and/or lasolite softbox 60×60cm.

Some photographers with great blogs you might want to follow:
Joe Mc Nally
Chase Jarvis
Zack Arias
Vincent Laforet

As i hear more and more questions about post processing, colors, and how to do it in Lightroom – which by the way is a fantastic, powerful tool – i decided to bring up my own Lightroom-Preset-Post. I will update this set from time to time and bring up new styles from my libary to make this collection grow.

Please make sure you really understand what a preset does befor you download it.

I already had people asking me for Lightroom settings on a specific picture, and after i sent the preset (which i do from time to time) i got answers like “this looks totally shitty on my picture”. Well, if you´re just starting with Lightroom or photo editing itself – of course a preset can´t to a great job on every picture. Some will, some won´t, some will have to be corrected. But what a preset can do for you is give you an idea of how others made it and let you find your own settings. And of course you should use these presets on RAW photos, not on .jpg! So, now that you don´t expect this startup-set of 3 LR Presets to make all of your photolibary beautiful, go download it and have fun ;-)

Download LR Presets Vol.1

This is what you get in this first .zip-file:

CreepyDark

Portrait

CoolContrast

TwinPeaks

HeavySpring

Dark BW Portrait

My friend Tasha Bowens is about to start a very ambitious documentary project on her own. Well, not ALL on her own, she really could need our help. And helping is really easy for you. Here´s the project:

Photo credit to Hugues Anhes

The Color of Food tells the stories of our Black, Latino, Asian and Indigenous farmers and the history, fight for survival and beautiful culture that makes up our agriculture.
While revealing the intersection of race and food through the personal stories of farmers of color, this project will also explore the agricultural history and traditional food and farming knowledge passed down within in each community. This photo documentary will also address the movement for food sovereignty and issues with land loss which we see taking place globally today.

These stories and images will be captured with lens and pen, and published in a photo-essay book, posted via photo/video blog, and exhibited at food justice and food sovereignty events around the USA. The documentary will live on and enhance the network within the COLOR of FOOD directory – the global map and directory of farmers of color.

Now, what can YOU do?
READ THE WHOLE STORY AND LET´S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!
Spread the word!

And here comes the best thing about it. Not only is it a great slider, it´s also a fantastic table dolly. You can use it on the floor or on a table and set up the curve radius with a laserpointer. Here´s a short clip out of camera (no editing) i did for health center.

Keep an eye at www.thegooddolly.com, it should be ready for sale quite soon!

very first shots…