Contemplative Hiking

I have just returned from a wonderful weekend with my wife. For my birthday this year, she and I attended a 3 day retreat of Yoga, Meditation and hiking in and around the Roosevelt National Forest near Red Feather Lakes in Northern Colorado.

We attended a program held by the Shambhala Mountain Center, my wife has been receiving their catalog for years and thought the course description sounded like fun. Most of the courses are centered around learning about Buddhism, Meditation, Yoga, and Health & Healing.

Personally, I had never done yoga before and as far as meditation go's, no formal training. I enjoy hiking, and thought the yoga and meditation sounded cool. I really enjoyed the relaxation and learning a little about the religion of Buddhism. It's my understanding that Shambhala is a sect of Buddhism. Anyway, it sure was interesting, I enjoy leaning about new things.

At the Shambhala Mountain Center they have this thing called a Stupa. They say it is the largest Stupa in North America. The Great Stupa is one of the most significant examples of Buddhist sacred architcture in the world. The Stupa is filled with original art and sculpture that preserve the endangered cultural heritage of Tibet. Inside this Stupa is a 20 foot tall seated Buddha, and beautiful art work.

Really beautiful floors! This section is of a pomegranate, the red seeds are loose stones, really cool. I might also note that all the photos where shot using my Canon G9. Since we we're hiking this weekend, I wanted to pack light.

The Great Stupa, which I kept calling the "Super Stupa" is about 110 feet tall on the outside. Here you can see our group heading out on a hike, passing the Super Stupa.

Anyway, I had a wonderful birthday, hiking, doing a little yoga and meditation. Here are a few more photos from my weekend. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I might also mention I'll be conducting a Small Strobes, Big Results workshop in Denver on September 26th. Watch for more details at the SSBR website soon. DT

A Personal Project

There are times when you just have to shoot for yourself. I phoned a local archery center and asked if I could photography at their center. I wanted to photograph an archer and possibly some action shoots of target shooting.

The gentlemen I spoke with on the phone (Glen), was a wonderful guy and was very helpful finding someone that I could photograph. Glen told me about a young lady named Jessica who happens to be 4th in the world in her class or division. Not only is she a true champion, it was a real plus to have such an attractive subject to photograph.

We spent about 3 hours shooting Jessica at the archery center, we where able to create several lighting setups during that time. The photo at the top of this post was shot using 4 Nikon SB-800 strobes. The key light was a LumiQuest Softbox III powered with an older Quantum Turbo battery that I have in my arsenal. The key light was boomed overhead and the light striking Jessica's face was from the feathered edge of the light.

I had 2 additional strobes snooted with LumiQuest snoots, these are easy snoots to use and they fold flat for easy packing. These strobes where placed on either side of Jessica in order to put pools of light on her hands and equipment. The last strobe was placed behind and to the right of Jessica as a background light. That strobe had a full cut CTO gel over the head of the strobe in order to warm up the light on the background.

I also brought alone a roll of white seamless paper to photograph her on. The key light on this shot was a single SB-800 inside a FourSquare™ and triggered using a Radio Popper. I used two SB's to light the background, your background should be about 1 1/2 stops brighter than the subject. Since I do not use a meter any more, I use my highlight detection (blinkies) on my LCD screen on the camera to determine the value of the white.

On the above photo, I used my 5 foot Octabox on a boom over head for the key light and 2 SB-800' s with full CTO gels on them used as kickers. The background was lit using the existing light provided by daylight florescent lighting. I have a few more projects I'm trying to power through and I'll be sharing those with you as they are produced.

Maine Media Workshops

I recently check with the folks at Maine Media Workshop regarding my up coming location lighting workshop in September. They tell me that they have a few more space to fill, I'll be teaching a week long course called "Lite & Compact Small Strobe Location Lighting".

This will be a fantastic week! If you would like to have location lighting demystified in a straight forward manner, this workshop is for you. I'm looking forward to my week in the Northeast. DT

Micro-brew's with the Image Doctors

Nikonians Podcast: The Nikonians Image Doctors broadcasts every two weeks on Thursdays. The Doctors, Rick Walker and Jason Odell discuss photography and imaging technology on their podcasts.

I had the pleasure to meet both of them recently and share conversation and a few micro-brew beers.

To here my interview with the Image Doctors, click HERE.

High Speed Sync-CLS

Shortly after returning from my speaking engagement at the UPAA in New York and holding my Buffalo SSBR workshop I shot the above photo. This was the second time I had visited this location in the past 12 months. It is a project that Bechtel is building for the United States government. I posted about my first visit HERE

The gentleman featured above is Terry Wells, Terry has received a special award for safety and his employer wanted a photo of him for their magazine. I arrived in Pueblo, CO on location at about noon, not your best time to be shooting for sure!

I had the same constraints shooting at this location as my previous visit. Being that we are on a military base with chemical weapons and such, I could not show any recognizable details of the location. I found the only spot of shade that had a view of some construction work behind Terry.

I used my new FourSquare™ with 2 SB-800's inside to provide the light. I used high speed sync in order to shorten my DOF. The photo was taken at 1/2000 @f4.5 Without the ability to use high speed sync, I would have been forced to use a much smaller aperture which would have increased my DOF. If I had used an aperture of say f22, I might have included details at our location that the military might have found objectionable.

Just like my last visit, all my images where screened by a special security detail before we left the premises. Here is another image for the shoot.

Mentor Series Philadelphia

I am delighted to be involved with the Mentor Series! I'll be attending my third Mentor Series Trek this Oct 30th in Philadelphia, PA. The Mentor Series Worldwide Photo Treks has added a New Master Lighting Class!

I'll be joining super shooter Michael Clark teaching this Trek. The workshop starts on Oct 30th and runs until Nov 1st. We'll be shooting at two super locations, Longwood Gardens and at Eastern State Penitentiary. These Treks are well organized and are a lot of fun. Philadelphia is a beautiful city and both locations are fantastic, I hope you'll join us. Here is the full info as it appears in the most recent issue of POP Photo.

Pack your camera gear and join the Mentor Series as we trek to the birthplace of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” this coming fall! Philadelphia will provide the perfect backdrop to learn the rewards of using light to create an intentional effect in your photos, as well as explore the history and culture this city has to offer. Follow Nikon professional photographers and
illumination gurus David Tejada and Michael Clark as they simplify various techniques and help you address lighting scenarios that will convey a desired atmosphere, while capturing unique images in both controlled and spontaneous shooting situations.

NEW This trek includes a Master Class on Lighting, providing an exclusive opportunity to determine how luminosity can shape the mood and color of the photographs you create. Allow our mentors to assist you in finding the best angles, interpreting natural light sources, utilizing reflectors, and understanding how to control light. By learning how to properly use light modifiers such as umbrellas,
soft boxes, snoots, grids, silks and even bounce techniques, you will walk away with a solid comprehension of how easily an image can be enhanced.

Visit the stunning Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s premiere horticultural display gardens, as you gain experience directing hired models and practice using off-camera flash. Or reveal the beauty of the yellow, orange and purple trees, and the golden honey locusts, scarlet sweet gums, and ruby northern red oaks in the sunlight. a lush world of exotic flowers, with more then 20,000 blooming chrysanthemums, making for spectacular macro images.

Travel on to the infamous Eastern State Penitentiary, and explore what lighting is best suited to subject and scene, as we use America’s most historic prison (open from 1829 to 1971) to shoot models and further practice learned techniques “on location”. Take advantage of the penitentiary’s vaulted, sky-lit cells to capture a particular mood in the jail that held some of America’s most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. Later, photograph along a tour of Philadelphia’s remarkable landmarks from the top of our own double-decker bus.
Try your hand at making long exposure night images while you capture the Betsy Ross Bridge, the dramatic city skyline from Camden and visit the waterfront area of Penns Landing, and Boathouse Row.

Spend some time in Center City, exceptionally conveying Logan Square, or the famous Love sculpture by Robert Indiana. You will capture history with your camera at Independence Hall as you take in the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence, stop in Washington Square, and pay a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Everywhere you go in Philadelphia, you’ll find a piece of America’s past, and continually discover the chance to utilize the lighting techniques you’ve learned to capture these historic landmarks. Explore “the city of brotherly love” with expert photographers by your side!