Michael Clark Photography Winter 2011 Newsletter
Contents
1. interview about lost girlfriends and broken teeth While the windy conditions and the dirt jumps themselves that day weren t conducive to back flips Matt got after it and rode pretty much non stop for about four hours He was able to hit the same spots and perform the exact same maneuvers time after time which really helped us out with focus pulls and continuity It was impressive to see him so easily perform these tricks have since shot with him again on another assignment for Nikon at a skate park in Albuquerque where he was throwing back flips on command dozens and dozens of times Aside from the action we also filmed interviews with Page 19 winter 2011 talk gives the viewer a quick snippet of what their lives are like and how they integrate their respective sports into their lifestyles Along with the motion reel have also posted an article on my website about Our Philosophy on Video pro ductions must say that it is hard for me to call the footage that the Red One produces video The camera shoots at 4K resolution which is 5 times more resolution than HD video and that equates to a 12 MP image for every frame at anywhere from 24 fps to 60 fps It pro duces higher resolution footage than a full 35mm mo tion picture camera And the new Red Epic which we ll have soon is even higher quality Heres hoping that with the launch of our new motion reel that we ll be working in that realm a fair bit in 20112. can tell there are no other books out there that even come close to covering as much ground as this book does In fact there are few if any books that specifically talk about photo graphing adventure sports at all have basically downloaded every thing have learned about shoot ing adventure sports over the last 14 years as a full time pro into this book Some of the topics covered in the book include equipment outdoor gear adventure photogra phy fundamentals artificial lighting how approach and shoot each of the main adventure sports portrai ture and lifestyle photography as well as what it takes to be a pro The book also includes in depth in terviews with photographer Corey Rich and National Geographic Ad venture photo editor Sabine Meyer and a whole lot more As one of the worlds most re spected adventure photographers Clark offers sage advice gained from years of hard earned experi ence on equipment techniques and the specific skills required to get in on the action Learn to cap ture fast moving subjects and deal with harsh conditions and horrible weather even when youre hang ing from ropes and riggings in a squall Of special interest is the Portraiture and Lifestyle chapter which covers increasingly in demand techniques ORDER THE BOOK ONLINE AT amazon com BARNES lt cNOBLE parting shot A jet ski driver along with part of the TV crew have an exciting moment punching through
3. electronic system there are no clogged heads to worry about and hence no long cleaning ordeals to go through Preview Print Selected Range EJ Perform Proof in Preview RPR Maximize Dialog Box Page 11 winter 2011 Print Area Layout a A ICC Conversion Options Copies 1 1 99 Car d on printer In my experience this difference of print res olution seems to appear most often when I am printing an image that has super thin lines in it Aside from this I cannot tell the difference in a Canon or Epson print And if you print an image larger then this is not a fac tor Is this a big deal For most prints as I have said you would need a pretty high power magnifying glass to see any difference at all between an Epson HP and Canon print Just to be fair I wanted to point this out For those times when I need the extra resolution of the Epson I use my older Epson R1800 which is admittedly not their best printer but it can still create some pretty stellar results with a bit of work Epson states that their printers can obtain a print resolution of 1440 dpi whereas Canon states in it s literature that their printers get only to 1200 dpi which explains the dif ference in superfine details All in all though it rarely matters and I much prefer the color accuracy of the Canon printers A few other limitations of the 1PF5100 and all of the other larger version of this printer is that it i
4. caliber BMX rider We shot everything here in New Mexico The most scenic segment we shot was with yoga instructor Gretel Follingstad in White Sands National Monument where the landscape really dove tails nicely with her movement We chose to shoot in an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio 2 35 1 for this segment and for the entire reel precisely because we wanted to show the landscape like this see the shot on the next page and also because it helps to set the reel apart from those shot on HD video in the 16 9 format We have noth ing against that format we just went super wide for this reel Gre tels amazing ability and limber body really shows through in a few shots here The crew was audibly exhaling when she did a few ad vanced maneuvers And of course White Sands National Monument is a classic location that really helped accentuate the movement For Gretel s segment we decided not to do any extreme camera moves save for the opening shot of her walking out onto the dunes This was intentional We wanted to use faster and bigger camera moves for those seg ments where the athlete is moving fast The locked off shots and slider moves help relate the stillness of her movement and since the reel is named The Art of Mo tion we wanted to show that artistic movement not just with the athletes we were shooting but also in how we moved the camera This philosophy also allowed us to move a bit more quickly from shot to sho
5. for Photoshop Color Settings Print History Support out the Pros and cons of this printer On the pro side there is the incred ible color accuracy that this printer affords when used with good printer profiles like those made by Moab Paper as I ve already mentioned it is also a very fast printer it can print on just about any media type you Printer iPF5 100 A N Select ATI Premium Matte Paper B Advanced Settings X Media Type Input Resolution to Plug in High Accuracy 600ppi Accuracy 300ppi Input Bit to Plug in O High Gradation 8bit 2 Highest Gradation 16bit Print Mode Highest B Output Profile MOAB Entrada BW IPF5100 icc E _ Proof asuka v500_FVO AB v500_Fv 3 Matching Method Perceptual E would want to print on it has a roll paper and cut sheet option it has a pa per feed mechanism that creates a vacuum hold ing the paper perfectly flat during printing it produces incredibly ac curate monotone black and white prints and it has a very wide gamut ink set consisting of 12 inks to tal Another nice feature 1s that you don t have to switch any inks out when switching from matte to glossy pa pers the inks are ready to go for any type of paper and the printer switches between them instantly And lastly because it uses a thermal process to lay down the ink droplets instead of a piezo driven i e
6. it well And that was why I waited I knew I didn t have all the skills to pull it off at the level I was aiming at and I knew I needed to build a team of people who could help me execute my ideas in a way that fit with my brand And while the DSLRs can create some stunning video I was also looking for something to set myself and my brand apart from the rest of the pack With moving images there is a lot more than just how it looks that has to come together to tell a story and make it compelling High quality sound editing music excellent composition and camera movement all have to work together to help tell the story which is why I built a team of experts in each of their fields to work with on motion projects That is also why I have chosen the Red Digital Cinema cameras to work with since they can create a quality end product that has five to eight times more resolution than even the best high end HD video cameras One of the biggest struggles for me as a still photographer when I shoot motion 1s that I am not fully in control of every aspect of the shoot or the final product I simply do not have time to do everything and wouldn t want to even if I could On the actual shoot it takes a team of people to deal with all of the logistics One person to handle sound another to operate the camera another to pull focus another to act as a grip and set up for the next shot and another to act as the director making sure everything is happening
7. movies have 60 people running around on set dealing with all of the odds and ends that have to be dealt with Shoot ing something like this alone just doesnt happen And as a still photographer moving into motion productions it was a huge learning experience for me If you would like to read more about that experience check out the Perspective editorial on Page 26 in this newsletter PORTFOLIO re PORTFOLIO Page 24 winter 2011 PORTFOLIO Page 25 winter 2011 perspective From Stills to Motion sy michaei clark Making the transition from still photography to cinematography aka video or motion is much harder than just pushing a button on a DSLR As many of you know by now I have added motion work to my still photography so that I can offer a much more rounded and complete product to clients If you haven t seen my new reel check it out on my website I feel like I am late to the game in many ways Everybody and their dog seems to be doing video these days in addition to still photog raphy because it is now built into most digital SLR cameras The tech AS THE OLD ADAGE GOES THERE IS THE MOVIE YOU SET OUT TO CREATE AND THEN THERE IS THE ONE YOU END UP WITH nology has made it more accessible for the average still photographer to jump in and get their feet wet in the video world whereas before most folks just didn t have the expertise knowledge or equipment to do video at all or to do
8. photographers to spend less time in front of their computers and more time behind their cameras Sponsors Adobe X rite Blurb Data Robotics Nik Software onOne Software Cost 295 00 with early registration Register online at Lightroom workshops com In 2011 T ll be teaching this workshop in Seattle WA on March 5 6 2011 and in Salt Lake City UT on March 26 27 2011 Please check my website for more information about the workshop and other dates in late 2011 which will be forthcoming The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom workshops are taught as part of a larger series of workshops on Adobe Lightroom via Lightroomworkshops com Other in structors including Nevada Wier George Jardine and photoshop guru Jerry Courvoisier will be teaching the same workshop at other locations For a complete over view of locations and instructors visit the Lightroom workshops com website workshops Adventure Sports Photography Workshop ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN ROCKPORT ME AUGUST 21 27 2011 Adventure sports photography can be an adventure in itself in volving breathtaking locations extreme conditions and work ing with elite athletes in risky situations It requires a host of skills including technical excellence with the camera familiarity with the sport and the ability to keep your goals and safety in mind throughout Designed for intermediate to experienced photogra phers this workshop concentrates on creating unique a
9. serious quirks as does just about every large format printer on the market these days The 1PF5100 s on board printer menu which is displayed on an LCD panel is a nightmare You basi cally have to be an engineer to understand it and I am an ex physicist saying this and Canon only gives you a PDF copy of the User manual which is over 700 pages long Epson and HP printers by comparison are much easier to use understand and operate But in Canon s defense they do have the best printer driver I have ever seen for a printer and they even offer a printer plug in for Photoshop CS4 CS5 that is a breeze to use Before I get too far off track here let me just lay Page Setup review Now on the flip side let s talk about the cons Right off the bat Ill just say this up front Canon printers and all printers using the thermal process to deposit ink on pa per which includes all HP printers are not capable of creating prints as detailed as the Epson printers which use the piezo technology That might be a bit alarming so let me explain what I mean The thermal print heads use droplets that are a bit larger than the piezo heads are capable of creating The end result is that in images where there is superfine detail like a kite flying with strings attached to it or a rope in an image shot from far away will show up in the print from an Epson printer and it may or may not appear on the print from the Can imagePROGRAF Print Plug In
10. some printing duties especially when I need full bleed prints on odd paper sizes A few years ago while teaching a workshop with my good friend Andy Biggs he suggested I buy the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF5100_printer we had borrowed for the workshop I had some hesi tations since I didn t do that much printing but I got such a good deal on it I would have been a fool to pass it up And now that have used it for a number of years I am very glad that I bought it It has proven to be a phenomenal printer and it pro duces stunning highly accurate color and black and white prints up to 17 inches wide Living in the dry high alpine environment of Santa Fe New Mexico I have always had prob lems with Epson inks getting blocked up in the ink cartridges And since I don t print that often maybe five to ten times a year I spent a consid erable amount of time and money cleaning the printer head on the Epson before I could even make one decent print Add to that the fact that the Epson printers of that era were not calibrated at the factory and after a few years they tended to drift off into space when it comes to printer profiles and it took a lot to get a decent color accurate print out of my old Epson When I first printed my portfolio three years ago on the Epson I had to make on average three to five prints just to get a de cent print In between each print I would have to tweak the image slightly in Photoshop to get a new improved versi
11. 19 25 2011 Adventure sports photography can be an adventure in itself in volving breathtaking locations extreme conditions and work ing with elite athletes in risky situations It requires a host of skills including technical excellence with the camera familiarity with the sport and the ability to keep your goals and safety in mind throughout Designed for intermediate to professional working photographers this workshop concentrates on creat ing unique adventure sports and lifestyle images We focus on four outdoor sports rock climbing white water kayaking mountain biking and trail running Using elite athletes as our models and northern New Mexico s incredible landscape as our backdrop we ex plore innovative ways to capture the essence of each sport Topics covered during the week include research Page 6 winter 2011 SAN LA FE aphic ATE and preparation composition and camera angles equipment selection and use using natu ral light fill flash and battery powered strobes and autofocus techniques We also learn how to work with athletes who are putting themselves at risk and how to capture the intensity of the action Each day finds us in a new location working with expert athletes Classroom time includes editing and critiquing im ages and one on one meetings with Michael In addi tion Michael shares his insights and experiences in the adventure marketplace including career development portfolios
12. MICHREL CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY Z m 0 r m m A WINTER 2011 3 EDITORIAL An editorial on the new division of Michael Clark Photography 4 NEWS Michael s images used by Adobe and highlights of an assignment with Nikon 6 WORKSHOPS Detailed info on several work shops Ill be teaching in 2011 10 EQUIPMENT REVIEW A in depth review of the Canon iPF5100 large format printer 14 BEHIND THE SCENES A behind the scenes look at my new motion reel The Art of Mo tion shot entirely on the Red One 22 PoRTFoLio Recent images from Oahu Hawaii and Ouray Colorado contents INTER 2011 NEWSLETTER 26 PERSPECTIVE From Stills to Motion An editori al on the transition from shooting only stills to shooting both stills and motion 28 PARTING SHOT A jet ski punching through the top of a wave shot while covering the 2010 Billabong Pipeline Masters surfing competition on the north shore of Oahu Cover Dane Reynolds launching a huge air in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Pipeline Masters competition Above Michel Bourez doing a back flip on the north shore of Oahu Hawaii All images Copyright Michael Clark Photography Leaping into Motion OUR VERY FIRST MOTION PROJECT THE ART OF MOTION A 4 pr ne e 7 P Gr Ve A d i E e g Y JETE 2 L 3 j 4 v4 Es Y pa r Page 3 winter 2011 2010 proved to be one of the busiest years ever for us here at Michael Clark Pho
13. Without further ado here is our philosophy on motion and video productions Nelson changing the settings on the camera while Chuck holds it steady during the shoot the art of motion to fulfill your needs and we match the right tool to the job Currently we are using the Red One and the Red Epic cameras made by Red Digital Cinema to shoot the bulk of our motion projects There are very few pro duction companies in the outdoor adven ture market using such high resolution digital cameras to capture ad venture and the stories that go along with it The result is that the final output at any size even for the web looks sharper and has better color than normal HD cameras These cam eras also allow us to be more creative and do things no other camer as can do That means with CJ Maestas who is a world class gymnast and the national champion on the rings Our Philosophy on Video and Motion productions At Michael Clark Photography we pride ourselves on top notch quality in everything we do whether shoot ing stills or motion With the recent jump to producing high end motion footage we have kept that principal in mind and we have put together a team of expert cine matographers sound engineers lighting techs grips and production staff for our motion projects We have the ability to pull off complex camera movements profes sional grade lighting and sound expert editing and post production In addition to th
14. and how to shoot for stock editorial and commercial clients This workshop is slated for June 19 25 2011 and is hosted by the Santa Fe Workshops Call them at 505 983 1400 for more information or to register workshops Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 day Workshops START TO FINISH WORKFLOW FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS MICHAEL CLARK Lightroom is the essential software of choice for digi tal photographers This unique hands on application experience 1s an intensive two day workshop focused on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 3 in which partici pants learn to download organize manage develop and present digital photography using their own lap tops We begin with an introductory overview of Light room which starts with covering the database compo nents catalog files previews the metadata structure and the steps for setting up application preferences spe cific to your personal workflow requirements Topics include digital camera setup choosing appropriate file formats for image capture efficiently downloading im ages from the camera or a hard drive sorting rating editing global tone and color corrections critical lo cal corrections input and output sharpening presenting slideshows and printing photographic images using Lightroom from start to finish Under Michael s expert guidance participants come to see why Lightroom puts Page 7 winter 2011 Library deliberate focus on the word speed This program al lows
15. anywhere then look no further We look forward to speaking with you about your next project Of course have to give a lot of credit for this produc One of the last shots in the reel this shot of Matthew Gannon looking off into the sunset while adjusting his head phones winds down his segment Matthew wears headphones to help him concentrate and to keep any distractions that might happen while he is airborne to a minimum From what could tell it seems to work quite well for him the planning stages of any production we create a de tailed layout of every shot we ll be going after if possi ble and then once on set we can use our time efficiently and wisely to get the best possible footage What this means in the end is that you have a well constructed piece that you can be proud of and with which you can elevate your brand All of this isn t to say that we dont use other cameras in cluding HD video cameras and Digital SLR video cameras when the project and budget would be better served with those tools Depending on your budget and needs we can scale our pre production camera crew and Page 21 winter 2011 tion to the team that worked incredibly hard on this project with me including Charles aka Chuck Nelson Joey and Steph Without their help this would not ex ist It takes a whole team to create something like this It is a collaboration and cannot take full credit for the end result understand now why Hollywood
16. arent If it takes a little longer than normal to load please be patient It is worth the wait it off at the level was aiming at and knew needed to build a team of people who could help me execute my ideas in a way that fit with my brand And while the DSLRs can create some stunning video was looking for something to set my brand and myself apart from the rest of the pack have never been all that excited about HD video It never looked that sharp to me and was always underwhelmed with the quality After all 1080p In many ways feel like am late to the game in terms of doing video Everybody and their dog seems to be doing video these days in addition to still photography because it is now built into most digital SLR cameras The technology has made it more accessible for the av erage still photographer to jump in and get their feet wet in the video world whereas before most folks just didn t have the expertise knowledge or equipment to do video or full 35mm motion film productions at all and even fewer had the abilities to do it well That was why waited knew didn t have all the skills to pull full HD is only the equivalent to a 2 MP image in still photography language realize the correlation is not exact but that is the gist of it HD may have been a step up for TV but in relation to the rest of the photographic world and where technology is today it wasn t that big of a step and predict it will be o
17. as it should and that is the minimal crew for a decent sized production It takes a group effort to make it all hap pen Shooting motion is about collaboration and finding those people that can help execute your ideas and execute them well not only while shooting the project but also in postproduction As the old adage goes there is the movie you set out to create and the one you end up with The closer those two align the better and just like still photography it isn t always easy to create what you hold in your minds eye but at least as a still photographer I have years of experience with many of the key aspects of telling a visual story Page 26 winter 2011 IN STORES NOW gt 2495 ops T MASTI ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY CAPTURING THE WORLD Of OUTDOOR SPORTS Digital Masters Adventure Photography is part of a series of photography books written by highly acclaimed photographers who are leaders in their diverse specialties the Digital Masters se ries provides the expertise necessary for creating successful well executed images These unique books take you on the road in the studio and on the job with some of today s most talented image makers who provide insight into how they think work and shoot Novice and seasoned photographers alike will find inspiration for cul tivating creativity and essential information This book details the ins and outs of creating top notch adventure sports images As far as
18. day the Nikon COOLPIX P500 as seen above They had seen my surfing images from Hawaii and wanted me to shoot several adventure sports with this new point and shoot that has some very formidable features It has a 36x zoom lens which zooms from 22 5mm up to an as tounding 810mm But that is just the tip of the iceberg as they say it also shoots 12 1 MP images at up to 5 fps and it will even shoot up to 120 fps at a much reduced resolution If that isn t enough it has a pretty amazing Page 5 winter 2011 agite aia Wee cae A cee Fh i h u 7 Pis A pipi ik ES E a au re 4 a ee Pa a se i i e Les E mart A A me vale po EE E lt w i E a Li ji e inet d H An g an macro mode panorama mode as seen in the panorama image I shot above and it also shoots full HD 1080 video in a 16x9 format All in all the camera is an amaz ingly lightweight and powerful unit And working with Nikon is as always an enormous pleasure They basical ly turned me loose and told me to shoot those subjects that get me excited and that I normally shoot and to be sure to use as many camera features as possible in the process My thanks to Nikon and marketing crew there for this assignment I had a lot of fun shooting with the Nikon COOLPIX P500 If you d like to learn more about the mighty P500 visit the Nikon USA website workshops Adventure Photography Workshop ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN SANTA FE NEW MEXICO JUNE
19. dventure sports and lifestyle images We focus on outdoor sports like sea kayaking mountain biking and trail running Using athletes as our models and Maine s coastal landscape as our backdrop we explore innova tive ways to capture the essence of each sport Topics covered during the week include research and prepara tion composition and camera angles equipment selec Page 8 winter 2011 MAINE MEDIA WORKSHOPS tion and use using natural light fill flash and battery powered Strobes and autofocus tech niques We also learn how to work with athletes who are putting themselves at risk and how to capture the intensity of the action Each day finds us out in new locations and in the classroom editing and critiquing images and meeting one on one with Michael In addition Michael shares his insights and experiences in the adventure marketplace including career development portfolios and how to shoot for stock editorial and commercial clients This workshop is slated for the week of August 21 27 2011 and is hosted by the Maine Media Workshops Check their website for registration info or contact them via phone at 877 577 7700 Y gt n Oo L r ma Y a ro er J 21 E CK A a A A BR pg u AT A 4 FR i J AA u E IVIGEIEIVGE JIU workshops Sant a F e A PHOTO TREK IN SANTA F FE WITH INSTRUCTORS DAVE BLACK AND MICHAEL CLARK MENTOR SERIE Worldwide Photo Treks For stunni
20. e technical aspects of your project we are dedicated to the story and telling that story in a manner consistent with your branding We use the best digital capture cameras on the market Page 20 winter 2011 your brand will look better than the competition The Red One is a 4K camera which has five times the resolution of normal Full HD cameras It is currently used to shoot motion pictures and advertisements world wide The Red Epic is a 5K camera with eight times more resolution than normal Full HD cameras Beyond the resolution these cameras also have a dynamic range that puts them in a whole other category well beyond any normal or even pro caliber HD video camera This allows us to capture the entire set of tones in a scene even in challenging high contrast situations The Red Epic is the standard for the digital cinema movement These cam eras are heavy duty workhorse cameras and have been used to film a significant percentage of the feature films now being produced for Hollywood Of course all of this tech speak doesn t mean squat if the end product isn t well put together visually stunning and entertaining To that end we carefully plan out our shoots making sure the entire team can execute what they need to do at the right moment so the end result fits the production and so we can come in on budget In the art of motion post production to your needs If you are looking for the best quality currently available
21. er and it s quirks And of course last but not least you can find more informa tion on Canon s website Page 13 winter 2011 A COMPLETE WORKFLOW FROM CAPTURE TO OUTPUT BY MICHAEL CLARK ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER S WORKFLOW MICHAEL CLARK UPDATED FOR LIGHTROOM 3 3 AND PHOTOSHOP CS5 The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Work flow a 353 page e book is a workshop in book form Updated for Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5 this e book was com pletely re written and presents a workflow that can be adapted by any photographer professional or amateur can honestly say that have not seen any other book on the market today that includes as much de tailed and comprehensive information as this e book does on digital workflow To purchase Adobe Photoshop Lightroom A Professional Photographers Workflow click on the website link below Payments can be made with any major credit card or via your PayPal account For more informa tion on the workflow and exactly what is covered go to Michaels website me ART BEHIND THE SCENES MOTION 4 a After months of hard work have finally loaded a brand new motion reel onto my website If you haven t seen it yet please be sure to check it out on my website by clicking here Since the entire reel was shot on the Red One Digital Cinema Camera have uploaded it in a larger than normal size so that the quality and sharpness is app
22. lls The day we shot with Michael was very cold but since Mike is used to pain he went without leg warmers or a jacket By the end of our shoot he was so cold that he was visibly shak ing One of my favorite shots in the entire reel is of him blasting by the camera at over 50 mph You could hear Page 17 winter 2011 when he got to us we realized it was just the sound of his wheels slicing through the air That gives you a sense of the noise made by his aero wheels at that speed For the scenes where we are in front of Mike as he is rid ing we had the Red One on a 19 foot crane mounted in the back of a truck see image on the previous page It allowed us to have full range of motion and really get creative shots of Michael cranking along As a cyclist myself it was great to see Michael in action During pre production for the reel Chuck suggested an indoor option because we were shooting in December and if the weather crapped out on us this would give us some options It would also allow us to show that we can light subjects for motion to get a similar look to my still photography Hence we opted to shoot gym nastics and since have shot athletes on the rings before we tracked down CJ Maestas CJ is the current national champion gymnast on the rings and he just happens to N A IC the art of motion CJ do his routine and to see him hold these poses again and again It isnt often that you get to see this kind of s
23. lls to motion work Hence I won t get into it here but I will say that the jump into motion wasn t as difficult as it could have been because I have such a talented team around me For my motion work I have created a new divi sion of my company named Michael Clark Productions The team we have formed for editorial this new motion division spans the range of expert post production sound engineers grips and cinematographers We are looking forward to shooting several motion projects this year and we will certainly be sharing the details of those productions here in the newsletter and also on the blog Of course I am still shooting a lot of stills In December I spent another two weeks in Hawaii shooting surfing for Nikon with the COOLPIX P500 and for myself As you can see from the images in this newsletter Hawaii never seems to disappoint when it comes to surfing My first day in Hawaii ended up being the best day of the 2010 Billabong Pipeline Masters Competition and there were lots of folks getting huge air as you can see by the cover image of Dane Reynolds and the table of contents image of Michel Bourez After the contest and five days of solid rain I did get into the water and swam a bit to see how it would be shooting from the water I was quickly schooled in small waves and found that shooting from the water is very tricky Shooting from the beach is obviously easy Shooting from the water is like trying to shoot phot
24. might spend The key word in that last sentence is might The ship ping cost on these beasts is enormous so saving a few hundred bucks on the printer itself may not equate to much of a savings once you figure in the shipping costs from B amp H in New York PF6300 Stop Power i EA FF Navigate The new Canon iPF6300 also has a new and improved menu setup and LCD display layout which makes it a bit easier to use though having seen the new menu still think it has a long ways to go to make it user friendly This review of the Canon iPF5100 is probably more information than you ever wanted to know about a printer of this type and the differences between Can on HP and Epson printers Printing 1s an art in and of itself which is why there are still master digital printers out there willing to print for you My own ex perience printing my work is that it is painstaking and the best results still take a fair amount of work and color management knowledge no matter what print er you are working with As a side note this printer is also very good at making accurate guide prints I make these prints on Canon s proofing paper and send them along with the digital images on larger ad jobs If you want more information on the intricacies of the Canon iPF5100 you can read a review from Andy Biggs on his blog here and you can also find the Can on iPF Wiki here which has a ton of great info for folks struggling with this print
25. ng sun drenched vistas and glimpses into a rich cultural past look no farther than the photo ops offered by Santa Fe New Mexico This vibrant South western city blazes with dramatic landscapes unique architecture and lively citizens With Nikon profession al photographers Michael Clark and Dave Black at your side it won t take long for this desert locale to heat up your portfolio We ll begin by turning our lenses on Bandelier Na tional Monument a historical gem that showcases the ancestral cliff dwellings of the Pueblos As we make our way around the Main Loop Trail experiment with unusual perspectives after climbing one of the many small ladders or zoom in for detailed shots of the in tricate rock paintings and petroglyphs Arriving in Los Alamos later that day we ll stop to fill our frame with Black Mesa followed by White Rock Overlook at sunset both viewpoints showcasing the mighty Rio Grande snaking elegantly through the landscape At Tent Rocks National Monument you want to take advantage of an unusual and otherworldly scene mas sive cone shaped rock formations soaring high amid a mountainous backdrop Page 9 winter 2011 Nestled in the foothills of the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains Namb Pueblo is a destination re nowned for both its natural and cultural beauty Here we ll stop to capture a remarkable double drop water fall as well as a traditional troupe of performers known as Young Buffal
26. nly short while longer before we start seeing 4K TVs with much better resolu tion have always wanted to shoot moving images with the same amazing resolution that my still cameras have and that is where the Red One Digital Cinema Camera and it s amazing ability to capture 12 MP frames at up to 60 fps comes in This was and is the camera have been wanting to shoot motion work with Last fall while traveling found the perfect team to work with and we set out to make a demo reel to show cli ents our abilities The team consisted of a good friend of mine Chuck Fryberger whom have known and worked Nelson very carefully testing the 19 foot crane mounted and lashed down in the back of a pick up truck with the Red One hanging off the front of it with for over ten years He has honed his abilities as film maker to the point that we and the rest of his team can work together to create my vision The whole point of this reel was to show that our production value is quite high and that we have a mastery of the many different aspects of shooting a motion piece including camera movement lighting sound interviews and story telling think we pulled it off quite well And judging from the responses that clients have shown they seem to think so as well The reel focuses on four athletes a yoga instructor a professional cyclist a world class gymnast on the rings Page 16 winter 2011 the art of motion and a pro
27. o Dancers Heading back into Santa Fe we ll make it to the Cross of the Martyrs just in time for sunset Constructed to commemorate 21 Franciscan friars slain by the Spanish during a 1680 Pueblo revolt this place has a solemn ambience that will translate into truly breathtaking photographs Possibly the best way for your camera to get closely acquainted with Santa Fe is by taking a stroll through the streets just what we ll do on our guided walking tour With a focus on 16th century Pueblo and Spanish Colonial blended architecture we won t miss any of the city s must see spots among them the Mission of San Miguel the Palace of the Governors St Francis Cathe dral and the state capitol to name a few If you would like to register for the Santa Fe Photo Trek you can do so on their website where you can also download a complete itinerary and get more informa tion The cost for this workshop is 1 100 review The Canon iPF5100 Large Format Printer A LARGE FORMAT PRINTER THAT PUMPS OUT PHENOMENAL COLOR ACCURATE PRINTS In this digital age a large format printer might seem a bit esoteric but professional photogra phers do still print their images Over the years I have owned high end photo printers from Epson Hewlett Packard and most recently Canon My old HP and Epson printers still get some use The HP has been a die hard workhorse and is used for day to day business printing The old Epson R1800 still gets used for
28. odels and athletes that I shoot a lot less agonizing All I have to do is turn the thing on and hit print once I have the image sized up and sharpened Try that with an Epson I am a convert if you haven t noticed I d love to have a bit finer print resolution when it comes not Page 12 winter 2011 review to those super fine lines but I can live with this puppy the way it is Canon has released a newer version of this printers big brother which prints up to 24 inches named the 1PF6300 and interestingly enough in it s pro motional literature there is a note about the print reso lution Canon has updated its drivers for this printer to include two high precision printing modes one for photos and one for text and fine lines Together they deliver unsurpassed quality that could not be achieved with previously available models Hence if you are looking for finer print resolution but still want the color accuracy of the Canon printers and want the ability to print up to 24 inches wide then the iPF6300 might be a good choice If you are looking to buy a large format printer like this one or a larger one then I would highly recommend buying from a high end deal near you These printers are temperamental and having a dealer who can come out to your studio or office and help you get it set up equipment review or fix certain issues you are having is a huge bonus and worth the extra money you
29. on of the image Let s just say it was a pain to use Side note Since getting the Colormunki a in late 2009 and using it to make custom printer profiles the Epson is quite a bit better in this respect but it still takes some tweaking on each image to get stellar output and color accuracy Hence when I got the Canon iPF5100 I was blown Page 10 winter 2011 away when my first print out of it had dead on accurate color The Canon printers are calibrated at the factory to all be within 03 of each other in terms of color accuracy and this allows folks like Andy Biggs who makes the printer profiles for Moab Paper to make in credibly accurate printer profiles for Canon printers which work on any other Canon printer with great pre cision as I found out with that first print After years of struggling with the Epson I had found a printer that could spit out perfect prints on the first go without any fuss Of course to get these perfect colors I had already done a fair bit of color management work by calibrating and profiling my monitor If you are having trouble get ting color accurate prints I highly recommend getting my digital workflow e book available on my website which has an in depth chapter on color management with a lot of information that I have never seen in any other book While the color accuracy of the prints is astounding I can t say the printer itself 1s easy to use The Canon printers in general have some
30. os while free soloing a rock climb next to the climb er Itis going to take some time for me to get the skills needed but I am pretty excited to try again Here s hoping you enjoy this issue of the Newsletter publisher editor and photographer Michael Clark Michael Clark Photography 4000 La Carrera 924 Santa Fe New Mexico 87507 USA 505 310 4571 info michaelclarkphoto com www michaelclarkphoto com gt 3 news gt 5 gt gt E BAe A a A y O ey iY il 4 A Y ga 4 po EP i a N bD I A Ya a Y I a a l a lee A 7 vi A b gt E B ui Pe El FT it MA o m gt IE al v QJ PRIN Us y Na ex EV Res IN ey Y A vr Y EE SIN J Op com LATEST USE OF IMAGES ISA CONTINUATION OF A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH ADOBE Products m PHOTOSHOP COM ACCELERATED PERFORMANCE Save time from first look to final image with faster performance in Lightroom 3 Vil aha bnr Ever since I shot images for the original Adobe Pho toshop Lightroom software back in 2006 I have had a close working relationship with Adobe and it s prod ucts I have been a beta tester for Lightroom and Pho toshop for the last five years and continue to work with them to improve their products A few months ago Adobe contacted me to use some of my images on the Photoshop com website Those images are now live The Photoshop com website has a treasure trove of tips
31. s a behemoth It weighs at least 80 pounds or more and it takes a minimum of two people to move it I recommend that you buy the stand Canon makes for the printer as that makes it easier to roll it around and move it Aside from that as I have said the menu system on the printer could use some serious improvements the paper feeding system for the cassette and manual loading could also use some upgrading as they can be very finicky and last but certainly not least the inks cost a fortune at around 90 cartridge I can t re ally fault Canon for the ink costing a fortune though as it costs a lot with all of the high end ink jet printers on the market That is just the way it is One of the upsides to the Canon printers is that they are workhorses for large print houses Because they print faster than just about any other printer out there and use less ink than the Epsons these are economical printers for folks who print a lot At around 1 500 it is also a fairly good deal I would opt for the basic model since printer profiles for this machine tend to be very good hence the need for a RIP is debatable What else can be said about this printer I cannot over state how amazing it is to get perfect color from an ink jet printer The latest Epsons are capable of printing ex cellent color but I have not seen output from any other printer that matches the color accuracy of this Canon That makes updating my portfolio or making prints for the m
32. s of him doing the iron cross and the maltese where his body is parallel to the ground and youll see just how hard these moves are and how much will power it takes to keep himself in those strenuous positions Just a few weeks ago found out that C has moved up to the Olympic Training Cen ter in Colorado Springs Colorado If all goes well and he stays at his current level he will be headed to the 2012 Olympic games in London For the last segment of the reel we tapped local hot shot BMX rider Matthew Gannon and filmed him do ing his normal routine at the Santa Fe dirt jumps We hauled over 500 pounds of gear out to the location which was back breaking labor but it worked out well Matthew had some very funny quotes as well during his the art of motion each athlete and interlaced those with the action se quences The first shoot we actually did was with CJ Maestas and for that we set up a black background and liked the look so we kept that style for all of the inter views asking the same series of questions with each ath lete Their insight and seeing them perform while they Above Matthew Gannon in full flight doing a 360 at the dirt jumps just north of Santa Fe New Mexico Because it was a bit windy the day we shot with Matthew and the dirt jumps themselves werent in quite good enough shape Matthew wasn t able to do any back flips but he did crank out an impressive number of other tricks that made it into the reel
33. t and allowed us to hike in with only a few hundred pounds of gear in stead of five hundred pounds of gear Having to cart less gear out to the location saved us a lot of time because we had to hike about a mile out into the dunes to get away from all of the footprints and hikers Needless to say this was a tough day on the crew the art of motion his deep dish carbon fiber wheels from a half mile away and the sound of them slicing through the air as they come by the camera was like a gunshot if you crank the volume on the reel you ll hear it At first when we set up this shot we stopped the camera early because we thought a car was coming up the road behind him but Gretel Follingstad a yoga instructor in Santa Fe is seen here warming up in White Sands National Monument near Alamagordo New Mexico We shot this on a crystal clear blue day in semi cold temperatures Between takes Gretel was wearing a large down jacket to stay warm but she did manage to still pull of some very advanced yoga poses Next up was Michael McCalla a pro cyclist on the Scott USA team He lives and trains in Santa Fe and we chose a few of the roads he uses on his normal training rides to shoot with him Highway 45 just south of Santa Fe has sweeping vistas of the Sangre de Christo Jemez and San dia mountains that makes for a very nice setting As a cy clist myself it is also one of my favorite rides because of the scenery and the challenging steep hi
34. the top of a big wave while shooting the 2010 Billabong Pipeline Masters surfing competition on the north shore of Oahu Hawaii Nikon D300s ISO 400 Nikkor AF S 200 400mm f 4D VRII Sandisk Extreme IV 8 GB CF Card Page 28 winter 2011
35. tog raphy My book Adventure Photography Capturing the World of Outdoor Sports was published in early January 2010 and has sold very well and it continues to sell well I spent another year down in Patagonia cov ering the 2010 Wenger Patagonia Expedi tion Race last February which was covered in the Spring 2010 Newsletter After that be gan a series of assignments workshops and photo shoots that seems now like a non stop blur Last fall I was on the road almost ev ery weekend from September through late November and after that we shot my first motion project The Art of Motion with the Red One Digital Cinema Camera in Decem ber Shortly thereafter I set out to shoot on assignment for Nikon with their COOLPIX P500 point and shoot camera Needless to say it was quite a year I am exhausted just thinking about it and 2011 has followed suit without skipping a beat This year I opted not to go back to Pata gonia for the Wenger Patagonia Expedition Race because I already had other assign ments set up during the race Part of me is really feeling like I am missing out because I am not down there in the sideways rain snow and sleet knee deep in the action but I do have some exciting assignments this month and I get to go ice climbing a bit more than normal this winter as well This newsletter has a very detailed feature article on how we made The Art of Motion and another editorial in the Perspective col umn on the transition from sti
36. trength on display and that was a huge reason we want ed to include CJ in the reel Yet another of my favorite shots in the reel is the one Michael McCalla a pro cyclist for Scott USA pictured above is seen here cranking past the camera at over 50 mph For this shot one of my favorites in the reel we used a slider to move the camera ever so slowly as Michael flew past us The sound of his bike slicing through the air was like a gunshot when he went past us live and train in Albuquerque New Mexico at the Gold Cup Gym In fact Gold Cup Gymnastics has produced a dozen Olympians in the last decade For this segment wanted to light him on the rings in front of a white background and then turn that into a high contrast black and white segment similar to the high contrast black and white portraits that am known for We had about 20 000 Watts of lighting and a huge white background hung behind CJ Because of the set up at the gym we had the camera on a 19 foot crane pretty much the entire time so we could get it up level with CJ see image on page 20 Of all the segments for this reel this was by far the most amazing to shoot It was incredible to see Page 18 winter 2011 of CJ falling out of the iron cross and then bouncing up and down at the bottom of the frame as the rings clink together above him That was his last go at the end of the shoot and he was so exhausted he just fell out of the iron cross Watch closely on the shot
37. tutorials and interviews that can help make life easier for the Photoshop and Lightroom user I highly recommend checking it out The image above appears on the home page and the image at right appears on the Lightroom 3 page My thanks to Adobe for using my work yet again They are one of the most responsive companies I have ever worked with in terms of taking in feedback and tweaking their products to make our lives easier and the end product the best it can be And of course many of you know that I have written an e book that covers my entire digital workflow which centers around using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop If you want to check that out click here Page 4 winter 2011 Learning Online Tools CREATE ACCOUNT Signi PHOTO MICHAEL wy A PHOTOSHOF COM ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM 3 Simplify photography from shoot to finish Lightroom 3 NIN 100006 Provo Lone 3 sotare ee you Watch a Lightroom 3 Overview RECENT CLIENTS Nikon Adobe Systems Inc Red Bull Smartwool P xig com Lark Photogra phy Books Outdoor Photographer and Nikon World Magazine news On Assignment with the Nikon COOLPIX P500 SHOOTING ON ASSIGNMENT FOR NIKON WITH A SUPER ZOOM POINT AND SHOOT O u E ee a Ma i E 5 rs ae In early December I got an email from the folks at Nikon asking me if I was available to shoot with one of their new cameras which was just announced to
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