BLOG n BITS
Nicola & Nicks wedding in Royston 11th July. Note: When Ii arrived at the Banyers carpark, it was full, except for a reserved space for me. Thanks Nicola!! this is how all future Brides should treat there photographers.
A couple of shots taken at Charlotte and Ben's wedding at Anstey Hall Cambridge 4th July2009
Above shot processed with my Brandnew "Mrs G's amazing Coko grinding B/W formula"
Above image is the orginal unedited shot, Nikon D3 white balanced Tungsten, f5 @250s. ISO800
Woburn Gallery - Sarah & Steve's wedding
Woburn Gallery; iso 2000 f4.5@ 200th
Front cover of Cambridgeshire Agenda Magazine featuring one of my shots.
Although I am known as a wedding photographer,Ii also shoot commercial, fashion, portraits, press & PR. This section of the site will feature other aspects of my daily work load &, the techy side.
Mia & John wedding at Southfarm
Isabel & Stephen Wedding at Woburn Gallery
Below is a shot taken last week (may 2009) of Lianne Redman.
Kit used - Nikon D3, two bowens esprit 500, 1 beauty dish, 1 shoot, 1 reflector, processed using Fuji Velvia 100, Nikon 70mm, f2.8 @ f10 1/250seconds at 100iso
Last June I arranged a shoot with Lucy Brown at 'The Cambridge Muesum of Technology' Based in the original sewage pumping station for Cambridge, the Museum of Technology exists to preserve and exhibit material that is relevant to the Cambridge area. Just want to say a huge thank you to Mark Palmer the manager at the old pump house for kindly letting us in. Heres afew shots taken that day.
Processd from RAW Canon files, using my wonderful new CS4 action scripts. Chocolate mid tones, and cross processing color All with natural light, no flash allowed.
Kit used: Canon eos1 mk3 & Canon D30 bodies. 70-200 f2.8L - 16-35 f2.8L -24-70 f2.8L: shot wide open.
Another head shaking studio shot, model 'Hattie'.
This year (2009) see's a big change in my equptment. Last year i was shooting on either my Canon eos-1 mkIII or my back up camera a canon D30. All my optics where Canon L-series and very tastey. But... 2009 is here and im now proud to say i'm a Nikon shooter.
Why did i change from Canon to Nikon and sell £12,000 worth of Pro Canon gear?
Nikon D3 Focus Mode Switch.
External Controls
There are three controls, one on front and two on the back.
Focus Mode Switch (front)
The front Focus Mode Switch selects manual, or two kinds of autofocus.
M is manual focus, like the 1950s. S is "AF-Single," in which position the camera focuses and then locks. C is "AF-Continuous," meaning the camera constantly tracks focus as the subject moves in and out.
AF Sensor Selector (top rear)
On the back, the top AF Sensor Selector selects among the many AF sensors, if you want to.
AF Sensor Mode Switch (bottom rear)
Nikon D3 rear AF Sensor Mode Switch.
The lower rear switch is the AF Sensor Mode Switch. It sets how the D3 uses the many AF sensors.
There are three positions. From top to bottom, I call them the Big White Rectangle, the Crosshair, and the Tit.
The Big White Rectangle mode lets the camera chose the AF points itself. It works great! The icon means that the D3 may use any of the sensors anywhere in the frame.
The middle Crosshair position lets you choose the sensor, and then the camera moves it around to track action as selected by you in CSM a3 (MENU > CUSTOM SETTING MENU > a Autofocus > a3). The icon means that the D3 may move the sensor in any direction after you choose it. The D3 will move its choice in any direction, even though the simplified icon only shows four directions.
The bottom Tit position selects only one fixed sensor at a time. The icon shows one fixed sensor.
Nikon's Default
As shipped, move the front Focus Mode Selector to S, for AF-Single, point the camera at the subject, hold the shutter halfway, recompose, and shoot.
This is exactly the same way Nikon's N2020 worked — back in 1985.
The N2020 was marketed as "Dual Autofocus." That means it also had a continuous motion tracking mode. That's the C, as is Continuous, position of all Nikons today.
Move the switch to "C" to track moving subjects, however you're still stuck with the center sensor.
To get 23 years of improvements, you have to change the other settings.
AF-S always focuses and locks, and AF-C always keeps tracking the subject.
The AF Sensor Selector on the back has been the same since the F5 of 1996. Nikon calls this the "Multi Selector." Tapping the center gets you back to the center sensor. If you knock the "L - •" lever to "L," you'll lock yourself out of selecting the AF points, even though you can still navigate the menus.
My Favorite Settings
I set the front switch to AF-C and the back switch to the Big White Rectangle. Then I just shoot.
The D3 has so many AF sensors and have such intelligent logic that the "dummy" Big White Rectangle mode figures it out faster than I can. In this mode, the D3 magically and automatically identifies the correct AF sensor (or sensors) and uses them.
I no longer have to pretend it's the 1990s and choose sensors manually, or pretend that it's the 1980s (or 1950s) and re-compose after focusing.
The D3 does this with instantaneous speed and grace. Set this way, the D3 just focuses without me needing to do anything, and never clutters my finder with lit-up AF sensors. This is what sets the D3 apart from anything Nikon has ever made!
Here are the details. If I don't mention a setting, I leave it at default or it's not related to focus.
Front Focus Mode Switch: C, for AF-C, continuous tracking AF.
Custom Setting Menu a1 (AF-C Priority selection): I set "Release + Focus." Once set, I've never changed this again.
In the default of "Release priority," the camera just shoots, whether of not you're in focus. I never get any other than the first shot or two of a series in focus at this setting. It's a silly setting which makes the camera work fast in the store, but suck for moving subjects.
In "Focus priority," the camera waits until each and every shot is in perfect focus. This slows it down — a lot. This is the default for the AF-Single setting for still subjects, but a bad idea for moving subjects.
"Release + Focus" is an in-between setting, and it's perfect. I don't notice any slowing, but I do notice that almost all my shots are in focus, even in long sequences, and there is never any delay. I hit the shutter, and my D3 just shoots regardless of what's happening, like a missile's fire control system in battle short mode.
Set this way, the D3 just shoots. If you're way out-of-focus you'll get a fuzzy first shot, but you won't miss it and the D3 will be in focus for the next shot as fast as it can. You'll never have to wait for the camera, and you'll get almost every shot sharp.
Rear AF Sensor Mode Switch: I set it to the top setting, the Big White Rectangle mode. This means the D3 magically, and I mean magically, picks the right sensor or sensors. It's set to the Tit in the illustration at the top, and I call the middle setting the "Crosshair."
In the Big White Rectangle mode, the D3 uncannily selects the nearest eyeball of a subject, even way off center. It's incredibly good, and that's why I let the camera do all the work.
I can flick the AF Sensor Mode Switch without taking my eye from the finder, and I do whenever I need to.
If the magic Big White Rectangle mode isn't choosing the AF points I want, or if I want to force them someplace, I choose another setting of the AF Sensor Mode Switch.
The Tit mode at the bottom (as shown in the photo) forces the camera to just one sensor.
The middle "Crosshair" position lets me choose the sensor, and then in AF-C mode, the camera moves the sensor around to track the subject.
By setting the Custom Setting Menu a3 (Dynamic AF Area) to 51 Points (3D Tracking) in AF-C and the Crosshair mode, your manually-chosen AF point will magically move all around the frame tracking your subject! You'll see it move all around, and it really works. This only works in the Crosshair and AF-C mode; it doesn't move around in the Big White Rectangle, Tit or AF-S modes.
This tracking mode gives us another way to shoot if you don't want to select a single AF sensor near your subject. If you prefer, you can autofocus with the center sensor, and in this 51-point 3D tracking mode, keep your finger on the shutter and the AF area will move all by itself, tracking the subject as you recompose!
More Settings
The settings above let me just shoot. They work for sports and for still subjects. I just grab the camera and shoot. In AF-C and White Rectangle Modes, no AF sensors light up. You just shoot.
Stills
If I'm shooting still subjects, I might chose the AF-S (single focus and lock) mode on front. Now, in Big White Rectangle Mode, the selected sensors light up, and the focus locks as long as you hold the shutter halfway. If the camera's not magically selecting the sensors I want, I'll select them myself in the lowest "dot" (single-sensor) mode of the Rear AF Mode Selector.
You're in luck if many sensors light in AF-S and Big White Rectangle modes. This means the camera knows all these areas are in perfect focus.
Sports
For sports with a lot of people running around, use AF-C, the 3D menu option (CSM a3), and the Crosshair mode on the AF Sensor Mode Switch. Now tell the camera which player is yours, and it will track them all over the frame.
Summary
I set my D3 as described: AF-C (front switch) and Big White Rectangle (rear AF Sensor Mode Switch). Since the Big White Rectangle mode chooses the AF sensors for me, the AF Sensor Selector is ignored.
If the D3 needs help finding the AF sensor I need, without moving my eye, I flick the AF Sensor Mode Switch to the middle Crosshair setting, which lets me choose the AF sensor to start and the D3 then tracks the subject. By tracking the subject, the D3 is so smart that it tracks the subject if the subject moves, or if I change my framing.
Promotional image of Lucy taken for Sheen Mill.
Cambridge county council press & PR shots taken at the new Waste managment site near Waterbeach, Feb 2009
By taking a meter reading off of the whole scene and then opening up a third of a stop I was able to take a much more dramatic shot in the image below.
If you take a meter reading of the whole scene with a hard backlit shot, the camera will read all the light from the background and create a silhouette. This can be amazing, but by opening up the exposure by a third, you still get the feeling of the silhouette but with detail in the shadow areas. This creates a simply amazing image.
Don’t go for the normal overexposure technique that everyone uses. Go for the silhouette and open it up!