James Evan's book, "Crazy from the Heat" is my theme for today. I spent some "quality time" out walking with a new (to me) camera this afternoon. It's a Canon.

Wow. Just wow. 

I'm regressing to a time in 2013 when small, light and potent "point and shoot" cameras were still a thing. And I'm having an epiphany about just how good these little machines were/are. Let me back up and give you some context. Small, inconspicuous, non-interchangeable lens cameras have had a rich history in the world of photography for as long as I can remember. All us refugees from university art programs in the 1970's had a Rollei 35S somewhere in our gear bucket. Minox also made a super small but amazingly good fixed lens 35mm camera that actually could fit in one's pocket back in the 1980's.

Before the DSLR took off like a comet the vast majority of people who wanted to try their hands at photography started out not with a Canon Digital Rebel but with a smaller digital "point and shoot" camera. They were cheaper to buy and easier to use. And, over time, several camera makers upgraded and enhanced their compact cameras' capabilities to the point that they could rival (in good light) cameras twice as big and four times as expensive. 

Canon started producing their G series of cameras back in the very early 2000's. The first model was a G1 which I bought after having used a smattering of Nikon's own Coolpix cameras. The G1 was a 4 megapixel camera (very cool at the time) and it featured a fast zoom lens, good color and nice files. I made images for the first Sweetish Hill Bakery website with that camera!

Canon proceeded to work their way through model numbers making the cameras smaller and more capable. They were the "go-to" option for most photographers who might have spent a fortune on the DSLRs of the day and then needed a less expensive "back up" camera just in case all else failed. 

About 12 years ago Canon tossed a G series camera on the market that really caught everyone's attention. It was the G10 and it was a 14.x megapixel camera with ISO 80 image quality that rivaled just about any comparable resolution camera on the market. The founder of the Luminous Landscape website, an avowed medium format digital camera user, once shot the same landscape shot both with the tiny and (relatively) inexpensive G10 and a big, Hasselblad camera with a digital back. He printed both files nice and large and challenged printers and advanced photographers to guess which print came from which camera. The tally of opinions was more or less a tie. Validation that skill and good light can reduce the expected results of superior technology to a near draw.

I bought a brand new G10 around the time I was working on my third book (Lighting Equipment) for Amherst Media. I was so enamored by the G10 that I used it, on a tripod and at its lowest ISO (80) to do all the equipment still life photographs in the book. I didn't tell anyone at the time and once the images were printed in CMYK they worked well in concert with the demonstration images done with a range of much more expensive and (supposedly) more capable DSLRs. 

I was hooked. For a while. I still have a G10 and take it out from time to time to see what it can do. I am generally still impressed. That camera has the limitation of not being a great high ISO performer and once you go past ISO 200 you start confronting noise.

Last year I bought a slightly used G15 camera. It's 1:1.7 sized sensor has less resolution than the G10 but it's a CMOS sensor and handles low light better. It's 12 megapixels. One of the improvements over the G10 was the return by Canon to the faster lenses that they had outfitted G cameras with prior to the slower G10 lens. The G15 is compact and easy to use but it still delivers great images. I handed it to Belinda to use in Montreal and I've never gotten it back. It has her stamp of approval. And as an art director who has worked with images from a wide range of great advertising photographers that's a tough approval to earn. 

I tried buying another G15 recently but got burned by Amazon.com. A "good" condition G15 arrived with sticky tape residue on the body and a few small scratches on the lens. It's workable but I hate starting behind the eight ball with a camera. I'll always be leery of the effect the scratches may have on my images. That camera lives in a drawer somewhere and when someone needs to borrow a "beater"camera I'll lend them that one in the hopes that they lose it or never return it.....

So, yesterday I was delivering some groceries and treats to my son, Ben, who is quarantining from the pandemic at his house with his roommates and I figured that I was already halfway to Precision Camera and perhaps I should just drop by and see if they had any interesting new arrivals in the used cabinets. I'm always on the look out for interesting photographic artifacts. 

There in the case were two identical G16s. The G16 is the final expression of the long running G cameras from Canon and is basically an ultra-tweaked version of the G15. Still 12 megapixels and still the same 28-140mm f1.8 to 2.8 lens but a new processor and some new features. And....tweakiness.

Unlike the G15 that Amazon sent along these two G16 bodies were lovingly cared for and looked, for the most part, like we'd just pulled them out of a factory sealed box. I bought one on the spot. On the way home I second guessed (started to regret?) my spur of the moment purchase and decided to go out today and really test out the camera to see if I was just buying nostalgia or a real, useful and unique camera. 

I headed out around 2 p.m. today, just as the temperature crested the 100 degree mark. With the humidity factored in it felt like 106. But I was dressed for the adventure and, of course, had my goofy but protective wide brimmed hat. 

While the G16 isn't going to win any contests for super-wide dynamic range it's impressively sharp, the auto white balance is right on the money about 95% of the time and it's a delight to carry around on a hot, oppressive day. 

Instead of my usually walk through downtown I decided to do a loop around and through the University of Texas and the environs. I did seven years there as a student and three as a specialist lecturer in the College of Fine Arts. I go back once or twice a year to lecture to classes for friends who teach in photojournalism but every time I go there's a new building, a new pedestrian boulevard, or a new high rise tower. Today was no different. 

So, I've attached some of the photos I made from my hour and a half in the heat to show off the capabilities of the little G16. I am very happy with my copy. So much so that I called my brilliant sales associate at the store and asked him to hold the second one till I get back out there. Everyone's got to have a hobby; I guess my newest hobby is cornering the market on older "point and shoot" technology. Captions where motivated.

At the fried Chicken place on Guadalupe. 

The G16 image stabilization is wonderful. Works well in video too.

You can't buy happiness but you can buy pristine Canon G series cameras...

That's kinda the same thing!

Working hard to keep the detail in the white electrical conduit...

Medici on the drag is closed until further notice. 

The paucity of good coffee to go is becoming near critical...

I have no idea what eyebrow threading is or why UT students might need it...

the G12 has a built in ND filter. It works well. I wish all P/S cameras had one. 

Mural in open shade. On the Drag.

I found a spot next to one of the engineering buildings where the cold air from the air conditioning system flowed outside. Funny to be walking around in a hundred degrees of heat and find a "bubble" of 68 degree air. A nice place to stop and make some camera menu changes.

go ahead. blow it up. It's amazingly sharp.

I know a lot about art, I just don't know what I like...

Walking by this enormous pit just north of the state capitol. 

They're building a series of gigantic buildings just across from the 

Texas History Museum. Huge, huge project. Many cranes...

And then back to the patient Subaru Forester. The latest VSL staff car. 

I've had it for a year and five months and I have about 12,000 miles racked up. 

Not a big year for driving long distances...

Maybe next year. 

I had a big iced tea in a thermos bottle in the car. How refreshing!

That's it. The newest studio arrival under $300. 

If the specs and the reality match the hype and initial reviews then....It's Canon for the win.

Photograph NOT taken with a Canon R6.

I watched with great interest as Canon rolled out their first two "real" "authentic" "desirable" mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras this week. And I have to say, right off the bat, that I am very impressed. Canon basically followed the time tested Apple strategy of letting all the other players in the market experiment and roll out iterations of haphazardly engineered cameras to see what kinds of tech resonated with customers and what stuff was irrelevant. Now they are marching into the market fully equipped to lay waste to Nikon and to scare the crap out of the Sony camera division.

Yesterday Canon announced the details of two new mirrorless cameras; the R6 and the R5. These are the new face of Canon's mirror-free offerings for advanced amateurs and professionals, and the list of features, and the plethora of technical advances, will make these two cameras lightning rods for people who are looking to upgrade from Canon (and Nikon, etc.) DSLRs and into the mirrorless space.

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see this level of product introduction coming. But I am impressed. Were I to come to the camera market bereft of inventory but amply funded I think I'd be pre-ordering every RF lens (the good ones) in sight as well as pre-ordering one of each camera body.

Lots of people seem interested in the R5 which is the more advanced and exotically featured of the two cameras. It boasts a newly designed and Canon produced 45 megapixel sensor, an amazing laundry list of industry leading video capabilities (including 8K raw video), has best in class in body image stabilization and focuses with the intensity of an alien tractor beam from a Star Trek episode. Get this:
Animal eye focus that can focus on a bird's eye......while in flight. The R5 is the camera that might appeal most to video production companies that want the highest level of video capability they can get their hands on without cresting the $5,000 price barrier. And it will be the Canon camera of choice for studio photographers and landscape enthusiasts but I conjecture that it's the R6 that will lead the way for Canon and become as popular as the Canon 5Dx series was for Canon in the traditional DSLR segment. And here's why:

It's got nearly everything 95% of photographers want and need and it's nearly half the price of its catalog mate.

So, let's concentrate on the R6 for a bit as that's the camera I'd be in the market for if I was looking to upgrade or change systems in the next few months.

The R6 uses the same 20 megapixel, full frame sensor as their super/flagship/Sports/heavyweight 1DXmk3 camera. It's a well regarded sensor that's got great high ISO performance, fast readout and good dynamic range. The camera is one of three full frame cameras right now that can provide 60p full frame 4K video, and can do so at 10 bits. Canon has also stepped up and offered the HEIF format as an option in addition to Jpeg. The HEIF files can be compressed to be smaller than 8 bit Jpegs but are capable of 10 bit color capture. This should deliver much richer and more refined color capability for former Jpeg shooters and is on track to be the new non-RAW file standard going forward.

One of the things that will get a lot of press in the next few months as film makers and photographers work with the R6 will be the in body image stabilization provided by the new Canon cameras. When coupled with certain Canon lenses that are also stabilized the system is supposed to provide up to 8.5 stops of stabilization. If it works as intended then, to my mind, Canon will have rendered most of the market for gimbals and stabilizers redundant and obsolete. Why spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for heavy add-on gadgets if the camera and lens already in your bag can offer identical or better performance?

8.5 stops of stabilization will be game changing for film makers. For photographers it's probably the difference between having to carry a tripod around for certain kinds of shots and just leaving the three legged anchors at home.

While they took their sweet time getting to this point Canon seems to have stacked the deck just right. They have color reproduction that most people find pleasing and which Canon fans find irreplaceable.
They have effectively gone toe-to-toe with Panasonic for video supremacy (Sorry Sony, great specs but crappy actual files) while trumping the D-F-D AF with dual pixel AF that locks in like velcro. They've just replaced the older EOS lens mount with a much bigger and more all embracing lens mount and have effectively built the camera everyone's been waiting for --- even down to the swiveling rear screen for the legion of V-loggers who've been howling for that feature with each new camera introduction.

I've looked over the camera specs and read many of the better "hands on, first impression reviews" (Gordon at Cameralabs seems to do the best job on this release) and the only glitch I can find, the only thing I'd change, is the HDMI connector. It's a micro-HDMI. Should be at least a mini. But since the camera writes really great 4K video files to internal SD cards (yes, there are two UHS-2 slots) perhaps the rationalization was that few people would need to splash out for external digital recorders so why bother?

The logical entry into this system is not the R5 but is the R6. I'd bundle the camera body with the higher quality RF 24-105mm f4.0 lens and in one stroke have both a highly functional photography machine and very capable 4K video camera. All for an outlay of around $3500. Spend another couple hundred $$$ on a stash of new Canon batteries and you'd be ready to handle so many different kinds of work. There's an allure here that's going to be especially powerful to people who are currently using Canon's older APS-C and traditional DSLR users.

Canon has pulled out a big spotlight to show the path forward for both Nikon and Sony. Nikon needs to get their dual card slot stuff in gear, jazz up their AF, size their bodies correctly and ramp up their video offerings by installing faster processing. Sony....well....they've got a lot of work ahead of them just in haptics and handling. Then they can work on getting 10 bit 4:2:2, 4K video files in their cameras. Even if they could just offer it in one.... And then work on the weather sealing. Oh, and the ruggedness and reliability of their offerings. And while we're at it maybe they could field just one camera that doesn't overheat when used in 4K in Texas between April and October.

So, in an honest appraisal, if I compare Canon and Panasonic's S1 series side by side would I still opt for the Panasonics? While the S1s might be more rugged, and their expensive lenses a bit better, if I were standing in front of the counter at the camera store having just lost all of my gear in a tragic, flaming meteor strike, I'd probably come down on the side of the Canons. With their overwhelming market share of serious cameras I would know that they'll more quickly roll out more lenses that cover more needs more often. I'd know that the cameras and accessories would be more widely available. There would be no difference in overall cost of ownership. And, who doesn't want 8.5 stops of image stabilization? Handheld camera for short movies, here we come.

Am I rushing to pre-order? Not this year. I've at least got the S1s figured out for the time being. All the lenses I have for the system are great. The results are fantastic. But I have to admit, Canon just impressed the hell out of me for the first time in a while. I'm paying attention and I'm betting photographers AND film makers all over the world are watching closely.

The one thing I remember from owning a Canon 5Dmk2, a 7D and a couple of different 1D variants is just how perfect they felt in my hands. That's the part that some of their competitors miss. And it's almost as important as the imaging capabilities.

But in a year with NO business spending money on a gigantic system overhaul makes about as much sense as lighting $100 bills on fire to get your BBQ charcoal lit. As to the R5? I'll start to think about that around the first time a client even mentions 8K video.....  And I think that will be a while...

Just thought we'd talk new cameras this morning. Now I'm out making sure all the trees get deep watered today; we're supposed to have a week long heat wave. Water+Trees = Good.

My final advice: Keep your eyes on the R6. Read the reviews. When that big multi-media assignment hits your calendar pounce like a house cat on a dropped piece of tuna. And get to work.

Added after consultation with a video savant: Seems there are a number of reports already of the R5 overheating while filming in 4K and beyond. Seems that Panasonic still holds the pole position for video without overheating. Too bad. I had high hopes for the Canons...  KT

Staying motivated during long periods of relative isolation. Trying to make a routine walk different.

An observation deck under the Congress Ave. Bridge. Austin, Texas.

I seem to be settling into a rhythm these days. It's Tuesday so I know I have a swim scheduled with my masters team at 6 a.m. I've stopped taking a camera to the pool with me. It seems intrusive. And I've photographed our pool in so many different ways that it's starting to feel redundant. If something spectacular happens, well....I still have my iPhone. 

Today I shared a lane with Margaret. We were diligent and pretty much stayed on task. The weather is heating up here so we decided to leave the cooling aerators on during practice. That meant swimming through a shower of big, splashy drops at one end of the pool. And as the sun came up the rosy, warm morning light played through the arcing water making a light show for the swimmers. 

Yesterday I spent too much time sitting around the office, doing things like making web galleries for several doctors, and paying that overdue business insurance bill. I didn't want to get stuck in my desk chair today so after breakfast I decided to do one of my walks with a camera. I mean, really... we've got all this time to go out and play and most of us are spending it sitting in front of our computers pretending to be working but really just cruising through our favorite websites, reading too much news, and window shopping for cameras when we're mostly not using the ones we already have. I wanted to throw off my pretension that I was making any sort of meaningful progress while sitting in front of a monitor soaking up the blue light. 

I set myself to a task today of coming back with photographs I hadn't seen or taken before. I wanted to look at my small part of the world a little differently. I took the world's best camera and lens combination with me. It's the Sigma fp with the 45mm f2.8 Sigma lens. I don't want to get all up in some escalating Mac versus PC style argument so just take my word for it. The Sigma fp is strangely better than all the Sonys, Canons and Nikons combined. (Not being serious; don't bother posting rebuttals...). 

It occurs to me that most photographers want to be out photographing but it seems harder and harder to get motivated for some of us. I stepped back and looked at my own reticence and decided that it's the same as the pool having been closed for a couple of months. You lose your edge if you don't do your craft consistently enough. If there's no financial incentive, and you've been restricted from taking the kinds of photos you want to, the push to get out the door with a camera in your hands gets harder and harder every day. Or it seems that way.

When I return to the pool after prolonged time off I feel kludgy and slow, tired and sore. It's easy to decide to take the next day off. And it gets easier to back away more as the days go by. But I've learned to depend on a bit of discipline to get back into shape and stay there. I make a schedule and promise myself to keep it. If I feel like crap when I get up in the early morning I tell myself I'll just drive over to the pool, grab an empty lane and just screw around. Once I get there and put in a few hundred yards I get renewed energy and my stroke starts to feel better. I toss aside my original lazy intention and join the workout in earnest. 

Each successful day builds a base for future success. The harder I swim the better I get. 

Today was a good day to be out walking early. We're having our first heat wave here and the later we get into the days the hotter and more humid it becomes. In mid-morning the walk started at 83° f and by the time I made it back to the starting bridge it was 88°.  The camera felt small and light on a strap over my shoulder. 

I've spent a lot of recent walks photographing buildings and parts of buildings; and when there is great sky to photograph I catch a lot of that. Today started out with soft clouds and pushed me to concentrate on more subject matter at ground level. More shots that didn't depend on a beautiful, rich sky for their essential attraction. I also have become more interested in using the 45mm wide open or near wide open when I can. It gives such nice background rendering (see above). 

One of the secrets of enjoyable walks is wearing good shoes. I have three pairs of walking shoes that I really like. Two of them are Keens and the third ( just above) is a pair of Merrills. They have Vibram soles and while the Keens are a bit stiffer and more shock absorbent the Merrills are close behind 

and quite a bit lighter. Now reminding myself in the moment to 

get some leather treatment on these pups...

This is the perennial starting point view for many walks into downtown. 

There are a series of North/South bridges that connect south Austin to downtown.

Nearly all of them have pedestrian walkways while one is strictly a pedestrian bridge.

That's the Pfluger Bridge and it's the one I'm standing on to take this photo.

It's close to my starting point which is also my ending point. 

I've walked over the top of this art work for years and never took time to stop and really look at it. There are a series of metal and colored glass constructions embedded in the sidewalk on 2nd St. 

They've seen some wear and tear but I find them attractive and naively charming.

I'd been looking for one of these yucca plants to photograph but most I've found are bruised or have dead spots on them. Wouldn't you know I'd find one in almost perfect shape over by the Four Seasons Hotel? Figures. 

I walked through here about 10 days ago and this shaded seating area wasn't here. 

It was built and donated by The Trail Foundation which is a private group

dedicated to improving and maintaining the wonderful hike and bike trails running 

around our downtown lake --- which is also part of the Colorado River.

It's a beautiful little spot on the North shore of the lake, just east of the Congress Ave. Bridge.

They must have just finished the project because there's not a spot of graffiti on any part of it. 

 The lighting was so nice on this spot today. I hope the compression in Blogger doesn't 

render it ugly and smashed up.

The way the Sigma fp and the 45mm lens render foliage is so natural. 

I feel like I'm standing there, sweating and admiring the trees and their leaves...

This is the opposite view from the Pedestrian Bridge. The bridge in the photo is the Lamar Bridge. 

It used to be one of the main bridges that runners used to go North/South when running various loops around the lake. But the sidewalks on the bridge were designed at a time when traffic was much slower and much sparser. They are extremely narrow. Too narrow. The city began production on the Pfluger (Pedestrian) Bridge after several runners were struck by cars and killed. 
It's still a handsome structure, but in a very 1950's way.

When I left my car this morning and started the walk I was already tired from getting up early and swimming hard for a couple miles. The first fifteen minutes of this adventure felt slow and groggy. There was an annoying allergy drip down my throat. My energy was at a low ebb. I thought, what the hell, I'll just make a short loop and head back home. 

The further I got into the walk the better I started to feel. By the time I got to the farthest side of the route I was feeling great. I was in sync with the camera and lens combination and seeing things in a fresher way that I have in a while. By the end I was happy. Really happy. 

Walks are unpredictable. Sometimes the cadence of walking takes over and I'm reticent to stop and take photographs. A week or so ago I took a camera, walked for an hour and a half and took two photos. When I reviewed them I erased them and decided that sometimes a walk is just a walk. Today I felt like this was a balanced walk with a camera. There were things that piqued my interest and there were stretches where it just felt great to glide by and stay with the rhythm of my breathing. And then there are the walks where everything seems interesting and photogenic and I come home with hundreds of photographs and the realization that I barely covered a mile or so. 

Another funny aspect of walks is that when I walk in the neighborhood with Belinda, or out in Dripping Springs with Emmett, I never bother to bring along a camera. With Belinda there are too many interesting things to talk about and our mission is exercise. With Emmett there are too many hills, the pace is quite brisk and the camera would just slow me down. 

I would say that I appreciate the solo walks but they are never really "solo" if I have a camera with me. 

I walked with a camera today. It felt good. It felt like a happy process. The secret is to walk again tomorrow. And the next day. Then it becomes a good habit. Besides, I've got the time right now.

Medical notes: I bought a blood oxygen tester a few weeks ago. I thought I'd check my VO2 every once in a while to make sure I was healthy. Low oxygen levels can be a sign that you might have developed a respiratory disease (Like COVID-19) while other symptoms might not have emerged yet. 

I've had fun testing myself. My blood oxygen generally run between 96-98. I had no idea that there would be as much variation. I thought homeostasis would iron out the ups and downs. 

But the interesting thing is that this device is giving a constant readout of my pulse rate. If I take the device to the pool and clip it onto my finger after I get out from a hard workout my pulse rate can be as high as 135 or 140 (it drops pretty quickly right after the last set). By the time I'm sitting in my car getting ready to go home it's dropped into the 70's and, sitting at the dining room table, by the time I've finished eating my combination of yogurt, muesli and blueberries, my heart rate settles down to the mid to upper 50s.

If I sit in a chair for an hour reading and relaxing I can watch the BPM dip all the way down to the low 50's. 

I didn't realize just how much a person's heart rate would vary depending on their activity. It's been fun. 

If I try to make my heart rate slower the effort of trying to control it speeds it up. Same with the O2 readings. I guess the mantra for today is: relax. 

And create or recreate a habit of photographing. 

A new equipment modification that makes the Sigma fp a more comfortable walk around camera for me. Thank you, Bob Autrey!

The Movo VF-40 Pro Universal 3X Loupe for mirrorless cameras. 

The Sigma fp camera, especially when used with the Sigma 45mm f2.8 DG DN lens is a wonderful camera for photographers who enjoy wondering around snapping images of cool stuff. Especially cool stuff that doesn't move around a lot. But it has one flaw for people like me. Those would be people who like to use a camera with an EVF or an OVF. It has NO-VF. 

You have to do all your focusing and composing on the camera's rear LCD screen. But it's churlish to complain about that now since I knew about this limitation before I bought the camera. I figured I would purchase the Sigma Loupe and everything would be dandy. 

But then the (built from unobtainium) loupe went on eternal back order and after I used the naked LCD screen in the Texas sun I thought it would be smart to find something to use to elevate the view from the back, in the interim. Since I had already ordered the Sigma version (and it's pricy at nearly $300 USD) I didn't want to spend a lot of cash on a short term alternative. I looked though Amazon and found a loupe by a company called Movo. The loupe is all plastic, with plastic optics, but it mounted pretty well to the camera and it only cost about $50. The single magnifying lens is plastic but it serves its purpose... medium well. 

It was a workable solution. The Movo had one feature that I wish had been duplicated on the vastly more expensive Sigma version; there is a hinge between the eyepiece and the body of the loupe which allows the operator to flip up the magnifier and use the body of the loupe as a hood for the finder. This way you can look at the full frame on the back of the camera but without needing the magnifier in the viewing path. In this configuration the body of the loupe works well to largely reduce reflections from glancing light rays. It make the screen readable to me even in bright sunlight. But you still have the big magnifier hinged up over the top and it's cumbersome. Inelegant. 

The Sigma VF-XX loupe finally showed up and I put it on my camera. It increased the overall size of the camera package by 2X. It's a great loupe, optically, but it's really big. And if you want to see the naked screen, without magnification, you have to disentangle the entire thing from the camera. After a few weeks I stopped using the VF-XX and put it in a drawer. I figure I'll use it on more controlled studio type shoots but never as part of a walk around system. 

And this renewed a desire to just have a hood. No big magnifier, just something to shield the rear screen enough to make it highly usable in sunlight. I kept looking at the Movo.... 

Then I got an e-mail from a reader by the name of Bob Autrey. We talked about loupes and he told me he'd modified the same model Movo loupe to make it serve the very purpose I was pining for. I asked how and he gave me instructions. A little while later I took a hack saw to the Movo and finally ended up with the product I didn't know I wanted all along. A nicely compact hood for the rear screen that doesn't interfere with the camera's buttons and provides all the light shielding I could ask for while keeping the overall camera package small and light. 

I am appreciative to Mr. Autrey for providing the necessary push and the guidance. Now the Sigma fp is one step closer to perfection. It's a great package to carry around and, since firmware 2.0, I'm trusting the camera's autofocus with the 45mm to the point where I'm not using the rear screen to check on that. 

It's strictly an exposure and composition device. And that works. So, $50 for a perfect camera hood that fits just right over the screen but above the necessary camera buttons. Seems like a bargain to me. 

Now looking for other stuff to saw.... There is a danger I could get carried away with hack saw power. Is that bezel around my iMac Pro a bit wide?  I might be able to fix that.....

 Sigma fp now good to go.

Final accessory for full control of reflections?

A black, cotton baseball cap with a nice, dark brim. Perfect.

Here's how I'm doing my portraits this morning. OT: It's just a post about gear. No other subjects covered.

An actor at Zach Theatre. 

Oh boy! It's Monday morning and I get to do two studio portraits. I've got the studio scrubbed and the hand sanitizer assembled next to the extra face masks and the disinfectant wipes. But, more important to my task this morning, I've got the lighting I want set up and I've selected the perfect camera and lens. So, without further messing around let's talk shop.

When it comes to work the genre I feel most comfortable with is studio portraiture. You can do it rain or shine, and if you pay attention you can have complete control over the lighting. But there's also a part of the process which is about hospitality. You are inviting someone into your space and you are hosting them there. It's your job to make the person you are working with feel at home, comfortable, and like the important part of the equation that they are. Only when you get them at ease in the space and comfortable on the posing stool are you ready to engage with the gear. And that part should be almost invisible.

Today we'll be working with one of my favorite camera and lens combinations for corporate portraits; the high resolution, Lumix S1R camera and the Lumix 70-200mm f4.0 S Pro lens. This lens is sharp and visually pleasant throughout its focal length range. In a controlled setting, like the one we've set up for our ongoing client's radiology practice, I have each physician sit on an adjustable posing stool and I set up the camera on a tripod to be at eye level. Lately, when I check the exif information I see that my typical focal length for most sittings is about 135mm. It's a good compromise between establishing a safe working distance and getting a head size that fits with all the previous portraits I've done for the same practice. 

We're working with modestly powerful LED lights lately. I'm using them at medium power settings. I know most photographers' impulses are to buy the biggest, most powerful lights they can get their hands on, and that makes sense if you are lighting big spaces, but for portrait subjects there's only a certain intensity you can go to before the people in front of the lights get uncomfortable and start to squint. My lights for today's sessions are three Godox SL60 W's. They are daylight balanced LEDs and the way I use them and modify their output means that I'm working with ISO 1000 @ f5.6 on the camera. I used the shutter speed to hit correct exposures. If I'm set up right I can hold a shutter speed of 1/50th - 1/60th of a second and, with good instructions to the sitter, we can get most of our images without subject motion. 

Yes, bigger lights would get me higher shutter speeds but there is a point (a bit different for each person) at which the increased light intensity is going to be counterproductive/uncomfortable for the subject. I don't worry too much about lower shutter speeds because I'm using the camera on a tripod.

 It is funny to remember that when I opened my first little studio I was doing portraits with an old Calumet 4x5 inch view camera and sometimes did available light sittings with shutter speeds as low as 1/4 or 1/8th of a second. Some photographs turned out quite well. Some looked like "art." With slower shutter speeds timing and watching the subject carefully become more important. But the added challenge makes the process more fun.

I'm shooting 14 bit, 47.5 megapixel raw files so I have a fair amount of latitude when it comes to color correction and dynamic range. Even so I do a custom white balance for each set up. Especially in my studio where the overall lighting environment is supplemented by exterior daylight. As far as exposure goes it seems best, with modern cameras, to aim for a slight underexposure which allows one to maintain detail in highlights while raising shadow values in post for a better look. 

The main light is a Godox SL60W in a small, 30 by 30 inch soft box coming from the subject's top right hand side. I've feathered the soft box so that a good amount of spill light hits the silver reflector on the subject's shadow side and provides a nice fill. 

There is a light aimed at the white, seamless background paper and I'm using that one without a modifier as a wash. I have added a set of barn doors just to keep extra light from spilling everywhere. The light on the background is about 2/3rds of a stop brighter than the main light. 

The final light is yet another Godox SL60W used at lower power in a small 16 by 20 Chimera light box that I've had hanging out in the studio for at least two decades. I want just enough soft light on the top of people's heads to add some motivation for the background light. This light isn't absolutely essential for portraits against white but as long as you are judicious and don't let anything burn out it's neutral. I use it because the client's art director will often drop out the white background put the doctor's photo against a different background which might be much darker. If they do this then the effect of the hair light helps to create separation from the new background. 

Once I've set up and tested the lighting, camera and lens, I'm ready for my subject when they walk through the door. I think this is essential because it keeps the process (in the eyes of the sitter) focused on the interaction between the two humans and doesn't introduce "gear" as a distraction. My instructions to the sitter are all about positioning them and getting expressions I like. I'm never happy to interrupt this process in order to tweak a light that I should have taken care of before starting. Of course, it's not always possible to be so perfect. You do find things that need fixed during the course of the sitting. You may notice something about the client's complexion or hair that needs a slightly different approach with lighting and you'd be silly to depend on fixing that in post. But, as a general rule, I like to have all the nuts and bolts of lighting a session taken care of before we start. 

When it comes to camera operation I feel the same way. I don't want to distract a sitter with technical mumbo-jumbo. If I need to make an exposure adjustment I rarely announce it. If I do I state it in terms like, "I just want the image to be a little bit darker..." Instead of, "I'm going to adjust the aperture to f 7.1 for better density..." I want to keep the conversation  moving and learn all about them, not teach them all about my process. Mostly because --- they don't care. And they shouldn't have to care. 

My two best questions for the physicians today were: "Why did you decide to become a radiologist?" And, "How to you like Austin, Texas so far?" 

Once we're finished and we're unwrapping ourselves from the actual shooting I will ask for the sitter's forbearance while I spot check just a few files to make sure I haven't missed something important or something that would be easier to shoot a few more frames to fix rather than heading into a post production rabbit hole. I quickly check ten or so files to make sure we don't have too many blinks, sleepy left or right eyelids, or too much subject movement. Once I've got a preponderance of keepers I walk away from the camera and let the client know that we've got some great stuff. Then they are out the door and onto their busy day. Any friction I can reduce in our collaborative process is one less sub-routine they'll have running in their heads later. 

A few more small ideas: I like to keep the studio cooler than normal for sessions in the Summer because Texas heats up quickly and the cooler interior temperatures help the client get comfortable quicker. The cool, dry air cuts down on shiny complexions and is more inviting. More relaxing.

I turn off my cellphone and mute notifications on my desktop. Even though I would never answer the phone during a session both the client and I are probably acculturated to think one of us should answer the phone. And we'll wonder who was calling and why. A quick and easy way to break my concentration and my client's focused participation for what's probably just another robo call.

For a quick headshot session I prefer not to play music. I know a lot of studios are jamming all the time and there's always something playing in the background. I'd rather focus on the client and be able to give instructions and good feedback without having them strain to hear me. Also, you never know what your client's taste in music might be. You might think that Lady GaGa's 2008 album, The Fame, is the greatest assemblage of music since Mozart but that country and western fan sitting on your posing stool might think it's the Devil's work. Not an argument worth having. Silence is ultimately the best audio curation for short sittings.

Finally, I've learned that the "goodbye" of a session is as important as the "hello." Once the session is over I want to tell the client exactly what will happen next, how they'll get access to their gallery and what kind of retouching I anticipate doing on their photos. If they are a new transplant I want to welcome them to Austin and see if any of our interests intersect so I can suggest resources. I always want to thank them for taking time to come to the studio.  Finally, I want to offer them a bottle of water or a cup of coffee for the road, if they want one. 

The last question many younger clients ask in parting is: "Where is the nearest Starbucks." I have a quick answer ready. 

When you are working over the long term (decades?) for a client you want each session to go as well as you can engineer it. Each person who returns from your studio to the home office is a data point for the marketing people. Their individual satisfaction is one part of a cumulative measure which either keeps you in the fold or finally pushes your client to look elsewhere. If you don't service your clients well they may not continue to be your clients.... they are a gift and not an entitlement.

Ready to work. Camera set, lights measured, attitude adjusted. 

I bought my first Godox SL60W about a year ago and was impressed by the build and performance for the price. I've since brought two more and they've become my default lighting choice for quick set ups in the studio. The light is good and the Bowens speed ring compatibility is efficient. Makes them easy to use in soft boxes. 

Having a routine set up and having a digital read out of power output makes replicating set-ups from week to week easier. I keep a note in the client's folder about the lighting set up. Better than re-inventing the wheel. 

The new normal for studio supplies. Hand sanitizer, disposable surgical masks and wipes. 

Even a small spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol for spraying down objects...

Here's the view from the camera position. I haven't raised the hair light yet but I'll have it roughly positioned by the time my sitters get here... I measured the distance from camera to subject today. It's 10 and a half feet. That should work. 

I'm using a silver reflector for a fill light source. Used pretty close it's just right.

Since I started writing this blog post this morning I've had both the scheduled people come by to be photographed. The first session was at 9 and the second was at 10:30. Each took a bit less than 15 minutes. Lots of time in between to clean up and re-prep. They appreciated the short time commitment. Seems like they were both looking forward to busy days...

One blog note: Just a reminder that this blog doesn't accept advertising and doesn't sell anything. You won't get hit up for Patreon cash and if there's a link to click on it's because I'm presuming that the thing linked is interesting to us as photographers (or swimmers). I don't have an affiliation with any gear manufacturer, camera maker or otherwise. If I write about something it's because I'm interested in it. 

You are always welcome here but your attendance is not mandatory. If you don't agree with what I've written that's fine and you can leave a well considered, even tempered comment. I don't get paid to read rants or participate on the losing end of ad hominem attacks. 

Like most humans I thrive on feedback so try to leave some from time to time. 

Stay well and soldier on. KT