About Me
My job as your photographer is to do more than just put a face to the name. I bring experience, professionalism, confidence, and a relaxed persona that produces photographs that instill a sense of trust and confidence in a potential client or customer. When you don’t do that, you will fail to get everything you can out of a brochure, website, or press release. The picture is critical.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but you rarely hear about the reactions to a poor quality photograph. Professional photography when presenting yourself or company to the public is a necessity.
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Tag Archives: Photographs
About Me
Then and now: the ravages of time.
My interest and education in photography began in 1972 when I was stationed at Dolan Barracks
in Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany with the US Army as an Air Traffic Controller.
“Hey look a castle, I should take a picture.”
Schloss Colmberg: Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany 1973
My first SLRs were a Pentex Spotmatic and Spotmatic F.
My job as your photographer is to do more than just put a face to the name. I bring experience, professionalism, confidence, and a relaxed persona that produces photographs that instill a sense of trust and confidence in a potential client or customer. When you don’t do that, you will fail to get everything you can out of a brochure, website, or press release. The picture is critical. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but you rarely hear about the reactions to a poor quality photograph. Professional photography when presenting yourself or company to the public is a necessity.
Suggestions & Contribution:
I’m open to any suggestions and contribution (ie. guest blogging). If you have ideas that would to share with me, please contact me or send me a mention on Twitter @rkd-photography.
More here as I get time.
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Also tagged 70s, Air Traffic Controller, Amp, Army, Blogging, Brochure Website, Confidence, D700, Dolan Barracks, education, Hey, nikon, Pentex, Photographer, Photography, Poor Quality, Press Release, Professional Photography, Professionalism, Quality Photograph, Ravages Of Time, RKD Photography, Schloss, Slrs, Spotmatic, Us Army, west germany
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King Street Metro Station – Alexandria, VA
While in VA on business for 2 days I decided to walk over to the metro station one evening. Boring stuff, but I was bored.
I had always hesitated taking photographs of strangers on the street. I’m not sure what I expected by way of reaction from people but the truth is no one really seemed to notice. People would watch me take pictures of others, but when they thought I might take their photograph, they ignored me.
People are funny.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 63°F;
- Humidity: 29%;
- Heat Index: 63°F;
- Wind Chill: 62°F;
- Pressure: 30.06 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment., Places
Also tagged Alex, business, Flickr, Fun, Heir, King Street Metro, King Street Metro Station, one, People, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photos, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Stranger, street, Stuff, Tree, Truth, Walk
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Nikon D700 vertical banding issue: It happen to me.
Response (Kevin J.)
11/15/2008 06:26 PM
Dear Ray,
This does in fact look like a banding issue and unfortunately there is nothing I can do over the phone.
I am sorry to say you will in fact have to send your D700 into our facility for evaluation:
Again, Thank you
The Nikon Team
I FedExed my D700 to California today ($87 overnight); Kevin, the Nikon rep I spoke to, tells me it’ll be 3-4 weeks to get it back. I purchased the camera in Albany, GA on September 26, 2008 while visiting my folks, so the camera is, what, 2 months old.
I first saw some vertical banding a couple of photographs I took at a local airport. The red (pink) vertical lines were in the gray overcast sky of two pictures. The sky was a bit overexposed and I ignored it, thinking it was something I did wrong.
Last Saturday I was asked to take a team photograph of my daughter’s (See “My Daughter the Ax Murder” article) high school girls LaCrosse team for their website. The coach was there with her young daughter and I took the opportunity to grab a couple of pictures of her with her little girl. (See attached photo – full sized). The banding was intense, bright and undeniable.
The banding was intense, bright and undeniable.
I checked the Nikon website, saw the support office was open and called. I spoke to Kevin who actually told me ‘he’ had not seen any red banding from a D700. I pushed and asked was there a known issue with banding; he again said he had not seen any banding or heard of many at all. We discussed the problem, he opened a trouble ticket, I uploaded the Jpeg to him. Well, I wish I had recorded him when he opened my file; “Wow, I’ve never seen red banding before; it’s usually gray.” No, I didn’t go there.
I have got to tell you: my camera bag full of lenses sure looks empty.
Only 3-4 weeks to go.
UPDATE: November 27: After speaking to a Nikon manager on Tuesday about the problem and possible solutions I arrived home yesterday to find a brand new D700. They replaced the camera.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 50°F;
- Humidity: 56%;
- Heat Index: 50°F;
- Wind Chill: 47°F;
- Pressure: 30.06 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged art, Ascii, Blog, Break, Cambria, camera, Coach, color, Couple, D700, family, Fun, Fx, girl, girls, Girls Lacrosse, Girls LaCrosse Team, Head, Heir, High School Girls, home, Image, Ink, Last Saturday, lens, Light, Little Girl, man, Mso, My Daughter The Ax Murder, Nap, new, Night, nikon, Nikon D700, Nikon D700 Vertical Banding Issue, Nikon Website, office, one, Orphan, Overcast Sky, Overexposed, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photos, pink, Pose, pro, Reference, Rig, Rkd, Send Your D700 Into Our Facility For Evaluation, Style Definitions, Target, Team Coach, Team Photograph, The Nikon Team, Times New Roman, Track, Train, Trinity High School, Trouble Ticket, ttl, tx, Unfortunately There Is Nothing I Can Do Over The Phone, Vertical Banding A Couple Of Photographs, Vertical Lines
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Post processing; finding the edge
Before and after: Too much?
Sometimes I like to play with a photograph that doesn’t appeal to me in it’s original form. I see other’s work and like the processing or like the concept of it. I tend to get fixated trying new filter effects, crops or plug ins while trying to produce an artistic version that is like a gossamer thread in my mind’s eye.
Sometimes I get to the ‘ah ha’ moment – sometimes I don’t. I do however enjoy the journey to artistic expression.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 56°F;
- Humidity: 66%;
- Heat Index: 55°F;
- Wind Chill: 54°F;
- Pressure: 30.05 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged Ah Ha, art, Artistic Expression, Crops, Expression, eyes, Filter Effects, Flickr, Gossamer Thread, Journey, new, New Crops, Oment, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photography, Photos, Plug Ins, Post Processing, pro, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph
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Cropping to change mood, attention or perspective
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 43°F;
- Humidity: 70%;
- Heat Index: 43°F;
- Wind Chill: 38°F;
- Pressure: 30.22 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment.
Also tagged Beach California, Flickr, focus, Highlight, Light, Perspective, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photography, Photos, Post Processing, Presence, pro, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Seagull, Taking Flight, Truth, Ventura Beach
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Bokeh: How we love thee
I shot a corporate annual conference dinner the other evening, then posted the images on-line for the attendees to download. We used flash at the start of the event. In an attempt to capture the feel of the evening I switched to my Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 IF-D and shot wide open at f/1.4 in the dimly lit rooms.
I love the lens for it’s sharpness and speed. It works amazingly well with the high ISO capabilities of the D700 which I had set to ISO 1000.
Nearly all of the feedback I have received were on the photographs with the heaviest bohek.
“Bokeh (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning “blurred or fuzzy”) is a photographic term referring to the appearance of out-of-focus areas in an image produced by a camera lens using a shallow depth of field.”
I like the bokeh too but the comments got me to thinking about why. I will hazard a guess that it most closely mimics the human eye’s ability to sharply focus and isolate upon a single subject within a busy field of view.
Pay attention to your vision the next time your gaze is fixed on just about anything. Notice the ‘bokeh’ effect of the background when concentrating on your morning coffee cup; the sharpness of the person across the room while all else seems to disappear.
Let me know.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 37°F;
- Humidity: 75%;
- Heat Index: 37°F;
- Wind Chill: 29°F;
- Pressure: 30.09 in.;
Posted in Lighting tests, My Photo; My Comment., People
Also tagged Appearance, art, Attempt, Attendees, background, Bokeh, camera, Camera Lens, Capabilities, Coffee Cup, Conference Dinner, D700, Depth Of Field, flash, Flickr, focus, Focus Areas, Gaze, girl, Guess, High ISO, human, Human Eye, Image, Images, Ink, Iso, lens, Lit Rooms, Love, man, Morning Coffee, Nikkor, Nikkor 85mm, Noun, Pay Attention, person, Photo, Photograph, Photos, pro, Rig, Rkd, RKD Photography, rkdauph, Shallow Depth Of Field, Sharpness, shot
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It ain’t easy being beautiful
I have been both pleasantly surprised and left speechless by the way some of the folks I have photographed show up for their portrait session.
‘Models’ show up with only the street clothes they have on. Personal hygiene, chipped and mismatched finger and toe nail colors, dirty feet, makeup, hair weren’t a consideration. When I’ve mentioned it they have done everything from just shrugging their shoulders to suggesting I ‘could’ have had an MUA and hair dresser for them to telling me to ‘fix’ it in Photoshop. And yes, I do mention the above to any model I shoot TFP – doesn’t seem to matter.
Others walk in just drop dead ready to go with makeup, hair, nails and wardrobe and most importantly – ideas.
Paying clients generally do better but I’m still perplexed at times by some of the by what some folks consider ‘portrait ready‘ appearance for themselves and their family.
This is a small rant only, the majority of the many people I’ve photographed are very nice, ready for their session and know what they want from it. But some of them—-
People are funny.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 42°F;
- Humidity: 82%;
- Heat Index: 42°F;
- Wind Chill: 36°F;
- Pressure: 29.64 in.;
Posted in People, Rant
Also tagged Appearance, beautiful, Clothes, Clothing, color, Colors, Dirty Feet, family, Feet, Flickr, Fun, hair, Hair Dresser, Heir, Hoot, Lot, Makeup, man, model, Modeling, Models, Mua, Nail Colors, one, People, person, Personal Hygiene, Personality, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photos, Photoshop, portrait, Portrait Session, Portraits, Rant, Rants, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sessions, shoot, Shoulders, street, Street Clothes, Toe Nail, Tree, Walk, Wardrobe
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Portraiture: The changing human face.
With every portrait session I use light, shadow and pose to portray a different mood, facet and aspect of the subject. I see it during the session, I count on it to produce the shoe-box photograph – the keeper.
During nearly every post production process I am pleasantly surprised how a single person can look so differently in a photograph. Soft, rough, hard, beautiful, thin, heavy – you name it. The human face holds a true fascination for me, the eyes – the eyes, expressing the wisdom of the ages or the delight of youth.
People are wonderful creatures.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 34°F;
- Humidity: 78%;
- Heat Index: 34°F;
- Wind Chill: 25°F;
- Pressure: 30.01 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment., People
Also tagged beautiful, Creatures, Duri, Expression, eyes, F1, face, Facet, Fascination, Flickr, human, Human Face, Light, lighting, man, People, person, Personality, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photos, portrait, Portrait Session, Portraits, Portraiture, Pose, pro, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Sessions, Shadow, Wisdom Of The Ages
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Lincoln Memorial
On a recent trip to Washington, DC, see Hassled by the Washington, DC Park Rangers for taking photos, I did the tourist thing early Saturday morning before heading back to Texas. I went out at 7am to avoid the heat and the crowds.
I walked from the Washington Monument, past the World War II Memorial headed for the Lincoln Memorial along the Reflecting Pool. There were a few joggers, a few Ron Paul supporters (interesting group of characters) and city workers. As I approached the Lincoln Memorial a small group of tourists were already starting to mill around. I noticed this black city worker mopping the steps, back and forth, back and forth and I knew right away I wanted to include him in the photograph.
When I got to the bottom of the steps the group of visitors were all over the steps and inside the memorial. The worker patiently continued his work, waiting when the people blocked his path.
Standing there with my Nikon D300, waiting for the moment I wanted to capture I was approached by, wait for it — a Canon shooter. He was carrying two cameras (a Rebel XT and a 5D). We had a brief discussion about the light and our shared hobby. Nice fella; other than the Canon part.
Just as we were parting ways I got this photograph. It’s the best of the three I took of this man maintaining the monument’s appearance. The fact that it is a black man working for the Federal Government at the Lincoln Memorial somehow struck a cord with me. I mean no offense to the man doing an honest job, the fact Lincoln’s eyes appear to be watching him, makes, to me anyway, this photograph sort of special.
-- Weather When Posted --
- Temperature: 93°F;
- Humidity: 44%;
- Heat Index: 97°F;
- Wind Chill: 93°F;
- Pressure: 30 in.;
Posted in My Photo; My Comment., Places
Also tagged 5d, Amp, Appearance, art, black, Black Man, Blog, camera, Canon, Crowds, d300, eyes, Fella, Flickr, hassled, Head, hobby, home, Honest Job, Hoot, Job, Jobs, Joggers, Light, lighting, Lincoln Memorial, man, Memorial, Memories, Monument, Monuments, new, nikon, nikon d300, Oment, one, Park Ranger, Park Rangers, Parting Ways, People, Photo, Photograph, Photographer, Photographers, Photos, pro, Rebel Xt, Reflecting Pool, Reflection, Rig, Rkd, rkdauph, Ron Paul, Saturday Morning, shoot, Shooter, Small Group, Stan, stand, standing, Taking Photos, Target, Texas, Things, Walk, Washington Monument, World War Ii, World War Ii Memorial
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Follow Me
Shooting tethered in the studio
Although I have had the equipment to do it I have only recently started to shoot tethered while working the the studio, I like it.
My equipment/software list:
So here is the basic setup: Simple and useful.
Tethered setup overview
The above image is from a catalog shoot I did for Jane Burch, see “The Transformation” article.
Tethered shooting allows me to view the images in real time on a 13 inch calibrated monitor, allows me to zoom into the images to check focus and detail.
I rarely show the monitor to the model, unless I need to show them something specific – good or bad. I do, however, encourage the client, in this case the MUA, to review and comment as the photographs are taken to ensure they are getting what they want and need.
Client reviewing images as shot
I don’t know if it’s the same with Canon equipment but Nikon software places the images onto the computer’s hard-drive not the CF card. I do not edit, much, on the laptop so I have the download directory on an external hard-drive for easy transfer to my desktop editing machine.
A final image
While this setup isn’t exactly ‘high end’ it works well for my needs.
A specials thanks to Tom Thompson for the behind the scenes shots.
-- Weather When Posted --