Nikon 85mm f1.8

Ray Kinsey, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

Some of you will know I bought a new nikon 85mm f1.8 prime recently and alot of people worry that its not sharp at f1.8 .

All i've got to say about that is , tacksharp aslong as your technique is good . I will repeat that for the hard of hearing YOUR TECHNIQUE.
Get your focus and recompose skills wired in and the results speak for them self. The eyes are pin sharp the ears and nose beautifully OOF.
Have I fell in love with the lens? That would be an understatement. The more I use Nikon primes, the more I fall for them and the more my bank balance suffers.
Alot of you will know I swear by my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and yes its a great lens, I would say as good as the nikon version. However primes just have a feel , a tactile creaminess to the image that no zoom has ever given me.

I shot this image using green screen software from fxhome , Photokey4 and my bowens 500c kit but just using the modelling lamps on large softbox and one kicker for the hair.
The camera was my D700 this time as the d300 was to tight using the prime.

It was all processed in aperture and then photokey4. With a slight bleach bypass for the colour.

It is close to that leica look I've been hunting for !

I can see this lens being in my bag for many years to come. If anyone is looking at this lens and wondering please dont hesitate its a cracker.

Wedding dress

Wedding dress, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

Just a fave pic of mine that was taken at the Braidshill hotel in sept 2011 . I just love the light and the mood of this shot.
Its all natural light and then processed in aperture and silver efex 2.

Ion Cell Balance band

Ion Cell Balance band, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

A simple pack shot for my latest project , shooting the pack shot first for www.ioncell.co.uk .
These bands work on the principle that negative ionic energy will improve your balance and strength.
This shot is a composite of 4 different images to create the perfect balance.
The reason for the composite, is that when shot as one image you get really bad shadows along the edges of the window and the hologram comes up almost blank if not shot at an angle.
The next part of the project is shooting a model wearing the bands and providing a dynamic sporting look to help sell the product.
So we have our muscle bound model already booked and we are in the process of booking a pretty girl to wear the female bands .
All in all i think the final images will trully help drive sales of this product.
So boring pack shot out of the way , now for the far more interesting model shoots!!

Sweet 16 fashion shoot

Skye B&W, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

This shot was taken as part of a set to make a book for Skye's 16th birthday.
It was all shot on location with a bowens kit plus battery, Along with my usual Nikon gear.
I shot this whole project in an abandoned building in central Edinburgh.
I began this whole shoot thinking god this is outside my usual comfort zone , but eneded up having alot of fun.

In the space of 2 hours, the shoot was done and I was tired but loooking forward to getting the shots onto the mac and seeing what I'd got . From my point of view the shoot was a total success and I learned alot about my bowens kit. Yes its a heavy bit of kit but the light control is simply superb.
I ended up with abt 25 shots for her book and just loved this shot in particular.
But the best thing I learned never dismiss any style of shooting as you can enjoy it and get paid .

capuchin

capuchin_1, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

I've been a bit lazy with my blog recently so here is a fav ppic I took last year to get it all restarted new post to follow tommorow !!

Charity calendar / photokey 4 pro

Aneta, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

Over the last 4 weeks I've been shooting 12 shots for a charity calendar.
The charity calendar is in aid of the ASDA charity tickled pink.
Whilst shooting this calendar we have been experimenting with the use of greenscreen rather than multiple backgrounds.

The program we have been using is Fxhome Photokey 4 pro. All I can say about photokey 4 is , why did we never get this program sooner. Images are extracted instantly and with little tweeking perfectly.
No more hours in photoshop , now its all done in a few minutes with no green spill on the model.

Ok so it cost £185 for the pro version, but with 3 licences and batch processing this version was worth it for the business.

This image took less than 10 minutes with aperture to do the retouching , then less than 2 minutes with photokey 4 to extract and drop onto a pre prepared background.

The image was lit using a new set of bowens 500c lights and fired with the new bowens pulsar cards. The camera was the usual Nikon D700 and sigma 24-70 f2.8 at f8.
Just a thought but wihle all the gear heads aout there are waiting for the nikon d800 or whatever its going to be called, I'm happy with my D700.
Even compared to the canon 5d mark 2 , I've gota say my 12 megapix D700 is producing images that give the canon a run for its money with better ergonomics.

Charity calendar shots

Charity calendar shots, originally uploaded by SCrlt_pimpernel.

A friend of mine asked me to shoot some topless/ appearance of nude shots for a calendar to help raise funds for cancer research.
The guy in this shot is called Ahmet, He is of turkish/scottish stock and as you can see has great bone structure.
The shot was lit using just one light with barn doors to keep it tight with a lastolite held off to the left.
I wanted deep hard shadows to help sculpt his muscles and give him that very masculine look.
The shot was taken using my trusty Nikon D700 and then processed using aperture and silver efex.
I am honoured to be part of such a worthy cause and am pleased with how the shots have turned out !