The Pencil - The Object of Endless Possibilities

National Pencil Day - The Object of Endless Possibilities

March 30, 2016 by Daniel Jester

I don't typically acknowledge the "national day of whatever." 99% of the time I am unaware that its any kind of national recognition day until social media tells me that it is. 99% of the time I take no action based on the national thing day. Today is a little different.

Admittedly, I was unaware that March 30 was national pencil day, but when it came to my attention, I decided I didn't want to ignore it this time. The pencil and what it represents has a special place in my heart.

As a kid, I remember sitting and staring at my pencil and a blank piece of paper. I remember thinking to myself that I could write, draw, doodle, or note anything I wanted. The pencil represented literally endless possibilities. I could design a house, write a poem, invent a character, compose a song, start a novel, solve an equation, create an identity, build a rocket, explore a new planet, or anything else my mind could dream up. There were infinite things that I could do with that pencil. And the beauty of it all was that I could flip the pencil and use the eraser to give myself a second chance. If the thing I created wasn't quite right, the gummy end of that magic wand granted me the opportunity to make it right. There was nothing that couldn't be fixed. At some point in my life, I lost that perspective.

Currently, my oldest child is wrapping up kindergarten. He's learned to write all the letters and numbers, write his name, read words and draw pictures that represent them, and make up sentences that he can write down to practice his new skill. Over the years, I'd forgotten about this little reflection of mine from my childhood. But now that my son is entering this broad new world where anything is possible, it's all coming back to me. A little bit of magic has been restored in my life.

Tech details on the above image:

Camera: Fujifilm X-T1
Light: LumoPro LP180 through an umbrella
Shot overhead on white plastex. Triggered via Pocket Wizard plus IIIs.

Instax + LP180: Using off camera flash for your instant prints

March 15, 2016 by Daniel Jester

The Fuji Instax camera is a really fun throwback to the days of Polaroid and instantly sharing analog prints with your friends. I've really enjoyed my Mini 80 over the last year or so, but I suddenly realized it had much more potential after a little bit of testing in my studio late one night.

I thought to myself: Can I improve the general photographic quality of the Instax print by building better lighting set ups? The camera has no PC sync jack or hot shoe, how can I trigger my strobes? Then it dawned on me. If I could redirect the on board flash and use that output to trigger the optical slave on my LumoPro LP180, I could override the camera flash and build much more interesting light for my fun little camera.

Here's how to do it.

Things You Will Need

Your Instax camera
A light meter
A manual flash with optical slave (LumoPro LP180)
A flag/reflector/foam core/grey card or some other means of redirecting the camera flash
Light stand and modifier (if desired)

Things You Need To Know

Instax film ISO is 800
You will be using the On Board Flash to trigger the optical slave on the manual Off Camera Flash
This tutorial is geared toward people who have the required equipment and a good understanding of Off Camera Flash use

Steps Overview

Measure output from the Instax on board flash
Create new light setup that matches output measured in step one
Shoot away while carefully flagging the onboard camera flash

You will need your Instax, a light meter, and your Manual Off Camera Flash - You SHOULD be using the LumoPro LP180

You may also need a light modifier, if you so desire. Shown here is the LumoPro Small Softbox.

Step One: Determine your Instax output

Start by positioning your Instax in relation to your subject. You want to try to position the camera where you get the best results with the on board flash (referred to as "OBF"). I had mine about 3-4 feet away from Oxana, my studio assistant. Positioning the camera in the right place will allow you to meter the output that gives you the best results. The first time I set this up I remember the OBF reading about f8, this time it read f11, which was a little too hot, so I think f8 is about where the money is.

Setting up the Instax to read the light output on Oxana, my studio assistant.

Meter reading. Don't mind my knuckle reflection.

Now it's disclaimer time: I have no way of knowing if this is the right aperture for every Instax camera. While f8 is probably a good jumping off point, I encourage you to test on your own if you have the means to do so. Different studio set ups may yield different results. It's probably worth noting this was done in a pretty dark studio.

Test the output by setting your meter to flash detection mode and pop the OBF by triggering the shutter. You will probably want to do this with no film in the camera because Instax ain't cheap. If you keep an empty film cartridge, you can trick the instax into thinking it has film in it and it will allow you to trip the shutter and trigger the flash. Do this a couple of times to make sure you've got an accurate reading.

Once you have your meter reading, you can move on to step 2.

Step Two: Set your off camera flash to fire at the same output as your Instax

You have your meter reading, now it's time to set your OCF in your desired position and set the power to match the output of your Instax OBF. For anyone experienced in OCF, this step is not difficult at all, but there are some things to remember. First, make sure your LumoPro LP180 optical slave will be able to see the OBF from the Instax. Second, you can position your lights however you want, as long as the light hitting your subject matches the output of the Instax, your exposures will look great. You will also want to make sure your optical slave is set to trigger on the FIRST flash it sees. On the LumoPro LP180, this setting is S1. You will want to do a few test pops to make sure that your OCF can see the flash from your OBF.

Set the optical slave on the LP180 to S1

Finally Step Three!

At this point, you're ready to start shooting. The final trick is to deflect the OBF light away from your subject with whatever flag/card/reflector you want. You do NOT want the OBF to have any influence on your subject, but you DO need the flash to trigger the optical slave on your OCF.

VERY IMPORTANT: Use your card or flag or whatever to deflect the OBF away from your subject, but toward the optical slave on your OCF.

Front View: Using this grey card to keep the OBF off of my subject, but bouncing it toward the optical slave of my LP180.

From here on out, it's time to have fun! try different light set ups and experiment! These cameras are quite fun on their own, but with this method you can really turn them into a creative tool. Go create!

A few test shots using OCF with the Fuji Instax Camera and the LumoPro LP180.

Photo Studio Challenge - Portrait of a Loved One

August 19, 2014 by Daniel Jester in Photo Challenge

A couple of weeks ago the team of photographers, stylists and support staff that I work with kicked off a bi-weekly studio-wide photo challenge (images were posted here). Every two weeks we pick a theme and each person can shoot an image that relates to that theme.

This week our theme was: A portrait of a loved one, without showing them in the image. So in other words, an object, person (other than the "subject" of course) or place that reminds you of that person.

Here are the results!

Ashley Paulus

Bonnie Warrington - BonnieWarrington.com

Photographer Bonnie Warrington shot this still life with her DSLR ann Natural Light. These items represent her boyfriend Scott.

Dani Alvarez

Daniel T Jester

A Glenfield Model 60 just like the one my Grandpa took me to shoot when I was a child.

Dave Uzzardi - DavidUzzardi.com

Dave Uzzardi's submission to the challenge, a subtle and somewhat abstract image where the subject slowly reveals itself to the viewer after some time.

Emily Wilkerson

Karen Utley - KarenUtley.com

Photographer Karen Utley shot this still life in remembrance of her mother

Karyl Alvarado

Studio Coordinator Karyl snapped this shot of a song her and her grandmother played together during their short meeting before her grandmother had to head back to the Philippines.

Kimmy Ann Snow

Product Stylist Kimmy Snow set up this shot of her Father In Law's dog tags and ashes. She never met the man, but he is an important part of her husband life, and feels a connection.

Lindsay Barker

Vanessa Celotto - StyleeGrace.com

Stylist Supervisor Van Celotto snapped this to represent the staff of the studio as her loved ones. Awwwwwww.

Vivian Nguyen

As you can see, the turn out for this weeks challenge was BIG. It was so exciting to see how everyone interpreted the theme and what they submitted. Stay tuned for the next Studio Photo Challenge, where the theme is Food.

Slow Days = Light Tests

July 08, 2014 by Daniel Jester in Portraits

I work in a photo studio for a major retailer, and much like retail sales patterns, there are busy times and not so busy times. July third was one of those not so busy times. With a little bit of time to kill and lots of photo equipment on hand, having an impromptu fun photo shoot seemed like the thing to do.

Our studio is not interesting. It's not attractive, and frankly it's downright ugly. I wanted to take an ugly generic hallway and turn it into something interesting.

I had originally wanted to shoot a specific person in the studio using this set up and location, but they weren't around when I finished setting up. Instead, a few of my coworkers decided to get in on the fun.

Bonnie stands in to check my light, and then all hell broke loose

I think this probably qualifies as more interesting than the hallway. I could have incorporated more of the actual hallway in the photo, this really could have been shot in any open space. Or could it? The cool thing here is that this was shot with minimal equipment. The hallway wall itself is filling my key light and keeping those shadows in check. Two lights and thats it. Key light, rim light shown in frame and that's it.

After Bonnie stood in for my subject so I could check my light, the rest of the studio staff wanted to get in on the action.

Stylist Group Shot - Vanessa, Ashley, Vivian, Dani

There are more people, but you get the idea. Maybe in the future I will have a little more time to explore this space and see what else can be done.

Life this week - Chipotle.....again

April 13, 2014 by Daniel Jester in Fuji, Life This Week, Street Photography

This week was interesting. Things were very very busy, but not a lot happened. The studio was slammed with product and people. Between visitors, temps and a lot of big handbags events coming up, it was a crazy week, but outside of that, not much to speak of. We went to Chipotle again...

Chipotle. We can't stop and we won't stop.