Brian Smith’s Incredible Photographic Journey

May 7, 2012   Posted by Ron Egatz   Leave a comment

Outside of advancing technology, it’s not often you hear a photographer talking about anything positive happening during the recession which began for most commercial shooters in late 2007. Brian Smith is not your typical photographer.

Greg Louganis, 1988 Olympics. ©Brian Smith

As a professional shooter for 30 years, Smith has specialized in photojournalism and celebrity portraiture. You know this man’s work. While an undergraduate at the University of Missouri, 20 year-old Smith got his first magazine credit in LIFE. At 25, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography for his coverage of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. His photo of diver Greg Louganis’ springboard accident at the 1988 Seoul Olympics won him both the Pictures of the Year and World Press Photo first place awards.

Brian smith andre balazs

©Brian Smith

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Five Photography Tips for Better Studio Lighting

April 10, 2012   Posted by Ron Egatz   1 Comment

We first profiled Sean Armenta in 2010. This Los Angeles photographer creates portraiture of the highest quality. His beauty and lifestyle work also shows serious talent and vision. Whether he is shooting for a magazine or teaching photographers how to create a one light beauty setup, Armenta is dedicated to producing professional results. On a personal note, I love his work so much I have an original print of his hanging in my loft. A recent gallery show my wife and I attended in Los Angeles was filled to capacity. Don’t miss an exhibit of his if you have a chance to see one. He will be teaching his approach to lighting at this Prep to Post event on April 28-29.

Armenta recently took time to write out a contribution to our Five Photography Tips series. He wished to share with our readers the following five photography tips for better studio lighting in his own words. Thanks, Sean!

Sean Armenta behind the scenes

Sean Armenta at work. ©Sean Armenta

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Sekonic L-308DC Wins Hot One Award 2012

March 30, 2012   Posted by Sekonic Blogger   Leave a comment

HOT ONE Winner 2012Professional Photographer Magazine has awarded the Sekonic L-308DC DigiCineMate its Hot One Award for 2012 as best light meter. The judges for the award include Kevin Ames, Mary Lynne Ashley, Shawn Barnett, Jen Basford, Farrah Braniff, Diego Cappella, Sal Cincotta, Taylor Cincotta, Jeff Dachowski, Tricia Davidge, Jim DiVitale, Dina Douglass, Roch Eshleman, Mark Garber, Jen Henningsen, Trevor Johnstone, Mark Levesque, Jeff Rodgers, Dane Sanders, David Schwartz, Stan Sholik, Liliana Wright, and Pete Wright.

Summarizing the meter, Professional Photographer writes,

The Sekonic L-308DC DigiCineMate light meter features three modes. In HD Cine Mode, designed for DSLR videography, you can take exposure readings and control light using shutter speed and frame rate, and also get aperture settings with 1/10-step accuracy. Cine Mode for digital cinematography provides the most useful frame rates and shutter angles for cinematic exposure control, as well as lux and footcandle readouts that enable quick lighting set-up. Photo Mode is optimized for still photography, with shutter-priority display of a full range of ambient and flash functions, including corded and cordless flash and ambient EV measurements.

Many thanks to Professional Photographer for selecting the L-308DC. Get more details about this meter on our site.

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Mike Pecci’s Grindhouse Schooling

March 20, 2012   Posted by Ron Egatz   Leave a comment

Boston photographer and filmmaker Mike Pecci has never left his hometown for long. Aside from a stint at film school in New York, Pecci has remained in Boston, a testament to the independent spirit of the arts in that town.

Although he likes to work in Los Angeles and New York, he won’t be relocating his home base and studio in Boston any time soon. “I like being around people who are filmmakers because you’re actually hanging out with real folks, hearing real stories, and being inspired by real life. It’s a good city,” he says.

Drawn to illustration and movies as a child, Pecci was diligent in his research to help aid his artistic career goals. At a community college, he discovered the world of production design, seeing it from a crafts standpoint, and not completely from a storyteller’s viewpoint. He decided this was what he wanted to do, “because it takes all the elements of everything I love—music, illustration, and all that—and puts it all together in one big package,” he says. It was at that moment he wanted to be a filmmaker.

Evalena and her chainsaw by pecci

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John Chapple, From the News to Landscapes

February 1, 2012   Posted by Ron Egatz   Leave a comment

Sometimes there are good anecdotes about how someone became a professional photographer. This is one of them. John Chapple’s story is human and funny and honest. You could see it as the backstory to a character in a Wes Anderson film.

Chapple is originally from the County of Devon in southwestern England. As a child, he filled out a questionnaire for a careers officer in an attempt to pair young students with suitable vocational paths. When his answers were tabulated in the officer’s ancient computer, he was told he was suited to become a mastic asphalt spreader.

John Chapple

©John Chapple

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Posted in L-358, landscape photography, nature photography   Leave a comment

Ramon Guzman’s Sekonic L-98

January 6, 2012   Posted by Sekonic Blogger   Leave a comment

Sekonic users love to hold onto and use their gear for decades. They also like to let us know about their gear. Ramon Guzman has written us about his vintage gear. Here is the story in his words.

“I bought the light meter and a Nikon F camera in 1965, while I was stationed with the Air Force on the Island of Okinawa. I’m glad to let you know both the camera and your light meter still work. The L-98 meter I had not used for at least 20 years, but I decided to give it a try. I put in a new battery, and to my surprise, it still works. It sounds like a commercial, but it’s a fact. I wish to congratulate Sekonic for making such a high quality and reliable product.”

Ramon Guzman's 1965 Nikon F and Sekonic L-98. ©Ramon Guzman

He also wrote, “I’m considering purchasing a new Nikon D90 or D7000, and you can [be] rest assured if I do, I’ll be extremely happy to purchase another Sekonic light meter again.”

Thank you for sharing your story, Ramon. We bet you’ll like the advancements we’ve made in the last 46 years!

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VIDEO: Profiling the Sekonic L-758DR with the Exposure Profile Target II and DTS

December 27, 2011   Posted by Sekonic Blogger   Leave a comment

We’ve released a new video on how to calibrate the Sekonic L-758DR with the Exposure Profile Target II.

Don’t miss Joe Brady as he details all calibration issues with this advanced meter. Watch it to ensure you get proper readings to make your photos perfect.

See the full video on our YouTube channel.

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Ryan Walters on the Importance of a Meter

December 5, 2011   Posted by Sekonic Blogger   Leave a comment

We last heard about cinematographer Ryan E. Walters of Portland, Oregon on the Sekonic site, he was featured in the Sekonic ProSpeak series. He’s now running a highly-educational behind-the-scenes blog called Lighting Alchemy. If you have any interest in making sure your exposures are right on the money, there’s no excuse not to check out this valuable and free resource.

Ryan E. Walters on the job with his L-758Cine.

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Ask Phil: A LumiDisk and L-308s Question

November 2, 2011   Posted by Sekonic Blogger   3 Comments

MAC Group’s Phil Bradon, Product Marketing Manager for Sekonic in the United States, will answer selected questions sent to him at AskPhil@Sekonic.com.

Alexandre Maller asked the following question:

I own a great L-308S, and I have a question. What is the exact purpose of the optional Lumidisc? Is it for a more directional measure in incident mode?

Hi Alexandre,

You’ve answered your question. To the meter, the white surface of the incident light receptor is the subject. The hemispheric-shaped Lumisphere approximates the 3-D nature of a face and reads light striking it from 180-degrees averaging what it “sees.” The flat disk allows the metering cell to only “see” light directly in front of the meter. It is used to determine the brightness of lights in a multi-light setup. This difference in brightness is the building blocks for lighting ratios. If the main light is two times brighter (f/8) than the fill light (f/5.6) the ratio is 1:2. The Lumidisc is also used to measure light falling on a flat surface light a painting or a green screen for video shooting.

Please get back to me if you have any other questions about Sekonic meters.

Best regards,
Phil Bradon

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Kevin M. Connors’ Premiere Photography Practice

October 25, 2011   Posted by Ron Egatz   2 Comments

Growing up in Buffalo, New York, after high school, Kevin M. Connors headed for sunny Arizona State University as a Geology major. He did his graduate work in Education, and tried teaching for a few years. “I needed my job to be based upon what I did, not how long I warm a seat,” he explains. Leaving the classroom behind, he got into college textbook publishing, followed by developing college-level software for fifteen years. Then, everything changed.

Always owning a camera, Connors had a darkroom in high school. After a career centered in academia and moving everywhere from Arizona to Chicago to Pacific Grove, California, he turned 40 and became a professional photographer, setting up a studio, Coast Highway Photography, in Solana Beach, just north of San Diego.

©Kevin M. Connors

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Posted in commercial photography, L-358, L-758DR, landscape photography, portrait photography   2 Comments