Autumn afternoons

 

I’ve shot a series about Anna, a professional dancer back in 2012 to try out the 60 mm high aperture macro lens I bought at the time. The lens is not primarily for portraits because you have to compose relatively far from the subject (it’s equal to a 90 mm full frame lens approx.), yet I liked the project as it gave me the opportunity to photograph exclusively a living human being for an afternoon. The results though I wasn’t very happy with. The shots seemed artificial, lacking “life-likeliness” (if there is such a thing…), the client, who I took them for, didn’t like them as Anna was often holding a coffee mug and that, apparently was not suitable for her health food blog, where she was looking for shots about relaxation. I therefore put the whole set to the drawer and didn’t look at them again until after a few weeks ago, when I’ve applied to several model agency web sites. And now, after three years I like the whole set much better, I even selected a few to showcase on my official portfolio site. The shots seem much more natural, shows the Anna was a great model, patient and very cooperative. Time heals the wounds and as you get detached of the original story of the shooting, you often find the beauty in photos you once ignored.

 

Oh yes, and I’ve installed a cool new feature to the blog, check it out! If you hover your mouse over the image, the original, out-of-camera shot appears. A bit of an insight of what editing is done on a picture before publishing.

 

 

 

Camera	Nikon D70s
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	60mm (09mm)
Lens	Tamron 60mm f/2 macro
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/125
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro

Sail Amsterdam

 

2.3 million people visited this year’s event and it is hard to describe the enthusiasm of visitors at the biggest public event of the Netherlands, at the same time the biggest international public nautical event around the globe. This is the crew of the Russian tall ship MIR, enjoying the performance of a Dutch senior music group at the traditional parade of the participating ship crews. Due to some technical difficulties at the front, we all had the chance to see the full show of all the participants, that otherwise we’d only see while they walk. The event had a once in five years great weather, I hope we’ll have the same 5 years from now, and that I’m here to see it.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/4.8
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	38mm (57mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 16-85 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/1250
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro

Abandoned house

I don’t think there is a photographer that is not attracted to #abandoned places. Dusty corridors of once magnificent buildings full of life, factory halls closed from one day to another, industrial complexes and public buildings abandoned, they are all symbols of #urbandecay, something inspiring, something other than usual. #brussels

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/7.1
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	62mm (93mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	800
Shutter Speed	1/30s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro

Halloween Special

Halloween is a photographer bonanza in Amsterdam. People here like to dress up and they put a lot of emphasis on the outfit (much less on the performance...). I usually don't carry my camera around as I have a tendency to drink heavily on this holiday, but this time I took an exception and it was worth it. Since it is mostly people and costumes you photograph and mainly under artificial light, there is not much equipment you need apart from portrait lens with high aperture. And steady hands... #halloween #amsterdam #partyphoto

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.2
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikon Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8
ISO	1600
Shutter Speed	1/30 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6.3

De Kiss Moves Rehearsal

 

Photographing dance is a difficult challenge. People are all over the place, moving fast under a lot of times poor lighting conditions. Apart from the usual drill of adapting to the circumstances of the environment, you also have to get familiar with the choreography, so that you more or less know when things are happening and when dancers are at a certain spot. The good thing is, that most of these artists are used to being photographed, so with a little luck and a lot of work, dance is a grateful subject to shoot. Oh yes, one other thing. It’s worth to have a high aperture zoom lens and a good camera body that can operate well under low light. I don’t have the first and the D90 is definitely not strong in the latter, so I had to change lens all the time and reduce noise in post production. The point is, don’t be a snob, be a photographer instead!

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	60mm (90mm)
Lens	Tamron DI2 SP 60 f/2
ISO	1000
Shutter Speed	1/200 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6.3

Party Photo

A party photo set is usually not difficult because of its technique (use high depth of field and a flash gun) but mainly because of the number of pics you have to sort out after. At a party there is always something happening, there are plenty of people, so you may end of making a hundred pics an hour easily without any effort, plus the ones you shoot because people are asking for a photo. So, you usually end up with a set of hundreds of pics, waiting for you to sort and post process them. A job all photographers are keen to escape from. :) This shot is a bit deviant from the schoolbook technique by using a fixed lens and high aperture, I like it because it is very dynamic and it was shot in the right light conditions.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 35 mm f/1.8
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/320s
Post Processing	None

Technorati Tags: photography,portrait,amsterdam,cruise,party

Pillow Fight

2009 was the first year for Amsterdam to participate in the annual pillow fight day. This year was the 5th time for the royal palace to witness the event on the Dam Square, and despite of the unusually cold winter dragging on through Easter and even to April, the Sunday of the happening was relatively warm and sunny, making the photographers job easy and relaxing. When you shoot a kinetic event like this, you have to watch your gear to keep it clean from dust and aggression, keep an eye on the crowd and play with the focus all the time, to be able to capture the occasion. I've used several lenses, changing them repeatedly to be able to show the nature of the event but being honest, it took some 250 shots to produce a 20 shot serial to show. It's not only that people are running around and moving unexpectedly. Since you are close to the action, shadows and sunlight are changing rapidly, making it impossible to apply decent metering and focus. These times I usually use a higher ISO and lower aperture to have better focus, also negative exposition compensation to make sure the Sun does not fool me.

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/5.3
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	95mm (142mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO	800
Shutter Speed	1/2500
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6 (B/W)

Sophia #2

And now with the B&W stuff. I particularly like this shot because Sophia is very womanly and natural, she was in fact trying to get prepared for the new pose I've asked her to do, when I'd shot this candid photo.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Metering	Pattern
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/200
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6 (B/W)

Sophia #1

I've shot a portfolio for a girl I know, practically using the well praised 35mm fixed lens. I couldn't decide on the shot to publish, so I'm gonna publish a B/W and a color portrait of her, both taken with the same lens at the same occasion. When you shoot portraits without artificial lighting, the best is to shoot on overcast days, when the light is less harsh. Make sure you have enough light and your model is up for the job. Then the rest is fun, nothing else.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Metering	Pattern
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/640
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

Technorati Tags: amsterdam,photography,portrait,urban,westerpark

Queen's Day

Queen's day in Amsterdam is traditionally the most important Dutch national holiday and definitely one of the most important events of the city. This year was even more special, because of the new king taking over the throne from his mother, and by this, Holland has a king after some 120 years or so. Events already started at 10 AM and went on until late in the evening with all kinds of different events and of course the traditional queen's day market all over town. A photographer feast if you are into city photography, there is no street corner without something interesting or funny (or both) to see. People are also more relaxed to pose, maybe because on this day everybody is allowed to sell their junk on the street, some people already spend the night outside just to protect their spot. Concerning shooting, go easy on the equipment. This is practically a city-wide party with streets packed with people, there is almost no time or place to change lens. I was only taking my beloved 35mm fixed lens (a DX format equivalent of the nifty-fifty), wide enough to capture the landscape but narrow enough to slide closer and take portraits if necessary. I was thinking daytime would have plenty of light and if not, the f/1.8 max aperture saves me if it comes to that. Don't be afraid of fixed lenses (like I was...), after a few weeks of use, you'll find yourself knowing exactly what fits the frame without even looking into the viewfinder, and you'll enjoy the higher contrast and sharpness these lenses have to offer. Moreover, fixed lenses are usually much lighter than zoom lenses, so you'll have several benefits counter-weighing the lost comfort.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Metering	Pattern
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/2000
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

 

Technorati Tags: amsterdam,photography,urban,portrait,travel

Lookbook

I've been shooting the look-book of the spring  / summer collection of a friend of mine's retail store, with absolutely minimal equipment (1 small soft box with a flash gun), it was really fun and a good experience. Nearly all the shots were taken with fixed, high aperture lens, therefore there was a relatively big room for playing with the depth of field. While most of the garment shots were taken with the flash and with low aperture to have high level of detail in all areas, shooting the accessories gave me the chance to utilise the versatility of these lens. Here is an example of those, one of my favourite shots with Priscilla, our Brazilian model being beautiful and relaxed.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/3.2
Exposure Bias	+0.33 eV
Focal Length	60mm (90mm)
Lens	Tamron 60 mm f/2.0 Macro
ISO	800
Shutter Speed	1/60
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

Technorati Tags: Amsterdam,lookbook,portrait,fashion,close-up,photography

Still life

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/3.2
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	60mm (90mm)
Lens	Tamron 60mm Macro f/2
ISO	500
Shutter Speed	1/30
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

Chilling

A girl smoking in her window in the Jordaan, Amsterdam, on the day of the Open Ateliers Jordaan. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't at all shy when I asked her to pose for the shot.

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/4.8
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	14mm (21mm)
ISO	800
Shutter Speed	1/1000 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6