Not much going on here. Haven't touched a camera for a while which is cool.
Been doing some music instead, and arranging my next photography trip to London/Wales/York.
And instead of any photography stuff, here's a video by the magnificent Primordial.
...where nothing really photography oriented is happening.
It's dark when I get up in the morning for work, it's dark when I get home from work, on the weekends it's raining, so yeah, it's boring as fuck.
Which means that my intention to start doing video has stopped as well, though I am in the middle of buying stuff that I need, at the fastest pace I can so I have what I need when the weather gets better. Though I've got time to plan for shoots at the same time.
But if photography gear is expensive, video gear is insane...
Anyhow, don't expect too much happening here since, well, not much is happening at the moment. Don't have any shoots planned or anything at the moment since it's shit weather all the time basically and I don't really shoot at studios. Though planning for the next year has started and will hopefully do some fun stuff together with Hanna and also Diviana. And then my upcoming mega model shooting trip to London in the spring.
So things will happen again in a couple of months.
Alright, so wtf about the Lightroom CC not being Lightroom CC but instead Lightroom Classic CC? And Lightroom Mobile being Lightroom CC, or? Many people online seem to be very confused about it, so well done Adobe, well done...
Anyways I updated a couple of days ago, nothing weird with all the VSCO presets that I've made and everything seems normal, the same is with Photoshop CC, I didn't have to move any plugins or anything. But in Lightroom, if I delete rejected photos in while in the develop module and I try to go to the library module, well, it kinda gets all fucky. Never happened before, so probably a bug in the new version.
And about the handling of Fujifilm RAF files, I've seen some people say it's better, I've also seen someone say it's worse, I don't really care. In fact, there hasn't been any problems with the Fujifilm RAF files for a long time, I think that people probably don't know what they're doing when it comes to processing photos or actually, take photos. It's actually pretty simple. If shit goes in - shit comes out.
My favourite place when it comes to nature/landscape. Been there twice, many years ago now. I wish it would have been lately, since I reckon I'm a better photographer now than I was then.
I've had these photos, not all and others as well, but in between editing model shots I gave these old photos a black and white kind of moody touch (at least that's what I was going for). I've been feeling through these years that I could have done it so much better than I did and the weather was not exactly to my favour, but it's Scotland and the weather, well, it's not exactly consistent...
I'm planning on returning one day to this magical place and have a third go at it. Not sure when though...
Yes, they are still mostly real damn ugly.
After I wrote the Camera bags, why are they so damn ugly? post, I've bought the Think Tank Retrospective 30 (Pinestone) and it seems very awesome. It actually looks really cool and I'm sure that it will look even better after being used for a while. It's big, with lots of room especially since I shoot Fujifilm. I haven't been on a shoot with it yet, but it feels like it's gonna be real good to reach for lenses and things like that while on urban model shoots for example. I will probably write a review after I've had the chance to use it.
I've also got the Think Tank Airport Roller Derby for use while travelling and as a place to store excessive lenses and other gear while at home. I might haul it with me on the streets of London for example, going to shoots, but will probably just use it for the travel and then have my new Retrospective 30 back and forth to the shoots. I might also take it with me on shoots in Copenhagen. We'll see. I might also get back with a review of this one, but will not be travelling until April/May, so maybe won't really be testing it until then.
By the way, it might not be completely fair to Think Tank, having this post mostly being about the two bags that I recently bought, and having a title like this. Their bags are really great, but I still believe that most of them also fall into the category of awful looking (except for the Retrospective line).
I've actually written to Think Tank about a way to "spice up" their line of back packs. We'll see what they'll answer. :)
This is a something that I didn't think I was going to write. Getting into video.
Background:
I used to do quite a lot of video work back in the early 90's with my oldest friend and a couple of others. We shot lots af concerts and things like that, had a pretty cool setup with several S-VHS cameras with live-mixing since it wasn't as easy to edit footage back then. We didn't have Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premier which anyone can buy for a decent price (or even regular iMovie free for anyone with a Mac).
This was kind of a semi-pro setup, I mean for the amount of jobs that we had, we could not even dream about upgrading to Betacam because of the enormous cost of only one camera and one lens (easily €50.000 back then). But it was fun and the results pretty good for that time.
But since then, I have been totally uninterested in shooting video for years and years. But I've been thinking more about it lately. Mostly it's actually doing some behind the scenes while I'm doing model shoots for example, maybe incorporating both time-lapses and video. I've got the DJI Osmo Mobile gimbal for my iPhone7. And while a phone obviously isn't a Canon C700 or a RED camera, there have been lots of things shot entirely with iPhones with pretty impressive results for what it is, since it can shoot in 4K. And since my X-T2 shoots in 4K as well I've been thinking "why not?". With the gimbal/iPhone I can not only get steady shots, but I can have it follow and film me or my model while on a tripod. Pretty cool.
I have no intentions of trying to jump on the YouTube band wagon and start doing videos about gear or whatever. I mean, you never know, but I don't think I want to be that much in front of the camera (I'm far too ugly). But I will probably shoot some nature/landscape video on top of documenting my shoots, maybe a short film or documentary, maybe some "what's in my camera bag", who knows? I've ordered a fluid-damped video head (probably will put it on my biggest 3LT tripod since it's the sturdiest) to be able to shoot some nice damped panning shots. It's not what I'm going to concentrate on doing from now on, but something that would be cool to take up again a little on the side. And with minor investments, I'll have a simple but functional rig for my ambitions.
But I've been looking at the DJI Phantom 4 Pro+ since it's got a pretty nice camera, but it's €2000, so a bit expensive. But who knows, it would be pretty cool to shoot around some parts of the nature reserve close to my home, since there are many places that would be cool to shoot...
Yes, why is it so? Of course it's a matter of taste and all of that, but still, most of them are hideous.
I am currently on the look out for a new shoulder bag. And while I have the awesomeness that is the Wotancraft Scout in my possession, it is a bag that unfortunately is best suited for a camera with 2 lenses (one attached) or an X100T (or similar) and some other stuff and not for a bigger load of gear for a serious portrait session for example with the X-T2 w/ battery grip and lenses. I believe it is the best and coolest looking camera shoulder bag ever though, since it definitely doesn't look like one.
And I have a couple of amazing backpacks from F-stop (hands down the best brand when it comes to backpacks), but it's not always that a backpack is the best alternative either. For some serious walking/hiking/adventuring of course, but not for everything.
So then it comes down to shoulder/messenger bags. Unfortunately most of them are hideous. Or too small. Or both. I mean, there are many great manufacturers like Domke, Billingham and LowePro for example, but their bags are so damn awful looking and they scream "camera bag". Think Tank is another awesome brand with mostly awful looking bags except for their Retrospective line which does not scream "camera bag". I would go for another Wotancraft bag, I mean YES, they are very expensive, but they are hand made and of extremely good quality, and you get what you pay for, but at the same time I don't think they have the right bag for what I'm looking for. It would be the Ranger but it goes for a whopping €629 and I still think it might be a bit small actually. Then there are ONA bags, all hipster photographer's favourite (as it seems to me). They are a bit on the expensive side (not like Wotancraft though) and they have a couple of bags that seem pretty good, but again, too small.
So I think this might actually come down to the mentioned Think Tank and their Retrospective 30. It actually looks pretty cool and not like a camera bag and it seem to have quite a lot of space in it and it gets a lot of very good reviews. So even if I do want to get the Wotancraft Ranger, I might not be totally satisfied because of its size. And if I'd pay that much for a bag, I'd like to be satisfied.
I'll get back on the subject.
So I've received my Loupedeck, used it for a few days and simply put, it's awesome.
I can see how this is not for everyone. I do most of my editing in Lightroom and while I don't really retouch my photos, since I pretty much hate that, I use Photoshop mainly for clearing up skin and cloning away things since I like the cloning tools better in Photoshop. Now and then I work in layers for some reason, but it's not very often but it happens. Otherwise I use Lightroom mainly for my post processing and when I get fully used to using the Loupedeck I can really see how much it will speed up my work. It has a lot of potential.
Since I have a background with music recording and mixing and I still do some stuff in my home studio now and then, I like a "hands on" approach like a mixing desk and instead of using the mouse for adjusting highlights/shadows, exposure and things like that, having dedicated knobs to turn is VERY awesome. And assigning buttons for my presets, that is awesome as well. There are 8 programmable buttons that can be used for that and I can put the presets that I'm using at the moment on them and just change them out, but to apply those this fast and easily is awesome, since as far as I know, there is no keyboard shortcuts for that except for copying and pasting settings on to photos which is not really the same.
And while there are keyboard shortcuts for many things, they are many times a combination of two or three keys, here they have their own keys and I like that. Of course there are not keys for every function in Lightroom, but for the main functions that I use, so far I think there is. For some it can be hard to justify the price since the Loupedeck is far from cheap, I totally get that, but for me it is so worth it.
But I use adjustment brushes quite a bit in Lightroom, obviously I can't do that with the Loupedeck, that's a task for a mouse or pen tablet like some thing from Wacom, as is using the curve tool.
I haven't had the Loupedeck for more than a few days, and I still have to look down to see what I'm doing sometimes, but am already starting to get used to it, and I already find it being a perfect tool for what I do.
The only negative thing I can say so far is that it is another thing taking up space on my desk that already has no room left on it. But I can live with that...
I've been interested in the Loupedeck ever since I first saw it on Indiegogo in 2016.
I really like the idea of a "hands on" approach to editing in Lightroom in form of a "mixing desk" and I think it will definitely quicken up the workflow, after passing the learning curve of getting used to it and not having to look for the knobs and buttons.
As I have mentioned here more than once before, post processing is not my favourite part of photography. But since I do probably 90% of my editing in Lightroom, I think (or hope) that it will make it faster and also making it more fun because of that.
I have not received it yet, but counting the days and it will be a perfect time to try it out since I have quite the task when it comes to editing after this (still on going) London trip.
But yeah, I will get back on the subject. And for those who don't know what it is, have a look at the video or at Loupedeck.
...with my shoots for this trip.
I've had 5 shoots in 4 days and it's been pretty awesome most of the time. The weather wasn't really co-operating yesterday so we had to cut down on shooting time on my second shoot for the day, though we did get some good shots before that so it's all good.
And tomorrow I'm having my last shoot with Nicole and I think it'll be pretty awesome.
And I have to admit that I'm actually extremely happy that I bought the Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R a while ago. Well, I actually bought it a lot because of having today's shoot with the amazing Ayla in mind.
Though 35mm (FF equivalent) is not a favourite focal length of mine, it is very useful in either smaller spaces or when you want something wider, but not as wide as for example the XF 16mm f/1.4 (24mm FF equivalent) which normally is too wide and I shot a lot of my urbex shoot with Helen this Sunday and a lot at The Hacienda studio with Ayla today. But it's of course not a lens for headshots, there would be too much distortion and there I used the XF 56mm f/1.2 R, but for full or half body shots it is really nice.
...and started off with an epic nude shoot with Helen yesterday at an abandoned factory site outside of London.
It was awesome, the place was so cool and Helen was fantastic, and had no limitation on what to do for a shot, and walked barefoot on broken glass, in murky water, sitting on the dirty floor, lying in moss and climbing around sharp objects and old cables, all totally nude.
And we ran into a graffiti artist, making some art and his friend and video operator. The artist is sponsored by a spray can company and they were doing a kind of documentary for that and suddenly Helen and I had cameo rolls in it. :)
I'm interested to see what it turned out to look like.
I've only looked through some of the shots and made some previews for Helen and this one underneath, since my 13" MacBook Pro is a bit small to do any extensive editing on, at least for me, though it is a great little computer for travelling with.
Gonna get ready for today's shoot but will be back with more travel stuff.
Jared is pretty right about this.
There are limitations to what you can do with some gear, nothing can change that, but at the same time there is nothing that stops anyone to still take great shots unregarding to what type of camera equipment you have. It really is to know and use what you've got.
I am not a professional photographer and I don't want to be either. Matt Day pretty much explains all the reasons why I would not want to be a professional photographer, in this honest video.
Following is not about photography, but it's similar.
Many years ago, I built a recording studio with one of my oldest friends since that's what I always wanted to do. I put all my spare time into building it and then running it, not full time since I had my regular job as well, but on a semi pro level so to speak. For years, it totally killed my passion for music, having to record, sure some good but more often not so good music. Projects that I didn't want but had to do, so I can really relate to this.
I often read in forums where people desperately wants to be full time professional photographers. They want it so much, but I don't think they have a clue of what they're getting themselves into. I think they have a pretty romanticised version of what it's like to "be a pro". For some it would mean that you get to travel the world, shooting landscapes and animals for National Geographic, or shooting fashion shows or editorials for Vogue or something like that, depending on what you're into. For a few lucky people (they are few compared to how many people there are who wants to), that dream comes through.
But for most people who try out being a pro, they'll end up struggling to find jobs, and when they find them, they're not fun projects, but boring ones, with customers who doesn't want to pay. This struggle kills their passion for photography and they'll end up shooting catalogues for shitty school kids, something as repetitive as working on an assembly line, and they'll have to do it just to survive.
So absolutely no thanks.
But watch the video.
So, now I've only got one more shoot to post process and that's pretty nice, since as I've expressed before, editing is not my favourite part of photography.
But I've updated several galleries, with both nudes and non nudes, so feel free to have a look.
Over a month since I made a post here.
And I'm still post processing, And it's not any more fun than before. I've had a couple of shoots in the last month and I have finished processing a few shoots that are now posted in "portraits" and "nudes", but I'm still working on it and I still have more to post, but has to wait.
Had a shoot the other day with Diviana, that didn't go too well. Sure, we got some really cool shots I think, but the forecast was not exactly right and during a supposed to be rain free day, of course it started to rain. And in the morning I had smashed my foot which hurt like a M-F. But it wasn't that bad when I left to pick Diviana up, but after a few hours in a shoe, walking around in the forest it had swollen up and I could hardly walk anymore.
So I had to stop shooting and post pone the part that I had looked forward to the most since I couldn't walk the distance and climb down the rocks that was needed. And also, the rocks would have been too dangerous as well when wet from rain and I wouldn't risk my model's safety for it.
But I was kinda pissed since it's not every day that I get to shoot with Diviana, since she's usually very busy and had to come to Sweden from Denmark. And though it's not very far, it takes a lot of time to travel.
So that was not fun, and on top of that I just realised that I have to re-do a bunch of photos that I've already put quite some time into. Sometimes it would be better to forget photography completely and stick with playing the PS4...
No, it is a part that kinda sucks, to me.
But it's a part of photography that is needed and it's nice when those photos are done. But it takes so much time and while I have posted a few new photos in my "Portraits" and "Nudes" sections, I still have a lot left to do. And I've also done a couple of new shoots since I got back from London, which has added even more to the work load.
But I'll be done at some point next month...
I am trying to organise a new London trip in September. I mean, hotel and flights are already taken care of, as well as a couple of shoots including models and studios for that. But I still have things to sort out and shoots to book since there are a number of models that I want to shoot with.
Will update on this further on.
Still trying to get stuff done, so I can actually post any new photos.
But still post processing which I have only done a little since been on call at work since I got back from London (and doing more shoots). But there will soon be new non nudes and nudes posted here. Lots of them.
Alright, so I'm back in Sweden, back to the old boring regular life, though I have a few cool shoots lined up for the summer.
I left my hotel in London on Saturday morning and got home to Sweden in the evening. And on Sunday morning I woke up to the news of a new attack in London. Totally meaningless. Too bad the perpetrators were shot to death, since they deserved something much worse.
But I've already started to arrange for a new trip back ton London in Septembe again. So far I've already arranged hotel and started to organise shoots, but that hasn't come very far yet when it comes to that part.
And I've started post processing, which will take forever since I'll start working again on the day after tomorrow and be on call again and won't have much time, which will make it an out drawn process. And it's also not exactly my favourite part of the process, but it is of course necessary. All the fun is the shooting and interacting with the models, but of course it's fun to get the actual end result, but the post processing isn't.
So yeah, time to get back to work...
I've been really bad at updating my blog as usual.
Today is my ninth day in London, since arriving late on last Saturday afternoon. On the last Sunday morning I had a walk along Grosvenor Road, grabbing a few long exposure shots of the iconic Battersea Power Station from across the river Thames.
Later in the afternoon I had a walk from Embankment to South Bank and towards Westminster. Met Peter and Steve, two really nice Fujifilm enthusiasts and had a chat with them. Afterwards I grabbed a few long exposure shots of the Palace of Westminster and afterwards when I walked over Westminster Bridge I couldn't help to look over my shoulder a few extra times, while reminded of the meaningless attack on the bridge two months earlier.
On last Monday I had two great shoots with Tann and Roswell, two awesome models at a really cool studio (more like a 5 story Victorian era house). These photos will end up in my portraits and nudes sections in a few weeks when I've had the time to edit them.
On Tuesday you could feel the tension in London, after yet another meaningless terrorist attack, this time in Manchester on Monday evening. It's always weird at least for me to see the police armed with automatic weapons, patrolling places like Oxford Circus.
On Wednesday I had great shoot with the lovely Beth (my third shoot with her) at Epping Forest. And on the Thursday I had another awesome shoot, this time with Ayla, another amazing model, in her own home. On this Saturday I had a really cool shoot with Lauren, again in Epping Forest. Yesterday I had a great shoot with Anna. We had a full day pretty much and shot for a couple of hours on the back streets of Shoreditch, before going back to the same studio I used last Monday.
All these shots will end up in my portraits and nudes sections in a few weeks when I've had the time to post process everything.
And I've still got three more shoots booked for this week. Pretty cool.
