If you've checked out the tutorials page or forum recently you'll know that our first face-to-face training course took place this weekend. Libby had already done all the difficult stuff – arranging the venues, meals, hotel, taxis and so on – so all John and I had to do was turn up and talk about photography and Photoshop, and, from my point of view, I don't think it could have gone much better.
Evin, Jamey, Robert, Mike, Glenn, Jonathan, John and Mal all arrived on Friday evening and were with us until around 3pm today. We spent most of the time talking about photography and working with Photoshop, but also took photographs on the beach, in Blackpool Tower, and along the seafront on Saturday night.
This is one of the shots I took on Saturday evening: a portrait of Evin taken while we were playing around with off-camera flash at the hotel. Hopefully I'll have a few more shots to put up over the next couple of days.
Oh, and welcome back :-)
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
5.22pm on 18/11/06
Canon 20D
EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
195mm (312mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/60
manual
n/a
evaluative
100
580EX (off-camera)
RAW
C1 Pro
yes and no
comment byTibs at 08:19 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
GET in!
First person to comment
I like this
comment byfrans at 08:28 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
great shot... nice to see you back.
comment byPhotorama at 08:52 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Nice portrait!
comment byRies at 08:58 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
The lighting is absolute excellent! Great DOF also. Good you're back ;-)
comment bySimon at 09:00 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Really nice!
comment byShervane at 09:36 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
One of the most striking portraits on your site! Really amazing. The play of light and excellent composition extract emotions from the face. Outstanding!
comment by Myrddin at 10:05 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
I'm impressed with how soft the light looks given the contrast. Was the flash the only source of light for the picture? Was it bounced? The light looks pleasingly single-source, but not as harsh as flash.
comment byJamey at 10:12 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Yep, good photo of Evin. Makes him look very cinematic. And for anyone out there who's wondering whether or not to go on the course, DO IT! Thank you Dave (and John, and Libby, and everyone else). Had a brilliant time and hope to see you all again soon. Will be posting my first ever shot from Blackpool later tonight and the rest this week.
comment by Jennifer at 10:13 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Great shot - lovely n moody. Pleased to hear you sounding chipper! Got the 135 f2L by the way - enjoying!
comment by David at 10:54 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Wow... What can I say... This is fantastic... Great to have you back... We missed ya!
comment byMal at 11:18 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Glad your back Dave! Thank you ;-) Mal
comment by Deb at 11:50 PM (GMT) on 19 November, 2006
Blimey, Evin is a cutey. ;)
Did you deliberately take a shot that vaguely reflects the meaning of the word 'evanescence'?
(You missed one there, DJ. :) )
comment byJide Alakija at 12:00 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Really good shot. I've got a few like this actually, obviously not as detailed and intense as yours.
comment byBen at 12:15 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Great shot, love the lighting effect.
I'm glad to see you posting again. :) I'll admit, I've been going through a bit of a 'chromasia withdrawl' over the past few days.
comment by Susie at 12:21 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Wow, with the black background this is such a striking image
comment byFabio Giolito at 02:35 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Cropped? yes and no
hahaha
?????
comment bynavin at 05:47 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Great shot, the feastures have been captured very well. Glas that you are back
comment byJohn Zeweniuk at 07:05 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
wonderful! (as usual)
comment bygeckonia at 07:11 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Fantastic light you captured revealing contours and textures on this handsome face.
comment byPeter F at 07:41 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Looks like Quentin Tarantino. Nice to have Chromasia with my coffee in the morning again.
comment byDoug at 10:46 AM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
He's right ya know, that's definitely Quentin Tarantino, what was he calling himself Evin?
;-)
Great shot
I just got my Speedlite 430EX through this morning, so i will be maybe trying something similar if and when i get whatever i need to use it off camera, i presume all i will need is a 'off camera shoe cord'?
anyway nice work, good to have you back
comment byPlasticTV at 12:07 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Wow! Very emotional shot. Also, 195mm at 1/60 with this level of sharpness and detail? i'm amazed.
comment byJon at 12:54 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Very nice portrait. THe DOF looks perfect for my taste.
comment byCraig Judd at 01:02 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Good to have you back mate. I fancy a weekend away, how much does the weekend cost including B&B?.....Does this mean a change in full time vocation? As always good shot, eyelids, forehead, eyelids, forehead, eyelids....decisions decisions.... FOREHEAD!!!, I like.....CJ
comment by John M at 03:48 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Great picture Dave. Im sure Evin is chuffed with it. Big thanks to you, John and Libby for an outstanding tutorial weekend. I learned more in the last three days than I have in the last eighteen months. Cheers ..JM
comment bymiklos at 03:58 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Must've been a gigantic hotel to necessitate a telephoto lens for a portrait session! Wait.. who trained who?
comment bymiklos at 04:05 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
(Was a joke!)
comment by Evin at 04:12 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Thanks Dave. Great photo (Selena is very happy with it!!), and a great course. What a pleasure spending the weekend with with a pair of competitive, generous photographers like youself and John. Really clear and inspiring. And Libby, thanks for keeping us in line and stuffed with food! Can't recommend the course enough.
comment bySysagent at 05:19 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Gah Can't believe I missed this weekends tutorial Dave! Teach me to forget about your forum and not keep an eye on it...
(let us know when the next one is Dave I will be there for sure as I am local it wouldnt be any trouble at all)
Hope the weather wasn't to Northerly for the Southern contingent that partook in your class (read Jamey) as it was pretty bloody awful in the Dales on an outing Saturday for me .
Good portrait this and I like soft focus areas around the edges it really works.
comment bythomas at 05:58 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
perfect lightning and dof is beautiful too. love the image and welcome back.
comment byWolfgang at 08:05 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Great portrait!
comment byTmas at 08:06 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Sacrement impressionante tes photos bravo, ce portrait est magnifique luminosité parfaite qui donne un coté reservé a ce personnage.
comment byRoy at 08:20 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
This is an excellent portrait, good tonality.
Great to hear that your first workshop was a success. Reading your description brought back memories of the workshops I attended at Paul Hill's Photographers' Place in Derbyshire back in the 70s & 80s (even ran one there myself once...). Of course, you would need to substitute 'in the darkroom' for 'with Photoshop', but otherwise the ambience sounds much the same. I hope to get along to one of yours one day.
comment byAndre Malagodi at 08:33 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Wonderful profile, I love the toning and the angle
comment bydjn1 at 10:07 PM (GMT) on 20 November, 2006
Thanks all.
Myrddin: no, the flash was on the floor at Evin's feet, triggered with an ST-E2 transmitter.
Jennifer: let me know how you get on with the 135 – it's a lens I'm considering for the future.
Deb: I'll sell you his email address ;-)
Jide: thanks for the links, they're both good shots.
Fabio: it was shot in portrait format, cropped square, and extended to landscape format. A bit of a cheat, perhaps, but I much preferred this version.
Craig: check out the forum. We'll be posting info about the next set of courses soon.
Miklos: joke or not I did learn a few things too :-)
Sysagent: I'll let you know when we've sorted the dates for the next ones.
Roy: I'll look forward to it.
comment byRégis at 10:21 AM (GMT) on 21 November, 2006
Great work on the lighting !
This guy definitely looks like Quentin Tarantino :-)
comment bysilfver at 02:48 PM (GMT) on 23 November, 2006
I love this kind of portraits. They're so powerfull in some way. Great capture!
comment by m at 05:27 PM (GMT) on 23 November, 2006
:-)
comment byrowell at 05:39 AM (GMT) on 24 November, 2006
Wonderful portrait. Was the room totally dark when the flash went off?
comment bySuby at 11:03 AM (GMT) on 24 November, 2006
Awesome portrait David.
comment byDaniel at 03:16 PM (GMT) on 25 November, 2006
it's the first time i leave a comment on your blog... maybe due to the subjection i feel! ;)
actually me and mattia began with photoblogging thanks to you... in fact we created damaphoto after visiting your site! what to say... thanks! and keep on! you rule...
comment byAddey at 02:36 PM (GMT) on 28 November, 2006
Kinda reminds me of Quentin Tarantino/Dan from Eastenders...
...an excellent shot nonetheless. You continue to inspire me, David.
Keep em comin!
comment byVadim at 04:13 PM (GMT) on 4 December, 2006
If you've checked out the tutorials page or forum recently you'll know that our first face-to-face training course took place this weekend. Libby had already done all the difficult stuff – arranging the venues, meals, hotel, taxis and so on – so all John and I had to do was turn up and talk about photography and Photoshop, and, from my point of view, I don't think it could have gone much better.
Evin, Jamey, Robert, Mike, Glenn, Jonathan, John and Mal all arrived on Friday evening and were with us until around 3pm today. We spent most of the time talking about photography and working with Photoshop, but also took photographs on the beach, in Blackpool Tower, and along the seafront on Saturday night.
This is one of the shots I took on Saturday evening: a portrait of Evin taken while we were playing around with off-camera flash at the hotel. Hopefully I'll have a few more shots to put up over the next couple of days.
Oh, and welcome back :-)
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
195mm (312mm equiv.)
f/4.0
1/60
manual
n/a
evaluative
100
580EX (off-camera)
RAW
C1 Pro
yes and no
GET in!
First person to comment
I like this
great shot... nice to see you back.
Nice portrait!
The lighting is absolute excellent! Great DOF also. Good you're back ;-)
Really nice!
One of the most striking portraits on your site! Really amazing. The play of light and excellent composition extract emotions from the face. Outstanding!
I'm impressed with how soft the light looks given the contrast. Was the flash the only source of light for the picture? Was it bounced? The light looks pleasingly single-source, but not as harsh as flash.
Yep, good photo of Evin. Makes him look very cinematic. And for anyone out there who's wondering whether or not to go on the course, DO IT! Thank you Dave (and John, and Libby, and everyone else). Had a brilliant time and hope to see you all again soon. Will be posting my first ever shot from Blackpool later tonight and the rest this week.
Great shot - lovely n moody. Pleased to hear you sounding chipper! Got the 135 f2L by the way - enjoying!
Wow... What can I say... This is fantastic... Great to have you back... We missed ya!
Glad your back Dave! Thank you ;-) Mal
Blimey, Evin is a cutey. ;)
Did you deliberately take a shot that vaguely reflects the meaning of the word 'evanescence'?
(You missed one there, DJ. :) )
Really good shot. I've got a few like this actually, obviously not as detailed and intense as yours.
http://alakija.shutterchance.com/photoblog/35607.htm
http://alakija.shutterchance.com/photoblog/7916.htm
Great shot, love the lighting effect.
I'm glad to see you posting again. :) I'll admit, I've been going through a bit of a 'chromasia withdrawl' over the past few days.
Wow, with the black background this is such a striking image
Cropped? yes and no
hahaha
?????
Great shot, the feastures have been captured very well. Glas that you are back
wonderful! (as usual)
Fantastic light you captured revealing contours and textures on this handsome face.
Looks like Quentin Tarantino. Nice to have Chromasia with my coffee in the morning again.
He's right ya know, that's definitely Quentin Tarantino, what was he calling himself Evin?
;-)
Great shot
I just got my Speedlite 430EX through this morning, so i will be maybe trying something similar if and when i get whatever i need to use it off camera, i presume all i will need is a 'off camera shoe cord'?
anyway nice work, good to have you back
Wow! Very emotional shot. Also, 195mm at 1/60 with this level of sharpness and detail? i'm amazed.
Very nice portrait. THe DOF looks perfect for my taste.
Good to have you back mate. I fancy a weekend away, how much does the weekend cost including B&B?.....Does this mean a change in full time vocation? As always good shot, eyelids, forehead, eyelids, forehead, eyelids....decisions decisions.... FOREHEAD!!!, I like.....CJ
Great picture Dave. Im sure Evin is chuffed with it. Big thanks to you, John and Libby for an outstanding tutorial weekend. I learned more in the last three days than I have in the last eighteen months. Cheers ..JM
Must've been a gigantic hotel to necessitate a telephoto lens for a portrait session! Wait.. who trained who?
(Was a joke!)
Thanks Dave. Great photo (Selena is very happy with it!!), and a great course. What a pleasure spending the weekend with with a pair of competitive, generous photographers like youself and John. Really clear and inspiring. And Libby, thanks for keeping us in line and stuffed with food! Can't recommend the course enough.
Gah Can't believe I missed this weekends tutorial Dave! Teach me to forget about your forum and not keep an eye on it...
(let us know when the next one is Dave I will be there for sure as I am local it wouldnt be any trouble at all)
Hope the weather wasn't to Northerly for the Southern contingent that partook in your class (read Jamey) as it was pretty bloody awful in the Dales on an outing Saturday for me .
Good portrait this and I like soft focus areas around the edges it really works.
perfect lightning and dof is beautiful too. love the image and welcome back.
Great portrait!
Sacrement impressionante tes photos bravo, ce portrait est magnifique luminosité parfaite qui donne un coté reservé a ce personnage.
This is an excellent portrait, good tonality.
Great to hear that your first workshop was a success. Reading your description brought back memories of the workshops I attended at Paul Hill's Photographers' Place in Derbyshire back in the 70s & 80s (even ran one there myself once...). Of course, you would need to substitute 'in the darkroom' for 'with Photoshop', but otherwise the ambience sounds much the same. I hope to get along to one of yours one day.
Wonderful profile, I love the toning and the angle
Thanks all.
Myrddin: no, the flash was on the floor at Evin's feet, triggered with an ST-E2 transmitter.
Jennifer: let me know how you get on with the 135 – it's a lens I'm considering for the future.
Deb: I'll sell you his email address ;-)
Jide: thanks for the links, they're both good shots.
Fabio: it was shot in portrait format, cropped square, and extended to landscape format. A bit of a cheat, perhaps, but I much preferred this version.
Craig: check out the forum. We'll be posting info about the next set of courses soon.
Miklos: joke or not I did learn a few things too :-)
Sysagent: I'll let you know when we've sorted the dates for the next ones.
Roy: I'll look forward to it.
Great work on the lighting !
This guy definitely looks like Quentin Tarantino :-)
I love this kind of portraits. They're so powerfull in some way. Great capture!
:-)
Wonderful portrait. Was the room totally dark when the flash went off?
Awesome portrait David.
it's the first time i leave a comment on your blog... maybe due to the subjection i feel! ;)
actually me and mattia began with photoblogging thanks to you... in fact we created damaphoto after visiting your site! what to say... thanks! and keep on! you rule...
Kinda reminds me of Quentin Tarantino/Dan from Eastenders...
...an excellent shot nonetheless. You continue to inspire me, David.
Keep em comin!
looks painful