Mononeil

Westport was the location for filming of Episode 2 of Dynamic Range video series. The first day’s filming was from Old Head, Westport, Co Mayo. Using the famous Croagh Patrick Mountain as our bacground.

During the filming of the introduction it started to rain and the clouds started to roll in thus putting an end to the planned sunset image. However, all was not lost and the clouds did break and the resulting image above was taken. Using the clouds to aid the composition and draw the viewer into the image is what makes this image.  The long shutter speed has added drama to the waves.

You can find out more about the resulting image on the video which can be purchased from Dynamic Range Website

We are in the stages of editing the footage for Episode 2 of Dynamic Range. Part of this, Peter and myself have to process our images so we can put them in the film and explain who we got them.

The image above was taken from the location shown in the previous post of the tripods in the river.

I had to stand in the water for close to a hour at a time while we were filming and I was glad I had me wellies on.

It was one of the rare times that the sun shined and the clouds parted to show a blue sky. The rest of the crew still don’t know how I managed to captured this event. Luck or good timing. I ran over to the camera while they were looking at footage but don’t tell them.

This final image is a blend of two images. A first for me. It’s not exposure blending or HDR  of the images. I did not see the small rain drops on the front filter until after I took the shot. After I cleaned the filter I took another image but the clouds had moved and the blue sky gone. I used this image and only the small section to mask out  the rain drop to produce the final colour image before it went on to the Mononeil Process.

I will be posting more of the image over the coming weeks and Episode 2 of Dynamic Range will be available on 20th April. You can pre-order and receive Episode 0 The Pilot  free. Go to Dynamic Range.com

Back a week now form filming Episode 2 of Dynamic Range with Peter Cox and Roger Overall, and only catching up with email and all the other social media networks. If you are following me on Twitter (@mononeil) you will know the weather didn’t play ball compared to the pre-production trip we made.

Here are  a couple of iPhone images from behind the scenes:

We were up at 5 every day to get a sunrise or even a moon set image. However all we could do was sit and wait in the car for hours with nothing to show for it. On the up side we did manage to get an image of the moon on the first day shooting the sunset from Oldhead. Not planned but what a great bonus.

We got back to the B&B every evening around 7:30. Dump the camera gear and head out for dinner. Back to the B&B to review the days footage and more importantly to backup all the CF cards to four separate locations ( to be sure to be sure ).

Between the wind and the rain we did manage to get some interesting images, maybe not the ones we planned but we did what we had to do and change focus. What we ended up with will make for a very interesting episode.

You can find out more about the filming and what we got up to over on the Circle of Confusion Blog 

Or Silver Strand, Co Mayo if you are finding it hard to pronounce the name above.

Peter Cox, Roger Overall and myself also knows as “Circle of Confusion” spent a couple of days in Westport scouting for locations for the next episode of “The Dynamic Range” video series. Since i know the Westport, Co  Mayo area the best as we go there  nearly twice a year for family holidays it was left up to me to find suitable locations.

How did I do ?

Well you will have to go The Circle of Confusion website and listen to the podcast along with the short video filmed my our Director, Roger to see how I did.

AllI will say is that we came away for the couple of days very pleased and we even got to take a couple of images also. This was not the prime reason and at time we turned away some wonderful opportunities to take some photos as it was not plan for this trip. However Roger did let Peter and myself of the hook at Silver Strand once all the pre-production work was done.

The light was only magic and lets hope we get this light again in March when filming starts. The image above is form Silver Strand looking south along the beach as the tide was coming in. Using a slow shutter speed in combination with the grad filters to capture the lovely flow of the water. I have a couple more image from this location as you shoot in any direction and come away with some wonderful images.

So stay tunned to see some more from Trawl………. Silver Strand.

In this week’s episode of The Circle of Confusion, Neil admits to having his head turned by the Nikon D800 and Roger admits to having his stomach turned by HDR photographs.

Meanwhile, Peter suspects that Canon has taken a step backwards with the design of its new 24-70mm f/2.8 II lens, but everyone likes the new IS 24mm f/2.8 and 28mm f/2.8 lenses.

We discuss how to self-publish a calendar and we start to turn our attention to the recording of episode 2 of Dynamic Range.

http://www.circleofconfusion.ie/professional-photography-podcast-episode-18/

I had great plans for last weekend. An early sunrise shoot and a review of my new f-stop  Tilopa BC backpack. But ………………..

The plan didn’t go as planned.

The sunrise didn’t happen ( well  it did but I couldn’t see it ) due to clouds and rain for 24 hours straight. The backpack review didn’t go to plan either. More on that later.

The image above was taken a while back along the cliff walk from Sutton around Howth Head. I was after a sunrise image. The sun will rise just of to the right of this image. I was also going for a portrait image to get more of the cliff face and the water on the rocks below. However the weather had other plans. Heavy constant rain and low lying clouds put a stop to this.

As you can see  from the image above and listen to the AudioBoo  not ideal condition for a landscape photograph.

Now onto the second part of this planned trip. Testing the f-stop Tilopa BC. I am a Staff Pro Rouge for fstop and part of this deal they sent me the Tilopa to use. To be honest, I had never heard of them before and it wasn’t until Henry Iddon from fstop in the Uk contacted me after viewing the Dynamic Range Video that I understood who fstop where.

They use the Staff Pro’s with the aid of feedback on the forum to improve and design the backpacks. The difference between these backpack and other manufactures is a very clever design in that the inside come out. They call it ICU ( Internat Camera Unit ). You can get different sizes to make a complete custom backpack. If you have more than one camera system you can have different ICU’s and swap around when needed.

I have the Large Pro ICU which can hold all my equipment needed for my Landscape Photography and still have room on top for all my extra clothing like rain gear, hats and gloves. I did manage to get out for a 30 walk to the location for the sunrise shoot but looking at the weather system over Ireland I knew it was a waste of time waiting around. What I can say from this walk along the cliff in the lashing rain is it’s waterproof and very comfortable on the back. My previous backpack sat high up on my back which put all the weight on my shoulders. With all the padding and the design of the Tilopa  no such problems and I could go all day with this on my back.

Another reason and the most important reason why the weekend testing didn’t go to plan apart from the weather was the fact my father went rushed  hospital on Friday evening.  So I cut short the shooting and testing to go and help my mother get to and from the hospital during visiting times. Visiting is not allowed before 2:00. So what to do? I went shopping with my camera gear in the backpack on my back. The looks I was getting from the other shoppers was funny. There was no way I was going to leave my camera equipment in the car because Murphy’s Law, it would be stolen. The Tilopa BC backpack came with in to the hospital for the same reasons ( ok I wanted to show of to my father hehehe ).

So there you have it. A camera backpack review with a difference. If you are caught short and need to go shopping or visit someone in hospital then the fstop Tilopa BC is the backpack for you.

The backpack will be put through it’s paces over the coming months with the filming of Episode 2 of Dynamic Range and a couple of week trip to Westport and Donegal.

By : Peter Cox

In March 2011, myself and two colleagues (professional photographers Roger Overall and Neil McShane) blocked off a day in our calendars. We met up at my house in the wilds of rural Co. Cork in the southwest of Ireland. Our goal was to produce a pilot episode for what we hoped would become a long running and profitable series of videos about the art and craft of landscape photography.

The equipment we brought to the table was pretty simple – a pair of Canon 5D Mk IIs (Neil’s & Roger’s), an assortment of lenses, some tripods (including one that had an actual video pan/tilt head), a field digital recording deck and a pair of wireless lavalier microphones to plug into it, along with a Rode Videomic to mount on one of the cameras as a poor man’s boom mike.

Read the rest of the article on The Luminous Landscape website here

In episode 16 of the podcast, Roger is missing in action so it’s up to Peter & Neil to carry the can. Sorry about that. We promise to return him (mostly) unharmed next week.

In this episode we discuss the troubles at Kodak and make comparisons between the failing film giant and Apple. This sparks a lively debate between the two digital photographers about the merits of digital vs. film.

Sorry about the Darth Vader sound effects. I had a new microphone which was not set to correctly. It will be corrected for the next post.

The reason Why I entered into the world of Photography and Black & White.

A Documentary film about ANsel Adams by PBS American Experience

This image was taken a couple of years ago but only last week did I process the RAW file into something I liked.

Why ?

The answer to that question can be found the the Circle of Confusion Podcast No 15.

New Raw programs are getting better at processing the files to bring out more detail in the shadows and highlight areas. This was one such image.

I was going back through my old files to load a few into a new library to test Lightroom 4 Beta. I never use a Beta program on my master files just in case. You never know.

Taken one morning on the east coast of Ireland in a place called Annagassan which is between Drogheda and Dundalk Co Louth. The problem with this image is shooting into the very bright sun. The camera sensor was not able to capture the large dynamic range in the scene ( Dynamic range explained here ). Even with the use of a couple of ND Grad filters I was still not happy with the final image.

That has changed a bit when I opened the image in Lightroom 4. I was able to bring out the detail in the shadow in the foreground and keep the highlight from blowing out. I am really starting to like this image. I like the way the light hits the water and the rocks in the foreground. It also has a nice calming mood to the image.