22) Here's the shot from the 17-35mm f2.8 nikkor lens. D2X, ISO 125, Auto Shutter 500 minus 1.7 , Lens: zoom 17-35mm 2.8f (digital 28-60mm), f-stop set at 5.6, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as RAW NEF. Exterior Los Angeles, sunset..

21) "City Hall" Hop on the motorcycle and went to downtown Los Angeles, pick out this spot from the Disney Concert Hall. The D2X did a great job on this shot, usually I use some Unsharpen Mask filter in PS to sharpen my images from the D70, no need for that on the D2X. Also, rented a 17-35mm f2.8 nikkor lens, (rent $30 a day, buy at $1,400.00) this is a great way to find the lens you're going spend some dough on. It performed well, decent pro lens, but, not as sharp as my 50mm f1.8. I'm renting the 17-55mm f2.8 nikkor DX next, I hear it's just slightly better. The better image chip handled the soft focus on the foreground nicely. Currently Nikon has opted to use the croped in image chip format, while Canon and Kodak has opted to go full frame FF DSLR (meaning lens focus lenght are true). Each format at this price range ($4,000- $7,000 year 2005) has it's merits and deliver great professional images. I went with Nikon just because my gear is Nikon. D2X, ISO 125, Auto Shutter 500 -1.7 (I set the exposure to be under, so my white point don't burn out, the better chip on the D2X CCD still retained good detail with minimum noise), Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 5.6, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpeg large fine. Exterior Los Angeles, sunset.

20) "Jack at Night" switching to the D2X, I do love this camera, but, I do have one major complaint about it, and it has nothing to do with image quality. Nikon in an attempt to sway you to their software encrypted their white balance metadata in it's RAW format... say what? Yup! you heard me, unless you have the latest plug-in update in Photoshop CS and CS2 (no PS7) for nikon D2X RAW files, it won't open. Of course your operating system Mac or PC can't give a preview period. At first I thought all my D2X RAW files were corrupted because all my D70 RAW files still openned. You can open all RAW files in Nikon's software then move it to Photoshop. But, for me that more than doubles the work flow time. I still had Photoshop 7 (didn't find plug in solution) and if you're moving around to different computer platforms, you have to IS&T all that stuff (different platforms have different plug ins folder locations and different Photoshop versions also have different folder locations). The best solution I found was to upgrade to CS2, use Adobe DNG Converter App or Adobe Camera Raw 3.2 plug-in installed in PS (I carry it in my memory stick)... dear honest Iago. Oh well, it's time to work. This image had a crispyness because of all that resolution, but, both cameras (D70) are a lot of fun under low light. And some Color Balance in PS (Photoshop), Levels, and more Dodge tool, yummy. Also, used some blur on the edge to draw you to the sharpness of his face. D2X, ISO 200, Manual Shutter 1" sec, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 3.5, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpeg large fine. Exterior Los Angeles, night, used a flashlight again.

19) "Sister" same set up as bellow, got a faster shutter because there was more (kitchen) light. Critcal that you use a high end lens, remember note on posting #4, good glass will deal well with crappy lighting. No real Photoshop adjustments, yellow tint is from the lights. D70, ISO 200, Manual Shutter 20/sec, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 4, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpeg large fine. Interior, kitchen light and garage work light.

18) "Brother" Thought it would be fun to push the D70 in low light situation some more. I was feeling lazy and I didn't want to set up any strobe lights for these portraits. Also, I wanted get a little more light out of the BG. So, I used a single low light source for the foreground. That way I'd end up with a long shutter speed, to soak up the light. Made sure my ISO was at its best setting 200, need a tripod. I used the remote to snap the picture ($25.00 accessory), use the timer if you don't have one. Your finger pressing on the button is enough to move the camera, at a slow shutter that will blur the image. Use the dodge tool in Photoshop and color balance added a lot of green. D70, ISO 200, Manual Shutter 10/sec, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 4, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpeg large fine. Exterior Los Angeles, night, used a flashlight.

17) "California Dreaming" I'm back in Los Angeles... thought I'd post a very California looking pin up. I shot this during the golden hour, near sunset. You get some of the best colors during this 2 to 3 hour time period. The sun starts to turn yellow at first, then very orange and very magenta at times. You get very good purple shadows too. Film and CCD chips (image sensors on digital SLR) performs excellently. And in my opinion the DSLRs at this price range work the best in these condition. You don't get the white points blowing out, because the sky is not too bright. But, overall light is strong enough for fast shutter speeds at slow ISO (iso200 in the D70) at a wide range of aperture settings. You get nice and healthy histograms with beafy colors for manipulations. Don't get careless though, mind your meter. Nice thing about a model shoot (thanks Emma) is you can review each shot, carefully. All the brands let you review, histograms, white point, and clarity (zoom in), all in the camera's LCD. And if possible open the file in the computer with each major shot. D70 did very well and had hardly any changes in Photoshop. A D2X would have given an even sharper image, slight better color data and at higher resolution, oh yeah, depth of field would be softer. Oy! now, to get over this jet lag! D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 500, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 5.6, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as RAW-NEF. Exterior Pasadena, sunny.

16) "The Eiffel" Time to say goodbye to Paris for now, many thanks to the French, great people. This was a tricky shot in that the sun was into the lens from noon to sundown. But, a new angle on a familiar subject was more important. I moved back a tiny bit to use the tree to right to minimize the glare. D70, ISO 200, Manual Shutter 640, Lens: fixed 24mm 2.8f (digital 35mm), f-stop set at 11, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny.

15) "After" Here's the final result. Use Photoshop to copy the bottom half of the image that has the perfect focus (posting #14), use the Marque tool to select it. Yup, paste it into the document with the messed up focus (posting #13). Use a very large Eraser tool with a soft edge, erase till you blend the two images seamlessly. And center the image if you like, "Command t (Control t)" will allow you to rotate the layer. Use the clone tool on the top layer to make up any empty spaces. Merge the layers and adjust Levels. Hey, what a nice shot.

14) "Before" This shot was my first shot of the subject. Not a great shot, no bg to create depth, but, the focus is perfect. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 1600, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 1.8, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny.

13) "Before" Here's an easy copy and paste excercise in photoshop. I was very proud of myself when I took this shot, till I got back at the apartment. To my horror, I found the main subject out of focus. I used a 1.8f aperture to create the blur in the BG. When the aperture is wide open the focus area is very narrow, if I had used 22f aperture everything would be in focus. At this critical aperture I like to set the focus manually. I must have leaned forward as I snapped the shot, thus this kakadudu, go to next posting #14. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 1600, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 1.8, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny.

12) "Cornered" To show you what a great tool Photoshop is, here's a sample of one my concept paintings in Photoshop. Mostly made up of digital photos I took, then cut and paste. No need to get to this level of sophistication, but, as you can see anything is possible. And Photoshop is really not that difficult to master. I think it's the most intuative of all the pro softwares. There were only two Japanese guys and my friend Ken in the white. I used the Smudge tool, with opacity at 70%, the brush set at chalk and watercolor filter for that painterly effect. Also, turned up the yellow and red in Color Balance.

11) "Adam" Great results against artificial light. This would be better if I brought my tripod. Less noise if you use a slower ISO and shutter in low light situations. D70, ISO 1250, Manual Shutter 160, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 4, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, dusk.

10) "Bonjour Pigeon" I found in both the Digital Nikon and Cannon SLRs (Single Lens Reflex) at this price range (around $1,000.00 year 2005), they do very well when you're not shooting shadow areas up against the bright sky or something bright white. The chip just blows out the white point very easily and the software does too much crunching on the histogram (color data). This Pic came out great by avoiding the sky as a BG. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 3200, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 2.5, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny.

9) "Sky" These camera do ok against very bright subjects, but, avoid contrasting it against shadow areas. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 4000, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 8, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny partly cloudy.

8) "Art in the Heart" This homeless guy walked in front of my shot intensionaly and in the middle of traffic. He kept looking back, to make sure he's in the shot. I was slightly annoyed, then I realize what he was doing. Were' making Art, oh, I get it now... CLICK. It's not the best shot, but, beacuse I reworked it in Photoshop, I got it to read better. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 500, Lens: fixed 24mm 2.8f (digital 35mm), f-stop set at 8, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris, sunny.

7) "Girl on Bike" Also, a great way to know if your image is reading well, is to use Hue Saturation and remove the saturation out of the image... and apply. The image is now black and white. Hit undo and make some color changes accordingly. Look up Robert Doisneau for inspiration. D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 1000, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 4, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris St Michel, sunlight, cloudy.

6) "Careful" A very important thing you'll need for digital photography is Photoshop. One thing the digital camera has done is remove the darkroom out the equation, something you need if you want professional images. Ansel Adams' work was half spent in the darkroom. The new technology's darkroom is Photoshop. You must learn to use this program if you want to greatly enhance your images and, also, to manipulate the story you want to tell. Maxed out the ISO on this 1600... ouch. The key to changing this image was to have a second shot without people in it, just cut and paste in Photoshop. D70, ISO 1600, Auto Shutter 125, Lens: fixed 24mm 2.8f (digital 35mm), f-stop set at 2.8, Manual focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large. Exterior Paris subway, street lights.

5) "Self" Here's a file in RAW format, it's scary at first to see the image so dull. The lighting condition didn't help. But, there's good image color data in this format and in combination with Photoshop, as you get savy, you will prefer it in this format. Also all the brand's comes with auto adjust software to get you started. Note slow shutter speed, but didn't blur because I was close to the subject. D70, ISO 400, Manual Shutter 60, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop set at 1.8, Manual focus, Camera file format saved RAW. Interior Paris apartment, natural light. Photoshop: Levels, Curves, Selective Color turned up on the red with magenta and the nuetrals with cyan, Hue Saturation, Unsharpen Mask.

4) "After" Photoshop Curves adjustment, minor Levels adjustment and turned up Hue Saturation. Digital reflex cameras at these price range don't have the best white point, so, don't blow out your highlights with your adjustments. Also, used the Dodge tool in highlight mode on the lens, to perk up the contrast. The 50mm lens with 1.8f is the best lens you can buy for these cameras. If you're shooting with a lens with a 3.5f or greater you're shooting yourself in the foot. The glass are not very good on these lenses, especially on the zoom lenses. They try to compensate for glass' blurriness by darkening the aperture to 3.5f. It sharpens the image and it does work, but, it's not the same as a lens that has a faster aperture and better glass, it just always better. These 1.8f lens are cheap and common on eBay or used because people want the functionality of the cheap zoom lenses, hehe. This is the best lens you'll ever own, and on the Nikon, Cannon, Minolta and Kodak digital reflex (note new hi end Canon and Kodak has gone "full frame" image sensors), the 50mm lens are really about 80mm beacause of the image sensor is cropped in, as you know 80mm is the best for potraits and is has no distortions. The 2.8f fixed or zoom lenses are great also, a zoom lens at 2.8f will cost you more than the camera, but well worth it for the pros. Buy a great camera put on a cheap lens, you have a cheap camera. But a cheap camera can be a great camera if it has a great lens.

3) "Before" D70, ISO 200, Auto Shutter 1000, Lens: fixed 24mm 2.8f (digital 32mm), f-stop set at 5, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large (this is the highest Jpeg setting on the Nikons, then you go to RAW for even better), exterior Paris apartment, in the shade, no colors in the shade. Use this jpeg to try to achieve the same result in Photoshop as above.

2) "Going Home" Lucked out on this shot, ISO was very high, very high film (digital ISO) speeds tends to be very noisy and grainy. But, I knew it was going to be hand held in a low light situation. I needed a fast shutter speed and the camera was above my head. As a note I was trying to get the cute girl in the BG, I'm glad for this shot instead. D70, ISO 1000, Auto Shutter 125, Lens: fixed 50mm 1.8f (digital 80mm), f-stop 2.8, Auto focus, Camera file format saved as Jpg fine large (I use RAW only when am really serious it has less noise), interior Paris subway, Metro line 4, fluorescent light. Photoshop: minor Levels adjustment.

1) "Happy" The photos will come from a D70 Nikon, and a D2X Nikon mostly... we'll get other brands in here. We'll start with the D70, it's the more common since it's affordable. D70 on a timer, ISO 320, Auto Shutter 40, Lens: fixed 24mm 2.8f (digital 35mm), f-stop 2.8, interior Paris apartment, natural light.