Mark

Mark is a guy from Michigan who lives in Switzerland. He's a photographer, occasional writer and trained research engineer. His free time is sometimes monopolized by mountain touring or travels. On occasion he attends and presents at BarCamps and blogging events.

Yes, I am Indeed A Gear Whore

Gear, ,

I’ve been described as an equipment whore without brand loyalty. Or, I think that’s what I was called, in any event, it’s a completely authentic description. I thought about it for a second, searching for a witty response, but I knew Matt was correct, so I just agreed – and held my head high. But now with Photokina 2010 starting, I feel a desire to explain my compusion (for myself as much as for the reader). You see, the key to being a successful equipment fiend is to do it on a budget and with wanton determination. It should go without saying that you only buy things you’ll actually use. Otherwise you’re just buying crap to make yourself feel better, filling up a gear closet so you’ll always have the possibility (in the back of your mind) of doing something interesting one day with all the junk you’ve accumulated. For this reason, I rarely buy anything new at full price. Even my Sony A900 was bought used from a pro shop in Zurich. The Sigma HSM lenses I bought new, but most of the Minolta lens I own were bought used from MapCamera in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

I also have something of a bag fetish. Not hand bags (although I’m sort of addicted to the Scaramanga label) but rather all manner of MountainSmith, Pelican, Lowe Pro, Think Tank, random messenger bags from Ortlieb and Dana Design, but I’m not totally addicted, I’ve avoided buying any of the North Face shoulder bags. I have to admit to having two of their expedition duffels – however, in my defense, they “were” the ideal bags to pack mountaineering gear in when I flew to Bolivia. Walking through La Paz, I really felt like I was in one of those North Farce ads in Rock and Ice, (my favorite climbing magazine of the day) and I couldn’t resist buying some bags in the tourist shops. But bags are cheap, I would never lay a finger on a Louis Vetton.

How Many Cameras?

Cameras are a whole other subject. People are always asking me how many cameras I have, and I always need to recount in my head. And, should I say one for the two Holga/Woca cameras? They’re cheap enough to count as one. I’ve bought all my cameras used (with a few exceptions) and in today’s used market, when you find a Fuji GA645 here or there for $350, how can you say no? From Ricardo.ch I got a Mamiya 645 Pro, which goes great with the used Maimya 645 lenses I got from Keh.com to adapt to my A900. And there’s no point in buying just one Sunpak 120J, you need at least two to feel good about yourself. Flashes work best in pairs anyways, and it feels professional to have variety. Then come the eBay purchases. My first digital camera was a Canon D2000, I figured it was good to start with a DSLR with horrible medium and high ISO performance. Then I would learn how to handle digital noise. I bought one Contax G1 with the 35mm lens because it’s a badass fotoapparat, but then I wanted to get more lenses, and scored another G1 with the 28mm, 45mm, and 90mm lenses plus the TLA-280 flash for less than $800. When one of the G1 babies died (probably corrosion from shooting on a sailing trip in Greece) I had another to fall back on (that’s called thinking ahead). I have two Fuji GA645 cameras (one needs repair after too much exposure in the Alps) and one GA645w. I’m always lusting after a Fuji 670, 680 or 690, and thank God I never bought a Polaroid modified 4×5 handheld.

Function Over Form

However, no camera can be considered beautiful if it’s a useless paperweight sitting on a shelf somewhere. I have no desire for a gold-plated Leica. I’ve used all my cameras at one point or another, and fully intend to use them all again in due course. The Contax G1 has been sailing in Greece, all through Zurich, shot many pics in Berlin, taken mountaineering in the Swiss Alps, and the 90mm Zeiss is a fantastic portrait lens. I recently picked up some Fuji Natura to use with the G1 to make some awesome low-light shots. The Minolta 7 film camera was with me in Bolivia, and for a trip through Eastern Europe and Germany. I shot every day with it for a month and my backpack was filed with one extra pair of pants  and boxes of 35mm and 120 Provia. The GA645 series have taken some amazing landscape images in Switzerland, been up Mt. Fuji and also gone through Eastern Europe and naturally been to Berlin. The Canon D2000 was, and still is a great DSLR for studio shots and parties. The D2000 enabled my first self-portraits and peaked my interested enough in digital to buy a Minolta 7D when they were liquidated in Zurich at a sweet price. The Ricoh GRD and Canon G10 are great mountaineering cameras to complement the GA645, and they’ve all found their place (although I sort of busted up the G10 ski touring). Now I’m shooting graffiti street and portrait images with my Sony A900 and couldn’t really ask for more from a well-exposed image. The picture is tack sharp from my Sigma lenses and you can see the definition of my softbox grid in the reflection on the eye of a person.

Never Obsolete

Now, why don’t I just buy and sell on eBay? Once you have these things you have to consider that you’ll make very little re-sale on the used market, so like old college text books, it just makes sense to keep them around. Or, I consider it a small resale value as compared with what I could do with the gear if I need to use it again. Although I’m a gear whore, I have no brand loyalty. I love Apple, but never got an iPhone because they’re over-priced for what they are (ok, the new 4th generation is a step in the right direction). I still use a dual 1 GHz G4 PowerMac because I didn’t want to drop $2000 (or more) on a new computer (when I could buy some Elinchrom lights instead), and I was getting along ok till now (a new iMac is on the desk). I’ll buy the camera which fits what I want it to do. I have a Canon G10 because it’s an awesome camera for mountaineering and travel, but love to pull out my Ricoh GRD for wide angle shooting and it packs better for sport climbing. I like the idea of North Face but buy my jackets from Mountain Hardware (on sale) and pants from Haglofs (they fit amazingly well) to complement my Osprey Exposure climbing pack. I love the North Face packs from the ads, but the Osprey Exposure fits me like a fine-tailored suit. Nothing which is useless can be beautiful to the user, and I love products with great design and are useful in real life (I’m also a UX/UI prima donna).

Here’s the thing about being a gear whore, you’ll never find the perfect bag or camera, so I don’t even try. Above all else, I use what I have to the fullest extent possible (or so I believe). I use the cameras I have till they break and am still amazed at how far I’ve been able to push my Quicksilver 2002 PowerMac. If you don’t have the right tools you won’t get the job done. True, I have more tools than I need, but it’s nice having too many flashes on hand because I can do whatever lighting setup I want. I don’t used my ice tools every year, but when you want to climb a frozen waterfall, they’re essential. Now, the blowtorch nozzle is a little extreme, but it’s getting a lot of attention in my latest photo shoots, and if needed, I’m sure I can sell it – (but probably I won’t). An effective living space is one with interesting things to play with and discover. This was as true as when I was five as it is now that I’m pushing 33 years of age. Photokina 2010 is opening, and a whole new line of toys is coming onto the market to fuel my gear compulsion.

Related Gear Whore Articles

Heading to 1 Day of Art in Copenhagen

1 Day of Art, Lazy Art, , ,

Strange and interesting opportunities come to those that seek them out. That’s the a sequence of words which come into mine when I pondered the email I had received from Talenthouse, stating in clear and unclutterd language that my Lazy Art submission had won me a trip to Copenhagen to participate in the 1 Day of Art event from (t)here Magazine.

Talenthouse is a social-networking website for creatives. I joined it a year or so ago, and eventually started adding to my online portfolio. It has a slick interface and is designed to be a very socially-oriented website. It’s like Flickr with the visual feeling of DeviantArt and something that no other website I know of offers, the opportunity to submit work to Creative Invites. It’s like this, a company organizes an invite, users submit their work, the sponsor picks the winners, and in my case, it means a flight to Copenhagen and a free license to go crazy creating art for an issue of (t)here magazine.

I submitted three pieces from my Lazy Art collection of 1mx1m paintings. These are graffiti inspired splatter feats of madness I do in my apartment from time to time. I started painting because it’s more fun than playing on Photoshop, and a billion times more interesting than screwing around on Facebook or watching MTV. Getting to do this in Copenhagen is sort of like a weird dream sequence. I don’t know what will happen there, but I’m heading into the future with an open mind and soul filled with desire to experience the unknown.

lazy art number oneThe premise of 1 Day of Art Copenhagen is straight forward. I fly to Copenhagen, there’s a bunch of other artists, photographers, etc. who will be there as well. We blindly pick an editorial assignment, and then have 24 hours to create a body of work on that mysterious subject. Here’s the official out line of events from (t)here magazine:

On October 1, 2010, artists of all disciplines will gather in COPENHAGEN for a one day creative event – 1 DAY OF ART. In this premier (t)here magazine concept – photographers, writers, visual artists, designers, and musicians will participate in an undisclosed editorial assignment. Our participants will gather in one location where they will randomly draw their assigned subject. Their subsequent content must be executed in one day, and executed within the city limits of Copenhagen. All files and relevant materials are due 24 hours later

The results will be published in (t)here Volume 13, due for release in SPRING 2011.

To be honest, this is balls to the wall scary for me because I don’t have any clue what’s coming, and I run the risk of making a fool of myself on the world stage. It’s also barrel-of-monkies fun, the type of trip I was born to go on. When fear and the thought of falling on my face creep up my spine, I look inward to setting my mind. I look at it like mountaineering. No sane person can head into the mountains without thinking they could die. Or, I think that’s the only responsible way to mountaineer. This sort of mindset keeps your senses alert and sharp, even when you’ve been out for 10 hours and your legs are shaking on the rock edge of a long ridge. You keep going because there’s no other option, and that’s my mindset for Copenhagen, head into the adventure without much of a plan, but all the disrespect for failure my sarcastic personality can muster.

There are a few things – philosophies if you will, that work for me in life. It starts with accepting that I may die on each mountaineering trip, welcoming that I’ll probably fail at whatever I start out doing, and believing that that inevitable failure means absolutely nothing. This method has served me well so far in life. It means I’ll try nearly anything, including walking into a cloud of tear gas, just to see what it will feel like (it’s like cooking too many onions in a kitchen with the window closed) and even if I do screw up along the way, I’m not blocked from going forward and living an interesting life. I know this comes off as sounding a little arrogant, but I’m a vented Doktor of Science, and assure you that I’m the first to admit when I’m spewing nonsense from my lips.

I would like to officially thank Talenthouse, (t)here Magazine, and Hotel Fox for making this adventure possible. I don’t know what will happen next, but my senses are alert, and I’m geared in the head to find out what will materialize from this interesting course of events.

Lazy Art IV

Lazy Art,

Lazy Art IV (my last painting) is a combination abstract splatter and writing I did one fine Sunday this summer instead of heading to Art Basel. I like the chaos of colors mixed with the consusion of words, so I tapped off a few areas and added text I had worked up while brainstorming about the ArtMord concept. KusntDeath is sort of a mix of themes from Fight Club and Jean-Michel Basquiat with a little Hunter S. Thompson and Beethoven thrown into the mix. It’s a 1x1m canvas and done on the cheap with latex paints and sponge brushes and a roller. Don’t ask me technical questions like what texture I used or the philosophy behind my brush strokes, because I’m the last person to anything about such topics. I paint because something is unhinged inside my head and some comfort comes from mixing random colors together. I would like to be one of those methodic painters who looks for the perfect color, mixes their own paints and has a vision in mind before putting brush to canvas, but that’s not what I’m into at the moment. My painting style is born of sketching in math class and manipulating colors and tones in Photoshop to mimic the feeling of graffiti I see on the streets of Berlin, Zurich, and Detroit.

The Process

At one time when I started experimenting with painting I had the idea to sketch out and color the painting concepts with manga markers. This failed horribly because without the large canvas in front of me I just don’t have the drive to create that sort of color and structure combinations that sort of explode from my brain when actually painting. Still, it’s nice to experiment, so this time I had a large sketch/art book with me and I used it to try out the roller and paint splatters alongside painting the actual canvas. This worked out extremely well, because I had the freedom to quickly try some color combinations and then jump back to the canvas and go crazy. Like always, I was painting in the “winter garden” room of my apartment. Plastic lined the floor and walls and I had near-total freedom to throw paint around without the worry of needing to repaint my white walls later on. I guess I could also easily dispose of a body with a turkey cutter a-la that scene in Snatch like a London gangster. But I’m a calm and non-violent person, so I’ll stick to throwing paint. Blood splatters don’t interest me.

The Fear

I’d like to be clear on this point, I love painting large canvases with random colors for the experience. I liken it to multi-pitch sport climbing routes, writing, or to mountaineering. I like starting with a blank page, and being scared that it will look worse when I’m finished. It’s like looking up a long rock ridge and your mind telling you to turn back. It urges you to return to the false safety of organized society and sends fear waves up your spine as you jump over crevasse openings. Ignore the fear, that premonition of failure and demise. It’s just your natural response to doing something dangerous, either in the world or in your mind. I don’t think of conquering fear, I like to walk along side it like old friends. We trade words back and forth before I jump off the platform of a rope park or let my feet dance over the edge of rock ridges.

I like to stand above a blank canvas and ponder the next step. The mind tells me to not even start, exit the room and go back to my computer and watch something on MTV. I say, “fuck you, I’ll take my chances.” Fear is a suggestion, something built into the DNA to protect foolish people from hurting themselves physically or emotionally. Don’t take it too seriously. The fear crops up in many places and sometimes unannounced. It might be there when you ask a girl out, do a presentation, climb a new route, jump out of a plane, apply for a new job or walk into a room full of people you’ve never met before. I paint because of the desire for a little adrenaline rush on a rainy Sunday afternoon, or just to see what come from it. Why did you take the picture? Becasue I wanted to see what it would look like.

Metz 40 MZ Flash Review

Metz, , ,

Who is Metz?

When I started out with learning about lighting via the Strobist website, I was into the idea of picking up a couple of cheap Nikon SB24, 26, or 28 flashes on eBay. I soon realized however that this was a fool’s game as the Nikon SB line had been strobisized by David Hobby, and the used prices were over $100 for what should have been a cheap strobe to use with my cheap Chinese radio triggers. Then I asked myself a basic question, “Why buy a Nikon SB24/26/28 anyways?” What about a Metz?

The Nikon SB flashes are nice since they’re powerful and certain models can dial down their power to 1/125 or 1/256. This means you have a lot of flexibility with fine-tuning the exposure while shooting. By comparison, the Sunpak 383 and 120J (two of my favorites) only dial down to 1/16 and my Sony FL58 only does 1/32 in manual mode. After some searching I realized that Nikon wasn’t the only option for a quality flashes with a large power range and looked to Metz. Metz is a professional flash producer out of Germany. They’ve been making flashes since before I was born and produce a quality product that rivals the offerings of the camera makers. Metz flashes are generally designed to be workhorses for pro users who need to flash away all day at a wedding or some other event. This means they’re robust and designed to last a long time. Some even have user replaceable flash tubes. I reviewed the Metz offerings on the used market from the viewpoint of price versus performance, and eventually settled on the 40 MZ-3i.

The Metz 40 MZ

The Metz MECABLITZ 40 MZ-3i is a sweet flash (although now discontinued), and also offers a unique body design for off-camera flash work. Most shoe-mount camera flashes all look the same, the head points straight up in the normal position, and you have to angle it 90 degrees to shoot into an umbrella. The 40 MZ is designed exactly opposite to the norm. In the normal state it’s already pointing along the axis of the camera lens, which makes it perfect for mounting on a light stand and shooting into a softbox or umbrella (it’s more centered along the axis of the umbrella than a traditional flash). Additionally, the head tilts up, slightly down, plus it rotates around. So, basically with the 40 MZ you have a compact flash which is excellently designed for off-camera use with a large power range.

The MZ40 has all the features you want for off-camera (call it Strobist is you like) use. It has decent power, a guide number of 40 (ISO 100, 50mm), the flash power dials down to 1/256, you have a modeling light, stroboscopic function, zoom head (20mm to 105mm), external battery packs, etc. Additionally there’s an integrated wide angle diffuser, the the head pivots vertically between minus 13° to plus 90°, and can rotate 270°. The 40 MZ was produced in three main versions (I, II, III) plus an i designation. The 1 and 3 versions are basically the same except for some minor added functions. For off-camera manual use there’s really no difference.

I picked up two 40 MZ-3i’s to shoot with on the used market (one from KEH and one from Adorama). There’s a battery pack you can buy or just shoot with 4 AA batteries. I recommend avoiding the battery packs since they’re old, and if you can get one it probably is run down and will hold fewer flashes than using the standard 4 AA’s. On the back of the flash you can control all the flash functions, which for me means leaving it on manual and adjusting the power level or zoom. If you have a compatible camera and SCA module you can use the TTL functions, but since the 40 MZ is rather old (from the days when film ruled), it’s possible that with your new digital camera the flash won’t work on anything but automatic or manual (no TTL) mode. In automatic mode the flash determines the proper exposure after you set the aperture and shutter speed on the control screen, in csae you want to use it on camera. You can check the function compatibility on the Metz website (a chart shows what functions work with different cameras).

Metz builds two types of flashes, some specifically for certain camera makes like Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc. The other type they produce is adaptable, with separate SCA modules so a flash body can be used with just about any camera body you like (Canon, Nikon, Mamiya, Leica, etc.). The 40 MZ is this type, using SCA modules. This doesn’t really mean anything unless you want to use it on your camera. I have one 40 MZ with a standard shoe (one single pin) and I have one with the module for a Leica camera. Both types are easily triggered using a hotshoe adapter plugged into my Elinchrom Skyports or any other radio trigger.

Using the 40 MZ

There’s little to say about shooting with it, because the 40 MZ is great to shoot with. It’s a workhorse flash with lots of power and a large power range. It’s compact and versatile for off- camera shooting.  The combination of compactness and functionality makes it ideal for location shooting. I also mix the MZ40 with my studio strobes. For example, I might have an Elincrhom BxRi in a CreativeLight softbox paired with a Metz 40 in a Kacey Dish. The MZ40 acts as the control light to fine-tune shadow details while the BxRi lights most of the scene. This is what I did when I shot Oksana, the ability of the Metz to dial-down to a low power made the lighting work, whereas a more powerful flash like a Sunpak 383 would have washed out the fine details of Oksana.

On the other hand, the MZ 40 packs a lot of power, and is ideal when needing to balance the power of the sun on small shoots. This is what I did when shooting flowers on the terrace of my old apartment. The sky was blue, the sun was high, I was bored, and the tulips were in full bloom. So I setup the MZ40 dialed up to maximum power and used it with a weak-powered Contax TLA280 to create some awesome tulip pictures. When I’m traveling I easily drop a few MZ40’s into my Pelican 1510 case like Tetris blocks and pull them out as needed.

Buying a 40 MZ-3i

If you’re looking for a unique flash for off-camera use I recommend checking out the Metz 40 MZ series. On the used market the 40 MZ-3i generally goes for about the same amount (or less) as a Nikon SB, but since nobody except for you, me, and a couple other folks on the internet know about it, you’re not as likely to get into a bidding war on eBay. I bought the 3i version because it’s newer, but they cost more and if you’re looking for a bargain search for the 1i model.

The Gist

The MZ 40 was one of my first flashes, and I liked it so much I bought a second one. Large power range, decent price on the used market, and unique head design, perfect for off-camera use. If you want more functions than a Vivitar 285 or Sunpak 383 and want to avoid the Nikon SB-line, check out the Metz 40 MZ.

My Chainsaw: The Big Blue Beast

Photography, ,

The pertinent question is not why I’m walking around Bern with a giant fucking chainsaw in hand on a fine 1st of August Sunday morning. No, the question is, why are you empty handed? The 1st of August is the national day in Switzerland, like the 4th of July in America. I was in Bern for the famous flea market, on the hunt for a fine rusted chainsaw.

I’ve been in the market for a dilapidated old, rusted Texas Chainsaw Massacare type device for some time now.  I had actually found the perfect specimen back in May at the Bern Flohmarkt, and chocked on the price. The seller was a Turk who originally wanted 120 Swiss Francs for a rusted machine that probably didn’t even run. Upon hearing his offer (translated into German by his colleague) I instinctively laughed out loud and turned to walk away. I knew the price would be absurd, because the guy who was translating could barely keep a straight face when broached the offer. After I stopped laughing we bartered and I got him down to 80 CHF. However, I tuned the final offer down on principle and had regretted it ever since. I ended up spending my money on some Hunter S. Thompson literature from some hippies instead. So, with this regret in my mind, this time when I found my precious I paid the 80 CHF without hesitation and got two vintage 80’s walkie-talkies thrown in for free (that’s the way I see it). This time the seller was Swiss, and I think he was surprised that I bought the Beast without haggling over the price.

The Beast

The Beast is all metal, light blue on the outer frame, grimy like the village drunk and heavy like a life filled with regret.  It could be a bit more rusted around the chain, but otherwise it’s perfect. It even leaks oil and has an exposed spark plug on the top.

Why do I need an old chainsaw you ask? I’m developing on a new photo project I’m calling ArtDeath, KunstTod, ArtMord, or some variation of those. I’m not sure on the exact naming yet, but the vision is clear. The central point is that the artist needs to destroy his creations to set her soul free to create new pieces. I do 1m x 1m square paintings, and it seems like destroying these with a giant chainsaw is the thing to do. Naturally the event will be photographed, and I’ll need to organize some models and hire a cool MUA like bPerfect. Plus, the Blue Beast will be perfect to pair with models like Demari or Jurgita.

Now, for model shoots I’ll have to remove the motor of course. We can’t have people dropping the Big Blue Beast on their toes or fingers, or not even being able to lift it to start with. Even I have some problems swinging the thing around, and I see now why loggers are such beefy, burly men. It’s got that certain tank-like build where you know it’ll take whatever beating you subject it to and still run like an well-designed piece of machinery.

Elinchrom BxRi Flash Review

Elinchrom, , ,

Why the BxRi?

If you’ve been playing around with small flashes and are starting to find them limiting, or just want to blow some more money on photo lighting, then a studio flash might be the answer. I evaluated a lot of different studio flashes in my quest for a pair of larger lights, and eventually settled on the Elinchrom BxRi range when I decided to put together a photo studio in my apartment. The past 5 years have seen an explosion in flash consuming by non-pro hobby and semi-pro photographers. Fueled by the internet and gear lust, many have reasoned and re-reasoned the need for a pair of studio strobes in your heads. But why? Have your small flashes lost their luster? After all, light is light, the photos from small flashes are the same as those from studio strobes.

“Can I do this shoot with small flashes?”

Probably you could, but it would probably be cooler with larger ones. The fact is, when you’re shooting on location or in a studio space the large monolights are nice to have. If you have an AC power outlet you never have to worry about the batteries dying and can enjoy large light output the whole day long. I know what you’re thinking, “more brains, less light” or “enhance the natural ambient” lighting instead of blasting a scene with a lot of light from a studio strobe. This is the philosophy I started with during my Strobist-dominated lighting education. But the truth is, I got into studio strobes simply because I wanted more lighting power and more flexibility and control over the light. The small flashes had become limiting and I found myself lusting for something more. There are many options for proper studio strobes, but I settled on Elinchrom for the nice mix of expandability, dependability, and value. The Elinchrom BxRi series offers an attractive combination of features including, fast flash duration, integrated Skyport with control, mid-price range, good recycle time, and multi-voltage capabilities. More expensive than Alien Bees but cheaper than Profoto the Elinchrom line offers a good price/performance value.

BxRi Features

Basically, I bought a pair of BxRi strobes because they offer a nice range of lighting features and remote power control. An Elinchrom Skyport is integrated into the BxRi design, so you can adjust the power level of up to four different light groups from the controller on your camera. Since the devices are integrated into the flashes, you never have to worry about charging their batteries or even turning them on, they’re just there and ready to work when the lights are powered up. Having power control is very nice when you don’t have an assistant to run around and change your lights. Also, if a light is far away or placed high on a boom, it’s a hassle to bring it down just to change the power level on the light.

Since you can buy a universal Skyport to trigger a non-Elinchrom flash (like a Sunpak, Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc.) it’s very easy to create a setup with multiple lights and not be tied to the Elinchrom system. For example, I often use a three-light setup with my BxRi strobes in softboxes and a Sunpak 383 with my Kacey beauty dish. I have the two flashes programed to different channels so I can adjust their power individually, or chose to fire one or the other for different lighting effects. I should note here, if you’re mixing strobes from different companies, there’s the possibility of a color shift between the lights. How much this matters to you is hard to tell, but it’s important to mention. Naturally the BxRi also have modeling lights, which are fantastic for assisting the autofocus on you camera and showing where the light will fall.

BxRi in Studio

I love shooting with the BxRi strobes in the studio instead of or mixed with small flashes like the Sunpak 383 or Metz 40MZ. The BxRi flashes come in either 250ws or 500ws versions. I chose the 250ws lights because for my studio size (the ah, room in my apartment) it just didn’t make sense to get the 500ws version (although I might add a 500ws head in the future). I bought a set with two Portalite softboxes and stands. The Portalites are basic softboxes, very light and without an internal baffel. They setup up quickly and pack down to almost nothing. I often setup the BxRi strobes on the sides of the studio and then add fill in the front with reflectors and a Kacey Dish or an Orbis ringflash. With the built-in Skyports I’m able to setup the  BxRi lights and then fine-tune the lighting from the camera with the model/person in the shot. The stobe in the Kacey dish is then the only strobe I need to configure on its own. All the lights are triggered with Skyports, with one for the small flash. This process goes far faster than when shooting with all small flashes on munual which all need to be adjusted individually on the strobe body.

The BxRi design is multi-voltage , allowing one to shoot on 120V or 220V AC, basically giving a photographer the ability to shoot anywhere. This capability was actually a big reason why I bought into the BxRi lines as opposed to the Elinchrom RX lights. I travel to the United States about once a year, and it’s just sort of strange to buy an electronic device which can’t be used in other countries. I know, you can always buy a voltage converter, but I never know which one to buy, I would forget to pack it, and it just seems safer to go with a light which can run on either 120V or 220V. However, I’ll admit that this is like the Canon tilt-shift lens syndrome. You want to buy a Sony for the camera features but think, “but what if I get into architectural photography, they don’t have a tilt-shift lens like Canon or Nikon.” A lot of people get into the Nikon or Canon systems because of the large range of lenses and accessories, and then end up only using a few not-so-special zoom lenses. You could make the same argument for the multi-voltage or Skyport issue, but it’s nice to have when you need the functionality.

Build Quality

The BxRi series is robust, designed to wow the amateur and be used by the professional user. The body is made of plastic but seems pretty durable. Ah, here I should mention that I sort of broke mine, but it’s because I put a super heavy 150cm Walimex Octabox on my BxRi, and had to tie a piece of rope to the handle to make it support the weight of the octa. I think I sort of bent or damaged the inner support ring, as the locking mechanism doesn’t release correctly anymore, but if you stick with the normal Elinchrom modifiers and don’t overload the design, you shouldn’t have any problems.

The Gist?

If you’re into getting some studio lights for all the right (or wrong) reasons the BxRi line won’t disappoint. The lights are awesome, the integrated Skyports work great and the overall design gives you a lot of lighting funtionality. There are other options than Elinchrom, I had been lusting after a set of Alien Bees Einstein strobes, but even if I still lived in the US I would probably tend towards Elinchrom instead of, Alien Bees (for example). It’s only recently that Alien Bees released the Einstein units, which now allow remote power control and an attractive set of power setting features and short flash durations. Although you can get them in Europe, Alien Bees ship from the UK (an earlier distribution deal with Gotham Audio in Switzerland had fallen through),  at a price significantly highter than the US offering, and after shipping and import duties,  the final price is on the same level as Elinchrom. Then there’s Hensel and Profot lights, but they’re just too expensive for me at this time. If the BxRi are still too much you can also check out the cheaper range, the D-Lite strobes, which has been steadily adding features like a cooling fan and now integrated Skyports as well. The primary difference most users will care about between the BxRi units and the D-Lites is the flash duration, which is faster on the BxRi units (but this might not matter to you).

If you’re looking to buy some Elinchrom lights in Switzerland you have to go through Profot AG. For some reason they’re the one and only distributer in the country, but they offer a range of packages to choose from. To check out more on specs and stuff, go to the main Elinchrom website.

Sunpak 120J Flash Review

Sunpak, , ,

People often go through various stages of fascination and impulsive buying when getting into photography equipment (but I also admit I’m a little special in this regard). Once you figure out how to use a normal speedlight like the Nikon SB family of flashes or the Vivitar 285 or Sunpak 383 flash, you start to lust for more. You don’t know what that “more” is, but it’s something like a studio flash but portable like a speedlight. That’s when you decide that it would be cool to buy a bare-bulb flash, and the Sunpak 120J is the obvious choice.

Bare-Bulb Design

The Sunpak 120J is a bare-bulb design, which means it doesn’t have a fresnel lens to focus the light from the flash tube when it goes pop. Aside from offering cool lighting possibilities, the bare-bulb design is wicked-retro-cool. The flash tube looks like it would fry your brain if it were set off too close and reminds one of a mad-scientist lab. But nothing useless is ever truly beautiful, and the 120J not only looks cool but produces a lot of light. It comes with a standard silver reflector, but you can remove this for use in softboxes and beauty dishes (which is what I do). The 120J was originally a manual flash, but was later produced in a TTL version with a switch-out module. With the TTL version you can buy a TTL module for Canon, Nikon, Minolta, etc. or just use a 1-pin module when triggering with slaves. I love these module designs because it gives more choice to the customer and doesn’t lock you into a flash-camera system. The original 120J is triggered via a HH-plug cord, and includes a screw thread at its base instead of a hotshoe connection. This is awesome since you can directly screw it into a flash bracket or light stand. The 120J runs on four AA batteries, but it was also sold with the TR-II battery pack. This pack is essential with a 120J in my opinion, because the flash can drain the 4 AA’s pretty quickly. Now that you know what it is, why exactly should you want one?

Why the 120J?

The 120J isn’t the only bare-bulb flash around. There’s also the Quantum flash line and the Sunpak 622 can be fitted with a bare-bulb flash tube head. However, the Quantum line is expensive and units require an external battery pack. For the money an Elinchrom Quandra setup makes more sense than a Quantum. The 622 is affordable, but with the bare-bulb head attached the setup is massive. The 120J offers bare-bulb and power in a compact package. As with many classic flashes, once it became popular with people who follow Zach Arias and Strobist, the used price sky-rocketed. I’ve seen the 120J with battery pack listed for 400 USD, that’s just crazy. If you pick up a used 120J (without battery pack) for much more than 200 USD you’re starting to tip over the price-value line for a flash of this caliber. I bought the original version for 180 USD and later the TTL version with battery pack (for like $350 or something) and I don’t regret it, but the second one was a tad overpriced.

Which Version?

I don’t recommend getting the TTL version because it doesn’t offer much more for the money. The chances that your digital camera will actually work with the TTL function is probably pretty low, so you’re left with the same manual power settings as the original version. The original manual version is triggered with a standard HH plug cord, and the TTL version accepts a 1/4 inch plug. However, it should be noted that the mounting system on the original 120J is the most bomber of any flash I own. Instead of a hotshoe connection there’s a standard screw thread, so you can securely place it on a bracket and never worry about stressing the shoe mount. This makes it ideal for off-camera setups. Both versions include 5 manual power steps, from full down to 1/16th power (like the Sunpak 383). The body design is nearly identical to the Sunpak 383, which is why I like using them together.

The 120J in Use

I primarily use my 120J flashes for location shooting, either in a small softbox or with my Kacey Beauty Reflector. For example, when I worked with Margarita, I used a 120J in a Kacey beauty dish placed close, and was able to knock back the ambient light of the area we were shooting in. This combination gives me a lot of beautiful light wherever I am in the world. When coupled with an external battery pack (Sunpak, Quantum, etc) it’ll keep flashing nearly all day and at the highest power will give you sun exposure balancing flexibility. I also use the 120J indoors in my apartment studio when I want a lot of hard light by installing the 120J silver reflector. This sends a lot of unmodified light where I want it. For example, I used a 120J in my Urban Ninja series to place a hard shadow in the image just below the Ninja shown below.

Despite it’s big-bulb design the 120J travels pretty well. When I fly I just take out the bulb and pack the 120J body in my Think Tank Airport Acceleration or Pelican 1510. Two 120J’s pack together symmetrically and it takes just a few seconds to reassemble the flash for action.

Accessories

At some point I want to experiment with the DIY radio camera triggers or the Radio Poppers and see if you can control the TTL flash remotely. If this happened it would almost be worth the crazy prices some people are willing to pay for one. The 120J is also one of the few flashes with a user removable flash tube. Replacements are about 30 USD and are easy to obtain from stores like B&H or Adorama. If you want a 120J check out places like Keh.com and eBay. The eBay prices will probably be more than the 120J is worth, but if you’re rigirous in searching you might snag one for a fair price. I bought both of my 120J’s at Keh, one was “bargin” grade and looked almost like new.

For more info on using the 120J checkout Zach Arias or the 120J Flickr group.

Sunpak 383 Flash Review

Sunpak, ,

There are many classic things in the camera world. Classic cameras, lenses, shades, etc. But if you’re starting out (or well-established) in the off-camera flash mindset, you should know about the venerable Sunpak 383 Super. Sunpak is an interesting company, they basically make electronics, and have a long history of producing camera flashes at affordable prices. The 383 is a bare-bones device. It has no zoom head, takes 4 AA batteries, has a swivel head (with tilt) and 5 levels of power adjustment (down to 1/16th power). It also sports a nice little plug for a radio trigger and two-prong outlet for a Sunpak battery pack. The 383 is light, compact, and reliable.

The Sunpak 383 is my general go-to flash for travel, mountaineering and location shooting. If it gets dropped in the ocean or falls off the side of a mountain I won’t cry about it. If I lost my Sony F58 it would cost over 500 CHF to replace. For off-camera type use it’s a compact workhorse that you can easily toss in a camera bag or large coat pocket. I’ve taken my 383 hiking up Mt. Santis and on failed ascent attempt up Balmhorn in Switzerland. On the latter adventure there was ahhh, lighting and a quick retreat involved when I had the bright idea to do a night solo ascent in unstable weather. After the weather moved in I took to shooting a snail on the trail with my 383 until lighting started popping in the trees above my head and I decided it was time to stop doing stupid things like night mountaineering.

I also use the 383 in the studio with my Elinchrom BxRi flashes. Generally I have the Elinchroms in softboxes and I use the 383 with my Kacey Beauty Reflector. The 383 also pairs well with the Orbis ringflash, either on or off-camera. When I shoot concrete walls they often benefit from some fill light. For this I pair the 383 with my Orbis ringflash and put the 383 on a Gorilla pod.

Because of the analog power setting on the back, it’s easy to adjust the power level without looking at the back of the flash. This is very nice if you have it up on a boom (as I often do) and can’t see the back of the body. This makes it easier to adjust your light settings and concentrate on shooting instead of fiddling with little black boxes.

The classic 383 Super is generally available on the used market, either on eBay or at places like Keh.com, Adorama, or B&H. The prices are bit crazy since the flash became Strobisized (but still affordable) and if you’re paying over 80 USD, you’re probably paying too much. I found one used in like-new condition at a camera shop in Winterthur, Swizterland for about 10 USD. Since being discontinued sometime ago the 383 has been resurrected as a TTL version with manual settings possible. For the money, I see no reason to get the TTL version unless you want it for TTL usage. You also have the option of getting a Sunpak battery pack and can then power your 383 with a short charging time and shoot all day long. Basically, the 383 is a great flash to start with when learning about off-camera flash and I highly recommend picking one up if you find it at a decent price.

A Person is not a Subject

Photography, Web Portraits Zurich, ,

It’s been a fun year of photography so far, and running the Web Portraits Zurich project has given me reason to reflect on the process of making cool portraits of interesting people. I’ve contrasted my findings with the ramblings of professional photographers and teachers of the internet (where I learned a lot abouot photography), and have come to the conclusion that most internet sources don’t really have a handle on the portrait process, or they simply like to focus more on gear and dehumanizing people into subjects with gear talk rather than having a conversation on who is in front of our lenses.

Now, understand, it’s not their fault. It’s not embedded in their DNA. It’s just part of the mystique of this easy-lazy-art-form called photography. Cameras and photo gear became popular because it’s easier to click a shutter on a device than painting a canvas or doing a detailed sketch of what ever it is you’re looking at. When you shoot with a big camera it makes you feel important, but there’s a reason I don’t take myself too seriously. There’s this romanic ideal of photographers being like painters and artists delving with their whole soul into the artistic expression of the portrait. Photographers are expressing the inner soul of humans for all to see in the printed or screen viewed image…however…

A person is not a subject

Simple, and to the point. A lot of folks get into photography because it’s cool – like I did. I drew things in math class because it was interesting, I started with photography and Photoshop because the gear makes it easy. There’s a romantic notion embedded in the collective history of photography of capturing emotions and elements of people, which would otherwise be lost forever as the second-hand ticked over and the present becomes the past and that look is lost forever (unless captured by the photographer). But a person is not a subject. Even models have names and personalities, but photographers sometimes like to ignore those humanizing notions and instead focus on the technical process of focusing light onto an image capture surface (like film or a digital sensor).  Afterall, we’re all engineers and poets, painters and scientists. But I like photography because it opens a door to the non-technical side of life. Models are not Barbie dolls. I know of what I speak, for I shoot pictures of Bratz dolls when I just want to photography plastic people. However, this gets boring quickly, and is a subject best suited to those moments when you’re looking for a way to till time but don’t want to sit in front of a television.

Photographing people is distinctly different than taking snapshots of Bratz dolls because with people you now have the opportunity to interact with the person. If you’re into photographing people, then just think of the process as an extended conversation with some visual elements thrown in. When you start saying things like, “I lit my subject with this and that camera and photographed them with an 85mm f1.2 lens…” Well, you’ve lost the point of the conversation. If you listen to professional photographers they’ll tell you to talk to your subject. Get to get to know them, make them feel comfortable. But here’s the thing, small talk like, “what do you do” “what’s your favorite color” “where are you from” is just filler talk. You’re probably doing it so the person doesn’t feel ignored but not because you really want to know who they are. This type of small talk simply says, “I’m just interested in my camera and making an image and you’re just a body…so smile.” This technique can be effective given the right situation. But is that the more interesting way to shoot? Is it more interesting to shoot a Bratz doll (who can’t speak) or to listen to a person and make a picture of them as well?

A Portrait is just Conversation

A photo session is just an extended conversation in my mind, and if you start out talking with people with an authentic voice, then the photo session will just be an extension of that initial, real, emotional connection. If you starting shooting like a pornographer and only start talking when you notice your subject is looking uncomfortable, then the whole positive momentum of the conversation has already been lost and you need to sort of start over. Tripping the shutter is the  shortest and least important part of a portrait photo session. But it’s the part that defines the final image. The question is, how does one get up to that point? I Think of the photo session in this way:

Conversation – Lighting/Set – Picture

The more time you take in getting to know a person before you light them with a million-gazillion photons, the more natural the resulting image will be. Or more unnatural, it depends on what you’re trying to achieve, and sometimes every photo session is full of suprises. Once you understand something about the person you’re planning to shoot you can design the lighting (some call this subject driven lighting), build a set or pick a proper location, and then being planning a post-processing philosophy, all before taking any pictures. I like to spend the least amount of time possibly on actually shooting and setting up lighting. The reason is simle, the shutter trip is the most insignificant part of the process if the process was done correctly. Now, maybe you’re going for the whole Stanley Kubrik, make-the-actors-feel-uncomfortable-to-illicit-emotion-from-them deal, but that’s a whole other level of person-photographer interaction. An authentic portrait session starts (and ends) with a conversation.

Most of the technical things about photography I’ve learned from the internet. It’s been a fun time and I’ve learned a lot about light control and lenses and cameras and strange terms like gobos and brolley. But my mind became exhaused and bored with this conent, and I’ve started wondering what else is there. However, when I watch things like creativeLive with Zach Arias or attend a Strobist workshop, I’ve started to notice how technology and lights are always at the forefront, and the whole emotional connection thing is thrown in afterwards, even though people generally admit it’s one of the mose important aspects of the whole process. Those conversations are there, but they’re not focused on in blog articles like David’s article On Assignment: Caleb Jones. Technical side of the shoot is all there, but what was the emotional connection between David and Caleb?

That’s a key element that a photographer like Joey L communicates extremely well in his DVD tutorial (Sessions with Joey L). In his tutorial Joey Lawrence pushes the ideas of trust and emotional connection as being primary, and lighting and camera technology as the secondary elements of a photo shoot (or photo career). This isn’t meant to be a negative critique of Zach Arias or of David Hobby (but it could be viewd as an encouragement or suggestion). The latter two (and internet icons like Chase Jarvis) are just responding to what sells. People love the technology of photography, the lenses, bodies, radio triggers, flashes, etc. People drop big bucks on technology and then wonder why their pictures look lifeless and ordinary when they know the person has a soul and interesting story to tell (like we all do). The thing I love about the Vincent Laforet CreativeLive workshop is that he started out talking about the philosophy behind movies, the story telling and emotional elements, and then got into the gear talk. It sets your head in the right mind-set, to tell a story and to make a connection to the viewers or consumers of the media product you’re producing. That’s not to say I miss the gear talk, it just gets boring after a while.

I love photo gear. I have more cameras than Onitsuka tigers and picked my last apartment based on how I could setup a photo studio. One reason I started the Web Portraits Zurich project was to do emotionally-driven portraits of people (I know that sounds a tad pretentious). I wanted to setup a process of including the emotion of the person in their portrait. I wanted to portray people including elements of how they perceive themselves. I shoot the web portraits based first around the person, and then as a secondary condition around lighting and Photoshop. For each portrait set we start out with a concept meeting, the people I’m shooting get to know me and I start to understand how they see themselves. This is the grounding for the whole photo session, and I see the whole process as one long conversation with some camera equipment and photoshop thrown in as an after-thought.

A person is not just a subject

A photo shoot is just an extended conversation


Amazee Gothic – First Cut

Web Portraits Zurich, ,

The latest participants of the Web Portraits Zurich project were Dania and Gregory, the folks behind Amazee.com and help organize events like Web Monday Zurich and the Swiss Startup Camp. Before the shoot I sat down with Greg and Dania for a brainstorming session (after presenting some ideas to them online), which included Amazee Gothic. The purpose of Web Portraits Zurich is to give people a platform to be photographed, to challenge their ideas of themselves and be a part of how their images are created and portrayed.

Amazee Gothic

There’s an iconic image from Americana called American Gothic. It’s an image of a man and woman standing beside one another. The basic interpretation is that they’re married and have labored hard to build the barn, which dominates the background of the painting. The man holds a pitchfork, and you get a sense that hard work and family come together to build a life for the two of them and for the future. I love thinking philosophically about images, and tracking the origins of ideas. With Dania and Greg, the analogy was perfect and obvious. The two are married and have labored hard in the startup land of Switzerland to build their barn, Amazee.com using the tech tools and business sense of modern times. This was the central theme I presented during our brain storming session, and then we exploded out in a couple different directions, and settled on a Tech-Flesh Jungle analogy to represent the internet environment of startup and internet companies in the new net universe – but this one will take some time to digest and to present coherently.

Raw Shoot

Before jumping into the Tech-Flesh concept, we did some basic portraits in my apartment studio. Dania and Greg dropped by one fine Tuesday night, and after a raclette dinner we set about shooting some portraits. Part of the Web Portraits project is to give people who don’t know much about photography and lighting the opportunity to learn. So we started out with Greg shooting after I’d set up the lights. Then I shot sets of Greg and Dania separately and together, getting a nice pool of images for the Amazee Gothic concept.

I wanted some nice, not-dark-and-moody lighting for the two of them. Greg has one of those fabulous near-bald heads that draws up from his body into a sort of classic form which almost demands a gridded softbox. I had one on hand and put an Elinchrom BxRi 250ws into it (a Creative Light 60x90cm gridded softbox). For Dania, and to balance out the sharper light hitting Greg I setup a white Elinchrom beauty dish with a diffusion sock, and inside I added a gold reflector element to give a warmer tone to her. I added some Lastolite Trilite reflectors in front of the two of them and we ready to shoot.

First Cut

I put together a quick first edit of images from the shoot. I had just picked up a flame thrower for a future ProtestLove shoot and it seemed perfect to pair a pregnant Dania with a destruction device I originally saw when the Watchmen promotional posters were released. Basically I was looking for a retro-styled flame thrower like the one the Comedian used to light his cigar, and this one with Dania has the perfect look. The device I found is simplistic and is the perfect size, not too long and not too short. We were sort of thinking of compositing in a bomber in the background dropping a payload of blossoming flowers from the sky. All I need now is to hook the thing up to a propane tank and shoot the flame and do some photoshop magic.

Greg found a pair of those cool 80’s glasses in my apartment I bought on the boardwalk in San Diego, and he wears them extremely well. I shot him with my large Creative Light softbox, and I guess he’s staring into the internet future, and with his smile, sort of reminds me of Max Headroom, I dig this look immensely. In the previous projects, I focused on a grungy look with Mathias, a cleaner look with Lukas, and now with Greg I wanted to do something lighter, so I worked up a composite of Greg with a summer sky shot in Berlin. I wanted something with a lot of light, but to maintain the texture of a painting canvas, some lightflare was added in Photoshop and I sort of want a hint of the awesome flare seen in Star Trek: where J.J Abrams used an anamorphic lens to get wicked flare, you also see this feeling in the Transformers movies, it gives you the sense of sitting in a desert.

A Person Is Not A Subject

When photographers talk about their photographs of people (like portraits), when I read comments on photo forums and on blogs from popular professional photographers it’s popular to use the term subject when referring to the image capture of a person, as in…

“I photographed the subject using a gridded octabox to feather the light off of their nose and give depth to their cheek bones…blah, blah…”

I like to call the humans I photograph people. After writing about subjects and lighting a lot of photographers then say something like, “but you have to make a connection with your subject.” I think that if you treat people like people instead of subjects, then it makes everything easier and natural to start out with. I think of a photo session as just an extended conversation. If you lose the human element in the photograph or image, then you also lose authenticity. And when you lose authenticity you have a picture which is worthless, without emotional impact, and is a waste of time to look. It’s tempting to say subject because it implies that you’re doing something grander than tripping the shutter on a camera during a conversation, but the truth is portrait photography is just about being a human talking to another human. When you get caught up in lights and gear and subjects you might not ever learn that simple fact, and end up treating a person you’re photographing like a science experiment – and I like photography because I’m not in the lab.

A Pure Detroit Fashion Experience

Detroit, , ,

I grew up at a time when if you could buy a T-shirt promoting Detroit it would say something like, “Welcome to Detroit, Now Go Home.” Now when I travel back to Michigan I’m continually inspired by the shops and style I see in the city and surrounding areas. Few places say Detroit fashion like Pure Detroit, a home-grown fashion brand that takes the best of Detroit and infuses that inspiration into stylish things to wear.

Pure Detroit

If you walk through the Pure Detroit store in the Fisher Building one of the most iconic accessories to pick up is the seat-belt buckle belt. It’s genius in so many ways. The buckles are taken from, or at least sourced from seat belt buckles that used to protect passengers in Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler cars. I still have vivid memories of buckling myself into the family van (a Ford) and I just couldn’t say no to buying one. It’s sort of industrial and unique in a way I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Another staple of Pure Detroit is the fitted T-shirt. Detroit Rock, Detroit Funk, they’re displayed in 70’s-80’s colored script and result in a non-kitsch image of the city. Of all the cities I’ve visited in the world, Detroit has the coolest T-shirts. Prague is a close second, nearly tied with Berlin (and Berlin has the coolest sweater). This is actually not easy to do. I’ve seen the city T-shirts in Paris, New Orleans, Zurich, Prague, Tokyo, Boston, New Mexico, Las Vegas and a few other not so memorable locals. The Pure Detroit shirts are by far the most stylish and cutting-edge of any other place because they focus on the historical music style and well as the city. They’re cool without trying to spoon-feed anything to the person who looks at you walking down the street.

Spectacles

In the city, my favorite shop is Spectacles (230 E. Grand River Harmonie) . I was just walking around one day and heard some cool music pumping into the street. At first I thought it was coming from some apartment and pulled out my Zoom H4 to record the sounds. Then I realized it was coming from the shop I was standing in front of and decided to walk in and check it out. Spectacles is sort of beyond cool. You can buy homemade funk CD burned on a computer, new designers and T-shirts I wouldn’t know where to find anywhere else and the shop has an all around awesome feeling. I talked with the owner for a bit and walked way with two shirts and a couple of CDs. Whenever I’m in Downtown Detroit I head to Spectacles. The shop isn’t huge, but the ambiance inside is unique, and they sell real clothes there. If you stop into an H&M, you always have the feeling that you’re buying something fleeting, that will look cool for half a season and then it’s over with. The stuff at Spectacles has a sort of timeless cool funk feeling. They stock small designers, so if you’re looking for something unique, it’ll be there. On my last trip I found a fantastic hat that sits upon my brain with an authentic style the hats in Zurich just don’t have.

Showtime

Outside of downtown and near Wayne State University is Showtime (5708 Woodward Avenue). What’s Showtime? More or less it’s hands down the coolest Rock-oriented fashion spot in the world. Sounds like an exaggeration, but I’ve shopped in San Diego, Tokyo, Zurich, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, and a few others, and it’s just a fact that Showtime is the coolest of them all. Well, to be honest it’s borderline between Spectacles and Showtime for my favorite establishment, one is hip hop and the other rock. If you want to dress like a rockstar then head to Showtime, don’t ask about the prices and let the clothes find you, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

The Burbs

Outside of Detroit is Royal Oak, once the trendy alternative area of the metro area, now an upscale nesting place for young professionals and those who want to look trendy, the city still has a lot of cool shops, like Indigo. I stopped in just to be different (from my boring perspective) and left with a T-shirt and sweater, the likes of which I wouldn’t be able to find in Zurich and probably neither in Paris. This is kind of the point, because I’m not likely to run into someone sporting the same look while strolling down BahnhofStrasse in Zurich.

Shoes are the make-or-break addition to any wardrobe. Onitsuka Tigers are the most fantastic shoes I didn’t know existed until I started paying attention. These shoes are coveted items in Zurich, and generally can’t be had for less than 120-160 CHF per pair. The situation is blissfully different in Michigan (and the US in general), and I picked up a nice pair of white Tigers at the Summerset Collection in Novi for like $60. I also got a pair of Levis 507 jeans, another item which carries an obscene markup in Europe. Shopping at the Summerset Collection (located in Troy) in the hardcore white-collar suburbs of Detroit lacks the feel of the actual city, but the selection and prices (compared to Zurich) are nice.

Detroit is my new fashion shopping Mecca in the world. The stores aren’t all in the same place and you might have to search around for the things you want – but when you find them you can rest assured that the merchandise will be fresh and unique. My sister says I look European now, even though many of my clothes are from Michigan (or from We in Zurich), and in Europe people might think I look American, but I say the style is pure me.

If you’re heading to Detroit and don’t know where to start, head to the Downtown Welcome Center (1253 Woodward) and check out an Inside Detroit tour, highly recommended.

Lukas – Movement DJ Portrait

Web Portraits Zurich, , ,

I shot Lukas for the Web Portraits Zurich project some time ago, and I’m finally producing some finished portraits from the shoot. Lukas runs Guzuu and is a fixture in the Swiss web community for his unique visual style. Like many people I meet in the web/startup scene, he’s not just into launching companies, but also has a creative side. In this case, Lukas likes to DJ in Luzern and runs an internet music label (LittleJig.com).

I thought for a long time about how create images of Lukas, I could have just composited in some graffiti and called in a wrap, but then the images would have looked too similar to what I created for Mathias, and my sense for photographic exploration was honed in the academic research world. In Academia the key driver is to do something different, start with what you learned from the work of Bent and Hagood on Active Fiber Composites (AFC) and do something slightly different, evolve the idea a bit. Similarly, I wanted images of Lukas which have more movement and motion elements in them than with Mathias. I wanted to take some elements from my experience dancing in clubs and other DJ images I’ve seen on Flickr, and combine it with the visual style I’ve been developing. This meant light trails, streams of light created from the headlights of moving cars and night scenes of the streets. So when I went to UXCamp Europe 2010 in Berlin, I took some extra days and walked around Berlin, shooting long exposures at Rosenthaler Platz and other locations to generate the necessary texture images for Lukas.

When I’m dancing in a club I like to loose my mind and let my body get connected to the music and the vibrations in my soul. It’s a very personel thing, rather hard to commuincate visually, but I figured I should at least try. A key here was to let the light trails and night scenes move around Lukas, not dominate his image or allow key elements to be lost in the shadows. I’m getting back into painting at the moment, so I had an eye for adding abstract visuals from the night which are probably more like brush strokes than elements from Berlin, but in my head it seems to work.