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#1 San Andreas Dawn ... Winging into San Francisco at
7:00 am is breath taking. The fog and clouds looked like
a blanket as the sun broke the eastern horizon. As is
my custom when flying I chose a window seat so I could
take pictures as I crossed the western United States.
Why sleep when you can make images. Nikon D3, ISO200,
1/1250 at f8 (it was very bumpy air), Nikon 24-70mm Lens,
WB 8330K, Lexar 8G Flash Card. Shooting pictures through
the window of a commercial jet plane can sometimes create
some interesting effects. In this case even though I chose
a warmer than daylight WB of 8330K to add some warm color
tones to the fog and clouds, the sky remained super blue
and resembled images of leaving the earth's atmosphere.
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#2 Main Sails ... Day 1 of the summit was a city wide
scavenger hunt using Magellan and Tom Tom GPS units,
a cell phone camera and SONY T-300 pocket camera. Blue
Pixel instructors were positioned all over San Francisco
while the Best Buy attendees walked, cable car-ed, and
BART-ed their way around the city obtaining clues, pictures
and valuable points towards the team building competition.
One of my two locations was Pier 39. To my delight,
this was the day of the Tall Ships arrival into San
Francisco. As I waited for the summit's participants
to find me and receive their clues to the next location
of photographic interest I photographed the ships as
they passed by me. Nikon D60, ISO200, 1/500 at f9, Nikon
55-200mm Lens, WB Daylight, Lexar 2G SD Card. NOTE:
I used the Nikon D60 with Nikon 55-200mm Lens rather
than my usual Nikon D3. The D60 and 50-200mm Lens were
standard issue to all those working at the summit. This
helped those of us teaching the DSLR portion of the
summit to relate one on one to the participants. I found
the D60 a terrific camera that was very easy to handle
and make great pictures with. There is plenty of detail
in this file and the color looked perfect.
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#3 Jimmy ... The next day we all took Ferries over to
"THE ROCK", Alcatraz. Our summiteers now had
their new Nikon D60 with choices of lenses and a Nikon
SB600 Speedlight. We took Alcatraz by storm and made
pictures both inside the prison walls and out around
the grounds. I was fascinated with the main cell block
and gave a short lecture/demonstration of how I use
a DSLR camera and Speedlight. My demonstration eventually
lead me to ask Jimmy, one of the Best Buy attendees,
to pose for a picture. Although Jimmy appears to be
serving a life sentence on the Rock he is really a top
employee of Best Buy and a great guy for playing the
role of an inmate for our Nikon Speedlight session.
Nikon D3, ISO800, 1/30 at f6.3, Nikon 14-24, WB 3850K,
One SB800 Speedlight power output of -3.0 with a "pinched"
LumiQuest Snoot, Nikon SU800 Commander to fire the Speedlight,
Lexar 2G SD Flash Card. For this image I used my own
gear in an effort to demonstrate to the participants
what I would do if I were on a job for a client. Thanks
for posing Jimmy, I'll put in a good word to the warden
for you.
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#4 Golden Gate ... A walk across the Golden Gate Bridge
began with overcast, but by the time we reached the other
side sunshine prevailed and pictures looked perfect. Nikon
D60, ISO200, Shutter Priority with EV-0.7, Nikon 18-55mm
Lens, WB AUTO, Lexar 2G SD Card. I went with all AUTO
program controls for this image. The D60 performed very
well in all respects. The Golden Gate Bridge is an architectural
marvel to see and to photograph.
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#5 Golden Gate Shadow ... After looking up during the walk
across the bridge, it was only natural to look down as well.
The height was a bit staggering, but I wasn't ready to reach
for the suicide hot line phone just yet ....... after all,
I wanted to make this picture of the Golden Gate Bridge
shadow over this channel marker building. Nikon D60, ISO400,
Shutter Priority with EV -1.0, Nikon 55-200mm Lens, WB AUTO,
Lexar 2G SD Card. |
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#6 Fighter Jet Sunset ... The 3 days of the Summit finished
up in grand style abroad the USS Hornet aircraft carrier.
We had the run of the ship and were allowed to explore above
and below decks and photograph a variety of subjects. Like
at Alcatraz I gathered some participants and showed them
that one Speedlight could do a lot to make a picture more
interesting. As the sun set off the tail of the flight deck
the sky lit up with some soft pastel colors. A silhouette
of this fighter jet was impressive, but when I showed students
how to use one remote Speedlight they were sold on using
off camera flash. Nikon D3, ISO250, 1/60 at f11, Nikon 24-70mm
Lens, WB 6670K, One SB800 Speedlight with warming Gel and
a power output of +3.0, Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 8G
Flash Card. |
I had a great time .... We had a great time!
From old sailing vessels to an aircraft carrier, from Alcatraz
to the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw it all in San Francisco. I
really enjoyed the entire summit and sites, but especially the
Best Buy employees. These people were loaded with enthusiasm
and a quest for knowledge, but not just for themselves. Many,
many times after I would teach a photographic technique or an
intricate function of the camera to a participant they would
immediately say how they would take that knowledge back to the
home store and share it with their co-workers. Now that's giving
back.......... that's Best Buy.
See you next time here at Workshop at the Ranch ...........................
Adios, Dave
Past Workshop at the Ranch Issues
July, 2010
"Moto Light"
June, 2010
"West Coast Flash"

May, 2010
"Little Lights, BIG Arena - PART 2"

April, 2010
"Little Lights, BIG Arena - PART 1 "

March, 2010
"Workshop Wonders"
February, 2009
The D3s Advantage
January, 2010
"New Nikon D3s"
December, 2009
"Year in Review"

November, 2009
Return to Neverland

October, 2009
"Dramatic Gym Light"
September, 2009
"Saratoga Light"

August, 2009
"Graduation Class"

July, 2009
"FourSquare Sensation"

June, 2009
"Print On Demand publishing is for you"

May, 2009
"Sports Shooter Academy"

April, 2009
"My New Book is Available"

March, 2009
"The Nikon D3X...Part II "

February, 2009
"The Nikon D3X...Part I "

January, 2009
"Book Ideas Wanted"

December, 2008
Year in Review

November, 2008
Action with the SB-900 Speedlights

October, 2008
Lightpainting Under the Stars

September, 2008
Long Island Photo Workshop
August, 2008
"Best Buy Summit in San Francisco"
July, 2008
"Rich Clarkson's Sports Photography Workshop"

June, 2008
"Seven Photo Techniques"

May, 2008
"Learn Something New"

April, 2008
San Diego TREK

March, 2008
Joe McNally's book

February, 2008
The Nikon D300

January, 2008
Shoot From Where They Ain't (click here)
December, 2007
D3 Questions , Answers and Images

November, 2007
New Nikon D3

October, 2007
Football...A Retro Look

September, 2007
Get Out of the Box
August, 2007
Portrait Session with Frankie Herr

July, 2007
"Cowboy Up at the Double JJ Ranch"

June, 2007
"Light on the Run"

May, 2007
"SB800 Location Lighting in Mexico"

April, 2007
"Take it From the Top"

March, 2007
"Triple Play, Hat Trick, Trifecta" of Design

February, 2007
Principles of Success

January, 2007
Answers to Popular Questions

December , 2006
TREK to Peru and Machu Picchu

October, 2006
Creative Lightpainting (click
here)

September, 2006
Tandem SB800 Speedlight Set Up (click here)

August, 2006
Get Pumped Up with Light (click here)

July, 2006
Sports Action SB800 Lighting on Location (click here)

June, 2006
An Artistic Look At Derby Week (click here)

May, 2006
Lightpainting....from the Beginning (click here)

April, 2006
Workshop 40: Arches Mentor Series TREK

March, 2006
Workshop 39: Let the Games Begin...

February, 2006
Workshop 38: My Moody Blue Location Lighting Formula

January, 2006
Workshop 37: Answers to Popular Questions

December, 2005
Workshop 36: Year in Review...
My Favorite Equipment of 2005

November, 2005
Workshop 35: Building a Portrait

October, 2005
Workshop 34: Game Coverage.....My Way

September, 2005
Workshop 33: Equipment...and How It Can Help A Career

August, 2005
Workshop 32, Fill Flash....It's not Just For Portraits

July, 2005
Workshop 31, Rock On!

June, 2005
Workshop 30, Remote Cameras at Churchill Downs

May, 2005
Workshop 29, Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 102

April, 2005
Workshop 28, Arena Sport Strobe Lighting 101

March, 2005
Workshop 27: Nikon's D2X Digital Camera

February, 2005
Workshop 26: Steps to Success

January, 2005
Workshop 25: Own Your Images!

December, 2004
Workshop 24: Step-by-Step Lightpainting
November, 2004
Workshop 23: The Importance of Recognizing Light


September, 2004
Workshop 21: Covering The 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, Greece
(click here)

August, 2004
Workshop 20: Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
WIRELESS TTL LIGHTING
(click here)

July, 2004
Workshop 19: Location Portrait Lighting using
Nikon's NEW SB-800 Speedlights
(click here)

June, 2004
Workshop 18: Photography - Just Enjoy it!
(click here)

May, 2004
Workshop 17: Documenting the Masters
(click here)

April, 2004
Workshop 16: Scene Setters
(click here)

March, 2004
Workshop 15: THE JOY of FILL FLASH
(click here)

February, 2004
Workshop 14: Sports Strobe Photography
(click here)


December, 2003
Workshop 12: "Product Review - The Nikon D2H Digital Camera
(click here)

November, 2003
Workshop 11: "Be More Than a Fan"

October, 2003
Workshop 10: "More Porrage, Please"

September, 2003
Workshop 9: The Nikon COOLPIX 5700

August, 2003
Workshop 8: Using Wireless Remotes

July, 2003
Workshop 7: Approaching The Event

June, 2003
Workshop 6: To be noticed, to be published, to the marketplace

May, 2003
Workshop 5: What Drives an Image Part Two,
Slow Shutter Speed & Pan, (click here)
April, 2003
Workshop 4: What Drives an Image? (click here)

March, 2003
Workshop 3: Fill Flash Techniques (click here)

February, 2003
Workshop 2: Sports Arena Lighting (click here)

January,
2003
Workshop 1: Lightpainting (click here)
