Here is a great tutorial that we found on Formatt filters.

video courtesy of bogenimaging.us

This is for our photographer friends! This was a pretty impressive short film called Reverie created by Vincent Laforet. This video was shot with a pre-production Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. The files used to create this video were not manipulated in any way, only re-compressed for ¼ resolution display on our website.

EF Lenses used in the making of REVERIE:
FD 7.5mm f/5.6 (converted to EF mount)
EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
EF 135mm f/2L USM
EF 200mm f/1.8L USM
EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
EF 500mm f/4L IS USM
TS-E 24mm f/3.5L
TS-E 45mm f/2.8

Now, here is the behind-the-scenes video. Also, equally impressive.

Videos courtesy of Canon USA
If you go to the Canon website, you can find more information regarding this camera.

Hey everyone! We wanted to give our friends a place to visit, aside from our PhotomartUSA.com. The hopes we have for this website are many. We want to put up content that is helpful and relative, maybe even relatively helpful. Talk soon!

Above photo was taken by South Florida wedding photographer, Jeff Kolodny at Deering Estate in Miami. A wedding a Deering Estate is a perfect opportunity to shoot infrared pictures, as the grounds and buildings provide the ideal background for this special photographic method.

Anticipated. Cherished. Timeless. Your wedding day. For nearly every bride it is the moment in which perfection meets bliss. Wedding Photography preserves the memories and offers a sentimental glimpse of the bride’s most heartfelt journey.

Over the years, wedding photographers have graduated to a more stylized expressive technique, incorporating cutting-edge, ultra-chic snapshots with a unique design form and artistic flair. In fact, the wedding images are actually compiled to present more than just a catalog of wedding pictures; wedding albums now tend to convey the “total experience” of the bride and groom – their personal experience. From the “behind the scenes” pre-ceremony stages to the final dance of the evening, successful photographers capture each segment of this fantastical celebration. Digital photography has virtually replaced film, offering the unlimited ability to transform the wedding images in order to propel the actualities of the day to new, more amazing artistic heights.

Color wedding images are often blended with black and white or sepia tones to further create a unique appearance; however, the line of creativity doesn’t stop there. So, what is this “other” black and white? It is infrared photography, a separate and distinct method of shooting photographs. Although in existence for seventy years, infrared photography is making a comeback into the world of wedding photography. This rare and favorably stylized art form offers an additional option for highlighting those extraordinary moments.

At first glimpse, infrared wedding photography looks similar to traditional black and white wedding photography. Upon closer inspection, though, infrared’s unusual tonality is recognized and often appreciated. Objects that are normally bright in visible light (such as sky) appear dark, and objects that are typically dark (such as green and brown foliage) acquire a luminous glow. Infrared is almost a reversal of the image’s “normal” tones. The effects of this distinctive art produce radiant, shining greenery, darkened sky settings, and soft, delicate shadows. Infrared wedding images can be described as ethereal, dreamlike, maybe even a bit surreal. These effects gently complement the romantic mood of the wedding photographs. An outdoor nature scene, shot in infrared, gives off a winterland fantasy feel, complete with “snow-draped” trees and fluffy white greenery. Similarly, an infrared wedding portrait produces elegant, fine skin tones and curious, almost translucent eye color adaptations. Unique. Artistic. Imaginative.

Since infrared Wedding photography requires extreme technical know-how and can be extremely difficult to shoot – even under the best conditions, there are few photographers who have mastered this art form. One skilled photographer who excels in the area of infrared photography is South Florida wedding photographer, Jeff Kolodny. With twenty-five years in business as a professional wedding photographer and award-winning recognitions, Jeff is able to offer the bride versatility. He will custom-shoot each event and then create a stylized album, designed to her liking, often incorporating infrared images into the mix.

Written by Carolyn Lasater for Jeff Kolodny Photography, Inc.

To see more of Jeff Kolodny’s Wedding Photographs, visit his website at www.weddingphotographysouthflorida.com

This romantic image was taken at the beach just across the street from the Delray Beach Marriott. Notice how the leaves on the trees have a white snow-like look to them. This is one of the effects of infrared wedding photography. For this image, I created a split tone effect in which most of the image has a sepia color but the shadows have been tinted just slightly blue.

Shooting weddings at the Delray Beach Marriott is always a pleasure because of its beautiful Ocean Boulevard entrance that is lined with European style pillars and its high- class marble floors in the lobby.

If you are having a Delray Beach Marriott wedding, you are in luck because the hotel is located just across the street from the beach which makes it easy for a beach side photo shoot and the opportunity to get some really spectacular infrared wedding images.

We just wanted to let you all know that we just got 2 more Formatt Filters in stock:

Hot Mirror IRND in 4″x 5.65″ Panavision Size Formatt Filter

Linear Polarizer in 5.650″ x 5.650″ Formatt Filter

(Click on each link to learn more about each filter)

There are also a bunch of new hardware items in the New Items section as well!  Check ‘em out!

OK, this is a quickie. I’ve been running some tests here at Indian Hill Imageworks to determine if using contrast filters such as:

• Light Yellow 021
• Light Red 090
• Yellow Green 060

would cause a problem with this awesome film/ developer combo. Answer: NO. I personally like no filter or a ND if I’m shooting in bright light (remember TX in Diafine has an EI of 1250 to 1600 so unless you like F22 at 1/1000th its ND (Neutral Density) or Contrast Filter time!) I love the full gray tones of this film/ developer combo and find the “straight neg” is the easiest to scan and get every bit of tonality.

NOTE: On the Light Red 090 just be very careful with your shadow placement.

NOTE 2: ONLY use good filters…I like B+W and Heliopan…Yes they are expensive but worth it! Here is great resource for an explanation of Filter Flare and other optical stuff!

What, you say?! No sample pictures with this article (horrors)!!???…Go make them yourself you lazy bum, I’m tired! (A joke, of course- I’m never tired!)

My final article in this series on printing and hand coating your own inkjet papers will be out very soon…stay tuned!

Viva la Revolution!! Stephen Schaub

Do you- or a photographer you know- suffer from Sticky Filter Syndrome? There is no need to be ashamed… we’ve all been there. This informative video gives a quick fix and a preventative cure for this dreaded photographic ailment.

The first filter I want to discuss is the 81-filter. I shall talk about the others later on.

81-Filter

This is a very simple, yet effective filter for portrait-editing.

­Using the filter once-off in Photoshop:

1. Open the image you want to edit in Photoshop.

2. Create a new layer from the Background layer.

3. Select Image/Adjustments/Color Balance.

4. In ‘Tone Balance’, click on ‘Shadows’ and type ‘-7’ in the right hand block. You have now decreased blue with a value of 7 and increased yellow with the same in the shadow areas of your image.

5. Now click on ‘Midtones’ in ‘Tone Balance’ and repeat the above process.

6. Lastly click on ‘Highlights’ in ‘Tone Balance’ and repeat the process again.

7. You have now completed the filter.

Use your Opacity slider in Layers to decrease the intensity of the filter. After you have finished, flatten the image.

The disadvantage is that you have to repeat the process each and every time you want to use the filter. You can build yourself an Action to do al the above with just one click.

Building an Action in Photoshop for the 81-filter:

Go to Actions and firstly create a new set for your filters.

1. Click on ‘Create New Set’ at the bottom of ‘Actions’ and give your set a name, i.e. ‘My Filters.’

2. Click on ‘Create New Action’ at the bottom of ‘Actions’ and give your action a name, i.e. 81-Filter (Make sure that new action is stored in your ‘My Filters’ set).

3. Click on ‘Record’

4. Execute steps 3 to 6 as in ‘Using the filter once-off’ in Photoshop’ above.

5. Click the ‘Stop playing/recording’ button at the bottom of ‘Actions’

6. You have now completed your action.

If you want to use the filter in future, open the image you want to edit, create the new layer as in ‘Using the filter once-off in Photoshop’, select the action, i.e. ’81-filter’ and click on the ‘Play selection’ button at the bottom of ‘Actions.’ After the action is executed, use the Opacity Slider in layers to select the intensity of the filter. After you have finished, flatten the image.

One of the biggest advantages of digital photography is that you can afford to make certain errors. It can always be corrected on the computer afterwards.

I think one of the most common errors is white balance. You either forget to change the white balance setting on your camera or the camera’s lighting interpretation is not correct – or you may decide you want a certain lighting effect for a specific image.

On-camera filters are available but it is pricy and it means that you must increase the bulk in your camera bag. Some filters, i.e. your UV- and polarising filters are irreplaceable and cannot successfully be simulated in your software.

There are filters that can be successfully simulated via your editing software, i.e. warming and cooling filters. If your image lacks some warmth, an 81- or 85-series filter can be used to add some emotional warmth to the photo. For cooling, the 82- and 80-series filters can be used.

I want to show you how to build these filters with Photoshop Actions and how I use them in practice.