Toby the modeling pooch

It takes major photo skills to get a dog to smile (Not photoshopped)  :)

That's a nice pose!

I guess photo sessions can be boring.

Time for a morning jog.

Holli Quan & Randy Rabelista Wedding

Dienna, Moochie & Buddy

Dog owner Dienna and her two beloved pooches out for a walk in the park.

Photos captured using a Nikon D90 and the 180mm 2.8 lens. Post processed in Aperture 2.0.

Nikon D90 vs Nikon D40 Flash Sync Speed Test

Today I took out my two Nikon bodies and decided to test them with my cheap-o Gadget Infinity (aka Poverty Wizard) radio triggers and my Nikon SB600 flash. I put my artificial light up against the Arizona sun in what we photographers love to call Overpowering the sun with flash.

Something unknown to most novice photographers is a camera's flash sync speed. Most camera's these days can achieve a very fast shutter speed ranging from 1/4000th to 1/8000th of a second. YES, VERY FAST!!  However, to achieve such fast speeds, the cameras play a little trick where the shutter doesn't open completely during the fast shutter speeds, but rather travels along the image sensor as a small slit, via a front and rear curtain. What this means is that during constant light, the image is being painted onto the sensor gradually from one side to the other as the shutter opening travels across the sensor. This, BTW, happens very fast. However, once you decide to add a flash to light the subject, only the area of the sensor exposed by the shutter at the time the flash fired will be exposed. The rest of the image will be dark (assuming there's very little ambient light on your subject!).

So what does this mean? It means that when using a flash, it's not the shutter speed that counts, but the maximum speed in which the entire shutter is open, therefore allowing a complete exposure of the image when using flash. This is what is known as the flash sync speed.

Back to my test. Both cameras were used in manual mode, as well as the flash. I started with the SB600 at 1/4 power to allow for plenty of power against the bright sun as well as quick recycle time. First things first, here's the published sync speeds of the camera bodies being tested:

Nikon D90: 1/200th second
Nikon D40: 1/500th second

Interesting that the lower priced D40 outperforms the highly coveted D90 by twice the sync speed. Chalk it up to the D40's electronic shutter.

So now it's time for battle. Did the bodies perform exactly as specified by the owner's manual? Sort of. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Nikon D90 did perform as promised. It achieved a perfect sync speed of 1/200th of a second. Of course, there are tricks out there that a photographer may use if the want to shoot outdoors in bright light with a wide open aperture. Such tricks include neutral density filters, such as the awesome but pricey Singh-Ray Variable ND filters. Nikon also offers FP (Focal Plan) mode in some of their camera bodies and shoe mounted flashes which sends out pulses of light which synchronize with shutters speeds up to 1/8000th of a second, thereby filling the entire sensor will light from the flash.

Back to our test! What about the entry level, D40 with the published flash sync speed of 1/500th of a second? When I tested the 1/500th shutter speed with flash, it passed with flying colors. So I decided to bump up the shutter speed to 1/640th of a second. IT PASSED! Wow! Very nice. Ok, let's try bumping it up some more to 1/800th of a second. IT PASSED AGAIN!!! Wow! That's a sync speed FOUR times faster than my beloved D90! Pretty cool. Of course I needed to try more, more, more. I needed to find the true limitations of this small wonder myself. So I boosted the shutter speed to 1/1000th of a second. It looks like this is where our limit was reached. I got a completely black screen. Still, 1/800 was pretty darn good in my book. The sync speed champ, Nikon D40!

Flash sync speeds tested using Gadget Infinity Cactus triggers and a Nikon SB600 in 1/4 power manual mode:
Nikon D90:  1/200th
Nikon D40:  1/800th

So why the big difference, especially since the D90 is considered to be a superior camera? The answer lies in the D40's electronic shutter. Once the front curtain of the shutter has traveled its course, a signal is sent to the camera to shut off its sensor. This is then followed by the rear curtain which covers the sensor completely. The Nikon D70 is said to have a similar shutter mechanism which also allows for sync speeds similar to the D40.

(Pictures will be posted soon)

Angela, Friend, 2nd Shooter & Model

Here's some snaps from a photo outing with Angela throughout the Phoenix-metro area. Angela will be my 2nd shooter and assistant and I was showing her the different ways to use a camera, lenses and lighting. Here's a few of my favorite shots from the outing.

Photo shoot with Eddi

Taking a short break from Weddings and other events, I was asked to photograph a good friend and Journalist, Eddi Trevizo. We shot some indoor and outdoor portraits, and it was one of the funnest shoots I've done in a while. Eddi was so easy to work with that at times I thought I was working with a professional model. Eddi, thanks for making my job easy!

You can read some of Eddi's stories in the Arizona Republic and online at AZCentral.com.

On Location Wedding Shoot

Here I am getting ready to photograph this adorable young lady. Her outfit had classic, well dressed beauty written all over it, so I decided to add a vintage effect to the photograph.

A walk around Tempe Town Lake

I went for another stroll around one of my favorite places in the Phoenix-Metro area, Tempe Town Lake. The temperature was perfect, but the strong wind rattled my camera and blurred a few of my shots. These were my two favorites of the night.

Remembering Wall-E

Light Rail Bridge

3rd Annual Arizona Salsa Congress

The striking Serena Cuevas performing at the Arizona Salsa Congress.
Visit her web site at www.DeseoDance.com

World Famous dancers Liz Lira and Cristian Oviedo mesmerized the crowd with their performance.

The night was filled with amazing performances, social dancing and an ear pleasing live band!

Edward at the Park

Being asked to photograph children is always an exercise in fitness and patience. Persistence is key, finding ways to connect with them is paramount. Edward, with his endless supply of energy, had his parents and me running around the park trying to capture a few precious shots. My guess is that he was having fun us, and in the end he decided to give us what we were after. All in a hard day's work.

Moments with Porter

The son of a teacher and firefighter, Porter was at times selective with his big smiles, and at times generous. We had a wonderful time taking his pictures along with Mom and Dad in Downtown Chandler. We hope to see this good looking young man in front of the camera again very soon!

Remembering 9/11

The Healing Fields in Tempe Town Lake. 3,000 flags were set up to honor the victims of the 9/11 attack. Attached to each flag was a card and a short description of the person that it honored. Each card contained the name, age and job description of each individual that lost their life September 11, 2001.

Morales - Meyers Wedding