ioShutter Review

Posted on June 7, 2012 | 1 comment

The Ultimate Timelapse Tool?

It was one of those “oh, wow!” moments. In 2011, at Focus On Imaging, I was chatting with James Madelin from Enlight (the makers of the Orbis and Frio). He shared with me his plans for an iPhone app that could control remote firing a DSLR. I thought it was a cool idea to have a cable release always with you, so was impressed at this simple, yet extremely helpful idea. Then, I got more impressed as he expanded on the project, sharing that it was in fact a complete intervelometer allowing full control over time and frequency of shots.

Behind the scenes as Sotheby’s prepares the Gunter Sachs Collection ahead of the sale on May 22nd and 23rd, 2012. The IO Shutter in action with a Canon 5D MkII, on a time lapse. It is being triggered by an iPad 3 in the Sotheby’s bag. Sotheby’s, New Bond Street, London. May 17, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I now have this rather super ioShutter cable with me and it has become part of my regular camera kit. The interface is just genius and very intuitive to use. It also works on the iPad and newer iPod Touches. To control the camera, one has to download the ioShutter app from the iTunes App Store. There is a free version with limited ability or the full on pro version offering much more control. Naturally, I would fully recommend the Pro version of the app to allow full creativity.

I had an assignment at Sotheby’s to make a timelapse video of the Gunter Sachs show being set up. I had three cameras on the go, covering various angles and rooms. For an overhead, fisheye type shot, I had my GoPro HD Hero clamped around a lighting rail using a large Joby Gorillapod (tripod). I had one of my Canon 5D MkII cameras on a tripod being triggered by a Pocket Wizard MultiMax which I’d put into intervalometer mode. On my other 5D MkII I had my iPad attached, using the ioShutter cable. First problem was finding a way to attach the iPad and a Sotheby’s carrier bag proved an elegant and workable solution!

I made sure the volume on the iPad was turned way up (as the IO Shutter cable plugs into the headphone jack), set my duration between shots to five seconds and set it to shoot. First attempt in the field and no problems. The app and cable worked perfectly.

This assignment started around 9.30am and finished around 5.00pm and the system just worked. I carry my Pocket Wizards in my location lighting bag, so unless I’m planning to use them, the Pocket Wizards aren’t always with me. With the ioShutter, I have the cable now in my Think Tank Photo Airport International roller, so it’s always there. I also always have my iPhone and usually my iPad with me, which now means that if see an opportunity for a timelapse, I can just shoot it.

Screen shots of the ioShutter Pro App.

Compared to the Pocket Wizard MultiMax, it’s also a cheaper option, with the camera control cable on the MultiMax costing considerably more. It also has various other uses, as a timer or a sound triggered release too. Lastly, it’s available for Canon and Nikon DSLRs.

Thinking back to our first chat about the ioShutter, I was very excited by the idea but had doubts about it materialising as it was just too good! Well, it’s here, it’s real and it’s genius. Very highly recommended.

If you’re in the UK, you can get the IO Shutter cable from Snapper Stuff.

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Posted in Camera Equipment, Photography, Review, Video

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PR & Commercial Photography

Posted on June 4, 2012 | 3 comments

PR Professionals, You Should Bookmark This Page

Alex James, bassist from Blur turned cheesemaker, is launching an exciting, innovative line exclusively with Asda entitled Alex James Presents.The range, on shelves from August 22nd, includes deliciously creamy cheddar blended with wonderful flavour combinations, such as Cheddar and Tomato Ketchup, Cheddar and Salad Cream and Cheddar and Tikka Masala. Alex with a huge sandwich filled with sliced cheeses from the new range. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Picture the scene; your client has spent tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds on the launch of their latest product or service. They have hired your PR firm to generate interest and spread the word. Months if not years of R&D, planning and hard work have gone into this moment when the product is to be revealed to the public. It’s a make or break moment. You yourself have spent weeks or even months planning, writing press releases, talking of strategies and when it comes to one of the most crucial aspects, the actual reveal to the public, you choose your photographer without much thought and skimp on budget, trying to cut corners for what is a tiny amount in the grand scheme of the project. The result? All this effort and expense goes to waste; the papers don’t give your client coverage, the product fails and you and your company not only look bad, but risk losing that account.

Grey Goose vodka and Virgin Atlantic have today announced the opening of the world’s best airport bar – the Grey Goose Loft at the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at London Heathrow. The luxurious bar will offer Virgin Atlantic Upper Class passengers a bespoke experience and a level of service which until now could only be enjoyed in the top cocktail bars in the world. A Grey Goose Signature Dry Martini. London, UK. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I can be of help. I’ve been a press photographer also covering PR and commercial photography since 1989. I’ve weathered two recessions – not through dropping prices or doing silly promotions, but by producing great, award winning photography – consistently. On several occasions my PR photography has made it into the papers’ “Pictures of the Week” and been given the space good photography deserves. I can be involved at the early planning stage by being a consultant (essential and often overlooked), advising on what will make a strong photographic campaign and what the picture editors will go for, all the way through to the actual photography and getting the pictures out there to the papers.

Nell McAndrew wishes UK National Lottery players the best of British luck for the record breaking £100 million EuroMillions rollover jackpot. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

This is a post you should bookmark and even more importantly, here’s my PR and commercial photography website which you definitely should bookmark:

www.commercial.pix.org.uk

I look forward to hearing from you on your next project. Your clients deserve the best photography, so don’t let them down and get in touch.

Feature on the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) in Stanmore ahead of the launch of their fundraising appeal. The Imaging Department is one of the departments that will benefit from the redevelopment. Superintendant Radiographer Marubini Mamphwe carries out a Scoliosis X-Ray on patient David Chapell. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

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Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 25 comments

The Perfect Camera Bag?

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Shown with two Leica M cameras; L-R: Leica M9 with 50mm Noctilux ASPH and M9-P with 35mm Summilux ASPH. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

As photographers we spent our years searching for that perfect image. Any photographer who has been in the industry for any length of time has most probably spent a sizeable amount of time also searching for the perfect camera bag!

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Front view, showing a lightmeter in the side pocket. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Firstly, I would say that no such thing exists as “the perfect camera bag”. It’s taken me a couple of decades to come up with this conclusion. I would say though that the perfect camera bag system does exist. One type of bag simply will not work for all situations, types of equipment or types of assignment, therefore having a system of bags is the answer. I’ve been a user of Think Tank Photo bags for many years now and was so impressed with them that I even joined the design board a couple of years ago, for a year. (I hasten to add that I’ve had no input into this bag, so it is a straight forward review). I now use a system of roller bags and backpacks which allow for transportation of gear to an assignment, and then a selection of belt pouches, chest bag (the Change Up) and shoulder bags, to work from (I choose what suits the assignment best).  I choose what will suit a particular assignment as carefully as I choose my camera or video gear. This way I can work both comfortably and quickly, with the equipment not getting in the way of the job at hand.

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Rear view, showing a lightmeter in the side pocket. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I’ve been actively using the Retrospective 7 on assignment for several weeks now and must say I am very, very impressed. It now houses my Leica M outfit, comprising of an M9, M9-P, 21mm Elmarit, 28mm Summicron ASPH, 35mm Summilux ASPH, 50mm Noctilux ASPH, 90mm Summarit, SF 58 flash and various accessories. The main thing with this bag though was that it was designed to take an Apple 11″ MacBook Air or iPad too, so depending on what I’m doing, I will slip the appropriate computer in the rear zipped and padded compartment.

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Rear view, showing an Apple 11″ MacBook Air in the rear pocket. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Like the other Retrospective Bags, it’s lightweight, unconstructed and soft, with a moving base (made up of several padded sections that move with the movement of the bag). This makes the range, and this bag too, an extremely comfortable shoulder bag to work with and work from. It also has the genius silent velcro system which comes in very handy in quite press conferences (and will suit every wedding photographer when it comes to working in a church environment).

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Rear view, showing an Apple iPad 3. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Although I house my rangefinder outfit in the Retrospective 7, it will also be perfect for any Micro 4/3 system by Panasonic or Olympus and the Fuji X-Pro 1 kit. It will also take smaller DSLRs (without grips), including the 5D MkIII or D800, with lenses up to the 24-70 f2.8s and smaller prime lenses. It’s an extremely versatile size and can be configured to house a wide variety of gear, including a means to edit and send pictures.

Think Tank Photo Retrospective 7 shoulder bag. Interior shot, with dividers set up specifically for a Leica M outfit. May 31, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Is it the perfect bag? Well, I’d say it’s the perfect shoulder bag and it’s now my favourite shoulder bag of all time. Highly recommended.

The Retrospective 7, along with most of that range is available in Black, Pinestone and the new Blue Slate colours. If you’re in the UK, check out SnapperStuff where you can order directly or find your local dealer. Otherwise, check out the Think Tank Photo.

Addendum: Macjim has kindly sent me this picture showing his Retrospective 7 with the Apple 13″ MacBook Air in the front pocket. I wouldn’t say it’s ideal, but appears a workable solution if needs must.

 

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Posted in Bag, Review, viewpoint

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Gunter Sachs Collection at Sotheby’s

Posted on May 19, 2012 | 2 comments

An Exclusive Behind The Scenes Look


Behind the scenes as Sotheby’s prepares the Gunter Sachs Collection ahead of the sale on May 22nd and 23rd, 2012. Sotheby’s will be offering close to 300 works of art from the prestigious single owner collection. The sale is estimated to realise £20 million.

Almost 7200 pictures were used in this timelapse. The majority were shot on a pair of Canon 5D MkII cameras specifically set up for shooting this timelapse (with a 16-35mm f2.8L II and 24-105mm f4L), one being triggered by a Pocket Wizard Multimax and the other by the highly configurable IO Shutter running on an iPad 3. A GoPro HD Hero was used for the overhead view timelapse. Reportage images were shot on a Leica M9 and M9-P (using a 50mm Noctilux ASPH, 35mm Summilux ASPH and 28mm Summicron ASPH). The images were all processed in Apple’s Aperture and the video created using Apple’s FCP X.

Huge word of thanks to everyone involved, especially the team from Sotheby’s press office, the lighting crew , technicians and contemporary art experts.

Update: Thrilled to share that the video is published on The Guardian website.

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Posted in Canon 5D MkII Video, Film, multimedia, Photography, Pictures, Video

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The Leica M Monochrom Hands On Review

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 24 comments

The King Of The Tones?

Opening of the Leica Studio-S, 27 Bruton Place, Mayfair. Portraits of photographer Edmond Terakopian trying out the new Leica M Monocrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. May 16, 2012. Photo: By Brett / http://www.bybrett.com

I have to admit that when I first read rumours of a black and white Leica M, I thought it would never happen. When I saw the announcements, I was a tad surprised, until I saw the images. Such tonal range and amazing detail at very high ISOs all of a sudden made so much sense.

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 640 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 640 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I was fortunate enough to be able to try out a pre-production Leica M Monochrom today, along with the astonishingly great Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. In my enthusiasm to shoot with the camera I unfortunately didn’t check to see if the camera was set to RAW, so all these test images are from jpegs which I have processed a little in Aperture. Naturally RAWs produce the best files, so take these jpegs, which have been saved again as jpegs and thus degraded the image quality (especially at higher ISOs) as a guide. Even so, they are amazingly good!

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 8000 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 8000 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 10,000 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Test shots with the Leica M Monochrom and APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH. Camera was set to jpeg. 10,000 ISO. ***All shots on a pre-production Leica M Monochrom***. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

One of the great aspects of the launch event for the press at Leica Mayfair’s S-Studio was being able to discuss the camera with friends and colleagues.

Photographer Ian Berry from Magnum Photos tries out the new Leica M Monochrome. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian (Image shot on an M9-P and processed in Silver Efex Pro 2)

Photographer Ian Berry from Magnum Photos tries out the new Leica M Monochrome. May 16, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian (Image shot on an M9-P and processed in Silver Efex Pro 2)

I must admit to being blown away and yearn to be able to work in black and white like the good old days!

The huge thing with this camera is not needing the bayer filter in front of the sensor. This makes the sensor much better at picking up ultra fine detail and a wider tonal range, not to mention it’s ability to produce really gorgeous files at 8000 ISO. Just playing with these jpegs it’s clear to me that Leica have in fact pulled off a master stroke of absolute genius. I can’t wait to get my hands on this camera again, shoot in DNG and process them properly through Aperture. It is going to be lush!

For a full set of images taken with the M Monochrom, visit my Flickr stream.

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Posted in Camera Equipment, Leica, Photography, Pictures, viewpoint

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Camera Club Talk

Posted on May 15, 2012 | 2 comments

Presentation At The Thatcham Photographic Club

Photogrpher Edmond Terakopian during a street photography workshop for the Metropolitan Police Photographic Society. London. September 17, 2011. Photo: Steve Osborm

For anyone in Berkshire or the surrounds, I’ll be giving a presentation of my work and having a chat with a Q&A at Thatcham Photographic Club on June 13th. If you’re interested in popping by, it would be good to have you. Contact the club directly to make a booking.

We’ll be raffling one of my prints, with the proceeds going to the club. Additionally, it’s my pleasure to announce that I’ll also be making several prints, from two of my images from Armenia available for purchase, at very special prices.

Images from Armenia. Signed and embossed prints, made available at a special rate for the Thatcham Photographic Club talk in June. 24cm x 16cm (roughly) archival and embossed print, signed, £25.00. Photo: Edmond Terakopian (These prints were made on a Canon iPF6300 during the testing of the machine which is why I can offer them at this reduced rate).

Images from Armenia. Signed and embossed prints, made available at a special rate for the Thatcham Photographic Club talk in June. 45cm x 30cm (roughly) archival and embossed print, signed. £45.00. Photo: Edmond Terakopian (These prints were made on a Canon iPF6300 during the testing of the machine which is why I can offer them at this reduced rate).

For anyone wishing to purchase a print, please note that on the night, it will be cash only, so kindly make sure you have sufficient means! Alternatively, you can contact me via the Contact page to pay via BACS beforehand and collect your print on the night.

A note on copyright: Please note that by purchasing prints, you are buying a print and not the rights to the image.

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Posted in education, News, Photography, Pictures, workshop

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