Amazing New Cameras from Nikon

On Wednesday of this week, I was at an Nikon Professional Services event to launch the new D4. It is always worth attending these events as there is a camera clinic and you can have your camera checked and cleaned while you attend the presentation. I was really looking forward to seeing the new D4 which is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary upgrade to the beloved D3s that I use. The day before the trip to Edinburgh Nikon launched another camera the D800 to the world’s press in London and other places across the world. I knew it would be a talking point but I did not expect to see it one day after the release.  However it was very exciting that there was a D800 there so those at the workshop were among the first group of photographers in the world to handle this amazing new camera.

The ground breaking news is that the D800 has a full frame 36.3MP sensor. High resolution is usually delivered at the expense of high ISO performance but this new D800 can still perform amazingly at 3200 ISO or even 6400. It cannot compete with the 16MP flagship D4 in this area, as it can virtually "see in the dark" and goes to an insane 204 800 ISO but it does have twice the resolution. Most photographers are taking the view that the D800 will be the logical choice for the commercial, studio, and wedding photographer while the D4 with it’s ability to work in very low light and it’s speed (up to 11 frames per second (compared to 4or 6 of the D800) will be the natural choice of the press photographer. I would expect to see lots of D4′s at the Olympics. However I do not think we can make a decision until we try the cameras and see the files.

It was great to see and handle both cameras along with the full range of Nikkor lenses and I cannot wait to properly test them both.

This is me in Edinburgh on Wednesday with the D4 and D800

As the cameras were pre-production models, the memory card slots were taped up. However someone in our group (who will remain nameless for fear of repercussions) managed to sneak a memory card into the D800. Although I cannot open the raw file as Adobe are not supporting the new cameras yet, a jpeg shot with available light at 3200 ISO is below. The "male model" in the shot is Charlie Stewart of Royale Photographics.

A small file on a blog post cannot convey the resolution and quality of this jpeg straight from the camera but it certainly looks very impressive. However, Nikon has made a selection of sample images available for download on its official site for the new cameras. As always, these are compressed JPG files – we will wait to see what the RAW files of these cameras can produce before we can even begin to really judge the quality. Still, interesting nonetheless.

Nikon D800 Sample Images

I have not went into any detail on the specification or even mentioned video as there are hundreds of opinions, and detailed technical reviews on-line (I have probably read them all) and all the specifications can be obtained from Nikon or DP Review.

There is already huge debate over which is the best camera. However they are both fantastic tools and both will yield amazing results – it is a very exciting time to be a photographer.

We have an amazing offer on Groupon today and there is less than 8 hours to take advantage of it. For only £29, you get a full studio portrait session with changes of clothes, and backgrounds, a viewing session and either a beautiful framed 8×6 print or a really novel keepsake book with 10 images.

The framed print is a heatsealed print which is much better than using glass, and you can choose between a black or silver frame.

We are taking some amazing portrait shots and of course we hope you love the images enough to buy more prints but there is absolutely no obligation.

Do not miss this offer – it ends in less than 9 hours.

We look forward to welcoming you to the studio.

Fund raising night for Maggies at Malmaison

After being at Deeside Golf Club, Colin was going to Malmaison on Queens Road for a champagne and canapé evening to promote the Maggies appeal. The evening hosted by BBC sports commentator, Rob McLean heard Colin Montgomerie and Colin Welsh (Chairman of the appeal committee)  explain why a Maggies centre is so important for Aberdeen. Click here to see how much their centres can help suffers and their families, and click here for more information on Monty’s Maggie’s appeal.

The committee had kindly invited Sandra and I as guests. When I got my invitation, I noticed that there were 10 raffle prizes of a photograph of Colin with the Ryder cup. I accepted the invitation and emailed asking if they had arranged the photography and offered to do this free of charge, and my offer was accepted. Malmaison Set up a room for the photography and all the prize winners came up and got their photograph taken and they will get a print sent to them. The photograph above is of Colin and Andy Roger, the General Manager of Malmaison in Aberdeen. Malmaison and Andy have been great supporters of the appeal and last year Andy and a team of  Mal staff walked 164 miles covering both the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way. Click here to read more.
 

Sandra was with me, and took the opportunity to get her photograph with Colin and the Ryder cup.

Click here to see all the prize winners and shots of the famous Ryder Cup.

Colin Montgomerie forum for Deeside junior members

Last Thursday, Colin Montgomeris was back at Deeside Golf Club with the Ryder Cup. He had kindly agreed to have a question and answer session for the junior members at Deeside Golf club. Colin established a relationship with Deeside last year when there was a special tournament at Deeside with Colin to raise funds for the Maggies appeal. Click here to find out about the event and the appeal.

The junior members had some great questions and Colin is very articulate and gave them a great insight into his amazing golfing career. Doug Watson, the club captain, made a very good job of hosting the session and finished up with a rapid fire series of either or questions so all the juniors and members present could find out more about "Colin, the man, as well as the golfer"

After the Q and A session, all the children and a few of the members there lined up to have their photograph taken with Colin and the Ryder Cup. When Lucinda, his assistant saw the number in the queue, she said it would be impossible as he was on a tight schedule but we started and went very quickly and took 64 photographs in well under 10 minutes. Colin was very complementary about how quickly it was done and although I would have liked longer, at least everyone got their photograph taken. I had a background set up which was only big enough for a tight shot of 2 people so Lukas had a lot of Photoshop work to do to "add background" where required. I have already had some very positive comments about the images (see below) which we are selling on-line with 50% of the sales going to the Maggies appeal.

Click here to view all the images.

Good Morning Neil,

The photos from the Colin Montgomery Juniors session at Deeside GC are superb.
……
Would you let me know sizes and prices please? I’ll probably go for standard sizes for all of them apart from the threeshot (NWG2816) which we’d like enlarged – it’s brilliant.

Many thanks, Kirstin

Kirstin Gove, Communications & Media Training Manager
AVC Media Enterprises

Harley and Friends

David had a group of 7 girls in the studio a few weeks ago. Harley wanted a portrait of her friends before leaving for Spain. David had the music on and there was lots of laughter coming from the studio and the girls had great fun.

Our Studio is big enough for a group of 7 but on a 12 ft background, it can feel "claustrophobic" keeping a group contained to the background. Before the sitting, David and I spent some time chatting about the group shots and looked at the work of Babak, a photographer in Toronto. He had a nice group that we both liked but when we studied it, we realised that it had been created by combining individual shots. David tried this out with the girls and then combined the 7 shots using Photoshop to create a nice group with the advantage of choosing the best shot of each girl.

 Click here to read more!

Portrait of Miller Giles

Two weeks ago, David was talking to me about a portrait sitting where the little boy was not at his best so he arranged a second sitting and he got much better shots, the second time round. I did not realise until the viewing that the sitting was for Wendy and Bruce, who’s wedding I photographed in 2007. (Click here to see their album).

At the viewing there were several shots of Miller that Wendy and Bruce liked so instead of one large portrait, David suggested 3 box frames to hang together. and prepared a visual to show how this would look. Wendy and Bruce decided to go with this idea and less than a week later, the box frames were ready to collect.

They looked fantastic. The very narrow black moulding against the black background gives a very minimalistic look but the 2 inch deep moulding gives the depth and looks great without distracting from the image. As the shots were full frame, a smaller size was more appropriate but three of them together will create a very impressive wall display.

The day after the portraits had been collected, David got a nice email from Wendy and Bruce – see below

Good morning David,

Just a quick e-mail to let you know that we are delighted with the
pictures. They look amazing.

Thanks again.

Bruce & Wendy

We are currently working on a product brochure that we will give to all clients so they can see all the different presentation ideas there are – canvasses, box frames, acrylics, metal prints, beautiful frames, etc. If we can arrange it, we will photograph how our clients use our images in their homes, and possibly we will include the portraits of Miller on Bruce and Wendy’s wall.

Portrait of Will Evans

David’s first portrait of the New Year was of Will Evans. It had been booked before Christmas but Will had flu so it was re-scheduled for Saturday. When Will’s Mum, Morag, booked the sitting, David chatted to her about Will and his interests and found out he was a big Dr. Who fan.

David did a bit of homework and did lots of Dr. Who poses and Will had great fun and after the sitting Morag left a nice message for David on Facebook – see below

Although the Dr. Who shots were great fun, there were other more traditional poses taken. A slideshow presentation of the shoot is below. 

Portrait Package Gift Vouchers

Family Sessions Packages
Each session is 60 minutes at our Studio.
These sessions book quickly, so contact us soon to hold your spot.

When booking you’ll be asked to choose a package.

We offer two packages for Sessions:

To get a personalised voucher for something very special, email David or phone us on

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Box Frames

Box frames are not new and I have sold them in the past. We did not have samples on display so David ordered a large one for the wall (24x20inch) and a smaller one (12x12inch) that can stand or hang. Since putting these on display, we have sold lots of them and they look fantastic. They come in sizes from 12×12 to 60 inches.

They are available in a range of colours  – black, beech, wenge, oak, gold, silver, bronze, or gunmetal. They look good in any decor – traditional or modern.

The very narrow border is a simple presentation not unlike canvas but the 2 inch depth looks great on the wall or the smaller ones standing on a unit. You can choose a contrasting colour or in the example below, a black background with the black frame make a very nice simple classy presentation.

David had a brother and sister – Mikaela and Mitchell Megginson in for a portrait. Football fans will recognise Mitchell as he plays for Aberdeen. He took some great shots and they have selected four box frames to display together on the wall – see below. I think this will make a great feature in the family home and I am looking forward to seeing these when they get delivered.

The box frames are more expensive than canvasses but we have great prices on these before Christmas or for a voucher if you want to give a very special gift. They start at £95 for a 12×12 and larger wall sizes start at £295. We have samples in the office that you can see at the sitting or viewing appointment.

Group and head shots for

Andrew Palmer & Associates

A fairly typical job where the requirement was for a group shot and a head shot of everyone. The only difficulty was that there was no where in the office to take the shots so I had to use the entrance but there was a logo of another company on the door and door closers etc. but this is where Photoshop is a godsend and we removed all the distracting elements.

I set up a background in the entrance and used a soft box and the daylight from the door as a fill light and worked with my favourite lens – the 70-200 f2.8 VR11 to get the head and shoulder shots of everyone. We put them all on-line (click here) later the same day so they could choose the best ones for each person. Even although this is not always popular with staff, I got an email the following morning confirming they were happy with the images.

"Morning Neil,
Thanks for your time yesterday; the pictures are really nice…..
Cheers
Ismail"

Taking photographs to "put a face to a name" on a company website is something we do a lot. If someone new joins the company, we make sure we use the same background and match the colour balance to keep everything consistent. We also create management boards for display in reception area. I am amazed how many very amateur versions of this I see, even for very large companies who are normally very conscious of their branding and image. If this sort of thing might be useful for your company, please click here to email me for a quote