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days a week, every day of the year.
Call me, any time, from
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message if I am not in the office at the time of your call. I'll get back to you
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Or, send me an email and I'll
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|
For more than 38 years, I have been a professional San Diego County
California photographer, personally providing nation wide, low cost,
high definition, film-based or digital (22 million pixel and 60
million pixel), medium and large format, professional photography
services for a wide array of families and clients.
I continue to proudly offer;
Low cost San Diego County professional photographers, low cost San Diego
County 22 million pixel digital photographers, low cost San Diego County
60 million pixel digital photographers, low
cost San Diego County wedding photographers, low cost San Diego County bar mitzvah
photographers, low cost San Diego County bat mitzvah photographers, low cost
San Diego County special event photographers, low cost San Diego County event
photographers, low cost San Diego County corporate special event
photographers, low cost San Diego County red carpet photographers, low cost San
Diego County debutante ball photographers, low cost San Diego County medium
format photographers, low cost San Diego County large format photographers, low
cost San Diego County digital photographers, low cost San Diego County Hasselblad
photographers, low cost San Diego County Phase One digital photographers, low
cost San Diego County debutante ball photographers, low cost San Diego
County
photographers.
|
|
The best cameras
produce the best results
Always have.
Always will. |
Camera Size
Does Matter
Essentially,
there are
about 5
different
camera sizes
being used
today.
Each camera
type has it's own
specific
purpose or
utility.
All of these
cameras are
just tools.
Nothing more
and nothing
less.
These
tools allow
us to do a
particular
kind of
job. These
tools help
us to make
pictures.
However,
with that
said, one of
these tool
systems does
a better job
making
pictures...
Hasselblad
and Phase
One.
No two
photographers
are alike.
Every
individual
photographer
must make
their own
decisions
about what
tools to use
in each job
circumstance.
The choices
made will
determine
the
photographer's
success or
failure.
Many
photographers
take the old "Good
Enough"
position.
They know
that they
could use a
better
camera
system but
they are not
willing to
invest in
anything
better than
what they
already have.
They think
that their
pictures are
"good
enough".
Many take
the position
that their
clients
won't
notice.
"Good
enough"
isn't.
My
clients hire
me because
my pictures
look better
than any
other
photographer's
pictures.
I am a
continuing success
because of Hasselblad
and Phase
One.
I am in
business
because of
Hasselblad
and Phase
One.
I can't say
it often
enough.
There is no
better
camera
system, in
the world,
than Hasselblad
and Phase
One.
I
use the
legendary,
high
definition,
medium
format,
Hasselblad
H1
cameras
and up to 60
million
pixels of
pure,
Phase
One, digital
magic.
The literal
sharpness
and
unbelievable
range of
intense
colors, in
every shot,
has to be
seen to be
appreciated.
You will be
able to
count the
threads in
your shirt
as if they
were ropes.
You will be
able to
count the
blood
vessels in
your eyes,
if I zoom in
far enough.
You will be
able to see
the
marvelous
transparency
that is your
skin.
I have been
told that my
pictures are
like you are
looking at
the person,
in the
picture...
in person,
right in
front of
you...
only better.
I know.
That is why
I made the
choices I
made.
That
ultimate and
final
picture
quality is
all I care
about.
Everything I
have done,
for the last
38 years,
has been
aimed at
that single
goal.
"Photography"
means
"writing
with
light"...
Photo graphy.
The first
cameras
were,
essentially,
no different
than the
cameras of
today...
just bigger.
The first
artists used
paper and
charcoal.
Today, the
pictures are
recorded
electronically.
As a
word,
"Camera" is
a short
version of
the Latin
words that
mean a
"dark room"
or
"Camera Obscura".
It was
probably
discovered
by the
Chinese 300
years before
Christ. In the 15th
Century,
Loenardo da
Vinci
used the
"Camera Obscura".
It was a
"dark room" that
had a tiny hole
in
one wall.
That
singular,
tiny hole
allowed
light to
come into
the dark room.
Interestingly,
that little hole
also
"projected"
an image, of
whatever was
just outside the
"dark room",
onto the
interior wall,
opposite the
little hole.
The first
artists put
paper on
that inside wall
and used
charcoal to trace
the
projected
image, onto
their
papers.
Soon,
portable
"dark
rooms",
camera
obscuras
were made.
These rooms
could be
taken out,
into the
Greek and
Roman
countryside,
set up and
used to draw
exact
reflections
of whatever
they were
"aimed at".
You can
personally experience a
real
camera
obscura
if you go
to San
Francisco.
There is a
"dark room"
Camera Obscura set up, on
the
hillside,
looking at
the Seal
Rock area of
the Pacific
Ocean.
Physically,
it is
located near
the Cliff
House
Restaurant,
north of
Golden Gate
Park.
It produces
live,
360-degree,
images of
the waves
hitting the
shoreline.
There are
hundreds of
"Youtube"
videos,
online, of
dorm room
camera obscuras,
made by
college students,
from around
the world.
They simply
cover up
their
windows and
poke a small
hole in the
plastic
cover.
An image of
what is
outside
instantly
appears on
their walls. You can make
your own
Camera Obscura and see the
fascinating,
projected,
images
yourself.
8"x10" and
4"x5" View
Cameras
These
"large
format" view cameras
produce
wonderful
commercial-quality
images.
They are
heavy.
They are
expensive.
They are
very
technical
and hard to
figure out. They take
a long time
to set up
and shoot.
Large
Format
cameras are used
for
industrial
jobs,
architectural
assignments
and
advertising.
They are not
typically
used in the
every day
settings of
Special
Events, Weddings
and
Bar Mitzvahs.
I use my
incredible,
legendary
Linhof
Kardan 4x5
both in the
studio and
out on
location.
I use the
60
million
pixel Phase
One digital
back, on a
special
adapter,
instead of
film.
I no
longer have
an 8x10
camera.
Gone are the
days of
shooting
8x10 pieces
of color
transparency
and color
negative
film.
Too bad.
Today, my
Phase One,
P65, 60
million
pixel
digital back
has more
resolution
than the old
8x10 films.
During
the 20's and
30's,
4x5
"Press" view cameras
were used by
press
photographers.
I use my 4x5
for
architectural
and commercial
assignments,
where there
is time and
a budget for
the highest
possible
image
quality.
The
front and
back sides of these
large format
view cameras can
be raised,
lowered,
turned left
or turned right and
angled up or
angled down,
independently
of each
other. These
independent movements
actually change the
shape and
resolution
of the items
being
photographed.
It can take
10 or 15
minutes to
set up each
4x5 or 8x10 shot before
the actual
pictures can
be
made.
Every part
of these
view cameras
moves and
each part
has
something to
do with
making the
pictures
work.
The
earliest
pictures of
the American
Indians,
western
settlers and
the first
newspaper
pictures
were all
taken with
huge, portable
8x10 and 4x5
cameras.
Pictures of
the early
movie stars,
such as
Clark Gable
and Jane
Mansfield,
were taken
by
George
Hurrell
using an
incredible 8x10
camera
system.
Ansel Adams
saved our
National
Parks,
like
Yosemite and
Yellowstone, by
shooting
them with
8x10 and
4x5 cameras.
He showed
the
wonderful
quality of
these lands
to our
Congress,
using huge
pictures, to
convince
Congress
that the
lands should
be
preserved.
Medium
Format
Cameras
These
cameras
are
called
"medium
format"
because they
are smaller
than the "large
format"
8x10 or 4x5
view cameras
but bigger
than the "35mm"
cameras.
The early
Yashica
Medium
format Twin
Lens cameras had
two lenses
on the front
of the
camera body.
One lens was
positioned
above the
other.
The top lens was
used to look
through and
the bottom
lens
brought the
image into
the camera.
They were
called
"Twin Lens
Reflex, TLR, Medium
Format
Cameras".
You had to
look
straight
down, into
the top of
the camera
body
itself, to frame and
to focus the
pictures.
To change
the lens,
the whole
front of the
camera had
to be
removed.
The viewing
lens and the
shooting
lens were
matched.
The
"Reflex"
part of the
name refers
to the fact
that the
camera used
a
fixed
mirror,
inside of
the camera
body and
angled at 45
degrees, to
reflect the
image from
the front of
the camera
up, into the
eye of the
photographer.
It was
very hard to use
these
cameras.
Every lens
actually
reversed and
turned an
image upside
down in the
focus
process.
It was like
looking at
yourself in
a shiny
spoon. TLR
photographers
saw images
that were
literally
upside down
and
backwards.
It was very
confusing.
It was very
slow.
The early
TLR cameras
were usually
used in
portrait
studios,
where things
were
consistent
and pretty
much locked
down.
Hasselblad
cameras
are also
called
"medium
format" but
they are not
Twin Lens
Reflex
cameras.
Instead,
they only
need one
lens, making
them "Single
Lens Reflex"
cameras...
or "SLR's". "SLR"
cameras
(Single Lens
Reflex) are
much easier
to use,
making them
much faster
to use.
The SLR,
medium
format camera
body only
needs
one lens to
focus and to
shoot the
pictures.
Unlike
the fixed
mirrors in
the TLR's, SLR's have a
moveable
mirror,
inside of
the camera
body. That
mirror
reflects
what the
lens is
pointed at,
up into a
"View
Finder"
on top of
the camera
body. When a
picture is
taken, when
the shutter
button is pressed, that
mirror
simply flips
up, out of
the way,
letting the
light
pass
straight through
the lens,
directly
into the
camera body
onto a
section of
film or onto
a digital
light
sensor.
Instead
of having to
look
straight
down, into
the camera
body, to
frame a
shot,
(like with a
TLR), SLR's cameras
use a
"View
Finder" on
top of the
camera body.
The "View
Finder" is a prism.
The image is
sent through
the single
lens, to the
mirror,
where it
gets
reflected
up, into the
viewfinder
prism, on the top
of the
camera body.
There, the
image is
reflected
off of the
inside walls
of the glass
prism,
directly
into the
viewfinder
eyepiece.
That second
reflection
process
turns the
upside down
and
backwards
image
around,
making it
look normal
to the
photographer.
That double
reflection
process
enables the
SLR
photographer
to see
exactly what
is in front
of the
camera lens.
It looks
normal and
it moves
normally.
This makes
focusing and
framing a
SLR shot
faster than
with the
TLR cameras.
No one uses
Twin Lens
Reflex
cameras
anymore.
Medium
format SLR's
are used for
portraits,
fashion,
sports,
legal, event
and
commercial
work.
They are
used
wherever a
very high
quality
image is
required.
Hasselblad
Today, by far, the best
medium format SLR camera is
the legendary Hasselblad H1 camera.
There isn't a
better camera made, anywhere in the world.
Victor
Hasselblad was born, in Sweden, on March 8,
1906. He grew up to become an avid
business man and a passionate bird lover.
It was his desire to photograph birds that led
him to revolutionize photography. He
changed the very nature of photography for all
time.
In 1937, in
Goteborg, Sweden, Victor opened a camera shop
and went to work on an aerial camera for the
Swedish Air Force.
In 1948, Victor
presented the first "Hasselblad" camera for
civilian use, at a press conference in New York.
This first Hasselblad was all mechanical, was
modular in design and has become the camera of
choice for every professional photographer.
Victor
Hasselblad died on August 5, 1978.
Philippe Halsman
used Hasselblad cameras to shoot fashion and
celebrity.
Neil Leifer used his
Hasselblads to shoot incredible sports pictures.
Ansel Adams used his precious Hasselblads to
record wonderful landscapes.
Lennart
Nilsson used his Hasselblads to shoot the inside
of the human body.
Hasselblad is the standard to which all other
cameras are compared.
NASA has used Hasselblad cameras, in
outer space, since October, 1962.
Wally Schirra secretly took a Hasselblad
500c with him during an early Apollo mission. He
bought that camera at a Houston camera store, on
his way to the launch tower,
literally, just before liftoff.
The lunar
Hasselblads had special film backs, films, film
plates, lubricants, coatings, reflectors, knobs,
buttons and static electricity controls.
They had to survive the extremely harsh
environment.
The early Hasselblad camera systems used separate
containers or "Camera Backs" for the film.
These "Backs" held the rolled film. Those
"Backs" could be removed and replaced when the film
ran out.
In 1969, Neil
Armstrong used 12 motorized
Hasselblad 500EL
cameras to document the lunar mission. The
famous "crosses" in all of the lunar pictures
come from the Reseau glass grid plates that
helped to keep the films flat and still provide
photogrammetric data. (
www.lpi.usra.edu
)
Those 12 different "Hassy"
camera bodies are currently floating
around the inside of the lunar lander space module, on the moon.
To save on lift-off
weight, the astronauts removed their Hasselblad
film Backs and brought them home, leaving the
camera bodies and their lenses on the moon.
I am a success
because of my Hasselblads.
Noblex
Panoramic
Camera
I also use a
very
specialized,
Noblex,
Panoramic camera.
This is a
medium
format, film
camera.
I get 6
pictures to
a roll of
120 film
that would
normally
record 12
regular
pictures.
Each shot is
recorded on
film and
each shot
produces as
negative
that is
twice as
long as
the normal,
non-panoramic
negatives.
The whole
front of this
camera
rotates
during the
exposures.
It produces
a wonderful,
high
definition
picture that
is 150
degrees wide,
with no
distortions.
This is NOT
like the
"Fisheye"
lenses used
by 35mm
cameras.
"Fisheye
lenses"
produce
round
pictures
with major
distortions.
The pictures
taken by
my
wonderful
panoramic camera look
like the
view you
have with
your own
eyes, as
you fix your
eyes
straight
ahead and
take notice
of the whole
scene, left
to right,
using your
peripheral
vision.
Toward the
bottom of
each of my
web pages,
at the top
of the large
picture
sections,
are samples
of my
panoramic
pictures.
35mm
Cameras
Other
than cell
phones, this is, by
far, the
most common,
lowest cost
and most
popular
camera size
used today.
Their low
cost and
ease of use
have made
the mass
produced
35mm cameras
popular with
many family,
amateur,
semi-pro and
pro
photographers.
Their mass
production
helps to
keep their
costs down.
However,
many 35mm
cameras also
use less
expensive,
mass
produced
materials,
such as
plastic, in
their lenses
and camera
bodies.
That affects
their
overall
reliability
as well as
the actual
colors and
resolutions
of the
pictures
produced.
|
Every
picture ever
taken, with
any 35mm
camera, no
matter by
whom or with
what camera,
would have
looked
better if it
had been
taken with a
Hasselblad.
|
35mm digital
cameras are SLR
(DSLR) cameras. They use tiny microscopic pixels
(picture elements) to record
their images.
They only have so much
room to work with, inside of the small 35mm camera
body. As more and more pixels are added to
the mass produced,
35mm digital light sensors, the pixels
become smaller and smaller. That creates
more and more potentials for digital "noise" problems. Colors shift,
digital noise is increased and the quality of
the final pictures suffers.
The more expensive
35mm digital cameras do produce some marvelous
pictures. However, they are only about
8-10 million pixels, they are usually shot in
JPEG format, they can't be cropped
very much and they can't be blown up beyond an
8x10 without falling apart very quickly.
The JPEG edges become fuzzy and the colors shift.
They simply can't record enough digital data to
be properly enlarged beyond the 8x10.
One of the
biggest problems, IMHO, with 35mm cameras, is
that they use a Focal Plane Shutter.
Every camera needs
to use a flash, at some time. When a flash is
used during the day, it is often used as a "Fill
Flash", to lighten the shadows created by the
sunlight. This prevents dark exposures and
"Raccoon Eyes" caused by the deep shadows under
our eyebrows.
35mm cameras
have shutter curtains, in front of their image
sensors, that control their
exposures. These curtains literally open
and close during the exposure. The longer the shutter
curtains are open, like the front door to your house,
the more light will come in. Long
exposures are used in dark situations.
Very short exposures are used in bright
situations, like outdoors, during the day.
These "focal plane" shutter
curtains must be left open for less than 1/250th
of a second to synchronize with the flash, if a
flash is used. If a faster shutter speed
is used, only part of the picture will be
exposed with the flash. The rest will be
dark or under-exposed.
When you shoot
outdoors, in the sunlight, the exposures are
always about 1/1000 second to 1/2000 second.
That is too short an exposure time to be useful
for 35mm fill flash.
35mm camera
shooters can never use "Fill Flash" outdoors because
of their focal plane shutters. It would be useless.
35mm cameras are
good for family cameras, sports, fashion,
breaking news and police work. The
pictures produced can't be blown up very much
so, the 35mm cameras must be used in situations
where a large, high definition print won't be
needed.
35mm cameras
have a larger range of ISO sensitivity settings
and shutter speeds. Some of these cameras
can go up to ASA1,500 and they can shoot at
1/4,000 of a second.
My Hassy's stop
at ASA 800 and 1/800th of a second.
35mm can shoot
in lower light situations than can my Hassy's.
35mm cameras are
better with sports, like indoor basketball,
because of the higher shutter speeds.
Nothing moves
that fast at a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah...
Hasselblad,
cameras have their shutters in each of the lenses.
This permits fill flash use at any shutter speed.
That
produces
a higher quality picture. It also makes
each lens cost about $4,000.00.
I use the very
powerful Lumedyne flash system. This gives
me hundreds of powerful, 400ws, flashes per
battery. This produces reliable, colorful,
brilliant pictures during the day or evening. I control the quality of my flash light with a
huge, on-camera, soft box. This produces
soft, beautiful skin tones and no sharp shadows behind
my subjects.
All of my fill
flash pictures have the little catch light
sparkles in the eyes.
Cell Phones
Due to
technology,
pixel type
and density,
there are
cell phones
out there
that have a
higher
resolution
than do some
point-and-shoot
digital,
35mm
cameras.
These 12 million
pixel
cellular wonders are
all over the
place.
They do take
a pretty
nice
picture, for
a cell
phone.
Obviously,
they are not
commercial
quality.
However,
they do
serve a
purpose and
a lot of
cell phone
pictures
have been
sold for
commercial
use.
Cell phones
can go
places a
normal 35mm
camera
can't, such
as into a
monster
truck rally
or a
concert.
Some
actually
have
flashes. No, their
picture quality is
pretty low but
they can
certainly get the
job done.
Phase One
These are
$40,000.00, high-tech devices that use
individually hand-made light sensors.
Literally, there is no finer digital system in
the world. These are not mass produced,
hence their extraordinary costs and results.
The Phase One light
sensors are two or three times the size of
the typical 35mm light receptors. This
produces pictures with an incredible range of
color, refined edge detail and high definition.
Digital
Picture File Types
All digital cameras,
regardless of camera size, store their picture
details as electronic, computer
information. This digital information must be
stored in a digital file. There are only two basic types
of digital picture files available:
RAW and JPEG.
The less
expensive 35mm cameras use less sophisticated
computers, plastic/glass lenses and mass
produced light sensors. They can only store
their digital picture data as simple,
rudimentary, highly compressed, tiny JPEG files. They contain very
little digital information. As such, these
JPEG files do not need to be processed before
being printed, as a JPEG print. You can go
directly from the camera to a JPEG print machine.
The more
sophisticated 35mm cameras can record their digital
images as EITHER refined, complex "RAW" files or
the smaller JPEG files... or both.
"RAW" files are pure, unprocessed, computer information.
"RAW" files must be converted into JPEG and TIFF
files, using my desktop, dual-quad computer
system, before they can be used for anything.
RAW file
conversions take an extra amount of time to post
process, in a computer, after the event is over. That's
the "rub". A lot of photographers do not
want to "waste" any more time working on a
project than is necessary.
Most 35mm
photographers program their 35mm cameras
to shoot "High Quality JPEG" files only.
These 35mm
camera-original JPEG files are about 2-4mb in
size. Their in-camera computer does the
processing for them. It also does the
compression and color corrections, if it has
been told what to do.
There are those
who dispute the image quality differences
between JPEG and RAW originals. Then I
show them my 16x20 RAW samples... I enjoy
watching them compare colors and edge details.
Every single pro who has looked at my samples
wishes that they could afford a Hassy and a
Phase 22 or 60 million pixel back system.
They can only
wish to get my results from their 35mm systems.
I would be
pleased to compare images with anyone in the
country.
There is no
comparison.
Once a JPEG,
always a JPEG
My Hasselblad
H1 cameras and 22 or 60 million pixel Phase One digital recorders
only shoot 25mb
or 65mb
RAW files. These RAW
files are the most complex RAW files in the
industry.
For every single
color recorded by a simple 35mm camera, my complex
Hasselblad records 16 different
colors and shades of color.
When I shoot a
white wedding dress or a black tux, my RAW
files record all of the wonderful tones, colors
and shadows that make that expensive wedding
dress stand out. The little, compressed, 35mm JPEG
files only record one color of white. So their
white dresses are flat, blown-out, solid white.
That is why my
pictures look so good. I can count
white threads in my white dresses.
My
black tux jackets actually have visual details
in the black fabrics. I can count the
threads that hold the little black buttons on
the jacket. I can see the black tux pocket
and the black lapels, folds and sleeves.
Simple 35mm
JPEG files will only record a black tux jacket
as a massive amount of
solid black.
I use a
Photoflex
soft box around my on-camera flash. That
produces a soft, controlled, wide angle,
wrap-around light that makes skin tones
delicious and fully transparent.
That helps me control
my exposures, colors and details. That produces sharp,
vibrant, high definition pictures.
The bigger my
pictures get, the better they look.
Post-production
This is where
the magic happens.
This is where a
good picture becomes a great print.
After each of my pictures
have been taken, their RAW files have to be processed.
I shoot huge, High Definition, 25mb or 65mb RAW picture files. Nothing can be done with
these RAW files until they
have been converted into JPEG and TIFF files.
All of my
converted JPEG and TIFF files get some amount
of basic Photoshop time. This is where I selectively
edit, crop and sharpen every single
picture, before you receive it.
Off-camera Flash
In addition to
using the best cameras in the world, I also use powerful,
on and off-camera, studio-quality,
Lumedyne
and
Speedotron
flash systems. I combine these
professional lighting systems
with huge umbrellas and soft boxes.
The umbrellas
are used to reflect or to bounce the intense
flash light into my subjects or all over a
ballroom.
Softboxes do the same thing but
to a greater degree. These are mounted on
huge, wheeled floor stands, so they can be moved around
during the events. This is how the soft
shadows are created on my brides and kids faces.
This is just one more reason why my bride's dresses
look so good.
To top it off,
so to speak, I
always bring a 6' and an 8' ladder.
These ladders give me an aerial perch and a
different vantage point.
That is how I get
such wonderful dance and group shots.
I am honored to offer this wide range of
professional services to you;
|
Aerial
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Thank you for
your consideration.
