Capture Arts

Wedding Photography and the New Canon 5D Mark III

The Canon 5D Mark III has finally arrived. Is it a worth successor to the 5D Mark II, or is this just a re-branding of a beloved camera system offering little payout for the updated pocketbook pricetag?

I finally got my hands on a 5D Mark III for the weekend (a way too short weekend) and tagged along to a wedding to give the new system a try. I was really looking forward to the upgraded low light sensor sensitivity, as every wedding I have ever been to seems to skimp on the light.

I have to say that first and foremost, I am a photographer. Not a videographer, not a hybrid, not a multi-media tech dabbler. I approached this camera as a still camera, not a video system. That being said, I did shoot a few test videos, and played around with the camera’s video settings; more on that in a future article. In the meantime, to test this newest Canon in its native territory, I took it along to a wedding, and a nice, dimly lit wedding. No choice but to pump up the ISO and hope for the best. Read on for the full experience…

Digital Art

The Canon Selphy CP800, A pocket-size dye-sub printer for go-anywhere photo printing

Call me crazy, but I think these little guys are a very cool thing. With Photo Arts Monthly, we hope to have created a magazine experience that’s interesting for the professional and high-end image makers among us. So why spend time with a $75 photo printer like this, the Canon Selphy CP800? Because there is still, even in 2011, something special about the tangible products of our bits-and-bytes passion, and super junior printers like this make it possible, on-the-spot and just about anywhere.

Studio Arts

Intoduction: The Profoto D4 Air

Profoto’s D-line of packs and mono heads sits in the middle of the company’s line up of studio strobe lighting, a bit less lofty than the company’s Pro line and more expensive and far more sophisticated than Profoto’s entry-level set of Acute packs. “D” might well stand for “Digital” with D1 monoheads and D4 packs. All use tenth-stop digital fine tuning and wide-ranging power. “Air” equipped heads and packs make use of Profoto’s sophisticated proprietary remote system to offer power and distribution control on camera, and built-in wireless multichannel sync (reviewed here).

The Profoto D4 Air, then, is an awesome combination of both Profoto’s latest in-pack full asymmetry and sophisticated on-camera control. It is a versatile tool for fine-tuned light, offering quick-control and the flexibility of a wide range of power. It is both easy to use and thoroughly capable and, as we proved through nearly two months of hard testing, a robust pack, ready for the day-to-day beating of professional studio and location photography.

Read on for our in-depth introduction:

Photo Arts

Interview: Jeff Kauck, Food Photographer

It doesn’t take long talking to food photographer, Jeff Kauck, to detect his passion for art, light, and photography. His studio is lit with two giant windows, one facing North, one East. During our conversation, talk quickly arrives at the finesse of light and color in classic painting. Jeff explains the concept of Color Lift:

“You take a white cup and saucer outside, the shadow is blue, the sunlit highlights are yellow, opposite colors. With a warm light source and a purple shadow, the white is more dimensional.” In essence, Jeff uses the broad light beaming into his Chicago studio like a liquid watercolor palate. In contrast to the contemporary trend towards neutrality in studio light color, Jeff’s work seems alive and visceral, with warm natural light and cool natural shadows.

Read on for our complete interview, and see much more of Jeff’s work at jeffkaukphotography.com..