As I mentioned previously the Nikon D3s is expected to be announced on October 15th, 2009 and today Nikon France kind of told us the same thing: they have scheduled multiple events during the Paris Expo and if you download the program (pdf file) you will see that they have several “Présentation nouveau reflex” which [...] Related posts:

1. News from France: new Nikon D700 picture
2. Unconfirmed rumor: Nikon D3s in October
3. Nikon press conference on September 3rd

I posted that on PhotoRumors already, but since many Nikon fans are expecting an updated 35mm f/1.4 lens from Nikon, here is a Zeiss rumor for you (you will still get only manual focus with a Zeiss lenses, which you can also get with the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 AI-S lens):
In his Leica M9 & Nikon D3x [...] Related posts:

1. Carl Zeiss Distagon T*18mmF3.5 ZF
2. More on the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX review from Optyczne
3. 50th anniversary of Nikon F-mount

I’ve just completed my first week of instruction at Maine Media Workshop, it was also my first time to the great state of Maine. I had a wonderful time during the week with some really great students. I’d like to thank the staff at MMW for running a wonderful venue and making me feel so welcomed. I would also like to extend a special thanks to my class assistant Jen, thanks so much for all your help!

The photo at the top of the post is from a light demonstration while on location at the Lincoln Center school in Rockland, ME. I did this photo in the small theater at the school, I find that a lot of students don’t think about including a strobe within the actual frame of their photo.

I used two SB-800′s, I fired them using the CLS system build into my Nikon D-700, WB-daylight. The strobe at the rear of the photo had a full cut CTB (color temperature blue) gel on it and was fitted with a grid. The front light is a FourSquare™ boomed overhead and slightly forward of the subject. You can see the set-up in the image below.

Seated in the theater in the production image above is Peter, one of the 4 models we had available for the students to photograph while at this location.

We also made a visit to Firefly Restorations in Hope, ME. Peter stood in front of this wonderfully restored Fire Truck giving me his best Jack Nicholson. Peter is lit with a single SB-800 with a full cut CTO on it, WB-daylight.

The photos below show another lighting demonstration we did in class one day. Anthony shown here, needed a new photo of himself for this coming seasons ski pass. I used the chalkboard in the classroom as the background for his portrait. The key light was an SB-800 inside of my FourSquare™ clamped to an overhead pipe. I had 2 SB-800′s placed behind and to each side of Anthony for the kickers, these were fitted with Full CTO gels and barn doors which help prevent flair into my lens. I also clamped another SB-800 onto the chalkboard using a Justin Clamp, this flash was also fitted with a full CTB gel and a foam cutter to prevent any forward spill onto the back of Anthony.
To round out the shot, I used an Orbis Ring Flash for some fill. The ring flash is a wonderful tool to use when adding some fill. Here is the set up for the photo shown above.