For those of you that visit my main website, you will notice that there is no longer a link to the blog on it.  I felt that it was no longer warranted as I have been neglecting to update the blog as much as I had initially intended to.  I decided I would take a little more time to shoot some personal work and a little less time to write blogs.  So with that you can expect more images and less writing at the blog, but from time to time I will touch in for an article or two….

Have a safe holiday season and a great end to 2009!!!

-Blair

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Tags: 2009, Blair Bunting, Blog, Nikon, Photography

I was recently contacted to about contributing to a charity that will be constructing a rehabilitation center for children with amputations or paralysis.  Although I don’t have children (nor want them anytime soon), I do have a soft spot for them and often try to help charities that come to their aid.  Which brings me to the point of today’s post, and my advice to photographers out there.  We are in a time when people are strung thin to get by.  While this is one of the the most trying times in our industry, it is also an opportunity for great compassion.  It should be mentioned that this an opportunity to create (usually carte blanche) an image for a client that will impact more than a bottom line, but rather the lives that dependent on that charity.  I’m not saying that you need give yourself away, but be open to give to those that need.

The following images were created for such a shoot, and while they may not reside in my portfolio, they will help many more than myself, and for that I am grateful

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Tags: Blair Bunting, Charity, Nikkor 24-70, Nikkor 50mm 1.2, Nikon D3, Photography, Swimmer

A quick day shoot in LA found me going around the foothills of Angela’s Crest with 3 cars, 2 rally drivers, and 1 scared photographer.

The shoot was for 0-60 magazine and was a comparison of some new cars to the market.  All in all, a good day with a lot more sunlight than expected, but some great shots none the less.

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Tags: 0-60 Magazine, Blair Bunting, Mazdaspeed, Mini, Nikkor, Nikkor 50, Nikkor 50mm 1.2, Nikon D3, Photography, Rally Cars, VW GTI

Figured I’d take this chance to post a pic from on set at a recent shoot.  The client is the zoo, so access to the animals has been quite a fun experience.

With that said, lighting a giraffe…..not easy!

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Tags: Blair Bunting, Giraffe, Nikkor, Nikkor 24-70, Nikon, Nikon D3, on-set, Photography, Sb, SB-900, Zoo

For many in the art world, Luerzers Archive is a standard, not just a publication.  Featuring the best we advertising photographers have to offer… to say that I haven’t looked to it for inspiration would be a lie.  Whether it be lighting, composition or post processing, the work in the books have it all.

I am glad to say that I have a page with an image from the Deadliest Catch in this special issue (Luezers Archive’s 25th Birthday), so go out and grab one…. it is truly incredible.

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Tags: Archive 25th Birthday, Blair Bunting, Deadliest Catch, Luerzer Archive, Photography

With all the hoopla that has been the release of the Nikon D3s and the Canon 1D Mark 4, many have overlooked an important segment of the industry, Medium Format Digital. In a time that sees the struggle of our industry bringing camera sales to a slow grind, the MF Digital sector is being hit the hardest of all.

Although I prefer shooting a Nikon body for ad work, I sometimes have to work off the client’s wishes of a specific body or native file size that can only be achieved with Medium Format.  Personally I find these setups rather cumbersome and more of a compromise in efficiency than an ultimate solution, but they have their place in the industry for a reason.  For a bit I owned my own my owned MF Digital systems and lugged them around everywhere I went until I found myself on set one day shooting more with a 35mm body (that I had for quick grabs) than the MF body around my neck.  From that point on the decision to rent was made and I am grateful, for the lifespan of a MF back and body are like that of a new computer (months before a newer/better one is out), and feeling like you are working with obsolete gear in this industry is a handicap in itself.

Enough rambling aside…

Both Hasselblad and Phase One recently announced new equipment aiming at tackling issues all photographers have with MF cameras…. AF.  Whereas their 35mm brothers has 50 or so AF points, Phase bodies have only 3, and Hassy only 1.  However, 3 is a huge step up from the 1 that Phase has before, and Hassy has introduced a yaw sensor that measures camera angle adjustment from a center AF re-composing.  Sounds complicated, but ingenious in my opinion.  Does this put them anywhere near 35mm creature comforts?, No, but it shows they understand their target market.  Another great addition from Phase is a new DF lens line that has shutter in the lenses for the 645 AF body, allowing shutter syncs to go up to 1000th of a second.  This is huge to me as we all know I like my lighting, and the ability to cancel out ambient on location just a little bit more is a welcome concept.

With these steps in the right direction, comes a quick note on drawbacks of the systems…  While these body/backs produce huge files, seeing the range of 60MP, they still produce limited files that when shot at 400 ISO still fall short to the 35mm bodies that are now a generation old.  Not to mention the LCD on the current backs feels like that of a mid 90’s camcorder screen in it resolution and viewing angle.  And last but not least, $40,000 will barely buy your into into some of these systems, and your purchase will loose value immediately, so a commitment is needed…. along with the funds.

At the end of the day, it’s still the photographer that makes the image, not the camera.  With MF bodies, there is no magical setting as some believe, it is still very easy to take bad pictures with them, only with MF, they’re really big bad pictures.

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Tags: Blair Bunting, Canon, Canon 1, Canon 1D Mark IV, Hasselblad, Hasselblad H4d, Nikon, Nikon D3s, Nikon D3x, Phase One, Photography

This weekend brought a shoot in LA that was a bit last minute, but made for an excuse to get out of the Arizona heat….. and into the California heat.  But as is common for traveling on shoots, I usually take the time in the plane and off set to read up on the industry and form opinions on where it is going.  Fortunately for me, there was a lot that happened this last week in the industry with regards to new equipment.

Now first and foremost, I want to make it clear that I have not used the new Canon 1D Mark 4.  All opinions are based on released specs and the 6 years I spent with Canon digital equipment (from 1d to 1ds Mark 3 and every 1 series in between). With that said……

It is good to see Canon producing some new gear, and as I have many friends that are still shooting Canon, I know this new model is a welcomed arrival.  In looking at the press releases and specs I am trying not to form positives and negatives about it, but rather try and understand through it where Canon sees this industry going and what they feel is important with the overall target audience of this body being the sports shooters and photojournalists.  It is at this point that I begin to find a bit of confusion, and in no way do I mean to offend those at Canon, for this is my opinion as an advertising photographer on another segment of our industry.

First of all, as much as I hate it, I feel that video is here to stay (even on pro bodies) and even though I don’t use it, not recognizing this would be an error in judgment.  With that said, I felt that the Nikon D3s hit the nail on the head with its autofocusing 720p video mode, and I have gotten a little heat for not wanting 1080p.  However, I would like to justify this position with the argument on target audience grounds.  The photo-journalist and sports shooter will most likely never use their camera to shoot a high definition movie, but rather for supplemental coverage that will add depth to websites that the 720p will be more than enough for.  Also, I fear that Canon will get a lot of buyers that are basing their opinions off of Vincent Laforte’s video and buying with their heart, not their head.  Don’t get me wrong, I respect Vince’s work, but to think that one can buy that camera and create his work is a grand mistake.  In a video that sees the credits run almost as long as the video itself, you have to understand that the camera plays such a minute roll in the overall production, that any Nikon or Sony can create the same imagery, but those companies have taken different approaches to their marketing.

The next area that jumped out of the page at me was…… MORE MEGAPIXELS.  Now if you read these words and thought, “this is great!”, then you probably might not want to finish this article, perhaps read the rest at dpreview because this will not be objective reporting.  Upon reading the specs and even some of the forum’s reactions from those that found this spec to be superior to Nikon, I thought to myself, “well that just set us back a few years.”  The common grounds for this argument is that more megapixels will give me a chance to crop more.  I don’t know if this viewpoint is based out of an insecurity in getting the shot properly out of camera, or out of the idea that one can shoot a 200mm and crop to a 400mm angle of acceptance.  What is known though is that a quick up rez of the D3 file will render one a 5D Mk2 file.  Let us not forget that what matters here is not how many MP’s you can cram on a sensor, but how much quality you can get out of them!

One thing that I missed in the new equipment press release though was the new lenses that Canon is releasing to maximize the potential of its new body….

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Tags: Blair Bunting, Canon, Canon 1D Mark IV, Nikon, Nikon D3s, Photography

With today’s announcement it becomes apparent that Nikon is aware of it’s market, and for that, we are grateful.  Too many times we have seen camera companies claim progress of a certain body line because said line now has “more megapixels!”  Now yes, this marketing point of more resolution often works (even to the best of us), but often leads to far less true quality in the produced file.  Sadly this concept has driven industry demand and I have often been asked if the camera I was using had enough resolution for my liking.  When it comes down to it, MP’s are only as good as the data they carry.

That is why Nikon’s announcement makes sense to the pros.  Not more resolution than the original D3, but more file density, better s/n ratio, better latitude, a better file.  At the end of the day all shooters want is a simple camera that can produce great files.

Today, we got that.

Thank you Nikon.

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Tags: Blair Bunting, D3s, Nikkor, Nikon, Nikon D3, Nikon D3s, Photography

With work returning in to the industry, a lot of us are finding ourselves sitting on an airplane yet again for what seems like days at a time.  Some can sleep through this part of the job, others (like myself) must find ways to occupy our time.  In some cases I have had conversations with the person I’m sitting next to and it gets me through the hours in the air.  (side note:  NEVER tell your airplane neighbor that you are a photographer unless you want to talk about it!  I usually answer the “what do you do” question with the end all answer…. “I am an accountant.”)

With that said, what do you do when you’re alone on the flight, or wish not to engage in the forced conversation due to proximity?  Before last week I was indifferent on this as I carry enough flight time entertainment to start a small sports bar.  Said travel accessories include a Nintendo DS Lite, Ipod Touch, and Game Boy micro (for when the DS is just too big).  Also, I am dyslexic, so books are out of the picture.  Often a combination of the Harry Potter audio book and sudoku on my DS seem to fit the bill, however on more scenic flights John Mayer’s “Continuum” is all that’s needed for me to mentally get away from the task at hand.

Fast forward to last Friday and the release of the Sony PSP Go along with the release of Gran Turismo for the PSP….  In the past I have had PSP’s for flights, but have ditched them due to size and having to carry around the extra cartridges as well as the system.  However, with the PSP Go this all has changed as I can fit the collapsible PSP Go in my pocket and there are no game cartridges needed, as they are all stored internally.  Also, along with playing games, it acts as a portable media device, playing games and music, not to mention it can surf the web and be used to Skype (although I have yet to try this feature).  With enough battery power to get me from AZ to NY it is looking to be a workhorse for the times when I am not working (but this is not to say my Ipod will be left home, as there is something about it that I can’t let go).

Along with the PSP Go, Sony has released Gran Turismo for the PSP.  I believe I spent more time playing GT for the Playstation than I did hanging out with friends in high school.  I am sad to say that the hours spending playing the games of this franchise are close to the thousands, and yes, I had / have no life. I used to dream of the idea of a portable version, but never did I expect to see it so soon.  With the release of GT’s portable offspring, I have found myself looking forward to getting on flights where my phone must remain turned off and my email is unavailable.

So here’s to traveling…

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Tags: Blair Bunting, flying, Game Boy micro, Gran Turismo, Ipod, John Mayer, Nikkor, Nikkor 50mm 1.2, Nikon D3, Nintendo DS Lite, Photography, Sony PSP Go, traveling, video games

As the title says, it’s Monday….  To say my head is cloudy is an understatement, and I have to be on set in less than an hour.  Looks like today I’ll be shooting with Starbucks as an assistant.

This week I am hoping to touch on a couple lighting tricks that I found over the last few shoots and perhaps speak my mind on the new Leica M9….. this all of course takes in to account that I get some sleep.

So with that, here is a pic that I randomly chose for today.  It is from the shoot where I decided to lay down behind a camera and shoot pics of rattlesnakes in front of it.  If you’re looking for anything about this that seems like a good idea, look on.

And yes, as previously mentioned, things did go wrong, the snake got loose, yadda yadda……. It is Monday

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Tags: Blair Bunting, Canon 1D Mark II, Canon 35 L, Photography, Profoto, Rattlesnake

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About
Blair Bunting is one of the few left in this world that truly loves his job. Whether it’s shooting sports cars in France, actors in LA, or athletes in New York, there’s always a story.
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