Thursday, June 29, 2017

Photo Shoot with Mark Louvier (Nikon D800E)

Watch the video - https://youtu.be/LXz13kxkJMc

I had the great pleasure recently to shoot with a talented photographer from College Station, Texas, the incomparable Mark Louvier MarkLouvier.com

I met Mark while working my day job in the US Army. I spotted him shooting photos at the rifle range with a top of the line Nikon camera and lens combo, a kit that wouldn't be used by most average photographers. I introduced myself and we exchanged web sites. Later that day, I paid a visit to his site and I was overwhelmingly impressed with his work. Mark is a Captain in the Army Reserves but apparently he has been quite busy with photography in his spare time.

He shoots with a plethora of beautiful models and enjoys experimenting with various light sources for special effects, he even shoots some impressive underwater images. Take a moment to check out his work on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marklouvier/

Unfortunately, at the time I met him, Mark was slated for an overseas deployment, as fate would have it, he would return home early from that deployment to take care of some family business. He alerted me to his impending return and mentioned shooting together. He had been wanting to shoot out at White Sands National Monument again and we both set to work find a model. Mark struck gold first with a model named Alex from California, who as it turns out, is also a Captain in the Army reserves. It just so happens that she has some modeling experience, in fact, she was one of the best models I've ever worked with. She moved from pose to pose without much direction, however, when Mark did adjust her poses or give her direction she listened well and followed his instructions like a pro.

Both Mark and Alex would only be in town for a couple of days, so we had to work fast and work as a team as neither of them had a car her in El Paso. We decided to do the first shoot at my pool. Both shoots had to be at sunset because both Mark and Alex had obligations during the day, which works out fine because the light out here in Southern New Mexico / South West Texas is amazing at sunset. It reminds me a lot of the light in Arizona.

Mark shoots with a Nikon D800E and a full line up of Nikon lenses including the 135 DC f/2, 105 DC f/2 and 85 G 1.4. I think you'll be impressed the results he gets from this kit, I know Turner would be!

Nikon D800E http://amzn.to/2ttFEGE
Nikkor 135 DC f/2 lens http://amzn.to/2sqBoCY
Nikkor 105 DC f/2 lens http://amzn.to/2u2Jrro
Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 G lens http://amzn.to/2sqsIfQ

For our second day of shooting we made our way out to White Sands, which on the normal route from El Paso, could take up to 90 minutes to get there. However, due to all of us being in the military, we could take a short cut through White Sands Missile Range and cut about 30 minutes off the drive. Even so, we had to hustle to make it in time for the sunset. Fortunately, Mark and I have both shot at White Sands and he knew the exact location he wanted to shoot at, so we made a bee line and got to work.

It was a real pleasure watching a pro like Mark at work, I think you'll enjoy the resulting and the video! Mark has some big changes in his life and a big move so I'm not sure if I'll get to work with him again. Our model, Alex, lives in California, it's likely that we might find ourselves in close proximity to one another and if so, I would love to shoot her.






















Thursday, June 1, 2017

Sports Photography without the Sony A9


The Sony A9 was recently announced and there's a lot to be excited about. Boasting an unbelievable 20 frames per second continuous shutter with no EVF black out, specs like that alone will get the attention of sports and wild life photographers. But a lofty price tag comes along with all that technology and impressive specs. The Sony A9 is listed at $4500 USD suggested retail price, which puts it out of my price range, and I'm not alone.

I don't feel left out because I really don't have a need for that kind of ultra-fast shutter speed, the 11 frames per second of the Sony A6000 covers all of my sports photography needs. Aside from that, I invested a good chunk of money into the Sony A7RII and A7II. But how would they perform when shooting professional sports. 

The Sony A7RII and A7II shoot in continuous shutter at 5 frames per second, but is that fast enough to cover professional sports. Well, we hope our new video answers that question.


Buy the cameras and gear used in this video...

Sony A9 - http://amzn.to/2rIAC8j
Sony A7RII - http://amzn.to/2shThVs
Sony A7II - http://amzn.to/2qEUqJG
Sony G FE 70-200mm f/4 - http://amzn.to/2rtAUPs
Zeiss 24-70mm f/4 - http://amzn.to/2rfd9dl
Sony A Mount G 70-300mm - http://amzn.to/2si6EVQ
Sony LCS-BP3 Camera Bag - http://amzn.to/2shSQua
Sony LA-EA4 Adapter - http://amzn.to/2qEPoZz
Sony AS100 Action Cam - http://amzn.to/2rf9Tyw

Enjoy the photos and be sure to leave a comment. What do you think? Can the Sony A7RII and the A7II perform well enough to shoot professional sports?