George Tenney Photography Blog

Speedlight with Radiopopper PX speedring solutions

2012-01-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

Yet again?

Yet again I was in the market for a highlight specialized piece of photography gear...

Another specialized hunk of metal.

Shopping around the web - finding a speedlight speedring is easy. Finding images of one that could demonstrate room for a Radiopopper PX receiver was tough. So a couple of weeks ago I asked the Twitter community for their solutions for a speedring that would accommodate a speedlight with a Radiopopper PX receiver.

Beware - Geeky photo strobe gear images posted below :-)

Nikon SB900 with Radiopopper PX on Creative Light Speedring.

Thanks to all who answered my call. Especially @jeffzelevasky answering my query and even setting me up with the gear!

This Creative Light Speedring does the job. The threads are positioned perfectly for the PX receiver mount and the strobe head ends up safe and secure, right in the center of the speeding.

So there you have it. I'm off and running. Hope there's some other photogs out there that can benefit from this post!

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Update - Another option - my next favorite setup to get a Radiopopper PX equipped speedlight shooting through a softbox is the this:

Nikon SB900 with Radiopopper PX on ePhoto Lbracket Speedlight Mount with Dyna speeding added (have to drill holes in the ePhoto gear to get the Dynalite ring on. Pretty easy)

Prefer the Creative Light ring's robust simplicity but this ePhoto Lbracket setup ain't bad. Especially if you have Dynalite speedrings in your inventory. Costs and weighs a bit less. Not the rock solid construction of the other unit. Worth considering though.

Best of luck out there!

Blimp in the big sky

2012-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Another fine winter day to cruise with the top down in the Tempe.

I try to save my attention for the front, rear, left and right windows while driving. Checking out sky views only at stop signs and red lights. Good old Metlife blimp was flying by during one of my brief stops. Didn't get a chance to look through the rangefinder for this one. Held the camera skyward and shot. Love the big sky feeling.

Fuji X100 is a blast

2011-12-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, high end cellphone cameras are wonderful. Used one for the image in this post. But for me, nothing inspires like the feel of a fine camera.

Early in my career - I always wanted, but never could find room in the gear budget for a Leica MP4 or M6. A cool rangefinder that would bridge the work/play gap. Then later on - as I transitioned from photojournalism to the studio - I forgot about rangefinders altogether. I used the DSLRs for work and rangefinder-less point & shoots or iPhones for personal / play photography.

Then along came the Fuji X100. My Christmas present to myself. A digital update on the classic setup of a 35mm f2 lens on a rangefinder. A photographer's point & shoot.

The lowlight performance is incredible, the shutter silent and the hybrid digital/optical rangefinder is the be all end all. The tactile experience of a fine mechanical camera with capabilities of digital imaging.

Highly recommend.

Winter grass and backlit lawn spriklers

2011-11-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

Winter grass is in. Lawn sprinklers shower the yards I walk past. That glimmering aerosol always catches my eye.

Day at the track

2011-09-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Fun to watch. Even more fun when I got to sit in the passenger for a couple of laps.

Thanks goes out to EO New Jersey, Monticello Motor Club and World Class Driving for giving me and a bunch of other's - who would normally be spectators - the experience of riding in a performance vehicle pushed to it's limits. Good time was had by all!

Smokin hot August

2011-08-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

New record for Phoenix heat in August this 2011. Don't need to turn the grill on to cook.

View from above

2011-08-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Heading back home to AZ form the East Coast again. Always spend time on the flight checking out the clouds. Relaxing. Passes the time. That's why I gave the window seat to the fidgety 3 in my row. All quiet after that. Worked out great.

Random shot out the car window - wind farm

2011-08-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Coming back from Disneyland across the dessert. Stopped for gas here in Palm Desert, CA. Had to put all my weight on the car door to shut it and lean into the wind at the gas pump. Guess it was a good spot for a few windmills.

If you carry a camera all the time...

2011-07-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Heron shows no mercy to a gopher.

Strange image to see on my point & shoot view screen. The picture still looks unreal to me.

A bit of a departure from my normal subject matter - but when you’re poolside with your P&S and a big bird flies in your face - go for it!

Aerospace biofuels

2011-06-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

On location at the Morristown, NJ Airport - Honeywell prepares for the first (ever) transatlantic flight using biofuels. Day one of shooting included this image of the biofueled G450 in front of the hangar. A lot of "lights, camera, action" along with a painted sky made this shot.

These images from day two were shot at 9PM. Definitely the low light limit for action photography. Kind of a nail biter. Only one chance to get the image. After the huge rush of witnessing takeoff from right next to the runway came a big satisfaction (and decompression) - seeing images on the back of the camera. Glad we didn't have to wait for the film to come back from the lab :-)

Off into the wild blue yonder. The biofuel powered G450 heading to Paris.

Heading out

2011-06-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Heading east for the week. Looking forward to some cooler temps...

Ground penetrating radar - utility survey

2011-05-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Utility surveying with ground penetrating radar. I browsed around the internet for a while to see what had already been done in the way of visuals. Not much. Another underexposed niche industry. My favorite. An opportunity to work with cool machines, a special skill set and an industrial environment to tell a story about a unique craft.

Here's some more from that shoot - Ground Penetrating Radar

Swim time

2011-04-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Settling in our new AZ digs. Sunscreen is part of the morning routine before school. Swimming is the routine after school.

Another random cellphone image helped out a little by a photo editing app. Our kid free styling it through the water.

Repeating Patterns In Commercial Architectural Interior

2011-03-21T09:21:00.001-07:00

The pattern on the ceiling is repeated underneath. Looking back, this round repeating pattern is a recurring theme in my architectural portfolio.

It works for me.

This shoot was for a commercial contractor. A 30,000 square foot refit in Berkley Heights, NJ.

Toy Vs. Dog - No mercy

2011-02-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

I promise she is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. Unless of course - you're a toy.

My First point & shoot camera

2011-02-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Decades ago I looked down into a box of Dad's old stuff. This camera looked up and said "play with me"

It's feel was inspiration. I could grasp it with one hand and run. The simplicity of design and barely audible shutter. Like shooting images with bare hands.

Good results were never certain. Just about as un-auto as a camera could get. Zone focusing. Manual everything. But it was one of those cameras that I connected to. I didn't worry about lenses or flash. I didn't have that choice. So I didn't waste time thinking about it.

It sits on a shelf now. Connects me to my start. And though I have no nostalgia for film itself - I miss simple gear like this.

Cellphone food shot

2011-02-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Shot this with an iPhone and natural light.
Sometimes the best camera is the one you've got in your hand. A little out of my usual element shooting food. Just for fun though. No pressure :-)

Sparks flying from metal contruction

2011-02-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

I don’t settle for the same old.

Working with a commercial construction firm on this project for their portfolio was one of many opportunities I’ve been given to create a more persuasive visual.

In their project I saw an opportunity to capture a less matter of fact view of the everyday. To tell a story with some flare. Or in this case - sparks.

Cool runnings

2011-01-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

OK - This really doesn't have much to do with photography.

This is what your face does when you go running below freezing.

The first mile is always a little cool. Your face and hands might start to freeze up at first. But if you dressed correctly, by mile 2 you've warmed up and it might as well be 70 degrees outside!

This steamy self portrait if is what I see reflected in the windows of house when I come back from running in the cold.

Looking forward to short sleeves again. Bring on Spring!

Snow, snow, snow

2010-12-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

The clearing up after the storm made for a great scene in our backyard. The occasional gusts of wind blowing snow of the tree branches.

Ferrari 458 in studio

2010-12-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

As a kid I had two recurring fantasies:

- To have the power of flight.
- To sit in, touch, enjoy the details of exotic cars that I only saw in magazines and on TV.

Working with the Vulcan Motor Club - capturing images of their fleet vehicles - has satisfied one of those dreams.

...I’m still working on the power of flight thing :-)

Machined metal

2010-12-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

I'm inspired by industrial patterns and textures on factory floors and machine shops. Shiny metal objects catch my attention. So while scouting for a location to shoot an environmental portrait of the company presidents, we paused to capture this image.

Objects like clips, plastic extrusion, components, or a fire extinguisher. Everyday stuff we pass by all the time. Ever look at them closeup? Their design, production and sales are a competitive business. Companies need images that set them apart from their competition. Images that create an emotional connection and tell stories about their company and products.

New team mascot

2010-10-04T16:26:00.000-07:00

Meet the newest member of the George Tenney Photography team - our beagle-chihuahua mix - Fergie!

Fergie is high energy with an extremely positive attitude. And she will not take "NO" for an answer! Like "NO" don't chew on my CF cards or "NO" jumping on the table top studio setups!

Oh well. Like any employee, she needs training. We'll be working with and mentoring her about work behind the camera. In the meantime, she's a natural in front of the lens!

Lamborghini studio shoot

2010-09-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Behind the scenes at our recent studio shoot of a Lamborghini Murcielago. This was one of five super cars photographed over a three day period. Many thanks to the folks at the Vulcan Motor Club for the opportunity and to Tim Camuso for helping pull it off!

Customized Jeep - "The Beast"

2010-09-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

Jeep Rubicon photographed on location in client's garage. Chester, New Jersey.

Architectural Glass Samples

2010-08-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

A New Jersey glass manufacturer's architectural samples in studio.

Student Athlete

2010-07-13T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hold that pose - don't move.

Curtis, a student and athlete at Drew University was nice enough to show off some of his moves on the field in Ranger Stadium.

Exotic cars in studio

2010-06-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Back on location shooting exotic cars at Vulcan Motor Club. This Ferrari 599 had no shortage of beautiful angles and styling.

Music programs for kids

2010-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Recently had the pleasure of working with the Music Empowers Foundation to create custom photography for their new website.

We visited an after school music program for this shoot. Our goal was to capture images that show the positive impact of music in kid's lives. This drummer's spontaneous pose shows that perfectly.

This music teacher poses in front of some the musical instruments her school has received.

A student with his electric guitar during a break between sets.

Many thanks to all the students and teachers who participated in this shoot! It was great to watch and listen to your performance. You rocked!

College student profile

2010-06-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

This environmental portrait of a student at Drew University was done right in the middle of the day. Not the normally my favorite time to shoot, but a little help from a small strobe, radiopoppers and high speed sync and we were in business.

Enjoying a college town

2010-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

This environmental portrait shoot was done in the evening hours in beautiful downtown Madison, NJ. These college students ventured down the street from their campus to enjoy some of the local atmosphere on a nice evening.

Woman's portrait in natural light

2010-05-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to show off a beautiful portrait taken in the natural window light of my studio.

I had prepped all the usual lighting for a portrait. After shooting under the lights for a few minutes and looking at the images we decided to shut all the off and shoot by the window. Best decision I made all day! Besides the softness of the North facing window light, the complex highlights in the eyes are what make this portrait work so well. Thanks very much Carolyn for the great photo shoot!

Portrait of a student teacher

2010-05-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Natalie is a college student working on her teaching degree. For this environmental portrait we ventured to a high school classroom where she is student teaching an English class. It was great to work with Natalie. Her great rapport with her pupils and natural smile make her a terrific subject.

Split personality

2010-05-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Whimsical situations like this are fun to setup and capture.

Skidmore College contacted us in need of an image of an alumni. David is a patent attorney with a creative side. Staying close to home in Florham Park, New Jersey we shot this image to illustrate a story about how there's room for creativity in every profession. The result was a lifestyle environmental portrait with a twist - a trumpet player in a law library.

Architectural Interiors

2010-04-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Had the great pleasure of working with stylist Jodi Topitz on this architectural interior photo shoot at a Short Hills, New Jersey residence. For comparison we experimented on this shoot with HDR photography and strobist lighting techniques.

Freeze frame

2010-03-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

I love images that immediately grab my eye with one element, then tell me a story with other elements. That's what this image does for me. Her face draws me in - the snowball heading right for me says the rest.

This snow day was gloomy. The cloudy sky - pretty much one big softbox - didn't provide much contrast or drama. One strobe over her shoulder popped the the girl and her snowball right off that background and transformed the scene into sunny winter splendor.

Bring on spring!

Mission to Times Square

2010-03-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

My assistant Sara and I travelled light - heading in on the Midtown Direct train. Just a couple of bags of gear.

Our mission was to capture an image of a student doing an internship at MTV.

Had the pleasure of photographing Cayley. We had a great shoot inside the MTV halls and offices as well as a grabbing the winning shot outside in Times Square. Have a look at the video to see how it turned out!

More Maybachs

2010-02-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

A few of the images from a recent car shoot.

Inkjet on glass

2010-01-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

(My image, inkjeted on glass sitting in my office window)

Recently shared a few images with a friend for testing of an inkjet on glass printing system. Very cool results! If you squint you can see my reflection in the image above :-)

(This was the original image)

Photographing a photographer

2010-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

A magazine needed an image of her to go along with a feature story and like so many of us photographers she didn’t have any good pictures of herself.

Food photographer Adriana Mullen - or @adrianamullen as I first knew her - reached out via Twitter for a photographer to take her picture.

Excited by the chance to meet a fellow photog that I’ve followed on Twitter for a while, I answered the call with an @reply - “Pick me!” We exchanged numbers via “direct message” and shortly after we heard each other’s voices for the first time!

We met in her studio. A great setting for a photo shoot with fantastic natural light and a terrific collection of backgrounds, place settings and glassware.

Shooting portraits of people like Adriana is one of my favorite things to do as a photographer. Working with a subject so comfortable in their surroundings and unselfconscious in front of the camera was a great experience!

Be sure to check out Adriana’s work at www.adrianamullenphotography.com and look her up on Twitter too - @adrianamullen

From left, @georgetenney and @adrianamullen

Maybach photo shoot

2009-12-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

While the idea of driving a $500,000 car makes me a little nervous, the idea of being driven in a $500,000 car works just fine for me...Not sure where all my gear's gonna fit though...

Here are some looks at the setup and me lighting some of the car's details. Using DSLR Remote to fire the camera and check my work as I go.

Ecotourism

2009-11-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

Canoe paddler on the Delaware Raritan Canal, Somerset, NJ

Sheep at the Creamery

2009-10-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

An Artist At Work

2009-10-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Mr. Clean (Room)

2009-09-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

A self portrait from a recent shoot in a cleanroom.

Car Details

2009-08-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Image from a recent shoot of Ferrari 599.

Summer Fun

2009-08-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a backyard barbeque on a beautiful weekend afternoon!

Leaves on a deck

2009-08-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Wet weather in Jersey made for some nice closeup images the other day.

Scarves

2009-07-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

From a recent project for the Millburn/Short Hills Chamber of Commerce. Brilliantly styled by Jodi at www.topitzdesignstudios.com

2009-07-21T04:56:00.000-07:00

From a recent photo shoot of a Lamborghini.

My watch as a stand in

2009-07-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Using my watch as a stunt double for a client's product.

Magazine cover

2009-06-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Cover of the Summer 2009 issue of Hometown Quarterly. Did the shoot last November here in NJ. Courtney did a great job looking warm on the beach in late fall.

Car details

2009-06-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

A recent photo shoot of a Tesla Roadster. That's me holding the light. Took this frame to get just the right light and reflections on the rear view mirror. Later cut out the mirror in post and used it in a composite image of the car's profile.

Layered lighting

2009-05-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

A recent image from a commercial interior shoot. Used one Speedlight inside a softbox with around 20 flashes from different angles. Combined 20 shots together in PS layered file. Then some Lightroom post production on the layered PS file. Hope you like!

Look, No Layers

2009-05-21T15:56:00.001-07:00

This an image is from recent photo shoot at a local university. The effects in this image were done the old fashion way, with a darkened room, a projection on a screen, a strobe, a flashlight and long shutter speed. No digital post production...kinda takes me back to the old days.

Vibrancy in images

2009-05-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

A mix of HDR and Lightroom settings. This image is from a shoot for an architectural firm.

But what if there’s a fire?

2009-04-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Do you have an offsite backup of all the important digital images you've created over the years?

Until recently I did not.

I've got every raw and post processed digital image I ever created for my clients archived. And until recently my archives consisted of a huge amount of DVDs kept in a cabinet next to my desk. I had no offsite backup of my archives.

For sometime I'd been asking myself "what if this archive were destroyed? What if there were a fire?"

I'd have a lot of cooked raw files. And cooked raw files are no good...Adobe has Camera Raw, not Camera Cooked.

The stress was building.

I started looking into online solutions. Came to the conclusion that even if I could get all my gigabytes uploaded (which would be painful) to an online backup service, it'd take too long, cost too much, and if they went out of business, then what?

A 2TB hard drive for my desk and a safe deposit box for my archive DVDs was the answer for me.

I feel much better now.

Point & Shoot

2009-03-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend following my family around with a point & shoot (DMC-LX3 - awesome machine) camera. Every photographer should have a point & shoot. I just figured that out. I often pass on the personal photo ops because I don’t feel like dragging a half ton SLR out of it’s case to get a shot of my daughter skating up and down the driveway. Our family photo albums were starting to suffer from the “shoemaker’s kids syndrome.” Going forward I’m resolved to shoot more of the mundane, humdrum and very precious moments and scenes as they pass by.

2009-03-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

I took this image while on a ride last fall. Since then the cold weather and gray scenery have kept my bike and photo gear working mostly indoors. While I take pleasure all the seasons, I look forward to enjoying and photographing spring and summer life in 2009!

2009-03-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

Ahh the joys of social networking! Not the least of which is PhotoShopping together your background page on Twitter!

www.twitter.com/georgetenney

A Toast To Jewelry

2008-12-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

I think the title says it all. A fun concept. Not even sure if it makes sense but I sure like the image. Thanks again Jodi Topitz for your collaboration and creativity!

Vulcan Motor Club

2008-09-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is not your father's Buick, Cadillac, Porsche, or even Rolls Royce. This car costs much, much more.

Photographing the Mercedes McLaren SLR was one of the more exciting shoots of my career.

A location shoot at the Vulcan Motor Club, step one was to move all the other super cars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, out of the way. Step two was to setup the giant paper roof, held up by c-stands sandbags and clamps. (Funny how these glamorous shoots just can't be done without the simple things from Home Depot like 160 lbs of sand and a dozen $1 clamps.) Step three was to light it and shoot 50 or so shots from each angle while moving a white board and black sheet around to get just the right highlights and shadows on every part of the car. Then step four, a whole lot of cutting pasting, masking, layering, painting, cloning, smudging, curving, healing and saving in PhotoShop.

Many thanks to Vulcan for the opportunity!

NJAS Ecosystems 08

2008-08-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

This was a fun assignment. Follow 30 public school science and social studies teachers around while they wade through swamps, tour a waste water treatment plant, take walks through the forest and dive into bushes. The teachers are learning new ways to teach their students about our environment, how we affect it and affects us. The program is conducted by the New Jersey Audubon Society (NJAS) and sponsored by Honeywell.

Creative Speech Solutions

2008-08-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

Back to my photojournalist roots. Following the therapists and kids around the Creative Speech Solutions offices was great. Seeing children growing and learning in a caring, professional and kid friendly environment like this was inspiring.

Commercial Interiors

2008-08-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Another image created with composite lighting. To light this scene I used 1 strobe held inside a softbox. I flashed the scene around 20 times from different angels, adding highlights to the chairs, and behind the glass wall. Then took 1 exposure to capture the existing lighting. Then layered all the exposures into 1 PhotoShop document to combine all the lighting angles into one composite image.

I stumbled across this technique in the middle of a shoot about a year ago. Now I see many other photographers using the same technique. The technique has become so popular that the latest version of Adobe Lightroom has a new feature to export groups of images into a single layered PhotoShop document. This new feature has saved me a ton of manual cutting and pasting in PhotoShop. Yes!

Car Shot

2008-05-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a before and after (top image is after, bottom image, before). Had fun working this one. Took about 2 Minutes to shoot the car in my driveway, about 3 hours of PhotoShop time to get the finished product.

Commercial Interiors

2008-05-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

Client: Office Furniture Partnership

Website: www.officefurniturepartnership.com

Project: Photography of showroom and client installs

Thanks very much to Office Furniture Partnership for the opportunity work on these photo shoots. Had fun shooting these locations.

I find myself going into the old lighting case less and less often...thanks to PhotoShop.

I’ve been relying more and more on small handheld lights and less and less on light heads and power packs. I moving around the scenes with a flash here and there, then layering the images together in PhotoShop to combine all the lighting angles, sometimes combining 20 or more each on it’s own PhotoShop layer.

Needless to say the PhotoShop files are getting huge. But the time savings on location, precise lighting control and incredible results are well worth CPU slowdown.

Looking forward to the next one guys!

Residential Interiors

2008-05-07T07:21:00.001-07:00

Client: Christine Interiors

Project: Portfolio photography of interior designer's residential projects

I always have to think twice before I invite someone into my house...Is the place clean enough for guests? Do things look nice?

Usually they don’t.

And I’d have to think three times before I have a designer over...

That’s why I really have to appreciate how my client’s client felt when Christine and I showed up to photograph interiors of her house. But then again Christine designed the interior so I guess it was safe to let us in.

The spaces came to together nicely. PhotoShop helped us out in a couple of rooms that were too small capture in one frame. Hooray for Photomerge!

Christine Thanks for the opportunity to collaborate with you on building your portfolio.

Stylin' with Jodi

2008-05-07T06:36:00.001-07:00

Project: Portfolio photography, photo styling, still life

Website: www.topitzdesignstudios.com

Artist/Stylist Jodi Topitz and I have joined forces. Our experience as artists and common interests inspired us to start working together to create innovative, high end commercial images.

These images are from our first couple of shoots together.

Working with Jodi is a blast. Plans for our photo shoots go like this:

1. We pick a date

2. I bring my gear

3. Jodi brings the stuff

4. We make whatever pictures we feel like.

Jodi's expert styling and artistry come into play as she selects elements of the scene. She's brilliant at creating an atmosphere. It's always high energy and high creativity!

Together we'll be working with marketing and advertising agencies, magazines, interior designers and just about anyone with a product or place to promote.

Can't wait for the next shoot!