Roel, avoiding polemics I can say that I am myself an optimist by nature but can also be very critical and hypothetical about issues but if I say that Australia is the wrong name for that land and if I say that's my strongest believe that to honour the native inhabitants of that country, Australia should be named Aborelia, as that name justify the old and the new inhabitants.... do I have in that case a bad expirience too? NO, not at all. I hope that's an answer enough. Also my critics has no social value as those lawyers are using the system rightfully but it's still wrong to my opinion and photography has everyting to do with it as it bring up the issue, so why not talk about it freely, those are just thoughts. Btw the name Aboralia is a name and idea of my own but no vanity here as everything here could be thought, said or done before.Anyway back to the series, they are nice, especially that transparant plastic piece with the flowers on it, nr. 35 I guess and the zombie images are special as well :).Regards Lou-RoelHendrickxwrote: That tirade sounds like you had a bad experience with lawyers in your life. You probably never met the right ones?But you are right: that is entirely not the issue here.So I will avoid politics and polemics and just reply to your first sentence.LouHollandwrote:Was your Toga greatfully suspended for that moment Roel :)? Nice series btwThanks and you are right : I enjoy switching hats.( ...snip on the rest... )Anyway that's not the issue, nice series.Thanks again.

Buzz of Claus, behave, you're not funny by typification of that group of patiënts as that creates polemic in a total different way. Also it has no respect to that group of patiënts.Regards Lou-Claus Awrote:Lou,did you have too much of your Gilles de la Tourette aftershave today?My best,Claus.

Your joke, Lou...: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=36058537

Tjeese you look like the a couple of people here who had make it a habit to popup archived url's in questions but beside that in the url you provide I did bring that up in a more delicate way while you pointed it out to me as a person in relation to my free thoughts I gave Roel. That's the difference Claus. Also emphasizing the word "to much" creates the other intention in a playful way. So please don't compare the use of it in those two threads.Regards LouFurter on I keep it short as this is not my thread-Claus Awrote:Your joke, Lou...: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=36058537

Because you are one of the (if not THE) prime members of the forum when it comes to event photography and creating people's portraits under time pressure, like in "red carpet" situations, your opinion matters an awful lot to me, Doug.So I cannot be anything else than happy with your comments.Doug Brownwrote:Well done Roel. Different styles of coverage, the variety of photos, going to the effort of setting up the portable studio ... any client would be happy to pay for this work.You provided a different approach to the coverage of this event and followed through in a very thorough, professional manner. These are the things that define a photographer's 'unique style'.Douglas Brown

RoelI like these first three as they capture the atmosphere of the event and in particular your approach to the shoot. I like the directness of the portraits where you are looking into their eyes.CheersRay -- Purpleray

From this 2nd set, I like the shots of the model with her arm out towards the camera, the hair extension, the portrait of the woman with the fuzzy hat and the woman in black on the catwalk. I think I've got all the ones I like. There maybe another one with a beautiful model in light colours looking at the camera. They are a combination of graphic beauty and revalation of individual personal presence.The first one in this series is also a bit of an insight into a personal presence as well but I found it a bit uncomfortable as it revealed some things maybe the person would not expect to be seen - the combination of grain and sharp record of dried out complexion.I found the catwalk shots from behind less graphically beautiful and less revealing of what we want to see. It's difficult to get the right angle.All in all - still very interesting and all worth seeing and looking at again.Cheersray

RoelI like this third and final set the best. They appear to be an unadorned direct snap of the models but still show so much - they are without artifice.Though the first one in red with the very pale complexion is a little bit stark without a sense of graphic drama - stiil probably revealing of the person, the costume and the mood - just dont like it.Cheersray -- Purpleray

Great work, Roel. Are you starting to get into off-camera lighting now? Did you rent or buy the softbox(es?). Looks like at least one was used, perhaps some others as well?I think all of these have your signature "touch" to them, both in composition as well as in post processing.Thanks for sharing, glad I didn't miss this post!Cheers, -- Tim 'I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.' E3/7-14/12-60/35-100/150/25/EC14/EC20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/timskis6/

Timskis6wrote:Great work, Roel. Are you starting to get into off-camera lighting now? Did you rent or buy the softbox(es?). Looks like at least one was used, perhaps some others as well?I don't use strobes often, but when I do, I am always happy that I have them.I bought a fairly good-value Elinchrom two light set (D-Lite 4) when I got a first assignment to shoot a dozen of portraits in a pretty short time period (employee pictures for a business of friends).Buying was a quick decision once I found out that renting 4 or 5 times a good kit (practice, two weekends, ...), would almost cost me as much as just buying a cheaper setup to play around with at my own leisure...The set came with a large and a small softbox for two lights on tripod stands. Afterwards, I have added a reflector cup, an umbrella, a lower (floor) stand and a honeycomb grid. I am now considering a wireless trigger (Elinchrom Skyport), after having experienced hassle with the trigger cable, again this time (Djeezz!!)I have bought a very very very large bag (for golf equipment) with a handle and those little suitcase wheels, in which I can fit the whole deal, together with a black velvet curtain and some power extension, clamps etc, to take the setup with me in the car, as a portable studio.I have used the strobes for a number of specific sessions. They are not routine, but I am getting the hang of it.Although I love natural light, when there is a rush to get a number of portraits right in a limited amount of time, the strobes just give many more possible keepers to choose from because of consistency of light and shutter speed.In this little gallery, you can see a selection of "studio portraits" I made at Zonnekamp (it also contains a view of my setup) :http://roelh.zenfolio.com/p975064822Info on specific placement of strobes for this Lawyer shoot (keeping in mind that I had to do all the moving myself, so I stuck with clam-shell and variations on that, moving the strobes further apart but still from the front/side only), was in an earlier reply : http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=38556220Although I am at heart a documentary and ambient light shooter, strobes can be fun once in a while, and they do take a lot of stress away when it really matters. You just know you will have good and controlled light, and that eases the mind.(I am also afraid they can be addictive... Battery-powered smaller strobes (like Ranger Quadras) look like a very sexy but heavy investment, but I resist : there is almost always a power plug nearby...Maybe when I get into using strobes in the field...)I think all of these have your signature "touch" to them, both in composition as well as in post processing.Thank you very much.Thanks for sharing, glad I didn't miss this post!Cheers, -- Tim 'I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.' E3/7-14/12-60/35-100/150/25/EC14/EC20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/timskis6/

Raist3dwrote:I really think most of these...Are actual pretty good. I would saythis is one of the posts you have posted that you hit more high notes consistently. Also you got a taste of what a wedding photog has to do. There are many similaritiesThank you, Ricardo. I can see that.I have not yet done a wedding, but I would not shy away from it, provided that the couple would trust me to create a nice memory in my own style, and would not try to boss me around into making the zillionth boring static portrait of the zillionth boring aunt.I would need to try and approach it as a party among friends, maybe adding a few "studio style" portraits.As for the lenses I think (I think not sure which apertures you where shooting) a 14-54/12-60+ f2 50 would also be enough to cover the event.I did use the ZD12-60 (with flash) a lot for the event. The longer range of ZD150 and ZD35-100 were useful as it was a big venue, and I could also use those at F2 and still get 1/100 or faster.This is not a statement against the lenses you used - merely commenting on what you said that you don't feel you could do it without the flexibility of the chosen lenses.My comment on flexibility of chosen lens was not centered on the event itself (where I went two-camera), but on the "studio" session. I did not swap lenses once for that studio shoot, and used the ZD35-100 throughout for a couple hundred shots in two hours. The 35-100 zoom range is perfect to cover a couple, individuals and then their faces, without me having to move around too much. With a ZD50mm prime, I could have probably done it too, but not as fast.I really like the first shot you posted. Excellent moment and compositionThank you.

Well done capturing the scene and stars. I really liked 'Red, anyone?' --http://www.pbase.com/jfinite

jfinitewrote:Well done capturing the scene and stars. I really liked 'Red, anyone?'She was one of two or three to whom posing came very very naturally.She needed almost no direction at all and struck poses and facial expressions like a pro.Here is a bit of a different conversion of one of her pictures (not in the main set because the conversion made it too different) :

RoelHendrickxwrote:Raist3dwrote:I really think most of these...Are actual pretty good. I would saythis is one of the posts you have posted that you hit more high notes consistently. Also you got a taste of what a wedding photog has to do. There are many similaritiesThank you, Ricardo. I can see that.I have not yet done a wedding, but I would not shy away from it, provided that the couple would trust me to create a nice memory in my own style, and would not try to boss me around into making the zillionth boring static portrait of the zillionth boring aunt.I think most couples would be fine with that, particularly when you show them your portfolio. Also you can always clarify that upfront and it's all good (in general).I would need to try and approach it as a party among friends, maybe adding a few "studio style" portraits.As for the lenses I think (I think not sure which apertures you where shooting) a 14-54/12-60+ f2 50 would also be enough to cover the event.I did use the ZD12-60 (with flash) a lot for the event. The longer range of ZD150 and ZD35-100 were useful as it was a big venue, and I could also use those at F2 and still get 1/100 or faster.This is not a statement against the lenses you used - merely commenting on what you said that you don't feel you could do it without the flexibility of the chosen lenses.My comment on flexibility of chosen lens was not centered on the event itself (where I went two-camera), but on the "studio" session. I did not swap lenses once for that studio shoot, and used the ZD35-100 throughout for a couple hundred shots in two hours. The 35-100 zoom range is perfect to cover a couple, individuals and then their faces, without me having to move around too much. With a ZD50mm prime, I could have probably done it too, but not as fast.That's true for the zooms and fortunately the 35-100 starts at the equivalent of 75 so it's more orthogonal in perspective. The only thing I would say about that is to always watch how this affects perspective, how much of the shot is in and if even possible to think of the 35-100 as a set of primes with say 75, 100, 200 focal lengths. Anyway just how I have found that useful, but at least starting at 75mm is already orthogonal. The 12-60 (or 14-54) are the mavericks to really watch out forI really like the first shot you posted. Excellent moment and compositionThank you.

it's the only way to be sure.haha just kidding.

purpleraywrote:RoelI like this third and final set the best. They appear to be an unadorned direct snap of the models but still show so much - they are without artifice.Though the first one in red with the very pale complexion is a little bit stark without a sense of graphic drama - stiil probably revealing of the person, the costume and the mood - just dont like it.Cheersray --RoelHaving noticed your prompt replies following my posts, I can only assume I have somehow said something of little value in my responses to each of your sets.CheersRayPurpleray

purpleraywrote:purpleraywrote:RoelI like this third and final set the best. They appear to be an unadorned direct snap of the models but still show so much - they are without artifice.Though the first one in red with the very pale complexion is a little bit stark without a sense of graphic drama - stiil probably revealing of the person, the costume and the mood - just dont like it.Cheersray --RoelHaving noticed your prompt replies following my posts, I can only assume I have somehow said something of little value in my responses to each of your sets.I replied first to the persons who had very specific questions on lenses or lighting (see replies to Ricardo and Tim). When answered very late, the answers sometimes become irrelevant.Also to Justin because I had specifically asked him to take a look.Replies to other comments such as yours were reserved for later. My time this mornign very early was limited. Now, I am in the middle of moving my office (taking a break) so I will also be late in contributing to the Wednesday C&C, but all will get replies.Moreover, I had noticed that you had taken the time to post a reply to each of my original three posts with sets of images, and I wanted to read through that and take my time to give you ample feedback.

(I am also afraid they can be addictive... Battery-powered smaller strobes (like Ranger Quadras) look like a very sexy but heavy investment, but I resist : there is almost always a power plug nearby...Maybe when I get into using strobes in the field...)As you probably already know that David Hobby (aka Strobist) can be very very addictive, for me at least. So be carefulI never go anywhere without a flash and a remote trigger. I recently bought the new Cactus V5. I 'll post a thread soon.Cheers

RoelleNo worries. Sorry to put you on the spot.CheersRay -- Purpleray