It wasn't easy.
I had a chance to try out an Olympus E-3 DSLR for a while last month. Among other things, the magnesium E-3 body and Olympus Zukio lenses are known for their ruggedness. The whole system is billed as "splashproof and dustproof". The 10MP camera has been out for awhile, but it has a ton of other attractive features: in-camera image stabilization, automatic sensor dust cleaning, a built-in flash, live view, and the speed and responsiveness you would expect from a modern DSLR.
It was perfect timing because I had some climbing shoots lined up at some new areas near Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the conditions were perfect for this camera: rain for a solid week.
The thing about climbing in the south is that much of the walls are steep enough to allow climbing in even a downpour. If you are willing to hike out in the conditions, chances are you can climb dry rock once you get there. Still, tromping around and rigging ropes in the rain is usually hard enough on cameras to call off a day - or week - of climbing photography.
I was hoping the E-3 would live up to its reputation, and I could salvage an otherwise unproductive week of shooting.
The Zukio lenses are all fantastic. The build and optical quality is at least as good if not better than any DSLR system out there. I tested out four pro-quality lenses: The 8mm f/3.5 fisheye, 35-100mm f/2.0, 50mm f/2.0, and 300mm f/2.8.
Olympus has committed to the Four-Thirds sensor on all its DSLRs. This is a smaller sensor than the "cropped" APS sensor of Nikon and Canon, and has an aspect ratio that is closer to square than rectangular. The Olympus sensor and processor has a reputation for great color and image quality, and it's definitely not hype. I shot some portraits and kids in the neighborhood before heading up to Chattanooga, and the color and skin tones were remarkable, right out of the box, on auto white balance. I was looking forward to seeing what I could do to this camera in harsher conditions.
The climbing areas we explored over the next few days - which shall remain nameless - were deep, and rugged, and beautiful. In classic southern style, access involved 4WD roads, river crossings and long hikes in the rain. In these conditions I would normally keep my camera in a housing, or just leave it in the bag, but with the E-3, I could shoot and even change lenses with impunity. I spent a good part of one afternoon 80 feet in the air on a rope, under a small waterfall and light rain. Nothing seemed to give the camera pause. Not only that, but yielded great shots the whole time.
By the end of our trip I was getting ... reckless. We explored a river under one cliff
and the fun began.
Splash
Splash
Dunk
Uh, Oh!
That last shot was probably the camera's last shot, ever*. The E-3 is obviously not an underwater camera, and it's not meant to withstand immersion, but before it died I DID get a good number of "underwater" shots. Not many cameras would have inspired me to go for a shot like that... I think gear that can encourage you to take your craft one step further - thats money!
Olympus just released a new mini four-thirds camera, the E-P1, and its gotten a lot of attention, but with the excellent Zukio lens lineup, and the features the E-3 already has, I'm excited to see what Olympus has on deck for its next flagship DSLR.
I'd love to break it in!
* Note: I've learned that the camera actually survived and is happily taking pictures somewhere in Aruba. Guess it really isn't that easy.
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Created this Stillmotion piece last week with John Kelso. He has assisted me on many shoots, and is a kickass inline skater, punk rocker, and future photography superstar. Followed him for a weekend to a few spots around Atlanta. We got kicked out of every single joint - a good sign.
This was shot entirely on a Nikon D3 still camera.
This was shot entirely on a Nikon D3 still camera.
Inline from Andrew Kornylak on Vimeo.
abraham:
very cool video! found your blog thru robert benson's site, awesome work here! thanks for sharing
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I was browsing some old Stickies on my desktop and came across the following:
This was my packing list for a photo assignment last year for Boys Life Magazine. I joined Boy Scout Troop 1 from Ann Arbor on a week-long backpacking trip on Isle Royale, one of the lesser-known and least-traveled National Parks, in upper Lake Superior.
I'd backpacked Isle Royale before, with my wife Vera. I remember heavy packs, rain, and clouds of bugs. Climbers know that going light and fast in the mountains gives you a greater safety margin. On Isle Royale, safety wasn't so much an issue as being mobile enough to run circles around the scouts (literally) taking pictures, and spend less time taping blisters.
It's easier than you think, without even venturing into the ultralight gear section of your outdoor retailer. It's not that expensive, and I didn't even have to sew my own backpack! As you can see from my list, My packweight (without food and water) was 11 lbs. I wore trail runners because I didn't have to carry a lot of weight, and my setup was simplified so I could focus on photography.
By the way, try out the Hennessy Hammock if you haven't yet. It's fun as hell to sleep in!
As for the camera gear: The Nikon D300 paired with the 18-200 VR was a perfect setup for a trip like this. Compact, professional build, and no need for a tripod with the high ISO performance and Vibration Reduction. I threw the 50mm f/1.4 in as a luxury item. Here are some shots from the assignment:
This was my packing list for a photo assignment last year for Boys Life Magazine. I joined Boy Scout Troop 1 from Ann Arbor on a week-long backpacking trip on Isle Royale, one of the lesser-known and least-traveled National Parks, in upper Lake Superior.
I'd backpacked Isle Royale before, with my wife Vera. I remember heavy packs, rain, and clouds of bugs. Climbers know that going light and fast in the mountains gives you a greater safety margin. On Isle Royale, safety wasn't so much an issue as being mobile enough to run circles around the scouts (literally) taking pictures, and spend less time taping blisters.
It's easier than you think, without even venturing into the ultralight gear section of your outdoor retailer. It's not that expensive, and I didn't even have to sew my own backpack! As you can see from my list, My packweight (without food and water) was 11 lbs. I wore trail runners because I didn't have to carry a lot of weight, and my setup was simplified so I could focus on photography.
By the way, try out the Hennessy Hammock if you haven't yet. It's fun as hell to sleep in!
As for the camera gear: The Nikon D300 paired with the 18-200 VR was a perfect setup for a trip like this. Compact, professional build, and no need for a tripod with the high ISO performance and Vibration Reduction. I threw the 50mm f/1.4 in as a luxury item. Here are some shots from the assignment:
Mike:
I went to Isle Royal with my scout troop 9 years ago. Possibly one of the most beautiful places I've been too and I can't wait to go back!
(05.20.09 @ 10:20 PM)
Mike Artosi:
Really like your work, you inspired me and want to begin to try too, not only collect other's works (that is good too!!). Have a nice day.
(08.08.09 @ 11:41 AM)
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National Geographic Channels is currently airing a show called Hard Time, a look at Georgia's paramilitary correctional system. From NGC: "Hard Time takes viewers on a yearlong journey behind
bars, following the lives of those who work and serve time in two of
Georgia's toughest maximum-security prisons."
Before the first airing, I was hired to shoot a few 360-degree panoramic photographs of the interior of a prison: the cells, the yard, the common areas, etc. I spent the day with Executive Producer Greg Henry of Part2Pictures at Hays State Prison, near Rome, Georgia.
Click here to see the resulting virtual tour of a prison cell and the yard.
Technically, shooting a 360-degree panoramic for this type of virtual tour is straightforward. Almost any camera and lens combination will work, but the wider the field of view of each shot, the fewer shots you will need to cover the entire 360-degree field of view. The critical part, if you want to do it well, is using a tripod that will allow you to rotate your camera about the lens rather than the camera base. This eliminates parallax errors when you are stitching the images together (Tricky to do handheld - try it.) Ideally you will use a tripod that can do this rotation horizontally (hula hooping) as well as vertically (jumping rope). Then you can get the sky and the ground while the camera is still attached to the tripod. Crank those images through some special software and voila: QTVR, or in this case, a Flash VR.
I couldnt get my hands on a true 360 "spherical" pano head in time for this shoot, only one that gave me proper offset horizontal "cylindrical" swivel. No problem: With a full frame camera and 8mm fisheye lens, you can get nearly full 360-degree coverage in 3 shots. Yes, I know, for you pano experts out there, there were some nadir and zenith issues. Don't sweat me. We nailed it.
I took the photos on a Nikon D3 with a Sigma 8mm lens, and a Manfrotto 303PLUS tripod head. The folks at Channels did the stitching. Temporary accomodations provided by the State of Georgia.
Before the first airing, I was hired to shoot a few 360-degree panoramic photographs of the interior of a prison: the cells, the yard, the common areas, etc. I spent the day with Executive Producer Greg Henry of Part2Pictures at Hays State Prison, near Rome, Georgia.
Click here to see the resulting virtual tour of a prison cell and the yard.
Technically, shooting a 360-degree panoramic for this type of virtual tour is straightforward. Almost any camera and lens combination will work, but the wider the field of view of each shot, the fewer shots you will need to cover the entire 360-degree field of view. The critical part, if you want to do it well, is using a tripod that will allow you to rotate your camera about the lens rather than the camera base. This eliminates parallax errors when you are stitching the images together (Tricky to do handheld - try it.) Ideally you will use a tripod that can do this rotation horizontally (hula hooping) as well as vertically (jumping rope). Then you can get the sky and the ground while the camera is still attached to the tripod. Crank those images through some special software and voila: QTVR, or in this case, a Flash VR.
Ben? Nice to meet you. Victor Hugo.
I couldnt get my hands on a true 360 "spherical" pano head in time for this shoot, only one that gave me proper offset horizontal "cylindrical" swivel. No problem: With a full frame camera and 8mm fisheye lens, you can get nearly full 360-degree coverage in 3 shots. Yes, I know, for you pano experts out there, there were some nadir and zenith issues. Don't sweat me. We nailed it.
I took the photos on a Nikon D3 with a Sigma 8mm lens, and a Manfrotto 303PLUS tripod head. The folks at Channels did the stitching. Temporary accomodations provided by the State of Georgia.
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"Wiley X is really about versatility, and it is one of the few brands
that can meet occupational safety requirements while being cool enough
and functional enough for outdoor sports and just hanging out. Andrew
has really helped us bring the versatility story to life in a very
authentic way." - Mike Smith, Partner at Sasquatch Advertising.
In early February I shot a third campaign for California-based WileyX Eyewear. Another fun shoot with a client whose products I actually use.
We shot for a week in my old hood, Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. I brought my crew from Atlanta:
At the Denver Airport: Left, John Kelso, pro skater, pro punk rocker, pro-beard. Right: Sharif Hassan - the Egyptian MacGuyver.
The theme for this campaign was "Recession Proof Eyewear," i.e. shades that can be worn for work, play and hanging out. All the product we shot this year, from performance cycling blades to bubble shades meets ANSI standards for safety. So you can throw away that box of cheap throwaway safety glasses youd never be caught dead in without a hard hat.
So for this concept, we shot four different models in three different scenarios each: recreational, occupational, and lifestyle. Since a lot of the sunglasses are multi-purpose (thats the whole point), we also needed to get each permutation shot with 2 or 3 different glasses. So we were looking at like 48 different shots. I knew that math degree would come in handy some day.
Luckily Art Director, Matt Graff from Sasquatch was on location, to keep the math straight and to provide, well, art direction.
Total Airheads. Matt Graff of Sasquatch Ads, left, and the crew stoke up on Sour Cherry and Green Apple at the Mastercraft facility in Phoenix.
We were joined by stylist/MUA Valerie Badalian from Tucson. We also worked with Set/Prop coordinator Maggie Macfarland and had locaton help from Jason Mullins and my good friends at Rocks and Ropes Climbing Gym, Ed Foster at La Suprema Bikes, and Luke Bertelsen at Contact Climbing Holds. Peter Catalanotte and The folks at the Tucson Film Office went out of their way to get us last-minute permits and location advice. Mastercraft of Arizona provided a sick new wakeboat for the shoot.
Some behind the scenes shots:
Here are two of the four advertisements that will be running from this campaign:
In early February I shot a third campaign for California-based WileyX Eyewear. Another fun shoot with a client whose products I actually use.
We shot for a week in my old hood, Tucson and Phoenix Arizona. I brought my crew from Atlanta:
At the Denver Airport: Left, John Kelso, pro skater, pro punk rocker, pro-beard. Right: Sharif Hassan - the Egyptian MacGuyver.
The theme for this campaign was "Recession Proof Eyewear," i.e. shades that can be worn for work, play and hanging out. All the product we shot this year, from performance cycling blades to bubble shades meets ANSI standards for safety. So you can throw away that box of cheap throwaway safety glasses youd never be caught dead in without a hard hat.
So for this concept, we shot four different models in three different scenarios each: recreational, occupational, and lifestyle. Since a lot of the sunglasses are multi-purpose (thats the whole point), we also needed to get each permutation shot with 2 or 3 different glasses. So we were looking at like 48 different shots. I knew that math degree would come in handy some day.
Luckily Art Director, Matt Graff from Sasquatch was on location, to keep the math straight and to provide, well, art direction.
Total Airheads. Matt Graff of Sasquatch Ads, left, and the crew stoke up on Sour Cherry and Green Apple at the Mastercraft facility in Phoenix.We were joined by stylist/MUA Valerie Badalian from Tucson. We also worked with Set/Prop coordinator Maggie Macfarland and had locaton help from Jason Mullins and my good friends at Rocks and Ropes Climbing Gym, Ed Foster at La Suprema Bikes, and Luke Bertelsen at Contact Climbing Holds. Peter Catalanotte and The folks at the Tucson Film Office went out of their way to get us last-minute permits and location advice. Mastercraft of Arizona provided a sick new wakeboat for the shoot.
Some behind the scenes shots:
Here are two of the four advertisements that will be running from this campaign:
Peter Catalanotte / Tucson Film Office:
I just stumbled upon this posting you did about your shoot in Tucson. Thanks for the plug--we were delighted everything worked out well. Please do visit Tucson again when you have a chance. We love the way your lensing makes us look!
(05.11.09 @ 07:46 PM)
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So that's the half & half shot you were telling me about. That's awesome, almost as awesome as being allowed to destroy a camera! :)
(08.13.09 @ 10:49 AM)That's amazing! I honestly never expected such great results from an Olympus (I generally avoid products from companies other than nikon and canon because of a few previous experiences). I'm curious to learn what your rig is when you are photographing on a rope - something that has given me headaches (and leg pains) time after time. thanks
(08.14.09 @ 01:47 PM)Thanks Michael - My rig is usually pretty simple - on a single statc line, a Petzl GriGri and Ascender are the basic components, along with a good beefy wall or rescue harness (Petzl makes some great ones) and a Black Diamond 5-step etrier. Rig the ascender (which is leashed to you) above you, attach the etriers to the ascender, GriGri at your harness, pull in on the GriGri while you step up in the etriers, repeat. I like this setyup because it uses minimal gear and you can lower quickly. It's not the most efficient setup - you can increase the efficiency with a pulley at the Ascender - but with practice (and fitness) you can go pretty quick on this.
Maybe a video demonstration is in order - stay tuned.
(08.14.09 @ 03:10 PM)I actually own an E-3 recently took to Morocco, I agree is rugged but I actually felt that at 54C or 138F the autofocus was a little slower..
(09.01.09 @ 12:25 PM)They're Zuiko lenses, not zukio and the E-P1 is part of micro Four-Thirds, not mini unless of course, you just meant small. ;-)
No, you're not supposed to put the equipment underwater, but after shooting outside in 3 hurricanes, I can attest to the weatherproofing.
(09.04.09 @ 02:08 PM)Superbes images inspirées et qui montre le potentiel d'un E3
(09.05.09 @ 01:50 AM)Just discovered your blog - great reading. That last shot of the dog is fantastic - almost worth trashing the camera for!
(09.12.09 @ 09:10 AM)Fantastic shots! Very courageous to use your camera like that, but I'd say the images are worth it! What about the lens?!
Cheers
(09.14.09 @ 02:39 PM)Bruno
bousozoku: Thanks for the spellcheck.
I'd love to see your photos from shooting during a hurricane!
(09.14.09 @ 03:03 PM)Thanks Bruno - The lens was fine, no fogging or anything afterwards. They are all weather sealed to a high degree.
(09.14.09 @ 03:08 PM)