When you think of fast-action photography, the D800E isn’t exactly the first camera that comes to mind – and with good reason. At a top speed of 4 frames per second and a buffer that will fill up pretty quickly with those massive 36MP files, it’s not a camera that lends itself to that kind of photography easily.

If you’re in a pinch, however, and need to be able to use the D800E (or the D800) for a bit of fast-action work, there are a few things you can do to get a bit more performance out of this camera.

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Introducing our latest Deal of the Week!

Save 25% off your order on these items when you use the code “BLDOW” at checkout.

Sony A900 Digital SLR

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 USMII

Nikon D800 Digital SLR

Lytro Light Field Camera

Remember, if you place your order this week (by 11:59 PST, Sunday, March 3rd) you can schedule your rental anytime this year and still get the 25% off on your item. Happy shooting, everyone!

Chiaroscuro Portraits by Alex Huff

I was recently inspired by a recent series of portraits by our very own Alex Huff. Titled “Chiaroscuro Portraiture,” it features these gorgeous close-up portraits of the men and women in her life, each one of which is a study in how to render the interplay between light and shadow.

Alex takes these images in front of a grey background, and through a combination of getting in close to her subjects and using one light, sends what little you might see of that grey to almost pitch black. I began to think of what I could do if I didn’t have a backdrop to shoot against, if I needed to make a portrait in a relatively brightly-lit area. In theory, it could be done; a basic understanding of the Inverse-Square Law reveals that much.

But what if all you had was a basic modifier and a couple of speedlights, not a big studio strobe? Could you still do it? I had to give it a try. (more…)

Introducing our latest Deal of the Week!

Save 25% off your order on these items when you use the code “BLDOW” at checkout. 

Remember, if you place your order this week (by 11:59 PST, Sunday, February 24th) you can schedule your rental anytime this year and still get the 25% off on your item. Happy shooting, everyone!

Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G SSM

Pentax 60-250mm f/4 ED DA* SDM Autofocus Lens

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S E

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM

Introducing our latest Deal of the Week!

Save 25% off your order on these items when you use the code “BLDOW” at checkout. 

Remember, if you place your order this week (by 11:59 PST, Sunday, February 17th) you can schedule your rental anytime this year and still get the 25% off on your item. Happy shooting, everyone!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G AF-S ED

Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*

Olympus ED 14-150mm f/4.0 -5.6 Lens for Micro Four Thirds

Welcome to Cool Stuff, a weekly feature where we post our favorite links from the past week, including our favorite articles and how-tos, videos, images and more.

• There are a few foodies here at BL, and one of them brought this series of videos from world-famous food photographer David Loftus and chef Jamie Oliver to our attention. Food and photography? Um, yeah! You’re welcome, internet!
• We love out timelapse movies as well, and Jess Dunlap has created an absolutely spectacular one called “Monolation.”
  
  Monolation from Jess Dunlap on Vimeo.
• And since we’re talking about timelapse, there’s a great article over at Philip Bloom’s website talking about things to consider when making a timelapse film.
• Nikon has a neat film out showing how their lenses are made, in time for their 80th anniversary.
• And finally, a bit of solid, no-nonsense advice from one of our favorite photographers, Zack Arias: If I Had to Start My Photo Business Today.
  Zack Arias: If I had to start my photo business today from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

 And now, for the BorrowLenses.com Roundup!

That’s it for this week’s Cool Stuff. As always, questions and feedback are welcome in the comments below.

David Kingham is a lanscape photographer who focuses on the night sky. He field-tested some Rokinon lenses to see how they faired against their Nikon and Canon-branded counterparts. If you’re into astrophotography or night time lanscape shooting, read on to see his results!