The Fixation Blog | Fixation

Jon Stapley News May 20, 2016June 30, 2021

Tether Tools arrive at Fixation

Once solely the province of studio and fashion photographers due to the bulk of the kit involved, tethering is now portable enough to be achieved by photographers in any discipline.

Tether Tools offer some of the most comprehensive tethering packages around. Known for their distinctive orange cables, Tether Tools have come up with a huge number of innovations for making tethering easier and more secure.

These include the JerkStopper Camera Support (pictured below), which provides extra security to stop the cable from coming loose from the camera, and the Tether Table Aero System, which provides an all-in-one platform for tethered photography on the move.

We’re delighted to announce that we are now stocking Tether Tools products for you to try in the Fixation Showroom.

In the UK, distribution of Tether Tools products is handled by Hardy Haase of Flaghead Photographic. He’ll be coming into the Fixation showroom next week to provide a demo of the products on offer. As a longstanding Tether Tools enthusiast, Hardy is well placed to give us the rundown of how the products work.

‘I was using their tethering products long before I became the distributor,’ Hardy tells us. ‘They were recommended by several of my customers, all professional photographers. The cables proved to be the most reliable I had ever come across.’

Until you try tethered shooting, it can be difficult to know whether it’s appropriate for your workflow. The key with Tether Tools, according to Hardy, is that it’s simple to pick up and get to grips with even if you’ve never tried tethered shooting before.

‘No matter if professional or enthusiast, Tether Tools products make the process easy and reliable,’ says Hardy. ‘Photographers who are new to tethered photography will find everything they need to know on the TT website with step by step instructions on how to shoot tethered with their equipment.’

More about Tether Tools…

We also spoke to Josh Kenzer from Tether Tools, to learn about what’s on offer and what we’ll be seeing in the future. Read on for our quick Q&A to find out more…

How would you briefly sum up Tether Tools products?

Josh Kenzer: Tether Tools offers a wide variety of products for all types of photographers. We are most known for our high-visibility orange tether leads, but we actually got our start with the Tether Table Aero. The Aero table allows photographers to set up a mobile workstation using stands or tripods that they may already have.

Besides for tethering, Tether Tools offers a wide range of camera, tablet, speed lights, and monitor mounting solutions. This helps photographers customize and create not only the best mobile workstation for tethering, but puts their gear where they want it, when they need it.

We have also recently introduced a line of power solutions to help keep cameras and gear powered while shooting.

What, in your opinion, do Tether Tools products achieve that other similar tools do not?

JK: Tether Tools prides itself on build quality and professional appearance. We’ve listened to what photographers need and built products to meet those needs. Our products are rock solid and look great.

What kind of photographer would benefit most from using Tether Tools?

JK: For the tethering line of products, any photographer that needs to know they got the shot exactly correct whether that is in the studio or out on location. Typically, this would be commercial, fashion, architectural, and product photographers. We also see many macro and landscape photographers using our gear to shoot tethered.

For our mounting products, any photographer that needs easy and innovative ways to mount any type of gear on set. This includes the photographers listed above as well as wedding photographers who need to mount speed lights.

Our power solutions can benefit just about any photographer who needs to maintain power during a shoot. This includes those who don’t want to invest in proprietary batteries, shoot long time-lapse, video, or runs a photo booth.

Tether Tools Range at Fixation: Full List:

TetherTools JerkStopper Camera Support
TetherTools Rock Solid Battery Pack
TetherTools USB 3.0 M-MicroB R/A 15 Org
TetherTools USB 3.0 male-micro 15 Org
TetherTools Pro USB 3.0 ext 16 Orange
TetherTools Pro USB 2.0 Male-Mini 15 Or
TetherTools USB 3.0 Core Controller
TetherTools A/C Power Supply UK
TetherTools Jerk Stopper Ext Lock Orange
TetherTools Aero Tab S2 Uni Tablet Mount
TetherTools Aero XDC Black
TetherTools Aero Traveler 16×14 Black
TetherTools Studio Vu Monitor Bracket
TethetTools Proper Wallee iPad Case GRY
TetherTools Secure Strap
TetherTools StrapMoore – Laptop P/Brick

Jon Stapley News May 18, 2016October 11, 2023

Canon unveils Speedlite 600EX II-RT

Canon has refreshed its Speedlite flash family with the 600EX II-RT, a new flagship model with burst shooting as its focus.

The 600EX II-RT replaces the previous 600EX at the top of Canon’s Speedlite line, and is said to improve on that model’s continuous-shooting performance by up to 1.5x when powered by AA batteries. When using it in conjunction with the new CP-E4N battery pack, meanwhile, Canon states that this figure rises to 2x.

The new model has been designed with a zoom and bounce head that covers all focal lengths between 20-200mm inclusive, with a guide number of 60m at ISO 100 when the flash is used at its 200mm setting. A built-in wide panel, meanwhile, allows coverage to be broadened to 14mm, which makes it compatible with the likes of the EF 14mm fƒ/2.8L II USM and EF 16-35mm fƒ/2.8L II USM optics.

Wireless support allows you to control the flashgun from up to 30m away, and it can also be used in conjunction with additional 600EX II-RT models, or other models in the Speedlite family, for more complicated setups.

Canon claims the unit recycles silently in as little as 3.3seconds when using the Quick flash mode, although this can be shortened with the above battery pack.

The rear of the unit is dominated by an illuminated LCD screen, which shows all key settings and usable distance ranges among other things, and even the charge of other wireless flashes in a particular group when used as a master unit.

There’s also a customisable control dial beneath the LCD as well as a bounce adapter provided alongside to soften the model’s output, while full dust and weather-resistance matches the protection offered by the flagship EOS 1D X Mark II model for use in harsher conditions.

Jon Stapley Close Up April 29, 2016October 11, 2023

Close Up: Nikon D5 AF Options

The arrival of the Nikon D5 and D500 saw the company debuting a Multi-CAM 20K focusing module, which updates the previous Multi-CAM 3500FX and Multi-CAM 3500FX II modules found inside the D4s and D750 respectively. The full extent to which the camera can have its focusing options configured stretches beyond the scope of this article; what follows explores the key changes Nikon has made and the main points of interest around its autofocusing system.

The Basics

The new Multi-CAM 20K module boasts 153 AF points in total, with 99 of these being cross type and 55 available for selection (compared with 51 AF points in total on the D4s, all manually addressable and 15 being cross type). Nikon also claims the new system offers 30% more coverage than the system inside the D4s, with the further benefit of a new engine on board dedicated solely to focusing, said to boost focus-calculation speeds, assist focus tracking and improve response in general.

While sensitivity of the D4s’ Multi-CAM 3500FX module was rated down to -2EV, the Multi-CAM 20K module here boasts -4EV sensitivity at its central point and -3EV everywhere else. This should make it much more sensitive in darker conditions.

The camera offers the same quintet of focusing modes as the D4s: Single-Point AF, Dynamic-Area AF, 3D Tracking, Auto-Area AF and the Group Area AF introduced in the D4s. The new focusing system has, however, brought with it three separate Dynamic Area AF patterns to bring the overall total to seven. These allow for all 153 points to be selected, or alternatively 72 points or 25 points, in contrast to the 9- 21- and 51-point options on board the D4s.

The camera is able to maintain continuous autofocus when recording images at 12fps for up to 200 losslessly compressed Raw frames. For this it requires a shutter speed of at least 1ƒ/250sec and an XQD whose write speed is fast enough to keep the buffer from filling. A 14fps option is also available, although this locks up the mirror and fixes focus and exposure to that of the first frame.

Auto AF Fine Tune

Arguably one of the most useful changes from previous models is the ability to have the camera automatically calculate the degree of shift required when putting a lens through the AF Fine Tune option. Whereas previously you needed to manually work out what level of adjustment was appropriate for a specific lens, here the camera can calculate it for you. To do this, the camera uses the contrast-detect AF system of its live view feature to accurately calculate the shift required for the phase-detect AF system (which is employed when shooting conventionally).

This new option is also available on the D500, which was launched at the same time as the D5, and will no doubt feature in future models.

Focus tracking with lock-on

This option allows the user to specify how to camera behaves when something passes between the camera and a subject on which the camera has its focus locked. Although it has been offered on previous Nikon models, the options here have been revised.

Whereas before you had the option of one of five levels of response – from short to long, as well as an ‘off’ option – Nikon has renamed the options to Quick and Delayed here. Control is once again offered over five levels, although this is now augmented by the further option to inform the camera of the nature of subject’s motion, from Steady to Erratic, over three levels.

Touchscreen

The D5 is the first model of its kind to offer a touchscreen, a feature that has long been used for focus-point selection on models aimed at a more junior and enthusiast audience. As we may expect, this same option is provided here when using live view, allowing the photographer to specify the focusing point with greater precision than offered by the phase-detect AF system (given that the camera is no longer using its 153 phase-detect AF points in live view).

Considering this is the first time we’ve seen this option on a camera of this level, it perhaps comes as little surprise that control over touch functionality is fairly rudimentary. The Touch Controls feature in the menu only offers the possibility of disabling or enabling touch control and the option to specify the direction in which images are displayed when swiping through them upon playback. Furthermore, while it’s possible to focus on the subject using the touchscreen, it’s not possible to set the camera to release the shutter once this happens – a fairly common option among other types of camera with touch control.

One thing that is useful when playing back images, however, is the option to zoom into the image to check focus, in exactly the same way as the Multi selector center button allows, by double-tapping the screen.

Multi selector center button

As with the D4s, the D5 allows you to determine exactly what happens when you press the Multi selector’s central button, whether you’re shooting conventionally or using live view, or when playing back images. Much of what happens here doesn’t necessarily have to concern focus, although it can be set up to provide the user with useful focusing options.

Nikon users will be familiar with the default option in the shooting mode, namely the return of the selected AF point to the center of the array, although you also have the option of setting this to select a preset point, or alternatively to do nothing.

You can also return the AF point to the centre of the array with this button when using live view, although the camera provides the further option of zooming into the scene to 50%, 100% or 200%, once again to allow focus and detail to be checked before you shoot (which is particularly useful when using manual focus).

Similarly, in the playback mode, although you can configure this control to display thumbnails or histograms of captured images, or even to sort images into slots and folders, what most photographers will no doubt find useful is the further option to zoom into captured images to check focus to one of the above three levels.

Point size and brightness adjustment

The addressable focusing points inside the viewfinder are now square in shape and smaller than those on previous models, which should help with precision. The assist points, meanwhile, are easily identifiable as they resemble small dots rather than boxes.

As on the D4s, it’s also possible to adjust the brightness of the focusing points over four levels; Low (-1), Normal (0), High (+1) and Extra High (+2). Normal is the default setting, although increasing point brightness could find itself useful when shooting against certain subjects, such as particularly bright ones or those mainly red in colour.

Assignment of focusing modes to function buttons

The D4s was designed with Pv and Fn1 buttons between the grip and lens mount on the front plate, and on the D5 these are joined by a further Fn2 button. These buttons can have all but the 3D Tracking focusing modes assigned to them for quick access. For example, the photographer can set the camera to access the Group Area AF mode with the Fn1 button, the 153-Point Dynamic Area AF option with the Fn button and the 27-Point Dynamic Area AF mode with the Pv button, or any other combination. These are not, however, the only buttons which can access these, so you can assign these options elsewhere if you prefer to have these three buttons accessing alternate settings.

Number of selectable focusing points

The D4s allowed all 51 of its AF points to be selected, with the option of limiting this to just 11 points where required. The new focusing system inside the D5 has changed this; you can now set the camera to display 55 points – the maximum that can be addressed – or 15 points.

Jon Stapley News April 20, 2016October 5, 2023

The Queen’s 90th Birthday – The Past and Present of Royal Photography

Next week, on Thursday 21st April, Her Majesty The Queen will celebrate her 90th birthday. @BBCOne will broadcast a new documentary ‘Elizabeth at 90 – A Family Tribute’ at 9pm 21 April, featuring exclusive footage from The Queen’s collection of personal cine films and contributions from members of the Royal Family #TheQueen #Queenat90
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Apr 12, 2016 at 2:08am PDT

The relationship between photographers and the royal family is likely both older and friendlier than you think it is. For more than 150 years, officially sanctioned royal photographers have enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship with the family that has endured for more than a century, and have captured some fantastic images in the process.

In celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday, we take a look back at how royal photography started, and what it looks like today.

Signed, sealed, delivered. The Queen @RoyalMailUK delivery office in Windsor to mark the 500th anniversary of the postal service. #Queenat90
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Apr 20, 2016 at 3:46am PDT

Beginnings

The history of the Royal Collection, which includes some 450,000 photographs, notes that Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria, was one of the first supporters and patrons of British photography.

Both he and Victoria were interested in the new art form – the Queen’s personal collection was estimated to number more than 20,000 prints, and when she died, among the items she was buried with were a handful of photographic prints. The two of them weren’t shy about posing for photographs either, as you can see in this fascinating album.

As the art proliferated those close to the royal family would frequently turn into celebrated snappers. Queen Alexandra, consort to King Edward VII, was one of the most celebrated, her photographs providing a fascinating timeline of the lives of royals in Britain and beyond, throughout the First World War and the early 20th century.

On this day in 1900 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was born. Here she is photographed with her daughters Princess Elizabeth (The future Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret in 1939. Following the outbreak of war in 1939, there was some suggestion that the Queen and her daughters should evacuate to North America or Canada. To this the Queen made her famous reply: “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave.” Thus throughout the Second World War the Queen and her children shared the dangers and difficulties of the rest of the nation. She was in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed in September 1940. She and the King visited badly damaged areas throughout the country after the air-raids, and toured Britain visiting hospitals, factories and troops. Her Majesty was Patron or President of some 350 organisations. She was Commandant-in-Chief of the Army and Air Force Women’s Services, and for Women in the Royal Navy, and held other Service appointments. For many years she was President of the British Red Cross Society, and she was Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade. She was also Colonel-in-Chief or Honorary Colonel of many UK and overseas regiments, and Commandant-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Central Flying School. And on her 100th birthday Her Majesty received, like other centenarians, a message of congratulations from The Queen. Image courtesy of Royal Collection Trust. #OnthisDay #TheQueenMother #TheQueen
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Aug 4, 2015 at 1:00am PDT

A recent auction of images from 1926-56 also showed off some of the portraiture of the time by royal photographer Marcus Adams, from images of Queen Elizabeth II as a baby to her as a fresh-faced young bride holding baby Charles in 1949. In just a shade over 100 years the royals went from being champions of a new and uncertain art form to spending their entire lives in front of cameras.

For #WorldPhotographyDay ? we wanted to share one of our favourite photographs with you. Here’s The Queen with Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1954, photographed by Marcus Adams.
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Aug 19, 2015 at 5:37am PDT

Royal photography today

Today of course photography is everywhere, and the royals are no exception. Most of the images illustrating this article are taken from the royal family’s official Instagram page, an idea which would have gotten you laughed out of Buckingham Palace had you tried to suggest it even a few years ago.

President Barack Obama, in a personal birthday message to Her Majesty, has said: “I’m glad to be the very first President of the United States to wish Her Majesty a happy 90th birthday. For nine decades Her Majesty has been a source of strength and inspiration, not only for the people of Britain, but for millions of people around the world. And when The Queen hosted Michelle and me at Buckingham Palace we saw the same grace and good humour, that generous human touch, that the people of the United Kingdom have loved for generations. My girls were especially excited to receive a guided tour of the Palace when they visited on Sasha’s own birthday. We often speak of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries. It is indeed a special relationship. And Her Majesty has been a vital part of what keeps our relationship so special. The United States is extremely grateful for her steady and energetic leadership and we look forward to Her Majesty’s continued service in the years to come. Happy birthday, your Majesty.”
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Mar 26, 2016 at 5:13pm PDT

The images on this page and others mostly come from the working photographers who surround the royals. The job these days has gone beyond stiffly posed portraits – that charge has now been returned to the painting community. Now, the task of the royal photographer is to capture moments and give insights into the lives of their subjects. We were interested to know what this is like, so we scoured the Big Fixation Contacts Book and caught up with working royal photographer John Stillwell to find out a little more about what the job is like.

“The real big one is when you’re first on your own with the royal family,” John says. “That’s the real nerve-wracking one. Quite a lot of jobs they just turn up and walk into a building, a palace or a church, something like that. But when you’re on your own with them, that’s different. Of course I’ve done it so many times I don’t really notice any more!”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have now started day two of #RoyalVisitIndia…follow @KensingtonRoyal for all the latest! Photo courtesy of Press Association
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Apr 11, 2016 at 1:31am PDT

As John has been working with the royals since the mid-90s, following a career with Press Association that began in the darkroom, it’s not too much of a surprise that these days he’s unflappable. Still, that doesn’t mean you can get lazy.

“When you’re around the royal family you have to be careful,” he says. “Don’t get in the way, don’t make a fool of yourself.”

“The most important thing is I’ve got him (Prince George) planting a tree or two here” – head over to @clarencehouse to hear more from The Prince of Wales on the family memories created in the gardens of his Highgrove home.
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Apr 1, 2016 at 5:43am PDT

Still, such responsibilities come with great opportunity, and John’s been lucky enough to see some amazing places, including even a brief stint inside the Oval Office at the White House in the week following the Royal Wedding.

“I could never say I know [the royals] really well,” John says. “It’s always a working relationship. There are some members of the family that are easier to get on with than others, some members that are more hard-working than others. But I get on with them all.”

Today, John will be at Windsor with many other royal photographers, helping document the celebrations as Queen Elizabeth II turns 90. Happy birthday!

The Queen visits the @princestrust Centre in Kennington, London with The Prince of Wales, to mark the 40th anniversary of The Prince’s Trust – since its formation in 1976 the Trust has helped has transformed the lives of more than 825,000 young people. ? Press Association
A photo posted by The British Monarchy (@the_british_monarchy) on Mar 8, 2016 at 5:38am PST

Jonny Helm ProFiles February 26, 2016October 5, 2023 0 Comments

ProFiles | Ian Derry

Ian Derry has seen some of the world’s most famous faces pass before his lens. We catch up with him to talk photography.

Thanks for talking to us, Ian. To start with, how would you describe the kind of photography you do?

I would say I’m a celebrity portrait and sport advertising photographer. My background is actually in newspapers. I was staff on the Daily Mirror and I left there in 2000 – I’d just had enough of newspapers, and I wanted to start shooting portraits one to one. So that’s what I did.

I also wanted to do something a little bit more dynamic. I’d shot sport in the past, football matches and boxing for the newspaper, so I’ve got that quick eye. I didn’t want to just do events, I wanted to bring it to life in an advertising way, so that’s when I started working for people like Speedo. Now I do some female sports brands as well, and I shot Usain Bolt for Puma.

These two things go together, because the situation is that in portraiture of celebrities, you don’t make much money. It’s mostly editorial, so I make more money in syndicating the pictures for years after than I do from the actual shoot itself. So I need to find ways of advancing my income, and that’s what advertising does, and that’s how it’s worked out.

That’s not to say it doesn’t cross over – I’ve shot David Gandy for Johnnie Walker, and Charles Dance for another whiskey campaign, so it does cross over sometimes, but not all the time. Not as much as I’d like.

You must have to deal with quite a few big personalities, is that a challenge?

Well, If I’m honest – I’m going to sound quite boring now – I’ve probably photographed some of the world’s most famous people, in acting terms… and they’re always nice! I think it’s the professional attitude they have to have, the more quick and affable they are, the quicker and more professional they are, the better it’s going to be for everybody.

Still, when you meet your heroes it’s quite daunting. When I met David Bowie, for instance, it was something quite amazing. I shot Gary Oldman as well, a couple of times, and he’s one of my favourite actors of all time.

Did you get a little starstruck?

I did a bit. You’re sort of sitting there thinking, “Shit, it’s Gary Oldman!” They had an exhibition of pictures at BAFTA, and Gary Oldman came and so did John Hurt, who’s another hero of mine, and I had my picture taken with them and with my pictures of them. It was quite a special place to be.

You’ve shot promo images for Game of Thrones – I noticed when I looked through them that I recognised quite a few, as they’d popped up on my Facebook and Twitter feeds, unattributed to you. Does that sort of thing bother you?

Yes, it does. It does bother me, but these things are out of control. I don’t mind if the fan sites do it – in fairness to them they do actually ask permission. But for instance I had a situation once where a thing called Mumsnet, which is quite big on the internet, used some of my pictures, and they took all of the Game of Thrones characters, cut their heads off and put babies’ faces on them! Which I thought was completely out of order.

I do like to help people. So if it’s the Cumberbatch fan website, I’ll help them out as much as I can with outtakes and stuff like that. But it frustrates me when people just steal stuff, put it on their Tumblr, put it on their Twitter. What annoys me more though is when they manipulate it, fiddle with the colours and mess about with it so it doesn’t even represent your work. And then it goes one stage further, and they change the whole picture, and then they credit you!

And that could damage your professional reputation…

Exactly, it could indeed. But there seems to be no way out, the internet seems to just be wild. No one seems to want to take control or police it in any way.

I have a syndicating agent, and if they see stuff they will pursue people, but often you end up in a dead end so it’s kind of a waste of time.

I see on your website as well as categories for your work in advertising and portraiture, you have a section simply called ‘Concepts’. I’m intrigued – can you tell us more?

Well the reason they’re called concepts is that they don’t really fit in portraits. For instance, I did a shot for Channel 4 for the Paralympics a few years ago – for that we sat down and came up with a concept where we’d have three or four pictures of the background, which they put together to look like one, and then we photographed each individual person at different angles and then they were all comped together.

Sometimes people come to me for ideas. At the moment for Channel 4 I’ve got a new contract to do the Formula One racing, and they’ve asked me for ideas on how to do it. It’s nice when it’s like that, I much prefer when I’m asked to have some input rather than just: “We’re doing this, this is the brief” and it’s more like painting by numbers. I prefer to have creative input.

I understand you’re also planning to make a move into filmmaking?

As well as photography, because I’d never give that up, I’m trying to move into directing. I’ve just made my first short film, which is called Felix. It’s had about 300,000 views already [you can see Ian’s film here].

We talked about ideas and creative input earlier, and essentially that’s what a director does – come up with ideas and make them come to life. So it’s like a natural progression for me to do that. For instance, Felix is a yoga master who I originally shot for an ad campaign for Fujitsu. I thought it would make an interesting film, and wanted to make a video but Fujitsu weren’t really interested at that point. So I made it myself. I got a director of photographer, a sound man, a studio, lighting. And all I did was direct; I didn’t touch the camera at all. It’s a direction I really want to go in.

Ian Derry was speaking to Jon Stapley.

You can see more of his work at ianderry.com. Ian is in the process of of editing his second film, Johanna, a short film about about a world record freediver who dives under ice. The film was shot in northern Finland and will hopefully be finished in May 2016.

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