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In case you've been wondering what I've been up to ...


Tom Mann

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For the last couple of months, I've been shooting photos for our local fire and emergency medical services organization. Many of these have already been used in weekly advertisements for recruitment of volunteers and career-track personnel, press releases to local news outlets, illustration of internal reports, community outreach via posters, event advertising, etc. I took the photos and did initial PS work, while a colleague did the compositing, inserted the text, emblems, and other graphic elements.

I've probably shot only 1500 - 2000 images over this period for this project, and it has been great fun. Working in this capacity gave me special photographer's access to events such as a private memorial service for firefighters lost on 9/11, as well as from own ranks over the past year, as well as shooting positions on top of fire equipment, etc. The work shown below is from a series of posed studio shots, two parades, a carnival benefiting the Fire/EMS unit, the 9/11 memorial service (don't worry, I removed the basketball hoop for the final version), an open house, and the simulated extraction of a victim from a serious auto accident. I down-rez'ed them all to 700 px wide, so I'm not worried about anyone copying them and using them for other purposes. The full rez versions are really a pleasure to view, and, within certain legal limits, I can also use the images for my own portfolio.

Anyway, I thought you might like to see a few of these shots. I hope you like them.

Tom
 

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Tom Mann

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The next ten...
 

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Tom Mann

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Another ten...
 

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IamSam

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Excellent work Tom!

If I have not said it yet, that first close up firetruck image is absolutely tremendous! I like the close up of the control panel of the Pumper as well! The colors in the Mardi Gras funhouse are perfect!

What is the significance of the Maple leaves in the Bulls mouths?
 

Tom Mann

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...

PS - I intentionally didn't show the huge number of fire engine and ambulance shots taken from every angle conceivable, LOL.
 

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Tom Mann

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Excellent work Tom!

If I have not said it yet, that first close up firetruck image is absolutely tremendous! I like the close up of the control panel of the Pumper as well! The colors in the Mardi Gras funhouse are perfect!

What is the significance of the Maple leaves in the Bulls mouths?

Thanks for the kind words, Sam.

WRT your question about leaves and the dual bull heads, I don't have a clue.

There were many political and community groups participating in that parade, so in addition to shooting fire engine after fire engine (which I didn't show here), mostly for the local paper and my own use, I also shot some fun, oddball pix like that. If anyone figures it out, pls. let me know.

Tom
 

Tom Mann

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PS, FYI, the details of the control panels were taken with my old 80-400 VR racked all the way out, probably around the sweet spot of it ...maybe f/8 or f/11.

I shot the fun house at the carnival with the only new lens I've bought in years, a Nikon 28 f/1.8 that was released only a month or two ago. I can't tell you how nice it is to walk through a dim night scene with the ISO cranked up to 3200 or 6400, the lens at f/1.8 and not have to worry about using a tripod. The lens it is replacing, a 20 year old 35/2.0 would have worked, but it wouldn't have been that edge-to-edge sharp, and OOF elements of the image would have weird shapes due to the huge sagittal aberrations of that old lens. It has produced many nice images for me over the years, but this one is heads and shoulders above it.

T
 

IamSam

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Very interesting, I will have to see what I can come up with on the bulls.

I love the extrication images.................I guess you don't know this about me but I was a Volunteer Fireman for 16 years.............so now you might understand the odd statement about the extrication photos! We covered around 400 square miles of roadways.............the JOL (Jaws of Life) unit was extremely busy! I can't tell you how many people I have helped cut out of mangled cars. I also served as an extrication instructor at Brayton Fireman training Field in College Station TX.
 

MrToM

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Very impressive Mr Mann, very impressive indeed.

Are these straight out of the can or with PP?

Whatever, you certainly have the eye for a good shot.

Thanks for letting us see them, appreciated.

Regards.
MrTom.
 

Tom Mann

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No, I didn't know that about you, Sam. That's really great! Our daughter has been an EMT there for the last few years and she got me involved with them. In fact, she just got home from from training a bunch of new recruits at the county police and fire academy.

It's a wonderful organization. Although I can't / shouldn't publish the best photos from the memorial service for fallen brothers, I will say it was one of the most moving services I've ever attended.

T
 

Tom Mann

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Thanks, MrTom.

No, none of my pix are ever straight OOC. They all have been adjusted in LR, if for no other reason than I always shoot RAW and, at minimum, always need to run them through some sort of raw processor. I also like to have fun pumping in the color with subjects like fire engines, wildly dressed dancers, and the carnival. I did take a very small number (say, a half-dozen out of the 1500 or so) into PS for more work, but always do so in the ProFoto color space, to retain the widest gamut until the very last conversion down to the working resolution and sRGB for publishing on the web.

That being said, probably the major effect that you are seeing is actually not the PP, but the fact that for just about every one the shots you see (except the completely flash-less night shots at the carnival) I used a powerful fill flash. Its use is key to controlling contrast in harsh mid-day situations like these where you may not have opportunity or enough time to move around and shoot contre-jour. Using fill flash in daylight allows one to bring back color and shadow detail, however it takes quite a powerful, zoom-able flash especially when I'm shooting telephoto shots. These were all taken with a pair of Nikon sb910's. I have to use a pair at event work like parades because they are pumping out lots of light and after 10 or so min of use usually overheat and automatically shut down. When this happens, I switch to another 910 to give the first one time to cool down.

Although I didn't show any indoor shots earlier in this thread, for indoor work, I always place several Nikon CLS slave flashes around the room pointed up at the ceiling (if it's anything close to white) to drown out any horrible ambient fluorescent and Hg-vapor lighting. Working this way, I don't have to worry about subject motion, and can shoot at pretty much whatever aperture I like for DoF control. Unfortunately, when I do that, what I have to worry about is theft at public events, so I usually have an assistant keeping an eye on them or position them high up using a ladder before the event begins. Attached below is a shot at this event taken inside the garage area of the firehouse using this technique. I had my on-camera flash dialed down to -1.3 stops pointed directly at the girls for fill + two other Nikon flashes in the corners of the garage, pointed up at the ceiling and triggered (and controlled) by my on-camera flash for an ambient wash of light. The result was a very nice even wash of light but still retaining contrast and modeling of their faces, as well as giving some catchlights in their eyes. It's a good technique.

T
 

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MrToM

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Wow...thats excellent Mr Mann!

Thanks very much for that detailed explanation...had I have thought about it for a second longer I may have guessed you shoot in RAW....makes my question rather stoooopid! :doh:

The fill flash technique is wonderful, I always hated doing it because of the harsh shadows it causes but then I only ever had one flash which was mounted to the camera....not ideal.

I guess thats why I switched to 'virtual' camera's in 3D...I stand more chance of getting a decent shot. LOL.

Thanks again for sharing and the info.

Regards.
MrTom.
 

ALB68

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Beautiful work Tom! Prime examples of what makes you the Pro that you are :thumbsup:
 
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Hi Tom...and welcome back to the forum.

It is overwhelming to see your beautiful pictures here. As a professional photographer you have mastered a difficult task with great success.
I see that you've done your job with great enthusiasm. The quality of your pictures is of exceptional quality, the colors are brilliant, the outdoor shots with available light are beautifully modeled.


Thank you for sharing these shots Tom.

Regards Chris.
 

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