Luca Sartoni
My day in Venice was completely devoted to explore some limits of my photographic skills. The first study was about the gear I should carry around and as I wrote previously, it’s much better to focus on what you have rather on what you could have, switching camera or lens. This is also true when you want to buy some new stuff. Are you sure you are limited by the lack of gear rather than by your lack of skills?
The second test I wanted to perform was about my confidence taking close-ups of perfect strangers on the street. This time the lens mattered a lot because the smaller the focal length, the closer you have to get. Let’s start with a 85mm lens. The easiest lens of the ones I had.
Fully manual close-ups
My challenge was pretty tough because I was taking head shots with a Nikkor 85mm f1.8 fully manual. No light metering and no AF. It means that to perform a proper shot you really need to be prepared. No time for metering, just focusing, therefore the metering has to be done before. It requires a bit of experience but it’s not so difficult. Manual focusing is a bit trickier but the D90 has a manual focus assistant and a green light turns on when the AF point is focused. Unfortunately it’s not so easy to rely on a very small assistant like that when your subject is not posing for you and you have to catch the moment. The key for success is practice, practice, practice.
Nikon D90 - 85mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250
Nikon D90 - 85mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250
Nikon D90 - 85mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/125
In the next blogposts I’ll show you the same kind of experience but with shorter lenses: 50mm and 23mm. I will also tell about my rules of engament, stay tuned!
The full set of pictures is available on Flickr and your feedback is more than welcome!
Yesterday I spent the day in Venice with my friend Giorgio. Despite the fact that my hometown is just 150km far from one of the most amazing cities in the world, I hadn’t gone to Venice since I was a teenager.
The weather was not too bad, considering it was the second of january, it was freezing cold but not too rainy. It was cloudy, therefore the light was perfect for taking portraits in the narrow streets of the city center, and so I did.
I planned to use only two setups: Nikon D90+85mm f1.8 MF for close-ups and Fujifilm Finepix X100 for wider shots. I also had my Nikkor 50mm f1.4G with me, you know, just in case…
forget the gear and be flexible
The main trap when you have two cameras/setup or many lenses with you is to adapt your setup to the surroundings. It’s ok if you are shooting landscapes or nature. You put on your wide lens for a gorgeous sunset or you go telephoto for details. Same story if you are shooting with a model. You have time to adapt your gear to the light and the subject.
After the first hour I realized that I was spending too much time thinking about which camera was fitting the scene, rather than clicking the shutter to catch the moment. So I decided to apply a simple timeboxing rule: 30 minutes with a camera, 30 minutes with the other camera, adapting myself to the gear and not the opposite.
The result was much better. I took amazing portraits and great landscapes because I was focusing on how to deliver the best shot with the camera I was holding, rather than switching from one camera to the other.
Here three shots, with different setups, but with the same spirit.
Nikon D90 - 50mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250
Nikon D90 - 85mm - ISO 400 - f2.8 - 1/250
Fujifilm Finepix X100 - 23mm - ISO 800 - f4.0 - 1/280
The full set of pictures is available on Flickr and stay tuned because more stuff is coming!
Feedback is more than welcome, leave a comment or share this blogpost if you like.
This is my 2011 in pictures. Happy 2012!!!
Music industry faced big changes in the last decade. But more changes are coming and my friend Paul Bonahora, a musician with high skills in Internet Marketing, explains us how to leverage Facebook to grow your community and improve your music business. Enjoy!
This is my opening speech (in italian) at Shodan Reprise in Ravenna. Thank you Alessandra for the opening and Fargo for the hospitality. Enjoy!
I’m very proud to announce that a selection of five pictures, from my Shodan exhibition, are exposed at Fargo Cafe in Ravenna, Italy, until the 10th of January.
The name of the selection is Shodan Reprise”. If you’re around, come by and have a look!
This week on my podcast I talk about rules and photography with Teymur Madjderey @icedsoul. We also discuss about Hipstamatic and Instagram, traditional photography and MForMurder. I also picked a name for the podcast: “The Sartonialist”. Not sure I will keep it, but let’s see…
Enjoy!
The second episode of my podcast is a conversation with Simone Brunozzi about Asia, Evernote, tech jobs, mobile apps, lean development. Enjoy!
PS: I’m still looking for a name for my weekly podcast, if you have any suggestion please let me know 
This is one of the best Ignite Talk I’ve ever seen. You should definitely check it out! Great job Sara!
On the first episode of my new podcast you’ll find the review of the 2011 edition of Leweb, some random thoughts about Paris, Beintoo, Uber, Spotify. The podcast is hosted on Soundcloud and at the mic with me, Sara Rosso. Enjoy!
I still don’t have a name for this podcast, I’ll try to keep it weekly, and it will be about conferences, travels and tech. Any suggestion?
About Me
My Podcast- Ep07 – Sean MacNiven about motivation, gamification and enterprises
- Ep06 – Carmine Gallo about passion, vision and leadership
- Ep05 – How to organize a great event: Lisanne Vos from KGS Global
- Ep04 – Facebook ADS and Analytics to leverage your music business: The Sartonialist with Paul Bonahora
- Ep03 – The Sartonialist ep3 – Teymur Madjderey about iPhonography, Instagram and Hipstamatic
