Rf Cookbook by Gene Martin
Anatomy of an Editorial Shoot

We started off with my colleague David C. Smith sitting in for Les to give me the general “feel” of the image. We metered f/8 at ISO 125 from our 24x36-inch PhotoFlex softbox. We then balanced a grid light to the output of the softbox from above and behind the meter stack to show detail in the reel to reel assembly. At this point we recognized our shutter speed would have to be adjusted to pick up a glow from the VU meters.

I recently had the opportunity to photograph Les Paul, the guitar legend and recording pioneer, at his home in the Ramapo Mountain area of New Jersey. The assignment was to photograph him with “the octopus,” the very first Ampex 8-track recording machine, model 300-8, for the cover of Attaché magazine, the in-flight magazine for U.S. Airways.

This was the first time I’ve photographed someone of this stature without my trusty Hasselblad and 120 film. The decision was made to capture the image digitally, so a Nikon D1X was chosen to shoot RAW files to be processed later through the 10MP feature in Nikon Capture 4.

After scoping out the area where the machine was stationed, all possible angles of view were evaluated for impact and practicality and for selection of lens focal length.

	For test shot #2 we spot metered the VU meters on the front of the stack. We found 1⁄15 at f/8 to be just perfect for picking up the glow in the meters. We added another gridded head to light the electronics behind the reel assembly and discovered we needed to clean up the top area because it might be included in our frame.

A stairway leading to the second floor provided us with an excellent vantage point to shoot from above, and the 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor lens was chosen.

We had Les sit in front of the old Ampex holding one of his signature guitars, the Gibson Les Paul model, in front of him. We had photographed Les in some other poses with a beautiful white Gibson guitar, but for this one a black model seemed to be the appropriate choice. I wanted to add that “guitar element” without it overpowering the image. Blending the black-bodied guitar into the dark area was just right, keeping the focus on Les’ face and the electronics in the upper half of the frame.

Our first job was to light Les and the front of the Ampex stack with a soft light. A Speedotron 102 flash head with a 24x36-inch PhotoFlex softbox was chosen with multiple layers of diffusion panels to effectively lower the color temperature and warm up the overall image. I’ve been using this technique for years with film, and it, of course, works equally well with digital capture.

The next step was to bring up the illumination in the VU meters on the front of the stack. We had metered the softbox at f/8 at an ISO of 125. A reading off the VUs from my Sekonic spot meter told us that 1⁄15 at f/8 would bring up the luminance just right without blowing out the detail in the meters.

I wanted to leave a sufficient amount of dark space to left of the image for dropping in type but didn’t want to sacrifice the detail in the reel-to-reel assembly. We then chose another Speedotron 102 head, a grid reflector with a 10° grid spot, and an amber gel to light the tape deck from above and behind with a color similar to the glow of the VU meters.

In test shot #3 we see the front VU meter panel lit by the softbox and the VUs themselves glowing nicely from our slow shutter speed without losing detail. We added the blue gel to give a “splash” of color to the electronics behind the meter stack in what would have been a very “metallic”-looking shot otherwise. At this point we decided to further add color to the reel assembly with an amber gel to mirror the glow of the VUs.

The last step was to add a touch of color to the electronics behind the meter stack and tape deck. Another Speedotron 102 head with a 10° grid spot and blue gel was used to light the area from behind the meter stack. A spot meter reading off the middle gray electronics board using Dean Collins’ “Chromazone” method gave us the information we needed to adjust the power of that head to achieve just the right hue of blue we desired.

At this point all the elements came together for us to proceed with image capture. Back in New York City, we duplicated our RAW files to JPEGs for editing, then ran the selected RAW images through the 10MP feature in Nikon Capture software to optimize our selections before importing them as 16-bit TIFFs to Photoshop.

Although we travel with a truckload of lighting gear to handle virtually any situation, all our images were shot with no more than three strobe heads, two grids, a softbox, some gels, and one 800 W/s Speedotron 812 power pack. Nikon’s digital capture proved to be the perfect choice for us to get what we needed quickly and move out, before becoming a burden to the 89-year-old guitar legend.

	After gaffer taping the amber gel in place to “color” the tape assembly, it was time for Dave to step in once more for a final test shot. We could see that all the pieces had fallen into place and the nearly 50-year-old Ampex machine was ready for its “close up.” The only thing missing was our legendary subject. It was time to clear the set, call in Les, and get shooting!

I must say in closing that Les was most gracious and accommodating, even inviting us to stay for dinner. I think a good time was had by all, and I know it was a most memorable experience for me.

INGREDIENTS
• Client: Attaché Magazine
• Camera: Nikon D1x
• Lens: 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor
• Meter: Sekonic spot meter
• Media: Three 640mb Delkin CompactFlash Cards
• On-site editing platform: Mac G3 PowerBook with Nikon Capture 4 and PhotoShop CS
• Lighting Gear: Speedotron 812 power pack, three Speedotron 102 flash heads, PhotoFlex Softbox, two 45° grid reflectors, two 10° grids, & assorted colored gels
• Exposure: 1⁄15 at f/8
• Subject: One guitar legend!