Sorry about the lack of updating. This lapse seems to have been my worst with the usual excuses: work, deadlines, work, lack of sleep, traveling (for work of course), and more work. Except this time those excuses have been the most extreme since I started up this blog. But I am back!

A few months ago I had another physique photoshoot booking, this time with competitor Nana. Also a photographer (which is very flattering when another photographer wants you to photograph them!), Nana had been working hard to get into phenomenal shape, and had asked me to document her conditioning and hard work. So we booked a date to shoot at the ever-so-friendly Vault Fitness in Eden Prairie, MN.

I was also looking forward to this shoot for another reason: it was the first time I would actually put my fancy (then) new Panasonic-Leica 42.5mm/1.2 Nocticron lens to the test in an actual client situation (as opposed to my initial testing for fun and curiosity, seen here).

In short, I was quite pleased. Although I shoot RAW + jpeg, the jpegs themselves had quite the bite to them in regards to contrast/sharpness. If you shoot jpeg, you can feel good not needing to do any additional post-processing with this lens (assuming you did everything right in-camera). Out-of-focus areas were very, very nice (although its closest rival in terms of focal length, the Olympus 45mm/1.8, was no slouch in that department). Of course, the results shown here are much better than what I could describe:

MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera right. FILL: Silver reflector camera left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear.   Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/200 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2. — MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera right. FILL: Silver reflector camera left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear. Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/200 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2.

MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox straight above camera.   FILL: Silver reflector lower camera left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear.   Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/250 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2. — MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox straight above camera. FILL: Silver reflector lower camera left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear. Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/250 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2.

MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera, slightly right. FILL: Silver reflector camera lower left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear.   Gridded speedlight aimed at back wall.  Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/250 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens… — MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera, slightly right. FILL: Silver reflector camera lower left. Gridded speedlights each side at rear. Gridded speedlight aimed at back wall. Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/250 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2.

MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera feathered down.  Gridded speedlights each side at rear.   Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/200 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2. — MAIN: Westcott Apollo softbox above camera feathered down. Gridded speedlights each side at rear. Olympus OMD-EM5 at 1/200 second, ISO 200, Nocticron lens at f/1.2.

Here are the rest:

All shots were at f/1.2 aperture (of course, I didn't friggin' spend $1600 to NOT use it at f/1.2, dummy!!). Another random thought is that this thing focused very quickly and accurately on my EM-5--hooray for fast/accurate focus at f/1.2! :) In the studio room shots (with rivet-texture on the wall), the room had all the lights turned off--almost completely black minus ambient light from the lone door. The EM5/Nocticron combo was able to lock focus, albeit not as snappily but impressive nonetheless (see how it focused in the dark in my first impression blog entry).

Thanks to Nana for showing up looking great, for the fun time shooting, and of course for choosing to shoot with me. And thanks to my trusty lighting assistant, Alexis Miller!

By the way, I mentioned that Nana was also a photographer (portraits/lifestyle/landscapes). From time to time, she accepts donation-based (name your price!) photoshoots as she is building up her business. If you're in the Minnesota area, right now I can't think of a better deal (better than me!) if you're itching to get a shoot done. Her website is www.nanatran.com, or just hit her up directly at nanadaringgreatly@gmail.com for more info.

GEAR USED:

-Olympus OMD-EM5 body with HLD-6 battery grip
-Panasonic-Leica 42.5mm/1.2 Nocticron prime len$
-Westcott Apollo 28-inch softbox
-Manfrotto light stands (I forgot the model number)
-Speedlights: Olympus FL-50R, Yongnuo YN560II and YN560III
-Yongnuo RF-603ii tranceivers
-Honl Speed Grids
-Promaster 5-in-1 reflector, 43 inches.