I have been shooting for my good friend and top fashion designer Pamella Roland for many years. In fact  Studio NB, creative consultants on all aspects of the Pamella Roland brand and image. By being so integrally involved with the brand it really helps us realize the designers vision and execute the photos so they not just highlight the designs but the inspiration behind why she created the outfits and chose the specific fabrics.

Pamella is inspired by life and her travels, whether it be Greece, Italy or an artist or era. What usually happens is I am shown vision boards with all kinds of things pertaining to that inspiration that the design team are using to collaborate and brainstorm the coming collection.

While all this is happening we are thinking about appropriate lighting and backgrounds. More recently we have transitioned into a clean studio environment with all the emphasis on the drama and movement of the gowns playing with strong shadows and lots of drama! Pamella is known for dressing the stars and her gowns are more regular than many A-list celebrities at the Oscars and Emmy Awards etc.

For the Fall campaign we decided on dramatic hard light but with minimal shadow cast. We wanted the model Tassara to be radiating and glowing with health. It was also important to have movement which we created using wind machines and with Tassara physically jumping through the air. Even when you select a still shot the fact that the model actually jumped helps authentically give a flushed and energized look.

This campaign was shot at Pier 59 studios in NYC and my usual glam squad was Andrew Fitzsimmons and Quinn Murphy with styling done in house. My assistants were, starting with my 1st – Walter Sassard,  2nd – Matt Simmons, Digital Tech – Toby Sprague, Intern 1 – Lindsay Keys, Intern 2  – Jesse Rubenstein with my Studio manager Ali Azios producing the whole shoot seamlessly!

We shot using my usual Sony A900 cameras paired with Zeiss lenses. The back ground is lit by 4 heads with umbrellas on 2 trees to knock out shadows and produce a stark clean background. A single pro fresnel spot was used as a front light high up on an arm to create hard dramatic light  from a 45 degree position. We dropped black duvetine material on the ground to stop any bounced light filling the image as we wanted to control the light fully. The use of black V-flats also helps sharpen the light and make sure that there is minimal bounce

The advertising campaign can be viewed on the inside back page of the August issue of Harper’s Bazaar and will be in the September issue as well as many other magazines nationwide. For more of my work specific to Pamella Roland visit www.pamellaroland.com

For my 3rd year in a row I was at CES presenting for the world leader in consumer electronics and maker of my trusty A900 – SONY. One of the many exciting things of being associated with the most cutting edge brand in technology is that I get to test experimental equipment and be the first to try out various prototypes. Not all of which make it to the consumer because of price or demand.

Last year I was supplied with 3 brand new pieces of EQ that only became available after I announced them yesterday at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in front of a crowd of thousands.

You all know I love my job and that I am passionate about photography and film, so getting to experiment with gadgets that no one has ever seen but only imagined, is my kind of assignment.

My Q, a man called El-Deane  at Sony is the fellow responsible with getting me the equipment if only a little begrudgingly, “Make sure I get it back immediately and don’t break it Bond…..” (actually he calls me Nigel but in my head….)

My job so said M was to master these new gadgets and breakdown the mysteries for the world….. Lucky for me I was armed with the new A77, the NEX-7 and the Bloggie Live…..

So here’s the skinny – The A77 is the fastest DSLR on the planet, capable of a blazing 12 frames a second! Not to mention it has the worlds first 24.3 Megapixel APS-C Sensor so each one of those 12 frames can be processed out at almost 70 megabytes a shot. And lets not forget to mention that all those shots are in perfect focus because it is able to continuously auto focus using phase detection while simultaneously capturing images….How can it do this I hear you scream! Well it has a translucent mirror duh…. no really it has a translucent mirror. While all other DSLRs on the market have a swinging mirror that reflects incoming light first on to the auto focusing screen then on to the image sensor when you press the shutter release. The A77 has a translucent mirror that bounces the light onto the auto focus screen while simultaneously directing the light onto the image sensor – no swinging mirror! Hence 12 frames a second with continuous auto focus. Oh and I forgot to tell you that the lag time between hitting the shutter release and the A77 actually taking the picture is a mere 0.05 seconds. That by the way is the fastest lag time of any DSLR in the world.

Now you know I shoot movies and TV commercials as well. The A77 also shoots full 1080 HD video in both 60i 60p and 24p for ultra smooth and cinematic quality video that is unsurpassed by any of it’s rivals – and it continuously auto focuses using that translucent mirror when shooting video too.

The NEX-7 does most of what the A77 does although at less than half the weight and size, who says great things don’t come in small packages ladies… The NEX-7 is essentially the game changer. A pocket camera that has a 24.3 megapixel sensor, shoots 10 frames a second, shoots full 1080 HD video in 60i, 60p and 24p has the fastest lag time of any camera on the planet of 0.02 secs so you never miss the shot, has a OLED view finder (which it shares with the A77 – the worlds first and only) The OLED view finder replaces what all other cameras have which is a LCD view finder. LCD viewfinders and screens are back lit so contrast and blacks are always going to be compromised. OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode and they work by sending an electrical charge through the organic compounds that make up the diode which in turn glow. Thus creating a much brighter image with absolute blacks and incredible contrast.

The NEX-7 is also very user friendly despite it’s Ferrari like roar, my 6 year old son knows how to navigate his way around the camera and takes stellar shots every time. A chip off the old block maybe but the Tri-Navi system of three easily workable dials on the back of the camera make it a breeze to change the aperture, shutter speed and ISO with the flick of a finger.

And last but not least the Bloggie Live. Well you may or may not be into blogging but I am and your reading my blog now. Blogging and social media is basically the main stay for today’s youth and the ability to share their videos and photos immediately is what it’s all about.

The Bloggie Live is WiFi enabled……it actually allows you to stream your video direct from the Bloggie to FaceBook, YouTube or your website live as you shot your video or stills! For crying out loud you can live in your own reality show and broadcast live for the cost of a few hundred dollars – is nothing sacred anymore!!!

This is the future people and you heard here first.

00NB over and out……