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Many thanks, Mark. I’m sure you’ll probably be retracing my steps this summer! Best, Keith!

Thanks, Stefan. It is my favourite place in the world and hope to post from here again soon

Many thanks, Kevin. I was surprised the transition worked as I forgot to mark the spot I was standing in the suit so had to guess where to stand when I had changed. I think placing restrictions on a shoot tends to focus my mind on the strengths of a particular focal length or film simulation. Hope you’re well. Best, Keith

Thanks for the feedback. Fair enough on the backing track! 👍

Going wider with primes means I can save iso going beyond what I would consider reasonable. YMMV

Cheers!! Dancers are certainly fast

Hi there. I never use a tripod at a show

Glad you found it useful, Daniel. And thanks for taking the time to send feedback. =)

You're very welcome!

Thanks, Peter. It was a sp coal day at the University for sure.

Hi Operatigger. Sorry for taking a minute to get back to you. Setting an acceptable shutter and letting the camera do the rest is a great way to get decent, sharp shots when the lights are changing. And imo, sharp is far better than noisy (plus you can fix noise, you can't easily fix unsharp images). I've just bought a camera with IBIS so I look forward to seeing whether than changes my theatre shooting strategies.

Thanks for your ever positive comments and kind remarks. Much appreciated.

Many thanks, Robert. Looking forward to getting out with it.

Hi Robert. I'll give it a look. I recently listened to a podcast with Sean Tucker and so know about some of his approach.

Many thanks!! Much appreciated. I'm glad you like the London pictures.

Hi there - I don't know the 21mm lens, but the set up for Alaska sounds awesome. Love to see those images. Vancouver is a wonderful city (I've visited three times), and I've certainly done the tourist thing there in Stanley Park and Granville Island and took evening bbqs on Kitsalano Beach (I visited UBC for a couple of weeks in 2007). I also went over to Vancouver Island to Ucluelet which was wonderful. I love to come back again some time.

Thanks Kevin!! Hope you’re well. I will consider a new Version of the Lightroom for newbie ls video

I generally shoot in single shot, except when I know there is going to be a jump coming up and I maybe shoot in continuous for that. Regarding WB, I generally set a Kelvin value that suits the set, but I always shoot in TAW so I can adjust the balance in post. As colours can change so much during a show, I will set an appropriate WB for each lighting set up in post and apply that to all the images with that set up so that the set looks consistent overall.

It would, of course, depend on the size of the body and lenses, but yes, the dividers are all removable and can be repositioned. Best, Keith

Thanks, Ray. I did consider making them all mono, but that was against the idea for what I was doing. As it was, this shot shouted "MONO!" so I did! Hope you and the family are well.

Thank you Robert! I'm using Astia/Soft profile on my RAW shots more and more.

Hi Steve - this is a great question, and, I'm afraid, I really don't have a definitive answer for you. The company I work with uses a regular projector for backdrops (from the ceiling of the auditorium - not back projections, I think). Their stage lights are a mix of LED and regular bulb. I have occasionally gotten banding in the frame which makes the image largely unusable so it's an issue. Firstly, make sure you review (chimp) your images often to check for this problem. You don't want to get home and find that all your images are unusable. Secondly, I have found that this largely occurs if the stage is really dark and I'm having to push ISO and reduce shutters below 1/100s. In this situations, I change one setting on the camera at a time to work out what might solve the problem. However, I am sort of resigned that if it is really dark on the stage that I probably won't get a shot. Having seen the growth of LED panels as part of the set on stage in professional West End stages recently (e.g. Back to the Future, American in Paris) I guess that they may well increasingly end up in semi-pro, and am dram shows and then I'll try to work out what works in those situations. Best, Keith

Hey there - Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you like the series, and hope you found it useful

Hi there - I have never used strobes or flash guns or fill lights in any of my theatre shoots. Firstly, as this would not be acceptable to the theatre company, and secondly, the lighting director has made decisions about how they want the stage to look both in terms of amount of light, focus on particular performers, and colour palette. A flash or strobe would change all that. So I trying to use the settings on the camera to capture the action as well as I can using high ISOs, wide apertures, and reasonably fast shutters (1/250s ideally). So it's a great question, but no, I don't use strobes.

@@KeithMasonPhotography Thank you 🙏

Many thanks for your feedback about the pictures taken. I have just released a video where I take out the 18mm for a run. I think the photos are largely better in this video, but for both, I am trying to get more out of the lens, and more out of me creatively. Once I better know the capabilities of the lenses, I, of course, more likely to use them in the future.

Hi Kevin. Thanks for your comments. I agree that it is in the mono final image that the effect of the indentations and patterns are properly revealed. If only I was better at the crafting part, it might have been a really nice finished result.

Thanks Robert. The idea was certainly better than the execution, but sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone!

Thanks Amy!!! I'm glad you like it. It shows a few days just kicking back by myself in my favourite place.

@@KeithMasonPhotography This is her better half, but Amy liked it too.

@yemrot1 John - you’re a good man, despite what they say!!

@@KeithMasonPhotography 😀

Hi Roland - Sorry for the delay. I agree with you. It's the photographer not the camera, and I love my X-T20. Have fun in the Caribbean!!

​​@@KeithMasonPhotographyKeith you are a great photographer, you know how to put the images in the right light. Thank you for the great shots!

Hi Robert - Sorry for the delay!! (I've been rubbish at keeping up!). I'll certainly keep your suggestion in mind next time I'm in a suitable location. For now, you might check out my "Abstract Landscape" video as it has a bit of a discussion about ICM in there.

Hi there - Sorry for the delay!! I wonder if you consider yourself a hiking photographer, or photographing hiker?? The hiker is always looking forward and keen to get to make progress to the next point. As a hiking photographer, I try to focus on trying to take some good photos so slowing down, occasionally looking behind you is what I try to do. Most importantly, having my camera close to hand means I am thinking about photography all the time. I try to force myself, when I see a potential shot, to put down my pack, get out the tripod and give my photography a chance to work. Best of luck!!

Thanks for your kind words. All the images were shot on either an FujiX-T20 with a Fuji 27mm f/2.8 prime lens or my Fuji X-T3 with either the 18-55mm or 55-200mm zooms. The images were shot with the Astia/soft film simulation but saved as RAW and I developed a Lightroom preset for this set which brought up the shadows a little, and reduced the texture and saturation a little

@@KeithMasonPhotography Great cameras. I have the XT-20 with Fuji 27mm and 18-55mm kit lens too. And many other Fuji lenses (more than I need if I am honest). Also have the XT-1 too which is an awesome camera and got me started in the Fujifilm ecosystem. I haven’t gotten to the stage of editing my photos, except for cropping, where necessary. That is where I need to spend more time and invest in good software like LR or Capture One. In the last year or so I have gotten also into Full Frame DSLRs and have the Canon 5D Classic and 6D Mk1. Really liking the photos I am taking with these cameras and Canon colours these cameras produce. Looking forward to your next video and greetings from Australia.

Greetings from the UK and sorry for the delay! Sounds like you have a great set of equipment. I have the 5dmkii but it collects dust as it's too darn heavy to haul around - but it does make beautiful images! Some small / minor edits can really bring the potential out of a good sooc image so some investing some time there would be a great. I have an introduction course on lightroom (Classic) on my channel. It's a bit old, but the basics haven't changed. Simply raising the shadows a bit, adding some contrast, and a small vignette can really make a big difference in the final image. Best, Keith

@@KeithMasonPhotography Thanks for the tips Keith. Heard good things about the 5dmkii too. Maybe, when you can, take it out for a few shots here and there - you may get hooked into using it again more frequently. Feel like you and Martin Castein should do a photography video together. You both offer great practical advice and always worthwhile watching your YT videos.

Good to know!!! Thanks for sharing this info

Hi Steven. I thought I had replied to your very interesting comment a while ago, but I guess YT must have lost my post. Your settings sound excellent and the 2.8 lens is great for work in darker spaces. The editing down to around 100 images can be a lot of work. I struggle between selecting the best images which I know the company will like and use, and making sure all the performers are in at least a few shots

@@KeithMasonPhotography Yes, I think the 'culling' takes more time than either the photography or the final post-processing. The first step I do is to import images using the "Embedded and Sidecar" previews. That makes looking at them in the LR Library module as fast as it was in Photo Mechanic (uses the camera jpg as the preview). I used to go through my images and mark "reject" on the ones I didn't like. But realized that with 1,500-2,000 images, it was faster to do it the other way, "Pick" the ones that I would consider keeping by giving them two stars. Then ruthlessly delete the others. Julienne Kost then provided the next step. Go through them again and choose the marginal ones to delete by changing them to one-stars - and delete those. That usually gets me down to under 200. Finally, Lightroom has great view options to do final selections - Grid, Survey and Compare modes. When I get down to the last 100 or so, I build 1:1 previews, then deNoise as I noted above. Lots of work, but I've gotten faster over the years and enjoy sharing the final product.

Thanks for watching Kevin. I end up with wet feet more often than I would prefer!!!

That’s good to know as I think about upgrading

@@KeithMasonPhotography I wish the 27mm was f2 rather than f2.8 but then it wouldn’t be as pancake as it is perhaps. I have thought about replacing it with the XF23mm f2. There are no doubt sharper lenses in the XF range but it does make Fuji’s published list as suitable for the high definition 40mp sensors. As did the XF23mm f2, the 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 but NOT the old XF18mm f2 and NOT the old kit zoom 18-55mm f2.8-4. Do a Google search and you’ll find the list.

I’ll have to check the list as I think my zooms are not suited (10-24mm, 18-55mm (as you mention), and the 55-200mm). I also have the old 18mm, the 35mm 1.4, and the Viltrox 56mm 1.4. Lots of additional cost to move up to the X-T5

@@KeithMasonPhotography I’m not convinced there’s a need to go to 40mp APS-C. I have a full frame 36MP Pentax and while it’s nice to have some extra pixels to crop if needed I prefer not to and the benefits are mainly in the low noise of the larger sensor and the shallower depth of field that can be achieved with my f1.8 primes

Thanks so much, Jim. Your support is very much appreciated

Thank you!

Fair enough!

Hi Kevin. Sorry it’s taken me ages to reply. Those settings sound good, although whether, at that shutter speed and aperture you can let in enough light if the scene is dark (I’ve not shot with Nikon, so I don’t know). I tend to shoot at 1/250 and can get some motion blur if the performers are moving quickly, but have trained myself to wait to the freezes where they are not moving, or moving less. You’re right about noise reduction development in the past three years, and we have more ability to control grain, but I always prefer sharp to noisy.

I really enjoy slowing down and taking ICM pictures- the results are sometimes unpredictable but that’s part of the fun. Good luck.

I’m glad it’s not just me

That’s a good idea