Mark Hilliard…
Mark, Polaroid Type 55
Mark’s Bio:
Mark out shooting at the salt marsh.
A Landscape, Wildlife & Fine Art Photographer for 45 years, Mark has extensively traveled the world chasing his photographic visions. Mark runs The Lens Work Gallery in Pawleys Island where he specializes in fine art nature photography. He also runs a Gicle’e printing service and a photographic training center where he teaches 15 different photographic workshops & seminars! He also leads several photographic excursions each year to hidden treasures of the southern east coast!
- Canon 1DSMK3 & 7D (much lighter and fun!)
- Panasonic GH2 590nm Infrared (addictive)
- Fuji X-Pro 1 digital rangefinder (I love this system!)
- Fuji X100 (I love rangefinders!)
- Fuji X-E1 (I REALLY do love rangefinders)
- Hasselblad XPan II (still love rangefinders)
- Shen Hao 4×5 Field Camera
- Panasonic GH2 converted to 590nm Infrared
- Many other various IR camera systems!
Pink Water Lily, Bill Board for Brookgreen Gardens
When asked about his philosophy on nature photography he says: “I tend to concentrate on the smaller, secret side of nature that most people overlook, a different view on the world that surrounds us each and every day. I work in color but Black & White and Infrared photography have a special place in my heart; they tend to show a different view of things we pass by every day. I look at my photographs as portraits of nature rather than pictures, and I often spend hours with a single subject.”
The Tidelands Magazine
Mark’s photography is widely published in many national and local papers and magazines. He has won numerous national awards and competitions. He is an active member of Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA), as well as the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) and PDIA. Mark is one of two staff photographers for Brookgreen Gardens in the Low Country of South Carolina.
saw you commented about tethering a olympus e-pl1 can you explain exactly how you did it? can’t seem to follow some of the technical jargon there-
any help would be appreciated-
Loved the water droplet pictures- WOW!
I have switched from the Olympus to a panasonic GH2 for my water drop shots now! The tethered control is a system called “thee time machine” which controls the camera, flashes and drops the water drops. If you do a google search on water drop photography, you will find a link to a web pagr that talkeks about it!
I have a Hassleblad XPan and don’t know how to use it (sad!). Would you give a lesson?
Sandy, which XPan do you have? Do you ever get up to Pawleys Island?
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I’m surprised why this twist of fate didn’t came about in advance! I bookmarked it.
Happy to have found your website, and how you work with colors. Curious, about your thoughts on the EM-D vs the Fuji X-Pro 1.
Craig, good question! I will take the X Pro 1 over ANY of my cameras. I have a Canon 7d and 1DSMK3 with tons of L glass, they just stay in the closet. I also have the OMD…. Hmm. I like the images from the Fuji better than the OMD, but the Fuji doesn’t have the lens reach
yet
… AND I MUST have an electronic shutter release to do my lightning and water drop photography. These are the ONLY reasons that I have the OMD. Now, with the new Fuji body out with the electronic release, all bets are off. I don’t know if I will get it or wait till the X Pro 2 to arrive and continue with the OMD for these 2 special types of photography. And with the release of the… what was it? 75-200 IS lens next spring I will have all of the reach that I desire. I see a future where the OMD is converted to IR soon!Mark, any comments on the new Fujj XE-1? I worked with it at the NYC Photo show and loved how it felt in the hand, the easy menu, the Q button, and it’s shared sensor and processor with the X-PRO 1.
Well, same sensor and image electronics. BUT the ability to attach a remote shutter cable using 3 different options! That is the selling point for me. I need to hook it up to my lighting trigger… I have one on order and will have it next saturday!
The Optical finder is gone but they upped the ante on the Electronic one. Cut down the res on the LCD to keep size of the body down but I saw no problem using it for the 30 minutes I had with it. Added a pop-up flash and kept the shoe for add-on flash. It seems to me to be a great street camera with the ability to shoot like you do with the X-Pro 1. Fuji reps told me at the New York show to forget about an X-Pro 2 for about a year. The new 18-55 zoom is also very fine. I will buy when it’s available at B&H.
Yep, all of this points to a nice small system that will work very well. I have the 18-55 on preorder from Amazon also.
Mark, all your pics are fantastic! How do you connect your EF-20, EFX-20 and EF-42 to the X-Pro 1 when using multiple flashes? Do you use any kind of wireless trigger? And what magnification ratio do you reach with the Voigtlander + extension tubes?
Albert, I only use my Canon 580 EX 2 flash units when I am doing high speed work like hummingbirds or water drop collisions. For the water drops I have a controller system that controls the flashes, dropper and camera so there is no connection between the camera and the flashes. For hummingbirds, I use cheap cowboy studio wireless flash controllers between my Fuji bodies and the canon flashes! It works great and allows amazing hummingbird shots!
For my CV 75mm f/1.8 lens I have 2 5mm Leica extension tubes which gives a macro image ratio of 1:2. I have tested and measured this and found it to be very accurate. If I could afford it I would purchase the Leica 90mm f/4 macro lens to use instead which gives a 1:1 ratio! Still I am getting good images with the CV 75mm. I was thinking of getting another 5mm tube for the M lens but they are difficult to locate!
Thanks for your kind words.
Your X-Pro1-Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse Sunrise picture is awesome. What did you spot-meter? The white wall? And did you expose at the 758 DR reading or did you correct it (I have both an X-Pro 1 and a 758 DR)?
I metered the white front walls of the lighthouse and placed it in Zone 2.5 So I lightened it up from the meter reading 2.5 stops. I have learned to think in the Zone system over the years for every image I take! Thanks for the kind words!
Thank you Mark. I see I will have to buy Zone System books! But if I understand well, when metering the wall you position it in zone 5. So, bringing it to zone 2.5 would mean darkening the scene and not lighting, right?
Yes, the Zone system make this type of work very easy unless you are old and tired like me! The zone shift was +2.5 zones from zone 5 to zone 7.5. Zone 10 is white and zone 1 is black. Forgive me as I was very tired when I answered you!
Dear Mark Hilliard,
I am a gallery assistant at Agora Gallery, a contemporary fine art gallery in New York. Can I send you some information about our
gallery and promotional services that you might be interested in?
I look forward to hearing from you,
Kind regards,
Sabrina A. Gilbertson
Assistant Director / Agora Gallery
http://www.Agora-Gallery.com
Sabrina@Agora-Gallery.com
Phone: 212.226.4151 Ext. 201
Fax: 212.966.4380
Yes, that would be fine.
Hi Mark:
Thank you very much for your interesting posts on long exposures, zone focusing and the explanations regarding ND and graduated ND filters. I find this information invaluable. Never again will I look at the X-E1 solely as a tool for street photography.
Your site has been a real eye opner for me. I’ve learned so much in the two days since I first visited here. It’s rapidly becoming my favorite site!
All the Best,
Hank Rota
Thanks for the kind words! I have a lot of fun with this blog and my IR blog!
Mark, you have noted your liking for the Voighlander lenses. How do I mount one on the XE-1? What do I need to have to make the connection?
Patrick, go to amazon.com and search out Leica M to Fuji X mount adapters. There are 3 or 4 companies making them for about $40.00. If you can spare the money, purchase the Fuji M to X mount adapter. It costs right at $200 but is intelligent and has correction functionality built in!
So you are using the X-Pro1 instead of your Olympus pen for your IR shots now?
Yes, I sold the Pen a year or so ago. I still have a Panasosnic GH2 at 590nm but do not use it too much. The Fuji is SO MUCH BETTER that it is all I pick up now!
Why did you do the 720 conversion instead of the full spectrum?
Stanford, I already have several done that way and i was looking for simplicity with this camera.