On the 17^th of February I had arranged to meet up with a group of lads from a band called "Less Than Sober". Less Than Sober are a Rock/Punk/Pop band from Saltcoats, Scotland who aim to take the music industry by storm in 2013 with their energetic sound and the release of their new album called "57 steps". They have also just recently released their promo single/video called "Wanted".

The Shoot

As I pulled up to the meeting point early in the morning the guys directed me to the street that wanted to use for some shots. As I unloaded my gear we got to talking and decided to play around with some ideas. The street itself posed a technical challenge: how to light five guys in bright sunshine with one 400w/s strobe.

Even though I had a bunch of lights with me, only one of my lights had the power to overcome this kind of situation, even then without any modifiers and in close proximity.

For me the best way to do this was to split the image up into multiple frames. This would let me move my light between frames and light the members of the band properly. It gave me the flexibility to capture them doing fun stuff like running and jumping so I could pick the best frames to merge later. The down side was that I couldn't move the camera between frames, and with it being in the middle of a road we, had cars to attend to (but luckily for us, it was relatively quiet).

The final shot, shown above, was made up of four frames:

1. Sandy on the floor with Ricardo jumping over him
2. Malcolm and Darren in the middle
3. Gok on the right
4. Extra sky

The camera settings were as follows: Pentax K-5 with DA* 16-50mm F2.8 @ 19mm, ISO 80, 1/180s, F14.

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After a week of voting and a couple of months of homepage postings, we're happy to announce the winners our 2-million post Pentax K-30 giveaway.  We'd like to congratulate forum members gnarelsek (1st place), Itzik (2nd place), athlantar (3rd place), and socrier, krp, ewig, sugantabanjeri, and northcoastgreg (4th place).  Below are their articles, for your enjoyment (click on any thumbnail to read on):

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Pentax has just announced a new firmware update (v1.03) for the K-30 and K-01 cameras, which fixes an issue introduced in firmware v1.02 which prevented lenses from autofocusing properly in movie mode.  All the latest firmware files can be downloaded directly from Pentax Japan's support web site.  Read on for easy-to-follow installation instructions!

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This may sound crazy, but we've found an interesting "Pay What You Want" deal on several educational photography products that's going to blow you away!  This is from the same web site that offered our members discounted photo e-books last month.

The products we're about share with you can be had for just $1 or if you like what the company has to offer, you can drop them a few more bucks. It’s up to you. Either way, you get the same quality product.

What type of photographer are these deals perfect for?

Anyone who wants to:

• Learn how to edit photos so they look more dynamic and appealing
• Increase the value and impact of their portraits without having to possess special graphic design skills
• Create high quality portrait photos using a variety of backgrounds without having to own expensive studio equipment

If you fall into any of those categories, read on!

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Today we're happy to share with you a review of a brand new, cool laser trigger device that aims to introduce you to the possibilities opened up by using a laser trigger for your photography!  The review  provides an initial evaluation of the Cactus LV5 laser trigger.  A laser trigger is a piece of equipment that triggers your camera's shutter when an object obstructs the laser beam, allowing you to capture capture action right as it happens.  We hope you enjoy the review!

Continue to the Cactus LV5 Review

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We learned at CP+ that the Pentax K-01 would soon be discontinued, and it is now officially listed as a discontinued model on Pentax's Japan web site.  During our Photokina interview Pentax suggested that the K-01 had not been selling as well as they had hoped, and that there was also no real demand for mirrorless-only Pentax K-mount lenses.

Thus, at least for now, we believe that we are not going to see a K-01 successor.  However, it could be the case that Pentax will instead be focusing on enthusiast point-and-shoot cameras such as the MX-1, which are becoming increasingly popular in the camera market.

Originally announced at last year's CP+ event, the Pentax K-01 was the first mirrorless K-mount camera, as well as the first mirrorless camera to natively support a DSLR lens lineup.  Another big selling point of the K-01 was meant to be its special design by Marc Newson, which ended up getting mixed reviews.

Despite its discontinuation, the K-01 is still an exceptional performer when it comes to image quality and video, especially given its sale pricetag of $299.  After the price dropped, there was of course a spike in sales, so it's a shame that the camera is going to be gone soon.  At this price, the K-01 may well be one of the best camera deals out there at the moment. If you want to learn more about the K-01, don't miss our in-depth K-01 review! 

If you're interested in the K-01, stock at B&H and Adorama is slowly running out, so don't wait until it's too late!  Both stores have recently received new shipments of all K-01 bodies and kits, so if you want one at the sale price, now is the time:

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Want to win a Pentax DA 70mm F2.4 Limited lens ($700 value)?  Then head on over to our Forum T-Shirt Design Contest and submit a shirt design.  If your design gets chosen, we'll send you the lens- it's that easy!

But hurry, because this contest ends on March 14th.  Good luck!  Open to members worldwide.

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Today and tomorrow is World Pentax Day, so don't forget to go out and shoot if you get a chance!  Then, upload your favorite photos to the World Pentax Day event gallery, and together, we'll paint a picture of what the world looked like this weekend!  Here are some handy links to get you started if you are unfamiliar with the event:

• World Pentax Day Info and Overview
• Direct Upload Link
• Feb 23-24 Event Details
• World Pentax Day Gallery
• Q&A Thread

Remember, everyone is welcome to participate.  Happy shooting!  This year, we will be giving away 3 lenses to 3 lucky participants, so don't miss out!

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