Portraits and Panoramas of the Alberta Legislature on its 100th Birthday

The Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The building turned 100-years-old this year. This image was created by stitching three separate images together into a panorama. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

A view of the Alberta Legislature building from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

A view of the Alberta Legislature building from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

A view of the Alberta Legislature building minutes after a severe rain storm taken from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) This is a High Dynamic Range HDR image created from a single RAW image using PhotoMatix Pro.

Ruth Walkters maintains the plants in the building and decorates it for special occasions. She poses for a photo in the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 16, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Shot available light.
Canon 5D Mark-II. 85mm f1.2L lens. ISO160, f1.2, 1/200.

Ruth Walters maintains the plants in the building and decorates it for special occasions. She poses for a photo in the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 16, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Canon 5D Mark-II. 85mm f1.2 lens at f1.2. ISO100.

For this image I used strobes so that her watering can would pop more.

Judith Benson, a specialist in government documents as been a librarian at the Alberta Legislature for 26 years. She poses for a photo in the library of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Camera: 5D Mark-II, 24mm f1.4L, ISO 160, F14, 1/200.

June Barker has been a tour guide at the Alberta Legislature for nearly 23 years. She poses for a photo in the rotunda of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
Canon 5D Mark-II, 24mm f3.5L Tilt-Shift lens, ISO640, F11, 1/13s.
I used the 24mm tilt-shift lens to make all the lines straight. I used a slow shutter speed so I could get the background lights. The background is pretty overexposed but its better than the horrible tungsten lighting. 

June Barker has been a tour guide at the Alberta Legislature for nearly 23 years. She poses for a photo in the rotunda of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)
For this image I turned the strobes all the way down to 2.5 w/s and shot wide open f1.2 with my 85mm f1.2 lens. 

Alberta Legislature maintenance supervisor Terry LeBlanc stands on the roof beside the building’s cupola on August 20, 2012. The Legislature turned 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)Canon 5D Mark-II, ISO50, F10, 1/200. Alienbees Einstein strobes.I used the Canon 24mm tilt-shift lens to correct perspective as I was shooting down low.

A panoramic view of the rotunda in the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 22, 2012. This image was created by stitching multiple pictures together. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

I used a GigaPan Epic Pro with a 5D-Mark II and a 50mm f1.2 lens for the Panorama.

Here is my camera mounted on the roof of the Annex building. I set the Canon 1D Mark-III with a 24-105mm lens to take three photos every five minutes. One normal exposure, one -1 stop and one +1 stop. The camera shot RAW and had a 32GB card in it. After three days I just picked the best photos.

Here you can see my lighting setup. I used a large octo-box to give a soft light on Ruth. I had a hair light behind her with a grid on it to narrow the beam. I had one more flash on the ground to pop a little light onto the watering can. This helps separate the can from her black pants. Also notice I got her to stand up on a chair. This was so she would be at the same height as the windows. Otherwise I would have to shoot down low which is unflattering for most portraits.

Here’s me in action. Photo by Karen Kleiss

Here you can see the Paul C. Buff PLM reflector in action. Notice how BIG and net NARROW the light beam is. Normal umbrellas spread the light in all directions where this reflector gives big light that is directional and falls off sharply.

Here is how the background lights were setup. Just normal reflectors on the strobes. Journal reporter Karen Kleiss helped move all the books.

Here’s me in action. Photo by Karen Kleiss. The PLM reflector is so big you can stand in front of it.

Here’s me in action. I LOVE the Paul C. Buff PLM reflector! Photo by Karen Kleiss.

Here is my lighting setup for the portrait of June. I hid the two background lights behind the pillars.

Up on the roof of the Alberta Legislature. One of my favorite things about working for the Edmonton Journal is getting access to cool places that are normally off limits.

For the portrait on the roof I just used two Alienbees Einstein strobes at full power to balance the sun.

The palm room in the main dome of the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on August 24, 2012. The trees are over 80 years old and no one knows exactly where they came from. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

For the 360-degree panorama of the palm room I suspended my 360-degree camera with three 20-pound-test fishing lines. The camera weighs less than five pounds so I had 55-pounds of safety.

I was so terrified to suspend my camera six stories above the ground but it payed off!