PhotoWalkPro

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The other day I was taking some pictures for the new book when I noticed that things just weren’t looking sharp.  I’m not talking about the images coming out of the camera, rather the actual scene I was looking at through the viewfinder.  At first I thought it was the lens focus but all of my images looked razor sharp on the LCD and again in my computer.  Then the thought hit me, maybe it’s not the camera, maybe it’s me.

In the past year or so my reading vision has begun to deteriorate.  Yes, it’s true. I am one of those people that now needs to hold things further and further away to see them clearly (luckily I have long arms).  I have resorted to wearing reading glasses for really small text but the thought never occurred to me that it would effect my view through the camera.  Sure enough, I made a minor adjustment to the viewfinder diopter and everything snapped into crisp focus once again.

Here’s a quick and easy way for you to check your diopter adjustment as told to me by my friend Anne Cahill from Nikon NPS.

♦ Locate the diopter adjustment for your DSLR.  It’s usually somewhere near the viewfinder and is either a slide or knob.
♦ Remove your lens from the camera.
♦ Now look through the camera and point it to a blank, light colored wall.
♦ Adjust the diopter until the auto-focus points and other markings that appear in the middle of the viewfinder appear sharp.

You should definitely consider doing this if you shoot while wearing glasses or your vision is changing.  Also, your knob or adjustment slider might just get moved over time so check it out and see what you’ve been missing.

Have a great weekend!

I was going over some of the supplies I would need for next week’s Help Portrait shoot that I am participating in and I found that I needed some new background paper.  I didn’t want anything huge so I started looking up medium-sized paper rolls (hauling around a 107″ roll of paper can be a real pain in the butt).  I found some options online for 79″ white paper rolls but I wasn’t sure if it would be delivered in time for the shoot and I didn’t want to spend a small fortune on express shipping.  That’s when I remembered Ace Photo.

They came highly recommended to me by my buddy Mike Palmer so I Googled their website and started browsing through their studio supplies.  Sure enough, they had just what I wanted in stock so I waited for the snow to ease up a bit and headed down the road to check it out.  When I got there, I was pleasently surprised at the depth of merchandise that they carried in their store.  It’s a little off the beaten path for me but it was so worth the trip.  Not only did they have the background paper that I wanted but also a bunch of other stuff that really got my wallet to itching.  There was one other thing that I really had to love about their store and that was the fact that they had all three of my books prominently displayed in their photo book section.

So the moral of the story here is that you shouldn’t just automatically turn to the Internet for all of your photography needs.  There are a lot of stores out there like Ace Photo that not only have the equipment and supplies that you need for your photography, but also offer competitive pricing and the knowledgeable staff that can guide you to finding just what you need.  For those of you that live in the Northern Va/DC area, I highly recommend that you take a drive out to Ashburn and see all the great stuff and helpful staff over at Ace Photo.  You can find out more about all of the great products available at Ace as well as their in-store class schedule by visiting their website.

The big problem I have when I go Christmas shopping is that I always end up finding great things for myself.  So this year, I thought I would share a few of those things, just in case you need to pick up something for the photographer in your life (even if that’s you).

♦  Acer Aspire AS1410-8414 11.6-Inch Netbook

Unlike most netbooks on the scene today, this model has a screen that is an inch larger than most at 11.6″.  Another difference between the Acer and the others, this one has 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive (the standard for other netbooks is 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard drive).  It’s a perfect solution for on-the-go access for web, email, and other simple computing needs.

♦ SanDisk 8GB Extreme III SDHC Card

This class 6 SD memory card will give you the speed and performance to handle even the most demanding of DSLR video cameras.  With 20MB of read/write speed, you’re sure to capture every frame, and you’ll get better performance for your RAW captures as well.

♦ Domke PhoTOGS Vest

Do you ever find yourself in one of those situations where you want to carry more gear and accessories but you really don’t want to carry a bag?  Well then, you need one of my favorite accessories, the Domke photo vest.  This thing has big, deep pockets to hold lenses, batteries, flashes, filters, and so much more.  There’s even a flip-out plastic ID holder for your press-pass.

♦ Canon Selphy CP780 Compact Photo Printer

There are a lot of small photo printers out there on the market but few of them can hold a candle to the Canon Selphy.  Not only is it small and portable, it also prints archival 4×6 prints in under a minute, can run on an optional battery, and can print directly from a card or via Bluetooth.  It’s no wonder so many event photographers use these for those cash and carry events.

♦ Epson R2880 Large Format Photo Printer

If you prefer your prints a bit larger then I highly recommend that you check out the R2880.  I have used a lot of inkjet printers over the years and this is by and large my all-time favorite.  It prints up to 13×19 Photos with Epson UltraChrome K3 ink, has an enhanced black and white mode, and best of all, it can print on Epson’s Exhibition Fiber paper for amazing gallery quality prints.

♦ HyperMac External Battery for Apple MacBook

Nothing sucks more than running out of juice on your Mac or iPhone and there’s not a power outlet in sight.  Enter the HyperMac battery.  My buddy Terry White turned me on to this amazing battery accessory at the last Photoshop World and I was just thoroughly impressed.  Not only will it power your Mac up to a dozen hours (your mileage may vary) but it will also keep your iPhone or iPod feeling fine.  Make sure you check out Terry’s thorough review at Terry’s Tech Blog.

♦ Panasonic DMC-LX3K Digital Camera

I haven’t had my LX3 very long but I can tell you that I love it.  It has SLR versatility in a point-n-shoot package.  With its Leica wide-angle lens, three different different aspect ratios, ability to shoot in RAW, and hi-def video capture, it’s the one camera that never leaves my side.

♦ Canon PowerShot S90IS

If Canon is your thing then you might want to check out this high-performance point-n-shoot.  The S90 has been getting some pretty rave reviews and it’s no wonder with all the great features including: a high ISO setting of 12,800, Wide-angle 3.8x optical zoom, a bright aperture of f/2.0, DIGIC 4 Image Processor, a 3″ LCD, and RAW image capture.  All of this in a small pocket-sized camera.

♦ IKEA Ribba Photo Frames

I found these while wandering the IKEA one day and I just love them.  They come in a variety of sizes have a classic black wooden frame and PH-neutral mats to treat your photos kindly for years to come.  They are perfect for your next gallery showing, gifting your favorite images or decorating your house, you can’t go wrong with the Ribba.  Also check out the Ribba picture ledge for a classy way to display your work.

♦ Photojojo Gifts and Gear

Finally on my list, it’s not one singular item but a whole bunch of great little gadgets and photo-themed gifts from those great folks ovet at Photojojo.  With things like the level camera cube, the helmet camera mount, perfect pano rotating tripod tool, mailable photo frames and more, you are sure to find something unique for gifting.

So there you have it, a few ideas for your holiday gift giving.  Hopefully you can find something that will please yourself the photographer in your life.  Have a great weekend and happy shopping.

I really love my Lastolite Hot Shoe Ezy-box for portable lighting scenarios.  It creates a beautiful, soft light using just an off-camera flash like the Nikon SB-600 or 900.  The only problem is that it can be a little pricey at about $154 for the 24×24 version, especially for the beginner that wants to experiment with using off-camera flash but doesn’t want to spend a fortune.  This doesn’t mean that there aren’t solutions available for a lot less money.  Consider the basic shoot-thru umbrella.  For a relatively small investment you can have an incredibly portable and beautiful light source for great on-location portraits.  Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to start shooting with your flash off-camera.

The Gear -

The first order of business is the umbrella.  You can drop a lot of cash on umbrellas but to get all the functionality you will need, you only need to spend about $30.  I use a Photoflex convertible umbrella that has a black covering for shooting with the umbrella in a reflective mode.  The black backing quickly removes for shooting through the translucent white interior.  The other nice thing about this umbrella is that you can leave the black backing partially attached to act as a gobo, or light blocker, for controlling the light.

The second little piece of gear  you will need is a simple Shoe Mount Multiclamp.  This clamp serves three purposes.  First, it allows you to attach your hot shoe mounted flash to your light stand.  Second, it also lets you add your umbrella to the stand and adjust the distance of the umbrella to the flash.  The third, and what I believe is the most important function of the clamp is the ability it gives you to angle your light towards your subject.  This means that you can place your light at any height and be assured that it will throw the light in the direction that you want.  You can usually find these highly useful clamps for less than $20.

The other main component for the off camera lighting system is the light stand.  You can use pretty much any light stand you want but I prefer to use a 10′ stand.  I find it just gives me more options, especially if I want to place the light up high.  The average light stand is only about 7′ tall so having 3 extra feet is worth the few extra dollars.

How you trip your flash unit will depend greatly on what type of camera and flash system you have.  If you are using one of the latest Nikon cameras that has a pop-up flash, there is a good chance that it will act as a commander for your off-camera flash.  Canon has just come out with this same feature on their 7D.  Other wireless options include using a wireless IR adapter like Canon’s STE2 or Nikon’s SU-800 speedlight commander.  These are not cheap options though as each costs between $215 to $250 respectively.

Another option is the use of a transceiver like the Pocket Wizard.  The Pocket Wizard has been a staple of the studio and location photographer for years.  Because it uses RF (radio frequency) instead of IR (infrared), it can work without a line of sight.  The problem once again is the price.  At about $350 for a pair, it’s not exactly what I would call a budget solution.

If you are looking for a very inexpensive wireless solution you could check out the Opteka OP-4C.  I haven’t used one before but it appears to be a very simple 4-channel wireless transmitter/receiver for hot shoe flash systems.  The system will not work in TTL mode and the range is not nearly as great as a Pocket Wizard but it should work from close in distances and is a real bargain at about $30.

Your least expensive option would be to use a sync cord from your camera to the flash.  You will need to consult your camera manual to determine whether or not your camera has a sync cord plug.  If not, you will need to get an adapter that fits in your hot shoe and allows you to plug in the sync cord and trip the flash.

Wrap Up -

The bottom line is that for around $90 you can get some pretty professional looking results from your simple camera flash gun and an umbrella.  If you want even more information on how to improve the look of your images by using an off camera flash system, check out the Strobist website.  Specifically, you should read the Lighting 101 page to get up to speed on all the gear and techniques needed to achieve great results.

I love shooting with a DSLR.  The flexibility, control, and image quality are really hard to beat.  There is a problem though with having a camera system that weighs 4 pounds and is the size of a brick.  It can sometimes be burdensome on occasions to carry a big camera rig, especially if you are just doing some simple sightseeing.  This was my problem.  I have all the DSLR cameras and accessories that I need for most of my photo excursions but when it came time to make a quick trip or visit a market I would opt for leaving the camera behind because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of carrying all that weight around my neck.  The problem is that I would always see something that I would have loved to photograph but then didn’t have a camera.  So I decided to find something small that I could carry in my pocket and still hopefully get the shot.

I didn’t want to get just any point and shoot camera though.  My main criteria was that it have most of the controls that were available in a DSLR.  There were several cameras that were in that ball park but in the end it came down to just two, the Canon G11 and the Panasonic DMC-LX3K.  I did a lot of research on the two cameras but in the end, I decided on the Panasonic for a few of reasons.  First was the actual size.  At about 8 oz. it’s a bit smaller than the G11, second, it has a larger LCD screen, and third, the Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens is very wide at 24mm and has a maximum aperture of f/2.0.

There are some other features that really helped sell me on this camera like the RAW file format (yes, they can be opened by Lightroom and Camera RAW), The three different image size formats (4:3, 3:2, and the very wide 16×9) that are changeable by a simple switch on the top of the lens, and the hi-def video.  There are actually a ton of other features built into this little camera and I am just beginning to explore the possibilities but from everything I have seen, we are going to be the best of travel companions.

Here’s a sample of what the 16×9 image format looks like.  Unfortunately I didn’t have this camera with me in Malaysia but the cropping of this pano gives you an idea of why I like the wide format so much.  I’m going to have a lot of fun.  If it ever stops raining here, I will take some sample shots and post them next week.  Until then I will have to settle for cozying up with my owners manual.

I really love my Black Rapid R-Strap.  It’s the perfect accessory for shooting on the go.  The strap offers much more comfort when walking around with my camera and makes it super accessible when I want to grab a quick shot.  There is one problem that I have found when using it though and that is when I want to transition between using the strap and setting my camera up on a tripod for some late-night or HDR shooting.  See, normally the Rapid-R has a great little attachment for clipping the strap to the camera called the Fasten-R2.  It’s a d-ring with a rubber spacer that keeps it snugly mounted to the camera by the tripod mounting socket.  This also means that I have to remove the Fasten-R2 whenever I want to mount the camera to the tripod.  It’s not a big thing but it does sort of interrupt the flow of things.

I solved that problem by using a quick-release tripod head.  The quick-release mount attaches to the camera on the bottom via the tripod mounting screw.  The trick is that my quick-release plate uses a d-ring to tighten the mounting screw into the camera base.

Now, I simply keep the plate attached all the time and attach it to the Rapid-R Strap with R-Strap’s clip. Then, when I want to use my tripod, I simply un-clip the strap and lock the plate into the tripod head and I’m all set for stable shooting.

It’s not a big mod but it makes all the difference when I want to quickly transition from hand-holding to tripod and back again.  Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference.