Photographic Thoughts

Fence with Tree

2010-02-20T08:13:00.001-08:00

Fence with Tree
Originally uploaded by bonnerphotographic

I just like this picture. It reminds me of a happy place.

Tis the Season - My Standing Advice on Buying a First DSLR - updated 10/25/2010

2009-12-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

Every year about this time I start getting a flood of emails asking me my advice on buying a camera. Anyone is more than welcome to email me and ask specific advice, but you should read this first. My standing advice: Start simple and build as your skill builds. Equipment is not a replacement to skill. You also have to find how you use a camera. Some people are obsessed with wide angle shots. I like to zoom in as close as possible and fill the frame. Just style differences.

Generally stay away from two lens packages you find on eBay and Amazon. Why? They usually give you a bunch of crap and crappy lenses. Not always, but usually. Screw on filter style lenses are no one's friend.
Buy quality stuff and you will be happier and have less stuff.

If I was looking at buying my first DSLR and I just want to make pretty pictures without a lot of thinking I would look get:

1. Nikon D3000 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens ($509)
2. Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card with Card Reader TS8GSDHC6-S5W ($25)
3. Hoya 52mm UV (Ultra Violet) Super Multi Coated Glass Filter ($27)
4. Nikon 8072 Microfiber Cleaning Cloth ($10) or any good cleaning cloth. See if an eye doctor will give you one for free.
5. Domke 740-6BK 1-Inch Web Strap without Swivel (Black) ($17)

The first two are necessary to make the camera work. The UV filter is a good investment because it will protect the front of your lens. Scratch the filter, throw it away and buy another. Scratch the front of your lens, throw it away and buy another. Its a $27 insurance policy. Do not buy the cheapest UV possible. That Hoya is a good middle of the road filter. You wouldn't have to get the Domke strap, but I don't like being a walking advertisement for Nikon.

If I wanted to learn how to use my camera I would look at getting a used D80 or D90 and a 50mm 1.8 or 60mm 2.8 lens from eBay. Why? The D3000 won't autofocus either of those lenses. I am a big fan of non-zoom lenses. They make you think more. The more you think the more you are in control of your picture. Thinking is what makes your image into something more than just a snapshot.

If you want a case I would look at:
Lowepro Apex 120 AW (Black) ($44) If you are only going to have one lens, which is what I recommend in the beginning. or
Lowepro Nova 160 AW Camera Bag ($46) if you are going to eventually get a second lens.

Camera bags are a not really that important. Im serious on this. Its a way to keep all your crap together, but if you are out walking around taking pictures they are just another thing to lug. I never transport my cameras in a bag and they are just fine. Just take care where you set it down and it fine. My cameras are not all beat up, dented or scratched. The reason I recommend the two above is that they are water resistant bags. So if you are out walking around and it starts to rain you have somewhere to put your camera and keep it dry. Most bags that come in kits are worthless, cheap pieces of crap that only fall apart well. If you were only buying the camera and one lens I would save the money and not buy a case at all. Shocking. Save your money and buy a better lens. Keep the lens cap on your camera when you aren't using it and at all cost protect the back lens if you take the lens off your camera.

You don't need an extra battery unless you are going to be away from an outlet for more than a couple days. I can shoot all day at a wedding and never get close to running out of power.
You don't need a tripod. Maybe eventually. Start simple.
You don't need a need a card wallet - an 8GB card in the camera is most likely all you will need.

The manual that comes with your camera is a great resource on the functions of your camera. If you want to learn more, Scot Kelby is a demi-god in photography education Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 ($45) or for something simplier The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography (Amphoto Guide Series) ($17) is the book I recommend to my photography students. If you want to get really good at photography you have to learn exposure - so you might as well start off right. I would recommend Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera.

If you wanted to get a different lens look at the:

Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ($360) is a good lens. Has VR and a much better range than the 18-55mm that comes with the camera.

Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ($600) is even better. Optically it is nicer than the 105, though you don't get VR and for almost twice the price you would be better off with the 18-105 or the 18-200.

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras ($850) Okay, you have gone way past the cost of the camera, but I am telling you this for a reason. The camera body matters very little. The lens you put on it is much more important. At $850 it is every lens you will ever need. It will work on every nikon camera you will ever buy.

Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Zoom Nikkor Lens ($225) VR is money well spent on any lens. It will help you get clearer pictures by taking some of the shake out of your camera.

When you want your indoor pictures to look better buy a flash.
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ($220)

Problem with the flash built into your camera, any camera, is that it put light out directly at your subject. Your pictures look like, well, you used a flash. You need a flash that you can bounce off the ceiling. Much better light. But that later. Though I would buy a flash before I bought another lens come to think of it in terms of usefulness.

All the links have my Amazon affiliate code in them, so if you are ordering from Amazon and don't have someone better to give the commission to I'd appreciate the kickback :)

I should go back to being a camera salesman. I forgot how much I like talking about this stuff.

Wedding Videos People Will Actually Watch Using A Remotely Fired Camera

2009-09-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

I am of the opinion that no one wants to watch your wedding video and you probably don't want to watch your wedding video for at least ten years. So with that said, make sure its in a future proof format. I would be hard-pressed to find a VCR now to play mine. So what will people watch - a minute version of your wedding, on YouTube. Like so:

So what you have here is a minute ten time-lapse of Shaun and Jessica's wedding. It was shot with the following hardware:

Nikon D80 camera [$600]
Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens [$430]
CyberSync Wireless Remote Controls [$130]
Shutter Release Cable [$25]
Tripod [$375]

Software was Quicktime Pro. Here's a nice silent video on how to get your images into movie form: LINK
Or for other software suggestions go to HERE [lifehacker.com]

You look at that list of equipment and say WHOA that's a lot of money just to make a little time-lapse video. Well to be honest it is all overkill for what you are trying to produce. That is just want I used because I'm a wedding photographer and I had all of that equipment with me at the wedding anyway. The only special purchase was the $25 shutter release cable. The CyberSyncs are what I use to trigger my lights during the formals. Same with the camera and lens - they're already pulling double duty during the wedding day.

Here's why the time-lapse above is not really just a time-lapse but rather a smart time-lapse. Normally a time-lapse will take a picture every so often, usually 1 - 2 secs for an event with a short duration, like clouds rolling or a 30 minute wedding ceremony, to 1 every day if you are taking a picture of say a construction site. Using the wedding scenario, it is possible that you could miss something important by having it dumbly fire every other second, while at the same time end up with lots of extra frames you don't really need. So here's where my smart time-lapse is cooler and better than dumb time-lapse. During a ceremony I am waking around the main floor of the church with a camera and a 70-200mm VR lens. The problem I have as a solo shooter is that I can only point a camera in one direction at a time. This remote camera set up allows me to get a wide angle shot and a telephoto shot at the same time. The happy byproduct of this is a very nice time-lapse. Here's how I do it:

The remote camera's clock is sync'd with the walking around camera's clock.
I place the camera on a tripod someplace that it won't get bumped. The camera cannot move or your movie will jump.
The focus is set for where the couple will be standing and then put on manual.
The exposure is set for where the couple will be standing and then put on manual.
The white balance is set for where the couple will be standing and then put on manual.
A Cybersync battery powered receiver is attached to the tripod and the shutter release cable attaches the receiver to the camera via the cameras shutter release port.
The Cybersync reciever is on the same channel as the transmitter.
Take a picture with the camera with the transmitter and boom - the remote camera fires too.

You are going to have as many time-lapse photos as you take during the ceremony which is a good and bad. The more photos you have from the remote camera the more fluid your movie will look. I have learned to hit the test button on the transmitter to add frames of important things that I don't need floor level coverage of. A perfect example would be the wedding party walking down the aisle. Not really wedding album material - but good for the video. So I hit the button every so often and add those frames in. This also allows you to cut out most of the time sermon where there isn't so much action to have in the video. During much of the sermon there isn't a lot for me to photograph. So that's when I usually am able to sit down and delete duds.

Again, my original intent was to be able to get pictures from two angles while there is only one of me. The happy byproduct is the time-lapse.

You should look for other applications of this where it would be cool to have two shot of two angles or two focal lengths and see what kind of time-lapse can result from it. I orginally stole this off the Strobist website about how to fire a remote camera using a pocket wizard. Exact same principles just a little different equipment. [See Strobist Post]

All of this of course is the alternative to having a camera make a dumb time-lapse such Amy and Mike driving around in the back of a car:

Now that was shot an infrared modified Canon G10 with a cheapo eBay interval meter (G9 has this built in). There is makes no sense to have to use smart time-lapse technology (can I patent that?)

Picasa 3

2009-05-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of google. I think they do some amazing work. A lot of people don't realize that they have a whole host of free programs. One of my favorite is Picasa. Picasa is used to organize your ever growing digital photography collection. At the same time you can tag, geotag, color correct and otherwise fiddle with your pictures. You can also easily upload your pictures to their free online storage called Web Albums, or to a number of photo processors. Great stuff and free.

Picasa (Free)

DxO Coupon

2009-03-06T16:08:00.001-08:00

15% off DxO RAFKZ5FEL

Starting Point: One Light

2008-07-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it, I have fallen in love with the Strobist way of thinking about light: Less gear, more thinking, better images.There was a entry today about Timothy Greenfield-Sanders who shoots with a large 8x10 camera, but with only one light proported light source. In the interview posted on the Strobist site, Timothy states that "There are critics of my work who say 'well he takes the same picture over and over again.'" He agrees with that comment, but states that he is is making a document of a person and a time. The images he produces have individuals with very stern faces in simple backgrounds. The viewer is forced to see the subject.

I have never been one to specialize in anything. I like being a jack of all traits, master or none. It has served me very well through the years and I intend to keep it up. I can see though the virtues of mastering every tool that you want to use. Off-camera lighting is full of tools and toys. I recently bought three pocket wizards solely for the purpose of being able to do off camera lighting. I have made the committment to myself, that before I buy anything else. I must learn how to squeeze every bit of usefullness out of what I have. Going back to simple light forces the photographer and viewer to slow down and look at the subject. Capturing essence is more important to me than documenting. One should never find being good at something as an acceptable criticism. However, to keep doing the same thign over and over, simply because it works, doesn't leave much room to grow either.

Strobist Love for the Nikon SB-600

2008-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that Im a big fan of the website Strobist. So at Mr. Hobby's prompting I bought a set of PocketWizards. But at the same time I love my pair of Nikon SB-600s. I don't have a Nikon SB-800 or SB-900 so I'm sure I don't know what I'm missing with all their fanciness, but I really like the Nikon SB-600. They do everything I ask of them, but they don't have a PC connector that is required to use radio triggers.

PocketWizards are as the Strobist stated, are the gold standard for wireless flash triggers. Now just like the US went off the gold standard, these too might not be the end all (***COUGH, RADIOPOPPERS, COUGH***) but for now, they do everything I want. They are reliable triggering of my strobes. So I order myself a pair through Amazon and get all excited about their arrival. I already had a set of stands, a few umbrellas and a set of hotshoe adapters that fit nicely on my light stands. In my excitement I download the PDF to the PocketWizards and what do I find, Duh!, PocketWizards have a mini mono plug on one side and a male pc on the other. My hot shoe adapters which allowed me to use my ghetto Gadget Infinity triggers with my Nikon SB-600 flashes wouldn't work. So I turn to Strobist for some help. The suggestion there was a cable that was something crazy like $47. Craziness. So I turned to Google - Google knows all.

Google knows flashzebra.com

Google pointed me to flashzebra.com. There I found a nice set of PC to Flash Hotshoe Adapters (Item #0065). These things have a screw adapter on the bottom for my light stand posts, a hot shoe on top and two female PC connectors. Now we are cooking. The best part is these things are only $11 with very reasonable shipping ($3.50). I was very pleased with the service I received from flashzebra.com. The little adapters came nicely packaged, on time with little fuss and even a little note on my invoice thanking me. I appreciated that. So now I don't miss the fact that my SB-600 lack a PC connector. In fact, I would argue that this set-up is even better because there is no cable connecting the flash to the trigger - instead the trigger is connected to the hotshoe. This means I can leave the whole thing connected to the lightstand. If I need to take my flash off during a wedding and go back to on-camera flash it I can easily with just unlocking the flash from the hotshoe.

Also on flashzebra.com is the same thing I had before, a hotshoe with a connector wire, but instead of a male pc connector, this has has a mono mini plug to connect to a pocket wizard. It only costs $17, so price isn't a big deal, but to me, I think having two PC ports has more uses. PC cables are cheap and very versatile. So I'm very happy with the decision I made.

So, moral of this post is if you have a small flash like the Nikon SB-600 and you want to connect a pocket wizard to it, I would suggest you pony up $11 and send it to flashzebra.com. Very cost effective. Simple.

UPDATE: I have since sold my PocketWizards and bought a set of CyberSyncs. Why? Because they are smaller, cheaper and work just as reliably as my PW's. The CyberSyncs work exactly the same as above with the PocketWizards. FWIW.

Why I Hate eBay and PayPal

2008-05-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

I became a member of eBay October 1, 1999 and I am regretting the decision completely now. I recently went digital and therefore have found myself not needing my film based cameras anymore. Where do you sell cameras? eBay I thought. I have a Nikon N90s that has been a real workhorse for me. So I put it up on eBay and it sells for a good price. I mail it to the high bidder. He writes back claiming there are three deficiencies with the camera 1) That it did not include a cover on the eyepiece, 2) that the multifunction back didn't work because it was flashing, and 3) the camera did not work and was defective. So I write the guy back and say 1) I didn't include the cover because Ive never had one, nor claimed it was included, 2) the multifunction back works, it just needs to be reset, 3) the camera worked fine before I sent it, but if it got damaged in shipping I would be happy to take it back, but he should try putting batteries in it. Well, the buyer didn't like those answers so he just shipped it back to me. When I got it back, I opened it up and put four batteries out of one of my flashes and turned it on. WHOA! It works. Crazy. You put batteries in the thing and it works. Here's the short ending. I asked the guy to accept a refund that was the price he paid minus the shipping. He refused and initiated a chargeback. I got screwed by both eBay and PayPal. I got charged for all the eBay and PayPal fees, plus a chargeback fee, plus I had to sell the item again - so I got hit with eBay and Paypal fees again. Bad luck right? .

So I put it up on eBay again. It sells again, this tile for $50 less than last time. I package it up and send it to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a part of the US right? So, I can use my good old USPS to get it there. Well the package made it as far as Florida and now it seems to be lost again. I have a feeling Im going to get screwed again by eBay and PayPal. I would have been better off throwing the camera in the garbage - I would be money ahead.

So where do I go from here? I guess I find a new place to sell things and a new shipper. We will see if the USPS helps me out. The package has a tracking number and insurance. Oh boy.

Here's the update...
So USPS finally decides that Puerto Rico is a part of the US, Iguess, and the deliver the camera-- beat up box and all. The buyer posts good feedback for me and says the camera looks better than the pictures. I sigh in relief. Next think you know, I get an email saying the cameras autofocus is defective. I ask what kind of lens he has on it. He says an off-brand. I suggest he finds a nikon lens to put on it and see if that doesn't fix it. I heard nothing for a while and then he comes back that the camera must be defective because the autofocus searches. At this point I loose my cool and tell him that I will be happy to give him a refund if he ships the camera back, and how displeased I am because I know the camera worked fine before I shipped it. I am finding those who are buying film cameras right now don't know what they are doing. GRRRRRR. Short of the story is the PayPal dispute that the guy filed gets dismissed because he never replied to my offer to refund his money. But again I get to pay the stupid PayPal dispute fee plus they charge my account the money that may get refunded to the guy. Stupid PayPal/eBay/People that don't know how to use cameras.

Geotagging Photos

2008-04-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

So why would you want to geotag your images?

Geotagging is the inserting of GPS cordinates into your photos. The ability to be able to tell when you took an image is great and with almost all digital cameras you can also know how you took the picture (f stop/shutter/iso). With Geotagging you can also know WHERE you took the image. So say you are wandering around Ireland and you tale a picture. A year later when you finally get around to going through your pictures you wish you could remember where the picture was. Ah HA! now you can.

Here's the simpliest ways to get geotagged images:

1. Buy a camera with built in GPS.
Nikon Coolpix P6000 13.5MP Digital Camera

OR

2. Buy a GPS Tracker that connects to your camera
Nikon GP-1 GPS Unit for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Geometr Gps Receiver For Nikon

OR

3. Buy a GPS Tracker and Sync with software
Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger
GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr

Helpful Software
Any GPS device that can make a track log can be used to geotag photos. It takes syncing the clocks on the GPS and the camera and then finding a program that can merge the two. I personally use Downloader Pro 2.2 ($3o) and think this is the greatest tool for the job. It is simple and effective. Geotagging is very easy in Downloader Pro though it takes a little forethought. You have to download the tracklog from the GPS unit and then tell Downloader Pro where that file is. Then you can downlod your images. It really is rather slick and because I like to use Downloader Pro anyway its a nice added bonus.

Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2 (Free) is a free program that like Downloader Pro can geotag your images automatically for you based on a track log you provide to the program.

Upline Falls - Mozy Still loves you

2008-04-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

I am still a big fan of Mozy. I think their service is just A'OK. Speedy and reliable. What more do you want in a backup service.

If you have felt the wrath of Upline's downfall, or you just want to save a bit of extra dough on Mozy, they have a 25% off coupon right now for a yearly subscription. You can almost always find a 10% coupon, but 25% is something better. The 25% off coupon is short though - one week. The 25% off coupon code is UPLINE. It expires on May 1, 2008.

Mozy can help you avoid taking a million Pulitzer quality images only to have your hard drive die, or worse yet stolen. Mozy quietly sits in the background and uploads your images securely to a far away land to be held in trust until you need them. It's digital insurance if you will.

A yearly Mozy account would normally cost you about $55. But with the coupon UPLINE it will only cost you about $40. Cheap protection. Just for your information, the total Internet crash that I reported on a while ago was a joke.

Keep Your Gear Dry :: Eva-Dry Mini Dehumidifier Review

2008-01-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a little toy that should find its way into every camera bag: the Eva-Dry Mini Dehumidifier. This little device is full of water hungry crystals that will help keep your gear dry, and mold free. This is a must if you are going from hot to cold or cold to hot a lot. It will pull moisture from the air in your bag and around your gear. Clever. At $17 its a no brainer.

Order Eva-Dry From Amazon

Cash Back with ev'reward

2008-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Why? This is a photographic thought, because ev'reward is one of the few ways I know to double up on cash back on sites like B&H Photo, Adorama and other pertinent stores (examples).

As many of you know I am the self-proclaimed king of the good deals. If there is something online, I can probably find a good deal on it. ev'reward is a great tool that I use everytime I purchase something online. How it works is you go shopping online like you normally would, find what you want to buy and then click a button to ask ev'reward what cash back site gives the best return. This will include sites like Fatwallet, Big Crumbs, Jellyfish, and Mr. Rebates. Each of those sites usually pays a different amount in cash back if you click through their site.

There are two ways to use ev'reward. For example, if you wanted to purchase something from Buy.com then you could either 1) install the ev'reward toolbar booklet, which will place a button on your bookmark toolbar. Which allows you to shop like you normally would at Buy.com and then click the ev'reward button. That would take you to the Buy.com page at ev'reward (click here to test). There you will see there are several choices to choose ranging from 1% - 3%. Not earth shattering cashback, but better than a kick in the head. Often, there are also coupons for the store. The other way to use ev'reward is simply to go to www.evreward.com, search of the store you want to shop at and click your favorite cash back site.

Yes, it does add some time your online shopping. But I think the additional discount is worth it. Neither ev'reward nor any of the cashback stores cost anything to sign up, though some of them do require a PayPal account to cash out for less than $100.

The Little Things in Life

2008-01-01T20:31:00.001-08:00

I just love a good close-up. Seriously, there is nothing better than a full frame still life to me. I have bought a lot of crap that I thought would get me where I wanted to be photographically and have been let down. Shooting small is just the same. The basic rules of buying macro gear applies to pretty much any other kind of gear. 1) Research, 2) Research, 3) Acknowledge that the quality of your gear will only get you so far, 4) toys are toys, and 5) Don't be afraid to spend money where it will do you good. With those as my basic assumptions, here are some thoughts on shooting the small.

Macro (or Micro in Nikon talk) is simply the ability to shoot subjects that are small at a closer distance than your "normal" lens will allow. The amount of magnification is measured as a ratio. 1:1 is considered true macro. Think of it as, what is 1" in real life would take up 1" of film or your digital sensor. The image to the right is a raspberry dropped into some wine. Because the images wasn't cropped, and because we know that a raspberry is approximately the same size as my Nikon D80's sensor, that image is a 1:1 macro. If I was to print the image out as a 4x6 the berry would now be much larger than life size. So goes the sexiness of macro.

Here's your macro choices:
1. Close-up Filters [Sucks] ~$20
2. Extension Tubes[Clunky] ~$165
3. 60mm Nikon [I Own] ~$380 or 150mm Sigma [I'm thinking about] ~$575
4. Reverse Ring [I own a wonderful macro, so never bothered with this step.]

So the first thing I bought was a set of close-up filters. Perhaps the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on camera equipment. The idea behind these filters is you can use your normal lenses and just screw these little guys on to be able to focus closer. Sounds great. They are cheap. They suck. They can world great if all you are shooting are flat objects. You have very limited depth of field. Perhaps what I hate most about them is once they are on, all you can shoot are subjects at close range. Blah. I want useful and versatility. The meter in your camera will still work as well as the auto-focus features - so those are both pluses.

Next up, the extension tubes. These are glassless tubes that all you to attach a normal lens to your camera, but move the optics away from the film or sensor. This allows you to focus much closer than you otherwise would. While the image quality you will get from these are better than what you would expect from a set of close-up filters, the usefulness is still lower than a real macro lens. To use the extension tubes, you still have to remove your lens, and add one or more tubes, replace your lens, and then take your picture. The amount of magnification will increase the more tubes you use. But be warned, so will the amount of light loss you will experience. Nikon makes a nice set of tubes, but I have read over and over, that Kenko's tubes are superior if for only the reason that they allow the auto focus features of your camera to work.

Another alternative is the reverse ring. This is a doodad that allows you to take your perfectly good lenses and turn it around backwards. I do actually have one of these, sort of. I have a holga lens that has been mounted on a Nikon body cap. I can unscrew the lens, turn it around backwards and move it in and out from the camera body to focus. I does surprisingly well for a lens cut off a $20 camera. I consider the reverse ring another solution that is good if you don't do macro all that much.

Here is where things get good in my book. Macro lenses. When I lived in Europe for a year, I took my trusty, now retired, X-GM and two lenses: a Vivitar 100mm 1:2 macro (yes, I said Vivitar) and a Minolta 28mm. I hardly ever took that macro off my camera. It was just a wonderful lens that was very versatile for me. I believe I paid $80 for it in 1996. The wonderful part about macro lenses, is they are pretty hard for camera manufactures to screw up. They have realtively few elements and they should NEVER EVER EVER EVER be a zoom lens. These are simple lenses that will give you a sharp image at a variety of distances. The wonderful part about using a macro lens for a travel lens, is if you are walking around, say Berlin, you can take all the images you want of Berlin Wall art and "zoom" in as close as you want by just moving closer to the subject. At the same time, if you wanted to take a nice portrait of someone, you have the focal length to give you a flatter image. Another bonus of the macro lens, is they usually come in f2.8. As autofocus lenses go, getting a 2.8 is a big deal. Just remember that depth of field is your friend, especially with macro. So don't get all excited that you are going to leave your lens at 2.8.

As you look at macro lenses, you will find that they usually come in flavors usually somewhere around 60mm, 100mm and 150mm. Every brand will be a bit different it seems, but overall, those are the common focal lengths. Shooting digital with a 1.5x crop factor, the 60mm micro I loved on film is now a 90mm. I can't complain one bit for the extra "zoom". If you are shooting flowers and other things that don't move on you too much (wind is your enemy), then 60mm will take you a long ways. If you are shooting things that tend to have no sense of humor for you being close, think bugs, then a longer focal length would be in order. I am seriously looking at adding a 150mm macro to my bag for that reason. Sometimes, things just don't like it when you get right on top of it to photograph it, think angry bees.

As you can see, there are all sorts of choices for you to spend you money on. In the end, you just have to look at the type of photography you do or want to do. If you want to take a lot of close-up images, and you don't mind carrying around another lens, and you have $375 - $600 to spend, then a macro lens is up your alley. If you just want to mess around for a while, you can go the filters or extension tube route. If you do go this route, don't get frustrated if you don't get the clear results you had hoped for. Same is true if you think macro is just a lot of work- it gets easier with a true macro lens.

Happy shooting.

Durable Plastic Backgrounds

2007-08-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I have become a big believer in the Strobist mindset of using small strobes for big results. My budget simply does not allow for me to have full sized studio lights, but what I do have is a collection of Nikon flashes that would love to be used. What I needed to shoot this little ball of energy is a sturdy background that would stand up to being puppy abused. Hardware store to the rescue.

Subject 1 is a 6 month old, fearless puppy. I had purchased a sheet of flexible plastic from the hardware store a while back in the hopes of using it as a background. This is sheeting that normally would be used for, ummm, I have no idea since I only seem to hurt myself with power tools. It is most often used to as a wall covering in bathrooms. But it is ideal when you need a sturdy background for small subjects. I had originally purchased it as a background for taking eBay product shots. If for only the reason that it felt more durable than using paper.

At any rate, this material makes a great background for animals because it is heavy enough that they won't destroy it when they dig on it and it would be easy clean up for accident. By making a bit of a fold in the background a slight shadow forms giving the background a bit of separation.

By putting the background down and letting the dog sniff, paw and otherwise abuse my background I was able to get it to trust this foreign surface. You have to earn the trust of any animal before you can photograph it. In order to earn its trust you have to know how the animal thinks and reacts to different stimuli. I have found that just letting the animal have time to walk around is the most important aspect of getting a good picture. Second on the list is being at the animals eye level.

To get down to an 11lb dog's eye level, it means you are going to be sitting, if not lying on the floor. While not every image has to be from this angle, it is a good starting point to get the animal the eyes of the animal as the focus.

The lighting was very simple. It was all bounced off the white ceiling. I have two Nikon flashes set to manual and triggered by eBay wireless cactus triggers. The SB-80DX is camera left and slightly behind the subject at 1/2 power. The SB-600 has a Gary Fong diffuser and is camera right in line with the subject.

Because of the small size of the background there is not a lot of room for the animal to walk around and still be in the frame. I did have to recreate the front of the image in photoshop and take out the front edge.

Total Internet Crash

2007-07-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

So here is a humorous look at why one should not rely on web applications for storing all one's data. I have a shady, dicey and completely manual form of backing up all my images I have amassed over the years. It's call me remembering to upload images to a number of online sources as well as onto my external hard drives. I need to do better.

Hazards of Photography

2007-07-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, walking home from work I came up with my daily 1/365 contribution towards my photo goal. I wanted to stand in the middle of the street and capture a feeling of depth, while at the same time shooting capturing the texture of road. The same idea has struck me to accomplish while on the motorcycle, but I think this will take more planning. So for now, I decide just walking into the middle of the street would be sufficient. What I was not anticipating was being yelled at by a bunch of drunk or merely extra loud and vocal individuals who were 'requesting' I come take their picture. Boy was I sure motivated. Perhaps they haven't seen this blog and realized that 96.78% of my photos are not of people. So what I learned from this, is if I expect to take photos while crouching down in the middle of a major, but not busy street taking pictures I should just accept that someone, might expect a spontaneous photo shoot.

Concerning the photo. There is nothing terribly special about the image, though I don't think I would call it bad. I haven't figured out what to do with the concrete in the corners. If its distracting it needs to be cropped out. If it adds something I suppose I will leave it. This photo did remind me that I really enjoy my straight 50mm lens. Sharp, fast, cheap, light, ummmmmm, good.

Why the photo works: It has a very strong leading line that will draw the viewers eye in and carry it through the image. What could have made this a stronger image is having somewhere for the eye to go and fix. If I was going to shoot the image again I would need a subject to stand in the right land. Keeping this subject out of focus with a small f-stop would be ideal as my intent is to focus on the surface of the road. Though the more I think about it, the more I like the image the way it is. It accomplishes both the goals I had: 1) to use the center line to provide a strong leading line and 2) To use contract to heighten the texture of the road.

July 18, 2007

2007-07-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

The set-up

So here's a little insight as to the progress of my photography. I have started reading and following the great advice of the Strobist Blog. The key to that site is to use small strobes, off camera for better results that you could get with on camera flash. I bought a set of cheap Cactus wireless triggers and attached them to my SB-80DX, at 1/8th power with a Gary Fong difuser, and my Promaster strobe set at 1/16 and diffused by a folded piece of paper. For the background I used a single sheet of plain paper. Nothing too fancy here.

The shot is not exceptionally clever, other than it is too hot outside for Penguins today, but Deeds aside, this is what I consider a Quantum leap towards me figuring out what to do with strobes. Natural light has always been my friend. I can see it. I know how to manipulate it. I like it. Its when I get into making my own light that I get myself in trouble. All in all Im pretty impressed with myself and my progress. As with everything, practice makes perfect. If nothing else you can see my half-messy desk and a red wire of why I need to get the laptop wireless.

Enjoy life. Live grateful.

"Phylis IS extra nice" - Thank you Phylis.

2007-06-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Phylis - I couldn't say it any better than your son. Thanks for the first donation towards the new lens. With that donation you are entitled not only to me thinking positive thoughts about you, but also if you would like a print of anything off the site just let me know which one and how big and it shall be yours.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to meeting you again in CR. Maybe Ryan will make a shirt again.

Ryan, listen to and be more like your mother. Oh, and yeah, eat your fruit. We all know what happens if you don't.

Bb

Memory Card Deals - Expire 5/25/2007

2007-05-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

As many of your know I am the king of finding deals. I will admit this is not a crazy deal, but it is a decent deal.

Adorama has the following memory cards on sale. I bought my first 2GB card for $99 just over two years ago. Its amazing how prices drop. You do have to play the rebate game. Search for them by SKU.

2 GB, 50x Elite Pro Compact Flash $19.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF2GE.
2 GB, 133x Elite Pro Compact Flash $21.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF2GU
4 GB, 45x Elite Pro Compact Flash $24.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF4GE
4 GB, 133x Elite Pro Compact Flash $29.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF4GU
8 GB, 45x Elite Pro Compact Flash $54.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF8GE
8 GB, 133x Elite Pro Compact Flash $64.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGCF8GBU

1 GB, 50x Elite Pro Secure Digital $9.50 (after rebate) SKU: KGSD1GE
2 GB, 50x Elite Pro Secure Digital $12.95 (after rebate) SKU: KGSD2GE

Prices are good until 05/25/2007.

I think I need another 4GB card. That would bring me up to 10GB. That should hold me over for a week in Ireland right?

So why did I post mostly CF cards? Because that's what I use. If you need SD or xD (blah!) by all means head over to Adorama and search away.

When you are buying memory cards there are two considerations: 1) Speed of the card; 2) Size.
The latter first.

Size. Bigger is better right? Right. Wrong. Whatever. What is nice about having an 8GB card is that I can shoot about 1000 images on my D70s. That's over 1000 shots without opening the camera up. That can be a very handy feature if say, I was underwater. I could shoot a couple days before I would have to open the underwater housing. That would be very sexy. The downside of course is that if something happens to that card, lost, stolen, flood, fire, corruption, etc. I have just lost over 1000 NEF files. That would be something to cry about. I have a bunch of 2GB cards and 1 4GB card. My 4GB card is in the camera all the time since I bought it. I get something like 712 NEF exposures. Last weekend at the branding I shot 524 exposures. Nebraska is a dusty state anyway, but add a bunch of calves that really don't want to mark up their pretty skin, and you have a really dusty mess. I am glad that I didn't have to open the back ever. So for me, Im thinking another 4GB would serve nicely. That is my comfort zone - double that and I get nervous. I have never had a card corrupt on me - so maybe I am just being paranoid. Having eight 512MB cards to equal to equal a 4GB card is just silly though. You will have a pile of cards. It would be fun to try and keep those organized. Hence, my advice is to never buy a card under 1GB, and anymore, don't buy anything smaller than 2GB. When you are using SD memory, make sure you camera can handle these larger cards.

Speed. So cards come in a variety of speeds. Speed being how fast they can read or write to the card. This effects how many pictures you can take before you get ahead of your camera writing the data on the card. This somewhat depends on your camera and how big the buffer is. Bigger buffer more images can be held in the camera's short term memory before the camera locks you out of taking another picture. When I am shooting NEF files I can get 4 -5 before my camera starts yelling at me to knock it off reminding me that I shoot things that don't move. The write speed becomes important when you have a subject that is moving and you want to capture many images to ensure you have the precious moment when everything just comes together. As I said, my typical subject isn't going anywhere that I need to do this. If I am shooting a flower, its means of escape are pretty nil, so I can take my time between exposures. Go to a football game and try to capture a receiver catching the ball and you will appreciate the added speed of your card. I can count the number of times I have maxed out the buffer of my camera on one hand - morale of the story: unless you are shooting a lot of fast action I would stick with the slower cards. Save your money. Anymore, since cards are getting so cheap if a card isn't working out for you you can always get a faster card and keep your slower one as a backup.

Enjoy.

A Change of Philsophy

2007-05-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted a message about me not liking a lens I have. While nothing has changed in this regard I have changed my mind (my right) about asking for support of my work. So I have changed my message and put it below. I think this is more consistent with my goals and mindset for my work. - Bb

About purchasing prints: I have made this blog as an easy way for you to enjoy my images. I hope you come back to it often and browse what I have been able to capture so far in my 365 Project.

If you like what you have been seeing on this site and would like to purchase a print I would encourage you to do so. For two reasons, One it helps me financially keep doing what I am doing, and 2) I believe my work is meant to be enjoyed and made part of your lives. To buy a print and hang it on your wall is to invite me into your life. I have come to the realization that people either enjoy my work, they appreciate my work or they are indifferent. Those who don't like my work are critics and I don't worry about them too much. If you enjoy looking at it online I am pleased I could bring you a bit of art to your life. If you keep coming back to an image you enjoy I would encourage you to get a print.

Because photographs in and of them selves are meant to be an easy way to reproduce an exposure, I am going to follow the lead of Brooks Jensen and offer my images at prices reachable by everyone. I don't have a fancy cart system, yet, so for now if there is an image you like just send me an email and tell me what you like. I am working on getting my older work up on the web- I have a lot of images from over the years, but I am in the process of selecting only the best to be displayed in my portfolio.

Enjoy.

A Sub-Title Change

2007-05-09T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today I made a decision, an evolution of sorts, concerning this project. I started this project on January 1, 2007 as a photographic challenge. I faultered in the beginning, but since January 23, 2007 I have not missed a single day's image. The project was a way for me to get back a part of myself that I had lost for several years. In doing so I have come to the realization that this is more than proving that I can take an image a day, that I have no doubt I can do, but what I have decided is that this project is more about capturing my milieu. I shall focus on true environmental photography. I use the word environmental in its truest sense - to mean the world in which I live.

Mr. Webster seems to think there are two meanings to the word Environment:
1 : the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival
2 : the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

I would have to agree with both. I would guess 90% of the images within this project up to this point are shot within 8 blocks of my front door. There are all sorts of interesting life tid-bits around us. I'm grateful that I can see them.