Lets just admit it, we all want the absolute best gear that we can afford. Sometimes the performance of that new piece of gear doesn’t necessarily justify the price compared to other products in the market. Sometimes a piece of outdoor, photo, or tech equipment is just really unnecessary. We all love new toys, however sometimes they don’t provide the best value. My philosophy when it comes to products outdoor, photo and tech kit is to keep it simple and find quality, long lasting items that provide the best product cost to value ratio on the market. Check out some of my gear reviews. This is where we discuss some of my favorite outdoor, photo, and tech provisions.
I recently received a message on facebook from a friend looking for advice on a travel camera. She wants to photograph her 4-week journey/adventure to the middle east to visit family, with a follow-up week at The Cochella Music and Arts Festival. To be completely honest I’m a tad jealous, but as a professional travel photographer I do have some pretty well tested thoughts and to help her (and possibly you) out in this matter.
Continue reading “The Best Travel Camera for a Middle East Adventure”
I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the studio during the fall of 2015 to produce some product photography of several new products being released by Innovative Arms (an Elgin, SC based designer and manufacturer of NFA firearms and silencers) at the 2016 SHOT Show®. Thankfully that wait is now over and we can share some of the images we created to help them launch and market their new products. Over the next few days as SHOT Show goes on we will share some of the product photos we created for the launch.
Today, lets take a look at their new 9SX 9mm silencer as well as their new Sig Sauer MPX Integral.
Continue reading “Product Photography Innovative Arms 2016 9mm Lineup”
We had the opportunity to spend a few days in the studio during the fall of 2015 to do some product photography of several new products being released by Innovative Arms (an Elgin, SC based designer and manufacturer of NFA firearms and silencers) at the 2016 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show®). Thankfully that wait is now over and we can share some of the images we created to help them launch and market their new products. Over the next few days as SHOT Show goes on we will share some of the product photos we created for the launch.
Continue reading “Product Photography Innovative Arms Interceptor Silencers”
I had the opportunity to spend a few days in the studio during the fall of 2015 to photograph several new products being released by Innovative Arms a South Carolina based manufacturer of firearm silencers including their new Slingshot Rimfire Suppressor.
Continue reading “Product Launch: Innovative Arms Slingshot Rimfire Suppressor”
Batteries for most of the devices that we as photographers use these days are far from common at local shops (especially here in Columbia, SC) and far from cheap at the specialty retailers who stock them. Aside from a few devices that use standard AA (LR6) batteries, electronic camera accessories use special rechargeable or photo lithium batteries like the Canon Speedlite ST-E2 transmitter which takes a 2CR5 lithium, or the Sekonic L-358 Light Meter that takes a CR123A, or our backup Audio Technica wired lavalier mic that uses 357 button cells, not to mention the cameras themselves, on the notebook computers we use to process our images on location. In situations where I’ve been in a pinch and needed something immediately the folks at the local Batteries Plus store on Harbison Boulevard have always come to my rescue. They always seem to have what I need in stock at a fair price with good customer service. I can’t count the number of Rayovac Lithium 2CR5’s, CR123A’s, CR2450’s and 357 button cell batteries that I have bought from them over the years.
Continue reading “Rayovac Battery for MacBook Pro: A Cautionary Tale”
I have received several emails from readers and people who have seen my shot from the 2008 Carolina Cup Races, that I posted a few weeks ago, so I decided that I amy going to demystify how you make a shot like this work, by using a remote camera.
For those who don’t know, a remote camera, is a camera which you place in a specific location ahead of an event that would not be accessible during the event, and is then triggered by a hard wire, or radio signal. The list of equipment I used to make this image is as follows.
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Digital SLR
Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM
Remote Trigger: Pocket Wizard (not pictured) and LPA Designs Pre-Release Cable CM-N3-P
Mounting Hardware: Ultra-Pod II
Protection: Kata E-702 GDC Elements Cover
Complete Setup: This is what the setup looked like when it was completely assembled. The camera and lens were mounted to the Ultra-Pod II and then inserted into the GDC Elements Cover. After everything was strapped down and the camera was protected from any flying mud or sudden rain showers, I used the left arm hole to attach the PocketWizard and the Pre-Release Cable to the camera and then cinched up all the other loose openings. You don’t have to use a rain cover or a remote cover, a clear plastic bag, a plastic cup, and some tape will do the same trick. I really do prefer rain covers as opposed to remote covers, so you can see to make any adjustments to exposure or focus without disturbing the entire setup.
Now comes the setup. Be prepared to get there early, some venues require you have the remote in place days before the event, while others will allow a remote to be placed hours before the event. It is also a good idea to make sure your liability insurance is up to date, because if someone or something trips over your remote and gets injured, you could be in some hot water. Once you have looked into all of the logistical details, its time to place the remote. It generally helps to have some working knowledge of the event or sport you are photographing, because you will have to anticipate everything happening long before it actually occurs. Since this was not my first time photographing a steeplechase or horse racing in general I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to see. With this in mind I chose a fence to place the remote under, and estimated the spot in the jump where most ofthe horses would come over. With these things in mind I had my assistant for the day, Cindy stand at that position in the jump so I could focus and frame the image up. Once everything was set, I taped all of the adjustment dials, focus rings, etc… on my camera in place so they wouldn’t move, made sure the whole setup was nice and tidy, and proceeded to make some test images of Cindy and I jumping around the frame to verify focal plane, and framing of the image. Once this was all done, it was time to go make some feature shots while waiting on the race to begin. *This is why it is important to use a pre-release cable, because it will keep your camera awake and ready to fire, so there is no delay firing the first frame when the time comes.* When the race began I decided to shoot from down the track with my 300mm f/2.8 and 1.4x converter, with the PocketWizard on the hot shoe of the camera, so I could have two angles of the shot, incase the remote didn’t work for some reason. Once the event is done with, you can go back to your remote, and collect your images and hope you got what you envisioned.
