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Two NEW Items for your Grab ‘n Go Lifestyle!

24 Aug

Your life is go-go-go. Sometimes it’s go-go-Netflix, but mostly it’s going. You need super portable video and photo gear at your disposal.

Meet the Mighty Mic Wireless and Pythagorean Lens Pouch!

The Mic gives you clear sound without being tied down and the Lens Pouch helps you keep track of all those small knick-knacks you can never find.

Make killer vids and keep track of your phone lenses. On the go!

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10 Items You Need for Your Night Photography Kit

29 Jul
Night Photographers Toolbox - Buckingham Fountain in Chicago

Buckingham Fountain, Chicago (Shutter Speed: 10 seconds; Aperture f/18; ISO 100; focal length 21 mm)

Louis Pasteur famously said that “chance favors the prepared mind.” This statement definitely applies to photography, as there is always an element of chance, with the odds of success growing with preparation. The quote seems particularly applicable to night photography, which has unique requirements for exposure and stability. Preparation is everything.

Your odds of getting a great night photograph are greatly improved if you have taken the time make sure you have the tools needed to get the job done. In this article, you’ll learn the tools of the trade for the night photographer. You many not need all of these, but you will find most of them helpful – and some essential – for getting great pictures at night.

Night Photographer's Toolkit - Galveston fishing pier photo

Fishing Pier, Galveston, Texas (Shutter Speed: 3 image bracketed HDR of 5, 13, and 30 seconds; Aperture f/16; ISO 200; focal length 24 mm)

1. The Right Camera

It is perfectly obvious that you will need a camera for your night photography. But not just any camera will do. The adage that “the best camera is the one you have with you” does not apply to night photography. The first part of making sure you have the right camera is ensuring that it gives you the right amount of control. You will need one that:

  • Is capable of Raw capture, so that you can get the best image quality possible and keep digital noise to a minimum
  • Has manual controls, including manual exposure settings and manual focus, as sometimes it will be too dark for your camera’s auto-focus to work
  • Has Bulb mode for taking super-long exposures.

Beyond that, you will need a camera with good low-light performance. How do you tell that? It isn’t really that simple, and there is no particular specification you can check. Even if your camera is capable of shooting at high ISOs, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your pictures will look good at those levels. In other words, it doesn’t matter if your camera is capable of shooting at ISO 25,600 if pictures shot at ISO 1600 are full of digital noise.

Fortunately, there has been some testing done of cameras and their low light performance. Check out the testing done by DxO mark and DP review (check the review on their site for your particular model) to make sure your camera measures up.

Night Photographers Toolkit - Champs Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysees from atop the Arc de Triomphe, Paris (Shutter Speed: 3 image bracketed HDR of 1/4, 1/15, and 1 seconds; Aperture f/5.6; ISO 200; focal length 17 mm – note that these settings were used only because tripods are not allowed here)

2. A Small Flashlight

The next thing you’ll need is a flashlight. This will serve many purposes, one of which is helping you see your camera’s controls. That said, you should become extremely familiar with your camera before heading out, such that you can use the controls without even looking. You might even test yourself in a dark room before going.

In any case, having a flashlight with you will help with a variety of things, whether it be finding something in your bag, setting up your tripod, dealing with straps and other attachments, etc. There is no end of uses for a small flashlight, and flashlights are cheap, so you should definitely stash one (or perhaps a few) in your bag.

Night Photographer's Toolkit - fireworks picture

Fireworks in Southlake, Texas (Shutter Speed: 8 seconds; Aperture f/14; ISO 100; focal length 135 mm)

3. Spare Batteries

The long exposures that are inherent in night photography drain your camera battery at an alarming rate. In addition, when photographing at night, quite often you will be shooting using Live View, which will cause batteries to drain even faster. If you are dealing with cold temperatures, the battery power will be further limited. Therefore, night photography always calls for spare batteries.

Even if you have a battery grip with two fully-charged batteries, bring a couple of spares. Don’t take any chances. There is no getting around dead batteries – it means your night is over.

Night Photographer's Toolkit - Buckingham Palace picture

Buckingham Palace, London (Shutter Speed: 3 image bracketed HDR of 1.3, 5, and 20 seconds; Aperture f/8; ISO 400; focal length 35 mm)

4. Tripod

It is probably already obvious that you will need a tripod for your night photography, in order to keep the camera steady during the long exposures necessary due to the low light conditions. But what kind of tripod?

Most will recommend that you buy a very expensive, large, carbon-fiber tripod to keep your camera as steady as possible. To be sure, those sorts of tripods work great. In fact, if you aren’t going to do much walking – and you can afford it – you should definitely invest in a tripod like that.

Oftentimes, however, night photography involves a lot of walking around. Lugging around a big tripod when you are walking for miles is difficult, and limits your mobility as well. Why not start out with a lightweight, smaller, cheaper tripod? Check out something like a Me-Foto travel tripod or a Manfrotto BeFree. Unless you are using big, heavy lenses, they will hold your rig steady and are supremely portable. They don’t cost that much either. If you later decide you need a bigger, more substantial tripod (and you might) one of these smaller models will still make a great travel tripod.

Night Photographer's Toolkit - Times Square picture

Times Square, New York (Shutter Speed: 1/100 seconds; Aperture f/4; ISO 800; focal length 17 mm – note that I used these settings only because I was forced to hand hold during this picture)

5. Remote Shutter Release (or intervalometer)

The idea behind a remote shutter release is that you are able to trigger the shutter without touching the camera, thereby avoiding shaking the camera during the exposure. They are a necessity for many photographers – especially night photographers.

The good news is that these are relatively cheap (really cheap if you don’t buy the Canon or Nikon models). What’s more, while they used to be nothing more than a way to click the shutter, there are models available now with many additional features, such as:

  • Timers and Exposure Length: These are useful when shooting in Bulb mode, which does not have a timer for shutter speed.
  • Intervals: Most models provide for shooting at intervals, which will also allow you to do time-lapse and star trails photography.
  • Delay: They will allow you to set delays (besides the 2 and 10 second delays built into most cameras).

6. Lens Hood

Night photography often involves harsh lights coming from different directions. Light hitting the front lens element from the side can lead to unwanted lens flare. A lens hood is designed to avoid this problem.

Many lenses came with a hood, but some do not. If your lens did not come with one, you can order one from the manufacturer or pick one up at a camera store. They are not too inconvenient to carry because you can store them on the lens by attaching it in a reverse position when you are not using it. When it comes time to shoot, turn the lens hood around to its proper position.

In addition, remember that a lens hood may do more to protect your lens than a UV filter. They protect the lens in the event that it is dropped or you bump into something.

7. Neutral Density Filters

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Fab Four New Items for Your DSLR!

14 Jul

It’s time to class the place up with new accessories for your DSLR!

We’ve got four brand new items in the shop full of style, sophistication and juuuust a dash of futuristic rainbows.

Everything on your DSLR’s wishlist.

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Creating Effective DIY Studio Lighting With Household Items

12 May

When I first started to experiment with controlling the light, I couldn’t afford to splash out on studio gear just to experiment, so I improvised with what I could find around the house, or acquire for only a few dollars. Some improvisations were, let’s just say, less successful than others. But some did produce good results. Some DIY studio lighting I still use, even though I now have a studio setup.

Let’s start with an easy and free lighting method, because free is my favourite price!

Use a table lamp

HawkinsDPS1

This shot was taken with a table lamp. Most of us have some sort of lamp around the place. Any kind will do. They come with their own diffuser, the lamp shade, and are easy to move around. You can adjust height with boxes, books, or anything stable you can find. You can experiment with alternative lamp shades as well as different strength, variety, or colour of light bulbs, or the number of lamps you use.

Lamp lighting usually isn’t very bright so you might need a tripod or somewhere solid to put your camera. For the image above I had the model hold the lamp and move it around slowly as I fired away, getting her to go even slower or stop when things were looking good.

For the shot below I put the green glass dish directly on top of a lampshade, in front of an abstract painting. It’s all about experimenting.

HawkinsDPS2

Make-shift softbox

While lamps were great, I really wanted to try soft box style lighting, so I had to get a bit more creative. The portrait below of friends and their dog was lit using a large open cardboard box lined with aluminium foil and placed on its side. I then shone a bright halogen work-light into the box, and softened the resulting light with a white sheet held up in front of the setup. Off to the side was a similar setup using a lamp with the shade removed, a smaller foil lined box, and a white pillow case.

HawkinsDPS3

It’s not a perfectly lit portrait. I was just starting out with portraiture and it was my first attempt with my DIY softboxes, but the results were encouraging enough for me to keep experimenting.

Try different things – experimentation is key

I went on to using regular white umbrellas, of the rain repelling variety, to diffuse the bright bulbs used for household outdoor lighting. I’ve bounced the light from an array of heavy duty flashlights, into a foil lined rain umbrella, all attached to a tripod with about a million miles worth of gaffer tape. I’ve used metallic cardboard sheets from the newsagent, or foil covered boards as reflectors. There were many experiments, some good, some not so much, and some were surprising.

Basically you just need a light, or two, and something to diffuse or reflect/bounce the light, or both. Preferably without setting fire to anything. Work-lights and other really bright bulbs can get surprisingly hot. It’s best not to have flammable things like sheets or cardboard too close and have something protective underneath if the light is placed on surfaces.

If you are not so keen on lining boxes and hanging sheets, you might like to try light painting.

Light painting

HawkinsDPS4

Apart from the emanating beams of light which were added later in Photoshop, the rest of this image, shot in my kitchen, was lit with only a two dollar LED light from the junk store. This was a complicated shoot, which had to be lit and shot several times, then blended in Photoshop. But you don’t have to go to that extreme. With a bit of experimenting and practice you can light a subject this way in one single shot.

There are many interesting and informative articles about light painting here on dPS. I highly recommend having a browse through them if you’ve never tried it before, but I’ll just run you through the basic idea here.

You’ll need a tripod (or somewhere solid to put your camera), a completely or almost completely dark room and a cheap little flashlight, or LED light. This is what I used for the shot above, a two dollar press button, night light.

HawkinsDPS5

A slow shutter speed is necessary to give you time to paint. I usually start off with a shutter speed of about 20 seconds, ISO 400, aperture at roughly f/11. Then adjust from there, depending on the subject and light brightness. Once you are all set up, turn out the lights, shine your flashlight on your subject while looking through viewfinder to get your focus, then click the shutter and start painting your subject with light.

You’ll have to move in close and run your light around only a few inches from the areas you want to light. That means being in front of the lens when the shutter is open, but the camera will only pick up what you shed light on, so as long as you don’t accidentally light yourself up, you won’t show up in the shot.

Try a bit of side lighting, play around with different lengths of exposure time, different light sources. If the light shines directly into the lens, you will get what I call ghost lines, which can be used deliberately as I did in this shot below.

HawkinsDPS6

While these methods are obviously not a replacement for studio lighting gear, they are an effective alternative that can produce some surprisingly good results and allow you to take a bit of control over your lighting without forking out more than a few dollars. It’s also very fun and even though I now have a properly equipped studio, I still sometimes love to play around with a simple table lamp or two dollar torch (flashlight).

Feel free to share any photographs you created with DIY lighting setups in the comments, I’d love to see them!

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10 Essential Little Items To Help You Shoot On-Location

29 Dec

In the past, we have talked a lot about the big, important items of gear every photographer needs- like a Camera or a proper case to transport it. Today’s post however is dedicated to all the items that don’t seem like they can make a big difference. But trust me, they do. A Good Backpack I cannot stress enough about Continue Reading

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Taken by the TSA: 13 Strange Items Confiscated at Airports

14 Jul

[ By Steph in Culture & History & Travel. ]

TSA Confiscated items main

If you think you can smuggle a sword cleverly concealed inside a cane, a lipstick that’s actually a taser, pigeons wrapped in newspaper or nylon bags full of snakes onto an airplane, think again. The Transportation Security Administration has truly seen and confiscated it all, as documented on both their blog and their Instagram. Here are 13 of the weirdest and most disturbing items that the TSA has discovered during the security screening process.

Snakes on a Plane

TSA Confiscated Snakes on a Plane

TSA screeners monitoring a body scanner at the Miami International Airport in 2011 were puzzled by what looked like bulbous growths attached to a man’s legs. Pulling him aside, they discovered that the man’s pants were full of snakes and tortoises wrapped in nylon bags. Had they not caught him, he would have walked onto the plane with seven snakes and three tortoises, likely bound for the illegal pet trade.

A Chastity Belt

TSA Confiscated Chastity Belt

Says the TSA of this unusual discovery, “And while it isn’t prohibited, a passenger wearing a chastity belt alarmed the body scanner at one of our checkpoints. I’m sure you can imagine where an undergarment such as this might be a problem at a security checkpoint. Especially if there is no key.”

Daggers Disguised as Hairbrushes & Combs

TSA Confiscated Dagger Hairbrush TSA Confiscated Comb Dagger

Do some quick internet browsing and you can find knives and other weapons disguised as all sorts of clever things. That doesn’t mean you should try to take them on a flight. Screeners don’t take it lightly when they find hairbrushes, combs and other everyday items concealing potentially deadly daggers.

Mickey Mouse Full of Guns

TSA Confiscated Mickey Mouse Guns

Would it ever occur to you that a stuffed Mickey Mouse clutched in someone’s arms was filled with firearms? Maybe that depends on who’s holding it. Mickey is just one of many stuffed animals that have been used to smuggle guns and ammunition at the airport.

A Bag of Eels & A Whole Lot of Fish

TSA Confiscated Bag of Eels

Referring to the incident as a “nomadic aquarium for people on the go,” the TSA pulled aside a passenger who was attempting to transport 163 tropical fish, 12 ‘red sliders,’ 22 invertebrates, 24 live coral species, 8 pieces of Scleactinina with mushroom polyps and 8 pieces of soft coral from Miami to Maracaibo. “We’re not in the business of looking for marine life, but you can probably imagine how odd this looked on our monitor.”

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Taken By The Tsa 13 Strange Items Confiscated At Airports

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[ By Steph in Culture & History & Travel. ]

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Ten items you should have in your camera bag

04 Oct

Screen_Shot_2013-10-03_at_4.45.19_PM.png

What’s in your camera bag? A camera (hopefully) and maybe a lens or two, but that’s probably not everything that you need. In this article we’ll be looking at ten items that deserve a place in every photographer’s kit bag, whatever sort of photography you enjoy doing. Click through for the list.

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Real-Life Tetris: Items Fit Perfectly in Street Sculptures

23 Jan

[ By Delana in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

self contained

Those of us who grew up playing Tetris credit the game with teaching us everything from patience to time management to packing skills. For Swedish artist Michael Johansson, Tetris also seems to have instilled a love of organization. Johansson’s Tetris-like organizational art pieces are fun and satisfying in that everything-in-its-place kind of way.

Tetris - Witte De With

komplementar

Johansson collects used objects which have already enjoyed a long life and turns them into larger-than-life sculptures. He seems to have a magical sense of space, fitting items of different sizes and shapes perfectly into doorways, windows, and all types of unlikely spaces.

tetris geozavad

mind the gap

Because the objects are old and show some signs of wear, Johansson believes that his art gives them a new past – a “fake history.” He lovingly crafts these combinations of (usually) unrelated items into sculptures that rely not only on the skill of the artist, but also the size, shape and color of the objects themselves.

michael johansson real life tetris

tetris Nikolaj Kunsthal

Without the whole, each individual part of these sculptures would not make sense as art. And like Tetris, it is the coming together of many pieces that really makes the projects fun. One can step back and look at the amazing tableau of these combined objects or step closer to appreciate each individual object. Either way, Johansson’s real-life Tetris leaves us all feeling like winners.

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10 Items from a Photographer’s Wish List to Make Santa Faint

24 Oct

I was recently browsing through B&H catalog and one thing struck me quite a bit, namely this: Okay, it’s Broncolor, one of the best lighting brands, but… It is a light stand! You know, a stick with wheels. $ 6 000? Come on guys, maybe it makes 0 to 60 mph in 2 seconds? Or what? Anyway, I thought it would Continue Reading
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Microsoft Outlook 2010 – Show Total Number of Items in a Folder Instead

10 Aug

Instead of just showing the number of unread items inside a folder in Outlook 2010, show the total item count.

In Microsoft Outlook 2010, the Navigation Pane shows the Inbox underneath “Favorites” and then as another link below in the full folder list. The “Favorites” link shows the total number of items in the Inbox, while the link in the folder list shows only the count of new (unread) items.

By default, Outlook 2010 displays the number of new items next to folders. If you would rather show the total number of items in a particular folder instead, do the following quick tweak:…

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