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Posts Tagged ‘Shoe’

Lime One is a compact, easy to use light meter you attach to your camera’s shoe mount

07 Oct

German mechatronics engineer Johannes Heberlein has launched a new photo accessory on Kickstarter, the Lime One compact hot shoe light meter. The meter has been designed to be very easy to use, and even updates its readings in real-time.

In 2018, Heberlein started using film cameras, and he immediately found his light meter options somewhat lacking. He started using a smartphone-based solution but became frustrated with needing to constantly take his phone out of his pocket, get an exposure value and then put his phone away. In late 2018, Heberlein started sketching out ideas for a compact, easy to use light meter. His first prototype was ready a few months later and final hardware revisions took place over the next year.

Lime One works with all cameras that have manual exposure control, including analog cameras that do not feature a built-in light meter. Heberlein hopes that Lime One, which has a funding goal just shy of $ 30,000 USD, will help photographers who have been frustrated by external meters and smartphone light meter applications. He designed Lime One to be compact enough that you can leave it attached to your camera indefinitely, even when packing your camera away in a bag.

Lime One promises fast operation and start-up, plus the ability to store previous settings. It has four modes: aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode, and exposure value. The control wheel has a knurled edge for grip and when holding the Lime One’s button while rotating the wheel, you can change secondary parameters.

The hot shoe light meter is constructed using anodized aluminum for both the body and wheel and attaches to a standard accessory shoe mount. The device is battery powered and uses a CR2032 battery.

The Lime One appears very simple to operate. For example, when using aperture priority, you set the desired aperture on the Lime One using the control wheel, frame your shot, and then the light meter shows you on its top display the required shutter speed. You can also use exposure compensation by holding down the button while rotating the control wheel. By double-tapping this same button, you access the menu where you can perform actions such as adjusting operational mode and ISO.

Hedeco Lime One on 6×6 folding medium format camera. Image credit: Hedeco, Kickstarter

For those who pledge €99 or more, which is roughly $ 115 USD, you will receive one Lime One in silver in April 2021. If you pledge €149 (about $ 175 USD), you have a choice of silver or black for Lime One, plus you receive an accessory pack. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can download the files to print your own accessories and instead purchase just the standard pack.

To learn more about the Lime One compact light meter, head to the Kickstarter page.


Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Anti-Gravity Boots: London Shoe Artwork Defies Laws & Physics

09 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

anti gravity shoes street

There are many theories, but no one is quite sure where the practice of throwing shoes over raised urban infrastructure started. Some suggest bullies take shoes from other kids and toss them over power and telephone lines; other think it could be a way of marking gang or drug-dealing territories. Or perhaps people just make and lose bad bets, paying the price with sore feet.

shoe on wire art

laced shoe downside up

Whatever the reason, London street artist Pejac (images by Gary Van Handley) has taken the shoe-on-a-wire concept to the next level, with individual and paired shoes seeming to hang upside-down, pulled inexplicably toward the sky. Presumably to minimize annoyance to the city (and possible damage to critical lines), the artist in this case opted to use poles rather than wires for support.

gravity shoe art installation

gravity suspended shoes

Titled Downside Up, this series of shoe art installations across East London are in part a series of street artworks but also a viral marketing campaign for an upcoming solo exhibit. Pejac is well known for both silly and thought-provoking interventions, often manipulating built environments in subtle ways by pealing paint or through small installations easily missed by less observant passersby.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Metz flash units now available for Sony Multi Interface Shoe

01 Jul

Owners of Sony SLT, NEX and R-series cameras with Multi Interface Shoes now have a couple more flash options. Two flash units offered by Metz, the mecablitz 44 AF-1 digital and 52 AF-1 digital, are now available for the Sony Multi Interface shoe. Read more

related news: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony introduces HVL-F43M flash with Multi Interface Shoe, video lamp

27 Jun

HVL-F43M_front.png

Sony today announced its new HVL-F43M flash. This flash, which replaces the HVL-F43AM and is compatible with Sony’s Multi Interface Shoe, which can be found on the modern SLT, NEX, and R-series cameras. Another new addition is a LED video lamp for brightening up subjects for still and video recording. The HVL-F43M retains the ‘Quick Shift Bounce’ feature of its predecessor, which allows you to rotate the flash 90 degrees for portrait shooting. The flash will be available in July for $ 400.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Baby Sessions on a Shoe String

23 Apr

DPS_Baby5

As photographers (or budding photographers) we may increasingly find ourselves being asked for impromptu photo shoots.  This often means having to improvise with borrowed gear and a bit of “shooting from the hip”.   As a consequence, when this occurs weare pushed out of our comfort zone and must learn to make the best of it.  I’ve often been guilty of the, “If only I had” syndrome when it comes to creating images.  It’s situations like these that remind me even the most basic gear along with what can be found around the house is often more than required to get great shots.  The last couple months I had two occasions where I was caught without my camera or any of my personal lighting when unplanned photo sessions were requested.  Hopefully my quick and easy tips will illustrate that it’s often more about being creative with your resources than it is about how nice your equipment is.  As the old adage goes, a craftsman never blames his tools.

Lighting Baby Gianna

DPS_Baby2

My wife and I were staying at a cabin with family when her sister said, “Hey, you’re photographers. Let’s take some cute baby pictures.” Of course in their minds eye they’re picturing those premeditated pics on Pinterest with amazing props and perfect lighting, neither of which I had.   Babies are naturally photogenic and the truth is you don’t need that stuff.  So when the pressure is on, take a step back and relax. Let’s dig in and talk about a couple quick and easy tips that will get you photos anyone would like with very little preparations.

Think lighting first.

First, find the location that has the most light. The cabin where we were staying was very rustic and pretty dark even with every light on. Natural light was hard to come by. It was chilly so outside shots with a newborn weren’t an option. For us the brightest place was on the island in the kitchen underneath a row of hanging lights. The light was bright but all light coming from a single direction above was a bit to heavy. I found a few desk lamps in the other rooms and set them up on either side to soften the shadows.  Note here that it’s critical you don’t mix and match light types.  Florescent lights have a greenish hue and incandescent bulbs have a golden one.  While you can always increase exposure of an image that is too dark in postproduction, it’s difficult to correct for a babythat is half green and half yellow.  It may look ok to your eye because our mind is constantly doing white balance correction so take my word for it that white balancing will be of no use if the lighting is not consistent.  This also goes for your flash and is the reason many photographers carry orange and green flash gels in their camera bag.  If you need to use the camera flash along with external lighting, try bouncing it off something that will distribute its hue. Cardboard or a wall can do the trick while also decreasing the intensity of such a small light source.

Because it wasn’t my camera I gave myself some time to playwith the setup.  In retrospect, there is a lot I would have done differently with the camera settings, but live and learn.  Try to remember that the basic balancing act is always the same.

  • DPS_Baby1If you’re not trying to blur the background, keep your aperture as small as lighting will allow for a sharp crisp image.  This is particularly important for keeping the detail in the eyes.  If you really want to soften things up you can do it in postproduction.
  • Eliminate noise by keeping the ISO as low as possible for the given lighting conditions.  This is becoming less of an issue on the newest model cameras but low ISO is almost always the goal. The more light you have the lower you can set the ISO.
  • Since you most likely won’t have a tripod, make sure the shutter speed isn’t dropping too low, which is more likely to catch some of your hand jitters.  Some go by the rule, no lower than 1 over your focal length. (e.g. 1/50)

Before putting the baby down and blasting her with light, I found a huge pinecone and a squash to practice with until I felt like the light was as smooth as I could get– the pinecone didn’t make a peep and the squash held his pose nicely. Be sure to have all the setup ready right after the baby eats and has had a little nap. Their awake time is so short and if you test the lighting beforehand and get all prepared you will be able to maximize your happy baby time for some great shots.  In the end, we got a few images we liked, and that’s probably all you need.

Baby Colette and her background

DPS_Baby3Next up, I was hanging out with my brother recently one Saturday morning when he said, “Hey, I brought my camera. Can we do some quick 6 month baby pics?” His camera was a Micro 4/3rds Panasonic. Fortunately, he was geeky enough to have purchased one of the inexpensive wireless flash transmitters ($ 25), a used flash and a solid prime “pancake” lens.  They also had brought a few ideas and some tutus and headbands to the table. Unlike the last baby shoot, we had a room with tons of windows and natural light to work with and the soft king size bed was a nice upgrade from a butchers block island.   He also had a Gorillapod for his flash that allowed us to place the remote flash anywhere in the room until we achieved the best balance of light.  So with light not such an issue this time it was on to the background.

Everyone looks fresh and happy on white.

Most people, but especially babies, look light and happy on a bright white background.  When we did the kitchen shoot, we had to recruit family members to hold up different sides of a white blanket the baby was sitting on to hide the cluttered background of the kitchen.  For this shoot, we opted for a better solution.  We took a stapler and a nice white sheet and literally just stapled it right to the wall at the head of the bed.  A little rudimentary, I know, but it gave the same effect you get with a seamless paper backdrop setup and we didn’t have to hold it.  Because fabric has texture and shadows you may not want, a quick fix is to us the de-vignette tool in the editor of your choice.  Crank up intensity of it until it just reaches the subject.  This mimics that eternal white background you find done with professional seamless paper backdrops.

The next key component was figuring out how to support the baby in a more natural way than just lying flat on a bed.  Under the sheet we used a Boppy which is often found in homes with infants or small children. It is an excellent support for babies who need a little help to stay up in the sitting position or to elevate their upper bodies for the belly shots.

Try using a three-person team.

First is, of course, the photographer. They are the most valuable player in the photography team and should direct the actions of others.  If this is you, look at poses and angles you like for babies. Notice the way the angle can skew the proportions of the subject. This is especially important for babies. Their proportions are changing all the time as they grow.

Second chair is the baby maneuverer. This person, usually the mother will adjust the baby when they fall or wiggle and need to get back into the desired pose. Keep the parent involved by having them fix falling headbands and falling babies.  Don’t be afraid to ask for their input, what angles they like and prod them on what they are hoping for. The third player is the happy outsider. They need to be able to charm that baby into cooing and ahhing over and over again. Any object can be used to capture the attention of a baby and induce a smile.  Try rattling some keys or a sock puppet.  The entertainer will need to get as close to the camera as possible so the babies expressions and eyes appear directed at the lens.  However, make sure you also get shots of them drawing the baby’s focus away from the lens looking off to one side.

In the end, try to use these impromptu photo shoots as learning experiences.  They probably aren’t paying customers so don’t let stress ruin a fun shoot.   Take note of what didn’t work and move on.  If you have any interesting experiences being caught unprepared for a photo-shoot and things did (or did not) work out please share below.  Happy shooting.

DPS_Baby4

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Baby Sessions on a Shoe String


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