17 Aug The Custom Menu for Custom Shooters Of Kustom Cars
Pardon the Kustom there in the header - it is an affectation of the hot rod publishing world to refer to modified motor cars in a weird way. Not that some of them do not deserve it...
August 2016
17 Aug The Shadow Of Things To Come
Sounds like a takeoff on an Alexander Korda pre-war movie, doesn't it? And if you've no idea what I am talking about you can google Things To Come. It is worth watching on Netflix.This weblog column is brought to you by the second button from he left on the are Nikon SB5000 - abutton I never saw before on a Nikon speed light. It's the one that looks like a a little human figure with a shadow tapering off behind it. It's one of the final reasons to use this speed light in place of a studio strobe light.Don't get me wrong - a studio strobe light is a wonderful thing. I know, I own five of them and they mostly do what I mostly want most of the time. They have the distinct advantage of taking big light modifiers and pumping out lots of light. Speed lights, on the other hand, largely don't, and have the further disadvantage in not letting us see what they are going to do before they do it. Studio strobes all have modelling lamps...
15 Aug Hey! It’s For You! Ex-Demo Olympus…
Someone asked me once whether it was tough to sell old cameras. " Not a bit! " I replied...
15 Aug Brush, Palette, Mouse….Ready For the Louvre
Last year I was black-balled from entry into a Facebook group of artists - condemned for being an "events photographer". I suspect it was also because I was unable to speak Artish and would not get a tattoo or a man-bun.Whatever, it set me out on a quest to become an artist in spite of the critics. I thought long and hard about what art I would pursue. Making miniature scenes was all very well, and taking pictures of weddings and hot rods and pretty girls might be a good training ground, but something more was needed. Something that would say Art loud enough and in a condescending enough manner to allow me to sit in a coffee shop and fill out Centrelink forms...
12 Aug The Bag Of The Revolving Door
Oh, ya gotta come in and try this one. You'll either take your pants off in the store inadvertently or you'll think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. This is the most ingenious backpack I've seen in a long time.There have been camera packs of various sorts before that used the idea of something revolving - whether it was a separate belt that whizzed around the user's waist or a compartment inside the main pack that went round like the cylinder of a .44 Army Colt. The firmer gave the wearer a chance to keep their main goods up on their back while accessing the camera gear round the front - the latter just delivered lenses out a side flap. Whether they were delivered into your hand or onto the ground depended upon whether you were fast and dextrous...
10 Aug Longing For A Sigma Long Lens…
I rarely need to use a really long lens. Studio work for the most part is short/standard work with a few turns of the zoom lens for head and shoulders portraits. But I am sorely tempted when I see the new lens lines from Sigma.Of course right now their lenses only fit my camera via a third-party adapter, but the world turns and I cannot say when the licensing and legal side of it will change - and I'll see a Sigma lens for my camera mount. Until then I can use an adapter to do my test shooting. I miss out on AF and automated aperture, but I can still take good shots.The camera in the Little Studio today was the Sigma 150mm - 600mm f: 5-6.3 DG Sports lens. It's been with us for a few months but is a thoroughly modern design. Starting from the outside in, here's what you get from Sigma:Sturdy box full of sturdy packaging.Sigma's rectangular padded lens case.With attached shoulder strap. You'll need it.A padded wrap-around lens hood cover.A lens hood that rides...
10 Aug Pass Right On Through With The New Pocket Wizard IV
Transmitters and receivers for sending signals between cameras and flash units have been legion in the last few years, but few of them have combined all of the features that people wanted - now PocketWizard have released their new Plus IV and it looks as though it redresses the situation.What it provides:Radio-frequency command between your camera and your flash out to a long distance.TTL through-put to a flash mounted on the camera - in other words you can send out a manual signal to outboard units while your TTL flash on camera does the usual measuring and quenching thing. Control for 4 separate flash groups.Control for 32 channels.Note that you get an orange back-lit panel when you press the Mode button. When you are using flash in dimly-lit venues any on-board illumination is a blessing. Rocket Wizard have decades of experience in the field.Auto sensing for pairing the transmitter and receiver.Two-stage remote camera triggering. Just like...
08 Aug Shift Your Mind With Mind Shift
With a product named Mind Shift you have to be very careful. One typo and the lawyers start ringing like church bells.That accepted, the bag that I looked at - the 20 Ltr Firstlight - seems to be an ideal size for the adventurous. In particular for the people who have advanced past the single camera in a bum bag stage...
08 Aug The Deliberate Decision – When To Go Manual With A New Lens
More to the point - when to go outside the normal boundaries of the manufacturer's lens line. When to break away and decide to explore new territory. When to take command yourself.Well the manufacturers of digital camera bodies all give you lenses from their stables that are perfectly suited...
07 Aug Riding To The Rescue – With the RFDS
Australians can get themselves into trouble in lots of places - financial, legal, moral, and otherwise. When they do it overseas they have to rely on the DFAT and the consulates to help them get out of it - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It is a worry.But when they are here at home they can breathe a sigh of relief in one respect - if they get into medical trouble anywhere out in the vast reaches of the continent, they have a thoroughly reliable rescue service that can come and get them.No, it isn't the 7th Cavalry - it is the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Their planes are the best sight to see when trouble strikes out in the bush because they are bringing professional help in the form of medical practitioners, nurses, and the emergency equipment they need. The planes are flown by the best pilots in Australia* and they are especially selected and equipped for transporting the patients back to the major medical facilities.I see them daily, and sometimes nightly - we live under the...