04 Aug Don’t Get the Stink Eye – Get a Hoodman Hood Eye
Sorry, headline opportunities like that come up rarely and we are all human...
August 2016
03 Aug A Colourless Sort Of Post…
For a colourless sort of product. But you could see through that headline - it was transparent...
01 Aug Red Hot Out Of The Courier Van – Tamron 85mm
Tamron is a bit of a dark horse to me - I have never owned one of their lenses, though we have sold hundreds through the shop. Golly - you could probably make that thousands if you look back over the decades - the firm appears as far back as I can trace in the Photo Equipment Directories that used to be the mainstay of the trade.And they were an imaginative and innovative lot even way back in the 60's. There are lenses and components still sitting in the Camera Electronic spare parts drawers that Tamron made with an eye to converting one design to fit many mounts. It looks as though you could purchase a basic lens structure and then switch it over if you changed cameras. The mechanical linkages at the time are complex and I wonder if it was all that good an idea...
01 Aug The Silent Studio Assistants Pop Up
Getting some help in the studio when you are tackling product shots can be nerve wracking. You have to advertise the position, read the resumés, conduct interviews, choose a candidate, fill out the tax file and workers comp forms, and then wonder whether they are going to show up on time.Some days you wonder whether they are ever going stop talking, or eating, or go home...
29 Jul The Instructions Are On the Packet…
They really are.I don't think we need to have any more staff serving at the counter now that we have the new Manfrotto tripod boxes. The questions that the customers ask and the response that we give are all printed on the outside of the packaging. If they attach some reference to the weather and a dirty joke we can all stay home...
28 Jul Cutting The Pie
Who gets the largest slice of the retail photographic pie? The retail shop? The wholesale agency? The manufacturer? I've asked and no-one will tell me...
27 Jul Split Personalities?
I take a little amusement in looking at the packaging of photographic goods...
27 Jul The Jacques Cousteau Studio Camera
As a person who does not swim, either regularly or well, and who has never taken a camera underwater at any time. I feel I am perfectly qualified to review the products from Nauticam.They were shown at the recent photo Live Expo 2016, though not in their native element. To be fair, it would have been a bit much to expect the Novotel Langley Hotel to provide a 20 metre tank in their functions room, and even taking the cameras to the restrooms and plunging them into toilets would probably not go down well with the cleaning staff.So in the end, they were displayed out on dry tables, with a variety of housings, lights, and accessories. The visual effect was stunning.Now photographers are nearly all gadgeteers, and you don't get much gadget-ier than underwater photography. You need to insure that the camera and flash are sealed away from the water perfectly. You need to make sure that electricity can flow undisturbed. You need to keep the camera below the surface of the waves with enough weight to let it be...
26 Jul So Whaddawy Get For Me Money?
A good question. And one that the people who go to trade shows might well ask themselves before they go. Keep in mind that there are any number of events of this nature in Perth, and the punters can afford to be selective.The Photo Live Expo 2016 just concluded gave people the following:A. Enthusiastic and expert speakers upon a range of topics - and the format of the thing meant that the people who spoke on a subject could concentrate on it with the attention of an intelligent audience to help them. There is a vast difference between this and generalised presentation that never really hits the spot.B. Industry reps who actually know their stuff. I know they know their stuff, because I know those reps. They are obviously speaking to their own topic, and their focus is getting you to give up your money, but when it comes right down to it, you WANT to give up your money so there is no sin there. The industry experts can make sure that when you transfer your dollars, you get...
25 Jul Uncle Dick’s Hot Wash Up – The Photo Live Expo 2016
I hope that all the people who visited us yesterday down at the Novotel Langley hotel got home safely and slept soundly - I know I did. It's because I had a happy day.Tasked with minding the table with the old books o n it, I still had time, thanks to assistance, to tour the rest of the trade room exhibition. What I found were very friendly industry representatives and a pretty good selection of current equipment and materials on offer - and there were a few surprises for me as well. I'll detail them later in the week.But was I'd like to say for Monday morning is how well-behaved the crowd of visitors was on Sunday. Not that we expected a soccer riot or anything...