This week has been sturm and drang with the temptations of new Fujifilm gear, so I thought it might be nice to feature something today that I can afford to buy. And that will be genuinely useful in event shooting. We all know the benefits of diffusers for flash lighting - whether they are the little square boxes that clamp over the head of your speedlight, or a bigger assembly that you attach via magnets or strap...
And I am, in turn, doing it to you. Just as well we don't live in the main county town of Somerset and drive a German Ford sedan because that would be a case of Taunus taunting in Taunton, and we could all be arrested on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapun...
I have been asked to apologise for making terrible puns in this column. I'm more than happy to do so as long as it does not prevent me from doing it again and again. But today's temptation is really difficult. It's not a surprise to anyone - even to me. It's the black workaday version of the graphite-silver Fujifilm X-Pro 2 we saw earlier in the year. Same beast - darker coat. Every technical thing I said last time still goes - so nip back in the column and look at the glorious grey version as well. The difference for me is that this one gets a run with a card in it and some colourful subjects out the front. And this time I have the ability to decode the RAW file information and to tweak the files a little. I have been re-reading my book by Pfirstinger on mastering the X-Pro 1 to get a few ideas on how to deal with RAW via Lightroom CC and have implemented a number of his suggestions. In the case of the X-Pro1 and...
If this sounds like an introduction to a Japanese game show, you must ask yourself why you are reading past the first line...
In my dentistry days I kept a good supply of magazines in the waiting room. Fresh ones, too. None of that old National Geographic or Readers Digest rubbish. I had my receptionist regularly get two women's magazines, a car mag, and Time, as well as whatever hobby stuff piqued our interest. It was a business expense - and I particularly liked the magazines with big pages and absorbent paper as you could mop up blood spills with them. So on to the next leaflets sitting on the front desk - by the way, these are all free, so snaffle a few the next time you are in the place. Some of them are time-sensitive and bear quick reading, and some are universal. The thinner ones can be useful if you have gaps between your teeth and have been eating chicken or silverside. a. The Exotic Tour - India This offer is for February 2-13 2018 and it is the Colours Of India Photographic Tour with Seng Mah and Lynn Gail. AIPP Accredited Professional photographer, you'll note. The flyer is gorgeously printed and the colours...
We've all been there, and if we haven't, we will be one day...
Boy, am I ever glad I decided to take the Olympus E-PL8 up to King's Park one Monday rather than the following Tuesday. Like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard Of Oz, I melt in the rain and there would have been nothing left of me but red shoes. [caption id="attachment_34612" align="aligncenter" width="600"] OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA[/caption] I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not have to pay for parking, though I was a little nonplussed at the sign - back in the 60's the parking problem was more a case of immorality than illegality. But no-one got towed - or carried - away on Monday. [caption id="attachment_34608" align="aligncenter" width="600"] OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA[/caption] The Botanical Garden gate was new to me, and I was pleased to see the possibilities for the tourists. For those who might not feel it respectful to take selfies in front of war memorials, it provided a good backdrop - certainly large groups were posing and exchanging cameras all the time I was there. Many were mobile telephones, of course, but that is the way of the world. [caption id="attachment_34610"...
And I hope I never find it...
I mentioned my Aunt Minnie and her habit of seeing into every shop downtown - on every trading day. That was quite true, but her circumstances were different from those in the retail camera trade in Perth. Her downtown was in Missoula, Montana and her needs were a lot more modest than those that beset us now. Just as well - her means were probably restricted by the hard times the country suffered. Still, she did the rounds, and if there was something new commercially, she knew about it before 90% of her neighbours. I liken this to the photography enthusiast who attends to the net each day and reads reviews, columns, advertisements, and forums as fast as they appear. Whether or not Minnie's peregrinations did her good or gave her happiness, I do not know, but the desperation that attends some camera fanciers now makes me nervous of it. Minnie did have a job for a long time in a confectionary factory as, of all things, a chocolate dipper. A person skilled with hand and eye in the making of nut...
Will today's column sell you something? Will it drag your carcass into the shop and your credit card out onto the counter? Probably not...