17 Sep De Plane, Boss…De Plane…!
Or, in this case, De Boat, De Helicopter, or De X-T3...
September 2018
14 Sep One Of These, Please….The Profoto B10
Okay, let's cut to the punchline straight away. I want one of these. If you are a photographer who shoots weddings, shows, portraits, fashion, or editorial, you want one - or two - as well. Stefan Gosatti does all these things and he's just had a chance to test out the new Profoto B10 over the last few days. He's rapt with them, his pictures prove that they work like a locomotive, and he's spending some of his own money to buy some. He showed us how it all works last night at the Northbridge Hotel - courtesy of Camera Electronic and CR Kennedy. The unit has the classic Profoto mount and controls in a body the size of a large soup can. The style has the sort of Scandinavian slickness that we used to see with B&O and Sonab. There's a classic Profoto glass diffuser on the front and the large illuminated LCD panel at the back. The lump on the side's the lithium-ion battery. The light stand mount on the bottom is detachable - there is provision to swing any of...
13 Sep Nikon Photowalk – Part Three – Can You Dig It?
Can you dig the fun that there is in a patch of dirt and some flowering plants? Do you remember that we are part of nature...
12 Sep Steve Parish Is Just Playing At Photography – Part Two
He's just playing - and he admits doing it deliberately - and I think he has a very healthy attitude to it all. Indeed I was trying to come up with some way that I could work " playtographer " into the title but it seemed a little awkward. Just take our word for it that Steve Parrish has a good time doing what he does. However, he does have some interesting thoughts...
11 Sep The New Canon Bird In The Hand
When I worked on the sales floor at Camera Electronic I used to approach camera unveiling nights with some trepidation - it meant moving half the place into a corner one day and replacing it the next...
10 Sep A Short Walk To Joy – Part One
I took part in a Photo Walk sponsored by Nikon Australia and Camera Electronic this last week and had a very enlightening hour with a very enlightening bloke. The venue was Kings Park up near the KPB offices and the Old Tea Pavilion. I was delighted to discover ample free parking space at 1:00 in the afternoon - but I'll bet a weekend in wildflower season would see the place packed out. Cold spring days mean you're not over-touristed. Didn't stop the Camera Electronic and Nikon punters, though - there was a solid gathering there at the Tea pavilion when Steve Parish started to talk. It wasn't a dry lecture at all, because Mr Parish is not a dry man. He came right out and explained that his work was to promote good mental health through joy and connection with the natural world - and his best way to do this was natural photography. But then he explained how unnatural that can be...
07 Sep It’s Real If You Can Touch It
Natural skeptics like myself generally hold that something is real only if you can touch it. This holds for most things - you can confirm stuff for yourself with a few sensible exceptions; nuclear warhead cores, rabid dogs, and the Canadian prime minister. We don't want to carry skepticism too far...
07 Sep A Short Week – Part Five – The Hot Wash Up
Well it was a good time, had by me. I can readily recommend the Fremantle Maritime Museum to anyone with a camera and happy hours to spend. I can also recommend the two lenses that were tested out as very good ideas for this sort of shooting. Nearly all indoor events - and certainly most urban indoor museums - are close-coupled things, and you'll rarely find yourself reaching for the telephoto lens. The ability to get it all in without stepping backwards into the open drainage pit is invaluable. Particularly if you are driving home in your own car and have velour seats...
06 Sep A Short Week – Part Four – The Ability To Zoom
The delight I took in the first part of the day with the prime lens - the Laowa 9mm f:2.8 - was matched in the latter half of the morning when I switched to the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS lens. The turnover point was when the container ship slid by and I wanted to get a closer shot. Admittedly, close with 24mm on APS-C is a relative term. The colour through the blue glass needed Lightroom correction, but this was a one-click affair. With the lens changed over, I had more freedom to pick and choose framing inside. There was still a need for leveling, but not with some exhibits...
05 Sep A Short Week – Part Three – A Day Out At The Museum
When you were a kid, did you look forward to school outings? Or family holidays when you could go see things you'd never seen before? Did those outings include the occasional museum? Well if they did, and if you loved them as much as I did, you'll know why I take such pleasure in the ones I see now. Whether it is here or in the eastern states - or in Singapore, Great Britain, or the continent - whenever there is a " Museum " sign out on the footpath, I'm in the door. And I'm in there with a camera. I am always saddened when a gallery or museum will not permit photos. Some do it for preservation reasons...