20 Jul Being An Upright Photographer
Last year I had a chance to see an exhibition of photographs prints that had been taken in and around the City of Perth. We might not necessarily think of our town as an exotic place for photos...
Canon Tag
19 Jul The Bargain Harman For the Prudent Printer
Normally when I receive goods into my studio for illustration I finish taking the pictures and then carefully repackage them for return to the shop. In the case of this box of Harman Crystaljet Lustre RC paper I might just pay them for it and keep it for the production room. It is that good.I have used a number of Harman papers before - including a box of this type some time ago-and I am impressed with the way the surface takes the ink and with the fidelity that it has to my screen.I know the colour management and printing experts scoff at this and say that I should be able to minutely adjust the computer, screen, printer, paper, and ink with scientific formulae and careful measurements so that I could get an award-winning panorama on toilet paper. I must put in the hard yards - when the going gets tough the tough get going - and a calibration in time saves nine. Rah rah. I just want to poke a piece of paper in the Epson R3000 and get...
21 Jun The Influencers
Watch as Elliot Mess and his elite force of "Influencers" clean up crime and corruption on the streets of jazz-age Chicago...
17 Jun The Flirty Thirty: the Sigma 30 mm f:1.4 DC Art lens
Well what the heck. We have talked about 50mm focal length lenses as "The Nifty Fifty" for years. Why not push the linguistic boat out, eh?Why not indeed. And there are good mathematical reasons why you should consider this focal length. As mathematics are the food of the photographer let us begin the feast.The standard focal length of a lens for a 35mm camera used to be stated as 50mm. It also used to be stated that the standard focal length was the diagonal length of the gate in the film plane. Here's where the two statements differed: the diagonal of the 35mm frame is about 43.4 mm. Thus if you were shooting with a 50 mm, 52 mm, or 55 mm said to be standard you were really shooting with a very mild telephoto...
16 Jun Bending Over Sideways To Please The Client – Tilt/Shift Part One
This is not a column about business relationships. It is about optics. If you want the other sort you'll have to go to Dale Carnegie or The Better Business Bureau.Three manufacturers that I know of currently make tilt/shift lenses that can be used on digital cameras; Nikon, Canon and Samyang/Rokinon. There have been others in the past but my researches don't turn them up readily now. The one in use in the studio today is the Samyang 24mm f:3.5 version with the Nikon mount. Of course you can get it with a Canon mont as well...
14 Jun Achieving Amateur Status – Part Two
Once the decision is taken and the die cast, the bridge crossed, and the Gordian Knot cut, it is time to decide how to become an amateur. Here are some first steps:a. Get a photo vest. If you are an urban type, get a black one with lots of pockets. If you'll be out in the country choose a grey or khaki one with lots of pockets. If you are going to haunt the motorcycle and drag races get a blue denim one with lots of pockets.*b. If you cannot afford a vest just get lots of pockets. You can wear them like a Mexican bandit's ammunition belt. Be prepared for Pancho Villa jokes.c. Get a baseball cap. It does not matter whether you wear it forward, backwards, or sideways but you must wear it at all times. If they attempt to take it off you in church, change religions.d. You no longer will worry about taking extra camera bodies, lenses, and batteries to an assignment. You'll no longer have to trail three roller cases full of lighting heads and...
08 Jun Beware Of The Photo Booth Man!
One of the greatest ideas I never had was the photo booth. They have proved to be profitable business for photographers as their own venture or in combination with other coverage - weddings and parties are a prime target for this sort of activity.To make it work the photographer has to have a camera system that will operate repeatedly without failure and make sharp and colourful files for the clients. Whether these files are to be printed out or collected and transferred to disc or drive media is up to the organisers but it's generally true to say that the output shots do not need to be fine art - though some of them may end up as that.If you're going to print things out on the occasion and supply them to the subjects straight away, there are especial printers and computer programs that can put a fast set of images together and run them out in seconds. It's not really the job for the average inkjet printer, either in terms of time or costs - there can be little...
07 Jun Left Or Right To See The Sights – Tilt/Shift part Two
IIn the first column that looked at the Samyang 24mm f:3.5 tilt/shift lens we turned the little plastic knob that shot the lens structure off the central optical axis in an arc. If we waggled it left or fight we could induce the Scheimpflug effect ( I'll wait here while you Google it. Come back after you're done...
01 Jun Physical Security For Photography
A recent column that dealt with stolen cameras seems to have garnered a great deal of interest - so I've decided to add some thoughts on the matter of further security for photography.The original column mentioned stolen cameras and suggested increased security measures for equipment inside cars. Now it is the turn for the same security inside the home.A. Equipment safety. You may have anywhere from $ 400 to $ 40,000 invested in cameras and lenses. If you put them into camera bags and cases and then put those cases inside the wardrobe your security level is that of the MDF board on that wardrobe. About 3mm of pressed wood pulp. Perfectly adequate to protect your 1980 safari suit against moths but no help if a burglar with a habit breaks in and looks for saleable items.Look up locksmiths and safes. If you have space in your home for the wardrobe, you have room in the wardrobe for a safe or storage cabinet. It doesn't need to be Fort Knox - it just needs to deter the casual criminal. I've...
31 May The Downside Of The Touch Screen
People love touch screens - whether they are on tablets, smart phones, or camera LCD screens, the public cannot seem to get enough of them. They poke, tap, swipe, scroll and twirl all day. The images open, close, expand, contract, and disappear forever.I very nearly hate the touch screen.When I use it on my iPad it gives me none of the tactile feedback that the standard keyboard does. Each stroke I make as I write this tells me that the wireless keyboard has registered my entry by a small sink and tap feedback. Even if I am not looking at the screen as I type...