PixelatedImage Blog

Well folks, time for the weekly roundup. Starting with Deke McClelland’s 100 photoshop tips in 5 minutes video. It’s mostly keyboard shortcuts, so don’t be looking for killer techniques, but it’s pretty funny and you’re bound to learn a few things if you’re good at listening fast.

Since we’re talking about Deke, you should check out You Suck At Photoshop which is rumoured to be done by Deke. There’re several of these videos. As education it works ok - you might learn a thing or two - but as performance art/satire it’s damn funny. And it’s crude and might border on offensive if you’re the type who doesn’t get satire for what it is, or just have more delicate ears than some. You’ve been warned.

While we’re on the topic of funny, have you heard of the IYP Photography Contest? You heard, it the IYP. International Year of the Potato World Photography Contest. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. Link HERE. It’s actually pretty serious and the prizes reflect that. But who can resist a jab at something so quirky? In 2004, there was an International Year of Rice contest too - see the winner’s gallery HERE.

Less funny is the introduction of the new Nikon D700 this week, a new SB-900 strobe, and two new PC/shift-tilt lenses. See Scott Kelby’s blog for details and links HERE. It’s getting hard to be Canon fanboy these days. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth investing in both systems. Starting with a D-700, a 24-70/2.8 VR (or whatever the Nikon lens equivalent is), and a few SB-900’s is starting to look pretty fine. Joe McNally is not doing much to help with this - see his recent blog post HERE.

I got Peterson’s Understanding Shutter Speed in the mail this week and took some time to read it yesterday. It’s not a big book, so the read was quick. I think as book reviews go there are two questions - did the book do what the author set out to do? and did I get anything out of it? The rest are secondary. I assume the answer to the first is yes; this is not a book with a complicated premise. The second, well, yes and no.

I think that, if new shooters can be persuaded to put down their camera long enough to pick up a book, being reminded of the effects of shutter speed on the aesthetics of an image is a good thing and this book does that. The photos illustrate the book well, though they aren’t generally inspiring. If your local library has it, it’s a rental. Or a nice gift for someone starting out. But if you’ve got one book to buy and read, I can think of meatier ones out of which you’ll glean much more, like Freeman’s The Photographer’s Eye.

Finally, a quote:

All my photographs are about meetings and about coups de foudre - love at first site. To do that type of photography one must wipe the canvas clean to prepare for chance encounters, be open and aware to such moments, otherwise it becomes cliche - already seen and expected.
-Edouart Boubat

Have a great weekend. To my American readers, have a great July 4th. Shoot what you love, love what you shoot.

A while ago I posted a short article about “the best travel tripods.” I knew when I did it that the quest was quixotic at best, but I’ve never shied away from the impossible. I’m reckless that way.

The thing is, when people google “what’s the best travel tripod” they’re asking others to find the perfect compromise between weight, size, price, and usefulness in any number of scenarios. For you the perfect one might still weigh 4lbs. For me, I don’t care so much that the max. height is 22 inches, as long as it’s light and will hold my camera stlll for a few evening shots. What perfectly meets my needs might not meet any of yours, so the best I can do is a grown-up show-and-tell and show you some possibilities.

So, here’s a couple more I’m looking at through the lens of “make it as light as possible, even it’s really short and I have to sit on the ground to use it.

Really Right Stuff’s Ground Pod - Man this is a sexy little thing. It’s the same size as the Kirk MLB, but where the MLB is a girl who’s your best friend and wears sensible footwear, the Ground Pod is Charlize Theron in the movie Aeon Flux. Or Trinity from the Matrix. Hard-core, built like a tank (sexy, sexy tank), and, uh, dressed in black (I need to start thinking about these metaphors before I commit to them…)

Specs: 2.6 lbs, max heigh 16.9″, max load 50lbs, Shekels Required: $375, no head.

Gitzo’s GT-921 Basalt Table Tripod - Not as sexy, but Carbon Fibre always gets points and Gitzo has never let me down yet. And weight? 1lb without the head. My boots weigh more. If I can set this on a table or on the ground and get those few crucial shots I need a tripod for, this one might be worth it’s salt.

Specs: 1 lb, max height 33.5″, max load 8.8 lbs, Shekels Required: $200, no head.

Neither of these might be your ultimate sticks for traveling. It’s a shame the Gitzo Basalt G1298 was discontinued. I’ve traveled around the world with mine and while I am now looking to shed some weight for the ultra-light trips, it’s a really great tripod and I will continue to take it on trips where I know I want a larger tripod. It’s like a slimmed down, sexy Manfrotto 190 in size, but lighter, and sturdier. I’ve seen them on eBay and that ought to save you a few bucks.

Got a tripod that you won’t leave home without? Leave a comment, share the love.

Being visual professionals it’s crucial that every element of our self-promotion and each piece of our client deliverables look as good as possible.

It’s my goal to wow my clients, not just meet their expectations. If you feel the same way then those of you who present digital files to clients probably already do it with some style, something that reflects your branding and wows your clients.

Here’s a great tool for those of you wanting to take it up a notch, or make your current system even easier or better.

It’s called Jewelboxing, professional-grade dvd and cd packaging that’s customizable and hassle-free. You get the boxes, the labels, the templates - everything you need to drop in your designs and give a custom package to each client, or for delivery digital portfolios. I like the larger dvd-sized cases.

If you’re looking to take things up a notch, check it out here: Jewelboxing.com

Sorry I’m late with today’s post; teaching a workshop all day and it just completely slipped my mind. Having said that I’m writing this entirely coffee-free this morning so don’t expect lucidity.

Brad Jarvis pointed me to David Tejada’s blog for a post about shooting through a diffusion panel as I mentionned yesterday - link HERE. I use this technique alot and love it.

The Intergalactic emporium of all things gear-related is B&H PHOTO in NYC and they’re offering big savings right now on selected Canon (expires July 19th), Leica (expires June 30th) and Nikon (no expiry mentionned but I’m pretty sure it’s not one of these eternal offers.) The nice thing about this annual B&H tradition is that it gives you immediate rebates without having to wait for weeks for a cheque to come. Or not come. You know how it works.

Steven Frischling, aka Flying With Fish, is holding The Great Mountainsmith Bag Giveaway and all you have to do is relay your worst travel scenario to him for a chance to win one of three Mountainsmith bags.

Travel Photographers take note - the PDN/Nat Geo Traveler WORLD IN FOCUS CONTEST is up and if you’ve not yet entered, the deadline is Sept 08/08. As with all these things, read the rules and conditions and give away only those rights you feel comfortable with.

Finally, a quote:

“When making a picture, the sound of the shutter can “click off” the scene. One immediately turns to look for the next thing to shoot. To avoid killing what you behlod, linger on it. Not merely saving the view for posterity, but savoring it in the now is the only antidote to this subtle occupational hazard.” - Jeff Berner.

Have a great weekend. Take some time to shoot something that moves you.

For all the talk about fancy gear, there are few pieces in my kit that I like more, and rely on more than a simple large diffuser. For learners looking to take their portraits up a notch - it’s hard to beat a good diffuser/reflector panel.

A diffuser softens the light and removes harsh shadows. Placed directly over a subject it allows me to shoot on-location in Africa at high noon. Placed to the side, even without a reflective panel, the diffuser bounces enough to provide some subtle fill. It even makes a great flag when flare is a problem. I’ve used the black panel as an ad hoc background, and the gold panel to bounce back some fill when I’m backlighting a subject with the low evening sun.

When I travel on assignment work I use a large, and now battered, 5 in 1 collapsible reflector disc. When I am at home it’s a Medium Lastolite Skylite. It measures 42″x78″ and If I could take this on every shoot, I would. It breaks down easily for transport, though it’s still rather long when packed, but really well-built and sturdy.

I like my Skylite for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, as a diffuser it makes the light absolutely gorgeous. Gor. Geous. Secondly, it’s really rigid which allows me to mount it on a couple stands, sandbag it, and not have to worry about it flopping all over the place. Thirdly - its changeable panels allows me to have a diffuser, a white panel, silver, gold, or black, relatively quickly

On the field the Skylite is just too big for my uses. It would add one more challenge to packing and transportation that I don’t want to add right now. So I use the collapsible 5-in-1 but I could do away with it and just use the Lastolites.

The downside? Like any piece of good gear they aren’t cheap. I bought my initial kit at B&H for $349 - that includes the frame, the diffusion panel, the white/sunfire panel, a crossbar/handle, and a carrying bag. But for the quality and versatility I get out of it, I’d pay it again in a heartbeat. Lastolite also has small Skylites (42″x42″) and a large one (78″x78″).

If the Lastolite Skylite isn’t in your budget, try a large oval 5-in-1, like this one that sells for $80. Either way, once you’ve played with simple diffusion and bounce lighting you’ll be spoiled. It’s not fancy, and no one is going to ask you what brand of reflector you use - but your images will look fantastic.

My sponsors, ZINK, the technologists behind the new pocket-sized Polaroid mobile printer dubbed “PoGo” just told me the product is about to hit the market. The Polaroid website says PoGo hits Best Buy stores (probably in USA only) on July 06, 2008, and in Target on July 20, 2008.

Estimated price will be $149.

I will do a review as soon as I can. In the mean time think about how many times you’ve wished you could give a subject a copy of their photograph, think about how much easier it is to give a copy then and there, rather than waiting until you get home and hoping you remember. Think how useful this might be in getting that model release signed or getting a reluctant model to spend a few moments with you. In the places I work these small photographs would be kept as priceless family heirlooms - not bad for a thirty-cent piece of paper.

It will weigh 8 oz. (without battery) and measures about 1″ by 3″ by 4.5″. Each 2×3 print takes 60 seconds to make. Downsides? 15 prints per battery charge, but extra batteries are available. There’s no inks to replace and the paper pricing looks like it won’t kill us either. Here’s the website.

James Nachtwey opens the LOOK3 Festival - read about the inspiring conversation between Nachtwey and Time’s MaryAnne Golon on PDN Online HERE. I respect this man more than I can say. (If you’ve never seen his TED speech, head over HERE to A Thousand Words where Jordan Nielsen has it posted.)

From that PDN article:

“When you see so much pain and so much sadness, do you feel you still have the capacity to love?”

That question drew oooohs as it was asked by Time’s MaryAnne Golon to photographer James Nachtwey. His answer drew a thunderous standing ovation.

“Witnessing pain and sadness is an act of love,” he said.

In light of that the rest of this stuff is just trivial.

__

David Ziser has an excellent post on building your client base. Read it HERE.

The LAYERS Blog has an excellent tutorial up on solving underexposure problems. Most articles of this sort scratch the surface but don’t get beyond the “move the exposure slider over” kind of advice. This one is solid and I guarantee you’ll learn something new (guarantee not actually guaranteed.) Link HERE.

Moose Peterson linked to a deal on the Epson R1900 if you’re a NAPP member. And you should be. Check out Moose’s post for the links and details. If you’re not a NAPP member, here’s another solid reason to join.

Scott Kelby wrote a candid post yesterday about forgetting to put a memory card into the camera. Read that HERE and then go HERE for my solution to it (if you’re a Canon shooter.)

Every once in a while a camera comes out just at the right time, and the Canon G9 seems to have done that. I’ve been watching for signs of discontent among the masses and so far it seems everyone loves this camera. Matt Brandon has it, loves it. When Scott Kelby and I were talking about it he said he loved it and particularly praised the video quality. Gavin Gough just got one and his first impressions seem about the same as everyone else’s. All my colleagues at the Travel Photographers Network seem to be raving about the G9 as well and the number of working pros now packing the G9 as a take-along or scouting camera just keeps growing.

In fact, the only negative thing I’ve yet to hear is that the noise above ISO 400 is pretty bad. But that’s par for the course with a point and shoot - the sensors are small and while companies like Canon are making strides you just can’t expect the sensor on a G9 to perform in anywhere the same ballpark as a 5D. It’s an unfair comparison. Sure, there’s the new Sigma DP-1, but by all accounts it’s slow as molasses and very expensive.

So, like I said, the mob has spoken. Sharon’s older Powershot died a long undignified death this year and she’s taken over my Leica DLux-3, which is sexy, but it’s no G9. Once B&H Photo gets them back in stock I’m placing my order and will do a review at some point. I’m also looking at the WP-DC21 underwater housing so I can take it snorkeling. In places like the beach, a small camera and a housing makes photography much more carefree.

Any G9ers want to confirm all this or warn us all away from it due to some horribly scarring incident you had with one? Chime in.

Steven Frischling, aka Fish, has a great blog for photographers who do alot of flying - if it’s not a frequent read for you it should be. Steve’s post a couple days ago was a review of the Think Tank Skins which I reviewed a while ago (link to the review HERE). If you’re on the fence about this excellent system, perhaps Steve’s thoughts will push you over.

And an INSTANT REBATE on the 40D.

Canon’s intergalactic HQ has just announced their newest, the XS, a 10.1 megapixel starter camera that is slated to hit the market on July 08 at around USD$580.00.

The XSi, a 12.2 megapixel body is selling for USD$799, but the real value right now folks is the Canon 40D. Under the current instant rebate scheme you can get a 40D for USD$939 - that’s $200 off the normal price and only $140 more than the XSi. $140 that just isn’t worth saving, I suspect, for the difference in how much camera you get in the 40D. Check out the 40D with the $200 rebate at B&H Photo.

I’m glad for the entry-level cameras. When you start out you want a camera you can use up and pass on when you graduate - save the money, forget the bells and whistles, put your money into glass. But in the end the difference between the new XSi and the 40D is about $350.00 - less than what some folks pay for a CF card or a ball head. I love the 40D - it’s like the 20D I so loved, only better - and I’d strongly suggest that the better value, given the relatively small price difference, is the 40D right now. Still kudos to Canon for the more accessible DSLR.

While we’re on the subject, the Canon mothership has also announced the 430EX II, a replacement for the 430EX strobe. Not a major upgrade but for those chosing this strobe over the 580EX, or wanting a second, the changes - a metal hotshoe, manual 1/3 step output control, and full control integration with later Canon SLRs via the rear LCD. Otherwise it looks and the same and is slated to come in at the same price point as it’s soon-obsolete younger twin. Right now the Canon 430EX sells at B&H for USD$235.00 with the $15 Instant rebate, and the 580EXII, which I far prefer, has a $30 instant rebate, bringing it to $USD390.00 at B&H.

OK, there’s yer Geek & Gear fix for the day.