I recently got asked to do a shoot of a young lady and her shoe collection. However, she wanted me to photograph her with each pair on… about 50 pairs of shoes. So, I did… Here are some of the shots that I really liked…
Mucho Fun
Pros: Stable Flash Sync
Best Uses: Artwork, Photography
Describe Yourself: Pro Photographer
Was this a gift?: No
The Holda 120N. Ahhh. Great camera to play with. What I really realy like is that it has a hot shoe on it so you can connect a flash to it. It’s built from plastic so it’s not going to be as durable as a digital SLR but I knew that going into the purchase. There is 2 f stops (f8 & f11) and 1 shutter speed of 1/100th of a second. The camera is not complicated at all and is fully manual. If you are looking for something auto and durable this camera is not for you but if you are looking to play around with some 120 film and have fun with a camera and make some cool art this is a must get!
(legalese)
Originally submitted at Adorama
Sigma EF-530 DG Super Shoe Mount Flash for Canon EOS E-TTL-II Digital SLR’s, Guide Number 174 feet at 105mm Setting.
Good Speedlight
Pros: Fast Recycling, Durable, Powerful Output, Consistent Output, Easy To Use
Cons: Bulky
Best Uses: Portraits, Night Photography, Photojournalism, Fill Flash, General Use
Describe Yourself: Pro Photographer
Was this a gift?: No
As a photographer I shoot all kinds of pictures from high school seniors to families to weddings and events. This speedlight has been a great addition to my collection of grear. The output is consistant and powerful. Recycletime is not too bad either. The functions are pretty easy to figure out once you toy with it a few times. One downfall I found with this is that there is no pc terminal. I love shooting off camera flash and to do so with this flash unit it has to be used as a slave and for fill flash or a secondary flash. The only improvement I would suggest to Sigma on their speedlights would be to add a pc terminal.
(legalese)
Canon makes a small compact affordable photo printer that can have your prints ready in seconds. It’s called the Canon Selphy Photo Printer. I actually have two different models of the printer. I have the CP780 and the CP800. The CP780 was the generation just before the CP800 and there were a few changes. The most notable is the fact that it’s a little smaller as you can see to the left. The 800 also has a screen that pops up for much easier viewing. The third thing that I noticed is that at one point I plugged in the printers and the first one that I turned on said something to the fact that the power supply was wrong. So then I just switched power supplies and all was well. They both accept SD/miniSD and compact flash cards. The menus are quite easy to figure out once you are trying to print and there is a little “editing” you can do before you print as well (nothing like photoshop work though). The best thing about these printers are that they are very mobile and batteries can be purchased for the units so that you do not need an outlet to use them. The printers are what are called “Dye Sub” printers. The paper passes through the printer 4 times leaving a different color coating on with each pass and during the last pass the printer leaves a UV protective coating on the 4×6 print. The ink/paper comes in a bundle pack that can be purchased for about $34.99 and you get 108 prints out of it making each print about 30 to 32 cents. Once you have printed all 108 prints it’s time to change the ink cartridge. These printers can be hook up to your computer and you can print from your computer as well. If I were to rank these little guys amongst labs that can get your prints to you in an hour I would have to rate these prints as a 10. Are they the best prints I’ve ever seen? No, but they are very dadgum good. I would recommend these printers to anyone who loves taking snapshots of the kids and wants to see prints quick and somewhat inexpensive without the hassle of going to a one hour lab. These printers are also good for photographers who do event photography and would like to produce a product on the spot (remember there is not much editing so know your light and be confident using it). Overall these printers are a good buy at just around $100 each and I would highly recommend them to anyone!
I recently got asked to shoot probably the biggest, or should I say, longest gigs the week after Christmas. I will be shooting football games all week long at the Cowboys Stadium. The shortest day will be 8 hours of shooting with the longest being about 12. I had to get some back up juice. As most (or some) of you might know I like to find a good deal on gear. I looked and looked all over for a good deal on a battery. I came across this battery on www.amazon.com put out by Maxtek. It’s an LP-E6 which is made for the Canon 7D, the Canon 5D Mark II, and one other Canon model if I can remember correctly. I just got it in the mail today. I opened the box and it looked just like the Canon brand. What I really liked about this battery was the fact that in the discription online it said that it could be charged by the Canon charger. I put it on the charger, plugged it in, and waited. FINALLY… Charged! I wanted to see if this battery would last so I put it in my camera today and took pictures off and on for several hours. The battery icon did not even budge. I’m hoping thats a good thing because if the icon is jacked up, I’m in trouble. HAHA! Anyway, this Maxtek LP-E6 battery was a mere $16.95 on Amazon, which was definitely worth the purchase. I may pick up a few more while they are still available for that price! Just thought I’d pass along the steal of a deal! Peace out!
This past Friday I shot a birthday party at the Mud Hut here in Longview. That was the first time I had been inside the place. Before shooting this birthday party I did not really even know what the place was all about. They have tons of different pottery to select from to paint. This is definately something I want to do once my daughter gets old enough to remember it.
Many of you may have heard of Zig Ziglar. Many of you may have not. I remember my mom reading some books by him years ago when I was young. Back then I could not stand reading. Once I got older I started to enjoy reading. I would read autobiographies of athletes, books on business, art, photography, and religion. I recently picked up a book by Zig Ziglar called “Embrace the Struggle.” I did not know much about this man until I started reading this book. I knew he was a motivational speaker/writer and that was about it. Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. This book was so motivational. The book talks about obsticles his his life and the lifes of others that they had to overcome. The book talks about “living life on life’s terms” as Ziglar states many times throughout the book. Here is are some things that Ziglar talks about in the book: To Embrace Is to Accept, Transparency, Physical Struggles, Financial Struggles, From Addiction to Service, Marriage Struggles, and Spiritual Struggles, to list some.
I have had a lot going on this past year from personal struggles, to a job loss, to trying to get the photography business going in a very competitive market. I came across this book at the right time and I do not think anything happens by chance. No matter if you are in the midst of a struggle right now or have been in one in the past I can promise you that you will come upon another struggle in the future. I highly recommend finding a copy and reading it with an open heart and mind.
