SO … you’ve been shooting digital for a while now. Perhaps you have thousands of images all saved to a single drive? What would you do if you suddenly had a hard drive crash? Short of spending hundreds of dollars for a professional company to retrieve your data, you are pretty much out of luck … and thousands of images. You might think, “Well, I can make DVD copies of my images as a backup.” Yes, this is true, and for short term backups it is a good option. However, if you shoot often, then your DVD backups are always going to be a few days, if not weeks, out of sync with your onsite collection. Not to mention spanning quite a few DVDs. Hit the Jump for three levels of photo backup from general backups to a data critical, ironclad, method of never losing anything. Read more…
FlashPost: Review of Blurb.com
So if you have been reading my blog since the start, you know that I recently published my first Photography book via Blurb.com. I made this decision because, in my opinion, it is a Green method of publishing and helps control freaks like myself main … well, control. Last week I recieved my first book in the mail and it has been waiting on me to go through and really scrutinize it. Read more…
Tech: Nikon, Canon, or ???
So, here I am again, and this time around I will be responding to a question that a few people have contacted me with. That question is the same one you will see on countless Photography sites all over the net … “Should I shoot Nikon or Canon or maybe something else?” Well, unfortunately this isn’t such a clear cut issue. The first thing that a person needs to know is they are buying a photography system, not just a camera. Each brand has things it is particularly good at, things it fails at, and various pro lenses that might be better suited for certain things. Hit the jump for a few basic tips as well as my take on this burning question. Read more…
BookReview: Annie Leibovitz, “At Work”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” There are so many boks out there for us to learn from, and yet so few unlock the secret doors of our minds that allows our souls to soar. With this in mind, I am excited to post what I hope to be the first of many book reviews. In the annuals of Photographic history there are many names that people know. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Dorthea Lange, Diane Arbus, Robert Capa, and of course our generation’s addition Annie Leibovitz. Read more…
FlashPost: How easy is that “glossy black” look?
So you think that those snazzy glossy black or white images can’t be pulled off without thousands in gear? Take a look at the below image. I call it “Tulip Deconstructed” and as you can see it sports that glossy reflection and solid black background, the kind that makes the subject really pop from the image.
If you still think these types of shots take tons of wallet draining gear, hit the Jump and think again. Read more…
Bring in the Funk, but check the Noise at the door.
In the olden days, and for those of us who still use film, image graininess was something we tried our best to reduce. If it was impossible, then you tried to integrate the grain into the picture so it added a certain feel to the final composition. Sometimes, the grain was even a planned part of the composition, much like modern film makers use the “8mm” look when they want to achieve that certain edgy and grainy feel to their films. In the digital age we still have this “problem” but it is generally refered to as noise.
Just like with film, the amount of grain/noise is dependent upon the ISO of the camera. In analog (aka film cameras) this was/is determined by the actual film’s ISO, and in digital it is determined by an ISO setting which varies the sensitivity of the sensor. Read more…
Perfect Light and Lack Thereof
So today I’m going to go over the next rule in my Photography Basics series. Yesterday, I talked about using a tripod, and how its important to keep your camera stable for the sharpest pictures. Now, were going to discuss what the camera needs to capture an image … light. On most websites you’ll read about the “magic” hours which include 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after sun rise, as well as sunset. For 2D pictures to have a “3D” feel to them, they need the exchange of light and shadow to make them pop. Read more…
FlashPost: Guide Update
For those of you who aren’t aware of it, I wrote a Guide to Photography in Isolated (Inhabited) Areas several months ago. I just have revised it some and added some important tips. You can get it with the link below …
ThreeFive Photography’s Guide to Shooting in Remote Locations Rev 1.1
Back from Tennessee
Been a few days since I’ve posted. I took a few days off and travelled to some pretty out remote locations in the Smokey Mountains in Eastern TN. Click through to see the full size on Flickr.
I had planned for this to be a photo free weekend, so I left the tripod at home. It might seem strange, but I find I don’t take photography as seriously if I don’t have my tripod along. My framing and “capturing the light” skills still hold, but without a tripod I feel like my photography takes on a much more “playful” tone, and play is always good for the soul. But, my photo-free weekend didn’t happen since I did have my camera with me. Just a few of the best things though. So this leads into my rules of Photography that Illl be expounding on each day for the next several days. So stay tuned for them all. Read more…
Book Release!!
So today, Friday the 20th, 2009, Im really happy to announce I am releasing my first Photography book, [ life in situ ]. I decided to self-publish via Blurb without even attempting to look at more traditional means. I felt that Blurb was an obvious choice for several reasons. First off, it forces me to be responsible for marketing the book and selling it’s merits. Secondly, it doesn’t kill thousands of trees and increase greenhouse gases needlessly in the event the book completely tanks. Lastly, it allows me to retain creative control over the process. As a former Art Director I have a certain level of need to maintain control of my creative process. So, in the end, the product you purchase from Blurb is my vision, not a collaboration of various publisher’s Creative Directors. Does this mean I won’t ever publish with a mainstream publisher? Not at all. But, only if I feel it is worth it. If you’d like to check it out or maybe purchase a copy, visit the link …
