This posting is a mish-mash of news – I’ve been visiting family and then busy at a conference in Florida and haven’t had much time until arriving home Sunday.
A podcast interview I did just went live today. Visit Lensflare35.com to listen to my interview and to view the images and comments I made for his program. I’m delighted with the way it turned out and hope you’ll enjoy it, too! Warning – get a cup of tea/coffee as the slide show with comments is longish- I sent him a few extra pics and he kept them all in! I can’t complain about that though. 🙂
Fotofusion was a variety of programs – from Photoshop techniques to seeing, to multimedia. I love going because it puts me in touch with current events and trends in the photojournalism, fine art, fashion and general areas of photography and I always, always learn something that I can use in my career.
Here’s a random rundown of things I learned:
The idea of making two exposures at different ISO to manage a scene with motion, such as a moving stream, where you don’t want to push the ISO on the whole scene of trees and rocks/mosses, etc., but you can push the ISO to capture an exposure for the moving water that will still have texture. (The 100 ISO exposure would cause total blurring with no detail in many cases). I saw several examples produced by Adam Jones and they were very good! He did one at 100 ISO and one at 1000 ISO on the Mark III and it worked beautifully.
That an EXPO disc is a wonderful tool for outdoor photographers. I have used this for people/event photography in the past, where I would set the custom white balance and then capture the event without needing to change anything as long as the color of light didn’t change. But for outdoor photographers, you can quickly use this handy device to white balance your scene which means you don’t have to do it all later in the computer. Again, I saw examples that were very effective and anything that saves me time is well worth a second look, so I’ll be pulling out my Expo Disc and including it in my outdoor/nature kit.
In the multimedia sector, both that of still slide shows to voice-over or music, and video, I picked up on a great suggestion for how to learn audio control and lighting. They suggested we watch movies made in the 40s-50s with the sound off, so you could study the lighting, and then with the sound on but eyes closed, so you could really hear the sound effects. Since I am working on some video tutorials, and some other ideas for multimedia slide shows, this will be very helpful – and I get to watch old movies and justify the time! ha ha.
I saw Thinktank Photo’s Shapeshifter – a backpack that collapses down to just about 3 inches in height when empty, but expands to hold all your gear so that you can travel with it all in the backpack, but bring a shoulder or belt-pack for street use, and store your backpack in your suitcase while there. Pretty ingenious – check it out. You’d need to buy the modular waist belt for it, but I think this bag has some real potential for being ease of travel. And if you do decide that you must have this bag, don’t forget to order using my special code so you get a free gift with purchase. While I do get a commission, I only work with companies whose products I really like and use. I currently own the original Thinktank Airport Acceleration and the Speed Racer Belt Pack, along with the waistbelts, and modular pouches and a Digital Holster.
Be Well,
Brenda
ohhÂ…nice post but really?/? :p
Yikes, what a story, Stacy. Fortunately it’s not to that level on a regular basis though! As I said, I just consider myself a photographer, sans gender, and thankfully don’t have to deal with the issue too much. Good for you for winning first place!
I am listening to your Podcast right now, and truly enjoying hearing your life experiences. As a female nature photographer – I take much inspiration from those who are doing the same.
You mentioned not having your heart into wedding or event photography after trying it. This really made me smile. Last year I spent time doing a project that involved more of that type of work (event) and couldn’t wait to get back to nature scenes!
I also whole-halfheartedly agree with your comments with male vs. female photographers. My own personal best example of how a times it’s tougher to be taken seriously – was at a highly competitive large photo gathering
(a competition) in Ohio. I mentioned to a group of guys how I was pleased to see the weather had cleared so we could get out and shoot in the morning.
As I walked off to my car – I could overhear them laughing… “Oh, my wife likes to take snapshots too, for her little scrapbooks and all…”. After this – I was so determined to show the “good ‘ol boys” up – I never worked harder. I managed to take first place in the Landscape category, and felt somewhat vindicated! Snapshots – ha!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful views and stories.
Hi Jay – yes, the Expo Disc is great for seeing spots on the sensor, too – although they’d hate to hear they designed this great tool for that! haha. It came out during film days, though it’s a great new use for it, I agree. Yes, Lightroom and ACR work great, but as my friend says when he’s processing 200 images for stock submission, one less thing to have to do in ACR or LR is great – we all have different ways, don’t we!
All best,
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
Oh my. I was just listening to your Podcast interview and discovered that I have to buy yet another book on photography, this time the revision of the Tharp book that I already own. My pre-order on Amazon already went in tonight!
If I may play devil’s advocate for a moment. I have an Expodisc that can be easily used for seeing spots on the sensor. But as a white balance tool, I find that the Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom solution works well. In addition, some people recommend setting the white balance with Live View, perhaps even with the Kelvin setting. Clearly there are several alternatives.
I’m looking forward to that twilight shot of the Ponte Vecchio!
Regards,
Jay Levin
There’s no end to tricks, techniques and gear/gadgets in the photography business. These shows are a teeming cauldron of them! Thanks for sharing…
I’ll be checking out your interview when I free up some time and can get at my cup of tea.
You’re welcome, kalani. Lensflare35 offers the visual add-on of the slide show which I really like, but The Candid Frame has wonderful archives of interviews and Ibarionex is a good friend. We just have to schedule time for them both!! More cups of coffee or tea, more breaks. I like that idea. 🙂
great interview. i think i like thecandidframe better tho. fotofusion sounds like a blast maybe ill get lucky and get to check it out next year. thanks for the tips 🙂