If you don’t like to read, please skip this and jump over to the new site at http://www.aaronreedphotography.com or click on the waterfall image on the lower right hand side of this post to be taken directly there.

One of the most important details when trying to create a successful photography business is having a clean, user friendly and search engine friendly website. During the past two years I have maintained a flash based website. While this website served it’s purpose for the most part there were some major areas of improvement that were needed. The first detail was Search Engine Optimization. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion. Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

Without this type of SEO, fewer viewers will come across your website. I averaged 72 unique viewers to my website last year each day for a total of just over 26,000 unique visits. This number can, and needed to be much higher. Every visitor is a potential client, contact or business partner. You need to grab the viewers attention and hold on to it. The average time spent by each viewer on my website was just over 2 minutes. That is not very much time to give them a reason to stay. One of the reasons for this was that my galleries were slide show based. This meant that anyone that viewing a particular gallery only had one option to view it. While watching the slide show presentation,  no matter how moving or beautiful my images are, there was just too much opportunity for the viewer to get sidetracked and get pulled away. They may never return, and another opportunity is lost.

The second detail I felt I was missing was a clean, professional looking blog. Having and maintaining a blog that is directly tied to my website is one way I can keep visitors returning, and in turn getting a second chance for them to see my work. WordPress based blogs also have great SEO function and place very well when searching Google. The maintenance of a blog also allows me to enhance my work and help others by sharing details of my images, tips & tricks, upcoming events, product reviews and much more. Each of these entries has the opportunity to direct more people to my site and allows them to share my writing and imagery with friends and family with just a mouse click.

The final detail I was missing from my site was a dedicated, complete and feature rich shopping cart. If you sell your work as I do, you have most likely experienced a potential customer who has contacted you about an initial purchase by email, and after you respond, you never hear from them again. Some of these customers may have been turned off my your pricing structure or some other reason, but more likely then that…it just wasn’t EASY enough for them. Customers should not need to struggle to make a purchase from you. Your contact information should be visible in multiple locations. Each one of these small details will increase your ability to sell images or land that next gig.

I have went with Photoshelter to host my website. Their options are incredibly feature rich and their SEO is unmatched. I highly recommend checking them out if you have been looking for a simple, complete website solution. Have a look at www.photoshelter.com

I am excited about the ideas that I have for enhancing and maintaining this new website & blog combination. If you would like to follow my work, please subscribe to the RSS feed to receive updates when new material is posted. If you have suggestions or questions I would love to hear from you. If you have an upcoming event, or know of someone who does, anywhere in Washington or Oregon please pass on my information. I appreciate all the support I have received the past 2 years. My website and blog also provide you with the ability to share on social networking sites with ease. I encourage you to do so whenever you can.

Thank you again for all your support, encouragement and continued business. If you yourself are a photographer…..get out there and keep shooting!

My night project is building and I’ve added new works to the gallery.
Experimenting with long exposure photography is proving to be an addiction!

www.melissamercier.com

Creativity

Before the days of digital, photography was limited to film processing. During this processing, there were things that could be adjusted to enhance an image for print.

During exposure, values in the image can be adjusted, most often by “dodging” (reducing the amount of light to a specific area of an image by selectively blocking light to it for part or all of the exposure time) and/or “burning” (giving additional exposure to specific area of an image by exposing only it while blocking light to the rest). Filters, usually thin pieces of colored plastic, can be used to increase or decrease an image’s contrast (the difference between dark tones and light tones). After exposure, the photographic printing paper (which still appears blank) is ready to be processed.

Photographers generally begin printing a roll of film by making a contact print of their negatives to use as a quick reference to decide which images to enlarge. Some large format photographers, such as Edward Weston, make only contact prints of their large (4×5″, 5×7″, 8×10″ or larger) negatives.

The paper that has been exposed is processed, first by immersion in a photographic developer, halting development with a stop bath, and fixing in a photographic fixer. The print in then washed to remove the processing chemicals and dried. There are a variety of other, additional steps a photographer may take, such as toning.

To this day there are arguments between film and digital, processed and “unprocessed”, and which one is more beneficial as well as which one is more true to reality. I am not going to get into this argument here mainly because I never used film in my photography. By the time I became interesting in taking photographs, digital technology was already advanced enough that I did not see any reason to being shooting with film. Again, there are many arguments on this topic and I do not claim to have all the answers, or even the correct ones. I will say that I am a firm believer in the idea that photography is an art form, is subjective to the person viewing it, and is an extension of the photographers soul. There are no “rights” or ‘wrongs”, only opportunities. Opportunities to listen, to learn and to grow as photographers, artists and as people. These opportunities present themselves in everything you do, not just your photography.

That being said, I enjoy the processing of, and in my opinion, the enhancing of my photographs. If every photographer approached a subject with the same set of rules or guidelines, every image would end up the same in the end. It would be terribly boring. Most of us would lose interest…both photographers, and those of us viewing the images. The majority of the processing that I do has to do with color and local contrast. I have a few other “tricks” I use and also incorporate the use of digital filters into my work on occasion. The processing I do is not very labor intensive. I am certainly not a photoshop guru, although I wish that I were. One of my goals with this blog is to explore new ideas in processing and learn new things with you, the reader. We can try things together and see how they work. There really is no substitute for trail and error.

If you are going to study any one point of photographic technique spend your time on composition. Learn what looks good to you and more importantly why. I also plan on incorporating some video into my blog showing how I approach a subject to photograph it, in hopes that it will help you in your photography. The color, or lack of color in an image, the contrast, the brightness and the subject itself all help to grab the attention of the viewer….it is the composition that shows the viewer what to see, how to see it and is really the #1 factor in how long they will view, and appreciate your image. You can have a beautiful scene, perfectly captured technically, with amazing color and clarity but if the composition is lacking, most people will not spend much time viewing it. When you view an image of yours, or someone else’s, pay attention to how your eyes travel through the photograph. Do they stop half way through the image and get lost in a portion of the frame? Do they trial off and out of the frame before you have had a chance to view the entire image? These are examples of a poorly composed image. It is more than the rule of thirds. It is everything.

More than anything else, and better than any advice you can ever receive technically speaking, is it important to continue to challenge yourself creatively. In the way you approach a subject, the way you capture the image, the way you process the image and they subject you choose to shoot. If you get stagnant in any of these areas you are potentially stopping your own creative progression and at the very least, cheating yourself out of a wealth or experience and photographic opportunity.

Remember this…. there is NO RIGHT or WRONG in your form of art. It IS an extension of yourself. Never allow someone else to dictate to you what you should or should not do. Do whatever you like. Those people who would choose to try to steer you in a certain direction with your photography do so because they have found themselves in a creative box and cannot find their way out of it. Because they cannot find their way out, they are just looking for some company.  Go have fun and Happy Shooting!

I was browsing the Gitzo tripods website this morning and found The Vintage Collection.

It is a genuine replica of Gitzo supports with the classic logos. And what can I say about the case? It’s simply a must have!

http://gitzo.com/cms/site/gitzo/cache/products/special_lines/sl_vintage

All monopods are not created equal. I can say that with some authority now that I have owned and used more than one. When I first started shooting I didn’t have use for a monopod. My longest lens was a 200mm lens, which in my opinion, does not need one – ever. A monopod is a quick way to support or stabilize a camera or lens. And with lenses longer than 300mm, they really come in handy.

My first monopod was the stable but heavy Bogen 680B. Its cheap at about $65 most places and is capable of supporting up to 22.5 lbs. It has 4 sections, folds to 20.8 inches and weighs in at whopping 1.83 lbs. I never thought that weight would be an issue with it but as I started to use it to support more than a 300mm f2.8 (5.6lbs) it started to add up. After carrying a 400mm f2.8 around for an entire day my shoulder was starting to hurt.

When I bought my 300mm f4 IS, I wasn’t planning on using it with a monopod because it is super light weight. However, after a couple of consecutive football games and shooting for nearly 8 hours at a state softball tournament I decided to use one just to relieve the strain from my shoulder. The 300 f4 weighs in at 2.6 lbs with the tripod collar. The Bogen 680B is more than half the weight of the lens, almost as big around and feels unbalanced when used with a lens less than a 300mm f2.8. For hours of shooting, this was not an ideal solution. The solution was the Gitzo GM2541.

The GM2541 is one of the newest 6X carbon monopods from Gitzo. Its a 4 section, 1.1lbs, full carbon fiber, twist leg lock, non-rotating leg, 26.4 lbs capacity monopod. Its quite a bit more expensive at $240 but in my opinion worth every penny. When fully expanded, the GM2541 is extremely stiff. The leg sections do not exhibit the flex like there is in my Bogen 680B. It may only be 0.73lbs lighter than the 680B but it really works well for lighter lenses such as the 300mm F4 IS and 400mm F5.6 and I suppose the 70-200mm f2.8 IS.

The top plate is large enough to accommodate many of the heavier lenses and features a reversible stud for 1/4 or 3/8 threaded mounts. One feature which I am sure will come in handy is wrist strap/wide belt clip attached below the base plate. It is now possible to hang the monopod from a belt (such as my Think Tank belt), a backpack strap, or whatever else you want. Its a nice feature that will come in handy when I am running onto the field trying to get that celebration shot after the game. Previously I either held the monopod and lens in one hand and shot pictures with the other or I just left my monopod under a bench on the sidelines with the hope it wouldn’t be stolen.

There are a host of other features, most of which I don’t really think about while shooting. If you want more tech specs click that link above. One of those features is the foot of the monopod can be removed and a stainless steel spike can be put in place of the rubber pad. It comes in 2 lengths including an extra long spike that can be used for killing zombies and skewering meat (not really). I suppose it would help in snowy situations.

Overall the Gitzo GM2541 is a great, lightweight addition to your photo support arsenal. Its capable of holding some of the heaviest lenses but light enough to travel with. Me and my shoulder are happy to have found it.

Gitzo har oppgradert sin Basalt serie, noe som har medført endringer i både konstruksjon og design. Den nye Gitzo Basalt Collection, som består av seks stativer, tre “quick-release” (QR) med center kulehoder, en monopod og bom, utnytter fibrene i basaltstein å produsere høy ytelses og meget lette rør som er opptil 20% lettere enn aluminium. Basalt er et vulkansk materiale som er spesilet egnet til stativer grunnet sin høye styrke og lave vekt. Dette betyr i praksis at den nye Basalt kolleksjonen også er opptil 22% sterkere enn før. Basalt stativene er tilgjengelige i 3 serier og i standard og kompakt høyde. Den nye Basalt Collection “center ball heads” er også tilgjengelige i 3 serier som hver har en QR plate (hurtigfeste). Gitzo sin nye serie er allerede på plass hos forhandlerne.

Les mer på Gitzo sin webside.

In has been a very long time since I created a blog post. I am truly sorry to those who have subscribed, only to not see anything new from me. Due to an employment change I packed up and moved from Portland, Oregon (the only place I ever called home) up North to Seattle, Washington. Now, in my opinion, Seattle is just a larger version of Portland with a few more people and a little more traffic. I felt right at home here. I was born with gills and webbed feet so the weather here is just what I expected and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The rain in the Pacific Northwest that others complain about so much is what creates so much beauty around us. Image living in a place with so little water, that there are no waterfalls. Some of you do I am sure, and some of you may even enjoy the dry, hot climate but it is definitely not for me. Give me my waterfalls or give me death! Okay, that is a little extreme right? Here are some examples of why I love rain, and in turn waterfalls…..

Another natural wonder that there are no shortage of in the Pacific Northwest are mountains. Both Oregon and Washington are home to the Cascade Mountain range providing both it’s residents and visitors around the world some of the most stunning scenery the world has to offer. Here are a collection of some of my favorite images from both states.

If you are a photographer like I am, who enjoys capturing all kinds of images, then moving to a new city provides you with an entire array of new subject matter. When you have lived in one place as long as I had, this is a very welcoming situation and one that I capitalized on right away by going out and exploring the city of Seattle.

For those of you who have subscribed to my blog, I promise to put forth more of an effort to keep it updated. If there are questions you would like answered, please ask.

If you are a company, that would like me to demo your product in the field and place my findings here on the blog, please send me an email to:    aaronreedphotography@comcast.net

If you are a follower of my work, someone who came across my work in a local business or restaurant, or this is your first time here and you would like to order prints of any of the images you see here please contact me through my website at   http://aaronreedphotography.com or directly by email   aaronreedphotography@comcast.net

Thank you for taking the time to view my work.

開開開什麼玩笑！

蛤~~~~~~ anshun拔拔怎麼在寫開箱文啊！

這這這………..  應該就是傳說中的雞肉吧！

外面的盒子有點破爛耶，不過這不是重點啦！

小拉：「今天Pelin麻麻帶回來一個神秘黑盒子耶，外殼上還有亮晶晶的五個字耶，難道這就是傳說中的雞肉，唉呀！害我流口水了啦！嘿嘿！迫不急待想開來看看。」

小拉 @@ ：「嚇~~~~~~~~~~  圓圓你怎麼在黑盒子裡呀？？？」

圓圓：「我以為麻麻會帶小魚回來給我吃的呀！啊知裡面黑漆漆的，而且也沒有小魚吃。」

圓圓：「不過有個黑黑的東西，我拉出來看看。」

小拉：「加油！ 我幫妳把盒蓋打開。」

圓圓：「我實在沒力氣，拉不動。 小拉幫幫我。」

小拉：「沒問題，看我的，我可是拉拉幫的大力士喔！」

小拉：「是黑色的袋子，裡頭還有東西耶！」

圓圓：「那再接再勵吧！」

圓圓：「哇~~~~~ 這是Pelin麻麻的新武器嗎？ 用來打壞人的嗎？」

小拉：「呃！好失望喔！還以為有雞肉可以吃，原來是三腳架啦！笨圓，那不是武器啦！還打壞人勒！」

小拉：「撐起來看看有多壯觀！」

圓圓：「好好玩喔！」

小拉 驚！！！「笨圓！妳什麼時侯跑上去的，還倒立耶！」

全貌來一張！

米小兔：「嘿嘿！換我出場囉！」

米小兔：「Pelin麻麻還帶了另一個小盒子回來耶！打開來看看！」

米小兔：「哇勒！福氣~ 你怎麼躲在裡頭呀！」

福氣：「悶死我了！」

小兔&福氣：「噹噹噹噹！ 是雲台耶」

福氣：「是G1178M喔！可是女性攝影師超愛的輕型雲台」

組合起來！

哇~~~ 這就是合體了嗎！

還有還有~~~ 有一個很有質感的腳架背袋。

新武器入袋，打完收工~~~  Pelin麻麻驗收喔！

1. Learn to see

Seems simple enough in theory but you’ll never develop as a photographer unless you possess the ability to see. Pre-visualise the different way an image will look through the lens of a camera compared to how your eyes see a scene.

2. Learn to accept whatever nature deals you.

Bad weather is good weather may seem like a contradiction, this is true of much of what nature deals you. Learn to use precipitation, snow, fog, rain to your advantage, it can often enhance an image. Used intelligently such climatic conditions can  add that other dimension required to make an image extraordinary. Shooting at dawn and dusk, the so-called “golden hour” often produces the most dramatic lighting effects. Other forms of light can also make for a great image, so learn to read the quality and direction of light and use them to aid composition and effects.

3. Travel light and know how to use your equipment.

By travelling light you will find that you take more images. I personally rarely carry more than 3 lenses at a time and when working with a Canon 500mm f/4 IS lens it’s often the only lens I’ll take into the field due to the weight and terrain in which I’m working. 

In the words of my all time favourite photographer - Galen Rowell “most photographic problems in the field can be cured by RTFM (read the f…… manual)”.

4. Use a stable support wherever possible.

If you are serious about making quality images then always a decent tripod - I’d highly recommend  Gitzo tripods, they are manufactured to the highest standard and combine light weight with sturdiness. When using longer zoom and prime lenses you may want to resort to using a beanbag, they are not only flexible, they allow you to compose quickly and importantly accurately.

5. Be discerning

We can all take record shots, some will undoubtedly be better than others, but none the less they will be nothing more than record shots. Imagine you have been assigned by National Geographic and that each photograph you’re going to take is for the cover or a grand exhibition viewed by thousands at the Smithsonian. Once you become this discerning you’ll immediate stop taking those boring record shots.

6. Admire great photographs but don’t copy

Time and time again I see photographs copied even by established professionals, a compliment it may well be to the skills of the photographer whose image they copy. But if you are looking to improve then try above everything else to be unique, be yourself.

Look at the work of some of my favourite  photographers and learn to appreciate why many of their images consistently work.

Art Wolf  / Jim Brandenburg / Eliot Porter / Galen Rowell / Hans Strand

Gitzo har lansert to nye  stativer i retro stil. De nye Gitzo GK1380VQR og Gitzo GK2380VQR er begge til tross for  sitt klassiske utseende, en høyteknologisk konstruksjon. Føttene består av fire segmenter, mens den teleskopiske senter søylen sørger for enkel høydejustering. Den nye “Ground Level Set-funksjonen” lar deg også fjerne senter søylen slik at du kan få kameraet nærmere bakken. “G-Lock leg” låsesystem gir rask betjening av stativet og sikker låsing. En ny Power Disc, laget av solid aluminium, har to låseskruer – én for å låse hodet, den andre låser topplaten til sentersøylen. De nye GK1380VQR og GK2380VQR stativene skiller seg fra hverandre først og fremst i vekt (1.9kg og 2.5kg, henholdsvis), nyttelast (4kg og 6kg) og pris er i skrivende stund ikke fastsatt.

Op zondag 11 oktober aanstaande is het in Wilrijk weer tijd voor de najaarseditie van de Mini-Photokina van Studio 73 & Foto Rubens. Dit event wordt 2x per jaar op poten gezet door deze 2 fotospecialisten. Het unieke aan de Mini-Photokina is dat iedereen met z’n vragen of opmerkingen rechtstreeks terecht kan bij medewerkers van de leveranciers zelf.

De beurs zal dit jaar groter dan ooit tevoren zijn dankzij de aanwezigheid van verschillende nieuwe merken zoals Benro, Redged, Think Tank en nog vele anderen. Er worden ook workshops gegeven over ringflash, strobist, schermkalibratie en printer profiling. Er is zelfs een studio voorzien die bemand zal worden door enkele bloedmooie modellen!

Dit event vindt plaats in C.C. De Kern in Wilrijk. De toegang is volledig gratis en je kan langskomen tussen 10u en 16u. Ook de nabij gelegen winkel van Foto Rubens zal die dag geopend zijn!

Tot slot geven we ook nog even mee dat ook het nieuwe Belgische fotomagazine Shoot op de beurs aanwezig zal zijn met een eigen stand waar u de eerste nummers van deze publicatie kunt leren kennen.

One of the early lessons that I learnt was that if you want your photographs to be super sharp you need to use a tripod. That’s not to say that modern lenses with vibration reduction servos aren’t good, they are, but if you are using zoom lenses or working close up, you need even more help.

I am sure that most photographers know this, so why is it that you seldom see anyone out with a tripod?

Perhaps it is simply that they are one more thing to lug around or maybe we feel that the authorities will be along to see what we are doing. I for one use a tripod quite a lot and certainly don’t regret buying a really good one. Mine is Gitzo carbon traveller with a quick release and a Gitzo ball head and it really is the business.

Fotograf und Motiv

Naturfotografie verlangt nach einer gewissen Mindestausstattung beim Equipment. Das ist bekannt. Und nach einer gewissen Routine mit der Aufnahmetechnik. Selektive Schärfe mit langen Brennweiten, kurze Verschlußzeiten, Reaktionsschnelligkeit.Das muss immer wieder geübt werden.

Schwalbenschwanz auf Sommerflieder

Beim Filmen kommt ein großes Problem dazu: während der Fotograf mit dem langen Tele sich durchaus mit einer kurzen Verschlußzeit “ins Ziel zittern” kann, überträgt sich beim Video (und natürlich umso mehr je länger die Objektivbrennweite ist) jede Unruhe auf den Film. Klar, es ist Bewegtbild. Kein Auslösen, wenn das Motiv passt. Der Film geht durch. Und das Verzittern und Verwackeln ist ein Hauptfehler, den der Filmneuling gerne begeht. 

Deshalb sollte grundsätzlich zum Filmen ein stabiles Stativ zum Einsatz kommen. So wie bei mir mein Gitzo-Reporter, das im Foto unten auf den Lowe Pro Phototrekker aufgeschnallt ist.

Stativ Gitzo-Reporter

Will man beweglich sein, dann wird das Dreibein aber oft genug als lästig empfunden. Immer das ganze Stativ mit aufmontierter Kamera an einen anderen Standort platzieren, da gehen einem bei so flüchtigen Tieren wie Schmetterlingen auch zu gerne die Motive abhanden, bis man endlich wieder aufnahmebereit ist. Und denen mit der Kamera auf Dreibein zu folgen ist auch fast unmöglich.

Abhilfe schafft hier ein anderes Hilfsmittel: Das Schulterstativ.

Schulterstativ

Das ist kein absoluter Ersatz für das Tripod.Man muss aufpassen, dass sich nicht die eigene Atembewegung, das Heben und Senken des Brustkorbs, auf das Stativ überträgt. Das Risiko ist bei längeren Clips durchaus gegeben, wenn man etwa einem Vogel im Durchsichtsucher folgt. Da wird der Atem schwerer, das ist anstrengend. Also Atemtechnik üben. Wie ein Scharfschütze. Eher zwischendurch mal kurz die Auslösetaste drücken, den Film stoppen, durchatmen und dann weiterfilmen.

Weitere Möglichkeit, um Wackler zu kaschieren: Bewegen Sie sich selbst während der Aufnahme! Nicht versuchen, möglichst ruhig draufzuhalten, sondern in Bewegung bleiben. Ein paar Schritte nach links, nach rechts. Das ist insbesondere auch dann opportun, wenn sich das Motiv selbst auch bewegt. Und dasmacht den Film dynamisch. Bewegt. Das ergibt auch neue Blickwinkel.

Denn, man darf icht vergessen, selbst das, was man im eigenen Sucher als ganz toll und faszinierend ansieht, irgendwer sonst hat das sicher auch schon gefilmt.

Der nachfolgene Film entstand übrigens nur mit Schulterstativ. Mit einer Brennweite, die – bezogen auf das Kleinbildformat in der Fotografie – 2.000 mm beträgt. Und dafür ist das Ergebnis durchaus als “ruhig” anzusehen.

Andere Blickwinkel auch in der Fotografie suchen und wagen

Auch als Fotograf muß man sich gewiß sein: es gibt nichts, was nicht schon fotografiert worden wäre.

Ich bringe da mal ein Beispiel anhand der Deichschafe, die wir allenthalben an der deutschen Nordseeküste finden. Den Tieren kommt im Deichschutz eine große Bedeutung zu, weil sie beim Grasen am Deichwall das Erdreich verfestigen und stabilisieren. Das Motiv selbst ist also – so banal es sonst auch sein mag – von journalistischer und dokumentarischer Relevanz.

Da sollten die Schafe zu sehen sein, der Deich und auch das, was der Deich schützt, nämlich das Hinterland.

Deich-Schafe in der Wesermarsch

Ich habe das mit dem Blick von oben versucht darzustellen. Nicht etwa mit dem Weitwinkel, um das Land zu zeigen, die Landschaft hinter’m Deich, sondern mit dem 300-er Tele. Verdichtend. Das Hinterland, das ist die angeschnittene Straße am Deichfuß. Und auch der Zaun gehörte dazu.Denn die Tiere laufen ja nicht einfach frei rum.

Der Naturfotograf hat ja auch immer wieder Themen im Angebot, die auch durchaus tagesaktuell sind. Auch bei denen sollte man versuchen, ein paar Varianten zu schießen, bei denen ein prägnanter Eye-Catcher dabei ist.

Ich denke das ist mir beim Riesenbärenklau mit dem Kohlweißling gelungen. Der Falter demonstriert, daß nicht alles, was für den Menschen gefährlich ist, auch in der Natur ein “Unkraut” ist.

Finger weg vom Riesenbärenklau

Wenn die Waldarbeiter mal die gefällten Baumstämme abtransportieren, dann müssen die sehr wohl mit Vorsicht zu Werke gehen.

Hintergrund-Info: Eigentlich ist er ja ganz hübsch und der Kohlweißling fühlt sich offensichtlich auf ihm wohl. Aber wir Menshen sollten die Finger on ihm lassen! Denn dem Riesenbärenklau begegnet man als homo sapiens besser im Schutzanzug! An diesem Holzlagerplatz bei Langmühle im Pfälzerwald musste ich mich mal in die Büsche schlagen. Ist er es oder ist er es nicht? Das war der Gedanke, der mir durch den Kopf ging. Er war es. Wer den Riesenbärenlau berührt, riskiert üble Hautschäden. Die Pflanze enthält giftige Furanocumarine. Besonders der Pflanzensaft. Der Giftstoff verursacht zusammen mit dem Sonnenlicht auf der Haut binnen 24 Stunden eine stark juckende schmerzhafte Hautreizung. Vergleichbar einer Verbrennung dritten Grades. Der Bärenklau hat sich mittlerweile auch in Parks und Gärten angesiedelt und dort muß man ihm als ungebetenem Gast zu Leibe rücken. Er stirbt ab, wenn man den Blütenstand abschneidet.  Allerdings funktioniert das nur zu Beginn der Fruchtreife Ende Juli. Vorher oder nachher muß die Pflanze mitsamt Wurzel ausgegraben werden. Wie gesagt: Schutzleidung tragen! En passant bemerkt: den Bärenklau gibt es bei uns schon seit dem 19. Jahrhundert. Ursprünglich wurde er nämlich als Zierpflanze eingeführt.

My life has three distinct elements protruding in a variety of telescopic lengths from a relatively stable core. Much like a tripod (or an ammonia molecule, if I were the nitrogen atom and these elements were hydrogen, but I digress…). Those elements would be my work, my school and my photography.

My work is commanding much of my energy and attention at the moment. Advertising is a tough slog at the best of times, and the current “economic climate,” or “tough economy,” or “recession,” is adding flour to the already-thick soup. In advertising you can bust your ass and not get anywhere, which is counter-intuitive to a results-oriented person like me. While the stress and tumult is offset by a healthy income, I long for more stability and reward for the hard work.

Speaking of results and hard work, my school is continuing at a good pace, if not a bit quicker than I would like. I have a mid-term project due in the next two weeks which will require a great deal of research, time and effort, supplemented by a few pages of writing. This course, which will complete my certificate, is much more intensive than the last one. I am scheduled to finish my course work by August.

Amidst the work and studies, photography compels me these days. I am excited with my results, with learning, and I am bolstered by the praise and acknowledgement from my peers and colleagues. I am often trying new things, thinking of ideas, and just shooting. I bought a tripod yesterday (well, paid for everything, but only received 1/3 of my set-up; the rest are on backorder). The legs, which I took home, are the Gitzo 1541 Mountaineer. The head I ordered is an Acratech GV2 leveling ballhead. I also ordered the quick-release plate specifically designed for my Canon 5D mark II. These items should arrive early next week. The total package will weigh less than 3.5 lbs and be about 2′ tall when compacted, which is great for hiking and traveling. I bought this stuff at Vistek in downtown Calgary, and my salesperson had no qualms about matching their competitors’ prices.

I’m very excited about finally having a tripod. Not only have I had an itch recently to go out at midnight and shoot some long exposures of the city, and not only am I interested in heading out to the mountains to take some landscapes, but I’ve been keen to set up a mini-studio in my basement. My wife and I have a large drafting table which can lay flat at about waist height, and I’m interested in setting up some lights and trying some still life. She’s asked me to shoot a few things for her website.

Speaking of which, Nest and Sparkle is getting some serious attention of late. Her website has been prominently featured on several lifestyle and home & gardening websites, and she’s enjoying triple or more the traffic that I get, which is exciting. I have to say I’m a bit jealous, but while my website muses about superfluous ambiguousness, her site is quite intrinsic and focused, and is one that people can easily latch on to for improving their own quality of life. Her success is motivating her as well.

Don’t forget, we’re both on Twitter: cdub  nestandsparkle

In less than two weeks’ time we’re heading to Banff for a couple of days of mountain air and relaxation. We’re going to find some day hikes and enjoy the early moments of summer.

Actually it was never a contest.  I recently spent a few days at Angkor Wat and surrounding area in Siem Reap, Cambodia and brought a M8 and three lenses, the Summicron 35mm f/2, the Summilux 75mm f1.4, and the Carl Zeiss Biogon 21mm f/2.8 and the Nikon D700 with the 14-24 f/2.8 zoom and the 135mm DC f/2 lenses. I figured that the two kits would complement one another.

In addition, I brought a Gitzo 1227 Mk2 tripod with G1275M head.  I carried the gear in a Thinktank Rotation 360.

The D700 failed miserably.  In fact in the first 30 minutes and after 10 shots.  The electronics in the camera packed up, causing the camera to not power up.  I tried to revive the camera by reinstalling the battery, installing a second battery etc.  Nothing worked.  Done.

So for the next few days I relied on the M8, mainly using the Summicron 35mm f/2. And the M8 succeeded in the extreme conditions.  The temperature reached a high of 36 Celsius and the humidity was 85 percent.  The tropical sun was constantly beating down on you and you felt like you were going to melt.

I will be posting on Angkor Wat in the next few days.  It is a wonderful venue for photographs.

Photos taken with a Leica M8 and a Summicron 35mm f/2 lens.

Gitzo har annonsert et nytt stativ for krevende brukere. Det har fått navnet Ocean Traveler. Stativet er produsert i Gitzos unike 6x karbonfiber materiale. Metalldelene i stativet er sprøytetsøpt ved hjelp av en meget sofistikert teknikk, samme teknikk  som brukes under produksjon avblant annet  kirurgiske instrumenter. Prosessen lukker i følge Gitzo alle porer i metallet og sørger for at korrosjon ikke oppstår. Med andre ord, stativet tåler alt, til og med  i sjøvann. Gitzo har i tillegg styrket sin velkjente G-lock etappe låsing og kaller den i dette tilfellet Ocean Lock. Denne gjør at vann og rusk ikke kommer inn i stativbeina. Stativet er i tillegg 20% stivere, og mye raskere i drift enn tidligere modeller.
Dette er med andre ord et stativ som tåler meget tøff behandling. Prisen blir nok ikke spesielt hyggelig tror jeg, men kvalitet koster som regel litt mer.

I’ve never really enjoyed carrying around a tripod during my photo outings. I like to be mobile, be able to move around the subject without setting up, etc. This helps me be more creative. However, this does limit the ability to have tack sharp images in some tricky lighting situation. I was using a heavy “Manfrotto Baggins” (as I like to call it) tripod until my recent travel equipment purchase.

I didn’t want to compromise any of my shots in Africa, so I decided to purchase a lightweight robust tripod for myself. The Gitzo 1541T. This thing is so light that I was concerned about the load factor. The day after I got it, I threw the legs into the ocean (very un-OCD of me) to capture this shot. So far this bad boy has held up perfectly. Some features:

• The sexy legs are made of Gitzo’s 6X Carbon…droooool…
• Weighing in at only 2.1lbs (total weight + GH1780QR Head: 2.9lbs!!! Perfect in my backpack)
• Load weight: Max 17.6lbs
• Closed length at only 16.1″

The tripod also came with a nice bonus. The Gitzo GC1201T bag. Although they look very similar, this is not the same bag as the Gitzo GC1200T bag. The GC1200T is not suppose to be able to fit the GT1541T tripod as it was only intended for the GT1550T tripod. I have not been able to find any information on the GC1201T bag. It’s not even listed on the Gitzo site.

Here I go. Part 1 of ? I purchased some items over the past few weeks for the Africa trip. Some neat travel tools and some photography equipment.

1. Braun PocketGo P-70 Travel Shaver: Believe it or not, I shave…mostly my upper lip. I’m deathly afraid of razors (even though that would have been the lightest / no-power needed option), so I needed a good travel shaver. The Braun PocketGo got really good reviews on Amazon and it runs on two AA batteries. It’s a bit larger and heavier than I expected, but I’m trying to avoid looking like a 90’s porn star.

2. APC INPA Universal Plug Adapter: This thing is sweet. Light, flat, compact and Transformers like. I’m going through 9 different countries but I’ll only have to deal with two different plug types. Although, the APC INPA pretty much covers the entire world. I think I bought the last one in the U.S. Anyone know where I can buy another one?

3. Gitzo 1780QR Ballhead: All you need to know – 22 pound load capacity weighing in at only 0.8 pounds.

4. What did I use to snap the images above? My final new compact camera, the Leica D-Lux 4. Love that red dot!

5. Wait, what did I use to snap the Leica image?

Yum, my new Canon 5D Mark II camera with a new Canon 16-35 f/2.8L Mark II lens. Should I also talk about the extra LP-E6 battery I waited for? Seems like that’s harder to find these days.

I’m expecting the final new photography tool for the trip this weekend. So expect another update soon.

The single most important factor that will affect your photography is the quality of the available light. It is the reason most photographers will agree that early morning and late evening light is the most desirable for outdoor or landscape photography. Other factors that have a great affect on the quality of the light you are shooting with include cloud cover, fog or mist, and the direction the light falling on your subject. What about when there is too much light? That is where Neutral Density Filters come in.  Neutral Density filters come in either circular screw in (glass) type filters or in rectangular (resin) type filters that can be hand held for greater control. They can be solid or gradual, where only a portion of the filter holds back the available light, and the other portion allows the light in. These type of filters are very useful for balancing a dark foreground with a bright sky as would be found during sunrise or sunset. Sometimes, the use of Neutral Density filters are used to create a dramatic effect by allowing you to capture longer exposure times to create movement in parts of an image, while stationary objects remain still as you can see in this image….

This is also the way that photographers capture movement in water such as ocean waves or waterfalls as seen below. Be careful not to overdue it or you will blow out the highlights in your image, losing all detail in that portion of the image. Waterfalls have always inspired me and continue to be one of mt favorite subjects too capture when out shooting.

People often ask, the filters I would suggest using. There is an old saying, that the poor man pays twice, meaning purchase the best the first time around and it will be your last purchase. If you are looking for screw in type filters I would suggest B+W filters. Places around the web like Adorama carry these filters in many strengths and sizes. If it is ND grads that you are looking for, I would suggest Lee or Singh Ray. Filters of this type, made cheaply, create a color cast that is left on your image resulting in uneven and unrealistic color. Neutral Density filters create endless creative possibilities for you and your images. Get out there and experiment….there is no better way to learn and grow in your photography.

Even ter herinnering: Aanstaande zondag, 22/03/2009, vindt er in de parochiezaal St. Amands in Geel de half-jaarlijkse Mini-Photokina plaats. Van 10u tot 17u kan je er rechtstreeks bij de grote importeurs al je vragen stellen. Een echte aanrader! Meer info kan je hier vinden.

I finally upgraded my Tripod and Ballhead Set Up, so from here on out I should not have Tripod Envy when photographing with Ken.  I’m also hoping this set up will get me through at least the next 10yrs before I need to upgrade again.

With spring right around the corner, I thought this weekend I would go for a ride on the snowmobile and see if I could capture some good winter landscapes. Today was fairly warm, about 40 degrees with occasional rain and a gust of wind. I managed to get a few good shots before the weather really went downhill.
Gear taken on this trip

• Canon 40D
• Canon 24-105mm L glass lens
• Canon G10 (to record video)
• Gitzo 1325 tripod w/ Gitzo 1277m ball head (for the G10)
• Polaris Indy Lite 440 GT long track snowmobile

The G10 and snowmobile in action

My first objective was to get down the large hill on the snowmobile with out dropping any of the camera gear. After a few minutes of wrestling with my camera gear, I managed to get down the hill with my gear securely attached to me. As I reached the bottom of the hill, I cautiously drove up to a known area where deer usually are digging around for food. Sure enough, there were 6 deer. After recording a 45 second video clip of them staring at me, I slowly got off the snowmobile and walked towards the creek. For how warm it has been for the past few days, I was surprised at how much snow was still on the ground. At one point I took a step in the wrong direction and had snow past my knee! I almost dropped the G10 as I was walking due to that incident. My first stop was about 40 yards upstream from the snowmobile. For some reason, I was intrigued by a dead log laying over the creek. So what did I do? I walked right into the stream of course! However, the water was barley over my feet. I maneuvered around in about a 4 square foot area for a good bit of 10 minutes trying to find that perfect spot to get the shot. Once I found the spot that I thought would be perfect, I took about 12 shots. Every 2nd shot had a different exposure and zoom range so I could get a variety of images to pick from. Here is one of my favorite images from that set of images.

My favorite image from the creek

After a few minutes of trying to climb out of the creek, I made my way back to the snowmobile. By this time the weather was starting to deteriorate. More clouds were rolling in and it was starting to sprinkle outside. So I drove around a little bit more on the local trails to find an interesting subject to capture. *The method I usually use to capture images in an area I frequently visit, is to imagine that it is the first time I had ever been there. Most people know this feeling when they go on a trip and nearly everything seems interesting and photographable.* After 20 minutes of casually driving around, I decided to head back up the hill and drive into the hardwoods to capture an image of a dead standing tree. I had pre-visualized the image that I wanted to capture, but just had to find the right tree and had to be there at the right time. So I drove up the hill again, making sure my gear was securely fastened to my body. As I reached the top of the hill I saw darkness towards the west. I knew within a half an hour it would no longer be good conditions for photography.

I quickly drove across the road and into a snow slush covered field. As I came upon the end of the field (which was also the beginning the hardwoods) I noticed a dead tree. This tree was not like the usual dead hardwood I saw, this one had a unique quality. It had absolutely no branches left on it and all the bark fell off from the harsh winds and weather. Then I parked the snowmobile near a small pine tree and walked into the hardwoods to reach the tree that had caught my eye. At this time the wind was really picking up and was almost to the point where recording video was not possible (the wind overrode my voice so you couldn’t hear anything). But still I set up the G10 on the tripod and gave it a shot. The first time I tried recording my session of photographing the tree, I slipped on the wet snow. Quickly Immediately I jumped up and went to the G10 to hastily delete that embarrassing clip. Then round 2. I did the same thing, this time I made it to the bottom of the tree without slipping on the dreaded slush-snow. I laid down in the mud at the bottom of the tree and pointed my lens up the trunk of the dead hardwood. I took a few shots at F8, but I wanted less depth of field. So I took it down to F4. I had realized that this could very well be the image that I had pre-visualized before. After about 10 more shots (at this point the wind was nearly blowing me away), I finally had that shot.

The pre-visualized image

Even though the weather was not very cooperative, I still managed to have some fun and get some pretty good images. Although as I was editing my video journal that I made today as I was shooting, the program crashed. This time a permanent corruption message appeared. I was pretty upset, but in a few days I hope to buy a new video authoring program. The happiness I received from knowing that I had finally captured my pre-visualized dead hardwood image completely over-rode the sadness of the program crashing. All in all it was a good day. I hope you enjoyed this blog post! I look forward to posting more soon.

-Travis.

Vous connaissez sûrement  maintenant mon amour pour la photographie.

J’ai donc décidé de vous faire profiter des informations matérielles que je glane sur le web, la presse écrite, …

Aujourd’hui pour la première ce sera un trepied, 3 c’est toujours mieux.

En mars prochain sortira le nouveau bébé de Gitzo.

And now ladies et gentlemen let me introduce you the “ocean traveler”

Sous ce nom d’agence de voyages se cache un trepied inoxydable brut  (le premier dit-on dans les salons de causeries) .

Il est censé résister aux attaques les plus rudes telles que les eaux salées, le sable (pas mal pour un trekking), la boue (ok c’est moins courant je vous l’accorde).

La bête est légère, elle ne pèse que 1.4kg, elle se transporte donc facilement dans un sac à dos.

Pour les dimensions plié, il se glissera sans souci partout, 43.5 cm de hauteur. Il pourra atteindre la hauteur de 1m49.

Le hic se trouve dans le prix, et oui les innovations techniques se paient chères, il vous faudra débourser 999 euros pour vous offrir ce nouveau compagnon.

Pour plus d’info:

http://www.bogenimaging.fr/Jahia/site/bifr/cache/off/lang/fr/pid/18354