JA
Folks,
An interesting read on a newer law specifically related to the internet theft of your images.
Worth bookmarking!
David Haas
Haas Photography Inc.
4596 Greenlawn Dr.
Stow OH 44224
330-329-5981 cell
Friday, September 30, 2011
GUEST POST ON COPYRIGHT DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICES
Guest Post from my buddy Dave Haas on copyright DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICES. Dave is the guy to get Ikelite Underwater photography equipment from.
JA
JA
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 2
Picking up from the last post, we were getting ready to modify the Cheap Strobe Mini-stands so they will allow a secure mounting to a location Speed Ring for a softbox, such as the Chimera
shown. The Hot shoe mount that came with the Speed Ring is awful and practically BEGS the strobe to fall off unless extreme care is taken to exactly align the strobe. The distractions and thinking on your feet of working on location do not allow for that.
Here is the end product goal. A SECURELY mounted strobe with the sensor available to an optical transmitter like the Canon ST-E2
Line of sight is not necessary with a Wireless radio transmitter. For simplicity, the Softbox is NOT SHOWN.
Looking at the Cheap Mini-Stands from the previous post, here is our goal: Use a hacksaw or Electric Jig-Saw to easily trim the edges of the plastic ministand to fit on to the Speedring Flash arm. This is why modifying the metal Canon ministand is not recommended. This is the top view.
Bottom view. You want to make the cuts as close as possible with out ruining the INTEGRITY of the tripod mount or show itself. Here is the bottom view. I used the close-in plastic rails as my guide to keep them intact. They call it a hacksaw for a reason.
Voila, the Secure Hot shoe is attached to the flash arm of the Speed Ring and is ready for the Strobe to be mounted securely. Note the angle can be changed to the left or right depending on the location of the Master Strobe or Transmitter.
My preferred location strobe is the Canon 580 EX.
shown. The Hot shoe mount that came with the Speed Ring is awful and practically BEGS the strobe to fall off unless extreme care is taken to exactly align the strobe. The distractions and thinking on your feet of working on location do not allow for that.Here is the end product goal. A SECURELY mounted strobe with the sensor available to an optical transmitter like the Canon ST-E2
Line of sight is not necessary with a Wireless radio transmitter. For simplicity, the Softbox is NOT SHOWN.
Looking at the Cheap Mini-Stands from the previous post, here is our goal: Use a hacksaw or Electric Jig-Saw to easily trim the edges of the plastic ministand to fit on to the Speedring Flash arm. This is why modifying the metal Canon ministand is not recommended. This is the top view.
Bottom view. You want to make the cuts as close as possible with out ruining the INTEGRITY of the tripod mount or show itself. Here is the bottom view. I used the close-in plastic rails as my guide to keep them intact. They call it a hacksaw for a reason.
Voila, the Secure Hot shoe is attached to the flash arm of the Speed Ring and is ready for the Strobe to be mounted securely. Note the angle can be changed to the left or right depending on the location of the Master Strobe or Transmitter.
My preferred location strobe is the Canon 580 EX.
HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 1
Mounting an external flash (like a Canon Speelight 580 EX) on a light stand is not as simple a proposition as it might first appear. There are standards that Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax use. This is ISO standard ISO 518:2006. Click here for the Wikipedia reference.
After suffering a strobe nose dive and subsequent repair, I noticed that various light stand and hot shoe fixtures that are widely marketed are absolutely SUB STANDARD. The following do not have registration holes for the strobe shoe locking pin and will easily allow the strobe to fall out of the shoe.
The following have a 1/4 inch mounting screw on the bottom and DO follow the ISO 518 standard with registration holes. The Stand on the left is the Canon Mini Stand that comes standard with the strobe and is made of Metal. The stand on the right is a Chinese knockoff from E-BAY and is cheap plastic. BUT in this case, that is good. So these are good for having spares.
The plastic stands can be found on E-BAY for $2.29!
Here an ISO Compliant stand replaces the non-compliant hot shoe on a small ball swivel I use on a background light stand.
Now here is the bonus: the plastic stands can be EASILY MODIFIED with a HACKSAW to fit on a SPEEDRING. That is coming up in PART 2.
Check out my portrait gallery to see the lights and stands in action.
After suffering a strobe nose dive and subsequent repair, I noticed that various light stand and hot shoe fixtures that are widely marketed are absolutely SUB STANDARD. The following do not have registration holes for the strobe shoe locking pin and will easily allow the strobe to fall out of the shoe.
The following have a 1/4 inch mounting screw on the bottom and DO follow the ISO 518 standard with registration holes. The Stand on the left is the Canon Mini Stand that comes standard with the strobe and is made of Metal. The stand on the right is a Chinese knockoff from E-BAY and is cheap plastic. BUT in this case, that is good. So these are good for having spares.
The plastic stands can be found on E-BAY for $2.29!
Here an ISO Compliant stand replaces the non-compliant hot shoe on a small ball swivel I use on a background light stand.
Now here is the bonus: the plastic stands can be EASILY MODIFIED with a HACKSAW to fit on a SPEEDRING. That is coming up in PART 2.
Check out my portrait gallery to see the lights and stands in action.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
More SIGMA Lens Problems on Canon DSLRs
Error 99 is a well known issue with SIGMA lenses on Canon cameras. Cost me about $100 to fix that one from disabling my Rebel using the Sigma 35 - 200 due to a bad lens chip.
I was out shooting Manhattan recently with my 50D and Sigma 18-200mm and found that it was "HIJACKED." By that I mean, uable to change the shutter speed in Tv mode, unable to change the shutter speed in M mode, unable to see shutter speed in Av mode.
Thinking I was having to send the camera back for repair, the Error 99 experience made me suspect the lenses. I put on the Sigma 50 1.4 and no change. I then put on my Canon 70-200 EF IS and VOILA - the problem was FIXED! Each time I turned off the camera and turned it back on again to "Reboot."
So I am suspect of the combination and reliability of Sigmas lenses with Canon cameras. After the Canon lens fix, I tried my Sigma 18-200mm and it worked again, but for how long. We will see how Sigma responds.
Here is my Midtown view from my Night Gallery using my Canon 70-200mm.
I am serously considering either of the following:
Canon 24-70mm EF L f 2.8 or the Canon EF L f/4 24 - 105. Neither is ideal for APS-C size Sensor as has been outlined in previous posts by this author.
I was out shooting Manhattan recently with my 50D and Sigma 18-200mm and found that it was "HIJACKED." By that I mean, uable to change the shutter speed in Tv mode, unable to change the shutter speed in M mode, unable to see shutter speed in Av mode.
Thinking I was having to send the camera back for repair, the Error 99 experience made me suspect the lenses. I put on the Sigma 50 1.4 and no change. I then put on my Canon 70-200 EF IS and VOILA - the problem was FIXED! Each time I turned off the camera and turned it back on again to "Reboot."
So I am suspect of the combination and reliability of Sigmas lenses with Canon cameras. After the Canon lens fix, I tried my Sigma 18-200mm and it worked again, but for how long. We will see how Sigma responds.
Here is my Midtown view from my Night Gallery using my Canon 70-200mm.
I am serously considering either of the following:
Canon 24-70mm EF L f 2.8 or the Canon EF L f/4 24 - 105. Neither is ideal for APS-C size Sensor as has been outlined in previous posts by this author.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
PHOTOSHOP vs LIGHTROOM EDITING ISSUES
In doing the Hawk Picture nearby, I sadly was reminded of the differences between the capabilities of two packages. Lightroom version 3.4 was announced today. Don't know if it solves this problem. It wasn't obvious in the press release.
Here is the first image of the hawk, done the deliciously quick way using Lightroom's adjustment brush.
BUT... there is a catch...Using adjustment brush in Version 3.3 adds the hideous artifacts below upon close examination, especially if you need to go toward the midrange of tones or further. Completely unacceptable performance. I HATE HAVING MY TIME WASTED.
This was edited using CURVES in PHOTOSHOP CS5
Here is the closeup. Major difference. San Jose, we have a problem.
Here is the first image of the hawk, done the deliciously quick way using Lightroom's adjustment brush.
BUT... there is a catch...Using adjustment brush in Version 3.3 adds the hideous artifacts below upon close examination, especially if you need to go toward the midrange of tones or further. Completely unacceptable performance. I HATE HAVING MY TIME WASTED.
This was edited using CURVES in PHOTOSHOP CS5
Here is the closeup. Major difference. San Jose, we have a problem.
Monday, April 18, 2011
How to Photograph Hawks
How to Photograph Hawks. A brave title. Luck is involved. Timing is involved, preparation of batteries and cards is assumed. OK, the basics. YOU MUST have a 400mm or better lens on a fast acting, fast focusing D-SLR. Image Stabilization is important and "dual mode" stabilization may make the difference. I use a Canon 70-200 with a 2X converter on Mode 2 setting. Set on IS Mode 2 to account for the camera swing as you follow the bird. Mode one assumes you are still and folllowing a still creature with a slow shutter speed. 1/500 is a minimum shutter speed.
Here the hawk, caught at 9:00 am in Staten Island, clutching a thouroughly executed prey bird is headed back to the nest in an arresting sight.
Go at least one stop overexposure compensation to account for the bright sky. In Photoshop, will need to enhance the feather tone. Point and Shoot users, sorry you are out of luck for flight, but don't give up hope.
Still, good shots are still possible. STALKING skills beat shooting skills here. Knowing bird behavior and a sense for their "spook distance" are critical for getting in range. Change position. This is likely the same bird above, hours after the catch above. While shot with the same lens & Camera combo above, the bottom shot could easily have been taken with a long zoom EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder / Interchangeable Lens) Camera or a PowerShot SX30 IS Digital Camera with its long zoom.
Here is my Bird Gallery.
To buy Birds Shirts, click here.
.
Here the hawk, caught at 9:00 am in Staten Island, clutching a thouroughly executed prey bird is headed back to the nest in an arresting sight.
Go at least one stop overexposure compensation to account for the bright sky. In Photoshop, will need to enhance the feather tone. Point and Shoot users, sorry you are out of luck for flight, but don't give up hope.
Still, good shots are still possible. STALKING skills beat shooting skills here. Knowing bird behavior and a sense for their "spook distance" are critical for getting in range. Change position. This is likely the same bird above, hours after the catch above. While shot with the same lens & Camera combo above, the bottom shot could easily have been taken with a long zoom EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder / Interchangeable Lens) Camera or a PowerShot SX30 IS Digital Camera with its long zoom.
Here is my Bird Gallery.
To buy Birds Shirts, click here.
.
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