Picking the Right Camera Bag

Mar 022012
 
 March 2, 2012  Posted by at 9:16 pm How To, Photography , , , ,  No Responses »

I have several bags.  One that holds most of my lighting equipment, another for camera flashes and accessories, one for spare lenses, and 2 that I pack just for shooting.  The ones for shooting are able to carry the lenses, flashes and camera I am using for the shoot and the actual equipment packed varies according to my needs.

There are a large number of camera bags out there.  In selecting a bag, several important variables to take into consideration such as camera size, number of lenses, flash, type of bag (shoulder, fanny pack, back pack or sling) and overall weight.  One of the worst things you can do when selecting a bag is to get one that is too big or does not distribute its weight in a way that causes pain over time.  A densely packed bag protects your equipment best.  There are loyalists to each brand of camera bag in the just as there are for cameras.  The best way to select your bag is to actually load your equipment into one and see how it works for you.  Here are some tips to aid you in making a wise choice.

1.  Get a bag large enough to hold the gear you actually have when you are buying the bag.  Buying a bag that is too large enables your camera to shift position as you walk.  This causes wear and tear on the inner surface of the bag and enables your lens to become improperly supported in the bag.  This can cause some very costly repair bills down the road.  The bag should snugly cradle your camera, lenses and flash to keep them from moving within the bag as you move.

2.  Make sure that the bag’s straps are wide enough to support the weight in a way that does not cut off circulation or cut into your shoulders.  The rule of thumb here is that if your loaded bag leaves a mark on your shoulder or causes pain, you need to change to a bag that has either a waist belt, or a backpack style bag.  These bags distribute the weight over a wider area and make it safer for you to move with your fully packed bag. Keep in mind that your bag must not be too large or too loosely packed or you can damage your equipment.

3.  Lenses should be stored vertically with the front optic protected by a lens cap down.  This ensures that the heaviest glass is at the bottom of the bag and the lens mount for your camera has no strain applied.

4.  When packing a flash, the strobe end should be down to protect the hot shoe connection on the flash.

5.  Accessories, lens cleaners, remote triggers, spare cards, etc. should be packed in their own place within the bag.  letting them lay loose near your lenses is asking for them to turn your prized glass into a paperweight.

If your camera bag has left over room, it is too big.  Seriously consider buying a smaller bag, or more equipment.  Enjoy shooting!

Panoramas

Feb 232012
 
 February 23, 2012  Posted by at 5:12 pm How To, Photography , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

Lately, I’ve been creating panoramic images. There are several ways that this can be done. The most common way is to shoot using a wide-angle lens. I have found that method to be lacking in detail and it limits you to an image that if taken straight from the sensor that doesn’t make the scene look like a good panorama (just a wide-angle shot). I prefer to take multiple shots of a scene and blend them together to create a cohesive image that is far larger and contains much more detail than my camera’s sensor could ordinarily take. The drawback to doing this is one spends much more time in post production.

I have made panoramic shots using as few as 2 images and as many as 35. It may be some time before I have some of them printed as currently I have not found a source for the largest ones (If printed some are more than 5′ X 25′). This image of Waikiki in its full size is 2′ X 21′. It has stunning detail when viewed at that size.

Here is my current technique. For lens selection I choose a 28mm to 300mm zoom set about 100mm. I manually set the camera so that the image will have a uniform focal point, exposure and white balance. Though many people like to use a tripod and keep their camera level, I tend to not use one as there are many times when I will be shooting over more than one horizontal or vertical pass and I can do it faster by hand holding the camera. I do my normal post production work and then stitch the images together. The files are saved in Photoshop’s PSB large format file as they are gargantuan!

Have fun shooting!

Photography and Arthritis

Jan 262012
 
 January 26, 2012  Posted by at 10:30 pm Photography , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

I used to think nothing much of hiking out with a 60 lb. pack and an additional 25 lbs of camera gear just to enjoy the great outdoors.  I made it to some fantastic places that few others have gone and only a small number of those had a camera with them.  I would take a couple of prime lenses, several zooms and 2 bodies when I shot film, as that enabled me to shoot nature in all her glory at the scales I found most pleased my eye.  Since my interest was piqued by the macro world,  landscape, seascape, cityscape, any size animal or plant and people, I felt most comfortable being prepared for anything.  I would take backgrounds and studio lights to shoots.  I never thought anything would get in my way or slow me down.  I carried most of the same lenses when I switched over to digital photography.  My interests were still the same, so keeping the ability to choose on the go seemed logical.  About 5 years ago, my knees announced to my body, “ENOUGH ALREADY!!!”

I was about half a mile from “The Wave” hiking out of Paria Canyon when my right knee buckled for no apparent reason.  I sat down for a few minutes, then pressed onwards.  My pace was about half that of the hike in and I had enough water to make it out with no problem, but I knew from the way my knee was feeling that something was not right and getting worse.  By the time I got to the halfway point, both knees were letting me know that they were not going to be kind to me.  Although I had left “The Wave” in what ordinarily would have been plenty of time to be back to the car by sun down, this time it was about an hour after sunset before I managed to reach my truck.  Such was my introduction to the wonderful world of Arthritis!  Each day has been a battle ever since then.

It has forced me to make sacrifices in my approach to photography.  The first to go were my kayak and canoe which I had used for capturing whitewater action.  It was no longer practical to carry either one and I felt as if that was a change I could deal with, besides with a right shoulder that was getting accustomed to being dislocated at least 2 times a year and a left one that had already been rebuilt, they were becoming a bit of a drag.  My knees demanded more.  I sold my heaviest lens.  That was not enough!  I stopped doing most of the glamor shoots, as the lighting equipment was getting too heavy for me to set up, shoot and take down.  Still my knees were not satisfied!  I stopped carrying prime lenses and reduced the number of zooms.  My knees were still angry with me!  I now use a bag that holds either the camera and a lens or the camera and a flash.  It hasn’t helped reduce the pain.

My battle with Arthritis has been fought using everything I could find that had a greater than 50% chance of providing relief and could back up the claim with actual peer-reviewed science.  I do not like pseudoscience.  I tried some of the “remedies that others swear by, but found them useless at improving my symptoms and a drain on my wallet!  The RICE principle (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) provided the best outcome early on, but due to the nature of the disease it is not as effective these days.  I have used Acetaminophen, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen Sodium and COX2 Inhibitors over time and found them to be wanting in both actual relief and more irritating to my stomach.  I do exercises to keep my range of motion and try to maintain as much strength as possible.  The only medication that has actually provided relief, although only for a 2 month period at a time, has been Synvisc (Hylan G F 20).  Unfortunately it is only given at 6 month intervals, which means that I get to suffer for 8 months out of the year!  At least with Synvisc, I do not need to take pain medication!  The downside of Synvisc is that each time it has worn off, my knees seem to hurt more than they did the week prior to the injection.

Since photography is the art form I used to use to alleviate stress, I find it very stressful these days when I pick up my camera during the 4 month period of pain I am forced to endure.

Play With Your New Camera!

Dec 242011
 
 December 24, 2011  Posted by at 11:47 am How To, Photography , , , , ,  No Responses »

There are several ways in which you can become familiar with your camera; read the manual and study it carefully, put it in automatic or program mode and shoot without ever learning about its other features, talk to other people who have a similar camera, or pay somebody to teach you to use it. My way to learn about a new camera is to go out and shoot things I have shot before but change the camera’s settings so I can get an idea of what it is capable of doing. In other words, I play with the camera.

Paying someone gets you further ahead than shooting in auto, but you must follow the lessons with lots of shooting on your own to really learn the camera. Reading a manual can teach you lots about the camera, if you can manage to stay awake while reading it. Talking to others with similar cameras, may or may not help you, as most of the people I have encountered do not use the advanced features of their camera. So that leaves playing as the most practical way to learn how to use it.

It is by shooting with your new camera that you become comfortable using it. When you revisit familiar settings, you place yourself in a situation where relaxation makes you more receptive to play than a formal setting. I used to consider the first 10 rolls of film (with digital technology, the first 8 gigs of images) as my way of learning what the camera is able to do. Every shot afterward would be better than the first ones as I could then concentrate on composition and lighting.

Get out and shoot!

Getting the Most from a Point and Shoot Camera

Jul 092011
 
 July 9, 2011  Posted by at 1:24 pm How To, Photography , , , , , , , , , ,  No Responses »

With the advancements made in technology, point and shoot cameras are able to produce images that far surpass images made in the film world by what would be considered their equivalent! Often users of these cameras assume they are just a point and shoot device and never take time to read the manual or change the settings for optimal shooting.  This leads to pictures that are well made, but often could have been better.  Here are a few tips to ensure you get the best images possible from any camera without regard to make or model:

1:  If you can control the aperture, try shooting in aperture priority mode.  This allows you to control the depth of field.  A wide open aperture creates a shallow depth of field, which is often used for portraiture.  When only the subject is in focus, it will stand out and be notice better.  A closed down aperture creates a very wide depth of field with as much of the scene as possible kept in focus.  This makes for a better landscape image.

2:  By controlling the shutter speed, you can decide whether to capture single drops of spray from a fountain, or to create a milky texture from the water.  You may be able to stop the action of a race car, or let it blur a bit to indicate a fast object.

3:  In the days of film, ISO was set strictly by the film maker and could be manipulated through processing.  Modern cameras allow you to change the ISO on the fly.  The ISO determines how sensitive the sensor will be to the light hitting it.  A high ISO charges the sensor so that it responds faster and with more intensity and noise than a low ISO at the same light level.  IT is by manipulating the ISO that one can make the adjustments of aperture and speed fall into a range that creates a good image.

4:  White Balance is probably the most misunderstood adjustment modern cameras have.  In short, it adjusts the sensor’s idea of what white looks like.  The human eye can recognize a white object at many different light levels.  The films sensor can not do this.  A bright day with lots of sunshine has a color temperature of close to 5000 degrees kelvin.  An object that looks white in that light will look more yellow-red than white if viewed under tungsten light.  It might also appear a bit green under older style fluorescent lights.  A white balance control enables you to compensate for the lighting conditions at hand.

By taking the time to learn about these controls on your camera, you can start creating better images.

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