dave.englund
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Posts posted by dave.englund
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Thomas, the Vision W has a CF card reader built in. See the specs <a href="http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=210&subcategory=211&product=15752&nav=1"><b><u>here</u></b></a>. You would use the Vision W as a portable hard drive (see a demo <a href="http://www.creative.com/products/pmp/howto/welcome.asp?t=storage"><b><u>here</u></b></a>). Basically, instead of loading the thing up with tunes, you dedicate a sizable portion of it to "portable storage" space. You could still use the left over space for tunes or jpgs, etc.
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I decided to go with the Creative Zen Vision W 30 GB Widescreen Multimedia Player. You can get it at Amazon for $249.00.
I thought about going with a Wolverine or some other basic file transfer device, but there would always be a part of me that would still wonder if I didn't see some facsimile of my images too. This seems to be a very reasonable price for a storage/viewer combination. More than I really wanted to spend to begin with, but it will be a good long-term solution for when I do trips and want to keep on shooting. Thanks all.
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Heading out to Yellowstone soon, and also stopping off at the Badlands and
Devil's Tower on the way. I have three memory cards: 1-1GB and 2-2GB for a total
of 5GB. I expect they will fill up faster than I think, and am wondering what my
best option is for moving images off the cards to some type of backup.<br /><br />
I don't have a budget that permits me to buy a portable hard drive (Wolverine,
etc) or a Laptop with a CD/DVD burner. I'm wondering about the possibility of
using photo kiosks in stores along the way (CVS, Walgreens, Synders, Yellowstone
General Stores) to move my images from the memory cards to CD's. I guess it's
about $3 per CD, so that's pretty economical.<br /><br />
The question I have is - do theses types of kiosks do straight file copies of
*both* your RAW files and jpg files from the memory cards? I don't want to get
home later and find out I have no RAW files and my jpgs are in a reduced size or
resolution. Anybody have experience with doing backups this way?
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Well Michael, you've certainly got your steady technique down! ;-)
It's also making me that much more excited about the arrival of the f/4L :D
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Thanks all. Great feedback:-)
Let me throw another wrench in the bucket. Kenko Teleplus "DG" 1.5x AF Teleconverter. Will this work well with the f/4, 70-200mm L?
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I just purchased a Canon 70-200mm USM L-lens (can't afford the IS stuff) for
use on my 30D. Is a lens tripod mount absolutely necessary for this setup? I'm
going on a trip and have a bit of a tight budget and the tripod mounts seem
pretty spendy (over $100) at Adorma. Will a week of shooting do damage to the
30D's lens mount? Or, is the tripod mount more a matter of convenience?
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Oh, by the way, I just ordered a Canon 70-200mm L lens from Adorma (my first L lens). I'm also going to order a 1.4 extender. Hope to get a few days practice in locally before running off to the planes.
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Good feedback. Thanks. Yes, I was thinking of nixing Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore too. That is, I think I'll save the Day 2 morning light for the badlands and really take my time there. Then, mossy over to the memorials, and if there's a good shot fine, if not, okay move on.
I know Yellowstone needs more time for a serious effort. Maybe in the future I can plan to fly into Gardiner and spend a week in Yellowstone. But this is what I can afford to do on this first trip west. I'll just have to trust God for good opportunities in the park and to move me to the right place and time or two;-)
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I am taking my first vacation/trip to Yellowstone National Park from my home in
Minneapolis MN in mid-June. I am driving so I can make the most of seeing
additional sites along the way (the Badlands, Rushmore, Devil's Tower, etc.). In
other words, "Road Trip!" ;-)<br /><br />
Here's my basic plan. I'd like any kind of feedback on how I can tweak it (it's
getting late in the game to change reservations), and any specific information
anyone can give me on how to best shoot these sites. I defiantly want to go past
"snap shots," but I also recognize I do not have the luxury of really immersing
myself in many of these subjects either. I need to be smart and plan, plan, plan
ahead and make the most of my opportunities. So, I welcome all manner of
feedback, tips, and information. Thanks!<br /><br />
<b>Trip Itinerary [2460.8 miles (3960.2km)]</b><br />
<b>Day 1</b><br />
Travel: Twin Cites MN to Interior SD, 512.5 miles (824.8km)<br />
Photography: Badlands National Park<br />
(I hope to get some Sunset pictures of the Badlands)<br /><br />
<b>Day 2</b><br />
Travel: to Crazy Horse & Mt. Rushmore, 121.5 miles (195.5km)<br />
(I will need to leave in very early AM to get Sunrise pictures of Mt.
Rushmore)<br />
Photography: Crazy Horse Memorial (Custer) <br />
Photography: Mount Rushmore National Memorial<br />
Travel: Interior SD to Sundance WY, 103.0 miles (165.8km)<br /><br />
<b>Day 3</b><br />
Travel: Sundance to Devil?s Tower, 28.3 miles (45.5km)<br />
(getting up in early AM to get Sunrise pictures of Devil's Tower area, and spend
up to half day there)<br />
Photography: Devils Tower National Monument, WY<br />
Travel: Devil?s Tower to Buffalo WY, 132.0 miles (212.4km)<br /><br />
<b>Day 4</b><br />
Travel: Buffalo WY to Wapiti WY, 203.6 miles (327.7km)<br />
Photography: (stopping at any sites of interest along the way)<br /><br />
<b>Day 5</b><br />
Travel: Wapiti to Yellowstone National Park, 94.8 miles (152.6km)<br />
(early rise and shine to get to Canyon Village for Sunrise pictures)<br />
Photography: Canyon Village Area<br />
Travel: Yellowstone E to Yellowstone W, 30.5 miles (49.1km)<br />
Photography: Old Faithful, and Geyser Basin<br />
(will make the most of the PM and Sunset for pictures of geysers)<br />
[by the way, I do have Joseph Lange's "<a
Guide to Yellowstone</a>" and I am pouring through it to try to plan when to be
where]<br /><br />
<b>Day 6</b><br />
Photography: Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs<br />
(again, will try to plan for the best spots for Sunrise, mid-day, and Sunset
pictures)<br />
Travel: to West Yellowstone MT<br /><br />
<b>Day 7</b><br />
Travel: West Yellowstone MT to Yellowstone ? Tower Fall, 63.3 miles (est)<br />
(will get up early to be in Tower Fall for Sunrise)<br />
Photography: Tower Fall, other<br />
Travel: to Gardiner MT, 10 miles (est)<br /><br />
<b>Day 8:</b> Travel: Gardiner MT to Sundance WY, 442 miles<br />
<b>Day 9:</b> Travel: Sundance WY to Pierre SD (dinner with friends), 266.7
miles (429.2km)<br />
<b>Day 10:</b> Travel: Pierre SD to Twin Cities MN, 456.1 miles (734.0km)<br
/><br />
Again, since this is my first trip to Yellowstone (or, to the Badlands and
Devil's Tower, for that matter) I know I'll be part tourist, part photographer.
But I would truly appreciate any feedback on how I can maximize my photography
along the way:-)
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Ha! A little over a year later...I just got bit by the same oversight...set my 30D to a Basic Zone and...no RAW!<br /><br />
I visited my local conservatory to shoot some images of flowers and plants. Initially, I shot with my Canon 100mm USM macro. I checked my image quality setting and made sure I was shooting in RAW+JPG(L). To make life easier I set the camera to the Close-Up mode (picture of a flower) in the Basic Zones group, thinking it would automatically give me a larger aperture and blur the background. Later, I changed to my Tamron 17-50mm zoom lens, and not long after that (2 or 3 shots) moved to Creative Zones (mostly P, but also some AV). All my images shot in the Basic Zone's Close-Up mode were only in jpg. My images shot in the Creative Zone's, P or AV, included both RAW and jpg. Initially, I panicked and thought my camera or card had messed up. Then, I poured through my ShortCourse eBook on the 30D and found this paragraph:<br /><br />
"<i>RAW modes are only displayed when the camera is set to one of the Creative Zone modes." p.21, see "Quick Steps: Selecting Image Quality and Size.</i>"<br /><br />
By inference this is the same as saying, "<i>RAW image quality is only available when shooting in one of the Creative Zone modes.</i>" <br /><br />
The offical Canon 30D manual covers this as well. On page 52 under "<i>Setting the Image-recording Quality</i>" it says:<br /><br />
"<i>Note that in Basic Zone modes, RAW or RAW+JPEG cannot be set.</i>"<br /><br />
Well, the joke's on me! Chalk it up to another valuable "learning opportunity." ;-)
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For the most part I am finding your application very nice and well thought out.
If there's something I could wish for it would be a little more capability in
the photographer galleries area - when viewing another photographer's photos. It
would be very helpful to have some basic navigation buttons on the "One Photo"
page (previous | next | previous collection | next
collection). Thanks!
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Gary, I took a look at some other kits offered by the same vendor. Would <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Britek-540w-s-Flash-Light-Kit-with-Boom_W0QQitemZ190078495101QQihZ009QQcategoryZ30087QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem">this</a> be a good entry kit (it's about the same price I dished out for the fluorescent). Since I'm doing a return, I'm kind of limited to what this vendor offers. Here's <a href="http://stores.ebay.com/Linco-Studio-Lighting-Technology_Flash-Light-Kits_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm">the page</a> with all of their flash kits.
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Hi all - back to the original question on whether my lights are strong enough...the dealer I'm working with said I could return the kit for another one of my choosing. At this point I'm really unsure whether to step up to a stronger fluorescent kit (like <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190076823581&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RUPX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=190057775305&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=UpSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget">this one</a>, which uses 80watt lamps) or go to an entry level halogen kit (how about <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190077584730&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RUPX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=190057775305&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=UpSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget">this one</a>, with 500watt blubs). Thing is, I really like the "cool" factor of fluorescent. Will the 80watt lamps be a big improvement? The kit it $200 more!
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I'm a newbie to studio lighting. I purchased a three piece Britek fluorescent
light kit (each softbox has 4-40watt bulbs). I also purchased a 28" Smith Victor
light tent (which hasn't yet arrived). My plan was to use them to do some
close-up work - I do some <a href="http://dbe.smugmug.com/Nature/243967">gem &
mineral and rock shooting</a> and wanted to advance to some better equipment.
Tonight I did a practice product shot with the new lights, just threw some
objects on a whitecore board. And while the lights seemed fine for that, I'm
thinking they may not be strong enough to provide adequate lighting through a
light tent. I'm open to suggestions. But, I do have a limited budget - I'm
trying something totally new here, and buying the Britek kit was a big
investment for me. I do like the cool light that fluorescent's provide. But what
kind of wattage do I really need?<div>
</div> -
Ah yes, now I see what you mean in those corners! I probably shot 20 images in total (DOF, white balance, slight repositioning of items, etc.) and this was one of the best. And I didn't see the shadowing in the corners as intrusive - but now it looks so obvious!
Thanks for the suggestion on the background paper. Can you recommend a good online resource (if that's okay)?
Thanks too for the outline of the fix. It'll give me some new things to try out in Elements.
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Can someone give me a pointer on how to blend a background with a foreground in
Photoshop Elements? I am just starting to play around with product photography,
and shot the attached image tonight. I'm fairly satisfied with it (though you're
welcome to give me helpful critique;-) but I want to blend the point of
connection between the flat white table top and the white vertical background -
there's too much of a sudden change there now on the left and right sides of the
subject (I didn't have a drop cloth handy to create a more gradual transition).<div>
</div> -
Thanks all for your input.
Starting with the biggest challenge? Ah! A good dose of reality lessens dissapointment!
I will continue reading and experimenting and also try your ideas. Eventually, I'll get that buggar tamed;-)
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I received the book "Light Science & Magic" for Christmas this year. And I've
been home on vacation between Christmas and New Year so I've had lots of time
to read it! I've been getting more serious about a couple of my hobbies
(photography, and rock & mineral collecting), and have been taking pictures of
my rock collection to post on my SmugMug site. But, the reflections on some of
these highly polished rocks have been a killer for me to work with (see <a
href="http://dbe.smugmug.com/gallery/2144594/2/107738117">http://dbe.smugmug.co
m/gallery/2144594/2/107738117</a>). I asked for some advice on a photo forum
and someone suggested I read Fil and Paul's book, so I put it on my Christmas
list. I am finding it very interesting and am getting to know my new "family"
much better ;-) <br /><br />
Still, I am somewhat at a loss for how to apply the principles to my current
shooting situation. I purchased the "Photo Studio in A Box" product from
americanrecorder.com and have been using that for my close-up shooting. For
lights, I am using two Eiko SP30/5500K fluorescent lamps in reflectors I
picked up at Menards (a local hardware store). Well, it seems a lot more
difficult to control lighting that's coming from all angles - which is
essentially what's happening on the inside of that photo studio light tent. No
matter how I point those lights on the outside of the tent, the white
diffusing material scatters the light and causes it to come in from a much
broader set of angles. I've got reflections on my reflections! One was
actually quite humorous - I captured my camera, tripod, light tent, and myself
in a shot of some agate marbles (see <a
href="http://dbe.smugmug.com/gallery/2144594/2/117166345">http://dbe.smugmug.co
m/gallery/2144594/2/117166345</a>). I might as well have been shooting myself
in a mirror!<br /><br />
Did I start out with the wrong approach by using a light tent like "Photo
Studio in A Box?" Should I get rid of the light tent and just use a backdrop
and straight lighting? It would seem that would make working with the family
of angles easier.
Does anyone have any specific advice for how to work with the family of angles
while shooting within a light tent?
Using Hyperfocal in The Field
in Nature
Posted
I've been getting to know hyperfocal focusing in the last couple of months. I
have a couple of practical questions I hope y'all can help me with.
(1)Each lens seems to have an f/stop (or f/stop range) in which it performs
best. Should you try to stick within that range or go with the strict hyperocal
settings?
For example, lets say the chart says use f/22 and a hyperfocal distance of 7
feet (meaning everything from 3.5 feet going toward infinity will have an
apparent in-focus quality). But if my Tamron wide angle lens functions best at
between f/11 and f/16, should I try to adjust my focus point for a hyperfocal
range that fits these f/stops? Obviously, I would be giving up more of the
foreground element then.
If I don't have a chart handy and want to use the old method of small f/stop
and focusing 1/3 into the scene...
(2)In terms of the old rule of focusing 1/3 of the way into the scene, do you
try to do that based on what you see with your eyes off camera, or based on
your composition within the camera's view finder? For example, my Canon 30D has
a 9 point focusing matrix. If I assign the top point #1, and go clockwise, then
#4 point would appear to be about 1/3 up from the bottom of the view finder.
So, would it be a sound practice to use this specific focusing point as a way
of focusing 1/3 into the scene? Or, do you look up from your camera and
think, "Well, that bolder out there seems about 1/3 of the way from here to
infinity, so I'll focus on that."
Thanks. Sorry if these are silly questions. Please bear with me I'm still
learning;-)