mariosforsos

<p>I have been to Vietnam and the evisa process is pretty flawless. Mind you, that was using what appeared to be the official site (there is one, http://www.visa-vietnam.vn). I paid my money online with a CC, uploaded a relatively good image and upon arrival at HoChiMinhCity airport, followed the signs, gave them my passport and confirmation printout (it arrived electronically within 3-4 days), waiting 10 mins, got my passport back with the visa and was on my way.</p>

<p>No problems.</p>

<p>I will be travelling to China this summer and one of the things I'd like to do (and am thinking of organising) is go cormorant fishing. Of course, the goal is to take a few good shots. The question - and this goes to anyone who's been there - is multifold:</p>

<p>(1) is it usually very crowded and can you count on taking nice images?</p>

<p>(2) are the fishermen approachable? (i.e. would I be able to get some portraits off them?)</p>

<p>(3) Any useful hints and tips?</p>

<p>Thanks a million in advance</p>

<p>Marios</p>

<p>Definitely a bad idea! Regardless of his theoretical capability, he is too young to handle the pressures of a professional engagement, even if you think otherwise. People do not mature simply by us insisting they do and ANYTHING that goes wrong, not only will you be responsible to the client but also to your son and your family. Childhood is for learning, evolving and experimenting not for attempting to apply that which you do not yet know...</p>

<p>My view anyway...</p>

<p>The best solution, by far, is three (3) rugged portable hard drives - I think they come in 320GB capacities and they can withstand pretty much anything! You keep one with you and at every major stop (or somewhere where you're expecting to stay for more than a week), you send one back to someone you trust to download your images to bigger drives and s/he sends you the other one which is empty. That way, every now and then you will have the ability to (a) have a good backup strategy, (b) have some sort of cost-effective off-line image transmission system and © be certain your files remain safe somewhere back home.</p>

<p>Do not invest in 128GB cards cause if they fail you will lose WAY too much - smaller cards, more frequent backups is the way to go for such a long trip!</p>

<p>Oh, and the third drive is for those circumstances where you might either lose one, have one damaged or want one while another is being shipped home and the other is in transit...;-)</p>

<p>Well, have you even considered the possibility that this MWAC is actually talented? Or that her approach is exactly what your sister wants? We keep on saying that photography is about the eye, the talent and the approach, so why not give someone the benefit of a doubt?</p>

<p>Of course, all your concerns are indeed valid and everything, but sometimes, the willingness to go for something you gut tells you to comes with risks - just make sure your sister is aware, maybe try and meet this person and check for yourself and maybe shoot a few images on the day just to have something in case everything goes pear-shaped. Believe it or not, 90% of similar cases do not result in disaster...</p>

<p>I know this may not have been the answer you were hoping for, but it's reality...</p>

<p>While I agree with every single other person who said your job is not to show up on time (and all that unimportant stuff), I will set myself apart by saying that I fully agree with the bride - the shots are nowhere near good enough. And there are really, many reasons for this (and off-camera flash is not the only one - I could list enough problems with the way you shot this to fill two pages), but I think the most important is that you shot this wedding like a complete and total newbie would - there was no unique perspective, no interesting views (most of the shots were shot by you standing up and not changing your vantage point at all!)</p>

<p>I have no desire to go into the "why" or the "how" of this particular case, but I would advise you to go back to assisting for a lot longer than 5 weddings. You claim to know what makes a good image but clearly, to me at least, you don't. You had SO many amazing elements to play with, so many interesting faces, props and places and you did absolutely nothing with them. If I was the client we'd be heading straight into the courtroom right now...</p>

<p>Pretty much 6 times out of 10...! And out of those, more than half will react negatively if you attempt to speak to them, regardless of how delicately or gently you do it. And if you happen to have inferior equipment to theirs, well, then you're in trouble... sorry, but that's wedding photography...</p>

<p>I hope you realize how pointless the question is.</p>

<p>First of all, your shoots are good. Not professionally good, but good enough for parents and local clubs to want to buy some prints. Hell, if my kid was playing there, I'd probably want an image or two. Your wedding images, well, they need some more work (and unfortunately, that's usually where the money is...)</p>

<p>Now, I am currently with Smugmug, their pro account and, even though I've been with them for over 6 years now, I'm leaving. I have put the numbers down and, at $300, it's simply not worth it. You see, I tend to charge by assignments and jobs, which are agreed outside the site. The site itself offers me around 500-600 per year (and that's on good years), so at 300 it's no longer a viable option - I'm moving somewhere else.</p>

<p>Will you make your money back? Personally I doubt it. Unless you have a massive inflow of visits to your site, unless you give out business cards by the dozens, unless you price perfectly, then chances are it'll take a couple of years to recoup the website investment alone - maybe more.</p>

<p>I'm sorry I cannot be of more help - these questions are determined by so many factors it's almost impossible to pinpoint how any case will evolve...</p>

<p>What was not mentioned in any of the previous responses was that 28mm will NOT be enough in two of Morocco's most amazing sights: the Fez medina and the tanneries within it.</p>

<p>The many small alleyways within the medina are too narrow to properly capture with a 28mm lens (too frequently I called upon my 14-24) and the same goes for the tanneries - I tried 4 different vantage points and in the end, I actually reached for my fisheye. Now, the range of the 28-300 may sound amazing, but effectively it's good only for details and portraits - it can never match the quality of the 24-70, it's low-light performance or, in the final analysis, its distortions (the 28-300 produces way more distortion than the 24-70).</p>

<p>Personally, I'd advise you to take the 24-70 and another, wider angle lens - maybe rent or borrow one. I carried my 70-200 with me and let me tell you, it was only used 5-6 times.</p>

<p>If you want to look at some of the images from that trip, check out: http://www.mariosforsos.com/Africa/Morocco/15403534_oP4oh#!i=1152855599&k=JPKhJ</p>

<p>I too had to leave my camera bag at the check-in counter just to the left of the main entrance, but too many other people were doing that anyway, so I took the risk. It was okay then (2007), but I would not do so now...things in Egypt were dodgy back then and, knowing the place and the people, I would NOT, under any circumstance, repeat that now! Any inkling that you have an expensive camera in there and I'd be you having trouble...</p>

<p>On the other hand, first hand experience is king - so upon arriving there you might find increased security and it might alleviate your fears. However, do bear in mind that the museum is directly on Tahrir Square, the setting of all the protests, and the museum has had 7 break-ins since the riots, so...</p>

<p>While keeping your catalogue on an SSD drive will do wonders, if you cannot do that (i.e. if your catalogue is too large or whatever), you could always opt for a fast drive (i.e. 10k rpm) and a fast connection (FW800 or SATA).</p>

<p>Personally I don't bother with an instant, Raid-type backup system. I import my images into a 10k rpm FW800 drive and once the import is finished, I sync this drive to two other drives, one exactly identical and the other of a similar capacity but with a USB connection (this is the off-site backup which has a 5-day turnaround time). If I don't have images to import and just do work on my catalogue, I have the computer scheduled to sync the drives before shutdown every time.</p>

<p>As someone who studied something completely different (and went ALL the way to a PhD doing so) and, moreover, someone who has since managed to not only maintain a full-time consulting job AND a full-time photography studio, I can tell you that studying photography in a university or a college or something is NOT the way I'd go. Let me explain (before someone jumps on me and starts hitting me over the head with a Leica):</p>

<p>Photography you can learned by taking evening courses, by working as an apprentice, by reading, researching and, of course, shooting, shooting, shooting. And, believe it or not, you can become a very good photographer this way - assuming you're dedicated, passionate and hard working enough. Hell, Peter Hurley never studied photography and he's one of the most successful portrait photographers in the world (just a name from the top of my head - there are countless others).</p>

<p>But, just like the other have already said, there is no way you can adequately and quickly enough learn all the other aspects of running a photography business on your own. You need proper, organised, more-frequently-than-not, classroom-based tuition, you need a learning regiment and systematic coverage of specific topics in ways they will remain with you for good. THIS is something you'd have to attend a college or a university to get. No matter what people say, you cannot learn accounting by reading a "for Idiots" book and you cannot learn marketing by reading a book or two or watching a webinar on photography marketing. It may seem that way, but it really is not.</p>

<p>So, should you go for marketing? I really cannot tell you. Assuming that you've somehow secured enough funding to allow you to leave your job and attend a full-time degree, I would advise you to have a long, heartfelt discussion with yourself and see what's most important to you: self-fulfillment or financial security. Once you answer that question truthfully, you'd be able to put your money where your mouth is and choose wisely.</p>

<p>Let me give you the good news first:</p>

<p>1. No matter what lenses you take with you, you'll be fine. I was there for five days a couple of years ago and I found I could shoot pretty much everything I needed (see below for more details on this), so even if you go ultra wide (I did have my 14-24 with me but, admittedly, I used it only sparringly - but that should not matter, all lenses are usable. Definitely take your 70-200 though for those portraits amidst the crowds in order to separate people from their surroundings.</p>

<p>2. You could easily spend a whole week in the Old City within Jerusalem and never run out of photographic interests - the place is trully amazing. So, if I were you, I'd count on an entire day there (and then head over to the Mount of Olives for the sunset!)</p>

<p>3. I would skip the museums (if you only have one day) - they are a valuable and interesting source of information and history, but with so much to see and do in the streets of Jerusalem, they should be relegated to another visit.</p>

<p>4. Make sure you go into the Ultra Orthodox area (Mea Shearim) - just to see the way people live, to have a chance to experience this is unique.</p>

<p>Now for the bad news:</p>

<p>1. Jews, especially the ultra-orthodox ones (and more over within Mea Shearim) arre loath to be photographed, sometimes to the point of being outright hostile. So, be careful. Be polite, considerate and always, when someone indicates displeasure, thank them and move away, do not try to sneak a shot, you may get into trouble. I was there on assignment and people knew I was working and that made them a bit more accepting, but still, shooting inside the Mea Shearim was at times dicey.</p>

<p>2. Getting into and out of Israel is a MASSIVE PAIN IN THE... well, you know where! They are rude, obnoxious, treat people like garbage, often to the point of being outright insulting and they believe they have the right to order you around just because you're in their country (unless, that is, you have either an israeli or a US passport! If that is the case, you're treated like royalty!) Seriously, it was, by far, the most annoying experience in my life, to the point I am making a point of never going back there again! Don't fall for it! Be polite, but be absolutely firm. They will ask you to completely empty your camera case on the conveyor belt (as if the cloth or plastic bag would stop the X-ray machine!) and lay out your precious equiment on the rough plastic - say no and demand a basket with bubble wrap or something else for protection. They will argue, they will huff and puff, but if you insist, they'll comply and you'll have your gear protected. Also, when going to check in (both coming in and going out), count on at least three hours! They will ask you empty your luggage, inspect your toiletries - the works! Again, UNLESS you have a US passport, in whcih case you are simply waived through, even if you're carrying a minigun with you! I'm telling you, I loved the country, loved the food, the history - everything! - but the way the airport people treated me made me a vehement enemy for life! They should show more respect to someone visiting their country - period!</p>

<p>3. During the Sabbath (check out exactly when it starts and ends) you;ll be hard pressed to find anything jewish open, so outside the Old City you'll pretty much starve to death. Inside, with the Muslim and Armenian quarters, you'll be fine!</p>

<p>Overall, enjoy! You'll get amazing images. If you want to see some, check out: http://www.mariosforsos.com/Middle-East/Jerusalem/10873536_iDGEv#!i=758833342&k=m7Fhv. For the related blog entries: http://www.mariosforsos.com/Travel-Blogs/Jerusalem-Blog/10907878_DcyFC</p>

<p>Hope this helps...;-)</p>

<p>I can''t say about Hong Kong, but I was recently in Thailand and I don't think you need an architecture student to show you around. Just find a tuk-tuk driver (or get your hotel to book one for you) and book him for as many days as you want. He will take you everywhere, wait to pick you up, travel around Bangkok (or whichever other town or village you find yourself in) will be quick and you can leave items you may not need (such as a tripod) at the tuk-tuk while roaming around...all in all, having tried a number of other methods, I think this is the best.</p>

<p>First of all, Shun was right in confirming that any 32-bit operating system cannot access more than 3GB of RAM, thereby severely limiting the memory available for any application running under that operating system and any files opened and processed through that application. As for the mathematics, here are some basic concepts.</p>

<p>Out of the 3GB, approximately 1GB is pretty much automatically taken by the operating system and the various background tasks it performs, even when you're not really using your computer. This leaves approximately 2Gb. Even if you open one application (say Photoshop), that will take (assuming you're using CS4) another 700MB-1GB, leaving you with 1GB. Out of that, PS will also grab an additional 250MB (approximately) to use as buffer, instruction and preview scratch etc. This means you're left with, well, around 700MB. A 50MB D800 NEF file will almost certainly translate to a 150MB TIFF or PSD file when opened in Photoshop. Now, if that was the case, all might have been okay, but PS does not really work like that.</p>

<p>It will require, in order to avoid having to write and then subsequently read image data to and from your scratch disk (which is usually set to be your hard drive), free RAM approximately to the tune of file size * channels, meaning that for an RGB file, PS will need approximately 450MB of free RAM. And that is BEFORE you add a layer or any type of post processing.</p>

<p>So, with 3GB, opening a single file will almost certainly cause performance problems...and that is without having a single other application open.</p>

<p>I cannot tell why you find no difference in performance - back in the days when I updated my system from 4 to 8GB I found a significant improvement in performance...</p>

<p>I travel extensively and rarely take less than 2,500 - 3,000 images for every week to 10 days of travel (I recently came back from a trip across SE Asia with around 6,000 images after 14 days of travel). My keep rate is, these days, on average around 1/4, way up from when I started shooting digitally which was, like you, around 1/10.</p>

<p>The improvement is a result of forensic work AFTER each trip and careful examination of WHAT went wrong, WHERE and WHY. This has been instrumental in improving my keep rate, as, whether you believe it or not, situations are NOT as varied as people think and, based on experience, you should be able to draw useful parallels as new situations cross your path.</p>

<p>Learning to use the camera by heart is also key. It now takes me milliseconds to identify the change in settings different conditions and situations may require and my fingers pretty much fly across my cameras, thereby saving me from "losing" images due to wrong or inappropriate settings.</p>

<p>As for storyboarding, this would help but it might also blind you to opportunities which may exist out there. Storyboarding takes an enormous amount of time for places you are not familiar with, requires immense effort and can result in pretty much nothing if you cannot bring your notes with you or something. While I storyboard EVERY single commercial job I do, I have never storyboarded my travels. What you COULD do is make sure you go wherever you want to go VERY EARLY and "plan" there, on the fly - I recently went to the famous floating market outside Bangkok and arrived there at 5am, just as the first sellers were waking up. I got a chance to see the preparations, walk around the place completely alone and was therefore able to "plan" my shots for when the hulabaloo started around 4 hours later! True, it was exhausting, but, as you can see from the images in my site, more than worth the trouble!</p>

<p>Another solution (not one I use) is to take a laptop with you and at the end of each day sort through your images there.</p>

<p>I have 5 SB900s and yes, there have been times when they have shut down to prevent overheating - but just like Matt said, it has usually been in really trying situations and I am happy they stopped rather than completely melt down as my SB600 did, and spectacularly so, a few years ago.</p>

<p>If you can find SB900s at good price, get them! They are powerful, sturdy and can do tons of things for you. Personally, even though I recently got 3 Bowens 1200s (used for a bargain!), I am still in the market for a couple used SB900s - these small flashes are my go-to tools for 80% of my assignments...;-)</p>

<p>I have read the problems described in the PW website, but to be honest, they have never occured to me - and I've put my tt5s and mini-tt1 through a lot since I got them! True, I have not tested them at 200ft or anything like that and I'm using them with my Nikon SB900s (5 of them), but still...</p>

<p>Are you sure your problems are not caused by, say (as I've heard happen) damaged pins in the flash or something else?</p>

<p>Well, while I RARELY do weddings, I do have the following provisions within my "Social Events" contract:<br>

1. In case of personal inability to attend the event, I will arrange for a photographer of equivalent skill to cover the event.</p>

<p>2. If such a substitution is not possible (on my end), I will refund the client with the full deposit plus 50% for the inconvenience caused.</p>

<p>3. If the substitution is declined by the customer (for whatever reason), they simply get their deposit back and that's the end of it.</p>

<p>4. If I cannot attend the event due to "Act of God" reasons (earthquakes, storms, wars, etc), then the customer gets 50% of their deposit back.</p>

<p>While these may sound a bit extreme to some wedding professionals out there, they have served me well as they provide some sensible safety pillow for my customers. Plus, whenever I book such an event, I usually have a list of friends and colleagues who may be available on that day (I confirm and reconfirm as the day approaches). And of course, my assistant can always cover for me if all hell breaks loose...</p>

<p>Hi all...;-)</p>

<p>I'm travelling to SE Asia in a couple of weeks and I thought I'd throw a couple of questions your way to help me with some things I have not been able to discover otherwise...</p>

<p>First of all, the Damnoen Saduak floating marking in Bangkok (well, just a bit outside anyway). I have a driver who will take me there and bring me back. No tour, nothing. I should arrive there around 7am and leave whenever... My questions are:</p>

<p>1. Should I take a boat trip into the canal or not? I was thinking I should so I could grab some more interesting portraits, but I do not want to be stuck in a jam for hours. Anyone else tried that? Is it worth it?</p>

<p>2. Most of the pictures I've seen taken from high up I assume are from a bridge. Is that correct? Is that bridge easily accessible?</p>

<p>3. Can someone wander around the sides of the market freely? Or is it only reserved for merchants?</p>

<p>That's all... your help will be most appreciated.</p>

<p>Marios</p>

<p>There's another possibility - you're using TTL settings on either your "master" flash of the other flashes (you do not mention what type they are, so I'm guessing here) and your on-camera strobe simply refuses to send the correct signal to the other flashes - hence the varying exposures. I have seen this happen (and for a moment it baffled me too) when using an SB800 to trigger multiple SB800s and SB600s - every exposure was different and that had to do with the setting on the "commander" strobe...</p>

<p>It all depends... when I shoot things like weddings, christenings etc, I usually upload an initial sampling to a locked gallery within 2-3 days of the shoot so the clients can see something and share with their friends. This is possible because images like that rarely need extensive post (and because I only shoot RAW I can salvage pretty much anything that may have gone slightly wrong within seconds in LR). The final edits are available within 2 weeks.</p>

<p>Other commercial shoots take longer. A fashion shoot may take anything between 2-4 weeks (depending on how many shots there are and how much post is expected on each), while product shots are shorter. Larger campaigns may fall anywhere between a couple of weeks and a month or more....</p>

<p>But a good rule of thumb would be to have SOMETHING for the client to see as soon as you can and then produce the final edits.</p>

<p>Yes, you are "tied" to Blurb. After all, it's only logical, since Blurb shared their templates and functionality, for Adobe to offer them this much back. The Export to PDF function produces a PDF that you ca upload, at a later time, to the Blurb website. You cannot, to my knowledge and to Adobe's specs, upload it to another service.</p>

<p>Having shot two marathons under rather extreme conditions, I can tell you this:</p>

<p>1. Unless you get a special position (usually a cordoned-off position where photographers can place their remote cameras) to place your camera, chances are you will either have it stolen or moved, bumped, dropped etc etc... generally, not a good idea. I had the opportunity to place one of my D3s at a special gantry over the finish line (I was sponsored by Nikon and was shooting for the organizers so I had certain privileges) and, let me tell you, I spent more time going back to reset it after the various other officials and photographers kept bumping on it and moving it than I spent getting good images out of it...</p>

<p>2. While you may be able, in theory, to frame for what you want, chances are you'd end up framing rather wide, resulting in around 80% failed images (as the camera will shoot when YOU see the scene and not necessarily when IT does, resulting in many out-of-focus frames). Out of the 20% which will be "reasonably" okay, you'll spend way too much time editing and cropping to get around 15-20% of THOSE to actually work out.</p>

<p>I have to tell you - IF you could afford to place a couple of cameras at strategic points, secure and locked against movement (and let me tell you, you need a GOOD clamp AND a rain cover - the small one Manfrotto makes simply does not cut it) with wide enough lenses, VERY fast cards (to store the many images you'd need to get every time the action goes close to either of them) and you actually spent time checking them out and shooting when necessary, you might make it work... but the scenario you're suggesting is not a very workable one I'm afraid...(at least based on my experience)</p>

<p>Still, if you try it, please let me know how you did it...;-)</p>