Photography

Photography

I have been serious amateur photographer for about twenty years.  At one time I was using a SLR and photographing almost exclusively in black and white.  For photographs in night clubs I would use 3000 ISO B&W film.

Since those days I have shifted to a Canon 40D DSLR.  I still miss having the ability to push to 3200 ISO but the Canon 40D can go to 1600 ISO and I think I am getting some good results.

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Photo Equipment and where to get prints

Currently I am using the following camera, lenses and flash (and attachments).

Main Camera Equipment

  • Canon EOS 40-D - I recently upgraded my camera body with the Canon EOS 40-D.

  • Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens - This lense came with the Canon Rebel XT. 

  • Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens - I also got this zoom 70-300mm lens at the same time.   Not only has it been very useful in photographing landscape and some nature shots, it has been a fantastic lens for photographing blues bands in bars and nightclubs.

  • Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash - Because 90% of the photography I am currently doing takes place in bars and nightclubs I needed a good flash for my camera.  The Speedlite 403EX meet my immediate needs. 

  • Gary Fong Whale Tail Studio Complete System - I wanted to find a better way to diffuse my flash in the situations where I was photographing bands in bars with poor lighting.  If I went with no-flash I ended up with either a very 'soft' or poorly focused image.  If I went with a flash it either washed out the colors, flattened the image, or created very annoying shadows.  I looked at other diffusing systems, especially more traditional ones using cards.  As silly & funny looking as the Whale Tail looks ("Tupperware", "toilet bowl", etc), it works perfectly for my needs.

Camera Toys

  • i-gotU GT-120 Travel Blog Master - This is a GPS Logger with software that you can use to put geotagging information into your photographs.  You can also use to log your location.

  • Wireless Remote Shutter Release - This is a Vivitar wireless remote shutter release for Canon 40D & 50D bodies.  It worked right out of the box.

Benjamin's Camera

I gave this camera to Benjamin as a birthday gift with some lenses.  I hope he has the "Tannen camera eye".  Only time will tell.

 

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Review of ExpoImaging ExpoDisc 77mm Digital White Balance Filter - Neutral

One of the problems I found when I went from shooting black and white film photography to digital color work is that nightclubs with the low lighting I was getting a great number of poor quality photographs due to white balancing.  I am not fond of spending time in Photoshop trying to fix these kinds of problems and it is hard to use a white balance card in these situations.

That is where the ExpoImaging ExpoDisc Digital White Balance Filter has become a life saver.  I will freely admit that I am not using it entirely correctly because I would have to stand on the stage where the musician is going to perform and then take a shot of lights to get the white balance.  Right now I don't stand in the exact spot where the musician is at.  I get close and then take the photograph of the lights as best as I can.  It works out pretty well.

This was a good $100 investment in my photography bag of tricks. (out of five)

 

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Photographs that are for sale

First of all if you see a photograph that you would like to purchase just ask.  I can get prints for anything that I own at a reasonable price.  I do have some of my work for sale on http://www.cafepress.com/.  Here are some links to those http://www.cafepress.com/ stores.

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  1. Black Pearl Pirate Gear