July 19th Camera Orientation Seminar

Just get a new camera and not sure what all those buttons and icons mean? This is the seminar for you. In three hours, we will show you everything you need to know about your camera to get out and shoot with confidence. As always, check out the PhotographyWorkshops.ca website for more information.

July 12, 2008 Summer Series Workshop Added

I've just added a second "Summer Series" workshop to the schedule. This is the same as July 5th workshop, starting in the afternoon and running until sunset. Please check the website for more details. PhotographyWorkshops.ca

Slowing down shutter speeds.

Here's an example of one of the lessons from the Spring Workshop.. how to handle flowing water. The first image was taken at 1/10 second, and the second image at 1/3 sec. Quite a bit of difference. You need to get your shutter speed down in the 1/4 or lower speed to really get that flowing water effect. To do this, use the lowest ISO setting you can (and still maintain quality of course), a small aperture (I used f:22 for these images) and if that's not enough a Polarizing filter (which I also used here) or Neutral Density filter will help to cut down the exposure time.

Try it for youself.

The DAM Book!

A few students were asking about cataloging images. I read a book, called The DAM Book by Peter Krogh that was an excellent source of information and a great guide for setting up your "Digital Asset Management" software. (That's where the DAM comes from!). You can find more information about it, as well as a forum discussing DAM issues here.

Highly recommended, although I believe it was written before Lightroom was available. According to the author, based on discussions in the forum, I don't believe he sees LR as a viable product for DAM - yet. But I also believe that Adobe is committed to making LR more robust in this area. I'm banking on it 'cause that's what I've committed to for my own DAM solution (Gotta love that acronym!) and I'm actually quite happy with it.

Cheers,

Spring Workshops Summary

I'd like to thank the participants for attending the two Spring Rejuvenation Outdoor Photography Workshops over the past two Saturdays. The first Saturday consisted of Sheila, Nancy, Leeann and Richard with Dave, Celso, Will and Vern making up the second Saturday just past. Although we had rain on both days (more on the 2nd workshop), the black-flies and mosquitos held off for both.
Our destination, along the River Road in Dufferin County, provided more than enough opportunities to experiment with both fast and (very) slow shutter speeds as well as trying out various compositional techniques to capture the scenes in front of our lens as seen by this S-Curve composition provided by the local beavers with their new spring dam.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves, learned something new and took home with them a little more confidence in their abilities as photographers. It certainly was a pleasure meeting you all and I certainly hope to hear from you and see your images, from the workshop and more, in the near future.

JULY 5, 2008 "Summer Series" Outdoor Photography Workshop

BRING ON SUMMER!!

The first of our Summer series of Outdoor Photography Workshops is announced.  Details can be found on the PhotographyWorkshops.ca website here.

Space is limited so book your spot now. 

Sorry.. no Ginzu Knives included, but dinner is.

PhotographyWorkshops.ca Flickr Group Started

Greetings!  I've started a new Flickr Group for all participants of various workshops we run through-out the year. You don't have to  have taken a workshop to participate and welcome anyone that is interested in learning more about photography.  There you can post your photos for comment and critique (we're all pretty kind - but truthful), start discussions by asking questions, or comment on an ongoing discussion.  

You can check it out here.

We hope you'll join us!

Workshop Status

Some of the recently added workshops are already filling up.  The Georgian Bay Islands workshop and the first Spring Workshop are now filled.  We've opened up a 2nd Spring workshop on May 3, but there is only one spot left for it as well.  I'm trying to keep the website up to date with the availabilities, but I sometimes forget to update here - so - I will only be updating it on the website itself.  Please visit the website to ensure availability for any workshops you may be interested in.

If the workshop you are interested in is full, please email me to let me know which one interests you.  If I receive enough interest, I may be able to open up an additional workshop.  But I won't know unless you write me.

In the meantime... I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Easter and please be safe during the upcoming long weekend.  Our office will be closed March 20-24, inclusive.

Take care

1 Opening remain for Georgian Islands Workshop

Even though it's not until July 20th, there is only ONE openings left for this workshop.  Visit the website for more details!

New Spring Workshops Added

Spring is just around the corner and we've added a New Camera Orientation Seminar and a Spring Outdoor Photography Workshop to the 2008 schedule. Check out the website for more details!

January 19, 2008 - New Camera Orientation Seminar

Get a new camera for Christmas? Not sure how to use it? Already have a camera that's a mystery to use? Confused by all the buttons?

This three hour in-studio session will get you started in understanding the features and functions of your new camera. This is one seminar that point-and-shoot cameras are welcome along with digital SLR's or even film SLR's.

We'll cover things like understanding the different Modes, Auto functions, shooting RAW (if your camera is equipped) vs. jpeg images, shooting techniques and much more.

This seminar is geared towards the absolute beginner.

Please visit PhotographyWorkshops.ca for more information.

RRS Wedding Pro Flash Bracket Review

For images of the Wedding Pro attached to a Nikon D200 camera click here.

I was quite excited when I received the parcel from Really Right Stuff, affectionately known as RRS, and days before it was promised. My first impressions of the WPF-1 Bracket is that it's very well made, lightweight and easy to attach to the L-plate. If you've never heard of, or tried an L-Plate, you should. Information on L-Plates can also be found on the RRS site here.

I tried it first on my D200 without grip. The screw-type clamp is very secure and the knob large enough to make it easy to tighten and release. I don't feel the need to over-tighten - it's very secure. Although you can mount it to the bottom of the L-plate, I recommend mounting to the side. The flipping works better this way and if you're using a rectangular shaped flash head, the vertical/horizontal direction is maintained with the camera. It literally fits in your hand when folded together and will easily slip into a small pocket on most camera bags, tucked nicely out of the way until needed.

When using it, you simply press the release button at the joint and pop it open. It will slide easily onto the L-plate and if you don't open the clamp all the way, it will slide on from either the top or bottom - I just find it quicker this way. I use an SC-17 extension cable with my SB800 and the mounting screw to connect the flash shoe to the bracket is included and secures the SC-17 shoe very well. I then mount the SB800 to the shoe and connect the SC-17 to the D200. I have the original cord on my SC-17 so it's quite long. But the bracket has two 'accessory' threaded holes positioned on the flip part as well as the upright attached to the L-plate. I attached a couple of wire ties here and secured the extra cable from the SC-17 to keep it out of the way. Works like a charm!

I then mounted my battery grip to the D200 and attached my new L-plate (for camera with grip). Again the flash bracket mounted easily and securely. Since the L-plate is secured to the grip rather than camera, and the flash bracket secured to the L-plate, I found that if the battery grip wasn't attached well to the camera, I did get a little play. Once I made sure the grip was screwed in all the way, it was much better, but I'd still be careful if using it this way on a tripod. I'm sure if you knocked the flash in any way, you'd create some vibration and motion in the camera. But for hand-held shooting, I really don't think it will be a problem.

Using the flip action took a few minutes to get used to since you have to push a release button to allow the flip to take place. Once the flash is flipped, the bracket locks in place so that you don't get a flop once it's flipped - if you know what I mean! In other words, it's stays in place until you press the release button once again to flip it back to normal. Within a few minutes this became second nature and just as fast as without a release button, but definately more secure when shooting at odd angles.

At first I was a little concerned that there was some play in the bracket. In other words, there is a slight bit of play in the joint. Same with the flip arm. I called RRS about it to find out if that was the norm and I was informed that it was. They had tried a prototype that didnt' have any play, but then the flip locked in place too securely and it was difficult to flip it back. The little play allows you to 'unlock' the arm much easier and the little bit of play is really quite negligible... certainly not enough to affect shooting or security. It's hard to explain this in detail, but if you get one, you'll know exactly what I mean. After playing with it and shooting with it, it's not noticeable anymore.

All in all I'm quite impressed. It's light, easy to attach, secure and a pleasure to use. And most of all, it allows me to use my L-plates for attaching the camera (and flash bracket) to my RRS BH-55 ball-head. I wasn't able to do this with my old flash bracket (in addition, the old bracket wouldn't allow me to open the batter door on either the D200 itself, or the D200 with battery grip attached - now I have complete access to either).

At $149US it's not a bad price for a flash bracket, especially if you already have the RRS L-plate. If you need to purchase an L-plate, that brings up the price considerably, but I still feel the flexibility, compactness (when not in use), lightweight and ease of use still make it worthwhile.

THE WPF-1 (WEDDING PRO) IN ACTION
I used it at my next wedding and all I can say is... the bracket worked amazingly. After using it for only one wedding I'm convinced that it's the best flash bracket I've ever used (and I've been doing this for close to 20 years). I had two cameras with me - both D200's - one with battery grip and one without... both with RRS L-plates. I had the bracket mounted to the one with the battery grip since this was my main camera using the Nikkor 17-35 AF-S and 28-70 AF-S. The other D200 had the 70-200 VR. I use the 70-200 VR mainly for candids, during the ceremony and some portraits as well. But the D200 with the flash bracket was used the most.

Once you get used to pushing the release to unlock the hinge and rotate the flash, it worked very well. Actually, just using it and playing with it for about 15 minutes the morning of the wedding was all I needed to become comfortable with it. It flipped easily and since it locks into place once flipped, it never flopped.. no matter what angle I tilted the camera. The movement was quick, clean and precise and positioned itself directly over the lens at an appropriate height each time. As mentioned above, I had wire-tied the cable from my SC-17 cord to the bracket and it stayed out of the way better than any other bracket I've used.

It's also light-weight so I had no problem hand-holding the set-up at any time. The flash (an SB-800) didn't feel out of balance with the set-up and it was easy to hold. And when I did use a tripod, for the family groups, I was able to shift from horizontal to vertical on my BH-55 very quickly and smoothly. The flash bracket has the integrated Acra-Swiss style mount so switching to vertical was no problem at all.

I switched the flash from one camera to the other only once, but the clamping bracket built into the flash bracket came off in an instant and remounted very easily - and back again. I really don't need two brackets - this worked so well one bracket is enough.

And the coolest thing of all... was that when I was done, I unclamped it, folded it up and stuck it in a side pocket of my camera bag. Nice and neat, compact, quick and out of the way. I've never had a bracket do that before!

All in all.. I'm very pleased with the RRS Wedding Pro Flash Bracket. Well worth the money even if you have to puchase the L-plate to go with it. In fact, I just ordered a new RRS L-plate to go with my new D300.

Deserted Beaches Summary

Well we had snow rather than sand, but that has to be expected this time of year, even though last year snow didn't arrive til mid-January, we weren't so lucky this year. As we headed out the sun poked through and snow squals danced in the distance.
Upon arrival at Wasaga Beach, we first surveyed the fire damage to the East Mall of Beach Area 1. The fire destroyed all the buildings along that strip and the monstrous metal beams twisted and bent fueled the imagination for the intensity of the fire. But, it was all fenced off an nary a way to photograph the desolation.
So on to the boardwalk we went to find some drifts and ice. We found them in plenty along with biting cold winds coming off of Georgian Bay. The bitter cold got the best of us and we headed back to the van. Good timing too as we could see the squal blowing in off the lake and turning a perfectly clear view to almost zero visibility.
We warmed up in the van as we drove up the beach area toward the Tiny Beaches district and found a perfect location for capturing the turmoil of wind, water, ice and rock. We probably spent the most time here as it was not nearly as windy or cold as Wasaga. There was plenty to see and an abundance of photographic opportunities.
We finished off the day with a short side trip to Penetanguishene to check out the Town Dock and the ships moored there for the winter. One brave soul was even stringing Christmas lights from the mast.

Check out a sample of the images from the day at: Deserted Beaches of Wasaga Photography Workshop.

December 8, 2007: Deserted Beaches of Wasaga Photography Workshop

At this time of year the beach areas in the town of Wasaga Beach are boarded up and abandoned. The sand and (sometimes) snow has drifted inland. The muted colours and stark buildings provide a wealth of photographic opportunity. Lone gulls crouch and bear into the cold north winds blowing driftwood across Georgian Bay and landing on the hardened sand.

For more information, visit out PhotographyWorkshops.ca website.

Fall Colour Results

Well it happened to me again - rained all day! But we had a full turn-out and everyone 'said' they enjoyed themselves, but more importantly, that they learned something. The rain was relentless but that didn't deter the group from venturing forth and capturing some of the splendid fall colour that Central Ontario has to offer. The tyrant that I am, I made everyone take their camera OFF of AUTO mode. There was some grumbling, but they all complied and by the end of the day were glad they did.

Click here to view some sample images of the day.

We had some great locations with the colourful trees overhanging the wet road providing us with great depth to work with. We covered exposure, learned what Apertures were and their relationship to depth-of-field and how shutter speed controlled movement. They also took turns jumping in and out of the van during one particular down-pour to see the effects of a polarizing filter (while I stayed out in the rain of course). The only time it stopped raining was while we took a break in Tim Hortons. As soon as we left, it started to rain again.

For me, the best moments were when I heard that now, they understood how to control their camera and get the results they wanted and not rely on what the camera dictates from shooting in any one of the auto modes. That's what it's all about - learning to control your camera to produce, create or duplicate YOUR vision, your version of the scene in front of you.

We ended back in the studio with a quick PhotoShop lesson on using the Orton Effect to create that dreamy, painterly quality of image that was made popular by Michael Orton by sandwiching two slides together in one mount. See photo above. And this one is a variation:


Many thanks to Carrie, Bobbi, Lauren and Marie (left to right in photo) for braving the October weather of Central Ontario. Hope to see you all again! ... and thanks to Outdoor Photography Canada for sponsoring this event with complimentary copies of the latest edition for each participant.

October 13, 2007: Fall Colour Photography Workshop

Sorry, we're filled up.

October 13th is the date of our most popular photography workshop - The Fall Colour Workshop. Of course it's hard to predict where the fall colour will be on this date, but at this time of year, inspiration flows like no other time of the year. If the colour is in the trees - that's what we shoot. If it's on the ground, we'll be there too. This workshop will focus (pun intended) on composition using colour and creating a 'custom' negative or digital file, in camera, under whatever conditions prevail that day... and we go rain or shine.

For more details and information about our other workshops, visit our Workshop site.

Colour Progress

Took a drive yesterday to Oro-Medonte area and Horseshoe Valley, following the Images Studio Tour. Saw some great artwork. It's amazing how many talented people live in this area.

It was a great day for fall colour too. I'm confident it will still be quite good for our workshop next Saturday. Not all the leaves have turned yet and they're just starting to fall, so by next weekend there should be some good colour on the ground as well some left in the trees.

Georgian Shores Outdoor Photography Workshop

What can I say... it rained.

At times it poured and didn't let up til near the end of the day. Even the crow at the Collingwood terminal was looking for cover. BUT... what amazing light!! From the vintage 1952 pickup truck reflected in the wet pavement, to the incredible colours in the sky and waters of Georgian Bay and the milky smooth Inglis Falls in Owen Sound, we had an amazing time.

You can view a sample of the images taken that day here.
This will become one of our annual events for sure!
Many thanks to Heather and Angie. Cheers!

Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head Review

Received my RRS BH-55 Ball Head - earlier than promised which was a great surprise. Out of the box I can say it's beautifully made, smaller than I expected but a nice 'heft' to it. Even with the large main knob, it still is smaller than the old Manfrotto ball I'm replacing (I think it was called a Midi, but I'm not sure anymore - had it for about 15 years). The 55 has a very low profile, part of the design, but makes the head look and feel very sturdy.

It was simple to attach to my Manfrotto 058 (Triaut). Screwed on without a fuss. The Manfrotto column also has three set screws that help keep the head locked in position. I read somewhere not to overtighten these as it could lead to less than smooth panning action - so I didn't. Just tight enough to feel the resistance.

Next was to mount the RRS L-Plate to my D200. Nothing could be easier and it's such a tight, secure fit. The plate isn't intrusive at all and my hand still holds the camera the way it always does for handheld work. The two rubber doors are a little tricky to open, but I rarely use them anyway, so it's of no concern to me. It's light but solid and mounts quickly with a supplied allen key.

Now to attach it on the BH-55. The lever clamp is very well made. A little stiff to close at the moment, but I think that will loosen up a little (I hope), but on the other hand, there's no mistaking it's not locked in place. The action is smooth and positive. The camera/plate easily slid into place and a quick press of the lever and it was locked. I played for awhile switching from horizontal to vertical, checking the lens displacement when switching (virtually none). This operation took only minutes to become second nature and is much quicker than dropping the camera down one of the two slots for vertical and repositioning the tripod. My only problem is that on the Manfrotto 058 tripod, there is a knob to lock the geared centre column in place when it's extended. Unfortunately, this knob prevents the camera from going to a full 90 degree drop into the left side slot. I have to either raise the centre column slightly or use the pan and move the head around a little to avoid the knob. It's not a fault of the head, but more of the tripod. But since I have the L-Plate now, it's not of any concern.

Ok, the camera is mounted, now the knobs. The main locking knob is large, fits nicely in my fingers and is positive and precise. You don't have to 'crank' it to lock it tight. And joy of joys - I found no creeping or slight movement, or dropping, or shifting (when locking) what-so-ever. I frame an object precisely and once locked - there was not shift at all. I'm VERY satisfied in this regard.

Next was the tension control... a seperate knob, tucked away nicely but easy to get to if needed. I already like the seperate knob and find fine-tuning it quite easy. Although, the manual recommends that you loosen the main knob, and tighten the tension until you feel the desired control. I found this method produced rather jerky results and was hard to turn to the point I needed. I was quite disappointed all of a sudden. Movement of the head was jerky, stiff and difficult to position the camera precisely.

However, I then locked the main knob first, then tightened the tension control until I felt some 'good' resistance. Loosened the main knob and the tension was almost perfect. Of course with a larger lens on the camera, it becomes very 'front-heavy' and needs a little more tension to stop if from drooping when the main knob is loosened. This makes it harder to move the camera around, but it's still possible. As I used the head throughout a shoot today, the smoothness increased. I think it needed to be broken in a little. My initial disappointment turned to pleasure. The more I worked with it, the more I liked it.

The manual recommends that you place the drop notch to the left and the other drop notch to the front. This places the main knob pointing at about a 45 degree angle to your left and towards you and the other knobs slightly forward and to your right. This seems logical, allowing you to hold the camera in your right hand as you tighten the head with the left. However, I found it much easier to place the main knob to the right. I thought I held the camera with my right hand, but more often than not, I'm actually cradling the camera and lens with my left. I found that I could hold the camera steadier with my left hand and there was less movement to lock the head with my right hand. Once locked, and my right hand back on the camera controls, my left hand was then free to work the panning and tension control knobs. Wow - this worked beautifully!! This does place a drop notch directly to the rear rather than to the front, but again, with the L-Plate it's of no great concern. In fact, I prefer it this way as I can always drop the camera 'back', so that I can see the settings and the top of the camera more easily when changing something... especially when the camera is positioned higher than me (which at 5'7" is more often than you would think! :p ) Of course if I need to point the camera farther than the top of the head will allow, I can always pan a little and reposition the notch for the odd time I need it. The other advantage of no notch at the front, is that if you loosen the ball and the camera does flop forward, it only goes about 45 degrees rather than the full 90 and stops before being damaged. (This happened to me before I got the tension control working the way I wanted it.)

I received the 55 literally moments before I had to leave on a shoot. Within 10 minutes I had the plate mounted to the camera and the head to my 058. Played a few minutes and the rest was 'on the job training'. But within an hour of the three hour shoot, the 55 was performing like it was second nature, a natural extension of my hand, and mind. Very intuitive, ergonomically excellent, and simply a pleasure to use.

I'm one very satisfied user. This is my first purchase from RRS and it was a very pleasant experience throughout. The product is excellent and I would recommend it highly.

I want to thank everyone that put up with me, including my wife, over the last 7 months or so that I was trying to decide on which head to get. Your many comments, insights and all your feedback was invaluable to me in making my decision.