2nd Annual 20 Photography Gifts Under $100

Here it is … Camera 47’s 2nd Annual 20 Photography Gifts Under $100.  Of course, there are plenty of other holiday gift guides out there – so check back – and I’ll try to get a list of those posted soon.

And if you’re looking for more ideas – the 1st Annual list can be found here.

So, without further introduction – here you go – in no particular order – 20 ideas for your favorite photographer:

1. The best photography book I read in 2009?  DuChemin’s Within the Frame.  Read the review here.  And if the photographer on your list already has that one – here’s his new book – VisionMongers.
2. Another great book – Photographer’s Eye.  You can find the review here.
3. Hot Shoe Diaries has become one of the hottest photography books of ‘09.  Why?  Because McNally has nailed it with this great book on minimalist lighting.  You can find my review here.
4. Moleskin notebooks – the small size.  Perfect for all of those in-the-field note taking moments.  Easily fits in the back pocket or in the camera bag.  Conveniently, it’s a 3 pack.
5. A Kenko extension tube in your photographer’s favorite mount.  One of these in the bag could save space and dollars – replacing the need for a dedicated macro lens for those occasional micro opportunities.
6. Cool, hip travel / photo vest from Scottevest.  I haven’t had a chance to try this out yet – but it’s receiving great reviews.  Check it out here.
7. And to keep all of those great back-at-the-desk notes – a Maker’s Notebook.
8. B+W neutral density filter to help with those landscape photos (just make sure you get the right size).
9. Blackrapid RS-4 strap – lightweight and room for a couple of memory cards – or you could try the newest model – the RS-5!  Bottom line – the RS-4 hasn’t left my camera since July.
10. Via from Starbucks. Why?  Because this is more than just the best instant coffee I’ve ever tried – it actually tastes good.  It has solved my backcountry java dilemma – and it’s good for an emergency cup in the office, too.  It comes in Colombia or Italian Roast.
11. The updated Digital Photography series from Scott Kelby – now goes to 3!
12. The retro-styled seatbelt camera strap – from the same folks who brought you the Super Secret Spy Lens – Photojojo (who else?).
13. Lowepro shoulder bag… Stylish, discrete, well made, and convenient (and just a small bit over our $100 limit).
14. And speaking of stylish, discrete, and convenient – check out this new setup from Mountainsmith.
15. Cap from his / her favorite basketball team.
16. If your favorite photographer already has a Lensbaby Composer – the 0.42x wide angle lens attachment could be a great addition.
17. One year of Smugmug – to share photos with friends and family near and far.
18. OK – another one that exceeds the $100 limit – but seriously – it’s an opportunity to learn lighting from Zach Arias.  Very cool.
19. Wacom’s new Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet – making it easier to work with those photos.
20. For the panoramic shooter in your life – from the Photojojo folks – The Perfect Pano + The Level Camera Cube!

And, if none of this fits the photographer on your list – get ‘em an In-N-Out t-shirt!

(just typing that out makes me hungry for a Double-Double – “animal style” – of course)

Photo for Sale at Wozofoto – Only on Monday

Just wanted to let ya’ll know  – I have another photo for sale over at WozoFoto – for one day, on Monday 9 November – at only $10 for an 8×10 (or 8×12) and $15 for an 11×14 – and this time it’s from the rodeo portfolio!

As for this particular steer wrestling shot – it’s from the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo.  Enjoy.

 

Lensbaby Fisheye Optic: Round 2

7AM Saturday: meet Henry at New Morning Bakery.  1st cup of coffee – dark roast.  Talk photography.

7:25AM:  2nd cup of coffee – still dark roast.  More photography.

7:45AM: Out and about in Corvallis.  It was supposed to be raining – but instead – we were greeted with a partly sunny morning still a bit wet from the night before.  Henry was trying out his new kit – and I thought I’d futz more with the Lensbaby Fisheye Optic (review posted here).

9:10AM: On the way home for more coffee.  French roast.

As for the Fisheye Optic – I liked f/11 so much – I tried it again.  Still trying to get the hang of it – but it’s definitely fun.

Images – from top to bottom: (1) bakery backdoor (2) pedestrian (3) waiting for snow (4) tree by the river.

Wallpaper: November 2009

Here’s the November 2009 wallpaper for ya’ll.

This jellyfish photo was taken over at the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon.

Four sizes are available for download: 1920×1080, 1600×1200, 1600×900, and 1366×768.

 

Review: Lensbaby Fisheye Optic

Announced on Thursday 22 October – the Lensbaby Fisheye arrived on my doorstep 23 October – thanks to 1 day delivery.  And on 24 October – I was at Finley Wildlife Refuge – on a mostly sunny autumn Saturday – for a bit of shooting.

This 12mm f/4 fisheye lens is part of Lensbaby’s Optic Swap System. In other words – this isn’t a lens – but it’s an optic that fits into the Composer system (you can read my favorable review of the Composer here).  If you happen to use the Muse – you’ll need an adapter to use this optic (apparently not available until mid-November) – and according to the press release – this accessory is not compatible with the Control Freak.

And one more note – for those familiar with the Lensbaby system – this isn’t a selective focusing optic.  In other words – it’s not a “shift” optic that allows you to specify the focus point in the frame – and optically – it performs closer to a typical lens.

After some time with the lens this last weekend – here are my initial thoughts.

First – this fisheye lens is fun – and I enjoy shooting it. I don’t mind the manual focus – and though the aperture system takes some getting used to – it’s not a huge obstacle.  Of course – with a 160 degree view – it can be a bit challenging to keep your toes or shadow out of the shot.

This accessory optic is $150 – which likely puts it outside the “impulse buy” range.  As for the total package – I found some things that I liked – and I had a few quibbles.

I’ll start with the “pros”.

To be honest – I was pleased with the glass and the coatings.  The optics were sharper than I had thought they might be (I was shooting primarily at f/11).  And CA (chromatic aberration) was pretty well controlled – though there was some – as you might imagine – in large contrast areas (e.g. branches / sky interface) – but nothing that I found intolerable (at least at f/11).

The plastic storage case is a nice touch.  It’s handy for storing the fisheye optic when not in use – and it stores the other Composer optic while using the fisheye.

On a crop sensor camera – the full image circle (characteristic of fisheyes) will not be in the image – but you will get dark corners.  That’s OK – it’s just good to know.

And with Lensbaby’s announcement of the fisheye and soft focus optics for the Composer system – I think they’re showing their intent to provide a comprehensive and compelling creative system for photographers.  It makes me wonder what else they might have up their sleeve…

Now – for the fickle list.  Though nothing here is a “deal breaker” (except for maybe cost) – these are my quibbles:

1. OK – maybe I shouldn’t be fickle that this doesn’t come with a lens cap – and the lens cap from the Composer optics doesn’t work – but I like lens caps.  If I’m out shooting this lens – I’d like to be able to just put the camera + lens in my bag and not have to worry about smudging or scratching the optics.  Maybe I’ll find a (clean) sock missing a match and slide it over the front of the lens…
2. Swapping optics on the Composer system can be a bit funky (though not necessarily difficult) – and something probably best done while the system is not on the camera – so as to limit your sensor’s exposure to dirt / dust.
3. When the fisheye first arrived – and I tried to put in an aperture disc – I really had to apply some effort to turn the front fisheye optic to remove it.  More so than I should have needed.  In fact, a lot more than I should have needed.  Maybe the optic tightened during shipping – or maybe this is how it was assembled.  Hopefully, this is just a random data point.
4. If you don’t already own a LB Composer – the whole package will be around $425 (fisheye optic + Composer).  If you really want just a fisheye – and the rest of the Composer system doesn’t interest you – the Canon 15mm is about $650 right now – and a few third party lenses can be had for less than $400.  But – if you’re looking to buy into the Composer system – this is a nifty addition.

Bottom line: if you already have a Lensbaby Composer – and a fisheye is on your wish list – $150 isn’t cheap – but it’s definitely a lot less expensive than some alternatives – and it’s a lot of fun to shoot (I’m definitely looking forward to trying this at a gig).  On the other hand, if you’re only looking for a fisheye – and you’re not invested in the Composer system – there are other options out there.

Photo for Sale over at WozoFoto on Saturday

Just wanted to let ya’ll know – I’ll have another photo for sale over at WozoFoto, for one day, on Saturday 24 October – at only $10 for an 8×10 (or 8×12) and $15 for an 11×14.

As for this particular photo – it’s a morning image from the Finley Wildlife Refuge – located just south of Corvallis, OR.

Harvest Festival 2009

Last year I wrote about Heavenly Harvest’s annual harvest festival.  Well – this year’s event is again a great family autumn destination – complete with hay rides, pumpkins, rubber duck races, corn maze, and pneumatic corn launchers.

As for the photo ops?  Plenty of them – and they have a photo contest!  Details on their website.

More on Heavenly Harvest can be found here.

10 Habits to Better Photos: #5 When Trimming Images – Bring a Chainsaw

Habit #4 was to shoot, shoot, shoot.  Now – care about your audience and ruthlessly cull your images.

Bottom line: Don’t submit your readers to 7 angles of the same flower.  Give them 1 image of the flower – and then stop.  Move to the next image.

Even if you have two perfectly exposed and framed images of the same point in the story – keep only one to show folks in any one portfolio.

Why?  Well – your audience is looking for something new and unique.  They’re looking for a captivating image that tells a fresh story.  The second image at the same point in the story is no longer new or fresh – and you’ve just lost a tiny bit of your audience’s attention.  Do this too many times – and you’ve lost them completely – and it turns into just another evening of flipping through boring snapshots – regardless of your quality.

On the other hand – if you spare your audience from redundancy – and keep them engaged with fresh imagery – and only for a short time – they’ll walk away hoping to see your stuff again.

An example?  Let’s look at the WSJ’s daily Photo Journal.  It’s typically 16 high impact images each day.  Could it be more?  Yes.  But it’s not.  And everyday folks go back looking for more stunning images.

When to break this rule?  Event photography.

When I’m posting for an event – I’ll post more images than if I were creating a portfolio – a lot more – as any one of my event galleries may have 200+ images in it.

The difference here?  For the event – participants, family, and friends are looking for pics of themselves or loved ones in top action.  For anyone else?  They’re not as attached to the event – and they’re looking for the highlights – the really cool stuff.

As for the concise portfolio – there aren’t a lot of rules – except to share only your best.  And unless you’re retelling a year adventure around the globe – it’s probably safe to stay with less than 50 images.  My preference is to stay within 20-30 photos.

Cactus Landscape Image for Sale over at WozoFoto

First, my apologies for a light week of posts.  I’ll try to get back on track this next week.

Second, I’m digging this partnership with WozoFoto.

For today only, Saturday 10 October – this Cactus shot, another print from my Joshua Tree excursion – will be for sale over at WozoFoto – and it’s only $10 for an 8×10 or $15 for an 11×14.

And the cactus (cacti?)?  Well – these are cholla.  If you make it down there – try not to brush up against one of these.

Wallpaper: October 2009

Here it is – the October 2009 wallpaper.

This image of the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Oregon was from our May visit.

Four sizes available for download: 1366×768, 1600×900, 1600×1200, and 1920×1080.