New sensor cleaning products
Wed Jul 25th - 3:09am
I've tried a few sensor cleaning products over the years. Bulb blowers tend to leave more dust behind than they remove. Compressed air doesn't work with stuck-on dust and the procedure itself is way too risky for my liking. Visible Dust brushes worked great on my 1D but couldn't get into the edges of my 1Ds and I once got my sensor in a terrible mess because of residue from the canned air that you need to blast the brush with before use. Whatever I try I keep coming back to the ever-reliable Eclipse + pec pad method which is always a little scary but it does the job and, so long as you're careful, seems to be fairly safe.
Two new methods that you might want to consider are Dust-Aid and Sensor-Film. When I first looked at them this evening they both looked nerve-wrackingly dangerous but the sales pitch videos have convinced me that they might be worth trying. The only real problem I've found with the Eclipse + pec pads method is that you generally need to swipe the sensor, do a test shot and swipe it again several times to get all the dust, which increases the stress and of course takes longer. Both of these new methods promise to do the job in one go.
In this Dust-Aid video I thought the 'click' when he pulls it off the glass sounded too loud and perhaps the "ultra low tack" coating isn't quite ultra low enough. But when he cleans the 1Ds it doesn't seem too bad. At $39.99 it's a reasonable price although I suspect we'll end up paying £30+ in the UK.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFAGwI_afY0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edust%2Daid%2Ecom%2Finstruction%5Fvideo%2Ehtml&locale=en_US&persist_locale=1[/youtube]
Watch this Sensor-Film video right through to the end. At first this method looks like exactly what you don't want to do to your sensor but when you see the whole process it actually looks okay. It does fall short on a few points though: You've got to be very careful with the edges of the sensor, the tiny bit of paper you need to use will be too fiddly for some, and it takes around four hours for the film to dry. But I'd guess that the results will rival any other product on the market and at around $30 for a bottle of the fluid it's one of the cheapest methods.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoWLoz4JKZI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esensor%2Dfilm%2Ecom%2Fcleaning%2Ehtml[/youtube]
(Thanks to Jonathan Kau and dcumminsusa for posting the links in this discussion in the Strobist group on Flickr.)
BBC’s Photographer of the Year 2007 competition cancelled
Tue Jul 24th - 3:04am
The BBC's popular Photographer of the Year competition has been cancelled as part of the corporation's decision to suspend "all phone-related, interactive and online competitions … following concern over a series of editorial breaches in various parts of the BBC". (More info here.) Winners were chosen by online voting and although the first round of the competition was completed the rest of the competition has been abandoned with no news on when it may return.
Reuters blog: Story of a 1700mm portrait
Tue Jul 24th - 12:01am
Catching up with the Reuters photo blog this evening and I found one story of particular interest, detailing the efforts that one photographer made to get a specific image of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Shooting with a monster 1200-1700mm lens (Nikon modified for use on a Canon body) at the Bastille Day parade, Mal Langsdon had only a 15-second window of opportunity to capture the image of Sarkozy from half a mile away.
Click here to read the blog entry
What I really liked about the story was Langsdon's attitude as he is openly competitive, and enthusiastic about taking a risk to get that one killer shot:
I focussed in on Sarkozy, a nice large image in the viewfinder, but he was waving only to one side of the avenue, his hand mostly blocking his face. Then it was over.
Indeed a lot of time and effort for a less-than-perfect frame. But we did push the limits a lot further than the opposition, who were there with their standard 600mm’s and monopods.
Whether it be intelligent use of remotes, trying unusual lenses, using new untested technology or simply taking the risk on a totally unorthodox shooting position, “daring to be different” is what distinguishes Reuters photographers from the rest. After more than 30 years in this business the biggest kick is still from taking a measured risk and pulling it off.
One thing that I'd really like to see happening around here is for the papers to assign more than one photographer to the larger events. (Reuters had two photographers at the parade.) When there's a dozen togs all covering an event independently, either on separate assignments or shooting on spec, they're all going to commit 99% of their time to getting the safe shots. But if you've got two guys covering the event for a single publication then you can have one doing the safe shots and one doing the more risky shots. That's going to lead to better coverage, more iconic images, awards, improved reputation and ultimately increased sales.
Water-resistant flash housing
Mon Jul 23rd - 5:43am
David over on Strobist has posted a few items this week about people using flashes under water. The latest item about a DIY PVC housing (also see this page) has got me thinking about the local gala that's coming up next month, which takes place at Balintore harbour and features a lot of water events. (Last year's pics.)
For the last two years I've considered trying to get down to water level somehow, either in a boat or at the bottom of the stone steps that the competitors use to climb out. But the problem is that a boat would bob around all over the place and move out of position, and if I was on the steps then I'd get soaked and I'd be in people's way all the time. (Not too bothered about getting soaked from splashes but you can bet there would be one wise guy that would try to pull me in, oh how amusing.)
So maybe this is another opportunity for a remote camera? One idea I've had so far is to get the camera down under water while the diving competitions are going on, put a flash down somewhere else for some nice off-axis lighting, and fire off a billion shots in the hope that I'll get a good one. Or I could attach a camera to the front of a raft, looking back at the people on board, so long as one of them agrees to grab it if the raft sinks. Another option, and I love the sound of this one but it might be a bit too risky, is to ask one of the divers to hold a camera while he dives, with it turned back towards him so we get a cool close-up of him with all the spectators in the background. Sounds good, yeah? Let's see how it goes…
Chicago Tribune semi-boycotts NFL
Mon Jul 23rd - 4:30am
(For background info click here.)
Photographers will be forced to wear red vests with advertising on them for security reasons. That's one explanation given by the National Football League in response to a complaint by the National Press Photographers Association.
Meanwhile the Chicago Tribune is taking a stand against the policy:
The Tribune won't allow its photographers to cover games in vests with logos. "We're not doing it," said George de Lama, the managing editor for news. "Absolutely not." If the rule doesn't change, the paper will cover the NFL without visuals.
In the late 1920s, Bears owner George Halas used to hand deliver press releases to Tribune sports editor Don Maxwell, hoping to snare some coverage.
Maybe the NFL no longer thinks it needs independent media coverage of its games.
I wonder if this will be an effective form of boycott? Sports leagues around the world are now imposing restrictions that cut down on the number of photographers at events and even limit how many photographs can be published. (The most high-profile case was FIFA'a rules for the 2006 World Cup, although that dispute was resolved amicably.) It appears that sports leagues would prefer it if independent photographers didn't cover their events at all, so perhaps a more effective protest would be for newspapers to boycott NFL games entirely until this human billboard policy is lifted.
The next must-have football shot
Mon Jul 23rd - 2:05am
I've mentioned before that there are three must-have football shots, but now I'm trying to get another one. It's not even a shot that I particularly like, I'm just frustrated that it's so difficult! Basically it's the standard shot of two midfield players jumping up to intercept a long kick from the goalie. You want at least one of them making contact with the ball, and both faces visible. Respect to the guys who usually cover Ross County matches (Trevor Martin and Ken Macpherson) who get these shots on a regular basis, as this is the closest I've got so far…
One thing that's pretty cool about this photo is the writing on the ball. The photo is from the Seaboard Cup final and by pure luck you can read that on the ball.
More Elton videos + another pic
Sun Jul 22nd - 7:12pm
There are loads more Elton in Inverness clips appearing on YouTube. Some good, some not so good, but all are better than sitting in a hotel lobby a mile away!
And here's another photo. Shortly after he sat down Elton turned to one of the photographers next to me and gave him a really stern look which gradually melted to a smile and then he gave this cool-looking snarl.
Portmahomack gala girls with cross-lighting
Sun Jul 22nd - 9:51am
The current buzz word in location portraiture is cross-lighting, or wrap-around lighting as it is sometimes known. The technique is famously used in a very stylised way by Los Angeles commercial photographer Dave Hill and in a more natural way by New Zealand portrait photographer Brent Williamson.
There are several ways to achieve cross-lighting but the set-up that is fashionable at the moment has the sun behind the subject and over to one side, and an ambient-balanced flash in front of the subject and over to the other side. The sun and the flash need to be directly opposite each other.
A few weeks ago I was taking photos of children on a school trip and without intending to I used cross-lighting on some of the photos. They were really good! So I've been looking for an opportunity to try a proper cross-lighting set-up and this photo of the Portmahomack gala girls was ideal.
Usually with a photo like this you achieve separation by using a shallow depth of field to throw the background way out of focus. But I wanted the scenery to be a part of the picture — out of focus, yes, but still recognisable. Another option is to under-expose the background but that produces a more moody and dramatic image that wasn't appropriate for a summer gala. So the picture was crying out for cross-lighting which allows you to keep the exposure nice and bright and the background as sharp as you want.
I hope the other newspaper photographers around here won't mind me saying that the usual close-up shots of gala girls are becoming tiresome, especially when some of them suffer from ugly backgrounds. I'd like to think that this photo raises the bar a little and from now on the papers might push for more creativity and variety in gala girl shots. (Beautiful scenery + beautiful girls = no excuses.) That said, I do know that this picture isn't perfect. I shot it from too far away and I didn't spot that the little girl's sash was folded.
Thanks to the gala organisers for helping to get the shoot done on a fairly tight schedule, and thanks to the girls for getting dressed up especially for the photo!
Harry Potter launch in Tain
Sat Jul 21st - 2:14am
My job is just the BEST fun!
21 July 2007: Staff at the Tower Bookshop in Tain really got into the spirit of the Harry Potter launch. More than 60 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the series, were sold in the Highland town at a special midnight event.
Sandra & Jackie — thanks for wearing hats!
Fri Jul 20th - 12:09pm
Only one picture of mine in this week's Ross-shire Journal, a fun shot of Sandra & Jackie from Muir of Ord as they arrived for the Elton John concert. I'd been searching in vain for anyone in fancy dress, comedy wigs, Elton glasses etc and just as I was giving up hope I spotted these two lovely ladies approaching the stadium. I raced over to them and before I even finished asking them to pose for a picture they were strutting their stuff! I was so relieved to finally have a decent shot that I let them walk away without getting their names or where they were from, and when I remembered a couple of minutes later I was lucky to catch up with them just before they went through the turnstile. So girls, thanks for wearing hats that not only made a great picture but also helped me find you again in the crowd!
The only other decent crowd shot I got was of these two Elton fans who couldn't hide their excitement that the big day had finally arrived. Unfortunately I don't know who they are or where they're from as a moment later they were through the turnstile and beyond the reach of my feeble press pass. Still, thanks for the nice picture, whoever you are!
