Shutters Inc

This week, first up, an e-mail from Carl Hemmings re: 10 stop ND filters and how you might be able to simulate it in-camera (providing your camera offers that functionality). Then, 'chimping'. What is it? Why do we fall into the habit? And how do we break out of it? The article that inspired this episode is here.

This week, the concept of the "OK Plateau", thanks to Joshua Foer. I saw this video linked to from Lifehacker, the original was posted on 99U.com. Also, if you want to get your head around more of the science of how digital imaging works, check out the Cambridge in Colour website. And finally, the images from the vampire shoot I mentioned last episode (re: the soon-to-be-demolished house) are now up on brucewilliamsphotography.com for those who are interested. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, why the long break between episodes, plus some more discussion of ND1000 (10 stop) filters (with some contributions from Andrew Cooper, Daryl Gungadoo and Adam Davidson). Turns out that almost all 10 stop filters will introduce some kind of colour shift... some shift towards the red end of the spectrum and some shift toward the blue end of the spectrum. Daryl also chimed in on the focus points of the Nikon D700 and D800 bodies, plus casually mentioned the fact that he has just finished shooting the London 2012 Olympics (freelancing to Associated Press). We definitely want to hear more about that! After taking a break from the Pose Project Management shoots for 3-4 weeks, I knocked over not just one, but two of them last weekend. One was a vampire-themed shoot, and through the week, I happened to show the SOOC images to one of the Program Directors at ARN Sydney. He loved what he saw, and asked me to put together a proposal and quote to do a shoot with the breakfast team for one of our Sydney radio stations. Pretty excited about that! I've pitched the concept, they love it, and now I'm in need of a good "run down industrial" location along the lines of the old Dunlop Factory in Alexandria, or the old tram sheds at Harold Park. Trouble is, both of those locations are now closed, so if anyone knows something similar in Sydney, please let me know! Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, some follow up from Adam and Mike re: the colour casts associated with ND400 (aka 10 stop) filters. Plus, the fun and games of my last 2 Pose Project Management shoots. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, Carl Hemmings wrote back about the 51 (not 52!) focus points on the Nikon DSLR's. Last weekend's Sydney meetup #25 (Hell on Wheels) was a great success. The thing that really struck me (which I shall file away for future reference) was the need to be really aware of placement when using flash to supplement an 'apparent' light source within the frame (in this case, a campfire). And I'm keen to hear from those of you with 10-stop ND filters. Do you ever notice a colour shift in the final images? I am, and I don't know if it's a defective filter, a (not so) cheap-and-nasty filter, or if this is the way 10-stop filters are in general. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

A short one this week. I got a few responses to my question regarding focusing modes, from episode 203. Seems most people are using the same approach as me... I just need to practice more, clearly! Also, Blake alerts us to "Photo Finish", a short series of half hour "reality-style" TV episodes about amateur photographers being given challenges to shoot. To be honest, I've been a little bit underwhelmed by it so far, but I WILL continue to watch it nonetheless. If you're interested, it's on the ABC at 20:30 AEST each Thursday (for about another 3 weeks, I believe). If you missed, but still want to see an episode that has already aired, check it out on iView. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, I've completed two Pose Project Management shoots (3 to go over the next 2 weekends!). Both shoots were a bunch of fun. Shoot #1 is here, and shoot #2 is here. Then, a question for you. Which focusing mode do you use on your DSLR? Centre focus, wide area focus, or selective zone focus? How do you ensure accurate focus when shooting wide open? Plus, after being intrigued and impressed upon discovering the B-Grip, I got hold of B-Grip CEO, Andrea Corticelli for a chat about his unique product. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, I caught up with Lorna Andrikopoulos from Instinctive Desires, just after the Digital Show and AIPP Awards (aka PMA) was held in Melbourne. We chatted about the state of the industry, and the changing world of marketing. Then, I had a chat with Taleah Baird, who has set up a page on Facebook called Pose Project Management, the aim of which is to bring together photographers, models, make up artists and stylists to work collaboratively on visual projects. It's a great concept, and one which appears to be taking off really well for her. After this episode was recorded, Adobe released the v4.1 update to Lightroom which now includes the ability to work with 32 bit HDR images. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this post and it got me thinking about why I (we?) hang on to every image we take. Perhaps as the title suggests, we should 'keep the best, delete the rest'. Blake Bodycote asked about backup solutions for his laptop-based Lightroom catalogue. My suggestions included: Backup online using any one of a multitude of free 'drive' sites like: google drive, dropbox, skydrive, or iCloud. Use a paid online backup service like: carbonite, crashplan, jungle disk, or mozy. And if nothing else, maybe save jpeg copies to an online site? I mention the absolutely crap-o-matic quality of film scanning at Big W, plus, spending a day at a Joe McNally workshop. Links: lastolite ezybox honlphoto 8" traveller home made softbox options.   Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

Wow, 200 episodes! This week, a great post on being true to your own vision, and why the journey of your photography career is a lot like a bus route, (unfortunately, it appears that this link is already broken, even before I get this episode up, so it's a good thing I summarised the theory in the podcast!), Susan Menis wrote in to congratulate me on the milestone (thanks, Susan), Kain Tietzel is moving from iPhoto to LR and now has to tackle the daunting task of setting up good workflow practices for 12,000+ images (good luck with that, mate!). So, I look at some basics of database management within Lightroom, including * where to set up your catalogues, * whether to use one or multiple catalogues, * and heirachial keyword topographies. Nathan Chilton also gave us another Lightroom tip, in the form of how to sync the images from a 'one shoot, multiple cameras' scenario AFTER the fact. His description of the process is here. Which led me to share an idea I'd had on how to make sure you COULD get all photos in sync later on. A quick note that I'll be away on holidays next week, so there won't be a podcast next week. Cheers! Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, an apology for my 'facebook fail'. The reason there's been no podcast for the last 3 weeks is because I was once again involved in photographing and videoing Sound Business Plan for ARN up at Hayman Island. Sounds cushy, I know, but it was intense work. The nest Sydney Meetup (#23 - Black Friday) will have already happened by the time you read this. We're shooting a 'European gypsy/fortune teller'-themed shoot. And just because I don't cram enough stuff (and stress) into my life, I've been out and bought a roll of 200iso Kodak film and a battery for my old Minolta 700si. At this meetup, I will be (or 'was'?) shooting digital AND film simultaneously. Can't wait to see if the difference is as noticable as everyone suggests. Carl Hemmings sent me a link to a Peter Hurley video, where he discusses posing techniques, specifically for the head. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS VIDEO ENOUGH! Allocate 15mins of your day and watch this (if, like me, you need help with posing your subjects). Awesome tips. Adobe Reader 10.2 for Android and iOS is out now and allows for text markup and signing of pdf's directly on your tablet/phablet/phone. Very excited about this. Custom digital model release forms, here we come! Also, I'm hoping to get hold of Shelton for ep #200. Watch this space. And speaking of Shelton, he and Glynn have just passed the 20,000 fans/friends mark on Facebook for Creative Photo Workshops! Well done, fellas! Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, a little tip courtesy of Nathan Chilton on Facebook: Don't forget to change the clock in your camera when daylight saving starts/ends!! Nice one, Nathan. Thanks! Then, I talk with multiple award-winning Australian wedding photographer, Jerry Ghionis (Facebook, Twitter) about his recent collaboration with Westcott Lighting. Together, they have come up with the Ice Light. Jerry is also building a community around the Icelight at IceSociety. If you're interested in joining, Shutters Inc listeners can get a $100 discount on membership by using the promo code "icesale". Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, an e-mail from Landon Michaelson regarding panoramic heads. Landon likes his Nodal Ninja 5. Also, an e-mail from Ernie Barrett asking about dead and/or stuck pixels, and about cleaning options for lenses. I personally love my LensPen Sensorklear Loupe Kit. A post-shoot conversation with Chris led to the question "should models get hi-res images if they've been paid for the shoot". Isn't that like double-dipping? Sydney Photographer's Meetup #22 went off without a hitch.... once we moved it to an indoor shoot! The theme was Bonnie and Clyde. Meetup #23 is in the planning stages right now. It's going to be a Black Friday shoot (13th April @ Dragon Image in Artarmon, for anyone who'd like to join us), with a theme along the lines of "Fortune Teller/European Gypsy". Should be fun! If you'd like to be part of it, join the group on Facebook. The next Focus on Business will also be held at Dragon Image this Tuesday (13th March) between 18:00-21:00. This month, Lorna is addressing "online and social media marketing". This will be interesting indeed! If you are interested in attending, head over to Instinctive Desires and book yourself a place! In case you've been living under a rock this week, Adobe's Lightroom 4 is now out! You can try it out, fully featured, for 30 days before you buy. And if you need a little bit of help with your newly downloaded Lightroom 4, why not check out Chris Orwig's "Lightroom 4 New Features" course over at lynda.com? Or for those of you who prefer Capture NX2 (over Adobe Camera Raw) for your RAW conversions, lynda.com has just released a new course from Ben Long: "Capture NX2 Essential Training". And if all that wasn't enough... a tease for next week! Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, we learn that Joe McNally is set to tour to Australia and New Zealand this year! Let me know if you're interested in attending the Sydney workshop, as I'm hoping to be able to secure a group discount. No guarantees of course, but let me know if you're up for it! Two weeks ago, Chris Belyea and myself, along with model Desiree (of Meetup #15 fame) hired Think Studio for 4 hours to do a glamour shoot. It was great to be able to take the time to finesse a shot, and experiment with light. Some of my shots from the shoot can be seen here. Personally, I really like the last one! "Slow Bruce" finally discovers something that should have come to him long ago, regarding panoramas, pivot points, and paralax errors. For the technophiles, read the wikipedia article on parallax errors. Or for the lounge lizards, check out some youtube vids on same! Next Friday is Meetup #22 - 'Bonnie and Clyde' here in Sydney. Still looking for a couple more photographers ...and a venue! Sing out if you would like to be involved in any way. Comments will be closed after 30 days. Love the podcast? Want to share the love... and keep the servers running? Feel free to make a small donation through PayPal. All contributions gratefully received!

This week, I speak with Gavin Blue from Heartfelt. Gavin talks about what the service does, and how the biggest challenge they face is spreading the word so that people actually know that Heartfelt exists! I highly commend them for their work and urge everyone to  do their own little bit to help spread the word. Stick up a status message on Facebook for a couple of hours, tweet about it, whatever works for you. I also received an e-mail from Blake who made use of the black card technique, along with using a couple of ND filters so he could shoot 30 seconds directly into the sun! Check out his image here. Lorna's next "Focus on Business" meeting (the first for 2012) is on this coming Tuesday at Dragon Image in Artarmon. If you are a Sydney-based photographer wanting to get the business side of your photography business on track, this is a must-attend event! And the next Sydney Photographer's meetup is to be held on Friday March 2nd. This month's theme is Bonnie and Clyde. Venue still to be announced. Details on the Facebook event page. Thanks in advance!