Photography in a Pinch

Good photographers try to be prepared for almost any contingency. Unfortunately, if you tried to carry everything you'd need to meet every contingency in the field, you'd have to pack like a Bedouin trader.

Many times that simply isn't possible and other times it's not desirable. So the seasoned photographer learns to be resourceful. Here are a few miscellaneous tips that can save your back, particularly on short trips near home.

A Monopod

In all but the most extreme lighting situations a monopod can substitute nicely for a tripod and is a lot easier to carry. With practice you'll be able to hold a monopod nearly as stable as a tripod, for a short time anyway.

Another trick for stabilizing a monopod is to wrap the camera strap around your upper arm and push on the monopod while exerting gentle backward pressure on the strap. Similarly, you can place a large clamp on your monopod and use it as a shoulder brace, almost like a gun mount. It might look a little funny but it works surprisingly well.

Working In Sand

For those times you have to drag a tripod to the beach or sandy area, grab three tennis balls on the way out the door. Cut a hole big enough for your tripod leg and fit a tennis ball over each end.

The tennis balls won't sink in the sand, will keep most of the grit out of the end of your tripod leg and you can throw them away when you're finished.

Another great thing about working at the beach is you don't need to carry sand bags, just bring bags. There's usually plenty of sand already on the beach. Those are priceless for weighting reflectors, which tend to act like a sail in ocean breezes.

Bring A Cooler

But leave the ice packs at home. A cooler has several advantages over an equipment case in many situations. They're solid, many have a handle and wheels, and you can sit or stand on them in a pinch. If you lose or break it, you're only out about $40.

You can still carry drinks with the camera gear, but carefully. Get those drink cozies you put in the freezer. Those will keep your drinks cold without bringing down the temp too much in the cooler. The last thing you want to do is bring cold optics or a camera out into warm, muggy atmosphere. Expect instant condensation if you do.

Carry a Bag of Rubber Bands

They're just so handy for so many things and so easy to carry. You can use them for emergency repairs and to keep papers from flying away.

A fat rubber band is handy for dislodging a stuck filter. Wrap the rubber band around the edge of the filter and that should give you enough grip to get it loose.

And, if you're stuck waiting outside a courthouse waiting for a photo op, they're also endlessly entertaining for taunting your fellow photographers.

Incident Light Meter

Many photographers still carry a light meter, even in the days of high end digital SLRs. If you're packing light you can use a styrofoam cup over the end of your lens and use your camera's light meter, hold it in place with one of your rubber bands.

Note that cups do come in different thicknesses, so you may want to calibrate yours using the Sunny 16 rule before you leave.

Record the exposure at the subject, then walk back to shoot the picture.

This article was written by Professional Photographer Barney Newton.


 

Computer Wallpaper

What do you do when you've gone through nearly an entire roll of film after taking lots of great pictures, but you've got one exposure left?  Think "computer wallpaper".  Almost any picture you take can be used for computer wallpaper, if you remember a few tips to make the picture more interesting.  First, never center the object you're photographing.  Remember most computer screens have a plethora of icons on the left side of the screen.  So, you'll want to frame your object or scene to the right of center.  Second, a depth of field shot will look good on any monitor.  And, it goes without saying, you'll want your object / subject in focus.

This photo is rather mundane until you think of it as a possible "wallpaper" for your computer monitor.  If you're especially proud of one of your shots, why not post it on Facebook, or any social media site for others to share.  'til next time, happy shutter bugging.     




Photo by: Darryl Turner

Another win on Ebay

I won this Nikon N65 35mm film camera on Ebay a few weeks ago.  It came with the 28mm to 90mm lens.  It is an auto-focus model.  I have not yet taken any pictures with it.  But I'm looking forward to it.  If you've been reading my posts for any length of time, you already know I love buying equipment on Ebay.  It doesn't matter what time of year you might be shopping for cameras.  Ebay is a good place to buy great used or new equipment.

If you know of a good source of inexpensive lenses (I don't want to pay more than $50 per lens) for Nikon brand cameras please let me know.  I'm probably not going to be buying many more cameras.  I currently own 12 of them.  But I do want 100mm lenses or longer for each of them.  I'm looking forward to your feed back.  'till next time, Happy Shutter Bugging!

Texting drivers...

With gas prices hovering around $4.00 per gallon (as of the date of this posting) a lot of us have taken the money saving step of using public transportation.  One of the consequences of riding the bus for me has been that because I'm sitting at a higher elevation when riding than driving, I've been able to observe more and more people foolishly "texting" while driving.  I knew there was a problem with some young people engaging in this childish irresponsible behavior.  I did not realize how many "adults" do the same thing. 

These pictures were taken at a local Auto Repair Garage.  Truthfully, I don't know if this car was in an accident that was the result of "texting".  But given the severity of the damage, I thought it a good idea to use the photos while making my point about this unsafe (and decidedly immature) practice.

No text message is worth this.  Someone's Son, Daughter, Wife, Husband, Girl Friend, Boy Friend, or Grand Parent was in this wreck.  To borrow a phrase from Mr. T, "I pity the fool", who harms my little grand daughter in a car wreck because they thought sending a text message was more important than her safety.

Spring has sprung...

Spring has finally sprung.  This picture was taken at dusk, using a camera flash.  Here in the mid-west everything is blooming and blossoming early this year.  The unusually mild winter has brought on flowers of every kind, green leaves on the trees, and an unusually warm spring season.

Hawaiian Vacation

These are all pictures my daughter took while on vacation in Hawaii.

   This "was" my latest acquisition on Ebay.  An N5005 auto focus 35mm film camera.  The Seller inherited it from the original owner, and decided to list on ebay.  I had the winning bid at only $35.00.  I wanted the camera for the lens on it.  The seller indicated that he/she couldn't get the camera to power up after inserting new batteries in it, so it was listed for sale "as is".  I didn't care that the camera didn't work because I only wanted the lens for another Nikon camera I already own.  Now, the bad news.  The Postal letter carrier foolishly left my camera in lobby of the building I currently live in.  And as you might guess, someone came along, noticed my package, and stole it.  When I inquired at the Overland, Mo branch of the post office about why my package was just left in the lobby, the supervisor rather brazenly informed me that as long as the package was delivered to the correct address, the post office has no liability for what happens to it.  I will be contacting a superior postal manager to get the real reason the package was left unattended, and unsigned for.

   I guess the good news is, the chump who stole the camera is in for a surprise when he/she tries to use it.  The camera doesn't power up, and it's a film camera, so it can't be pawned because most people are now using digital cameras.  The moral of this post is..."ebay is a great place to buy used (or even new) camera equipment.  Just be sure to insist on signature confirmation, or restricted delivery when dealing with the post office.  Some of the employees working there, are not very ethical, or professional".  'til next time, happy shutter bugging.   

Why MLK day?

Images of an infamous time in American history...

 Dr. King giving a speech in Washington D.C.

 The students depicted above were protesting NOT being able to eat at the lunch counter in a "Grants" department store.  They could work in that same store, but couldn't eat there. 

 Angry red neck youths who disagreed with the possibility of "colored people" having equal rights under the law. 

 Dr. King and several others were fined $500 and sentenced to 386 days in jail for blocking the progress of a city bus.  He actually spent 2 weeks in prison because the move back fired and brought international attention to the civil rights struggle.

1956, (after over a year of boycotting) Rosa Parks riding in the front seat of a bus, after the Courts ruled that segregating the buses was unconstitutional.

  

   I don't know which I love more, Ebay, or Photography.  This is another camera I won on Ebay.  I sniped this one, meaning I waited until the last 30 seconds of the auction before placing a bid.  The auction began with an opening bid of $9.99.  Approximately 3 hours before the auction was scheduled to end the bid went up to $10.49.  So, I just waited until the last minute to post a maximum bid of $26.99.  I wanted to bid high enough to eliminate other bidders, but not so high that I would not be getting a bargain if I won.  With only 30 seconds before it ended, I posted my bid and watched the other "Snipers" try to out bid me before time ran out.  The bids went up to $12.00, then $13.00, $18.00, $21.00, and finally $23.57, then time ran out.  Because the final bid of $23.57 did not reach my "maximum bid" of $26.99, I actually got the camera for $23.57 because in the case of a "tie", the person who bid first wins the auction.  

   I'm looking forward to receiving this camera because I used to own one similar to it.  This is a Minolta HTsi "Plus", 35mm film camera.  The camera I had prior to this one is an HTsi (minus the plus) model. It was so much fun to use, that I completely ignored all of my other cameras.  When my daughter expressed an interest in photography I gave the HTsi model to her.  Now we'll both have one.  As you scroll through this blog, you can see some of the great pictures these cameras are capable of. 

   In fairness to those of you who have visited Ebay and found cameras that cost considerably more than the prices I tend to pay, I confess that NOT EVERY camera is bargain priced.  Those are the ones I don't bid on.  Generally, I don't like to pay more than $30.00 to $40.00 per camera. I've purchased some as inexpensively as $5.00.  And the most I've ever paid was $60.00.  If you want "brand name" equipment like Nikon, you can easily pay over $1,000, but as I said, I just don't bid on anything that expensive.  My Minolta brand name cameras work just fine and don't cost me a mortgage to pay for.  If you've had similar experiences on Ebay, let me hear from you. 'til next time, happy shutter bugging!             

Lake side

I'd love to take credit for this beautiful shot, but Photographer Magnus Dahlstrom did the honors.  This is actually a digital photo.  While I am, and always will be, a "film photography purist", I have to give credit where credit is due.

This is a my latest film camera acquired on Ebay.  I literally received it today in the mail.  It is another "old school" manual film camera.  I've attached a 210mm, Vivitar Series 1, zoom lens to it (not pictured).  This is another bargain I obtained online.  The cost was $5.00 plus $7.90 shipping.  Now is a great time to bargain shop on Ebay, and every other online market place.  The reason is the after Christmas prices.   

This is a 128mb memory stick for older Sony brand digital cameras.  So why is a "film purist" showing you a picture of a digital camera component?  Simple, I came across several of these as the result of a used office furniture purchase.  I've been selling them at a wholesale price ($12.99 + 7.99 shipping) on Ebay to earn money to buy more film cameras and equipment.  These little devices paid for the camera pictured above.  To see these and other items I'm selling on Ebay, thru the end of January, or until supplies are exhausted, just visit Ebay, and search for the Seller; "mrdlt.2".  'til next time, happy shutter bugging.   

 

Pond Geese

Christmas Dogs

This short video by Dom Bower is a practical guide, showing how to use your flash to create a variety of photo effects.  The size of his flash is NOT necessarily what you or I will need because every Photographer has his or her own style.  The techniques work, regardless of flash size.  Watch, learn, and enjoy!

My Saturday Evening

•                           

1.  On my way to downtown St. Louis, I came across this situation in Overland Missouri.  Multiple fire trucks, blocked off streets, Police officers re-routing traffic, and a lot of general confusion.  I had my Minolta 300si camera with me, and because I had intended to take pictures anyway, this seemed like as good a place to begin as any.  Because the police were specifically directing people away from the buildings on the right side of the street, I knew I couldn't get close enough to see what was actually causing all the confusion.  So I used my zoom lens to try to get a closer shot in the hope of learning what was causing all the attention to the roof of the buildings.  Eventually the fire trucks began driving away, I never did find out what they were looking for, so my next stop was downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

 As the evening wore on, the sun was beginning to set, so I took a few quick shots of downtown.  I found a band in Keiner Plaza giving a concert.  They were actually pretty good musicians.  Songs by Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson, and Gladys Knight were part of their repertoire. 

 My next stop was Union Station Mall.  The photo below was taken just outside of the mall stores.  As you can see it's getting darker outside. The restaurant in the picture below is Landry's. The time of day is dusk.  The wooden bridge leading from the mall parking lot, across the moat to the restaurant has tivoli lights that give off just enough illumination to highlight the water under the bridge.      

 My final shot for the evening is of this water fountain.  It is dark outside, but the built in camera flash lights up the water beautifully.  

 This is the Minolta 300si film camera I used to take the pictures above.  It's a modestly priced piece of equipment.  You can find them on Ebay (where I found this one) for less than $35.00, including the shipping. A great first camera for student photographers.  I used auto focus mode to take these pictures because I wanted to see for myself whether or not the rumors I've heard about this camera are true.  The rumor is that it's almost impossible to take a bad picture with this model.  What do you think?
If you own one of these cameras, please give me your opinion.  'til then, Happy Shutter bugging!      

Glamour

                                                                                                         Debra

                                                                                               Suanne


I specifically did not take these photographs.  The model above is from England. Her first name is Debra.  The lady below is American model Suanne Haffaker.  I'm posting these pictures under the heading "Glamour" because I think it's possible to have great photos that are indeed glamorous, without resorting to the seedy kind of photography that is little more that mild porn.