Photography Tips: My Top Five Sites

TOP FIVE PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT SITES:

Pay no mind to alphabetical or numerical order here; organization puts a damper on my inspiration and I’ve got some real work to do, later.
Here is the list I promised for those readers interested in buying cameras:

OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER
The best Photography Magazine you can buy if you’re into Landscape, Nature, Travel, Wildlife or any other type of outdoors photography. I get both the online and printed editions. The articles are all written by working professionals. They give you the latest tips and techniques and display photography Ansel Adams would wish he’d have done.
Usually, this magazine is what inspires me to start researching for my next outrageously expensive piece of camera equipment. Others on this list advertise in Outdoor Photographer but, I visit all these sites and check prices and reviews before making a final decision on what to buy.

STEVE’S DIGICAMS
There’s a wealth of information on this site and it’s an old favorite of mine. He has professional reviews on just about any camera you can imagine. Many times he gets to play with a new camera before it even hits the market in the USA. Often, a camera will have different model numbers or names, depending on whether it’s being sold in Australia, Europe, Japan or the USA. This site is a goldmine for me, living in Japan and trying to advise people all over the globe.

CNET
Here’s a site that I always visit before buying, just to see what the users/customers have to say in their product reviews. If a camera or piece of gear has the slightest defect, someone here will tell you about it, no holds barred!
I do take into consideration the person complaining may have no clue when it comes to using their camera. So, it pays to read many reviews.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL
Plenty of free information about cameras and lenses may be found here. It is one of the best sites for tips and techniques.  And, they have some excellent tutorials for anyone interested in learning the business of photography.

ARORAMA CAMERA
Here you’ll find cameras and accessories, prices, sales and reviews. Many times I’ve ordered from this site just because it’s quick, convenient and they have no problem shipping to Japan. I’ve had camera equipment, software and electronics show up at my house on a Sunday morning from Adorama and everything arrived safely, in working order.

Browse each of these sites and you’ll find they all have valuable information to offer, photo shooting tips, forums, contests and advice.

There are dozens of other photography sites I visit and I don’t mean to slight any of them. When I’m thinking of buying my next camera, lens, or any other photographic equipment these just happen to be my Top Five Sites.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

Friday Photo: Prayer at an Okinawan Utaki

This photo was taken at the grounds inside Nakagusuku Castle a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the main island of Okinawa.

The woman is making an offering at what is called an "Utaki" or sacred grounds. The Okinawans don't go to a church or temple to worship. They are ancestor worshipers and conduct, what most people would call prayers, in their homes or at Utaki throughout the islands.

Photography Tips: Travelers Be Aware!

To me there’s nothing more annoying than having a camera that won’t shoot. Well, maybe eating live chickens. But, here are a few tips for travelling photographers......

Often, travelers ask me which type camera or lens they should buy and I always answer them with a question or two. What is your level of experience and what type of photography are you interested in?

The truth is a disposable film camera can capture an award winning photo for under $20 and the top of the line DSLR equipped with a lens that cost more than my first house can take horrible pictures.

After I find out what type shooting someone wants to do, I always guide them to websites where they can read reviews by both camera professionals and consumers.

A pro may be influenced by his favorite brand (or sponsor) but, a consumer will tell you exactly what they think of the model they bought.

A traveler has to make decisions about purchasing camera equipment based upon the type of travel they do and how much they can pack away in suitcases, carry on bags or backpacks.

A pro might take a camera body and one or two lenses and rent the equipment needed for the shoot in another country.

Regardless which type of camera you’re leaning towards buying, one important thing many people forget is power supply. Modern lithium batteries are great, but require charging. Make sure your charger will adapt to the power source of the country you are heading to.

In some remote countries you may be better off having a camera that uses alkaline batteries; they’re available almost everywhere.

Ask your travel agent about your destination country’s power supply, the availability of batteries and avoid spending your vacation buying disposable cameras.

There are too many websites, I use, for researching camera gear to list here but, one of these days I’ll put together a Photography Tip and list my Top Five or Ten. Meanwhile, if you’re just itching to buy a camera and leave the country you’re living in, have a peek at Matador Travel where you’ll find lots of discussions and links provided by some serious travel photographers.

Calibrate Your Computer Monitor: Here's How (SPYDER)

This will be a quick post to show you what I use and how I use it when I calibrate my monitor.

DISCLOSURE: I OWN THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AND I LOVE IT MORE THAN MY DOGS BUT, NOT AS MUCH AS MY CAMERAS. MAYBE, AS MUCH AS MY WIFE !

It's called the Spyder2express. You simply install the software they give you, plug the USB wire in, and the gadget does everything else for you.  Only they don't tell you to clean the caffine and nicotine stains and chunks of beard off the monitor first. I figured that out after a few times, all by myself.  See, I'm becoming somewhat of a perfectionist lately, instead of becoming a saint.

The lights are on in this picture. Once everything is set-up I turn all the lights off and go outside for about 10 minutes.  Calibration of the monitor should be done in dim lighting or no lighting at all. When you're doing photo editing you shouldn't be sitting in a room of bright lights, either.

Now, you've already plugged into the USB port and your monitor will tell you exactly where to place the Spyder (Only they call it a SENSOR).  It has a fairly long wire going to the USB and may want to slide out of position. They have suction cups on the Spyder's legs but I don't use them. I used to take a clothespin and clamp the wire to the top of my screen.  Then one day I discovered I could just tilt the screen back far enough to keep the Spyder from sliding.  Well, the spyder was heavy enough to make my laptop fall off the bar.  I caught it just in time.  Now, I know enough to put something heavy on my keyboard so the computer doesn't fall. I refuse to use suction cups on my monitor. It gets enough abuse.

The program runs your computer monitor through all kinds of tests. If you hang around and watch it you'll see it turn your screen all different shades of white, red, yellow, green, black and grey. What it's really doing is adjusting and setting you computer's color profiles.

You don't realize it, when you're staring at a monitor everyday, the colors you see are slowly drifting out of whack.  The Spyder people recommend calibrating your monitor once a month.  I calibrate my monitor every two weeks and weekly if I'm doing lots of editing or printing of photos.

When monitor calibration is complete you'll see something like this on your screen.  This is a picture of what my monitor looked like before calibration.

Here's what it looks like after calibration. If your monitor isn't calibrated it's probably hard to see the difference!  Trust me, the difference is significant. It helps get you award-winning photos.

RELATED POST: CALIBRATE YOUR MONITOR: HERE'S WHY


PURCHASE THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS CALIBRATION TOOL FOR LESS THAN $100.00 AT ADORAMA CAMERA SEE THE SPYDER 3 EXPRESS, HERE

Photography Tip: B&W a Color Photo

This past Saturday I went on a self-inflicted photo shoot. That's a job where you know there's no money involved, unless you happen to pick up a winning lottery ticket while you're out.  I always shoot color photos but, sometimes convert a few to Black and White (B&W) when I develop.

This is a series of photos taken near Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. An apprentice working with me was asked to get some photos for an old geezer in Texas who was over here in 1963.

He wants to see what his hangouts back in the day look like today. I doubt he'll recognize anything but, figured I'd take a few shots (I would have deleted, anyway) and give them the B&W treatment.

Photo Set #1

Photo Set #2

Photo Set #3

Photo Set #4

Photo Set #5

This area, near Gate #2 of Kadena Air Force Base has gone through several booms and busts over the years so, we went to some of the alleys off the main streets hoping to find something to remind the Texan of the good old days back in the 60's. Maybe a B&W vs Color photo will  help him recognize something he once saw here. He may even have an old scrapbook photo to match one of mine !

You can convert any digital-color photo to B&W, Sepia, Monochrome, whatever you want to call it, easily. Try it sometime before you throw away a picture with some distracting colors or objects in it. Just hit the FIX button in your Windows Photo Gallery or any simple editing program.

WHICH PHOTO SET ABOVE LOOKS BETTER IN B&W vs COLOR TO YOU ?