Beads & Blue

Last week I was able to get some studio shooting done with the family and experiment with some new lighting gear and set-up. Isn't Christmas grand? I will be doing a post on the set-up and gear another time. Anyhow, I had seen the use of beaded screens on one of the many photography video’s I have watched. I know what you are thinking, a little stuck in the sixty’s aren’t we? To which I say... fashions come and fashions go and then they come again. So I had these beads to work with and was interested to see their effect. Here is an image using the beads of Samantha and Tom as my models.

As you can see the beads definitely let you know of their presents. The question is, do they take away from the subjects or do they enhance the overall image. Used them too much or often and yes I think it could go into overkill disco magic. Here though I think it is working with the blues. The background was a Westcott Midnight Sky with a blue gelled speedlight set at 24mm and shot manual at 1/8 power.

To get the proportions of the portrait right between the two subjects, Tom's nose could have been down a little lower to Samantha' eye level but what I have here is certainly well within limits.

Never be afraid to experiment with new and different equipment or rarely used functions of your current gear.

Cya... Doug

Christmas Week

I am not going to be serious this week as it is a very special time in the Christian faith. That of the birth of the saviour Jesus Christ. So it will be a light hearted week gifts, thoughts and some funny stuff.

To kick off the week I was told about a fun little iPhone/Touch application called FlexPhotoLab. It is actually a product of Ford advertising their new Flex SUV. There are some photo editing tools in the "Darkroom" but the best is the Kaleidoscope effect. Don't worry, it is a free app and you don't have look at any advertisement from Ford. Here are some before and after images.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFT... You get the idea!

Kind of fun and mesmerizing when you are working with it. Have a good day.


Cya... Doug

Tenba Messenger Bag

A couple of week ago s I said I was going to do a review on this bag. Well... Here it is!

Tenba has a good reputation for quality camera bags at an economical but not cheap price point. The Messenger bag is no different with one exception. I does not look like a camera bag which is a very good thing. This is a really good bag for the photographer that likes to keep a low key.

In aviation and with pilots in particular you can usually tell one (if he doesn't tell you first) by the size of multi-function watch (Bretling or Rolex only please) he has mounted with at metal band on his wrist. There are those Photogs that want to scream their profession in the same way. Now I'm not at all against being proud of what we do but I prefer to keep it out of the face of those I come in contact with. Enter the Tenba Messenger Bag.

It looks like your typical business satchel or shoulder bag. This has become my grab and go bag. I can put either my 40D or 5d Mk II with the EF 24-105 f/4 L IS glass with hood mounted (out) with the EF 15-35 f/2.8 L and EF 70-200 f/2.8 L IS. The hood on the 70-200 is backwards but this is not my primary mounted lens like the 24-105 is. All this fits in the insert that is shown in the image above. With the remaining room in the Messenger I can have two 580 EX II speedlights and the ST-E2 transmitter. In the outer pouch I have some filters and my Expo Disk. There is plenty of room for other do-dads that I cary with me.

The slick part of the Messenger is the flap. With the flap latched and secured with velcro there is a zipper along the top part of the pouch that allows almost instant access to your gear. It is sweet!

Bottom line is that the Tenba Messenger Bag in unobtrusive yet versatile and comfortable enough to make a day of shooting much more palatable that a back pack bag. In my opinion, Tenba gets a five lens cap rating for the Messenger bag.

Cya next week... Doug