Well, another short review for today, slot 11, the Giotto Rocket Blower. This is a great device because it is so simple and handy. Don't let the rocket shape fool you, it is nifty. If you change lenses on your DSLR(s) you will get dust on the sensor, even if you have one of those fancy new ones with dust removal vibrating functions! I know because I have three of them and I still need a blower. To use it, you simply remove your lens, invoke the 'sensor cleaning' function of your camera (I hope you aren't so timid that you won't even do this), turn the camera so that the lens opening is facing down, and without touching the sensor with the blower, blow on that puppy!
Some folks aren't sure how to tell if they have dust bunnies on their sensor. Let me first say that if they aren't causing you a problem, ignore them! Really, having some sensor dust is OK if it doesn't cause you problems ... just leave it alone! But if it is an issue but you don't know how to tell if your sensor is clean, here's what to do: take a properly exposed (just let your camera do it as usual) image in Av mode at a small f-stop, like f/22, of a homogeneous subject ... this usual means blue sky which is where most of us have trouble with the dust. Look at the image either via the enlarging function of your body or on your computer. If there are gray spots (or even black) then you have dust. It is OK not to have dust! But if you do, the very first thing to do is use your Rocket Blower. Sometimes it may take three or four iterations to get most of the dust off. I find this usually greatly reduces the dust. You don't have to get it all. It is OK to just reduce it to where it is not a problem. This is not something to have a hemorrhage about!
If you can't get enough of the dust off with the blower, then you need to "wet clean" your sensor. There are dozens of online tutorials about how to do this. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY IT! I have NEVER heard of anyone damaging their sensor if they follow the simple directions in the tutorials. It is not rocket science. It is easy, although the tools are pricey and you may have to do two or three iterations. Do not be distraught if the first pass or two doesn't clean it perfectly! I have had to do four rounds (which cost about $6/round) of wet cleaning sometimes. Just get over it ... that's how it is!
OK, next equipment review will be about batteries for flash. Since starting this tutorial I have upgraded my flash battery setup so I'll go over both AA's and my new Quantum battery!
Be Safe!
Dwight
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Back from Club Med, Cancun, Yucatan, Mexico
I am back from Club Med at Cancun where I went for a week with my family. A grand time was had by all and I highly recommend it ... a bit pricey but well, well worth every dime, er, ah, I mean peso! The first image is the Club Med reception area. When you arrive they have warm towels to wipe off the travel grime and drinks to quench the thirst.
The next two images are of the general look and feel of the campus. The beaches are beautiful white sand, the clouds are amazing and water an amazing blue/green.
The last image is my daughter in a fashion show. Luckily she didn't insist that we buy the outfit. Unluckily that was only because she wanted one with more color that we did have to get her! :-)
Be Safe!
Dwight
The next two images are of the general look and feel of the campus. The beaches are beautiful white sand, the clouds are amazing and water an amazing blue/green.
The last image is my daughter in a fashion show. Luckily she didn't insist that we buy the outfit. Unluckily that was only because she wanted one with more color that we did have to get her! :-)
Be Safe!
Dwight
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Glamor: Janie Arnold
Every time I start blogging I am overtaken by events, but I am trying to keep posting. And while I will continue with the equipment review I think my Glamor Project is more interesting at the moment. The History: I bought a Bowens QUADX studio strobe system about four years ago as I had always wanted to try out those big fancy lights we always see in the "behind the scenes" photographs of models working. 
The images can really be stunning, but it takes a bit more care, time and experience than is immediately obvious. I used them a few times on family with some decent results. Then, about two and a half years ago we moved to our present house where there was an office and another room I am using as a studio. The studio is 10' x 17' with 9' ceiling ... way too small to be effective, but large enough to allow me to practice and experiment. It has taken me the last two years to finally get it mostly equipped ... there are still odds and ends like flags and gels that I need.
Back a couple of posts I talked about shooting Amber Rhodes, rising country singer/songwriter. I shot her for my friend Rick Barker. But my real goal is to learn to shoot glamor. And to that end I have joined ModelMayhem.com, an online resource for models, photographers and others in the industry. I also made a couple of contacts through Scott Sneddon, an Air Force sergeant and photographer currently deployed in Korea. Among much else, Scott introduced me to Janie Arnold, a 21 year old aspiring model and fitness student. While I have additional shoots in the pipeline and several more scheduled with various models, I'm going to briefly cover my two experimental shoots with Janie.
For the first shoot I wanted to work with a white seamless background along with my white studio walls and ceiling. I used two medium softboxes and some background lights in a very simple setup. As you will see in the accompanying images they are a bit overexposed, similar to the Amber Rhodes images ... an effect that I generally like. For the second shoot, I used black seamless, draped off the walls, used a beauty light for a main light, a softbox for fill, a gelled snoot for an accent light and low reflector/barn door head for side lighting ... a very different look.
I'm not really facile enough to give instruction in lighting at this point. I have spent countless hours reading forums and tutorials but it just takes a lot of hands on time to get the hang of it and I'm not there yet. So, enjoy the images. I will have additional glamor sessions to post in the future.
You can also see these images and many more from these sessions on my website in the Glamor Project section.
Be Safe!
Dwight
The images can really be stunning, but it takes a bit more care, time and experience than is immediately obvious. I used them a few times on family with some decent results. Then, about two and a half years ago we moved to our present house where there was an office and another room I am using as a studio. The studio is 10' x 17' with 9' ceiling ... way too small to be effective, but large enough to allow me to practice and experiment. It has taken me the last two years to finally get it mostly equipped ... there are still odds and ends like flags and gels that I need.
Back a couple of posts I talked about shooting Amber Rhodes, rising country singer/songwriter. I shot her for my friend Rick Barker. But my real goal is to learn to shoot glamor. And to that end I have joined ModelMayhem.com, an online resource for models, photographers and others in the industry. I also made a couple of contacts through Scott Sneddon, an Air Force sergeant and photographer currently deployed in Korea. Among much else, Scott introduced me to Janie Arnold, a 21 year old aspiring model and fitness student. While I have additional shoots in the pipeline and several more scheduled with various models, I'm going to briefly cover my two experimental shoots with Janie.
For the first shoot I wanted to work with a white seamless background along with my white studio walls and ceiling. I used two medium softboxes and some background lights in a very simple setup. As you will see in the accompanying images they are a bit overexposed, similar to the Amber Rhodes images ... an effect that I generally like. For the second shoot, I used black seamless, draped off the walls, used a beauty light for a main light, a softbox for fill, a gelled snoot for an accent light and low reflector/barn door head for side lighting ... a very different look.
I'm not really facile enough to give instruction in lighting at this point. I have spent countless hours reading forums and tutorials but it just takes a lot of hands on time to get the hang of it and I'm not there yet. So, enjoy the images. I will have additional glamor sessions to post in the future.
You can also see these images and many more from these sessions on my website in the Glamor Project section.
Be Safe!
Dwight
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