My name is Stan Fry I am an IEPPV Premium Member and I have been asked to post on subjects that interest IEPPV members, potential members, photography lovers, tech addicts and views on the state of the industry, technology and how it interacts with our passion for photography. By trade I am a network engineer for a large telecommunications company and have been in the industry since 1980. I am well versed in multiple platforms, os’s and hardware/software applications. This is my first post for what I hope to be a weekly forum on topics I hope will interest our membership, future members, vendors and friends of IEPPV. My first topic seeing how we just exited the Holiday Season,
What did Santa bring you? (Of course Photography, Video, Hardware/Software Related, etc.) and other news
Did you ask for something special from Santa for the Holidays? Maybe new gear, software, training, a once in a life time trip to shoot something really cool? We would like to hear about it and could feature you in an upcoming follow up post.
What Santa brought me.
I must have been a good boy this year (at least part of the time!). In October I was doing a shoot where Troy Miller was assisting me and helping me complete one of my IEPPV SPA program requirements. The SPA program is offered my IEPPV. It is a certificate program to become a Scholar of Photographic Arts (SPA Link). I recommended if you are new to IEPPV or thinking you need to tweak your existing skills the SPA program is an excellent way to gain additional knowledge, meet key people in IEPPV and grow your skills and relationships with other members.
Well at the photo shoot (It happened to be a symphony put on by Temecula Valley Symphony) (Shots from the Symphony) he was showing me this cool Messenger photography bag he had by Tenba. The model was a DNA 15. I was given the short tour of the bag he was using and thought it looked very promising because currently I was using an older smaller Manfrotto back pack that kept getting in the way. This one had a shoulder strap and and additional security strap.
Of course I looked online and watched the videos, etc. to get an idea if I would even like it. I went to my local camera store in Riverside (ImageOne Camera and Video) on Magnolia. Alas they had not just the Tenba DNA 15 but other bags in the Tenba DNA line, along with others from competing companies. Bill who works at ImageOne gave me the pros/cons, prices and competing products to look at. I did not have much time so I mulled over 3 or 4 different companies and styles. I then left and went about my way to research the other companies, owners comments and qualities I needed based on what I carry at most of my shooting events.
Based on a lot of my research I came to the same conclusion that Troy did, the Tenba products are built and I mean built with a ton of features, and items none of the other considerations could touch. Below is a list of the features I liked,
- Capacity: DSLR (up to pro size w/grip) with 2-3 lenses (up to attached 70-200mm 2.8), flash and accessories. (I was able to get my D810 with 24-85mm attached, SB910 flash, Sigma 150-500, Tamron 70-200mm, iPad, extra batteries, charger, lens pen, cleaning cloths, light meter and Color Checker). That’s a lot of gear!
- It was designed to provide the kind of year-round, all-weather, rugged performance with an interior that’s tuned to protect delicate cameras, lenses and computer gear.
- The front flap extends over the top of the bag and has a sewn hinge to ensure easy closure and excellent weatherproof coverage at the corners.. For additional wet weather protection, the bag includes a removable and reversible Weather Wrap cover that’s silver on one side to reflect the heat, and black on the other side for a bit more stealth and subtlety at night.
- To prevent the bag from sliding forward, an adjustable security strap connects to D-rings on the back of bag which anchor it in position behind you.
- Fidlock® patented magnetic clips allow blind, drop-on attachment and a fast unique slide release. This is the quickest clip in the world.
- The rear padded sleeve will hold a laptop up to 15 inches, and a second sleeve will protect an iPad or similar sized tablet.
So that’s what Santa brought me. What did he bring you? The wife received and Apple Watch, so what does that have to do with this and photography? When she wants some of my or her pictures on it and your the tech husband, everything! So here is a great link on how to put your photos as a custom Apple Watch face on an Apple Watch, thanks to OS X Daily
Photography News
If you missed it you were either on vacation with no internet access, under a rock, seeing the Force Awakens for the 100th time in a row or are another mfg’s camera shooter. Nikon announced the new D5 Full Frame and D500 DX camera and the SB-5000 AF speedlight. Being a Nikon Shooter and former Canon Film Shooter, all I can say is great news for Nikon Shooters. Today the first 3rd party review of the new Nikon D5 was released by Digital Camera World. It’s worth a read if you want to stay abreast of what Nikon is bringing to the table with their new flagship DSLR.
Picks
I have been working with Photoshop and Lightroom for quite awhile and have some and have developed some skills and a good workflow. I had been using Topaz Labs complete suite for the last two years and thought they were about as good as it gets in that marketplace (So I thought). Until I received an offer to try On1 Perfect Effects for free about 6 months ago. At that time it was version 9.5. If you have not heard of On1 they have a great set of tools. Their latest being On1 Photo Effects 10. I was kind of up in the air as to how much I liked their 9.5 product to tell you the truth. It was free but was lacking some key elements I thought it needed.
Well that was all resolved with the release of 10. Want a difference plus they have added some new features and additional modules. I ended up buying the Full app before Christmas for a special price of $79. That price is no longer available but signup for their free email they are always having special offers. The one thing they have that I really love is the adjustment brush for brushing on an effect. It creates the mask on the fly as you paint the effect. I have included a sample when I did my standard Lightroom CC edits on the raw file first then used the On1 Effects adjustment brush to add and HDR effect on the plane, darkening effect on some of the clouds along with a non brushed graduated filter. Each effect can be done on it’s own layer and stacked. You can also change the order, add textures, borders a ton of things and do not even have to use the Lightroom CC or Photoshop CC plugins if you want to run their native app. Cool stuff and you can check it out for free
Standard LR Edits
F15 Standard LR Edits
Same photo With ON1 Photo 10 ‘s Perfect Effects Module
F15 with Std LR Edits and On1 Photo 10 Perfect Effects
Vendors
I have mentioned quite a few already with links in this post. What I would like to talk about is the importance of supporting the brick and mortar shops that service our surrounding communities. Sure we can always find something cheaper somewhere else but when you have an issue or need help and your normal resource is not around because their either tied up or on vacation or the phone tech supports just is not cutting it, the brick and mortar businesses link ImageOne, ShutterStories, Samys Camera, and a ton of others I am surly missing are the backbone of what we done and can lend help and support when others cannot. They don’t just provide a sale or services, they are our friends and fellow professionals and deserve our support, time, dollars and respect. So remember to support your local business owners. Develop those relationships, earn their respect and trust because you just never know when you might need them. And that story is for another post!
Ideas
This ones for our President Bruce Bonnett. Sure it’s cold now but never to early to think about spring and what it brings. I would like to see an IEPPV monthly challenge and I am throwing down the first one should you decide to accept it. California is on the migratory path for a lot of species of birds, whales and other wildlife. I would like to see and post the best pictures of those migrations or items related to the migration patterns that best describe what Southern California brings to the table. You pick the subject but it must be located within Southern California where the pictures are shot and shot in the month of March 2016. I will work with other IEPPV board members to pick the best picture to be featured for the month of April. It can be shot on any digital device and must be delivered in jpg format at least 2000 pixels on the long side. Sound like fun?
I hope you have enjoyed my first attempt at this and look forward to many more. I can be reached via anyone of the following methods.
Stan
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