A lens / gear for every shoot & bagged to go !

Sometimes you just never know what direction a photographic effort will take you, being prepared, knowing your gear and experience. When it all comes together magic sometimes happens.

On the left above is the new modern digital gear that gets used most often these days. Rock solid from 2000 mm to fisheye. Right is my collection of old trusty gear the reminds me of the good old days of film. In the center is my daily use gear bag ready to rock the next adventure.

Knowing were you came from and the path you have traveled is a sure guide to were you will be today as you blaze the trail ahead making memories for the future !

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Bits and pieces to support new gear .....

                                                  

So your asking yourself what do these tools have to do with " Photography " ? When you get fed up with paying crazy prices for things or no one has quite exactly what you want or you might want to modify something stock .... these are the things you need. 

Previous small parts made - car stuff. 

These past few months I have acquired several large lenses, that require some kind of support, along with this my Olympus E-5 has video capability. Producing quality video requires a stable platform and the ability to manually and smoothly focus, this is most often done with a " follow focus " gear set. Often a complete set up to convert a DSLR to a video platform can cost as much as a camera body new ! Now like everything else these days there is " China " made or USA, some of the Chinese stuff is very good value for money, some junk. Most of the made in USA stuff is just down right pricey.

Building this should be a few extra evenings, when done a CNC tool path to reproduce this as required will be on hand. Material cost: $ 5 ~ 6 screws bolts + $ 10 of scrap 6061-T6 aluminum and .50 cents of 15 mm tube stock.  

Long term idea is to make a batch of useful products, stock a few of each and offer to sale to other photographers at attractive prices. 

More to follow with future post ...... 

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What does it take to be a successful photographer ?

What does it take ?  Often I have been asked this.

Great expensive gear - No.  A fixed studio open to the public - No. Being " Published " in major magazines - No.  Traveled worldwide taking snapshots - No.

Understand people - Yes. Being able to see the image in your mind before you snap the shutter - Yes. Making images that the everyday person can say wow to - Yes.

What defines you as a professional ?  When others enjoy your images enough to compensate you, and refer you to friends or business entities.

When do you know your successful ?   When you have done enough work that results in a steady enough stream of income that allows you to put a roof over your head, food on the plate, cover operating expenses, and sack a little away for the future.

How does the world know your successful ? When your images can change the lives of others. When your images bring a smile, and find a warm place in the hearts of others.

My secret to success : Give back more than you take and your plate will always be full !

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Why no Facebook for Photography ?

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Cooked Spam... my distain of social networking goes deep. Life is full of so many layers of bull shit why add another ?

" In a models world, how is it the dog, cat, goldfish gets sick causing a grandparent to come close to death and this impacts a car engine / transmission ? These events seem to trigger, a boss calling you in to work unscheduled and that time of the month arriving early ?  This interstellar alignment causes the rent to become due and the cell phone to suddenly stop receiving text messages and voice mail.

Yet despite these insurmountable obstacles, that all take place just hours before a long scheduled photo shoot, within just a short few moments, the phone comes alive, the car is working, the cramps go away then your dancing your ass off at a nightclub and somehow you manage to update your Faceyuck page with snazzy shots of you smacking down top shelf booze. "

These are the paradoxical forces of the universe that often impact a photographers life :-)

Always consider were your life has been, were you are now and were it is going !

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So, sure I can write all day about many cool photographic adventures , BUT the real deal is can he take great images ?

Well have a peek at my page on Flickr

Flicker just updated its free storage to some crazy amount that 99% of you will never reach , so if you like the site sign up and give it your support - Free is good :-)

Summer is in full swing in Southern California, so I am getting rather booked up with photo sessions, but if you have something cool going on that you need a special photographer - yack at me !  If I am tied up, I know several other great photographers that I can connect you up with.

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Model Mayhem - The good, the bad and the ugly.

Model Mayhem - For seven years it has been one of the sources I have used to find new faces for various projects, events and adventures.

MM started as a site that was a cross between social networking and portfolio storage, it was often at first considered something close to Myspace and then later Facebook, its founder Tyler just brought together the code and made the servers play.

The first few years were rocky with the site always crashing. I attributed it to tripping over the power cord leading to the garage were Tyler stored the server in his parents house :-)

But today it is a great place to search out models, make up people and stylist keeping these things in mind :

- MM allows anyone to join for free, so you could be dealing with rank amateurs.

- Screen and triple screen everyone, by this I mean to invite the person to make contact off the MM site via e-mail, then make contact via phone. Anyone not willing to have a real spontaneous live conversation or who will not give basic contact info, then resorts to text only, in my past experience is just dabbling and most often can not conduct themselves in a professional manor.

- Forty -five + models / make up people a year for seven years =  Whole bunch of people. Like in real life many have been great, several real pains in the ass, a rare select few downright sad human beings !  On the whole the overall experience has been a good one.

- My golden rule regarding MM, treat everyone as you would want your mom or dad, children or spouse to be treated.

- Several models have referred friends to me, always reward them with a gift card or some small token of thanks. Karma is a wonderful thing. Some amazing wedding projects have resulted due to this.

- My MM page can be found here:  Model Mayhem 

- Fotographic Aspirations web pages here : F A

Craigslist - The digital treasure chest.

Craigslist - If there is something your looking for, have the time to explore and the knowledge of the market .... you can virtually find almost anything on the magic place that is Craigslist.

I started my early SLR days growing up on the Minolta brand name and over the years the camera's served me well Back in the old days if your learned on a fully manual camera and collected nice optics, it would be hard to pry my wallet open to purchase a new body with just a few added niceties.

By the mid 80's the big players had taken on a new mindset regarding camera marketing... you needed a new camera body every few years and all the new technology would be zipping ahead to make even the most dim witted aspiring amateur photographer produce great images or so they told you via slick marketing.

Canon and Nikon would end up on top of the dog pile, with Minolta and Olympus playing catch up in terms of sales, but still moving forward with innovations.

When I decided to make the move to digital my Minolta roots pulled at me and the retooled Konica Minolta 7D was in my sights, but the $ 2000 + price tag (body and lens), pushed me along to Olympus. But I never forgot that sweet sound and feel of the 7D, with its Magnesium body ! Turns out Konica Minolta lasted only a few years and sold the whole platform to Sony, this later mutated into the current Sony line still using the mount and contact system developed by Minolta for its auto focus 35 mm line.

Flash ahead almost 10 years cruising on Craigslist I spotted a 7D for sale in Carlsbad (about 90 miles south of LA), the owner purchased new and it was far to much camera for him, with the original box and packaging + 2 lenses. He was in the Navy and had purchased it wholesale at the base exchange for under $1000. Living fairly far from the major areas of both San Diego or Los Angeles he could not get anyone to make the drive. His asking price was less than $ 150 !

Craigslist lesion - Scout out to small towns far off the beaten path, buy a generation back, and know your gear :-)

Till next time ......