Why I'm Done with Canon's Flagship Flash

Canon 5D mk II & 50mm f1.4 lens

For the past few weddings, really ever since we've completely changed over to Canon a year or so ago, we've been having some hiccups in our flash work where the Pocket Wizards just aren't delivering reliability for us for off camera flash work.  It took us a while to narrow down the instances where we were having difficulty but finally we figured out that when the flash was placed near the ground (or on the ground) outdoors or far away from the controlling camera especially when there were objects or people between the camera and flash, the flash would often not fire.  It wasn't  a regular thing, it would work once, then not again for 6 or 7 shots.

Canon 5DmkII & 20mm f2.8 lens

Our first instinct was batteries and we made sure all our equipment had new, full charged batteries.  Then we started to blame the Pocket Wizards.  Yesterday we decided to bring different flashes and test this all out and see what the issue was.  We had to get this sorted out, there is nothing more embarrassing than asking a client to wait while your gear isn't functioning.  And nothing to destroy the creative juices faster than being frustrated with your equipment.  We use a lot of off camera lighting.  It suits our style and we enjoy it, but we are getting paid and we need reliability from our equipment.  No excuses.

Olypus E3 and 50-200 Zuiko Lens

So I brought along the Lumopro LP160 and Panasonic DMW-FL500 flashes on our session yesterday.  I made sure the Pocket Wizards and flashes had good batteries.  Actually to be honest, I only made sure for the Canon flash that it had fresh batteries.  We also used our Alien Bees 800 studio strobes.  So once we were out of the studio and on the street we used only the Canon flashes the 580EX II (we own two of them) and to start with they worked well.  We then went into an underground parking garage (we like shooting in those...) and set up our Bride and Groom for a shot.  The 580 went on the ground behind the Bride and Groom with the little stand it comes with supporting it.  We had the Pocket Wizard on, all settings correct (double and triple checked) and......NOTHING.  No firing.  Frustrating.

Olympus E3 with Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4

So I took the Panasonic Flash and swapped it in.   It worked!  It worked repeatedly.  In fact, as I mentioned I had not changed out the batteries so the only downfall was it was taking a while to recycle, but it worked every single time!  Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you!  Oh and Canon, you suck.  I mean wow.  The 580EX II is their top of the line professional flash, and it clearly interferes with radio signals from transmitters.  I had heard of the issue with the new Pocket Wizards that have TTL, but thought that the older (I prefer manual flash) Plus II's that we use were not having issues.  The rest of the day the Canon flashes stayed in the bag and we used the Lumopro and Panasonic flashes with no issue.  We did have an issue again later with our studio strobe outdoors when it was placed far away from the camera and behind the Bride and Groom.  Now I'm not surprised the Alien Bee lights are not shielded and would cause problems and we have seen this in the past from those lights.  For the price of them I won't complain.  But I will absolutely complain about Canon's "professional" flash that is this poorly thought out.  Basically I spent a few hundred dollars on a flash that isn't reliable in the one situation I prefer to use flash.....Off Camera!!!

We'll be taking the Olympus and Panasonic flashes with us in the future to jobs even though we won't have the four thirds cameras.  They can be our workhorse flashes, and I'm glad I never sold them!  I don't think I'll rely on the Lumopro though, you can read back in the blog about my history with that flash as well.

Rant over!  Thanks for dropping by the blog, I hope you have had a great weekend.

Granville

Granville, a photo by Felix Aldhi on Flickr.

I love street photography and urban scenes in photographs. I think I like them a little bit more because I find them challenging to do myself. At least challenging to do well. This scene really spoke to me for two reasons, first off it appears as if the photographer is creating an image that reflects him being their anonymously, with no camera. He's not really making an effort to bring himself into the photo, but rather leaving you to wonder what is going on here. You've got the rain or snow drops, the shiny streets, and people maybe walking to a late night show or restaurant. It looks sort of old and rustic too, although we know by the car and some other cues like clothing that it is modern.

I also like that is shows Vancouver as this relaxed atmospheric place that is so unlike what we have been seeing in the news lately with the riot coverage. This is how I see Vancouver at night.

This image was taken with one of my favourite cameras, the Panasonic L1 (I wish I hadn't sold it) at ISO 400 f3.1 and 1/40 of a second. Not sure which lens was used but the focal length suggests it might have been the wonderful kit lens made by Leica.

The photographer, Felix Aldhi, submitted the image to our Flickr group and it caught my eye. Felix lives in Vancouver and you can find his Flickr stream here.

Holga for Micro Four Thirds

A while ago when surfing the net I came across a post talking about Holga now selling cheap plastic lenses for micro four thirds cameras.  I thought that sounded pretty fun and hit Ebay for one.  I ended up getting one for about $18 including shipping.  I know the lens is  plastic and kinda junky, but still a good deal.  You can find them for about $4 more on Holga's site here as well as similar lenses for most cameras with interchangeable lenses.

So today I went out on a short little photo walk with a couple of friends and put the Holga onto my Panasonic GF1.  On first impression the lens is exactly what you'd think it would be.  Cheap and plastic.  It has a dial/ring around the lens which has markings from 'landscape' to 'portrait' but all it does is add or subtract the amount of vignetting of the lens.  The lens is f8 all the time so just focus by distance, there is no real way to manually or of course auto focus the lens.  The lens fits on the camera with the correct mount which is great, no adaptors necessary, however it is very wiggly and doesn't give the feeling of a tight fit.

I found the camera underexposes the images about a full stop for the most part which could be due to all the light leaking fooling the meter, but I'm not sure.  Some images were properly exposed, others way underexposed.  In general with this lens, shoot in aperture priority mode and chimp on your histogram.

The lens itself works as advertised.  Lots of vignetting and about as basic as you can get with a camera lens.  If you're expecting quality for about $20 then you may wish to reconsider your metrics.  Is this a lens you should use on a job?  No way, not in a million years.  It is however a fun photo walk lens.  A good lens for goofing off and creating random photo art?  Yes, absolutely.  And it is random.  You can control the composition but really what you get is a bit of a mystery.

If I'm going to cut down the lens in any way it is that it is soft.  And I mean very soft.  And not just in the corners, but right in the middle.  Then again, who's complaining?  I'm not.  I'll only bust out this lens at times when I just feel like playing.  It reminds me of the randomness of my old lensbaby before I sold that and there is nothing wrong with a bit of randomness in ones life every so often.

I shot the GF1 in dynamic black and white jpg mode all day which is actually how I prefer to use the camera.  I'm still really getting used to the GF1, but I will say that after having used the electronic viewfinder for a while now it is really helping me get the most out of the camera.  I just really don't enjoy framing images on an lcd screen and holding a camera up to my face seems much more natural to me.  The quality of the viewfinder itself is rather poor.  I find it fuzzy even when I adjust it and I swear I see it flickering, but it is a long shot better than no viewfinder at all and that is what counts.

Photo walks are a great way to blow off some steam and relax with your camera by the way.  Been shooting on assignment a lot lately and think you've lost your creativity?  Grab a friend and a camera with ONE lens and hit the road.  Sure to get you out of any funk you might be in.

Thanks for dropping by the blog.  I appreciate your visit!

On Being Photographed

You know I think it's probably true that the plumber on your block has a leaky sink and the lawyer hasn't done his will.  I know when I was driven to my studio by my local mechanic so he could fix my car his windsheild wipers and power door locks didn't work.  Me?  Well I just don't have many family photos that I love, especially with all three of us in one.  I'm usually the guy holding the camera, so I knew I'd score huge points with my wife if I accepted my friend Spencer Brawn's offer to photograph our family. Poor Spencer though, I mean what could be harder than photographing me?  I think I was pretty good...for the most part.  

As Spencer and his wife Theresa where photographing my family I learned a few things that were really helpful to me as a photographer.  They were sort of 'ah ha' moments and I thought it would be nice to share.  First up, getting your photo done is fun after all!  If you have a relaxed and fun photographer that is.  Spencer started us by asking us just to have a family picnic and enjoy the afternoon.  We did several posed photos later that I love, but the act of starting in such a relaxed way set the tone for the session.  I'm not saying photographers should start sessions with picnics or even do candid photos, but having a soft introduction to a session really helped me warm up to the idea of a camera pointed at me.  The more comfortable the client, the better the images.

Adam and I often get feedback from clients that the photo session was fun and relaxed and even enjoyable.  We take pride in that, but like most photographers sometimes we show up and start looking for good light, setting up our gear and fussing on photography stuff.  Getting that initial connection with your client is so important that the 'gear think' can wait.  If you're selling photography then setting up and executing the shot will come to you (or it should) but shaking hands with, joking and chatting with your clients will really help you have a successful session.

My daughter is often quite the ham sandwich when I try and photograph her.  Lets face it, she's seen that song and dance before.  But getting Spencer to do it brought out some priceless moments in images that I'll love forever.  We all know our kids behave better for others, so why not get someone else to take your family photos?  

Having someone else hold the camera really helps engage you more with your family.  Trying to save some money and do your own photos?  Good luck with that Mr. Self Timer with a tripod.  When it came time to take the posed photos I saw some behaviour from my wife and daughter that was both familiar to me and also helped me learn.  My daughter fed off my wife and I.  We were relaxed and then so was she.  Having trouble with the kids you're photographing?  Look at how relaxed you have mom and dad.  My wife was very worried about getting photos with smiles.  I hear this from mom's all the time so this isn't new to me.  I have at times fought it knowing that natural expressions are often sweeter than forced smiles, but there is no arguing with a parents deep desire to show a happy family.  Want to sell photos to parents, and still hate forced smiles?  Better learn some knock knock jokes.  

  

My wife was also very concerned with the appearance of clothing.  She would discount a photo if there was a wrinkle or her outfit didn't look right.  Now I've spent the past few years learning to pose women in ways that help them look amazing, but I am also guilty of occasionally missing out on the clothing details once I nail my lighting and pose.  From one of my recent e-sessions the client didn't like the way her shirt looked on her.  At a recent wedding the Bride didn't like the way her dress hung on a hanger, only worn or laid flat.  We can't ignore these details and taking the time for a 4 second clothing adjustment for an image can be the difference between a sale or the photo being discarded.  I knew this, but now I know it more because seeing my wife, someone I love, so up close and personal and worried about it made me realize how important it really is.

A few days after the session Spencer came to our home and we put the images on our big screen TV and had a 'reveal.'  I thought I'd be looking at his photography technique or the lighting or how the lens bokeh looked (thats the Canon 135mm f2.0 in the shot above btw, isn't that background nice?), but I wasn't.  It was really an emotional experience to have your family shown to you in images on the big screen.  Seeing my smiling daughter and the love between my wife and I in images just honestly melted my heart.  I didn't want to show it to Spencer but I was actually feeling a little teary eyed.  I will be getting a canvas for the home.  And what I learned from this was that when showing clients images, just shut up.  Let them react to them.  They may on some level notice your cool off camera lighting.  They might notice those fancy photoshop actions at second glance as well.  But the first thing they are doing is seeing if they look good and if the photograph resonates with them emotionally.  You aren't selling your lighting technique at this point, you are selling emotion.  They came to you for your style, they are opening the cheque book to buy the moment. Never again will I forget the emotion of the client and just think about how cool it was that I lit that with a tungsten gel.

And finally.  Digital files.  I wanted them, and I got them (I don't know what Spencer's policy is on digital files, he's a family friend which is why he offered them).  I know the debate about digital files is still a hot topic out there, but here is my (I think) final word on them.  Clients want digital files.  It doesn't mean they won't buy a book or a canvas, it just means they want to take your photos and put them on Facebook so their relatives in Alberta can see them.

At the very least give or sell at a modest price a low resolution image like the ones in this post.  Put your logo discreetly on them and let them post them online.  It's free advertising for you, and frankly, it's what most people really want as an output now.  Why are photographers still fighting this?  Sell the client what they want to buy.  Don't want to give digital files full resolution without charging for it? Neither do I (or will I), but at least offer to sell them.  Sell them at your profit margin that you would have made from your book or canvas.  Maybe you'll still sell the product, maybe you won't, but your customer will leave happy and you will still be in business selling what the customer is looking to buy.  Want to hang onto the model of selling $40 8x10 prints for a living?  Good luck with that.  Ask the record companies how many CD's they sell nowadays.  You'd be better off selling records (go vintage and charge a premium!) if you don't want to sell on iTunes.

OK, now that I have that off my chest and I'm ducking from the hate mail, I just want to end with this.  If you are a photographer, and if you're reading this blog you probably are, get your photos done by someone else once every year or two.  Make sure you are in those photos.  Can't leave your camera at home?  That's OK, neither could I, Spencer just photographed me with the camera (it is part of me after all).  I sincerely believe your family will love you for making the decision to get in some of those family photos.

Thanks for dropping by the blog and most of all, thanks to Spencer for some images that I love.

The Paper Bag Princess

This winter I decided to spend a lot of time working in low pressure situations playing with lighting and posing to bring my craft to a new level.  I joined Model Mayhem and found some models to drag through the studio and had a lot of fun.  It really helped me hit the busy season with all cylinders firing.  I kind of regretted having not used my film camera more so I brought one last model through the studio and decided to shoot mostly film.  I also shot with my Panasonic GF1 camera.  All jpg and used the preset art filters in the camera and did very little editing.  This was a lot of fun for me and relaxing for sure.  I was having a hard time not having the viewfinder attached on the GF1 as I needed the hotshoe for my Pocket Wizard but the face detection was actually pretty handy for focusing.  The camera handled everything really well.

Find more HERE

The film camera I used was the Olympus OM4t and the 135mm f2.8 lens as well as the 50mm f1.8 lens.  I used Illford ISO 100 black and white film and Fuji ISO 200 colour film.  Take a look at the video, and thanks for dropping by the blog.

Click on Image to Start Video