fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

About David Williams

Dave is a travel photographer and writer, and photography and Photoshop instructor, from the UK. Find Dave at idavewilliams.com or @idavewilliams on all platforms.

The best vloggig rig – its quite unorthodox

I’ve only recently gotten into vlogging with my new YouTube channel, and I’m far more used to being in front of someone else’s camera for videos so this is a new world for me. I’ve played around and done a lot of research to figure out the ideal vlogging rig, and I think I’ve managed to create it.

Let’s start by defining what makes the ideal vlogging rig. It’s important to have a capable camera with a preview screen that can face the content creator (that would be me). Perhaps more important than the camera is the audio – we will watch bad video, but we won’t listen to bad audio! Next up, lighting. In low light conditions, we need to add our own light, and we should be able to match the colour temperature of the ambient light. Finally, a good, sturdy base for when we put the camera down and something ergonomic to hold onto. So, here’s my solution: –

[Read More…]

How I modified my van to fit my traveling photographer lifestlye

Living on the road as a travel photographer has its fair share of ups and downs. As the seasons change and the cold draws in I’m certainly beginning to feel it, but they do rightly say that bad weather makes great photos. In a recent post I explained my vanlife decision. Today I’m dropping back in on that subject with more detail about how my van is made for travel photography.

[Read More…]

First hands-on with the Canon EOS R3

by 1 Comment

I had the opportunity to get my hands on the recently announced Canon EOS R3 at The Photography Show. Let me tell you how that went for me.

Canon teased the EOS R3 and the world waited in anticipation following news of Covid-stricken production facilities. This addition to their squad of pro-mirrorless cameras is, so far, very well received by most people. I walked up to the Canon stand this afternoon to see huge crowds. The majority of the people there were gathered around the R3 and, after waiting patiently for it to be my turn, I got hold of one for real.

[Read More…]

The Photography Show is underway despite COVID-19

The absence of live events owing to COVID seems to have filled the global collective recent memory. This is now being broken and life is returning to normal. Here at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK, The Photography Show has begun day one and it all looks to be going very well.

The Photography Show is the biggest photography show in Europe and usually attracts every industry name you can think of. Something I’ve noticed this year is that there are a few absent companies and brands, as well as brands amalgamating their interests and sharing stands, such as here in the image above of the Wex Photo Video. This doesn’t seem to have any negative effect across the show floor and everyone’s favourite brands can still be found here somewhere.

[Read More…]

I am leaving my home to photo-travel in a Mercedes van I built myself

by 3 Comments

I’m Dave Williams, a writer here at DIYP and a travel photographer, writer, and educator from the UK. For many years, just like a lot of other photographers, I worked a full-time job and shot on the side as a way to fund new gear. I progressed from funding gear to fund my life, with clients and partners forming throughout my journey. That hit a bit of a roadblock during the COVID pandemic and my travels ground to a halt – I suddenly went from around 20 trips a year to zero. That’s when I decided to make my daydreams a reality.

In March I took a hard-earned £5,000 and invested in a used Mercedes Sprinter 170 313 CDi. I spent four months converting it and making it exactly the way I need it to be and now it’s my full-time accommodation and off-grid, on-road office. The conversion wasn’t easy – I spent a night soaking wet during torrential rain with a leaking roof, I changed my mind on batteries and water tanks mid-build – but now it’s ready to roll.

[Read More…]

Image theft should be a thing of the past – a personal story

by 1 Comment

We’re used to seeing images shared on social media, especially on feature accounts where this is considered normal. Photographers put a lot of time and effort into creating great images and once in a while we see our work stolen. This happened to me recently and I’d like to share the story with you.

[Read More…]

Dear Nikon, your mirrorless lens swap is a joke

by 78 Comments

I’ve had a Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera for a while now, and I’m less than impressed. We photographers are a funny breed. We obsess over detail. It goes without saying that dust removal is not something like to retouch. We have enough work as it is. Back in the day (and by “the day” I mean ‘last year’) we had cameras with mirrors. Those mirrors, along with a shutter curtain, protected our delicate sensors from all manner of dust and grime. In the transition to mirrorless, it appears Nikon have overlooked this. Take a look.

[Read More…]

Astrophotographers can capture the Comet NEOWISE right now

by 11 Comments

Astrophotographers have the opportunity to spot a rare object in the sky this month. A newly discovered comet, NEOWISE, is flying through the inner solar system for the first time in 6,800 years. (6,800 FRIGGIN YEARS!!!). This comet has been getting brighter and brighter in the early-morning sky and, in the coming days, it will make an appearance in the evening after sunset. It is now brighter than Halley’s Comet appeared when it whizzed through the inner solar system in 1986.

[Read More…]

Artists are number one on the list of non-essential workers

by 13 Comments

The Singapore Sunday Times conducted a survey to determine the jobs that people perceive to be essential. As an interesting side effect they got a list of non-essential jobs. Surprisingly(?), artists topped the list with 71% of non-essentialness. Heck, according to the article, artists are even less essential than telemarketers. Ironically,  it was a  graphic artist who created the infographic to represent the results. An insult to the artist, but funny nonetheless.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts