John Aldred, Author at DIY Photography

Man convicted for Seattle drone crash which knocked woman unconscious may face jail time

January 18, 2017 by John Aldred 6 Comments

38 year old Paul M. Skinner had been accused of engaging in a conduct that created a “substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person”, and was charged. It comes from an incident in June 2015 when a woman was knocked unconscious when struck by Skinner’s drone during a Pride parade in downtown Seattle.

Seattle Times reports that Seattle Municipal Court agreed on Friday, and found him guilty of reckless endangerment. The six jury members reached a unanimous decision over the four day trial presided by Judge Willie Gregory.

[Read More…]

This is not a new Sony mirrorless camera, it’s a USB charging station

January 18, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

This is either the silliest or coolest looking USB charger I’ve ever seen. I haven’t quite decided yet. USB chargers are a part of everyday life. Whether it’s for our phones, tablets, or even some cameras, we just can’t escape them. MAny of us dispense with the cheap chargers that come with our devices, in favour of more versatile options. We go for units that offer more sockets and power for charging several devices from a single plug socket.

This one has a somewhat interesting design, though. The Fotodiox Mirage strongly resembles a Sony mirrorless camera, and offers three options for charging USB devices. It includes both iOS and Android docking cables, a full size USB port, and a dock for the Apple Watch’s magnetic charging cable. What’s particularly interesting and/or strange, though, is that the “lens” on this can be removed, and you can actually mount real Sony glass to it. Why? I’ve no idea. But you can!

[Read More…]

Mastering composition with a little help from Will Smith (sort of)

January 17, 2017 by John Aldred 3 Comments

Perhaps “with help from a little Will Smith” would’ve been a little more accurate, but still. The “rules” of composition are widely known and hotly debated. On the one side, you’ve got those who swear by them, live by them, and can’t break free from them. On the other side you’ve got those who claim they “don’t live by rules” and ignore them, while suggesting others do the same.

The simple fact of the matter, though, is that a lot of the time, the “rules” work. Sure, there’s times when you want to break free. But, if you don’t understand how and why they work, how can you know when to effectively break them? In this video, filmmaker Darious Britt talks us through some of the rules of composition. He also explains exactly why they often work so well. Basically, it all boils down to familiarity and comfort.

[Read More…]

White House photographer Pete Souza reflects on his time following President Obama

January 17, 2017 by John Aldred 5 Comments

Jobs like White House Photographer fascinate me. It’s not that I’m particularly interested in doing that kind of work (quite the opposite, in fact). But that it’s so far removed from the type of photography that most of us do on a daily basis. There’s many different challenges. Different goals. It’s a completely different way of working.

The current White House Photographer, for a couple more days at least, is Pete Souza. He’s been photographing Barack Obama since 2005, when he was just a Senator. Souza has held this position before during the time of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Since those days, though, photography and technology has come a long way. I would imagine he didn’t quite hit the 2 million photos mark with Reagan that he has with Obama.

[Read More…]

Stanford boffins develop Lithium Ion battery with built in fire extinguisher

January 17, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

Lithium based batteries power a lot of stuff these days. Phones, cameras, laptops, and even vehicles. There’s a lot of “best practise” advice out there when dealing with Li-Ion and Li-Po batteries, but it’s not common knowledge. Most consumers don’t know how to look after their batteries. Or that there even are suggested ways to use, store and charge batteries. They just assume technology will take care of it all for them. Many times it will, unless you get unlucky with cheap or counterfeit batteries.

Problems aren’t always the consumer’s fault, though. Sometimes manufacturers screw up. Given the issues with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, it’s clear that Li-Ion and LiPo batteries aren’t perfect. Now, we’re a step closer to getting a little more perfection out of them. Or, at least make them a little less explosive. Researchers at Stanford University have developed a solution for Li-ion batteries to self-extinguish in the event of thermal runaway.

[Read More…]

How to make things float in your photos with fishing line, hooks and a little Photoshop

January 16, 2017 by John Aldred 4 Comments

Making things float in photographs is something that seems to pop up for many photographers. Sometimes it’s the entire point of the shot, and at other times, floating objects are merely decoration for a wider scene. Whatever your reasons, there’s easy ways to do it, and there are hard ways. One of the hard ways is to just keep throwing things in the air, continually taking shots until you get one that gives you the right look.

That method is kinda hit and miss, though. Plus, not all objects are suited to being thrown in the air. Such is the example in this video from photographer Peter McKinnon. While you can get extremely complicated with levitation images, they don’t have to be, especially for small objects. Peter shows us how we can do it simply with a telescopic shower rail or hook and some fishing wire.

[Read More…]

Log video is coming to your smartphone with a new FiLMiC Pro update

January 16, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

FiLMiC Pro has been my go to app for mobile video for the past few years. Whether I want to shoot a quick personal clip or shoot some behind the scenes footage, it mostly works great. There’s one or two issues, like drifting audio and no ability to shoot 23.976fps (it does exactly 24), but it’s still the most useful video app out there.

One thing that’s a big problem common to all mobile video apps, though, is the contrast and colour typically provided by most phones sucks. The team behind FiLMiC Pro are getting around this by giving us a Log profile in future update, though. This produces an extremely flat shot out of camera, but allows for capture of more dynamic range. Filmmaker Matteo Bertoli got his hands on it early, and posted up some sample clips to YouTube.

[Read More…]

This universal automotive crane can be mounted onto almost any vehicle

January 16, 2017 by John Aldred 3 Comments

Capturing footage with a moving car has typically meant one of three things. Either you’ve got an operator clutching a camera pointed through a window or missing door. The camera is fixed to the vehicle itself, strapped to all manner of poles, suction cups and various other things. Or, you hire a vehicle equipped with the Ultimate Arm. Now, that’s all about to change.

Thanks to the rapidly advancing gimbal technology we have today, other options become easier to develop. This is where the Motocrane steps in. A universal camera platform that can be mounted from almost any vehicle. And they say the setup takes half an hour or less. In this 30 second teaser video, it seems to handle extremely well, too.

[Read More…]

Top tips for choosing and packing photo and video equipment when travelling out of the country

January 16, 2017 by John Aldred 2 Comments

Travelling with equipment can be difficult. You don’t want to take so much that you’re overloaded with redundant equipment. But you also don’t want to leave vital kit at home when you need it. The bags into which you pack that gear is also important. Some things (like batteries) often can’t be checked, and need to be carried in hand luggage. Picking the right bags to maximise the space and minimise a back issues is a high priority.

In this video, photographer and filmmaker Jonathan J Scott shows us how he packs to travel overseas. He discusses the questions he asks himself in order to figure out what to take and, more importantly, what to leave at home.

[Read More…]