Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the creative benefits of using ND (Neutral Density) filters in photography. This can be viewed here. Although I love ND filters they can require a larger initial investment which could be a barrier for people who want to play around with long exposures photography.
What if there was another option that let you adjust the strength of the light reduction which costs less and still offers decent image quality?
Every now and then I am contacted by my friends at East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture. I help them to document events or artwork installations as part of the Trails + Tales Project. This particular art installation by Toby Paterson, where he placed stained glass windows into the watchtower of Cadder Church, has its own set of unique challenges for me to overcome which I would like to talk about.
Cameras these days are simply amazing! Not just with the image quality we get, but also the vast array of features which are often packed into them. Features which include WiFi that enables us to have control from our phones or other devices. What if you wanted a stronger, faster connection or even the ability to add WiFi to a camera that doesn’t already have it?
This is where the CamFI Pro Plus comes in handy. The CamFi adds a 2.4ghz and 5ghz connection to your camera when connected via USB. The 5ghz signal offers speeds of up to 10 MB/s (80Mb/s) and while this is still slower than a direct connection it can be up to 5x faster than what comes built into many cameras.
Lately I have had the opportunity to travel around Scotland, capturing some of the wonderful landscape around me. Like this shot at Cashmore beach where I enjoyed a lovely day with my friend and fellow Photographer, Lea Tippet.
With all the hype and waiting for the “Endgame” movie, I decided to create a fun photo of possibly one of the coolest bad guys in a movie series to date… Thanos aka Funko Pop 289 from the infinity war series.
I wanted to create this image using a simple LED torch in the hopes to inspire others to be creative with whatever they have laying around and hopefully try new things.
A while ago I got myself a new camera bag. I was looking for something smaller to carry around my Sigma dp cameras and I stumbled across this little beauty from Cosyspeed, which has been a great addition to my kit.
Since shooting products is something I love doing, I could not help but create a photo of the Streetomatic bag and I want to share the steps I took to create it.
I’d been looking forward to getting my hands on the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens ever since it was announced. I got to have a brief look at one during The Photography Show back in March, but didn’t really have the chance to play with it properly.
Fortunately, one of my closest friends is Sigma UK Ambassador, Paul Monaghan. So, when they sent him one to play with, we decided to get together. We met up a couple of times to go out and take it for a spin and I’ve already posted my first impressions of using the lens. The second time, though, the weather didn’t cooperate, so we used the lens as the subject of a product shot.
It’s always fun having the opportunity to create new images, especially when the subject is something new. It comes with its own unique challenges. Like this lovely Kawasaki motorbike that we took to a little carpark near the town of Kilsyth in Scotland overlooking the countryside and surrounding towns.
One of the things I love about photography apart from creating images is the ability to share what I do in the hope to inspire others, with that in mind I wanted to write how I photographed the newest member of our family, Loki.
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They say to never work with children or animals, but as a photographer, it sometimes can’t be helped. I avoid kids at all cost, preferring animals. Photographer, Paul Monaghan, though, is happy to photograph kids, as he recently did for some school portraits. Of course, photographing a bunch of little kids isn’t easy.
They have short attention spans and get distracted easily. They don’t want to have to sit and look at a camera pretending to enjoy themselves. So, Paul enlisted the help of his “magic pony”. It’s a great technique to get the attention of those you want to face the camera, so DIYP had a chat with Paul about it.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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