Think Safety - Work Safely

Here at Camera Electronic we are committed to safety. We avoid alcohol, tobacco smoke, and soft drinks. We take daily exercise on our very own Stairmaster Model One. All day... Our computer screens have been fitted with crash bars so that when we punch them we do not damage our hands.

Other photographers would do well to take care in their studios and darkrooms. Of course the darkroom is somewhat of a rarity these days, and the colour darkroom even more so, but the chemistry in there can be savage. Half the stuff in a colour developing line will peel your skin off and the other half will kill you dead. But you end up a nice colour...

Turning to the studio, have you noticed that most of the light stands have tripod legs and are black? And they have heavy weights on the top - strobe heads and all. This is a perfect combination of circumstances to allow you to stumble into them in the dark and knock them over. The average amount of light emitted by a studio strobe is enough to render the painting of the stand legs black something of an overkill - wise people wrap some bright yellow or orange tape round the legs and the trunk of the stand so that it can be seen in the gloom. Not as cool and sexy but a whole lot safer.

Likewise the business of putting the rolls of paper up on holders above the subjects. You can suspend them with triple hooks and autopoles and such, but you would be wise to provide additional legs for those poles. If that puppy tilts over and lets three rolls of Superior paper onto the sitter from 3 metres up you got a lot of ' splainin ' to do Lucy. I had it happen once but fortunately we could just wrap up the body in the 11 metre roll of paper and leave it under a railway bridge...

Water on set? Electricity on set? 240 V ac electricity? Floor packs? Trailing wires? 24 -hour direct dial to the Coroner? All set.

Drone coverage of the wedding? Or the real estate? Unless you have someone from Omaha flying the thing, be aware that it may impact on your target. If person from Omaha is flying their own drone, you can definitely expect an impact on the target...

Is your flash working? Look into it and trigger it off. Now you know. You won't be able to see for an hour but at least...now you know. Use the time to stumble around until your shins find the edge of the table.

Like the outdoors? Pack 45 Kg on your back and clamber up the the top of Bluff Knoll. the Australian Association of Chiropractors has a pile of cards up there for you. If you like the water, you can balance on the edge of the rocks as the surf comes crashing in. The SES loves an afternoon out...Say hey to my nephew as they load you into the basket.

Gather Round The The Tabletop

Tabletop photography attracts some strange creatures. I know - it attracted me. Let's see if we can interest you...

The tabletop photo can be easy to define but hard to do. It is anything that you can make as an artificial scene - and surprisingly may not be on a table top in a studio. Some of the best of them are photographed on portable sets out in the sunlight.

They have traditionally been seen as an activity that filled the long winter months for northern hemisphere photographers who could not travel to exotic climes. As it is, these days everyone seems to be travelling either too or from exotic climes so there must be another charm to the genre. There is - when you create your own world you can sometimes be more than a mentor, superstar, or ambassador - you can be a deity. If you are a good deity you get good pictures.

As with all close-range subjects, your chief bugbear is going to be gaining sufficient depth of field to make things look real. Of course you will have some images that benefit from bokeh - believe me as soon as you relax your vigilance in this game the bokeh will run out from under the couch and bite you.

The best way to get the depth of field you need is to use as short a focal lenght as you can consistent with the angle of view that you want. If you are using a camera with a big sensor, you will need a longer focal length so consider deliberately choosing an APSC or micro 4/3 camera. You really will gain an advantage.

Consider getting a camera that will display what you do on a clear screen as you do it - peering into a small optical finder or through a dusty ground glass and hoping for the best is not only inconvenient but unnecessary. I know - I did just this for years and now revel in the clear view that the digital screen delivers. If you can find a camera that has a swivelling LCD screen so much the better.

You definitely need a camera that will allow manual focus - there is very little need for AF in tabletop work. There are times when you need to create layers in the picture with manual focussing onto each layer - get a lens that focusses easily.

Cable or wire remote release is mandatory and a synch socket or at least a hot shoe to let you use studio lights is perfect.

Which leads me to the pictures of the panasonic GH3 camera - Micro 4/3, and all the other necessary attributes right there on the body. Chose a lens to suit your point of view -I favour the 12-50 or the 14-42 - and away you go.

Quite what you choose to put on your table top is your own affair - I do toy cars and buildings and then combine them with live models. I've seen marvellous model seascapes on acrylic sheets. One worker makes paintings using food...

And DO check out Paul Michael Smith on the net.

Note - we've got the Panasonic and a shelf of great lenses for it in shop right now. Come see.

Multicoloured Bingo Card Now In Stock

Those of you old enough to have someone else's teeth in your mouth will recognise the heading image. McBeth Colour Checker. X-Rite Colour Checker. Piece of cardboard with standardised colour panels on the front. Everybody's got one and everybody can talk the same colour over the phone because they are all the same.

Prop one up in the leading frame of your studio, wedding, or film shoot and then look at what you've got when you see it on the main computer screen at home. Curse, shout, or smile, as the occasion takes you, but in the end do whatever you need to do to get the output to equal the Colour Checker.

The panels have been variously described as Caucasian or African skin, Foliage Green, Sky Blue, etc. About the only really definite statement you can make is that there is a cyan, yellow, and magenta and a pretty good blue, green, and red there. Plus a white to black progression. The nipple pink block in the middle is the colour that Canadians get when they mix all the remnant tins of paint in the garage together to get enough to paint the back porch. The purple patch next to it is the same thing but in this case it pertains to Finnish-Canadians. Trust me on this...

The surface is matt and the colours are fast - mine has stayed the same for decades. And the cardboard is really sturdy - you can beat your studio assistant about the ears with it and it won't fall apart.

Happiest Masking Tape In The World

Okay, kids, it's getting fun around here again.

Our video and filming expert, Melissa, has ordered a big box of specialised products and they have arrived. Some of them are strange to a still photographer but sound useful nevertheless. Note that the video and film people already know about them so they can just come in and buy straight away.

Remember in a previous post I mentioned gels? Well the Rosco ones are the ones Melissa ordered - the big ol' box of large gels was whisked off to a film shoot but there is no reason that we cannot get more. We've got he small packs in right now.

The multicoloured stack at the top of the post is a masking tape-like set of rolls that are used apparently to mark out actor's positions on sets and to colour code various items for smooth production work.  Very Cheerful!

Joe's Sticky Stuff is a roll of ribbon gel that is similar to the adhesive that they stick free gifts onto magazine covers - sort of a plasticized hot glue ribbon. It is used to temporarily stick filters onto lenses and can be peeled off without leaving a residue. I see it in my table-top studio as a wonderful way to secure props without having to make complex supports for them. It is clear and re-usable.

Apparently there is also a great good line of different gaffer tapes available - some matt black for plugging up light leaks, and some stronger than regular types. Who knows what has been stuck to what with this stuff...

More reports as she sets things out.

Two Chances Only For A Unique Studio Softbox

Starting a studio? Going to try video for the first time? Need a softbox for your speed light?

All good questions that a new studio enthusiast or student might ask themselves - and there are two good answers sitting out on the floor in the CL sale right now - you'll have to be fast because there are ONLY two.

The first is a speed ring that has an integral 1/2" studio stand mount attached to it and a cold-shoe mount for standard portable speed lights at the back. Not a flimsy outfit - this is meant as a demo and display unit and really will last for a century. The speed ring is colour-coded for the CL softboxes, of which we have many and they are all on 50% off sale.

The second is the same speed ring but with a solid mount and an Edison-screw socket mounted ready to take a standard light bulb - or a stronger photo light if you can find one. It would be perfect as a soft fill for video as it will be silent.

Two only - come and get 'em.

Learn To Light With Shoot Workshops

Studio lighting - there's more to it than sawing the roof of the house off, or setting fire to the sitter. As fun as these ideas may be, new studio shooters need to know other forms of illuminating their subjects. Here is where Shoot Photography Workshops and Anthony Wilson come in.

Anthony will be conducting a three-week introduction to studio lighting in May. Hell be lecturing and demonstrating the ins and outs of flashes, light modifiers, exposure rations, posing , shooting, and equipment for a host of studio situations.

If you have just bought a two-flash kit and want to know how to get the best out of it - or if you want to expand your range of illuminations and wish to find out exactly what light shapers do - Anthony is the man to listen to.

The course will be on the 6th of May - the 13th of May - and the 20th of May. It won't be a crowded pie fight either - there will be time and space for individual help  and creativity.

The basic cost for the three-wek course is $ 325 - but if you give the nice person at Shoot a ring in the next little bit, you can claim a 10% discount. Money well spent as you find out how to light your professional jobs.

Please ring the Shoot person at 9228-8232 or go over to their email at:

enquiries@shootworkshops.com.au

Speaking from experience, there is nothing as freeing as having your own shooting studio and the ability to create drama and beauty with light is fabulous. Get that experience now - ring Shoot.

Ready For Your Close-up, Mr. De Mille?

In the world of studio flash and portable speed light, we often forget the photographers who want or need to work with constant light. of course if they are prepared to go outside and put up 12 square metres of reflectors and swat mosquitos and all, they can use the natural daylight. Good until you go inside...

For the rest, and we are particularly thinking of videographers who need to get a great deal of light in a small space, there are hot lights. Here's an economical one - the red headed studio light with he 800 watt output.

Nothing could be simpler - set it up on a standard light stand, open the barn doors, and turn it on. Yo can focus the tube in and out with the control wheel for a greater or lesser spread of light. Set your white balance and away you go.

This is available as a single head or in a pack of three with stands and reflector - and the three-pack comes in a professional travel case.

All you need to add is Scarlet O'Hara and a burning Atlanta and your career is made. Well, it worked once, why not again?

Please note the sticky suction cup Manfrotto mount is not part of the light kit - it is just a very convenient way of sticking things onto a smooth surface.

Brilliant Ideas For Brilliant Minds - Shoot Photography Corses

We are very fortunate here at the shop  - we have good neighbours. In particular to the North - Shoot Photography Workshops. They can also be good to you, if you will go see them.

The best way to do this is to look at your own experience and see if there is some part of photography you wan to improve. Are you confident with your new digital camera...or do you want o learn the professional way to operate it? Are you puzzled by the studio light systems that are seen in all the best shots? Have you ever hankered after the excitement of photojournalism...or wedding photography work? Well, SHoot have the answer in the next few months.

There are five good courses on offer right now. You are far better reading about their details on the Shoot Photography website, or through the on-line shop section of our own Camera Electronic website.    

Here are a few tasters:

1. If you'd like to start out well in your digital photography, there is no better person to put you right than Simon Cowling. He is the principal at Shoot and has aided countless photographers to understand what is happening with their new cameras. A course with him means that you start getting results straight away.

2. Happy with the way it is going? Like to learn more? Like to find out some of the operational and aesthetic tricks that turn ordinary situations and sights into award-winning images? Dale Neill is the chap for you, and the Shoot course on Advanced DSLR Photography is just perfect. Expect to enjoy yourself greatly.

3. Studio lighting. Wow. Total control of your own images. Anthony Wilson will take you through the basic ideas of lighting and show you how the equipment does it - and how you can see what you want to acheive. Don't be afraid of the dark - you can do something about it. Introduction To Studio Lighting.

4. Want to get shot at? And shoot back? In the safest way? Ask Mohammed Morsi when you attend his course on Photojournalism. It is not all bullets and bayonet mounts, though - Mohammed will be helping you to understand journalist's ethics, human management, and marketing. You'll be shown how to make images that reproduce and sell.

5. Weddings are a vast professional topic and the Ultimate Wedding Photography Course reflects this - it takes 4 days to get all the information and try out the ideas. Bila Bakony will be explaining the aesthetics and mechanics and showing you how to manage time and people for this most challenging career. Look closer at his prospectus on the Shoot website. PS: Don't worry about managing the flower girls - no-one ever has...

The Shoot experience is a good one - I've attended several of the events run under their aegis and have profited by it. Actual money profit, as their instruction in one computer program cut my post-process time by 3/4 and that means more money in hand. These courses don't cost - they pay!

Uncle Dick