Friday, December 29, 2006

Remote Attempt #1

Tonight I tried out my first [REMOTE SETUP]. I can’t say it was a total success, nor can I say it was a complete failure.

I got to the Towson Center around 3p.m. and made sure it was OK to run. I got the go-ahead from three different sources and came back around 5p.m. to set-up. Being my first time, I feel like I rushed setting it up. I also was on my own, so setting the hyper focus distance was a one deal shot.

It seemed to be working flawless the entire game. Shortly after the game, it seemed if I had gotten at least two decent shots. (One above and one [CLICK HERE] .)

I am happy, but I guess I forgot about the ISO setting in my rush and it was left @ 640. I don’t know if the strobes were synching with the remote or not because of my exposure (underexposed). If you look at this picture of [TIM CROSSIN] from tonight, you can see its exposure is near perfect (1/250 f/2.8 @ 400ISO).

In closing on the night, I am not totally happy, but there is always tomorrow. I just have to remember to: A.) get more of an angle B.) place the remote a bit higher C). Set my exposure extra carefully D.) Maybe go wider (fisheye) E.) Take my time!

NOTE:I got an e-mail saying, "I never knew the bracketed names were linked pictures; maybe you should make a note about that." ARE YOU CLICKING THEM?

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

What's in the Bag?

With some recent purchases and gifts, I've realized that my photo bag (in this case Lowepro Mini Trekker book bag) has started to overflow.

Although I like the convenience of traveling with a good amount of my gear, I never carry it all on assignment, as it is too heavy. But, with the question I normally get ("What do you have in there?") here is what I carry on a daily basis to and from the office/sporting events/leisure/etc.

Inside:
- Two Nikon D200 DSLR Bodies
- Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR
- Nikon 17-55 f/2.8
- Nikon SB-800 & SB-600 Strobes w/gels
- Two 77mm UV Filters/One 77mm Cir. Pol Filter
- Pocket Wizard Cables (Three PC to female, One HH to female)
- Memory Card Hard Case w/ Two 2GB,Two 1GB CF Cards
- Two Extra D200 Batteries
- Cleaning stuff (e.g. micro fiber cloths, cleaning tissues/liquid)
- Thumb Drive
- Cardboard Snoot
- SB Table top stands
- Extra lens/body caps

Front Two Pockets:
- Three Pocket Wizard Plus Transceivers
- Leatherman All-in-one
- Wires: Battery Charger, USB Cord, Card Reader
- AA Batteries (Rechargeable and Duracell)
- HH to Hot-shoe adapter
- Nikon 10-pin remote cord
- Digital Audio Recorder w/ear phones
- Note Pad and pens (red/balck)
- Credentials
- Lowepro winter gloves
- Rosco Gels
- Money: Quarters for parking.
- Papers: Photo Rights, ID, Business card (cell #/email)

Trunk of Car:
- Silver (black backing) Westcott 43" Umbrella
- White Transparent Westcott 45" Umbrella
- Bogen Magic Arm w/super clamp
- Bogen Monopod
- Bogen Tri-pod
- Lowepro Photo runner waist-pack
- Gaffers Tape (a must!)
- Compact Five Hour power box (6"x5"x2")


And with that... back to reading Harrington's book. Also here is an interesting quote, "Only twelve percent of the people who pick up a news-paper read a story on the front page if no picture accompanies the story." -- Kenneth Kobre