What’s your favourite lens?

Do you have a lens you shoot with often?  or almost exclusively?  Do you have a “Standard Zoom” lens attached to your camera body as your default?  It’s not a surprise many choose a “Standard Zoom”, those in the 18mm to 135mm range.  Those lenses that give you a reasonable wide angle and zoom range.  Not extremely wide angle nor telephoto.  This lens is typically one of the first lenses that people buy as it covers a pretty range of zoom area.  These lenses typically have a minimum aperture as high as f/2.8 to as low as f/4.

Admittedly most do, including myself.  However I challenge you!

The Challenge

Take a stock of your lens inventory and choose “A lens of the month”.  Perhaps this is time to buy a new lens.  Grab a lens and do a majority of your shooting with that lens exclusively.  Perhaps you have a 50mm f/1.2 with a wild shallow depth of field, or a 500mm f/4 zoom lens.  What ever you have grab choose a lens and challenge yourself to use it exclusively or in situations you normally wouldn’t.

For example, shooting a 50mm f/1.2 will give you the opportunity to shoot in low light situations you might not normally be used to, or give you  a shallow depth of field.  Grab your 500mm f/4 lens for landscape photography and zoom into patterns you find in the landscape instead of the broad landscape.

Perhaps you’re in a public setting shooting people you don’t know and grab your long zoom lens, perhaps a 70-200mm lens so you can keep a distance .  Instead grab your 16-35mm wide angle lens and get in close to the action.

Whatever you choose, push yourself creatively and learn what each lens can do for you.  You’ll be surprised what you learn about your creative and technical potential.

Go ahead… push yourself!

I have forever been intrigued by castles… imagine a civilization that resided within a castle, either for protection, or for a central marketing hub. They have captured my imagination for years, especially after reading dozens of fantasy novels. So I figure, what is the best kind of inspiration? Examples that have so many stories behind them!

Lucky for me, I was able to goto Europe a few years ago and see a few castles scattered amongst the countryside… some not in the best of conditions, but still they were very thought provoking! Anyways, enjoy the list! Hopefully you guys are as thrilled at the inspiration today as I was!

Alix Hermeda

Floato

Wim D

Richard

Mark Leader

Rob Outram

Rich2012

Richard

Maikel

Uschi

GOLDFOCUS

Clairfontaine1212

Mr Vistas

Mr Vistas

Band68Uk

MBell1975

Alison Stamp

Manuel

Kenya Photo Safari (August 20th – 31st)

About RoTP Photographic Safaris

If you enjoy photography and being close to nature this is the trip for you.  Rule of Thirds Photography (RoTP) has put together a program that puts you right in the middle of fabulous African wildlife with many only feet from our vehicle.  We will meet in Nairobi, Kenya after your commercial flight from your home and proceed by vehicle to our lodges.  You will be in the midst of exotic African scenery to photograph, including the brilliant sunrises, acacia trees and distant scenic landscapes.

There is a reason why we choose Kenya for our wildlife safaris.  With its wide open sweeping grass savannas, spectacular landscapes, elegant accommodations and most importantly the sheer abundance of flora and fauna.  Your guides and professional photographers will assist you to capture the most inspiring photos possible at your own pace.

There are ample photo opportunities for everyone in the group.  If you are an avid birder, enjoy landscapes, or after the “Big 5″ we’ll have each covered off for your enjoyment.

We will also visit the colourful  Maasai people and the Samburu communities who have been the custodians of the wild animals, learning to live in harmony with them through the years. We will learn about their livelihood and their practices,and also with their permission, we will photograph them as they demonstrate part of their culture in song and dance.

Maasai girls in ceremonial attire

Professional Photography instruction and shooting

We will be shooting with you everyday, giving you hands on guidance and advice on wildlife behavior, long lens shooting techniques, maximizing your camera and digital workflow & processing with both Photoshop and Lightroom.

This trip is for everyone from just purchasing your first SLR to the very serious photographers, all who want to capture the best photos possible.  We will work with you every day to ensure you are getting some spectacular photos to share with family & friends when you get back home.  We will not be racing around the park in an attempt to capture a picture of every animal in the park, but rather to spend time to capture the “one” photo that makes you smile each time you view it.  We will be shooting during the best light of the day and with the help of our driver,s will get the best angles possible.  During this time we will cycle between vehicles to ensure we get time to shoot with you and provide you with dedicated one-on-one time with a professional wildlife photographer.  We simply don’t throw you into a vehicle and wish you luck… we are going to be with you all the way.  When we are not with you shooting during the day, we will always share tips and tricks with everyone and you certainly are free to ask us any questions at any time.

Depending on the day, we may have a mid-day break.  During this time we’ll head back to camp to perhaps take a nap or download images.  We however, will encourage you to participate in our image review/critique and workshop portion of the day.  It is during this time we’ll focus on topics that are relevant to everyone in the group.

How is our workshop different?  Often photo tours/workshops are divided into three distinct categories: photo tours, photo workshops, or photographic courses.  Tours usually involve lighter photographic teaching content and more on the touring.  Photographic courses focus more on the technical training and often don’t involved real life shooting.  Our workshops involve real life shooting experiences side by side with a pro photographer combined with additional training specific to digital processing, etc.

We like to share knowledge that will help you to understand the fundamentals of photography. From the moment you get to a location and shooting, downloading images, to printing and sharing your images on the web.

Leopard Eyes

Itinerary

Day 1 – 3 – (Aug 20-24) Samburu – The Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro river on the northern hemisphere.  A large abundance of animal and bird life including all three of the big cats (lion, cheetah and leopard) as well as elephants, buffalo, hippos, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe along with over 350 species of birds (an absolute birders paradise) .  You may not know this but Samburu is the setting for the movie “Born Free”.

Day 4 – 6 – (Aug 24-27) Nakuru – Lion Hill – Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift valley lakes.  Because of the lake’s abundance of algae it is famous for its vast quantity of flamingos along with other birds that line the shoreline.  Warthogs, baboons, Rothschilds giraffe and other large mammals including black & white rhinos (the largest concentration in the country).

Day 7 – 10 – (Aug 27-31) Maasai Mara -  Also known by the locals as ‘the Mara’ it is famous for its exceptional population of big game.  The annual migration also known as the “Great Migration” consists of zebra, gazelle, maasai giraffe and thousands of wildebeest.   Migrating happens every year each year from July to October. Known throughout the world, the Mara is an extraordinary location to photograph a multitude of African wildlife species with special emphasis on the big cats.

Day 11 Maasai Mara / Nairobi – After our early morning game drive we make our way to Nairobi to enjoy a fairwell supper and catch our evening flights home.

RoTP have personally put together this Safari adventure with specific needs of every photographer in mind.  Our experience and knowledge of the complex logistics of travel in Africa and our relationship with trusted local operators and outstanding guides who all have a proven history of success, allow us to put together an experience you will truly enjoy.  Utilizing our experience and knowledge we seek to elevate your photography skills to the next level.  Our personal service and attention to detail ensure not only a trip of a lifetime, but also one that allows you to capture the best wildlife images possible.

Elephants on the move

Accommodations

RoTP and our partners have chosen luxurious accommodations that are convenient and easily accessible to the wildlife that we are seeking.  With luxurious rooms or perhaps a tented camp (no not the type you used for your family vacation); we begin to spoil you from the time your vehicle pulls up to the last day.  After a day on safari you can relax in your room, enjoy a drink with your travel companions in the lounge, or relax at the pool; the options are numerous.

Travel

Unlike other safaris that crowd 8 people into a vehicle, we focus on photographic opportunities.  That is why we allow only 3 people per vehicle which allows you to have one complete row in the vehicle, so you have your own seat and an additional seat next to you, to place you camera gear and bags.  This arrangement provides complete freedom to shoot from either side of the vehicle at will and not be challenged with cramped vehicles.

Leaders/Instructors

Kelly Bolin - An adventurer, teacher, and avid wildlife and nature photographer are only a few words that describe Kelly. Respecting the natural environment and striving to capture the essence of the rich wildlife, people, and culture of the travel destinations Kelly has travelled are key to successful photography.

In addition to wildlife and nature photography Kelly is actively involved in humanitarian relief efforts in Africa and does documentary photography work for “A Better World”, a humanitarian relief organization.

With almost 35 years of photography experience and current on photography and image processing technology, Kelly is passionate about delivering the best out of the environment around him.

Mike Wanini - A native Kenyan, Mike has a keen understanding of wildlife behavior after many years as a driver/guide leading groups to many of Kenya’s wildlife parks.  Mike is a very accomplished photographer and currently works consulting customers at McBain Camera.

Costs

$7,900 U.S. gives you an experience of a lifetime in beautiful Kenya, great accommodations & food, and a great appreciation for Kenya, its people and wildlife.  ($1,500 deposit, remainder due in instalments).

If you have a non-shooting spouse (partner, child or friend) joining you, you will receive a discount, however they will be asked to sit in the passenger seat next to the driver and will not receive any personal one-on-one instruction by one of our professionals, but certainly can participate in our workshop section of the day.

What is included?

• Lodge accommodations (single room supplement)
• All meals at the lodge
• Park fees
• Professional photography instruction
• Guided services
• Sales tax
• All transportation costs while in-country

What is not included?

• Commercial airfare to Nairobi
• Tips & Gratuities to guides & camp staff
• Insurance
• Additional days beyond trip dates

I’m interested, what do I do next?

Contact us directly at workshops@ruleofthirdsphotography.com

Camera Trace, Find Your Lost Camera

Worried About Lost Gear?

A new service from GadgetTrak is available called CameraTrace. It’s a great new service that gives you a little peace of mind every night! Using not-so-new technology, and applying it in a slightly different way, CameraTrace will help you locate and get your precious camera back. It does this through what is called reverse image search. Now be sure not to get this confused with Image Recovery, as they definitely won’t give you a hand due to you loosing your photos!

Reverse Image Search:

I’m sure that by now many of you photographers have heard and/or use TinEye, a reverse image search (RIS) engine. It looks for images that you own, and notifies you. Up to this point, TinEye has been the dominant leader in RIS… until the big boys walked in. Google now able to offer the same service for free, and from accounts, it is much more accurate. Who could blame them? They have the powerhouse of thousands of servers scouring the internet while TinEye was just a small company (in comparison). If you’re looking for a good article on Google’s services in relation to TinEye, check out Zdnet’s article on who’s the dominant RIS company.

How CameraTrace Uses It:

CameraTrace uses the same principles. It reads the EXIF data from images around the world, and matches a special serial number to that of your camera. From all understanding (feel free to read their FAQ page), if you claim a lost camera, they record the web and wait for an image from your stolen (or lost) camera to appear. From there they work to get your gear back. Also, there is a CameraTrack tag that you can stick to your $2000 body with an ID number which a good citizen can report should they find your gear.

Just like TinEye, they also check for copyright issues while they browse the web for your images. Might as well offer this service too since they’re needing to scan the EXIF data anyways!

At only $10 per body, I think it’s a fair deal – especially since they do a lot of heavy work getting your gear back. If you’re looking for another option, check these RIS guys out.

Properly Output To The Web:

The web is a complicated technology that the average individual doesn’t understand. Many people have websites loading far longer than they should – and it can promptly be cut down if proper image output is used. I know there are a lot of Lightroom users, and still Photoshop users that use these two primary applications to do all their image exporting out of, so I’m just focusing on these two. I know Adobe Bridge and iPhoto are two other popular contestants, however my experience is not sufficient enough to add them into this article.

What surprised me at the end of this article is the fact that one of these two applications exported the file at 28% smaller file size! Now imagine that multiplied by five or six images per page on your website and the results are quite significant. HSQ98KE7Q9QX

Color for Web:

Color on the web is very tricky. As many well know, our monitors produce colour from RGB, unlike it’s print counterpart using CMYK or Pantone. Luckily, with the advancement of technology, our monitors now far exceed the previous limit of 256 colours, and are now fully capable of producing millions of colours! Yay! (thank goodness I missed that generation!) The problem now is that every monitor displays these million colours slightly different. Think about these conditions:

• Lighting
• Age of monitor (old monitor = faded colours).
• Quality of monitor
• Type of monitor (CRT, LED, etc)
• Screen Brightness
• Screen Saturation/Contrast

For these reasons, it is next to impossible to have a website – or your photo – display identical on all your visitor’s displays. The next best option is to get as close as possible by using the sRGB  Colour Space.

Editing Images:

Editing images is often done in Adobe RGB, a colorspace Adobe brought up about a century ago. Now, for editing images, I’ll just direct you to the leading photoshop expert Deke, whom has the perfect article of how you want to set up your Photoshop workspace.

Output With Lightroom and Photoshop:

Lightroom and Photoshop both have excellent export systems, with built in features to add watermarks or to export directly to Facebook (Lightroom). So I decided to export the same image from both Lightroom and Photoshop. I imported the same .psd file into both software packages, and exported them at the required web settings. Follow through for the surprising results.

Output with Lightroom:

Lightroom Export to Web Settings

As you can see from the above settings, I exported the image out at 600px, with a native screen resolution being 72 DPI (or PPI). At the top, under File Settings, I wanted to export as a .jpg as the file did not have any transparent properties – thus .jpg would be the smallest file size. Quality was lowered, and the colour space chosen was sRGB. Why sRGB? It is still the most reliable colour space to use for anything web related since it can match the millions of monitors out there the closest. Remember, Deke’s previous article says to edit images in Adobe RGB (or I know some who use ProPhoto RGB), but when he exports he also converts to sRGB.

Just a quick note: I did reduce the image quality to 60 instead of the displayed 70.

The dimensions are small enough to fit into almost all content areas for a website, and the low resolution keep  photo pirates at a relatively safe distance!

Output With Photoshop:

Adobe Photoshop Save for Web

Photoshop has a hidden export option that many people don’t know about. I suppose it can be  considered one of those “hidden jewels”. It’s the Save for Web and Device option. This is always used instead of the standard save function because it has extra capabilities to reduce file sizes for website usage. Once again, as you can see from the above image, I use the same image size as in Lightroom. Same colour space, and same quality (yes, the images are different – but I did have them the same!). Lastly, I convert to sRGB again!

So what are the results in terms of file sizes between these to software packages?

The Results:

Lightroom vs Photoshop Results for Web

Photoshop is the clear winner in this battle!

With a staggering 28% difference, I’m going to be exporting from it a lot more! Where does this free space come from? You’ll notice two main differences: In Photoshop when exporting as a .jpg there is a special “optimize” checkbox. This is going to make the biggest difference. Also, you will notice there is no metadata about the camera.

Adobe CS6 New Upgrade Options

Upgrading to Adobe CS6 Suite?

Adobe initially announced that their upgrade options for the CS6 Suite would only be available to CS5 and CS5.5 users – leaving older software packages such as CS4 and lower, sitting in the water without a paddle. Luckily for you guys, the photographic community got together and communicated their frustrations to Adobe.

Fortunately, we rely on a company that does value their customers opinion, and they are now offering a special upgrade offer.

From the Adobe website (linked above): “…we’re pleased to announce that we will offer special introductory upgrade pricing on Creative Suite 6 to customers who own CS3 or CS4.”

This offer is available from the release date of CS6, until the end of the year.

Personal Upgrade Plans?

I definitely plan on upgrading, and luckily I was never worried about missing the upgrade options – I currently run CS5. With the file incompatibilities between CS5 and CS5.5, I will be purchasing CS6 just to be back on the top of the mountain and quit worrying about small issues such as those. Currently I am unaware of any of the up and coming features, however if the upgrades found in Lightroom 4 Beta have anything to say about the rest of the Adobe CS6 suite – they should be impressive!

Yesterday’s technology

When Mike, a good friend of mine, handed me an article about technology and it’s past it really struck a chord with me.  The article  talked about how some of our old technology that we may have used many years ago, is not relevant or even available today.  Let’s take a look at some of these (clearly my age is going to be a dead give away when you see the list):

• VHS tapes
• Betamax tapes
• Casette tapes
• 8 track tapes
• Super 8 video
• Slides
• Kodak or Fuji film
• 33′s LP albums (google it if you must)

What is the issue with this?  It’s the very fact that there is media of some sort stored on these mediums that could potentially be lost forever.  The reason this really struck a chord for me is because I’m in the final stages of sorting, selling, packing and pitching items from my home as Jackie and I are off on a multi-year adventure and have sold our house.  During the sorting stage I found several VHS & camcorder tapes that were stored in a box.  I said whatever is on these tapes we’ll likely want to keep.  So luckily I had devices that could read these tapes and I started on a multi-hour project of downloading all the video and music onto my Mac Pro.

BUT, what if I didn’t have the original camcorder anymore, or access to a VHS tape deck.  Would these hours of video be lost forever?  Worse yet, what if I did have devices that could read the media but the aging process of the media itself made it useless due to cracking or the brittle nature of the low humidity environment I live in.  Luckily for me I was able to retrieve all the video amounting to multiple Gigs of video on my computer.

The next stage is to make a visit to my parents as I know they have multiple hours of Super 8 video film exposed and getting old and brittle while sitting in a closet somewhere I’m sure.

Today’s Technology

We still use Compact Disks (CD’s) and BlueRay disks to store media (music, video, & pictures) but these too will have an end date.  Do you have a backup plan for the technology you currently use?  While I was able to download multiple hours of video from VHS and camcorder tapes what do I do to ensure its long term viability?  Today, it is current while it sits on my hard drive, but what is the life of a typical hard drive.  What about the software solution that I’m using to view the video.  Will iMovie or Final Cut be around in 10 years time from now?  What about the various formats current in use? (.MOV, MPG4, WMV, JPG, TIF, CR2, NEF, etc.)  Will these formats still exist in 10 years, or how about after we have died and our children are digging through our possessions and find them?

Do you have a technology transition plan?  Do you keep current in all your software and ensure all your media is updated to the most current version, the most current media format?

Something to think about… keep current and keeping your historical archives of media current can be a chore but worth the effort to ensure it isn’t lost due to the progression of technology.

~RoTP team

Sightsmap - Your Virtual Photography Location Heatmap

Virtual Hotspots of Photography Locations:

If you are like me, you enjoy going out for a walk – in the opposite direction of the main flow of traffic! You’ll beat through the bush to find a trail that only you and the wild animals traverse, because lets face it: with so many photographers roaming the streets, and trails you can count on the fact that they have all stopped at that same tourist trap and have almost identical photos! Meanwhile, I will be casually taking a relaxing walk without the hassle of the public around. Of course this is all personal preference, and obviously I would love to see every tourist location if traveling to somewhere such as Europe!

With new technology and image uploading services by entities such as Flickr, Google Images/Maps, Panoramio, websites such sitesmap are born.

This is Sitesmaps.com

Sitemaps is a heatmap overlay over what I assume is Google Maps (although the logo seems to have disappeared on me). This overlay visually displays popular photography locations for tourists (or locals to avoid). It bases it’s popular shooting locations off of the catalogue on Panoramio. If there is a large number of images and authors uploading geotagged images from the same location… obviously the heat map will jump up. Unsurprisingly, the top 4 locations are all Europe based.

Check it out guys! Perhaps it will help guide your next vacation or shoot based of popular locations, or for other it will guide them further into Africa!

Technology – What’s next?

Canon 5D Mark II

While we talked about Technology – History & Today,  most are more interested in technology of tomorrow or what is right around the corner.

Canon & Nikon have recently released their 1DX and D4 respectively but many are waiting for their next big announcement.  What will the next Canon 5D Mark III look like?  Nikon D800?  What about the next Apple iMac, iPad 3, or MacBook Pro?

While we at RoTP focus on education we are often asked what we think is coming down the pipe.  We don’t really know, and for most of us we use the tools we currently have and not worry about the next generation of tools.  After all you can easily become fixated in chasing pixels.

So what is coming:

• High megapixel sensors? (30+ Mp)
• Eye control focus?
• Even better video?
• Faster FPS?
• Cleaner images (ISO)?
• Better flash sync times?
• etc.

Photography + Creativity = Excellence

Creativity is the basis to good photography! Lets face it – you can know every technical aspect to the world of photography, but if you lack creativity, you lack a good photography portfolio.

I ran into this awesome video on WebTuts+ network that can easily be applied to any designer, being painters, illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, etc.  Watch it and consider your daily work flow.  Do you get out enough?  Do you get enough sleep?  Do you carry your camera everywhere?!  (Remember the best camera is the one you have with you).

As a photographer it is very important to visit new locations as it brings new ideas just because of the different landscape. Quit going to your favourite nature spot to shoot – travel a little further to that little alcove you have yet to explore!

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.