Camera Guy Zack

LensProToGo 52 Week Photo Project - Week 4 Submission

2012-01-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

My submission for week 3 - Self Portrait - Be Creative.

There's a reason I'm a photographer and not a model. I would MUCH rather be behind the camera than in front of it. I just don't care to have my picture taken for some reason. I got this idea while driving home from work and I'm happy with the way it turned out. For me it's about as creative as I get when it comes to taking photos of myself. I sure home next week we have something that will be more appealing to me. We will find out later in the week when the folks from Lens Pro To Go update the theme list on Flickr.

Amazon Kindle Fire

2012-01-20T06:43:00.000-05:00

Lately Donna and I have been spending a good amount of time reading eBooks instead of print books. I'm the kind of person that will read the same book more than once. Donna isn't so for print books really are a waste of money and space not to mention trees. We've been reading mostly on the iPad which has worked well. The only problem is we only have one iPad and try as I might I couldn't talk her into a 2nd one :). For her birthday and after having spent a little time trying out our daughter, Steffanie's, Nook eBook reader I talked her into getting a Kindle Fire for her birthday. We chose the Kindle Fire over a Nook because our local library allows you to check out books on the Kindle and not a Nook plus Donna has an Amazon Prime membership so we are able to stream movies, etc for free so the Kindle just made sense so that's what we bought. When we upgraded her phone to an iPhone she also wanted to get a protective screen cover for it so we got the ZAGG covers installed on both our phones and they are really nice. They're expensive but so far I have been extremely pleased with the screen protector.

So far we like the Kindle quite a bit. I've actually used it more than she has. Some how she seems to have taken possession of the iPad and I'm using the Kindle. Oh well so be it. The Kindle is obviously smaller than the iPad and I've been taking it with me to work. When I eat lunch I'll open the Kindle and read while I eat.

So far I've only read the book "Bridges of Madison County" on it. I decided I wanted to read the book after watching the movie for the 2nd time recently. I'm glad I finished reading it on a day when most of my co-workers where out of the office because by the time I finished it I'm sure my eyes were bloodshot from the tears. What a wonderful love story.

I'm currently working my way through Laurie Excell's "Wildlife Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots". I've only read the first few chapters and so far most of it has been a review of stuff I've read elsewhere. Once I finish it completely I'll update this post with a more in-depth review.

Queued up after the wildlife book is Laurie Excell's "Composition: From Snapshots to Great Shots". I'll write up a review on it after I've read it.

I've gotta say I'm a big fan of eBooks that I've spent some time reading them. It's really nice being able to carry around several books and being able to pick and choose which one I want to read depending on my mood at the time.

So how about you? Do you have an eBook reader? If so which one? If not are you considering one?

Below are product links on Amazon for the items mentioned in this post. If you click on the link and buy one of the items I'll earn a small commission. Eventually I'll earn enough to buy another eBook or two :).

Get on the Good Foot!

2012-01-19T07:13:00.001-05:00

You can click on the image to view a larger version

Technically I should just delete this photo because it's out of focus and all but when I saw it I immediately thought about the James Brown Song Get On the Good Foot. Listen to this song James Brown - Get on the Good Foot and if it doesn't put a smile on your face then something is wrong with you :).

LensProToGo 52 Week Photo Project - Week 3 Submission

2012-01-17T12:24:00.000-05:00

My submission for week 3 - My Favorite Thing.

You can click on the image to see a larger version.

It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to photograph as my favorite thing. I initially came up with a few different ideas:

My camera - but that seemed all too obvious.
My cat Tiger - but he's not a thing to me. He's the child Donna and I never had together. At least that's how we treat him.
The TV Remote - but that shows I spend more time watching TV than I should.
My wedding ring - it's not really the ring that's my favorite thing it's what it symbolizes, my marriage to Donna that is a favorite thing.
Wildlife - the bird feeders in our back yard. We love spending time out back with the birds. Our backyard has become the bird sanctuary of the neighborhood. Yesterday afternoon I counted a dozen Chipping Sparrows sitting on the fence just waiting for Tiger to go inside so they could feed on the feeders.
Alligators - love to shoot them but they are dormant this time of year so trying to find one to shoot for the assignment would be difficult.

Finally it came to me - sunrises. I think watching the movie Bridges of Madison County helped because Clint Eastwood's character talked about wanting to shoot one of the bridges at sunrise. My next problem to overcome was when to shoot one. The submissions run from Monday of the week through Sunday and my normal work schedule has me getting to work before the sun actually raises. Fortunately yesterday being a federal holiday I was off and was able to shoot the sunrise.

I try to learn something on each planned photo shoot and I learned several things on this one.

When it's 29 degrees outside you'd better bundle up! Fortunately I was prepared. I had on a heavy coat, watch cap, and gloves.
Using a remote shutter release is more handy than I originally thought. I shot all of the photos using mirror lockup and so being able to tap the shutter button on the remote was easier than reaching around to the front of the camera each time.
Fully charged batteries are a must. The combination of the cold and using live view extensively really drained the batteries. I'm glad I had the battery grip installed so I had the power of two batteries working for me.
Live View rocks! I have been somewhat disappointed with it in the past because it's really hard to see the screen on a bright sunny day (Guess I need one of those hoodman Loupes). but in the dark live view is great. I was able to instantly see changes in exposure by adjusting the shutter speed and it made composing the shots very easy. I'm now a big fan of live view in low light situations.
I need a graduated neutral density filter. Pretty much as soon as the sun broke the horizon I quit shooting because it was blowing out the highlights.
I only have 3 or 4 apps on the iPhone that will show a bubble level or give you some indication that your camera is level. Did I use any of them. No! But I will next time.
Experimentation really is fun. While shooting yesterday I tried several different things such as putting the horizon in line with the top line of the Rule of Thirds grid. Then I'd move the camera to have the bottom line on the Rule of Thirds grid line up with the horizon. Afterwards it was neat to see the difference it made to the overall scene.
Manual mode is my new best friend. Ever since Donna and I went on the citifari photo walk in New York my camera have been kept on manual mode. I'm finding that using manual mode slows me down and makes me think more about each shot I'm going to take and my photography is improving because of it. At least I think it is :).

Oh BTW, not that anyone is counting but this is my 100th blog post!

Canon Pro Camera Strap

2012-01-11T20:40:00.001-05:00

Recently I bought a used Canon Rebel T2i that came with the standard Canon neck strap. On our current cameras Donna and I use the Canon Pro Strap. Since the kind UPS lady dropped off a new strap today I figured I'd do a little post about the strap and why we like them. Note: On all of the images in this post and my other posts you can click on them to see a larger version.

My new to me Canon Rebel T2i complete with battery grip and standard strap.

Some of you may be wondering why I'd buy a a T2i when Donna and I already have one. I do so for a few reasons:

It's lighter than my 7D and that's important to me when Donna and I do our waterfall hikes.
It gives me a chance to learn more about the T2i so I can better explain things to her when she has a question about the camera
The battery grip was included
I got a great deal on it
It uses SDHC cards and that makes it much easier to import photos into our iPad than it does importing from a CF card

Here's my biggest complaint about the standard strap -- it gets in the way! It's not so bad when you have the strap around your neck but when you're trying to shoot from a tripod it's a pain to keep moving it especially if you switch back and forth between portrait and landscape mode like I do. Another reason for getting rid of it is when shooting long exposures and there's some wind around it's possible the strap will get blown around and bump into the tripod which could cause your images to come out blurry. Bet you never thought of that now have you?

Packaging for the strap. You can save the hassle of searching for it by clicking the link at the bottom of the post. If you end up buying one I'll earn a small commission and eventually I'll be able to afford another pro strap :).

See this nifty buckles? These allow you to remove the large center section of the strap! This makes life so much easier. Now when you're shooting from a tripod just remove the center section of the strap and put it in your bag. You can let the little bits of strap that remain on the camera to flop around. They actually do a good job of staying out of your way. As an added bonus it makes it easier to store the camera when you don't have the extra center section of the strap to worry about. Just don't forget to bring it along when you head out for a photo shoot if you're going to do much walking around with the camera.

A comparison of the two straps.

The T2i with the new strap installed.

We love our Canon Pro Straps and if you've ever gotten frustrated using the standard strap I'd highly recommend you give the pro strap a try.

LensProToGo 52 Week Photo Project - Week 2 Submission

2012-01-10T17:55:00.002-05:00

My submission for week 2 - My Front Door.

I normally come into the house through the garage but today I happened to see our cat, Tiger, waiting at the front door so I grabbed this quick picture using my iPhone before he walked away from the window.

LensProToGo 52 Week Photo Project - Week 1 Submission

2012-01-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

Recently I read about the LensProToGo 52 Week Photo Project and decided to join in on the fun. Below is my submission for week 1 which had the theme of self portrait without you in it.

The items in the picture are:

My letterman jacket from high shool. I was an in-shape jock back then. Now I'm a computer geek. 'nuff said.
Canon lens cap. Represents the brand of camera I shoot with though I do own a Nikon P&S.
AMOD GPS Tracker. Represents my thing for gadgets. I Geotag the vast majority of my images.
Logitech Mouse. Represents the computer geek.
iPhone 4. Represents my favorite phone. I resisted getting for for a long time but now that I have one I'll never own another phone other than a newer iPhone.
Georgia Bulldog decal. Represents my state of birth - Georiga and my favorite football team.
Airplane propeller. Represents my other hobby other than photograph - flying model airplanes.
Military ribbons. Represents the years I spent serving my country in the United States Air Force.

How Many Photos Have You Taken?

2012-01-04T19:19:00.001-05:00

For some reason I decided to figure out how many photos I've taken since I got back into photography in 2007. Fortunately Lightroom makes finding this information out a breeze. I used Lightroom to create smart collections for each calendar year 2007 - 2012. The chart below I created in Excel and I'm pretty surprised at the results. Seems every other year I shoot a lot of photos. Assuming that trend holds 2012 should be a busy year taking photos :). Actually I think one of the reasons why the count is lower for 2011 is I have spent more time culling out images that aren't worth keeping. I really should go back through the images and cull out more. I can't remember when the last time was I looked at a photo from the 2007 time frame was. While I was at it I decided to see how well I have done with adding keywords to the photos. As you can see from the 2nd series in the chart I've done relatively well. I think it's pretty amazing that I have keywords for all 18000+ photos from 2007. I guess the next thing I'll do is go through the photos that don't have keywords and assign them. So how about you? Anyone else have any statistics on how many photos you've taken over the years?

Don't Forget

2012-01-01T16:40:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

If your camera automatically sets the Copyright information and you include the year be sure to change it from 2011 to 2012. I really wish Canon would allow you to use @Year as a marker for the current year so that you don't have to remember to change it every January 1st.

Induro Adventure AKB0 Tripod Review - Introduction

2011-12-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ever watch the John Belushi movie Continental Divide? If not it's the story of a Chicago journalist that goes up into the mountains to write and article about an Eagle researcher. There's one scene where he's down to his last cigarette and he's in a world of hurt because he's out of shape and has been huffing and puffing his way up the mountain to see what this Eagle researcher does. That's pretty much how I was feeling the day that Donna and I set out to find one of the waterfalls in upstate South Carolina that was listed as "moderate" in difficulty. Clearly the person that rated it moderate must be part mountain goat because that hike for us was down right hard! Of course it doesn't help being out of shape and lugging my camera backpack with extra lenses and my Induro CT314 tripod with me. Long story short Donna and I made it to the waterfall, got some great pictures and made it back to the car without killing ourselves. One valuable lesson I learned that day was traveling light is the way to go on waterfall hikes and hauling around my camera backpack and heavy duty tripod was clearly not traveling light!

Thus began my quest for a lightweight tripod to use when shooting waterfalls. Since I'm obviously a huge Induro fan I checked out their tripods first and read about the Adventure AKB Series of tripods. These lightweight tripods come with matching ball head and carrying bag. They are available in three sizes: AKB0 which is designed for loads up to 10.3 pounds and weights 2.6 pounds, the AKB1 which is designed for loads up to 12.8 pounds and weighs 3.6 pounds, and the AKB2 which is designed for loads up to 18.7 pounds and weighs 4.2 pounds. For comparison my CT314 and BHD3 ball head are designed for loads up to 40 pounds and weigh 7.2 pounds. I spent a good amount of time reading about these three tripods but couldn't decide which one I wanted. My first choice was the AKB2 thinking that it even though I wouldn't be coming close to its load capacity that it would be better to have a tripod that can support way more than I would need but it weighs nearly double what the AKB0 weighs and I really wanted to go as light as possible. I knew that the good folks at Induro had read my previous write up I had done on the CT314 and ball head so on whim I contacted them and told them I was in the market for a lightweight tripod and wanted to know if they happened to have any of the AKB series tripods available for a trial basis. I figured they may have some that didn't meet QC specs or something like that they would be willing to send me. They said they did have something I could test with, faxed me the agreement which I signed and faxed back and a few days later the UPS box arrived.

Inside was not a some loaner tripod that has been used by others and was passed along to me but instead it was a brand new AKB0 tripod. Our agreement was for me to keep the tripod for a few weeks, test it thoroughly and then return it to Induro. For this review I plan to document the following aspects of the tripod:

Introduction - this post
The Tripod
The Ball Head
Use in the Field
Short Post Accessory
Comparison to the CT314
Summary

Induro Adventure AKB0 Tripod with Donna's Canon Rebel T2i with 18-200 lens

citifari New York Landmarks Photo Tour

2011-12-21T20:00:00.001-05:00

Earlier this year I read Switch to Manual Mode written by Sam Levy on the Digital Photography School Blog. After reading the article I clicked on a link to read more about Sam's citifari New York Landmarks Photo Tour. What I read interested me but there was one minor problem. Sam didn't have a tour scheduled on the day that Donna and I would be in New York and available to take one. After exchanging some emails and Sam getting things worked out on his end we were able to do the photo tour this past Monday, December 19th. As soon as I knew we had our date reserved Donna and I spent some time reviewing our camera manuals and other books we have for our cameras. I think I know how to operate my 7D pretty well but I wanted to be able to concentrate on taking pictures during the photo tour and not trying to remember which dial to turn to perform a specific action, etc. Monday afternoon we met up with Louis, our guide right outside of B&H Photo. If you ever make it to NYC go to B&H. Holy cow what a place that is. Just as my mom could spend all day at Macy's I could spend all day at B&H. I was good and managed to make it out of the store only spending a little over $100. I could have spent way more than that!

I wasn't really sure what to expect from the tour and in fact I had kind of thought it was going to be a bit boring in that you'd go from place to place the guide would point out a building or other landmark, we'd snap a picture and off we'd go to the next one. Boy was I ever wrong and I'm so happy that I was. Three other photographers joined Donna and me on the photo tour. Interestingly enough we all shot Canon's. Donna used her T2i, I used my 7D, another photographer from Mexico also shot with a 7D and the 2nd couple shot with a 7D for her and 5D Mark II for him. We brought along a light weight tripod but it turns out there's really no need for one to plan to travel light and leave the tripod and other goddies in the camera bag behind. There's really only one place where you could use it and there's a railing where we propped our cameras on when we needed to support them. After giving us some introductory comments and a hand out about the citifari photo tour, some photography terms, etc we were off to our first destination which is where we soon learned this afternoon was going to be WAY more than just pointing your camera at an object and taking a picture.

At our first location Louis stopped us and described the scene we were going to photograph. Along with that he showed us a sheet from his guide book showing the shot they had taken to give us an idea of the composition and camera settings used. "Now everyone set your dials to M." Louis said and I'll be honest with hearing those words a bit of panic hit me. I have dabbled around manual mode and have had some success with it. Donna has never used manual mode nor have we even talked about using it. I told myself to not sweat it, just do as Louis instructed and see what happens. After switching to manual mode we next switched our cameras from evaluative metering to spot metering. We then dialed in the suggested ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. With each setting Louis explained why were using the those instead of just telling us and us blindly following along. Knowing why we were making the changes really made things start to click for me. Our first photo was going to be of the New Yorker Hotel sign with the Empire State Building background. Louis instructed us to meter off of the New Yorker Hotel sign, adjust shutter speed until we got a proper exposure and then take the picture. While I understood what he said what I did do didn't match what he told me to do and my shot didn't come out as expected. I tried it a couple of times and just wasn't getting the shot. When asked how I was doing I showed Louis the photo and he agreed that I wasn't getting the shot :). We discussed the process I was using to take the shot and we soon figured out what I was doing wrong. What I was doing is after metering off of the New Yorker Hotel sign and setting my shutter speed I'd move the camera to recompose the shot. After moving the camera I would adjust the shutter speed a 2nd time because I noticed the exposure meter reading had changed. I wasn't supposed to be doing that. The process was to meter off of the Hotel sign, recompose and shoot. Once I figured that out things started working much better. Louis sent time with each of us making sure we were getting the shot correctly. Once we were all satisfied with the shots that we had gotten we moved on to the next shot.

I won't go into detail about each shot that we took but I will say that shot a variety of different subjects and each shooting location was used to teach us something new about our camera and shooting in manual mode. We shot everything from 1/2000th to 6 second exposures during the photo tour. I can honestly say that I learned more about using my camera and how to properly shoot using manual mode in the time we were on the photo tour than I have in the past 5 years reading books, magazines, and watching DVD's, etc. Later that night Donna and I were discussing the photo tour and she said that she had learned so much and felt so much more comfortable with her camera and couldn't wait to get out and shoot again. Hearing that I knew her photo tour was every bit as enjoyable and educational as mine was. If we ever make it back to NYC I guarantee you we will take the Central Park photo tour.

New Yorker Hotel
This is the shot I like best from our first stop. I lucked out and got the airliner in the frame as well. I used 1/1000th of a second at f/5.6, ISO 400 for this shot.

Subway Exit
This probably my favorite shot from the photo tour. I shot it kneeling down on the bottom step of the stairs leading out of the subway and waited until the gentleman climb the stairs before taking the shot. I used 1/2000th of a second at f/4.0, ISO 200 for this shot.

Empire State Building
Love the leading lines on this shot. I used 1/400th of a second at f/7.1, ISO 400 for this shot.

Donna
My wife, Donna, shooting the Empire State Building. Louis is behind her and the guy in the red jacket is another photographer. The guy in the blue jacket stopped and listened. I don't know if he's a photographer or not. I used 1/30th of second at f/7.1, ISO 400 for this shot.

Zacky's
Not part of the photo tour but when I saw my name I had to take the shot :). I used 1/200th of a second at f/7.1, ISO 400 for this shot.

The Lion
This is one of the Lions in front of the NYC Library. I used 1/100th of a second at f/5.6, ISO 400 for this shot.

Apple Store
This is actually the exact opposite of the shot we were supposed to be taking at the time. I had taken the shot we were supposed to get and then was fooling around when I noticed the bright Apple logo across the terminal from us so I adjusted my camera and got this shot. I used 1/6th of a second at f/22, ISO 200 for this shot.

Summary
I can't thank Sam (whom we met while at Grand Central Terminal) and Louis for sharing their expertise with us and getting us to move over to manual mode. If you're ever headed to NYC and have time for a photo tour I highly recommend you do so. I can't wait to get back out there shooting again with the new knowledge I gained from Louis and Sam. Thanks so much for everything!

CMSgt Fred L. Clarke

2011-12-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

43 years ago today the airplane then TSgt Clarke was flying in over Laos had a mid-air collision with another USAF airplane. He has been missing ever since.23 years ago Freddie as I have taken to calling him came into my life. I started wearing the POW/MIA bracelet with his name on it and I have worn it everyday since and I will continue to wear it until either he comes home or I go to my grave. Recently Donna and I went up to Washington, D.C. and while there we took a night time tour of several Washington monuments. One stop we made was at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where we took this picture. While it certainly is not a great picture it's the thought that counts. While Donna used the flash from her iPhone I used mine to capture this image. I consider it an honor to take Freddie with me everywhere I go. He's been to Bermuda, the Bahamas, Israel, to include a stop in Jerusalem where he was placed on the stone where Jesus was prepared for burial, Germany, France and any and every other place I have traveled since I put him on my wrist. While I doubt it will ever happen if any of the friends or family of Freddie happen to read this please know that he has not nor will he ever be forgotten.

Book Reviews: Hiking Waterfalls in Georgia and South Carolina and Hiking Waterfalls in North Carolina

2011-12-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

This year Donna and I have taken to finding and photographing waterfalls here in South Carolina. So far we've made at 3 trips to upstate South Carolina and thus far were able to find all of the waterfalls we tried to find except one and boy did we have an adventure on that hike! Along the way we've been doing some product testing which I'll reveal later this month but for now I wanted to write about a couple of new books we bought to help us with our waterfall quests.

Melissa Watson has written two guides that we bought: Hiking Waterfalls in North Carolina and Hiking Waterfalls in Georgia and South Carolina. At the bottom of this review are links for the books on Amazon. If you click on the link and buy a book I'll earn a little commission. So far I think I've earned enough to buy a lens cap but hey every penny helps! The guides list 35 waterfalls for Georgia and 18 for South Carolina and 113 for North Carolina which explains why it gets its own book. I'm a bit disappointed with the South Carolina coverage because we have over 30 waterfalls here in our state so the coverage is a bit light in my opinion. I do have to give the author credit though she personally has hiked to each of these waterfalls she has written about and has provides turn-by-turn directions, with mileage for making your way from the trail head to the base of the waterfall. She has included GPS coordinates for the trail head and waterfall. For each waterfall she includes a map with the track she took to get from the trailhead to the waterfall, height of the waterfall, her beauty rating for the waterfall, distance, difficulty rating, trail surface, approximate hiking time, blaze color to follow, county the waterfall is located in, contact information for the waterfall, and map information to use to look the waterfall up on topo maps. That's a lot of information!

I've compared her write up of some of the waterfalls Donna and I have already found and found her descriptions to be very accurate. My only complaints about the book are: (1) lack of coverage for South Carolina and (2) there's a few errors in the GPS coordinates that I've found. Fortunately I was able to discover the errors while entering the coordinates into my mapping software and not while out trying to find the waterfall. Fortunatly the errors are minor. In one case she listed the trailhead and waterfall with the same coordinates but the description says it's a 1 mile hike to get to the falls so obviously one of the coordinates is wrong. I've passed along the issues I've discovered to the publisher and author and received a brief response from the publisher and am waiting to hear back from one of them with the correct coordinates for one waterfall. Given the amount of information she provides and that I was only able to find a couple of mistakes I think she really put a lot of work into these guides.

Overall I'm very impressed with the guides and I'm sure they will get lots of use as Donna and I continue our waterfall quests. It'll be next spring before we get a chance to use the guide. I don't think we'll be doing any more waterfall hunts this year but you never know. If we get an unusually warm weekend we may head north west to upstate South Carolina and put the guide throuh a test. Once we've had a chance to use it in the field I'll post a follow up.

Below you'll find a list of the waterfalls listed in each of the guides.

Georgia Waterfalls
Ada-Hi	Amicalola	Anna Ruby	Becky Branch
Bull Cove (North Carolina)	Cane Creek	Crow Mountain Creek	Denton Branch
Desoto	Dick's Creek	Dukes Creek	Eastatoah
Falls #1 on Waters Creek	Falls #2 on Waters Creek	Falls on Deep Gap Branch (North Carolina)	Flat Branch
Helton Creek	Hemlock	High Shoals	Holcomb and Ammons
Horse Trough	Litle Rock Creek	Little ridge Creek	Martin Creek
Minnehaha	Panther Creek	Panther and Angel	Raven cliff
Sea Creek	Sliding Rock on Wildcat Creek	Stonewall	Sylvan Mill
Toccoa	Trahlyta	Waterfalls of Tullulah Gorge

North Carolina Waterfalls
Big Bradley	Big Laurel	Bridal Veil	Bridal Veil Falls in DuPont State Forest
Bubbling Spring Branch	Bull Cove	Camp Branch	Cascade Lake Dam
Cascades on the Cullasja RIver	Cathey's Creek	Cedar Rock Creek Falls and Falls on Grogan Creek	Chestnut
Connestee	Corn Mill Shoals in Dupont State Forset	Courthouse Falls	Crabtree
Cullasaja	Denton Branch (Georgia)	Dill	Douglas
Dry	Duggers Creek	Eastatoe	Elk River
Falls on Cove Creek, Little Sliding Rock, and Cove Creek Falls	Falls on Deep Gap Branch	Falls on Long Branch	Falls on Long Branch, Hendersonville Reservoir Dam, and Falls on Fletcher Creek
Falls on Tributary of State Rock Creek and Pound Pup Falls	Falls on the West Fork of the Pigeon River	French Broad, Mill Shoals, Rooster Tail, Lower Rooster ail, and Bird Rock
Glassmine	Glen	Glen Cannon	Granny Burrell and Frolictown
Grassy Creek	Greenland Creek	Harper Creek	Hickory Nut
Hidden and Window Falls in Hanging Rock State Park	High Falls on Mills River	High Falls on the Thompson River	High Shoals Falls in South Mountain State Park
Hooker Falls in Dupont State Forest	Hunt Fish	Hurricane	Jackson
John's Jump	Juneywhank	Key	Lake Powhatan Dam
Lake Sequoyah Dam	Laughing	Little Bradley	Looking Glass
Lower Cascades in Hanging Rock State Park	Lower Falls of Upper Creek	Lower Falls on the Little Beartrap Branch	Lower Satulah
Lower and Upper Linville	McGalliard	Merry	Midnight Hole and Mouse Creek
Mingo	Mooney	Moore Cove	Moravian
North Harper Creek	Paradise	Peason's	Picklesimer Rock House
Quarry	Ranger	Raven Rock	Roaring Fork
Rough Butt Creek	Rufus Morgan	Schoolhouse and Warden's	Second Falls at Graveyard Fields
Secret	Setrock Creek	Shunkawauken	Silver Run
Silvervale	Skinny Dip Hole	Slick Rock	Sliding Rock
Soco	South Harper Creek	Stone Mountain, Middle, and Lower Falls in Stone Mountain State Park	Tom's Branch and Indian Creek
Tory's Falls in Hanging Rock State Park	Toxaway	Triple, High, and Grassy Creek Falls in DuPont State Forest	Turley
Upper Bearwallow	Upper Cascades in Hanging Rock State Park	Upper Falls at Graveyard Fields	Upper Falls of Upper Creek
Upper Falls on Little Beartrap Branch and Falls on Big Beartrap Branch	Walker	Walking Stick	Waterfall off Moore's Springs Road in Hanging Rock State Park
Waterfall on Avery Creek and Twin Falls	Waterfall on Log Hollow Branch and Falls on Tributary of Big Bearpen Branch	Waterfall on Sam Branch and Wash Hollow
Waterfalls of the Horsepasture River: Rainbow, Turtleback, Drift and Stairway	White Owl	Whitewater and Laurel	Widow's Creek Falls in Stone Mountain State Park
Wilderness	Wintergreen Falls in DuPont State Forest	wildcat and Falls on Flat Laurel Creek

South Carolina Waterfalls
Brasstown	Bull Sluice	Cedar Creek	Chau Ram
Chauga Narrows	Fall Creek	Falls on Reedy Branch	Issaqueena
King Creek	Long Creek	Opossum Creek	Pigpen and Licklog
Raven Cliff	Spoon Auger	Station Cove	Twin Falls
Upper Sloan Bridge, Lower Sloan Bridge, and Hiker's Perel			Yellow Branch

Even Siri Gets Autocorrected

2011-10-12T06:44:00.000-04:00

This morning I was watching a video on the new iPhone 4S and the capabilities Siri brings to it. The guy from macword created a note by talking to Siri. Seems iPhone 4S gets autocorrected to iPhone 4 ass. You can see it in the screen capture above :)

I knew when I bought my iPhone 4 not too long ago that something like this would happen but that's okay I'm really happy with my iPhone 4. I can't wait to see what's going to be available in two years when I can upgrade!

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T16:11:00.001-04:00

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

Thank you for thinking differently.
In doing so you changed the world.
You will be missed.

Nikon COOLPIX AW100 Camera

2011-08-24T08:12:00.000-04:00

For years I've shot nothing but Canon but now that Nikon has just announced their new Nikon COOLPIX AW100 Camera I'm buying a Nikon. I don't think I ever thought I would ever say or type those words but here I am typing them. I currently own the Canon PowerShot D10 and I have enjoyed shooting with it quite a bit but the Nikon adds GPS which I really like so that the images will be automatically geotagged for me and, as much as it pains me to say it, 1080p HD video. I'm finding myself shooting video more especially while watching birds around the house. As soon as I get it I'll publish a follow up post and a comparison between it and the Canon PowerShot D10.

So how about you? Are you looking forward to a new camera of any type?

Keeping Equipment You No Longer Use?

2011-06-09T18:00:00.001-04:00

Just curious do you keep camera equipment you're no longer using? I do and I'm beginning to wonder why I do it (aside from the packrat gene I inherited from my dad, that is). Two examples come to mind:

Canon EF-200 F 2.8L Lens. When I was shooting sports this was my lens of choice. I've shot several thousand images using this lens. It's been a great lens. Great enough that I even placed 3rd in a photo contest with a photo I took using it. Problem is these days I'm no longer shooting sports and it just doesn't have the reach I want/need for the type of nature photography I do. I suppose I could get the 1.4x extender which would take it out to 280 but that's still short. I primary shoot birds with my 400 and often wish I had something longer than that. I checked B&H Web site and this lens is now selling new for $800. I guess I need to check eBay and see what used ones are selling for these days. Let's just say this lens is worth $550 these days.

Canon Speedlite 580-EXII Flash. I bought this when Canon was offering one of their rebates and I'd be willing to say it it's been fired less than 100 times. Why? I just don't shoot in situations that require flash. I've tried using it with my nature photography and didn't really see enough improvement to warrant lugging it around all of the time. B&H sells this for $475 so let's say it's worth $350 on the used market.

So I have about $900 worth of equipment sitting on the shelf. That's crazy don't you think? So what do you do? Do you keep your equipment you're no longer using or do you sell it off on Craigslist or eBay?

Half Staff

2011-05-30T08:39:00.001-04:00

Half Staff
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Don't forget to display your flag at half staff until noon today in honor of those that made the ultimate sacrifice to our great nation.

Manual Focus Made Easy!

2011-03-24T19:30:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have already known this little trick but I just discovered it tonight. Put your lens in manual focus mode and then while adjusting the focus ring hold the shutter button down half way. When the image is in focus the viewfinder on your 7D will flash red and you'll hear the focus confirmation beeps.

I'm not sure if this tip works for all Canon cameras but it certainly did on my 7D. If you try it with a different model and it works how about letting me know.

Published!

2011-01-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

Not log ago the editor from The Piedmont Virginian magazine contacted me about publishing one of my photos in their magazine. Of course I said yes. Today I received a copy of the magazine. Below are some pictures I took of the magazine, my photo, and of course the photo credit for me! :)

Magazine Cover

My Photo

Photo Credit

WTF?!

2011-01-10T07:03:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a very long time since I've posted anything -- I'll do an update with what all has been going on in the next day or so. This morning I was reading about the possibility of an iPad version 2 being announced and I just had to ask myself WTF does that photo have to do with an iPad???

Picture of the Week (POTW) #11

2010-08-30T07:38:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 15 - 21 August 2010. Yours truly hand launching the ultra micro Champ RC airplane last Sunday morning. Donna and I took advantage of there not being any wind and headed out to a large grassy area (which you can see needs to be cut!) to fly the Champ some. This was also taken pre-propeller incident :). Donna took this using her Rebel T2i and 18-200 lens. Exposure was 1/750th at f/5.6, camera zoomed to 72mm, ISO 200.

Hand Launch
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21 Years Ago...

2010-08-27T07:02:00.000-04:00

I was blessed with the birth of my 2nd son, Andrew. Today he's serving our great nation as a Marine stationed at MCAS Miramar. Below is his photo taken during boot camp. I couldn't be a prouder of him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!

Andrew J. Jones, United States Marine
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Propeller 1 - Finger 0

2010-08-25T07:40:00.000-04:00

Monday night I added a new airplane to the hanger. Pictured below are my two RC airplanes. The small yellow one is an ultra micro HobbyZone Champ. The larger white one is an Airport Cessna 182 Sky Trainer which is the newest acquisition.

Champ and Cessna
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While checking out the controls on the Cessna the motor spun up an the plane started running off the table towards me. My reaction was to try and stop the plane with my right hand. I honestly think I just reacted without thinking too much about it. Big mistake! The spinning propeller struck my middle finger and nearly chopped it off at the first joint. Donna and I spent about 3 hours in the ER getting X-rays and stitches. Here's a couple of shots of my hand after returning from the ER.

Finger
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I've had a follow-up visit with an Orthopedic specialist and I guess I was very lucky that I didn't lose the tip of my finger. I have a new brace that I will have to wear for the next 8 weeks while my finger heals. So what have I learned from all of this - plenty:

1 - Always remove the propeller when you hook up the battery when indoors.
2 - It's better to do these checks outside.
3 - I don't have the ninja-like relexes I used to have.
4 - I have an incredible wife. Donna has bent over backwards to help me out with things I need to do even though she's in the first week of her new dental assistant program.
5 - Not being able to type with my middle finger sucks!

Picture of the Week (POTW) #10

2010-08-23T08:34:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 15 - 21 August 2010. I shot this female Banana Spider (Argiope aurantia) this past weekend while Donna and I were walking around in the Cypress Gardens Swamp. While I don't especially care for spiders what I really liked about this picture was the spider web. It's pretty amazing how spiders can create these webs. I shot this using my Canon 7D and 70-200 f/4 lens. Eposure was 1/250th at f/5.6, ISO 500. Lately I've been using Auto ISO more. Even though the camera seems to pick a higher ISO then I would have though the images are turning out well so I'm going to stick with it for a while.

Female Banana Spider
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I'm Going Flying...

2010-08-20T22:00:00.011-04:00

It's funny, to me anyway, how some things fall into place. A few months ago I saw a video of a guy using an Radio Controlled (RC) helicopter to shoot video with a Canon 7D. I was blown away by it but know flying a helicopter is no easy task and no way was I going to put my 7D on one.

Having had experience flying airplanes in the past (control line airplanes as a kid, Microsoft Flight Simulator as an adult and a little seat time in real airplanes such as a Piper J-3 Cub and Cessna 172) I figured I could learn to fly an RC airplane without too much difficulty. As usual when I want to learn something new I started searching Google, YouTube, and looking for forums that dealt with the topic. After doing my initial research Donna and I went to a a Local Hobby Store (LHS) and talked with a salesman there. If he wasn't into RC's you could have fooled me because he seemed to know everything about every plane in the store. In the end we didn't leave with a plane -- I really hadn't planned to buy one anyway. What I wanted was a simulator for RC airplanes and helicopters so that's what we bought.

Phoenix Flight Simular - Image Courtesy of Phoenix-sim.com
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I have spent hours flying a variety of airplanes and helicopters in the simulator. I found one electric airplane that I really liked flying but after discussing that specific airplane with other RC pilots all of them recommended I start with something else. It's not that I couldn't learn using the more advanced plane but let's face it, every new pilot crashes so you're better off crashing a smaller, lighter, cheaper plane than one of the larger more advanced ones. This made perfect sense to me so I started investigating trainers. Hands down the number one recommended trainer is the Hobby Zone Super Cub LP. It's a very forgiving airplane and is slow flying, spare parts are readily available and when you're ready to move up there's numerous enhancements you can make to it. I had pretty much settled on buying that but then I found out about ultra micro RC planes.

An ultra micro is a very small version of the larger airplanes. They're designed to be flow indoors, such as in a gym or you can fly them outside in calm weather. So of course I had to find out everythng there is to know about ultra micros and as luck would have it a guy posted an ad for a new in box Hobby Zone Champ so I bought it and it should be delivered sometime next week.

The Champ could be considered the little brother to the Super Cub which is one of the reasons why I decided to buy it. Another is that it is extremely light (under 2 ounces ready to fly) and like the Super Cub spares are readily available. It's also small -- its wingspan is 24 inches where the Super Cub wingspan is 48 inches. Since I've settled on the Champ I've been flying a similar model in the simulator so switching over to the real thing hopefully won't be too difficult.

Hobby Zone Champ Image Courtesty of Hobby Zone
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So what does all of this have to do with photography? Glad you asked :). Along with the Champ I've ordered a tiny key-chain video camera. I'll attach the camera to the plane and then go fly around the house or whereever and shoot video.

Once I get the hang of flying the Champ I already have my next plane in mind. I won't be jumping up to DSLR hauling planes yet but next up after the Champ will be one that is capable of hauling around a Point and Shoot. I'd like to be able to move up to a plane that can haul around a DSLR but there's one major obstacle (other than I'm not ready to strap an expensive DSLR on one yet) the wing-span for a DSLR carrying airplane is HUGE. How huge I hear you asking -- try 80 inches. That's right almost a 7 foot wingspan. That's about the width of your average couch. I know 'cause I measured our couch last night and it's just a little wider than 80 inches. Right now I don't have a car that will haul that big of a wing around either. The only possibility would be to put the seat down in the Accord and run it through the trunk and into the car.

Stay tuned -- this should be a pretty interesting adventure :). The links below are for the products I've bought. If you use them to order the product from Amazon I'll earn a small commission.

Note to Self: Always Have Camera With You!

2010-08-18T17:00:00.001-04:00

See that nice big black Black Vulture in the photo below. Yeah neither can I :). That's why I added the little caption so you could see it better. Last night while Donna and I were walking around the neighborhood we happened upon several Black and Turkey Vultures in a section of the neighborhood where they haven't started any construction yet. If I had a camera, even a pocket point and shoot I would have been able to get a better picture. I was pretty amazed at how close we were able to get before this one started giving us the evil eye. Donna took the picture below using her cellphone. So learn from my mistake -- always have a camera with you!

Black Vulture
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Scott Kelby Likes My Idea!

2010-08-17T17:00:00.001-04:00

Recently Scott Kelby recently blogged about things he'd like to see in Lightroom 4. He asked for feedback on the things we'd like so see and I added my .02 worth. Turns out he liked one of my ideas enough that it gets mentioned in a follow-up post he made. How cool is that -- to know that one of your photography heroes actually read and liked something you had to say. I rock! :)

Blog Post
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Picture of the Week (POTW) #9

2010-08-16T07:26:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 8 - 14 August 2010. It's not everyday that you see three birds all feeding from the same feeder at the same time -- at least around here this isn't something that I see happening very often. Not too long ago I moved the sunflower seed feeder so that it extends above the fence. This has proven to be a smart move. Now that the birds have discovered it it's not uncommon to see doves lined up along the fence waiting their turn to get some of the seeds and this pair of House Finches are regular visitors to our back yard. It's pretty cool to watch the birds feeding from it. I took the picture below using Donna's Rebel T2i and EF-400 lens. The camera/lens were mounted on the Induro CT314 tripod and I was using the ballhead and GHBA Gimbal Head. Exposure was 1/30th (which I find somewhat surprising given the bright side lighting) at f/5.6, ISO 100. At the top left is a male House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), on the bottom is a female House Finch and standing on the fence post is a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura).

Three on a Tree
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iPod Camera Connection Kit

2010-08-12T08:18:00.000-04:00

After weeks for waiting for Apple to have it in stock (I wasn't about to pay double or triple the cost as some vendors are charging for this stupid thing) the iPod Camera Connection Kit is here!

iPod Camera Connection Kit
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My first impression is that Apple is making a HUGE profit from these kits. I'd be willing to bet their cost is probably less than a buck and they get away with charging 30 bucks for it. Oh well a fool and his money are soon parted as my dad used to say. Downloading images from the Rebel T2i is very straight forward. Insert the card into the reader and then the reader into the iPad and then you're given the option to pick and choose which images to import or you can import them all at once. Importing isn't the fastest I've ever seen but considering it's transferring 20+ MB files over USB 2.0 connection it works good enough.

Unfortunately transferring images from the 7D isn't quite as easy. My current card reader is the Dynex model DX-CR121 shown in the picture above. When I connect it to the iPad I get an error message about the device using too much power which means it's not compatible with the iPad :(. I can download by connecting the 7D directly to the iPad but that's a pain. I'd like to be able to use my camera while images are being downloaded.

I've read that some Lexar card readers work and found one on eBay that I bought and will try out as soon as it gets here. If you have a card reader that works with the iPad Camera Connection Kit please leave me a comment with the manufacturer and model number so I and others will know what does work.

Quick Tip: Handy Tripod Adjustment Technique

2010-08-11T17:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick tip for you regarding tripod adjustment. When I bought the Induro CT314 tripod I knew it would extend to a height taller than eye level for me. I've been trying to figure out a way to quickly adjust the tripod to my working height when setting it up. I realize each time you use it you may have to do some tweaking here and there but I was trying to figure out a quick way to get to a basic starting point. I had considered adjusting it and then paintiing a stripe around the tripod legs but decided against that because it just seems wrong to cover up those beautiful carbon fiber legs :). After trying all kinds of different ideas: width of camera body, length of lens, length of a dollar bill, etc I finally came up with something that works and I'll never forget to bring 'em.

Handy Tripod Adjustment
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That's right my hands are what I use to get the base tripod settings. What I do is fully extend the bottom and middle legs and then extend the top leg the width of my two hands. This gives me nice starting point for setting up the tripod. From here I can easly adjust each leg up or down as needed.

Ground Pod Working Height

2010-08-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

As I have experimented with DIY Ground Pod ideas one thing that has come to mind is what is the working height of the ground pod. Afterall what good is having a Ground Pod if you have to contort yourself into a pretzel to use it?! With this in mind I setup my gear on the PVC Ground Pod, Frying Pan Ground Pod and Induro Tripod with legs fully splayed.

Working Height PVC Ground Pod
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Working height for the PVC Ground Pod is approximately 10 inches with Gimbal Head installed.

Working Height of Frying Pan Ground Pod
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Working height of the Frying Pan Ground Pod is approximatley 11 inches with Gimbal Head installed. I've done some shooting with this setup and it works pretty. What's cool, silly as it sounds, is the sound that resonates through the frying pan when you click the shutter.

Working Height of Induro Tripod
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Working height is a little less than 16 inches when using the Induro CT314 tripod with Gimbal Head installed. I'm beginning to think I may not need a Ground Pod afterall. My Induro Tripod gets me within a few inches of the other two solutions and I'll always have my Induro Tripod with me. I guess I'll know for sure after I've had a chance to try all of the different soltuions out in the coming days.

For those of you that have a Ground Pod, either store bought or DIY what's your approximate working height? I realize there's numerous factors such as ballhead height, Gimbal Head height, etc but I'd be curious to know how low your ground pod gets you.

More Ground Pod Modifications

2010-08-11T06:59:00.000-04:00

I did some additional modifications to the PVC Ground Pod idea to see if I could make things a bit more stable and I found a simple solution that works.

Stable PVC Ground Pod
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By drilling and screwing three screws into the PVC pipe as shown above the issue with the ballhead/gimbal head rotating was resolved.

Modified PVC Ground Pod
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I shot a few shots in the back yard with this setup and it seems work work well. I'll have to try it out in the field sometime this week and see how it performs. I think this solution may work -- it's light, will breakdown and fit in my backpack for sure but I don't know if it's quite stable enough to hold the ballhead/gimbal head & camera/lens. Notice how much wider the ballhead is than the PVC pipe. One benefit of living in a neighborhood where there's new construction going on is with a little scrounging about you can find stuff for DIY projects. As luck would have it I scored a short section of thicker PVC pipe last night so now I have yet another idea for a DIY Ground Pod. I'll be working on that idea tonight so stay tuned -- there's more to come.

Picture of the Week (POTW) #8

2010-08-10T07:14:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 1 - 7 August 2010. This is the large knob as it is known at Pilot Mountain State Park in King, North Carolina. If you view the larger version you can make out a few birds soaring around it. Most of what we saw were either Turkey or Black Vultures though there's supposed to be several Hawks in the area as well. Donna took this with her Rebel T2i, 18-200mm lens, zoomed to 33mm, 1/250th at f/5.6, ISO 100. Not that I'm keeping count or anything but I think this makes 3 weeks in a row that we selected on of her pictures.

Pilot Mountain State Park, King, NC
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Ground Pod Modifications

2010-08-09T22:00:00.001-04:00

In my DIY Ground Pod Post I posted some ideas I had for a DIY Ground Pod. I've had a chance to do some more experimenting and here's the results from the first round of experiments....

Inverted Frying Pan
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This new configuration works much better but I'll tell you it was a pain to saw that damn handle off of the pan!

Nut and Bolt on Bottom Side of Pan
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By inverting the pan there's no longer a problem with the nut and bolt extending from the base and getting snagged on something.

No More Handle and Lid for Base
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I had considered gluing the pan to the bucket lid since I can't use it now but I think I'm going to hold off on doing that for now. If I do glue it then I'll still need to leave some sort of opening so that I can get to the bolt to be able to loosen the ballhead from it. If you'll look closely you'll see that after getting 3/4 of the way through the handle I got tired of sawing and just bent it back and forth until it broke :).

In Use With Liveview
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This setup works pretty well. Of course I think most setups would when you're shooting from a nice smooth concrete pad :). I will try and do some field testing this week or this coming weekend.

Know Your Knobs!
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I did learn something today and that's to make sure you know your knobs. See how the two knobs are close together in the picture above? Well twice I loosened the knob for the lens plate when I meant to loosen the knob for the lens so I could rotate it. Next time I'll position the knob for the lens plate towards the bottom so there's only one knob on top. Don't make this mistake!

How to Screw Up a Photo Op

2010-08-09T19:58:00.000-04:00

This past weekend Donna and I traveled to Winston-Salem, NC to celebrate my 30 year high school reunion. On Saturday we drove up to Pilot Mountain in King, NC and spent part of the day hiking around the knob. The picture below is of Pilot Mountain and was taken from the scenic overlook beside the highway heading to it.

Pilot Mountain
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After driving to the top of little knob as it is known (the little bump on the left side of the photo above) Donna and I walked around the trails there and we found a cool spot to take a photo of the two of us. I had her sit on the rocks while I adjusted the tripod/camera and took a test shot. We used her camera because it had the 18-200 lens mounted and I had the 55-250 on my 7D. I figured we'd want a nice wide angle shot to get as much of the surrounding area in the photo. I took a test shot and it looked good enough in camera so I climbed up on the rocks and using the wireless remote shutter release took some pictures of us. It wasn't until we got back to the hotel and I downloaded the photos that I discovered the problem you see below.

Lenshood Vignetting
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See the solid black in the corners and side of the photo? You can especially see it on the left hand side. That's called vignetting and while it happens from time to time when shooting at a wide angle this was caused by the lenshood I was using on the lens. Instead of spending $30+ for a lens-specific hood I thought I'd save a few bucks and buy an off brand lenshood that mounted by threading onto the lens like a filter would. I'm not sure if I would have had vignetting from the lens specific hood or not but I'll find out after I get one.

What did I learn from this little experience? ALWAYS test your new gear before going out and using it when you may be planning to take that special photograph. I went through the photos we had taken that day and there's probably 7 - 10 of them that have this problem. Sure I can get rid of it by cropping but if I had taken the time to fully test the lenshood before using it out in the field I would have known that it vignettes and would have used a different focal length to avoid this problem to begin with.

DIY Ground Pod Ideas

2010-08-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

Recently I watched some Moose Peterson training on the Kelby Training web site. The training was on shooting birds in Florida and during it he used a ground pod. His was a nice looking medal one which he promptly sat in an inverted frisbee so he could slide it on the sand easier. When I saw him using it I knew I wanted one so after checking around online and discovering companies want $150.00 for one I figured there's got to be some sort of DIY solution. There's a great example of one on YouTube just search for DIY Ground Pod to check it out.

While walking through Lowes the other night I saw these bucket lids at the end of one of the rows in the paint department. Immediately I thought about the ground pod so I bought two of them and enough 3/8 inch nuts and bolts to try and create my DIY ground pod. I ended up coming up with 4 ideas for creating a ground pod and this post summaries each of those proposed solutions.

Possible Ground Pod Solutions
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Solution #1 - The bucket lid

Ballhead Mounted to Bucket Lid
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At first I thought the bucket lid was going to be the perfect solution. It was light, made of plastic so I couldn't have to worry about water, and it looked like there was enough room to put the bolt through it and not have it drag on the ground.

Bad Idea
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In order to not have the bolt drag on the ground I would either need to cut it or provide some kind of spacer to fill this gap (NOTE TO SELF -- use a wooden block to fill the gap -- sorry I had to write that idea down before I forgot it).

Better Idea
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Using this configuration for the nut and bolt allows the ballhead to be mounted closer to the lid but it's still too flexible to use so at this point the bucket lid is a no-go. I'll update this post after I have a chance to try a wooden spacer.

Solution #2 - The Frying Pan

Yes that is a non-stick frying pan. We recently bought a couple of new ones so I was able to use this one for my little project.

Nut and Bolt Attached to Pan
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If you think about it the pan will be sitting on the ground so having the nut and bolt extending from the bottom shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Camera Mounted
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While this setup seems to work who honestly wants to lug around a frying pan all day. I suppose if I cut off the handle it would be a little easier to manage but it's held on with four big rivets and I'm not sure I want to try and grind them off. I think I'll save this for when I have to go shoot some place where I could use a frying pan for protection :)

Solution #3 - The block of Wood

I wanted to try this setup after watching the video on YouTube so I grabbed a piece of scrap wood and drilled holes in it as you can see below.

Counter Sunk Bolt on Bottom of Wood
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Top of Wood
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The mounting method shown below has some promise to it but there's one big flaw. The wood isn't wide enough to provide proper support. When mounted like this everything tends to fall to the left.

Camera Mounted
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Shown below is the mounting method that worked best so far. I think If I added some sort of extension to the piece of wood I may have a workable DIY Ground Pod.

Alternate Camera Mount
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Solution #4 - PVC Pipe

On the way home today I got the idea of using some PVC pipe I had left over from a project so I clobbered together a "T" using connectors, caps, and pipe I had available. Below shows the mounting bolt ready for the ballhead.

PVC Pipe Mount
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Here's the camera mounted on the PVC T and this seems to work pretty well. I think I may be onto something with this one.

Camera Mounted
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Granted I didn't glue the pipes together and you probably wouldn't want to either to keep things portable but there's one problem with this solution as it is now. The weight of everything mounted on the PVC pipe makes it want to rotate at this T fitting. I'm certain this problem could be solved by either gluing the short PVC pipe into the base of the T fitting or drilling a hole and putting a set screw in it to stop the rotation or drilling a hole all the way through the base of the T fitting and using some sort of pin to prevent the ballhead from rotating from side to side.

Rotation Point
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So out of the four possible solutions there's two of them that may work. I'll post and update after I've had a chance to tweak things about. If you've already been there and done that or have any ideas I'd love to hear them.

Time Machine: Next Stop 1984

2010-08-05T20:18:00.000-04:00

This weekend I'll be attending my 30 year high school reunion. It still seems like yesterday to me. One thing I did this week was to go through some old photos from years gone by and I found a few that I took while I was in the Air Force stationed in Iceland. I was part of the 667 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and we were known as "The Bear Eaters" because our mission was to track the movement of Soviet "Bear" aircraft. It was while I was in Iceland that I bought my first SLR. The Canon AE-1 program. I elected to buy this model because it was more advanced than the AE-1 because it had a program mode. You basically set it and left the camera figure things out. So if you've ever wondered how long that green full auto mode has been on the dial well it dates back to at least 1984. Below are four photos from my year in Iceland. These date back to 1984 and were scanned with a cheap all in one printer scanner so the quality pretty much sucks.

Out on the Rocks
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That's me with my trusty AE-1 and 70-300 zoom lens.

Self Portrait - Hair Parted in Center
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Self Portrait - Hair Parted on Side
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I couldn't decide which way to part my hair so I took pictures of two different ways. I'm pretty sure the lens was a 50mm 1.8.

Incoming!
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I guess I've been shooting birds a lot longer than I originally thought :). I remember this shot. My buddy Lonnie Davis and I were out shooting and we stumbled upon a nest for this Tern (I think it's a Tern). Well our presence wasn't appreciated by the bird I looked up and snapped this as the bird was diving down at me to. I have no idea what the camera settings were nor the lens used but to this day this remains one of my favorite photos.

So there you have it a trip back to 1984. Hope you enjoyed the journey :). Donna and I will be married for 20 years in 2012 and we're actually talking about going to Iceland for a week long photo shoot. I'd love to go back as it's a beautiful country.

Book Review: 100 Ways to take better Nature & Wildlife Photographs

2010-08-03T12:00:00.002-04:00

I recently finsihed working my way through Guy Edwardes' 100 Ways to take better Nature & Wildlife Photographs and I learned a lot from it. Such as I need to buy more gear :). The editors of this book were very smart to put the photo on the cover that they did. This is exactly the type of photo I want to take so as soon as I saw the cover I was sold. The book could have been complete rubbish and I still would have bought it. Fortunately the book is far from rubbish. The book is about 90% photo hints and tips and about 10% post processing which is fine with me. I probably underprocess my images but I'd rather spend my time out shooting than sitting behind a computer tweaking an image to the inth degree.

Here's some things I'll be adding to my equipment to buy list and reason for adding them:

1 - Small handheld mirror -- for checking my look, you know I want to look nice for the critters :). Seriously though this is so I can reflect light onto a subject if it's not evenly lit.

2 - Extension tubes -- to allow for closer focusing distances with telephoto lenses.

3 - Small foldable reflectors - to serve the same purpose as #1 but to do so with different lighting.

4 - 1.4x extender - to give me extra reach. This is probably the first thing I will buy. I can use it with my EF-200 2.8 to give me an EF 280 f/4 which is pretty close to the 300mm focal length that's pretty popular for nature photography.

5 - Battery grip - I've used them with my Rebel XT, 40D and 5D and just need to buy one for the 7D.

I'm sure there's other things I'd like to add to the list but that's plenty for now :).

I really liked the format of the book. For each tip the author described it in detail and provided a photo sample that was taken using the tip. He also included exposure information for each photo included in the book. For me this is a big help. I realize that every shot is going to have its own unique requirements but being able to see what the photographer used to get that particular shot at least gives me a starting point to work from.

A couple of things I learned from it that I've been experimenting with include manually selecting a single focus point instead of using all 19 or any of the focus zones available on the 7D and to slow down and think about the shot before pressing the shutter. Sure I'll still use spray and pray for birds in flight but for static subjects I'm spending more time composing the shot than I have in the past. I suppose another lesson I learned is to just slow down, take it easy and enjoy the environment (which I'll admit can be tough to do when there's gnats or misquitos flying about).

Regarding the cover photo that sold me on the book. That's a Black-tailed Godwit and was photographed in Texel, Holland using a Canon 1DS, EF 500 with 1.4x extender. 1/500th at f/8, ISO 250.

Below is a link for the book on Amazon. If you use it to buy the book I'll earn a small commission and you'll learn 100 ways to improve your nature and wildlife photos.

Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel 7D

2010-08-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

If you read the previous post I did regarding the Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel T2i then you already know the scoop behind this post. If you haven't either click the link above or here's a brief introduction. Below is a series of pictures shot using each of the 19 focus points on the 7D. The objective is to see which of those points line up with a rule of thirds grid.

Simulated 7D Focusing Screen
Click Image to View Larger Version

Another masterpiece I created all by myself. Move over Scott Kelby there's a new Photoshop guy in town :).

Keep in mind the focus point was placed, as close as possible on the hole in the front door of the bird house so we'll be looking at how close that hole is in relation to the rule of thirds grid lines.

01
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This picture was taken using focus point #1. As you can see using the center point doesn't come close to any of the grid lines but still for birds in flight this is the point I'll use most often.

02
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #2. It's better because it falls just below the upper horizontal line.

03
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #3. As you can see this is very close to falling on the exact intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines. I'll be using this focus point more in the future.

04
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #4. It's not even close so unless it gets selected when shooting using all 19 focus points I'm not likely to use it.

05
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This shot was taken after moving the focus point to #5. It's a little low as far as the upper horizontal line goes but because it is pretty close to the horizontal line it's worth using.

06
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #6. Because it falls well out side of either line I'm not likely to use it.

07
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #7. It's close but not really close enough that I'd likely use it.

08
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #8. Like #3 above this one is pretty close to falling right on the lower right hand intersection. This will be a preferred focus point in the future.

09
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #9. Again it's close but not quite close enough in my book.

10
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #10. It would to in a pinch if I couldn't select a better focus point to use.

11
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #11. Close but not close enough.

12
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #12. Like #3 and #8 before it I'm making it a preferred focusing point.

13
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #13. Nope, doesn't cut it, IMO. Which is odd because 13 has been a lucky number for me.

14
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #14. It will work since it falls along a vertical line but it's not an optimal focus point.

15
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #15. It can join #13 in the I won't be using focus point club.

16
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #16. It's close but not likely to be used very often.

17
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #17. Bingo another one that comes very close to matching the exact intersection. So far we have #3, #8, #12 and #17 in the preferred focus point club.

18
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #18. It falls above the upper horizontal line so I probably wouldn't use it.

19
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This picture was taken after moving the focus point to #19. Although it falls below the horizontal line it's pretty close so I suppose it could be used in a pinch.

So in my opinion the optimal focus points to use with your 7D if you want to follow the rule of thirds are #3, #8, #12, and #17. Do you agree or disagree? Discuss....

Induro Gear Guide Part 6 - Wrap Up

2010-08-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Part 6 of my Induro Gear Guide. Hopefully the information I've provided in the first 5 parts will prove to be useful to anyone that's going through the process of buying or considering upgrading a tripod, ballhead or investing in a Gimbal Head. Shown below is my back yard birding blind. I know, I have it pretty tough don't I. Nice Lanai (upgraded with a ceiling fan this weekend!) and a glass of wine make for a fine time shooting or just watching the birds. I try to spend some time each day out here shooting and my default setup is what you see here. Depending on my mood I'll either shoot with the T2i or 7D. My investment in Induro gear breaks down as follows:

CT314 tripod - $550.00
Short Center Column - $55.00
BHD3 Ballhead - $228.00
GHBA Gimbal Head - $204.00
Extra long lens plate - $27.00

Did I ever dream I would have invested over $1000 in a tripod setup? Not in a million years but am I totally satisfied with my purchases? Absolutely. If I were doing it all over again there's probably one thing I would have done differently. No, I don't think I would have. Right now having the ability to just use the ballhead or use ballhead and Gimbal Head gives me many more options than I would have if I bought the GHB1 Gimbal Head. When the day comes that I do get the Canon 500mm Super Telephoto you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be buying either the GHB1 or GHB2 to use with it. When it comes to tripods, ballheads and Gimbal Heads Induro will always be the first place I check when it's time to buy new gear.

Birding Location
Click image to view larger

Picture of the Week (POTW) #7

2010-08-02T08:29:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 25 Jul - 31 Jul 2010. Donna took this one while photographing a Ruby-throated hummingbird at our window feeder. This is the same hummingbird pictured in the Bad Hair Day post. In this one as you can see the hummingbird is looking into the house while our cat, Tiger is looking out at the hummingbird. She shot this with her Rebel T2i and EF-S 55-250 lens at 55mm. Exposure was 1/90th at f/4, ISO 125 (the camera must have been set for auto ISO to get that kind of ISO number).

Looking in and Looking out
Click to view larger version

This is two weeks in a row for Donna. Looks like I need to step up my game a bit.

Bad Hair Day

2010-08-01T21:53:00.000-04:00

So have you ever wondered what it's like to be a Ruby-throated humming bird and get caught out in a rain shower without your umbrella? Well the photo below should give you some idea. :)

Bad Hair Day

Donna took this one through the window in the dining area of the kitchen. She used her Rebel T2i, EF-S 55-250 zoomed to 250mm, 1/80th at f/5.6, ISO 800.

Rule of Thirds with the Canon Rebel T2i

2010-07-31T20:21:00.000-04:00

Recently I've noticed a trend where photographers have been talking about getting it right in the camera to minimize the amount of post processing that is done. One way of getting it right in camera is, if you follow it, is to use the rule of thirds when composing your shot. If you're not familiar with the rule of thirds here's a very brief overview of it.

For any picture if you were to place a tic-tack-toe grid over it where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect are the best spots to position the main subject of the picture. There's more to it than that but that should give you a basic understanding which is all that's needed.

This morning I was experimenting with the Rebel T2i and wanted to see if any of its 9 individual focus points aligned the a rule of thirds grid. I mounted the camera on my tripod and then one-by-one shot the same picture using each of the 9 focus points. Afterwards I loaded the images into Photoshop and added a rule of thirds grid over them.

Simulated Rebel T2i Focusing Screen

I have some mad Photoshop skills don't I? I created that simulated focusing screen from scratch! In each of the photos below, numbered 01 through 09 the number below the photo corresponds with the focusing point shown above. For all shots I focused on the hole in the front door of the birdhouse. Also you can click on each image to view a larger version which makes it easier to see the grid.

This 1st picture was taken using the center point. As you can see everything is nicely centered between the two vertical lines of the grid. The center point is probably the most used focusing point when folks don't use all 9. I know I used it a ton when shooting sports and still use it quite a but when trying to shoot birds in flight. The center focusing point is also the only cross-type sensor on the camera which means it works better than the remaining 8 due to its extra sensitivity.

This 2nd picture was taken after moving the focus point to #2. As you can see it does a pretty good job of aligning with the intersection used by the rule of thirds. I plan to use this focusing point from now own whenever I want to compose a picture where the main subject is in the upper right hand corner.

This 3rd picture was taken after moving the focus point to #3. As you can see it's outside of the grid lines so I really can't think of a time when I would use it off the top of my head.

This 4th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #4. Just like with #2 is does a darn good job of lining up with the rule of thirds grid. So far points #2 and #4 are on the "to use" list.

This 5th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #5. While doesn't line up with one of the vertical lines it does remain on the lower horizontal line so it's one I would use in a pinch. #2 and #4 remain my preferred choices for subjects on the right side of the frame.

This 6th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #6. Like #2 and #4 before it I'll use this one for subjects appearing in the lower left hand portion of the frame. We're up to three preferred focusing points #2, #4, #6.

This 7th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #7. It has the same issues as #3 only on the opposite side of the frame.

This 8th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #8. Like #2, #4, and #6 it does a very good job aligning with the horizontal and vertical intersection of the grid. It's one I'll use for sure.

This 9th picture was taken after moving the focus point to #9. Like #5 it falls along the horizontal line so it's one that I'd use if for some reason I didn't use #2 or #8.

Am I trying to say that I'll only use 5 of the 9 focusing points on the Rebel T2i from now on? Nope, not at all. What I'm suggesting is when you want to follow the rule of thirds (and we all know rules were meant to be broken) I'll use focusing points #2, #4, #6 and #8 as the composition I'm going for warrants. I would encourage you to repeat this same sort of test with subjects you like to shoot.

Oh and for the curious all shots were taken with Donna' Rebel T2i and EF-S 55-250 lens set at 55mm. Lens and camera were mounted on the Induro CT314 Tripod. Aperture was set to f/8 and shutter speed varied, ISO 100.

Induro Gear Guide Part 5 - Balancing Your Camera/Lens on the GHBA Gimbal Head

2010-07-30T07:31:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Part 5 of my Induro Gear Guide. This part was originally going to be the wrap up but while reading some documentation about the GHBA Gimbal Head I decided to add another part before the wrap up. Basically the documentation said that a properly balanced camera/lens should remain in the last position you place it even with the main tension knob for the Gimbal Head completely loose. This got the wheels turning because I was wondering how close to achieving this I have been with the way I have been mounting the camera/lens onto the Gimbal Head. Normally I would align the center marks on the clamp and quick release plate and shoot away as shown below.

Initial Installation

Normally I keep some tension on the camera/lens using the main tension knob so for grins I decided to loosen the tension knob completely to see what would happen. The result is shown below.

Not Good

Not good at all! Clearly the camera was way out of balanace and needs to be adjusted within the quick release clamp. Since it was tail heavy I knew I needed to slide the camera/lens forward in the quick release plate and try again. I tried moving the camera forward about half of the available distance I could move it forward. Locked it down and then manually leveled the camera. When I released the camera the nose still tilted up, but no where near as bad as it did the first time. I don't have a picture of the camera/lens that's not zoomed in on the clamp but you can get an idea of how it looks based on the angle of the camera/lens as shown below.

Better

While the balance was certainly better after the first adjustment I decided to move it a little further and try the test again. This time when I released the camera/lens it didn't move or if it did it barely moved. As you can see from the picture below I had to move the lens plate pretty far forwad to achive the proper balance. I haven't had a chance to shoot with the camera/lens in this new postion but I'll be trying it out this coming weekend and will post a follow up next week.

Balanced

If/When you buy a Gimbal Head you'll probably want to invest in an extra long lens plate which is what I have attached to the 400 lens. The one I bought is from Berno and costs $27.00. The link below is for the plate on Amazon. If you use it to buy the plate I'll earn a small commission and you'll get a plate that'll allow you to achieve a perfectly balanced camera/lens combo on your Gimbal Head.

Scott Kelby's Lightroom 3 Book

2010-07-29T17:30:00.006-04:00

Without a doubt one of my favorite photography related authors is Scott Kelby. I really connect with his writing style and sense of humor he includes in his books. When I ordered the replacement GPS Photo Tracker I also ordered his newest book for Lightroom 3.

Scott Kelby's Lightroom 3 Book

I bought Lightroom when version 1 was released but didn't really use it much. I felt Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) was good enough for me (yes I'm an idiot sometimes). When Lightroom 2 was released I upgraded and the decided to really start using it. Man oh man am I glad I did. Now that Lightroom 3 is out I rarely launch DPP and when I do it's normally to check the details of a photo to decide if I want to import it into Lightroom or not. After I've had a chance to go through the book I'll post an in-depth review of it. If you want to pick up your own copy from Amazon use the link below to buy it and I'll earn a small commission.

Replacement AMOD GPS Photo Tracker

2010-07-29T17:00:00.003-04:00

AMOD GPS Photo Tracker

Last weekend I was an idiot and left my GPS Photo Tracker on the hood of the truck while Donna and I left to go shoot some pictures. After searching our yard and neighbors yards we came up empty so I ordered a replacement and it arrived yesterday. I use this to record a track log while Donna and I are out shooting and then use RoboGEO software to embed the GPS information into the EXIF data stored in the image. Once that is done I can upload the photo to flickr and it will automatically appear on a map showing the exact location where the photo was taken. Another cool feature is when your photos contain the GPS information is the Photo Album on our iPod Touch and iPad have the ability to show a map where the photos were taken. I have used this model of GPS tracker for a couple of years now and it has always performed flawlessly. It uses 3 AAA batteries and easily records a full day of our travels to the log files it creates. What I normally do is turn it on before we leave the house and then put in into a holder on the front strap of my backpack and there it'll sit all day dutifully logging our position while Donna and I are out shooting photos. If you want one the link below will take you to Amazon where you can buy it and I'll get a small commission.

Induro Gear Guide Part 4 - Induro GHBA Gimbal Head

2010-07-29T11:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to part 4 of my Induro Gear Guide. In this part we'll take a look at the Induro GHBA Gimbal Head. Which I'm sure stands for Gimbal Head Bad Ass because it totally is :). According to the Induro web site it weighs 1.1 pounds and for lenses up to 300mm. But Zack you're using it with a 400 are you stupid or what for exceeding the lens focal length recommendation? Well here's the scoop on that. I bought the GHBA before Induro added the the focal length recommendation. When I read this on the web site I contacted Induro asking for clarification. I'll summarize the response I received from Induro and then move on with my discussion of the GHBA Gimbal Head. The short direct answer is: it works with the 400, don't sweat it. :)

The longer answer is: Seems a lot of folks were asking Induro about a maximum focal length or lens weight for the various Gimbal Heads so Induro added this information to their web site just recently. Because there are so many different factors that come into play: camera body/lens combo, battery grip installed or not, flash attached or not, the length of the lens, etc they decided using a focal length was the best way to make a recommendation.

While I was waiting to hear back from Induro I did some of my own investigation. I wanted to see how the weight of my EF 400 lens compared to the EF 300 f/4 and EF 300 f/2.8. According to the specifications I found on the B&H Web Site my 400 weighs 2.8 pounds. The 300 f/4 weighs 2.6 pounds and the 300 2.8 weighs 6 pounds. Let's assume the camera body weighs another 2 pounds that would put my 400 with body at 4.8 pounds, the 300 f/4 at 4.6 pounds and the 300 2.8 at 8 pounds. Based upon that I would say as long as your camera/lens combo weighs 8 pounds or less the GHBA Gimbal Head should support it just fine. One very important caveat is that you are using a lens that has a tripod collar and you're mounting it to the GHBA Gimbal Head using that and not trying to attach it using the camera body.

Here's what I'll do since I'm such a nice guy. If you have any doubt that your camera/lens combination will work with the GHBA Gimbal Head send me your camera and lens for testing and I'll let you know if it works or not :)

With the Ballhead quick release plate locked into the groove on the side of the ballhead you slide the GHBA Gimbal Head into position and lock it down as shown below. You'll also want to tighten the main tension knob on the Ballhead. You don't want the Gimbal Head moving around in the Ballhead socket while you're trying to use it.

Induro GHBA Gimbal Head on BHD3 Ballhead

One thing that concerned be before I bought the Gimbal Head was how is it held in position so that it can't accidentally slide out of the quick release clamp if it should accidentally loosen up. See those two little tabs in the picture below -- that's how it's done. What you do is open the quick relase clamp and insert the Gimbal Head then slide it down until the tabs are resting against the side of the clamp and the securely tighten the tension knob to lock it into place. Once that's done you're ready to mount your camera/lens and start shooting.

Locking Tabs

Depending on who you ask you'll get different answers to the question -- Which side should be used when mounting the lens? According to famed wild life photographer Moose Peterson you should use a right side mount as pictured below. His reasoning is this allows you to rest your left hand on the lens for proper long lens technique. He recommends placing your left hand on top of the lens when shooting. He may be on to something since he routinely shoots with 500 and 600mm lenses but he's also using a different Gimbal Head so perhaps that has something to do with it as well.

GHBA Gimbal Head with Canon EF 400 Lens Right Side Mount

My preferred method is to mount the lens as shown below. Instead of resting my hand on the lens I normally rest it on top of the "T". This allows me to accomplish three tasks without removing my hand from the shutter button: (1) I can manually focus the lens, if needed, (2) I can loosen/tighten the tension knob on the lens if I want to change orientation, and (3) I can control the tension on the main tension knob if it needs adjustment. So who's method is better? Well mine of course, but seriously it doesn't really matter which method you use. Try them both and see which one works best for you. If you're currently using this style of Gimbal Head I'd love to hear if you use a righty or lefty mount.

GHBA Gimbal Head with Canon EF 400 Lens Left Side Mount

One thing you'll read about when researching Gimbal Heads is how they provide a near weightless feeling when your camera/lens are mounted and balanced properly. (Probably balance can be achieved by sliding the lens forward or backwards in the quick release mount. That's why I have a long lens plate attached to the EF 400). What they say is true, it's not marketing hype. I resisted going with a Gimbal Head because I felt there was no way that it would work for me. I felt I would be too constrained using it. My background is in sports photography so I'm used to being able to move the camera into any position I want as the action changes to get the shot. I don't feel the least bit constrained using the Gimbal Head and the set up you see above his now how I shoot most of the time.

I am 100% certain my birding photography has improved since I've started using a Gimbal Head. That being said is do I have any dislikes or regrets about buying it? Yes but again my dislike is one that I probably shouldn't mention but will anyway. I'm slowly incorporating flash into my birding photography and right now there isn't any kind of accessory bracket available that would allow me to mount my flash above the camera like you can with similary style Gimbal Head manufacturered by a different company. I have a son that is currently serving as an Aircraft Mechanic in the Marines (Quick shout out to all service men and women in all branches. A huge THANK YOU for your service) and I'm going to see if he can use his sheet metal skills to fabricate something for me. Of course the ultimate solution would be if Induro made one for all of their Gimbal Heads. That would make me one happy camper.

I also have one regret after buying this Gimbal Head. Had I known in advance that I would enjoy using it so much I wouldn't have bought the BHD3 BallHead and GHBA Gimbal Head. I would have gone right for either the GHB1 or GHB2 Gimbal Head instead. Using a Gimbal Head has changed my game that much that I always want to shoot with it. For now, though the combination of Ballhead and separate Gimbal Head gives me the best of both worlds. When I do get that Canon Super Telephoto I'll probably buy the GHB2 Gimbal Head to go along with it but we'll see by the time I can buy that lens Induro may have come out with a GHB3 or something else that would work better for me.

Cost for the Induro GHBA Gimbal Head - $204.00. The link below is for the Ballhead on Amazon. If you use it to purchase one I'll receive a little commission and you'll get an easy to use Gimbal Head that you'll love as much as I love mine.

Induro Gear Guide Part 3 - Induro BHD3 Ballhead

2010-07-29T07:04:00.000-04:00

Welcome to part 3 of my Induro Gear Guide. In this part we'll take a look at the Induro BHD3 ballhead. I don't know what BHD really stands for but to me it means Big Heavy Duty and that's a good thing! This ballhead is a beast and I couldn't be happier with it. According to the Induro web site it weighs 2.2 pounds and is rated for a maximum load of 55 pounds. While I doubt I'll never have any camera gear that is that heavy it's nice to know I'll not outgrow this ballhead anytime soon.

Induro BHD3 Ballhead

Mounting the ballhead to the tripod is as simple as screwing it on. One feature that I probably should have covered when writing about the tripod and is absolute genius, in my opinion, is the inclusion of set screws in the base of the tripod head. After screwing the ballhead onto the base you can tighten the set screws to securely lock the ballhead onto the tripod center column. I can't tell you how many times with my previous setup that I'd pan to the left only to have the ballhead start to come loose from the tripod center column. I probably could have fixed it with a little locktite but I didn't have any at the house and never remembered to buy any when I was shopping at the local Lowes.

Canon 7D mounted on BHD3 Ballhead

Once mounted on the tripod you can mount your camera or lens using any Arca-Swiss compatible quick release plate. I have several universal ones that I bought off of eBay that I use with various cameras and lens tripod collars. Kirk Enterprises sells universal plates for $17.00 each and I bought enough for each camera body and tripod collar that I own. This allows me to attach the plate to each camera/lens and leave it there instead of having to swap it out when I want to use a different camera/lens.

Canon EF 400 f/5.6L Lens

To facilitate with balancing your camera/lens the quick release mount on the tripod and some quick release plates come marked with a center line. By aligning these two marks the camera/lens is centered properly on the ballhead as shown below. Also notice that the plate installed is longer than the tripod mount. This allows you to either slide the plate forwards or backwards as needed to customize the balance. For example I may mount the lens centered as shown when shooting with the Rebel T2i because it's lighter than my 7D. When I shoot with the 7D I may adjust the position slightly forward or backwards to adjust for the heavier camera body.

Ballhead and Mounting Plate Alignment Marks

The beauty of using a ballhead is that you have a virtually infinite amount of positions you can use to position the camera. This takes a bit of getting used to at first but once you use one for any length of time you'll never want to go back to using a regular tilt/pan head. By adjusting the various knobs on it you can control just how much tension is required to move the camera/lens. If I'm shooting a static subject I'll often lock the ballhead in place to make sure I have the most stable platform possible. Also, notice the notch cut into the side of the ballhead. This allows you to rotate the camera/lens combination to the side. This makes it possible to shoot in either a horizontal or portrait mode without having to remove the camera. If you're shooting with a lens that thas a tripod color like the EF 400 does then you can loosen its tension knob and rotate the camera which is very handy.

Cutout on Side of Ballhead

With the ballhead adjusted over to the side as shown below you can actually use it like a Gimbal Head in a pinch but as you'll see in part 4 using a Gimbal Head is SO much nicer than trying to use this setup. Something else I would do is instead of positioning the knob down as shown below I would position it towars the top so that it doesn't hit against the ballhead body.

Lens Mounted Sideways

I have no doubt that this ballhead will exceed my needs regardless of which camera/lens I mount on it. Is there anything I don't like about it? Glad you asked I have one minor nit and I honestly shouldn't mention it because it's so trivial. The knob on the bottom left in the picture above is the knob that controls how much tension is applied when you rotate the ballhead. Despite loosening it as far as it will loosen the ballhead still requires more resistance than I would expect to rotate the camera. See, I told you I shouldn't have mentioned it. As I think about it more I really can't fault the ballhead for this. It's designed to deal with loads up to 55 pounds and I may be putting what 5 or 6 pounds of weight on it at this point in time. It's no wonder it's stiff I'm only using about 1/10th of the ballheads capacity. Something else to keep in mind is I've only had this ballhead a few weeks so it hasn't been used enough to get broken in. Check back with me in 6 months time and we'll see if this continues to be an issue for me or not. I seriously doubt that it will.

One final thought - I'll be honest and say that I was seriously considering the Really Right Stuff (RRS) BH55 Ballhead. Several big name photographers use it and rave about how great it is and I have no doubt that it's a very fine Ballhead; however when you consider the BHD3 is less than half the cost of the RRS Ballhead the decision became a non brainer for me. I went with the Induro BHD3 and I had enough $$$ left over to buy the GHBA Gimbal Head that I'll be writeing about next. Cost for the Induro BHD3 Ballhead - $228.00. The link below is for the Ballhead on Amazon. If you use it to purchase one I'll receive a little commission and you'll buy an absolutely fantastic Ballhead.

Induro Gear Guide Part 2 - Induro CT314 Tripod

2010-07-28T07:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to part 2 of my Induro Gear Guide. In this part we'll take a look at the Induro CT314 Carbon Fiber tripod. I'll provide a description of the tripod, its features as well as things I like and don't like about it. This post is heavy with pictures so it may take a bit to load. When looking for a new tripod I wanted something that would work with my equipment now as well as something that would work with my equipment 5 or 10 years from now. I know at some point in the future I'll be getting one of Canon's super telephoto lenses and those work best on a tripod. I also consider the tripod as the foundation for my photography gear so like a house, if it's built on a solid foundation you should be good to go. Weighing in at 5 pounds the CT314 tripod is rated for a maximum load of approximately 40 pounds.

Induro CT314 Tripod

This is how the tripod looks when you take it out of the box. In addition to the tripod you get a carrying case and a tool pack as pictured below.

Included Tools and Tool Case

Tripod with Center Column Fully Extended

Having an extra long center column is a nice addition but it also has its drawbacks. One of them being that it limits how low you can position the camera on the tripod as you'll see shortly.

Tripod With Legs Splayed and Locked

Before anyone bothers to tell me yes I know the center column isn't straight :). That's my fault and not the fault of the tripod. I just didn't lock one of the legs properly. Crooked center column aside you can see that with the legs splayed into the first position you can get down fairly low with the tripod.

Tripod With Legs Fully Splayed

Notice how the center column is straight this time. See I'm a quick learner :). Here you can clearly see one of the drawbacks of the extra long center column. You can only get your camera so low using it. Fortunately Induro has a solution to the problem. They sell a separate column that is shorter and allows you to get down very low.

Extra Long and Optional Shot Center Columns

I've never used the tripod with the longer center column. I knew I wanted to be able to get down in the weeds, literally, with the tripod so I bought the shorter center column and that's all I've used.

Tripod Fully Splayed With Short Center Column Installed.
Photo assistant Tiger.

Now that's what I'm talking about. With the short center column installed and the legs fully splayed you can get down low for those ground level shots.

The tripod includes a spring-loaded hook that attaches to the bottom of the center column. You can hook your bag or something else to it to get the tripod that much more stability (not that it really needs any). One problem for me though is the hook just isn't quite big enough to fit around the handle of my camera backpack as shown below.

Camera Bag and Tripod Hook

Don't fret though, I have a simple solution for the problem.

Camera Bag and Tripod Hook -- Problem Solved

By using a large carabiner I'm able to hook one end around my camera backpack handle and the other on the hook. This works like a champ.

As I mentioned in part 1 one of the issues I had with my old tripod was that it wouldn't extend high enough for me to use without squatting down. That problem was easily solved with this tripod.

Tripod with Bottom Legs Extended

Tripod with Bottom and Middle Legs Extended

Tripod With All Three Legs Extended

I realize the third photo makes the tripod look 10 feet tall. It isn't. That's due to the angle I shot it from.

Tripod With All Three Legs Extended

To give you some idea of the height of the tripod the fence behind it is 6 feet tall.

Tripod Center Column Locking Ring

See that locking ring above. Make sure it's nice and tight otherwise you're liable to think there's something wrong with the tripod when there really isn't. Don't ask me how I know this tidbit of knowledge -- it's a secret :).

Overall I'm extremely pleased with the tripod. I can't thank Eric Brown enough for his review which turned me onto Induro's product line. Although I am extremely pleased with it there are a couple of things I didn't like but have managed to solve bot of them quite easily. First I didn't like that the tripod only comes with the long center column. The short column is a $55.00 accessory. It would be nice if Induro offered the tripod with our choice of center columns. The second being spring loaded hook on the bottom of the center column not being long enough to accommodate my particular backpack; however, that problem was easily solved with the addition of a large carabiner. Am I being overly picky about my dislikes? Probably so especially since I was able to solve both issues easily. It's tough for me to find any serious fault with the tripod. I have no doubt it'll be supporting my gear for years to come. Total cost for tripod and short column: $605.00 and worth every penny of it.

As I use the tripod in the coming months I'll be certain to post follow ups about it. I plan to include shots of it being used out in the field. It's nice to see it on a clean concrete pad but just how often do we shoot from that environment?

So what didn't I cover that you think I should have? Please let me know where details are lacking and I'll add them. If you prefer to email me privately instead of leaving a comment send them to zack at zdpictures dot com.

If after reading this fantastic guide and feel inclined to buy one of these tripods I'd appreciate if you'd use the link below. It's an affiliate link from Amazon and if you buy I'll earn a small commission.

Induro Gear Guide Part 1 - Introduction

2010-07-27T07:48:00.006-04:00

Not long ago I posted a photo of my Canon PowerShot D10 mounted on my Induro Tripod/Ballhead. (Link to Previous Post). Below is a similar shot but this is my advanced set up for birding :).

Advanced Tripod Setup

Pictured is the Induro CT314 tripod, BHD3 Ballhead, and GHBA Gimbal head. This is the setup I now use for 99% of my shots taken with a camera mounted on a tripod. Normally I use a 7D and EF 400 lens and not that dinky Powershot D10. Over the next few days I'm planning to post reviews of each of these components.

Prior to buying this Induro gear I had been using a Velbon tripod and Kirk BH-3 ballhead. I liked this combination because it was light but there were a couple of major drawbacks with it. First the Velbon tripod did not extend high enough for me to use it without squatting down. As I have grown to use a tripod more and more this became a major problem. It was possible to get the camera to eye level but I had to extend the center column to do so and extending it just made things unstable. The Kirk BH-3 ballhead is a very nice one but it was rated for a maximum load of 15 pounds. While this may sound like a lot of weight I was experiencing some slippage with the ballhead. Upon returning the ballhead to Kirk they replaced it, no questions asked. Kudos to Kirk for the fine customer service. I'm going to sell the Kirk ballhead on eBay and stick with my current Induro one instead because the new ballhead is rated for a much heavier load and eventually I'm planning to add the Canon EF-500mm monster lens to my collection.

Investing in a tripod setup is something I spent a lot of time researching and fretting over. I knew I wanted something that would extend high enough that I wouldn't have to squat down and I also wanted something that would get down low to the ground. This was an essential requirement because I like shooting stuff up in the sky or trees and Donna likes shooting flowers so I wanted a tripod that would meet both our needs. I wanted it to be relatively light and rock steady. I find it somewhat funny when folks complain about the weight of their gear. If you don't want to lug around an extra 5 pounds then lose 5 pounds from your body :). While the new tripod setup is heavier than my old setup I'm kind of like an old pack mule -- the weight difference between the two isn't great enough that I've noticed any difference. I spent hours reading reviews and forum posts to find out which tripods people liked and didn't like and why. Gitzo was the name I saw most often and so I started leaning heavily towards Gitzo.

While doing my research I found the Photography Minute Blog by Eric Brown. Since he's a fellow Canon 7D and EF 400 shooter I knew his tripod needs were similar to mine. After reading his Induro CT314 Tripod Review I started looking at Induro's gear and it wasn't long before I knew I had found the compnay that I would be buying my tripod gear from.

In my reviews over the next few days I plan to write about the thinks I like and don't like about each of the products I now own. Hopefully this information will help the next person considering such an upgrade have an easier time making a decision that I had when I went through it. If you're reading this and are undecided and don't want to read all of the other posts here's the answer to the $64,000 question -- buy Induro. You'll love it.

As I write the reviews the text below will be turned into links to those reviews.

Induro Gear Guide Part 2 - Induro CT314 Tripod
Induro Gear Guide Part 3 - Induro BHD3 Ballhead
Induro Gear Guide Part 4 - Induro GHBA Gimbal Head
Induro Gear Guide Part 5 - Balancing Your Camera/Lens on the GHBA Gimbal Head
Induro Gear Guide Part 6 - Wrap up

Picture of the Week (POTW) #6

2010-07-26T07:00:00.004-04:00

Picture of the Week for the period 18-24 July 2010. Donna took this one Saturday afternoon not too long after I took the John the Heron shot. She took this using her Rebel T2i and EF-S 55-250 zoom lens. Exposure was 1/90 at f/4.5, ISO 400 and lens zoomed to 74mm. I really thought I had a great hummingbird shot we would have selected but in the end I agreed that this one would be better so that we have something other than birds. I 'spose I should have called it Bird Picture of the Week.

This week we had a pretty easy time picking the POTW because, for some strange reason, we didn't take a single shot prior to Saturday so we ended up going through a much smaller set of photos than we normally do.

Too Hot For Boots!

2010-07-25T20:48:00.000-04:00

So Donna and I are having a nice dinner Friday night at Ye Olde Fashioned Ice Cream and Burger Cafe when in walks this fine young couple who proceeded to place their order. Notice anything odd about her attire? Kids these days, doesn't she know it's just too darned hot to be wearing boots this time of year?!

Click Image for Larger Version

Oh yeah since this is photography related blog this photo was taken with my LG cell phone. :)

Fish -- It's What's for Dinner Featuring John the Heron

2010-07-25T12:00:00.002-04:00

John the Heron* fishing for his dinner. This was taken Saturday afternoon while Donna and I were headed out to take some pictures at one of the parks on the Navy base where I work. As we were driving into the park we spotted John and I pulled over and managed to get this shot before he gobbled it down. This is why it's important to have your camera turned on and ready to go when you leave home. If I had to take the time to get the camera out of the bag, turn it on, remove the lens cap, extend the lens hood, etc I would have missed the shot. This was taken with my 7D and EF 400 lens. Exposure was 1/2000th at f/5.6 ISO 400.

Something else I learned is to NOT leave your GPS logger sitting on the hood of the vehicle you're driving. I had set it on the hood so that it would get satellite lock before we left the house and I forgot to put it in the truck when we left. When I remembered it we drove home and looked for it. Sadly it's gone so I'll have to order another one. If you're curious the GPS data logger I use is this one: AGL3080: Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger.

*I picked up calling Heron's John after reading Weekend Birds II Blog Post by Brent Pennington. Be sure to check out Brent's other work. He's one hell of a photographer and always has something interesting to say in his posts.

The Wink

2010-07-25T09:44:00.004-04:00

One of the few times I've seen a Mourning Dove sitting on something other than the ground. This one seemed to be quite curious and spent several minutes moving along the fence checking things out. I shot this with my Canon 7D and EF 400 lens. Exposure was 1/80th at 5.6, ISO 400. Camera/lens where mounted on Induro CT314 tripod and GHBA Head.

New Domain Name

2010-07-22T17:00:00.004-04:00

Not really sure why I did it but on a whim I purchased the domain name zdpictures.com today. This was about the only combination I could find that wasn't already registered so when I saw that it was available I grabbed it. Z is obvisously for Zack and D is for Donna. Since we use this blog for hosting pictures the domain name seemed to make sense. I'm still figuring out how to get things setup through Google but eventually you'll be able to email me using zack@zdpictures.com or Donna at Donna@zdpictures.com. Now ain't that special :).

Juvenile Eastern Bluebird

2010-07-22T10:36:00.000-04:00

This juvenile Eastern Bluebird is part of the family that is using the birdhouse in our backyard. There's a 4th member of the family but it's pretty rare that you see all 4 of them together. This shot was taken with Donna's Rebel T2i and my Canon EF 400 lens. Exposure was 1/1000th at f/5.6, ISO 1600. I'm not sure why the ISO was cranked up so high unless I had the camera set for auto ISO which is most likely the case. I have been experimenting with different ISO settings and metering modes to see what produces the best results for me.

Picture of the Week (POTW) #5

2010-07-20T07:35:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 11 Jul - 17 Jul 2010. Saturday morning Donna and I were headed to Cypress Gardens (every 3rd Saturday is free admission for us). On the way we spotted a turtle crossing the road. After we passed it I turned around and went back to make sure it made it across the street safely. Not sure why I do that but I've done it at least 4 or 5 times in the past couple of years. Anyways this is a Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and he was a big one and strong! At one point he was trying to go back into the street and I was trying to prevent him by blocking his path with a piece of PVC pipe I found nearby. With his low center a gravity it was quite a challenge to convince him that he really didn't want to go back across the street. I finally got him headed in the right direction and once he was marching off through the grass I took this shot.

This was taken using Donna's Rebel T2i and our recently purchased EF-S 55-250 zoom lens. Exposure was 1/250th at f/5.6, ISO 400 and the lens was zoomed out to 179mm. I shot this while laying on the ground to try and get as as close to an eye-level perspective as I could.

Splish Splash I was Taking a Bath

2010-07-17T19:13:00.001-04:00

This female House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) was taking a bath in the bird bath last weekend. It was quite an event to watch. She'd flop around in the water for a little while, fly off and then come back and do it all over again. She looked like she was having a fun time doing it. These photos were taken with Donna's Rebel T2i and my EF 400 lens. Exposure for both photos was 1/500th at f/5.6 and ISO 200. Camera was mounted on my Induro CT314 Tripod.

Rebel T2i Quick Tip -- Displaying Blinkies

2010-07-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

I've been shooting with Donna's Rebel T2i a lot lately and one of the things I noticed is regardless of the shot I never noticed any blinkies when reviewing images on the rear display. This seemed odd to me so I started doing some experimenting by deliberately increaing exposure compensation to cause the highlights to be blownout but even when the image was almost completely white nothing blinked. The image blow shows the view of the screen. Observe how exposure compensation is set to +1 stop yet there's no blinkies.

I searched through all the menus, the manual, and did some Google searches and never could find a setting for the camera to show me blinkies. I finally gave up and called Canon Support and within a matter of minutes I figured out what was going on. Seems the T2i doesn't show blinkies when viewing images in full screen mode which really sucks, IMO since even my old Rebel XT would show me blinkies when reviewing images.

If you want to see blinkies you have to use one of the different view modes as shown below. While it's nice to see the histogram and additional information I really don't like that the image is so small but at least I can see the blinkies now. If you look closely you can see the reflection of my Canon PowerShot D10 in the image.

I guess I really shouldn't complain too much about this because Donna primarly shoots with the T2i and I shoot with a 7D and it does show me blinkies when reviewing the images.

So there you have it. If you were like me and having a hard time figuring out how to check for blinkies on a T2i now you know.

Lens Pro To Go Camera Gear Sale

2010-07-14T13:35:00.000-04:00

I got an email from my buddy Paul at Lens Pro To Go and they are having their annual summer sale on rental gear. I guess it's a good thing I don't have an extra grand sitting around burning a hole in my pocket or I'd buy some stuff.

Here's a link for Stuff For Sale at Lens Pro To Go. I have rented and bought from Paul many times in the past and recommend him without reservation. If you buy something tell him I sent you and let me know what you ended up buying.

A Pair of House Finches

2010-07-13T07:07:00.001-04:00

In addition to the Eastern Bluebirds that are nesting in our backyard this pair of House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) are regular visitors to our backyard as well. The female, shown below, was shot using Donna's Rebel T2i (I've been shooting it a lot lately) and my EF 400 f/5.6L lens. Exposure was 1/180th at f/5.6, ISO 400. She really enjoys splashing around in the bird bath and feeding on sunflower seeds.

Below is the male House Finch. I really like his red coloring. This guy can eat sunflower seeds faster than anything I've ever seen. He's also very vocal so I always know when he's around. For some reason though he likes to try and drink out of the hummingbird feeder. He'll fly over to it and try to stick his beak into one of the tubes but he can't get anything out. This picture taken with my 7D and EF 400 lens. Exposure was 1/250th @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

Mr and Mrs Eastern Bluebird

2010-07-12T12:25:00.000-04:00

Meet Mr and Mrs Eastern Bluebird. Mr is on the right and Mrs is on the left. These are the birds that are using the birdhouse in our backyard. This is one of the few times I've managed to get a shot of both of them together. He had just given her a small bug or something so she could feed one of their young that has hatched already. What's interesting, to me anyway, is this shot was taken at 8:30 PM and I had the ISO cranked up to 3200 on the 7D. Sure there's some noise in it but Adobe LightRoom did a great job of cleaning the image up. This was taken with my Canon 7D and EF 400 f/5.6L lens 1/90th of a second. Camera and lens were mounted on a tripod -- no way could I shoot this handheld.

Picture of the Week (POTW) #4

2010-07-12T07:45:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 4 Jul - 10 Jul 2010. This is what you get when you pile your brother, your wife, your daughter, her boyfriend, your brother, his wife and his son into a Honda Pilot and you're on your way to Norfolk Virginia to watch a movie early Sunday morning.

This was taken using Donna's Canon Rebel T2i and Quantaray 18-200 lens. Focal length was 18mm, 1/60th of a second at f/4.5, ISO 100. The camera was sitting on the dash of the Pilot and the shutter was triggered using the build in timer.

Pictured from left to right you have -
Front Row - me and my brother Lew
Middle Row - Lew's wife Dodie, our daughter Steffanie, and my wife Donna
Third Row - Steffanie's boyfriend Justin and barely visible is Lew and Dodie's son Stefan.

Finally

2010-07-11T15:02:00.001-04:00

Finally
Originally uploaded by zackojones

I have a tripod and ballhead that will support my massive camera setup :)

Interesting EF-S Lens Tidbit

2010-07-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

Recently I read an article that said when using an EF-S lens on a crop bodied camera (Rebel series, 40/50D, 7D, etc) that the 1.6x crop factor still applied. For some reason I didn't think it applied as the EF-S lenses were designed specifically for the crop bodied cameras. I had thought the EF-S 10-22 lens was just that, 10mm on the widest setting and 22mm fully zoomed. Turns out this lens is really 16mm at the widest setting and 35mm fully zoomed. We currently own 3 EF-S lenses so their true focal range breaks down as follows:

EF-S 17-85 is 27.2mm at widest setting and 136mm fully zoomed.
EF-S 18-200 is 28.8mm at widest setting and 320mm fully zoomed.
EF-S 55-250 is 88mm at widest setting and 400mm fully zoomed. (No wonder I like this lens)

So there you have it -- just one more thing to keep in mind when lens shopping.

Picture of the Week (POTW) #3

2010-07-06T08:05:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 27 Jun - 3 Jul 2010. I shot this Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) using Donna's Rebel T2i and Canon EF 400 f/5.6L lens. I'm not sure why it using the wires for our satellite dish as a perch but it landed on it numerous times that afternoon.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Exposure was at f/5.6 for 1/500th second, ISO 1250.

Picking an image this week was once again a hard task. I deliberately excluded several shots of the nesting Eastern Bluebirds in a attempt to post something other than a bird but as you can see we failed at that task. After narrowing it down to two photos we started looking at them at 100% magnification and this one ended up being selected because it was much sharper than the other photo. Since we're going to put these into a book at the end of the first year we figured we'd better go with the sharper of the two pictures.

2010 Goal Review

2010-07-02T07:15:00.000-04:00

Back in January I listed My 2010 Goals.

Since we're mid-way through 2010 I figured I'd better have a look at 'em and see how I've done so far.

1 - Become more active blogging - Check. According to my stats in 2009 I had 8 posts and so far for 2010 I've posted 27 times.

2 - Join FaceBook - Check. I think FaceBook and Twitter for that matter but suck (I honestly don't see the point of Twitter) but I'm on both.

3 - Become proficient with the C# Programming Language - Nope, not yet.

4 - Become a better Database Administrator (DBA) - Some progress but I'm far from being a guru yet.

5 - Wear Sunscreen - Check. When Donna and I are going to be out in the sun we always put on sunscreen.

6 - Start running again and run the Museum of Aviation Half Marathon in 2011. Uh, not gonna happen. We started running and were doing well with it but we skipped one run, then another and another and before you know it we're no longer running. I really need to get some sort of fitness program going and stick with it. No excuse for this one other than being lazy.

7 - Stop taking crappy photos for my Project365. Hmm, well I guess it would depend on how you define crappy :). We made it through our year so I'm going to say we did this one.

7a - Don't think we missed any days from Jan - Jun.

7b - Don't be stupid enough to sign up for another daily project - Check. Though I did start my own picture of the week project.

8 - Expand my photographic knowledge by shooting something I haven't shot yet. Tough call but I'm going to say I'm at least on progress. Since I found my niche of bird photography I have expanded my photographic knowledge by concentrating on birds plus I have expanded my knowledge of birds in general so that's an added bonus as well. Another thing I've shot this year that I hadn't shot before is an air show so I'm going to say I've done this one for sure.

9 - Shed at least 35 pounds - Ha Ha Ha Ha fat ass. Stop blogging and start running :)

10 - Photograph at least 5 of the 20+ waterfalls in the state of South Carolina. I'm 1/5th of the way there. We've shot one waterfall so far and I'm sure we'll get at least 4 more later this year when we head back to the upstate South Carolina region.

So what about you? Did you create a list of goals for 2010? If so how are you doing?

Composite Bird in Flight Camera Setup

2010-07-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

I've been asked how I was able to take the shots I used to create the composite bird in flight photos. Below are two photos showing my setup. The actual shots were taken with my 7D but the 70-200 was already mounted on Donna's T2i so I used it for these photos

Basic Setup

This is the basic setup. The camera is mounted on the tripod. You can see the birdhouse in the background. I prefocused the camera on the roof and then switched it to manual focus mode. Sitting in the hotshoe is the receiver for the remote shutter release.

Remote Shutter Release

The remote shutter release I use is theHahnel HLHW433C80 UHF Wireless Pro RF Remote Conrol for All Canon Dslrs. It has outstanding range. I've actually tested it to 300+ feet and it worked like a champ. It also works with all Canon DSLRs. Once the remote is installed and turned on and the camera positioned where I wanted it to be I then sat back on the porch and waited for the birds to return to their birdhouse. We have been watching the birds closely to make sure we aren't causing them any stress with us being out in the yard and having the cameras pointed at their birdhouse. So far things have gone very well. The birds don't appear to be stressed and pretty much ignore us and the camera gear.

What I would do is when I'd see a bird approaching the birdhouse I'd start clicking off shots. Make sure you set the camera up for high speed continuous shooting mode. This type of photography is truly spray and pray :).

Picture of the Week (POTW) #2

2010-06-28T09:15:00.000-04:00

Picture of the week for the period 20 - 26 June 2010. I took this one of a Male Eastern Bluebird that has taken up residence in our birdhouse. He was bringing some dinner to Mrs. Bluebird but she wasn't in the birdhouse at the time. We are really enjoying watching the birds and how the interact with each other. They seem to be a bit less weary of our presence in the backyard as well. We don't know how long they've been occupying the birdhouse but we know there are 4 eggs in the nest. According to Birds of the Carolinas Field Guide, Second Edition: Companion to Birds of the Carolinas Audio CDs it takes 12 to 14 days for the eggs to incubate and then 15-18 days of fledging before the young birds will be ready to fly. This shot was taken handheld with my Canon 7D with the EF-400 f/5.6L lens. Exposure was 1/500 second @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

Multiple Bluebird Images Merged

2010-06-27T19:27:00.000-04:00

I've always liked those images where you see several shots merged into one. I've been taking multiple shots of the Bluebird that's nesting in our backyard and finally figured out how to merge them in Photoshop. If you had any idea how bad I suck at Photoshop this is a major accomplishment for me.

Three Shots Merged Into One

Two Shots Merged Into One

Three Shots Merged Into One

I need to work on my technique a bit. Instead of having the birdhouse centered in the frame I should move it over to the right so I can capture more of the Bluebird's approach to the birdhouse.

Honey, I'm Home!

2010-06-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

A male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) brings some dinner home to Mrs. Bluebird. Only problem was Mrs wasn't in the bird house :). I took this handheld with my 7D and EF 400 f/5.6L lens, 1/1000th at f/5.6, ISO 400.

Behind Every Good Photographer There's....

2010-06-23T08:22:00.001-04:00

Recently the Digital Photography School weekly challenge was to complete the following statement with a photograph "Behind Every Good Photographer There’s…..".

My submission is shown below. This shot was taken by Donna last weekend while we were on our way out of the Cypress Gardens Swamp in Bushy Park, South Carolina. We love this place and best of all every 3rd Saturday of the month residents of our county get in free so if we're in town on the third Saturday you'll likely find us out in the swamp. But enough about Cypress Gardens in this post I want to talk a bit about the backpack.

Although I can't say I'm crazy about the name the StreetWalker Pro backback from Think Tank Photo. They make three different versions of this backpack the StreetWalker which is designed for a normal size DSLR, the StreetWalker Pro which is designed to hold a DSLR with battery grip and the StreetWalker Harddrive which can also carry a laptop. The main compartment can be configured to store any kind of camera / lens combo I currently own. It easily holds my 400mm lens when mounted to my 7D along with 70-200 lens, 580 EX II flash, better beemer flash extender, 1.4x and 2x extenders, remote shutter release and rain cover -- and that's just what I put in the main compartment! There's pockets everywhere it seems and on the front straps there's two expandable pockets. In these pockets I'll usually put my GPS tracker which I use for geotagging photos in one and my cellphone in the other. I'll do a more complete review of the backpack with pictures of how I load my gear into it soon. If you're in the market for a new camera backpack I'd highly recommend taking a look at what Think Take Photo has to offer.

Picture of the Week (POTW) #1

2010-06-21T07:21:00.000-04:00

Recently I wrote about my idea for a picture of the week Blog Post. Now that Donna and I are through with our Project 365 we've started our POTW project. Below is our first choice and I have to say it was tougher than I had expected selecting one image from a week's worth of images. This was taken at the Dungannon Heritage Preserve in Hollywood, SC, by Donna. It was taken using her Canon Rebel T2i which was mounted on a tripod. The lens was the Canon EF 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender. Focal lengh was 280mm, 1/350th of a second @ f/6.7, ISO 400.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:02:00.000-04:00

To those of you who, like me, have been blessed to be fathers then Happy Father's Day to you. Today is a pretty tough day for me. On one hand I have two wonderful sons, as well as step-son and step-daughter so as a father I really hit the jackpot. It's sad for me because this is the second year that I can't pick up the phone and say "Happy Father's Day" to my dad.

When I think if my dad I often picture an image just like the one shown below. This is a picture taken of a black and white print that appeared in "The Pilot's Wheel" magazine which was published by the trucking company dad worked for. Dad graced the cover of the magazine and they had a big article about him in it. Honestly I have no idea what the article said as I never read it. I just know it was about my dad and that's all I needed to know. As a national accounts salesman dad traveled a lot but every time he came home he always looked like a million bucks like he does in that picture below. So even though my dad would have no clue what a blog entry is this one if for you dad. Thank you for being that dad that you were. If I'm half the dad to my kids that you were to me then I have accomplished something in this lifetime.

She

2010-06-13T07:18:00.002-04:00

18 years ago she said "I do." Seems like yesterday. Instead of posting a bunch of mushy stuff I'll just post the lyrics to She by Elvis Costello. It sums it up much better than I possibly could....

She may be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
Maybe my treasure or the prize I have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
Maybe the children autumn brings
Maybe a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day

She may be the beauty or the beast
Maybe the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a Heaven or a Hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell....

She, who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She maybe the love that cannot hope to last
May come to leap from shadows in the past
That I remember 'till the day I die

She maybe the reason I survive
The why and wherefore kind of life
The one I care for through the rough and ready years
Me, I'll take the laughter and your tears
And make them all my souvenirs
And when she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is
She....She
Oh, she....

Lightroom 3 is Out!

2010-06-08T07:30:00.000-04:00

Image capture from the Adobe Lightroom 3 page. Oh happy day! I have been using the beta for the past few months and it's been a pain keeping stuff in sync between Lightroom 2 and Lightroom beta 3. I've downloaded the upgrade and will be installing it as soon as I get home.

Learn From My Mistake

2010-06-07T18:55:00.003-04:00

Learn From My Mistake
Originally uploaded by zackojones

This is what happens when you fail to check your equipment settings before going out to shoot birds in flight. Previously I had been using my camera in Single-Shot mode and you guessed it. I forgot to switch it back to AI Servo when we got out of the car. This would have been a killer shot IF I weren't an idiot :).

New Field Guide

2010-06-04T21:31:00.001-04:00

New Field Guide
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Today the postman delivered a new field guide. For months we have been using the Birds of the Carolinas guide and since we're planning several trips into Georgia I bought the Georgia guide as well. For the curious that's a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the Carolinas guide and an Eastern Bluebird on the Georgia guide. I highly recommend these guides. If you have a favorite how about telling me about it. I'm always interested in another good book :).

What the ???

2010-06-03T07:21:00.002-04:00

Spotted on Google News....(Click Image to View Larger Version)
Is it just me or does the headline and the summary not go together? Is it possible the rhythm method caused the crash? And no, I didn't click the link to read the story :). I probably should have though.

Red-headed Woodpecker

2010-05-31T16:37:00.033-04:00

Red-headed Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Taken with my Canon 7D and EF-400 f/5.6L Lens.
Another bird shot from this past weekend while Donna and I were out Geocaching. It's pretty amazing now that we're into birding we are constantly trying to spot and identify each bird call we here or bird that we see. We are planning on heading back to this state park again in the future as they have all kinds of birds there and we only saw a handful of different ones. Too bad it's a 2+ hour drive to get there though :(

Wood Stork

2010-05-31T16:37:00.032-04:00

Wood Stork
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)

Over the long weekend Donna and I spent Saturday morning in the Dungannon Heritage Preserve which is home to the 2nd largest Wood Stork Rookery in the state of South Carolina. This was our second trip to the rookery and we wanted to see if any of the nesting Storks had any new additions to their nests.

Say, since storks delivery babies to humans who delivers babies to storks? Hopefully anyone reading this is old enough to remember the cartoons where storks would fly with a baby wrapped in a towel and then would deliver the baby to the expecting parents.

I'm happy to report that we did see some new baby Storks in the nests. We will be going back at the end of the month to check up on them again. The Storks will live the rookery some time in July and we want to see some of the new baby storks flying if possible.

This is most likely a mature male. He was sitting on a branch not far from where we were shooting and didn't seem to mind my presence at all as I moved into different positions to get the shot. This shot was taken with my Canon 7D and EF-400 f/5.6L lens 1/750 @ f/5.6, ISO 200.

On our way out we crossed paths with two feral pigs. This one stopped log enough for us to get a shot of it.

Feral Pig
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Black Vulture

2010-05-31T16:36:00.010-04:00

Black Vulture
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus). Donna took this photo as we were about to get onto I-95 North. We had spent the day Geocaching in and around the Savannah, GA area and were heading home. We had seen some Black Vultures on the side of the road earlier but there was too much traffic for us to try and stop and get a shot. Fortunately traffic was light and she was able to get the shot using her Rebel T2i and Canon 70-200 f/4L lens.

MY DADDY, MY SOLDIER, MY HERO

2010-05-31T16:35:00.002-04:00

MY DADDY, MY SOLDIER, MY HERO
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Six little words brought a flood of tears to my eyes. I didn't know SSG Taylor but I saw his grave marker today while photographing the grave markers for Veterans from each branch of service that I could find.

As the saying goes "All gave some and some gave all." It is truly an honor to share a few moments with you today, SSG Taylor who's life was lost as part of Operation Induring Freedom. Everyday should be memorial day for our brave men and woman serving our great nation.

Safe!

2010-05-20T07:57:00.000-04:00

I took this picture last night while shooting a baseball game for a coworker who's son was playing in the game. As I was going through the pictures I saw this one and almost deleted it right away after all you can't see the faces of either player or anything like that so it's not a keeper or is it?

Spend a little time looking at the photo and you may start to notice little things that make the photo interesting. Here's what I found:

- The dust cloud. Yes it's faint but there's just enough that it gives the photo a sense of motion.

- The little specs of dirt on the 3rd baseman's arm. Obviously these were kicked up by the sliding runner but I think they're kind of cool.

- The sun light on the base.

- The little bit of baseball sticking out of the glove as the player was tying to apply the tag.

Lesson learned here: Don't be so fast with the delete key. What may appear to be a throw away just may be a keeper after all. I realize this photo may mean a little more to me than you because I played baseball for a number of years as a kid.

Photo Info: This was taken with my Canon 7D and EF 400 f/5.6L lens, 1/1000th at f/5.6, ISO 200.

New Photography Idea - Picture Of The Week (POTW)

2010-05-18T07:28:00.001-04:00

Donna and I are approaching the end of our 365 Project. Unfortunately we missed a few days along the way and some days I just took a picture of anything so that I could have a photo for that particular day. This morning I had this idea pop into mind so I had to write it down before it slipped away and was forgotten. Our 365 Project ends on 12 June 2010 which is the day before our wedding anniversary.

So here's the idea. Starting 13 June 2010 I'm going to start doing a Photo Of The Week (POTW) challenge. The rules are very simple. Take all the photos you want during the week and at the end of the week select one photo from all that you took and make it your POTW. The challenge will run for a year and at the end of the year Donna and I will take all of the POTW photos and have them published in a book that we'll proudly display on the coffee table.

So what do you think? Anyone care to join me?

Turkey Vulture

2010-05-06T17:22:00.027-04:00

(Click image to see a larger version)
Taken in Red Bank Landing, South Carolina (Goose Creek), Canon EOS 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L lens. Exposure was 1/500 @ f/8 ISO 100

Turkey Vulture (Catharties aura)

Yes they are terribly ugly birds when you see one up close but they are so awesome to watch when they soar overhead. I shot this particular Turkey Vulture on the base where I work. There's a park that has several ponds and nature trails for you to explore and I saw this guy circling overhead. When I saw him get a little closer I was able to get this shot.

I've Finally Found my Niche

2010-05-05T14:08:00.000-04:00

For several months I've floundered around the photographic wasteland trying to decide what kind of photographer I'd like to be when I grow up. Prior to moving from Georgia to South Carolina the answer was simple: Sports Photographer. I was shooting pictures for the local high school and loving it. I even managed to sell some prints without really trying which made things even better. After moving to South Carolina I lost my connection with a local high school (having a kid at the school helped a great deal with getting free access to all sporting events) so I started exploring other types of photography. I dabbled a bit in landscapes, a little bit of macro, bought a flash and tried some strobist stuff none of which really fulfilled me as a photographer.

After we sold our house in Georgia and Donna moved out here with me we started spending our weekends exploring Charleston and the surrounding area and we almost always had at least one camera with us. One of our favorite places to visit is the Cypress Gardens swamp. This swamp was used in the filming of the Patriot and at least one scene from The Notebook, which, even though it's a chic flick I love that movie, but I digress. While visiting Cypress Gardens we began migrating towards subjects that interest us. For Donna it's wildflowers and for me it's alligators and birds. As time marched on I continued to get more and more interested in shooting these subjects. I think having at least three alligators that live in neighborhood ponds helps. We also have a bird feeder and house in our little back yard so I've taken up watching the feeder for visitors so I can photograph them. We've bought a couple of guides to help us identify the birds we see and I hopefully get a picture of and so far it's been a blast trying to find birds to shoot.

So what's the point of all of this babbling? Well I'm going to start sharing my bird photos here on the blog. Whenever I shoot a new species I plan to post at least one picture of it along with some additional information about the shot. One of my goals from earlier this year was to blog more and now I think I've finally found something I'd like to talk about :).

I Wish I Could Fly

2010-03-15T21:18:00.005-04:00

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D, EF 70-200mm f/4L USM lens @ 200mm, 1/750 @ f/5.6, ISO 100.

It must be one hell of a feeling to be able to fly through the air like this. This bird is a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Boo Boo

2010-02-18T19:43:00.003-05:00

Boo Boo
Originally uploaded by zackojones
I love those photo and wanted to share it. I took it while Tiger was taking a break from playing. Even though his name is Tiger we've taking to calling him Boo Boo. I think I picked that term up from watching Cops one night.

Camera Crop Factors Explained

2010-02-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

My wife has been taking an interest in photography lately and the other day I was trying to explain the difference in crop factors between my Canon 5D and 40D. The Canon 5D is a full frame (FF) camera so it does not have any crop factor. My Canon 40D has a 1.6 crop factor and as luck would have it I am currently renting a Canon 1D Mark III from the great people at LensProToGo. It may be easier to understand how the crop factor works if you think of it as a multiplier. Let's say we're using a 100mm lens. When mounted on a FF camera the focal length is 100mm since a FF camera has a 1.0 crop factor. When we mount that same lens on the 1D Mark III even though the focal length of the lens does not change it would appear we are now working with a 130mm lens due to the 1.3x crop factor (1.3 x 100 = 130). Finally when we mount the lens on the 40D it now appears we are working with a 160mm lens due to the 1.6x crop factor (1.6 x 100 = 160). What this means is if we took the same picture from the same location with the three different cameras it would appear we actually moved closer to the subject when using the 1D Mark III or 40D. Since a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words I'll save myself some typing and post a picture. This picture was captured from a the following LensProToGo Video Tutorial and is used with permission.

Looking at the picture you'll notice a series of borders. The blue border represents what the picture would look like if taken on a FF camera (my 5D). The red border represents what the picture would look like if you took it using a 1.3 crop factor (1D Mark III). The yellow border represents a 1.5 crop factor found on some Nikon cameras which I believe is called a DX sensor. Finally the green border represents what the picture would look like if taken with a 1.6 crop factor (Rebel series, XXD series, 7D). Is one crop factor better than the others? No, not in my opinion they aren't, they're just different. Supposed you wanted to achieve the look of the 1.6 crop factor with your FF camera, how would you do that? Depending on the lens mounted you could either zoom in on the subject or if you're a prime lens you can use foot zoom -- take a couple of steps closer to your subject.

Although I really like the image above to show the difference is the various crop factors it's hard for me to visualize the difference between a FF and 1.6x crop factor because I can still see the extra pixels even when I'm looking at the 1.6x crop factor area. Below is a series of three photos I took in our back yard. I used my 5D, the rented 1D Mark III and my 40D to take the same shot. Used the same lens on all 3 cameras and set it as close as I could to 28mm. Looking at these images you can clearly see the differences between the three crop factors.

5D @ 28MM

Notice how you can see the concerete pad and all of the pine trees across the street.

1D Mark III @ 28MM

Notice how you can only see a little bit of the concrete pad and the tops of the trees are chopped off, but notice how much closer the fence appears to be compared to the photo above.

40D @ 28MM

Notice how you can't see any of the concrete pad and more of the trees are chopped off, but again, notice how much closer the fence appears to be compared to the above photos. This is one reason why sports photographers like cameras with a crop factor. It gues us additional reach which is very handy when you're stuck behind a fence or can't shoot from the side lines.

If you're interested in seeing shots at 17, 24, 28, 35 and 40MM with these three cameras check out this Crop Factor Testing Set on my flickr photo stream.

Photo Recipes Live Behind the Scenes Review

2010-01-11T18:54:00.016-05:00

Fantastic!
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Below is my review of Scott Kelby's DVD/Book combo: Photo Recipes Live Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 1 - Window Light Portrait (9:51 in duration) - Shows you how to use natural light from a window and a hand held diffuser to soften the harsh light coming in from the window. It also shows you how to check for blown highlights or blinkies as they are called. More importantly Scott shows you how to correct the blinkies problem. A very cheap alternative to the hand held diffuser that Scott users (which sells for $65.00 at B&H) is to buy a 99 cent semi-transparent shower curtain at your nearest wally world or dollar store. Granted the shower curtain is no where near as cool as the hand held diffuser but it works well enough for me.

Chapter 2 - Couples Portrait (9:44 in duration) - Shows you how to overcome problems you'll have when you have a brightly back-lit couple. Scott demonstrates various techniques such as using silver reflector to reflect some of the bright light from the background. As he demonstrates each technique you can see the resulting image. He explains why something works or doesn't work quite as well as expected. He shows you how to use a soft-box and the advantage of using a "hot" box (one where the lights are always on) when trying to solve the lighting problems he's trying to solve.

Chapter 3 - 3-Light Setup (10:14 in duration) - Shows you how to use 3 separate light sources to create a dramatic portrait. Two of the lights are located behind the subject and provide the light source for the sides of his face and the 3rd light is a softbox located in front of the subject to provide some fill light. Pay attention to Scott's facial expressions right around the 1:00 minute mark. For some reason he goes into what I would call Popeye mode where he closes one eye but continue talking. It reminded me of Popeye for some reason. I wonder if he was holding back a sneeze or something. Scott also shows you how to identify lens flair in your photo and how to correct it.

Chapter 4 - Clamshell Lighting - Part 1 (9:43 in duration) Shows you how to use either a single light and reflector or two lights to achieve the look. He explains the equipment needed to wirelessly trigger the strobes.

Chapter 5 - Clamshell Lighting - Part 2 (7:38 in duration) This is an expansion of chapter for of sorts. It shows you how to shoot another clamshell shot but this time you use a softbox as the background, another softbox for the foreground and a reflector to complete the look. Too bad I don't have a softbox. This is one shot I really want to try.

Chapter 6 - Shooting Food (7:40 in duration) Shows you how to shoot foot in a studio setting as well as providing tips for shooting food on location, such as when you go on vacation. He shows you how to use some common household items to eliminate shadows -- very neat idea but I won't spill the beans -- you'll have to buy the DVD yourself to find out the secret.

Chapter 7 - Shooting Flowers (8:48 in duration) Shows you how to take macro shots of flowers using natural light. This is one of my favorite chapters because it contains so many useful tips for macro shots.

Chapter 8 - Location Shooting (3:59 in duration) Shows you how to use the same diffuser from chapter 1 on an outdoor on location shoot. For some reason it seems as if the sound track and video aren't 100% in sync. The sounds don't seem to match Scott's lip movement. It may be my computer because a backup software is running in background.

Chapter 9 - One Light Overhead (6:51 in duration) Shows how to adjust the power of the single light to achieve the lighting effect desired.

Chapter 10 - Hard Lighting (9:32 in duration) Shows how to properly position a softbox to light half of the subjects face.

Chapter 11 - Landscapes (8:47 in duration) There's a blooper on in this chapter. While talking about lenses (between 4:20 and 4:25) Scott says put a 14mm CAMERA on a full frame camera when he meant to say 14mm lens. :) I would love to see this chapter expanded into a complete DVD since this one primarily focused on studio lighting. This chapter is what convinced me to go ahead and buy a ballhead for my tripod.

Chapter 12 - Ring Flash Adapter (7:06 in duration) Shows how to use a ring flash adapter for portrait shots.

Chapter 13 - Pano Shoots (3:23 in duration) Tells you the proper way to take panographic photos to eliminate the dreaded "bow-tie" effect.

Chapter 14 - Portrait Lighting (3:04 in duration) Shows tips for properly lighting the subjects face so that your eye is drawn to the face and not other aspects such as clothing.

Chapter 15 - Dramatic Portrait Look (8:11 in duration) Shows how to achieve a dramatic lighting effect for female portraits by adjusting the position of the softbox and a stripbank.

Chapter 16 - Product Shots (6:24 in duration) Shows you how to get the best product shots. I wish I had seen this prior to listing all of my late father's cars on eBay.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with the DVD/book. My only complaint is that you can't play the DVD on your TV. It was designed to be played exclusively on your computer. Scott more than makes up for this little nit by including versions of all 16 chapters that can be loaded onto your iPod. I really think that's a great bonus.

New Kicks

2010-01-10T11:17:00.005-05:00

New Kicks
Originally uploaded by zackojones

Donna and I were fitted today for running shoes at TrySports in Mt Pleasant South Carolina. She bought a pair of saucony Progrid Triumph 7 shoes and I bought a pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemy 9 shoes. We also bought inserts that automagically molded to our feet and joined their triple points club so we'll earn triple discount points for every purchase we make. Although we spent a lot of money for our shoes, insoles and membership it was worth every penny of it, in my opinion.

Before getting fitted for shoes I had asked around and was told that TrySports was a good place to get fitted. They actually record you running on a treadmill so your gait can be analyzed and you can be fitted for the proper shoe.

When Donna and I arrived we were greeted by Stephen who did the fitting for us. He started out by asking what our goals were for running, any previous injuries, etc. After answering those questions he had us stand on a board that allows your foot to leave an impression on it. My feet looked pretty average but we noticed right away that Donna had high arches.

After measuring our feet Stephen put us both in a pair of neutral running shoes and took us over to the treadmill where we ran for 15 seconds while our gait was being recorded. Afterwards he replayed the recording, took some measurements and point out issues he observed in our gait. I'm a heel striker and tend to pronate and Donna clearly runs on her toes.

With the gait analysis complete Stephen brought us out a couple of different pairs of shoes to try on. He explained that either shoe would meet our needs and it was really now a matter of choice as to which one felt better to us. In my case the Mizuno's felt much more comfortable than the other pair of shoes I tried. I know it took me several minutes to decide between the two pairs and I think it took Donna a while too. Stephen explained that this decision should be a hard one to make since either pair of shoes would suit our needs

Once we settled on the shoes we wanted we were then fitted for the custom insoles. I don't know exactly how these things work but basically he cut them to size for our shoes, heated them, and then we walked around for several minutes while the insert cooled and formed to the contours of our feet.

Overall we were thoroughly impressed with the fitting service provided by Stephen. In fact while we were there at least 4 other folks came in to get fitted for shoes. These guys really know their stuff. If you need some running shoes I'd highly recommend these guys.

Donna and I will be trying out our new kicks later today after it warms up some. It's in the low 30's right now but is supposed to get into the 40's this afternoon. I'll post an update after we've had a chance to run in our new kicks.