PShizzy: The Blog

A buddy of mine clued me in on this a few days ago. ThinkTank Photo, maker of photography bags and accessories, has started an affiliate program. Here’s the deal: Purchase anything from their site over $50 using an affiliate and you will get a free bag (note the image) with your purchase. Using my affiliate code means I get a commission on the purchase, 10%, sent to me twice a year. Here’s how:

• Go to http://thinktankphoto.com/affiliate
• Enter my affiliate code: AP-208
• Fill out your purchase order
• When you hit “Review Order” a new window will open, resembling the image on my blog. Select your free bag, and continue on.

ThinkTank regulates the prices on their equipment sent to distributors, so prices do not vary greatly from store to store. Buying from them direct means you get a free bag and pay the same you would anywhere else. So, naturally I should recommend that you all go out and buy some ThinkTank gear, right? Well, sort of.

Read on to hear about my personal experiences with ThinkTank, including their equipment, and customer service. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
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First, Instant JPEG from RAW has been updated to version 1.1. Added support for new cameras (50D, anyone?) and some bugfixes make it a worthy update. Click on the image to head on over to their site.

Next up, I thought I’d test out a photo gallery. Photoshelter has recently updated their site to offer Flash based photo galleries. I think it’s pretty cool because it’s so easy to set it up. In fact, it’s retroactive, so I can set up a Flash gallery for any galleries I’ve already made. Creating the gallery itself isn’t too hard either, but this has further motivated me. So, I’ll give it a test run after the jump.

Oh, and I’ve been playing with a few D3’s lately. I really like the cameras. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from users over at the FredMiranda forum on a few posts about the D3 and my opinion on it. Link to that after the thread. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Preseason NBA, NCAA and high school football, even a local kids soccer game, plus other non sports shoots (wedding, and two schools) have kept very busy lately. It’s been great to be so busy, but it’s also been time consuming. And of course, it’s my favorite time of the year, with the NBA season finally starting. More after the jump! [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
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The moon is now full. Canon had a teaser site, with the moon slowly revealing a new camera body. Rumors and speculation all talked about it being the new 5D II (or 7D, or fabled 3D). Well, the moon is now full and the 5D II has been revealed.

In this quickie article (Its 11pm, after all), I’ll do a roundup of links to some specs and a forum or two, and my thoughts on it. Oh and Canon’s also released an updated lens, the 24 1.4 II, as well as announcing a few new P&S cameras, including the G10 (an update to the very cool G9), and others. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
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Luminous Landscape is an interesting site. While it may not be the common fare for a lot of photographers, because of the niche the site caters to, it’s still a great read. I especially like James Russell and his views. In the latest LL, he discusses a commercial shoot for Phase One, the digital back company. Think sensors the size of LCD screens. Think 40 plus uh, make that 60 megapixels. Think 30 plus thousand dollars. Ok ignore that last part, because it’s depressing.

I love how honest James is. He goes into the somewhat gory details of the commercial shoot, including the pros and cons of doing the shoot (I love how he mentions the low profitability). Later he talks about the adventure of getting to the shoot, and how unglamorous it is, which is refreshing. Often we may think of some photographers, especially at the higher end, as making a large sum of money and living it up, jet setting across the world in private jets and Maybach whips.

Not James apparently. He rolls to Paris (ok that IS cool) in a truck with his friend who doesn’t know that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, and drinks coffee that apparently is heated by a small nuclear reactor.

Oh, and he does actually talk about his steps in getting it all done, from start to finish. It also helps that James is a kick ass photographer. So, great read.

He has another article, about the D3 and his use of it for sports. Again, great read.

Two last tidbits: First, I’m sorry I haven’t posted recently. X Games was great, but upon my return, I’ve had to play catch up with the rest of my life. Secondly, the video of me cracking open an Airport Security bag like a camera piñata is on it’s way to me. I plan to post it as a mediafire download and a youtube video. If its treated like the Minitrekker video, I may end up dying in photographic infamy (again).

Tags: business, photography by PShizzy
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Anytime I fly, the biggest question I have is: What do I take? Well, here’s a little snippet of what’s to come tomorrow.

Remember the Minitrekker Video? Well that up there is an Airport Security bag, by ThinkTank Photo. And surprisingly, when it’s closed, it doesn’t bulge at all. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s a video worth? [Read more →]

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
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Remote cameras open up a lot of possibilities for photographers. Whether you want to capture a moment from two different angles, or with two focal lengths, remotes can provide us with images that otherwise wouldn’t be possible for us. But, for the most part, remotes are thought of as a difficult task, and so we think remotes are only for magazines like Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine. They’re not.

While covering a game between the Phoenix Mercury and Detroit Shock, I did a video segment on remote setup basics. It’s easier than you think, so read on, and check out the video. Before you know it, you’ll be able to set up your own remotes. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment, photography by PShizzy
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From Zander, on FredMiranda.com:

Thanks for taking time to do this, I really appreciate it.
Right now I have:

• 20D, nearing the 50k shutter count.
• 28-105 3.5-4.5
• 50 1.8
• 70-200 2.8

My budget is roughly $2200. I could come up with a few extra hundred dollars if needed. I use my 70-200 by far the most, and often it is not long enough. I was thinking that I would pick up the 300 f/4 non-IS to cover the longer focal lengths. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment, photography by PShizzy
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Ok, so we already talked about the commitment to a budget. We talked about the differences between needs and wants. We even talked about where to get the stuff you need or want. But what do you need or want? And how can you tell the difference?

In this article, we’re going to look at some questions you can ask of yourself to really get the appropriate equipment for your needs. key word: Needs. Sure anyone can rationalize a purchase, but those rationalizations are just lies we tell ourselves so we can feel better about the buy. The sad truth is that we often have more money than we think we do. We just spend it wrong. Ever seen someone with a nice car and expensive rims, but is broke and lives with their parents? We all do it, to different degrees.

So, read on to find out more about what you can do to really assess your needs [Read more →]

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
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