Another Nikon SB-24 and an SLR Rain jacket!

OK... still spending..

I currently have a number of different flashes, and I decided it would make my life easier if I downsized and streamlined. I just picked up another Nikon SB-24 from e-bay – came in at about $100 all said and done. These are great flashes! Powerful (guide number approx. 120), excellent brand, and they tilt and swivel, have a low trigger voltage, take 4xAA batteries, have manual power adjustments from full to 1/16th, and have a PC socket. I usually use them off camera, but I can put them on my Canon 40D / 50D in auto mode.

My flash kit is now setup in pairs. I have a Canon 580ex II, a Canon 580ex, 2x Nikon SB-24’s, and 2x Nikon SB-20’s. The rest is gone or going – now I can match up the flashes, and better predict and control the light coming out of them.

I also picked up a package of OP/TECH SLR Rainsleeve covers – I am shooting a marathon (rain or shine) and heading on Vacation this summer and wanted to be prepared for the weather!

Here are some stock shots:

NEW STUFF!

I have been working hard the last few months, and putting away some of my photo money. Now it is time to spend it!

I recently acquired a Canon 2x Teleconverter (version II) and a set of Kenko extension tubes. The teleconverter will give my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 a boost to 140-400 f/5.6 (with the crop factor - a 224-640mm f/5.6). I borrowed a friends TC last year to see if would be in my future - and found it great at f/8 while shooting the birds and squirrels on the deck.

The Kenko extension tube set will give a boost to my macro adventures, and coupled with the teleconverter, could provide for some interesting shots.

Here are some stock shots of what they look like...

Smokey

Finally carved out some time to shoot for me and not for a client or the Photo Club. Quick and dirty - smoke.





Details
Equipment: Canon 40D, Nikon Micro Nikkor AI 105mm f2.8 lens, Nikon SB-20, Cactus V4 trigger.
Method:
- clip black sheet to curtain rod
- put incense on stool 3 feet from black sheet
- put flash to the right of stool about 2-3 feet away
- use gobo front and back to prevent light from getting in camera or on background
- set flash to about 1/2 power
- set camera to f/11 and 1/250th - ISO 400
- light incense
- sit on the floor abour 5-6 feet from smoke (focus) and shoot!

My Canon 20D got 2x better!

I saw a decent deal on a used Canon 40D and decided to upgrade my second/backup camera, my Canon 20D.

The Canon 40D is a great camera and goes well with my Canon 50D. I was particularly interested in it because of the quieter shutter sound and the larger, 3 inch screen. Much easier to see in dim theater light!

Now that I have used it on a few shoots, I would highly recommend the 40D! It is a good balance or price, features and performance.

I chose the gripped stock photo shot, as I picked up a 3rd party grip online from Phottix - works great so far! Now both cameras are gripped and ready for action!

Testing a Teleconverter….and a Bluejay!

I am thinking of purchasing a Canon 2x teleconverter, and was able to borrow a friend’s to test. I would only be able to use it on my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS lens due to the design. For about $350 it would give me a 140-400mm f/5.6 lens. The closest Canon lens to that is the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS which sells for about $1700. this makes the 2x teleconverter pretty attractive for a non-pro on a budget! The friend who lent me the T.C. said he did thought it was soft, but he mainly shot it wide open – at f/5.6, and handheld. This would be about the worst setting for the lens. I chose to take that into account, and made sure I tried it at f/8 and f/11 as well. My testing was not very scientific, but my conclusion is that it would be worthwhile for my purposes.

A squirrel in the backyard provided a great target! First shot, f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 400, 235mm on a monopod (cropped from original). Second shot, f/8, 1/60, ISO 400, 400mm on a monopod. Along with another test I did earlier, I have to say I may get this in the near future – especially when compared to the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS for $1350.00 more!

Later this morning after the squirrel left the deck, a bluejay came by to wrestle with a peanut my daughter left out for him.  I have not seen many bluejays around so it was a treat!  These were take with my Tamron 1.4 teleconverter on the same Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS lens. That made it a 98-280mm f/4 lens. The first shot was taken at f/5.6 and 1/640, ISO 640, at 280mm. The second was taken at f/5.6 and 1/800, ISO 640 at 280mm – both shots were handheld (and cropped a little).

I think if you have good technique, and/or a ‘pod of some sort, and you do not shoot wide open, then teleconverters can do a good job to get photos you may not otherwise get. They can also save you money!

Night photography

Our photo club had a night photography excursion the other evening, we just went downtown, but we had a great time!

I love helping other people, but sometimes I don’t spend any time on my own photography – that evening had a great balance of both!

You can get some great blues in the sky after the sun goes down…

This was taken at f/5.6 for 2 seconds at ISO 400. Tripod mounted, and a focal length of 17mm on my Canon 50D.

You can get some interesting colour casts when shooting at night. One way to deal with them is to simply go to black and white.

This was taken at f/22 for 10 seconds at ISO 100. Tripod mounted again, and at 44mm focal length. The small aperture give the star effect to the lights.

Here is another in black and white;  f/11 for 13 seconds, ISO 100 and 21mm.

 

 

Bang a drum.

As you may or may not know, my wife is an excellent Henna Artist. She has been talking for a while now, about applying henna to a drum head. She finally found a willing participant!

It turned out really well, and she asked me to take photos – I had some time, so I put some extra effort into the task.

She was happy with the photos, and so was I.

Note: The glowing of the drum head came from putting a flash inside the drum.

Equipment:

Camera: Canon 50D

Lenses: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Nikon Micro-Nikkor AI 105mm f/2.8 with EOS adaptor

Flashes: Canon 580EX II, Canon 580EX, Nikon SB-24, Cactus v4 radio triggers, optical slave

Other: Background stand with black backdrop, light stands, Manfrotto 190D tripod