Why it's not worth buying Nikon D7100 ...

March 1, 2013

... for someone who already owns a Nikon D7000. Nikon announced last week it's new DSLR, Nikon D7100; and if you're a Nikon shooter, then this information probably doesn't come as a surprise from me now. Before the announcement, I was quite curious what D7100 will be like, most probably because I was considering buying it. I shoot cropped-sensor DX - I currently mainly use Nikon D7000, so I saw upgrading to D7100 as a natural step. However, I quickly changed my mind - I most likely won't upgrade to Nikon D7100 and here is why.

I don't want to start a war here but I don't see much of a change and upgrades between D7000 and D7100. Ok, it has a bigger sensor (24 vs 16 megapixels), bigger back monitor size (so crucial! - yes, it's sarcasm ;) ) and better movie recording. The only thing that I could see any sense in getting D7100 is that its high ISO performance is improved over D7000.

However, for me personally, it doesn't make sense in investing extra money only for slight improvement in high ISO (even though d7100 is cheaper than D7000). I have to admit that I was never in the camp of those who want 'the best & the most recent' camera. Of course, like every photographer, I'm enthusiastic about gear but I like to distinguish between what is new & cool and what I really need.

Having said that, I don't really see a need for getting D7100, especially that's I'm really happy with D7000. I might get however next update, like D7200 though. :)

That doesn't mean that my photography gear's wish list is not long. In fact, it's much longer than I can afford unfortunately. I guess I'm more of a 'light guy'. I prefer to invest in light modifiers, softboxes, strobes, upgrade wireless flash triggers, etc. Just image what lighting goodies I can get for the value of a D7100 :)

Priorities - task management for a photographer

February 17, 2013

I shared with you last week how I use Evernote for keeping track of my potential and future photo shoot locations. I also told you that I have a good but a very short memory so I need a really good way to keep and organise my to-do list. An app called 'Priorities' (from Hand Carved Code) helps me a lot in getting my head around all the tasks and things I have to do for my photography projects, my website, maintaining gear, etc. What I really like about this app is that it's really simple (so you're not distracted with unnecessary bells and whistles) but at same time it has all the functionalities that I need. To name just a few: ability to prioritise tasks and having sub-tasks, setting deadlines and reminders, integration with iOS calendar, cloud sync across all the iOS devices and the online version. The latter one, I think, is my favourite one.

Unfortunately, Priorities is currently only available on iOS devices.

Using Evernote for saving photo shoot locations

February 10, 2013

As an on-location and outdoor photographer, a good, unique and interesting photo shoot location is crucial for me. And having a good but a very short memory is definitely not helpful. That's why I always have a notebook with me where I keep all the photography notes and ideas for projects. However, it was extremely hard for me to note down a place that I just visited for a photo shoot, especially that I like to have a picture of a location at hand. I have also been using the Evernote application for few years already and it's the best note taking application for me, especially that it syncs with Evernote apps on my mobile devices (for free!). Only recently I discovered that Evernote is also awesome for saving photo shoot locations. Evernote for mobile devices will not only save automatically the GPS coordinates of a note but you can also take a picture of a photo shoot location from within the Evernote app and attach it to the note (you can also take a picture with you built-in camera application and attach it later to a note).

I attached some screenshots for an iPhone above and below. To see the GPS coordinates where the note was taken, you have click on the 'I' icon at the top. It will open a window with all the information about the note and at the bottom you will have a map: click on the map and it will open up a native maps application where you can zoom out. You can also move the pin on the map in case Evernote did something wrong with the coordinates or if you create the note somewhere else but you attach a picture taken somewhere else. Remember that if a picture you take also has embedded GPS coordinates (well, that actually depends on your phone and the setting in your phone) so you can also take GPS coordinates from a picture.

I now have a separate Evernote notebook 'Photo Shoot Locations' where I save the potential places for the upcoming shoots. I can easily browse them on my iPad, especially when I meet with a client or with my team when we brainstorm for next photo shoot. Simple, easy and free :)

Slow and Slugish Color Efex Pro 4 from Nik Software? Here is the solution!

January 6, 2013

I often use Color Efex Pro in my daily workflow, alongside Lightroom. I recently switched from a Macbook Pro to an iMac and I noticed that Color Efex Pro from Nik Software was extremely slow and sluggish and it took ages to apply a filter or at least to preview an effect on pictures exported from Lightroom. It didn't matter if the pictures were in jpg or tif formats, it also didn't matter whether or not they were in 8 or 16-bit, or in which color space they were. Color Efex Pro was just really slow. The solution to this 'sluggish' problem was quite simple": turn on Color Efex Pro in the 32-bit mode (by default, it launches in the 64-bit mode). To force it into the 32-bit mode in Mac OS X, go to your Applications folder, find the Color Efex Pro app, right-click (or Ctrl + click), choose 'Get info' and under the 'General' information you'll find a tick box that says 'Open in 32-bit mode'. From now on, Color Efex Pro will launch in the 32-bit mode and it should work as usual (faster). This solution fixed for me the problem of Color Efex Pro being slow and sluggish and I hope it will also work for you.

How an iPhone has become my carry-around camera

January 2, 2013

I use a DSLR (I'm a Nikon shooter) for my regular photography jobs and assignments. I also take it with me when I travel but I was a bit tired of carrying it around on my travels, especially that it's quite heavy (the battery grip adds lots of weight to it) and I wanted to have an all-in carry-around small point-and-shoot. I decided to buy Canon S100 but, for some reason, I was postponing buying it. Then, just a couple months ago, I bought a second-hand iPhone 4s and everything has changed.

I was really surprised how quickly my new iPhone has become my point-and-shoot camera. I was every more astonished how it has become my main camera during my travels.

The Good

Quality - I think that the quality of the pictures for a phone camera is great. Although many (if not all) point-and-shoot cameras on the market have much more than 8 megapixels (that what iPhone 4s has), it's not about the pixels here.

Panoramas - Shooting a panorama is a new function built-in to the iPhone's camera software (I think panoramas were introduced in iOS 6). You just slide the phone from left to right and the software automatically stitches the picture together. It works really great!

Geotagging/GPS - That's my favourite feature when I travel and when I take pictures of potential future photo shoot locations.

Sharing - And of course I can instantly share the pictures on social networks or other websites.

It's always with me - I think it's self-explanatory. I always have my phone with me and so is my phone camera now. I don't have to worry to remember to take my point-and-shoot with me, because the phone is always in my pocket.

The Bad

No RAW - that's quite obvious, iPhone doesn't allow you to shoot in RAW. I thought I would miss this feature but so far, I don't. I haven't had a need (or desire) to post-process pictures taken with an iPhone on my computer. I just use the phone for mobile photography, I edit pictures on my iPhone (or iPad) and that's it.

No Controls - Well, that's a big negative thing about the iPhone for me. I can't control the shutter speed, aperture, ISO - something that as a professional photographer I'm really used to have and use on my DSLR. Do I sometimes miss this feature on my iPhone - yes. Does it prohibit me from taking pictures - definitely not. And, some apps allow you to control at least some of these (I'm not sure how 'real' shutter or aperture control can be with these apps, so don't take my word on that, please :) ).

(All pictures in this article were taken with iPhone 4s and most of then post-processed with an app on an iPhone)

Lightroom Tip: Auto White Balance

November 18, 2012

Setting the right white balance in the camera might sometime be tricky and difficult and it's not always possible to use a grey card for that. Also, in-camera auto white balance might not always give good results, so I find myself sometimes correcting the white balance when post-processing images in Lightroom. However, that's always sometimes difficult for me when I have to judge myself what is the right white balance for an image.

What I discovered already some time ago is that Lightroom 4 also has auto white balance. Every time I use, I'm still amazed how good it is and how well it sets up white balance itself. You can find the auto white balance in Lightroom 4 in the Development module under the Basic panel on the right-hand side. I found the Lightroom's auto white balance to be quite reliable and correct in about 95% of cases but be aware that sometimes you need to make adjustments and changes.

Night Photography Workshop Announcement - Waking Pixels Up at Night

November 10, 2012

It's autumn and with each day it starts early to get dark outside. Instead of 'joining the dark side', you can make use of it! I'm happy to announce a 2-part night photography workshop I organize together with Viewfinders - The English Speaking Photography Club of Brussels. I'm particularly excited about this workshop because it's in fact not only one workshop, but 2-in-1 - we decided to do in fact 2 workshops - a theoretical (indoor) part and a practical night photography walk workshop. Both workshops will take place on the same day (24th November 2012) and in case of adverse weather conditions, the second workshop (practical night photography walk) will be re-scheduled for another day. You can download a little brochure with info from the Viewfinder's website here (there is link in the lower part of the website, you need to be logged in to Google docs) or download from my server here (it contains payment information as well).

You will learn or refresh your memory what are shutter speed, aperture and ISO, how they influence and what effect they have on exposure. I'll also cover some gear for night photography. You'll learn do's and don'ts for night and long-exposure photography. The theory will get you ready for the second part - practical night photography walk where you'll be able to unleash your creativity. I'll assist you to answer any questions you might have during the practical part during which you'll be taking night pictures, so bring your camera & tripod. You'll need a camera where you can manually adjust shutter speed, ISO and aperture.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Although the workshop is announced as for Viewfinders' members only, if you're not a Viewfinder member, I'm sure that their team will do everything to allow you to participate in the workshop. For this please contact Melita at zivodermelita@gmail.com

Details on the night photography workshop - Waking Pixels Up at Night

Date & Time: 24 November 2012 (theoretical and practical workshop) at 15:00.

The theoretical part will take up to 2 hours. We will have a little break and we will meet again the same day for the practical night photography which will be at least until 22:00.

Place: “Le Saint Lambert” restaurant (Upstairs room), Chausée de Roodebeek, 260, 1200 Woluwe Saint-Lambert / Sint-Lambrechts Woluwe.

Price (for both workshops): 60 euros (incl. VAT) - please pay this amount directly to Viewfinders, information is here

Number of total spots: max. 15 participants (hurry up, we are almost booked!)

What you need to bring with you:

- a camera which allows you to manually set shutter speed, ISO and aperture

- I recommend to have a wide-angle zoom lens

- a tripod

- warm clothes, gloves

Questions? Contact me.

The Sunset Alternative Couple

October 22, 2012

I think I couldn't image a better combination: a beautiful sunset, an interesting couple and a bit of alternative fashion. I put all these together using a speedlight and on-location photoshoot. I'm personally really satisfied with the results but of course, all these wouldn't be possible without a great team I had for this photoshoot: Ewa and Zoltan - models, Justyna - make-up and stylists, and Javier who assisted with lights and equipment.

The Balloon Mystery Photography Project

October 15, 2012

Guess what happens when you combine a great photo-shoot team, environmental photography, conceptual photography and my twisted mind, ideas and sense of humor - all of these resulted in the Balloon Mystery Photography Project. I don't want to write too much about it here because I think you should look at the pictures and not be distracted with my ramble and words... So here you go: the Balloon Mystery Photography Project and its results:

My photography at Photokina Fine Art Gallery

September 21, 2012

I'm happy to share with you that one of my photographs won a contest and is currently displayed at Photokina Fine Art Gallery. The information, which I received last week, made me very happy, especially that my work has been recognized at an event that is visited by a couple of hundred thousand of professional and amateur photographers and industry specialists.