Just a quick note about Animania Sydney 2011 photos
Hi to all the newcomers to the site from Animania over the weekend.
I've got a whole heap of photos to process, but the timing is a little poor and it's unlikely I'm going to have a chance to take a crack at them over the next few days due to work. Make sure you check in over the next few days.
Also a huge thank you for those that attended the Photography 101 session a few weeks back. I hope each of you got something out of it.
I also dropped by Japan in the past week, so I'll have something to post up quite shortly, along with a few more talking topics. Stay tuned! =)
Photography 101 – Getting off automatic
Everyone has a digital SLR these days. They're getting relatively cheap, and they're so much faster than some of the point and shoot alternatives out there.
You've got one, don't you? You bought it because you wanted something that gives you more control and a greater ability to shoot in a creative way, but are you still shooting on automatic? Do you know the differences between lenses? Or even which ones to buy? Do you want to become a better photographer?
Photography 101 is about giving you back the control that you bought your DSLR for. You wanted to improve your craft, but you're still letting the camera do the thinking. In this course, you'll learn how to master the elements of exposure and how to use each one together to produce a photo that you had in mind, not the camera. You'll learn to pick what you want out of a lens other than it's zoom range. You'll learn to adapt to the shortcomings of your equipment, while playing to its strengths. You will be able to focus on expressing your creativity rather than wrestling with the camera.
If you want to take back control of your craft, drop me an email at muki () dorifuto.com. It'll be a one off class, run entirely free, on 3 September at Australian Technology Park. Places are strictly limited, so make sure you get in contact to receive additional details and secure your spot.
Five tips for photographers and cosplayers
I'm taking a break from processing photos I took over the weekend at Smash!, but while I've got some thoughts for cosplayers and photographers fresh in my head, I thought I'd splurge them out. Bear in mind, these are for cosplayers and photographers taking photos during the cosplay event on stage, not wandering around the venue.
Getting your geek on: Supanova review and photos
It was certainly not the coldest Saturday morning I'd experienced, but my choice in clothes wasn't helping as I walked along one of the longest expo lines I'd seen in a while. I wasn't quite sure what line it was for at first, until I overheard one of the organisers explaining to a family that they would need to join a different line to buy tickets, then join the line for entry. Ouch.
Another year of conventions
It must be getting close to convention season again.
I tend not to make this site just about the conventions, but I must say, a heck of a lot of you seem to be visiting because of them!
So, I'm happy to let you all know that both Smash! and Animania have invited me back to shoot at their flagship events this year. As something different, I've also approached Supanova this year since there seems to be quite an overlap. I'll hopefully hear back from them soon, so cross your fingers. They're quite happy to have me along also!
In other news, I've been getting a few requests for running another Photography 101 class from those that missed it the first time. While I don't have anything planned at the moment, last year's happened because I was able to get some teaching space at Australian Technology Park. If that happens again this year, I'll be hosting another free session. Keep your eyes peeled.
Vivid Sydney 2011
Made my first foray out to Vivid Sydney last night and somehow managed to lose the group I was with!
Nevermind, I met up with some others and wandered around The Rocks side of town.
I was surprised that some of the locations I would have gone to didn't have many people. At the Opera House itself, right next to the sails, there weren't too many people. Also, the Cahill Expressway, looking out to the Opera House and the bridge, there was absolutely no one there. Over at The Rocks, you can climb up to the bridge on the eastern side and with a long lens get a fairly decent shot of the Opera House.
I'll likely try again some time over the next two weeks and this time bring a wider lens.
Creating a consistent shooting style
Most people will tell you that you need to develop a style in your work -- something that sets you apart from everyone else, usually inspired from everyone else. For the most part, I agree, but the one thing a lot of us forget is that it's not always about the end images. Sometimes, it's the way you get there.
I shoot a lot in aperture priority, offsetting my exposure where I need to. I do it because it affords me the necessary manual control over exposure (within a 6 EV range), but more importantly, I am most comfortable shooting this way.
The last thing I would expect of a professional photographer in the field is to miss a photo because they weren't at one with their equipment -- that they don't have something that they're comfortable with and that they know works.
When you develop your style, this is also the best time to consider how flexible you are. Most photographers shoot through the lens, using the eyepiece. They live with the disadvantage of never being able to see the final image when it is taken and instead pre-visualise the depth of field -- a trade off that helps with them knowing they'll get the composition spot on.
Others spend copious amounts of time practicing how to shoot from the hip.
I know photographers who spend significant amounts of time never using the viewfinder and instead using their LCD to determine depth of field and get exactly what they want to see. I doubt they'll ever do the same in fast-paced sports, but they know exactly what they're getting.
Are any of these wrong? No. Some might have different applications in the various genres of photography, but a shooting style is yours. The most important thing is to develop a consistent style, know what works, know what doesn't and always have a plan for when things go south.
What's your style?
The difference between buying lenses from the US and Australia
For photographers, the retail market in Australia is so hideously overpriced you're better off shopping from the US. This is pretty widely known, but I've decided take a look at how much you might save.
Let's do the math and take a look.
Why faster compact flash cards are not always better
I've got a bit of a confession to make. I don't use super-ultra-fast compact flash cards.
In fact, for a long while, I was using a single 8GB Sandisk card capable of only 30MB/s transfer that I've had for five or six years now. I still use it, in fact.
Why not cards that transfer at 90MB/s or higher? Because I rarely ever get to use them at that capacity.
I don't shoot traditional sports, and even in the fast-paced arena of motorsports, I only ever burst off 6-7 shots. The low frame per second count of the 5D Mark II (3.9fps) doesn't make it suited to fast paced action. Nevertheless, at full resolution, in RAW format, the buffer doesn't fill up until 13 or so shots. That means that holding the trigger down at a shutter speed of anything faster than about 0.25s, it's going to take 3.3s before the transfer rate of the card even matters. Longer if you're using slower shutter speeds.
I don't know many occasions where a high-performance vehicle takes longer than three seconds to pass by and I need to capture absolutely every single shot.
But Muki, what about transfer times when you get home?
I carry a number of cards and I back them up regularly. In the field, they all go into a portable hard drive. I don't really care how long it takes to back up, because I already have another card in the camera. I'm not waiting on anything. Once I'm home, the hard drive comes out and is hot-plugged right into my workstation, as if it were an internal drive. I could work from it right away if I were so inclined, but I prefer to copy the files out.
The amount you save on using slower cards is enormous. They can always go towards purchasing more cards, or replacing/purchasing additional hard drives. All you need to do is shift your transfer times to in the field, which has the added benefit of giving you increased redundancy of your files.
For sure, if you need reliability from brand-named cards, I'd recommend doing so, but never pay for something you're not going to use.
Vivid Sydney is starting to light up
It's coming back again this year. Sydney puts on a light show for a little over two weeks and lights up the Opera House among other structures in the city.
I've actually missed the last two Vivid Sydneys. I think the combination of cold and the idea that every man and his dog will be out with their camera has put me off. But when you think about it, there's plenty of time to get out and shoot. If anything, it's going to be great to see who comes out of the woodwork with their camera.
So this year, I'll make the effort to be out and about. Maybe, just maybe, I'll see if I can pull off something different 
Calendar
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Sep | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | ||||
Twitter (mukimu)
- Clocking off this arvo with a #technolatte podcast -- Facebook's IPO, Optus TV Now and cyber crooks' tips and tricks. http://t.co/7upIRDEw 2 days ago
- http://t.co/MbDSdFG4 My SO: "went to make tea, came back to this" 2 days ago
- Saw Tower Heist last night. My fav line: You've only been a lawyer for 3 days and you're trying to bribe the FBI? / Sharks are born swimming 2 days ago
- Love it when peeps let me know they got my enquiry and are on it. Prevents that limbo-ness of not knowing if anything is actually happening. 2 days ago
- Do you think it's time we did more about mobile malware? Commentary: http://t.co/CuUSwPgM 3 days ago
