It’s raining and I have to shoot, now what?

It’s raining and I have to shoot, now what?

We have all been there, needing to get assignments done and the weather isn't it's best so what can we do? We still have a deadline that we have to make, but we don't want to get our cameras wet. For me I shoot OCR races professionally so sometimes I don't have a choice but to work in the rain. While my semi pro body is weather resistant and so is the glass that doesn't mean I should let it get wet. So what are the available options? Between myself and some of my peers we have tried several different options. I have used in the past a inexpensive bag that is made to protect your gear from the elements. The company is called Op Tech and the bags are available at most camera retailers. They cost about $8 for 2 bags. The bag is pretty simple to use and it very convenient because they fold up small and will fit in your bag.

             There are other options that are more expensive solution but It doesn't mean it's better.  One of my peers have purchased a few of the more expensive ones and they each had something about them he didn't like. The one system that he using covered the equipment very nicely but the area to look through to view the screen kept fogging up on him. That could make it difficult to get the shots if you can't seem what you are shooting. It always best to do you research before you purchase anything because you don't want to have to keep buying different ones before you find what fits your needs. 

             Weather really isn't the best reason to not meet your deadline. There are many available options for us to prepare for the nasty days as well as the nice once. It's always best to make sure you are prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at you. Sometimes you will find that you have taken your best shot yet and the weather wasn't that favorable. One of the photographers that AI have gone out and shot with never cancels for Inclement weather. The one time I went to shoot in NYC on top of “The Rock” the weather wasn't that nice and they claimed the visibility was very low. I decided to go up anyway since I was there and the view was much better then I thought,  my shots turned out great anyway. You don't want to miss out on opportunities by not being prepared or thinking you just don't want to shoot in the rain.

For more information take a look at these options, each camera will have a different sized cover but the cheaper plastic bag ones are universal.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/469774-REG/OP_TECH_USA_9001132_18_Rainsleeve_Set_of.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/815182-REG/LensCoat_LCRCPM4_RainCoat_Pro_Realtree_Max4.html

 

TBT 

Thursday Ambassador

New ways to get creative.

Recently I was able to try out a new photography tool. This tool is great for getting creative and the possibilities seem endless. The tool is called the Pixelstick, barley on the market but will be fully very soon. Was recently part of a kick starter program to secure funding to help bring this invention to market. The founders Bitbangerlabs was hoping to receive $110000.00 in support to help bring this tool to market. What they did get was a flooding of interested people and received $628,417.00 well over there hopped amount. In the proceeding months they worked on getting some select companies to manufacture the product they designed. The manufacturing was built from their working prototype.
         This Pixelstick will take your light painting to a whole new level. You can have it broadcast simple patterns or you can even have it display a .bmp file 1 pixel line at a tie to broadcast full characters or words from within your images. When I gave this tool a test run I didn't have any .bmp files with my to use that feature but I have seen some images from others to know that the possibilities are endless on what you can create. You can really do some out of the box thinking with portraits, product photography, or just simple abstract images. You can purchase your own for $325 currently but there is no confirmed date they will start shipping late orders since they have to fulfill all there backers orders first. I know I will be purchasing my own I hope very soon. If your looking to get creative with your photography then I would look into getting one for yourself.

For more information check out their kick starter website.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitbangerlabs/pixelstick-light-painting-evolved/posts

You can also check out their website to purchase your own.
http://www.thepixelstick.com

People have been finally receiving their own Pixelsticks so check out Flicker for some great ideas of how you could use your own Pixelstick
https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Pixelstick

TBT Ambassador Thursday

Works Cited

Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

"Pixelstick - Lightpainting Evolved | Home." Pixelstick - Lightpainting Evolved | Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

"Pixelstick - Light Painting Evolved." Kickstarter. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Aug. 2014.

How to shoot Lightning.

So this week I wanted to talk about shooting lightning. Its that time of year where we start to get the right weather to create lighting. The first and foremost important thing is to realize that lightning can be a great thing to capture it is also dangerous. You want to make sure that you take the right steps to protect yourself and your gear. Some of the very obvious things you don’t want to do are stand under a tree. Use an umbrella. Some other info I found was:

•    Avoid putting yourself above the surrounding landscape. Seek shelter in low-lying areas such as valleys, ditches and depressions but be aware of flooding.

•    Stay away from water. Don't go boating or swimming if a storm threatens, and get to land as quickly as possible if you are already on the water. Lightning can strike the water and travel a substantial distance from its point of contact.

•    Stay away from objects that conduct electricity, such as tractors, golf carts, golf clubs, metal fences, motorcycles, lawnmowers and bicycles.

•    Avoid being the highest point in an open area.Swinging a golf club, or holding an umbrella or fishing rod can make you the tallest object and a target for lightning.

•    You are safe inside a car during lightning, but be aware of downed power lines which may be touching your car. You are safe inside the car, but you may receive a shock if you step outside.

•    In a forest, seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes.

•    Keep alert for flash floods, sometimes caused by heavy rainfall, if seeking shelter in a ditch or low-lying area.

As far as equipment you need a tripod, camera remote (I prefer wireless) a good rain cover. In my bag you will find:

Rokinon 14mm on my D600 with Rain sleeve

Nikon D600, Rokinon 14mm F2.8, Phottix Aion Wireless Remote, Induro CT314 Tripod, and Optech Rain shelve.

As far as setting go I set my ISO to 100 and my shutter to bulb with a F stop of F/5- F/11 The reason I set the camera to bulb it I let my Phottix Aion remote do all the work, I can set it up so that it shoots 30 seconds at a time for as many shots that I set up. I usually start with 100 shots. I set the camera up and then raise the ISO to about 500 and open the shutter for about 10 seconds just to give me an idea of how the scene will look once exposed. If I like it then I bring the ISO back down to 100 and then hit the play button on the remote and it starts triggering the camera. Out of 100 shots I’m lucky if I get 3 good images sometimes its none. There is no way to cover every viewing direction so you have to set the camera up and hope that its pointing in the right spot. To get this right I would use your judgment and look at radar to see what direction the storm is travelling. If you need to you could always change your cameras view and then reset the remote to start shooting again. I hope this helps some that are struggling with capturing Lightning. Please post your images in the Google Plus page I would love to see them.

TBT

Thursday Ambassador

 Works Cited:

"How to Photograph Lightning, From Start to Finish." PetaPixel RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://petapixel.com/2013/04/10/how-to-photograph-lightning-from-start-to-finish/>.

"Lightning Safety." Government of Canada, Environment Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.ec.gc.ca/foudre-lightning/default.asp?lang=En&n=159F8282-1>.

Bag Links

Rain Sleeve:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=583456&gclid=CjkKEQjw5qmdBRCn--70gPSo074BEiQAJCe7zZuagGc2zro2bjNYnCs56TG2u7dccwyVZbC22DRspJ7w_wcB&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Phottix Aion Wireless Timer And Shutter Release

http://www.uniquephoto.com/accessories2/phottix-aion-wireless-timer-and-shutter-release-for-nikon-upto-60m-ph16375/?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=sc&scid=scplp772994

Rokinon 14mm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769555-REG/Rokinon_FE14MAF_N_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html

Your New "TBT" Thursday Ambassador is here to help!

Hello, everyone my name is Mathew and I have been selected to be the new Thursday Ambassador. I have been attending AI now since last June and what a great experience I have had thus far. I am currently studying for my Associates degree in Photography. I live on the East Coast in the great state of New Jersey! I have really enjoyed photography since I was a teen but back then digital wasn’t heard of or affordable. Back then I would shoot with a 35mm Olympus camera. I worked hard to save up enough money to buy this camera used from a store. After that I was hooked, shooting many rolls of film per week. It seemed like I had to work just to develop my film.

Up until last February 2013 I never owned a good digital camera. I finally saved up enough to purchase one. I found a Nikon D600 and regained the passion I once had. Over the next few months I debated about going to school and learning all I can learn about photography. So last May I looked into it further and applied to AI, I love all the new things I have learned and continue to learn. Hopefully I can share with you my experience and help you with any questions you may have. Currently I have been shooting a lot of night photography and Astrophotography, sometimes sunrises. I will share with you a shot that I have taken this past month and I look forward to discussing some of my shots and experiences in a future blog. Feel free to message me, or any of the other great Ambassadors here.

                               

How long have you attended AI?

What are your career goals?

Sunrise, Pre-dawn colors, Sea Isle, NJ. Personal photograph by Mathew Renk. 2014.

Keep on shooting!

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Thursday Ambassador