Give your gear legs!

I got an e-mail via Flickr regarding my preferred tripod/head combo, and I thought it would be worth posting my reply here, too:



To give some context, the person who sent the message is an amateur photographer interested in long-exposure photography and self-portraiture.

These are pretty much the only times I use my tripod, too, as I much prefer cranking up the ISO on my cameras over locking myself to a tripod - I'm always on the move and I find that for my subjects, in the time it takes to properly position my camera on the tripod the moment is gone.

I'm a run-and-gun kind of guy.

That said, there are situations where tripods are absolutely critical. Three that I can think of off the top of my head are

1. Long-exposures where it would be unreasonable (or physically impossible) to hand-hold the camera steady for the duration of the exposure. One rule of thumb to remember is that the exposure duration should never be longer than the reciprocal of the focal length (e.g. 1/200th of a second at 200mm). Also note that a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second is required in most cases to freeze moving subjects (like people at a party), with shutter speeds increasing in speed as motion quickens.

2. Using long lenses that cannot be comfortably carried without support. In these cases, a monopod can be used effectively, but there are other options. When shooting surf, for example, specialized Wimberly tripod heads allow a great range of motion and permit fluid operation.

3. When you want to include yourself in the photo! Photographers make great subjects, too, you know!

Anyways, on to my answer.

I personally use Manfrotto 055XPROB legs with a Manfrotto 322RC2 grip-adjust ball head.

Manfrotto 055XPROB
In all honestly, I couldn't tell you the FUNCTIONAL difference between many tripod legs available today, but I do know the features that guided my selection of the 055XPROB legs.

They are pretty light weight, but not as light as many of the carbon models available. I don't see the value of an ultra-light (and fragile) tripod for my purposes.

Another feature I like on my tripod legs is the built-in level. This allows me to set up my tripod on uneven surfaces while maintaining a level plane from which I build my picture.

My favorite feature of the 055XPROB legs is their ability to GET LOW. With a push and a pull I can shift the main shaft - the one that the camera sits on - to a horizontal position. I have used this feature (in conjunction with the legs at the widest setting) countless times to achieve a perspective that is unique and unattainable with standard tripods.

Manfrotto 322RC2
I'm a big fan of this head. I find it's controls to be very intuitive - I just grab the handle, give it a squeeze, and am free to position the camera however I like. Once I release the "trigger" everything locks up tight and my camera is secure. I trust this head with all of my gear.

I have used regular ball heads, but nothing is as simple as squeezing a handle.

Additional features of this head include adjustable friction (to allow easy operation with light set-ups, or to secure the big guns), and another spirit level (because one is just not enough!). This head uses standard quick-release plates to mount the camera.

I admit that I do not have experience with the sophisticated and precise geared heads, but what I have works perfectly for me, so why spend any more money on something I might not even like!

Let me know what you guys use!

7 days down... 358 more to go!

A year in photos. That's the plan.

It's a new year and I am looking to a project that many photographers have taken up recently. "Project 365," as I call it, seems simple enough - one photo per day for one year. The idea is to get out and shoot EVERY DAY, and to post the shot of the day for the world to see. I want to take it further, though. This is about so much more for me than just snapping a shot daily and throwing it online. In addition to working on my craft, I want to use this project to grow in other directions, too. I want to become a better writer - to be able to verbalize what I really mean. I want to build relationships and expand the scope of my life here in Santa Clara as well as at home in Honolulu. I also want to use this project as a motivational tool in becoming a greater contributor to the community. In addition to personal work, I want to see how I can integrate service to the community with my Project 365.

I have no idea where this project will take me over the next year, but I am excited and willing to let it take on a life of its own. I will spend this next year chasing after the world - camera in hand.

Now, on to the pictures from week one.

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Day 1. I took this picture on February 10, 2010 - the first day of Project 365. The students and teachers walking around campus must have found it a bit odd that I was sitting at the foot of each tree, pointing my camera up and squinting into the viewfinder. To get this particular shot I laid in the grass underneath the tree, trying to find an interesting composition. I now realize I must have looked quite silly, but I figure throughout this project people will get used to me rolling around and crawling in the bushes. Maybe I'll come out of it all with a new nickname, who knows.

Day 2. This one actually happened pretty quickly. The light was quickly disappearing so I ran outside with my camera to try to catch some colors, but I was instantly drawn to a fountain outside my dorm. After a few minutes of shooting the full fountain with the sunset in the background I decided to try for a more unique shot. This particular fountain shoots thin streams of water through four spouts, so I got my camera behind one of the streams and shot outward towards the sunset.

Day 3. This one is special - I had been waiting over a month to get this shot! Jokes aside, Lindsey had just arrived at San Jose International Airport and I rushed to get a picture of the two of us before the #10 bus back to Santa Clara pulled up. The soft light is provided by a Nikon SB-900 flash fired against the concrete wall behind the bus stop... use what you've got!

Day 4. First of all I want to thank Kimi for playing tour guide and bringing us to this beautiful area. This rock is found off of a path overlooking Stevens Creek Reservoir. The rock itself is covered in messages left over the years ranging from "_____ was here" to "i love you mom."

Day 5. This is easily one of my favorite pictures that I've taken. Lindsey and I took the Zipcar up to Half Moon Bay and found this open lot near Main Street. I've always wanted to take pictures in one of those vast, open mountain fields but this will definitely do for now. The weeds had taken over the space, but it didn't bother us at all!

Day 6. Victor and Lauren took us on a tour around San Mateo, including the Parkside Plaza Shopping Center, San Mateo Central Park and the Leo J Ryan Memorial Park in Foster City. The Japanese Tea Garden in San Mateo Central Park is beautifully kept, and has a great atmosphere to it. The blossoms are starting to come out, making for a beautiful, sunny day in the park.

Day 7. After such a great President's Day weekend, it was hard to fall back into school life but I thought I would share some insight into my daily routine. I sometimes check my mailbox multiple times a day, even if I know there have been no deliveries, just because. There is something about dialing in my combination and hearing the lock click open that adds so much to the experience.

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See you next week!

Get out there.

In slow times, I often find myself spending a disproportionate amount of time thinking about photography versus actually taking pictures. For whatever reason, I sit at the computer, read blogs, look at gear online and helplessly watch tweets cascade down my screen. This is NOT productive. There is no substitute for time spent behind the camera (or in front of it, for that matter). That being said, while taking pictures of your shoes and soda cans around the house with different styles of lighting can be fun, this is not the kind of thing that leads up to a photographic revelation, unless of course you are mastering the art of still life.

On October 22nd, hunched over my keyboard and the Club Lexus forum, I came across a thread titled, "Hot Wings and Cars..." Sounds cool, I thought to myself. That would be fun if I had a car.

I scrolled down further.

Mini-Meet
Friday October 23rd
7pm-????
Smoke Eaters
2565 The Alameda
Santa Clara, CA 95050

Santa Clara? That's a coincidence. Wait... Smoke Eaters?

That's right across the street from my dorm.

Realizing that my one reason not to attend was no longer applicable, I decided to make a ridiculous request - for someone to pick me up from my dorm and basically drive me across the street... without ever even having met me in real life. Surely this would provide my much desired reason not to attend - no transportation.

Nope. A few short hours after my request, one of the other members of the forum offered to give me a lift.

I have been wanting to shoot cars for a while, now, and this was my chance. I decided that fate had this in store for me - A wake up call of sorts. While going through my usual routine of cleaning my equipment before a shoot, I started to imagine how I was going to photograph the cars at the meet. Should I bring a full kit of flashes, umbrellas and PocketWizards? Nah, that would be overkill. Before I went to bed that night I decided on bringing one body, one zoom lens, one flash and pair of PocketWizards just in case things went awry.



Despite the ineptitude at shooting automobiles I displayed throughout the evening, I had a fantastic time. I found myself more and more interested in meeting the people around me than worried about the quality of my photos. Throughout the evening I handed out some business cards and met a few fellow photographers.

That's when I realized I had learned a major lesson.

It's not about having the best photos or gear. It's not about knowing "what the big-boys think." None of this would have happened if I hadn't given the computer a rest. I would have put my shopping cart deep into imaginary debt on bhphotovideo.com, explored the hidden meaning of a random photostream on flickr, and giggled at the connection between the hashtags #kanyewest and #balloonboy.

I would have never met the wonderful people of Club Lexus: North California, exchanged business cards with photographers already involved in the automobile industry, or experienced someone actually WIN the Hellfire Challenge at Smoke Eaters.



There's a big world out there for you to explore. Take every opportunity you get to pull yourself out of your comfort zone.

In the end, being behind the camera did help me after all - it brought me there.

Actually, Ken did, but you know what I mean.

Elliot

Welcome to ecphotolife.

We are ecphoto, and this is our journey.

The purpose of this blog is to document our adventures in growing as a photography business. At the time of this blog entry, we are based out of Honolulu, Hawaii, and are composed of two people - myself plus one assistant. We are not trained in business, but what we do have is a passion for our craft, and a desire to grow our minds and talents through experience. We hope that you are able to use our experiences starting our business in your personal endeavors whether they are photography related or not.

Among other things, there are a few main topics we will focus on in our posts:

• Marketing, for one, will be a major point of interest for our business. Covering everything from composing a portfolio to print and web advertising, we need to present our business as a brand - something that our clients will recognize as ecphoto. Without marketing, all we have is our hopes and dreams.
  

• Networking is another key element in our practice. In the world of small business, it is imperative that we make connections with the community - not only with future clients, but also with other working professionals. We do not intend for our business to take an unfair share of the market, but rather to find our place within the industry. It would be fantastic to build lasting relationships with both colleagues and clients alike. In addition to real-world networking, we need to understand Web 2.0 and use it to our advantage. We will have to learn the ins and outs of social networking, which has proven to be an invaluable tool for other photographers in the industry. We realize that this is a huge undertaking, and that there is so much that we can learn from the community!

• Budget. It's easy to get carried away "investing" in your business. Drawing from our experiences, we will attempt to create a guideline for spending for gear, marketing, travel, personal projects and other expenses in order to keep from overextending our budget. The difference between a successful business and an expensive hobby is the ability to cover all spending while keeping out of the red.

• We will also keep you up to date on any personal work we have going. While this is not in line with the other major topics found above, we would love for you to also make a connection to the people behind ecphoto and the projects we create to keep ourselves fresh and motivated. From pro bono portraiture to our participation in public works, we hope that an insight into the more intimate lives of ecphoto will not only entertain, but bring this blog to life.
  

It is our goal to enlighten our readers in some way with the lessons we learn, but we would love to learn from you, too! We would love to hear your thoughts about our progress, and in addition to your comments, it would be great to know if there is anything you'd like for us to touch on in future entries.

We know that this will be an exciting journey, and we're looking forward to sharing it with you!

Thank you for your continued support.

Elliot