Or, maybe some of you are just thinking of rolling into town for the Trade Show, (and a little late-night partying?  Or some themed photo shoots?) …then check this out:  You can go to the trade show for FREE!  Just use the code:  WPPIEXF when you register at www.wppionline.com.  No limit, no strings attached, just attend the trade show for free!

(Note:  I cannot be responsible for any money you might spend INSIDE the trade show, what with the Canon 1DX and the Nikon D4 being around!)

BTW, if you’re *NOT* going to WPPI this year, never fear!  SLR Lounge will have an extensive, full report to give once the educating (and partying?) subsides.  Check back for more coming soon!

Take care,
=Matt=

Indeed, now there are much better ways to get an aerial camera perspective that will make you the talk of the local photo community!  (With many more stories that involve awesome photos, and hopefully far fewer that involve tragic impacts! ;-)

Check out this awesome Kickstarter project called “Eye3″, that we found on Engaget:

…Unfortunately, it looks like it may be another two years before the American FAA even *considers* allowing the general public to send their DSLR’s zipping through the skies around their favorite photo locations.  For now, “UAV” photography such as the “Draganfly” RC helicopters  seems to be restricted to government use only.

And honestly?  I guess I can’t blame them.  I mean without a lot of strict regulation, this could spell disaster at any small municipal airport if some aviation photo nut were to get a little over-zealous…  And can you imagine a bunch of noisy, camera-carrying “birds” buzzing around all your favorite photo locations?  That quiet beach sunset? That serene national park?  Hmm, all of a sudden I’m having second thoughts here, even though the geek inside me is still giddy.

Personally, I’ve also always been a fan of KAP,  or “Kite Aerial Photography”…  Most notable is the great work by Scott Haefner, an “Urban Exploration” photographer who has been attaching DSLR’s to kites since at least 2002.  Of course you gotta have wind for this aerial option to work, but at least it’s probably a whole lot more affordable than a computer-stabilized, 5-rotor helicopter!  Also, of course it’s a lot quieter…  Personally, there has always been a nature-conscious side of me that tries to remember what is best for the natural environment, and also what is just plain respectful to other people.

“Return to Camelot” (Image is copyright, used by permission!)
(Burning Man 2009) 

 “Eye of the Storm” (Image is copyright, used by permission!)
” Spiral Jetty Earthwork” by Robert Smithson (Great Salt Lake, Utah)

So what I’m wondering now is, …are we photo geeks getting out of control?  Triggering our wireless flashes all up in people’s & animals’ faces?  Carelessly plunking our tripods down in every last tidepool on the beach?  And now, sending our cameras up into the air on a noisy, privacy-shrinking robo-copter-camera?  (Not to mention, if a ~10 pound camera rig falls on your head from more than just a few feet, it could kill you!)

Whatever your own personal answer to this question may be, I think it is important to note one thing-  Think twice, and be respectful.  I’m a huge camera geek, a strobist, and even quite the aviation buff.  I hope that in a few years we can all play with amazing new gadgets that allow us to create photographs like never before.  But I also hope that we can keep ourselves from ever getting too disrespectful of the environment, or other people’s privacy.

Last but not least I’ll take us back to the subject of “camera tossing”, but in a totally different way this time, one that is quite harmless by comparison…   It isn’t very “aerial”, but it still involves “tossing” your camera for a split second. …In a dark room, with just a couple flashlights / glow-sticks, or whatever you like.  What.  The.  Heck. …you say?  Here’s a hint-  It involves very slow shutter speeds, and VERY abstract results.  Check out the official CameraToss blog, or the group on Flickr, for more!  If enough people request it, maybe we’ll do a tutorial on camera-tossing sometime…

Please feel free to share YOUR OWN aerial photos of any kind, OR your opinion on the subject in general.  I’m curious to know whether people feel the same way I do about all this awesome new technology that we’re just starting to scratch the surface of… :-)

Take care,
=Matt=

Who knew food photography could be so geeky and scientific?  Post-Production Pye showed me this video on Vimeo, (thanks to James Lee who is a master chef and photography enthusiast!) and I think it’s an amazing concept that was beautifully accomplished.

Of course the folks at http://modernistcuisine.com/ haven’t even really used the “latest” technology in executing their concept, from a technical standpoint all it took was a regular high-speed flash setup, something that has been around for decades.  The most famous high-speed photo (Harold Edgerton) was captured in 1964!  And look, it’s food again!

But seriously, does that mean that *ALL* food photography is now considered “old”?  Not in my opinion.  If anything, this only proves that creative people will always find a new way to approach photography.

Now, let’s add the absolute NEWEST in photographic technology to the equation:  Namely, the amazing improvements we have seen recently in digital sensor image quality, especially dynamic range and low-light performance at high ISO’s.  The work of Tom Lowe from TimeScapes.org has continually blown us away here at SLR Lounge; I personally have the HD video on pre-order and I’m super excited!  Raw footage like this just goes to show that there are many, MANY new horizons out there for us to enjoy…

I’m sure that many readers still have one or two thoughts going through their minds:

1.)  It *still* has all been done before, all we’re doing is re-shooting stuff in higher resolution.  (Boring?)
Often, this is true.  Movies like Avatar could be considered “totally new”, …or some people are just calling it “a computer re-generated re-make of ‘Dances With Wolves’…”  LOL!  But I would argue that even though we’re all using the same “building blocks”, fresh creativity still abounds today.  That’s what it’s all about- building blocks, and finding new things to do with them.  Just like how each human being is made out of the same stuff-  skin and bones – and yet we manage to come up with 6+ billion different (sets of) fingerprints!

2.)  Sure, an elite few people are “inventing” new things, but the rest of US are still just copying THEM. (So why bother?)
In my opinion that is such a cop-out!  Yeah, I might be “copying” Tom Lowe when I go out to Joshua Tree at 2 AM and drive around photographing time lapses on a Canon 5 D mk2 and 24 1.4 L… But you know what?  I still find it very, very creatively satisfying to follow in the footsteps of other pioneers.  We’re still at the cutting edge of what is possible, and just because another artist is one step ahead of you today, doesn’t mean you or someone else won’t be able to pass them by in a year or three!

All I can say is, that if  everyone gave up on trying something new and creative the moment they saw someone else using the same technique, well, then we would never get to enjoy masterpieces such as this:

Take care,
=Matt=

Product Name: Strobist Trade Secret Card Pack
Cost: $22
Website/Purchase: http://nice-industries.com/
Subject: Lighting and Camera Techniques

As always, to help out you lazy folks who don’t want to read or watch the entire review, here is the pre-conclusion conclusion. For $22, the Strobist card pack is one of the cheapest and best forms of on-the-go inspiration. Not only is every image breath taking, the setups and guidance on how each shot was pulled off will provide something of value to even the most experienced photographers. This product is definitely 100% SLR Lounge approved.

I am going to keep this short and sweet, in fact, why don’t we just do this review bullet point style. Here is what I love about the Strobist trade secret card pack.

1) Quality of images – Every image is breath taking. They are shots that a person would actually want to learn how to create.

2) Educational value – Let me start this portion by saying I am a professional with Lin and Jirsa Photography and a well versed strobist. With each shot I found myself trying to deconstruct how the image was created. While fften times I was correct, nearly just as often the shot was pulled off in a manner that I didn’t think about. There were even a few shots that I was simply stumped by until I looked at the diagram. Not only did I learn new tricks, I also learned new and different ways of capturing shots that I already had a system of capturing.

3) Quality Diagrams – Each card features a wonderful diagram as well as shooting instructions. Every card had a beautiful lighting and shot diagram along with instructions that taught exactly how the shot was pulled off.

4) Variety – I love the fact that in this 24 card set there is so much variety. From portraits to editorial to automotive to product shots, it has a wide variety of photographic subjects.

5) Portable Inspiration – One of the greatest strengths of products like this is that they serve as wonderful little bits of portable inspiration. Throw them in your shooting bag and just before your next shoot, glance through them. I guarantee it will give you ideas on new shots you can try out.

6) Affordability – Lastly, what makes the Strobist pack so awesome is simply the affordable price for this awesome product. $22 for 24 wonderfully well made cards is a steal. You can even get the Chase Jarvis set for $24, which I am also going to pick up as well. We have seen a lot of these types of trade cards on the market, but most are priced in the $50 – $100 range making them a rather impractical and overpriced form of education.

Kudos to Zeke and Nice Industries. We love the Strobist Trade Secret Card pack and we know you will too as this product is 100% SLR Lounge Approved.

Enjoy!

Post Production Pye
SLR Lounge Senior Editor
Partner of Lin and Jirsa Photography

Hey everyone! Just wanted to make one final announcement. We have been invited to give a lecture at this months SMUG in Los Angeles at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn this Thursday January 26th starting at 7pm. The event is free, and there are already over 102 people attending, so be sure to get in your RSVP quick if you are planning to go. You can RSVP and get all the information by visiting this page – Los Angeles SMUG.

We are going to be discussing the following topics:

Business Strategy
Branding and Image
Website Cohesion
Client Experience
Blogging Guidance
SEO Tips
Social Media (FB, Twitter, etc)

We are going to have a blast, so come on out and meet the Lin and Jirsa, SLR Lounge and UNDFIND team! Can’t wait to see you all.

Post Production Pye