Max Stansell Photography: Blog https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog en-us (C) Max Stansell Photography (Max Stansell Photography) Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:39:00 GMT Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:39:00 GMT https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/img/s/v-12/u409692214-o238087030-50.jpg Max Stansell Photography: Blog https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog 97 120 My Favorite Camera #361 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/my-favorite-camera-361 Hey Ya'll, How's your week going? Me? Pretty good. Today I want to talk about what my favorite camera is to shoot with. Now I am very lucky I have many cameras accumulated during my years of photography from film to digital and out of all of the camera's I have I have a couple that I would call my favorite. They are not necessarily my best camera's or my newest. They are not even the ones that I would take on a big trip. But they are fun to shoot. And that's the most important thing I think is that they are fun to shoot. That's why we do photography because it's fun and a great way to experience life. First we'll talk about film camera's because film and digital are different animals.

Film Camera's. I have been shooting my own film camera's from the mid 1970's and have had and accumulated quite a few camera's. My first camera in film was the Pentax K1000. This is the camera that I learned basic photography on. Nice and simple the only thing that wasn't mechanical was the meter in it that was powered by batteries. I have shot 110 camera's for family stuff but to tell you the truth the ones I used were like toys and didn't take very good photo's. 35mm has been my standard for years and I have just got into 120 medium format film. My favorite film camera is a 35mm and cost me just 120 dollars. It's the Canon Canonet QL17 GIII. It came out in the 1972 and is a range finder camera. It is known as the poor man's Leica.  It focus is quick and precise. The QL in the name stands for quick loading which it is and easy to load. It can shoot in Shutter priority and will not shoot if you are way out of whack with your settings. It will shoot in manual. And it is a very handsome camera. I have got nothing but great photo's out of it. It has a 40mm fixed lens with a maximum aperture of f1/1.7. My runner up is a Canon Demi EE17 which is a 1966 camera that shoots half frame 35mm. Not it is a sexy camera and the only thing that kept it our of the top spot is that it uses zone focusing so sometimes you get out of focus shots. If it had the same focusing as the Canonet it would be #1. But the Canonet Ql17 GIII is my favorite film camera to shoot.

Digital Camera's. From my first digital camera a Kodak point and shoot I have gone through many camera's. From High end professional models to consumer camera's. Some were more fun to shoot than others. I have shot Simi professional with high end cameras and as an amateur like I am now with consumer and of course I use my phone like everyone else. Let me start out by saying that my phone isn't my favorite digital camera although it does get great photo's when needed. I have shot all different sensor sizes and have enjoyed all of them. Most of my photo's in my website are shot in crop sensor (APSC) sized. I am shooting full frame sensor Sony's now as my main camera's and love the results I get from them and they go with me when I travel for photography trips. With all of the lenses that come with them. My favorite camera to shoot and the one that I use the most isn't a full frame or a crop sensor camera. Its smaller. Now I have camera that will shoot under water and if you count GoPros ones that will clip onto things for unique shots and even shoot video's. But it's not those camera's also. The thing that makes it the most favorite for meIs the mobility of this little camera. It can fit in my pocket or around my neck and hardly is noticed. I purchased this little camera to go to Washington DC with my wife. I wanted a camera that I wouldn't be consumed by while with her. So she wouldn't have to wait on me fumbling with lenses or settings. It's a perfect travel companion and goes with me on almost every trip. It's so versatile that I use it as a backup to my bigger Sony's when I travel. It's the Canon Powershot G7XII which came out in 2016. It has a 24-100mm full frame equivalent lens at f1.8-2.8. It has a 1" sensor. at 20megapixels. Its articulating screen is also a touch screen and can easily move focus with a touch of the finger. I have it set up so it will accept 52mm filters like a polarizer and ND filter. It also has an electronic ND filter that you can use. It shoots in Manual and all of the other modes that my larger cameras do. Is it perfect? No but it is my favorite. It goes with me almost anywhere for the just in case photo's. Are other camera's better ? You bet but this one is fun. When I take my big trips this year it will be right beside me. When I went to South Dakota it was there for shots in the car and in towns. I didn't carry my big camera for town walks just this little point and shoot.

How funny is it that even though I am a devoted Sony shooter my favorite camera's to shoot are both Canon. Digital and Film. LOL Both of these cameras are point and shoot camera's and I don't have to mess with bringing extra lenses and gear when I'm out and about with these cameras. What are your favorite camera's to shoot? Camera's are very personal things and I suspect there will be all sorts of answers to that question. Well that's it for me this week until next, Get out and Shoot. With your favorite.

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping canon gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/my-favorite-camera-361 Fri, 20 Jun 2025 12:39:14 GMT
The Mechanics of OFF Camera Flash #360 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/the-mechanics-of-off-camera-flash Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a super week! This week I want to talk about something I don't think I've talked about much. Off camera flash and the mechanics on how to hook up your camera to shoot off camera. I was recently on a workshop that my club had on Portrait Photography and using off camera strobes. You may not know but I used to do a lot of portrait work and shot weddings and the such. But as I've got older I haven't done as much. You can use off camera flash to do all sorts of photography from table top , macro, real-estate and yes portraits. Attending this workshop got me thinking about the past and the tools and the mechanics on how to set up off
camera flash even if you shoot film instead of digital. Honestly I haven't shot much off camera flash with film but have recently and it works pretty well you just have to figure out how to get the flash to sync with your camera when you push the shutter button. Now most camera's have a hot shoe on top of your camera that you can put a flash and through the connection when you push the shutter your flash goes off. This is a very flat and not flattering light and to improve it you must get the flash off of the camera and to the side somehow. Thats what this blog is about the mechanics of OFF Camera Flash. 

Sync Cord: The easiest way is with a sync cord. This cord goes from a port on your camera (usually covered by a little plastic cover) to a port on the flash or strobes that you have. This is how it was done in the old days and cords and cables were strewn all over the place. This is a cheap way to do it and it works. The drawback is the cord you can only go as far away from your flash with the length of your cord.


Infra Red triggers: Infra Red triggers are built into some camera's. They allow you to trigger the flash through an infra red signal that comes from your camera to the flash. The trick is that it is proprietary. You must use your camera's brands flash. With Nikon you must use Nikon flash , Canon you must use Cannon flash. Which makes this a very expensive endeavor as brand name flashes are very expensive. Also you must have line of site with these triggers . Much like the remote control of your TV you can't have anything get in-between the camera and flash or it doesn't work.


Radio Triggers: These triggers use radio waves to transmit a signal from your camera to the flash or strobe. You hook a transmitter to your camera's hot shoe and receiver to your flash or strobe light. Then through radio waves you can trigger the flash to fire when you press the shutter button. These are very popular and come in many price ranges from 40 dollars to hundreds of dollars. Pocket wizards were the industry standard many years ago but you can have all sorts that work great. The biggest thing with these is to make sure that you are not on the same frequency as another nearby photographer or your flashes will work off of his press of the shutter too. These triggers do not need line of site and can be placed almost anywhere and the radio waves will reach them witch is great for back lighting where the light is placed behind the subject. These types of triggers only trigger the flash they do not work with TTL of your camera they are used on manual flashes and strobes.

TTL Radio Trigger/Controllers: Then there is the Controller trigger. It takes all the info from your camera and transfers it to the strobe and makes the proper power flash off of these calculations. It can shoot TTL and High Speed Sync. It can control from your camera many flashes at one time and have them flash at different powers to each flash. These triggers are proprietary to the brand of camera you have. So if you have a Nikon you have to get a controller that fits a Nikon. The controller mounts to the hot shoe and you can dial in what you want and what channel each flash is on. You can have external receivers or they are built into the flashes themselves. The flashes/strobes have to be compatible with the controller used. Godox brand is the most popular but there are others also. The controllers cost about 70 bucks but you must also purchase the flashes and or strobes .

Slaves for Multiple flashes: If you have more than one flash that you want to trigger but only have one trigger and one receiver or only have a sync cord going to one flash you can use optical flash slaves that hook to the second flash or strobe. When it sees a flash from the first flash that is synced it goes off instantaneously . You must manually adjust these flashes but the system works well and I used it for years before I got newer trigers for my flashes. 

Being able to control the light really makes you a great photographer and shooting off camera flash and strobes is the first step in really being able to CONTROL the light. Not just react to it. Hope this was helpful until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography off camera flash Photography radio Receivers Sony Strobe Transmitters travel TTL Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/the-mechanics-of-off-camera-flash Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Packing for a Street Photography Trip #359 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/packing-for-a-street-photography-trip Hello Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Pretty well. Hey I was thinking about what I would take on a Street photography trip let's say to New Your City. The Big Apple! I have never been but am looking to go soon so what would I take on let's say a long extended weekend trip. What camera gear or my computing needs for that matter. I know I want to be quick and nimble while in route so just a carry on bag if flying or taking the train. So I would want all of my gear and clothing to fit in the carry on which would be some sort of backpack. Light on gear and clothes. So let's get started with the easy stuff clothes.

If I was going on a 4 day trip to include travel days on each end. I would probably take two pairs of pants the ones I was wearing and one other. And a couple of shirts. These clothes would have to be very packable not jeans or clothes like that. I like to travel with convertible pants that can become shorts at a moments notice and shirts that are super light weight. Just to make things easier well say that this trip is in the spring so cool in the mornings and warm during the day. So I would want some sort of jacket that would compact down to a small size when it warmed up. Just a few personal toiletries to get by with. A comfortable pair of shoes because I'll be doing some walking. I would put all of this in some sort of packing cube that would fit in my backpack.

Now let's talk about camera gear and computing. I'll start with computing because I would keep it simple some sort of iPad maybe my iPad mini. It's small and compact and I'll be able to back up my photo's from each day and even edit some if I need to. Now to camera gear. I have lots of good choices to choose from. If I wanted to keep it super small I could use my point and shoot Canon G7XII . Its small compact, 20mp type 1 sensor and has a 24-100 equivalent lens with maximum aperture of f/1.8-2.8. It's very discrete and small and would go almost unnoticed . But never have been to New York before I would want something a little more punch. I would probably bring my A7C with a 50mm and a 16-35mm lens. Both are small-ish but would definitely be noticed more than the point and shoot. And of course I would have to carry some sort of bag to hold the extra lens and batteries. Or I could carry a 20-70 f4 lens I have and the Sony and just do one lens. It would be a bigger set up but it would have a better camera set up with just one lens. Now if I was really brave I could go with a film camera and shoot film the whole time there. If I were I would bring my Canon Cannonet GIII QL17. This is known as the poor mans Leica with a 40mm f/1.7 lens. It would definitely tic all of the boxes but then its film and won't be as flexible as digital. So what to do? On a special trip like this I could go without a camera and plan a trip to B&H Photo Video and buy a camera for street there. It would almost be worth it maybe something like a Fuji X100 a built to be a street camera. There are so many ways to go. What would you do?

Well since this is all hypothetical I would probably go to B&H and buy a new camera just to say that I had done it. But in reality it would probably be the Sony A7C although I think the smart choice would be the Point and shoot.  Well that's just me dreaming. What would you do? Let me know. Until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon gear hiking landscape learning Mobile packing Photography Point and Shoot Sony street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/6/packing-for-a-street-photography-trip Fri, 06 Jun 2025 09:00:00 GMT
What all cameras have in common! #358 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/what-all-cameras-have-in-common-358 Hey Y'all ! Hope you're having a great day! We as camera buffs are always looking at the latest and greatest in cameras and camera related gadgets. We as consumers try to dissect what is different or what is newer on each of our cameras and new ones that come out each year. And to admit there is a lot that is different between camera brands and models but there are some things that are the same of all cameras. Even ones from decades long ago and we forget that these little machines still have  the same goal to capture a moment in time , an image. Remembering what is the same makes the photography much more simple. I think that cameras are getting more and more complicated when they should be staying simple. I shoot with all kinds of cameras from older film cameras to newer mirrorless cameras. Sometimes I think that the newer ones can be more complicated than the early film were. Why do you think that is. I certainly don't know. Maybe the newer generations didn't know how simple it was in the past to take a photo. But people that were raised holding a computer in their hand that was advanced than the computer that sent men to the moon seem to think that things need to be more complicated. Now I'm not generation bashing I just want to explain what is the same in photography. Lets start.

The medium used to capture the image. Although it has changed from film to digital sensors a lot of the same principals still apply. In the film days you could choose your film based on either black and white or color and you could choose the sensitivity of the film by the ASA (American Standards Association ) now known as ISO (international Standards Organization ) . Modern Digital you can dial in your ISO and you can change the look of the image from color to black and white. Just the same as film. Are the newer Digital sensors more flexible than the roll of film? Well of course they are but doesn't that make it more complicated . With more choices comes paralysis by analysis . Not being able to make a decision quickly. Like buying glasses at the eye doctor. There are a wall of choices hundreds of choices  and to you they all look alike. Hard to make a choice. But besides that they are really the same.

Lenses used in film and digital are basically the same. Although more modern the newer lenses are basically the same with aperture blades that can open and close to make the hole bigger or smaller. There are focusing rings that you can manually focus with. Many older lenses are manual focusing while newer ones are auto focusing using little motors and gears inside of the lenses to do the work that your hand and eye did. Now does the newer lenses focus quicker and maybe even more sharper focus? Well of course they do. But they are very similar except most modern lenses are much larger to house the newer components. 

Shutters are the same. Shutters with the ability to change shutter speeds. Either Focal plane shutters or leaf shutters in the film era worked very much the same as the modern shutters . Now shutter speeds go up to 1/8000 of a second where 1/1000 was the norm for many years in the film era and consumer cameras were at 1/500. Now we have mechanical and electronic shutters and I'm sure in the future mechanical will be a thing of the past but they do the same thing. They let light in for a certain amount of time so they do the same thing.

View finders are kind of the same. Optical view finders showed you what was going to be in your photo. Modern view finders do that and a whole lot more. It can be like flying a jet with heads up display with all of the gismos in the frame when you are viewing your subject. Stuff like the meter, battery life, camera settings like shutter speed, ISO and aperture . All which is very nice but can become kind of cluttered. Of course you can pick and choose what you want to see in your view finder.

Meter to measure light. Just about all cameras from the 1960's and on had some sort of meter in them to measure the light. Film camera's used center weighted metering where modern cameras can use an array of different metering modes to include center weighted. Matrix or Averaging metering mode takes in the whole scene and averages out meter reading. Most photographers use this type of metering 100% of the time. Why so many choices? Just to confuse you LOL! I think that modern metering is better than old but I didn't have a problem with the old ones either  and still use them in my film cameras.

Things like shutter buttons, self timers, and the such are all still there. So what I'm trying to get at is yes they have changed but the principals like the Exposure Triangle are still the same. Basically you have a box that captures light and puts the image onto some sort of medium. So when you look at that new camera that has all of the gismos on it before you spend your hard earned money make sure you need the gismos that it is offering. Many times the answer is no you have all that you need in the camera you have that will still take great photo's.

Until next week , Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) ASA blog film gear ISO landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography shutter street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/what-all-cameras-have-in-common-358 Fri, 30 May 2025 09:00:00 GMT
As an Amateur Photographer do you need a website? #357 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/as-a-amateur-photographer-do-you-need-a-website Hey What's Up? How is everyone doing this week? Me? Pretty well, thanks for asking. This week I want to talk about something I don't think I have discussed before, websites. If you're reading this you know I have a website . It's what all of these blogs are attached to. I have some of my best photo's in galleries that you can see. I really don't try to sell photos but will if someone wants one. But the question is do you need a website if you are just an amateur photographer? I really don't think so .  Now don't get me wrong this blog isn't against websites just that I don't think that you need one but let's do some pro's and con's on websites.

Pro's: Websites are easy to put together and create. There are all kinds of companies with templates that let you build and personalize your very own website. If you want to sell some of your images these websites make it easy to do so. They may even take care of all of the work and just send you your cut of the money made from selling images. You can have a blog if you like to write like I do. I've never been much of a writer growing up but after I got a website and gave it a go I found that I liked doing it. They like anything else can be inexpensive. I think I started mine for 5 bucks a month for the basic service but I think the price has risen over the years but it's still less than 10 dollars per month. But like anything else the more you want to do with it the more it will cost. You can have world wide coverage of your photo's and presented the way you want them to be seen. If you use any social media type service they will compress and alter your photo's a little. And of course it's kind of neat to say " just check out my website" when you're taking to someone new.

Con's: It takes effort to keep up a website. You have to update the site with new images and blogs to keep it current . You don't have a staff to take care of this you are a staff of one. Subscriptions can be a pain. How many do you have from Adobe, Netflix, Hulu, ... This is just one more.  So there is the website and then there is the domain name mine is MaxStansellPhotography.com but that doesn't come free you have to purchase and make sure it's not already out there. You will probably have a email attached to the domain name so there is the upkeep of that also.

So there are some pro's and con's It looks like the pro's have over taken the con's but the con's are strong arguments. To tell you the truth If I had to do it all over again I don't know if I would get a full fledged photography website. Most if not all my activity on this site is this blog. I keep it pretty active as I post once a week. I think that the only reason that I keep this website open is because of the blog. I have over 350 of them and I don't want all of that work to disappear .  I have the basic subscription so it's fairly cheap to keep. I don't update the photo's as much as I should but I do like saying "Check out my blog" or "Check out my Website" Its something I have built. But if you just want to share photo's there are sites like Flickr, 500PX, Instagram or even on Facebook. Most of these sites aren't really secure so when your photo is out on the web it's out there for anyone to grab. With a website Its a little more secure but still there are ways folks can get your photographs. Me I really don't care that much if someone uses my photo's if they aren't making a profit from it. I would prefer they ask but I have found my photo's in Text books and web articles and I'm not too bothered with it. I don't do photography to make money it's for fun. But Monday Quarterbacking I would get a website but one for just the blog and maybe not to showcase photography. But that's just me. It doesn't cost much to do a website and I do enjoy playing with it.

Well that's my thoughts . Until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/as-a-amateur-photographer-do-you-need-a-website Fri, 23 May 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Are Point and Shoots Great or What? #356 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/are-point-and-shoots-great-or-what-356 Hey Everyone! Hope your day is going great! This week I want to talk about little cameras that over time have lost appeal to bigger and better cameras but are starting to get more popular again. Kind of like bell bottom pants , they were in then out and now I see celebrities wearing them again. Point and shoots are kind of the same. When digital first started point and shoots led the way getting people into digital and as more top of the line digital DSLR cameras started getting popular point and shoots started fading and then when cell phones with cameras on them well that all but killed the point and shoot. And for good reason the computational  photography that is available on cell phones is amazing and you get great photo's from them. But there is something about holding a dedicated camera in your hand and making photos with it . There is something to it . It's easy point and shoot! Are they great? Generally speaking point and shoot photo's are not as good as your phone but there are the exceptions. Some camera companies have been making high end point and shoots. Some with fixed lenses like the Fuji x100 series, the Ricoh GR series of cameras. Both have fixed focal lengths and APSC sensors but have become very popular if not cult like. Both run over 1000 dollars for a fixed focal length camera. Mainly made for street photography. But they both are popular. Then there is the Sony cyber-shot RX100 series of cameras and the Canon G7x series of cameras with zoom lenses which both run over 1000 .  They both have 1.0 type sensors (smaller than APSC) but still larger than a phone sensor. There are others by Lumix, Leica, Olympus that have point and shoot cameras also. Let me tell you what I like about these cameras.

There are lots of things  to like. One they are small and portable. Most will fit in your pocket especially a jacket pocket. If your out on the street or just taking photos they are so small they do not intimidate anyone around because they don't look like a quote "Professional Camera" But these cameras can pack quite a punch especially the ones that are high end. I own a Canon G7x mark II an older one of these and it takes great photo's. It can shoot in full manual and all of the other modes like aperture , and shutter priority . It has a built in flash that can be used for fill flash. I have mine set up so it can use filters like a polarizer and ND filters. When I take long trips I use it as my backup camera and on a upcoming trip to South Dakota I will use it as my walking around camera in towns and the like not lugging a full frame camera just for snap shots of the cities. The full frame lens equivalent is 24-100mm f1.8 to f/2.8 which is great. What's not to like. And it's the older model. There is a Mark III out there. I can stick it in my pocket or around my neck with a vintage strap from another point and shoot film camera the Canon Canonet GIII QL 17 a 1972 model. Point and shoots are easy to operate . I can put this little camera in auto and hand it to anyone to take my photo  or a group shot of us if we are on a trip. So I would say don't turn your nose up at point and shoot cameras they are awesome little machines that are really worth the money you put into them.

Until Next week ! Get out and shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping Canon crop sensor full frame gear hiking landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street travel tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/are-point-and-shoots-great-or-what-356 Fri, 16 May 2025 07:39:39 GMT
Traveling with photography Gear #355 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/traveling-with-photography-gear-355 Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me? I'm doing great thanks for asking. I have been looking at my blogs today and counted them and this one is the 355th blog! Can you believe it! It's the beginning of the year and I have been thinking about the year to come. Last week I announced my big trip of the year to South Dakota and I have had South Dakota on the brain! Places to go things to see and of course all of the travel reservations which includes flying! So today I thought I would do a blog on traveling with photography gear. I think the way that you travel will determine the way that you pack and travel with your gear. For example if you're traveling by car my be very different than traveling by plane. What to bring? How to Pack it. What not to bring. So lets start simple.

When you travel you don't have to take everything you own every time you leave the house. Of course if you're just beginning in photography you don't have much maybe one lens or two and a camera body. If that's you travel is easy! Bring it. But if you've been into photography for a long time like me then you can't bring it all. You can't even carry all of it at one time. You may even have trouble putting it into one room! LOL Yes I have lots of gear! If you're traveling by car you can bring almost anything that your car or truck can bring. You can use big strong pelican cases to hold your gear. My only caution is to try to keep your gear out of site. Don't leave on seat of your car in site of other people not as nice as you that might want your gear. Thieves love photography gear because it is expensive and small easy to snatch and get away with. So be careful with your gear. 

Now if you travel by bus, train or plane it can be a little bit more complicated. First travel lite! Be aware of what your photography trip will consist of. Is it travel and street? Is it Landscape or Wildlife? Try to think in advance of what you will be shooting and what you will need. Leave all of the other "what if" stuff at home. Traveling by the above mentioned bus, train, or plane means that some of your luggage may not be with you but checked into some sort of cargo hold. Make sure your camera equipment is with you at all times as carry on. So pack accordingly because airlines have restrictions on carry on size and weight! Not so much with trains and busses. Now besides your personal clothes toiletries you must plan for your photo gear. Make sure it is secure and safe in the bag that you bring onboard. Try to make your camera bag not look like a camera bag when traveling. They are easy to spot. And remember it's not just camera gear it's editing gear if you are going to be gone for a while. I have traveled with both laptops and iPads and either can be used to edit and backup images while traveling. Modern iPads work well and are small and lightweight and work well but aren't as easy to use as a laptop or as easy to see if you have old eyes like I do. I just purchased a used MacBook pro just to travel with and use for Photography club meetings. Most of my computing is on a large desktop but I got such a good deal it was cheaper to take the laptop than the iPad if something happened and it got broke or stolen while on my trip. Anyway these items should be carried with you also. Most airlines let you bring a carry-on and a personal bag so my computing will be in the personal bag. Make sure you check with the airlines on size and weight limits to carry-on items. Make sure all of your charging needs are in your carry-on also it would be bad if you got to your destination and your checked bag got lost with all of your charging stuff. Your gear would be almost useless. And that stuff is hard to replace on the road much easier to replace clothes that were in lost luggage than charging gear. Here is an example of what I'm taking to South Dakota with me on the plane. Carry-on: Camera Body, 20mm f/1.8 for night shots, 20-70mm for general shots, 100-400 for wildlife and isolation shots. Extra batteries, chargers wipes, SD cards and stuff associated with main gear. Note: Batteries must be brought on carry-on check with airlines for specifics . In my Personal bag: Laptop , point and shoot (my backup camera) chargers associated with gear. Thats the photography gear I'm bringing for a week long trip. Main bag weighs 16 lbs personal bag much lighter.

Film is another matter. I don't have much experience with film but what I have read that if your film is 400 ISO or lower you don't have to worry about X-ray scanners at the airport but if higher you do. If you feel uneasy ask for a hand check of all of your film. I haven't decided if I want to carry a film camera with me on my trip to South Dakota yet. As it will not be the big part of my photography just a novelty I probably won't take it with me but if I did I would let it pass through the X-ray and not worry about it.

What to put in your checked bag? Besides clothes and personal items I would pack my tripod or monopod although very important part of photography gear your trip wouldn't be ruined if you lost either of these. Now if it was photography where only tripod shots like Astro it would be bad and I would consider taking it on the plane with me but other than an extreme I would keep it in checked baggage.

Remember to have a happy and safe trip "peace of mind" on gear and items you bring with you is super to have. I place an Apple Air Tag in each of my luggage. I have one in camera bag , personal bag, checked bag one on my wallet and keys. I love that I can in a second look at my phone and see where my checked luggage is. If if misplaces something while on the trip I can see where it is. This is pretty awesome and creates lots of piece of mind.

I hope you do get the chance to travel for a photography trip! It is such fun just to concentrate on just photography when traveling. You really get some memories that you couldn't get if you were just vacationing with the family. So until next week get out and shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) airports blog Carry-on gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography travel tripod TSA website X-ray https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/traveling-with-photography-gear-355 Fri, 09 May 2025 08:52:20 GMT
South Dakota trip Gear! #353 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/south-dakota-trip-gear Hey Everyone! Hope your week has been as good as mine. Last week I told you about my big trip for the year going to South Dakota. During this trip there will be lots of great opportunities for great photography. From Landscape, Astro/Night, Travel and Street. But most of the shooting will be Landscape type of photography. I need to take a kit that is capable but also light weight. Well as much lightweight as I can be using full frame camera gear. Clothes wise I need to be able to layer depending on what the temps will be but also be as lightweight as possible. Taking only a 4 day supply of clothes we will be doing laundry while we are there to keep the amount of clothes down. Don't mind wearing pants or outer shirts more than once. I've got this to a pretty good system and have a spread sheet that helps me keep track on what I need and what I pack. I will also have to backup files and maybe do some quick editing so some sort of computing device I will need to bring with me. So let's start with computing.

Computing- The last big trip I took to Utah I took an iPad mini for my computing needs. I was able to backup files and do some small editing. Since that trip I have got a iPad Pro with M1 chip which is very capable and have used it on many outings and club trips. I'm not much of a laptop guy. My main computer is a Mac Mini with a couple of 27 inch screens. I have recently upgraded my laptop that was so old it wouldn't run Lightroom. A fellow member of my photography club upgraded her laptop and I bought her old one so if I had to run a Photography Club meeting I could. ( All of the electronics from the meeting room hook into a Laptop) So I think that I will bring that laptop on the trip. I got a great deal on it and don't have much money invested in the system. It is a 13 inch MacBook Pro and works for what I need. It's as lightweight as my iPad Pro and if something happened to it I wouldn't be as upset as I would my iPad. So the MacBook Pro and backup Solid State Drives to backup SD cards and to do some editing. Now lets talk about camera gear.

Camera Gear- My main camera for the trip will be my trusty Sony A7III. A long in the tooth camera but still gives me great images. It was released in 2018 but a great camera. It has dual card slots and everything else I need for still photography. Lenses that I will be taking with me are the Sony 20-70mm f/4, Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 and lastly a Sony 20mm f/1.8. The 20-70mm will be on the camera most of the time it's a fantastic lens and very sharp, the 100-400mm will be used for Wildlife and isolation landscape shots. It is by far the bulkiest of my camera kit but an outstandingly sharp lens. The 20mm will be used for astro/night  photography. Thats my main kit but I will have a backup camera with me a Canon G7XII point and shoot a very capable camera that I can shoot in manual and RAW format images and also have filters to shoot waterfalls and such. Film, I haven't quite decided on a film camera yet. As film will not be my main focus I still like playing with it. A small camera will be the best bet. I'm leaning toward a plastic point and shoot Olympus Supertrip 35mm. It's very lightweight, compact, takes Okay photo's and has a flash. I will only take a few rolls of film with me maybe taking one photo at each place we go to. And of course I will have my phone with me taking shots everywhere we go to include food shots of meals we eat. I usually send a photo of my main meal of the day and send to my wife so she sees that I'm eating right. I will have a tripod with me on this trip mainly for sunrise, sunset and Astro/Night photography. I have two to choose from. Both are carbon fiber . I have a travel sized that I've used for years when I was shooting Crop sensor cameras and a larger one I just got after I went back to full frame camera's . The smaller one will probably win out because the largest lens I'll be using with a tripod will most likely be my 20mm. It will be dependent on room left in my checked bag with my clothes in it. If I have the room the larger one will go but if room is scarce then the smaller one will work.

Bags and other stuff- My main camera bag will be the Shimoda Action X 30L bag. This bag will carry my Sony Landscaping kit Camera, 3 lenses. and be my carry on , on  the plane, I have a Vanguard ALTA Rise 33 camera bag. This camera bag will hold my 13 inch laptop and small cameras accessaries this bag will be my personal bag on the plane. My checked bag will be an Eddie Bower roller Expedition bag that will hold clothes, tripod and some other stuff. Inside this bag I will have packing cubes to separate and keep everything in order. And of course I can't take a trip without my trusty fanny pack. I'll be wearing this daily it holds my phone wallet and can even hold a small camera like my point and shoot.  I will have apple air tags in all of the bags to keep track of them, especially in the airports.

Well that's pretty much for the gear that I will take on my trip. I'm so looking forward to this trip. I think part of the fun of the trip is the planning of it. At the time of this writing of this blog I am still months away but am gearing up and getting ready. So until next week. Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpack blog Canon gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony travel tripod website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/5/south-dakota-trip-gear Fri, 02 May 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Big Photography Trip 2025 Announcement #354 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/big-photography-trip-2025-announcement Hey Y'all ! How's your day going? Mine? Great ! Thanks for asking. Today I want to announce a big photography trip that I will be taking this year. It will be a week long trip and will have airplane travel . I have taken a few big trips in the past some with my photography club and some with my Photography Wingman Robert. This trip I'll be taking with 3 folks from my photography club and it will be packed with photography opportunities ! Past trip that will compare to this one is the Utah trip where we were gone for 10 days saw 5 national parks 3 state parks and a couple of really cool towns. You can see more about that trip in this blog. Utah Trip Review  This was a fantastic trip! Epic! Hopefully this one will too! Ready for the big announcement?  Here it goes.

Our big trip this year will be to South Dakota! I know a hush has fallen over the crowd. People don't really know about South Dakota. I have seen it ranked #2 most boring state behind Idaho the #1. But for a photographer it has a lot to offer! Two National Parks, National monuments , The Black hills, Cowboys and cowboy towns , Wildlife like bison , elk, deer, rams , bears. Lots of cool stuff for a photographer. I have to admit that I didn't know much about South Dakota before I started researching it. Robert came up with the idea mostly because he's into Astro/Night photography right now and it's one of the best places to shoot the stars which we will be doing hopefully successfully.  But as I started researching I kept finding gems to photograph. When we first started planning we saw that Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons were only a state away and we rushed into planning an even bigger trip. But the time effort and money it would take to see the two iconic places wasn't worth it in this trip so we concentrated mostly on South Dakota.

We plan on spending a week in Rapid City SD as our base. Our longest drive will be a hour and 45 min to Devils Tower in Wyoming. This means only one hotel to book and returning the rental car to the same place is cheaper than driving to another town. We will fly in and out of the same place which makes that cheaper. It will be a more relaxed trip than the Utah trip where we stayed in 5 different places so I'm looking forward to that. Day trips will include, The Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore and Wind cave National Park, Devils Tower and Deadwood, Steam train ride between Hill City and Keystone SD.  As you can see lots of opportunities to get great landscape, and wildlife photos. We will also have some night shoots sprinkled in just for fun. One might be Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane's grave site in Deadwood. Aces and Eights! Since the shooting and driving will be less there will be more time to shoot and relax and won't have the pressure of getting to the next place the next day.

I'm hoping that this will be a great adventure like the Utah trip was. But make no bones about it an adventure will be had. We've made the plane, hotel and rental reservations and have started counting the days before we leave. Still planning and refining our itinerary .  So now you know where I'm going the next blog will tell you what gear I'm taking with me. So until next week Get Out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Badlands Black Hills blog Custer Deadwood gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Monuments Mount Rushmore national parks Photography state parks street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/big-photography-trip-2025-announcement Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Street Photography Gear: Part 3 Bags and Accessories #352 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-3-bags-and-accessories Hey Ya'll! Hope your week is going well. This week it has been chilly outside and I've spent the time writing blogs. This week's blog is the third installment of the Street Photography Gear series. This week we will discuss bags and accessories for street photography. This will be the last in the series about street photography gear. As you know I have an obsession about camera bags. I have gone through many of them and right now I have settled on a few that I will discuss. 

Bags. There are many different ways to carry gear when doing street photography and as I have said in past blogs about street smaller is better. Let's start with the smallest and work our way up. First of all you can go with one camera and one lens and just use a strap to carry your kit with. This is a great way to go if you only have one lens. Next if your camera kit is small enough a fanny pack or a small sling bag can carry a point and shoot and a item or two. I often use a fanny pack even if I have another bag. I like to carry my wallet and phone and keys there to be handy and not pulling at my pants all of the time and slows down the pick pockets. The next size is a sling bag. I love a good sling bag one that is big enough to carry a filter and extra lens maybe even a water bottle. I have one that I have made out of a large lumbar bag (fanny pack) and a camera insert. I call it my purse and like a ladies purse it has all sorts of things in it . From snacks , chap stick, and first aid kit. LOL  The last one I will talk about is a small backpack. It can be designed to be a camera bag although I like the plain ones with a camera insert in them. They blend in with the environment and don't scream I have a 1000 dollar camera inside. They are great for walking around all day and have room for a jacket if it gets hot after a chilly morning. It has room for storing souvenirs without carrying around shopping bags. I have one that is very comfortable and can pull the insert out of my purse and put into the backpack. All but the backpack have easy access but I usually have a Peak Design camera clip on the strap of the backpack and can clip my camera to so I have hands free operation. The main thing with all these types of bags is to be comfortable.

Accessories. Things that a street photographer can use but are not necessary. Tripod, a tripod isn't necessary unless you are shooting at night to shoot car trails or night landscapes. I would suggest a small travel one so you're not carrying a big tripod. Sometimes instead of a tripod if you are trying to show motion is a parking meter or park bench to set your camera on. Filters can become handy like a polarizer. I always have a polarizer on hand just incase I need to knock out some glare or reflection of something.  Maybe a haze or mist filter to give some ambiance to a shot. But filters aren't really a street thing. Then there are all kinds of other accessories that you would have with any other form of photography from light meters, SD card wallets, cleaning stuff and even rain gear for your camera. All of these are optional and personal to you what you think you will need. The bottom line is don't bring the kitchen sink smaller is better and less is more.

There is nothing more that I like is taking a stroll through a town that I haven't been before and having the appropriate kit can make the experience enjoyable and fun. If you bring too much you will feel like a pack mule and you won't enjoy yourself as much. But keeping your kit dry, safe and clean is a must to protect the investment you made on your gear. So until next week Get Out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpack blog fanny pack gear learning Max Stansell Photography messenger messenger bags Photography sling sling bags street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-3-bags-and-accessories Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Street Photography Gear: Part 2 Lenses #351 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-2-lenses Hi Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Can't complain. It's cold outside so I'm writing some blogs trying to get ahead. This blog is part 2 of the Street Photography Gear series and we are going to talk about lenses. To me lenses are the  most important part of a kit. A good lens can last for decades and can have a unique look to it. For street photography a good lens should be sharp fast to focus and small with a reasonably wide aperture. It's hard to find a lens that has all of those capabilities and one must compromise. 

Focal Length. Street photography is shot fairly close so wider focal lengths are used as compared to Wildlife photography where long telephoto lenses are what is primarily used.  Subjects are fairly close to across the street being the furtherest you will usually have to shoot. So from widest say 16mm to longest 85mm. The sweet spot for most photographers is either 35mm or 50mm range. Environmental Portraits may be shot at say 20-24mm and indoors let's say 16-35mm. For me I like to shoot 28mm to about 50 at the longest.  I do rarely shoot at longer than 50 and sometimes wider than 28 .  Like with all street gear the smaller is the better so long telephoto lenses say like a 70-200mm are not usually used for street photography.

Zooms vs Primes. This war has been going on for ages. Do I use a zoom like a 24-70mm which will cover all of my focal lengths or do I use a single prime and zoom with my feet? For me it comes to size again. A 24-70 will cover most of your focal lengths but it will also be heavy and intimidating for street portraits. A smaller camera/lens combo would be better. Whereas a 35mm or a 50mm will be lighter and be so small that it won't intimidate most people like a larger lens would. You could go either way. And I have. Sometimes I feel just like caring a 28-60mm that I have with just a camera strap and no bag and just walk around. Other times a 50mm and a 20mm primes will cover what ever I need and are smaller and compact with a small camera bag. It also depends on the light. Darker scenes I tend to go with primes because they usually have wider apertures than zooms and let in more light. So no wrong answer It just depends.

Apertures. As I said before smaller size lens is better for street photography because you are carrying everything. Generally speaking wider apertures mean larger lenses. Especially in Zooms. If you have a f/2.8 24-70 lens and the same lens at f/4 the f/2.8 maximum aperture lens will be much heaver. In primes if you go wider than f1.8 they start to get bigger. Generally speaking a wide aperture lens is great for street photography especially at night when it's darker. Most of street photography is done hand held so getting as much light in and keeping the shutter speed up will keep sharper photos. But if you're shooting during the day it's not as necessary a f/4 lens will work just fine. In my kit when I shoot street I'll take a zoom 28-60mm f/4 during the day and have a f/1.8 prime for when the light isn't as good. With newer cameras that can shoot at high ISO's now a days wide open apertures aren't as important. If you are going to shoot say car trails with a tripod they are not inportant. Or a nighttime city scape on a tripod not as important. So it depends on what you're shooting.

In summary you can see it really doesn't matter what kind of lens you have for street photography . The focal length will be from say wide 16mm to normal-ish 85mm on the long size. Primes and Zooms both work well. You probably already have lenses in your kit that will work. So until next week "Get out and Shoot!" 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon compact fast lens gear learning Max Stansell Photography normal Photography prime Sony street travel Tutorial website wide aperture zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-2-lenses Fri, 11 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Street Photography Gear: Part 1 Camera Body #350 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-1-camera-body What's up Ya'll! Me? I'm doing great! Hope you are! This week is the start of another series. This is Street Photography Gear .  This is the first part of a 3 part series on gear for street photography and photo walks . The gear I’m going to talk about today is the Camera or Camera body to use.  In street photography and doing photo walks the size of the gear is more important than the brand name of the gear. Now street photography can be taken with almost any type of camera from your phone to the most fancy Mirrorless camera. Street photography has been around since the beginning of photography itself so lots of different cameras from film to digital has and can be used. In street photography and photo walks size is very important for a couple of reasons. The first reason is weight. When doing street photography you are usually on foot walking everywhere you go. So the size and weight of the gear is very important. You want to be as light as possible. The second reason is to be inconspicuous when you are shooting and walking around. You don’t want to be the center of attention when your walking around. You don’t want to be intimidating to the subjects you are photographing .  These are the two reasons that lightweight small gear is wanted. So there are so many types of cameras so I will break them down in a couple of categories. First one is small point and shoot.

Digital Point and shoot Cameras. Point and shoot cameras are great because they are all one piece. No lenses to mess with just the camera. I consider your mobile phone as a point and shoot but not my first choice as a street photography camera but they work great in a pinch and are wonderful if the lighting conditions are bad because of the computational photography program algorithms built into the device. Point and shoots with zooms are great also because they are very versatile with the zooms. I have a little Canon G7XII point and shoot that I love. Point and shoots with fixed focal length lenses work well too because they take all of the decision making out and you just have to frame and shoot. Some of the most popular point and shoots fall in this category . The Fujifilm X100 cameras . The Fujifilm X100 VI is the latest version of this camera and it comes with a 35 full frame equivalent lens on it. Just made for street photography. All of these cameras are small and lightweight and can fit in your pocket for concealment .

Digital Interchangeable lens Cameras. These can be either DSLR cameras or Mirrorless cameras. They can be either rangefinder shaped or traditional SLR shaped. The key here is as above smaller is better but any will work. As with all of these camera's if I haven't mentioned it before the sensor size doesn't really matter. Can be full frame , crop or Mircro 4/3rds or even smaller. Generally speaking the smaller the sensor the smaller the lens and lighter the kit and extra lenses. Any brand will do but some of the big names are Leica, Fujifilm, Nikon, Canon and Sony and let's not forget Olympus and Panasonic. All these brands and if I've missed one produce photographs that are of great quality. The main point here is to be light as possible and really be familiar with your camera and make sure you have enough batteries to keep your camera going for hours. This big advantages of these camera's is the versatility. The ability to change lenses at will from lets say a fast prime lens to a Zoom lens with many focal lengths built in. Choose your lenses carefully and don't carry too many of them. I would say two at max one on the camera and a spare. Any more than that you will be changing lenses more than taking photographs.

Film Camera's. All modern cameras have been influenced by the older film camera's. The most famous street photographers all used film and cameras carried. Leica being the king with the M series of cameras. But other manufacturers work well too. Small is still the king here. Small rangefinder like Leica, Canon, Nikon to larger like Rolleiflex medium formate twin lens cameras. Being a master at film is a must if your shooting film because film doesn't have the dynamic range of digital and care and correct metering is a must. Most if not all of these camera's are manual focusing and zone focusing system might be very handy for quick shooting. There are interchangeable lens cameras and point and shoot with fixed lenses. My main film street camera is a Canon Canonet QL17 said to be the "Poor mans Leica" . It's a rangefinder 35mm point and shoot with a fixed 40mm f/1.7 lens and a leaf shutter for silent shooting. Shooting with these camera's requires much skill but if your into film it can be quite fun.

In summary it doesn't really matter what camera you use for street but smaller is better and less is more. Being able to handle it with ease is probably more important than what camera you have. You probably already have a camera that is perfect for street photography. Until next week get out and shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog compact crop sensor film full frame gear iPhone learning Max Stansell Photography mobile Photography point and shoot smart phone street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/4/street-photography-gear-part-1-camera-body Fri, 04 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Exploring different types of Photography #349 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/exploring-different-types-of-photography What's up Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Doing well. It's springtime and my wife has me doing chores in the yard. This week I want to talk about doing something different. Out of your comfort zone. We sometimes get trapped in one type of photography say Wildlife or Portraits or Street. Now this is good to hone your craft or your passion but I think it also hinders your growth and your imagination and you get stuck in a rut. I know it has happened to me. Sometimes new gear will snap you out of this but sometimes it's just changing the subject that you are shooting. Maybe the way you shoot. This week I want to talk about doing something completely different . Now I am mainly a stills photographer and hardly ever shoot a video even though I have a Youtube channel. LOL Most of my videos are about going somewhere a hike or camping trip. I have recently got back into biking and am having a good time exploring by bike. Not only is it good exercise but it's fun and I've started to incorporate camping into my bike riding. And one of the best ways to document my travels is by using a GoPro and video my travels. I have recently made a few videos that I will link later on in this blog. Now I am no great videographer I bearly get by. Some folks say that if they have trouble going to sleep they just look at one of my hiking video and off to sleep they go. LOL But shooting these videos is making me look at photography in a different way and I think making my photography better. 

Now I'm not saying shoot video that's just me but maybe a different type of photography one that isn't in your comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone is how we grow.  It doesn't have to be crazy different . Maybe you shoot Wildlife maybe you shoot some sports. You're still shooting moving objects just a different subject. If you're a portrait photographer you shoot street or wildlife where you don't have control over the situation. Maybe instead of using your regular camera you use something else. A cell phone or a point and shoot or just a prime lens. All of these things will make you a better photographer. Understanding that the basics of photography don't change just the subject and the "how too" does. The holidays is a great time to do this. Taking photo's of family and friends and maybe just using your cell phone or a point and shoot without getting too technical with lights and everything. Sometimes as photographers we tend to think too much. You know what ISO what shutter speed my aperture . When you use one of these other automatic cameras it takes away all of the thinking because they are mostly automatic. You as a photographer loose control over every aspect and have to rely on what you can control composition, available light and the such. 

Snapping out of a photography funk isn't always easy but shooting something different helps. Next year I have some photography projects and trips that will test my photography skills by doing something different. This year I started shooting film again and it has really kept me interested and excited about photography and hopefully made me a better photographer. So get outside and shoot something different!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

Links to recent videos can be found on my YouTube Chanel “Max Stansell Photography”

Autumn's EndFirst Bike Touring TripNeuse River Trail Ride 30.5 miles

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Biking blog camping Canon gear landscape learning Macro Max Stansell Photography Photo Equipment Photography Portraits Sony street travel Video website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/exploring-different-types-of-photography Fri, 28 Mar 2025 09:00:00 GMT
GPS for Travel Photography #348 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/gps-for-Travel-photography Hey Y'all ! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Doing great. This week I want to talk about GPS. When I first started out in photography in the 1970's (yes I'm that old) there was no such thing as GPS (Global Positioning System) Now if you want to go somewhere you can't live without it. I remember driving from North Carolina to New Mexico with just a map a road atlas if you will. But now a days I can't go anywhere with out my GPS. We use GPS for all kinds of stuff. Our phones have it and when you log on somewhere the internet knows where you are because of GPS . We use maps on our phones and GPS is certainly a big thing but what about in photography? I think GPS can be very important in photography. Especially Travel Photography. We have the ability to attach a GPS coordinate to the photo we took and can tell where and when it was took. This is a fantastic thing. Now I have written about GPS before in previous blogs but I heard a Podcast from the "Digital Story" and thought I would echo some of what Derrick Story said in the podcast. By the way if you don't listen to the podcast you should. So what good is GPS in Photography?

Fire BushFire BushValley of Fire State Park Nevada. GPS in photography can be used in many ways. First of all it can be used for posterity . When were gone and one of our grandchildren are looking at a photograph of Mom and Dad and wonder where that photo is taken they can look at the GPS data and tell exactly where and when it was taken. I personally think that if you're not at home taking photo's you should have a GPS coordinate attached to your photo. Have you ever gone through your photos and found one that was pretty awesome but didn't know where it was taken? GPS would fix that. You can use it to see where you have been and what photo's you took where. It's pretty neat! But how do I get GPS on my photo's? Fall Colors HouseFall Colors House

Getting the GPS on your photo's can be done many ways. The first and easiest is if your main camera has GPS built into the camera. Not many camera's have this but some do. The next best thing is to attach a device to your camera that records the GPS and puts the data on the photo you take. Most camera companies make these but are expensive and attach to your hot shoe usually so you will have something sticking off of your camera. The next best way is with Bluetooth. All Smart phones have GPS and if your camera has bluetooth capabilities then through your camera software you can get the data from your phone via bluetooth and it will record to your photographs. Cockspur LighthouseCockspur Lighthouse This is the way that I do it. And there are other ways. While your out shooting you can pull out your cell phone and take a photo then when your in post you and manually sync the photos that you took in the same area to the cell phone shot. And last but not least is the manual way by going to a map in editing software like Lightroom and manually putting a dot on the map and linking it up with photos you have imported to Lightroom. For me the bluetooth auto linking works best for me. I use Sony software for my cameras and after fiddling around the first time and syncing the camera and the app on my phone it works pretty seamlessly. But it didn't always but the app is better and it syncs pretty quick . I'm sure that the other Camera companies are pretty similar and will work seamlessly like the Sony does for me. You'll just have to do some research to find out how to get them to talk together. For me I will check at the first shoot of the day if they are not synced I can manually do it pretty quick and it will automatically do it all day. Sometimes it picks it up very fast and I don't have to do anything. But I do have to check. If I'm using 2 cameras it only syncs to one at a time so I just have to choose a camera and sync the other in post.

Using GPS on travel photography is fun and easy to do and I think everyone should be doing it. So until next week Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Bluetooth camping coordinates GPS hiking landscape learning Lightroom Location Map Max Stansell Photography Photography smartphone Sony street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/gps-for-Travel-photography Fri, 21 Mar 2025 09:00:00 GMT
Phone Apps I use in Film Photography #347 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/phone-apps-i-use-in-film-photography Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! This week I want to talk about 3 smart phone apps that I use while doing film photography. I have fallen back in love with film photography and do it as much as I do digital photography. I love the challenge and the analog machines that I capture images with. But I also like modern technology and use it to help with the older cameras and film.  I have 3 apps that I have that I use regularly to help me. With the cost of film I try to get it as right as I can the first time and not make as many silly mistakes that I often do with digital.  Theses apps help me visualize, properly expose and develop the film that I am using. 

Visualize, The first app that I use is"Viewfinder". This app helps me visualize the scene even before I take my camera out. It's a framing tool that you can put the aspect ratio of your camera , the lens and even the film that you are using. You can program it to act like your cameras for example one of my cameras is a Bronica 645. If I am using Kodak Tri-X film and a 75mm lens it will show you exactly what you will get with your camera. So it's great for Framing and finding the composition before you take out your camera . When you have the composition that you want then you can set up your camera and take the shot. This is a new app for me but I really like it. Especially when I'm shooting black and white film it lets me know what the scene will look like. On my digital camera's I can do this in camera but not with the film cameras. In color it's not as an aid as in black and white but still is useful in framing the composition you want. This is not a free app I think it cost 5 bucks one time purchase and can be used with IOS and Android phones.

Expose, I use "myLightMeter Pro" app. Using a good light meter with
film is a must. Most of my cameras have built in light meters but the cameras are old and don't always give you a good exposure. I have hand held meters that work great but this one in a pinch or as a backup is great. You can calibrate it to your specific lenses and film. You can also calibrate it to a handheld meter to make sure it's accurate. This works great when I'm shooting street or something where I want to be lightweight because I don't have to carry an extra meter just my phone that I have on me all of the time anyway. You can make the app look like an old fashioned meter or a modern meter and you can move the dials around after you have metered the scene and apertures and shutter speeds move around to correspond to your choices. They have a free version I think but I bought the pro version for 10 bucks one time purchase and can be used with IOS and Android phones.

Develop, I use "Massive Dev Chart" to help when developing. You can get this free online website and what it does is helps with measurements and times of all the chemicals used when developing film. The app does the same and also has built in timers to help with the process. I use this mainly with Black and White photography. My color photography process is pretty set in stone and works great. Black and White film is much more flexible and you can use many chemicals, times and processes. This app tells you the developing time, delusion, and other aspects of all of the film stocks and speeds of films. So if you're using Ilford film it has the times delusions and formulas already figured out for all of the types of chemicals you can be using. This app is available for IOS and Android and is free I believe.

I highly recommend all three of these apps. There a many apps out there and I assume all of them are pretty good these are the three that I chose and can recommend. They make life much easier than it used to be before the internet and you had to go to a library or find a book for all of this stuff.  Thanks to these apps my film photography adventure still continues and it's a lot easier. Until next week Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Massive Dev Chart Max Stansell Photography MyLightMeter Pro phone apps Photography street travel Viewfinder Preview website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/phone-apps-i-use-in-film-photography Fri, 14 Mar 2025 09:09:23 GMT
Gear You "Actually" Need as a Beginning Photographer #346 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/gear-you-actually-need-as-a-beginning-photographer Hey Ya'll ! How are you doing today? Hope you've had a great week! This week I want to talk about gear you actually need as a photographer. I just watched a great video by Cody Mitchell on this subject.  I'll be piggy backing his video. Please watch the video on this link Camera Gear You Actually Need as a Beginner. It is a fantastic video and explains in more detail than I am going to in this blog. What he says makes a lot of sense and I believe I have touched on most of the items before in blogs but maybe not as much detail as he does. First of all most of us have way too much gear for what we truly need. I am no exception and am trying to pair down my gear but it's very hard because I do love gear so much. As photographers we think that the better gear we have the better photo's we will produce. In the beginning we think this way and buy all sorts of gear that we do not need.  Lenses and the most expensive body that we can afford and all the accessories that every manufacturer is trying to sell us. But to tell you the truth 80% of my photo's are taken with the same camera and lens combo and all of the other stuff I bring is usually just extra weight. In the beginning we bring all the gear we can and we spend most of our time trying to figure out the correct combo of stuff to use. Paralysis by Analysis . The inability to make a decision when faced with multiple options. We think as beginning photographers that the more gear we have the better chance at getting that winner shot but in fact too many choices especially as a beginner slows you down so much that you miss a lot of shots by the inability to make a decision. So as a beginner as Cody Mitchell says you really only need 6 items and that's what we'll talk about today.

Camera. Of course you need a camera but it doesn't need to be the most expensive camera. As I have said in the past I use "Used" cameras that are cheaper and considerably not as fancy as the newer ones. And as far as I am concerned I get great photo's. And if I don't it's not the Camera's fault it is usually mine. Depending on your budget there are all sorts of options available. Cody goes over a list he has compiled in his video and shares links to a spreadsheet he had made with different budget options depending if you're starting in film or digital photography.

Lens. As I mentioned above I shoot almost all of my photo's with one lens. A zoom lens. It's in the focal range I think you should start with. A standard lens 24-70mm. It will cover a wide range of situations that you will encounter as a beginning photographer. This is also where I think that you should invest the majority of your
budget. A good lens last a long time and will outlast any body that you buy. I think the saying is you date camera bodies but you marry lenses.

Tripod. You should have a good tripod. A sturdy tripod that will hold the heaviest camera/lens combo that you will have. This is an item that you don't go cheap on either. You don't want to break the bank and with tripods ( you easily can) but you don't want to go cheap either . Somewhere in the middle. A good tripod will last for years and years. My travel tripod I've had over 10 years and I've just bought a larger tripod that I expect to do the same.

Camera Bag. You need something that will carry all of your new gear. But you also want it protected also. Bags are my weakness and I have bought bunches of them.  You should have a bag that you can carry with you that is comfortable and protects your gear. A sling bag that can carry your new camera/lens combo is a great choice for walking around town. If you are doing more landscape stuff a backpack will come in handy make sure it has a spot to carry your tripod.

The next two items to me are optional depending what kind of photography you are doing. If you're doing Landscapes or maybe using film. I have both and think when you need them you need them. For me and the type of photography I do Landscape/Travel and Film I consider them essential but if you're doing wildlife or portraits not so much.

Remote Shutter Release Cable. The remote shutter release cable lets you fire the camera without touching it. Sometimes at low shutter speeds just touching the camera to press the shutter button causes enough shake to blur your image. And for long exposures you can lock down the release for as long as you want to take very long exposures.  Some would argue that you can set a self timer on your camera to get the same effect and to a point they are right depending on how long the exposure is. They are inexpensive and you must get the one that fits your camera especially digital cameras .  They tend to have proprietary connections on some cameras .

_MSP9577_MSP9577 Hand Held Exposure/Spot Meter for film, Most digital cameras come with very good meters built in to the camera that will give you average meter readings which work well in most situation. But film cameras may have old meters that aren't accurate or not have a meter at all. A good meter when shooting film is essential I think. If you are a portrait photographer and use external lights. Meters come in handy when figuring out the exposure when using strobes. I think that this item should be purchases if you are primarily a film photographer or are going to use strobes. Meters are expensive and if you don't need one I wouldn't spend the money.

So those are the 6 things that were mentioned in the video but I would add maybe a camera strap. A neck one or a wrist strap to keep your camera safe when you are handing your camera so you don't drop accidentally .  Other than that I think that you can make great photography with the items listed above and really learn your craft with only these items. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera bag camera body Canon gear Hand held meter landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Photography remote cable release Sony street travel tripod Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/3/gear-you-actually-need-as-a-beginning-photographer Fri, 07 Mar 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Bikes in Photography #345 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/bikes-in-photography Hey Everyone! Hope your week and day are going well. This week I want to talk about something a little different. Bikes and Photography. If you follow me on social media you know I've been doing a lot of biking in the last few months and posting videos of my adventures. Now I'm not a big video guy but bicycles and video seem to go together quite well. I use a GoPro (an older one) and I use iMovie from Apple to edit my movies. I have taken most of my ideas from Robert my Photography Wingman who is an excellent video maker and story teller. Making video is a lot harder than making a photograph .  There is a lot to it and you must tell some sort of story when making the video. Then there is the audio that goes with it which may me more important than the video. I don't do a lot of talking in my video's mostly music which I try to find music that is free and that I won't infringe on anyones copyright . To me picking out the music is the hardest part because it becomes the backbone of the video. So lets talk about hardware that I use.

Being able to shoot steady video is a must and you should be able to do it safely. If you're on a bicycle and pedaling you don't want anything to distract you so you don't get in an accident. If you are holding your camera in one hand then that hand is not on the handlebars making it more dangerous. So I have my camera/cameras attached to something.  I have one GoPro attached to my handlebars via a snap mount. This mount uses magnets to secure the camera to the mount which makes removing it easer to change batteries or just remove the GoPro at the end of the day. I highly recommend these mount as I tried to do it cheaper with mounts I already had but didn't work nearly as well as the Snap Mounts do. The magnets attach to the GoPro and to the mount itself so they "Snap" together. When you take the GoPro off of the mount you can attach it to any metal surface and it will stick. Like a pole or refrigerator. It also opens up and can be used like a small tripod. The other mount I sometimes use is a helmet mount that goes on my helmet. This gives the viewer the point of view from head high so as I look around the video pans with me.  I can control the one on top of my head either by pushing a button or by using my phone via bluetooth. My phone is also attached to my bike handlebars and use it for navigation , milage and the such so with the tap of the screen I can turn the helmet camera on and off. The one on the handlebars I just use the button on the camera. I don't run the camera all of the time but take maybe 20 or 30 seconds snapshots of the ride along the way. Trying to pick out interesting things to see for the viewer. Then in post I put all of these little snapshots together to make a story.

Software: Like I said before I use iMovie . This is a very simple program that comes with Macs. It is very easy to use and it is drag and drop. You can insert Text and photo's into the movies you make along with the music clips that you are using. It puts everything on a timeline. You can cut and trim the video clips to make them more story telling and you can blend them together so the video is smooth not choppy .  There are much more professional video editing programs out there but for me this is the easiest one for me to use. When your video is finished you can export it out as a file or send it directly to Facebook or Youtube. I usually make a file and then send it to Youtube where I link it to Facebook if I want to . Depending on the quality that you shoot the video you can put out in 4k if you shot it in 4k. I usually shoot in 1080 that works for me. Here are some examples of my biking videos.

Autumn's EndNeuse River Trail 30.5 miles1st Bike Packing/Touring Trip

Please checkout my videos. Well that's enough for today on video and bikes. Until next week Get out and Shoot. 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Bike Touring Bikepacking blog camping gear GoPro hiking iMovie landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street travel Video website workshops YouTube https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/bikes-in-photography Fri, 28 Feb 2025 08:14:44 GMT
Landscape Photography Gear Pt. 4 Camera Bags and Inserts #344 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-4-camera-bags-and-inserts Hey Y'all ! Hope this week is going well! This week is the last blog in the 4 part series of Landscape Gear. We have covered camera bodies, lenses, tripods and filters and this week we are going to cover bags and inserts. I have to admit I have a problem when it comes to bags I have been searching for the right bag for decades and have gone through many but have finally settled on a few that I have been happy with for a few years. I will go over what I think is the answer for a new Landscape photographer.

Bags come in a variety of sizes and shapes and have all kinds of things built into them but basically they hold our gear when we go from place to place. When we get there we take out our camera and they are an empty bag with a lens or so in them. For me the biggest consideration is comfort. It took me many years to figure this out. I aways seemed to get bags with all the pockets and gizmos until I figured out that comfort is the main consideration when getting a new bag. Whether it's a backpack or a sling bag it should be comfortable. With the weight of your gear the comfort should be the most important consideration. Of course protection of your gear is important. From bumps and shocks and from the weather. I would steer away from cheap bags although they might look good and have all kinds of compartments they are often uncomfortable especially when weighed down with gear. An easy way to get around this is with camera inserts. Camera inserts are containers that hold your gear. They are usually a rectangle box with padded compartments for your gear. This box with your gear can easily be put in an ordinary backpack that you already own and is comfortable. I use this method many times when I just want to carry my camera and maybe one lens. It is great for backpacking and hiking when you already have comfortable backpack to use. I also use it in a shoulder bag that I have that was really a large lumbar bag (fanny Pack) but this insert fits perfectly in. If you've been reading my blogs for a while you will know this bag as my purse that I carry my street stuff and sometimes my landscape if I have a short distance to walk to carry gear. 

Bags and inserts are very personal and must be chosen with care or you will accumulate a lot bags before you find the right one. I know I did and I sold or gave away all of the bags I didn't use except for a few. My main backpack now is a Shimoda Action X 30 liter bag. It is the most comfortable backpack that I have ever used made out of waterproof material and water resistance zippers. It has a separate place on top of the bag for things like a jacket or mittens. The purse I have already told you about which I really love and use all of the time. I have a few day hike backpacks an Osprey and a Mountain hardware that I can put insert in for day hikes and the such. I think that a good backpack for your camera gear as a landscape photographer is probably more practical than a sling bag for the walking and hiking you may have to do to get to the spot where you will photograph . Remember not to get a backpack that is too large. The bigger it is the more stuff that you will bring to weigh it down and make it uncomfortable.

There you have it the end of my 4 part series on Landscape Photography Gear. Hope you have enjoyed it and hope it helped a little when choosing gear for your landscape kit. Until next week Get out and Shoot. 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 posts there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpack blog comfort DIY fanny packs gear hiking inserts landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography protect gear sling bags travel Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-4-camera-bags-and-inserts Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Landscape Photography Gear Pt. 3 Tripods and Filters https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-3-tripods-and-filters Hey Everyone! Hope your week is going well! This week is the 3rd in a 4 part series on Landscape Photography Gear. This week we are going to cover Tripods and Filters. Two important parts of the Landscape photography Kit. In Part 1 we talked about Camera Bodies and Part 2 Lenses and now in Part 3 Tripods and Filters.

Tripods. Since the Ansel Adams times to today a tripod is a useful piece of Kit for your Landscape Photography. With modern camera bodies and in camera stabilization tripods aren't as needed as they used to be. Some Landscape photographers don't like tripods at all but I think they do have their place although I don't use them as much as I used to. For shooting in low light conditions or where I want to show motion like waterfalls or capturing clouds crossing the sky. And in Astro Photography it's a must. So what kind of tripod? I don't think the make and model is as important as the quality of the tripod. Tripods are made in all different kinds of materials from aluminum , wood, carbon fiber and plastic. I prefer carbon fiber they are lightweight and strong. They also come in many price points from cheap to very expensive. I would land somewhere in the middle around 200 dollars you can get a fairly decent one. You want a tripod that is large enough to support your camera and your heaviest lens with ease. They come in weight ratings so make sure to find them while doing your research. If you have the choice between a cheaper one and a somewhat expensive I would go for the somewhat expensive . They will last a long time! I've got a travel tripod that I've had over a decade and I've just bought a heaver duty one in the last year because my gear has got heaver. I spent about 200 bucks for each.

Filters. Filters can be a very important part of a Landscape photographers Kit. There are really two types of filters that you should have. The first one is the most important items in your Kit is the Polarizer filter. A polarizer filter can take the shine and reflection off of shiny surfaces and enhance the colors of leaves and foliage. The polarizer can't be duplicated in photoshop and makes blue skies bluer and just enhances  your photos. A must have. The next filter is the Neutral Density filter. It cuts out the light and allows you to slow down your shutter speed. This works great for flowing water like a waterfall and makes the water blurry and smooth giving water that dreamy look. These filters come in different strengths or stops of light. The more stops of light the darker. A 10 stop neutral density filter is almost completely black. When shooting waterfalls a Polarizer to cut the glare off of the water and a neutral density of 2 or 3 will make great shots. Neutral Density filters also come in a Veritable type that will have say a 2 to 8 all built into one filter. Now filters also come from cheap to very expensive and the same rule I used with most things is not to buy cheap and not expensive somewhere in the middle will be a good quality.

Well there you have it 3 out of the 4 part series. So until next week Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping carbon fiber Filters gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Neutral Density Photography Polarizer stops travel tripods Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-3-tripods-and-filters Fri, 14 Feb 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Landscape Photography Gear Pt 2 Lenses https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-2-lenses Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! This week is Part 2 of our series on Landscape photography Gear. I have been shooting Landscape photography for quite a few decades and will try to pass on what I have learned by trial and error. And believe me there has been lots of errors! This week we will discuss the Lenses you will need for Landscape Photography. Through my travels and decades of shooting Landscapes I have gone through lots of different lenses from top of the line to the cheap kit lenses. I have gone through primes and zoom lenses and have come up with what I think you need in your Landscape photography lens Kit so lets get started. If you are new to photography you should match the correct lens to body. What does that mean? In the last blog where I talked about camera body and sensor size you should match the appropriate lens to body. You can't use a crop sensor lens on a full frame camera but you can go the other way around. If your confused get with a experienced photographer to help you through the process.

Zooms or Primes? Well during my time shooting Landscapes I have gone through phases where I shot only primes and phases where I have shot zooms only. After all of that trial and error I have come up with what I think its a good answer. You really might need both! LOL For over all general Landscape photography I think that Zooms are the best option. Let's say you're on a trail and can't get off of the trail a zoom is great at zooming in or out to get the composition that you want without leaving the trail. Zooms work great for this and the quality of zooms these days are fantastic. In years past it was primes that had the sharpness and contrast that you wanted but now with newer zooms you can't tell the difference. Now remember I said both. For general landscapes Zooms but for specialized I say Primes. What is specialized Landscape? I think that Astro/Landscape that a prime would be better. Mainly because you can get a wider aperture to get more light in for the shot. And also Macro I would prefer a Prime lens. But these are specialized areas of Landscape photography and are only needed if interested in those areas.

What Focal Length Lenses? Well this is a tricky subject and I will start and say it depends. I know that's a lame answer but it depends on what type of landscape photography you like. I would say look at some of your favorite photographers and their photos. Thats what your are going to try to emulate as a budding landscape photographer. So if your favorite photographer shoots wide angle shots I would get something like a 16-35mm lens But if you favorite photographer shoots isolated shots I would say a 70-200mm might work for you or maybe your in the middle and a 24-70 might be the ticket. Well look there I just named the holy trinity of lenses. the 16-35, 24-70, 70-200. These are all great choices to landscape photography. You need to find out what you like to shoot. Right now in my landscape kit I'm shooting a 20-70 and a 100-400 and that's all I'm carrying. On my last Fall Colors trip those are the only two lenses I took for a 5 day trip in West Virginia and they worked great. Now I have a 16-35 but haven't used it in a while. I didn't want for anything else on my trip . But that's me. You might be different. You need to find out what you like need. I do shoot astro occasionally so I have a 20mm that I use. Usually a 14 to 24mm primes are used for this. I only take this lens with me if I expect to shoot Astro. You may think that you need every lens that there is but honestly a two lens kit for Landscape is all you need a long and a short .  Say a 16-35mm and a 70-200mm would be great for most people.

What about Apertures? In an earlier blog I said that Aperture is the most expensive part of photography and it should come into play when buying and choosing a lens. The wider the Aperture the more you can isolate and blur or create bokeh in your photographs. Which is great if your taking portraits but in landscape you want as much of the scene in focus as possible.  So shooting at Wide apertures f/2.8 in zooms is not needed. These lenses are also very expensive. For example I have a Sony 20-70 f/4 lens cost is 998 on Amazon the Sony 24-70 f/2.8 lens newest version cost 2200 on Amazon. Big difference! So I'm saying if you are not going to shoot portraits you don't need the f/2.8 Zoom in any focal length . I think that if you get a constant f/4 lens you will be very happy in Landscape Photography. Most landscape shots are shot at f/8 or smaller like f/11 to get the most depth of field in focus. So spending the extra money to get the fancy lens for landscape is a waste if you ask me. I've had both and they are both great lenses but for what I shoot the f/4 lenses work best for me . Not only are they cheaper but they are lighter and smaller. Things I need when walking through the woods. Carrying around a 70-200mm f/2.8 is like carrying around a toddler all day. It just wears you out. With my prime lenses for Macro or Astro photography. For Astro I wouldn't get wider than f/1.8 a f/1.4 although is nice is twice the weight/size and cost where a f/1.8 will give you the results you need. For Macro a f/2.8 is the common Aperture. Remember the primes are specialties and not needed for general Landscape Photography.

Used or New? Well that depends on your finances. I would say that if you can afford newer lenses get them they are very sharp and any corrections are made in software. And they tend to be lighter. You can buy these used also but from a reputable  seller like KEH or MPB you still get a warranty although a shorter one. I like used and all of my lenses I buy used if possible since I'm on a fixed budget.

So in conclusion I would say get a short and longer zoom in your kit. Say 16-35mm and a 70-200. I would get them in fixed f/4 aperture. For specialty lenses like Astro or Macro I would get Prime Lenses as mentioned above. So until next week Get out and Shoot. 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture blog camping f/2.8 gear hiking landscape learning Lens Max Stansell Photography Photography Primes Telephoto travel website wide angle Zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/2/landscape-photography-gear-pt-2-lenses Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Landscape Photography Gear Pt. 1 Camera Body https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/landscape-photography-gear-pt-1-camera-body Hey Everyone! Hope you having a great week. Me? Pretty good thanks for asking. This week I want to start a Landscape photography gear series. This will be a 4 part series going over what I think you need to take quality landscape shots. If you are into landscape photography you don't need to break the bank for photography gear to get great shots. It can be done very simply with minimal gear. This series in Landscape camera gear I will try to explain what is important and what is not. I have been shooting Landscape photography for quite a few decades and will try to pass on what I have learned by trial and error. This first part is on the camera body.

First let me start by saying it doesn't matter what brand of camera you get. All of the manufacturers of modern cameras (within the last 10 years) will work for great landscape photography. If you look through magazines or any photographs that have inspired you by any photographer to become a Landscape photographer probably took those photos on a camera that is quite a few years old. Those are fantastic photo's and you don't know what brand or how old the camera is they are just good photos. The most important factors in choosing a camera brand is how does it fit in your hand. Do you like the menus. Does it work for you ergonomically . Will you be happy with it in your hand. So if you don't already have a camera this is how I would choose brand is how does it feel in your hand.

Let's talk about sensor size. Camera sensors come in all sizes from Micro 4/3, APSC, full frame and Medium format. Let me be the first to say that sensor size in Landscape photography does not matter! You can take great photos on a cell phone with the sensor size smaller that your pinky fingernail. If you are just getting into photography I would steer you away from Medium Format because the size of the sensor and file size is just overkill for landscape photography. AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston But everything from a cell phone to full frame sensor will work. Micro 4/3 cameras OM Systems (formally Olympus) or Panasonic will work just fine. These small camera systems will have small lenses which will be great for hiking into the backcountry for landscapes. APSC (Crop Sensor)  from Sony, Canon, Nikon or Pentax will all work great! Over 90% of the photos on my website came from a APSC sized sensor on various cameras. Full frame cameras give a little better low light performance due to the size of the sensor and also shallower depth of field which is not really a desired feature in landscape photography. But theses sensors may be better for Astro/Landscape photography. If that is what you are interested in. 

Should I buy new or used? If you are worried about warrantees then go new. But as I said earlier you don't need the newest or latest and greatest camera to shoot landscape. Landscape subjects don't really move much so high speed tracking and focusing isn't necessary. Mirrorless camera's rule the camera bodies now a days but DSLRs are still valid if you are trying to save a buck. An example is a Nikon D850. One of the best DSLR cameras ever made but just remember with the older cameras that if you upgrade you might have to upgrade the lenses also because when Nikon and Canon switched to mirrorless they also changed the mounts of their cameras. I personally use a Sony A7III that came out in 2018. They have came out with many upgrades since this camera came out but this camera still takes great photo's for me. I don't see the need to upgrade in the near future. So if you do buy used do some research take into account lens mounts and the source of your purchase. I would buy from a place that specializes in selling used like KEH or MPB they give smaller warranties on items purchased from them. Either way just know that simple gear works great for Landscape photography and all of the video stuff that they put on the newer cameras won't help you at all in Landscape Photography.

Like I said this is the first of a 4 part series on Landscape photography camera gear.  The next blog will be on Lenses used in Landscape Photography. So until next week Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) DSLR Mirrorless blog Body Camera Body camping Canon crop sensor full frame gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography micro 4/3 Nikon Photography Sony travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/landscape-photography-gear-pt-1-camera-body Fri, 31 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Shooting in different Aspect Ratios https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/shooting-in-different-aspect-ratios What's up Ya'll? Hope you're having a great day! This week I want to talk about something I have never discussed before. Because I just figured it out! LOL Shooting in different Aspect Ratio's. I have always just shot in what ever default the camera came in and cropped in post to the Aspect Ratio that I wanted. Sometime this works fine but others I end up chopping something off that I didn't want to like the top of someone's head. But if you shot in that Aspect ratio to start with you would not have that problem. Now if your not familiar with Aspect ratio's lets do a little review.

Aspect ratio in photography is the ratio of an image's width to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. For example, a 3:2 aspect ratio means the image is three times wider than it is tall. Most common aspect ratio's in still photography are 3:2 , 4:3 , 1:1 and most recently 16:9.  To put in more common terms 3:2 equals a 6x4 print you used get with film photography, 4;3 ratio is like the old computer monitors more square, of course 1:1 is square like old 6X6 film cameras and instagram loves this format. And more recently the 16:9 ratio is modern HD moitor and TV size. The latter is the one that I make all of my Title pages for the blog with the titles on them. They fill up the screen. Now there are other aspect ratios especially in printing. But cameras mostly shoot in these 4. My older camera only has two but my newer one has all 4.

Now that we know what aspect ratios are why would we change them in camera? Well for one reason is if you plan to print in a specific ratio you can make sure that it's framed correctly. When you look at your screen and your electronic view finder it's already cropped to the ratio that you picked. Lets say you picked 16:9 when you look at your camera there is a black bar above and below the photo giving you the aspect ratio of 16:9 when you view back on the screen its the same. If you don't like it and shot in raw and import to Lightroom you can go to cropping and put in original aspect ration and it becomes 3:2 again showing all of the photo that was in the black bar part of your camera screen. Older film cameras you used to get focusing screens that would show the lines where the different aspect ratio's would be. So back to the question why would I change ratios in camera? To me it puts a restriction on shooting which makes you think. Kind of like using one prime lens for a shoot for a whole day.  It makes you look at the world a little different making your creative juices flow again. And that's a good thing. If you're in a rut one way to get out of it is shooting restricted a little.  Say shoot 1:1 (square) all day. You will be surprised the shots you will get. And your mind will start seeing that way. It's much like shooting in black and white for a day the same thing happens. For a bonus it's a fun way to get your mojo working again without spending money!

Most camera's will have this feature you just have to look for it . I'm using older cameras and both of mine have it. The older one only has two choices but the newer one has 4 choices. I'm going to start experimenting more shooting like this. So until next week get out and shoot and experiment with Aspect Ratios ! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 1:1 16:9 3:2 4:3 aspect ratio blog gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mojo Photography street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/shooting-in-different-aspect-ratios Fri, 24 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT
2025 Film Photography Project https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/2025-film-photography-project Hey Everyone! How's your week going? Mine is going pretty well. This week I want to talk about my 2025 Film Photography Project. Last year I brought film back into my photography and had a great time doing it. I relearned how to process my own film and create negatives.  How to scan with my camera to get digital copies into my computer where I could do editing and send to screen or print. The whole point of that project was to relearn and perfect those processes to get nice film shots. Images through chemistry not electrons. I got to use some old camera's of mine and purchases a few more camera's. I got to shoot with camera's from the 1960's , 70's and 80's. Perfected using in camera meters (when they worked) and hand held meters to get the proper exposure. I got to see how less critical some camera settings were for certain
film stocks. It put me back in time when I first was learning photography in the 1970's. I truly enjoyed the experience although there are some parts that I didn't like. The price of film is very expensive. Especially for professional film. So I shot mostly on consumer based films which weren't too bad but still pricy. But I was lucky I had most of the equipment that I needed to develop the film and found the best way for me to scan the negatives that I created into digital. It was a great learning experience. But this year will be different.


Last year I shot mostly 35mm film stock. I shot it full and half frame. I took lots of photo's and even made a book of my prints. This year I'll still shoot a little 35mm but mostly 120 film. Medium format. Last year I purchased a Bronica ETR SI 645 camera . I got very lucky in the purchase and you can read about it in this blog. Bronica ETR SI first thoughts With an almost new vintage 1990's camera I plan on taking this camera around with me on other photo projects and trips and using it to make images. Hopefully I will get well thought out and planned fine art photos. This is not the camera for taking snap shots. I hope to take Landscapes and Cityscapes of places I travel to. It will be going on my big trips with the club but maybe not on trips where I have to travel in a plane. It's fairly big and bulky .  I've got at least one trip that I'm in the works of planning that will require plane travel. But mostly everywhere else. I really only took test shots last year with the camera to test the camera gear and my ability to process the film. I took the camera out today and started playing with it again and I'm not ashamed to say that I had to pull out the manual a few times to figure things out. The 645 format of this camera is the smallest of the medium format and it gives me about 2.5 times the surface area of a 35mm. I did this size to save on film. I'll get 15 shots per roll instead of 12 of 6X7 film or 6x6 film. I do like the format of 6X6 so maybe a camera will be in the future but until I find a great deal I'll be shooting this Bronica.  I plan on shooting black and white and Color film. For color I will be shooting mostly Kodak Gold 200 a consumer film stock. Maybe a roll of Kodak Portra every now and then a professional film stock. And for black and white most likely Illford, Kodak, or Shanghai film. I do like the look of color but will have black and white with me always. What's nice about this camera is the removable film backs so I can switch between color and black and white in mid roll to save on film. Hopefully my skill will improve and I get some dramatic Landscapes is what I'm hoping. 

Hopefully at the end of the year I'll have a book made of medium format film shots made with my Bronica. Until next week Get Out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 120film 220film blog color Film gear hiking Ilford Kodak landscape learning Max Stansell Photography medium format monochrome Photography Shanghai street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/2025-film-photography-project Fri, 17 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT
New Year Sunrise Shoot! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/new-year-sunrise-shoot Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! This week I want to tell you about a photography trip that I took on New Year's eve. This is an annual trip that my photography wingman Robert and I take every year to capture the first light of the new year. Places we have gone are Carolina Beach NC, Mt. Mitchell, Charlotte, Cape Hatteras and this year it was Kill Devil Hills NC. Last year we added a member to the crew Mike and this year we added one more Caitlin. So we had 4 photogs on this trip. We are all in the same photography club and go on outings with each other often. So let me tell you about our trip.

First we left early on New Year's Eve to head to the coast. First stop was Alligator Wildlife Preserve. Mike is the wildlife expert in our group and comes here often and knows where some of the animals tend to stay. We arrived about 9 o'clock and rode around on dirt roads looking for any type of wildlife. We really wanted to see a bear this day. We saw lots of birds from
Tundra Swans, Hawks, Buzzards and lots of other birds. But no mammals and certainly not any bears although there were signs that they were around. If you know what I mean. LOL We stopped and had a picnic lunch provided by Robert. There were roast beef sandwiches with homemade bread. He likes to take credit but we all know that his wife did most of the work. It was a fantastic lunch which filled us up. The next stop was to scout Kill Devil Hills and Jockey's Ridge State Park.

Scouting Jockey's Ridge, If you don't already know. Jockey's Ridge is a very large Sand Dune Array with lots of sand and a very big Dune. I would guess maybe 3 or 4 Stories high. They actually hang glide off of the dune. Mostly in the summer. The dunes are always shifting and changing and we wanted to see where we would set up for a potential night shot and for the sunrise shot that we came for. We had got permission to be on the Dunes from the State Park (Jockey's Ridge State Park) after and before operating hours of the park. We wanted to get our bearings before trying to find something in the dark in the sand and with the least amount of hiking in the sand which is hard. We found our spot for the sunrise shot but decided to go to Bodie Island Lighthouse for the nighttime shot instead of the dunes.

Sunset Shot. Robert and myself had done a little research and found a spot to do a sunset shot in Manteo NC and eat at a restaurant that we had gone to before for Supper. Prior to going to Manteo we went to our overnight rental and took a few hours off to rest before the nighttime activities started and we had gotten up real early . After our rest we headed off to Manteo which was only a few minutes drive away. What we had forgot in our planning is that it was New Year's Eve and the town of Manteo had some plans of their own.
All of downtown was blocked off for the nights activities so we had to park a lot further away than we expected and it took a little longer to get to our spot. The long shadows of the end of the day had started across our scene so the shot we had planned didn't go as planned. But there were lots of other shots to get. So we did those on the way back to our truck. We did have a great dinner at the restaurant that we had picked out. Then we headed to Bodie Island Lighthouse for our nighttime shot.

Bodie Island . Robert has recently got a Star Tracker to shoot the night sky with. This is a device that moves the camera at the same speed as the earths rotation so you can take longer shutter speed shots . This lets you lower your ISO and bring in more light and keeps the stars pinpoint sharp. The wind was starting to pick up speed as the night went along and it was just a little windy when we shot there. Robert went through all of the motions of showing us how to align the star tracker and taking shots with the machine. I went with my normal set up that I usually use here. Tripod, ISO 1000, Shutter at 20 sec and f/2.0 aperture . This combo seems to work well with my camera/lens combo and I got some really good shots. It got colder and started to mist. Almost a heavy dew that got on everything and made some interesting shots. After the nighttime shots we decided to head to the rental and get some sleep before we had to get up for a early morning shoot at Kill Devil Hills.

New Year Sunrise. We got up and headed to Kill Devil Hills. It was very windy maybe 25-30mph wind with gust even higher. It was 50 degrees with a wind chill of 38. We got to our starting point a little early so we waited in the truck until it was time to hit the dunes. I put on my insulated coveralls to stay warm. I grabbed my tripod camera/lens combo and headed up the dunes.  The higher we got the winder it got. The wind was picking up the sand and blowing it across the dunes. Sand got everywhere to our equipment to our ears and eyes. We worked many compositions but I think I got what I wanted out of the shoot. After maybe an hour on the dunes it was time for breakfast! We stopped at a place that Robert and myself had gone to in the past and it hit the spot! We then started our way home. We stopped at Alligator River on the way home and saw less wildlife than we had seen the day before. I did see a couple of otters playing in the water but only got one shot of them.

This was a great trip and love going with my photog friends. Fun was had by all and lots and lots of laughs were had. Can't wait until next year I wonder where it will be. Until Next Week Get Out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) astro blog gear hiking kitty hawk landscape learning lighthouse lighthouses Manteo Max Stansell Photography Photography street sunrise sunset travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/new-year-sunrise-shoot Fri, 10 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT
Photography New Years Resolutions https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/photography-new-years-resolutions Hey Ya'll! How's it going this week? Me? Great! Thanks for asking. Well it's 2025 and a new year is upon us and it's time for resolutions right? Don't know if I've formally done this before, I know I've stated upcoming projects and the such but not really resolutions . So this year I'm going to make a couple and one big one! As you know I have been dabbling with photography for many years and decades. (since the mid 1970's) This will be the first photography related resolution that I make and I'll try not to break them. So let's get on with the resolutions.

Finish Projects. My first resolution is to finish projects that I have set for myself. Mainly my Small Towns Project that I started last year and didn't finish. I also want to complete my Medium Format Film project. I discuss this project in a future blog so I won't go into detail with it. I also have my continuing Posting 365 day project where I post to Instagram each day. I'll leave a link below for you to follow my progress if you want. Dedication and planning will be the key to finishing these projects and with doing so I hope to become a better and more rounded photographer.

NO NEW GEAR! Yes I said it. No new camera gear for 2025! This will be very hard to keep as I am a gear hound with lots of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I have great gear and really don't need anymore, although I do have a lens I've had an eye on! LOL But I'm going to resist because I cover the focal length with lenses I already have. This past year I purchased a lot of gear from lenses to film cameras. Yes that was plural quite a few film cameras. Although they weren't as expensive as one digital camera there was quite a few. So many I'm having trouble picking which one I want to use every day. Hopefully my medium format project will keep me in focus with one film
camera. Maybe? Now it doesn't mean I won't buy stuff that is camera related. Like film or accessories for cameras but no more bodies or lenses. Of course if I come upon a killer , can't pass it up, once in a lifetime deal I will jump. But they hardly ever show up. The money that I spent on camera's and lenses I'll try to spend on trips and adventures instead. Still photography related but not gear. Yes this will be hard for me to control myself. I order so much stuff my wife periodically ask me what I have ordered. LOL She asked me the other day and I didn't have anything ordered . A first! LOL

Fine Art Black and White film Photography. This year I want to work hard on making really great Black and White film photographs. From the metering to the final scan into my computer. I want to perfect the process. I shoot color and process color film too but I do that pretty well but the timeless look of Black and White and shapes and tones that the medium shows I think is stunning. So you will start to see much more Monochrome photo's from me in the future. We have a guy in our club who is new to photography but his Black and Whites are stunning and I wan't to do the same with film as he does with digital. I also want to become proficient in the Zone System of metering which was created by Ansel Adams.  I've already started studying and trying to learn the system. Maybe there will be a blog on this but I must get much better and proficient than I am now before I can talk about it.

Well those are my New Years Photography Resolutions. What's yours? Have you started a Photography Project for the new year? I think they are great and a lot easier than trying to loose weight or to stop smoking. Let me know what kind of photography resolutions you come up with. Until next week Get Out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Black and White blog Camera Body Cameras film fine art gear hiking landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Monochrome Photography Photography Projects street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2025/1/photography-new-years-resolutions Fri, 03 Jan 2025 10:00:00 GMT
365 Day Projects! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/365-day-projects Hey Y'all ! Hope you're having a great day and week! Today is Christmas and the big event of opening presents and family doesn't start until tonight. There is only one blog left for this year as there is only one Friday left. So what a better time to talk about 365 day projects. There are many types of 365 day projects and today I'll go over 3. Now to accomplish these projects you don't need any fancy gear no new camera or film or even a camera at all maybe just your cell phone. But a camera would be easiest. What you produce doesn't have to be winner shots because who can make a winner shot every day? But they should be well thought out and planned to make a successful project. The three projects are Posting Once A Day, Photo Once A Day and Print Once A Day. I have tried and failed at each of these but one I have been successful for at least a few years. So why would you do a project like this? It keeps you shooting! You've heard practice makes perfect and you must put in 10000 hours of work in something to be proficient at it. Well that's why you take on a project like this. It makes you Shoot , Think and Plan about photography. Let's talk about all three of them. flickrflickr

Post a Photo a Day,  This is the one I have been doing for quite a few years. I post once a day to Instagram. Instagram is a social media site that used to be only photography but has become a lot of video but that's where I post. It could be to Flicker, 500px or even Facebook. If you would like to see the kinds of photo's I post  I'll leave a link at the bottom of this blog. To me posting once a day is easier than the other two types of 365 projects. I have tried both and failed miserably. But it is the most visible and acceptable. If you take a photo once a day but no one see it there is less pressure to produce and for me it was easier to fail. To print a photo each day means you have to have lots of photo's on hand to choose from so not only are you taking photo's but you are printing them also and like before no one see's them but you.

Take a Photo a Day, This is a very challenging project. You must have some sort of camera with you all the time and believe me it's a struggle to find something interesting to shoot every day. And with our busy lives just finding the time is a problem. I think that you should have a detailed plan on what to shoot every day maybe a list of 365 things to look for to shoot every day so your eye is always searching for something new. As I have said before I have tried and failed this project a few times. But I think that this would be a fulfilling project and something to talk about. I completed a 365 shoot a day project. Not many can say that. It's like hiking the Appalachian Trail. Many have tried but only a few have done it.

Printing a Photo a Day, To me this may be the hardest to complete. First of all it takes a monetary commitment. Ink and paper aren't cheap. And what happens if your pinter dies? And you still have to take the photo's to supply. But the rewards would be great! 365 prints a year. And if they were 8x10 think of the memories and heirlooms that you could pass on. And you would become a master printer in the process! I can defiantly see the benefits of this Photographers EyePhotographers Eye project.

For me the post project is the easiest. I usually shoot maybe once a week or so and that shoot say a photowalk supplies me with photo's . I call it feeding Gram. LOL I have to have enough to keep posting something new.  The shoot once a day is very hard and it could be combined with posting which would make it even harder. The print one is the hardest I think because not only do you have to feed that printer but printing is a skill I really don't have and then there is the ink and paper that you would have to provide which sometimes cost more than the printer. But there you have it three 365 projects that you can do next year. Until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 365day blog Camera Flickr Gear Ink Instagram landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Planning Point and Shoot posting printing printing paper projects Smart Phone taking website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/365-day-projects Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:00:00 GMT
End of Year things Photographers Should do. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/end-of-year-things-photographers-should-do Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great Holiday season. It's the end of the year and there are certain things I think that every Photographer should do to end this year and begin the next year on the right foot. Now I'm a very organized person and this stuff might not apply to you as it does to me. Planning the next years activities and trips is crucial to having a successful year. And reviewing the previous year can help in figuring what went wrong and what went right with projects or trips.  

Reviewing things that went right in your last year project and trips. Did they go as planned? Were the plans you made good did they have enough detail or too much? Was there enough time to complete? Was it fun? Because most of all Photography and the things we do with it should be fun! Thats why we do it. Take a good honest look at how your year went. Did you get good winners? Last year I had a couple of good winners but not as many as years past. Why? Maybe it was the subjects I was shooting. Maybe I wasn't as inspired. Maybe I just wasn't holding my tongue right. There could be many reasons but be honest and figure it out so you do better next year. Start planning for next year by setting up projects and trips. I have just started my trips planning and one is the a yearly New Years sunrise shoot that I do with my photography wingman Robert. This year we have added a couple of other photographers so there will be 4 of us. We are also talking about a trip to the mid west in May I'll give you more info when we start to plan and finalize the trip. There is our yearly fall trip with my photography club that I sure will be attending. So there are at least 3 trips that I already have planned and I would like to take my camper out for a couple of more trips with my wife and Forrest the wonder dog. But I still haven't finalized any of that. I want to finish my Small Towns project that I started this year but for some reason or another didn't finish. So that can be a weekly small trips. I'm looking at doing maybe a small bike packing trip also that will produce some photography or at least a good video. I think bike riding and video kind of go hand in hand. Then there is the photography Club stuff that I will be doing. As one of the officers of the club I tend to get volunteered to do some sort of presentation or two during the year. Then there is this blog that keeps me thinking and writing about photography.  Last but not least there is my Film Photography that I am still going to do. This year I want to concentrate on medium format photography with my Bronica ETR SI 645 film camera that I have. So I have lots to do and plan for this year.

Some other maintenance things that I think photographers should do. First I think that you should check the firmware updates on all of the camera equipment that you have. From Camera Bodies to Lenses and even some flash heads you can check and maybe upgrade the firmware.  Another maintenance item to do is to change the copyright year on the metadata on your camera if your are doing it in camera or in software like Lightroom. This is easy to do but also easy to forget. So at the first of the year make sure you change the year. What about updating your inventory of your camera equipment? Keeping this up to date and sent to your insurance company can be critical if you break something but it's not on the list of items you insured. So it's a great time to do an inventory not only for insurance reasons but maybe you have some stuff that you don't need anymore and can sell or maybe you have some stuff to upgrade. The biggest item I need to upgrade is my Laptop. Although I use a MacMini desktop computer for most of my editing stuff my laptop is almost obsolete because of age and not being able to keep up with newer operating systems and software. I have been using an iPad for mobile editing and it works good but I may need a newer laptop to run Photography meetings and it would be much easer on trips than my iPad. So that's one thing I'm thinking about upgrading this year. I'm down to a couple of models of MacBooks but haven't decided yet but I'm sure it won't be long before I'm writing a blog about my new MacBook.

Well I have rambled on enough. The point of all of this is to plan your year and get ready so all you have to do is start shooting. The less you have to figure out the more energy you can put towards your photography. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

Hey if you want to check out some more of my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping Canon copyright gear goals landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography review Sony street travel trips website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/end-of-year-things-photographers-should-do Fri, 20 Dec 2024 10:00:00 GMT
The Most Expensive Part of Photography. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/the-most-expensive-part-of-photography Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great day! It's the holiday season and folks will be buying photography gear for Christmas. I've already had a couple of people ask me for recommendations for loved ones. This week I want to talk about the most expensive item in Photography. It doesn't matter what brand you used whether it be Sony, Canon, or Nikon or any other brand. And it's not an item per se but an element in the exposure triangle. Its Aperture !  Let me explain a little. Aperture is the opening in your lens. The f/stop that people are always talking about. The largest size aperture will determine the total cost of a lens to a certain point. It can make the price of lenses double. If you've bought many lenses you know that they are expensive enough. I have written about Lenses in the past like which is better prime or zooms and other topics. But I was watching a YouTube video and it was the basics of photography and this guy said that Aperture was the most expensive part in photography. And I started thinking about it and it is. I have never thought about it before but it really is. For almost any type of photography the Aperture  (especially in zoom lenses)  is the most important part of the equation . I've always said invest in good glass not camera bodies. Good glass is expensive but it will last much longer than the body will. New technology will make the fancy new stuff on your shiny camera body not so new after a couple of years but a good lens can last decades. Good Zoom lenses aren't cheep but one with a low aperture can almost cost as much as that fancy new  camera body does. For example in Amazon a Sony 20-70 f/4 G lens cost 998 dollars today. A 24-70 f/2.8 GM cost 2299 dollars today. By comparison a Sony A7IV which most Sony professional portrait and wedding photographers use at 33 megapixels cost  2098 dollars. Now it's not the biggest and baddest Sony body but you can see that a a low aperture zoom lens cost money. And most folks want a zoom lens.

So what does all of this mean? Well what it really means is to decide what kind of photography do you shoot? Do you really need that low aperture lens? If you are a professional  portrait photographer and need the separation or bokeh or a wedding photographer maybe you need that fast lens. And if you're a professional go ahead and buy it you can claim it on your taxes as a business expense. But most of us are not professional and don't have the easy access to cash. Take me for example I am a hobbyist and take photo's for fun I'm retired and on a fixed income so money is tight. Do I really need the wide open apertures when I shoot most of my stuff? My main lens is the one mentioned above the Sony 20-70 f/4 lens and I bought it used from MPB used to save even more money. I don't shoot portraits where I need things to really blur out in the background. If I do I don't use a zoom lens like mentioned before. I use a prime lens which is less expensive and I can get wider apertures like f/1.8. Let me share  a shoot I just did. It was the Christmas parade. In our town it starts at 4pm which means about mid-way through it will get darker and on the f/4 lens my ISO's will rise dramatically . So when it started to get dark I put on a 50mm f/2.5 lens and got great results. So if you want to shoot with wide apertures Primes are the way to go. You can get them at f/1.8 reasonably cheap and that is plenty of aperture for blurry backgrounds. They do make f/1.4 and smaller but you get back to the expensive range again. So if your a landscape or really any type of photographer that's not a portrait or wedding photographer I would go with lenses with say a constant f/4 for the maximum aperture . It's a middle of the road aperture lens. Not the cheapest kit lens with variable apertures. Most modern lenses use software to correct lens flaws that more expensive lenses correct optically making them more expensive. The middle of the road works great for me and how I shoot and I don't want for the biggest and baddest new lens that just came out. If I need separation or the blurred out bokeh I grab one of my primes. In the big picture it's a lot cheaper and I get as good or better results. 

Well that's enough for today until next week grab the gear you own and Get out and Shoot! 

Hey if you want to check out my photography go to my instagram account Max Stansell Photography there are over 2000 post there. Here is the link

 Max Stansell Photography Instagram Link

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) aperture blog Camera Bodies Canon Cost Expensive gear iso landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Money nikon Photography portrait Primes shutter Speed Sony street travel website workshops Zooms https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/the-most-expensive-part-of-photography Fri, 13 Dec 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Photography Year End Review https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/photography-year-end-review Hey Ya'll! We are in the last month of the year and I think it's a time to remember the last year and the photography highlights. Seeing what we have done and planning what we will do is an annual process for me. I think that planning is important part of having a successful year. I try to plan trips and projects as much as I can but looking back is a process that we should do also. This blog is about looking back at the great year that I have had. 

Projects: I had a few projects this past year. This blog is one of my photography projects. It's a way I can express myself and give my opinions about stuff Photography and otherwise related subjects. It's quite an  undertaking coming up with topics, trying to make it interesting and Photo's to go with the text. This is at least the third year of weekly blogs.  I feel obligated to put one out each and every week. My next project was the Small Town project. This is where I would pick a small town and spend a day taking photo's and documenting the town. I had about 25 small towns picked out in eastern North Carolina. I got to about 2/3rds of them but not quite all. So I didn't finish this project. But it really gave me a weekly thing to do. I would travel each week to a different town after doing a little research and photograph the town. Sometimes my wife would accompany me and we would make a day of it. But for some reason I didn't quite finish this project and will begin again next year to finish and when I Virginia ShedVirginia Shed finish I will make a personal book on it. So that will go on the next years goals to finish. Maybe my biggest project was the film project. In this project I took vintage cameras shot film and processed it at home and bring into Lightroom and process like digital photos. I absolutely loved this project and it took me back to my roots of photography. It started out slowly but became a main part of my photography for the year. I bought inexpensive film cameras cleaned them up and ran some film through them. I even bought a Medium Format Camera. I got better at the processing and the photography and by the end of the year I was getting good results. I did make a book of the photo's. I made it like the old fashioned books with printed photo's Charleston West VirginiaCharleston West Virginia attached to the album with the little sticky corners to hold the photo's in place. This was a great success and I carry a film camera everywhere I have my digital. The last project is like every year making a book out of photo's that I think were winners. I have completed this book and it will be mostly an heirloom passed down through generations I hope.  To me it's a way to preserve my photography by printing a book. 

Trips: I was very lucky this year and was able to go on a few trips .  Me and my photography wingman Robert went on a few trips . First there was our annual New Years trip to Cape Hatteras that Mike joined us to bring in the new year. We also did a couple of other trips one to a local farm to shoot a cabin , one to a friends house to shoot some of his live stock. We went to Virginia a couple of times once to shoot the milky way and another to shoot race cars at the Virginia International Raceway . We did some back country roads trips also . Our longest trip wast to Indiana for a Bicycle road race that he was going to ride in. We made a road trip out of it and hit 8 states in 5 days. We make a great photography Duo and hope to take many more trips in the future. My photography club also had two trips this year not to count the monthly workshops which sometimes included day trips. Our first trip was to the low country of Georgia and South Carolina hitting Savannah and many spot northward. It was a fantastic trip with a great group of folks. The other trip was the Fall Colors Trip to West Virginia. We were in the New River Gorge National Park area and had wonderful colors and as always a great group of people to photograph and share the experience with.

Over all I had a great year and am looking forward to the next .  I have already started planning for next year and hope to have a busy photography year next year. How was your year? Let me know. Until Next week Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping Charleston End Of Year hiking landscape learning Lighthouse max stansell photography National Parks Outerbanks Photo Trips Photography Savannah State parks street travel Tutorial website West Virginia workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/12/photography-year-end-review Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:29:45 GMT
My Canon Film Camera's https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/my-canon-film-cameras Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! This week I wan't to talk about my 35mm film cameras. Which happen to be all Canon's. I can tell you that this was not a planned thing and I have never really been a Canon fan before but there you go. When it comes to film I'm a Canon Shooter.  I have 3 main 35mm cameras that I use.  The Canon AE-1 Program, Canon Canonet QL17 G3, and the newly acquired Canon Demi EE 17 half frame camera. Now I have several other 35mm cameras but these have become my main ones mainly due to the great lenses they have.  Although they are all 35mm cameras they are not the same. Like an assortment of fine screwdrivers they each have a specific role like different tools in a toolbox.

The first one that I got was the Canon Canonet QL 17. I was really looking for a rangefinder type of camera. Leicas were well out of my price range so I started lookin for a camera that would fill this need that I wanted to fill. I discovered this camera through hours and hours of research. First I bought a Canonet 19 the earlier big brother to the QL 17 and it took good photo's but the 1961 model was large and heavy and I had to use a external meter because the meter that's on the Canonet 19 was not working. So I found the QL 17 . It's known as the poor man's Leica.  It's a true rangefinder not just a look a like .  The lens is sharp with lots of contrast and has a 40mm lens with a max aperture of f/1.7. This is a great walk around camera and is great for casual photowalks. With a fixed lens you don't have to worry about extra gear. Fun to shoot and looks good also!

The second Canon I have is the AE-1 Program. One of the most popular camera's ever produced. I got this one from a friend who gifted it to me. The one thing I like about it is the Viewfinder is clear and sharp and focusing is very easy. This camera is the most versatile of these cameras with up to 1/1000 second shutter speed and interchangeable lenses. I purchased a 28mm lens to get this camera kit where I want it. I use this for photowalks and project work. Like my cities and film projects that I'm currently in the process of doing. This is the Cadillac of my 35mm cameras . Love the images that I get out of this camera and it has a grip on it that makes it easy to hold.

The third Canon in the line up is the Canon Demi EE 17. This is a half frame camera. Which means it shoots frames that are half the size of a normal 35mm negative. So you get twice the photo's that you would get with a normal 35mm camera. This will become my companion camera . When I'm shooting digital this small camera will fit in the bag nicely. I will be able to get some film shots without using a lot of film. It has a 30mm f/1.7 lens which is very sharp. You will find this camera in my bag almost all the time whether I'm shooting digital or film it makes a great companion and backup. Its a very fun camera to shoot.

All three of these cameras can shoot in manual and in Shutter priority mode. All of the meters are accurate to 1/2 stop which is fine for the negative print film that I shoot. Will this assortment of camera's change? I'm not thinking so right now but things change. I also shoot digital and medium format film. Photography is so much fun you can live in the past and shoot film and you can take all of that basic work to your digital work flow which makes it better too. My advice would be to explore all of the different types of photography to become a better photographer. So until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 17 35mm blog Canon Canon AE-1 Program Canon Demi EE17 Canonet film gear GIII" learning Max Stansell Photography Photography QL street travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/my-canon-film-cameras Fri, 22 Nov 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Holiday Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/holiday-photography Hey Y'all! Hope your week is going well. The holiday season is upon us and I'm watching Hallmark Chistmas movies already! LOL The holidays are special and time to spend with friends and family. A great time to capture the meaning of the season to you.  Holiday photography can be fun and memories can be had to share with the ones you love. Now we've all had that uncle Bob who had a good camera and was taking all kinds of photo's and fumbling with his equipment all of the time. Sometimes you had to wait for ole uncle Bob to get his stuff together before the shot was taken and the mood may have been lost. Don't be that guy! For Christmas photography simple is better. Being spontaneous and quick to the trigger is the best for these type of photography and don't be shy of using your mobile phone. When I think of intimate family photography I think of my friend Jennifer who takes great cell phone photo's. She post and shares online and the photographs are fantastic. She has a big Girl Camera and takes wonderful photo's but the everyday shoot from the hip shots are great. (Don't tell her I said this don't want her to get a big head) LOL Now there are all types of photography from formal portraits, Christmas cards, casual snapshots, to details of decorations and food being prepared. Lets talk a little about each.

Christmas Cards. These need to be planned well in advance of time to send these out. And they may be a thing of the past with all the new advances in tech. People don't send cards like they used to. Or if they do one they send it via Email or online. But I'm in favor of the Printed card with a special personal note when sent out. I must confess I haven't done one in a while but they are fun to do and are sure to make someone's fridge or mantle. 

Formal Portraits. I did this one Thanksgiving and of course I over did it. I had backdrops , Lights , Tripod the works. The photo's came out well but it was a lot of stuff going on. I wouldn't recommend this but a great family portrait using a self timer is a must do every year. This way you get at least a photo of everyone every year. With additions to the family and youngsters growing up in the photographs. This can easily be done with a cell phone or your big boy/girl camera set with the self timer. Make sure you get everyone in and go wide enough so you can crop a little to get the right size for framing.

Now you can use your phone to take most of these shots. I suggest bringing them into LightRoom to give them the sparkle that they need. Although most shots shot with your phone look good you can make them look better. And of course bring in your regular shots into your photo editing software like you always do. Afterwards you can export in any size or quality you want to social media or to get printed.

Details. To me this is the fun part. Table decorations, Decorations around town. Christmas lights, Food being prepared , the turkey coming out of the oven . To me photographing these things during the holiday really puts me in the mood for the holidays. Stupid Hallmark movies are getting me all misty eyed. LOL Until next week Get out and Shoot!

I'm looking forward to the holidays and hope you are. I wish that each and every one of you have a happy and safe holiday season. 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Christmas gear hiking holiday iPhone landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography seasons street Thanksgiving website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/holiday-photography Fri, 15 Nov 2024 09:58:30 GMT
Photography , The camera body doesn't matter! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/photography-the-camera-body-doesnt-matter Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a good week. Me pretty well getting ready for another fall trip to the mountains. This year we'll ( my camera club) will be going to West Virginia in the New River Gorge Area. Thankfully we didn't plan to go to the devastated North Carolina mountains this year as we have done in the past. It saddens me all the devastation to the place that I hold so dear to my heart. Well this week we will talk about something I don't really talk about too much. How your camera isn't that important in photography. I know, I know, I'm a gear guy and this blog is mostly about the gear that we use. Now I'm going to tell you that for most of us the type of camera body that you use doesn't matter. If you watch YouTube or Instagram or Ticktock you know that they PopsPops are always hyping the latest and greatest camera body's , what they can do , how many frames per second how fast they focus, the megapixels or whatever new feature they might have. I'm here to say that unless your are a professional photographer or specialize in some sort of photography that needs 120 frames per second or focus that can track a fly in mid-flight you don't need the fanciest camera out there. And I'm here to tell you that if you're an average photographer like I am if you buy the top of the line camera that you are wasting your money buying features that you won't use and unless you have disposable money unlike myself you should use what you have.  For most of us our photo's won't improve with the new camera.  If you use your camera like I do for street, travel or landscape photography a new body will not improve your photographs. The frames per second or the fancy fast focus will not focus any sharper than the camera you have. Unless you're shooting wildlife or sports the fast shooting or fast focusing won't help. Megapixels don't really matter except for crop factor if you really want to crop in a lot. If you're using your photo's for social media, or printing for your wall how many megapixels isn't really going to matter if you have 24 megapixels or more. Now this is all my opinion. I think that you would be better suited in buying good lenses and spending your money there than in fancy bodies and not improving your lenses. Road to the TempleRoad to the TempleGoblin Valley State Park Utah Lens quality I think is more important than that of the camera body itself. A good lens no matter what body you have on it will give you sharp photo's. I try to practice what I preach my main lenses each cost more than the body that I put them on. Only one of them is the top of the line but the others are very close to the top and very high quality. The camera body that I am using is a Sony A7C which is very new to me. It is not considered a professional camera but a consumer grade camera. It was released in 2020. The camera that was a Pro/Sumer camera that used to be the main camera is the Sony CherokeeCherokee A7III which was released in 2017 I still have it and used it around the house and for my negative scanning. So I don't have the latest and greatest camera body. But I still think that I produce very good photo's and don't think the camera body is holding me back at all. Very much the other way around. I don't think that I use only just a little of what my current camera body can do. 

So why am I telling you all of this? Because I think there is too much pressure on getting new camera's the latest and greatest. Don't get me wrong everyone wants and likes new gear. But for most of us it's not needed but with social media , Peer Living WatersLiving Waters pressure there is a lot of pressure to upgrade to the latest and greatest. And yes I have fallen to this in the past. Thinking that if I get this camera or whatever type of gear that my photo's will get better. So I would buy that new body. But the photos never get better. I may focus faster, the megapixels may be more but the photo's still look the same. You've always heard folks say " Hey that's a great photo you must have a nice camera" And you always think to yourself. Silly the camera didn't take the photo I did. You wouldn't complement a carpenter " Hey nice house you must have a nice hammer" No you know the EYESEYES skill that the carpenter has built the house and the hammer was just a tool. The same is with the camera. It's the photographer that took the photograph not the camera. It's just a tool. So if you want to take good photographs I would advise you into investing into photography education, learning how to use the current camera you have and practice , practice , practice. You will come out with better photographs and spend a lot less money. Then and only then when you reach your camera's limits then upgrade.

Well that's all I have for this week . Until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/photography-the-camera-body-doesnt-matter Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Fall Photography in West Virginia https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/fall-photography-in-west-virginia Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Well last week I was in West Virginia on a Fall Colors workshop with my Photography Club. We spent 5 days going around taking photo's of the stunning landscapes and cute little towns. We were based in Fayetteville West Virginia in an Air B&B and traveled mostly in the New River Gorge National Park area but did veer away from the park many times. We had good food and fellowship and did editing and helped each other in areas we are weak in. I love these workshops it's like being with my photography family and I'm the crazy uncle. We had some members that had never been to West Virginia before and it was fun showing them around and seeing what photo's they got out of the new environment. They really got some good ones I think from what I saw when we were editing. When we go on workshops they are really workshops not vacations. Although we have fun and kid around we start before the sun comes up and often finish after it sets. We eat a local restaurants to support the communities we visit and the food is usually excellent. We may eat in one night making spaghetti or Pizza. I like to explain it as summer camp for old folds. There is a lot of kidding and joking. We even give nicknames like in summer camp. Fun is guaranteed .  For this trip I tried to keep my equipment simple. Usually I bring lots of lenses and equipment. This time I brought 2 lenses. The 20-70 F4 and a 100-400 , both Sony to go with my Sony A7C body. I was the only Sony of the group. I was very happy with my choices.  I did bring filters and tripod and that was it for digital photography . I did bring my Canon Demi EE17 half frame Film Camera but didn't get through a roll of film. I was too busy with my digital and I was Volunteered to take and make the trip video. You can see it here at this link. 2024 Fall Trip West Virginia It is very hard to shoot photo's and video at the same time. I think they both suffer when you try to do both. It's much easier to pick one or the other and just shoot it.  But I was doing both plus trying to get some film in and of course an iPhone shot or two to post quickly into social media. So I was working 4 Cameras. For photo editing and backups I used an iPad pro with the M1 chip in it. I would back up photo's to an external SSD hard drive then pick a few photo's to edit in Lightroom (mobile) the same with iPhone shots I would bring them into the SSD and choose which ones to edit and post to social media like Instagram and Facebook. I was the only one using a iPad everyone else was using a laptop and to tell you the truth I will probably go back to a laptop when the iPad becomes too slow to work on but now it works fine for mobile editing. The house we were staying in was very nice with a great view of Hawks Nest State Park. I even got my own room this time which was a first and I quite like it . Usually I'm sharing a room or bunk house with the other guys on the workshop. Usually we spend a full week but shortened it this year to 5 days because we had Spring Workshop in the Low Country of Georgia and South Carolina and there were some people that didn't have the vacation or PTO days to go on this trip. We only had 6 attend. But the cost was still low. 350 for 5 days and share gas and house food. You can't beat that for being economical for all the stuff that we did and our accommodations .  Here is a quick rundown of what we did on our trip.

Day 1- Travel day- On the way to Fayetteville WV from North Carolina is about a 6 hour trip. We stopped at  Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was very windy and cold when we got out of the warm truck I was riding in.  After that we went and found a local Restaurant and had a great lunch. We then headed to Brush's Falls just off the road on the way. We have never been to this waterfall before and it was fantastic. We left there and headed towards our house and stopped for Mexican food before getting to the house after dark unpacking and going to bed.

Day 2- Grandview and Sandstone Falls in the New River Gorge National Park. First it was to Grandview which looks over the New River and it makes a big "U" turn in front of you. It was cloudy so the sunrise wasn't great then we went to Turkey Spur Overlook which looks over the same spot in the river but much higher (stairs) After that we headed to Sandstone Falls near Hinton WV. After shooting the falls we ate lunch in Hinton at a cool restaurant that we've ate at before. We then headed to Thurmond WV an abandoned town on the way there we stopped at a waterfall Dunlop Creek Falls a very nice waterfall on the road to Thurmond. After shooting the Town we were pretty tired and decided to head to the house and cook some spaghetti . It was delicious. Thanks Caitlin .

Day 3- Babcock State park Day. First we to breakfast at Cathedral Cafe a restaurant that was made out of a church with stained glass windows . The meal was good and the people watching was good too. Then we headed to Babcock State park. If you look up West Virginia and look at photo's you will see the Grist Mill at Babcock. It is a photographers eye candy and the colors always seem to be pretty good. This year was no different. Perfect shooting. Cool weather, leaves falling and colors popping. What's not to like. We then headed to New River Gorge and the Bridge there. The place was packed the most people I've ever seen there. We went to the Bridge over look and then took the road to the older bridge going under the Big bridge. The next day would be Bridge day a festival where there are Base Jumpers, Bungee jumpers, People Rapelling off of the bridge. We decided not to attend the festival . One there would be lots of people and you would have to have clear bags to carry your gear. After the Bridge area we went into town and to eat and the little town had doubled in population and eateries were packed. We picked one and waited 45 min to be seated and had lunch. We then walked around town a little then headed to Nuttalburg WV an abandoned coal mine once owned by Henry Ford. It was kind of cool. After that we headed home and stopped at Walmart to get something to eat for Supper. 

Day 4- Hawks Nest State Park. We stayed away from the Bridge because of Bridge Day. They close down the bridge so the traffic is diverted around so all the roads get busy with traffic. Hawks nest was just 3 min away so we did a sunrise there at the overlook. It was a good sunrise. We then went and explored the rest of the park. It was very chilly and pretty. After spending the morning there we headed to Gauley Bridge. A small little town and explored a little then had lunch at a local BBQ place. Everyone was pretty tired so we headed to the house to do some editing and rest a little.

Day 5- Travel day Home. This day we got the house all settled and packed up our vehicles for the trip home. We left and on the way home we stopped at Camp Creek State Park. We stopped at Campbell Creek Falls which was a lovely fall with lots of color all around. The next fall was Mash fork falls. This was not much of a fall. We headed out and stopped on the way home at a local establishment to eat lunch then headed home. This was a great trip and I had a great time. Just wish it was longer. LOL

Until Next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Autumn blog Club gear Gorge hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National New Park Phot Photography River Sony street Sunrise Virginia Waterfalls website West workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/11/fall-photography-in-west-virginia Fri, 01 Nov 2024 07:59:29 GMT
How to plan for Stunning Landscapes https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/how-to-plan-for-stunning-landscapes Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me well its fall my most favorite season of the year! I love everything about it. Cooler weather, fall colors, harvest and beautiful landscapes to be had. My photography club takes trips this time of year just to capture the beauty of the season. Now my goal is to capture stunning photographs of the fall colors. But this is not a haphazard endeavor .  It is very much a planned one. In this blog I want to explain my process in how I find and make great photographs and the planning that is involved. And the apps and websites that I used to do this.

The best way to shoot stunning photographs is to put stunning scenes in front of your camera. But not only do you have to go to these places you must be there at the right time of day. We all know as photographers that there are certain times of the day that are best for great photographs. The golden hour that sunrise and sunset come into but don't forget the blue hour and twilight. So not only where you go to get those stunning photographs but when you go is important. So where do you start to your planning? 

First you have to come up with a place you want to go for the stunning photographs. For example a few years ago me and my Photo wingman decided to take a trip to Utah. Neither one of us had been before so we had to start planning our shots. We knew that there were many stunning shots there but there was still a lot of planning to do. Our first stop was Google. We Googled Utah and looked at images. We also used 500px and looked up Utah.  There are many fantastic photographs already taken of the places we wanted to photograph and so we picked out many for each of our stops on our 10 day trip.  We then went into detail trying to plan the correct time , direction of the sun, and the view point of the shot we wanted. To do this we used Photo Pills.  Photo Pills is an app you can buy that you can used to track the sun the moon , stars when and where blue hour and golden hour will happen.  Really anything logistical about your shot you can calculate and plan before you even leave home. Now Photo Pills is a big complicated app like Adobe Photoshop is but it is also as Fort Fisher Tree Milky WayFort Fisher Tree Milky Way powerful too. Here is a link that can help you navigate Photo Pills. Photo Pills Video Help Other apps and websites that can help your on your planning are Google Maps, Google Earth, Flickr, Instagram, 500px, and many more.  One of the few things that you can't plan for is the weather. Usually only a couple of weeks in advance can you plan for the weather. Apps like The Weather Channel, Weather Bug, clear outside or Weather on your iPhone can help with this. When you plan months in advance you just can't plan for the weather. I've got a trip to Cincinnati OH planned for this weekend that we've had planned for months and it looks like we are going to be pretty wet but don't let that deter you. Some of my best shots were shot in inclement weather.  When we went to Utah we did intense planning for shots and just the logistics of our trip from hotels we would stay in the route and order of things we would see make sure you put at least that much planning in your shots that you want to get while you're on your photography trip. That way you bring home those stunning shots that everyone will be envious of.

The great shots that you see online are not cute accidents. They are calculated and planned for well in advance and they are no accident at all.  Using all of the tools mentioned above will help you become a better photographer with more winners to print and put on your wall.

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(Max Stansell Photography) 500px blog earth gear google instagram landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography pills website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/how-to-plan-for-stunning-landscapes Fri, 25 Oct 2024 09:11:15 GMT
How to Photograph Waterfalls https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/how-to-photograph-waterfalls Hey Ya'll! Hope you've had a great week! Me? Pretty good. Fall is here and what better time to talk about photographing waterfalls! One of my most favorite things to shoot when I go somewhere. First of all there are lots of ways to shoot a waterfall I'm going to go over the basics on how I shoot them and what you'll need to do this. You can shoot a waterfall many different ways. If it's a big powerful waterfall maybe you want to stop the motion of the water to show the roughness of the waterfall and the sheer power. If it's a gentle waterfall maybe you want to drag the shutter(long exposure) and smooth out the water to make it flow. Either way they always seem to look great and I just love shooting waterfalls. So what tools will you need?

If your shooting smooth silky waterfalls the first thing you'll need is a Tripod. You need one that is sturdy enough to keep your camera still during those longer exposures. One you don't mind getting a little wet on the bottom but one you trust will keep your camera still and safe.  When shooting water that you don't want to move and stop the motion you might not need the tripod. A Polarizing filter of some sort . A circular or a linear one .  Water can be very shiny and you can really get hot spots in the water the polarizer cuts the glare just like a good pair of polarizing sunglasses do.  I just love the shots looking through the water at some round stones at the foot of a waterfall. If your shooting a longer shutter depending on the time of day you will also need a Neutral Density filter to slow down the shutter if its too bright outside. Usually a 3 stop in conjunction with a Polarizer does the trick but may need more depending on the brightness of the scene. A remote release of some kind can come in handy. This will eliminate the camera shake of a hand pressing the shutter button causing not as sharp photo's. It can be wired or not wired doesn't matter. Or you can do like I've been doing the last couple of years and shooting with a two or five second delay which gives your camera time enough to quit shaking before you press the shutter. And of course a camera that you can shoot in Manual. The lenses that you use will be determined by the size and the closeness as which you are to your subject. The further away the longer the lens.  Usually I'm at a wide or midrange zoom seems to work for me but I have used a telephoto on further away waterfalls and for detail shots of the waterfall. Now for the how too.

The composition of the waterfall is like composing anything else. You want a foreground , middle and background. Leading lines like a log in water comes in handy also.  Make sure you shoot Horizontal and Vertical shots . Some waterfalls seem better vertical and some better in Landscape mode. When shooting in the fall (my favorite time to shoot) I like to have some colorful leaves at the foreground if I can and trees surrounding the waterfall if you're lucky enough to have some good color. If your shooting flowing silky shot the first thing you have to do is look at your scene and with your minds eye (photographers eye) see the shot you want. Set up your tripod and attach your camera securely. Remember your around water be careful. Frame your shot, Put on a polarizer and adjust so you don't have the glare on the water. ISO at the lowest you can, put your f-stop between f/8-f/16 . I try for the sharpest and what will cut out the most light so I'm usually between 8-11. Now slow your shutter down. Look at your meter! I find that usually 1.5 to 2 stops under exposed works well. But it all depends on the flow of the water.  The slower the water the slower the shutter will have to be. Take a shot. Remember to expose for the brightest spot in the frame you can always bring back the shadows in post. If you need a ND filter install it on top of the Polarizer and try again. This is where the fun kicks in. Make sure you don't slow the water too much or it will just disappear but too fast it just looks blurry. Adjust it so it shows motion. To me these are some of the most satisfying shots I take all year . 

In Post production edit like you always do. For me I usually change the profile to Adobe Landscape that puts some saturation and punch into the colors and at the end put a little vignette to draw the eye to the center of the photo but just a hint on one not too strong.

Well that's all my secrets to shooting waterfalls. I truly love chasing waterfalls. I advise to get there early and shoot before all the people get there and it's usually darker so you might not even need that ND filter. You can also get lots of different angles without getting in someone's .way or they be in your way.  These last two shots were taken just this week in West Virginia on our fall workshop. Having a blast shooting waterfalls this week. So until next week enjoy fall and get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog drag gear landscape Max Stansell Photography NDfilters Photography Polarizer shutter street travel waterfalls website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/how-to-photograph-waterfalls Fri, 18 Oct 2024 08:23:31 GMT
Virginia International Raceway https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/virginia-international-raceway Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Pretty good. This week I want to talk about a little photo trip that I took to Virginia International Raceway located near Danville Virginia. My Photography wingman Robert came up with this trip months ago and we tried to go once before but I had some medical problems and we had to turn around and come back home. But this time I'm doing great and we took the 2 hour drive to get to this Raceway. I am NOT a car guy or a race guy and really don't know anything about racing . This is more of a road racing type of course with lots of turns hills not just an oval track. Which I kind of like. When we arrived we got inline with all the other cars but we were different. You look at the line of cars and they go Porsche, Porsche, BMW, Audi and then us a Volvo station wagon then Corvette. These people were race and sports car people. LOL We got parked in the infield of the Raceway which is very large and spread out. They have places for camping and RV parking for those folks who want to park their RV and sit and relax to watch the race. There is a big speaker system and you could hear the announcers talking about the racing that was going on. And they had an accent . More European than American. So the place has a cool vibe and the roar of the race cars even boost it even more.

Now shooting this is at least for me was kind of difficult. You can walk around and find you a good spot and if you have a decent Long range telephoto you can really isolate the cars. But the problem is that they move pretty fast. If you crank up your Shutter speed you can get a really nice sharp photo. But the car looks like it's parked on the raceway. To get it to show motion you have to be able to Pan your shots which isn't as easy as it seems. I tried many ways to do this . First I put my shutter on high speed to shoot many shots hoping I get one in focus. Hard to believe this didn't work too well.  I tried slowing down my shutter speed and shutter on high and still didn't get the in focus shot I wanted with everything blurred. I tried using wider lens but still didn't get the sharp car with everything else blurred. Then I tried to shoot Single shot and just shoot one shot as the car came by panning my camera and this seemed to work better for me. I started getting sharper shots with blurry all around but not a lot. So you have the panning shot which is really fun but there are others to get . One is in the pit area where they prepare the cars and fix them if they get crunched up a little. I really liked this as well. Lots of neat stuff that you don't normally see. If you like shooting people there are lots of interesting ones to see and take photo's of. Now this was a practice day and qualifying day for the race teams so you got lots of different classes of cars to look at and see. They all looked pretty amazing to me not knowing much about racing.

Would I do this again. You bet and now I know what to expect maybe I could get some better photos than what I got this time. I had a great time with my wingman Robert and we both got some good shots but struggled a little. If you get a chance to photograph a race or something similar I would highly recommend. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography motion Panning Photography Race Car racing sports website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/virginia-international-raceway Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Indiana Roadtrip with Hurricane Helene https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/indiana-roadtrip-with-hurricane-helene Hey Everyone! How are you doing? Me ? Wet! LOL I’m sitting in a hotel in downtown Cincinnati right now and thought I would start this trip Blog. It has been a very interesting trip so far. And a wet one. If you have watched the news you know that hurricane Helene really did some damage to the southern Appicacian Mountains from Georgia all the way to Ohio. And of course it’s been chasing us and dumping rain everywhere we go. It’s early Sunday morning and we (my photography wingman Robert) have been rained on since Thursday. Our plans have been changed by this storm but it din’t stop it. The original plan was to make our way to Brookville Indiana for a bike race that Robert was to participate in. I just came along for moral support and to document the event. We would make stops along the way and do some photography. Well I now know that my camera is very much weather sealed because we’ve been shooting in the rain ever since we left home. LOL After the race we were going to spend a night in Cincinnati and then drive to the Knoxville Tenn. area to visit a friend of his then take I-40 home. Well... the hurricane messed up all of those plans . So here is what happened. 

We have had this trip planned for months with the hotels and the logistics that come with a trip plan to include photo stops along the way. The only thing that we couldn't plan for is the rain. When we left on our first day Helene barely had a name and was hundreds of miles off the Florida coast. Little did we know that it would affect our trip for the next 5 days 8 states and almost 2000 miles. When we left it was misty and a little bit of rain but this was another rain event not associated with Helene. As we headed north west the rain became more steady. We traveled through Virginia and West Virginia and arrived at our first destination Charleston West Virginia the state Capital. We checked into our Hotel and headed out to find some Mexican Food and to go to a shot that we had planned with Photo Pills. And when I say we I mean Robert. He did all of the Photo Pills stuff with the trip and did a great job! When we got to our first stop it was misting a little but the scene was just as Photo Pills said and we were in the perfect spot to get the shot we were looking for. After we got the shot we headed to the state capital and it looked amazing! Well done West Virginia! We headed back to the Hotel to get some sleep before the next day.

Day two we are in bike race mode. Today our main goal is to drive to Brookville Indiana register for the race and do all the things we needed to do for the race. When we woke up guess what? Yes still raining. This rain was apart of the Helene system but it still had not made landfall yet in Florida. The predictions were that it was going to make a left turn and maybe Indiana would be spared. We Passed by Cincinnati and headed to Brookville a small town about 30 miles north west of Cincinnati. It was raining really good by now. We stopped and had some Skyline Chili. Robert had been talking this up for months so I was ready for the treat. I guess it's an acquired taste because it did not live up to the hype but I could use this to rib and make fun of Robert the rest of the trip. LOL We got to our hotel and chilled out while the rain continued to come down. We then went into town and skipped and jumped through puddles to get to the registration. Robert registered and got the bag of goodies that comes with the race. The place we registered in was a German Beer hall and we ate German food and listened to a Polka band that played. It was really cool. Everyone was saying that it was going to clear up by race time. 500 people had signed up and paid for the race. The beer hall was not crowded though . ( a sign of things to come)  The weather map did not look good...

Day three I got up early as usual and it was raining outside. I looked at the radar and it was all green not a good sign. Robert woke up later and asked how it looked I told him he didn't want to look at the Radar. He went downstairs to get a charger for his phone and when he came back he had a very sad face and said that the race was off for him because it was pouring down and even if it stopped the roads would be very slick with water and leaves and just not worth going down. He was not alone. We went to the start of the race and there were maybe 40 riders starting the race in the rain. We took some shots of downtown in the rain. The " in the rain" will become a theme. We headed to Cincinnati to start a new chapter of this trip. We also found out that damage was happening to the NC mountains and that I 40 was closed in a couple of places around Asheville where we were planning to go through would not be reasonable. So we got in touch with Roberts friend and cancelled that part of the trip and had to re-route our trip to the east. We booked a room in  Harrisonburg VA and headed to Cincinnati. This would be our busiest day yet. We headed to Cincinnati and found our hotel but it was way too early to check in so we went to a parking garage across the street. We called the hotel before we arrived because they had over 100 thousand power outages in the area in the morning prior. We called the hotel to make sure they had power and they did. There was suppose to be a festival in the downtown area but it got canceled because the storm that made all of the outages also tore up all of the tents and things they had set up for the festival. So we got out and walked and took photo's "in the rain" and surprisingly had a great time walking the city. We walked down by the baseball and football stadiums and the waterfront. We stopped and had lunch at a Korean Chicken place. Another theme is food from different countries. It was pouring outside so we decided to do something inside and took a Uber to a Sign Museum. This was a cool place with all kinds of Neon signs but upon our arrival I see Robert patting himself down. He can't find his phone! We finally demised that he left it in the Uber! Long story short we couldn't get with the Uber driver so Robert locked and wiped his phone and went to ATT and got a new one. We continued our trip and went out to eat at an Irish Pub and had fish and chips. Later that night we got with the Uber driver and she brought Robert his phone. Now he has two. Of course since he wiped out his old phone he had to set up the new one. We all know what a pain that is. So Robert stayed up late trying to get the new one set up.

Day four would be our longest driving day at almost 8 hours. We got up it was still raining and headed to a diner that was recommended to us for breakfast but when we got there it was closed. So we went back to the hotel checked out and headed toward Columbus. We stopped at a Bob Evans and had breakfast (much better than the Skyline Chili) and hit the road. We started in Ohio, then Pennsylvania , Maryland, West VA, and then Virginia. We took backroads thru most of it so we got to see the country not the interstate. And it was very nice we stopped a few times and took photos "in the rain". We finally make it to Harrisonburg and checked into our hotel which ended up being the best hotel and cheapest that we had the whole time. We went and got a Pizza " Italian food" and went to bed it was a long day driving in the rain. 

The last day of our trip we had about 4 hours of driving to do and of course it was raining when we got up. We packed up and drove home on backroads all the way home. When we got into our home county it finally quit raining but the roads were wet from a recent rain. All in all it was a fun trip. We got some good pics and had a ball like we always do. Good discussions, jokes and food make a great trip. You always have to look for the silver lining. I found out how to shoot in the rain without getting specs of water on my lens and that my camera can take quite a bit of rain and still function properly.  It was sad that the storm tore up the NC mountains that I love so dearly. Please pray and support this region that was devastated by the storm. We got rained on but the storm changed the landscape of our mountains and changed lives forever. Until next week get out and shoot !

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(Max Stansell Photography) bikes blog Cincinnati gear Helene hiking hurricane landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography rain roadtrip street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/10/indiana-roadtrip-with-hurricane-helene Fri, 04 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT
What filters do you need for Photography? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/what-filters-do-you-need-for-photography Hey Ya'll! How's it going this week? Me? It's been a rainy week so I've been doing indoor photography stuff like writing this blog. I have also been getting my gear ready for my annual fall colors trip that my camera club does once a year. This year we're going back to West Virginia for 5 days.  So that means lots of landscape type of photography and hopefully lots of color. It has been a while since I've written about filters. Back in 2022 I wrote a blog describing filters and what they do from a question that a camera club member had asked. Here is the link to that blog.   What my filters do  This blog is going to be a little different it will talk about what filters you need as a modern day photographer. First lets talk about construction of filters.

Construction- There are a few types of construction of filters. There are the "Circular Screw In" type. They are round and screw into your lens. So they have to be the same filter size of your lens. So if you have a 67mm filter sized lens you have to use a 67mm filter. You could buy many different filter sizes to fit all of the different sized lenses you have but that can get very expensive quick. The easiest way to use these is to get the largest filter size of you lenses say 77mm and use step down rings to take the 77mm to the 67mm lens that you have. Step down rings are only a few bucks and you can get one for each size of lens you have.  This way you only buy one set of filters. The next type of filter uses a filter holder that connects to your lens and you slide in the filters to the holder. So you would have a filter holder with adapter rings that would fit all of your FiltersFilters lenses and just one set of filters. These filters tend to be more expensive. The system works but is very clunky and cumbersome. The other construction design are magnetic circular filters. Like the screw in type but uses magnets instead of threads. The great advantage to this one is that you can pop them off and on very easily without fumbling with trying to get the screw in type screwed in or off. Sometimes the screw in type get stuck and are hard to get separated. The magnetic ones eliminate this problem. So those are the different construction types now for the ones you need and don't need.

Graduated Neutral Density Filters.  This filter is not needed anymore. It was used for high dynamic scenes like sunrise when the sky is so bright and the foreground is darker. This filter would darken the sky so you would have a more even scene. But this can be accomplished better in post production. You can take a bracketed shot and blend in Adobe Lightroom and use the linear Graduated tool and control exposure , color, contrast and almost anything . The Graduated ND filter can't do this as well. So this is a not needed filter. Now for what is needed.

Polarizer filter. The polarizer is the most important filter of them all in my opinion.  It does what no other Polarizer filter does, and it can't really be duplicated by Photoshop.  You may have heard it called a circular polarizer also.  It actually comes in two flavors - one is the linear and the other is circular. The circular is the more popular of the two and screws onto the front of your lens.  It has a rotating part that you can turn to increase or decrease the effects of the polarizer.  The linear polarizer is typically a square filter, and you will need some type of holder that attaches to the front of your lens. There are really only two positions.  If it doesn't work, rotate it 90 degrees and it will be working.  Both kinds will block 1 to 2 stops of light that travels through them, so you must make adjustments.  Your camera will automatically do this if you have it in one of the auto modes. A polarizer does a few things. The first thing it does is increase the saturation of things.  You can make your blah skies turn them bluer than blue. It will also increase the saturation in vegetation making leaves greener.  It also knocks the glare and reflection off of things. Looking through a storefront window, if you see yourself in the reflection, using a polarizer will make the reflection disappear.  If you look at water and it's too shiny, when you use a polarizer it will let you see to the bottom of a clear lake.  It's just like wearing polarized sunglasses when you're driving. Not only do they darken, but they knock the glare off of the windshield so you can see clearly.  With a circular polarizer, you can adjust as you like by turning the ring. For best results, the sun should be 90 degrees from where you're pointing. So not behind or in front of you, but to the sides.  This filter is great whenever you shoot around water, say shooting waterfalls.  This is a must-have in any photographer's bag.  Price will vary on the quality of the filter. Generally, you get what you pay for.

Neutral Density Filter- These filters are used when you want to darken the scene to either do a long shutter release or you want to open up the aperture of your lens.  This filter is used quite a bit for video work.  But for photography, it's mainly for long shutter release or opening up your aperture to give that great bokeh in broad daylight. Say for example you wanted to take a portrait in bright sunlight but you wanted to use an open aperture of 2.8, which is pretty wide open.  You would have to crank up your shutter speed to the thousands to get it to work if your camera would even get that high.  But when you put on an ND filter which darkens the scene, the wide aperture would let in enough light and you could slow down your shutter speed. I mainly use these filters to show motion.  I can do a long exposure in daylight and still blur a waterfall or have motions of the clouds drift across the sky giving a cool effect. These filters come in different strengths.  They are measured in stops of light.  Usually 3,6,8,10.  You can double up and have a 6 and a 3 together to make a 9.   Or a 3 stop and a polarizer to give a 4 or 5 stop light reduction. This is the combo that I usually use for waterfalls.  These filters can come in either square or circular filters.  For the square ones, you will need a holder of some sort to attach to the front of your lens.  The circular ones just screw onto the front of your lens, so you need to know your filter thread size. (usually found on the front of your lens) One thing to be careful with the screw on ones is that if you stack them you may get a vignette on the corners of you're photo because of the thickness of the filters block out the edges of your frame.  There are also Variable Neutral Density filters which instead of buying a 3, 6, 8 and a 10 stop filter you buy one filter and like a polarizer you spin a outer ring and make the filter darker or lighter. So you just have one filter instead of 4 to carry around. These Variable ND filters used not to be very good but in recent years they have got much better. Thats what I use now. So I recommend them for ease of use and affordability. 

So the two filters you need for photography are the polarizer and the Neutral Density. Now there are all types of cool filters that you can get like "Mist" filters or different effect filters. But these you don't Need but can be nice to have. You do need the Polarizer and the ND filter. I have just updated my digital kit to the magnetic system with circular filters from K & F. For my longest lens (100-400) I've converted screw on filters I already had to magnetic ones using screw on magnets with this kit I have two filters a 77mm Polarizer and a 77mm Variable ND filter. For my other lenses they have the same filter size (72mm) and I bought a kit from K&H that included a polarizer, a 3 stop and a 6 stop ND filter. I got this kit because the filters are thinner and for the wider angle lenses when I stack them I don't get a vignette. Now for film it's a total different discussion which would be a different blog. So what filters do you have? Well I think that's enough for filters for now. Until next week get out and shoot!

Note: The last two photo's of the blog I grabbed off of google to illustrate the effects of the filters.
 


 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Circular filters filters gear hiking landscape learning magnetic filters Max Stansell Photography neutral density Photography Polarizing street Variable Neutral density website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/what-filters-do-you-need-for-photography Fri, 27 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Packing and getting ready for Photography trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/packing-and-getting-ready-for-photography-trip Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week! Me? Pretty good we've had tropical storm Debbie come through the last couple of days and the Olympics are on so I've been doing a lot of photography stuff. Photography stuff you say? Yea! Thats what this week's blog is all about. Preparing for a photography trip. Usually my big trip of the year is with my photography club where we take a week or so and head somewhere for some good ole fun with photography. But wouldn't you just hate to show up somewhere and not have the gear you need? Whether it's camera gear or clothes. Wouldn't that just suck? Thats where planning comes in. Planning for the trip can almost be as important as the trip itself on having a good fun time. There are lots of things that can ruin your trip. Like I've got my camera but forgot my battery charger or you have a SD card failure and don't have another. What if you're doing a night shoot and you forget your headlamp? I've seen all of these things happen to me or others in the club and it all happened because of poor planning. Now admittedly I am a over planner but I think you must plan for a big trip.

Make a list. I have developed a spreadsheet that I use for every trip. Now it's nothing special it's just a list of gear, clothes, toiletries and stuff that has been geared to me. It doesn't have to be a fancy list like I have it can be just things jotted on a piece of paper. But make a list and check it twice. Just like Santa.  I keep this list handy on my computer that I can make changes on the fly. I print it out a day or so before the trip and physically check things off as I put them in my luggage or camera bags. Don't take for granted that you have all of this list in your head you can still forget stuff. I recently took an overnight trip and I had my camera gear dialed in but IMG_1459IMG_1459 I forgot something to sleep in. Nothing major but what if that had been extra batteries? Or a headlamp for a night shoot? As my wingman did. Although you do have a cell phone you can use for light what if you drop that and break it just because you forgot a 20 dollar headlamp. That would suck!

Start early. When thinking of your trip start early. As I said earlier I gear my whole year on our big fall trip. So I try to streamline and update my gear well in advance of showing up to one of the great spots we've chosen and can't figure out my gear because it's brand new. So start early fine 22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n tuning your gear before you get to those spectacular places. I have been fine tuning mine all year. I've recently switched camera bodies I have it almost programed liked my older one but there are some differences between them. I have my custom settings set so if I come upon some wildlife I just set to custom 3 and that puts all of my sports or settings in. Or if I want to shoot street I put on 1 and I shoot in Black and White and Jpeg +raw.  All at the flic of a switch. I also try to dial in my lenses that I'm going to carry on the trip. So I have as few as possible but what I need. Depending on the itinerary I might have a specialty lens thrown in like a 20mm f1.8 for night skies. Or I might take something out of my bag that I might not need. 

Don't forget all of the other things besides camera gear and accessories. What about clothes? Take clothes that are versatile and that you can layer if it gets cold. What about hats. Is it going to be very sunny like out west? Maybe a large brimmed hat. Is it going to be cold maybe a stocking cap and gloves. Here is the link to a blog I wrote about things you need to bring. Things you need to bring. Things like chargers , how will you process your photo's  backup and such. Here is a blog I wrote about winter dressing layering your clothing and such. Winter Dressing the Part .

I think the big takeaway of this blog is to start planning now and keep planning all year and keep a list that you can modify as your needs and trips vary.  Hey and don't forget things you can do right now. Like formatting  your SD cards before you go. I just reformatted all the cards in my SD card wallet so it's ready for my trip. Make sure you have enough room on an external drive your taking for backup. What about checking all of your settings on your camera before a trip. Maybe you were doing some long exposure where you used the self timer at 2 seconds and you didn't switch back and when you went to take a photo and nothing happens then two seconds later snap. You could miss a photo because of this. I have.  So make sure your camera is set to go every day before you go out. 

Now the actual packing part. Remember less is more and you're the one that has to carry the stuff you have packed. Bags with rollers may be helpful. If you're traveling by air maybe you want to check the heaviest bag and keep a change of clothes in your carry on with your camera gear just in case they loose your luggage. I put Air Tags in each of my luggage and my camera bags when I travel. It's nice to see where your luggage is and provides a piece of mind when traveling. Don't forget simple things like ear buds, maybe a snack or granola bar with you for a quick in between meal snack. Sunglasses a must!

Remember make a list and check it twice! Or more! Start early and keep updating your list. Customize to your trip. If you remember all of these things your trip will run smooth and photography is all that you will have to think about. Until Next Week! Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) backup bags blog Clothes gear headlamps hiking landscape Layering learning Max Stansell Photography Photography SDcards street travel trips website workshops Zooms https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/packing-and-getting-ready-for-photography-trip Fri, 20 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT
A Leap of Faith, The process of buying a film camera. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/a-leap-of-faith-the-process-of-buying-a-film-camera Hey Ya'll! This week's blog I'm going to try something different. I'm going to take you through my thoughts threw the whole process of me buying a used film camera. Now this doesn't really have to be about buying a film camera it could be any type of used camera or equipment. There are a few types of ways to buy used equipment one if from a friend or a store where you can hold and touch the camera. But there are not a lot of camera stores anymore that you can buy used equipment so I'm going to talk about the online world and my process while I buy a new to me film camera . The best way is to go to an online camera store like KEH or MPB because they go through the cameras thoroughly and give honest grading of these cameras. But they do not have a big selection of film cameras.  No new film cameras except some cheap plastic toy ones and a new camera from Pentax (which I have my eye on) have been made in decades so condition is an issue. The best source of used film cameras are on eBay where you can get a selection from all over the world but then again condition is an issue since you can see or hold the camera . You have to take the word of someone who is trying to sell this item. They may elevate the condition just to get it sold. So the title a "leap of faith" is required when purchasing  them unseen except through photographs and you know how easy it is to manipulate photo's. Well that's where are story starts. I have purchased from KEH, MPB, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace I have had success in all and feel pretty lucky. So this blog I'm going to take you with me and write bit by bit as the process proceeds. First is the buying part.

-7-5-2024- I had a doctors appointment and like always I was early and in  the parking lot I was browsing through facebook marketplace and saw my next victim . LOL It was a Canon Canonet 28. I own a 1961 Canonet 19 and a 1972 Canonet 17 and this one is in the middle somewhere. The price was 50 bucks. I figured it was 50 bucks so if it was crap it will be a cool nicknack or I can use it for parts. Either way it's 50 bucks. The add said it worked the shutter clicked meter worked but didn't know if it was accurate and it needed light seals. So I paid with PayPal, and now I'm waiting for the camera. I will write more when the camera arrives in a week or so. 

7-10-2024 Well bad news. My oder was canceled by the seller for some reason. This is the first time that this has happened to me. I didn't get an explanation but maybe it was for the best. Well I can still look for a camera. I have been interested in a half frame camera to play with maybe now is a good time to try one out. The search starts again.

 

7-10-2024 Well I've decided after some research to get a Canon Demi EE17 half frame camera. I spent many hours looking at different cameras and reviews on youtube and in written reviews before I took a leap of faith and Purchased this one from Japan. These camera's were released in 1966. I did some eBay researching and found one for 169 dollars I made an offer of 140 and they countered with 159 so 10 bucks off. So I took another leap of faith. The condition is near mint and the photo's looked good and they gave an explanation of everything about the camera. I have never had a problem ordering from Japan but you do have to pay a hefty shipping fee. But I usually get the item within a week. I have a confirmed order and payment and now I'm waiting for shipping.

7-12-2024 Delivered! Wow! Two days and I just got the camera from Japan delivered! The camera was packaged very well and everything that was promised to come with the package came. I got a UV filter, camera strap assembly, and carrying case and of course the camera. The camera was as advertised and was in very good condition. This particular camera has only one light seal that surrounds the viewfinder that goes through the back door of the camera. This was missing but I have some light seal material and made a light seal to go around the viewfinder. Not as fancy as the original but it should work. I checked the light meter and it was very close to a meter app that I use on my phone that has been calibrated. I'm going to run a 1/2 roll of film through the camera in Auto and the other in Manual with an external meter and see how it performs.  I'll let you know the results. There is no fungus or hazing in the lens or viewfinder which is one of the most important things for me for a camera this old. The camera feels very solid and I ran a dummy roll of film through it to make sure things like rewind , counter  and advance lever worked. They worked well.

Yet another successful eBay encounter. I am very happy with my purchase although I don't like the hefty shipping expense from Japan but I did get it in two days and it was wrapped and packaged very professionally . So I guess you get what you pay for. Buying online is a leap of faith and doing lots of research. I probably looked at 50 or more cameras before I made the decision on the one I got. Some were cheaper and some were more expensive but you just have to do the best you can , trust your gut and take a leap of faith. I look at how many transactions that they have had and what the positive approval rating they have. I try not to buy from someone who has only a few transactions. Most of my camera stuff has come from Japan but with that you should expect large shipping fees. Japan is the mecca for used film cameras since most of them were made there during the height of the film era.

Well that's it for me this week I hope this helps. Remember the same techniques and tips goes for any type of camera equipment that you are looking for online. Well I've got a new camera to shoot! Until next week Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon Canonet Demi eBay Facebook gear half frame KEH landscape learning Marketplace Max Stansell Photography MPB Online Photography street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/a-leap-of-faith-the-process-of-buying-a-film-camera Fri, 13 Sep 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Street, Travel, Photowalks what's the difference? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/street-travel-photowalks-whats-the-difference Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. The last month or so Its been super hot and dry here in eastern North Carolina and now we are in a wet pattern. So getting out and about has been uncomfortable at best. But hopefully soon I can get out and about and by the time this blog comes out the weather will be cooperative. I have been writing blogs for quite awhile now and I have talked about photowalks and travel and street photography many times but I don't think I have ever explained the "what is?" of the terms. Thats what this blog is all about. There is nothing I like more than this type of photography. It has become one of my favorite things to do. It gets me out and about and exploring new and interesting things that I normally wouldn't see.  I've recently had to create a presentation on this subject for my photography club and this is fresh on my mind. So first of all what is a Photowalk.

Now I have just "Googled" the term Photowalk and it's basically what I think it is. To me it is a leisurely walk with the intent of taking photographs. When I think of photowalks I think of walking through a town not a hike through the woods. This can be done in your home town or a town you have never been to. Now I like to plan a photowalk but it could be unplanned as well. It doesn't have to be a large city like New York or Chicago . Bartender waiting for Customer BostonBartender waiting for Customer Boston It can be the town that is next to yours. While planning a photo walk I like to find out some of the history of the town. Maybe google the town and look at some images of the town. Find out the interesting part of the town and go there and walk the streets. Photo walks can be done solo but are great with a photo buddy or two. Both street and travel photography can be done while doing a photowalk. You can concentrate on one or the other or just take what catches your eye and decide later if its street or travel. While out on your photowalk hop into local stores and shops and see what you can see. You will be surprised on the cool little shops and stores you will go to. And make sure to stop into the local coffee shops and local restaurants . Stay away from chain stores and restaurants you can go to those when you're at home.  Walk the main streets but don't forget the side streets and check Charleston BridgeCharleston Bridge out behind stores or peek down alleyways sometimes the best photo's come where you don't expect them to be. I love a good photowalk with a buddy and eating at a cool little restaurant or diner for lunch. 

Street Photography is the capture of candid or everyday life in a public place. Since the beginning of photography there has been street photography. Capturing everyday life in the click of a button. Man Waiting for T BostonMan Waiting for T Boston Freezing time. When I think of street photography I think of black and white film shot for news papers in the 1950's and 60's. With street photography you are documenting an act or a scene . You are a fly on the wall witnessing ordinary life in an interesting way. You are documenting history. Now you can take photowalks where street photography is the main subject. Usually larger cities are the easiest for this purpose because of the target rich environment . But you can also shoot in small towns as well. Street photography is not planned it just happens in front of you and you get the shot and it's gone. One way to shoot some good street photography is find a good and interesting background and wait for someone to walk through it. Thats about as planned as it gets. Look for shadows and interesting Georgia Queen PaddleboatGeorgia Queen Paddleboat compositions when shooting. It doesn't always have to be people your taking photo's of . Make sure you're dressed to blend in to your environment . No bright colors or big flashy Cameras to draw attention to yourself. Small and discreet is the order of the day. So how is street photography different than travel photography?

Travel photography is the documentation of a places landscapes, people, customs and history. They are photo's that you take of a place to remember it. These photo's can be planned. Like Sunrise or sunset Marine OneMarine One or events that happen on a regular schedule. Research and planning come in handy for this type of photography.  Say you are taking a trip to Boston. (which I highly recommend ) There are so many landmarks and interesting things that are specific to Boston that you want to capture. Google and plan your walk. Plan your stops where you want to go and take photo's. Maybe the landscape of the skyline of a city would be a great travel shot. Think as if you're making a brochure for the promotion of the town or place your visiting . What would you take photo's of. Maybe a market , a big landmark, a stadium like Fenway Park. Make sure you take a selfie with the landmark behind you. You just have to . LOL  Make sure to use different POV (point of view) don't always shoot at eye level. Get your typical winner shot that you see on the internet then get one that is special or unique to you. If you're on a cobble stone street make sure you get your camera low to Boston Harbor at NightBoston Harbor at Night highlight the cobble stone.  Make sure you take some food shots. Especially if a town is known for a special type of food. Like Lobster or Clam Chowder is in Boston. If there are lots of monuments or art make sure to photograph at night like in Washington DC. Its a great place to shoot at night.

I just love photowalks where I can combine street and travel photography together. They seem to go together like peas and carrots like Forrest Gump would say. You can easily go back and forth between them. Some of the techniques and tips work for both. Dressing not to draw attention to yourself. Small gear not to draw attention or intimidate anyone you may be photographing.  Travel light and don't carry a large bag with all kinds of gear in it . You'll be tired enough with just the walking . One camera and one lens is a great choice. Comfortable shoes and bring some water.  Have fun and explore!

What are some of the places that you've gone to do photowalks? Well that's enough rambling for this week until next. Get outside and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photo buddy Photography Photowalks street photography Travel Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/9/street-travel-photowalks-whats-the-difference Fri, 06 Sep 2024 08:58:36 GMT
Shooting Half Frame https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/shooting-half-frame Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Can't complain. I've been indulging myself this year in film cameras. I just love these little machines. I have been exploring film like I never did before. When I first started in photography shooting film was the only option and I only shot manual SLR cameras and 35mm film. I really didn't even know about other formats or film sizes. Of course this was way before the internet and all of the info that we can get on all sorts of things now. I have been learning about all kinds of film photography that I never even knew that existed like the topic today of Half Frame Photography.  Now I have shot and own many 35mm cameras and even medium format 120 film with my Bronica ETR SI. But half frame is very interesting to me. Half frame is pretty much what it says its half of a regular sized 35mm shot. It takes the 35mm and doubles the exposures that you would normally get. So if you have a 36 exposure roll of film and you shoot half frame you get 72 shots out of it. So this is a very economical way to shoot. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages of shooting half frame. Half frame camera's came out in the 1950's with Olympus being the leader and the one who made them famous with their Penn series. Other companies followed like Canon. I have just purchases a half frame camera from Canon a Canon Demi EE17 which came out in 1966. I have just received it and put a roll of film through it.

Advantages of shooting half frame. Well the biggest and the most obvious is that it's more economical . You can shoot twice as much for the same price. But there are more advantages as well. The half frame camera's are set up to shoot in Portrait Orientation so normal shots when holding the camera are vertical. You have to turn the camera to get a landscape shot. This makes you look at things with a new perspective and makes your eyes look for portrait type shots which makes you grow as a photographer.  This orientation also makes it easy to shoot dyptics which is two photos with a theme or as a landscape. You can also shoot trypics just as easy to make a landscape . This is very cool for story telling and using photography for telling stories or concepts. Very cool! These cameras are small. About the same size as my Canon Canonet 17 but with a smaller lens protruding out of the front. So they make good travel and everyday camera's.

Disadvantages of shooting half frame. Well the biggest is the resolution of the negative. It's the half size of the full 35mm and therefore will show more grain and look more film like. If your like me that may not be so much of a disadvantage but if your looking for crisp sharp non grainy shots just use your digital camera that's what they are best at. I have heard that the resolution is great for printing up to 8 x 10 and using on social media is no problem. I will let you know when I have developed and scanned some into my computer. But for now I just have to go on what I have researched. 

I am very much looking forward to adding this camera to my arsenal of film cameras .  I think that it will become a great cary around everyday camera even when I'm shooting digital its small enough to come with me to shoot some film on every outing. Even when my better and larger cameras can't come. So until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon Demi gear grain half frame landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography street travel vintage website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/shooting-half-frame Fri, 30 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Canon Demi EE17 Half Frame https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/canon-demi-ee17-half-frame Hey Y'all! Hope your week is going well. This week I want to review yet another film camera that I have picked up. It's a half frame camera that shoots twice the shots that a normal 35mm camera shoots. It's the Canon Demi EE17. This camera came out in 1966 as a response to all of the success that Olympus had with their half frame cameras the Penn line from the 1950's into the 60's. Canon had some other Demi models prior to this one but this was the last one I believe.  This is a sleek modern looking camera for the 1960's not as boxy as some camera's in this era. It shoots 35mm film but shoots photo's at half the size of a
normal 35mm negative giving you more exposures over 35mm cameras. If you follow me you know I wrote a blog on the buying process of this camera and in this blog I want to go over the specs of the camera . Half frame cameras have become more popular the last couple of years due to the price of film and processing. So much so the camera's that have been made in the last couple of years have been half frame from cheap plastic cameras to a new real camera from Pentax. Pentax's camera is the first real camera to be manufactured in decades proof that film is not dead.

Film: This camera uses 35mm film. Normal negatives are 36mm X 24mm this camera shoots 18mm X 24mm giving you twice the shots. So a 36 exposure roll now shoots 72 shots. Resolution can be a problem with grainer shots. But from what I've read that for social media and prints up to 8 X 10 come out just fine. I'll let you know.

Viewfinder: The viewfinder is Portrait oriented. Much like most of us use our cell phones to take a shot. To take a landscape oriented shot you must rotate the camera just the opposite of most cameras. Inside the viewfinder is the meter readings and focusing distance.

Focusing: To me this will be the biggest challenge while using the camera. This is not a SLR or a Rangefinder it uses zone focusing. You have to guesstimate the distance you are shooting and then put the lens to that distance focusing. I have an olympus camera that does this and surprisingly you get pretty sharp photo's most of the time but trying to shoot wide open at a close subject will be a challenge.

Lens: The lens is a Canon F/1.7 lens. I have been very impressed with Canon's film lenses and maybe that is why I'm buying a lot of Canon film cameras. This camera makes my 4th Canon film camera.

Exposure: This camera does have a built in meter which will allow you to shoot in Shutter priority. In the mid 1960's mercury batteries were the norm. The meter uses a 1.3 volt mercury battery that you can't get anymore. In my Canonet I have the same situation but I use a 1.5 alkaline battery. Which works but is not as accurate as with the mercury battery.
If I have problems with this there are ways around this . First I could use an external meter which will work fine. There is also a regulator that you can get that drops the voltage from 1.5 to 1.3 volts if necessary. 

Self Timer: This camera does have a self timer but with all vintage cameras self timers seem to be the weak link and you are advised not to use them because if they break usually your camera becomes inoperative.

One thing I like about this little camera is that you don't need a battery to shoot it! You can shoot it manually and use a meter or the sunny 16 rule. So where will this fall in my film camera arsenal ? This camera will become my go with me anywhere film camera. Even if I go on a digital shoot like a wildlife shoot I can take this little camera with me and still get some film shots. If I go on film shoots with my Canon AE-1 35mm or my Bronica ETR SI medium format this will be a great backup and fun camera to use.  Is this the best film camera in my collection?  No but it might become the funnest one to shoot not worrying about how many shots I take. I think it will become a good travel companion. If I want super sharp clinical photographs I can always shoot digital but for feel and mood I shoot film. So until next week get out and shoot!

Update: I have put a couple of rolls of film through this little camera and I'm really liking the camera. The lens and the zone focusing has been going great and I might only have maybe 1 or 2 out of focus in a roll. The meter is working great and pretty accurate. I haven't had any out of exposure shots yet. I am shooting Shutter priority which makes this camera very fun to shoot. Its small but solid feel is great. It is fast becoming my favorite film camera. I included a couple of diptychs in the blog that I took and scanned. I like trying to tell a story with the diptychs. Cheers!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon Demi EE17 gear half frame landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography street travel Vintage camera website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/canon-demi-ee17-half-frame Fri, 23 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Am I a closet Canon Shooter? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/am-i-a-closet-canon-shooter Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me ? Pretty good . Thanks for asking! LOL Today I want to look into the question in the title of this blog. Am I a closet Canon Shooter? Over the years I have shot many cameras and my main cameras have been my trusty Pentax MX during the film days I also had a Pentax K1000 as my first camera that I bought. So during the film era I was a Pentax shooter. Then during the early stages of my digital era I shot Nikon.  Started with a fancy point and shoot and then onto a Nikon D90 and on to a Nikon D800 full frame with the holy trinity of lenses to go with it . So I was defiantly a Nikon Shooter. When I turned 50 I went mirrorless and got a Sony A6000 crop sensor camera for hiking and camping and slowly over the years converted slowly to Sony shooting an Sony A6300, Sony A6500 all crop sensors then I decided to change back to full frame and got a Sony A7III and a A7C which I still use as my main cameras. I have a very good collection of lenses to go with the two full frame bodies. As I stated before I have always shot film off and on since the mid 70's and started developing my own negatives in the 80's. A few years ago I bought some vintage cameras and started shooting with them. I wanted a rangefinder type of camera. Couldn't afford a Leica. So I bought a 1962 Bell & Howell/ Canon Canonet 19. (If you purchased them outside of the US they were just Canon Canonet but in the US at the time they had to be attached to an American company Bell & Howell) . Anyway I got this one off of eBay and it was fun to shoot.  I also got a point and shoot digital Canon Camera a G7X MII to carry with me while I commuted back and forth to work. A small camera that could be my EDC (every day Carry) camera. Later I traded a guy in my camera club for a Canon EOS M camera that had been converted to Infra Red and use that for special IR stuff. Wow so that's 3 Canon Cameras. Then I found a nice Canon Canonet QL17 GIII on eBay and couldn't resist. This one is a 1972 model. That makes 4 Canons. So then a few weeks ago I got gifted a Canon AE-1 Program camera. This one was introduced in 1981. That makes 5 Canon's. The older Canon film cameras are one from the 60's one from the 70's and one from the 80's. None of this was planned . I was never a big Canon guy. I don't have anything against them but was never a fan either but there you have it I now have 5 Canon camera's. Now I don't use the 1962 model very much anymore it has a 45mm F/1.9 lens that is very sharp but kind of tight for the way I shoot. So it doesn't get put in the bag and  doesn't get much use. The IR camera has a 590nm conversion and I take it out every now and then . I'll be taking it with me on a workshop this weekend but it stays stored away mostly.  Now my Canon Canonet QL17 is a great small rangefinder and has a 40mm F/1.7 on it . Another sharp lens but the length for doing street sometimes seems long for the way I shoot.  I do use it as my everyday carry film camera. But I also have an Olympus Super trip that my mother had that I carry when the size of the camera is more important than sharpness. It's a little fixed 35mm F/4 lens with Zone Focusing. Just a step above a box disposable camera. But is it's fun for casual snapshots and has a built in flash for indoor stuff. My newest Canon the AE-1 Program is going to replace my trusty Pentax MX as my main 35mm camera for street and Travel/Photowalk Projects.  So even though I always tell people that I'm a Sony shooter when they ask I guess I'm really a Closet Canon Shooter. For specialty stuff. Film , Infrared, and EDC point and shoot I shoot Canon and for everything else I shoot Sony.  Unless I'm shooting Medium Format Film then it's the Bronica. LOL This is truly a 1st world thing. I have lots of cameras and love them all. I am after all a man and a gear head with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)  I can't get enough of these small photographic machines . And of course all of the gismo's that go with them. So the answer is yes I'm a Canon shooter but I'm also a Pentax, Bronica, Sony, Olympus and iPhone shooter as well. LOL So until next time . Get out and Shoot!

PS: An update since I've written this blog. Now it's 6 Canons! I just purchased a Canon Demi EE17 a 1966 half frame camera. More info in a future blog. Good Grief Charlie Brown! LOL

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(Max Stansell Photography) AE-1 blog Canon CanonEOSM Canonet19 CanonetQL17 Demi EE17 G7XIII gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Program website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/am-i-a-closet-canon-shooter Fri, 16 Aug 2024 08:39:40 GMT
24 Hours of Shooting! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/24-hours-of-shooting Hey Ya'll! How's your week doing? Mine? Fantastic ! This week I want to talk about 24 hours of photography that I had this weekend with my Photo Wingman Robert. My camera club has workshops every month and sometimes we have add-on workshops in-between . This weekend was going to be an add-on workshop. It was supposed  to be a perfect weekend to photograph the milky way . We wanted to go to Cape Hatteras with the unique lighthouse in the foreground and the milky way behind. But the lighthouse is having maintenance done on it and has scaffolding all around it. So we decided on Bodie Island Lighthouse. We have done this shot in the past that's why we wanted the Cape Hatteras shot somthing different. Maybe next year.  A week before the workshop the weather forecast was not good and was forecast to be 100% cloudy and not to have clear skies which is best for the milky way shot and the club cancelled the trip. Robert and myself had reserved a place to stay for the trip in Manteo North Carolina and we decided to go anyway. If it rained we'd get some rainy day shots. Maybe we could get some cool shots.

We started our trip on Saturday morning at 10:30 and headed toward Manteo. But instead of going the quickest route to get there we took a long way there purposely going through small towns that we haven't been to or really looked at before.  Our first planned stop was in Williamston North Carolina we stopped at a park that runs along the Roanoke River that was named Moratoc Park. It was a small park with water access for fishing boats and kayaks. There was a building there that looked like it was used for events and weddings. We then headed out again to  our next stop which was Bertie Beach on the Chowan River on the Bertie County side of the bridge. This brought back memories for me as I grew up near hear and did a lot of swimming in the Chowan River with cypress trees all around. We then headed toward our next stop in Elizabeth City North Carolina. This is a town that I want to explore more. We drove around town and stopped for a photo or two.  Our next stop was Kitty Hawk and the Wright Memorial National Park. I have been here  many times I really like the National Parks and being retired military I get a lifetime free pass to enter into the parks. Robert picked up his America the Beautiful Pass as he is retired military also. We stayed here and took quite a few shots. Our next stop was to check into our place we were staying and get something to eat. We like to eat local and not chain food like McDonalds. We saw a local restaurant that wasn't for tourist but looked liked locals ate there and so we ate there . Big win! If you are in Manteo eat at Darrells it's awesome and good prices too.  We then went to Kitty Hawk State Park which is comprised of Sand dunes. We had found a sunset shot we wanted to get. It was very windy and sand was blowing everywhere and hiking in the soft sand after a big meal was not the best for me! Thanks Robert! LOL we did find the spot and set up for sunset photos. But the clouds did not cooperate with us and we got some shots but nothing great. We made it back to the car and went and got some cold drinks and headed to the Bodie Island light house. If we thought 
that the wind was blowing bad at Kitty Hawk it was twice as bad at Bodie Island lighthouse. Had to hold down my tripod to keep camera as still as possible. At one point the wind blew Roberts tripod over but he caught it in time. I'm guessing that the wind was steady at 25mph with gust up to 35mph. But we got some shots and I was very pleased. The wind was blowing so hard that the clouds kept moving and we actually got shots with the Milky Way and clouds in it . Pretty cool. I was very satisfied with the results. We headed back to our room for a few hours sleep before we would go out again to shoot.

The next morning there were puddles in the parking lot telling us it had rained overnight but it wasn't raining so we went to our next stop a small lighthouse in Manteo. Marshes lighthouse to shoot a sunrise. It was so early that we could park very close to the waterfront and we set up and started shooting. We shot for an hour or so and we got some color in some of our shots and it was cloudy and we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. After the sun was well risen we headed for breakfast. We stopped at TL's Family Restaurant and had a great breakfast. I highly recommend !
 We then headed back home the more direct route than the one we came on. We stopped in Columbia at the visitors center and took some photo's at boardwalk there. We left there and headed home. On the way back we had a black bear cross the highway in front of us before we got to Plymouth. It was a very healthy large bear. We slowed down but our camera's were packed away so we didn't get any shots but it was still awesome to see this bear. We made it home about 10:30 in the morning. 24 hours of fun and shooting! And we got some keepers also. 

Gear I took for those that want to know. Main camera body was a Sony A7C a 24mp camera. My lenses were 20mm f/1.8 for the milky way shot. My new to me Sony 20-70mm f/4 G and Sony 100-400 GM. This is pretty much my landscaping kit except I would swap out the 20mm for a Sony 16-35mm f/4. This is the kit that I take to trips where versatility is a must. I have the assortment of filters and all of the accessories that go along with the kit. All carried in a Shimoda 30 liter Action X backpack. The original. I also took my newest companion film camera the Canon Demi EE17 a half frame that uses less film and is really fun to shoot. I think this little camera will accompany me on lots of adventures to come. My tripod was a Sirui AM 284 carbon fiber with a Inndrel N44 ball head. I picked this up this year since I went back full frame it's a little larger than the Pro-Master one I have used for years. If I go anywhere where street or travel photography will be I also take a Platypod Extreme camera support plate instead of a tripod.

I don't really have a moral of the story here. I think the club made the correct decision on not going on the workshop but I also think we made the right decision also on going. I had already cancelled one trip to Manteo earlier in the year so I was going to go either way. Didn't want to cancel again. We both had fun and it wasn't too expensive splitting cost of gas and lodging. So find you a Photo buddy or wingman to go on photography trips with. You'll have a ball and come back with some good photo's to boot! Until Next week! Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 24hrs Bear blog Bodie Island Coastal Elizabeth City Kitty Hawk landscape learning Lighthouses Manteo Max Stansell Photography Milky Way monuments Nags Head National parks Overnight Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/24-hours-of-shooting Fri, 09 Aug 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Mount Airy and Pilot Mountain Photo Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/mount-airy-and-pilot-mountain-photo-trip Hey Ya'll! Hope your week has been great! Mine? Great! This last weekend my photography club the Goldsboro Area Photography Club had its monthly Workshop/Photo trip. We have some sort of workshop or photowalk monthly to pair with our monthly meeting topic if possible. We get the ideas for our trips and workshops from critiques that we pass out at the end of the year asking questions about how to improve our club and one of the questions is where would you like to go or what type of workshop would you like to attend.  The Mount Airy/Pilot Mountain had been on a few critiques in the last couple of years and the club had never been to it so we decided to try it out this year. Spoiler Alert! It was a hit and we had a ball. So why is this small North Carolina foothills town worth a two and a half hour drive to get to? If you grew up in the US in 60's and 70's you definitely know about the TV show Mayberry RFD starring Andy Griffith . This show depicted a small southern town in the 1950's and 60's with its Sheriff "Andy" with its main character. A single father with Opie his young son played by Ron Howard who was famous for his 1970's hit "Happy Days" and later became a director and won an Academy , Emmy's, and even a Grammy and many more awards. The backdrop for this great show was the little town Mayberry which was modeled after Andy Griffiths childhood home town of Mount Airy. If you haven't seen Mayberry RFD you can still find it in re-runs still showing on TV it was that good of a show! Still showing 50 years later. Now about our trip.

As I said earlier we had quite a drive to get to our first destination of Mount Airy. So we left at 7 in the morning with a small caravan heading to Mayberry. LOL  Now that might seem like a long way to go for a day trip but I would say that sometimes the drive to and back from the trip are as much fun as the workshop/photowalk itself. You get to talk to fellow photographers and friends and catch up on what they are doing and what they are thinking. It seems like when we get back together we all become silly like when we were kids in summer camp. We just can't help ourselves. On the way up we stopped at an overlook that shows the road to Pilot Mountain with the mountain looming in the background. It was just a one shot stop but it was enough to get our photography juices flowing. We made it to Mount Airy and arrived at the Andy Griffith Playhouse and found parking. Now this is a small town so anywhere you park you're only a few blocks away from anything.

We walked to the main street in town which of course was named "Main" street and the street is lined with specialty shops and eateries. Everything "Mayberry" from Floyds barbershop to Opie's candy store. Even a little restaurant called "Barneys" (who was Andy's Deputy Sheriff) . There are lots of cool murals painted all over town and it is a very cool town to photograph. There are old patrol cars that you can take a ride in and I even saw a trolley that would take you around town. We stayed on foot checking out all of the sites and peeking into shops along the way to get the souvenir or two. We had lunch at Barneys. I had a Barney burger special which was great! There is a ice cream shop that some of our members took part in while everyone kind of spread out and took photo's.

After awile we decided to start our way back home which meant a stop at Pilot Mountain State Park. Pilot mountain is a distinctive rocky knob that rises 200 feet from a forested base. This unique looking peak is very photogenic. We stopped and got our photo's of this rocky knob then headed to the visitor center to learn about the area and of course get more souvenirs . LOL We then headed back home with a stop at a 7-11 convince store to get a Slurpee for the ride home. Which is starting to be a thing. LOL 

We had a great time shooting and exploring this little tourist town of days gone by.  Consider joining a local photography club for outings and fun workshops and a chance to meet people who are like minded and love to have fun. Until next week! Get Out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mayberry mount airy North Carolina Photo Walk Photography street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/8/mount-airy-and-pilot-mountain-photo-trip Fri, 02 Aug 2024 08:56:43 GMT
Sony Midrange Zoom 20-70 f4 G Lens https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/sony-midrange-zoom-20-70-f/4-g-lens Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week! Me ? Pretty good and it's getting hot in the south. Heat index over 100 degrees Fahrenheit today. Whew! Thats why I'm indoors writing this blog to stay cool. I know I've been all about film the last couple of months but today I want to talk about some digital adjustments I'm making to my digital kit. I am updating my mid-range zoom.  There are a few reasons that I'm updating my mid-range zoom. First let me say that the zoom that I replaced the 24-105mm f/4 G is an excellent lens and had great optical quality and built like a tank.  It had a great focal range but its biggest draw back was that it is heavy. It was heavy enough that I wouldn't take it with me if I was going on a walk or photo walk around town. It was just too big and heavy weighing in at 663 grams compared to the 488 grams of the 20-70mm. No matter what camera I put this on the Sony A7III or my Sony A7C it was very lens heavy. The length was 4.5 inches before being extended for the longer focal lengths compared to the 3.9 inches of the 20-70mm. So it was bigger and heaver. And if you know me I like compact camera kits and lenses for a walk  around photowalks that I love so much.  Ever since this lens came out in 2023 I've had an eye out for it but just haven't pulled the trigger.  Until last week. Now you know that I really don't buy very much new equipment and I found one at MPB and traded my 24-105mm and a beloved 28mm lens for the 20-70mm. I hated getting rid of the 28mm but I knew that I wouldn't use it with the new lens on.  If I need a 28mm lens to play with I have two other manual ones that I can adapt to my Sony digitals. So let me go over some of the specs of this Sony 20-70mm lens.

-Sony 20-70mm f/4 G. As the model name says its a 20-70mm focal range . Most mid-range are 24-70mm even though its only 4mm wider than standard mid ranges it does make a difference. Great for street and a travel walk around lens. This may be the only lens with this range and the 20mm focal length is great for folks that Vlog. Works great for arm distance selfies and videos.

-Sony 20-70mm f/4 G- The f/4 is the constant widest aperture for this lens. Now there are many lenses with f/2.8 widest aperture and they are great and expensive. Almost twice the price and weight of this lens. That is only one stop of light difference and unless you really need that one stop you can't tell the difference.  I have been using f/4 lenses for quite a while and don't miss the one stop of light if I really need to shoot in super low light I either use a tripod or put on a prime with one or two stops faster than the f/4 like a f/2.8 or a f/1.8.

-Sony 20-70mm f/4 G The G moniker on this lens means its of high quality. Sony makes standard lenses with no moniker, G lenses like this one and G Master lenses highest quality. This is a very sturdy build lens and feels good in the hand.  It is moisture and dust resistant with rubber gaskets that seal everything and one between camera and lens. 

-Lens features- This lens sports an aperture ring which I love on my lenses. It has two programable buttons that you can program all sorts of stuff on from eye focus , to almost anything else in the camera. It has a manual/ auto focus switch. It has a click/de-click button for the aperture ring. and an iris lock switch. It uses 72mm filters which are the same as its sister lens the 16-35mm f/4 G which I also have. So I don't have to buy new filters.

-Focusing Motors- Its has dual XD linear focusing motors. Which means there are two rails with motors on either side of the lens and the focusing is super quick and really beats the older type of motors and focusing systems found on the older 24-105mm. It is very quick. The 20-70 has a minimum focusing distance of .25 meter or 9.8 inches compared to the .31 meter or  14.9 inches on the 24-105mm. This makes it very good for close up detail shots within 12 inches.  Does very good on close up stuff.

-Stabilization- This lens is not stabilized unlike the 24-105mm. But almost all of Sony's camera have IBIS (in body image stabilization ) which will work just fine for me and probably saves some on the weight of the lens which I'd rather have a lighter lens than the stabilization .

Is this the perfect lens? I don't think that a perfect lens exists. With every one there are compromises that have to be made if you want all the bells and whistles the lens will be heavy and bulky. If you get a stripped down model well you won't get what you want either. For now this tool seems just right for me now and will fit the way I shoot now.  What I do know that this lens will probably be on the my Sony A7C almost all of the time because it seems to be a great fit and will also work for my Sony A7III if I need it.  I have been shooting this lens for a few weeks now and love the images that I get out of it. The weight and handling of this lens is great! My over all feelings of this lens is that it's another great lens from Sony in my Kit.  Well that's enough about this lens. Until next week make sure you Get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 20-70mm blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mid-range Photography Sony street travel website workshops Zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/sony-midrange-zoom-20-70-f/4-g-lens Fri, 26 Jul 2024 08:34:10 GMT
Making Memories https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/making-memories Max Stansell Photography Hey Everyone! Hope your week has been as good as mine.  This weeks topic is about making memories with your camera. When we take a photograph we freeze time. You can go back to old photographs and you can see everything as it was back then. Going through your mom's shoebox that is full of old photo's you can see how life was way back when. You can see the clothes , cars and how people lived when the photo was taken. This is very cool. But if you didn't take the photo or if you were not there you don't have the memories. But if you look at a photo that you took years ago you can remember everything about it. The smells, the weather, the sounds the things that you can't see on the photo. This is one of the things that I love about photography.  The hobby of photography offers things that other hobbies don't, Memories. When you look at one of your old photo's the memories flood in . 

How do we preserve the memories? Well back in the film days it was easy we sent our film to be processed and got back prints and negatives. But now a days everything is on a disc of some sort. My advice is to print some way some fashion. I print books usually at the end of the year or for film projects. This year I'm doing a film project and I'm actually having 4x6 prints made of the keepers of each roll. So that takes care of my photography themed stuff but what about family and friends that you take with your smart phone. What about the memories that you have on Facebook? I answered that and went with a company that goes onto your facebook and puts into a book all of your photo's . You can cull out the bad ones and rearrange them the way you want but its a great way to save all of the family photo's that we have now on Facebook or social media.

My camera gets me out and about. I heard that your camera is a passport to life. Meaning that without the excuse of taking some photo's we would just stay at home and not explore the world around us. That was certainly the case for me. When I got back into photography at the dawn of the digital age I took a lot of photo's at home and in my back yard. Still lifes, Macros and the such. But after a while that gets old so I started venturing out to the state parks. There was one only 10 mile from my house that I had never visited before and now I'm there 3 or 4 times a week. Actually it got to all of the state parks in North Carolina. I started hiking and visiting all of the state parks , camping and exploring all along the way. I then joined the camera club in our town that even got me out and exploring even more.  Now I travel up and down the eastern sea board and even took a trip to Utah a couple of years ago. Great memories made one every thrip. None that would have been possible without Photography. When someone names a place that I have gone before the memories flood in of the times when I was there . I can go back and see the photo's of trips I have made, the clothes I was wearing, my weight, what job I was working at the time. All of these memories flood in like it was yesterday. So to me Photography isn't just about the images we make but the memories that we take with us along the way. Well that's it for this week until next. Get out and Shoot! And make some memories.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog experience gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography memories phonebooks Photography printing website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/making-memories Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Film ONLY Photowalk https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/film-only-photowalk Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great day today! Me ? Pretty good. I'm excited about this week's blog. I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks and was itching to get out and shoot. My photography wingman Robert had never shot film before. So this Sunday we planned a film only photowalk. I set up two cameras that would be pretty equal. Both were 35mm and both had working meters in them to make shooting easier for Robert. I supplied both with 50mm lenses and 28mm lenses.  I also supplied the film one roll of Kodak Gold 200 film (Color) and a roll of Ilford HP5+ (B/W film) . Both at 36 exposures so 72 shots each. Robert was thinking that 72 wasn't very many shots to shoot but he later found out that shooting film is a lot different than shooting digital. I told him that this experience would make him appreciate the fancy Fujifilm camera that he shoots daily.  We were going to shoot everything in manual to include focusing. So there is lots to do. Find the scene, pick the shutter speed and aperture while using the meter to make sure it's going to be the right exposure then there is the focusing. Once you have all of that done then and only then you can push the shutter button! But you're not done you still have to advance the film so you are ready to start again. Sounds simple right? 

We made it to the first town that we were going to shoot. We sat in the car and I went over the controls of the camera he was going to be using. Showing how to Focus, read the meter , Aperture , ISO setting and changing lens. I made sure he understood everything about the camera. We loaded the first roll of film . He was using the Canon AE-1 Program. This is the same camera that he had gifted me a few weeks prior. As a matter of fact after the day was over he had more film though it than I have. I was using my trusty Pentax MX that I have had and used since the early eighties a manual only camera. And off we went. It was very fun to watch Robert work this old camera. I did catch him trying to "Chimp" a couple of times . (looking at the back of the camera) and many times he had forgot to advance the film and went to push the shutter button after composing focusing and getting the exposure right and nothing because he had not advanced the film. I asked him if he could imagine having to learn how to shoot the camera back in the day and having to wait for a week or so to see your photo's came out and then trying to figure out what you did right or wrong without the immediate conformation of what you just shot like with digital. I asked him what was what he missed the most and he told me the flip screen for really low shots because now you have to get really low. But I have to give it to Robert he was committed to doing a good job and it seemed like he really got into the process and took his time shooting. I told him about how much higher a percentage of good shots you get when you have to take your time to get everything right in the shot instead of just shooting away with a digital camera. I told him that if he took some of what he was doing today and applied it to his digital camera just think how good some of the photo's would be.

It was a great day we went to 3 small towns to walk the streets and shoot the interesting things of these towns. It took Robert all day to get through 72 photographs and this was a great exercise . I don't expect Robert to start shooting film but it was a good exercise for him to do and maybe slow down his shooting to get the great shots that I know he always gets. So this is a good exercise for you to do also. Even if you don't shoot film take your camera and shoot manual and limit yourself to 36 shots for a walk around town. Take time to compose and make sure everything is perfect before you pull the trigger. Slowing down will help your Photography. I took all the film at the end of the day. I had 2 rolls of color and 3 rolls of Black and white. I shot a little faster than Robert did and shot an extra roll which was to be expected I was very comfortable with the camera I was using.  

The next day I developed all of the film and Scanned into the computer. We had some really good shots and Robert did a great job. Only one or so were out of focus. And all were exposed correctly. I sent him his shots for him to go over and see what he has done. He was surprised by what he got. 

I enjoyed this experiment with Robert and hope he did too. Trying something new in your photography can make you a better photographer. If you're stuck doing the same thing all the time you don't grow.  Until next week! Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 200 and Black blog color film gear gold HP5+ Ilford kodak landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Monochrome Photography Photowalk street travel website white workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/film-only-photowalk Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:49:34 GMT
Wildlife Workshop: Huntington Beach State Park and BrookGreen Gardens https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/wildlife-workshop-huntington-beach-state-park-and-brookgreen-gardens Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me?  Fantastic! I just got back from one of my camera clubs (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) workshop. Thought I would tell you about it. Our camera club is a very active club and we have some sort of workshop every month. This month was Wildlife photography . At our meeting which we have once a month also we had a great presentation by one of the wildlife photographers in the group and it was fantastic .  He showed us great examples on the how and the why of wildlife photography. Now I am not by no stretch of the imagination a wildlife photographer. I don't really have the patients for it. But I do like to do it in a workshop environment . So once or twice a year I become a wildlife photographer. 

Our workshop was lead by one of our senior wildlife photographers and he did a great job! Kudos MIKE! Usually when we have one of these workshops we go to a wildlife preserve. Pungo National Wildlife Preserve or Alligator River Wildlife preserve or Lake Mattamuskeet . All in North Carolina. Great places to go to see bears, geese, swans and all kinds of wildlife. This year we went to South Carolina to Huntington Beach State Park and then to Brookgreen Gardens located in Murrells Inlet.  What I liked about this is that there were real bathrooms there and we didn't have to drive around all day looking for wildlife. It did require a three hour drive to get there and we wanted to be onsite by 6 am.  So that meant a O'dark thirty wake up and leaving the meetup place by 3 am.  It was a nice enough drive. We carpooled there and being able to catch up with friends along the way kept us awake and lively. We arrived at Huntington Beach State Park a little after 6 am parked and headed to the causeway where we could view wildlife on both sides. Big water features supplied food and resting places for the wildlife from all sorts of birds and alligators. Got some great shots of some wildlife and some unique marsh landscapes. We then went to a couple of different spots in the park and had more opportunities to see some more wildlife and visit the bathrooms and park store for refreshments .  The weather for the day was Hot with continued Hot! Temps were at 90ish degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index of 105! At about 10:30 we headed to Brookgreen Gardens which was just across the highway from the State Park. We got our tickets and got in. Price is 22 dollars for adults with discounts for seniors and military. But the price is well worth it . I've paid more for less.  The gardens were fantastic and manicured to a tee! Big live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from the trees.  Artwork and fountains and pools are all over and there is a small art museum with hand carved work there.  There is also two or three places to eat there. We ate at the main restaurant and the food and AC was excellent!  After we had a nice lunch we headed out to the small zoo that is located in the gardens. They had all sorts of small animals from eagles, owls, farm animals, red wolfs and otters. I would highly recommend Brookgreen gardens for everyone! It is a very beautiful place but I would also suggest that you go when it's not quite as hot! When it got to be about 3 pm we were about done and headed back home another 3 hour drive and had time to mull over the days events and cool off in the car AC. We got home about 6. This was a full day of fun and shooting and being with friends for some wildlife .  I really enjoyed both Huntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens and would recommend it to anyone! So until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera club GAPC landscape learning Max Stansell Photography parks Photography South Carolina State website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/7/wildlife-workshop-huntington-beach-state-park-and-brookgreen-gardens Fri, 05 Jul 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Another Film Camera, Canon AE-1 Program https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/another-film-camera-canon-ae-1-program Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. Me? So, So. I've been dealing with Kidney Stones. UGGH! But today so far a good day. The other day Robert (my photo wingman) and I were going to the Virginia International Raceway to shoot a car festival. But on the way to Virginia the Pain from my Kidney stones got so bad that we had to turn around before we got there and come home. We'll make it to VIR in the future. But we had a good 4 hours worth of driving and lots of good talk and of course if your talking to me lately film will come up. I know film is old science compared to all of the new digital cameras but there is just something about it that I like. Anyway he said that he had some cameras that someone had gifted him and he had never shot film before so I told him I would have a look at it and run a roll of film through it to see if it worked or not. He brought me the camera and it was a Canon AE-1 Program. Now I have heard about the Canon AE-1 before and what I didn't know is that there are a few versions of the basic AE-1. The AE in the name of the camera stands for Automatic Exposure. The original came out in 1976 and can shoot in Shutter Priority and Manual and is very solid camera and became a favorite among photographers. In 1981 the Canon AE-1 Program came out and its about the same as the AE-1 but can also shoot in program mode where the camera basically becomes a point and shoot and all you have to do is focus. It will also shoot in shutter priority and Manual.  Then there was the Canon A-1 which will shoot in shutter , aperture and program mode and manual. Does it all but is a little different design from the AE-1 and AE-1 Program.  Confused yet? LOL I was too I had to do a lot of research to figure out these camera's. So from what I could deduce from online is that the AE-1 and the AE-1Program were the more popular camera's and the A-1 although it can do more wasn't. The Canon AE-1 series of camera's was very popular for Canon and in 1984 the olympic were coming to the US and Canon even had Olympic versions of the cameras. This copy isn't that it was built after the Olympics in 1984.

So I got this camera to test out and first things first I had to figure out what kind of battery does it use and how to get it installed. This camera must have a battery to operate not like most of my camera's that only need a battery to work the meter. So I googled and figured out that the battery compartment is on the front of the camera and found that it uses a 6 volt battery 4LR44 just like that my medium format  camera uses so I had some batteries. I loaded it with a new battery and looked through the viewfinder and the meter was functioning (I'll check accuracy later) which was a plus.  I cocked the shutter and pressed the shutter button and it made an awful squeak when it fired. Which made me concerned that it may need to be sent off to have it CLA'ed (Cleaned, Lubricated and Adjusted) I cleaned it up the best that I could It has been sitting on a shelf with lots of dust bunnies on it. I stuck a roll of  Kodak Portra 400 in it and went around the house just shooting all kinds of stupid stuff just to see if it worked. I did check the meter against 2 different meters I have and it was about one third off in the overexposed range which is fine by me. It squealed and made all kinds of noise but seemed to work great. The viewfinder was brighter than any other of my 35mm cameras which I like having old eyes .  I shot on shutter priority mostly and one or two on manual and one or two on just program mode. When I developed the roll they all came out great no exposure problems at all. Which means all of the shutter speeds seem to work well and the electronics in the camera work well. The only problem was that horrible squeak. I got on Youtube and saw a few videos on how to lube the squeaky part to make it quit. So I tried .  I may have put more oil than I was suppose too but I did get it to stop squeaking and it sounds correct. I gave Robert my results of what I did to the camera and all of the research that I had done. He told me to keep the camera that is was better for this camera to be used than to sit on a shelf collecting dust.  I am very grateful and glad to add this camera to my film collection.  This camera will replace my Pentax MX that I have been using for a lot of my film project work. Now with a new camera system I will need some goodies. It has the 50mm f1.8 kit lens that it came with and I have just ordered a 28mm lens. Thats a great combo for what I'm going to use it for mainly street/photowalk  type stuff. People ask me when they find out I'm a photographer what kind of camera do I use and I say I shoot Sony. But this will make my 5th Canon that I own. Three film and a point and shoot and one that had been converted to IR. So maybe I'm a closet Canon Shooter. But don't tell anyone! LOL 

Now I'm the only one that I know that actively shoots film. I know a couple of other folks that can and have shot film but don't mess with it too much now. I'm one of the few people that have the time to do all of the developing scanning and now worry about how sharp the images turn out. I love the look of film. So Robert and I are planning to do a film only photoshoot. He has never shot film before. So it will be fun to see him learn how to operate, and load film into the camera and how it may change the way he shoots. I don't think that he will convert to film because it's quite a process from the time you click the shutter from the time you see the image. He's used to instantly seeing the image after clicking the shutter. Well that's it for this week . I'll let you know how the film photoshoot works out. So until next week Get out and shoot!

PS. Hey Ya'll! I wanted to share an experience with you that I just had. As you probably know I've been into film camera's this year and a good source for equipment is Ebay. We've all heard the horror stories of bad deals and people not getting what hey ordered. I have just aquired and nice little Canon AE-1 Program that came with a 50mm lens but I wanted a 28mm to go with it. So I got on Ebay found one for 60 bucks and ordered it. When I got it , It was not what I ordered it was a Canon 2X converter for the AE-1 Canon. I quickly sent a nasty gram to the seller and to my surprise she refunded my money overnighted the lens to me and let me keep the 2X converter. This was the only camera stuff that she had in her online store and think she didn't know much about it and was glad to get rid of it. Anyway I ended up with a free lens and a 2x converter for free. I can honestly say that I've never had a bad experience on Ebay (but I know they happen). Cheers! 
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) AE-1 Program Automatic Exposure blog Canon gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Program Mode shutter Priority website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/another-film-camera-canon-ae-1-program Fri, 28 Jun 2024 08:30:48 GMT
Typical Photography Workshop with GAPC https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/typical-photography-workshop-with-gapc Hi Everyone! This is a little short in-between blog that I'm writing just for the GAPC (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) . Now I have been a member for over a decade and absolutely have benefitted from being a member of the club. When I joined the club I thought I was a decent photographer but the club showed me how narrow my photography knowledge was. The club has opened my eyes to all sorts of photography. Mainly through the use of workshops. We hold a workshop every month. Thats 12 different workshops a year plus all of the other outings that we also do. The workshops can be anything from Astro/Night Photography to "One Light" Portraits and everything in-between . Our club has meetings every month on a Monday and usually the workshop follows on the next Saturday.  During our club meetings we will have some sort of presentation say "Wildlife Photography" was this months. The following Saturday we will have a workshop and go and do some Wildlife photography at some wildlife refuge or place where we know we will have a good chance to see wildlife. We have seen Swans, Geese, Bears, and all kinds of creatures over the years while on our wildlife workshops.  And the same is for other types of photography. If we are doing portraits we have a studio or some place where we can shoot and get a model or two and practice shooting portraits. Using the lights and all the things that go with portraits. The same with Astro, Street and so on. These workshops are planned at the beginning of the year with the officers of the club coming up with topics and activities for the year. A calendar is made and we try to have the presentation and the workshop work together . Say using strobes for portraits meeting presentation with a Portrait photo shoot for the workshop. Our club does a pretty good job at coordinating the two. Ideas for topics come from yearly critiques filled out by our members at the end of the year with suggestions for future workshops. Also with suggestions on places we might want to go and visit as a club like the Zoo or state or national park we might visit. After the calendar is set we (the officers) get people that are highly skilled in the area of focus to present a 30 min presentation at the meeting . Usually with a slide show of some sorts with examples on the topic. We then look for someone to lead the workshop. This is also someone that is skilled in the workshop topic. This person does the planning part for the workshop. Where and when we meet , maybe a quick demonstration (like studio lights) and generally helps out with the people that are new to the topic or just new to photography. Our club has many levels of expertise in photography from Professional to beginner. Someone is always there to help when you have a question or are just not sure where to start. With the number of members we have there is always someone who can help. The workshop leader usually has a place set aside for Lunch for that day. If we are traveling somewhere we carpool and people who are riding chip in for gas to the driver of the vehicle. I have personally grown very much as a photographer from being a member and going on the workshops of the Goldsboro Area Photography Club. But you must be a member to go on these great workshops. Like all things in life you must show up! The more workshops you go to even if you don't know anything about the topic. Learning different types of photography makes you a better photographer in the area that you are interested in. So when we have our next meeting come and check us out. We would love to have you join our club and the workshops. 

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(Max Stansell Photography) area blog club gapc goldsboro learning max stansell photography photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/typical-photography-workshop-with-gapc Tue, 25 Jun 2024 08:49:54 GMT
How to keep in touch with Photography when you can't get out https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/how-to-keep-in-touch-with-photography-when-you-cant-get-out Hey Ya'll!  How's everything going? Me? Well that's what this blog is about. I've had to have a minor surgery that has kept me in the house for a couple of weeks. (don't worry nothing serious ) Couldn't have picked a worse time for this to happen. I've got two photo projects I'm working on and the weather has been great and I'm tied to the house for a couple of weeks. So what have I been doing with my time? I'm trying to do as much photography stuff that I can to keep me in touch with the art that I love so much. Even writing this blog is one of the things that is keeping me busy and in touch with Photography. So in this blog I will give some advice if you end up like me all raring to go but can't .  So here I go with some suggestions.

-Go back in your catalog of photos and re-process them. Go find a photo you like from 5 or 10 years ago and process it like you do now. With all of the advancements in Lightroom and Photoshop I bet you can do all sorts of things that you couldn't do then and really make some of those old photo's really pop. This will give you something to do that will improve your skills and bring back to life old photos.

-Go through all of your equipment and make sure it's spotless and clean and ready to go. This will get the camera back in your hands and while you're going through your gear you might find that you need some gadget that you can order online and they will bring it right to your doorstep. Someone recently gave me an old film camera so I cleaned it and ran some test film through it to make sure everything worked fine. And of course I ordered some stuff like a new lens off of eBay to make this camera into a Kit. 

-Listen to photography related podcast. They are great and you can learn lots of stuff from them. Some of my favorites are "The Digital Story", "PetaPixel", "This week in Photo" , "Picture this" and " The Future of Photography" and there are many more.

-Do some indoor Photography. Set up a table and start photographing things from still-life  to water drops. There are all kinds of things. You can go on Youtube and look up a specific shot and see how they did it. Look up Photography ideas and there will be all kinds of neat stuff that you can find to shoot.  I took my medium format film camera and figured how to hook it up to modern strobes. You could also do some sort of macro photography indoors. Table top photography has endless possibilities. 

-I can't believe I'm going to say this but you can read a photography book. I have several (don't tell anyone Im a Nerd) They are pretty cool and you can learn a lot. Looking at a photo in print is much different than on a screen. You can study the greats without leaving your couch.

-Go on to YouTube and search for the type of photography that you like. There will be all kinds of tutorials on how to do stuff and short videos of trips if your into street and travel like I am . I can spend hours going through YouTube watching the how to's and the where they went.

-Do some online learning with Kelby One or Creative Live. Lots of learning from some of the best in their fields there may be some cost but its well worth it. You can learn things from iPhone photography to Astro or even using your iPhone to do Astro photography. Everything from editing to portrait lighting can be learned through these online courses.

These are just a few of the things that you can do that are photography related if you get stuck in the house for a while like I have or in the winter when its too cold to go outside. In Photography there is so much to learn and do that you could and I have almost spend a life time learning. And these days it's as easy as typing on your computer. I'm sure you have some ideas that I haven't even thought about please share. So until next week Get out and shoot!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog cleaning editing gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography podcast table top Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/how-to-keep-in-touch-with-photography-when-you-cant-get-out Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Most Familiar Focal Length https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/most-familiar-focal-length Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Not too bad. This week I want to talk about the most familiar focal length that you're not shooting. Now we've always been told that the 50mm focal length is the closest to the human eye can see. I would even broaden that out a bit to 40-60mm somewhere in there is the sweet spot of the human eye. I think that back in the film days that 50 mm was the most familiar focal length and that was the lens that you always got with your new camera was the nifty fifty. But I think that in modern times that the familiar focal length has changed. In this modern age of photography everyone has a camera on them (Smart Phone)  and most of the normal lenses are set to 28mm range give or take a few millimeters. Everyone has a camera and they are used to seeing the world through that 28mm focal range. We take selfies, photo's of family and friends, events, landscapes almost everything is taken with our phones and we've got used to the focal length. The look of it. How it frames a scene. It's fairly wide compared to the 50mm and distorts the face of someone a little but we've got used to it. We like the look. Why don't you have a 28mm lens for your camera then? Well to tell you the truth there aren't that many to choose from. 

Now I really didn't notice the 28mm range until I started shooting film again. My film cameras I either had a fixed 40 or 45mm lens or had on interchangeable lens camera's had a 50 on them. But when I started shooting them they seemed tight. Too close and I was always backing up. Back in the film days I din't do that, the nifty fifty was just right. The reason is the smart phone camera that I have with me all the time taking shots of all kinds of stuff my eye had readjusted from the 50 to the 28mm of the phone. I had a 28mm for my Pentax but didn't use it too much I decided one day just to shoot the 28mm and I loved it!. It stayed on my camera almost all of the time. I would only pull the 50 out to shoot something across the street long distance for my street and travel stuff. Otherwise the 28mm was just right to my eye.  I loved this combination so much (28 and 50) I even got a 28 for my digital cameras and have a 28 and a 50 that I take with me when I'm shooting digital street to emulate the film set up that I have with the same focal lengths. I just love the combination of the 28mm (the new familiar) with the 50mm (my old familiar) when I'm shooting street or travel type photowalks. I just got a "new to me"  film camera system and the first thing I did was order a 28mm for my new system. Even in my medium format system set up I have a 30mm equivalent and a 50 equivalent focal length which matches my 35mm film and full frame digital cameras set up closely.

The new familiar ,28mm, has that look and is very versatile. It's great when shooting environmental portraits. It's wide enough without distorting the scene. It's great for landscapes rural or urban wide enough to get all of the scene in. Its great for taking a photo of someone your having lunch with or something close up like in street photography. This is a great lens for family photos during holidays. There are lots of advantages of the new familiar 28mm.  The 28mm is small and lightweight and great for carrying with you when you're on the go. The prices aren't much different than the nifty fifty maybe a little more but well worth it. I bought one used for a couple of hundred for my digital and even less than a hundred for my film cameras. There is not much bad to say about this little lens. For me it has become one of my favorite lenses and focal lengths. If you haven't shot with one I highly recommend getting one and trying it out. Until next week get out and shoot! Maybe the new Familiar.

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(Max Stansell Photography) 28mm 50mm blog Canon Focal Length gear landscape learning Lens Max Stansell Photography Pentax Photography Sony street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/most-familiar-focal-length Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Long Telephoto 100-400mm https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/long-telephoto-100-400mm Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. This week I want to talk about the final adjustment of me going back full frame. My long Telephoto solution.  As you can see from the title of this blog I have Chosen the Sony 100-400mm lens for this section of my photography kit. But I wanted to give you a review of the lens and why I chose it instead of other lenses in this range. When I was shooting crop sensor I had an effective full frame equivalent of 15-525mm focal length. But since I've gone back to full frame I could only go to 105mm. So I needed a long telephoto. Previously when I was shooting full frame Nikon my longest lens was a 70-200 mm that I used for portraits and landscape. It was a fantastic lens . But I rarely shoot portraits anymore. The 70-200 is a great lens but I wanted something a little more. I mainly shoot travel landscape Cockspur LighthouseCockspur Lighthouse and occasionally wildlife. The 70-200 would be great for landscapes but for travel a little big and for wildlife too short.  When I was shooting crop sensor I liked that I had the option to shoot up to 525mm.  But I rarely shot at the very long end of that focal length.  I could get a third party lens from Tamron or Sigma that would fit this focal length and work great but I wanted to stay with Sony lenses. I also wanted to buy used to keep the cost down. I could have gone 200-600mm but I thought that was just too much especially on how I would use it.  So the Sony 100-400 seemed the right lens for me but there are two versions. The original came out in 2017 and the newer one  in 2022. I decided to go with the older one after watching many reviews and articles on both of them. So the lens I got was the Sony 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 G-Master OSS. What does all that mean? It's a 100-400mm focal length. Maximum aperture is F4.5 at 100mm and 5.6 at 400mm. It's a G- Green HeronGreen Heron Master lens which means it's the top of the line , one of the premium lenses the only one in my kit. And The OSS means that it's optically stabilized . 

So that was my reasoning behind getting the lens that I did let me talk about the lens itself . First of all the build quality is fantastic. Built like a tank! Much like my 70-200 that I had with Nikon. It's a weather sealed lens that means I can get it in a little weather. It has all of the seals to protect it and your camera. It has 4 switches on the side of the lens. It has a AF/MF switch .  It has a range switch Full to Infinity to 3meters, It has a OSS off and on switch. And a mode switch with 2 modes. Mode 1 is for everyday shooting and Mode 2 is for Panning.  It has 3 buttons on it that can be used to control something on your camera like turning Eye Auto Focusing on or off.  It Also has a switch that will tighten or loosen the lens to Zoom more smoothly depending on your taste.  It also has Snowy EgretSnowy Egret a removable tripod collar that can be adjusted or removed as needed.  As of this blog I've only used just a couple of times and it is sharp and easy to use.  There is an art to using longer lenses which I am learning but not great at yet. Maybe it's the weight or the size of the lens but it may take me a while to get used to it. It is a great lens that will give me many years of service.

Well that's it for this week and hopefully the end for all of the gear change blogs that I have been writing lately. LOL So until next week make sure you get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 100-400 blog camping gear hiking landscape learning long Telephoto Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street Telephoto travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/6/long-telephoto-100-400mm Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Bronica ETR SI First Thoughts https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/bronica-etr-si-first-thoughts Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Pretty good. Today is another rainy day so I thought I would spend my time writing yet another blog and yet again about another piece of gear. I know , I know I have GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). As you know I've been really into film this year. From shooting , Developing and Scanning I've really been into the process and the film project I'm doing. Then I got to thinking what kind of project can I do next year that will keep me into film?  I thought how about medium format and try to shoot fine art landscapes and such. The only problem I have with that is I don't have a medium format camera. Well I didn't. I do have one now. And that's what this blog is about the Bronica ETR SI. This is a Japanese camera made from 1989 - 2004 when digital was killing film camera's. The company has been around since the end of WWII and the ZENZA BRONICA first appeared in 1959. So it's a company that has a history in medium format cameras. This isn't a sexy camera like the Hasselblads are. It is known as a workhorse no frills camera. It is also known as a poor mans Hasselblad. Which is funny I also own a poor mans Leica with the Canon Canonet QL17 LOL. This camera was mainly a studio and Landscape camera . Let me go over some of the specs.

It's a SLR type camera. Which means you see through the lens when you focus. Unlike the twin lens and the Rangefinder type of cameras. Which means there is no parallax going on. What you have framed is what you get.

It is a system camera. Which means you can configure the camera many different ways. With different film backs, to viewfinders and lenses.  It also has a speed handle that can be attached that has shutter button and rewind lever attached. It is very versatile and can adapt to many shooting situations.

This is a 645 (6cm X 4.5 cm Negative) medium format camera. It has many different film backs to shoot all sorts of film. It can shoot 135 film (35mm) , 120 film, 220 film and polaroid . Using different film backs for all of them. You can also switch film mid roll. For example If your shooting 120 color and take a couple of shots , You can take the film back off and put one that has 120 black and white film without finishing the color film and go back and forth.  This will keep you from wasting film when changing back and forth between types of film. It can also shoot panorama with a special film back using 35mm film.

Lenses- It uses Zenzanon lenses made by Bronica. In earlier models it used Nikon Nikor lenses until they had their lenses perfected. The lenses also include the leaf shutter along with aperture .  The lenses come in maximum aperture of f2.8 and f4 and are super sharp and are plentiful and can be easily purchased.

Shutter- As mentioned above it has a leaf shutter instead of a focal plane shutter. It has a range from bulb to 1/500 of a second. With a leaf shutter you can sync your flash at any speed it isn't restricted to a certain shutter speed like a focal plane shutter. This camera also has a mirror lock-up feature to keep camera steady when shooting at low shutter speeds. The shutter is controlled from the main body and must have a battery power to operate. If battery dies it shoots at 1/500 as a default.

Other features. It has a multiple exposure lever so you can take more than one shot on the same frame, Battery check button to check the strength of your battery and a cable release socket.

Viewfinders- You can choose between two different viewfinders. One is the waist level finder that you look down and through the lens and the other is a prism view finder that you look through like a normal SLR. The prism view finder has a meter in it and can shoot in Aperture Priority. With the waist level you have to use a hand held meter to get the proper exposure.

I was very lucky to find this particular camera .  What I got with the kit was the body, 2 film backs a 120 and a 220, Prism and a waist level viewfinder, 2 lenses a 50mm and a 75mm both max aperture f 2.8, and Speed handle. All in the original boxes with receipts when they were bought in the early 90's.  Main body , lenses, prism viewfinder and 120 film back had never been used. They were owned by a professional portrait photographer that had purchased as a backup. He died a few years ago and a friend was selling them.  I saw the kit on Facebook marketplace and was surprised when I inspected them how good of shape they were in. I was very lucky. I am now learning all I can about 120 film and have shot one roll through it and developed it . I am pleasantly surprised at my results. I am very excited about using this camera for years to come and projects to come. Well that's enough about gear for today. Until Next week Get out and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 120 film blog Bronica film back fine art landscape learning lenses Max Stansell Photography Medium format Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/bronica-etr-si-first-thoughts Fri, 31 May 2024 07:47:02 GMT
Medium Format Film Project https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/medium-format-film-project Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me? Super! Tomorrow I leave for a photography trip with my club and I'm super excited. But that will be another blog. This week I want to talk about a project I'm thinking of doing. If you follow this blog you know I'm in the middle of a film project and I'm really enjoying it. So I was thinking what kind of project can I do next year that involves film. Right now I'm shooting 35mm film and its easy to get and I' used to using it. But what about another type of film? Then I thought what about medium format film? Now I didn't know anything about medium format film. Never shot it and don't even have a camera that will shoot it.  So I had to start researching medium format film. Let me tell you there is lots to learn. First of all there is the film. The film most commonly used is 120mm film. There is also a 220 film that is basically the same as 120 but longer so you can get twice the shots on a roll. But 120 is the most common and many manufactures make it as for 220 I could only find one company that still make it and its in China. So that's the type of film but it's not that easy.  Depending on what camera you get determines what size the negative will be.  There are many sizes. There is 645 cameras. They make a negative that is 6cm X 4.5cm thus the 645. There is 6x6cm and 6x7cm they are kind of close a square and not quite a square.  Then there are the 6x9cm which is more a traditional aspect ratio. Now that's a lot to take in. The bigger the negative the less shots you get on a 120 or 220 roll of film. So with the price of film that has to be taken into consideration. The bigger the negative the more resolution and the less grain and sharper the image will be.  

Next is the camera type. I've only used 35mm before and have used SLR and Rangefinder type cameras but with medium format there are all kinds of cameras you can get and use. Like 35mm camera's these cameras are old and they really don't make them anymore. But there are so many different kinds. There is the twin lens reflex. TLR's. They are the ones with two lenses in the front and have a viewfinder that you look through the top while the camera is at waist level. There are foldable camera's. They fold up fairly flat and when you open them there is a lens and bellows system. But you must be careful when buying so you don't have light leaks in the bellows. There are Rangefinder type of cameras that look like their 35mm little brothers but much larger. These camera types are either fixed lens camera's or in the TLR's hard to find lenses to change out if at all. You have SLR cameras that look like the 35mm cameras but much larger!  Then you have system SLR camera's. The system camera's are more versatile than all of the above. They have interchangeable lenses. They may have interchangeable view finders. (A waist viewfinder and a conventional viewfinder.) The most cool thing is the interchangeable film backs. With these film backs you can shoot 120, 220, 35, polaroid, and digital if the backs are available. These camera's were mostly used by professional photographers. Some of the film backs also rotate so when shooting you can go from landscape to portrait without moving the camera you just rotate the film back. All of these cameras can come with a leaf shutter or a focal plane shutter. The advantage of a focal length shutter is the speed you can get faster shutter speeds. With a leaf shutter you can sync your flash at any shutter speed. Focal shutters are louder and leaf shutters are quieter.

So there is lot to figure out. What size negative and what type of camera . The prices of these cameras can go from 3 to 4 hundred dollars for a camera to thousands. This all depends on type, condition and of course brand. A Hassabald is much more expensive than a Yashica. I also need to figure out what I want to shoot in this project. I plan to shoot fine art type of photography. Landscapes and Still life. Shooting Medium format is a slow process. Not fast like 35 or super fast like digital. I have made a couple of decisions after all of the research I've been doing. I have decided on the 645 size of camera and negative size. This size is more than twice the size of 35mm film and should give me the look I'm Looking for. I have also decided on a camera. I purchased a system camera set up. It's a Bronica ETR SI. It has interchangeable Lens , film backs and viewfinders. I'll go over it in another blog. I got a great deal on Facebook Marketplace. I got it early so I could practice with it and I can use it in my film project I'm doing now so when I get ready next year for the Medium Format project I'll already be comfortable with the camera .

Projects are a great way for a photographer to learn more about theirselves and to challenge them in photography. I hope you can find a project that motivate you to get out and shoot. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 645 blog Film landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Medium Format Photography Rangefinder SLR TLR website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/medium-format-film-project Fri, 24 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT
It's the Shooting Experience , Not the Image Quality https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/its-the-shooting-experience-not-the-image-quality Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Pretty good. First of all I want to start out to give props to Derrick Story who has one of the best Photography Podcast around! I borrowed this title from him. He has a podcast on this topic and it really resinated with me. Because that's how I feel about photography. First if you haven't listened to his podcast it's the Digital Story and it can be found in any of the podcast services or you can google "The Digital Story" and listen to it there. Now back to the subject. When your buying a camera or camera system is the most important thing to you image quality? Or does the camera have to feel good in your hand? To me it has to feel good. I have to like where all the buttons and gismo's are. Shooting should be fun and not complicated or uncomfortable. But for some people it's not like that it's the bottom line of image quality that is the most important. How many megapixels , what's the burst rate, how fast does it focus . Image quality is everything. If you're a professional photographer I can understand that. But very few of us are Professional. Since this is my blog and it's all about me! LOL I'm going to take the other side of this argument and say that the Shooting Experience is more important that the image quality.

I have been in photography for a long time. When I got my first camera image quality was the furtherest from my mind because all film camera's pretty much had the same quality.  It was the shooting experience , how the camera felt in our hand , the taking of the photo's with friends and family. That was the fun part. Getting the photo's back from the lab and looking at them a week or so later it wasn't on how sharp the photo's were but the people and things in them. Now when I got into digital there was a time when I was obsessed with the megapixel count and how fast it shot (the image quality) But then I got away from that and started shooting crop sensor camera's and the image wasn't as important as the experience. You have a much better experience hauling a crop sensor camera and lenses compared to carrying around a full frame sensor camera. And the quality didn't change much. If you look at my website 90% of the photo's are shot with a crop sensor and they look great! (or at least i think so) I have shots on my website that were shot with point and shoots and with iPhones . So I think getting a camera for quality isn't as important as it used to be because any camera you buy today will give you great photo's. Even your phone. So maybe that's why I like film so much it's the experience, the feel, the sound of the shutter and the mirror slapping up and out of the way. Zone focusing, using old lenses on new digital camera's just for the feel of the old lens even though new lenses may be sharper. I like to set up my digital camera's as much as I can like old film ones . I like using lenses that have aperture rings on them to set the aperture like I would on an older film camera. I usually shoot in Aperture Priority or Manual to keep it close to as what it was when I was shooting film. I do like smaller cameras to shoot because large ones are just too heavy to tote around. I would rather take a point and shoot camera to shoot on a photowalk instead of a big bulky camera like I did on the last trip to the low country. I used a point and shoot and a film when walking around Savannah and had really good images. Were they as sharp and flawless as a more modern full frame camera kit? No but I don't even own a modern full frame camera kit. Mine still works fine. I think of camera systems as tools that you use. I wouldn't take a film camera to capture a race car race. I would take a big lens and camera to catch what I could. But I would take the film camera for a walk about a town and not the big lens camera.  I would take a crop sensor camera on a hike because it would be more comfortable (shooting experience) than a big digital camera that might have better quality images. How a camera feels in your hand is more important than the technical aspects of it. If you're not comfortable you won't take very good photo's. But I've seen photo's taken with a phone that are great because it was the right tool for the job at the right time and the photographer was comfortable using it.

I feel as I've gone off of the reservation a little. What I'm saying is that its not the technical aspects of the gear that is important its how it feels to you when your using it that is important. I have a Sony 24- 105 lens that takes great photo's but its just too heavy to take around with me so I'm having the conversation with myself should I change it out for a 20-70mm lens that is newer and lighter has an aperture ring that my 24-105 doesn't .  I'm thinking so I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. To me the 30mm difference in the lens is less important than me hauling a twice as heavy lens with me. I would get better photo's with a lens that I'm bringing with me and using instead of a lens that sits in my bag because it's too heavy. The shooting experience is more important than quality of the image. Well I've gone on enough on this subject. Please enjoy your gear and don't get it just because it's the newest and the greatest it should be comfortable to make the shooting experience greater ! So get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear image Quality landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography shooting experience website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/its-the-shooting-experience-not-the-image-quality Fri, 17 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Photography is Subtraction Not Addition https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/photography-is-subtraction-not-addition Hey Ya'll ! Hope you've had a great week! Me? Pretty good! This week I want to talk about a subject that will improve your photography by leaps and bounds. We as photographers are always trying to find the magic cure or recipe to great photography. We try new gear or special editing techniques. We download all sorts of presets hoping some other photographer has found the magic combination of settings in Lightroom. But there really isn't any secret sauce! The key is to keep it simple. Make your photo's simple. How do we make a photograph that will catch someone's eye? It's by taking out everything that is not needed in the photo .  Taking away all of the distractions for the viewer to see what was so special in the photo you took. By Subtracting! Why do we want large megapixel camera's? So we can crop and still have good resolution. Why do we crop? To get rid of unwanted things in our scene. We Subtract. To me that's the main reason to Raven's Roost Va.Raven's Roost Va. have a high megapixel photo. So we can crop or subtract. Thats why cropping works! 

It's not what you leave in but what you leave out that will make your photographs good. People use longer focal lengths for that exact reason when shooting street photography or wildlife or landscapes. To isolate what is important in a shot and to take away everything that is not. One of the great sayings in photography is " If your not getting good photo's move closer your not close enough" The saying is true because when you move closer you take away all of the surrounding stuff that doesn't matter to your photo.  Your Subtracting the junk to make your photo better. When you edit one of the final steps in editing is to do a boarder check. Checking the boarder for unwanted things that are poking in your photo. Subtracting the junk that isn't needed or wanted for the good photo. Distractions! Less is More!

Cades Cove TreeCades Cove Tree Someone long time ago asked Michelangelo the famous Renaissance sculptor and painter. " How did you make the "David" statue out of a single peace of Marble. He said " I took away everything that wasn't David". He Subtracted! So as we can see this system ins't new it has been going on for centuries ! Now I'm not saying that using this method that you will become the Michelangelo of photography but it should make your photographs more appealing and simple. Without all of the distractions you can show the people what you liked about the photograph to begin with.

So how do we do this in practice? It's all good to say that we need to subtract the distractions in our photo to make them Light House StairsLight House Stairs better but how? I think we should slow down. Get back to basics. We've become button pushers and don't take enough time setting up the camera , composing( framing) or waiting for just the right moment. We want to click , click, click and move on to the next thing. I am very much guilty of this process. As a matter of fact until I started shooting film again I was very much the "Clicker of Photos" My expensive camera just became an expensive point and shoot.  So I think that slowing down getting the correct aperture , composition and waiting for the correct moment to push the shutter is how we eliminate (Subtract) distractions. 

So that's it for this week. Subtract distractions for better photo's. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog composition gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Simple street subtraction travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/photography-is-subtraction-not-addition Fri, 10 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Classic Debates in Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/classic-debates-in-photography Hey Ya'll! Hope you're doing great! When writing this its the first day of Spring so Happy Spring! This week I want to talk about some of the Classic Debates that we photographers have about our great hobby. We photographers love to debate and have fun disagreements with our Photog friends. One of the classic is about camera companies. In my camera club one of the questions that we ask new members is what type of camera that they shoot. No matter what kind of camera it is we hear oohs and  cheers from the people who have that camera and from those that don't. The most classic is Canon vs Nikon these camera lovers are really loyal to the brands that they have chosen and get very outspoken about their cameras. I guess because they have spent so much money on them and want to reinforce their decision to investment in them. LOL So lets get started with the debate.

Full Frame Sensor vs Crop Sensor.  This is one of the most debated topic and people are really serious about it.  Ever since the first Full Frame Sensor Camera came out. (Crop Sensors were first) this debate has begun. They both have positives and negatives to them and I have even written a blog on this one Debate.  I have many years shooting both and can tell you that the differences especially with newer cameras are very small. Full  Frame Sensor are better in low light but not as much as they used to be and crop sensors give you more depth of field. Camera's with full frame are larger and crop sensors are smaller.  Those are the biggest differences. 

Manual vs Auto. Some photographers say that you are not a real photographer unless you shoot in Manual. Others say I can get better photo's quicker by using the Auto settings. I started photography in an age that there really wasn't a choice. It was manual only. I think you should know how to shoot in Manual but think you should use the auto modes and use manual when they don't work. It will make your work flow less complicated and concentrate on composition instead of what shutter speed to use when shooting manual only. 

Photoshop vs Lightroom. This debate has also been around for a while. Photoshop was the first editing program for older photographers then Lightroom came out with easy editing and organizing system.  I use both. I use Lightroom to organize my photo's and do the simple editing that I do and if I have to do some heavy lifting or editing I'll send the photo to Photoshop to do the things that Photoshop is better at. But choosing one over the other is just silly . You should be using both to get the best out of your photo's.

Zooms vs Prime Lenses. I have also had a blog on this subject also. I have a love for both and think that both of them have a place for your photography. Zoom lenses are great for when changing your position is hard like Landscape and wildlife. Primes are great for when you can control your position like Portraits and Street photography. Zooms tend to be heaver than primes and usually have a larger minimum aperture . They both have their place. But to choose one over the other I don't think that is right. But using both to fill out the needs of your photography.

Film vs Digital. This is mainly an Old guy debate as most young photographers have never shot film. But for guys like me _MSP6316_MSP6316 this can be a debatable topic. I like both. I like the look of film . I like the flaws in it. Digital can be flawless and is awesome to shoot with and you can shoot to your self content. With film your limited on the amount of shots on a roll of film. Film is like listening to vinyl record albums. It has a something , something that you can't put your finger on. This is a debate that I have with myself all of the time.

Color vs Black and White. This is a big debate among photographers. Some folks won't shoot Black and white and some won't shoot color. Since the digital age you can shoot both at the same time and I do this sometimes . There is a saying that states " when you shoot color you take pictures of their clothes when you shoot black and white you shoot their souls". Don't know who said this but I do like it. Black and White has a timeless feel to it and sometimes shooting in color the colors just get in the way. I love both and sometimes shoot both at the same time and pick the one I like the best in post.

Natural Light vs Artificial Light.  Among portrait photographers this is a big debate. Some will only shoot in natural light and say that it gives the best colors . Those that shoot with the aid of flash or strobes really control the light and can shoot in any situation. A definite advantage to be able to shoot with the aid of flash because the possibilities are endless. Shooting in Natural light does and can have a special quality to it but getting the light just right can be tough.

So here are some of the classic debates in photography. Do you have some that I don't know about. Please list them in the comments. So let's stop debating and start Shooting! So Get out and Shoot! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Auto black and white blog color crop sensor Digital Film full frame gear landscape learning lenses Lightroom Manual Max Stansell Photography natural light Photography Photoshop Prime Strobes website workshops Zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/5/classic-debates-in-photography Fri, 03 May 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Spring "Low Country" Photo Workshop https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/spring-low-country-photo-workshop Hey Ya'll! Hope everyone had a great week! I sure did I went on a workshop to the Low Country of Georgia and South Carolina. The camera club that I have been a member for over a decade decided this year to take a trip in the spring. Usually we only do a Fall Colors trip in the Mountains somewhere but this year we did a spring trip. We had one planned in 2020 but COVID put a stop to it. Our fall trip is a week long trip but we wanted our spring trip to be shorter to give people who can't take a whole week off to go to the mountains a chance to go on a trip with us. Our trip was to start on a Wednesday and come home on a Sunday. Last year we took a scouting trip to help plan our trip for this years workshop. Afterwards we (Mike, Robert and myself) had many meetings and came up with an itinerary for the trip. We had settled on two days in Savannah Ga. and two days in Beaufort SC. Caitlin our club's president secured our lodging at both places and as always she did a great job. So then there was just the countdown to the day the trip began. We had 10 people attend and one of them was a former member that had moved away to Tampa Fla. and he drove up to meet us in Savannah. So here goes a day by day of our workshop.

Day 1.  The day was a travel day mostly. We wanted to get there as quick as we could to be some rain that was in the forecast for the next day. We arrived early enough to park our cars at our first rental. (we were too early to check in) Our Florida compadre met us just as we were getting ready to head out. Our house was just a couple of blocks away from the famous Forsyth Park and fountain there. So that's where we headed first. We tried to get as much in as we could walking the streets of Savannah because we knew that rain was on the way the next day.  We wondered down from Forsyth park towards the waterfront stopping along the way for drinks and to take photo's.  When we finally got to the waterfront we found a place for supper. We had a nice supper and explored the waterfront area. We then started the way back to Forsyth Park to get a nighttime shot of the fountain. We did so and headed back to the house. We did a lot of walking and some folks took an Uber from the waterfront back to the house instead of walking the 10 or so blocks. It was a good full day!

Day 2. The weather dictated most of this day. Thunder and heavy rain early in the morning. When the rain slacked up a bit we headed out to Tybee Island to maybe get a shot of a lighthouse or two but the rain was too heavy so we just got something to eat at a local restaurant and headed back to the house. By early afternoon the weather had gotten better but our President had gotten a touch of food poisoning and was really out of commission for the rest of the day and most of the next. Some of us went to the Tybee Island Lighthouse and to Pulaski National Monument to take some photo's of the light houses. It was very windy but we managed to get a couple of shots. We decided to have Pizza delivered that night to the house instead of going out to eat. The rains didn't ruin our time in Savannah but it did seem to cut it short.

Day 3. The first thing on our agenda was a sunrise at Tybee Island pier. We loaded up very early with all of our stuff because we were going to Beaufort SC and checking out of the Savannah house. We had a nice shoot at the pier and had another hearty breakfast.  Then off to the Beaufort area. We were too early to check in and our house was at a gated community just outside of Beaufort.  Our first stop was to get some photos of Shrimp boats which we did then we went to Port Royal Cypress Wetlands. This was a fantastic spot to shoot wild birds, alligators, snakes and other wild life.  We spent quite a while there walking the boardwalks and taking in all the sights and sounds. We then walked to a local place and had lunch that was quite good. Our president stomach was starting to get better. We stopped at a ruin of an African American church and took some photo's and then went to Hunting Island State Park to scout out the next mornings shoot. We had planned to go to a seafood restaurant that evening but we needed reservations and had called too late for the day so we made reservations for the next day. We then went to a place that was near our next shoot which was Sheldon Ruin Church to do some light painting. We stopped by the house to drop off our luggage and then headed out . We went to the restaurant under much hype of the menu of Steak and Potatoes. We got there and there was no steak and patatoes but the menu was Wings and things. It still was a great dinner and we went to the church to do some light painting which worked out great. Then it was back to the house to get some shut eye and up early for another shoot.

Day 4. Up early! We headed out to Hunting Island State Park to shoot the driftwood trees with the sunset. We got there and it was dark and we headed out down a short trail to get to the beach . It was in a different place than the scouting trip and it was fabulous!  There were many trees there and we got there about an hour before the sun peeked its eyes out so we got really good shots. After we exhausted the shots there we went to the lighthouse there at the state park and the "No See Ums" were out! Got a few shots of the Lighthouse and it was off to Beaufort to eat breakfast. The restaurant was packed and we are a group of ten so it's hard to seat us and we waited quite a while for seats. We finally got in and had a great breakfast or brunch it was so late. By then everyone was done and wanted to go back to the house. So we didn't shoot the town of Beaufort as much as I wanted but  folks were tired. We had reservations at a very cool restaurant that evening and had a great meal of seafood. When we got back to the house we were going to do some light painting. We were going to use sparklers and lights out on the beach. We got to the beach and the "no see ums" were terrible swarming. They died down a little later but were bad at first. We tried to light the sparklers but they were duds and couldn't get them lit. We dished that idea and worked with some colored lights that we had brought and got some good shots.

Day 5. Day 5 was packing up and heading to Magnolia Plantation before going home. We went to the plantation and it was nice. We took a train ride and walked through the gardens and saw the plantation grounds. It was a nice place to visit. Then we all headed home.

All in all it was a great trip and I got some good photo's. I always look forward to the clubs trips and workshops and can't wait until the fall trip.  Until next week Get Out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Beaufort blog gear Georgia landscape learning Light painting Max Stansell Photography Photography Savannah South Carolina street Sunrise travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/spring-low-country-photo-workshop Fri, 26 Apr 2024 08:22:22 GMT
Photographing with Film VS Digital https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/photographing-with-film-vs-digital Hey Ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! I know I've been writing a lot about film photography the last month or so and it's mainly because I've been really into film during the same time. I've talked about camera's, developing and scanning and even how to meter. I have talked about all of the technical and material stuff but I haven't talked about the feel of shooting with film again. We photographers are really into gear and the how-to of photography and I think sometimes we forget about the why and the feeling of photography. We concentrate on megapixels and how many frames per second and auto focusing . We forget all of the famous photographers over the last 100 years didn't have any of these modern convinces and their photographs still stand over and above a lot of modern photographers. Not that there aren't great photographers now but gear isn't the reason of what made them great. It's the feel , the art of the photography that made the greats great. To me shooting film is back to basics.

Back to Basics. Shooting film makes me go back to basics. The seeing the scene. With film photography I have to slow down. Each shot cost money. Even with me developing my own film and Scanning it myself its almost 50-.75 cent per shot which doesn't sound like a lot but does add up after you're used to shooting for free with digital. Each shot matters. So you take your time waiting for the perfect scene. When you find that perfect scene then there is the metering part. These are 50 plus year old camera's and trusting how you are metering is really key to getting a good exposure. Knowing if you're going to error in exposure you should error in over exposure. Framing and composition is very important. Although you can edit that in post every time you crop you introduce more grain. Every part of the process in film photography affects the way your final image will turn out .  The film itself is very important. The manufacturer the ISO of the film do you want to shoot black and white or color. All of these things matter when shooting film.  Even the way you develop the negatives and what chemicals you decide to use will change the way the final image will turn out.  Everything matters when making decisions when shooting film.  Maybe that's why I like it so much. You have to be involved in the shooting process and even the developing process. They all make a difference when shooting film. You are involved. You make all of the decisions. The camera's I use for film are 100% mechanical. The only thing that is electronic is the meter. I really like that. Film fits the style of photography that I like Travel and Street.  For younger photographers that are just discovering film it's all new and the nostalgia of film. For me it's back to the roots that I remember.  Are the images better than what I get with digital?  If you're looking at technical things like sharpness color and pop. No not really but if you're looking for the "how does it make you feel" factor then yes. You've heard me say this before it's like listening to a vinyl record album compared to listening to a digital recording. The vinyl has pops and cracks that you can hear but that gives it character and something you can't put your finger on. Film is the same way. The grain and the colors just give it that something.

Shooting Digital. When I first started shooting digital 24 years ago I had to learn what Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and being able adjust your ISO.  I had to relearn. I had shot manual for over 20 years and had only had film cameras that were mechanical manual camera's. I din't even have auto focus. That was something else I had to learn.  After a couple of years I had it all figured out and became basically an Aperture Priority photographer just like I am today.  When I'm shooting digital I tend to shoot a lot and almost anything compared to when I shoot film. If something looks a little interesting I shoot. I don't think so much because my camera does all of the thinking for me. I pick the aperture and the camera does the rest. Really if you looked at my photo's most everything starts at F8 and my camera at this point is just a point and shoot. I will adjust my Aperture depending on what look I want but basically I put on F8 and let it eat.  I don't have to think about metering, I don't have to think about ISO or focusing . The camera does it all and it does it great. But after a while you stop thinking and just point and shoot. It (to me) takes the fun the artistry to it out of the shot. If you mess up when you're taking the shot you can fix it in post. Digital images you can do so much in post that its an art in itself . And believe me if Ansil Adams had Lightroom and Photoshop he would be one of the experts .  But everything seems so slick and automatic.  For me it seems like the involvement feels less than when I shoot film. Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking digital I love to shoot digital but I also love to shoot film. 

Conclusion. I love the involvement I have when I shoot film. I love the process from start to finish. I think that shooting film makes me a better digital photographer. I think that going back and forth between film and digital makes me a better photographer. Where if I only shot digital I get into the point and shoot mode and don't think as much because I know I can fix in editing.  If you take a better photo in digital then when you edit you even get a better photo. So if you look at the technical aspect of Film VS Digital I'd say that Digital wins but if you are looking at feel and that X factor I'd say that Film wins. So until next week get out and shoot !

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(Max Stansell Photography) aperture priority auto blog film gear ISO landscape learning manual Max Stansell Photography negatives Photography Shutter Priority website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/photographing-with-film-vs-digital Fri, 19 Apr 2024 10:00:45 GMT
How to Meter for Film Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/how-to-meter-for-film-photography   Hey Ya'll! Happy Friday! Hope your week is going great! Me ? I'm doing well and excited about this weeks topic. As you know I have been working on a film project this year and have been getting into and relearning how to shoot film. It's not as strait forward as you would think it .  Many of the camera's that are used "now a days", are old camera's and the meters that are in them may not be as accurate as they used to be when they were brand new if they work at all. For one thing they don't make the same batteries as they used to .  Batteries used to be made with mercury which was outlawed and they Alkaline which is not as stable as mercury was.  The voltages are different too which affects the accuracy of the meter. So if you have a in camera meter that works and that is accurate you are very lucky. What is nice about these old camera's is that you don't need a battery to operate the camera the only thing that the battery operated was the meter.  So we just have to find a different way to meter. That's what this blog is about.

Shooting film is different than digital. When shooting film you hear expose for the highlights because you can bring the detail out of the shadows. So you can shoot up to a Stop under exposed with no problems. I set my exposure compensation at 1/3 under exposed just to save the highlights. If you over expose the highlights you can't get the details back. Film is the opposite . All the details are in the highlights so if you want to error you Over expose. Most films can be over exposed one or two stops but can only be under exposed one stop. The best practice is to get it right in camera and a good meter that you can trust no matter if it's in your camera or not. Hope that explanation isn't too muddy.

When metering for film and not using the camera's meter ,if it had one, there are a few choices. You can go with inexpensive to expensive and from convenient to not so much. Here are the ways. The Sunny 16 rule. This was developed by Kodak many years ago and works great but might not be as accurate so we are going to stick to mechanical meters. So the meters are.  Use your Smart Phone, A on camera meter that attaches to hot or cold shoe, Handheld meter, and a Spot Meter. I'm only going to talk about 3 of these. Spot metering although is very accurate it is very expensive to buy a meter that does this. And unless you are a high end professional photographer I wouldn't recommend. Film is expensive enough. But the other three I have used and will discuss. You can also use the obvious your digital camera set to the same ISO and transfer the settings to your Film Camera. But that's big and bulky and you have to carry 2 camera's. And it's a pain. But it does work.

Smart Phone, You can use a APP on your phone. Some are even free. Your smart phone uses the camera on your phone and you point the phone at the scene press a button and the app will give you the settings for your camera .  I used an app that I paid 5 dollars for and I got that I could calibrate the phone to match a trusted meter that I have. Using this is easy but cumbersome and inexpensive because you already have the phone and can use a free app. If you are only going to shoot film every now and then this might be the way to go.

Hand held meter, A dedicated hand held meter is accurate and easy to use. I think is a must for any serious photographer to have. Very useful in flash photography. The draw back here is that they are rather expensive and are bulky. You can get a decent one for 200 to 300 dollars. If you already have one like I do this is another no cost alternative. But it is bulky and something extra to put in your pocket or around your neck. 

Hot/Cold shoe Meter, These little meters connect using the Hot/Cold shoe on your camera. So they are always on your  camera and you don't have to have something in your pocket or carry with you. They come in two basic colors black and a silver to match your camera . They come in many prices mine was 70 bucks. Mine is accurate but can be adjusted if not. The one I have is USB rechargeable so no batteries. These are handy and sit atop of your camera but may take away from the look of your camera if your into the coolness of film cameras .  Some of them have dials that may mimic what your  camera has and look cool also. Mine has a dial and a digital read out for the numbers. I think the most convenient of the three.

Shooting film is fun but expensive so you want your meter to be right. All of these choices work and give accurate readings.  My choice is the hot/cold shoe one just for the convenance of it. It's always there I don't have to fish into a pocket to pull a phone or another meter out. It's USB chargeable so I don't have to mess with batteries. It was fairly inexpensive I've paid more for filters. So if you want to shoot film these are the choices for metering but you could always go the Sunny 16 rule. So until next time. Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog cold gear hotshot iPhone landscape learning Max Stansell Photography meter Photography shoe smartphone website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/how-to-meter-for-film-photography Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:38:04 GMT
My Newest Film camera is 50yrs old! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/my-newest-film-camera-is-50yrs-old Hey Ya'll! How's your week going? Mine? Pretty good. It's a rainy day so I thought I would catch up on writing some Blogs. This week I want to talk about an old camera I just got off of eBay for 100 bucks. As you know by reading my blogs I like used and old stuff. I have a photography project shooting film that I'm in the process of and I do have a couple of great film cameras. But I just needed one more! LOL I was looking at a camera that could shoot manual and maybe auto a little and had a fixed lens. There is all kinds of newer automatic plastic camera's but I wanted one a little more advanced and it needed to look good too. I like the rangefinder style of cameras especially for what I'm going to used it for. Street and walking around a EDC (Every Day Carry) film camera.  I have a 1961 Canon Canonet (the original) but it's big and heavy and the lens is 45mm. A little long for what I like for walking around with. I have a Pentax MX a great camera and I have all the lenses to go with it but I will bring all of the lenses (I can't help myself) which makes it too heavy and bulky and no auto on it at all its fully manual. What I decided on was a Canon Canonet 17QL GIII. It is the last version of the Canonet that Canon released in 1972. They produced the camera until 1982.  They were very popular cameras and that means there are lots of them out there so the prices will stay down. Now buying from eBay is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of trust going on because these are not established camera companies that you are buying from . Usually it's an individual that is selling them. I have been very lucky on the things that I have bought and sold on eBay and have had no problems. So I found one and purchased it. One of the main reasons that I got it was because the light seals had been replaced already something that you have to do with old cameras because they just go bad so I just went for it. When it came in I was pleasantly surprised it was in good shape . I cleaned it up and inspected it . Everything seemed to work. There was no visible fungus on the lens and all functions worked. So I had to put it to the test and run a roll of dummy film through it to make sure it advanced and rewinded when I wanted it to. It passed again. Now it was time for a real test . So I got a roll of Kodak Gold 200 and loaded it up.

So now lets talk features of this new to me but old camera. It is a rangefinder camera which means when you look through the viewfinder you're not looking through the lens but through a window on the side of the camera. Inside that window you can see a yellow frame which is where you're photo will be. There is a meter on the right that only works in the auto mode. Auto mode for this camera is Shutter priority . You pick the shutter speed and the camera picks the aperture .  If the camera thinks that you are over or under exposed it will not let you take the photo.  The meter runs off of an odd sized battery. The original batteries were Mercury and newer ones are Alkaline . The mercury ones keep the correct voltage longer so the meter will read accurately longer. Alkaline work but they don't last as long. I checked the meter and it reads accurate with a new battery in it. Meters in older camera's are usually broke or don't read properly so this is a plus for this camera. This camera comes with a battery check button where you can push the button and a light will shine letting you know that the battery is okay. The lens on this camera is a 40mm f1.7 which is a nice fast lens although I would like a wider one but that's what it comes with. The lens is very sharp and crisp and has good contrast. It is a 48mm filter thread which is a odd size. I had lots of filters and lens hood for 49mm so I got a set up ring that goes from 48-49mm so all of my old stuff would work on this camera. When shooting in Manual mode you have to use an external meter or the Sunny 16 rule. I will have a blog on how to meter for film on old manual camera's like this one. You can use a meter or an app off of your phone. This camera is a quick loading camera that means you don't have to thread the film into a slot when loading it you just lay it down and it will do it for you. It has a film indicator window on it so when you advance the film it will let you know that the film is advancing. It also had a ready to fire indicator window that will be orange when the shutter is ready to advance. And of course it has a counter to let you know how many shots you've used. It uses a leaf shutter which goes from B "bulb" to 1/500 of a second. Not super fast so I might need a ND filter if I want to shoot at open apertures in sunlight. This will mainly be a walking around camera so I think that I'll be good with the Sutter speed. It does have a self timer on it although I have read and heard on Youtube not to use it because if it breaks you're camera will not work and this function is prone to failing on this model. Not a problem I have a I phone for that. It does have a hot shoe that I haven't tested . Not planning to shoot flash with it but its nice to know I could.

I took my new little camera with me on a photowalk to Kinston NC about 20 miles from my house and walked around town shooting things I saw. I used either a phone app that I had calibrated to be accurate or my digital camera to compare to make correct exposures.  So when I shot it was a little time consuming. I'd have to Meter , Set the camera , Focus and shoot. Focusing on this camera is a little different than other camera's. There is a little patch in the middle of the screen and when you're out of focus there will be two object there you focus until there is one object . It works really well as I got some really sharp shots from this photowalk. I got kind of into a grove shooting this little camera and enjoyed it quite a bit. The next day I developed and scanned the film myself and was shocked on how good this camera did.  So for about 120 dollars (which includes shipping) I've got a good little rangefinder camera that will shoot in auto and manual with a nice sharp lens! Well that's it for this week . I've been having a ball shooting film again and going through all of the processes of developing and scanning. Until next week . Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon Canonet film gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography rangefinder SLR street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/4/my-newest-film-camera-is-50yrs-old Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Vintage Lenses on New Cameras https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/vintage-lenses-on-new-cameras Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a Super week. This week I want to talk about gear again. LOL ! Thats what I do. Now you know I love shooting used gear. And if you've been reading my blogs from the beginning I do like shooting film also. But what about shooting vintage lenses on your new mirrorless camera? Can it be done? You bet it can and it's pretty easy and fun to do.  Bringing life into old and vintage lenses is great. The older lenses were built to last. Film lenses and camera's were built to be used a lifetime and still have lots of life left in them. I personally shoot a camera that is over 60 years old and it still functions like it was new. New 60 years ago not like new today. If that makes sense. Now I'm not saying that a vintage lens is sharper or quicker than a new lens is because it's not but it has a quality that gives it  character.  Vintage lenses are manual focus lenses and have an aperture ring that you have to manually have to set.  So getting sharp focus is up to you.  But why would you ever shoot a vintage lens on a new mirrorless camera? The first reason is that it's just cool and fun to shoot. Some of these lenses come in focal lengths that just aren't common anymore. I have three or four vintage lenses but the one I like to use the most is a 28mm. It's a focal length that you just don't see anymore on modern lenses. Another reason to use vintage on new cameras is to get some photography mojo working again. It slows us up to take time to compose and focus the shot. Instead of just pointing and shooting like we can now with our modern cameras and phones. So how do I find a vintage lens to shoot? You may already have one on an old film camera that is stuck way back in the closet. If you have an old SLR film camera chances are you've got a 50mm f1.4 lens on it.  It really doesn't matter if your old camera was a Canon, Minolta, or Nikon you can adapt it to your new camera. If you don't have one you can find one on Ebay or in a pawn shop very cheaply. Sometimes less than 100 bucks. Now think of that a 50mm f1.4 for 100 bucks. These old lenses are built with high quality metal and glass and are fantastic.  Now these are manual focus lenses but can easily be zone focused for street photography for fast shooting. All the markings are there for easy set up. Speaking of set up how do you make your new camera use vintage lenses?

I shoot Sony cameras but I'm sure you will have the same settings on whatever camera you have you will have to dig a little in the manual or look up online. The first thing we need to do to shoot vintage lenses on new cameras is to get a lens adapter. For example the vintage lens that I use is a Pentax 28mm. I shoot Sony so I have to get an adapter that takes the Pentax mount and adapts it to a Sony mount. You can get these adapters off of Amazon for 25 bucks or so. Modern mirrorless camera's are little computers with all kinds of sensors on them. Old vintage lenses have no electronics at all so when you put the adapter on your vintage lens and hook it to your camera your camera doesn't know that there is a lens there. Most camera's are set up by default not to release the shutter if no lens is attached. So you will have to go into the menu and find that setting and change it. Most modern camera's have Focus Peaking to help focus when in manual.  The camera highlights in some color the areas of the image that is in focus. You will have to also turn this on to help you focus. My cameras have in body stabilization. How great is that to have a 50 year old lens and now it is stabilized ! When you put a modern lens on the camera it can see what focal length it is through the electronics on the camera even if it's a zoom lens.  The camera adjust the Stabilization to match the focal length. When you use a vintage lens you have to put that number in. For example I set it to 28mm for my lens. Then when the camera can't see the focal length it goes to 28mm otherwise it's in Auto and adjust to what lens I have on. Now if I changed to a 50mm vintage lens instead of the 28mm I would have to go and change to 50mm. But since this is the only one I am using currently I don't have to change this setting. And that's about it. You can set your camera on Manual or Aperture Priority like I do. I adjust my Aperture by the ring on the lens and focus and shoot. If you're in Manual you do the same but set the shutter speed like normal. So that's really all there is to do. So if you have a vintage lens you only have to come out of pocket about 25 dollars or so for the adapter and you can rock and roll with a vintage lens.

So be the cool kid on the block like me? LOL ! And until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 135mm 28mm adapter blog camera settings focal length gear landscape learning Lens Max Stansell Photography Mojo portrait street travel vintage website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/vintage-lenses-on-new-cameras Fri, 29 Mar 2024 08:34:45 GMT
What's your favorite Lens? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/whats-your-favorite-lens Hey Y'all ! Hope your having a great week. Me pretty good. This week I want to talk about my favorite lens and maybe you can tell me your favorites. Now lenses are not like children even though we may treat them as carefully as we do our children. We do have favorites! For me usually the favorite is the newest but not always. I've gone through lots of lenses during my photography career. I even own the first one I bought from a friend Cliff Clark while I was in high school. Back in the day when I started in photography it was film and I had a 50mm that came with the camera and longed for a longer lens. Cliff had one for sell a 135mm f2.8 Chinion lens. It was sharp with plenty of contrast. I still have this lens although I don't really use it I have adapted it to some of my miriness cameras. It was a manual lens like all lenses were back then and my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be. LOL My first Favorite Lens.

My Favorite focal range is in the mid-telephoto range like a 24-70. My first one in this range was back when I was shooting Nikon. I had the holy trinity of lenses. I had a 16-35mm , 24-70 and 70-200. But by far my most used was the 24-70 f2.8 lens. This Nikon lens was sharp had great contrast quick to focus and just a dream to shoot with. It was built like a tank and was heavy like one also. I've taken so many fantastic photo's with this lens and loved it dearly. This may be the reason I hung onto my Nikon gear so long after I started shooting mirrorless.  It was hard to sell this great lens but I had to let it go for newer gear in the mirrorless family I was shooting. The next favorite lens in this focal range was the Sony 16-55mm f2.8 lens. This is a crop sensor lens made by Sony for the crop sensor cameras that I shoot. The effective full frame equivalent is 24-82mm right in my wheelhouse for photography.  I still have this lens and love it dearly and am not planning on getting rid of it anytime soon. It is also very sharp and very quick to focus and built like a tank also. But what about other focal ranges?

Wide angle lenses. I've had a few wide angel lenses and have had a few that I really like. One of my first was a prime lens that I had got for my full frame Nikon. It was a 14mm f2.8 Rokinon lens. It was an inexpensive but sharp lens and built like a tank. It was a manual lens and was great for astro photography. My next favorite was on my crop sensor mirrorless Sony its the 10-18 f4 lens made by Sony.  It is an older lens but is still a fantastic lens. I've used it on lots of landscapes and waterfalls. Its super sharp lens and is still in my kit. I also have one for my full frame camera 16-35 F4 lens. It may be one of the few lenses that I have bought brand new as most of them I buy used. This lens works great for my full frame and has a aperture ring on it which I love for changing my aperture.

How about longer lenses? Besides my first lens I talked about earlier I've got two lenses that I have used that were my favorites in the past. The first one is when I was shooting Nikon a 70-200 f2.8 lens. This was a fantastic lens for many photography styles. First it was a great portrait lens super for head shots with great bokeh. I have used it to shoot weddings a great walking around lens to get all of those great candid shots. It was great for landscape photography for isolation shots and last but not least it was great when used in conjunction with a 2.0 converter for wildlife. This is a super lens and hated to see it go. It was built like a tank and was super heavy especially holding it for a wedding my arms would get sore. The next lens was built for my crop sensor camera its the 70-350mm that gives me a 105-525mm full frame focal length. This lens is super sharp and quick to focus and I always get stunning photo's when I use this lens which is still in my kit.

Primes. Lets not forget these great lenses. As a old film photographer I really love my primes since zooms back then were inferior to the prime lenses. Prime lenses are great! They are inexpensive , sharp, and  have wide apertures .  What's not to like. My first favorite was my Pentax 50mm f1.7. I've had many 50mm lenses but the first one is my favorite and I have a copy of one now on a Pentax film camera. My next one is the Nikon 85mm f1.8 lens. This was a fantastic portrait lens and street photography lens. I hated to sell this lens but the person I sold it to "Caitlin" loves this lens also. I've also had this lens in the Sony mount and love it. I now have a 20mm f1.8 that may be my favorite prime right now. Its a Sony and has an aperture ring and is a fantastic astro photography lens but can be used on my crop sensor camera as a street lens at a 30mm full frame  equivalent.

Now for the winner, winner, chicken dinner! This is an all purpose lens that touches the wide , mid and telephoto ranges. It is "spoiler alert" is my newest lens. I have used this lens for a couple of months now.  And it's been on the full frame over 90% of the time since I've got it. It's the 24-105mm f4 lens by Sony. It's sharp quick to focus and is built like a tank. It's my all in one lens. I bought it used from MPB. I traded some not so favorite lenses for it. How long will it be my favorite? Not sure I do have two more lenses coming but for now it is . What is your favorite? Until next week Get out and shoot your favorite lens! 

PS. It's been a while since I've written this blog and my favorite has changed! A couple of times. LOL I'm now in love with a 50mm and a 28mm lens that I shoot on a Sony A7C and my Pentax MX film camera that I have the same set up. It will probably change again. LOL Get shooting!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning low light Max Stansell Photography Photography primes standard Zooms street Telephoto travel website wide angle wide aperture workshops Zooms https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/whats-your-favorite-lens Fri, 22 Mar 2024 09:00:00 GMT
Scanning Film https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/scanning-film Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week! This week is a continuation of last week about scanning your photo negatives to get them into your computer and into Lightroom or Photoshop. First let me start off as saying I am not a professional at scanning but I do it pretty well for me.  If you are an avid photographer you probably already have the tools you need to do this. So lets start there, what you'll need.

 

 

  1. Film Negatives
  2. Digital Camera
  3. Tripod or stand
  4. Light Box

I'm sure you already have these things if you're reading this .  The digital camera can be any modern digital
camera . I'm using a Sony A7C that is a 24 MP full frame camera. But it doesn't matter if it's crop sensor or full frame sensor. Megapixels doesn't matter all that much either but more would be better but whatever you have will be fine. For lenses almost anything will work I'm using a Macro lens set up but a 50mm
prime will work too. Some sort of tripod or stand . I have converted an old black and white enlarger stand that I didn't use anymore into a copy stand but tripod will work.  Light box of some kind. I'm using an old iPad that I don't use anymore and googled white and saved a white photo. Cranked up the brightness on it and it seems to work. I did put a diffuser on it that I had laying around. I would suggest defusing the light if you can. But you can buy light boxes from Amazon for under 50 bucks. And really that's the basics of what you need. 

The how to's.  First set up your tripod or stand and set up your light box underneath.  Try to make sure that your camera and your light box are level. You don't want to distort your photo by having your camera tilted one way or the other. Place the negative in a negative holder or flat on the light box. Use black construction paper
to frame the negative so your camera will only be focusing on the light coming through the negative. Focus and take photo. Care must be taken on keeping dust and particles off of the negative. Negatives create static and are magnets for dust and stray particles. The cleaner you keep the negatives the less work you will have in Lightroom or Photoshop removing all of the dust.  Also leave a little of the space between each photo in when you take the photo. That clear space is perfect for getting the correct white balance. And that's it for the scanning now to the computer!

Now load those photo's onto your computer. I do most of my editing in Lightroom but you could use photoshop just as well. Once you have them in you have a scanned negative but you don't want a negative you want a positive. There are two ways to do this. The manual way and the easy way. I have done both. The manual way is basically going into the curves section of your photo and reversing everything. This will make a positive but the colors will need to be tweaked and basic panel can also be tweaked. But remember everything is backwards! So if you try to increase exposure with the slider you have to darken to lighten and vice versa. The easy way is to get some sort of plugin in Lightroom or action photoshop. I have used both in the past. The one Im using now is "Negative Lab Pro" in Lightroom. This is my workflow now.  First after I get into Lightroom I create a virtual copy of the negative and stack them. I edit the copy that way if I screw it up I can get my original scan without having to actually re-scan the negative. One I have the scan I take it into the develop module. I make sure it's oriented correctly . Sometimes they are backwards and you can just flip horizontally. Then I get the white balance picker and choose the space between negatives. Then I crop. I then bring up the plugin . I have many choices to choose from but for this I just choose basic and hit the convert button. It converts the Negative into a Positive photo and your colors should be close . I then look for spots and specs of debris that was on the negative and remove with the healing tool. If I need to sharpen. Old manual lenses and old eyes sometimes it's not in focus. I'll take to Topaz AI Sharpener. If you have grainy photo's that's just the way film looks and a de-noise program will not work because those spots your seeing are not noise its grain in the film. And you are basically done. You can print or send to social media.  It's pretty awesome and is fun to do. It can be a little time consuming but worth it in the end and you did it your self. The whole process to go from film to Negative to Scan cost approximately one or two dollars per roll. Compared to the 12-20 dollars a roll to a professional lab that will send you back your negatives. A big savings and the results can look great! And the more you do it the better you will become.  You can practice on old negatives you might have in your closet in a shoe box somewhere. There are all kinds of tutorials on Youtube where they will take you through the manual process of converting Negatives to Positives. It's pretty easy. Now this is a basic set up to get you started you can improve your photo's by using better lightbox than an iPad. One that has a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of 90 or better. I did and my scans did improve. So until next week get out and shoot! Some film!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog copy stand gear iPad iPhone Lab landscape learning Lightbox macro Max Stansell Photography Negative negatives NLP Photography Pro scanning SonyA7C website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/scanning-film Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:00:00 GMT
How I Develop Print Film https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/how-i-develop-print-film Hey Everyone! Hope your week is going well! This week I want to talk about how I develop my film. Yes I said film! There is something about film that I really like. It's like listening to old vinyl record albums . Something about the analog system. I won't get into many specifics of how but an overview. I have been developing film off and on for more than 40 years. I have developed black and white film and color slide film and now color print film. It's a lot easer than you think. If you can bake a cake you can develop film. It's all about following directions that come with the chemistry that you are using. Depending on the manufacture of the chemistry you're using the only thing that really changes is the time and temperature of the chemicals that you use. One of the reason that I am developing my own film is that its a lot cheaper than sending it off to a professional lab. I already have all of the special tools that you will need to process your film. So all I had to do is find all of my stuff get some chemicals and go. If you have been reading my blogs you can see that I'm doing a film project where I use a film camera and at the end of the year make a photo book of what I've captured. I have some film that I bought a few years ago before it got so expensive and I'm going to use it for the project. The last time I developed film was in 2019 before COVID.  I was really surprised how much the price of things have gone up! But that's another story. I'll also tell you how after the film is developed I scan the negatives with my digital camera to get them into Lightroom or Photoshop and make them ready to print. So that's a lot lets get started.

Tools you'll need. This will sound like a lot but you can buy kits with everything for under 150 dollars.

  • -Developing Tank and film reels. This is a light proof tank that all of the film processing will take place.
  • -Changing bag. This is the light proof place that you put the film onto the reels into the developing tank 
  • -Chemical bottles. This is what the stored chemistry is kept in . You can reuse the chemicals for up to 20 rolls of film.
  • -1000 ml graduated measuring cup
  • -Thermometer to get the chemicals to a certain temperature.
  • -Timer, You can use your phone
  • -Disposable rubber gloves to keep the chemicals off of your skin

Any other items you'll need you'll have at home like scissors and a bottle opener . So here is the process to develop the film.

First you have to get the film onto the reels and in the developing tank in complete darkness. This is where the changing bag comes into play.  This takes some practice and I would try on a dummy roll of film if you have one before trying it on the real thing.  Inside the changing bag you'll place scissors, bottle opener, film, developing tank and reels. Close the end of the double sided bag and place your arms into the sleeves. You then open the film with the bottle opener cut the film leader off with the scissors then thread onto the reels and put inside the tank and secure the tank before taking your arms back out. When this is done you're ready to process the film that is inside the lightproof tank. You can now take everything out of the changing bag.

Mix the chemicals . For color print film the process that you use is C41 it will be printed on the film box of the film your using. This is the process that is used for most color print film. Black and white is a different process and slide film is even different than that. You mix the chemicals according to the directions that come with them. Making sure to clean your funnels and mixing stick between not to cross contaminate the chemicals. 

Next is getting all of the chemicals to a certain temperature. It is usually 102-106 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is easily done by placing all the chemical bottles in a larger tub full of water at the desired temp using the Thermometer. You will have to add hot water to keep the chemicals at the desired temp during the process to keep the temp in range.

Now down to business. Follow the instructions that came with your chemicals! These instructions are just what mine were yours may be different. This is where your timer comes into play or your phone.

  1. Pre-wash film by putting warm water into the tank and let sit for a min. Then dump out.
  2. Add Developer to tank for 3 min. Agitate every 30 seconds(this is to dislodge any bubbles) then pour developer back into storage bottle
  3. Wash with water for 1 min. Change water 3 times
  4. Add Bleach to tank for 3 min. Agitate every 30 seconds(this is to dislodge any bubbles) then pour developer back into storage bottle
  5. Wash with water for 1 min. Change water 3 times
  6. Add Fixer into tank for 5min. Agitate every 30 seconds(this is to dislodge any bubbles) then pour developer back into storage bottle
  7. Wash film thoroughly at least 6 times. You can open the development tank now and see your negatives!
  8. Hang film to dry with a weight at the bottom so film doesn't curl.

Thats basically it. Keeping times precise and temperatures accurate are a must. Making sure your utensils and funnels to get chemicals back into storage bottles clean between chemicals is also important. I know it sounds like a lot but after you've done it a couple of times you'll be a pro. Just follow the directions. Really the hardest part is getting the film onto the reels and into the tank is the hardest part. You can develop 2 rolls of film at a time. All of this developing can be done at your kitchen or bathroom sink. I would suggest the kitchen because you have more room.  Now you have negatives of your film I cut into five frame strips and put in a protective sheet that has sleeves for the negatives. The next step is to Scan and get them into your computer. If you had all the equipment you could print with an old time Enlarger in a darkroom but that's a lot it's much easier and better on the computer. I'll have to explain that in another blog next week since this one has dragged on. So until next week get outside and shoot! Some Film!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog C41 DevelopingTanks Film Home landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/how-i-develop-print-film Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:00:00 GMT
12 Rolls, an additional Photo Project. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/12-rolls-an-additional-photo-project Hey ya'll! Hope you're having a great week! Me doing great. This week I wanted to talk about an additional photo project I'm starting on top of the one I'm already doing on small towns in eastern NC. I'm an older guy who started my photography journey in the film days in the era of manual only! I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos on film photography. I pulled out some of my old cameras and started checking the meters on the ones that have meters to make sure they still read correctly. And they did. I had at least 3 cameras that still had film in them. Now I used to develop my own film and even printed way back in the day in a make shift darkroom that I converted my bathroom into. But the problem with doing that is that you have to do a lot of film stuff to make the developing part really worth it because if you don't you'll do a couple of rolls and then you won't touch for years and your chemicals just go bad. I just got rid of some chemicals that were dated 2018! LOL  Back then I was shooting more film and having fun. I could actually get film fairly cheaply. But when COVID hit and the lock down a lot of younger photographers got interested in film and shooting film became cool. So film stock , cameras and everything associated with shooting film Guitar CrosswalkGuitar Crosswalk got expensive and harder to find. So while rummaging through my stuff I found 12 rolls of film that I had bought rather cheaply a few years ago. So I got to thinking . Maybe I should do a film project and name it 12 rolls.  Shoot the 12 rolls and make a book out of the good photo's I get.  Not to become a full time film shooter but maybe take the camera with me when I go on a workshop or an outing and take a few shots with film until the 12 rolls are exposed . So which camera to use? I have a couple that I would be comfortable with using for the project. A 1961 Canon Canonet rangefinder and a 1982 Pentax MX SLR. I also have an Olympus Point and shoot just one step up from a disposable camera that my mother had. I decided on the Pentax because it has a meter built in (which I just checked to be accurate) . And I also have multiple lenses that I can use with it as the Canon has a 45mm fixed lens. As the title indicates I have 12 rolls of fujifilm color 200 35mm film. I do not plan to develop these rolls myself. I still have to research but I want a company that will develop my film and send me the negatives and downloadable scans would be fine. But I plan on using my camera to scan these negatives and processing them in Photoshop to get what I want out of them. I have done just a little research and most of the companies don't send back your Pentax MXPentax MXPentax MX, My Pentax MX from 1982 Super camera works great! negatives and this is a must for me or I will just do them myself.

So what will I take photo's of ?  My photography life. If I go out to shoot wildlife with a friend maybe a shot of my friend with his camera setup with a in the wild background. If I'm shooting travel like our camera clubs spring trip to Savannah and the low country. I'll shoot iconic scenes and maybe shot of my friends. So it will tag along with me on all of my shoots. The only downside? I'll be lugging around extra gear. LOL I'm very excited to start this project. Film just has a look to it . It's hard to explain but it has a look. Can't wait to see the end Bell and Howell Canon Canonet 19Bell and Howell Canon Canonet 19Bell and Howell Canon Canonet 19,1961 Range finder Camera Fun to shoot! project and it will be good to use an old friend my film camera that I haven't used too much since digital came around. So now I have two photography projects going on at the same time should be an exciting year!

Until next week pick a photography project and get shooting!

PS. I have been checking photo labs and the prices are through the roof to get a roll of film processed at an average of 15 dollars a roll. I can get the chemicals to do 20 rolls of film for under 30 dollars. So I'll be developing mine again. Hopefully I don't mess them up too much. Other blogs will cover the process of processing the film and scanning the film. Cheers!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Film gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Pentax Photo Book Photography Project street website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/3/12-rolls-an-additional-photo-project Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Migrating to new Mac Mini M2. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/migrating-to-new-mac-mini-m2 Hey Everyone! Hope ya'll are doing great. As a spoiler alert I will be talking about computers on this blog. Computers are a big part of photography and I think that going over my transition from a 2015 iMac to a Mac Mini M2 computer and all the trials and tribulations that this process brought to me. First let me tell you that it was a great success and I'm using my new computer and it works great. I am very pleased. I was nervous prior to transferring everything over. I have used my old iMac for almost 8 years and came very fond of it. Most of my best photo's were edited on it and this blog began on it. First I had to prepare for the migration. The migration is transferring all of the data and settings from your old computer to the new computer so its set up and has all the files that your old computer had.

Preparing . I first wanted to clean up my old computer. I have a 1TB drive on my old iMac and only a 512gb on the new Mac Mini. So I went in and deleted old Lightroom backups they take up a lot of space and I deleted everything except for the last month. I had a lot of files in my Documents folder so I copied all of  those files to an external hard drive. I had lots of video clips and movies that I had made I either removed them completely or put on an external drive. I wanted my old iMac to be as lean and mean as it could before the migration. I wanted the migration to be as smooth as possible. I knew that the migration would take some time and I wanted it to go as quickly as possible. I had to also make sure that I had an extra keyboard and mouse to run the old computer because the new computer I was going to use the one I have on the iMac. I had to scramble a little because I just got rid of a whole lot older computer equipment to include keyboards. I did find a portable blue tooth one that I had when I was using my iPad Mini for my main travel computer. Whew! Before the migration I disconnected all of the external hard drives I had attached to the iMac. Now I was ready for the new computer.

The Mac Mini didn't show up until 4:30 in the afternoon on the day that our camera club had a meeting so I had to wait until the next morning before I could start. It was worse than Christmas for a little kid wanting to open presents. LOL. The next morning I hooked up my new computer to the new monitor. You can transfer the info during migration 3 ways by WiFi, ethernet or thunderbolt.  I chose Ethernet because it was faster than wifi and I didn't have thunderbolt on the old iMac. Yes it's that old. So I broke out a ethernet switch and hooked a cable from the switch to each computer. I went online with my iPad and found the apple video on the procedures . I turned on my iMac and went to the Migration wizard . I turned on the the new computer got my old keyboard and mouse connected and started the start up process then it got to the migration part. I followed the instructions on the iPad and then it got to the part where all the info is transferred over .  It took about 45min to an hour for it to be complete. Now for the obstacles .

All of the obstacles were software related. First you have to sign into iCloud so you need to know your password. You also need to know a lot of passwords to different programs you have. I hooked up on of my external drives and nothing. This was the drive that has all of my photo's on it. Most external drives are windows based and you need a program to let your Mac talk to the drive. After I downloaded a newer version of this program the drive showed up. I had to update a lot of my programs because my old computer had an intel chip in it and the new computer has Apple silicon. This took a while but worked . I like to use clean my Mac by Macpaw on my computer. It has anti virus stuff and cleans and runs scrips to keep your computer running fast and smooth. Then there was the reactivation of all my software like Topaz and On1. So after a day or so I got everything running smooth. I'm sure something will come up in the future but I've got it 99 % done. Being patient and following the directions will let you do this easily. So until Next week Keep Shooting and get outside! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog data ethernet iMac keyboard landscape learning M2 MacMini Max Stansell Photography migration mouse Photography router settings thunderbolt website wifi workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/migrating-to-new-mac-mini-m2 Fri, 23 Feb 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Upgrading my Main Computer https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/upgrading-my-main-computer Hey Everyone! How's your week been? Me? So So. I have been dreading upgrading my computer for a few years. This week I want to go through the process that is was to choose the correct one for me. Like many of you , You know our world is surrounded by computers. We all have phones that are mini computers we may have laptops or some sort of tablet and then there is our main computer. Some sort of desktop computer with a monitor and keyboard and mouse. This main computer is where I do the majority of my photo and video editing where I write my blogs that you're reading now. I know that big desktop computers are dwindling in popularity and the younger folks a laptop will do but for me I need the larger computer. I am a Mac user and have been rocking the iMac 27 inch since 2015. I did upgrade the hard drives and the ram to solid state drives and 32gb of ram. But it is long in the tooth as computers go and Apple does not support it anymore. I knew this day was coming but I was trying to put it off as long as I could. But the day came when Adobe Lightroom would not update because the operating system is too old. there are some workarounds to upgrade my operating system and I tried on an old laptop but it was too unreliable for my main computer.  So to upgrade is the only answer. The perfect answer was to get another iMac to replace this one. But they do not make the 27 inch any more only a 24 inch one and I don't think I could go back in size on the monitor. I did hear that they may come out with one in the future but it would be very expensive. And I need a computer now. All I knew is I wanted to stick with Mac because all the electronics I own are Apple and I have never had a problem with any of them in the past and the ecosystem that they live in is great. 

The system I chose to get was the Mac Mini .  This system has been out for years .  It is a small flat box that sits on your desk and takes up less room than a good sized book. Your keyboard and mouse hook up by blue tooth so no cords there. The only catch is you have to get a separate monitor to attach to it. There are many configurations of the Mac Mini. I've got the one that has the M2 chip in it. The older Macs were powered by Intel chips but Apple decided to make their own and this is the second generation of that processing chip. I'll be getting 512 gigabytes of storage and 16mb of ram on this machine. But the monitor is the big decision to make.  On my iMac the screen is a 5K an excellent monitor but it can't be used as a separate monitor with the Mac Mini. So I'll have to get a new monitor. 5k monitors are expensive and really hard to find. The easy choice would be to get one from Apple but the Studio Display that they sell is 1600 dollars. It would cost as much as the system I'm creating. So its not a choice for me. Don't get me wrong its a great monitor but not in my price range. Now there are  literally hundreds of different kinds of monitors to choose from. I wanted one that was as close to the monitor I had on the iMac as I could without breaking the bank. A 27inch one that is as close to the 5K monitor that I could get. I did a lot of research and without getting into the weeds of monitor specs I decided on a BenQ 27inch 4K Designer Monitor. This monitor is designed for creatives and the colors are fantastic. You still can spend a lot of money on monitors up to 1000 dollars is easy to do . This one is a mid priced one and I got it during black Friday sale to save some extra dollars. I had this monitor on a list of other monitors but what took me over the edge on this one was the sale and all the good reviews I have seen on youtube of this monitor.

Other accessories.  The keyboard is the same one that I used for the iMac and same with mouse and my external drives. I will have a 2 terabyte solid state drive that I will use for files and be the buffer of my main computer just like I do with a 250 gb SSD that I have on my iMac. I've got a docking station with extra ports and it will house the 2 TB SSD and will have a SD card reader in it also. I plan on taking the iMac since it's such a good screen and convert it to a monitor by gutting out all of the components and installing a special circuit board that will make this monitor a stand alone and it will be the second monitor of my system. But I'll do that in the future right now I have a small smart TV that I'm using as a second monitor really just to watch TV on while I sit at my desk.  I will put out another blog on how I've set everything up and the migration of my info on the old computer to the new one and the transfer of license of different programs that I use to include my cloud storage.  As of this writing which is a few months in the future of this blog being posted I've received my monitor but not the computer yet. It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I should get my computer from Apple in a week or so. I'm still using my iMac which I love until the new one gets all set up. 

So until next week. Get out and shoot! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) BenQ blog Computer external drives iMac keyboard landscape learning Lightroom M2chip MacMini Max Stansell Photography monitor mouse multi port Photography Ram Upgrade website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/upgrading-my-main-computer Fri, 16 Feb 2024 10:00:00 GMT
2024 Photo Project https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/2024-photo-project Roanoke River LighthouseRoanoke River Lighthouse Hey Everyone! Hope your week is going well! This week I want to talk about a photo project I have in mind for 2024. I think that photography projects are great! They tend to fill out the times when we are not traveling taking photos with our families or friends. But what to take photo's of ?  My answer is things that interest you. A few years ago I did a photo project on visiting all of the state parks in North Carolina. I printed a map with all of the parks on them and marked them off as I visited them. It was quite the challenge because it was the year Covid raised its ugly head and things were closed for quite a while but I did get them all in and made a cool book of all the state parks. This year I wanted a project that would take me on day trips that I could grab my wife and dog and take off for a nice trip. Or if my wife was busy I could just take off on a little exploration photography trip. But what to take photo's of? Living in eastern North Carolina I could have chosen a number of things to photograph. Tobacco Barns has always been interesting to me. They are a dying thing as they don't use the old tobacco barns and they are rotting and falling down. Or since I live in the Bible belt maybe Churches of eastern NC. There are some really old and historic ones that would make great photographs. Maybe light houses but there is only 7 here in NC so a yearly project might not be the way to go but a cool project none the less.  So there are many choices to choose from. I'm sure you can think of lots of them yourself. Maybe the fall of the small family farm and the rise of solar panel farms popping up everywhere.  But that would be more of a journalistic Photography and you would really have to be ingrained in the farm community like the son or daughter of a farmer.  I think that a good project is one that you are familiar with. Like the State parks I had visited almost all of them before but not in one year.

I have lived in eastern North Carolina all my life except for my time in the military. I went to high school in a small eastern town and have traveled all over eastern NC.  So my project for 2024 is to visit and photograph the small towns in eastern NC. Now there are lots of towns but I grew up only a block away from the Albemarle sound. So small towns with water connected to them in some sort or way. But I didn't want it to become a beach project full of touristy shots of sandy beaches and piers so ocean beach towns are out. I want small towns that maybe are on a lake or a river or sound that in the early days of the towns existence these waterways was the only mode of transportation or commerce. There are quite a few of these and my family tree ,which winds through the beginning of our country here in eastern NC. So I may explore that more also. My family  came into the states in the late 1600's so right at the beginning of the colonization of the states from England. So I am very interested in the history of these small towns and the region .  When I think of the project I think of the book that I will eventually make.  A two page spread with a town and a small explanation or write up on each town.  I want to tell the story of the town in photo's.  Much like a brochure would if you were promoting the town. I think traveling to all these small towns and spending the day walking the streets and visiting the coffee shops and restaurants and diners of these small towns would be a fantastic way to spend maybe a day a week .  I have a list started with 16 towns on it but I'm sure as I get out and about many more will come .  Do you have any photo projects?  You should. Photo projects are a great Barker House Light HouseBarker House Light House way to expand your photography skills and are just fun to do.  If you don't know what to shoot a photography project will solve that problem. Now that I have announced this project I have to complete it. Thats the hard part but I'm looking forward to exploring small towns near me.  Until next week . Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog book camping landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography project small towns street travel website workshops yearly https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/2024-photo-project Fri, 09 Feb 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Washington NC Photowalk https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/washington-nc-photowalk Hey Y'all ! Hope you're having a great week. This week I want to talk about a recent photowalk I did in Washington NC. Not Washington DC. LOL This is a little town population about 10000 and is located in eastern North Carolina in Beaufort County. It is the county seat and is located at the intersection of the Tar River and the Pamlico River and then flows into the Pamlico Sound. It is known to most North Carolinians as "Little Washington" not to get it confused with Washington DC. Little Washington is home to one of the largest historical districts featuring Victorian era homes and ante-bellum homes. Among some of its famous former residents are  journalist Charles Kuralt and film producer Cecil B. DeMille. All of this information I have pulled off of the City of Washington web page. What I can tell you from experience is that being located on the water there are all kind of water activities from fishing, kayaking, sailboarding , and sailing. Also outdoor recreation in hunting. The town has been transformed into a town trying to attract tourist and the downtown is full of shops and restaurants .  Let me tell you about my trip.

I have been cooped up in the house due to weather being cold and also rainy from the holidays last year and I needed to get out. This town is on the list of my photography project "Small towns in Eastern NC" so this was a good preliminary visit. I have been here before but it has been years and I didn't remember much. So me and my wife got in the car and headed about an hour or so north to visit this little town. We parked in the harbor district by the docks and started walking. The streets have been lined with brick but not red brick like you see everywhere these were tan bricks and look very nice. We headed toward main street and noticed that there are crab statues all painted up in various places in town. Kind of a town mascot I guess my county does the same thing with pigs and I have seen it done with bears also in another town Newbern. There is an under ground railroad museum that was closed when we went by but it's housed in a rail car in a pretty yard with a big mural on a wall.  We then started walking through the town at all the quant shops and older buildings. Being in the bible belt there were a few churches but one stood out the Saint Peters Episcopal church established in 1822. Where there was the church and old grave yard with revolutionary era graves there. We had a wonderful time walking the streets and taking photos. There is a North Carolina Estuarium there that is a learning center that we wanted to visit but it was closed also. For lunch we ate hot dogs from Bills Hotdog stand. It one of those local places that have been there since 1928 and is a staple of the community. So we got the specials two  hotdogs all the way chips and drink for 6 dollars and some change. They were pretty good. We jumped in our car and investigated some more stuff before we headed to our next destination which was "Goose Creek State Park" only 20 minutes away. After a short visit there we headed back home. I really enjoyed my trip to Little Washington and can't wait to go back in the spring. 

Until next week get out and explore and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Eastern NC gear learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Photowalk street travel Tutorial Washington NC website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/2/washington-nc-photowalk Fri, 02 Feb 2024 09:44:27 GMT
Shooting in Super 35mm? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/shooting-in-super-35mm Hey Everyone! How's your week going? Mine? Fantastic! At the time of writing this blog it is a week before Thanksgiving and I am already in the holiday mood! Too early for my brain but just right for my heart. This week I want to talk about shooting in Super 35mm mode or Crop mode as it may be referred too, I think Nikon calls it DX mode. What is Super 35mm mode? Basically its making your full frame sensor shoot like a crop sensor. Your camera crops the shot only using the middle of the sensor down to the APSC crop sensor size. Now why would you ever want to do this? Well I can think of a couple of reasons why.

If you shoot Sony like I do the crop sensor and the full frame cameras have the same lens mount. Which means you can swap back and forth lenses between each type of camera. Now why would you want to do that? One reason is just for practicality .  Instead of buying two lenses  one for each camera you only buy one that can be used by both. Usually people buy full frame lenses and use on both of their camera body types for the reason that the full frame lens is big enough to cover the crop sensor sensor completely. Full frame lenses are larger and can easily be used on crop sensor camera's but you have to add that 1.5 crop factor. Multiplying by 1.5 will give you the full frame equivalent of the lens on your crop sensor camera. The sensor being smaller its like cropping in on a full frame or zooming in. So a 35mm lens on a crop sensor would be like a 50mm on a full frame.  So now that we have that explanation out of the way back to the why would you need to swap lenses between cameras. I've recently started using a full frame camera again after years of using a crop sensor camera. Now I'm transitioning back over to a full frame camera. I have fantastic lenses for my crop sensor camera especially my long lens. A 70-350mm which is a 105-525mm equivalent lens. Now I don't shoot much past 100mm but if for some reason I need to shoot longer I could use this crop sensor lens on my full frame camera and my camera will know what type of lens is on and automatically switch to Super 35mm or Crop mode giving me that 105-525mm reach. This will save me lots of money on a full frame equivalent to this lens that I won't use too much. So that's a positive of Super 35mm.

Another way to use the Super 35mm or Crop mode is with prime lenses. Let me give you an example. Say I'm out doing street photography and I have a 50mm lens on my full frame camera. I see something a little out of reach that I can't walk to. I can push a button on my camera that I have programed to put my camera in Super 35 mode and it automatically switches into crop mode and my lens is now equivalent to a 75mm without me having to change lenses. When I'm through I can hit the button again and I'm back at 50mm. Very convenient when you're out shooting and not having to change lenses all of the time. Another great advantage of  Super 35mm mode.

So if Super 35mm mode is so great why isn't everyone using it all of the time? Well for one reason most people just don't know about it. Or maybe their camera system doesn't offer it. I'm not sure about other camera systems just Sony but I'm sure they have something similar. The biggest disadvantage to shooting a full frame camera in crop mode or Super 35mm mode is that when you crop into a full frame sensor you lose megapixels. 1.5 times the megapixels to be exact.  That can be a lot. If you have a 24 megapixel camera and you use crop mode its down to 10 megapixel which is small compared to today's standards. But if you have a larger megapixel like say a 60 megapixel camera your still shooting a 37 megapixels. So depending on what kind of camera you have I really don't think that this is such a disadvantage as smaller sensor camera's are.

Knowing what your camera can and can't do can really impact your photography and your wallet .  You may not need to buy that new equipment or gear to do what you need to do or you might just need to read the manual of your camera.  Hopefully I have brought something new into your photography. Until next week get out and shoot! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) APSC blog gear landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography megapixel Photography prime Street Super 35 Urban website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/shooting-in-super-35mm Fri, 26 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Sony A7C New EDC? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/sony-a7c-new-edc Hey Everyone! Hope your week is going great! Mine pretty well. This week I want to talk about yet another change in my camera kit set up. I know it's been nothing but changes so far this year. My current EDC (every day carry) camera is a Canon G7XII which I got a few years ago to take on a trip with my wife to Washington DC instead of my regular camera Kit. It became my EDC camera for when I traveled back and forth to work and to the store and such. So if I needed a camera or a shot that suddenly appeared I would use it. Now it's in my hiking backpack and I only used it when I'm hiking but it does stay  with my backpack and rides in my car everywhere I go. But since I've retired I really don't need something as small and compact as the little camera that the Canon Point and Shoot is. I have a little more room and I'm not in such of a hurry as I have no place I have to get to in a hurry. As I joke with all of my friends " Every Day is Saturday except Sunday" LOL  As you have read in my previous blogs I have gone full time full frame sensor shooting and not crop sensor shooting anymore.  My main camera is a full sized Sony Mirrorless camera and all the full frame large lenses that come with it.  Too big of a kit for everyday and casual shooting that the EDC takes care of. I have always liked range finder cameras for this type of photography especially the Leica's. But buying a Leica is like buying a sports car they are very expensive for what you get. I do like the Fujifilm camera's' for this also the X-Pro Series of camera's . But they are crop sensor camera's and I would have to get different lenses to fit them and they become expensive and I'll have two separate kits one of the things I was trying to avoid. In 2020 Sony came out with a camera that is compact and rangefinder shape and to me was trying to compete with Fujifilm with a retro look that Fuji cameras definitely have. Most Sony camera's are all black and this one had an option for a silver top like the older camera's and Fuji's come with. I chose to use the A7C as my EDC camera for all of those reasons and more. The A7C is a full frame camera and uses the same sensor as my full frame camera. It is basically the same size and shape as my crop sensor Sony's that I have been shooting for years. It can use all of the lenses that I have for my full frame Sony so it works for a great Backup camera.  I also ordered a 50mm 2.5 compact lens that was really designed for the A7C which will pair great with the A7C and my Full sized Sony. I believe that this camera will be great for casual shooting and street photography. It looks good is small and compact and packs just as much as a punch as my Full Sized camera does.  It doesn't have as many custom buttons as my Full sized Sony but I kind of like that it makes it simple to shoot and I won't have to think as much. As you know I'm not a big thinker! LOL!  I am very excited about taking this little camera everywhere I go whether it's the coffee shop or to a Camera Club Meeting. Well that's it for this week . Whats your EDC? Is it just your phone or do you have a specific camera set aside just for a EDC? Until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) A7C A7III backup blog compact EDC gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography retro Sony street urban website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/sony-a7c-new-edc Fri, 19 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Tarboro NC Photowalk https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/tarboro-nc-photowalk Hey Y'all ! Hope you're doing well. I've just started a photography project of visiting small towns in eastern North Carolina and learning about them and photographing them. Today I want to talk about a little charming town located on the Tar River. Tarboro. Like most of the little towns I'm going to explore this one was incorporated before the revolutionary war in 1760. It like many towns in the eastern US boast that George Washington slept here and he did in 1791.   Being in the bible belt there are many beautiful Churches and buildings in Tarboro.  Now I'm no expert on Tarboro and don't claim to be I'm just learning about this little town. With a population around 10,000 this little town is twice the size of the one I grew up in. So I know small town charm and this town has it. It boast to have one of two "original" Town Commons. The other being in Boston. So if that's true I've been to both of them! Pretty cool.  It was considered an inland port up to the Civil War. Farmers would bring their Cotton, Tobacco and other wares to be shipped on steam boats to coastal ports to be shipped around the world. Located in Edgecombe County it is its county seat and has a large and beautiful Courthouse. Now about what I saw on my first trip there.

My wife accompanied me on this trip this first week of January. It was cool and crisp morning with temps around 40 degrees. We started early because I wanted to get good light to shoot in.  It was an hour long drive there and by the time we arrived the sun had come up and the little towns people were just starting to stir. Not knowing the town and doing just a little research we kind of did a drive through the town to see where we would start from. We saw a big mural right beside the visitors center and parked there .  From there we headed toward the Town Commons. I don't know how many acres this is but it's pretty big for a small town. It is speckled with monuments and park benches . Looks like a great place to have a picnic. But not today it was too chilly to stand or sit still long. Along the Town Commons are victorian style houses all kept up well. We walked down the sidewalk enjoying the views. It reminded me much of the town I grew up in. We walked down the side walks toward downtown and the Courthouse stopping along the way to take photo's of interesting buildings and houses. We stopped by a couple of churches that had very unique buildings with large steeples and bell towers. Along main street the concrete sidewalks have been replaced by brick giving it that old time look and feel. Lots of small shops and restaurants line the streets. Looks like the main street businesses in town are still alive and well with very few vacancies of shops or buildings. Many small towns have died with the coming of strip malls and shopping centers but this little town still has charm and vibrance.  We made our way back to our car taking photo's of the Colonial Movie theater and Murals along the way. We parked by what said was the visitor center. We went into what we thought was a manned visitor center but was really just a hall in the public building filled with brochures and pamphlets and maps. It was nice and warm inside so we looked and gathered more materials for research. We got in the car and made a quick trip to a nearby McDonalds for a bathroom and coffee break. Important things for folks our age. There was a Local Coffee shop that we didn't stop by maybe on our next trip when it's warmer. After our break we headed to the Blount-Bridgers House and Arboretum. The house was built in 1808 and kept up pretty well. A retirement home of a Revolutionary war Officer. There are walking trails that take you through the town and you can hear the history of the buildings and history of the town via your smart phone. We were planning on taking one of these walks (2 miles) but when we stepped out of the car the wind was howling and it being 40 degrees we decided to do this walk another day when it warmer. We decided to cut our trip short but I will definitely come back in the spring or summer to this charming town. I am looking forward to returning to Tarboro and exploring the historic district even more. There is an old church and graveyard I want to explore and the riverfront area that we didn't get a chance to see on this trip.  If your out and about and need somewhere to go , checkout this charming little town on the Tar river.

Gear for this project I'm trying to keep very simple I'm using one camera and one lens. My Sony A7III and a 24-105mm lens. This combo should cover all of my needs for checking out these cities. If I decide I need something more I will make a return trip with the gear I need. I'm trying to keep my kit light so I can enjoy my exploring and keeping it to one lens so I don't even have to think about what lens to use because I've only brought one. Just a filter or two and a small Platypod stand that I can use to set my camera on for longer exposures if needed. All of this fits into a sling bag that I can throw across my shoulders and go. I'm trying to keep it simple for this photo project.

Until our next adventure get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog exploring gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography North Carolina photo project Photography photowalks small towns Tarboro travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/tarboro-nc-photowalk Fri, 12 Jan 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Big Changes in 2024! I've Cropped out the Crop. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/big-changes-in-2024-ive-cropped-out-the-crop Hey Everyone! Hope you have had a great week. Me it's been a crazy one so far. I can't believe what I have just done. I'll get to that in a minute. This week I've upgraded my main computer with a Mac Mini. I have been using the same main computer since 2015 so this was a big change for me. I'll get to all of the how the computer change and the migration of my computer in other blogs. But its been a big change. Life is nothing but change after change but when you quit changing its the beginning of the end. You know "Adapt and Overcome". Last year I retired so that was a big change and I'm still adjusting. But today I did something that I thought I would never do. I have packed up all my crop sensor camera's and lenses and shipped them off to MPB. Yep I have got rid of all my crop sensor stuff. If you have followed me you know I am a big advocate of the crop sensor and have been using it exclusively for many years after changing from my Full Frame DSLR Nikon. Well I'm going back. Not to Nikon but to Full Frame. Here is my reasoning. 

For the last couple of years I have been sporting two camera kits. One Crop sensor and one Full Frame. What this means is I have two sets of lenses , Bodies and all of the accessories. If I was using one or the other for a backup on a trip I would have to have two sets of lenses . Although I could have used full frame lenses on my crop sensor camera it makes it kind of out of balance. Full frame lenses being larger making the camera out of balance and front or lens heavy. So in my opinion if you're going to shoot crop sensor camera you should shoot crop sensor lenses also. So I have recently changed to using my Full Frame camera as my main camera and my crop would be my backup. Two kits. The full frame has sparked my photography Mojo again and I'm really starting to shoot more and have more fun with photography again. I have been watching YouTube videos (of course LOL) of this small full frame camera that Sony had put out years ago that has a cult following much like the Fujifilm 100V cameras have now. It's the Sony RX1 R.  It was released in 2013 and has a fixed 35mm lens. So I was thinking I should get one of these camera's but they are so popular they are going for almost 3000 dollars! For a 10 year old camera. And it's only a one fixed lens. Thats more than my Full Frame Sony I have now times 2. Then I started thinking about the Sony's A7C that came out a couple of years ago. It's a full frame camera in a crop sensor body it's virtually the same camera and sensor that I have now but in a crop sensor body. I like that. And it's a couple of years old which means I can get it used which makes it cheaper than the new A7CII that just came out. It's a full frame camera that is in the form of the crop sensor camera that I've been shooting for years with some upgrades. Not to mention that it's Full Frame.

So I have packaged up all of my crop sensor lenses and body and have shipped them off to MPB and trading for a A7C and a 50mm 2.5 compact lens. This "new to me" camera will be a backup camera and a street photography camera .  I can use all of my Full frame lenses and it will be a good backup for my Full frame I have now. It has the larger battery like my Full frame uses so I don't need to buy extra's. It has a full articulating screen which will be nice. The one I'm getting has the silver top to give it a retro look which I like also. Why not? The sensor is the same as my Sony A7III with an upgraded processor. This camera will be great for street and casual photography. So I am very pleased with my decision but it does leave a gap in lenses. I now don't have a long lens in my lineup. The longest I have is a 100mm. I don't use the long end much but will probably get a 70-200 with a 2X converter in the future to plug that gap. Or just rent one when I need it . So lots of changes for 2024. New Computer and New Camera Systems. Once I have the new camera in hand I'll write a review of it with all of the specs. 

So until next week get out and shoot! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) A7C A7III blog crop sensor dynamic range full frame landscape learning low light Max Stansell Photography megapixel one kit Photography Sony website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2024/1/big-changes-in-2024-ive-cropped-out-the-crop Fri, 05 Jan 2024 09:45:37 GMT
Shooting Full Frame Again. My Thoughts? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/shooting-full-frame-again-my-thoughts Hey Y'all! How are you doing this week? Me? I'm doing great! I have been shooting quite regularly after returning from my Fall Colors workshop. After returning I decided to make my Full frame camera my main camera instead of my crop sensor camera. The main reason was financial not really having the funds available right now to upgrade my crop sensor body. I traded some prime lenses that I wasn't using too much to purchase a mid-range zoom for my Full frame camera body making it more versatile instead of using primes all of the time. Now I love my crop sensor camera and will still be using it for longer focal length stuff and maybe street photography for the size and portability. But my full frame will be the main camera for now. Now I really haven't shot a full frame camera for a long time .  The Nikon D800 was really the last time I shot a lot with a full frame and I thought this week would be a good time to tell you my thoughts on using my Full Frame Sony A7III.

The main reason I switched to crop sensor cameras to start with was for the size. As you may know I do a lot of hiking and Backpacking and the size of a Full frame camera was just too much to lug around on a hike.  I started for the size but was surprised by the quality of the photo's I was getting. After deliberating long and hard I decided to switch from Full Frame Nikon DSLR to a Mirrorless Crop Sensor Sony and haven't looked back. I love my Sony camera's and lenses. The first thing that I noticed after I got my mid-range zoom for the full frame was the weight of the new set up. The full frame was considerably heaver . I mean a lot at first. I use a wrist strap with my cameras because the neck strap to me just gets in the way all of the time but the first time I put this combo together I almost changed my thinking. Holding this Full frame was a lot harder to do than the crop sensor. But after a while I got used to it and am still not using the Neck strap. But I may need to do some upper body workouts! LOL

Ergonomics. The other thing that is really different is the ergonomics of the Full frame Sony compared to the Crop sensor Sony. The Full frame Sony is designed much like older DSLR's that I was used in the past. The crop sensor Sony's are more of the Range Finder type camera design. The range finder design has the viewfinder off to one side instead of the middle like DSLRs. Where the buttons and dials are feel better on the Full frame to me than do the Crop sensor cameras. The larger size make it easier to hold to me even though it is much heaver.  The size of the viewfinder is much larger on the Full frame compared to the Crop sensor camera. Making using the viewfinder much easier for older eyes like I have. The resolution of the viewfinder is also better on the Full frame making it easier to see and compose.  I used the display on the Crop Sensor camera maybe 80-90%.  I tend to use it less on the Full Frame maybe 50%. I did change my over the shoulder bag for the Full Frame camera than I was using for my Crop sensor. The older bag which I love wasn't as deep as the bag that I'm using now and with the larger lenses the newer bag works better for the full frame. I say newer I've had this bag for years. One of the ones I bought and didn't use much. I did change the strap to a peak design strap like I did on my other bag that I love so much. But even though its a larger camera the bag seems smaller and hangs and works well. Its a LowePro Event Messenger 150.

Quality. The build of this camera is more robust than the crop sensor camera. It was produced to be an entry level pro camera and it feels like it.  The battery is much larger than the one is in the crop sensor and can last all day if you're just doing photography. Which I love! I don't have to worry about the battery. The sensor size is 24 megapixel just like my crop sensor camera is. Which is great for my computer storage. Also the Full frame sensor is much better in low light. Just physics. The larger sensor just has more surface area to collect light than a crop sensor does. I don't do a lot of low light photography but it will help. Dynamic range is also an area that the crop sensor traditionally looses to the Full frame. In newer camera's I don't think that this is as big a issue as with older camera's like mine. One of the reasons I wan to upgrade my Crop sensor. The full frame has dual card slots which is nice but not a necessity to me. But I can shoot one slot in JPEG and the other slot in RAW which is nice and I always have enough room on my disc's.

Lenses. I actually have a great assortment of lenses to use with the Full frame. I have some primes a 20mm, 50mm and 85mm and have two zooms a 16-35mm and 24-105mm. This is a great assortment of primes that I can use for portraits and wide aperture shooting. The 50mm is a macro lens also. My zooms are high quality zooms that I really love!  The 16-35 is perfect for those wide angel landscapes or for street photography. The 24-105mm is my main lens and the focal lengths that I shoot 95% of the time. I suspect that this lens will be on my lens most of the time. Now I won't have the focal range that I do with my crop sensor camera. The range with it is 15-525mm full frame equivalent with three great lenses. Anything long range I'll be shooting with the crop sensor camera.

I have only been shooting a couple of weeks full time with the Full frame and I really do like the photo's I'm getting out of it. Would I have got the same quality of photo's with the crop sensor? Probably, But I'm enjoying shooting with this new to me Full Frame camera .  I plan on shooting this camera for the next year and then decide if I want to upgrade my crop sensor or my Full frame. LOL What I really know is that I still love shooting and love tinkering with my equipment. Until next week , Get Outside! and Shoot! 
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 16-35 24-105 OSS blog camping crop sensor full frame gear hiking landscape learning Lowpro Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony street travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/shooting-full-frame-again-my-thoughts Fri, 29 Dec 2023 10:30:22 GMT
My Camera Setup for 2024 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/my-camera-setup-for-2024 Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week. The new year is almost here and I wanted to talk about my camera set up for next year. There is quite a change. If you've followed me you know I shoot almost all used equipment. I am mainly a stills photographer so specs on video performance really doesn't matter to me so that's one reason I shoot used. I am retired now so money is also a factor that keeps me in the used market also. I also can trade equipment with the company I use (MPB) which is fun and financially the right thing to do. If you have been following me you know I have been shooting a crop sensor Sony from when I gave up my Nikon D800 for the smaller mirrorless camera's many years ago. I have been a primarily crop sensor shooter although I shoot other camera's also. This year I'm going to switch it up a bit and start shooting a full frame sensor camera for my main camera again. During a recent Fall Colors workshop I noticed that my Sony A6500 was struggling a little in low light conditions. More than my photog friends with newer cameras were. Nothing that can't be fixed in post editing but there was a difference. The Sony A6500 was released in 2016 and was the flagship of the crop sensors for Sony then but a lot has changed in technology since then. I will be updating this camera body to the newer Sony A6700 that just came out this year but lack of funds will delay this purchase until maybe late 2024 or early 2025. This year I need to update my main computer set up that will take up that extra money . It is also old as it is a 2015 iMac that needs to get updated to run the newer AI driven photography programs that are coming out. It's so old that its not supported by Apple anymore and I can't update the operating system in it. So it takes priority over my older crop sensor camera . So what will my set up be for 2024?

I like to shoot lots of stuff but I'm mainly a landscape and travel photographer so I don't need a fast shooting or a quick focusing monster that the newer cameras offer. My main camera for 2024 will be the Sony A7III full frame body. This body came out in 2018 and shared many features as its siblings did the Sony A9 and Sony A7RIII. It quickly became a staple for portrait, wedding and product photographers world wide. It has many features that professionals like. It has a 24mp CMOS full frame sensor, dual card slots , in body stabilization, and has been a workhorse in the photography industry since it was released in 2018 and is still used but maybe more as a backup capacity now a days. For me this is a perfect body for me and it will solve my problems that I was having with the crop sensor. It will be better in lower light it has a better display and is set up more like the camera's I grew up with and feels really good in the hand. It has the newer battery which last a long time compared to the crop sensor I have been shooting. I had to carry 4 batteries with me when I went somewhere with the crop sensor because they wouldn't last but the larger battery last all day and I can leave the camera on with out being aware that I have to cut the camera off to save power. Thats awesome! I have a couple of zooms that I will be using with this camera a 16-35 and a 24-105 lens. These will be my main lenses although I do have 20mm, 50mm and a 85mm prime lenses that I will use when needed with this body. The only draw back that I have with this camera is the weight. Not that it's heavy compared to other full frame cameras just that it's heaver than the crop sensor camera's that I'm used to. I will use this for all of the photography that I will do next year except for wildlife where the crop sensor camera will do better and I have the lenses for and maybe street photography where being small is an advantage and doesn't intimidate people as much as a larger camera does. I do have a 70-350mm crop sensor lens that I could use with the full frame body but my camera will automaicly crop down and make the megapixel count down to 12ish compared to the 24. Not ideal ,but it's an option.The only other reason to use the crop sensor is maybe if I was traveling somewhere where space would be a concern. Like a plane trip somewhere. But that's not likely.

So this will be a big change for me. I have shot full frame before but it has been a while and getting used to the weight will be something to get used to. But I think that it will be a minimal concern. I think the quality that I will get from this set up and the versatility that I will get from the zooms I have chosen to use will be a overwhelming factor when taking this camera out and about to shoot. It's late 2023 and I have started using this combination and am very pleased with it. I have it set up much like my crop sensor camera was using the custom buttons for settings I shoot to quickly go to shooting situations I shoot like street. I do like the front dial that my crop sensor didn't have to adjust my aperture on lenses that don't have the aperture ring built in which I really like. My EDC camera is still the point and shoot Canon G7XMII. This is a cool little camera that I got myself for a trip to Washington DC with my wife and it produced such good photo's it became my EDC. (Every Day Camera) I also use it as my hiking and scouting camera.

For video next year my set up hasn't changed. I'll be using the GoPro 9 and my phone the iPhone 14pro. The GoPro I'll use for hiking and maybe mounting on things and the iPhone is just handy and the quality is really good. I am not much of a videographer and these two camera's will fill all of my needs.

Well that's what I'll be shooting in 2024 . I like shooting older cameras and this set up will work for me well. What are you using? Has your set up changed? Let me know. Until Next week get out and shoot! PS... I have made even more changes in my Kit since I wrote this blog stay tuned to this blog in later issues I will discuss them. Cheers!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 2024 blog Crop Sensor Full Frame landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony A7III SonyA6500 street Travel website Wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/my-camera-setup-for-2024 Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:03:00 GMT
Full Frame Lens Upgrade https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/full-frame-lense-upgrade Hey Y'all! How's it going this week? Me ? Pretty well! This week I want to talk about my full frame set up. This is something that you haven't heard me talk much about for a while. If you've been following me you know I'm primarily a crop sensor shooter. I use an older Sony A6500 and three great lenses that I use to produce a great kit. I have been shooting this for quite a few years and love the set up. It's powerful and I've got a great set of lenses to go with it. I recently (within the last year or so) got an older full frame Sony A7III. I have a set of primes that I've been using with it and use it for street photography and portraits. But I have recently decided to change things up. Now I shoot just about all used bodies and lenses. I am a stills shooter and updating every year just doesn't make sense. Now I use my crop sensor camera for Landscape, travel and anything needing a long lens. So just about everything I shoot. During my last Fall Colors workshop I was noticing that my old crop sensor body is getting long in the tooth and some of the photos I took then looked at the back of other folks camera's I saw a big difference. Color science and quality and low light performance is where my old camera was struggling just a little. Nothing I can't fix in post but that's a lot of work sometimes. I do plan on updating the body in the near future but I also have a computer I need to upgrade more. Being retired makes it difficult to do them both at the same time. So I got to thinking a full frame sensor would fix most of the challenges that I was having at the workshop. But with my full frame camera I really only have mostly prime lenses that I use with it. ( lenses that are not zooms) I have a good wide angel zoom that I can use with it, a 16-35mm F4 lens that is very sharp and works great. All the other lenses I have are primes except for a Kit lens that isn't a great lens. So what to do?  What I need is a good mid-range Zoom.

Zoom lenses are expensive. Compared to Prime lenses they are expensive even used. I will have to do some wheeling and dealings to get one now that I'm retired and then which one to get? In the Sony line up there are many to choose from. Not to mention 3rd party lenses like Sigma and Tamron Lenses. Just within Sony there is a 20-70mm 2.8 a 24-70mm in both F4 and F2.8 and a 24-105mm F4. So there are a lot of choices. With different prices too. While I was on my Fall Colors Workshop I notice that one of the best photographers in the club was using a 24-105mm F4 lens on his Sony Alpha 1 camera.  I had that lens on my radar and seeing him use it made me want that lens. I did research and I still wanted that lens. For a new lens it was 1200 dollars from any of the camera stores new. But in like new condition from MPB was only 844 dollars. Only! LOL Now there was just the paying for it. I have lots of primes and this lenses focal length would make a few of the primes obsolete. Whats good about MPB is that you can trade in lenses to lower the price of the "new to you" lens you want. But which ones? Well I decided on 3 lenses .  Two Primes and a Kit Zoom lens. The first prime to go is the 35mm F1.8 lens. This is a fantastic lens but I haven't used it much and if your not using it you need to let it go to something you will use. The next prime to get rid of is a 55mm Zeiss F1.8 lens . One of the first lenses that Sony had made for the full frame Sonys and a great lens. I have only used this lens a few times since I got the lens it was in a bad focal length for street or portraits for me. So it's gone. Next is the Kit lens a 28-60mm which is not wide enough or long enough to be very useful. So it's gone. So that the tree lenses that I've traded for the 24-105 zoom. After trading in the lenses I only owed 41 dollars. So in my mind I was trading in lenses that I wasn't using for a lens that will be in my wheelhouse for 41 dollars. So that's what I've done. I have made many purchases with MPB and have been nothing but impressed with the lenses and bodies I've got from them.

So the Sony FE 24-105mm F4 OSS lens is fantastic! It's an optically stabilized lens so with its stabilization and the Camera in body sensor stabilized sensor this should be able to shoot at low shutter handheld and get sharp photo's. Nothing but good reviews on this lens. But how will this change my photography? Probably 95% of everything I shoot is below 105mm if not more. This will make this camera my main camera used for everything except for travel when I have to take a plane or when space is very important or when I need a long lens (which I don't have or want for the full frame). This will make my upgrading of the Crop Sensor not as important as it was when it was the main camera. I did keep some primes. I kept a 85mm F1.8 for portraits and a 50mm F2.8 macro lens that I can use as a macro for both of my camera bodies. So except for a couple of shooting situations I have become a full frame sensor shooter again. Not since my Nikon days and the D800 have I been a full frame shooter. I have some upcoming projects and I'm excited on how this camera and the two zoom lenses (16-35 and the 24-105) will perform. I'm sure they will do fantastically! The one thing that is sure is that change is always happening and embracing it will make me and you a better photographer. I'll let you know how the transition back to full frame goes.  Until Next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog crop sensor focal length full frame landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Photography prime Sony stabilization website workshops Zooms https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/full-frame-lense-upgrade Fri, 15 Dec 2023 09:46:38 GMT
Motion and Shutter Drag! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/motion-and-shutter-drag Hey Everyone! Salutations! Hope you're having a great week. I have and have been busy writing blogs. Its been a rainy week so I've got into the writing groove. This week I want to talk about a cool photography technique, trick, hack whatever you want to call it. And it's showing motion by using shutter drag. You can make very interesting photographs by showing motion in your shots. A silky smooth waterfall looks much better than a frozen in time one that was shot on a high shutter speed. Dragging the shutter is the act of keeping the shutter open while a moving object is moving through it. The object will blur a little showing motion. This technique can be used in street photography or landscape , sport or any style that the subject is moving and it makes a unique shot that gets peoples imagination going .  It can be fairly simple to do and when you get the hang of doing it you can turn it on in just a second and get that unique shot while you're out shooting something else.  Maybe you're shooting a dance class and you get all of the individual shots of the pretty dancers but now you take a few of them spinning or dancing and you drag the shutter you have art!  Here is the technique and some tips. The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC.

To drag the shutter your camera should be stable relative to your subject. Tripods can come in handy. But when your out on the streets maybe a post or trash can will act as your tripod. Shooting in manual or shutter priority is the best setting for your camera. Then you slow down your shutter until you get the desired blur that you want. You may have to experiment a little to get that blend that you want and it depends on how fast your subject is moving . A car travels much faster than a person walking. So different shutter speeds. A cool way to practice this is to go out at night and set up your camera and tripod near a road and try to capture light trails from the cars. You get cool red ones from the tail lights and white ones from the headlights. Waterfalls of course are my favorite for me especially during the fall when all of the leaves are changing and you get that silky smooth water of the water fall. Be careful not to make it too Spring Fall FallsSpring Fall Falls silky and experiment with the speeds.  But a field of wheat swaying in the breeze or clouds passing by a old building would be good too. How do we get the low shutter speeds in the daylight?

Using Polarizers and ND filters for daylight shutter drag. A polarizer filter is usually 1 1/2 to 2 stops of light that is cut out. If its a very cloudy day this might be all you need. But you may need to add a Natural Density filter to it to get the shutter speed you need. A veritable ND filter could also come in handy. They come in ranges of stops and you can dial in the amount you want to get the speed of shutter and the perfect exposure. I try to under expose 1 to 2 stops and bring it back in post editing to get the look I like. You should experiment to find out what your settings will be to get that look you like. For bright days you might need a 10 stop ND filter which is black and focusing gets troublesome. But you can get some cool shots with this technique.

Panning. Panning is the art of moving your camera at the same speed as the subject so the subject is in focus and the surroundings blur. Remember I said your camera should be stable "relative" to the subject. Panning is a art but looks good for moving things like bicycles, cars , busses and almost anything. But it does take lots of practice to get it right. I'm so so at it . I probably need to practice more. LOL

Adding motion to your portfolio shots really brings your whole collection up a notch! And makes your time out shooting more exciting trying to get that cool blurry shot that shows motion.  So until next week Get out and shoot! Some Motion.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Long Exposure Max Stansell Photography Motion Panning Photography shutter shutter drag street Tripod website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/motion-and-shutter-drag Fri, 08 Dec 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Photography Should be Fun! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/photography-should-be-fun Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great day. Me Fantastic! Its a rainy day here so I thought I would sit down and talk a little bit to y'all about my favorite subject , Photography. If you follow my blogs I talk about lots of different area's of photography. And there are plenty. You can really get deep in the weeds talking photography. We can be talking about something technical or some new gadget or software that just came out but what we really don't talk about is how to have fun in photography.  We get caught up in the "how to" of it all. Which is great but I think we just go a little overboard with whatever we are exploring at the time whether its technical or artsy.  I am guilty of this as much as anyone else and maybe more.  Being a photographer is much more than knowing how to use your camera (the technical aspect) or the Artsy side of it with composition ,lighting and all of the things that come with that. It should be fun also! My photo wingman (Robert) and myself have taken many adventures and we have a blast going out and shooting but we approach the shooting part different. Robert is a big reader of photography books and articles and when he goes out shooting he has a purpose. Maybe its showing motion , or a certain lighting aspect and that's what he looks for. Me I do less preparing and just go and shoot. I shoot everything from the fly on the wall to  really thinking about a shot. Is his way wrong? No I don't think so and I think that I used to shoot like Robert does also. But I don't anymore. I've been shooting much longer than he has and maybe it's something we have to go through. We (me and Robert) some times have a discussion on a certain photo that I may have taken. And he'll say something like "oh I love the way you positioned that in your subject or I love the layers of this or this angle I never thought of that ",  and he'll ask what I was thinking or how I thought of it. And I haven't . I haven't thought of any of it. I just shoot because to me shooting is most of the fun in photography. If you look at my photo's from a shoot you will see how many different things I look at and shoot and they mostly don't have a rhyme or reason to them. Its more of a "Squirrel" affect. I just see and shoot. I could be shooting a landscape and a fly lands on my leg and I shoot the fly. If I'm in a city and I walk by what I think is a silly sign I shoot and try not to think.  And that's fun. If you know me thinking is not my strong point! LOL 

The pure act of shooting and having fun gets lost sometimes because photography is technical (not as much as it used to be) for the most part and you have to get past that.  Photography should be just fun to do. Thats why we started in the first place. Because it was fun. Not because it was technical. It can be fun just shooting by yourself but its more fun in a group. Maybe you have a photography wingman like I do or maybe you are part of a photography club.  Shooting with like minded people is great and you just have a ball. My photography club is getting ready to go on our annual fall colors trip to the North Carolina mountains and we just had a meeting about things we want to see and do while there. Not once did we talk about anything technical except where the sun might be coming up at at a certain place. We talked about the things we would be seeing and shooting and the smiles kept getting bigger and bigger the more we talked and planned. It was fun and photography should be fun. I just want you to remember why you started photography in the first place . Because it was fun! Not because you wanted to shoot weddings or sports or senior portraits. Because it was fun! So learn all of the technical stuff but don't forget to have fun!

To me having fun with my camera is the best! My camera has taken me to places that I may never have gone before! I have heard it said that the camera is the passport to the world and I believe it. But don't take it too seriously it should be FUN! It doesn't matter what kind of photography or how technical you are with it , it should be fun to shoot and not laborious or too technical. Remember its not just about the Keepers from a photoshoot but the whole shoot. The Keepers will come just keep shooting! Remember Keepers don't have be be works of art they could be the photo's that you post to Facebook or Instagram. Memories and fun are what your shooting for! So until next week get outside and shoot and have some fun!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera club editing fun gear groups landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography shooting technical website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/12/photography-should-be-fun Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:00:00 GMT
My thoughts on buying used and MPB. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/my-thoughts-on-buying-used-and-mpb Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great week. This week I want to talk about gear. No surprise I am a gear head. LOL I do love gear! But like most of you I live on a budget and can't buy the newest and greatest thing that comes out every year. But I do like new gear even if its just new to me. For the last 5 or so years I haven't bought anything new. I've always chosen used. I have been very pleased with my purchases and have saved quite a bit of money that I could use on photography trips and adventures. But buying used can be scary because it's not brand new. I have been very successful in my used purchases some by luck when buying from an individual but from a company that I use called MPB. 

MPB is a company that buys and sells used photography gear. The one in North America is located in New York City and they have one in Europe also. I have been dealing with the one in NYC exclusively and highly recommend it. This is how it works . You go on their website and find what you want say a camera body. You usually have a choice between "like new" condition "Excellent" , "Good". These condition ratings are explained in the website and I find them to be true. The things I got that were like new were like new and the things that were only good worked fine but maybe had some cosmetic scratches on them but didn't effect operation. I also like that I can sell or trade older equipment in to help purchase items knocking the already low price even lower. To me this is win , win! If your selling or trading equipment you give them what you think the estimate of your gear is they will send you a FedEx label and you ship it to them. When they get it they will let you know by email and inspect your equipment if they agree and they have with me so far. They will cut a check or take that amount off of your item. Your biggest problem is just packaging up your item and getting it to FedEx. If you can tell I love this company. As a matter of fact Sony just came out with a new camera body and I'm going to wait until they get them in stock before I buy it just to save some money and to be able to sell the camera body that I'm using now. Now the only question to answer is used equipment for you?

In my humble opinion if you are a stills photographer like I am I think that used is for you. If you shoot video or something that fast focus is a must like wildlife or Sports it may not be. Most of the advances in camera's now a days is in video and fast focusing but if you're like most of us that super fast focusing or video features is not a factor. If you're really like me you don't even care if your stills camera shoot video at all. That would be great a camera that only shoots stills with no frills camera and no video. I would be first in line. But I don't see that happening. So for me and most people I think that used is okay. I'm shooting a camera now that came out in 2015 and am pleased with the quality. Thats why I can wait to upgrade for when the new camera body gets in MPB.  Buying used is a great way to save some of that hard earned cash and upgrade your equipment when needed. 

So when you think it's time to upgrade your gear don't for get to think used instead of new.  Until next week make sure you get out and shoot! 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Buying Used camera bodies FedEx gear landscape learning Lens Max Stansell Photography MPB Photography purchasing Shipping used website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/my-thoughts-on-buying-used-and-mpb Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:22:47 GMT
Bokeh What is it and how do I create it? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/bokeh-what-is-it-and-how-do-i-create-it Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great week! This week I want to talk about this funny word we use in photography, Bokeh. The term “bokeh” comes from the Japanese word “boke,” which means “blur” in English. And that's just what bokeh refers to. It's the quality of the blurry parts of a photograph. So why would we want part of the photograph blurry when we spent all this money on sharp lenses? LOL  Bokeh and the use of it can make a photograph visually pleasing. Everyone has scene this in portraits where the subject is in focus but the background is blurred out. But it can be used in other types of photography also. In landscape the main subject maybe a tree or a brook is in focus but the forest behind it is blurred. We can use this technique to isolate the subject in a busy scene. Maybe isolate a single sunflower out of a field of sunflowers .  So we have "making the photo more visually pleasing" and " isolate the subject" and there is one more use and that is to use Bokeh as a artistic aspect of the photo. I'm sure you have seen Christmas lights all blurred out making a artistic glow or water on a glass blurred out . So there are three reasons to use Bokeh as I see it. #1 visually pleasing, #2 isolate the subject #3 Used as an artistic item.

So how do we create Bokeh when we are out and about taking photo's? There are a few things that can control Bokeh and they can be used by themselves or in combination to create this effect. One way to control Bokeh is with Aperture .  The smaller "F" stop number the smaller the depth of field and the greater the Bokeh. Depth of field is the amount of the photo that is in focus. So the part that isn't in focus is the Bokeh. By using a fast lens one that has an maximum aperture of f2.8 or smaller can create great Bokeh. You can take a photo of a person and only the tip of their nose is in focus and everything else be out of focus. So the opposite can also be said the larger the f-stop number the more of the photo will be in focus. So f22 more of the photo will be in focus than f2.8. So Aperture is one thing that can control Bokeh. The next thing that can control bokeh is the type of lens used. The LeafLeaf longer the lens the easier it will be able to create bokeh. For example a wide angel lens say 14mm is almost built to make everything in focus and it is difficult to make things within the photo blur. On the other hand a telephoto lens say 200mm is built to isolate things and Zoom into something. These lenses are much more easier to make things blur in the photograph. Combining a low aperture with a longer lens makes it easer to make parts of the photo blur. The final thing that can help is being close to the subject will make it easier to blur everything else. So there are the three ways to create Bokeh. Aperture, type of lens, and proximity to the subject. By using these three things together and adjusting them you can control the Bokeh in your photo to make it more pleasing to look at , to isolate the subject or to use Bokeh as an artistic subject. 

Using Bokeh as a creative technique can make your photo's stand out of the crowd. Until next week Get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture Artistic blog Blur Bokeh Bokehlishous gear Isolate landscape learning Lens Max Stansell Photography Photography Pleasing portrait Street Telephoto Tutorial website wide Aperture wide-angle workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/bokeh-what-is-it-and-how-do-i-create-it Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Treat Photography like a Sport? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/treat-photography-like-a-sport Hey Everyone! How's it going this week? Me? Not bad thanks for asking. This week I wanted to talk about improving your photography. But how do we improve? Well there are lots of ways to improve but what if we looked at our photography skills like a sport? If we wanted to get better at a sport what would we do? We would practice, but practice what? We must practice the parts that we are not good at. Here is an analogy for you. I've recently just started playing golf again and like photography its a solo sport. If I analyze my game I can see where I need to improve to get better. Maybe I drive the ball okay but I don't putt well then I need to practice on my putting. You practice and try to improve the things that you are not good at. So first you must analyze your photography skills and what you're good at and what you're not. This takes a lot of honesty on your part and when you identify the weak parts of your Photography game then you can take actions to improve them.

Photographers seem to search for improvements in equipment much like in golf that new Driver or Putter will improve my game. The answer is Lightbulb Water LighthouseLightbulb Water Lighthouse the same for both golf and Photography. It's probably not the equipment. If your camera was purchased in the last 8-10 years and working properly its not the camera. It may be in the skills we use when we use the camera. Maybe we are only taking advantage of 10% of what the camera can do. Learning how to use our gear will make us better photographers. Read the manual or watch a video of how to do things on your brand/model of camera. Modern cameras are amazing and many of us will become better just by learning our camera.

Maybe the technical aspect of your Photography game are solid. You know your camera and how it works but you're not creative with it. Much like in golf. You can hit your clubs well on the practice range but getting good results on the course isn't happening. Photography like golf is more than just pushing the shutter button, creativity needs to be more focused on to be creative. In golf being able to curve the ball at will and making creative shots will save a round. In photography different Points of View, Perspective will create more story telling photo's .  So try shooting from a worms view, around a corner, through something to make more interesting photographs.

EYESEYES The act of taking the photograph may not be your weak point. Maybe its the editing the photograph that you are weak at. I think that editing is at least 50% of the end result of a great photograph. I don't have a good golf analogy for this one creative scoring is just a fancy way of cheating. LOL To improve this part of the Photography game you might need to take a workshop, watch tutorial videos and practice . Maybe get with someone that is good at editing to help you along. Which brings me to my next point.

When you go out and shoot with others you will learn a lot. Just by watching and observing others you can learn a lot. Photography with others will help your Photography game. Like in golf playing with a group even folks you don't know will make you play or photograph better. I encourage all of you to join some sort of camera club. I have improved so much after joining the camera club that I belong to now. We have monthly meetings with presentations, printed contest, monthly challenges. We also have monthly outings and workshops where we travel around and try different types of photography. You get to shoot and learn with people with the same interest in _DSC4702_DSC4702 photography and make friends that you can go out and shoot with. 

So my advice is to treat your photography like a sport. Practicing what your weak at will bring your whole game up and you will make fantastic photographs. Trying to improve and try new things in photography is not only fun but will make you better. Getting out of your comfort zone will also help. So until next week analyze your Photography Game and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Artsy blog editing gear golf landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography practice software Sport street technical travel Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/treat-photography-like-a-sport Fri, 10 Nov 2023 09:18:01 GMT
Fall Workshop What Worked and what Didn't https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/fall-workshop-what-worked-and-what-didnt Hey Everyone! How's it going this week? This week I want to talk about my Fall Colors workshop and what worked and what didn't. Last week I went over the events of the workshop and where and when we went to them. First I want to say that the workshop was a big success despite the interruptions of weather that had with our trip. A good time and photography was had by all and I highly recommend it to anyone. But after each photography or camping trip I like to go over what worked and what didn't and how do I fix the things that didn't in the future. I try to be a highly organized person and I do use a spreadsheet to help me in packing .  I'd like to say that I have that system pretty much controlled and I had no problems with the things I brought and didn't really bring anything that I didn't need. This is an example of previous examinations of trips and correcting for that. So here goes a list of what went well and what didn't in no particular order.

Camera Gear. The camera gear that I brought with me worked well and had no problems. The choice of lenses and camera body worked flawlessly and am very happy with the outcome. Just for a overview I took a crop sensor camera and 3 lenses that ranged in full frame equivalent from 15mm to 525mm in focal length.  I also had all the correct filters and accessories with me and did't want or need anything else to document the trip. So this was a win!

Video Recording. This was a fail. I brought a GoPro and some accessories to document the trip and make a video at the end of the trip. For me trying to photograph and do video at the same time is very hard to do and you end up not doing any of them well. This was the case with me. I started out trying to video everything we did for the first couple of days but my photography suffered and I slowly quit using the GoPro at all. So for the first couple of days I can make a video but for the second half of the trip nothing.  I have asked for video clips from my fellow photogs that went with me but have not got much .  Robert my normal wingman couldn't come to this workshop and he is a great videographer and usually documents our trips but I failed. Big Fail on my part .

Weather. We had mixed weather while on our trip. When we left it was raining and it rained off and on during our trip. The temps were cooler than we are used to at home but it really didn't get cold as we have had in the past even though we did see snow. So the weather not perfect but it wasn't a fail.

Mobile Photography Editing. This may be where I struggled the most on this trip. When I go on a trip instead of a laptop I use a iPad pro for my Cades CoveCades Cove mobile editing and backing up. The edits will sync up with my home laptop and when I get home they are there. This didn't work this year. It has in the past and the reason. (which I didn't figure out until I got home) was that my main computer is a 2015 iMac and is so old that the operating system can't be upgraded which is fine but the new Adobe Lightroom Classic will not load onto it because of the operating system is too old. Now my iPad pro is newer and has the newest version of Lightroom. These two versions seem to clash and the system did not work. I could edit a few photo's on the road but the big sync stuff didn't work. And also the backing up of my SD cards to the SSD drive I have didn't work 100 percent for some reason. It may have been me and I may have interrupted the transfer while in the mountains . But I still had my daily SD cards so I didn't loose any info and that's how I got all of my photo's downloaded to my old computer at home. The fix? I need to upgrade my old computer and this should correct all of the mistakes and allow the new versions of Adobe for years to come. I am currently researching upgrading my main computer. I'll keep you updated.

Accommodations (House). The house that we rented from VRBO was fantastic! Kudo's to our Club President Caitlin on choosing this one. It was kind of perched on a ridge and could have views all around the house of the valley below. Some of my best views could be seen from the window of our house. Everyone had a bed ( no sleeping on the floor or couch) and some even had their own bathrooms. The house had balconies on the bottom and second floors to enjoy the views. A ample kitchen and open common area gave plenty of room for lounging and editing photo's. Even though I shared a bunk room with 3 other snoring guys it was quite comfortable and I've been in a lot worse places. Big Win!

Itinerary .  We took a lot of time and refinement to come up with our schedule of events for the trip.  We wanted to go to some of the old spots Mingus MillMingus Mill from trips gone by to some new ones that we haven't been before. We wanted everyone to have something that they were used to shooting in the itinerary. We wanted wildlife shooters to get to shoot some wildlife. We wanted landscape folks to shoot some landscapes. After all it is Fall colors . And we wanted to do some travel type shooting by exploring some towns. Mission accomplished.  We did go to some new places some I don't need to see again and others can't wait to go back to. And I'm sure that is true for all of the participants of the workshop. I did enjoy some days over other ones as I'm sure others did also. Over all a big win!

To me the trip was a big win! Not only for me but the whole club! I would like to see more of these trips happen! As a matter of fact we are planning on taking a trip this spring that we are just starting to plan. We had one planned the year Covid happened and didn't get to go but we are planning for this spring. So I'm excited about future trips and will try to correct my fails to be better for the next trip. Until Next week get outside and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Autumn blog Camera Bodies Fall fall colors Gear GoPro landscape learning lenses Max Stansell Photography National parks Photography Photography Club travel Video VRBO website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/11/fall-workshop-what-worked-and-what-didnt Fri, 03 Nov 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Fall Colors Trip To North Carolina Mountains https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/fall-colors-trip-to-north-carolina-mountains Hey Y'all ! How are you doing this week? Me? Great! I just got back from a week long Photography trip with my Photography Club the Goldsboro Area Photography Club. This is an annual trip that we take somewhere to take in the Fall colors. We have traveled to West Virginia in the past and also Washington DC once. But North Carolina is our main spot. We rent a house or cabin for a week and share all of the community experiences like food and gas for the cars we use to go place to place.  We plan our itinerary well in advance with a group of people that includes the officers of the club and senior members that have lots of experience in where to go. These houses that we rent are reserved well in advance and choosing a week to go is usually the 3rd week in October that is when the colors are usually popping in the North Carolina mountains but Mother Nature does have the final say. So some years we have less color than others. But one thing is for certain we always have a great time. I like to call it Summer Camp for old folks!  There is lots of laughter in the house and special nicknames are given to everyone that attends. It can get quite goofy. Now these trips are no vacation! Its called a workshop for a reason. We work, and are on the go the whole trip. We usually leave before the sun comes up and arrive back to the house well after dark. Driving and going to different spots to shoot the whole time. When we are at the house its backing up the days shoot and maybe edit a shot or two before it's time to get ready for the next day's activities. Early to bed and early rise is the routine that is followed. We usually eat out once or twice a day and either bring something to eat with us or eat at the house. Depending on the days activities. New attendees are surprised on how much we just keep going and are usually the first to say that this workshop isn't a vacation. We try to capture and do different kinds of photography from landscapes with beautiful colors to wildlife and some street/travel photography. This year was no exception as we did Landscape, Wildlife, Travel/Street, and even some night time light painting. So here goes a day to day rundown of how this years trip went. 

Linville FallsLinville Falls Day 1- Travel and Linville Falls.  We had a big countdown to this day on a group Facebook Messenger thread Linville FallsLinville Falls and it finally came. We left early for a 5ish hour drive to get to Linville Falls just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When we arrived to Linville Falls early afternoon and I have never seen so many people. The parking lots were full and people were parking on the access road to the parking area as we did. I have visited these falls many times and even camped near by and have never seen so many people. We trudged on and hiked the trail to the falls and the falls overlooks. I couldn't get a photo of the falls because of the people but I did get some shots of the gorge and the surrounding areas. We then drove to our house. What a house and a location! Kudo's to our President Caitlin for finding this gem. We had views all around a great house to spend the week.

Day 2- Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. This is the first time that we have done this while in the mountains and we were all excited about the Great Smokey Mountain RailroadGreat Smokey Mountain Railroad trip through the mountains during Fall. It was very chilly and we had open air cars so we could get good photo's. It was a fun trip and I got a few photo's although to me the photographic opportunities were not as much as I had thought. Our plans were to walk the town of Bryson City but the weather started getting bad (rain) so we went back to the house . Later on in the day we drove to Great Smoky Mountains National Park Cherokee Visitor Center in Cherokee to view the Elk. Again Lots of people there and we spent some time there and then back to the cabin which was only 20ish minutes away.

Cades CoveCades Cove Day 3-Cades Cove day. Cades Cove Tennessee is part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). There is about a 12 mile loop that you can drive and see wildlife and Landscapes. They also have a Mill there that you can visit and see.  The gates open at sunrise and if you want the early morning light you need to get in line before the sun comes up. I think we had about an hour and a half drive to get there and we sat in line. We had to leave at 4:45 in the morning!  We got on the loop early and got to see all kinds of wildlife Turkey, Cades CoveTurkey, Cades Cove from bear, deer, turkeys, horses and a hawk. And the landscapes did not disappoint either. We had the wildlife guys in the lead car to spot the wildlife because they have the eye to do so. We took two laps of the loop and on the second lap it started to rain. We went to Pigeon Forge where we had lunch at the Mill a country style meal restaurant  and there were lots of people. For our trip back we had a list of places to go to with over looks and waterfalls on the way to Clingmans Dome to shoot a sunset. Clingmans Dome road was closed for some reason. We soon found out why .  It was still raining so we decided to head to the house and if the weather permitted we would stop at one of the spots. But the rain kept coming and as we climbed up to Newfound Gap the rain turned to SNOW! Yes SNOW! Now that's a scene to see snow coming down on Fall Colored trees! We never did stop because it kept raining/Snowing and we made it to the house. And we found out that the road to Clingmans Dome was closed because of road conditions.

Dry FallsDry Falls Day 4- Helen Georgia and Falls day. Finally the weather had cleared and we had blue skies. We left and first stop was Cullasaja Falls a road side fall that slithers down the side of the mountain. Next stop was Dry falls CherokeeCherokee that gets it's name by being able to walk behind the falls. What was great about this place is that there was no one there. After having wall to wall people in other places it was great to go somewhere that we had it to ourselves. The colors were popping and I had a great time photographing them. Next spot was Helen Georgia. We as a group have never been to this spot before I had been earlier in the year. This town is all decked out as a Bavarian-style town. Piped in music and restaurants and shops galore. This made for some interesting photography and it was a unique stop on our trip. We also had a great lunch there.  The next stop was Tallulah Gorge Rim Trail where there were waterfalls. There is a deep gorge at this Georgia State park which was neat to see.

Living WatersLiving Waters Day 5- Waterfall Palooza! This is waterfall day one of my favorite days . First on the list is Sunburst Falls. This was one that we haven't been before and when we got there there was a couple getting engagement photo's done with pumpkins on their heads! It was very cool to watch and we got some snapshots of them. The next big falls was Living Waters Retreat .  There is about a 1/2 mile trail that has about 5 or 6 falls surrounded by beautiful trees with all of the colors. One of my favorite places. We spent a couple of hours there. We then went to eat in Brevard a beautiful town with a BBQ place that we have been to before and wanted to return. We had a great lunch before the next set of Falls. The next set was High Falls, Hooker Falls and Triple Falls. These three falls are located in Dupont State Forrest. The last falls was Looking Glass Falls. We as a group have been there many times before but usually in the morning. This was the first time in the afternoon. I like the afternoon better not as many people or as cold. So the day was full of Waterfalls and Hiking and Landscapes. A great day.

Elk, CherokeeElk, Cherokee Day 6- Elk Day! Even though we have seen the Elk one day before we really wanted to do the Elk again  Elk , CherokeeElk , Cherokee especially the Wildlife guys. We arrived early at Cherokee Visitors Center and shot some of the Elk (not really) in the fields and then worked our way to a stream that they cross a couple of times a day and really makes for a great photo's. I actually got a few really good shots and for me that's surprising I'm not really a wildlife photographer and really don't have all of the big lenses like the Wildlife guys do. I also got some good photo's of the little village that they have set up at the visitors center. After that the main group of us left and the hard core Wildlife guys stayed behind to get more shots. The rest of us went out to eat and then back to the house for some down time to do laundry or take a nap. That afternoon when the rest had joined us we went out to do light painting on Mingus Mill which is an old mill in the park. So we went out and worked the scene in the dark with big lamps to get our shot. Real fun! And it started to sprinkle as we were finishing up.

Sylva, CourthouseSylva, Courthouse Day 7-Cataloochee Valley Day. We were scheduled to go to Cataloochee Valley and shoot Elk and Landscapes but the rain came back. We decided to go out and have a good sit down breakfast. We drove to Sylva North Carolina and Man in Sylva NCMan in Sylva NC small outdoorsy town with hiking and fly fishing as major interest. We had a great breakfast and the rain looked like it was going to let up so we decided to shoot the city but as we started the rain came back. I got a little wet. So we went to the cabin to relax while waiting for the rain to subside. It did subside and we were itching to get out and shoot so we decided to go shoot Sylva again and then we went to Dillsboro, North Carolina to shoot the towns.  While shooting Dillsboro it started to rain and we came back to the cabin. We relaxed in the house for the rest of the day and got our things together for the ride home. The last day was just a travel day as we were out of the house by 8:30 in the morning for the ride home.

Despite the rain interfering with our trip we had a ball.  The colors were popping and we got to go to some great places for the Fall Colors! Its hard to explain the beauty that is in the mountains in the Fall.  The color of Autumn the crispness of the weather and the company of like minded photographers out having fun and learning. I love these trips and they are the highlight of my year.  If you get a chance to take a photography workshop trip somewhere Go! You will have a ball and learn a lot! So until next week get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog elk fall colors Georgia Helen landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National Parks North Carolina Photography small towns street Tennessee travel waterfalls website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/fall-colors-trip-to-north-carolina-mountains Fri, 27 Oct 2023 09:00:00 GMT
What are my Favorite Photography YouTube Channels? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/what-are-my-favorite-photography-youtube-channels Hey Everyone! Hope you have had a great week! I have been on a blog writing blitz this week making many blogs for future publication. It comes in waves (the writing that is) and I just take advantage of rainy days to get and stay ahead .  One of my favorite things to do to pass the time is watch YouTube.  It is probably where I get most of my on screen content from.  I do watch some TV but mostly News and the Golf Channel LOL. And of course Netflix and Amazon Prime. But most of my on time screen watching is YouTube. I am a visual person and love to watch and learn how to do stuff on YouTube. You can learn how to take photo's to how to change brake pads on your car. It is a great platform to enjoy and watch and learn. This weeks blog is my Favorite photography YouTube channels. Now there are Thousands and Thousands of Channels on YouTube about photography and I know I haven't even come close to seeing all of them but here are a few of my favorites in no  Spring Fall FallsSpring Fall Falls particular order. It depends on my mood and what I'm interested in shooting at the time.

James Popsy- His channel is based in the UK and he does mostly Landscapes but does go into street every now and then. He is funny and informative on his channel and answers questions like is JPEGs any good anymore? He of course tries out different camera's and accessories. To me its not so much the content but he is a joy to listen to .

Bull ElkBull ElkThis Bull Elk was at Cherokee North Carolina. Tony and Chelsea Northrup- This husband and wife couple give reviews of camera gear and go over different aspects of photography. They have the most popular printed photo photography lesson book in the world that is constantly being updated with video's incorporated into the printed book. They started out in stock photography and do portraits and Wildlife a little of everything. They even have a podcast that I listen to that is very enjoyable. They have loads of content on YouTube.

Mark Denny- Mark Denny is a local North Carolina guy that quit corporate America to be a full time Raven's Roost Va.Raven's Roost Va. Landscape photographer/Instructor. He has great tutorials on Lightroom and his in the field work is great to watch and he goes into great detail. He has become one of the ones I really like to watch and learn from.

Thomas Heaton- Thomas Heaton is a Landscape photographer based out of the UK and has an enormous following of landscape photographers. He has worked as a Studio Assistant before going out on his own. He combines camping or RVing from his Van into his Photography. He teams up with well known photographers here in the US on great road trips. Lots of content on his channel and well worth the watch.

Road to the TempleRoad to the TempleGoblin Valley State Park Utah Nick Page- A former golf Greens Keeper turned photographer . Is a self taught landscape photographer that runs workshops and has fantastic photo's. He takes you through the shoot and the post processing of his great landscapes. He also loves to shoot storms with lightning which looks cool but may be a little to dangerous for me. He is based out of the Pacific Northwest of the US.

Adorama TV- This is a great channel with loads of reviews of equipment but also instruction and how to with famous photographers/instructors like Mark Wallace, PamPam Gaven Hoey, Lindsey Atler and On Set with Daniel Norton. And many more. You can watch a live stream event where the photographer takes you through a whole photoshoot from start to finish explaining everything as they go. A great channel with lots of content to watch.

Pierre T Lambert- A street photographer that travels the world taking photo's and brings you along for the shoot. During the recent (in the last couple of years) race riots in Chicago he was there shooting the whole thing and it was very interesting to watch. There are loads of street photographers to follow and watch on YouTube he was just one that popped up in my mind first.

To find any of these folks just bring up YouTube and put their name in the search block and it will show many videos of these people. Subscribe to them and you will always have their latest and greatest videos and it doesn't cost a penny just your time which you would be wasting watching the Big Bang Theory or something similar . So learn something. Until next week check theses out and let me know what your favorite channels are and Get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog content gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography street travel tut Tutorial Video website workshops YouTube https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/what-are-my-favorite-photography-youtube-channels Fri, 20 Oct 2023 08:39:28 GMT
Raleigh Photo walks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/raleigh-photo-walks Hey Y’all! Hope you are doing great this week! Me? Pretty well. This week I want to talk about taking small photo walks of a nearby town or city. For the last two weekends me and my photo wingman Robert , have been taking photo walks in Raleigh NC a nearby city. It is much larger than the town we live in which is a rural town. Raleigh is a bigger city with lots of neat stuff to see and do that is different than our town. So for the last two Sundays we’ve been traveling the hour or so to Raleigh to photograph the town. The first time we went we went as if we were tourist although we had both been there many times .  And the second time it was street photography that was our main goal. I love both types of photography it lets me take photo’s of all kinds of things that I normally don’t. 

First day as a Tourist. First stop after an enjoyable ride to Raleigh was the Arboretum . I have driven past this place many times but have never gone in.  I was pleasantly surprised . It was awesome. It had all kinds of plants and flowers and interesting stuff to see.  We spent over an hour roaming the grounds taking photo’s and having fun. Our next stop was to the NC Museum of Art. Outside they had a mirror maze that was pretty cool and when you got inside you got disoriented because of all of the mirrors. They created cool shapes and shadows to photograph. The next stop was downtown Raleigh to visit Museums and walk the town. It was very hot and we walked a lot .  We went to the food mall on Morgan street and the food was excellent. We walked quite a bit and I would suggest to wear comfortable shoes when doing this kind of photography.  After the museums we decided to go to Durham to the Tobacco Campus. These are old cigerett plant buildings that have been converted into shops and restaurants. This is a very cool place but we didn't figure that most of the shops and stores would be closed on Sunday but it gave us a chance to photograph the buildings without all of the people. What was cool is that the Durham Bulls were having a ball game and the stadium was just next door and we did some people watching as they were going into the stadium for the game. All in all a very good day of shooting.

Second day Street Photography. this day was not as structured as the first day we actually decided on the drive up where to start. We started at Raleigh Union Station the Amtrak station in Raleigh. This is a very cool structure to shoot and the people are a plus while they are waiting for their train to arrive. After the train station we started walking. The area around the train station is very cool with unique shops and restaurants and just cool places to visit. This part of downtown has a very cool vibe to it and although we were there on a Sunday morning with hardly any people we still got some people shots. For lunch we went back to the Morgan Street Food Mall and ate and it was a good place to eat and take a bathroom break. After lunch we slowly made our way back to the car at the train station and after we arrived we decided to check out the observation deck at the airport. This has been on Roberts List of places to visit for a while and we had some extra time so we went. The deck was a neat place to visit. The had the aircraft Radio traffic piped into the observation deck and you had a neat place to watch the planes take off. What was really cool is seeing the families sprawled out with little kids watching the planes take off. After the observation deck we decided to head home. This was another scorcher of a day we didn't walk as much as the first day of shooting in Raleigh. 

The two days were a great break to summer heat and super photo opportunities.  Make sure that you go somewhere and have a photo walk with a buddy. You'll get some shots and have a ball. Remember having fun is the best part of Photography. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Exploring gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography monochrome North Carolina Photo Walk Photography Raleigh street travel urban website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/raleigh-photo-walks Fri, 13 Oct 2023 08:26:44 GMT
A typical Camera Club meeting. What to expect. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/a-typical-camera-club-meeting-what-to-expect Hey Everybody! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Pretty good. Last night my Photography Club had it's monthly meeting and I really love these meetings. Have you ever been to a photography club meeting? They are pretty fantastic for photography minded people to gather and talk nothing but photography. When I'm at home and try to talk to my wife about photography (when she can stay awake) she just doesn't get it. But when you talk to photography crazies like us its fantastic because they are as interested as you are! I have wrote about my photography club in the past but have never explained how a typical monthly meeting goes. I have been a member of this club for a dozen years or so and have acted as one of its officers a couple of times and am currently a Vice President.  We have between 35 and 40 active members and usually 20 or so show up for meetings and then we have the Zoom participants.  During the Covid crisis we had Zoom meetings which worked out pretty well. But now that the crisis is over we mainly meet in person with just a few via Zoom.  We meet at the local community college but have met in our local arts council in years past.   We hold our meetings on the 4th Monday of the month at 6:30pm and the meetings last about 2 hours. We have a very diversified group of members aging from 17yrs old to 82 and about a 50/50 male/female split maybe a little more males than females but its close. So here goes a rundown of a typical club meeting.

-We usually start with welcoming new visitors to the club. We ask them what they like to shoot and what camera system they shoot which always comes with ooh's and aah's from other camera system owners trying to make the newcomer feel at home with laughter. We explain the advantages of becoming a member and the price of dues. The price of dues have not changed while I've been a member.

-The next 10 or so minutes are taken up by announcements and going over our schedule for the rest of the year and any changes that may come. We are a very active club we have some sort of workshop every month on all kinds of topics and we go out and shoot that theme. Maybe its wildlife we go shoot wildlife or portraits and so on.

-Gear talk or Lightroom/Photoshop tips. A short talk about gear or editing is handled here by some of our more experienced photographers in the club. We try to keep this part of the meeting about 5 min or so. So it's just for quick tips or small pieces of gear that can be helpful to our members.

-Main Topic . The main topics are chosen by our officers early in the year . Then we find people to give presentations on these topics. These can be power point presentations to video inspired talks. We have people volunteering to do these presentations. We have the wildlife experts talk on wildlife, Landscape talk on Landscape stuff and so on. We try to cover all types of photography from street, portrait , macro, food, landscape, travel and wildlife. We may also have a presentation on workflow or composition. We sometimes get guest speakers to come and talk to our club or zoom in from across the country on certain topics. All of this is planned out by our officers at the beginning of the year and a schedule is posted of meeting topics and workshops prior to the start of the year so people can plan their schedules to attend workshops or meetings. We recently went to shoot milky way and meteor showers at a lighthouse 3 hours away so some people planned and stayed at hotels to avoid the drive home in the dark. Planning is Key for our club.

-Photo Contest. We have quarterly printed photo contest. The officers pick the topics. Say portraits, Travel, Faces, Landscape, Macro.  The members rate the photographs on 5 categories during a break on forms provided by the club. They are turned in and tallied up by one of the officers. The entries are anonymous so you can't just choose your buddy you have to rate the photo on a form that we provide. We rate all of the photo's not just the one that you like. We give ribbons for 1st , 2nd and 3rd place and give Amazon gift cards for them also. If you win one of the contest you cannot enter the other contest that remain. This is so one person doesn't win all of  the prizes. At the end of the year we pick the winner from the 4 and they have the photo of the year. We print photo's for those that want their photo's entered if they don't have the means to print.

-Photo Critiques and Member Spotlight. These are alternated each month. Photo Critiques, These are photo's that are taken by our members we put them up on the big screen and say what we like and what we don't like about each photo. Guided by one of our senior members to make sure it doesn't get crazy and keep the pace up. This is a great help to all of our members to have eyes on your photo's and see things that you don't notice as the photographer making you a better photographer. Member spotlight is a small presentation of one of the members of the club. We like to have new members do this so we can see what they shoot and get them more comfortable showing their work.

-Ending comments. This is where we discuss the details of the next workshop which is usually the Saturday following the Meeting unless there is a holiday that interferes .  We discuss meetup times duration what you need and such. We then thank the club for a great meeting and wish them safe travels home.

So there you have it a typical photography club meeting. So if your interested go to your local photography/camera club and join. You will meet new friends who love to talk about photography and you will learn and have a ball. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera community critiques food gear landscape learning macro Max Stansell Photography meeting Photography portrait presentations sport street topics website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/10/a-typical-camera-club-meeting-what-to-expect Fri, 06 Oct 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Get ready for Fall Colors! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/get-ready-for-fall-colors Max Stansell Photography Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great week!  Me ? Great! It's the last week of August.  That means its hot sticky but it also means that Fall is just around the corner! This is my favorite time of the year to do photography. I love the fall colors and the cooler temperatures.  And while I'm sitting in my house in shorts with the Air Conditioner on I'm already thinking of shooting in the fall. This year for me should even be better now that I'm retired and don't have work to keep me from getting out and shooting Autumn and all of its glory. So how do you get ready for Fall Colors? 

Preparing for fall colors is the key. Its more mental than gear related. Planning where fall foliage will be the _MSP2491_MSP2491Max Stansell Photography best .  My camera club does a Fall Colors trip each year which is usually a week long trip to the mountains to witness the fall colors. Sometimes we get great colors and sometimes not so much. Its hard to tell when the leaves are going to change. There are prediction maps that will show what they think the leaves will do in certain areas of the country and I guess it's a real science to figure out when and where the leaves are really going to Pop each year is different depending on weather of the summer before and the temps.  Even the elevation matters.  All you can do is research all you can and plan Fall Colors HouseFall Colors House with the best info you can get and hope for the best when you're taking long trips to see leaves.  In your local area scout out places nearby that have lots of leaves. I live in the south and there are lots of pine trees which do nothing in the fall you have to really look more leafy trees which in my case its go west. Softer leafy trees turn first like maple, apple, fruit trees. Then the Harder trees like oak turn later.  Sometimes in the south the just turn brown and fall with no color. Thats mostly what happens near my house but just a few hours drive away there are lots of colors to be had. Just plan and LeafLeaf hunt for the colors. 

Fall colors aren't just in the leaves of the trees but in decorations and festivals that happen this time of the year. I love me some fall colored decorations. With dried corn stalks and Pumpkins! I love me some pumpkins and of course orange is my favorite color. Fall is also in the clothing that is warn when the temps get cooler the sweaters come out with all of the colors of fall. Shooting festivals is one of my favorite Maple LeavesMaple Leaves things to do with lots of people watching and colorful decorations. When I think of fall I think Football, Pumpkins, Thanksgiving, Halloween and all of the colors that go with it. You can look up on the internet when festivals happen where you live and visit them with camera in hand and shoot ,shoot, shoot!  Did I mention Octoberfest? There are many beer enthusiasts that love this and they are always colorful.

So while you're in your house avoiding the heat of the dog day's of summer start planning your fall _DSC8464_DSC8464 trip/shooting season. My camera club has already started on our weekly itinerary on our fall colors trip. As you can see I'm a fanatic for fall colors. Especially Pumpkins! LOL As you can see I really didn't talk about gear because I think fall colors is more of a vibe than what gear you use. So until next week get out and shoot! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! LOL

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(Max Stansell Photography) Autumn blog Colors Corn Fall Festivals Harvest landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/get-ready-for-fall-colors Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Fall Colors Trip Gear https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/fall-colors-trip-gear Hey Y'all! Hope you're doing well this week. Its almost fall and that means Fall Colors! Leaves changing and the temps dropping making it great to get out and shoot! My Photography club has an annual trip that goes to the mountains for a week of shooting fall colors , waterfalls and wildlife with a background of the leaves changing colors. Hopefully the leaves will cooperate this year but I know wether they are in full Fall Color or not there will be great photo's and good times to be had. I thought I would take the time this week to go over the things that I will be taking with me to capture this event. I am very lucky that I own a few different camera kits and must choose when going to a trip. For this trip which is mostly landscape photography with some other styles thrown in I want to be as versatile as I can be. For me that means Zoom lenses and being quick and nimble. I have both a full frame kit and a crop sensor kit.  Each kit has specific purposes. I also want to think about all of the accessories that I'm going to take with me and a backup camera if something should go crazy with my main camera that I choose for the trip. Its a lot to think about and you want to make sure you have your kit all figured out in advance and don't just grab stuff off the shelf at the last minute as your walking out the door because you don't want to forget anything and you may have to purchase something prior to your trip that you will need. So here goes the list of what I'll be taking camera gear wise for our Fall Colors trip.

Camera Body- I'll be taking my trusty crop sensor camera a Sony A6500. It is an older model and this may be a final farewell before I upgrade the body next year. This model came out in 2015 so its got some age on it.  I bought this body used from a camera club member and it has been great! It is small and versatile and gives me great images.

Lenses-I'll be taking 3 lenses with me. Three zooms. A 10-18 f4 , 16-55 f2.8 and a 70-350 f4.5-6.3. The full frame equivalent will be 15-27mm, 24-82mm and 105-525mm respectively. That gives me quite the range. All of these lenses are fantastic glass especially the middle zoom which will be on the camera 90% of the time. That's just my range that I shoot most of the time.

Phone- Yes my phone is the iPhone 14pro. I will be using this for making pantographs and macro shots . This phone does great work and I actually took a macro lens out of my bag and will use this instead. 

Backup Camera- My backup camera will be the Canon G7XII that is my EDC (Every Day Carry) camera. It comes with ND filter and a polarizer filter if needed. It can do the job if need be. I have used it as my main camera on trips to DC and Greenville SC and it performed great. Here is the link to a blog I wrote on my EDC Camera. My EDC Camera

Video Camera- I have a GoPro 9 that I will be taking with me to film the different spots along the way. Maybe a shot or two of something unique like under water at a water fall. I will be making a video of our trip after we return from all of the video clips of the places we travel to.

Filters- I have two filter kits that I will be taking with me. One filter kit by Breakthrough Photography has a Polarizer and a 3,6,10 stop ND filters. I also have another kit of Polarizers 67 and 62mm and a Variable ND filter that goes between a 1/2 to 8 stop. I've used the Variable ND the last trip we went on and it worked great so don't know how much I'll use the Breakthrough Photography one unless I need a 10 stop for anything. But I'll be taking both sets.

Tripod- I'll be taking my trusty ProMaster 525C Carbon fiber travel tripod. This thing has been with me all over and is stickered-up with all kinds of stickers from different places it has been. I simply love this tripod it is big enough to carry twice the weight of anything I own and its small and lightweight .  This tripod is simply fantastic and won't go anywhere without it. Except for our last outing I forgot it and had to borrow a big tripod and I really missed this one. LOL Thanks again Anita.

Bag and Accessories- The bag is a Shimoda Explore Version 1. I bought it off of Kickstarter campaign. I simply love this 30 liter travel bag. Its just the right size for my landscaping kit with the capability to get even larger with the roll top. Of course I'll have all of the batteries with all of the camera's mentioned above. I'll have a shutter release cable and head lamp for nighttime stuff. And plenty of SD cards so I can have a different one each day for photo and video. A "L" bracket will be attached to my camera for easy horizontal and vertical positioning on the tripod. Cleaning Supplies like , blower, sensor swabs, lens brush and plenty of micro fiber cloths. I will have rain protection for me and also for the camera and lenses.

Computer and Editing- I will be using my trusty iPad Pro with iPencil for all of my editing and backup while on the road. I'll be using a Scandisc solid state external drive to hold all of my backups. And iPod pro's ear buds for when I get up early and watch something on the internet and don't want to wake anyone. I'm a early riser. Of course I'll have all of the charging stuff for all of my gadgets and a small surge suppressor to use so I don't use too many outlets. Typical travel stuff.

Clothes- The biggest thing to remember in clothes is to layer your clothes. The weather can change from very cool in the morning to very warm during the day and being able to peal clothes of and put on is a big advantage as the weather changes. Stocking caps, neck covering and warm gloves are also on the list to bring. I also like to bring some hand warmers. These are little pouches that when you take out of the package and shake they get warm. They are great to have in your pockets while your waiting for the light to get just right keeping your hands nice and toasty on those chilly mornings by a waterfall. Here is a link to a blog I did on dressing in the winter. Winter Dressing the Part

Well I think that's about it for gear. I think its good to plan this stuff well in advance and get use to using whatever you're taking before you get there so when you get there you can concentrate on the photo's and not the gear.  This setup had worked well for me in the past and I have no worries about it this year. I am already excited about this trip and its less than a month away! Love the colors and all of the decorations that are up in the North Carolina mountains. I love to see me some pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins! LOL Until next week start planning your next adventure and get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera Camera Bag Canon Carbon Fiber gear hand warmers hiking iPad landscape Layering learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography ProMaster SD Shimoda shutter Release Cable Sony tripod Tutorial website wildlife workshops Zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/fall-colors-trip-gear Fri, 22 Sep 2023 07:43:36 GMT
Custom Camera Modes/Settings https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/custom-camera-modes Hey Y'all! How's your week going? This week I want to talk about Custom Camera Modes/Settings. Do you even know what they are? We have the modes that are standard with our Camera's. M, S, A, P, (Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Program Mode. )  But the custom ones are the modes that you create. They are usually on the same dial as the MSAP settings and usually are designated as simple as 1 and 2. They are not the scene modes that some camera's have for different types of scenes that are shot in JPEG. These are custom settings or modes that you set up for different types of photography. These can come in very handy when your out and about shooting. Have you ever been out shooting and a special situation comes up and you miss the shot because you were fumbling with the settings on your camera and missed the shot? Say your out on a landscape shoot and all of the sudden a bear shows up in your scene and you want to get some great shot of that bear. If you have one of these modes set up for wildlife photography all you have to do is click to the correct number and bam you have all of the settings 22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n you use in wildlife like maybe a higher shutter speed , continuous auto focusing or whatever you want. This is a fantastic way to travel knowing that your camera is set up for anything that comes up in a hurry. 

I have two main cameras. I have a full frame and a crop sensor and I use one camera for certain things and the other for other stuff. I use the custom settings to quickly go into a different style of photography without trying to find all of the settings in a menu. For example I have one of the custom settings on my full frame camera set up for Night Sky Photography.  I have a the camera in Manual exposure mode. I have the shutter set to 20 sec. I have the shutter on a 2 sec delay to eliminate shake. I have the ISO set to 2000 to start with. I have all of these things preset so I don't have to fight to find all of those little settings that take forever to find in the menus when we look for them. On my crop sensor camera I have set up for street photography. I have it set to Aperture Priority, Raw + JPEG set on Monochrome. That way the back screen is in monochrome like I like when I'm shooting street. I have it in Auto ISO.  All the settings I like for street photography and I just have to make one click to get them. So now you know what custom Mode/Settings are how do you set them?

I shoot a Sony and I'm sure its different for other types of camera's you just have to look at your manual or look at a Video on how to do it. For me I set my camera up the way I want it for the custom setting. Like for street I'm in Aperture Priority, Raw + Jpeg, Auto ISO all of the settings I like. Then I go in the menu and _MSP3848_MSP3848 find Memory (this will differ with your camera I'm sure) and set the memory 1 to my settings by pushing the "set"  button and Everything is put to the 1 on my Mode dial. On my camera there is also ways you can save settings to the SD card so if you use the same SD card you could have up to 8 different modes. The problem with these SD card modes is that when you format your card they are gone. So for me they are useless. So I just stick with the two main ones on the Mode Dial of my Cameras. It is just that simple. So you can simply switch from one mode to the other mode without changing  or hunting for all of the different types of menus items.

Custom Settings/Modes can come in very handy and you don't have to buy anything,  its already in your camera you just have to learn how to use it and use the full extent of your camera. So until next week get your camera out and set up those modes so you'll be ready for that next shot. Get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture Priority blog Camera Settings Custom Camera Modes Focus Modes landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Metering Monochrome Photography Portraits Settings Shutter Priority street website Wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/custom-camera-modes Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:28:36 GMT
Fake Photo's The FireStorm That the New Photoshop AI has Created https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/fake-photos-the-fire-storm-that-the-new-photoshop-ai-has-created Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a Fantastic week. This week I want to talk about the firestorm of discussion that the new Photoshop AI Generative fill has brought to the photography community. Let me start out as saying I respect everyones opinion and I am no expert on the subject and these are just my thoughts. During a monthly meeting at my photography club the subject of using Photoshop in our quarterly photo contest or not. When I say Photoshop its not the software but the verb that has been associated with the Editing Software. Which means major editing and manipulation of the photo. And the discussion started. First there was one person that simply asked the question about using photoshop to enhance their photo to make it look like a painting in photoshop. Then the firestorm started. People got very defensive about how altering a photo in photoshop wasn't photography anymore. But then it was okay to take something out of the photo using photoshop but putting something in (Generative AI Fill) was wrong. I was sitting to the side listening to all of this and I was keeping my mouth shut because I really didn't care if someone used the new tool or not and didn't want to add fire to the flame. But I was kind of surprised at the reaction of my fellow photogs. I could understand if its journalism not wanting to alter the photograph. But this isn't journalism its art. Everyone always fights for photography to be classified as an art but then when you try to create something new its bad its not photography anymore.  Now everyone has their own opinion and I respect that but the main reason that people were arguing about the new AI was not because of the technique used with it but because they didn't know what was real or not anymore. They feel as they have been tricked by the photographer or photograph. Someone did something on the computer that tricked them and they can't trust photography anymore. That is what really what got them so on negitive side of the issue. There were even post on our Facebook members page showing photo's that were clearly not real but people were mad because they were tricked into believing something on Facebook. Yea I know believing something on Facebook. LOL There was even one post that showed a lady going on and on about a website that has gotten 100000 likes and shares for photo's that weren't real and she was mad and jealous of all the attention and she said so. So why didn't she just not go to that page anymore? Thats the real strength in all of this. If you don't like it don't use it. Some of the arguments were that is was okay to take things out with this new tool but not too much. It was very entertaining to listen to.  And this was just in my small little club meeting. 

So here's my opinion of this situation. It's just another photography tool that the computer has brought to our fingertips. There have been many. HDR for example . Remember when that became a big thing and everyone was using it. You could clearly tell that it was HDR and everyone overused it. Then the fad was over and we only merge photo's to increase the range of light in harsh conditions. There have been similar discussions when the healing brush, layers, crop tool, Content aware fill... came out. Content aware fill is just the weak sibling of Generative Fill. It matches the scenery and and fills in the scene. Sometimes it works and sometime it doesn't . The same with Generative fill. Or sky replacement.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. When Sky Replacement it first came out in Luminar people went crazy using it. Now not so much and Photoshop has even incorporated it into its editing tool because it was so popular. So how is this new tool (Generative fill ) so offensive ?  Because it works well and you can't tell if the photo has been altered.  And that is what is causing the uproar.  I believe that if it's NOT meant to be journalism you can alter the photograph because it's Art. Whether I like it or not. Art is Art. Now I don't get or understand a lot of Art to tell you the truth but its someones else's interpretation of something. All photographs , paintings, sculptures or any form of art should be thought of this way. Its an interpretation of something .  Wether its on the internet , TV or print. Even if they haven't altered the photograph the way they took the photograph the perspective of how they shot it can show their interpretation of what they saw and not what is real. If you shoot in low perspective things look larger and taller than they really are. Things that are shot closer are bigger than they really are. Like that fish you caught and held close to the lens to make it look bigger than it actually was. Even the Cypress Trees IRCypress Trees IR lens we choose alters what is real. If we use a telephoto we compress the scene bring things in the background closer. Like mountains in the far distance that look like they are right behind the subject you are shooting. If we use a fisheye lens we distort the whole scene. If we want photography to be thought of as art we have to let people express theirselves however they can. We don't have to like it or believe that if it's a photograph it's real. It's an expression of someones thoughts. Always has been.

It has been said that the new AI is the biggest change in Photography since the invention of digital. Remember the big uproar about what was photography and what it wasn't back then? We survived that and for my money came out ahead of the game in the long run. I am a much better photographer now than I was in the film days when I began as a photographer. I think we can survive an editing software advancement. There are those that say that I don't care if it used if they put a statement on the photograph saying it was altered.  Every photo you see in print or on the internet that is not journalism has been altered in some way or another. Thats a lot of statements. It would be easier to put a statement on a photograph that hasn't been altered. Ansel Adams was famous for altering what came out of the camera by dodging and burning and all kinds of darkroom techniques that he used and invented. He would spend hours in the darkroom getting his photographs just the way he interpreted them to be not on how real they looked.  Now for a photography contest? Contest have rules and if its in the rules that you can't use then you can't use. I have no problem with that. But we should just think about what rules we want to put on art. Thats all I'm saying. So until next week Get Outside and Shoot and Express Yourself.

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(Max Stansell Photography) AI Art Artificial Intelligence blog Content Aware Fill Fake Fake News Fake Photo's gear Generative Fill Journalism landscape learning Luminar manipulating Photography Photography as Art photoshop real Realism Sky Replacement website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/fake-photos-the-fire-storm-that-the-new-photoshop-ai-has-created Fri, 08 Sep 2023 08:42:46 GMT
30 Day Challenge! To improve your Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/30-day-challenge-to-improve-your-photography Neuse River Tone MappedNeuse River Tone Mapped Hey Y’all ! Hope you’ve had a great week! Me pretty good, thanks for asking. This week I have another challenge to help improve your photography. We all get in ruts shooting the same thing every time we go out to shoot. It may be a different scene but it’s the same photograph, you know what I mean. With this challenge I want to get you out of the normal and get you into the uncomfortable to get those creative juices flowing. My camera club has monthly challenges and the winner of the challenge gets to pick the new challenge for the month. This month's challenge by Mike our winner was post one photo a day and make a comment or critique on someone else’s. This has been a big success and we have people posting that don’t normally post on our facebook members page. During this challenge I decided to challenge myself and only post photographs that were taken with my phone or my EDC camera that is a point and shoot.  I also wanted my photo’s to be resent not ones from my archive of photo’s that some of my camera club buddies were doing. It has been fun and challenging for me but that’s not the challenge that I want you to take.  No I want to push it a little bit more.

So here’s the Challenge. Since most of my viewers are from my camera club my challenge is to take and post a photograph each day of month. It doesn't have to be to Facebook it can be to whatever you want. Instagram, Flicker, or any other site.  This can be a “day in the life” photo. It might seem boring to you taking a photograph of your farm if you live on a farm but to someone that doesn’t it can be very interesting. But that’s not the end of it . I want you to use a camera that you don’t normally use. For example if you use your main camera to shoot everything maybe you can use your phone or an old point and shoot that is in a drawer somewhere just wanting to to be used. I came up with this part of the challenge today while hiking with Forrest the Wonder Dog. I had a GoPro mounted on my hiking stick and I wanted to just take a photo and I couldn’t for the life of me get it out of the video mode to the photo mode. It took me 10 minutes to figure it out. And it’s just because I don’t do it enough. So when I do this challenge I’ll be using my GoPro everyday for this challenge. Now if you’ve just got a new camera by all means use that one. Or if your phone is your main camera use something else. Take a photo and post and try to be creative when you do it. Change point of view or change lenses to something you don’t normally use. I bet after a month of doing this one photo a day that when you pick up your main camera you will be more creative in how you take photographs.  

Take the camera that you’ve chosen , (me my GoPro) with you everywhere you go if you can . Be on the lookout for photographs and take out that camera and snap. The more you do it the more you will be accustomed to the camera and the more fun you will have. You’ll get in the groove. Remember just take a photo on your daily activities. Going to the grocery store, taking a walk, out on the farm, commuting to work. Remember what is boring to you may be very interesting to someone else.  If I win this months challenge with my camera club this is the challenge that I will make to my club.  Try this challenge and let me know what you think?  How did it work for you? Did you get some great photo’s? Until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 30day blog challenge comfort zone gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography pointandshoot POV website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/9/30-day-challenge-to-improve-your-photography Fri, 01 Sep 2023 08:20:44 GMT
Get into Focus "Focusing Modes" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/get-into-focus-focusing-modes Hey Y'all! How's your week going? This week I want to work on your Focus! This topic I came about while listening to my favorite Podcast the Digital Story by Derick Story. The "Auto Focus Mental Block" episode he goes into a little more detail than I'm going to go into and if you're not listening to this podcast you should start, there are over 900 podcast that you can listen to and learn from. Anyway back to the topic of the day Focusing. For me focusing was never a thought until the digital age of camera's came along. Starting my photography in the mid 70's everything was manual. From exposure to Focusing and until I got into the digital age I never had to think about what focusing mode I was in because there was only one "Manual". You turned the ring on your lens until things looked sharp. Simple enough. But with Focusing modes came a lot of decision making and what modes or how to focus became a thing. There are a few things to consider when focusing a modern camera. First where in the frame are you going to Focus and then how much are you going to let the camera make the decisions on how to focus. 

Focus Area, This is where in the frame do you want to focus. In the old days it was the middle of the frame you had a split focusing ring that you got sharp to do this with. But now with the modern technology you can put that spot anywhere. Depending on the make and model of your camera you have focusing spots that your camera looks at to focus . You can choose one spot or many or groups of spots to focus on. You can even move that spot around in the frame as you shoot by moving a joy stick or some sort or pad. On some camera's you can move just by touching the back screen where you want to focus and it does it for you. This is great technology and can be much more complicated than I just explained. But Focus area is basically where do you want to focus.

Focus Mode, This is how do you want to focus on the area that you picked. Most of us have this set to Single AvaAva focus mode just because its easier than trying to figure out how to change to another mode. LOL When you depress the button (Shutter or Back button) your camera focuses one time you may hear a beep and done. Usually its shown on your camera as AF-S for auto focus single mode. This mode is great for stationary subjects and usually produces the sharpest shot. Or at least it use too. The newer camera's now focus so well it really doesn't matter what mode your in you will have a sharp photo. AF-C or Auto Focus Continuous Mode means that as long as you have the button depresses (shutter or back button) your camera will search for focus.  This mode is great for moving subjects as your camera will keep focusing as your subject moves. And of course there is AF-M for auto focus manual. Your camera can still focus manually if you choose to and it is best for hard to focus things like Macro or a very busy frame and you want to pick out what is in focus. Most modern cameras have a focus peaking ability that works with manual focus mode and will highlight what is in focus with a particular  color to let you know it is in focus. These are the basic modes but there is much more to Focusing.

With newer camera's there are all sorts of advanced focusing modes that you can set for your camera .  There is Face and Eye detection when turned on this will detect faces and eyes on the faces to make sure they are tack sharp.  They even have animal face and eye detection that when turned on will find the eye or _MSP2682_MSP2682 face of animals so when you take the photo of your pet the eyes are always tack sharp. They even have modes that you can register a face. Lets say your shooting a wedding and you want to make sure the brides face is always in focus you register her face and then any group photos that she is in the camera will find her face and make sure it is in focus. There are modes where you can lock into subjects like sports athletes and lock into them while they are running at you and you keep focus while they are coming at you shooting mutable frames. Camera's are crazy with all of the things that they can do to help us get into focus.

As you can see there is lots of choices to make when focusing and that may be part of the reason we keep our camera's on single focusing mode and one spot or center spot area. It's too hard to choose and hard to find on our cameras to make a change if we wanted too. Thats why learning your camera and what it can do and how to change quickly between settings is important when taking photo's. I would suggest practicing with your camera on changing the settings. You can do this on the couch of your living room while watching TV. Practice changing between modes and area's on your camera this will make you more proficient when out taking photo's and DiceDice less fumbling around trying to get the shot. For me I keep my settings pretty simple but can change quickly if I have to. I am usually in AF-C (continuous mode) and my area for my camera is Wide which means the camera picks the point of focus. But I can always over ride quickly if its choosing something that I don't want to focus on. And when I'm doing slow work like studio I put on single and move my spot around or if I'm doing portraits I have eye auto detect on. My advice is to practice with your settings and you will find the settings that you use the most and helps your photography the best. So until next week get into Focus and get outside and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) AF-C AF-S blog Focus focus area Focus modes Gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/get-into-focus-focusing-modes Fri, 25 Aug 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Keywording Sucks! Until Now? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/keywording-sucks-until-now Hey y'all! How's everyone doing this week? Good I hope. Let me tell you I really love photography. Some parts more than others. I love taking the photo's and editing is just something I have to do. But there is one part that I really don't like and that's Keywording.  I really hate keywording. For those that don't know what keywording is its associating words with the photograph that you're working on. This is to help you find it in the future. It also helps if it's put on the internet and helps people find it. You can open up your browser in Lightroom Classic and type in a word like "dog" and if you've keyworded correctly all the photo's of dogs should show up.  But if you haven't put the keyword on the dog photo it won't show up. Now if you've been shooting for a while like me you might have 100,000 photo's in your Lightroom catalog. It would be very hard to find that dog photo that your looking for unless you can remember the date and year you took that photo. If your like me you can't remember what happened last week. LOL So keywording is important. Normally when you come back from a shoot say a city walk. When you bring your photo's into Lightroom you can put keywords that are common to all of the photo's. The name of the city, cityscape, street and maybe a few others. But if you've taken 100 photos they will all pop up if you put in the name of the city. So putting in individual keywords on each photo is the best way to keyword.  Maybe there is people in the photo. People, maybe they are wearing hats, Hats etc... But what a laborious job this is and if your like me you'll get the generic keywords in and that's it. Thats why keywording sucks! But what if AI could help?

A new keywording AI program from the company ON1. ON1 is a software editing company that has many cool products. From De-Noise and Sharpening programs that will work seamlessly with Lightroom. You use them as a plugin in Lightroom so it can easily become a part of your Workflow with not many hassles. The new Keywording AI software doesn't quite work that way. But you can open  up the program and point it at the photo's that you want to keywords to be added to and push a button and it does the work for you. In theory this is fantastic. No more keywording for me! LOL Well not quite. The Program works like this. First you open up the Program Keywording AI and find the folder that the photos are in that you want to keyword. Then you select the photos that you want keyworded. Push a scan button and the program goes to work looking at your photo's. It does take some time to analyze .  I selected 50 photo's and it took about 15 min. Now some of that slowness might be my computer. I have an old iMac a 2015 model. I know I need to update. LOL But it did find a lot of keywords. It even put the county that the photo's were taken that had GPS data associated with them. You can also put in keywords manually to add to what the AI found. Say you took a photo of Ava. The AI isn't going to know who Ava is so it won't add it. But you can easily add that keyword. Then you close the program and go to Lightroom and re-sync you folder that the photo's were in and all of the keywords that ON1 AI found will be in your photo. When you export that photo all of those keywords go with the photo. Now you can look up photo's with all of the Keywords that were added by the AI. Now is it perfect? No it isn't . It may put in some random keywords that don't match anything in your photo. I found that if I had some big billowing clouds the AI thought they were mountains. You can easily delete these. This is the first version of the program and I'm sure that with versions to come that it will be more precise and speedier.  This is a great start to solving the problem I have with keywording. 

Now I have just started using this program and don't quite know where I'm going to insert into my Photography Workflow. I will probably only keyword my winners not all of my photo's so I will put my generic keywords on import and after all of my editing is done then use ON1 Keyword AI for the winners. That's what I'm thinking now. I think that this is great software to do something that I hate doing and it will just get better with time. At the time of me writing this blog the price was 39 dollars but will probably go to 60ish soon.  Still a good deal to do a job that I don't want to .  Until next week keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) AI blog keyword landscape learning Lightroom Max Stansell Photography ON1 Photography Sync Syncing website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/keywording-sucks-until-now Fri, 18 Aug 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Greenville SC Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/greenville-sc-trip Hey Y’all!  How’s it going this week? Me ? Pretty good . Thanks for asking. This week I want to talk about a trip I took to my Sisters house in Greenville SC and the photography that followed. First of all Greenville SC is a larger town with all of the  features of a large town but it also has a neat downtown area with quaint shops and restaurants .  The first day after our travel to Greenville which is a 5 hour drive from my house in NC was a trip to the downtown area. We had lunch at a place called the Nose Dive and had a great meal. We then walked the town being guided by my sister and her husband.  We had a great walk that ended up in the Reedy River  park.  The park boast a suspension walking bridge a waterfall and many cool places to sit in the shade with the Reedy river rolling by.  We then went to visit my niece and her husband and we took a walk through Furman University that is a very pretty campus. The campus has a lake with a bell tower in the center of the lake on a little island.  They had a rose garden and a Japanese garden that was also very pretty.  

The next day of our trip was the 4th of July.  We lounged around and had a cookout and played games like corn hole. It stormed that night so no fireworks for us but there was lots to be heard.  The next day was more of a shopping day for me and my wife. While my sister and her husband went to work we explored some stores that we don’t have at home to see what we could see. My wife had a good time she is a professional shopper and is very good at it. LOL

The next day we traveled into the NC mountains to see some waterfalls. These waterfalls I have seen while taking trips with my camera club in the fall but I have never seen them in the Summer. We drove to DuPont State Recreation area where they have 3 really nice sets of Falls. The have High Falls, Triple Falls and Hooker falls. It has been quite a while since I have been there and it was nice to see the falls in the summer time with all of the leaves a green color instead of the multi colors of autumn.  But I still prefer the the autumn colors to the summer ones. We were planning to go see some other waterfalls but my planning was poor and the drive times were too long so we decided to just go back to my sisters house. But it was a good day and we got to see some waterfalls.

The next day was a trip to Helen Ga. This is a town that we saw on a YouTube video and thought it looked very cool. It is an older mining town that was transformed into a tourist spot with an Alpine or German feel to it. All of the houses look like they were from the Austrian hillside with quaint shops and restaurants. They have music piped into the whole town. They have tubing down the river that goes through the center of town and you can view via a foot bridge that goes over the river. The also have a roller coaster that is built into the side of the mountains there that you can control the speed of the trip down. We did not partake in the last two activities but the shopping and site seeing and the restaurants we enjoyed quite a bit. It was well worth the two hour drive to and from there.

The last day was spent thrifting at some thrift shops one of my wife's  favorite activities. Then it was the long drive home. It was a good week vacation and I got some photo's to boot! For you gear freaks like me I used a G7XMII Point and Shoot for my main camera and a iPhonePro 14 for all of my camera needs which worked out well not having to haul a lot of gear and annoying my family with camera gear. So until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Downtown Furman GA Georgia Greenville Helen hiking learning Max Stansell Photography Photography South Carolina travel website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/greenville-sc-trip Fri, 11 Aug 2023 08:40:48 GMT
How to use GPS to Geotag your photographs https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/how-to-use-gps-to-geotag-your-photographs Hey y'all! How is everyone doing this week? Me? Pretty good. Hey have you ever looked at one of your old photo's and said "Hey that's cool but where did I take it?" Me too. I sometimes can sort of tell the area but not the precise place I took a shot. This is where GPS (Global Positioning System) comes into play. Being able to add the GPS coordinates to your photographs in the metadata is a great way to find those locations that you can't remember. But how do we get those mysterious numbers on our photographs and how do we use them? Thats what we are going to talk about this week.

How do I get the GPS data? Well with technology being what it is you would think that this is the simple part. Well not really. Although a few camera's have the ability to get the GPS data and put right on your photo most do not. I think that there are devices that you can hook up to some camera's but they are expensive. There is however a few couple of ways to put the GPS data on your images. The first one requires your camera to have bluetooth capabilities .  If it does you should be able to sync your camera to your mobile device to get these GPS coordinates added to your photo at the instant you take it. It then has this info burned into the file and follows the file where ever it goes. All you have to do is before your outing sync your camera and mobile device and you will get them the rest of the day. You may have to go through your camera's phone app to sync them together and there may be a setting on your camera to allow the information to go to your camera from your phone but it can be done and is pretty easy. Mine was a little difficult to set up at first but now that its set up , its easy all I have to do is choose which camera my Sony crops sensor camera or my Full frame Sony and sync and its done. The other way is to take a photo with your mobile device when you get to the site that you take photos at. When you get all of your photo's imported you can sync the metadata from the iPhone  to the rest of the photo's that were taken in that area and you will have the GPS data. The only problem with this is that you have to remember to take a mobile device photo at each different location that you go to in that day so you can get the GPS data for that location. Either way you have to remember to either sync your phone to your camera or sync a phone shot with the regular photo's in Lightroom.

So how do I used the GPS data now that I have it on my images metadata? If you're a Lightroom user like most of us are you just have to open up the Map Module and your photo's will be shown on the map where they were taken.  There is lots of things that you can do in the Map module but for me it's just getting the location of things. This is a neat feature that really doesn't cost you anymore money. Something new to try if you have never done it before. So until next week get out and shoot and note your location with GPS data.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Bluetooth Geotag GPS landscape learning Lightroom Maps Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/8/how-to-use-gps-to-geotag-your-photographs Fri, 04 Aug 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Best Laid Plans? McAfee's Knob https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/best-laid-plans-mcafees-knob Hey Y'all! Hope you're having a great week. Me not too bad. This week I want to tell you about a recent trip to the Appalachian Trail for an over night Backpacking/Photography trip. Me and my photography wingman Robert have been planning this trip for a year or longer. The trip has been planned and canceled at least twice before because of weather or some other reason. Robert is new to backpacking and ever since we have done a little backpacking this trip has been on his bucket list. McAfee's Knob is the most popular and most photographed overlook on the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian trail for those that don't know is a continuous foot path from Georgia to Maine. The trail is almost 2200 miles in length and takes up to 5  months to complete for those that dare to take it on. I love to hike and backpack but that's a little too much for me. What we had planned was to drive to Salem Virginia ( a 4 hour drive) spend the night and hike up the next morning. While on the way up set up camp and the next morning go to the outlook and photograph sunrise.  Then hike back down the mountain and drive back home. Keeping my pack lightweight was a concern. My photography gear was going to be simple. My EDC camera a Canon G7XII Point and shoot and my iPhone14 Pro. We both wanted that iconic photograph of the sun rising just breaking the horizon with a sunburst with the knob in the fore ground. Well that was the plan. It didn't quite go as planned. This is what happened.

We had set a date to go and Robert had made a reservation at a hotel in Salem. We have had lots of rain prior to our trip so checking the weather was something I did many  times a day to see what the percentage of rain was going to be. It was ranging 40% to 50% chance of rain but we were determined to go whatever the weather was going to be.  Robert was going to drive and had put his truck in the shop to get it serviced before we left.  We were planning to leave on a Friday and come back on a Sunday. Thursday came around and his truck was still in the shop and had to have some repairs done to it and parts were backordered. So the first change to plans has happened. I was going to drive. I usually don't drive because I have a really old truck (24 years old) and dependability is always a concern.  I recently got a newer vehicle so it would be a good test drive for my "Max mobile" to take. So I arrived at Roberts house at the specified time and we were off. We had a good drive with no problems and arrived in Salem on time.  Robert went into the hotel to check in. I waited and waited and he didn't come out. So I went in to find out that the hotel had problems with the hot water and only some of the rooms had it. It was too late in the game to find something else and we took the room. It was a nice room and Robert went to check the hot water. We had hot water! Whoop Whoop!  We had planned to just chill out and head out after breakfast in the morning. We both got up early and got ready to go but they didn't start serving breakfast until 7am and we were ready to go at 6. So we took off. We were only a few miles from the trail head so it only took a couple of minutes to get there. We got our packs and headed up. It was up hill all day and it was expected. The views on that first section of trail were not expected. They were Fantastic!  We had Fog with the sun breaking threw the trees creating sun rays. There was also wildflowers growing along the way. We took our time and took some shots. We made it to the shelter that we were going to stay at and set up camp. Shelters are 3 sided buildings built for through hikers to stay at along the AT. Robert set up his tent and I set up my hammock system. But this wasn't the shelter that we planning to stay at. We had miscalculated the shelter arrangements but we stuck with this one. This would mean that we would have a longer hike in the morning to get to the knob for sunrise. Well we headed up the trail. We made it to the shelter that we had planned to stay at and still had a mile and a half up and the climb got tougher. We finally made it to the top and I was soaked in sweat. There wasn't too many people up there and wasn't too crowded. Which it's known to be. We took our selfies and photos and really enjoyed ourselves. Then headed back down to our shelter .  Heading up was tough on the heart but going down was tough on my knees. My left knee started getting stiff with all of the pounding on it going down hill and it seemed longer to get down than it did going up. Maybe because of the discomfort of my knee. We finally made it back to the camp and we both chilled out while through hikers stopped to eat lunch on their long trek.  We got back around 12 noon and I had made up in my mind that I wasn't going to go back up in the morning. It was just too much for this old man to do. So if I wasn't going back up why would I stay overnight when I know rain was coming?  I asked Robert if he wanted to go up in the morning or just pack up and head back down the mountain before the storms come. He was ready to go! We packed up and as we were we could hear the thunder in the background. The storms were not suppose to come before 4 but it was 1:30. We headed down the mountain trying to beat the rain. We were both sore from all of the other hiking we did during the day.  We got just a little wet toward the end. But didn't get soaked. 

So out trip really didn't go as planned but still a success ! We had an adventure! And that was the whole point. We got some memorable photos too. Maybe not the ones we had pictured in our minds but still some good ones. Things don't always go as planned but don't let that get to you. We had a great trip and had lots of laughs along the way. I limped for a day or so afterwards but am fine now.  So adventures don’t always go the way you want but they are still adventures. Until next week get out and shoot and find your adventure!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Appalachian Trail Backpacking blog Blue Ridge Mountains camping CanonG7XII gear hiking iPhone14pro landscape learning Max Stansell Photography McAfee's Knob Photography point and shoot Virginia website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/best-laid-plans-mcafees-knob Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Travel Photography with Family https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/travel-photography-with-family Hey Y’all! Hope everyone is having a great week! Me? I have been having a good week. I’ve been traveling with my wife and Forrest the wonder dog! This week is about doing travel photography when your with your family. Doing photography while with my family has always been a challenge. You want to shoot all kinds of stuff and use all of your gear that you have to shoot it .  You are usually hauling a lot of stuff when you’re doing your photography and that doesn’t leave room for their stuff. And if you’re like us when we travel I am the pack mule carrying everything in a back pack. My water their water any gifts that are bought in a gift shop any snacks and hauling all of your camera gear too. A few years I came up with a system that works for me and my family that doesn’t cause too much anguish on their part waiting for me to set something up and on my part being the pack mule. Years ago I went on a photography trip with my camera club to Washington DC. We stayed there for a week and it was great. I wanted to do the same trip with my wife so the next year I booked an Air B&B and got train tickets to DC. The only thing that I didn’t bring was all of my photography gear like I did with the camera club.  I went out and purchased (yes another camera) a high end point and shoot and that would be my camera for the trip. It’s small and doesn’t take up too much room leaving room for all of the other gear I have to haul. It has ended up being my EDC ( Every Day Carry ) camera. The week in DC was a great success and I got some great shots.

This is my current system for traveling with my family. I have the Canon G7XMII. It’s an older version I believe they have newer versions. It will shoot in all of the modes from Manual to Program. I have an adapter on it so I can use polarizer filter or a ND filter on it. It has a focal length of 24-200mm and goes from 1.8 to 2.8 maximum aperture’s . It’s a great little travel camera. I can use this in conjunction with my iPhone 14pro and I have a pretty good system. If I know that there will be some stunning photo’s to be had like say the Grand Tetons then I will bring my Landscape kit along and try to go out and photograph those iconic scenes early in the morning where there are less people and my wife can sleep in. That way I don’t feel rushed. But other than that I use the Point and Shoot Canon that I have and I love it. I have a Peak Design clip that I can put on my backpack or if I’m not using the backpack I use a Fanny Pack that it will easily fit into and be out of the way when not using it. If I need super wide shots my iPhone works great and also does great Panno’s.  I can adjust the aperture on the fly and can do long exposures If I need by using a small tripod or a Platapod camera mount. If I feel the need to do some video I can either use my phone which is more convenient or I can use a small GoPro 9 that I take with me for hikes and such still a small package and works great.

For editing on the road I do everything on my iPad Pro with the M1 chip .  I use Lightroom and Photoshop when needed to do my editing and it syncs with my main catalog at home with all the edits on it after I turn on the computer. I have been using this system and really like it for the road. I have a cellular model so if I don’t have WI-FI and have a cell signal I can still do work. This blog is being written on the iPad as we speak. I’m sitting in my sisters house on a week long visit.  The iPad is small and convenient to use charges pretty quick and the battery last a long time. I back everything up to a SSD drive that I bring on trips.

I find that using this setup is less hassle for me with gear and for the photography that I do when traveling with my wife and dog it works out great.  My wife doesn’t have to stand around tapping her foot while I’m fumbling around with gear and I’m not rushed by an annoyed wife.  When I go hiking with my dog this is a great set up and when he’s pulling me with the leash I can use just one hand to take photo’s.  On this particular trip I brought my landscape camera but haven’t used it once I have been using my little camera for everything . All of the photos in this blog were taken with my little camera or my iPhone. With the little camera I still feel like I’m doing photography without lugging the bigger camera around.  I’m also less of a threat when doing street photography and less of a target for thieves. So set up a system that you can enjoy and not annoy them with. Until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog CanonG7XII Editing iCloud iPad iPhone landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography point and shoot travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/travel-photography-with-family Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Incorporate Mobile Device into your Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/incorporate-mobile-device-into-your-photography Hey Y'all ! Hope your week was a good one. Me? Busy, Busy ,Busy. This week I want to talk about something that is easy and quick to do. It won't cost a dime extra and it will make your photography experience easier. It's to incorporate your mobile device into your photography workflow. We all have them now some sort of mobile device that we have with us all of the time. Now a days the camera's on them are pretty good and the programs in them are much more advanced than what is in your big boy or girl camera. But most of us just lug them around and check the weather or emails and don't use them as a added resource . I am guilty of that myself. So in this blog I want to talk about the ways we can incorporate the mobile device into your photography workflow.

Used to reference things. Using your phone to look things up is a great way to start to incorporate it into Tybee Island Pier SunriseTybee Island Pier Sunrise your photography. There are many apps that can be very helpful to your photography. One of them is "Photo Pills" This app is a very good app and can do lots of stuff from letting you know when and where the sun will rise. When and where the moon will rise and what position the milky way will be in the sky.  It will help you with long exposure with calculators that will help you figure out how long of a shutter speed to use when doing long exposures like when using a natural density filter. Another app that everyone uses is Google . It can tell you all sorts of information like where the nearest restaurant is or information abut where you are that could influence a photograph. Of course there are weather apps that can help with when its going to rain or if its going to be cloudy all day. So you can see that using it as a reference tool is very handy and you may be already doing that as well.

Hunting Island BeachHunting Island Beach Use as a framing tool. If you are doing landscape , architecture or any photography where you have time to really work on the framing using your cell phone to get to the right angle quickly and take test shots is a great way to use your phone. Say you went to an area that you haven't been before and you were doing a landscape. Before setting up your tripod and camera up and moving it to many places to see if the perspective is the right one use your mobile device and the camera on it and try out different places until you have found the best spot and then set up your tripod and camera. This could save time and potentially get you to a spot quicker and maybe one you haven't even thought of before.

Use as a second camera. The camera's on your mobile devices have become so good you could used them as a second camera. For example on a nature recent trip I had a long zoom hooked to my camera but I was using my phone for the wider shots. Phones take great panorama shots of scenes and can be used for wide angle shots. When doing street photography have your main lens on your camera say maybe a 50mm but when something wide comes up instead of using your main camera and changing lenses just pull your phone out and take the shot. On a recent trip to Savannah and Charleston my photo buddies were doing this and getting great shots with their phones. They got such good shots with their mobile devices when I got home I had to upgrade mine to a newer model . 

Used as a video camera .  If you're interested in video this is a great way to start. The video on these devices are fantastic. I have a small youtube channel with mainly hiking and photography videos but when I was starting out I used my cell phone as a video recorder and it worked great. So if you want to try your hand at video blogging this is a great way to start. I watch many thru-hike videos of people hiking the Appalachian trail or the Pacific Crest Trail and they use their phones and it looks really good. So if your out and about and want to take a short video of a town or park or yourself using your mobile device is a great way to go.

We all have these devices and like our cameras we don't use them to the fullest extent that we could. Listen you've already paid for the phone. Use it more than to check Facebook or your email. Incorporate it in to your photography work flow. So until next week pull out that mobile device and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Android blog gear iPhone landscape learning Max Stansell Photography mobile Device Panorama Photography second camera street video website wide angle workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/incorporate-mobile-device-into-your-photography Fri, 14 Jul 2023 08:39:58 GMT
Things you need for a Photography Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/things-you-need-for-a-photography-trip Hey Y'all !  Hope you had a great week. This week I want to talk about taking a photography trip and what you need for your trip. But I'm not going to talk about camera gear you probably already have that figured out but I'm going to talk about the accessories that you may need to support your trip. If you have never taken a photography trip before you might not have thought about these things before. I've been taking one or two big photography trips per year for the last 10 or more years I've come up with a checklist of things that I think you should take. Most of my trips have been taken in a car but a few have been while traveling by air and no matter how you travel these things will come in handy. So lets get started.

Electronics

2563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f6212563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f621 Computing. As photographers in the digital age we need some sort of computer to edit , manage and backup our photography. Laptops are the overwhelming choice for this but I use an iPad Pro that I can do the same thing that will do all of the tasks mentioned before and is smaller to carry. What ever you decide to take make sure you have all of the cords and cables you need to charge your device.

Storage. Extra SD cards is a must I like to have an SD card for each day of shooting. I take the spent card store it in a SD card wallet  and that's one of my backups. So if your taking a 7 day trip 7 cards. Some type of external drive to hook to your computing device. I have a 1 terabyte SSD (Solid State Drive) that I hook to my iPad and backup all of my photo's to. That makes two copies of my photo's. One on the SD Card and one on the SSD drive. I store these in separate places incase luggage is lost or stolen so I always have a copy no matter what. 


Chargers. Make sure you have a charger for all of your devices. Phone, watch, earbuds, batteries etc... A multi-port USB charger can come in very handy so you can charge more than one thing at a time. Nothing is worse than a dead battery when traveling. Another good tip is to take a small multi port surge protector with you. Hotel rooms or sharing a room with someone makes electrical outlets precious . So a 3 or 4 port surge protector allows you to charge many things at one time without hogging up the outlets in the room.

Earbuds , head phones or plugs. Having earbuds or headphones work great when your flying canceling out PodcastPodcast the noise of the plane. But they also work great to listen to music or watching movies or videos when traveling with friends. They may not
want to listen to your music . If your like me I get up way earlier than my travel companions so I use earbuds to watch the local news on my iPad  without waking others up. Ear plugs can come in handy if your sharing a room with someones that snores loud and still you can get a good night sleep.


Mobile Battery. A mobile battery charger is handy to have when you're traveling. You don't need a super large one but one big enough to recharge your phone a couple of times. Comes in handy in Airports especially. We keep everything on our phone's and nothing is worse than a dead phone when traveling. A 5000 mah or a 10000 mah will be large enough and can be had pretty cheaply.


Camera Accessories


Rain Gear. You never know what the weather is going to do. Rain gear
for your camera and you is a must when traveling. If it looks like rain take your rain gear with you. Something as simple as a disposable shower cap that you get at a hotel can save your camera gear. I always have one in my bag.

Cleaning Supplies. Keeping your camera clean while traveling is a must on getting good photo's. Taking enough microfiber cloths blowers brushes whatever you use to clean your camera stuff is a must when traveling. I always have a microfiber cloth in my pocket for quick cleaning .

Other Considerations

Clothes. Now this is one of the hardest things to do is pack for a week long trip. What I usually try to do is pack enough clothes for 4 or so days and have a way to wash clothes half way through the trip.  That will keep the bulk of your clothes down. Try to pack with layering in mind so you can peel layers off if it's too hot or add layers if too cold. I personally try not to pack cotton items because when they get wet they stay wet. I usually have polyester or blends to keep as dry as possible. A Puffy jacket almost always goes wherever I go. They are small and lightweight and can be compressed to not take up precious room in your suitcase. Comfortable shoes are more important than cute shoes. On a photography trip you may be walking for miles and miles and keeping blister free is a must. I also try to take an extra pair of shoes incase I get one pair messed up.

Toiletries. I'm not going to get into toiletries that you must take just make sure you have what you need and not any more. Use small bottles like the travel sized bottles you can get to save room and make sure you have enough medication that you will need for the duration of your trip. I also take stuff like tums  or aspirin for those upset stomachs or headaches that come from traveling.

Water Bottle. A water bottle or sealable cup is great to have traveling. If your staying at a hotel the free coffee in the lobby is much better than the coffee that is in the room and if your cup is sealable you can take it with you. Later during the day you can rinse out your cup and put water in it to make sure you don't get dehydrated which could leave you with headaches and weak.

Now is this everything you might need? Well no , everyone is different and have different needs. This is just some suggestions. I would also say sit down and think about what you might need on your trip. Make a checklist and have it handy if you think of something add it to the list. Before long you will have a good packing checklist and if you use it while you're packing you won't forget anything. Nothing is worse than being somewhere away from home and you have forgot something important because you rushed to pack and didn't take it with you. Like your Camera ! LOL Summer traveling season is coming up so get out there and travel and keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) batteries blog blower chargers cleaning computers gear hydration landscape learning Max Stansell Photography packing Photography trip website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/7/things-you-need-for-a-photography-trip Fri, 07 Jul 2023 07:56:05 GMT
The Camera's that Made Me https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/the-cameras-that-made-me Hey Y'all ! How are you doing this week? Me ? Pretty well. This week I want to talk about he past. We all have one and most are very different. But the past I wan't to talk about is our photography past. More importantly the camera's that we used or owned that shaped how we see things and how we do things when it comes to photography. Some of our most basic instincts and feelings are formed when we are children and the things that surrounded us. For example when I grew up as a child in the 60's and 70's when black and white was still a big thing. I can remember watching the moon landing on a black and white TV with rabbit ears trying to adjust the picture for my dad. I was the remote! LOL But now my grandchildren  were born with phones that took photo's so they have always had a camera in their hands that could take video as well as stills. So their experiences will be much different than mine. Growing up in a lower income family meant we didn't have fancy cameras. We had cheap ones that were only brought out for special occasions like birthdays, Christmas or a vacation that was taken by the family. This is when I got to use the camera. So lets look at the camera's that shaped me.

Kodak Brownie. The Kodak Brownie has been around for a long time and had many variations from made from cardboard to plastic. The one I Brownie MemoriesBrownie Memories got to use on family vacations or special occasions was a plastic one. Really no Focus just point shoot and advance the film until full and then rewind and then send to the drug store to get developed.  I would say the mid 1960's to early 70's is when we used this camera the most. This camera has disappeared from our family probably sold in a yard sale wish I still had it.

Poloroid camera. I do remember using this camera and was amazed that it would flash and the photo you could see right away. The photo's didn't seem to last like the film ones did as we only have one or two photo's left that were taken with the Polaroid .  Film then as now was expensive.

Pentax K1000. My first real camera that I bought was a Pentax K1000. This a totally manual SLR 35mm film camera. Back before the internet we had catalogs that you could buy things through. I bought this camera from Sears and Roebuck specialty catalog. The camera cost me 99 dollars.  It had a 50mm lens and the film I bought from a company called Clark. When you bought the film you also got an envelope to send the exposed film and in a week or so you would get your photo's back in the mail. I got this camera when I was a teenager and took it to high school with me many times and still have photo's of people and events from my high school days. I purchased a 135mm lens for this camera from a friend and still have the lens. So I had a small telephoto at 2.8 that I used. I sold this camera after I joined the military while stationed in the Philippines and hated to part with it .

Old EyesOld Eyes Pentax MX. My next camera that replaced the K1000 was the Pentax MX. The only thing different from the K1000 is that this had a self timer on it so you could shoot selfies or photo's with the family. I shot a lot of color slide film with this camera and developed myself. I still have this camera and that first 135mm lens that I bought as a teenager and still shoot occasionally with it. I used it until I got my first digital and haven't looked back.

Kodak DX 4900 Digital- This first digital camera was crazy I could take photo's and put on a computer right away! I got this in early 2000's maybe 2002 or so. Before this camera I was developing and printing black and white but after this camera no more chemicals and converting my bathroom into a darkroom. This camera changed the way I took pictures .  I could see the photo's instantly!

I have had many digital camera's since that first Kodak digital camera when I went to Nikon and shot with many camera's and then I switched to Sony and have gone threw many cameras and still shoot Sony. But those first cameras when I was looking through a viewfinder for the first time and seeing the Square of what the shot would look like changed me forever and gave me this great hobby that I have now and enjoy decades later. What camera's made you? What was your first one? Let me know in the comments. Until Next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Brownie Cameras gear K1000 Kodak landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Pentax Photography Polaroid website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/the-cameras-that-made-me Fri, 30 Jun 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Stepping out of your Comfort Zone "Photography Wise" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone-photography-wise Hey Y'all ! Hope your having a great week. Me? Not too bad. Today's blog is about stepping out of your comfort zone in photography. Now I would like to take credit for coming up with this topic but really I used the Digital Story podcast my favorite photography podcast that comes out weekly and you should be listening to it also. But during this podcast Derrick Story was talking about getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new.  I know a lot of people that only shoot Landscapes or Wildlife or Natural light only. Thats the only thing that they will shoot. And if they pushed themselves they would find out that shooting stuff that your not used to will make you a better Landscape, Wildlife or any type of photography. Pushing the boundaries of what your used to will make you better.  It certainly has for me. When I got into digital Kimbrell ChristmasKimbrell ChristmasMax Stansell Photography photography I was mainly a Landscape photographer but then I started shooting a lot of product photography with flashes and all sorts of props and doing a lot of experimental photography.  That made my landscape photography better. It made me look at light in a different way it made me look at perspective in a different way. It made me a better photographer. And it made me smile.  The work I was doing experimenting was turning out pretty good . People actually noticed .  My landscape stuff people would look and say "pretty" but that was about it but the experimental stuff I was Raven's Roost Va.Raven's Roost Va. doing got them thinking and I got responses like "how'd you do that?"  Thats awesome! We should have a workshop on that. But I was selfish I was doing it to make my other photography better and I was learning new skills that would crossover to all types of photography.

Let me tell you a story of one of my friends Mike. He is a fantastic photographer. He mainly shoots Wildlife and Sports. Really anything with a big lens! He recently went on a trip with me and my photography wingman Robert to the low country of Savannah Ga and Charleston Sc. Where we mainly did street , architecture type of photography. The lens that he had on his camera 90% of the trip was a 24-70. Which was way smaller than the 800mm EagleEagleThis Eagle was at a Photo Expo at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. lens that he brought with him and only pulled out once. I could tell that he was a little nervous on the first day but after just a little walking I could see the smile on his face and his camera kept going up to his face. I think he carried a larger lens with him maybe a 28-300 or something but he didn't pull it out. He was shooting and having a ball.  The next day was more of the same and I think he pulled the 800 out to shoot at a distant Lighthouse but the rest of the day it was the same 24-70.  I think the whole trip and experience really changed the way he might think about photography.  Like I said before Mike was already a fantastic photographer but I think he had forgot how to shoot with just a 24-70 and have fun.  The photo's that he produced were excellent but the smile on his face while shooting was even better.

Blue Water SplashBlue Water Splash Its important not to get stuck in just one way of doing things whether it's maybe only using Photoshop or Lightroom to edit photo's and maybe using some other software maybe just on a trial run just to see how it works. For me its stepping into infrared photography and editing it in Lightroom and photoshop. At one point I was doing a lot of composite work merging two or three photo's together to make something altogether different. Sometimes Its just using one lens for a day just to get you out of that comfort zone of being able to use whatever focal length you have in your bag. If you only have a 50mm you have to figure out a way for it to work and it takes you out of that comfort zone making you think. If you think that your shooting the same thing all the time  Man Waiting for T BostonMan Waiting for T Boston you probably are. So think outside of that box and try something completely different. If you only shoot wildlife try street photography. If you're a street photographer try Landscape. Get out of that comfortable photography zone that you've put yourself in and try something new. It will improve your photography and broaden your horizons. So until next week get out and shoot ! Something Different.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog city gear landscape learning lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography photoshop portraits product street website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/stepping-out-of-your-comfort-zone-photography-wise Fri, 23 Jun 2023 08:06:57 GMT
Tips for shooting in the Rain! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/tips-for-shooting-in-the-rain Hey Everyone! Hope you had a super week! Mine? Pretty good thanks for asking. This week I want to talk about shooting in the rain and some tips and tricks to make it easier to do so. First of all why would you ever shoot in the rain? Well sometimes it just can't be avoided. Here in North Carolina the weather pattern has been nice during the week and rain on the weekend. I think it's been 9 weekends in a row now. Now if  your retired like me you can wait and go when the weather is nice but let me tell you sometimes shooting in bad weather is the time to shoot!  You can get lots of photos that you wouldn't normally get. With all the water and puddles for reflections there are all types of opportunities to get unique images. You may have planned a trip way in advance and the weather didn't cooperate. You still want to get those memories. You might be on an outing and the bottom falls out and you get wet you should be  prepared to keep you and your gear dry. So there are many reasons to shoot in the rain or what to do to protect your gear from the rain.

Know your Gear. All camera's are not made the same. Knowing your gear and how weather proof it is , is important. Mine for example is an older Sony and not really great at being weather protected.  Usually higher ended cameras are more weather resistant than entry level cameras. And some companies just do a better job at weather proofing their cameras with gaskets and just engineering of the camera. Now I'm not afraid to take my camera out in light rain or sprinkles but when the heaver stuff comes out I need to protect my camera against water damage. Some lenses come with gaskets on the side that hooks to the camera to keep moisture and water out but some don't so even if your camera body is a good weather sealed camera but the lens is not there is a potential for water to seep in between the lens and the body. So knowing what gear you have and how protected it is against the elements is a very important part of shooting in the rain. 

Being prepared for emergencies is another thing that can save your equipment if the weather is bad. I was out shooting a waterfall one day I had hiked over a mile in to get to the waterfall. The weather was nice but out of the blue one of those afternoon thunderstorms popped up and I got drenched ! I had put my camera back in my bag but my bag wasn't weather proof either. So at first it would protect but after a while in the rain the bag would get soaked and damage my camera . Luckily for some reason I had a full sized trash bag with me that I put my camera bag into to keep it as dry as possible. What Im getting at is be prepared. Now in all of my camera bags I carry an emergency poncho. They are made out of thin plastic and are made for only one use but they can save your butt in case of a sudden downpour. Its about a 5 dollar investment to save your expensive camera gear.

Planning to shoot in the rain? There are many ways to protect your gear in the rain. First the simple stuff. Wear a rain jacket to keep you dry you can tuck you camera under your jacket when not shooting and bring it out to shoot. Using a small umbrella is another great way to shoot in the rain. They are quick and easy to deploy when it starts raining and they are great for shielding your camera from the rain .  They make rain covers to go on your camera to protect from the rain. You can get inexpensive ones for 5 bucks or so or really expensive ones.  They work great but can be cumbersome to use so bring your patients with you when shooting in the rain because it is more difficult. Another simple thing to do is carry one of those disposable shower caps like you get at a hotel. You can wrap one of these around your camera body and maybe lens depending on how large your lens is to keep it dry.  Once your gear is protected then its time to shoot. Keeping your lens clean and dry is difficult. Use a lens hood on your lens it will help keep the water droplets from getting on the front of your lens. Try to never point your lens upwards towards the rain. I know it sounds simple but I always do it. Bring lots of dry microfiber cloths with you to keep your lens free and clear of water droplets. Don't change lenses while in the rain! There are just too many chances for water to sneak into your camera body once it's wide open to the elements. Be very careful even if your inside after shooting in the rain. A wet rain jacket or hat could have water drip into your camera .  The goal here is to use common sense to protect you gear when shooting in the rain.

Try to enjoy the experience. With all of the water around look for reflections! The colors are more vibrant when they are wet. Using a polarizer filter can come in handy with all of the reflections out there. Experiment , Experiment, Experiment with your photography in the rain. Motion of water falling or running down a window, Puddles, People rushing to get out of the weather with a news paper over their heads. There are so many fun and unique possibilities when it's raining. I hope some of these tips will help you get out and shoot in the rain!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Photography polarizer rain cover reflections umbrella water waterproof weatherproof website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/tips-for-shooting-in-the-rain Fri, 16 Jun 2023 09:00:29 GMT
Being A Nimble Photographer. Lessons learned from Low Country Trip. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/being-a-nimble-photographer-lessons-learned-from-low-country-trip Hey Y'all ! Hope you're having a great week. Me? Well I came down with the Covid so I've got some time to catch up on my blogging so that's a good thing I guess. I recently took a photography trip with a couple of photo buddies down to the Low Country of Georgia and South Carolina. This was a 4 day trip with all kinds of photography to be had. Landscape, CityScape to Street Photography and even some Infrared. So there was a lot. What did I learn from this experience?  Well I learned that we did a lot of walking and being quick and nimble means that my kit needs to be that also. I thought I had it figured out. Not so much. My thoughts were that we were going to have 2 full days of shooting street photography and a full day or so of Landscape. So being me I figured that I would bring my street kit a Full frame Sony with some lenses and my trusty Landscape crop sensor kit with some zooms.  That made good sense to me at the time of packing.  My companions had it figured out more than I did they brought one camera and one maybe 2 lenses when we went into the streets of Savannah or Charleston I had my Full frame and at least three lenses with me .  I was carrying a 16-35, 28-60 and a 85 prime.  I just had too much stuff with me so I spent a lot of time changing out lenses and fumbling with equipment. Now don't get me wrong I got some good shots in but my comfort and my photography would have been better suited if I just had one lens and one body.  Maybe a 24-70 or a 24-105 would have suited me better than the combo of lenses I was taking with me. Of course my landscape stuff went with out a hitch .  So why is being a nimble photographer important?

Being quick and nimble especially in a city or urban environment is important because you are usually walking everywhere.  We were putting 10 to 12 miles in each day and lugging unnecessary equipment wears you down especially in the latter part of the day. The first day we were taking night time photo's of the fountain at Forsyth Park in Savannah and I was pooped.  It could have been a lot of factors that worked against me but one of them was the equipment that I was carrying. Having not to change lenses so often also makes you a better photographer because you can concentrate on the composition and not the focal length of the the lens that you have to change too. So even if I had made myself use just one lens like a 50 or a 35 I would have gotten better photo's .  But for me I think a 24-70 would have done the trick. Also I had two camera kits with me on the trip. I think for the next trip it will be one kit only. The reason that I took two kits is because I could. We had plenty of room in the truck we were riding in. This was the first time that I ever took two kits and may be the last.

What else did I learn? Well maybe for the street and urban stuff I don't need a super wide and if I do I can use my phone. Both of my photo buddies had iPhone 14pro and 14proMax and their shots with them were stunning. I have a iPhone 2020 SE which is an iPhone 8 hardware with iPhone 11 chipset in it. I still got some good photo's with it but am looking to upgrade to a better quality phone. For the landscape stuff I'm pretty dialed in I have three lenses that give me a range of 15mm to 525mm all I could ever want . My main lens is a 16-55mm 2.8 lens ( a 24-80 mm equivalent) that I love and 90% of my photo's are taken with. I also had a converted infrared camera with me that I got from one of my photo buddies. It’s a Canon EOS M that has been converted to Super Color IR and a 18-55 lens. I was able to switch back and forth pretty easily between my Landscape Sony and the Canon without having to unpack anything and enjoyed shooting both. Although this was the first time using the Canon and I don't quite have it all figured out yet. I do believe it will become a good addition to my Landscape kit replacing a point and shoot Lumix that I bought converted years ago.

So summary on what I would do different. Only take one kit. When shooting in an Urban environment one camera and one lens .  Use my phone more to take Wide and Panno's.  If you want to know more about being a Nimble Photographer there is a blog by Derrick Story called the Digital Story and he also has a website called the Nimble Photographer where he has many discussions and Tips on becoming a Nimble photographer.  I didn’t coin the phrase Nimble photographer but I try to live by it. Now I will always keep going out with friends to shoot new and old places. Because that's what photography to me is all about going out and having fun. So until Next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog cityscape Gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Nimble one Lens Photography street website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/being-a-nimble-photographer-lessons-learned-from-low-country-trip Fri, 09 Jun 2023 09:00:00 GMT
My thoughts on AI in Photoshop https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/my-thoughts-on-ai-in-photoshop Hey y'all ! Hope you've had a super week! Mine? Not too bad. This week I want to talk about Photoshop and the New  Generative Fill AI
that the Beta version has in it.  There has been an uproar on the internet on how this is going to change photography. And maybe it will. From the beginning of photography photographs have been altered. Whether is was dodging and burning in the darkroom like Ansil Adams was famous for or in the digital age of many photo manipulations. Photography is around us in everything we do from print in Magazines and Newspapers to online.  Almost every photo that you have ever seen has been manipulated in some sort. Beautiful women have been photographed and made even more beautiful by removing a blemish or smoothing out the skin to where people don't even look like people anymore.  The art of making someone loose weight just by the movement of a brush stroke has been with us awhile. Even the artful painters of years gone by used their judgment on how the subject they were painting looked. So why all the uproar of the new AI? All this has done is taken the people with the skill needed to do the manipulation out of the job. 

Since layering came out in Photoshop you could do what the new AI is doing. It was just harder. You had to have skill to do it. Now it's just easier. Just like when the healing brush and content aware fill came out it was like magic. Or when sky replacement came out. These things were going to change photography. And they did . They just made it easier. Will it change photography as we know it? It's hard to tell. But in my opinion it will just make it easier for the everyday man to do the job instead of a specialist. You will be able to add things to the photo just by typing "add hat" or " sunglasses" but you could do those things before but it did take a while. You had to go out to the internet and find those things in a photo cut them out add them to your photo make it look real by dodging and burning to make the light look right . Sound familiar ? Kind of what Ansil Adams was doing in the early 20th century. We've always had the way to do it. The new AI just makes it easier. I think its just a progression in what skill is needed. Let's use an analogy to kind of explain what I'm talking about.

When man used to roam the earth looking for food he walked and carried everything. Then the wheel was invented and they figured out how to use a cart to put things in. Then they figured they could put an animal on that cart to pull it. Then they figured out how to make a horseless carriage with a motor. But you had to be skilled to drive it. Changing gears and all. Then they came out with Automatic transmission and everyone could drive it putting chauffeurs out of business. Now they have gotten rid of the gasoline motor and have an electric motor car that can drive itself. Almost. But it will be coming . It's evolution . You either except it or not. The same is with the new AI in photoshop. You can do it the hard way like all the composite's that I've put in this blog or you do it the easy way with the new AI. Eventually it will be the new AI. Its evolution just like taking photo's with your phone. Who would have thought that that was ever going to happen. But its really made a whole type of camera (point and shoot) disappear .  Only very few even exist and they are specialized camera's that are very expensive for what they are when you can just carry your phone with you.

The moral view. A lot of AI has come out where it does all of the thinking and grabbing info from all of the internet causing copyright issues/concerns. There is even a statement with all of the smart people in the world that AI (not photoshop AI) will be the new doom and gloom event that will end the world with machines taking over the world. But I think that's a little on the far end of the spectrum of things. With the new AI in Photoshop they have taken the high road only sampling photo's from what is in Adobe Stock photos. I think eventually they will pay the contributors to Adobe Stock if their photo is used. It may be only a fraction of a penny but it will be something. I think that in the future there will be a credit type of system for using the AI. With the new AI it is using the internet to go to a server in Adobe and all of that cost money so I'm sure there will be in the future a credit. If your a subscriber maybe you get so many credits a month for free and have to pay for extra. But either way its good that Adobe is trying to take the high road in this. And of course you must be connected to the internet and I am assuming that you should have a fairly fast computer to run this new feature.

If you think about what the new AI really is. A new way of doing something that we could already do but easier its like going from stick shift to automatic in cars. It could bring out artist that were out there that didn't have technical skills needed to do the same thing in photoshop. Maybe the next Ansil Adams is just around the corner and will use AI instead of a dark room and dodging and burning.  Anyway those are my thoughts on the subject. The according to Max side of things. Until next week please get out and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Beta blog brush burn composite content aware fill dodge Evolve Generative Fill AI heal learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Photoshop software website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/6/my-thoughts-on-ai-in-photoshop Fri, 02 Jun 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Playing Chess not Checkers when doing Photography? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/playing-chess-not-checkers-when-doing-photography Hey Y'all ! Hope you had a great week! This week I want to talk about something that I just figured out. I recently went on a trip with a couple of photo buddies to the low country near Savannah Georgia and Charleston South Carolina and I found out that I'm  a Checker player not a Chess player when it comes to Photography. I always thought I was a Chess player but no.  What do I mean when I say this? A Chess player is thinking many moves in advance and a Checker player is mostly reactive. My photo buddies Mike and Robert were showing up to different sites with shots already in mind. They knew when and where the sun would come up or go down. They knew in advance what the keeper shot was going to be. Me on the other hand I was just showing up and trying to get what I could get playing it loosely and what moved me at the moment. They were playing Chess and I was playing Checkers. Now there is nothing wrong with playing Checkers and I think that most of us are playing Checkers. Being reactive instead of proactive. Lets look at some of the advantages and disadvantages to both.

Playing Chess. Being proactive. These people have shots in mind well before arriving at the location. They have the composition, what lens they will use, the camera settings and most important the patients to wait until the moment is right before pulling the trigger or shutter. They do not take as many photo's as the Checker player but the quality ratio of the ones they do take is high. Being a portrait photographer, landscape photographer or shooting architecture are all very much in their wheel house. But being spontaneous like street photography not so much. These are the thinkers of the group and usually have lots of experience shooting many different situations. They know what they like and are not willing to sacrifice.

Playing Checkers. Being Reactive. These people are a make the most out of the situation. They show up and figure on the fly how to shoot the scene .  They take many more photo's than the Chess Players with a less quality ratio photo's although they do get their keeper shots in.  They are more spontaneous and quick to the draw taking photo's of almost anything .  Sometimes they miss a shot because they didn't think ahead but they get other shots because they are thinking out of the box. Which can be a good thing. They are shooting what the situation gives them and not a pre-concieved shot that they were wanting to get. Street photographers and Sports are in their wheelhouse. We all start as snap shooters or Checker players and then either grow into the Chess player or stay the Checker player.

Photo trips with friends is a good way to see how others think when they are shooting. It always astonishes me how me and another photographer can be only a few feet away and shooting at the same thing but the photographs are totally different. Their thought process may be totally different than yours but it might be better too. The difference between Chess and Checker players can be the difference between Photographers and Snap Shooters some would say. I guess I fall under the category of Snap shooter or Checker player. Where my photo buddies fall under the title of Photographer or Chess player. In the big wonderful world of Photography I think there is room for both. Which one are you? Thats all for this week until next week get out and shoot some!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Checkers Chess landscape learning Max Stansell Photography on the fly out of the box Photography Planning Portrait Proactive Reactive researching sport street website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/playing-chess-not-checkers-when-doing-photography Fri, 26 May 2023 08:50:06 GMT
Challenge Yourself! One Lens Challenge! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/challenge-yourself-one-lens-challenge Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week! You know sometimes you just have to challenge yourself. Here lately I've been in a rut photography wise and I'm trying to snap out of it. Getting new equipment sometimes will snap you into a good photography groove but I don't want to spend money. I asked my photo wingman what we were going to shoot this weekend and he came up with a challenge. So here goes the challenge. A one lens Macro shoot street walk through Wilmington NC. Now Wilmington is a beautiful sea side town in North Carolina full of Azalea's in the spring. They even have a festival which is the largest festival in North Carolina every year. I've been many times but not this year. They have lots of old historic homes with trees covered in Spanish moss. The plan is to get there in the early morning and walk the city and meet up for lunch to compare photo's and establish bragging rights. We must also walk at least 3 miles during this challenge. I kind of hesitated on the one lens thing but the more I thought about it I liked it so I agreed to it. 

My kit for the challenge. The body I will be using is a Sony full frame A7III at 24 mp and then I started thinking about what lens to use and I could use a variety of lenses to accomplish this task the only parameter its that it had to focus close up.  Maybe a 16-35mm or a Prime 35mm. But what I decided on was a 50mm macro with a maximum aperture of f2.8. Nothing too fancy. I grew up shooting a 50mm back in the film days so composition will be fun and I will have to work a little bit more than I would with a zoom. I'm sure there will be some shots that I will want to get that will be too wide for this lens so I will have to do a pantograph and stitch them together in photoshop. I will also bring a small flash and diffuser if I really want to go Macro to give me enough light. I am not going to tote a tripod with me to keep me quick and nimble.

The day of the challenge Me and Robert set out from my house and drove the hour and a 45 min to Wilmington. The weather forecast had changed from the last time I looked at it which said no rain until after lunch. And of course it was raining when we got there. We made our way downtown found parking .  We then donned our raincoats and headed out into the rain. The rain was a light rain . Heaver than a  sprinkle but lighter than a downpour. Manageable. We set the time to meet at 1100 at a bar and grill to have lunch. We had more than a hour and a half to shoot before lunch time .  And off we went into different directions. My plan was to stay outside and find things to shoot and Roberts was to go to some shops and shoot things until the rain died down. I came across a few things to shoot in the rain and I came upon a outdoor market but felt odd with my camera shooting items for sale so I kept on.  Shooting in the light rain was fun! I had a blast looking for objects to shoot much like a scavenger hunt. The lens I was using was very slow at focusing and it took me a while to get used to it. As I kept going it became easer to find things to shoot. I was getting in the groove!  Before I knew it the time had passed and I ended up at the lunch spot. I still had a few min. to spare so I circled the block and took a few more. We had a nice lunch and drove home talking about our small adventure and how we were going to post our photo's to our camera club's members page and let them figure out who was the winner. No mater who actually wins I feel like a winner because I really had a good time shooting with only 1 lens.  I have never traveled over an hour and a half to shoot with only one lens. But it was fun and freeing .  I didn't have to think about what lens would make the image look better. I only had one choice and I had to figure it out. That took all the gear out of the equation and put my skills at work trying to get the best image with just the 50 for everything. I loved it .  You should give it a try. Shoot with only one lens for a day and see what you get. I did pretty well and I have a number of images to choose from. 

Who won? Well the photo I submitted to the club was not the favorite. So in technical terms I lost. But I think I really won because I challenged myself got some good photo's , Shot in the rain which I hardly ever do and most important of all I had a great time with a photo buddy exploring a pretty city. So Win, Win, Win! I know Robert will say that's what losers say! LOL

So until next week challenge yourself with something new. A new technique or shoot something different than normal and you will have a great time. Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Challenge full frame funk landscape learning lens Macro Max Stansell Photography mojo NC one lens Photography rain slump website wilmington workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/challenge-yourself-one-lens-challenge Fri, 19 May 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Low Country Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/low-country-trip Hey Y’all ! I hope that you’ve had a great week. I certainly have. This last week I took a photo trip with a couple of Photo Buddies Mike and Robert. We have had this trip planned for quite awhile and were eager to get going. This trip was to go to the low country of Georgia and South Carolina.  We planned on driving to Savannah and working our way up the coast to North Carolina following Highway 17.  As with any trip hotel reservations and an itinerary had been made months in advance.  This means that we were at the mercy of the weather. Prior to the trip its has rained if you include Friday 19 weekends in a row. We were a little nervous but we were in luck it only rained one night and didn’t really hinder our photography at all.  This trip had two purposes in mind. First of all to have fun and shoot as much as we could and second to scout a potential Spring trip an four day trip much like we were taking. And of course food will be a main part of this trip also as the food being fantastic in this part of the country with a Southern flair. So lets get started with Savannah Ga. 

The low country is a beautiful place with live oaks and Spanish moss everywhere. Savannah does not disappoint. With 18th and 19th century architecture with beautiful houses and buildings. And of course the Forrest Gump backdrop to “Life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you’re going to get” vibe . Everywhere you turn there is a a photo to be had. But capturing this lovely place is very hard. Especially if you’re trying to take one photo that represents Savannah.  There are iconic shots to get like the fountain at Forsyth Park or the suspension bridge that we traveled over to get into the city. But I think you need a lot of photographs to tell the story of Savannah . Savannah is more of a feeling than a photo opp. After a 6 hour trip with a stop in the middle for some down home cooking at a local restaurant just off of 95 we made it into Savannah. Too early to check into the hotel but they did let us park our car right in front of where our room would be. Then the walking started. You can travel the city in many ways. Of course you can walk but you can Uber and there are busses  that can take you where you want to go with little or no fee. But we hoofed it. I think I had over 20000 steps or around 11 miles. So if your not as mobil as I am you might want to take alternative transportation. At first we made our way to Forsyth Park taking many photos’ along the way. I had been to Savannah before but Mike had not and it was nice seeing his face light up at all of the beautiful sites. After shooting Forsyth park we decided to make it back to the hotel and then find some food. We ate at a local tavern and the food was excellent. We headed back to the room just to grab some gear used the bathroom and off to Forsyth Park to capture the fountain at nighttime.  It was hard to shoot but we got some and came home went to the water front for a minute and got in well after 9 almost 10. A big first day. Our next day would start early and make our way to Beaufort SC. 

We were going to a national monument (park) and were going to hike a mile and shoot a lighthouse. When we arrived the park was closed and would not open until 9. So with quick thinking from Robert, our cruse director, we went to Tybee Island pier to shoot the sunrise. And I must say that it was one of the best sunrises that I have seen in quite a while. The colors were fantastic! We stopped on the way back and tried to shoot the lighthouse that we missed earlier from afar. I didn’t have enough lens to get there but I’m sure Mike did. As he had a 800mm lens with him. Then off to breakfast at a local restaurant the Sunrise Cafe. I highly recommend. We had a local breakfast with grits and all of the fixings . Next stop was Wormsloe Plantation. There is a 10 dollar cost to get in but being military veteran‘s we got in for 8. The plantation doesn’t open until 10 so we got there a little early so we found a local coffee shop to have a cup of coffee and relax a bit before going back to Wormsloe. Wormsloe is a beautiful plantation with live oaks on either side of the driveway creating a canapé of green. The money shot! We then headed to the visitor center and took a mile long hike through the plantation looking at ruins and old-timy settlement. After the plantation we headed to Paris Island Marine base. Robert had been stationed there and lived in Beaufort SC for a couple of years. He had lots of stories to tell and we toured the base. We did not see a lot of activity on the base but at least I can check that off of places to visit. Our next stop was Hilton Head and Harbor town golf resort. It was very nice and we had lunch at the light house restaurant overlooking all of the yachts and the 18 green. The next destination was Beaufort it self. We arrived at the hotel but it was too early to check in so we headed to eat at a local restaurant called the Dockside. Food was excellent. Then we headed downtown.  There was a small festival happening in the downtown with music and booths to shop at. It had started to sprinkle and rain a little so we cut it short. I would love to go back to this little town to explore even more.  Off to bed after 9 and up early to head to Charleston SC.

Our first stop was Hunting Island State park and of course we got there too early. They open up the gates at 0600 and we got there at 0530 but only a half hour wait. We arrived at the parking lot in the dark and headed to the beach. The goal of this shoot was to capture sunrise with driftwood in the fore ground. This took a little walking down the beach to reach the dead wood yard. The sunrise was okay but not as good as the day before but still good. We then headed to the Hunting Island Lighthouse and took lots of photo’s . I do like me a lighthouse. With no people in sight we had free rain over the shoot. We then went to a boardwalk that took us out the the marshes. I think Mike got some good shots here because he had his 800mm lens out. Me not so much. The next stop was back to Beaufort to get a late breakfast almost a brunch but it was very good. Then off to Charleston. On the way we stopped at Old Sheldon Church. This is a ruin of a church that was burnt down during the Revolutionary War rebuilt and burnt down again during the Civil War with big live oaks all around. Very cool. When we got to Charleston at about 1330 and I knew we were too early but I was trying to get a parking place like we did in Savannah but the guy at the desk went ahead and checked us in and we decided to rest for a coupe of hours before heading out. We took a Uber to the boundary (waterfront) and started walking . We walked around for a couple of hours and got us something to great at an English Pub. Food was great but the wall coverings were crazy with one dollar bills stapled to every inch of every wall and windows. It was very cool. We took an Uber back to the hotel and rested a few hours before heading out again. We then took an Uber out to the bridge and set up and waited for the sun to go down .  The bridge did not disappoint we had lovely colors and again we took an Uber back to the hotel and  again it was after 9 o’clock .  The next morning we decided to sleep late and get breakfast in the hotel before heading out.

Our last day was mainly a travel day but we did stop in Southport NC to eat at a local eatery called "Fishy, Fishy" and it was good. We sat outside and watched the pelicans fish while we were eating. We then walked the quaint little town. All in all it was a great trip and fun was had by all. Now we just got to get the camera club to go. It’s important to plan trips and ones with your friends are the best. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Beaufort blog Charleston SC Cityscape Infrared landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Savannah Georgia Sunrise Sunset travel Urban website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/low-country-trip Fri, 12 May 2023 08:12:18 GMT
Shooting What You Can't See? Infrared Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/shooting-what-you-cant-see-infrared-photography Cape Lookout IR 2Cape Lookout IR 2www.MaxStansellPhotography.com Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing well this week! I'm doing pretty well. This week I want to talk to you about a type of photography that you can't see with your eyes. Thats right! You can't see. Infrared Photography. Infrared Photography has been around for decades and there is even film for just shooting infrared but we are going to talk about Digital Infrared. Now I'm not going to get into the Science of Infrared but what's cool about it is when its best to shoot it. Infrared is perfect to shoot in the middle of the day when the sun is the harshest.  Now if your like me if I go somewhere I want to shoot all day long not just in golden hour or when the light is perfect. I want to shoot all day. So infrared photography is perfect for the time of day that the light isn't great for other types of photography. What is infrared photography? Infrared photography is used to capture wavelengths of light that aren't visible to the human eye. What does it look like? Infrared has a strong appeal for fine art photography. It looks surreal and otherworldly, with trees taking on a bright white or yellow hue and skies a red or blue hue. Leaves appear frozen over, and skies take on dramatic colors in both black and white and color photography. There is a lot to infrared and the science but really its pretty simple to shoot. You can either use a camera that has been converted to infrared or you can use a filter on your regular camera and shoot infra red. Let Somerset Plantation House 2Somerset Plantation House 2 me go over both.

Having a camera converted. For a few hundred dollars you can send your camera into a company that specializes in converting camera into infrared only cameras. Thats right infrared only! So once you get the camera converted it can't take regular photo's anymore. So ideally it would be an older camera that your not using and have it converted and use it occasionally. After you have your camera converted you can use it like your regular camera but it will only take Infrared. This is great and its fun to shoot. If you don't have an extra camera you can buy a camera that has already been converted. Just make sure its in the same system of your Yates Mill Pond IRYates Mill Pond IR main camera so you can use all of the glass that you have for your main camera. Many years ago I bought a converted point and shoot camera. And I have had some success with it taking it with me on trips and shoot once or twice on a trip just to have something different.  The only problem with it is that its JPEG only and doesn't shoot in RAW which comes in handy because there are some special post processing stuff that you need to do which can strain the JPEG. Other than that it works great. I'm thinking about maybe buying another one but one that shoots RAW so I can do more with the images afterwards in post.

Using a Infrared filter on regular camera. I just bought a Hoya Infrared 72 filter. This filter make your camera an infrared for black and white. Although you can do some other edits with it. You have to buy it for the filter size of the lens your going to use so I suggest getting one that will fit the largest lens filter size you have and use step down rings to fit other lenses. Cape Lookout IRCape Lookout IRMax Stansell Photography This is the mistake I made. I had a couple of lenses that are 55mm filter size and that's what I bought so now I might have to buy a bigger one so I can use it on all my lenses. The filter looks like a ND filter very dark and you will have to do longer exposures to get the shots. A tripod will be a must and some way to trigger your shutter. And of course it there is wind you will get blurry leaves in the trees. So there are drawbacks to using this filter but it does work and you can get great shots and its a great way to see if you want to get into infrared more and maybe get a camera converted. And if you don't like it you've only spent 40 bucks on a filter. I guess the price depends on the size of the filter.

For me its something I can shoot while waiting for golden hour. Kind of like Macro photography is pretty good during harsh lighting. But the results you get can be fantastic and the responses you get from people is really mixed. Some love it some don't understand and some are wondering when did it snow by that lighthouse?  But for the price of a filter you can try your hand at shooting what others just can't see by shooting Infrared. So until next week get out and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Black and White blog Filters Hoya Hoya72 infrared IR Kolarivision landscape learning long exposure Max Stansell Photography Photography point and Shoot website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/5/shooting-what-you-cant-see-infrared-photography Thu, 04 May 2023 06:49:54 GMT
Cleaning your Camera https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/cleaning-your-camera Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week! This week's topic is from a fellow camera club member. As one of the officers in our camera club one of my duties is to come up with a gear related topic each meeting to give a 5 or so min. discussion before our actual meeting starts. I put the question to our camera club membership page and got quite a few good suggestions but one of our new members suggested how to clean your camera so that's how I got this topic. First of all cleaning you camera is just part of taking care of your gear. Gear is expensive and we don't want to damage it just through neglect. Clean gear not only gets you clear photo's but also will last longer if well taken care of. So before we get into the actual cleaning lets get to how to protect and keep our camera equipment clean as possible.

Prevention. Keeping your camera from getting dirty in the first place is key to not having to clean it all of the time. The more you rub on the expensive lenses the more potential there is to damage them. First of all if your not using your equipment it should be stowed away in a clean dry place. Your camera bag will be fine unless you just got in from a rain storm.  In each of the compartments of my camera bag I have desiccant bags to absorb any moisture. You get these little bags in every thing you buy from shoes to electronics. Instead of throwing them away put them in your bag to help absorb moisture.  Keep lens caps on front and rear of your lenses when not in use. This will keep stray dirt and dust off of your expensive lenses. The same with your camera body if its stored without a lens on it put a cap on it to keep dirt and dust out. A protective  screen protector for your rear display is a must. These displays are easily scratched and the screen protector works great just like it does on your phone.

Cleaning. Cleaning your camera comes in phases. The first phase is cleaning the outside of your camera and lenses. Microfiber is your friend. I keep small microfiber clothes in each of the compartments of my camera bags. Little small squares that you get from all kinds of places work great for this. You seem to get one with electronics , from the eye doctor, and they just accumulate. I take them and put in my camera bag and always have one in my pocket for easy access. These are great for wiping down your camera's outside from dust and debris. You could also use pre-moisten cloths that you can get for cleaning electronics also they work great.

The second phase is the lens glass itself. Keeping these clean and free of debris can make post processing easier without a lot of processing to get out pesky spots. The first line of defense is blowing the debris away from the glass , not with your mouth because you'll just end up spitting on your camera. But with a blower. I keep a small one in my bag just for these purpose's. You'll find that a blower will get out most if not all of the stuff off of your lens. The second thing you can do after blowing is use a lens brush. These are inexpensive brushes that are very soft and made for lenses. These will get the stubborn debris off of your lens. 

The third phase is for stubborn smudges or water marks on your lens. A liquid lens cleaner and a microfiber work well. There are some prepackaged wipes that are made especially for lenses.  Zeiss makes the one's that I'm thinking about but I'm sure there are more. These in conjunction with a microfiber clothe will get these lenses clean as new.

Now lets talk about sensors. Our camera sensors have electricity running through them and that makes them into a dust magnet. If you're using a mirrorless camera this is even worse because the sensor is just right there when you remove your lens. Not like a DSLR that has the mirror mechanism to protect the sensor.  Most cameras have a setting on them that will de-magnetize them and shake the sensor to get the particles to fall off.  This should be your first defense for cleaning .  Second should be holding your camera upside down sensor facing the ground and using a blower to blow away the dust. If your using a DSLR you will have to lock up your mirror to get to the sensor to do this.  The third is using a sensor brush. This is not the same brush that you used to clean your lenses . It is made especially for delicate sensors .  These methods usually get all of the dust off of your sensor. But if your sensor still needs cleaning then using a sensor swab to clean them is the final step. Using the correct sensor swab with the correct solution on it for your sensor gently wipe one direction stop at the end of the sensor and go back with the other side of the swab. Throw swab away don't use it again. If you need to keep cleaning get a new swab and repeat until clean. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR CAMERA to do this. On mirrorless cameras it not to hard but on DSLR's you have to use a setting on your camera to lock up the mirror open the shutter for cleaning. I can't say it enough follow the instruction in your camera's manual on how to do this. Most of the dirt and dust that get on your sensors comes when you change out lenses so try not to change in dusty or dirty areas. I try to always blow out my camera before changing lenses but its not always practical to do when in a rush. 

Keeping your camera clean and in good working order is easy to do if you take the time to find out how. If you are not comfortable on cleaning your sensor you can take it to your local camera store and they will clean it for a small fee. Having well maintained equipment (clean) will extend the life of your equipment and make your picture taking more enjoyable. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog blower camera's cleaning dust gear landscape learning lens Brush Max Stansell Photography Photography sensor sensor Brush sensor swabs spots website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/cleaning-your-camera Fri, 28 Apr 2023 08:24:08 GMT
Tripods , Three Legged Monster Revisited https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/tripods-three-legged-monster-revisited Hey Everyone! I hope you had a Fantastic week! Me? Well thanks for asking it was great! This week I want to Revisit a Blog that I did in 2015 about Tripods, Tripods, Tripods! If your new to photography and you'e talked to some more experienced photographers you can find that Tripods can be a very controversial subject  Some don't even own one and others live by them and have one everywhere they go.  I guess I fall closer to the later but I don't take one everywhere.  Like all things there are pro's and con's to be considered when using tripods.  Let me go over why I like to use a tripod when I can.  When I'm doing landscape work it helps me see the scene it also slows me down and lets me work the shot and think over what Im doing without running and gunning like most of us do.  Its also a must for any type of long exposure photography whether it be astro photography , waterfalls, or time lapse.  I also use a tripod when doing portraits.  This is where I differ from a lot of portrait photographers.  I like the tripod because it is like a book mark.  Let me explain what I mean.  If I have a subject posed and I see a fly away hair that I need to take care of with my camera on a tripod I can simply walk over take care of the fly away and go back to my camera and the only thing that has changed is that the fly away is gone and SNAP I can take the photo.  Without the tripod you see a fly away you walk over with your camera fix the hair and go back to the approx place you were recompose, refocus and take the shot.  Its a lot less work with the tripod and less time spent recomposing the subject.  Well there's my spin on the controversy.  Lets talk about parts and pieces.

Tripods come in all sorts and sizes.  They are made of all kinds of materials from aluminum , plastic, carbon fiber, even wood if you can find one old enough.  Aluminum is the industry standard and there are many really good aluminum tripods.  Carbon Fiber is the new kid on the block and they are lighter in weight with the same strength as their aluminum counterparts.  I have many tripods most are aluminum and one is of carbon fiber.  Aluminum is cheaper and for my money it is the best choice for most people.  Unless you are carrying your tripod for long distances aluminum is the best choice in my opinion.  

As the saying goes "Size Matters".  I personally have had tripods that could reach as high as 7 feet and as small as 6 inches high.  Not only size should be considered, but the weight that the tripod can support also.  No matter what tripod you pick you must be able to support your most heavy camera combination. So if you just have a small point and shoot or mirrorless camera system a small tripod will do.  But if  you have a big boy combination with heavy lenses then you must go big.  Each tripod has a maximum camera weight rating and you should consider this. With your heaviest camera and heaviest lens weigh you rig. You should have a maximum rating on your tripod to handle this with ease. My main tripod will hold 17 pounds but I use a mirrorless crop sensor camera and my heaviest combo is only about 3 pounds so I'm well with in. But if I had a full frame DSLR and a big 70-200 that wouldn't work on my tripod. It would be too flimsy and shake while taking the photo.

How your camera connects to your tripod is another thing you must think about when getting a tripod.  We've talked about size, material, of the legs what about the tripod head that sit atop the legs of the tripod.  There are many types of heads but the two basic design are Pan and Tilt and Ball Head.  The pan and tilt head does exactly as it says it pans back and forth and tilts up and down.  The ball head has a more versatile system where everything sits on a ball and can be moved in any direction and angle.  I use the ball head for all of my tripods.  Atop of the tripod head is the part that hooks up the tripod to the camera.  Long time ago you just screwed the camera onto the mounting plate of the tripod head but that was a pain.  Now they have quick disconnecting mounting hardware that a plate hooks to your camera and stays on and a mounting bracket hooks to your tripod head and with a quick move of a lever the camera is secure and with another move its off.  There are a few styles of quick disconnects the industry standard is Arca Swiss but there are others like Manfrotto quick disconnects. I use a Arca Swiss type of bracket on my camera's. I also use a bracket that is called an "L" bracket on all of my cameras.  As the name suggest it is a bracket that is shaped like an "L" and fits your camera.  The beauty of this bracket is that I can be taking a photo in Landscape mode and with a flip of a lever I can turn my camera to Portrait mode with out changing my tripod position. Lets talk about how the legs extend. There are two different ways that they can work there are Screw type and clamp type of locks for you leg extensions. I use the screw type just because I've always had them. I have had the clamp ones and they seem to me to be a little finicky but people swear by them so I'm sure they are fine. Then there are the feet to consider. Many tripods come with different kinds of feet for different surfaces . Some are spikes to stick in the ground when you're doing landscape and some have rubber feet when your inside on your  nice wooden floors. Being able to change the feet are a big plus when choosing a tripod.

Believe it or not I have just skimmed the surface of the "Three Legged Monster" There are many things that we could talk about.  For me the main thing I want to convey is that if you have a tripod and don't use it you should give it a try.  Using a tripod can slow down your process and have you taking and thinking more about what your photographing instead of just the point and shoot mentality that we have gotten use to.  Tripods will also make your photo's sharper by eliminating hand shake. 

As you can see Tripods have been a part of photography from the beginning of the art and will be for a long long time. So get your tripod and lets get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Ball Heads blog carbon fiber L Brackets landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Pan and Tilt Photography portrait Tabletop Tripods Travel Tripods website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/tripods-three-legged-monster-revisited Fri, 21 Apr 2023 09:00:00 GMT
First things to do after you get your New Camera https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/first-things-to-do-after-you-get-your-new-camera Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is have a great week!  I am.  This week I want to discuss the things that you should do after you get your new camera. We usually think that we've bought a new camera that it should be as up to date as it can be. Well that's not always the case. Your camera might be new and shiny but depending on what you got it could be years old. So one of the first things to do is check your firmware version and make sure you have the latest firmware version.

 Firmware.  Back in the film days we really didn't have to worry about firmware because everything was mechanical but now in the electronic and computer age everything seems to have some sort of program in them.  And for some reason there is always an update to be had.  Firmware ( in simple terms) is the program that electronics use to do whatever they do. When you update your firmware you are altering the program that was in the device that your updating. Usually fixing some sort of bug or adding some sort of feature.  Much like Lightroom or Windows updates they correct bugs or improve stuff. In your camera this could mean better focusing or faster focus.  Maybe they add some sort of new software to make your camera like new.  As long as the hardware can handle the upgrade the possibilities are endless.  Some company's put out lots of firmware updates and some do not.  Making sure your camera has the latest and greatest update can make the camera perform like brand new saving you from having to upgrade or buy a new one. If you haven't checked your firmware you should. If you  have never updated the firmware you may tell a big difference in the way that it works.  Installing the firmware is easy and all of the camera companies will have a step by step procedure for you to follow to make sure you have the latest and greatest.  This usually involves installing on your computer some sort of program that when your camera is connected to your computer the program updates the firmware.  On older cameras it was installing the firmware on a SD card and inserting it into your camera and going through a series of procedures to update the firmware. In any case it's fairly easy to do .

But now a days its not just camera bodies that get the firmware update its also Lenses.  Newer lenses have small computers in them also that can be tweaked to give that lens a sharper focusing and quicker focusing.  So check your lenses especially if they are fairly new.  The firmware updates that you do to them can make them really nice lenses.  If you have a new body that has super fast focusing powers but your lens is still using the old way of focusing a firmware update to that lens could make it perform just like a brand new lens. I just got through checking all of my lenses for the firmware updates and they were all up to date. Its a good feeling to know that all of your equipment is up to date and running as efficient as it can.  I think this should almost be an annual event or even a simi-annual event to check the firmware of all of your electronics.

 The next thing you should do is read the manual.  I know nobody likes to do this .  New camera's can do all sorts of things that we might not know they can do until we read the manual. Another good alternative to this is to watch a video on how to set up your camera and go through all of the settings. This is usually one of the first things I do because now a days camera's are so complicated and have so many options that Bell & Howell /CannonBell & Howell /CannonHere is the new addition to my film cameras . 1961 Canon Canonet 19. learning from someone that has more experience using your make and model of camera and how to set it up is a great starting point. Whats nice about a video is you can rewind as many time as you want to get all of the facts right to set up your camera. You can find these videos on youtube or on places like Creative Live. I usually use Creative Live because I buy my camera's used and they have all kinds of video's on my particular camera and can usually get a print out of all of the settings and where to set.

Accessories. Make your camera yours. Maybe a new camera strap or a fancy lens cap.  Or a new camera bag. Making your camera yours is a great way to make your camera more enjoyable to shoot. I don't do a lot but I always have a camera strap system put on my cameras . I usually use the Peak Design system that have the little buttons that you attach to your camera to put on the strap. or a plate on the bottom of the camera that will attach to a clip attached to my backpack. If your new camera that is in the same system as your old camera say your own Nikons and you buy another Nikon your accessories might work for your new camera like a remote shutter release system. Maybe an "L" bracket to put on your camera . I usually have these on all of my cameras.  Make it yours. Oh just thought of this is to get a screen protector for your display to keep it from getting scratched because believe me it will get scratched. Just like you protect your phone screen you should definitely protect your camera display.

After all of this done you should shoot, shoot, shoot! The more you shoot the more familiar you will be with your new camera. Being very comfortable with your camera and not fumbling with it only comes with hours of practice . So shoot everything and anything.  Getting used to all of the dials and buttons and knowing where they are will help you get the shot when it counts. Make photography more natural instead of a process of figuring out a new gadget. So until next week take your new camera and get out and Shoot, Shoot,Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Accessories Bags blog camera camera straps camera systems Firmware gear landscape learning Lenses manual Max Stansell Photography New Peak Design Photography video website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/first-things-to-do-after-you-get-your-new-camera Fri, 14 Apr 2023 08:34:14 GMT
Table Top Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/table-top-photography Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe today.  This week I want to talk about something I don't talk about a lot Table Top Photography. This type of photography can be great fun especially on the cold days of winter.  You don't really need lots of equipment but you can buy lots of gear to do this if your a gear head like I am.  But you don't need to.  You can use Sunlight through a window or many flashes.  The one thing that you will need is your imagination.  I have done everything from still life to food photography and all are great fun to do.  When I first started I went on YouTube and found channels that showed you how the shot was created and then I would try it .  I did everything from Splash photography (dropping things in water) to motion photography (dragging the shutter) .  This is a great way to start to get your Photography juices Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash flowing.  Then you can start altering the process with using items that you have at your house. You can use almost anything from bed sheets to cardboard that you have laying around.  Here are a list of things that might come in handy when doing Table top Photography.

1. Table. Of course you need a table. Any table will do but a portable table that you can move and maybe set up and put away when not using could come in handy.  It doesn't have to be fancy it could be anything from a TV tray to a fancy table .  I actually use a steel table that I found in a dumpster maybe 20 years ago and its still going strong.

DiceDice 2. Some sort of lighting.  This could almost be anything from a table light to fancy strobes.  I have used them all .  I even have some constant LED lights that I picked up recently that I have been using that work great.  But almost anything.

3. Camera. Yep any camera will do from point and shoot to your iPhone.  But the camera that you normally use will be the best because your used to it.  Being able to shoot in manual will be a plus.

4. Tripod. A tripod comes in handy for a couple of reasons .  First it keeps your camera steady but more  Red HeartRed Heart importantly it keeps the frame constant. If  you have your camera on a tripod and have the scene set up you don't have to reframe when you're adjusting the object that your shooting. You just adjust it.  You don't have to pick up your camera and put to your face and readjust .  

5. Lenses? Almost any lens will do.  I tend to use a 50mm a lot when I'm doing table top photography. But a 24-70 would work great also. Really any lens will do . Macro lenses are also nice to use to shoot small stuff. Little things. 

What about shooting fine art? You can do this on the table top also. You can take simple photo's and take them into Photoshop and add some layers of texture to them and you have some really nice pieces that you could print and hang in your house as fine art. They are really cool to do and once you get the hang of it and the photoshop skills you can just fly thru these and make many.

So as you see tabletop photography can be fun and you can really build your photography skills up by just playing with your camera at home. So until next week pull out that table and shoot some stuff.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog fine art flashes gear learning macro Max Stansell Photography Photography reflectors splash Photography still life strobes Tabletop triggers website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/4/table-top-photography Fri, 07 Apr 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Bringing a Friend on Adventures https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/bringing-a-friend-on-adventures Hey Everyone! Hope your week has been Fantastic! Mine has been pretty good. Thanks for asking! This week I want to talk about taking adventures no matter how small and how having a friend or friends with you will make the event even better. Now normally I talk about photography and this week will have a little in it but it will be mostly about "Adventure".  We all want a little adventure in our lives but its hard to get off of that couch and out the door to do them. I have found that photography has gotten me out of the house to seek more adventure but even more that that taking a friend  with me even makes it better.  Back in 2019 I started a adventure/project to visit all of the state parks in my state and even with the "TP Apocalypse" (Toilet Paper) dealing with Covid I was able to complete my goal. This was a personal goal and mainly done alone or with my companion Forrest the Wonder dog.  If you remember not too long ago I talked about having a Photography Wingman when traveling but I think for almost all of your adventures you should have a friend with you to make it just more fun! In just this last week I've had two small adventures and had friends along to make the experience even more fun even when things don't go quite as planned. Let me tell you about my two adventures.

Backpacking with a Noob. I have been an avid backpacker over the last decade or so but it's usually a solo affair or my son goes with me. I have never gone with a friend into the back country. My photography wingman Robert had not gone backpacking before. (well as a civilian) So this was a chance to make his trip as enjoyable as possible and give him a great experience. Now ruffing it to Robert is staying at a Motel 6 and not really sleeping in the woods. So I got all the gear that he would need for the backpacking trip and put in a nice pack for him to carry. I even supplied the meal that he would make for himself. The couple of weeks prior I sent him messages on Backpacking Tips and sent little videos on how to do stuff backpacking related.  I had picked an easy place to do the backpacking at. So from the time we left the truck it was a learning experience for him. We had a ball. He made a video of the experience. We set up his tent, blew up his air mattress and got him all settled in. After another small hike we took a break. He went to his tent and fell asleep. It was nice to see that he was comfortable enough to get some shut eye. That evening he cooked his meal and we did some night time photography.  I made a fire and kept it going for a few hours . It got cold at night and we left early for fear of rain. When we got to the truck it started sleeting and snowing a little mixed in with the rain. We had such a good time that next week we are going on another Backpacking/Photography adventure up in Virginia. I'll let you know how it goes.

Night time Photography in the city. During the week the next week after our backpacking trip. Robert and myself invited Caitlin to Raleigh NC (the closest big city near us) to do some night time photography.  We are all members of the local camera club and all of us have been officers of the club at one time or another. So we are pretty active and have become good friends. On the way to the shoot we stopped and got supper at the suggestion of Caitlin and it was fantastic. We talked of trips we had taken and future trips we were planning. We then traveled to a park where we could do some night time photography and also to a bridge overlooking a busy street to get some light trails. The whole night was planned by Robert and he always has interesting things to try. While messing around with flashes I had my camera on my tripod but didn't have the legs spread out like I should. I bumped into the tripod and it fell over bringing my camera and lens into a Nose Dive right into the concrete lens first and smashed up my lens. It broke it pretty good. Good thing it wasn't an expensive one. But no use in crying over spilled milk. I just grabbed another lens and kept up with the shoot. We had a ball cracking jokes and just being silly. I really enjoyed my time with my friends out on a small adventure. Did we get any great shots? No not really but we had fun.

So there you go two small adventures both taken with friends making them even better. I could have done both of these solo and I have in the past but its nowhere near as fun as with friends that share a common interest .  So if your part of a camera club you can always ask if anyone wants to go on a trip with you so you're not by yourself.  You won't be sorry. Going in small packs of friends is fun and safer than going solo. I have another trip planned with some photography friends in a couple of months and am looking forward to that trip also. Not only for the Photography but also for the experience. So until next week grab your buddy and get outside and shoot.
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog Camping experience friend gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website wingman https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/bringing-a-friend-on-adventures Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Basic Tips to Astro Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/basic-tips-to-astro-photography Hey Everyone!  Hope everyone is doing well and is healthy and safe.  This topic is a spur of the moment one that just occurred to me that I haven't talked about astrophotography before.  While attending a Zoom meeting with my camera club, a lady gave a great presentation on astrophotography, and I just wanted to jump in and give my 2 cents worth.  But I didn't want to be that guy, you know, Mister Know It All.  So this morning I figured I would just send a link to our group of one of my blogs about the subject and there wasn't one.  So this one is going to be it.  Now, I'm no expert on shooting at night, but I have done it a couple of times with both successes and some failures and wanted to share the little that I know with y'all.

Moon Shots.  When trying to get the exposure right on a very bright moon against a dark black sky, you just end up with a white dot if you let your camera do the work.  You need to go into manual to take this shot. Let's think a little about what shooting a full moon is anyway.  You're shooting the reflecting light of the sun.  So you can leave your white balance on "auto" if you're shooting in RAW, which you should be, or you can place it on "daylight" because that is what it is.  The best rule of thumb for me is to use the sunny 16 rule.  This is an old rule developed by Kodak when they were trying to teach people how to use a camera back in the beginning of the consumer camera photography.  The rule states "put your aperture on 16 then match your ASA(ISO) and shutter speed and the photograph will be properly exposed in sunlight." This rule works great for shooting the moon.  Now, you will need a tripod and a telephoto lens, and I would suggest using a remote trigger to keep the camera shaking down to a minimum.  This should give you a properly exposed moon. The gear I used for this shot was a Sony A6500 (a crop sensor camera) and my Sony 70-350 mm lens.  There are all kinds of moon phases, and you can just google and find out when the full moon, half moon, etc. will appear.  So good luck with shooting the moon! LOL  No, not that kind. LOL Taking a photo of the full moon can be a challenge.  

Shooting Stars. Shooting stars is a whole different thing to shooting the moon. The moon is very bright and shining, but stars are far away and have very little light.  So capturing that light is the trick.  I break shooting stars into two categories:  pinpoint stars where the stars are focused and are points of light (shooting the Milky Way also falls into this category) and star trails where the light of the stars makes a trail across the frame of your camera. 

For both types of shooting of the stars in these categories, place your camera in RAW and your white balance to AUTO, and that will take care of these settings and can be adjusted in post production very easily.  We will be shooting in manual mode and will be focusing in manual also.  Auto focusing has a hard time picking out stars to focus on, and manual will be much easier.  A large aperture wide angel lens will be needed.  Remember, we want to catch as much light as possible, so the larger aperture will come in handy.  An "F-stop" of 2.8 to 1.4 is recommended, the largest one you have; a sturdy tripod with a remote release; a head lamp or flashlight with a RED setting is best for working in the dark to preserve your night vision; and of course getting away from light pollution, sources from a town, street lights, or anything that produces light.  Really the farther away from civilization the better.  Shooting in a new moon, which means "no moon or moonlight," is better for this type of photography.  Let's start with star trail since this is the easier of the two.

Star Trails.  The example that I have put here is of what not to do.  Notice the light pollution on the right,  and the composition sucks.  But I did get some trials.  This was a single shot long exposure.  The first thing to remember when shooting stars is that they are not a stationary subject.  The stars move, or really the earth moves.  To get trails the exposures need to be 30 seconds or longer.  Now, you can take some longer exposures of
the stars and get small star trails, say a minute or so, you have to play with the times to get what you like.  Set up your scene with your camera and wide angel lens.  Put your aperture one click from wide open.  If you have it wide open, you could have trouble focusing because of diffraction.  Focusing is one of the hardest things about astro-photography.  This is what I've done.  During the day get your lens that you're going to use and focus on something at infinity and slowly get it as sharp as you can.  I mark this on my lens with a sharpie.  You'll notice that the infinity mark on your lens might not be the actual spot that it's in focus.  When you have this at night when you're back in the field, put your lens at this mark for starters.  Using live view you should be able to magnify what the screen is seeing and pinpoint one star and try to get it in focus as much as you can.  Then have your live view, go back to normal, and you'll be pretty sharp.  My starting points for star settings are aperture is one click from wide open, Shutter 25 sec ISO 3200 take a shot and see what you get.  Make adjustments and trial and error until you get what you Carolina Beach 2020Carolina Beach 2020 want.  If you want trails, make the shutter longer until you get the length you want.  Not too long because you'll be grabbing more light.  Then if your camera has a time lapse feature, use that so your camera will automatically take a photo just past your shutter speed time. You'll have to figure out how many shots you want to take.  Let your camera do the work.  When you get them in post production like Photoshop, you can stack the images together, and you will have very long light trails and sharp ones also.  This is something that takes lots of practice and experimenting, but don't forget the basics of photography like composing a good scene.  Try to have something in the foreground to give interest and contrast to your image. An intervalometer could be useful if your camera cannot do time lapse.  You can get these on Amazon for not too much, but make sure they are for your model of camera.  

Star scenes and the Milky Way.   Just about all of the settings are the same with this type of shooting stars as Max Stansell Photography with the star trails, except we want our shutter to be 25 seconds or shorter because we don't want the blurry stars; we want pinpoint stars.  Focusing will be the same as above, and the starting point settings are the same.  Remember, unless your are really out in the middle of nowhere, you will have trouble seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye.  Finding the Milky Way and certain stars and constellations will be the hardest part because the earth is rotating and the subjects are constantly moving.  Using an app on your phone can be very useful.  Shooting during the new moon (NO MOON)  will also be very useful.  I use the app Photo Pills, and it is a fantastic app for seeing where and when the moon, sun, and Milky Way will be moving through your scene.  It has a virtual horizon that you can use with your camera, and it will show you where the Milky Way will be while you're scouting during the day.  And then when it's the best time to shoot at night, you can go and set up and not have to struggle with location of the Milky Way or stars.  Setting up your scene is still very important with foreground interest and experimenting with shutter speeds and ISO settings.  Remember, the lower the ISO setting, the less noise.  The higher the setting, the more sensitive it is to light.  So there is a balancing act you will have to do to get this right for your camera.  Full frame sensor cameras tend to have better light gathering capabilities, but you can use smaller sensors also.  I use a crop sensor camera and do just fine.  My equipment for shooting night skies is a Sony A6300 or A6500 (Crop Sensor Camera) and a Rokinon 12mm f 2.0 manual lens.(18 mm full frame equivalent).  In lenses, use what you have, the widest aperture.  Maybe a 35 or 24 or even a 50 mm with a 1.4 to 2.8 f-stop will work fine.  Use what you have at first, but wide would be better.

This is a fun type of photography that some photographers really specialize in.  There are all types of gizmos and things you can get to help you with your star photography.  I just covered some of the basics.  You can get devices that track the stars and move while you're taking a long exposure to keep your stars sharp.  There are telescopes and all kinds of things.  You can have GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) overload or you can be like me and just dabble a bit.  Either way it's great fun.  So until next week, get outside and shoot some stars!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Astrophotography blog learning Max Stansell Photography Milky Way Milkyway Photo Pills Star Trails Stars Startrails Tips website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/basic-tips-to-astro-photography Fri, 24 Mar 2023 09:00:00 GMT
The Scoop on Light Meters https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/the-scoop-on-light-meters Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This is a continuation on basic topics of Photography that I have been doing the last month or so. This is the first time that I have reposted a Blog of mine. This was originally written two years ago and posted and got a fairly good viewing with over 400 views. I recently went on a Natural Light Portrait workshop and one of the participants asked me why the instructor was  talking about hand held meter instead of using the meter in his camera. I gave her an explanation but then thought about writing a Blog on it but researched and found that I already had but thought it was worth rehashing.  So here it is.  This week I want to talk about light meters. There are basically two camps on this: those who are for light meters and those who are against them. I am for light meters in certain situations. Let's talk about light and how your camera works. First, light is the basis of all we do in photography. Without light, it's just a black square. Being able to measure light accurately is important when taking photographs. 

All modern cameras have built-in light meters that measure the light coming off of your subject. Your _MSP9577_MSP9577 camera sees this and makes corrections via a computer for the shot, and you have a great photo. But the reflective light can be misleading, causing your camera not to get the best exposure. When you're shooting a dark subject, the light that comes off of it will be darker than everything around it and cause your camera to lighten your photo incorrectly, creating an over-exposed shot. And if your subject is white, just the opposite will happen. Your camera can get fooled. This usually only happens in very extremes of the light spectrum, and you will have to override your camera by some sort of compensation. Your camera is set to expose all of your photos to 18% gray. So technically, if you are over or under 18% gray tones in your shot, your camera will try to get you to that 18%.  Most of the time you won't notice this except on the extremes, and you can usually fix it in post-production software. The type of metering in your camera is reflective metering, meaning it measures what is reflecting off of your subject.

A handheld light meter works in a different way. It measures what it sees. For example, if you're taking a photograph of a dark subject, you measure the light at the subject. If you measure the light before it hits and reflects off of the subject, you will get a truer reading. So if you're taking a photo of a dark subject and you set your camera manually to the readings your meter got and take the shot, you will get a perfectly metered shot. If the light stays the same, you can move a white subject into the same spot, take the shot, and the same settings will apply because the light didn't change. Take the shot and you will have a perfectly metered shot. If you're doing a landscape, measure the sun and set your camera to the meter's readings, and you will have a perfectly metered shot. Using a handheld meter is incident metering. You are measuring what hits the meter not what bounces off of the subject.

So when should you use a handheld meter? Should you use it all the time? Okay, now let's get practical.  You could use a handheld meter all the time and get great photos, but it's not practical to do so. The meter in your camera will work great for 90 percent of the photography that is done. Landscapes, sport, Portrait Workshop-6Portrait Workshop-6 wildlife, and street photography are things that can happen fairly quickly, and using a handheld meter would get in the way. The one type of photography that I always use a handheld meter for is when doing off-camera flash and/or portrait photography with or without strobes. I find this to be the best way to set your lights and get the metering perfect each and every time. If you have a model, go to the model's face, point the meter at the light and pop the flash, and you can set your camera to what the meter says and have a perfect exposure. If your lights and subject stay in the same place, you don't have to meter again. With your Head Shot 2Head Shot 2 camera in manual, you just shoot and everything will be properly exposed. Others will say, "Well, I only have to take a couple of test shots and adjust my camera or lights until I get it right in camera." And that is true. But to me it's sloppy, and I can meter once and have it perfect. Then I only have to think about my subject, posing, and composition. So in my humble opinion, when doing off-camera flash/strobes, it's much easier to use a meter, put everything in manual, and shoot that way. So I am in the for meters camp of thinking. There are many ways to get a light meter. And of course, the old saying "buy nice or buy twice" applies here. I have an older meter that I have had for years and it works great but you can get apps on your phone that may also work. But I cannot recommend them because I haven't tested or used them.  Sekonic is a very popular and reliable brand name that is the industry standard for photography light meters.  

So if the weathers bad and  you're stuck inside, do some Portraits and use a handheld meter and see how easy it is to use. Until next week, pull out that meter and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog how Incident Metering landscape learning light Light Meter Manual Mode Max Stansell Photography meters Photography portrait Reflective Metering Sekonic strobes to website when workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/the-scoop-on-light-meters Fri, 17 Mar 2023 09:00:00 GMT
Day Hike and Scouting Gear https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/day-hike-and-scouting-gear Hey Everyone! Hope y'all had a great week. This weeks blog might be more of a hiking blog than a pure photography blog but there is some photography in it as well. This week I want to talk about what I have been doing a lot of the last few months. Day Hiking. The gear that I use for this is kept to the minimum. I'll be talking about the gear that I use when I take a day hike and or a photography scouting trip. They are almost the same except for a few items. I haven't really done many photography scouting trips because I haven't had the time before. I would have to get to work or this would be my only chance to check out this cool waterfall or what ever I was looking at. Now that I'm retired I have the time I will be doing more photography scouting trips to find places to shoot and then come back when the light is Walking down the PathWalking down the PathWalking down the Path First edits with Luminar as a plugin to lightroom. I think I'm going to like it. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina just right.

Day Hiking, Here recently I have been using day hikes as my exercise to get me back in shape. I am fortunate to have a state park only 10 miles from my front door which makes a hike real easy. For exercise I prefer going on a hike instead of just urban walking down a sidewalk. Of course any type of walking is good for you. I like it because the terrain is uneven and your body needs to use more muscles to help keep you in balance. I usually take the day hike with my faithful companion Forrest the Wonder Dog and he really likes the hikes. I think he likes the smells more than anything. I have been going out to this state park for 10 years now and use it for training and trying out new gear for hiking or backpacking. I'm the guy that you will see at this little park with a big pack on my back hiking the trails. I'm trying to get used to the weight before I go on a backpacking trip. But for day hikes I use a small pack made by Mountain Smith. Its a 25 liter bag and its plenty big enough to carry what I need on a day hike. So lets get into the list of things I take on a day hike. 

Backpack, Like I said earlier I use a Mountain Smith Backpack but you could use almost any type of pack that can carry the essentials that you will need for a hike.

Clothing, Depending on the weather I'll have maybe gloves, stocking cap, rain coat, fleece sweater. I tend to dress cold because after you get walking you warm up. But I have always the room in my pack if I need to take off a coat and carry it if I get too hot. What I wear is also dependent of the weather but I never wear 100% cotton for hiking. If you sweat the cotton will stay wet for a long time and could cause hypothermia. The old saying is that Cotton Kills. I use blends or water wicking material that will dry quickly if I get wet for some reason. Almost anything from expensive hiking clothes to Walmart brand as long as it doesn't hold water.  A good hat is also good to have. It can be a baseball cap or a big brimmed hat. I usually have a baseball hat on.

Footwear. Probably one of the most important clothing choices is footwear. This is not where to save money and skimp. You want good socks and shoes that fit properly. The socks preferably wool socks cushion your feet and wick water away to prevent blisters. Shoes shouldn't be too tight because your feet swell with prolonged walking. Try to break shoes in before taking a long hike . Wear them around the house or to the store to get them comfortable before a long hike.

Food and Water. Keeping hydrated is very important especially during hot humid weather. Keeping some sort of food with you like a power bar or something sweet if your a diabetic and your blood sugar gets to low will help you get out of the woods. I always have these things with me.

Toiletries. I always have a kit that has some toilet paper or wet wipes with me . If I'm out many miles and the urge hits me I can get off trail and take care of business during an emergency. A small first aid kit with some band aids is also handy if you get a cut or blister.  I also always have chap stick and bug repellent and sun screen. I buy these in small one use packets to keep the weight down.

Medications, Any medications that you might need. Tumms , aspirin etc...

Trekking poles. This may have been the best purchase that I have ever made for hiking. I'm not talking about a big stick but special designed poles kind of like ski poles that will help you keep your balance and help up and down hills. They will save your knees and give you the confidence to look at your surroundings instead of just the trail in front of you. I have one that I use when Forrest the Wonder Dog is with me and on small hikes and a pair of poles when I'm taking longer hikes over 5 miles and when I'm backpacking. The single one that I have has a mounting spot on it where you could put a small tripod or camera mount and use it as a bipod . I mount a Go-Pro when I go some where new and I can quickly turn it on or use the pole as a selfie stick and photograph myself. With my double pole set up I have a little device that I don't even know if its made anymore but its called a Stix Pix and you can attach a GoPro Mount or a Phone Mount as I have shown here. This attaches to the pointy end of the Trekking Pole and you can use as a selfie stick to video or photograph.

Camera- My main Hiking/Scouting Camera is the Canon G7XMII that I have talked about in the past. Its a great little point and shoot that I use as my EDC Camera (Every day Carry) . This is the link to the blog about it. EDC (Every Day Carry) Camera It is small and I have a peak design clip on my backpack strap that I can attach it to for easy access.

Fanny Pack. I know , I know nobody likes a fanny pack. Except me. LOL I like the convince of having it sitting right in front. I usually have my phone , wallet and keys in the pack . If I'm somewhere I need a map the map goes there and a snack. If its cold I usually have a vest of some sort that has lots of pockets so I don't need the fanny pack.

Forrest Stuff.  If Forrest the Wonder Dog is going with me I have a collapsable bowl , poop bags, Leash, His Harness , and Jacket if colder than 40 degrees. When we hike to keep my hands free I have a small belt that I wrap around me and on the end of his leash is a carabiner that I hook to the belt and then I'm hands free. The carabiner will slide around me on the belt. I don't hook to my pants belt because it tugs at your pants if he see's a squirrel or something. It's much easier with the separate belt. You need to practice with this set up so you don't get tangled up in the leash and trip. Small commands like Stop, Come do really come in handy. Its taken a while but I can tell Forrest to stop when we get to a road without touching the leash.  Of course if you're on a longer hike water and snacks you'll have to tote.

For Scouting I usually have all of the above and add a Go-Pro to the top of the Trekking pole that I talked about earlier. I'll also take a mini tripod that I can use for my EDC camera or the Go-Pro. I rarely take a big boy camera unless I know that there is a waterfall or some feature that I know that I'm hiking to just for the photo. Then I would add the camera and maybe a tripod. But usually if I'm going that far I will take my Landscape backpack with all my gear and it has room for all of the gear mentioned above. 

Well that's about it for Day Hikes and Scouting Gear. Until next week get out and take a hike and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpack blog Canon G7XMII cotton kills day Hikes first aid Go-Pro hiking shoes landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography scouting Trips Stick Pic synthetic Trekking Poles tripod website wool workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/day-hike-and-scouting-gear Fri, 10 Mar 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Camera Kits. Do you have more than one? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/camera-kits-do-you-have-more-than-one Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great week.  This week I'll be talking about a first world problem. I have noticed that I have more than one camera kit. I know, I know I have a gear problem. Most people have only one camera and a few lenses and that is normal . But me ?  I'm not as normal as most folks. I have many cameras and kits that I use quite a lot for different stuff. You may have  more kits than you realize if you use your phone for photography. Now is just one kit Okay? It's more than Okay, it's normal. Let me go through my kits and explain why I have separate ones. Being abnormal.

Film Kit- This is my oldest kit. Some are camera's I bought new and others I bought as antiques but they all work and I have used all of them at least once. My main camera in this group is a Pentax MX that I bought in 1982. My first SLR type of camera was a Pentax K1000 that I sold and the MX replaced it. I have various lenses to go with this camera but I really only use it once in a while. I have about 20 rolls of film that I can use. I also have a Canon/Bell  Canonet a 1961 era camera that I shoot and it still works well. I did have to replace the light seals in it but it works great and is very retro. My oldest camera is a Kodak box camera that goes back to 1920's. This kit is only used when I really want to spark up my photography mojo.

EDC (Every Day Carry) Kit- If you follow this blog you have heard me talk about this kit quite a bit. This is the camera Kit that I have with me everywhere I go. The grocery store, Barber shop, Walmart almost everywhere I have this kit. I also have it with me when I go hiking or backpacking. And especially when I take trips with my wife this is the one I use to take photos. It's a Canon G7XMII Point and shoot camera. It can do everything my big camera's do but in a very small package. It works great for street photography because its so small and un intimidating .  I have filters for it like a polarizer and ND filter that can attach to the front of the 24-100 f1.8-2.8 lens. Your EDC might be your phone but I like a dedicated camera that has a larger sensor that I can shoot in Manual or Aperture or Shutter Priority just like my big camera's. I would suggest this type of camera for a first camera for anyone interested in Photography.

Landscape and Wildlife Kit- This is what I would call my main kit. I am basically a Landscape and travel photographer but this is the kit I use for my Landscape work. This used to be the camera that I used for everything from portraits to product or tabletop photography but now its just used mainly for Landscapes. Why you ask. Well it's a great camera and I have fantastic lenses for it. It is my most dialed in kit. It is a crop sensor Sony A6500. Its a older camera and I may upgrade the body. But it still takes great photo's. Just about all the landscapes you see on my website were taken with this  camera. I use the crop sensor camera for this for a couple of reasons. One is size if I have to hike a mile or so to get to a water fall I would much rather carry a small camera kit than a larger one. The other reason is that with a crop sensor camera you get more depth of field something you want in landscape. For most people that are not professional photographers I would recommend a crop sensor camera over a full frame camera. The size and price are reason enough and you can't tell the difference  in photo quality as far as I can tell. That being said my next kit is a full frame kit. LOL

My Everything Else Kit- This is my newest kit. I use it for Portraits , Street, Tabletop almost everything beside Landscape and Wildlife. The main reason is ergonomics. I love the way this camera fits in my hand and all of the dials and buttons just fit for me. The camera is a Full Frame Sony A7III. Nothing fancy it's a older camera now that I bought used. I use mostly primes on this camera although I just got a Kit lens for it that is a zoom. This bag that I use for this camera is the bag that I call the purse. Its an over the shoulder bag and I usually have a lens or two in it to change out. Right now this is my fun camera to shoot. 

I'm sure this sounds excessive and maybe a little.  And I know it sounds expensive but all of this kit was bought over many years and most of it was bought used cutting the cost. And it just kind of evolved it wasn't planned at all. I got the EDC for a trip to Washington DC with my wife and I didn't want to bring all of my kit.  It worked great and it became my EDC camera going to with me to work and everywhere else. My film cameras I have had for decades. My Landscape and Wildlife camera was my main camera for years until I got my everything else camera that I traded in a lot of things to get this camera. I already had lenses for this camera. So it just kind of evolved. Well that's enough about this silly first world problem or maybe not a problem. Until Next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon G7XMII Crop Sensor EDC Film Full Frame Gear Kits learning Max Stansell Photography Pentax MX Photography Point and Shoot Portraits Sony A6500 website Wildlife https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/3/camera-kits-do-you-have-more-than-one Fri, 03 Mar 2023 08:44:50 GMT
The Basics "The Exposure Triangle" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/the-basics-the-exposure-triangle Hey Everyone! How was your week? Mine was pretty good. Thanks for asking. LOL Hey today I want to talk about something very basic in photography. The Exposure Triangle. I am giving a presentation on this subject with my local photography club and thought I would write a Blog about it. I can't believe I haven't written one on the subject before now. We have a lot of new members and new photographers in our club so I was tasked to give this presentation. So what is "The Exposure Triangle"?

The Exposure Triangle has been about since the beginning of photography.  These three settings are aperture , shutter speed and ISO. All three of these settings work together to give you the perfect exposure. Whether you're in full manual operation of your camera or one of the automatic modes of your camera. When your in auto the camera does all of the calculations and make the decision on what the settings should be. The camera gets it right most of the time but understanding the exposure triangle is the key to shooting in manual and controlling your camera when the auto doesn't work. I have been shooting SLR "Single Lens Reflex" cameras for over 45 years and the first few decades it was always in manual operation and under standing the triangle is the only way to get great photo's when shooting in manual. If you have a perfectly exposed image and you change one of the three settings you will have to make an adjustment on one of the other ones or both.  They all work together to get the perfect exposure. What is perfect exposure? It is the brightness of the photo when you look at the scene without the camera. How it looks naturally. You can have a photo over exposed ( too bright) or under exposed (too dark) Your light meter or your eye can tell you if its right or not. Modern camera's have made this very easy with the WYSIWYG. (What You See Is What You Get) Technology of today. In my day you may have to wait a day or two to see what the photo looked like or until you got it into the darkroom yourself.  But now you can see instantaneously what your adjustments are. You can see what the Shutter Speed , Aperture, and ISO does to your photo's. So let's talk about the big three.

ISO, ISO is how SENSITIVE your sensor or film is. In my day it was called ASA for film. The higher the number the more sensitive it is to the EYESEYES light. The higher the number the more sensitive and more grainy the film or your sensor on the camera can be. Grain or noise is more intense in the higher ISO's. With modern technology this is not as much as a problem as it use to be. Going above 500 ISO used to be a problem but now you can go as High as 16000 with newer cameras and not notice at all. You just have to remember that the Higher the number the more SENSITIVE the sensor is. Any change in this setting you will have to change one or both of the other settings.

LeafLeaf Aperture, I think that this is (for ME!) the most important of the three. Aperture controls the DEPTH OF FIELD of the image by controlling the size of the hole in your lens (the Aperture ring).  The depth of field is how much of the scene is in focus. The larger the depth of field the larger the area that is in focus. This control will let you blur out the background on a portrait or let the whole scene be in focus for a landscape shot. The larger the F-Stop number on your lens the more DEPTH OF FIELD you will have and the smaller the F-Stop number the smaller the DEPTH OF FIELD will be. For example a portrait shot at F-2.8 will have Fall Colors HouseFall Colors House a small DEPTH OF FIELD and the landscape shot at F-16 will have a large DEPTH OF FIELD.  This is one of the ways we show our artistic side when choosing what Aperture we use but when we change the Aperture we must change one or both of the the other settings.

Shutter Speed, Shutter Speed controls the DURATION TIME that the shutter is open and controls the amount of light that is captured during the recording of the image. The longer the shutter is open the more light that is let in. Using the control of this setting is great for capturing or showing motion in a photo. Longer shutter speeds are used to show the flow of a water fall giving it that silky smooth look. Fast shutter speeds are used for wildlife to freeze the action of the bird in flight or a humming birds wings. The measurement comes in increments like 1/1000th sec. or 1/60th of a second up to 30 seconds. The smaller the increment of the shutter will let in less light and the longer increment of shutter will let in more light. A shot at 1/1000th sec.  will freeze the action but a shot at 1 second will blur the action.  Longer exposures will require a Tripod to keep the subject of still objects in focus and not have blur from the movement of your hands. A general rule is _MSP2682_MSP2682
that anything under 1/60th sec. Blue Water SplashBlue Water Splash Shutter speed should be on a tripod but with modern cameras and camera's with stabilization this is no longer the case and you can go lower than the 1/60th sec.  This is also very handy for Night Time Photography with shutter speeds around 20 seconds to start with. But remember if you make a change to this setting one or both of the others will have to be changed.

Learning how these three settings and mastering  how they work will make you a better photographer and let you control what is coming out of your camera. If you shoot in manual mastering these three is a must. If you shoot in one of the auto modes when your camera gets it wrong you will be able to quickly adjust and overcome the mistake your camera made and get the proper exposure. The exposure triangle is used by every photographer on the planet and is very easy if you take the time to learn it. Until Next Time ! Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture blog exposure triangle Fundamentals ISO landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Shutter Speed website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/the-basics-the-exposure-triangle Fri, 24 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Camera Modes Which One and Why? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/camera-modes-which-one-and-why Hey Everyone! How's it going this week? I'm doing fine thanks for asking. This week I want to get into basics a little. The last couple of weeks I talked about specific kind of photography but this week and maybe the next couple of weeks I want to dive into the basics of photography. We have some new photographer members of my camera club and since the majority of my readers are in the photography club I thought I would go into the basics. So this week I want to talk about what camera modes to use and why?  Back when I started photography there was only one mode "Manual" and that is what I used for decades before the newer and smarter cameras came out. Then I had to learn what the other modes were and why would I ever use them? I didn't need them before why do I need them now?  Even auto focus had me puzzled and I had to figure all of that out. Modern cameras now are just small computers that take in all of this exposure information and make decisions on how to focus and what the proper exposure is, they do this in a mili-second. Now many photographers will say I only shoot in manual that is the only way to get it right. I was apart of this club for a long time  because I just didn't know better. We spend a lot of money for our cameras we should use it and take advantage of the tech that is built into it. Most cameras today are light years ahead of what I started with as a new photographer. They all shoot video that is of the quality that you could film a feature movie with and you could use any of them to shoot high fashion shoots and make lots of money as a product photographer. I 11-sony-a630011-sony-a6300 mean any modern camera can do this now. But just shooting in manual all of the time and not using the features is like buying a new "Corvette" and putting it in neutral and pushing it down the street. Sure you can get it to where you want but really what can it do on the open road when you put it in drive? The same with your camera it will work perfectly well in manual but what will it do if you put it in drive? Or in our case, camera modes. Let's talk about the different camera modes and what you as a photographer can do with them. There are four main camera modes, most cameras have more but we will talk about the four Main ones. Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Program mode. _MSP9733_MSP9733

Manual Mode, In manual mode you ,the photographer, make all of the decisions. What the Aperture , Shutter speed, and ISO. The Exposure Triangle that we will discuss in another blog next week. You can even go as far as manual focusing if you want to go to extremes . But auto focus always does better than my old eyes. The advantage to this mode is that you control everything. Perfect for the "A personalities" in the world. The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. This used to be a hard one to master when it was the only choice. You shot a roll of film and sent it off and a week later you see if your decisions were good enough. But now a days you can see instantaneously what your decisions have done make learning easier. I think that everyone should be able to manually operate their camera if the camera doesn't get it right. You should be able to over-ride the camera and know why.

Shutter Priority- We use shutter priority when Shutter Speed is the most important part of the exposure  Sandstone Falls New River Gorge NPSandstone Falls New River Gorge NP triangle that we want to control. The camera will make all other decisions for you.  It will manipulate it and also it will adjust your Aperture upon the decision you made for shutter speed. Shutter speed is used to mostly control motion. If you want to freeze your subject like sport or wildlife shutter speed is important. If you want to slow down the shutter speed to show flowing water you could use Shutter priority but I would suggest that you use a tripod when you get to 1/60th a second or so to eliminate camera shake and making the image blurry. So Shutter Priority is for motion.

DavidDavid Aperture Priority- This is the one that I use the most and its when the Aperture is the most important thing in taking the photograph. The Aperture controls the "depth of field" how much of the photograph is in focus. When we see with our eyes everything is not in focus all of the time. When you look at something everything else blurs a little. I like to do the same with my photographs. For me it is the Art in Photography is with depth of field guiding your viewer to certain portions of the photograph or making a busy scene less busy by bluring out the background.  And just the opposite you can use Aperture to make as much of the scene in focus like a landscape.  When you adjust the aperture the camera makes all other decisions just like in shutter priority except it controls , shutter speed and ISO if in Auto. This mode is great for portraits , street and candid type of photography.

Program Mode- We make a joke that the "P" on your camera stands for Professional. But it stands for Program mode. In this mode the camera makes all of the decisions for you except for ISO but if your in ISO Auto It will do that too.. Sometimes this is a great way to start. By putting your camera in Program mode and looking at the settings it chose you can go into one of the other modes and put those settings in for a start if you don't know where to start with your settings. Using program mode basically turns your fancy camera into a point and shoot camera. Which could be good in certain situations. If you keep your camera in program mode and something happens right in front of you like a car wreck all you have to do is lift your camera and start shooting and you will get well exposed shots. Maybe not the artistic shots that you want but those first few will be usable then you can switch over to one of the other modes.

_DSC6457_DSC6457 Your fancy camera is trying to have a perfect exposure every time. But it is set to make the scene 18 percent grey. If you are in that kind of light the auto modes work great and maybe say 60 to 70 percent of the day its like that but what if its dark outside? Your camera will brighten it up and it won't look natural and you will have to over compensate for it by knowing the exposure triangle basics and being able to adjust the right setting on your camera to get it back to where its supposed to be. Most cameras have an exposure compensation dial that they can use when in the program modes , Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority or Program Mode. The advantage of using the program modes is speed. The camera automatically will make the adjustment on the fly. So say your doing street photography in Aperture Priority mode if you go from a shady to sunny spot in the street the camera will adjust for you on the fly. If Man Waiting for T BostonMan Waiting for T Boston you are in manual you can make the adjustments but it take more time and you might not get the shot of the person passing by. The last decade or so I have become more dependent on Program modes and only use manual when my camera is on a tripod. Maybe 10ish percent of the time . The other 90 percent I'm usually in Aperture Priority mode. But by knowing my camera I can quickly go into manual or use exposure compensation if I have to to correct the exposure.

Other modes. Depending on the manufacturer you camera could have many other cool modes . Not all are the same. Mine has an auto mode that I control ISO and everything else is controlled by the camera. I have scene mode where you can pic scenes and the camera will adjust accordingly to the scene for example night scene, or fireworks, or sunset, many scenes. Mine also has a video mode and a Slow and Quick mode that works with video where you can shoot in slow motion or hyper lapse. I'm sure your camera has many of the same .  Knowing your camera and reading the manual watching operational videos on your specific make and model camera will  make you more proficient in using your camera thus a better photographer. Well I have blabbed enough on this subject so until next week. Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) aperture blog Camera Modes landscape learning Manual Max Stansell Photography Photography Program Shutter sports street website Wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/camera-modes-which-one-and-why Fri, 17 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Choosing your first Prime Lens https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/choosing-your-first-prime-lens Hey Everyone! Hows your week going? Mine Great! Thanks for asking. Today I want to talk about your first prime lens. There are so many which one to get? Why a prime? What is a prime? All good questions and we will answer them. When your new into photography you get a entry level camera which is awesome and the company, no matter what brand you get, will put an inexpensive lens on so you can shoot right away. Its usually a zoom lens that give you many focal lengths to play with. These Zoom lenses are called Kit lenses and can be great lenses but more than not they are cheaply built and have smaller aperture ranges. But for someone just starting they are great! So after you've shot with them a while you start thinking about your next lens purchase. Really this will be your first lens purchase. You do some research and see what all the popular pros are shooting and those lenses are expensive and seem to be made out of un-obtainium. I think your first lens purchase should be a prime lens. It only has one focal length. Instead of being a 16-55mm its AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston a 35mm or a 50mm. Instead of having a variable maximum f-stop rating of f3.5-5.6 it may have a rating of f1.8 or f2.8. These lenses are cheaper have wider apertures and are sharper than the kit lenses. So there is the why to get a prime and the what is a prime. But which one? Well let me tell you about my story. When I started in photography long, long time ago zooms were made out of un-obtainium and weren't that good or sharp. So when you bought a camera it usually came with a 50mm prime lens usually at f1.8 or 2.8. That is what you learned on and your feet were you're zoom. Now how does that help you? It doesn't I just wanted to talk about the old days. LOL Lets talk about some of the different focal lengths.

24mm is a very popular focal length now a days for VLOGing and for video most phones shoot at the widest in the 20's and the photo's that are on instagram and face book shot with phones are starting to be the normal for some folks. I think of 24 being a specialty wide angle lens and would not get this lens for my first prime. Unless your a VLOGer.

35mm is another popular lens.  It's not as wide as the 24 but wide enough for environmental portraits and Art MuseumArt Museum street photography to capture the whole scene. This lens is very popular with street photographers being able to get into tight corners of the city and still be wide enough to get the shot. This is a good choice for a first prime lens if you shoot in the city a lot or love to shoot environmental portraits.

50mm is the bread and butter lens. It is said to be the closest to how we see the world threw our own eyes. This is a good street although not as wide as the 35 but also great for portraits with the least amount of  Max Stansell Photography distortion.  Good for head shots and full length as well. They are sometimes called the nifty 50.  They can be had for just a couple of hundred or even cheaper used. This is a great value lens and I think every photographer should have one in their lens lineup. But the first one?

85mm is a portrait beast for head shots. Maybe a little too tight for everyday DavidDavid street but I would have one on me if I shot a lot of street for the longer shots that can compress a little. One of my favorite lenses to shoot portraits with. I just love how one can really blur out the background. If you take a lot of Portraits its a must have in your lens lineup. But the first one?

135mm this is another great portrait lens and the first focal length that I bought as a teenager. This lens is long enough that you can do some telephoto work with it and shoot scenes that compress (bring the background in closer) .  I actually still have that lens that is so old that it is a screw mount lens as it screws into the body of the camera instead of a bayonet type that all modern camera's have now. 

SarahSarah So which one to use? Well it depends on what type of photographer you are. If you notice in all of the descriptions above I never mentioned Landscape. I don't think that a prime lens would be my choice for landscape although you could certainly use  one It would not be my choice. The easy and simple way to check is if your using Lightroom look and see which focal length you use more often by sorting your photos by focal length. The one with the most photo's wins. That would be the focal length that I would get. But take into consideration on what your going to use the lens for .  If you take portraits then the 50 or the 85 would be great choices. If you like environmental shots then the 35 would be great. If your a VLOGer then the 24 would be great. I really don't think the 135 should be the first. I think its too specialized in what it can do and the others are more versatile. My opinion.  So there you have it which prime to get first. So until next week . Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 135mm 24mm 35mm 50mm blog compress landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography portrait Prime street website workshops Zooms https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/choosing-your-first-prime-lens Fri, 10 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Macro Photography "how to" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/macro-photography-how-to Hey Everybody! Hope you're having a great week.  This week is a continuation on Macro Photography.  I've got a pot of Chili cooking and its raining outside so what a better time to talk about Macro Photography.  The small world of macro photography can be found anywhere you are. You don't have to go to a special place you can use your back yard or inside on a rainy day to take Macro shots from another world. Making the ordinary look extraordinary !  What I'm about to give you is my way of doing Macro Photography I'm sure there are many ways and you can focus stack images to make the whole photo look sharp I'm not going to get into that much detail.  First off let's pick the subject.

Picking a subject. Well this is subjective! LOL Well it is .  You can choose anything you like because when its photographed so close up its hard to recognize as the object that you started with and becomes something more abstract. For my exercise today I'm going to use a coin. And like any photograph make sure the background is good. For this first exercise I'm going to use a 28-60 kit lens and an a 10mm extension tube. I'm using a on camera flash shooting through a small diffuser which is really making my background turn black. You don't need a flash you could use LED lights or bright sunlight from a window or your back yard.  I'm shooting all manual. I can use the auto focus to get me close to sharpness then I switch to manual focus for fine tuning. When I'm in Manual focus I use the focus peaking found on most modern camera's to tell me what is in focus and what is not. Remember when shooting in macro really close up you have a very small depth of field. To get the whole object (the coin) I would either have to shoot from above so the whole coin is in the same focal plane in focus or if I shoot from the side I would have to take multiple photo's with focus in different spots and blend in photoshop to get all in focus. That process is another discussion. I kind of like the blurry parts of a photo sometimes. As you can see with the first photo the middle is in focus but the bottom and top of the coin are out of focus and its more a close up shot than a macro. After I took the photo with the 10mm I took it with a 16mm and it looks closer but still not macro for me . But it does a good job. Now I could have combined the two extension tubes and got a 26mm which would have gotten me closer. But I decided not to and decided to go to a dedicated Macro lens. You can see that the 16mm on the right is a closer shot and that only the bottom of the coin is in focus. The next shots I took was with a 50mm dedicated macro lens that I bought second hand from MPB. I used all the same settings But I had to switch to a more sturdy tripod because this lens is much heaver than the kit lens that I was using. This photo on the left shows that with my first attempt I didn't get as close as I could have but did get much closer than the kit lens and the larger extension tube. I focused in manual using the peak focusing option in my camera or you can use the digital zoom in feature that most of modern camera's have. This lets you zoom in and fine tune your focus before you take the shot. As you can see the zoom in feature on the right photo of the photo on the left I could zoom in and really see the detail of the year date on the coin. The other method that I like to use is to get the subject the way you want it and with peak focusing option on my camera I can slowly go closer or further away and watch my focus come in. With peak focusing a color is used to highlight what is in focus on this photo on the left you can see how the focus is along the bottom of the coin and extends to the background as well. Hopefully you can see the highlights I took a photo of the back of my camera with my eye phone. But the bottom of the coin there is a small section that highlights the 1921 and extends to the background showing what is in focus. Those are really all of the techniques that I use. Nothing special. Macro photography can be fun and exciting but it also can be tedious work and small fractions of a inch matter. There is a whole world out there that no one else sees or notices .  So until next week get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog close up diffuser flash landscape learning macro Max Stansell Photography micro Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/2/macro-photography-how-to Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Macro Photography for Beginners "Gear" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/macro-photography-for-beginners Hey Everyone!  Hope you had a great week! This week I wanted to talk or share my thoughts on Macro Photography. Now I'm no expert and have recently acquired another Macro lens. I've had several over the years. But I've got one to add to my Landscape Photography Kit. So if I'm out and about and the light has gone bad I still can do some Macro Photography. Some really close up shots. So this blog will be mainly about gear. So lets start with the first question.

What is Macro Photography? Macro Photography is when the object size is the same size on the sensor or 1:1 Ratio or better.  So if your have a one centimeter object that your taking a photo of it will take up 1 centimeter on your sensor. What does all that mean? Not much to you and me except that you can focus real close. You can take photos of bugs and spiders and they take up the whole screen on your viewfinder without cropping the photograph to make it large.  When your shooting Macro you are shooting a whole new world that you can't usually see with your eyes or that you ignore altogether. Very Cool. 

What lens do I use to do Macro Photography. If you don't have a dedicated Macro Lens I would start with extension tubes.  Extension Tubes are put between your lens and a camera and let you focus closer.  They are inexpensive and don't have any glass in them so they won't effect the quality of your image. You can get a good set of three for under 50 bucks. You can use all three or stack them to get the effect you want. Macro Lenses come in a variety of focal lengths and price points. And as with everything in Photography you get what you pay for. But you can get some good gear on the cheap to start out.There are some third party lenses that are very inexpensive but they are manual focus only. Dedicated Macro lenses are versatile remember these lenses can be used for other stuff too. A 105mm Macro is an excellent focal length for portraits and is used by many in the portrait industry for head shots. The focal length as it pertains to Macro Photography will determine your working distance to your subject. The longer focal length you will have more distance between you and your subject the smaller the less working distance. Make sure you put into consideration on the type of camera your are using. A crop sensor will have to multiply the focal length by 1.5 to get the working focal length. A 50mm will act like a 75mm on a crop sensor camera. 100mm seems to be the sweet spot for premium Macro lenses but they come in all focal lengths. But remember to be a true macro it must magnify at a 1:1 ratio no mater what the lens says on the side of it. Some cheaper lenses say they are macro but aren't they may get close to the macro ratio but not quite. I have owned a 105mm macro when I shot Nikon and it was a excellent lens I sold that one and eventually got an older 60mm nikon lens that was also a good lens  but when I got rid of all of my Nikon gear that was the last lens that I held onto and used an adapter to fit it to my Sony cameras and used it quite a bit. I then sold it and was without for a while until I just purchased a used Sony 50mm f2.8 lens which I like very much. I have just started to play with it again that's why this blog was started.  These lenses can be expensive and I hear there are good third party lenses from companies like Tamron that make good ones. 

Accessories for Macro.  When shooting Macro photography the closer you get to a subject the more light you need. One of those Physics things. So to add light you can use artificial light like an LED light or a Flash. They make LED and Flashes that attach to the front of your lens and then go to your hot shoe of your camera. You can also just use a regular flash. Almost any will do you don't have to spend a lot of money on these because you will be using it in manual and not TTL. So you can use a basic flash that you can get for 60 bucks or so. A diffuser will also be handy to make that small flash look huge to the little object that you will be take a photo of. Now if you're going to be using your flash off camera you will need some sort of trigger  or cord to get the flash off camera. These can be inexpensive also.

Thats about all that you will need to shoot Macro and you probably have most of these things already in your photography arsenal. So get them out and dusted off and start using . My next blog on Macro will be about the how to do the macro shots not on gear. So until next week get out and start shooting.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog close up extension tubes landscape learning Lenses macro Macro Lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/macro-photography-for-beginners Fri, 27 Jan 2023 05:00:00 GMT
Hiking and Walking to improve your Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/hiking-and-walking-to-improve-your-photography Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This weeks title might having you think that I'm a little crazy. And I am! LOL I think that the more Physically fit you are the better that you'll do everything. You think better and you don't get as tired on a long day. Now when we are in our 20's and 30's we really don't have to think about it but as we get older we do. Now I am no physical specimen I'm like every one else to big and out of shape. But I have been working on it and by the time this blog comes out I will have lost over 35 lbs and can hike or walk many miles without getting tired.  This is all due to me getting off of my butt and going for a hike. This morning me and Forrest the Wonder Dog went for about a 4-1/2 to 5 mile hike , the temp was perfect in the low 40's perfect hiking weather. While I was hiking I was thinking about this blog and what I wanted to talk about. If you know me I have just retired and your probably saying that you don't have time to hike or walk 3 or so miles a day. I am here to tell you that you can and I have done it with a full time job and commuting 3 hours a day. It can be done. I use to commute to work and worked pretty much in a cubicle but at lunch time instead of going Into the woodsInto the woodsIn the woods again. I used to hike. I used to hike a lot. About 4 or 5 years ago I was hiking a lot of miles, I could go up to 14 with a pack on my back in the mountains. Thats going up and down over rough terrain. Over a year ago I hurt my knee. As knee injuries go this wasn’t the worst that could happen to me but it was bad enough to keep me from hiking. They really can’t repair the problem unless it gets worse and have to replace the knee. And I’m no where near that yet thank goodness but I will have to deal with this knee problem. I have been taking short hikes with my hiking partner Forrest at the Cliffs of the Neuse. Little mile or two at a time and the terrain isn’t too awful bad at cliffs of the Neuse. Yesterday Me and Forrest went into the woods at Raven Rock State park and completed a 5 Mile hike. This was the first real test of my knee in a long time . The terrain is very rocky and uneven except for this level spot where we took this photo of us. Forrest was a great partner when he heard me huffing and puffing he slowed down and when I was doing ok he sped up. I had his leash clipped to my belt loop and was hands free of his leash (except for a couple of Squirrels) LOL This particular trail was the first time I hiked over 5 miles and after a couple of years I came back and didn’t know what all the fuss was about. It was not a piece of cake for me yesterday I had my camera gear with me (and extra weight My Belly) that I carried with me but we made it OK. I look forward to getting into the woods again. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #northcarolinaphotographer #northcarolinaliving #sonya6300 #alphashooter some where to eat I put on some walking shoes and started walking. Before long I had a three mile trek that I would do every day to get my steps in.  Just that little act along with eating properly and the pounds will come off. So what's the secret? Here's mine.

Walking or hiking and I prefer hiking because you use more muscles because of the uneven ground you have to keep your balance which uses more muscles. Its not about how far you go but how long you do it at a time. Walking an hour a day 4 or 5 times a week is great. The average hiker goes about 3 miles per hour but depending on the terrain I go anywhere between 2 and 2-1/2 miles an hour. On flat ground just walking I can get to 3 mph. So find you a track that is about 2 to 3 mile long and take a walk. Walking is therapeutic and slows your mind down from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  During this hike you will burn about 350 to 400 calories .  If you eat healthy Low Carb and High Protein diet and Keep the Calorie intake down.  AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston Count those Calories! The weight will come off. For me personally I have kept my calorie intake between 1500 and 2000 per day. I record everything I eat and suggest that you do to and after a while you'll know what you can eat and not eat. At first you will be hungry but your body will adjust and you won't be hungry. Stay the course!  If you burn more than you eat your body will use the fat that you have accumulated to keep your body engine running and the pounds will come off. I would suggest taking a multi vitamin once a day just incase your missing out on something  because of your diet. It might take a couple of weeks before things start to happen but they will and the pound will slowly come off .  I'm averaging 1 pound per week. I weigh myself every morning at the same time. Sticking to your new routine is the key and it will work. Thats the secret.

Here are some tips to Hiking and Walking. If your walking wear comfortable shoes. I wear Skechers. They are fairly inexpensive and are soft on my feet. If your walking on a sidewalk or street they will cushion your feet from the hard surface. If your hiking I would wear a more aggressive souled shoe for traction so you don't slip. I wear a pair of trail runners that I use for backpacking. While hiking I also use a hiking stick ,(trekking pole) to help with balance. They have more than once saved my bacon from falling. Dress in comfortable clothes. In colder weather layer up.  A hikers moto is " if its cold outside be bold and dress cold" they say that because after your body starts working you will warm up and if you dressed too warm you will have to take some off. Like a big coat.  I carry a small backpack with water maybe a energy bar. I also take my everyday cary camera my Canon G7XMII a point and shoot incase I see something interesting. I have a collapsable bowl that I bring for Forrest to drink out of .  I listen to music or a podcast while I'm hiking so a pair of ear buds are great. Lately I've been listening to smooth Jazz radio on Pandora. I really don't have milage goals but I have step goals. If you have some sort of pedometer that can count your steps that is great. My watch counts mine. I set a goal of 10000 steps a day. I usually hike or walk 3 or 4 days then take a rest day to let my muscles relax. Keep and eye out on the weather and if its going to be rainy take a rest day but if you like the rain have at it.

Being in good shape will help your photography and keep you more energetic. Last year Me and Robert went to Zion National Park to hike Angles landing. Its 2 miles up to Scouts landing then another 1/2 mile straight up to the top of Angles landing.  I was very heavy and carrying camera equipment. I struggled to get to Scouts Landing and was very wobbly there and did not do the Angles Landing. I didn't do it because I was not fit enough to do it. Robert made it to the top and got some great photo's but more important he got a great memory because he was more fit. Don't miss out because you're out of shape. So until next week get out and hike and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog calories exercise fitness footwear hiking hiking shoes landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography point and Shoot street walking website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/hiking-and-walking-to-improve-your-photography Fri, 20 Jan 2023 10:00:00 GMT
Kit Lenses with Primes https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/kit-lenses-with-primes Hey Everyone! How's it going this week? Hope you're having a good one. This week will be a bit controversial for serious photographers and I might get some flack but I think what I think. This week I want to talk about kit lenses and how I use them in my photography. So what is a kit lens? A Kit lens is a less expensive zoom lens that manufactures put with cameras so they can sell them as a kit. Usually not great lenses and are usually the first lenses put out to pasture after someone really gets into photography. They want the professional lenses that all of the YouTube and inter web people say is the best lens to get. And make no doubt these professional lenses are better lenses but are they worth the money? To me it depends. Let me give you my situation. I have a crop sensor lens camera that I use for landscape and have very high quality zoom lenses that I use with it . (I think Zooms are a must for Landscape) Then I have a full frame camera that I use mostly Prime lenses with and I love the way a prime lens looks on a full frame sensor.  When you take a portrait with an 85mm f1.8 lens the background just melts.  Now my full frame I use for everything except Landscape/Wildlife.  So portraits, Street, product every thing in between.  I recently purchased a kit lens for my full frame a 28-60mm lens that works great for just kicking around and taking photos around town or street photography.  Its small and compact. Now its not as bright as my Primes but does great for daylight and well lit shots. So why didn't I get the professional lens for my Full Frame? Cost vs Quality ratio.

Cost of Kit lenses.  The price of a kit lens can be as much as 1/4 the price of its professional lens equivalent.  I got my 28-60mm for less than 300 used and if I had gotten the professional one say a 24-70mm f2.8 it would be well over 1000 dollars used. Thats a big cost savings. I don't think the photo quality between the kit and the professional lens is a big enough difference for me to get the professional one. Plus the professional one is twice the length and probably 3 times the weight.  Again I don't need the weight I like to be as nimble as I can be. So for me it was a no brainer to get the kit lens for casual shooting. If I want to get serious I can pull out my primes.

Solved a problem.  Getting this kit lens solved the problem I had when doing street photography and that's changing lenses every 5 seconds going from a 35mm to a 55mm or a 85mm this 28mm-60mm kind of put me in a good sweet spot but not being large and protruding like say a 24-105 would be.

Now I would not use this lens for my main Landscape or Portrait lens especially if I were selling stuff. But if you're just starting out a kit lens is the lens you have with you so shoot it.  Every camera Manufacturer has their kit lenses and some are really good.  I've heard good things from the Fuji line of lenses and I'm sure Canon and Nikon have great kit lenses also. The one I've been talking about is from Sony and was made for the A7C model camera that came out a couple of years ago. I purchased my copy used from MPB for around 250 dollars and it was like new. I always suggest buying used to save a little dough. I know a lot of professional and high end photographers trash these little lenses but I do think they serve a purpose and can be quite handy little lenses. So until next week get your kit lens out and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog everyday kit lens landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Primes street website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/kit-lenses-with-primes Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:00:00 GMT
New Year, New Plans https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/new-year-new-plans What Santa Sees'What Santa Sees' Hey Everyone! I hope today is a great day for you. As this is the first Blog of the new year I thought I would take time to talk about making plans for this year.  Now is the time. The earlier the better.  I think that planning is a big part of success to travel or just photo or camping trips. For me spur of the moment things usually don't work out as well as a well planned trip does. I am in the process of planning my year and it is a big year for me as I just retired from my day job and have plenty of time. Just not plenty of money. LOL Thats how it goes when you have money you don't have the time and when you have time the money has dried up. Now being on a fixed income now I really have to plan out my larger trips in advance and put away money for them. The shorter more spontaneous trips mid week I can do a lot easer now that I don't have a full time job to go to.  Planning early saves time money and organizes your trip.

Where to go? Well that's a big question for anyone.  And everyone has a different answer.  For me this year my big trips will be New York City and the Fall trip with the camera club.  But I plan to have smaller trips in-between to fill up the gaps. A good rule for me at least is take a trip per month. Now this doesn't have to be a big trip or even an over night trip but maybe a day trip to a city or park that is near you. Believe me it can be done I visited all of North Carolina's state Parks in one year by just planning ahead and I wasn't traveling all of the time and still had time for my full time job. There were 42 parks by the way.  My New York City Trip will be with my Wingman Robert.  We plan on taking the train to NYC and public transportation from there.  We plan on going in the springtime. We are also planning a Low Country trip from Savanna back to NC this will probably be a long weekend with camping on the way.  Where to go is the first question.  When is the second question.

When to go?   Setting firm dates on when you are going somewhere helps in the planning.  Questions like do I need to take Vacation?  How many days do I need to take. Making reservations in advance usually is cheaper and you can usually guarantee vacancy.  If you are going to national parks you may need permits putting in for these as early as possible can almost guarantee that you have the right permit on the right day of your trip. Last year on our Utah road trip we had to have permits for a few of the parks that we had to enter into a lottery system but being early we got the dates and times we wanted.  If you are flying making reservations early is great to make sure you have a seat and by doing this you have already paid for you're trip before you even leave then all you have to pay for is incidentals why you are there.  But say you are not traveling far maybe you want to go to a festival of some kind you need to know the dates and if you plan on staying over night you may need a hotel.  If you're planning a camping trip reserving camp sites is a must especially if your going to stay over the weekend.  Since COVID the parks have been packed and making reservations through Recreation.GOV or ReserveAmerica.gov can be hard to do.  Once you've planned your trip with reservations then its what will you need for your trip.

What to take?  Whether its a camping trip or a Photography trip bringing the right gear is essential.  Taking what you need and leaving home what you don't need can make life a lot easier.  Clothing that is suited for the weather that you will encounter on your trip is crucial.  Comfortable footwear is a must. Nothing is worse that having to walk through a big city and you have blisters on your feet because you brought cute shoes that didn't fit well or were not broken in. If you plan on staying a week or more only take enough clothes for 4 days and find some where to do a load of clothes. No one cares if you ware the same outfit more than once on a trip.  This will keep your pack lighter. If your taking camera equipment with you on a long trip don't take everything you own.  Think about the situations that you will be in most of the time and take the equipment that will handle those situations. When I went to Utah last year I had my landscaping kit with me and when I went to Boston I had a totally different kit with me.  Choose the right tool for the job at hand. Keeping gear lightweight and manageable will make traveling through terminals much easier.

Planning in advance makes the year go by easier. If you have a full time job and you have your year planned out you have something to look forward to.  You can say to yourself in two weeks I'll be in Boston or wherever you see yourself being.  If you have a multi-day trip planned make an itinerary. Itineraries help you organize and make the most of the time you have for your trip. You don't have to wander what your suppose to do next its in your itinerary.  It makes a good outline of what you'll be doing you don't have to be a stickler to it but its a good start.

So get set and start making your plans for this year.  I hope to see you on your travels. Until Next week get out and shoot.

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography planning reservations retired scheduling travel trips website working workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2023/1/new-year-new-plans Fri, 06 Jan 2023 10:00:00 GMT
The Year in Review 2022 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/the-year-in-review-2022 Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing great! This week I want to look back at my photography of 2022 . It has been a big year for me.  I have traveled more than I usually do and have got some great photo's. I have taken two photography trips that included a plane ride which I haven't been on a plane in a long time. I did a lot of it with my Photography Wingman Robert and we have some trips in the future planned as well. So I'll go through the trips in order as they were taken.

New Years day shoot at Mount Mitchell NC the highest point east of the Mississippi. Robert and I had Mt. Mitchell SunriseMt. Mitchell Sunrise planned this one well in advance and drove to the mountains and shot the sun coming up on the first day of the new year. We also got to witness a young couple get engaged while we were there which was cool. We got some great shots on the way down from the mountain. It was a great start to the new year.

New Jersey. Our next road trip was to New Jersey where Robert had some family that we were going to stay with. I had never been to New Jersey before so this was all new to me. We drove and stayed at Norfolk the first night went to the ship yards and the next day went to the Naval Museum we had the place to ourselves and it was awesome. We then drove to stay with friends of Robert and had a nice visit there. Then it was off to Jersey and Asbury Park where the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi got their start. We got to see lots of cool places but it was COLD. On the way back we stopped in DC at the Iwo Jima war memorial to take some photo's. Great trip!

Congaree National Park. Robert, Mike and I went to this National Park in South Carolina. None of us had been there but it was Nice .  We had good food and fellowship.

Pawleys Island.  Now this wasn't much of a photography trip it was my 40th anniversary but I always have my camera with me so I got some shots and we stopped at Myrtle Beach State park while we were there and may go back in the future.

Utah Road Trip.  This was by far the most epic of my trips this year. Robert (Wingman) and I flew to Las Vegas got a rental and embarked on a 1600mile road trip which took us through Utah's Mighty 5. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyon lands, Capital Reef and Arches. We stayed in 5 different hotels and traveled through Nevada, Arizona, Utah , Colorado and New Mexico. We visited state parks in Nevada and Utah and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. We SpiresSpiresCanyonlands National Park Utah ended up staying in Taos NM and flew out of Albuquerque after going to the top of Sandia Peak which is over 10000 feet high. It was a overwhelming trip and we could have stayed a week or two at each of the places we went to. It was a whirlwind trip.

Shenandoah National Park.  My wife and I took our little teardrop trailer to the Shenandoah National Park to camp for a long weekend. It was crowded but very nice. Even though we were in a big campground we were secluded .  The deer would come right up to within 10 feet of you before they would scurry off. We drove up and down skyline drive stopping at different outlooks. Got a few good shots but really had a good time just camping.

Boston. We took a long weekend and flew to Boston. There were 6 of us that went Me and Robert, Anita Boston Harbor at NightBoston Harbor at Night and Caitlin, Roberts son and Eric Caitlins friend. We had a Air B&B at Revere Beach. We used public transportation (Subway's/Trains) to travel around and took one or two UBERS.  Seeing the Sites of Boston was pretty neat. We traveled along the Boston Freedom Trail that takes you to a lot of the historic sites. We had good food and a good time was had by all.

Raven's Roost Va.Raven's Roost Va. GAPC Fall Colors Trip. This is usually my big trip of the year. But not this year. But its still a big trip.  We went to an Air B&B in Wintergreen Ski Resort for our home base. From there we went to West Va, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Richmond and other local places. Good food was always had at local restaurants Spring Fall FallsSpring Fall Falls and lots of good photo's and fun was had by all. I think we had 7 of us all together.

Goose Creek overbite Camp- This last one was a small spur of the Goose Creek DriftwoodGoose Creek Driftwood moment trip that Robert and me took to Goose Creek State Park in North Carolina to shoot the night stars and Sunrise. Robert got much better photo's than I did but I had a blast camping in a tent again.

These were the major trips of the year but there was some smaller trips (day trips) That we took to Raleigh, Greensboro, Wilmington, New bern, and Edenton. So this was a busy year for me travel wise and photography wise. I hope I can keep it up next year. I plan on taking some more camping type of trips to places next year as well.  Considering all of the places I went this year and how far I traveled I really didn't spend that much for the fun I had. The money/ fun ratio was good.  What did you do this year? And have you started planning for next year? Start planning until next week get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Boston Camping Carolina colorado Congree hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography South street travel Utah Virginia waterfalls website West workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/the-year-in-review-2022 Fri, 30 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT
First Camera "What should I get?" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/first-camera-what-should-i-get Hey Everyone ! I hope everyone is having a good new year.  This week I want to discuss something that happened to me over the holidays and has had me thinking ever since.  While at our Christmas party for the camera club I am a member of one of our newest members asked me about what camera should she get for her first camera. It kind of through me off a little and I tapped danced around the subject and told her about buying used and to do research before she made her decision.  I told her that I could recommend a camera to her but it would be my opinion and to tell you the truth there really is no bad camera's out there. I got to thinking about it and wondered if I helped her at all trying to figure out what camera to get. I don't think so I started talking about sensor size and her eyes started to glaze over. LOL But after long hard thinking over the last couple of weeks I came to a decision on what camera to get. But before I tell you let me go through my thought process with you.

So your first camera is a big decision and one I haven't had to make in over 45 years when I bought my first one from the Sears Catalog! But things have changed a whole lot since the film days. So first I wanted to figure out what a beginning photographer needed in a camera. Not knowing what type of photography She wanted to do . (Forgot to ask that important Question) I'll stick with general photography. To really learn photography you need to be able to shoot in Manual and learn what all of the settings mean. So the camera should be able to shoot in manual and all of the other modes also. It should have a good range zoom on it to keep from having to buy many lenses at the start. It should be fairly affordable .  It should be easy to use. So I got to thinking what camera would fulfill all of those needs?  

The camera that fulfills all of those needs was right in front of my face and in my Backpack. It was the Canon G7X series or similar in another brand. My EDC (every day carry) camera. It fulfills all of the needs that I mentioned above.  Now a days people are used to using their phone to take photo's and that works great but when you want to advance you want something that is more. My little point and shoot does that. It has a 1" sensor which is considerably bigger than the one in your phone. It can shoot in manual or any of the auto modes. It has a 24-100 equivalent f1.8-2.8 Zoom lens on it. It shoots in Raw and Jpeg. You can get an accessory like I did and you can use filters. I have a polarizer and a ND filter that I can use on it. It is easy to use and has a touch screen that works great and is similar to that on a phone. It is a great starter camera! If you decide that you want to go deeper into photography later on you can invest in any system and still have a great backup camera. When I go on trips this is my backup camera.  I should have pulled the camera out of my backpack and put it in her hand she would have fallen in love with it. This is a great camera to learn on and I have won monthly Photography challenges with this little camera.

So Maria this blog was especially for you or anyone that is looking to get a first camera this would be my recommendation . A first camera should be one that you learn on and fun to shoot  this one checks all of the boxes and does not break the bank. It is not suppose to be a professional one. So I think a point and shoot that can do all of these things is the one to get first. Here is a link to another blog that I have done on this camera. MY EDC (Every day Carry)  So until next time Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Beginning Photographer blog Canon CanonG7XII first camera landscape learning Manual Max Stansell Photography Photography point and Shoot Touch Screen website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/first-camera-what-should-i-get Sat, 24 Dec 2022 14:59:05 GMT
GAPC Fall Trip "Virginia!" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/gapc-fall-trip-virginia Hey Everyone! This week I wanted to talk about the Fall Colors trip that my Photography Club GAPC (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) took a couple of months ago. We went to Waynesboro VA and stayed at the Wintergreen Ski Resort that is near there. The Air B&B was Spacious and well located in the mountains. Let me tell you that the colors were popping! I have been on Fall Colors trips for 8 years and the colors have not been as good as they were this year.  These week long trips are great for my photography soul.  I get a whole week where I don't have to think about work or anything else and just photography. I can spend time and talk to people who love photography as much as I do. Where ever we go its fun and gorgeous with colors .  We need lots of things to shoot so we go to different areas every day and it planned out months in advance taking into account driving direction food stops and where the nearest bathroom is. We have great planners! This year wasn't as target rich as some of our other trips. We had never been here before and it took a lot of google searches to find stuff to fill our days. These are truly Raven's Roost Va.Raven's Roost Va. workshops we leave early and come back to the house late. It is not a vacation but it is fun. I like to say its summer camp for old folks.  We eat at local restaurants and usually really good food.  We visit quaint towns with great character and great shops. As you can tell I am very into this yearly trip.

We have a week to really do nothing but photography and fellowship with the other like minded folks in our workshop.  We learn a lot about each other which makes us very comfortable around each other. This year in Virginia where we had never been before. We mainly split days up into days like Blue Ridge day, Shenandoah Spring Fall FallsSpring Fall Falls day, Richmond Day. Each day was in a different direction and we tried to hit places that were grouped together.  We don't know each specific place we will shoot but have a good idea of the area and sometimes we just ride up on a place that is fantastic that we had no Idea about. I think the furtherest day we had driving was West Virginia day but it was well worth the ride. We had some folks that had not been to the places in West Virginia and it was nice to see their reaction to the sites and how beautiful it was. We had one member that had not done Landscape before and it was nice to see her get all excited and working the scene like she would a Portrait Photo shoot.  These trips really make you want to shoot all of the time .  The first day is Glades Creek Mill WVGlades Creek Mill WV usually my worst day because I haven't gotten into the grove yet but by the second day and we pull into a location I go on Auto Pilot and start shooting like a pro (or at least I think I do).  After the long day and a relaxing supper we are back to the Air B&B to download  photo's and look at what everyone else got. Sometimes theirs are a lot better than what I got but sometimes not. It it really nice to see 5 or 6 people shooting from the same place and see all of the different shots they get and may not be anything like you got. Its a real learning experience. If we really have some new photographers with us we may even give a class on photo editing using Lightroom. 

Sandstone Falls New River Gorge NPSandstone Falls New River Gorge NP On these trips it really is the journey not the destination. Or at least it is to me. I enjoy the seeing new or old places and making the shots. The act of taking the photo is just as important or maybe even more important to me than the final product. As you can tell I really enjoy these trips and can't wait until next year when we go back to the North Carolina mountains.  Hopefully we can get some new folks to go with us and show them the wonders that we have seen in the past. So until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) autumn blog camera Club Colors Fall landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/gapc-fall-trip-virginia Fri, 23 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Recharging Station at Home and Traveling https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/recharging-station-at-home-and-traveling Hey Everyone! Hope you have had a great week! This week I want to talk about how you recharge your electronics and batteries. It seems like with all of the electronic gadgets that we have ,we have to do a lot of recharging. It could be GoPro batteries or your watch or almost anything else. But how do you do it. Do you just search the house looking for an empty wall socket to plug your stuff into? What about all of the adapters that come with all of your gadgets that you have to recharge? As you may know if you follow my blog I am a organizing freak and I love to have everything just so. So as with my Camera bags everything must have its place. My batteries as well. I have come up with a system for home and travel to help me with this problem.  Too Many Gadgets and not enough sockets. I have created charging stations. I have two in my house one is for my computers and one is for my batteries. They are very simple to make and with no particular way of making them but it gets all of your stuff in one  place.

At home charging station. This can be put anywhere. On top of a counter cabinet or even in an unused drawer. Now I have two charging stations one for my Laptops and iPads. And one for camera batteries. For laptops I have work and personal ones so multiple machines. The first charging station is set up on a plastic shelf that I keep saying I'm going to replace with a more permanent one but I never do.  I use a power strip surge protector that also has USB ports in it. So My LapTop charger can plug into one of the sockets and iPads, Phone (work phone), watches and almost anything else can be charged conveniently beside my workstation which is just a old fold out table made into a desk. I also have a wireless charger for my work phone and ear buds. I try to keep all of the cables wrapped up as neat as possible but they always seem to be spaghetti on a pile on the top of this small shelf.  I would like to get a more permanent cabinet with a drawer that I can put everything in. But for now its this plastic shelf.  I also have a separate charging station for all of my batteries.  This includes camera batteries , of which I have three types . Four if you count the GoPro batteries. So four different chargers. Also have lots of AA rechargeable batteries that I like to keep somewhat charged up . I use these for Flashes and Strobes. I have built this charging station up in the same way I did my iPad charging station with a power strip that has sockets and USB ports for all of my stuff.  I have a big shelf that I keep all of my camera gear on and this power station resides there and on the table beside it that I use for Photography. I can also use the power strip to plug constant LED lights that I have when doing tabletop photography. 

Having these charging stations helps keep my batteries and devices at home charged. If I'm out on a photo shoot when I get home I can go right to the station and take my used up batteries and plug them in without hunting and looking for the correct charger because it is already hooked up to the power strip or is nearby.  Very convenient. The same with my laptop that I use around the house. It stays plugged in until I need it. But what about on the road what do I use?

On the road Charging station. When I travel I take a small power strip it has only 3 sockets on it .  I have two power bricks made by Anker that have 2 USB ports in them. So that will give me 4 USB ports to use for battery charging and phone charging and one port left over for a laptop if I bring one. I only bring the chargers of the electronics that I'm traveling with. All of this is stored in a small bag that I can shove almost anywhere in my luggage.  When I get to a hotel or an Air B&B I make a little charging station that I used to charge batteries and phone or iPad. So just like at home when I get back to the hotel I can take my spent batteries and right away put in a charger so they are ready for the next day. I know this sounds pretty simple but it keeps me from hunting for power sockets when your in a hotel room for all of your different devices and helps you from loosing cords and cables when traveling because they are always in one place.

So what does this all cost? Well that's the cool part. You already have all of the chargers, Cables, batteries and anything else you would need. So just a Surge Suppressor Power Strip is all you need. You may already have one or you can pick one up for 15-20 bucks and assemble your own charging station. If your a neat freak like me you may want to get some sort of wire ties that will keep all of your cords in check. But that's it. Well that's enough for this week until next . So Get out and Shoot!



 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Batteries Electronics landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Recharging Station Surge Suppressor website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/recharging-station-at-home-and-traveling Fri, 16 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Landscape Photography "What Lenses to use?" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/landscape-photography-what-lenses-to-use Hey everyone! Its Max again with my thoughts on photography.  Hope you had a great week.  This week I want to talk about Landscape photography and what "I" think the lenses you should be using. First of all you can use any type of lenses to take landscape but these are the ones that I think you should use. I have three lenses that I use for landscape photography. Before I get into what lenses I use first lets talk about the different types of lenses.

First there are prime lenses. These lenses are sharper (debatable ) they are lighter have a wider aperture and are cheaper. So why aren't everyone using them for landscape photography? They are of one focal length. You can use them and there is nothing wrong with it but they aren't as versatile as zooms. When your out in nature you can't always get to the right distance you want because of the terrain that you're in.  So when using a prime only there will be a lot of times where you just can't get the right perspective because of the limitation of the one focal length of the lens you are using. Now you can make the argument that Ansel Adams only used primes and you would be wrong. A lot of the photo's he took was with a bellows type of lens that lets you change the focal length and also vertical perspective like a tilt shift lens would. So he was using a type of zoom lens in the field on a large format camera.

Zoom Lenses. These lenses are sharp, heavier , not usually as wide aperture as primes, and are expensive.  So why would you ever use them? They are more versatile in this environment than primes.  Zoom lenses let you adjust your focal length to the situation that you have. Most people for all types of photography are using zooms whether its portraits , sports, or landscape. Primes aren't used much for anything anymore because the zooms now are so good.  They are expensive and in photography you usually get what you pay for.  A good zoom if cared for can last forever and is a good investment.  You can get zooms in aperture as wide as f2.8 but they are expensive but the variable aperture range lenses are good too.  To tell you the truth there aren't many bad lenses made anymore. So Zoom lenses are the choice for Landscape. But which ones?

If you are a landscape photographer I recommend 3 to 4 lenses. The fourth being a macro lens for close up shots of plants, bugs and things. But the first of the Zooms I recommend is the wide zoom. Somewhere between say 16-24mm.  This lens will let you take wide landscapes and get all of the scene in the frame. It's also good for closed in situations say like on a trail or in a forest.  They are great for waterfalls and almost anything that you want to get all of it in.  They do not have to have a wide aperture of 2.8 but if you got the money.  The one I use is a constant F4.

The next Zoom I would get is the mid-range zoom. It will be somewhere 24-70mm.  This is a great lens and probably the first one I would get. If you've got the money I would get this one at f2.8 aperture if you can afford it. This is the focal length that I used the most. Its my bread and butter so I got the best one I could afford for my kit. I recently went on a fall colors trip and this was the lens I used 90 percent of the time if not more. Its always attached to my camera and seldom comes off.  It has always been my favorite zoom and focal length.

The last Zoom is the Telephoto Zoom.  The big boy.  This one can be a variable aperture and these lenses can be expensive. I would suggest buying this one used. As a matter of fact I would buy all of them used. But use a friend or a established company to buy them from. The range of this zoom is say 100-400mm.  This will let you zoom in and isolate different subjects in a large scene. If you're photographing a large canyon you can get the wide open shot first then take this lens and isolate different aspects of the scene. Work the Scene! This is a great lens for this and can also be used for the occasional wildlife shot when you don't want to get close like a bear.

So these are my suggestions for Landscape lenses. Three Zooms.  A wide Zoom, Mid-Range Zoom and a Telephoto Zoom.  I would not recommend a all in one zoom like a 24-300. These large range zooms usually aren't as good in quality as the specific zooms I mentioned above and you won't be satisfied with the quality. Also a macro lens.  I personally don't have one at the moment and am searching for one to add to my kit but I think the macro is the least important of the kit and would be used the least.  Well there you have it my thoughts on Landscape Lenses and what I think you should have in your kit. Until next time Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography mid-range zoom Photography Telephoto Zoom website wide Zoom workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/landscape-photography-what-lenses-to-use Fri, 09 Dec 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Photography fail? Or Not. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/photography-fail-or-not Goose Creek GrassGoose Creek Grass Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This week I want to talk about a trip I took last weekend. It was a spontaneous trip for me. Which is unusual. I woke up Saturday morning and wanted to shoot some new to me lenses I had just got and was thinking where to go. I decided that I wanted to shoot a sunrise and the best way to do it where I wanted to go was to camp out and wake up early and head to the site. I got on the inner web and made a reservation at Goose Creek State Park. The reservation was for a more primitive campsite but you could still drive there. Me and Forrest the Wonder dog were going to go camping.  About 10 min. after I made the reservation my Photography Goose Creek DriftwoodGoose Creek Driftwood Wingman Robert sent me a message and was wondering what to do. So I asked him to join me. He said yes. This is a big yes for him he doesn't go camping much or at all. Camping to him is staying at a Motel 6. LOL He even went out and got a tent. I met him at his house and we headed out to the State Park. He was excited and geared up for the trip. He only brought a GoPro with him and he was planning all kinds of stuff. Like a astro shoot which I didn't even think about. But I was game.   We made it to our campsite and set up camp.  He was putting this tent up for the first time and struggled a little but managed to get it set up .  We went for a little walk to a dock that was near by and decided that's where we were going to do the night shooting. He had the Photo Pills app out and knew where the Milky way was going to be and what time.  We made our way back to the camp and cooked or heated up some Chili that he brought and had a good meal. We cleaned up and waited for the sun to go down.  After it got good and dark we headed to the dock with Forrest leading the way.  We got there and he set up and started with the shoot.  I struggled a little trying to get good focus.  I had forgot all about astro photography I haven't done it in a while and I was doing everything wrong and struggling .  I should have had my camera all set up and ready to go before we went to the dock. But I got some shots but no winners with tac sharp stars. They were a little blurry.  But I couldn't tell until I got home and put them on the big screen.  We sat around waiting for his GoPro do do its thing and we saw all of the stars the Milky way and airplanes flying across the sky. Even saw some shooting stars.  It was very cool.

We made it back to camp and hit the hay we had to get up early in the morning and then go to the place that we were going to shoot the sunrise.  I woke up early as usual and went outside and made some coffee and then. Drip, Drip, Drip and more drops and the sound got louder and it was raining! It Rained for about an hour or so I got in my truck and just looked at my phone until it stopped. Robert got up and before too much longer it stopped raining. We headed to the spot that I had picked out. The first photo of this blog was taken there a few years ago. When we got there the sun had not crested the horizon yet but it was hidden by clouds and you could see the lights of a town across the sound where we were at. It was very pretty with Spanish moss hanging from the Live Oak trees were silhouetted with the water sparkling with the lights of the town.  I got my camera out and started shooting. I had Forrest attached by a leash to my belt loop and he was tugging me quite a bit. I tried to put that out of my mind and kept shooting.  I make lots of shots and had fun shooting.  Robert filmed us with his go pro and made a time lapse of the sun rising but you couldn't see the sun much.  After the shoot we went back to the campsite and packed up and drove home. Fun was had by all.

When I got home I downloaded my photo's and looked at them closely. My astro shots were not quite sharp enough I tried running them through a sharpening program but they were too far gone .  My sunrise shots were sharp and well exposed but the compositions just didn't work. I really didn't get any keepers from the shoot. So was it a failure? Maybe in some people's eyes.  But I got to go camping, See the milky way, and witness another sunrise with Forrest. The photo's didn't turn out the way I wanted but you can't be successful all of the time. Failing is part of learning, so what did I learn. Photographically I didn't prepare as much as I did for the camping part of the trip. Being Spontaneous  doesn't always work for me. I sometimes need a little of time to think and prepare. But I did have fun with a Friend and Forrest the Wonder Dog.  So over all a win! Just remember your not always going to have winners and that's Okay.  If you get out and experience life that's the most important thing. So until Next week Get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Astro blog Camping Goose Creek SP landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sunrise Tents website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/12/photography-fail-or-not Fri, 02 Dec 2022 09:24:04 GMT
How to Prevent GAS “Gear Acquisition Syndrome” https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/how-to-prevent-gas-gear-acquisition-syndrome Hey Everyone! Hope you have been enjoying your week. By the time this Blog is released it will be in the Holiday season! And what better time to buy gear right? Today I want to talk about something I don’t really have any business talking about is how to prevent having gear acquisition syndrome or GAS.  I have been caught in the lure of bright shinny things in the past and have seemed to buy everything under the sun related to photography gear.  But after the last 4 or 5 years I have come under the conclusion that I don’t need the newest and greatest thing since sliced bread every time something new comes out.  It has been a hard realization and I have downsized my gear to what I think is the essential gear that I need for the types of photography that I enjoy doing.  My journey in photography started in the 70’s and had continued in some shape or form since then.  I have bought my fair share and probably your fair share of photography equipment as my journey has evolved.  I have bought everything from studio strobes to Big full frame DSLR’s and all of the top lenses to go with them.  I have got all of the cool accessories and gadgets that someone talked me into.  Why? Probably because I thought if I got the same camera as my photography hero at the time had I could shoot photo’s like him/her.  Did I? No.  I was still the lousy photographer that I was without the shiny gear.  I just learned how to operate more stuff.  Now if you have the disposable income then go for it but if you're like me and don’t this is what I think you should do with all the money you were spending on new and shiny equipment.

Limit yourself to one camera item per year. Lens or camera body. Use it for a year and really learn it before looking for something new. First of all if you have a fairly new camera body whether its a DSLR or a mirrorless one you don’t need another one.  Your may want one but you don’t need one! It won’t make you a better photographer it will make you a poorer one.  Don’t get me wrong you need a good body but it doesn’t need to be the latest and greatest. Especially if you are only a stills photographer. Most of all of the new advancements in camera’s in the last 5 years is in video and fast focus.  If you shoot sports or wildlife where fast focus is important than a newer body may be what you need. But remember people shot sports and wildlife with film and manual focus.  If your shooting anything else the camera you have is fine.  I personally don’t buy new camera’s when I upgrade for a couple of reasons. I don’t need all the new stuff for what I shoot and it’s cheaper.  I shoot with  cameras that are both over 5 years old and they work great for me. Now lets talk lenses. Lenses  last forever! Buy one good one and you don’t need another in that focal length. Buying used is the way to go you can get a great lens for less than the new one and it will be great. When buying used I suggest a company that specializes in photography gear like MPB.com or KEH.com I have bought and traded with both and have been nothing but satisfied with what I bought at a good price. All the items are tested and inspected and rated on their condition.  The better the condition the more they cost but still considerably cheaper than new.  So now you have bought your one item this year a camera body or lens now what to do with all of that extra money? 11-sony-a630011-sony-a6300

I would suggest spending it on training or travel. I would also suggest joining some sort of camera club. Check in your surrounding area and there may be a club you can join and go on workshops and outings and really learn a lot.  That’s what I did.  I joined a club over 10 years ago and my photography has got so much better and you get to talk to like minded people about photography.  I cannot recommend this enough. Travel , Sometimes to get those great shots or vista’s you have to go where they are. You can’t get them from sitting at your house or just staying in your home town. Although there are 22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n great shots around home traveling to a new environment really wakes up the creative juices.  I have been traveling more this year and have had a great time and got some great photo’s to boot. Training and Travel will make you a better photographer more than new gear. Joining a club whether its in person or online will make you a better photographer because it will give you techniques and challenges that you never thought of before. Making you a better photographer. Learning new editing techniques and shooting techniques is easily found in a club and annual dues are probably cheap and you’ll meet great people who maybe want to learn something from you. Any kind of training whether its a paid workshop or Creative Live or YouTube content is a great way to be a better photographer. 

Gear is great and its taken me a few decades to figure out that its not what makes a great photo. You are what makes the great photo. I went on a _MSP1594_MSP1594 trip to Boston this year for 4 days . Two of those days I was using a full frame camera with great lenses the other two days I was using a point and shoot camera. I took just as good photo’s with the point and shoot as I did with the Big Boy camera. It just took a little effort and the actual shooting was the same.  We all like nice gear but we don’t need to go out and buy the next best thing when our camera is awesome that we already own.  Becoming a better photographer takes time and shooting lots of photo’s.  The more you shoot the more you learn and the better you get. So until next week get outside and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera Clubs GAS gear Gear Acquisition Syndrome in Person landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Money online Photography Travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/how-to-prevent-gas-gear-acquisition-syndrome Fri, 25 Nov 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Is your Camera Customized to you? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/is-your-camera-customized-to-you Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing well this week. This week is about customizing your camera to you.  If you have a modern camera there are many ways to customized your camera to the way you shoot and the way you like to have things organized. Now I can't go into specifics of every camera because they are all different but they can all be customized in some way to make , making pictures more easy.  First I will go over how I have one of my camera's set up to shoot. I wouldn't expect anyones else's camera to be like mine. Yours should be your configuration unique to you. The camera I'll tell you about is mainly used for street, product and almost anything but my landscape and wildlife stuff which I use another camera.  I only shoot prime lenses on this camera so no zooms. I have many customizable buttons on my camera and I'm guessing you do too. Lets go over those first.  My C1 button I have programed to toggle between mechanical shutter and electronic shutter. If I get in a situation where I need the quiet I can just push this button without fumbling through the menu's trying to find it.  My C2 button turns the touch screen on and off. I am a left eye dominate shooter which means my nose touches the back display and if touch screen is turned on my nose will change the focus.  This button lets me keep this feature off until I want it like doing focus stacking where I can touch where i want it to focus and snap.  My C3 button toggles between eye autofocus and animal eye focus.  This stays on people most of the time but if I come to a dog or cat I can press this button and it will focus on the animals eye.  My C4 button is to toggle between regular shooting and Super 35 ( crop sensor) mode. In this mode if I'm shooting a 35mm lens and I need a little reach real quick I can press this button and it will crop 1.5 times making this lens to shoot like a 50mm. This comes in handy while shooting street stuff when you see things and don't have time to change your lens.  As you can see these 4 buttons have been customized to how I shoot. You may have totally different things to put here that fit your style of shooting.  Doing any changing will take some reading the camera manual and googling how-to do whatever your planning to do. Don't feel bad about googling I have to do it all the time and sometimes looking at a how to video or a step by step procedure is a great help. Here are some other things to think about while customizing your camera.

Mode and Custom Settings.  If you have an advanced camera you will have a dial that has M,S,A,P ,Auto, Scene, movie and maybe custom set up. So there are many modes to shoot from. Manual , Sutter Priority,  Aperture Priority, Program, Auto or Scene.  Some people shoot in manual all of the time. Me I shoot in Aperture Priority 90% and Manual when on a tripod or at night. There are usually custom settings that you can use that might be on a M1 or 2 that you can set up the settings that you shoot when you shoot manual. So if you're shooting in Another mode and you want to quickly go to manual you can put on M1 where you put your favorite setting so you can have a quick start.

ISO- Manual or Auto. In Manual you pick what ISO you want. In Auto the camera can decide and you can set limits that the camera can't go past. For me I shoot in Auto most of the time but I have a range between 100-1200 ISO.  You can change the range anytime you want and get your camera set so it shoots the best for your camera.

Focus- Focus is a big one do you want to single focus on one spot or mutable spots.  Do you let the camera pick or do you pick. Do you do continuous focusing? What about back button focusing where you focus with a button on the back of your camera . Lots of decisions to make to make it easer for you to shoot the way you shoot and what you shoot.  I shoot continuous most of the time and back button all of the time. If I need to pick a point I can turn on my touch screen and pick one or can use my joy stick on the back of the camera to pick.

White Balance.  Do you choose or do you let the camera choose?  If you shoot in RAW you can change later if you don't like it.  Do you custom white balance which is done mainly for portraits to make sure you get the skin the right tone. Depending on what and how you shoot this could be different for each person.  I shoot in Auto and Raw so I can make changes in post 99 percent of the time if I'm taking a portrait I'll use a gray card or a color checker passport so in post I can dial in the correct white balance.

Card slots? If you have two card slots how are you going to use them. Will they be used to make duplicates on separate cards or is one card set to be a overflow incase one fills up?  Or do you shoot RAW + JPEG Raw on one card and JPEG on the other.  Thats what I shoot it gives me a backup but doesn't take as much space then I can shoot in a special mode say Black and White and my JPEGS will be black and white but my RAW will have the full color.

Customizable Menus .  If you have customizable menus you can put the things that you change the most in this special tab and you can get to them quickly.  I have a function button on the back of my camera that brings up 8 things that I can choose from the menu for quick reference. I also have a tab in the menus for Favorites where I can put important stuff.  Like Format so I don't have to search for it I know its the first item in my Favorites tab.

As you can see there are many things that you can do to customize your camera to you.  When you get your camera customized to you the camera is easier to use and you can concentrate more on photography not settings on your camera.  I'm always customizing mine trying to make it easier to use and I'm always finding new and interesting things about my camera that I didn't know. I have another Sony camera body but it's quite different and all the buttons are not the same.  But I try to make it as close to this camera so its familiar when I use it and don't have to relearn it. You've spent a lot of hard earned money on your camera make it work for you and customize it to you.  Until Next week Get outside and Shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Back button Focus blog custom settings Focusing modes ISO landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Modes Photography Priority Settings shutter speed website White Balance workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/is-your-camera-customized-to-you Fri, 18 Nov 2022 09:28:29 GMT
My thoughts on Street Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/my-thoughts-on-street-photography Hey Everyone! I hope you had a great week.  This week I want to talk to you about Street Photography and what it means to me. Now I shoot many kinks of photography but mainly Landscape/Travel. But I do love Street photography. Especially in a locale that I haven't been before. I love walking the streets and seeing what I can capture.  There are many forms of street photography.  I think there is portraiture , architect, casual, fine art, and many more. It can be a shoot from the hip to get the shot or right in your face to get the shot.  There are many different styles and ways of doing street Bartender waiting for Customer BostonBartender waiting for Customer Boston photography.  The equipment used can be just an iPhone to one body and one lens.  It doesn't matter what type of camera equipment you use its the capture that is important. I have been reading a book. Yes a book!  The book is titled "Street Photography Assignments 75 reasons to hit the streets and learn" by Valerie Jardin.  It gives you assignments to do to grow your Street photography skills. The author only uses one lens and body for all of her work and her work is amazing!  So I have been trying to use some of the techniques that I've found in her book. To me Street photography is about exploring and documenting.  When I was growing up I remember looking at News Papers and Magazines with Man Waiting for T BostonMan Waiting for T Boston Black and White photo's in them and you could see the story in the photographs no mater what the subject was.  If it was a riot or if it was poverty or a sporting event.  To me that is what street photography is like. I'm not out to get a story or watch a sporting event I'm there to document and capture beauty and action and how life was in the moment and time I pushed the shutter button.  I am not the in your face kind of shooter when doing street photography I'm more of casual and lets just see what I can see and using the techniques that I'm learning maybe start to tell the story like those photo's I used to see.  Here are just a few of the techniques I try to use.

- Reflections .  I love me a refection.  I love to find a puddle of water in front of a cool scene and use it to my advantage. Or a window  or even a mirror of a parked car or building.   DD GirlDD Girl Reflections seem to open up the scene and zoom into the subject all at the same time.  This may be my favorite technique and I'm always looking for one.

-Selective Focusing and Framing.  I love to use a frame when I can find one.  A window , a fence anything that can be used to Isolate the subject and bring it out in a creative way. I have used the arm rest of park benches to do this .  Almost anything you can use you  just have to be creative.

-Silhouettes and Sunburst. Shooting into the sun or bright light to give the silhouette of the subject is a very cool shot.  Making a sunburst at the same time is even cooler. To make the sunburst you have to use a small aperture and catch the sun on the corner of something and you will create the sunburst.  Very Cool.

Struggling Biker BostonStruggling Biker Boston -Catching Day Walkers.  I love this technique you find an interesting back drop for you subject to walk through and just wait for people to come your in one place getting great shots.  Good to do while you're resting or taking a break.

-Shadows. Looking for shadows in a big city and make great photos.  You can have people coming from the dark shadow into the light you can have people waling in the light between shadows.

-Using different angles.  Looking up at a subject gives it a bigger than life appearance. Also looking down gives it a smaller appearance. Using all Points of view will give you more interesting photographs. Stairs and Shadows BostonStairs and Shadows Boston

These are just a few of the techniques that are in the book I mentioned above and as you can see these are basically advice or tips that can be used with all types of photography.  If you haven't done much street photography pick a town or small city to explore. Look at the downtown area it will be the most interesting.  Go with a friend and just explore see what you can see.  There is lots of stuff out there!  If you're like me Street photography will be a fun way to explore different city's.  This month I'll be traveling to Boston with some friends to do just that explore and have a good time with my camera.  So until Next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog journalism learning Max Stansell Photography monochrome Photography places Street Time website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/my-thoughts-on-street-photography Fri, 11 Nov 2022 09:30:00 GMT
Pretty Pictures not good enough for Photography anymore!? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/pretty-pictures-not-good-enough-for-photography-anymore Hi Everyone! Hope you had a great week! This week I want to talk about the modern Photographer and how the role of Photographer has changed. Not too long ago if you wanted Pretty Pictures you called a Photographer to come and take them. You were assured that these photographs were well exposed and looked like the people or places you wanted represented. Pretty Pictures. If you lived in a small town like I did as a teenager (back in the 70's ) with the population of only 5000 there were only a few people that had SLR cameras and knew how to take Pretty Pictures with them.  So photography wise you were a Big Fish in a small town. And it was that way for decades before and after when I was a teenager. But then digital came about.  Smart Point and Shoot cameras and then smart phones, iPads, camera's everywhere in your computer even in your car when you back up. And they can all take Pretty Pictures and even video.  Everyone reading this has a smart phone in their possession that can take Pretty Pictures and do what it took hours of work to do for a Photographer in my day in seconds.  A perfectly exposed Light House StairsLight House Stairs photograph can be taken by anyone by pulling a smart phone out of their back pocket and "Click" boom there it is. Smart phones have come to the point where they can be used for professional work. For quick snapshots for the local paper, to real-estate Photography. The smart phone and point and shoots have changed the meaning of Photographer as we used to know it. So why do we as Photographer's keep buying big fancy camera's and lenses? We can take "Pretty Pictures" with our cell phones? Because there is more to Photography than just taking Pretty Pictures!

Goldsboro Fire HouseGoldsboro Fire House One reason is the joy of the experience of taking a photograph. If you take a long road trip its not really just the destination its the journey. To me photography is like that. I love the process of photography. Making a composition then deciding what aperture to put the camera at. What about shutter speed on moving subjects. Do I need a tripod for a longer exposure? I love this process even more than the final result. Its all the stops you make along the way (the journey) of taking the photograph. The act of not letting the algorithm of a smart phone decide for me what all of the settings should be and what the photograph should look like.

Another reason is taking photographs that aren't Pretty Pictures. Using your camera to take abstract art or light that you can't even see like infra The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. red photography. Super long exposures of scenes that remove all of the people because they were walking by. Blurry photographs to show an emotion of a scene. These are all things that you can't do with your smart phone.

As you can see Photography is more than the end result. It is much more than how many likes you can get. Its more than the pretty sunset or sunrise or that beautiful waterfall. Its about experiencing the people and the places you go and how you got there or met them. Photography to me is a way to get out into the world and experience new things. Bringing a camera has gotten me out of the house and let me see things through a new DiceDice window. It has been a my Passport to the world.  It has led me to new friends and experiences that a smart phone would never do. It has changed me from a "living to work" mentality to "working to shoot or working to live" way of life. Photography, especially in recent years has shown me new places and things that I would have never got to do or see through my lens if I didn't have the fancy camera. 

Oops, I've gotten on a tangent again and started talking about me again. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you just want Pretty Pictures use your smart phone.  You will get a perfectly exposed photograph. But if you want to live the life of a Photographer don't take Pretty Pictures and get yourself one of those fancy camera's and start the journey of a lifetime of photography. Photography is one of the hobbies that you can do your whole life.  They can wheel you Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash outside while your at the rest home while you're clutching your camera and you can look up and take photos of the clouds. Being a Photographer is a life long journey.  So until next week get outside and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Cellular different Perspective exploring joy landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Phones Photography POV smart Phones thinking outside the box unique website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/11/pretty-pictures-not-good-enough-for-photography-anymore Fri, 04 Nov 2022 09:00:00 GMT
5 Mistakes that Beginner Photographers Make https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/5-mistakes-that-beginner-photographers-make   DCIM\101GOPRO Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week! This week I want to talk about Mistakes we all have made in photography. Now I'm not talking about when your learning the exposure triangle but after your a pretty good photographer but still beginning.  Some of these mistakes have thrown me for a loop for hours of me trying to find out what in the world is going on.  Trying to blame on my camera when it was just me and something I have done or  not done. Hopefully after reading this if you do the dumb thing that I've done you'll recognize it quicker than I did. So here we go with the list of 5 mistakes.

1. Everything is blurry when I look through the camera. Have you ever been shooting and while your looking through the camera every thing looks a bit blurry but when you preview on the back of the camera or use Live View everything looks ok? Well this happens to me quite a bit and its easy to fix.  What has happened is that you have bumped your diopter adjustment on your camera.  It's the little wheel that is just beside the eyepiece of your viewfinder. It is used to make corrections for folks that use glasses if they aren't using them. It only effects the view finder of your camera. Simply look through the viewfinder and look at the settings on the screen if they are blurry simply move this dial until they are sharp and now everything will be sharp when you look through the view finder.

2.  I press the shutter but nothing happens. This happened to me when I first got a new camera.  I went to a festival and was going to shoot all of the interesting things happening there with my new camera.  When I first went into the festival and took that first shot and nothing happened. I turned on and off the camera to see if that would fix it but nothing.  I tried and tried and nothing. What had happened is I had accidentally pushed the button or dial in my case and put the shutter to a 30 second time delay. So when I pushed the shutter nothing happened.  It took me quite a while sitting on a bleacher at the festival trying to figure out the menu of my new camera to figure out what had happened.

3. I take the shot and it seems brighter or darker than usual. This one has happened to me and it actually has a few causes that will make your camera do this.

- The first one is that you accidentally hit the ISO button and put your ISO way too high causing the sensor to be way too sensitive to light than it needs to be and the photo or photo's turn out too bright. Yep I've done it shooting along at 400 ISO and all of the sudden I'm at 25000. I had hit the button on the back of the camera, I had to reassign that button because I did it so much. 

- The second reason is that I had accidentally put my camera in manual bracket mode.  In this mode your camera at each touch of the shutter makes one dark one light and one just right exposure. Usually when I shoot in bracket mode I have it on continuously make the brackets with one touch of the button. But in Manual it does one at a time.  I have shot like this for hours before I figured out what was happening. I eventually  looked at the back of my screen and made it where I could view a lot of the photo's at one time and I saw the pattern . One Dark, One just right, and one Bright.  Thats when I had figured out what I had done. Luckily it was only set to half a stop of light so I could recover my photo's in post.

-The third one is that I accidentally hit the exposure compensation one way or the other .  I usually figure this one out pretty much because I tend to use the exposure compensation quite a bit but it can happen.

4. Dead Battery or SD card full.  I have seen people do this quite a bit. Especially in the DSLR days when batteries lasted quite a while. You show up at the site and bam battery dead. Whats even worse is if you have a back up battery and haven't charged it you're really dead in the water. The best way to avoid this or a full SD card is preparation before you go to the shoot . Always make sure your batteries are charged and you have a fresh card in your camera. And always carry extra's with you.

5. Spots on your images. When you get home after a longs day shoot you're excited to get your images loaded onto your computer to view.  When you get there you notice that there are spots or a spot on your photo's.  Especially when  your stopped down to F11 or greater.  The sky has spots all in it. You need to clean your sensor! You have dust on it!  Keeping your equipment clean is something we must all do to keep our images clean. It is a simple as wiping down your equipment .  If your sensor is dirty you can clean it but if your too scared too ,take it to someone that you trust to do it like a camera shop.  With mirrorless cameras dust and dirt are more a problem than with old DSLR cameras because the sensor is right there when you change lenses.

So there you go 5 mistakes that we make while shooting.  They can all be avoided if we take the time to learn our camera's and keep them serviced  well. So until next week keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog bracketing diopter ISO landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Shutter website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/5-mistakes-that-beginner-photographers-make Fri, 28 Oct 2022 07:53:16 GMT
My Evolving Workflow https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/my-evolving-workflow Hey Everyone! I hope everyone had a great week! This week I want to talk about my ever evolving workflow. This year I have been traveling a lot (for me) and trying to incorporate an iPad instead of a laptop into my workflow. My old work flow was Backup SD cards to a mobile SSD Drive, edit some if I'm on the road on a laptop, and wait until I got home to import the majority of my photo's onto Lightroom Classic on my Mac at home then final edits and go to Photoshop if I need to. It has modified here and there but basically has stayed the same. This year I brought a iPad mini into the mix in place of the laptop and the Adobe Cloud.  Still the same workflow until this last trip to Boston where I used my iPad as the main editing tool. So basically here is the new flow. Backup SD cards to a Mobile SSD drive, import to iPad , the iPad syncs these photo's to a SSD drive on my Mac at home and into Lightroom Classic, when I get home turn on my computer the photo's sync from the Adobe cloud.  All the edits that I made from my iPad go to my main computer at home so I'm not wasting time re-doing edits from Lightroom to Lightroom Classic. This has been a game changer for me. I now have all of my photo's on my phone , iPad and Mac and even my Laptop that I really don't use that much anymore. I can edit anywhere with my iPad or even my phone if I wanted too. I don't.  Let me go into a little more detail.

SD card Backup. If i'm on the road backing up my SD card is the same process. I use the RavPower file hub and copy all the info off of the SD card to a mobile SSD external drive. With the speeds of the new iPads using the M1 or the M2 chip and the thunderbolt connection I could use a wired file hub and do the same thing using the files app on the iPad. So that's one copy SD card to the Mobile SSD. Then I will upload files from the SD card into Lightroom (mobile) with the iPad. I import these files into a Album. I use one for the year or create a special one if it's a special trip like Boston was. This will put the files into Adobe Cloud. When the files are in the Cloud I can access them with any of my mobile devices they are also Synced to Lightroom Classic on my Home Desktop Mac to an SSD drive I have connected to the computer. These files will have all of the edits that I make while on the iPad .  SD card to the Adobe Cloud. Two Copies. And last but not least the SD card itself is the Third Copy.  I'll put a new card in if I am traveling and save this one until I am home. If I am home I'll disregard the backing up of the SD card with the RavPower file hub and go strait to the iPad and Adobe Cloud.

After I have the files on the Adobe Cloud then its time for editing. Using Lightroom (mobile edition) I can go through and cull of of my photo's. I do this with placing 1 star on the photo's that I think I want to process. Then I start editing. Using the iPad and Lightroom (mobile) as my main editor I can edit anywhere without having to be chained to a desk. I can edit on the couch or in an airport.  I use the apple pencil to help with these edits and it works great. All of my edits are synced to the SSD drive on my home computer where if I need to take these photo's to Photoshop or say a plugin like NIK tools I can do so for heaver edits. I usually don't do heavy edits so this will only be a couple of photo's out of a shoot.  This was the process when I went to Boston a few weeks ago and it worked great. The majority of my edits were done by the time I got home. I didn't have to get home upload my photo's and start from scratch. After these photo's are done with I let them sit a month or so on my SSD drive that is connected to my computer then I transfer them to an Archive Hard drive I have hooked to my MAC desk top and they are automatically synced to a Back Blaze Cloud service I have. Thats about it. 

What do you need to do this workflow? Well you'll need an iPad with the Lightroom (mobile) app installed. If you are already a subscriber to the photographers special from Adobe (which you should be) you already have all you need. I think you get 20 gigabytes of storage in the Adobe Cloud with this package and the latest and greatest in Lightroom Classic, Lightroom (mobile) and Photoshop. You will just have to go through the setup process to get everything synced. I have all of my winner shots from all of my years of digital synced to the Cloud and onto my mobile devices from Lightroom Classic and now I am syncing all of my photo's I take now to the cloud. There will have to be some sort of cleanup process so I don't use up all of my cloud storage. I haven't quite figured out all of the details on that yet. I'll let you know when I do. It might be as simple as deleting them from the cloud and putting all of my winners back into the syncing collection that goes to the cloud. That way I'm only saving the winners on the cloud. I'll have to figure that out. Using the iPad and the pencil makes editing very easy and convenient. Now I have been using an iPad mini and not the newest version to do these edits and have not had a problem at all with speed or editing. I do plan to upgrade this year to an iPad pro which will have the new "M" chip in it which is suppose to be even faster than my Mac at home. The reason that I'm upgrading is really for the size. This iPad will replace my MacBook air that I have and I will no longer be using Laptops for anything and this MacBook will slowly fade into the sunset and my editing devices will be my iPad and my Mac Desktop at home.  I'm cutting out the laptops altogether in my workflow and everyday computing also. I don't have anything against Laptops especially if that's your main computer and you don't have a desktop version. For me using the iPad has become much more enjoyable.  I have tried this with the big Boston Experiment and the last couple of local shoots I've gone on and it has worked great!  Is this for everyone?  Maybe , Maybe not .  Thats for you to decide but for me having a small mobile device that I can do edits on and it sync to my home computer is a game changer. 

Until Next week keep exploring and trying new things and get outside and Shoot!  Just a update all of the references to the iPad mini I do with the iPad Pro with the M1 chip in it and its fantastic.  But the iPad mini still works and well. Happy Shooting! 

Here’s a little update . I have purchased an iPad Pro 11 inch and am using it I on our annual fall colors trip to the mountains and it is working great! And I have figured out the deal with the Adobe cloud.  You get 20 gig of storage with the Adobe subscription.  So after I get back home and all of my photos are on my main computer I then erase the photo’s off of the Adobe cloud.  Then I get my winners from Lightroom classic and add them to a collection that automatically syncs with Lightroom and doesn’t use hardly any storage and it goes to all of my devices and my Adobe storage shrinks after the erasing of photos ready for the next shoot. So until next week! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adobe Adobe Cloud Backblaze blog Cloud edit file Management iPad iPad mini iPad Pro landscape learning Lightroom Lightroom classic Max Stansell Photography Photography Photoshop website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/my-evolving-workflow Fri, 21 Oct 2022 08:05:14 GMT
Photographers "Do You Need a Laptop?" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/photographers-do-you-need-a-laptop Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This week I bring up a question that I've had on my mind a while. One I'm sure you haven't thought about at all. Do you really need a laptop as a photographer? Now I'm not talking about a photographer that is a professional that his whole income is based on his or her photography. But the average person that loves photography but maybe just does it on the side a little for some extra cash to buy new gear. I don't think so and I'll get to the why in a little bit. I was in the belief that as a photographer that you had to have a laptop to do editing and all of that stuff. But I don't. I was under the impression that photographers sat in coffee shops with their laptops doing important editing on their computers. I don't.  Let me tell you what I use my laptop for mostly.  I use it as a food tray at supper time while I'm watching TV eating my nightly salad and I use it to browse the internet looking up weird facts that I never know the answers too.  Do I use it to edit photographs? No.  I use it to look and research others photo's.  So really I don't use it for photography at all. Now don't get me wrong I see nothing wrong with using a laptop for editing and doing all of your photography stuff. But I don't think it is essential. I think editing your photo's on a larger screen on some sort of desk computer is better for a few reasons. First your editing in the same place every time with the light in the room staying basically the same which helps in consistency. Two you are using a larger and stronger computer most of the time that will make your editing quicker and more efficient. Three your storage for all of your photo's is probably stored right beside your main computer so you won't have the tendency to loose stuff.  All of this makes sense. But what about when you travel you say? Well that's when I used to think I would really use a laptop. Because I need to back up my work and I can edit on the road.  That all makes sense right?  I can see the reasoning for thinking that but for me not so much.  For years I have been carrying a laptop to do what I just mentioned backup and edit on the road.  But for one I found that I really didn't edit on the road that much. Maybe a photo or two to go on social media but the bulk of my photo's were being edited at home after the trip. So until this year the only reason I took my laptop traveling was to back up my SD cards at the end of the day maybe edit a photo or two, review my photo's of the day and browse the internet.  This year I started using an iPad mini to do all of my travel stuff and haven't missed my laptop at all. So tell me why do I need a laptop as a photographer?  I don't. I don't use it at home for my photography and I don't need it on the road for photography. So I don't really need one. So now I'll get to the why.

This year I have been focusing on my travel more as a photographer. So far I have visited 8 different National Parks and many state parks and larger cities. This whole year I have been only using a iPad mini to do all of my photography stuff on the road with no problems at all. There has been a learning curve and maybe the mini isn't the best choice for this task of photography on the road but it works and works well. To tell you the truth I could do all of this with my phone but that is an extreme I think. I use Apple products for all of my personal computing needs. My main computer is a Mac I do have a MacBook Air for a laptop and my iPad Mini.  My computers are getting old.  My main computer is a 2015 model. A few years ago I converted my hard drive to a SSD and that sped up my older computer considerably and as of now I have no need to update because it can do everything I ask of it. I will of course have to replace some day.  My laptop is a 2017 and same as my Mac I converted to SSD which has extended the life of it. But it is slower and I only use it when I'm in front of the TV at night.  My iPad mini is a 5th generation and works well for travel. Its small compact and is equipped with wifi and Cellular .  But I think it will be the next replacement maybe next year not so much for what it can do but a larger iPad would do better I think especially with the "M" chips that apple is putting in the iPads now a days. With a larger iPad I can also have a case that includes a keyboard and as with my iPad mini the newer iPad will replace my laptop. I may never get another laptop. I don't see the need for it especially for my photography. Now I don't have any problem with anyone using a laptop to do all of their photography work on for many people this is the only computer they own and a must ,but for me I'll keep the larger computer for editing and an iPad for everything mobile. 

So there you have it my and I mean my thoughts on laptops for photography. I know I'm in minority but I think in the future more people will be going this way and eventually I think larger computers will be the way of the past like stick shifts and gasoline engines. But that will probably be after I'm long gone. As with everything else I'm trying to streamline ,like my camera gear to now my computers, and not too much into the future I will only have a main computer and an iPad for all of my photography and computing needs.  Until next week don't forget to get outside and shoot!

Hey this is an update Last week I gave the results of my Boston trip and the big experiment and that I edited all of my photographs on the iPad mini. Well I have updated my iPad for editing to the iPad Pro for my photography needs and my workflow has changed a bit that will come in next weeks Blog. Happy Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog computers editing iPad iPad Pro landscape Laptop learning M1 M2 Mac Max Stansell Photography Photography Ravpower Ravpower File Hub SD SSD storing Travel website windows https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/photographers-do-you-need-a-laptop Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:18:07 GMT
Boston, The Big Experiment! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/boston-the-big-experiment Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week! I had a great one. Last weekend me and some of my photography friends went to Boston and we had a blast.  Last week I went through the pro's and con's of JPEGS and RAW formant photographs and the experiment that I was going to undertake on this trip. Well spoiler alert it went great!  I decided to shoot in RAW + JPEG but instead of using the RAW as my main photo I was going to use the JPEG and see how it went.  It worked great. I took almost 1000 photos and only used the JPEGs to edit and post with in LightRoom and they looked great!  I even took my experiment a little farther and I used my Full Frame Sony and prime lenses for the first two days and used my Canon Point and shoot for the last two days.  And all of the photographs looked good. The Full frame may have Boston Harbor at NightBoston Harbor at Night done better in low light but that seemed to be the only advantage to it over the Point and shoot. The point and shoot was more stealthy than the full frame.

So talking about going full circle.  When I first started in digital I started with a point and shoot camera then a crop sensor camera then a full size DSLR then I went to a Crop Sensor Mirrorless to a Point and shoot camera .  I started shooting in Film then Digital Jpegs then RAW and with this trip to JPEG. When I started in photography I was shooting in Manual only, then went to Automatic modes on my cameras.  And with all the Revere Beach Sunrise BostonRevere Beach Sunrise Boston camera's and formats I always got good results.  I always had good looking photographs. So what does all of this mean?  Well for one thing I'm not always going to shoot in RAW.  Only when there is a time and place for it.  I'm not going to shoot in Manual all of the time. Only when there is a time and place for it. And I always don't have to shoot with the Full Frame camera. Only when there is a time and place for it. When will I shoot RAW, JPEG, Manual Settings, Automatic Settings, Full Frame, Crop Sensor or Point and shoot? Lets go through the list.

RAW Format- Landscape work , Portraits , Astro anything that require some more intense post processing. Stairs and Shadows BostonStairs and Shadows Boston  

JPEG Format- Shooting Street, Sport, Wildlife and everyday stuff that I can quickly edit.

Manual Settings- When I'm on a tripod. Dragging the Shutter. Or having to overcome some drastic lighting situation that the camera can't figure out.

Auto Settings.- Almost all of the time except when mentioned above.

Full Frame camera- Portraits, Street, Still life

Crop Sensor camera- Landscape , Sport, Wildlife

Point and Shoot camera.- Everyday shooting, Street

Piano ManPiano Man What it really comes down to is that it really doesn't matter what equipment or how you adjust your camera or what format you shoot in you can still make great photographs because a camera doesn't take the photograph you make the photograph.  Thats what I've found out with this big experiment.  I will start to use my point and shoot without worrying about quality issues. I won't shoot in RAW all of the time because there is no need for it. If you have a somewhat modern camera it will let you make great photographs not mater what brand or size.

There was one more thing that came out of this experiment that I wasn't expecting to happen. All of the photographs that were taken in Boston were edited on an iPad mini. That's right! Nothing was edited on my desktop or a laptop. It was fairly seamless .  I created an Album in Lightroom on my iPad and added all the photo's from each day.  They were automatically synced with my Lightroom Classic on my Mac at home. All the edits I made were synced through the cloud to my main computer.  I didn't have to upload anything when I got home they were already there. All 1000 photo's. Editing on the iPad was easy I just had to get used to Lightroom instead of Lightroom Classic that I'm used to. Using the apple pencil made editing easy.  I liked that I wasn't tied down to a computer to do edits I could do them anywhere. I'm going to keep trying this editing process to see how I like it.  Whats nice about it is that if I want to do some heavy edits its on my Mac the photo's are there already where I can do anything to it. As most of my edits are light ones the iPad seems to be the new thing I didn't know that I needed to incorporate into my editing flow. More to come on this subject as I learn more.

Be open to new ideas and maybe some old ones too to make your photography more fun and exciting.  So take what camera you have and get out and shoot! Make some great photography!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Boston CanonG7XII crop sensor full frame iPad JPEG learning Max Stansell Photography Photography point and shoot portraits RAW SonyA7III sport Street website wildlife https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/10/boston-the-big-experiment Fri, 07 Oct 2022 08:09:05 GMT
Raw or JPEG? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/raw-or-jpeg Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This week I want to talk about the difference between shooting in RAW and JPEG and what I think about it.  In a few days I'm taking a photography trip to Boston Massachusetts in the US.  While there I'll be conducting an experiment on RAW vs. JPEG file format.  I'll shoot RAW+JPEG but I will only use the JPEG files and have the RAW's for Backup. Its backwards of what most people do (me included) but I thought I would give it a go.  I was listening to a Podcast and it was talking about how to get out of a slump and shooting in JPEG was one of the ways. Just shoot. So on this trip to Boston I'll only be posting JPEG shot images and see how it works out. Lets talk about RAW and JPEG files a bit.

RAW Files. Images shot in RAW is exactly as it sounds. It is the most amount of information (data) recorded by your sensor with no post processing done to it .  Its RAW data. And when we look at it on a computer it looks dull and doesn't pop at all.  We have to post process this image to get it looking like what we saw on the back of the camera on the display which is a JPEG. We can do a lot to these images in this format and is what is shot by professionals around the world .  It is the standard that most photographers use. Shooting in RAW. But it does have some disadvantages also. The files are larger and it take longer for your camera to write to the memory card you have in your camera. So if you're  shooting high action sports or wildlife this could be a disadvantage to shooting in RAW.  You have to post process this format if you want it to look anything like you have on the back of your camera. When you take a photo the image that you see on the display is a JPEG file which means that it has been compressed and processed by the camera. For me a lot of the time I'm trying to get the final photo to look like it did on the back of the camera.  So isn't that unnecessary editing? RAW format is excellent for Portraits , Landscapes and any type of art  photography where post processing is a must.

JPEG's files. Images shot in JPEG are compressed files and have had some processing done to them that cannot be undone. This means that they are smaller files and what you get is what you get. You cannot back out of a JPEG and make it a RAW file. It doesn't work that way. These files are smaller and take up less room and can be processed by the camera and written to your memory card faster than RAW files.  This makes them great for Sports and Wildlife.  With JPEG's there is less editing .  And there is also less room to post process.  Although you still can process the images. When using JPEGs you can have camera profiles burnt in or cooked into your files.  Like film simulations or different effects can be "in camera" edited. But remember you can't undue what is done. 

So why would you ever shoot in anything but RAW?  You have full control over everything.  Well I guess its in how you shoot and what you shoot and the style of shooting that you do. If I were doing professional work where I was getting paid I would definitely shoot in RAW with a JPEG backup. But if I don't plan to sell my photo's?  If I am doing fine art photography I think shooting in RAW is also a good idea.  But if your like me and don't sell or really do fine art photography.  I mainly do landscape and travel photography. Do I need to shoot in RAW.  It would be quicker and easier to shoot in JPEG and just lightly edit my photo's.  That's what the experiment is going to be about when I go to Boston.  To see if there is a big difference between shooting RAW and JPEG.  Or can I just shoot in JPEG and shoot in RAW when I need to? It doesn't have to be either/or but maybe and. To me its kind of like shooting in Manual all of the time because someone on the internet said that professional photographers shoot that way.  But if your like me and have been shooting manual for most of my life I like shooting in an auto mode like Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority. When I started photography many moons ago there was no auto modes. Just manual. I know that if I don't see what I like that after years of shooting in manual just a couple of adjustments and I have what I want but 90% of the time the camera gets it right. Really the only time I shoot in Manual now is when my camera is on a tripod and I'm doing some sort of long exposure like a waterfall shot. So why can't I do this with RAW vs. JPEG? JPEG is like shooting in Auto and just go to RAW when I need to Like doing Astro Photography or long exposure when I'm on a tripod. And since I'm shooting RAW +JPEG anyway there is nothing to change. Anyway those are my thoughts about RAW vs. JPEG .  I'll let you know how the experiment went and if it changes the way I photograph things.

So get out and experiment with your photography. Don't be afraid to try something new. And until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Editing file size iPad Journalist JPEG landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Post Processing RAW RAW + JPEG Sport storage street website Wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/raw-or-jpeg Fri, 30 Sep 2022 09:00:00 GMT
Fall Colors Workshop Waynesboro VA https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/fall-colors-workshop-waynesboro-va Hey Everyone! This blog is a special edition than my normal Friday blog. The Goldsboro Area Photography Club (GAPC) has a couple of openings for our Fall Colors Workshop that will be in Waynesboro Va from Oct 15 to 22 ,2022. During this workshop you will get hopefully some really good fall foliage , sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls, quaint towns all decked out in holiday and harvest decorations photographs.  You will have a chance to really take some time and learn maybe a new technique like photo stacking or HDR. Maybe learn something new in Post Processing. Most importantly you will be Seneca RockSeneca RockCheck out the people on the top of the rock! able to fellowship with like minded people about photography. Have you ever been on a workshop before?  Maybe it was a day or half a day and you learned one thing or another. Think about a whole week what you can learn and experience as a photographer doing photography every day for a week.

We have two slots available the first one at a discounted price because we had a member that had to drop out and he is selling his spot at a Dry FallsDry Falls great price and the other slot is at regular price. I'll go over the numbers at the end of this blog. If you like fall colors (and who doesn't?) we will be right on the Blue Ridge Parkway and just outside of Shenandoah National Park. I know what you're thinking. It's kinda weird to go off for a week with people that you don't know that well.  I understand. I have been to all of our Fall Color Workshops. The first one I had only been a member for maybe a year but really only saw members at the meetings and workshops that were half a day. This was out of my comfort zone. When I arrived at the meeting place I got into the car with a mother/daughter duo. I had met the mother at the meetings but not the daughter. I Looking Glass 2Looking Glass 2 can say that after that trip we have become life long friends.  I just got back from a trip to Boston to do some photography with them. So don't be shy we are a welcoming group.

Let me explain how it works.  We get a house through Air B&B or VRBO for a week.  We split the cost by who's going. This trip the cost came to 310 dollars. That pays for your lodging the more people usually the cheaper. You can't stay anywhere in a hotel for 310 a week. We have separate sleeping arrangements for guys and gals. We usually always have a Guy bathroom and a Gals bathroom so you ladies don't have to follow one of us. LOL  We car pool everywhere and the price of all of the gas is split between all of us. Depending on the price of gas this Mill Shoals at NightMill Shoals at Night is usually in the 60 dollars range maybe a little more.  Food for the house. Coffee , sandwich materials, bottled water, Pizza's etc.... is all split between everyone. Maybe 25 or 30 bucks not much. Most meals are eaten out and you pay for your own. We do sometimes make sandwiches and take for lunches. Thats pretty much the cost. Let me give you a typical day.

Early Rise. We usually start early to get a sunrise shot,Waterfall or destination. Depending on how far we need to drive will dictate how early we get up. If the place is close by and we aren't doing a sunrise we will get breakfast at a local restaurant if we leave super early we will grab a New River Gorge BridgeNew River Gorge BridgeNew River Gorge Bridge at Fayetteville Station in New River Gorge National Park. biscuit or something at a fast food place because they are the only ones open. This is the only time we eat at chain restaurants.

First location. Whether its a Waterfall, or scenic shot we will spend plenty of time for you to get your shot or many shots.  This is the time that you could borrow say a lens from someone that has the same camera system as you or get advice on how to shoot.  We don't have one instructor teaching anything we have many with decades of experience in shooting that can help you if you need it.

Glade Creek MillGlade Creek MillThe Famous Glade Creek Mill in Babcock State Park in WVa. Lunch. Lunch can either be a bag lunch that we prepared or a sit-down lunch at a local diner or restaurant.  We have had sit in the grass picnics on the blue ridge or in a National park at picnic tables where we got to see a bear get tagged and measured.  Usually not the big meal of the day.

Afternoon Location. This could be a scenic overlook or looks or a charming small town like in the morning you will have plenty of time to shoot we try not to rush anyone.

Supper. Depending if we are doing a sunset shot or not this is usually at a decent hour. Usually at a local restaurant .  This is usually a nicer meal but it could be order in pizza. Bull ElkBull ElkThis Bull Elk was at Cherokee North Carolina.

Evening time. This time after a long day is spent taking showers, sitting around in your PJ's editing the days shots. This is where you can get great post processing tips and tricks.

This is a typical day and we stay busy all day. It's called a workshop for a reason. The Fall Colors workshop has been the highlight of my year ever since I've started going.  I rearrange my yearly schedule around it. The fist day is where you'll make most of your mistakes with the camera but as the week goes on you'll be surprised how easily the Cass Scenic Railroad State ParkCass Scenic Railroad State Park photographs come and you just have to concentrate on composition. You don't need any special equipment if you have a camera no matter what type you are good to go even if its only a smart phone.

This deal is for members of the GAPC only! If you are not a member you can join for 35 dollars membership dues. Being a member has many benefits this trip is just one of them. 

Prices .1st person 250 dollars payable to Jack (we will get you all the info) if not a member 35 dollars payable to our treasurer.

2nd person 310 dollars and must be a member or pay the 35 dollar due.

Please leave a comment that you want to go on the Facebook page (not this blog) and someone will get in touch with you. This is for people in the Goldsboro NC area and surrounding counties.  Come have fun with us. 

Here are some video Links. 2021 West Virginia Workshop  2017 NC Fall Colors  2016 Fall Colors WV

GAPC Washington DC
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Colors" landscape."Fall learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Virginia Waynesboro website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/fall-colors-workshop-waynesboro-va Sun, 25 Sep 2022 15:09:57 GMT
What is your EDC (Every Day Carry) Camera https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/what-is-your-edc-every-day-carry-camera Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week.  This week I want to talk about the camera you take with you where ever you go. The Photographer Chase Jarvis once said “ The best camera is the one you have with you”.  I am a firm believer that if you are a real photographer at heart that you should always have a camera on you. If your like me I’m always looking for great photographs and wouldn’t it be a shame if you found that great photo oppotunity and didn’t have a camera with you.  I have been shooting long before digital and tried to have some sort of camera with me but it always didn’t work out. But since digital started and I got my first Kodak digital camera I have always had a EDC camera with me.  I know , I know now a days we have Smart Phones that can do a great job and I agree the new iPhones and Google phones take fantastic photographs and all I have to do is have my phone with me and I have my EDC camera.  And that is a great option. I just listened to a Podcast on “This Week In Photo” where they were talking about what a iPhone 13pro can do even control ProPhoto lights.  Here is the link to the Podcast I’m Referencing “This Week In Photo iPhone 13”.  Also A link to the Website which has great Photography articles in it  TWIP (This Week In Photography) .  I think phones are great and I use mine to do Panographs when I’m out and about they work great and the photo is already stitched together.  But I like to have a dedicated camera when I do photography. The ergonomics are better for taking photographs and I don’t have to worry about getting a notification when I’m shooting.

What is my EDC camera? Well I have had it for a few years and its an older point and shoot but I like it very much. It’s the Canon G7XMarkII.  It’s a fantastic little camera.  I have just sold a lot of Sony Gear that I had grown out of and I sold one of my Crop Sensor Body’s that I was using as a backup camera so now this Point and shoot has become my backup camera when I’m on photography shoots with my big boy camera’s. It has a 1 inch sensor can shoot in manual and RAW. A one inch sensor is many times larger than a smart phone sensor and just smaller than a micro 4/3 sensor found in Olympus and Panasonic camera’s.  The touch screen makes going through the menu’s very easily and I wish that Sony would use the same touch screen on their camera’s. When it first came out on the market it was used mainly as a V-Logging camera but it’s out of date now because it doesn’t shoot 4K video which doesn’t matter to me because I shoot mainly still photographs which it does great. I have put an adapter on the front so I can use circular polarizer filter on it and have put a bottom plate on it which makes it a bit bigger and feels better in my hand. Gives my pinky finger somewhere to go. It doesn’t have a view finder but works well in low light. It’s has a 24-100mm f1.8-2.8 lens and can get some good bokeh out of it. It is a great walk around camera and would not hesitate to use if my main camera failed for some reason. I do have a cell phone a 2020 iPhone SE which is just a boosted iPhone 8. It’s basically the hardware of the 8 with the microprocessor of the 11 inside.  It’s small and compact and only has one lens instead of three or more of the newer and larger cellphones. So I guess its a backup to the Canon.  You can still pick up this camera from Amazon New for about 640 dollars. That’s 200 more than I paid for my phone. So a little pricy. The newer G7XMarkIII cost about 750 dollars. So you can spend a little more and get the newer version or save some money with the older one. The newer one shoot 4K that’s the biggest difference between the models.

So there you have it my EDC (Every Day Carry) Camera.  Let me know what you use. Is it your phone or do you have a dedicated camera like me?  Until next week Get out and Shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon EDC Everyday Carry Filters G7XMII landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Nimble Photography Point and Shoot website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/what-is-your-edc-every-day-carry-camera Fri, 23 Sep 2022 07:23:54 GMT
How do you Share your Photography? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/how-do-you-share-your-photography Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week! As Photographers we should take photographs for ourselves first.  Taking what we like what we (not others ) think is the best shot. Wether it be portraits or street photography.  We should be the first customer. But after we edit and finally say its done. Then what?  Sharing your photography with others is a great way to show what you have done to others and maybe inspire someone else to get off the couch and see what you’ve seen. But how do you do it? There are many ways like Social Media. It’s called social for a reason because it can be personal.  Which I think is fb-artfb-art great! You want people to see your work.  Even if your not selling it.  I don’t try to sell anything anymore.  It was too much of a hassle to me I would much rather be the amateur photographer than try to make money out of it. I’m too old for all of that stuff. If I were in my twenties then maybe but that window has long past been closed. But I do like to share my photography. Here are some of the ways I do it.

Facebook- Yea I know nobody likes facebook anymore its all Snap Chat , Tic Tock or what ever the newest thing is. But Facebook works for me.  My Family and Friends are on Facebook so when I post they can see it. My camera club has theif Facebook page so I can share there and get tips and critiques to make my photography better.  You’re reading this probably on Facebook. So Face book is a great place to share.

flickrflickr Instagram, Flickr, 500PX. Photography related websites. I know I started on Flickr and have quit and restarted a couple of times and Instagram has gone Video for some reason and I have over 1300 photo’s there. But these are great places to see great photography and to share your photography.

Vero, I have just started using Vero a fairly new social media platform. So far I like it. It really makes my photo's look good. It has separate sections for video and other types of media but it does have a section just for photographs.  You can follow different photographers and like and comment just like you did in instagram and you can use Hashtags. So far I like it we'll have to see how it does in the long run.

Website- When I first started MaxStansellPhotography.com I did it the hard way I had a friend that had some server space and I created the website from scratch doing all of the coding myself.  And what a pain it was! But now its so easy and for just 5 bucks a month you can have a professionally looking web site that is easy to manage and drag and drop to add photo’s.  I have mine on Zenfolio but there are many more that will work great and are fairly inexpensive if your just showing off your photo’s.  I did go to “Go Daddy.com” and got my own URL “Max Stansell Photography”. All I had to to was type in the name and no one else had it so I made it mine for about 10 or so dollars a year. Creating your own website is easy and cheap and a great way to show off your work.

Business Cards? Yea Business Cards.  This is a great way to get people to look at your website. If you meet someone just give them a card so they can look your website up.  It doesn’t have to be fancy and business cards are cheap.  You can get hundreds for 25 bucks and they look great. You could have just a white one with your name and a QR code on it that takes people to your website. With just a plain white card you have a place to put email or any other information you need to when talking to someone. I always have some in my camera bags with me and in my wallet.

So as you can see there are lots of ways to Share your photographs. Please keep Printing them so you have something to pass down not just a hard drive full of images. But then Share online you are probably a better photographer than you think and you will hear praises of how good you are. Then they will say you must have a good camera! LOL So until next week Get Outside and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 500px blog Facebook flickr instagram landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography sharing social media vero website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/how-do-you-share-your-photography Fri, 16 Sep 2022 09:38:16 GMT
RavPower File hub Update. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/ravpower-file-hub-update Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing great this week. If you can remember when I took my trip to Utah I was using A RavPower File hub to backup my SD cards and everything was fine except the Dating on the Files. Well I figured out what I did wrong! Yes it was user error , the nut behind the wheel. Here is a quick overview of the file hub if you don't remember.

The RAV Power File Hub wireless travel Router. There are Four things you can do with this device. (1st) its is a backup battery source.(not a large one at 6700mah battery) (2nd )it can act as a wireless router from a wired ethernet cable or (3rd) it can be hooked up to wireless intent say at a hotel and be a secure WIFI with another layer of security. You don't have to subscribe to some sort of VPN service. With this device you can do many things but the main thing I want to do with it is (4th) backup my SD cards.  To use you simply Plug in your SD card and your SSD drive hold in the transfer button for 5 seconds and the device will copy everything off of your SD card to your External Drive into a Time Stamped File.  You can then access your files via WIFI and edit them on your device.  This is pretty cool .  The very cool part is that its only 60 bucks.  There are fancier devices that can do this but they can cost up to 800 dollars for a 1TB drive one that they don't even make anymore.   The draw backs are that transfer times of data are not as fast as a laptop.  But it's not terrible. Maybe only a minute or two longer from SD to SSD.  But you can choose what hard drive you want to go to by hooking up any drive you have to it. So it's versatile . The size of this device is small at 4.4 X 3 X .9 inches weighing only 7 ounces.

Screenshot The problem that I was having when I was on the road is that every timed stamped folder had the same date. I didn't notice until a few days in and I panicked a little but all my files were there and I just had to rename the folder. Well I said I would get back to you when I figured it out. I have another trip planned in a few weeks and I wanted to get this figured out before I left. And I did. The time and date stamp comes from the File Hub. You can set this manually or have the internet do it for you by syncing the time and the date each time File hub hooks up. Well this is where I messed up. I wasn't hooking this device to the internet or manually setting the date each day. For each hotel we were in during our trip I just needed to connect to the WiFi and it would automatically set the time and date.  Which I did not do. My iPad has Cellular coverage and I was using that for my internet so I didn't need my file hub to be connected to the hotel Wifi for anything . Or so I thought. So now there is an extra step to make sure that the file hub is connected to the internet before I transfer the files and a new folder each day will be made and all of the files from the SD card will be put in that folder. I did a test the last three days to make sure it worked and it did I just needed to make sure it was hooked to the Wifi before I started transferring files. If you want more info on the way I view and transfer files while on the road I'll refer you to this blog  Traveling without a Computer . So until next week get out and do some traveling! Get out and Shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backup blog Computerless files landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography RavPower Router Security Travel Hub website WiFi workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/ravpower-file-hub-update Fri, 09 Sep 2022 07:41:02 GMT
Tripod Replacement for Urban Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/tripod-replacement-for-urban-photography Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing great this week. In a couple of weeks I have a trip planned that will take me in an urban street photography climate. I don't do a lot of street photography but always enjoy it when I do.  Being a gear head for this trip I wanted to challenge myself. Don't buy any photography gear! That's a big challenge! I'm testing out a street photography kit that I will take with me trying to keep my set up light and nimble and inconspicuous.  That's going to be tough. So I know that on this trip there will be some night scapes and some things that will require a tripod.  A tripod is a very cumbersome piece of equipment especially if you're taking it on a plane. Light and nimble I want to be so I won't be taking a tripod.  But I will be taking a camera support with me to take some long exposures. I'll be taking a Platypod Ultra in place of my tripod.  This will save weight and be small and inconspicuous.  I have had a Platypod Ultra for quite a while and  haven't used it very much. I think it was on sale and I got it.  This will be the perfect photowalk camera support.  If you don't know what a Platypod is its a plate that you can hook a ba,llhead to and put your camera on. Its large enough that your camera won't tip over with a  reasonable size lens on it.  It comes in two sizes the Ultra which I have and the Max which is built for large DSLR's.  This plate is small enough to fit in your back pocket.  It comes with feet that you can attach that have a pointy end for added support in rough terrains and a rubber end for sitting on tables or surfaces that you don't want to scratch.  Or you can just use it without the feet.  It also comes with a strap that you can wrap around a pole or small tree and secure it. It is very versatile.  So here's a few reasons to use a Platypod.

1. Inconspicuous- The Platypod has a very small foot print compared to a tripod.  Many places don't allow a tripod like museums, some National Park trails, historic places. But a Platypod is not a tripod and most of the guards don't pay it any mind and let  you use it. I'm thinking of a situation where you have people shoulder to shoulder looking at something behind a rope. You could sit your Platypod on the ground at your feet with a wide angel lens and with your phone trigger your camera to get the whole scene. Pretty sneaky and neat.

2. Small and Lightweight- Like I said before this will fit in your back pocket and depending on the size of your ball head it can be a very small package. Easily put in a pouch of your backpack or camera bag.  It comes with a carabiner that you can use to hook to your bag or belt loop. This will not be a problem getting through security at an airport.

3. Perspective- This little camera support can give you many point of views that you can't get with a tripod. First of all it can get very low to the ground giving you that great perspective.  And you just have to set it down.  You don't have to struggle adjusting legs trying to get it lower. You can put it in nooks and crannies that a tripod just won't reach or can get too because of the large foot print that a tripod has.  Think of the possibilities the rail of a staircase, the rail of a bridge.  When I took photo's for New Years at Mount Mitchell NC this would have worked great. I ended up setting my camera on a support and this would have been more secure and gave me sharper photo's.

Now will this Platypod take the place of my tripod for everything? Of course not .  I love my tripod and love using it but this is great for Urban environments where being nimble and inconspicuous is important. In  upcoming weeks I'll talk more about the trip and what I am doing to get prepared for it.  So until next time Get Outside and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Platypod Platypod Ultra Street Ultra Urban website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/9/tripod-replacement-for-urban-photography Fri, 02 Sep 2022 09:00:00 GMT
My Urban and Street Photography Kit for an upcoming trip. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/my-urban-and-street-photography-kit-for-an-upcoming-trip Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well.  For the last couple of weeks I have been fine tuning my camera gear for an upcoming trip.  This trip is going to be in an Urban environment with lots of neat street scenes to take photographs.  With this kit I want to be nimble and lightweight and inconspicuous at the same time.  And my biggest goal is not to spend any extra money on Photography Gear.  Now that's a tall order! To be in an Urban environment without screaming I'm a photographer and have thousands of dollars of equipment with me is the goal. But also have enough gear with me to do the job whatever circumstance comes up.  We will be taking Public Transportation and Ubers wherever we go so I don't want to stand out any more than I already will looking around with eyes wide open to new places.

So let's start with my bag.  I have a great photowalk camera bag that I call my purse that I use that is an over the shoulder bag but it is too small to use all day with carrying coats and water with me. So a backpack is the choice but I don't want to use a photography backpack that looks too Photography "Look at Me". So I'll be using use an everyday day pack from Mountain Smith. Its a 25 liter pack made for day hikes. So inconspicuous. I'll put a divider cube that is made for carrying camera stuff inside of the bag at the bottom and leaves plenty of space for a puffy jacket and any things I may buy on the way.  It has water bottle pockets on the side to carry a bottle of water.  I have used this system twice in Washington DC for trips and it works great. (Well a little update I did purchase another everyday bag that I will be doing the same as I did with the Mountain Smith bag. I saw this bag in a store and loved all of the origination inside. Its built for a college student and doesn't scream photo gear. It's an Osprey "Flare" and is 27 liter bag so just a couple of liters bigger than the Mountain Smith. Osprey is a great backpacking gear company with solid built products that are warrantied for life. This one looks like an everyday backpack.)

Camera body is next. I'll be using my full frame Sony A7III.  Its an older model but works great and I love the ergonomics of it.  Its a 24 megapixel sensor camera and works great in low light.  Its small and I'll be using a Really Right Stuff "L" bracket on it.  I'll only be using the base plate on it unless I might need the side piece and then I will put it on. I'll take an extra battery with me.  This camera has the larger Z batteries by Sony and one battery can last all day not like the other Sony's I have used that ate batteries.  I'll be using a Peak Design wrist strap rather than a neck strap.

Lenses. For this trip I'll only be using Prime lenses. Sort of.  I'll get back to that in a moment. I love Prime lenses for lots of reasons. They are lightweight , sharp, and wide aperture. I'll be taking three lenses with me. Now I only wanted to take two lenses. But as I thought of it I needed and extra wide angel lens to capture city scapes and maybe tight spots in museums.  The first lens is the Sony 85mm f1.8 lens.  This is a fantastic lens and will be my longest lens.  It creates great separation when shot at wide aperture and compresses well for longer shots.  My next lens and the one that will be on the camera 90% or more of the time is the Sony 35mm f1.8.  This lens is great for walking around and shooting what you see. Again Great Separation at wide apertures and can get close for closeup shots.  The last lens will be a surprise to you. It is a Sony 10-18mm f4 APSC (Crop Sensor) lens.  I know what your thinking if you use that lens you will have a heavy vignette around the frame. And normally I would agree with you.  But when you zoom from 15-17 there is  no vignette.  So I can use this dialed into 16mm and I have the full 24 megapixel without cropping. So I can use this lens on both of my cameras the full frame and the crop sensor. So I will have effectively 3 Primes with me a 16mm a 35mm and a 85mm. But if I need that little bit extra when using these lenses I can go into Super 35 or Crop Sensor mode on my camera and make the same lenses a 24mm (16mm) a 50mm (35mm) and a 127mm (85mm) .  Of course when shooting in Super 35 or Crop Sensor mode the megapixel will be knocked town to 10 megapixels.

Filters and Accessories.  The only filters that I will cary are Polarizer and Variable ND filter with step up rings.  I will not have a tripod but will be using the Platypod Ultra which I have a whole other blog for next week.  I will have all of the lens cleaning accessories that I always have with me on a shoot like a blower, lens brush, microfiber clothes cleaning wipes.  An emergency Poncho and cover for my camera incase of rain. And that's about it nothing out of the ordinary.

That is pretty much my Urban Street Photography Kit.  I have been testing and tweaking it but it seems about right.  It is lightweight , nimble and inconspicuous.  So until next week Get Outside and Shoot. 
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 10-18mm 35mm 85mm A7III blog Boston full Frame landscape learning Lightweight Max Stansell Photography ND Osprey peak design Photography Platapod Polarizer really right stuff Sony Street Think Tank Urban website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/my-urban-and-street-photography-kit-for-an-upcoming-trip Fri, 26 Aug 2022 06:49:59 GMT
My Trip to Shenandoah National Park https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/my-trip-to-shenandoah-national-park Hey Everyone! Hope your doing great this week. I just got back from a weekend trip to Shenandoah National Park.  This trip I took with my wife and Forrest the Wonder dog. This trip was for me an excuse to get away with my wife for the weekend and spend some time away from our phones and just relax.  We took our little Teardrop Camper that we got a five or so years ago. It's a great little camper. We have camped on and off through the years and have always used tents but the camper was meant to get two old folks off of the ground.  I still like my hammock for camping in the backcountry but this little camper is great for a weekend away. Almost glamping in a way. Compared to all of the campers in their tents this weekend it was a definite upgrade to what they were doing. Car camping is great because you can get away to a location like a National or State park you can sleep under the starts but you still have the amenities of a bathroom.

Shenandoah is a National Park that is not too far away. We could have got there in four in a half hours if we drove by interstate but we decided to take the backroads there and it took us an hour longer but well worth it to see small little towns and the countryside instead of traffic on Interstate 95. Shenandoah is located in the mountains of Virginia along Skyline drive. The northern part of the park is only 75 miles from Washington DC.  
Skyline drive is an extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Really the same road they just change the name to Skyline Drive when you enter Shenandoah.  It is a long Park that goes right up the ridge line of the mountains. It has over 500 hiking trails and the Appalachian Trail that runs from Georgia to Main runs right through it. So we left home and took the drive that was about five and a half hours and arrived at the park entrance. There is a fee to get into the park but if you have an annual pass to the parks that will get you in and save you 30 bucks. The pass is good for 7 days if you don't have the pass. There are several Campgrounds in the park and we stayed at one that was on the southern end of the park called Loft Mountain Campground. 

The Loft Mountain Campground is a National Park Campground. We have never camped with our trailer (I must really get a name for the trailer) at a National Park Campground before. The fee was a little expensive for what you get at 30 dollars per night. But the campground was very clean especially the bathrooms. It was set up really nice and you didn't feel crowded there were plenty of trees and growth to make you feel like you were camping in the wilderness. Shenandoah is known for its bear population and there are strict rules for keeping food locked away. We did not see any bear but did have a family of deer that regularly roamed the campground eating leaves from the foliage around the campsites. They would get within 10 feet of you before they scurried off.  The campground also had a camp store that sold camping supplies and also had coin operated showers available.

We arrived in the afternoon on Friday and set up camp and hung out at the campground. We played cards and took Forrest for a walk around the campground. The next morning we got up and made breakfast then headed out to Skyline Drive.  Skyline Drive runs north and south through the park for over 100 miles. At 35mph speed limit it can take you a while to navigate the whole park on the drive. There are two visitor centers one is about midway and the other is at the northern part of the park. There are little stores and restaurants called Waysides that you can stop and shop and eat at. And there is one gas station in the middle of the park. We drove along Skyline drive stopping at overlooks along the way to take photographs. Skyline drive was built in the early 30's by the Civilian Conservation Corp. And the park was established in 1936 I believe.  It is a slow and winding drive through the park with many overlooks. Be on the lookout for bicycles while driving . There are many cyclist making their way up and down the hills.  We even saw a bicycle built for 4 with a family of 5 pulling a trailer for the smallest of the family. It was quite a site to see this young family cycling up the hills. Later in the day when we were at camp this family came into the campground and stayed just adjacent from us. We grilled some chicken for dinner that night and after eating it started to get stormy as a front was coming trough. We spent the night in our camper watching a movie. Yes it has a TV in it and a Blue-ray DVD player. The rain cooled off the air and made for a pleasant sleep. We woke and had breakfast the next morning and packed up camp and headed home. 

Shenandoah National Park is a pretty park and must be amazing in the fall when the leaves change. There are waterfalls and all kinds of beautiful scenery to see. Make it a point to visit this Park you won't be disappointed .  Until Next week Get outside and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National Park Photography Shenandoah Skyline Teardrop Virginia website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/my-trip-to-shenandoah-national-park Fri, 19 Aug 2022 07:35:39 GMT
Photography Hacks and Best Practices. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/photography-hacks-and-best-practices Hey Every one! Hope your having a great week! This week I want to go over some hacks and best practices that I have developed over the years of photography.  We all have little things we do to help us along and some of these I may have mentioned in other blogs along the way. These are things that I do that seem to help me when I'm doing my photography thing. Some of them might not seem like photography specific related things but they will help. So here are 10 hacks or best practices that might help you.

1. Keep an organized photography bag. Keeping a organized bag will speed you up when you're out photographing. Having a specific spot for everything in your bag does a few things. First it keeps you from loosing stuff.  If you have a specific place for everything you can quickly know when something is missing.  Because you will have an empty space where there is not suppose to be.  I lost a camera strap for over a year because I just shoved it in my bag where it wasn't suppose to be and when I went looking for it I couldn't find it because it was a black strap in a black pocket and I didn't see it.  This was at a wedding I was shooting and I took the strap off because it was getting in my way I said to myself Ill just put it here so it won't get lost. Well it was lost even though it was in my bag. I ended up getting a new one before I found this one and now I have two. The second thing it will do is speed up you're photography.  When you're out shooting you don't have to look for something you know where it is and you can quickly get to it without searching.  You can do it in the dark because you will be so familiar.

2. Keep micro fiber clothes everywhere.  You've heard this hack before. If your like me you have these little micro fiber clothes laying around everywhere. You get them at the eye doctor in almost every electronic you buy they just accumulate. So in every slot of my camera bag I put one or two at the bottom under a lens or under a battery.  That way when I'm out in the field and I need one there is one very handy.  I always have one in my pocket also. So if I'm shooting away from my bag I can pull one out.  It also comes in handy if you're out shooting with a friend and they need a cloth you can quickly pull one out of your pocket for them to use. This has happened to me more than once.

3. Gaffers Tape. Gaffers tape is wonderful. Its very sticky but it does not leave a sticky residue when you remove it. It's like duct tape without the mess. It comes in handy when putting cords away or just to hold something together.  I stick this tape in various places to always have it handy. I will put a piece on a large lens hood or wrap it around something like a lens brush so I always have some in my bag without taking a roll of it with me. This tip can get you out of a jam.

4. Medicine.  If your older like I am sometimes you need the help of say a Tylenol or a Tums to get you through the day. Instead of taking a bottle of each I use an old film canister and put a few of each in and use it as a pill bottle. This works great and is the perfect size to keep the weight and clutter down in my camera bag. I then can wrap Gaffers tape on the outside the bottle to use like in the item above.

5. Emergency Rain Poncho.  I always have an emergency rain poncho with me. Here is the reason. I went to a state park to shoot a waterfall its about a mile or so hike in to get to the fall. When I left the weather was fine but one of those afternoon thunder storms snuck up on me and it started a downpour.  I got pretty wet.  I did have a Plastic bag that I covered up my gear with but I got soaked. From then on I carry one of these little disposable ponchos with me.  They only cost about 5 dollars and really come in handy.

6. Take an umbrella. Along with the tip above about rain ponchos. If it looks like you'll be shooting in the rain. Maybe doing street photography take a small umbrella with you. Not so much to keep you dry or your camera dry but to keep water spots off of the front of your lens. Theses little umbrellas are handy and deploy with a touch of a button.

7. Check Camera Settings before you arrive. Make sure your camera is ready to go for that first shot.  If your going on a camera shoot before you leave or travel make sure your camera is set up to shoot the second you arrive. Make sure the ISO is set to where you want it.  Maybe you were shooting Night photography and you have the shutter set at 30 seconds and you don't check it. When you arrive at the first spot the next day and you frame up your shot and click! Nothing happens for 30 seconds and you may miss the shot. So give your settings a once over before you leave so this does not happen to you.

8. Batteries, Batteries, Batteries. While most of us are shooting digital and even more are shooting mirrorless cameras always have fresh batteries at the beginning of the day. One of my mirrorless cameras is notorious for eating batteries. So the night before a day trip or after a day of shooting on a multi day trip the first thing I do when I get to the hotel or at my house is put a fresh battery in my camera. Charge up the one that came out and any that you have used up during the day so the next day you have a fresh set with you. Nothing can stop your photography like a dead battery. Be prepared and always carry a spare or two.

9. Have lots of SD cards. Another of my nightly checks before a trip is to make sure I have an freshly formatted SD card in my camera for the nest day. When I arrive at my hotel after a shoot I pull out my SD card and insert a fresh one and format. Boom! Camera is ready for the next day! The one I took out I backup and store in a camera wallet. I shoot one SD card or more per day and a fresh one every day. These cards are fairly cheap and beside a dead battery this can stop you from shooting. If you're shooting and your card gets full and you don't have another then you are stuck deleting shots off of your card to make room wasting time. I always carry one or two spares with me just incase I have a card go bad or I fill one up.

10. Comfortable Shoes! Wearing comfortable shoes is one of the best things you can do for your photography shoot. Trying to hike or walk a city street or just being on your feet for an extended time. If you don't have comfortable shoes your feet hurt and you can concentrate on the matter at hand , shooting! Wear comfortable clothes as well. Tight fitting binding clothes will also make you uncomfortable leading to missed shots.

Well there are ten hacks or best practices. I could probably come up with more with a little thinking. I'm sure there are some stuff that you do that could help us. Share a hack or best practice that you do.  So until next week please stay safe and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) batteries blog bug spray camera bag hacks landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography poncho sd cards website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/photography-hacks-and-best-practices Fri, 12 Aug 2022 07:23:36 GMT
Advantages of shooting a Full Frame Sensor Camera. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/advantages-of-shooting-a-full-frame-sensor-camera Hey Everyone! Hope your having a great week. Last week I talked about the advantages of shooting a crop sensor camera which kind of highlighted the disadvantages of shooting a Full Frame Sensor camera. So this week I wanted to highlight the advantages of shooting a full frame sensor camera.  A disclaimer I am not a professional photographer although I have been paid to shoot things like weddings , portraits , events etc… but I do have 45 years experience of playing with and obsessing with cameras.  From film to Digital. I have owned several Full Frame cameras and currently have a Sony A7III in my camera bag. My first full frame camera was a Nikon D800 a fantastic camera with a 36MP sensor on it and it made great images.  The main difference between the crop sensor camera’s and the full frame sensor camera is of course the Sensor Size. Not in Mega-Pixels but is surface area.  So here goes some advantages of shooting a full sensor camera.

1- Low Light capability. The surface area of the sensor of a full frame is larger than a crop sensor  and catches more light. Bodie Island StarsBodie Island StarsMax Stansell Photography If you had a 24 MP crop sensor and a 24mp full frame sensor the size of each of the pixels of the full frame is 1.5 or more larger than that of the crop sensor.  The surface area allows it to catch that much more light which makes the full frame sensor better in low light shooting situations. Say Astro photography, Wedding photography or anything that is in low light. The images with have more detail and less noise than that of a crop sensor in the same situation.

2- Shallower Depth of Field.  The depth of field is how much of your frame is in GardeniaGardenia focus. A shallow depth of field is great when taking portraits or isolating your subject with a busy background. This is maybe the biggest plus for me. I love that blurry background or Bokeh.  This makes full frame camera’s great for weddings, portraits sessions or almost anything that shallow depth of field is wanted.

3.- More resolution.  Mega-Pixels wars!  These full frame sensors can be from 12mp to 60 plus MP.  This comes into play when cropping in. So in post production maybe you took a shot of a scene but only liked one corner of the image with a large MP sensor you can crop in and not hurt the quality of the shot.  This can make this great landscape or wildlife shooters.  For example if you had a 42mp sensor camera and you cropped in 1.5 times you now have a 19mp image. Which is still great for printing. 

4. - Dynamic Range.  With a larger sensor you have a greater dynamic range. What does this mean? I’ll give Antietam National CemeteryAntietam National Cemetery you an example now the numbers I’m using are made up and are just used to make the point. If I use a crop sensor camera at 24mp and shoot a shot lets say between total black and blown out white there are 1000 shades of grey or color.  With that same 24mp in a full frame sensor maybe you would have 2000 shades of grey or color.  Normally you can’t see this unless you zoom in and look at a certain point of the photo and compare side by side but it is there and it is an advantage of full frame cameras. So the transition between colors will be more fluid with the full frame and more pixelated with the crop sensor.

5. - Larger Camera and lenses. For those that have large hands this can be a plus and I hate to say it but if your shooting professionally customers like to see a photographer with a larger camera. For some reason they think that you have to have that large camera to shoot professional.  And that’s not so. But it can be an advantage if your shooting professionally. So there’s that.

There you have it 5 advantages to shooting full frame sensor camera’s. They are great camera’s and I shoot both crop and full frame and I love them both.  And if you took photo’s from both camera’s and mixed them up and showed them to someone they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference of which camera took them. Believe me I have done it.  Well that’s enough of that until next week.  Keep shooting no matter what camera you have and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog crop sensor dynamic Range full frame landscape learning Lenses low light Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/8/advantages-of-shooting-a-full-frame-sensor-camera Fri, 05 Aug 2022 07:41:29 GMT
Advantages of Shooting Crop Sensor Cameras! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/advantages-of-shooting-crop-sensor-camera Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week. This week I want to talk about Mirrorless Crop Sensor Cameras and the advantages they hold. First of all what is a crop sensor camera? A crop sensor camera has a sensor smaller than a Full frame sensor camera which is the size of old 35mm film. There are Micro 4/3rds camera's and APSC cameras. These are the ones I'll be mainly talking about but there are all types and sizes of camera sensors.  Crop sensors get a bad rap from a lot of the Full Frame and Medium format shooters.  But they are great cameras and can take great photographs. I use crop sensor camera's and full frame camera's.  But I wanted to give you some reasons to use crop sensor cameras. 

- They are smaller. The bodies tend to be smaller and more lightweight than their full frame counterpart. AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston Especially if you are comparing them to their Full Frame DSLR counterpart. This makes them great for travel , landscape, street .  Anywhere you have to carry your gear. One of the first reasons I went to mirrorless crop sensor camera was because of size. I did a lot of hiking at the time and my full frame DSLR was just too big and heavy.

- The lenses are smaller. This is a big advantage from the full frame counterpart. Much more than the bodies the lenses are much smaller and lighter but still give you great quality. This with the smaller bodies make them great for travel photography.  You can get very good lenses in the crop sensor size.  And sometimes they can fit in your pocket! Street photographers like the smaller lenses because it makes them more inconspicuous when in a crowd.

- Less expensive.  The crop sensor and bodies and lenses are cheaper than full frame cameras.  Almost by half!  A 24-70mm 2.8 full frame lens can cost up to and beyond 2000 dollars but a crop sensor lens with the same specs only 1/2 the price.  The money you save on equipment is more money that you can spend on travel and experiences.  

- Smaller File Size.  The files that these camera's produce are much smaller than the larger sensor camera's. This creates two advantages for you.

    - This makes the camera quicker!  More frame rates! Crop sensor camera's are used for sports photography quite often because they are quicker when a photographer has continuous shutter on the cameras can be very fast and buffering is not as much as a problem as with full frame cameras. So great for Sport and Wildlife photography.

   - The smaller files are great on your computer also!  The smaller files take up less room and are easier for your computer to process! What does this mean? It means you don't have to update your computer as much and you can use that money for more experiences.  The smaller files make them easier to process and to store! 

Price LandingPrice Landing -Larger Depth of Field- The depth of field in these cameras are generally larger than their full frame counterparts.  The depth of field is the amount of the photo that is in focus. Say if you took a photo with a 50mm lens equivalent on a full frame camera and a crop sensor camera and they both were set to F4 the crop sensor would have more of the frame in focus than the full frame camera.  This is an advantage when shooting landscapes or anything you want more depth of field.  I use my crop sensor camera for Landscapes for that reason. Dasiy FieldDasiy Field

To sum up there are many advantages to using a crop sensor camera. They are lightweight, smaller, cheaper, smaller file size and larger depth of field. When I was first considering a crop sensor camera I only shot full frame. I was worried about quality. I got an inexpensive crop sensor camera and used the kit lens that it came with and started comparing similar shots used with each and I couldn't tell the difference. I liked the crop sensor so much I sold all of my full frame stuff and shot only crop sensor for many years .  I've just recently got another full frame camera to play with. The quality is great in these little camera's and are a great investment for anyone wanting to get into photography.  Next week we'll talk on the advantages to Full sensor sized camera's. So until next week get outside and keep shooting.

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(Max Stansell Photography) APSC blog Crop Sensor File Size landscape learning Lighter Max Stansell Photography Photography Portable Smaller website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/advantages-of-shooting-crop-sensor-camera Fri, 29 Jul 2022 08:37:21 GMT
Timing is Everything! For National and State Parks. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/timing-is-everything-for-national-and-state-parks Hey Everyone! Hope you're great this week.  I just got back from a hike with my hiking buddy "Forrest the Wonder Dog" and while I was hiking I was thinking about this subject. Timing is Everything!  When Traveling to National and State Parks. I just got back a month ago from a week long photo trip to Utah.  We were very careful on the Timing of our trips to the parks and tried to time them perfectly.  That doesn't always go as you think it should because some of these parks were on the way to somewhere. But over all we planned well. Here are some tips on timing your photography or any other type of trip to National or State Parks.

1. Time of year. Planning the time of Double ArchDouble ArchArches National Park Utah year can greatly effect the enjoyment factor you will have on your trip. Take into consideration the climate of the region that you are going to. Is it going to be covered in snow? Many parks when in the dead of winter have many trails and roads closed due to weather. Or is it going to be scorching hot? Visiting a place in the dead of summer might not be so good if you're going to Florida or Texas. Try to go when schools are in session. I know this is not as a big factor now because of Covid and many kids are home schooled. But this can be a big factor. Families take their kids on vacation during summer break making the parks more crowded. When we planned our trip to Utah the weather was a big consideration and spring wild flowers. The temps were cool in the morning and in the 70's during the day. Perfect for hiking.

Forsyth Park FountainForsyth Park FountainForsyth Park Fountain, Savannah Ga a lovely 30 acre park. Great fountain and lots of shade on a hot summers day. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina 2. Time Arriving at the Park. As the old saying goes . "The Early Bird Gets the Worm" This is also good in photography.  Don't sleep in! I know you're on vacation but you can sleep late when you're at home.  Use your time visiting these places smartly. The golden hours in the morning and evening are the best light to shoot in. Getting somewhere early is key. Maybe scout a place to shoot one day and go early the next when the light is best. If your a wildlife photographer wildlife is more active in the morning and the evening.  They usually chill out in the heat of the day. I like to get up early head out and shoot then come back to my camp or restaurant for breakfast. If you need some energy early take a breakfast bar with you to hold you over. Heading out with a full stomach after a big meal could mean disaster.  If your stomach is iffy like mine is you have to be very careful when you eat and hike long miles. Just saying. After your morning shoot and breakfast then is the time to scout more places to shoot. Visit the visitors center ,chill out in the heat of the day.

3. Using your time wisely.  As I said earlier your at a special place one you don't regularly visit.  After your Sunset HerringSunset HerringMax Stansell Photography morning shoot. Visit a nearby town. Most of the towns near National Parks are pretty cool destinations in themselves. Check out a coffee shop or a restaurant.  Visit the visitors center see the movies that they usually have telling about the park.  Scout for evening shots or shots for the next day.  Take a hike or Take a nap! Nothing is better than laying in a hammock swinging in the breeze getting some rest.  So you can go out later or get up early the next day. LOL

As you can tell I love visiting State and National Parks and seeing different things.  So just don't sit in the house on the weekend get out and explore and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog early Bird landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National Parks Photography State Time Management Timing website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/timing-is-everything-for-national-and-state-parks Fri, 22 Jul 2022 08:48:29 GMT
What do I Shoot? Stills! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/what-do-i-shoot-stills Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week.  This week I wanted to share my thoughts on how I approach photography. People I meet and I show my photo's to sometimes say "You must have a good Camera" or "What kind of Camera shot this?". And as photographers we know its not the camera. But I do have good camera's . Yes I have more than one camera.  And so do all of my Photography friends. But really any camera made in the last 10 years is a good camera. It's how you use the tools you own.  I shoot on three different formats or sensor size , one inch, APSC(cropped) and Full Frame. Really four if you counting my iPhone. All of them give me great photographs. Yes photographs I shoot Still's mainly.  I dabble in using a GoPro every now and then but that's for more documentary type video. Like where I've been.   My cameras are geared toward and set up for Still Photography. Here are my good camera's and what I use them for.

1. The iPhone. Like most of you I carry a smart phone everywhere I go.  I use this for taking quick snapshots maybe a selfie or two.  I also use it for reference shots. For example my wife sends me to the store to get something she just ran out of. I can take a photo of the item and look for it at the store. Or if I'm at the store I can take a photo of something and send it to her to make sure I'm getting the right thing or not . Usually not! LOL. Smart phones have become a very large part of ours lives in that way.

2. A One Inch Sensor.  I have a point and shoot camera that really goes with me when I'm at work everyday. If I get a chance to take a walk or visit a city park while I'm at lunch that is what I take with me to shoot with LeafLeaf rather than my phone even though a phone would work.  I like using a dedicated camera instead of the phone when I can. I also take this camera with me on hikes when I'm just in it for the exercise instead of photography purposes.  But if I see something I can always take it out. It's an older point and shoot made by Canon. A G7XMII at 20MP.  In its day it was a very popular VLOG'ing camera but it is two or three generations old now. But it still makes good stills and shoots in manual. Thats why I like it.

3. An APSC (Crop Sensor). This camera is my main Landscape and Wildlife camera.  It is a fantastic camera even though it is a couple of generations old. It shoots great stills. It has in body stabilization. I have three great lenses that can go from approx. 15mm to 550mm in full frame terms. It is lightweight and I can hike into places with great ease and I have the camera to get the shot. I take this camera when Landscape or Wildlife is the object of the trip. It is perfect for the purpose of landscapes which is one of my main photography subjects. This camera is a Sony A6500 at 24MP. Christmas LightsChristmas Lights

4. Full Frame.  My full frame camera I use for everything else not mentioned here. Street/urban photography. Portraits. Studio work. Right now I only Shoot primes with this camera. I love primes!  They make me think and stir up my artistic juices. I have a 24mm, 35mm, 55mm and a 85mm that I use. I normally have one lens on the camera and carry one more. I never have all of them together. This makes me work harder and think more.  It slows me down and gets my feet moving. I the way this camera feels in my hand more like a traditional camera. My APSC is more of a rangefinder style and this one is more of a DSLR camera feel to it. The camera I am currently using is a Sony Alpha A7II at 24MP . It also has in body image stabilization.  I am currently working on upgrading this camera body to a newer version and will trade to upgrade to a Sony Alpha A7III.  I'll let you know how that goes. I'm sure I'll have a blog on it soon. 

EYESEYES As you can see I use older camera's .  I don't need the latest and greatest camera's which seem all of the upgrades are in the video side of the camera not the Still side. I tend to buy used camera's from places like MPB or KEH where you can get a fair trade in for the camera or equipment you have. Then I can use my money for trips or better lenses. Over the last year or so I have really paired down my camera gear to what I need and getting rid of all of the gear that maybe I really liked at one time but don't use anymore.  So that's enough of that until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 1 inch sensor APSC blog Crop Sensor full frame sensor iPhone landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography street website wildlife https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/what-do-i-shoot-stills Fri, 15 Jul 2022 08:06:38 GMT
Photographing Vast Landscapes https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/photographing-vast-landscapes Whats Up Everyone! Hope you had a nice week. In this weeks discussion I'd like to talk about photographing vast , large landscapes. Most of my photography is landscape and mostly on the east coast.  When I think of landscapes I think of a waterfall , a tree on a hill side. I used to think these were pretty large landscapes.  I could do just about all of my shooting with a 24-70mm equivalent lens. Depending on how close I was to the subject. If I got closer I would use a 14-24mm equivalent lens.  I really didn't know what shooting vast landscapes was until Robert and I (my photography wingman) went on our trip to Utah. I learned what large , vast landscapes were.  As we drove to our first destination from Las Vegas we started seeing these Landscapes.  We oohed and aahed at them.  But it didn't really hit me until I got out of the car the first time at Valley of Fire State Park .  I was small!  Really Small!  In this vast Landscape and how will I photograph it?  I just can't suck it all in one shot. Like I can a waterfall.  I'm going to have to use everything in my photography tool bag just to come close to conveying the vastness in shots so when people see them they will understand.  And as you know a photograph can never show completely what you  saw with your own eyes.  Here are some tips on shooting large landscapes.

1. Composition. When shooting a large landscape shoot it many ways. Work the scene.  Don't try only one angle. Use all of the composition tricks you have. If you can put something in the foreground. At first you will shoot the Ohh and Ahh shot . Get that out of your system and shoot it then start looking for leading lines , something in the foreground like you would any other landscape shot. Shoot Vertical , shoot wide and shoot details.

2. Use it all! When I went out west I took three lenses for landscape. I used full frame equivalent 14-24mm, 24-70mm and 105-500mm. I used them all.  My main lens started out being my 24-70 but as the trip went on the 14-24 started being my main lens. But I used them all at every sight. We shot a lot of late morning and mid day which gave us some harsh light.  In these situations I shot bracketed so I could merge in Lightroom in post to even out the harsh shadows. Of course my long lens was used the least of the three lenses but some of my best shots came with that lens showing detail and compressing the background into the shot.

3. Show Perspective. Try to shoot the large landscapes with something in the shot that people can identify with. Like a person , a bus, a building . Anything that you can put some size comparison into the shot. When we were in Zion National Park I was looking to always have the Shuttle Bus in the shot to show how large the Rock formations were. This worked well and in some shots the bus is so small that it's like finding Waldo where is the bus? In Valley of Fire State park in Nevada I used Robert as my comparison to the large mountains and a long lens to draw the subject in.

4.Use your Tripod More! I used my tripod some but should have used it more for some of my shots. Even in the brightest time of day. Using the tripod will make your shots sharp and in focus more than handholding. Although you can get great shots handholding you can't focus stack.  I should have done more focus stacking on our trip. I only used this technique a few times.  This is the art of framing your shot (on a tripod) then focus on the foreground, the middle and the back of your shot) You then have three shots with the focus in different spots that you put in photoshop and merge them together and photoshop will make the whole photo tac sharp.  I was too excited and rushed and didn't do focus stacking but just a few times.

5. Take your Time! When coming to a big landscape . Take it all in.  Look at the scene without your camera in your face. Take a deep breath. Enjoy!  Thats why you came here in the first place.  After a few minutes then start composing and shooting. I find myself rushing to get to a spot pull my gear out and start shooting. I tried on this trip but not as successful as I wanted to be to calm down. This is hard for me. We have been planning this trip for 6 months researching , watching video. looking at photographs from the places we were going to and you get excited and you want you're photograph of the mountain.  Take it in! Breath! Then shoot.

The thing to remember is that seeing these vast landscapes is the prize! Taking the photograph is a way to document history in saying you were there once and this is how it looked to me. If you take your time and remember what you know about photography and use it you will come home with great shots to print and put on your wall.  Well that's enough for this week .  Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog composition focus stack gear landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Panorama perspective Photography POV Utah website wide angle workshops Zion https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/photographing-vast-landscapes Fri, 08 Jul 2022 08:26:19 GMT
Advantages of having a Photography Wingman for Travel! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/advantages-of-having-a-wingman-for-travel Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well this week.  As you know this year I have been concentrating my photography and all of my efforts into travel. Travel can be expensive. Especially now a days with the price of gas going crazy.  Travel can also be scary if you travel alone.  But this year I have taken 4 trips visited 7 national parks 5 new state parks and a few cool towns.  I have done all of this with my Photography "wingman" or travel buddy/photo nut Robert.  Not only are we photography nuts but we love traveling. I'm going to list advantages of having a traveling Wingman!

1.  The Cost.  Traveling with a photography wingman cuts the cost in half.  If your driving the price of gas is shared. The price of a hotel room is shared. Anything that is shared by the two of you from a case of water or food that you have packed for lunches is shared. This greatly lowers the cost. We got a rental car for a week and split the cost taking it from a crazy 800 dollars to 400.  So traveling with a friend makes it cheaper.

2. Not Going Alone. My photography wingman Robert has traveled the world and the US extensively.  He has years of traveling under his belt. When I travel with him I know that he has the experience traveling say through Airports, Train Stations, or Subways. Things that I have not done much.  It is a great comfort to have someone experienced in this part of the traveling experience. Not to mention that it's just fun to have someone like minded to go out and explore!

3. Decision Making. I am a introvert by nature and Robert (my wingman)  is very much the extrovert. This works well for us. I am a planner and not very spontaneous and he is the more spontaneous. With him being more Spontaneous I do things and go places that I would never go by myself.  He on the other hand is Go, Go, Go without thinking and I slow him down with time to think about all of the consequences that could happen.  So we work well together as a team seeing all of the possibilities. And Then Deciding on the correct course of action.

4. Seeing things from a different point of view.  When I travel with my family I seem to be the main planning person , driver, sherpa , dog walker pretty much everything so its just my point of view.  Traveling with a Photography Wingman sometimes we have different things that we want to see or do and its nice to let that person plan that part of the trip and you don't have to think about it. Its great to see things or an area through other photographer's eyes.

5. Its just fun!  Traveling with another photo nut is like going on a photography workshop but smaller.  Robert ( Wingman) and I are very much alike in the way we think and we have fun and cut up the whole time.  Its like summer camp for old folks. This last trip we took to Utah was epic and we laughed the whole time. We did have some photography shots that were alike but we had a lot that were totally different even though we were only a few feet away from each other at every photo spot.

So start looking for your wingman.  I have friends that are mother/daughter duo that travel all over together and have a ball.  Make sure you find someone that you like being around with because you're going to be with them 24/7. Take time plan your trips together so  you and your photography wingman gets an input.  Hey and it doesn't have to be just 1 wingman you could have 2.  This would cut down the cost even more. Traveling and photographing new and exciting stuff is a blast.  So until next week get outside and shoot!


 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog friends landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Photonut POV Road Trips travel website wingman workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/7/advantages-of-having-a-wingman-for-travel Fri, 01 Jul 2022 07:20:18 GMT
Photography Trip without Computer. How did that Go? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/photography-trip-without-computer-how-did-that-go Hey Everyone! How's your week going? This week is an update or a review on my workflow while on the road. I did a blog on my workflow a few weeks before my trip and I wanted to give you and update and what went well and what didn't. Here is a link to that Blog.My Revised Workflow. In the revised workflow blog I went over the way I was going to manage my photo's and edit on the road. Here is what went right and what didn't quite go as planned. 

What went right. Taking only a small iPad with me on my trip and leaving my computer at home was the right choice for me. I had an easy time with packing and luggage and I could always have the iPad with me if I wanted to because of the small size and weight. It was a great way for me to view my photo's of the day's shoot very quickly and if I wanted to to edit one for social media in Lightroom. The RavPower File hub backed up all of my photo's to an external hard drive with only one problem which I'll explain in the what went wrong portion. I did take a little portable folding keyboard which I didn't use at all. (Note to self Leave at home next time). But I do think if I had a normal sized iPad I would have the case that has the keyboard built in.  All SD cards worked fine and my filing system (Turning over when used) worked as it should. What really worked right and was not in my revised workflow was my phone. I used it for shots at every stop so I could share easily with social media. I also used it as my boarding pass for flights and apple iPay for most everything on the trip. So that was an unexpected surprise for me. The other unexpected surprise was the noise canceling earbuds I threw into the bag last minute. They worked like a champ on the plane watching movies on my iPad Mini.

What went Wrong.  Nothing really went wrong but unexpected is the word I would use. The first couple of days I backed up my photo's by just inserting the SD card into the RavPower File hub and the 1TB disc into the other side of the file hub and pushing a button.  After a couple of days I was looking at the drive and freaked out a little because the time date folders were not right. I started digging and all of the photo's were there just under a random time stamp.  I reorganized them and everything was fine.  Don't quite know why this happened (probably something I did) but worked great in test that I had done before the trip. But all the files were there which was the important part. I'll have to figure that one out.  I did edit a few shots on my iPad Mini and it is more difficult than my 27 inch iMac I have at home but doable. I think if my iPad was a full sized one it would have made it easier to edit. But I'm not doing that much editing on the road.

Overall the system worked well and saved room in my bag and on my back. This is the way I will be traveling in the near future until I figure out another way to do it even easier. I do love my gadgets. So until next week. Ge outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog computer file transfer gear hiking iPad iPhone learning Max Stansell Photography mobile Photography Ravpower SD Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/photography-trip-without-computer-how-did-that-go Fri, 24 Jun 2022 07:59:18 GMT
What went right on my Utah trip. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/what-went-right-on-my-utah-trip Hey Everyone! How has your week gone?  Me? I'm still reeling from my trip to Utah. And don't worry I'll bore you with all of the details of each park soon.  This week though I wanted to tell you about the things that went right with the trip.  Now there was lots of planning and we had a lot of things that went right much more than went wrong.  Its like that saying the harder I work the luckier I get.  We worked hard on preparation before the trip to make sure we had things covered.  So here goes some stuff that went well because of planning.

1. TSA check in at the Airports.  I have been through the security at airports before but never with a bag full of electronics on my back.  I was prepared to take everything out and put in separate bins along with my shoes and everything in my pockets.  I had even bought a belt that had no metal in it so I wouldn't have to take it off. (Nothing funnier than seeing a Fat Man trying to put on a belt in an airport) but the security people told us to keep things in the bags so I really had it made going through security.  But I was glad I was prepared just in case. Government Shutdown GenerosityGovernment Shutdown GenerosityA TSA worker helps passengers at the Salt Lake City International Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Salt Lake City. The government shutdown has generated an outpouring of generosity to TSA agents and other federal employees who are working without pay. In Salt Lake City, airport officials treated workers from the TSA, FAA and Customs and Border Protection to a free barbecue lunch as a gesture to keep their spirits up during a difficult time. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

2. Hotels and Booking.  Over all this went well.  Everything was prepaid and check in and out worked flawlessly.  Most of the places we stayed in was much better than I had thought.  I pretty much went with the cheapest and the closest to the parks as I could. I had booked and paid for in advance.  As a matter of fact our whole trip except for food and gas was paid for up front which took out stress of how much things cost.

3. Rental Car/Air Travel.  Rental car went better than planned. I had booked the cheapest an economy car. I was expecting a very small car with no features. When we got to the rental place we got upgraded at no charge and the car was pretty nice. It was a Kia Forte a mid sized sedan and it ran and drove great and got good gas milage which was important as the price of gas has skyrocketed . We picked it up in Vegas and dropped it off in Albuquerque. Like the Hotel stays this was paid for months in advance so no stress about money.  Air Fare was booked and paid for months in advance which turned out good as gas prices went up after we had paid and air fares went up but since we paid months in advance of this it did not effect us.

4. Camera Equipment.  My camera Equipment worked great and I didn't have any breakdowns. I did bring an extra body just in case that was never used but I used all of the lenses I brought and was pleased with the performance of an older camera body.  I had no problems with battery power and maybe brought too many batteries. (but better to have and not need than to need and not have).  My tripod held up great even though I think my buddy Robert may have used it more than me.  He had some problems with his but we got it fixed while we were there. GoPro's worked well even though Roberts GoPro didn't always listen to him. (Voice Activation) Camera Gear worked great!

5. Itinerary. We had a pretty incisive and event packed Itinerary.  We completed everything on it!  Which is amazing. On our Itinerary we had maps , photo's , suggested roads to take and even some places to eat.  And we did all of the major stuff on it .  I think we just missed a few places to eat because they were closed when we were there.  We visited 6 National Parks, 3 State Parks and A few towns that we took photos in. The time we took making the itinerary really paid off.

I could list lots of things from how I packed, what clothes I took or how my backup plan worked. But the planning really paid off and we didn't feel like we were following a strict list of things we had to do. We actually had scheduled some afternoons off to take a break and relax and do laundry because we knew we couldn't keep up the  pace we had planned for a week straight. So bottom line we really enjoyed ourselves and that was the whole point of a traveling road trip. Whats next? We have talked of some places but nothing in stone yet. We are at the beginning stage of another adventure. So until next time keep dreaming, keep planning and keep doing!  Get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog booking Hotels landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography planning Rental car TSA Utah website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/what-went-right-on-my-utah-trip Fri, 17 Jun 2022 07:45:09 GMT
Unexpected Surprise! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/unexpected-surprise Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well this week.  This week has been a big week for me. I traded a couple of camera's in to MPB for a newer full frame camera.  Now that is big news but not what this blog is about that will be for later. The big surprise is what came in the box of new to me but used camera. It was a look into the past. The people that I guess sold this camera put an SD card in the camera. Its an old SD card and one I'm sure they just had laying around but to me it was fascinating! It was a 8GB card and it was over 10 years old. When I first got my camera and started setting it up for me I discarded this card and put my much larger and newer cards in the slots and proceeded into going through the menus of my new camera. Today I saw the card laying on my desk and decided to look at it. Thats where the surprise happened.  It actually had photo's on it. But not from my camera but from a 11 year old one. A Nikon D3100. Its a 14MP camera that I'm sure it was a kit bought at a big box store somewhere. It had the same kit lens that it came with a 18mm to 55mm . The card had over 500 photo's from 4 years of vacations of a young couple traveling Europe and beyond. There were only photo's from these trips on the card.  So I'm guessing that they only used the camera when they traveled. At the end of the photo's there were shots of a new born baby.  I'm sharing some of the photo's but not photo's of the people or the baby.  I brought these photographs into Lightroom to look at them in more detail. I actually culled them and processed them lightly like I would my photographs. Straighten them and hit the auto button in Lightroom that's about it.  They were all shot in JPG non raw photographs.  I was surprised at how good some of these photo's are. You could tell that these young people wanted to upgrade their photo's from their phones. Most of the first vacation was shot in Portrait mode like most people shoot with their phones. Thats how they were used to seeing things so that's how they shot. You could tell by the metadata that they were probably shooting in Program mode because of the metadata that was showing. But the camera did well because most of the photographs came out well.  You could tell that they were artsy people because they did have some photo's at different museums or galleries and it showed in their composition of the photo's they had .  They were pretty good. Here are some of the places they went.

Paris, France, This couple took a autumn trip to the city of Paris and surrounding area. There are lots of photo's of the Eiffel Tower , the Louvre museum in Paris. The trees leaves were changing colors and everything was beautiful. This was in November of 2011.

Pacific Northwest USA, I'm guessing they (the couple) were from the north west of USA, I have found photo's of the hay stacks on the coast of Oregon and Washington State. There is skyline shots of Seattle and probably National Parks in this area. 

London England.  A week long trip to London with photo's of Big Ben, London Bridge and surrounding areas.  I think they may have gone to France again because I saw the Eiffel Tower shots in this time frame also.

Finally there were shots of a Island paradise somewhere.  With Grass huts over water and lovely Island scenes. Sunsets over lagoons with lush jungles. 

The last photo's of this card was of a new baby.  Don't know if it was theirs but I'm saying yes.  All of those romantic thrips produced a baby. LOL

This was a glimpse into someones life.  I could tell a story from the photo's that I saw. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. I'm sure this card was just thrown into the slot to sell but what a joy to find.  I wish I could post more but not enough room. Until next week get outside and start your adventure.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adventure blog England France landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography SD Seattle travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/unexpected-surprise Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:01:23 GMT
Utah Trip Review! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/utah-trip-overview Hey Everyone! I hope that you are doing well this week.  Well I just got back from a trip out west to visit 6 national Parks and 3 State Parks .   I went on this adventure with a Photo Nut friend Robert.  We took 6 months to plan this trip and the planning worked we didn’t really have any hiccups with the trip. I did most of the big logistical stuff and he handled a lot of the smaller details.  We really worked well as a team photographing and exploring the region that we were traveling in. This trip we traveled over 1600 miles , 5 states.  The trip wasn’t that expensive if you consider that we were traveling from the east coast and had to get rental car and hotels along the way.  The five states that we were in was Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Here is a day by day overview and thoughts. Double ArchDouble ArchArches National Park Utah

Day 1- Travel Day.  I usually travel by car or truck and rarely fly anymore. This trip we would be flying to Las Vegas and renting a car for our road trip.  Flying used to be easy but has become more complicated since 9-11.  Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checks make me nervous .  Not because I’m doing something wrong but because your in a line with lots of other people trying to get through like you and you don’t want to be “That Guy” that slows up SpiresSpiresCanyonlands National Park Utah everything because he didn’t prepare.  My wingman Robert has extensive traveling experience and I relied on his guidance to help me not be so nervous. We got to the airport parked our vehicle and headed into the Airport to check bags and get through security. It used to be easy you just went to the counter but now they have these electronic kiosk that you get your luggage tag and print boarding passes from then you go to the desk. I fumbled through this and we got our bags check. Then through security which wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.  Then the wait for the aircraft. We flew out of RDU to Dallas/Fort Worth for a connecting flight which I relied on my wingman to get me around in the little Skyport Delicate ArchDelicate ArchArches National Park Utah transportation rail to get us to the correct terminal.  We flew into Las Vegas between 930 and 1000 at night had to get our bags and get a bus to the car rental where we picked up our ride a Kia Forte for the week. While we were flying my wingman (who was getting our first hotel room) was checking on the hotel and had a perplexed look on his face he had reserved for the right date but the wrong month so we didn’t have a room.  He did some quick Smart phone work and got us a room at the Treasure Island Casino in town.  It really was good luck it was a better room and cheaper than the Motel 6 we had planned to stay in. It was right down town so we got to see all the lights of the city at night .  We settled in at about 1 in the morning and we were getting up and leaving at 5.  We got a few hours sleep got a great Mesa ArchMesa ArchCanyonlands National Park Utah breakfast in the casino and headed out of Las Vegas.

Day 2.  We traveled out of Las Vegas to Valley of Fire State Park still in Nevada.  We had researched the park like we had all of the parks and knew where to go and what shots we wanted. The famous road shot with the mountain and the 7 wonders trail. It took us a little bit to find the road shot but we got it and went to the wonders trail and went to the first spot the Fire Wave section.  We took a lot of photo’s here and decided not even to do the rest of the trail because we were so in awe that we knew that we couldn’t finish before dark.  So we backed out and looked for a better spot to do the road shot and Road to the TempleRoad to the TempleGoblin Valley State Park Utah while looking we came up on some big horned sheep that were grazing along the road.  We got our shots of course. We did find the shot we wanted and went to the visitor center so I could buy a Fridge Magnet for my wife and I could get stickers from the park.  We did this at every attraction. Next stop was our motel which was at Bryce Canyon for the next two days. It was a good long drive to get there.  We got checked in and decided to go to Bryce before dinner as it was only 6 miles from our hotel room.  Wow!  The Fire BushFire BushValley of Fire State Park Nevada. view of the Canyon was awesome. We spent an hour or so there then went back to the hotel Restaurant to eat.  This day it was my birthday and I officially turned into a senior at 60.  We stopped at a senior center along the way to get a quick pic.  Then the surprise brownie and ice cream.  At least no one sang! LOL

Day 3. Zion Day. This was a big day on our itinerary as my wingman was really looking forward to hiking Angels Landing. One of the scariest and dangerous hikes in the US. Our first obstacle was to get there and get a parking place as parking is a premium in this park.  When we left it was 24 degrees outside but warmed to the low 60‘S for the hike.  In this park you have to take a shuttle to get to places when we got to the visitor The CanyonThe CanyonCanyonlands National Park Utah center parking we found a place to park and when we walked up to the shuttle a shuttle arrived. Almost like it was waiting for us.  We arrived at the Grotto our destination for the hike after an interesting talk from our shuttle driver. We started our hike checked in with the ranger. This is a permitted hike so we had to get a permit in a lottery.  We started up to angels landing, many switch backs and I had to stop many times to catch my breath. We finally got to Scouts landing 2 miles uphill.  This is where the Angeles landing hike begins a 1/2 mile straight up on a tiny sliver of land with only a chain to keep your Moon ScapeMoon ScapeValley of Fire State Park , Nevada balance. I decided not to do that part of the hike but my wingman was ready to go so I checked in with another ranger walked over and touched the chain and wished Robert good luck.  I waited about 2 hours and he finally made it down. I know he was tired and it kicked his but but was proud of him for making it.  We made it down the mountain with no problems. Downhill is a lot easier than uphill. We had planned another hike but we were both beat and decided to head back to Bryce and Recovery.

Day 4. Bryce Canyon Day.  We got up early and headed to the restaurant and had a great breakfast then Dead Horse PointDead Horse PointDead Horse Point State Park Utah headed to Bryce which was only 6 miles away.  We had planned a hike down in the canyon (not really a canyon its an amphitheater for geological geeks) for a hike .  It was great we had the whole place to ourselves at the start. Hardly no one there.  There were switchbacks that took us down into the canyon and switchbacks that brought us out . It was like another world in the canyon like Star Trek meets the Flinstones. We headed out to Capital Reef national park which is famous for homemade pies. After a couple of hours we made it there but the pie house was closed. So no Pies for us.  We went to the visitor center and enjoyed our ride around the park.  Next stop Goblin Valley state park Utah. This was a cool park Zion "Scout Trail"Zion "Scout Trail"Zion National Park Utah from another world in the middle of nowhere.  We spent an hour or so there and then it was off to Moab where we would stay 3 days in the Mecca of Outdoors in Utah.  We had a big Mexican dinner which was Awesome then back to the hotel.  

Day 5. Canyon Lands National Park, Mesa Arch.  One of the most iconic Arches ever Photographed. We arrived at Mesa Arch as the first photographers , (the ones that want sunrise shot) were leaving and the families had not shown up yet .  The perfect time to get some shots without anyone in front.  The shot of the Arch is nice but the canyon that is below is awesome! We spent a couple of hours there and then in the afternoon we had some laundry scheduled to do.  We drove back to Moab found a laundry mat Bryce CanyonBryce CanyonBryce Canyon National Park Utah and washed our clothes.  We then went to a cafe and had a hearty meal.  The rest of the day was ours to rest and recovery after the last couple of days.

Day 6. Arches National Park.  Arches is only 6 miles from our hotel.  So we had a big breakfast and headed out.  This is another place where you need a permit just to get into the park. I had acquired passes and permits months ago.  Our first stop was Delicate Arch.  It’s about a mile and a half hike to the arch and much harder than I had anticipated.  We made it there and there was only a few folks there and we had a Wooden IndianWooden IndianTaos New Mexico cell signal so I took some cell phone shots and sent them to different people while there. Pretty cool.  We hiked back and explored the rest of the park at Double Arch and Balanced Rock.  We then headed into Moab for lunch.  We ate at an food court that was supplied by food trucks. Pretty good and cheaper. We then headed out to look at Dinosaur foot prints not far from Moab.  Robert was really excited about this and we had a good time looking at the imprints.  We then headed back to an easy afternoon.

Day 7. Cortez Colorado and Mesa Verde National Park.  Our first stop out of town was Dead Horse Point state park in Utah.  We went there and it was like the Grand Canyon without all of the people.  It was pretty awesome.  We went to Cortez Wood SnakeWood SnakeArches National Park Utah Colorado where we had Lunch and then went to Mesa Verde.  We went to the visitors center and got some info from the Ranger and headed up the mountain.  We got to see the cliff dwellings from a distance.  The next walk through of the dwellings wasn’t until the next day.  We had a nice hotel here and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Day 8. Taos New Mexico. First stop after Cortez was a trip to the Four Corners Monument.  It was about 45 min. Out of the way but we both wanted to see it.  The monument is run by the Navajo tribal association and when Sandia Peak TramSandia Peak TramAlbuquerque New Mexico we got there at 7:45 they were closed but were scheduled to open at 8 so we waited and when we got in we got our shots and left headed to Taos.  Taos is a very artsy town with all of the buildings made in the Adobe fashion and very cool.  I would like to go back and photograph some more!  We spent the afternoon eating and photographing the town.  There are forest fires nearby and the helicopter crews for the firefighters were staying at our hotel also.  We smelled smoke a couple of times.

Day 9. Albuquerque Day.  After breakfast first stop was Santa Fe.  We walked around the town for an hour or so had some coffee and headed to Albuquerque.  This being our last day we wanted to squeeze as much as we could into the day so we had a tram ride scheduled for Sandia Peak.  We went from 6500 feet to Church BackChurch BackSan Fransisco De Asis Mission Taos New Mexico 10300 feet in 13 min.  Took some photos from the top and then headed down.  We got some good video while going down (less people) . Then we headed to Kirkland AFB where I had been stationed before.  It’s been over 30 years since I’ve been back and it has changed completely .  I didn’t recognized anything but it was nice.  We then headed to the rental place to return the car and off to the Airport where we checked bags and made it through security again.  We didn’t get home until 3 in the morning the next day which was Mothers Day.

I had a great time and my head is still spinning from all of the traveling and photography.  Can’t wait till the next trip! Until next week Get out and Shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Arches blog Bryce Canyonlands Capital Reef Delicate Arch Goblin Valley landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mesa Arch Moab National Parks Photography State Parks Taos Utah Valley of Fire Vegas website Zion https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/6/utah-trip-overview Fri, 03 Jun 2022 09:00:00 GMT
Why and What to print https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/why-and-what-to-print Hey Everybody! This week I wanted to talk about the importance of printing and what to print. When I started photography film was the only option for taking photo's.  You would take your roll exposed film to the drug store or some lab and have the film developed and you usually got a print with each exposure. So for each roll you would typically get 24 or 36 small 4X6 prints that you could look at. So you had lots of prints.  They eventually ended up in shoe boxes under the bed and the prime ones ended up in some sort of photo album with the little sticky corners that you used to stick them into the book.  If your my age you know what I mean.  When my parents passed I had boxes of photo's to look at and remines about.  You know look here you are at 5yrs old on your GI Joe bicycle. You could see photo's of your parents when they were young or even as teenagers if your lucky.  Photo's of Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles.  You can spend hours looking at these boxes of memories with your family.  But what do you have since digital came about?  Probably not much.  You may have extensive files on a disc somewhere but sharing them isn't as easy or tactile as a photograph.  This is a big dilemma for Carolina Beach SunsetCarolina Beach Sunset us and to leave something of ours to the past.  My mother had Dementia in her later years and I took a lot of her family photos and digitized them and put them into a family book for her to look at.  So of course the answer to this problem is to print. But what?  How much?

  And I am as guilty of this as anyone else not printing enough.  I thought I would print my own prints but found messing with printer heads, ink, paper that there is a lot to it and although I bought an expensive printer you must print a lot to keep it printing well.  And of course I haven't.  I tried cleaning the heads many different ways but couldn't get it to print like it did when it was new.  I have pretty much given up on printing things myself.  So where do you print? There are many labs that you can send your stuff to or even Walmart or Walgreens although I wouldn't recommend for important stuff.  I have my own website and can order prints like anyone else so I've started ordering prints.  5X7 mostly and maybe a larger one now and then.  I display them for a while then I put them in the shoe box for later generations to dig through.  Over the last 6 years I have been making end of year books.  These books contain the best of my photography for that year .  During our annual Holiday party at the end of the year My photography club brings in their books to look at and share.  After that they end up on a book shelf at my house.  But these books will be great for my grand kids to look at in their later years _MSP0462_MSP0462Max Stansell Photography when they grow up and are interested in such things.  But this is just my photography it doesn't have the photographs that we take every day of each other post to social media or just have on our phones.  I had a book made of all my Facebook photo's and yes it had a lot of my photography on it but it also had family photo's and photo's of friends on it  it was pretty cool and I had it made from a company on Facebook.  I have also made project books from big projects that I have done like visiting all of the state parks in North Carolina in a year.  I've got a big trip coming up this summer and will probably make a book just out of the trip.  So I think that books are a great way to print your photo's. We have come a long way from 4X6 prints from the drug store.  We can have canvas's make for very low cost. Groupon is a great way to find deals on Canvas prints and certain photo's just look good on canvas and some do not. There are many photo labs that can put a photo on anything from car keychain to coffee 20151128_Envelope Seal_00220151128_Envelope Seal_002Max Stansell Photography mugs, shirts ,blankets, and you name it.  They can be great gifts for someone to cherish forever.  You can have your photo's printed on Wood , Acrylic, even glass or metal.  There are lots of cool ways to print your photo's.  The point is to print in some fashion. I need to print some larger prints for my house to spruce up the old place.  The point is that you don't need to be an expert on printing you can send it off and have great prints that will last long after you're gone.  So until next week keep shooting and get outside and print!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Books family generations learning legacy Max Stansell Photography Memories Photo Books photographs Photography Printing Tactile website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/why-and-what-to-print Fri, 27 May 2022 09:00:00 GMT
Photography an Excuse to Get in Shape! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/photography-an-excuse-to-get-in-shape Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day.  This weeks topic is kind of strange.  How can photography be an excuse to get in shape? I am the last person in the world to be telling folks about getting in shape.  As I get ready to turn 60 it is becoming a very important part of my thinking. Sixty was always the number I used to think of as old. Now that I'm getting ready to be"old" my health is very important to me. If your like me I work in a very sedentary job where I'm in a chair most of the day and to top that off I'm having to commute an hour to and hour and a half ride one way to work.  So that's another 3 hours a day I'm sitting on my butt. I do try to go out on hikes and walks during breaks at work but sometimes that's just not possible.  Now what does photography have to do with all of this?  I'm a firm believer that if your in good shape you will _MSP1594_MSP1594 be a better photographer.  Here goes some reasons why.

1. Being physically fit will help you cary and get your equipment to and fro. If your out of shape and you need to hike to that waterfall that is a mile away and when you get there you are so tired you can't think straight you won't take good photo's.  And that goes with any type of photography that you have to move to get too. 

2. Being Physically fit will also make your mental health better.  Which in turn will make your photography even better.  Being able to think out problems will make your photography easier letting you concentrate on your subject.

IMG_1558IMG_1558 3. Being in good shape will help your stamina and keep you shooting longer.  Better stamina means that when the others are getting tired and have to stop to rest you can keep going and get the shot that hey missed because they were sitting on the nearest bench catching their breath.

4, Being in good shape will let you get shots that others don't.  It will put you in places that your out of shape counterparts can't get too.  Whether its hiking that extra mile to get to that great shot or walking that extra block while doing street photography.

5. Being in good shape means you'll probably live longer.  Which means you'll get to shoot photography longer.

By using photography as an excuse hopefully it will motivate you into getting off of your butt and doing some exercise.  I'm trying to use it for me to get in shape.  I am not the person that you would think would be talking about this subject. But I have seen both sides of the coin.  I have been Creek CrossingCreek CrossingMax Stansell Photography in good shape and gone places my more out of shape photo buddies couldn't get too.  But now I'm one of the out of shape ones and I can really tell the difference.  The last big photo trip I took with my club I was trying to get to a spot that by the time I got there I was so sweaty and out of shape I was huffing a puffing and didn't get the shot that I thought I should have been.  So I have been slowly trying to eat right and trying not to be so sedentary so I can get in better shape and live and photograph more.

So until next week get off of your butt and get outside and take some great photo's.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog exercise hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography traveling walking website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/photography-an-excuse-to-get-in-shape Fri, 20 May 2022 08:01:06 GMT
Traveling with Camera's https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/traveling-with-cameras Wells Fargo RaleighWells Fargo Raleigh Hey Everyone! I hope this last week was a good one for you. This week I want to talk about traveling with your camera. More specifically flying with your gear. Now I am no expert and its been a wile since I've flown but I'm getting ready to take a trip and by the time this blog comes out I may have already come back. I'm taking a trip where I'll be flying and will have to go through TSA so I'll give some tips that I learned from their website.  Security , Security , Security, You'll have to go through it .  So getting prepared will make this experience more comfortable and less of a hassle. Doing a little research can make this as unpleasant as possible.

Carry on Backpack

My camera gear.  I have narrowed down what I'm going to bring so my load won't be too heavy for the airport and for me to carry. I am taking with me on the plane one body and three lenses, batteries for the camera and a Gopro and batteries. Your batteries must be on your carry on luggage and not in your checked bags.  You should have a way to separate the batteries so they will not bump into each other and make a spark of some sort. I have cases for all of my batteries both Camera and Gopro. In my checked luggage I'll have a backup body and one lens and my tripod.  I have a small travel tripod that will fit into my checked luggage barely. 

I will have in my carry on backpack also my iPad mini an external hard drive and my RAV-Power file hub. I will have an 10000mah back up battery also to charge cell phone and such. All electronics larger than a cell phone will have to be taken out of your bag and placed in a bin and go through x-ray machine separately. The way my bag is made I can take out the camera and lenses out all at once with the removable organizer and put into a bin then I just need to place my iPad and external battery in. Hopefully this will work. We'll see. Other things that you will have to separate out of your carry on is any liquids.  All liquids must fit into a Quart Zip Lock bag and cannot be over three ounces. They have a 3-1-1 rule. No more than 3oz. containers that will fit into 1 quart zip lock bag per 1 traveler. Any liquid larger will have to be in checked luggage. Then also your shoes and belt will have to Government Shutdown GenerosityGovernment Shutdown GenerosityA TSA worker helps passengers at the Salt Lake City International Airport, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Salt Lake City. The government shutdown has generated an outpouring of generosity to TSA agents and other federal employees who are working without pay. In Salt Lake City, airport officials treated workers from the TSA, FAA and Customs and Border Protection to a free barbecue lunch as a gesture to keep their spirits up during a difficult time. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) go into the bin. 

Checked Luggage

As I said before my backup body and a lens and tripod will be in this bag.  Of course all my clothes and extra liquids.  Also extra shoes, trekking pole, hip belt strap for my camera bag, and a 2 liter water bladder. This bag is scanned and can be inspected by TSA.  If they do inspect they will leave a card in your bag saying it was inspected. Only TSA approved locks can be used that have a universal master key that they can use to open the bag and inspect.  Only about 10% of bags get inspected.

Identification-New rules about Identification were suppose to be in effect but due to the Covid pandemic this rule has been pushed back to 2023.  It would say that your ID issued by the sate like your drivers license will be The REAL ID cards. Or Federal Government ID cards will get you into places like airports and federal buildings. Me being retired military It doesn't effect me much but the next time I get my license renewed I'll get the REAL ID with it.

Whats not allowed? Well there are lot of stuff but basically nothing sharp or things that could harm someone. You can Check with TSA on exactly what you can bring or not bring. 

If you plan ahead and do some research you can avoid fumbling around and make the security screening process not too bad.  Make sure you check with the airlines your flying on what size weight of the things you are bringing on the airplane. Because there are weight and size restrictions on what you can bring. The big message here is to plan , plan , plan. So enjoy your next trip and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camera Carry on Checked Gear learning Liquids Luggage Max Stansell Photography Photography Security TSA website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/traveling-with-cameras Fri, 13 May 2022 08:02:53 GMT
Accessories for Beginning Photographers https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/accessories-for-beginning-photographers Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well this week.  This week I want to talk about what accessories I think beginning photographers should have.  Now there are thousands and thousands of photography accessories out there and they are for the most part pretty neat!  I do have GAS you know. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) I do love my gadgets.  But for the beginning photographer there are some essentials that I think they should get first before venturing out into the photography marketplace.  I think these are at a minimum of what a photographer should have when starting out.  So here goes!

1. A Tripod.  A tripod will improve your photography more than any other accessory that you can get. First of all it will make your photo’s tack sharp.  Giving a stable support for your camera especially when starting out and your just figuring out settings it will stay steady when your shutter is too slow and you have hand shake making your photo’s blurry.  It will slow you down and make you think.  The act of pulling out a tripod and setting it up will make you slow down and think about your shot settings and composition. Now don’t go out and buy the cheapest one you can find at Walmart.  You need to put a little money into this investment. A 150 dollar tripod is 3 times better than a 40 dollar one.  And really 150 is really not a lot for something that can last through many cameras.  They are usually made of Carbon Fiber or Aluminum.  The carbon ones are more expensive but are lighter.  So research and buy wisely and you’ll have a great accessory that can last for many years.

2.Cleaning Supplies.  Keep your gear clean!  A Lens Brush you can pick up for 5 bucks and is great for cleaning your lenses and getting in those nooks and crannies of your camera.  A rocket type hand blower is great in blowing off dust from your lenses and your sensor keeping them free of dust .  These are fairly inexpensive also. And Micro fiber clothes.  These cloths are cheap and great for cleaning your lenses with out scratching.  They are great for eye glasses also.  Keeping your gear clean will make it last longer and make you get cleaner shots saving time in Photoshop or Lightroom .

3. Polarizer Filter.  A polarizer filter is the only filter that cannot be duplicated in Photoshop or Lightroom. It takes the shine off of things and enhances the color of objects.  It’s like wearing polarization sun glasses for your camera.  The most popular kind of polarizer is the Circular Polarizer.  It is made to fit on the front of your lens and you can turn it an adjust the power of the polarization of the shot.  You can pick up a decent one for 40 or 50 bucks but you can pay a lot more.  This should be your first filter in your camera kit.

4. SD Cards.  You should have more than just one SD card.  It doesn’t  have to be a large card a 32 or 64 gig card will do just fine.  You should rotate your cards between shoots and its always good to have an extra.  These cards are cheap and you should have a few.

5. Lightroom or Photoshop.  If you don’t already have a photo editing software this is the best deal going . You can get Lightroom and Photoshop for 10 dollars a month subscription. This is a great deal.  You used to have to buy these programs stand alone 150ish for Lightroom and over 500 for Photoshop but when new updates came you had to either buy the update or buy the whole version again.  With 10 dollars a month you can have the latest updates and  the most powerful software available.  Photoshop is so powerful and used it has become a verb.  That was Photoshopped. 

_MSP6312_MSP6312 6.  Camera Strap.  A camera strap will help you from dropping your expensive camera you just bought.  Wether you have one that goes around your neck or your wrist .  I personally use one around my wrist but I have had the other kind also.  My preferred ones come from Peak Design and are made out of the seatbelt material which is light weight and strong at the same time.

7. Extra Battery.  Invest in a extra battery.  When your out on the go you don't want to turn on your camera and find out that you forgot to charge you're one and only battery.  Carry an extra one or two depending on how your camera eats batteries. This can be a life saver.

8. Photo Bag/Backpack.  Now you need something to put everything into.  Hi my name is Max and I have a photo bag Problem.  I love photo bags.  I have bought and sold many.  Bags and Backpacks are very personal just make sure you get something that will protect your gear and is comfortable to wear.  Gear can get heavy and a bag that is not comfortable will be miserable to carry around.

So these are just a few things I think beginning photographers should have to get started.  If I sat here longer I’m sure I could think of more but this is a good start.  So until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) accessories batteries blog camera Bags filters landscape learning Lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography Photoshop Polarizer rocket Blower SD cards Tripods website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/5/accessories-for-beginning-photographers Fri, 06 May 2022 09:00:00 GMT
National Parks VS State Parks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/national-parks-vs-state-parks Hey Everyone! Hope your week has gone well.  Today we have the battle of the parks. National VS State parks.  First of all let me say how lucky we are here in America to have so many natural resources that are available for us to recreate in. Being a Landscape photographer and Nature photographer I spend a lot of time in parks.  And to tell you the truth I like all of the camping and hiking that go along with the photography as much as the photography. To visit all of the parks is a goal that will never be reached there are so many of them. National parks in the US number  to this date 62 parks and 423 sites.  Thats a lot!  Some people make it a quest to see all 62 parks but to see them and the 423 sites would take a long time.  Now that's National Parks. State parks there are even more!  There are over 3700 state parks in the US with California having the most at 270.  North Carolina where I live has 34 which I have visited all of them.  I actually had a photography project in 2019 where I visited all of the state parks in NC in one year. So lets talk about National and State Parks.

National Parks- I am a big fan of National Parks and want to visit as many as I can.  This summer I plan on visiting 6 National Parks out west. Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872. The latest one is New River Gorge National Park which I visited last year with my photography club.  National parks are vast area's of land that are set aside to keep natural as possible and for the public to visit and recreate in Nature.  Let me tell you lots of people go the National Parks with Great Smokey Mountains being the most visited.  During the last couple of years the visitation to parks has almost doubled with people tired of being cooped up inside due to the Covid-19 outbreak.  This makes these parks very crowded with people .  Permits are required for a lot of the most popular parks and attractions to keep the wear and tear down on theses parks and for safety.  We are planning a hike in Zion National Park that is only 5 miles long but you must have a permit to go on it because of the popularity of the hike. National parks are sometimes referred to National Amusement parks because of the crowds.  But is it worth it to fight the crowds?  These are some of the most beautiful and unique places in the world like Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, or Death Valley.  They became National parks to preserve the Natural Beauty of our great nation for generations to enjoy. National Parks are usually very large in size and could take days to see only a little of them.  They have hiking, backpacking , camping, campgrounds, bike trails, and rock climbing in places. Thats just mentions a few things you can do in the National Parks not to forget photography!

State Parks- State Parks have advantages to them that the larger National Parks don't have. They are usually close by your house. I have one only 10 miles from my front door. As a matter of fact my first 10 mile backpacking adventure was from my house to this state park. I wanted to make sure I could hike 10 miles with a full pack on and if I failed I was only a phone call away from rescue. I made it . LOL These parks are usually smaller in size but may have the same features as their big brother parks.  These parks are less traveled.  People will travel to a National Park while driving right by Sandstone FallsSandstone FallsSandstone Falls located in the New River Gorge National Park in WVa. many cool and unique state parks.  These parks are getting more crowded since the outbreak  but usually not as bad as National Parks.  If you live by a big city and are going to a State Park head out early! Some of the parking lots fill up fast.  The same activities that you can do in the National Parks can be done in State Parks and the prices are usually cheaper.  Some parks are free and some you have to pay to use same as the National Parks. I prefer to camp (Car Camp) in State Parks because its cheaper and the amities are usually better.  I like to backpack in both. So when I pull my little teardrop Goose Creek GrassGoose Creek Grass camper to a campground (and its time to start again) I prefer State Park Campgrounds.

So I know the title said National Parks VS State Parks.  But why does it have to be either/or why can't it be and.  National Parks and State parks are a great way to get away from work and your house and get into nature.  I have been backpacking on the AT in the Great Smokey Mountains and Car camping at most of the State Parks in North Carolina and I love them both.  Go out and investigate your National and State Parks and enjoy the outdoors.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National Park Service National Parks NPS Photography State Parks website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/national-parks-vs-state-parks Fri, 29 Apr 2022 08:54:15 GMT
My Big Trip of the Year https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/my-big-trip-of-the-year Screenshot Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week.  This weeks blog is about my big trip this year. I have been hinting around it but really haven’t explained it .  This will be my biggest photo adventure to date. My friend and fellow “photo nut” Robert have been planning this trip for quite a while.  And next week we will be on our way. This years big trip will be out west on a 1000 mile road trip through Utah.  This road trip will start in Las Vegas NV and end in Albuquerque NM.   We will visit 6 national parks and at least 3 state parks and some more area’s of interest. It will be a whirlwind of a trip and I might need a vacation after this one. It will be photography and seeing new things all day every day.  It will be Go! Go! Go!.  We have made an extensive itinerary which I know we won’t be able to follow .  We will have to be flexible and do things on the fly but its a good start. We have bought tickets , rented a car and have hotel rooms all payed for .  We have had to get permits for hiking  and driving in the parks.  We have done loads and loads of research.  But hopefully we have done enough.  My photo nut buddy has been on big trips like this before but for me this is something big.  I have gone on week long photography trips with my photography club but I usually wasn’t planning them out. Let me give you a small outline of our trip.

Places we’ll visit-  We will visit 6 national parks.  The Mighty 5 in Utah and one in Colorado.  The Mighty 5 in Utah are Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Arches and Canyon Lands.  You could easily spend a week in each of these parks and still would not have seen them all.  We will have about a day in each of them so we will be skimming the top of what is there.  We are trying to get a sunrise or sunset in each of them and a hike or two in each and hopefully some great photo’s. We have a big hike scheduled in Zion, In Bryce we will have a sunset an sunrise I believe and a hike through the hoodoo’s. We are doing a scenic drive through Capital Reef and stopping for Pie. In Arches we are of course shooting arches and hopefully good sunset and sunrise.  In Canyon Lands there is of course Mesa Arch and surrounding area.  The other park we’ll visit is Mesa Verde in Colorado. It has the Indian dugout houses in the side of the cliffs which should be really cool to see. The other places that we have planned are the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada which looks really cool with great landscapes and Goblin State park in Utah and Dead Horse State park in Utah and Sandia Peak in New Mexico which we are taking a tram up to.  We will also check out some cool towns while there .  Moab Utah is an outdoor  sports Mecca for all kinds of sports from rock climbing to mountain biking.  This town will be real interesting and doing some street photography will be fun.  Taos New Mexico will have the Spanish style houses and buildings which will make for some interesting photography.  

After we get back from the trip I’ll write another blog to give you an after action report. And of course show you some photo's.  I’m hoping I'll have enough photographs to be able to make a photo book out of them like I do at the end of the year.  We will also be doing shooting video as well and I'm sure an epic video is in the works.  Maybe many. Well until  next week be safe and get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Arches blog Bryce Canyon Canyon Lands Capitol Colorado Dead Horse Goblin landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mesa Verde National Parks Nevada New Mexico Photography Reef" road trip Sandia Peak Taos trip Utah Valley of Fire website workshops Zion https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/my-big-trip-of-the-year Fri, 22 Apr 2022 07:48:59 GMT
Congaree NP Photography Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/congaree-np-photography-trip Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing great today. This week I want to tell you about a weekend trip me and some other "Photo Nuts" took to South Carolina to Congaree National Park.  If you haven't heard about it don't feel bad I hadn't either.  My friend Robert a partner in Photo Crimes , had suggested the trip and he always seems to have good trips planned. So after saying yes I started a little research.  The first place I went was YouTube.  I'm a big fan of YouTube and like to see what other people say in a review of a place. Well the first couple of reviews talk about Congaree as the worst National Park in the US.  That was not what I wanted to learn about this park. Located about an half hour drive from the eastern side(right side of the map)  of Columbia SC.  It is mostly a swampy National park great for Kayaking and exploring through the swampy land.  But as a hiker it had some trails but it also has a 2.5 mile boardwalk over the swamp to the Congaree River.  Now I love National Parks and want to visit as many as I can and this summer I'll add six more parks to my been there list.  So if nothing else it will me a tic mark on my list of National Parks. We, Me and Robert and another "Photo Nut" Mike decided to leave Friday night stay in Columbia do some night photography and go to Congaree in the morning.  Robert and Myself were going to do about a 7 mile trail and Mike was going to shoot some wildlife stuff near the water.  This park is known for flooding and the forecast was for rain.  Not looking good.  But that was the Plan.  Here is what happened.

Friday- Left home about 1:30ish in the afternoon for a 31/2 to 4 hour drive to Columbia. We started our trip and it was interstate driving most of the way so kind of boring and crowded.  But we passed the time cutting up and having fun conversations as three retired Military Vets would have.  You know War stories and the such. When we got to Columbia it had started to rain.  We found our hotel for the night near Ft. Jackson and put most of our things in the room. We donned our Rain Coats and headed out to our first destination. A man made waterfall at a park.  It was really coming down now.  When we got to the park the water was cut off to the waterfall and it was raining hard. We decided to go eat and see if it would let up. We went to Quakerstate and Lube and automotive themed restaurant that was a Sports Bar theme to it. We ordered Burgers and Wings and after we finished we were stuffed.  I mean loosen the top button of your pants full. We decided that the night was a wash (literally ) and to make plans for the next day.

Saturday- We had called the park Friday and found that some of the trails were under water.  So we figured we could at least show up , get the fridge magnet, T-shirt and call it a day and head to an alternate place Santee State Park. When we got to the park there wasn't too many cars in the parking lot of the visitors center so we got out and started to explore.  We found the Boardwalk and started to see how far we could go. Let me tell you it was gorgeous , lush and green and some of the trees were enormous .  There are some champion trees here, Loblolly Pine , and Birch. Champion trees are the largest of their species.  Pretty Cool. We did come to where the water overcame the boardwalk and had to turn around.  I actually didn't think that I would get anything good here but I was happily surprised. Our last stop in the park was the visitors center where we got our National Park Passports Stamped and souvenirs. Our next stop was Santee State Park a South Carolina State Park. It was an hour or so drive there from Congaree.  When we arrived we went to the Camp Store and walked out on the dock and could look upon the Lake Marion.  We then went on a hike that was suppose to be a 1/4 mile hike but ended up to be about 4 miles or so. We got a little off course. After the unexpected hike we were hungry and tired and a little sweaty. We went to a BBQ joint called Lone Star.  It was absolutely fabulous .  A comfort food home style cooking in a Buffet.  What could get better.  We did it again and ate too much but you can't pass on Banana Pudding. We then drove home about a 4 hour drive.

The whole trip we were cutting up and having a ball.  And it goes to show you that when your going on a photography trip you have to be flexible and you might find something better than what you had planned. It was a great trip and I got some good photo's to boot.  So until next week go out and explore and take a friend you'll have a blast. Here is a link to a trip video by Robert O'Sullivan Congaree Trip Video
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping Congaree hiking Lake Marion learning Max Stansell Photography National Park Photography Santee SC South Carolina Swampy website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/congaree-np-photography-trip Fri, 15 Apr 2022 07:31:52 GMT
My Mobile Workflow Revised https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/my-mobile-workflow-revised Hey Everyone, Hope everyone is doing great in these trying times.  This week I want to talk about my mobile workflow when doing photography on the road.  My mobile situation has changed many times but I’m always trying to make it better more streamline and lightweight in the long run.  To prove my point I’m writing this blog using my iPad mini 5 and a Bluetooth travel keyboard.  Like I have said I have tried all sorts of ways to backup my photography and video files and edit while I’m on the road with the less fuss and bulk and weight.  Now this system is just the way I do stuff now I’m sure it will change again but I seem to have it pretty dialed in.  First of all it has to be light weight and versatile I’m not as young as I used to be and if it can be used for more than one thing even better. If you remember from last week I was exploring and testing out ways to back up my SD cards without an laptop. I ran some test on the Ravpower Filehub at work and it worked like a champ it is in my travel kit for this trip. I also used it as a mobile WiFi router and it also worked great. I had five computers working off of the WiFi and it handled it with no problem. So if your in a hotel that doesn't have WiFi or it is very weak and they have a wired port you can hook this device up and make a small WiFi network at 5g speed. Well enough about the File Hub here we go step by step of my workflow for mobile photography.

- First I bring at least one SD card for everyday with a few extras.  So if I go for a week I have at a minimum 7 SD cards.  I didn’t buy them all at once.  When I find them on sale I’ll buy a few.  Before you know it you have plenty.  The original SD card will be the first copy of my workflow and will not be used again on this trip.

- Second When I get back to the hotel I take the SD card out of my Camera and put a newly formatted one in my camera and charge my batteries for the next day.  I then take that SD card and back it up using a new little gadget I just got.  The RAVpower File Hub.  I can attach a SSD (solid state drive) up to 3TB to the hub and then take my SD card and insert and push a button and it will transfer all of the files to the SDD drive in a time stamped folder.  I don’t have to be hooked up to the internet or anything.  I then can take the SD card  and put in my card wallet to the same space that was left empty by the card I have just put in my camera. I put the card in upside down so I know not to use it again.  Now I have two copy’s of my photo’s or videos and I never keep them in the same place. Always in different bags.

-Now for editing. All my editing while on the road will be done with my iPad mini and an iPencil.  I don’t plan on doing a lot of editing while on the road maybe one or two for social media and I can do this easily with the iPad.  I have Lightroom and Photoshop Express which is plenty of power for these types of edits. I can see my files using the RAVpower File Hub or with an SD card reader that I can hook to my iPad via lightning port.  The file hub works great and I can hook to it via WiFi and using an App on the iPad I can access my files. This system I have tested and seems to work very well to edit and post to the internet.

So that’s my workflow and how I manage my files while traveling. Carrying a laptop and charger, mouse and all of that is quite a lot just to backup files especially if the laptop is your main computer. If something happened to it on the road what would you do? I also use my iPad for many other things also like maps, gps, etc…  and its a cellular/WiFi so connectivity is pretty good when on the go.  The iPad mini is also smaller than a normal iPad and can fit in any bag.  The file hub is about the size of a deck of cards so the footprint of this setup is much smaller than the 13 inch MacBook Air I have used in the past.  This system gives me two copy’s of my photo’s and videos and when I get home I can import them into Lightroom or any other software I may use.  When they make it on my main computer then they are backed up to the cloud via Backblaze. So as you see I like multiple copies of my files.

I have tried many systems from WiFi SSD drives that worked but clunky to an Android tablet that didn’t work at all.  My main goal is to be mobile and still do all the things I want to do on the road. If you think about it I really don’t need the iPad I could do everything with my phone but not as easily. My eyes aren’t the same as they used to be so the iPad mini works for now .  I may have to go to a regular size one in the future! LOL The iPencil works well as a editing tool and works well as a mouse too.  

This system might not work for everyone you might want your laptop but for me the ease of being more mobile and versatile is what matters the most.  Hope this helps and gives some tips for a better travel experience on photography trips.  So until next week keep shooting and get outside!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backup blog editing gear learning Max Stansell Photography nimble photography Ravpower Scandisk sd cards SSD travel Tutorial website WiFi https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/my-mobile-workflow-revised Fri, 08 Apr 2022 09:52:46 GMT
For Travel Backup SD cards without a Computer! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/for-travel-backup-sd-cards-without-a-computer Hey Everyone! Today I'm talking about a topic that I've been trying to perfect for the last couple of years.  Backing up my SD cards without using a computer. Why you ask? Well when traveling especially if I'm only going for a few days up to a week or so I would like to do so without my computer.  It seems the only thing I use my computer for is backing up my SD cards to an external hard drive. Especially if your Laptop is your main computer what would you do if it got stolen or damaged? I've got a large trip for me coming up in a couple of months that I am going to be so busy traveling and taking photo's and video that I won't have time to do anything but photograph eat and sleep.  Most of my trips are like this .  Go,Go,Go!  I want to see and photograph all I can and then edit when I get home.  Taking a bulky computer with me just to backup an SD card seems like a waste of time , space and weight.  So for the last couple of years I have tried different things but always come back to using my computer.  The first thing I tried was a small Windows based tablet.  I could get my cards backed up but the tablet was so weak that it couldn't do anything else except browse the web.  So I quit using it.  I tried a wireless SSD that I could plug my card into and it would backup my card and I could access my files via WIFI.  This worked but was very slow and costly.  The unit cost a few hundred dollars and it was clunky.  This year I'm going to try something new. Actually two things.  The first is that since I have been trying this ,IOS (Apple devices) have come up with a filing system.  So I can plug in a hub via lightning port and copy files from SD Card to SSD drive. The other is a small file sharing hub/server that you can transfer SD card to SSD drive without having the IOS device plugged in.  It copies everything off of the SD card into a Time Stamped folder on the SSD,  Then you can access the hub via your IOS device and edit photo's with your iPhone or iPad.  These two methods are the ones I'm going to use on my upcoming trip. Then I can choose a photo to edit if I want to to put on Social media while I'm gone using my iPad or iPhone and LightRoom the mobile version. Let me explain how I plan to employ these two methods.  

First Method.  Using iPad/IOS filing system to transfer info from SD to SSD.  First you will need a hub that contains a SD card slot and a USB slot or USB C slot so you can connect a SSD drive to your hub and plug in the SD card at the same time.  The hub I purchased from Amazon has both of these slots and some more micro SD , HDMI, and another USB slot.  It has a lightning connector because my phone I use and my iPad both use the same slot.  I have an iPad Mini 5 and a iPhone SE 2021 version.  I could uses either of these to do the transfer process.  Its real simple you connect everything to the hub ( SD card and SSD drive) and hook the hub to the IOS device.  Then you go to the file app on phone or iPad and the different drives will be shown.  You can go to the SD card and find the file that has your photos in it and copy that file.  Then you can go to the SSD drive and either copy directly to the drive or create a file and name it with the date and paste the file you copied to the SSD drive.  I did a test run last night with a SD card that had 92 raw files from my Sony A6500 and it took about 3 min.  One thing to note is that when you first hook up your hub it might take a min or so for the devices to populate depending on size.  I hooked up this 64 gig card and it populated pretty fast but a 1 TB Drive took a few min to populate.  I think the iPad was scanning the disk and it just took a while to get through the 1TB.  But after they populated it was easy to backup the SD card.  Now I shoot one card per day.  So my original SD card is one copy and the copy I put on the SSD drive is the second copy.  One copy will go on checked baggage and the other will go with me on the plane when I go home.  I put a fresh newly formatted card in my camera for the next day.  SD cards are fairly cheep and I can use one or two per day and fresh ones on the next day.

The next option is the RAV Power File Hub wireless travel Router. There are Four things you can do with this device. (1st) its is a backup battery source.(not a large one at 6700mah battery) (2nd )it can act as a wireless router from a wired ethernet cable or (3rd) it can be hooked up to wireless intent say at a hotel and be a secure WIFI with another layer of security. You don't have to subscribe to some sort of VPN service. With this device you can do many things but the main thing I want to do with it is (4th) backup my SD cards.  To use you simply Plug in your SD card and your SSD drive hold in the transfer button for 5 seconds and the device will copy everything off of your SD card to your External Drive into a Time Stamped File.  You can then access your files via WIFI and edit them on your device.  This is pretty cool .  The very cool part is that its only 60 bucks.  There are fancier devices that can do this but they can cost up to 800 dollars for a 1TB drive one that they don't even make anymore.   The draw backs are that transfer times of data are not as fast as a laptop.  But it's not terrible. Maybe only a minute or two longer from SD to SSD.  But you can choose what hard drive you want to go to by hooking up any drive you have to it. So it's versatile . The size of this device is small at 4.4 X 3 X .9 inches weighing only 7 ounces. 

I will be taking both of these devices with me on my trip. That way I will have a backup if something goes wrong with one of the devices.  But they are so small compared to Laptop and charging cord. This system of backing up my files and being to access them wirelessly to edit one or two while I travel should work great. I am testing as we speak but you never know until you use it in the field for the first time. I will let you know how it goes. So until next week Get out and shoot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Cards file app File hub Files IOS iPad learning max stansell photography Photography RavPower SD SSD website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/4/for-travel-backup-sd-cards-without-a-computer Fri, 01 Apr 2022 08:28:46 GMT
What's in your Camera bag? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/whats-in-your-camera-bag Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a good week.  This week I want to talk about what you have in your camera bag.  That's right your camera bag not mine.  This will be a guideline on what I think you should have in your camera bag. Of course this is very personal.  Everybody's needs are different.  I think that you should pack what is needed and not what is not.  Being lightweight and nimble is a key to great photography.  No matter if your a street photographer landscape wildlife or whatever.  It is said in backpacking that you pack your fears. Which means you pack a lot of "what ifs?" What if I get thirsty, More water, what if I get hungry more food. You get the idea.  All of these what if's is what makes a pack heavy.  The same goes with your camera bag.  If you take everything you own you will have a miserable time being a pack mule lugging all of your equipment around.  Being economic in what you bring will enhance the photography experience.  And we all want that.  Part of this is knowing what to take and this comes with experience.  I have 40 years of caring around a camera bag and I'm still figuring out what to bring and what to leave home but I have come to a conclusion Less is more! Sometimes One lens and one body is all you really need. ( I do like a one lens challenge.)  Especially as I get older I don't want to be a pack mule.  So here goes a few rules and some hints on what to bring in no particular order.

1. Plan you trip. Try to learn what you are going to be taking photo's of.  If your going to a museum you don't need a 500mm lens and if your _MSP6316_MSP6316 going to shoot birds in flight you don't need a super wide lens.  Bring what you need and remember the less the better.

2. Bring a bag just large enough to carry what you need.  I have found with backpacking the larger bag you bring you must fill that sucker up with things you don't need.  So if your going to do street photography you don't need a 50 liter backpack .  Your only going to carry a body and a couple of lenses so bring a small shoulder bag or a large purse to carry your extra lenses.  You will be happier with the light weight and the mobility that this serves.  I pick and choose what bag I use on the outing that I'm going on.

3. Pretty obvious from the statements before take a Camera body and the lenses you will need.  If your not going to need it take it out of your bag.  If your not going to need that macro or Large Telephoto take it out of your bag.  If your not going to do long exposure take out that remote shutter don't tote that tripod if your not going to use it.

4.  Tripods?  Are you going to need it take it.  If not don't.  A light weight carbon fiber tripod can be good to have.  I have one but I don't tote it all the time only if I think I'm going to need it.  I usually use a tripod if I'm shooting sunrise or sunset or waterfalls or maybe even macro but during the middle of the day I don't need it and I don't tote it.  If your driving keep it in the car.

5.  Flash and lighting  equipment.  Like the tripod if you need it bring it if not leave it home.  If I'm doing street photography or landscape and I won't need a flash I don't bring it.  But if I'm shooting a wedding or event where a flash is needed I might bring two.  Planning is the key.  I used to tote one all of the time and never used it so it has to be a special occasion for me to bring mine. I do carry a small LED light to help with dark spaces and I carry a Headlamp that comes in handy.

6.Non Photography Accessories.  These are personal but remember less is more.  I have a little first aid kit that I bring it has stuff like bug repellent, sun block, band aide, glass cleaner.  These are some of the things I bring but medication could be another.  Small amounts you are not going on a week trip only usually only for a couple of hours.  I have small one use pouches that I take not full tubes or bottles.

7.Batteries.  Well we need batteries but if your like me I have a lot .  I only take enough for the day.  I also take a 10000 mha external battery pack to charge my phone and camera battery in a pinch.  The extra battery pack is on the heavy side but one I like to take with me.  I'm sure it's a option that many wont use . 

8. Cleaning clothes. Small microfiber cloths are cheap I have them in every divided section of my bag.

As you can see there are many things we can do to save weight and volume in your bag.  Remember only bring what you'll need not everything you own.  Be lightweight and nimble when you shoot.  Get outside and shoot! With a lighter pack.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera bags camera body gear hiking landscape Lenses Lightweight. Max Stansell Photography Nimble street street Photography website wildlife photography workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/whats-in-your-camera-bag Fri, 18 Mar 2022 09:00:00 GMT
Trip to New Jersey https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/trip-to-new-jersey Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well today. This week I want to talk about a trip I took with a photography explorer friend of mine Robert to New Jersey.  Yep New Jersey.  I was basically just a wingman on this trip he did all of the planning and I can't take any credit for it.  And I was like you New Jersey? But he had some family and friends that we would stay with while on our trip.  This trip ended up being almost 1000 miles round trip which would be a good condensed version of a trip we have planned for later this spring. Our trip took on a Nautical theme by accident or maybe not by accident my exploring partner Robert was a former Navy man.  So here's a day by day account of our trip.

Day 1- We left from home on Friday afternoon and headed to our first stop in Norfolk VA. We were in a hotel only a few miles from the Naval Station and we went onto the base and looked at the ships docked at the pier.  My formal Navy partner thought it would be a good idea to photograph Naval War Ships at night I wasn't too sure.  I snapped a couple of shots before the Shore Patrol informed us that it wasn't Okay.  We left and went downtown Norfolk to get our bearings and maybe some nighttime shots. After a little while we went back to the hotel.

Day 2- The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and went downtown to do some street photography. We decided to go to the Naval Museum which has the USS Wisconsin a WWII class Battleship that was used until 1991. We took some shots downtown until the Museum opened and when we went in we had the whole place to ourselves. We got lots of photo's of the battle ship.  We then headed to Delaware to stay with some Friends of Robert. We had a great meal at there house and took some Family portraits.  They were great hosts.

Day 3- This day was a cold morning start with temps in the 20's. We had an early start because we had to catch a ferry that would take us from Delaware to New Jersey .  The Ferry ride was fun and it was very windy and the water was a little choppy but we make it fine.  Then it was up the Jersey turnpike until we arrived at Roberts uncle's house in Ocean Grove NJ.  We went on a walking tour of Asbury Park which was the stomping grounds of the likes of Bon Jovi and Bruce  Springsteen.  It was very nice but cold! We had a delightful dinner.

Day 4- This was our day to travel home.  We headed out early so we wouldn't get back too late. This was going to be a almost 8 hour drive. We decided to break the drive in two and stopped in Washington DC at the Iwo Jima memorial or the (USMC Memorial) and stayed for a while taking photo's.  It was a nice break and I haven't been to this monument before.  We kept on driving out of DC until we arrived at home.

All in all it was a lot better trip than I thought it would be and of course we had lots of laughs and fun.  I think everyone should have a photo nut to go on outings with.  It can be fun and you learn a lot of photography on the side. So until Next week Have fun and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Ashbury Park blog DC Iwo Jima landscape learning Max Stansell Photography New Jersey Norfolk VA Photography Washington DC website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/trip-to-new-jersey Fri, 18 Mar 2022 07:21:02 GMT
Trip Planning https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/trip-planning Hey Everyone! This week is about trip planning!  I am currently in quarantine due to Covid symptoms so I have plenty of time to plan.  Don't worry I'm feeling fine just have to take a test today and I should be cleared.  But while I was at home I had plenty of time to plan for an epic photography trip ( to me anyway) out west to Utah.  There are a lot of decisions to make when planning your trip.  First when are you going?  What is the main objective for the trip?  How will you get there?  Where will you stay?  Transportation? Permits?  So many questions.  My first suggestion is to start early!  We are 4 months out of our trip and I think this is almost too late.  The earlier the better. I am making an itinerary that I know we will not be able to follow to the letter but it is a good guide line to our trip.  I know that we must be flexible when we are on our trip and some of the best photographs will come from this.   But I like to know things especially where I'm sleeping.

When are you going?  This is a big decision.  We had to make plans that would not interfere with work or family things.  All of our other decisions will depend on these dates.  Weather is another decision to consider will it be too cold or hot when you go.  Will school be in session?  The crowds will be less if school is in session. So after this time frame has been set then you can start all of the other planning.

What is the main objective of this trip?  Is it photography like ours is.  We are taking a road trip of sorts in the west where photography and hiking is the main purpose. Getting to see something that I have never seen before and a pre curser to when I retire I would like to travel and see the west more being from the east coast.

How will you get there?  If its not too far a way a car might be your best bet.  Or even a train oh how I like a train to travel.  But for us going to Utah a plane is our choice.  Its cheap (especially with the price of gas) and  its quick.  Quick is really a big deal.  The less time you take traveling the more time you'll have on your adventures.  For our trip we will be flying into Las Vegas NV. and leaving from Albuquerque NM.

Where will you stay?  Another hard choice.  Can you stay in one spot and take day trips to everywhere?  Thats a great choice.  This won't work for us as we are taking over a 1000 mile road trip.  We will be staying at 4 strategic locations.  Being that these places are such a popular places booking in advance is a must! Share a room if you can to cut cost!  A 200 dollar a night room sounds expensive but if you have two paying its not as bad.  Remember that you will be just sleeping and showering there if you're like us.  We will be exploring all day so you don't have to get a lavish place to stay.  Simple and Clean is what you want.  These can be Air B&B type places or hotels.  We went the hotel route just for simplicity and location.  For where we were going it was the right choice but in other situations Air B&B might be right one.

Transportation?  How will you get from point A to B?  Some trips I have use public transportation like the subway or trains.  For this trip its a car .  We will be traveling over 1000 miles in remote places so we will need transportation to get there.  So we have to rent a car.  What type?  Economy car will be small and not as comfortable as a larger one but it will be less expensive and take less gas to operate.  Terrain also makes a difference if you are going off road you might need something with clearance that a small car wouldn't do. Then there is where you pick it up from and drop it off at.  We will be doing the Airports that we use.

Permits?  If you are traveling to National Parks as we are you might need permits for things you do.  Don't wait till the last minute or you might be too late. One of the hikes that we want to do you have to have a permit to do it with and to get one you have to enter a lottery.  If you wait too long you might miss the time to get permits.  We will also need a car permit for a small National Park to keep it from over crowding.  These are things that you must think of in advance.

As you can see there is a lot that goes into planning a trip whether it is a short over the weekend trip or a long trip that can last a week or more.  I used apps like Expedia and Hotels.com to help me with reservations. I used Recreation.gov to secure permits.  Plan ahead and be flexible when you get there and you are assured to have a great time on your trip.  Explore and plan for your next Adventure!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography paying for it permits Photography transportation travel trip trip planning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/trip-planning Fri, 11 Mar 2022 09:26:57 GMT
Roadside Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/3/roadside-photography Hey Everyone! I hope that you are doing well and are healthy today.  This weeks topic is Roadside Photography.  What is Roadside Photography? Well its pretty simple your driving and see something you pull off of the road and take a photo.  Sounds pretty simple.  As a landscape and travel photographer most of my photography is just on the side of the road.  You don't have to be the big explorer to get great landscape or travel photo's.  You don't have to trudge through the woods or forest for miles to get that great landscape composition.  Although it is a great way to get something unique.  I would say that 90% of all of my photo's are taken a 5 min. walk from the roadside.  If you go to National Parks most of the most iconic scenes are right beside the road on some sort of overlook or pullout just so you can get that photo.  Sometimes these shots are just 5 min. from your house.  Let me give you some helpful hints on how to get Blue Ridge TreeBlue Ridge Tree some great Roadside Photography shots.

-Stop the car.  One of the biggest mistakes is just not to stop for that photo.  In my experience not stopping for whatever reason is the biggest mistake you can make.  If I see something that I think will be a great photo and I pass it maybe I saw it at the last min. I will immediately do a U-turn and go back.  I don't know how many times I have seen something and I say to myself I'll come back to that later.  And I never do. Or if I do come back its not the same , the light has changed or something just isn't right.  So first tip is Neuse River CloudsNeuse River Clouds to stop the car.

-Add Time to your trip for photography.  This kind of goes hand in hand with the tip stop the car.  If you are in a hurry to go somewhere you will more than likely not stop you will pass by a great shot because you don't want to be late for something.  If you know your going to be on a scenic highway like the Blue Ridge Parkway plan extra time into your trip because you know you want to pull over and take some photographs.

-Keep Camera Gear Handy and Ready.  This tip can be useful in many photography situations.  But in Cades Cove TreeCades Cove Tree Roadside Photography it is extra handy.  You want your gear at the ready to take that photography.  I usually have my camera and lenses combo's ready to go and set up.  So if I see a deer on the side of the road I don't have to fumble for camera gear and lens they are already set up and I can grab them.  If I have two bodies with me I will have a long and a wide lens set up so I can grab what is needed for the shot.  This also includes having filters and tripod ready.  You might not know when a waterfall might pop up.

Lake Wackena Sunrise HDRLake Wackena Sunrise HDR -Plan and Prepare.  If your going on a planned trip to a park do some research. Maybe there is a scenic road that you can take to your destination.  Get on the Google Machine and see what photo's others have taken on the trip you're going on.  I'm planning a trip right now and that's what I'm doing to get ready for that trip.

The whole point of this blog is to let you know that you don't have to be a world class explorer to get great landscape and travel photography photo's .  Most of them are just a drive away.  So get out and do some roadside exploring and get some great photo's just a few feet from your car. And get outside and shoot!

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How Things Change But One Thing Stays the Same https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/how-things-change-but-one-thing-stays-the-same Price LandingPrice Landing Hey Everyone! Hope today finds you well and safe.  Today is another soap box day.  Just an old guy griping about days gone by.  I know, I know you've heard it before.  But here we go.  Things are much different now than they were for my Father or Grandfather.  We are overwhelmed with information.  We get it from our big screen TV's, Computers, Laptops, Tablets and phones.  Information coming from everywhere.  The news is not news anymore now it what you choose to listen or believe.  We pick our own news depending on how our beliefs are.  If your on the Right side of politics you watch Fox News if your on the Left of things you watch CNN.   And who knows what is in between. Life was much easier when you only had 3 channels to pick from and they all had the same stories. When Richard Nixon got in trouble everyone agreed.  It didn't matter what side of the isle you were on. But not now a days?  And don't worry I'm not going to get political.  I'm more worried about the system we have now not the _MSP2011_Luminar2018-edit_MSP2011_Luminar2018-edit politicians.  New papers and most magazines are gone.  The print news is a thing of the past. The internet has taken over most print things from books, to Newspapers.  Applications like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter shape the way we think.  Because we are still used to believing what we read or what we see in the news we think its real. And its not.  What we read on the internet and what we see on the news is formed and shaped by the Sponsors of the shows or the show's audience.  And don't get me wrong I am as addicted to screens and the internet as much as anyone.  My job keeps me in a laptop all day.  Right now I have six screens with in arms reach. There seems to be no time that I don't have a screen with me.  And of course the same story that my dad would talk about is how much things cost.  And Sunrise KayakSunrise Kayak of course the prices do go up and never come down.  That's just life.  Things are just expensive.  I could go on and on about things that I don't like but you get the idea.  But one thing has stayed the same from when I started playing around with camera's.

When I'm out and about taking photo's everything shuts off.  I get tunnel vision and all of my worries and things that were bothering me go away.  I just look for photo's and concentrate on what I'm doing and of course it has a screen on it. LOL  But when I'm doing a sunset and I get there just in time for blue hour and wait for the sun to come up I am so relaxed.  The same can be said for sunsets and waterfalls I just get wrapped up in the moment.  I don't think too much about settings just enough to get it right in camera.  I try out new techniques like focus stacking and that has me consumed.  That's why I love photography so much I get lost in it.  Of course I love the gear and I do have GAS. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome.)  But I love learning new things that might make my photography better.  Be it from a new noise removing app to a new version of Lightroom.  Photography excites me like no other hobby has.  I have had many and just should have stayed with photography.  I have done everything from Bass Fishing including having a Bass Boat. Skeet shooting to include reloading my own shotgun shells.  To playing golf where I had my handicap down to a 4 at one point.  But nothing gives Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash me the peace that photography has.  I have tried all sorts of photography from Wedding , Portraits , Street , Landscape, Astro, to Travel.  The ones I keep going back too are Landscape , Street, Travel. I do like to take portraits of my family and friends.  (Mainly because I can play with strobes) LOL  So when I'm out on a trail or by a waterfall I am in my own little world of photography.  If I'm walking down the street I'm looking for angles and shots that will be interesting.  I'm thinking about anything but screens, news and all of the injustices there are in the world because I'm in my little world. Even when I'm not doing photography I think about it but its nothing like doing it.  I have gone from old manual 35mm film cameras to the mirrorless age of photography and everything in between.  I have even dabbled in video. 

Well I'm going to jump off of my Soap Box and say how much I love to get lost in Photography. So until next week get outside and get lost too!

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(Max Stansell Photography) away blog from get landscape learning Max Stansell Photography media out Photography Relax screens website workshops zoning https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/how-things-change-but-one-thing-stays-the-same Fri, 25 Feb 2022 08:48:12 GMT
Shoot with Purpose! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/shoot-with-purpose Mountain StreamMountain Stream Hey Everyone! Hope you're having a great day! This week I want to talk about how you shoot.  When you either go out on a photo walk or have a planned shoot of some kind whether it be a portrait shoot or a travel destination.  Remember when we first got into photography and we saved up for that camera that was going to do it all for us.  It was shiny and new and all of the pro's were using it and if I use it I will shoot like a pro?  Then remember going out and shooting everything.  Hey look a bird, snap, Hey look a tree, snap.  Hey look a pretty girl, snap.  Then you got home and put these photo's on your big screen and noticed that the photo's were just as bad as they were with your cheep camera.  There is a reason for that. You can buy the best hammer but that doesn't make you a great carpenter.  It just makes you a guy with a great hammer.  The difference between great photographers and us mere mortals is preparation.  These "professional" photographers all do one thing better than we do and that is shoot with a purpose.  When they leave the house they already know what type of photograph that they want to get what it will look like.  In their minds eye they know what the light is going to be where the sun in coming from.  They know what look they want from a Linville RiverLinville RiverLooking down from Chimney outlook. model.  They have done the research.  They have google mapped the area and looked at simular photo's of what they will shoot.  Or they have looked at thousands of photo's of models .  Or they have got direction from who they are working for on what they want.  They Shoot with Purpose!  Think about some of your best photo's you have taken.  If your like me they were after doing some research maybe looking or googling the place you are visiting.

20170107_Brownie Memories_013-Edit20170107_Brownie Memories_013-Edit The thing is you don't have to have the final photo in your minds eye either.  Lets say your going on a photo walk of a town that you have photographed before.  You know the area and in the back of your mind you already have the shot that you want to get.  While your on that quest you may even see something else that you like better.  And get a great shot.  But you still left the house with a purpose.  It could be something as small as only using one lens. Or trying out some new technique like focus stacking or shooting in brackets to merge into Dynamic Range Photo. Maybe the subject is your purpose.  Maybe your only going out to shoot barns, waterfalls or street portraits.  But your going with a purpose. I have shot the little town I live in maybe 50 or more times but I always find something new and interesting to shoot and its usually when I go out on some mission.  I'm trying out a new body or lens and I'm looking for interesting angles and views I don't usually see.  Maybe I go out t shoot long exposures at night and catch the tail lights of cars making interesting Fayetteville Station Bridge (Old)Fayetteville Station Bridge (Old)The old Bridge at New River Gorge National Park. patterns as I shoot.  But I always come home with something interesting. Not only will this improve your photography shots it will improve your skills as a photographer.  Shooting with purpose will make you more focused and take all of the confusion of everything around you and you can concentrate more on what ever purpose you have chosen to shoot that day.  When I go on workshops with my photography club I don't just blindly follow the crowd.  I usually have researched what photo's were taken at a particular spot or techniques we are using that day. If I am using new equipment like say a flash I get it out of the box before I get there and play with it learn how it works how it syncs to my camera, how to adjust it .  I do this all before I get to the workshop so I can concentrate on the workshop.  Say it was a one light portrait.  I don't have to fumble around with my equipment because I already know how to use and I can concentrate on the purpose. Creating a good portrait with one light.

Shooting with a purpose will separate you from the folks with a nice camera to a photographer who has a goal.  The photographer with a goal or Purpose will always have the better shot.  So until next week get outside and shoot! With a Purpose. LOL

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What Plug-ins I use in Lightroom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/what-plug-ins-i-use-in-lightroom _DSC4702_DSC4702 Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing fantastic today.  This week I want to talk about plug-in's and what I use with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop.  First of all, what are plug-ins?  For our purposes, a plug-in is a separate program that works in conjunction with Lightroom or Photoshop. Usually they do a specific job, like color enhancement.  There have been many plug-ins in the past that, as Photoshop and Lightroom have gotten better, make the plug-in obsolete.  For example, HDR.  I used to have a couple of HDR plug-ins before Lightroom could do an HDR, and now that Lightroom has that capability, the plug-in is no longer needed.  So I use plug-ins for things that Lightroom Classic doesn't do very well.  

Working with plug-ins from Lightroom Classic is very easy.  You right-click and go to "Edit In" and then go to the plug-in that you want to use.  You can also go to Photoshop from here also.  When you finish your edits in whatever plug-in you are using, when you save the photo or a copy of the photo, it comes up in Lightroom.  This is called Round Tripping.  It's very easy to do, and this is how I access my plug-ins.

ON1 No Noise AI.  ON1 No Noise AI intelligently removes all the image noise while intelligently recovering and enhancing the details. Even Arrows and blocksArrows and blocksArrows and blocks. Correlation of the parts. Relations. though we have great cameras now with low-light capabilities and being able to shoot at high ISOs, noise can still creep in, especially if you're using a higher megapixel camera and really crop in. You're going to get noise.  Now Lightroom Classic does have a noise reduction feature in it, and I haven't really had much luck with it.  A couple of weeks ago a member of my camera club told me about this plug-in and how it was rated #1 of all the noise reduction plug-ins, and it was on sale!  So I went ahead and bought it on the spot.  I haven't used it much on newer photos, but I have played with it in older photos that I had a lot of noise in, and it on1-no-noise-ai Logoon1-no-noise-ai LogoON1 NoNoise AI worked really good.  I think the regular price is around $70 and well worth it if it can make my shots look better.

Topaz Sharpen AI.  This is another new plug-in for me, and I caught it on sale also.  It also runs about $70.  I have lots of photos that need this, especially ones that were shot with cheaper lenses that weren't as sharp as I would like them to be.  There are all kinds of adjustments you can make with this plug-in, and it also has a masking feature that lets you mask the main subject.  That way your whole photo doesn't get sharp, just your main subject.  Nailing focus on moving subjects or in low light is sometimes hard to do even with modern cameras.  Its nice to know that I can go in and fix the focus with this plug-in.

Other plug-in's I have used that I really liked were Silver Effects Pro. This is a black-and-white program that really gives pop to your monochrome photos.  This company has changed hands a couple of times, but it is a fantastic plug-in if you can get your hands on it.  I did use Luminar 4 at the time, mainly for sky replacements. But now there is a sky replacement feature in Photoshop that I like, so I don't use Luminar anymore.  It has been updated a few time since I've used it, so it's probably a pretty good one to try.  Nik Tools has an array of plug-ins that have been great in the past.  They are a whole suite of tools from the Silver Effects Pro to all kinds of tools.  They have been bought and sold a couple of times and are owned by DXO, I believe, now.  

Plug-ins are a special way to put your touch on a photograph that maybe someone that is not using them can't.  They are a great way to improve your art and keep your creativity going.  So until next time, be creative and get out and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Collection landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Nik No Noise ON1 Photography Plugin Sharpen Topaz website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/what-plug-ins-i-use-in-lightroom Fri, 11 Feb 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Using Old Tools with New Cameras https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/using-old-tools-with-new-cameras Bell & Howell /CannonBell & Howell /CannonHere is the new addition to my film cameras . 1961 Canon Canonet 19. Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing great today! This week I want to talk about old camera tools that still work today with our newer cameras that have all the technical advantages.  These two tools will help you get your settings right quickly and focus quicker.  These tools were made many years ago, almost 100 years.  The first tool or rule was invented by the Kodak company.  When they first started making consumer cameras, they wanted the everyday man to be able to use the camera without fumbling with settings on the camera. They spent millions of dollars back then on research to figure out this rule.  It's called the "Sunny 16" rule.  It tells you what settings to set your camera on when it's sunny or when it's cloudy, and it works! All of the time it works!  The rule states if it's sunny outside, you set your f stop to f16.  You then set your shutter speed to the same number as your ISO.  So if it's a sunny day and you set your camera to f16 and have an ISO of 400 and set your shutter to 400, your exposure will be correct.  So how does this old rule help you?  If you are in a hurry to shoot something and you're shooting in manual, you can set your camera to the sunny 16 rule and, bang, exposure is set, no thinking.  Then you could adjust from there. If you're riding in a car and come up on some elk, if your _MSP9733_MSP9733 camera is already set, all you have to do is focus and shoot.  There are some rules for when it's slightly overcast: use F11; heavy overcast: F5.6; shadow: f4.  Everything else stays the same.  So you could see back in the day that this was very useful, especially if you didn't have a light meter, which most people didn't.  When else?  How about shooting the moon.  Nothing is more frustrating than trying to shoot the full moon and your shot is overexposed and you can't see any detail on the moon.  But if you use the sunny 16 rule and remember the moon is just a reflection of the sun, you should have perfect exposure.  Pretty neat for a 100-year-old rule or tool.

The next 100-year-old rule will also help you when focusing.  You say, well I have the newest Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fuji camera, and it focuses super fast. And I would say, yes, it does in good light. But what about poor light?  Say you're shooting a wedding reception or a banquet of some sort, and the lights are turned down.  Your fancy camera (no matter what the make) will hunt and look for something to contrast against and then, depending on your aperture that you probably have set to 2.8, you will have a hard time getting anything in focus.  There is a rule or tool that is called Zone Focusing.  Everyone has seen it used before in photos that are famous by Ansel Adams.   This is where everything in the frame is in focus.  This is well before Photoshop where you can focus stack now and get the same result.  This was done during the time of manual focus lenses.  It deals with two things: depth of field and aperture.  Depth of field is the part of the photograph that is in focus.  Like I mentioned before, you have seen photographs where everything is in focus.  But you have also seen portraits where only the eyes are in focus.  The tip of the nose is out, and the ears and everything else is out of focus.  To do zone focusing, you have to know where that depth of field is. To do that, we must use a depth of field calculator.  They can be found anywhere. Just google "DOF calculator," and you'll get a bunch.  I have one on my phone.  You plug in the focal length of the lens you are using. I picked 35mm the fstop you're using. I picked 8 and it tells you where to set your lens at and then put it in manual. For me it was 5 meters or a little over 15 feet. So if you have an old lens that has all of the markings on it, you could just dial that into 15 feet or 5 meters.  Then everything from 2.5 meters to 162 meters will be in focus. If I don't have an older lens with the markings, I can find something that is about 15ish feet away, focus, and then put the lens in manual and shoot.  Everything 2.5 meters away and beyond will be in focus.  If I needed a fill flash, I could put that on and it would work great.  So if I am on the dance floor at a reception, I just have to make sure that the subject  2.5 meters away.  and shoot, shoot, shoot.  I can do it quickly because my camera will not have to focus.  Now the lens matters also and the size of the sensor.  The depth _MSP9571_MSP9571 of field calculator usually asks for what camera, lens, fstop, and it will tell you the rest. I use the one that comes with PhotoPills App. Changing the aperture will also affect the minimum distance that will be in focus.  A larger fstop number will make the minimum distance closer, and a smaller one will make the minimum distance further.  So I would say, in any event where the light is poor, this will help that big fancy camera take better photos.

So there you are, a couple of old tricks that can help your new camera work better.  So until next week Keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 16 blog Focusing landscape learning light low Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography Pills Sunny website workshops Zone https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/2/using-old-tools-with-new-cameras Fri, 04 Feb 2022 10:00:00 GMT
What Digital Photography Has Given Us https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/what-digital-photography-has-given-us IMG_1114IMG_1114 Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing fine this week.  Today I want to get on a soap box a little and  Reminiscing of film days gone by.  I was listening to a podcast that had a National Geographic photographer with almost 40 years experience as a guest.  I really enjoyed listening to him talk and he brought up some differences between now and then.  As a younger teenager when I started photography I dreamed of being a top photographer working for National Geographic or Look or Life magazines.  How glamorous it looked when you look at the works of famous photographers during the depression taking photo's of life in the US back then just to document it.  How their camera's were mechanical wonder machines with precision workings inside. How the black and white photo's they took were sharp and clear and made time stand still.  But some things I had forgot.  How the film had limits to them and you could only do so much with the low ISO or back then ASA film. Like you could only shoot  1/2 hour before sunrise and 1 1/2 hours after and 1 1/2 hours before sunset and 1/2 hour after.  Everything else was useless grainy shots. Not to mention Night time photography.  If you look back at older issues of National Geographic you'll never see anything shot at night because they couldn't. And how the learning curve for a new photographer to really be able to shoot and produce good prints from film.  Because the learning curve was so long.  Think about it.  You had to Bodie Island MilkywayBodie Island MilkywayMax Stansell Photography shoot your shot ( in manual of course) then you had to develop your film.  Then you had to enlarge it or at least make a contact sheet and then you could see if your photo was ok.  Its not like now you take a photo and look at the back of your camera and say " oh that was over exposed let me make an adjustment"  Then shoot again and see it.  So now the learning curve is much less than it was back then.  According to the guest it would take one or two years before a young photographer would be good enough to trust to take a shot for a publication.  Now it could take only and couple of months to be as the same level as back then because of the short learning curve. What about quality of work?

Neuse MoonNeuse Moon When I look at the national archives photo's from the 20's, through the 60's I am astonished on how good some of these photo's are.  They are crisp and sharp with lush blacks and mid tones.  But then I start to think about it could they stand up to a iPhone 12 today?  The guest of this podcast took some photo's that he had taken in the 70's with a Leica camera and put them up against an iPhone and he said that the iPhone beat the Leica in every way but one that's story telling .   Which is done by the photographer not the camera.  The majority of photographs taken today is with our phones.  We are documenting history and don't even know it because it has become a part of our lives.  We shoot food, our pets, our children, events at church almost every aspect of our daily lives are documented with our phones.  Then we put them on the internet like Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.  When they go on the internet they are there forever.  Just yesterday I was looking for a photo to show a co-worker and I ended up finding it by googling myself and looking at the images on a photo sharing site that I don't even use anymore.  What would we know about our parents if they had iPhones back then?  What would we learn about ourselves that we don't know now because it was something that was lost in time?  Professional photographers in the past had to impress a photo editor of a magazine to get published and make money.  Now a days its "likes" and "followers".  The more you have , the more popular you are ,the more people that look at your post the more valuable you are for companies to get you to talk about their products.  People make a living out of being popular on Instagram alone from sponsorships. 

So what has digital photography done?  It has brought photography to everyone that owns a phone.  Every time you look at a screen , whether its Facebook , Instagram, Amazon, whatever its because of digital photography that its happening.  We all have a powerful tool in our hands every day.  And like in the Spider Man Movie " with power comes great responsibility". Sounds kind of crazy doesn't it.  People use their phones for good every day. From taking a photo of some injustice.  Think about the George Forman incident.  All photographed and documented with phones/digital photography.  Or something as innocent as taking the photo of a lost dog and putting it on Facebook so the owner can find it. Digital photography has changed the way we see the world and the way we live in it. Its debatable whether that is good or bad thing that's for you to decide. But as you see it's pretty powerful if you sit and think about it.

Well that's enough soap boxing for today.  Until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) astro blog composite composition landscape learning Max Stansell Photography media nighttime Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/what-digital-photography-has-given-us Fri, 28 Jan 2022 10:00:00 GMT
New "New Years Tradition" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/new-new-years-tradition Mt Mitchell 2022Mt Mitchell 2022 Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well so far this New Year! Back in 2020, my photo buddy, Robert, and I went to the coast of North Carolina for a photo of the New Year.  We had a great time and it was a great start to the new year that actually turned out great considering that Covid started.  Speaking of Covid, we didn't do anything in 2021 because of it.  So this year we decided to make a go at it again.  So we went from sea level in 2020 to the highest peak east of the Mississippi in 2022. 

Trip Planning: Trip Planning was pretty easy.  We had 3 or 4 ideas on places ranging from Virginia to South Carolina.  Once we decided on the location, my photo partner in crime booked the nearest hotel.  That was pretty much it.  It was a 4-hour drive, and he volunteered to drive. So I really didn't have anything to do but show up. Which is wesome!

31 December 2021: We left about 10:00 in the morning and started the long drive.  The conversation was lively as it always is.  We talked about Mt. Mitchell SunriseMt. Mitchell Sunrise gear, new photo techniques, politics, almost anything.  I don't think there was a minute of silence the whole way there.  We stopped to get gas and made some sandwiches with stuff we brought with us.  We kept heading to the mountains.  Robert's brother in-law was going to meet us at some point.  He has a little Miata that he was driving and wanted to drive the curvy roads of the mountains.  We finally made it to our hotel in Marion, NC, and realized that we were still an hour away from Mount Mitchell.  So we dropped off a bag, got back into Robert's truck, and headed out.  The road up was very curvy and steep in places.  We finally made it onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and after a few tunnels, we were there.  When we got out it was cold, windy, and looked like it was going to rain.  The bags we dropped off at the hotel had our jackets in them.  Yikes!!!  We bundled up the best we could and headed to the top.  This was a short but steep climb, and we finally make it to the observation tower.  We took photos and scoped out where we were going to Sunrise 2022Sunrise 2022Mt Mitchell shoot in the morning.  On the way down, we met Robert's brother in-law and we went back up to the top.  We then all headed out to get us something to eat.  Robert attached a GoPro to the Miata for footage of the trip down the mountain.  We found an excellent Mexican Restaurant in Marion and had a feast.  After that we headed to the hotel to get ready for the New Year's shoot.

1 January 2022: We started early and left the hotel at 5:30. For some reason we thought that sunrise was around 7:00, but it wasn't until almost 7:30.  We figured that the drive would take longer because it was dark, and it was.  We arrived at Mount Mitchell at 6:30 and didn't know if the gates were going to be open.  They normally don't open until 7:00, but they were open so we drove to the top parking lot.  It was 6:30, dark, rainy, and cold. The temp was 39 degrees, and the wind was howling.  We were sitting in the truck and it was shaking in the wind.  And we were the only ones there.  After a while, another car Blue Ridge TreeBlue Ridge Tree and a truck showed up, but it was still dark and windy.  We saw a lone figure heading up with a hoodie pulled over their head, so we decided to get bundled up and head up.  I ventured not to take my tripod because it was so windy it would just get blown around, but Robert brought his.  When we finally made it up to the top, there were 5 or 6 people there watching the sunrise on the new year. The wind was howling and the clouds were streaming by.  The lone figure we saw was a smallish young lady who was standing on a bench with her cell phone being almost blown off the bench at any given time.  It was a pure pleasure to be with these people watching a new year start. There were these big columns that I sat my camera on to steady and it worked out okay.  Robert wedged his tripod through the rungs of the railings and it kept steady.  We oohed and awed at the scene for about 30 minutes.  I turned around and a young man was on one knee proposing to his gal.  It was an honor to be a witness to this at this place and time.  She said yes.  We got some great photos and video and really enjoyed the new New Year's tradition.  On the Boat HouseBoat House way down, we stopped at a couple of places along the way and got some shots.  We stopped by the hotel and, score, they were still serving breakfast, so we sat down and had a big breakfast before heading home.  Our journey home was much like the one there, filled with conversation on many topics.  But the most important topics were the next adventures we have planned.  Some small and one large adventure planned for the future.  We'll talk about these later.  

So until next week, start making more photo traditions and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Blue Carolina landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mitchell Mount Mountains NC new North Parks Parkway Photography Ridge State Tradition website Western workshops years https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/new-new-years-tradition Fri, 21 Jan 2022 10:00:00 GMT
What My Filters Do https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/what-my-filters-do Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well this week. This week's topic came from one of my camera club members that read an earlier post about what filters I use.  She wanted a description of when I use particular filters. So this is for you, Patricia. This is a list of the filters that I have and use, what they do, and when I would use them.  And there are really only 3 types of filters I use.  Polarizer, Neutral Density, and Graduated Neutral Density.  I will list them in order of importance in my opinion. 

Polarizer -  The polarizer is the most important filter of them all in my opinion.  It does what no other filter does, and it can't really be duplicated by Photoshop.  You may have heard it called a circular polarizer also.  It actually comes in two flavors - one is the linear and the other is circular. The circular is the more popular of the two and screws onto the front of your lens.  It has a rotating part that you can turn to increase or decrease the effects of the polarizer.  The linear polarizer is typically a square filter, and you will need some type of holder that attaches to the front of your lens. There are really only two positions.  If it doesn't work, rotate it 90 degrees and it will be working.  Both kinds will block 1 to 2 stops of light that travels through them, so you must make adjustments.  Your camera will automatically do this if you have it in one of the auto modes.

A polarizer does a few things. The first thing it does is increase the saturation of things.  You can make your FiltersFilters blah skies turn bluer than blue. It will also increase the saturation in vegetation making leaves green.  It also knocks the glare and reflection off of things. Looking through a storefront window, if you see yourself in the reflection, using a polarizer will make the reflection disappear.  If you look at water and it's too shiny, when you use a polarizer it will let you see to the bottom of a clear lake.  It's just like wearing polarized sunglasses when you're driving. Not only do they darken, but they knock the glare off of the windshield so you can see clearly.  With a circular polarizer, you can adjust as you like by turning the ring. For best results, the sun should be 90 degrees from where you're pointing. So not behind or in front of you, but to the sides.  This filter is great whenever you shoot around water, say shooting waterfalls.  This is a must-have in any photographer's bag.  Price will vary on the quality of the filter. Generally, you get what you pay for.

The Neutral Density Filter.  These filters are used when you want to darken the scene to either do a long shutter release or you want to open up the aperture of your lens.  This filter is used quite a bit for video work.  But for photography, it's mainly for long shutter release or opening up your aperture to give that great bokeh in broad daylight. Say for example you wanted to take a portrait in bright sunlight but you wanted to use an open aperture of 2.8, which is pretty wide open.  You would have to crank up your shutter speed to the thousands to get it to work if your camera would even get that high.  But when you put on an ND filter which darkens the scene, the wide aperture would let in enough light and you could slow down your shutter speed. I mainly use these filters to show motion.  I can do a long exposure in daylight and still blur a waterfall or have motions of the clouds drift across the sky giving a cool effect. These filters come in different strengths.  They are measured in stops of light.  Usually 3,6,8,10.  You can double up and have a 6 and a 3 together to make a 9.   Or a 3 stop and a polarizer to give a 4 or 5 stop light reduction. This is the combo that I usually use for waterfalls.  These filters can come in either square or circular filters.  For the square ones, you will need a holder of some sort to attach to the front of your lens.  The circular ones just screw onto the front of your lens, so you need to know your filter thread size. (usually found on the front of your lens)

Graduated Neutral Density Filter.  This filter can be duplicated in Photoshop or Lightroom in post-production, so it is not widely used as when film was king.  This filter is usually a rectangular shape and goes from clear to dark.  Sometimes it's a quick transition, called a hard graduation, and other times it's a slow transition, called a soft graduation.  These filters are used for sunrise and sunset shots mainly, and you can hold them over the bright part of the sky with the dark part of the filter and the light part goes over the land.  The hard grads are used for like at the beach where you have a clear cut horizon line, and the soft ones are for hills or trees  where it is not as clear where the horizon is.  Like I said earlier, these filters are not used as much anymore because you can do the same thing in post-production.  These filters come in different strengths also, like the ND filters and by stops also.  I haven't used one in a while but thought I would share.  These can be handheld for the shot.

Well, there you go, Patricia.  There are the different types of filters I use and when I use them.  Until next week, keep shooting and get outside.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Density Filters Graduated learning Max Stansell Photography ND Neutral Photography Polarizer website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/what-my-filters-do Fri, 14 Jan 2022 10:00:00 GMT
Off Camera Lighting. Settings TTL vs Manual https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/off-camera-lighting-settings-ttl-vs-manual 414BFcFy2sL414BFcFy2sL Hey Everyone!  Hope you had a super week!  This week is a continuation of last weeks blog. Off camera lighting.  If you haven't read that one please go and read.  This week I want to talk about camera and flash settings for Off camera Flash.  This can be kind of tricky so I'll try to keep it simple.  As always when you're in doubt pull out the manual. The first thing you'll have to decide is TTL or Manual metering.  This can be a simple answer if you only have manual strobes.  But if your strobes can do both then you have to figure out which one you want to do. You can't really mix and match its either one or the other and I'll explain why later but first lets talk about TTL.

TTL (Through the lens metering).  When you have the correct strobe set up you may be able to use TTL metering.  This means that the camera meters the scene and then tells the flash how much to flash a little or a lot. This is how TTL works.  When you have your flashes set to TTL and your camera on one of the automatic modes like say Aperture Priority mode.  When you press the shutter button a signal goes from your trigger (mounted on your hot shoe) and it tells the flash to send a pre flash.  The flash pops and the camera reads the signal through the lens and determines the shutter speed and how much flash to use.  Then the trigger sends a signal to the flash to flash with the proper amount of flash.  All of this happens so fast you don't even see the pre-flash only the final one. But the camera has made all of the decisions. This can work great if all of your lights are TTL.  But lets say you only had one TTL flash and you were using it for your main flash.  Your second or third flashes were manual and you had them 41zl9yX4ltL41zl9yX4ltL to trigger optically.  Which means they see a flash and they flash.  So you have everything set up and you go to take a photo and this is what happens.  You only see all of the manual flashes and it looks like your TTL didn't flash at all.  But this is what really happened.  You pressed the shutter your TTL flash sent a pre-flash your other lights saw this and flashed. Your camera saw a lot of light because everything flashed at the same time.  Your camera saw all of this and told your TTL flash to go to minimum power and flashed.  So all of your manual flashes went off but the TTL was so weak that it looks like it didn't.  Confused yet?  The main point here is not to mix TTL and Manual its one or the other.  The main advantage of using TTL is simplicity.   You set them up turn them on and shoot. The disadvantage is cost and may not be as consistent light from frame to frame.

_MSP9577_MSP9577 Manual Metering-  Manual metering is done with an external light meter.  You can read my blog The Scoop on Light Meters and it will explain how they work.  Using manual metering and your camera in Manual and a simple trigger you can set each light individually.  And with a light meter there tends not to be a lot of guessing.  That said I am biased since I learned how to to off camera lighting with a hand held light meter. The advantages in shooting totally manual is cost, and you have full control but there is a learning curve.

Its hard to give precise settings of your equipment because they are all a little different but I will give general guidelines.

Shooting TTL -Camera you can shoot in Automatic or Simi-Auto but I would shoot in manual if possible. ISO I would put at 100-400. If your shooting in one of the Auto modes I would put the flash to be set to high speed sync and TTL.  This way if your shutter speed goes over the maximum sync speed of your camera it will still work. If in Manual mode your shutter cannot be over the high speed sync of your camera.

Shooting Manual- Camera in manual Shutter at maximum sync speed,  ISO 100-400 and aperture set to meter setting and after lights are where you want them.

Trigger Settings- Depending on your trigger if a radio set all lights to same channel and if you can have individual control set the lights to different groups.  This is pretty much dependent on the type of trigger you have.

Well as you can see there can be a lot to learning off camera flash.  But its really not as hard as it seems especially when you get your hands into and figure it out its pretty easy.  You just have to follow the directions of the equipment that you have and you should be ok.  There are lots of good tutorials online and one guy that stands out is Mark Wallace he has lots of tutorials on Adorama TV.

Until Next week Get outside and shoot.  If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment I would love to hear from you!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Manual Max Stansell Photography off camera lighting Photography ttl website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2022/1/off-camera-lighting-settings-ttl-vs-manual Fri, 07 Jan 2022 09:56:18 GMT
Updating Firmware on Everything! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/updating-firmware-on-everything Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is well and healthy today.  This week I want to discuss something I don't think I have talked about in my blog. Firmware.  Back in the film days we really didn't have to worry about firmware because everything was mechanical but now in the electronic and computer age everything seems to have some sort of program in them.  And for some reason there is always an update to be had.  Firmware ( in simple terms) is the program that electronics use to do whatever they do. When you update your firmware you are altering the program that was in the device that your updating. Usually fixing some sort of bug or adding some sort of feature.  Much like Lightroom or Windows updates they correct bugs or improve stuff. In your camera this could mean better focusing or faster focus.  Maybe they add some sort of new software to make your camera like new.  As long as the hardware can handle the upgrade the possibilities are endless.  Some company's put out lots of firmware updates and some do not.  Making sure your camera has the latest and greatest update can make the camera perform like brand new saving you from having to upgrade or buy a new one. If you haven't checked your firmware you should. If you  have never updated the firmware you may tell a big difference in the way that it works.  Installing the firmware is easy and all of the camera companies will have a step by step procedure for you to follow to make sure you have the latest and greatest.  This usually involves installing on your computer some sort of program that when your camera is connected to your computer the program updates the firmware.  On older cameras it was _DSC6277_DSC6277 installing the firmware on a SD card and inserting it into your camera and going through a series of procedures to update the firmware. In any case it's fairly easy to do .

But now a days its not just camera bodies that get the firmware update its also Lenses.  Newer lenses have small computers in them also that can be tweaked to give that lens a sharper focusing and quicker focusing.  So check your lenses especially if they are fairly new.  The firmware updates that you do to them can make them really nice lenses.  If you have a new body that has super fast focusing powers but your lens is still using the old way of focusing a firmware update to that lens could make it perform just like a brand new lens. I just got through checking all of my lenses for the firmware updates and they were all up to date. Its a good feeling to know that all of your equipment is up to date and running as efficient as it can.  I think this should almost be an annual event or even a simi-annual event to check the firmware of all of your electronics.

 What about other types of photography gear?  I just checked on some of my newer flashes and strobes and they can all have a Firmware updates that can be installed.   I am currently shooting Godox and Flashpoint mono lights and they can have firmware updates too.  That's one of my projects for this weekend is to check all of my flashes and see if there are any updates and then update all of the firmware in my lighting systems.  With our camera bodies getting so smart and sophisticated we need all of the supporting equipment to be up to the task. So what else what about GoPro's or any action type camera's.  They definitely  have firmware and need to be to the latest version to get the best performance out of them.   What about drones? I don't personally have one but I bet the firmware update on these devices can be critical to their operation and stability.  Anything to improve communication between the drone and the controller or phone that it's flying it will be a needed update.

So I have rambled on enough about Firmware updates. Please check your camera's and equipment and get on your google machine and see if you have the latest updates installed. If not install them and you may have yourself a new piece of camera equipment in your hands without buying anything.  So until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog family holidays learning lighting Max Stansell Photography Photography portraits prints umbrella website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/updating-firmware-on-everything Fri, 31 Dec 2021 10:11:46 GMT
2021 Help Portrait Recap https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/2021-help-portrait-recap Hey Everyone!  Hope everyone is doing well this week.  This week I want to talk about the way I do community service as a photographer.  As a photographer it seems all about us whether we're taking photo's of Landscapes or Wildlife its what we can get!  As portrait or wedding photographers its how we want it to look our creative vision.  Its always what we can get out of our craft. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing we want what we want.  But just giving! We don't do that too much.  The Help Portrait Project is all about giving! So what is Help Portrait?

Help-Portrait was founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart in 2008While doing some street photography as a personal project he found a homeless person.  He asked if he could take his photo and  he agreed. He told the person that he would bring a print for him.  The person said Okay but really didn't believe it .  When Jeremy came back and gave him the photo he was so happy and appreciated the jester. Jeremy got the Idea of why cant we do this on a larger scale.  So he set up the 1st event in Nashville TN.  The event grew each year and is a world wide event held on the first Saturday of December each year. Help-Portrait is about GIVING the pictures, not taking them. These portraits aren’t for a portfolio, website, or sale. It’s about giving people who otherwise couldn’t afford photography, a chance to capture a moment, a memory…and a whole lot more. Photographers, hairstylists and makeup artists all around the world will find people in need, take their picture, print their picture and then deliver it—free of charge.  Here is a link to the Help Portrait website for more info.  I did get some of my info for this directly from this website. Help Portrait Website Link

My Camera Club has been doing this event for quite a while 8 or 9 years.  It started very slow.  The first year or so we only got a few customers. I think in 2019 we had almost 60 portraits done.  We were on a roll but then came COVID. We had to skip a year.  So when we decided to do it this year we were hopeful that we would get a lot of customers but in reality we really didn't expect much.  The last year we sponsored it  we had three photo stations set up with two editors and printers and we stayed busy all day.  This year we had only two stations but that seemed to be enough. The final count was 22 family's portraits were made.  Not too bad after a year off.  We had to practice social distancing and wearing of mask. After photo's were taken we had the customers wait in their cars if they had them and delivered the Photo to them.  We supplied a 8X10 photo in a photo sleeve and offered an email digital copy also if they had an email address. Overall it was a great day and we got to GIVE back to the community. Next year I hope it is bugger and better than this or any year.

So if you're a member of a camera club and the club is not doing this talk them into to it.  Its a great event and all kinds of jobs for everyone to do.  There are editors  and printers.  Someone to cut and put the photo's in the Sleeve's .  There are of course the Photographers.  Runners take the people through the process from registration to the hair and make up if you have them to the  photographer and to a waiting area.  You may have snacks and food so someone has to take care of that.  The registration has all the forms to fill out from release forms etc... My job most of the time is shooting the event.  I use still photo's, video and time lapse and make a short video of the event to put on our Facebook website.  Here is a link to the video that I created.  2021 Goldsboro Help Portrait Video Link

As you can see there is lots to do and learn.  If you haven't taken many portraits before this is a great place to learn.  Maybe help one of the photographers and have them teach you along the way.  Its a great way to learn especially how the photographer interacts with the customers. So until next week be safe and think about next years Help Portrait.  Get outside and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Area blog Club Community Family GAPC Goldsboro Help hope learning NC Photography Portrait portraits service website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/2021-help-portrait-recap Fri, 24 Dec 2021 09:49:24 GMT
Using Camera's as Tools https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/using-cameras-as-tools Hey Everyone! I hope this week finds you healthy and excited about photography! This and every week I give you my thoughts on photography and the different aspects of it as I see it .  This week will be no different. If you have followed my blogs you have heard me say that photographers get emotional about the equipment they use.  And that is understandable we spend a lot of money and time and effort in the purchase of this equipment. Then we take it to some of our most  memorable places.  So I can see the connect to emotion.  So we try to use one camera for every situation because we just love our camera's.  But I have  approach.  I think of them as tools and try to match the best camera to the specific job its going to do.  I actually have 4 camera systems to do this with .  I know it sounds crazy but just hear me out.

My with me all the time camera. Of course we all have this its my smart phone.  I use the camera on this _MSP9570_MSP9570 mostly for reference photo's.  Maybe I'm out shopping for my wife and I need to know if I'm buying the right thing I'll take a photo of it and send it to her " is this the right thing?". Or maybe I'm working on something and I need the model number instead of writing it down I'll just take a photo of it.  We've all done this.  On occasion I'll take a photo of where I am just so I can share it easily to the web.  But thats pretty much the extent of my first camera the smart phone.

My second season is the camera that goes with me.  When I go to work this camera is in my truck. It travels everywhere I go and it also goes with me when I'm out with my wife and I don't want the camera to be a distraction.  For example my wife and I went to Washington DC a couple of years ago and this is the camera that I took with me.  It is a point and shoot and has a 1 inch sensor much better than a smart phone.  I even have filters that I can put on the lens to polarize it or do a longer exposure.  It can shoot in manual and raw.  Its a Canon G7XII.  Its a great little point and shoot.  It takes great photo's and is easy to use and small. It has a 20MP 1inch  sensor.

My next camera is my newest one. It is used for street, portrait photography.  Things that a shallow depth of field my come in handy.  It is a full frame sensor.  It is a older camera that I bought used but is great for photography.  Its the Sony A7II full frame.  I plan and have been using only primes on this camera to keep the weight and size down.  It does great in low light and a shallow depth of field which works great for street and portrait work where everything in focus can be distracting. This camera is mostly handheld and it has a stabilized sensor that works great. I'm really having a good time with this camera and its working great. It has a 24mp full frame sensor.

My main Camera.  This is the camera that I shoot almost everything else with from Landscape , wildlife to travel photography.  It is a crop sensor camera that has a larger depth of field which is great for landscape photography.  I have three great zoom lenses that I use with this camera  that give me a range from 15mm to 525mm.  It shoots at 11 frames per second and has a image stabilized sensor.  This is what I call my main camera because I use it most of the time.  Its the Sony A6500 crop sensor Camera . I have had this type of camera from when I went mirrorless and love the form factor .  Its small and the lenses are small compared to their big brother the full frame sensor cameras and for landscape and travel they are great!

So there are my 4 cameras (tools) that I use for different jobs. Smart Phone I use for reference type of photo's. My Point and shoot I use when I'm on the go at work and when I don't want photography to be a distraction to our trip.   My full frame camera is my street and portrait camera because of the shallow depth of field it works great and the combo of prime lenses makes this a great kit and fun to use.  My main camera for all of my Landscape, wildlife and travel is my crop sensor camera and its large depth of field makes this work great.  The right tool for the specific job really works for me.  Might not work for you but for me its great. So until next week take lots of photo's with the right camera!     

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(Max Stansell Photography) 1 inch sensor camera's crop sensor full frame gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography point and shoot smart phone website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/using-cameras-as-tools Fri, 17 Dec 2021 10:00:00 GMT
What Lens is best for Street Photography? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/what-lens-is-best-for-street-photography The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. Hey Everybody! I hope this day finds you well and Happy!  Today's subject on what lens is best for street photography is one that I'm struggling with myself.  First I'll start with a disclaimer that I am not a street photographer but very envious of the ones I see on YouTube or have studied. This will just be my thoughts on the subject and I welcome you to comment and give me your thoughts on the subject.  Now all of that said I'd like to let you know my setup.  Normally for all of my landscape and travel photography I use a crop sensor camera and 3 zooms that will take me from 15mm to 525mm relative focal length to full frame.  So why don't I use this set up.  First when I think of street photography I think of dark corners of some city and using bokeh (blurring of the background) to separate a subject from the chaos of a busy street scene.  A crop or small sensor is not best for this I think of a full frame sensor will best suit this.  So I use a full frame camera.  Its an older one that is smallish and lightweight and has sensor stabilization. Stabilization is one of my must in any camera I'm getting older and a steady hand is not always available. LOL. And when I think of Bokeh I think of prime lenses.  These lenses are usually small, lightweight and not as  _MSP2682_MSP2682 intimidating to someone as a large zoom would be. Of course a zoom lens would pretty much solve the problem of what lens for street you could carry a 24-70mm and it would cover the range that you need but to get good bokeh you would need a maximum aperture of 2.8.  A full frame 2.8 lens is large and heavy two things that I don't want to mess with. I think that maximum aperture of 1.8 is the sweet spot for bokeh and not being too heavy of a lens.  You can get larger apertures of 1.4 or even 1.2 but these are very expensive and large and heavy.  So I have a full frame camera and 4 prime lenses to go with it.  I know , I know 4 lenses isn't that heavy? Actually the 4 lenses I have if I decide to carry all of them would be lighter than a 24-70 f2.8 lens would be and I only plan on taking 2 of them at any given time one long and one wide and let my feet make up the distance in-between. So let me take you though the lenses I  have.

24mm f1.8-  This is my widest of the Prime lenses I have.  It is great for tight places where I'm really up close to my subject. I imagine a busy market in some Asian country where your elbow to elbow.  Let's face it I'm probably not going to see this again although I have been there in my younger years in the service. But I recently took this lens to a Eastern MarketEastern MarketEastern Market in Washington DC, A good place to photograph. transportation museum and I ended up using this lens more than any other of my lenses because it gave me perspective of everything in the scene.  It worked out great.

35mm f1.8- This lens is a little tighter and is probably the most popular for street photography.  I think this is great for normal ordinary streets and for street portraits and environmental portraits where you have the subject and what they are doing in the same scene.  This is a fantastic lens and would be a great choice for anyone.

55mm f1.8- This is almost like the 35mm but a little tighter and great for street portraits.  You can never go wrong with a 50ish lens.  35mm and 50mm is considered the normal focal length as how we see as humans.

85mm f1.8 - Probably the least used but really great as a small telephoto length lens it can compress the scene and draw your subject closer to the background.  This lens is the smoothest of my lenses.  When it take photo's its like butter!  Thats the only way I know how to explain it. I really love this lens.

So which lens is the best for street.  Well your not going to like my answer. It depends.  I think it depends on the situation you're in.  And how you see things.  We are all individuals and we see things different.  Maybe you like to look at things wide with everything in the photo or maybe you Isolate subjects and like to see only one thing without any clutter.  I think to truly know what lens to use takes a lot of shooting with different focal lengths , so much that when you see a scene you can see what it would look like without the camera.  You see in 24mm or 35mm or whatever focal length.  Then you minds eye will let you know what lens is best for the situation you're in.  Shooting in Seatle would be different than shooting in New York or Chicago. Or your local city or town.  This is where I'm at at street photography.  Learning how my lenses see the scene and then deciding which ones to take with me.

So there is my answer or at least my thoughts on the subject.  I hope this helps.  So until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Photography Primes street Photography Telephoto website wide angel workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/what-lens-is-best-for-street-photography Fri, 10 Dec 2021 09:15:22 GMT
Filters I Use for Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/filters-i-use-for-photography FiltersFilters Hey Everyone! I hope ya'll are doing fine this week.  This week I'm going to talk about filters and how I use them.  I wrote a blog in 2015 and my setup has changed so I thought I would update it.  Back then I was using a full frame camera and all of the big lenses that go with it and my filters had to match the size. I was using a Lee filter system the 100mm square filters.  And they worked great I liked everything about the system.  But when I switched to mirrorless crop sensor camera's  the filter's were just too big.  I mean the filter kit almost weighed more than my camera did.  I did get adapter rings so I could use the filters but it was pretty silly with the so large filters on front of my camera and the size to carry them was just too much.  So I still have them they just take up a portion of my Pelican camera case I keep all of my stuff in at home. LOL  So there were certain filters I had to have right away and as you may know I think that the polarizer filter is the most important filter in your bag.  So I started getting screw on type filters for my different lenses for this purpose.  They ended up being a mixed match of filters.  I had some B&W to HOYA to all sorts of brands.  So these were Okay for my everyday walk around and polarize something.  But I wanted something more consistent for when I was shooting on a tripod.  Serious work!  For some reason I think its serious when I pull out my tripod.  Anyway, I wanted something that was lightweight,  something that wouldn't break the bank and something that I could have all of the ND filters I needed.  Now do I get screw on or ones like I used to have but smaller? I decided to go with the screw on type for a couple of reasons.  Size is one reason.  With the square ones you need a holder for them and thus this took up more space.  With one holder  you needed adapter rings to fit the holder then to fit your lens filter size for each lens that you had different.  That was more cost for special adapter rings to fit your holder and the lenses you have. So cost and size came into play and one more item came into play. Durability.  The square filters are great but if you get really good ones they are made out of glass and can break.  I had gone through a couple of filters with my Lee set because I dropped them.  Now no filter needs to be dropped but if your around a water fall everything gets a little wet and wet glass is slippery.  I think I have gone through a couple of polarizers in the past because of dropping.  The screw on filters are a little more sturdy.  By no means am I suggesting that you should drop them but they are more shock resistant than that of the square ones.  So Screw ones were the winner.  Now which brand?

Now there are many great filters out there and I don't have the means to buy one of each and try them out.  I had tried a few brands of Lee Filter HolderLee Filter Holder polarizers but that was about the extent of it.  So I did what I always do and went to Youtube to try to find the answer.  I went to all of the big names trying to come up with an answer and the most popular filters among my Youtube hero's were Breakthrough Photography.  So I got a polarizer from them in the largest lens thread size that I had at the time witch was 72mm. I decided that I could get that size and buy inexpensive step down rings (you can get a whole set for 20-30 bucks) and just step down to my smaller lenses.  I slowly accumulated a 3 stop ND filter then I got a 6 stop one and finally a 10 stop ND.  So now I have a set of 4 breakthrough photography filters.  I bought a small case that will hold all 4 of them and the adapter rings I may have.  I keep these in the side pouch of my Shimado Action X camera bag and they are lightweight and out of the way until I need them.

I think filters are a very important part of photography.  It helps spur on the creative juices especially when it comes to long shutter drag photo's. Polarizers can do what nothing can do post processing .  Taking the sheen or reflection off of objects or water so you can see to the bottom of the lake or turn the sky blue.  So what filters do you use?  Until next week get outside and keep shooting.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Breakthrough Density filters landscape learning LEE Max Stansell Photography Neutral Photography polarizer Shutter Slow website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/12/filters-i-use-for-photography Fri, 03 Dec 2021 09:10:49 GMT
Troubleshooting , Its what we do! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/troubleshooting-its-what-we-do Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing great today! This week I wanted to talk about the act of capturing your image. What we do.  And how we adjust to changing conditions. Its called troubleshooting or problem solving.  In real life that's what I do every day.  I go to a site and try to figure out what is happening with the customers system.  It is a constant of my work.  Always troubleshooting.  Finding out what is wrong and trying to find a way to fix it.  Well in photography its the same thing. We look at a scene and have the picture in our minds eye of how it should look.  We bring up our camera and  "snap" we look at the photo or "chimp" and it doesn't look like what was in our minds eye.  Why is that?  Well our camera's just aren't as smart as our minds eye.  No matter how fancy or advanced your camera is and all of the gear you have the first shot is never what your minds eye sees.  So then you have to say to yourself what's not right.  And the troubleshooting begins.  But what I think is the better troubleshooter you are the better photographer you are.  And this like many things will come with time and experience.  And the more you shoot and know your equipment (oops there it is again me talking about knowing your equipment) the better photographer and quality images you will produce.

What makes a good problem solver?  Well that's hard to say.  Do you know how some people are great organizers and some are great with Stupid LightsStupid Lights mechanical things and some people can plan great trips.  I think troubleshooting is one of those things that is a part of your personality.  Maybe not something your born with but something you grow into.  Being able to troubleshoot something you first must know how that something works or in our case is suppose to look like.  Then its just figuring out what is right with it and what is wrong with it.  For example maybe your taking a photo of a dark scene and you have your camera on some automatic setting.  Well your camera is going to try to put the scene at 18% gray witch will brighten up your scene in camera so you would have to be smarter than your camera and make adjustments to make it look like its suppose to.  Maybe you want to take a photo of a person riding a bicycle  with the person in focus and the background blurred .   The first shot you took everything was blurred.  So you figured out that you need to pan with the rider to keep them sharp but let the background blur.  The whole art of photography is troubleshooting.

Editing your photo's.  Editing photo's for the most part is subjective.  What I think is properly exposed may be under exposed to someone else. So you have to compare what you have to what your minds eye sees.  Do I need to brighten up the scene.  Do I need to get rid of some spots.  Do I need to increase this or that to make the photo look like what's in my minds eye.  When your done you should have what you saw in your minds eye.  This is the art part of photography. Taking what is in your minds eye and making it come to life. Just like a painter would.  The painter may look at a scene for hours before picking up a paint brush and start painting what is in his minds eye.  We as photographers can do the same thing looking at a scene and then seeing it in your minds eye of how you saw it.  We take the photo and then get it into editing and the finial product should be what your minds eye saw just like the painter.

Well I hope I have made a little sense about what I think we as photographers always Troubleshoot.  So until next week get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) analyzing blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography troubleshooting Tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/troubleshooting-its-what-we-do Fri, 26 Nov 2021 09:15:53 GMT
Family Portraits over the Holidays https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/family-portraits-over-the-holidays Me and the EvansMe and the Evans Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing great! The holidays are coming up and its a really good time to get your camera out with all the lights and festive activities. But today I want to talk about taking family portraits.  This is the time of year that I like to take family portraits.  Everyone is home and its one of the few times a year when you can get everyone together.  I have a wall in my house that has all of the family in 8X10 headshots that I update every so often.  And they are due! My grandchildren are growing like weeds and other members of the family are aging gracefully. I had to get PC for a second! LOL We're just getting old. Its a great time to take photo's of the older people in your family because you never know when the portrait might be the last one. Taking the portraits and making prints from them are essential.  That way the people that are important to you will live forever not just on a hard drive somewhere.  As all of you Mommy and MeMommy and Me know I am a big supporter of printing although I don't do enough myself and need to get on the ball.  I do make a End of Year book each year and have my best photo's from the year in it.  Thats one way I try to have prints of my photo's although I do need to print my best larger than what's in the book. Well let's talk about portraits.

Making portraits can be as simple as using your cell phone or a point and shoot both can be good options but if your printing larger photo's this might not be the best option.  Of course the photographer in us wants us to break out the gear and really do it right.  If you're like me Evans 1Evans 1 you have practiced on your family so much that they are really tired of having their photo taken and its a struggle to get them in front of the camera especially if you shoot in a style that they don't like.  I am a more traditionalist and like to shoot head shots and small groups.  But the newer run and gun photographers now a days want to be outside and shoot by a tree or a bush and try to make it look natural like a Instagram photo.  Those are nice but when I think of family photo portraits I'm more into the head shot and I like to use my lights and all of the equipment.  But sometimes this can be overwhelming for your family so I try to keep it as simple as possible. I try to use umbrellas instead of soft boxes that and I shoot in TTL instead of manual like I like to shoot in.  I used to set up a back drop , reflectors and all kinds of stuff which is fun for me but in a small house like I have and when you have a house full of people its not as fun to everyone else.

This time of the year we tend to have our house decorated maybe with fall colors or even Christmas decorations if you wait until Christmas to do your portraits. These decorations can be a great backdrop to family shots especially if you can blur them out a little to make them less busy.  I have to hold my wife back every year not to put up the Christmas tree after Halloween.  I personally don't think it should go up until after Thanksgiving. But that's me.  What ever your family does is fine. I use shoot through umbrellas Ava Christmas ChairAva Christmas Chair to soften up the light .  For Single portraits I use one as my main and one as a fill light an for groups I have one on ether side of the group at a 45 degree angle and try to make the light as even as possible.  Be creative as possible and try not to take a lot of the same photo's over and over again your subjects will get board.  Try to make it as fun as you can after you've got your keeper.  Have them make silly faces! Have fun!  If you're doing the shooting at Thanksgiving make sure to make Christmas Card shots.  And don't forget the group shot of the whole family.  Set up your tripod and put a self timer on for 10 seconds get everyone grouped together and do some regular ones and some silly ones to make everyone laugh.  Sometimes those are the best ones.  Have fun and make memories!

So until next week get that camera out and start shooting!  Lots of things happening in your community to shoot during the holidays.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Family family portraits learning Max Stansell Photography memories off camera flash photography portraits printing umbrella website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/family-portraits-over-the-holidays Wed, 24 Nov 2021 23:37:03 GMT
GAPC (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) West Virginia Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/gapc-goldsboro-area-photography-club-west-virginia-trip Spruce Knob WVa.Spruce Knob WVa.The Highest point in West Virginia. Hey Everyone! Hope Everybody is doing great.  This week I wanted to tell you about my photography club's trip we took to West Virginia for a fall colors workshop.  The GAPC (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) is a very active club in North Carolina. We have monthly workshops and monthly meetings. The meetings have been Zoom meetings since the pandemic started, and the workshops are held with safety for social distancing in full force.  We usually hold a week-long trip for fall colors.  Usually, it's to the NC mountains to photograph waterfalls and wildlife.  We have once gone to Washington DC and took the train to get there.  We have previously gone to West Virginia.  Covid killed all our trips in 2020, so when I heard that we were having our annual Fall Colors workshop, it really got me excited.  I was in a photographic funk, and the most I did in photography was this blog.  This year's trip was not a week long.  We only went for five days and four nights, and of course two of the days were really travel days. But we had it jam-packed with things to do as we usually do.  They don't call it a workshop for nothing.  We work!  But we really have a good time doing it.  To me it's almost like old folks summer camp! LOL We have a couple of folks that set up our itinerary and make the arrangements for our lodging.  We usually use some sort of Air B&B house or cabin that will house all of us,  and when you split the cost it's not much per night.  We also split the gas money and any food or drink that we buy for the house.  For example, if the lodging was $1,000 for the week, split up by 10 people that's only $100 for a week of lodging.  So at the end of the week, depending on how many people are going, you might only spend a few hundred dollars on gas and the house, and we usually eat out unless we order in a pizza or something.  Of course we split the house up into boy and girl rooms and bathrooms and try to accommodate everyone's needs. So here goes a day-by-day account of our trip.

New River Gorge BridgeNew River Gorge BridgeNew River Gorge Bridge at Fayetteville Station in New River Gorge National Park. Day 1 - Early start 4:30ish and we drove to Mabry Mill in Virginia, where we took photos of the Mill and had breakfast in the restaurant.  It was very chilly and I may have seen some frost on the ground. The breakfast was awesome, but there was quite a wait.  The next stop was the New River Gorge National Park Visitor Center.  We went to the center and took photos of the bridge.  We tool the road down to the old bridge and around to the other side.  We stopped and took photos at the bridge.  After that we headed to our first house and met a member of our team that was meeting us there.  Our house was in Fayetteville, West Virginia.  It was a nice house with plenty of room for us.  We went to a local bar and grill for supper (I can't remember the name).  Then we headed to Beauty Mountain to take sunset photos.  It's a really nice place for sunset CurvesCurvesShot from Turkey Spur in the New River Gorge National Park. The curves of the Railroad Track the New River and the Clouds caught my eye. photos and kind of off the beaten path, literally on a dirt road.  After that we headed to the house to edit photos and get ready for the next day.

Day 2 - This may have been our busiest day.  First we went to Grand View, which is in the NRG National Park after making a drive through the local McDonald's.  There we waited for the sun to rise over a foggy scene.  There was a little jockeying around for position with other photographers that were there.  After getting our shots there, we went to Turkey Spur, also in the park.  Here you had to climb some stairs to get Sandstone FallsSandstone FallsSandstone Falls located in the New River Gorge National Park in WVa. you pretty high above the New River.  We had some good shots here also.  Next stop was Sandstone Falls and it was about a 30 to 45-minute ride to get there, and it was also part of the National Park.  We spread out and all seemed to get different shots here where we spent a few hours.  Then it was time for lunch.  We went to a local eatery in, I believe, Hinson, West Virginia.  Very good food!  Or either we were just hungry.  Our next stop was to the town of Thurman.  This was another 30 to 45 minute ride back toward our house.  This is a deserted town.  It may have a population of five.  We walked around there for about an hour.  On our way out we stopped at a beautiful waterfall -- I don't even know if it had a name -- and it was a steep climb down but well worth it for the photos we got. We had planned a sunset shot, but by this time we were worn out. Thurman Road FallsThurman Road FallsDon't know the name of the this falls but it was on the road to Thurman which is located in the New River Gorge National Park.  We went back to our house and ordered a pizza from a local pizza place.  May have been the best pizza I ever had or I was just really hungry, but it was good.

Day 3 - This day we were to move out of the house we were in and go to Davis, WV, which is in the northern part of the state.  So we got up early, cleaned up the house, and headed to a biscuit breakfast place where we did another drive through. Really good. I had the breakfast burrito. We then headed to Babcock State Park to take photos of the Glades Creek Mill.  This is a very popular spot.  Two years ago when we Glade Creek MillGlade Creek MillThe Famous Glade Creek Mill in Babcock State Park in WVa. went there wasn't hardly anyone there, but this year after Covid it was packed with folks. Photographers jockeying for position to take the photo. Luckily I had been there before and had some good photos, so I was able to take my time and get the shots I wanted away from the crowd. The colors were wonderful there.  We then went to an overlook and got some great color shots also. We then started our trip north to Davis, and we stoped at Hawks Nest State Park.  They had a great overlook, and we had lunch at a restaurant on site. Our next destination was Dolly Sods. We had visited this spot on our last visit, and it was pretty awesome.  There is a 10-mile dirt road that takes you to the top.  As we got closer the clouds increased and the rain started. The top of the mountain was under clouds, so we decided on the way up to stop and turn Seneca RockSeneca RockCheck out the people on the top of the rock! around and just forget about that shoot.  We headed to the house and got settled in and made sandwiches for supper.

Day 4 - It rained all night, and it was still raining when we got up.  So we decided to go out for a sit-down breakfast and see how the weather was going to be.  It was raining and 40 degrees, not a great combo.  After breakfast we decided to go back to the house and maybe get out in the afternoon.  The weather was supposed to clear.  We went to the local state park, Blackwater Falls State Park, and it was packed with people.  We couldn't even park, so we decided to go to Seneca Rocks.  We went there on our previous trip and there was no one there and it was a so-so shot.  When we went this year, the place was packed and the colors were popping!  We stayed there a little and went to Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia.  The views were spectacular, but it was cold and very windy.  We stayed for maybe an hour and headed back to Blackwater Falls to catch a sunset.  It was a race to get there before the sun set, and as we rounded the bend we saw a big white tent.  Someone was having a wedding at our sunset spot.  So we turned around and started back to the cabin where there were lots of deer grazing. So we got some photos of them and headed to the house.

Day 5 - Our last day.  We woke up and cleaned the house and headed to Blackwater Falls to take photos of the waterfall.  We timed it right because there was no one there.  We got out and pretty much had the falls to ourself except for a guy and a drone that was annoying, but he left.  After our time here at Blackwater Falls, we went to a local place to have breakfast and it was great! After that big meal we headed home to Goldsboro, a six-hour drive.   Blackwater Falls DownstreamBlackwater Falls DownstreamI was taking photo's of the falls and just turned around

All in all it was a great trip and I wish it had lasted longer. Can't wait until next year's trip.  So until next week, get out and explore and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Fall Color GAPC landscape learning Max Stansell Photography New River Gorge National Park Photography Waterfalls website West Virginia workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/gapc-goldsboro-area-photography-club-west-virginia-trip Fri, 19 Nov 2021 09:40:06 GMT
Buy New or Used? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/buy-new-or-used Hey Everyone! I hope ya'll are doing well today.  This weeks topic is a big one for me.  New or Used? For most of us money is a rare commodity these days and dropping a load of cash on a new body or lens can be disheartening. Especially when most of us don't do photography for a living and only shoot part time.  I looked at my gear recently and notice that about half or more I bought used.  For example my main camera I bought used my wide angle zoom used.  So lets talk about what you get when you buy something new.  First you know that no one else has taken photo's with it.  You get the latest and greatest gismo's and technology. And some sort of warranty. In latter years it seems all of the advances is with quick focus , auto focus and video resolution.  Sure sensor resolution too but how many megapixels do you really need?  I mean really.  I remember when you could do all you wanted with 10.  Now its above 60.  The video part started when your camera could do 720,  then 1080, 4k, 5K.  And the frames per second.  But if your just a photographer like me does all that matter?  You need to ask yourself the questions.  First of all do you really need a new camera?  Or do you need a different or newer than you have?  When I bought the camera I have used I asked myself did I need to buy the latest and newest or would a used older model do?  And for me it was the latter.  I still got all of the things that I wanted at a very cheaper price and I got a lot of extras from the seller that he didn't need anymore.  I mean a lot!  I got a deal.  But even if I didn't get all of the extras it was still a deal.  The camera was almost like new.  I just did a shutter count on it and it was around 17000.  The shutter has been rated for 200,000.  So its practically new.  But what about you?  I say if you shoot a lot of video the latest and greatest might be for you and you should consider buying new.  But if you do photo only maybe used might be for you.  Of course if you have the budget to buy all new stuff I say go ahead and knock yourself out.  But if your like me Used sounds pretty good especially if its in good shape. Now I've been talking about camera bodies but what about lenses?  Lenses last forever if they are taken care of.  Glass Last!  Used is a good way to go also.  But if you prefer new used body will save you money so you can buy that new lens. I have bought a few used lenses and have not been disappointed.

How to buy used?  Well everyone knows how to buy new but what about buying used?  Is there a risk?  I think there is a risk when you buy anything used. Whether it be a car a boat or camera equipment.  There must be some faith in the seller if your a buyer.  I have purchased used items from friends (the best way) and you usually get a good deal.  They want to get rid of equipment and normally won't do you wrong.  But buying off of the internet can be a little scary.  Especially if your spending hundreds of dollars on something.  I have bought off of Ebay and Amazon and felt much better from Amazon than I did from Ebay.  Maybe because its such a big business and on Ebay your buying from one individual .  But I have been on the other side because I have sold on Ebay also and had a good experience.  But its all on good faith.  This week I'm trying something new.  I'm going to trade some lenses on a camera body though a company that specializes in buying, selling and trading camera equipment.  The company is called MPB.  Its an international company.  There is also another company that I'm going to try out KEH which does the same type of business as MPB.  I'm going to buy a used lens from them that will save me about 150 dollars on a lens that is suppose to be excellent +.  Each of the company's have a rating system that they use to rate the condition of the equipment.  So you could buy something that is rated "Like New"  maybe it was a demo in a store somewhere and hasn't been used by anyone.  We'll see how that goes I'm trading old lenses from MPB for a camera body that is rated "Like New"  and the lens I'm getting from KEH is Rated "Excellent +" (Update: Just got the Lens (KEH) and it is like new in the box! I'm very Pleased) I'm sure there will be a blog on the experience and how the company's did.  You can also buy used from B&H photo and video and from Adorama Camera. Also with MPB and KEH you get a 180 day warranty which really takes a load off of your shoulders.

So anyway there is more than one way to buy used equipment.  And I think its a great way to get equipment for your photographic needs.  Because really any camera made lately are great and you won't have any problems making great images with them.  So until next week get outside and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Amazon blog Body camera Ebay. Gear KEH landscape learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography MPB New Photography purchase Used website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/buy-new-or-used Fri, 12 Nov 2021 09:07:32 GMT
Off Camera Lighting https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/off-camera-lighting Hey Everyone! I hope your week has been great!  This week I want to talk about a subject that I truly love but is scary for a lot of beginning photographers.  Thats is "Off the Camera Flash."  Its one thing to put a flash on your camera and take a photo with your camera doing all of the work but it's another thing all together using triggers and how to set up your camera.  No matter whether your taking portraits or doing food photography learning how to manipulate the light is key to fantastic photo's.  Being in full control can be scary and exhilarating  at the same time. First let's talk about the different kinds of Strobes you may use.

The first light most of you probably already have is a speed light.  This is a light that you can connect to the top of your camera via the hot shoe.  They run off of batteries usually 4 AA. This is probably the same 41zl9yX4ltL41zl9yX4ltL brand as your camera because you didn't know what to get so you got the same brand. Been There!  These are fairly expensive lights but they don't have to be.  You can get third party flashes that work just as well as the expensive name brands.  Remember Light is Light and a cheap speed light can produce the same light as an expensive one.  You can get these speed lights that can only shoot manual or lights that have all of the bells and whistles on them like TTL (through the lens metering)  I have lots of flashes and that is what I used to learn off camera flash on.  Most of them are inexpensive manual flashes that only cost 50 bucks a piece.  I think I only have two that are TTL. 

Mono-lights.  These lights are larger and can be battery powered or AC powered.  They are the most popular for studio's now.  They are stronger than speed lights and can light up a larger space.  So if your photographing large groups of people this would be the better choice.  Although you could do it with speed lights you would have to use multiple of them.  Theses lights can come with all the bells and whistles also like TTL but you can get them in the Manual only pretty cheep.  And used ones you can come by cheap.  I bought 2 of them for 100 bucks many years ago and sold them for what I almost paid for them.  These can also be very expensive depending on the brand.  Usually the price you pay for theses lights are for the consistency of the light.  One exposure  not different from the next.  Which if you're making your living from these lights this is important.  But for amateurs like us not so much.

Pack and Head Lights.  These lights are not common anymore and have mostly been replaced by  mono-lights.  These lights have two parts the head is the portion with the bulb and a wire goes to the pack part that has all the electronics that make the flash go boom.   I won't even discuss theses because I have no experience in them and they are not practical for the most of us.

Triggers.  With off camera flash you must have something that hooks your camera to the lights.  This is done with a trigger.  Like everything else they can be complicated or simple.  Some triggers you get will have two parts .  The trigger and receiver. The trigger is on your camera and the receiver is on the light.  They usually talk via radio waves but could also be infra red light like your TV remote.  Radio triggers are much better than the infra red and have a better range.  Some triggers are part of a system.  The trigger and the light are made to go together so the light will have a built in receiver so if you have the right trigger you can control the light without a separate receiver.

So now you know the different parts and pieces what are the advantages to off camera flash or strobes?

1. You are in complete control of the light.  You are not dependent on the sun or anything else that could bother the light source.

2. They are portable.  All speed lights and some moonlights are battery powered which means they are portable.  You can take them with you when your on a outside shoot. The light can be stronger than the sun but soft at the same time.

3. You can modify the light to be strong or soft.

4. You can be consistent.  Once you have your lights set you can take photo after photo and it will be the same.  Say your taking photos at an event where you have a photo booth set up after you get your light set you can rotate people in and out without changing camera or light settings with the same results you had on your first subject.

5. Using and learning off camera lighting makes you an overall better photographer because you start looking at light in a different way when not using off camera flash.

As you can see there is a lot to off camera lighting.  In other blogs to come I'll go over settings and Modifiers and stands.  So until the next time. Get outside and shoot!

  

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog flashes learning lighting Max Stansell Photography Monolights Off Camera Lighting Photography strobes triggers website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/11/off-camera-lighting Fri, 05 Nov 2021 07:16:56 GMT
Get the spots out! Sensor Cleaning https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/get-the-spots-out-sensor-cleaning Hey Everyone! Hope you had a great week.  This weeks discussion is on cleaning the sensor of your camera. First a disclaimer.  Before attempting to clean your sensor read your manual on the procedures to clean to your camera and if you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't.  Take it somewhere you trust to get it cleaned. That said cleaning your sensor is very easy especially if you have a mirrorless camera.  So why do we need to clean the sensor?  When your camera is on an electrical current goes through the sensor making it somewhat of a magnet for dust and dirt.  When changing lenses sometimes dust can get in.  Some cameras aren't sealed as well as others and dust and dirt can still get in.  So cleaning your sensor from time to time may be needed.  A dirty sensor will show spots and specks on your photo's especially if you are stopped down to f22 or so and usually shows up in scenes with blank backgrounds like the sky or a white wall.  So let me go through how I keep my sensor clean.

Prevention. The first step in keeping your sensor clean from dirt and dust is prevention.  Don't leave your camera laying around without a lens or body cap on the camera.  The less your sensor is exposed to the elements the better.  So quickly changing my lenses is the first thing I do. Some times I hold the camera body sensor side down and blow out the inside of my camera with a blower bulb to dislodge any dust that might be in the camera body then put on my lens.  I don't do this all of the time but try to do often. Try to keep the camera side of your lenses clean so not to accidentally insert dust and dirt when attaching a lens.  Keeping your camera and equipment clean is a must.

Cleaning. Most modern camera's have some sort of cleaning function on them.  This basically de-magnifies the sensor and vibrates it to let dust fall off. This is worth a try but I haven't had too much success.  The next step will involve touching your sensor.  Never touch with your fingers! The dirt and oil from your hands can harm your sensor.  The only thing that touches your sensor is something that was made to touch your sensor! These products were made to touch your sensor and not to harm your sensor. First you should have access to your sensor.  If you have a DSLR camera you will have to get your shutter out of the way. (Read Your MANUAL!)  Usually some sort of shutter lockup or cleaning mode will let you see your sensor.  Most mirrorless cameras when you take off of the lens your sensor is there is in full view.  Some newer mirrorless cameras have some sort of shield that goes over the sensor but this is not the rule but the exception. Know your camera and read your manual! The first thing that you want to touch your sensor with is a sensor brush. These are soft and specially made not to harm  your sensor.  Some of them have a negative charge on them to collect dust and the dirt that will cling to the brush.  Make sure you follow the instructions and be gentle with the sensor.  If you had to go this far to get your lens clean the brush usually does the trick for stubborn dust and dirt. If you have a spot on your sensor you may have to use a solution with a special swab to wipe the sensor to clean it.  You can get swabs that already has the solution on it or you can buy dry swabs and solution and then add a few drops to the swabs then use.  I have used both.  I keep one of the pre-moistened ones in my camera bag especially when I travel for emergency cleaning.  The swabs are shaped like a little paddle that is the exact size of the sensor.  You will wipe with one side then the other side and discard the swab.  If you still need to clean you use a new swab.  Again follow the directions of the equipment you are using. There are different types of solutions and your camera company may have a use this solution only.  For my Sony they recommend "Aero-Clipse" cleaning solution.  

Cleaning your sensor does not have to be scary and can be done easily just follow your camera manual instructions and the instructions of the cleaning tools and you will have a clean sensor making editing quicker not having to remove spots.

So until next week, with a clean sensor,  get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Brush canon cleaning DSLR Eclipse learning Max Stansell Photography Mirrorless nikon Photography Sensor sony Swabs website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/get-the-spots-out-sensor-cleaning Fri, 29 Oct 2021 07:57:08 GMT
What I Don't Miss Anymore! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/what-i-dont-miss-anymore Hey Everyone! Hope everyone has had a great week!  This week I want to talk about something new in my bag.  Something I have been missing ever since I switched from full frame and went to crop senor cameras.  I did not miss the image quality or even the dynamic range that full frames claim to have.  But I did miss one thing.  When I was shooting Full Frame cameras of course I was shooting full frame glass and very good lenses to boot.  I had two out of the big three for Nikon.  I had the 70-200 f2.8 and the 24-70 f2.8.  Let me say I just loved these lenses.  Although they did weigh a ton the image quality sharpness was outstanding!.  I recently got on to Light Room and did a search for the most used focal range and the 24-70 by far has the most photo's taken.  Whether I was using a crop sensor or not .   This focal range was the most used and I knew that but wanted to see the numbers. 

When I first got into the crop sensor sized camera's I like everyone else just had the kit lens.  I quickly upgraded the kit lens that was a 16-50 (24-75mm full frame equivalent) pancake lens with a variable aperture to the 18-105 f4 lens ( 27-157.5mm equivalent). This was a pretty good upgrade without too much money and I used this lens for quite a while but it wasn't as sharp as I wanted.  What I wanted was a 24-70mm f2.8 that didn't exist.  I finally upgraded to a Zeiss 16-70mm f4 (24-105mm equivalent) Lens and this was better but not by much but was more compact.  I still didn't have the large aperture that I was used to at 2.8 so I got a 35mm 1.8 (52mm equivalent) and a 24mm 2.8 (36mm equivalent) But I still didn't have the zoom with the wide aperture that I was used to with my Nikon setup.

Finally about a year and a half ago Sony announced a 16-55mm f2.8 lens was coming .  I got a little excited until I saw the price and it cost more than my camera did.  They also came out with a longer zoom a 70-350 variable zoom lens which I got at a lower price.  This was a fantastic lens and I could only imagine how the one I wanted was.  So I stuck with the kit I had for another year.  I only buy one big item a year if I need to in camera gear whether its upgrading older equipment or something new.  This year I finally bit the bullet and invested in the 16-55 f2.8 lens.  And invest is the right word.  Its a very expensive lens but if I remember right I paid about the same price for my Nikon full frame but it was 10 years ago.  There was another contender by Tamron a 17-70mm f2.8.  But all of the reviews talked about how the image quality wasn't quite as good as the Sony and that's why I was upgrading in the first place.  It almost half the price of the Sony but quality won out and I got the Sony.  The lens is still new to me but so far I love it .  The Images are sharp and crisp!  It feels like a quality lens and it is not as large as the Tamron.  Size was a big factor when I went from full frame to crop sensor size.  So all around I am happy with my purchase and my kit is about as good as it gets as far as I am concerned.  I am a 99% photography only shooter with almost no video. A rarity these days.

So my main kit now consist of a Sony A6500 body, a Sony 10-18mm F4 the new lens Sony 16-55 f2.8mm and the Sony 70-350mm f4.5-6.3.  This kit gives me a full frame equivalent range of 15-525mm Range.  This is the kit that I leave in my camera bag all the time and are my go to.  I do have other specialty lenses that I use for food or Star or Street photography but this is my main kit.  Which lately I haven't used a lot but plan to making a change to that situation.

So until next weeks discussion grab your kit and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 16-55f2.8 aperture blog crop sensor Full Frame landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Sony website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/what-i-dont-miss-anymore Fri, 22 Oct 2021 08:33:42 GMT
Lens Hoods and UV Filters? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/lens-hoods-and-uv-filters Hey Everybody! Hope your week is going well.  This week I want to talk about two pieces of equipment that can be controversial .  People tend to be on one side or another whether to use them or not.  So I will give you my opinion on why I do or don't use them.  First is the Lens Hood.

Lens hoods come in all shapes and sizes and they are always in the box when you buy a lens.  Very few lenses don't come with a lens hood in the box.  Lens hoods attach on the front of the lens and are for protection against stray light bouncing on or off you lens.  Much like if you walk outside and you put your hand out and over your eyes to protect from the sun shining right into your eyes.  Without your hands seeing is difficult and you have lots of glare.  But when you put your hand over your eyes you can see more clearly.  This is how lens hoods work.  So when should you use them? Should you only use them when sun glare can be a problem?  My answer is use them all of the time.  Here is why.  There is no disadvantage of not using them.  They stick out in front of your lens providing extra protection if your lens should bump into something protecting your front element.  They also keep you from touching the front element by accident while handling your camera putting a unwanted smudge on the front element.  The only time I would remove the hoods is if I actually wanted sun flares in my photo.  Sometimes when you're using a larger lens and you want to use your pop up flash I would remove because they can cause a shadow on the bottom of your frame.  I personally never take them off. Even when I put my lenses away in my camera bag they are always on.  So I'm in the for using them and bonus they don't cost anything extra you got them with your lens.

Dune GrassDune Grass UV filters.  Use them or not?  In the film days UV or UV haze filters were used to keep a blue haze off of photographs.  With digital there is no need for the filters.  So why do so many people insist on using them?  One reason is its a way for camera stores to make a little more money on the initial sale by selling you a 40 dollar filter.  But that aside people use them for protection of the front element of their lens.  I do think there is "Some" justification to that.  I just watched a video on Youtube that pretty much debunked the myth that they protect your camera against falls or breakage of the front element.  This guy did experiments on how sturdy the filter was compared to the front element .  With only a 1/2 pound of weight being dropped 8 inches all of the filters broke.  But it took 11/2 pounds from 3 feet of height to even scratch the front element of the lens. So protection against a drop I don't think they protect your lens.  Actually a lens hood would do better and I have some experience dropping lenses with the lens hood on and everything turned out OK.   But I do think that they do protect in certain situations.  I think that shooting by the ocean or in very sandy situations they will protect the front element of your lens.  There is also the discussion about quality.  You buy an expensive lens and put an inexpensive piece of glass in front of it will it harm image quality?  My answer to this is probably not that you could notice unless the filter has a scratch or something on it.   And then there is the question of cost.  If you  have 5 different lens you have to buy 5 UV filters.  And of course I use a polarizer a lot of the time so I'd be stacking one on  top of the UV which  could cause vignetting at the corners especially on wide angle lenses. So my answer to using UV filters is, not all of the time only when needed like by the ocean or really sandy and windy.  I have one for each size of lens I own.  In  my camera bag I have a 67mm and a 62mm.

So that's my take on Lens Hoods and UV filters.  What's yours?  Drop me a comment and let me know if there is anything that you would like me to go over or any questions you would like answered.  Until next week keep those lens hoods on and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Lens lens Flare lens hoods Max Stansell Photography Photography UV Filters website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/lens-hoods-and-uv-filters Fri, 15 Oct 2021 07:11:34 GMT
The Myth About Always Shoot at 100 ISO! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/the-myth-about-always-shoot-at-100-iso Hey Everybody! Hope this week has been fantastic for you!  This week I want to talk about ISO settings on your camera. One of the big three of Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO. The ISO is how sensitive your sensor is to light.  The Higher the number the higher the sensitivity of your sensor.  But with that sensitivity also come noise.  So the higher the ISO the more noise.  Now back in the film days you used to buy your film at ASA 100 or 400 and it worked the same way as ISO does but you couldn't adjust on the fly like you can with digital it was set in stone to what the film was.  But now this is a movable number from frame to frame if you want to and it can be adjusted like Shutter speed and Aperture.  When digital first came out noise was a problem on even the most expensive camera's.  And you didn't move the ISO off of the lowest number unless you had to.  If you did you got noise in the dark Max Stansell Photography portions of your photo. But with all of the technical advances in sensor technology that isn't the case any more and this number can be adjusted like the other parts of your camera.  Nowadays its no problem putting your camera ISO at 6400 and shooting with no noticeable effects. That's 6 stops of light you have to play with.  So what are some of the situations that you can adjust your ISO.  I'm going to use some landscape situations that this would come in handy.

Max Stansell Photography Waterfalls- In shooting water falls getting the water to look right is the most important part.  So first I would get my Shutter speed in the ball park to get the water looking like I want it.  Then I would set my Aperture to get what I wanted in focus.  But if I have a Polarizer and a ND filter on the seen could be 2 to 3 stops too dark at 100 ISO.  But if I move my ISO between 400 and 600 ISO I can bring that exposure back to the normal range.  Now I could lighten the shadows in post production but that could bring in noisy grain but if I get it right in camera by adjusting the ISO that will make my photo look better in post production and my finial photo will look more crisp.

Windy Landscapes-  This is when the leaves on the trees are moving and I want them to be nice and still and crisp.  So I would first set my Aperture to set the part of the scene that I want in focus.  Then I would set the Shutter speed to the speed that will make my leaves nice and crisp. And if my ISO is at 100 and the scene is too dark because of the higher shutter speed I can up my ISO until the exposure is back and like above I don't have to do it in post.

Newer camera's no matter what brand can handle the increase in ISO.  A good thing to do is test your camera.  You can easily do this by setting your camera on a tripod and shoot many photographs of the same scene using different ISO's and you can see where the highest ISO is that you like or can make a difference in your photography.  Where you feel comfortable at.  That threshold might be different for different cameras or different people with the same camera. Its all very personal.  For me and my main camera its about 6400 ISO.  For just run and gun shooting I usually shoot on Aperture Priority and  set my ISO to Auto and put a limit to 6400.  Anywhere between 100 and 6400 will be fine for me.  When I'm on a tripod I usually shoot in Manual mode and manually move my ISO.  

So that's my soap box speech on 100 ISO.  So until next week get out and shoot.  If you have any questions please put them in the comments and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Auto ISO blog Canon Exposure Triangle Fujifilm ISO landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Nikon Olympus Panasonic Photography Quality Sony website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/the-myth-about-always-shoot-at-100-iso Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:24:23 GMT
Buy Nice or Buy Twice! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/buy-nice-or-buy-twice Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well today.  This week I want to talk about purchasing equipment. Now I have GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and I have purchased a lot of equipment over the years.  It has taken me quite awhile to learn the Buy Nice or Buy Twice system.  I am all about buying the best equipment that you can afford.  And upgrading equipment will always be a part of photography because of technology improvements.  In the olden days of film, the camera or lens technology did not improve for a long time the technology for film did.  So you kept your camera for years and years.  But when digital came about, technology pushed the camera companies to make model after model every year like phones.  Keeping up can seem like a chore.  But in my experience, if you buy the best you can afford, it can last for years without needing to be replaced. But how to afford them? It's a boring answer. Save your money!  I tend to buy one big item a year for my camera kit.  It could be something new like a lens or an upgrade of something I already have like a lens or a body or lights. You'll find after a few years you'll have a great kit.  It's very hard to build a great kit from the beginning. We all have to start from the beginner camera with a kit lens and start building up.  Where do you start to build your kit? 

First start with research.  While you're saving up your money, start looking at what you need.  At first you'll just be filling gaps of focal lengths that you have after you've bought your camera and kit lens.  Try to find out what you love to shoot the best and what equipment will facilitate the best photo. Look at what the pros shoot.  They make their living with the equipment they purchase, so they usually invest in the best. You can research professionals through YouTube or just Google the type of photography you like.  Take food photographers for example. Photographers love gear, and when you find a photographer that shoots what you like, they will soon start talking about gear.  My recommendation is buy the best glass (lenses) you can. Glass Lasts. Good lenses are expensive but can last for decades.  While camera bodies change every other year, new technology lenses stay the same. And anyway the lens makes the photo in my opinion.  Better glass equals better photos. When you find what equipment you want, let's say we're looking for a new lens, the cost of the lens new is your target for saving.  First, you might want to try one out by renting it for a weekend. Try it out make sure that's what you want before you get one. Now where can I get one?

Buying Used. Buying used gear can be a great way to afford good gear.  I have bought new and used and have good luck with both.  If you know someone that is selling gear, that is the best way to buy used. I really like this method because you can touch the equipment.  It's not just a photo of the equipment. My main camera that I use now I bought from a friend that loves gear more than me and had only had the camera body less than a year.  It was in great shape, and I saved lots of money buying a used one.  But there are other places to get used gear.  Amazon sells used gear.  When you look at a new item, they usually have other options, and used is one of them. The big photo stores Adorama and BH Photo both have used departments for gear, and they rate the condition of the products.  eBay is another option.  I have bought and sold off of eBay and have had good luck, but you never know what you'll get.  There are companies that only buy and sell used equipment. Companies like MPB and KEH are great sources for equipment and also rate the condition of the equipment. So buying used is a good option in buying equipment.

Of course new is a great way to go too.  With new you do get a warranty and know that no one has used the camera but you.  This is my preferred way just for the wear and tear that I put on equipment. I just like to start from new if I can.  I have bought from Amazon, Adorama, BH Photo, and let's not forget your local camera shop.  When I can I try to buy local.  The last new camera I bought was from a local camera company near me. Its about a 45 min drive to get there, and my granddaughter and I drove there and made a day of it. She was the first photo I took with it. And I got a great deal to boot!

Make sure to protect your investments with insurance.  Maybe that will be a  future blog. Well, that's all the rambling for this week.  Take your newly purchased gear out and start shooting.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adorama B&Hphoto blog Buy Local KEH landscape learning Max Stansell Photography money MPB Photography saving used website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/10/buy-nice-or-buy-twice Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:57:48 GMT
What Color Space Should I Use? SRGB or Adobe RGB https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/what-color-space-should-i-use-srgb-or-adobe-rgb Hey Everyone! Hope your having a great week!  This week I want to talk about Color Space.  What color space is and what you should set your camera to and what you should export to.  This is a subject that can really get you lost in the woods and its very simple to figure out.  There are lots of opinions on this subject.  First of all if you shoot only in RAW you it doesn't really matter what you set your camera at.  Only if your shooting JPEG's.  It does affect your live view a little but not really.  So lets talk about Color Space first.  

SRGB.  SRGB is the most common color space.  It is what your phone , computer screen and all of the devices use for their color.  I like to think of the color spaces as crayons.  SRGB is the pack you got when you were in pre-school.  Maybe 8 Colors and you can mix and match all of them to make other colors.  So all of the colors that you see on your laptop, iPad, phone even TV are SRGB.  Most camera's come factory set at SRGB.

Adobe RGB.  This color space came out after SRGB and has many more colors.  In crayon terms its the 64 crayon box full of colors.  It has 35 times the colors that SRGB has.  The problem is that you have to have a special monitor to see the difference between SRGB and Adobe RBG. So that is the difference between SRGB and Adobe RGB color science.  One Adobe RGB is much more colors than SRGB. So when can I use Adobe RGB?  The only time I think you could use it is when printing.  Some printers can print Adobe RGB and if your entering photo contest they use Adobe RGB monitors to view the photo's.

So for setting your camera if your shooting in RAW which you should it doesn't matter. If your shooting in JPEG you could use either. The real question is how are you going to present this photo? So its really how are you going to export the photo from your photo editing software? Most of us are going to put it on the web or use it as a digital image.  Remember Screens can only see SRGB so if you shoot in Adobe RGB and are outputting for digital use all of the colors won't be used because SRGB space is so small. If your only going to display as a print then Adobe RGB printed on a Adobe RGB printer will work great.  But there aren't many Adobe RGB printers. And they are expensive.  If your going to send it out to be printed check with the company your using on what color space they use. Then choose that one.  The simple answer for all of the questions is SRGB in most cases and Adobe RGB in special occasions.  I hope this has helped and not muddied the water.

The reason I came up with this topic this week is because I was looking at some of the EXIF data on some of my photo's on my web site and saw that some photo's were in SRGB and some were in ADOBE RGB.  So I started researching and thought I would share. So until next week keep learning and get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adobe blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Oupput Photography printing RGB SRGB web use website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/what-color-space-should-i-use-srgb-or-adobe-rgb Fri, 24 Sep 2021 06:56:58 GMT
Learning Your Photo Equipment https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/learning-your-photo-equipment Hey Everyone! Hope y'all are doing great this week.  This week I want to talk about learning how your equipment works. Everyone loves to get new equipment, especially me. Sometimes the equipment isn't as simple to use as we might think.  So we need to learn how to use the equipment before we take it out on a photoshoot.  A photoshoot isn't the time to learn the new equipment.  Not knowing how to use your equipment is embarrassing and very frustrating.  We all want to take and make great photography, but being a good photographer is more than just vision.  We must also be a technician to operate our cameras and the associated equipment.  To some people this comes easier than for others.  I tend to be a very technical photographer.  But others are more artistic and less technical.  Being artistic is super, but the artist in us must make the effort to be more technical.  So how does one become more technical when it doesn't come naturally? Well here goes a few tips that might help.

1.  Find someone that knows about your equipment. Maybe they have the same piece of equipment that you have or something similar.   Ask them to teach you one-on-one.  Maybe you can help them with a photoshoot where they might have the time to show you exactly how the items that you're trying to learn work.  Let's use off-camera flash for example.  They could show you how to set up the lights and put them on the stand, go through the settings on the lights themselves and how to make the triggers talk to each other.  Maybe how to use a light meter to set up the lights and your camera. One-on-one instruction is always a good place to start.

2.  I almost hate to say this one, but read the manual.  Most complicated equipment comes with a manual that will take you step by step on how to set up and use the equipment.  Sometimes this is a hard read, so take your time and go slow.  Even if I know how to use the equipment, if I haven't used it in a while I'll read it again just to get familiar with it, especially if I have a photoshoot coming up where I'll be using it.  Just like having all of your batteries charged, it's good to get your mind in the game before a big shoot. 

3. I am a big YouTube fan.  You can find out how to do almost anything on YouTube, from changing the brakes on your car to setting up a photoshoot with food.  This is a good place to learn your equipment and maybe get some inspiration on how to set up or use your equipment. Also online tutorials. Places like CreativeLive have lots of camera-specific tutorials that take you through every part of your camera settings and how your specific camera works.

As you can see, I'm a big fan of knowing how to use your equipment.  I must confess, I don't know everything that I should about my equipment, usually just enough to get it to work the way I want it to.  Think about your own camera.  Do you know all there is to know about it?  I sure don't.  So if I want a new camera, I just need to get in the manual and learn about my camera and I'll have a new camera that can do what I didn't know it could.  I think if you know your equipment and how to operate it, you will be a better photographer because the technology will be second-hand and you can devote all of your thoughts to your subject and not your camera or gear.  So until next week, get your gear out and shoot! And get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learn learning manuals Max Stansell Photography one on one Photography website workshops youtube https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/learning-your-photo-equipment Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:21:46 GMT
My Favorite Photography Accessories! Part 2 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/my-favorite-photography-accessories-part-2 Hey Everyone! I hope y'all are doing great today! This week will be a continuation of last week's discussion of my favorite photo accessories. Today I'm going to open my bag and just start going through it. I've already told you about one thing that was in my bag, my Lumecube 2.0 light. So let's get into my bag.

1. Lens Brush.  I love to keep my things clean. This little brush helps keep my lenses clean and the body free of dust.  It's just a cheap brush but very important.

2. Blower Bulb.  I have a small blower bulb and a small nozzle on it.  I got it from Amazon and it's a jeweler's blower.  I like it because it's small and works great.  I try to blow off my sensor to keep dust off of it.  By doing this I don't have to clean my sensor as much.

3. Microfiber Lens Cloths.  Lots of them! I put one or two in every compartment of my camera bag.  If I pull out a lens, "BOOM" lens cloth.  These cloths come with almost all kinds of things you buy.  I just keep them and try to keep them everywhere.  I always have one in my pocket.  I try to keep my equipment as clean as possible.

4. Desiccant Packets.  You know, those little packets that are put in everything to keep the moisture out.  I keep these little packets and put them everywhere I can.  They don't cost anything, and I think they work. I've never had a problem with my lenses and equipment.  Anyway, that's one of the things I do.

5. SMDV Radio Remote Trigger. I found this company out of Korea when I shot Nikon cameras, and I fell in love with them.  When I got my Sony, they didn't make them to fit my camera for a while, but then they started making them and I snatched one up. They are great and simple triggers.  They do use AAA batteries, so you need to have some on hand.

6. Lens Coat Battery Holders.  With my little Sony cameras that still use the older battery, battery life is still a problem and you need to have spares.  I have two of these battery holders that can attach to your belt if you wanted.  They help keep my batteries organized and separated.

7. Think Tank SD Card Wallet.  This is a great little card wallet.  When I take a long trip, I use one card a day and use the card as backup until I get home and on my computer.  This card can hold many cards.

8. Vallerette Photography Gloves.  This will be my last item, but there are many more.  These gloves are great and warm.  They are pricy but when you're out in the cold holding a metal camera, your hands can get cold quickly.  These gloves have fingers that fold back with little magnets that keep them back.  They even have little pockets on the back of them that you can put some hot hands into.  Hot hands are the little chemical pouches that you shake and they get warm.  I should have made these one of my accessories, but the gloves beat them out.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this blog series on accessories.  What are some of your favorite accessories? There are so many things that can help you with your photography, and I love them all.  Until next week, keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog blower desiccant landscape learning lens brush Max Stansell Photography micro fiber clothes Photography Think Tank Vallorette website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/my-favorite-photography-accessories-part-2 Fri, 10 Sep 2021 05:36:57 GMT
My Favorite Photography Accessories! Part 1 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/my-favorite-photography-accessories Hey Everybody! Hope your having a great day!  This week I want to talk about my photography accessories that I like the most.  Everybody likes gadgets and I am no exception.  Over the years I have acquired lots of photography stuff and a few of them I don't think I could do without  I can't go over all of them there are just too many but I thought I would share some of my favorite ones.  Here goes a list in no particular order just as I look around my room and see them.

1. Peak Designs Slide shoulder strap.  This was the first thing that I ever bought off of Kickstarter and have been a fan of the company ever since. I have had many slide shoulder straps with my big cameras when I shot full frame to the smaller camera's I use now. They are made out of a material like a seat belt and have a really neat quick disconnect feature to quickly take it off of my cameras.  I'm also going to include wrist straps that I use that were made by Peak Designs.

2. Peak Design Camera Pro Clip,  This great clip attaches to your camera backpack strap, or they have one's that fit on your belt.  There is an attachment that is Arch Swiss compatible that screws onto you camera.  The clip on your shoulder strap grabs this attachment and locks your camera in place .  The little clip makes it easy to hike with your camera out and ready to shoot in just seconds by just pushing a button and sliding your camera out of the clip.  Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

3. Lumecube 2.0 waterproof LED portable light.  This is a new addition to my camera kit but it makes the perfect off camera light when doing landscape photography.  Maybe you're shooting a detail shot but you need some extra light this little light has lots of punch to light up your scene.  You can remotely control this light with your phone and it is re-chargeable via USB-C connector.  It comes with attachments and it is only 1 1/2 inches square.  It comes with Barn doors and defusers and gels to control your light.  

4. Mountain Smith Daylight Lumbar Bag.  This is not a camera bag but a hiking lumbar pack.  But I have adapted it to my camera shoot bag or my street photography bag.  I have taken the shoulder strap off and replaced it with a Peak Design Slide Camera Strap.  I put a cheap camera divider that I got off of Amazon to keep my camera equipment safe.  Love this bag.  People that shoot with me know that I call it my Purse. LOL

5. Shimoda Action X 30 liter camera bag.  This is my main camera bag that holds all of my Landscape stuff. This is another Kickstarter acquisition.  This bag has a roll top entry and can be expanded to hold more than 30 liters easily.  This bag is water proof with waterproof zippers.  It is set up like a backpacking pack. Very comfortable to wear. Many popular professional Landscape photographers make Shimoda their bag company.  They have many bags in various sizes.  The bag is a little pricy but it is the best photography backpack that I have ever had.

6. Backblaze Cloud Storage.  We all have many, many, photographs on all kind of drives and one thing about drives its not " if " they will fail its when.  Backblaze backs up your computer and any drive that you have connected to it.  I have a solid state drive that all my photo's live temporarily while I edit them.  When I'm done I have another drive that I store all of my photographs on.  Backblaze backs up all of your computer and any drive that is connected to it.  It does this automatically.  You don't even have to think about it .  If your drive fails you can get access to all of your files through them.  Its a great peace of mind knowing that when your drive fails you still have all of your stuff.

Well it looks like this is going to be a two part Blog.  So this is part one and part two will be next week.  I just have too many photo accessories that I like to get into one blog.  Next week I'll go into my camera bag and share some of my accessories that I always use.  Until next week Keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Accessories Backblaze blog Clip gear learning Lumecube Max Stansell Photography Mountain Smith Peak Design Photography Shimoda Strap Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/9/my-favorite-photography-accessories Fri, 03 Sep 2021 07:55:10 GMT
What Lens Should I Get? Nifty 50! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/what-lens-should-i-get-nifty-50 Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing great today! Today I want to talk about lenses.  I get asked from time to time by new photographers, "What lens should I get next?" Well, today I'm going to answer that question. Some experienced photographers should listen also.  The lens that I'm going to talk about either already is or will soon become the most versatile lens in your kit. For the experienced photographers, they probably have this lens stuck in a bag somewhere not using it. But they should dust it off because it is awesome.  I'm of course talking about the Nifty 50 lens.  The 50mm lens is the most versatile lens, and old-timers like me remember that this was the lens that came on a film camera. It is a great all-around lens and is said to have the same look as your eyes do.  This is the most natural lens that you will use. If you are using a crop sensor camera, a 35mm will give you the same focal distance as a 50mm on a full-frame camera. So if you have a crop sensor as I do, a 35mm is the same as a 50mm.  It can be used for all types of photography from portraits, landscape, street, low light, product/food, and everything in between. So I have 10 things that make the Nifty 50 so great.

1.  The 50mm is sharp!  It's a prime lens.  People use zooms so much because they are easier, but primes are Curved CupsCurved Cups known as a general rule to be sharper. That was very much so 20 years ago but not as much now.  But they are still sharp!

2.  They are small.  These little lenses are small and lightweight.  They are usually made mostly of plastic which keeps the weight down.  These lenses are perfect for street photography where you're carrying your camera around with you all the time.  The small size does not intimidate people when you approach them to take their photograph.

3. These are great portrait lenses.  These prime lenses are great for portraits!  They do not distort the facial features like a wide-angle lens or a telephoto lens would.  And the sharpness is really great!

4. They are great for street photography!  These little lenses, as I said before, are not too wide or too telephoto. They are just in the middle of the focal range, which means you can really frame your scene to keep in what you want and leave out what you don't.  

5. They are super for landscape photography.  I know people think of wide-angle lenses for landscape, and yes they Forsyth Park FountainForsyth Park FountainForsyth Park Fountain, Savannah Ga a lovely 30 acre park. Great fountain and lots of shade on a hot summers day. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina are great. But they have a distorted view.  By using the 50mm and doing pantographs, you have more of a natural-looking scene than you do with a wide angle lens which distorts the edges of the frame.  And did I mention that they are lightweight? LOL

6.  They are great for product/food photography.  They are the perfect focal length to shoot product or food photography.  I just got into food photography, and this is a great lens for shooting food.  The sharpness of the lens is a great asset when doing this type of photography.

7.  They have a wide aperture.  These lenses, like all primes, have wider apertures than zoom lenses.  They can come in any size from f2.8 to f1.2, but they're most commonly found in the f1.8 range. These wide apertures make them great for shooting almost anything where you can control how much of the scene is in focus.

8.  They are great for low-light photography.  With the wide aperture as mentioned above, when they are opened up they catch a lot of light. This makes them great for shooting indoors or in low-light situations.  They can even be made to shoot astro photography.

9. Bokeh!!! These lenses are bokeh machines! Bokeh is the amount of blurry goodness that is found on great portraits. The bokeh can be used for art interpretation or just for isolation.  If you have a busy scene behind your subject you can open up this lens and really blur out the background.  People who love bokeh love these lenses.

10.  Inexpensive!  These will be some of the most reasonably priced lenses that you can buy.  Now don't get me wrong, you can spend a lot of money on big f1.2 glass. But if you're not making a living out of your photography, an f1.8 will do just fine, and you can find them well under $300 and sometimes in the $150 range.  I paid about $250 for mine.  

Man in WindowMan in WindowMan in Window. While on a lunch break I took my camera out and took a walk in Raleigh where I came upon this scene. There you go! Ten reasons you should have a Nifty 50mm with you all the time.  And maybe after using it a lot, you might start thinking about getting rid of some of your other lenses to lighten the load.  Until next week, get outside with your Nifty 50 and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 35mm 50mm blog bokeh canon food Photography fuji gear hiking Inexpensive landscape learning low light max stansell photography nifty fifty nikon Photography Portrait sony street Photography website wide aperture https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/what-lens-should-i-get-nifty-50 Fri, 27 Aug 2021 09:00:00 GMT
What Camera should I get? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/what-camera-should-i-get Pentax MXPentax MXPentax MX, My Pentax MX from 1982 Super camera works great! Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing great today. This week I want to talk about cameras! Yay! I haven't talked about cameras in a while.  I often get asked what's the best camera or what camera should I buy? Well, this is a very loaded question and a hard one to answer. I was listening to a photo podcast, "This week in Photo," and the host was talking about this topic, so I thought I would pile on and share some of his and my thoughts on the subject. So let's do a spoiler alert and say that the answer is that "it depends."  I know, I know, it sounds like a copout answer but it really does depend on a lot of factors. Like have you ever had a real camera before?  What type of photography would you like to do?  Does size Lee Filter HolderLee Filter Holder matter? LOL  Do you have photography friends, and what do they shoot?  These are just a few of the questions that you should ask yourself.  I have owned lots of cameras in my life.  Everything from film cameras that I started with, to a 2mp point and shoot when I started digital, all the way up to a full-frame beast of a camera that had a 36mp sensor on it.  I have narrowed down the system that works for me now.  It may change in the future, but now I think I have the perfect system. "FOR ME."  What you need might be totally different.  So let's go through a few of the questions that you should ask yourself before you go out and spend a lot of money.  And it will be a lot of money.

Have you ever had a real camera before?  When I ask this question, younger people will probably say, "No, just my phone."  A phone with a good camera on it is a great way to start photography, and there is no shame in using your iPhone for your main camera, especially when you start out.  Learning the fundamentals of composition, lighting, subject, and storytelling can be accomplished with almost any smartphone nowadays. And these aspects of photography are the most important skills you need when doing photography.  If you have never had a "real" camera before, I might steer you in the direction of a high-end point and shoot.  These cameras can shoot in manual or can use almost any mode available, and you will get a better quality photo than with a phone because of sensor size.

If you have some camera experience, I would ask, "What type of photography are you planning to do with the AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston camera?"  Will it be portraits? Travel? Landscape? Wildlife? Food?  What are you planning to shoot?  This will really determine what type of camera you will get. If you are just going to be taking photos of your kids on family outings, I might suggest an entry-level DSLR or Mirrorless camera. But if you were going to concentrate on wildlife or portraits, I might point you in the direction of a higher-end mirrorless camera, an interchangeable lens camera with a larger sensor to get more detail.  So it all depends on what you're going to shoot that determines what type of camera you get.

What do your photography friends shoot?  This question would help me pick out the brand of camera to shoot.  Shooting the same brand as your friends has many advantages.  You can share lenses.  If you were going to do a photoshoot and you wanted a special lens to use for it and one of your friends had the lens, you could borrow it to do the shoot and see if you liked it enough to buy one of your own.  Learning where all the buttons and menu items are on the camera is very hard to learn by yourself, and a friend with the same setup could help you figure out how and where everything is on your camera.  This is a big advantage also.  What brand of camera you shoot isn't that important in the long run, so if you're shooting the same as your friends, the advantages outweigh any disadvantage to any brand.

Does size matter? LOL I always joke with my friends that the answer to almost any question can always come down to size.  Too large, too small.  It can also be helpful in choosing the right camera for you.  If you do landscape or maybe street photography, size will certainly matter. Having to lug a very large camera and lenses up a mountain to get a shot is a big chore when you can get a great shot with a smaller, lighter camera.  Doing street photography with a large camera is cumbersome and awkward when taking photos of people on the street.  It is also heavy and hard to conceal.  This question is what made me change from a large full-frame camera and all of the large lenses that come with it to the kit that I am personally using now.  For the type of photography I do, which is mainly travel/landscape, my crop sensor Sony does great.  So size can matter.

So for every person, the answers to these questions can be different.  And just to make sure you know, there are no bad answers.  And any modern camera you get these days will take great photos.  I was one of the first in my camera club to switch from a big full-frame professional camera to a mirrorless camera system.  It was a hard decision to make, and it took me almost a year to commit to it.  But in the long run, I am pleased with the choice I made by asking myself "What type of photography do I shoot?  Does size matter?" Researching the cameras at the time, I came up with the decision of Sony crop sensor cameras.   I am a nimble photographer and don't get as tired as I used to get lugging around large equipment. Would I pick the same thing now if I had to make the choice?  I would still go to a crop-sensor camera but maybe FUJI instead of Sony, but like I said brand really doesn't matter.  But that's just me. You might need something altogether different.  But asking yourself these simple questions and researching, asking questions, and learning all of the different systems will help you decide what camera is best for you.  So until next week, get your camera and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Canon crop sensor DSLR food photography Fuji full frame gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography mirrorless Nikon Photography Sony website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/what-camera-should-i-get Fri, 20 Aug 2021 07:47:59 GMT
New Photography Style for me! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/new-photography-style-for-me Hey Everyone! Hope y'all are doing great today.  This week I want to talk about shooting something new.  Something that isn't outside.  Maybe something to shoot while the weather is bad. I'm talking about Food Photography.  If you know me I love to eat so what better subject to shoot.  I recently went to a workshop on food photography that my camera club was giving and it was the first in person workshop that I had been to sense Covid has invaded us.  I had a ball!  Now I thought it was just seeing everyone again (and it was) but I also had fun shooting the food. Those that know my story know that I have been shooting since I was a teenager starting in film.  When I got my first digital camera I did a lot of photography at my house. Either in the backyard shooting my wife's flowers or in a home studio that I was starting to build. I did a lot of product photography and some food but nothing too fancy.  Let me tell you about my studio.

My home studio is really just a table in a small spare bedroom that my daughter used to have until she moved out. Then I took it over as a office/laundry/gear/studio room.  This room is too small to shoot portraits so its really just a table top studio.  The table I use is a very sturdy table I found dumpster diving a long time ago.  Yes I used to dumpster dive.  One man's trash is another man's treasure. Anyway, This table is about 4X3 foot.  Now most of the time this table just collects junk like any another table its a handy place to set stuff on.  And it can get really junky.  But it is the perfect platform to place things on for product or Food Photography. I have lights and modifiers that I have accumulated over the years.  You can see about my lights and modifiers and how I use them in "My Lighting Setup" blog that I've previously written.

Now I'm no expert in Food Photography but I know you must have some sort of vision before you shoot.  For example my wife bought some hot sauce that was named "Lola".  My wife is from the Philippines and Lola is grandmother in her language.  So my grandchildren , children , nieces and nephews all have started calling her Lola.  So when I saw the hot sauce in the kitchen I immediately saw the photo that I wanted to shoot.  The photo is in this blog.  I wanted some Lumpia in the background.  But the star was going to be the Lola hot sauce.  Then I had to find props to have into the photo and a backdrop.  I think a lot of the fun of shooting food is the set up.  This was the hardest part for me.  I used some old flooring for a table top and a DYI photo holder that my mother made for the backdrop.  I look into investing in more backdrops in the future. Then its the things you place the food on or in.  Dishes, cups, saucers, plates, and anything else you have in the photo.  Vintage things seem to go well.  I can see a lot of flea market, goodwill, and antique shopping in my future for Food Photography shoots.  

Looks like I've found a new way to spark my creativity with photography.  I'm looking forward to many hours of enjoyment from this new branch in my photography tree. I'll try to keep you updated in my progress.  Get your camera out and shoot some food.  And don't forget to get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog food food photography learning lighting Max Stansell Photography Photography props studio website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/new-photography-style-for-me Fri, 13 Aug 2021 08:29:53 GMT
Will things get back to Normal? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/will-things-get-back-to-normal Hey Everyone! Hope your week has been good.  This blog will be more of me just talking to you instead of telling you about a product or something else.  Well half of the year is over and I feel like I haven't done anything.  Last year even with the Covid-19 pandemic going on I feel like I accomplished more than I have this year.  Last year in the beginning I had plans to go to all of the State parks in North Carolina and then we had two Photography trips planned one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  Well I got started on my state parks then the pandemic started.  Then our photography trips got canceled then we were doing our monthly meetings via Zoom.   Well when some of the restrictions lifted I started my State parks project again.  So I had something to do.  I kept busy.  But this year I didn't have anything really set in stone.  I want to check out all of the National Forest in North Carolina and explore them.  But this plan was more flexible than last years and really I've only gone out a couple of times and have not done much photography. It seems like the only thing I've done on a regular schedule is this blog.  Now half of the year has passed and like everyone else life has gotten in the way of me doing photography and really getting into the outdoors as much as I want.  Blah, Blah, Blah.  I know , I know.  I've got to snap out of the Blah-ness.

This morning I woke up at 4-ish like usual , stumbled into the kitchen, made some coffee and wandered into my office and logged onto "Facebook" and the first thing on my screen was a Fall colors trip scheduled for my photography club to West Virginia!  Now I have gotten excited about what I was seeing.  I haven't seen my photography buddies since the beginning of the pandemic.  We did have one in person meeting but I had to miss it due to family illness.  Let me tell you I am really excited to be out with my photo buddies in beautiful places.  And today the Olympics started after being delayed a year.  So I hope things are looking up.  

So what does all this mean?  Well its given me something to look forward to.  A goal in the distance.  I haven't really picked up my big boy camera this year except to maybe take some blog photo's.  And to tell IMG_1562IMG_1562 you the truth I could do these photo's with my phone and sometimes I do. I'm getting excited about picking my camera up again and maybe some more photography related blogs.  I know that if people are expecting to see photography blogs that here lately its only been backpacking and camping blogs.  So I promise that the photography blogs and new photo's will be coming soon.  I'll still do the backpacking because I have some big goals coming up in the next couple of years.  I'm in training now trying to get back into shape.  I've lost about 15 lbs in the last few months but still have a bunch more to go to get lean and mean for those goals.  Maybe I'll have a few of my training things in a blog in the future.  

I have a fantastic camera kit and haven't even broke it out this year.  My lens and body combo is still great as far as I'm concerned and am looking forward to getting that kit in use again.  If you've forgotten I use the Sony A6500 as my main camera and a A6300 as my backup.  I know there have been about 3 camera IMG_1114IMG_1114 bodies that have come out since then but I think my camera bodies are great and that the advances in the newer ones are not going to make a significant difference in my photography.  My lenses are still great lenses .  Of course I'm always looking at new ones but again don't think that they would make a significant difference in my photography. I'm still in the belief that if the newer camera is not going to increase your photography Quality or do something new that you can't do now I don't see the need in buying newer gear.  I feel like I'm very rusty and will have to get back in the groove and start going back out on weekend trips to take photo's.  I think that getting back in the grove and just start taking photo's again will get me back to taking decent photo's again. 

My photo club had a workshop on Food Photography and I had a great time.  I knew I liked food but taking photo's of it who knew? I had a great time with my photog friends some I haven't seen in over a year.  It was great to get together and mingle and take photo's.  I have included some in this blog for you to see.  So until next week get outside and keep shooting.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Covid Eastern NC food GAPC landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Normal North Carolina photo club Photography travel trips website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/8/will-things-get-back-to-normal Fri, 06 Aug 2021 08:59:43 GMT
Gear Review Aftershokz Bone Conduction Headphones https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/gear-review-aftershokz-bone-conduction-headphones Hey everyone! Hope you're doing well today!  Today I'd like to do a gear review.  I don't do many, but maybe I should being a gearhead and all. LOL Today I'd like to talk about some new technology that I acquired a few weeks ago and have fallen in love with.  Bone conduction headphones. What is that, you ask? These are headphones that don't stick into your ear canal but rest on the bones in front of your ear and vibrate to send the sound to your ear instead of your eardrum doing the work.  I know it sounds kind of weird, doesn't it, but it truly works.  Now, why would you want bone conducting headphones?  Well, that's a good question. First of all, I don't think they are for everyone. But their best use is when you exercise. If your are a cyclist, runner, walker, or hiker like I am, they are great! Because the headphones don't go in your ears, you can still hear all of your surrounding environment. If you're out for a run, you can hear all the traffic, bicycles, cars, and trucks that surround you while you're on that 5k run. If you're a walker, especially around town, just like the runner you can hear your surroundings. For a hiker they are great because you can hear all the noises in the forest and you can hear trail runners coming up behind you or a mountain biker coming up on you. You can do all of this while having the music you like or a podcast playing in the background. I know that ear pods have a transparent mode in them now that kind of does this, but not as well. These are excellent for exercise and hearing what is around you. Regular headphones block out all the noise and can be a safety concern if you need to hear your  surroundings, like traffic or a rattlesnake. These are also great if you want to have a conversation with someone. Say you meet someone on your hike or run and you stop to talk, you don't have to pull a device out of your ear to talk to them. So now let me talk about the ones that I got, the Aftershokz Aeropex.

The Aftershokz Aeropex headphones are light, less than one ounce. One size fits all. They are very comfortable to wear. You actually can forget that you have them on after a while. They are waterproof, which is great for me because I seem to always find myself in some sort of rainstorm while I'm out and about. They will last 8 hours, which for most of us is more exercising than we will have in a day. The sound is very good. Maybe not as good as conventional headphones, but unless you're a music snob and can really tell the difference between the decibels of base and such, these are great. I can't tell the difference while I'm using them. When you get them in the box, you get a silicone carrying case with a magnetic closure, as well as two charging cables. These are proprietary magnetic charging cables, so it's nice that they give you two. I have one in my backpack and one at the house. They also supply you with earplugs if you wanted to use them as traditional headphones. I think the earplugs are silly and useless, but at least they tried. The Bluetooth 5.0 is very good, and I have had no problems with them hooking up to my phone. You can go to their website to see all of their specs if you're interested.

As you can tell, I love these headphones. This particular set comes in at $159.99 on Amazon and comes with a little sport belt you can wear to put your phone in. These are a little pricey, but you can get older generation ones for much cheaper. However, when it comes to technology, I like to buy the best that I can afford at the time. It stops buyer's remorse, and I seem to use them longer.  Anyway, that's all for this week. Until next week, get outside! 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aeropex Aftershokz biking blog Bluetooth bone conducting Headphones cycling exercise hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography running walking waterproof website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/gear-review-aftershokz-bone-conduction-headphones Fri, 30 Jul 2021 08:22:12 GMT
If you Pack it in Pack it Out! Please https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/if-you-pack-it-in-pack-it-out-please Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing fine this week.  This week I want to talk about all of the new people that have started to go into the woods since the Pandemic has come.  Our National and State Parks and National Forrest are seeing a large increase of people visiting our nations greatest resources.  I think that it is great that people are finding out about our great parks and forest that we enjoy.  But with more people more stress to the environment that we are putting on this valuable resource. One of the biggest impacts is the trash and litter that is being brought into the parks and national forest .  I don't really know why people do this.  We all know how trash looks on our public roads.  Travel down any road in America and you can see trash everywhere.  And its ugly. No one wants to see other peoples trash thrown all about.  We don't like it in our cities and do not want to see it in our wilderness.  The litter comes in all sizes from candy wrappers and water bottles left on the ground to burning trash in fire rings at campsites to leaving toilet paper and human waste where it shouldn't be.  Yes I said it Poop!  I'm sure most of this trash and bad behavior is due to being new to the wilderness and just not knowing.  Not knowing that someone isn't paid to pick up your trash.  Park Rangers are not paid to pick up behind you and you should dispose of the trash in a approved container.  Like putting it in a trash can and not the ground.  If you have trash you should Pack it out until you get to an approved waste disposal container to put it in.  If you're at a campsite you shouldn't burn your trash because all of the plastic or foil that is not paper will not burn away and will be left for others to see and animals to ingest.  Pack out your trash. Please remember that coming to these places is a privilege that we have and we want to save it for others that come after us not to just get the quick Instagram pic and leave. Okay,  rant over let's talk about what you should do in the backcountry and trails to have a great time and leave the beauty for someone else to see.

Pack it in Pack it out.  Take only photographs and memories and leave only footprints.  These are just two of many sayings that can be used to describe how we should act in the backcountry and trails.  Trash, Trash that is taken into a park or forest should be taken out.  We all like snacks and goodies while hiking but please put your trash in a trash bag and haul it out.  Your pack won't be heaver it will be lighter because you've eaten what the wrapper covered.  When you get to an approved waste disposal container like a trash can or recycle bin then you can put it in its proper place.  If you hike into a camp and have a camp fire in a approved fire ring.  Don't burn trash.  Haul it out. Just like before your pack won't be heaver it will be lighter.  If you burn your trash there is always some left behind and after you leave some animal will come behind you and eat whatever you have left.  So Please pack it out if your brought it in.  For using the bathroom in the woods first use and out house or privy if there is one available.   If there is not one available go at least 200 ft from the trail or water source or camp site. Dig a cat hole approximately 6-8 inches deep, do your business in the hole and cover your deposit and soiled toilet paper with the dirt from the hole and cover with natural debris that is around like leaves pine needles.  Some parks and recreation areas do not want you to bury your toilet paper because the environment is not suited to quickly decompose the toilet paper or human traffic is too high and they will want you to haul out your dirty toilet paper.  You can put in double bagged Zip lock bags and dispose of in a proper waste container.   Some places that have fragile environment may want you to take the toilet paper and poop out and they will usually provide the bags to do it into. These bags are called WAG bags (Waste Alleviation and Gelling) They can used 3 or4 times and are puncture resistant double bagged. Mount Whitney the tallest mountain in the contiguous lower 48 is a very popular and dry rocky place and they issue WAG bags at the foot of the mountain for you to take with you.  This may seem very extreme to those that haven't been in the woods before. But high traffic and uninformed people can cause havoc on the environment.  I have been on the AT (Appalachian trail) in the Smokey Mountain park during the big bubble of through hikers and have seen the fields of toilet paper flowers from people who supposedly know what to do in the back country and didn't because they didn't dig their holes deep enough.  It is an unsightly scene and very un-sanitary.  Max Patch is another place that has been ruined by people who don't know.  This is a beautiful bald along the AT in North Carolina in Pisgah National Forrest. On this blog I have shared some photo's that I got off of the internet to show what happens when people overcrowd a place and don't know the rules of how to act.  They actually had to close Max Patch to campers because they were destroying the area.

What is the whole point of this blog? Too vent a little, and hopefully to inform folks that are new to the back country and how to conduct themselves to protect these great resources that we have for us and the future generations.  So Please share this info with others and take a grocery bag with you on your next hike to pick up some trash you may see along the way. And of course dispose of it properly.  Until next week Get Outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) AT blog landscape learning leave no trace Max Patch Max Stansell Photography Mt. Whitney National Forest National Parks pack it in pack it out Photography Pisgah Smokey's State Parks website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/if-you-pack-it-in-pack-it-out-please Fri, 23 Jul 2021 08:27:58 GMT
What I Take Backpacking on a Weekend Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/what-i-take-backpacking-on-a-weekend-trip Bluff Mtn SummitBluff Mtn Summit Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing well this week. I am a gear guy.  Let's face it I love gear. Whether its Photography gear which I have talked a lot about on this blog to backpacking and camping gear.  This week I want to give you an idea of what I cary on a typical overnight backpacking trip that you would do on the weekend.  Some backpackers would take more or less but I think this is a good representation of what a typical overnight load out would be.  You can see what is in my pack by going to the Lighter Pack website link here. Im in the process of adding links to all of the items on the Lighter Pack website but haven't yet.  In the process means I have thought about it. LOL   I will give you a list of what's in my pack and a little description or why I use it below.  My base weight which means all the stuff in my pack except food , water and fuel is in the summer about 12-13 lbs and in the winter about 14-16 lbs.  These are pretty much dependent on what shelter I take if a tent it is lighter and a hammock its heaver. So here we go.

-Pack: My choice of pack right now is the Z-Pack's Arch Haul.  This is about a 55 liter pack and maybe a little much for a overnight but its a great pack.  There are many packs on the market and all of them have good points and bad.  You just have to choose the one that is right for you.

-Shelter- This is where my pack varies the most.  Depending where I go or what kind of trip I'm on will decide which shelter I use. Tent or Hammock.  I prefer to sleep in a hammock but it is heaver and you do need trees to hang it. The hammock I use is a home made one that I got the Idea from the company that I get all of my material from . "Ripstop by the Roll" It has a zippered bug net attached to it and is very comfortable to sleep in.  My tent that I use is the Z-Pack's Duplex a 2 person tent that only weighs about 11/2 lbs.  I use it on longer trips and where the hammock would not be practical .  Its a awesome tent and the Tent set up is about a pound lighter than the Hammock set up. If I use a hammock I also need a Tarp to go over it. I also made the one or should I say ones because I have made a few.  Depending on the weather decides which tarp I will take.  Bad weather or cold I take a tarp that has doors on it and in good weather I take one that doesn't have doors.

-Sleeping Pad- If I use my tent I use a Nemo-Tensor Insulated sleeping pad.  It's the kind that you Blow up and is comfortable and will keep you warm on cold nights.

-Quilts- No these are not like your grandmothers quilts.  These are made especially for Backpacking. I use a 20 degree Enlightened Equipment top quilt and it can be used for tents or hammocks. I could use it for summer use but the weight savings on a 50 degree Aegismax sleeping bag is too great for the summer time. It is an inexpensive Chinese made quilt that I got off of Alley express a Chinese Amazon. For my bottom quilt when I use a hammock in the summer I use a 40 degree home made quilt that I made.  For the winter I use a 20 Hammock Gear Incubator quilt.  It is awesome and very comfy cosy. 

-Pillow- Yes a luxury item! I use a Trekology Blow up Pillow and a stuff sack with clothes in it if I need another. A good night sleep is essential after a long day of backpacking.

-Cooking/Water Filtration- I will just name these off of what is in my cook kit. My Pot a 750 Toaks titanium, stove BRS Ultralight canister stove. Long handled spoon Toaks titanium, Folding Toaks titanium fork, Knife Swiss Army Knife, GSI backpacking Cup (for Coffee!) I normally use a bear bag food storage which I use a Z-packs storage DCF bag. Sometimes I have to use a bear canister then I use a Bear Vault 450 a plastic canister that is suppose to be bear proof.  My water filtration is done by a Sawyer Squeeze and a Cnock 2 liter bladder.  I also use 1 liter and a 750ml water bottles for storage. The water bladder always is dirty water and I filter to one of the smart water bottles. Water filtration is the most important thing in the cooking system you must have clean drinking and cooking water.

-Clothing- Rain Coat this is an inexpensive Frogg Toggs, Puffy Jacket I always have a puffy jacket summer or winter you never know. Fleece beanie hat, gloves, a Buff which is a brand of neck gator, Socks Darn Tuff my favorite, underwear not cotton!, I use a stuff sack made by Z-Packs when turned inside out has a fleece side for a pillow. Very comfy.

-Toilet kit- Poop Kit which will include a trowel, a back country bidet I just started using instead of toilet paper, a few Wyse-Wipes which are small tablet looking things but when you add just a little water they become a moist towelette. (these must be packed out not buried ) and biodegradable soap.

-Toiletries-include a tooth brush and tooth paste ,hand sanitizer , If I use contacts some extra ones. This kit will be kept with the food not in my pack or tent at night so not to attract critters with the smell of the toothpaste.

-First Aid kit this kit will include everything from blister care to diarrhea prevent medicine to ibuprofen (vitamin I) Mosquito repellant , sun screen and almost everything you can think of.  Try not to make this kit too big.

-Ditty Bag- This is where I have my ditty's! LOL Most of my electronic stuff goes here I have a 20000 mah battery that i use to charge everything . I have a rechargeable headlamp by Nightcore. All of my cords for recharging everything, A small fire starting kit and a kit that I can use to repair gear and earbuds.

-Extras-These are some things that I could probably do without but I want them with me. First is a Backpacking Umbrella.  This umbrella is very lightweight and has a silver outer cover.  It can be used for rain protection and sun protection if your in an exposed area.  The one I have was made by Gossamer Gear.  I also have a backpacking chair. Yes a chair.  Nothing is better than sitting in a chair after a 10ish mile day.  The support for your back is amazing! The one I have weighs about a pound and was made by REI.  My last extra is a sit pad.  This is a closed cell foam pad that you can use to sit on.  You can use it anywhere and something soft on your butt when stopping for lunch is great.

-Clothes I wear- These are things that are not in or on my pack.  I wear a fanny pack that was made by Light AF.  It is a small pack that can carry a camera or snacks it has a pouch on the outside that  can be used to hold my phone. I have my trusty Trekking poles made by Kelty which are a cheap brand but I just love mine. They are aluminum with twist locks.  Depending on the weather I either wear a pair of Gym shorts that have pockets or a pair of convertible pants that the legs zip off to make shorts.  I wear some kind of had either floppy or a baseball type of cap. I wear a shirt that is a synthetic shirt could be a button sun shirt or a pull over one that covers my arms if I will be in exposed areas. My underwear is made of synthetic material a boxer brief seems to be best for me.  My socks are Darn Tough socks .  My shoes of choice will be trail runners.  I am currently using Altra Lone Peak 3.5 but they are about worn out and will have to upgrade soon. The only other stuff I wear is my watch which I just upgraded to a Garmin Instinct but I have used a Amazon knockoff of a fit bit for a long time.  I also wear bone conducting headphones so I can listen to music or podcast while I hike and still hear all the sounds around. The ones I have are Areopex Aftershockz. 

Thats about it .  Total weight with water and food is about 20 in the summer and 22ish in the winter.  If you have any questions about any of my gear please get in touch with me and I will love to help you in any way I can.  Until Next week please stay safe and get outside!
 


 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Anker blog BRS Darn-tough DIY Electronics First-Aid Gear Gossamer-Gear GSI Hammock landscape learning Lite-AF Max Stansell Photography Photography Poop-Kit REI Sawyer-Squeeze swiss army knife Toaks Water-Filtration website Z-Packs https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/what-i-take-backpacking-on-a-weekend-trip Fri, 16 Jul 2021 08:47:53 GMT
Dealing With Failure https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/dealing-with-failure Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is doing well this week.  Today I wanted to talk about failures. Yes failures. Everyone has them.  If you don't then your not trying hard enough stuff. Recently I just had a backpacking failure. But I prefer not to think of it as a failure but a learning experience. What were your learning you say. Well I'm a glass half full guy so when I look at a failure I look at what went right not to drone on about what went wrong.  Now failures come in all sorts and sizes. It could be a photography failure. Maybe you were trying to shoot the milky way and it just didn't work.  You couldn't get your settings right .  You tried and tried and just got one shot that looks like it might be OK.  Well that one shot could have been what you learned. Maybe you struggled with settings on your camera and trying to set them up in the dark.  Another lesson you learned that you need to know your camera better so you and do things in the dark.  These are things to work on and try again later.  Let me tell you about a recent backpacking failure that I had.

I had planned a trip in the Uwharrie National Forest.  It was about a 7mile out and back along the Uwharrie  trail.  I would camp on top of a bald mountain.  I have a new tent that I was going to try out and a couple of new items that I haven't used yet in my pack.  I had quickly planned out this trip and it was dependent on the weather.  So at the last minute I pulled the trigger and took off to the trailhead.  Its about a 2 1/2 hour trip to get there and when I did there were only 2 other cars there!  Yay! That means that the trail would be mostly mine.  I was excited!  I grabbed my pack and trekking poles and took off down the trail. But something didn't feel right.  I looked down and I didn't have my regular hiking shoes on.  I brought them but I was so excited that I forgot to change into them. Well I wasn't far from the truck so I went back and changed shoes and started my hike again.  Something still didn't feel right .  And I remembered that I had adjusted my trekking poles down 5cm to use as tent poles with my new tent. So I adjusted them but something went wrong one of them wouldn't lock into place. I did a little panic and kept fiddling with it until I finally got it to lock into place.  Ok everything good to go and off I went.  The trail was beautiful! This is a new section of trail and it was in good shape and the inclines were not too bad. It was very humid because of the rain we had been having the last week or so and it had mist and sprinkled a few times and the leaves were wet.  I was doing some professional sweating!  Sweat was dripping off of the front of my cap. Drip , Drip , Drip.  I took some photo's along the way I was having a great time.  On the approach to King Mountain the tallest on the Uwharrie trail the inclines started being tougher.  Even though they had put some switch backs in the trail.  A switch back is a zig zag in the trail so your not going strait up the hill but at a easer incline.  I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath but I made it to the top.  This is where the fun stopped.  The section that I was just on was all new trail with the switch backs built in but the old trail didn't do that.  When I started going down King Mountain I was on Older trail and it went straight down hill at a steep decline.  If you have bad knees you know that all of the weight of you and you pack fall on your knees when going down hill.  So I went slow.  My right knee is my bad knee with the torn Meniscus and I had a couple of sharp twinges in it as I was slowly going down when all of the sudden my left knee just locked up and I had a sharp pain that went from my knee and up my inner thigh.  And I couldn't bend it either way it was frozen in place!  I freaked out a little and worked with it and finally got it to bend a little. It was still over two miles to get to a road.  That was a very long 2 miles.  As I hobbled out of the woods all kinds of things were going through my head.  When I got to the road and a trailhead I stopped and thought about my options.  I was less than a mile from my final campsite.  I could go there and camp and see how my knees were in the morning.  Then I started thinking knees are never better the day after you have tweaked them.  So what was I to do?  I thought long and hard it was 2:30 in the afternoon.  I called my son and told him the situation and I was going to have him pick me up and take me to my truck where I would drive home.  That seemed to be the smartest option.  I could have camped out but someone would have to pick me up in the morning.  I called my wife and told her what was happening. But now I had a 3ish hour wait at the trailhead.  So I pulled out my camp chair sat in the shade and played with my phone .  It was hot! and I only had a 1/2 liter of water left I would have to get more. So I packed everything up and found a stream and got some water filtered it from a very shallow stream.  I was doing some hard core sweating now even my calfs were sweating.  I made it back to the trail head sat down in the shade drank some water and ate a little and I was starting to feel better, then it started raining.  Not just a little sprinkle but a downpour. I had just started charging my phone from a battery bank my phone is water proof but the battery bank wasn't so I used my raincoat to protect it from the rain water.  The trailhead sign had a small cover over it so I made camp up under the sign why it rained. I waited for two more hours until my son showed up and took me to my truck.  

So to me this was a big fail at the time. I had never not finished a backpacking trip before.  What happened? What did I do so wrong.  Am I just too old to backpack anymore?   Maybe but here is what I learned after a day of thinking about what happened. That 2 1/2 hour drive was filled with anticipation of what was to come. How many people are going to be there. (last time I went I couldn't even find a parking place) What will the weather be.  So lesson 1 is - Don't get too excited at the trailhead before you set off.  (Trekking poles and shoes) I was doing real well before I tweaked my knee maybe should have drunk more water . I was probably dehydrated and should have added some electrolytes to my water. Lesson 2 drink plenty of water with electrolytes and eat while hiking.  I only factored in distance when planning my trip not elevation, heat and humidity. (I still did well) Lesson 3 factor in difficulty of the hike (elevation)  I also saw that  I made good decisions after I tweaked my knee.  I got to a trailhead (self extracted) Sat down and figured out all of the options and picked the safest one and called for help when I needed to. Lesson 4 keep calm cool and collected if injured getting excited will only make it worse.  Lesson 5- don't be proud call for help if you need it. So I did very well after I got injured. I made sure I was well hydrated after reaching the last trailhead by going and getting more water. I also learned that my equipment that I had with me did well.  The rain didn't get anything wet but the outside of my pack.  I was very fortunate that I had cell phone coverage and could talk to people. Although I do have a satellite communicator that I could talk via text but would have been more difficult.

Although I did not complete the trip as planned I did learn a lot about my equipment and me which was what this trip was all about.  I've learned some things that I need to improve on and some things that I did well.  I do think that if I had not tweaked my knee that I would have been able to complete the trip although I would have been warn out.  I will definitely do this trip again maybe in the fall when its not as hot and humid.  Can't wait!  So until next week get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog dehydration failure hiking. landscape learning Max Stansell Photography national forest Photography rain trail Uwharrie website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/dealing-with-failure Fri, 09 Jul 2021 20:32:13 GMT
Hiking Footwear https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/hiking-footwear Hey Everyone! Hope y'all are doing great this week. This week I want to talk about hiking and backpacking footwear, probably the most important gear choice you'll have to make. This is literally where the hiking meets the trail! Your whole trip depends on your footwear.  Everything that you carry through every mile will be carried by your feet, so foot care is important.  No one wants blisters or sore feet. Nothing is worse than being halfway through your backpacking trip and your feet are killing you and you know you have miles to hike to get to your car. Choosing the proper footwear and caring for your feet is one of the most important things you'll do in backpacking. First, let's choose a good hiking sock.

The sock that you choose is very important. You would think that something this small wouldn't make such a difference but it does.  Like all of your other clothing, you don't want cotton. The preferred material choice is wool. I know most people have never worn wool socks before. These wool products nowadays are not your grandfather's itchy, scratchy wool. Nowadays wool is soft and water wicking, keeping your feet dry, which is a key step in keeping blisters away. Marina wool socks can be found in all sorts of places and by all kinds of companies. Some companies specialize in hiking and backpacking. These folks really know their stuff, and some warranty their socks to last forever.  So if you get a hole in them, they will send you a new pair at no cost. So you know they are durable.  I use socks by the company Darn Tough. They are expensive socks, but they are worth every penny. I have never gotten blisters while wearing these socks. I usually take two pairs while on a multi-day hike. I wear one and take a spare and change out every day.  I'll rinse out the dirty pair and hang it on the outside of my pack to dry while hiking the next day. That keeps me in a clean pair every day.

Hiking boots or shoes? Traditionally boots were the choice.  I guess because of the Army and all of the hiking and walking they did in their boots. But nowadays boots are the exception to the rule, usually only being worn in colder climates or in the wintertime. Nowadays trail runners are the rule. Trail runners are made to be worn while trail running. They have lots of support and a very grippy and aggressive tread. They are lightweight, and you can either get them waterproof or not. I tend to not get the waterproof ones, because if you stand in water that is higher than your shoes, like when crossing a large creek, your shoes just become bowls of water that your feet are in and it takes longer for them to dry out.  I like the ones that are not waterproof because they dry out faster. Choosing shoes is a personal decision, and there are different strokes for different folks. There are many shoe companies, but here are some of them: Merrell, Altra, and Soloman. I know I always mention REI as a place to go to buy stuff, but to me it is the best place. First of all, they have specialized items like hiking shoes or boots. Second, they have a no-questions return policy. You can return anything within a year and get your money back (even if you have used them).  Third, you get a 10% dividend at the end of the year, so the more you spend the more money you get for next year. Fourth, all the things that are returned are sold in a yard sale event that happens almost monthly, and you can get great deals on items that are slightly used. So REI is my store of choice for specialized items that are hard to find anywhere else. So if I don't see it on Amazon, I go to REI to touch and feel try on, etc...

The most important thing to do when choosing shoes is to get the correct size. Getting your foot properly sized is important! Many of us have worn the same size for years, but we haven't properly been sized.  I wore size 8 1/2 shoes for all my life. Then I went to a small family shoe store and got my feet measured again and I was a 9 1/2.  It was a whole size too small! On top of getting the right size shoes, you also should upsize your hiking shoes 1/2 to a full size larger. This is why. First, you should be wearing your hiking socks as I mentioned before, and they are usually thicker than normal socks. Second, your feet swell while you hike, so a larger shoe is needed for hiking. Wearing improper shoes can cause discomfort, blistering, and loss of toenails.  Yuck! I have had the black toenails from improper shoe size. While hiking downhill my feet were sliding in my shoe and my toes were hitting the front of the shoe. My toenails were too long (trim them!) and were bending when hitting the front of the boot. My big toenail turned black and eventually fell off. Yuck Again! So please get the right shoe and socks for the hike! 

Another thing to consider is the insoles of your shoes. You want something with lots of arch support. I had plantar fasciitis, and the insoles I put in helped me get better. These should be sized also to fit the shape of your foot if you need them. The ones that come in the trail runner may be fine for you. I use the ones by Super Feet. They are stiff and support my feet and arches and are definitely worth the extra cost. So keep your feet happy, and you will have a better hike or backpacking experience.  Keep hiking and get outside!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Altra backpacking blog boots gortex hiking learning lightweight Max Stansell Photography Merrell Photography Soloman trail runners website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/7/hiking-footwear Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Favorite Backpacking Accessories https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/favorite-backpacking-accessories Hey Everyone! I hope you've had a good week and everyone is healthy and safe. This week I want to talk about some of my favorite backpacking accessories.  These come in no particular order sort except one that I will save for last as my favorite accessory. Unfortunately, we as backpackers tend to collect all sorts of things that can weigh down our packs. The things I like may not be the same things you like. We tend to pack according to our fears. If we're afraid of being too cold, we will bring too much clothing. If we are afraid of getting hurt, we will overpack our first aid kit. So be careful not to overpack, because a light pack will make you enjoy your trip more than anything. So far I have talked about the big three items that we take backpacking and my camera kit. So here are some of my favorite backpacking accessories.

Headlamp - Some sort of light is a must in the backcountry.  There are many kinds of lights, from a small flashlight to a fancy headlamp.  I have had fancy headlamps that claim to be all that and a bag of chips. LOL But your headlamp doesn't need to be extravagant. It needs to be simple to operate and simple to use. I first got the headlamp that I use through photography. I got it for night photography, and it quickly replaced my expensive headlamp that I was using. The VITCHELO V800 is a simple inexpensive headlamp.  I got mine off of Amazon for under $20.  It is simple to use with just two buttons, one for a red lamp and one for white.  I like simple. My more expensive headlamps had one button, and you had to go through a series of pushes to get this or that to operate. I love this little headlamp for its simplicity. It uses 3 AAA batteries that last a long time, so I don't have to worry about recharging it. Nice and simple. I have recently purchased a new headlamp, the Nitecore NU 25. This little headlamp is simple to use like the one explained above, but it is rechargeable and lighter in weight. It costs around $30.

Smartphone and Apps - Everyone has a phone nowadays, and they can be very versatile and do lots of things besides just being a phone. It's my backup camera if something happens to my main camera.  It's a GPS device that can get me out of a jam with offline maps downloaded to it. It can be entertainment in the form of a book or a downloaded movie or show. And of course it can hold your favorite hiking music. It can even be an extra flashlight if something happens to yours. So as you can see it is a very versatile piece of equipment. But remember that a lot of places you go you will not have cell phone coverage, so be prepared if you're using it for navigation.  And a backup battery bank will also come in handy to recharge this device.  I use GAIA maps for my hiking and exploring, and I download offline maps to make sure if I lose cell coverage I still have maps to use for hiking and driving navigation. One tip to save battery power if you know you're going to be out of cell coverage reach is to put your phone on airplane mode so it doesn't use all of its energy looking for a signal.

Portable Battery Pack - One thing electronics all have in common is that they use batteries to power them.  My camera batteries, my new headlamp, and my phone. When you're out in the wilderness there are no electrical outlets to plug into, so where do I get my power for these things? I use a portable battery bank made by ANKER.  I got this like almost everything off of Amazon. It is a 20000 MAH battery and can recharge my phone many times, my batteries for my camera, and my headlamp. It is a great resource and can supply not only battery power but also a sense of security. It also can recharge my next item. 

GPS Communication Device - My next item gives piece of mind not only to me but to my family. In the places I go when backpacking or just exploring, cell phone coverage is spotty at best. This device is a two-way satellite communicator and doesn't need cell phone coverage to work.  It uses the satellites that circle the earth to communicate. It is a Garmin Inreach Mini. This is a fancy GPS device that can pair to your phone. You can send and receive text messages and send your coordinates to your loved ones.  With a link that is sent, they can see on a map exactly where you are.  The device also has an SOS button that can be pushed in case of an accident. Say you broke your leg and can't get out of the backwoods. You can push this button, and a service will notify the rescue personnel where you are.  They can text you and check on your condition. They can come and get you and bring you to safety.  As the name implies, this is a small device that rides on the shoulder strap of my pack. This is an expensive device coming in at $350, but well worth it to keep my family and friends informed. If you plan on doing a lot of exploring where there is no cell phone coverage, a device like this is a must-have, whether you have this on your pack or in your car.

Lightweight Chair - There are all kinds of accessories that you can take with you in the backcountry.  A new addition to my backpacking lineup is a lightweight chair.  I know this sounds silly.  But I am a weekend warrior, not a through hiker, so I like my comfort especially since I've gotten older.  It comes in right at a pound but worth it. After a long day's hike when you get to your campsite, even if it's an established campsite with places to sit, there is no support for your back. You can't just lay back and eat your meal or have somewhere to sit if you're at an unestablished campsite.  I use the REI Flexlite Air.  There are many brands out there now, but this is a luxury that I give myself when I go backpacking. 

Now for my Favorite backpacking accessory.  It's my Trekking Poles. I know it sounds silly for those who have never used them, but they are my favorite accessory. Trekking poles help you walk and keep steady. They will allow you to hike farther with less effort. Instead of being two-legged, you're now four-legged. They take stress off of your knees, which is why I got them in the first place, and from the first day I was faster and more efficient hiking. For any distance past a couple of miles, I always use trekking poles. They are also the poles I use for my tent when I use a tent. I can truly say that they have let me see more scenery.  When I started using them, I noticed that I didn't have to pay so much attention to where I was walking with my head down looking for roots or where to put my feet. The trekking poles give me more stability when I hike and I am able to look up to see more of what I came out for. You can get all types of trekking poles, from very expensive carbon fiber ones to less expensive aluminum ones.  I have the latter.  I think they are more durable. I only have had two sets. The first ones I got I was coming down the stairs the first day I got them and slipped and fell on one of them and broke them. But I was so pleased with how they performed that when I got home I ordered a new pair and have had those for years. They may be one of my oldest pieces of equipment. But I couldn't go on a backpacking trip without them.

So there you have some of my favorite backpacking accessories.  Do you have any?  Drop me a line and let me know what they are.  So until next week, get outside and start exploring!


 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Anker backpacking blog camp chair camping garmin headlamp iphone kelty landscape learning Max Stansell Photography nitecore phone Photography REI trekking poles website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/favorite-backpacking-accessories Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:00:00 GMT
The 10 Essentials of Backpacking https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/the-10-essentials-of-backpacking Hey Yall! Hope everyone is doing fine this week. This week I wanted to cover the 10 essentials of things that you need to carry when you're hiking or backpacking. It seems to me that these essentials were brought up by the Boy Scouts a long time ago but are true and tried things that you need to have with you. I will go over these 10 essentials, but keep in mind that you can go overboard on some of these items. These are things that you have to decide for yourself. 

1. Navigation - Some type of navigation, whether it be a map and compass or GPS, is needed.  This will keep you from getting lost. I also suggest that you have a backup if you're using a phone or a GPS in case the battery goes dead. The backup would be a paper map of some kind. It doesn't need to be an elaborate map, just one that can get you out of the woods if you get lost. I use my phone and a map that I have printed out and I carry a small compass just so I know where north is.

2. Sun Protection - When exposed to the elements, it is very easy to get sunburn or even heat stroke. Protecting your skin and eyes from the harsh sun is the goal. Sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat or long-sleeve sun shirt can protect these areas. I carry a small amount of sunblock in a pouch and wear a hat and long sleeves.

3. Insulation - Insulation includes a jacket, gloves, rain shell, and thermal underwear. These essentials can make the difference between getting hypothermia or being cozy at camp. You can spend a lot of money on this one, but you don't have to. There are some good items that you can substitute for jackets and gloves.

4.Illumination - Guess what? It gets dark when the sun goes down in the wilderness. So some sort of light is needed. I use a headlamp, but there are all kinds of flashlights and lanterns that can be used.

5. First Aid and Supplies - This is one area that you can go overboard on or either not take enough. You need to make your first aid kit cater to you. If you're on medication, make sure you bring it. If you're allergic to bees, make sure you have an EpiPen with you. Also bring some pain killers, band aids, and Leukotape is great for blisters. Bring what you think you will need.

6. Fire Starter - Matches or a lighter are safety items.  A fire can keep you warm and can be used to signal for help.  You should know how to start a fire in the wilderness. Some type of fire starter, like lent from your dryer, works well to get a fire started. I carry 2 Bic lighters. One is in my cook kit, and the other is in my first aid kit with Leukotape wrapped around it. I also carry some fuel tablets just for starting a fire.  After you light one they will last for 10 min. or so, enough time to get a fire going.

7. Repair Kit and tools -  For backpacking, your repair kit could be in the form of duct tape and a knife. I carry a repair kit for my sleeping pad, and duct tape is wrapped around my trekking poles. I only carry one knife with me. It's a small Swiss Army knife that has some tools built in like scissors, all very small and lightweight. If you carry dental floss and a needle, you can use that to sew up tears in packs or clothing.

8. Nutrition -  You must carry food with you if you're doing a long hike or backpacking. If you're doing a hike, a simple power bar might do. But if you're going backpacking, you must carry meals to make sure you're at your best energy level when moving around in the wilderness.

9. Hydration - You need water to survive. Getting dehydrated can make you sick, and it's dangerous to your health. Either pack enough water with you to last the hike or backpacking trip, or carry a water filter. Water is the heaviest thing in your pack while backpacking, so being able to find water sources and using a water filter will lighten the amount of water that you need to carry.

10. Shelter - This can be in the form of some sort of emergency shelter or tarp if you're hiking, or a tent or hammock if you are backpacking.  If the weather gets bad and you end up in a storm, it's great to have a place to get out of the weather. This could prevent you from getting hypothermia. I use either a small tarp if I'm doing a long hike, or my tent or hammock for backpacking.

The 10 essentials, if used correctly, could save your life or the life of others while traveling in the wilderness. These can fit into a small bag if you're just hiking or could fill up your whole pack. Choose wisely and make sure you have some version of the 10 essentials with you when you're out exploring nature.  Until next week, get outside and explore!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 10essentials backpacking blog gps hiking hydration landscape learning Max Stansell Photography navigation Photography safety shelter sun protection website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/the-10-essentials-of-backpacking Fri, 18 Jun 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Cooking on the Trail https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/cooking-on-the-trail Hey Everyone! Hope you've had a great week. This week I'm going to be talking about cooking on the trail while backpacking.  I am very simple cook on the trail and mainly just rehydrate food to eat.  But some people can get very elaborate with their cooking on the trail.  Being more fancy on the trail with your food can mean more weight but for some people its their luxury that they bring. Today Ill cover the kind of cooking I do while on trail and the tools I use to do it with.

Meals on the trail.  While your hiking on the trail especially if your doing lots of miles.  To me lots of miles is anything over 10. You're going to burn lots of calories.  So high calorie food is what you want.  You need to feed the machine.  You're also going to need high calorie snacks.  For my main meal at night I usually have some sort of freeze dried prepackaged meal.  They usually come in two serving sizes but your usually so hungry that you'll eat the whole thing.  Mountain House meals is probably the most used and you can get them at your local Walmart.  There are many more from Backpackers Pantry and many other companies that you can find on Amazon or your local REI.  You can get all sorts of meals from Lasagna to chicken teriyaki and most of them are very tasty.  They can be a little on the expensive side.  But you could substitute Ramen Camp CoffeeCamp Coffee Noodles and some sort of meat like tuna or chicken in packets for protein.  For lunch I usually have some sort of simple wrap.  I bring some tortilla wrappers and fill with tuna or chicken in the packs if you bring in some cheese and packets of condiments that you have leftover in a drawer in your kitchen come in handy.  Some people also make peanut butter wraps. For breakfast I keep it pretty simple with oatmeal or a breakfast bar.  Something to give me some energy but won't weigh me down. Of course substitutions can be made for all of these meals.  And I always carry an extra pack of Ramen Noodles for emergencies. For snacks I usually have some sort of trail mix or protein bar. One good thing about backpacking is if you're putting in the miles you can eat about what you want. _MSP1815_MSP1815

Preparing food on the trail.  Most if not all of my cooking on the trail consist of rehydrating something . So I really only have to boil water to do that.  I use a 750ml titanium pot to boil my water in and a small propane canister stove to heat up the water. It is all very light weight and small.  Everything fits into the small pot which is really just a good sized cup with a lid.  The small canister of fuel, the stove , lighter and camp towel all fit into the pot . I made a little bag that the pot with all the contents go into for easy storage in my pack.  The water that I use is either brought with me or filtered water from a stream.  I use a Sawer Squeeze water filtering system and haven't had any problems with bacteria.  So when cooking one of the freeze dried meals I follow the instructions. Usually 2 cups of boiling water is added to the package that the meal comes in. Wait 10 min or so and you have a meal. I usually take the meals out of their packages at home and repackage them into freezer bags (they pack better).  I have made a Reflectix Pouch where  I place the zip lock bags with the freeze dried food.  I add the water to the zip lock bag and cook inside the Reflectix Pouch
. And I eat right out of the bag with a long handled spoon. when I'm done I just close the ziplock bag and put in my trash bag to be hauled out. Easy peasy for quick clean up.  If I make coffee or coco I use the pot to boil the water and either used instant coffee or I bring ground and I have a little strainer that I put the coffee in and pour the boiling water over ( I have to bring an extra cup to do this coffee method).  All the food that I bring on trail with me is kept in a Dyneema Food Bag and when at camp it is hung in a tree a few hundred feet away from the campsite.  Bears, Racons and mice want your food also and if your in an established campsite they know that humans bring food so they can be sniffing around. Some Backcountry places you have to use a Food Canister to put your food in. It is a plastic cylinder with a lockable lid it's bear proof and will keep the critters out of it.  I don't have one yet but plan on getting one this year because I will be in areas where bear activity is high.

Experimenting with different types of food to bring is an ongoing adventure for me. I'm still just a boil water rehydrate cooker in the backcountry but there are all kinds of meals to try.  You could even dehydrate your own meals. Lots of people do.  I tried and it worked but I wasn't very good at it.  For example you could dehydrate spaghetti sauce and cook the noodles at the campsite and rehydrate the sauce. Or dehydrate chili and rehydrate at your camp. My advice is to at first keep it simple after a long days hike all you want to do is eat and sleep and having to prepare a fancy meal on the trail will be hard to do.  So keep it simple boil water like me.  So until next week keep exploring and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Alpineaire backpackers pantry blog boiling BRS cooking Hydrate landscape learning Max Stansell Photography mountain House Photography pot propane Titanium Toaks trail cooking website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/cooking-on-the-trail Fri, 11 Jun 2021 08:07:20 GMT
Backpacking Camera Kit https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/backpacking-camera-kit Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well today. This week I want to talk about my backpacking camera kit. Now if you have followed me for a while, you know that I commute a lot for my real job, and the camera I take with me is a Canon G7XMII point and shoot. This is the same camera that I use for backpacking.  It's a good camera that can shoot in manual mode and in RAW mode. It is a small and very versatile camera. I have actually used it and won some monthly photo contests with my camera club with this camera. Things that I look for in a backpacking camera are, first, size. How heavy is it?  If I have to carry lenses, how heavy and bulky are those? Back when I used to shoot a full-frame camera, the total weight could be 7 lbs. That was with just one lens. That's about equal to lugging around a gallon of milk on your back. So that's one of the reasons I started using a mirrorless camera years ago because I cut my weight to 3.5 lbs with multiple lenses. And now I have cut it even lower, to about 1 lb. So I have cut the weight down to almost nothing. The only time I will consider taking my larger camera is if I am going to a big photo spot, like If I go to a waterfall or special place or if I'm going to do astrophotography. But my go-to camera is the G7XMII.

Versatility is the next component that you want to look at. You want a camera that can shoot in all kinds of conditions. You can shoot wide-angle, telephoto, manual mode, and RAW.  It's almost impossible to get a camera that can do it all. Being able to be weatherproof is also something to look at. It is very hard to find one that is weather resistant. Other things that are nice are maybe wifi to transfer photos to your phone to share or edit. The G7XMII has a focal length of  24-100mm F1.8-2.8.  This gives you lots of flexibility when hiking or backpacking, especially in the woods. You can get those wide-angle shots, and 100mm is plenty when you're out and about. The aperture is open enough to isolate a subject and get a blurry background. It also has a macro mode for close-up shots. Shooting in manual can be handy, especially when shooting long exposures, like when shooting waterfalls. Wifi and the apps on my phone that connect to my camera come in handy. I can remotely trigger the shutter, which comes in handy when taking long exposures, and I can transfer photos to my phone or iPad and edit the photos there.  The only category that the camera falls short in is that it's not weatherproof. So I have to be careful when in the rain. I keep the bag in a weatherproof bag that I use as a fanny pack around my waist, and it protects it when it's wet outside. I also keep it in a neoprene wrap that protects it against shocks somewhat. This camera has a 1-inch 20 megapixel sensor that makes it much better than most point-and-shoots.

Accessories that I take with me for my camera kit are small but effective.  I use a small tripod that I also use with a GoPro I sometimes bring with me.  It's a tabletop tripod that is very small but can be used with this small camera.  I have some filters that I use with this camera too. I have an adapter that can be attached to the lens of the camera and can use 52mm filter size filters. I have a circular polarizer that I can use and a 2-stop neutral density filter I can use for long exposures. And of course, I have cleaning cloths to keep everything as dust-free as possible.  I use my phone and a Canon app to remotely trigger the shutter during long exposures.

So that's pretty much my camera kit for backpacking. I try to keep it simple and lightweight. You can check out my gear by following this link Lighter Pack. You can see my gear loadout and how much it weighs between tent and hammock and summer and winter by clicking on the list on the left. So until next week, stay safe and get outside and shoot!
 

 
 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera Canon filters G7XMII landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography tripod website workshops Zpacks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/6/backpacking-camera-kit Fri, 04 Jun 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Pack Third Item of the Big Three https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/pack-third-item-of-the-big-three Hey everyone!  Hope you are having a great day! Today we're going to discuss the final item of the big three for backpacking, packs. Now that you have chosen your shelter and your sleep system, you can correctly choose your pack.  The pack you choose should be able to hold your sleep system and your shelter with a little space to spare. Everything else you will need is small and should be able to fit into all the nooks and crannies of the pack. If you have a super big pack, you will want to put everything including the kitchen sink in it, and it will be super heavy. Remember, weight matters. You will want an internal frame pack. Packs used to come with big aluminum racks on the outside of the pack, but now most packs with an internal frame are either made of aluminum rods or some sort of composite rods to keep the weight down. The frames help support the pack and make it more comfortable when hauling loads.  Packs are sized in liters. Common sizes are 35, 40, 50, 55, 60 and 70 liters. They even come in larger sizes, but those are for expeditions where you need the kitchen sink. In backpacking, you don't need those.  Your longest stretch out in the wilderness will only be a week or so and then you can re-supply. My suggestion is 55-liter or lower. My first pack was an old army pack that I had acquired and it was big. I put so much stuff in it that, after a mile with it on my back, I thought I would die. I made a lot of mistakes. First, I had a pack too large and thought I just had to fill it with stuff. Second, I didn't have it fitted to me, so it was uncomfortable. Besides the size of the pack, the pack fitting your body is probably the most important. The pack should fit you. There are measurements that you take. One is of your torso length from a bone just below your hair line to your lower back. You can go online to YouTube or REI, and they will show you how to get properly fitted.  You will also need your waist size. With a properly fitted pack, you can hike miles with weight and not feel it on your shoulders because all the weight goes to your hips, and your legs do all of the work, not your shoulders. I went to REI for my first properly fitted pack. The people there are trained on fitting a pack for you. I got an Osprey 70-liter pack (still too many liters) that was fitted to me. They even put some weight in it, and I walked around the store to make sure it fit well. I used this pack for a while until it was just too big for the things I was carrying. This Osprey pack came with a little weight also at 7 lbs empty. My suggestion is to get one as light as you can. The one I have now is just a little over 2 lbs. Base weight is a term that backpackers talk a lot about, especially on YouTube gear channels. Base weight is everything you're going to carry on your trip except for expendables, things like water, food, and fuel. In our last two blogs, we talked about trying to get your tent to 2 lbs and your sleep system to 2 lbs. So now,  if you get your pack at 2 lbs, you're already at 6 lbs and things add up quickly. Let's think about a basic overnight backpacking trip and what you'll bring.  Let's say you did well but didn't quite get your big three to 2 lbs. Let's say you're at 3 lbs for each, which would make 9 lbs altogether. This is just a guess at what your total will be.

Big three -  9 lb: Water, 2 liters - 4.4 lb (2.2 lb per liter); Food for one night - 1.5 lb (1.5 per day); Cooking Kit - 1 lb (includes fuel and pot stove); First-Aid Kit and accessories - 1lb (includes headlamp). So this is what I would call the essentials, and it comes to 16.9 lbs. But what have we forgotten? Clothes. It's always good to have a rain jacket or puffy jacket and extra socks. And what about a good book to read, your phone and an extra battery to charge it, camera, toiletries, matches, lighter, water filter, knife, maybe even a camp chair?  As you can see, the weight adds up quickly. My goal is to keep it to around 25 lbs total weight or less, or around 20 lbs for base weight. In the winter, it will be heavier than in the summer because you carry more layers. You can easily get up to 40 lbs if you're not careful, and there is a big difference between 20 lbs and 40 lbs!

  Many packs can be customizable so you can add a pouch on your shoulder strap to hold a phone or a bottle of water for easy access.  Most of them will accommodate a water bladder with a hose so you can drink on the fly and not have to stop. The hip belt usually has pockets so you can carry snacks or whatever in them. They usually have a big mesh pocket on the outside so when you get something wet you can put it in there and it won't get all your stuff wet inside of the pack. Pack material will vary also from heavy-duty nylon to Dyneema. Some will be water repellent, and others you will have to have a pack cover when it rains to protect your stuff.  And of course, they come in all kinds of colors. Choosing the right pack is a big choice, so do a lot of research and try on as many as you can to make sure you're sized correctly for the most comfortable hike.  As I said earlier, I started with an Osprey 70-liter bag that I got from REI. I next went to a 40-liter bag that I got off of Amazon. And now I use a Zpacks Arch Haul 50-liter bag. The one I use now is water-resistant and can be adjusted in many different ways. You can check out my gear by following this link Lighter Pack. You can see my gear loadout and how much it weighs between tent and hammock and summer and winter by clicking on the list on the left. So choose wisely, and until next week safe travels and get outside.

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog Dyneema hiking landscape learning Lighter Pack Max Stansell Photography Nylon Osprey Photography REI Sizing Ultralight water proof website workshops Zpacks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/pack-third-item-of-the-big-three Fri, 28 May 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Sleep System 2nd of Big 3 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/sleep-system-2nd-of-big-3 Hey Everyone! Hope you had a good week! Today we're going to talk about Sleep Systems, the 2nd part of the Big Three. This can be a very personal thing to pick out because everybody is different and they sleep differently. Some sleep on their backs, some sleep on their sides, and some flip-flop all over the place when they sleep. Again, I'll emphasize that going cheap here will cause you not to get a good night's sleep making your backpacking experience not at all fun.  The big three items are where you should make a good investment. You can skimp on things like a cooking kit, but in my opinion the big three and footwear you shouldn't skimp on.

The sleep system is comprised of two items if you're a tent dweller, which most of you will be at first. One, a sleeping pad, and two, a sleeping bag or quilt. First of all, weight will factor into your decision because you have to carry what you use. Let's start with the sleeping pad. There are many versions that can work for you, especially if you're a back sleeper. Sleeping pads are a must and not an option. If you sleep right on the ground, the heat from your body will be pulled out by the ground you're laying on.  A barrier of insulation of some sort will keep the heat in your body, even in the summer. Pads also are a comfort item to cushion you as you sleep on the hard ground. Closed-cell foam pads are one of the most economical and durable choices.  A yoga mat from Walmart will work if you're willing to carry the bulkiness of it.  A popular choice in the cell foam is the Therm-A-Rest RidgeRest Classic.  This pad folds like an accordion into a neat little bundle, and it is durable. I still have the first one I bought. There are many you can choose from that are sold from different companies, and I'm sure they are all great. These pads are lightweight and weigh about a pound. The price is good at around $40. The next type is the type that you blow up. They are usually 2 to 3 inches in depth and provide a good insulation value. These work best for side sleepers. They can weigh in the pound to pound-and-a-half range. These are not as durable as the cell foam and can get leaks in them. They usually come with repair kits, and you have to be careful where you put these so as not to get leaks. These are also more expensive, running from $100 to $250 depending on what you get. If you're a back sleeper, you're good to go with a cell foam at $40. But if you sleep any other way, I would suggest one of the blow-up kinds, and you will have to put more money out. I have slept on closed-cell foam ones as a side sleeper, and my hips were sore when I woke up. But if you sleep on one and are okay with it, that's what I would use. So try the cell foam first, and if it doesn't work you can get one of the blow-up ones. You'll only be out $40, and you can use them for seat cushions after cutting them into small sections. 

Sleeping Bag or Quilt.  This is what is going to keep you warm. The insulation in these is what is going to keep you warm. There are basically two types of insulation that are used in the construction of these bags: goose down or a synthetic type of insulation.  The down is lighter and warmer, but also more expensive, and when wet doesn't work.  The synthetic is cheaper and heavier, but when wet still works. I will always pick down over synthetic for the reason that it's warmer and packs down better than the other one does. Space matters. You're not going to get this wet unless you have had some sort of accident where your pack or tent failed. Also, a factor to take into consideration is what the bag or quilt is rated. Bags and quilts are rated to the degree you can survive in them.  A 20-degree bag means you can survive in 20-degree weather, but you're not going to be comfortable at 20 degrees. However, at 30 and 40 degrees, you're going to be toasty. My first bag would be rated to a 20-degree rating.  Later on, if you decide to do a lot of winter camping, you can get a bag that is rated for colder conditions than 20 degrees. You could also go the other way and get a 50-degree bag to use in the summer. The lower the rating the heavier the bag so a 20-degree bag is heavier than a 50-degree bag. You can spend a lot of money on these bags, especially if you're getting a down bag. Up to $800 for a real fancy one.  I would try to find something in the $200 to $300 range for your first one.  The goal is to try to get a 30-degree bag at around $300. You will have a good quality bag to keep you warm and not too heavy. Quilts are like sleeping bags but have no zippers in them. They may have clips or straps that give you a place to put your feet, but you're not all around covered up.  The reasoning for using a quilt over a bag is that when you sleep in your bag the part of the insulation that you lay on is squished and has no insulation value. So if you cut that part out, you will save weight which makes it lighter. So through-hikers like to use this kind of quilt.  I have not tried one, but it's on my list.

As you can see, there are lots of considerations to make when picking out a sleep system, so choose with care. This choice can make the difference between a great trip or a bad one. You can check out my gear by following this link Lighter Pack. You can see my gear loadout and how much it weighs between tent and hammock and summer and winter by clicking on the list on the left. Until next week, get out and enjoy the outdoors.

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog camping Down hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Nemo Photography Quilt sleeping Bag sleeping pad synthetic Thermorest website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/sleep-system-2nd-of-big-3 Fri, 21 May 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Shelter First of Backpacking Big 3 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/Shelter-First-of-backpacking-big-3 Hey Everyone! Hope today fines you in good health and happy! This week I want to talk about Backpacking and the Big Three!  What is the big three you say? The big three in backpacking is your Shelter, your Sleep System, and your Backpack.  These three things will be the most costly and probably the heaviest of the things you will cary.  To me they are gear that you shouldn't skimp on. My old saying still rings true "Buy Nice or Buy Twice"  All of the other stuff that you will have in your backpack will be fairly inexpensive or you may already have. These things will be specific to Backpacking .  You don't want to use a car camping sleeping bag you got for 40 bucks at Walmart to go backpacking with. While it may be great for car camping it will be too heavy and bulky to cary on a backpacking trip. In backpacking a true hard fact exist " Ounces equal Pounds and Pounds equal Pain!"  So weight is not the most important thing when picking out something to bring backpacking its high on the list. A cheap tent you get at Costco that weighs 7 lbs is going to be heavy on your back very quickly.  Durability is also something to take into consideration when picking out your Big Three.  

Your Shelter should be the first thing on this list that you acquire.  I know a lot of people say the pack but you don't know how large a pack until you get your shelter and sleep system.  What type of shelter are you going to use?  There are two camps on this to me. Tents or Hammocks. Tents are the more traditional choice and they cover anything from a Tarp Tent to a stand alone tent.  They can be set up almost anywhere.  There are Tents that use your trekking poles for the tent poles to save weight and there are stand alone tents that pop into shape when you insert the special poles that come with them.  Then there are Hammock systems.  I say systems because these tend to be more complicated to set up and you do need trees to use them.  Hammocks themselves are light weight but you also need a tarp to cover you incase it rains and you need extra insulation underneath the hammock to prevent heat loss even in summer.  My favorite is a Hammock system but its not right for all backpacking situations. If your in the desert where there are not trees. Or if your in the mountains above the tree line you have no where to put your hammock up at. I think they sleep better than tents but maybe I haven't got the right sleep pad yet.  I actually use either or depending on where I go backpacking. If your getting a tent which will probably be the safest bet for a beginner.  I would find one that is a one or two person tent. Don't be fooled by the two person option you'll have a hard time having another person in the tent because it will be very cramped . You really need to like the second person. I would look for one that is 2 lbs or lighter.  The lighter you go the more expensive it will be. The material makes a difference also. Most tents are made out of Silnylon. This is nylon that has been impregnated with silicone to make it water proof. Then there is Dyneema fabric that is as strong as steel , lightweight and waterproof.  Tents made out of Dyneema are the most expensive ones and the lightest. There are lots of options in the 2 lb range.  I personally have a few tents that meet this criteria.  I have a Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 UL that weighs in at around 2 lbs. Its a semi free standing tent that means you do have to use some stakes to make it stand up.  This tent was a standard quite a few years ago for through hikers. They still make versions of this tent at about 400 dollars .  I also have some cheaper options.  I got a backpacking tent that uses your trekking poles for tent poles off of amazon. The River Country Trekker 2 tent comes in at 2.8 lbs.  You have to stake this tent out and it takes some practice to get it down. It cost 49 dollars.  Its made of a material that feels like a plastic tarp you get from walmart. Its like the old pup tents that I used when I was in Scouts.  You crawl in through the front.  Its warm in the summer because it doesn't have much ventilation but it will work if your trying to save money.  I have one that's kind of in the middle its a Chineese tent that I got that uses trekking poles and its pretty roomy. I'd day it weighs about like the River trekking tent but its much larger and has better ventilation. Its called 3F Lanshan 2 tent and I got it off of Alliexpress the Chinesse version of Amazon. There are lots of options out there and you could spend up to 800 dollars on a good backpacking tent. This is a big purchase so I would try some tents out if you can.  If you can borrow someones tent great.  Go to REI they usually have some tents set up to look at and maybe try out. So my advice would be when getting your first backpacking tent  is to get a middle of the road one for a couple of hundred dollars .  If you decide you don't like backpacking you can still use it to car camp with.

Hammocks are harder to pick out.  Most of the hammock systems that can be bought are made by garage companies.  These are companies that may work out of their garage or small business.  These are handmade items and can usually be customized to you if you ask.  The quality on theses items is superior to anything you would buy in a big store.  I use these companies as much as I can.  The hammock community is almost cult like when they start to talk about hammocks, gear and gadgets to use on your hammock.  There are all shapes and sizes with burnets like a tent to just a hammock swinging in the wind. If you think picking out a tent was hard doing so with a hammock is even harder.  You can mix and match hammocks, Tarps, Under quilts, suspension systems with different companies to make your system special to you. Or you can do like I did and make your own.  My first hammock was bought from a garage company named "Butt in a Sling" hammocks.  I bought a hammock and suspension from them and got a tarp off of Amazon made for Hammock camping.  After using this a few times I decided to make my own and I went down the rabbit hole of design and making my system just for me.  You may have seen previous blogs talking about my home made hammocks and systems. I'm thinking and designing one in  my head now.  I would watch a lot of you tube videos  and read the book " The Ultimate Hang " by Derek Hansen .  He also has a book "The Ultimate Hang 2" Which is an updated version  with some DIY stuff in it. Either book is Fantastic and shows the do's and don't to Hammock Camping. Hammocks are made out of Nylon and are lightweight in their self.  But a Hammock system , (Hammock, Tarp, Stakes, suspension system, under quilt) are not as light weight when put all together.  I would say on a average that a Hammock system is heaver than a tent system.  But I would also say that it is more comfortable than a tent system .  Especially if you are up in years as I seem to be getting. LOL

As you can see this is a big decision and has many options . Do the research, watch videos, read the recommendations, ask friends and go and try out if you can before you make your decision. Next week I'll talk about my #2 of the Big Three the Sleep System. You can check out my gear by following this link Lighter Pack. You can see my gear load out and how much it weighs between tent and hammock and summer and winter by clicking on the list on the left. So until then be safe and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) App Backpacking Big three BigAgnes Hammock lanshan Max Stansell Photography Osprey Photography Shelter Stakes Tarps Tents Trekking Trekking Poles Zpacks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/Shelter-First-of-backpacking-big-3 Fri, 14 May 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Where Can I Backpack? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/where-can-i-backpack Hey Everyone! I hope everything is great with you today.  Today we are  continuing Backpacking theme. This weeks question "Where can I backpack at?"  This is a good question with lots of answers. I'm going to treat this series as if I'm talking to someone that is new to backpacking.  If your new to backpacking everything is going to feel strange.  If you have never camped before just setting up your tent or hammock will be a chore.  My first bit of advice is to get used to all of your equipment before you go on any backpacking trip.  You can work your way up to a bona fide backpacking trip. The first place I would start is your backyard.  Learn how to set up your tent.  Find a good spot in your backyard and practice setting up your tent. Depending on your tent learn how to stake it out how to put on the rain fly.  Do it a few times so it becomes easy for you.  You don't want to be learning how in the woods after a long hike to your campsite.  Blow up your sleeping pad and put out your sleeping bag just as you would or think you would while out in the woods.  Learn how to use your camp stove and how to make your dinner, coffee or whatever you're going to eat out there. This will be important because if you mess this up while out there there is no fridge to raid , you just get hungry.   Make sure you know how to use your water filtration system and how to refill your water bottles.  Hydration is very important. Hiking with a full pack on your back is hard work and you will sweat! Water is heavy! This is a number that you will remember each liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. So if you have 2 liters of water 4.4 lbs.  This is on top of all of the other stuff that you will be carrying .  But you can't skimp on water it is a must have while in the wilderness so knowing how to filter it is essential.  The next thing is to sleep outside.  Learn how to get comfortable in your tent. It is a different sleeping experience than in your cosy bed.  I know all of this seems silly but it is learning that has to be done somewhere and in your backyard is a great place to start.  If you have kids they will have fun camping with you. You also have a bathroom near-by.  Using the bathroom is not a skill to learn at home your neighbors will not appreciate this. LOL  Thats a skill you will have to learn in the wilderness. After you get the backyard camping and all of your gear figured out its time to step it up.

The next place I would go to backpack is State Parks. State Parks are great resources to learn backpacking. I live near a state park and its where I try out new gear.  Practice hiking with a full pack on and have car camped several times.  Many State parks have back country camping which means that you have to hike in to a specific spot that you usually have to reserve.  I have had a ball at some of these parks and they can be a great place to learn how to backpack.  The sites can be from very sparse to sites with a picnic table and fire ring. Most of them do have some sort of pit toilet near by so using the bathroom in the woods isn't allowed here to protect the environment . (leave no trace has been discussed in a former blog).  This will seem like an big adventure the first couple of times you do it and it is!  You won't have running water many of the places don't have cell coverage so no phone.  They don't have lights so when the sun goes down lights out!  No trash cans so you haul your trash out with you. Its a very new experience.  At night there is no noise of civilization just the noise of the forest!  And its loud! Bring ear plugs.  A squirrel scampering across the forest floor sounds like an elephant to ears that haven't heard them before. But you won't hear a deer who may be sleeping 50 foot from you.  Around 2:00 am in the morning everything gets quiet.  All the animals have gone to sleep.  When you wake up in the morning its still quiet except for a couple of birds chirping.  I tell you about this because on your first night backpacking its different from car camping or in your backyard.  This is where you'll feel like you're in the wilderness.

National Parks and National Forest are the next places I would venture out to backpack. This is where I am in my backpacking.  I still like to go to some State Parks and go to places I haven't been yet but National Parks and Forest are where I do most of my backpacking.  National Parks and National Forest are larger and wide open spaces.  National Parks have rules and regulations and permitting that have to be adhered to because so many people go and we want to protect this wonderful resource and environment.  They usually have specific camping spots in the wilderness that you camp at. But these places are beautiful and have spectacular views that's why they became National Parks in the first place to protect the beauty.  There are thousands and thousands of trails in the National Parks system.   People from all over the world come to the US just to go to our parks.  In the back country there are less amenities than the state parks.  Usually no bathroom so you will have to learn how and where to poop in the woods.  Leave no Trace is a big deal in these area's because we want to leave this great resource for our grandchildren and theirs to enjoy like we do.  In some National Parks and most of the National Forrest there is what's called dispersed camping . Which means you can camp anywhere you like along the trail.  These sites will not have any amenities except maybe a man made fire ring that someone before you made from stones that they gathered.  This year I'm exploring the National Forest of North Carolina and am getting ready for my first backpacking trip of the year. It will be a small one because I still have my Covid weight on and I am out of shape but I'm looking forward to my time in the woods again.

Backpacking is a wonderful experience and way of life really.  Until next week keep exploring and keep shooting . Get Outside!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) back country backpacking backyard blog dispersed landscape learning Max Stansell Photography National Forest National Parks Photography state Parks website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/5/where-can-i-backpack Fri, 07 May 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Backpacking-More than Just Hiking! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/backpacking-more-than-just-hiking Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. This week I'm going to start a series on backpacking. What it is, why I like it, and what gear I use. I don't do nearly the backpacking that I want to.  But over the last couple of days, I have decided that I need a new goal or at least refresh some older ones.  I need to get out and do stuff while I still can. I love to backpack, but for some reason I don't.  I have decided this year that is going to change and I will start again.

Let me first talk a little about backpacking. What is it?  Well, hiking is walking through the woods.  Most people just hike.  They go to their local park and go on a trail and hike for a day.  Maybe they pack a lunch or snacks and make a day of it.  Backpackers hike the trails also, but at the end of the day they make camp, pitch a tent, cook dinner, and sleep under the stars.  In the morning they pack everything up and start all over again. There are extremes to everything.  In backpacking there are also.  On one end of the spectrum, there are through-hikers. These hikers are in it for the long haul. They hike long trails like the AT (Appalachian Trail) at 2190 miles, the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) at 2650 miles, or the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) at 3028 miles.  If they complete all three of these, they are triple crowners. There are many more shorter trails, but these people want to go from one end to the other non-stop. It may take up to 6 months of hiking to finish. These people can hike many miles in a day, but most average 20 miles a day. Then there are the section hikers.  These folks are like the through-hikers, but they don't have all the time the through-hikers have. So maybe they will hike 200 miles this year, and another 500 miles next year. They will do sections of the long trail until they have it complete. Then there are weekend warriors. This is the category that I fall into. I go out for a night or two and then it's back to work for me. I do envy the folks that can go out for longer stretches, and maybe I'll start to do more of that.  I really need to get back in shape first. The way these people think is also different. Their philosophy about hiking is different. Through-hikers are in for the miles mostly. They still love the views, but they have miles to make. They keep their pack weight down so they can travel faster and longer. The term they use is ultra-light, and they pack minimally. Section-hikers are sort of like through-hikers but probably carry a little more. Weekend warriors, like me, like to go lightweight, but it's not as important to us.  We are only going to be out for a night or so and can put up with the weight more easily.  Not to say we are stronger, but we are traveling fewer miles and only staying overnight a day or two. We are in it for the views, and breaks are welcome because we are out of breath and need them. LOL
 

I first started hiking when I was 50 years old.  A little late in the game. My son and I would go to state parks and start to hike.  I started watching YouTube videos of people hiking the AT (Appalachian Trail) and how they would camp out with the stuff they brought with them. The adventurer in me got excited, so we decided on a trip that we were going to backpack. It was a loop trail (one that goes in a big circle),  and we would have to do it by hiking over 10 miles a day.  We had to start training because we could only hike a couple of miles, and we had no gear.  So we started hiking and acquiring  gear. Our first 10-mile hike was from our house to the Cliffs of the Neuse State Park which is 10 miles from my doorstep. We picked this one so my wife could rescue us if we had troubles. But we made it! It only took 31/2 hours to do, and we looked homeless with our full packs on.  We made it to our campsite, and the ranger came by and asked us where our car was. When I told her what we had done, she looked at us like we were crazy. But it wasn't the first time we were looked at like that. When we went out for training hikes in state parks, we were the only ones in full packs with trekking poles. We got a lot of strange looks. But it worked. We went on our first long-distance hike in the mountains in the cold. It was so cold that the water in our water bladders froze. But we hiked our 10 miles down into the valley and back up. (up was much harder) LOL. I was hooked! I loved the views and the exercise it took to get to them. I loved taking photos in places that photos were not always taken because it was too hard to get to for most. I loved how we set up camp and made a fire to keep warm. How we cooked dinner. I loved everything about it, except for leaving.

 We did a lot of backpacking in those early years. A bunch of state parks but some of our best were in the national parks. The Smokies have lots of trails to hike and places to backpack in.  Our longest trip was 36 miles over 3 days and 2 nights on the AT.  We were there when all of the through-hikers were coming through.  We slept in a shelter with a dozen of through-hikers and a couple of dogs. We had a fire going and it was awesome. It felt great to be with these hikers who had hiked over 165 miles to get to this shelter.  It only took me 12 and I was pooped! I am looking to have many more experiences like that one in the future. I do need to get in better shape. I still have my Covid weight on and I was too big before then, so I have a lot of work in front of me. My photography goal for this year is to visit and explore all of the national forests in North Carolina, so this will be a big opportunity to get out in the woods again and do some backpacking.

So until next week please stay safe and healthy and get outside!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog hiking landscape learning long trails Max Stansell Photography Photography section Hikers shelters through Hikers trails website weekend warriors workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/backpacking-more-than-just-hiking Fri, 30 Apr 2021 09:00:00 GMT
Remote Shutter Release https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/remote-shutter-release Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and happy! Today I want to talk about using a remote shutter release, why you should have one, and when to use it. And finally what I use as a remote shutter release.

Remote Shutter Release devices are essential equipment for a photographer as far as I am concerned.  They should be in everyone's camera bag. They are used to eliminate shake caused by your hand when pressing the shutter button. They are used for longer exposures to eliminate shake that could make your photos blurry. Using them while taking photos of waterfalls or astrophotography will make your photos sharper. They also come in handy when doing macro or close-up photography.

There are a few types of remote shutter releases. The most inexpensive is a cable shutter release. It uses a cable that hooks to your camera, and then you press a button on the other end of that cable.  You can pick these up at Amazon or any camera shop. Just make sure you get one made for your make and model of camera. The next type is an infrared shutter release. Much like a TV remote, you must have a line of sight between the remote and the camera. (This is the drawback to this one.) If you lose line of sight, your signal may be disconnected. The next type is by using an app on your phone. Many of the newer cameras have apps that can go on your phone, and you can hook your phone via WIFI or Bluetooth to your camera and control it via your smartphone. The last type, and the type I primarily use, is the radio-triggered shutter release. On these, you have a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver hooks to your camera, you hold the transmitter, and using radio signal you can trigger your camera to shoot. When using radio waves, you don't have to have a line of sight. This means you can be around the corner or have the transmitter in your pocket and still use it. This comes in handy, especially on cold nights when you want to keep your hands warm. There are cable-remote shutter releases that have timers built into them that will take multiple photos over a period of time. Very handy when doing astrophotography and taking many photos and then merging them together in Photoshop.

I use the Sony system so all of my releases are made to connect and control Sony cameras. My first shutter release is a cable release made by Sony. This release doesn't only control the shutter but can also control the zoom function Screenshot and focus when using certain lenses. It can also start and stop recording video. This is a nice remote, and it uses the battery in the camera to work. My other cable release is my primary one. It is a Korean-made device by the company SMDV. The model number is RFN-4rx. The receiver attaches to the hot shoe of my camera, and a wire then plugs into the camera. You can change the radio channel if it or another transmitter interferes with your camera. The transmitter and receiver use one AAA battery each. I found this company when I was a Nikon shooter, and they had a receiver that plugged into the 10pin connector on the front of the camera with a little antenna that I kept hooked to the camera all the time.  It Screenshot was a fantastic system and I loved it.  When I moved to Sony, I had to wait a little until the company made one that would work on Sony. And when they did I got one. I love the way it works and it is very dependable. The transmitter has a strap that can go around your wrist to keep you from dropping or losing your transmitter. This is very handy around water or waterfalls, one of my favorite things to shoot. The only drawback is that you have to make sure the batteries don't go dead in your bag over time between using the shutter release.

Using a remote shutter release will make your photographs better when doing long exposure. So until next week, please get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) astro blog bluetooth camera shake close up landscape learning long exposure Max Stansell Photography Phone Apps Photography portrait radio smart phone SMDV Sony website WIFI wired workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/remote-shutter-release Fri, 23 Apr 2021 07:47:50 GMT
Camera Bag First Aid? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/camera-bag-first-aid Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and happy.  Today I want to talk about first aid products that I cary with me in my camera bag all of the time. When your out and about taking photo's whether its in a city or hiking down a trail you still have to be prepared for the unexpected. I have a little I guess what you would call first aid kit that I have in all of my camera bags.  These stay in the bags at all times.  If I'm planning a longer hike I have a backpacking First Aid kit that I will throw in my camera bag that has more stuff in it but today I'm just going to talk about what I have in my camera bag on a daily basis. I have a sturdy zip lock bag that I got some filters in that works great for this.

Microfiber Lens Wipes- Now this might not seem like a first aid product but for me its real important.  I wear glasses and I need to keep them clean. I am a left eye dominate photographer which means that I smudge my glasses almost every time I take a photo.  So keeping my glasses clean is a full time job.  I use some pre-moistened cloths that I get from Walgreens. These are what I use everyday so I just slip a couple of these in my kit. These are also great for cleaning tough stuff of of your camera lenses too.

Sunscreen- My daytime job keeps me indoors most of the time so when I go outdoors I can burn fairly easily.  When I was younger I was outside all of the time and would burn once a year and that was it . I would tan up pretty good and didn't have to worry about the sun. But with age and my indoor job I have to be careful. I take a single pack of Banana Boat SPF 30 were ever I go.  I like taking these single packs instead of a bottle or a tube because it saves space.  I usually put on my neck , face and forearms and if I'm wearing shorts my legs also.

Insect Repellent- Here in North Carolina there are lots of insects but Mosquito's and ticks are what I'm trying to get away from me. I use a product through backpacking that I found to be very effective. I use Picaridin insect repellent lotion. I like this much better than any other repellent that I have used that has DEET in them.  What I really like about this product is that it can last up to 14 hours after applying .  Its not greasy or smelly and a little goes along way.  I buy these in single packs also. I use the packs when I go backpacking and now when ever I go to a mosquito infested area. (like my backyard sometimes) Its a little pricy but worth it.

Other Stuff- I have some other misc. things I bring. One is a couple of those toothpick Floss thingy's.  If your out and about having lunch these come in handy.  I also have an old film container that I put Tums, Ibuprofen and benadryl.  I usually have a bandaid of some sort put in my little kit also. Because stuff happens .

This might seem like a lot of first aid stuff to carry with you in your camera bag but its a very small kit and remember its not just for you but maybe a fellow photographer or hiker that could use some insect repellent or and Ibuprofen .  I have more than once given some insect repellent to a fellow photographer in need. So think about a little kit that you can customize for your camera bag.  Hey and don't forget water and food. I usually have some sort of power bar and I always carry water. You don't want to get dehydrated that's not good for you either.  Well until next week get outside and keep shooting !

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog first aid Ibuprofen Insect repellent landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Picaridin sunscreen tooth pick Tums website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/camera-bag-first-aid Fri, 16 Apr 2021 08:50:47 GMT
Spring is here! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/spring-is-here Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing well today! Spring is here! In North Carolina spring is in full force with pollen, springtime storms, and weather changes. Here in North Carolina the weather can change from in the 80s one day and freezing the next in springtime. Today I want to talk about the hazards associated with springtime into the summer months.

Pollen - In NC in the springtime, everything turns green! Not only the flowers and the grass but the roads, your car, your house, everything turns green. The pollen that happens here is terrible.  I never used to notice it when I was younger, but now it seems like it's everywhere. And if you're allergic, I feel for you because this stuff is everywhere. For those who haven't experienced this, it can be crazy. You can park your car in the driveway, and the next day when you drive away you can see the outline of your car on the pavement.  You can see clouds of it coming off of the trees when the wind blows and streams of green when it rains. If you're allergic, take your meds because you Farm Springtime FenceFarm Springtime Fence will need it. If you're doing photography, keep your lenses clean and cameras put away when not shooting to keep them clean.

Bee's and things that sting - With the pollen come the bees, wasps, hornets, and all types of creepy crawlers. As the temps warm up things start flying. If you're allergic to bee stings, make sure you have your Epipen close by. It's been a while since I've been stung, but I know it will happen again one day. Mosquitos are something else to deal with here in NC, especially near the coast and water. Down east they are the beast that have to be reckoned with. They can really make or break a good hike or photo shoot. Summer Tree FlareSummer Tree Flare

Reptiles - I'm not a big fan of these, but we have plenty here in NC. And when the weather starts to warm up, they start to move around. Good advice is to never put your hands or feet where you can't see them. Snakes are my biggest fear when hiking around in the woods. Copperheads and rattlers are my biggest fear, but any kind of snake can scare the bejeebies out of you if you're not looking for them. Being aware of your surroundings is the biggest thing you can do to prevent an unexpected encounter. Another reptile we have in NC is the alligator, mostly found on the eastern shores of the state. There are not a lot of them, but if you're in swampy water I would beware.

Furry Critters - Springtime is when all the moms in the forest seem to come out, whether it's bears, foxes, or rabbits. I don't really have much encounter with these animals, because compared to them I'm pretty loud in the forest and they can hear me coming from a mile away.  Beware of mothers with their young. Give all of the creatures in the forest space and respect. Don't rush up to a mamma bear with cubs saying how cute and try to take their photo. You'll certainly get an eye full. Full of Mamma Bear. So give these animals a wide space. Remember, you're their guest in the forest, not the other way around.

Springtime is a great time of year to be out in nature!  Flowers are blooming, things are turning green, trees are getting their leaves again. After being cooped up in the house for the winter, it's great to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather and all of the beautiful surroundings. Just make sure you're careful, and enjoy the outside. Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) allergies bee's blog flowers green landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Pollen Trees website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/spring-is-here Fri, 09 Apr 2021 08:46:25 GMT
My Close-Up Photography Setup https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/my-close-up-photography-setup GardeniaGardenia Hey Everyone! Hope all is well in your world. This week I want to talk about my close-up photography setup. When I say close up, I don't want to get people confused with the definition of macro photography, which is photography producing photographs of small items larger than life-size. Like a fly's eye where you can see all of the lenses in it. I use the same setup for both Macro and close-up and pretty much call them the same, close-up photography,  even though it may not be technically correct. Either way, my setup is the same. Close-up photography is a great subject for photography, and one can spend their whole career just shooting close-up. This can be done in your backyard or in your home photographing things Autumn NutAutumn Nut up close.  The same lighting principles apply to shooting close-up as portraits or product photography.  So if you can do either of those, you can light close-up subjects as well. Not many tools are needed:  camera, lens (macro lens ) or extension tubes, tripod, and a light source. 

Camera- Just about any camera will do. I use a crop sensor mirrorless Sony for my main camera body. Full frame will work well also and even micro 4/3rds will work. There are even some point-and-shoot cameras and  Straw CirclesStraw Circles Smartphones that will work. I prefer using a camera body that I can change the lenses on. I choose the mirrorless cameras because, for a few bucks, you can get an adapter that will let you use almost any kind of lens on it. I use what I call a vintage lens, but some just call it an old lens. LOL 

Lens- Like I just mentioned I use an older vintage lens for my close-up photography. It's a Nikor 60mm f2.8D micro lens. This version of the lens came out in the early 1990s, but you can still find them on the internet. If you get one in good condition, you have a great lens. These lenses were called the Swiss army knife of lenses because they were so versatile. They can be used as a macro at a 1:1 ratio. They are great for close-up photography and can even be used as a portrait lens, as the equivalent full-frame focal length is 90mm. On my crop sensor Sony, I use this lens with an adapter to my Sony A6500. The adapter is a $20 adapter, which will make this lens mount to my Sony and make it a  manual lens.  This is okay because focusing really close-up stuff with autofocus is really hard. The peak focusing on my Sony will tell me what is in focus and what isn't. This is a fairly small lens that isn't overbearing on my small camera body. I love this lens and will probably never get rid of it. It's the only Nikon I have left from when I was a full-time Nikon shooter. You can also use extension tubes that attach between your lens, say a 50mm lens and your camera body. This lets you get closer to your subject, keeping it in focus. This does work and I have had some success using them, although I do prefer using a dedicated lens. These extension tubes are cost-effective. You can get a set for under $50, and some have the connections in them that let you use autofocus and exposure.

Lighting- When lighting your small subject, you don't need a lot of light.  I have a few small portable LED lights that I can use from Lume Cube. These little lights work great to put some light on your subject.  When things you're taking a photo of are so small, you have to get close and your body can cast a shadow on them.  Using portable lights is a great way to fix shadows that you create. Another way is to use an inexpensive ring light that hooks to the front of your lens and then hooks to your camera, so when you press the shutter button the lights brighten up to light up your subject. These are great for shooting flowers. I have an inexpensive one that I use.  The same saying for buying equipment "buy nice or buy twice" still applies.  But I only shoot close-up every now and then, so I skimped on my ring light. But if I were doing this all of the time, I would buy a more expensive one just for the durability.

Tripod- This is something that every photographer should have.  You don't have to buy anything special, but using a tripod will help you get nice crisp sharp photos. I use my main tripod, which is a travel carbon fiber tripod that I use for everything else. There are some clips made especially for macro work for flowers that you buy to attach to the flowers to keep them still in the wind while you're trying to do close-up photography.  They attach to your tripod, and then a small arm like a pipe cleaner with an alligator clip attached lets you position the flower and keep it still. I don't have any but would like to get some because the wind is always blowing when I want to shoot close up.

Well, that's pretty much my gear setup.  It doesn't take much to do close-up photography. It does take time and imagination, like any type of photography, to make great images. So until next week keep safe and healthy and go explore the world of close-up photography.

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog close-up extension tubes learning LED lens Lumecube macro max stansell photography Photography sony website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/4/my-close-up-photography-setup Fri, 02 Apr 2021 10:32:08 GMT
Teardrop Trailer Camping What I like and dislike https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/teardrop-trailer-camping-what-i-like-and-dislike Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe today. This week I want to talk about teardrop trailers. I have been a teardrop owner for 5 years now, and I have some things I like about them and things that I don't.  Teardrop camping trailers have been around since the 1930s, and there are almost cult-like groups that love the little trailers. Some build them from scratch and are works of art, and some are mass produced like mine for those of us that aren't as handy as others. These small trailers are cute and full of neat things, like kitchens, TVs, queen-sized beds, and some have air-conditioning also.  The little tear-shaped trailers are lightweight so any vehicle can tow them, from a mini-cooper to a full-sized truck. So here goes my list.

Likes

- I love the build quality of my trailer, and most if not all are well made, sturdy, and built to last a lifetime.

- I love that my wife can come with me camping. We used to do tent camping, but as we gt older I wanted to get something nicer for her to go _DSC6464_DSC6464 camping with me. Camping in the trailer is really "glamping" or glamor camping. With everything, including the kitchen sink, it's really a comfortable camping experience.

- I love all the gadgets that come with mine. I have a TV, refrigerator, stove, sink, stereo, Blu-ray player, and even air conditioning. All of these work off of a battery, except for the AC.

- I love that it is very towable. I have towed this with my truck, Honda Pilot, and CRV.  It's very lightweight and you don't even know you're towing it.

- I love how it sleeps. Much better than a tent.  Plenty of room for me, my wife, and Forrest the wonder dog.

Dislikes

- The price.  These little trailers can be pricey. You can get a basic model for maybe $5,000, but they can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars.

- The freedom I lose having to pull a trailer. When you drive pulling a trailer, you have to really pay attention to where you go, making sure you have room to turn.

- Set up of the trailer.  If it was just me, this would be an easy task. Level and done. But when my wife comes with me, we have a side tent that we set up for her to stand in to dress. We have an awning that we put on the back with a separate bug net that takes time to set up. So after driving a few hours to get somewhere, you still have to back up the trailer (I suck at this) into the spot and set up the awning and side tent.

- The attention that it draws. In the campground we always get people coming up to check us out and say how "cute" our setup is.  It's all very nice, but I still don't like it being called "cute" LOL

- Planning. With the camper, getting into campgrounds takes some planning. You just can't pull into a campground expecting to get a place to stay. You will probably get no room at the inn. With the increased popularity of camping and the outdoors, especially since the Covid outbreak last year, the campgrounds are booked and you must plan at a minimum a month to three months in advance to get a spot. The really popular places may be up to six months. 

Now don't get me wrong. I love my little camper, and now I'm starting to customize and update our little trailer. As I make customizations to the trailer, I'll keep y'all in the loop. We've just gotten back from a trip last weekend, and if it wasn't for the trailer we wouldn't have gone. It was a very windy weekend, and we just hung out in the trailer, watched a little TV, and cooked in our little side tent that kept us out of the wind. So another trip salvaged. Hope you enjoyed this blog about our teardrop trailer, and maybe you can check one out for yourself. So until next week get outside and explore!

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(Max Stansell Photography) AC blog Camper camping Glamping Hiking kitchen landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography teardrop TV website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/teardrop-trailer-camping-what-i-like-and-dislike Fri, 26 Mar 2021 08:35:23 GMT
Exploring Croatan National Forest https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/exploring-croatan-national-forest Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is safe and healthy. This week I want to talk about exploring one of North Carolina's four national forests. At 159,000 acres, it's the third largest of  the NC national forests. Located in Eastern North Carolina, it has lakes, rivers, and hiking trails. Lots to explore. This may take longer to explore than I previously had planned in my yearly project, but I'm going to stick with this plan even if it takes me many years to do. I plan on doing most of  my exploration mainly in colder weather because the bugs and the heat are crazy during the spring and summer. This national forest is the closest to my home, and I plan on taking many one-day trips to explore and a few overnighters. I'll be using my trusty old truck Betsy that I have talked about in previous blogs.  She's a 21-year-old truck but in very good condition with a camper shell on it, and on top of that I have my new exploring vessel, my canoe. No name for the canoe yet, but I'm still searching. 

Last weekend I took my first exploring trip to Croatan.  I have taken a couple of look-and-see trips just to get my bearings. But the weather has slowed down my exploration. We have had a very wet end of last year and start of this year.  The ground everywhere is very saturated with water, so just a little rain floods the land.  The rivers are swollen and the currents strong, so I haven't ventured onto the rivers yet with my new canoe. Being a new paddler, I don't want to have to fight currents and such yet until I get some more experience with the canoe. Next year I plan on starting river exploration in North Carolina, but I need to get my skills better with the canoe first. My first trip was to Catfish Lake where I planned to do some paddling around this lake.  I went to this lake fairly early in the morning.  You have to go on a forestry road that is not paved to get to the lake. The main road was in good condition, and I could tell that it had been graded recently. The road to the lake off of this main road was another matter.  The rain had done its damage to the road, and large potholes were everywhere.  I had to dodge and endure the holes and probably could only do 5mph down this road. The lake is surrounded by thick overgrowth and can only be accessed in a couple of places. I came to the first place just a turn out with about a 30-foot clearing.  I decided to go farther to the main boat launch. When I got to the road, it was flooded in one place. My truck is not 4-wheel drive, so I didn't go to the main launch. I turned around and went to the first launch. I got my canoe off the truck, got my camera and all my stuff together, and went out on the lake. I was probably the only one on the lake.  As the wind started to pick up, I tried to stay close to the shore out of the wind in the protection of the trees. I really didn't see any wildlife but did see a lot of duck decoys, so I'm sure if you're here at the right time of year there would be migrating birds here. I had my camera loaded in a pelican case, and as it was my first time with my camera in the canoe, I practiced getting it out and back in the case.  I took a few photos, but just at decoys. After about an hour, the wind got too strong for my paddling skills, so I did the smart thing and got out of the water and put my boat back on old Betsy. It was now mid to late morning, and I wanted to do something else while I was in Croatan. So I found a trail to explore.

Island Creek Trail is about 2.5 miles off the trail and follows the creek. This is a black water creek where the minerals from the soil and trees make the water tea-colored, but in the creek it makes the creek turn black. I am horribly out of shape and overweight. I was already overweight when the virus started, and I just got fatter after that.  Its been a while since I did some hiking, so even this little hike was quite a workout for me. I started at the trailhead. This is a loop trail, so when I came to the fork, I took a right and went by the creek. The creek is filled with cypress trees and knees by this winding creek. This trail gets lots of traffic as the path was well worn. There are lots of side trails that can take you toward the creek.  The trail has some signage telling you what trees are what and very little in trail markings to let you know that you're on the right trail. But it's very easy not to get lost. This is a delightful trail and took me about an hour and a half to complete.

My first exploring trip to the Croatan National Forest was a success. The idea that I had taking my canoe with me was a success and there will be plenty more trips. I already have reservations to take my little teardrop to Cedar Point Recreational Area to do some more exploring with my wife. Forrest, the wonder dog, did not accompany me this time. I want to get better at paddling before I try to get him in the boat, but I hope to soon. I have another trip planned with my wife and the teardrop trailer to Cedar Point near Swansboro. So until next week keep exploring and get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping Canoeing gear hiking learning Max Stansell Photography national Forrest Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/exploring-croatan-national-forest Fri, 19 Mar 2021 09:58:22 GMT
Backpacking 5 Things I Love and Hate about It https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/backpacking-5-things-i-love-and-hate-about-it Bluff Mtn SummitBluff Mtn Summit Hey Everybody! I hope everyone is healthy and safe today.  Today's subject is about backpacking and the things I love and hate about it. Now, I'm no expert. I haven't hiked the Appalachian Trail, but I've been on it. I'm not super fit or young.  I'm just an upper-middle-aged old guy (LOL) that likes to get out into the woods every now and then. For those of you that don't really know the difference between hiking and backpacking, hiking is something that you do in a day. "I'm going to hike this trail today." Backpacking is hiking on steroids. When you backpack, you're planning to be gone for a couple of days, and you're carrying everything in your backpack to survive on the trip. Your shelter, food, clothes, everything that you think you will need for the trip. It's hiking and camping all rolled into one, and being a pack mule is part of it. So with that explained, I'll start with the things I love and the things I hate list.

Love 1 - Isolation. I love walking in the woods, and backpacking can take you deep into the woods. And the deeper you go, the less people and civilization that you see. Depending on where you are, you might not see anyone at all, or maybe one or two other people that are backpacking also. You are away from all the sounds and smells of the city, and you can really smell, feel, and taste the forest. It's a wonderful feeling.

Love 2 - I love the exercise that you get. Hiking 10 miles with a 35 or 40 lb pack doesn't seem like fun, but if your gear is dialed in and adjusted properly, you really don't feel the weight. Backpacking in the woods is much different than taking a walk in the park. The uneven ground up and down hills really gives you a workout. You really have to be careful that you don't overdo it because you can get injured if you're not careful. And deep in the woods is not the place to get hurt.

Love 3 - I really love the gear. I am a gear head and love all of the backpacking stuff I take with me. Backpacking gear needs to be lightweight, durable, and dependable. Minimal is less. So managing what you bring and what you don't bring is key to a successful experience. Weight is very important. Remember, you're carrying everything from water to your tent. There is an old saying, "Ounces = Pounds and Pounds = Pain."

Love 4 - Sleeping in the woods.  After a long 10-mile day and setting up camp doing all of the camp chores that you have to do, settling into your tent or hammock and finally resting for the night is awesome. Be warned, you might need some earplugs because of all the noises in the forest, which is all the bugs and creatures doing whatever they do. But after they have gone to bed, it's quiet.  I mean QUIET! It's fantastic.

The "AT' Grayson HighlandsThe "AT' Grayson HighlandsMax Stansell Photography Love 5 - The speed.  Traveling at 3 miles per hour or less is fantastic. Everything is not in a hurry  If you drive to work or to the grocery store, it's like a race on the roadways. Everyone is in a hurry. When you're in a hurry, you miss a lot of things. When you slow down to a walking pace, you see more. Seeing things that other people haven't seen is awesome. As a landscape photographer, it's nice to take photos that you know a lot of people will not get because they haven't traveled to get there.

Hate 1 - Carrying water. Water is the most important thing that you will carry with you. It is also the heaviest one. At 2.2lbs per liter and with all the exercise you are doing, you need a lot. It can be bulky and cumbersome to haul water.  This is where planning comes into play. Knowing when the next water source will be close by and having a water filter to purify it is key. So carry enough water to get to the next water source.

Hate 2 - Going uphill. HATE, HATE, HATE.  This is an old fat man thing. Many people enjoy going uphill, but I have to take many breaks because my heart is pounding and I'm out of breath. If you're young and fi,t this is no problem. My son cruises up these hills like they are nothing and is constantly waiting for me to catch up. 

Hate 3 - Going downhill.  Not as bad as uphill, but my knees take a pounding.  Another old fat man issue. But I do like it more than going Walking down the PathWalking down the PathWalking down the Path First edits with Luminar as a plugin to lightroom. I think I'm going to like it. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina uphill.

Hate 3 - Snakes EEEEK!  I'm not a fan. I am always on the lookout. Now to be fair, I have only seen a few while hiking, but I am always looking where I put my feet and hands when out in the backcountry. If you stay on the trail, you will most likely not see any because they know that the trail is traveled by humans, and they want to stay away from you also. But when you go to the bathroom, you have to do it like the bears do and go in the woods, so you have to be careful where you step.

Hate 4 - Driving. Where I do most of my backpacking it's a good 2, 3, or even 4 hour drive to get to.  I really hate the drive to and especially back home. On the way there, driving takes so much out of you that your first day is usually a struggle. You drive a few hours there through traffic, and then you get to the trailhead and have to hike 6 to 10 miles. On the other end, you've just hiked 6 to 10 miles, then you have to drive through traffic home. It sucks.

Hate 5 - Leaving the trail. After you have backpacked for a few days, you are just getting in the groove. I once took a 36-mile backpacking trip for 3 days split into 12 miles a day, and each day I got stronger and stronger. I would love to take a week-long trip to see how I would feel after a week. But that last day getting to the car as your goal, when you get there you feel a good sense of accomplishment, but then you have to put your stuff away and drive home. It's a big change in such a short amount of time going from forest to interstate.

These are just a few of my loves and hates. There are many more, and most of them are loves. The overall experience is great. You get the sense of adventure, exploring, and seeing the world from a 3-mile-per-hour perspective instead of a 70-mile-per-hour rush to get wherever. You also get the accomplishment of planning a trip and carrying it out. Instead of using horsepower from your car, you're using human power to get somewhere. It's quite a thing.  So until next week, get outside and explore and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking backpacks blog camping hammocking hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/backpacking-5-things-i-love-and-hate-about-it Fri, 12 Mar 2021 10:00:00 GMT
My Studio Light Setup https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/my-studio-light-setup Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you safe and healthy! Today I want to talk about my studio lighting set up and the strobes, flashes, and light modifiers I use. Now if you follow me I am primarily an outdoor photographer, and usually the only light I use besides sunlight would be some kind of LED portable light, like a Lume Cube. But did you know that I used to do a lot of tabletop photography and used strobes quite a bit? I have done portraits, mainly head shots, but I have shot weddings and even a bridal shoot. Now, I hardly do any of that type of photography and have scaled down my strobes that I used to use.  Usually, I just shoot portraits for family and friends.

Metering- When using external flashes, I find that an external flash meter is a must to get perfectly exposed shots. The meter that I use is an old one that you can't even buy anymore. It's a Sekonic L-358 and I just love it. Sekonic is the brand that I would always go to.  These meters help you get the perfect exposure using incident meter reading instead of  TTL or reflective meter reading that your camera gives you. Using this meter is easy. You just dial in the settings that you want to use and adjust your lights to it. I love this type of metering using flashes or strobes.

Blue Water SplashBlue Water Splash Flashes/Strobes- Now I have to say I have a lot of flashes. When I first started with flash photography, I started with inexpensive flashes that only 20170826_untitled shoot_000120170826_untitled shoot_0001 shot in manual mode, no automatic modes and no TTL(through the lens) capabilities.  You can get these flashes for about $50 each. The ones I got were from Yongnuo, a third-party company that makes inexpensive flashes. I have made lots of amazing photos on my tabletop studio with these flashes, and they still work great.  And if they break there is no big deal because they are so inexpensive compared to a brand name flash that comes in at over $300. I probably have four or five of these and don't use them too much anymore except for fill flash on special occasions. I have other flashes also that I use that are more high-tech and use TTL. I can use these on the camera for fill flash, like if I was shooting an event. I have a Flashpoint and a Yongnuo one, and they both work great. I also have a small flash that is the Neewer brand that is small and kind of matches my small mirrorless camera that is handy to carry around. My main strobe light is a Flashpoint Evolve 200. This small flash-like strobe is about 2 1/2 times the strength of my other flashes and is what I use for my main light when doing portraits. I only have one but would love to have another. These are fantastic strobes that have many heads that can attach to Portrait WorkshopPortrait Workshop them. They are battery powered and strong enough to use outside if you wanted to overpower the sun for a special shot. They are radio-controlled, which means I can change the settings on the fly, and they also do TTL and high-speed sync. I used to have very large strobes, but these are just a little larger than a traditional flash.

Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash Triggers- You can set off your flashes or strobes in a number of ways. They can be wired to one another and then to your camera so that when you push the shutter you get a flash. You can trigger them optically when you make one flash, like on your camera, then the rest of them flash. You can trigger with IR (infrared) like the remote control of your TV, or you can use radio signals to trigger the flash or strobe. Radio triggers are the most dependable because they do not depend on the line of site like optical and IR do, and they are not physically connected to your camera so you have freedom of movement. I have two different sets of triggers. The first one is Radio Poppers, similar to Pocket Wizards that used to be the industry standard but much cheaper.  They are a simple trigger that just makes the flash pop. My other trigger is an Godox X Pro trigger, and it talks to my Flashpoint Evolve and Flashpoint Flash and to an Godox Receiver that I can hook to different flashes. I can control each of the flashes separately with this trigger. It's very high-tech and awesome and may become the new standard, but as I'm not into flashes and strobes like I used to be, I'm not up on the latest and greatest.

Stands/Modifiers- This is where you can really go crazy because these things do not cost that much for a home studio.  You can get stands, booms, and any hardware relatively cheap, especially getting them a little here and there. Before long you have quite the setup. For light stands, I use fairly inexpensive ones. I think they were $25 each, and I have accumulated more than I need over time. Modifiers can come in many shapes and sizes. From the basic shoot through umbrella (my go-to) or the more elaborate soft boxes and beauty dishes, these are all fairly inexpensive if you're getting them one at a time.  My soft boxes are made by Wescott, and they fold up like an umbrella for easy storage as do a couple of different sized beauty dish soft boxes that are hexagon in shape. You can get lots of shapes and sizes on Amazon very inexpensively. Let me squeeze in backdrops in this category. I used to have some very large backdrops and stands that I would use when doing portraits, but I sold those and have many cloth remnants that I can put behind someone's head to make a simple back drop. These are very inexpensive, and you may already have these at your house. Also, for tabletop photography, a simple black foam core board on one side and white on the other is great for backdrops for product photography. They are less than $5 at your local craft shop.

As you can see, I have accumulated quite an array of items for my home studio. One thing I didn't mention is an old table that I use for the tabletop stuff.  I actually found this in a dumpster, but its like a 4x3 foot table that sits in the corner waiting to be used.  Like every other table, it catches anything when I walk in the room, so when I use it I have to clean all the stuff off of it. 

Well, I have rambled quite a bit this week.  So until next week, get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog flashes flashpoint godox incident landscape learning Max Stansell Photography meter Photography reflective sekonic strobes triggers website wescott workshops yongnuo https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/3/my-studio-light-setup Fri, 05 Mar 2021 10:00:00 GMT
My GoPro Setup https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/my-gopro-setup Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. This week I want to talk to you about my GoPro action camera setup. Now I'm no videographer, but I do like to document my travels and exploration trips. I have a YouTube channel with some of the videos that I have made. Now, I am no expert on motion photography and don't need to do anything fancy. The GoPro is the perfect camera for me. It's small and simple to use. It's waterproof, so no need to worry about rain or dropping it into a lake or creek. It can be recharged on the fly with an external battery. These little cameras tick all the boxes for me on what I need for an action camera. The cameras I have are not the latest and greatest or the top-of-the-line GoPros, but this was done on purpose. First and foremost, the older models are less expensive but still quite capable to do what I need. The other two cameras I use are my phone and of course my main camera, although I don't use my main camera much, but maybe I should. 

The first GoPro I bought was a GoPro Session 4. It's a small square camera that can be easily hooked to a coat, a hat, or a backpack.  It's easy to use.  And like all GoPros, when used with your phone, you can manipulate all of the settings. You can also use your phone as a viewfinder, which this GoPro does not have. This older GoPro is the one that I use for my truck. I have a mount on my windshield and have it running to give me road footage while going to and from different places. It shoots in 1080p, which is just fine for me because I am not interested in shooting in 4K for many reasons. One, it takes up too much computer space, and two, because the files are so large, there is a longer upload time to YouTube.  But this little camera still works for me.

My newest GoPro camera is the GoPro Hero 7 camera.  This is a very cool camera, and it is much more high-tech than the first one. It has in-body stabilization that gives the look a much smoother shot, not as much jumping around. Much like using a gimbal to stabilize your shot, but maybe not quite as good. This little camera also has a screen on it so you can see what you are shooting without using your phone. But you can still use your phone to adjust settings if you want. The touch screen on this little camera works well. It also has removable batteries which means you can take extras with you and swap them out when one gets exhausted. My GoPro Session 4 does not, so when the battery dies you have to recharge before you can continue filming. The GoPro Hero 7 comes in a black and white model. The black model shoots in 4K and the white does not. 

How much do these older GoPros cost?  I just checked Amazon, and for the GoPro Hero 7 Black, you can get it for $249, and the white you can get for $160. Pretty cheap compared to the GoPro 9 that comes in at $450.  I'm sure it's a great camera, but I like the savings I get with the GoPro 7.  The GoPro Session 4 you can't even get off of Amazon because it's so old, but maybe you can find it on eBay or used somewhere. These prices are subject to change.

I like my little cameras and have fun using them. So until next week, get out, have fun, and explore!

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(Max Stansell Photography) action cameras blog exploring GoPro landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography rechargeable stabilization travel trips video waterproof website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/my-gopro-setup Fri, 26 Feb 2021 09:51:12 GMT
What Photography Phone Apps Do I use? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/what-photography-phone-apps-do-i-use Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. It has been rainy and dreary here in North Carolina the last couple of months, and I haven't been on many trips to explore because of it. So today I thought I would talk about the photography phone apps that I use. Now, I'm not a big phone photography nut and use my regular camera most of the time. But there are times when the mobile phone is the best camera to use. When I take photos with my phone, I use just the camera app that came with the phone. There are apps that you can get that are supposed to be really cool, but I haven't really researched or played with any other than the ones that came with the phone. But I do have apps that I can edit my photos with and apps that help me take the photos. There are also apps that share between my computer and my phone so I have all my photography all the time. And there are apps so I can buy more stuff. Here goes a list of apps and how I use them.

Buying Gear Apps. I really use only three apps here: of course Amazon, B&H Photo, and Adorama. These are great to use when you're on the go and not at your computer. I like to use them when maybe I'm at a local camera store to compare prices or especially after I have purchased something so I can track it to my house. Three of my favorite words are "Out For Delivery!" LOL

Camera Operation Apps.  As cameras have become more high-tech, some features can be controlled by your phone, things like shutter release, lens control, and all of the settings. You can even see what your camera is seeing. I have three brands of cameras that I use to do this with: Sony, Canon, and GoPro. For the Sony I have Imaging Edge Mobile. With this, I can do all of the things listed above, but mainly I use it to connect my phone and camera together to use the GPS from my phone and transfer to my photos in my camera via Bluetooth. I can also download photos to my phone or tablet via wifi. I usually only do this if I'm out and about and want to post a photo to social media quickly. The Canon Connect app is what I use for my Canon point and shoot when I want to post quickly to social media. I can download to my phone via wifi and do a quick edit and post.   The GoPro App for my action cameras is almost essential while operating these little cameras because you can use it as a viewfinder to see what your camera is seeing to make sure it's pointing in the right place to capture the action you want. I also have one other camera-related app, and it's for my Lume Cube light. The LUME-X app lets me control the power and the color of the light from my Lume Cube. It's great if you're using it for video, and when pointed at yourself you can adjust without getting up to manually do it.

Photography Assisting Apps.  These are apps that can assist you in taking photographs. I used to have many, and now I only have a few because one app really does it all. The PhotoPills app is an app that can tell you where the Milky Way is going to be. It has a long-exposure calculator that can help when using neutral density filters for long exposures, depth-of-field tables, hyper-focal length tables, and a time-lapse calculator. It has an augmented-reality feature so you can see what your scene is going to look like in the day for night shots when it's pitch black. As you can see, it can do a lot! This app does have a price of about $10, but it is totally worth it for what you get. I also use weather apps, especially when doing night work or sunrise and sunsets. Weather Bug is my choice for weather apps. I just like it better than the Weather Channel as it seems to be a little bit more accurate for me. I also use an app called Clear Outside that will give you the percentage of low-level, mid-level, and high-level clouds in the place which will help determine the type of sunrise or sunset you will have.

Photo Editing Apps.  For me these apps are for on-the-fly editing for social media. I don't use them often, but they are handy when using my phone or tablet when on the go. The first one is the Lightroom app. This is a great app for a couple of reasons. One, you can take a photo with your phone and edit as you would pretty much on your computer and export it out the same way. But you can also sync photos from your main photo library, and they will go to your phone or tablet. This is great if you want to show off some of your photos, or you can edit on the go and your edits will sync with your mail library back home. Pretty cool! The next app is Photoshop Light. You can also make edits with this, but the main thing I use it for on my phone or tablet is to make a multi-photo collage to post to social media. It has some pre-made templates that you just plop your photos into, and it works great. The last one is the one that I  probably use the most, and that's Snapseed. It is a simple photo-editing app made just for the phone or tablet. It has tools and looks that can transform an ordinary photo into something special. Great for quick edits and posting.

Of course, there are more apps that could be classified as photo-related, like Google Earth, but I'll leave those for another day. I hope this gives you an idea of what I use as photo apps. There are hundreds of apps out there that are photo-related that I'm sure are really fun to play with, but these are the few that I use. So until next week, keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) amazon Applications Apps blog bluetooth editing GoPro landscape learning lightroom Max Stansell Photography mobile mobile Applications Photography Photoshop posting snapseed social media website wifi workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/what-photography-phone-apps-do-i-use Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:32:58 GMT
New Exploring Vessel https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/new-exploring-vehicle Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Most every year I usually get myself something camera or photography related. But this year I decided to add something to my exploring adventures that didn't have anything to do with photography. I wanted to expand my exploring not just to land travels but to water travels also.  I have been doing a lot of research and decided to get a canoe. I didn't want to get a boat that was on a trailer I had to haul around because it would be too much trouble. I wanted something that I could load and unload off of my truck by myself. Now, I needed something that was lightweight, because I'm not getting any younger.  I also needed something that could handle me! LOL I'm not getting any smaller. The canoe was a perfect choice. But which one?  The search started, and let me tell you, there is a lot more to canoes than you think. First is the size. I wanted something large enough to carry Forrest and me comfortably and that could haul our things. But I also wanted something small enough so I could carry it by myself. So that meant a solo canoe. I found out that a new one ran from $700 to thousands of dollars and that they can be made out of all kinds of materials, like Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, thick plastic, Royalx, and all kinds of materials. Usually the lighter the canoe, the more expensive and fragile.  I also found that the hull shape also made a difference. The flatter the hull, the more stable the canoe, and the more rounded the hull, the less stable the canoe. Rounder, more curvy hulls are for rapids and not for long cruising, which I hope to do. Then there is the length of the boat. The longer the canoe, the truer it is in the water (it will stay in a straight line longer), and the shorter the canoe, the less true. So my research for the perfect boat began, and I decided that I wanted a boat that I could handle, lightweight with a flat bottom.  I decided that I wanted to buy a used one, so I started looking on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and places on the internet that specialize in finding used canoes and kayaks.  I searched for a few months and found a few, but they got bought up before I could get a hold of them. It seems that larger and heavier canoes are easy to find and fairly cheap. But solo ones are hard to come by.  A friend of mine has an Old Town 12-foot pack canoe made out of Royalx material. It weighs 35 lbs, and Royalx is almost indestructible. And of course, they don't make Royalx anymore. These are very hard to come by and go used for over $1,000.  Brand new they only cost around $500, and you could get them at REI. But now supply and demand make them a very valued boat. Now, I have been saving for quite a while and have looked for quite a while for a boat and finally got tired of waiting for that perfect used boat to show up, so I decided to go new. I had it narrowed down to three boats: an Old Town Discovery 119 (119 is 11feet 9 inches), The Old Town Next, and the Esquif Adirondack. They ranged in length from 11-13 feet and weighed from 37 lbs to almost 70 lbs. They were all good boats, but the choice was easy after I saw them. It was the Esquif Adirondack canoe that is 12 foot long, weighs 37 lbs, and can carry over 500 lbs in cargo. So me and a buddy of mine went to Virginia to a paddle company, Appomattox River Company, and got my boat. So let me tell you a little about my new Exploring Vessel.

The Esquif Adirondack boat is made in Canada. Now, if you don't know, in Canada the canoe is what the horse was to us in discovery out west. We went out west in wagon trains and on horseback, and they went on canoes through the rivers and lakes of our northern neighbor. Now, if you remember, earlier I said that they don't make Royalx anymore, the material that is light and almost indestructible. When they quit manufacturing the material, Esquif decided to make their own material that is very similar to or even better than Royalx, and it is called T-Formex.  They even sell this material to other companies that used to make Royalx boats.  So anyway, the hull of my new boat is made from T-Formex, which is lightweight and durable.  The boat is 12-feet long and almost an exact copy of the the Old Town Pack canoe that I spoke of earlier that they don't make anymore. The Esquif pretty much replaced the void of the Old Town Pack when Old Town quit making the Pack canoe because of the lack of Royalx. The Esquif is a very basic canoe, and I have already made some adjustments to it. I added some bungee cord in the back, or stern, of the boat to hold cargo in place when I go on canoe camping trips. I put in a new seat that goes over the existing seat to give me some back support. I installed an accessory rack so I could install things like a Go-Pro camera mount or a rod holder or paddle holder. I plan on doing a few other things to customize the boat for me.  I'm sure there will be more blogs to come on the modifications and adventures I make with this new acquisition. 

Now that I have talked about the boat, let me tell you what I plan on doing with it. As you know, I am primarily a landscape photographer, backpacker, and hiker.  I love to explore and see new places and take photographs along the way to share with you. My project this year is to explore the national forests of North Carolina, and that also includes the lakes and rivers that run through them. This year my main goal with the boat is to get used to it, learn all of the ins and outs of paddling, and also do a little exploring.  In the next year or so, I may be doing a project on the rivers of North Carolina. I am looking forward to having many adventures with the new canoe and can't wait to share them with you. Until next time, please stay safe and healthy, and get outside, explore, and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adirondack Aqua blog boat Bound camping canoe Esquif exploring gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/new-exploring-vehicle Fri, 12 Feb 2021 09:34:55 GMT
Trip Planning "How I Plan for a Trip" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/trip-planning-how-i-plan-for-a-trip AT SignAT Sign Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today's topic is "Trip Planning." I love to take trips to photograph, camp, hike, or whatever. But I'm not one of those people that can just get up one morning and go. I need to have a plan, know where I'm going, and how I'm going to get there. What will I do when I get there? What will I see? I like to research all of this before I go and try to answer all of the questions I may have.  

This year my photo project is to explore all of the National Forests in North Carolina. I plan on doing them one by one, starting with Croatan Screenshot National Forest first because it's the most buggy.  I plan on doing most of my exploring in cooler weather to keep the bugs and snake activity to a minimum. So that is the first decision I made. When. My next decision to make is where in Croatan will I go? To figure this one out, I will use many resources. The first one I will use is maps. I use digital and actual maps to find out where things are. Things like trails, creeks, rivers, lakes, and campsites. Using maps lets me figure out how far things are. As I'm doing this, I'm making out lists, writing down the specific places Screenshot
that I find on the maps. Then I start the research.

Using my computer, I start to research the places that I have identified on the maps by using just a simple search on Google. It may or may not bring up stuff, and I can drill down further on stuff that it brings up.  If it's a photo trip (and most are), I'll go to one of my photo sharing sites like Instagram, Flickr, or 500PX and see what other people have seen at the places I've found. Maybe I'll try to take the same kinds of photos, or maybe I'll look just to see what others have taken so I don't do the same. Either way, I check. If it's going to be an overnight trip, I look for a place to camp. I try to look at places that I have not been to before. The type of camping accommodation is how I decide on what type of camping I do. If it's a really good campground, I might bring my teardrop camper.  But then that opens up a whole other can of worms because I have to get reservations to these campgrounds, many times months in advance because they are so popular.  Will I be backpacking into the woods? What are the trails like? What is the mileage that I will be expected to hike? Where is the parking area for my truck? Do I need to get permission to park? These are flickrflickr
all questions that I have to answer using my computer while planning my trip.

Just before I leave, after I have come up with a game plan, I need to check a few more things. First, a week or so out I start looking at the weather. Using weather apps on my phone, I look in advance to see what the weather is going to be like.  I don't want to be out backpacking and a hurricane comes that I didn't expect. But I also want to look at how hot or cold it will be.  This will help me figure out what kind of clothes to bring with me.  I don't want to be overdressed or underdressed for the weather. 

Planning on what to bring with me is one of the last things I do.  I make a packing list based on what I found out with all of the research.  Will I be backpacking, camping out of my truck, taking my teardrop, or staying in a hotel?  This and the weather will determine what I bring.  If I'm backpacking, minimal is the word of the day. This is for cameras as well. When you're backpacking, ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain when you have it on your back. You have to pack accordingly. If I'm going to be camping in my truck or camper, I can bring almost anything. But I'm a list guy and have a list of all the things that I will take with me, from raincoat to camera kit and everything in between.

As you can see, this can be a very involved process, and my process might not be right for you. But if you're like me, you will need a process. So come up with your own.  Start planning a trip today!  So until next week, stay safe and healthy, and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping car Flicker gear Google GPS hiking landscape learning list maps Max Stansell Photography Photography planning travel trip website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/2/trip-planning-how-i-plan-for-a-trip Fri, 05 Feb 2021 09:39:11 GMT
Exploring your Backyard https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/exploring-your-backyard Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe.  Today I want to talk about Exploring.  I think exploring is embedded into us as humans. From the beginning of the written word, tales of exploring have been told. From traveling the oceans to "head west young man" to "one step for man, one giant leap for mankind" when we went to the moon.  But now all we seem to do is explore the TV set or on the internet looking for the next best thing.  I am no stranger to TV exploring and am trying to get out of it. But it isn't easy. Today we get used to being in our routine with our nose to the grindstone to make that buck.  This year in my photo project I have pledged my year into exploring the national forests in North Carolina.  A year might not be long enough.  I love to explore and see new things.  When I see new things, my creative juices start to flow and I can really take some good photographs. But you don't have to take long exotic trips to explore.  I'm sure with a little research and a relatively short drive, you can be somewhere that you have never been before.  

Exploring new things doesn't necessarily mean looking for forests or hilltops that I like to go to.  It could be a new town or place you haven't been to before and learning about the history of it.  Or it could be taking a walk and seeing the new stuff all around you.  If you're into history, there are usually plenty of historical things you can see in any city.  Antietam National CemeteryAntietam National Cemetery Learn the culture of the town and why it became a town. Maybe there is historic battlegrounds or settlements around the town. Maybe, if you're a foodie and love food, you could try out local restaurants in the towns you're visiting.  It could be a BBQ joint or diner that serves fantastic food that you would have never found if it wasn't for exploring.  I call these little day trips, exploring your backyard seeing what's in a day's drive from where you live. For example, from where I live, in a day's drive I can see the mountains, the ocean, civil war battlefields, revolutionary war battlefields, slave plantations, cotton fields, rivers, lakes, wildlife preserves, national forests, national parks, state parks, museums, cities, and small towns.  And that's just what I could think of off the top of my head. So when someone says that they have nothing to do or nowhere to go around them, they haven't looked.  Last year, during the virus and all of the shutdowns I still managed to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina. So it's possible. I'm a planner, so I like to look up where I'm going to see what I can find on the web, like major attractions, places to eat, local history, and what kinds of photos other people have taken while they were there.  This can all be done with Google searches.  

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park WVCass Scenic Railroad State Park WV Exploring far-off places can be fun too, but to be honest I haven't done as much of this as I would like to. I haven't done a lot of traveling two or more states away from mine, mostly because of time constraints and having to have a real job to pay for everything. I just don't have the vacation time that I would need to explore the way I want to. But I do have friends that have that kind of time, and they plan trips to other countries and across our nation to do some exploring. If you have the time, this would be a way to go also. I know I would if I had the time. You can usually find a plane ticket on sale, especially if you book it in advance. I once went to Washington DC and took a train, Edenton Tea PotEdenton Tea Pot and it was pretty awesome to explore the city on foot and by the mass transit system.  It really took me out of my comfort zone which was awesome! But if you can't do any of the long-distance travel, don't stop exploring! Explore your backyard like I do and take day trips or overnighters to explore the wonders of the world. Don't just watch it on TV.  It's only a car ride away.

So until next week, please stay safe and get outside and explore around you!

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(Max Stansell Photography) backyard blog canoeing city's exploring food hiking history landscape learning Max Stansell Photography new experience Photography travel website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/exploring-your-backyard Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:20:52 GMT
Do I need all of the photo Accessories all of the time? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/do-i-need-all-of-the-photo-accessories-all-of-the-time Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe.  The holidays have passed, and I hope Santa brought you something for your stocking. We as photographers have all kinds of gadgets and accessories to go with our camera kit.  And sometimes that takes more space than the camera and lenses do. I am all about being a quick and nimble photographer. To do that, you need to get rid of all the excess, even though I love all the gadgets. But sometimes I'm messing with all the gadgets and don't take the time it takes to see what I'm photographing, and I get too technical. I sometimes long for the days when I first started taking photos and used one camera body and one lens.  All of my time was taken up with looking and exploring for that next shot. I shoot a mirrorless crop sensor camera, so my kit is pretty small. But with all the extra stuff I can get bogged down. But here lately, the last year or so, when I'm out walking around, I like to take just one camera and one lens or so and even a prime lens (without zooming capabilities) and just shoot like I used to. It's really fun and frees me up because I don't have all that stuff to think about using. I just have a camera and a spare battery.  How liberating! When I'm out walking or hiking, I either have my Canon point and shoot or my Sony with one lens on and just go.  It's lightweight, I can carry in a fanny pack or a small backpack, and I'm not loaded down with all kinds of equipment. Now if I'm going to a certain place that I'm going to stop and shoot (like a waterfall), then I will bring all of my stuff (my main camera bag) with me.

This is how I do it. For my day-to-day travels like to work or running around town, I usually have my Canon G7xMII with me. It's a point and Bell & Howell /CannonBell & Howell /CannonHere is the new addition to my film cameras . 1961 Canon Canonet 19. shoot that can be shot in manual and has RAW capabilities and a large range focally from 24-100 (full frame equivalent) and can usually shoot everything I need. I keep it in a small pack that can become a fanny pack or an over-the-shoulder bag. I'll be doing a blog about my camera bags at a later date. (Stay tuned in.) I do take my main camera Sony A6500 and just one lens attached. My favorite lenses to attach are my 24mm Rokinon (36mm full frame equivalent) and a Sony 35mm that gives me a 52mm full frame equivalent. I love just walking around with the point of view with one of these lenses. Now if this is too restrictive for you and you have a newer smartphone, especially one that has multiple lenses on it, take it with you and use it for different focal lengths you may need.  A smartphone does great on wide-angle shots and panos. You'll still be quick and nimble and have all the lenses you will need. I have an older phone, but I still take it and use it when I need to. I have a shoulder bag that I call my purse that I use when I'm out with this setup (again a blog is coming on bags).

Being light and nimble with your photography will make you enjoy the experience better. If you're like me, getting older and bigger, not lugging around lots of stuff all the time is great. There are still times I like to take all my stuff with me, and I have a great pack to use with it (blog later LOL) that fits great and doesn't pull on you to make you uncomfortable. Saves your back. Photography is supposed to be fun and not a workout carrying stuff that you don't need. There is a time for all of that photography stuff you have, but it's not "all the time." So just take what you need in the smallest bag you can so you can be quick and nimble. I see people going to shoot taking everything they own packed into a bag that is heavy and bulky. So try going small and minimalist, and you will be able to travel farther quicker, clear your head of all the technical things, and just shoot.  

So until next week, stay safe and healthy and get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) accessories blog camera gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography minimalist Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/do-i-need-all-of-the-photo-accessories-all-of-the-time Fri, 22 Jan 2021 09:52:55 GMT
My New Photo Projects for 2021 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/my-new-photo-projects-for-2021 Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe today.  I have finally done it. I have made the decision of what my project for 2021 will be. Last year, if you're following me, you know that I was going to visit, photograph, hike, and sometimes camp at all of the state parks in North Carolina. There were 34 of them, and with the shutdowns due to the virus, it made this project more difficult than I thought it would be. But with some good luck and planning, I got the project completed and created an end-of-year book that showed off my accomplishment. I also had two other projects. Post to Instagram every day and post a blog once a week. Both were challenging, but I completed those also. I plan to keep those two projects going through 2021. 

This year I plan on (drum roll please) visiting and exploring all of the national forests in North Carolina.  There are four national forests in North Carolina, covering over 1.25 million acres of land: Croatan National Forest in the eastern part of the state, Uwharrie National Forest located in the central part of the state, and Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests located in the mountains of the state. Now you may say that there are only four forests to visit. That is true, but they are so big that to "explore" them it will take many trips to each forest to get the full experience of it.  That's the main theme of  this project is to "explore." Last year was more of a let's complete this checklist, but this one is more fluid, not set in stone. I will take as many trips as needed to feel like I have truly explored the forest that I'm in. I'm going to do one at a time. I will camp, hike, backpack, and photograph. This will be more of the experience from that of last year which was more of a checklist feeling. I plan on taking my fishing rods, maybe even get a canoe and paddle lakes and ponds, rivers and streams. Documenting the trips will also be a big part of it. I will make a couple of videos, but photography of course will be the main medium that I will use to document this project. My camera set up will not change. I have my kit pretty much dialed in. My trusty Sony A6500 will be my main camera body. I believe that it has many years left in it. My lens selection will be the ones that I have been using. Also, my little Canon G7XmII will also be with me, especially on the backpacking trips. It's small size and versatility make it a great backpacking camera. For video, my GoPro setup will be the same with a GoPro 7 being my main camera.

I will be doing a lot of camping with this project, which is something that I wanted to incorporate.  Hammock camping will be my first choice and hopefully a lot of free camping.  In most national forests, dispersed camping is free, although there are established campgrounds that I will also be visiting that charge a minimum fee. I hope to have backpacking be a big part of this project also, which means I have to get back into shape! UGGH! There are many trails to hike and explore, especially in the mountains. My truck, Ole' Betsy, will be my mode of transportation and my camping and exploring vehicle.  And of course Forrest, the Wonder Dog, will accompany me when possible.

So there, I have said it out loud. My project for 2021 will be exploring the national forests of North Carolina. So until next week, get outside and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping exploring hammock hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography Project website workshops yearly https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/my-new-photo-projects-for-2021 Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:00:00 GMT
My Photography Bags and How I Use Them. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/my-photography-bags-and-how-i-use-them Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today I want to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart. Camera bags! I have had dozens of them, and I now find myself with what I think for me is a great combo. To me, camera bags aren't just a fashion statement but must function with ease and have all the bells and whistles that I want in a camera bag. To me they are tools, and no one bag fits the bill although I do have one that is close. I use three bags and, depending on what I am doing or shooting, will decide what bag and camera setup I use. Out of the three bags I use, only one of them is actually a camera bag. I have adapted other bags to take the place of camera bags. The three bags I use are the Shimoda Action X 30 liter camera bag, the MountainSmith Daylight Lumbar Pack, and the Zpacks multi-pack. I have used all kinds of bags over my many years of photography, and these three are the best and the longest-used camera bags that I have used. I'll start from the smallest and work my way to the largest.

Zpacks multi-pack - I first acquired this pack for backpacking. It was made by Zpacks that is a leader in backpacks in the backpacking industry. They were one of the first to use Dyneema for material in their packs. Dyneema is a material that pound for pound is stronger than steel and is waterproof. This pack was made to be a chest pack on my backpack, but it can be used as an over- the-shoulder bag and as a fanny pack. I use this bag for my everyday camera use. I carry a point and shoot Canon G7XmII for my everyday use, and when I go for lunchtime walks or driving from town to town, this is the camera that I have next to me. The bag is large enough to hold my camera and a few other things.  I can throw it over my shoulder or use it as a fanny pack. I love this little bag and will keep using it.

MountainSmith Dalight Lumbar Pack - I got the idea for this pack from Chris Burkard, an adventure photographer. He uses this bag as a shooting bag. I bought this bag and got a cheap insert to put into the bag to protect camera lenses and such. I use this bag mainly if I'm shooting an event or when doing street photography. I had an extra Peak Design camera strap (another story), so I used this to make a shoulder strap which is much better than the one that comes with the bag. This bag is large enough to carry one body and up to three lenses, filters, and such.  I usually carry one body and a few prime lenses when doing street photography. It works great, and I can change lenses quickly. People who have shot with me know that I call this bag my purse. It can even tote my iPad mini with no problems, another plus when doing street photography. I can stop at a coffee shop, have some coffee, and pull out my iPad to edit or browse the net.

Shimoda Action X 30 liter Backpack - This is my landscape and hiking bag. I love this bag and have had this one for over a year. I got it off of a Kickstarter production. It's made out of a ripstop water-resistant material. It was made for action photographers who ski and mountain bike, but it is perfect for landscape photographers. I shoot a crop sensor camera, so the 30 liter is perfect for me. But they make 50 and 70 liter bags also.  Attention to detail from a photographer's standpoint is what I love about this bag, and the craftsmanship in making this bag is great. Very high quality. I won't go over all of the details of the bag, but you can look it up on Google and read all about it. It is used by modern professional landscape photographers such as Nick Page. I like that it has a roll-top to it so when I go out in the morning all layered up I can shed the layers and have room in the bag to put them with no problems. I usually carry one to two bodies and three lenses: my 10-18, 16-70, and 70-350mm. 

With these three bags, I have the tools to move quickly and protect all of my gear while out and about shooting the world around me.

Until next week please stay safe and healthy, and get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpack bag Bags blog Camera fanny gear inserts landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Mountainsmith pack Photography proof Shimoda Shoulder tutorial water website workshops Zpacks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/my-photography-bags-and-how-i-use-them Fri, 08 Jan 2021 09:20:12 GMT
Monitor Calibration - When and Why https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/monitor-calibration---when-and-why Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today I want to talk to you about why I think you should calibrate your monitor and how to do it. If you're a serious photographer in the modern age, calibration of your monitor is a must, and here's why. When you see colors in a scene, you want the same colors to be printed and published online. When we develop our photos on the computer, we use the screen, and we want to make sure that the colors we saw are the same colors that we have on our monitor. In other words, you want to make sure that the red ball you shot with your camera stays red throughout the process of processing your photographs to screen or to print. Your monitor must know what red is. Monitors' colors tend to drift, but with our eyes we don't really see it. So if I bring in a photo that I think was more red than I'm seeing, I can boost the color in my photo editing software. But if your monitor is seeing red, lets say more pink, then the output that you choose can be different than you saw. Have you ever printed something and the colors were wrong?  The reason is that your monitor was not calibrated and you made adjustments that you didn't need to, and then when you printed it looked wrong. When you calibrate your monitor, you are telling it that red is red, green is green, and so on. So when you edit your photos, what you see are the real colors. If you're like me, I don't see colors as well as everyone else, and I depend on the monitor being calibrated to keep me in check. And if you go further down the chain, you can also calibrate your printer, but that's a discussion for another day. Having all of your machines calibrated also helps. If you have a laptop and a desktop computer and you go between them editing photos, you want the monitors to be calibrated so that when you adjust one it looks the same as the other.  Okay, I may be rambling a little, but the point is you want your monitors to be calibrated for the best results.

How and when to calibrate. I calibrate mine monthly. You could do it more often but for me once a month seems to do the trick.  The how to this question is a little more involved. First, you'll have to get a monitor calibration tool. This tool hooks to your computer via USB, and then you place it on the screen of your computer. You start the program, and your screen will go through a sequence and show all of the different colors in the color spectrum. This device will see those colors and, when the program is finished going through its sequence, it will make adjustments to your screen so the colors are correct. Like anything else, you can spend as much as you want on calibration tools. But for about $150 you can get an entry-level one. X-Rite or Datacolor Spyder X Pro seem to be the leaders in this.  I have an older Color Monkey from X-Rite that I have been using for years, and it does okay.  

I highly recommend calibrating your monitors for accurate colors and also for the consistency that it will give to your photography. So until next week, keep shooting, get outside, explore, and have fun!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog calibration Datacolor gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography monitor Photography website workshops X-Rite https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2021/1/monitor-calibration---when-and-why Fri, 01 Jan 2021 10:00:00 GMT
Idea Board "What is it?" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/idea-board-what-is-it Hey Everyone!  I hope today finds you healthy and safe!  This week I want to talk about coming up with ideas that can become photo or just personal projects. First of all, I think personal projects and photography projects are great, but coming up with the idea and what your project is going to be is a bear. Photography and personal projects give you something to plan for and something to really look forward to. I am a list guy. I make a list for almost everything, from daily activities to long- term goals. This past year I had a couple of goals or projects. The first one is this blog.  I wanted to post a blog every week. The biggest challenge with this goal is coming up with topics to talk about.  I get ideas from all kinds of places, when I'm driving to work, taking a shower, almost anywhere.  I get the idea and then think about how my blog will be written. But if I don't write it down, I can get distracted and lose my train of thought.  So I have a place in my home office/gear locker/laundry room where I have put up a dry erase board where I can write down all the ideas I have. I try to stay ahead and have two or three already written. Then all I have to do is put some photos with it.

Another big project this year was my state park project.  I wanted to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina in one calendar year. This took a lot of logistics and planning to do. Some of these parks were far enough away that I had to plan overnight stays, which meant camping. You know how I like to camp. There were 34 parks and 52 weekends. I should be able to handle that, right? Well, then the virus hit us, and all of the state parks closed for a few months. But I got around that and took a week of vacation and went to 9 state parks to get me back on track.  I had a printed state map with all of the state parks and a spreadsheet where I would check off each state park as the year came around. I kept track of this on the dry erase board in my room. This project gave me the drive to go out and shoot while the virus and everything associated with it tried to keep me down and out. So projects keep you going.

Another photo project I had this year was to post to Instagram each day. I wanted the photos to be better than just a bunch of iPhone shots just to fill up space. At first, when my state park project started, I had plenty of photos to choose from. But then when all of the state parks closed, the project got me back into older photographs and maybe reprocessing some of them. That was a blessing, as looking back at all of those old photos brought back memories of times past.  

Right now I am trying to come up with a big project like the state park project for next year. On my idea board (dry erase board), I have many ideas of projects. I am still thinking about and researching what project I'm going to start at the beginning of the year. I want it to be a big project, and I want camping to be a part of it also. So that's a challenge. But right now I have 6 project ideas on the board to choose from and hope I get more in the coming days.  Also on my idea board I have big "to do" items, like paint the trim on the house and clean the garage. These are items that I just want to get off of the board. I would much rather be out shooting, fishing, camping, or almost anything else, but these to-do items. LOL  I also have some special projects on the board that I want to do, like there are some modifications that I want to do to my teardrop trailer to make it more specialized/unique. My idea board helps me prioritize what projects to do and what to do next. Some people may be able to keep all of this in their head, but for me the board makes it much easier to make decisions on what to do. The idea board also helps me keep up with upcoming trips. The virus has made campsites hard to get (everyone is trying to get outside), so I have to reserve well in advance and the board helps me keep track of that.  And of course I also put all of these dates in Google Calendar to help remind me. 

Well, that's enough rambling for now.  I hope this idea will help some of you make some photography projects and get you outside to shoot. So until next week, keep safe and healthy.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Do idea's landscape learning list Max Stansell Photography Photography Priority To website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/idea-board-what-is-it Fri, 25 Dec 2020 11:15:58 GMT
Shooting in Black and White "Monochrome Experience" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/shooting-in-black-and-white-monochrome-experience Max Stansell Photography Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. This week I want to talk about black and white photography and why I like it. Way back when, when photography was shot on film, black and white photography was much more prominent than it is now.  At the beginning of photography, it was all black and white because there wasn't any color film available. But even after color film was invented, black and white was still the norm. In what I call the hay days of photography, from the 1920s to the 1960s, just about everything was on black-and-white film. I love looking at all of those old photos from my family and even in the National Archives from all of the famous people you think about when studying the art of photography, all shot in black and white. Majestic landscapes, news, sports, and portraits were all shot in black and white. Maybe I'm just nostalgic from the days gone past. But to me, things shot in black and white have that "timeless" feeling that I don't get with color photographs. There are lots of blogs and all kinds of tutorials that explain all of the techniques of shooting in black and white, but I'm more concerned about how a photograph makes you feel. I imagine that younger photographers who grew up with Goldsboro Fire HouseGoldsboro Fire House all-color all the time don't feel the same way that older photographers do about black and white. Don't get me wrong, there are some younger photographers that dabble in black and white. But most of the time it's color, vibrant color, that they go to. So when do I like to shoot black and white?

Max Stansell Photography Portraits - I love black-and-white portraits. To me, they seem to be sharper, show more detail in the face, and show more expression than color portraits. Think of all the black-and-white portraits of old movie stars or politicians that were taken in decades past. You see those photographs, and they just pop off the page. You get to the soul of the photograph without cluttering up the photo with all of that color.  I have a wall in my house where I have photos of my family members, but I made them all in black and white because I think they just look better. An old saying about portraits that I really like  is "If you take a portrait of someone in color, you're taking a photo of their clothes; when you take a portrait in black and white, you take a photo of their soul."

Landscapes - Big majestic landscapes are great in black and white! Ansel Adams, one of the most--if not the most--famous landscape photographers, shot in black and white. Even though in his later years color was available and he dabbled in it, he preferred black and white. I think that in some landscape photographs color just muddles up the photograph, makes it too busy. But if you change it to black and white, sometimes it just jumps off the page. Try to change some of your favorite landscapes from color to black and white. All of them won't work well, but some of them will be a lot better than the originals that you thought were great.

The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. Street Photography -  Nothing says black-and-white photography like street photography. Capturing scenes and cityscapes in black and white is the norm. This style of photography is where I think black and white really shines and is probably where it is the most used in today's photography. I think, again, it's the timeless look of the photograph that it shows.

As you can see, I'm a big fan of black-and-white photography. Please experiment with black-and-white photography, and I'm sure you'll become a lover of the "monochrome experience" like I am. Until next week, please stay safe and healthy and get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) and Black blog film landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Monochrome Photography Portrait Street website White workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/shooting-in-black-and-white-monochrome-experience Fri, 18 Dec 2020 08:51:45 GMT
End-of-year book? "Why I think you should" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/end-of-year-book-why-i-think-you-should Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. This week I want to talk about making an end-of-year book. This is something I started a few years ago at the suggestion of my photography club. We were making them to share at an end-of-year holiday party. But I really think that everyone should have one. So what is an end-of-year book?

An end-of-year book is a collection of all of your best shots from your year of photography. There are all kinds of books you could make, from family books to books on your pets, but this end-of-year book would be a book of all of your best work. If you're like me, I may go on a photoshoot and shoot 500 shots. Out of those, I may only have one or two that I would like to share. And out of those, maybe only one of them is noteworthy of printing in a book. But over the course of a year, you may have 40 or 50 really great photos that you should print. An end-of-year book is a great place to put them.  

Let's talk about why I think you should print a book. The first reason is that most of us, myself included, do not print enough. We don't have shoeboxes full of things we have printed like we did in the past. Instead, we now have them on a disc or drive somewhere, and nobody will see them or pass them down when we are gone. An end-of-year book is an easy thing we can do once a year to print our great work and have something tangible for people to hold, something to pass down to our grandchildren and theirs.  I recently made a book of all of my mother's photographs. She has Alzheimer's and knew her memory was going, so she sat down and labeled and sorted all of her photographs that she had. I found all of them in boxes, took them to my house and digitized a lot of them, and made a book that she could hold onto and look at the photos. I had them labeled with the names of the people from her past so she could remember now that her memory is not good. Books are a great way to do this. I should do more of them, but I'm pretty lazy like everyone else. 

This year I had a solid photo project of photographing and visiting all of the state parks in North Carolina in one calendar year.  I've got it all done now (pat on the back), but now I have to make my end-of-year book about state parks. There are 34 state parks, so the book will be at least 34 pages long and probably double that. There are all kinds of places where you can get a book made, from Shutterfly, Blurb, Snapfish, and a lot of others.  You can even get a book made at your local drugstore, like Walgreens. They usually don't cost much, and it usually depends on how many pages and the quality of the book you're making.  The bottom line is that it's much cheaper to make the book than it would be to print all of the photographs.

I know I have rambled quite a bit here, but the bottom line is that this is a great way to share your work with something that is tangible and something that you can pass down through the ages. So until next week, take some notable photos and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog books learning max stansell photography Photo Photography Printing Sharing website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/end-of-year-book-why-i-think-you-should Fri, 11 Dec 2020 09:09:57 GMT
Winter Photography "Dressing the Part" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/winter-photography-dressing-the-part Hey Everyone! Hope I find you healthy and safe this week. This week I'd like to talk about winter photography and how to dress for it. Now, living in the mid-Atlantic region of the US, it doesn't get super cold like it does up north but still gets cold enough that if you're outside you need to dress for the cold. Dressing for the cold is much like dressing for a backpacking trip in the fall, the same precautions. Here are a few tips that you should consider.

Hands - Keeping your hands warm is key to photography, and our cameras in the cold are just cold hunks of metal that can suck the heat right out of your hands. Wearing gloves or mittens is the way to go. There are special photography gloves that you can get where the fingertips peel back out of the way while you are adjusting the knobs of your camera which comes in handy. I bought a pair of these special gloves a year or so ago and wish I had bought them earlier. Another thing you can do is use hand warmers. These are a must in my camera bag when it's cold outside. These are small chemical-filled bags that get warm when you shake them up. They can stay warm for hours and feel as good in your pockets as they do in your hands. They are inexpensive and great to have in your camera bag.

Head - Most of the heat in your body leaves through your head, so wearing some sort of head covering is a must in cold weather. I like to wear a stocking cap that is made out of fleece. It covers my ears and feels great. I also have one that has insulation built into it that also works great. The biggest thing is that it keeps the heat in and is comfortable and lightweight. I also like to wear a neck gator. This is a tube of cloth that is made out of fleece that you pull over your head to wear around your neck. You can also pull it up over your nose to keep it warm too. Eyes also need protection, especially when you're in the snow. The reflection can really harm your eyes, so wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Body - The key to keeping your body warm is to dress in layers. No cotton!! In hiking and backpacking, the term "cotton kills" is a popular saying.  Cotton may be comfortable, but it holds moisture. If you get it wet by sweating or by falling in a creek, cotton will hold all of that water, making you freeze. You want to wear layers of clothes that are made of a moisture-wicking type of material from your base layer (underwear) to your outer layer. Multiple layers will help you regulate your body temperature during the day. If you are hiking to your photo spot, you can take off some layers and put them in your camera bag. Then, as you heat up during the exercise of hiking, you won't sweat as much. When you get to your location, you can put on those extra layers you carried to keep you warm as your body cools off. Lightweight clothes are what you're looking for as you are layering, and heavy bulky clothes is what you want to stay away from. We want to be comfortable while we are on our adventure.

F eet - You must keep your feet happy when in the cold. Wear socks that are not cotton. Again, "Cotton Kills" in cold weather. Wool socks are a good option. They make wool socks that aren't itchy like the ones you're probably thinking about. In cold weather, I usually take an extra pair of shoes and socks and keep them in my vehicle in case I get my feet wet while out and about. A clean, dry pair of socks and shoes feel great after slogging around in wet conditions all day. Again, they do make feet warmers like the hand warmers that fit into your shoes to keep your feet warm.  I haven't used them much, but they could come in handy--or footy. LOL

As you can see, the key is to keep yourself dry and layer up to stay warm in cold weather. Now for extreme cold weather, you would have to have some heavy-duty outer wear to keep you dry and insulated. But for general cold weather, the above suggestions should help. So don't let the cold weather keep you from getting outside to do photography. Dress the part and then get outside!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) base blog clothes coats down elements fleece head how landscape layer layering learning Max Stansell Photography moisture Photography socks to wear website wicking winter wool https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/12/winter-photography-dressing-the-part Fri, 04 Dec 2020 09:21:25 GMT
Using your Mirrorless or DSLR as a WebCam. https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/using-your-mirrorless-or-dslr-as-a-webcam Hey Everyone! Hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today I want to talk to you about something that I just started doing myself. That's using my photography camera as a web camera or webcam for my computer for video conferencing. This is something that I had to teach myself how to do, and if I can do it anyone can. If you have a modern mirrorless, DSLR, or even an advanced point and shoot, these cameras also have video capabilities that are far better than the camera that is hooked to your computer. With a little bit of lighting that you already know about with your portrait photography, then you should be able to wow your friends and co-workers with professional-looking video when you make your video conference calls. There are two basic ways to achieve this. Software and hardware.

Software:  Depending on what brand of camera you own, you may be able to hook your camera up to the computer with no out-of-pocket expense.  Since the pandemic, many camera companies have come out with software that will make your camera act as a webcam, at no cost to you. You just download the software and follow their instructions, which is to just hook up your camera with a USB cable and you're in. Your camera works as a webcam. Audio will still be handled through your computer. There are other hacks where you can download third-party software and make your camera work also. There are many to try.   YouTube is a place where you can learn about these, and they seem to work. Working with software does have some drawbacks though. Sometimes the video and audio do not sync properly, and you may look like you're in a cheap Chinese Kung fu movie. It might not be that bad, but it may be noticeable. But if your setup works and you don't have a lag, then you're in.  All you have to do is choose what video conferencing software you are using and then go to settings and choose your camera for the webcam.  

Hardware: Instead of using software to connect to your camera, you can use hardware to do the same thing. This will cost some money but shouldn't break the bank. The things that you will need are a video capture card and an HDMI that will hook up to your camera and your computer. Most modern cameras have an HDMI cable port. You may also have this cable if your camera came with it. If not, or if you're like me and couldn't find it, you'll have to get one. Like with everything else, you can spend as much money as you want on these things, but you don't have to. I spent $22 for the video capture card and $20 for the cable to hook up between my camera and the card. I bought an inexpensive capture card that plugs into my computer via USB port (the regular port, not the USB C port). Then I plug in the HDMI cable to the card (regular full size), and the other end of the cord hooks to my camera via an HDMI MICRO/MINI connector. This is the connection that you have to make sure you get right for your camera because they can be different on different models of cameras. When all is hooked up, you go to the video conferencing app of your choice, go to settings and pick USB camera, and you're ready to go. Your camera can now be used for both video and audio. This can fix all of the audio lag that you may have gotten on the software option. You can use the onboard camera microphone, or you can attach an external mic to the camera. I have another cheap option where I use a $20 LAV mic that I bought a while ago that I can plug into my camera and improve the audio. All of the hardware I use I got off of Amazon.

Now. I'm no expert at this. As I said, I just started to do this myself. But you can really see the difference, and by using your photography skills you can really make a professional-looking video through your computer. You will be able to use a low aperture on your camera and blur out the back. Depending on what type of camera you have, you can have the autofocus follow your face so you are always in focus and the background is blurry, making it look very professional.  

So until next week, please stay safe and healthy and explore with your cameras. Get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 1080p blog HDMI learning Max Stansell Photography microphone Photography USB video web webcam website zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/using-your-mirrorless-or-dslr-as-a-webcam Fri, 20 Nov 2020 09:05:34 GMT
Do You Need a Tripod? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/do-you-need-a-tripod Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today I want to talk about the three-legged monsters known as tripods and when and if we should use them. This discussion is mainly for newer photographers, but old folks like me might benefit also. A question I sometimes get asked is, "Do I really need a tripod?" I could give you a short answer, but let's get into it a little deeper. Let me say that I have had all sorts of tripods from 7-foot tall ones to ones you can hold in the palm of your hand, so I know a little about tripods. First of all, tripods have been around since the beginning of photography by necessity. Back in the days of film, film came in lower ASA (ISO's) than modern cameras. Say you get a film of 100 ASA indoors. You would have to drop your shutter speed way down to get a properly exposed film, and that brings in camera shake. Thus, the tripod is needed to get sharp photos. This is why initially tripods were necessary to get sharp photos. Now, let's move to today with modern digital cameras. You may think that the newer digital cameras come with IBIS (In Body Camera Stabilization) or some kind of lens stabilization, and so now we can shoot at higher ISO's.  And all of that is true. But with higher ISO's comes more noise or less sharp photos. IBIS and lens stabilization is great, and I love it. But you still can't drop the shutter as low as I would want without camera shake. 6400 ISO will never be as good as 100 ISO.  It's good, but not as good. So I think the question comes down to what type of photography you shoot and will you need a tripod for that type. Some old-timers will argue that you always need a tripod and that you can use it with all types of photography, and I kind of agree. But it's not always practical. So let's go over some different types of photography and see if you need a tripod.

Portrait Workshop-6Portrait Workshop-6 Portraits - Portraits may be the one type of photography that you can get away with not having a tripod, especially if you're using strobes. Portraits can be done without a tripod, but most formal photographers still use a tripod. Here's why. It's not for camera shake or blurry photos. It's for framing and posing. If you have your camera on a tripod and your subject in front of you, it free's up your hands to position your model and move lights around without having to re-compose your subject. And I am a big fan of using a tripod in these situations. Also, if you're doing a natural light photo in low light, a tripod is a must to eliminate camera shake. So my answer on tripods for portraits is, no, you don't need them, but they are recommended. 

Sports Action/Wildlife - Photographers that shoot sports or wildlife very often use long, heavy lenses. Yes, they can hand hold them, especially on bright sunny days. But the cameras and lenses do get heavy, and most sports/wildlife photographers do use a tripod, if for nothing else, to support the weight of the lens between shots. A wildlife photographer may sit in one spot for a long time just waiting for an animal to show up, and the camera sitting on a tripod will help frame and support the lens while doing so. So my answer for sports or wildlife photographers is, yes, you need a tripod.

The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. Street Photography - The art of being a good street photographer is being stealthy, quick, and nimble and shooting from the hip. This is where a tripod will not come in handy because it is none of those things. Street photographers usually use small cameras with a fast response to the scene in front of them. Now, for urban landscapes or architecture photography, you will need a tripod to get the photo as sharp as you can. So my answer for street photography is, no, you don't need one, but for urban landscapes, yes, you do.

Landscapes -  Good landscape photography is often shot in the early morning or late evening to get the best Mountain StreamMountain Stream light, the blue hour. Using a tripod is necessary to get the ISO down as far as possible to get clean shots with slower shutter speeds. For long exposure shots with neutral density filters like shooting waterfalls or moving clouds, it is a necessity to use a tripod. You just can't do without it. So I would say using a tripod with landscape photography is a must.

Astro Photography - Shooting the stars, whether you're shooting the milky way or using a telescope to shoot a single star, you will need a tripod to do this kind of photography. There is no way around it.

So, as you can see, for most kinds of photography, in my opinion you do need a tripod. But what kind do you get? Like I said before, there are all kinds of tripods, and I have owned a bunch of them. My best advice is to get the best one you can afford. Like most things, you get what you pay for. The old saying goes, "Buy nice or buy twice."  I am a firm believer in this. You can get cheap tripods that you will have to replace, medium-range ones, or very expensive ones. I usually go for the mid-to-expensive range. I now have a tripod that is a carbon fiber travel-sized tripod. I shoot with a small camera, so I can use a smaller tripod. People with big DSLR's will have to buy bigger, heavier, and more expensive tripods. You have to find the one that is right for you. Make sure you get one that you can lug around. Because if it's too heavy, you'll never pull it out of the car. And that's not where the best photos are.

Well, that's all for this week. Until we talk again, please stay safe and healthy, and never forget to get outside and explore!

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(Max Stansell Photography) astro blog landscape learning long shutter Max Stansell Photography Photography portrait tripod website wildlife workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/do-you-need-a-tripod Fri, 13 Nov 2020 10:00:00 GMT
Ole Betsy! How she takes me places! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/ole-betsy-how-she-takes-me-places Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe today. Today I want to talk about an old friend of mine, Betsy. Ole Betsy has been a friend of mine for more than 20 years. She has taken me to places I have never been to before. She has hauled things, towed trailers, and moved children from place to place. She has helped clean my yard, and she doesn't leak or leave stains on the carport. What? Yep, Ole Betsy is my 1999 Ford F150 truck! Now, you're saying how does your truck pertain to photography or hiking? Well, without this old faithful friend, I wouldn't have made it to all of those places to hike or to photograph. She has been my transportation to get me to all of those places. I trust Ole Betsy to take me anywhere I want to go. 

Ole Betsy isn't the most sporty on the block. She's not the most powerful, but the most important thing is that she, like any good friend, is dependable. She has some nicks and dings that give her character just like anyone else. She has quirks and things that she does differently than others. Unfortunately, she has been neglected from time to time. But here lately I have been giving her a lot of attention. I try to do maintenance things that I can do, like when I changed the front bearings and brake pads. I have found a mechanic I can trust to do the things that I don't want to tackle myself to keep her running smoothly. And I can say honestly that she runs better now than she ever did when I first got her. She's a 21-year-old truck, and there are going to be some wear-and-tear  things that happen. But I'm very pleased with how she runs now and would trust her to drive across the US at a moment's notice. I am starting to do some upgrades and modifications to her to bring her up to date.

Betsy is an extended-cab, short-bed truck.  For many years, I drove her with just a tool box on the back that would hold my tools and such, and I could easily haul things I needed to work on my house. A couple of years ago, I got a camper shell to go over the back that would allow me to put stuff inside and have it protected from the weather. I recently modified the camper shell to have a bed platform inside with a pull drawer and some storage containers underneath so I could use the truck to sleep in if I had to. And I have. Maybe not my first choice because it's a small fit and I'm a large guy, but after getting in place I really slept well. I have room for all of my camping gear, and I always carry a hammock, tent, stove, and all of the accessories, including a battery to charge and run things like lights. So she has become a camping vehicle. She can easily tow our teardrop camper and was my primary tow vehicle until my wife got her new Honda Pilot a year ago. A new and fancy (to me) touch screen blue tooth stereo with a backup camera that can hook up to my iPhone for Google Maps on the screen has been a great upgrade.  I'm planning to put a roof rack on the top of the camper to haul extra things and maybe an awning to make a good quick campsite with shelter.  And I'm sure more will come.

Is Betsy my dream vehicle?  Well, no.  But a dream vehicle is just that, a dream, something that I can't afford and never will (unless I win the lottery) LOL.  But even if I won the lottery and could get my dream vehicle, I wouldn't get rid of  Ole Betsy. She has become a part of the family. Ole Betsy still gets 19mpg on the highway (flat land) and 16 or so in the mountains.  That's pretty good for a 21-year-old 8-cylinder engine, full-size truck. I'm sure with some tender loving care that she will last many more years to come. She is a very clean truck and stays under the carport most of the time, and I only drive her on the weekends. I'm a sticker guy, and the stickers of the places I have been scatter the back windshield and the camper topper windows.  The other day when I was in the mountains, I caught a guy looking at all of the stickers and places that Betsy and I have been. So she's not my dream vehicle, but she is a dream to own and drive. Without her dependability and longevity, I would have had to buy another vehicle and would not have the money to do the things I do, like investing in photo gear and traveling to different places.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I'm sure you've seen Ole Betsy in the background at a campsite, and I'm sure you'll see more of her in the future. So until next week, please stay healthy and safe, and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping Dependable F150 Ford gear hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography truck website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/11/ole-betsy-how-she-takes-me-places Fri, 06 Nov 2020 10:00:00 GMT
Rainy Day Photoshoot How and Why? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/rainy-day-photoshoot-how-and-why Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe. Today I want to talk about doing landscape photography in the rain. Yes, that's right, rain! Shooting in the rain is something that we all seem to avoid with our cameras. We don't want to get them wet with all of the electronics and all. And we certainly don't want to get all wet and deal with all the inconvenience of shooting in the rain.  Believe me, I know how you feel. I felt the same way for years. But just a few months ago, I went out shooting in the rain, and it was an eye-opening event for me. I was visiting one of my state parks, and I had to drive four hours to get there.  And of course, it was raining.  Well, I didn't drive four hours not to get some shots, and it wasn't raining hard. So I grabbed my stuff and started hiking and shooting.  And I had a ball and got some great shots. So in this blog I'm going to talk about how to shoot in the rain.

First, you need to be prepared to shoot in the rain. Some cameras are very weather-sealed and some are not. You need to know your equipment. You also need to be prepared for the rain. Using rain covers and microfiber cloths will be a must to keep your equipment dry. Lighting will be even thanks to the clouds but also dim. So you'll be shooting at higher ISO's or using a tripod with longer shutter speeds, and you'll need to be able to do this quickly. With the rain come other challenges also.  Everything is wet with a lot of shiny places and reflections that can be taken out with a polarizer filter. Yep, that's right, a polarizer filter, which will also affect the ISO and shutter speed. But it will make your colors pop and get rid of all the shine on the leaves. Let me tell you, all of the efforts you take while shooting in the rain will be worth it in the long run. Like all things, effort in getting prepared and effort in the process will produce great results. So here is a list of things that you will need to shoot in the rain. 

1. Camera - Of course you'll need a camera, and the one you have is fine.

2. Tripod - This is a must with the dim light that you will be getting. With the longer shutter speeds, you'll need the stability of a tripod.

3. Camera Cover - To keep your camera body and lens dry, a plastic or waterproof-type material can be used. They can be as cheap as five dollars or as expensive as you want. I made mine but just because I could.

4. External Light - You could use a flash, but I use a LumeCube LED light.  It's small, waterproof, and powerful. This will help light up any shadows.

5. Rain Gear for Yourself - This also doesn't have to be expensive. I have a raincoat that only cost 20 bucks, but you can spend a lot more. Don't forget head gear to keep the rain out of your eyes or off your glasses if you wear them.

6.  Micro Fiber Cloths - Or something similar to dry water drops off of your lens. The more the better because they will be getting used.

The biggest thing to do after you have everything covered above is to relax. You're going to get wet, and your gear hopefully will only get damp. So just get over it and start seeing and looking for compositions.  Slowly, after you get over being wet, they will start to jump out in front of your camera. Take your time and work the scene.  When you get home and put the photos on your computer, you will be amazed at what you've got. So until next week, get outside, don't hide from the rain, and shoot.

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gear landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography polarizer rain rain cover rain gear tripod website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/rainy-day-photoshoot-how-and-why Fri, 30 Oct 2020 09:00:00 GMT
Visit Your State Parks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/visit-your-state-parks Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe today. State parks are one of your state’s treasured resources. These hidden gems are scattered all over the United States and are sometimes overlooked for their big brother national parks. However, state parks can be as nice, or even nicer, than the national parks, and the facilities and camping amenities are sometimes better than those of the National Park System. Most of these parks are less crowded than the national parks, which makes visiting more enjoyable. Here in North Carolina, there are 34 state parks and 7 recreational areas. At these parks, the experience can be anything from walking in the sand at the beach to hiking up to the highest peak east of the Mississippi. There are trails for hiking, riding your trail bike, riding a horse, or even riding your ATV or off-road vehicle.  There are scenic overviews and wildlife viewing areas looking over the most pristine nature that you will ever see. To visit the parks is mostly free. You may have to pay to visit an exhibit or to camp, but other than that it's free. Your taxes have paid for the upkeep and management of these areas, and hopefully, it will last. I would love to see my grandchildren and their grandchildren able to enjoy the wilderness as I have.

_DSC6464_DSC6464 The list of activities that you can do at these state parks is endless. There are too many to list them all, but some include hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, bird watching, a day at the beach, and hang gliding, just to mention a few. The state rangers at these facilities are well-trained and motivated to help assist and teach the public as much as they can while keeping the parks safe and fun to visit. Backpacking and camping are available to enjoy at most parks, from car camping with showers and all the luxuries of home to primitive camping and backpacking in the backcountry. Have an RV? Most parks are equipped to handle some of the largest RV’s around, with or without electrical hookups. If you don't have a tent, some of the parks have cabins to rent that are even heated and air-conditioned.

Carolina Beach SunsetCarolina Beach Sunset State parks are spread throughout the United States, and you probably have one near you. You might not even know it. I lived near one for years before I first visited the park. I visit it dozens of times a year now if for nothing more than just to exercise and have a quick hike in nature. So far this year, I have visited 32 of North Carolina’s state parks and plan to visit the last 2 before the year's end.  I have also visited parks in neighboring states and states that I have lived in in the past. If you’re a photographer like I am, it is a great resource for landscape and nature photography. So get out and enjoy your local state park and keep exploring!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/visit-your-state-parks Fri, 23 Oct 2020 08:16:30 GMT
iPad Mini for Photos and Camping? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/ipad-mini-for-photo-and-camping Screenshot Hey, everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe. Today I want to talk about something new that I have added to my camera bag and camping backpack. It's the iPad Mini. I have been looking for something that I could use on the go to edit photos, use for navigation, and of course, consume media. Now, of course, everyone has a phone in their pocket, and they are great but small. Our phones are also doing a lot of things like storing maps and photos, and this really bogs them down and fills them up.  I needed something that could be used for photo editing on the go and something that I could also use for map storage that would not fill up my phone. I have an iPad Pro that is provided by my employer, and it works great for doing all of these things; however, with the attached cover and keyboard, it weighs more than my MacBook Air that I use when I go on trips. I am getting older, and weight in my pack matters, especially with camera gear weighing it down. I have an older iPad (not sure what version it is) that is so old that the operating system can't be upgraded, and it will not run the programs that I want to run on the iPad like Lightroom or Gaia GPS, a mapping program. I needed something new, so Screenshot I decided on the iPad Mini. It is small in form with a 7.9 inch screen. It is also lightweight, maybe twice the weight of my iPhone. I am heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, so it was the choice for me. There are some Android choices that I could have gone to that were cheaper, but I'm an Apple guy and wanted to stick with what I knew. One of the features I like so much about my work iPad Pro is that it is cellular + Wifi.  This means that almost anywhere I go I will have the internet at my fingertips.  It also means that it has a GPS chip that I can use for maps when I'm camping or off-grid. I also wanted as much storage as I Screenshot could get to store maps, movies, and things like that. I do like watching a good movie while I'm snug as a bug in my hammock. So I opted for the largest storage that is available for the iPad, which is 256 gig of storage. So how will I use this big, bad little iPad?

Let's talk photography first. The iPad Mini will never be my main way of editing photographs. That will always be my 27" iMac at home. But for those on-the-go "let's edit this one and post to Instagram or Facebook" moments, the iPad Mini will do nicely.  It's small enough that I can carry it easily with any photo bag Screenshot I choose, from my Shimodo backpack that I use for doing landscape photography when I'm hiking to my over-the-shoulder Mountainsmith bag that I use for street photography, the bag I like to call my purse. It will fit in either of these bags. It's perfect for a morning walk around a new town, stopping at a coffee shop, or sitting on a park bench and transferring a photo from my camera using the wifi and doing a quick edit in Lightroom. Sure, I could do this on my phone, but it's much easier on a larger screen. Another advantage to the iPad Mini is that I can use my Apple pencil and make precise edits that would be hard just using my finger. I can also just jot down a note or draw something, that is if I were talented enough to draw. LOL. The iPad Mini is also just the right size to share photographs with people. If you're like me, I have my winners from Lightroom Classic synced with my mobile devices via the Cloud. They are all on my phone and now my iPad Mini. So that's the photography part of the iPad Mini. What about camping and hiking?

Screenshot When camping or hiking, one of the most important things to do is, as the Scouts say, "Be prepared." And one of the most important ways to be prepared for hiking is to have a map. I use Gaia GPS, which is a mapping program that uses all of the known nationally provided maps, and you can layer them to fit your needs. If you're looking for trails, it can find the trails for you. If you're looking for forest service roads, it can find those also. It can also give you all of the topographical areas of a place you're going to. It's a big, powerful program that will allow you to plan and route your trips in advance. The trouble is when you lose the internet or it quits working, unless you download online maps and use some sort of GPS, whether it's an external GPS like a Garmin or the internal one like what is on the iPad Mini cellular version. When you have the GPS and the downloaded maps, then you can see where you are in realtime. I was going to get a WiFi-only version of the Screenshot  iPad Mini that would have been cheaper, but the GPS with Bluetooth capabilities would have been between 100 and 400 dollars depending on what I got, and then I would have two things to worry about - losing it and keeping it charged up with fresh batteries. So I opted for the cellular version that comes with a GPS chip. I have gone ahead and added the iPad Mini to my cellular plan at less than 20 bucks a month for unlimited data, but I could still have used the GPS part of it without activating the cellular portion of the iPad. Like I said before, it is also great for media consumption, so I have some movies, TV shows, and podcasts downloaded to the iPad in case I get bored at the campsite and don't have cellular reception. If I do have cell reception, I can watch regular TV, Netflix, or any other type of media by camp firelight. I can also edit photos while backpacking.

Here are a few specs of the iPad Mini version 5.  The screen is a 7.9-inch retina display with a resolution of over 330 ppl. So it's sharp! You can use the Apple pencil, but only the first version of the pencil. It works great and is cheaper than the newer versions. It is rated at a 10-hour battery life, which is a long time using this without a charge. It can be either WiFi only or WiFi+cellular. With the cellular version, a GPS chip is included. Storage capacity is either 64 gigabytes or 256 gigabytes, nothing in between. It has the A12 Bionic micro-processing chip, so it is very fast and snappy.  

The iPad Mini is sometimes referred to as the iPad Pro Mini because it can do just about anything that the iPad Pro can do.  But because of its size, it's just called the iPad Mini. It's a great little device that I think will enhance my photography and camping experience, and I highly recommend it. So until next week, be creative, explore, and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping GAIA GPA gear hiking iPad iPad Mini 5 landscape learning maps Max Stansell Photography Navigation Photography Review Snapseed website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/ipad-mini-for-photo-and-camping Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:00:00 GMT
Under-Rated Car Camping? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/under-rated-car-camping Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe today. Today I want to talk about car camping. First, let's describe what I mean about car camping. There are all kinds of camping. There is backpacking where you carry all of your possessions on your back into the woods to a campsite. There is RV camping where you either drive or pull behind your vehicle an RV (Recreation Vehicle) or camper. But today we're going to talk about car camping where you load up the car and the kids, go to a campground, park right beside where you'll be camping, and then set up camp. Now, I have been camping for almost 40 years, and if you count Boy Scouts even longer. But most recently, since I turned 50, I have been camping quite a lot. I do all of the camping mentioned above, but I probably look down my nose at car camping the most.  I don't know why. I actually do it the most out of all the other kinds of camping. But I usually say something like, "I was just car camping" when someone asks me about camping. Last weekend my son and my travel companion Forrest came with me to the mountains of North Carolina, and we did some car camping.  And it was great! We camped at a National Park Service campground. It's an older campground with old-growth trees and large campsites, over 100 campsites at this location even though it doesn't seem like it. This weekend the campground was full. This was my first trip to this campground, so I don't know if it's full like this all of the time or if it is because of the COVID virus and everyone just wants to get out of the house. We camped very simply. My son and Forrest put up a tent to sleep in, and I slept in the back of my truck in the bed that I had made in it. This was my maiden voyage in the truck, and it went okay.  I slept well, but getting in and out was a pain. We cooked on an almost 40-year-old camp stove that we use for car camping. We cooked steaks and veggies, and we made fresh ground coffee with a French press we brought. The temps were cool and the weather was great. While I was sitting in my camp chair looking around at the campground, I got a great feeling. I could see all of the campfires going with people huddled around enjoying each other's company, children playing, and people cooking. It was a beautiful sight to see all of these people from all walks of life, rich to poor, all races young and old, and everyone was enjoying themselves and being very polite while doing it. What a contrast it was to the nightly news of riots in the streets, politicians calling each other names, and of course all of the death from the COVID virus. It was how life is supposed to be, everyone getting along.

Soon it was time for bed. And as old men do, I had to get up in the middle of the night to relieve myself.  While I was by that tree I looked up and saw all of the stars. There were thousands of them! I have taken photos of the night sky before, but tonight it was chilly and I wanted to get back into that warm bed in my truck. So I got in and went back to sleep.  Now, people that know me know that I am a morning person and a very early riser. So about 4:30-ish I got up and as quietly as I could made some coffee on the camp stove.  It was still dark and I didn't want to make any noises, because dogs go crazy when they hear noises and I didn't want to wake all of the dogs in the campground. I got my coffee without much commotion and noise and also got my sleeping bag and sat in my camp chair and watched all of the stars. As I sat there and as the night slowly turned into day, the stars slowly went away. The weaker ones first, and then finally the strong ones just went away when enough light was in the sky. I have to say, this is the first time I have ever looked at the stars that way and it was fantastic, maybe the best part of the trip.

After my son and Forrest got up, we made some breakfast burritos, and they were great. We decided to take an almost 3-mile hike around the lake which was nice, and it was like we were the only ones out there. Forrest had fun exploring new things and smells. When we got back to camp, we packed up everything, cleaned the site, and stacked the wood that we didn't use by the fire pit. Then we departed. This was a fantastic little trip, and I could talk about it for quite some time. The bottom line is, I'm not going to look down my nose at car camping anymore. Although I enjoy the other types of camping, I still enjoy car camping, and I think you will too. So get to your local campground and do some camping. You'll meet some great people and have a great time in nature. So until next week, get outside and make some memories.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camping car camping Cars cooking hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Tents website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/under-rated-car-camping Fri, 09 Oct 2020 08:23:51 GMT
Homemade Hammocks and Camping Gear https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/home-made-hammocks-and-camping-gear Hey everyone! Hope everyone is healthy, safe, and inspired. This week I'm going to talk about something I thought I would never talk about. It's something that I really enjoy and is practical at the same time. Sewing! Yeah, I know, a 50+-year-old man who likes to hike and backpack and do all sorts of camping liking to sew. Well, really it's not too far fetched. I got into sewing to save a few pennies on camping gear by making it myself. So like everything I do, I threw myself into this full on. And now I have my own sewing kit (separate from my wife's), and I love to make things for camping and hiking.  

Some of my first projects were very simple, like making storage bags or stuff sacks to put things in, like sleeping bags, tents, and smaller bags for small loose stuff. I'm an organizational freak and love to have everything separated and in its proper place.  I was surprised at the quality I got and how with just a little training (YouTube) I got quite good. I even made Christmas gifts for all of my family by making toiletry bags or cosmetic bags for everyone in the family. They were all customized for each person with different colors and patterns. They had waterproof zippers and really turned out well. Everyone was surprised that I had made them myself. I even made some bags for my camera gear also, and everything turned out great.

My first big project was a backpacking tarp made for my hammock setup. It was made out of silnylon and waterproof.  If you have watched any of my videos, it's an orange tarp and it works great! I have been through a few rainstorms in it, and it's held up great. I even made doors for it so when it rains the mist doesn't waft in. The sewing on the first big item did have some mistakes. But it has been a good functional tarp for a few years, and my son has been using it lately.

My next big project was an Under Quilt for my hammock. An under quilt provides insulation underneath the hammock to keep you from getting a cold butt.  The wind or air that goes under a hammock can pull all of the heat off of your body and make you cold. Even in summer.  So I made an adjustable underquilt with insulation inside and all of the attachments to hook it to the hammock. It's good for about 50 degrees. I wouldn't go much colder than that without getting a bigger underquilt. This one works great and is the underquilt that I use in the summer.

Making a hammock and a separate bug net was my next project. The hammock was simple enough to make, and my sewing had gotten much better.  The bug net, which is actually a big sock that encases the hammock to keep the bugs out, wasn't too bad either. This particular hammock is the one my son uses now with the bug net, and it keeps the bugs away and works great. There are also other parts of the hammock that are not the cloth part that have to be made too, like tree straps, the ridgeline, and a storage bag. Tree straps are the straps that go around the tree and should be webbing that is at least an inch wide so as not to harm the tree that you are anchored to.  Whoopie slings are adjustable cord made out of kevlar and are very strong. They hook to the hammock and to the tree straps to hold the hammock in place. And then there is the ridgeline, which goes from one end of the hammock to the other to keep the hammock in a good "hang" if you will no matter what the distance is between the trees. I also make the bag that all of these things fit into and then can also be used as an organizer to put your phone, wallet, water, and what not on the ridgeline. I make all of these items.

My biggest and toughest project was making a hammock with a zippered bug net that could be zipped off and on. It took me some time to make it, but what was neat was I could customize it to fit my needs. I call this hammock the red canoe because it looks like one when hanging alone. It works great, and I can zip the bug net on or off as needed. It has clips to help keep an underquilt in place and can be staked out for more comfort if needed.  This is my personal hammock, and I do have plans for making another one with some more modifications. I have since made a winter tarp with built-in doors for privacy and to keep the wind out. I used it last weekend for the first time, and it was great.

All of these projects would not have been possible without the help of YouTube and Ripstop by the Roll, a company out of Durham, North Carolina, where I get my materials for all of the projects, from the fabric, cordage, and accessories. They are a great company and have lots of projects you can do, and they even make kits with all of the materials that you need for a very good price. Now with the time I put in and the cost of the materials, I could probably get a hammock cheaper, but I don't think I could get one that is customized to me.  And it's just fun and a good feeling seeing the finished product in use.  While camping the other weekend, someone asked me where I got my hammock setup.  I just looked and smiled and said, "I made it."

Well, that's about it for this week.  Remember, keep shooting and get outside and enjoy life!

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking bags blog bug nets camping hammock hiking learning Max Stansell Photography organization Photography sew stuff sacks tarps under quilt waterproof website Zippers https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/10/home-made-hammocks-and-camping-gear Fri, 02 Oct 2020 09:00:00 GMT
A Little Backpacking and Two State Parks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/a-little-backpacking-and-2-state-parks IMG_0470-EditIMG_0470-Edit Hey everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe. Last weekend my son and I took a trip to the mountains for a little backpacking and to visit some waterfalls. While out, we visited two North Carolina State Parks, Gorges State Park, which is the farthest from our house, and Crowders Mountain State Park. The main theme for the trip was people and crowds. It was Labor Day, one of the busiest weekends of the year.  And with the COVID virus keeping people home and hungry to get out, the crowds were heavy. Both parks were IMG_2014IMG_2014 managed very well, especially Gorges. We had a young female ranger who we came in contact with throughout the weekend, and she was professional, courteous, and informative. Very professional! We weren't in Crowders Mountain long enough to come into contact with many rangers, and they all seemed to be busy directing traffic.

We left the house in Eastern North Carolina at 7:00 in the morning for a six-hour drive to Gorges. We left on a Friday and the traffic wasn't too bad. We arrived at Gorges and went to the Visitors' Center, which was closed. I IMG_0434IMG_0434 would like to come back when it is open because it is a beautiful, very modern-looking building with a waterfall coming down one of the walls. We got back to the parking lot at the trail head and hiked into a primitive campground. It was only a 3/4 mile hike and very manageable. My son and I have taken backpacking trips in the past where we hiked 10 miles or more in, but I was healthier then. I'm trying to get back into hiking shape. OFG is what I call myself, "Old Fat Guy."  We set up our campsite, which had a small creek just behind us and a small lake nearby. We used hammocks to sleep in which are lightweight, but more importantly, they are comfortable. After setting up, we decided to hike to Rainbow Falls, which is a 1.5-mile hike to get to. The trail is MSP04650MSP04650 ranked by the park as a strenuous hike, and for a non-hiker, I would say that is accurate. My son, who works at a job where he's on his feet all day and probably puts in 25,000 steps a day, thought it was a breeze. I, however, who sit for most of the day and am out of shape, thought it was a good strenuous hike. It was a nice small waterfall, and we had a good time photographing and hanging out there. After that we hiked back and chilled out at camp, cooked dinner, and had a good night's sleep.

MSP04604_Luminar4-edit_0MSP04604_Luminar4-edit_0 Saturday we woke up, and I had figured out that White Water Falls and Dry Falls weren't too far a way. So we hiked out after some coffee and drove to Dry Falls. This is a waterfall that you can walk behind and mostly stay dry.  This was my son's first visit, and he had a blast going behind and filming the falls.  We saw Bridal Veil falls on the way.  Then we traveled to White Water Falls to see the largest waterfall in North Carolina. After that we decided to travel to Brevard and get us some lunch and then went to a local park to eat. We headed back to the campsite to relax a little, and when we got there about 2:00 the park was closed. We told the ranger that we already had our stuff at a campsite, and she told us to come back in an hour. So we went to the local country store and hung out, ate ice cream, and looked at all of the traffic. And there was a lot of traffic. After an hour, just like the ranger had said, the park was back open and we got into the park and hiked back to our site, slid into our hammocks, and took a good nap. We IMG_0473IMG_0473 decided to get up early the next morning and head to Crowders Mountain State Park.

I really slept good that night, even though the ranger had told us of a momma bear and four cubs in the area! We got up early, packed up in the dark, and hiked out under the light of a headlight. We got to the car and went to the Visitors Center to take photos of the sunrise from the observation deck. We then headed out for a 2.5-hour drive to Crowders Mountain.  But first we stopped at the country store and got ourselves a breakfast sandwich (sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit ). Best Biscuit Ever! When we arrived at Crowders Mountain, I had my son pull over so I could get a photo of the welcome sign. We had 15 or more cars pass us as I took the photo. We thought maybe there was some type of event happening since there were so many people. There were two IMG_0502IMG_0502 parking lots that were full and an overflow parking lot. We got lucky and slipped into a spot. Having never been to the park before, we just followed the crowd into the park to the Visitors Center that was closed. We hiked to a fork in the trail with two trails that go to mountain peaks. We took the shorter of the two, the Pinnacle Trail. It was a four-mile hike to the top and back, and I do mean up to the top. But if you look closely you can see the Charlotte, North Carolina skyline. After we made it back, it was a ride home.

Overall it was a great trip, and we had a ball and can't wait till the next trip, which is soon! I've got 29 of the 34 state parks visited this year, so I've got 5 to go before I reach my goal of visiting all of the North Carolina state parks in one year. We got to see some wildlife too, from a heard of buffalo, deer, snakes, and I even got to see a white squirrel. So until next time stay safe and get out and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog camping Crowders Mountain State Park dry falls Gorges State Park hammock hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography rainbow falls state parks waterfalls website white water falls https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/a-little-backpacking-and-2-state-parks Fri, 25 Sep 2020 08:07:18 GMT
Lume Cube Panel Mini Review https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/lume-cube-mini-review _MSP6434-Edit_MSP6434-Edit Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe today.  This week's blog is a review of the Lume Cube Mini bi-color light. This is a small but powerful LED light that helps you control the color of your photos. This light is perfect for video conferencing and small lighting projects. It's about the same form factor of a business card and about 1/2 inch thick. I originally bought the Lume Cube 2.0 light and have it in my camera bag. I wanted a companion to it and almost bought another Lume Cube 2.0, but when I saw this light I thought it would be perfect. This light is great for video conferencing and for macro and tabletop photography. It can be used for video work and fill light. It is not a waterproof light like the Lume Cube, so I wouldn't recommend it for use in inclement weather. What's neat about this light is that you can control the color of the light from 3200 kelvin to 5500 kelvin to match the light that you are shooting in. Very cool! It cannot be controlled via Bluetooth like the Lume Cube, but it has a digital readout on the back of the light to tell you what your light is set at and how long much longer the battery will last. Here are the specs for the light:

 

Mount Type - 1/4"-20 Female _MSP6437_MSP6437

Dimensions - 3.6 x 2.2 x .5 "

Weight - 3 oz

Power Input Connector - USB Type-C

Power Source - Integrated Battery

Battery Runtime - 1.2 hours Full Power

Color Temperature - 3200 to 5600 K

Number of LEDs - 60

_MSP6453_MSP6453 I really like this light. It comes with a built-in white semi-diffused panel and an external flexible diffuser that will go over the light. Like the Lume Cube, it can be adapted to fit all sorts of mounts to include GoPro mounts, tripod traditional 1/4-20 thread. This means there are all kinds of mounts you can connect this to, and most of it you already own. I can see all kinds of situations that this little light could be used for. At around 60 bucks these little lights are affordable and could really come in handy as portable lights to use for your photography and video needs. 

So until next week get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) bi-color blog learning LED light Lume Cube macro Max Stansell Photography Photography tabletop video website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/lume-cube-mini-review Fri, 18 Sep 2020 08:20:30 GMT
Inexpensive Things to Spark Your Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/inexpensive-things-to-spark-your-photography Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing fine today and are safe, healthy, and inspired. As you all know I sometimes have GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), the act of buying expensive gear to take photos with. This blog is about inexpensive things that can spark your creativity instead of buying a new body or lens. I got this idea from a podcast that I listen to, "The Digital Story," by Derrick Story who gave his ideas of inexpensive things, so I'll  use some of his ideas and some of mine also. It only takes something different to spark creativity, and you can think of these ideas as anti-GAS items. Most of these things are less than 100 dollars, or at least in that ballpark, and can spark some kind of creativity. We all can get in a rut sometimes where we seem to take the same kinds of photos that we always do, or we just get bored and don't even pick up the camera. This could be for weeks or months on end, but we must recognize it and do something to correct it. Sometimes it's big gear that we need, like a lens or a new body, but it can be something small too to get those creative juices going again. So let's start with the list. This list is in no particular order, just what popped up into my head first.

1. A new LED light. I have just done a blog on the Lume Cube 2.0, but there is also the Mini from them also. Any brand will do.  These lights are portable and can be used in all kinds of situations, like tabletop photography if you're worried about going outside or for extra lighting when you're out in the woods for fill lighting.  They can also be used for light painting while doing astrophotography. It's just something to get you thinking more creatively.

2. How about a new camera strap or attachment system? I am not a camera strap guy. I don't like the camera hanging around my neck or shoulder, but sometimes its more convenient to wear one. I use the Peak Design system for all of my straps. Personally, I use a wrist strap 99 percent of the time, but what I like about the Peak Design system is the ease of changing or taking the straps off with their unique attachment system. When I'm using a tripod, I don't like to have the strap dangling from my camera giving me movement if the wind is blowing, so I can easily detach it from the camera in a second. They also make easily-detachable and secure clips to put the camera on a backpack strap or your belt, which makes hiking or whatever else you're doing hands-free and allows you to easily get into different locations.  I think a new camera strap or system or even a case, like a leather half case, can get you looking at the camera differently and taking it with you more, thus taking more photographs and being more creative.

3. Neutral Density Filter, A ND Filter can be a very creative tool, used to slow down the shutter to create motion blur. It's commonly used on running water but can be used on all kinds of things like clouds and other moving subjects. This tool, which can be commonly found for $100 or less, comes in different degrees of density measured in stops. 10 stops is darker than 3 stops. I carry 3 with me a 2, 6, 8 stop filter. Usually, the more expensive the better the filter.  I use Breakthrough Photography filters, but there are others that will work fine. A ND filter can make a ho-hum scene, like a barn with puffy clouds, look mysterious with streaking clouds coming over the barn. It can even make people disappear. If you're at a busy crowded scene, you can put on a 10 stop filter and let it go for 20 seconds or more, and the people that are moving just disappear. It's a magical tool and every photographer should have one.

4. Small tripod or stand. I have a platypod plate that I got, and it's like a small tripod that will easily fit into your bag and will give you a stable platform on the fly.  You could also get a Jobo tripod that is small and will do the trick. Small tripods come in handy, and when used usually give you a different perspective of what you're shooting, usually from down low. Go out and try to take only tripod shots from a little tripod and you'll discover a whole new world that you've just been passing by. You can easily get one of these devices for 100 bucks or less.  Make sure to size it to your camera size.  If you have a large DSLR, you will need a larger one than if you're shooting a mirrorless camera that is smaller.

5. New Software. Try getting some new software to add to whatever you're already doing in your editing software now.  I am a Lightroom and Photoshop user, but I purchased Luminar editing software and run it as a plugin in Lightroom. It has features that Lightroom doesn't, and I can easily go back and forth between Lightroom and Luminar. It has lots of AI (Artificial Intelligence), so it can do stuff like replace skies, make fog, make sunbursts, and lots of stuff for portraits also. It runs about 80 bucks and is worth every penny.  It can super charge your creative mojo while you're editing.

6. How about a vintage lens?  Maybe an old lens from the system you're using or another company. Manual focus is a plus. If you're using a mirrorless camera, you can get an adapter for 20 or so bucks and put almost anything on your camera and use it. You can easily pick up one of these from a pawn shop or yard sale or eBay and really cheap also. I use a vintage Nikon macro lens for my macro work on my Sony. I have a cheap adapter that I got for under 20 bucks and it works great. So I have a macro set up for about 150 bucks that has a max aperture of f2.8. These old lenses can really make shooting fun. Everything is manual so everything slows down. These are film lenses and may not be as sharp as the newer ones, but they have character that newer lenses don't have. _MSP9732_MSP9732

7. 5x7 Picture Frames.  Simple, cheap black picture frames are a great way to get you started taking photos again. I have about 10 or so in my little office/studio/gear closet/laundry room. LOL This is a room I took over after my daughter moved out of the house.  It's what I call "my room."  I have a little photo gallery, and I change the photos every couple of months. I'm way behind on this. But photos look good in a plain black frame. Everyone has some sort of printer that they can print a 5x7 on. And while I'm talking about printing, there are all sorts of different types of paper you can print on, and different papers will give you different looks. These plain frames are cheap, and printing your best work from the last month or so and displaying it (even if it's only for you) is kind of cool. So this one you got a two for one - frames and papers.

As you can see, there are all kinds of things that you can do to get your photography jump started.  I've listed a few, but I'll bet you have a few more that could help someone or yourself. Most of all of these things can be purchased from Amazon or any of the photography sites like B&H or Adorama. So get your creative MOJO going again and get out and start shooting. Until next week stay safe, healthy, and creative. 

 


 




 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Astro blog clips Creativity driven Frames gear inexpensive learning LED lenses Lights LumeCube Max Stansell Photography MOJO ND Filters passionate peak design Photography platypus printing paper rut straps tripod vintage website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/inexpensive-things-to-spark-your-photography Fri, 11 Sep 2020 09:00:00 GMT
Sony 70-350 Lens Review https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/sony-70-350-lens-review Hey Everyone. I hope everybody is healthy and safe today. Today I want to talk about my newest lens that I got a couple of months ago. It's the Sony 70-350mm f4.5-6.5 G lens, and its effective focal distance as compared to a full frame is 100-525mm. Most of the time, three zoom lenses for landscape and travel photography. This one replaces one I used to carry, a Canon 70-200 f4 L lens.  I used the Canon with an adapter so it would fit my Sony camera. It is a fantastic lens in itself with pin-sharp images and great contrast. I have some great photos with it, but I also lost some photos because of it. With an adapted lens, the focusing becomes slower and not as accurate as it will sometimes "hunt" back and forth before it finds focus.  With an effective full-frame focal range of 100-300mm, it was too short for any wildlife I might happen to come upon unless it was in a controlled environment like a zoo. So I wanted something that would be faster and with a little bit longer reach that wouldn't kill me in the wallet. Sony has some full-frame stuff, but they are more expensive and heavier than crop sensor lenses that are made just for a crop sensor camera like mine. But a little while ago Sony came out with this lens, and I was waiting for the right time to get it.  Let me give you some of the specs of the Sony 70-350 lens.

Key Features:

  • E-Mount Lens/APS-C Format
  • 105-525mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Aperture Range: f/4.5 to f/32
  • One Aspherical Element
  • Three Extra-Low Dispersion Elements
  • XD Linear Motor AF System
  • Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization
  • 7-Blade Diaphragm

As you can see, it is a "G" series lens which means the build quality is very good. It feels solid in the hand. Sony's highest quality is "G Master," but that is only for lenses for full-frame cameras at the moment. It has built-in image stabilization, so if I'm using it with my Sony A6300 that doesn't have stabilization, it will be stabilized.  And if I'm using it with my Sony A6500 that is stabilized, it will work in conjunction with that camera also. It has an XD linear motor for autofocusing, which is the fastest you can get, and it works well with my Sony A6500 which is a few years old.  However, when I upgrade to a newer body it will be even faster. This lens is smaller, lighter, and has a farther reach than the Canon that I was using. The only maybe negative that it has is the f4.5-6.5 minimum focusing aperture. With cameras that can handle higher ISO's like all of the cameras in the last couple of years, I really don't see this as being a problem with getting enough light in. I have used it for a couple of months and have not lost a shot because of this.

Shooting this lens is a dream. It's lighter weight makes it more manageable than physically larger and heavier lenses, and its reach is about all I can handle or want. It has a lens lock on the side that keeps it from creeping open like some larger lenses do.  Out of the box it doesn't creep at all, but later in life it might. It has three other buttons on it:  a  manual/autofocus switch and a switch to turn on OSS (optical steady shot) or turn it off, and a third button is a focus lock button that I think you can program to do other things also. I really haven't used it yet or seen a use for it, but maybe later I will. I always like the saying, "Better to have and not need than to need and not have."  It also comes with a lens hood.  This lens is sharp and fast focusing, and if you're a Sony crop sensor shooter like me, it's a must-have. I highly recommend this lens.

So until next week please stay safe and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 70-350 blog Camera crop landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Optical OSS Photography sensor Shot Sony Steady telephoto website wildlife zoom https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/9/sony-70-350-lens-review Fri, 04 Sep 2020 09:00:00 GMT
Where's Your Gallery? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/wheres-your-gallery Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Where's your gallery? What a question. I thought of this at my virtual camera club meeting when we were discussing a local exhibit that we were going to put our photos in.  And I got to thinking, why would I go to the effort of printing a large print of something, frame it, and get it ready to hang?  I'm not trying to sell it. The local Arts Council, although nice, is small and doesn't get that much traffic. So I started wondering about galleries and the purpose of showing off your art there. I guess most of us dream of being a professional photographer, traveling the world, and living off of our art like the people we see on YouTube or Instagram. But the truth is 99.9 % of us are never going to make this into a profession. I know I'm not and really don't want to.  I love taking photographs, the act of it. The photo is the byproduct of the shoot to me. The experience of traveling or seeing something new is what I treasure. I am and always will be an amateur. And I'm okay with that. I'm also okay with people that want to be professional or semi-professional or just do it on the side for a few bucks. Well, I see I've gotten off on a tangent. Back to galleries.  

My galleries, I guess, are Instagram, Flickr, and occasionally Facebook. I also consider my house a gallery,  and I like to hang my work around the house as well as photos of family and friends.  Within the last couple of years, I've been making a Year in Review book of my work that I hope will be handed down through the generations of my family.

Instagram- If you follow me you know that I post to Instagram daily or at least try to. If you want to keep up with my work, it is here that you should go. I like the interaction and all of the great photos you can see there. But it has been acquired by Facebook, my least favorite place to post photographs. I don't like the way that they compress the photos, and sometimes they look blurry when they are not blurry. But for right now Instagram is doing fine, so I'll keep posting for now.

Facebook- I used to post most of my stuff to Facebook, but then I don't like the compression, like I mentioned before.  I do like all of the social interaction that you get with everyone, but there is a lot of negativity happening on Facebook that I don't like.  I usually check Facebook once in the morning and once in the evening. Other than that I try not to look at Facebook too much.

Flickr- In the early-2000s I started posting to Flickr. I don't post much anymore because it has changed hands a couple of times. However, in the last year or so it has been bought by SmugMug, which is a great photography company.  I've got a feeling that this will become my next daily-post platform. I love the way my photos look on Flickr and all of the groups that you can join.

500 PX - Another platform that I have occasionally posted to but not in a while, and I don't know why.  Your photos look great and there is a lot to look at. When I go to a new place, this is one of the sites I go to so I can see what other people have posted and what's already out there.

I do think that you should share your work, but formal galleries may not be the place to go for most of us. I do think it is important to print your best work. But for most of us, I think that an online gallery is the best choice and maybe the best way to get others to see our work.  Social media is big in our culture now, and photography is a big part of it. So sites like Flickr, 500 Px, Instagram, and even Facebook are some places to have your online gallery. Being a photographer is more than what you can do to make money, and formal galleries, to me, are geared toward making money in some form or fashion. So I will not be submitting photos to be hung in a gallery this time with our club. To tell you the truth, I don't think I have anything that is formal gallery worthy. For those who want to see their art hung in a formal gallery, I think that's great, and it is fun the first time you see your work on a wall. Well, that's my two cents on that subject. Until next week keep shooting and get outside.

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(Max Stansell Photography) 500PX blog facebook Flickr gallery instagram learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Printing Prints sharing website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/wheres-your-gallery Fri, 28 Aug 2020 08:20:34 GMT
My Landscape Lens Setup https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/my-landscape-lens-setup Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. This week's blog is about my landscaping lens setup and what I think a good setup is. I am primarily a landscape/travel photographer. I like getting out in the woods, setting up my tripod, and waiting for the shot; or at a sunset or waterfall and setting up my composure; and going to town and trying all kinds of different things to get that perfect shot. The lens setup that I have might not be right for you. My landscaping lens setup is an ongoing evolution and will change in the future as I try to get that perfect lens setup. Now some landscape photographers shoot wide, wide, wide and that's all they shoot. So a 16-35 mm lens might be all they carry. Some might carry a wide-angle and a telephoto to get both ends of the focal ranges. I'm not that way. I like taking wide as well as telephoto for tight detail shots and in-between shots too. I shoot a Sony crop sensor camera, so my specific lens choice might not be right for you. But the focal range should be able to be matched up with what you may have. Another choice I have made is to keep my minimum aperture at f4. I do this for a couple of reasons. First of all, as a landscape photographer, I don't need the wide-open apertures like a portrait photographer would. The f2.8 lenses are great for portraits, but most of my photography is shot at f8 or smaller like f11. I usually want the biggest depth of field (what's in focus) that I can get. The f4 lenses are also lighter than the larger aperture lenses. The second reason is that I shoot a crop sensor camera and I try to use crop sensor lenses which make them smaller in size.  And the really big reason is that there were not any large aperture lenses made especially for crop sensors until recently for the Sony that I shoot. I also shoot zoom lenses for the flexibility that they provide. Primes are great, but you don't always have the chance to use your feet to zoom in the woods. So let's get to the lenses.

My first lens is the wide-angle lens. A Sony 10-18mm f4, a 15 to 27mm full-frame equivalent.  This is a small and sharp lens. I use this lens a lot! I use it for waterfalls and wide-open shots when I want to show the vastness of a scene. This type of lens is the staple of any landscape photographer's bag of tricks. What I like about this lens is that I can get really close up to subjects like a flower and get that distorted look that only a wide-angle lens can give you. This lens is also great in tight spaces. Some trails can be small and tight, and this lens will give you the room to shoot. So it's great for hiking.

My next lens is my middle-range lens.  It's the Sony/Zeiss 16-70 f4, a 24-105mm full-frame equivalent. This is a super walking-around lens. This is an older lens, but mine is very sharp and still works well.  I use it for waterfalls, for small detail shots, and just general shots. When you're hiking and come to a clearing with maybe an overlook, this is the lens to use. You can get the wide shots at the 16mm range and a small telephoto with the 70mm range. This is also a great lens for walking around your favorite trail town. The size is small to medium and is easy to handle all day walking around. I do have my eye out for a larger aperture lens that Sony just came out with that will give me a 2.8 aperture. But for now, this lens gets the job done and that's the important part.

My last lens is my long lens. It's a Sony 70-350mm f4.5-6.5, which is a 100-525mm full-frame equivalent. This is my newest lens and I plan to have a blog to review it later on. The long lens I used to have was a Canon 70-200 f4L lens, but I wanted some more reach for those times when wildlife happens. So far I have fallen in love with this lens. It is sharp and quick to focus. I use it for isolation shots at long range. It is a larger lens, especially for my crop sensor, but it isn't really long. It's shorter than the 70-200 lens that I had before and much lighter. It's not the brightest lens with its smaller aperture range. But with the newer cameras capable of shooting at higher ISO's, this is not as much of a problem.

I do have one other accessory lens only used for a specific purpose. When I do astrophotography I use a Rokinon 12mm f2.0 manual focus lens. This is a fantastic lens and almost became my all-around wide angle but was edged out by the Sony. This lens is great for astrophotography.  It's sharp, small, and bright. At f2.0 it lets in lots of light which is needed when shooting in the dark. It is a manual focusing lens that works well for astrophotography. It is an inexpensive lens also coming in at just a couple hundred bucks. If you don't have a wide-angle lens and are on a budget, this is the lens for you. It comes in all kinds of mounts for any camera. Of course, I have it in the Sony E Mount.

Lenses are the eyes of our cameras and to me the most important. If you have to invest in your kit, this is the place to do it.  A good lens can last for decades. So get out and shoot some landscapes and have some fun in nature. Until next week get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) aperture Astro-Photography blog brightness Canon focal point Focusing Hiking Landscape learning lens Max Stansell Photography Photography Rokinon Sharpness Sony Telephoto website wide angle workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/my-landscape-lens-setup Fri, 21 Aug 2020 09:00:00 GMT
One Week -- Nine State Parks https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/one-week-nine-state-parks Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe today! This week's blog is about a trip I took a few weeks ago to get to as many state parks as I could in one week. I have a personal project to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina in one year. I have visited a lot of them already, but I wanted to visit all of them in one calendar year. There are 34 state parks and 7 recreation areas that I had planned to visit on weekend trips.  Shouldn't be a problem until Covid-19 showed up and shut down the parks for a few months. Well actually here in North Carolina everything shut down for a couple of months and some stuff is still shut down.  At my work all vacations were canceled, like we would have somewhere to go, so I had some extra vacation. So when the parks opened back up for camping, I configured a week-long camping trip that would take me to 10 state parks to make up for the ones that I missed during the lockdown. My wife, Forrest, and myself took our teardrop trailer for our trip and had four different camping spots reserved.

The first leg of our trip we headed out "on time," which never happens.  We drove to Haw River State Park for our first state park. There we took a lovely walk around the lake and had lunch there. After lunch we went to Mayo River State Park where we actually did the same thing hiking around a lake.  Of course we were taking photos during the whole time. Our last stop was to Hanging Rock State Park where we were scheduled to be for two nights camping. While there we hiked and enjoyed ourselves camping. I got to use a new solar panel kit to try to keep my teardrop battery charged and it worked well. We did not have electric power at this campsite.

The second leg of our trip we left on time again, a really great job to my wife. When we headed out we went to Pilot Mountain State Park where we went to the observation deck and had great views. After that we went to Stone Mountain State Park where we had lunch and hiked to a historic farm site at the base of Stone Mountain. We then took off to New River State Park the furthest point of our trip. This is one of the parks that I haven't visited yet, and I was really surprised at how nice the campground was and the park in general. The trails were nice and well-maintained. We stayed there for two nights where we had an electric hookup and were able to enjoy the A/C in our little trailer, although this was the coolest spot on our trip. While we were there we took a trip to Elk Knob State Park where again I was pleasantly surprised by the small trail that we hiked and how well it was maintained. On our way back to New River State Park, we stopped at Mount Jefferson Recreation Area at one of the lookouts overlooking Jefferson, North Carolina. I can easily say that this was my favorite leg of this trip with cooler temps, and weather matters when you're camping.

The third leg of our trip started out not so good. We actually left on time, filled our trailer up with water, and were on our way. But the fog was going to be a problem. We were scheduled to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Aquaduct by Grandfather Mountain State Park. But when we got up on the Parkway, it was fogged in and we drove for about 20 minutes on winding, foggy roads with no views. So we canned that part of the trip and went straight to Lake Norman State Park where we were scheduled to be for two nights. We had a nice spot but the temp was hot, hot. We had no electric hookup so no A/C, but we did have a battery-powered fan that we ran off of our RV that helped a little. We did a 2.5-mile hike on the morning of the first day and saw lots of deer. The lake was pretty, but it was hot. We drove into Statesville to cool off in the car and went to Walmart and got some supplies and water. Back at our trailer we did have lots of TV channels on our TV, so we could do that and we had a pretty good cell signal.

The last leg of our trip was to Morrow Mountain State Park. This is a park that we had visited and camped at in the past and had fond memories of. We were scheduled to be here only one night. But the difference was that when we visited before it was in cooler weather. When we arrived at Morrow Mountain, the heat index was 105 and very hot and sticky. The campground was half empty. When we arrived we partly set up, as we were only going to be there one night, and tried to stay cool. It was too hot to hike and even Forrest got under the trailer to try to hide from the heat. After a few hours of this, my wife and I figured that we were only three hours from home and A/C,  so we decided to leave and go home. So we packed up all of our stuff and headed home. This was maybe the best decision that we made because the extra day of rest before going to work was really needed.

So that's how we went to nine state parks in one week. We had a good time and enjoyed the sites. I have visited 25 parks so far and have 9 more to go.  It will take me four or five three-day weekends to reach the parks that I haven't gotten to, but hopefully I'll meet my goal. Please go out and visit your local state park. You might be surprised like I was of all the things there to do. So until next week, get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping gear heat hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography personal Project Photography state Parks website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/one-week-nine-state-parks Fri, 14 Aug 2020 08:13:47 GMT
Gear Review Lume Cube 2.0 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/gear-review-lume-cube-2-0 Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing well. Today is a review of a new addition to my camera bag -- the Lume Cube 2.0. This is an LED-controllable light that can be described in two words -- small and powerful! This is a small, rugged, waterproof, and powerful light that is perfect for the landscape photographer. But to tell you the truth, I really didn't buy it at first for my bag or landscape photography. I bought it for video. With the way our society is now with the Covid-19 social distancing rules, video meetings are starting to be the norm. So I initially got it to shine on me when I was video conferencing. But when I got it I quickly figured out how versatile this light was. It quickly found a place in my bag. It comes with a 1/4 20 thread tripod mount that will go right to the hotshot of your camera for fill light in darker places. And with a cheap adapter you can make this light fit on all of your GoPro mounts and tripods. I rigged a suction cup mount to fit on the back of my monitor, and the light fits right to it to shine on me as I video conference. Let me go over what you get when you get this neat package.

In the package you get the cube light in, you get a USB-C adapter cord to charge the battery. You also get an adapter to fit on the front of the cube that is magnetized. It comes with two gels. One is a white defuser and the other is a warming gel.They use magnets and just stick on the front of the light. You can buy other gels and accessories for the light like a barn door or a shoot-through snoot. Here are a few of the specs of the Lume Cube.

  • 1.6" x 1.6" size (approx. the size of a golf ball)
  • True Daylight Balanced 5600K Color Temp & 95+ CRI
  • Custom Lens /w 80º Beam Angle and ZERO Hot Spots
  • USB-C Charging
  • Durable Aluminum Body & Water to 30 feet
  • 750 LUX @ 1M
  • 1.5 Hour Run Time @ 100% Output
  • 2 Button Control System (increase & decrease brightness manually)
  • Wirelessly Control via Lume-X iPhone/Android App from 60 feet away
  • 360º Optical Sensor for Slave Flash Capability
  • Built-in 1/4" 20 for Tripod Mounting
  • Low Light Mode (adjust in 1% increments) for Night Photography
  • Accessories Included (Shoe Mount, Warming Gel, Diffuser, etc) 

To wirelessly hook up to the light with your phone is easy using Bluetooth, and you can control the intensity of the light with a slider. You can choose if it's for video or photo. It also has an optical trigger for using with flash for fill flash. So if you have an onboard flash on your camera, you could control the trigger with your camera. You could also use this light with small light painting projects for foreground interest in astro photography.  I've always wanted to take a small flash in my bag, but it was too cumbersome with batteries and triggering the flash if its off-camera. But with this little light the size of a golfball, I now have extra light that I can control with a slider on my phone. It can hook up to any tripod or GoPro mount I have that makes it very easy to use in the field. Being waterproof is another plus for the landscape photographer. It is built like a tank. I have been talking about all of the uses for landscape photography, but it could also be awesome for tabletop photography.  I'm thinking about getting another one and doing all of my tabletop photography with them. As you can tell, I am very excited about this little light and I think you should be too. It would be a great addition to any photographer's kit, no matter what type of photography you do.

As you can tell, I highly recommend this small LED light to expand your photography kit to make you a better photographer. So until next week stay safe, keep shooting, and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 2.0 blog bluetooth Camera Cube gels kit Landscape learning LED Lume Max Stansell Photography Off Camera Light Photography table top USB-C waterproof website wireless workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/8/gear-review-lume-cube-2-0 Fri, 07 Aug 2020 08:06:52 GMT
What Camera Mode to Shoot In https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/what-camera-mode-to-shoot-in Hey Everyone! I hope today finds you healthy and safe. Today's topic is what camera mode should you shoot in? Let's go back in time a bit. When I started using an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, it was a manual camera that you had to kind of figure out how to shoot. This was before digital so you had to shoot a roll of film, send it off to get developed, and then see what worked and what didn't. You also had to take notes because there was nothing to tell you on the film negative what your settings were. But I learned and became pretty good at getting a properly exposed photo. I shot like this for years. When I finally went digital Technology had flown past me and I had to learn the other modes like aperture priority, shutter priority, and all of the camera settings that you can get now. It is actually overwhelming how many camera modes there are now. But what is right for you? I am a firm believer that you, as a photographer, should know how your camera works. How a photograph is exposed and the exposure triangle. That said, I don't shoot in manual all of the time now, but it is because I know how I can revert back to it when I need it.

So what do I shoot in? Ninety percent of the time I'm shooting in aperture priority. I set the aperture and the camera does the rest. I set the depth of field for the shot I want, and I let the camera make the decisions on what my ISO and shutter speed are going to be.  We pay a lot for our cameras and they have powerful computers on board to make decisions to get a properly-exposed photograph. And 80 to 90 percent of the time they get it dead on. It's that other 20 percent that we have to take over and fix what the computer is fooled by. That's why I think when you're a beginner you should shoot in manual all the time until you fully understand what you are doing. Then you can change to one of the other modes on your camera and not worry about what setting you have. You can just shoot and compose your shots. The other 10 percent of the time I'm shooting in manual mode, usually when I'm using a tripod and working slowly and methodically or when I'm using studio lights. Other than that I'm in aperture priority. But that's just me. There are tons of other shooting modes that can be found on almost any camera from a point and shoot to a DSLR. So let's talk about some of these.

The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. Shutter priority is when you set your shutter speed and let your camera make all of the other decisions like aperture and ISO.  This mode would be good to use if you're trying to show motion, like a car passing by and blurring out. Or just the opposite, it could be set really high so you don't get the blur, maybe for shooting flying birds. Now shooting in manual, aperture priority, or shutter priority you still shoot in raw, but most of the other modes your camera puts you into shooting JPEGs. So you might want to take that into consideration before you use them. But some of them are great. For instance, fireworks, soft focus, underwater, background de-focus, water painting effect, fish eye effect, handheld night scene, stars, portrait, panning, panorama, self-portrait. These are just ones I pulled off of my Canon G7XII. They are all self-explanatory, like for shooting fireworks you use the firework mode. For nighttime, you use the hand-held mode. ISO for shooting dark night scenes that are handheld, not on a tripod. Some of these modes will take multiple shots and combine them to give you the best photo. All of these modes are found under the scene setting on my camera and should be under something similar on your camera. So out of all of these, what is the best mode to shoot with? Well, it just depends. It depends on what kind of photographer you are, it depends on what you're shooting, it depends on your experience as a photographer. It just depends on lots of things. But one thing is for sure. You should know the basics first and then experiment with the other ones. So figure out what is best for you and get out there and shoot. So until next time, get out and shoot!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture blog fireworks learning Manual Max Stansell Photography mode Photography Scene shooting Mode Shutter sports website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/what-camera-mode-to-shoot-in Fri, 31 Jul 2020 08:15:56 GMT
Photographer’s Are the Ultimate Scavenger Hunters https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/photographer-s-are-the-ultimate-scavenger-hunters Max Stansell Photography Hey everyone! Hope ya'll are doing well and are healthy and safe. What's up with the title this week, "Photographers Are the Ultimate Scavenger Hunters"? Well this again might just be a me thing.  But I think that to be a good photographer you need to be able to pick out subjects or scenes out of your larger field of view.  In my real job I commute to a lot to different towns and places and do quite a bit of driving.  But while I'm doing that I'm framing different shots as I go with my eyes. And it's not just when I'm driving. I do it all of the time. Looking for leading lines, putting the subject of whatever I'm looking at on the 1/3 line. I think photographers as a whole tend to see in photographs. At least I do. I think it's a lot like a scavenger hunt, looking for different things in everyday scenes to pick out and shoot.

Have you ever done a photographic scavenger hunt?  It's pretty fun. You and some friends or maybe your camera club can do this. You don't need fancy equipment or a camera. A phone will do. Then make a list of things to find or shoot. Maybe a portrait of a stranger, shoot through Goldsboro Fire HouseGoldsboro Fire House something, a pair of something, you get the picture. LOL  Then just set up a time frame, maybe a couple of hours, and the location it will be shot like downtown. Then everyone goes off in a different direction looking for the items on the list. After everyone is done you can get together and compare, and you will be surprised of all of the different photos you will have for the same subject. It's pretty fun and you can see how other people see things also.

When you're taking a trip with the family and you have a long car ride, look around and see what kind of  photos you can take with just your eyes. It doesn't have to be a grand photo, but maybe an opening through a fence or maybe a horse grazing in a field. Work the scene with your eyes and your mind's eye on how you would frame up the subject and how it would look in the end. You can do this in a split second. Then move to the next thing, a farm house sitting on a hill. Man on a bicycle. Just keep going. What your are doing is getting your photographic eye in shape, putting it through a workout if you will. So the next time you're out with your camera, your photographic eye takes over and you only see in pictures and photographs. And you can quickly pick out the important things in a scene without struggling for a composition. Like anything it takes lots of practice, but it will help you in the long run. You might even see something that you just can't pass up and have to stop that car and make the shot that you've seen.

Cotton Sail HotelCotton Sail HotelCotton Sail Hotel, Savannah Ga on River St. Another way to develop your photographic eye is to look at others' photographs. Looking at sites like Flickr, 500px, and Instagram can help you improve your mind's eye. Other people post photographs that are their best ones or they wouldn't have posted them, and looking at these over and over again will help you develop the way you look at things and the way that you want to see things. So be a scavenger and look at as many things as you can as a photographer to develop your photographic eye. Try to pick other photographers' photographs apart, try to see what they saw and how they took the photograph to improve your own.

Well that's enough for this topic. Until next week keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning Max Stansell Photography photographers eye photographs Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/photographer-s-are-the-ultimate-scavenger-hunters Fri, 24 Jul 2020 08:25:19 GMT
Landscape Photographers "Leave No Trace" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/landscape-photographers-leave-no-trace Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe. Photographers are tearing up the landscapes we love. With the growing popularity of photography and landscape photography, new photographers are going to the places we love to get their selfies, tearing up the landscape as they go. The popularity of social media, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and such are having people in hoards going to our national and state parks, and that's a good thing if they follow the simple rule to take only photos and leave only footprints. But many are wandering off of the beaten trail and leaving behind trash, and the sheer number of people can trample our beloved special places, all to get likes or followers on social media! There is a right way and a wrong way to do things when you're out in nature, and this blog will cover some of the basic principles of "Leave No Trace."

Leave No Trace has been around for years and isn't just a politically correct statement that is popular. I was taught this in Scouts 50 years ago. Outdoor enthusiasts have been practicing this for years, but with the onslaught of the internet, we have brought new people to the wilderness that haven't ever strayed from their local Starbucks. But now, because they saw a post on Instagram, they just had to have a selfie at Mesa Arch. According to the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, there are seven principles to Leave No Trace. They are: 

1. Plan ahead and prepare.

2. Travel on durable surfaces.

3. Dispose of waste properly.

4. Leave what you find.

5. Minimize campfire impacts.

6. Respect wildlife.

7. Be considerate of others.

Do all of these really relate to a day photography trip? Most of them do. We were given a great gift with the national parks and forests and the state parks and nature reserves. We need to be stewards of the land that was given to us so we can give it and its natural beauty to the ones that follow us in the future.  If we don't they could be gone forever, and our grandchildren and their grandchildren will never know the beauty of our great nation.  Forest rangers aren't there to pick up after us like we are at a hotel. That's not their job. It's yours and mine! So let's go through the principles from a photographer's perspective.

1. Plan and prepare ahead of time. If you're going to the wilderness, look for trail maps and find out the rules of the place you're going to. There may be special rules in the area to protect some species of plant or wildlife that you don't know about.  2. Travel on durable surfaces.  That means stay on the trail making the least amount of impact as possible to the environment. With the amount of people going into the wilderness areas now, this is especially  important.  We don't want to trample the area like a herd of elephants. This is a big one. 3. Dispose of waste properly!  I have been five miles off the beaten path in the middle of the Smokeys and found a gum wrapper! Haul all of your trash with you out of an area. If you eat a power bar, take the wrapper with you when you leave. I won't even get into what backpackers do when they have to use the bathroom in the wilderness. Just take your trash out, please.  4. Leave what you find. Don't take anything natural out of the park for a souvenir.  By doing so you're stealing the beauty from the park. Leave it for someone else. Don't take plants out of the parks. You could be spreading diseased plants and accidentally spread it to your house. Leave them, please. 5. Respect wildlife.  Give them plenty of space. Bears, elk, moose, snakes, and all kinds of critters need their space. Remember, you're in their house, so respect their house. Give them the distance they deserve and they will most likely leave you alone.  6. Be considerate of others. We all want to see the beauty of the forest or natural wildlife scene.  Don't ruin it for others by carving your initials into a tree for everyone to see. Nobody wants to see it. Remember, the place that you are in is fragile and must be cared for so others will enjoy it also.  7. And lastly I don't think there is any reason to talk about campfires, but if you do have one, follow all of the rules where you are at.  You don't want to start a forest fire.

Common sense is what's needed here. Do unto others and all of that. I know of a lot of famous photographers who do not give the location of where they got the great shots and scenes from just for the reason that the masses will come and destroy them. Nick Page, a pretty popular photographer, puts Mesa Arch on all of his photographs just so people won't go to where he photographed them. Not because he wants to keep the place for himself, but because he wants to protect them. I don't go to that extreme. However, if I'm at a tourist location, I'll give the name, say, the Wright Brothers Memorial. But if I'm not and I think that the place is fragile, I'll just put North Carolina for the location. Not that I'm popular and people are looking, but just in case someone wants to go to that place they will have to do the research to find it and maybe that will keep them from trashing it.

Well, that's pretty much it for this topic. Please take care of the land. There isn't any really being made at the moment, so we must take care of what we have. Until next week, keep shooting and get outside!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping conservation hiking Landscape learning leave no trace lightroom Max Stansell Photography Nature Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/landscape-photographers-leave-no-trace Fri, 17 Jul 2020 09:00:00 GMT
How to "Slowly" upgrade your Photo Equipment https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/how-to-slowly-upgrade-your-photo-equipment Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is healthy and safe.  As you know photography is an expensive hobby. Unless you're one of the lucky ones and have a disposable income, acquiring good gear may take a while. That is a good thing, because if you just went out and got what everyone else says is the best gear, you might be disappointed because it might not be right for you. Gear is personal because I think that photography is art, and the gear we use is just the tools we use to make that art. And artists use all kinds of tools to make their art.

Photography gear has changed in recent years and is more complicated than it used to be. Back in the film days you got a camera body and you used it for 20 years.  There was really no upgrade to do. It was all mechanical. But since the digital age has come there are upgrades every year, and people are upgrading (in my opinion too soon) every couple of years. That's expensive and maybe not as mush needed as it used to be in the early days of digital. My advice is to take your time, be patient, and research before you make the decision.  Slowly upgrade your equipment one piece at a time. Here's what I mean.

_MSP6316_MSP6316 Most of us invest in a first camera in some kind of kit where they give you a cheap lens along with your camera body. My advice is to use that cheap lens until you can save enough money to upgrade the kit lens. Take your time and research which lens you want to upgrade to. Learn to use that cheap lens until you think it's causing you to not be able to get the shots you want to get. The same can be said for camera bodies.  Use the body until you think it is hurting your photography. The camera bodies that I am using are about four camera body versions behind the newest versions. But I'm sticking with the one I have until I think it's not doing the job for me and I need an upgrade. Sure, the newest ones do all kinds of neat things with all of their bells and whistles, but for the type of photography I do (landscape/travel), I really don't need that animal eye detection or that 4K video mode or so many frames per second. And when you upgrade a body or lens, it doesn't have to be a brand new one. You can upgrade to a used lens or body. In my kit, for example, the main body I use was purchased used, and two out of my three main lenses were bought used. I did just upgrade my long telephoto lens, only for one reason. I wasn't getting the shots I 11-sony-a630011-sony-a6300 wanted because the reach on the one I had was too short in my opinion to get that occasional wildlife or long-range shot. So I put away a little cash each week, and when I got enough and did all of the research, I purchased a new one. I will probably sell my old one before too long to offset the cost of maybe something else. Tip, when buying from a local camera shop, you may be able to trade in old camera gear for store credit to help you upgrade to newer systems. You might not get what you would if you sold it outright, but sometimes it's hard to sell on eBay or to friends. When I switched from Nikon to Sony, it took a while to sell all of my Nikon gear, but I eventually did and used that money to upgrade kit lenses I had with my Sony gear. The point I'm getting to is that upgrading is a slow and ongoing process that never ends. I have a great kit now, but it took me a long time to get there. I will be upgrading in the future, but it will be slow and methodical, which will save me money and frustration in the future.

Well, that's enough for this time. Slow and steady is the course for upgrading camera and photography gear. So get out and use that gear, and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera gear invest kit learning lens Max Stansell Photography money Photography upgrade website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/how-to-slowly-upgrade-your-photo-equipment Fri, 10 Jul 2020 07:56:13 GMT
Do I need to upgrade to full frame? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/do-i-need-to-upgrade-to-full-frame Hey everyone!  Hope everyone is healthy and safe. This week's topic is about upgrading your camera kit to a full frame sensor camera set up.  Is the grass always greener on the other side?  As photographers we are always looking for an advantage or something to make our photographs better.  Buying new gear is something we think will improve our photography.  I am no different than any of you.  I love gear and do have GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).  Nowadays, I try to do it smarter and research instead of emotionally making decisions about gear.  Almost every YouTube video by your favorite photographers praise the advantages of full frame cameras over smaller sensor cameras.  But they are all professionals or professional-want-to-be's and make their living from photography.  I am not.  I am a hobbyist and do photography just for me. So do I need to go by the same standards that professionals go by?  I have owned and used both full frame and crop sensor cameras and will give you my take on this subject.  Today we're going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of full frame cameras and the questions you should ask yourself before you buy one.

Advantages of Full Frame.  There are lots of advantages of full frame cameras, especially if you make your Living as a professional Photographer and depend on your equipment to put food on your table.  Full frame cameras tend to be built better than their smaller sensor counterparts.  They are heavy duty and sometimes built like a tank.  They tend to be better weather sealed in most cases to keep dust and moisture out in rugged weather conditions.  Larger sensor cameras collect more light than smaller sensors, so they are better in low-light conditions.  They can have more resolution with massive amounts of megapixels, and you can print larger prints.  Depth of field (the amount of what is in focus in the frame) is shallower.  They are great cameras and perform well under many circumstances.

My Camera'sMy Camera's Disadvantages of Full Frame.  There are some disadvantages of full frame also that aren't talked about as much as advantages are on YouTube videos.  Full frame cameras have large files.  The files take up lots of space on your computer, and your computer needs to be pretty fast to edit them.  So if you get a new full frame camera, you better upgrade your computer system also.  Full frame cameras are big and bulky and heavy, whether they are mirrorless or DSLR.  Although the mirrorless camera body may be smaller, the lenses are the same size.  A 70-200mm f2.8 lens is heavy!  Shallow depth of field was mentioned in the advantages, but can also be a disadvantage.  If you're doing landscape or architecture photography, you want depth of field, not shallow depth of field.  And of course the elephant in the room is price.  On average, full frame cameras are at least twice the cost of smaller sensor ones.  Lenses are much more expensive also. 

Questions you should ask yourself.  There are many questions you should ask yourself before going to a full frame sensor camera.  The first question is what type of photography do I do, and do I need full frame to do it?  If you are a professional, I think the answer may be yes, but many professionals do use smaller sensor cameras with lots of success.  If you are a portrait photographer and that's all you do, the answer may be yes.  If you are a landscape photographer, the answer may be no.  In landscapes you want the largest depth of field in your subject, not mentioning the weight of the equipment you'll have to carry to get to those subjects.  If you are a street photographer, I would say no.  The small size and being able to conceal your camera is an advantage over the large sensor.  If you shoot sports, the answer may be no.  Many sports photographers shoot crop sensor cameras in JPEG to make the files smaller because they shoot so many photographs at one time, like a machine gun.  The same may be said for wildlife photography.  If I am a hobbyist and only shoot for myself and my photos go to Instagram and Facebook and only print occasionally, then the answer is, no, I don't need a full frame camera.  If you're a gear head and really enjoy spending lots of money on new gadgets and must have the newest, then knock yourself out and buy that full frame.

My Two Cents.  As a former full frame Nikon shooter and now a crop sensor Sony shooter, I can see both sides of the argument.  For me it kind of happened full circle.  I started with a crop sensor Nikon and had to have that full frame and all of the gadgets that went with it to big fast glass.  And the photos I was getting were great.  Then I got a mirrorless camera for hiking because the full frame with a 24-70mm lens was over seven pounds and heavy and the mirrorless was much lighter.  I started using the mirrorless more and more.  And before I knew it I was grabbing the crop sensor 90 percent of the time over the full frame.  Finally, after a couple of years, I went on a workshop where my crop sensor camera was my main camera, and my full frame I used as my backup.  I go to this workshop every year, and the photos are similar year after year.  I compared shots from the crop sensor and from the full frame from the year before and really had to pixel peep (zoom in really far) to tell the difference.  To the naked eye I couldn't tell.  I had over $15,000 invested in the full frame set up and only a few thousand for the crop sensor.  That's when I made the choice to go to crop sensor and sell all of my full frame stuff.  I took a beating on selling everything, but in the long run I'm really happy with the kit I have now and feel confident that my photos are of the best quality.  I shoot as a hobby.  I don't need all of the megapixels, and I'm not printing a lot.  Most of my photos go on Instagram or Facebook.  When I go on photoshoots with my friends, I have the smallest kit, and I love it.  It doesn't weigh me down, and I have more energy to go exploring and find new things to shoot.  It is totally the best decision I have made in my photography journey, and I wish I had asked these questions before I jumped into full frame in the beginning.  Those are my thoughts on the subject.  Please think long and hard before you commit to full frame. If it's right for you, great.

Until next week keep shooting, stay safe, and go outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camera camera body camera equipment Crop Sensor Full Frame gear Kit learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography sensor Upgrading website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/7/do-i-need-to-upgrade-to-full-frame Fri, 03 Jul 2020 09:00:00 GMT
I’m all in, are you? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/i-m-all-in-are-you Hey, everyone!  I hope everyone is doing well and is healthy.  I'm all in, are you?  What does the title of this blog mean?  I heard a saying a while ago that you only get what you put into something, whether it's photography, a hobby, or a project.  If you don't put in the hard work, you won't get the results you're looking for.  We are surrounded by great photography, whether it's in a magazine, Instagram, Flickr, 500PX, or Facebook.  These photographs are impressive, and we think that ours aren't compared to them. But what we forget is that these are the contributors' best photos.  They probably took hundreds of photos to get the one that you're freaking out about.  That said, they put in the effort by shooting hundreds of photos to get that great one.

Putting in the work.  In photography, like most things, you must put in the work.  When I learn a new Cathedral FallsCathedral Falls photography technique or editing procedure, I do a lot of research and practice, practice, practice.  But I'm all in!  I make mistakes and fail.  But I keep going.  I have an addictive personality, and I can't stop until I can do whatever I was trying to learn.  As photographers, we never know it all and are, or should be, constantly learning.  That's one of the things that I love about photography.  You never stop learning and can experiment with all kinds of stuff.  When I'm in, I'm in!  In life you must put in the work if you want it to turn out great.  Nothing ever happens without trying and putting forth the effort.

Pushn' up DasiesPushn' up Dasies Failing.  Failing is a part of life.  Everyone fails at something and fails many times.  When you fail to do something, you have just learned a way not to do it.  Those who do not try are the only ones who won't fail. By trial and error do we learn the best in my opinion.  I can read about it all day long.  But if I actually try to do it and I fail a couple of times before succeeding, then I will have it forever.  Because I didn't only learn how to do it, but I also learned how not to do it.  And sometimes that is just as important as learning how to do something.  I just had a big fail that is and isn't photography related.  I lost a camera!  I have, or had, a Canon G7XMII point and shoot camera.  (Because I always want a camera that is better than my phone with me).  What I think happened was that it was very hot one day at work so I took the camera out of my car and brought it inside where it was cool.  When I went to leave, I think I placed the camera on the roof of my car while loading up and left it there.  Then I drove off.  I didn't notice it for a day or so.  I have searched everywhere for it with no luck.  I'm going to get with the security at the place I'm working and see if anyone found it and turned it in.  This was a big fail!  And it's not the first time I've done it either.  When I was in high school, I placed a lens on top of my car and drove off.  Luckily I found the lens in the gutter by the street unharmed.  Hopefully I'll find this camera.  If not, I will have learned a big lesson and will have to replace it costing more money than I want to spend.  We all have fails.

What I'm trying to say is you can't sit on your couch watching TV then go to a pretty place, pull out your camera, press the shutter button and expect to have a masterpiece.  It just doesn't work that way.  You have to learn by trial and error how to compose shots, how to set up your camera, and how to post process your images to get that masterpiece.  You have to learn all of the things to do and not do to get that shot that people will "ooh and ahh" over.  It's just not one click.  Thanks for listening to me on my soapbox for a while.  Hope everyone has a great week, and until next time be safe and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) all in attitude blog learning Max Stansell Photography persistence Photography projects techniques website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/i-m-all-in-are-you Fri, 19 Jun 2020 08:26:47 GMT
Camera Bag Extra Items! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/camera-bag-extras Hey Everyone!  Hope y'all are healthy and happy.  Last week we talked about the pre-shoot checklist, and this week I want to talk about the extra stuff you should have in your camera bag.  Last week it was all about the essentials that you need to have with you when you go on a photo shoot.  This week it's about the extra things that I think you should have with you when you go out shooting.  First of all, this is just things that I think you should carry, but you can modify or customize it to your specific needs. So let's get on with the list.

1. Emergency rain poncho.  Have you ever gotten caught in the rain?  Well I have.  I hiked in a couple of miles to get to a waterfall that I wanted to photograph.  When I got there it started to look a little stormy, and I was thinking, great, this will make my photos better with the stormy mood.  But then the bottom fell out.  I was two miles from the car or any shelter standing in the pouring rain with my expensive camera equipment getting soaked! Luckily, I did have a trash bag with me that I could cover my camera bag with to keep my gear from getting too wet. But I was soaked. From that day on I always have an emergency poncho with me.  They are cheap and don't weigh much.  You can get them for five bucks or so.  And if you're careful you can reuse them.  I have used mine a couple of times in the last few years.  I should replace it. LOL

2. Cold weather gear.  When it's cold outside and you're holding a metal camera, your hands get cold quickly!  In the wintertime bring some sort of gloves, head gear, and something to go around your neck.  You will stay so much warmer and get better shots because of it.  Hand warmers are a must in wintertime.  They are cheap and last for hours, and one in your pocket or jammed into a glove is great!  There are all kinds of gloves you can get.  I would suggest one that you can handle your gear with.  They make special gloves for photography, but you don't need to get those expensive ones (although I just got a pair last year and love them).  Any glove will do to protect your hands.

3. Hot weather gear.  When it's hot outside, you need to protect yourself also.  Wearing cool, non-cotton clothes is a first step.  A hat that can protect you from the sun is also good.  But what happens when it gets warm? Bugs!  Bring some sort of bug protection. You can get it in small bottles or packets.  I bring packets of bug protection with me always.  Sunburn sucks!  Bring sunblock and use it.  I also have these in packets that go in my bag all the time.  They take up little space and are lightweight.  There are all kinds of advances in cool-wear technologies.  They make bandanas that you can get wet and put around your neck to keep you cool.  When it's super hot outside, that's what I use.  They are very lightweight when dry and don't take up much space.

4. External battery.  It goes without saying that everyone will have their phone with them when they are out and about taking photos.  We will use them for navigation, sending photos, and all sorts of things.  But when they are dead, they are useless.  The same is true for our cameras.  When the battery is dead, they are useless.  The small external battery can be used to charge my phone when it gets weak.  I could recharge my battery in my camera (most cameras can do this now), or I could recharge my GoPros.  I use a 5200ma/h, and it's always in my bag.  Just remember, the bigger the battery, the heaver and bulkier it is.  It takes about 2000 ma/h to completely charge your phone and, depending on your camera battery, maybe a little bit more.  (But you should already have fresh batteries.)  It has come in handy on long trips recharging my phone or a photo buddy's phone.

5. Light.  Now, I'm not talking about a photography flash, although some people do carry one with them all the time.  I'm talking about a flashlight or headlamp of some kind.  Headlamps will come in handy when doing sunsets or sunrises. Being able to get to or come back from a photo location, safely is a must.  And they free up your hands.  They don't have to be expensive or bulky either.  I have gone through several over the years, and now I have a headlamp that is in my main bag (I think it cost 15 bucks) that works like a champ.  I have had more expensive ones, and usually they are more complicated to use and don't work as well for me, at least as the cheaper ones.  I also have one that will clip onto a hat like a baseball cap, and it's very small. ( I keep that one in my street shoulder bag.)  But any kind of small, mini flashlight will do.  They can also come in handy for light painting small subjects.

6. Rain Covers. These are the rain covers for your lenses and camera bodies while shooting in the rain.  Shooting in the rain can be very cool, and you can get some great shots.  But water and electronics don't mix well. You can get lens rain covers that are not more than clear plastic for five bucks or so, and again they are lightweight and don't take up much room.  I shoot with a small camera, so I made a rain cover out of an old pair of rain pants that I cut up and customized to my camera.  I have used the five dollar ones, and they work great.  Just make sure you get one that will cover your camera and lens and also make sure it's not too big.  They make covers that will fit over like a 500mm lens and camera, and if you're shooting small like me, that's just too big.

7.  Business Cards.  I know this sounds silly, especially if you're not a professional, but hear me out.  Business cards are cheap! You can get 250 for about 10 bucks.  You can have your name and your email address on them and website if you have one. When you meet someone who is interested in what you're doing or ask if you're a professional, you can pull out a card and have them check out your website.  Or if you took someone's photo and you can offer them a copy, give them a card and they can email you so you can send them the photo.  It's an easy way to share your info, and kind of cool.  I carry a couple in my bag and have a couple in my wallet if someone asks about my photography.

8. Pen/small pad.  I always carry a pen with me.  If I'm talking to someone, I can get their info or email address and write it on the back of one of my cards or a small note pad.  I can also take notes of places I've been.  I know this is old school and most people use their phones for this now, but this is my list. LOL

9. Microfiber cloths.  I have lots of these in my bag.  I put one in every compartment of my bag so they are always handy.  They are under every lens and camera body in the bag.  I always have one in my pocket for my glasses or in case someone else needs one quickly.  If you are out and it's misty or water for some reason gets on the lens, you can wipe quickly and clean/dry.  These are cheap and come with lots of things you buy.  I try to use brightly-colored ones so they don't get lost in the bag. (I can see them better.)

10. Personal things.  In this section, I'm talking about things that are personal to you.  I have glasses cleaners that come in the little pouches for my glasses because I smudge them when taking photos.  I bring a couple of the tooth pick/dental floss things with me for after I eat.  I bring toilet paper and/or wipes for emergencies.  And don't forget the hand sanitizer and I guess mask would be appropriate now.  I also put my car keys and wallet in my bag and secure them when on a hike so they won't fall out of my pockets and I lose them. 

Extra Extras. Here are a few others I thought about:  a lens pen to clean/brush lenses of dust; a hand blower ( a must - should have been one of the 10); an allen wrench that fits your tripod and quick connect plates; sensor swabs to clean your sensor; a rain cover for your pack; silica gel packs that you get in everything - throw one into your pack; sunglasses/case to protect your eyes from harsh sunlight; and I'm sure you can think of more.

All of these things I mentioned above are extra.  I assume that you're bringing cameras, lenses, batteries, and SD cards.  These are extra things that I have in all of my camera bags when I go out and about.  Being prepared like the Scouts is always good advice.  I hope this list helps or has given you an idea of what to carry when you go out shooting.  So get out there and start shooting!  So until next week stay safe and healthy.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camera Bag hiking learning Max Stansell Photography Photography photography gear website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/camera-bag-extras Fri, 12 Jun 2020 08:50:57 GMT
Pre-Photoshoot Checklist https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/pre-photoshoot-checklist Hey Everyone!  Hope y'all are healthy and safe this week.  I've got a question for you.  Have you ever gone to a photoshoot or location with your camera and gone to use it and your battery was dead or you forgot to put your SD card in?  This week I will be talking about things to to before you go on that photoshoot, a pre-shoot checklist if you will.  And hopefully this will keep you from making a mistake that will keep you from getting that shot.  

First, before we talk about the checklist, I would like to talk about organization.  I am an organized freak.  I like to have a place for my things and things to be in their place.  That includes my camera bag.  I like to have my bag organized so when I look in it I can tell immediately if something is missing.  I know that some people just open their bag and chunk it in, kinda like my wife does with her purse.  And they can never find anything and spend a lot of time digging through their bag instead of taking photos.  I have two main bags.  I have a 30-liter Shimoda backpack that has become my main bag when doing long hikes for landscapes and can carry all the gear I'll need.  Then I have my what I call my "purse" that is an over-the-shoulder bag that is great for street photography and just walking around when I don't need all of my gear.  In each bag I have a certain place for everything.  My batteries go in a certain place, my shutter release in another, lenses go in certain places... you get the idea.  That way at first glance I can tell if anything is missing.  Like I said, I'm an organization freak.

Now for the checklist.  I have heard about professional photographers who have a printed checklist that they keep in their camera bags so when they get ready to go on an assignment they can quickly go through the checklist and make sure they have everything they will need before they leave the house.  I'm not asking you to do this, but it wouldn't hurt.  This is a generic checklist that you can customize for yourself and the type of photography that you do.  Different types of photography may require different types of gear.  I got the idea for this checklist from a podcast "Master Photography Podcast," and his list was geared more toward portrait photographers.  Most of the people I know don't shoot people but more landscape, street, and wildlife, so I will make more of a generic list that you can customize for yourself.

1.  Batteries.  Of course this was going to be one of the first things on the list.  But not only batteries, but charged-up batteries. This is something that you may have to think ahead on because you can't start charging when you're ready to go out the door.  I shoot mirrorless camera, and they are notorious for sucking the juice out of batteries.  So I carry quite a few.  When I get home from a shoot, one of the first things I do is put batteries on the charger, even before I take my SD card out of the camera.  When they are charged they go back in my bag, and I know they are fully charged. Another thing to think about is not just your main camera, but also any other ones like GoPros, infra red cameras, or point and shoots.  I carry GoPros with me sometimes, so that means those batteries also.  Just something to think about.

2.  SD Cards.  Always, and I mean always, have extra SD cards in your bag.  If you were editing the night before and you forgot to take the card out of the computer and you get to your location and no card, no photos.  I always carry extra cards with me.  Not many, just one or two.  I rarely fill up a card, like almost never fill one up, but if one failed I have an extra.  If you're a landscape or sports photographer, you could fill a couple of them up pretty easily in a day.  One thing to remember when it comes to SD cards is they only have so many times that they can be formatted and reused.  It's a good idea to rotate you cards so you're not using the same one every time.  I have a bad habit of doing this, and I'm going to start rotating more.  SD cards are fairly cheap.  And unless you're shooting sports or wildlife where you shoot a lot with one shutter release or video, you don't need the fastest cards.  The ones that are 95mb write speed are fast enough for just normal photography.

3.  Check Camera Settings.  Sit down and go through your camera settings.  I know this sounds silly, but if you were trying something that you don't normally do or have a new camera, this is really an important step.  I got a new camera a few years ago, and my wife and I went to a bluegrass festival.  Lots of people and lots of things to shoot.  I was excited to get that new camera going.  Then I started to take photos and the shutter wouldn't work!  I got frustrated trying to figure out what was happening to my camera, my wife tapping her foot waiting on me and I'm missing shots.  What had happened is that I had the shutter on a time delay and had not put it back to normal.  So every time I hit the shutter nothing would happen, but it was counting down the time.  Check settings like ISO, what mode you're in, how your meter is set up.  Get all these things dialed in before you leave and you won't miss the first shot because your camera wasn't ready.

4.  Specialized "Gear."  This is the section that looks at what type of photographer you are: portrait, street, landscape, wildlife, sports, or macro. Each kind of photography might need special things. For portrait photographers, it might be flashes or lights and all that goes with it, especially batteries for those flashes.  Make sure you have all of those batteries recharged and ready to go beforehand.  For a street photographer, maybe it's a special lens like a 35mm that you might not have with you all of the time, maybe model releases also.  For landscape, maybe filters and a tripod. Wildlife and sports, those big lenses cleaned and ready to go.  As you can see, there are all kinds of items that can go in this section of the checklist and must be customized by your individual needs.  One good item for all of us is some sort of flashlight or headlamp.  It sucks going for a sunset and the sun goes down and you're in the dark and can't see.

22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n 5.  Confidence and Excitement.  Now that you have all of your things in order, you can have the confidence that you have all you need and can start taking photos when you get to wherever you're going to take photos.  You can now concentrate on the photograph and be excited about being out doing photography, knowing that you have done your best to keep those bad misfortunate "Oh, I don't have an SD card!" or "Oh, my battery is dead!" moments.

Well, this has gotten a little long-winded, but I hope this will help you in your photography outings. Next week we'll talk about extras I carry in my camera bag.  Until next week, be safe, keep shooting, and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping Checklist hiking learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Prepared website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/6/pre-photoshoot-checklist Fri, 05 Jun 2020 08:41:54 GMT
The Importance of Setting Goals and Personal Projects https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/the-importance-of-setting-goals-and-personal-projects Hey Everyone!  Hope everyone is safe and healthy.  Today I'm going to talk about setting goals and creating personal projects.  Now, like all of these blogs, this is just my personal opinion and how I feel about the subject.  I am a goal person.  I have to set a goal to do almost anything.  That includes making a list.  I make a lot of lists.  And usually if it's not on a list, I'm probably not going to do it.  I'm pretty lazy that way.  For me, setting goals and making a list to get me to that goal is essential to growing as a photographer or in any part of my life.  I have set a lot of goals in my life and have failed in reaching them too.  For instance, I had failed for years to quit smoking until I finally did 13 years ago.  I have failed in keeping my weight under control, although I have lost lots of weight and have gained lots too.  I'm still working on that one.  But in photography I have basically kept improving by setting and reaching goals, from learning how to do something like using off camera flash, shooting in manual, the use of a light meter, developing film, shooting portraits. These were all IMG_1114IMG_1114 goals that I had set for myself, and I don't think I would have reached them just by picking up my camera every now and then and trying to do it.  I had to study and form some kind of plan to really learn how to do them.  And then practice.  One of the goals I have set for myself this year is to visit and photograph all of the state parks in North Carolina.  I had plans and was well under way when the coronavirus started, and that put a halt to my goal and really put the goal in jeopardy.  This weekend I set up a trip that I plan to take this summer to visit 10 state parks in a week-long camping trip to make up for all of the "Stay at Home" time while the parks were closed.  I still think I can make my goal, and it gives me something to look forward to.  And that's another point that comes from making goals.  It gives me something to look forward to, and that's important for motivating me to get ready to do something.  My yearly trips with my photography club are something that I really look forward to each year.  I like _MSP2238_MSP2238 knowing well in advance of the trip where and what kind photography we'll be doing.  Say, maybe landscape, waterfalls, or street photography.  It gives me time to plan for getting more equipment or learning a new skill before we go on our trip.  That way I can concentrate on the trip and not the mechanics of learning a new skill or how to use a new piece of equipment.  I think that my photographs become better because I have planned and learned my equipment or skill and can concentrate on composition and light, and the camera and/or skill become second nature because I have taken the time beforehand to learn it.  Taking some big goal and breaking it up into smaller sections is the best way to do any goal no matter what it is.  The old saying--how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time--really rings true in setting goals and planning.

Setting goals is a personal thing.  Everyone is different, and there is no one rule that fits all.  Set goals that you're interested in.  Make a personal project in photography.  Maybe if you like barns, make a project of barns.  Set a goal to maybe make a book.  Books are easy to make, but first you need the material.  In my state parks goal, I plan on making a book (just for me ) on photos from each state park.  You could make a book on barns from different regions of your state, say the mountains, the coast, or the Piedmont region, and show the differences of the barns from each region.

So this was just a small talk about goals and personal projects.  Pick a small personal project and try it out, maybe to take more portraits. While you are trying to reach your goal, your photography will improve, and you will learn a lot about yourself and what you like.  Maybe you'll find some type of photography that you like more than what you're doing now.  So until next time, keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog goals hiking landscape learning list Max Stansell Photography personal Projects Photography planning website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/the-importance-of-setting-goals-and-personal-projects Fri, 29 May 2020 08:49:49 GMT
Merchants Millpond State Park NC https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/merchants-millpond-state-park-nc Hey Everyone!  I hope everyone is safe and healthy.  Last week I took a little day trip to Merchants Millpond State Park in North Carolina.  This is a trip that I had planned a couple of weeks ago, but the coronavirus put a stop to the trip as the parks closed in North Carolina.  The parks opened to trails only and no camping yet last week and should re-open to campers in a week or so.  This park is located in the northeastern part of North Carolina, not too far from the Virginia border.  The park offers hiking trails, biking trails, camping, kayaking, and canoeing.  Some of the campsites you can kayak to. The Millpond offers fishing and kayaking and is really beautiful with cypress trees in abundance.

Our trip started early in the morning with an over-two-hour drive to get there. The trip I had planned earlier was an overnight trip because of the distance.  As a side note, when the parks were closed a representative of the parks called me promptly to give me a refund of my money for the camping!  I find that the staff at most of the state parks are very helpful and courteous.  My wife and my travel companion Forrest were traveling with me.  They both needed a break away from being cooped up in the house.  After arriving, we went to the Millpond and started with the photography and hiking.  The pond is really beautiful and calming.  We saw some kayakers put their boats in the water and start gliding through the trees on the way to finding some fish.  There were not a lot of people at the park, and it could be because of the virus or because it was Sunday morning.  But either way it was nice not to have people everywhere.  We took a two-mile hike on one of the trails there and went to the bridge over the pond to take some photos. We also planned on going to visit Dismal Swamp State Park which was only a 30-minute drive away.  When I'm on these trips, the way I like to do my photography is by myself.  I can take my time looking at stuff and don't feel that I'm being rushed to do something.  Forrest is getting better at stopping when I stop and sitting by patiently while I'm shooting. My wife waits patiently too.  But she always wants a photo of her wherever we go, so I have to stop what I'm doing to take a photo of her.  But it's still nice to have her along.  Here is a link to a short video that I made of this trip. Merchants Millpond Video So after the photography we took a short drive to Dismal Swamp State Park.  This park is very close to the Virginia border on US 17.  It is mainly a kayaking and canoeing park as well, but they do have some hiking trails that are really dirt roads and are also for bike riding.  We really didn't stay here long because we wanted to visit Edenton, North Carolina, a small little town that I grew up in that we visit a few times a year.  When we arrived, the streets that are usually full of people downtown were mainly empty, I guess because of the virus, which gave its a eerie feeling.  We went to a local park to have lunch and look over Edenton Bay.  The view was great, and we had a good lunch.  After lunch, we rode around town as we always do to check out the old house that I grew up in and check out other things that have changed.  We then started on our way home.  It was overall a great trip, and we knocked two more state parks off of my list.  Maybe next weekend we'll go to another.  Until then, stay safe and healthy and get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Day Trip Ducks landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Merchants Millpond NC Photography Road Trip State Park Video website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/merchants-millpond-state-park-nc Fri, 22 May 2020 08:29:01 GMT
What New Have You Learned? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/what-new-have-you-learned Hey Everyone!  I hope y'all are doing well and are healthy.  At the time of this writing, most if not all of the states have some kind of partial opening.  Now, I'm not going to get into the discussion for or against reopening and if it's too soon or not.  That's not what this is about.  But what this blog is about is what have you learned during this Stay at Home Order?  What new thing or activity had you forgotten and have relearned, or have you just learned something new? I have been very lucky that I have been able to work the whole time, and I have been able to do it remotely from home.  I know that a lot of you have had to stay home without pay, and I do know how you feel.  I was out of work for five months before, and I know what it's like not to have a paycheck coming in.  Today I'm going to go over a few things that I have learned while staying at home.

1. I have learned how to cut my own hair!  I don't mean my wife has learned how.  I mean I have learned how.  I would never let my wife cut my hair.  Not because I don't think she could do it, but if she messed up I would do or say something that I would regret.  And I must say, I've done a good job at it so much that I won't be getting regular hair cuts at the barber shop anymore.  Unless I really screw it up! LOL  So I've learned a new skill and a way to save some money.

2. I have learned that I really do miss going places and camping.  I'm pretty much a loner and don't go out much to socialize any except for my camera club.  So the Stay at Home Order hasn't really affected me much in that sense.  I do most of my shopping online, so going to a store wasn't my thing to start with.  But not being able to go camping or hiking in my favorite parks, now that's killing me.  I even had a campout in my backyard as you could tell by my last blog.  I plan on going somewhere this weekend to go for a day hike because the campgrounds haven't opened yet, but I can't wait.  I don't think I will meet my goal of visiting all of the state parks in NC in a single year this year.  Might have to try again next year.

3.  I am relearning how to play the guitar.  I have had my guitar put away in the closet for almost 10 years.  I used to play quite a few songs.  Easy ones.  I really wasn't that good when I played.  But now I'm taking an online guitar course that is 14 weeks long for beginners.  I had forgotten how much the tips of your fingers hurt at the beginning.  But I'm starting to relearn some of the old songs I knew, as well as some new ones.  I'm having fun with it, and I plan to practice every day if I can.  Don't worry, this isn't going to become a Guitar Blog.

4. I also learned that I'm set in my ways and I like what I like.  I like to watch the same TV series over and over again.  Shows like "The West Wing," "Grey's Anatomy," "Game of Thrones," "Downton Abbey," "Heartland," and I could name a few more.  I have watched all of these shows many times and still like watching them.  I like a salad at night with grilled chicken for supper, and I have that every day during the week.  You would think that I would be smaller than I am with all of that salad, but I also like my sweets and savories to eat.  I like wearing the same jeans for many days in a row, and they just seem to get more comfortable every day.  I like going to bed early and waking up early.  I tend to get most of my work done before noon.  So, yes, I'm set in my ways.

Hopefully you have learned something about yourself that you didn't know or had forgotten.  Maybe a new skill with editing your photos or a new skill with your camera.  I hope that you have made this time at home an adventure instead of a burden.  I know I said that I wasn't going to write about the coronavirus anymore. OOPS!  Anyway, I hope that your days get easier and that you get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog COVID19 cutting Hair Guitar hiking learning Max Stansell Photography music Photography tutorial TV website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/what-new-have-you-learned Sat, 16 May 2020 12:22:56 GMT
Backyard Camping https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/backyard-camping Hey everyone!  Today's topic is about camping in your backyard.  Yes, your backyard.  I know a lot of you haven't slept in the backyard since you were a kid.  But it can be fun and a good time to try out new equipment and work out all of the bugs that camping can bring.  This weekend had fantastic weather with highs in the 70's on Saturday and 80's on Sunday. The stay-at-home order is still in effect, and the state and national parks are closed for camping.  I've been itching to get out and do some camping and exploring, so I got in my truck and drove to the exotic place of my backyard.  Not too far so I saved on gas! LOL  I started to do some work on my teardrop camper (install a new battery), and I had to wire a separate light to my truck camper and go through the things that I really need in my camper and the things I don't. Then it was time to set up camp.  A hammock is my preferred way to sleep when I'm camping.  It's so comfortable, and I don't have to get on the ground to go to bed.  I'm getting older, and getting into a tent after a long day of hiking is harder to do than when I was younger.  So I got my car-camping hammock.  I have many hammocks. The one for backpacking that I made has a built-in, zippered bug net.  My other hammocks have bug nets that just drape over for protection from those pesky flying pests in the summer time.  For rain and sun protection, I placed a tarp over my hammock.  Again, I have many tarps:  two that can be used for summer use and two for winter with doors attached to keep out the wind and rain.  The one that I decided to use for my car camping is one of my winter tarps.  I can fold the doors out of the way to let the breeze blow through in the summer time, and if I need some privacy or to protection from the weather, I can use the doors.  I've got camp all set up!  Now the fun stuff starts.

My wife and I had planned to have a fire in our little fire pit, so I had to get some wood together and get our grill together for the first grill of the warm weather.  So now that all of the camp chores and setup are done, it's time for the fun stuff.  Well, there is nothing better than taking it easy in a hammock in the summertime under a shade tree with a slight breeze blowing.  You talk about good sleep!  It's awesome!  I had just dozed off when something startled me, a tap on my shoulder from underneath my hammock.  Forrest!  He wanted some attention and wanted to get in with me.  So I picked him up and got him in the hammock, and we both took a nap until some squirrels started chasing each other in the tree above us.  Of course Forrest freaked out and I let him out of the hammock.  Later, we grilled some burgers on the grill and they were great!  I don't know what it is about burgers on the grill that make them so good, but the grill does really make them taste great!  After cleanup, it was time to start the fire.  To tell you the truth, I'm not really good at doing fires, and when I go camping I rarely start a fire if I have to do it myself.  There is just a lot of work to do with fire wood collection, starting the fire, and feeding the fire through the night.  But this night it was my turn to tend to the fire. Starting the fire is the hard part.  I got some small twigs and stuff and tried to start the fire with some crunched-up paper, but no luck.  I remembered my Boy Scout training and got some cotton balls and some Vaseline and soaked the cotton balls in it.  I lit the balls and they burned for about 10 minutes, plenty of time to get the fire started.  Then it was just feeding the fire.  It turned out great and we had a good time sitting around the camp fire.  Finally it was bed time.  I haven't slept in the truck camper since I built it.  So tonight was the night.  Forrest and I went to bed in the back of the truck.  And it went okay.  I would have been more comfortable in my hammock, but I did get some sleep.  We woke up early like always and had breakfast.  

We had a good time camping out in the backyard.  The weather was great and a fun time was had by all.  So get out in nature and have some fun!  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camp fire camping cook out equipment gear Hammocks learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Tents truck camper website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/backyard-camping Fri, 08 May 2020 08:28:11 GMT
It's Prime Time "List of My Favorite Prime Lenses" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/its-prime-time-list-of-my-favorite-prime-lenses Hey Everyone! Today I'm going to talk about using prime lenses and my favorite ones.  Now this is not an original topic.  As a matter of fact, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, "The Digital Story" by Derrick Story, and his topic was Prime Time.  Here's the link Digital Story "Break out the Fast Glass"  And I kind  of just piggybacked off of it.  Fantastic podcast by the way if you're looking for some interesting camera topics.  

Prime lenses.  Well, I mostly shoot zooms for what I do with all the focal lengths in one neat package, but sometimes I just love a prime.  A long time ago, in the film days when you got an SLR camera, it always came with a 50mm prime lens on it and it was a good lens.  Prime lenses have many advantages to them. They have very sharp focusing, they usually have a wider aperture than zoom lenses do, and they are less expensive.  What's not to like?  Well, they are a little old school and not as convenient as zooms as you have to use your feet to fill up the frame by getting closer.  But I think zooms are fantastic.  And if you're in a stay-at-home situation, what better time to pull out those old primes and see things through new eyes.  Here is a list of my favorite prime lenses I have from shortest focal length to longest.  Now I have a crop sensor camera, so I will give the equivalent full frame focal distance also.

Rokinon 12mm f2.0 lens.  This little lens is a fantastic lens with very sharp results. This is the lens that I use mainly for astro photography and some wide-angle shots.  Its full frame equivalent would be 18mm.  This is a manual focus lens with manual aperture ring on lens.  Its action when focusing is very smooth and a dream to work with.  And to boot it is an inexpensive lens coming in at between $250 and $300.

Rokinon 24mm f2.8 lens.  This is another Rokinon lens made in Korea.  This is one of the lenses that I use for street photography with a full frame equivalent of 35mm.  This is a good lens for close quarters with a decent aperture. This lens is very light and the construction is good, but it does have a plastic feel to it.  This inexpensive lens is sharp, auto focusing and aperture is okay, and it comes in at $300.

Sony 35 f1.8 lens.  This is one of my favorite lenses and travels with me often along side my zooms as a lone prime in the bag.  This lens is super sharp and quick focusing, and auto aperture makes it great for street photography and general photography.  The build quality of this lens is great with a metal construction, but it's still lightweight.  It is a full frame equivalent of a 50mm.  Maybe that's why I like it, because the film cameras used to come with 50s on them.  This is a nifty 50 and comes in at $475.

The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. Sony 50mm 1.8.  This is probably one of my least used lenses, but it's great for portraits with a full frame equivalent of 75mm.  This lens has auto focusing and auto aperture and is sharp.  Its construction has more of a plastic feel to it, but for what I use it for it does great.  Coming in at $250, it's one of the cheapest lenses on the list.

Nikon 60mm f2.8D AF Micro Lens.  This is my macro lens.  This is a fantastic old lens that I've had for a while.  It's a full frame equivalent of 90mm, which makes it great for my crop sensor camera.  I have to use a Nikon to Sony Adapter and lose all of my auto focus and aperture.  It focuses smoothly with the focusing ring, and it has an aperture ring where I can dial in the aperture from 2.8 to 32.  You can still buy these new in the box for a little over $500, but I got mine used when I shot Nikon and just can't get rid of it. KiwiKiwi

Notible Mentions- I do have a couple of lenses that I have used in the past that I want to give a quick shout out to, some from the film days and some from my Nikon days. 

Nikon 105mm 2.8 Macro lens. If you have Nikon cameras, you must have this lens for your macro work.  Just a stunning lens and sharp and built like a tank.

Nikon 75mm 1.8 Lens.  Super sharp and inexpensive.  I have shot some great shots with this lens, and when I sold it the person that bought it fell in love with it.  

Pentax 50mm 1.4 lens.  I got this lens on a Pentax MX 35mm film camera, and it's a great lens.  I still use it when I shoot film with my Pentax, and I have shot it with my Sony with an adapter. 

Chinion 135mm 2.8 lens.  This was the first lens I ever used besides the 50mm that came on my camera.  I got it from a friend and never got rid of it.  It's so old that it has a screw mount on it, and I have to use an adapter to make it into Pentax and then an adapter to put on a Sony.  I've only used it once or twice on digital cameras but truly loved  the quality I got out of it, and it was built like a tank.

So those are some of my favorite prime lenses, and I hope you can get excited about primes like I can and put one on and get out and shoot.

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(Max Stansell Photography) 12mm 35mm blog Camera Film focal Length learning Lens Max Stansell Photography Nikon Photography Primes Rokinon Sony website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/5/its-prime-time-list-of-my-favorite-prime-lenses Fri, 01 May 2020 19:45:51 GMT
Luminar 4 Review https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/luminar-4-review Hi Everyone!  This is a review of Luminar 4 and the editing possibilities that it brings.  As you know, I have been a true believer of Luminar from Skylum software for quite a while. I used Luminar 3 a lot for the AI (Artificial Intelligence) features and as sort of a mix between Lightroom and Photoshop.  With Luminar 4 even more AI is available with Sky Replacement and AI augmentation where you can insert objects like the moon or mountains or an airplane.  All of these adjustments can be done very easily with the click of a button and moving a slider to make adjustments.  I'm mainly a landscape photographer, but the portrait photographer uses lots of AI features also.  I use Luminar 4 instead of Photoshop mainly because of the ease of use.  I'm basically lazy, and Photoshop is a very powerful and complicated program.  You can do all of the things you can do in Luminar in Photoshop, but it's very complicated, very hard to do, and time consuming.  So I use Luminar.  Let me go over some features of Luminar 4.

Basic Editing-  Luminar 4 can do all of the basic editing that Luminar 3 can do from crop to basic light adjustments, all done with sliders.  There are also AI sliders that will analyze your photo and correct mistakes such as contrast, exposure, etc.  Presets are also available to help edit your photographs.  With the touch of a button, you can add the preset to your photo, and if you don't like it you can make adjustments to the preset to make it stronger or weaker.  Landscape enhancer - you can enhance the color of foliage and really make them pop.  All of these adjustments can be made under the Essentials tab that is on the right of the editing panel.

Creative Tab- This tab is where most of the landscape editing is done. This is where the AI Sky Replacement is done.  This is a fantastic feature!  You can take a ho-hum photo with a blank sky and replace it with a more interesting sky.  Luminar 4 has some to choose from, and you can use your own and make custom skies.  Luminar does a good job of replacing the skies and masking out all the other things that are not skies. Also, AI Augmentation is under this tab.  You can insert objects into the photograph with this feature -- clouds, birds, airplanes, mountains, or almost anything.  Of course Luminar has some ready for you to use, but you can use your own objects also.  This is a very cool feature.  You can be very creative, and it usually just takes a click and a swipe of the slider and you're golden.

Portrait- This tab has lots of editing tools to help the portrait photographer.  First, there is the AI Skin Cecille Head Shot 2Cecille Head Shot 2 Enhancer where you can smooth out skin, and only the skin, but not take away the texture of the skin so it doesn't look like plastic or fake.  Under the AI Portrait Enhancer you can lighten the face to make it stand out, use red eye removal, eye whitening, eye enhancer, dark circles remover, slim face, enlarge eyes, improve eyebrows, teeth whitening, and lip enhancements.  All of these can be done with the click of a button and the swipe of a slider to make them the way that you want them to look.  I haven't used these too much, but I did use them on some older portraits and they worked great!  I was very impressed and am looking forward to taking some more portraits.

Professional Tab- In the Professional Tab you can use Advance Contrast to enhance the highlights, mid-tones, and shadow contrast separately.  You can use the Adjustable Gradient like you would in Lightroom.  With the Dodge and Burn you can use a brush and paint to dodge and burn.  Color Enhancer can make the photo warmer or cooler.  I haven't used this tab too much, but it looks like it will work very well.

You can start in Lightroom, export a copy of your photos with Lightroom adjustments to Luminar 4, and when you're done you can apply all of your changes and they will show up in Lightroom beside the original photograph.  Then you can export to whatever program or Facebook just like you usually do from Lightroom.  I really do like this program, and it makes some very interesting images.  So check it out.  It's a one-time buy just like Luminar 3, and it's under $100.  This is great software with lots of value and bang for your buck.  If you like creating, Luminar 4 is a great choice for photo editing.  So get out and shoot and have some fun!

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) AI Artificial Intelligence Augmented blog Editing learning luminar Luminar 4 Max Stansell Photography Photography Sky Replacement Software website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/luminar-4-review Fri, 24 Apr 2020 09:16:37 GMT
What About After the Coronavirus is Gone? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/what-about-after-the-coronavirus-is-gone Hey Everyone!  I hope everyone is safe and healthy.  This will be my last blog about the Coronavirus.  But this one is about what to do after the virus has subsided and the Stay at Home orders have lifted.  If you're like me, the virus and everything associated with it did disrupt my plans.  Staying at home has made many people very bored, me included.  As you know, I like to get out on the weekends and get into nature in some way or another.  Camping, backpacking, and of course photography is what I love to do. Swansboro Pier ReflectionSwansboro Pier Reflection The virus has put a halt to this, and I've been compensating by putting my hammocks and tarps up in the backyard and taking naps on the weekend.  I've also been getting my truck ready for travel.  Once the order has lifted to stay at home, I will be traveling again.  But what can we do to be ready to explore once the order has lifted?

First of all, get ready.  Get all of the things that will be keeping you from doing your hobbies done while you're at home.  For me it's clean out the garage.  It has accumulated all kinds of things over the year, and it is overgrown.  I will be cleaning and getting rid of all of the things that we don't need, downsizing if you will.  I have lots of boxes of old things that I haven't or will never use, old clothes that I will never fit into, and old books and electronics that are never going to be used again. So I'm going to get rid of them. So mainly get all of those honey do's done! 

Next Plan!  For me it's getting back to my personal project of visiting, camping, and photographing in all of the State Parks in North Carolina.  I had 13 of them completed when the Stay at Home order went into effect.  For now the project is at a halt because all of the parks are either partially closed or completely closed, and of course non-essential travel is prohibited. So what I can do is plan for when the order is lifted.  I can plan where I go and how I will stay if I do stay overnight. Will I be backpacking, or will I be car camping if I do stay overnight?  Will I try to visit two parks in one weekend if they are close to each other?  I can figure out what kind of photographs have been taken there before by other photographers by looking at Google, Flickr, and 500Px, doing the same research that I would normally do the day or so before but doing it now so when the time comes I can just pack and go.

I know that there is a lot going on now, and who knows what the future will bring?  Hopefully this will pass soon and we can get back to normal.  But will it ever be normal again?  Will social distancing become the new normal?  Will handshakes be something of the past?  Will working from home become the new normal and working in a brick-and-mortar store the exception?  We are living in a strange time, and we can only do what we can to get through it.  And we will get through it.  So this is the last of my Coronavirus series unless something really strange comes up.  I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, and until next time keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Coronavirus getting out hiking hobbies learning Max Stansell Photography new normal Photography Travel website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/what-about-after-the-coronavirus-is-gone Sun, 19 Apr 2020 10:47:01 GMT
10 At Home Photography Ideas To Try While You're Stuck At Home https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/10-at-home-photography-ideas-to-try-while-you-stuck-at-home Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe. During the Coronavirus situation that we have going on now, a lot of us are stuck at home. My last two blogs have been related on how to maximize the time you have at home.  Now that you know how to maximize your time, let's talk about different projects or ideas that you can do to try and experiment with.  Try one of the 10 ideas that you haven't done before, and of course, if you don't know how to do one of these ideas, you can always go on YouTube and search on how to do them if you can't figure them out.  So let's get started.

1. Selfies- Take selfies to document this time that you're at home. Experiment with light from natural to man made.  Maybe a gobo (Go Between) the KiwiKiwi light source and the subject to make unique shadows.

2.  Table Top Macro- Break out that Macro lens that is collecting dust and really start using it by taking Macro shots of things and details of your house.

Stupid BlackberryStupid BlackberryThis is an old Blackberry I used to have. 3.  Splash Shots- If you have an old aquarium laying around not being used, they are great for splash photography.  Dropping items like bell peppers, fruit, and other items and catching them in mid-splash really makes great photos.

4.  Bokeh- Break out those old Christmas lights, open up that aperture, and take some really cool images. You can put them up for backgrounds for portraits or behind things for unique images. USA PeaseUSA Pease

5.  Shoot Through- Find interesting things to use to shoot through to make interesting photos, looking through a cubbyhole or through things onto everyday life to make it interesting.

6.  Portraits- Take portraits of family members in different situations, family portraits of your family, and don't forget those pets that we love so dearly.

7.  Food Photography- I've been looking at Facebook and a lot of people are cooking.  Use your camera skills and take awesome photos of this food.

8.  Double Exposure- You can take double exposures of yourself with your camera.  You'll have to look into your camera manual of how to do this with your brand.  You can also do this in Photoshop.

Ava MLK Day10Ava MLK Day10 9.  Textures- Look around the house for different textures to take photos of while you're in the house.  From silk to woodgrain to granite table tops.

10.  Oil and Water Photography- Oil and water don't mix and can make very interesting photographs with a macro lens, and using colorful backgrounds can make some crazy images.

 

So get out in that backyard or on that tabletop and start creating some great images and cure that Netflix binging that you've been doing!

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(Max Stansell Photography) backyard blog coronavirus learning lightroom macro's Max Stansell Photography Photography photoshop portraits splash stay at home tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/10-at-home-photography-ideas-to-try-while-you-stuck-at-home Fri, 10 Apr 2020 10:17:21 GMT
Routine, Routine, Routine https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/routine-routine-routine Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and is healthy.  In my last blog I told you to look for that silver lining in being home because of the coronavirus, but I didn't tell you about one of the most important ways to do this.  It's Routine!  Now that we are home from work or school, we don't have to get up and take showers and do this or do that to get ready for work or school, and we just lay around wasting time.  I have two examples that I will tell you about that will hopefully encourage you to make a routine and stick to it.

During the first Gulf war "Desert Shield and Desert Storm,"  I was deployed to the desert very early on just a few days after the invasion of Kuwait.  When we arrived everything was chaotic and unorganized.  Our routine had been interrupted.  And in a big way!  Nowhere to sleep, eating MRE's, and trying to set up operations in a foreign land  in the middle of nowhere.  While doing our jobs fueling jets, we did away with our paperwork, safety checks, and a lot of other routines.  Guess what happened?  We started having accidents.  People were doing dumb stuff that they normally wouldn't do back here in the States at our base.  I don't know if it was that there were no rules or what was in the back of our minds or what, but we were making mistakes that we normally wouldn't make.  So our boss put his foot down and said operations would be just like at home.  We had to go through all of the motions, safety checks, and paperwork that we would have to do in the States even though it wasn't needed in a war time situation.  Guess what happened?  Suddenly no more accidents, no more mistakes.  We became very efficient.  Other sections on base started doing the same, and before long the whole base was working like well-oiled machinery just as we had been in the States.   So what is the lesson?  Try to keep the routine that you may have had before all of this Coronavirus stuff.  It will help you stay focused and be more productive.  Set hours to get up and go to bed just as you would if you had to go to work in the morning.  Take a shower and get dressed in the morning just as you would if you were going to work.  You don't have to dress in your dress clothes, but get out of those PJ's.  Make a list of things to do or things that you want to do, and everyday at home you can work on those during working hours.  After your daily working hours, then you can relax and get into those PJ's.

My second example was when I got laid off a couple of years ago.  When I was first let go, I freaked out!  I had never been without a job before.  I have worked since I was 15 and now I had nothing.  I went into emergency mode and started doing resumes and emailing and all of the stuff you do when you're out of work.  But after a week or so of pure panic and working on my problem all of my waking hours, I found that I could do the job hunting in a hour or two a day and then what?  I remembered the story above and set myself some goals and routine things that I wanted to do.  So I set wake-up times and go-to-bed times.  I got up, showered, got dressed, and did my hour or so of job hunting.  I made a list of things to do.  I decided to teach myself Photoshop, so I set aside so many hours a day to do that.  I also set aside time to do some hiking at my local State Park, and my dog and I would take a hike.  I had to live as cheaply as I could (no money coming in) and look for ways to be productive.  This was a five-month ordeal that worked out great.  I did finally get a job without too much of a pay cut.  I learned more about Photoshop (still lots to learn), enough that in a few weeks I'll be giving a talk to my Camera Club on Composite Photography, and we'll be social distancing with an online meeting.  So my big advice is to set a routine and stick to it.  Set goals and write them down and don't forget exercise.

As I'm watching the news, most of it is not good.  So turn this Coronavirus bad news around and use the time that it has given you to the fullest by setting routines and goals.  There are lots of things that you can do at home.  So stay safe, and when this is over get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog coronavirus hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography routine website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/4/routine-routine-routine Fri, 03 Apr 2020 09:01:43 GMT
Finding the Silver Lining to Self-Quarantine https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/finding-the-silver-lining-to-self-quarantine Hi Everyone!  I hope that all of my friends and followers are safe and healthy.  The last week or so the Coronavirus has been on everyone's minds and in the news with things happening very quickly and changing every day.  As of now 16 states are on some sort of lockdown.  Many Americans are at home, and if you look at social media, people are bored and it's only been a week or so.  I say find the silver lining in being in self-quarantine. Use this time to work on your photography, your editing skills, and of course getting honey do's done while you have the time to. LOL These are some of the things that I will be doing.

First of all I am very lucky that I can do some of my work remotely, at least for a while until that work runs Red HeartRed Heart out.  I usually commute 1 to 1-1/2 hours one way each day, so even working from home gives me 2 to 3 extra hours a day to get stuff done.  Now the first couple of days you're probably going to just veg out in front of the TV, and I understand everyone needs a break.  But after that's done we need to set goals and use this time well.  As you may know, a few years ago I got laid off and had lots of time on my hands.  Besides looking for a job, I decided to teach myself how to work in Photoshop, well at least a little.  I learned how to composite a little and found out how hard it really was to do and how much time it takes to do one image.  I've got some new software now, Luminar 4.2, and maybe I can play with it and learn some new stuff.  My advice to you is to get started if you're self-quarantined.  Get online and find some kind of program to help you learn whatever software you're trying to learn.  A good program to follow for Photoshop is by Aaron Nace.  It's a 30-day tutorial, and you can find it free on Youtube.  Just google "Phlearn 30 days of Photoshop."  This is a great place to start.

Blue Water SplashBlue Water Splash Right now there is not a travel restriction in my state "YET," but I'm sure it's coming before too long.  But when it does, or if you're just scared to go out and about, do photography in your backyard. The spring flowers are starting to bloom, and I have a ring flash that I haven't used hardly at all.  I think I will get out in the backyard and do some Macro work.  Or maybe you can take some shots of your kids or pets.  I'm in the process of watching a tutorial of pet photography, so maybe I'll get out and take some photos of my dog Forrest.  Maybe you can learn how to use that flash that you have but only know how to use it in TTL mode.  Learn how to use it in manual mode.  And the same with your camera.  If you only know how to use your camera in auto mode, learn how to use it in manual.  It will make you a better photographer understanding how your camera works.  After you're good at manual, then you can go to some of the auto modes, but you'll be a much better photographer for doing the manual first.

Start new projects.  For me I have many projects.  One is getting my truck and camper ready for camping, customizing  my truck or making tarps and hammocks to meet any situation I can.  I'm really a gear head whether its camping, hiking, or photography, so I can stay busy all day working on these projects.  I also like writing these blogs.  So maybe I'll get writing and get ahead of the curve.  I was just about two weeks ahead on my writing, but now I'm writing the week that I post them and feel like I'm being rushed.  I like to put out a blog every week or so.

Honey Do's!  There are so many projects that I need to do around the house.  Some of them require money, which if you're not working we can't do.  But some of them don't take any money.  My big one is to clean out my garage.  It has become so cluttered that when my small camper is in it you can barley walk around.  So I need to organize my garage and get rid of old stuff that I don't need.  That is my biggest project, and I'm sure your spouse can find lots of projects for you to do. LOL  My biggest point is to do all these things around your house so when the all clear is sounded we can get out and take photos, go camping , hiking, and get outside and keep shooting.  Until next week please keep safe and healthy.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Coronavirus learning lighting lightroom Macro Max Stansell Photography Photography photoshop projects self quarantine website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/finding-the-silver-lining-to-self-quarantine Fri, 27 Mar 2020 09:30:00 GMT
Backpacking - My Social Distancing https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/backpacking-my-social-distancing Callaway PeakCallaway Peak Hey Everyone!  This week I want to talk about my favorite social distancing technique.  Backpacking!  No, not the kind of backpacking that college students do in Europe.  But the kind where you pack all of your gear on your back and go into the woods.  You have your tent, sleeping bag, food, and everything else with you.  I love traveling at the speed of what your feet can take you.  It gives you time to see nature and experience all that is around you.  I am a late bloomer and didn't start hiking until I was 50,  My camera brought me outside.  I was taking studio shots, then to my backyard, and eventually to a state park that is near me.  Then exploring other state parks.  My travel companion then was my son, and we started hiking the trails of the parks we were going to.  Then we got interested in backpacking, but it's a big leap from day hiking to a multiple-day hike.  So we started training moving our miles up and up until we could hike 10 miles with a full pack and do it in about three-and-a-half hours.  We had a trip all planned out in the mountains at Doughton Park, a national park.  The trip was about 10 miles in and out.  We took smaller trips trying to work up to the Doughton trip.  Then we did it!  We started doing more trips, and our longest was a 3-day trip in the Smoky Mountains that we hiked 12+ miles a day and crossed waist-high rushing water many times.  It was an epic trip, getting out in nature and away from hustle and bustle and screens.  Most of the places we go there is no cell service, so phones can really only be used for GPS.

This is a story about my first solo backpacking trip all by myself, in the woods, with no one else to depend on.  It sounds kind of scary, but it really isn't.  My first solo backpacking trip was to Grandfather Mountain State Park in North Carolina.  I packed up the car and drove to Grandfather Mountain.  I left very early and got to the parking spot at the trail head as the sun was coming up.  I had my maps, backpack, camera, and everything else so I headed out.  After about 15 minutes I figured I was going the wrong way and had to backtrack. LOL Today's hiking was going to be all uphill!  A very big workout.  But even more of a workout than I expected.  There were ladders involved and rock scrambling, which I had done none of.  On the way up there was a landmark of a wrecked airplane which I stopped and took some photos of.  I only saw one group of people all day, and they were day hikers on the way down as I was going up.  I had lunch on the top of the mountain with a fantastic view as I ate my tuna wrap. Then it was down the other side of the mountain to my camp site.  It was a very rocky and uneven site, and they had built a platform for tents.  But since I was using my hammock, terrain didn't mater.  I used the platform to cook my food on and make a video on how I cook in the wild. YouTube Link  After setting up camp and fetching some more water (which was a 1/2 mile away), I did the cooking as you can see in the video.  After that, it was just relaxing and waiting for the sun to go down.  Now there are no lights and no electricity, so if you want to get around at night you need a flashlight or a head lamp of some sort.  But usually after a day of struggling and working hard, when the sun goes down you're ready for sleep.  Hikers, midnight comes right after the sun goes down and a great  night sleep happens.  Or should.  In the middle of the night I had to get up and go to the bathroom as most men my age have to.  So I stumbled out of the hammock and went to a tree out of the way.  While I was doing my business, I noticed some eyes looking at me.  It startled me at first, but as I kept looking I noticed it was a big rabbit. Not a bunny, a big rabbit, and it was watching me pee.  After I was through it scurried off, and I went back to the hammock.  Then in the distance I started hearing some chanting or singing, I couldn't really tell, and it kept getting closer and closer.  Something or someone was coming up the trail.  I don't know who they were, but it was after 12 midnight and these guys were hiking along the trail singing.  I don't know if it was a college fraternity or what, but it was strange.  I could barely hike the trail in daytime, and they were doing it at night and singing.  After they had left I went back to sleep and I slept well. When I got up in the morning, I noticed that one of my trekking poles that I had leaned against a tree had fallen over.  When I picked it up, I noticed that the cork grip on it had been chewed and gnawed on.  By that pesky rabbit I suspect!  I still use the trekking poles, and the grip always reminds me of the rabbit.  After a breakfast and cleaning up my campsite, I was ready to head back to my car.  Today should be easer than yesterday, right?  I'm going mostly downhill.  Well, I've learned that, for someone of my age and worn knees, downhill is worse than uphill.  Going uphill makes your chest beat hard, and going downhill makes your knees throb.  And the places that I had to scramble up the first day I had to go down today.  So basically I had to sit on my butt and slide down, which of course made my pants rip.  Well, I finally made it down the mountain and back to my car and was pretty worn out.  Now only a four-hour drive home. LOL  

This trip was only a small out-and-back trip, but as you can tell it has left an impression on me.  I had great views, a brush with wildlife (rabbit), saw a wrecked plane, and really got a workout.  But most of all I got away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  So I really was doing social distancing five years ago.   Just me my backpack and a map traveling at the speed of walking, taking in the scenes, smells, and sounds of the forest and mountain.  I hope everyone stays healthy.  While I'm writing this blog, I'm also watching the news and it's all about the virus that is affecting the world with sickness and death.  I'm hoping that you and your family can get through this with no big changes to your life.  And hopefully you can get back outside and enjoy some social distancing of the outdoors and wilderness.  Until next time be safe, get outside, and keep shooting.

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) backpacking blog camping coved-19 grandfather mountain hiking learning Max Stansell Photography Photography social distancing Solo Virus website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/backpacking-my-social-distancing Fri, 20 Mar 2020 08:45:53 GMT
Why Are Photographers Emotionally Connected to Their Gear? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/why-are-photographers-emotionally-connected-to-our-gear Hey everyone! This week we'll talk about why photographers are emotionally connected to their gear.  You have all heard the chants "I'm a Nikon guy" or "I'm a Canon guy," along with boos and hisses for the other company, especially when you're with a group of photographers.  Now I know that a lot of this is only just playing around, but is it?  I think as photographers that we get a emotional connection with our gear.  We have favorite lenses, lights, bodies, and it's usually the same brand.  And I think it actually makes good sense.  As someone who has switched from full frame Nikon to crop sensor Sony, I have some insight on why we are emotionally connected to our equipment.  So here goes a list.

1. Investment.  As someone who has GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), I have invested a lot of money into gear.  When you buy into a system say like Nikon or Canon, you tend to buy all of their lenses that go with that system.  You slowly build up your arsenal of lenses, and before you know it you've got $15,000 of stuff that you need to insure in case you drop one.  It just gets crazy how much money we invest on gear, and to replace or switch to another brand would be very expensive.  Believe me I've been there, done that.  We would have to sell all of our gear at a loss and then buy new gear of the other system.  We get protective of this gear like they're our babies.  So if we have Canon system, it's the best thing ever and anything else is inferior. So that's one reason that we are so committed to one brand. My Camera'sMy Camera's

2. Experiences.  With our cameras we get to go places and take pretty photos of whatever we specialize in.  Maybe it's pretty landscapes or portraits or wildlife.  And our cameras got us to these places.  We've made such a big investment in these small machines that we must take them to different places and use them.  And its great!  I think my camera is my passport to everywhere.  It's taken me to places and I've done things that I never would have done if it wasn't for my camera.  It's like a travel companion that I take with me everywhere.  It has seen and done the same things that I have, so you have the shared experiences together.  And the photos really do look great!  And you look at them, and they bring you back to the time you took them.  So you think it's because of the camera that you got to have that experience.  And maybe it was.

AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston 3. What other people think and say.  "Wow, that's a pretty picture! You must have a good camera."  Have you ever heard that?  And you probably said something like, "Well, I have a Nikon camera" -- blobby, blob, blob -- and you started going on with the specs and your shoulders went back and your chest started to stick out and you started to feel proud.  I don't care what you say, other people's opinions do matter, even if they are wrong.  Because you're a photographer, and you could have taken the same photo with an iPhone and they wouldn't know the difference, but you would.  And I get it.  I've shown up at local events with a big camera taking photos, and people would stop and ask if I worked for the local paper.  Or people have stopped while I was in the woods photographing something and asked if I was a professional photographer just because of my gear.  It's like being mistaken for a movie star or something, I guess (never has happened to me LOL).  But it makes you feel good inside, and you think that your new gear has given you a new persona.  And maybe it has.  When you're without your camera (which you should never be), you're just an everyday Joe.  But when you don your camera you're now a professional camera guy/gal on assignment for whatever your mind can conjure up. _MSP6316_MSP6316

Confession.  I love my cameras!  I'm a proud Sony shooter!  And I don't think that it is wrong to be emotionally attached to our gear.  I have the first lens that I ever bought for a Pentax camera.  It's so old that it has a screw mount.  But I will never get rid of it.  I have memories with that lens.  One memory is from when I was in high school and set the lens on top of the car while I was unlocking my car.  Yep, you guessed it.  I got in and drove off to work.  I got there and noticed it was missing.  I panicked, and I backtracked and found it in the gutter by my school.  Not a scratch on it.  So yes, we as photographers are emotionally attached to our equipment.  What camera gear are you attached to?  Think about it.  And until next time, keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera Canon emotional equipment gear landscape learning lenses loyal Max Stansell Photography Nikon Photography portrait Sony website wildlife https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/why-are-photographers-emotionally-connected-to-our-gear Fri, 13 Mar 2020 08:51:00 GMT
How I Camp / My Different Camping Setups When I Camp https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/how-i-camp-/-my-different-camping-setups-when-i-camp Hi Everyone!  This week I'm going to talk about all of my camping systems and when I use them.  You would think that you would only use one, a tent, but I have several.  The ones I choose depend on what I'm doing, where I'm going, and who I'm with.  If I'm with my wife, I camp in a certain way, and if it's just me and Forrest (my dog), I will camp another.  There are two types of campers.  There are those where the campsite is the main attraction.  What I mean by that is that they are more interested in the camping at the campsite. They are into setting up the campsite, making the fire, cooking, drinking, the whole campsite experience.  Where they are camping is secondary to the campsite.  The other type of camper is what I am.  I'm just looking for a place to sleep and eat, and I'm ready to go the next morning.  Where I am is more important to me than the campsite.  With that said the people that I camp with can be the first type of camper, so compromise on my part is always happening.  So what about the different systems I use?  Well, there are many.  First, tents.  I have several tents, and this is what I probably started camping in.  They are versatile and all you need is a flat piece of ground to put them on.  They come in many sizes and shapes.  Second, hammocks.  I have discovered hammock camping in the last couple of years and found them to be very comfortable.  I have made some myself.  Third, sometimes I camp out in my truck.  I have a bed topper and have made a bed platform so I can sleep in the bed of my truck.  And last but not least I have my Teardrop trailer that my wife and I purchased a couple of years ago.  So I have all these different types of camping systems.  When and why do I use them?  Well, here you go.

Tents.  Tents are one of the most versatile camping systems.  I used a pup tent when I was a Cub Scout.  I keep a tent in my truck for emergencies if I get stranded somewhere.  But to tell you the truth, I don't use tents often because I'm getting older, and sleeping on the ground isn't as comfortable as it used to be.  I mainly use them when I'm backpacking somewhere and I don't know the terrain were I'll be sleeping.  I have many tents and they serve different purpose .  I have one that's a dome tent (the one I keep in my truck) that's a durable tent, and it weighs about 5 lbs.  This is not the tent that I backpack with though because it's too heavy.  I have another that is very lightweight, just under 2 lbs., and that's my backpacking tent if I'm by myself.  But if Forrest is with me, then I have another tent that's a little larger and weighs about 2.5 lbs. so he can sleep with me in the tent.  So different tents for different situations.  

My hammock.  This is my preferred way to sleep when I'm camping.  It's very comfortable, cheap, and easy.  When I'm backpacking this is what I want to use.  If I know there are going to be trees (and that's almost anywhere in the Southeast), the hammock is what I will be using.  I have made a couple, and they have integrated bug nets with tarps for cover from rain and sun.  They are fairly lightweight so they are good for backpacking.  But if Forrest is with me, there is no room for him.  So if Forrest goes backpacking with me, no hammock.  But I'm trying to make him something that he can sleep in while I'm in the hammock.

The truck camper.  This is my newest way to camp.  I built a platform to sleep on and a drawer that holds all of the camping supplies.  I've only used it a couple of times.  This is mainly used to car camp.  While doing my project of visiting all of the state parks in North Carolina, Forrest and I will be doing a lot of car camping, so I guess this type of camping we will be using more of.  I can still use my hammock when we car camp, and Forrest can stay in the truck.  We've done this once before and it worked out well.

My teardrop camper.  My wife and I used to do a lot of tent camping when we were younger.  But I just couldn't see my wife sleeping in a tent when we got older, so we bought a Teardrop Camper.  It is pretty neat but is definitely Glamping (glamour camping).  When my wife and I go camping now, this is the type of camping we do.  It has all the perks.  Stove, sink, TV, AC, DVD player, just about everything.  My wife and I will set up an awning in the back where the kitchen is and we play cards and relax.  We don't use it as much as I would like to.  The problem with using the camper is that you usually have to make reservations way in advance, and the weather or other things can come up that messes up your trip. Last year we had six camping trips set up for the camper and only made one.  Bad weather or other things messed up all the other trips. Hopefully this year will be better.  We have a trip planned for two weeks from now.

So those are all my types of camping.  I hope you get a chance to get out into the wilderness and do some camping.  Until then get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpacking blog camping car camping hammocks learning Max Stansell Photography Photography tarp teardrop tents Trucks website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/3/how-i-camp-/-my-different-camping-setups-when-i-camp Fri, 06 Mar 2020 09:14:39 GMT
What About Video for Digital Storytelling? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/what-about-video-for-digital-story-telling Hey Everyone! This week I want to discuss video.  Now I'm not an expert at all and really don't know a lot about shooting moving pictures.  I have been a still photographer for most of my life and have only recently started shooting video, mostly for my own personal use.  I do have a YouTube channel with 30 or so short videos.  They are mostly of hiking and camping with some photography and photo editing thrown in for good measure.  But I do admire those who can tell a story through video.  There is a lot of forethought that goes into a small movie or video.  You have to have a story and a timeline in your head, and then there is audio that goes along with it.  That is a whole other world that I'm not familiar with.  A couple of my photography friends in my camera club shoot great video, and I'm inspired by what they do to try and do something similar. But it's hard to concentrate on still photography and video at the same time.  It's either one or the other, or you just do both poorly.  I'm still working on that one.

One of my personal projects for the year is to visit all of North Carolina's state parks.  This project is to, one, get me out of the house;  two, make more photography; and, three, do some hiking and camping.  While I'm doing this project, I had an idea to record my adventures with short clips of the adventure with my dog Forrest.  So I will have some "Forrest Goes to..." adventures.  Here's a link to the latest one I did, Forrest Goes to Fort Macon.  Hope you enjoyed the video.  What were the tools that I used to make this?  I currently have two Gopro cameras:  one older Gopro Session 4 and a newer Gopro7.  But I also use my phone, my Sony A6500, and my Canon G7XII.  On this particular video, I used all of the above in one form or another.  They all came in handy at different times.  The Gopros are great for action-type scenes, like Forrest hiking or the camera mounted to my truck to show us traveling.  I might even mount the camera to Forrest one day to get his eye's view of what's going on.  I haven't quite figured that one out yet.  The Sony A6500 and the Canon G7XII are great for still shots, like on a tripod for an interview.  And my iPhone, well, it's just always with me so it's great just to pull out when something happens and I don't have the other cameras with me.  I do have mounts for the GoPros and mini-tripods to mount all of these cameras on.  I have a cheap microphone that I can hook up to my iPhone to use as an audio recorder, but honestly I haven't done much talking in my videos yet.  All of these things fit into a little bag that I can take with me when I go out.

For video-editing software I use iMovie.  It's not the most advanced, but that's why I like it.  It's simple and I can do quite a bit with it.  I can export straight to YouTube from the software or export a file from my computer files.  I shoot in 1080 right now and don't see the need to shoot in 4K video for a couple of reasons.  One is storage.  4k takes up a lot of space on my computer and computing power for rendering the video, which might be too much for my current computer.  I am only putting the videos on YouTube and Facebook, and the quality doesn't need to be 4K.  The other reason is that all of my cameras, from phone to oldest GoPro, will shoot in 1080, and not all of them will shoot in 4K.  I get licensed free music from YouTube that you can download and use for free for the background music.  This music sets the mood of the video and helps me create the clip.

And all of that is the easy part.  The storytelling is the hard part.  You have to have a story in mind of how you will shoot it, camera angles and such in mind before you start videoing.  When you have all of your raw footage, then the editing begins and that's where the story starts to unfold.  Do you go in chronological oder, or do you just tell the story with maybe even flash back moments?  All of this is done in the editing.

I could go on and on about the powers of moving pictures, but you know the power.  You see it every day in television, movies,  and almost anywhere.  And you have a camera with you all the time.  That's how I started, with my phone on hiking trips.  So pull out your phone and start shooting video.  Have fun with it.  Shoot your cat or dog (not literally! LOL), put those shots to music, and you'll have your first movie.  That's all for now.  So until next time, get outside and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog gopro7 goprosession iphone learning max stansell photography photography story telling video videography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/what-about-video-for-digital-story-telling Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:55:09 GMT
Into the Future of Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/into-the-future-of-photography Hey Everyone! This week I'm going to don my cape and turban and pull out my crystal ball and look into the future of photography.  What will camera technology be like in the future?  Will we all be cyborgs with cameras built into our heads?  Well, I don't think so, and you don't need a crystal ball to see into the future.  You just need to pull your phone out of your back pocket to see what the next technology will be for your camera.  This little camera that is disguised as a phone with the little tiny sensor that takes such good snapshots that are good enough to be blown up to a billboard-sized photo is the future.  Computational photography will be the future.  Computational photography is software that fixes or alters a photo in camera, like the portrait feature on newer phones that blur out the background like a f1.4 aperture lens would.  Like being able to put your camera in a mode "Nighttime" that allows you to handhold your camera at night and get great photos without blur. These things are being done now in phones and soon will be, if not already, in your camera by using super powerful on board computers.  So this brings up the question about larger sensor professional cameras.  Will they still be made?  If I can take the same quality photo with a small sensor camera that I can with a larger expensive $4,000 camera body and a $2,000 lens, why would I buy the more expensive?  I'm sure there will always be the people that have the money and the high-end professionals that will need these cameras, but what about the ordinary Joe like you and me?  I think that they will start buying  (every day Joes) the less-expensive ones.  Now if you're using smaller sensor-sized cameras and lenses made for these smaller cameras, the whole package will be smaller and more portable and great for the everyday photographer, travel photographer, and nature photographer.  There will be things that will be built into the cameras that we can't even think of yet.  And with cameras using computational photography, instead of upgrading hardware every couple of years, you could just do a software upgrade to make your camera as up to date as the guy buying a new camera.  I believe that we have about topped out the megapixel bubble, and more megapixel cameras just take up more storage on your computer and not necessarily better quality phot's.  We have 100 MP cameras now, and for most of us who take photography seriously, the only way we could tell the difference between it and a 24MP camera would be to Pixel Peep on a computer.  But to the naked eye not so much.  So far we've been talking about what our cameras will be able to do in camera, but what about software?

Post processing is very advanced now.  Just think about what it will be able to do in the future.  The newest trend right now is AI (artificial intelligence), that we can enhance the photographs, shadows, contrast, and many more items by just sliding a slider. There are sky enhancers, foliage enhancers, and sky replacements.  All of these can be done in Photoshop, but newer programs are going to make these easier to do without having to be a Photoshop skilled editor.  I can only see AI getting better, and along with the computational photography, I only see stunning, eye popping photographs coming in the future.

Photographers EyePhotographers Eye Now, did I come up with this all by myself?  No, not really.  I listen to a lot of podcasts on photography.  One of them is the "Future of Photography."  The one that gave me the idea of this blog is "The Digital Story." The Digital Story Podcast #725  Click on this link to listen to the podcast by Derrick Story that gave me this idea.  I think that the future of photography is bright, and I can't wait, although I will be an old timer and will probably stick to what works for me. So until next time, keep shooting and get outside! 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog computational crop sensor editing full frame in camera iphone learning max stansell photography micro4/3 photography post processing sensors software website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/into-the-future-of-photography Fri, 21 Feb 2020 10:37:03 GMT
What’s in My Photography “Editing” Toolbox? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/what-s-in-my-photography-editing-toolbox _DSC4702_DSC4702 Hey Everyone! This week I thought I would talk about what’s in my photography editing toolbox.  If you have someone build you a house, the contractor has more than just a hammer in his toolbox.  He has saws, drills, levels, and all sorts of tools at his disposal, each with a unique task to perform.  Much like the contractor, as photographers we should have more than one tool in our photo editing toolbox because, like the contractor with the hammer, we cannot edit our photos with just one tool and expect great photos.  I’m going to break this down into hardware and software.  I’m assuming that we all have a lot invested in both, and I’m going to show you what I have in my toolbox.

Hardware.

Hardware is easy to explain.  It's your computer or computers.  But it can go 2563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f6212563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f621 much further than that.  It can extend to your tablet of choice and even your phone.  My main editing computer is a 2015 27-inch IMac, and I just upgraded the mechanical hard drive to a Solid State Drive.  It’s maxed out on RAM and is still pretty snappy to be five years old. This is the computer that I really do all of my editing on unless I’m traveling somewhere.  Attached to it I have external hard drives:  one for miscellaneous stuff and one for photo archives that my software accesses.  I use a temporary 250 GB SSD drive that I use as a buffer.  I was doing this when I just had a mechanical drive to make the process quicker.  I really don’t need to do this anymore now that I have the SSD hard drive, but it's just part of my process.  I leave photos on this temp SSD drive until I’ve finished editing to make it quicker.  Then I send the photos to the archive.  My mobile computer is a 2017 MacBook Air, and I recently upgraded the hard drive in it also.  I went from a smaller SSD to a quicker and larger 1TB NVME SSD drive that is twice the speed as the old one.  It has brought new life into this computer and made it very snappy.  I still only have 8GB RAM, but it seems to run the programs that I have on here pretty well.  Like I said, this computer is only used for editing when I’m mobile.  It's used mostly for browsing the web and stuff like that.  I have a 250 GB SSD that I keep all of my photos on for my mobile computing as a buffer also.  After I arrive home, I transfer all of my photos to my main computer.  I have an IPad Pro that I tried on my last big outing for my mobile computer, and it worked but was a little cumbersome to use.  With keyboard cover I have on it, it seems just as heavy as my MacBook Air.  And of course there is my IPhone.  I do occasionally edit iPhone photos on it and can access my photos from my main computer.  I do have an older MacBook Pro, a 2011 model that has been souped up and is my backup in case my main computer dies.  It is strong enough to run all my programs on it that I would need.  But it's older and newer software doesn’t like to run on it, so it stays put away most of the time.  As you can tell, I am pretty invested into the Apple/Mac ecosystem and have been for quite a while.  For me the durability of these machines and how they interact with each other is a great asset.  My main computer is backed up to a cloud service Backblaze.  All of my external hard drives that are hooked to it are also backed up.  The other machines are backed up using Time Machine.  Please back up your computers so if something happens you can restore a new computer and everything is as it was.

Software.

I use lots of different software to edit my photos, but my main software is Lightroom.  Lightroom is the hub where everything takes place.  It’s where I import my photos, do basic editing, and can send photos to different software to have specific things done.  Then the photo comes back to Lightroom where I can export it to the web or print.  It is the heart of all of my photo editing.  I have over 50,000 images in its catalog, and I will stay a Lightroom user.  Now there are two flavors of Lightroom.  There is Lightroom Classic, which is what I use the most, and then there is Lightroom CC (mobile) where I can sync photos to other computers like my mobile computer, IPad, and IPhone.  I only sync rated photos.  I can edit from a mobile device, and it automatically syncs to the main computer Lightroom Classic.  The mobile flavor of Lightroom is a stripped down version, but it still does a lot.

luminar_sq_logo_500luminar_sq_logo_500 Photoshop is another software that I use and is the industry standard in photo editing and graphic design.  It is a monster of a program and will do almost anything.  It can be very frustrating to use, and I only use it on occasion when I need to do something specific like add text or something creative like I mentioned in my last blog doing composite photography.  It uses a layering system of editing your photographs.  Like I said before, it can be complicated to use, and I usually have to watch a tutorial somewhere to relearn how to do something in Photoshop.  Photoshop to me is very time consuming because of all of the re-learning going on, but still it comes in handy and can handle any job you throw at it.

Luminar 4 is a recent addition to my toolbox and is also a very powerful tool.  It uses AI (artificial inteligence) to do some of its work.  It can do things like sky replacement where you just pick a sky and it puts it in the right place in your photo.  Or sky enhancement where you just slide a slider and it knows where the sky is and only adjusts it.  It has some portrait AI also that I haven’t gotten time to play with yet but will.  It’s a vey cool software, and I had Luminar 3 which was great.  But when Luminar 4 came out, the user interface was changed quite a bit and it freaked me out, so it took a while before I switched to Luminar 4.  I can send a photo from Lightroom, and it will go to Luminar.  I make my corrections, hit apply, and it sends the photo back to Lightroom so I can do what I want with it.

The Nik Collection of tools is an older software that has tools like HDR, Color, Sharpening, B/W tools in it.  You can export to one of these tools, and after you save it, it brings it back to Lightroom.  The tool that I used the most is Silver Effects Pro that lets you edit black and white photographs and make them look like some of the old films.  It can emulate lots of different films from the day and really make your photos pop!

Photo Editing Accessories.

Yes, just a couple of accessories.  One is a Color Monitor Calibrator.  I use one from Exrite, a company that specializes in color calibration from monitors to printers to projectors.  I calibrate all of my computers once a month to make sure all of my colors are the same with all of my computers.  So red looks like red on my IMac and MacBook.  I am a mouse guy.  There, I’ve said it.  I’m not a trackpad person.  I love using a mouse, and my mouse of preference is the Magic Mouse used with IMac and MacBooks.  It’s nothing special, but it's made especially for Mac.  The last accessory is a Wacom Pen and Tablet.  I’m a late adopter into the Wacom world, but I really like the way I can control my brushes when I’m burning and dodging.  It seems to work better than the mouse.  I don’t use it all the time, but when I’ve got to use the brush tool for any amount of time, this is the tool of choice for me.

So that’s what’s in my toolbox.  Seems like a lot, but most of this was purchased over time and learned over time, so it wasn’t such a big impact.  What are your tools of editing?  Let me know.  Until next time, keep shooting and get outside!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog iMac learning Lightroom Luminar MacBook Max Stansell Photography photo editing Photography photoshop software Wacom website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/what-s-in-my-photography-editing-toolbox Fri, 14 Feb 2020 10:02:48 GMT
Composite Photography/ Fake News? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/composite-photography/-fake-news Hey Everyone!  What a title.  I thought of this subject while at my photography club's meeting the other night.  We were going over the next year's activities, and I saw composite photography as one of the topics and hoped that they didn't want me to teach it because I've just done a few of them.  So then I started thinking of a title, "Composite Photography/Fake News."  What I wanted you to think about is do you think that composite photography (taking two or more photos and merging them in Photoshop) is art or just Fake News?  Are you a purest?  Do you think that no photo should be manipulated like this, or do you think that making an image out of many photos is art?  I'm sure there are some strong arguments on both sides.  On one hand, if you're a photo journalist or a sports photographer, the answer may be, yes, it is fake and not allowed.   And I can understand that in those circumstances.  But for the 99% of hobby and enthusiast photographers that most of us are, I think it is another way to show our creativity.  I am by no means an expert at composite photography.  But I have dabbled in it a little, and it is very challenging.  For those who don't know, a few years back I was between jobs for quite a few months, so I was at home with a lot of time but with no money.  (I never seem to have enough time and money at the same time. I usually have one or the other.)  So I decided to learn some Photoshop.  I followed tutorials on YouTube, starting small and working my way up to more elaborate composites, still following step by step.  I even inserted some of my own photographs of myself in some of the photos.  Then I started making some of my own with all the photos that I had.  Maybe replacing a sky, inserting birds or a plane in the photo.  Maybe adding a milky way into the shot when there wasn't one.  When I post those photos, I always say that they are composites and try not to say they were originals.  So in my mind Wells Fargo RaleighWells Fargo Raleigh compositing is an art in itself.  I think a photograph like a landscape isn't journalism.  I think it should try to convey the feeling that you saw when you were there, and if a little compositing helps to do that, I'm all for it.  

Composite photography can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.  Simple composites could be maybe adding a bird to the sky or changing the sky altogether.  Maybe you had a blue bird on a sunny day and you wanted a moody, cloudy sky.  You could take one sky out and replace it with another.  Maybe you wanted to insert people into the photo.  Or maybe you're a portrait photographer and you're shooting a group photo and one person has their eyes closed.  You can composite their head from another photo where the eyes were open.  Maybe you have a person who wears glasses and you take one photo with and one without glasses; then you can composite the eyes into the frames of the glasses to get rid of glare that was in them so it looks like a perfect lit shot with no glare.  But that's just simple stuff.  You can create completely different worlds with composite photography by combining many photographs and parts of photographs from different sources.  I have one photo here where I did that.  The photo looks like there was a war zone.  I took the buildings from a photo of bombed out buildings in the Middle East, a couple of wrecked cars, a cop on a Segway from a Christmas Parade, and a photo of me hiking.  So in the photo here it looks like I'm hiking through a futuristic war zone.  This photo took many hours of work and thought, but it turned out pretty good, I think. 

There are some things to remember when compositing. Light matters.  The direction and the intensity of it.  It should be the same throughout the whole photo.   NC Marsh LandsNC Marsh LandsMax Stansell Photography You have to be mindful of shadows and that they all go the correct way and are where they should be.  You should pay attention to edges of the parts of photos that you're bringing in and try to blend them so they don't look sharp and cut out but smooth, like when you're looking at a lot of objects.  Things should look fairly natural.  All of this is very hard to do, especially if you're struggling with the tools of Photoshop.  That's where I struggle the most.  I can see the photo in my mind's eye but struggle with Photoshop.  The only way to stay good at Photoshop is to do it a lot, which I don't.  So when I start to do something in Photoshop, I have to relearn how to use and do things, and that takes up most of my time and everyone else's, I guess.  If you had a good command of all the tools and how to's in Photoshop, it might not be so difficult to do these composites, and there would be a lot more of them I bet.  I have put some examples of some composites that I have done with the blog.  If you want to learn and follow step by step with a tutorial, go to YouTube and type in "photoshop composite" and there will be many videos of composites being made.  Most of them don't have any talking, but you can go step by step and stop and start and rewind the videos as you go until you have a completed image. After you do a couple of these, it will become easier and you can start making your own.  Then when you go shooting you can look for cool things to shoot that you can composite later.  Maybe skies or textures or all kinds of things.  So until next time, stay creative and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Artistic blog Composite Creative Fake News learning lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography Photoshop website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/2/composite-photography/-fake-news Fri, 07 Feb 2020 10:01:46 GMT
What to Do With Old Photos https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/what-to-do-with-old-photo-s Lightbulb Water LighthouseLightbulb Water Lighthouse Hey Everyone!  Hope you're doing well. While on the way to work the other day (I always have a long commute and time to think), I was thinking about all the photographers and all of the photos that we've taken and what are we doing with them?  Well, I've got a few suggestions and things that I do that will take advantage of that big cash of photos that you have hanging out on your hard drive doing nothing but taking up space.  If you're like me, you're not doing photography for profit, but just doing it for fun. Sometimes I think that the act of taking the photos and the experiences that I had while taking the photos is what I love the best, and the end result doesn't matter that much for me.  I delete a lot of photos, but after 20 years of digital photography, I still have over 40,000.  Now a lot of them are of family and friends, and some are of places I've been.  So here's some suggestions on what to do with them.

One thing to do is reprocess some of your favorites from the past.  Post processing has changed and you have grown as a editor, and you might be The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. surprised on how good some of these photos will turn out after you put your years of experience of processing on to older photos.  Editing programs have come and gone, and maybe you were processing with a different program than you use now.  Maybe that program doesn't even exist now.  While finding these photos to edit, your memories will start to remember the where and how you took these photos.  Maybe a trip you took or a place you visited will start to be fresh in your mind again.  Isn't that what photos are supposed to do, stir up memories from the past?  After you have them reprocessed, now what?  

Print them!  I think printing is the one thing that will let your photographs, your art, live for decades.  When you're long and gone, your printed photos will still be here and can be passed down to other generations to keep your memory and your art alive.  Who knows what can happen to a hard drive or if even the format that we use now will be able to be seen on a screen in decades of the future?  But a print in someone's hand will always be able to be seen.  Now you can print them yourself, a whole new art, or you can send them off to get printed.  Either way you will have prints.  And what to do with the prints?  I've created a love-me wall at the house where I have maybe 10 5x7 prints that I change out every so often.  You can have larger prints made, frame them, and use them for wall art around your house and, of course, for gifts to family and friends for art in their houses.  It's kind of neat to go to someone else's house and see your art on their walls.  You can have canvases made for pretty cheap, and they look nice also.  So what else can you do with the photos that you've brought new life into?

Well, this is the controversial idea.  Share them.  There are many ways to share your photos, and when I say share I mean put them out for the world to see.  There are many outlets that you can use.  Flickr and 500PX are a couple of photo sharing sites, and you can have people from all over the world look at your work.  Facebook and Instagram are others.  I used to post my photos on Facebook, but I have quit and now try to post to Instagram once a day.  So I have a folder on my desktop that I fill with photos that I want to put on Instagram.  When I have new photos from a photo trip or outing, I use them.  But when I run out of recent stuff, I'll go to the folder on my desktop and use one.  I like Instagram because I can tell a little about the photograph and I get likes and comments from all over the world which is pretty neat.  I use low resolution photos, and I'm not too worried about someone taking my photo and using it for something else.  I'm just happy that someone is seeing the photos that have been hiding on my hard drive.  It's a part of my daily routine.  I get up, get some coffee, and post to Instagram.  For those who know me, I get up real early.  So when I post, most people in the US aren't up yet.  So if I get a like real quick, I know it's someone from another country which is cool.

One benefit from going back in time and playing with these old photos is that it stirs up your creative juices and gets you into that artsy groove.  And that's just a great place to be.  Follow me on Instagram at maxstansellphotography.  So keep shooting and get outside!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Create learning Max Stansell Photography Photography social media tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/what-to-do-with-old-photo-s Fri, 31 Jan 2020 09:15:15 GMT
Day Hikes for Photographers https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/day-hikes-for-photographers Hey Everyone!  Today I want to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart and that's taking a hike. Taking a hike has many benefits.  You get outside and breath in the fresh air.  You get to see great and different scenery.  You get to travel at a walking pace, not a jump in your car and see how fast you can get to work or to the store or to wherever everyone is in so much of a hurry to get to these days.  As photographers, we have the unique opportunity to take great photos of these places and bring them home to share with our friends and loved ones.  These walks or hikes do not need to be long-drawn-out 10 mile hikes.  They can be short and sweet by a lake or by a river.  Here I will try to give some hints on day hiking for photographers.

First is where to go?  Well, the list is endless.  Many towns and cities have greenways that were built for hikers, joggers, and bicycles to travel on and can go through parks and wooded areas.  There are many city and state parks that have all kinds of trail systems at all levels of physical ability.  And there are national parks with all kinds of trail systems.  My advice to begin with is to look at Google maps or any kind of map and make a circle, say and hour or hour and a half from where you live, and start looking for places.  Let Google be your friend and help you find places.  You will be surprised at how many there are and how close they are to you.  Some places like state parks will have guided hikes on different occasions.  One of my goals this year is to visit and hike in every state park in North Carolina.  There are 34 of them.

What should I bring?  I'm going to break this up and start with photography gear.  Don't bring everything you own.  Remember, if you are hiking you're going to carry your hiking gear, so less photography gear is better.  I would first ask myself, what will I be shooting and what kind of trail am I going to be on?  Is it a wooded trail with trees surrounding me?  If so a long telephoto lens will not be needed.  But a wide angel might come in handy or a medium range zoom.  Will I need a tripod? Think about this in the same way.  What am I shooting?  Waterfalls, then I would need one.  Low light, then I would need one.  But if it's a sunny day then maybe not.  You have to assess what you will need to take and less is better.  I commute to different towns for my job, and at lunch when I get a chance I go into the town for a photowalk or a park for a small hike.  My camera of choice for this is a point and shoot.  It's a nice one, but a point and shoot just the same, and I can get some really nice photos without lugging a whole bunch of camera gear with me.  So that is an option for a day hike also.

What else should I bring?  Common sense should be the rule here.  If you're making a day of it, I would suggest a little food and a lot of water.  If you're in the summer sun, remember you will be sweating and you need to replace that fluid, so hydrate!  But always have some water with you.  One thing I always bring is some sort of rain protection.  I always have one of those $5 emergency rain ponchos.  They are made out of real thin plastic and are good for one use but they are a life saver.  The reason I do this is because I went on a hike once and was about 5 miles in when I got caught in a downpour.  Luckily I had a large trash bag with me, and that became my raincoat and protector of my camera gear.  But from that day on, I always carry that little emergency rain poncho.  Don't forget your smart phone.  If you're taking a longer hike and one where you could get turned around, they come in handy for the GPS.  Even if you lose signal they can help get you in the right direction.  And they are a backup camera also.  Don't forget about sun protection, a hat, sunscreen, or a long-sleeved shirt to protect you from the sun.  There are lots of new materials that are lightweight and cool but will still protect you from the sun.  Sunglasses are also a must if you are going to be in exposed areas where there's a lot of sun and no shade to protect your eyes.  Also a must in the snow!  Bug protection can be a must, especially if you're in mosquito-infested areas.  There are sprays and creams you can use, but the bugs will drive you crazy if you are not using them.

What about clothing?  For summer I would say lightweight, non-cotton clothing.  Cotton is not what you want to wear hiking because it will absorb the water or sweat from you and stay wet, which could make you cold or just weigh you down.  So no blue jeans or 100% cotton T-shirts.  Wear blends and polyester-type clothing.  It will wick the moisture away from you and dry quickly.  In the winter dress in layers.  A good base layer (long johns), shirts, coats, etc.  With lots of layers, when you're hiking and getting hot, you can take some off.  And when you stop for a while and get cold, you can put more on.  What about shoes? Shoes must be comfortable and supportive.  Walking, hiking, trail, and running shoes will work.  I would stay away from boots unless you have really broken them in well.  They can give you blisters very quickly if you're not used to walking a lot in them.

What do I carry all of this in?  A small bag or backpack that is lightweight and comfortable.  You probably already have some sort of backpack or bag you can use.  It doesn't  have to be fancy, just something that can carry all of your stuff if need be. Remember to always take all of your trash with you when you leave.  As photographers we should only take photographs and leave footprints.  So take care of our parks and trails and keep them clean.

Now that you have somewhere to go and you know what to wear and are dressed for comfort and safety, go out and enjoy nature.  Take a hike and really enjoy the world.  There is always something new to see and investigate, and I usually don't have to go very far for a nature adventure.  Me I love to go out with my hiking buddy Forrest (my canine friend) and explore different places.  I get exercise, I get outside, and I get photos that are not like everyone else's because they stay at home.  So get out and shoot!  And take a hike!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog hiking landscape learning Max Stansell Photography outdoors Photography safety website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/day-hikes-for-photographers Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:29:20 GMT
Finding the Sweet Spot of Your Lenses https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/finding-the-sweet-spot-of-your-lenses _MSP9571_MSP9571 What does it mean to find the sweet spot of a lens?  All lenses are not the same.  And even at different apertures on the same lens, you can see a difference of sharpness.  Lenses tend to lose sharpness because of diffraction.  This is a very technical term that means the light tends to split-up at either end of the aperture range.  Lenses tend to be sharper in the middle of the aperture range.  Say f 8 or so.  But that's just a rule of thumb.  How do you know exactly what the sweet spot is on your lens?  I know some people will say that my lens is sharp all the time in all apertures, but after the sweet spot test you'll see that it isn't.  All lenses are not the same even if th ey are the same brand and make.  If you have a Kit lens, this is a great way to figure out how to get the sharpest image out of it.  Here is an easy way to test your lens and find out what the sweet spot is on your lens.  First, you'll need a few things.  A tripod, a wall that has a lot of texture in it so you can see if it's sharp or not (like a brick wall or a wall that has lots of details in it), and some sort of photo editing software like Lightroom.  Set your tripod up and get your lens focused on the wall.  Put your ISO on say 100 or your native ISO for your camera and put your camera on aperture priority shooting mode.  Open up to your widest aperture, say f2.8 or whatever your widest aperture is, and take a shot.  Then go through all of your apertures to the most closed down ones.  After you've taken all of your photos, put them into Lightroom or some other software and start to compare the sharpness of the different shots.  Then before long you'll come up with a clear winner, or at least a couple that are almost identical in sharpness.  I'm not a big supporter of pixel peeking, but in this case it's what you want to do.  Make sure you look in the corners and all across the frame.  When you have your winner, you'll know what your sweet spot is.  You can do this to all of your lenses, and the sweet spot will be different on those lenses.  You can record the results or just remember them for future reference.  Now why is all of this important?  Knowing what aperture your lens is the sharpest can come in handy.  For me, when I know what the sharpest is, I tend to leave that lens at that point for general photography like just walking around.  And when sharpness really matters I know where to put my lens.  Knowing your gear and how it works, from your camera to your lenses, will save you money in the long run.  22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n You won't have to spend that extra money to buy the more expensive lens because it's supposed to be sharper.  You can stick with your old lens because you know how to make it sharp.  The same can be said with our camera bodies.  We probably only use 10% of our camera's potential just exploring the menus and reading the manual can help you become a better photographer and utilize the camera that you have, not the one that you lust over.  And I am as guilty of this as anyone else.  Always wanting the next best thing.  So save yourself some money and find the sweet spot of your lenses for sharp photos.  And as always keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Aperture blog learning Lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/finding-the-sweet-spot-of-your-lenses Fri, 17 Jan 2020 09:34:02 GMT
Setting Goals and Planning Trips for the New Year https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/setting-goals-and-planning-trips-for-new-year 20170107_Brownie Memories_013-Edit20170107_Brownie Memories_013-Edit Hey Everybody!  The first of the year is a busy one for me, planning the upcoming year and setting goals, both photography and personal goals.  This year has been no exception.  I believe setting goals is one of the most important things you can do.  First of all, it puts a plan in motion.  Gets you looking forward or to something.  It gets the gears spinning in your head on what you want to do.  This year one of my goals, or maybe you could say a personal project, is going to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina where I live.  There are 34 official parks and 7 recreational areas.  I'm sticking with the parks for now.  Since most of my shooting is on the weekend, there are just so many weekends in a year.  But this project will do a few things.  It will get me out of the house both for photography and camping, which I love to do.  I have visited all of the parks before, but not in one year.  I even have an end-of-the-year photo in mind.  A collage of all the welcome signs of all the parks I have visited.  So that is my personal project for the year. Live Oak PondLive Oak Pond

Another goal of mine is to do more printing.  To be honest that is always a goal of mine that always gets put aside.  I hope this year is an exception and I can print more and become a better printer.  I think that printing will keep your legacy alive long after you're gone.  If you're like me, you have thousands of images on your hard drive and probably less than half a percent of them printed.  After you're gone, those images on your hard drive will disappear, but printed images last a long time.  I just recently got all of my mother's photos from the past, and I have some from the 1800's that will be handed down to my children and theirs I hope.  So print more photos.

Another goal this year for me is not to buy so much camera gear.  I have a pretty good kit now and am happy with my gear.  We, and I mean me, always buy too much gear and are focused on gear more than we need to be.  If we spend less time thinking about the next best thing in gear and spend more time thinking about using the gear we have to the fullest, we will take better photos and concentrate more on what's in front of us instead of what's in our hands.  I've just done a blog of my camera gear for 2020 that you can check out. X Marks the SpotX Marks the Spot What I am going to concentrate on gear wise is my computers.  I currently have a 2015 iMac that I do most of my editing on and a 2017 MacBook Air that is my travel watch TV computer.  I have in the last week just updated both to the latest operating system Catalina and have upgraded both of the hard drives. On the MacBook that already had a Solid State Drive (SSD) in it I upgraded it to a faster and larger drive, from a 128gb drive to a 1TB drive.  This made the computer more snappy and works well in Lightroom CC and Luminar.  I also just upgraded my iMac from a 1TB hard drive (spinning drive) to a 1TB SSD drive which doubled the speed for this computer which is my main computer.  I did all the upgrades myself, and it has saved me from buying new machines.  My backup main computer is a 2011 MacBook Pro that I have kept pretty much up to date and snappy and which will run Lightroom Classic and full Photoshop with no problems if need be.

The next goal is to stay active in my local camera club.  I think being able to share and learn from others is a great way to advance you art as a photographer.  I believe that I have grown and have definitely gone to and seen places with my photography club that I wouldn't have done by myself.  Being able to try out new types of photography and see things from others' points of view has broadened my horizons and made me a better photographer.  So please, if you haven't already, join a photography club or go to a meet up and intermingle with others who have the same passion that you have about photography. Wormsloe TreesWormsloe Trees

Finally, one of my personal goals is to eat healthy and exercise more.  I started this last year and lost 30 pounds but have slipped lately and need to get back on the wagon.   The healthier you are the more places you can go and see.  Being healthy will make you a better photographer and a long-living one as well.  I'm not going to preach on this subject too much because I'm not the best example, but if you're like me, over 50, you've got to quit eating like you're 20.  Your body can't handle it.

So those are my goals for the year.  What are yours?  If you don't have some, sit down and make some.  Keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog goals learning Max Stansell Photography new year personal projects Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/setting-goals-and-planning-trips-for-new-year Sat, 11 Jan 2020 14:37:19 GMT
What's in My Bag for 2020? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/whats-in-my-bag-for-2020 Carolina Beach 2020Carolina Beach 2020 Hey Everyone!  Everybody loves gear talk, and I thought I would do a what's in my bag blog to tell you what I'm toting around this year.  I don't plan on making any changes to my gear this year.  My kit is pretty solid.  I'm trying to tame my gear down so I can concentrate on the photo and not the gear this year, although it might not seem like it in this blog because of all of the gear.  My gear is pretty much the same as last year except for a few items, so let's get started.  The bag that I'm using this year for my backpack camera bag is new.  It's a Shimodo Action X 30 liter.  I am super excited about this bag.  I was using for a backpack a regular backpack with an insert in it, and it worked but wasn't designed for photographers.  This bag is designed for photographers and action photographers, those who are climbing mountains, biking, hiking, and even skiing.  Although I'm just a landscape/travel photographer, this bag fits me like a glove and is just the right size for all of my needs.  I got it through a Kickstarter program, and I could be a spokesman for the company and this bag.  For my just walking around and in town city stuff, I'm still using my  Mountainsmith Daylight Lumbar pack with a Peak Design strap for the shoulder strap.  I have an insert for it, and it's fantastic for carrying around what I need for street photography.

Camera Bodies.  I'm still using the Sony A6500 for my main body and a Sony A6300 for my backup camera.  I still love these cameras.  I know updated versions of these cameras have come out, but for what I shoot I couldn't justify upgrading to a newer camera when mine works great. Maybe in the future they will come out with something that I must have, but right now they haven't.  For my everyday camera that I take with me when I go to work for the OH LOOK AT THAT photo, I carry a Cannon G7xMII point and shoot.  It's a great little camera, and I also use it for video and time lapse.  I have an older Lumix point and shoot that was converted to infra red that I can now carry because of the new bag for those shots that gives a different look.  Something that everyone else isn't doing.  It's not a great camera by today's standards but still gives good photos.  The only other camera bodies that I have are film and a GoPro Session 4 that I use for video when I'm hiking.

Lenses.  The lenses that I carry in my backpack for typical landscape or travel photography are a Sony 10-18 f4 lens for wide angle.  I almost got rid of this lens and then fell in love with it again  It was my favorite for some of the shots of my fall trip this year.  My work horse lens is the Sony/Zeiss 16-70 f4 lens.  It is on my camera 90 percent of the time and covers a full frame range of 24-105.  This is a super sharp lens, and I love the focal range.  The next lens that's in my backpack is the Cannon 70-200 L f4 lens.  This is a great lens, kind of old and slow (like me), but this is my least used focal length and it works great for me.  I use the Metabones adapter for it and any other Canon EF lenses that I may acquire.  Would love to get like a Canon 50L f1.4 but haven't come across one yet, but I'm still on the lookout.  My prime lens is a Rokinon 12mm f2.0 and is what I use for astro photography.  It is a super sharp manual focus lens.  My next lens is a Rokinon 23mm f2.8 which gives me that 35mm full frame range and is good for street.  Not real fast but sharp.  My next one is a Sony 35mm f1.8, and this is my favorite prime lens.  It gives you that classic 50mm full frame range, and it it great.  Fast and sharp!  I also have a Sony 50mm f1.8 and it's okay.  I use it for portraits.  It's not a very fast focus, but it is sharp when in focus.  The prime lenses go in and out of my camera bags when needed and usually only one at a time.

Tripods.  My main tripod is the ProMaster XC-M 525C carbon fiber tripod.  It's a small tripod and can support 17lbs, which with my small camera kit works just great.  I got it last year from my favorite camera shop, ASAP Photography in Greenville, NC.  I did buy a short extension tube for it so it will get lower down to the ground.  I have Peak Design camera buttons on it so I can use a camera strap to haul it if I'm going light with just camera and tripod.  I can throw the strap across my shoulders and go.  I just got a platapod tripod plate mainly to use when I'm in an urban environment.  It's small and sturdy, but I haven't used it much.  I'll let you know if I like it or not.  And then a Jobe tripod for smaller cameras and GoPros.  

Filters. This year will be the first year that I go completely to small screw on filters.  The filters that I'm using are the Breakthrough Photography filters.  I have the circular polarizor and neutral density 3stop, 6stop, and 10stop filters.  They are all at 72mm, and I use step-up rings to fit different lenses.  I have a Lee filter system, but it's just overkill for the small cameras and lenses that I use now and is too bulky to carry.  I do have separate circular polarizers that I use in my "Purse," the Mountainsmith cary bag, that fit different sized lenses that I carry.  I usually don't need neutral density filters when I'm using that bag to shoot in the city.

Accessories.  I carry an assortment of things with me when I go to shoot.  Remote shutter releases - I have two one cabled from Sony and another Radio from SMDV, a Korean company.  I had one on my Nikon when I shot which was fantastic, so I got one for my Sony.  A small hand-held blower to clean lenses and blow out stuff.  Lens clothes - You can't have enough.  I have them in every compartment and pouch.  I stick them everywhere so I always have one handy.  A lens pen with a soft brush to clean lenses.  Desiccant 20171102_untitled shoot_000120171102_untitled shoot_0001 Pouches - Whenever I buy something that has these little pouches inside, I take them and throw them in my bag.  You can get rechargeable ones that I've been thinking about getting, and you can put them in your microwave to dry them out.  I also make little personal packs that have sunscreen, insect repellent, glass cleaner (for my glasses), tooth picks, antacid, hand warmers.  I get all the contents in little one-use pouches and they all fit into a little ziplock that I keep in my bag.  I always carry an emergency poncho that you can get from Walmart for just a few bucks.  I got caught in the rain one time and had a trash bag that I used, but from then on I have that emergency poncho.  I also have a rain cover for my camera that I made, but you can get these cheap also.  I have a little battery and tool pouch that I made from one of my dad's blood testing machines that I use to hold spare batteries, small tools, and small quick-release plates used on the Peak Design quick clip that I have on my camera bag.  A ProMaster SD card case that is hard, water proof, small, and only has place for a couple of cards.  This was a promotional that one of my photo buddies gave me years ago, and it goes with me everywhere.  I have a Think Tank wallet that I always keep in a separate bag when I travel.

Well, that's pretty much what's in my bag or bags.  If I'm traveling overnight, I usually take a 13-inch MacBook Air that I got just for travel.  It's lightweight and lets me back up my cards cull and look at my photos and process a couple.  I have Lightroom CC on it with photos synced from my main Lightroom catalog at home.  I also have Luminar 3 on it if I have to do something a little special.  I usually don't edit on my laptop, only on my iMac at home.  If you have any questions about any of the gear listed, please contact me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.  Keep shooting!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) bags blog cameras gear learning lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2020/1/whats-in-my-bag-for-2020 Sat, 04 Jan 2020 16:28:42 GMT
The Scoop on Lenses https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/11/the-scoop-on-lenses Carolina Beach SunsetCarolina Beach Sunset Hey Everyone!  Last blog we discussed camera bodies and when and if you should upgrade.  This blog we'll be talking lenses and the scoop on them.  Kit lenses, primes, and zooms. So some of the big questions are: What lenses do I need? What is a kit lens?  What is a prime lens?  Zooms? These are all very big and difficult questions and can be overwhelming for a new photographer looking to upgrade lenses.  The answer to these questions are all from me, not necessarily the industry standard but my opinion.  And in my opinion, investing in good-quality lenses is way more important than what camera body you have.  Lenses last a lot longer than camera bodies and can be used for decades.  I still use on occasion vintage lenses from the 60’s and still get good quality results from them.  So buying the best quality lens you can afford to me is more important than buying the latest and greatest gadget body you could buy.

What are kit lenses? Kit lenses are usually cheaper-made lenses that come with your camera, and you usually buy them as a kit, hence the name.  They are usually not as sharp as more expensive lenses, but sharp enough for everyday.  The focal range varies by manufacturer.  The quality control on these lenses is not as precise as a more expensive lens might be, so you could get a copy that may not be too sharp.  But you could also get lucky and get a good copy that is extremely sharp.  I have a kit 55-210 lens that is very sharp and works well.

Primes vs Zooms: What are prime lenses?  Prime lenses have just one focal length.  A 50mm, 35mm, and 85mm.  So if you want the subject to be closer, you walk closer.  And if you want the subject farther away, you back up.  Primes are great for a few reasons.  They are usually cheaper, and you can get a larger aperture like f1.4 that can make great background blur for portraits or for separating the subject.  They used to be considerably sharper than zooms, but zooms have caught up to them as far as I’m concerned. They are smaller and lighter if that is a concern for you. What are zoom lenses?  Zooms have ranged focal distance like 16-35mm, 24-70mm, or 70-200mm.  If you want the subject closer, you just turn a ring on the lens and, zoom, they get closer, hence the name.  Zooms' advantage is that they are easy to compose a subject by zooming.  You can cover a number of focal lengths with one lens.  They are larger and heavier than primes if that is a consideration for you.

What lenses do I need?  First you have to decide what kind of photographer or photography you’ll be doing because the choices a landscape photographer may make compaired to a portrait or a wildlife photographer would be different.  What type of photo you are looking to get will determine what type of lenses you will be wanting to purchase.  Let’s break it down into categories.

Everyday shooter.  If you're just getting into photography and you shoot primarily when you take vacations and events your family and kids have, I would suggest the kit lens that came with your camera kit.  They usually have a large focal range from say 55-200ish.  It varies by brand.  But these lenses are versatile and can do a lot and are not specialized.  A good carry-around lens.

Landscape:  Landscape photographers like to shoot very wide or long.  So a 16-35mm and say a 70-300mm lens would work great, the greater the maximum The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. aperture you can afford.  F4 is fine.  2.8 is good also, especially for the 16-35 that would give you the option of shooting astro photography with the 16-35 when you have the 2.8 model.  For landscape photography, weight is also a thing to consider since you usually have to haul your gear maybe miles to the location you're going to shoot.  So the smaller aperture f4, especially in the 70-300, would make that lens considerably lighter and just as sharp because you would rarely need to shoot at F4 or smaller with that lens.

Portraits: Portraits can be shot with a wide range of lenses, but usually 75mm and longer give the best results, especially for head and shoulder shots.  And the bigger the aperture the better, so f2.8, 1.8, or even as low a 1.2 is desired to give that creamy blurred background.  Here is where primes really shine.  Primes seem to be cheaper and tac sharp compared to zooms with large constant aperture. When portrait photographers find a lens that they really love, they will shoot it forever.

Wildlife/Sports:  Wildlife photographers like it long, so 200mm plus up to 600mm.  These are large, expensive lenses to buy, up to $10,000, but there are some cheaper versions that work great for $2,500 or less.  They just have  smaller apertures.  Sports photography also falls in this category, but they use all ranges of lenses from wide to super telephoto.

Street:  Street photographers like 50mm and smaller.  Small concealed lenses on small bodies are great for street.  As s street photographer, you want to blend in with the environment, and a large camera with a big lens is just the opposite.  35mm seems to be the sweet spot for street photographers.

Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash So did I answer any questions?  Probably not.  You have heard or seen on YouTube about the holy trinity of lenses that every photographer should have.  They are a wide zoom, medium zoom, and a telephoto zoom and usually cover a distance focal length of say 16-200 and usually at f2.8 aperture.  Don’t get me wrong.  These are great lenses no matter what manufacturer makes them, but they are heavy and expensive.  And depending on what you shoot you may not need them.  My advice is to start with a focal length range that you seem to shoot a lot.  For me, a 24-70 range is where 90 percent of my photos are taken.  Rent that lens and use it awhile to see if it fits you.  If it does, great.  Buy it and shoot it a lot while you're saving for the next one.  By doing this you can invest in a good quality lens and take your time, save up some money, and get another good quality lens.  To me, one good-quality lens is better than three low-quality lenses.

So you're probably wondering, "Well, Max, what do you have?"  Well, I am a gear hound and have had a lot of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) in the past, but I’m trying to make my gear smaller in quantity and larger in quality.  So when I shoot landscape photography, I carry three lenses:  a 10-18mm f4(16-25mm full frame equivalent) for wide angel stuff, a Ziess Sony 16-70mm f4 (24-105mm full frame equivalent), a Canon 70-200 f4L (105-300mm full-frame equivalent), and a Metabones adapter for the Canon lens to my Sony.  For street photography I use primes, mostly a 23mm f2.8 Rokinon (35mm full frame equivalent), a Sony 35mm f1.8 (50mm full frame equivalent), and then a Sony 55-210mm f3.5-56 (70-300mm full-frame equivalent).  I do have a specialty lens, a Rokinon 12mm f2.0, that I use for astro photography and extension tube that I use with my Sony 35mm for macro closeup work.  I also have a cheap 50mm f1.8 lens that I use for portraits.  I have some vintage lenses that I also use, but these are my main lenses that I use.

I hope this has helped you.  Deciding on what to get can be confusing and a big investment.  Take your time and get what’s right for you.  Next time I think I will talk about finding the sweet spot of your lens, what aperture and focal length is the sharpest. Until then, keep shooting!


 



 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog buying learning lens lenses Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/11/the-scoop-on-lenses Thu, 28 Nov 2019 15:58:44 GMT
When Should I Upgrade? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/11/when-should-i-upgrade Hey everyone!  The holidays are almost upon us and spending is rampant with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Everything is on sale and you're thinking to yourself, I sure could use that brand new so-and-so gadget. This is a blog that is going to be the beginning of a gear series. This blog will be focused on camera bodies, what you need and what you think you need.  As photographers we are all afflicted with GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), some of us more than others.  I have had severe cases of GAS in the past and have spent more money than I should have because I just needed the newest gadget or lens or camera body.  But did I?  In most cases, I could have saved thousands of dollars and just kept the camera I had.  I should have invested in better lenses and not more lenses.  So this blog is going to be about camera bodies and when to invest in newer equipment.  There are some questions you need to ask yourself and be honest with yourself when doing so.  I will go through my thought process when I was last considering upgrading my camera body.

Question #1.  Will upgrading to a newer body improve my photography?  Although we all think it will, most of the time it won't.  Just because it's newer doesn't mean that it will improve your photography.  A lot of the time the newer camera is so advanced that we have a hard time just figuring out how to use it.  We all have been there.  The learning curve can be so frustrating that when we get the new camera we don't use it to its full ability and it is no better than the one that we upgraded from.  Most of us don't use our current camera to the fullest.  We know just enough to get by.  But if we learned our current camera and all the features, we might find that we don't need a new camera at all.  If you have a camera that was built in the last six or seven years, you have a good enough camera to do most of what you need.  Now, if you're a professional and you earn money from your cameras, an upgrade might come earlier.  But if you are a hobbyist like I am, most of your work is on the web and a few prints, and any camera that was built recently will be fine. 

AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston Question #2.  Is the upgrade you're considering worth the money that you're going to fork out for it?  This is a personal question.  Some folks have lots of money at their disposal and can upgrade every year and more power to them.  But if you're like me money matters.  Recently, I had been waiting for the newest Sony upgrade in the Crop Señor line that I shoot with.  The rumors were rampant on what this new camera would have.  When it finally came out over a year later, I was under whelmed.  Don't get me wrong.  It's a great camera.  But for the type of photography I do, I didn't need all of the upgrades that this camera made.  I don't do video, so 4k anything doesn't mean that much to me.  Super fast focusing although is great.  I'm a landscape and travel type of photographer, so the speed really didn't mean much.  It had the same sensor that I have, so I didn't upgrade to the newest model.  Instead, I bought a used camera that was one version better than the one I had, and I saved more than half the price of a new body.

Question 3.  What can you do with the new body that you can't do with your current one?  When I wanted an upgrade, one of the biggest features I was looking for was in-camera stabilization.  The camera I had didn't have it, but the next model did.  With my old body, in lower light I had to put it on a tripod, and I can go lower with my newer camera. My newer camera was released in 2016, but it does stuff that my older camera didn't.  It has in-body camera stabilization.  It has bluetooth.  It has a larger buffer.  But other than that, it's virtually the same as my older camera.  They operate almost the same, so my backup and my main camera are set up the same.  I can go from one to the other seamlessly, which I would not have been able to do with the latest and greatest that came out this year in 2019.

Question 4.  What type of photography do you do and does the newer camera body improve it?  If you are a sports photographer or a wildlife photographer, a fast focusing, fast shutter, high buffering camera is what you need to do the job.  If you are a portrait photographer, those qualities really don't matter.  If you're a stills photographer, all the video features really don't matter.  If you are a portrait photographer, a full frame sensor might make sense to create those shallow depth-of-field portraits.  If you are an astro photographer, a full-frame sensor might make more sense for the low-light capabilities.   Photographers EyePhotographers Eye

Question 5.  Do I need a full-frame sensor or will a crop sensor do?  When I switched from a full-frame Nikon D800, one of the concerns I had was would I lose image quality.  I can say that, for the type of photography I do, I didn't.  The Nikon I was using was a 36mp camera, and it was an awesome camera.  I went to a smaller 24mp camera, and I really couldn't see the difference.  It did take a long time for me to make the decision to do it, but I put photos side by side and, other than size, there was no difference in quality for me.  I believe that for most people sensor size doesn't matter, and you can create great photos with smaller sensors.  If you specialize in something that a larger sensor might matter, like astro photography or portrait photography or plan on printing really large, you might need a full-frame sensor.  But if you're a hobbiest like I am, the crop sensor works.  I can still do astro photography and portraits and have no problem doing them with a crop sensor.

If you ask yourself these questions and are honest, you can save yourself some money and you can put that extra money that you saved into lenses!  I believe that lenses are where you should invest your money.  Buy the best lenses that you can afford.  The next blog will be about lenses and how I have mine set up.  Yes, a little GAS is in my lenses also.  Keep shooting!

 


 

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera body learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/11/when-should-i-upgrade Sat, 23 Nov 2019 20:43:35 GMT
What Photography Does for Me https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/what-photography-does-for-me Carolina Beach SunsetCarolina Beach Sunset Photography is more than just a hobby for me.  Photography got me out.  It got me out of the house.  It got me out of my shell and got me to be more creative.  Photography and I have been dancing partners for quite a while. When I was a teenager in the mid-70s, I got my first real camera, a Pentax K1000 35mm film camera.  I was self-taught, which means I made lots of mistakes and ruined lots of film.  We didn't have any YouTube then or videos to learn from, so I had to learn from books and magazines.  I mainly took photos of friends and family and some scenic stuff and would send the film out and wait a week to see what I got.   DiceDice When I joined the military, my camera came with me, but I didn't use it that much and actually sold it at one point and was without a camera for a time until I bought another Pentax that I still have to this day and use from time to time.  But again, it was family and friends, and holidays was the only time I used it.  I dabbled in black-and-white photography and even had a dark room rig that I set up in the bathroom.  Then something happened. Digital came out!  My first digital camera was a Kodak point and shoot, only a couple of megapixel, and I kept upgrading and experimenting with photography.  A lot of table top photography, lighting, and the occasional family portrait. When my daughter got pregnant, that was all the excuse I needed to get a DSLR, and then my photography world blossomed.  I started shooting all over the house doing macro work and then out to the local State Park.  Before I knew it, I had AvaAva gotten a map and started my journey to the outside, outside of my house and the comfortable environment that I was used to.  I started with festivals.  There are all kinds of festivals that you can visit, especially in the spring and fall, and they got me traveling every weekend going here and there.  This also got my wife going with me which was a plus.  Then I started a quest to visit every state park in NC.  I had a map and marked them off as I got to them.  My photography started to change then also.  I started doing more landscapes, more trails, and started hiking at age 50.  What a time to start.

My hiking started as a way to get there.  To get to the photographs that other photographers were not going the extra mile to get to.  But then I started to enjoy the hike almost as much as the photography, but not quite.  As the hikes got longer and more frequent, my son and I started thinking about hiking and staying overnight, and we started car camping (camping where you drive to the spot, pitch a tent, and camp) and then we could hike from there.   Goose Creek GrassGoose Creek Grass That made the farther places easier to go to; because of the longer drive, spending the night just made sense. We would go to places like Pilot Mountain State Park that is about a four-hour drive from the house.  Then we got the idea, why don't we go somewhere and backpack in (all your food, tent, clothes in a backpack) and then backpack out?  So we started training.  It's much more difficult to hike with a heavy pack on your back.  Our goal was a 10-mile in and out loop at Doughton Park, a national park in the mountains.  So we started hiking and increasing our mileage and weight on our packs until we were ready.  And we did it!  We drove up on a cold night, slept in the parking lot, and hiked out at first light.  It was colder than expected (our water froze).  But we had a great time, and I got some photos that I wouldn't have gotten if I had just stopped by the road and took a shot.  That's how I got into backpacking; it was photography that got me out.

Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash During all the hiking and photography from the start of digital I found the local photography club.  I had been living in this town for almost 15 years when, while I was on Facebook, I found a former troop of mine from when I was in the military.  I was looking at his Facebook page and noticed that he was one of the officers of the club.  I didn't even know a club existed.  So I got in touch with him and went to the next meeting.  And a new world opened up.  I could talk about photography and people's eyes wouldn't roll back in their heads.  We could talk about photography for an hour or so, and it was great!  I really got into the club, went on all the outings and workshops, and really enjoyed it.  The first Help Portrait I went to they had me take some of the portraits.  I had never used lights before, but they kinda set me up and then I was taking portraits.  Not very good ones, but I was doing it.  I was talking and taking photos of people I din't know.    The club got me out. Photography got me out of my shell.  It has gotten me to do this blog, this website, and post photos online.  Now, my gear has changed over the years and what I shoot has changed a little, but my love for photography has never changed, even when I let it go for a while.  Now I'm closer to 60 than I am 50, and I still get excited when going out on a photo shoot, whether it's to a festival or a waterfall, sunrise or sunset. Whether I'm in a big city or a secluded bay, I get excited and still feel creative.  Now, I don't really make any money.  Every now and then I sell something.  But photography has given me more than money; it has given me a way out!  So be like me and get out!  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/what-photography-does-for-me Fri, 25 Oct 2019 15:00:00 GMT
After Workshop Report - "What Worked and What Didn't" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/after-workshop-report-what-worked-and-what-didnt Well, I went on my camera club's annual fall colors workshop. I didn't get to go to the full week-long workshop, but I did get to go for a few days and had a blast taking photos and fellowshipping with good photography friends. We stayed in a log cabin house that was very large and nice where the dozen of us stayed.  We had an itinerary of places to go all week long rising up early in the morning and coming home late.  These workshops are really "work," but they are fun also.  Waterfalls and fall colors are our goal, but we try to do new things also.  This year we did light painting with waterfalls which was a new adventure for us, but it turned out well.  I always try new things while on the workshop and really decided to go fully to mirrorless and to a crop ASP-C sensor on one of these workshops.  Every year I have failures and successes and really learn a lot from both.  I had no real hard failures but had a couple of surprise successes.

The first was my lens arrangement that I was to take and use while there.  My main lens, a Sony-Zeiss 16-70 f4 lens, didn't change.  It was wonderful and I got some great shots with it.  It had a polarizer on it most of the time because of shooting around water and we had some rain that would have produced a lot of glare.  I probably used this lens 80-90% of the time, and it was sharp and quick.  My long or telephoto lens was a 70-200mm f4 Canon L lens, a great lens, and it really worked well.  I am using a Metabones adapter to fit it to my camera and it works well.  Maybe not as fast as a native lens, but it works well for me and it's sharp.  I brought a Sony 35mm f1.8 and I never took it out of the bag.  Then it comes to my real dilemma, which wide angel to use.  I originally intended to use only a Rokinon 12 mm f2 lens but then thought about the Sony 10-18mm f4.  I went back and forth many times, packing one to go on the trip and then the other.  I finally decided to take both since I was driving and storage space was not a priority.  I did take both but only used one, the Sony 10-18 f4.  It was sharp, fast, and made beautiful photographs.  I was very pleased.  This is a lens that I haven't used too much before and was actually thinking of selling it.  But no more.  It will be in my bag for a long time.  It gave me some of my best photographs of the whole trip.  The Rokinon is a great lens, and I will keep it for astro photography because of its wide aperture. 

My next biggest experiment was to go without a laptop and only use an iPad.  This was not the success that I thought it would be.  I was using a 10.5 inch iPad Pro 2018 model.  It worked well enough but wasn't the laptop that I enjoy using.  I also like to use Luminar 3 photo editing software in conjunction with Lightroom, and I couldn't use it with my iPad.  I was also using Lightroom or the mobile version of Adobe Lightroom Classic, which is not as strong of a program as the classic version.  I joined the iPad with a WD Passport SSD Pro which is a Wifi enabled SSD hard drive that I could hook up the iPad with.  The drive worked well.  The only problem I had was operator error, but I learn quickly.  The iPad did work okay, but I much prefer editing on a laptop.  My travel laptop is a MacBook Air and, although not as powerful as a MacBook Pro, it does work well and is lighter.  So on my next big outing the MacBook Air will be the computer of choice for my editing of images.

My next experiment was to use screw-on filters instead of the 100mm Lee filter system I have used in the past.  These filters are a smaller and more compact choice and match up well with my Sony mirrorless system.  The brand that I used was Breakthrough Photography Circular Polarizer and Neutral Density filters.  I got one set of polarizer and a 3 stop Neutral Density at 72mm, the largest size of any lens I have, and use step-up rings to attach to different lenses.  I only used this combination one time as it was cloudy or overcast, and I only needed my polarizer most of the time.  It worked very well and will be my system of choice for my small mirrorless system.

My last experiment was letting my camera sync with my phone via bluetooth to get GPS information.  This was the biggest success of all of my photo experiments.  It worked flawlessly, and all of the photos that I took with my Sony A6500 I can go to the map section of Lightroom and see where I took them.  This is a very useful tool to have in my toolbox. As a landscape photographer, I can easily forget where I took a photograph.  But with the GPS info embedded into the metadata, I won't have this problem again.

The only thing that didn't work well was that I had to leave early and couldn't stay the whole week long.  It was a sad day when I had to drive home the last day knowing all of my photo buddies were still there having a photo adventure. One of the best things I ever did was to join a photography club.  If you ever have the chance, please do so.  If you live in eastern NC, come visit GAPC (Goldsboro Area Photography Club).  We meet once a month and have workshops and outings every month.  We have one big trip per year (week long), and we participate in Help Portrait, a program where photographers give back to their community.  Well, that's enough for now. Get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/after-workshop-report-what-worked-and-what-didnt Sat, 19 Oct 2019 22:16:21 GMT
I'm Back! What I've Been up To https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/im-back Wow!  It's been a long time since my last posted blog.  I've had a lot of family things going on and really haven't had the time or the motivation to do a blog.  It's been kind of a ho-hum year, but I did just get back a couple of weeks ago from a trip to Washington DC where my wife and I spent the week. I took a little point and shoot with me, a Canon G7X Mark II, a 20 megapixel one-inch sensor camera that did well for most of my snapshots, and I only missed my Sony a couple of times.  This coming weekend I'm going to the mountains with my camera club and am really looking forward to shooting again.  Really the DC trip got me out of my funk and got me motivated to shoot again.  I did add a camera to my photography kit, a Sony A6500 that I bought used from a club member that upgraded to the full sensor Sony. I have been shooting the Sony A6300 which has the same sensor as the A6500, but the newer camera has a couple of other features that I was looking for.  The first was the in-body stabilization (IBS).  I have been wanting this for a while.  Also, it has a touch screen, but it's only used for moving the focus point around.  I got spoiled using the Canon point and shoot because the touch screen is very nice and versatile on it, unlike the Sony.  It also has bluetooth, something I didn't know I wanted.  Seems I can use this feature to pair to my phone and send the GPS coordinates to my camera so they can be recorded in the metadata of the photo.  Very cool.  The newer Sony can
also buffer more shots than the 6300 can that could be helpful.  So anyway back to the trip to the mountains.  Here are some of the things that I will be trying out while there.

The GPS function that I mentioned before I will try, and hopefully it will work seamlessly.  On my test today it worked well.  So I hope to have GPS on all of my photos in the future to help me figure out where I took that shot.  My lens selection is a little strange this year.  I'm taking four lenses, and all of them are by different manufactures. Here is a list of them, from smallest to largest focal length:  The Rokinon 12mm - This is a very sharp lens with a 2.8 maximum aperture. It is an inexpensive lens but very sharp when in focus, and it is a manual-focus lens.  The Sony 35mm - This is
the equivalent to a 50mm lens in full frame and is very sharp.  I'll use this when I really need a wide aperture.  The next is my favorite lens.  The Sony-Zeiss 16-70mm lens with an 4.0 maximum aperture - Probably 80-90 percent of all of my photos fall in this 24-105mm full-frame range.  This is a very sharp lens, small and compact.  My longest lens is the Canon 70-200f4 L lens.  This is the only Canon lens with the "L" markings that is not f2.8 or wider.  This is an excellent lens and gives me a full-frame focal length of 100-300.  I got this lens on a sale, but it's awesome.  I use the Metabones adapter with this lens.  It's not as fast as the Sony, but I don't shoot a lot at these longer focal lengths. Which brings me to the next thing.  I'll have a true backup camera in the A6300 and may shoot both of them while out with a telephoto on one and my 16-70 on the other.


Another thing I'll be doing different this year is that I'm not going to take a laptop with me.  That's right, no laptop on a photography trip.  This year I'll be taking an iPad pro with Lightroom CC Mobile on it to make edits.  I'll be using a Western Digital SSD drive that has WiFi to back up all of my photos from my SD cards.  I can view them on my iPad and transfer and edit the ones I want in Lightroom CC for Instagram and such.  Then when I get home I can Import all of the photos into my Lightroom Classic Catalog and go through them.  This will be a big change for me this year and is still just a trial.  I have a MacBook Air where I can do the same thing with Lightroom CC Mobile, but I wanted to try the iPad this year and see how it works. 

Other than photography news, I have been doing some hiking and camping this year and have taken a couple of backpacking trips.  I took a couple of solo trips, one with my dog Forrest to Raven Rock State Park and one to Uwharrie National Forest.  I took a couple of other backpacking trips with my son Mark, one to South Mountain State Park and one to Uwharrie National Forest.  I have lost 30 pounds this year so far, and my knee has been doing well.  I have been making a lot of our camping equipment like hammocks, bags, stuff sacks, and even made a tent for Forrest to sleep in, so I have been busy sewing. Yes, I know it sounds funny, a 50ish-year-old man sewing, but I'm pretty good at doing this kind of sewing.  I have some more projects for this year.  I plan on making a winter tarp for my hammock and maybe a hiking fanny pack.  Yep, I said it, fanny pack.  I had six trips planned and places reserved to take my little teardrop trailer camping, but we only got to take it on one trip to Cedar Point National Recreation Area down on the coast.  All of our other trips either got rained out or something else got in the way of us going.  I need to start planning for next year's trips.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning max stansell photography photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/10/im-back Sun, 06 Oct 2019 22:36:31 GMT
Luminar 3 with Libraries First Look https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/1/luminar-3-with-libraries-first-look Hey Everyone!  I hope everyone's new year is starting out good.  In this blog post I want to talk about the new Luminar 3 with Libraries and if it is an alternative to Lightroom.  I have been using Lightroom from almost the beginning of the software and watched as it has turned into the main photo editing and digital asset manager for almost everyone.  It is the true standard that all other softwares are compared to.  When it started being a subscription service, many did not like the monthly payment scheme.  I didn't mind too much because it was the price of a couple of Big Mac meals, and I remember the price of a full Photoshop or Lightroom for that matter.  Photoshop was $600-$800, and Lightroom was $150.  So the $120 a year was a small price to pay to get the most current versions of both.  But others didn't like this at all.  There were some other contenders at the time like Corral and Aperture, but they didn't have the power of Lightroom and Photoshop.  Lightroom and Adobe have had a monopoly on the image editing software business.  But new contenders are starting to come in, like Capture One and Luminar with DAM (digital asset managers) of their own, giving Lightroom a little cause for concern.  I currently have used Capture One 12 on a trial basis and did like what I got with it.  If I were a studio portrait shooter, it would be the perfect choice for me.  Its tethering capabilities are unmatched as far as I'm concerned, and its RAW conversions are beautiful.  You can see my last blog here Capture One 12 first look  luminar_sq_logo_500luminar_sq_logo_500

I purchased Luminar last year and have been experimenting with it as a kind of go-between of Lightroom and Photoshop.  I use it as a plugin, and it works great with beautiful colors and tools that are not easily done with Lightroom or Photoshop.  And I'm all about easy.  But how does it work as a digital asset manager?

First, let me say that it is not as advanced as Lightroom as an asset manager.  You can rate your photographs and use the star system.  You can organize from within Luminar and from the outside of Luminar which can be confusing.  You basically tell Luminar what folder you're going to put photographs in, and it will look there.  It does keep a catalog with all of your changes much like Lightroom does, but not as robust as Lightroom, which can be good or bad. To me Lightroom has become a sluggish program over the years, and with the more features they put into it, the slower it becomes.  But as many of you, I have been using Lightroom for so long that almost all of my photographs are in a Lightroom catalog, and to switch to a new system now isn't really where I want to go.  But as a photo editor I think that Luminar is almost as good, and better at some things, as Lightroom is.

Who do I think that Luminar 3 is for?  I think that Luminar 3 is for new photographers who are just getting started and don't have large Lightroom catalogs already established, for people who are still using Bridge or some Finder or Windows Explorer based program.  I believe that in the future Luminar will make its digital asset manager better and better and at some point I will say now is the time to move, but now is not that time for me.  I will still use it as a plugin to Lightroom and as a go-between of Lightroom and Photoshop.  I recently went on a photo outing, and all of the photos I shot I brought into Lightroom, did my culling thing, and for the winners I did a quick edit and then sent them to Luminar to really make them look the way I wanted.  It worked out great for me, and I'll bet it could for you too.  On my travel laptop, a MacBook Air, I have taken Lightroom off of the computer and only use Luminar 3.  When I travel I only want to process a few photos and then send them to Instagram or Facebook, and the rest I can upload into Lightroom when I get home.  You can purchase it for $69, so it's fairly inexpensive.  Give it a try.  I believe after a while you will enjoy it as I do.  Here is a link to a podcast from The Digital Story that talks about Luminar 3.

The Digital Story Luminar 3 with Libraries Podcast

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 3 blog Editing learning Luminar Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography Software website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2019/1/luminar-3-with-libraries-first-look Sun, 13 Jan 2019 15:00:50 GMT
Capture One Editing Software First Thoughts https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/capture-one-editing-software-first-thoughts Hey Everyone!  This blog I'm going over my first thoughts on Capture One 12 as an alternative to Adobe Lightroom. First a disclaimer.  I am no Capture One expert nor am I thinking of changing to Capture One, but I wanted to research the program to see what all the fuss was about.  A lot of YouTube-famous people have switched from Lightroom to Capture One, and I am curious about it.  So I downloaded the free one-month trial, which was painless.  No credit card needed.  I loaded it onto an older MacBook Pro, a 2011 model, to see what it could do.  This machine has been upgraded to a SSD hard drive and 16 gig of memory.  This is an okay machine but by no means top of the line.  So that's where I've started.  In bullet form, I'll list what I've found so far.

 

-Download and install was easy.  I logged into Capture One and got the free 30-day trial. Thumbs up!

-After doing a lot of tutorial watching online, I imported my Lightroom Catalog from my DC trip into Capture One, over 2,000 photos, and it took about 40 minutes.  This was the Lightroom catalog, and it had all of my edits that I had made in Lightroom.  This catalog I had on an external drive with all of the photos that I had taken on the trip.  It then made smart previews of all the images.  This is a default in Capture One and makes the program snappy!  You can edit your photos without having the photos present.  Thumbs Up!

-The interface was all in one page.  I didn't have to go to a different module to edit my photos.  The interface is totally customizable. You can even arrange things so it almost looks like Lightroom.  And, like I said before, everything is snappy!  You can make it anything you like and then save the settings.  So if you had more than one person working on the same computer, they could have their settings and you could have yours.

-Capture One 12 creates catalogs similar to Lightroom.  You can have the catalog on one computer and copy and paste it onto another computer that has Capture One, and you can edit your photos there even without your photos because of the smart previews it created on import.  Moving of folders and photos to and fro must be done within the Capture One catalog just as you do with Lightroom.  Capture One also has Sessions.  These are smaller shoots that have everything contained in the session.  They are smaller than the Catalogs and can be copied and pasted onto another computer and worked on separately without bothering the Catalog database.  When you're all through, you can import the session into the Capture One Catalog database.

- Tethering is where this program really shines.  Tethering is simple.  Just hook up your camera to your computer, open a session, and start shooting.  The photos come in very quickly, and you can edit on the fly and apply all the edits to incoming photographs.  For example, if you wanted to crop a certain way and make the photos black and white, you would just edit the first photo and tell the program that you wanted to make those edits to all incoming photos the same way and it will.  You could lay layout templates on top of the photos coming in, like if you were shooting for a magazine and you could have the magazine cover layout put on top of the photos coming in to see how it will look as a final shot.  We probably will never need this, but it's cool.  You can also shoot live view and see the setup that you are making live before you take a photo, say for example a food shot.   You could take your time and get it right before you ever take a shot and know what the composition will look like.  Tethering is what this program was made for with Phase One Cameras, which are mainly studio cameras, and it shows.

These are just a few of my first thoughts.  I think this would be a great program if you were only doing studio work.  I'm not quite sold yet on all of the other things that it offers.  But if you're only doing studio work, this would be the program for you. Luminar 3 is another program that I think is a good replacement for Lightroom.  Formerly, Luminar 2018 had added a DAM (digital asset manager) to its program, and I will go through it in another blog soon.  

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Editing learning Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography Software website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/capture-one-editing-software-first-thoughts Tue, 25 Dec 2018 21:12:58 GMT
Keeping Photography Sharp During Holidays https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/keeping-photography-sharp-during-holidays Hey Everyone!  The holidays are upon us and everyone is hustling and bustling to get things done before the family comes to visit or you go to someone else's house.  And now that winter is here the weather isn't as photogenic as in the spring and fall.  How do we keep our photographic edge when we don't go out as much to shoot?  For me, it has become sort of a pattern that I've done the last couple of years, and it seems to help even though I don't get to shoot as much as I want.  The trick is keeping your mind photography active.  Thinking, learning something new, stepping out of your comfort zone.

This time of year I'm winding down from the biggest photo event of the year for me, which is my photo club's fall trip.  This is usually a week full of photography-rich shooting situations, and the senses are alive with what to take next.   This year we went to Washington DC for our fall trip (DC Fall Trip Blog Link), so I started early in the year getting geared up and experimenting with different camera and gear combos trying to figure out what to take with me and also researching the DC area and what photos look like that have been taken there before.  Last year it was a big change for me, because I'm mostly a landscape and travel photographer, and street photography in DC was a new and exciting thing to get ready for.  So there were lots of things to keep my mind photography active.  This time of year we also have our Help Portrait event that you can read about in my last blog. Help Portrait Blog Link This year I was helping a young lady with her lights, and it really got my portrait juices flowing again.  I used to do lots of portraits, but I have slowly gotten away from that.  I enjoy taking the photos, but it's all of the other stuff I don't enjoy, like dealing with people.  LOL...  But this year I really enjoyed it.  I sold all of my studio lights over the last couple of years, and all I had left were some manual flashes.   I've heard a lot about the Godox/Flashpoint line of flashes and strobes that you can control all of your lights from your controller on camera.  Big plus!  Since I've gotten my Sony I haven't really done any flash photography.  So I purchased some of the lights so I could play and take some portraits of the family during the holidays and also expand my photography knowledge.

logopodcastlogopodcast Okay, I've wandered off subject a little.  The point I was getting at is that you don't always have to be out taking photos to keep your edge.  As long as your mind is actively thinking and learning about photography, you can keep from getting too rusty.  So this time of the year I start preparing for next year and start learning new techniques.  Yesterday, I downloaded the free trial version of Capture One editing software as an alternative to Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.  I've heard a lot about it, and I'm going to try to learn all I can about it and play with the program for my free month.  Every day while I commute to work I listen to podcasts about photography and learn about all kinds of things that I would never even have thought about if it were not for the podcast.  I have written a blog that you can go to to see what I listen to. Podcast Blog Link I also look at YouTube and watch lots of webinars and video tutorials about different things instead of watching regular TV.  This is a great way to learn stuff, and it's free!  You can also go to CreativeLive website.  They have all kinds of tutorial programing, and if you watch it live it's free.

So this time of the year is the time to plan for next year.  Set goals, learn something new, and get out of your comfort zone.  Last year I wanted to do some astro photography, so I did all the research, got geared up, planned a trip, and got some shots of the Milky Way.  I'm looking forward to new gear that will come out next year, especially camera gear that is supposed to come out.  My camera is a couple of years old, and there are rumors that a new one will come out this coming year.  So I'm looking to see if it will be worth upgrading to.  The same can be said about new lenses coming out this year also.  I don't know where the next fall workshop will be, so I haven't started planning yet.  This is also the time to get my camping trips soft scheduled for next year that my wife and I will be taking that I look forward to.  Maybe I'll sneak in a festival or two and a backpacking trip or two.  But now is the time to plan.  Because if you're like me and wait until the last minute, you won't go.  You'll find some sort of reason not to. 

I hope this holiday season brings you much joy and happiness with family and friends and please always be safe.  Take lots of holiday portraits and document your family's history!  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Holidays learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/keeping-photography-sharp-during-holidays Sun, 16 Dec 2018 13:09:58 GMT
Help Portrait "Photographers Giving Back" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/help-portrait-photographers-giving-back The first Saturday in December since 2008 has been Help Portrait day.  All over the world on this day photographers get together to give back to the community.  For one day a year it's not about us.  Not about our lighting systems, gear, or how many likes we can get on Instagram.  It's about giving back to the community that we live in and helping those in need with a photograph.  You may say, "How does a photograph help anyone?"  For the less fortunate this might be the only time they can have a family or self-portrait done of themselves.  They can't afford to go to a photo studio and pay the prices that we charge.  It builds self-esteem for them, because for one day they are very special to the photographers who are taking their photo.  People who may not be noticed any other time as we just pass them by.  But on this day we can give them a portrait that makes them smile at how good they look.   Maybe they will make them gifts for loved ones.  At any rate the first Saturday in December is their day.  This project was started by Jeremy Cowart in Nashville, a celebrity photographer, when he and his friends had an idea, a very simple idea.  First, find someone in need.  Then take their photo and give it to them.  That's pretty much the idea.  We as photographers do not post the final portrait on the internet, no logos or watermarks, no advertising of any kind.

 

 

 

 

My photography club does this event every year and treats it almost as a workshop, because we are amateur photographers and this is a chance to pull out our studio lights and shoot and learn.  This year we had three photo stations set up.  I was mentoring a young lady who is getting her photography degree, and she had to get some equipment for her classes but hadn't used them much.  So I helped her with setup of the lights and made sure that they were set so she would get good exposure, the nerdy stuff.  She didn't need any help with arranging the clients and taking the photos.  She was a natural at that.  Some Help Portrait locations give food, clothes, toys for the kids, and do hair and makeup.  We did not have hair and makeup this year but have in the past.  This year we supplied refreshments and I think coloring books for the kids and books to take home, I believe.  There are many jobs to be done at the Help Portrait, not just photography.  There is manning the registration desk, refreshments, editing and printing, framing of the photograph, makeup artists, runners for the photographers, and people to help the clients. All very important jobs.  My job for the last couple of years is to be the documentary photographer and photograph the event.  I set up time lapses, take photos, and do some small short videos to create a small video that we can put on our website for others to see.  So you don't need to be a photographer to do Help Portrait.

It's the holiday season.  Let's think of those less fortunate than ourselves and give back.  Next year, Help Portrait will be on the first Saturday again, so start planning now.  If there is a photo club or organization in your area, look them up and see if you can help.  Here's a link to the video that I created this year.  Please check it out.

Help Portrait 2018 GAPC Goldsboro NC

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Help learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Portrait Portraits website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/12/help-portrait-photographers-giving-back Sat, 08 Dec 2018 19:59:35 GMT
Photography Trip Packing https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/11/photography-trip-packing _MSP0311_MSP0311 Hi Photo Buddies!  My last blog was about my photo trip I took to Washington DC with my camera club on our annual Fall Workshop.  This was a different trip in that we were dependent on public transportation and would be carrying all of our stuff that we were bringing for the trip, so packing and planning was a must.  There are many ways to plan and pack for a trip, and this is just my version. 

I know after years of backpacking that weight matters!  So one of the first considerations was how heavy were my bags going to be and how many of them would there be.  So I decided on my backpack with photo gear and another bag that would have my clothes.  I decided early on that I wanted a backpack that was not a camera bag looking kind of bag. IMG_1534IMG_1534  I didn't want the traditional bag like a black LowPro bag that looks like a camera bag.  One reason for this is security.  A big guy with a regular backpack is not as an appealing of a target as a big guy with a camera backpack with thousands of potential dollars in it is.  The other reason is that photography backpacks are designed to carry only gear, and there is not much room for extra stuff like coats, sweaters, and souvenirs. So I got a 25-liter smallish bag to carry my camera gear in with an insert that I got off of Amazon to keep my gear safe, much like I do with a MountainSmith bag that I use for a shoulder bag with an insert.  So with this, my camera gear in this took up about one-third of the space, which left enough room for other things that I would need to carry on a daily basis like rain gear, umbrella, water, and a coat.  Also I wanted a small backpack because I learned if you get a large bag you will fill it up!  So keeping a smaller bag keeps the weight down.  My other bag that I was going to use is a roller bag that you would use as overhead luggage.  But one of the days we had to wear a sports coat and there wasn't enough room for the sports coat, extra slacks, and shoes for that day, so I got a larger roller bag to accommodate those items. But, as with larger bags, I did fill it up!  So those were my two bags: my backpack and a roller bag.

_MSP1594_MSP1594 Now that I have the bags, what to put it them.  Let's start with my camera gear.  If you have read my blogs, I used to shoot full frame Nikon with all the fast glass.  And don't get me wrong, it was excellent quality gear but heavy.  I started using a Sony mirrorless system for hiking and backpacking and eventually switched completely to a Sony crop sensor system.  My first thought was to bring camera body and three lenses:  one for wide angle shots, one for midrange shots, and a telephoto for long-range shots and that would be my kit.  My wide would be a Sony 10-18mm f4 (full frame equivalent 15-25mm) and that's what I took.  My telephoto would be a Sony 55-210mm f4.5-6.3 kit lens (full frame 80-320mm).  I chose this one because of size, and I have a good copy that is sharp so that's what I took. IMG_1558IMG_1558  My midrange is where I had my problems making a decision.  I have a Sony 18-105mm f4 (full frame equivalent 24-150ish mm) that is a good lens, but it's large and heavy.  It's bigger than the 55-210mm that I'm bringing for my telephoto shots.  So I decided not to bring that one.  I decided to take a Sony 35mm f1.8 (full frame equivalent 52mm) as my midrange and then I bought a Rokinon 24mm f2.8 (full frame equivalent 35mm), so I decided to bring that.  Now I'm at four lenses and a body.  And I stuck with this for a couple of months shooting with this combo.  I went to Savannah, Georgia and this is what I took and got great photos.  I took this combo to all of our monthly workshops, and they worked great.  But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking I sure am changing lenses a lot.  I would love to just have one mid-range zoom lens.  I considered buying another zoom, a 16-70mm Sony/Ziess lens. But it's an expensive lens, and I couldn't make myself buy another midrange zoom just for this trip.  So I had my setup: the Sony A6300, Sony 10-80mm for wide shots, Rokinon 24mm, Sony35mm for midrange shots, and Sony 55-210mm for telephoto shots.  Well, until I started packing.  Remember I said if you get a larger bag you will fill it up?  My large roller bag was really bigger than I needed, so at the last minute I stuck the Sony 18-105mm in just in case shooting and changing lenses from a backpack got really cumbersome.  So that was my camera IMG_1459IMG_1459 gear:  all the lenses mentioned above, my trusty Sony A6300, some filters that I never used on the trip (but would still bring), a small Jobe table top tripod, and a travel-sized tripod.  I carried the Jobe tripod all the time, and the other travel tripod I brought just for nighttime photography.  I just went into Lightroom to see the lens breakdown of my winner/rated shots from our trip, and out of 309 photos that I considered my best, my 10-18mm took 21shots, 16-70mm (yes, a member let me use his for part of the day) 5 shots, 35mm another 30 shots, 55-210mm 82 shots, 18-105mm 26 shots, and the most was the Rokinon 24mm (35mm full frame equivalent ) at 145 shots. So well over half of my shots came from the mid-range primes and not the zoom.  To be fair, on our museum day I did only take one body and one lens, the 24mm, and shot that all day because of the security at IMG_1562IMG_1562 the museums.  It was just easier.  And to tell you the truth, I really didn't notice while I was shooting that day that I didn't have the other lenses with me and I did just fine.  Another piece of kit I took was a GoPro Session, which I used it once and it never came out of the bag again.  We had a guy that was videoing the whole workshop.  I was just too lazy to do video and stills at the same time, so I stuck to stills and took the GoPro out of my backpack the first day, put it the suitcase, and it never saw the light of day again.

Now for the clothes I took with me.  Let me start by saying I'm not a fashion type of guy and I like what I like.  I want it to be comfortable, lightweight, and an earth tone color so I can mix and match anything in my bag and it looks okay.  I like to take clothing that is quick drying material so if I do get wet it dries quickly, and when washing it dries quickly too.  The clothes I take are the same if I'm camping or doing a street shoot.  Pants are hiking convertible pants, ones that the bottom part of the leg zips off when it's hot and you have shorts. They are lightweight, usually cargo pants with lots of pockets but can also be plain.  Shirts are hiking or fishing shirts that are made out of the quick drying material as well.  They may be long or short sleeve, but most of mine are long sleeve and they can be rolled up if it gets hot.  Undershirts and pants are made out of stretchy, quick-drying material.  T-shirts can be many colors so if I get hot I can take off the outer shirt and still look okay.  Now you know the type of clothes I take and how many.  For this week  Eastern MarketEastern MarketEastern Market in Washington DC, A good place to photograph. -long trip, I had planned on taking three pants and three shirts I could wear more than once or wash one daily and could mix and match so I don't look like I'm wearing the same thing every day.  Well, that didn't quite work out the way I had planned because of the larger bag (you know where I'm going with this).  I packed more stuff.  I had planned on washing clothes while on the trip, but I had enough room that I just took extra socks and underwear and just wore pants and shirts a couple of times so I didn't have to wash.  But normally I wouldn't and would wash clothes.  I usually have a hat of some kind to keep the sun out of my eyes.  I wear glasses and have a hard time without a hat or sunglasses.  I carried a puffy jacket that packs down small and a fleece type of sweater.  I took gloves, a wool cap, and a neck scarf that I never used on this trip but always goes with me even in summer camping when it gets chilly at night.  I also had a rain coat that I think I used once.  I took one pair of comfortable hiking shoes that I already have broken in well with good inserts in them.  I had no foot problems at all, and we walked 50 miles that week.

_MSP2507_Luminar2018-edit_Luminar2018-edit_MSP2507_Luminar2018-edit_Luminar2018-edit Now my computer that I took I discussed in detail in an earlier blog, the 13-inch MacBook Air.  I took a 250gb SSD drive with me that I put all of my photos on and my Lightroom catalog made special for the DC trip that I merged into my large catalog when I got home.  I had cables and chargers for all of my gadgets like phone, camera batteries, external battery (to charge my phone while out and about), and of course a laptop.  I took a little surge protector plug so I could plug all of my things in without taking up all of the sockets in the room I was in (I had roommates that had a lot of electronics also).  I took enough SD cards for every day and changed out daily so the SD card was one copy of my photos.  My daily routine after shooting all day when I would get back was first of all to start charging all of my batteries.  I had the ability to charge three at a time (mirrorless uses lots of batteries).  Next, I would pull my SD card out and refresh with a new one, download to an external SSD drive photos of the day from an SD card, put the SD card in safe place (card holder), and at night when I slept I would charge up external battery and phone.  While we were out shooting, I would plug in my laptop and let that charge so when we got back to house I wouldn't have to have a cord hooked to my computer.  When I traveled on the train I had enough room in my backpack to hold my computer so it was safe place with me not in my checked luggage. I didn't have any issues with electronics.

So these are some of my thoughts on how I packed for my DC trip.  Have fun and keep shooting!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog DC learning Max Stansell Photography Packing Photography travel Washington website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/11/photography-trip-packing Sat, 10 Nov 2018 18:06:02 GMT
Fall Workshop Washington DC https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/11/fall-workshop-washington-dc _MSP2011_Luminar2018-edit_MSP2011_Luminar2018-edit Hey everyone! Its been a while since I've written a blog sorry for that but we had our yearly fall workshop with my photography club (Goldsboro Area Photography Club) a couple of weeks ago and I'm just getting caught up with Honey do's and work stuff.  Let me start by saying that our trip to Washington DC was Fantastic and we had a blast.  There is so much to see and do there and I think we just scratched what the photo possibilities could be there.  For street photography this is truly a target rich area and you could have spent a whole week just shooting street scenes .  There is a lot of touristy things to see and do and history stuff too.  We were hoping for some more fall colors but we didn't get any and it seems like the fall colors have been a couple of weeks late this year.  But the excitement and hustle and bustle of a large city more than made up for it. The MetroThe MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC. We had 10 people that went to the workshop we had 12 scheduled to go but some family crisis kept two home and they were sorely missed.  Most of our days started before the sun came up and ended well into the evening .  We rented an Air B&B house that was one block from the Metro and a couple of blocks from a Drug store and Grocery store. We made a couple of meals at the house but mostly ate out which could be fairly costly. I have been doing a lot of preparing for this trip for it was very different than most of the trips we take.  Being lightweight and nimble as possible was the goal when packing clothes and Camera equipment.  In all of our other workshops we drive to our destination so what to carry with us on a day to day basis was pretty easy, you bring everything and leave in the car what you don't need.  But here we were traveling by Metro (subway) and were hauling everything on our backs, to include rain gear, coats, sweaters, and of course camera equipment.  And going all day with what we took that morning so planning was a must. What I used on this trip and the packing of my gear will be another blog because I just have too much to say about the trip itself for this one.  We were very lucky to have a couple of members that used to live in DC that gave us a great resourse of what to do and where to go and honestly it would have been way more difficult to just go on our own without our in house tour guides.

_MSP1594_MSP1594 Our trip began with a train ride.  I like half of the members have never used the train (Amtrak) to travel before and was very curious on how the trip would be.  We decided on this mode of transportation because of the traffic and no parking situation in DC.  And I think we made a good decision. Except for a few hour delay at the beginning (because of state fair stops) the train was a wonderful way to travel. Plenty of room , you could get up and walk around and the dining car was really a great way to travel.  The conductors were nice and courteous .  There was no problems with luggage or carry on bags.  It took us about 4 hours of travel and we arrived in Grand Central Station Washington DC. We collected our bags and made our way to the Metro side of the station bought weekly passes and got on a Metro for the first time.  It was a chore with the luggage and making sure everyone was together but we made it to our station got off and found our way to the house we had rented.  This was the most difficult time on the Metro it was easy and all down hill after this initial trip.  We got settled in and went out to eat a couple of blocks from the house with a recommendation from a couple of DC's finest.  And let me say we stopped many times to talk to the local police and they were very courteous and friendly and helpful.  _MSP1839_MSP1839

We had all of our days planned out on what to do and where to go and we stuck to the itinerary for the most part making decisions on the fly if there were any changes to be made. Like where we were going to eat.  The first day we spent at the east mall area to include the Eastern Market, National Arboretum, Capitol Hill, Supreme Court and then that night we went to Old Town for a Night shoot. It was a off and on rainy day but not too bad.

Monday we were in for a treat. One of our members used to work at the White House and had connections to get us a tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Grounds.  We had to have a background check weeks before and there was a lot of coordination between our guy Robert and the people in the EEOB.  Everyone had to dress up with guys in sports coats and gals in business wear and of course it was raining in the morning when we had to go but we didn't get too wet we had breakfast at a bagel shop and went through security of the White House to get in.  And it was pretty Awesome.  The guys that gave us the tours were very informative about the building and all of the stories behind the different rooms we went into.  We got to see the White House from a view that most people don't and even got to see Marine one come and pick up the President.  We presented a photo from a photo contest that we had to thank the guys at the White House.  This part of our trip surprised me the most and I really enjoyed it.  After that we had lunch visited some more sites and went to the house.  We made Supper and had a former White House Photographer David Bohrer come and have dinner with us. Very nice guy and told us his story on how he became one of the White House Photographers and stories about the job.

_MSP2056_MSP2056 Tuesday was Arlington Nation Cemetery and  Sunrise and Sunset at the National Mall and as you can guess this was a long day. We started well before sunrise and went to the Vietnam Memorial and shot sunrise at the Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.  We went and had breakfast and went to Arlington National Cemetery  a very moving place to be with acres of tombstones and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Got lots of good shots at the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Later that day we Went back to the National Mall with the intention of shooting sunset and night time of the monuments.  But there was something we weren't expecting and that was bus loads of Kids coming to the Mall with their schools.  I shot a little at the Lincoln Memorial but then went to the the other end with the WWII Memorial and Washington Monument where there wasn't as many people.  Did get some good shots though. _MSP2238_MSP2238

The Next day was the Georgetown area where we shot the downtown area had lunch and then went to the National Cathedral.  This was my first experience with UBER and UBER drivers.  And I must say all the UBERs that I took on this trip were pleasant rides no problems at all.  The National Cathedral was huge!  I have been to smaller Cathedrals like Duke Chapel in Durham NC. But compared to the National Cathedral is was tiny.  Lots of great art and a good view from the top 7 stories high of the Washington DC area.

Thursday was Museum day Now I din't mention it before but Sunday with the _MSP2366_MSP2366 rain that we had we did go to one Museum and it was the Natural Science Museum which was awesome!  The first stop this day was the Library of Congress.  And let me say that this was one of the top places on my whole trip.  Lots to see from architecture of the building to all of the exhibits that are on display th ere.  A must see if you are in DC. Museums in DC are Fantastic and you could spend a couple of weeks just looking at Museums So we just picked out a couple for this trip because some of _MSP1970_MSP1970
our members aren't museum people. But I certainly am! This day we went to the Art Museum and the Portrait Museum and both were stunning with lots to see. But of course there were bus loads of other people there too. That night we went to China Town to shoot and to get us some good food and we got loads of both.  It is a small China Town but it is very colorful and full of good restaurants !  We had a good night there and got some good photo's.

_MSP2390-HDR_MSP2390-HDR Friday was our last full day in DC and we decided to shoot the National Zoo and then we could split up and shoot whatever.  Some of our group went back to Arlington National Cemetery and to the Marine Corp Monument. Others like myself went back to town to the Newseum. The Newseum was the only Museum that we had to pay to get in but it was well worth it .  And it's a museum about News. It covers all types of news from Print, Radio and TV .  Pulitzer Prize winning photographs and their story behind them are there also.  This is a very powerful and moving place. They have an observation deck that you can get a real good photo of the Capitol Building.

 

The last day before we got on the train home a few of us took an UBER _MSP3067_MSP3067 to the City Center and photographed around that area then we came back just in time to go with the others to catch the Metro to Grand Central and an Amtrak home.  We did a lot of walking and the average weekly mile/steps between everyone's fit bits was about 50miles walked and 140,000 steps taken.  So when you go wear comfortable shoes. I had been to DC a couple of times before but it was always for work and I hadn't really seen the sights before and I really enjoyed this trip.  If you haven't been to our Nations Capitol please do so you won't be sorry.  I can't wait to go back! There is a link below to a Video of our trip by Robert O'Sullivan its Awesome please watch.

2018 Fall Trip Video

 

_MSP3096_MSP3096

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog DC GAPC learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Touring Washington website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/11/fall-workshop-washington-dc Sat, 03 Nov 2018 17:31:11 GMT
My Mobile Computing "updated" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/9/my-mobile-computing-updated _MSP1021_MSP1021 Hey Everyone!  I'm sitting here while Hurricane Florence is outside.  As of this point we've had over 11 inches of rain and it's still raining.  So I figured I would give you an update to my Mobile Computing Blog that I posted earlier this year.  As you may remember, I purchased a Lenovo Miix 320 for under $200.  My three criteria for a mobile were inexpensive, small and lightweight, and able to run Lightroom.  And this little laptop did just that.  I have used it most of this year when I go camping or on a trip.  But something happened with an update or something, and it really struggled to run Lightroom and download photographs.  If you have been following me on Facebook or Instagram, you know I recently took a little trip to Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC.  Of course I took my camera and took lots of photos, and every night when I went to import into Lightroom it really struggled.  The first night it locked up a couple of times, and I had to restart my computer.  When it finally did go to download, it took maybe half an hour to download 300 photos.  So every night I would spend an hour or two just getting my photos imported, which is not acceptable.  When I got home, I took off all of the extra stuff that computer companies put on a computer trying to free up some RAM so apple-macbook-air-core-i5-8gb-256gb-mqd42hna-13-inch-hd-18ghz-intel-graphics-6000-laptopapple-macbook-air-core-i5-8gb-256gb-mqd42hna-13-inch-hd-18ghz-intel-graphics-6000-laptop it would run Lightroom better.  I went to a small festival in town and took 70 photos, and it took me two hours using the little Lenovo to get the photos downloaded.  Now, I could use the little laptop to just transfer photographs from my SD card to an external hard drive without using Lightroom, but with windows you can't view RAW files without an external program to see the photo.  If it did, that would work, but it doesn't.  I still wish this little computer would work, but it just is too weak to use Lightroom so I can cull and process a few photographs while on the road.  It does everything else I want it to do, but just not that.  So I had to find something else for my mobile computing that hopefully would tick all the three criteria that I wanted.  

I am heavily invested in Mac products and the Apple ecosystem.  And if I had to re-invest in another laptop I wanted it to be a Mac. Windows 10 isn't my cup of tea.  So I went on a search for a machine that would work. Good luck!  I looked at refurbished machines, new machines, used ones, and I still would be spending a lot of money.  So I took my advice and bought the best machine that I could afford to do the job that I wanted.  And that was the machine that I mentioned in the other blog, the 13-inch MacBook Air.  This machine did not tick all of the boxes.  The box that it didn't tick was price.  All of the  2563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f6212563e370f98e53afa59b4ddfed93f621 MacBooks that I looked at, even the refurbished ones, were well over $500.  So I decided if I had to pay that kind of money, I would get something that I liked and that would easily do the job, so I bought a new one (well, a 2017 one).  It has 8gb of RAM, which is well enough to do what I want to do with this machine.  Remember, I don't want to do heavy computing or editing on this computer, just backup cull and maybe quick processing for posting to Facebook or Instagram.  This 8gb RAM and 256 SSD drive works perfectly for what I want it to do.  It ticks the second box, run Lightroom and backup photos.  The MacBook Air 13-inch is considerably larger than the Lenovo, but the weight isn't much more.  The battery life is great, also a plus in mobile computing.  So it also ticked the third box of being lightweight.  So I am happy with my purchase but do wish the little Lenovo worked just for the cost.  So now all of my personal computers are Mac.  The 27-inch Mac is my main computer, the 15-inch MacBook Pro is my backup and home laptop, and the new addition of the 13-inch MacBook Air is for my mobile computing. 

So I should be all set for my Fall workshop to DC with my camera club (Goldsboro Area Photography Club).  I'm also doing this blog on the new laptop.  What will happen to the Lenovo?  I'm sure my grandchildren will end up with it before too long.  So get out and shoot!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Air blog Camping computing learning Macbook Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/9/my-mobile-computing-updated Sat, 15 Sep 2018 13:53:03 GMT
Luminar Photo Editing Software "First Impressions" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/8/luminar-photo-editing-software-first-impressions luminar_sq_logo_500luminar_sq_logo_500 Hey Everyone!  Today I want to talk about a new (new to me) photo editing software called Luminar from Skylum.  I have been hearing about this software for a while, but being an avid Lightroom and Photoshop guy, I wasn't looking for anything new.  So I just ignored it.  I was browsing YouTube and saw a tutorial on Luminar and gave it a look.  I was intrigued  with some of its features but still skeptical.  So I started researching and found out a lot about the software.  Now don't get me wrong, I am no expert on Luminar.  I have used it for just a few days on a few photos, but here is some of what I have learned.

Luminar can be a stand-alone program or can be used in conjunction with Lightroom or Photoshop like a plugin.  As of right now, it is not a Digital Asset Manager (DAM) like Lightroom is, but it is supposed to have a DAM in the near future.  It does all of the editing things that Lightroom can do and more.  It can also do "Layers" like Photoshop can, but it's a lot easier to do than in Photoshop.  This is not a replacement for Photoshop.  It cannot type in text or do a lot of the things that Photoshop can do, but it is another tool in my photo editing tool belt. 

_MSP0258_MSP0258 Walking down the PathWalking down the PathWalking down the Path First edits with Luminar as a plugin to lightroom. I think I'm going to like it. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luminar uses presets and filters to edit photos.  Presets are much like Lightroom.  Presets are on the left hand side of the Develop module, but they are more adjustable than the ones in Lightroom.  You can individually tweak the adjustments and overall opacity of the preset to get the look you want.  Like Lightroom, you can import presets that others have made or make your own.  There are some free ones on the Skylum website and of course ones you can buy also.  If you don't want to use presets, you don't have to.  You can go straight to editing the photo with filters, or you can add filters to the preset if you like.

_MSP7905_MSP7905 Fort Fisher SunsetFort Fisher SunsetFort Fisher Sunset Taken earlier this year and processed with Luminar. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #Getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #SonyA6300 #alphashooter #NorthCarolinaPhotographer #NorthCarolinaLiving #visitNC #NorthCarolina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filters are on the right hand column of the Develop module of Lightroom, where you have the Histogram, Basic ,Tone Curve, HSL panel etc... There are a lot of filters to choose from, 50 I believe, and there are some really cool ones.  With filters you can use them globally, or you can brush the effect to a certain part of the photo.  You can layer the filters like you can do layers in Photoshop.  There are some unique filters that are worth the price of the software.  Filters like "Orton Effect" or "Sunrays" are awesome.  I'll show some before and after pictures of some of the photos I have done so you can see what you can do.

This software is a one-time purchase of about $60 depending on what kind of discount you can come up with. This will let you put the program on five different computers.  It is not a subscription-based program like Lightroom and Photoshop.  It is much like other HDR programs or Googles Nik Efex programs. 

My overall first impression is that I really like it.  Will it replace Lightroom for me?  I don't think so.  I've used those programs for so long it would be hard to change.  But I do think that for someone starting out in photography that this would be a great photo editing program, especially when they get the DAM (Digital Asset Management) working.  So if you're looking for something to get your creative juices flowing, this is a great tool to put in your digital processing tool belt.  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Editing learning Luminar Max Stansell Photography Photo Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/8/luminar-photo-editing-software-first-impressions Mon, 27 Aug 2018 16:34:19 GMT
Product Review "Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF Lens" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/8/product-review-rokinon-24mm-f2-8-af-lens _MSP0280_MSP028014mm, 12mm, 24mm Hey everyone!  I just added a new lens to my kit, the Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF (Yes, Auto Focus!) lens.  If you don't know the name Rokinon in lenses, you're in for a treat.  Made in Korea by Samyang Optics, the Rokinon name is for lenses sold in the US.  Everywhere else its name is Samyang.  I don't really know the reason for this, but it's the same lens.  I have used Rokinon in the past, and they are known for their inexpensiveness, sharpness, and build quality.  They are built like a tank.  The other thing that they are known for is that they are mostly manual focus lenses and just in the last year have started putting _MSP0283_MSP0283 out AF lenses.  I have been pleased with the quality of the lenses that I have had in the past, and when I saw this one I had to give it a try.  I own a 14mm f2.8 that I used when I had my full frame Nikon D800, and it was awesome!  I used it for wide-focus situations and night photography.  It is a very sharp lens!  When I changed my camera setup to crop sensor Sony A6300, I got the 12mm f2.0 lens with the Sony mount, another very sharp lens, and I use it mainly for astrophotography.  Both of these lenses are manual focus.  But with this wide of a focal range, the depth of field is very large and easy to focus with a manual focus lens. 

WaitingWaitingWaiting, Raleigh Union Station. First outing with the new Rokinon 24mm 2.8 on my Sony A6300. Very happy with it so far. #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #northcarolinaphotographer #northcarolinaliving #sonya6300 #alphashooter If you have been following me on Instagram or Flickr, you know that recently I have been shooting a lot of street-type photography.  I have been doing a lot of photo walks of different towns and cities.  Now I'm going to start talking about effective focal length of some lenses.  Let me explain.  On a full frame camera, the effective focal length of a 50mm lens is 50mm.  But on a crop sensor camera like mine, the sensor size is 1-1/2 times smaller than a full frame sensor camera, so you must multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.5 to give you the full frame equivalent size.  Sorry for the photography geekiness.  For my street Steel and ShadowsSteel and ShadowsSteel and Shadows taken between the Dillian and the Raleigh Union Station #MaxStansellPhotography #funwithphotography #getoutandshoot #awesomestuffisee #northcarolinaphotographer #northcarolinaliving #sonya6300 #alphashoote photography or photo walks, my kit is very small, and my main lens has been a Sony 35mm f1.8 lens (52mm effective focal length).  This is a great lens but tends to get a little tight in certain situations.  The other lens that I carry with me is a Sony 10-18mm f4 lens (15-25mm effective focal length), which is great for architecture-type photography but too wide for everything else.  So I started looking for something in the middle and couldn't find anything in the Sony line up that would give me approximately 35mm effective focal length, which comes to about 23mm.  Then I came across the Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF lens that has just came out a month or so ago.  I got on B&H photo website and found that they haven't even shipped yet in the States, so I went and ordered one.  And by luck it shipped the next day. This lens gives me the focal length that I was looking for in between my 10-18mm and the 35mm that I have, and so far it's the perfect focal length for street photowalk-type photography.

It's a small lens, which is great for my kit!  It keeps the weight down.  It's just a little bit smaller than my 35mm and it's lightweight.  The autofocus is very snappy with little or no distortion that I can tell.  I took it to the Raleigh Union Station yesterday to try it out, and it worked great, just wide enough to capture the scene but not too wide.  I have some sample photos here so you can see the sharpness of the lens and the difference between my 35mm (effective focal length 52) and the 24mm (effective focal length 36mm).  So if you're looking for an affordable alternative to the more expensive lenses, I recommend the Rokinon line of lenses.  So get out and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 24mm blog f2.8 learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Rokinon website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/8/product-review-rokinon-24mm-f2-8-af-lens Sun, 12 Aug 2018 16:31:18 GMT
Pentax MX 35mm Film Camera https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/pentax-mx-35mm-film-camera _MSP9732_MSP9732 I started taking photographs with my mom's Kodak Brownie camera when I was a little boy, and that really sparked something in me with photography.  I think we had a few other cameras in the house.  I remember a Polaroid camera, but my first real camera was a Pentax K1000 that I bought from Sears picking it out of the catalog.  They actually had a photography catalog.  I saved my money, and for $99 I got it.  And like any other teenager I took photos of family and friends.  I kept that camera that I bought in the mid '70s until 1981 when I  sold it.  I replaced it with the Pentax MX, an upgrade from the K1000.  It was produced from 1976 until 1985 and was Pentax's Flagship _MSP9733_MSP9733 Professional SLR until the introduction of the Pentax LX.  This is a fully mechanical camera and manual camera.  It has a button battery that operates the light meter only.  This is a great student camera.  And it is built like a small tank, much smaller camera than Canon and Nikon cameras in 1976. I have a Canon Canonet 19 Rangefinder camera, and the Pentax SLR is much smaller that it is and about the same size of my Sony A6300 mirrorless camera.

Because I have started my film project this year, I have started using it again and it works as well as it did when I first got it in 1982.  I did replace the light seals, but mechanically it is very sound and the best of my film cameras to date.  I have an assortment of lenses ranging from 28mm to 500mm, but my favorite is the 50mm f1.7 and a 35-70mm push pull zoom I have for it.  This camera just makes shooting fun.  You can find them on Ebay now, but they are not the most popular cameras around.  But you can find them fairly cheap.  Don't think I will ever part with mine.

_DSC0012-Edit-2_DSC0012-Edit-2 Old EyesOld Eyes

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 35mm blog Camera film learning Max Stansell Photography Pentax Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/pentax-mx-35mm-film-camera Mon, 30 Jul 2018 13:52:57 GMT
Argus Rangefinder https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/argus-rangefinder _MSP9722_MSP9722 Hey everyone !  A couple of weeks ago it was International Camera Day.  I was looking for a rangefinder type camera, preferably one from the 1960s.  So I put a request in my camera club's Facebook page, hoping one of the older members had one stuck in their closet that they hadn't used in a while and wanted to part with it.  I got one answer from one of the newer members saying he had picked some up in an estate sale but he didn't know anything about them. (He had two.)  So he said that he would bring them to me at the next club event.  When we had a scavenger hunt, he brought out a shoe box with a whole bunch of camera stuff old lenses, meters, and the two cameras.  I must be honest.  I had _MSP9723_MSP9723 never seen cameras like this before.  They were heavy,    square-ish, black, and had gears on the outside of them.  So I told him I would have to do some research on them.  He said, "Just take them and let me know what you find out."  He said he got them for $20.  So I started my research and found out that one of them was a 1942 Argus C3 Rangefinder, and it had a 50mm lens on it.  The other one was even older.  It was a 1939 Argus C2 rangefinder that had a 100mm lens on it.  They shot 35mm film and had the nickname the "Brick."  Now I have just got back into film and these were 35mm cameras.  Could I clean them up and they work?  I got online, found operation manuals, and learned all I could about them. These are some of the fun facts I found out.

-They were produced from 1938-1966 in Ann Arbor Michigan.

-They have interchangeable lenses (but they are a pain to change).

-They had three lenses:  a 35mm, 50mm, and 100mm that you could buy for the camera.

-They cost $35 originally, which is over $600 in today's money equivalent.

-They are made primarily of Bakelite Plastic and Metal Castings.

-They have two viewfinders:  one to focus with and one to compose your shot with.

-They have no metering system, so you use an external meter or use the Sunny 16 rule to set exposure.

_MSP9725_MSP9725

So I cleaned the best looking one out of the bunch, the 1942 model, and made sure everything worked by using a dummy roll of film that I have to practice loading and advancing the film and shooting the camera.  After I felt confident on the operation, I loaded it up with fresh film and took it into the back yard.  I did find it difficult to get it into focus.  The focusing viewfinder and the composure viewfinder are small.  And while rewinding the film after I was through, I only rewound 1/2 of the roll when I opened up the back (oops) and ruined half of the roll.  But I developed it anyway and got just a few in focus out of that half of a roll.  Hey, but it was a 76-year-old camera and it worked! 1942 Argus C3 Test Shot1942 Argus C3 Test Shot  Now, am I going to use the camera to take photos?  No, it will be a shelf decoration.  But I know it works and it was great fun finding out about it and its history.  Oh, by the way, I asked my photo buddy what he wanted for the cameras, and he said I could just keep them.  He only had 20 bucks in them.  Thanks, John!  So when you find an old camera that you want to put on your shelf for decoration, find out all you can about it.  It's great fun, and you'll enjoy your decoration even more, especially when someone asks about them.  Get out and shoot!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) 35mm Argus blog Camera Film landscape learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/argus-rangefinder Sun, 22 Jul 2018 20:58:52 GMT
1961 Canon Canonet 19 https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/1961-canon-canonet-19 Bell & Howell /CannonBell & Howell /CannonHere is the new addition to my film cameras . 1961 Canon Canonet 19. The Canon Canonet 19 is a sleek retro looking camera with great lines and a non-cluttered look.  It was the first of the Canon Canonet line of cameras.  The Canonet line ran from 1961 through the mid-'70s and was the first attempt at making cameras for the everyday man that wasn't a professional photographer.  Up until this camera, Canon was making Leica copies with minor variations.  Canon wasn't the strong brand that it is today.  A rangefinder type camera, Canon had only made one SLR to this point.  Rangefinders were still king.  This camera is a 35mm film camera with an auto function (shutter priority) and a light meter with no battery!  It has a 45mm f1.9 lens and a leaf shutter, which makes this a quiet camera to use.  This camera is great for street photography and everyday photography with a bright and large viewfinder as rangefinders do.  As you can see by the Bell & Howell/Canon logo, Canon partnered with Bell & Howell to make this camera.  Bell & Howell was a motion picture camera maker based in the United States.  But make no mistake, this is all a Canon product.  This camera can be shot in manual, although the meter doesn't work when in manual so you would either have to use the Sunny 16 rule or an external meter.  Here are some of the features. _MSP9739_MSP9739

-35mm film and can shoot to ASA 200 in auto.  In 1961 ASAs didn't go very high.  But with a lens with a f1.9 aperture, shooting in room light at 1/60 isn't a problem.  In manual you can shoot any ASA you want.

-Slenium Photocell wraps around the lens element so any filter that is placed on the camera the photocell see's through it so no compensation is needed.  Also no battery is needed.

-The camera in auto will not let the shutter work if the exposure isn't right.  You can push on the shutter button but nothing happens.  So in auto you can't shoot under or over exposed.

 

-The viewfinder, like most rangefinders, is bright and large.  Since you're not looking through the lens, frame lines are drawn to show what will be in the frame.  Also the aperture setting is at the bottom of the viewfinder to let you know what aperture you're at.

_MSP9738_MSP9738 - Self-timer.  This camera has a self-timer that is about 7 sec long.

-The film advance lever is located at the bottom of the camera giving the top of the camera clean lines.  It's in an odd place, and Canon moved it to the traditional top of the camera in later models.

This camera was touted as the poor man's Leica and sold off of the shelves.  You can still find these in yard sales for a great price, and they are great lightweight walk around cameras.  These are the cameras that gave Canon its popularity from the common man.  Still getting used to mine, but so far I love it.  Right now it's a 57-year-old camera that still takes great photos and looks great doing it.  Get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 19 blog Camera Canon Canonet film learning Max Stansell Photography Photography website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/7/1961-canon-canonet-19 Sat, 14 Jul 2018 13:12:19 GMT
My Film Project https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/6/my-film-project Old EyesOld Eyes I have started shooting film again. Why, you ask?  I began my photography obsession many years ago in the mid '70s, which is when I bought my first film SLR (Single Lens Reflex).  Of course, back then there was really no choice, just film.  So I shot like most teenagers do, taking pictures of friends, family, and events.  I always had my camera nearby.  I only knew enough about photography to get a good exposure, and that was about it.  As I grew older, joined the military, and got married, I started taking photos again and got a little more serious.  In the mid '80s I was shooting color slide film and developing it at home.  I did that for a while.  Later in the late '90s and early 2000s, I was shooting black-and-white film, developing and printing at home.  This was a big operation and labor intensive, especially when you make your one-and-only bathroom a darkroom.  When digital came out, I jumped on it full bore and set my trusty fully-manual SLR on the shelf, and that's where it has stayed for 15 years.  I had been shooting manual for so long I had to learn how to shoot aperture priority and shutter priority and all of the fancy stuff that cameras were doing.  It was like I was learning all over again how to shoot a camera.  I started with a point and shoot and worked my way to the biggest, baddest camera Nikon had to offer and all of the lenses to go with it.  I had to learn how to process my photographs in Lightroom and Photoshop.  Slowly, but surely, I started to go away from the big full frame cameras and started shooting mirrorless crop sensor cameras.  And I loved the way they felt in my hand, like 35mm SLRs did.  And I just love my mirrorless camera and lenses. IMG_1114IMG_1114

But something was missing.  I can't put my finger on it, but it was the sound that a mechanical camera makes.  The weight of the camera.  Rewinding the film.  The analog process I was missing.  I listened to a podcast called The Digital Story by Derrick Story, and he also has a blog The Analog Story.  I listened and started to get excited about film again.  I wanted to crank that crank and manually focus and turn dials that clicked.  I wanted to shoot film again.  I've heard that shooting film will make you a better digital photographer.  It will slow you down.  I don't want to go fully to film.  I will always be a digital photographer first, but I do want to shoot some film when the occasion suits.  How to go about it now in the digital age when film is kind of scarce?

First, I got my old trusty 35mm Pentax MX off of the shelf and cleaned it up well.  I had to replace the light seals that go around the door.  Those are the little felt or foam pieces that keep the light from ruining your film.  That was a chore.  It took me a couple of times before I got it right, but I did.  What about the light meter in the camera?  Was it any good?  The only way to find out was to get a roll of film, shoot it, and get it professionally developed.  I went to my local Walmart and guess what?  Film was on sale -- four rolls for five bucks!  So I bought 2 ,8 rolls of film.  I shot a roll of film in a couple of days and took it to Walgreens to get developed.  Well, things have changed in 15 years.  They have to send your film off, so it takes a week to get it back.  But not really because they don't give the negatives back.  You just get a CD with the scanned JPEGs on them.  All for 15 bucks!  I  was not a happy camper over the price.  But when I got my photos back, they were all correctly exposed!  So yay!  Light meter works and is accurate!  Now, I can't afford 15 bucks every time I shoot a roll of film, so I had to come up with a way that I could develop them myself.  I had never developed color negative film before, but I had done black and white and color slides.   I had all of the equipment.  I just had to get the chemicals and learn how.  So I did.  I developed my first roll of film, and it worked out great!  I had color negatives! 

                                                                                                   So now I have color negatives that I need to get scanned into my computer so _DSC0012-3_DSC0012-3 _DSC0012-Edit-2_DSC0012-Edit-2 I can get them into Lightroom and Photoshop and print.  But how?  I really don't have a scanner that can do a good job.  I don't want to spend any more than I have to.  So I decided to use my mirrorless camera to scan the negatives to get them into the computer.  I used my iPad with a white background to produce the light that shines through the negative.  I had an old film holder that I had from the black-and-white days to hold the film, and I used my Sony A6300 and an adapted Nikon 60mm macro lens that I have to focus manually.  I had the camera tethered to my laptop so I could look at the negative larger to make sure it was sharp.  And it worked!  I don't know If I'll keep using this system.  I would like something that autofocuses because my old eyes don't work like they used to.  But for now IMG_1118IMG_1118 this will do until I find a better way.

Now they're in the computer, but still a negative, so there was some processing that needed to be done.  The image needed to be inverted to make it a positive image. That could be done in Photoshop.  The colors also needed to be adjusted because negative film is made to be projected onto film paper, and the color cast are made for that.  The first couple of times I did all of this manually.  There are programs that will do this for you.  Of course they cost money, and I'm trying to do this on the cheap.  I did some research and found a free action that will color correct you photos in Photoshop.  It does a pretty good job, better that I was doing manually.  It's good enough now that I can live with it.  Later on I may want to upgrade to a software that does a better job.  So after I get everything into Lightroom, it's just like all my other photos.  I can go through my regular work flow and can publish to Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, or even print if I want.

It seems like a long process and it is.  But I really enjoy it.  Analog photography is like listening to LPs on a record player, maybe not as clear and it has pops and scratches.  But to me, that's what makes it great.  That's all for now.  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) analog blog camera devolop digitize film learning max stansell photography pentax photography sony tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/6/my-film-project Tue, 05 Jun 2018 15:42:15 GMT
'Podcasts' The Ones I Listen to https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/5/podcast-my-favorite PodcastPodcast In my current "real job" I do about an hour or so commute every day to and from work.  To occupy my time, I have listened to the radio, audio books, iPod, and all sorts of things to keep my mind working on these two boring hours a day.  I'm kind of slow to learn new things, and I have only found out and started listening to podcasts for about a year now.  I only listen to photography-related podcasts, and I do have some favorites that I will share with you later.  Photography podcasts are a great way to learn new things, photography news, tips and techniques, and learn from more experienced seasoned photographers. So for these two hours a day, I'm doing photography.  Maybe not taking photographs, but getting inspired to take photos or about new gear or to try a new technique.  So here are my favorites. Itunes podcastItunes podcast

1. The Digital Story Photography Podcast.  This Podcast is currently my favorite and has over 600 episodes that last about 30 minutes each. Derrick Story, a California-based photographer/Author/workshop instructor, covers a variety of different topics related to photography.  He also runs The Nimble Photographer and The Analog Story blogs.  He is truly a great storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. He is into lightweight gear and shoots Micro 4/3's cameras.  He is the one that got me back into film photography again.

2. The Landscape Photography Podcast.  This podcast is about landscape photography and is hosted by Nick Page, a Washington State based photographer and a young photographer that has become pretty famous in a short time.  He also has a YouTube channel where he will take you with him on his trips around the west coast and abroad on workshops shooting landscapes.  His podcasts are very informative and funny at times.  He does interviews with famous landscape photographers.  His photo editing tips and tricks with luminosity masks have helped me a lot.

3. Tripod.  If you like Nick Page, you will like this older podcast.  This podcast was done by Nick before he got his own show, and it is much like the landscape photographer podcast.

4.  Recompose Photography Podcast.  This is hosted by Juan Pons and Andy Williams, two very seasoned and famous landscape and wildlife photographers.  Based out of the Northeastern US, they conduct workshops all over the world.  They formerly ran the Alpha Mirrorless Podcast for the TWIP (This Week in Photo) network, which is also a great podcast.  They go over tips and tricks and gear.  Super podcast.

5. Photo Taco Podcast.  Hosted by Jeff Harman, a California-based photographer/instructor, this podcast covers a variety of subjects from backing up your photos to astro photography. Very informative. This is a part of the Master Photography Team.

So these are my top five podcast shows, and here is a list of good shows that you may also like. logopodcastlogopodcast

1. Master Photography Podcast.  This podcast has different topics from travel photography, portraits, landscape, street photography, and the business side of photography.

2.  Photography Tips from the Top Floor.  This is a podcast that originates from Europe and is very good.  It almost made my top five.

3.  The Candid Frame.  This podcast centers around interviews with famous and up-and-coming photographers.  This podcast has been around for years and is very interesting.

4.  This Week In Photo  Another well-established podcast with over 500 episodes. 

5. Picture This! This is a podcast by Chelsea and Tony Northrup.  Both photographers and instructors and very big on YouTube.  They usually have a different perspective of topics and are very funny.

These are abut 10 podcasts to listen to.  There are a lot more, but these are my current favorites.  Podcasts are good to listen to while you're doing house work or yard work or even editing photos.  They are a good source of info and keep your head in the photography game.  So try them and keep on shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning max stansell photography photography podcast tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/5/podcast-my-favorite Thu, 31 May 2018 22:20:16 GMT
RAW+JPEG! and why you should shoot this way https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/5/raw-jpeg-and-why-you-should-shoot-this-way Elvis in WindowElvis in Window "I only shoot in RAW because only amateurs will shoot in JPEG."  Have you heard this or something simular to this?  I have and I probably have said it myself.  Don't get me wrong.  I still think shooting RAW is the best way to shoot.  But what's wrong with a JPEG?  That's what you see when you look at your photo on the LCD screen of your camera.  And I bet that's what you see 99% of the time on your computer and mobile device.  So why shouldn't we shoot in JPEG too?  How many times have you gotten home after a shoot and what you saw on the back of your camera is what you wanted in the first place and you had to spend time processing your RAW photo to get back to the JPEG rendering that was on the back of your camera?  I know I have.  We have very powerful cameras that we have paid a lot of money for.  The technology of these cameras is amazing!  We have WiFi and all of these modes that we can shoot in.  But if you're like me, you're shooting in RAW and spending time on the computer changing photos to get them to look like what's on the back of your camera or changing them to B/W.  Why don't we let the camera do this for us?  I listen to a lot of podcasts (a future blog), and I started hearing about shooting in RAW+JPEG.  And there are some really good reasons to do so.  This weekend I shot in RAW + JPEG for the first time, and I loved it!  Flag SailFlag Sail

Shooting in RAW+JPEG lets you use the power of your camera for processing your images.  First, you shoot in RAW because of all of the reasons that you've always heard about.  You can correct all of the mistakes better, you can change the white balance on the fly, you can do a lot of stuff with a RAW file that you just can't do with a JPEG.  But at the end of the day how many photographs do you really do all of this heavy lifting of the shadows and really working the photograph?  The answer for me is not much.  This weekend I went out with my photography club and I took 300 photographs.  Out of those 300, I really only had to work hard on one photograph to make it look the way I wanted.  And I had the RAW file to do that with. When you shoot RAW, what you download onto your computer isn't what you saw on the back of your camera.  So you spend time getting that RAW image to look like the JPEG that you saw.  Why not just use the JPEG if it looks the way you want it to out of camera?  Why spend the time making the RAW look like your JPEG?  Just use the JPEG.

_MSP9038_MSP9038 I love black and white photography.  When I shot film, that was what I shot most of the time.  Did you know you can set your camera up to shoot RAW + JPEG and then set your camera profile to shoot B/W.  You will now get the RAW file with all of the color and all of the info and a JPEG in B/W.  You will also see on the back of your camera the photo in B/W.  And I'm telling you the JPEG rendering is very good!  Your camera company has spent a lot of time and research money to make them look great!   The most work you'll have to do in post is crop.  Depending on your camera you may have many modes:  portrait, vivid, B/W, sepia, sunset, and many more to play with.  This will free up your creativity because you know you always have that RAW file in the background if you need it.

Using WiFi and posting to social media.  Posting to social media is what I do with most of my photographs.  Cameras have been out with WiFi for quite a while, but how many of us actually use them?  I must admit that I don't use it often.  But using the JPEG file makes it easier because there is less processing that needs to be done, and the file is smaller and easier to transfer via WiFi.  I did this this weekend (Memorial Day Weekend).  I went to my local Veterans Cemetery and took some shots of the tombstones with the flags.  I sent the JPEG to my phone using WiFi, sent it to "Snap Seed" to do a little crop, and then sent it to social media.  And it looked great!  I could have done this with my iPhone, but I wouldn't have gotten the shot I wanted.

Would I do this for all types of photography?  No, I wouldn't.  I wouldn't do this for portrait photography.  Landscape? Maybe. Sports, no.  I would shoot JPEG.  But photography like travel, urban, street, and almost anything else I would.  And I will.  So the next photo walk you do, try RAW+JPEG and see what you get.  You'll be surprised.  Have fun and keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning max stansell photography photography raw+jpeg tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/5/raw-jpeg-and-why-you-should-shoot-this-way Wed, 30 May 2018 09:47:52 GMT
My Work Flow https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/2/my-work-flow Screen Shot 2018-02-03 at 7.16.10 AMScreen Shot 2018-02-03 at 7.16.10 AM Hey everyone!  I have done a few blogs and videos on different portions of my process but haven't really gone through the whole thing.  So just imagine that you've just gotten back from an outing of shooting and you have taken all of these great photos.  You've looked at them on the back of your camera, but you need to get them off and into your computer for processing.  I shoot in RAW format.  But when looking at the back of your camera, you're looking at JPEGs which have been compressed and have been processed by your camera.  So if you really like the photo that's on the back of your camera, you still have some work to do to make the RAW file with no corrections to look like the back of your camera. We also want to safeguard our images, make backups for safety in case of equipment failure.  So now you have your SD card with all of your images on it.  This is Copy 1 of your images.  Let's get the images onto your computer.

Import into Lightroom

Getting the images onto my computer, I will hook up a card reader and insert my SD card.  I use Adobe Lightroom to do almost all of my editing and all of my organizing. I have made a video that is a couple of years old, and it's basically how I do things now, except I don't store any of my photos on the hard drive of the computer.  I keep all of my photos on an external drive.  I also just copy to my external.  I "don't copy as DNG."  I still like the DNG, but it takes too long to convert.  Everything else is basically the same.  Lightroom stores everything in catalogs.  I have one master catalog that has all my images through the years in it.  It is stored on my main IMac computer.  When I'm traveling or camping, I have a mobile catalog that is stored on an SSD external drive so I can edit and cull photographs while I'm away.  When I get back home, I can transfer those photos back to the master catalog with all my edits from my mobile computer/laptop intact.  Think of the Lightroom catalog like your iTunes library.  All of your images edits are kept there like all of your music on iTunes library.  Notice I said all images "edits" are kept there.  Your original RAW files are still on your hard drive, whether it's internal or external. Here is the link to the import video that I have on YouTube.  

Importing into Lightroom

Library Module and Culling

After you have your photos in Lightroom, the culling process starts.  This is choosing the best images (the ones you want to process).  This can be Arrows and blocksArrows and blocksArrows and blocks. Correlation of the parts. Relations. a big job!  If you say took 500 images, out of those images you'll probably only have maybe 50 at the most that are worth processing.  So getting down to the 50 or 20 good photos that you want to process is culling.  There are many ways to do this, and you kind of have to figure this out for yourself.  But this is how I do it.  I go through four or five images at a time and pick the ones I like by rating them to a "1" rating.  I do this very quickly, and here is my logic for this.  When you walk into a room full of people, it doesn't take but a few seconds for you to find the prettiest/most handsome in the room.  Our mind's eye picks out the person in a flash and will also find the best photo in a flash.  Now after going through the photos, I have knocked out the 500 number to about 100 real quick.  Then if I need to I'll do it again and rate a 2  to the best photo and I have knocked the images down to 25.  I can process those photos and then I can pick all of the unrated photos and delete them.  By doing this you will keep the number of useless photos down and keep the speed of your computer up.  Now, I don't get rid of everything.  If I have photos with family or friends in them, I usually keep them.  But the rest of the unrated photos are deleted.  I don't need 50 shots of the same tree that I will never use taking up space on my computer.  One or two will do.  Here is a video that I made a couple of years ago on the library module and my culling process.

Library Module and Culling 

Processing (Five-Step Tango)

tango-party-design-poster-vector-illustration_10083-26tango-party-design-poster-vector-illustration_10083-26 My processing  procedure has not changed in many years.  I use a process called the five-step Tango that I hijacked from a photographer/teacher, Jack Davis, a long time ago, and it works well for me.  I usually take less than five minutes on most photos to process unless I'm doing a portrait or a composite that will take longer when I bring it into Photoshop. Some people really get into this portion of the workflow process and that's great.  But for me, the least amount of time I spend on the computer after a shoot the better.   I have a couple of videos on processing that I will link here also.  Here is the link to the YouTube videos.

Five Step Tango

Lightroom Develop Module Part 1

Lightroom Develop Module Part 2

Exporting Photos

fb-artfb-art Now that you have your photos processed, what next?  How do you share what you have done so far?  In the film era, you sent your film away or you processed it yourself and had prints made.  Today you have many options.  You can share with family and friends many ways through the internet.  Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, 500px are just some of the ways you can share your images.  What about prints?  What about Canvas?  Putting your photos into calendars, cups, stickers?  For me personally, most of the photos I take flickrflickr and process are shared through the internet with the above-mentioned websites and of course this site!  I love to see the feedback and ratings I get from these sites and friends.  I also create a couple of canvases and I do print small for my house or family and friends, usually 5x7 and 8x10's.  But what about the future when I'm long gone?  I think prints are one way for future generations so see my work.  I've also started making books.  We did this for an end-of-year project this year with my camera club, and it was pretty great.  So that's one project that I will be doing yearly and maybe for large trips in the future.

Storage

I still have my original RAW photos on my SD card.  I also have another copy of them on my external drive that I have been using for all of my edits.  In the digital age at least two copies of your work is needed to be safe that you don't lose what you have done.  So now I have to place the SD card back into my camera to use again.  So I will need to format the card which will erase all of my RAW data, and I will only have one copy of my images.  I have done many backup strategies in the past, and the one discussed in my last blog post Backup Strategies (check out that blog for more detail)  is the one that I use now.  Backing up to a cloud-based storage.  That backs up my main computer and external drives.  But what about my laptops and mobile devices?  I also back those up to external drives every couple of weeks or so using time machine or PC's backup program.  I'm real big into backups after I had my Macbook Pro have some problems with a video card and I had to have the motherboard replaced.  I had just done a backup of my laptop.  So when I got it back from Mac, I just ran a restore and it was back to where I left it and I didn't lose anything.   By having one copy of my files at home and one on the cloud, if anything happens like a fire, a hard drive crash, or a stolen computer, I still have a backup on the cloud.

I hope this helps in some way and doesn't confuse anyone.  This is my workflow process, and it works for me and for what I do in photography.  I am not a professional photographer, just a photography enthusiast/hobbyist who loves to share.  Keep shooting!

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog export learning lightroom max stansell photography photography photoshop sd website workflow https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/2/my-work-flow Sat, 03 Feb 2018 12:43:57 GMT
My Mobile Computing https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/1/mobile-computing _MSP6749_MSP6749 Hey Everyone! Hope everyone is dealing with the cold weather better than I am.  As I get older the cold affects me more than it used to.  Anyway, this blog is about my mobile computing solution.  I have two main computers.  Both are Macs:  my iMac, which has a 27-inch Retna screen which is awesome, and a 15- inch Macbook Pro that is awesome!  It's an older one, but I have upgraded the ram and the hard drive and it's quick and works great. To replace it would be very expensive with a new model, and then to have it broken or stolen would break my heart.  And it's pretty large and heavy compared to newer models.  So I wanted to get a mobile computing device that ticked three boxes. Box 1, it had to be inexpensive so if it broke or got lost not a big deal.  Box 2, it had to be small and lightweight.  And Box 3, it had to be able to run Lightroom so I could backup files to an external hard drive.  So I went on a search for the machine that would tick those three boxes.  And let me tell you that was hard, but I finally made a _MSP6753_MSP6753 decision and went with a machine that will work.

The machine I went with was the Lenovo Miix 320.  It is a 2-inch laptop/tablet with 4 gb ram and 128 SSD hard drive.  The operating system is Windows 10 64bit with a 10.1 display at 1920x1200 resolution. It has a detachable keyboard and can be used as a tablet. I got this machine refurbished off of Ebay, and it looks like brand new.  I was a little nervous ordering it off of Ebay, but everything worked out okay.  This little machine has ticked all of the boxes mentioned above.

Box 1, had to be inexpensive.  My goal was to try to keep the price under $300, which is almost impossible, so that's why I went with refurbished.  That actually kept the price down and brought in all kinds of computers that were available.  I wanted a laptop that had a real operating system not a Crome Book that are selling for the price range that I want.  This machine came in at $199!  Tick!

Box 2, small and lightweight.  This little 10-inch screen machine only weights 2.2 lbs.  It does have a small screen, but the resolution is great and sharp.  The keyboard is crunched together a bit, but it has full-sized keys and doesn't take long to get used to.  It's small enough to go into a small backpack or small shoulder bag. Tick!

Box 3, has to be able to run Lightroom and make backups to an external drive. This is probably the most important box of all.  The minimum ram requirement for Lightroom to run is 4 gb of ram, which this machine does have, just does. That's one of the reasons I wanted an SSD to increase the speed.  It does run Lightroom.  I won't be processing a lot of photos on it, but it's nice to know I can without any problems. The machine comes with 2 USB 2 ports and one USB C port, so transferring files via USB works fine. Tick!

_MSP6755_MSP6755 So this machine handled all of my criteria for my mobile machine.  Would I love to have a 13-inch Macbook Air?  You bet.  But they just cost way too much.  If money weren't a factor, that's the way I would go.  But it isn't.  I'm really surprised at how well this little computer works.  Browsing the internet and all other regular computer functions, this little computer works great.  It runs Lightroom well enough to process photos, cull, and backup with no problem, although it is a little slow but not that bad. I think that this little machine will work well for what I need when I go camping or on a photo outing without worry of theft or breakage.  I'm not really promoting any brand or operating system because I'm a die hard Mac guy, but for this purpose I hope this little machine will be the ticket!  Only time will tell.  Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) 320 blog computers computing laptop lenovo lightroom mac max stansell photography miix mobile photography tablet website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/1/mobile-computing Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:29:59 GMT
Photo File Backup Strategy https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/1/photo-file-backup-strategy Hey everyone!  I hope the holidays were safe and full of happy memories.  It's the beginning of the new year, we've had our first snow of the season, and it's very cold outside with temps in the single digits in the mornings.  Very cold for Eastern North Carolina. So I have been taking this time to clean up photo files from last year, deleting the ones that I will never use and making sure the ones I keep are key worded and making sure things are backed up. Which leads me to this blog's discussion, backing up our files.  In the age of film, it was a lot simpler.  You could print your photo and hide away your negatives in a box somewhere and there you have it.  It was backed up, your photo in one place and negative in another.  Now if you had them both stored in the same place and there was a fire you were done!  Lost everything.  So if you were real serious about safety, you could store your negatives in another place in case of fire.  Seems simple enough, but in the age of digital it seems to be a lot more confusing.

First, let's talk about mobile backup.  When you're on a vacation, trip, or workshop that lasts a couple of days, how do you back up files? In film days you didn't.  You just put your roll of film in a safe spot and hoped for the best.  With digital it's good to have multiple copies of your files for safety when the storage device you are using fails, and they will fail.  Here is the system that works for me and how I back up my files.  First, let's say I'm on a week-long workshop somewhere very remote, no internet or phone service, just beautiful landscapes everywhere.  My first backup is my SD card.  I have purchased enough of them to last a week.  SD cards are pretty cheap now.  You can get them wherever you see a sale, and before you know it you'll have quite a few.  Before my trip, I format all of my cards and put them in a card case that I have labeled Day 1, 2, 3 etc... On day one I use the Day 1 card.  At the end of the day, I back that card up to an external drive that I take with me, then take the card and put it in the case and put the card labeled 2 into my camera and am ready to go.  I don't format anything while Im on a trip.  Now I have two copies of my images from Day 1.  Pretty simple and fairly inexpensive.  When I travel, I have my cards in one bag and my external drive in another.  The external drive doesn't need to be real fancy.  You can get one for 50 bucks, give or take.  If you get an SSD external drive, it will cost a little more, but for speed and durability I would recommend it.  These external drives don't need to be huge. They could be 250-500 gig because they are only temporary until you get home to back them up again.

At home, back up.  I have gone through so many different strategies for backing up files.  I have bought external drives, put files on CDs and DVDs, and tried to mirror external drives, but I really haven't found a system that has really been easy or efficient until now.  First of all, let me say that most people save way too many images.  For example, if you took 20 photos of this spooky tree and you picked one image to process and used that one for making a canvas five years ago, why are you keeping the other 19 that you didn't like then and haven't used since?  DELETE them!  Save space, time, and effort backing them up.  Now, I'm not talking about family photos.  I keep all photos of family members that are halfway decent.  I do.  But workshop or just riding around photos, cull out the ones that you know you're not going to ever use again. What I usually do when I import photos into Lightroom after a shoot is I go through them, and the ones I like I'll give them one star.  I then will go through those and cull even more, etc... At the end of the year, I'll go through all my photos, and anything without one star I get rid of.  I'm probably not going to use anything after a year anyway. So that's step one. Get rid of excess.

Step two has changed over the years.  Let me start by saying there are many ways to back up your files, and my way is by no means the best for everyone, just best for me so far.  The most important thing is to back up your files.  No mater how you do them make a back up of your art. My first backup plan was like most of your plans I had none! I put everything on my hard drive with no backup incase of drive failure.  Of course as my drive got full my computer slowed down so I had to find a way to get files off of my computer.  So I started making CD's with files on them.  I would take older folders of photo's and put them on CD's and that got them off of my computer but still didn't have a backup.  Then I got my first external drive and I would put one copy of my photo's on computer and one on external drive my first real backup. But I didn't have a backup of what was on the CD's.  So then I got another External drive and Copied all of my files from the CD's to the external drive and copied my external to the other external drive. Now for the first time I actually had a backup of all my files.  But how to keep the backup? Thats the trick it actually takes me to physically make the backups.  Which if your like me "Lazy" its hard to do.  So then I tried to import to both drives but then I had raw files on one drive and processed files on the other.  What to do?  I want a system that will be simple.  I want a backup that is safe away from my active backup (the one that I'm using in Lightroom).  

I'm on a podcast listening craze for the last couple of months and one of the podcast that I've listen to was Alpha Mirrorless with Juan Pons and Andy Williams.  Both are wildlife and Landscape photographers that travel half of the year and I've pretty much copied what Andy Williams does for his backups. You can listen to their backup episode #17 which gets into detail. So I've just started a cloud based backup system through a company called BackBlaze which can automatically back up your computer and any external drives connected to them for 50 bucks a year. There are many more companies that do this but I used this one on the advice of Andy Williams and Juan Pons.  What I like about it is I don't have to think, its simple I don't have to take the time to make the backup.  If something should happen to my system you can retrieve from the cloud or they will ship you a external drive with all your files on them.  They have been in the business for quite a while with a good safety reputation.  The only downside of this is that it takes a while for the initial download of all your files.  Im still in that process but after the initial it should be fairly quick.  Then Ill have a copy at my house and one away from my house incase of a fire theft or computer crash or whatever. And I can access from any computer anywhere to download a file.

Thats pretty much my system when I import to lightroom from my SD card or from my mobile external drive (I keep my photo's on external drive not computers hard drive) it goes to my drive and will be backed backed up by Backblaze on the cloud. I have tried to make my back up plan like my camera situation by making it simpler, smaller and more efficient.  Again this is my system use any system you want but please use a system and keep on shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog cards cloud drives external file hard learning max stansell photography photography sd storage tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2018/1/photo-file-backup-strategy Sun, 07 Jan 2018 14:36:28 GMT
Lightroom Catalog Management on Laptops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/12/lightroom-catalog-management-on-laptops Hey everyone!  Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday and ate lots of Turkey!  I know I did.  This blog is about how I plan to manage my Lightroom catalog on my laptops for next year.  File management is an ongoing process for me, and I change it every so often.  This year I'll be adding a small travel laptop to the mix.  Currently, I have my iMac with a 27-inch monitor that I love.  I also have a 15-inch Macbook Pro that I have had for years and have upgraded the memory and hard drive on to an SSD, and I just love it!  But it's a little on the heavy side, and I want a small laptop or 2-inch computer to take with me when I travel. _DSC4702_DSC4702  Whether it's camping in my Teardrop trailer or on photo workshops with my photography club, the last couple of years I have kept a separate Lightroom catalog on my laptop and my all photos catalog on my iMac separate and merged them at the end of the year.  It's not too hard to do and seems to work out okay.  But if I add another computer to the mix, what then?  Do I work with three Lightroom catalogs?  And when I have my photos on a laptop catalog, it can be difficult to look at them on my iMac if I haven't transferred them to it.  So here is the solution that I plan to try this year.  I'm going to purchase an SSD external hard drive for faster operating speed.  I'm going to create a Lightroom catalog and put the catalog and everything on the SSD drive.  Then, no matter what computer I'm using, I can bring up the catalog on the SSD drive and edit my photos on the iMac, MacBook Pro, or my travel computer.  

_DSC4701_DSC4701 I haven't purchased my travel computer yet, but I have a few requirements that I'm looking for.  First, it should be small and portable with an 11 to 12 inch screen.  It has to have the ports so I can back up photos to an external drive.  I want it to have a Solid State Drive (SSD) for optimum speed and as much RAM that I can get at a low price (maybe 8gb).  And it must be cheap, in the $300-ish range.  That way if I break it, lose it, or if it's stolen, I'm not heart broken like I would be with my Macbook Pro.  I don't plan on storing anything on it, so the hard drive doesn't need to be large. 128gb will be fine.  I really don't plan on doing a lot of editing, but I want it to be capable of running Lightroom Classic so I can cull out bad photos and maybe edit one or two photos now and then.  Other than that, it will be a web browsing, email checking computer.  Now with the price range I just gave, you can figure out that my travel laptop will not be an Apple product.  I would love for it to be, but I want my travel computer to be cheap.  So it will be a Windows operating system, and I will have to format my drive so it will work with Windows and Mac products so I can pass the information between the two operating systems.  I currently use Adobe Creative Cloud for Photographers, which is a $10 per month subscription for both Lightroom and Photoshop.  You can only run two computers on the subscription at a time, so I'll have to sign out of one of my devices and sign onto my travel laptop for this to work.  From what I have read, this should be possible.  Adobe even gives you instructions on how to do so.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog database laptop learning lightroom management max stansell photography photography travel website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/12/lightroom-catalog-management-on-laptops Sat, 16 Dec 2017 19:29:48 GMT
I Jumped! Making the Switch from DSLR to Mirrorless, Nikon to Sony https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/11/i-jumped-making-the-switch-from-dslr-to-mirrorless-nikon-to-sony AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2AMT2016-sony-a6300-review-0423-2Photographer: Anthony Thurston Well everyone, I have finally made the switch.  I am officially a full-time, mirrorless shooter!  As you may know, I have been shooting DSLRs in some form or fashion for many years.  I went from entry-level cameras to professional grade cameras and lenses.  I used to shoot film cameras when I was younger, completely manual operation from exposure to focusing.  So I have evolved from film shooting, black and white developing in the bathroom, to color slides, to point and shoot digital, to entry level DSLR's, professional DSLR's, and now to mirrorless cameras.  There was a learning curve at each step, and I would like to think that my photography skills improved with each level.  So you're probably wondering, why switch if I have been shooting professional-grade cameras?  I have many reasons.  But first, let me say that the professional cameras are great!  I'm not putting them down in any way or fashion.  I learned a lot using them and am thankful that I went through the process of getting them and using them.  But why switch?  Let me go through how I got hooked on mirrorless cameras.

About five or six years ago, my photography got me out of the house to start exploring different areas of our state.  I started _MSP9570_MSP9570 hiking all of the trails I could find at State and National Parks and wanted to do more.  My son and I decided that we wanted to start back packing.  This entails hiking into the woods with everything you need to camp overnight:  tent, sleeping bag, food, etc... Well, we soon found out that the packs were heavy, and then when you carry a full-frame camera and a couple of professional lenses, the weight really added up.  A camera and a couple of f2.8 lenses could weigh up to 20 pounds. That's like three one-gallon jugs of milk that you carry around with you on top of all of your camping supplies.  That made the pack very heavy, and it was already heavy enough with just the camping stuff.  There were many pack configurations that were tried to relieve the weight of the camera and lenses, but nothing seemed to work.  I was working on getting lighter camping equipment, but the weight of the camera was just too much.  I had to come up with a solution that would still give me good quality photos, so I started looking into micro 4/3 cameras.  I set up a checklist of things that I wanted out of a little camera.  Some of them were that it had to be able to shoot in manual, it needed to be able to shoot in RAW, and it needed to be able to change lenses. I actually had it down to two cameras, an Olympus and a Sony.  They both had great reviews, but I finally picked the Sony because of the sensor size.  It had a larger ASP-C sized sensor, and the Olympus had a micro 4/3's, a smaller sensor.  So weight was the first thing that brought me to the mirrorless cameras.  But after a big learning curve, there were many other things that brought me to become a mirrorless camera user.  Here are some of them:

11-sony-a630011-sony-a6300 1. Sensor Quality.  Sony makes a lot of sensors for many camera companies besides Sony.  There is Nikon, Iphone, and maybe more, but those are two big ones.  The sensors are great, and the quality of the photographs I was taking were just as good as my professional camera as far as I could tell.

2. Customizable buttons.  The Sony cameras are very customizable.  The camera comes with custom buttons, and all of the buttons can be customized to you and your style of photography.  For instance, I love back-button focus, so my camera is set up for it.

3. Size.  Not only is it lightweight, but it is also small.  A small footprint camera takes up less room in a pack or bag, and you can carry more with you and still be lighter than a full size DSLR.  I think this makes you a more nimble/mobile photographer.  I think that this makes you a better photographer, especially at the end of the day when the photographers have been lugging around a big camera and you are still rested enough to keep looking for good shots, not looking for somewhere to sit down. 20171102_untitled shoot_000120171102_untitled shoot_0001

4. Price.  Overall, the price of mirrorless cameras can be cheaper, especially in the ASP-C sensor sized camera. Now, like everything you can spend as much as you want for mirrorless.  But like everything else, you don't have to.  You can also adapt vintage lenses from the film days to your camera with a cheap adapter.  I use some of my Pentax and Nikon lenses on this small body, and it brings me back to the days of film when everything was manual. And the size is about the same also.

5. What you see is what you get.  WYSIWYG when you look through the view finder or the back of the camera.  What you are looking at is what the sensor sees, so you know before you take the photo if it is correctly exposed or in focus.  There really is no need to chimp, and it takes the guesswork out of exposure and lets you concentrate on composure, light, and subject.  After the big learning curve, there is less fiddling with the camera.

22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n All the things above and more make the mirrorless cameras more fun to use.  Isn't that why we love photography so much? It's fun! That's the reason I am gearing down, not up!  I have sold all of my big boy cameras and lenses and now only have one camera. I think this will make me think more about photography and less about gear.  Now when I go somewhere I carry my camera, three lenses, and filters.  The lenses are 10-18 f4, 18-105 f4, and a 70-200 f4 full frame equivalent to 105-300.  This kit is very light, and I can carry it very easily in a shoulder bag that I call my purse.  I used this system at our annual photography workshop a couple of weeks ago, and it was fantastic!  While everyone was lugging around a large camera and one lens, I had my purse with three lenses at my disposal at the same weight or less.  I know famous people like Jason Lanier and Gary Fong have made the switch, but they are sponsored by Sony.  I am the only one that I know of that has made the switch from DSLR to mirrorless.  I know I'm the only one in my photography club that has made the jump into full-time mirrorless.  Some have dabbled in mirrorless, but none have gone full in.  I believe I am the first of many that will eventually switch to mirrorless. For me and the photography that I do (landscape, travel, and occasional portraits), this camera works for me.  I don't need the professional camera rig.  This mirrorless fits me and the photography that I enjoy.  So choose the gear that is right for you! Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog changing dslr fun learning max stansell photography mirrorless photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/11/i-jumped-making-the-switch-from-dslr-to-mirrorless-nikon-to-sony Thu, 02 Nov 2017 23:48:22 GMT
Does Gear Really Make the Photo II, Post trip conclusions https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/10/post-trip-conclusions 22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n22814418_10210727646164222_1824769434837060805_n Hey everyone!  I hope you've had a good couple of weeks. Well, this is a Part II to the "Does Gear Really Make the Photo?" blog.  My camera club went on our annual trip to the mountains for a week of fun photography.  We shot wildlife, waterfalls, cityscapes, landscapes, and macros.  We shot it all and had a great time.  As I stated in my last blog, my experiment for this trip was to use my crop sensor mirrorless Sony A6300 for my main camera for the whole trip.  We went to some of the same places that we went to in 2015, so I will show you similar shots that I took two years ago and this year and see if you can tell the difference from a 36 megapixel full frame camera compared to my 24 megapixel crop sensor mirrorless camera that I used on this trip.  But first, let me tell you about the experience I had with my little camera on this trip.

22687733_10210704932316390_5072236385493429418_n22687733_10210704932316390_5072236385493429418_n Using this camera on this trip was fantastic and I think made my photography better because I could carry so much with me without being weighed down like a pack mule.  I used a little side bag that I called my purse that held my camera, three lenses, batteries, SD cards, GoPro, filters, sunglasses, and phone.  And I had room for a sandwich also if I wanted one. LOL! The weight of this bag wasn't any more that that of a full frame camera and a good 24-70 f2.8 lens.  I loved having this bag with me.  I could change lenses on the fly, and it was better than a backpack because I didn't have to take it off to access it.  The three main lenses I carried were a Sony 10-18 f4, a Sony 18-105 f4, and a Sony 55-210mm f4.5-6.3.  The last lens was the weakest in the set and at a range that I don't use often, but I did get a few good ones out of it.  This lens I will replace with a better quality one.  While on the trip, I used a Canon 70-200 f4 L non IS lens with an adapter that makes it autofocus with my Sony.  It 22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n22730511_10210704932196387_7018311079726609722_n worked great and quality was fantastic.  I will be purchasing this lens soon.  My main lens was the 18-105mm and was a great walk-around lens.  Worked well on the long exposures also.  The 10-18 was a fantastic performer when I used it mostly for long exposures.  I had circular polarizers that I used often and a Lee filter kit that I used for waterfalls (long exposures) and sunrises and sunset. And all of this fit into my little purse quite well.  I had the flexibility to add and remove things as I needed them all while being lightweight.  As I get older and less agile, the weight and size of my gear makes a difference in my stamina, and that will affect my photography.

The quality of my little mirrorless camera didn't surprise me.  It is a fantastic camera with a great sensor.  As you probably know, I have been using a Sony crop sensor mirrorless for the last couple of years.  I first bought one to use hiking and slowly fell in love with it.  I upgraded from a Sony A6000 to a A6300 this year, and it is a great camera.  A mirrorless crop sensor has been my main camera for a couple of years now, and I think I'm going to take the plunge and get rid of all of my Big Boy camera and lenses and go to a mirrorless crop sensor from now on.  I have already sold a couple of lenses and plan to sell my full frame bodies and other lenses and flashes that I have.  I'm going to gear down instead of gearing up like I usually do.  The quality of my photos was the same or even better in my opinion.  Below are some photos that I have taken from two years ago and from this trip.  I put them side by side so you could see if there was a big difference in quality of the photos.  Take time to look at them and see if you can tell which one was a full frame camera with F2.8 glass and which one was my little mirrorless Sony with F4 glass.

The photos on the left side column were taken with a full frame Nikon D800 with F2.8 lenses.  The photos on the right were taken with a mirrorless crop sensor Sony A6300 with F4 lenses.  To me it is hard to tell the difference, especially if they are going to be used on the internet or to make prints or canvases that I would print.  Are the full frame cameras great?  You bet they are they are fantastic!  The professional 2.8 glass is awesome!  But do I really need it for the type of photography that I'm going to do?  I don't think so. The mere size and weight of theses cameras are what is really turning me, and the quality of the shots that I'm getting with this small camera is some of the best I've shot.  If I were doing a lot of portraiture or weddings, the larger camera would be an asset.  But for what I do, it is not.  So now I am taking inventory and getting rid of all of my larger gear.  Will I ever buy a full frame camera again?  Probably, but it will be of the mirrorless cameras that are full frame which makes them smaller.  But for now I'm going to stick with the camera that I used this year.  Any thoughts?  Let me know and keep shooting!


2015-10-25-MSP-333Photo 1 D800 70-200 2.8Max Stansell Photography 20171022_GAPC FC Day 8_011320171022_GAPC FC Day 8_0113Sony A6300 70-200 f4

2015-10-24-MSP-0222015-10-24-MSP-022Max Stansell Photography 20171018_GAPC Fall Colors 2017_001620171018_GAPC Fall Colors 2017_0016 20171018_GAPC Fall Colors 2017_001820171018_GAPC Fall Colors 2017_0018 Looking Glass Falls NCLooking Glass Falls NCMax Stansell Photography 2015-10-24-MSP-0732015-10-24-MSP-073Max Stansell Photography 20171022_GAPC FC Day 8_009020171022_GAPC FC Day 8_0090

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog frame full learning max stansell photography mirrorless photography tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/10/post-trip-conclusions Sat, 28 Oct 2017 15:13:16 GMT
Product Review Neewer N40S https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/9/product-review-neewer-n40s 20170826_untitled shoot_000220170826_untitled shoot_0002  Hey, Everyone !  I've got a new product review that I want to share with you.  As you may know, I have fallen in love with the Sony Alfa series of cameras for doing the majority of my personal photography.  Most of this stuff is outdoors, but I wanted a flash that would do TTL.  I am a big believer in the Yongnuo brand of inexpensive flashes for my Nikon camera and have several that I can use in manual mode with my Sony A6300 which is fine, but I wanted at least one flash that I could use TTL with and hopefully one that would easily travel.  So I started my search for a small flash that could do TTL. 

20170826_untitled shoot_000120170826_untitled shoot_0001 I stared with Google and of course my beloved YouTube.  The flash that kept coming up was the Nissin i40 made in Japan.  It does TTL and high-speed sync with a guide number of 40.  So I looked it up on Amazon and it was $260, which was out of my price range. Then I saw the Neewer N40S made in China.  It's pretty much a copy of the Nissin i40 and the price is right at 75 bucks, so I had to try it.

My first impression of it when I got it was that it was small.  It feels well built and comes with a case that is well built. The guide number is 40, and the guide number of my Yongnuos are 58.  So they are not quite as strong as the Yongnuos are.  But thats okay.  I'm not looking to do a lot of flash photography with my Sony.  Very easy to operate with dial and not a digital display with complicated menus.  The unit can be run in manual, automatic , TTL, and high-speed sync, and it has a video light built in.  Now, the video light is not its strongest feature, but it's kind of cool that it has one.

20170826_untitled shoot_002120170826_untitled shoot_0021 20170826_untitled shoot_002320170826_untitled shoot_0023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are two photos that were both taken at 1/2000 sec @ f4.0, the one on the left without flash and one on the right with flash. High speed sync check!  This little flash has ticked all the boxes on my checklist.  I think for the money and what I'm going to use it for, it's the right one for me.

Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog flash learning max stansell photography neewer photography sony speedlight tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/9/product-review-neewer-n40s Tue, 19 Sep 2017 21:32:49 GMT
Does Gear Really Make the Photo? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/8/does-gear-really-make-the-photo They say that admitting to a problem is the first step in solving a problem, so here goes.  I have been a gear hound for a long time.  I have GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).   For some time now I have been under the impression that gear makes the photo, and I'm not alone.  There are lots of you just like me.  I have accumulated some of the finest gear that money can buy, and my photos have improved.  But was it because of my gear or the know how that I have acquired learning how to use this gear? My Camera'sMy Camera's  To be honest, I think it is a little of both.  Good gear does matter to a point for sharpness, depth of field, and dynamic range.  But composure, making long exposures, and composition are all things that the camera does not control, we do.  Do we really need the top of the line gear if this is just our hobby and most of what we use our images for is for putting on some website?  Do I need 36 megapixels?  Do I need 42 megapixels?  I say no unless your printing for billboards!  So what do you need for good photos?  My answer is simple.  The best camera you can afford.  Most of all the new cameras that are coming out now will do the job.  So don't max out your credit cards buying the most expensive thing out there just because some article says to do so.  So what is my criteria for a good camera?  One, that you can put it in full manual mode, that you can shoot in RAW, and that you can change lenses (some of the built-in zooms work fine too).  I don't think megapixels make a difference in today's cameras.  All of them have plenty. DSCF0513DSCF0513

My camera club goes to the mountains once a year and spends a week with the fall colors,  waterfalls, and wildlife.  This week is the most photo active time of the year for me as I am not a professional full-time photographer.  Some of my best photos of the year come from this trip.  I usually carry my big camera and all of my expensive lenses with me and really get good results.  A couple of years or so ago I purchased a Sony mirrorless camera that has become my go-to camera.  It's small and compact compared to my big Nikon rig that I have.  I bought it for backpacking because of its size and weight, but I have come to love it.  So this year when my camera club goes to the mountains, the Sony mirrorless camera will be my main camera for the trip.  I will use it for the waterfalls, wildlife, all the fall colors, and everything else.  I will take my Nikon and one lens as a backup.  The Sony kit will contain the following items:

  1. Sony A6300 body
  2. 2 kit lens 16-50 mm and 55-210 lens
  3. 18-105mm F4 lens and 10-18mm F4 lens
  4. Pentax 28mm  f2.8 manual focus lens W/Sony adapter
  5. Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro manual focus lens W/Sony adapter

My Nikon will be the D800 with 24-70mm 2.8 lens.

10404408_10203141767201989_3296463740236017661_n10404408_10203141767201989_3296463740236017661_n We will be visiting some of the same waterfalls that we have visited in the past that I used my Nikon on, and I want to see what the difference is with my Sony mirrorless and my full frame Nikon.  Will my photos be better, worse, or the same?  I believe they will be the same, but only time will tell.  If they do turn out the same or even better, what does that mean?  Will I get rid of my expensive equipment?  Will I sell?  I don't know.  I still like my big camera and lenses for portraits, especially when using studio lights or flashes.  But I could use my mirrorless to do the same.  All that is still up in the air.  But for the foreseeable future I will be using my Sony for everything except portraits.

How many times have you been looking at Facebook or some other social media outlet and saw a fantastic photograph, only to be dismayed when you found out it was taken with an iPhone?  Remember, photography is supposed to be fun and not a contest to see who has the most or the biggest gear.  Enjoy your photography, and save your money so you can go to more places to use your photography.  Remember, it's not the camera.  It's the photographer that takes great photos.  I plan on gearing down and making things more simple, not more complicated. Get out and shoot! 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog camera gear landscape learning max stansell photography photography tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2017/8/does-gear-really-make-the-photo Mon, 14 Aug 2017 16:21:59 GMT
William B. Umstead State Park Hike https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/12/william-b-umstead-state-park-hike Umstead 2Umstead 2 Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, the William B. Umstead State Park is a great park with 22 miles of hiking trails that are well used.  The park is situated in Raleigh and the townsfolk use it a lot for hiking, trail running, biking ...   Umstead 3Umstead 3 The 22 miles of trails give you access to most of the park and vary in lengths from short to long trails.  A couple of my photography friends and I went up there to do some hiking and get some exercise.  Of course, being photographers, we had to document the event.   GOPR2757GOPR2757DCIM\101GOPRO We had a great time of fellowship and also had a little foot problems by one of the guys that I'm sure will be corrected by our next hike.  Please enjoy the video from the link below!

 

Umstead State Park Hike Video

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(Max Stansell Photography) Hiking Max Stansell Photography Photography Trails Video website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/12/william-b-umstead-state-park-hike Tue, 13 Dec 2016 14:34:55 GMT
Hiking Gear https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/12/hiking-gear  

As a landscape and nature photographer, hiking is kind of second nature.  You have to get to great locations to get great shots that everyone else does not have.  The longer your hike is, the more important it is to pack light.  Weight matters!  My everyday/hiking kit I try to keep as light as possible.  The kit I'm going to show you is right at 7 lbs.  My big professional Nikon D800 camera and one lens weigh in at 5 lbs. That's only one lens, no tripod filters or anything else, just camera.  My hiking kit consists of four lenses (I have other ones in the wings to switch out if I need to), a tripod, filters, and lots of other goodies.  Here is a photo of my stuff and an itemized list.

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1. Camera Sony A6000 (crop sensor) with Pentax 28mm f2.8 vintage lens which I used on a film camera about 30ish years ago. With the crop sensor, the lens is at a focal length of about 42mm, good for close photographs like a walk in the woods.

2.Wide angle lens Sony 10-18mm f4.  Gives me a focal length of 15-25mm with the crop sensor.  Super sharp lens for big landscapes like the mountains.

3. Mid Range Telephoto- 18-105mm.  This one gives me a focal range of 25-150mm.  This is the lens that gets swapped out a lot with other lenses.  This is a great all-in-one lens and has given me some great photos.  Depending on where I'm hiking, this may or may not be in the bag as it is sometimes swapped out for a vintage 35-70mm f2.8 lens.

4. Telephoto Pentax 80-200 mm f4.6.  Gives me a focal range of 120-300mm.  This is a cheap plastic lens that I got 30 years ago, but it's lightweight and pretty sharp.  This is the range that I use the least.

5. Peak Design clip.  This allows me to put my camera right on my backpack strap to keep my hands free but gives me quick access to my camera.

6. GoPro Session 4 on a hat clip.  The GoPro is the newest addition to my camera kit.  I used to use my phone for everything video-wise, but this is a great piece of kit!  I can use it for biking also and it's waterproof.

7. Peak Design Leash.  Love this for this small camera.  It gives me a sense of security when it's strapped to my wrist!

8. Batteries and Charger.  Mirrorless cameras can eat up batteries, so I carry two extras and odds and ends in this case.

9. Polarizer Case.  I carry circular polarizers for most of my lenses.

10. ND Filters.  I carry a variable circular natural density filter and step-down rings to fit most of my lenses.

11. Anker 10500 mAh.  I use this to charge GoPro, camera batteries, and iPhone.

12. Bag for GoPro and cleaning clothes for lenses.

13. Joby Gorilla Pod for GoPro.

14. Stick Pick Mount. Allows me to put GoPro on my hiking stick like a selfie stick.

15. Trail Pix Ultra light Tripod.  I'm able to use this with my hiking sticks with one from a buddy and create a tripod that will handle up to 7 lbs.

16. Altoids, Advil, Tums, moist lens clothes for my glasses and or lenses.

17. Outdoor Products Hydration Pack.  I got this from Walmart for 40 bucks, and it works great for this small load.

18. Fleece skull cap, neck warmer, waterproof gloves, and bandana for keeping warm and such.

19. Kelty Trekking Poles.  This is probably one of the best kept secrets in hiking.  Trekking poles will save your knees and save your butt from falls.  They are great long trips.

20. Emergency poncho, wet wipes.  Poncho is for rain showers.  I got caught in the rain once on a hike and just got drenched, and since then I always carry an emergency poncho.  And for those emergency bathroom breaks without a bathroom, the wet wipes or toilet paper is a must.

21. Finn the Explorer, sunglass case, lens brush.  Finn the Explorer is new, and he travels with me.  I try to take a photo of him when we go to a new place.  Sunglass case and lens brush are self explanatory.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog hiking learning max stansell photography photography tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/12/hiking-gear Fri, 09 Dec 2016 18:22:54 GMT
Charleston SC Photo/Camping Trip https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/charleston-sc-photo/camping-trip _DSC7397_DSC7397 In August my wife and I took a weekend trip to Charleston, South Carolina.  We took our Teardrop trailer and stayed on Joint Base Charleston.   Joint Base Charleston is a base comprised of Air Force and Navy, and we stayed on the Navy side for a very reasonable price.  If you are military or retired military, don't forget to check out military bases for camping spots.  They are very reasonable, clean, and safe.  Charleston is a big place with lots to do, and you can't see it all on a weekend. _DSC7375_DSC7375  My suggestion is to divide it into smaller trips to really get a good taste of Charleston.  That's what we did.  We decided to just go to the historic downtown area of Charleston and take a guided tour of the city from the back of a horse drawn carriage. Besides the downtown there are many things to see in Charleston.  There is the Aircraft Carrier Yorktown that is a floating museum that I really want to go see.  There is Fort Sumter with all of its Civil War history which I think you  have to take a ferry or water taxi to get to.  There are  _DSC7405_DSC7405 museums and an aquarium that you can go see if the weather gets rainy.  Folly Beach isn't far with all the beach things that you come to expect from a coastal community.   _DSC7347_DSC7347 There are old plantations that you can visit like Magnolia Plantation.  There is the Angle Oak Live Oak tree that is estimated to be over 500 years old located at Angle Oak Park.  So you can see that there is lots to do.  And, oh yeah,  Charleston is known for its fine restaurants! Lots to do and see and eat in Charleston!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping Eating Max Stansell Photography Photography Tourist Travel website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/charleston-sc-photo/camping-trip Sat, 19 Nov 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Grayson Highlands State Park Virginia https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/grayson-highlands-state-park-va Sugarloaf OverlookSugarloaf OverlookMax Stansell Photography Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia is a must see if you live in the southeastern US.  This lovely park, perched high in the Virginian Appalachians,in the Jefferson National Forest, is home to grassy pastures and meadows, mountain peaks more than 5,000 feet high, wild ponies, and crystal clear mountain streams lined with rhododendron tunnels. Providing a variety of unique sights, trails, and boulders, there’s something here for everyone. Creek CrossingCreek CrossingMax Stansell Photography  Activities include hiking, bouldering, primitive and RV camping, and horseback riding.  My wife and I took our Little Guy Teardrop trailer there this summer in hopes to see the wild ponies there.  We hiked up to the Appalachian Trail that travels _MSP1283_MSP1283Max Stansell Photography through the park to find them, but we didn't have any luck.  The park is high enough in altitude to keep the hot weather away, and it was a very pleasant temperature while we were there.  Our Teardrop trailer did exceptionally well, and we really enjoyed our trip.  My trusty Sony A6000 was my main camera, and it performed well.  I love this park and have already gone back from the time The "AT' Grayson HighlandsThe "AT' Grayson HighlandsMax Stansell Photography we took this trip for a little fishing trip.  Caught some local brook trout and had a great time in the area. If you like camping, the outdoors, and great scenic views, this is the park for you.

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping Grayson Highlands landscape Max Stansell Photography Park Photography State Virginia website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/grayson-highlands-state-park-va Thu, 17 Nov 2016 13:00:00 GMT
2016 Fall Colors Workshop https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/life-gets-in-the-way-and-fall-colors-workshop _MSP2088_MSP2088Max Stansell Photography Yet again I have had a long break between blog posts, mostly because of my laziness, I guess.  Life gets in the way.  My wife and I have been taking trips in our Teardrop camper, work, and all sorts of things seem to get in the way.  My biggest  photoshoot of the year has been on my photography club's fall colors trip to West Virginia this year.  It was a great trip on the heels of Hurricane Matthew.  We went to places that we haven't been to before, which made it new and exciting.  Seven total of us went, with five of us staying the whole time.  We stayed in a great cabin in Davis, West Virginia, and drove every day somewhere new.  I think we logged 2000 miles for the whole trip.  The colors at our cabin seemed to be the most vibrant from all of the places we visited.  I also took a GoPro Session 4 with me to record some of the actions and have made some short YouTube videos to watch that I will link you to.

Day 1: Blackwater State Park, WV/Swallow Falls State Park, MD

The first day took us to Blackwater State Park in West Virginia, which was about a 20-minute ride from our cabin.  Actually, I would almost consider this our second day because the first day consisted of driving to West Virginia from Goldsboro, but this was our first day of shooting.   _MSP2370_MSP2370Max Stansell Photography The colors at Blackwater State Park were very nice, and the waterfall was great.   We were here on a Monday, and there were not too many clouds.  After the waterfall, we went to an overlook that looked into the valley and had some great views.  From here we traveled to Swallow Falls State Park in Maryland where we were greeted with some great falls and a small hiking trail.  The drive to and from Maryland was a beautiful drive with lots of farm houses.  Here is the link to the Day 1 Video.  Day 1 Fall Colors Workshop Video

Day 2: Babcock State Park, WV and New River Gorge Bridge National Park, WV.

Day two took us to Babcock State Park, home of the famous Glade Creek Grist Mill.  If you look up West Virginia, you'll see this mill.  It was a fairly long drive, but we left early and, after _MSP2491_MSP2491Max Stansell Photography a small detour made it to the mill.  We spent a couple of hours taking photos of the Mill and then went to lunch.  After lunch we went back to the park so Tim could fly his drone.  Then we were off to New River Gorge National Park.  I believe when it was built it was the first or second largest suspension bridge, but now I think it's third.  Regardless, it is a big bridge, and we spent the afternoon taking our time photographing this large structure.  Here is the link to the Day 2 video.Day Two Fall Colors Workshop Video

 

Day 3: Seneca Caverns, Seneca Rocks, Dolly Sods, WV

 

We started our third day underground with a tour of Seneca Caverns, which took us 150 feet underground.  We had a great tour guide and enjoyed our time underground with some interesting photos to boot. 2016-10-12-MSP-0512016-10-12-MSP-051  After the caverns we went to Seneca Rocks, which are a number of large rocks that go along the ridge of a mountain.  And then we were off to Dolly Sods.  Dolly Sods was a beautiful mountain top with great views all around, but it took about an hour long dirt road drive to get there.  Dolly Sods wasn't very far from our cabin, so it was a good place to end the day.  Here is the link to Day 3 video.Day 3 Fall Colors Workshop Video

Day 4: Harpers Ferry, Antietam National Battlefield, WV

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia is a very historic place and a lot bigger than I thought.  I had always seen it in hiking videos and it looked like a sleepy little town, and I wasn't expecting it to be connected with a national park.  We drove to Harpers Ferry and met one of our photo buddies there and enjoyed the day wandering the streets of Harpers Ferry.  We then drove over to Antietam and went on the battle field tour and really got some good photos of the surrounding area.  We then went to the National Cemetery at 2016-10-12-MSP-1412016-10-12-MSP-141 Sharpsburg and had great light to get some moving photos. Then we drove back to our cabin. Here is the link to the Day 4 video.Day 4 Fall Colors Workshop Video

 

Day 5: Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, WV

Day five took us to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in West Virginia, and some of our group had been there before.  I wasn't really expecting much but was pleasantly surprised to find lots of photo ops and had a good history tour from our tour guide.   _MSP2974_MSP2974 We rode the train on a two-hour trip.  They have a four-hour trip also, but I recommend the two-hour instead of the longer one.   We had a great time, had lunch there in the park restaurant, and really enjoyed the whole experience. Here is the link to the Day 5 video.Day 5 Fall Colors Workshop Video

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(Max Stansell Photography) Babcock Blackwater blog Cass Caverns Dolly Gorge Max Stansell Photography New Park Photography Railroad River Rocks Scenic Seneca Sods State Swallow Virginia website West workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/11/life-gets-in-the-way-and-fall-colors-workshop Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:46:55 GMT
New Personal Project "365 Print" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/5/new-personal-project-365-print _DSC6406_DSC6406 Hey Everyone!  I know it's been a while since I've posted, but as all of you know, life gets in the way of things.  A lot has gone on since we last met.  My wife and I have taken a couple of trips in our new Little Guy Trailer and are getting better at using it and learning all of the ins and outs of it.  Well, now to my new personal project. 

You have heard of 365 day photo projects that have you take or post a photo every day for a year.  As simple as that seems, if you work 40 plus hours a week and commute another 15 on top of that, you really don't have time to plan, take, and process a photo a day.  I propose in my project to print a photo for every day of the year.  In other words, print at least 365 photos a year.  In my new year's resolutions I had to print more.  This project will certainly do this.  Now you don't have to print one every day, just 365 a year so you can print in batches.   _DSC6457_DSC6457

One of my most favorite things to do with family is to look at old photographs of years gone by.   When my parents were young and everything was in black and white, you would look at the photo and then turn it over to see what was written on the back.  In the digital age, we don't have many times where we bring out the shoe box and look at photos, and I'm afraid that in the future this act will be lost.  So I've come up with this project.  I may even go back a few years and print those as well.  I want my grandchildren to be able to tell their  children and show them the photos that I have taken and hold them in their hands.  

IMG_4152IMG_4152 This is not an artwork project.  It's more of a journalistic project.  The prints don't have to be large (they can be 4x6), and they don't have to be perfect prints.  They don't have to be artsy.  They can be plain snapshots of everyday things like your house, car, everyday stuff along with your artsy stuff.  Your family wants to see photos of family along with your fancy shots, so mix them up.  

​So go find some shoe boxes and start filling them up with memories for your family. _DSC6932_DSC6932

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning Max Stansell Photography memories Photography printing Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/5/new-personal-project-365-print Sun, 08 May 2016 20:20:08 GMT
Teardrop Trailer https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/4/teardrop-trailer _DSC6468_DSC6468 A couple of  weekends ago my wife and I became the proud owners of a Little Guy T@G Max Teardrop camping trailer.  Teardrop trailers have been around since the '30s when a Popular Mechanics Article was written on how to build one. These little trailers are really a travel trailer that was designed to be a way to stay overnight without getting a hotel on a long trip. They can be pulled by almost any car and are great for camping, tailgating, or any kind of travel.  We got one so we can travel more and see different places without paying too much money for hotels, food, etc...  These little trailers can have all kinds of amenities with them. _DSC6464_DSC6464  Mine has a queen size bed, TV, AC, AM/FM, DVD, 2 burner stove, sink, fridge, and everything runs off of a 12-volt deep cycle battery, except the AC.  So you could be away from electrical outlets and still watch TV or cook, etc...  They even have solar panel hookups if you want to recharge your battery if you're way off the grid.  

What I like about them is that they get my wife and me out of the house together.  Now, I love to go backpacking and hiking and taking my camera with me deep into the woods, putting up a hammock or tent and staying there all night.  My wife doesn't like roughing it as much as I do though.  The Teardrop camper brings amenities of home with you as you camp. _DSC6448_DSC6448  We have been tent campers for quite a long time and enjoy setting up a tent in a state park or national park, but we decided to upgrade to this little guy that is really a tent and kitchen on wheels.  But it doesn't have the cost of a big RV trailer that would have to be towed by a larger vehicle than we have and would require a lot more maintenance than we would like to do in our older years.  Right now it's a bit of a learning curve trying to figure out everything with the trailer, but we are fast learners.  

We took one trip already with our Teardrop.  We went to a state park not too far from here to Medoc Mountain State Park, a nice little park that's about an hour and a half away and a great spot for our maiden voyage.  And everything went pretty well.  The weather didn't cooperate very much.  It was chilly and calling for rain, which it finally did late at night. IMG_2254IMG_2254  We stumbled through getting things set up and put in the right places, learning about the stove as we cooked a couple of meals in our new kitchen.  We are towing our new trailer with my old faithful truck, my 1999 Ford F150 "Betsy."  We plan on buying a new car in a couple of years.  But until then "Ole Betsy" will be our tow vehicle.  This weekend I built a hard tonneau cover for my truck for security and maybe a little of gas milage boost would be a plus.  It turned out pretty good, and I saved myself hundreds of dollars.  I plan on going on another trip this coming weekend.  I'm sure there will be a blog about it.  

Keep shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Camping Max Stansell Photography Photography RV Teardrop Trailers website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/4/teardrop-trailer Fri, 08 Apr 2016 12:00:00 GMT
Wedding Shoot https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/4/wedding-shoot _MSP0859_MSP0859Max Stansell Photography ​Hey everyone!  I know it's been a while, but I have been busy the last month or so.  First, I purchased a small Teardrop camper and then I had a wedding that I was the main photographer in.  I have never been the official photographer at a wedding before.  I have done bridal shoots and shot at receptions, but never the whole thing.  I prepared quite a bit and really worked hard to make sure that it was a great experience for the bride and groom.  A friend from my photography club wanted some experience shooting a wedding, so he asked if he could be my second shooter.  After I got the okay from the bride, he was in.  I met with the bride and groom twice before the big day.  The first meeting was to get to know them and let them know me and see some of my work.  I quoted them a price, and in a couple of days they had decided to hire me.   _MSP0676_MSP0676Max Stansell Photography This was about a month or so out, so I had plenty of time to get in the wedding photographer mode.  For me that is a 180-degree turn from the landscape and travel photo guy that I am most of the time.  My second meeting was the night of the rehearsal, and it was great because I got to go through the ceremony twice so I knew where to stand and where to go.  The rehearsal was great for me and took away a lot of pressure and anxiety that I was having, and I got to see everyone that was going to be in the ceremony.  On the day of the wedding, I had a checklist made, and I checked it twice so that when it came time to go I was ready.  We had decided to do the formal shots before the wedding, so I started with the groom.  There was lots of family around, and the bride kicked everyone out so we could get the first look photo which turned out great.  After that I took all of the bride's photos and then started with the family.   
_MSP0820_MSP0820Max Stansell Photography By the time the ceremony began, I was in the groove and it went well.  My partner was taking photos that I wasn't, and we worked very well as a team.  When I was at one end of the hall, he was at the other.  We made a point of not taking the same shots.  We got a lot of photos, but not many duplicates.  When I got home and started looking at the photos, I was very surprised at how good the photos turned out.  I have given the bride and groom a link to look at the photos while they are on their honeymoon, but I haven't gotten a response from them yet.  I can't wait to hear what they have to say.  I created a slide show of the wedding for them and will have a link below so that you can check it out.  The equipment that I used was my faithful Nikon D800, and my primary lens was my 24-70mm f2.8, although I did use a 70-200mm f2.8 and a 85mm f1.8.  For the formal part of the shoot, I used Yongnuo 580II manual flashes with 45 and 43 inch shoot-through umbrellas.  For the rest of the wedding, except for the ceremony, I had a Yongnuo 586 TTL flash on top of my camera.  This was an inside wedding, and at night and I had to bump up the flash compensation 2/3 bouncing off of a fairly tall ceiling.  For the dancing part of the wedding, I used my TTL flash with a manual flash used for backlight that turned out really well.  Things I would have done differently?  I would have synchronized my camera's time and my second shooter's camera time.  It would have made editing somewhat easier.  And maybe a better job on the formals, but overall I was very pleased.  Check out the slideshow!

Keep shooting!

Wedding Slide Show  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZUlWsLjFXA

_MSP0658_MSP0658Max Stansell Photography _MSP0883_MSP0883Max Stansell Photography

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial website wedding https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/4/wedding-shoot Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:00:00 GMT
Product Review "Yongnuo 622N and 622N TX TTL Speedlight Triggers" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/product-review-yongnuo-622n-and-622n-tx-ttl-speedlight-triggers 414BFcFy2sL414BFcFy2sL Hey, Everyone!  This is another product review.  This week it's on Speedlight Triggers.  I have triggers that I use for my speed lights and my studio lights.  But the ones I have are manual only, and I don't have the flexibility with the ones I have to turn certain flashes off without going to the flash to do so.  I'm shooting a wedding next month.  For the reception I'm going to have some speed lights on stands to create some backlight, and I'll have a flash on my camera for main light.  The backlight flashes will be on opposite corners, and I want to be able to switch the closest one to me off without having to go to the flash.  I just want to push a button on the trigger on my camera to do that for flexibility.  I'm looking into a lot of options to do this.  With Pocket Wizards I could do this, but Pocket Wizards are very expensive.  I turned to my favorite inexpensive speed light company, Yongnuo, for the answer.  I purchased the Yongnuo 622N TTL transceivers and the 622 TX TTL transmitter.  I got three transceivers and the transmitter for the same price of one Pocket Wizard. _DSC6273_DSC6273  Now I normally use manual only flashes for all of my portraits etc., but for gun-on-the-run type of shooting for receptions I want to use TTL on my camera.  The Yongnuo 622N lets me put the trigger on my camera, and then I can put my TTL flash on it.  It has a pass through hot shoe so all of the information from my camera goes to my TTL trigger and flash at the same time.  I can then set up other flashes elsewhere and transmit TTL to them.  I can also adjust the power of each flash independently from my camera without going to the flash itself, as long as the flashes are TTL.  I can use the same setup with a TTL on my camera and manual flashes remotely, and the manual flashes will fire.  I still have to set the power on them manually though.  This is the setup that I'm going to use for the reception.  I'll have a 622n on camera with TTL flash on top of it.  Then I'll have manual flashes mounted on stands and group them, one on "A" Channel and one on "B" Channel.  Then from the trigger on my camera, I'll be able to change the channels to cut on or off certain remote flashes.  Problem solved!!!  This is all done with the transceivers one alone, but with the 622N TX transmitter on my camera, I can also control the individual settings of TTL remote flashes.  I won't be using the 622N TX at the wedding, but I went ahead and got it because it will come in useful for small shoots like Christmas photos or something I'm trying to do real quick when I don't have time to really set up a big set.  I do believe for studio lighting and formal portraits I'll still rely on my manual flashes and strobe so I can dial in my exposure manually.  Triggers can be bought for both Cannon and Nikon camera systems.

_DSC6277_DSC6277 Here are the specifications for the Triggers

 

Transceiver 

Features:
Compatible flash mode: i-TTL, manual flash
Compatible Shutter sync: Front-curtain sync, rear-curtain sync and high-speed sync (HSS / FP), the highest sync speed is 1 / 8000s.
Support FEC, FVL function
Support modeling flash and red-eye reduction flash
Support flash zooming (auto)
Built-in AF assist beam emitter (AF Lamp)
Settings saved automatically
Compatible with Yongnuo / Nikon series flashes
Support PC port triggering strobe flashes

Specifications:
System Type: Digital FSK 2.4GHz wireless transceiver
Distance: 100m
Channel: 7
Flash Mode: i-TTL manual flash
SYNC Mode: Front-curtain sync, rear-curtain sync, hi-speed sync (Auto FP)
Group Control: 3Groups (A / B / C)
Sync Speed: 1 / 8000s
Input: Hot Shoe
Output: Hot shoe, PC port
Compatible type of flash: Hot-shoe flash, Strobe flash
Battery: AAx2 (support 1.2V rechargeable battery)

Transmitter

YN-622N-TX adopts flexible LCD menu control, supporting mixed use of the A/B/C three groups of flashes using i-TTL, manua, or super sync flash mode and equipped with the AF-assist beam emitter. LCD screen display, multi-buttons quick operation
The firmware can be upgraded through the USB interface via http://yongnuo.com.cn/usermanual/pdf/YN-622N_TX_FW_V1.03.zip
Support wireless shutter release function
The focal length(zoom)of the A/B/C three groups of flash can be adjusted separately
Grouping flash mode: i-TTL/Manual flash/Super sync
Supporting mixed use of the A/B/C three groups of flashes with i-TTL, Manual flash, or Super sync flash mode
The exposure compensation or flash output of A/B/C three groups of flashes can be adjusted separately
Shutter Sync: first curtain sync, second curtain sync and FP high-speed sync, the highest sync speed is 1/8000s
Support exposure compensation, flash value lock function(FVL)
Support simulate (modeling) flash, red-eye reduction flash
Support the flash zooming (auto)
Super Sync (SS) time delay adjustment, for higher x-sync speed than the camera allows

Hope this Helped and Keep Shooting!
 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Speedlight Triggers Tutorial website Yongnuo https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/product-review-yongnuo-622n-and-622n-tx-ttl-speedlight-triggers Fri, 26 Feb 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Product Review "Yongnuo 568EX Speedlight" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/product-review-yongnuo-568ex-speedlight 41zl9yX4ltL41zl9yX4ltL Hey, Everyone!  I just got booked to do a small intimate wedding for one of my daughter's co-workers and friends, so I had to take a look at my gear that I'll need for the event.  As many of you might know, I am a gear hound and have had GAS (gear acquisition syndrome).  I have lots of gear and almost everything I'll need for the wedding and love shooting in manual with manual strobes or studio lights for many reasons.  This is what I'll use for the portraits.  For on-the-fly lighting, I'll need to be shooting TTL lighting just for the ease and flexibility the the on-the-fly shooting that will be happening at the reception.  This is a totally inside event, and it will be at night.  I have a couple of Nikon TTL flashes, but they are smaller ones.  I fear this venue has a tall ceiling and I'll need something with more punch!   _MSP6505_MSP6505 So I needed a larger TTL flash.  Well, the Nikon ones cost up to $500, and I'm not going to do that!  I could borrow one, but I really don't like to borrow unless I really have to.  (I will be borrowing a Nikon D800 body for my second camera.)  So I started looking at 3rd party flashes.  I went to the Yongnuo brand because I have some experience with the brand.  I have used and will use in the wedding some manual 560II flashes that I have gotten from them, and they have worked great and were cheap!  I purchased a TTL 568 EX and have been very pleased with it so far.  This weekend I have been trying out the different aspects of the flash, testing it against my other flashes (Nikon), and it has done pretty well with ease of operation.  I cannot talk about the durability of the flash yet.  Maybe after the wedding I'll be able to because it will get a good workout then.  Here are some of the specs of the Flash.

Guide # of  58 - I don't know all of the math, but the higher the number the more powerful the flash.  

LCD Pannel- Easy to see and can be backlit at any time by push of button

TTL Wireless-  Will work wirelessly with Nikon/Cannon infrared "in Camera" lighting  IE Nikon's CLS

Auto Focus Assist- Has a red autofocus assist light for low-light focusing

+- 5 stop flash compensation-  able to increase or decrease for different lighting situations

High Speed Sync-  Will high speed sync up to 1/8000 shutter speed

Manual operation- Able to adjust from 1/128 to 1/1 power in manual

Rear Curtain Sync- will do rear curtain sync

Cost- $100  Yay!!!

​These are some of the specs of the flash.  There are more, but these and especially the price are my favorite!  If you are needing a new or second TTL flash, I would recommend this one to you.  Remember, when you buy it needs to be specific to your camera (i.e. Nikon or Cannon).

Keep shooting!

_MSP6507_MSP6507

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog flash learning light Max Stansell Photography Photography product review speed website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/product-review-yongnuo-568ex-speedlight Fri, 19 Feb 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Photo Walk "Fayetteville NC and Airborne Special Operations Museum" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/photo-walk-fayetteville-nc-and-airborne-special-operations-museum The CapitolThe CapitolMax Stansell Photography Hey, Everyone!  I'm really starting to like photo walks.  Last weekend my wife and I went to Fayetteville, North Carolina, 

Hay LoftHay LoftMax Stansell Photography to the Airborne Special Operations Museum and downtown Fayetteville.  I have worked in Fayetteville (well, really Fort Bragg) for the last 10 years.  I've even done work on the museum.  But I was always in the back part of the museum and had never seen what it had to offer.  I was really surprised at how nice the exhibits were and really enjoyed myself.  And the price was right!  Free!  After the Museum visit, we walked around downtown on Hay Street (the older part of Fayetteville) and even went to Market House, which is the symbol of the town.  I liked it so much that I'm thinking of taking another trip before too much longer.

 

Airborne MuseumAirborne MuseumMax Stansell Photography

 

Old and NewOld and NewMax Stansell Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog Fayetteville Max Stansell Photography Museum Photography Photowalk Tutorial website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/photo-walk-fayetteville-nc-and-airborne-special-operations-museum Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Lake Pungo, Lake Mattamuskeet "Photography Workshop" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/lake-pungo-lake-mattamuskeet-photography-workshop Crab PotsCrab PotsMax Stansell Photography This weekend I went on a wildlife photoshoot at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge with my photography club.  We usually go on workshops to shoot once a month, and this month we went on a wildlife shoot.  At this particular spot is a bird migration spot for many water fowl.  Water fowl of all kinds migrate here from up north.  Tundra Swans, Canadian Geese, Snow Geese, and many species of duck also migrate here.  This time of the year it's a great place to take photos of birds.  Neal Jernigan, a local wildlife photographer who leads workshops (and is also a member of the club), took us there.  We had a great time, although the Snow Geese had already left for the north.  But we still had lots to shoot. PelicanPelicanMax Stansell Photography  Birds, ducks, landscapes, and all kinds of stuff.  We started at Lake Pungo and saw some birds, but not like we saw last year.  Last year we saw tens of thousands of birds in one field.  We also saw some bear last year, but alas they weren't around this year.  Because the wildlife at Pungo wasn't great, we went to Engelhard, North Carolina, a fishing community, and took some great shots by the docks of the shrimp boats.  We then had lunch at a local restaurant that was great.  We always try to eat at a local spot.  We then went to Lake Mattamuskeet and shot birds until it was time to shoot the sunset. A super day was had.

Mattamuskeet SunsetMattamuskeet SunsetMax Stansell Photography Now, I'm not a wildlife photographer, and this is a chance to get me out of my comfort zone.  Wildlife photographers use a lot of large lenses, and my biggest one is my 70-200mm f2.8.  I do have a 2 X converter that will make it a 400mm f5.6 lens, which is still on the small size for wildlife photographers.  What's good about going out with a group is that you can borrow equipment and learn from people who do different kinds of photography.  Most photographers love to give advice, help others, and talk about how they do things. (We don't really get the chance to do so.) White HeronWhite HeronMax Stansell Photography

Shooting wildlife seems to be all about getting good focus.  With the long telephoto lenses, you would think that it's easy to get great  focus all the time, but you would be wrong.  It's very difficult to get focus on a fast-moving object like a bird or moving animal.  I have nothing but respect for the wildlife photographer who can get great focus on a fast-flying bird.  And not to mention composition on a moving target is almost impossible for me, but to the seasoned wildlife photographer it can be done easily.  

So try your hand at wildlife photography, even if it's just birds in your backyard.  Keep shooting!

_MSP9963_MSP9963Max Stansell Photography

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog club learning Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial website wildlife https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/2/lake-pungo-lake-mattamuskeet-photography-workshop Fri, 05 Feb 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Manual Focusing " Vintage Lenses" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/manual-focusing-vintage-lenses 2016-01-24-MSP-172_3_42016-01-24-MSP-172_3_4Max Stansell Photography Hey everyone!  In this blog I want to talk about mirrorless cameras and how they have brought back vintage lenses.  Lenses that were used in the film era were great lenses with superb glass in them.  If you have been buying lenses lately, you know how expensive they can be, especially for really good glass.  Vintage glass on the other hand can be had for a mere few dollars and can be found in flea markets, garage sales, on eBay, or even your own closet.  In my film days I shot with Pentax, so I have some Pentax lenses that I used back then.  I've never parted with them, so I have a good variety of lenses.  To get them to fit on my Sony, I only had to get an inexpensive adapter that you can get from Amazon or eBay.  On the old film cameras that were manual focus, there were aids to help you focus a split screen or a prism that would help you focus, but on today's mirrorless cameras we have what is called "focus peaking."  Focus peaking is when you're manually focusing and your camera lets you know where you're in focus at by turning that part of the photo a color like red or yellow so you can see where you're in focus.  You can even magnify the image to fine tune the focusing so old eyes like mine can focus manually without too much problem. 2016-01-24-MSP-1522016-01-24-MSP-152Max Stansell Photography

Today I went out on a little photo walk/shoot at my local state park and into my town with nothing but vintage lenses and my Sony A6000 just to see how well I could focus with these old lenses.  I took four lenses with me to this exercise in photography.  

These are the lenses I took.  ​Pentax 28mm f2.8, Vivitar 35-70mm f2.8, Nikon 50mm f1.4, Pentax 80-200mm f4.6.  This was truly a exercise in basic photography.  This was like when I first started taking photos with my first SLR which was all manual.  The only decisions I had to make were what shutter speed, film speed (ASA/ISO), and aperture focus and shoot. The only difference was I could see instant results.  I did find that certain lenses I liked better than others.  

2016-01-24-MSP-0352016-01-24-MSP-035Max Stansell Photography The Pentax 28mm lens was something I just got off of eBay for 40 bucks (probably paid too much).  The results turned out good, but the focal range just wasn't what I thought it would be.  It was just in an uncomfortable range for me.  The lens was plenty sharp enough and worked well.  Solid metal construction.  Maybe a good lens for street photography.

The Vivitar 35-70mm lens is one of my old favorite lenses, and the focal length was a great one in full frame.  However, with my crop sensor it was a smidge too long.  My old faithful push-pull zoom lens worked well, and I used it quite a bit while walking through town.  Solid metal construction, sharp lens, worked well. 2016-01-24-MSP-1202016-01-24-MSP-120Max Stansell Photography

The Nikon 50mm 1.4 lens is the fastest of my manual lenses and is great for isolation.  This would be a great portrait lens for the crop sensor being equivilant to 75mm.  Solid plastic construction, very sharp lens, and I can use it with my D800 and D7000.

The biggest suprise of the experiment was the Pentax 80-200mm. This lens was the cheapest build of the four lenses with very inexpensive plastic and with a minimum f-stop of 4.6, the slowest of the bunch.  But for sharpness this was the clear winner and will be in my bag for when I need this focal range.  Above 100mm I don't use too much, but this lightweight lens will go with me backpacking as well as around town. 2016-01-24-MSP-108_09_102016-01-24-MSP-108_09_10Max Stansell Photography

Will I be using these lenses all of the time?  Except for the Pentax 80-200, probably not.  I have auto focus lenses that take me from 15mm to 150mm, and I have a 60mm macro that I didn't mention that I can use on both my Sony and Nikon systems.  The overall experiment went well.  If you're looking for some different lenses for your mirrorless cameras, start looking at vintage glass.  It can be inexpensive (as low as 5 bucks) in a yard sale or bid on one on Ebay or pull some of the old friends out of the closet that you used with film.  These old lenses are very high quality and durable (most of them are built like a tank) and very fun to use.

Keep shooting! 2016-01-24-MSP-0322016-01-24-MSP-032Max Stansell Photography

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning Lenses less Max Stansell Photography Mirror Photography Tutorial vintage website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/manual-focusing-vintage-lenses Fri, 29 Jan 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Day Trip to NC Transportation Museum https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/day-trip-to-nc-transportation-museum 2016-01-16-MSP-0482016-01-16-MSP-048Max Stansell Photography I got to ride on a CHOO, CHOO!  I took a day trip to the NC Transportation Museum.  It is a fun Museum to visit especially for the kids!  Lots of Trains and everything associated with trains.  We even got to ride on one.  The museum is located in Spencer North Carolina at a old train repair depot.  It took us a few hours to drive to from our house but it was a easy drive.  Spencer is a small town just beside Salisbury NC just off of interstate 85.  Trains aren't the only thing they have there there are Cars, Trucks, and everything associated with Automobiles.   2016-01-16-MSP-0142016-01-16-MSP-014Max Stansell Photography They have a section dedicated to Winged flight as well.  They have a large building that houses all of the ongoing restoration projects and even has a full sized Piedmont Airliner in this building that they are working on.  This is a very interactive museum especially for the kids.  They even have a Thomas the train here as well.  On site train rides are given with history of the site while you ride.  They even have some longer trips scheduled in the warmer months that can take to Asheville NC and to Virginia.  I don't know all of the details of these trips but you can contact the museum for those who are interested.

2016-01-16-MSP-1452016-01-16-MSP-145Max Stansell Photography Photography wise its a great place to get detailed shots and people shots.  I had fun going around trying to get some good ones.  I used my Sony A6000 for this trip and got good results altho this was a trip that me and my wife took so I wasn't really concerned with the photography as much as I would have been by myself.  But enjoyable , we had a good time.  Take time to visit your local museums there are many kinds and good photography can be had but a good time most defiantly will.

Keep Shooting! 2016-01-16-MSP-1012016-01-16-MSP-101Max Stansell Photography 2016-01-16-MSP-0512016-01-16-MSP-051Max Stansell Photography 2016-01-16-MSP-1102016-01-16-MSP-110Max Stansell Photography

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Museum NC Photography Transportation Tutorial blog learning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/day-trip-to-nc-transportation-museum Fri, 22 Jan 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Photo Walk "Raleigh NC" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/photo-walk-raleigh-nc 2016-01-09-MSP-1262016-01-09-MSP-126Max Stansell Photography This last weekend I went on a Photo Walk with some friends in my Camera Club to Raleigh NC.  Raleigh is the Capital of NC and we live about 1.5 hours away.  To me this is the "Big City" I know its not New York or LA its a big city but to me and puts me way out of my comfort zone.  Luckily we had someone with us that was very familiar with Raleigh to guide us through our  small adventure.  So the city had me out of my comfort zone and my eyes were looking this way and that taking in all of the big city scenes.  Street photography is something that I haven't done much of and that had me nervous and excited all at the same time.  It was very nice to be in a group (we had about 7 people) walking together.  We did get some of the same photo's but we also got a lot that were very different. We started late morning around 10ish and started walking.  I don't know how many blocks we covered (not too many) and after a couple of hours we were ready for lunch.  We stopped at a local eatery and had some gourmet hot dogs.  Something we don't get at home. 2016-01-09-MSP-1372016-01-09-MSP-137Max Stansell Photography

It was a very over cast day perfect for Black and White photography but as my friend Kevin would say its always a good time for B/W photography.  So after lunch we went out again but rain was forecast for later in the day so we tried not to lollygag too much.  We went to the capital building and worked our way back to the parking deck where we parked.  We decided to go to the local camera shop and of course camera nuts like us we had a ball.  I actually bought a few things.

2016-01-09-MSP-0602016-01-09-MSP-060Max Stansell Photography We then decided to go to the Museum of Art and look around.  It was very crowded there but we roamed around a little and then decided to go to the State Flea Market a good people watching place.  But because of the weather there was not too many people there.  After walking around a while we decided to head home.  Had a great day with friends and learned a lot about street photography.  The biggest thing I learned is that I have a lot to learn but I really had a great time and am itching to go again.  So try some street photography!

 

Keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography Raleigh blog learning photography street website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/photo-walk-raleigh-nc Fri, 15 Jan 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Photography Day Trip "Cedar Point" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/photography-day-trips Marsh ReflectionMarsh ReflectionMax Stansell Photography As a photographer wether it be professional or a hobbyist we get very busy in our daily lives and trips to just do photography can be far and few between.  I really try hard to make time on the weekends to get out even if its for a day trip close by. Sometimes it can be close by but usually I'll have to drive a little to get somewhere that is not so familiar to me.  I love to go to places that I haven't been before because it really gets me looking at things with fresh eyes.  

January FieldJanuary FieldMax Stansell Photography Last weekend I went to Cedar Point Recreation Area in NC.  There they have a Trail that goes along the marsh lands. On my drive there I saw a couple of scenes that looked great so I stopped and took some photo's.  I had a great time hiking along the trail while the sun was still in its early stages.  I really didn't get anything that you would call a fantastic shot.  But I had a good time looking for the fantastic shot.

_MSP9832_MSP9832Max Stansell Photography After walking the trail at Cedar point I drove to Swansboro a quant little town that I walked through.  I have been here many times but I like to go once a year or so trying to get a photo that I haven't taken before.

​This coming weekend I plan on going on a photo walk in Raleigh NC to do some street photography.  This will be a good fit for my Sony A6000 Kit.  I like using it in different situations.  Im still a little awkward with the A6000 kit but I have fun playing with it.  Looking forward to seeing new things and getting way out of my comfort zone.  Hopefully I'll get some great Photo's.   Trying to put myself in more uncomfortable photography situations to make myself a better photographer.  Hope to to some more traveling also.  I'll post about my trip to Raleigh next week.

 

Keep Shooting!!!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Day Max Stansell Photography Photography Trip Tutorial blog learning website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/photography-day-trips Fri, 08 Jan 2016 13:00:00 GMT
New Year's Photography and Backpacking Resolutions https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/new-years-photography-and-backpacking-resolutions resolutions2016-crop-600x338resolutions2016-crop-600x338 Hey Everyone!  I took a week off for Christmas and I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe Holiday!  Its the time of the year where everyone makes New Years resolutions on "loosing weight" or "quitting smoking".  But the list that I want everyone to think of is the resolutions pertaining to photography and for me backpacking.  I think setting goals early in the year and trying to keep them is a good way to improve on your photography.  So lets get on with some resolutions in no particular order.

Take More Photographs- This sounds simple enough but for someone that works 45 hours a week and commutes 15 more hours this can be quite a chore.  As I get older I seem to take fewer photos than when I was younger maybe this is because of inexperience when I was younger but as I age the photo's are getting better but I'm taking fewer.  I want to take more quantity and quality photo's. Cape Lookout IR 2Cape Lookout IR 2Max Stansell Photography

Take Photo's that Tell a Story-  Many times we get caught up on the scene at hand and end up taking really good snap shots that are pretty, but don't really tell a story.  Photo's that tell a story are more meaningful but not only for you to remember them by but for others that see the photograph.  The story doesn't have to be a dramatic one it could be something in the photo that tells the viewer where it is.  For example taking a photo of the Mississippi River can be a fine photo but if you have the St. Louis Arches in them then you know exactly where the photo is from.  A very small story but anyone that see's the photo knows a small story.

Explore New Places- Taking time to research and go to places where I haven't been before.  Taking Backpacking trips and hiking places where I've never been.  I'm also looking into a teardrop trailer (Small Travel Trailer) that I can pull behind a small vehicle to go camping at RV parks with my wife to save cost of hotel rooms.  Would really like to take a trip out west but I really don't see that happening this year but maybe in the future.

Wright Brothers MonumentWright Brothers Monument Don't Buy Any More Photo Equipment-  I Really have enough equipment.  As a guy I am a gear head but I really don't need any more equipment.  Now thats not saying that if a Really good deal drops in front of me that I won't  jump on it! LOL  I really get caught up in Equipment and Settings on my camera and sometimes miss photo's because of it.  This year I'm going to try not to be consumed with gear.  But , I really could use another bag.  LOL.  Taking photo's will be my goal this year not Gear.

Get out of my Comfort Zone-  Getting out of my comfort zone will help me be a better photographer.  When you take photo's out of your comfort zone you tend to think more and take your time to get a shot and that usually always produces a good shot.  So get out of yours.

Print more Photo's-  I have a nice printer that I don't use as much as I should.  People like photo's they can hold either in a frame or just the print.  When you make a print you have something that can last for decades and also gives your relatives something to look at.  One of my favorite things to do is go through photo's that are saved in a shoe box.  Flipping through the photo's by hand is a real treat.  I would love for my grandchildren to do that with my photo's.  So print more!

So these are some of my Photography New Years Resolutions.  What are some of yours.  If you don't have any make some or use some of mine but please make some.  

Keep Shooting!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography New Photography Resolutions blog learning website years https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2016/1/new-years-photography-and-backpacking-resolutions Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:00:00 GMT
Top 10 things begining photographers should Know or Do https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/top-10-things-begining-photographers-should-know-or-do _MSP9571_MSP9571 As a new year is approaching I figured that it would be a good time to go over some things that every photographer should be doing or know.  Maybe they will come as a reminder to some and maybe some will learn something.  Unfortunately it has taken me years to learn these things that seem so simple now.  Here's a list in no particular order.

 

1. Use a tripod.  Using a tripod when you can does a few things.  The first thing it does is to keep camera shake to a minimum keeping shots Tac sharp.  I believe that it also helps with framing especially if your using live view.  Lastly it slows you down!  I like this element the best it slows me down so I can think about all aspects of the shot.  I know you can't use one all of the time but try to use one more.

2. Use a Polarizer Filter.  The polarizer filter is the only filter that you can not be duplicated in Photoshop.  A polarizer reduces glare and reflections off of surfaces like windows, water or any slick surface.  A polarizer filter also saturates colors.  They are like polarizer sunglasses.  If you notice how everything pops when you put on a pair of sunglasses this is what a polarizer filter does. 

3. Use Camera on Manual.  Camera's are very high tech now.  When I started they were completely manual.  Using the Auto modes on you camera can help you take photo's especially in sports or wildlife photography.  But when you use the auto settings the camera is making decisions for you.  As photography is a art I want to make the decisions whether they be good or bad.  I still think that I can make a better photographic decision than a computer. _MSP9574_MSP9574

4. Sunny 16 rule.  The Sunny 16 rule came about early in photography's history when camera's were first starting.  When camera's didn't have light meters built into them.  The Kodak company did the research to come up with this rule.  If your shutter speed is the same as your ASA(ISO) on a sunny day your Aperture should be f16.  For example Shutter at 1/100 at ISO 100 and aperture at f16.  This actually works every time.  The aperture changes when it gets cloudy or in snowy conditions. Knowing this rule can help you when your camera is in manual and your starting from scratch.  Something every photographer should be familiar with.

5. Always have a camera with you.  To me this goes without saying .  You never know when a photograph will appear in front of you.  It doesn't have to be a Fancy DSLR it could be any camera.  We have cameras all around us from Smart Phones to DSLR's and we should always have one with us.   I take a Sony A6000 almost everywhere I go.  Its small but a very good quality camera. Cell phone cameras are getting so good now that everyone should have a camera with them .

6. Have photo projects.  Photo projects are a great way to be inspired.  They can get us out of the rut that we sometimes get stuck in.  They can be anything from farm houses, to baseball stadiums.  I've done Christmas photo's to 50 shots with 50mm lens.  Always try to have a project in the back of your mind.

7.  Shoot out of comfort zone.  For any growth in your photography you must do this.  Shooting out of ones comfort zone really helps us in the long run.  If you are a Landscape photographer shoot portraits and vise versa.  Shoot city scares, Still life or use Strobes.  Whatever is out of your comfort zone do it.  It will make you a better photographer!

_MSP9570_MSP9570 8. Know your Camera.  The best advise that I can give a beginning photographer is know your camera and what it will do.  All the settings the you can figure out.  It is almost overwhelming what settings you can have on your camera.  Your camera is your paintbrush , your clay if you will.  To be an artist in photography you must know your camera and how it works.

9. Think like a photographer.  This is not original phrase I saw it on a video.  It makes lots of sense.  We as photographers are problem solvers.  Its too light , too dark, composure , camera settings all of these things come into play when taking a photograph and we must think like a photographer to solve the challenges that we come upon.

10. Exposure Triangle.  This is the basis of what we do as photographers is the manipulation of the exposure triangle is what makes a photograph a photograph.  Knowing the relationship between Shutter Speed , Aperture and ISO is essential to taking good photographs.  Learn to use a Light meter!  Light meters can be scary but they are fantastic when you master them especially when using strobes.

11.  Shoot Everything.  When your in a slump and you don't know what to shoot , Shoot Everything!  This usually gets you artistic juices flowing and you start getting really good photographs. _MSP9577_MSP9577

These are just a few of my thoughts on photography and photographers.  We must be educated in what we do to be any good at it.  After equipment (and you don't need the most expensive) photographic knowledge is the most important thing you should invest in.

So for now Keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography blog learning tips website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/top-10-things-begining-photographers-should-know-or-do Fri, 18 Dec 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Spot "Find Me" Satellite Messenger https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/spot-find-me-satellite-messenger Hey everyone!  As your may have guessed I take a lot of trips by myself and most of the time I'm in the woods out of cell phone coverage trying to get that shot that no ones else has.  I have people ask aren't you scared what if you get hurt or how does your wife feel while your out and about.  And the truth is that my wife did worry and I was very nervous when going out and about by myself.  In a world where we're connected to the internet 24 hours a day and everyone has a phone everywhere they go its very odd not to be connected to the internet.  Now I'm from a age when we were not connected but I do feel strange without my smart phone by my side.  Well I've done some research and found a device (yes yet another device) that can ease our minds.  That's where the "Spot" a Satellite tracking device comes in.  You can wear on your pack or your person.  It can track you and you can send pre-programed messages to your loved ones.  You can also send a SOS to help you if you get hurt or stranded where you can't help yourself. Here's how the system works.

The Device is a small device that you can either put on your pack if your hiking or on a bike ,

IMG_2147IMG_2147 motor cycle or even your car.  It uses 4 AAA batteries that they say will last a week.  When you turn it on it starts sending signals.  You need to have it pointing up for best reception.  It sends signals to satellites every 10 min or more often if you prefer.  With a App that you put on your phone or through a computer you can track the pings and people will know where your at.  With a push of a button you can send a pre-programed message via text or email to your loved ones saying "I made it" or "I'm Safe".  It also has a feature if you get in trouble but its not an emergency like if you had a flat tire you can send a message to people to come and help.  Then it has a button only to be used in case of an emergency say a" Broken Leg"  and the service will send rescuers to come and save you.  The device cost about 100 dollars and you do still need to pay for the service.  You can get different levels of service ranging anywhere from about 10 dollars a month to 20 dollars a month.  I have about a mid range with insurance to cover the rescue bill if they have to send a helicopter to come and get me. I pay 14 dollars a month.  I take ( or try to take) a trip either backpacking or hiking once a month and the 14 dollars for my wife's piece of mind is well worth it.  There are many satellite messenger devices and they can be rather expensive from more fancier ones  to satellite phones which are very expensive.  This one is on the inexpensive side so you get what you pay for.  But for me it works just fine.  I haven't had any problems although you do have to have this pointed to the sky  (line of sight to the satellites).

The messaging works like this you select the people and give the service their phone numbers or email address you want to text or send a email to and when you push the message button a message that you create will be sent to all of the addresses or text numbers that you have given them.  Along with the message is a link to the App or a map that will show location.  The service saves your track that you have made of your trip for 30 days I believe so you can go back and save the track for future purposes if you need to.  I'm planning a backpacking trip this weekend and the Spot will be with me.  Hopefully I'll get some great photo's. So get out and about and keep shooting!

Spot Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boX2KVIX1d8

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography Satellite Spot Tracker Tutorial blog learning website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/spot-find-me-satellite-messenger Fri, 11 Dec 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Holiday Photography https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/holiday-photography Snow?Snow? Hey everyone and Happy Holidays!  This time of the year is filled with joy and happiness and we should show that in our photo's.  This is the time of the year when my photo's change from Landscape/Travel to Portraits/Detail photographs.  This seems to be the time of the year that I take most of my portraits and I try to put as much effort into them as I do my Landscapes the rest of the year.  Photographing Family members (especially ones that do not live close by) is one of my priorities.  I actually enjoy taking portraits although it can be a bit of a pain with all of the things you need to think of when taking portraits from lighting , settings on your camera, posing of the subject and doing it quickly so not to loose the interest of your subject. Especially children.  _MSP9419_MSP9419Max Stansell Photography

Using external light sources for your portraits gives your family portraits that professional look.  We are professionals after all (even if we're not getting paid) LOL  I have a couple of mobile studios that I can take and set up at someones house or a venue to take portraits.  One of them is a studio light set up with 3 studio lights, soft boxes, umbrellas and all of the accessories that you would need.  The other one is one that is based with speed lights that is lighter and more mobile than the other but power of the speed lights can be a concern if your lighting up a large area or a crowd of people.  To be honest I don't pull out the studio lights out often but when I do its nice to have that kind of power.  My speed light setup consist of light stands, umbrella's, Soft boxes, beauty dish, reflectors and backdrop and its lightweight and a small family of 3 or 4 I have no problem shooting.  You don't need a big set up just a speed light or two will do and I accumulated mine over time.  No matter what type of system you use you need to be proficient at it and be able to produce photographs fairly quickly.  People don't want to stand around why your fumbling around with lights. 

_MSP9269_MSP9269Max Stansell Photography Another thing I take photo's of during the holidays is holiday events.  There are Tree lighting's, Christmas parades, all kinds of Christmas stuff from carolers to decorations and Christmas lights.  For a few years I have been taking a Christmas related photo every day as a small project.  You can really find all kinds of things to photograph during this time of year.  This time of year is special to me also as "Help Portrait" is the first Saturday of December every year and takes and gives portraits to the less fortunate and is a way that photographers can give back. It is a world wide organization that takes tens of thousands of portraits that day.  Please use this link:     http://help-portrait.com/

The Holidays are a great opportunity to take lots of great photo's don't miss out get out and shoot!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography blog festive holidays website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/12/holiday-photography Fri, 04 Dec 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Apple Fan Boy " Why I choose Mac as my computer platform" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/apple-fan-boy-why-i-choose-mac-as-my-computer-platform _DSC4701_DSC4701 Hey Everyone!  Its the holiday season and I wanted to start by wishing everyone happy holidays!

I am a Apple Fan Boy!  The first step is admitting that you have a problem. LOL  This blog is about why I chose the Apple/Mac platform for all of my computing needs.  First I want to say that this is not a Windows/PC bashing blog.  In my real job " not my want to be job as a full time photographer"  I use the Windows/PC platform.  I have 4 computers on my desk and they are all Windows/PC based and they work fine.  But for my personal work and my photography I choose to use Apple/Mac.  And there are many reasons why.  Here are just a few.  Like I said before I am a Apple guy.   I have iPhone, iPad, iPod , Macbook, iMac and even iTV.  So all my personal devices are Apple/Mac.  One of the main reasons is the ease of use.  For a long time Apple had the easiest interface with touch screen phones to  the ever popular window based operating systems long before Windows was called Windows .  I chose all Apple devices so no matter what device I'm using its very similar and easy.  Now I have to admit when I first got a full blown Mac computer there was a learning curve but after I found my way around to me its much easier to navigate.  Another reason is that the graphics on Apple/Macs resolution , picture quality is better on Apple/Mac thats not to say that there are some great windows stuff out there , there defiantly is,  but as a whole I prefer Apple/Mac.  Most creatives use Apple for that very reason.  I also like that Computer Viruses do not attack Apple/Mac as often as they do Windows.  Windows based computers are generally cheaper and there are far more of them in the world and most of the Malware and Viruses are aimed at them.  If you have a windows computer you know when you first get it its very fast but the longer you have it the slower it gets unless you really manage malware/virus detection very closely.  Another thing that Windows based computers do a lot  is updating .  It seems that you always have to update the software with them.  Apple does update also but not as much.  Which to me means they got it right in the first place and didn't need to update to fix bugs in software.

Now as I said windows based computers are cheaper or should I say "less expensive" but sometimes you get what you pay for.  Customer service on windows based  computers tends not to be very well where as Apple's customer service is excellent!  Apple/Mac computers are made from High Quality materials only!  There are no inexpensive models.  Where as in Windows/PC based products you can get many levels of quality.  Now that can be good if your on a tight budget but the lower end models can give you problems in the long run.  Now when I talk about customer service let me give you and example of what just happened to me with my Macbook.

​I purchased my Macbook Pro in 2012 and it comes with a 1 year warranty.  Last month I had a hardware crash and my computer would not start.  I tried all of the online fixes but nothing would work.  I was very upset because this was my main computer because my cheap Windows based desktop had died months ago.  So here I am a photographer without a means to process photos.  I couldn't stand it so I went out and purchased a iMac because I didn't want the hassle of a windows computer and made the iMac my main computer.  I used a backup I had made from my Macbook just a few days before my Macbook died (Make Backups!) and used that backup to restore my iMac so I had all of my files and more important all my settings to my iMac.  But I still didn't have a laptop.  I decided to take my beloved Macbook to the Apple store knowing that the warranty was two years out.  I figured I would have to pay up to 500 dollars to get it fixed and to me it was worth it.  Well after I got to the Apple store and the Genius Bar the technician found the problem very fast and told me that it would be repaired at no cost to me!  NO COST TO ME!!!  Now how can this be its not under warranty.  He told me that in 2011 when this computer was made that some of the video chips (from another company) that were soldered to the motherboard could be faulty.  Apple took the ethical stance of standing behind their name and equipment and is replacing all of the motherboards that show this problem and my computer fell in this category.  So they took my computer on a Saturday and they shipped it off to get fixed and on Tuesday it showed up on my door step!  Hows that for service and its warranted for another year!  All this was done after I had made alterations to the computer like increasing the memory and replacing the hard drive with a  solid state one.  You would be hard pressed to have that kind of service with any company especially electronic type companies. 

So whats to come of all of this.  Nothing really, its like the Ford/Chevy or Nikon/Cannon debate.  Just pick one you like and stick with it.  I really love my Apple/Mac products and I'm sure a Windows/PC guy will say the same about his.  Its just what you come comfortable with.  So thats my two cents.

Keep Shooting!

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(Max Stansell Photography) Apple Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog computers learning website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/apple-fan-boy-why-i-choose-mac-as-my-computer-platform Fri, 27 Nov 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Adobe Lightroom Develop Module Part 2 "Detail Corrections" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/adobe-lightroom-develop-module-part-2-detail-corrections Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash This is the second part of a two part series of the Develop module in Adobe Lightroom.  With the tools that are provided to you in Lightroom you can do much of the editing that you will ever need to do to any type of photograph.  

Cloning can be done with the clone tool that will copy parts of the photo to another that is handy when removing things. You also have a heal tool that looks for the same type of texture in the photograph that you are trying to repair that is handy in cleaning up faces in portraits.

Graduated Filters act as neutral density filters and come in two different types a Graduated one and a Radial one that is round.  You can use these filters to correct exposure problems with your photo or emphasize  a part of the photo.

There is a red eye reduction tool that can be used to correct the red eye effect that can happen with flash photography.  There is also a red eye reduction for animals that can be useful in keeping the family pet not looking like Cujo.

And then there is the brushes!  There are countless things you can do with the brushes that than touch up enhance hide or brighten up parts of your photo.   Too numerous to mention all of the things you can do with the brushes.  Please go to the link below and watch my video on Lightroom's specific detail corrections.

Adobe Lightroom Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AmCBiuMME

USA PeaseUSA Pease DiceDice

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(Max Stansell Photography) Adobe Lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog learning website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/adobe-lightroom-develop-module-part-2-detail-corrections Sun, 22 Nov 2015 23:21:15 GMT
Lightroom Develop Module Part 1 "Global Effects" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/lightroom-develop-module-part-1-global-effects Portrait WorkshopPortrait Workshop Lightroom Develop Module is where all the work on editing photo's in Lightroom is done.  I have decided to do the develop module in two parts the first part is global adjustments and part 2 will be selective adjustments.  Global adjustments are like white balance, exposure, contrast ect...  things that will change the whole photograph not just one part of it.

 Global corrections is what Lightroom does best in my opinion.  If you want to make a lot of specialized adjustments Lightroom can do some but Photoshop is the place to be. But for general global adjustments Lightroom is great.  If your a Photoshop person than the develop module is just the same as the camera raw plugin in Photoshop.  Looks different but is basically the same thing.  

Adjustments in the Develop Module are made with sliders.  You can click and drag the sliders to make the adjustments.  This is about as easy as it gets.  Not a lot of thinking just looking and sliding.  If you don't like what you see you can reset and start all over all without damaging your original image.  Non destructive editing!

Lightroom Develop Module Part 1 Video Link: https://youtu.be/e_Gg__d4UcQ

Under PierUnder Pier

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/lightroom-develop-module-part-1-global-effects Fri, 13 Nov 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Fall Colors Workshop https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/fall-colors-workshop  

2015-10-25-MSP-5382015-10-25-MSP-538Max Stansell Photography I attended my photography's club 2nd annual Fall Colors workshop in the mountains of North Carolina.  Last year 8 of us went on this workshop and rented a cabin for 5 days 4 nights and we had a ball traveling around the mountains taking in the fall colors and working on our technique of photographing waterfalls and wildlife.  The trip last year was so go that this year we went again but 12 of us went and we rented 2 cabins.  Again we had our daily events set up for us by our club officers and we had a good mix of wildlife photography and landscape photography with the fall colors in full bloom.  Photography Technique's were shared by the more advanced photographers to the newer photographers and equipment was shared by all.  This is a very unique experience for most and we all learned a lot and got great photo's.  But that wasn't the best part of the trip. 2015-10-25-MSP-772_3_42015-10-25-MSP-772_3_4Max Stansell Photography

The fellowship of like minded people (Photo Nuts) and being able to talk about our craft and our perspective on how we see the world was the best part to me.  We had many people from different walks of life different ages,backgrounds,ect...  But we all had one thing in common.  The love of photography and being out in nature with each other.  We were like little kids out playing in the school yard with enthusiasm and we were as excited as we could be.  Leading up to the workshop people started getting

ElkElkMax Stansell Photography excited and group text started with what to bring and going off on all sorts of tangents.  After we arrived the excitement level didn't slow down any and we were excited on what we were doing and looking forward to the next days adventure.  We ate together photographed together stayed together in the cabin and traveled together yet our photographs were very different because we all see the world in different ways.  We became very close as a group and nicknames started to be given.  Some of us had nicknames from the trip last year that carried over to this year and new members got nicknames.  Usually for things that have gone wrong.  Like "Splash" for falling in the water or "Crash" for someone who fell down. But it was all in good fun.   Decisions that had to be made were discussed with members of the group and final decisions were made by our officers.  We all picked fun of each other but never seemed to get on anyone's nerves.  We had no personality conflicts among members.  Fun was had by all.  This was our shooting itinerary.

Day 1- Travel to Cabin and Soco Falls in Maggie Vally

Day 2- Cades Cove Tn.  and Mingus Mill

Day 3- Looking Glass Falls , High Falls, Triple Falls, Cabin

Day 4-  Elk at Cataloochee NC and Shoal Mill Falls at Living Waters

Day 5- Rainy day  and ride back home

Fall RapidsFall RapidsMax Stansell Photography Cades Cove ChurchCades Cove ChurchMax Stansell Photography

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(Max Stansell Photography) Autumn Clubs Fall Max Stansell Photography Photography blog learning workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/11/fall-colors-workshop Fri, 06 Nov 2015 13:00:00 GMT
Adobe Lightroom "Map Module" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-map-module Foot BridgeFoot Bridge What is the Map Module?  The Map Module in Lightroom lets you see where your photo's were taken in Google Maps.  It is also a place where you can put the GPS coordinates on your photos.(Geotag) This can be a great tool for you to see where you take the most photo's at and if your a landscape photographer like me and you've hiked in many miles and you don't really have a address to put your location down you can geotag these photo's and go back to the exact same place and take the photo again.  Maybe you've found a scene that you want to take all 4 seasons at you would be able to go back to the same place and do that.

​How do I geotag my photographs?  Well there are many ways to do it.  Once your in the map module you could simply click, drag and drop your photo onto the google map where you took the photo.  If your like me you don't always know the exact location on a map you could use a GPS device or your cell phone with the correct app to create GPX tracks.  Then you could import the track (which is like a digital breadcrumb trail) and then you could auto tag your photo's and they will appear on the google map with all the right coordinates on them.  You do have to be careful and make sure your camera and your GPS device or phone are at the same time or they might not sync into the correct spot on the map.

Here is a quick video on how to use the Map Module in Lightroom : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH6sg5Yzhwg

Keipart Prong CrossingKeipart Prong Crossing Charles Bunion View 3Charles Bunion View 3

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog learning maps website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-map-module Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Adobe Lightroom "Library Module" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-library-module Cape Lookout IR 2Cape Lookout IR 2Max Stansell Photography Organizing, Rating, Culling, Exporting, Social media, Collections, Key wording.  These are all things that Adobe Lightroom Library Module can do for you.  This module is where all of your photo's live.  We may take them to other modules to do things but they live here in the Library.

​The organizational part of Lightroom is what makes it Lightroom.  Being able to organize the way you want within Lightroom makes it very versatile.  Being able to rate your photo's makes it easer to cull your photos down from a large number to a manageable one quickly and helps you get the best product out to the world fast.  Also being able to locate photo's through Key wording is a very valuable tool.  If Im looking for a photo of puppies I can just type in puppies and all the photo's that have that key word will appear.

​Rating and Culling is a important process cutting down photo's from the large numbers that we shoot and narrowing them down to the best of the bunch is a big process.  Lightroom can help with a numbering system or a color system.  Lightroom make it easy just by clicking.

Social media is a important part of any photographer now a days.  Its easy to get your photo's onto social media like Facebook, Flicker or 500px.  Just Drag and drop and you can send your photo's there.  

Now here's a video on the Library Module : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoIfeUq5BIg

Keep Shooting!

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog learning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-library-module Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Adobe Lightroom "Importing Photo's" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-importing-photos Cypress Tree MoonCypress Tree Moon This is the first in a series of tutorials on Adobe Lightroom. While I was at a local Photography Club meeting I overheard some newer members talking about LR (Lightroom) and how they just got it and wanted to learn how to use it.  I thought to myself this would be a good time to make tutorials on how to use LR for beginners.  I am by no means a expert on the subject of LR and all of the ins and outs but I have been using it for years and I can teach a beginning course on the basics.  

So lets start.  Adobe Lightroom (LR) is a organizational program that organizes, rates, shares and edits your photographs.  You can use it to send photo's to social media like Facebook, Flicker or 500px.  You can export photo's to a JPEG format or RAW formats after all of your editing is done.  You can create slideshows and time-lapse photography with LR.  You can Geotag photo's and find them on a map with LR.  Lightroom is a powerful tool.  But before you can do all of that you must get your photo's into Lightroom to do this we use the Import function .

When the import window pops up you can tell LR where to get your photo's from ,where to send them ,make a backup copy, apply some preprocessing ,add keywords and metadata.  All with a click of a button.  You can also start the culling process here and get rid of the really bad photo's before they get on your computer.

Keep Shooting!

Here is the link to the Video on Importing into Lightroom:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wybh23hrso

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Lightroom Max Stansell Photography Photography Tutorial blog learning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/adobe-lightroom-importing-photos Fri, 16 Oct 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Post Processing in Lightroom "My Work Flow" The 5 Step Tango https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/post-processing-in-lightroom-how-i-do-it Sunrise KayakSunrise Kayak Post Processing is a huge subject and could be talked about for years on the how to's and such.  There are many photo editing programs on the market but by far the most popular are the Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.  I subscribe to the Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom CC for 10 dollars a month and get all of the new updates when they come out and its well worth the cost.  The program that I use to do most of my editing is Lightroom and in my editing workflow I use a process thats called the 5 step Tango.  I would love to take credit for this step by step process but I can't.  I learned of it on Creative Live with the instructor Jack Davis.  Jack wrote the first book on Photoshop (Literally ) and has been in the Adobe behind the scenes advisor ever sense the conception of the Photoshop editing programs.  He knows the "why?" Photoshop or Lightroom does what it does.  He came up with the 5 step Tango and I'll briefly explain how it goes.

PRE-TANGO- Before you actually get to the Tango there are some things that you need to do and these are global corrections that correct the whole image not just a small portion of it.  Lens Corrections and Chromatic Aberrations .  In the Lens Correction section there is a check box for both of these that need to be checked.  Lens Corrections correct the inherent flaws of what ever lens you were using and fixes them.  Like lens distortion that is common with a specific lens.  It also corrects Chromatic Aberrations that can be common with the lens.  Camera Profile comes default at Adobe Standard but can be changed to match the type of photo and camera you are using.  If your camera has different profiles like Landscape, Portraits it can be set here.  If you create profiles you can also put them here.  I have generic ones made for Sunny, Overcast, Flash ect... Sunset Beach PierSunset Beach PierMax Stansell Photography

TANGO!

Step 1:White Balance and Crop- You need to set your white balance so Lightroom knows what colors to use like Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten or a number in Kelvin like 5500 ect... You also need to crop so when Lightroom is doing the math to fix things it knows what part of the image to work on.

Step 2: Auto (Undo:)  That right Auto!  I know Photographers don't like auto settings but Light room is a very powerful program lets see what it can do.  If you don't like what Lightroom has done you can reset back to the way it was and do it manually or you can adjust sliders to your liking from where Lightroom has put them.  If you want to do manually you need to follow step 3 and 4 .

Step 3: Exposure,Clarity,Shadow,Highlights - Adjust these in this order!  They are in the order for a reason because if you get out of order you may cancel out a correction you made previously.

Step 4: Whites and Blacks -  watch out for clipping of these

Step 5: Vibrance and Vignette - Vibrance lightens and saturates colors that are not saturated  in the image.  Vignette darkens up the corners to bring the viewers eye closer to the subject of the image.

POST TANGO:  Post Tango deals with Sharpening and Noise reduction and all of the fine detail  corrections that may need to be make like cloning out a dust spot or removing a blemish or using a filter.

And that is pretty much it.  Now I know that editing is very subjective and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another but this works for me.  The most important thing to do in post processing is when you find a system that works STICK TO IT!  You can still experiment and learn new things and incorporate into your work flow be but be consistent! And you will spend more time Shooting than on a computer processing!  I have attached a video of me editing some photographs using Lightroom I am no expert at it but its just the way I do it.  And it works for me maybe it will work for you too!

Keep Shooting!

Editing Video:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo4jpLC2rfo

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Lightroom MaxStansellPhotography blog editing learning photography tutorial website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/post-processing-in-lightroom-how-i-do-it Fri, 09 Oct 2015 12:00:00 GMT
What's in My Bag? Or Bags? https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/whats-in-my-bag-or-bags-my-daily-bag-what-s-in-it-and-my-backpacking-photo-gear _MSP6312_MSP6312 There are many "whats in your bag" blogs or videos but I just don't have one bag, I have many.  I have my daily carry bag that I take back and forth to work every day.  I have work items computer and camera gear.  I have my backpacking Kit that includes camera body and 2 lenses and  weighs in in about 5lbs which is less than my big boy camera and a mid length zoom which comes in at about 8 lbs.  Then I have my big boy kit with my big boy camera and lenses that I take on day landscaping trips or on professional shoots interchanging lenses for the occasion that I'm shooting.

First my daily kit or bag that I take with me.  This is the bag that I have with me almost every day. Its the bag that goes back and forth from work with me every day and goes with me on day trips like to festivals or where I'll be doing a lot of walking. 

First my bag is a Lowepro Fastback backpack 250.  A great little bag with the camera compartment on the bottom of the bag and a place for other stuff in the top part.  It has a camera access on the side for getting your camera out quick.  It has a place for tripod and removable hip strap. It has a place for a 15" laptop and is a great day pack.  So here's whats in my backpack.

1. Camera body, Sony A6000

2. Lenses- I carry 2 to 3 lenses all Sony.  16-50mm f3.5-5.6 ,18-105mm f4 ,  10-18mm f4 

3. Small Filter Kit-  Variable Neutral Density Filter, Circular Polarizer, Soft Graduated Neutral Density filter, Stepdown rings.

4. Ultimate tripod

Misc Stuff- iPod,Bluetooth,external hard drive, lens cloth,med kit,brush, comb, business cards,spare battery, cables, pens, markers and lots of other stuff.

​For my backpacking photography gear I use a Ribz front pack.  I have gone through many configurations trying to get my backpacking kit honed in and its tough.  In backpacking weight is the main concern on many decisions that you make because you have to carry everything on your back for many miles on rugged terrain and weather conditions.  The total weight of my backpacking kit bag and all is about 5 lbs.  My big boy camera with a 24-70mm lens come in at about 8 lbs thats without bag or accessories.  So here's what I came up with.

1. Camera Body- Sony A6000

2. Lenses- Sony 10-18mm f4, Sony 18-105mm f4

3. Filter Kit- Circular Polarizer, Variable Neutral Density Filter, 3 Stop Soft Graduated ND Filter, Stepdown Rings for filters

4. Tripod- Trail Pix Tripod

5. Misc- Battery, remote release, lens cloth, extra SD card

_MSP6316_MSP6316 Now how about my Big Boy Bag.  The big boy bag is the bag that I take on professional shoots like birthdays, portrait shoots and is also the bag that I take on day hikes that have a strong subject like waterfalls, sunrises , sunsets or car-ography ( when I'm just riding around taking Photo's).  I consider this kit as my main camera gear.  Depending on the subject the contents can change for example for a party I will take a couple of flashes, batteries ,maybe flash triggers ect... that I wouldn't take with me on a sunrise shoot. So here goes. 

​My big boy bag is a Lowepro Flipside 500 AW

1. Camera Body's- Nikon D800, Nikon D7000 (both with "L" Brackets)

2. Lenses- Nikon 18-35 f3.5-5.6 G, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G , Nikon 70-200mm f2.8G, 2X Converter

3. Filter Kit- Lee Filter System Holder, ND filters (2-8 stops) Soft Grad ND's, Hard ND, Polarizer,(Also carry Circular Polarizer filters)

4. Tripod- Depending on the situation I'll have a Manfrotto 458 Neotec, Flashpoint Carbon Fiber

5. Remote Shutter release

6. Head Lamp

7. Color Checker Passport

8. Cleaning Kit- Blower, Pen Brush , many lens cloths

9. Misc- Batteries(2), note pad, pen, Camera straps, SD and CF cards, Sensor Swabs, Emergency poncho, rain cover, Model Releases, Business Cards ect... 

Thats what's in my Bag's.  Contents will vary depending where and what Im shooting. I've made some video's that you can link to below and see a more detailed of whats in my bag.

Daily bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhtjnxRuFEc

Backpacking Kit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzqq1rt47z0

Big Boy Kit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwjz-h3iatI

​Remember camera's, lenses and gear are just tools that we use to do the job. You can get the job done with out all of fancy tools but it's easer with the correct tools.  A carpenter can build a house without power tools but its a lot easer than just using a hammer and hand saw.  Same with a photographer you can take and make great photo's with just a point and shoot.  But its a lot easier with the correct gear. Its more fun too!

Keep shooting !

 

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography backpacking bags blog camping learning tripod website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/10/whats-in-my-bag-or-bags-my-daily-bag-what-s-in-it-and-my-backpacking-photo-gear Fri, 02 Oct 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Camping Cuisine! " Cooking on the Trail" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/camping-cuisine-cooking-on-the-trail _MSP1815_MSP1815 ​Backpacking came to me later in life and is still considered new to me.  Backpacking came to me at first just as a way to get to new places to photograph.   I had been going to places mainly state parks hiking and exploring and photographing.  As a challenge to my self I fashioned a overnight backpacking trip a goal for myself if you will.  I had done some car camping in the past but nothing like hiking in 10 miles with everything on my back, camp and hike out.  Well with this goal came many challenges to figure out.  One of them was food.  What will I do about food?  Should I just pack a peanut butter sandwich or should I try to cook something and if I was going to cook something how would I do that?  And what would I cook?  So off to Youtube I went in search for the how.  I was overwhelmed there are many  ways to cook on the trail I found out and so many different types of stoves, cookware, and the like I really was put back.  So here I'll briefly go over some of the things you'll need to cook on the trail.

Food on the trail can be varied but for the most part most backpackers cook some sort of pasta, rice, or re-hydrate some sort of dehydrated meal.  There are meals that are already dehydrated for you that you can buy or you can dehydrate your own.  I'm just starting to dehydrate food but really am too new to talk on yet.  The store bought ones taste great but a little pricy.  And after hiking 10 miles Ramen noodles just dosen't cut it.  So for me it was going to be dehydrated meals of some kind.

First if your going to cook on the trail you'll need some kind of stove.  The first rule in backpacking, I have learned the hard way, is that weight matters! So your stove will have to be lightweight and small.  You could cook on a campfire right?  Well you could if fires are permitted in the area you are going but it's not very convenient.  You have to collect wood start fire (and art in itself) and then cook.  What if it rains , what if it has just rained and everything is soaking wet?  So cooking on a campfire although would work is not practical.  There are homemade alcohol stoves that you can make out of a soda can (Youtube can show you how) and use denatured alcohol and cook on that.   This does work and for many backpackers this is the choice.  It is very lightweight and all you have to worry about is storing the alcohol.  The drawback to me about this system is that it is slow and very wind resistant. If the wind is blowing you must have some kind of wind break or the flame will go out. You cannot control the flame its all or nothing. It takes maybe 9 min to boil water.  The next type of stove is the type that I use , a propane stove.  They are small stove and you do have to carry a small propane tank but they light quickly and you can boil water in about 3 min and you can control the flame!  There are a few more like a fuel tablet that burns for about 10 min.  I usually carry one for backup but they are messy for main stove.  There are wood stoves that  you feed small pieces of wood but flame control is hard.  So propane is the stove I chose.

​Now your going to need some sort of pot.  When I first started I used a old coffee pot that I had used for camping and it worked well.  It was a little big and bulky and I had to find a way to remove the handle  but it worked and the price was right. Free!  The size of the pot that you will use can vary but you need one that will hold at least 2 cups of water. Most of the dehydrated meals need two cups of boiling water.  As you can guess there are all kinds some made out of aluminum and some made out of titanium both materials are light weight.  What about cups, bowls or something to eat off of.  That's where the store bought kits come in.  They make kits that have bowls ,cups and everything  nest together (like those Russian eggs)  and doesn't take up space.  I got one that works great for me. It has a pot( teflon coated) with retractable handle, Lid with holes that so it can be a strainer, cup/bowl with insulation, and it all fits into a bag that is rubber coated so you can use it to carry water or a sink.  You'll also need some sort of eating spoon with a long handle so you can reach into the bags of food and not get your hands in the food.

Mountain House dehydrated meals are the most popular store bought meals but there are others that can be purchased.  They come in many meals from Chicken and Rice, Lasagna , Chili Mac , Beef Stew. You can also cook pasta or more easily Pasta Sides, Ramen Noodles, Instant Mashed Potato's, for breakfast you can make Oatmeal using packets or just bring your own instant oatmeal.

​Before you go make sure you practice with your new cooking system because after hiking in many miles you don't want to fumble around trying to figure out how your kit works. There is a link below to a video that I've done to show the cooking process.  I made this video while backpacking at Grandfather Mountain State Park on  a solo trip I took not to long ago.

Keep Hiking! and Keep Shooting!

 

Link to My Cooking Video :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQqeqtdvrNg

 

Photo's:  Top Left old coffee pot that I used to cook with with propane stove

Top Right :  Popular meals that are rehydrated on the trail counter clockwise from top Mountain House Dehydrated meal, hungry jack mashed potato's, Instant oatmeal, Ramen Noodles, Pasta Sides

Bottom :  My current cook set starting at the 1 o'clock postion and going clockwise container that holds my coolest also doubles as a sink, insulated cup/bowl, lid/strainer and long handled spoon, wind screen, pot, in middle stove with propane canister attached.

Camp CoffeeCamp Coffee _MSP5942_MSP5942

_MSP5938_MSP5938

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpacking Camping Cooking Max Stansell Photography Photography blog landscape website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/camping-cuisine-cooking-on-the-trail Fri, 25 Sep 2015 12:30:00 GMT
The Photographers Eye! How to See the world like a Photographer! https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/the-photographers-eye-how-to-see-the-world-like-a-photographer Photographers EyePhotographers Eye

People often say you take good pictures or where do you go to get good Photos?  The real answer is that good photographs are all around you everywhere you go, you just don't see them.  You need a photographer's eye.  What is a Photographer's Eye?  Its looking at scenes and things like a photographer.  That's kind of a intangible or teachable thing if you think about it. Photography is an art and we should look at scenes like an artist not as a technical problem like most of us usually do thinking of aperture , shutter speed ,what lens to use.  When we should think about composition, Point of View (POV) or most importantly STORY!  So how do we get that untouchable thing that "X" factor?  Well this is how I do it.  I look at a lot of photographs!  Is that simple. If you look at good or great photographs, lots of them , before long you will start looking at situations ,  scenes like a Photographer would with a Photographers Eye.

So where do we get great photographs to look at?  Well long time ago it was in editorial magazines like Life, Look, National Geographic.  But now we have the internet!  There are many photographic sites that you can go to and just explore photographs upon photographs that are just amazing!  A the end of this blog I'll leave links to all the sites that I use.  

The site that I use the most and post most of my photo's in is "Flickr".  Flickr is a social media outlet for Photographs.  You can like and choose photo's as your favorite.  Flicker has all sorts of groups that you can explore and they have an "Explore" Tab where they post the top 500 photographs each day from all over the world and you will be amazed at some of these photo's.  You can search by almost any topic and Flickr can find all of the photo's that are related or tagged as for example landscape, seascape , dogs, cats ect...

Another site that I use is "500 PX"  This site is much like Flickr and like Flickr it is a world wide site.  You can search various photo's from all over the globe in various categories. This site has what they call "Popular" photo's and they are rated on how many views and likes and Favorites and selects the best photo's in each categorie every day.

With these sites you can truly see some fantastic photographs and figure out how and maybe why the photographer chose the point of view or how they looked at the scene and in time you will start looking at everything different. Better! With the Photographers Eye!

Keep Shooting!

Link to Flickr:    https://www.flickr.com

Link to 500 PX:    https://500px.com/login?r=%2Fflow

The photographers eye  by Lucas  Vipieski

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(Max Stansell Photography) Max Stansell Photography Photography blog learning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/the-photographers-eye-how-to-see-the-world-like-a-photographer Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:44:30 GMT
Three Legged Monsters! "Tripods" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/three-legged-monsters-tripods 10404408_10203141767201989_3296463740236017661_n10404408_10203141767201989_3296463740236017661_n Tripods, Tripods, Tripods!  Tripods can be a very controversial subject among photographers.  Some don't even own one and others live by them and have one everywhere they go.  I guess I fall closer to the later but I don't have one when I go to the bathroom.  Like all things there are pro's and con's to using tripods.  Let me go over why I like to use a tripod when I can.  When I'm doing landscape work it helps me see the scene it also slows me down and lets me work the shot and think over what Im doing without running and gunning like most of us do.  Its also a must for any type of long exposure photography whether it be astro photography , waterfalls, or time lapse.  I also use a tripod when doing portraits.  This is where I differ from a lot of portrait photographers.  I like the tripod because it is like a book mark.  Let me explain what I mean.  If I have a subject posed and I see a fly away hair that I need to take care of with my camera on a tripod I can simply walk over take care of the fly away and go back to my camera and the only thing that has changed is that the fly away is gone and SNAP I can take the photo.  Without the tripod you see a fly away you walk over with your camera fix the hair and go back to the approx place you were recompose, refocus and take the shot.  Its a lot less work with the tripod and less time spent recomposing.  Well there's my spin on the controversy.  Lets talk about parts and pieces.

Tripods come in all sorts and sizes.  They are made of all kinds of materials from aluminum , plastic, carbon fiber, even wood if you can find one old enough.  Aluminum is the industry standard and there are many really good aluminum tripods.  Carbon Fiber is the new kid on the block and they are lighter in weight with the same strength as their aluminum counterparts.  I have many tripods most are aluminum and one is of carbon fiber.  Aluminum is cheaper and for my money it is the best choice for most people.  Unless you are carrying your tripod for long distances aluminum is the best choice in my opinion.  

As the saying goes "Size Matters".  I personally have tripods that can reach as high as 7 feet and as small as 6 inches high.  But not only size should be considered, the weight that the tripod can support.  No matter what tripod you pick you must be able to support your most heavy camera combination. So if you just have a small point and shoot or mirrorless camera system a small tripod will do.  But if  you have a big boy combination with heavy lenses then you must go big.  

How your camera connects to your tripod is another thing you must think about when getting a tripod.  We've talked about size, material, of the legs what about the tripod head that sit atop the legs of the tripod.  There are many types of heads but the two basic design are Pan and Tilt and Ball Head.  The pan and tilt head does exactly as it says it pans back and forth and tilts up and down.  The ball head has a more versatile system where everything sits on a ball and can be moved in any direction and angle.  I use the ball head for all of my tripods.  Atop of the tripod head is the part that hooks up the tripod to the camera.  Long time ago you just screwed the camera onto the mounting plate of the tripod head but that was a pain.  Now they have quick disconnecting mounting hardware that a plate hooks to your camera and stays on and a mounting bracket hooks to your tripod head and with a quick move of a lever the camera is secure and with another move its off.  There are a few styles of quick disconnects the industry standard is Arca Swiss but there are others like Manfrotto quick disconnects. I use a Arca Swiss type of bracket that is called an "L" bracket on all of my cameras.  As the name suggest it is a bracket that is shaped like an "L" and fits your camera.  The beauty of this bracket is that I can be taking a photo in Landscape and with a flip of a lever I can turn my camera to Portrait mode with out changing my tripod position.

Believe it or not I have just skimmed the surface of the "Three Legged Monster" There are many things that we could talk about.  For me the main thing I want to convey is that if you have a tripod and don't use it you should give it a try.  Using a tripod can slow down your process and have you taking and thinking more about what your photographing instead of just the point and shoot mentality that we have gotten use to.  Here are some photo's of different tripods and "L" Brackets.

Video Link to Tripod Legs:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDAYV4sqx2A

Video Link on Tripod Heads:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih_okFNx5sM

 

Keep Shooting!

Tripod StuffFrom Left to right. Trail Pix Tripod Clamp, Arca Swiss Mounting Bracket and Plate, Table top Tripod with iPhone adapter and I phone, Nikon D7000 and Really Right Stuff "L" Bracket

 

On Left :From Left to right, Trail Pix Tripod Clamp, Arca Swiss Mounting Bracket and Plate, Table top Tripod with iPhone Adapter and iPhone, Nikon D7000  and Really Right Stuff "L" Bracket

Below: Camera on Tripod in Landscape mode using "L" Bracket

Below Left: Camera on Tripod in Portrait Mode using "L" Bracket

DSCF0517DSCF0517 DSCF0518DSCF0518

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog learning Max Stansell Photography Photography tripod website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/three-legged-monsters-tripods Fri, 11 Sep 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Groupies! Photography Clubs / Organizations https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/groupies-photography-clubs-/-organizations Wine glass SplashWine glass Splash One of the best decisions that I have made "photography wise" was to join my local photography club. For years I have been into photography but trying to talk it to any of my family or friends I always got that glazed eye over look because they didn't know what in the world I was talking about or were not interested at all.  To me photography is at the very core of what or who I am.  Almost everything we see in this multi media world we live in is driven by "image"  Images are made by photographers be it Video or still photographs in a news print or on the web.  Photographers are apart of everything we see in the media.  Okay let me get off of my "Soap Box."

​One day I was looking up friends from the past on Facebook and found one of my former Air Force friends and found that he lived in my town and by stalking his profile I found that he was one of the officers of a local photography club.  Before that time I had not even thought of a photography club.  I immediately contacted him to find out when the next meeting was.  When I got to the meeting and started listening to the members talk and interact I was in heaven.  These people are talking my talk , they were enthusiastic like I am.  I was so pumped up after that first meeting that I'm writing about it now 3 years later.

Photography Clubs/Organizations give you a place where you can learn and grow.  Before I joined my club most of my growing in photography came from books or the web and trying to copy some technique or image that someone else had done.  Most of my photographs were taken at or around my house but after joining I started venturing out more.  My club has monthly workshops where we learn a new technique or go to a place to explore and photograph.  We learn different types of photography from Portraits, Macro, Wildlife, Landscape.  We learn about post processing and HDR (High Dynamic Range).  So in short you can expand your photography horizons just by being an active member.

The people you meet in a club are from all walks of life and different photographic levels of experience and you can learn something from all of them no matter if they are a beginner or a professional photographer.  The photography club gets you out of your comfort zone "photography wise" and puts you into a uncomfortable place where you can grow.  My first year in the club during a "Help Portrait" event they let me shoot portraits with studio lights.  I was very nervous and had not shot many portraits especially with lights.  I really didn't know what I was doing but I kind of faked it and found that I really liked doing portraits and since then I have done everything from family portraits to head shots to a bridal shoot.  Everyone in the club is very helpful and is more than willing to show you how or explain something to you. Most of the time they can't wait to tell you how they got the shot or the story behind the shot.

And then there is the people you meet!  Its great to go shooting with like minded people from all walks of life and the friendships that you make can make are priceless.   As a "photography nut" equipment is another part of the process that can be confusing.  Like most photographers i have GAS! No not that kind!  GAS is (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).  The act of trying to have the next best and greatest thing hoping it will give you that great award winning shot.   In a club you can try out new lenses or flashes without having to buy them to find out later that you don't like and your stuck with something that you didn't want.  So its a great place to learn about new and different equipment.  Products like books, prints, Frames are another plus.  You learn where the deals are and maybe see things that you haven't even thought of like canvas or metal prints.  You may be able to get discounts by being a member of the club at local camera shop.

So go out and join your local Photography or Camera Club and expand your Photography horizons!  These are examples of the different kinds of photo's that I've taken in or because of workshops that my photography club held.

Keep Shooting !

KiwiKiwi

Cape Lookout IRCape Lookout IRMax Stansell Photography

Geese and MoonGeese and Moon Looking Glass 2Looking Glass 2 _MSP1289_MSP1289 Young BearYoung Bear

Portrait Workshop-6Portrait Workshop-6

Pushn' up DasiesPushn' up Dasies

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(Max Stansell Photography) Clubs Max Stansell Photography Photography blog learning website workshops https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/9/groupies-photography-clubs-/-organizations Fri, 04 Sep 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Tools of the Trade "Camera's" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/tools-of-the-trade-cameras  

My Camera'sMy Camera's I have been taking photo’s for many years starting in the 60’s taking photo’s with my Mom’s Kodak Brownie.  Through the years I have used manual SLR (Single Lens Reflex) 35mm film cameras using film and slide film.  Currently I am using 2 different systems a DSLR system and a Mirrorless Camera system that I use while backpacking and everyday travel.  Both systems have advantages and disadvantages.  Always pick the right tool for the job that your doing.  I love using both of them.  So let me explain my systems to you.

 

The first system that I use is what I call my “Big Boy Camera”  Is a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) Camera System.  This type of system is the “Industry Standard” for modern professional photography.  My main camera is the Nikon D800 a 36mp full frame sensor professional camera  body.  My backup “Big Boy Camera” is Nikon D7000 a 16mp cropped sensor camera body.  Both Camera body’s are awesome cameras and I love to use them.  I have good “glass” or lenses that I can interchange between both body’s.  My favorite all around lens is the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens.  It falls mostly in the focal range that I shoot in and is on my camera 99.9 % of the time.  I have a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 which is a great lens for portraits and all around photography.  Its a big heavy lens so toting it around for long peroids of time is a chore but a fantastic lens.  I have a Nikon 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 lens that I don’t use a lot but is a fairly good lens and is inexpensive. I have a Rokinon 14mm f2.8 for fisheye shots nightscapes etc… This is a very sharp lens its manual focus and inexpensive.  For macro photography I have a Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro lens that was inexpensive but very good lens.  

 

This “Big Boy Camera” System is the system that I take to Portrait photo shoots, Landscapes that I’m going directly to like waterfalls , sunrises , sunsets.  I also use this to do shoot events like birthday parties, retirement parties and the such.  I use it for studio work when I do product or still life work.  

 

The other system that I use is a Mirrorless system.  One of the major advantage of this type of system is that its smaller , lighter but still has great quality.  It has more bells and whistles than my “Big Boy Camera” and is a real fun camera to shoot with.  The system I use is a Sony A6000 a 24mp Crop sensor camera body.  I have a Sony18-105mm F4 Lens this is a great walk around lens.  I also have the Sony 10-18mm f4 wide angel lens.  This is a super lens sharp and gives a great wide perspective and great for Landscapes.  I have a kit lens that came with the camera a 16-55mm which is a 35mm equivalent to 25-75mm in my favorite focal range.  Another cool thing about this camera is that I can use some of my old film camera lenses and 

some of my nikon lenses like the macro on this body.  When I use these lenses the camera is in full manual mode for some this might be a big deal but I grew up on fully manual cameras so this is really kind of fun.

 

The mirrorless Camera system is what I use when I do my backpacking because it is lightweight and so versatile .  My “Big Boy Camera” with the 24-70mm lens weighs 7 lbs.  My Mirrorless camera with the 10-18mm and the 18-105mm Filters  and Bag wight 5 lbs.   So Hiking I get more bang for my buck.  This is a fun camera and fits well in my hand and is my carry around with me everywhere camera.  Maybe in a later blog I’ll go over the pro’s and cons between DSLR and Mirrorless systems.  Well that about covers my camera systems of course I didn’t talk about strobes or lighting at all and Tripods !   You know I can do a whole blog on just tripods.  Maybe later.

 

I have a couple of other camera’s that I use from time to time.  The first one is a point and shoot camera (Lumix) that was converted into a infra-red camera.  Infra-red gives a new perspective or should I say look.  I’ve but an example of what this little camera can do in this post. Notice how all the greens turn white giving a snowy look.  I don’t use this much but when I do Its a real stunning change to a dull scene.

 

The last camera that I use mainly when Im backpacking is a waterproof point and shoot camera (Fugi XP) that can give a real cool perspective of a waterfall from underwater or very close to the water surface without worrying about the camera getting wet.  Well thats about it maybe Ill do some blogs on these unique camera’s.

 

Keep Shooting!

 

Somerset Plantation HouseSomerset Plantation House

Water1-2Water1-2

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpacking Camping Landscape Max Stansell Photography Photography blog website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/tools-of-the-trade-cameras Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:00:00 GMT
Tools of the Trade " Filters" https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/tools-of-the-trade-filters Filters are becoming a thing of the past.  But for a landscape photographer they are one of his best tools.  I am a photographer who started in the film era where there was no "Chimping" or "Photoshop" where things could be corrected after the fact.  You had to get it as right as you could "in camera."  Most filters nowadays can be duplicated in some sort of editing program like Photoshop or Lightroom.  The problem here is the more that you do in post- production, the more the image is damaged.  My goal is to get it as good as I can "in camera"  and then take it to Photoshop or Lightroom to do final touch up.  I consider this to be the best way to get good photographs.

 

There are all shapes and sizes of filters.  They come in round, square, screw mount, and filter holder systems.  Filters help the photographer let you see what he sees.  When I have unwanted light, like in a sunrise or sunset, I use a graduated neutral density filter to tone down the brighter part of the frame so I can pick up some detail in the foreground.  Without the filter you get the foreground under exposed and the background over exposed.  So we use filters to trick the camera.  There are all types of filters.  I mentioned a neutral density filter, but there are many others from polarizers, UV filters, and colored filters.  The main filters I use are  neutral density filters that darken all or parts of the photo without changing the color.  There are different types of neutral density filters -- plain, graduated, soft graduated, and hard graduated.  These filters help you take photos when the light is very difficult to get the correct exposure, like with sunrises and sunsets.  They can also bring out detail in flat light.  The sunset below was taken with a graduated neutral density filter attached to tone down the bright sky and bring out detail in the foreground. Polarizers are the other type of filters I use.  Polarizers are like sunglasses for your lens.  When you put on a pair of sunglasses, notice how the grass, sky, and things just pop?  The same thing happens with this filter.  It will take the glare off of water and shiny things.  It will also enhance the sky, making it bluer that you normally see it. The polarizer is the only filter that cannot be duplicated in post-production.

 

I use two different styles of filters -- screw-on filters and ones that require filter holders.  My main filter system is made by Lee Filters.  I use their filter holders and filters.  This type of filter can be very expensive, but it's because they are handmade.  Here is a link to a YouTube video of the Lee Filter Factory --  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMu_m203YaY   It's very cool to see how they are made.  Filters can enhance your photos if you give them a chance.

 

Keep shooting!!!

 

 

Lee Filter HolderLee Filter Holder FiltersFilters Holden Beach Pier SunsetHolden Beach Pier SunsetHolden Beach North Carolina.

 

 

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(Max Stansell Photography) blog landscape Max Photography Stansell website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/tools-of-the-trade-filters Sat, 22 Aug 2015 12:44:14 GMT
Charlies Bunion Loop Backpacking Trip Video https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/charles-bunion-loop-backpacking-trip-video My View Charles BunionMy View Charles Bunion Hey everyone! I just finished putting together a video of a trip to the Charlies Bunion rock outcropping on the Appalachian Trail. The trip started with a long drive Thursday night to Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We got there about 12 midnight, slept in the car, and got up to see the sun rise. We hiked the Appalachian Trail northbound until we got to the "jump off," which is about two miles in and one-half mile off of the trail, and it had great views. We then hiked the rest of the way to Charlies Bunion where we ate our lunch and enjoyed the view. After lunch we connected just past Charlies Bunion to Dry Sluice Gap Trail and took it south until meeting the Grassy Branch Trail that we took to Kephart Shelter, all in all about eight miles. The shelter housed about eight campers that night, and when we awoke there was rain and thunder. We waited for an hour for the thunder to stop before we started hiking in the rain. The temp was in the mid to low 50s, and we hiked uphill in the rain for about four miles. Along the way, we came upon three small waterfalls. We made it back to the Appalachian Trail and hiked back to the Newfound Gap parking area that was full of people.  I just put together the video of this trip, and you can go to it with this link.  Please check it out and tell me what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq44VvLWsMw

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpacking Camping hiking landscape Photography website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/charles-bunion-loop-backpacking-trip-video Sat, 08 Aug 2015 23:48:53 GMT
New website and Restored Blog https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/new-website-and-restored-blog IMG_1923IMG_1923 Welcome to my blog! I'm using a new web host and am able to get a blog back in action! Please have some patience with this site. It will take me some time to get used to all of the features and how to tweak them. I'm looking forward to sharing photo tips and reports from some of my travels. For most of you that don't know me, I am a photographer/hiker and backpacker. I love to backpack and take photos that are off of the beaten path of everyday life.  I do most of my backpacking in North Carolina, my home base state, and I love the Smoky Mountains. On my bucket list of things to do is to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina and hike the Appalachian Trail that goes through North Carolina. I love waterfalls and big overlooks of the mountains. I am looking forward to taking you with me on my journeys, photographing my adventures with tips and tricks thrown in for good measure!  

 

This photograph is of me on top of Grandfather Mountain with the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in 1978. After this photo was taken, while I was hiking on the trail later in the day, I found a guy that didn't quite look like a hiker and started up a conversation with him. I came to find out that he was the son of the pilot who was flying the plane that crashed. I found out that his father had perished in the crash, so I didn't ask too many more questions. He wanted to show some of his relatives the wreckage, but had incorrectly marked the location on his map. I pointed him in the right direction, and hopefully he found his father's plane. Small world, huh?

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(Max Stansell Photography) Backpacking blog crash hiking Photography plane website https://www.maxstansellphotography.com/blog/2015/8/new-website-and-restored-blog Thu, 06 Aug 2015 17:28:54 GMT