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.

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_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!

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_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 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!