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 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 _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_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!

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 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_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 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.

Wells 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 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!