We thought you might like to see a little video we put together on the Eckla Gear Carts. They sure make it easy to haul your gear! Check them out in the store here.
Thanks to Maxis Gamez and Curt Edwards for your help!
Archive for the ‘Video’ Category
Eckla Gear Carts Video Overview
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012NEOS Overshoes Review by Jim Caldwell of Fotobug
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011Make sure and check out Jim’s great Elusive Image podcasts at Fotobug!
Eckla Eagle Car Door Support Video Review
Thursday, August 25th, 2011Good friend and incredible bird photographer Alan Murphy came in last week to shoot a series of videos, both on bird tips and on products. We had a fun time shooting finches and woodpeckers out on my deck, and have some great footage.
Our first video is on the Eagle Car Door Support from Eckla. Alan reviews all the features of this sturdy mount, which makes shooting from your vehicle a breeze.
You can see the Eckla Eagle in the OPG store here.
Alan has an incredibly detailed and useful best-selling ebook “Songbird Setup Photography” in the store. You can also check out Alan’s images and workshops at his website here. Thanks Alan!
View the Eckla Eagle Video Transcript
Hi, I’m Alan Murphy. I’m a bird photographer. Many times I like to take pictures out of my car window. So I’m going to share with you a great product that allows me to do that. This is the Eckla Eagle Car Door Mount. This is a window mount designed to work with your large lenses, like the 600 or 400.
This is made out of stainless steel and aluminum. It is built in Germany, and this is going to allow you to attach a gimbal head or a ball head, or you can even still use your bean bag. This is very, very strong material, and it’s very lightweight. This is much lighter than using one of those filled in bean bags. It also has an integrated bubble level, and this is great for lining up and getting everything level.
So I’m going to go ahead and show you how to adjust this. I’m going to mount this up, and I’m going to show you all the adjustments and how I go about using this.
All right. Now we have it set up in the car. I’m going to go through what I did to set it up. First of all, we have a couple of adjustable levers right here, and what that does, it allows you to adjust for the thickness of your door, which is a nice feature. We have a couple of levers right here that will allow you to adjust this angle, and you do that so that you can get this plate nice and level. You’ll know that’s level because you used the spirit bubble level that’s built in, which is a great feature.
Down here, we have a couple of adjustable levers that will allow you to extend this plate down so that you can snug it right on top of the car door handle, and every car brand has the handle at a different distance. So that’s a really nice feature as well.
Once that’s all set up, you can see that it’s really, really secure, and that will support any amount of weight.
We have our tripod mount. That is the last thing, right here, that will go back and forth. I really like this because sometimes I’m using a shorter lens and I want to use the mount for the back and closer to my face, or if I’m using a long 600 millimeter lens, I can put my mount further out here.
Now that we have this all set up, I’m going to show how it looks with a gimbal head.
All right. So here you can see that we have it mounted with a gimbal head on and a large 600 millimeter lens. If you look at the smoothness of the action of this, this is as if you were just shooting on a tripod. So it’s very, very sturdy, very secure, and I like that.
Also, depending on the height of your gimbal head, rather if you have a large tall ball head or a higher gimbal head than this, or a large bean bag, these adjustments here will allow you to drop this plate down, so it will give you more room and give you more headway out of here.
One other feature I like about this is when I’m shooting at refuges or out in wildlife preserves and I want to drive another 200 yards, all I have to do is just turn my lens in, lock that down, and go. I don’t have to take anything down. It’s a nice feature.
So one of the really special benefits about this window mount is that you can also mount it on the outside of the car. This is primarily the way that I shoot, and the reason for that is I can attach my gimbal head, but I can also attach my flash bracket. So now I have the use of flash for my photography shooting from the car, which you cannot do with a bean bag.
So you can see the perspective from the inside of the car. I really like this window mount. This makes shooting from inside the car a breeze.
Photo Tips – Shooting from a Kayak
Friday, June 24th, 2011
Sometime you want to take pictures without your feet on the ground. Here are some tips for keeping your gear safe while shooting from a kayak. In this video, New Hampshire based conservation photographer Jerry Monkman explains how to keep your camera gear safe while shooting from a kayak.
Check out Jerry's fall Cape Cod workshop here: Eco Photography
[toggles active=0 speed=500][toggle title="Transcript"]Hi, everybody. This is Jerry Monkman from Ecophotography.com. I'm often asked how I keep my gear safe while paddling. So today, I'm going to give a few tips on how to shoot from a kayak.
First off, obviously our main goal here is not to get our camera immersed in water. Everything we do is to keep our gear safe, and the first thing you need to do to do that is to know your own limits as far as paddling. If you're not good at keeping a boat upright, don't take your camera out when you're in a boat. If you can't handle big waves out in the ocean, don't take your camera out when you're in the boat.
Otherwise, if you've got those skills, there are some things you can do to minimize the water getting on your camera. One thing I do is use this really cool camera vest called a cotton carrier, which holds the camera snug against my body so I'm not banging it with my paddle and water is not dripping down my paddle onto the camera.
It's really a pretty neat little gizmo. It's got this Velcro strap to hold the camera snug, and then you just twist and turn and get your camera out and you're shooting.
When I'm shooting, I'm shooting for shutter speeds of 1/250th, 1/500th of a second, a little faster shutter speeds. If I need to use a faster ISO, ISO 200, 400, something like that, I'll do that. There's a lot of movement when you're in a boat, obviously, so you need to use that faster shutter speed so you don't get camera blur.
Before I had a cotton carrier, I would just cinch my camera strap up so the camera was up here, a little more snug, not down here where it was more likely to get some water on it.
That's pretty simple kind of stuff, but that is the basics of what you need to do when you're shooting.
Now, if you're in really extreme conditions but need your camera out to shoot, you're going to probably want an underwater housing. If you can't afford a real expensive one, do what I do. I'm kind of cheap, so I've got this U-A Marine housing. It's still a few hundred dollars and it doesn't give you access to all your camera controls, but if you use auto-focus and auto-exposure, you can shoot all day long with your camera in here safely. If the waves are crashing over you, you don't have to worry about your camera getting ruined. This is a good investment if you're going to be shooting in that kind of stuff.
Also, you can store your camera and other gear in a dry bag, either in your cockpit so it's easily accessible if there's room, or in the hatch where you'll need to, obviously, stop the boat for a moment to get out and get your gear.
Let's see, what else. Lastly, I always have pockets in my PFDs so I can get at extra camera gear easily, such as a memory card holder. These Geppie holders are great because they're waterproof and they float. If your memory cards fall in the ocean, you can just paddle over and pick them up.
I also keep a lens cloth in here somewhere. There we go. Inevitably, you are going to get a few drops on your lens and your camera, and you'll want something to wipe those off. I keep that handy in here. I'll also sometimes throw in a polarizer. It's where I store my lens caps, things like that.
It's good to get a PFD with pockets.
All right, those are my photo tips for the day. Get out there, have fun in your boat, be safe, and enjoy your photo adventure.[/toggle][/toggles]
Photo Safari in Tanzania – Andy Biggs Video
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011If you’ve never been on a photo safari in Tanzania, you’ll get a taste of one by watching this video. Andy Biggs of Gura Gear fame shows us travel, accommodations, relaxation and wildlife in this video of a typical photo safari.
You’ll want to go, or go back, after watching this video. Thanks Andy!
You can learn more about Andy’s safaris here.
Photo Safari in Tanzania Video Transcript
Hi, I’m Andy Biggs, and thank you for taking the time to look at this brief introduction to an African photographic safari. The reason I put this together was to really explain what we see on a typical game drive. We have beautiful wildlife. We have beautiful landscapes. And then to also show you our accommodations, how comfortable they are, as well as take a look at our professional wildlife guides
Photographic Safari Client
When you get to be around my stage in life you’re looking to fill your bucket list, and Africa was number one, has been since I was a child, actually. So when I chose to come to this safari, I had high expectations. They’ve all been met and exceeded. You walk in here, you walk around the campsites, you get in the vehicles, you see Africa, and it’s sort of becomes part of your soul.
Photographic Safari Client
My favorite moment was, for sure, the encounter with the cheetahs at the water’s edge. There was a little stream with cheetahs, and the reflection was just awesome, all blue. I got some awesome shots from that.
Photographic Safari Client
I also just like the general massive herds just trucking on through. Don’t worry about you. They’ve just got a place to go. That’s all they’re worried about is where they’re going, and it’s impossible to describe these masses of animals just moving along.
Photographic Safari Client
My favorite part of the trip so far – because this is my first time to do anything like this, any type of vacation – was actually when we flew into the airport. There was a pond of hippos below us when we flew over. So that was kind of, “Okay, we’re in Africa now.”
Photographic Safari Client
The accommodations have been great. We have warm beds, a self-contained toilet that we can use, a hot shower in the evening. The food’s been great. I eat a lot of food at home and have not gone hungry here. I’m also a very picky eater, and I’ve definitely liked the food that we have.
Photographic Safari Client
The accommodations here have just been fantastic for tents. It’s like you’re in a hotel or a lodge actually, because you can walk out. The food’s been great, and the beds and everything has been fantastic, comfortable, warm.
Photographic Safari Client
I’ve been on Safari now for about eight days, and I can honestly say this is one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. The wildlife has been amazing. We’ve seen everything that I was hoping to see multiple times and more. The guides are knowledgeable, friendly. One of the things that I like about Andy’s safari is that, as a photographer, you get the time to work with the animal as long as you want. You can recompose. The drivers are accommodating. If you need them to move around for different angles, they’ll stay with the subject as long as you like. If you want to wait for better light, you can wait for better light. There’s no rush.
Kwik Camo Video Overview
Friday, June 17th, 2011Check out one of our favorite products in action! The Kwik Camo Portable Blind covers you and your equipment so you can get that crucial shot. Thanks to Juan Pons for the camera work and editing!
Check out all the models of the Kwik Camo in the store here: Kwik Camo
Kwik Camo Portable Blind video overview transcript
Hi, I’m Chris Klapheke from Outdoor Photo Gear, and I’m here to review some products for you today that we carry in our store.
The first product I’d like to review for you today is the Kwik Camo from our pals at Essential Photo Gear. As wildlife shooters, we like to be out in the woods. We like to be close to our subjects so we have to stay concealed. We’re already carrying a bunch of gear with us, so we don’t want to carry a big blind around with us.
Essential Photo Gear has come up with a product called the Kwik Camo, which is easy to take with you. It’s basically a camouflage poncho that’s designed not only to cover yourself but all of your equipment as well.
As you saw, I pulled this right off my waist. It’s got a nice little belt. You can wear it around your waist. It’s lightweight and padded. You could even use it for a seat if you needed to while it’s folded up, or you could stuff it in a pack. The Kwik Camo comes in two weights, a lightweight for summer and a heavyweight for colder times, and it comes in four patterns of camouflage, depending on where you live in the country. This is the APG Max 4. It’s the most popular.
How does it work? Well, we’re going to pull this out of the bag, and we’re first going to attach it to our camera lens. It will leave the lens end exposed. Velcro will come down the front to seal it, and then we’re going to pull it over our head, much like an old-time photographer did when he was taking pictures. So let’s put it on and see how it works.
First, we’ll take it out of the bag. You can see the meshing for your head, and we’ll find the front, which is not the easiest part. Find the front with the Velcro. You can see how it is sealed all the way down, no matter how high your lens is, whether you’re standing up or sitting down. That’s what we’ll put on first. I’ll walk in front of the camera here.
You can see where you expose the front of your lens. The Velcro meets it, and we’re going to seal it all the way down. Turn it back to where we were. So you can already see that we’ve broken up the shape of the camera. It looks pretty good already.
Now, we’re going to get under it. One hint when using the Kwik Camo is if you wear a billed cap, you will be able to keep the mesh part away from your face, and you’ll get a lot more visibility. You won’t be able to see me in a minute.
Now, I’ve put this on and straightened it up. You notice sometimes you might pull your Kwik Camo up a little forward. That’s why it’s always nice to have a lens coat on your lens to keep your lens camouflaged even if your Kwik Camo pulls out a little bit. You can see where the mesh is on my head so I can see out. I can see the camera even though you may not be able to see me, and the lid on my hat keeps the mesh up and away from my face.
Of course, when I’m shooting, I’ll be down next to the camera. But if I want to stand up and look for my wildlife so I can sight it in, this gives me a good, clear view. It’s nice and cool. There’s a breeze blowing through here. It breaks up my shape, and you probably can’t even see me, can you?
You can use the Kwik Camo both sitting down and standing up. I’m standing up right now. I’m about five-nine, so that will let you see about how long it drapes to the ground. Even if you’re taller than I am or shorter than I am, it will still work for you in the woods. It will conceal your shape just fine.
If you have any questions about the Kwik Camo, check it out on our website, www.OutdoorPhotoGear.com or give us a call. We’ll be happy to help you.
How to use Lights Out Mode in Lightroom
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011I use the “Lights Out Mode” in Lightroom frequently as part of my final editing process, so here's a quick tutorial on how I do that.
Learn more about John, view his images and check out his blog here.
Hello everyone. John Batdorff here, and today I want to talk about a feature I really enjoy using at the end of my editing process, and that's the Lights Out feature. When I'm done editing my image and I think I'm where I need to be, I'll use the Lights Out feature to just view the image without all the distractions of the panels and lightroom.
To activate the Lights Out feature, all you need to do is press the "L" key on your keyboard. When you do that, it will go to dim first. Now, I don't use this that often, but some people like this feature to review their images and then make changes to their images, because you still can see your developmental panel and all of that. What I have my setting at is 70%, and I'll show you how to change that in a second. But what I like to do is go to Lights Out, which you hit the "L" key again, and boom, all we have now is the image and I can review the image. This is where I think about what kind of adjustments I want to make, or if it's done and ready to go.
Just remember, hit "L" again to go back to full view. Some people will freak out, and they'll be like, "Oh, I can't get anywhere." Well, you hit "L" again and that takes you right back to the beginning.
So to change your Lights Out setting, all you need to do it go into Edit, Preferences, and right here where it says "Dim Level," that's the dim level that we talked about that first time that you hit the "L" key. The default is at 80. I use 70 because I think you can see the controls a little better, even though I don't really use it that much. Let's just take a look at this again, This is dim, this is at 70% dim. Like I said, you still have access to everything. Once again, we hit "L", that's Lights Out and then, oh, we're freaking out. What do we do next? We go back and we hit "L" again and we're back.
So just remember, you're cycling through the "L" key, once to dim, once to Lights Out, and then once to come back to lights on.
I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email at john@batdorffphotography.com. Take care.
Blakiston's Fish Owl Feeding Video
Monday, June 6th, 2011Here’s a short video that I shot on Feb 1, 2011, of a Blakiston’s Fish Owl Feeding in the town of Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan.
The pool from which the owl feeds is rocks covered with snow. The rocks were put there by locals, and they drop fish into the pool each night to feed the owls. This is done whether photographers are there or not, and is helping the owls to grow in numbers for the first time in decades.
You can also view the embedded video right here on your iPad, thanks to Vimeo!
Don’t forget to hit the full-screen button in the video window to view the video full-screen.
Note that there is an iPod/iPhone version of this video in iTunes, which is good for portability, but if you’re watching on a computer, the video above is better.
Follow Martin on twitter here: http://twitter.com/MartinBailey
Check out Martin's blog here: http://blog.martinbaileyphotography.com/
And finally, get info on Martin's workshops here: http://www.mbpworkshops.com/
272 g: “The Nature of Japan” Exhibition Slideshow
How to create an Identity Plate in Lightroom
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
I’ve fielded quite a few questions about how to place a logo into Lightroom’s Identity Plate, so I put together a quick video tutorial. If you’re reading this in an RSS feed or email then you’ll need to go HERE to watch the video. I hope you enjoy, John
Learn more about John, view his images and check out his blog here.
Andy Biggs on the NBC TODAY Show
Monday, May 30th, 2011Our pal Andy Biggs, of Gura Gear fame, appeared on the NBC Today Show last week to give folks some photography tips. You can view his segment right here:
You can find out more about Andy, his safaris, his blog and his images at his website: www.andybiggs.com
Andy Biggs on the NBC TODAY Show
Hoda: At least memory cards give us more room for making mistakes, but who wants to spend valuable vacation time erasing photos when you should be taking them. Well, travel photographer, Andy Biggs, has all the advice you need. Andy, welcome.
Kathie Lee: Hello, Andy, you world traveler you.
Andy: Thanks for having me.
Hoda: What beautiful pictures you take.
Andy: Thank you.
Hoda: They’re all behind us. A lot of these were taken in Africa, right?
Andy: Most of them, yeah.
Hoda: Tell us about these photos and how you decide what to take.
Andy: Well, I travel around the world. Primarily in Africa is where I spend most of my time, and I’m just seeking out fun, remote places to introduce my photography to the world.
Kathie Lee: Is this the Masai tribe?
Andy: It is. That was in Tanzania.
Kathie Lee: My friend, Eva, goes almost every year, and they know her so well there that when she shows up in their town, they go, “Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Moore.”
Hoda: They know her. Do you just catch these at the exact moment because can a lay person do what you’re doing?
Andy: They can. You just have to know your subject, and you have to be patient. The best photography doesn’t happen with drive-by shooting. You need to just sit and be patient.
Kathie Lee: Yeah. But you’ve also been there so often you’re not afraid of this environment. A lot of people, I think, for the first time are like I didn’t get that elephant because I’ve never been here before.
Hoda: They’re too quick about it.
Andy: Yeah. You really need to know your subjects though.
Hoda: Let’s talk about some mistakes that some people make. We actually have two examples of pictures from a recent trip that the Nichols and Dean family took. They went to Legoland in California. So, these are some pictures, right? Tell us what they did wrong.
Kathie Lee: That’s the shade, right?
Andy: What I would have done here is try to figure out a way to get the light on both of their faces and eyes, because the eyes are really the connection to the viewer of the photograph. So, maybe use the fill flash.
Hoda: That’s the whole thing.
Kathie Lee: How about go to a different place than the pool where the sun is shining a little brighter?
Andy: Or just use the fill flash.
Hoda: What about this one right here?
Andy: Use the fill flash, again. It’s all about light, because the subject isn’t the background, all that blown out sky. It’s actually the three subjects.
Kathie Lee: You should never have the sun in the back of you, right?
Andy: You can. You just need to use a reflector or a flash to get the face illuminated.
Hoda: A lot of it people just think it’s the camera, like I’ve got to just have the right camera.
Andy: You don’t.
Hoda: They have so many ones that all you have to do is push the button and it goes.
Kathie Lee: Everything is too complicated now.
Hoda: Tell us about the ones you have on the table.
Andy: I’ve got three cameras here, three recommendations. The blue camera is a Panasonic TS10, and this is a great camera for the beginner to throw in your purse or your pocket for the man, and it’s shockproof and waterproof.
Hoda: Oh.
Andy: That’s really neat.
Hoda: And the flash goes off when it needs it. You don’t have to do anything.
Andy: Exactly.
Hoda: That’s what I like.
Kathie Lee: It’s a dummy, like for idiot’s camera.
Andy: It’s a great camera though.
Kathie Lee: That’s what I need.
Andy: This is my camera, by the way. Here’s a Sony NEX 5, and this is the smallest SLR, which means you can change the lenses on it, but it’s really small. You can actually put it in a small purse or a small pouch.
Hoda: Now, who should have that type of camera? Do you have to be kind of a little bit of a pro?
Andy: You know, you want to be into photography a little more. The investment’s a little more, around $700 including the lens.
Hoda: Look at the guy on the end.
Kathie Lee: That’s almost paparazzo boy.
Andy: That’s the Nikon D3X. That’s the go for broke, shoot for the Holy Grail. That’s the camera I use to try to make really, really big prints.
Hoda: How much is it?
Kathie Lee: Is that the one that you took these pictures with?
Andy: Most of them, yes.
Hoda: How much is that camera, the Nikon, the big daddy?
Andy: It’s a lot. It’s around $8,000.
Hoda: $8,000, and how about the other two?
Kathie Lee: But you’re a professional.
Andy: This is around $200, street.
Hoda: Okay.
Andy: And the Sony is around $700, so a little variance here.
Hoda: Now, sometimes with family photos, I think a lot of people, they take scenery pictures, and I understand why you did in Africa, but often on family trips they take so many scenery pictures and leave the people out, like here’s another picture of the Eiffel Tower.
Kathie Lee: But everybody’s standing there, like the same group of dumb . . . it’s the same, no matter what’s in the background. It’s the Eiffel Tower. It’s the Pisa.
Andy: Yeah.
Kathie Lee: Mix it up, right?
Andy: Mix it up. Put people in your photographs. I think everybody knows what the Eiffel Tower looks like, what the Grand Canyon looks like. Let’s be real. Most of the people who look at your photographs are your friends and family.
Hoda: Yeah.
Kathie Lee: I hate posed pictures though. Let out with the candid shots.
Andy: Act goofy.
Hoda: You take beautiful pictures, by the way.
Kathie Lee: Even though you’re a goofy guy.
Hoda: Yes, you are.
Kathie Lee: Thanks so much.
Hoda: Thanks for being with us. Thanks, Andy.
Tags: Andy Biggs, Gura Gear, photography tips
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