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Thursday Thoughts with Erik Bernskiold

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The internet is a wonderful thing.  Communication today is so much easier than it was even ten years ago.  Collaborative projects can take place in real time across the globe, and the ways in which we can interact is truly amazing.  As Photographers, this gives us access to a never-ending supply of inspiration from peers and colleagues across the world.  One such peer I’ve met is Erik Bernskiold, who lives in Sweden!  (We’re both members of NAPP.)  He is truly a talented individual, with a very astute sense of photography, graphic and web design, and just an all-around great sense of humor.

He and I had a chance to chat recently so I got him to agree to a Q&A for the blog.  So, without further ado, here’s my Ten Questions with Erik Bernskiold:

  • Q:  Everyone always wants to know some of the basics, so let’s get a few things out of the way at once here…how long have yhou been a photographer?
  • A:  I’ve been a photographer for just about two years now.
  • Q:    Canon or Nikon?
  • A:  I’m a Nikon shooter.
  • Q:  Mac or PC?
  • A:  Macs all the way!
  • Q:  Chocolate or vanilla?
  • A:  Truly tough one… I like them both although if I have to say something…chocolate.
  • Q:  Moving into a little more granularity, photographers often enjoy hearing helpful and constructive critiques of their work, as we are aware of how much we can grow from it.  However, we’ve also all had the “nice shot” and “cool” comments when we’ve shared our work.  From all of this, what was the singular most useful critique or comment you’ve ever had on work you’ve shared publicly?
  • A:  It’s really hard to narrow down just a single comment and I don’t have one really special. I’d have to say the ones that were brutal enough. Brutal critique goes to your head straight away I believe.
  • Q:  Who said it?
  • A:  In this case, quite a few people. Good people they are!
  • Q:  If someone was asking you for an honest critique of their work, what 3 factors would you look at most (excluding friendships or family relatives, we’re talking professional or fellow photographer-types here)?
  • A:  Composition, The Image’s Meaning and the technical details.
  • Q:  Got any war stories from field shoots or outings that you can or would be willing to share?
  • A:  Not much exciting things that are fun to read about happen to me on lonely landscape outings. I’ve yet to fall down somewhere or get in trouble. All I can share is the nice people I’ve met and whom have asked me what I was doing and talking briefly in general. It’s just nice that there exists people who talks to strangers like that nowadays! 😀
  • Q:  If you had to choose between the gear or the software as the only way to create, which would it be and why?
  • A:  Oh! Definitely the gear! I do though come to see the software as part of my gear list (also cause I’m a graphic and web designer as well) but when it comes to photography I really want to get everything I can done in camera and then what I really need to in post-processing!
  • Q:  Any final thoughts you’d like to share about the state of photography or any catch phrases that you keep in mind when shooting?
  • A:  I could go on about the state of photography for a long time, but since I’ve done that in articles before, I won’t here. What I do think though is that photography is never-ending and that you should focus less on the gear and more about the process, being out and shooting which is what makes it all fun in the end!

Thanks to Erik for taking the time out to visit with me.  Be sure you visit his blog and website over at Bernskiold Media

Tune in next week when Jason Moore of the famous P&P Blogroll (and also a talented photographer in his own right) takes some time to sit down and take a few questions!  In the meantime, happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

What’s This? – Week 16

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Before I get into this week’s edition of “What’s This?”, I need to go back and share the full size versions of some previous What’s This?” entries that had not been done yet (thanks to Andrea who emailed to remind me).

So, here’s the last few weeks, cropped version and full versions:

Week 15 – CD Stack

Crop:

Full:

Week 14 – Turtle’s Mouth
Crop:

Full:

As you can tell, each of these had some downsides to where I didn’t like the whole capture, but portions would be fun to isolate out for their textures or looks, to see what others could come up with.  Thanks to everyone who has been participating in these weekly activities.

So, having done some house-keeping on the trend, here is this week’s version of “What’s This?”

What's This? - Week 16

New Podcast is Up!

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That’s right, for two successive weeks now since our move, I’ve been able to find the time to record an audio podcast.  Todays show had everything to do with the absolutely horrendous performance by the Broncos last night on MNF – their season turned to the toilet rather quickly.  What ever happened to the fundamentals?

Oh, sorry, this is a photo blog, not a football one! 🙂

Okay, here’s the latest and greatest from CB. First and foremost, CB Episode #55 went up today. I took about twenty minutes to talk about off-camera lighting. I looked at the radio transmitters available, infrared transmitters and a number of different companies that deliver products. Pricing from various websites was also reported. As prices may change, and sales may happen, those are approximate according to the date of publication. So, if you have questions about off-camera flash, this may be a good starting point. I look at everything from PocketWizards to Cybersyncs, Skyports and more. It’s about a 20 minute listen, but chock full of information, so download it and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments – I’d really like to hear what people think of the “new format”.

Other news from CB – the header is updated! I’ve got new header shots rolling out every day this week, so make sure you visit the blog and look at the new images (this is for all you RSS readers out there). For the regular visitors, you may also notice that I finally took some time to sit down and add some of the common links above the header, so now you have quick access to The Online Photography Test (more questions and ideas are needed for the “Expert exam”, not linked like yet), the Colors and Textures Gallery, and my own website of personal photography work.  Finally, I also added a link to the  CB Flickr group (I’d love to see some more members sharing photos and ideas). Pretty cool stuff that I am happy to finally have in place. Thanks go out to Erik Bernskiold of Bernskiold Media for taking some time to jog my memory on the particulars of HTML editing – it’d been a while.

As promised, here are the links from the show (a.k.a. show notes):

As I said in the show, I’m migrating from the ST-E2 from Canon to the Cactus transmitters. If you’d like to hear a follow-up episode on my experiences when I am done, let me know and I’ll try to get that “in the can” too.

Well, that was just a ton of information for a Tuesday, so I’ll leave things at that, and let everyone come back tomorrow rejuvenated for the Wednesday “What’s This?” Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

P.S.  Don’t forget the poll on the sidebar or the Photrade contest – both are ending soon so get your votes in today!

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Monday Myriad of Colors

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Well, Fall is definitely upon us as the leaves outside are starting to turn.  The Colorado skies are just rife with beautiful blues and a wonderful myriad of colors!  I was thus prompted this weekend to go out and capture just a little of the color that is so vibrant around here.  Naturally, photography cannot come close to the real thing, but I have endeavored to do my best.

In other news, I’m also rolling out some new headers for the blog this week.  I’ve finally had a chance to go through my archives with”blog header” in my mind, and found quite a few that work quite well (imho).  So, stop in over the course of this week to see a new blog header image every day!)  Also, feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.

I’d also like to put out a reminder about the poll on the sidebar (“Has the economy affected your photography purchasing?”)…only 5 days left to participate in that (poll closes this Friday).  Also, the TWIP Photo contest is still going on, so you can enter to win a Drobo if you’re interested.  If you already have a backup solution in place, then stop over and vote for my contributed shot, as I really could use something better than a single WD Mybook setup.  That picture is also in the sidebar of the blog, and directs you to the Photrade site where you can register, vote, and participate with your own images.  It’s all free, so help a fellow photog out by stopping in to vote.  Only 10 days or so left in that contest too!

That’s it from the CB side of life for this Monday morning.  It will turn colder later this week with temps dropping below freezing, so that should push even more colors into the leaves, so I’ll see what I can do for some more colorful photos on Thursday or Friday.  How is the color where everyone else is?  Any other  captures of the fall foliage?  I’d love to see what others have got thus far, so feel free to share links in the comments.  Hope everyone else had a great weekend too.  Happy shooting, and we’l catch you back here tomorrow.

You can win a Drobo!

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That’s right – a drobo is up for grabs.  For those that already tune in to This Week In Photography, hosted by Scott Bourne, you probably already know about this, but he and his crew of friends (Steve Simon, Frederick Van Johnson and Ron Brinkmann) host a photo contest about once a quarter.  The goal of the contest is to get you out shooting with a theme in mind.  Well, this month, in order to motivate people they are also including a Drobo for some lucky participant.  So, how do you get in on the action?

  • Well, first, go to Photrade and set up a free account.
  • Then, join the TWIP Photo Contest
  • Finally, upload your favorite photo (that fits with the theme).

That’s it!  Three easy steps to winning a Drobo!  As luck would have it, I just happen to have a link to Photrade here at CanonBlogger.  Simply click on the picture over to your right to get over to Photrade, where you can register and then upload your own entry (or if you run out of time, you can just vote for mine! 🙂 )

In any case, it’s a great prize, and also an excellent backup solution for anyone from a beginner to a serious photographer as the scalability of it rocks!  You can learn more about Drobo here.

Don’t forget, for those RSS readers out there.  Stop over to the blog to see the latest poll and contribute.  It’s more fun and revealing when we all throw our 2¢ in the mix!  Happy shooting, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!

Vivitar Auto Thrystor 550 FD

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I got a few emails asking if they could see a picture of the flash as there apparently aren’t that many of them floating around the internet.  Never one to deny an opportunity to take a picture, even if it is really old gear, here we are, the moldy oldy Vivitar Thrystor 550 FD:

Thrystor Thursday

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Even though I primarily shoot with Canon gear, if a product comes along or crosses my path that can get the job done either better or more cheaply, then I will definitely consider it.  Well, about a year or so ago, I was at this event in South Carolina called “Whale of a Sale”, where you can occasionally find some super good deals on merchandise that is either slightly dated, out-dated, or just no longer wanted.

I happened across a Vivitar Auto Thrystor 550 FD and for the bargain basement price of $3, decided to give it a go.  Well, now that I have abandoned the Canon ST-E2 system, and moving toward radio transmitters, I got a couple recommendations to look at the Vivitar flashes.  Based off the B&H page for Vivitar flash features, it should work, albeit at full power only.  But still, a second flash means more light control.  So, tomorrow I will likely be stopping by a local photo store to get some radio transmitters for about $15.  After a little jury-rigging, the wires should connect up just fine, and I’ll have a two light setup.  Grand total in costs: $32

What’s This? – Week 15

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The turtle mouth of last week kind of took us to a different place, so let’s bring things back toward photography and technology a little bit (or is it a byte?) with the latest edition of “What’s This?”  Now in week 15, we’ve officially passed the two-week mark of image posts, and I would like to take a moment to thank those that have participated and shared their thoughts in the comments section.  So, let’s see who deduces it first this time.  Here’s your image:

New Blog on the Block!

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For anyone who has been into photography for any amount of time more than 6 months, you probably already know about Scott Sherman and Michael Stein, hosts of the popular podcast, titled “The Digital Photography Show.”  It has been a mainstay listening choice of mine for over the last year and my commutes would not be the same without it.

Well, as it turns out, it seems I may have to adjust to a commute without hearing their friendly voices for a while.  Their popular show has been temporarily taken off the air by the folks over at The Podcast Network.  The TPN staff is searching for a replacement host (or set of hosts), and in all likelihood, they will find someone to fill in for the show.  However, none will enjoy the popularity that Scott and Michael had.  Their friendly and dynamic exchanges made for a great listen every time.

Scott and Michael had interviews, contests, and a lot of other resources and outlets for their listeners and even stay in touch with them (I’ve gotten a few emails from Scott myself over the past 12-18 months…).  I certainly hope they continue to stay i touch, but for the time being they are off the air.

However, you can stay abreat of all the news and developments over on Scott’s personal blog until they re-launch with a new name/identity.  So, to do that, stop over to Scott’s Photo Blog and tag it in your readers.  Thanks to bot of them for the wonderful job the did, and know that no matter where you both land, know that there will be many of us that find you to pick up right where we left off!

Monday Morning Quarterback

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After a rather exciting weekend photographically I thought today might be a fun way to share my experiences with the readership in the form of an audio podcast!  That’s right, I am going to try and get established again with a weekly podcast you can listen to.  Today, I talk about my experiences with the Colorado Strobist group over on Flickr.  Also, I hit on the subject of learning on your own versus in a community.  It’s kind of an interesting mix of two related schools of thought, and hopefully will get me back on the band wagon for audio podcasts on a regular basis.  You’ll recognize the theme music, and that should stay consistent, but it will likely stay in audio format for the forseeable future.

For a few of my shots from the outing, stop over at the Flickr pool and look at the contributions from CB_Jason.  It’s always fun to get feedback, and I do listen to what everyone has to say.  I thought the lighting was good, but my post processing left a little to be desired (in retrospect).  Comes from having not the best monitor to work with in my 5 year old Dell 19″!

Anyway, give a listen, it’s much more portable now, and I only ramble on for about 5 minutes or so.  Let me know what you think and if there are any subjects you would like to see discussed in future episodes!  Happy shooting, and I’ll have another new topic for your reading pleasure back here again tomorrow!

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