Video – Page 2 – CanonBlogger

How to build a star tracker!

August 17, 2009 Jason4 Comments

Rather than go through another hardware review today, I thought I would share a different kind of hardware with you – the DIY kind! Over the weekend I embarked on a little project on building a device to track stars as they move across the sky (even though it’s really the earth that’s moving and not the sky). Now granted, there are better ways to build star trackers, but many involve electronic motors, are more complex (in my mind anyway), and can get kind of costly (at least from what I’ve read). So, I figured I’d start simple, and go from there. Join me in this adventure in building my first star tracker for under $20!

It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot in doing it, both about other methods, some of the short comings of this approach, but for the cost, figured it’d be a good entry into doing these kinds of things for comparison sake. Check out the main YouTube video that gives a narrative on the process and my finished result:

The reference material I used for building this leaf-style star tracker came from a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology (sounds impressive enough to me!), so figured I should give credit here as well: http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-star-tracker.html

If you have thoughts, comments, feedback, or suggestions to either improve this one, on how you’ve made your own (or plan on making one), and even if you have shots to share made from DIY star tracker kits, please feel free to et me know via either the comments or email! I will start a photo gallery for all shots shared and plan on updating that monthly with all the photos received, either via links in the comments or via email!

Happy (star) shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

P.S. Don’t forget, we’ve still got the Wacom Bamboo Fun Giveaway going on all this month! Share your shots in the Flickr thread and you’re entered to win this prize worth $100 retail! Thanks go out to the folks at Wacom for contributing this awesome tool for blog readers and podcast listeners!

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Busted – guilty as charged…

July 21, 2009 Jason6 Comments

For the second week in a row, there will be no software review this Tuesday. The 2nd Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk is the reason for eschewing the format again this week, so for those that miss the software reviews – go bug Mr. Kelby, it’s all his fault! 🙂 (Just kidding, don’t go bugging him, but if you don’t have his site in your RSS feed for daily reading, then you are missing out…)

Truth be told, the reason for the deferment again is to admit to the charges – and I may as well come clean, since my “friend” Gregg Lowrimore was kind enough to capture me with the evidence in hand. So, before the rumor mill starts blowing things out of proportion, let me just post the evidence myself and be done with it:

So, there it is – the “Canon Blogger” – holding a Nikon!

*****

The back story: I was holding the gear for a friend who had to use the facilities during the photo walk, when Greg happened to make note of the fact that “The Canon Blogger is holding a Nikon!” He snapped a picture of me (smiling happily for fellow photogs – and now you see why I prefer the other side of the lens than being the subject of the lens), and now is holding me ransom until I come clean.

He is, of course, kidding, but let me tell you that Gregg’s photography is far from a joke – you simply must visit his site as he’s got an incredible portfolio of work there, and is someone that I could definitely learn a thing or two from (including his skullduggery)! Please take a moment to visit his site here: http://www.lowrimore.com and get a taste of what I am talking about.

The other photo walk news I have is a short video of some of the results from the Worldwide Photowalk. Most of you have probably seen this by now, but I would be remiss if I did not share it here on the blog. Rather cool too that Scott also generously shared some of his blog space yesterday to the video as well. Regardless, here it is, and please, feel free to stop over to YouTube and share your own comments:

Since this was totally a “fun” post and not much depth or deep meaningful content here today, I promise to be back tomorrow with something that everyone enjoys – another podcast! (Episode #27 if my counting is correct…) Happy Shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

The iPod Touch Unboxing!

July 16, 2009 Jason7 Comments

That’s right, my replacement podcast resources is finally here, and I share the unboxing with the viewers here tonight via YouTube:

Initial thoughts? It’s pretty sweet – love the App Store, the WiFi, email access, twitter access, youtube, and so much more! A few downsides though – no built in camera, and no microphone – I know it’s not for phone, but recording audio snippets would be ideal. There are apps you can download but need a mic and with just the audio jack, not sure I am gonna be able to do one of the things I had been dying to do after getting this. There may still be a way so Googling and researching to see. In the meantime, we shall wait and see! Look for a more detailed review of this in upcoming weeks! Until then, just a couple reminders for everyone:

The Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk is this Saturday in cities all over the world. There are still openings and it’s free to join. You could win prizes too, so check for a city near you at www.worldwidephotowalk.com to see. You can still join the fun if the group leader is okay with it, but if you are not registered, then you can’t contribute images or be eligible to win!

The OnOne Software Plugin Suite 4.5 Giveaway is going on for the entire month of July, but time is starting to tick against you as we are halfway through the month. This is a $500 retail value and some lucky winner will walk away with this package for free! Details and rules for participation are at the Flickr thread. If you own the software already, tell a friend as it’s an NFR copy. If not, then chime in as the deadline will be here before you know it!

A video short on HDR and bracketing

May 28, 2009 Jason4 Comments

One of the more popular posts here on the blog has been two that consisted of explanations on how to bracket multiple exposures in camera in order to capture a wider range of exposure values than is typically permitted in a single frame. Typically, these various exposures are then seamed together in some editor like Photoshop, Photomatix or other that is available to produce an effect called HDR – high dynamic range. You can get some impressive results with various techniques that appeal to different subjective perspectives.

Here at the blog though, rather than take sides on such post processing methods, it’s more fun to show people how to do things, and then let you all take your own liberties either with the approach or with your processing afterward, or both to get results that appeal to you! With that in mind, the feedback I’ve received from the previous discussions included a large number of people that asked for visuals of the process (I guess they are all visual learners).

Well, rather than take several dozens of images showing all the various settings and then explaining how I got toeach, a video seemed a more appropriate approach. So, here’s the video short for those of you that requested visual aids. It’s not the most professional but you should be able to get the gist.

This would also be a good time to remind everyone that we are in the dwindling days of the Adobe Lightroom contest. You can win your own free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, courtesy of the folks at Adobe, simply by entering images you’ve taken in May over at the LDP Flickr thread. Limit two images per person, but there’s still room for many more entries (no limit on the number of PEOPLE that can participate!) just join the group for free and post your images. Good luck to all and may the best photo win! (Final results will be posted in June – I’l send my top ten picks back to Tom Hogarty for final judging when he’ll pick the winner!)

That’s it for today – I should have the podcast up tomorrow, but as always, no promises as my schedule has been fluctuating at work lately. Happy shooting, and I will be back with more news, information, insights, tips and tricks tomorrow, whether in written or audio form. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

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Photo walks, news, and a visit from Scott Kelby

May 21, 2009 Jason7 Comments

So, as many of you know, Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), Kelby Media Group, Kelby Training Live, and leader of the pack of Photoshop guys over at Photoshop User TV, was in Denver yesterday on his Adobe Photoshop Lightroom tour. He led a seminar yesterday that, despite several technical difficulties, was pretty rockin’ when it comes to establishing a work flow in Lightroom.

Scott is also known for his annual worldwide photo walks that he started last year. This year response has just been enormous to the walks, with several cities (including Denver) filling up within the first 24 hours. Well, on his blog this last Monday, he wrote a Q&A post describing the photo walks, what they are, how they work, and all that stuff. One question he snuck in though was that he would be in Denver and did anyone know of any good places to shoot in the downtown area.

Since I work downtown, (pretty close to the Convention Center I might add), I have a fairly good understanding of where things are, and what’s fun to shoot. So, I posted a comment on his blog of where he could go and what might be fun. To my astonishment, he actually wrote me back via email, asing if I’d be interested in going on a photo shoot with him to kinda show him around! Not give him a few locations, not recommend a restaurant – he invited me on a photo shoot! With him! My jaw about hit the floor, but I did respond that it’d be my pleasure to show him around the area. He sent me some info on where he’d be staying and to come on over after work on Tuesday! My jaw hit the floor again. But, regaining my composure, on Tuesday after work, I walked over to his hotel to meet him. Knocked on the door and sure enough – Mr K. himself! The maker of the Kelby Kool-Ade!

For the next 2 hours, we walked around the downtown area – talking shop, and all that stuff. I was silent for about the first 30 minutes, afraid I would say something utterly stupid to embarrass myself, but as I walked and we talked, found that he’s just a regular guy (despite his amazing base of knowledge, and…well, the fact that he’s Scott Kelby!) After a few hours of shooting, I then enjoyed an amazing dinner with him and his crew – names like Bert, Ben, Moose, Matt, Corey, etc., etc., were bandied about in the regular conversation. Needless to say, I kept quiet for most of it, trying to keep my jaw off the floor. I know, I know – they are all people too, but every time someone’s name was mentioned, I just kept thinking to myself, “Yup, I read their blog too!” Oh, and then for the next day’s seminar – he reserved a front row seat for me! It was an incredible day, and I just wanted to take a day here on the blog to give a nod to Scott for being so open and friendly, and just – so, well….cool!

My shots from the day were pretty much lousy as I totally wasn’t paying attention to my technique or anything – just trying not to look like an idiot. Nevertheless, in honor of his visit to Denver, and in hopes of his return:

The basement is… FINISHED!

March 30, 2009 Jason1 Comment

Okay, you might be inclined to skip today’s post since it is totally a personal post, but don’t do that because it still has something to do with photography (I took some pics of the progress, but they are not really all that great n terms of image quality – horrible on-camera flash, poor lighting, and just no lighting). Nevertheless, in the interests of full disclosure, this is more just a Monday brag session!

Additionally, I should also note that the project was finished a while ago (two maybe three weeks), but I am just now putting all the shots together and into a photo montage and tracked to music. YouTube compression also takes away from it to a certain degree, but you can get the gist. Thanks go out to my brother-in-law Bill, for letting me use a track off his bands’ CD. if you want to know more about the band, they are called Billband, the CD is called “Blurred” and the track is called Original Blend. They can be found at www.billband.com

And now – the basement slideshow:

Like the video? Think it was horrible? Want to learn more about how to create engaging and interesting videos and slideshows? Already know how? Share your ideas,feedback, suggestions, and such in the comments either over at YouTube or here on the blog. n the meantime, Happy Shooting and be sure to stop back tomorrow for the completed presentation of another project – the weekly podcast!

An Interview with Peggy Dyer…

March 16, 2009 Jason3 Comments

As you may recall, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with Peggy Dyer, a professional photographer here in Colorado, and I got to learn about her latest project – One Million Faces. We got a chance to sit down a second time and I learned a lot more about her creative energy, where she finds inspiration, and about where the One Million Faces project found it’s genesis. In addition, we also got to talk in more detail about the Lensbaby series of lenses, starting with the first one ever, going through the most recent Lensbaby Composer, and even a sneak peak of an upcoming lens from them. Best of all – I actually was able to put together a video of it to share with the community. It all looks very intriguing and with her creative energies, I am really getting motivated to get out there and try some shots with this gear.

An Interview with Peggy Dyer from CBJason on Vimeo.

A couple links from the interview, including some local charities and other resources that readers may find interesting are also included below:

Until tomorrow, Happy Shooting!

Updating Your Firmware

September 2, 2008 JasonLeave a comment

A few days ago I shared the story of how an IS lens on my beloved 40D was producing some odd noises and the resulting diagnosis was to update my firmware. Rather than do so immediately (as is usually the case for me), I decided to hold off and share it as a video tutorial of sorts on what the process is like. I share a few tips on things to do before hand and what to look for. Then, you see in real time, unrehearsed and unscripted, my firmware update.

As the video shows, it’s a pretty painless process as long as you follow instructions. Unfortunately, because I had to use Quicktime to record it, there is no flash version available. Podpress has not been updated to co-exist with WordPress, so I am continuing to have to post videos and multimedia via link rather than by an available feeder, so apologies there as well.

But anyway, enough falderal, here’s the video:

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I should have some more pics, a Wednesday “What’s This?” and fun stuff again tomorrow. Thanks for stopping in, and until then, happy shooting and watch those apertures!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tuesday Two Minute Tip

July 22, 2008 Jason2 Comments

That’s right, I’ve finally gotten back in the saddle for some good old fashioned Photoshop fun. Today, it’s a quickie, but then again, that’s how we like our information on the web: short, sweet, and to the point. Today I give a little tip on how you can use the Clouds filter in Photoshop. This technique works in pretty much any of the last 3 iterations of the software (I am assuming it works in CS – I got into the game in CS2 worlds…).

Anyway, take a gander on the download feed listed at the end of the post. The result of the tip is actually at the top of the post so you kind of get a little teaser there! (Yes, I am a tease!) Not much else today, as I am still swimming in a sea of boxes. I’m hopefully a little ahead of the game now for video tips and tricks, as next weeks is set to auto publish Tuesday morning.

I do have my “Shoot the Day” pics for Photoshelter, and will hopefully have those processed (at least a quick process in DPP) and ready to share tomorrow, so stop on back to check those out. In the final news tidbit – don’t forget the Photo Contest here at CB. Stop over and share some pics along the lines of a “Freedom” theme, and you could win a $25 gift card to B&H! 2nd place and 3rd place prizes will be awarded too!

So, until next time, happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Wed Edit: The linked video is not displaying for some reason so for the time being, it can be downloaded directly here

CB Episode #48: Clouds Filter

[display_podcast]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Usual becomes unusual

June 10, 2008 Jason3 Comments

Lighting Objects

The tutorial for this Tuesday, you may notice is not your typical Photoshop tip, trick, or tutorial. I took things outside of the desktop and into the real world to show you examples of thinking outside the box when it comes to lighting. By now we are all familiar with Strobist, and the methods he uses to encourage people to think about lighting and how to do things in an economically friendly way.

Today, I wanted to take a moment to share with you a few lighting ideas I’ve had and some of the effects they’ve produced. None of these home-made products cost me more than 15 cents! Anyway, I’ll let the tutorial stand alone, but did want to include the show notes:

Tune in to Strobist for anything and everything lighting you ever wanted to read – David Hobby is the lighting guru of the blog world!

David was interviewed recently on Studio Lighting, so now I’ve listened to their podcast, and it’s definitely one to return to. These guys just sound like they’re a lot of fun.

And the shots… you saw the montage up top, but here’s the individual shots from my diffused snoot:

Vertical View

Angled View

So, there’s just a few examples of how to generate creative lighting by looking at usual objects in unusual ways. Tune in to the podcast to see what other stuff I’ve come up with. Because it was recorded outside of the computer though, I only have the Quicktime version. I am still looking into a decent Flash converter so I can put that together with the “intro” and “out-tro” clips, so if anyone has suggestions for that, I am all ears there too. Anyway, to close out, I’d like to pose another question: What have you come up with in the way of uses? Any everyday objects become part of your photo gear? Share ’em in the comments section!