I recently promised a quick BTS from my recent trip to Myanmar (Burma) to answer the many questions regarding my on-location kit when travelling.
The photo I will use as an example here was the one that attracted most comments regarding the technical aspects of the shoot.
on-location BTS shoot
Tech specs:
Camera:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II (not III)
Lens:
EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Shot at 105 mm
Exposure:
1/320 sec, f/4, ISO 1000, UV filter
One of the questions I got asked several times was, whether I had carried a black backdrop/background/reflectors etc with me all the way from Sydney to Myanmar? and the answer is no! If I was working on assignment I would have had a much larger equipment allowance as compared to my 14 kgs. I had with me on this trip. One of the things you learn from limiting yourself, is to see the opportunities and possibilities in the area you are and if you look at the shot below, you will see that the back-drop is the entrance to a primitive building which doubles as a great background
'the secret backdrop'
By moving the subject very close to the door opening I managed to:
keep the sun-light out due to the tin roof overhead
to use the long end of the lens and isolate my subject against the black background.
The downside to this shooting was that my time with the subject was very limited so I had to act quickly and did not have time to set-up speed lights or to use my tri-grip reflector to warm up the colours a bit- my only option was to crank up the ISO (as I already had maxed out the aperture)
I personally believe the shot turned out very well.
If you have any great time saving little tricks when travelling with your camera, feel free to comment below.
Hello! I am still here.. Apologies for the little blogging break recently – I have been working on getting my new webpage up and running. With great help from livebooks It finally went online ten days ago.
I am still finalising the blog interface (this very blog) but it will be hopefully be online with a new look very soon too..
A few of the new things which I have managed to incorporate on the new page includes direct Social Media input, better scaling facilities and not least a fully incorporated Vimeo page which will be next medium I will embrace online.
The first week of the new webpage being online I received more than 800 unique hits which is absolutely amazing and I would like to thank everyone of you directly! Thank you!
I have already received a lot of feedback via Facebook, Twitter and not least via email but I am always interested in hearing what you think of it, so feel free to post your feedback in the comments below
It’s been a while since my last blog post and for a good reason (or that how I decide to look at it!) Back in November I had a good chat about blogging to a few of my friends and I somehow started to doubt the entire purpose of this blog and if I was using the right format etc.
To make a long story short and to add to the normal November/December madness that always hits my industry every year I decided to take a four week break to get my head around it all and to focus on the projects I had to get sorted.
I am now home in Sydney again after a fantastic Christmas time with family and friends.
As some of you may be aware I have spent January travelling through Malaysia, Borneo and Myanmar (Burma) and I am currently in the process of editing/sorting and culling all of the footage from this these trips – A lot of goodies to be published soon.
If you want to be kept in the loop, remember to follow me on Twitter and Facebook
For several decades this competition has been one of the most prestigious competitions amongst wildlife-, nature and landscape-photographers from all over the world, and for a good reason: The consistent very high quality of the winning images. I have personally submitted photos for this competition several times and have twice been shortlisted just before the final selection. This year Canadian Environmental photographer Paul Nicklen not only won the Grand Price but also had a large selection of his images shortlisted across the various categories. The list of previous winners of this competition includes Frans Lanting, Jim Brandenburg and Hungarian Bence Maté from Hungary who won in 2010.
The winning images will be exhibited at the National History Museum and will later this year tour the globe stopping in most larger capitals both in Europe, US and Australia.
Take a look at the official page and enjoy some of the stunning images from this years competition here:
So, you have found that one item on Ebay that you just cannot live without – how to you guarantee that it ends up in your camera bag and not in someone else’s? If you follow the easy steps below there are a very good chance that you will succeed!
1. DONT bid before the last 60sec of an auction. Its easy to get caught up in the ‘bidding-war’ on items with starting prices of $0.99 but it’s a very stupid idea to participate in this ‘feverish and emotional’ act. Every time you place a bid on this item everyone else who placed a bid are notified and encouraged to place another bid.. I’ll explain the 60sec rule later.
2. Know what you are bidding on. Nothing can replace knowledge – whether you are looking for a brand new in box camera body or a second hand lens it is absolutely essential that you know how much it cost you if you had bought it in retail or even via other similar auction pages. Remember to factor in the delivery and postage charges when deciding on your ‘max limit’
3. Research and investigate the seller. Ebay has got a brilliant user-rating system which is a good indicator of a seller/buyers reputation – use it! I usually ever buy from someone with less that a 99.8% positive seller feedback score and I always read the negative feedback left for a seller as this is a good indicator if anything should be ‘fishy’. Do not settle on other payment terms than PayPal as that is currently the most safe and it has got you covered should the buyer turn out to be a cheat.
Explanation of the 60sec rule:
Latest numbers show that Ebay have got more than 100.000.000 active users world-wide, which basically is the amount of potential ‘competitors’ you are bidding against – so even before you start reading the product description your odds of winning an item is very low. If you follow this simple rule I can guarantee that most of the items will be your – I have successfully used it for years and have won very close to 95% of all items I have been interested in.
The idea behind the rule is simple: Bid only once and bid the absolute highest you are willing to pay for an item. When you find an item you are interested in, save in you watch list and ensure that you have notifications set-up on your smartphone (works on iPhone as well as android) and computer. Ebay will then advise you when the auction is about to end and you can prepare you attack. Having decided on you absolute maximum amount you will simply have to wait until there are less than a minute left of the auction and start you preparations: enter the amount in the box and submit when there are 2-6sec left – By doing this and winning you might just end up paying a few $ more than the second highest bidder and thereby securing yourself a bargain – or probably more likely a reasonable priced piece of gear as most bargains tend to be snapped up as ‘buy it now’ or via a fixed price.
Join me for the 2012 PhotoWalk in Sydney on Saturday 13. October
The 2012 Scott Kelby World Wide Photowalk is finally here and it is happening soon! On Saturday the 13. October more than 20.000 photographers and ditto enthusiasts will participate in Photowalks all over the world. In Sydney there are currently five different walks to chose from and I will personally be leading one of them: the famous Whale Walk from Balmoral Beach to Chowder Bay which is a short 1-2h walk with absolutely stunning views towards the heads, the harbour and packed with natural wonders and wildlife. For your chance to particpate (it is absolutely free) and for your chance to win amazing prices from Scott Kelby and the PW sponsors take a look at the homepage here.
Should you have any questions please feel free to drop me a line on post@mortenlindholm.com
Edit: This blog was originally written in the beginning of September 2012, but I have been awaiting the recent Canon/Nikon/Sigma/CZ announcements from Photokina to roll in to ensure I was fully up to date and accurate. ^M
With a selection of more than 100 different focal lengths on the market today it can sometimes be very difficult to decide which lens to purchase. Through the last ten years I have personally testes, purchased, owned, sold and swapped more than 50+ different lenses, but one lens will never leave me: my beloved 50mm lens. I currently own three different 50mm lenses, which may seem a bit excessive (and probably is) but I simply love this fixed focal lens, almost as must as I hate the 18-55mm kit lens….
In my bag at the moment I have three different 50mm lenses to chose from:
Canon 50mm f.1.8 EF ‘Nifty Fifty’
Canon 50mm f.1.4 EF Nifty-fifty-upgrade
Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f.1.4 MF
For most people one 50mm lens would suffice but for me it is an obsession – The Canon f1.8 is probably the best value-for-money lens ever made (yes I am a bit biased, but you know I am right!) and if you are an entry-level photographer this will probably be the best $130.00 you will ever spend. When I purchased this lens several years back, little did I now that this would become one of my all time favourites. Only downside is the plasticky-feel, which is why I a few years back upgraded to the f.1.4 which offers the same high optical quality but packed inside a more robust barrel. When it comes to the Carl Zeiss lens it was the full-filling of a lifelong dream. When I started selling cameras and photo equipment back in 2001 I was fascinated by this mythical brand and after a short love-affair with Hasselblad in the mid-00’s I decided to invest in a range of their ZE lenses which is probably the most expensive photo-related purchase I have ever done, but worth every penny: all the lenses I have worked with are extremely sharp and I absolutely love the vintage manual focus system which does remind me of the good ol’ days before megapixels and Sandisk.
On the market today the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm seems to be the standard fixed lenses for most people, and it can sometimes be very difficult to decide on which one/s to go for. I personnaly went for the 50mm range as per the above story, but also because of these five reasons:
To me a 50mm is the ultimate lens for these four simple reasons:
Great value for money. Whether you go for the nifty f1.8 or the more expensive f1.2 (or even the f1.0) you can be sure to get a lot of bang for your buck. With a recommended price of less than $150.00 (Canon/Nikon brands) it will not break the bank and for most people it will suffice to work at f1.8.
It improves YOU: When shooting with a zoom lens you have the option of easily changing the focal length of the lens however, where with a fixed focal length you will have to spend more time composing your shot.
50mm is very close to what is considered to be standard perspective (43.6mm). This is one of the reasons why many street and reportage photographers chose this lens – with the right scene and technique you can make the scene look like the viewer ‘is part of it’
Its ultra lightweight! The f.1.8 weighs less than 140g! (or the same as two mars bars!)
So to me there are no doubt at all: Everyone should have at least one 50mm lens in their bag – there are absolutely no reason why you would not. And remember if you are using a cropped sensor body like 60d or 7d the focal length of this lens equals 80mm which makes it a perfect lens for portraits!
If you are a reader of Fstoppers then I am sure you have heard about this little follow-focus tool developed by Daniel Bauen and Mark McJunkin? and funded via Kickstarter. Basically it is a small rubber gasket that fits around most standard lens sizes attached to a ballhead handle. A very clever take on a product that usually cost several hounded dollars! I have been watching the video presentation over and over again and have been wondering if there are any even cheaper way to solve this issue and have discovered that a very similar product already exists – in my own kitchen!
I then spent a further ten minutes on google and ebay and got my suspision confirmed! – I was not the first person to realise this! bugger!
…and the product?
A standard silicone jar opener like this one from Trudeau does the job extremely smooth and produces great results – and at a price of less than $6.00 – I bet you to find a cheaper solution!
I have also discovered a great video with the device in action:
I have earlier posted a blog about the award-winning photographer Terje Hellesö who won several major photo competitions with submissions which either was not shot by him or which had been manipulated from photos from online photo libraries. It now turns out that there are many other of his kind out there; During the last week I have hears of no less than three other cases which in at least one particular case exceeds the ‘Terje-gate’ in manipulation, cheating and sheer weird-ness.
The first case was brought to my attention via Twitter where American wedding photographer Megan Kunert was accused of using other photographers works as her own. Her ‘fame’ literally rose overnight as her abuse went viral not only via Twitter but also via Facebook, Pinterest, Blogs and LinkedIn. At some point during the process the good old Mr. Hobby from Strobist sent a tweet to his almost 70k followers -and then hell broke lose. It might have been an innocent act by an ignorant hopeful aspiring photographer but instead she has been forced to not only apologise to everyone whose photos she used but also see her ‘blooming’ photography-dream disappear. Today all her social media accounts have been shut down and there are no traces left of her activities..
The second case is not directly related to photographers but to blogging. Duane Lester spent several days working on a blogpost for his very popular webpage just to see in printed in the Oregon Times a few days later. word-for-word and even with Duane’s typos included. Duane decided to confront the editor (or red-neck hillbilly editor) and record it all on tape. The clip has now been seen by more than 200,000 people on youtube and I am sure the good folks over at the Oregon Times regret their ‘little’ mistake. See the clip here.
The last case is a case I have had a very hard time getting my head around. It has suddenly turned very complicated and extremely weird. In a nut shell, Photographer Jay Lee found one of his images being used by a one-woman law firm in Canada. He contacts her and files a DMCA copyright declaration with her host and this is where things go pear shaped; Jay Lee receives not just an email from the lady named Candice Swager but also a a threat of a lawsuit due to loss income, invasion of privacy and a lot of other legal stuff. The discussion are now out in the open and so far nothing has been settled… However, on her Facebook page another poster just revealed that another one of her webpages contains copyrighted photos taken by another photographer.. Guess we have to start all over again! – A lawyer who does not know the Copyright laws? A bit like a bus with a driver who does not know the traffic rules?
If you want to read a bit more in details about the above cases I recommend you take a look at these online blogs: SLRLOUNGE and PetaPixel .
A few weeks ago i received a message on twitter from a German artist ‘Willi Jung’. He invited me to be one of the participating photographers who will be photographing Willi’s ‘bird’ paintings for an art project he is doing. I received my bird painting recently and am proud to say that I have now delivered the first ‘Aussie’ batch of photos for Willi’s ‘Birds Swarm’ Art Project.
If you want to participate or read more about this crazy project please visit Willi here or read his Twitter feed.
