Dan Carr - Shutter Muse Founder & Chief Educator

My Photo Mechanic Video Tutorials Are Here!

March 21, 2020October 14, 2016 by Dan Carr

I’ve talked about Photo Mechanic many times on this site, and even offer a free keyboard shortcut guide for it. This amazing piece of software has been part of my professional workflow for many years, and my video tutorials for it have always been popular. I’ve long had it in mind that I wanted to offer more, but it’s a complex and feature-laden piece of software that needed a huge amount of time to dissect and explain. Well folks, that’s exactly what I did this summer, so I’m pleased to announce today: Photo Mechanic Unlocked. The first ever in-depth video …

The History of Canon, the FD Mount and the EF Mount

August 22, 2024October 11, 2016 by Dan Carr

The origins of global electronics and precision optical giant Canon Inc. can be traced back to humble beginnings in the town of Roppongi, in Minato-Ku, Tokyo 1933. Takeshi Mitarai and three friends, Goro yoshida, Saburo Uchida, and Takeo Maeda founded the ‘Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory’ in a small street-side workshop, and set to work dismantling and examining cameras built by industry leading European manufacturers. Traditionally fetching a high premium in the Japanese market, Precision Optical Instruments dreamt of producing cheaper, Japanese made alternatives. In 1934, having conducted their research, Precision Optics prototyped Japan’s first domestically designed and manufactured 35mm focal-plane …

F-Stop Kenti Photograpy Pack Review

August 18, 2024August 19, 2016 by Dan Carr

The Kenti photo pack is another addition to the popular Mountain Series of bags from f-stop. These bags are designed specifically with outdoor, nature and adventure photographers. Compared to the other Mountain Series bags, the Kenti has some very different design features, namely, zippered access to both sides of the bag. Two camera bodies with lenses already attached can be quickly reached and stowed away again in record time. If speed is important in your photography then you should definitely read on. Bag Design & Features Without a water bladder in the bag the Kenti is a very comfortable pack. …

Canon Vs. Kenko Extension Tubes

August 19, 2024July 17, 2016 by Dan Carr

Extension tubes are a useful accessory that allows you to shorten the minimum focus distance of a lens by moving it further away from your camera’s sensor. In other words, it allows you to get closer to your subject and often create macro-like images without the need for a dedicated macro lens. If you aren’t yet familiar with extension tubes, I would first encourage you to read my guide: The Ultimate Guide to Extension Tubes. Having read the guide, or perhaps you already know all about the tubes already, you’ve obviously come to the conclusion that you’d like to buy …

New Peak Design Everyday Backpack, Tote and Sling

August 13, 2024July 15, 2016 by Dan Carr

UPDATE These new bags were funded via Kickstarter and are now available on the Peak Design store. At the end of 2015, photography accessory manufacturer Peak Design launched their incredibly popular Kickstarter campaign for the Everyday Messenger bag. Before the campaign was over, they’d raised over $4.5million and broken some serious Kickstarter records! This week their back at it again, and now they’re looking to expand their photography bag lineup by introducing the Everyday Backpack, the Everyday Tote and the Everyday Sling. Being the kings of Kickstarter, they set a $500,000 goal and promptly blew through that (and the $1million) …

Think Tank “My 2nd Brain” Laptop Bag Review

August 12, 2024July 8, 2016 by Dan Carr

NOTE: Sadly this bag has been discontinued. I liked it a lot, so I’m hopeful that they will eventually launch a new version but for now I would direct you to the Think Tank Retrospective 30 for 15″ laptops and the Retrospective 7 for 13″ laptops. The Best Laptop Bag for Photographers? For a lot of photographers, being on the road is part and parcel of the job and that means having a way to easily carry around a laptop, along with hard drives, power cables, memory cards holders and maybe even a Wacom tablet. There are camera bags that …

Lowepro Highline RL x400 Travel Roller Bag Review

August 21, 2024July 7, 2016 by Dan Carr

Lowepro’s First Travel Bags Lowepro have been making photography bags for decades, but recently they launched a series of travel bags that applies their knowledge to a new market. I was particularly interested in the Highline series, but it must be underlined that the Highline backpacks in that range are not camera bags at all. They have no internal padding for camera gear whatsoever. It’s a Lowerpro bag, but not as you’ve seen before! At the top of the Highline series is the x400 roller bag, and this one instantly peaked my interest for a number of reasons. The backpacks …

Cloud Cover Forecasting for Photography

July 17, 2024July 6, 2016 by Dan Carr

Cloud cover can make or break many kinds of outdoor photographic opportunities and that’s why the website Clear Dark Sky should be bookmarked by any discerning photographer. This website, originally intended for astronomers, will give you a cloud cover forecast for a specific time and location. Whilst most people will immediately imagine using this to predict clear skies at night for astrophotography, there’s no reason why you can’t also use it to predict days of overcast conditions which are often preferred for wildlife and macro photography. As you can see from the screenshot, the simple charts manage to pack in …

Perfectly Clear Summer Sale – Save $50

April 14, 2022July 5, 2016 by Dan Carr

Perfectly Clear makes a bundle of Lightroom and Photoshop plugins designed to speed up your editing workflow. The Perfect Eyes and Perfect Skin plugins are designed to make killer portraits with a minimal number of clicks, and the Perfect Exposure plugin can help with all kinds of images. Whilst many plugin providers aim to give you more control over your editing process, Perfectly Clear has always aimed at the other end of the spectrum: Do as much as possible with as few clicks as possible. This can be a massive timesaver for event and wedding photographers who are potentially churning out …

My Photography EDC Kit – 2020

January 17, 2020July 4, 2016 by Dan Carr

EDC or Everyday Carry is the stuff that’s always on me. Cameras and lenses are specific to the task at hand, but amongst those items, this is the kit that’s always in my bag or pocket.