21 Essential Adobe Lightroom Classic Shortcuts – Free Download

by

I recently published a free downloadable PDF guide to all the Adobe Lightroom Classic CC keyboard shortcuts, but it occurred to me that it might also be useful to have a second simpler download that was just a single printable page. The full guide is really useful, and well worth a read because it’ll probably teach you a few things about Lightroom that you didn’t even know it could do, but a condensed one-pager of the most useful shortcuts also sounds like a great idea, so that’s what I’m bringing you here! It’s not possible to memorize the hundreds of …

Read more

How to Add a Quick Release Strap to a Camera with Arca Swiss Type Plates

by

Hopefully nobody out there is still manually screwing their camera onto a bare 1/4″ 20 thread on top of their tripod? Using a quick release plate is a much better option because it’ll save you valuable time, prevent wear on the camera and also offer a way to protect the bottom of the camera from scrapes and scratched when you put it on the ground. This final reason alone has always had the plates paying for themselves when it comes time to sell old gear on the second-hand market. The problem with these plates is that it can make it …

Read more

Best Third Party Camera Lens Caps?

by

Last week I wrote about the great little universal Arca-type plate from Breakthrough Photography, and it reminded me to mention their lens caps too. I like to keep a stash of spare lens caps in my gear closet because I’ve wasted far too much time over the years looking for ones that have been lost. Life is too short for that! I’ve come to peace with lens cap loss! If I can’t find a lens cap within 30 seconds, I just move on. More often than not, they simply turn up again anyway and if they don’t, Breakthrough Photography make …

Read more

Aerial Photography With The DJI Phantom 4 Pro

by

Last month, I picked up a new DJI Phantom 4 Pro+ drone, or rather UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). I’m still on a fairly steep learning curve when it comes to aerial imaging, but thought I would share some of my initial impressions of this equipment as a photography platform. While UAVs have taken off (sorry, couldn’t resist) in terms of their popularity over the past 5 years or so, DJI remains the market leader and their most recent offerings represent a significant jump in terms of both video and still imaging quality. The bad news for anyone just tuning in …

Read more

How to Revive a Camera That Got Wet

by

Did You Drown Your Camera? It can happen. A careless moment by a lake or prolonged shooting in the rain without a rain cover for your camera. All of a sudden, the camera shows the dreaded message… ERROR. I recently got a message from a photographer friend of mine in Australia, Colin Levitch. Colin is and outdoor and adventure photographer from the East Coast and he was out shooting a cyclocross race in some truly torrential condition. After shooting a portion of the race, his camera (Canon 5D Mark II) gave him the dreaded error message and shut itself down. …

Read more

Creating the Ultimate Camera Tether for Climbing and Aerial Photography

by

I recently began to learn how to climb with the intention of using those new skills to capture some interesting imagery for my portfolio. Learning how to climb isn’t something that can be done overnight, but I’m gradually finding the time to get out into the mountains to practice. My climbing skills and my rope skills are improving every month, and I’m beginning to figure out the necessary systems to rappel into previously inaccessible places, and ascend and descend ropes to put me into positions for capturing the images I’m after. While I was trying to figure out how to …

Read more

Breakthrough Photography Universal Arca Quick Release Plate Review

by

UPDATE: After publishing this review, the folks at Breakthrough Photography reached out to me to let me know that they just launched two additional sizes in their quick release plate lineup: an 85mm plate designed for the foot of longer zoom lenses or super telephoto lenses, and a smaller 40mm plate for mirrorless cameras and point and shoot cameras. They offered to send these additional plates to me so that I could add photos to this review, which has now been completed. Hopefully nobody is still screwing their cameras directly onto a 1/4″- 20 stud on their tripod’s ball head? …

Read more

Fuji Lens Terminology and Abbreviations

by

Hello photography fans! Welcome to the latest in our series of manufacturer lens guides, where we take a headfirst dive down the rabbit hole that is lens terminology and abbreviations so that you don’t have to! Today ladies and gentlemen we will be attempting to unravel the nomenclature of stalwart industry giant Fujifilm! Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd was founded in 1934 with ambitions to become Japan’s first manufacturer of photographic films. In the 1940’s, having achieved their initial objective the company expanded into the optical glass and equipment industry, manufacturing various products including X-ray and printing equipment. Fuji remained …

Read more