Cody Green » Hobbies

Scott Kelby – Photo Recipes Live

Cody — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:41:14 +0000

So last night my copy of Scott Kelby’s new book/dvd combo, arrived in the mail, Photo Recipes Live: Behind the Scenes, I was pretty excited. This new book/dvd combo is an extension to his popular Digital Photography series and goes into greater detail as to how particular shots where made in each book. If you have not read his Digital Photography books (volumes 1-3) I would highly recommend it.

I didn’t get a chance to watch all the videos last night, I still need to watch the last four, but I’m slightly disappointed with what I’ve seen so far. Don’t get me wrong, Scott does a great job explaining each shot and how/why he sets up things in a certain way. The disappointment I have with the dvd is that most of the shots he reproduces require at least 1 to 2 thousand dollars worth of strobes/spider lights. I would guess that the target audience of the Digital Photography series are amateurs or maybe a few pro-amateurs, most of whom probably don’t own strobes/spider lights. I wish Scott had included examples of how to reproduce these shots using hot shoe flashes (off the camera of course). Now I’m not saying the entire dvd is filled with strobe/spider light examples, Scott does have a few videos that primarily use natural light as well as one “on location” video that are great and can be reproduced by most amateurs.

If you want to work with strobes and you’ve never worked with a model or in a studio I think the video does a great job at making you feel as if you were shooting with Scott for a day, and for the price that’s an awesome learning experience. Once I’ve finished all the video’s I’m defiantly going to try and reproduce some of the shots (using hot shot flashes) so I’ll post what I did to try and get similar results to Scott’s photos.

Where’d the blog go?

Cody — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 03:53:09 +0000

Wow, last semester kicked by butt; I’m glad it’s over! It’s sad to think that I didn’t write a blog post all semester. I’d recommend you add my Flickr photostream to your rss reader instead of my blog feed , at least I always post to Flickr and you’d know I was still alive.

I put together a collection of my favorite images from my first year of photography over on my Flickr site. It’s crazy to think I’ve only been doing this for a little over a year, but it has become one of my favorite things to do; I just need more time to do it. Brandon and I went to a Joe McNally lighting seminar in Houston; it was awsome! I’ve read Joe’s blog all year and his books are a must read for any photographer, so to see him in person was by far the highlight of my year. The only problem is I left the seminar regretting the fact that I own Canon equipment; Joe does everything with Nikon equipment and it doesn’t take him long to show you why Nikon is kicking Canon’s butt in flash photography.

Since it’s now 2010 I know I should make a new year resolution, but I think setting out some goals would be a better idea.

Goal 1: Take More Photos

As a beginning photographer you can never take enough photos. I’m a bit of an equipment junky, I see a shot and immediately want to purchase equipment so I can take that type of photo. In 2010 I want to start pushing the limits of what I can do with all the equipment I currently own (and it’s more than enough to make some damn good shots). I want to buy the Canon 5D mark III next year because my 40D is dead from taking too many photos not because it’s the hot new camera; like how I snuck a purchase into the goal, lol

Goal 2: Be Healthy and Happy

With juggling work and school my health tends to take a low priority and my quality of life tends to be nil. I want to focus more on making sure I’m around in 10 years so I can actually use my degree.

Goal 3: Put the Toys Away

I’ve lived the bachelor life for quite awhile, and looking back I’ve have had no shortage of toys, trips, and fun. I want to try and go a year without buying everything I want and try to limit it to what I need. I know several of you are laughing you ass off right now, but you’re the people I expect to help me stick to this

Well, that’s enough writing for me. See you in another six months….

Goal 4: Update This Website

…… 3 out of 4 ain’t bad

Canon EOS 7D Rumored to have built in flash master

Cody — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:34:24 +0000

Wow, I hope this rumor is correct. According to CanonRumors the much anticipated Canon EOS 7D will have a built in flash master!! This new addition would allow you to control off camera flashes via your EOS camera without having to purchase another device such as the ST-E2. Looks like Canon is finally listening to the strobist community and adding some features that Nikon has had for years. It would be great to have something on the Canon EOS line that could compete with the Nikon Creative Lighting System. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Pocket Wizards and they work great but sometimes you want to travel light and the less gear you have to carry around the better.

If this rumor is true it would answer a question myself and many others have had about the future of the Canon ST-E2. The ST-E2 is an okay device, 4 years ago, but most strobists want to control multiple flash groups and do more than just ratios between flash group A and B. The Nikon SU-800 has been able to do this for quite some time. What I don’t understand is why Canon doesn’t step out and start becoming innovative with their flash technology. I know a lot of people shy away from flashes, mainly because they don’t know how to use them, but if you make the technology easier to use I think adoption will spread like wildfire.

So why do I feel so strong about this issue? Most flash users know the number one rule is GET THE FLASH OFF THE CAMERA!! But for those who are new to flash photography I think this is the main reason people try it, don’t like the image, and then never try it again. If the flash could be triggered remotely (and for free since the trigger is built into the camera) I think you would have more entry level photographers adopting the use of flash (or should I say the correct use of flash). Now I know the cost of the EOS 7D won’t be cheap, but we can expect the flash master function to trickle down to the EOS X0D line and even the EOS Rebel line probably with in a year or two.

So what if the rumor is wrong? Then Canon has missed a great opportunity to start actually competing with Nikon who has dominated the DSLR and Flash combination for quite some time. But that’s a story for another rant.

Help Me Pick The Best Photo From This Weekend

Cody — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:16:22 +0000

Yesterday was Scott Kelby’s Second Annual Worldwide Photo Walk and here at A&M we had a blast. We started at the Administrative building and walked down to the Albrighton Bell Tower and then looped back though campus; I took over 700 photos!! At first I was skeptical about filling a two hour shoot with just buildings on the TAMU campus, but after yesterday I have come to the conclusion it is really a several day process. The hardest part is running out of time before the sunlight becomes too hard and harsh.

So I’ve narrowed my selection down to the following five photos. Please take a look and comment on which photo you like best. I have till the 25th to submit my best photo.

Williams (J.K.) Administration Building

Albritton Bell Tower

12th Man Statue

Sul Ross Statue

Below is a slide show of my photos. No not all 700, just 46 .

Cycling Results 07/17

Cody — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:50:13 +0000

Went to campus and back again today; the ride is getting easier.

Total Time: 43:50 minutes
Distance: 10.36 miles
Avg Speed: 14.1 MPH
Max Speed: 23.5 MPH

Cycling Results 07/16

Cody — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:56:01 +0000

Went to campus and back for the first time and learned not to bike down southwest parkway.

Total Time: 55:19 minutes
Distance: 12.24 miles
Avg Speed: 13.3 MPH
Max Speed: 26.4 MPH

Aperture Nature Photography Workshops Contest

Cody — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:58:10 +0000

Checkout my submission for the Aperture Nature Photography Workshops Contest.

Here is a description from the website…

“The Aperture Nature Photography Workshops at Olympic, Tetons, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks will take four groups of professional and amateur photographers to America’s most scenic destinations to make spectacular images while learning how to get the most out of Apple professional photo editing application, Aperture.

Beginning in September, 2008 and contiuing through August 2009, we’ll run contests. This is the second of four and for this contest, a group of four professional photographers will be joined by four amateur photographers at Yosemite National Park for unparalleled photo opportunities, followed by first-hand instruction in Apple Aperture by a team of Apple-certified Aperture trainers.

Our amateurs are going to be paired up with some of the greatest photographers in the country. This offers a very rare one-on-one learning experience that offers them a chance to see how the pros really do it.”

That would be pretty sweet!

Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe and Pocketwizard FlexTT5

Cody — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:11:39 +0000

For those of you familiar with the Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe softbox you will probably agree with me that it is a must have for any strobist doing portraits. While I really like the lighting results the hotshoe bracket leaves a lot to be desired. I usually trigger my off camera flashes using IR with an ST-E2 or for longer distances I use a PocketWizard FlexTT5 and MiniTT1. But If I’m using an IR trigger I usually have to mount my flash backwards in the Ezybox so the IR will work, which makes it impossible to adjust the flash settings.

Flash mounted correctly, but IR does not work

Flash mounted backwards, IR works

You’ll also notice that there is now a decent gap from the front of the flash to the back of the Ezybox. While this is not a show stopper you are loosing some light.

Flash can not get closer due to poor design, screw is hitting the post

Gap between flash head and Ezybox

I also tried mounting the flash sideways but about 1/3 of the flash is now firing into the back of the Ezybox instead of the center. The only way I could fix this was to angle the flash.

Flash mounted sideways, left view

Flash mounted sideways, right view

As for the PocketWizard FlexTT5 it just flat out does not mount securely onto the Ezybox hotshoe.

Lastolite Ezybox Hotshoe, PocketWizard FlexTT5

PocketWizard FlexTT5 hitting the hotshoe bracket

PocketWizard FlexTT5 hanging off the hotshoe

While I have not found a good solution for either problem I did notice today that Lastolite released a new hotshoe mount, the Lastolite EZBox Hotshoe Mark II mounting bracket. After scouring the Web for a bit I was not able to find any reviews regarding the new hotshoe mount. So if you have/get one let me know what you think; I am eager to see if this will fix my problems. Or if someone at Lastolite sees this post I would be happy to test the new bracket out; hint, hint.

Cycling Results 07/14

Cody — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:41:39 +0000

My roommate Sean joined me tonight on a ride and man it was windy. We took a new route that I really liked but I’m not sure I’ll do this one again at night. It was so dark on William D Fitch Parkway I could hardly see 3 feet in front of me even with the light on my bike.

Total Time: 47:57 minutes
Distance: 10.08 miles
Avg Speed: 12.6 MPH
Max Speed: 26.5 MPH

cycling route

Canon Speedlite Wishlist

Cody — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:23:42 +0000

Syl Arena over at PixSylated wrote an excellent post on some of the current shortcomings of Canon flash technology. As a Canon shooter and avid strobist I feel Syl’s frustration every time I can’t do something with my Canon gear that is relatively simple with Nikon gear. I am a huge fan of Joe McNally and Scott Kelby but both photographers shoot Nikon so their tutorials don’t always carry over to Canon users. So when Joe is tells you to set up flash group A at this power, flash group B at that power, and flash group C at this….. oh wait…. I shoot Canon and my ST-E2 is still stuck in the analog era and doesn’t have the functionality of the Nikon Creative Lighting System.

Anyway, If you’re a Canon shooter and strobist this post is a MUST read!