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.

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

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.

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

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 .

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!

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.

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

When we arrived at 8PM it was over a 100°F, but luckily there was a strong breeze and the temperature quickly dropped to the mid 90s. There were several events for families and kids and various performers on stage. The Brazos Valley Symphony was the last to perform and did an outstanding job. For a small community the fireworks show was pretty good and lasted for almost 10 minutes.

Check out the slide show and leave some comments on my Flickr pages. Below are a few of my favorite shots from the night and photography comments.

Fireworks 1

Fireworks 2

Fireworks 3

Fireworks 4

For those interested in the photography details continue reading… I had read several blogs yesterday morning that talked about photographing fireworks and most of them suggested using at least a 200mm lens. So Jeremy was nice and let me borrow his Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8; which by the way is one of the best pieces of glass I’ve ever used. The only drawback of having this glass on your camera is the fact it is HUGE. You really draw attention which is something you don’t want as a photographer. After walking around for a bit Megan and I returned to our chairs out in a field next to the parking lot about 100 yards from the main stage. After I set up my tripod and fired off a few test shots we waited for the fireworks to begin. At about 10PM the show started and I was very surprised to realize that 70mm was not wide enough to get most of the fireworks in the frame. I was going to switch over to my 50mm glass but I figured I would miss too many fireworks in the process. In the end I’m kind of glad I stuck with the 70mm focal distance because it helped frame the shots and give the fireworks character versus every shot simply capturing the full firework. I shot all the fireworks at f/11, although the Flickr metadata says f/10, and I kept my shutter on bulb and used my Canon remote switch to trigger the shutter and customize the exposure time.

Luckenbach Post Office

Bar Behind Luckenbach Post Office

The car show pretty much allowed anything with four wheels to enter. So there were some cars that were crap but I was surprised with some of the cars I did see; 3 Shelby Cobras. Below are some images of my favorite car at the show.

Shelby Cobra

Shelby Cobra

There were a few new model Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers. The Camaro below looked really sharp and some kid kept saying “look, it’s bumblebee”.

2010 Camaro

Overall the car show was pretty cool, although I would not recommend going to one in the middle of the day during summer; we should have gone first thing that morning. Check out my Flickr set to see more photos of the show.

• Luckenbach Rod & Custom Car Show
• Fredericksburg Vacation

The photos are still uploading so it might be an hour or so before everything is done.
When I get some time I’ll blog a bit about the trip; It was a blast!