Sigma 55-200 lens for Olympus

On 07.31.08, In Gear, Popular, By Chester

I wanted to go longer than the 150 that came in my Olympus E-510 two lens kit. Ideally I want the reach of a 300, but the budget isn’t there for that. I had a sizeable Amazon gift certificate to use, and the Sigma 55-200 was reasonably priced. I read a lot of review about it, and had some apprehension as a result. It sounded like some Sigma lenses come out fine, while others don’t. Basically it sounded like a crap shoot.

I was one of the fortunate ones I suppose (and a post on dpreview made it sound like many others had also been fortunate). The lens works really well for what it is, and I haven’t had any issues with it. I still want a fast 300, but until that finds it’s way into my budget, the Sigma 55-200 is working well for me.

BTW – in the photo at right, the left side is at 55mm, the right side is at 200. I did a side-by-side so people could see what they would get at either end.

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It’s Grilling Time

On 07.30.08, In Photos, By Chester



It’s Grilling Time

Originally uploaded by Chester Bullock

Stock photos can be anywhere, and are often literally right in your face. I had actually forgotten that I had taken this last year when we got our new grill. I stumbled across it when I was looking for a different picture from last year. I submitted it to the stock houses I am a contributor too, but I am not too optimistic. While I personally think it would do quite well, it was shot with my old Canon G5, and not many pics from that camera get accepted for some reason. But if you like it and have a use for it, let me know and we’ll work something out.

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Megan’s Senior Picture

On 07.29.08, In Commentary, Photos, Popular, By Chester



Senior Picture

Originally uploaded by Chester Bullock

This past weekend I took a stab at doing Megan’s Senior Picture. We shot a fair number of pics, but I am not sure how many keepers there are since she was sunburned from the lake on Saturday. I am going to play with some plugins for Photoshop and see if I can get it cleaned up better. This photo I think is my favorite. The shadows didn’t create problems like in some of the other pics. Our next shoot will be with her and a friend so I can get some more practice and maybe get some keepers. If I get the knack of this, I’ll be hanging my shingle out to take senior pictures for Lakewood High School students. I think I can do a quality job at a price way lower than I have seen quoted by others. As a parent, I want to capture the moment, but I don’t want to spend a fortune on it. My services will take that into consideration.

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Portraits and Senior Pictures

On 07.28.08, In Commentary, Photos, By Chester

Senior portrait I am very much a newbie when it comes to doing portraits. I guess I have stayed away from them (except for family shots, like Garrett here) because usually it involves people giving you money and having certain expectations. That makes me nervous. A few people I know have said I am good enough to take pictures of people, and that is where the money is, at least initially. But it makes me start to worry about things beyond basic composition. Lighting, poses, shadows, makeup – all of these are as much, if not more, of a success factor as the scene and basic composition. Megan is a senior this year though, and that means senior pictures. Instead of paying someone to do it, at least initially, I agreed to take a stab at it and see what we can do. We went out for our first shoot yesterday. I need to review, edit and upload the pictures yet, hence no examples. That will probably happen tomorrow. But from what I saw in the camera, I think we got a few good pictures. The Art of People Photography: Inspiring Techniques for Creative Results was pretty helpful as a basic resource. The section on senior photos left a bit to be desired, but I was able to use tips from all over the book. I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t shot portraits and wants to get a feel for it.

Megan and I are planning to go out again, and this time she is bringing a friend. It’ll be good practice for me, and her friend should get some good keeper shots for free (not going to charge while I am learning). Hopefully we can set this up soon. Who knows, maybe I can start a good business doing senior pictures for Lakewood High School. I certainly seem to know enough kids up there.

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Gear Review: DSLR/ Laptop Backpack

On 07.27.08, In Gear, By Chester

[Chester's Note: This message originally appeared at One Day, One Picture on March 7, 2008. I plan to do a follow-up soon.]

Going on a trip to Florida in a couple of weeks, and I didn’t want to hassle with carrying on my camera bag and laptop backpack. I looked around at the options, and there were some impressive ones. But I didn’t want to spend a fortune, so I would up going with the Caselogic EVA Hardshell Camera/ Laptop Backpack. It’s going for about $67 right now. The one I ordered arrived today. It’s about the same dimensions as my Targus laptop backpack (that I absolutely love), but with specific design for the camera and lenses as opposed to the laptop and general backpack versatility.

It is pretty rugged, and has a firm, waterproof base to keep it from falling over. The camera compartment is supposed to be totally weatherproofed (the zipper does have a seam seal). Kind of unfortunate they didn’t do that for the laptop zipper since laptops have similar environmental needs.

I don’t have my camera with me today (doh!), so I can’t properly test the fit of the camera area, but I do like the “shelf” system they have devised for the lenses and accessories. Everything I have will easily fit in here.

The laptop compartment holds my Dell 17″ laptop just fine. I was kind of concerned about this, until I realized that the 15.4″ in the description is the straight width of the laptop, not the diagonal screen measurement. With the laptop in it’s area, I am also able to fit a legal pad and a Lightroom book, which should be fine for this trip. If I were going somewhere that I knew I would have more cargo needs, I would take the Targus and figure out something to do with the camera.

Besides the Camera, Lens and Laptop compartments, there are two side zippered compartments that are big enough to hold miscellaneous items. In one of them I am storing the power brick and mouse for the laptop. In the other I have travel documents, business cards, pen, etc. Should be wholly sufficient for this trip. Attached to these side panels are straps and buckles, implying to me that I could strap my tripod or some other items to this pack. Caselogic has always built tough things out of ballistic nylon, so I would expect these to stand up to some pretty good abuse. There are also various loops you could use to attach carabiners or other devices to hang god-knows-what off your pack.

Even though it only just arrived today, I am suitably impressed. The real test will come in a couple of weeks when I travel to Florida, but I am going to use it daily for now to get a feel for it. So far I am comfortable recommending it if you are looking for an economical backpack for a laptop and camera.

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Review: The Glossary of Digital Photography

On 07.26.08, In Book Reviews, By Chester

Book Cover I am putting together a basic photography class for people at work, to help support a photography contest we are going to host in order to boost our internal stock photography library. Putting together the presentation is easy enough, and defining terms in said presentation is easy thanks to the power of Google and Wikipedia. But how do I deal with things that come up while I am giving the presentation? I am no expert, and I don’t want to derail the presentation to go online and look something up. Enter The Glossary of Digital Photography by John G. Blair. The book is 311 pages, and is full of definitions and illustrations of terms ranging from “16.7 million colors” to “bokeh”, “layer masks”, “ISO” and ending with “zipped” (as in zip file). There are no tutorials, this book is purely meant to define terms and concepts. That said, some concepts, such as “descreening” do include before and after images to show what the results of the concept could be. I have found this book to be an excellent reference as I put my presentation together, and will keep it handy as I continue to learn more about this hobby of mine.

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My Journey Into Stock Photography

On 07.25.08, In Photos, By Chester

Let's PlayI have had my eye on doing stock photography for some time. I first attempted it over a year ago (almost 2 I think). Rejections were immediate, and I wasn’t sure that I really had the eye or the gear for it. Over the course of the last 2 years, I guess I have become more adept technically at taking pictures.

My “eye” for stock photography must have improved as well (at least my friends tell me it has). 2 weeks ago I was accepted as a contributor to istockphoto and Photo Shelter. I even have photos available for sale on each of those sites.

Why did I decide to go this route? Simply put, my subjects have always been static objects – landscapes, product photos, things that lend themselves to stock photography. I’d love to see some of my photos be sold as fine art prints someday, but it seems that I am going to have to get really serious about marketing in order to do that. Since I have a day job that keeps my hands more than full, I have to stick to shooting photos as being a hobby for now. I might do the occasional portrait here and there (most notably for my family), but otherwise I just take pictures when I can, in the environs that my job or other hobbies take me.

The photo above is from one such trip. I had the opportunity to go to Rochester, New York for a conference. The conference hotel had a 9 hole golf course. On the last day, conferences ended in the morning, and I had an hour or so to kill before the airport shuttle came. I grabbed my camera and started wandering around the property. Since it was the middle of the week, the golf course wasn’t being used very much. They had these golf carts lined up waiting for people to play, and the backdrop was great with such a blue sky, broken up by a few clouds scattered here and there. I think I took about 200 photos on this trip, and this is easily the best one, captured on the last day, in the last hour. You just never know when the moment will strike, you just have to be ready. I take my camera everywhere and some people think I am nuts. But who knows – this “stock photo” could make it’s way to a national magazine ad or story. How cool would that be?

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Inspiration

On 07.24.08, In Photos, By Chester

Inspiration - Black and white Inspiration can come at any time. You need to be looking all over. This particular image was created when we were camping a few years back, in the Colorado Mountains. We had a campfire going (it was first thing in the morning), and the smoke was lifting straight up into the trees since there was no wind. I happened to look up and saw the sun striking the smoke just right. This photo, for me at least, evokes a lot of emotion in the inspirational area. Guess you can say I saw the light.

This image is available for use. Contact me for pricing.

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