Digital Effects

Wedding: Nur-reza and Hayfah

2010-06-05T11:00:00.000+02:00

Niyaaz and Saara

2010-05-18T22:24:00.003+02:00

Wedding: Zuben and Tasneem

2010-05-01T23:59:00.007+02:00

e-Session: Zuben and Tasneem

2010-04-25T21:34:00.010+02:00

African Culture Day at School

2010-04-21T08:50:00.001+02:00

Mishka

2010-04-18T20:51:00.002+02:00

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105mm f/4L, 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Engagement: Zuben and Tasneem

2010-04-11T22:00:00.000+02:00

Engagement: Tahira and Imraan

2010-02-27T20:30:00.004+02:00

Full Moon

2010-01-29T22:20:00.006+02:00

Canon 30D, Canon 70-300 f /4-5.6 IS lens, 1/125 second at f/11, ISO 100

Merry-go-round

2010-01-17T18:43:00.006+02:00

Canon 30D, Canon 17-40 f/4L lens, 1/100 second at f/11, ISO 100

Ninja Party

2009-11-01T10:30:00.000+02:00

Hendrie and Taryn

2009-10-31T16:30:00.030+02:00

Mitch and I were back together again shooting a fabulous couple in the scenic Franschoek. Hendrie and Taryn said their vows at Bellingham Homestead in the heart of the Cape Winelands. Be sure to check out all the photos on Mitch's website: www.idophotography.co.za

Little vampire

2009-10-27T20:09:00.000+02:00

Wedding at Stellenrust

2009-10-04T12:17:00.002+02:00

The wedding season has officially started :-)

Assisted Mitch from IDOPhotography with a wedding shoot at an awesome venue just outside Stellenbosch called Stellenrust.

Free Lighting Diagram Creator

2009-10-01T08:30:00.002+02:00

If you ever had the need to sketch out your lighting setups and wanted to give it a professional touch, well now you can. Pop over to www.lightingdiagrams.com for both an online creator and a photoshop diagram sheet.

Smoke

2009-09-24T11:19:00.000+02:00

Family Shoot - 2 Little Eskimos and a Sensei

2009-07-18T19:38:00.000+02:00

Guess who's birthday it was...

2009-07-12T21:13:00.001+02:00

Happy birthday Layla !!!

Hello, my name is Mishka

2009-07-04T20:59:00.002+02:00

Congratulations to Mikhail and Naz on the birth of their daughter, Mishka.

Soon this will be a photo of 3 little princesses putting on a show :-)

Water droplets

2009-06-28T10:40:00.004+02:00

Nur-reza and Hayfah

2009-06-21T20:25:00.015+02:00

Congratulations to Nur-reza and Hayfah who became engaged last night.

Ashraf and Sumaya

2009-06-14T10:00:00.002+02:00

My little fairy

2009-05-23T10:52:00.004+02:00

Bubbles

2009-05-16T21:21:00.003+02:00

Back to School

2009-01-21T08:14:00.002+02:00

Wedding: Craig and Rehana

2008-12-28T11:46:00.013+02:00

Assisted my buddy Mitch (www.idophotography.co.za) photographing the wedding of Craig and Rehana. We met up for the ceremony, which was held at Zevenwacht wine estate. Here are some of the shots I captured while we were busy. Be sure to check out idophotography for all the wedding shots.

Eid Photos

2008-12-08T20:00:00.001+02:00

Wedding Packages

2008-12-01T08:00:00.003+02:00

Emerald Package

Includes:

Coverage of your preparations, ceremony, formals and reception (4 hours)
Up to 100 Jumbo proof prints
4 x A5 prints
2 x A4 prints
20 Thank-you cards
1 Personalised DVD containing:

Approx 150 – 200 Digital images for reprints
All digital proof images presented as a web gallery (suitable for email)

Diamond Package

Includes:

Coverage of your preparations, ceremony, formals and reception (8 hours)
Up to 140 Jumbo proof prints
8 x A5 prints
4 x A4 prints
60 Thank-you cards
1 Personalised DVD containing:

Approx 250 – 300 Digital images for reprints
All digital proof images presented as a web gallery (suitable for email)

12"x12" Storybook Album
1 hour Lifestyle Studio Shoot (a few weeks before or after the wedding)

PersonalisedPackage

Please contact us and we will design a personalised wedding photography package to suit your needs.

Army Party

2008-11-09T11:11:00.004+02:00

Halloween Party

2008-11-01T11:00:00.008+02:00

Studio Open Day

2008-10-20T21:19:00.011+02:00

In collaboration with IDOPhotography.co.za, we will be hosting a Studio Open Day on 29 November 2008 where you get to experience and enjoy a 45 minute "White Wall" studio session. It's all about having fun and getting great contemporary pictures to show to your family and friends over the holidays.

Booking is essential, so please contact us soon to avoid disappointment.

Eid

2008-10-01T22:28:00.007+02:00

CHDK - Canon Hackers Development Kit

2008-09-06T09:33:00.002+02:00

A truly awesome piece of software!

CHDK unleashes the power of your average Canon point-and-shoot camera.

CHDK is a firmware enhancement that operates on a number of Canon Cameras. CHDK gets loaded into your camera's memory upon bootup (either manually or automatically). It provides additional functionality beyond that currently provided by the native camera firmware.CHDK is not a permanent firmware upgrade: you decide how it is loaded (manually or automatically) and you can always easily remove it.

After loading of CHDK program you will get the following functionality:

Shutter-priority (Tv) exposure - via shutter value override feature
Aperture-priority (Av) exposure - via aperture value override feature
Shooting in RAW, with RAW Average, RAW Sum, and RAW Develop features
Live histogram (RGB, blended, luminance and for each RGB channel)
Zebra mode (a live view of over and under-exposed areas of your picture)
Depth-of-field (DOF)-calculator, Hyperfocal-calculator with instant Hyperfocal and Infinity focus-set, and more
Battery indicator
RAW and Video space-remaining gauges with custom low-limit alerts
USB cable remote shutter release
Motion-detection trigger - automatically fires camera on motion detection. (Fast enough to capture lightning strikes.)
Customizable high-speed continuous (burst) Shutter-based (Tv), aperture-based (Av) and ISO-based exposure bracketing (unlimited shots)
Focus bracketing (unlimited shots)
99 constant bit-rate and 10 constant-quality video compression levels
Elimination of 1 Gig video-size limit
Zoom during video function (for cameras without this feature)
Shutter, Aperture, and ISO Overrides
Ultra-long shutter speeds - up to 64 seconds
Ultra-fast shutter speeds - up to 1/10,000" and higher
High-speed Flash Sync at all speeds up to 1/64,000 second (even faster in some cameras)
Custom user-editable visible Grids for framing, cropping, and alignment
File browser
Text reader
Calendar
Some fun tools and games :)
Fully customizable CHDK display, info placement, user-colors, fonts in menus, etc.
Custom CHDK User-Menu (for instant recall of up to 10 favorite functions)
Scripts execution - including exposure bracketing, focus bracketing, intervalometer and more)

If you own a Canon point-and-shoot or if you in the market to buy a Canon point-and-shoot digital camera, you simply have to check out:

Check it out on the CHDK wiki and Turn Your Point-and-Shoot into a Super-Camera

Makeup Shoot

2008-08-24T14:19:00.006+02:00

Robb Anderson and I did a shoot for Sarah Daly, a professional makeup artist. Here are some of the photos...

Ben 10 Party

2008-08-12T20:51:00.013+02:00

For his 4th birthday, my son wanted a Ben 10 party. So Mom went all out and made all the little boys Ben 10 outfits and a Ben 10 watch (which I downloaded from some cartoon network website). For the girls, Mom made a Spell Book and bought some Gwen "Lucky Girl" masks.

Azra's Party

2008-08-09T15:00:00.001+02:00

Happy birthday Azra

Wedding shoot

2008-08-05T21:34:00.002+02:00

Had some epic fun assisting Mitch (www.idophotography.co.za) doing a wedding shoot for Kristen and Randolph. Check out Mitch in action - In case you didn't spot him, that's him in the left hand corner :-)

To have a sneak preview of the shots, go check out his blog.

Khursheed and Akber's Portrait Shoot

2008-07-13T21:01:00.010+02:00

Khursheed always wanted a couple of formal and fun shots for her wall. Hopefully the shoot we did over the weekend would provide her with a few photos to choose from :-)

Happy Birthday Layla

2008-07-12T12:10:00.010+02:00

Happy 1st Birthday to Layla! Check out the cake that Mommy made for your Build-a-bear birthday party.

Potrait Shoot

2008-06-29T08:37:00.006+02:00

My buddy, Mitch over at idophotography and I did a fun portrait shoot over the weekend. We were generally just messing about and testing all the new goodies (always nice). A big thank you to Nadine for enduring through all the poses and hours of laughter, not to mention the hot chocolate and carrot cake :-)

Lightsphere

2008-06-28T08:31:00.012+02:00

As part of another corporate shoot, I recently tested the Lightsphere (Clear Lightsphere manufactured by Gary Fong). Initially sceptical about the results you would receive from this fairly huge flash diffuser, I was impressed by the quality of light it produced. The light was nice and soft and evenly spread. Admittedly, I would've liked a second off-camera flash to provide a few highlights. It was taken with a Canon 100mm Macro from about 2.5m in a 3mx3m room. Not bad for an on-camera speedlight.

Office Party Photos

2008-06-15T23:39:00.009+02:00

I recently did a shoot for an office party celebrating the years gone by. Some really fun photos mixed in with the classic portrait stuff. Here are some of those shots:

Open Source Software

2008-06-15T15:08:00.011+02:00

Following a number of questions at work, I decided to publish this post, which lists a collection of Open Source software that I would recommend:

Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.
You can download ubuntu Linux directly from ubuntu.com or order it for free from shipit.ubuntu.com If you're a bit impatient and you live in South Africa, you can always purchase it from guys like on-disk.com

OpenOffice: OpenOffice.org 2 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.

GIMP is expandable and extensible. It is designed to be augmented with plug-ins and extensions to do just about anything. The advanced scripting interface allows everything from the simplest task to the most complex image manipulation procedures to be easily scripted.

FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java.

Childsplay: Childsplay is a suite of educational games for young children.

Helmet Shot

2008-06-08T18:20:00.008+02:00

I've been meaning to take this shot for quite a while now - and since I haven't been doing much riding nowadays, I decide that it was time to experiment!

The reflective surfaces turned out to be quite difficult to shoot, but for a first attempt, I think it turned out quite well :-)

Dove Evolution Video

2008-05-26T19:10:00.003+02:00

This oldie but goodie really does put things in perspective...

Happy Birthday Taahirah

2008-05-22T21:51:00.001+02:00

Look at me me me...

2008-05-22T21:25:00.001+02:00

Guess who's 3 years old?

Mom unfortunately forgot to rotate the video camera. :-)

Little Mermaid

2008-04-27T15:51:00.005+02:00

Yesterday was a little Mermaid's birthday party! Click on the photo to view all the adorable mermaids and mermen :-)

Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash

2008-04-08T14:01:00.010+02:00

Finally I got my hands on a Canon MR-14EX Macro Ring Flash :-)

Specifications:

Can operate in both Manual and E-TTL modes,
Has a guide number of 14m @ISO 100,
Able to indepently adjust the flash tubes down to 1/8th power (use either or both for shadow control),
Has a pair of lights to offer focus assistance in low light conditions, and
Can also wirelessly control remote slave flash units (via its 4 channels).

I can't wait to use this baby :-)

Update:

Custom Functions on the MR-14EX


Function	Custom Function No.	Setting	Description
FEB cancels after three shots	C.Fn-1	0	Enabled
		1	Disabled (continue)
FEB sequence	C.Fn-2	0	Standard->Minus->Plus
		1	Minus->Standard->Plus
Flash metering system	C.Fn-3	0	E-TTL autoflash
		1	TTL autoflash
Test flash button	C.Fn-4	0	Full flash on E-TTL autoflash Flash at preset value on manual flash
		1	Uniform modeling flash
Wireless slave control	C.Fn-5	0	Slave C only
		1	Slave A, B and C
Modeling flash	C.Fn-6	0	Enabled
		1	Disabled (depth-of-field confirmation)
Flash charging with power pack	C.Fn-7	0	Internal & external power source
		1	External power source only

Display Panel on the MR-14EX

Activesync via USB (HTC TyTN II)

2008-04-06T11:37:00.005+02:00

Here's a quicky if you can't sync via the HTC TyTn's USB cable.

Error message says something like "Trying to establish connection"

On your TytN II:
Go to Start -> Settings -> Connections
Click on USB to PC
Uncheck the box

That's it!
Plug in the USB cable and sync away.

Activesync via Toshiba Bluetooth (HTC TyTN II)

2008-04-04T07:28:00.008+02:00

If you, like me, had problems using Activesync on the HTC TyTN II and a Dell laptop (with the Toshiba bluetooth stack), then hopefully this helps.

The problem is that you get a "Serial Port" listed as an available service on the TyTN instead of "ActiveSync"

I found this solution after some intense googling on one or other forums.

Please read in full before attempting the procedure.

Step 1, On the PC

Go to the Control Panel and select "Bluetooth Local COM"
Click "Add"
Select "Create a Bluetooth virtual COM port for a client"
Click "Next"
Choose an available COM port from the drop down list
If you selected COM7 then the Bluetooth Local COM list should look like this..

COM6 Toshiba BT Port (COM6) LocalCOM
COM7 Toshiba BT Port (COM7) LocalCOM-Server[SerialPort(TOSHIBA LOcalCOM)]

In your Activesync,
Click Connections
Allow serial connection to COM7

Step 2, On the TyTN II
Go to Start ->Settings -> Bluetooth and delete the Delete the Laptop Device, if you've previously paired it, if you haven't paired it, continue as follows:
Delete the Click "Start" -> "Programs" -> ActiveSync
Click Menu (bottom soft button)
Click "Connect via Bluetooth"
The TyTN will ask you to pair the device. Select "Yes"
Select your password and complete the pairing process on the Laptop
Now when the available services screen displays on the TyTN, you should see something like:
"Wireless Speakers" and
"Activesync"
Select Activesync and click Finish

Step 3, On the TyTN II
Click "Start"-> Programs -> Activesync ->
Click Menu (bottom soft button)
Click "Connect via Bluetooth"

That's it. This worked for me. Let me know if you were successful or not and I'll update the post accordingly.

Speedlite System Tips

2008-03-29T13:48:00.002+02:00

Another excellent resource with regard to Flash work is http://www.usa.canon.com/content/Speedlite/index.html

Topics include:

Working with Ambient Light
Balancing Fill Flash
Working with Multiple Flashes on location

Canon Campatible Check

2008-03-29T10:05:00.002+02:00

If you ever wanted to find out if you Canon camera body will be compatible with a lens or flash - check out http://photonotes.org/lookup/ for a neat compatibility check feature.

TyTN II

2008-03-25T10:27:00.006+02:00

My long awaited HTC TyTn II finally arrived today. Expect to see some posts related to this topic soon. Visit www.gsmarena.com for a full review.

Lets see if I can post a photo a day now...

Summer School '08

2008-03-18T07:48:00.003+02:00

Getting to grips with the intricacies of flash photography is always a challenge. This shot was one of a series taken at Gordon's Bay while shooting for a coroporate event.

Little Princess

2008-03-03T12:47:00.003+02:00

In preparation of her 1st birthday, I did a shoot for a little princess. Unlike a few of my previous models, she was an absolute pleasure to photograph.

Convert VHS to DVD

2008-02-06T05:41:00.000+02:00

Expanded the business a bit more. Now we've also converting VHS to DVD and popular movie formats such as AVI. This resulted from client requests rather than a conscious decision to branch out. None the less it seems to be a good income stream.

Lighting Tutorials

2008-01-17T08:34:00.001+02:00

Snapfactory.com and Studiolighting.net have teamed up and produced a number of excellent videos on youtube.com in a series entitled "Digital Photography 1 on 1". These include tutorials on light meters, lighting setups and even answers to those questions many of us have asked or have been been asked. Have a look on youtube.com

Recover Lost Photos

2008-01-14T19:01:00.001+02:00

A client managed to format her compact flash disk by accident. She was attempting to set the timer for a group shot, when she accidentally pressed the incorrect button. The buttons are apparently positioned quite close together on her camera. Anyway, as a lesson to others out there, if this does happen to you, please do not take any additional shots on the affected compact flash disk, as this damages the shots that previously existed on the disk. In the end we were able to recover 370 shots she had "lost".

Digital Effects

2008-01-13T10:37:00.000+02:00

After blogging for a while under the name jappix.blogspot.com, I have finally converted to my new name - www.digitaleffects.co.za

Along with the name change came the need to drop the "blogspot" in the domain name. Took me a while, but it's up and running now. I still have a few hick-ups to resolve, however, for the most part the site works pretty well.

Better color management for Windows XP

2008-01-12T10:12:00.000+02:00

Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet for Windows XP

Extract from Micsrosoft site

The Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet adds a new 'Color' item to the Windows control panel, providing a single place to view and edit color management settings in Windows XP. Using it, you can install and uninstall color profiles, change color profile associations for displays, printers and scanners, view detailed properties for color profiles (including a 3D rendering of the color space gamut), and rename color profiles, keeping the filenames and "internal" names consistent.

This tool also enables Windows to automatically adjust the gamut curve of the display when a color profile containing gamut table information is set as the default profile for the display. Typically, such profiles are created by custom monitor calibration tools, such as those available from ColorVision, GretagMacbeth, and X-Rite. If a color profile has this information, it is shown with an asterisk (*) in the user interface.

Using the Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet, you can:

Install and uninstall ICC color profiles
Inspect, rename, and compare two different color profiles
View a 3D graphics plot of color profile color gamuts
Associate color profiles with devices such as printers, monitors, and scanners
Apply custom color gamut adjustments to one or more displays “on the fly”
Set up display calibration reminders at intervals you specify

Also have a look at the home page for Microsoft Professional Photography. It has a few resources designed specifically for the professional photographer.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition

2008-01-09T17:11:00.000+02:00

Extract from the South African Museum site:

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
UNTIL 12 MARCH 2008

"The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is an international showcase for the very best photography featuring natural subjects. The Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, two UK institutions that pride themselves on revealing and championing the diversity of life on Earth. The exhibition, brought to South Africa by NHU AFRICA, is sponsored by Animal Planet.

Wildlife photographers worldwide aspire to be placed in this competition. Each year thousands of entries are received and judged by a specially selected expert panel. Professionals win many of the prizes, but amateurs succeed too. Achieving the perfect picture is down to a mixture of skill, vision, originality, knowledge of nature and luck.

From vivid, colourful landscapes, to intimate portraits of animal behaviour, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition offers an extraordinary insight into the beauty, drama and diversity of the natural world."

Head on over to the South African Museum in Victoria Street, Cape Town.

Microstock Photographer’s Guide

2008-01-05T23:05:00.000+02:00

rasmusrasmussen.com has an excellent series of articles entitled "Microstock Photographer’s Guide". It is very well written and extremely informative. If you're a budding stock photographer, I highly recommend you read these articles.

EOS Digital Photo Guidebook

2008-01-05T08:38:00.000+02:00

This is a guidebook for digital photographers. It's really a good read, and provides a good understanding of many topics, including the histogram, ISO settings, Color Management, Picture Styles, Digital Workflow etc. It includes a host of comparison images, which makes is excellent for us visual learners. I truly wish I found this document earlier...

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EOS DIGITAL PHOTO GUIDEBOOK FOR PROFESSIONALS (file size: 7.6mb)

Digital Color Management Guidebook

2008-01-05T08:02:00.001+02:00

Another excellent article relating to digital color management from Canon Digital Learning Centre.

"Proper color management aligns an entire system of cameras, displays and printers to maintain consistent color across different color spaces. For consistent color throughout the photographic process, from capturing an image, to processing it, to final output as a print, a color managed system is essential. This guidebook provides users of Canon cameras and printers with an explanation of what color management is and how to set up a system easily and effectively."

Click here to download the digital color management guidebook (1.4 MB PDF)

Digital Photo Professional Tutorials

2007-12-29T10:00:00.000+02:00

If you're on the lookout for some handy online tutorials for Canon's Digital Photo Professional, head on over to http://www.usa.canon.com/content/dpp2/index.html. It will give you a fairly good understanding with regard to the capabilities of the software. The tutorials are presented by two of Canon U.S.A.'s professional market reps and a Canon Technical Representative.

To get the latest software update go to http://software.canon-europe.com/

High Speed Photography Research

2007-11-30T21:25:00.000+02:00

Here are some links related to high speed photography

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/11/liquid-art-droplet-photography.html
http://www.photographybay.com/?p=28
http://leggnet.com/2007/02/how-to-high-speed-splash-photography.html
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/09/_make_podcast_high_speed_photo_1.html
http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=440344

Canon ICC Profiles Guide

2007-11-30T09:00:00.001+02:00

I was recently referred to this excellent document (http://homepage.mac.com/renard/ls/Canon_ICC_Profile_Guide.pdf ) explaining the differences, amongst others, between sRGB and Adobe RGB. It's really a good read and explains why you should be opting for Adobe RGB when choosing a colour space on your camera also sheds some light with regard to colour management and the related workflow.

Photoshop and Lightroom inFocus

2007-11-27T17:16:00.000+02:00

Photoshop and Lightroom inFocus was created by chris orwig with the intent of providing resources that will help others expand their photographic potential. I've seen some of his training videos and although his infamous "yaaahooo" introduction does get on my nerves, he does lecture well and takes you through processes step-by-step. This is always good for guys new to the applications in question.

Top Photo Blogs

2007-11-25T19:07:00.000+02:00

Chase Jarvis, a Seattle and Paris based, commercial photographer has listed some of his favorite blog sites. Some truly awesome resources. Check out the Top 150 favorite blogs

Making a Canon Lens

2007-11-25T05:23:00.000+02:00

Ever wonder how they actually make those lenses we yearn for? Well now you can get a visual tour of the Canon manufacturing process. Click on over to the Virtual Lens Plan

You'll need a descent internet connection to stream the video, but the footage is well worth the bandwidth usage. Excellent for that month-end viewing when you trying to max out your cap :-)

Microsoft Photo Info

2007-11-25T05:06:00.000+02:00

While searching for a EXIF editor I came across Microsoft Photo Info. It's a 4Mb explorer plugin that I find quite useful for quick fixes. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/photoinfo.mspx

Extracts from the MS supplied readme doc:

Microsoft Photo Info is an add-in for Windows that allows photographers to add, change and delete common “metadata” properties for digital photographs. In addition, it provides enhanced “hover tips” and additional image file sort properties in Windows Explorer (in Details view).

Microsoft Photo Info provides the following features:

· View or edit photo metadata from inside Windows Explorer. View or modify advanced image properties from within Windows.

· Edit images individually, or as a collection. Photo Info has two edit modes: individual and collection, making it easy to update many images at the same time.

· Quick recall of recent entries. For some properties, Photo Info remembers the most recent entries you have typed. To recall a recent entry, click on the drop down arrow and select it from the list.

· Generate copyright notice automatically. Photo Info can generate a standard copyright notice automatically from the Author and date Created information, if present.

· Quick recall of location details. To help save time when entering location information, Photo Info can save location details under a name you provide. Recall these details by selecting the location name from the drop-down menu.

· Correct EXIF capture date / time information. Photo Info can optionally update the EXIF date/time information as recorded in the image file by your camera. You can use this feature to correct the file capture date if your camera’s clock was set incorrectly (for example, to the wrong time zone).

· View EXIF properties. Click on the Details tab to view common EXIF properties. Click on More properties for additional details.

· Preview the image. To see a larger preview of the image, double-click on the thumbnail.

· Enhanced hover tips. Hover tips have been enhanced for JPEG, TIFF and other supported file types in Windows Explorer.

· Custom column properties. In Windows Explorer when viewing a folder in Details view, additional sort properties are available for supported image types.

100mm Macro

2007-11-20T21:22:00.000+02:00

It's finally in my hands! My all new 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Can't wait for the weekend to shoot some macro work and test the baby out.

Extention Tubes

2007-11-13T20:20:00.000+02:00

After acquiring the set of Kenko extension tubes I did some more research to see whether or not I should hold on to them after I buy the 100mm Macro lens.

Some background:
Extension tubes, are hollow tubes (ie. no glass) which are used to increase the distance between the lens and the sensor/film. This results in a "larger" image on the sensor, although you do lose some light; depth of field and the ability to focus at infinity. The 100mm Macro allows you to focus at infinity and while doing macro work (i.e 1:1 magnification).

Using the 12 and 20mm Kenko's on a 50mm lens would result in the 0.68:1 magnification. According to the Canon 100mm manual, using a 12mm and 25mm extension tube with the 100mm Macro will give you a 1.19:1 and 1:1.39 magnification respectively.

In short, even though I am not really sure how often I'll be wanting to shoot at the extended magnification, I have decided to hold on to them for the time being.

DIY Wireless Flash Trigger

2007-11-08T18:19:00.000+02:00

A while back I wanted to be able fire my 580EX flash wirelessly - without the need for a 10m or 20m sync cord. Unfortunately the 580 EX does not have an optical slave functionality nor does the 30D possess a built in transmitter. So, after some more googling, I found out that I had a couple of options. I could:

Buy a 430EX or 580EX (and use in a master/slave format); or
Buy the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2; or
Apply the grey matter a bit.

The first two options are both really good solutions, except they cost far more than the budget allowed. Since I wanted full manual control over the flash anyway and didn't really need the E-TTL capability, I resorted to thinking instead.

I knew that there were wireless studio flash triggers that you get rather cheaply. So it was just a matter of converting for use with my flash. That's exactly what I did.

First , I went to a got hold of a rather inexpensive studio flash trigger from the guys at www.camerastuff.co.za (see below)

Next, I took a standard hotshoe to sync cord adapter and connected it to a female 3.5mm jack.

That's it! By connecting the two components, I now have a wireless trigger for any flash.

Taal Monument

2007-11-06T19:24:00.001+02:00

This is a photo I took of the Afrikaans Language Monument, situated in Paarl - about 50km from Cape Town. Completed in 1975, it commemorates the semi-centenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from Dutch. Click here for the entry on wikipedia.

SD card with built-in Wi-Fi, the Eye-Fi

2007-11-06T11:39:00.000+02:00

Dpreview performed a review of the Eye-Fi SD CARD. This unique device is the same size as a standard SD card has two gigabytes (2 GB) of built-in flash storage as well as Wi-Fi capability. Simply set the card up using a PC/Mac, insert into your camera and begin uploading images straight back to your computer and/or one of seventeen photo sharing sites. See how the Eye-Fi shaped up in their review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/eye-fi/

A SD to Compact Flash adapter could be used to convert the SD card to fit in a Compact Flash slot, however the guys at Eye-Fi are still testing to see which of the currently available models works best.

Macro photography - Using a ML-3 with a 30D

2007-11-05T21:08:00.000+02:00

I managed to get hold of an old Canon ML-3 Macrolite which I adapted to work with the 30D since it doesn't have E-TTL. In the end it amounted to getting hold of a hot shoe adapter with sync cord and shooting at full power. I am now able to shoot some nice close up shots with excellent lighting. This shot was taken using the newly acquired Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens at f22 with the Canon Macrolite 50C Adapter and the Canon ML-3 Macrolite. I had to adjust exposure slightly in post processing, since I didn't have a 52mm neutral density filter. The addition of a ND filter should result in 1 or more stops being taken out of the exposure and should in theory allow me to take macro shots using the Macrolite firing at full power. Time to spend some more money. Sniff, sniff...

Capture One 4 beta 2 out now!

2007-11-05T11:27:00.001+02:00

Capture One 4 beta 2 is now available for you to try. You can try beta 2 for free until January 31st 2008.
The team behind Capture One has been working hard to improve; many issues have been resolved and Capture One 4 beta 2 is much more stable than the previous beta, though it is still not the final product. Some of the visible changes, have been changing parts of the user interface, e.g. making icons slightly larger, to improve the daily work for professional photographers. Learn more about Capture One 4 beta 2 and download it here: http://www.phaseone.com/4

For me the fact beta 1 doesn't work on my PC (apparently since it doesn't support AMD chips) is a real downer! I haven't even got the application to start. It simply crashes. Downloading the new version is tempting but not worth the bandwidth :-(

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

2007-11-03T19:56:00.000+02:00

I'm still waiting for my 100 f/2.8 Macro lens to materialise, but in the interim I have acquired the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens with Kenko extension tubes. This should provide descent magnification (although not true 1:1). Now to get shooting...
photo:www.the-digital-picture.com

Ubuntu

2007-10-19T06:27:00.002+02:00

Photography Freeware

2007-10-15T20:50:00.000+02:00

Looking for photography-related freeware? Here is a useful download source that could be all you need. You're likely to find just what you were looking for - from image editors, photo albums, tools and filters.

blueMarine

2007-10-11T20:42:00.000+02:00

A while back I was on the hunt for an open source equivalent to Adobe Lightroom and stumbled across a software package called blueMarine. Describe by the developer as "An open source application for the digital photo workflow, the blueMarine project will provide you an all-in-one tool for managing your photos, from the shoot up to the archiving and beyond."

"blueMarine foundation is very similar to existing applications such as Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture: a photo browser, which can be explored in different ways (by folder, by calendar, by tags, by galleries)"

Unfortunately the software is not yet ready for general distribution, which is a real pity since it does appear to be a feature rich application which even supports geotagging (tagging photos with GPS coordinates)

The Digital Picture

2007-10-11T18:17:00.000+02:00

Another excellent resource for all Canon owners is the-digital-picture.com. The site reviews Canon Digital SLR Cameras and Lenses. It has equipment reviews, digital photography tips and best price searches, amongst others. Well worth a browse.

Photoshop Secret Shortcuts

2007-10-11T10:28:00.001+02:00

Received a newletters this morning which included this very handy link. It reveals 30 secret Photoshop shortcuts you may not be aware of. Here are some examples but make sure to head over to the site for the complete list:

1. Double click on the Zoom tool will zoom document to 100%.

2. You can set the layer opacity by pressing the number keys (ie. 1 = 10%, 2 = 20%…). When you have the brush tool selected, pressing the number keys will adjust the brush opacity.

Canon IXUS 75

2007-10-10T02:25:00.000+02:00

I am now the proud owner of a brand new Canon IXUS 75. This was, believe it or not, as a result of a warranty replacement after my faithful Canon IXUS v3 gave in. I knew there was a reason why I chose Canon. "Two Thumbs Up!!" Excellent customer service guys. Keep it up. Also, many thanks to the guys at ORMS for facilitating the process.

For a detailed review of the IXUS 75 from Dpreview of the click here

Pre-Order Ubuntu 7.10

2007-10-09T23:32:00.000+02:00

The latest version of Ubuntu - version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) is now available for shipping - free of charge of course. Visit https://shipit.ubuntu.com to order your copy. Delivery may take anyhting up to 10 weeks, but hey at least you don't have to use up all your bandwith :-)

October Competition

2007-10-01T22:09:00.000+02:00

I have just made my first submissions to the Cape Town Photographic Society monthly competition (beginner class - he he he). Lets hope I don't do too badly.

Visit http://www.capephotosociety.co.za/ for more information about the photographic society.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

2007-07-31T15:32:00.000+02:00

Robb Anderson is turning out to be quite an eagle-eye where bargains are concerned. Anther excellent lead which has resulted in my latest acquistion - a top notch consumer grade zoom lens, the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM with the Canon ET-65B lens hood. Considering that it is going to used with the 1.6x crop factor of the 30D, means that the effective zoom would be 480mm, Image Stabilized. Sweet.
photo: www.the-digital-picture.com

Canon Speedlite 580EX

2007-06-30T15:13:00.000+02:00

Success! Following a lead from Robb Anderson I got hold of a Canon Speedlite 580EX. Although I knew the new 580EX II was due for release, the price at which I managed to get this baby for, made the decision to buy it a no brainer.

Canon 30D

2007-03-31T12:20:00.000+02:00

Months of researching, inquiring from the professionals, enthusiasts, amateurs and plenty hours of googling later (check out www.dpreview.com), I finally make the decision to acquire a Canon digital SLR. The winner - a Canon 30D with Canon EF-S 17-85 IS USM Lens.
photo: www.dpreview.com

Gear

2007-03-01T22:09:00.004+02:00

My gear now includes:

Canon 5D MKII
Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-105mm F4 L IS
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon 580EX Speedlite
Canon 430EX Speedlite
Canon MR-14EX Ring Flash
Falcon Eyes Studio Flash Heads
Bowens Quadmatic Power Pack and Flash Heads

and on the wish list...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM MKII

About

2007-03-01T22:00:00.002+02:00

Welcome to Digital Effects

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Contact

2007-03-01T00:00:00.007+02:00