October 2015 Newsletter
October Has Been a Somewhat Gadgety Month!
Hi all,
Happy Halloween from ATP!
Before I start this newsletter, I just wanted to let you know that for those of you in the UK, I may be starting up my courses again soon and with good reason (see below). These could include a number of itineraries including weddings, selling stock photos AND video as well as making money flying drones.
If you already fly a UAV (for profit or pleasure at the moment), there is something else coming soon (next week) that may interest you. Again, more later.
Anyway, you can tell we are coming up to Christmas due to the amount of "stuff" being released. Whether it is:
To get your treat, do you need to trick your partner into agreeing ; )
Such a lot of temptation around, how do you cope with it? Can you cope with it or are you one of these people that likes to get on board right away? An early adopter of sorts.
New Toys
I am half and half. I only jump on board quickly if I think it will help my business such as with the new X5 Pro camera for the DJI Inspire 1 drone. Having the ability to produce a superior image quality than my competitors will hopefully attract more clients. But, I will have to wait and see because I still haven’t received it yet. Come on DJI!
It is so easy to think of a justification or reason as to why you should buy something. On the other hand, you need to think "am I buying this to move my business forward or have I been swept up in the hype"?
I also recently bought the iPad Mini 4 but I know it wasn’t because of the hype. Apple barely mentioned it at their last big press announcement and I am not really an Apple fan. As I think I mentioned before, I had been using my Samsung Smartphone and tablet to fly my drone but neither were able to cope that well with the HD video downlink from the Inspire 1.
The iPad Mini 4 works a treat with a smooth video feed but now DJI have gone and messed their app up. I keep losing signal at the most inappropriate times. Think 500m out at sea early morning and the signal vanishes and then the app shuts down all together.
This is a huge reason why "flying in line of sight" is a steadfast rule set out by the CAA. I see many idiots flying 2-3 MILES away purely using the video feed for guidance. If anything goes wrong, you always have the return to home feature but still, not a good idea.
This Month
Anyway, October seems to have been a particularly interesting month with a lot of new releases. I simply haven’t had time to write about them all so I will just link to a few resources at the end. This month…
New Courses
A fantastic ATP weekend in the Lake District circa 2013
I recently attended a trade show to see a short seminar on UAV’s (drones). The reason being that I wanted to hear what they had to say as the industry is going through some radical changes at the moment. Before the lecture started, and seeing as I was early, I thought I would catch a lecture on wedding photography. To see if I could learn something new.
I am sorry to say that the person giving this lecture, supposedly a very busy, professional and full time wedding photographer, didn’t do a great job. The man fumbled in Lightroom and even had members of his audience showing him where things were.
He also went on to explain that he doesn’t worry too much about exposure, white balance and so on. He tends to rattle off around 12,000 images per wedding!!! I was so disheartened I went to find the organiser and asked if I could do some free seminars for them next year. More on that in the future if I get the go ahead.
The Drone Guy
Then it came to the drone guy. He had an audience of around 8 people and literally "droned on" for about 20 minutes about nothing in particular and then that was it. No real help or advice to anyone, no real substance and definitely no enthusiasm shown. Again, I felt deflated that I had driven for over an hour for this.
Anyway, on the back of that, I am thinking of starting up my courses again. I would like any UK based people to show any interest before I do anything. We have ample accommodation at our guesthouse by the beach and courses will basically be on:
Please get in touch with me to give me an idea of interest so I can start to organise definite dates, details and locations.
How to photograph milky waterfalls
If you have yet to visit our huge free photography training section, please take time to check it out. There are many, many videos teaching everything from basic DSLR training to photographing milky waterfalls. Something everyone wants to try at some point : )
Article - How to photograph milky waterfalls
Apple iPad Mini 4 review
When Apple showed off their latest and greatest products recently, they bigged up the new and huge iPad Pro and the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus but only gave a quick “nod” to the iPad Mini 4. Was this because it was a lame duck or something they weren’t proud of?
Absolutely not by all accounts and many of the reviews out there. Check out our overview below:
Product review – Apple iPad Mini 4 Review
DJI Osmo Camera and Stabiliser
If you like gadgets, and enjoy shooting video whether for fun, family or profit, you will love this…
New release - The DJI Osmo!
If you like that and fly a DJI Inspire 1, you will love this…
New release - Osmo "handle only" for sale
Go Pro on the Rocks?
I very much doubt it but something is happening at Go Pro. For one, this is the first year for a while that Go Pro have delayed the release of its new camera to the following year (early 2016). It appears this is due to the amount of spec going into the HD Hero 5 such as:
Anyway, let’s hope the new release does something to raise their stock price. I think 2016 will see the release of a super drone from Go Pro!
Article - Go Pro…Still Hero’s?
Light L16 Camera
Could this be the start of something magical that paves the way for the future of photography or just another fad? The fact that Apple have been rumoured to be using this technology for the iPhone 7 when released suggests that it has a future. Read more:
New release - Light L16 Camera
The Evolution of Stabilisation
Stabilisation has been the buzzword around digital imaging for a couple of years now. From the original lenses with image stabilisation, to cameras having built in stabilisers for their sensors to the new Osmo…my how things are changing…
Article - Image and Video Stabilisation
How to Sell Your Photos Online
I have been asked a few times over the past couple of years if I think trying to sell stock is still a viable business. Check out our online course and then maybe get in touch to come on an updated course. I can teach you new in a practical environment with new ways of making money selling stock photos and footage.
Article - How to sell your photos online
Other news:
- 1Leica go after Canon and Nikon with a stunning, high spec, basic looking and incredibly expensive camera and lens
- 2Transcend release some new, ridiculously fast SD media. The ultra-fast 4K SDXC UHS-II U3 cards with 285MB/s read and 180MB/s write speeds. In expectation of 8K video?
Ok, that is it for this month. I hope you have a great, happy and safe Halloween around the world and a safe and fun bonfire night (Guy Fawkes night) in the UK. Be sure to get some great snaps!
Nick - All Things Photography