September 2014 Newsletter

Newsletter for September 2014

Welcome to the brand-spanking new All Things Photography website. If you haven’t yet seen the new site design, rest assured that most of the old, great content is still there. Just in a different style. Update 2018: Yep, we've updated it again...

We have removed some old features to streamline the site and make way for fresh, new content and sections coming over the next few months.

I love what I do!

If you have been doing photography for any length of time or if you are a paid professional photographer, you will know what I mean. Making a living doing something you love is something quite special.

Over the summer, I found myself driving through beautiful, empty Dorset country roads. I was on my way to some of the most beautiful properties, including Dinton Mill in Salisbury:

This was to photograph the property for a large holiday/rental company that I have been working with this year.

Property photography has been in my blood for over ten years starting in Spain with villas worth up to €10 million. When you get the chance to photograph these properties at your leisure, there is no better feeling. Especially when you have been given private access and a whole day to shoot them.

No rush, no panic, no strict deadline. Just the weather to contend with but if you get a good day, what a great job to have. I always take along my super cool, amazing sounding Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker to listen to through my Smartphone whilst shooting. Bliss!

I am thinking of holding a property photography weekend course at the guesthouse. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could show any interest in the comments section below or simply get in touch. I may start a weekly case study of properties to "whet the whistle" as it were.

More recently, an old stock photography course attendee and now good friend of mine came to Weymouth for a couple of days. We were just shooting for fun and what a great time we had. Not only did he do a full portrait shoot of me and my bike:

...we also happened to be out in Weymouth when one of the biggest cavalcade of Harley Davidson motorbikes hit Weymouth for a kids charity ride. Amazing!

The above video was shot on the Panasonic GH4 using the new Metabones Speedbooster adapter which allows me to use all my Canon L series lenses on it. Incredible quality and this was filmed at 4k resolution using the Canon EF70-200L IS 2.8 and then downsized to 1080p during processing.

Stunning image quality and more to come below on this with a full review coming up in the next newsletter.

So, this month…

Go Pro HD Hero 4 Specs

Regular readers of ATP will know I am a big fan of Go Pro cameras and have used them a lot for weddings right through to corporate videos. The long-awaited Go Pro HD Hero 4 specs have been released ahead of the official announcement next month and this looks to be a beauty…and is on my shopping list!

Metabones Speedbooster EF to M43

Now this won’t mean a lot to many people but what it does is quite amazing. If you are thinking of buying a micro four thirds (M43) camera such as the Panasonic GH4 and have an arsenal of existing Canon lenses (or Nikon, or Olympus), this adapter is quite amazing.

Check out what it does in our quick overview below with full review coming soon:

Salvaging Images at a Wedding

I go through the ins and outs of this in the Wedding Photography Blueprint DVD’s but here is a good reason not to delete any images from your cards whilst you are still shooting the wedding (unless you run out of space that is).

Wait until you get home and have the chance to look through your images on a larger screen before deciding to give some images the "boot"!

New Nikon D750 FX

Nikon release a new contender for your hard earned cash but is it enough to upgrade from your old DSLR or convince you to switch camps? Check out the press release here:

The power of networking

I helped set up a business network group in Dorset a couple of years ago (Network Dorset) and it has gone from strength to strength in that time. Many members are getting a heap of business and for me, just when I needed it, a couple of large contracts came my way that I never would have got had I not been part of that group.

Panasonic GH4 screen grabs

You may be thinking that the world isn’t ready for 4k video yet (4k is four times larger than HD video) as barely any of us have 4k TV’s.

However, there are a few reasons why, if you like to shoot video, 4k is most definitely worth a look and this is one of them…

HooToo Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard for your Smartphone or tablet

HooToo sent me this over the summer to review and I must say it is pretty cool. If you use a tablet regularly to blog, email or chat etc (or your smartphone come to that), this Bluetooth keyboard can come in very handy. Check it out below (with video):

Panasonic GH4 (Extendable) zoom range

The Panasonic GH4 is feature rich and has a few cool tricks up its sleeve. This is one that I love when out and about shooting with my telephoto lenses…

HooToo 7 USB 3.0 port and charging hub

If you are like me and have a number of hard drives hanging out of your PC, Mac or laptop, along with various Smartphones and tablets that need charging, you NEED this cool device.

Cheap, simple and something that simply works, this will make your day!

RAV Power Knightrider 14,000 mAh battery charger

I am power mad, not power as in I want to be a politician or prime minister, but power to fuel my gadgets. If I am out for the day, filming with the Go Pro’s for extended periods, listening to music or simply need to keep charging my Smartphone/tablet “on the hoof”, this is the power pack I need and use regularly.

Retro Canvas DSLR camera bag

A nifty little camera bag for a minimalist gear haul…say no more:

Aputure Amaran Halo ring flash

If you have been searching for ring flashes to get started in macro work or funky portraiture, you may have noticed that branded goods can be quite expensive.

This ring flash from Aputure could be just the ticket to get you going as it works pretty well at a fraction of the price of branded competitors…

Well, I must say it is good to be back in the fold and writing/blogging once again. My workload with regards to the guesthouse, website creation and properties has eased off a bit after the summer. I am now going to concentrate more on building All Things Photography to a bigger and better resource for all photographers.

Please help to spread the word by liking, sharing, tweeting about and commenting on this newsletter and throughout the site, it would be much appreciated. Many thanks for reading, and for your patience during this update and I look forward to spending more virtual time with you all as we move forward!

Take care,

Nick - All Things Photography