Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Team Batdorff

Father’s Day shopping can be rough business. Especially if your pop has everything he already needs.  Now, I know my Dad is much like myself. We don’t need materialistic things to complete our holiday.  No, we just need a quality hug and “I love you”.  BUT, I realize Father’s Day is just a little over a week away and some kids (not mine I’m sure) feel compelled to go beyond the hug.  Yes, some of us feel obligated to dig deep into our hard earned cash to surprise our fathers with that special gift that says YOU are the world’s number one dad.   So today’s blog is for you folks who find it necessary to go against our wishes and still shower us with gifts of appreciation.  So here’s my list. I mean “the” list of suggestions.   A new iphone 3G (so I can take video of course), Epson R2880 (my r2400 is tired and old like me),  Phase One 645 (Hasselblad would be asking WAY too much) or two hours with Scott Kelby (because this Photoshop thing gets confusing). If those suggestions are too much for your budget, here are a few others that might work as well.  A Benro monopod, Gorilla pod, Streetwalker camera bag, Black Rapids double strap (for the commando photographer) and if all else fails a year subscription to any of my favorite photography magazines.   Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do  the right thing.  We dads will love you no matter what. But the truth is, sometimes a tie stinks!  I didn’t  just say  that. So babe, if your reading this, and you must buy a tie, you know dad looks great in black and green…;)

Blue House

One of the things I love about digital photography is the flexibility it provides photographers to experiment.  I really didn’t know too much about High Dynamic Range (HDR) a few years back, but now it seems to be all the rage.  R.C. from Layers magazine wrote a great piece on HDR so check it out here.  HDR is a ton of fun to play with, and frankly, I think it really adds another level of understanding to our everyday post production work.   What I recommend for those of you looking to get into HDR is consider buying a good tripod and Photomax from HDR soft.  Photomax really does a nice job with HDR and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than Photoshop – not to mention I think it does a better job.   There are some folks here in Chicago that do some crazy HDR work. Check them out here.   HDR is fun and it can rekindle your creative fire, so give it a try and tell me what you think.

Chattanooga Choo Choo

First, I want to thank everyone that stopped by to see me in Kalamazoo. I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed visiting with all of you. I’ve been fielding a few questions from folks about how to protect your images from being stolen online. The most honest answer is you can’t. If you’re going to email photos or upload them to a website, then simply put, you’re vulnerable to image theft. However, there are many safeguards you can employ to protect your images. If you have interest in learning more about how to safeguard your images then please check out Greg Cope’s article here

Mom, Wendy and me

I’ve been called paranoid more than once.  Who said that about me? Who!? See what I mean? And when it comes to my photo data, not only am I a geek about back-ups, I’m a crazed lunatic about making sure I have a backup of my backups.   However, stealing a line from Andy Groves, “only the paranoid survive.” Let me walk you through my steps.   1. I download all my photos off my media cards  as .DNG files.  I then place these files in order by year into a folder labeled Pictures on my Drobo.  The Drobo is a great storage device but almost any RAID device would work.  2.  I then back my Drobo up to an external drive…I know it’s crazy but stay tuned.   Once I have my Drobo backup, then I’ll delete the photos off my media card.  Now, when I leave on trips I can give someone the external hard drive for safe keeping. That’s a little easier than unplugging the Drobo – not to mention lighter.  3.  No, we’re not done yet.  I told you I’m paranoid.  Now after I have good backups of the Drobo files on the external drive,  I then back that up to an online, offsite storage service (currently, I’m using Carbonite.)  It’s cheap and seamless.  4.  Lastly, I make physical DVD backups of the all my .DNG files.  I burn these backups to Archival GOLD DVDS.  I store these DVD’s off location and I only update them monthly.    Ok, so you’re thinking too much right?  Well, coming from a guy that lost four months of memories I’ll tell you it’s worth it.  The bottom line is you need to back up your photos.  The digital world brings many advantages to our table, but without a doubt the major disadvantage is our ability to become complacent and simply say I’ll back that up tomorrow. And when something is lost, it’s gone forever.

Update….Carbonite backs up from internal drives only.  Also, they now have a Mac version.

Chicago Sunset

Chicago Sunset BW

Mexico Sunset Portrait

Cat Island- Traditional sunset

On the night of my arrival back in Chicago I was welcomed with a wonderful sunset view from my back deck.  I’m going to tell you a dirty little secret about sunsets and professional photographers…”we secretly enjoy shooting them.” Sure, you’re not going to find them in our portfolios. And why would you since any Google search of sunset images produces well over a million hits.  More importantly, you don’t need to be a pro photographer or know anything about Rayleigh scattering to know a sunset produces amazing colors that are begging to be photographed.  But here are a few tips when shooting a sunset:  1.  Feel free to kick up the color saturation.  2.  Make it your own, vignette the image, a different POV, change the colors or heaven forbid change it to black and white.  3. Lastly, remember to use your flash when shooting people in front of a sunset (otherwise your images will come out flatter and darker than desired.)   So, it’s true all photographers love shooting sunsets, and sure it’s been done before, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it your own….so enjoy!