September 2nd, 2018
Despite the fact that The ninth annual Black Hills Photo Shootout has been cancelled, Fred and Jim are still heading to Rapid City to meet up with photographers still planniing to attend and many photo activities are being put together for free!!! If you have no plans for the end of September, why not join us?
In the news, Nikon has released 2 new mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and the Z7. The Z7 is now available and the Z6 will be available in November. More details in the podcast! The European Imaging and Sound Association has announced its awards and Sony came away with five of the 18 prizes. Huawei was caught again passing off DSLR images as images captured with its smart phones! DJI has announced two new drones, the Mavic Pro 2 and the Mavic Pro 2 Zoom. Watch the podcast for more details!
The Magilight was an Indiegogo project for a light stick for light painting. The Magilight not only produces swirls of colored light, but via an SD card, can actually "paint" BMP images that you produce on your computer. Many images are also included with the unit and more are available through the Magilight Facebook Page. Jim and Fred take the Magiilight out for a trial run and we want to thank our volunteer model, Scarlett Dawn (www.modelsociety.com) and Jason Hahn for allowing us to use his new Cypress Creek Studio for many of our test images. You may purchase your own Magilight for $299 ($100 off) at https://www.fotorgear.com and also on Amazon at https://goo.gl/aFsVV6 also for $299.
Hope to see you in Rapid City end of September!
January 10th, 2016
Welcome to 2016!
Lots of news likely coming as CES in Chicago is getting ready to wrap up. In this first podcast of the new year, Jim and Fred discuss the new Tokina AT-X 14-200 f/2 lens. Also, artist Richard Prince has been taking Instagram photos and selling them as fine art for up to $100,000 and he and the Gagosian Gallery are now being sued by photographer Donald Graham. Also, watch the skies, especially if you are in a downhill ski competition, as a UAV for a television station nearly takes out a competition skier. Samsung has announced a 2TB storage system that has 256 bit encryption and is the size of a credit card! This is no joke, but Kodak has announced it will be producing the first Super 8mm film camera in over 30 years! Also, tune in for lots of news about 4K systems and recommended standards.
Jim and Fred reach back into the vault and pull out a January 2013 interview with light sculpturer,
Harold Ross. Jim will be leading two light painting workshops at the
Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville in January 20-25. If you haven't registered yet - better hurry! Pre-registration ends on January 15. Sign up at
www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org We highly recommend checking out Harold's website at
www.haroldrossfineart.com to see more of his recent work as well as some excellent tutorials and information regarding his workshops.
Coming up, Luka Esenko will return to discuss his new Snapp app (now in beta testing), more in-depth on the Radian 2 and highlights of the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville!
November 1st, 2015
Welcome to The Fotobug Halloween special podcast!
In the news Sony Corporation is to split the part of its business that makes imaging sensors away from the Devices segment that it currently comes under and Toshiba is finalizing plans to sell its image sensor business to Sony for an estimated $165 million. Adobeapologizes for issues that caused lockups and crashes with the Lightroom 6.2 update. The FAA is planning to require registration of all UAVs and will possibly do so before the end of the year. Western Digital is planning to acquire Sandisk Corporation in a cash and stock buy out. Sigma is introducing the world's fastest wide angle lens, a 20mm f/1.4 lens! Be sure to watch the podcast for more details on these news items and more!
Using simple LED flashlights, Jim and Fred demonstrate how easy it is to create abstract art after dark, in your own back yard! Inexpensive LED lights can be found at many local gift shops and should only cost a few dollars. In addition you can use regular LED flashlights and using colored gels to create different colored light. You might also try extended exposures to include the local landscape with the abstract light paintings placed into the scene. Also, you may wish to wear dark clothing to prevent you from appearing in the final image.
In addition to the flashlights, you need a solid tripod and of course, a camera. We recommend keeping your ISO below 1600 and you can use a brighter flashlight to help focus. Be aware that even though you may not see lights in the background, the extended exposure (up to 30 seconds or more!) can cause the distant lights to appear. Have fun and be sure to share your images with us on our Facebook page!
Finally,
M&M Photo Tours have extended an offer to reduce their Tanzania trip next year by 10%. Check
www.mmphototours.com for complete information!
Also remember the 10% discount on all Rogue Flash products until the end of the year. Contact Hunts Photo to take advantage of this offer!
May 17th, 2015
Welcome to The Fotobug podcast number 130! In recent news, Canon releases an advisory regarding sensor defects on the Rebel T6i/T6s, Wyoming law makers pass a really, really dumb law that could have a very serious effect on photographers, MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that will allow cameras to remove glass reflections from your images, and former students from the robotics lab at UC Berkley are coming out with Lily, a UAV that will follow and videotape (or photograph) holding a special puck - a super selfie!
Also - May 29th is the last day to take advantage of Adobe's Creative Cloud subscription for an 1 time annual fee of $29.95 per month.
Continuing with May's theme of Light Painting, Fred and Jim present instruction on the basics of light painting - some of the equipment required, how to set up and prepare the camera, and how to apply light to the subject - weather it is a small table-top setup or a large full scale scene like the the cabin above. Please share your light painting images with us via our Facebook page! If you have questions on the technique, please send us an email!
This month's theme is sponsored by the amazing folks at Hunts Photo and Video.
Here are the following specials good for the entire month of May. To
take advantage of these specials, call Andrea at 781-662-8822 and
mention The Fotobug!
1.Promaster LED120----($99.99) SALE price $49.99 CLICK HERE
2.Manfrotto LUMIE Muse----($119.99) SALE price $99.99 CLICK HERE
3.Gisteq F-2981 Flashmate II LED Video Light----($139.99) SALE price $119.99 CLICK HERE
4..Bowens Mosaic Solo On-Camera LED Light----($149.99) SALE price $139.99 CLICK HERE
Remember, all these units are also great for doing light paintings! Also check out the Hunts Photo Cruise coming up in June featuring Vanelli, Vincent Versace and Mike Moats - Jim from The Fotobug will be there as well! http://vanelliandfriends.com/cruise/
Next month's theme is DSLR video - so be sure to subscribe on iTunes!
May 3rd, 2015
Welcome to The Fotobug podcast 129! In recent news, Apple has acquired camera technology company Linx for $20 million, Ricoh established an initiative to salvage, clean scan and return photographic prints found in the area devastated by the March 2011 earthquake in Japan. Adobe just released a Creative Cloud version of Lightroom, and if you want a really big lens, there is a NASA lens available right now on eBay. For more details and more recent news items, be sure to listen to the entire podcast!
Jim and Fred also do a review of the original Lytro cameras! If you have one and would like to share you experiences with our viewers, please email us, or post the information on our Facebook page.
The Fotobug theme for the month of May is Macro Light Painting so Jim and Fred present an introduction to a technique that Jim has been developing to carefully apply light to very small objects such as the nautilus shell above. Be sure to watch the entire podcast to learn how to create your own images like the one above.
This month's theme is sponsored by the amazing folks at Hunts Photo and Video. Here are the following specials good for the entire month of May. To take advantage of these specials, call Andrea at 781-662-8822 and mention The Fotobug!
1.Promaster LED120----($99.99) SALE price $49.99 CLICK HERE
2.Manfrotto LUMIE Muse----($119.99) SALE price $99.99 CLICK HERE
3.Gisteq F-2981 Flashmate II LED Video Light----($139.99) SALE price $119.99 CLICK HERE
4..Bowens Mosaic Solo On-Camera LED Light----($149.99) SALE price $139.99 CLICK HERE
Remember, all these units are also great for doing light paintings! Also check out the Hunts Photo Cruise coming up in June featuring Vanelli, Vincent Versace and Mike Moats - Jim from The Fotobug will be there as well! http://vanelliandfriends.com/cruise/
May 4th, 2014
Welcome to podccast # 103. In the news, Bliss - the default image in Windows XP is probably the most viewed image ever created and the original photographer has been reveled and the location just north of San Francisco. A new 4x5 camera has been released for only $149. OK, it is a film pinhole camera, but will take regular lenses and even a poloroid back - if you can get the film! It is official now, cats and attractive women increase the popularity of images. Tune in to learn more!
In today's podcast, Jim recorded a 20 hour timelapse of a monarch caterpillar as it forms it chrysalis. Jim is also making his ebook on timelapse shooting available for free at www.thefotobug.net. Jim also created a video tutorial on layer stacking in Photoshop for light painting images and we present that tutorial in this podcast. You are free to share your light painting images with us and if you have questions, please email them to jim@thefotobug.com.
There are some great workshops coming up. Jim and Charles MacPherson for a complete nature photography weekend in Benezet Pennsylvania and details can be found at www.theamazingimage.com. Also, in late June, the Critter Closeup workshop in St. Petersburg, FL, in September is The Black Hills Shootout and in October, the Maine Moose workshop in Maine and Slovenia - fall colors in the Julian Alps. Details on these workshops can be found at www.outdoorphotoworkshops.com.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and be sure to tune in next time!
March 23rd, 2014
Welcome to Episode 100! In the news, Jim and Fred discuss Hasselblad which began shipping the new 50mp CMOS sensor medium format camera. Getty images has decided to allow bloggers to embed low resolution copies of their images for no charge, Adobe has released an Android version of it's photo sharing program, Revel. A federal judge has dismissed the FAA fine against a UAV (drone) user. Does the FAA have jurisdiction over drones? Red Giant has now created a subscription model for their software similar to Creative Cloud from Adobe. Finally, the Chinese government has ordered Nikon to stop selling the D600 in China, tune in and found out why!
Our guest this episode is Dave Black thanks to our friend Wayne Bennett and the Orlando Camera Club. Dave presented a two day workshop in Orlando at Universal Studios on Light Painting and agreed to a Fotobug interview! Dave just might be the keynote speaker at the next Black Hills Shootout in September! Check out Dave's tutorials at his website, www.daveblackphotography.com
Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Shootout was cancelled as their just wasn't enough time to properly promote it. However, it will be back next year - so mark your calendars!
Fred and Jim will be conducting workshops this summer for all kinds of critters and primates as well as a Maine Moose and Black Bear workshop in October and Slovenia - fall colors in the Julian Alps. Check www.outdoorphotoworshops.com for these and more!
Next time will feature highlights of the Iceland workshop.
