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The Fotobug Photography podcast for travel and nature photographers. Interviews, training, reviews, and more!
Episodes
Sunday Aug 06, 2017
Sunday Aug 06, 2017
Lots happening in photography right now! Aurelius has cnfirmed that 94 year old Bowens is going out of business. Jim and Fred show off a photo of the first of its kind 8 x 10 underwater camera - which can be yours for $5800! New TSA rules require any electronic item larger than a cell phone to be removed and placed in a bin with nothing under or above it. This does not apply for members of TSA Precheck. Adobe accidentally leaked their unfinished Lightroom powered cloud-app called 'Project Nimbus' to some of their cloud users. Another old roll of B&W film has been discovered in a 1920 Zeiss camera purchased in a pawn shop. According to a new court ruling, if your images are still 'pending at the copyright office, you can't sue for infringement. A Dallas couple has been ordered to pay a $1 million fine after trashing their wedding photographer on local news and in social media. Avid just released a free version of their video editing software, Media Composer First.
Jim and Fred interview Michele and Sandra, the principals behind the crowd funded project, Instamic! Instamic is a complete recording package which combines microphones and a digital recorder into one small package that can be attached to a person or object using one of three included attachments: magnet, velcro, or tape. There are two different models, the Go and the Pro. The Pro model is waterproof, has more microphones built-in and can do stereo recording. The Instamics make a great addition for video makers who wish to use their DSLR, mirrorless camera, GoPro sports camera, or even cell phone for recording videos. The units are simple to use and can connect to a smartphone app for even more control. The units are still available on Indiegogo (www.indiegogo.com) and are currently shipping. The Fotobug guys have been using them for the past couple months for interviews and our field reviews.
Registration is now open for The Black Hills Photo Shootout in South Dakota for Sept. 29, 30 and Oct.1 - plus there are a couple pre and post workshops available. www.thephotoshootout.com.
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
Sunday Jul 23, 2017
Lots of news in Photography! The courts have ruled the FAA can't impose registration on hobbyists! If you registered your small drone with the FAA back in 2015, but don't intend to use it for commercial purposes, you're entitled to a registration refund. A crisp $5 bill, straight from the US government into your pocket. ood news if you are a Panono backer. Troubled tech company Panono and their odd 360° ball camera will live on to shoot another day. The investment company that purchased the Panono brand says it will continue all services 'without disruption'. David Slater's viral 'monkey selfies' made him famous, but the legal battles over who actually owns the photos—him or the macaque who pressed the shutter—has left him broke and dejected. Massive corporation P&G is being sued by a Cincinnati photographer for serious copyright violations and P&G could end up paying $75 million! Tune in to the podcast to learn how scammers have been ripping off photographers in Los Angeles!
Jim and Fred have finally completed working with the Zen Tilt and are ready to give it a full review. The Zen Tilt is available online and is even available now on Amazon for $24. A couple of our listeners weighed in when we posted a quick overview of the product, but now here is a full review - warts and all! Jim and Fred would love to hear from you on Facebook if you have used the product and tell us what you think!
Coming up here shortly - the Black Hills Photo Shootout in Spearfish, South Dakota - www.thephotoshootout.com to pre-register. We hope to see you there!
Stay tuned as Jim and Fred will have a lot more reviews coming up in future episodes!
Saturday Jul 08, 2017
Saturday Jul 08, 2017
In recent photography news, Micron hend as announced the end of the line for the Lexar retail brand. Sony's new 20mp CMOS sensor has a reset function that reduces the rolling shutter effect. A roll of B&W film inside an Argus C2 camera purchased at an Oregon Goodwill contained images of the Mt. St. Helens eruption. The Panocam has been sold after only 400 cameras were sent to backers. A drone operator was arrested by Arizona Police for interfering with firemen tackling wildfires and the FAA is developing a system to identify bad drone behavior and the operators. Another company has announced new B&W film - a 100 ISO stock from Zorki.
Jim just returned from the Cuenca Ecuador Corpus Christi festival featuring lots of sweets and nightly fireworks. The photo tour was arranged by EMS Photo Tours (www.emsphotoadentures.com) and led by pulitzer prize winning photographer, Essdras Suarez. This podcast features an interview with Essdras as he describes how he captured the only image from the recent shooting in Virginia of the US congressmen at a practice baseball game. Essdras also discusses his new venture, MillionEyez (www.millioneyez.com). In addition, Jim interviews MJ Adelman, the person behind EMS Photo Adventures. MJ has plenty of photo adventures to come, so please check out her website!
Coming up in September you can register now for the Black Hills Photo Shootout (www.thephotoshootout.com) which will take place the end of September in South Dakota.
We suggest you subscribe as we will be having a full review of the Zen Tilt, the Platypod, and we will feature an interview with Michele the man behind the Instamic!
Sunday Jun 25, 2017
Sunday Jun 25, 2017
You may have seen the ads for the Zen Tilt on Facebook or the Internet. Fred and Jim decided to spring for one and see if it really lives up to the hype! This podcast will be a bit shorter as Jim is leaving for a photo workshop in Ecuador and Fred is going to take a little time off, but we didn't want to leave our viewers without something to hold them over! As we just received the Zen Tilt, this is not really a review, but rather a first look at the device. Jim and Fred plan to use for the next few weeks and will do a complete review in the near future.
Please pay attention to the audio on this podcast as it was recorded with 2 new Instamics - an Indiegogo project that has had considerable delays, but judging by the audio quality and ease of use, the wait has been worth it. The devices record audio internally with built-in microphones and can be controlled over blue-tooth by smart phone apps. The inventor of the Instamic has agreed to do an upcoming interview with the Fotobug and will be featured in an upcoming podcast!
Finally, don't forget about the Black Hills Photo Shootout coming up at the end of September. Go to www.thephotoshootout.com to pre-register!
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
Sunday Jun 11, 2017
How about some great photo tips for your summer shoots!
In recent photography news, Arsenal has a Kickstarter AI project that will automatically set your camera settings depending upon current light conditions.. Fred and Jim wonder if this is really necessary or even desirable! Binded is a new free service for ensuring no one is stealing your images for unauthorized use. It doesn't currently include copyright registration, but that may be coming soon! Google has announced it will no long update the Nik plugins. Microsoft is working on a technique to create curved sensors from conventional silicone sensors. A swiss village, Bergün officially banned photography in their town, but then had to retract the ban due to all the negative press they received!
Every photography has favorite gadgets and techniques that allow them to capture unique and exciting images. Jim and Fred share some of their favorite tips and techniques as well as gadgets and items to consider this summer for improving your image captures. Why not share some of your favorite tips or gadets or DIY items on our Facebook page or send them to us - jim@thefotobug.com or fred@thefotobug.com. We'll share them with the rest of our viewers!
Coming up in September is the Black Hills Photo Shootout - www.thephotoshootout.com. Pre-registration is now available, so sign up now and meet us in Spearfish South Dakota at the end of September!
Sunday May 28, 2017
Sunday May 28, 2017
Lots of news in the last two weeks! PLR IP Holdings and it Polaroid brand have sold a major stake in the company to an investor who owns a majority stake in the Impossible Project. A Kickstarter campaign has been created to support FilmLab negative scanning app. Sony released a new CMOS sensor for industry that can capture up to 1000fps. Google has developed an algorithm that can quickly remove objects from digital images. An appeals court has upheld a case that indicates the FAA cannot require hobbyists to register drones. Photokino in Germany will now become an annual event. DJI has released the Spark a new smaller UAV with a larger sensor camera. Triggertrap has put their design into the public domain as open source.
Since Fred was not available, Jim teamed up with Jason Hahn and headed over to Melbourne, FL to visit Vanelli who has been working on a project he calls the Assassin series. This series is to create pseudo movie posters that resemble action films. Our theme was to move photographers out of their 'comfort zones'. Jim and Jason are nature, wildlife and travel photographers, Vanelli is primarily a sports and portrait photographer. Unfortunately, the weather in eastern Florida didn't cooperate nature-wise, so Jason and Jim headed into Vanelli's studio for a behind the scenes look at an 'assassin' shoot and Jim even moved out of his comfort zone by being placed in front of the camera for a portrait!
Pre-regiatration is now open for The Black Hills Photo Shootout - www.thephotoshootout.com . The event takes place the end of September.
Sunday May 14, 2017
Sunday May 14, 2017
Welcome to podcast 182!
In recent photography news, DjI has announced a new drone to be released later this year fitted w.ith a 100Mp Hasseblad camera. US filter Aurora Aperture has announced new ND filter that reduces exposure by 16 stops. These filters come in screw in as well as square formats and even one that will fit the rear of some Canon lenses. Harbortronics has released DigiSnap Pro which is a complete controller for time-lapse photography and can be paired with the Cyclapse Pro housing. Recent industry figures indicate that the camera market may have finally hit bottom and company profits may pick up. Finally, Phase One has announced a mono version of it's 100Mp medium format camera back priced at a cool $50,000.
Our guest is Jim Burnham who discusses some very interesting time-lapse projects that he is involved in. We met Jim at the Black Hill Photo Shootout last year and welcome him to The Fotobug! We highly recommend after watching our interview to check out Jim's website at http://www.artistasylum.com/jimburnham and also check his amazing time-lapse videos on his YouTube channel. We plan to have Jim back in the near future to talk about his latest time-lapse project which will take months to create!
Save the date - September 29-October 1, 2017, for the Black Hills Photo Shootout. Registration is at www.thephotoshootout.com . Jim and Fred will be there!
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Sunday Apr 30, 2017
Welcome to the next podcast! In recent news, DJI's new Phantom 4 Advanced offers more storage capacity and longer flight times. Sony has now replaced Nikon as the 2nd in USA full-frame interchangeable lens camera market. Canon has published a free tutorial for photographing the solar eclipse on August 21 - http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2017/eclipse.shtml . A new Kickstarter campaign is seeking funds for Solarcam, a long exposure pinhole camera in an aluminum can that records on a 5x7 B&W Ilford paper. GoPro has unveiled Fusion, a spherical camera that can capture regular and VR video at 5.2k resolution. Even more news on the current podcast!
Jim recently returned from a photo tour of Colombia, South America to evaluate sites for future photo tours/workshops. He presents some of the video shot during the tour including a hike in Cocora Valley and a ceremony planting a young wax palm. Jim plans to return next spring to Colombia to visit the best sites he recently visited with a group of 6-8 photographers. If you would be interested in receiving information on this tour, contact Jim at jim@thefotobug.com to be added to the contact list!
Coming up in September is the Black Hills Photo Shootout - go to www.thephotoshootout.com for more information and to register for the weekend workshops.
Be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more exciting interviews, reviews and how-tos!
Sunday Apr 16, 2017
Sunday Apr 16, 2017
A couple of news items from Canon: Canon has introduced a compact 35mm F2.8 macro lens with a built-in LED ring light and they have introduced a drone that can fly in nasty weather and can see in the dark. The drone is capable of ISO speeds up to 4 million and is intended to be used in disaster relief. Chinese stabilizer company, Gudsen, has introduced a range of powered gimbals aimed at users of compact cameras and medium-sized DSLRs. Gudsen claims it is "the smartest camera stabilization and control system for mirrorless cameras and DSLRs and will set you back $599. Sony is planning to launch sever medium format sensors in the 100-150MP resolution next year. US-based GoPro customers can get a discount on a new HERO5 Black or Session camera when trading in an older HERO model. Existing GoPro owners can receive $100 off a new HERO5 Black, or $50 off a HERO5 Session when they trade in any older GoPro HERO model. This is a limited time offer.
Jim and Fred welcome back photographer Ron Wyatt who recently toured and photographed the Russian Moscow Ballet company. In addition, Ron shares some equpment recommendations and lighting tips. Ron just recently started his own photo tour company and has trips planned to Tanzania, Tuscany, indo-china and many other locations. We recommend you check his website at www.ronwyattphotos.com to see more of his work and information on his upcoming workshops.
Sunday Apr 02, 2017
Sunday Apr 02, 2017
Today's podcast features a segment on creating bismuth crystals for macro photography.
In recent news, Popular Photography magazine is shutting down operations, including their website. The Azure rock formation, featured in Game of Thrones has fallen into the sea after a large storm. Olympus has announced the end of it's four thirds system. A camera lost in a shipwreck in 2012 has been found and the images on the Lexar memory card were able to be recovered! A judge dismisses charges against a Kentucky man who shot down a drone flying over his property. Also watch the podcast to learn the correct way to pronounce 'bokeh'! Watch the podcast more even more news!
Jim demonstrates how to create bismuth crystals for closeup photography. Bismuth is an element similiar to lead with a low melting point, but is not harmful to people or the environment. In fact, it is the main ingredient in Pepto Bismal! Do be careful if you try this yourself as bismuth must be heated to 500 degrees F to melt and requires a slow cool off period in order to form crystals. We recommend melting it out doors and be sure to wear proper gloves and eye protection and keep everything away from other flammable objects! Please share your images on Facebook with us if you decide to try this for yourself!
The Black Hills Photo Shootout will soon be open for reservations and more information can be found at www.thephotoshootout.com. Hope to see you there!