LeggNet's Digital Capture

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The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), usually called the Alyeska Pipeline in Alaska or the Alaska Pipeline elsewhere, is a major U.S. oil pipeline connecting oil fields in northern Alaska to a sea port where the oil can be shipped to the Lower 48 states for refining.

The main Trans-Alaska Pipeline runs north to south, almost 800 miles (1,300 km), from the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the Gulf of Alaska at Valdez, Alaska, passing near several Alaskan towns, including Wiseman, Bettles, Livengood, Fox, Fairbanks, and Glennallen.

Construction of the pipeline presented significant challenges due to the remoteness of the terrain and the harshness of the environment it had to pass through. Between Arctic Alaska and Valdez, there were three mountain ranges, active fault lines, miles of unstable, boggy ground underlain with frost, and migration paths of caribou and moose. Geological activity has damaged the pipeline on several occasions.

Since its completion in 1977, the pipeline has transported over 15 billion barrels (2.4 km3) of oil.

(read the complete article on Wikipedia)

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/250 second, f/22, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Earlier this week I surpassed 2,500 downloads on iStockphoto.com. While not anywhere near the 500,000+ downloads of iStock Rock Star Lise Gagne, it still is a fairly significant milestone. I am now considered a SILVER level contributor and my royalty commissions are increased to 30%. I find it very fitting that download #2,500 was today’s featured image, a picture of a “SOLD” sign.

As I said in an earlier post on the subject, it will be interesting to see how my sales grow in the future. You can view my iStock portfolio HERE.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/10, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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One way to photograph potraits with a soft natural light while still maintaining lighting control is to use a reflector. I have used reflectors in my photography for some time but learned how to really put them to use when I attended the Wedding School with Kenneth Linge earlier this month.

On today’s image of Tazzy the Papillon I used this method of lighting. To set up the shot, I placed Tazzy with the early evening sunlight over her right shoulder. The sun at this angle provided a nice hair ear light. The main light for the shot was then provided by a reflector being held to the right of and slightly below the camera. This placement gave a natural light focused on the dog’s face and brightened up the eyes with large catchlights.

One difficulty in using reflectors is positioning them. My daughter (and sometimes assistant) Elisabeth helped me by holding the reflector. The constant movement of Tazzy provided a bit of a challenge in keeping the light on her face, but Elisabeth kept up nicely.

At a relatively inexpensive price, adding a reflector to your kit is a great way to increase your photographic lighting options.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/320 second, f/4, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Captured on a foggy morning in Fairbanks Alaska.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/80 second, f/9, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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While I was shooting this top-down photo of fireweed in Chatanika Alaska, a bee flew into the frame. I love the addition of the bee and really appreciate what it brings to the image.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4.5, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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As I write this it is 1:00 AM and I am sitting in Fairbanks International Airport waiting for my (delayed) flight home. It’s been a very busy 10 days and we’ve covered a lot of ground. I look forward to going through the 15+ gigabytes of photos on my MacBook’s hard drive when I get home.

Today’s featured image is a Piper PA-18 “Super Cub” floatplane taking off on Fairbanks’ Chena River. I grew up flying around Alaska with my father in his floatplane and it was really nice to re-live those memories.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/800 second, f/5.6, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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This young bull moose was photographed at the Alaska Conservation Wildlife Center in Girdwood Alaska. It would have been great to make a capture like this in the wild, but this setting made a great alternative.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens with 1.4x extender – 1/320 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Taken at the Anchorage Depot of the Alaska Railroad.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 320

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 200

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 200

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Taken at the Anchorage Depot of the Alaska Railroad.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/50 second, f/4, ISO 320

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Alaska, Day 5

Today’s photo of a Grizzly Bear and a Brown Bear sparring in the water was shot on Friday during my visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The center is located about an hour south of Anchorage in the extremely small town of Girdwood. Most of the animals there are rescues being prepared for re-introduction into the wild. The opportunity to photograph these bears at such a close range was clearly the highpoint of my visit.

Today, I am off to Denali National Park and Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender – 1/400 second, f/5.6, ISO 125

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender – 1/500 second, f/5.6, ISO 125

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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A conversation I had yesterday at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in Anchorage Alaska (as I sat with my family):

Lady (sternly): “Did you register at the press table?”

Me: “No”

Lady: “All press has to register”

Me: “I’m not press” (I didn’t think LeggNet’s Digital Capture would warrant credentials)

Lady: “You’re not press??”

Me: “Nope, I’m just a guy here with my family”

Lady: “You’re not going to sell these pictures are you?”

Me: “No. I’m just on vacation with my family”

Lady: “Uh… okay”

Me (a bit miffed): “Thanks. I just missed the event I wanted to see”

Lady (sarcastically): “There’ll be more (walks while muttering something about my big camera)

Stranger next to me (with her point & shoot camera): “I can’t believe she stood in front of me and blocked my view. I really wanted a picture of that event”

Me: “I’m sorry ma’am”

I guess this is one of the hidden benefits of shooting with nice gear, especially a long white lens on a large camera body. I don’t think I’d have had the same conversation if I had been using my G7.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 1000

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A conversation I had yesterday at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in Anchorage Alaska (as I sat with my family):

Lady (sternly): “Did you register at the press table?”

Me: “No”

Lady: “All press has to register”

Me: “I’m not press” (I didn’t think LeggNet’s Digital Capture would warrant credentials)

Lady: “You’re not press??”

Me: “Nope, I’m just a guy here with my family”

Lady: “You’re not going to sell these pictures are you?”

Me: “No. I’m just on vacation with my family”

Lady: “Uh… okay”

Me (a bit miffed): “Thanks. I just missed the event I wanted to see”

Lady (sarcastically): “There’ll be more (walks while muttering something about my big camera)

Stranger next to me (with her point & shoot camera): “I can’t believe she stood in front of me and blocked my view. I really wanted a picture of that event”

Me: “I’m sorry ma’am”

I guess this is one of the hidden benefits of shooting with nice gear, especially a long white lens on a large camera body. I don’t think I’d have had the same conversation if I had been using my G7.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 1000

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

Labels: stock

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/8, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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If spending three days last week with famed photographer and teacher Kenneth Linge did one thing, it was to re-invigorate my lookout for great natural light. Kenneth is a master at using existing lighting to create stunning portraits.

I noticed this great afternoon sunlight being deflected through the window of a Salt Lake City hotel on Saturday. The light, combined with the reflection, made a very nice portrait setting. My always willing model Sarah stepped in to pose for the quick capture.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 160

On a side note, I am heading out to Alaska today for a week or so to attend my nephew’s wedding. I haven’t been back to Alaska in over 10 years and I am excited to see how things have changed. It is rumored that I will have Internet access where I am staying so I can occasionally post to the site. But in case I don’t – enjoy this pleasant photo of Sarah until my return.

Labels: bw, portrait, sepia

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As a follow-up to last friday’s post (read it here) about iStockphoto.com, here is an example of one of my photos in use. When images are sold on iStock, the contributing photographer does not receive any information on the buyer. The only way to know how an image is used is to come across it in the wild.

I received an email last month from an iStock user who recognized my photograph of a gas nozzle when he viewed the news on the Canadian website CBC.ca. He was kind enough to email me and I went to the site and made this screen capture.

Of the over 2,000 photos I have sold so far, this in only the second time I have heard of one in use. If you’re selling images on microstock, have you ever seen yours in use?

Labels: istockphoto, photography, stock

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Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 100

Labels: studio

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If there is one thing the Internet is full of, it is opinions…and in the photography corner of the ‘net there are very strong views both for and against websites specializing in microstock photography. While some photographers view these sites as fantastic ways to monetize their photography, others see them as extremely detrimental to the business of photography.

What makes these sites controversial is they literally pay their contributing photographers pennies for each download. On iStockphoto.com, the largest microstock site with nearly 2,000,000 files available, downloads sell for as little as $1 each with the contributor receiving as little as 20% of this income.

Why would a photographer want to sell their photos for such a low amount? The simple answer is Volume. While a local client might pay a photographer $200 once for an image, a good photo on iStockphoto might sell several hundred times generating much more income over the long run.

With this in mind, I recently decided to concentrate more of my photographic time on shooting for iStockphoto to see what I could earn. Over the past three months I have increased my iStockphoto portfolio from under 100 images to nearly 400. The resulting increase in sales has been dramatic. My June earnings of nearly $500 are over a tenfold increase compared to what I earned in March and July is showing even more growth. While I surely could not support my family on $500 a month, what if I were to increase this amount by another factor of ten? $5,000 a month is a viable salary and iStockphoto is full of stories of photographers earning a living shooting for them.

Todays image is a mosaic of my best selling shots. What strikes me is the diversity in the images. The open bible photo is my top selling image with nearly 200 downloads, yet the mountain road capture has earned more revenue due to its larger average download size.

I look forward to continuing to add images to my portfolio and monitor the growth. Is this a sustainable business long-term? We’ll have to wait and see.

Links

My iStockphoto Portfolio
iStockphoto Registration

__________

(05/28/2008 – Update: 25,000 images sold. Read about it here.)

Labels: stock

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I spent the past three days attending The Wedding School taught by renowned international wedding photographer Kenneth Linge. My wife enrolled me in the class as a gift for our recent wedding anniversary.

The one word that I kept hearing repeated from the students (myself included) was “AMAZING”. Kenneth freely shared with his students the techniques he developed over 30+ years as a fashion and wedding photographer in both Europe and the United States. During the class Kenneth co-taught with his wife Marylyn, and together they made a fantastic team. In an industry where so many people are reluctant to show their secrets, it was refreshing to see a photographer willing to share his photographic “recipes” to improve other’s work. Even though the class was primarily aimed at wedding photography, the techniques learned can be applied to any portrait work.

I would definitely recommend the class for any working pro or advanced amateur looking to step up their photography. For more information, check out the Linge’s seminars on the web:

www.kennethlinge.com/seminars

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/4, ISO 800

Labels: photography, tutorial, wedding

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A Utah Air National Guard KC-135 captured in the act of a celebratory fly over at an Independence Day event in Riverton, Utah.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/5000 second, f/4, ISO 100

Labels: holiday

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Like nearly every other photographer in the free world (or at least it seemed that way), I spent last Saturday photographing a wedding. July 7th (07/07/07) was one of the single biggest days for weddings in recent memory.

The nuptials I shot were in a beautiful rustic setting. The bride and groom are both avid rock climbers, and they had their ceremony at the base of a climbing route in Big Cottonwood Canyon just outside of Salt Lake City. After the ceremony and reception, the couple christened their new life together with a 5.10 climb. It was extremely unique and very cool.

Congrats to Brian & Militia.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/4, ISO 100

Labels: marriage, wedding

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Today’s capture is another image from the recent photoshoot I did of Dave and his motorcycle in an alleyway near my office. Shooting this with a wide angle lens from a low angle added to the larger-than-life perspective of the biker.

See my earlier post for details on the lighting setup. Other images from the shoot can be seen HERE.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 100

Labels: photography

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Woo hoo! This is post #500 for LeggNet’s Digital Capture. After this day of rest, tomorrow begins post #1 of the next 500. Thanks everyone for all your support!

-Rich

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 3.2 seconds, f/22, ISO 100

Labels: night, time exposure

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I did a photoshoot last night of my friend Dave on his motorcycle. I wanted an industrial looking setting and I found it in an alleyway between two buildings near my office.

The lighting setup consisted of two Canon Speedlites – a 430EX and a 580EX. For this shot, the 430EX was used as the main light. It was placed on a lightstand above and to the left (camera right) of the model. The fill light was provided by the 580EX with a diffuser. I held this light in my left hand a couple of feet away and below the camera. An f-stop of f/11 was used to darken the background. This was shot just after 8:00 pm and the ambient light was still fairly bright (f/4 or so) so setting the strobes to f/11 underexposed the background by around 3 stops.

The final result is very near to what I envisioned for the shot. The harsh lighting adds nicely to the dramatic look of the stern faced biker. The two Speedlite setup worked very well and was easy to set up.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/11, ISO 100

Labels: photography, stock, tutorial

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Happy 5th of July.

I made this capture last night from a friend’s hillside home. Looking down on the valley gave a different perspective on the firework shows than I am used to.

The shot is not as sharp as I would prefer (due to camera shake) and I had to apply a bit of aggressive sharpening to the image. The cause of the camera movement was the deck full of people I was shooting from. Anytime someone moved, it caused a slight shake in the deck – just enough to mess with the shot.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender – 10 seconds, f/9, ISO 100

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President John Adams nearly got it right. He predicted that we would be celebrating the 2nd of July as our national birthday.

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

(Quoted from a letter John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail on July 3, 1776)

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 4 seconds, f/4, ISO 100

Labels: holiday

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The annual Riverton Town Days have begun in my city and with that comes the amusement rides. I grabbed my tripod and headed over just before closing last night to catch a few time exposures.

The method I use for this type of shot is simple and straightforward. I put my camera on APERTURE PRIORITY mode (AV on a Canon) and then stop the lens down to its smallest aperture. With the camera on a tripod I compose the shot and trigger it with a remote release, letting the camera’s auto function handle both focus and shutter speed. A low ISO will ensure a longer shutter speed.

This technique permits me to be fairly mobile, not staying in one place too long. I don’t like to draw too much attention to myself when photographing in a crowded area and keeping on the move helps.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 4 seconds, f/22, ISO 100

Labels: night, time exposure

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This wild snake that I found sunning itself on my front porch last month was actually posing in a perfectly inverted “S” shape. One quick horizontal flip in Photoshop and I’ve got my “S” is for Snake shot.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/80 second, f/5.6, ISO 160

Labels: animal, photoshop

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This wild snake that I found sunning itself on my front porch last month was actually posing in a perfectly inverted “S” shape. One quick horizontal flip in Photoshop and I’ve got my “S” is for Snake shot.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/80 second, f/5.6, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L – 1/1250, f/4, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Utah’s capitol building lit with the golden hue of sunset.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – .4 second, f/22, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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I photographed this old truck on an abandoned farm in Draper, Utah. Shooting it just before sunset captured the wonderful gradient tone in the sky. I used a strobe to fill in the shadows a bit.

Thanks to fellow photographer Dale for giving me a heads up on the location of this old farm.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/100 second, f/8, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Today’s capture is an example of using fill light to add to a photo. While photographing at an abandoned farm, I came across this interesting weed and shot it against the setting sun. If I had taken the shot without the fill light, the picture would just be a black silhouette. The addition of the flash allowed much more of the weed’s detail to be seen.

My typical exposure settings for using a fill flash in daylight is to adjust my strobe (a Canon 430EX) to an exposure setting of negative 2/3 f-stop. This allows shadow areas to be illuminated without making the shot look like a flash was used.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/8000 second, f/4, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Shooting with a digital SLR camera provides a lot of benefits over non SLR models, but the increased functionality comes at a price – sensor dust. Since an SLR camera is an open system (one that allows users to change lenses) the probability of dust entering the camera is nearly unavoidable. Learning to deal with dust is a part of owning a digital SLR.

After I made the move from film to digital, the discovery of dust on my camera’s sensor was a major shock. But now after a couple years of shooting digital and dozens of sensor cleans, I now look at it as just a minor annoyance.

There are two types of digital SLR shooters – those that have dust on their sensor and those that will have dust on their sensor. I believe that every photographer should learn how to handle it. Here are the steps I take with my cameras.

To see if you have dust, stop your camera down to its smallest aperture (usually f/22-32) and take a shot against a blank scene (blue sky works well). The dust will show up as dark blotches. The photo above shows numerous dust spots that I recently had on my Canon 5D. Keep in mind that these spots will only show up on photos taken with smaller apertures and they can easily be removed in post-processing, so you don’t have to obsess over cleaning them daily.

I use a few different items to clean my camera sensors. My kit consists of a manual bulb type blower along with sensor cleaning swabs & fluid.

The first step I take in cleaning is to set my camera into “SENSOR CLEANING” mode. This is a menu function that opens the shutter and locks the mirror up allowing access to the sensor. Since moving these out of the way uses power, be sure to have a sufficiently charged battery before starting.

Once I have the camera in cleaning mode, I remove the lens and blow off the sensor with the bulb blower. I do this with the lens opening aiming down to allow the dust to exit. Take care to not touch anything inside the camera with the tip of the blower. If I only have a few dust spots, this will frequently be the only step necessary since the blowing air will dislodge the dust.

To remove stubborn dust spots, I use the sensor cleaning solution with a swab. This is the most effective method for me. I put a few drops of solution on the swab and make two passes across the sensor – once in each direction. I use very little pressure on the swab. It is very imperative to only use a swab once on each side to avoid re-contaminating the sensor with previously removed dust.

Note that most camera manufacturers state in their user manual that you are to never touch the sensor with anything and using this method can risk voiding your warranty. However, if you took your camera in to be professionally cleaned this is probably the method they will use.

Sensor dust is part of the price we pay for shooting with the great digital SLRs that are available today. The internet is full of stories of photographers obsessing about every little speck of dust. Don’t be like these shooters and let it consume you. Learn how to clean your own sensor when needed and spend your time worrying about the next great photo instead of a microscopic piece of dirt.

(Was this helpful? If so, please DIGG it.)

Labels: tutorial

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Shooting with a digital SLR camera provides a lot of benefits over non SLR models, but the increased functionality comes at a price – sensor dust. Since an SLR camera is an open system (one that allows users to change lenses) the probability of dust entering the camera is nearly unavoidable. Learning to deal with dust is a part of owning a digital SLR.

After I made the move from film to digital, the discovery of dust on my camera’s sensor was a major shock. But now after a couple years of shooting digital and dozens of sensor cleans, I now look at it as just a minor annoyance.

There are two types of digital SLR shooters – those that have dust on their sensor and those that will have dust on their sensor. I believe that every photographer should learn how to handle it. Here are the steps I take with my cameras.

To see if you have dust, stop your camera down to its smallest aperture (usually f/22-32) and take a shot against a blank scene (blue sky works well). The dust will show up as dark blotches. The photo above shows numerous dust spots that I recently had on my Canon 5D. Keep in mind that these spots will only show up on photos taken with smaller apertures and they can easily be removed in post-processing, so you don’t have to obsess over cleaning them daily.

I use a few different items to clean my camera sensors. My kit consists of a manual bulb type blower along with sensor cleaning swabs & fluid.

The first step I take in cleaning is to set my camera into “SENSOR CLEANING” mode. This is a menu function that opens the shutter and locks the mirror up allowing access to the sensor. Since moving these out of the way uses power, be sure to have a sufficiently charged battery before starting.

Once I have the camera in cleaning mode, I remove the lens and blow off the sensor with the bulb blower. I do this with the lens opening aiming down to allow the dust to exit. Take care to not touch anything inside the camera with the tip of the blower. If I only have a few dust spots, this will frequently be the only step necessary since the blowing air will dislodge the dust.

To remove stubborn dust spots, I use the sensor cleaning solution with a swab. This is the most effective method for me. I put a few drops of solution on the swab and make two passes across the sensor – once in each direction. I use very little pressure on the swab. It is very imperative to only use a swab once on each side to avoid re-contaminating the sensor with previously removed dust.

Note that most camera manufacturers state in their user manual that you are to never touch the sensor with anything and using this method can risk voiding your warranty. However, if you took your camera in to be professionally cleaned this is probably the method they will use.

Sensor dust is part of the price we pay for shooting with the great digital SLRs that are available today. The internet is full of stories of photographers obsessing about every little speck of dust. Don’t be like these shooters and let it consume you. Learn how to clean your own sensor when needed and spend your time worrying about the next great photo instead of a microscopic piece of dirt.

(Was this helpful? If so, please DIGG it.)

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Capitol Fountain, taken at the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/640 second, f/4, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Today’s image is another room from the SugarHouse mansion that I recently photographed. The purpose of the shoot was to assist an organization in documenting the historic building.

My goal in lighting this room was to show outside detail in the windows while evenly lighting the interior. To accomplish this I placed a Canon 430EX speedlite behind the floral arrangement aimed toward the back wall. The speedlite was diffused with a Lightsphere and set to 1/2 power. I then used two monolights diffused with white umbrellas in the corners to the left and right of the camera.

While the lighting setup was fairly simple on this shot, the tricky part was eliminating reflections in the three windows. Since the windows are each at different angles, the placement of the lights left little room for error. Nearly every reflection was avoided, save for a slight one on the right window.

Another challenge with this room was the bookcases above the windows. I wanted to provide enough light to show depth in the openings but still leaving them somewhat dark. The placement of the monolights in the corners achieved this. I had to raise the lights a bit higher than I initially wanted (creating more noticeable shadows), but the trade off was worth it.

Of all the rooms I shot that day, this one was my favorite. I love the curved wall and the custom woodwork.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/15 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

Labels: buildings, photography, tutorial

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Today’s image is another room from the SugarHouse mansion that I recently photographed. The purpose of the shoot was to assist an organization in documenting the historic building.

My goal in lighting this room was to show outside detail in the windows while evenly lighting the interior. To accomplish this I placed a Canon 430EX speedlite behind the floral arrangement aimed toward the back wall. The speedlite was diffused with a Lightsphere and set to 1/2 power. I then used two monolights diffused with white umbrellas in the corners to the left and right of the camera.

While the lighting setup was fairly simple on this shot, the tricky part was eliminating reflections in the three windows. Since the windows are each at different angles, the placement of the lights left little room for error. Nearly every reflection was avoided, save for a slight one on the right window.

Another challenge with this room was the bookcases above the windows. I wanted to provide enough light to show depth in the openings but still leaving them somewhat dark. The placement of the monolights in the corners achieved this. I had to raise the lights a bit higher than I initially wanted (creating more noticeable shadows), but the trade off was worth it.

Of all the rooms I shot that day, this one was my favorite. I love the curved wall and the custom woodwork.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/15 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Today is one of the rare times that I post a photo that I did not take. This incredible capture of our planet is in response to the comment PSpotter left on yesterday’s entry. Have a great weekend.

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NASA’s latest hi-res image of Earth. Download more of this at: visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429

This spectacular “blue marble” image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date. Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet. These images are freely available to educators, scientists, museums, and the public. This record includes preview images and links to full resolution versions up to 21,600 pixels across.

Much of the information contained in this image came from a single remote-sensing device-NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS. Flying over 700 km above the Earth onboard the Terra satellite, MODIS provides an integrated tool for observing a variety of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric features of the Earth. The land and coastal ocean portions of these images are based on surface observations collected from June through September 2001 and combined, or composited, every eight days to compensate for clouds that might block the sensor’s view of the surface on any single day. Two different types of ocean data were used in these images: shallow water true color data, and global ocean color (or chlorophyll) data. Topographic shading is based on the GTOPO 30 elevation dataset compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey’s EROS Data Center. MODIS observations of polar sea ice were combined with observations of Antarctica made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s AVHRR sensor—the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. The cloud image is a composite of two days of imagery collected in visible light wavelengths and a third day of thermal infra-red imagery over the poles. Global city lights, derived from 9 months of observations from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, are superimposed on a darkened land surface map.

Credit
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stöckli (land surface, shallow water, clouds). Enhancements by Robert Simmon (ocean color, compositing, 3D globes, animation). Data and technical support: MODIS Land Group; MODIS Science Data Support Team; MODIS Atmosphere Group; MODIS Ocean Group Additional data: USGS EROS Data Center (topography); USGS Terrestrial Remote Sensing Flagstaff Field Center (Antarctica); Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (city lights).

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Today is one of the rare times that I post a photo that I did not take. This incredible capture of our planet is in response to the comment PSpotter left on yesterday’s entry. Have a great weekend.

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NASA’s latest hi-res image of Earth. Download more of this at: visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429

This spectacular “blue marble” image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date. Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet. These images are freely available to educators, scientists, museums, and the public. This record includes preview images and links to full resolution versions up to 21,600 pixels across.

Much of the information contained in this image came from a single remote-sensing device-NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS. Flying over 700 km above the Earth onboard the Terra satellite, MODIS provides an integrated tool for observing a variety of terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric features of the Earth. The land and coastal ocean portions of these images are based on surface observations collected from June through September 2001 and combined, or composited, every eight days to compensate for clouds that might block the sensor’s view of the surface on any single day. Two different types of ocean data were used in these images: shallow water true color data, and global ocean color (or chlorophyll) data. Topographic shading is based on the GTOPO 30 elevation dataset compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey’s EROS Data Center. MODIS observations of polar sea ice were combined with observations of Antarctica made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s AVHRR sensor—the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. The cloud image is a composite of two days of imagery collected in visible light wavelengths and a third day of thermal infra-red imagery over the poles. Global city lights, derived from 9 months of observations from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, are superimposed on a darkened land surface map.

Credit
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stöckli (land surface, shallow water, clouds). Enhancements by Robert Simmon (ocean color, compositing, 3D globes, animation). Data and technical support: MODIS Land Group; MODIS Science Data Support Team; MODIS Atmosphere Group; MODIS Ocean Group Additional data: USGS EROS Data Center (topography); USGS Terrestrial Remote Sensing Flagstaff Field Center (Antarctica); Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (city lights).

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/800 second, f/4, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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My two daughters are participating in a scholarship pageant this summer. One of the requirements of the event is that the entrants provide a black & white photo for the pageant publication. The girls requested that we have a special photo-shoot for these photos.

Today’s photo is Elisabeth’s favorite from the shoot. This hair adjustment pose was not planned, I just happened to catch her as she rearranged her bangs. The left hand in the hair along with the serious expression combine for a rather dramatic shot.

The lighting setup consisted of a softbox above the camera with an umbrella providing fill to one side. A third light was used to wash out the white background.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/9, ISO 100

Labels: bw, portrait, studio

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My two daughters are participating in a scholarship pageant this summer. One of the requirements of the event is that the entrants provide a black & white photo for the pageant publication. The girls requested that we have a special photo-shoot for these photos.

Today’s photo is Elisabeth’s favorite from the shoot. This hair adjustment pose was not planned, I just happened to catch her as she rearranged her bangs. The left hand in the hair along with the serious expression combine for a rather dramatic shot.

The lighting setup consisted of a softbox above the camera with an umbrella providing fill to one side. A third light was used to wash out the white background.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/9, ISO 100

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 50

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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This capture of Salt Lake City is the current background image on my iMac’s desktop. I tend to change backgrounds quite often, but this one with its generous amount of blue sky (perfect for icons) might stay awhile.

Canon 5D, Canon 50 f/1.8 lens – 1/200 second, f/8, ISO 100

Labels: salt lake city

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I assisted a photographer friend with a wedding last week at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Even though I have shot over 100 weddings (mostly in the 80’s), this was my first time at Temple Square. I offered to assist so I could get a feel for the differences in shooting a wedding at this popular location.

Aside from the fact that there were no less than 8 other weddings being photographed on the grounds while we were there, it was a very beautiful setting. The grounds provide many, many settings for beautiful bride & groom shots. But with so many couples being photographed at this location, the biggest challenge I see is making a shot unique.

However, working in the real estate industry I see a lot of Utah wedding photos (hanging on the walls of client’s homes). Judging by these photos I think a lot of newlyweds don’t want a unique photograph – they just want a beautiful capture of themselves in front of the temple.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/200 second, f/10, ISO 100

Labels: salt lake city, wedding

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Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Canon 30D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/15 second, f/4.5, ISO 400

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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On Golden Pond, photographed in Sandy, Utah.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender – 1/200 second, f/5.6, ISO 160

Labels: animal, birds

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Here’s a fun activity that will kill a few minutes today. Head over to www.sp-studio.de and create your own cartoon character in the style of South Park (which I must admit I have never seen).

Thanks to my Flickr friend Jodi Tripp for pointing this fun website out.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/100 second, f/4, ISO 100

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I’ve recently been working with April Shell, a Salt Lake City artist, to photograph her portfolio of oil paintings. This type of photography is a little different than my normal day-to-day shooting, but is still quite enjoyable.

The challenge in photographing artwork is to provide balanced lighting with no reflections and to accurately represent the colors. To achieve this, I used multiple diffused monolights. Since I know the color temperature of the lighting, I was able to set the white balance to show the true colors of the paintings.

To view the complete set, visit www.legacyonephotography.com/april.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/40 second, f/10, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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I took a walk around Sugar House on Saturday afternoon. Sugar House is a rather liberal pocket within Salt Lake Valley that many outsiders wouldn’t believe exists in this conservative community. For more details on the area, check out Bryan Catherman’s post on his Hopeless Writer blog.

I usually find when I am walking around taking pictures that it is easy to strike up conversations with, and ultimately photograph, interesting people. I don’t know if it is the professional looking camera gear that makes people want to talk, but a lot of them do.

Today’s capture of Robert is an example of this. While photographing the bulletin board behind him, I asked how we was doing. We then chatted for a bit about some of the happenings in the area. After our conversation I asked if I could take his picture – he readily agreed.

Do you prefer to sneak your street photos of people or do you like the bolder “How you ‘doin?” approach?

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/30, f/4, ISO 100

Labels: bw, salt lake city

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I was asked recently to assist in documenting a historic home in Sugar House, Utah through photography. The large home is over 120 years old and was originally built by a gold miner from Park City. Even though the home is currently used as an office, the decor is very reminiscent of an early 20th century home.

When capturing the interior, my goal was to light the rooms in a way to show the detail and accentuate the features without making it appear that strobes were used. With my friend Harley’s assistance, we used multiple lights to create the look.

This formal sitting room was lit with four lights. We placed a radio triggered strobe in the lamp on the right to make it appear like the lamp was lighting the room. There is a second radio triggered strobe in the back-left corner. To light the foreground we placed two lights with umbrella diffusers in the near corners.

I am fairly pleased with the result. There are a couple of shadows I would have liked to remove, but overall the lighting is fairly even and natural looking.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/15 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Labels: buildings, photography, tutorial

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Here are my favorite zoo subjects striking a pose (awful pun intentionally used).

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens with 1.4x extender – 1/400 second, f/7.1, ISO 160

Labels: animal, birds

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/80 second, f/4, ISO 100

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You might be a photo geek if . . .

You make a special trip back to the car for your camera so you can capture the vanishing point arrangement of shopping carts in front of the local Costco.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens, Canon 430EX strobe – 1/100 second, f/5, ISO 160

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Earlier this year I was contacted by a publisher that is working on a book for the State of Utah to use for recruiting companies to relocate to Utah. The publisher was in need of photographs to place alongside the written copy about the state’s economic advantages. This served as another example of the power of the Internet for today’s photographer. The publisher’s photo editor found my work on Flickr and contacted me directly about the freelance job. While not a huge windfall, the job does pay fairly well (about 100x better than microstock).

This is a reason that I am a proponent of the “Only Show Your Best school of thought, especially if you ever desire to sell your work. I didn’t adhere to this at first (as evident from some of my early images on Flickr), but over the past year I have worked on keeping this in mind when uploading. On a public forum, you never know who might be browsing the images and what impact they can have on future earnings.

Today’s image is a collage of some of the photos they have selected for use in the book. I like the diversity of the images, I think they have chosen well.

Labels: photography

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Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f//4L lens with 1.4x extender – 1/40 second, f/5.6, ISO 160

Labels: animal

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I follow a lot of blogs on a daily basis. Like many of you, I use an RSS feed reader in place of visiting each individual blog. Lately, my favorite reader has been Google Reader. I like the interface and find that it does a good job.

Here are most of the photography links that are currently in my reader (along with a link to the feed):

Black Star Rising
Change, Culture, Creativity, Communication
Dan Heller’s Photography Business Blog
Digital Inspiration
Digital Photography Review
Digital Photography School
Digital Photography Tips From The Top Floor
DIYPhotography.net – Photography and Studio Lighting – Do It Yourself
fotagrafaiocht
jackandchet.com
New West Images
Photo News Today
Photography Bay
Photography for Real Estate
Scott Hargis’ Photos
Shorpy – The 100 Year-Old Photo Blog
Strobist
The Digital Story
The Thing of the Moment
Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection

and, of course, my own feed:

LeggNet’s Digital Capture

Please share any good photography related feeds you follow. I’ve always got more room in my feed reader….

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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For this capture of an empty baseball diamond, I used some fairly aggressive settings in Photoshop CS2′s CHANNEL MIXER tool to convert the shot to black & white. I pushed the BLUE slider to the 200% level and then used a negative 100% setting on the GREEN slider to even out the levels. This technique resulted in the very dark dirt and the washed out sky.

Soon though, I won’t be using the CHANNEL MIXER adjustment layer for my black & white conversions. My upgrade to Photoshop CS3 should arrive this week and I will begin using the new BLACK & WHITE adjustment layer feature. This is just one of the (many) reasons I opted for the upgrade.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/40 second, f/16, ISO 50

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/80 second, f/4, ISO 100

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One thing I do to make my daytime captures pop a bit is use a strobe. When I do this, my goal is to add to the presentation of the subject while avoiding an unnatural appearance.

Today’s featured photo of a resting swan is an example of this technique. I came across this swan recently while driving to a client’s home. It was just after lunch and the sun was directly overhead creating harsh shadows. The bird was relaxing in the shade of a tree with spots of sun peaking through while the pond in the background was in full sunlight.

To get the shot I put on the longest lens I had with me (70-200 w/ 1.4x extender) and attached a strobe (Canon 430EX) to my camera. My purpose in using the strobe was threefold:

1. Fill in the shadows to create more even lighting
2. Create a Catchlight in the bird’s eye
3. Add separation between the subject and the background.

To achieve these effects without making the shot seem unnaturally lit, I dialed the strobe’s power setting to -1/3 f-stop from the camera’s metered exposure. Doing this allowed the natural light to combine with the strobe’s artificial light, creating a natural appearance to the subject while accomplishing the three objectives. The setting of -1/3 worked on this scene, but I sometimes use more or less power from the strobe on other scenes depending on the light.

Using a strobe in daylight, especially bright sunny days, can greatly enhance your shots. Play around with your flash’s power settings and see what works for you.

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x extender – 1/100 second, f/5.6, ISO 100

Labels: animal, birds, photography, tutorial

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/400 second, f/4, ISO 160

Labels: leaves

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Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L IS lens – 1/400 second, f/4, ISO 160

LeggNet’s Digital Capture
© Rich Legg, Inc. All rights reserved.

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In the photography world, we all have our biases in regards to what manufacturer of camera equipment we prefer. Anyone who has spent any amount of time reading this blog knows that I am a big proponent of Canon gear. However, it wasn’t always this way.

In my film shooting days of the eighties and early nineties, I was a large fan of Nikon. My primary cameras were the FE and FM2 models. I loved the sturdiness of these cameras plus they were “just right” in the size department. I shot literally thousands of photos between these two bodies and never had any type of failure. These were great cameras.

When I decided to make the move to digital SLRs a few years back, I did a bit of research. I knew that I would be “marrying” a manufacturer and wanted to make the right decision. It was a close call between Nikon and Canon, but Canon ultimately won. The deciding factor for me was the selection of bodies and the room to grow. This was a hard decision for me, since I had always been such a “Nikon Guy”.

Here it is a couple of years later and I am still pleased that I went with Canon. However, if I had gone with Nikon I am sure I would be nearly as happy. Nikon’s lack of a full-frame sensor is the only thing I think that would be holding me back.

Today, most of the photographers I know shoot either Nikon or Canon except for the occasional Olympus. The Canon Rebel line (especially the XTi) is very popular as is the Nikon D80. These are all great cameras.

Today’s capture is a shot I did of my main camera, the Canon 5D, for the masthead at the top of the blog. I took this using my backup 30D with a simple one light studio setup.

What brand/model did you choose? And why?

Canon 30D, Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 – 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 100

Labels: camera, photography

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It’s been a busy couple days for my photostream over on Flickr. The set of photos I took Saturday detailing the 337 Project was one of the top stories Sunday on the popular news website Digg.com. The Digg story resulted in over 70,000 visitors clicking through to the photo set in just a 24 hour period. Of those visitors, over 2,000 clicked on through to this site.

This serves as another reminder of the power of the new media. One guy with a camera and a website (me!) is able to document an event and share it with the world in a very short period of time. As for the 337 Project, it was extremely creative and I’m glad so many people got to see a small piece of it through my camera lens and the power of the Internet.