I've adapted several longers FD lenses to my GH2 and it works of course but I would really love a true M43 400mm or longer lens. I suppose with the Metabones thingy I could adapt a Canon 600mm EF lens and go that route but that'll cost many benjamins for sure. My 100-300 lens is very portable so I think that 400mm could be done but perhaps 300mm is the technological sweet spot for M43 cams and lenses and going 400mm would be just too difficult?

Harold

I thought that I would start a topic regarding equipment for FLASH photography. No need to be GH2 centric- but would be good to play nice with the GH2.

There is no TTL (Through The Lens) metering system of 3rd party Flashes that is Panasonic compatible, thus everything you buy for GH2 will be manual. This is no super big issue, as the moment you bounce the flash off the ceiling your TTL dies anyway.

Also note that many clients now days need more than just a simple video package. Many need images, and adding a big flash unit does help this (not only for the light- but also helps client respect).

And to be honest providing services such that we provide should not involve us giving away jobs to other companies. If its out of your comfort zone don't worry- however nothing wrong with offering photography in the package. Learn a few 'key' setups and simply take the photo.

You will also find that continuous lighting is VERY costly for images as you are normally not taking a photo at 1/50 of a second. You will also be able to create studio quality images and learn more about lighting.

There are MANY great and cheep Flash units out there currently- and they are only getting better.

Currently I have a YongNuo YN-560ii (RRP $70 ebay) which I am very happy with, (and will be getting a few more for 2 point lighting) I will mainly be using this with a radio frequency trigger.

Share below your Flash gear and thoughts.

Cheers, A

Thank you very much for your input!

RICOH KR-10 + RICOH XR RIKENON 1:2 f=50mm L

or minolta X-300s Minolta 3.5 28mm

When it comes to X-300s Minolta I also have a possibility to choose one of those lenses: MD ROKKOR 45/2 or MD Tokina 28/2,8.

Which one would you recommend? I am just starting my adventure with the analog photography and I need a good and easy gear I can get to know really well and appreciate extensively during (especially ) this year and the years to come.

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions !!!!

I have one of those client photo websites. Right now I mainly have photos of birds: vfsp.net. It uses shootproof.

I took a lot of the photos over the course of 5 years. Is there a good way to market them in your experiences?

I've heard people set up galleries in libraries and local places. But is there a good way to market them online (other than say Facebook and twitter)? E.g. without having to invest in prints myself (I'm thinking they may not sell at all and I don't want to end up in the red on this). Shootproof sends out the images to a printer. Printer mails them out.

Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions.

http://radian.alpinelaboratories.com/pages/radian

This comes from their website

Radian is a remarkably powerful, yet wonderfully simple smartphone-controlled device that lets you take stunning panning and tilting time-lapses with your dSLR camera or smartphone (in conjunction with another time-lapse app). With our free iOS/Android/web app, simply upload the desired time-lapse settings to Radian, unplug, and let Radian do the rest.

From time-lapses of sweeping landscapes to stormy clouds to busy street corners, the possibilities are limitless. In fact, the usefulness of time-lapses, especially panning ones, go beyond just creative endeavors. Its uses extend from architectural/construction site surveying, to documentation of projects, to even anthropological studies in urban environments. With panning, you can now capture the entire scene around you.

Radian is small, rugged, weather-resistant, and can handle anything you throw at it. It can rotate side-to-side. It can tilt up and down (with optional L-bracket). It can dynamically speed up and slow down. And if you have a Canon dSLR, you can change exposure to capture sunrise and sunset. You name it. With our app, the sky is the limit.

*Note: Radian is not meant for video panning

Just saw this picture and its story: parents complaining about their disabled son (spinal muscular atrophy) “Being picked on and being set aside [...]”.

source the Toronto Star

For me, what it is even stranger is the face of the children being blurred.
I would like to invite PV members to a constructive and cordial debate

gashô

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/172357-the-most-beautiful-snowflake-photos-youll-ever-see-captured-with-a-cheap-diy-camera

Just shows what can be done with a lot of care even with non-specialist gear.

Read abut a techniques here - using back-to-back lenses and multiple exposures:

http://chaoticmind75.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/my-technique-for-snowflakes-shooting.html

In early December I decided to start looking into macro photography more after seeing a blog from a russian photographer who shot snowflakes in his backyard with a point-and-shoot camera.

I had looked at expensive macro lenses and then came across another way to make your own!

Everyone has seen old Canon EF lenses around the 28-80 or the 35-80mm kit lenses?

Well if you remove the front glass element, your lens becomes a fixed focus, multi focal length macro lens!

Here is a blog post from my brand new website showcasing how I do my macro shots and my best ones are near the end of the blog! Have a look through if you have time and let me know what you think!

http://www.tylerknight.ca/snowflake-macro-photography/

1) We need interview guests! One of the series is called “High Scoring”. This is going to feature interviews with game and film scoring composers talking about the history and craft of scoring. Far from the usual discussion emphasizing creative process or tools or “industry realities”, these interviews will actually look at musical influences and changes in scoring approach over time. The continuity of composing for media. Following this discussion, the audience will also have chance to participate in a Q & A.

Several people have already volunteered to be guests and all I can say is “thank you!” for your desire to both help the arts and to help expand the perception of what we do as composers. It is my hope that the series will help both help to give a sense to the greater public of the history of what we do (in much the same way that music history classes do for classical composition) while providing a unique perspective to those of us already in the scoring community. Admission should be only a little more than the price of a movie ticket.

2) You can come to one the interviews, lectures or classes. It currently looks like they will be held in North Hollywood and tickets will likely be $15 to $25 depending on the event.

3) You can help us gauge interest in terms of the potential classes and the best schedule (for instance, would weekday evening or weekend evening classes be better?)

Here are some likely candidates (but feel free to suggest your own): - “High Scoring” The History and Culture of Film & VG Scoring - Supporting Your Child’s Creativity - Intro to Photography and Video - Composing and Producing - How To Communicate Better With Your Clients and Customers - Cultivating Creativity - Developing Expertise: The Keys to Learning Effectively

4) We will be launching a YouTube series in conjunction with “High Scoring” and possibly other courses as well. That means if you want to donate time or labor to any of the related areas (recording, filming, editing) it will be greatly appreciated. The more help we get, the more content we can create in a short period of time and the more attention we can bring to our craft.

5) We will need to get word of mouth out! Even if you can’t help directly or attend in person, chances are you know someone that would want to come to the seminars or classes or at least would want to watch the videos.

Anyway, this is something that I’ve been laying the groundwork for a long time and we only recently found a good venue for it. So I hope you’ll support us in making it happen any way that you can. I feel like we can really help make a difference, both for our peers and for the children that will soon be following in our footsteps.

So if you’re interested, please PM me or e-mail me at per@perlichtman.com. Thank you.

http://perlichtman.tumblr.com/post/69311146740/support-the-arts-for-the-price-of-a-movie-ticket

I never saw an exceptionally good artist who didn't have his/her ups & downs

Photography, unlike most other forms of creative expression, is unique in that we can practise it spontaneously. Carrying a camera opens us to changing our plans because the light has changed. It encourages us to think visually.

As @trevmar advised me:

Time to smile again Goanna. You are not doomed. Pick up your cameras, go and take some photos of children enjoying themselves. Then forget those silly doomsayers, and start smiling again... from http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/148503#Comment_148503

[As it happens, I did not have the cholesterol blues at the time, nor am I sure that trevmar was not speaking tongue-in-cheek]..

Still, it was good advice. In fact, carrying my camera is exactly what I've found myself doing more and more. I personally find I tend to plan video shots a little too much (I always shoot series of editable takes), so I cannot be as spontaneous as when I take stills. I find I don't need any ulterior motive or plans to exhibit; more and more I can photograph friends and family without them paying much attention to the lens. My audience for these stills is simply my family and friends, the same as for anybody else.

I live in a place of great natural beauty and get a lot of satisfaction from the effects of sunlight on rocks, translucence through leaves, or sunrises.

So, I'll just echo trevmar's advice and say keep your battery charged, a spare SD and carry a camera - even if it's just a phone.

The Twins Days Festival is an annual gathering of twins and multiples in Twinsburg, Ohio. The Department of Plastic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University obtained comprehensive medical and lifestyle histories of twins by means of questionnaire at the festival between 2007 and 2010. Professional photographers took standardized digital photographs of the participants in outdoor booths with overhead shades

Photographs were size-matched using Mirror software (Canfield Scientific, Inc., Fairfield, N.J.). A panel of three blinded judges (H.C.O., B.A., and K.K.) was trained to evaluate wrinkles using the Lemperle Assessment Scale. Frontal views of each twin set were arranged side by side and randomized by a nonjudge (K.V.) so that the smoker or smoker of longer duration appeared sometimes on the left side and other times on the right.

Zachary Copfer self-coined the above photo as bacteriography. By growing genetically altered bacteria in a petri dish as his photographic film and then exposing parts to UV radiation as his light. Through this method he can literally grow the photograph. Copfer then refrigerates the bacteriograph, uses another blast of radiation treatment to kill any microbes, and then seals it with a layer of acrylic to fix and preserve the image.

more info: http://sciencetothepowerofart.com/

http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastiao_salgado_the_silent_drama_of_photography.html

These 3 pics of the Hermit Thrush were all taken because I was able to haul my GH2 around with the vest. Very pleased with its build quality and adaptability. The pics are converted from the DNG originals. Edited in Camera Raw and exported using PS Elements 11.

I did do a search of the term 'motion detection' but only found one incidence which was a request for it in the coming GH3 hack.

Thanks, Harold House

What my initial primary purpose for getting a flash now is for club photography (such as this kind of style: http://www.snapstarlive.com/events.aspx ), which means challenging lighting conditions (a fast wide prime lens will be my next purchase after this... but one thing at a time!).

I think the most important features I'm looking for is:

a) ability to bounce the flash off the ceiling (essential!)

b) rear curtain sync (essential!)

c) affordable

d) compatible with my Nikon D50 (of course... )

Would be "nice to have":

e) iTTL

f) would also be compatible with the Panasonic GH2 (as I'm going to buy this for taking video next month, or sooner... as soon as I spot a Christmas sale bargain, was very recently going for only US$499 for the kit. I wonder if I might again see this kind of pricing, or better, soon?)

g) fast recycle

h) swivel head

i) has a battery pack option

Suggestions that fit my criteria? (and is there anything else important that I'd use which I'm missing out from this list?)

Am a little lost when looking at flashes for bargains, but it seems these would be good options:

http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Autofocus-Dedicated-Digital-Cameras/dp/B005KA60BS/ (with this too: http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Universal-Diffuser-Olympus-External/dp/B0017U0WM8/ yes? )

Seems to have everything I want (except I can't tell if it would be any use with a Panasonic GH2?), but I'm a little concerned about quality.

From what I've read about Yongnuo (http://stores.ebay.com/hkyongnuophotoequipment/Flash-Speedlite-Unit-/) as a non-Nikon option they seem like a really good choice, I would quite like to consider the Yongnuo 460 (the cheapest), the 560 (cheapest with an option of later getting a battery pack), or the YN-467 (I quite like that it has a reported extremely fast recycling time in the test) if they would work as that would be ideal (or from any other brand at a comparable sub-US$100 price?). However I've read in quite a few places that although the Yongnuo range for Nikon is compatible with Nikon i-TTL cameras it is not however compatible with D100 D50 D2Hs D2X D70 D2H. Hmm... why? Can I still get it for my D50?

http://speedlights.net/2010/09/10/yongnuo-yn-467-speedlite-review/ The YN-467 originally is reported not to work with certain older Nikon DSLRs but the more recently produced YN-467 models are reported to work with the D200, so would it be reasonable to assume it then works too with the comparably aged D50?

This thread mentions the D50 a few times and makes feel optimistic the Yongnuo range can work with my D50: http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157627857970265/ But they're only mentioning the YN565EX (which is almost the most expensive Yongnuo flash), would it be reasonable to assume from that thread the cheaper Yongnuo flashes should also work similarly with the Nikon D50?

Disappointed I didn't have the guts earlier to pull the trigger and buy this when I saw it: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=543490048 As I'm realising now in hindsight that was a really good deal (even though it doesn't have iTTL).

Thanks

This is a test I made today. Taking two scenes shot by my Panasonic GH2, and graded them as cool as I could in Smoke 2012. Pretty happy with the result! This is also a competition where you can download the ungraded files and make your own grade. Read more here about the competition here: http://davidhjlindberg.blogspot.se/2012/11/2-scenes-million-colors.html

Specs when shooting: 1080p, Apo. Boom (Smooth, -2-2-2-2) Zeiss 50mm 1.8

• Adams. 2002. The Negative. The Ansel Adams Photography Series 2.
• Adelman. 2004. The Ultimate Filmmaker’s Guide To Short Films.
• Bernard. 2004. Documentary Storytelling for Video and Filmmakers.
• Block. 2001. The Visual Story: Seeing the Structure of Film, TV, and New Media.
• Cartier-Bresson. 2005. Henri Cartier-Bresson: A Biography.
• Cowgill. 2005. Writing Short Films. 2nd Edition.
• Frost. 1998. The A-Z of Creative Photography. Over 70 Techniques Explained in Full.
• Garis. 2004. The Films of Orson Welles.
• Goodell. 1998. Independent Feature Film Production. A Complete Guide from Concept through Distribution (fully revised and updated).
• Harrington, Carman and Greenberg. 2011. An Editor’s Guide to Adobe Premiere Pro.
• Johnson. 2000. Crafting Short Screenplays that Connect.
• Jolliffe and Jones. 2004. The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook.
• Katz. 1996. Film Directing: Shot by Shot. Visualizing from Concept to Screen.
• Katz. 2004. Film Directing: Cinematic Motion. 2nd Edition.
• Kurosawa. 1982. Akira Kurosawa. Something Like an Autobiography.
• London, Upton, Stone, Kobré and Brill. 2005. Photography Eighth Edition.
• Malkiewicz.1992. Cinematography.
• Osder and Carman. 2008. Final Cut Pro Workflows.
• Prince. 1991. The Warrior’s Camera - The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa. Revised and expanded edition.
• Rabiger. 2004. Directing the Documentary. Fourth Edition.
• Rodriguez. 1995. Rebel Without a Crew.
• Stafford, Hillebrand and Hauschild. 2003. The new Nikon Compendium.
• Tarantino. Pulp Fiction Screen Play.
• Zoellner. 2007. Homade Biography: How to collect, record, and tell the life story of someone you love.

If you need some books or all, please PM me so we can see if we can work something out.

Thanks in advance.