Mackie Images Photography Blog

The Best Sites For Digital Camera Reviews | SLR & Point/Shoot

Mackie Images — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:05:01 +0000

There are literally hundreds of photography websites out there that provide reviews of digital camera gear, latest camera launches, buyers guides, etc etc. But over the years, whenever I want to see what’s new with camera gear, I’ve found myself going back to but a handful. These are sites that focus primarily on photography gear, NOT on photographers, celebrity-type news and how-to guides (although you can find this, especially in the forums.) If you want a list of sites that include say, how to shoot wide-angle landscapes or want to see whose forging ahead in the world of photography, subscribe to my photography blog and I’ll write another post shortly.

For now, here is a list of what I believe are the top-5 photography sites on the web that can really help you research the latest in camera gear. They each approach the industry a little differently. On the other hand,

dpreview.com - DP Review is probably, besides Amazon, the best known site for camera news & reviews. There’s a lot going on here, which can be both good and bad.
fredmiranda.com – Fred Miranda tends to focus more on the serious photographer. That being said, it has some great lens and camera reviews, and, something that is pretty hard to find anywhere, a solid listing of camera tripod reviews
steves-digicams.com – I haven’t been hear in a little while, and it looks like the site just went through a re-design. Regardless, I’ve enjoyed browsing the site in the past and it’s worth a look
kenrockwell.com – Ken Rockwell’s site is both informative and entertaining. His piece on camera resolution …”Resolution, expressed in megapixels, is no longer relevant. Forget it when comparing cameras.” is worth the visit alone.
amazon.com – Amazon is obviously very “corporate” but because of it’s vast reach and huge list of products, you can typically find at least a couple reviews on the digital camera you’re looking at.

Are there photography sites out there you like to visit? If so, let me know.

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Photo Greeting Cards Coming Soon

Mackie Images — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:35:32 +0000

I’m working on some final touches for a group of fine art photo cards and christmas cards boxed in groups of 4 & 12 that will be offered for the holidays (and beyond.) Themes will include some local favorites, such as Mount Rainier photos & classic Pacific Northwest images as well as general landscape/scenic images and adventure photos from around the US and world.

A few examples of what may be coming…(can you guess the theme?)

I will consider custom greeting cards as well, so if you see an image(s) that you would like a set of cards based on, email me.

All cards will be printed on Greenpix 100% recycled photo paper using archival inks. There will also be the option of purchasing a matte so the card can be framed.

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Recent Adventure Photography: Fall Mountain Bike Photos

Mackie Images — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:11:40 +0000

I miss fall in New England. There’s a reason so many make their way to Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts to experience the kaleidoscope of colors that blanket the rolling hills and quaint towns. But thankfully, here in the pacific northwest, we too can experience the magic of fall. And I suppose it could be argued, in some ways, the shift in seasons is a bit more diverse here, as fresh snow coats the higher elevations, larch trees pop with color and maples burn green, red and orange.

Over the past two weekends I’ve made a concerted effort to pull out the mountain bike, the camera gear and head for the high hills. I didn’t necessarily find exactly what I was looking for in terms of color, but I found plenty of high-mountain solitude, felt the the coolness of the years first snowflakes on my cheek, and realized that the pacific northwest, although not New England, serves up fall serenity that is truly difficult to beat.

Below are some mountain bike photos from three different trails, 4th of July/Icicle Ridge in Leavenworth, Red Devil/Devils Gulch outside of Leavenworth, and the Dungeness/Gold Creek loop on the border of Olympic National Park.

I didn’t have a lot of time to begin with, so before even hopping on my bike, I was a bit apprehensive about whether I would even finish the hike-a-bike up 4th of July trail to Icicle Ridge and get back to the car by dark. I managed to get back to the car, as the last minutes of light faded away. It was a beautiful ride. I felt the seasons first snow flakes, inhaled the cool, crisp air at 6000 ft and peaked deep into the Cascade Range, with tainted views of Mount Stuart.

The next day I met up some friends for a classic NW ride up Red Devils | Devils Gulch. Further east we expected dryer conditions. The trail was in perfect shape, until the top, where a couples inches of fresh snow coated the trail. It was great.

Last on the list of fall rides was a loop on the border of Olympic National Park. The Dungeness River Trail/Gold Creek Loop is probably one of the better loops near the park, offering inspiring views of the Olympic mountains, deep solitude (the kind where you really don’t want to get hurt…help is far off), near-perfect NW singletrack and the chance to catch a glimpse of wild salmon spawning up Gold Creek.

Fall in the NW is hard to beat. But the reality is, winter is coming. Time to wax the skis and start looking forward to some backcountry skiing photos

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Why You Should Always Shoot in RAW

Mackie Images — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:13:41 +0000

In a perfect world we photographers would always have perfect light. The world isn’t perfect. And so occasionally there are going to be times when you simply can’t do anything to improve the (light) situation…so you just need to shoot and hope for the best. This is often the case if you’re outdoors, on a trip with a group of friends, none of whom want to stop because the trails are perfect or the snow is too deep. It’s RAW to the rescue.

Below is a before and after of a snapshot I took while mountain biking in the Cascades with a group of friends. I came around the corner, a bit distracted by the narrow single-track and a glimpse of the majestic Mt Rainier. But instantly I knew I had a shot…if I could get out the camera before the rest of the crew came careening past.

I had literally a minute or two to prepare for the shot, which required some fancy footwork on a 75 degree talus slope. Despite having a polarizer filter on my 17-85 IS lens, the light sucked and there was really nothing I could do. Thankfully, I shot the image in RAW, because with a tiny bit of work in Lightroom I was able to bring back enough of the detail of Mt Rainier to make a sharp 8×10 print.

The moral of the story? RAW rules.

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Travel and Photography: A Taste of SE Asia

Mackie Images — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:07:36 +0000

The itinerary:

Seattle > San Francisco > Kauai > Vietnam > Laos > Thailand > Vietnam > San Francisco > Seattle

A sample of photos:

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Photography Taking Tips: The Star Effect

Mackie Images — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:51:55 +0000

You’ve seen it many times before, in magazines, calendars and postcards. A surreal-looking sun sinking below the horizon or sliding behind a mountain peak, streaks of light emanating from the center. Last time I checked, I didn’t think those streaks were natural, so how did the photographer do this?

You might be thinking a fancy filter is required to get this effect, and yes, there are actual star filters you can buy. You could also use Photoshop with similar results. But why bother, when all you really need to do is adjust the aperture setting on your camera.

Photo stats: f/20, ISO 200, 1/250 sec

First, a quick definition of aperture:

The aperture of a lens is the diameter of the lens opening and is usually controlled by an iris. The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film / image sensor.Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F2.8 or f/2.8. The smaller the F-stop number (or f/value), the larger the lens opening (aperture).

You can read more about aperture HERE

The secret to getting the star effect is to adjust your aperture to the largest F-stop possible. In the case of the backcountry skiing photo above, I shot this at F/20. The sea kayaking picture below was shot at F/16. I wouldn’t go much lower than f/16 or the star effect begins to fade. f/18 – f/22 seems to work best. (Although you will continue to get the effect above f/22, generally speaking, the quality of the image will begin to deteriorate.)

This sea kayaking photo was shot at f/16, ISO 200 1/320 sec

If you have a digital point & shoot camera, attaining the star effect may be a challenge as most P&S cameras don’t allow you to adjust the aperture to the necessary level.

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Image SEO, Social Media Marketing & More

Mackie Images — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:21:08 +0000

Mackie Images is now offering a unique service for all professional photographers – image seo, local search marketing (listen up wedding photographers) and social media strategy.

More coming shortly…but in the meantime, see what I’m offering HERE

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Cooliris – Changing The Way We View Photos & Media On The Web

Mackie Images — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:11:23 +0000

As a photographer, I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to improve how my images are displayed on the web. Think about it, have you ever come across this amazing gallery of images but been slightly turned off by the fact that you could only view small thumbnails? Conversely, you may stumble onto some average-looking photos that are displayed in a way that really brings them to life on the screen. What’s a photographer to do? What’s an artist to do? (Wait, aren’t they one and the same?!?!)

It may not be the end-all-be-all, but a company has stepped up to the plate – Cooliris | Discover More – and I think they are doing a pretty damn good job at improving how we view media on the web.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel

Cooliris isn’t perfect. Images can appear grainy if the original copies (of the images) on the website you are viewing are smaller than how Cooliris displays them. Which brings up a point. The viewing screen doesn’t just happen…you have to download and install the Cooliris plug-in. Once it’s installed though, viewing images using this “player” is super easy, as every image you see online will contain a small box with an arrow in the bottom left corner. Click it and your screen comes alive. Say for example, a friend forwards you a link to some recent mountain bike photos on Picasa or Shutterfly. Instead of scrolling through each one (which we all know is super fun!) or watching a slideshow, Cooliris allows you to view all photos much faster. Sure, you can view them as a slideshow, but by simply dragging across the screen, you can scan images super quick.

I recently opted in as a beta tester for future versions, so once I play around with it a bit more I’ll let you know how it works. I’ve yet to use Cooliris for anything other than viewing images, but it should be noted that you can view video, TV clips and other media as well.

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Blinded By The Light: 5 Sites For Learning Adobe Lightroom Fast

Mackie Images — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:02:48 +0000

I’ve been a Photoshop user since I picked up my first digital SLR many many years ago. Recently though, I made the switch to Adobe’s Lightroom software to manage my image workflow. So far I really like it, but there is a lot to learn, and learning takes time. In an effort to help others learn and use Lightroom more efficiently, I’ve put together a short list of some of the best Lightroom sites I’ve come across.

http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/

http://lightroom-news.com/

http://inside-lightroom.com/

http://www.layersmagazine.com/

http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom2/

If you know of others, please pass them on.

Next post…Adobe Lightroom plug-ins…how you can take Lightroom even further. Subscribe NOW

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When Was Your Last Haircut?

Mackie Images — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:27:20 +0000

Things work differently in Saigon, Vietnam. Think he has a license?

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