Monthly Archives: June 2011

Gear News

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Michael Willems

OK, OK, I bought a Fuji X100 point-and-shoot. If you have not heard about this camera, you should: it looks like an old Leica, and in many ways works like one, including fabulous build quality, excellent image quality and quiet … Continue reading →

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Chipping away…

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Michael Willems

Let us continue to chip away at learning flash. Today, more background information. A quick note now on how Canon and Nikon, the two brand leaders, handle exposure differently. (Others follow either Canon or Nikon). What shutter speeds are allowed … Continue reading →

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Polarize it.. don’t criticize it.

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Michael Willems

Look at this shot of this morning: And now look at this: Look at the sky, and the cloud. More saturation on the blue. More separation between cloud and sky. More definition in the tree. Because for the second shot … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear | Tagged | 6 Comments

Cave Cardem

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Michael Willems

OK, that is rather a lame wordplay on the Latin “Cave Canem”, which means “beware of the dog”. So I mean “beware of the (wrong) memory cards”. How so? Bit of background. I always use only Sandisk or Lexar cards … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear | Tagged | 7 Comments

Exposure metering basics

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Michael Willems

In the continuing series on flash and its complexities that I started yesterday, time for the next basic subject. And that is “metering” and “exposure compensation” while not using a flash. (Yes, to understand flash you need to first understand … Continue reading →

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Posted in Learning, Light | Tagged | 1 Comment

1,001 flashes

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Michael Willems

My 1,001th post is once again about speedlights – appropriately, you might say. Yesterday and today, I shot outdoors, with my Canon cameras – and with my second shooter who shoots Nikon. A wedding Saturday and soccer kids Sunday. And … Continue reading →

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One Thousand

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Michael Willems

This is my one thousandth post here in speedlighter.ca! Tonight, I and my second shooter shot a wedding. We came back with nice shots like this: And this next one, inspired by Mel. Remember, as I have said here many … Continue reading →

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Posted in Picture of the day | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Take your flash off camera

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Michael Willems

The best way to improve your flash images is to take your flash off the camera. As I did here in last night’s Mastering Flash class: You see, that is direct flash – unmodified. Off-camera, using remote TTL (or I … Continue reading →

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Not the obvious

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Michael Willems

“Hold your glasses”, I asked the two ladies at the corporate event I shot yesterday, as I aimed my 1D Mark IV at them. It took a bit of persuading, because they were surprised to find out I wanted to … Continue reading →

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No bounce?

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Michael Willems

What if you shoot an event in a dark room? First, set your ISO-Aperture-Shutter combination to something you desire – in my case that is -2 stops metered w.r.t. ambient. E.g. 1/30th second, f/4. and 800 ISO in a dark, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments