One Man's Blog » Photography

Review: Benro Travel Angel Tripod – The 13.1″ Wonder!

John P. — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:50:15 +0000

I purchased the BENRO TRAB069 Travel Angel TRAB a couple of months ago, and all in all I highly recommend the little tripod.

This Travel Angel tripod features individual leg angle adjustments, anti-rotation leg design, a reversible center column with spring loaded weight hook, anti dust and moisture rubber leg lock grips, and reversible 1/4″-20 to 3/8″ mounting threads. It has 5 leg sections and a maximum height of 54.3″ with a normal height of 47.8″ with the legs fully extended.

However, what makes it so special is that the folded height is a tiny 13.1″ while still maintaining a load capacity of 13.2 pounds! This makes it one of the most compact travel tripods around, while still being professional grade. Oh, and at just over $210, it competes with the Gitzo GT1541T Series 1 6X 4S G-Lock Traveler which is much bigger and costs $535!

Video Demonstration

Here is a little video that demonstrates the versatility and operation of this tripod.

The Link on Amazon

With any luck, the link below should show you the current price and stuff on Amazon. Let me know if it’s broken.

My Experience

I highly recommend this tripod. It feels solid and sturdy, though when fully extended I recommend weighing it down a bit with the included hook to keep the tripod steady. It’s very, very light and comes with a nice carry case. In fact, it’s so light that I actually left one in a cab because I forgot I had it with me! Don’t make the same mistake!

The legs fold up easily, and to extend them you simply twist the rubber joints to lock and unlock them. Operation is simple, and should be usable even for people with weaker grips or arthritis who might otherwise have difficulty with latches on cheaper tripods.

I also recommend a simple modification to it as well. You see my other tripods, my new monopod, and most importantly the heads for my tripods are all Manfrottos. More specifically, the heads for my Manfrotto tripods all have a very specific quick connect called the RC2 Rapid Connect Mounting Plate. This is very important.

Now, the Benro comes with it’s own little ball head (someone please let me know if you figure out how to buy these specific legs without the head!!!!), but it uses a completely different quick connect plate. That means that you have to continually be changing the quick connect on your camera to move between the travel tripod and the larger studio tripod you might have for non-travel use.

To make matters worse, unlike the Manfrotto RC2’s finger tightening grip, the Benro plate requires an allen wrench to install or remove (someone please shoot the engineer responsible). This is a major pain in the ass for traveling!

The Recommendations

So, the bottom line is that I recommend that you switch the head out for one that will match whatever your main tripod is. If you don’t have another tripod, but you want to future proof yourself, or if you just want the quick disconnect feature so you can interchange cameras, camcorders, etc from the tripod, I recommend one of these options to you. Also, remember that when you are not traveling you can move any of these heads to another tripod or monopod.

Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect System – ~$60. This compact yet sturdy ball head allows you to rotate, swivel and position your camera at any angle you want, then lock it in with a simple twist of a knob. It’s small, light and the least expensive high quality ball head you should consider. Plus it uses the RC2 plate.
Manfrotto 488RC2 Midi Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect System (3157N) – ~$90. This is like the head above, except that it has an additional knob which controls side to side rotation. This is great when you want to mount the camera and then be able to pan from side to side. Without this adjustment you simply can’t do that, so I recommend you spend the extra $30 or whatever and get this one.
Manfrotto 700RC2 Mini Video Head w/RC2 Rapid Connect Plate – $85. This is your standard traditional video recording head. It has a nice long arm and smooth action for swiveling and panning to follow the action. It can also be locked in place for still photography. It’s by far the most versatile of these heads, but the biggest and heaviest too. It’s not practical to take this with a tiny travel tripod unless you are looking to do video. But if so, it will work just fine.
Manfrotto 322RC2 Horizontal Grip Action Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect Plate (3157N) – $120. This is a ball head with a big grip that makes it easier to tighten and release the angle, but also allows you to use the grip a bit like the handle on a traditional head like the one above. However, this grip is primary meant to be stationary, so you can’t really use it with a camcorder for panning and stuff. It’s designed to unlock, position, an lock.

The Head Images

The Best Christmas Lights… Ever

John P. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:28:06 +0000

Colby Jones sent me the following image. After taking a close look at the home on the right I decided that I’m definitely going to be decorating my house the same way this holiday season.

My New Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod Setup

John P. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:37:31 +0000

I’ve got some really great photography gear, but I’ve decided that my hand-held shooting, even with a shoulder-pod and an image stabilized lens, is disappointing. I just can’t get the razor sharp images I want.

At the same time, I rarely have time to set up a tripod, even if I’m carrying my tiny little 2.5 pound Benro Travel Angel. So, I’m adding a Monopod setup to my photography arsenal. And the monopod setup I’ve chosen was recommended by professional photographer Yuri Arcurs (the world’s top selling stock photographer). The video that convinced me is below.

The main reason I am going with the Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod he recommends is because it’s the only one with a quick extension system. Watch and learn…

The Parts

Heres everything you need to duplicate the setup demonstrated in the video:

Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod Deluxe with Safety Lock

This monopod is actually pretty long, which I consider the major downfall. It’s 30″ long when closed, so at 2.5′ it’s not going to fit in any backpacks or carry on bags. This means I’ll be carrying it from start to finish on every trip. I hope it is worth it!

Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect System

Personally, I’m going with the Manfrotto 488RC2 Midi Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect System (3157N) which is just slightly larger, but has two controls on it. One for rotation, and the other for the ball movement. This is totally unnecessary for a monopod, but I’ll use the head on a tripod as well, so I’m killing two birds with one stone.

Custom Brackets Digital PRO M Rotating Camera Bracket Kit

You’ll notice that this rotating camera kit costs more than both of the other pieces combined. It’s a serious piece of professional gear, and personally I’m going to hold off on this one for now. The benefit of being able to quickly swap from landscape to portrait mode is very useful when you need to quickly change with precision. But at this point I don’t need that. I may invest in it later when I start shooting models or something like that.

The Alternatives

If you’re thinking that is just too much of a setup and would like to start with something more economical, smaller, and simpler, then I recommend you take a look at the Benro monopods.

I really like the 1.2 pound Benro MC-91M8 Carbon Monopod which currently goes for about $130, but you can also do the 2 pound Benro MP-98M8 ALUMINUM MONOPOD for only about $85.

They both have built in feet which allow you to turn them into mini tripods if you need to. They can also be extremely useful when combined with a remote flash (i.e.- use them as an off camera flash stand in conjunction with a Pocket Wizard). Here’s a one minute to demonstrate:

Corrupting the Youth

John P. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:06:19 +0000

You know, people often tell me that I’m a terrible influence, and frequently warn me when I’m around the kiddos to watch my mouth. But I’ll have you know that I had nothing to do with supplying this kiddo with booze and smokes!

250 Photos From the Lingerie Football League!!!

John P. — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:24:00 +0000

On Friday night my friend Mark Ramsey took me out to watch the Dallas Desire take on the Los Angeles Temptation. You might be saying, “the WHO take on the WHAT”? Yeah, I know. And no this is not a joke – those are two of the teams that make up the Lingerie Football League!

And believe me, the teams were named appropriately! Good lord! Let me see if I can describe to you what we experienced, even though who am I kidding… by now you are probably already staring at the photos below! (All taken on my Canon 5D Mark II with the 70-200mm 2.8L lens attached by the way…)

Anyway, Mark and I went out to the game, which started at 9pm on a very chilly Dallas evening. It was 50 degrees outside and windy. Those of us on the sidelines were wearing jackets, pants, etc. and were still cold. But out on the field, there were about 20 ladies wearing nothing but “uniforms” the size of bikinis and shoulderpads. And, it was obvious that they were cold…

Anyway, as soon as the game got underway, two things became clear:

The chicks were smokin hot! And I’m pretty sure the fact that they were playing football contributed to the sex appeal, because it’s like most men’s dream come true. A girl who loves football!
These ladies are tough! This was absolutely full contact football, and none of them was afraid to tackle or be taken down. They were in it to actually win the game, not just stand there and look good.

I will warn you that if you look hard enough at the photos I’ve posted, there are a few which captured an unintentional “wardrobe malfunction” that one of the girls had after scoring a touchdown. I had no idea I photographed that because it was across the field from me at the time, but such is the power of long zoom lenses combined with 21 Megapixel camera technology.

You can see all of the images and get the full resolution versions on my Lingerie Football League collection on Flickr.

Photos from the BlogWorld/WordCamp LV 2009 Photowalk

John P. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:22:26 +0000

For those of you who didn’t get to join us on the BlogWorld 2009 Photowalk in Las Vegas, I’m embedding a photo slideshow here so that you can see all the pictures from the group that accompanied me on the walk.

We had a great time, and thanks to all who joined in!

If you’d like the higher resolution versions of the images just head over to the Flicker group.

Tutorial: Expodisc and Custom White Balance for Digital Cameras

John P. — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:05:46 +0000

Folks, one of the most important aspects of digital photography is making sure that the color on your photos is accurate. And absolutely the only way to ensure this is to take control of your camera’s white balance setting at all times. This is something that you can do by shooting a grey card (like this Ezybalance Card (Grey/White)), or you can use a fantastic tool called an ExpoDisc (make sure and get the size equal to your largest lens diameter).

Let me illustrate the point very quickly with a couple of sample images.

This first image comes straight out of the Canon 5D Mark II with a Canon 70-200mm lens. This is a $5,000 camera setup, and the camera was set on “Auto White Balance”. Basically, what I’m telling you is that your camera is definitely no better at auto white balance than this rig.

Now, if you ask me, that is a nice photo. The colors don’t look so bad, and I kind of like how the columns are a bit “rich” in color. All in all, no one would be complaining. Until they see what the image should have looked like…

Here is the same shot taken with a custom white balance set using an Expodisc:

Wow. All of a sudden, the sky looks bluer, the leaves look greener, and the stone looks… stoner? Anyway, hopefully this dramatically illustrates the point. Just imagine what happens when you take a photo of an actual person! Instead of them having a yellowish or reddish tint to their skin, you get an actual skin tone! Amazing.

So, I recommend that everyone pick up an expodisc for your photography. As long as your camera allows you to set a custom white balance, you should do it. And if your camera doesn’t – its a piece of crap and you should replace it with one that does!

Here is a little video that illustrates how to use an expodisc on a Canon. You can also see how to do it on a Nikon.

If you are not going to get an expodisc, then you should watch this video to see what your alternatives are for setting a custom white balance.

Photo: Navagio Beach on Zakynthos, Greece – Simply Stunning!

John P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:11:46 +0000

Sometimes people ask me about what it’s like to visit Greece. And I tell them that there is really no place like it. From the crazy metropolis of Athens to the volcanic island of Santorini, it’s unique in every way. And if that isn’t enough, you’ll constantly discover gems like this one…

On the Island of Zakynthos you’ll find one of the most famous beaches in Greece. Navagio Beach, or the Shipwreck, is notable because it is home to the wreck of the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis; thus, it is often referred to as ‘Smugglers Cove’. If you are going to try and find it, here are the coordinates: 37°51′28″N 20°37′36″E / 37.85778°N 20.62667°E / 37.85778; 20.62667.

In case you are interested in exploring the island visually, here is the Google Map to help you along.

View Larger Map

Just click and zoom in on the location marked A on the left side and you’ll be staring at the beach.

Incidentally, thanks to Rob Wallace. for the beautiful photo!

BlogWorld & WordCamp Las Vegas Photowalk – 7pm Saturday Oct 17, 2009

John P. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:52:55 +0000

Well, since I’ll be attending and speaking at BlogWorld / WordCamp in a couple of weeks in Las Vegas I thought it might be fun to organize a photowalk if anyone is interested in a get together and an evening of exploration and fun. You see, I’m a semi-professional photographer, and an amateur tattoo artist… (think Talledega Nights people.)

If you’ve never been on a photowalk before, essentially what we are going to do is all meet at one place and then walk around Las Vegas seeing the sights, talking, taking photos, and perhaps grabbing a beer here or there. Also, I’m going to take you off the strip, so you’ll see things that most people never do when they come to Vegas.

Now, there are a few good reasons to participate in an event like this:

I have been to Vegas more times than I can count. I’ve taken hundreds and hundreds of photos of the city, and I’ll take you right to where you can get some great ones.
Wandering around after dark by yourself might be a little scary for some people, so a group event is safer and more fun.
If you love taking photos, then you’ll love Vegas at night. There is simply not a better spot for night photography.
And finally, if you would like some tips and tricks, I’ll be happy to provide some instruction for anyone who needs it along the way.

As far as the details are concerned, here is what I’m thinking…

The Details

We will meet up to head out at 7pm at the Monorail station just outside the Convention Center. Don’t worry, you can not miss it. You can see it from the front door of the building, and since we’ll all be there for Blog World it’s a nice central location. Feel free to follow me on Twitter (@johnpoz) for updates as we go.

From there, we’ll take the monorail down to the Sahara, which is the last stop on the line. We’ll wander through the Sahara and walk on down to the Stratosphere. Along the way will be some fantastic spots for photo opportunities, and this time of evening will be the “golden hour” of sunlight. It’s the best possible time of the day for shots.

When we get to Stratosphere, we’ll stop off at Roxy’s for dinner. This is an old diner style restaurant where the wait staff sings to the customers. A good time will be had by all, I’m certain!

After we’ve had our fill, we will catch cabs and head down to Fremont Street. This is “old” Las Vegas at it’s finest and home to the Fremont Street Experience. If you’ve never been, here is a preview of what you can expect to see. You do NOT want to miss this on your trip to Vegas.

In addition to seeing the incredible laser and light show, I’ll show you around the casinos, the old Neon signs, and we’ll probably even end up at a little pub to wind up the evening with a celebratory beer. I know Aaron Brazell would go for that if he joins in!

I anticipate that we’ll wrap things up by 11pm, and coincidentally this means that anyone who wants to stick around and do a little gambling could head into the Fremont Street casinos where the odds are decidedly more in your favor than over on the strip at the big hotels.

What You Need

Really, the only things you need to bring are:

Some comfortable shoes and the ability to do a little leisurely walking.
About $30 to cover the monorail ($5 each way), taxi ($12 each way divide by the number of people sharing), and snacks, etc.
The desire to hang out and have fun with some fellow bloggers! You’ll probably even pick up some material for your blog!

Other things you may want to bring:

A camera. But this is not necessary! Just join in if you aren’t a photo buff! It’s like a walking party.
A tripod. After the sun goes down you will want to disable your flash and use a long exposure. A tripod is a must, even if it’s just a Mini Tripod. Trust me, I’ll teach you how to do it!
A jacket. I know its the desert, but it can get a little chilly in the evening after the sun goes down and the breeze picks up.

Who’s Coming?

So, here are the folks that have confirmed that they will be joining in. Drop a comment if you’re going to be there and I’ll add you to the list, then be looking forward to meeting everyone!

PS.

I also learned that Victor Cajiao is holding a completely different photowalk on Thursday evening over on the Strip, beginning in front of the Bellagio at 10pm. Unfortunately I won’t be in town until Friday morning so I’ll miss it. But if you were to go with Victor on Thursday and with us on Saturday you’ll come away with a well rounded view of Las Vegas and a ton of photos that you’ll never forget!

My “Top 5″ Photoshop World Photo (Shown During the Keynote!)

John P. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:47:19 +0000

For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, I’m at Photoshop World in Las Vegas this week learning as much as I possibly can. On Tuesday I was in an all day seminar, put on by Canon and taught by Eddie Tapp and Jack Reznicki, in which we studied lighting and composition theory, actually had a photo shoot with real models, and then came back to the classroom for editing and retouching instruction.

Being completely new to portrait photography, this was a day of firsts for me. I had never worked with remote strobes before (fixed lights that act like flashes which are triggered wirelessly), I had never worked with a professional model, and I had never edited a portrait in photoshop.

Having said all that, I was extremely delighted and honored tonight when I found out from one of my fellow attendees that my image had made it into the Top 5 this morning during the keynote speech to kick off the Photoshop World convention (which I missed from being up too late working on Woopra last night).

After presenting the photos they had the crowd vote by clapping, and I’m told it was actually a pretty close call. I didn’t win, but heck – I’m honored just to have been nominated!

Anyway, here is my top 5 finishing photograph. My models name was Lynn, but unfortunately I don’t know her last name or how to give her credit. Nonetheless she was very pleasant to work with and it was a long hard day for her and the other models because there were about 50 of us photographing them for hours non-stop.

You can select this image to view progressively larger versions.

This image was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 70-200mm IS 2.8 lens. I used a custom white balance thanks to my trusty expodisc, and the model was staring up into a single whitebox with a strobe in it triggered by a pocket wizard. I edited the image fairly aggressively in Photoshop.

The Photos That Got Me Banned From Excalibur Las Vegas (You Know, ‘Homeland Security’!)

John P. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:24:47 +0000

As I mentioned in my blog post yesterday, this week is the Photoshop World convention in Las Vegas and I’m here for a week of fun and learning! But after only a few hours in town, I’ve already got a whopper of a story to tell! Screw the whole “what happens in Vegas…” crap.

So Photoshop World is at the Mandalay Bay and thousands of photographers will be converging there from all over the world. In fact they’re sold out. So I had to stay next door at Luxor.

Well, I checked in and dropped off my stuff in my room, then grabbed my camera to go walk and take some photos on the strip. Of course, the Excalibur is the first hotel on the way down the strip, and I’ve taken photos of it literally every time I’ve been in Las Vegas. But this time I took some photos OUTSIDE the hotel, and as I was going to walk through the hotel to get something to eat, a security guard stopped me before I could enter.

He wanted to know my name, where I was staying, and my room number! He told me it was because I was taking photos of the outside of the building! And claimed it was for “homeland security”.

As you might imaging, I thought this was absurd and appalling. But I figured, what the hell… if they don’t want my money!

By this time there were no fewer than 4 “security guards” right on top of me, attempting to intimidate me. Meanwhile, I’m trying to peacefully leave the property, but they keep harassing me. If that’s not bad enough, one little guy starts following me, and begins reading to me from a card!

Yep, you guessed it! He gave me a “do not trespass” and told me he’ll have me arrested if I come back on their property! :-)

Oh, I should mention that other people were of course taking photos of the hotel at the same time. As I’m sure millions of people have.

What I find most interesting is, how are they going to deal with the hoards of Photoshop attendees? I even tried explaining it to them, but they were not interested in listening. So, officially I’m never allowed in that property again because I took the following 13 photos of it from the outside while walking by! I figure that makes these the most dangerous and valuable photos on Earth!

Now, if there is any good news, it’s that when I got back to the Luxor in the evening I went down to the front desk to address the issue. After talking to the service manager, he called over the security manager. After talking to the security manager, he thought it was ridiculous and he called the Excalibur security manager (thanks for the help Kevin!). We both met the Exclibur manger in a neutral walkway that connects the two casinos.

After telling the story again, Excalibur’s security manager also couldn’t believe it. He was very apologetic and asked if I would come over and write a statement for him so that he could address it with the people on the other shift (thanks Michael!), which I did.

As of this moment, I’m still banned, and will not ever set foot in Excalibur, Luxor or Mandalay Bay after this trip. However, I’ve given them all of my information so we’ll see if they contact me as I’ve requested. I asked for a written apology that specifically states that I am NOT banned from the property. Otherwise I will not risk being thrown in jail.

I will tell you, it was one of the most insulting things ever in my life. Being treated like a bloody criminal for taking a few photos, which is standard practice for anyone in Vegas, simply sucks. That doesn’t take into account the anger, or all my wasted time trying to later resolve the matter. There is nothing they can do to make it up to me, so now I’m going to tell this story every chance I get to as many people as possible. And I think you should too!

Lightning Storm Over Frisco, Texas

John P. — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:28:14 +0000

Tonight we had another massive lightning storm. We got a lot of these here in Texas, and I was workin it with my camera this evening. I stayed out capturing these photos until the lightning was within about a mile or two of me. The sound was deafening! I literally had to put ear plugs in because it was painful. My wife thought I was crazy too. ;-)

The full sized versions of these photos can be found on my Flickr account, or a smaller album is also on Facebook depending on your preference.

And here is a 2 minute video of the actual storm that these photos came from.

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers Game Photos From Cowboy Stadium

John P. — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:11:27 +0000

Yesterday I went to the pre-season Cowboy’s game and watched them lose in the last few seconds to the 49ers. It was miserable. But at least I got some decent photos while at the game!

That’s right, Jerry Jones has decided to allow people to bring their cameras to the game! So I marched right on in with my big ass Canon 5d Mark II with the huge 70-200mm lens on it for good measure. It was fantastic! And it allowed me to get most of the shots you’ll see here below. Though a few were taken with the 50mm prime and a few with the 15mm fisheye.

Hope you enjoy them. And I’m embedding a Flickr slideshow in the site here for the first time instead of uploading all the images. This is experimental for me, so you guys let me know if you like this better, or not so much as when I put all the images here.

Los Angeles Fires Raging Uncontrollably

John P. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:36:37 +0000

The fires in LA are seriously out of control. If you have any doubt, here is a very impressive time-lapse video that Brandon Riza shot, with his Canon 5D Mark II I might add.

First of all, the fires are very scary, and I feel bad for the folks in California right now. I hope none of you guys are being affected, but I’m sure a few of you are, so my heart goes out to you. Secondly, it goes to prove how little control we have over our environment. After thousands of years, and with all the technology we possess, mankind still lacks the ability to put out a forest fire.

Sad.

By the way, I have a whole bunch more Time Lapse (also called Stop Motion) videos for those of you who like this sort of thing.

Photos and Videos from the Sir Paul McCartney Concert in Dallas

John P. — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:57:07 +0000

Yesterday Cali and Neal took us to see Paul McCartney, because they are so nice! And it was a fantastic show. Sir Paul did a great job, and his band was excellent too. It’s amazing that a guy in his late 60’s has the energy to get up there and rock for a few hours. Though I’m sure he was making a MINT to do so! hehehe

Anyway, what we have here are a bunch of photos captured yet again with my little pocket Panasonic DMC-LX3 camera. It performed fantastically given that we were in row 39 and the lighting was very difficult for any camera, much less one I smuggled in my a pocket.

The Paul McCartney Concert Videos

Here are a couple of songs that Cali recorded on her Nokia N97 phone using the live streaming service Qik. She was uploading them during the concert when I turned off her phone accidentally. Luckily they were not lost!

Songs: Give Peace a Chance, Let It Be

Songs: Live and Let Die, Hey Jude

After she got those, she grabbed a couple with my Casio EX-FC100 in higher resolution.

Day Tripper and Lady Madonna

And in case you want to see what Lady Madonna used to look like when he performed it three decades ago here goes:

The Photographs

Well, here you go. A bunch of photos – despite the camera Nazis at the concert who kept telling people to stop taking pictures. Question: When in the hell are concert promoters going to stop this bullshit and start letting people take their big cameras and actually use them? If I were a singer I would WANT a billion high quality pictures of me flooding Flickr and the Internet tubes. Dumbasses. Anyway, on to the pics!

Full sized versions of these photos are, yet again, in one of my Flickr sets. Enjoy.

Photos From the Magnificent Island of Santorini, Greece

John P. — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:47:50 +0000

Three years ago on my old blog I wrote about our vacation to the Island of Santorini in Greece and posted quite a few photos. As I look back and review them, I still love those pictures. However, since I’ve been practicing with Photoshop lately I decided to go back and grab some of those old photos and see what I could do to enhance them a bit.

The only problem is that I shot all of these in JPG originally and not RAW. This limits my ability to do some additional editing, but still, I think the results speak for themselves.

Oh, and for the record, these photos are specifically from the town of Oia (pronounced “E-uh”) on Santorini. The famous Oia sunset, considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the world, keeps tourists flocking to the island of Santorini, waiting for the moment when the sun slips down on the calm sea of the caldera. It is truly one of the most magnificent sites on Earth.

Yet again, the full size versions are also over on my Flickr photo gallery. Enjoy!

87 Photos From My Las Vegas Vacation

John P. — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:54:15 +0000

As anyone who has been following me on Twitter knows, I’ve been in Vegas for the last 4 days on vacation. I’m heading back home this morning, but figured that I would share a few of my photos from the trip in case anyone cares to gaze upon them. Hopefully at least a few are amusing.

The interesting thing about this trip is that I did not take my big Canon 5D. Instead, I took only my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Its a 10.1 MP Digital Camera with an amazing f2.0-2.8 2.5x wide angle, Optical Image Stabilized Leica lens. The lens is the equivalent of a 24-60mm in a full sensor SLR.

This little camera is pricey, but I remain extremely, extremely impressed. I almost never used the flash, but the camera handled the very low light, high contrast scenes better than I ever dreamed a camera that could fit in a pocket would! I highly recommend it for those with the means. There is also a full Leica branded twin of this camera (the Leica D-Lux 4) which will cost a little more for the Leica badge, but render essentially the exact same imagery. Get either camera. You won’t regret it.

Now, on to the pictures!

The full sized photos are available on my Flickr pages for those who are interested.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium – A Complete Photo and Video Review

John P. — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:52:11 +0000

Thanks to my brother-in-law Jason, I had the opportunity to go over to the new Cowboy’s Stadium in Arlington, TX for the season ticket holder’s open house.

For those of you who don’t know, the 3 million-square-foot stadium has an approximate capacity of up to 100,000 fans. As the largest NFL venue ever built, the new stadium boasts the most spectacular column-free room in the world, stretching a quarter-mile in length.

While I was there, I took the opportunity to take a whole boatload of photographs, and even some video – which they would never let you get away with normally. In addition, Cali and Neal came with me and put together the following show on GeekBrief.TV with some of the video segments.

The Video

The Photos

Full resolution versions of all of these photos are available in my Cowboys Stadium Flickr set as well.

Building Facts and Features

Designed to be open or closed, depending on weather conditions, the expansive retractable roof is the largest of its kind in the world and measures approximately 660,800 square feet. When closed, the roof encompasses 104 million cubic feet of volume, making it the largest enclosed NFL stadium in the world. The retractable roof is designed specifically to emulate the
current Texas Stadium opening which is recognized around the world and allow views inward and outward. Each panel can open or close in 12 minutes. From directly above, the entire playing ﬁeld can be seen and the opening itself is visible from an elevation of ﬁve miles.

The stadium features two monumental arches, soaring 292 feet above the playing ﬁeld, which support a retract- able roof. As the longest single span roof structure in the world, each boxed arch is 35 feet deep by 17 feet wide. Weighing 3,255 tons each, these impressive structures span 1,225 feet in length. The arches form a striking silhouette on the Arlington landscape as sunlight reﬂects against the metallic surface during the day and a tailored lighting system reﬂects the form at night.

The stadium features the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Each has a ﬁve- leaf, clear, retractable opening measuring 120 feet high by 180 feet wide. The ﬁve 38-foot panels take only 18 minutes to open or close. By using clear glass for the door panels, spectators experience panoramic views from within the seating bowl and when circulating
through the stadium concourses. Moreover, the operability provides air circulation during game-day and non-game-day events.

One of the most compelling architectural features of the stadium design is the canted glass exterior wall. The 86-foot-high glass, curtain-wall surface slopes outwardly at a 14-degree angle to create a luminescent glow, day or night. A fritted glass system transitions up the elevation to create a dynamic, ever-changing aesthetic depending on the time of day. At night,
a series of internal lights gently wash the glass wall to create a glow across the façade.

Within the seating bowl, Cowboys fans will be provided with a one-of-a-kind feature, a center-hung video board. Hanging approximately 90 feet above the ﬁeld from the roof structure, the innovative video center spans between the 20-yard lines and features four individual boards – two facing the sidelines and two facing the end zones. The sideline boards measure 72 feet tall by 160 feet wide, while those facing the end zones measure 27 feet tall by 48 feet wide. All four boards are angled toward the stands for optimal viewing. The stunning combination of these boards will immerse spectators with video imagery, creating a premium on upper level seats and presenting the game in a way never before experienced. Streaming across the interior seating facade is a vivid 360 degree matrix board, which offer advertisers “moments in time” during the game.

Quick Facts:

The Cowboys Stadium site covers 73 total acres; the overall site encompasses 140 total acres
The stadium is 3 million square feet containing 104 million cubic feet of volume
Stadium length – 900 feet from one end zone retractable wall to the opposite end zone retractable wall
Top of steel at the highpoint of the main arched trusses is 292 feet above the playing field, and each is fabricated from special high-strength grade 65 steel imported from Luxembourg and are the heaviest shape rolled in the world.
The 180-foot-wide by 120-foot-high operable glass doors, located at each end of the stadium, are the largest operable glass doors in the world and take 18 minutes to open or close
At 660,800 square feet, the stadium’s roof is one of the largest domed sports structures in the world , opening 410 feet long by 256 feet wide with each panel weighing 1.68 million pounds
Each roof panel is 215 feet long consists of 14,100 tons of structural steel and opens or closes in 12 minutes

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Lightning Strike Photograph

John P. — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:24:01 +0000

I caught a photo of some lighting from my back porch just before a storm last week. It was actually a little harder than I thought it was going to be, and I’m going to have to really practice a bit more in the future.

This strike was photographed using a Canon 5D Mark II with a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens. ISO was set at 100 and the exposure was 5 seconds.

Click through on that image for a larger view, or if you would like access to the full size version, I posted it over on Flickr.

The Magic of Photoshop, Photography and SUPERMODELS!

John P. — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:34:40 +0000

I’ve been an avid amateur photographer for many years, but I’ve never been a big fan of Photoshop. It is a big, expensive, slow program with a steep learning curve. But I’ve gotten to the point where my photos just don’t have much room for improvement without digital manipulation. So, I finally broke down and decided to study Photoshop.

It began with signing up for a college course called “Photoshop for Photographers”, though my travel has kept me out of class for a couple of weeks. So I’ve been studying my book, The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers, and practicing with my new Adobe CS4 Suite.

Well, I’ve been posting some Photoshopped images recently of my travels, however I thought I would demonstrate the power of the tool by sharing a couple of photos that I took of people, to illustrate the difference it can make…

First of all, thanks very much to my two brave SuperModels! Jennifer Conley and Cali Lewis both kindly consented to allow me to post before and after photos to demonstrate my new found powers. Here we go.

Jennifer Conley

For those of you who don’t know her, Jennifer is the mastermind behind ILiveInDallas.com, where she catalogs all of the city’s goings-ons so that the rest of us mere mortals can have something to do on the weekends! Well, the evening of our big WordCamp Dallas party I handed her my camera with a fisheye lens on it and asked her to take the following self portrait.

Well, here is the “after” image:

Cali Lewis

Now, we all know Cali… Well, one evening after getting a new lens I was over at the house snapping photos of her and Neal. I snagged this one in her kitchen, which she was none too pleased about I’m sure. However, she did tell me I could post it here for like 1 million people to see, so it couldn’t have been too bad!

However, if you ask me, this “after” image is pretty darn cool:

So, that’s about it. I will tell you that the camera also makes a difference. Images shot with higher end equipment can be manipulated to a greater extent. And they need to be shot in RAW for maximum editing flexibility.