June 16th, 2009
2011 Update – the Timbuk2 Snoop
It’s been a couple of years since I wrote this post, but as it’s still getting a fair bit of traffic, I thought I’d let you know I’m still happily using this combination, which is working well. However, Timbuk2 have come out with their own (similar) solution – the Snoop. It’s more or less classic messenger with a detachable insert for the camera stuff, but I’m not sure if you need a sleeve for a laptop if you’re bringing one of those as well. I’ve not seen one in the flesh, and I don’t get a cut of any sales or anything, but it’s worth a look.
The 2009 article
I’m a photographer and web designer and I work partly from home, and partly from my office. At least once a week I ride my bike to work. I need a bag that’ll help me do all this stuff, while not making me look like a dork who’s carrying a bunch of expensive gear.
And after a long search, I’ve found it: a Timbuk2 Medium Messenger, with a Waterfield Designs sleeve for my MacBook Pro, and a Tenba camera insert for the DSLR and stuff.
I have a LowePro Slingshot for when I’m only carrying camera gear, but I was looking for something that would work for day to day commuting – I almost always carry the laptop, and often a camera and a couple of lenses. (more…)
May 2nd, 2009
I’m writing the first draft of this post at sea, on the way back to Los Angeles after a week’s cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
Cruising wouldn’t be my first choice of holiday, but family obligation dictated we go, so I brought along my camera stuff, and thought I’d share with you what I learned from my experience – some tips and advice for the keen photographer on a cruise.
1: Bring all your gear
Unlike the holidays I normally take, once you get to the ship, you’re not going to have to lug your bags anywhere. So pack as much camera stuff as you can, so you’ll have everything you might need.
In my case that was a Canon 5D, an EF 24-105mm f/4L, an EF 17-40 f/4L, an EF 50mm f/1.8 II, and an EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. I also brought a laptop, an external drive with my Aperture library on it, a second drive for backing up the vault, and even a mouse for easier computing.
2: Go long
As we were sailing away from San Pedro habour, I realised that with all my gear, I’d made a mistake. I should have brought a longer lens as well – which in my case would be my 70-200mm f/4L.
There’ll be a lot of times when taking pictures of things from the ship that a longer lens would really help. There’s a chance you’ll see some wildlife (whales, interesting birds . . . ), or want to get tight on something on shore as you come into port, so if you’ve got a big lad with you, so much the better.
In my case, when my daughter played with dolphins at an adventure centre in Puerto Vallarta, cameras were restricted to an area a long way away from the pool (at least partly so the centre could make tons of money from the (not very good photos) they shot. If I’d had the 70-200mm with me, I’d have done well. (more…)
April 15th, 2009
Who says Flickr doesn’t generate business? The Lensic Performing Arts Center here in Santa Fe got in touch recently to see if they could use a couple of my images to promote their Nuestra Música show this Friday.
Apparently there just aren’t that many good photos of legendary New Mexico musician Antonia Apodaca kicking around and they found mine on Flickr. One lesson from this is to make sure your images are tagged usefully, as you never know who’s looking.
(more…)
April 4th, 2009
Lots of balloons in my life recently – probably from all the fourth birthday parties I’ve been going to.
This shot came out in a surprisingly satisfying way. That’s all for now.
March 6th, 2009
Photoshelter – the online photo archiving, display and selling site have chosen this site as one of their examples of customization.
It’s in the Marketing/Promo category on their examples page.
When I’m not taking pictures, I’m a web designer, and I adapted one of their templates and integrated it with WordPress to make it easy to update the photo and text sides of the site, while giving it all a consistent look and feel (more details on how I did it in my earlier blog post).
Photoshelter has 40,000 photographers using the service, and they chose around 25 sites as examples, so it’s quite an honour. (more…)
February 19th, 2009
Now the dust has settled from my opening in a local cafe, here are some details on how I sorted out the practicalities – in case they’re useful for other folks facing the somewhat daunting task of organizing your first show.
1) Find your location
I was very lucky in this regard. I go to Java Joe’s North pretty regularly (especially for a Friday morning latte and breakfast burrito), and have enjoyed looking a bunch of the artwork they have up, which changes every month.
I asked them how you get a slot, and it turns out all you do is ask. I showed Dave the owner some of my Moo Cards as I didn’t have my portfolio with me, and he said that was fine. I was signed up for the next free slot – a few months in the future.
Your experience will vary of course, but cafes, restaurants, public libraries and even supermarkets (Whole Foods do exhibitions, for example) are all places to try outside the full-on art gallery circuit (which is not an option anyway in lots of places).
(more…)
