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We’ve taken our super computers mobile!   UNITY ONE processing power is now available for on-site data management, location logistics support and post production services.  If you have a large photoshoot requiring professional data management & backup services, FYM Photography delivers the tools to keep your production rolling and give you piece of mind.  The best hardware, industry standard software and professional personnel with the field experience to help execute your vision.  UNITY ONE Mobile comes to you wherever and whenever you need it.

Our mobile production vehicle is equipped with UNITY ONE Workstations featuring

• Intel 6-core i7 Processors for maximum processing power to cut down wait times
• 32GB System RAM
• Solid State Hard Drives for the fastest responsiveness and efficient workflow
• 32TB Storage server to hold up to 100 hours of ProRES 444 1080p HD Video Material
• Cloud storage backup to FYM Photography Studios for an extra measure of data security
• NEC Professional Monitors for perfect color performance
• GPU Accelerated workflow with nVidia CUDA graphics technology to save you time & money

Deliver The Best Using The Best from Adobe

• Adobe Creative Suite enabled with cloud services for maximum versatility & on-site capability
• Adobe Lightroom for professional shoot organization, management and post production

Edit across multiple screens for faster on-location workflow

UNITY ONE Mobile allows you to

• Manage your capture and data needs onsite without concern for memory limitations or data integrity
• Execute post production on-site in real time for events and location shoots to maximize your capture time
• Technology leadership to deliver the best presentation and instruction needs for on-location photoshoots and workshops
• Deliver on-site Photography & Video Production Services
• Logistics management to help you scout your locations and help organize the shoot for the most efficient work flow

 Let us worry about the technology and let your creativity flow.  UNITY ONE Mobile is offered in Alberta and Saskatchewan starting at a rate of $149/location hour + travel time.

The Calgary Zoo is offering an exceptional opportunity on June 9th, 2012 to participate in the “FOCUSED” photography event.  Doors open early and help enthusiasts of all skill levels to explore the zoo without the hustle and bustle of kids running around while offering more opportune moments to capture the animals in their more active states.  Unfortunately due to some prior commitments with awesome Giant Pandas in Asia, I will not be able to make an appearance at this June event.  I wish you all the best at this excellent event and let’s all work towards spreading the word and ensuring a successful event so that we can get more of these opportunities!

By popular demand, here’s round 2 of Zoo Photography Tips

•  Patience Patience Patience  - Observing other visitors on multiple occasions leads me to believe a number of people stop, read the sign, peek to find the animal and then move on in pretty short order.  If you’re trying to capture a moment with your favorite furry friend, patience and the art of slowing down will pay huge dividends.   As mentioned in the last article, it took the better part of a few visits due to weather and circumstances beyond my control before I finally had the opportunity to capture the Siberian Tiger in the pose I’d imagined.  Alternatively, the Giant Panda pictures below took almost two hours of waiting in the enclosure before they finally positioned themselves and undertook activities that gave an interesting capture.   Pick the animal which you’d like to photograph, and carefully walk around the enclosure to find an interesting angle.  Then wait.  And wait some more.  Or heck, visit another fur ball and come back again.  But be mentally patient and wait for them to give you the photo instead of just taking a snap shot.  Exercise patience and don’t forget – Keep your eye on the ball!
• Invest in and use a support system – Tripods are simply too bulky and cumbersome to setup given the fences you butt up against as well as the potential hazards of other guests tripping over them or worse yet, knocking over your camera (I’m a photographer not a humanitarian ).  Invest in a monopod to help stabilize your camera and minimize the physical tasks that could otherwise distract you from getting a sharp shot.  Monopods can help stabilize shaky hands, balance the weight of long lenses, combat slow shutter speeds and even double up as a walking stick.  Check out my previous photographer’s tip to see what gear I bring with me to the field and adjust accordingly to suit your needs.
• Get down low (or at least eye level) – Eye level shots just like portraits of people help delivers an emotional connection.  We talked about focusing on the eyes in the previous zoo article, this tip is more about adjusting your perspective to shoot from the same level as the animal’s face instead of shooting down and shooting up.  It’s a subtle difference, but the finished image can deliver greater impact and intimacy by removing the ‘snap shot’ perspective normally associated with non-eye-level shooting.   The mental association that your viewer makes with an eye level shot is that they’re participating in your subject’s world instead of just looking into a world on the other side of the fence which is the feeling zoo photos can give off when we’re shooting from above or below.
• Watch the background – Trash can, fence, zoo signs can all detract from the experience of your viewers getting lost in your photos.   Part of the patience exercise should be evaluating not just the right angle for your animal shots you want, but also making sure any distractions in the background that doesn’t fit with the animals’ environment is not present.  Animal photos work best when we subconsciously view the background as an integral part of their natural environment.  A washroom sign in the background or a kid with his face pressed against the fence detracts from the depth of your photo and highlights the captive environment of the animal.  Keep an eye out and aim for the cleanest backgrounds you can.  Note – for those paying attention from the last article, a long lens and large aperture will help to diffuse your background.  Know your camera equipment!
• Watch out for reflections – If you’re attempting to shoot through fences, get your front element as close to if not through the openings but be mindful of the sun.  If the front of your lens is too large to fit in the gaps of chain link, choose to shoot from a shaded area to minimize reflections from the fencing which can appear on your images and fuzzy lines and ruin your perfect shot.   If you’re shooting through glass, as inopportune as it might be for your framing, shooting directly against the glass and try to avoid shooting at an angle against it.  This will cause both distortion as well as a loss in image quality due to the light diffraction as the glass can act as a prism reducing the quality of light hitting your camera.
• Charge your batteries, bring an extra one and don’t be embarrassed to bring your charger – If you have to, be that person sitting by a power plug waiting to get a small charge on your camera.  Whatever you do, don’t be the person stuck walking around with a useless camera and never ending missed opportunities because your battery doesn’t hold enough of a charge.   Going with the entire Photographer’s Tip theme of knowing your gear, knowing the shooting endurance of your camera’s batteries is crucial.  As we covered before, when it comes to animal photography – shoot shoot shoot.  This takes a massive toll on your batteries especially if you’re the type to continuously review your shots as you go.  Pack extra batteries, bring your charger and don’t get left out.   As a side note, find out from your camera manual where your battery charge indicator is, how to read it and if possible, find out what the rough lifespan of shots you should get our of it are.  Make a mental note of this number and be conscious to look at your charge indicator regularly so you’re not in the middle of the lion finally walking into your frame after you’ve patiently waited for 30 mins and your camera gently powers off.   It’s happened to me before.  Profanity ensues.

Thanks for stopping by – good luck to the Calgary shooters participating in FOCUSED and a big thank you to everyone who has shared and supported this site.  Remember to stop by our Facebook page and show your support by liking our page.  As always, feel free to drop me a line via e-mail at francis@fymphoto.com or write on the Facebook wall for what you’d like to see, what we’ve done well or share some of your shots!

Distinct buildings and features help to deliver compelling framing for your cityscapes and the majestic rocky mountains help to break up the sunset into dramatic light shows.  This workshop will focus on framing, technique and best practices to get the most out of your equipment and to get you at least one memorable shot for the evening.   The workshop will emphasize training on camera settings, equipment setup and best practices.  A basic understanding of camera functions such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO are an asset but not required.   We will be spending the majority of the evening outdoors so please dress appropriately for the worst case scenario.

• HOW MUCH | FREE FREE FREE – thank you to the readers of this site for their love and support in sharing the work on this site.  This is something that I’ve been asked by a number of readers for so I would like to thank everyone by offering this session.
• WHERE | Calgary Alberta Canada – Location will be determined by the people singing up (do so by RSVP’ing me via e-mail or drop me a line at www.facebook.com/fymphoto)
• WHEN | We will be meeting working through introductions and setup approximately 7pm.  Sunset is approximately 830pm and shooting to approximately 930-10pm with a review session afterwards.

Workshop Recommendations

Weather – We will be shooting outdoors so please bring a variety of environment appropriate clothing.   I recommend dressing in layers for maximum versatility and be prepared with warm shoes, a wind breaking jacket, fleece sweather, touque and wind resistant pants.  Comfort is paramount to get the most out of sitting outside shooting for this extended period of time.  Remember – it’s Calgary

Equipment – As we are focusing on landscapes and exploring low light photography into sunset, a sturdy tripod is a requirement.  If you have access to a remote cable release, this will be invaluable as well.   Bring camera, lenses, tripod, batteries and extra memory cards.  Bring your camera charger as well and an inverter for your vehicle if you have access to one.

Please check out my Photographer’s Tip article on Traveling with Gear as it’s a good prep article for this workshop and check out our first Photographer’s Tip from last year for some ideas.

Zoo shooting can be awesome practice prior to taking a hike in the wilderness and encountering animals in open spaces.  Zoos offer a great opportunity to practice framing, composition and also a little bit of patience as you elbow your way through the crowds (an allegory for bushes, trees, general obstacles) in order to best setup for the shot you like.   Here’s some quick tips to get the most out of your zoo photography experience.

• Dress appropriately for the day – as you go in and out of pavillions and into the various weather climiates that the animals are in, treat it as practice for when you’re out in the middle of nowhere on a hike.  Dress in layers that are easy to lighten as the weather warms and have enough of them so that you’re prepared for the wind and cold should things change.  This is a mental prepardness exercise – being attire appropriate to all the conditions you may encounter will give you more time to focus on the task at hand instead of trying to get the feeling back in your fingers or giving up prematurely due to less than ideal conditions.
• Shoot long – Want to get rid of or minimize the fence between you and Mr Pooh bear?  Shoot long – use your lens in the 200+mm range (if you’ve got access, beg and borrow 300 or 400mm units for the best effect).  Long lenses compress the subjects and detach them from the background.  The nice byproduct of this is that they also help blur obstacles such as fencing which may be seperating you from your subject.  Most of the shots below are shot at a minimum of 200mm.  Get up against the fence, shoot long and compose in that order.  This will give better clarity and framing for your animal shots as you’re forced to pick a subject instead of just taking a wide angle photo of the entire enclosure which is about as interesting as watching paint dry.
• Shoot wide open – As open as you can go – I love to shoot wide apertures (F2/2.8) in order to pop the subject out of the background as much as possible.  There’s always something more compelling about animals when you isolate them as individuals.  Go as open as your lens allows you to.  Couple this with shooting long, and you’ll be able to isolate your subject with a creamy smooth background, minimizing distraction and maximizing impact.
• Focus focus focus -  The eyes are the window to the soul as they say.  Animals like people have a reflective personality that can be seen in their eyes.  Focusing in this area, coupled with the isolation of long lenses and wide apertures will help bring life to your subject.  It’s also an exceptional training tool for mastering quick and precise control of your autofocus system or perhaps, if you’re a little more daring, manual focus.   Train your camera to the subject you want, and focus on the details which defines them.
• Bring memory, lots of it.  And use it, all of it – you’re there to shoot – fire away and capture every angle and every possible idea that comes into your head.  If it means an hour at each exhibit, so be it.  This is a great opportunity for practice in a controlled environment and more importantly, maybe you’ll walk away with a smiling Panda or a roaring lion.  Like we talked about in the last Photographer’s Tip – keep your eye on the ball and shoot everything that interests you.  Fill up those memory cards and have fun.

That’s it for today – I’d like to thank you for supporting this site and ask that you continue to share it with your friends and family and shoot me an e-mail at francis@fymphoto.com with your ideas and suggestions on what you’d like to see on the site as well as what workshops you’d like me to host.

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page and hit the “Like” button to show your support.  Thanks for stopping by!

For more Photographer’s Tip, check out the article archive here.

]]> http://www.fymphoto.com/?feed=rss2&p=3583 2 http://www.fymphoto.com/?p=3571 http://www.fymphoto.com/?p=3571#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:24:09 +0000 francis http://www.fymphoto.com/?p=3571 [...]]]> As deeply entrenched as I am in my technology and toys, photography offers me an opportunity to get away even for a little bit to focus on something external to the connected world.  Photography gives us both an escape from the modern world to focus on the subjects which interest us while also delivering an opportunity to explore and enjoy the world like a child.  As of this writing, I’ve been shooting for almost 4 days straight on both assignments as well as workshops.  In conversation and instruction with the wonderful people I’ve worked with these last few days, one topic kept coming up – what am I supposed to be taking a picture of?  Well frankly, it’s simple – whatever interests you.  Keeping your eye on the ball applies to the subject, the equipment, the scene and your personal growth goals as a photographer.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a landscape or portrait, the important part of capture is that the final image is a reflection of how you see the world and is wholly determined by your perceptions, experiences and timing.  This defines the practice of photo-journalism.  Whether you’re a mom capturing your kids running around the playground or you undertake a hike or expedition to capture the perfect mountain sunrise,  you are directly documenting your experience and sharing it with others.   What images you share are the so-called flash bulb memories committed to a picture frame and whether you consciously recognize it or not, is a reflection of your vision.   Don’t be afraid to pick and choose what interests you and forget the world around you or what people might think of your photos.  Just keep shooting what interests you.

Building on the idea of shooting what interests you, I also encourage workshop participants to not be afraid to hammer the shutter button when it comes to portraits and wildlife.  Sometimes the best moments we capture are the moments in between the the ones we planned in our head.  Over years and through hundreds of thousands of photos, some of my favourites are the ones in-between the ones I planned.  This principles can apply to landscapes where a few extra shots here and there might capture the difference between the sun highlighting the correct mountain peak or fast moving clouds might take your subject in and out of the shade delivering you dramatically different looks.  More importantly, in portraiture, keeping your eyes open, camera aimed and shutter button ready can help capture the candid moments between set poses.  The in-between moments capture emotion and particularly when not working with experienced models can help deliver the connective quality which presents stunning photos.

This wasn't the scene we were there to shoot, but keeping an eye open allowed us to capture this and it turned out to be the best shot of the day.

All of this is summed up in the photo above.  It had nothing to do with the assignment we were there to shoot, but in the end, this candid moment turned out to be the best shot which I can proudly add to my portfolio.  It’s a moment capturing a dramatic landscape, which is what we were there to get and the sunset became even more dramatic by my assistant stepping in to block a little bit of it and creating the wonderful glow you see.  It’s a basic photograph, it’s a technically poor photograph due to the lens flare, but in the end, it is simply a nice photograph that we couldn’t re-create because the candid smile is what makes the photo compelling and adds to the overall warmth of the scene.

Photography is about patience, not necessarily a patience of sitting on a mountain for hours on end waiting for the right light, although that’s just inspiring for your soul, but patience for yourself and taking control of the scene before you to capture.  I believe that everyone will take a beautiful picture at some point in their life, but the ones that excel are those who can deliver a compelling image on a consistent basis.  Defining yourself as a photographer is about finding that internal drive to push for the 4am wakeup or to sit in a lonely mountain peak to capture the stars.  That takes a special focus & attitude that is a core requirement to get the photos that not many others will effort.

Beyond that, as we’ve discussed in previous Photographer’s Tips, it’s about knowing your gear.  I constantly harp on workshop attendees that it doesn’t matter what gear you show up with, but you have a huge responsibility to yourself to intimately and efficiently know the equipment you have, the operational requirements and the execution ability.  I don’t care if you show up with $15k in cameras and lenses, can you actually control your focus, can you control your composition and do you know how to best set your camera for the cleanest output?  That’s what defines the complete photographer.  Drive, understanding, and most importantly, the ability to simply stop and stare to take in the scenes before you, enjoy it and then capture it for presentation.

Setting up for the landscape shot and scouting the right angle

In the end, what we specifically went to shoot didn't produce as dramatic a shot as what we kept an eye out for.

For more in the Photographer’s Tip Series, check out this archive link.

As work and other preoccupations begin to give way to optimal weather and spectacular opportunities, I figured it’d be a good time to outline the 2012 summer schedule and give an opportunity for you readers to throw in your ideas for what you’d like to see on the coming adventures or what classes you would like to have added to the calendar.  Look forward to meeting all the supporters throughout summer at the various workshops and photowalks!  Happy shooting!

April -  The cherry blossom festivals

May – Waterton Lakes Photo Tour | Canon EOS Cinema Workshop | Calgary Photowalk

June – Taiwan Expedition | National Museum Archives Tour | Taipei Photowalk | Taipei Zoo | Hong Kong Photowalk | 24-hour photoshoot at Victoria Peak, Hong Kong | GT-R vs Abarth Top Gear style rally through the streets of Hong Kong

July – Lethbridge Air Show | Edmonton Indy Car Race | Calgary Zoo Photowalk | Jasper National Park Excursion