REVIEW: BLACKRAPID RS-5 CAMERASTRAP

photo courtesy: digit-photo.com

it is often overlooked, but wearing your camera is just as important as the quality of the camera itself.  if you are comfortable wearing your camera when it isn't in use, you will likely carry it around a lot more.  and if you carry your camera a lot more, it will be less likely that you will miss out on those great images that are seemingly everywhere.

i've been using this strap for about a year now and i have to say that it is by far one of the best accessories i own.  it's comfort and ease of use has made photoshoots less stressful and has allowed me to be more mobile as i carry my gear from location to location.  the key design element is the "shoot from the hip" function, where the photographer can essentially draw the camera from the standby position (hip) to ready position in an instant.  because the strap is supported along the torso like a messenger bag strap, the weight of the camera doesn't cause undue stress to the neck and i don't fear that i will end up like a hunched mr. burns after years of using the provided nikon neck strap.  in addition, the length of the strap is fully adjustable so the standby position itself can be tailored to suit a position that is the most comfortable for the photographer. 

check out the video to see what i'm talking about:
BLACKRAPID IN ACTION

the one concern i do have is that i feel the need to apply tension to the strap in the ready position just to make sure it doesn't slip off my shoulder.  minor issue, but workable.

the rs model that i own (rs-5) also contains a magnetically sealed pouch that is large enough to fit my iphone, some memory cards and essential cash and cards - all handy features when i'm just wandering around my city or a new city looking for photos.  obviously, if i do plan on carrying some additional lenses, a backpack will be necessary, but for me there are definitely times where i am less motivated to go on a personal shoot if i have to carry so much gear.  again, this is where convenience and comfort gives me no excuse as to why i shouldn't wander around with my camera.

i am in no way paid by blackrapid to review their product. i am just a photographer who can appreciate products that not only improve my work, but can make it easier and more enjoyable.  please check back here for future reviews on photography peripherals that i actually use and like/dislike.


 de jesus out.

WINNING FIXES EVERYTHING

sitting in a sports bar in santa monica last week brought me some interesting perspective on the current state of north american culture and its views on its heroes - more specifically the sports kind.

dubbed simply as "the return", the featured NBA game of last week brought lebron james back to cleveland as a member of the miami heat.  after an off season that seemed to question lebron's ability to manipulate media for his own selfish purposes, his first visit back to cleveland was supposed to bring a venomous reception, it was supposed to be mean and it was supposed to bring heat on the visiting heat.  it didn't disappoint.  the boos were audible not only from the available audio from the quicken loans arena in cleveland, but also in the well lit sports bar where i enjoyed a chicken quesadilla and a pint of beer.

the other featured game on the big screen was NFL network's mid week morsel as the eagles vs. the texans was broadcast live from philadelphia in an important regular season tilt that would help define each team's playoff status.  michael vick continued his MVP worthy season by again putting up strong numbers both in the air and on the ground in a definitive victory over the slumping texans.  stadium fans cheered michael vick with every first down pass and even the fans i shared the big screens with applauded and high fived their way through the numerous highlight plays that vick treated the fans to.

earlier in the day, i spent a few hours watching the first round of the 2010 chevron world challenge highlighted by a stellar sub 70 round by tiger woods.  security was tight around the world's number 2 player and the added protection was largely due to a fear of over anxious fans ready to blast and throw proverbial tomatoes at woods over the marital "indiscretions" that plagued his life over the past year.  organizers of the tournament actually believed that spectators would show hostility towards woods at his own event, again to bring to light the admitted moral mistakes by the most recognizable athlete in the world.  but it didn't happen - instead of protection from hate, the added security on hand was conveniently on hand to protect woods from the mob of adoring fans that followed him throughout the day. 

let's take a look at these three individuals and what has made them the polarizing sports figures they were in 2010:

1) lebron james - an off-season of free agency culminated in a made-for-tv special aptly titled "the decision" in which viewers were strung along for an hour only to hear king james utter the now famous phrase "i'm taking my talents to south beach."  (by the way, try searching that phrase in urban dictionary for a good laugh). in doing so, lebron was made out to be a villain not only in the city he left, but in all of america for showing what is perceived to be a lack of heroism by abandoning the only team he's played for and instead chasing championships with a mega team that was billed to be the most dominant NBA team of all time (it didn't start out that way - which only incited excitement with all the haters).

2) michael vick - after kevin kolb went down with an injury in week 1 of this year's NFL campaign, the most electrifying QB in the pro league was finally given an opportunity to play...something he's been waiting for since being released from prison in the spring of 2009.  quick reminder: vick was sentenced to prison in 2007 after being charged with his involvement in an illegal dogfighting ring.

3) tiger woods - thanksgiving 2009 was the start of a wild year for the world's best golfer.  as it revealed itself a bit more, you could also view that day as the end of the crazy ride that woods partook in for so long.  mistresses came out of the woodwork, making claims of woods' wild rendezvous in the bedroom which ultimately led to a divorce from his wife, a damaged image with corporate sponsors and a less than stellar year on the golf course which saw him finally lose his number one ranking after 281 consecutive weeks at the top of the leaderboard.

so what is the point i'm trying to make?  well, it's simple really: tiger woods admittedly cheated on his wife with several women.  michael vick is an ex-convict who plead guilty on his own accord. lebron james used free agency to find himself a better team.  yet on this day, only one of these three mega sports superstars could claim that they were being booed heavily by fans in the flesh and by fans watching on TV's around the country.  lebron james was the most hated athlete on this day and it made absolutely no sense to me.  but one thing i did notice is that at this moment in time, vick was playing well, woods was finally playing to form but the heat have been underachieving since the start of the season.  maybe winning fixes everything.

there's a lot of commentary that could dignify the reaction of the fans, but the point of today's blog is only to highlight and mention the interesting approach of sports fans on how they direct their hate and love for their particular hero.  commit crimes, be a questionable example of morality, but as an athlete....just win baby.  people seem to forget your personal indiscretions when you succeed on the field of expertise...the reason why you're a fan of the athlete in the first place.  i'm not saying i completely agree with it, but let me be fair.  i was there to see tiger woods.  he's awesome.

WEDDING SHOOT: CARIEANNE and TOM

it's not every day i get to ride a helicopter up a mountain for a photo shoot.  in fact, i would even say that that would be a "never"-y day occurrence.  haha, but i digress.  on this particular day however, i was given a fantastic opportunity to spend an afternoon with carieanne and tom for their wedding ceremony in canmore - on top of a mountain.  how awesome is that?  well, take a look at these teaser photos and maybe you can answer that question yourself...

thanks carieanne and tom for one of the most memorable photoshoots i have ever been on.  you guys are great and your laughter was contagious.  best wishes on a happy life together!!!

as always, these are merely a small sample of the many photos i was able to capture of this very photogenic and fun couple.  if you want to see more of the photos from this special day, you will be able to see them on my website very shortly.  i am very close to the re-launch of the site, so please stay tuned for updates and information on the refreshed dennisdejesusjr.com.

de jesus out.

FBL AT 20

i am pleased to announce that i will be working closely with the FBL as the official photographer for their 20th anniversary season.  throughout the season, photos will primarily be posted on the FBL's facebook page but i will definitely have some posted here and on dennisdejesusjr.com.

the FBL is a member owned, member run men's adult basketball league serving the local filipino community.  since its inception, the goal of the league was to provide a fun environment where friends can get together and enjoy healthy competition on a saturday morning/afternoon.  being around for 20 years only proves that it has been and continues to be a successful formula.

bringing together two of my interests is a wonderful opportunity and i thank the FBL and look forward to an exciting season of basketball and great photos!

feel free to visit the FBL every saturday from 10am-3pm
at the Calgary NE Sports Facility:
401 - 33rd St NE                                        

de jesus labas.

WEDDING SHOOT: ANGIE and LUCAS

autumn weddings are beautiful.  the colors are gorgeous, the sun is warm and so are the people.  here are a couple of teaser photos from a fantastic wedding i was fortunate enough to shoot - set in the visually stunning backdrop of bragg creek in the fall.  as you can see, angie and lucas are a beautiful, photogenic couple and along with their wedding party were an absolute blast to spend the day with.  congratulations to them both and best wishes!

yes - not the most conventional photo.  but in my experimentation with off camera flash work (especially in difficult lighting conditions) this particular photo caught my eye as one of my favorites from this wedding.  it breaks a lot of conventional photography rules, but sometimes breaking the rules yields some really interesting results...















technical details (gear used):
nikon D300S
nikkor 50mm f/1.8
nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
nikon speedlight SB-900

more photos from this shoot will also be available on my site dennisdejesusjr.com.  the site is currently being re-designed and i promise to make some announcements here once we are closer to its relaunch.


de jesus out.

WITNESS SOMETHING MEMORABLE

after a rough day, it's nice to have a quiet night at the mancave and just flip through channels on the ol' PVR.  thankfully, i came across CNN and am watching the mine rescue in Chile.  when watching something like this, i'm reminded of how grateful i am for the technological advancements that made this rescue achievable and also made the communication possible between the miners thousands of feet below and the officials and the families above ground.  of course, the tireless efforts of the rescue workers isn't forgotten nor the strength of the families whose hope pushed them through a certainly agonizing 2+ months without their loved ones.  it's all about perspective.  this is a great moment for humanity and i am really moved to see this unfold live and in front of me.  that young boy crying as that first capsule emerged will be an image i will never forget.  absolutely beautiful. 

don't lose sight of the fact that TV is not only for mindless entertainment but a way to witness incredible events in history as well.

de jesus fuera.

THE BACKUP PLAN

back when email was new and exciting, 2MP digital cameras cost $600 and the word google only meant a very large number (yes kids - google actually had another definition before) i had a handful of backup plans with girls i knew from school.  you know - the kind where you'd say "if i'm not married by so and so time in the future, we should hook up and get married then."  of course it was silly, but i think it gave each of us a false sense of security because even though you weren't good enough for each other at that time, you were convinced that the impending frustrations of dating and disappointment could lead you back to a pretty decent person later on when the time was right...you know, the "backup plan".

of course, that isn't the backup plan i'm referring to today.  today, the back-up plan means file management outside of your computer.  people ask me what i do with my digital photo files after a project is complete, how do i manage them before, during and after a shoot and what do i do to backup my photos.

in a time where external hard drives are affordable and where services such as "offsite" storage servers are easily available, there is no excuse why you shouldn't back-up your photos.  it may take a little bit of work to maintain and go through it, but anyone who has ever crashed their hard drive can tell you that backing up your files is well worth the effort.  trying to restore files (even if you could do it yourself) can be a headache and the realization of files permanently lost can be a huge disappointment.

so what do i do? for photoshoots, i currently go through the same 4 steps:

1. purchase a dedicated SD or CF card specifically for the shoot.  don't add or overwrite an old card.  and once the shoot is done, don't add or overwrite this card for the next shoot.  by doing so, this acts as a first backup and will always be your storage of all straight out of camera original "master" files.

2. upload all files to my computer, where the original master files will be mixed with the retouched/edited images.  both versions of the photos will be stored on the computer's hard drive.

3. once the project is complete, all master files along with the retouched/edited images are burned on DVD's as high res full sized jpeg files.  this acts as the second backup of original master files but is essentially the one and only backup of the edited images.  as USB memory sticks become less expensive, i may choose to use them instead of DVDs, but for the time being, DVDs are far more economical though burning files onto them can be time consuming.

4. DVD's are physically stored off site to ensure they are not damaged in case something happens at my home office.

when it comes to personal projects, i don't necessarily go through this much detail.  i typically reuse cards or add onto them and i don't really concern myself with backing up photos that i know aren't good shots.  of the selected photos, i'll be sure to have at least the edited version and their master file on some sort of external source (i.e. DVD or USB) that is separate from the computer's hard drive.

some may think that this is overkill and that this redundancy is a bit much for file management.  i personally haven't had a problem with losing files from a crashed computer, but i have heard enough horror stories from friends and colleagues to scare me into making sure i don't lose any of my work.  the steps above are purely my own personal method of storage backup of digital photos - in no way am i promoting this to be the "right way" of doing so.  as mentioned earlier, there are a host of other ways to backup your work (even facebook or flickr are adequate) and all i really wanted to get across is to make sure you recognize the importance and do as the rappers tell the girls and "back that $h!t up".


de jesus heraus.

WEDDING SHOOT: HILDA and KEVIN

the following are a couple of my favorite pics from a wedding shoot i did this summer.  many thanks to hilda and kevin for allowing me to be a part of their special day.  a charismatic couple with a sense of humour always makes for an easy photo shoot.  they are a lovely and gracious couple and i had an absolute blast taking photos of them on a warm and pleasant august afternoon (which this summer was a rare occasion).  congratulations to them both and best wishes for a happy and wonderful future!

more of their wedding photos will be available on the new dennisdejesusjr.com.  please stay tuned for the re-launch of the site which should take place in the coming weeks.

technical details (gear used):
nikon D300S
nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII
nikkor 50mm f/1.8
tokina 11-16 f/2.8

de jesus fuera.

THE DEATH OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER...

and the rise of the graphic artist.

we all question it when we look at a magazine cover or a slick billboard print ad.  is it real? how is it possible that she looks that perfect?  is it too good to be true?  the answers: probably not, i'll tell you, and yes, it is too good to be true.

this is not mind blowing news.  graphic design software has existed for many years that allow you to alter an image in many different ways from color, texture, lighting, etc. and in fact, people lean on programs like photoshop to alter an image in the hopes of getting that amusing or cleaner image quicker.  want to swap your friends face onto a victoria's secret model?  select, cut, paste.  want to remove that hideous adolescent-looking stress pimple from the bottom of your chin? airbrush it out or clone and stamp it.

but it seemed that really detailed or complicated alterations were reserved for the professionals.  watch a studio at work and you might come across someone at a computer extending the photographed legs of a model, perhaps eyes normally considered too close together are given a more pleasant spacing with a couple of click and drags.  it is enough to shake your head and really change the way you look at photographs, especially those high quality studio shots with beautiful models.  but that was the pros.

enter adobe CS5 and their new puppet warp tool.  again, this isn't new stuff...but the way adobe has implemented such an easy to use alteration tool with this kind of sophistication is scary.  hobbyists and pros alike are now given the same resources to not just modify images, but fundamentally change an image where the reality of what was photographed is not what you see - but the suspension of reality still exists.  watch either (or both) links and we'll chat afterwards...

Puppet Warp Demo 1
Puppet Warp Demo 2

now imagine what is possible.  with this kind of accessibility and ease of use, even the casual photos of your friends on facebook or someone's eharmony profile pic could be a complete misrepresentation.  surely this could do more harm than good when it comes to perception of self image, but that isn't the point of this conversation.  though this appears to be an excellent application for an already sophisticated program, it surely marks the decline of the photographer and the rise of the graphic artist.

in the past, it was argued that you still need to be able to compose and expose a photograph well to get a great image.  that was the job of the photographer.  but between the tools you and i have used in the past and the tools that are now and in the future, how important is it to get a really good image straight out of the camera (SOC) nowadays?   it appears that someone with a reasonable working knowledge of photoshop could create fantastic images given some time to work with it.  and often times, a well photoshopped image tends to enhance/improve an image...placing more importance on post processing than SOC images.  photographers: better get on board.  graphic artists will be the new breed of "photographer" if you don't keep up.

what you see isn't real.  it's an altered reality that implies perfection. 

de jesus out.

OPERATION: LABOR DAY FOR $1K (THE EXECUTION)

so after a cordial visit to the nearby travel agent (who was quite friendly and patient considering my absolute lack of focus), i was given two attractive options in the USA that would allow me to enjoy a full saturday and sunday in a city that i have never been.  considering prices and flight times, the decision was clear...

my official tweet (see below) made the announcement pretty clear. philadelphia was my chosen destination for operation: labor day for $1k.

now i'm not much of an american history buff, but i was pleased to have spent an entire weekend in one of the most historical cities on the continent.  it doesn't hurt that this bustling city has a contending baseball team in town, some fantastic restaurants and a love for their fictional hollywood mascot, Rocky. in fact, the picture to the left was taken atop the rocky steps (aka the steps for the philadelphia museum of art).  and the picture below that was taken at the bottom, looking up at the beautiful facade of the museum.  unfortunately the museum was largely ignored in favor of the famed steps and the equally famous rocky statue - but i guess it's better to attach your identity to a never quit imagined working class hero than nothing at all.

among the highlights of the philly trip: a 50 min wait for an authentic philly cheesesteak (meh), watching the phillies game at the ballpark next to a 3 year old boy who knew the batting order of the hometown team, the polite and friendly people from the city of brotherly love, their interesting accents which is a unique blend of boston, new york and baltimore all at once....and the best freakin burger i have ever had (village restaurant).

and to prove that i met my goal of $1k for the trip, here are the out of pocket costs spent for the weekend:

* flight and hotel (3 nights) = $624

* food and drink = $150 

* taxi rides = $62

* baseball game (incl. food and drink) = $54

* souvenirs = $48

* sightseeing tour bus = $27 

* admission to the museum = $16

* TOTAL = $981

if you're interested to see more photos from the trip, i will posting more on facebook and flickr in the coming days.

juice out.  it's all love.