technical stuff

Photo Gear Purchases 2020

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The ongoing pandemic has meant that there’s been little work and few purchases. The items listed below were bought before the pandemic shut everything down.

Sirui K-40X Ball Head

My old Manfrotto ball head wasn’t as smooth as I wanted and it struggled with heavy lenses. Also, my new L-bracket (below) requires an Arca-Swiss head and there’s no easy way to convert a Manfrotto clamp to Arca-Swiss.

The Sirui K-40X was reasonably priced ($240) compared to similar ball heads. It’s smooth, solid and a joy to use.
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Getting Ready To Return To Business

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Sooner or later there will be a demand for photography services again. It may still be several months away but photographers should do a few things now to be ready.

Face Masks

Customers may require photographers to wear face masks. Some local governments may require everyone to wear a face mask in all indoor locations. Be prepared for this now by buying some face masks.
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Being Clean

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I often photograph NBA basketball but due to the ongoing coronavirus threat, the NBA and other pro sports have shut down. This photo shows the view from some really cheap seats in the Toronto arena. It may be hard to believe but there are even worse seats in the building.

Every professional photographer knows how to minimize risk: carry a backup camera, have extra batteries and memory cards, tape down cables, don’t overload a boom arm, etc. But what about minimizing risk to your cleanliness?

After 30 years of photographing in locations like hospitals, seniors’ homes, prisons, food processing plants, drug manufacturing sites, pharmaceutical labs, commercial kitchens and in countless private homes, here are a few little things I’ve learned.
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Photo Gear Purchases 2019

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My annual look back at some of the photo purchases I made in 2019.

Think Tank Airport Security v3 roller

Think Tank Airport Security v3 roller. Earlier versions of this roller bag did not have a zippered laptop pocket. Photo from Think Tank Photo.

This is a well-made roller bag and most things about it are quite good except:
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Accurately Remove Objects From Photos

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This shows a house before renovation. The vehicles are a visual distraction and one car covers a small portion of the home.

I do real estate photography for construction companies that build or renovate homes in the greater Toronto area. Often I photograph a home before construction has begun and then return weeks or months later to picture the finished work.
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Leftover Thoughts

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A few leftover thoughts for the end of the month:

Blue water can look nice in a bathtub depending on the design of the bathroom. But it would probably look very strange in a sink or laundry tub.

What they didn’t teach you in photo school is the value of blue food colouring.
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GDPR and Photographers

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The GDPR. You’ve probably heard of it.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is now one year old. It affects every business or organization, anywhere in the world, that markets to people in the European Union (EU). It applies to anyone who uses personal information of EU citizens for business or public sector purposes.

The aim of the GDPR is to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches in today’s data-driven world.

– GDPR

The GDPR not only applies to organisations located within the EU but also applies to organisations located outside of the EU if they offer goods or services to, or monitor the behaviour of, EU data subjects. It applies to all companies processing and holding the personal data of data subjects residing in the European Union, regardless of the company’s location.

– GDPR FAQ

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