Go to the Trade Show!


The Florida Professional Photographers are having the yearly convention this Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th.
If you would like to go to the Trade Show and see the latest cameras and equipment go to http://fpponline.org/trade_show_coupon_form.php and get a discount on the entrance fee. ($20)

All the major companies like Canon and Nikon will be there plus frame companies, backgrounds, lights, tripods. If it has anything to do with photography and video you'll see it there.

Family Beach Photos

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take some family photos on the beach. It rained all the way till sunset. It stopped and then turned into a slow drizzle. Half of the family was from out of town and leaving the next day. So we went out and took these photos.

With a group this size you want to keep everybody close. First,it does give a sense of unity. Second, it allows me to get close so we don't have tiny heads. The most important thing is to make sure nobodys' head is hidden behind anybody else.

Look at the color coordination! They put a lot of effort in this by making sure everybody matched. This keeps everyone in as a family member adding to the feeling of togetherness.

Next we got a shot of all the cousins. I did a formal shot and then this. We all liked this better because it looks like they were having fun. On all the photos I used 2 flashes. One on camera and one off camera held by my assistant. The photos were taken at ISO 400 at f/5.6 at 1/30 of a second. The one of the cousins at 1/15 of a second because it was getting really dark.

Boston, my kind of town!

The day after I went to New York City we decided to take a drive to Boston. My wife had been there to visit my son at college and she raved about it. The skyline is smaller than New York City but really very nice. Using the Dominant Subject Rule I got a shot of the Skyline.

We got there late, about 3:30, and were all starving so we went to Regina Pizza in the North End. This is like Little Italy in New York only 1,000 times better! No offense to New York. I still Love New York Many in the streets, stores, and restaurants speak Italian. The food is excellent and the pastry shops are the best. There were lines 15 to 50 deep for everything. The only way you'll have it better is if you go to Italy.

The place was packed and the pizza excellent.

It seems like there is always a feast in one part of the town or the other. So we went to the Feast! We got there just in time to see a procession. Leading the procession in the Italian feast were Irish bagpipes. We all thought that was great. Hey, only in America!
The streets at the feast were blocked off from traffic so everyone just walked around. You get a real sense of community here.
There is Wonder Woman, Super Girl, and the Fantastic Four have The Invisible Girl. Bostons' North End has the Incomparable "Canoli Girl". She had "Canoli Girl" written on her shirt, stand and everything else. I thought she was great! She had a terffic attitude and the cannoli were pretty good. She was so nice to me that I didn't have the heart to tell her that she spelled cannoli wrong.

I gave the camera to my brother-in-law, Cosimo, to take a photo of me and "Canoli Girl". He really needs to buy my DVD's

By the way, You can leave comments on any of the blogs. Your feedback is always welcome.

A Day In New York City and B & H

No trip into New Jersey would be complete without crossing the Hudson River and taking in the sites of the Big Apple, a.k.a. New York City.

I took my Canon 5D, a 15mm Fisheye lens,the 24 to 70 Zoom, and the 70 to 200 Zoom lens with me. What is great about the 5D is it has a full size sensor.

Unlike most digital cameras that crop the image the 5D gives you the full viewing angle of the lens. No where is this difference more noticeable than when using the 15mm fisheye.

Look at the photo on the left and note how wide the angle is. The photo on the right is cropped because of the smaller size sensor found on most other cameras. It's just not the same. Two words to describe New York City are "tall" and "busy". All the buildings are tall and the streets are very busy. These are two things you don't want to crop out.

I especially like the busy streets. Where I live in Florida is great but people stay indoors. When we need to go to a store we get into our cars and go into the store. Then, we get back into the car and go back home. In a city like New York everyone walks everywhere because everything is fairly close at hand. You don't have to walk very far to find what you are looking for. In addition, there is something interesting on every block so even a long walk becomes pleasant.

For instance, look at some of the nice people I met on my way to B and H Photo. New York is truly the melting pot. As you can see in the photo on the left. These to guys owned an English pub of some kind and wanted me to go in for a drink. I think I upset them when I told them I didn't have time. Oh well.

When I got to B and H Photo I had to stand across the street to get the whole store in the photo. Wow! They occupy 4 floors in this building, 6 floors in a building across the street and 1 million square feet of warehouse in Brooklyn. Yeah, 1 million!

They have a doorman to open the door and greet you. When you go inside They have everything you can think of and things you would not have thought of.

The store is called B & H Photo Video. However, they also have everything in audio, surveillance, telescopes, binoculars, projectors, computers, screens, and more. If they don't have it here chances are it hasn't been invented yet.

They also have the Event Space. This is a meeting room that holds about 100 people. Free seminars are conducted here. Some really big names have and will lecture on every topic related to every product they sell. All FREE to the public.

As a matter of fact, they have scheduled me for a speaking engagement on Monday, September 14. Be there or you will miss out.

Their philosophy is that they are here to "inform" . Each rep is an expert dedicated to a specific section. They don't pull someone from audio to help a customer with a camera. This means that the person that is helping you really can help you.

I could write so much more because I was totally blown away with my whole experience. I have bought many things from them in the past and have no dought that I will by many things from them in the future.

Gotta love the Fisheye. I went outside and got a photo in front of the store with the 15mm lens.

What is New York City without the pigeons? These birds are afraid of no one. Don't mess with them cause they are tough. The one on the right kept giving me a dirty look. The one on the left kept saying something about giving me the "drop".

I didn't know what he was talking about but I figured I better leave.

Your probably wondering why I have this photo in twice. I mistakenly loaded it twice and can't figure out how to erase it. Oh well.

What's the next blog going to be about? Get tready for Boston!