Wrapping Up the Event

 

The cold and snowy winter days in Michigan have me longing for a warmer respite. So the call of the exciting Wedding and Portrait Photography International Conference and Expo is excuse enough for me to hop on a plane to visit the warm climes of Las Vegas.
The goal of the conference portion of WPPI is to hone the skills of professionals who specialize in weddings, portraits, video, school and sporting photography. Classes, seminars and photo walks are led by noted pros and educators who share their techniques with attendees to help grow their business. The expo portion of WPPI takes place in a huge hall where manufacturers of photo equipment, accessories, materials, and services can present their products to attendees. The venue for WPPI was the huge Las Vegas Convention Center. Event organizers told me that the show outgrew the space at MGM Center. The LVCC was easily able to accommodate the 13,000 attendees and 230 exhibitors.
Convention goers are attracted to WPPI by the many well-know photographers and instructors that conduct more than 200 different classes. You may recognize some of their names and work: Joe McNally, Sue Bryce, Joe Switzer, Lindsay Adler, Tamara Lackey, Me Ra Koh, Bambi Cantrell, Katrin Eismann, Bob Davis, Jerry Ghionis, Roberto Valenzuela and Julianne Kost to name a few.
At the expo, I made my way through the exhibit hall and stopped often to listen to many of the seminars and demonstrations sponsored by the major equipment manufacturers. Here’s a quick look at a wide variety of topics presented to attendees.
Lighting Techniques
A Nikon Demo
Self-Portraiture & Posing presented by Brooke Shaden	Posing the Family presented by Michele Celentano
Nikon Ambassador Dixie Dixon	with an attentive audience
Photojournalist Joe Bussink	Talking Mirrorless Cameras at Fuji
My stay in Las Vegas was short but I did talk to dozens of equipment and accessory suppliers during my visit to WPPI. As soon as I get my act together, I’ll review some of items that caught my attention.

 

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

 

 

I have a strong interest in staying on top of the rapidly evolving picture taking techniques and amazing new advances in photo equipment. One way of doing this is for me to attend the various conventions and meetings. On my docket is the upcoming PhotoPlus Conference & Expo.

Next week I’ll be going to New York City and the Javits Center where PhotoPlus runs from Wednesday, October 21 through Saturday, October 24th.

 

 

 

 

Traveling to New York is always an enjoyable trip for me. I was raised in Westchester, just a stones throw from NYC. I’m anxious to ride the subway to the brand new Hudson Yards station (across the street from Javit’s). Taking the subway will save me a couple of miles walk from Grand Central to Javits.

What is PhotoPlus?

Since 1983, PhotoExpo has grown to be the largest photography show in the US. The conference is geared towards amateur and professionals who can sit in on more than one hundred seminars and classes ranging from posing and lighting techniques to business and promotional practices. Seminar and class instructors are led by noted professionals who are anxious to share their know-how. With New York City as a backdrop several accompanied photo walks are scheduled for attendees can explore the city photographically.

PhotoPlus also attract attendees to the expo where more than 200 exhibitors are showing their latest equipment, supplies and services. They’ll get hands-on time with cameras, lenses, flashes, gadgets, and accessories galore. Several large vendors are on hand at the expo for those ready to buy new equipment. Many vendors present live on-floor demonstrations of their equipment and services so attendees can see the products in action.

As an interested photographer, if you’re in the New York City area next week consider attending. Here’s where you’ll find more information at the PhotoPlus Conference & Expo.

 

 
Written by Arnie Lee

 

 

 

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The Consumer Electronics Show – Accessories for Photographers

 

I’ve been attending the Consumer Electronics Show for more than 30 years. This huge expo is the premier showcase for new and innovative products that are slated for homes and businesses this year.

 

While walking the several miles of aisles at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a couple of areas especially caught my attention: 3D printers and drones. You can read my show reports here: 3D Printing Technology and Drones.

 

But as someone who also has a keen interest in photography, here are a few of the photo accessories that stood out at the show.

Hisy and Halo Remotes   Here’s are two tiny little accessories for those of you who are fans of “selfies”.
Basically the Hisy and Halo are bluetooth shutter release for you smartphone. The Hisy is for iOS devices and the Halo is for Android devices. To the right is the “selfie” of Jackie and myself that we took with her Android smartphone. They also have the Wing – a selfie stick. The suggested price of the Hisy and Halo is $24.99. The suggested price of the Wing is $29.95.
For more information, please visit HisyPix.
Nanuk Camera Cases
If you’re rough on your camera equipment, you may want to look at Nanuk’s cases. PlastiCase makes some very durable protective cases. Below is one of their smaller cases. It’s made of a impact resistant plastic, has sure-lock latches, soft-grip handle and is waterproof. This 903 model easily accommodates one of my mirrorless cameras with an 18-200mm lens attached. I’ve removed the foam padding to show the spacing. The Model 903 has a very affordable suggested price of $25.
PlastiCase makes about two dozen different cases in various sizes. For more info, please visit PlastiCase.
EnerPlex Solar
EnerPlex is a manufacturer of a variety of solar chargers. If you’re shooting out in the field for any length of time and run out of juice, these solar chargers may prove invaluable. They are compact, foldable and ruggedized. On the right, you can see solar chargers built into backpacks. EnerPlex has two backpack models: Packr Executive $130 and Packr Commuter $100.
Kickr IV+ on left produces 6 watts nx Kickr II in center produces 33 watts	Commander-XII produces 19 watts for laptops and tablets
For more info, please visit EnerPlex.
Thule Camera Bags Thule is probably best known as the maker of the well-built and ergonomic car top carriers. This Swedish company also has a stylish line of camera bags and backpacks.
I found their line of bags to be both attractive and practical.
Their new Legend GoPro Backpack was introduced at the show. Designed and built for rugged outdoor use, you can mount two GoPro cameras directly to the backpack – one forward-facing the other backward-facing. The outermost compartment has die-cut foam insert for GoPro accessories. It’s lightweight and crushproof (EVA shell) and has several other padded compartments for safe transport of camera accessories, hydration reservoir and smartphone. Thule tells me that the Legend GoPro Backpack will be available in May. Suggested price is $199.
For more info, please visit Thule.
Meikon Diving Equipment
For divers and shooters needing protection against water, Meikon had a large array of waterproof housings and accessories for many popular camera models. On display were housings for Sony mirrorless, Nikon D7000, Canon 5D, Canon M, Canon T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i, Panasonic GF2, GF3, GF5 and GF6. Meikon also has a nice selection lighting equipment and brackets.
For more info, please visit Meikon.

 
 

This concludes my reports from CES.

As usual, I’m excited when I return home from CES. Maybe a few of my finds will get added to my wish list for this year.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
Updated 02/20/2015
 
 

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Hand Grip and Shoulder Strap Combo

For much of my shooting, I’m out in the field exploring and enjoying the outdoors, nature and landscapes: you get the picture. I like to travel light so I rarely use a camera bag or backpack. As I’m walking, hiking, climbing, bending, kneeling and at times crawling, my cameras get a mighty good workout from jostling around on my shoulder and banging against my side.

Occasionally, I’ve used various camera shoulder straps. While these provide ample padding to cushion the weight on my shoulder, they do little to prevent the camera from swinging back and forth as I’m moving. As I was wandering through PhotoPlus Expo recently, I stopped by the Joby booth where their rep Kate showed me a new hand grip/shoulder strap combo. The UltraFit Hand Strap lets you comfortably hold the camera without having to use any finger pressure. You can carry a heavy DSLR with minimal effort and without the fear of dropping it.

You can also see the shoulder strap that’s hanging below the hand grip that Kate is holding. Flip the camera over and you’ll see that the hand grip attaches to the camera body with a Swiss-Arca style flat plate. For times when you want a hands-off way of carrying the camera you can screw Joby’s Pro Sling Strap to the plate. A short but strong tethering line minimizes the swing of the camera as it hangs from your shoulder.

 

The UltraFit Hand Strap with Plate sells for about $35. The Pro Sling Strap sells for about $30.

After talking to Joby and seeing it in action, I’ve already placed a set of these on order.

 

 
Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

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Photokina Part 1 – the new stuff

Every two years the photographic industry gathers at Photokina to introduce its new products.

The event takes place over a week period in early September at the huge Koelnmesse Exhibition Center in Cologne, Germany.

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This year I again attended Photokina along with some 150,000 other visitors and walked the aisles of the messe’s ten huge halls to see the new photographic and imaging products from more than 1500 vendors.

What follows is a condensed report of those products that were of particular interest to me.
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Help Seeing with your DSLR

These two accessories look simple because, well, they are simple. They’re also those types of accessories you might not think about using until you do and then you wonder why you went so long without them.

The first is the HoodEYE eyepiece from Hoodman. The HoodEYE, which replaces the normal eyepiece of your Nikon or Canon DSLR camera, helps block out light from the side that might reduce your ability to see correctly in the viewfinder. All you need to do is gently slide off the normal eyepiece and slide the HoodEYE on the mounting rails. It takes only a few seconds. You can rotate the HoodEYE eyecup left or right to accommodate both “right-eyed” photographers and “left-eyed” photographers. It won’t cover or interfere with the LCD screen.

Click the following to view a video of the HoodEYE.

 
I used it with my Canon XTi and it worked as I hoped. I was outdoors on a bright sunny day with the added problem of sunlight reflecting off the snow but everything in the viewfinder was bright and clear. Best of all, I didn’t have to hold my left hand around my eye to frame the picture and read the display in the viewfinder while trying to hold the camera steady with the my right hand.
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A quick look at the storage area for my photo equipment is a reminder of how many accessories that I’ve accumulated. My shelves are lined with camera bags, backpacks, filters, tripods, gorillapods, remote shutter releases, battery chargers, flash brackets, gps receivers, and many more.

Having used many dozens (perhaps hundreds) of accessories since the 1960s, I’ve had varying opinions about the usability of many of them. Some were worth their weight in gold while others weren’t worth the shelf space they were occupying and are no longer in my possession.

I’ve had a long history of making my own accessories. I’m signalling a short series of articles that I will be writing in coming weeks that show you how can easily make your own photo accessories to save you both frustration and money too.

Here’s a peek at the very inexpensive materials that I purchased to make the first accessory.

Stay tuned to see what we do with these items for the first project.

 
Written by Arnie Lee

 

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I made it a point to attend several trade shows recently – Photokina in Cologne (September), PhotoPlus in NYC (October) and CES in Las Vegas (January). I spent a lot of time walking up and down the aisles at the shows and was able to get hands-on demos of many new pieces of photo equipment and accessories.

Several readers have asked about our plans for reviews of some of these items, so I thought I’d drop a few lines to let you know that we’ve already started reviewing the following items and are putting them through the paces. Additionally, we’ve added another tablet computer to our inventory and are just now logging a few dozen hours studying how it might come in handy for photographers.
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