BlackRapid Part 2: Belt and Suspenders

3. April 2009 Ron

Today I received an e-mail from a friend of mine in the UK regarding the BlackRapid camera strap. Jim Hampson had purchased one after reading my blog and while he liked it quite a lot he had some reservations about it’s security.  Jim decided to make his camera more secure by creating a safety strap. Not only does his creation work it’s virtually free.

Here is how he did it.

1. Start with the net bag that came with your BlackRapid strap, like so many of these pouches and cases that come with a lot camera gear it’s really quite useless so taking it apart is really no loss. What we need is the cord. To remove the cord from the bag you need to pry open the plastic clamp at the end. You can do this by inserting a small screwdriver into the end of the clamp the cord goes in and prying it open. Once that is done remove the stopper and just pull the cord out of the bag.
2. Loop the cord through the eye of the swivel snap that clips the strap to camera. Or, to make the strap easier to remove, buy another swivel snap and loop the cord through it’s eye then use that snap to connect the safety strap to the eye of the BlackRapid swivel snap.
3. Thread the two ends of the cord through the camera strap eye on the left side of the camera then replace the stopper and clamp. Simply squeezing the clamp will snap it shut over the cord.  If the cord is too long you can shorten it by adjusting the stopper.
4. Test your work. Take your heaviest camera lens combination and a pile of soft pillows or a soft mattress.  Suspend the camera over the aforementioned cushion by the safety strap and give it a couple of good jerks. Assuming it didn’t break inspect the safety strap to ensure it’s integrity.

And there you have it.

I’ve had a chance now to use my BlackRapid on a dozen outings this winter, shooting motorcycle racing and wildlife and I have to say I’m more pleased with it than ever.

Thanks for looking folks.

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Build A Better Mouse Trap…

14. February 2009 Ron

And the world will beat a path to your door or so the saying goes.  I don’t know how the doors at BlackRapid are doing, they don’t build mousetraps but they have come up with a better camera strap for those of us who are lugging around heavy DSLRs and their lenses.  Back in my film days my back was stronger and my cameras were lighter but in recent years lugging around one or two bodies  has literally become a pain in the neck so when I came across a new innovative camera strap and read a few reviews I couldn’t get my order out fast enough.  Having used it for two shoots now I can say it’s everything I hoped it would be.

Actually the idea is so simple it’s a wonder nobody has come up with it before now.  Basically the strap is a loop that you drape over your left shoulder with the camera resting on your right hip.  It contains a slider that you attach your camera to so when you want to shoot you simply grab your camera with your right hand and swing it up to your face and fire away.

The BlackRapid comes with a widget you screw into the tripod hole on the camera to attach it to the strap slider.

Since you can only practically wear one strap at a time and it’s so easy to attach and detach the camera to the strap you only really need one BlackRapid strap even if you have two  or more bodies.  To this end BlackRapid will sell you extra widgets if you need them.

While using two BlackRapids to carry two cameras isn’t practical using one BlackRapid and one conventional camera strap works very well and allows you instant access to either camera.

The BlackRapid comes in two styles, the RS-1 which sells for $44 US and the RS-4 retailing at $48 US.  The only difference between the two is that the RS-4 has a compartment for storing memory cards.  Extra widgets called the FastenRs sell for $12 US each.  You can buy them directly from BlackRapids website but you will need  use PayPal.  Adorama Camera also carry them.

One note to my fellow Canadians and other non US residents, when you order you will receive a tracking number for the USPS, be warned it doesn’t work.  A week after I ordered the tracking site had not changed the status of the package so I emailed BlackRapid and promptly got a reply assuring me that my order had been shipped and that for some reason the USPS doesn’t track international packages, go figure.  Regardless I did get my strap and though I can’t guarantee this, at least in my case it crossed the border without being charged GST or PST so all and all I’m a happy camper.

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Digital Darkroom for Photoshop Part 2

1. October 2008 Ron

Those of you who are subscribed to the LVS mail list may have noticed the new Digital Darkroom for Photoshop Part 2 was not announced in the new class list nor is it on the LVS website for enrollment.  My bad, I let the deadline slip by.  Rest assured that I will be offering the class for the November session and it will be available on the website for enrollment with in a few days.

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Attention LVS Students!

1. October 2008 Ron

Tell us who you are and which class(es) you are enrolled in. Feel free to add comments to let us know how LVS has affected your life. Use the Comments link to leave your message.

LVS Administration

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Adieu Wall Arch

15. August 2008 Ron

Last week, the night of Aug 4 2008, Wall Arch in Arches National Park collapsed. The middle of the arch just collapsed under its own weight. Wall Arch, located along the popular Devils Garden Trail, was 71 feet tall and 33 1/2 feet wide, ranking it 12th in size among the known arches inside the park. This wasn’t an unexpected occurrence, arches have collapsed in the past and eventually all the arches of the American southwest will succumb to erosion and gravity. In the summer of 2007 I visited southeast Utah and Arches National Park, as a photographer it was one of the most exciting trips I had ever taken but unfortunately halfway through our two week stay in Moab I fell off my mountain bike and did a number on my knee. Consequently I never made the hike out to Wall Arch and never photographed it. I did however get a picture of nearby Pine Arch. You can see more of my Arches National Park photos on my web site Boreal Photography.

Hope you all are having a great summer.

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LVS September Registration

29. July 2008 Ron

September registration is now open at LVS Online for classes! Register now for Paint Shop Pro and Paint Shop Pro Photo classes. You will learn lots of tips for making the most of your PSP programs.

• Classrooms will open on Aug. 25, 2008,
• Registration ends on Aug. 27, 2008.
• The first lesson will post on Aug. 30, 2008.

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September Session at LVS

25. July 2008 Ron

Hi folks, hope you’re all having a great summer. Sorry to have neglected my poor blog for so long but things have been a little hectic around here.

Okay first the bad news, Digital Darkroom with Photoshop Part 2 won’t be available until the November Session. Sorry about that but I haven’t really had the time to finish writing the lessons.

In September I’m presenting a new class which will replace Digital Photography 101. Because more and more of you are using DSLRs I’ve decided to concentrate on them for this class which will be called Digital Photography With the DSLR. I’ve been using DSLRs myself since 2001 and film SLRs since the early 70s and have a pretty good handle on them. I feel with the availability of relatively expensive models more and more of you are turning to them as your camera of choice. I think that even those of you who have already taken Digital Photography 101 that use a DSLR will get something out of the new class. We’ll be covering many of the aspects of photography that are unique to SLRs and how you can get the best photographs from a DSLR system as well as what accessories and lenses you might need for your particular flavour of photography. You will of course need a DSLR to take full advantage of the class.

Digital Photography 102 will be available in September for the last time for those of you who took 101 and want to complete the course.

As I mentioned the new Digital Darkroom With Photoshop Part 2 class won’t be ready until the November session but Part 1 will be available for the September session.

I hope this all makes some sort of sense, if you have any questions please email me at ron@borealphotography.com

Even though it’s been a busy summer so far I have managed to get out and take a few photos such as this portrait of a Black Bear and her cub.

Thanks for dropping by, hope to see you all in class.

Digital Photography | 1 Kommentar »

Take Intimate Portraits In Snapshot Situations

1. May 2008 Ron

Recently I travelled down east to Southwestern Ontario to visit my family which also meant meeting my grandniece for the first time. Said meeting took place at a family gathering at my mother’s house and as usual I had my camera handy. Let me begin by confessing that my least favourite type of photography is snapshot photography. I’m not denigrating snapshots, much of our personal history is documented with snapshots but it’s just not something I enjoy doing. The gathering took place mostly in my Mom’s average sized livingroom filled with the usual furnishings and knick knacks as well as dining room chairs to provide seating for the dozen odd attendees. A rather crowded venue which would make for busy photos and plenty of distracting elements. With this in mind I opted for the long focal length and versatility of my 70-200mm zoom lens. This lens allowed a degree of stealth and the ability to capture the moment without making my subject uncomfortable or self conscious (no clenched teeth forced smiles while the photographer focuses and composes).

Grandpa and Granddaughter Kylea

For lighting I used a hot shoe flash on my camera to keep things simple and unobtrusive. The built in flash on most DSLRs will usually provide adequate light for situations like this where subject to camera distance is under twenty feet but you are restricted to direct flash which can be harsh and will cast hard shadows. With a hot shoe flash you can use the bounce feature. You do this by aiming the flash upward thus bouncing the light off the ceiling which scatters it making it softer and creating more flattering portraits. If you happen to be in an outdoor situation or a room or hall with very high ceilings consider some sort of diffusion device for your flash. Luniquest make a complete line of flash diffusion and bounce attachments.

Mother and Daughter

Exposure is really a piece of cake with modern TTL flash units. With these the camera senses when sufficient light has entered the camera and simply turns the flash off at that point. I’d suggest you use manual exposure setting the shutter speed to the maximum sync speed, usually 1/250th (if you set it faster your camera will reset it to that speed anyway) and to minimize distracting background elements open the aperture all the way. Take a few test shots and preview the image and histogram to ensure the exposure is optimal, if not use the flash exposure compensation feature either on the camera or flash unit it’s self (not to be confused with exposure compensation or EV) to nail in the exposure.

Father and Daughter

To compose intimate portraits you want to get in tight. Don’t worry about getting full head and shoulder portraits but rather home in on faces, eyes, and expressions to get revealing character studies, leave the head and shoulder shots to the passport photographers.

Thanks for dropping by, comments and suggestions always welcome.

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