10 Cool Gift Ideas For the Photographer in your Life !

Christmas is coming... and you if you have a Photographer in your life, you probably know that most of their wish list would cost serious coin! Well, there are a few cool gift ideas, that may not break the bank. (Ideas courtesy of the Photojojo online store)

Detachable iPhone Lenses
There are SO many gadgets now for the serious iPhone-ographer... but probably the best are the wee lenses you can now add!

You can get a Fisheye, Telephoto, Wide Angle and Macro Lenses- each set comes with adhesive removable metal rings. The ring sticks to the back of your phone, and the Photojojo Lens attaches magnetically. Snap it on and off in an instant!

Camera Lens Mugs
These mugs are ridiculously life-like! They are full-size models and available in Nikon or Canon versions.

iPhone Wrist Strap
Ok... now this is one I should have had a couple of months ago, when a bunch of kids flew past me while on my daily school pick-up, knocking my now-ex iPhone out of my hands. If I had had one of these, I could have said nur-nur-de-nur-nur to gravity and it's evil buddy, concrete!

Camera Cookie Cutter Set

Love cookies AND cameras? Why not combine the 2 with camera cookie cutters?!

You get 3 different designs: an SLR, a classic rangefinder, and an old-school twin reflex camera.

They also come with a dough stamp AND recipe.

Camera Tree Ornaments
Totally useless but oh so pretty! These cute wee tree baubles are glass, hand painted & perfect for stocking stuffers!

A Bokeh Kit!

For the "experimental" Photographer, how about this kit to create cool effects out of these luscious out-of-focus light? (Particularly cool to use in conjunction with festive fairy lights!) The kit comes with 21 shapes plus 8 blanks to make your own.

A Lens Cap Strap Holder

Aaahh... those pesky lens caps...vital to protect your lens in the bag, of course, but so stinkin easy to lose on a shoot... no matter how much you are convinced you put it in a safe place!! Oh yes, you could use one of those cap gadgets that keep them attached to the lens by elastic... but they are even more annoying as they swing about widely (and repeatedly in the way) when your creative juices are in full flow. Here is the solution! No more swearing when you are halfway down a mountain in Manning Park when you realize you haven't seen that cap since the summit! (Yes, this was me, last summer!) 

The DSLR Piggy Bank!

Photography is an expensive hobby... and one where you are ALWAYS wanting more "stuff"! So, why not save up for your "stuff" with a camera piggy bank?! (Seems pretty logical to me!)

The Camera USB Drive

Cute AND handy... with 4GB of storage to boot. Nuff said, really!

Photo-opoly!

Here's one for the game-loving photographer - a rather fabulous version of the old-classic Monopoly! You even get to add some of your own photos to the board...

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A FEW BONUS IDEAS...

Yes, I know I said 10... but photographers can never have enough "stuff", so here are a few more bonus ideas for the shutterbug in your life!

Op/tech Rainsleeve - a simple plastic sleeve that keeps your camera dry on a rainy day! If I remember right, mine were a pack of 2 from Lens & Shutter, for just $7.99

Memory Cards - a good photographer can never have enough memory cards! You may want to check first, though, which sort their camera takes.

Props! - If the photographer in your life does portraits, they will probably want props. Just check out their pics & style to see what they might like. (Thrift stores or antique shops are your best bets for this one!)

There... that should get you started! Photographer-buddies, please feel free to not-so-subtly share this post with your gift-buying loved ones, and also feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments below! The loved-one of a photographer somewhere will thank you for easing their purchasing burden!!

New Toy!

I have a confession...I love snow globes. I probably have ever since I was a fresh-faced young student and saw Bill Pullman  give that oh-so-sentimental-and-romantic gift to Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. (Permission to roll your eyes just a little bit!)

Well, I follow several Photographers who develop and sell editing actions, (they come in handy occasionally, when having a "creative block" or speed things up when I'm running on a tight deadline!) and a few of them have made snow globe templates, this year. It's an old concept, but seems to be enjoying a sudden revival, thanks to these Photographers.

This was one kind of template I just couldn't resist... and I've spent the last 24 hours happily playing! (These particular templates are courtesy of Stacie Jensen of Rock My Edits) Ahhh, if only I'd have had them a month ago to make our Christmas cards. Oh well, next year maybe...

A few more family memories... | Chilliwack Family Photographer

Wow... it really is Family Photo Season, as the requests are still coming in!

I had the great pleasure to shoot another lovely family, last week... and their girls were absolutely adorable! The youngest has had quite a rough spell recently, with an extended hospital stay, so Mom decided they should celebrate her recovery with some family pics - good call, Mom! Of course, Big Sis was a total superstar too, doing absolutely everything I asked straight away and with a smile at all times - a future model maybe?

A few for the family.. | Chilliwack Family Photographer

With Christmas fast approaching, Photographers everywhere are finding themselves firmly in the midst of "Family Portrait Season" (kinda like Duck Season, but our shooting is a little safer for the targets!). I have had the pleasure to shoot a couple of awesome families lately, who are not only great friends, but are fantastic models at the same time!

Of course, this time of the year can present some challenges weather-wise, and these shoots were no exception... the first was pouring with rain, the second was freezing cold. But, I have to salute both families for braving the elements with no complaints and "turning it on" at the right moment!

 I'm now kinda scared to see what Mother Nature intends to throw at me for the next session!

When a Wedding becomes my Birthday...

I had the great pleasure of being invited to second-shoot a wedding with Lori, of Lori Johnson Photography, in August.... and I must say that this gig kind-of became a bit of a birthday for me. Why? Because I was given the rare chance to shoot with lenses that I usually just drool over in my catalogues.

Shooting with Lori is always a pleasure anyway, and she is fantastic about giving constructive feedback in a way that doesn't crush my soul(!)... but on this occasion, since the results needed to be as tack sharp as possible for printing purposes, she allowed me to shoot with whatever lenses she wasn't using at the time. My inner voice was singing and whooping with every single lens change! (My outer shell remained calm and professional, of course!)

The 3 new lenses I shot with were the 105mm, 24-70mm f2.8 and the much coveted 70-200mm f2.8 (all Nikkor). My favourite? Well, I loved them all, and I am now definitely saving harder for that 24-70, but the clear winner had to be the 70-200. If this glass was a dessert, it would be a triple-chocolate & fudge death-by-chocolate layer cake, drizzled with chocolate & caramel sauce made with real Belgian chocolate. Mmmmm...

Here are a few of my favourite shots from that day...

Walking with Mr Kelby... and a few thousand others! | Chilliwack Photographer

The kids are in bed... and the rain kept away the over-estimated hoards of trick-or-treaters.... so I am sitting here, desperately looking for ways to occupy my hands in a way that doesn't involve the small pile of unwanted chocolate bars sitting a few feet away from me. It is to my blog that I turn! So... where has my camera taken me lately? A few places actually - and it's quite a relief after the little break I unwillingly took.

One of the recent highlights involved 2 hours of uninterrupted selfish shooting, courtesy of a guy called Scott Kelby. OK, he wasn't actually there, as such... but he is the brains behind a worldwide event, where groups of photographers gather together on one particular day, share their love of the lens and just shoot to their hearts' content.

It is called Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk, and our local meet was at the Blue Heron Reserve, just down the road from us. Now, many of the Walk Leaders chose urban (usually downtown) settings, so it was actually a really nice change to have a more rural location... and a chance to practice more of those bird shots that I have wanted to do, this year.

Here is a little taster of my day's efforts...

  So... what did I learn from my day?

1. Don't forget your coat on a rainy day! (Yes... I put mine out ready to take but it didn't make it to the car. Thankfully a VERY nice fellow shooter had a spare!)
2. Carry a waterproof camera cover in your bag. (Mine has sat in my bag unused for months... until this day. It was very wet and that $7 purchase probably saved me $$$ in repairs!)
3. Other photographers are not that scary! (Who knew?!)
4. Every photographer should give themselves a little "me and my camera time" occasionally. (Shooting 100% for yourself is the best therapy ever!)

Dear Santa - Add a D600 to my list please!

Dear Santa,

How are things "up North"? Hope the missus and team are all well.

I hate to bother you right at the time when you are "ramping up" for the season, but I have a conundrum, and wanted to get my letter in before the avalanche of kids' letters arrive. (Whilst I may consider my brain to still be kid-like, I do accept that I have not legally qualified as such for approx 20 years!) I was wondering if you would ever consider giving an "advance" on Christmas Gifts... and whether I could actually take advantage of such scheme by getting a 10 year advance?

You see, Nikon keep waving all these luscious shiny trinkets in front of my face. I've always been attracted to shiny in general, but you add the word Nikon and I'm putty. I had initially planned on asking for a 5 year advance to receive a 24-70 2.8 lens - something I feel would benefit me enormously during this sudden interest and multiple requests for my work. However, now these cheeky little Nikon monkeys have added a new body to the range that has almost made my brain explode in frustration - the new D600...

Yes... the rumours have finally been put to bed, as Nikon officially announced their new full frame baby for the avid enthusiast. For me, excitement was immediately followed by frustration and disappointment, when I found out that the price tag was going to be about $500 more than the rumoured estimate. (Of course, this comes in the same year that Tamron similarly disappointed me with the price for their new 24-70)

To rub salt in the wounds, this announcement also stated the ridiculously fast availability of this camera (especially in comparison to his slightly sexier cousins, D4 & D800) - with D600's hitting store shelves within just a week... and incidentally, a week and a half before my birthday!! (Bad timing, boys! How is any already-purchased gift going to compete?!)

So... not wanting to keep you from the festive preps any longer, I would really appreciate if you could consider adding the D600 to my stocking, this year... but I am not a greedy child (and still want to stay on the "Good Girl List"), so if both is pushing it, I will just settle for the afore-mentioned 24-70 lens...

Forever Your #1 Fan
Mandy Peacock (Aged 30-something)

A Little Variety Never Hurt...

I'm a bad blogger... a bad, bad blogger... I need to receive 5 lashes from the cat o' nine tails for blog negligence! But, hey, I'm back!

Various shots from the Leisure Centre Sessions

So, what has kept me so busy? Daily family life, for the most part... but, a few fun wee photography projects have also contributed. I second shot at a wedding, for the first time in a couple of years. (I have already progressed a stack since the last wedding I shot, but I found that I still have so much to learn.)

My biggest recent project, though, was a great opportunity to put almost everything I have ever learned into practice... and that was when I was called in to shoot some promotional images for  local City-run leisure facilities. 

Those were, quite possibly, the most fun I have had shooting in a while - based on the sheer range of things I was asked to shoot; from trainer head shots to figure skaters in action, senior social activities to pre- school playtimes... quite the variety!!! Of course, each activity was in a different area, with different lighting and very different movement... so each had to treated very differently in both the creative approach and the technicalities.

The only problem with a shoot like that? So many different scenarios meant a lot more equipment in tow! I need a rolling bag... or a burly man servant!! (Ah... yes... more to add to my wish list... will it ever stop?!)

Cool Photo Blog Spotlight - The Little People Project

Sometimes the simplest ideas can be the coolest... and I found one online that I just had to share... because it is soooo cool! Whilst procrastinating on the web, sorry, researching on the web, I found a really awesome blog entitled The Little People Project.

It is the brainchild of London-based "Slinkachu" (Yeh, he is staying anonymous to the masses... but we do know he is a scorpio... not sure what relevance that is.. I digress!) and he simply puts tiny, railway model people into cool poses or scenes on the street, photographs them and then leaves them there!

Described as both a "street art installation project and a photography project", it has been amusing and bemusing passers-by (well, the ones that actually show awareness of their surroundings!) since 2006.

Love it!

Lightroom 4 is Here...Again... Officially... and in its Full Perfected Glory!

News has just hit the web - Lightroom 4 has been officially released and is now available for download. (Retail version available from March 6 or 7, depending on supplier.) WOO HOO!

Even better still, Adobe have slapped a fantastically affordable price tag of just $149 (US) until March 31, 2012. I really hope that isn't a glitch, but it does seem logical when LR3 was on sale for half price for the last couple of weeks.

I'm now off to do my happy dance... :-)

UPDATE: Thanks to the guys at Scott Kelby and the guys at Kelby Training, who just confirmed on their live webcast, that the price is actually not a limited time offer - it is the new price!! DOUBLE WOO HOO and high five to Adobe!

Newborn Sessions - My Top 5 Tips

Last week, I had my first newborn session in...er...hmmm... 3 years (wow! that long?!) and I had forgot how much fun they could be. Mind you, it does help when you have a cute, happy, cooperative subject! (With an awesome, cooperative parent in tow!)

So, from my recent refresher course and past experience, what scraps of advice would I offer a would-be newborn photographer? Good question... my tips would be:

1. Take your time. Babies (and new Moms!) don't want to be rushed -they are still finding their place and routine in the world. Be prepared to wait and take things slow. I like a 2 hour window.

2. Pick the best window of opportunity. I find 7-10 days old, to be the best for newborn shots. You get the best chance, at this stage, of a nice blend between sleepy baby and awake baby during your session.

3. Warmth is key! A toasty baby is a happy baby. I keep an extra heater near baby (unless I am using my continuous lighting kit - then heating comes from the lights instead!), and have a hairdryer on standby to warm up any props or cooler surfaces (like my leather ottoman). Warm hands also help!

4. Plan your props. This is where you can make your signature mark, so plan ahead well. I like to keep it simple (I'm not a fan of dressing up babies like dolls - I prefer to keep them as the blank canvas that they are), and ask parents to maybe bring something of significance to them (like a favourite stuffed animal or hobby item). My other favourite prop is my sound machine - I have it set to play a heartbeat noise and hide it behind my backdrop or just out of frame. It's a great baby soother!

5. Prepare for serious editing! You may be the best photographer in the world, with amazing SOOC (straight out of camera) results, but I have not met a newborn yet with perfect skin... and yet, newborn photos show them that way! Newborns tend to suffer with all sorts of dermatological conditions, such as newborn acne and cradle cap. So, I find the post processing requires a fair bit of healing brushes and skin tone adjustments.

So...yeh... that was fun... I now have to find more babies to photograph! (And NO, I am not having any more of my own! My family can forget that one! ;-)

I've been published!

Very VERY excited - I have just had 3 of my photos published in a magazine! Yay me! I am now an "Internationally Published Photographer"! (Did I mention I was excited?!) The photos, all taken on the beaches of West Vancouver, are featured in the latest edition of 72 & Rising - a fantastic aquatic-based magazine which covers all things water-related...

My images (right), as featured in 72 & Rising!

The magazine aims to bridge the gap between the marine science community and us regular land-lubbers. It pretty much covers every aspect of water-related life that you could be interested in -  conservation, science, art, photography, water activities, travel, adventure and even cooking(!) - but does it whilst secretly educating you. Since we are so reliant on (yet so abusive to) our planet's unique covering of H20, I see absolutely nothing wrong with that!



Project 12

OK... it's official... I suck. Alright, maybe I should clarify what I am sucking at before jokes fly a-plenty! This year (so far), I have sucked at following my Project 52. So, with my head held in shame, I have decided to demote myself to the simpler and less-pressured Project 12.

Yes, I am already 1 month behind on a Project 12 too, but being 1 image behind feels a little nicer than being a whopping 8 images behind, so I'll take it. :-) Once again, I am looking to MCP for subject ideas. January was "Resolution", and February is "Love" (or "Leap" for the heartless anti-Valentine cynics... just kidding... about the cynics... not the alternate subject.). Let's see how this one goes...

My New Shopping List...

One truth in Photography is that you are never happy with the equipment you have... whether it is lenses, bodies or just gadgets, you always want more! So... with that in mind, here is my initial shopping list for this year (cough)... and maybe a wee bit longer...
(DISCLAIMER: please note that this is not the complete list - just an abridged "high priority" one -  I  don't want to scare my husband!

Lightroom 4
OK, top of my list now is Lightroom 4. After a few weeks of testing this little gem's Beta version, I am hooked. (I knew testing it would be a mistake).

Another spare battery
Boring, but necessary nontheless

And finally... 24-70mm 2.8 lens
OK, the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G WAS on my long-term list. As much as his 70-200mm big brother was my ultimate dream lens, this chap's slightly lower price tag and more immediate practicality for me (not to mention the rave reviews) bumped bro off the list in his favour.
However... along came the folks at Tamron, who have just announced their version of this beauty!

Photo courtesy of Tamron.ca

Now, I may be jumping the gun a little here - the price and launch date still haven't been announced & I have not seen any reviews on it's performance yet (let's be honest, the clarity of the Nikkor will be really hard to match) - but I am still waiting with a lot of interest to see if my shopping list will alter slightly. You can find out more info HERE.

Grooming the Next Generation...

As any parent knows, kids like to mimic their parents and, since I seem to have a camera almost surgically attached to my face half the time, it only seems natural that they should want to take photos too. So, a few years ago, we bought our oldest daughter one of these indestructible toddler cameras - yes it was indestructible, but the photo quality sucked... and I don't mean compared to a DSLR... I mean it makes the first ever wooden box cameras look like a Mamiya! However, she was 3/4(ish?) at the time, and really didn't care, so I bit my tongue, smiled that "Mummy is happy that you are happy" smile and moved on.

Life thro' the eyes of a 3-year-old...

Well, as expected, our youngest has now been bitten by the shutterbug, and was running round the house trying to find 1 of the 2 kids cameras that we own. No luck. Sad face. Big puppy dog eyes.

So, I relented and handed her my semi-ancient Kodak P&S. She watched excitedly as I loaded it with cheap double A's, a 2MB SD card (yeh... I know... even half full, the photo register was at over 1500 shots left!). Off she went on a journey of photographic exploration...

It was great to watch her... watch which subjects she chose... and the delight on her face, when she reviewed each shot!

One thing did disturb me, tho...

When she discovered that she was taking photos of her fingers, by accidentally putting them over the lens, she then decided that these images were actually really cool. She then set off to deliberately photograph them!

Should I be inspired or worried? Gifted artist or potential "Dexter"?

The Ultimate Camera Bag for Girls!

Photo courtesy of pompidoo.com

Ohh...emm...geee! I TOTALLY have to, like, have this cam-er-aaa bag, that I found, like, online! It is soooooo fab-u-lous!

Sorry... don't know what came over me there.

So, yes... I have found the most GORGEOUS camera bag online, and it is now firmly on my ever-growing wish list! What is so amazing about this new brand of bag? Well, it holds what it needs to, but doesn't look anything like a camera bag - it just looks like a really stylish, everyday bag that you could take anywhere. (Yes, that IS the bag in the photo, on the desk of that oh-so-professional-looking lady!)

Photo courtesy of pompidoo.com

The bags are the brainchild of two smart Latvian ladies - one of whom is a Professional Photographer and felt the need for a stylish camera bag that didn't look like a backpack or sports bag! (I guess every girl wants to just be a girl sometimes!) Yeh, they are a little on the pricey side (285 Euros), but we are talking genuine leather here, and the have a loading capacity that is resembling that of Mary Poppins carpet bag.

If you have a few spare Euros, take a look at www.pompidoo.com .

Lenses for camera phones!

Yup... you read the title of this post right - you can now actually get SLR-like camera lenses to add to your iPhone, or any camera phone for that matter! This crazy revelation came to me courtesy of Oh So Posh Photography, when they had fun testing a set bought on the Photojojo online store ... and whilst I still remain a teensy bit skeptical of their quality, the idea does seem pretty neat! (I love gadgets almost as much as my techy husband!)


Photo courtesy of photojojo.com

There are 3 handy little lenses to choose from - Fisheye, Macro & Wide Angle - and they just pop onto the camera with the aid of magnetics! Oh so tempting...

Top 10 of 2011

Finally... here they are... my top 10 photos of 2011! (I think... I keep changing my mind!)

At the beginning of every year, I take studio portraits of my children... and while I look at this picture and think of 10 ways that I would now shoot it differently (& better!), it has made my Top 10 because it did show me that I was much improved from the year before... oh yes, and because my oldest would be mad if she didn't appear in the Top 10!

This show was taken near Bridal Falls, BC... and was a personal triumph in that I managed my favourite water effect without a tripod! (A tree stump came to the rescue!) You see, when you travel with 2 small children 90% of the time, your backpack is full of snacks and emergency supplies - no room for useful camera accessories like a tripod!

Captured with the aid of my junior assistants... who were more than willing to oblige in blowing every dandelion clock we could find, along the Vedder Rotary Trail, to get the shot! A great shot with a great memory to go with it. 

Captured at the Vancouver Aquarium - I just loved the grace and calmness of these jellyfish and managed to grab a few great shots of them, that day.

I love this shot for 2 reasons - 1. Because I am proudly showcasing the produce nurtured by my own fair hand in our own back yard (my Dad would be so proud!) and 2. I am (successfully!) using a technique that was taught to us by Scott Kelby at his "Light It. Shoot It. Retouch It. Live" seminar in Vancouver, last year (LOVED the seminar and learned a lot - highly recommend it if he ever comes to a town near you).

Captured on the beach at Whytecliff Park, near Vancouver - I was enjoying a great day out shooting with 2 good friends, and we had just dived under cover to shelter from a sudden rain shower when this little fella popped onto the beach with a slightly unusual snack on his beak - a poor unsuspecting starfish! I braved the wet and tried to stealthily get closer... he kept inching away and turning his back on me! Patience prevailed, and I got my shot just before he threw his head back and gulped it down.

I was experimenting with slightly different angles, and just captured a shot that I love - simple as that!

This was taken as an assignment for a photography course I did, last year. I had not attempted much still life prior to the course and discovered that I actually really enjoy it. 

This shot was taken while I was experimenting with using festive lights to create great bokeh. How could you not love a cute face like that?!

This is probably my favourite shot of the year. Whilst on a "Girls Day-Out Shooting" with 2 great photo-loving friends, this was shot at sunset at Point Atkinson Lighthouse in West Vancouver. My aim of the year was to capture a scenic shot that I would want to hang on my wall - this was it... and was worth the scary walk through the pitch-black forest back to the car!