Month: November 2008

Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

by

When Canon launched the 5dMKII in late 2008 , the quality and look of the video it produced was lost on nobody. It changed everything, Fast forward now to 2010 and I am updating my original posting on microphones for the 5dmkII because it’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. The final episode of the worlds most watched TV show(in 2010), House, was just shot entirely using the Canon 5dMKII. And what is even crazier about the whole story, is that Canon had seemingly no idea of the potential of this camera when they released it. They never intended …

Read more

Opening day at Whistler Blackcomb

by

The day that this town has been waiting for finally arrived. I’m going to keep this post short, it speaks for itself. Were the conditions great up there? No , far from it. Was it great to be back on skis? Ohhhhh yes. Judging by the height of the snow pack , we are still a couple or three weeks from being ready to get go filming and shooting round here but it’s on its way. The new Peak to Peak gondola system is an incredible feat of engineering and I will be attending the official opening on December 12th. …

Read more

A new lens for my kit, Canon 300mm f4L IS

by

Last winter as my shooting evolved to encompass a lot more backcountry shooting, I increasingly found myself shooting at long end of my 70-200mm F2.8 L IS.  Half way through the season i purchased a Canon 1.4x Teleconverter  to use with it , creating a 280mm F4.  Usable in terms of image quality but not great, I was left a little disappointed unless the lens was stopped down to f8 and that’s a pretty tall order when you are shooting action requiring at least 1/1000 shutter speed. This summer then i decided to pick up something that was naively a

Behind the Shot: Urban Storm Skiing

by

It’s not always about the actual action when you’re on an action sports photoshoot. It’s important to look for the moments in between so that…

Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 – A useful piece if kit!

by

Anyone that has ever used a DSLR outside in bright sunshine knows that it can sometimes be tough to see the LCD on the back of the camera. Yes you can get a rough idea whats going on but when you are trying to check critical focusing or exposure with the histogram it can be tricky and I normally resort to unzipping my jacket and trying to view it inside, or removing my jacket and throwing it over my head if its a bright day. When you have miles of snow surrounding you on all sides, each flake seemingly reflecting

CR Johnson – Spyder advert

by

This shot is on the back cover of the December Issue of Freeskier. It was shot in April on Blackcomb mountain in Whistler, BC during a shoot with Matchstick Productions. To read the full story about the shoot you can read my article on Newschoolers.com here and as always, click the photo to view it larger. The conditions for this shoot had been tough all week. Unseasonably cold weather left the jump too hard to hit for a few days and it came right down to the last possible day before the MSP crew had to leave town. Even then

RED Scarlet / Epic Announcement. What does it mean for us?

by

Jim Jannard, billionaire ex-owner of eye wear giant Oakley, announced today a new camera system that should give most professional photographers some considerable food for thought. Jannard’s company, RED, has already caused quite a stir in the movie industry over the last couple of years with the introduction of what is widely held as the best digital cinema camera, RED One. Today the company unveiled a new system that not only aims to continue their domination of digital cinema technology, but at the same time take the company into the world of high-end digital still photography. Two industries that have

Photo of the week – Yuta Ueno

by

Important points about a typical action sports photography scenario. These two things are VITAL to the success of any photo involving a jump and a trick – no matter what the sport is.

Really Right Stuff (RRS) BH-40 Ballhead mini review

by

Over the last couple of years I have experimented with with several different ballheads and failed to find what I was looking for. I don’t use a ballhead very often for my work but when i do need one, i need one that is going to be reliable in fairly hostile environments. Last year I was let down by ballheads from other brands in key situations so I finally decided to bite the bullet and pick up an RRS BH-40. At almost $400 its relatively expensive but hopefully this will be the last ballhead I have to buy for many