Shooting video is in many ways exactly like shooting stills. And in other ways, nothing like it at all! For me, who never shoots, ever shoots stills in Manual, that’s the first big shift for me with the ZR, always shooting in manual. Then you add to this shootin Shutter Angle rather than Shutter Speed. On top of that is the ISO is more or less fixed (I can handle that) but you can change the ISO in Post (that’s screwin with my mind) and all you have left in the exposure formula is f/stop. And that, if you want to shoot wide open with the Shutter Angle and ISO more or less locked, what does one do? You turn what most call the variable ND. For video, they can get very pricy, very so I went looking and found the K&F Concept. I have both the 95mm and 77mm and use them a lot. Shooting with the Wave Form, you simply rotate the filter for the right exposure with the aperture wide open (or in the neighborhood). It’s so simple, I’ve done it while shooting A2A. It’s just a whole new way to think for me, controlling the f/stop with a filter, K&F.

While new to me, the VisibleDust SL Swab has been around for a couple of years. I didn’t know about them until just recently, when I needed to replenish my supply. I’ve used VisibleDust since the beginning cause they have never let me down. I was surprised to see the new design and really quite intrigued (even with them costing 150% more than the regular ones). The SL Swabs have an angle to the edge for more even swipes, and wedge edge does much better in the corners of the sensor. The other biggie is the bigger handle. You can read all the specs of the “new” SL here, what you can’t read about is a small but important perk to the wider handles. As I get older, arthritis has started to wang at my thumb. That wider “stick” sure feels a whole lot better in my hand than the originals. So, I can get cleaner, faster, and with a bit less discomfort. That’s why when I used them for the first time, I said out loud, VisibleDust SL Swab, dang!

This is the next in a series of videos, Some Simple Advice, that might help move your photography forward. It’s like any advice you might receive, you gotta take it in and decide if it works for you. If it does, perfect. If it doesn’t just forget it and continue on :-)

The most common question I get asked is, “Which Lens?” We all have a kit of lenses, if you’re like me, the kit changes some year to year. For example, the Z24-70f2.8 in the photo above has been replaced with the new Z24-70f2.8II and the addition of the Z180-600. When I head out to shoot, I don’t take the entire locker, just select lenses I feel I’ll use on that shoot. There’s the first answer to the question, “Which Lens?” The bigger question comes when you’re in the field and you need to select just ONE and right NOW! Folks ask me this question as if I have THE answer and THE answer for EVERYONE! I don’t! Let’s set this record straight. No one has THE answer for themselves all the time let alone for every photographer all the time! Ever gone to a restaurant with a group of friends? Everyone has the same menu handed to them, the same selections. There will be those who ask the waitress, “What do you like best?” Or there is the question, “What do you like to eat here?” There is always a variety of answers. Why would one think lens selection is any more cut and dry than ordering off a menu? We all have different tastes, dietary restrictions, budget, that’s life and what makes us all individuals. The same holds true for selecting THE lens for a moment. If you don’t know which lens, you can always rent to see what they see for what you want to see but this still doesn’t answer THE question THE moment you want to go click. It could be that the only right answer comes from within, what your mind and heart, when connected, brings to light for your storytelling. Perhaps just think of AWE, what brings that to the viewfinder when asking, which lens?

Finding “the” right ballhead for my general photography has been a ongoing, seems like, lifetime quest. There have been some really close ones, but they have all lacked, until now, the one feature I truly desire. Benro nailed it with the GD36PT! The feature I wanted, fine-tune adjustments! I love the speed of a ballhead for getting the camera where I want it. With all the previous ballheads, fine-tuning took me seemingly forever as I loosened the knob, adjusted, tightened, saw it move, loosened again, tightened again. Argh. With the GD36PT, you can quickly get where you want to be, horizontal or vertical, then with the geared movements, fine-tune instantly and once! And you can do this even wearing gloves! Rock solid, doesn’t weigh a ton, fits right in the tripod bag. Benro hit a home run with the ultimate Ballhead, their geared head!