Carlos Ferragamo "Love Me" Official Video

"Love Me" featuring Carlos Ferragamo.


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CarlosFerragamo

Twitter
@losFERRA
@CNoteVP

Artist: Carlos Ferragamo
Track: Steven Gif Collier
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Produced by: Place Productions

Hello, Emotion... | Spoken Word Video for Rick Rude

Here it is! The official video for talented artist Rick Rude performing his title, "Hello, Emotion..." Keep up with Rick Rude at Instagram.com/ImRickRude

Artist: Rick Rude
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Produced by: YEP and Place Productions

"Hello, Emotion" Spoken Word Video Preview

It's funny how God works. Back in January, I was at dinner with a close friend. We ended up having a conversation about this talented guy we went to highschool with ('02 by the way). Weeks later, I get a phone call from someone asking about directing a spoken word video. Guess who's the talent. Rick Rude is a Spoken Word artist out of Orlando, Florida. In this piece, he welcomes the emotions that so many people run from or get caught up in. Life isn't about what you go through, it's about how you respond. Video drops 3-20-2015! Produced by YEP, linky. #ChristUP

Beezy Bux - Realities

Beezy Bux
Realities
Directed by: Curtis Harper
Place Productions, LLC

A Fighting Chance - Documentary

I just got some great news from one of the Directors, our film is now the second most popular on Hulu.com!! I would like to thank everyone for their support. The film will be available for preview for only one more week online. If you miss it, the television premiere will be on ESPN in November.

Get in touch with Kyle: http://twitter.com/kylemaynard

Directors: Takashi Doscher & Alex Shofner
Producers: Ted Leonsis & Rick Allen
Music by: Mike Dorsey
Camera Operators:
Ross Sebek
Curtis Harper
Ryan Moulton
Asher Emmanuel
David Torcivia
John Merizalde

What flash to buy?

image by Mark (POTN)

Many first time DSLR users that end up taking the professional path soon realize that their second purchase will be an external flash. Though the on-camera units are becoming more and more powerful, they limit creativity and should only be used when it's the only option. The small but powerful flash can not be adjusted, excerpts a harsh, generally unfocused light and is mounted to a single location. But it's a flash, right? Why do you need an external flash? Here are a few of the common benefits:

- the ability to adjust the power output
- enables you to focus the light
- you can point the light at the optimal angle, which is not always directly at the subject
- more power when you need it
- the option to operate wirelessly
- increased battery life of your camera
- gives a strong fill light outdoors

Of course an external flash also has it's drawbacks:

- slow recycle time (grows smaller and smaller upon new releases; can be remedied by external battery pack)
- extra equipment to carry
- must buy extra batteries to power the flash (cheap)
- must shell out the cash (from $100 - $500)

As you can see the benefits make the drawbacks seem insignificant. Perhaps the most important aspect of making this type of purchase is simply that it allows you to shoot in situations that you originally could not. So which flash do you buy? The latest and greatest? Is old tech just as good as new? Do I need to get the manufacturer's flash unit or can I use a third party?

When considering your purchase, think about what your needs are. What are your plans in the future? Look for specifications like TTL, master/slave, tilt/swivel, recycle time, w/s (power output). These are all important when making your decision. As far as the brand, I like to stick with manufacturer's. Who knows their products better than them? However certain 3rd party flashes do offer good reviews, such as the Yongnuo YN-600. You will also find that 3rd party flashes are as much as 90% cheaper than the manufacturer's units. The thing that you do not want to do is purchase a flash from ancient times, as there may be voltage variances or other differences in the circuitry that may not match up with modern gear.

Manufacturer's units are expensive, but they are usually worth it. Take the 580exii for example. It is almost twice as powerful as the previous model, offers wireless control of other flashes, smaller increments of adjustment, faster recycle time and the list goes on. The price tag is hefty at $399, but many Photographers will greatly benefit from these features. Many 3rd party flashes offer slow recycle times and short battery life. This is ok for the at home Family Photographer, but not for the professional. These are simply tools for the job.

I always say if you are going to purchase, make an investment. Spend the money upfront rather than purchasing just to make an upgrade in the future. If you are serious about your craft, then it will pay off. With the rapid advancement of technology, and constant releases due to steady competition, it becomes easier to get the "previous model." The 430exii is an amazing flash, but we only said that until the 580 was released. Find out what you need and what you can afford, and always carry more batteries than you need.

For more information on individual flash models, check out http://speedlights.net/

JPEG vs. RAW

A question often asked when first introduced to professional Photography is, "What is the difference between shooting JPEG and shooting RAW?" First, lets consider how a photograph is made: you press a release, which opens the shutter, which allows light to reach a plane, which "exposes" a digital sensor. From here, the image is saved to your supported format.

A JPEG image is a compressed file. The objective is to process the image in a way that causes no quality loss visible to the human eye. In other words, the camera is saying "I don't need this data in order to show you an accurate image." This is great because it allows for small file sizes, and beautiful images. A standard 15mp image will be about a 4MB file. So did you catch that? The image is processed before it leaves your camera.

Every thing has a positive and a negative. No matter how you take it, JPEG is a lossy compression format. And each time you process the image, it loses considerable quality. What most are not conscious to is that the original image has already been processed once, in-camera. So when you edit that image, you are already re-compressing the file. This is where the term "post" processing originated (digitally at least). Another problem is that editing introduces artifacts which can soften or otherwise distort the image. It's like a one way valve, once the data is gone, it's not coming back.

Then we have the RAW format. A RAW file is uncompressed. No camera processing is done to the image after it is captured. That means you are starting with the original (like a negative), and have complete control over how the image is processed. There are obvious benefits to this such as the ability to make adjustments, especially white balance, without any loss in quality. On the other hand, a RAW file will take up about 5 times the space of a JPEG.

If you need the highest quality image, shoot RAW. At the very least, it provides one less round of processing (assuming you will be editing the images). If you are going to deliver pictures straight out of the camera, there is no need to shoot RAW. JPEG is a great format, but it wasn't born to edit; it was born to specify a codec in which images can gracefully be compressed.

Canon Lens Travel Mug

For anyone that was fortunate enough to flaunt a Press badge at the Olympics, you probably received one of Canon's new fancy Travel Mugs. The mug was designed after their popular 70-200mm f/4 IS lens. The lens was later made available to the public on the Vistek site, and of course, sold out the same day. Fret not, Canon Canada is currently holding a promotion giving away free mugs with a $200CAD purchase. So how bad do you want one?

Philip Bloom Meet Up - Los Angeles

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to fly out to LA and join a great group of people for Philip Bloom's HD-DSLR meet up. Had a blast and met many enthusiasts and professionals alike. I'd say 60% of the crowd carried a 7D or T2i. Unfortunately the only piece of gear I had was my Pro Master 32" reflector! [I had a T2i on reserve at Samys Camera, which was sold to another customer. Unfortunately this was my first experience with them.] I was honored to meet and listen to the advice and experiences of 24 DP Rodney Charters. He was out sporting the T2i. For the full read and a ton of pics jump over to Philip Bloom's blog.

Canon 550D Sample Footage

Today Canon officially announced the release of the Rebel T2i aka the 550D. Later in the afternoon they released this sample footage!



Specs at DPReview

TE - The Weatherproof Canon 7D

Photo By Ole Jorgen Liodden

It's official, the Canon 7D has won me over and will be the next cam in my arsenal. And after seeing the great work of long time film maker Philip Bloom and Photographer Vincent Laforet, I had to get hands on. This cam will greatly compliment the 50D, and being that I recently started shooting weddings, a second cam is essential. Yes it would be nice to have the full frame of the 5D MKii, but at the current price points, the 7D is perfect for my workload. Plus it allows me to take full advantage of my 580exii.

Something I have been researching lately is weatherproofing. Everyone is a little touchy when it comes to their pricey equipment being exposed to the elements, but as new equipment rolls out this becomes less of an issue. Even Canon's latest flash units come weather sealed. In the case of the 7D I saw the most extreme. Actually, this seems like a vision out of a nightmare. Photographer Ole Jorgen Liodden went on an expedition to Antarctica last year and had his bare 7D with him. I've never had more than 10 drops of rain on any of my equipment, but needless to say, a rainy day is looking like no reason to cancel a gig. Ole reports no issues with the 7D after the shoot. Personally, I recommend a rain cover, umbrella, or simple plastic covering when applicable. Also as a note, when shooting in the elements be sure that all of your gear is protected, not just your camera body!