Penny to return to the Heat?

Tim Hardaway Jr. - Curtis Harper/PPEG

Well, this isn't Photography related, and that's not Penny featured above; but it has been brought to the public that Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway would like to re-join the Miami Heat. He last played for the Heat in 2007, and was released the same year. I recently covered the All-Star game, which Tim Hardaway's son (above), "Hardaway Jr.," was in the starting line-up for Team Florida [to go to University of Michigan]. It was a great experience. Initially I got the two Hardaway's mixed up, but seeing as Penny Hardaway's son is 10 years old, I don't think he will be going off to college just yet.

Number 1 from the Orlando Magic of 1999 knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, it will be interesting to see how the Heat respond. It would be good to have a veteran on the team, but with a history with new head coach Erik Spoelstra, the offer may be tainted. Wishing you the best Penny.

Wedding Photographer Checklist

When doing shoots where every shot counts, you want to be sure you have all areas covered. This Photographer had his covered by purchasing nice, weather-sealed gear. On a serious note, here is a quick checklist every Wedding Photographer should consider:

1) DSLR body (two in most cases)
- at least 3fps
- at least 8 megapixela
- ability to shoot high ISO with low noise
- weather-sealing is a plus

2) Lenses
- quality glass comparable to Canon's "L" series
- short focal length (prime or zoom from 16-135 range)
- long focal length (usually zoom at least through 200mm)

3) Memory
- at least three 8gb cards
- method of transferring files to hard drive before end of day

4) Lighting
- At least one off camera flash
- stand and umbrella
- gels
- model light for tough focusing situations

5) Batteries
- At least 2 camera batteries
- plenty of AA batteries (rechargeables are great)
- bring all of your chargers

6) Accessories
- light stands and tripods
- mounting accessories for any situation
- extension cord

Of course this is not a complete list, but a great starting point. Watch out for obsticles!

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/

"City of Scars"

Awesome Batman fan film directed by Aaron Schoenke.

License Your Photos via Getty Images

In the past, Flickr was known as a low quality, amateur outlet for uploading and viewing photographs. Think of it as the "YouTube of Stills." However, just as YouTube has evolved, so has Flickr. Not only does it offer great features such as multiple resolution images, and tag search, but you now have the ability to license your image through Getty Images! They call it the “Request to License” program, and the option will automatically become available if you have an account. You will notice it under the "Additional Information" heading.

Once you sign up for the program, an additional link will be made viewable to visitors. When someone wants to license the image, they simply click the link, and Getty Images takes care of the rest! When the process is complete, you receive an email, or "FlickrMail," in which you decide if you agree to the terms and want to go through with the license. Yes, it IS that simple!

To leave feedback on this new program, or to get more information, head over to the Flickr forums.

Walking Around

A couple weeks ago I got a chance to go up to Gainesville. With it being a growing city with one of Florida's largest Universities, I decided to go for a stroll. I passed by a developing neighborhood that only had 3 or 4 town house styled homes completed, and all on the same row. This left much open field to explore. As I got to the far end of the neighborhood, I approached a finished community park. On the ground was this pair of spray-painted Airwalks. I snapped a quick series, this is one of my favorites from the bunch.

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.