Bob Coates kicked off the week with a great look at the FotoPro Eagle E-6H tripod for nature photographers, and then Mykii Liu gave us an in-depth look at different hard drives to consider in celebration of World Backup Day.
From there, Jeremy Gray taught us about revisiting old images and applying new techniques, while Darren Miles reviewed the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 lens for Sony cameras. Finally, Andrew Ford showed how to easily remove background noise with Adobe Audition.
Looking for more inspiration? Be sure to check out The Artists’ Notebook, where we’re giving you inspirational articles, webinars and breakout sessions — all for free!
Fotopro Eagle E-6H offers perfect setup for nature photographers - My favorite piece of kit from the trade show floor at this year’s WPPI conference was a tripod with multipurpose gimbal head from Fotopro. Fotopro Vice President Michael Green showed off the tripod’s features, which has received awards from Outdoor Photography Magazine and BirdWatching magazine. After seeing this I feel it’s a nature photographers dream — at least for this nature photographer. Eagle E-6H Tripod and head What makes this setup unique? According to Green, “It’s the only gimbal head in the world that allows it to act as a fluid head, akimbo head and landscape head that does click stops for panoramic photography.” In addition, Green added, “It allows you to shoot straight up for Astro photography or straight down for macro photography.” Michael demonstrated for me how the head shifts back which makes it possible to put the nodal point of the lens directly on the pivot point of the tripod. This is an important feature when stitching panoramic images. This shift is also what allows you to shoot straight up. Obviously going the other way you can shoot straight down. Click stops at 45 and 90 degrees allow you to take it all the way up and down and it acts as your regular gimbal. “On our sticks there is a ‘Bowling Center.’ A bowl makes it possible to level your camera without worrying about the legs being perfectly level. It allows for use as a fluid head as well for video.” According to Green, “No other tripod/head system works this way. Our sticks are waterproof, sand-proof and dust-proof as well.” Wildlife nature photographer Lisa Langell I didn’t have a chance to use this tripod in the field so I checked with my friend and Fotopro ambassador, Lisa Langell, for the inside scoop. “This setup is pretty damn cool,” she says. “I am a minimalist and I enjoy that it’s a ball head, fluid head and gimbal all-in-one!” Lisa shared that there’s no rigmarole when shooting a different type of image. “I don’t have to change heads if I see a landscape opportunity while I’m set for tracking birds. I can move from fluid to click-stops that are a built-in option. The lens can easily be positioned on the nodal point (AKA, the entrance pupil) which is a great help for post-process stitching of panoramas.” When asked about her experience with the waterproof and dirt proof aspect of the tripod Lisa said, “When I shoot in salt water all I need is a quick rinse without taking the tripod apart for cleaning. That’s a great time saver.” Learn more A final feature that I feel is pretty amazing is the entire setup fits into a 20 inch Al Capone’s guitar case and will go as an airline carry on for travel. Learn more about this kit by checking out the Fotopro website. Fotopro believes in their American made gear so much that they offer a six-year warranty. MSRP is $1149 for Tripod and E-6 Eagle head (55 inches), $1399 for Tripod and E-9 Eagle head (64 inches) or the E-6H head alone for $449. Yours in Creative Photography, Bob PS – Check out this post on why a great tripod can make a great image by Julie Powell.
Choosing the best type of drives for your DAS or NAS - There are so many options for hard drives at the moment that it can be super confusing, slow performing or even money draining if you make uninformed decisions. Not all hard drives are created equally. Although the marketing that’s out there doesn’t always seem to help consumers figure out what’s best for them, it is getting better. I’d like to share some information on the different lines and types of hard drives that people can purchase for use in or as their backup systems, for both direct attached storage (DAS) and network attached storage (NAS). Before you buy There are things to know about each kind and type of drive, so depending on your goals, what you put into your boxes might differ. As a general rule of thumb, desktop performance drives go into DAS boxes and NAS drives go into NAS boxes. For example, if you have deep pockets and want the most performance, you could go with all high capacity solid state drives for speed if you don’t have a lot of things to store. Or, you can go all in with high capacity enterprise grade drives in your DAS for higher than average performance, reliability warranty and capacity. For the best starter kit, get whatever drives you can afford that will hold a few more terabytes than what you currently use. I started with five 1TB drives. For best reliability, get drives that have a great warranty and have vibration sensors. For best performance, get desktop or enterprise grade drives, or go solid state. Types of drives Hard Disk Drives (HDD) These drives generally allow you to gain more capacity for less money and depending on what kind of drive can require more power. These drives can provide modest performance for the price. Lower end drives will read around 60MB per second, whereas high end drives are upward to 280MB per second. These hard disk drives are great if they are going to be stationary for the majority of their use, but can become a liability if they’re being toted around. Imagine that these are like record players with the needles that move back and forth across the disk to read and write, any jolts or drops may cause that needle to damage the disk and cause corruption. If the drive is in use, the needle is typically parked on the side to prevent any damage to the disk while being moved or bumped. They all have moving parts, so at some point in time, they will end up failing. Generally, these drives have warranties from anywhere between 1-5 years, depending on what kind of drive. Solid State Drives (SSD) These drives use a type of memory chip that stores information rather than a rotating disk. As you can imagine, they’ll cost more due to the type of technology, but they’ll be much faster. These typically perform extremely well compared to normal hard drives, with the budget SSD’s having a huge read and write advantage. SSDs, in general, can get super speedy! PCIe NVME based SSD’s can get up to 3500MB per second for sustained reads, but most DAS and NAS devices will use the 2.5″ SATA interface instead, pushing a not-sluggish 550MB per second sustained reads. Most of these drives are able to survive a four foot drop on cement with minimal damage and still be able to work, unlike most hard disk drives. While these are super fast, these are drives that I wouldn’t necessarily use solely as storage media in a NAS or DAS due to effective cost. A 4TB solid state drive costs as much as a 14TB enterprise hard drive, so to me, it isn’t worth it. If you’ve got the money, shoot, have at it! These are great to add to DAS and NAS models that are equipped with a slot specifically for those drives, but to dedicate an entire slot in a 4-bay or a 5-bay system seems like a waste of space. Warranties also range between 1-5 years, depending on the model. Kinds of drives Please note that I’m generally grouping different lines from different brands and some specs don’t exactly have direct competitors and therefore have specs that don’t compare extremely well with the others in that group — I’m looking at you, Toshiba. Within the consumer and specialized drive categories, both HDD’s and SSD’s can be found. While all these hard drives can all be used for a purpose different from what they’re intended to provide, many won’t perform as well as one that is made specifically for that purpose. I am omitting the popular Samsung SSD’s from the groupings, as they don’t market themselves as a DAS or NAS specialized drive, but you’ll see certain SSD’s from the various major hard drive brands listed. Feel free to use Samsung SSD’s when you can. I use them, and they’ve been wonderful as well. Consumer Economy drives Examples of these drives include: Western Digital: Blue/Green, Blue SSD Seagate: Barracuda, Barracuda SSD Toshiba: X300 These drives cost the least and have the shortest warranty periods, but make great entry level drives for those who just need to fill up their boxes. Their warranties are pretty short at two years, which one of the biggest reasons they’re in the Economy drive section. There are Seagate Barracuda and WD Blue SSD’s as well, and these are also the entry level points for both companies in terms of performance. This is the stepping stone drive with a great entry point and performance that gets you by. Like any Toyota Yaris. Desktop performance drives Examples of these drives include: Western Digital: Black Seagate: Barracuda Pro For the best speed per dollar, this would be the best choice for a DAS. They typically will be higher power with faster spindles and more cache which leads to better performance. These drives are great drives that offer more of all specs which also includes longer warranties. The difference is that these drives aren’t made to
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art: Well-built, value-priced and compelling third-party option - (Editor’s Note: We welcome Darren Miles to Photofocus. Based in Naples, FL, Darren is a photographer who specializes in capturing architecture, weddings, family portraits and headshots. You can view his work at darrenmiles.com, and for more gear reviews and tutorials, visit him on YouTube.) I had a hole in my prime lens lineup on my Sony cameras. My current lens inventory consisted of the 14mm f/1.8 from Sigma, the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4, the Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.8. I needed something between the 14mm and the 35mm, and 24mm seemed like a good focal length to try — I’d use it for weddings and environmental portraits. I’m a big advocate of buying used gear, especially from reputable sellers who offer money back guarantees or from a website that has a feedback mechanism. I purchased a fantastic condition Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens with a UV filter for a bargain price of $615 from the buy/sell board on FredMiranda.com. Watch my video review Build quality Upon first inspection, what will impress you most about the 24mm is the build quality. It’s made with the same outstanding “thermally stable composite” that Sigma’s been using on their Art series line. It’s sleek and refined — it just looks like a quality lens. I love the fact that Sigma has included a focus distance meter — something we just don’t see on Sony lenses as they’re almost all “fly-by-wire.” With Sony lenses there’s no physical connection between the focus ring and the elements contained within. This isn’t the case with the Sigma — if you’re a videographer, you can mark your focus points for a scene and achieve consistent results. On the downside, the Sigma comes in at nearly 1.5 pounds, like the other lenses in the Art line. Sigma also makes no reference to weather sealing, unfortunate for a nearly $900 (new) lens. Handling When mounted to an a7 III or a7R III, the combination feels considerable, well-balanced but not overbearing. Autofocus performance is snappy, decisive and in my experience very accurate — even at f/1.4. I like to use Face/Eye Detect AF in wide focus area mode — and the Sigma has no discernible issues detecting and capturing faces and eyes. Even the animal face detect worked seamlessly. Unlike my experiences with other camera manufacturers, third-party lenses like the Sigma work almost as seamlessly as native Sony lenses. Now that said, I did run into an issue with initial focus acquisition in video, where the camera/lens didn’t capture my face at all. I found that if I focused first before pressing the record button, then in fact locked on to — and held — its intended target without “jackhammering” around. Focus transitions were smooth and predictable and the lens had no issues keeping up with and maintaining accurate focus. Sigma 24mm F/1.4 DG HSM Art specs Focal length: 24mm Aperture range: f/1.4 — f/16 Aperture blades: 9 rounded Elements/groups: 15/11 Size: 3.35″ diameter, 3.55″ length Weight: 1.46lb / 665 g Field of view: 84.1 degrees Results The resulting images taken with the 24mm are sharp and contrasty, with excellent subject isolation especially wide-open. The 24mm isn’t tack, tack sharp at f/1.4, but it’s certainly sharp enough. We as photographers have a tendency to zoom in 300% to judge a lens’ sharpness or lack thereof. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of our clients aren’t nearly as obsessive. Vignetting is strong and very noticeable, especially wide-open. Fortunately, resolving that issue is just a click away in programs like Lightroom or Capture One Pro with their lens profile corrections. Conclusion Overall, I found the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art a compelling and affordable option for this focal length and aperture combination, especially when compared to first party options from the big three (Sony, Nikon and Canon). The combination of build, image quality, AF speed and accuracy make the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art a compelling option for the professional or enthusiast photographer or videographer. Pros Excellent build quality Fast, silent, accurate autofocus Very, very good — almost excellent — image quality in the frame center, even wide-open Cons Size and weight — it’s a beast, get to the gym Lack of weather sealing Strong vignetting wide-open The Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens retails for $849 new from B&H, and I highly recommend it.
Remove background audio noise with the Noise Reduction effect in Adobe Audition - There are many times that background noise interferes with your recording. You could be on a shoot in an office building and the air conditioner you can’t control turns on. There could be some odd room tone. Or when outside, wind may mess with a really good take. Don’t worry — the Noise Reduction effect in Adobe Audition can help. In this 4-minute video tutorial, I apply the Noise Reduction effect to an extremely noisy audio clip and run through the settings. I used a phone to record my voice while I was standing right next to a running dryer in the laundry room. While the original audio quality isn’t great, this is meant to be an extreme example of noise so you can see what the effect can do. Once you’ve eliminated the noise, you can save your clip out to a variety of formats that Audition supports.
Revisit old images and apply new techniques to improve your portfolio - Photography can offer us an escape from anxiety and boredom. However, you don’t necessarily have to capture new images. Occasionally, when landscape photo conditions aren’t particularly interesting to me, I’ll take the opportunity to revisit old images. Images I originally didn’t want to edit may deserve a second look. An image I have already processed may have been shortchanged due to the technical limitations of old versions of editing software. My stylistic choices could be different today as well. Sometimes I want to completely redo an image file. Other times I just want to make minor adjustments that I didn’t consider previously. One of the most wonderful aspects of digital photography is how flexible your files can be over the long term. While the current situation is very difficult for many, it may well be the case that revisiting your photo collection will not only take your mind off things for a little while, but you may end up with a stronger portfolio too. Our artistic tastes can change over time Personal preferences for how we want our images to look can evolve over time. When I first started with photography, I loved high contrast and saturated colors. Any time I learned what a new editing slider did, my first instinct was to push it all the way to 100. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, as our images are our own to create and process how we please, I no longer prefer this look. Over the years since, I have revisited my oldest images and tweaked them, sometimes multiple times. While some of the images weren’t worth salvaging, others were and I’m glad I was able to breathe new life into them with new post-processing approaches. In some cases, I like my original processing approach but just want to go in a different direction. For example, I originally edited the image above to be a black and white conversion when I captured it in 2014. At the time, I really enjoyed black and white conversions and I never even considered presenting the image in color. However, when viewing the original RAW file again in 2020, I saw more potential for a color version. Had I not looked at my original RAW files again, I would never have considered a new version of the photo. Photographic equipment and skills improve, as do editing software and techniques Just as your photographic skills can improve as you research new techniques and practice your craft, so too can editing skills. In addition to being able to acquire new skills, photo editing software is constantly improving with better performance and new features. For example, Skylum’s Luminar 4 software allows you to not only change the sky completely but also add objects to the sky with AI Augmented Sky. Luminar 3 had already added ways to enhance the sky in your image. Maybe you have an old image with a boring sky. Well, now there are easy ways to quickly and greatly improve the shot that weren’t available only a few years ago. With the photograph below, it’s been through quite a bit over the years. I originally shot the image in October of 2015. After working with a single file for about a month, I decided to create an HDR image by duplicating the file and making minor exposure adjustments, shown below. I wanted the final image to be close to how the scene appeared to my eyes at the time. However, even with the use of glass graduated neutral density filters at the time of capture, it wasn’t possible without tone mapping. After creating the HDR image, I made some minor adjustments. As time passed, I decided that I wanted the image to be more dramatic. To achieve this, I heavily darkened the sky. I liked the image then and I still like it now. However, I decided to revisit this image. I felt that I made the sky too dark and left the foreground and midground bland. I went back to my first edit, which I had saved as a PSD file in 2015 and reworked it. Often, I save processed RAW files with full layers so I can adjust individual steps after the fact. In this case, I wanted to start from “scratch,” so to speak. In this case, I darkened the sky again, but to a much lesser extent. I also worked on reducing the brightness of the area of the sky to the right. To create a bit more depth in the scene, I added some structure and contrast to the fog between the mountain and the foreground trees. Considering the foreground, I increased the shadow detail and overall brightness in this area. The result is an image with fewer distracting areas of brightness and an overall more natural feel. Maybe you missed the mark the first time around In a similar vein, as your editing skills improve over time, you may find that an edit you did a few years back didn’t age very well. I captured the image below in 2014 and did my editing shortly after capture. I’ve had the original edit on my website for years and have never thought about doing things differently. However, when going through old images recently, the image caught my eye. When I captured the image, I particularly liked the vibrant colors and the layers of the composition. But, I obscured some of this with my original edit. When I look at my first edit now, I think that the image is dark and includes too much contrast. Further, I inadvertently created halo artifacts around the trees which I can see when printing the photograph. I also reduced the visibility of some of the nice colors and details in the foreground when adding contrast. When revisiting the image, it seemed obvious that I should process the original RAW file with a lighter touch. I wanted to focus on enhancing what I liked about the scene in the
