Photo Album

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/photo-table/id455322208

I recently purchased an iPad and I find myself using it more often than I do with my notebook, although, for things like this (blogging or any fair amount of typing) I still prefer my notebook.  Actually, Blogger does not like the iPad.  I cannot open this window in iPad without some error, so I don't have much of a choice anyway! :-)

Anyhow, on the iPad, there are a number of free photo album apps that can be downloaded from the Apple Store.  This one that I downloaded yesterday is called Photo Table.  It is neat.  It supports a number of features I have not started to use yet, including creating collages that you can share via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail, as well as printing and shipping postcards.  It also has support for the iPhone.

I only use the app to download some Flickr albums--the download is quick because my Flickr photos have been downsized already.  It can also download photos from Facebook but I do not store any photos on Facebook.  The "neat" thing about it is how photos are laid out on the virtual table.  The photos are strewn on the virtual table as if you had dropped a bunch of photos onto it.  From there, you use your fingers to go through the photos.

There are finger gestures to expand, shrink, rotate, and discard (throw to the bottom) photos.  There is also a quick way to start up a photo slide.  I find this app fun to use.  The virtual table looks a little messy but it is a fun way to show photos to families and friends.

The app is free.  Try it out at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/photo-table/id455322208?mt=8

Happy Holidays!

Storage

I have been storing my camera gears in a bottom drawer of a (clothes) dresser in my bedroom.  At first, it worked well as I have only a few equipment.  For about a year now or possibly more, I have been keeping most of my equipment on top of a table.  I then place a foam board on top to protect it from dust.  The table looked pretty messy and recently, a friend's house got broken into and some valuables were stolen.  I thought, if my house got broken into and the thief goes straight to the bedrooms, the first thing they will see are my camera gears.  It was time to do something about my camera equipment.

$16 Sterilite 3-Drawer Tower

Today, I went to Walmart and bought this Sterilite 3-drawer plastic tower.  It does not look exactly what is shown on the right as mine has three same drawers and the frame is white while the compartments have a dark blue tint so if there are any sunlight, it will keep the interior somewhat cool and dark, and away from prying eyes.  The tower is all plastic so it does bend and wobble when you pull out a drawer, but it is sturdy enough for my cameras and lenses and various other gears.  The tower also has casters so it can be rolled around although the wheels are also all plastic so it does not roll around as smoothly as rubber and steel casters.

Anyways, I managed to fit most of my equipment in one tower.  I placed the silica gel I bought from ebay into the compartments where the camera bodies and lenses are.

I still have batteries and small accessories sitting on the table, and there are other stuff still in my dresser.  I will go back to Walmart tomorrow to pick up another tower.

Dust bunnies at macro level

Macro shot of my hair.

Talk about dirty!  This morning while I was combing my hair, I picked out one strand of hair from my comb.  It was interesting looking because the tip of the hair was white (yeah, I have gray hair since I was 24) and the base of the hair was black!  This was a second time I saw one of these hair strands like that.  Am I getting younger???

In any case, it was interesting enough I had to take a shot of it to document the anomalous growth.  I decided to use the Nikkor 105mm lens.  I thought it could do 1:1 reproduction but for some reason I could not get really close to the hair so I added an extension tube.

What came out was a little surprising.  Yes, I got my shot to demonstrate the weird change in colour but I also got a ton of dust dunnies in the photo!  All those really dark spots in the photo are dust bunnies!  They do appear at f/32 on my 18-200mm lens but they are a lot more apparent at the macro level.  Holy molly, I initially thought they were black spots on the paper that the hair was taped on but no, those were on my sensor!  Ok, time to do another wet cleaning.

Why do I get so much dust inside my camera???

Wet cleaning, the danger of

I almost had a heart attack Friday night.  To prepare for Saturday, I checked my sensor for dusty bunnies.  I don't know how but my sensor attracts so much dust.  Everytime it's time for me to check for dust, I can be certain that there will be some annoying dust spots to clean.  If they are not visible at f/14 or so, I am usually not all too worried but these were.  So, I took out my wet cleaning kit.  I first used an air blower to remove loose particulates.  The Arctic Butterfly followed but I think it was picking up something on the side of the sensor and deposited it onto the sensor and smeared it as well.  Well, that guaranteed that I had to use a wet cleaning method then.

As usual, I opened the menu to lock the mirror up for cleaning and proceeded to do the cleaning.  My heart dropped when all of a sudden the shutter closed on me!  The PecPad covered end of the spatula was now stuck inside my camera.  I was not sure at the time what was closing down onto the spatula but it looked like the shutter door with four panels.  I managed to pull the spatula out and lucky me, the camera was still functional.  A bunch of tests showed no damage to the shutter mechanism.

I think I made the following mistake.  I once set the D7000 on manual mode, opening the aperture to shoot stars for 20 seconds.  To remove my lens, I set the mode to manual from my usual Aperture Priority mode.  When I then set the camera to cleaning mode, I must have pressed the shutter release button before actually activating the cleaning mode.  When I thought the camera had gone into sensor cleaning mode, it was actually taking a picture for 20 seconds!  What a mistake I made, one I will not forget anytime soon!

Wireless triggers, CT-04, part II

For the first time, I was shooting portraits manually and putting an untested faith in the setup.  For the wedding yesterday, we had a photo shoot at home.  That was my first real use of the Neewer CT-04 trigger / 3 receivers.  This trigger / receiver combination worked fine.  It was simple to set up.  Because the light came from my flashguns only and not from the pop-up flash, I had to use my camera in manual mode.  I fixed the wireless trigger on the hot shoe of the camera.  On the receiver side, I used all the receivers.  I set up two umbrellas about a couple of metres in front on either side of the subjects.  The right umbrella has my Nikon SB-900 flashgun on manual mode at full power whereas the left has my Nikon SB-800 on manual mode at half power.  I placed one SB-25 in the background against the wall.  It was by no way a perfect setup.  I have no light meter so I had to guess the f-stop and had to take a number of shots to test the exposure.  Once I had a setting that worked (by visually inspecting test shots), I kept it for the duration of the shoot.  The light exposure was consistent but whenever I shoot too quick, neither flashgun was fast enough to recharge themselves so I got a couple of black pictures.  Also, as long as I keep shooting the CT-04 receivers will happily stay online.  I am not sure how long but if I stop shooting the receivers will go into power saving mode and wake up on one trigger.  That was not a problem.

Tamron 17-50mm Di II VC, part IV

I wrote how this lens is sharp and pretty good for its price.  Now, I know why professionals rely on the Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 instead.  I took this lens out for the wedding last night and was I disappointed.  Some shots were sharp but most where blurry because it could not focus properly in darker conditions.  It was not like it could not focus.  The camera sensed that the focus was on and allowed me to trigger the shutter.  The lens seemed to have mis-focused and was also hunting quite a bit before it locked on something.  I missed a number of shots and unfortunately those opportunities are forever gone.  As soon as I put the Nikkor 18-200mm lens back on, I was shooting like a pro--no missed shot, focus was spot on.  I only wished the Tamron was able to seek focus as accurately and as fast as the Nikkor but I would only be dreaming.  I think this Tamron is on its way out.  It looks like I will have to spend the extra dollars to get the quality and speed I want.

Wireless triggers, CT-04

Neewer wireless trigger opened up

One of my cousins will be tying the knot tomorrow.  I am getting my gears ready for some shooting.  One of the gears I will be using is this set of a Neewer wireless trigger and three CT-04 receivers that I bought a while ago.  I have never made the opportunity to use them yet and now when I could use them, it's not working.  Darn, I think it's time to replace the batteries.

To replace the battery that came with the Neewer wireless trigger, I had to remove a screw hidden underneath  the "QC Pass" sticker on the bottom of the trigger.  The case opens up easily, revealing a circuit board inside and a small 12V 23A battery.  I have never seen such a battery before.  I am going to go to my local electronics store and hopefully be able to find one there.  I imagine a battery like this would be more expensive than the typical AAA or AA batteries.  More shopping to do ....

[ An hour later ... ]

Well, I just got back from the local electronics store.  They carry these ATC Alkaline Max batteries for $2 a piece!  Very expensive battery!  I bought two, and we're good to go now.