Maytag vs. Hoodman Compact Flash Card
I have read numerous times about the success of washing your Compact Flash cards and up until last weekend, I always called BS on being able to use a CF card after washing. Last weekend I left a Hoodman CF card in my jeans pocket after shooting in the studio (yes I had backed up the card before I left the studio); into the wash the jeans went. I realized what I had done when the card fell out of the pocket as I was putting them into the dryer. Following a one day air drying, into the camera she went. I hit play back and up came all of the images. I then downloaded them into LR and determined that there was no damage to the files. Even now that I know that I can do this, I don’t intent to make washing my cards a standard operation.
I started using Hoodman cards sometime ago shortly after their introduction of their 300x card. Yes, they are more expensive than SanDisk however, they are made in American and they are the only card that is tested three times before leaving the factory. According the local Hoodman representative, they have yet to record a failure, either before departing the factory or from the field. Some can argue that these cards are not as fast as the ScanDisk IV’s but I seldom find myself in a shooting situation in which I am filling up the buffer. At the end of the day, I want dependability rather than speed; of course the best of both worlds would be greatly appreciated. Bottom line, I’m a Hoodman kind of guy; too bad they never go on sale.
Cheers and happy photo’ing
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Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 5th, 2009
This past weekend I had a wonderful time working with Aimee at the Iris Modeling Studio in Seattle. Aimee was a complete pro and wonderful to work with, simply a natural in front of the camera. She knew exactly where her best lines were and worked very hard to make sure the camera saw them; when I would move, she would move with me. These shots were taken with a D300 or D700 using 17-55 or a 70-200 zoom. In most cases the light was in the upper right in a large softbox. Reflectors were positioned around Aimee to control the shadows. In many of the shots, I was wanting deeper shadows than I normally work with. It turned out to be a hit or miss when it came to balancing the shadows and the strobes.
I’ll be teaching some lighting techniques this weekend at Studo Q in Seattle. While our primary focus will be the Nikon Creative Lighting System, I will also have on hand a number of light modifiers as well as some new “just out” toys. The wonderful folks at Radio Poppers sent up some of their new transmitters and receivers for us to play with and we will be sure to give them a hard workout. I have a shot in mind which will really challenge the Poppers. Stacy, our lovely model for they day, will be surrounded in a metal cage thanks to an old historic freight elevator. No doubt, RF signals will be bouncing all over the place; let’s see if they are up to the challenge.
Ok Ok Ok. This is a major departure from the normal way I shoot and what I usually shoot however, it is all about learning to light your subject to create the visual impact. Yes – you guessed it, I am working on a special project. You will no doubt hear more about this particular project as the time draws near. Till then…..
Cheers and happy photoing
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