It DOESN’T Have To Be Expensive

I’m not a wealthy person, I didn’t grow up with money, and I live on a budget. I think a lot (probably everyone reading this?) of people can relate to that. With that said I know for some trying to pick out a photography related gift for your loved
one on that special day, whether it is a birthday, Father/Mother’s Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other day of giving can be tough when it seems that everything related to photography is expensive. Or is it? I will be the first to tell you that there are a LOT of affordable items that will make the photographer in your life happy. And honestly, it is often these little items that we as photographers never seem to have enough of, or often forget to buy ourselves in the endless quest for that next big lens or new camera body. I speak from experience, and I am sure your friend/loved one would concur. So with that said I decided to put together a list of affordable items ranging from the $5 mark up to around say $40. For some $5 is easily doable, for others $40 will be, and for many of you somewhere in-between will be perfect! So scroll down and take a look at some of my ideas and if you have others to ad to this please share them in the comments below!!

 

Pass this on to others who I may help…I might just hint to my wife to have a look at this post

Have fun and keep them shutters moving!

Jamie A. MacDonald

 

      $5 and under fun!

 

1.  Lens pens for cleaning lenses! Cost: $4.99
   http://amzn.to/12YZgML
2. Microfiber lens cloth: Cost: $4.09
   http://amzn.to/11625eY
3. Lens cap keeper. Keeps those lens caps from getting lost! Cost: $2.27 (buy a few of them http://amzn.to/11627n8
4. Silica Gel packs (like you find in your shoe box) to keep camera bags low in moisture Cost: $4.99 (10pk)  http://amzn.to/14YQDSZ
   

   $10 and under ideas.

   1. A rocket blower for removing dust. Yes, it looks like a rocket Cost: $8.49
      http://amzn.to/Zp6GKS
   2. SD Card (memory cards) case that is weather sealed! Cost: $7.88  http://amzn.to/170yQOI
   3. CF Card (memory cards) case that is weather sealed! Cost: $7.88  http://amzn.to/170yQOI
   4. Memory card reader for the iPad! Cost: $9.99 http://amzn.to/14036mt

    

   $20 and under ideas

   1.  Get them a BETTER more comfortable strap! Cost: $19.88  http://amzn.to/10vWS0k
   2. Forget the shoulder strap and try out a wrist strap! Cost: $20.00  http://amzn.to/14040iR
   3. More memory =’s more memories! 16GB SD card? Cost: $ 19.80
      http://amzn.to/10CqLJ4
   4.  More memory =’s more memories! 16GB CF card? Cost: $ 18.99
      http://amzn.to/1164zKp

   $50 and under ideas

   1. The best batteries you can get! Cost: $49.99 http://amzn.to/1405d9O <—This is a mega pack w/ 12 AA and 4AAA batteries.
   2. New batteries and charger for your Olympus cameras: Cost: All below $50!  http://amzn.to/12Z3ELH <—-You just need to locate the camera model
   3. New batteries and charger for your Panasonic cameras: Cost: All below $50!  http://amzn.to/12Z3PXe <—-You just need to locate the camera model
   4. New batteries and charger for your Nikon cameras: Cost: All below $50! http://amzn.to/Zp8VOg  <—-You just need to locate the camera model
      
   5. New batteries and charger for your Canon cameras: Cost: All below $50! http://amzn.to/170Brbx  <—-You just need to locate the camera model
      
      

   And finally we reach the end. I know the last section was all batteries but let me just say..We can never seem to have enough.

   I hope this helps some in making gift giving a little easier for you.
   Happy shopping!

   Jamie A. MacDonald

Surfs up with Olympus!!!

OLYMPUS HITS THE SANDS OF “SURF CITY, USA” FOR THE

2012 U.S. OPEN OF SURFING

 

For the First Time, Olympus Teams Up with TransWorld Surf Magazine

to Sponsor Fun, Interactive Booth Experience

 

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., July 27, 2012 – Olympus is proud to partner with TransWorld Surf magazine, the world’s foremost surf magazine, as a sponsor of this year’s U.S.Open of Surfing, in Huntington Beach, California. TransWorld and Olympus have created a co-branded interactive surf photo experience booth on the beach in Huntington Beach, California, offering product demos, product loans and sales of some of the hottest cameras on the beach this summer. Visitors can experience the new weather-sealed, mirrorless Olympus OM-D EM-5®, the most premium Tough® point-and-shoot to ever hit the waves, the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS®‚ and the sleek and stylish Olympus PEN® cameras from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., each day during the festival (Saturday, July 28 to Sunday, August 6).

Additionally, Olympus has partnered with SocialPix, an experiential photo solutions company, to offer an interactive photo encounter called “Hang 10 with the TG-1,” allowing fans to pose for an instantly shareable Facebook photo on a simulated cover of TransWorld Surf magazine. Attendees are also encouraged to stop by the co-branded booth for chances to win a custom surfboard or Olympus cameras, and, to pick up complimentary copies of TransWorld Surf magazine.

The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer, and has become one of the most anticipated surf, music and lifestyle events of the year. This year’s event is expected to attract more than 750,000 fans and onlookers along a 14-acre stretch of sand on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier, showcasing the best in surf, skate, music and art.

Journalists interested in more information should contact Charles Leone, Mullen Public Relations, 212-885-3803, cleone@mullen.com or Jennifer Colucci, Olympus Imaging America Inc., 484-896-5719, jennifer.colucci@olympus.com.

ABOUT OLYMPUS IMAGING AMERICA INC.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering award-winning products for consumer and professional markets.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. works collaboratively with its customers and its ultimate parent company, Olympus Corporation, to develop breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality that enhance people’s lives every day. These include:

• Digital Cameras
• Professional and Interchangeable Lens System Cameras
• Related Underwater Products and Accessories
• Digital and Microcassette Recorders
• Digital Media
• Binoculars

Olympus Imaging America Inc. is responsible for sales in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. For more information, visit: www.olympusamerica.com.

It All Happens So Fast………..

It really does.

It happens so fast.

Too fast.

One day you are having a conversation with your grandmother about antiques and gardening, and then before you know it she is in a nursing home for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

That is where I found myself last month. In Florida on a trip with two purposes. The first being an escape for my family from all the chaos of every day life, the second, a much more somber purpose, to visit my grandmother whom I haven’t seen in a year. One year. That is all it takes. One year and someone can go from the person you know, to the person who doesn’t know you. Well, she knew that she knows me somehow, but who I am, or how we are connected is lost to her. And that is something that has been in my mind ever since I saw her. She is one of the few people who shaped the person I am today, who had a positive influence on me, who instilled a set of moral values that are lost to so many these days. She was so full of life, so full of experiences and stories, and now she spends her free time playing with children’s wooden toys.

As I sat with her trying to carry on a conversation she would often stop, and stare right at me as if trying to find me inside her memories. And no matter how deeply she looked, she only saw the  smiling face of a stranger. That hurts so profoundly, so intensely that it was all I could do to continue smiling. But I did, for her.

She would just go on and on talking about things that I didn’t understand. Things I struggled so hard to connect with. Things I felt I HAD to connect with so that I could at least share one moment more with my grandma where we were both on the same page. I wanted that, NEEDED that for myself, as selfish as it may sound, so I could leave feeling better about the situation. And as I was sitting there listening intently, grasping for some bit familiarity with what she was saying or trying to say as she bounced from subject to subject, it happened. She stopped talking, she closed her eyes for what felt like far too long,

and when she opened them she looked at a gentleman seated at another table near us and said, “this is Debbie’s son.” Debbie….My mother. She knew I was my mother’s son. And instantly I felt this huge lump form in my throat, and I looked right at my grandmother, and she looked at me, and there we sat, two strangers talking about nothing. It was brief, maybe it wasn’t even there, but damnitt I needed it to be and she gave it to me.

I love you grandma. I owe more to you than a lifetime of giving could ever repay. God bless you.

Distractions From Life by Jamie MacDonald

Inspiration Can Be Found Anywhere…………

…….So long as you have an open mind and the eyes of a photographer.

This post is the result of a conversation I had the other day with a fellow photographer who lives in the big glorious state of Texas. He sent me a link on Facebook to a series of photos by a photographer in France ( Philippe Sainte-Laudy ) who has some stunning forest scenes on his 500px page. My friend seemed discouraged in his message stating, “this is whats disappoints me a lot about me and photography, first of all i need to find is gorgeous places like this, but how the heck do u take something this breath taking?” I only had to think about a response to his question for a millisecond. There was a time a few years ago when I felt EXACTLY the same way as he did. I had (and still do actually) no real time to dedicate to photography. Well, at least not enough time anyways. Ideally I would like to be able to spend one whole day every week just shooting. 8 hours, all day, no interruptions, just my cameras and I out on the open road exploring and capturing the beauty to be found in my home state of Michigan.

But the reality is I work a full time job, the graveyard shift at that, have two kids, a wife, and little to no time to “dedicate” to my art. Add to that the fact that I live in a little town nestled in the heart of farmland with no major defining landmarks or points of “interest”. But it is because of these limiting factors I have learned to appreciate the complex beauty in the mundane scenes around me. I have also learned that not only is the subject important, but my “lightroom” (or it’s modern equivalent) technique is just as and sometimes more important. My post processing frame of mind lately is one of putting a large focus of detail and work on the light in my scenes and not worrying about things like “noise” “sharpness” “DoF” etc….

To get to this new way of thinking and processing a few years ago I challenged myself to make due with the cards I was dealt and to re-imagine what photography can be for me. What I got out of the whole experience was a new appreciation for become more aware of my surroundings. To start I became an observer. What does that mean? It means that I am ALWAYS, camera in hand or no camera in hand, observing the world around me. And I am almost never looking at the objects in the scene as much as I am looking at the LIGHT in the scene. This last statement has never been more true than in this past year for me. I have gone through a sort of renaissance in my photography where the primary focus is light as much as it is subject and composition. I suppose for many this maybe has always been the case, and for those people I applaud your ability to have grasp what has taken me several years to finally realize! I have adopted this mentality so much so that I have new business cards with the quote,”I MANIPULATE PHOTONS” emblazoned on them. Funny right? Ok, maybe it IS a bit geeky but it does exemplify where my heart is at in regards to my photography as of late.

I also feel the need to mention a new piece of kit that has totally made my way of thinking that much easier to pull off no matter where I am. That bit of wonder in the new Olympus PEN E-PM1. This camera is TINY and has the same size and quality (actually a little bit better) sensor that my big heavy Olympus E-3 has! But because of its diminutive size I am able to have it with me ALL THE TIME. It is that fact that allows me to capture those moments of wonder that I observe on my daily travels to and from work and picking up and dropping off kids.

I apologize if this post was hard to follow and the subject changed too frequently or lost its coherence. It is a Saturday morning and my kids are already bouncing off the walls and I am starting to think about a shoot I have coming up in a few hours. But anyways…I want to share a few photos that I feel represent this new approach of mine. These are all things that I “observed” while out and about and not necessarily looking to make a photo.

2nd Annual Photowalk is Here!!!!

Hey everyone,

Last year I put on a photowalk as a way to meet up with some new photographers and to finally pay a visit to the famed Kensington Metropark. It was in my opinion a very successful first attempt at organizing a photowalk. I was fortunate enough to have a good turn out and to be supported by the companies whose products I use with some prizes to be awarded at random.  I went into last years walk with the hopes of making it an annual event and it would be a sad thing if I didn’t do it again…So what do you say?! Want to go on another photowalk?!

If you do then here are the details.

When?      October 1st
Where?   Kensington!! I had such a great time there and never had a chance to explore all of it. So I want to go back!
Who?  Hopefully everyone from last year and many more new faces! If you have a friend who likes to shoot, or one who has always wanted to try their hand at photography then bring them too!
What? What you need is a good pair of comfy shoes, a camera (ANY kind will do!) and a positive attitude. Kensington will supply the rest.
Why? Do you really need to ask? If so then…Because it is FUN! And there is a chance I may have some freebies to give away! No guarantees on that, but who knows?!

Now for more details.

I chose October 1st because it is as some of you may know, day one of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I HAVE applied to get our walk listed as an official walk! So let’s hope we get approved!
What does that mean? Well, in addition to it being our own little walk we’ll also be taking part in a global photowalk and there are prizes involved in that too! And it may also help us to add more people to our group, and in my opinion the more the merrier!

I will be posting this same message in MANY Flickr groups and I hope you will do the same. I would also like to ask those of you who are users of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to please do me a favor.  Please click the LIKE button on our Facebook page and PLEASE mention this photowalk on Twitter and direct it to @Getolympus @thinkTANKphoto @BlackRapid @Zenfolio  Why? When you do these things these companies get a feel for turnout…And generally the larger the turnout the more likely they are to support our walk!

Below is a list of relevant links.

Twitter profile pages for potential sponsors. FOLLOW them! They are AWESOME companies!

https://twitter.com/#!/getolympus

https://twitter.com/#!/thinkTANKphoto

https://twitter.com/#!/BlackRapid

https://twitter.com/#!/Zenfolio

If you have ANY questions on this event please feel free to email me at sl33stak@gmail.com or message me on Twitter I’m @sl33stak or add me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JamieAMacDonald

Keep your eyes open on this blog AND on our Facebook page for sponsor news and updates on our acceptance into the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk.

Take care and hope to hear from you soon.

Jamie A. MacDonald

And suddenly I am off in a whole new direction…….

So how is that for a catchy title?

I find myself writing this post because at some point in the recent past my photography took a turn in a different direction. This change was sudden, unexpected, a complete 180° turn from what I had been doing.  But the thing is, I am probably for one of the first times in my brief photographic journey…100% happy in what I have been capturing. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t been utterly unhappy with what I’ve been doing so far. I just haven’t been happy enough or proud enough to call what I had been doing “good”. It has been “OK” up until now.   Now I get a feeling of confidence and pride in my work that I had not felt very often before.

So w/ all this gloating and bragging about myself (something I NEVER do) I suppose I should actually say what this change in my style has been. It has been the removal of color from my work. It has been the focus of only seeing the light in my image. Not worrying about realistic color reproduction, whether my white balance is correct color temperature is accurate. Is that blue “REALLY” blue? Or is it too purple.

Screw all that! For once I am 100% focused on the light.

I have always been aware of light, and have always made sure that I worked with it to achieve a certain look. For example, this image would not be what it is if I had waited another hour to shoot it. But it is just another morning shot to me.

So let’s change things up a bit. Let’s focus on the light…Let’s make sure the light is THE player in this scene. What do we end up with?

THIS:

Take away the color and only see the light.  I suppose for many photographers this is nothing new. We are all told that photography is all about the light. And yet..it took me three years to fully realize what the hell that REALLY means.  I have always been one to see what goes unnoticed by those around me, to find wonder in the mundane, and to capture that trivial moment in a way that makes it beautiful to those who would have otherwise ignored it. But I now feel like maybe I too was ignorant of the world around me, and that maybe I was blinded by color and hue and saturation. But I think now I am starting to fall in love with a world in black and white, a world in which all I need to be happy is light.

Sorry if this was too eccentric or “out there” I sometimes get that way. It’s not easy to stand alone.

Ooh I have a cool idea……Or so I thought.

That’s how yesterday evening started out. I knew that we had some storms rolling in and that they were packing wind gusts to 60mph. The storm system was moving at 40+mph so that meant that the clouds would be cruising across the sky. I instantly envisioned a long exposure black and white landscape shot, with the silky stream of storm clouds moving through the frame. Maybe if I was lucky I could sneak in a lightning bolt or two, well, only if Mother Nature was being cooperative.

So I scoped out the Doppler radar, and based on the storms path I knew where I wanted to be. I jumped in my truck with my E-3 and the Zuiko Digital 12-60mm SWD mounted plus two Hoya ND8 filters in my bag.

I got to my field with a few minutes to spare so I mounted my camera to the tripod, anchored it with a log (no sandbag),stacked the ND8′s, set focus to infinity, set my white balance, and adjusted my aperture to f/11. This combo yielded me a 25 second exposure. I set my camera to remote and waited for the show to begin.

Off in the distance I could see the lightshow ramping up and I knew that I would get some lightning in my shot. When the leading edge of the storm was where I wanted it I fired off my shot. While the shutter was open I was floored to see a wicked bolt of lightning streak across the horizon. It was like a living spiderweb being spun before my eyes.

I did this several more times, and once more I was able to have the shutter open while lightning streaked across the sky.  No cloud to ground lightning, but still a cool show across the storm front.

When I started to process my images today this is what I found.

NO LIGHTNING! What?!?!? Yup….It would appear that stacking two ND8′s was enough to keep the lightning from showing up? The lightning was thin and thready, like a spiderweb streaking across the sky. And while I thought it was bright, my camera thought otherwise.

Chock that up to a lesson learned. Next time I’ll run without stacking ND filters because the lighting was going to be a key component in this shot.

Live and learn I guess.
Do YOU have any experience with stacking ND filters? Or with shooting lightning with ND filters mounted? Is there something here I should have known about?

I’d love to hear from you.

Take care,

Jamie A. MacDonald

I should have been a Boyscout…….

Odd title isn’t it? “I should have been a Boyscout”? What I am talking about here is being prepared, and this past weekend I was not.  So how about an explanation?

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to hang some of my prints at a local Art Tour this past weekend. This was an event in which local galleries and artists opened their facilities to the general public to view art of all kinds created by local artists.  The opportunity to get some much needed exposure, and the chance at maybe selling a print or two was something I had been hoping to do. So I eagerly accepted the invitation without even considering what I would bring.  So a week before the show I ordered a few prints that were favorites of mine. Two were 12×18 prints. One was this one titled Escapism  and the other was this self portrait titles Apocalyptica-Self Portrait.  I also decided to order a 10×20 pano of this scene titled Cold Serenity.  Three prints….What was I thinking? Not even three that much thought went into..  I’ve been so depressed about my “day job” which is actually a third shift job, that I wasn’t even focused on selecting a cohesive series of photos to bring. How pathetic. So as a last minute effort to “bring more to the table” I brought along this floral photo titled Drink Up printed out at 16×24…That’s it…

Failed. OMG I’ve FAILED! Sigh

There was no continuity of flow to the images selected, there was no feeling of cohesiveness, no theme, no sense of direction. Oh my God what have I done? My first public exposure and I totally bombed.

Or did I?

After thinking about it the last few days I have come to the conclusion that this tragedy is actually a blessing in disguise. But before I explain why, I feel I should let you know that I DID get good feedback from patrons, and that of the 70 business cards I had set out, 40 of them were taken and my site has since received 83 new visitors (all from local IP addresses too..Yes I am a geek like that).

So why was my epic shortcoming, failure, ill preparedness a blessing in disguise? Because I LEARNED SOMETHING FROM IT that’s why. Yes, it really is as simple as that.

So here’s is what I’ve learned, and why it will make my next showing so much better.

#1.  It made me realize I need to focus myself on a few subjects and get really good at them.  It doesn’t mean stop shooting all the other things I shoot, it just means that I need to build a solid portfolio based on 1 or 2 subjects. Not a mish mash of things.

#2.  Only the best gets printed, only the best gets displayed, only the best is visible on my site. That simple. The theme here is ONLY THE BEST. PERIOD.

#3. Now I’m not sure if this is something everyone does, because to be 100% honest, I spend very little time on other people’s sites. But I think I need to develop a series of shots. What the heck does that mean? Well to ME it means that the images need to share a sense of commonality. They don’t necessarily have to be “of” the same thing but they have to “feel” like they are a part some unified thing.  Whether this is achieved through processing, or through perspective, or yes, through subject matter, they need to be a part of something that works together.

#4.    Make sure that my collection is large enough to impress (both in volume AND in print size). I feel that although 12×18 prints are nice, people are enamored with big prints. 16×24 and up. And very wide prints seem to garner the same reaction.  In addition to beefing up prints, I am going to make sure each photo has a NICE description tag to go along with it. People connect to an image better when it has a name, and a description or location to go with it.

So that it’s it for now, but I’m sure I’ll come back here and edit this post before long. I know I’ll think of a few more things I need to do to make the next event even better. I hope that those of you with experience as either an artist OR as a purchaser of art may have some advice to share. I will be glad to hear what you have to offer.

Take care.

Jamie

Black Rapid RS DR-1 Mini Review

Hello,

I want to thank you for stopping by to read this little review of the Black Rapid RS DR-1 dual camera harness system.  I imagine you are here to learn whether or not this system is the answer to your dual camera wielding troubles. So before I even start the review I can save you some reading if you’d like by just stating that as a matter of fact..YES! This will make your life with two cameras so much easier!

I also want to mention that I will not be going into detail on how to use the system, but rather how well it is made, and how well it performed in daily use for me. For info on setting up the RS DR-1 and how to use it..Follow this link. RS DR-1 VIDEO

And before I go any further, as a matter of full disclosure, this harness was given to me by the wonderful people at Black Rapid to help with a project I am trying to undertake. But I will NOT, let that influence me in this review. I hold no allegiance to any one company other than my own.

And now I present, The Black Rapid RS DR-1

When I received the RS DR-1 I already had some familiarity with the product line offered by Black Rapid. I suppose anyone who is starting to get serious about shooting will at some point want to get away from the strap that came with their camera and move on to something that allows for a little more freedom of movement. And I think that Black Rapid’s incredible social media and web marketing will ensure that those looking for an upgrade will come across their products. I know I did.

The RS DR-1 arrived in the snazzy mesh bag you see below. Along with it came a Black Rapid Sticker (which promptly became an ornament on my 50-200′s lens hood) and another piece of kit that I honestly don’t know what to do with.
Were you ever told by your mother to,”never judge a book by its cover”?  If so, I can tell you she was wrong.  The fact that the RS DR-1 came in this handy little mesh bag and not a boring brown box, or a plastic bag instantly led me to have elevated hopes for the product within. I was judging the book by its cover.

When I removed the RS DR-1 from the bag and laid it out on the table I was immediately impressed. I’ve had enough experience with well made camera bags to know when I see good, tightly woven nylon strapping that will hold up under continuous use and abuse. And these straps are made to take it. The sternum strap (which joins both sides of the strap system together) is secured simple locking plastic buckles. The buckles actually felt pretty rigid, which is a good thing, and took away the fears I’d initially had about this being a weak link in the system. The shoulder pads are super comfy neoprene and actually contoured to fit the form of your shoulder and cut out around where your neck meets your shoulder so as to reduce the chance for rubbing. Simple..and brilliant.

I also want to mention that the shoulder pads will accept the modular components that Black Rapid makes. These components are designed to hold a cellphone, extra memory cards, spare batteries, or any number of other things you might need quick access to. Again, another simple idea well implemented.

To attach your cameras to your RS DR-1 system you start by threading in the included FR-3. The FR-3 (shown below) is actually a beautiful piece of machined stainless steel with a cool black nickel coating. It even has the Black Rapid logo laser etched onto it. Something of note, if you look closely at the image below you will notice that the shape of the FR-3 is contoured so that when you are tightening it down onto the camera’s(or your lens’s) tripod mount, your finger just falls into this groove. It is a comfortable feel, and it shows the level of design detail the people at Black Rapid put into this product. The underside of the FR-3 has a rubbery (sorry, I don’t know what the material is) washer which has raised ridges that help to “lock” the FR-3 to the camera once tightened.

Once the FR-3′s are attached to your cameras (or lenses), you will now attach those to the CR-2′s, those are shown in the image below. The CR-2′s are NOT your typical carabiners! These have a locking mechanism to help ensure that there is no way your precious cameras and lenses can become detached from the RS DR-1. You can see below a “barrel” on the carabiner. This is a threaded barrel, and all you need to do is twist it loose so that it allows the carabiner to open and accept the FR-3′s. Once that is done…you are done! It’s time to go shoot.

And now a little about what it is like to wear TWO cameras at one time.

I’ve taken the RS DR-1 out shooting 4 times now, 3 times with two bodies, and once with one body and using one side of the RS DR-1 as a stand alone Black Rapid strap. What’s that? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you can separate the two straps if you want and use a single strap……Nice  isn’t it?

The distribution of weight using this system was excellent. It only took me a few minutes to get used to the fact that I was walking with two cameras. One camera was an Olympus E-3 w/ battery grip attached and a 50-200mm f/2.8, the other camera was a smaller Olympus E-520 w/ a 12-60mm f/2.8.  I found it very easy to reach down to my side, grab a camera (either one) and draw it right up to my eye to shoot. I was able to walk easily, climb up over obstacles in my path in the woods, and pretty much function as normal. The only thing I couldn’t do well was squat down low to shoot. If I wasn’t careful my cameras would drop to the ground, but there is no way to prevent that, and it IS NOT a flaw in the product. You just need to be wary of that fact. So make sure you hold your cameras if you decide to get low to the ground for a shot.

The longest I wore the RS DR-1 was for roughly 2 hours straight. In that period of time I never got tired of carrying my cameras. I’ve shot several weddings wielding two cameras. I wish that at the time I’d owned the RS DR-1!!! I used to carry one body  in my hand, and have the other slung over my shoulder with the manufacturer’s strap. After a 10 hour day I was in SEVERE pain. My arms were cramped, my shoulder and neck were in pain. It was AWFUL!
Now though I am extremely excited to shoot an upcoming wedding because I know I will not require medical attention when it is over.

I hope this review was informative, and of some value to you if you are considering a Black Rapid RS DR-1. I honestly could not find any faults with it other than it coming with a component that I had no idea how to utilize. I will post an update to this if my feelings change about this product, and I’ll also update after the wedding shoot to let you know how well it wears for extended periods of time.

Take care and go shoot something!

 

A little update:

The wonderful folks over at Black Rapid gave me access to a few of their images to use in this review. Since I didn’t have a model to show you how the RS DR-1 is worn I am inserting one of their press images. Along with one that shows the RS DR-1 hanging freely.
Enjoy!

Sin

Sin, a photo by sl33stak on Flickr.

This is shot number three in my Nine Inch Nails inspired series of black and white photographs.