Posts Tagged Gitzo
Down in the Weeds – Part 2
Posted by Doug Otto in Geek, Photography on June 27, 2009
In a previous article I mentioned that I’d started to play with some alternative shooting angles after hearing a talk by Rob Sheppard. Until now I’ve been using my Gitzo 2540 which goes pretty low, but just not low enough. While in a local camera shop I stumbled upon this little guy. It’s made by Manfrotto and goes under the model 345. It consists of a set of 209 legs and a 482 micro ballhead. Once I got it home I dug out an old Really Right Stuff plate and screwed it on, using the supplied bushing. The head is fully removable so at some point I might replace it with a RRS BH-25 but for the time being it’ll do the trick.
Since I have neither a live view screen nor the limberness of my youth, an angled viewfinder is an absolute necessity but I have one already. I’m looking forward to doing some playing with it and will be certain to chronicle the process here.
Cheers
Breaking My Own Rules
Posted by Doug Otto in Photography, Travel on March 13, 2009
Photography, like any craft, has its collection of “rules.” In addition to the standard creative devices I have my own rules. I often joke about the fact that “I don’t take pictures of anything that moves.” While it’s true for 99.99% of my shooting, I do occasionally break my own rules.
This shot was taken at the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. I had to be in San Diego for business and it was a way to spend some free time away from the hotel. I almost always travel with my camera just for that reason. There’s only so much TV that you can watch while sitting alone in a hotel room. My reward was an “Honorable Mention” at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center’s Animal House show.
I made the image with my Canon 30D and a 70-200 f/4L lens. The exposure was 1/320th at f/4 and ISO 100. While I may have been breaking my “shoot nothing that moves” rule, my camera was still firmly planted on top of my Gitzo. I mean really; there’s no reason to get “crazy.”
Cheers






