Hal MacLean

Whilst browsing in Waterstones this weekend I was pleased to find another volume from Scott Kelby. I have bought both of the earlier books, all entitled ‘The Digital Photography Book’ and have to say I’ve learned heaps from them. The style of writing is so easy to read and the tips and information priceless for those, like me, eager to know more about how to take better images.

This book, volume 3, leads on from the earlier versions and spends a good deal of time going over studio work, flash and lighting, portraiture, product shots and lenses. If you think you know all about these things, think again. Scott doesn’t go into deep theory about any of it, but gives practical hints and tips on how to achieve consistently good results. The emphasis is on giving simple information, much the same as you might get if you were right next to him on a shoot.

I think I have got so much more to learn, and am pleased to find books like this that take me on another small step. Much of what the book tells you is actually obvious the moment after you read it – I had a lot of  moments where I smiled to myself and said ‘so that’s how…’

Throughout the book are useful tips and links to online resources, and I found myself downloading things I wouldn’t normally have looked at, including updating the firmware on my trusty D200. I also spent a few hours with the camera just going back through the settings and finding ways to get better quality out of the shots I take. I would think that had I not read the book, I wouldn’t have bothered! I even found myself playing with HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, taking five bracketed shots and using Photoshop to set up the HDR stuff. OK, so I wasn’t on a shoot, and was playing around in my garden, knowing full well the light wasn’t right, but it was a chance just to test out the process. It worked as Scott said it would, and I feel more confident about working with HDR as a result.

I even got out my SB800 flash unit and re-read the user manual. Boy… that’s not much fun in there! However, I found ways to get it working that I hadn’t tried before, and whilst I am far from confident with flash units, I found I enjoyed trying things out. It was a bright sunny day, and I had a perfect chance to take dozens of images to test out things like fill in light, remote triggering and manual control of the unit.

So, thanks again Scott – volumes one and two are perfectly complemented by volume 3. What I need now is a trip to the US to sit in on a seminar, or for you to visit the UK and run some sessions over here!

Today I was caught up with the need to buy a decent camcorder and a few accessories. In the past we have used Sony HVR-Z1 cameras (the same used on the BBC Blast tour) which are well featured and durable, and produce great shots for video work. Sadly, they are now discontinued, and although there is a strong second-hand market for them, it is sometimes better to upgrade.

So up steps the Sony HVR-Z5. Almost identical, but with better optics, more considered ergonomics and additional settings in almost every feature it is a direct replacement and all of the Z1 accessories will still fit. This looked like the right piece of kit, but who to buy from? With almost every site in a google search for camcorders returning some price comparison or review site it is easy to find these things reasonably cheap (OK – £2,500 isn’t cheap, exactly). The thing is, they are mostly offered for sale with the standard one year warranty, and I had hoped for slightly more.

As usual, for all things video we call a select list of suppliers. Today we were delighted with the service from Jeremy at provisiondirect.co.uk. This company has an enviable reputation for great value and excellent product range. We have recommended them to clients looking to purchase kit, and indeed we have made one or two modest purchases there ourselves. Today was the day for buying again!

Jeremy is one of the most knowledgeable and friendly folk when it comes to pro and prosumer video gear. He is often very busy, but when you do get him, he finds the most brilliant pieces of kit for you, and tells you exactly ‘how it is’ with everything. After talking to Jeremy today I was satisfied that they still provide one of the best routes to buying kit, and the value he gives is second to none. So it was that we bought a Z5 with 2 year warranty at probably the most competitive price available. Not content with that Jeremy also added a few extras for us, which was brilliant… unexpected and not asked for. That’s the kind of person you are dealing with – full of information and very willing to help.

It is with great pleasure that I recommend to anyone looking to purchase a decent video camera, lighting, accessories, sound equipment, anything related to video, really provisiondirect.co.uk.

So the UK is in a big freezer compartment right now, and everywhere is pretty much covered with various levels of snow. As usual, the entire country grinds to a halt, when other countries, more regularly doused in the white stuff, seem to cope admirably well. I guess we’re just not used to inclement weather here in this maritime climate.

All the more fun then when I found an entire road almost abandoned and had the presence of mind to stand and admire the scenery with my trusty Panasonic Lumix camera. In truth, this sign is but yards from my front door – well, I couldn’t go out very far… it was snowing, y’know.

A quick snap later, and I thought I’d send it off to the BBC picture galleries. I was pleasantly surprised to learn shortly after that the picture was to be used as a main leader on the BBC Essex news website. It clearly made others chuckle as well as me, then.

January 2010 was chilly - welcome to Essex

And as it appeared on the BBC Essex News website:

Welcome to Essex, as seen online

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I took a photo with my phone and used the image as the wallpaper for when the phone is locked. However, I completely overlooked this when I deleted the original image from the camera roll. This meant I had an image in place but no way of accessing it, and I quite liked the image!

It turns out that when you connect your iPhone to your Mac and iTunes starts, it runs a backup and places some files in your ‘~Library/Applications Support/MobileSync/Backup folder. The problem is that they are SQLLite files and not easily readable in any simple way. This is where I turn to the Apple community, particularly the discussions, and ask for help. Here is the post I made.

I was so pleased with the response – almost immediate and ultimately one of the most helpful. It appears there is a Python script able to open those files and restore the folder structure from the innards of your phone. The thread answers the questions most folk will have, but I thought I’d post here too.

What you need to do is copy the backup folder and all it’s contents to an easily accessible place – I chose a new folder on my desktop. Copy the Python script into the same folder. You then need to change the permissions on that script to ensure that it is executable. You should do this through the terminal, which means you’ll probably need to use ‘sudo’ and ‘chown’ to set the values correctly. Once you have done this you can run the script. You do this by typing ‘sudo’, then the complete path to the script, a forward slash, then the complete path to the folder (you can simply drag the items into the terminal window to do this and the paths will be filled in automatically for you). Finish with a forward slash and then ‘*.mdbackup’.

What this will do is reconstruct the entire iPhone folder structure inside the place you have got the python script and backup folder. Once done you can then set the permissions for the resulting foder and copy to all items inside… you can then access and manipulate the files.

This was, in fact, ludicrously easy – I had help from Alex Blanc who is something of a star with this stuff, but if you know a few basic commands in the terminal you should be OK.

I’ve also uploaded the Python script for you all to download from here in case it goes offline elsewhere. The original is HERE. The one I used (and changed ownership on) is HERE.

I recently found myself searching eBay for a 50mm prime lens and wandered across a seller with several lots of the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 lens. Having read reasonably positive reviews of this particular piece of glass I decided it was worth a chance, and arranged to meet the seller in Colchester.

This is the stuff of dodgy deals… meet up outside a well known PC shop and hand over cash for a boxed Nikkor lens? One of several available? Well, for £70 it was worth a punt!

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