EP108 The Random Photography Show

[00:00:00] Speaker A: It's. Oh, disappeared. Quick. G' day everybody and welcome to the Camera Life podcast. This is the random photography show. It is August 18th, if you can believe that. Only two months to befop. For those of you watching the clocks, this is episode 108, proudly brought to you by Lucky Straps. If you're looking for a premium Australian made handmade leather camera strap, head to Luckystraps.com drop code Jim at checkout and you'll get yourself a healthy little discount. [00:01:04] Speaker B: You will. Okay, Greg? [00:01:06] Speaker A: Well, yeah, great. Code Greg. It's not very popular. It's not very popular. Jim. Jim seems to be the leader of the discount wars. [00:01:15] Speaker C: Will you spell, you spell Jim G, R, E, G, don't you? [00:01:20] Speaker A: Yeah, well, yeah, yeah, fair enough, fair enough. But speak of the devil. Yes, we are joined by Jim. Jim's here. Jim's. Jim's soloing Lucky Straps at the moment. So you know, if anyone wants anything special, mate, just talk to Jim. You know, he can do it all. Yeah. But we are also given that Justin is still in New Zealand. He and Yelena are currently traveling around. They have patchy coverage. So we may or may not get a comment from Justin. Today we are joined by Bruce Moyle, fan of the show. G', day mate. How are you? Good, good. Thanks man. [00:01:50] Speaker C: Yeah, thanks for having me again. [00:01:52] Speaker A: Oh, you're welcome. You're very welcome. And of course we're also joined by Levin Barrett from Rear View Photography. How are you mate? It's good to have you back. [00:02:02] Speaker D: Yeah, good, thanks Greg. Yeah, pleasure to be here. Thanks for the invite. [00:02:05] Speaker A: No, no worries. Now we'll, we'll get to. Levin's got a bit of news to share with with everyone who's watching and listening along, whether you're watching this live now or playing it back later. And while we're on the topic, please don't forget to give us a like. It helps, it helps with the algorithms. And subscribe. Subscribe to the Camera Life. Hit the bell notification and that way you'll get, you'll get notified of when every episode is coming up. We do two shows a week. Monday evening, 7.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time and Thursday morning at 9am Australian Eastern Standard Time. [00:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah, but not some other time. [00:02:47] Speaker A: No, no, just Australian. Just Australian. The chat's already going off, Jim. Do you want to jump to the hellos? [00:02:53] Speaker B: Yeah, we've got Philip Johnson, greeting chaps and chats. Lisa Lee. Good evening, Greg and Bruce. [00:03:01] Speaker A: You don't get a mention, Jim. I noticed. [00:03:03] Speaker D: No. [00:03:03] Speaker B: Or 11. [00:03:04] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:03:05] Speaker B: Hi. Lisa. [00:03:08] Speaker A: Shade. [00:03:10] Speaker B: Evening all right. Evening, Paul. [00:03:11] Speaker A: Hey, Paul. [00:03:13] Speaker B: Look at Dennis editing improv jazz album promo video and watching these two bearded beauties. What a Monday night. [00:03:21] Speaker C: Yeah, you're welcome. [00:03:23] Speaker A: Well, you're all welcome. [00:03:24] Speaker C: Three, actually. [00:03:25] Speaker D: Three. [00:03:25] Speaker C: Three and a half. [00:03:26] Speaker A: Three and a half. We'll give, we'll get. He's got some facial fuzz. We'll give it to him. [00:03:30] Speaker B: That's a solid mustache. We've got Crimson Comics commenter on. Yeah. [00:03:38] Speaker A: Hey, kiddo, thanks for joining. We'll try to keep it pg. [00:03:44] Speaker B: Lisa Leach, hoping to get on your beef up workshop, Bruce. Fingers crossed. [00:03:48] Speaker C: Oh, cool. Fingers crossed. [00:03:51] Speaker B: Hi, Rodney. Evening all from John Pickett. [00:03:56] Speaker A: Hey, guys. [00:03:57] Speaker B: Oh, no, Bruce is here. Forgot about that. [00:04:00] Speaker C: Yeah. Expect some sass from Crimson Comics tonight, guys. [00:04:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:06] Speaker B: Lisa, sorry. Hello to Levin and Jim too. Hi, Lisa. [00:04:10] Speaker A: I save Lisa. [00:04:12] Speaker B: G', day, Tim. Hello, Rick. We've got Neil as well as Lisa. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Always. [00:04:20] Speaker B: I don't think Levin got the RT back. [00:04:23] Speaker A: No, sorry. No, sorry. [00:04:25] Speaker D: One of these things is not like the others, I'm realizing. [00:04:28] Speaker A: Yeah, you're okay, mate. You're okay. You're doing great. G' day everybody. In the chat, thanks for, thanks for joining us tonight. If you have any questions of any of us throughout the night, please make sure you drop it in the comments and we'll, we'll do our best to get to it. Levin, now we've got you here to share a bit of news. You've got a few things on the horizon, but first let's just get a quick update as to what you've been up to lately. [00:04:57] Speaker D: Pretty active. Gotta say, between the photography and my real job now, it's kept me definitely very busy. Had a really good fortnight, sorry, four night weekend away up at Lake Tyrole and Kerang about a month ago or maybe six weeks ago by now, time flies. And we had spectacular weather at Lake Tyrol. It was just magnificent. And there were six in the group and we got some really awesome astro shots out on the lake that night. It was just one of those rare nights where not a cloud in the sky and absolutely no wind at all. And the reflection in the lake was just breathtaking, just mesmerizing. It was just, it's one of those ones I only ever had it. I've been up there probably about a dozen times now and I've only ever had it once before. But where you literally, you look down and the stars are just as bright in the water at your feet as what they are in the sky above. It's just. Wow, that's cool. And thankfully we had one of those nights there. So we did two nights there and got some really good shots. Went out to the bus at Lake Tyrrell and got that one as well. And after that we moved on to Kerang and went and shot at one of the lakes there in Kerang where I. I'm not sure if I should say this or not actually, but I managed to get my car bogged trying to get out of it in the. [00:06:18] Speaker A: Middle of the night. [00:06:19] Speaker D: Eleven. [00:06:20] Speaker A: Sorry, in the middle of the night? [00:06:22] Speaker D: Yeah, about 11 o' clock at night. Yeah. Thankfully had plenty of people around me to both give me grief and also help me out. So. [00:06:30] Speaker A: I was gonna say it's a bit of a rookie era, mate. [00:06:33] Speaker D: It was, I admit. Yeah, I gotta admit I was reversing out of it. I just. I had driven over the patch about three hours before and I'd walked over it before that. It was firm as. But there's just a bit of a culvert where a farmer's got a water pump where he sucks water out of the lake. But the lake was a fair way down, so. [00:06:55] Speaker C: Oh, no. [00:06:56] Speaker A: Last year we froze. We. You've frozen just for a second there. Living. Just hold that thought and hopefully it comes back on in a moment. I legitimately thought that he. He paused to compose his thoughts. He's still composing. Oh, 11, we've lost you. [00:07:18] Speaker B: I think she's lost 11. [00:07:19] Speaker C: Check back next week for the rest of the story. It's like cliffhanger. [00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I was actually in. I actually stopped by Lake Tyrrell today. [00:07:29] Speaker A: Did you? [00:07:30] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I was coming back to the job. New Sea Lake. [00:07:35] Speaker C: Okay, click on this. [00:07:37] Speaker D: I want to click on it. [00:07:38] Speaker C: What do you want to click on, Tim? Tim's comment. [00:07:43] Speaker A: At the bottom. Oh, yeah, click on that. [00:07:46] Speaker B: Levin's stream bolt downwards. [00:07:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:51] Speaker D: Well done. [00:07:52] Speaker A: Run of bad luck there. Hopefully. Levin rejoins us in a moment. We'll just keep an eye out for him. Levin also has some tours coming up, so we're going to cover those during the podcast. But we'll wait for him to jump back in. Hopefully he won't be too far away. So, Bruce, we've got you on board for now. Let's. Let's hear what you've been up to lately. You've. You've had a bit of a trip abroad recently, haven't you? [00:08:16] Speaker C: I haven't done much at all, mate. [00:08:18] Speaker A: Now I am. [00:08:20] Speaker C: I went to the land of the long white cloud for 12 days. Took me a little bit to get there. Fight cancellations and all those muscles ended up Going to North island before I got to the South Island. [00:08:33] Speaker A: Yep, all right. [00:08:35] Speaker C: He's back. I can come back. [00:08:37] Speaker A: Sorry, guys. [00:08:37] Speaker D: No. No idea what happened there. Just. It just. I lost everything. So. Anyway, we'll try again. [00:08:42] Speaker A: No, that's okay. Just hang in there for a second level. We're just. We'll just finish Bruce's tale. [00:08:51] Speaker C: Yes, I was in New Zealand, did the Iris Awards as a judge, which was really cool. And then the photo show. So this is run by the New Zealand Institute Professional Photography, nzipp. And I was. I ran three workshops and a master class at the actual photo show. And yeah, I can go into lots more about that later, but I think Levin is here to talk. [00:09:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, thanks. Thanks for. For filling in, Levin. Good to have you back once again. [00:09:23] Speaker D: Sorry, guys, I'm really not sure what happened there. [00:09:25] Speaker A: Such an attention seeker. I love it. [00:09:27] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:09:29] Speaker A: So you were talking about Kerang. [00:09:32] Speaker D: Yeah. So I got to Kerrang. First night was superb. But as I said, I managed to bog the car. Yep. But we had to leave it there for the night. But thankfully some of the other guests had their vehicle as well, so got back to the motel, spent the night, and actually then got it towed out the next morning. So first time I bogged the car, River. But anyway, as you said, rookie era. [00:09:55] Speaker A: He survived it. That's the main thing. [00:09:57] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, it did, yeah. No dramas, but we got some really good shots there. But on the last night, I actually went out to a farmer's. Farmer's farm. He's got these awesome sheds. They're real old rustic sheds. Really, really good. And I've been out there twice now. And anyway, I teed up to take the group out there, but unfortunately, only about half an hour after we arrived, all these thunderstorms rolled in and we kind of had to hide and shelter in the shed for about an hour. And the thunderstorms were only just barely starting to dissipate. And it sort of got to the point where, no, everyone was just sort of getting. Although we're inside a shed, we're just getting a bit wet and there's still lightning bolts flying everywhere. So we had to abandon that night. So went to the pub instead, basically. And no loss. [00:10:45] Speaker A: No loss or gain. [00:10:47] Speaker D: Exactly. Yeah, precisely. [00:10:49] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:10:50] Speaker D: So, yeah, that was a really good weekend away. I've got a similar workshop going on down at the Great Ocean Road this weekend. Still got two spots on that if anybody's interested in joining me. But yeah, I might just bring up. [00:11:06] Speaker A: Your, Your, Your site. Although I think I've got the Norway one loaded up. [00:11:12] Speaker D: Is that. [00:11:13] Speaker A: Yep. Let's go to Photography tours. Is the Great Ocean Road one on here as well? 11. [00:11:20] Speaker D: It's under the workshops. I'm sorry, under courses. Courses. I'm sorry, yes. If you go to courses and then the workshop. Yeah. So not much notice on this one. Well, it's. I've been had an advertise for probably about three, four months, but. Yeah, but it is next weekend. But I do still have two spots left on that one if anybody's interested. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Oh, great. [00:11:45] Speaker D: If you go to courses there, it's. It's listed as one of the, the courses and yeah, we're bashing. It's just two nights, this one down at Port Campbell. I've hired the art space down there so it's the full astrophotography training as well as. Then we go out in the evenings and, and shoot. [00:12:05] Speaker A: So you, you run a, like a, like a tutorial beforehand. You get everyone to show up classroom style and you talk through the process and what they need to know. [00:12:14] Speaker D: Yep, yep, you got it. Yeah. Spend the first. So we're kicking it off 1 or 2 ish in the afternoon. Spend the first 3 to 4 hours going through sort of equipment and theory and how you're trying to catch the image and all that sort of stuff. Then we go out and shoot that night and then the next morning just get up and have a leisurely breakfast. Just depends how long we've been out. But get up, have a leisurely breakfast and then I continue the course in the afternoon or late morning and then into the afternoon and then we get into the processing side of it, processing all your images in Lightroom and Photoshop and it's everything from, you know, how to do just. We start with a single image, keep it nice and simple and very straightforward. Get into star trails and ultimately finish off with panoramas and that sort of stuff and how to stitch them together. So it kind of takes you from beginning, I won't say to fully advance because it can be a bit too much in a weekend. People have sort of got to try and keep up as well and it is a lot to absorb, there's no doubt about it. But look certainly to the point where, yeah, we'll stitch together maybe three or four shot panorama in Photoshop and Lightroom and that sort of stuff and just run through the processing. So yeah, day one theory, you know, how to capture the photo and day two is how to process it and put it all together in, in your image later on. To end up with the final product. [00:13:41] Speaker A: It sounds great and I really love the fact that it's so comprehensive in that, you know, you're going from, you know, before you even take a shot, you, you know, you're educating people, giving them the insight on, on what to, what to expect that night. Going out for the shoot and then spending time editing. You know, I think there's a lot to, to, to gain from that experience because I think what stops a lot of people sometimes from taking up particular genres or trying new styles is they don't really know what the end to end, full end to end process is. And I think a workshop like this is perfect for that. [00:14:16] Speaker D: Yeah. And to be honest, a lot of previous guests have said to me, and I'm not trying to bag out other workshops, far from it, some good people that I know who run Astro workshops do superb jobs. There's no issues at all. But I've definitely had a few previous customers say that, you know, all they ever concentrating on is taking the photo and then they get home with this dull, lifeless night image and they've got no idea what to do with it, how to process or how to make it look, you know, reasonable. So yeah, I wouldn't have a clue. [00:14:44] Speaker A: I wouldn't have a clue how to process an Astro shot, where to start. [00:14:47] Speaker D: So yeah, there's definitely techniques. So yeah, so I cover everything from start to finish. [00:14:55] Speaker C: Well, how do, how do you preempt people before they come onto the workshop for like gear and stuff like that? Because not everybody's going to have like, if they turn up with a kit lens, they're going to have struggle to do Astro as an example, like you need something fairly fast and moderately wide and you know, you've got all those reciprocities of length to time and that. So how do you get people make sure that they're coming suitably equipped without, you know, making it too scary? [00:15:22] Speaker D: Yeah, look, email. Certainly in the week leading up to it, I send out an email to everybody with the sort of gear that they'll need. And even when they book, when they make an initial inquiry, my very first question to them is what sort of gear do you have? And it's not so much what brand, although I am interested, it's more what lenses have you got? What, what's your widest aperture, turn your camera, take interval photos or do you need an intervalometer and all that sort of stuff. So I get a bit of a handle on what gear that they've got and I can supply a Little bit of gear. I'm limited, however, with particular camera gear because, like an intervalometer that works on a Sony won't work on a Canon and it's different to a Nikon and different to a Fuji, so you do run into those issues. But these days a lot of the modern cameras have the intervalometers built in, as you know, and you really only need those for star trails. Anyway, apart from that, it's really just sort of a fast, fast, ish lens. 2.8 would be probably the slowest that you can comfortably deal with with Astro. If you've got something that's 2.4 to 1.8 aperture, then that certainly makes life a lot easier. But it's sort of a case of a wide lens. So I make sure that they've got that gear before they come along because there's no point coming along if all you own is telephoto lenses. It's not going to help you. [00:16:44] Speaker A: And a tripod too, I would imagine. [00:16:47] Speaker D: And a tripod, absolutely essential. Yep, yep. Lose again. [00:16:53] Speaker B: No, again. [00:16:55] Speaker D: I think you're back again now. [00:16:57] Speaker B: You're back, you're back. [00:16:58] Speaker D: Sorry, I don't know. Having a bad. [00:17:00] Speaker A: Keeping us on the edge of our seats. 11. [00:17:03] Speaker D: Exactly. Yeah. So, Bruce, I do sort of try to get all that in place prior to them coming along the weekend. But look, in all honesty, 90% of cameras can do the job. Any wide angle lens can do the job. And a sturdy tripod, things like lights and that sort of stuff, I supply all of that. I bring all that sort of gear. If somebody needs a spare tripod or anything like that, I've got a few spares. Bring along a couple of deck chairs to sit on, a bit of tea and coffee and all that sort of stuff. So, you know, supply a little bit of gear and a little bit of comfort during the night because sounds like. [00:17:44] Speaker A: A lovely weekend away to me. [00:17:47] Speaker C: Do we get a full service massage, like watching the camera take that 30 seconds. [00:17:52] Speaker D: Get. [00:17:52] Speaker C: Get the lip. [00:17:53] Speaker D: Yeah, that could be a special deal, but probably not. [00:17:56] Speaker C: Oh, cool. [00:17:57] Speaker A: Special deal. Yeah. Use code Jim at checkout and see what you get. [00:18:05] Speaker D: Oh, wonderful. [00:18:07] Speaker A: Can I ask you. Sorry, mate, I cut you off. Yeah, yeah. Hey, how do you go when it comes to the post processing? I imagine you. Do you get everyone to bring their own computer, their own laptop, or do you just work off a couple that you provide? [00:18:24] Speaker D: No, I do get people to bring their own laptops, but what I tend to do is after we've done the first night shoot, I'll transfer their Images off their laptop, onto my laptop, and then we'll run through. And I don't process my images, I process theirs. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Okay. [00:18:40] Speaker D: And I find that's really important because they take so much more interest in it if they see their own image coming to life, if they sort of see how it starts, because they took it, they know what was involved in taking it, and they know what they were trying to achieve. And so if I take their image and process that into something nice and beautiful and all the rest of it, something that looked good for the astray, then, yeah, they learn a lot more from it. So I don't necessarily depend on many people on the course. Like, if there's six people on the course, I just don't have time to get everybody's images, but I'll certainly get two, maybe three people's images. And we'll start with, as I said, something very basic, just like a single, single image. Then I'll get somebody else's star trails, and then I'll get somebody else's panorama. So I try to sort of put their images together and just, you know, show them how to bring it to life. [00:19:32] Speaker A: All right. I think it sounds wonderful. I think it's a really comprehensive offering. Yeah, that sounds great, mate. And now you've also got another workshop coming up. We talked about this when you came on the show last time, that you were doing a little bit of reconnaissance. I think you and your wife went to Norway for a bit of a trip just to do a bit of reconnaissance. [00:19:50] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:19:51] Speaker A: And you. You only. I think you only had, like, one good day the whole time you were. [00:19:54] Speaker D: There or something, to be. To be perfectly honest. It was a brutal tour. Well, not a tour, but a brutal trip there. Yeah. The weather was just horrific. To be even more frustrating, even the day after we left there, other friends of mine who were also up in Norway at the time were posting all their fantastic aurora images, literally from the night after we left. That's terrific. It was. It was so frustrating. Yeah, we're there for five or six days in the Lofoten area, and we just had all these Atlantic storms coming through all the time. So, look, I still got some really good daytime images. You know, we had breaks in the weather and. And even when it's cloudy and rainy, it's the atmosphere, you know what I mean? It's just sort of. It still works. It's just one of those places. [00:20:41] Speaker A: And even just being in Norway is wonderful, isn't it? [00:20:44] Speaker D: It's just. Yeah, it is. It's just staggeringly. Beautiful. [00:20:47] Speaker A: It's on my bucket list. [00:20:48] Speaker D: No, yeah, but, but not one single chance at Aurora, unfortunately. Unfortunately on this trip. [00:20:53] Speaker A: Well, with your upcoming workshop, you've booked ahead. I assume you've booked in an Aurora for what's coming up. [00:20:59] Speaker D: Yes, mate. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. [00:21:01] Speaker A: That's how it works, isn't it? Tell, tell Liv and tell us about your Norway workshop. What's going on with that? [00:21:06] Speaker D: Yeah, so look, I've been able to string it together. Took a bit of doing, I must admit, because it's very hard to organize these things when you're remote. But look, we've ended up. Richard Taddy's involved with this again, so. [00:21:18] Speaker A: Oh no, not him. [00:21:19] Speaker B: Good friend of the show. [00:21:20] Speaker D: Yep. The, the gruesome twosome. So, yeah, really sensational to have him on board. And what I've also ended up doing is I've actually joined forces. Here we go. No, there we go. I've joined forces with a local tour company as well and so they're providing two local guides for me. [00:21:43] Speaker A: Oh wow. [00:21:44] Speaker D: So these guys. So even though I've been there a few times, you can't beat local knowledge, simple as that. And whilst I certainly know places to go and things to take photos of, these guys know, well, if the wind is blowing this way and there's a bit of rain involved, it's going to be clear up in this fjord or in this area of north of Lofoten. So they've sort of got that really in depth local knowledge where just depending on what the weather is doing and that sort of stuff, they just know the best place to go, where we've got the best opportunity to get Aurora and with a nice foreground and all that sort of stuff. So that's the information that I'm lacking. As I said, I know where to go, but I just don't know the weather patterns and the places up there that, you know, work in certain wind directions and all that sort of stuff. So. And I got admit I did kind of learn that from my trip up there in, in February when, when I had such terrible weather. [00:22:35] Speaker B: So you planned that after going there, like that was something that came from. [00:22:40] Speaker D: That, that exactly right, yeah. Because, you know, even though it was terrible weather, where I was sitting, for All I knew, 60, 80 kilometers up the road, it might have been clear skies, you just don't know. And maybe it was good local knowledge comes in. [00:22:56] Speaker A: Yeah, it makes a huge difference. I remember talking to Dennis Smith about some of his trips. You know, he went to Easter island to do his ball of light and a bunch of other light painting projects. And yeah, he spoke of the benefit of having local handlers, people that. That really knew the area and could see you through safely as well. Yeah, I think it's a smart way to do it. [00:23:19] Speaker D: Yeah. And they're also acting as the drivers. We've got two vans, so I've got a total of 10 guests on the tour. I've apparently got seven. So there's still three spots available. [00:23:29] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:23:31] Speaker D: But we're using them as drivers as well. And if you haven't been to Norway, the roads there can be like, I'll say tricky. They're very good condition. Not a pothole anyway, anywhere. Beg your pardon, but they're really narrow and they're only. Even the main highway is sort of a car and 3/4 wide and they build it up above the ground level. So you've literally got the bitumen and then a 3 meter drop because they have to build them up to allow for the snow and all that sort of stuff. [00:24:00] Speaker A: And the lava. [00:24:01] Speaker D: If you get it wrong, you can end very badly. So these guys, as I say, they're used to it, they drive all the time. So yeah, so sort of a bit of safety and also just a bit of local knowledge as well. Well, a lot of local. So yeah, so that's all come together and I've ended up. [00:24:20] Speaker A: So how many nights are we talking? 9? [00:24:26] Speaker D: 10, 17. 10 nights. I'm sorry. [00:24:31] Speaker A: Yep. So it's the 17th of March to the 26th of March next year, correct? 11 days, 10 nights. Yep. [00:24:40] Speaker D: And 2. The way I'm doing it is. Sorry. [00:24:43] Speaker A: No, no, you go, please. [00:24:45] Speaker D: The way I've ended up organizing it is. And it's a little bit different to the tours that I run in Tasmania and New Zealand because on those tours we sort of have to keep traveling because the distances are so vast. So we sort of start at one area and we sort of spend one, maybe two nights at different locations. But then we drive on another three or four hours to the next place and. And on and on we go. But Lofoten's nowhere near that big. It's. It's. It's almost like smaller than Victoria. So we. On this particular way, the way I've gone about it is we fly in to a place up north. We are flying to a town called Svalva, pick you up at the airport. And from there we go to a stunning little island fishing village called Henningsvar. And we've got our first three nights there. So we Just literally spoke out of Henningsvar to different areas and different locations during the day and at night to get Aurora. And it also gives us the flexibility then as well. And we can sort of look at the forecast and say, well, it's going to be awesome weather tonight, so we'll have a fairly easy day. We're not going to do a lot, but tonight we're going to hit it and see if we can get Aurora. But if it turns out the forecast is for absolute terrible weather that night, then we'll have a big day and we'll do a lot of day stuff and trips and we'll sort of see a fair bit of the area, come home at night. No point trying to shoot a roar if it's, you know, howling gale and pouring rain. So instead of that, Richard and I will sort of run a few classes on various subjects. Whatever people want, we'll sort of do a thing on that. So it's very flexible and we sort of just make. Well, I wouldn't say we're making the tour, there's definitely places we want to go and want to see, but we're just having that flexibility of do it as the weather demands. And from there it's not planned, isn't it? Well, it's sort of the only way you can approach Lofoten. Yeah, it's just one of those sort of different places. To get the best out of it, you've got to be very flexible. [00:26:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:26:40] Speaker D: We then moved down. We spend the next three nights at a place called Mortsund and similar sort of thing there. And then we move further on and spend another three nights in Hamnoy, which is sort of the. The prettiest area, I suppose, is the place where everyone really wants to go to. It's sort of the. The peak spot, if that makes sense. And the accommodation that I've got is smack bang on the island of Hamnoy, with. We're literally on the waterfront. So if you're really keen, as I did last February, as I. As I discovered, I literally sat in my room and just poked the camera out through the glass of the window because it was too damn cold and visible to go outside. So it's lazy man's photography, I fully admit it, but I literally sat in my room with a cup of coffee in the warm and just had all the lights off and the curtains drawn a bit and just shot. Shot a bit of Astro. Not that I could get any Astro, but just shot the scenes there, you know what I mean? [00:27:31] Speaker A: So you got yourself To. To Norway. I think you. You deserve to cheat a little bit on this occasion. [00:27:38] Speaker D: Exactly. Yeah. But don't tell anybody I did that. [00:27:41] Speaker A: Oh, no, no. Just between us and the chat. Chat. You've been warned. Don't share that. The tour sounds absolutely amazing. Yeah. Yep, Gone. [00:27:53] Speaker D: Yeah. We have one last night at a place called Newsford and again, it's a stunning little fishing village. I fully admit it's a little bit touristy in news, for it is a working Philly fishing village still, but it certainly is a little bit touristy. But the road in is called Panorama Road and that's for a very good reason. It's. It's just one of the most stunning drives you'll ever see. It just takes you past lakes and mountain ranges and, yeah, it really is just unbelievably beautiful. So we spend the last night in Newsford and then the next morning I'll drop you all back at the airport and everybody flies. Well, flies to wherever they want to go. I've got one lady who's going on to London, a few others who are just simply coming straight back home. I myself, I'm going to stay over there. Well, my wife's going to come over and we're going to meet in Copenhagen and have a bit of a holiday ourselves. In Copenhagen. [00:28:40] Speaker A: Oh, nice. [00:28:41] Speaker D: And she's also almost talking me into going over to Scotland as well, just for a bit of a trip. But, yeah, so. So, yeah, different guests are sort of doing stuff afterwards or coming straight home. Just whatever they. Whatever they want. [00:28:54] Speaker A: Yeah. Flexibility. [00:28:57] Speaker B: Sorry, Jim, I was gonna say, you're not flying them over in a private jet. [00:29:02] Speaker D: No, not this time. [00:29:03] Speaker B: Not this time. [00:29:04] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:29:05] Speaker A: For those of you watching and listening along, Levin is actually a commercial airline pilot. And if you want to hear more about his story, dial back to our episode where we interviewed Levin on the camera life and find out all about his work as a pilot and as a photographer. Levin, the tour sounds amazing. So you've got seven seats already filled, you've got a few left to fill. Best place for people to go is straight to your website to Rearview photography. [00:29:33] Speaker D: Rearview photography, Sorry, yeah, rearview photography. Yep. And yeah, just go to the website, just follow the link for the tours. Yep. And that'll take you to the Norway one. And, yeah, all the information and details on their dates and sort of, you know, roughly the itineraries. I explained what's included, what's not and all that sort of stuff. So, yeah, so that's just better. Just go there and, yeah, have a read and Then click on the link to just make an inquiry and that'll come through to me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, let's put it that way. [00:30:08] Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds great. I've just dropped the, the link in, in the, in the comments section so anyone that's listening or watching along now, you can check that out. Don't leave us, just check it out quietly later. But you know, if, if. For those watching and listening along, if, if Norway has been on your bucket list for some time now. Levin is obviously offering a pretty sweet and well supported tour of Norway with you know, flexibility and backup for foul weather and let's face it, that's just a fact of life when it comes to shooting landscapes and astro. But yeah, I think you know, check it out at least have a look and if you've got any questions about it then hit the contact button on Levin's website and make an inquiry and you can start chatting. Anything else coming up in the in the near future for you? [00:31:03] Speaker D: Got the New Zealand tour in about three and a half week, four weeks time. So taking 11 people over to New Zealand for nine or 10 days there. [00:31:14] Speaker A: Yep. [00:31:14] Speaker D: So yeah getting excited about that. Everything's in place for it. Yeah, just, just basically waiting for it to happen now. So, so yeah, looking forward to that. I really do enjoy doing the tours I've got to say. They, I just, I just really enjoy it. It's just good fun, simple as that and everyone sort of you, almost everyone has been on the tour, ends up being really good friends at the end of it and friends with each other. It's as much about the social interaction and that sort of stuff as you know it's not all about photography, it's as much about making friends and having a good time. [00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah. It's about shared experience though, isn't it? Because you know if like I said if, if going to always been at the on your bucket list and you managed to get yourself on a tour then chances are that all the other people that are going with you are just as excited to be ticking off their bucket list. So yeah, shared interest. Yeah, yeah. [00:32:03] Speaker D: So. So yeah looking forward to the New Zealand one in a couple of weeks time and yeah, yeah not much then until Norway next year. [00:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sure you'll stay busy in between. [00:32:15] Speaker D: Yep, I tend to do that. [00:32:18] Speaker A: Hey Bruce, have you ever been to Norway new? [00:32:22] Speaker C: I'm happy to go along just like just to review it for you. I'm, I'm going to become an influencer and, you know, try and get as many free trips as possible, like. Yeah, I'm good for that. [00:32:37] Speaker A: So generous of you, Bruce. [00:32:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm very much the generous person with those. [00:32:44] Speaker D: Yes. [00:32:44] Speaker A: Yeah, clearly. Well, okay. So, Levin, thanks again for joining us. Great to get an update from you. Always great to see you and have a chat. [00:32:53] Speaker D: Oh, thanks. Appreciate that. [00:32:55] Speaker A: Oh, no worries at all. And like I said, guys, head to rearview.photography.com, which is Levin's website, and you can have a look at what he's been up to and the tools that are coming up next year. And March isn't that far away now. No. [00:33:13] Speaker D: That'S for sure. [00:33:14] Speaker A: Yeah. All right, well, thanks again, Levin. Did you want to stick around for a bit or you got. You got something to be. [00:33:21] Speaker D: Look, if you're happy, I'll hang around for a little while. [00:33:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, we'll keep you on. [00:33:26] Speaker D: Yeah, I've got an early start tomorrow morning, so if you don't mind, I won't hang around for the whole show, but, yeah, happy to put up with me a little bit longer. [00:33:32] Speaker A: Happy to hang around, absolutely. All right, what should we jump to next? [00:33:38] Speaker D: News. [00:33:39] Speaker A: I don't have the jingle. No, it's too hard. It's far too hard. Hey, Bruce, do you want to have a crack at. At some of the chats since. Since we last checked in on. [00:33:51] Speaker C: I don't know how to turn it on. Like how to. [00:33:53] Speaker A: Oh, you can't see it? [00:33:55] Speaker C: No, I can see the chat. I don't know how to put it onto the screen. [00:33:59] Speaker A: You might not have access. [00:34:02] Speaker B: Okay, I can click it for you, Bruce. [00:34:05] Speaker C: Well, we've got the. The Grand Pooh Bar himself, Nick Fletcher, saying he's late and that this is some sort of ZZ Top reunion going on. [00:34:16] Speaker A: Nice. [00:34:17] Speaker C: Maybe we should do that at bfop. [00:34:19] Speaker A: Yeah, maybe. Yeah. [00:34:21] Speaker C: Spinning. Spinning cameras instead of guitars. [00:34:25] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:34:26] Speaker C: I don't know. With 600 mil lenses and then watch everybody cringe. What else we got here? There's a few comments in here about things like Matt Palmer was thrown in there, like, good to get going to get some fish burgers at a need of seafood. For sure. Because Matt's obviously been up and around those parts. And we've also got Paul here saying if you're extra, if you have extra time in Norway, do the cruise from Bergen to Tomso or. [00:34:59] Speaker D: What's that? [00:35:00] Speaker C: Kitsness? I don't know how to pronounce that. [00:35:02] Speaker D: Sorry. Yeah, it's Tromso's to the north. [00:35:06] Speaker C: I knew. I knew Tromso, but Yeah, I didn't know the last one. [00:35:10] Speaker D: He's right about Bergen though. Bergen. If you can imagine where Hansel and Gretel live, like picture in your mind where you think the fairy tale characters of Hansel and Gretel will live, it would be Bergen. It is just stunning city, just unbelievable. [00:35:25] Speaker A: Levin, what's the tourism like in. In Norway? You know, I've seen lots of places have been flooded with tourism, especially since COVID Japan, which is always on my bucket list. I can never fill up that bucket enough. You know, it's really heavily touristy now. Stuff that I used to go and see where there'd be no one around. I see photos of it now on Instagram and there's just, you know, thousands of people there. What's it like in Norway at the these days? [00:35:53] Speaker D: Look, it's, it's always been a popular place. It's a bizarre sort of thing because for photographers we tend to go there in winter but that's actually their quiet period. That sounds bizarre. Yeah, because. And in actual fact things like accommodation and that sort of stuff can actually be quite difficult to get. But it's not because they're full. Full, it's because they've shut down over winter so probably about half of the accommodation places just shut their doors for that three or four months over winter. And so therefore whatever is left over gets filled up with photographers and all that sort of thing. [00:36:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:29] Speaker C: So they go on hibernation basically. [00:36:31] Speaker A: Literally like a bear. [00:36:34] Speaker C: He's lost his mic. Down two shows in a row. [00:36:39] Speaker D: I've done that. I think at least I'm consistent. [00:36:46] Speaker A: You are my friend and look, when. [00:36:47] Speaker D: You go to somewhere, you know, to get a photo and that sort of thing, look, they'll certainly, if it's a popular place, there'll certainly be another half a dozen to it or to a dozen photographers around you. One thing I did notice very much this year when we're over there was a number of Chinese have just gone through the roof. There's always Chinese tourists there. There always has been but on this occasion I would say 70 to 80% of the tourists there were Chinese. So at the moment it is a very popular destination for the Chinese at the present time and even a lot of locals are saying that to me. [00:37:25] Speaker C: Paul's just put a really interesting comment in the chat actually, which you might be able to do as well. Yeah, the last one, driving driving tour around Norway last summer we tracked the cruise ship schedules and organized our sightseeing to occur outside their port visits. That's actually A. That's, that's a pro tip there, I think. [00:37:46] Speaker D: Yeah, Yeah, I would agree, actually. Yeah. Yeah. Not that I've ever done that, but. No, that would be very smart. Yeah. Because he's right. When the cruise ships pull in, you know, you get, you know, a thousand plus people pour out of it and hit the place for about six or eight hours and then, and then shoot through. So yeah, you just got to be a little bit weird. Yeah, that's probably good advice actually. Yeah, I would agree with that. [00:38:04] Speaker C: Yeah, I think you can do that anywhere that runs. [00:38:06] Speaker D: Christians, it's not like America. I was over there a year ago in America and you go to places like Antelope Canyon and. Sorry, I'm just trying to look at the Horseshoe Bend and places like that and they literally take through 300 people or certainly 100 people every 60 seconds through antelope Canyon. It's just unbelievable. Yeah, it's not like that in Norway. It's nothing like that in Norway at all. So look, it is a bit, you know, popular. Ish. As I said, when you, if you go to a popular place, there might be, you know, a dozen other photographers there, but that's really about it. You're not fighting crowds or anything like that. [00:38:48] Speaker A: No. Yeah. [00:38:50] Speaker C: Well, that's a lot of countries have that. Like you. If anything's been really photogenic and there's a particular spot for it, there's always going to be a bunch of tourism around that space. Especially if it's sort of evergreen, like year in, year round. Example I've got in my brain is. I don't know the name of it, but there's a set of Portuguese Steps in Macau where they do lots of wedding shots and stuff like that. And that's like hundreds of people there constantly. I remember walking through that and just being amazed. Like that's, that's every day. That's never going to change. [00:39:25] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think it was who, who was on the other day, Brett Wood, who does a lot of landscape. Stunning landscape photographer. And he does a lot of stuff in New Zealand. They're in New Zealand. He and his wife in New Zealand, like half the year, I think. And, and you know, I think I saw some of his shots where he's taken. Is it the, the wanaka tree and then you pan. And then I think we saw an image of where he panned and there was just. The shore was just covered in photographers, you know. [00:39:57] Speaker C: Yeah, it was, it was actually fascinating because when I went there, we went there and it was like oh, God. We're doing this thing. That was the groan from everybody. But we went. Actually, Wanaka as a town is awesome. Like, there's awesome little restaurants and stuff like that. But that tree is every 60. Like, you know, as you said, there's thousands of people come through it. The challenge is. And I. And I dare this to anybody who goes to that spaces find something unique to shoot in that space because it is. They have rowing in there and other things as well, so. But how can you infuse that space differently? It's very difficult. I had a good go at it in my weirdness as you. As I do. And I think I. I should. I'll see. I see if I can pull it up later somewhere around. [00:40:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:43] Speaker C: But, yeah, those spaces get very overrun very quickly. [00:40:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:48] Speaker D: I agree with it, Bruce. I've been there a number of times myself and pre covered. Yeah. As the sun goes down, about six buses would pull up and the people would pour out and just swamp the place, as you said. But I was very lucky to be over there. Just on the months as we were coming out of COVID like when. When tourism was travel, shall we say, was just open up again. [00:41:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:11] Speaker D: And I went over there for five days and I had one morning at the Wanaka tree and I was the only person there. [00:41:18] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:41:19] Speaker D: It was. It was unbelievable. Yeah. [00:41:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:22] Speaker C: So he didn't even take his camera out. [00:41:25] Speaker D: I absolutely did, don't you worry. But I just couldn't believe it. I had the entire beach to myself. It was just amazing. Yeah. And a really good sunrise. Like, everything. Everything worked out perfectly. It was just great weather, great sunrise, and I was the only one there to. To witness it. [00:41:41] Speaker A: So the photography gods were smiling upon you. [00:41:46] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. Since then. Yeah. It's definitely built up again because it's not actually. [00:41:51] Speaker C: It's. It's a lake, I believe. I don't think it's. Or if it's. It's really flat. So it's not a beach. [00:41:59] Speaker A: It's a pebble beach. [00:42:00] Speaker C: It's not like sand. So it's actually quite different. You don't see that a lot in the photos because obviously everybody's shooting across the water to this tree. It's in the middle of. [00:42:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:42:08] Speaker C: Like whatever it is. Yeah. [00:42:11] Speaker D: Also my experience has been 80 or certainly 70% of the time there's no water around the tree anyway. It's just mud. It's actually quite ugly. Towards the end of winter after the snow melt and that sort of refills the lake again. And that's when you get that water all around the tree. So from what I gather it only happens for a couple of months of the year. [00:42:31] Speaker B: You'd be pretty disappointed if you got there and it was just mud. [00:42:34] Speaker A: Yeah. You hadn't done your homework. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:42:38] Speaker D: And I've had that a few times. Yeah. And it's very hard to predict though, you know, like I tend to go there in September and half the time it's mud and half the time it's water. So. [00:42:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Luck of the draw I'm afraid. Let's jump to some news items. I don't have the jingle. Sorry. Jim's going to make the jingle go. Jim, we're doing the news. There you go. [00:43:00] Speaker B: I don't remember. [00:43:00] Speaker C: I don't remember. [00:43:01] Speaker B: Is that it? [00:43:01] Speaker A: I don't either. I don't either. [00:43:03] Speaker C: You guys use it every week and you can't. [00:43:05] Speaker A: I know, but I can't remember what it is. Let's bring up some news articles. Let's start with this one. I don't know if anyone else has seen recently but there's some posts circulating on social media about Kodak going under yet again and turns out they're not. It was fake news, as much as I hate that term. [00:43:27] Speaker B: Was it put out by Kodak? [00:43:30] Speaker A: No, it wasn't neither because they're going out. I don't know. No, they're not. But yeah. So I don't know if anyone saw that, the social media post. But yeah it was, it was basically saying it's the end of an era. You know, this 100 plus year old business is going down finally. And it turns out it was just social media exaggeration and excitement and you know, misinformation. So Kodak are fine apparently according to Kodak. But of course they would say that, wouldn't they? They would. What else is going on? Anti gravity, which I think works through insta360. Yes they do. And other partners have announced the A1 drone. It's less than 250 grams and it has a built in 360 capture with first person goggles and a motion grip. So they're going all in with this drone. Really cool. [00:44:28] Speaker B: Sounds cool. [00:44:29] Speaker C: Yeah, we've seen some demo footage of it and they're being used. So yeah, so they've done a 180 at the bottom and the top. [00:44:39] Speaker A: It's up here. [00:44:41] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And so they actually have legs that come down like, like an Enterprise drone actually to stop because it's. It can't have those legs there while it's using the bottom camera because otherwise I'd be in frame. So they've actually made it so they extend before landing and oh wow, take off and stuff like that. So but they're, they're trying to keep it sub 250 gram so it's, it's missing some features and it's still, it's not a complete drone yet. Yeah, like they've announced that people have got hands on it but it's very, very much still in develop. What's really cool is that you can like a 360 camera, you can redeploy your footage whichever way you want. And there's actually two cameras, well I'll say two cameras in inverted commas, the 360 system and there's a front facing system as well. So you can have two like an enterprise drone or whatever. You can have two operators at the same time or you can run it like a FPV drone kind of where you can actually be first person perspective but look around so you could fly straight but look behind, behind you. [00:45:48] Speaker A: Oh wow. [00:45:49] Speaker C: That's something you can't do normally or look to the side or whatever. So if you wanted to do like really close stuff to like a building or something like that instead of having to go oh, I'm looking forward as I go across this building. I can't tell exactly what's beside me unless a sensor tells me I can literally turn my head if I've got the dog and look and go. It's just there. [00:46:11] Speaker A: That's amazing. [00:46:13] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:46:13] Speaker B: Be good for judging. [00:46:15] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:16] Speaker C: It's going to be really interesting to see how it goes. I don't think people use it currently in FPV style fast system but I reckon, I reckon it's going to be one of those things where it's going to make some things a lot easier. But if you see the DJI are doing like the three camera systems like the wide, the mid and the telephoto and stuff like that. So it won't replace that because it, it's got to be super wide. It's. You're always going to be at a wide angle. There's no way to do a telephoto on this. So you won't get all the Parallax systems and that you get out of that. But for generic and interesting space shots it's going to be really cool. And I can actually see it being used in enterprise systems like upgraded to that where you're doing like hydro work and electricity, electrical stuff and things like that because having the ability to just to look around you is actually going to be really useful for safety and other things. [00:47:17] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh very good. Thanks Bruce. I. I also saw, I think it was dg. Dji. Dji. Oh my God. Dji. [00:47:27] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:47:28] Speaker A: I actually saw that they were testing a new like a massive drone that has like an 80 kilogram lift capacity. [00:47:37] Speaker C: There's quite a few of those around or ready. A lot of them are custom. We have a, we actually have a drone operator here where I got my certification through. They build custom AG drones. [00:47:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:50] Speaker C: Beyond just certification they actually spec it and build them and stuff and it's, it's in a place called Sheffield which is like know a rural town with probably 50 people there. But their business is like they train all the police and emergency service and stuff like that. But yeah they've, they've been doing that for a while actually. They're doing a lot of innovation in that space and heavy lifts as well like trying to do things like from mainland Tasmania. I know that sounds funny to like King island or Flinders or whatever. So. [00:48:20] Speaker A: Yep. [00:48:21] Speaker C: Short shortlift. Matt Package systems and stuff. [00:48:25] Speaker A: Yep. Very cool. Let's jump to the next. God, I'm losing my words. We'll share this one. Let me bring this one up. ZY Optics announced a new Miticon 55F 2.81 to 5 times macro lens for Nikon F and Z mount. And it looks like it has an LED ring built into it or at least you can attach it. [00:48:50] Speaker B: No, you wouldn't need your, your Gary Fong Greg. [00:48:53] Speaker A: No it's not Gary Fog. It's sickness tech. But yeah I wouldn't need my Gary Fong Jim. Lots happening in the lens space at the moment with these sort of third party people. Third party brands. Yeah. Front LED light included. [00:49:11] Speaker C: Usually don't end up using them to be honest. [00:49:14] Speaker A: Well yeah but it's handy to have. Yeah. [00:49:18] Speaker C: Oh it's good. It's good for focus but you wouldn't use it in a shot. [00:49:22] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And that's the thing I'm fighting now because I've just started doing some macro. I got the Fujifilm. There's the first time I said it Jim. 49 minutes in until I said Fujifilm. [00:49:37] Speaker B: And then he just said it again. He's trying to get there the numbers. [00:49:41] Speaker A: Up $20 every time I say it. Anyway. Yeah. This is yet another third party lens. There's more coming too for Nikon. Let's have a look at this one. Nikon is rumored to be announced a new 24 to 70F 2.8s Mark II. Again, it's a rectify special. Yes. [00:50:04] Speaker C: If you're shooting Nikon, you are special. [00:50:06] Speaker A: You are special. You're special. Jim. [00:50:08] Speaker C: Sorry, sorry, Julie. [00:50:11] Speaker A: This is a rumor obviously, but looks like. Yeah, the rumors are saying they've, you know, they always have some sort of inside confirmation that it's happening until it doesn't. So. Yeah, see, I'm sharing the nick on love. Jim, you proud of me? [00:50:31] Speaker C: What would be the upgrade you reckon on that though? Like, I, I don't know the, the Nikon lens system much at all, but like is you reckon they have upgraded like the sharpness and the edges or something like. Yeah. [00:50:44] Speaker A: When you. Yeah. Maybe weight, like work the weight of the body. [00:50:48] Speaker D: Yeah, I suppose. Is it maybe to match the new mirrorless cameras, the Z8s and 6s and that sort of stuff? Something just a bit more tuned to those. [00:50:57] Speaker C: Well, is it the Mark 2 indicates. [00:51:00] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:51:01] Speaker A: There's already one out. [00:51:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, there's already one out. So it's, it's, it's. [00:51:06] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. They could be going down the path of, you know, lightning lenses because, you know, they, they do have some big heavy glass. I don't know. Does Nick. Jim, does Nikon sort of offer, you know, like, like we see with other brands and I, I'm very ignorant about Nikon, but do they offer like, here's your premium, your F, you know, 1.8 or it's heavy, it's big, it's beautiful. And then they do sort of like a scaled down version that's lighter, cheaper, not as fast. [00:51:34] Speaker B: They've got some. But they definitely could have more lenses, I think at the moment. But they do have. Yeah. Some cheaper alternatives. [00:51:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I'll throw, I'll throw a theory in which is completely wrong and absolutely had no basis in reality. Do you reckon they've tuned it for the red sensor. [00:51:55] Speaker A: Because. Oh, yeah, maybe. Yeah, they do. [00:51:58] Speaker C: Yeah. The reds are now coming out with. [00:52:01] Speaker A: The, with the Z mounts. [00:52:04] Speaker B: But wouldn't, wouldn't they have made it like the. What's the power. The power mode. You know how they've just bought out that power zooms? Yeah, like that if it was. [00:52:17] Speaker C: No, because power zooms, I, I use them. I've got one sitting right over here. But they're at a lot of expense and not a lot of people want to use them. They're more. If you're wanting to do smooth push in and pull outs and that and not. Most filmmakers don't use them unless you're doing Eng stuff like broadcast work or you're working pure corporate like you're in the back of the room and you just need to go in and out nicely while. While it's going to screen. So ISO, whatever. [00:52:47] Speaker A: Fair enough. [00:52:47] Speaker C: I don't know, I'm just throwing it out there because we haven't seen a lot of movement we've read yet with what they're doing, so. [00:52:54] Speaker A: Yeah, well it's only been a month, hasn't it? [00:52:57] Speaker C: It's been a six months at least. Really? [00:52:59] Speaker A: Oh wow. Gosh. Let's jump to some quick Canon news because no one really cares. Sorry Justin, I know you care. Canon to announce a new compact Cinema EOS camera. So a few weeks ago we saw Sony brought out a new FX FX2 which is, you know, smaller, more compact. There's a lot of people saying, well, why don't you just buy one of. It's very similar to an A7. What is it similar to, Bruce? [00:53:29] Speaker C: I think it's got the same chip in as A seven Mark four. [00:53:34] Speaker A: Yeah, but yeah, so Canon, this is. Again, it's a rumor guys. This is not, not factual at this stage but basically they're saying that Canon's planning to announce this new cinema camera. [00:53:47] Speaker B: This one. [00:53:48] Speaker A: Sorry, I didn't bring it up. [00:53:49] Speaker D: Sorry. [00:53:49] Speaker B: Yeah, you didn't. [00:53:50] Speaker D: What? [00:53:51] Speaker A: No, that's. This is the article. I don't know that that's the camera. [00:53:53] Speaker C: It's like a pocket cinema camera. [00:53:56] Speaker A: Yeah. What else have we got in the news today? [00:54:00] Speaker C: I'm not a big fan of the, of the Canon cinema ergonomics. Like of these ones? Not so much this one, I'm not sure but like the C70 and C80 and stuff like that, I don't know, I find them bulky and restrictive so yeah, be interesting to see how they change it on this because that looks much more like a DSLR or a mirrorless camera more the point. [00:54:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean who knows, it's probably just a dodgy mock up. Levin, do you shoot, do you shoot much video at all? [00:54:32] Speaker D: Not a lot, no, no, not really. I do a fair bit of time lapse but no, not a great deal of video. [00:54:40] Speaker A: Oh yeah. [00:54:41] Speaker D: And actually if I do video, because I don't do much of it, I've got one of those DJI OSMO pockets I find they're really good because. [00:54:52] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what Justin uses. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:54:56] Speaker D: No, with the stabilization and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, it certainly does everything I need and want and you can get the microphone to connect to it and all that sort of stuff. So I don't do. I do the occasional sort of educational video that I'll have on my website, but I wouldn't have more than three or four at the most. So, no, I don't do a lot of it. So that's why the little DJI tends to do what I need. [00:55:20] Speaker A: Yeah, it certainly makes it convenient and easy, doesn't it? [00:55:25] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:55:25] Speaker C: Well, Dennis. Dennis has just said it's an astonishing camera and I agree. I. I held off on getting one for a while and then I love it. I use it all the time and I mix it with my big pro bodies all the time as well, so. [00:55:37] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:55:38] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:55:40] Speaker A: A lot of features. [00:55:42] Speaker D: Yeah. I started with the original and the gimbal mechanism and all that sort of stuff was superb, but the camera was terrible. And then they went to the Mark 2, so I thought, okay, I'll upgrade to that. And the camera was really good, but they totally mucked up all the gimbal stuff again. It was just diabolical. And then finally they brought out the Mark iii and so I went, we'll have another roll of the dice here. And they finally got it right on the Mark iii. They got a really good camera and all the gimbal arrangement and controls, that sort of stuff, really good. So they, they finally. [00:56:13] Speaker A: The Goldilocks pocket just right. [00:56:16] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. But I gotta admit, it took me three cracks at it to get the one. [00:56:20] Speaker A: That's an expensive experiment, my friend. [00:56:24] Speaker C: Mark3user. As a Mark III user, I, I thank you for your pain so I didn't have to. [00:56:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:56:33] Speaker D: Happy to help, Bruce. No worries. [00:56:36] Speaker A: Just a couple of quick. [00:56:37] Speaker D: But at the same time, they're in the hundreds of dollars, not the thousands, you know, so they're. They're pretty good for the value, I thought. [00:56:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, Bruce is looking to become an influencer, so he needs. Oh, yeah, he needs all the help he can get. [00:56:50] Speaker C: I need a lot of help with everything, basically. [00:56:53] Speaker A: A couple more quick news items I'm saving the best for last, which is obviously the Fujifilm ones, but this one is Sigma leaked images of a 200F2. [00:57:03] Speaker C: This been going around a bit because. Yeah, I've seen it for every mount known to man, apart from Conica or something. [00:57:13] Speaker A: They're making this in every mount? [00:57:15] Speaker C: Yeah, it seems to be like, I've seen it. Like, I don't follow any rumor sites, but occasionally things turn up. And I've seen it for Fuji, I've seen it for Sony, I've seen it For. Yeah, the old mantle lions. I've seen it for everything turn up. [00:57:29] Speaker B: That's good. [00:57:30] Speaker A: It's going to be a beast. [00:57:31] Speaker D: An F2 would be good. That'd be. That's a fast lens for 2, 200. [00:57:34] Speaker A: It is. [00:57:36] Speaker C: It's. It's definitely a lens. If you want to take portraits and not actually talk to the person, it. It's definitely what you need. [00:57:42] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:57:43] Speaker A: Or if you want to sp. Whatever. Whatever floats your boat. Let's jump to some real news. Fujifilm rumored patent spotted for a F. Sorry. 6 millimeter F 1.8. There's a good lens for you for your astronauts. [00:58:00] Speaker C: Oh, my God. It's only got three elements in it. [00:58:03] Speaker A: Yeah, according to this, it does. And a 10.5 F. 3.5. 10.5 mil F. Yeah. 3.5. [00:58:11] Speaker C: I got that. [00:58:11] Speaker A: Right. [00:58:12] Speaker C: Does Fujifilm actually have like a fisheye lens? [00:58:15] Speaker A: Because that 6 mil has to be a fisheye. I think they've got a nine. Pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. I reviewed it for shock kit. I think they've got a 9, but it's a. I think it's a 3.5. But a 6 millimeter at 1.8, that's crazy. [00:58:31] Speaker C: You have lots of distance of a mil. [00:58:33] Speaker B: Like. [00:58:34] Speaker C: It's like. [00:58:34] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:58:37] Speaker A: What's that, mate? [00:58:38] Speaker D: Yeah, is Fuji APSC or some of the models for that apsc. [00:58:42] Speaker A: But they're all of the X series are APSC and the GFX are obviously larger. [00:58:46] Speaker D: I guess that turns it. I guess that turns a six into a nine or a ten or something. [00:58:50] Speaker A: Yeah, it does. It turns into a nine. Yep. [00:58:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:58:55] Speaker D: Still wide. Wow. [00:58:57] Speaker A: Oh, Gareth has jumped in the chat. Thanks, Gareth. The. The 3.5 is actually an 8 mil lens from Fujifilm. Thanks for confirming that. Anything else here? Just another. Another third party lens. TD Artisans has launched a autofocus 75 F2, which also. It's not. Not overly fast for portraiture. It would still make quite a good portraiture lens. So. Yeah. [00:59:27] Speaker C: Especially depending on price, 200 bucks or what is that three. [00:59:29] Speaker A: That's us, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's. [00:59:33] Speaker C: That's a. Quite acceptable. [00:59:35] Speaker A: Yeah. I, I've been wanting Fujifilm to bring out like a 70 or a 75 mil compact prime, like an F2 or 2.8 even. You know, we've got the Fuji. We call them Fuji Crons, but they're. There's a 16, there's a 23, 35 and a 50. And they're all small and compact and that most of them are F2s and I'd love to see them bring out a native Fuji lens with these sort of specs. But tiny, as tiny as they can make it. So. Yeah, but that's it for the news. You can do the jingle now, Jim, you put him on the spot. [01:00:16] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm getting hard. I'm getting tired, Greg. So he's getting hammered. Run it. They've run out. [01:00:23] Speaker A: Yeah. All right. Now, before we, before we move on, I do want to get an update from you. Bruce, have you got any images you want to share with us under image review? [01:00:37] Speaker C: Not for review, because I've. I haven't had a chance to do anything like that. [01:00:42] Speaker A: Oh, no, go on, show us the raw ones. I dare you. [01:00:45] Speaker C: No, I literally don't have them on this laptop. [01:00:48] Speaker A: Okay. [01:00:49] Speaker C: Yeah. So I ran three master class, three workshops and a master class in New Zealand actually. This is a little bit of fun. So I came over as a speaker for the New Zealand photo show and I got told, or in the way I misinterpret it or misinterpret it, I don't know, whatever the communication happened is that workshop. And I went, okay, it's going to be like a beef up workshop. I'll have X amount of people in a room and I'll work with them and we'll have some fun. So I like doing hands on things. I don't like just presenting because I think that's fairly boring. So I went, okay, up to 30 people, we're going to have a bit of fun. And I build people up from a standard portrait to my weird wacky stuff with their cameras. Have a bit of fun with that. And I turn up and it's on the main stage, I've got an audience and I'm like, ah. So I first and I, and I said, because it's a workshop, I can run it twice. I can do it one each day so different people can do it because there will be a heap of people there. Not everybody's going to have it go and it's easy to run it twice. So I was on a stage and so I had an audience and I first day I brought people up and I sort of tried to do what I was doing and I went, okay, that worked to a point. But some people were in the audience getting bored and asking questions or whatever else because they're not seeing everything, they're not participating. I hadn't thought about an audience in that respect, but it went all right. A lot of people had fun and got inspired and stuff, which was Nice. And. But I went, I've got to do this again on the same stage, potentially the same people around. How the hell do I change this? And I had that at night, that night going, oh crap, I can't do the same thing two times in a ride to the same people. This is horrible. So I ended up going and shooting it myself instead of getting people up on stage. So the last part of it is I actually get people up on stage and I get them to handle cloth and stuff like that while I'm shooting to get different textures and exposures and stuff like that. Just demonstrating the, the thought process all the way through. Yeah, but one of the things that came up was, well, I do want to get people to shoot. So we sort of conspired to get a couple or three fairly well known New Zealand photographers to come up and do use my camera and they don't use Sony systems. I think one did actually, but two of them didn't with my lights, my model, my people, and put them in the deep end and said, all right, you've seen how I do it, you can change what you want, go. And it was chaos incarnate. But it was a lot of fun watching some very, very, very well awarded photographers, like grand masters, some, I think over twice sort of thing. [01:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:03:47] Speaker C: Get thrown in the deep end in front of an audience, trying to use my system to make weird stuff. So that was enjoyable. Sony took me out for dinner for that one because I had people on different, different brands. [01:04:01] Speaker A: So was that the workshop? [01:04:04] Speaker C: That was the workshop. And then I did another workshop which I learned my lesson on, which was basically video basics for doing interviews for people, for photographers. So using your mirrorless DSLR was a 90 minute thing. I covered a lot of information, I tried to keep it simple, worksheet and stuff like that, but I realized there's more information in I need to convey than 90 minutes will allow. And instantly I got people at different levels asking me questions and that derailed it a little bit because I'm trying to give them a little bit of information but also say question's valid but I'm trying to aim it here, not there. So yeah, it was a learning experience. I think every people said it worked really well and they got a lot out of it. But you know, first time around I learned stuff out of that and then the last thing I did was a master class which was a paid for thing outside the photo show and I had some people come along to that. We did that in a full proper studio and there's an image there I posted yesterday which came out of the master class. [01:05:11] Speaker A: Is that it there? I've just put it up on. [01:05:12] Speaker C: That's it there. [01:05:13] Speaker A: Yep. Zoom in a little bit. No, that's not going to work either. [01:05:20] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, you might just draw, I don't know. But anyway, that's now on Instagram. That was immediately edited here at home. But the original shot was done in the studio with. With people. So I was demonstrating and they were shooting and we're all shooting at different times and doing different things. And that was with two. Two models, actually, a couple. I actually hadn't done work in my style with two people at once. It's always been solo models just due to the nature. And so it was actually really cool to make new work and experiment and create with other people and learn at the same time as then as how this would work. So, yeah. So if you go to the next link, there's a little BTS that Craig, the studio manager, sent me. Enough video work. It doesn't need. We don't need audio. But you can see the. This is actually from exactly when this got caught captured. So you can see them there. Yeah, just so. And it's me just saying, all right, three, two, one, and go. And we'll. And it was just capturing that the screen tethering wasn't working. So I weren't getting anything through there. But so, yeah, that was really, really cool. [01:06:38] Speaker A: Very cool. And so that's how you created this image? [01:06:43] Speaker C: Yes. [01:06:45] Speaker A: Wow. That's amazing, Bruce. That is so cool. [01:06:51] Speaker C: So. And there's one last link that I stuck on there, which is a really low res off my phone of the Wanaka tree photo. My version of it. It's actually cropped from memory. But I. I decided to do something completely different. [01:07:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And you. [01:07:10] Speaker D: That's from. [01:07:12] Speaker C: That was from 2023. So that's. That's quite old. [01:07:15] Speaker A: Yeah, Well, I mean, you know, we'll. [01:07:17] Speaker D: Totally achieve what you were. You certainly achieve what you were trying to do. What you were talking about earlier about trying to get the Wanaka tree something different. [01:07:25] Speaker C: Yeah, that's really nice. [01:07:27] Speaker A: Nailed that. [01:07:27] Speaker C: Yeah. Trying to make the lungs or something. [01:07:30] Speaker A: Yeah. I was just gonna say it's almost organic and. And human in. In like. You know, you see those pictures of all the, like. Yeah. The lungs with all the vessels going to it. It's amazing. [01:07:41] Speaker C: Really great. I've always. I've like. This is just me and this is side tangent kind of. I've always looked at trees as. Because we say they're the lungs of the world. Right. They take in carbon dioxide and spit out oxygen and stuff like that. But if you compare, let's say, that image there and think about the bronchial tubes and stuff in lungs. They're exactly. They're very similar. Not exactly the same, but the whole idea to me is the same. So I've always loved the idea of trees as lungs in a literal sense. [01:08:12] Speaker A: Yep, yep. [01:08:13] Speaker D: And even the mountains around it almost make it look like a body as well. So. [01:08:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's got this sort of X ray quality to it as well. [01:08:20] Speaker D: Yes, yeah, very much so, yeah, yeah. [01:08:23] Speaker A: Lots of praise, Lots of praise in the comments for you, Bruce. [01:08:27] Speaker C: Thank you. Amazing. But yeah, that, that's. I could go on about New Zealand a lot. This trip was amazing. The NZIPP people were so welcoming. I knew a few of them by name. I'd never met a lot of them until I turned up. And it's one of those things where I walked in and they all were very welcoming and introduced themselves, but by the end of the actual thing where they had that gala and their awards night, I was so invested in the people I'd met over the week and a bit that 90, 90% of them who were up for awards, I knew and I didn't know them a week before and I was so stoked for them being finalists and winning and everything else that it was. Yeah, it's one of those things where I missed that community and it was when the IIPP collapsed, which is now trying to get back on its feet due to things. I'm not okay with a lot of. [01:09:25] Speaker A: That. [01:09:27] Speaker C: But it was a breath of fresh air to be able to walk into a space and go, you are my people and be treated as family in that way. So totally recommend if you get a chance to go to. To next year's one if you're around or take the trip, because it was awesome. [01:09:44] Speaker A: Yeah, it was that your first time, Bruce, for that? [01:09:47] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. They. I. I'd always thought about it, but obviously it's expensive to travel and stuff like that, but being asked was a privilege to go and talk and so they pay for my flights on accommodation and stuff. So, yeah, it was one of the things. And how's this. This I'd never like Luke Sharkey, who I've known for a long time through the Internet and stuff and been friends on, online for a long time. Never met in person until we're in. [01:10:16] Speaker A: A different country, we're in the same. [01:10:18] Speaker C: State, everything like that. [01:10:20] Speaker A: Yeah. So yeah, that's awesome. [01:10:22] Speaker C: I just thought it was really funny. [01:10:24] Speaker A: Yeah. It is interesting though, you know, when you were talking about that sense of, you know, these are my people. I, I get that. I got that last year when I went to befop. Yeah. You know, I've done other photography events. I've done lots with Fujifilm $20. But this. Yeah. BFOP is, is. There's something very special about the community of beef up, you know and there's an energy that. I agree, all encompassing. It's a bit embracing. When you get there, people are just happy to chat. Even though, you know, you could be shy, you can be an introvert and people not only respect that but they engage at a really community minded level. So. So yeah, no, it's great to hear. [01:11:04] Speaker C: I'm not taking away from BE at all and I love BE and I'm back there this year as well and it is my people. I think the difference in this one between B and that is everybody goes. Well, not everybody, but a lot of people that go to these sort of like the Iris Awards and that are professional photographers. So they, they've got an investment in a different style or a sense. Not, not that BE doesn't have. A lot of people are not perfect, are professional. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, the, the ratio is different in, in. In where people are sitting in their experiences or what they're trying to get out of it. So both, both are awesome. So I love, I love both. But yeah, it was, it was good to have that. That feeling that I had the first time I went to Appa turn up. [01:11:55] Speaker A: So yeah, just a couple of comments, lots of praise for your images. Bruce. Lisa, I don't know if she's calling you that from now on. Beautiful Bruce. We'll have to see how that sticks. But she's also said that's comforting to hear. Greg. This will be my first BFOP and I'm going on my own. You might be arriving on your own, Lisa, but you certainly won't stay alone for long. No, it's such a beautiful. [01:12:21] Speaker C: You'll make friends for life at B Fog, I guarantee it. [01:12:25] Speaker D: It's. [01:12:25] Speaker A: Yeah, there's something very magical about it. I don't know how they managed to, you know, to extract unicorn blood and make it, you know, make it amazing, but they do. Let's. Thanks for sharing that stuff, Bruce. Good to see that you're getting free gigs, getting flown around the world. [01:12:43] Speaker C: Do it again. [01:12:45] Speaker A: Yeah, beautiful. [01:12:46] Speaker C: No, I, I don't take it lightly. That, that was super. Humbling to be asked so. [01:12:52] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, no it's a big deal. You should be proud about it. Yeah. [01:12:57] Speaker D: Where was that being held Bruce? [01:13:00] Speaker C: This year it was in Christchurch so I believe some years they move it around but last few years it's been there. I think think the venue, I think the venue works really well for them just for the layout and stuff but yeah I believe they've had it in Auckland and that as well in Wellington at different years. [01:13:18] Speaker A: Very cool. [01:13:19] Speaker D: Christchurch is a beautiful place so it's a good place to hold it. [01:13:23] Speaker C: Yeah I, I actually Greg, it's a different space for street photography. I spent the last day there by myself walking the streets. It's full of murals. Awesome. Big, big murals like after the earthquake, new modern architecture. They're actually doing different things there and it's got the old stuff in there as well and lots of murals. Any massive flat surfaces got something on it and it's awesome. [01:13:51] Speaker A: That's really cool. Yeah we'll have to. I'll have to head back to New Zealand. I only went once. I think it was like 2010 and we only went to Wellington and we're staying with friends and to be fair it just felt like we'd gone to Tasmania for the weekend because we didn't really other than going up to ski on the mountain for a couple of days we really didn't get to see much of New Zealand. We're just more catching up with friends who we hadn't seen for years. But I do want to get back and, and explore some parts of New Zealand at least and seeing some of Justin's images like he sends me images from his van because they're traveling around in a van, you know, shooting out the door and there's, there's you know. [01:14:27] Speaker D: Lord of the Ring, Lord of the. [01:14:28] Speaker A: Rings scale mountain that just go from a flat, perfectly flat still valley straight up into the sky. And I accused him of using AI of course. [01:14:39] Speaker C: Was it the remarkables I think is the mountains are down at Queenstown. They're insane. [01:14:46] Speaker D: That's one of the reasons I love the places on the south island at least it almost doesn't matter where you stand. You've got a snow capped mountain in the background. Even if it's not the primary subject which it really is, it's really the primary subject of your image but it's just always there in the background. It just adds so much. It's just such a stunning place. [01:15:04] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah and it's really funny because in the respect because Christchurch is flat like it's flat as a tack and so every, like you can walk anywhere without getting losing breath, basically. And then, then I believe you go like 30 minutes out and then it starts to creep and then it goes. [01:15:23] Speaker D: Up and it doesn't just sort of go up gently, it's flat. And then there's the mountain. It's just like. Yeah, it's really quite unique. Quite amazing. [01:15:34] Speaker A: Yeah. I look forward to Justin returning and sharing some of his images. Curious also, because the past couple of episodes we've, before he went away, we're talking about whether he was going to invest in a 500 mil Canon lens and instead he chose to borrow Grant's 200 F 2.8. Is it Jim? [01:15:52] Speaker C: No, you got the F4. [01:15:53] Speaker A: F4. Oh, F4. Okay. [01:15:55] Speaker C: Because he's got the lighter himself. [01:15:57] Speaker A: Oh, that's right. He wanted the lighter one. Yeah. So, yeah, it'd be interesting to see how that pans out because we've had a lot of lengthy discussions about it on the show and, and the chat has also gotten involved, which is always wonderful. Speaking of which, Paul's just commented. I just noticed on the web that Lucky is in a polyamorous relationship with be. Yeah, we are. Hang on, what is polyamorous again? [01:16:22] Speaker C: Multiple partners. [01:16:23] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:16:24] Speaker A: Oh. Oh, yeah. Okay, we're open. [01:16:28] Speaker C: So is it, is it? [01:16:29] Speaker D: No. [01:16:29] Speaker A: Shame. [01:16:30] Speaker D: We'll have a good weekend. [01:16:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Lucky Straps and the Camera Life podcast are actually, we're media partners with Beef up this year, so we've been doing a lot of interviews of each of the Beef up instructors. Bruce, I think you were our first, but yeah, we've done. So they're gonna, they're gonna go up on the, the BEFOP Groupies Facebook page shortly. We're just finishing off the last of the interviews, hopefully this week. But at bfop. Yeah, Lucky Straps, we'll be there with product and we'll also be there as the camera life and we'll be doing a lot of behind the scenes stills and video for bfop. So, yeah, we're looking forward to that, that amazing weekend. It's not far away. It's really not. [01:17:15] Speaker B: No, it's not. [01:17:16] Speaker A: Speaking of amazing, like this week you have. [01:17:20] Speaker C: Yeah, I forgot about it. Well, I didn't forget about it was like, I put it off and off and I'm like, I better get that done. [01:17:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Just in case. Yeah, I think, I think accommodation will be the hard thing to find these days. [01:17:33] Speaker C: Airbnb is not too bad, but. [01:17:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:36] Speaker C: I, I, I rely on my expert buddy, Beef Upper Craig Witch and he's also instructed to sort me out on that one, so. [01:17:45] Speaker A: Yep. Paul has said it's on the BE website. Yeah, we're. We're talking about it, Liv, and we're trying to work out what's the best way to do it. [01:17:54] Speaker D: We don't want to have shortage of guests. [01:17:57] Speaker A: No, we wouldn't. We wouldn't. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah, we. We need to have Jim and Justin and Yelena and I need to have a bit of a round table talk about what can we do. We don't want to have to. I don't think we want to, like, take all of our podcast gear with us, but we. We might be able to get some audio equipment on site through one of BFOP sponsors, Craig's. [01:18:22] Speaker C: Usually they're doing the main stage. Maybe he can help you out. [01:18:26] Speaker A: Yeah, but I mean, at this stage, we haven't decided. I'd love to do a live podcast from there, but we'll just have to see how that pans out. [01:18:35] Speaker B: Would that be like a live. Live podcast? [01:18:38] Speaker A: Yeah, maybe on the stage. I don't know. [01:18:39] Speaker B: We're already a live podcast. [01:18:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's true. [01:18:43] Speaker B: Live in person. [01:18:44] Speaker A: Live in person. Yep. Live ticket event. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:18:50] Speaker C: Mr. Fletcher, in the workshop schedule, there is a. A Camera Life podcast ticket. [01:18:59] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:19:00] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah, we'll be cheap, don't worry. Another. Sorry. [01:19:10] Speaker B: I said last time. [01:19:11] Speaker A: Okay. Speaking of Dave. Good segue, Jim. David Mascaro from San Francisco, regular watcher of the show. He's a street photographer, shoots film. He has shared some images with us to go through tonight, which is. Which is amazing. What has he said? Not sure if you guys are still doing photos for the show, but these are from a project. I gave myself one roll of film, one lens, and tried to get 36 strangers. I got 33. Had a few misfires taken on a nick and Nikon F5 with a Sigma 50 art, which didn't really pair with the camera. It focused really slow on Portra 400. So I'm going to bring up some of his images if I can. [01:19:57] Speaker C: Chunky weapon there, sir. [01:20:00] Speaker A: Very chunky weapon. We don't have all 33 images. We've got. We've got a handful. So David's a street photographer in San Fran. Pretty much every time we engage with him on the show, he's just come back or he's about to go out on a walk and yeah, he loves walking and taking street shots of San Francisco locals. We're just going through some of these images and so these Are all film. Film scans. [01:20:28] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:20:29] Speaker A: So I love this one. [01:20:32] Speaker C: It looks like characters like steam. Punky. [01:20:34] Speaker D: Yeah, that's cool. [01:20:35] Speaker A: Yeah, that's really cool. Yeah, yeah. Like where did Willy go? This is where he. This is a great shot. [01:20:46] Speaker C: Oh, that's really reminiscent of the New York street photographer. [01:20:50] Speaker A: Yeah, it is, isn't it? [01:20:53] Speaker C: I think he's Bruce something actually. [01:20:54] Speaker A: Bruce Gilbert. [01:20:56] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:20:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:20:57] Speaker C: But not, not, not so in your face though because Bruce would come up and go. Yeah, walk off. [01:21:03] Speaker A: Yep. And this shot is, is fantastic. And just the way that the figure is partially draped in a blanket and you've got, you know, primary color and really pushes it out. I think it's amazing. [01:21:21] Speaker C: I, I would wonder, David, like I've been to San Fran, it was a long time ago and there is a lot of homeless in that space. How, how many of these people you're getting images of? I don't want to make any assumptions that anybody is homeless, but if these faces we're finding in that space because there are a lot of people who just are around like, are you looking for what, what, what is the category you're looking for when you take these photos and find these people? [01:21:57] Speaker A: Yeah, good question. Anyway, so it's great to see some of Bruce's work. I think he owns more cameras than. Sorry, you're Bruce. David, I think. I think David owns more cameras than Justin. Okay. Believe it or not. [01:22:11] Speaker B: Less than Lucinda though. [01:22:13] Speaker A: Less, yeah. Far less than Lucinda. As far as we know, Lucinda is the record holder. I think last time I spoke to it was 145 cameras. [01:22:20] Speaker C: Bloody hell. [01:22:21] Speaker A: Yeah, a lot of Polaroids. A lot of classic old Polaroids. She loves a Polaroid. She even got a tattoo of a Polaroid camera on her arm so she. [01:22:28] Speaker C: Can'T get filmed for it anymore. [01:22:33] Speaker A: No, it's canon that are going under, Bruce. Not Polaroid. [01:22:37] Speaker C: Polaroid. Well, food. I've got one pack of Fuji Kodak. [01:22:41] Speaker A: Sorry, what did I say? Canon. [01:22:42] Speaker B: Jesus, you're struggling, aren't you, Greg? [01:22:44] Speaker A: Oh yeah, yeah, you're all struggling. [01:22:46] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:22:47] Speaker C: How am I the same one here? [01:22:49] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't know, Bruce. Show wouldn't be anything without you, mate. But that's, that's kind of it for the image reviews, Jim. What about yourself, what have you been up to? [01:23:01] Speaker B: I've just come back from shooting a job that was passed on by BFOP friend Nick Fletcher. Shooting some motorbikes. [01:23:14] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:23:15] Speaker B: So had a two day ride. So riding and shooting, which is a bit harder than you think. [01:23:22] Speaker A: Yeah. How did you find it at the Same time. [01:23:25] Speaker B: Not at the same time. I did think about. I actually I shot some GoPro video while I was riding. But yeah, it's difficult because you haven't seen any of the tracks before. So you've got an idea of what you're looking for and you've only got, oh, We've got the 2Ks until the next intersection. So you're looking for something in that section and you've kind of gotta pick something and hope that it's the best spot in that section. [01:23:55] Speaker A: And so we constantly having to get ahead of. Of other writers. [01:23:59] Speaker B: Yeah. So you've got to ride ahead, stop quickly, get your camera bag off, get, you know, find the shot and then kind of try and grab everyone before they rush through. [01:24:10] Speaker D: I've done that with say, that's a very limited time frame, isn't it? Because they're not going to stop for in. [01:24:15] Speaker B: Yeah, no, no, they're not. So at the start I said, oh, I'll bet halfway through the first day, I only need a minute to get ready. And then that minute somehow turned into about 10 seconds and I was like, oh, I probably need a bit more than the minute because it didn't quite. Wasn't quite a minute. [01:24:33] Speaker A: But yeah, yeah. And were you happy with the outcomes? [01:24:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it was good. It's more time to find the perfect spots would be better, but you don't have that luxury, so. [01:24:46] Speaker C: Yeah, you couldn't pre recce it, like run around and check the course? [01:24:50] Speaker B: No, no. [01:24:53] Speaker A: And do you think it's something you'd do again? [01:24:55] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, for sure. [01:24:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:24:56] Speaker B: And I'm really excited to do some more. [01:24:58] Speaker A: Oh, cool. And so sorry I'm grilling you now because I've lost. Yeah, please, I'd love to see some of your images. [01:25:06] Speaker B: I only edited them on my laptop when I was there. Again, tired after riding and shooting all day. [01:25:13] Speaker A: Yep. [01:25:14] Speaker D: So did you have to take your helmet off every time you tried to take a photo or how'd you deal with that? [01:25:19] Speaker B: Not every time, just sometimes. [01:25:25] Speaker A: It'S a really tricky scenario. Hats off to you, Jim. You know, there's a lot of complication there. I mean, not to mention the fact that you're riding with a backpack full of camera gear and I imagine, like sports spare parts and water and a first aid kit and whatever else you need. It's not just a stroll down Chapel street in South Yarra for, you know, some street photography. It's a really complex gig. [01:25:50] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I did. I ended up borrowing a friend's bike so I could Then offload like my water tools and spare parts and stuff like that, um, onto the bike and then just carry the cameras on my back. [01:26:05] Speaker A: Yeah, okay. [01:26:07] Speaker B: So. [01:26:08] Speaker D: But yeah, did you have different cameras with different lenses or were you trying to keep the weight and the load down? How'd you go about it? [01:26:15] Speaker B: No, I was a bit silly. I took two bodies so I didn't have to change lenses. And that sounds smart, but yeah, it wasn't too bad. And so, yeah, run the Tamron 35 to 150 and then the Nikon 14 to 30. I took the 51.2 out the first half of the first day and then decided it wasn't worth carrying the weight. [01:26:41] Speaker A: Yeah, because you were debating that before you packed. [01:26:45] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well fitted in the bag is a problem. [01:26:50] Speaker A: So. And, and what would you do differently next time? [01:26:55] Speaker B: Only take the two lenses and two bodies. [01:26:57] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yep, fair enough. [01:27:01] Speaker B: And if you could pre recce some stuff at least. Yeah, some of it. [01:27:07] Speaker C: Paul Henderson has said here. You didn't have a butler carry your gear? [01:27:12] Speaker B: No, no, no butler. [01:27:16] Speaker A: And Jim, have you got any images to share with us? [01:27:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I can show you. [01:27:20] Speaker A: Cool. [01:27:21] Speaker B: What's that up? You don't want to see that. [01:27:24] Speaker C: So you shot it all. [01:27:25] Speaker D: You. [01:27:25] Speaker C: You did Levin's thing. You just sat in the room and just shot from a distance. [01:27:29] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I got him leaving and then coming back. [01:27:32] Speaker D: I recommend it. [01:27:35] Speaker C: It's a new genre, armchair photography. [01:27:39] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, I highly recommend it. [01:27:43] Speaker B: So I actually. [01:27:45] Speaker C: Sorry, I was going to say like somebody who's known for doing it is Christian Fletcher from the chair of his, of his vehicle because he does urban banal. [01:27:55] Speaker A: He just pulls up and goes. [01:27:57] Speaker C: He can't even be bothered getting out the frame. And then he keeps going. [01:28:00] Speaker A: Oh, wow, that's cool. [01:28:04] Speaker B: Off the standard kind of welcoming shot. And then. Yeah, this is on the driveway, like they were straight into it. [01:28:15] Speaker A: So yeah, this is cool. That's really cool. And how fast are they moving? [01:28:25] Speaker B: Some of them were like really fast and some of them weren't very fast. [01:28:28] Speaker C: So yeah, they all seem in your group photo to be of the mature persuasion. Is. Yeah, there's. Yes, yes. So you've not got any youngins just gone crazy? [01:28:45] Speaker B: No, that was me trying to like get ahead. [01:28:51] Speaker A: You didn't stack at all? [01:28:53] Speaker B: No, no, no stacks for me. Two ambulances had to get called for other people though, which is a bit. [01:28:59] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, yeah, that's full on. Oh, that big. [01:29:08] Speaker B: It's called, it's called the snow drift, but it's like a big sand drift out in the middle of the desert. [01:29:12] Speaker A: So. And so where was this? [01:29:18] Speaker B: Out past Hopeton in the Wiperfield national park in big desert. Sort of past Sea Lake. [01:29:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, Very cool. [01:29:29] Speaker D: So. [01:29:31] Speaker B: Lots of sand. [01:29:36] Speaker C: So how long have you been cleaning your cameras out? [01:29:39] Speaker B: No, they stay pretty clean. I don't know how, but that's a good painting shot. [01:29:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:29:46] Speaker B: Thank you. [01:29:48] Speaker D: That's hard to do. That's. That's really well done, that one. [01:29:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I can't do that. Tried so many times. [01:29:54] Speaker B: That's it. It's only at an 80th, so there's probably a bit more to slow down. But didn't have a luxury of doing it again, so didn't want to risk it. [01:30:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:30:08] Speaker B: And yeah, it wasn't all. A few stacks as well, but it was okay. [01:30:18] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. Cool. [01:30:21] Speaker A: Nice. And you found riding okay. You. Obviously you're an experienced rider, but you found it okay riding the tracks as well? [01:30:30] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was okay for me. It was all. Yeah. Stuff I can do pretty easily. [01:30:34] Speaker D: Is that a rainbow in the back? [01:30:36] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I saw the rainbow and I said, get on that. This was just off the track. [01:30:43] Speaker D: That's well placed. Yeah, nicely balanced. [01:30:45] Speaker A: Yeah, it's well done. [01:30:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I. I'd been looking for this shot for the whole weekend and it just. Even this isn't quite what I wanted, but beggars can't be choosers when you're looking for the right stick. [01:31:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:31:03] Speaker B: So. [01:31:07] Speaker A: Oh, I love that with the shadows. That's amazing. [01:31:12] Speaker B: And yeah, that was someone running out of. You know, I just thought that was funny. It was an adventure. [01:31:20] Speaker A: They're really cool. Very cool. [01:31:27] Speaker D: I think. [01:31:28] Speaker A: I think we're pretty much ready to come to a close. We. It's 9pm here in Australia, or at least in the eastern part. Aesthetic. Does anyone else have any. Any bits and pieces they want to finish up with? [01:31:42] Speaker C: No, I think only thing I've got is I'm planning a. A short workshop in my studio here in end of November for people wanting to learn how to do fine art, lighting and posing. Still, I haven't got prices and stuff. Stuff yet, but. Yeah, be a small, limited seated thing, so. [01:32:07] Speaker A: Yeah, very cool. [01:32:08] Speaker D: Sorry, Bruce, where's the studio? [01:32:10] Speaker C: I'm in Launceston and Tassie, so. [01:32:12] Speaker B: Okay, we'll have to get Levin over. [01:32:15] Speaker D: Yeah, that's that one I can probably manage. [01:32:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Yeah. I think Sash and I are looking at heading over sometime in the next couple of months, Bruce, so we'll have to catch up. [01:32:28] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely. [01:32:29] Speaker A: All her family's in Lonnie, and my heritage is from Launceston, too, so. There you go. There you go. Gareth asked a question. Have you received the XC5, Greg? Thank you for asking, Gareth. Yes, I did. Where is it? It's right here. [01:32:46] Speaker B: That's our next segment, isn't it, Greg? What's in the box? Yeah, I just don't. [01:32:58] Speaker A: Yes, I got my XC5. It arrived. [01:33:01] Speaker B: Hang on, Greg, this is not. [01:33:02] Speaker D: This is. [01:33:03] Speaker B: That's supposed to be what's in the box, not what's not in the box anymore. [01:33:07] Speaker A: Well, I had to take it out. Well, I've still got the box, if that makes any difference. [01:33:14] Speaker D: Shut up. [01:33:16] Speaker C: He's kept the box because he has. [01:33:17] Speaker D: To send it back. [01:33:18] Speaker C: He knows it's not. [01:33:20] Speaker A: No, this is actually mine. I actually bought this with my own money. No, no, you. [01:33:24] Speaker C: For the refund. [01:33:26] Speaker A: No refund. There'd be no refund, Bruce. Yeah, I took it out today. I. I think I mentioned last week I've been quite busy with house renovations and family stuff, so it's been sitting on my desk for a few days. And I took it out today. Went for a little street walk just to get the hang of it. Very similar in feel and, you know, just that kind of connectivity I had with the Fujifilm XE4 autofocus is surprisingly fast compared to the XE4, especially. And, yeah, I love it. It's great. It's a great size. It. It feels solid. It's. You know, it's got a whole. It's a titanium top plate, I think. So, yeah, it's going well. [01:34:05] Speaker B: And when you tested it, you had the silver one, is that right? [01:34:09] Speaker A: Yeah, they sent me the silver one with the new 23 mil F2 2.8 pancake lens that launched at the same time. I didn't buy that because I've got the 27F 2.8, which launched, or the revamped version launched with the XE4. I've already got a 23F 2. I don't need a. Another 23, but, yeah, it's nice. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. [01:34:36] Speaker D: Have you had a chance to use it in anger yet? [01:34:39] Speaker A: Use it in anger? [01:34:41] Speaker D: Well, use it. [01:34:44] Speaker A: I have unboxed it. I have pushed the button a few times. Levin. I don't have any images. I haven't looked at the images to share just yet. But, yeah, I. I took. Like I said, I took it out today and just walked around my. My hometown, the South Yarra. And just more than anything, Got a feel for it and yeah, I love it, I love it. Very happy. But I'm going to keep my C4. Yeah. I've got my XE4 set up for macro. So I've got my. What did you call it? Gary Fong. No, this is from Cygnus Tech. It's a, it's a, it's a diffuser. [01:35:21] Speaker D: Yeah, I saw that a few weeks ago. [01:35:24] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think I'll keep that set up like that because it's such a pain to take this thing on and off for different genres that, that it's quite. [01:35:31] Speaker C: Really fragile. [01:35:33] Speaker A: It's not though. It's. [01:35:35] Speaker D: It. [01:35:35] Speaker A: Well, maybe it is. All right. [01:35:39] Speaker D: So I understand why you buy a new camera, Greg, if that's difficult to take off and put on. [01:35:44] Speaker A: That's what, that's what I thought, Levin. You know, I don't want to have to juggle stuff. So I've come up with a perfect. Yeah, exactly. I've come up with a perfectly valid excuse to keep that one. [01:35:56] Speaker D: One. [01:35:58] Speaker C: But that's the reason why we have to keep camera bodies. Right. Every time a new one comes out, it's because we put the lens on and that's how it stays. So we need to buy another. Who was it the, the storm photographer who bought SD cards every time? He never formatted them. [01:36:11] Speaker A: Yeah, Thomas. Thomas hinted. [01:36:12] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:36:13] Speaker D: So. [01:36:13] Speaker C: So we, so we need to be those people who just buy camera bodies every time instead of just SD cards. [01:36:19] Speaker A: Like, although I do SD card today. [01:36:22] Speaker C: New camera body. [01:36:23] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. I knew. I knew a lady in Brisbane who did exactly that. And the last time we spoke, which I admit was probably two or three years ago, she was up to 300 SD cards. [01:36:34] Speaker B: That's a lot of money. [01:36:35] Speaker A: That's commitment, isn't it? [01:36:36] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. [01:36:37] Speaker B: And how do you find, like, what do you do with them? [01:36:41] Speaker D: I know, yeah, yeah, that's. Yeah. Why don't you put it on the computer? And she said, oh, oh no, I just like the way I do it. No, no, fair enough. [01:36:49] Speaker A: It's all cool. Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Quick. Another quick comment from Gareth. I've tried the 30 millimeter macro with the XC5. That's the lens that I've got. And using the 2 times crop because it's got like a digital tele crop on it. So nice to use, which is great to hear. [01:37:08] Speaker D: It sounds like just got his new as well. [01:37:11] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah, yeah. I've been speaking to a few people who just got theirs this this week. Everyone's been pretty excited to get out and about. For me, it's a perfect size and weight. I, I can't carry anything too heavy because I've only got little hands and. Yeah, it's great. [01:37:28] Speaker C: When I was in, I, I picked up a few of the Fujifilm cameras over in New Zealand, but I didn't pick up that one. [01:37:35] Speaker A: I'm kicking myself now and there's a. I've signed up. Well, I was invited to attend the launch event which is happening I think next weekend maybe at the end of August. And it's a collaboration with Converse, the sneaker brand. And if you, if your draw is successful, you'll go to the Converse studio at Chadstone Shopping center here in Victoria and you'll work with one of their shoemakers and actually make a custom pair of shoes. And they've got all these cool like Fujifilm patches and badges and, and you know how on the side of Converse they've got the circle with the star. They've removed that and they've got the Fujifilm film simulation dial on the shoe. That's cool. So, yeah, so I'm gonna, hopefully I get. I was invited as media so I'm pretty sure that's all going ahead. [01:38:29] Speaker C: I wonder how much that'll end up being worth for like sneaker heads and stuff like that. Because they'll be so super limited. [01:38:36] Speaker A: Yeah, they will be. Yeah. Yeah. [01:38:38] Speaker B: You're gonna get a pair, Greg. [01:38:40] Speaker A: Yeah, I've already sent my size. [01:38:42] Speaker B: Oh yeah, Yeah. [01:38:43] Speaker A: I love Converse. Yeah. But no, the new camera is great. It's. It feels like home, you know, because I'm so used to the system and, and yeah, I'm really enjoying it so far, but more to come in the future, guys. Cool. I think on that note, we might wrap this episode of the Camera Life podcast. This has been the random photography show and it's episode 108. First and foremost, I'd like to thank Bruce for co hosting with us. Always great to have you on the show, whether you're in the comments or on the screen with us here. Bruce, amazing work in New Zealand and congratulations. It was well deserved that you were invited to, to participate and, and deliver that and I'm sure that everyone was there, took something away from it that they, that they can, you know, use in their own time. So thank you. Also thanks to Levin. Thanks for dropping in and sharing with us what you've been up to and your upcoming workshops. [01:39:46] Speaker D: Sorry I sort of turned into a tag along host as well there. [01:39:51] Speaker B: Thanks for hanging around. [01:39:53] Speaker A: Never apologize for that. We're all Here for the chat. [01:39:56] Speaker D: That's. [01:39:56] Speaker A: That's. We love what we do, so it's great to have you on board and just remember. Oh, no worries, mate. Anyone watching or listening in the notes. Sorry. In the comments is the link to Levin's Rearview Photography.com website. Head there and have a look at the tours and the workshops. There's still a couple of seats left for Norway. If it's been on your bucket list and you're currently your fingers a bit itchy between buying that new lens or. Or travel. I say go travel and. And make the most of what you've got. And of course, thanks, Jim, for holding down the fort for Lucky Straps while Justin, Yolanda are off slacking off somewhere. Did I ever do any work? No, they just like this. Well, that door behind Jim is actually blocked from the outside, so he. He just has to stay at home and work. Justin has the key. Yeah. But on that note, I'm going to play some music and hopefully, hopefully, maybe, maybe, maybe. All right. There's no. I still haven't got it right and. [01:40:59] Speaker B: But I. I can see what you're doing, Greg. You're just trying to not do a good job of it so that when Justin comes back, he will resume doing the music. [01:41:08] Speaker A: I hate doing the music. I hate it. [01:41:11] Speaker B: We can't tell. No, really? [01:41:13] Speaker A: Well, it stresses me out. I get anxious and then I get stressed. I get sweaty palms and then I. [01:41:18] Speaker D: Press the wrong button and you're justifying Justin's existence. Well done, Greg. [01:41:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Someone's got. You got to look after the little people in your life. But on that note, I'm going to play some music and we'll say goodbye to some people in the chat. Philip Johnson, Rick Nelson, Lisa. Neil Leach, Tim Sianis, Rodney. Dennis, of course. Paul. Philip Johnson, first in the chat. Great to see you again, Philip. And who else? We got Crimson Comics, of course. Crimson Comics. Thank you. [01:41:58] Speaker C: Go to bed. [01:42:01] Speaker A: David Lipperati's here. Good to see you, David. And I think we've pretty much. Greg Carrick. Crackers Carrick is here. And Hot Rod Custom Images. Yeah, I need to look into your work a little bit more too. But on that note, have a good night, everyone. We'll see you Thursday morning. Bye.