[00:00:08] Speaker A: Good morning or good afternoon.
Welcome to the Camera Life podcast.
We're beaming to your eyeballs and earballs live from Victoria in Australia. It's currently 9am on 12 December. It's only 13 days until Christmas until I have to don my red suit and saddle them up.
That Prancer, he's a prick.
But yes, you're listening to the Camera Life podcast, proudly brought to you by Lucky Straps from Bendigo in Victoria, where all fine things are made.
And we want you to stick around today if you're joining us live. Stick around, Be sure to add your comments, questions, let us know if there's anything you want us to cover or if you have any questions for our guest. Speaking of which, our guest today is Levin Barrett from Rear View Photography. We're going to dive into Levin's story in a little bit, but we're also joined by. Jim is back. Great to see you, Jim.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Good to see you too, Greg back.
[00:01:15] Speaker A: And Justin, of course.
[00:01:17] Speaker C: Good morning.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Founder of Lucky Straps. That's right.
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Oh, and good morning to the people that waited in the chat. Sorry we're a little bit late. A few minutes. Just dialing everything in, but David from San Francisco's in the chat.
Digifrog from Tassie in the chat already.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: David number two.
[00:01:34] Speaker C: Dave. David number two. I didn't realize that. Oh, yeah, Yolena's in the chat. Another day, another day.
David 3. No, this is going well.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: We've been letting the Davids down. Yelena claims.
[00:01:50] Speaker D: Oh.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: So stick around. Today we've got a. Yeah. From Ireland. I think that's our first, first person that's actually claimed to be from Ireland. Not that there's any shame in that.
So stick around, guys. We're gonna, we're gonna have a deep dive into Levin's work and his photo photography journey, which started many, many years ago in a dark room.
And we've also got some news to cover off. Justin and Jim have some exciting news to share over a recent accolade and they fashion choice, which I'll show you at some point later on in this in the podcast. So don't forget, if you're watching, please make sure to like and subscribe and hit the bell button so you get notified. And if you're listening, we'll be coming to you on all of your favorite podcast channels, audio podcast channels.
But welcome, Levin.
[00:02:48] Speaker D: Thank you very much. Nice to be here.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Good to have you on the show.
Just before we get into, deep into your story, can you just give us a very brief rundown of what sort of photography you're into at the moment and what sort of gear you use.
[00:03:06] Speaker D: Look, basically, primarily landscape and seascape. Although I also have quite a passion for astrophotography.
I think I just enjoy the mix of the artistic and the technical with the astro side of things. And you can get some pretty unique sort of stuff.
So that's the main sort of thing that I photograph.
I predominantly. Well, exclusively, I suppose, use Sony gear. It's not that I'm discounting any other brand. They're all great brands, no problems there. But I've just found I've just worked my way towards the Sony camera gear. So, yeah, got a couple of Sony cameras and lenses, a couple of Zeiss lenses as well.
Apart from that, just a smattering of all the usual things that everyone else has, tripods and gear like that and LED lights and all the rest of it. So, yeah, astrophotography unfortunately demands a bit of additional gear to what most people would normally have. It does a little bit.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: It does. And we want to get into that because astrophotography is something that I've dabbled in and I'm sure plenty of you out there have too, but never really mastered or never had the opportunity. And we will get into that. Because you also run workshops.
[00:04:17] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I do workshop training workshops. They're sort of half day into the night workshops as well. And that also sort of has evolved over the last three to five years into running tours as well. So now running photography tours to Tasmania and New Zealand. And yeah, they've been going really well. So, yeah, they're good fun.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Cool. Now, our good friend Pinky Spencer, who was on the show a few weeks ago, she. She'd recently returned from one of your tours and.
And she was. She's. She loves a good tour. Pinky, that's what she lives and works for.
[00:04:54] Speaker D: Pinky is an absolute legend, I tell you. She's an amazing woman, just full of life and vigor and so she's really, really good fun. She's certainly one of the more interesting characters we've had on the tours and she's really, really great. But yeah, you're right, she. She's done a Tasmanian tour with me earlier this year in March, and we just got back from New Zealand about a month ago as well. We had 11 days over there and yeah, it's. Yeah, she's really good value.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Yeah, there she is. She's a good egg.
So, dialing back a little bit, let's start with your earliest inspirations of photography. Because you've had a bit of a, I guess a split experience in that you started early in film, black and white film and from what you've said to me, you even had your own dark room to do all your own photo processing and then you took a bit of a break and you've since found the light again. But let's dial back to your earliest inspirations of photography. What first got you into photography?
[00:06:06] Speaker D: I think it was just opportunity as much as anything else insofar as the high school that I used to go to way back in the 1970s, they actually had a dark room there and some cameras that you could use. So I'm honestly not certain what piqued my initial interest. I just sort of got involved in it and just found I really enjoyed it.
So with that opportunity at high school to do photography, yeah I ended up buying my first camera which was actually an Olympus, an old Olympus OM1 back in the day. It cost me three months wages so that was quite a purchase for a young 19, 20 year old guy when a sort of really got into it.
And from that point on I thought I had a very unique story in the world but I've since discovered pretty well everyone's got the same story as you sort of get an interest in it very early in life with a few opportunities but then life, wife, kids, jobs, all that sort of stuff come along and just steal your hobby away for 20 or 30 years. And it wasn't until things started to settle down that I got back into it probably about 16 years ago, 15, 16 years ago, I sort of tentatively jumped back into the new digital era.
That was a bit of a change for me because everything I'd done up to that stage was film and so yeah, I had to rapidly educate myself in the digital frontier and yeah, I've just got more and more into it, just love it now, just really, really enjoy it and as I say to the point where I'm now running workshops and tours.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: So yeah, that's a wonderful story and a wonderful evolution. Sorry Jim.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: No, I was going to say Levin, like after such a big break, what was the initial, I guess thing that got you to take that first step to jump back in?
[00:07:55] Speaker D: Probably photography is not my full time job. My full time job is I'm actually an airline pilot and I found myself, I joined Jetstar about 16 years ago and after about a year of flying domestically I managed to get myself onto the international fleet. So I was flying wide body international aircraft mostly up into Southeast Asia and over to Honolulu and Japan and places like that.
And I realized after about six months that I'm going to these amazing locations and all I had was this crappy little pocket Instamatic sort of, you know, $120 camera. And I sort of thought after a while, no, I've got to ramp this up a bit. I'm going to some really amazing places. And about time I sort of upped it to a more decent camera so that I could get better photos. And that's when I just did a bit of research and bought initially a Sony A65, but that sort of triggered it off. And I suppose a second thing was very shortly after that my wife had a friend whose husband was in a camera club here in Melbourne and he invited me along to the camera club at Essendon and really enjoyed that and ended up joining the Essendon Camera Club and still in it to this day. So I think between those two things that's kind of what triggered me to get back into photography, boots and all.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: Yep, that's nice, Nice. Can I ask you a question?
Did you want to go first, Justin?
[00:09:25] Speaker D: Well, I'm here.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: No, you go first. I have, I have a couple of pilot related questions I want to ask.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: Oh, so do I. All right, I'll go first then. You can go now, Levin, there's slight divergence, but thanks to the age of social media, we see a lot of, you know, short videos of pilots coming into land in various conditions and photographing storms from the, you know, from the cockpit windows. Are there rules around what you can and can't do as a pilot with a camera in the cockpit? Are there rules about around that for you?
[00:10:03] Speaker D: There's no actually law or legislation. No, but you do. The companies that you work for do often have restrictions on you filming in the cockpit and things like that. They're more scared or concerned about basically bad press.
Because you've got to remember a lot of people what could be quite normal to us during a landing or going past a storm or something like that is very abnormal to a lot of people and they just don't understand that in reality there's no risk involved at all. That's just our day to day operation. And so the companies do tend to get very concerned about just bad press and bad PR and that sort of stuff. So the companies do often place restrictions on filming in the cockpit, but as long as you sort of approach it sensibly and you don't put people's faces on it or name the airline or anything like that. Yeah, it's generally doable and there's no actual law against it. You can fill it from in the flight deck whenever you like.
[00:11:06] Speaker A: And have you ever dabbled in cockpit photography? That sounded wrong.
[00:11:10] Speaker D: Quite a bit, actually. Yeah. Yeah. And which I probably shouldn't say, but yes, look, I have.
Obviously you've got to choose your time when you do it. You don't do it when you're trying to take off or land or.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Thank you. We thank you for your service.
[00:11:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:27] Speaker D: And you gotta remember there's also another pilot in the cockpit, and once we're up in the cruise, that sort of stuff, the autopilot's on anyway, so it's doing all the hard work for us in that regard. So, yeah, you know, you choose your moments, there's no doubt about it. But, yeah, in the quieter moments, when there's some interesting things going on there.
I used to actually use my Sony cameras, but as you can imagine, they're quite big and bulky and for a while I even had a couple of mounts that I used to attach to the side wall or the windows or that sort of stuff to support the camera. But these days I tend to use a little DJI Pocket because they're just so portable and light. And the cameras in them these days are fairly good. You know, they're obviously not up to the level of a full, you know, mirrorless or DSLR camera. Pretty good, but they're certainly pretty good. They're all right.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: So that's what you've got, isn't it, Justin? You've got a DJI pocket.
[00:12:23] Speaker C: Yeah, the Osmo Pocket 3. For video, I haven't shot any photos with it, but for video, it's fantastic.
[00:12:28] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, they're brilliant. Yeah. I started with the original, the one, I suppose, and I found its operation was great, but the camera was terrible.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Speaker D: And then they bought out the two, and I sat on my hands for about a year and a half, or even two years, and eventually I bought the two, only for the three to come out literally a week later.
Really good time in there.
But I found that two was the reverse. It had an excellent camera, but the actual operation of it was horrible. It was just a terrible thing to control. But the three, they seem to have got it right. They've got a good camera and good controls and, yeah, for what it is, it actually does a fairly good job.
[00:13:06] Speaker C: Yeah, it is.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: I think just before we cross to Justin, pilot photography could be its whole genre, I've got a friend who. Chris, he's a Fuji shooter.
Surprised we haven't had him on the show and he flies smaller twin engine prop planes up in the sort of northern end of Western Australia and he, he has captured some stunning storm photography because he also does, he, I think he's also a helicopter pilot but he does photography of other aircraft. But he also has done, whilst in transit he's done some amazing storm photography with his Fuji gear in the cockpit. So yeah it's really interesting.
[00:13:50] Speaker D: We do see some amazing stuff up there at times, it really does. And it's also a very unique perspective to see a thunderstorm from above whereas like everyone, yeah mostly they're looking up from the ground at the thunderstorm but we tend to either look at it side on or even from above and it's a whole different perspective again and particularly when you start seeing really weird stuff like lightning bolts coming out of the top of the cloud going up into space and things like that, that's just stuff that you know, most people just never see in their lives. Not that we see it often, it's not all that common but yeah you do see some truly amazing stuff from time to time.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Very cool. Now my questions are definitely a lot less serious than Greg's and I won't derail this for too long because we probably need to talk about photography at some stage but two questions I have are.
So my brother in law is a pilot.
[00:14:44] Speaker D: Oh yeah, yeah but he's a, he's.
[00:14:45] Speaker C: A ga. General aviation pilot. You know he's got a little, little Cessna and he flies around and they got a, in the flying club and stuff like that. How often when, when you tell people you're a pilot do they say oh I'm also a pilot and you're like not really, not really, you know, far from it.
[00:15:05] Speaker D: No, we all start there, don't worry. So in fact one of the hardest jobs you can do I think was it you Greg mentioned the friend of yours flew twins up around Western Australia.
That's the hardest job you can do as a pilot in all honesty. They call it single pilot IFR or instrument flight rules and basically you're a one man show in quite difficult conditions sometimes and so that is by far the hardest job you'll ever have as a pilot. So generally if you survive that stage and sort of move on to the jets and that sort of stuff then yeah, life actually gets a little bit easier for you. In some ways it's more complex management wise. But flying wise because you're now into better aircraft and that sort of stuff, it actually becomes slightly easier in one bizarre Way. So, no, certainly, I definitely don't have that opinion of guys in ga, that sort of stuff. I don't look down on them. Far from it. What's the biggest.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Just quickly, what's the biggest plane you've flown?
[00:16:02] Speaker D: Look, probably the. Would it be a toss up between the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner? I've flown both of those. Technically, the 330 is slightly bigger, but the 787 Dreamliner is about 30 years more advanced and faster and nicer.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Cool.
[00:16:24] Speaker C: My final question before we talk about photography.
How long did it take you to learn the pilot voice over the pa? And why do you pause so much? When we're in the middle of watching a movie, the planes have to land. We're like, the movie's got six minutes left. I want to see what happens. And then you guys are like, so we're coming into land soon.
Temperature's nice.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: It's because I've only just woken up from a nap.
[00:16:56] Speaker C: Do you guys have to practice? Do you have to practice the gaps? How does that work?
[00:17:01] Speaker D: Look, you get better as time goes on. Some guys even ride out a little cheat sheet that they sort of use just for a bit of a standard patter. I don't need the cheat sheet anymore because I've done it for so long. But. But you're dead right. Insofar as most people these days, they don't want to hear from us anyway because they're just watching a movie. You know, all we are is just a damned annoyance.
[00:17:22] Speaker C: No, actually, I really like it. I like it especially when the part's got a little bit of, you know, a little bit of personality. It's not just like a script. I actually, I really enjoy it also after you takeoff as well, and they tell you a little bit about what's. What the plan is. It's cool. And it's not just a straight script. You're like, oh, yeah, cool.
[00:17:38] Speaker D: Yeah, I agree. Yeah. And I got a bit. I do tend to lighten it up a little bit.
In fact, I take great delight generally when we're leaving somewhere like the Gold coast where it's pouring down rain and we're coming to Melbourne where it's beautiful and sunny, and I take great delight in telling them that I'm getting them out of the crappy paradise and bringing them back to wonderful homes.
You got to mix it up a bit.
[00:18:01] Speaker C: Nice.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Very cool.
[00:18:03] Speaker C: All right, back to photography.
[00:18:04] Speaker A: Okay, so, Levin, you took a break because life very similar Story to mine. I started with film photography, like you, and then took a very big break and then was reintroduced to digital. So you bought your a6500.
What was next for you? Were you already keen on doing some landscape and seascape and astro work? Or how did you. How did you head in that direction of all the genres you could have possibly.
[00:18:32] Speaker D: Yeah, and look, I think initially I tried them all. You know, everyone sort of does portrait and has a crack at macro and landscape and seascape, and you pick any genre you sort of like. I think in the early days, you have a go at it all, which is good because it broadens your horizons a little bit and expands your knowledge a fair bit as well in the different areas.
But eventually, I think you just naturally tend to migrate to something that sort of has your interest.
In my case, I tended to migrate more towards the landscape and seascape.
I think it's because also, I just really like being out there in the moment. I've had many occasions. In fact, the one that just came to mind then, I'm sorry, was I was in New Zealand and I wasn't running the tour. I was a guest on tour about, gosh, this would be 11, 12 years ago, something like that. And we're at Tasman Lake, Mount Cook in New Zealand, and it was just a spectacular sunrise and we're all lined up, ducks in a row, taking photos of it and all the rest of it. And after, like, I got my photo, you know, like after 20 minutes, half an hour, I sort of got what I wanted and I just sort of thought, this is just amazing. And I literally just walked away and sat on a rock and just started enjoying it. And then another person in the group turned around and looked at me and said, what are you doing? And I said, well, look at it. It's just amazing. Like, you just got to take it in. Yeah. And they came and sat next to me and within about six or seven minutes, the whole group was just sitting on the rock next to me and we're all just taking in the moment. So for me, yeah, the landscape and the seascape, you know, the photo comes first because you want to capture it, but you've got to enjoy the moment as well. And I think that's why I sort of got more into the landscape, seascape side of things. And that also lend itself into the astro side of things as well. Astrophotography tends to be quite a loner sport. You tend to be out there by yourself in the middle of the night and you know that's not for some people, but for me, yeah, I just joy the. I enjoy the peace and quiet in the moment. Just looking up at nature and just what's in front of you can, as I say, can. Could really take your breath away. Sometimes.
[00:20:49] Speaker C: I think anyone that's tried Astro has had those moments. I think I certainly have. When you sort of. Yeah, everything's quiet and you're out by yourself and you're looking up at the stars and you're waiting for the camera to do its 30 second exposure or whatever and it's just.
[00:21:02] Speaker D: Yeah, it's.
[00:21:03] Speaker C: It's nice.
[00:21:04] Speaker D: Yeah, it's. It's relaxing when it's going well.
[00:21:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:09] Speaker D: Astro can be. Can be one of the most frustrating forms of photography you can do, I think. And so, yeah, but it's not going so well. There's no relaxation in it at all. But when you finally master it and get on top of it a bit, then, yeah, you can sort of put your feet up and just enjoy it.
[00:21:24] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And the outcomes are stunning. Let's face it, you know, it gives us a small window into the universe.
[00:21:33] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:21:34] Speaker A: Just before we move on to the next. Yeah, we've got it. Four or five.
[00:21:39] Speaker C: I've lost count, but we're getting questions. Is there a collective noun for a congregation of David's? I'm not sure.
[00:21:45] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:21:46] Speaker C: We'll figure it out. And Paul Henderson, who is from Bendigo, is surprised you allowed a Sony shooter on Greg. What happened? You loot. Did you accidentally. Did you have him written down as Fuji and you got it mixed up?
[00:21:58] Speaker A: Pinky recommended him and we just went with it.
You know, we weren't. We're not overly hopeful, but so far, so.
[00:22:06] Speaker D: Sorry, guys. Sorry.
[00:22:08] Speaker C: We're happy, excited, so excited to not have a Fuji shoe.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: I just know a lot of Fuji shooters and we wanted to get the show going and we wanted guests and I just happened to call upon all of them, dozens of our first guests. It's just the way that the cooking group.
[00:22:25] Speaker C: I'm convinced you're getting paid by Fuji on the side just to keep pumping. Pumping guests onto the show.
[00:22:30] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know.
[00:22:34] Speaker B: They didn't say no.
[00:22:35] Speaker C: If you split the money with me, we can just keep doing it. I don't mind.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know what you're talking with it.
[00:22:42] Speaker C: Anyway.
[00:22:45] Speaker A: And the drunk wedding photographer, who was also a David, said a stumble of drunk Davids. A stumble.
[00:22:51] Speaker C: A stumble.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: A stumble of David's.
[00:22:53] Speaker C: That works.
[00:22:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
So, Levin, you started off with Sony I imagine you've stuck with Sony the whole time that you've been doing digital photography, is that correct?
[00:23:05] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. I just sort of evolved from the 65 then to the 77, which was the first of what they call it a.
The actual term I use. And it was like a semi mirror, a translucent mirror. That's what it was.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Ah, okay.
[00:23:21] Speaker D: Yeah, that was really. Yeah, that was a unique. So basically by doing that, it allowed you to focus in screen and all that sort of stuff as well. Apparently so.
But then when they bought out the true mirrorless ones, the A7, I actually skipped over the A7 initially because I'd only just got the 77 anyway.
And to go to the 7 was a completely different mount, which meant I had to swap over all my lenses and all that sort of stuff. So I got to admit I sat on my hands there for a little while and as with any new machine, whether it be a camera or a car or an airplane, the Mark 1 version's always got problems. So I thought, I'll sit and wait this one out.
But then when they bought out the Mark two, I was going to Norway again. I was just a guest on another tour, but I was going over there for a month and I decided to buy two Mark two bodies at that stage and swap over all my lenses. So that was an expensive little affair, I can tell you, but I figured I've got to bite the bullet because these things will only evolve even further.
And I wanted two camera bodies for Norway because I've had various friends of mine, mostly people in the camera club actually, who have one lady in particular, the poor lady, she was going over to South America and literally at the Pacha Lounge at Sydney Airport, her Nikon just stopped working and she spent the whole flight trying to resurrect it and get it working and it just wouldn't work. And then when she got to South America, she spent another day just trying to sort it out and basically it was knackered. It was. Just had it. And so now she's in, I think, Santiago or something like that, trying to buy a whole new camera. And I've heard a number of people with similar stories. So I thought, no, I just want a spare body, given I'm going all the way to Norway.
Yeah. So that's sort of what prompted me to swap over to the Mark 2.
Really good units, really enjoyed them.
Battery life was a bit short on them, but I was able to get. Because luxury of going to Singapore once a month, I was able to pick up Third party aftermarket batteries over there, which were much, much better actually. They were really superb.
But anyway, that eventually evolved into the Mark three and ended up with two of those.
And about a year ago now, I suppose I sold one of the Mark 3s and bought the R5, but I've still kept the original Mark 3. It's actually extraordinarily good for astrophotography. It's just really crystal clear. It's a brilliant, brilliant camera for Astro, and so I've actually hung onto that one. So now I've basically got the standard A7 mark V and the A7R. Sorry, I'll try that again. The standard 7 mark 3 and the A7R mark 5. Too many hours and marks and everything.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: Just gets longer and longer. And with your Sony kit, with your cameras, your A7 III and your A7V, both impressive performers. What, is there something about Sony that you wish they would fix in cameras?
[00:26:34] Speaker C: Or do you ever get tempted by.
[00:26:38] Speaker D: Yeah, we've always got a wish list, haven't we?
It's a very minor thing and it gets getting a bit technical in the settings. But because I do the Astro, I use a lot of presets. So the camera's got the ability basically to have up to seven presets, three of them in the camera and four of them. And it's actually written on the memory card, but you can select them off the memory card and that'll preset whatever you want. So because I do say landscape, one preset, Astros, probably one to two more presets. And I also do a lot of time lapse photography as well, so there's a few more presets again. And in the three, the moment you rotate the dial to the manual position, it just opens up the window which lets you choose your preset. But in the five, that's gone. So now if you want to do the preset, you've actually got to dive down into the memory about four or five steps to get to your preset, which kind of negates the beauty of having a preset, you know what I mean? So, yeah, so I got to admit, it's one thing. I don't know why they got rid of that particular capability. It seems a bizarre thing to get rid of. But yeah, so that's, that's probably about the only one, though, I must admit, everything else I'm. I'm very, very happy with.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's good.
[00:27:53] Speaker D: I think if I can continue on.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: Go on.
[00:27:56] Speaker D: Sorry, go on.
[00:27:57] Speaker A: I was just going to say other Sony Shooters who I've spoken to, I mean, they're amazingly powerful and clever cameras, but a lot of people have said their menus need to be simpler, less kind of, you know, tree, like in terms of just breaking down menus.
[00:28:14] Speaker D: And yeah, look, I've heard that a lot and look, I guess I'm used to it, so I don't really find that to be a major issue.
I gotta admit it can be confusing though because unfortunately the menu even changes between models. Like the menu of the three is different to the four, different to the five. Yeah. And so when I've got guests on workshops or tours, I might just be trying to set up a particular item within the menu, but it can even take me three or four minutes to find it. You've literally just got to scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll till you get to the damn thing because what's on page three of mine could be on page five of their camera, even though they're both Sony's. So I do find that frustrating between the evolution between different models. But yeah, but as I say, I guess I'm so used to it, it doesn't really bother me now. And yeah, in fact, what I struggle the most with actually is Nikon cameras. I find their menu is just mind blowingly confusing.
I just can't seem to figure that out. Now.
[00:29:15] Speaker A: Jim. Jim's a Nikon shooter. What do you think Jim? Is Nick on?
[00:29:18] Speaker D: Sorry, Jim. That's okay.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: Well, I was actually just about to come out and say that I actually like, for me, I find Nikon menus really quite intuitive and I've used Justin's cameras as well and, and I've been able to figure it out like, because Justin shoots with Canon. Canon and yeah, and like being able to figure enough out from just. Yeah, I guess just using the.
[00:29:43] Speaker D: So, yeah, look, as I said, I'm used to the Sony, so it's what I know. And so when I do have to dive into other brands, you know, like the Nickel and Canons, that sort of stuff. Yeah, I'm a little bit like I'm getting better at it because I've just had more exposure to it with different guests and customers. But yeah, it's one of those things. If you use it all the time, you're all over it.
Something that's just thrown at you and here, try and figure that out.
[00:30:09] Speaker A: What about you, Justin? Do you find Canon. Sorry, mate. Do you find that Canon with each new generation, like the difference between the Mark 5, the. Sorry, the EOS R5 and the R5, Mark 2 is the menu system much the same.
[00:30:24] Speaker C: They'll change little things like they're constantly improving, but the no, unless they make a big change with how they manage something.
And you might be unlucky that that big change happens between the two models. You're, you know, going from one to the next, you might cop that big change, but usually it's. They'll do it with one and then they'll sort of roll that menu structure out off across almost everything in their range and then keep it until they do some sort of other improvement. So, you know, they've not. No, they keep it pretty well structured and I find it fairly easy to navigate the Canon menu system, I think. But it's interesting the, I found the biggest shortfall from Sony from my point of view in the early days and it'll be interesting to know if you notice this is the ergonomics were quite average in the early A7 series and they've gotten better and better to the point where now I think they, they've got a pretty good thing going on with the A7R5 and they've rolled those ergonomics now into the A1, Mark 2 and that kind of stuff where the buttons are bigger, it feels more, it's easier to do a lot just with your hands rather than having to dive through menus and all that kind of stuff. Have you found that at all?
[00:31:41] Speaker D: Absolutely, yeah. Totally agree. Yeah, as I said, I skipped over the original seven, but even the difference between the Mark two to the, the Mark five, yeah, it's a much easier. They've also, I think just made the grip on the right hand side where the shutter release is just slightly bigger, which actually helps because of the earlier ones.
Their big sales pitch I think was it's small and tiny and light and all the rest of it, but that actually made it a bit harder to handle. And so now with the, particularly the fours and the fives, yeah, that's sort of just a bit easier to hold. But yeah, I absolutely agree, Justin. They've definitely improved the buttons on the back and most of the buttons now are also programmable so you can change them to whatever you want to suit your style of photography. So yeah, it is interesting how early.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: Generation Sony's came out at a time when other brand DSLRs were big and bulky in comparison. And yeah, Sonya, you're right. Sony have started off with, you know, this is compact, powerful, fastest autofocus, mirrorless technology is the way to go. And the other brands sat tight apart from Fuji, but Canon and Nikon Sat tight. No, I'm serious. Sat tight to watch what was going to happen with the industry. But since then Sony have started to increase the size of their product.
[00:33:02] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah it makes sense because at the start they're thing was like hey look how small this body is. Like look. And so if they had done all the ergonomic stuff early on one they might not have got it right but also yeah they wouldn't have been able to make them as compact and then people would have gone oh it's not that much smaller than a dslr, you know so you wouldn't have that wow of like man, that thing's much smaller than what we're using.
[00:33:28] Speaker B: Yeah, it does the same thing and.
[00:33:30] Speaker C: It'S half the size or I don't know why this comment made me laugh so much or else smile. I didn't laugh but you know you can't, you can't beat The Olympus Micro 4 thirds cameras for unintelligible menu structures.
I haven't actually, I haven't looked in one lately but now that gets me excited to check it out and then.
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Is that a second comment? One thing that every brand could oh could would benefit from in my opinion are lenses with aperture rings. It removes one potential ergonomic problem from all layouts a hundred percent.
[00:34:02] Speaker C: It pisses me off that Canon aren't doing that and then they have, they've just released in some of the new RF VCM lenses an aperture ring and it's, it's de clicked as standard with no switch. So it's just a smooth aperture ring like you would want for video which makes sense because these are hybrid lenses for photon video and whatever but Sony somehow and I don't know if Fuji do it as well but they've just got a switch that goes from click de clicked on the Fuji.
[00:34:34] Speaker A: Most Fuji lenses don't have it, some of the big red badge lenses do but most of them don't have D clickable they just, they just clicked always. Yeah, I think some of the newer generations do but I read some of a couple of those new. They just brought out the 24, the RF24 and the RF50 like about a month ago. Yeah, they come out clickless. Yes, but I read, I'm sure I read somewhere an article saying that you can send it into Sony to have.
[00:35:02] Speaker C: That changed if you prefer can send the Canon lens.
[00:35:05] Speaker A: I'm sorry not to say I'll do.
[00:35:08] Speaker C: It, I'll do it if they'll click make it clicky.
[00:35:09] Speaker D: I'm sure they'll appreciate that.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: I saw somewhere something about that that you can actually. Because there's another thing that's happening with Canon rf which will cover in the news the APSC range.
They're making some changes with the firmware there that just doesn't make any sense. But yeah, apparently you can send. I, I'll have to find it and we'll talk about it another week. But yeah, I'm pretty sure that Canon are offering that.
[00:35:33] Speaker D: Well, they definitely noticed.
[00:35:35] Speaker C: Oh, sorry, go on.
[00:35:36] Speaker D: I just say, interestingly I've noticed all the new Sony lenses coming out. They're actually putting the aperture ring back in. Yeah, that's, that's early version lenses. Yeah, all the early Vengeance version lenses didn't have it. Yeah, all the late ones that have come out say in the last two years roughly. Yeah, they've bought the aperture ring back in. So it's actually, it's a choice. You can either have it in A for automatic whereas yeah, just controlled by the wheel or B, you actually physically select it.
[00:36:02] Speaker C: So I love it.
[00:36:03] Speaker A: And of course all Fuji lenses already have it. They've always had it.
[00:36:06] Speaker B: So I do and it would be no good for me. I would, I would knock it all the time.
[00:36:11] Speaker C: Yeah, you see you just leave it on auto, leave it on body controlled. Yeah, like.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:16] Speaker C: Which is the. A. Yeah, yeah.
[00:36:18] Speaker A: And some have a lock, an aperture lock so you can lock it in auto and you're not going to bump it out.
[00:36:22] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah that's because that's one thing I've definitely done a few times is you twiddle the little ring on the, for the wheel on the front of your partner, nothing's changing and you go what have I done? And then you realize, yeah, I've bumped the aperture ring and it's locked into F6 or something. Sorry, F 5.6 or something. And yeah, yeah, that can be a bit frustrating.
[00:36:40] Speaker C: But yeah, I like, I like the ring control. I think it's, I think it's cool especially when it's clicked. It's.
I don't know, I think it's cool. I think they should do it but Canon are letting me down anyway. Everything else is good, especially their full sized sensors.
[00:36:57] Speaker A: Is that right?
[00:36:59] Speaker C: Yeah, that's right.
[00:37:00] Speaker A: Apparently they've developed. Canada just announced and developed a, a global shutter, their first global shutter but they're not using it in their cameras, they're producing it for sale to third party companies.
[00:37:15] Speaker C: Interesting.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: So like Sony because Sony produce a lot of, a lot of the sensors that you know, other brands use Nikon and Fuji. I think, I think most of the Fuji lenses are developed by Sony or at least they have Sony chips or parts.
But yeah, they've developed a global shutter, but it's only. I think it's like it's 24 megapixel max.
[00:37:39] Speaker C: Yeah. Which is what, what the Sony one is as well.
[00:37:42] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, but they'll, they'll improve, they'll get better. As you know. Obviously the, the biggest benefit is reducing global shutter and you know, that sort of thing, but a rolling shutter. Sorry. God, my words today. Sorry guys.
[00:38:00] Speaker C: Some good talking. Levin, you. So you have gone full circle from being a passionate enthusiast photographer. I mean you still are a passionate enthusiast photographer but you were going on tours and you've gone full circle to now running your own tours.
Yeah. At what point, like how many tours did you go on and at what point were you like, I think I could do this and make it a great experience for people. And how did that, like, how did that unfold?
[00:38:34] Speaker D: Just went on to two hour show.
There's a bit of a story behind it, but look. Yes, yes, I went on a number of tours. I did two to New Zealand, one to Norway.
Yeah. And sort of from about 2018 on and really enjoyed them. Great, great operators and they're really good people. In fact, Will Patino was the first one I did.
Yeah. At that stage he was still living in Australia at that point in time, but he was still running tours over New Zealand. It was only about maybe one to two years after that that he actually moved there.
So yeah, he was very, very good. The next one was with a fellow by the name of Dean Cooper who was here in Victoria, but he's recently moved over to South Australia. So shout out to Dean because Oregon is one of Australia's best. Unwritten. Probably not. Word, sorry, poor wording.
Personally, I think he's one of Australia's best Seascape photographers. He's just really. He just has an art form. Yeah, he's. His work is exceptionally good with seascapes, that sort of stuff.
But yeah, did a tour with Dean and again, really good, went very well and over to Norway with two guys who actually don't run tours anymore. But anyway, it was still a great tour. In fact, Norway was just mind blowing. But yeah, so really enjoyed them.
And then Covid hit and so being an airline pilot, I didn't work for about probably a better part of 14 months, so was basically grounded. And so then I thought, well, like all of us, we spent the first three months at home fixing Doing all the house chores, you know, like painting what needed to be painted and doing all the jobs around the house that I've been putting off for the last five years.
But after three months that was sort of all wrapped up and I'm sitting there just sort of thinking, well, now what? And I thought, you know, I would like to turn my photography into something a bit more official. So I. Probably the wrong word. But anyway, I decided to do an online deployment of photography. Had to be online, because during COVID you couldn't go to classes, do any of that sort of stuff. So, yeah, I started a diploma of photography online with a mob in Sydney and sort of sunk my teeth into that for about six months. But one of the subjects that I got up to was you had to create a business of any sort. Photography business, obviously, but whether it be, you know, portraiture or whatever, you know, just any sort of business you want. But you had to go through the actions of setting it all up, so researching how to become a company and, you know, how to register your name and tax file numbers all the way through to branding and marketing and all that sort of stuff. So you had to kind of put all this together as part of the assignment.
And so I'm sitting there, I was thinking, well, if I got to do it for the assignment, I might as well do it for real and just start doing photography like astrophotography workshops, because I've had so many people at the camera club and places like that sort of trying to pick my brains about astrophotography because it is a bit of a unique field.
So I thought, well, I'll start a business doing that. So out of the assignment I sort of actually did it for real. And that's what got the photography workshop side of things going.
And I guess I've been doing that for about a year. And we were sort of coming out of COVID at that point. And so I just literally having a coffee with my wife one morning and we're just talking and I just. Mostly about the airline, that sort of stuff. And insofar as, you know, now that because people have been cooped up for the last 12 months or so with COVID I think the desire for people to travel was going to explode. So I thought I'm going to have a busy couple of years or year ahead of me anyway, as all this sort of begins to spool up again. And from that kind of blossomed the idea, well, I really enjoyed running tours, so maybe I have a crack at running a tour. And so yeah, that's kind of where the sort of made the change over I guess to a certain extent was doing this diploma and compliment to Covid. So it's one of the, one of the few good things to come out of COVID I think.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Yeah, Happy accidents.
[00:42:57] Speaker B: It's pretty cool that the course actually taught you how to. You actually set up a photography business because. Yeah, I went to uni to a photography course and they did zero to do with business.
[00:43:11] Speaker D: Yeah, look, I agree it's, you know, if you're gonna. Certainly the diploma approaches it from the point of view of you're going to become a full time photographer in some field and so yeah, they've done a very good job there of including the business aspect of it. I've actually run a business myself in the past, aircraft engineering, nothing to do with flying but I ran my own business for seven years and yeah, it's a hell of a steep learning curve and so the more education you can get about it, the better. Yeah, without it.
[00:43:41] Speaker A: Well, I think that's interesting because when. Sorry mate.
[00:43:44] Speaker C: No, go on.
[00:43:45] Speaker A: I was just going to say it's interesting because what you. When I was researching your.
Yourself 11, you started as an engineer and then that evolved into becoming a pilot because you liked fixing them and you thought well maybe I should fly them too.
Which is a huge leap for some people. That's quite a significant leap. And equally like with your photography, you were doing photography because you loved it, you were going on tours and that involved into you becoming your own, you know, photography tour company essentially.
There's some real parallels there. What do you think is the single greatest benefit anyone can, you know, in general, the single greatest benefit of a photography tour for regular punters like us.
[00:44:37] Speaker D: I think probably twofold. And this really, to be honest, comes back to your level of capabilities with your photography, like how experienced you are and what skills you have.
So I think twofold. Firstly, if you're a relatively new photographer and still sort of feeling your way and trying to work things out, and I'm not so much talking about basic settings, you know, like exposure triangle and that sort of stuff, more a case, a bit like I was my early days of what do I enjoy? What style of photography am I really enjoying then? For those people it's good to go on a tour because if you've got a good guide who is able to impart knowledge to you, then he will or he or she will be able to educate you both in settings and all that sort of stuff for your camera because you know, that's the technical side you can't ignore. You've sort of got to understand that. But hopefully they can both cement in the technical side of it, but then also expand your knowledge into more the compositional and the artistic side of it. And so I found with those sort of people that by the end of the tour, you start the tour talking about settings, you know, what, ISO, what, shutter speed, that sort of stuff, you end the tour talking about the composition and when you can achieve that. I know I've had a win and the people go away from the tour and sometimes I don't even realize it, but they've sort of made this leap from, you know, just being fixated on the how, but now they're talking about the why and the how to get the right composition. They're no longer concerned about the settings and all that sort of stuff.
When I get photographers on there who are already very experienced and really know what they're doing, and I gotta admit, some of the guests I've had, they could teach me some stuff. In fact, they do. I quite often pick up things from guests who they've been doing this as long or longer than me. But for those people, I think where they enjoy it is I'm taking them to places that they've never been to, they were unaware of. And that's one of the tricks, I think, in the photography tours that I run is I go there first. And I've been there many, many times. Like I go to Tassie. I couldn't tell you how many times I've been to Tassie. It would be 100 plus New Zealand. I've probably been over there 20, 25 times. And I'm not going to sit here and say, I know every single nook and cranny of New Zealand. I certainly know some unique places to take people. So I'm taking these experienced photographers to some really unique locations. And therefore they can make the most of it because they've got the capability and the knowledge and the background to really get the most out of that scene.
And lastly, I think for everybody is it's all organized. So you literally show up at 4pm on the afternoon to your accommodation, and the first thing I do is take you for drinks and dinner. And from that point on, you just don't have to think about a thing. The only thing you got to think about is just your photography, your camera and your gear and what photo you want. Because I look after absolutely everything else. The transportation, the meals, the accommodation places. We're Going, the only thing I can't look after is the weather.
But you work around that, you know, there's always ways. So I think, yeah, as I said, it does depend a bit on the level, the experience level of photographers to what they get out of it. But I've found people who, either of those sort of intermediate to advanced levels, they do get something out of the tours. Yeah, without a doubt, Yep.
[00:48:30] Speaker C: It's interesting that you, you highlighted some points that I think are, are obviously massive benefits, but I haven't, I've. We've done done photography workshops with people. I've never done a tour, a photography specific tour, but Jim and I have both done snowboard tours where, you know, go with guides in Japan. Similar kind of thing. Imagine just swap out cameras for snowboards. It's. That's what it is, you know, like they take us cool places you get to. But the biggest, the biggest benefit, as much as going to the places I would never snowboard by myself, you know, going with a guide, they'll show me places that I've never, I wouldn't have even known existed, which is very cool. But I found the biggest benefit was always being immersed in a group of people that are all, yes, we were, we were just desperate to ride amazing snow and great powder. And every day that was. The discussion was like, where's, you know, where's gonna be the best to go tomorrow? What's the weather forecast? Like, what gear are you using? Should we wax our boards tonight? All that kind of stuff. And I think that it's the same thing with, with photography being a, often a fairly solo hobby, immersing yourself in a group of people that are all like, oh, what tripod are you using? Oh, what, you know, how do we do that? What type of, you know. And then it's just a fun experience to get that in a group environment.
[00:49:54] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, you are absolutely correct. Yeah.
[00:49:58] Speaker A: Just for the kids listening along at home, should we wax our boards tonight? Is not a euphemism.
[00:50:05] Speaker D: It could be just, just quickly.
[00:50:07] Speaker A: David. Sorry, David. There's so many. David's Levin. This is your site. This is rearview photography for those of you watching along. For those of you listening along, we'll put a link in the comments below for you to look at a bit later.
But you've got your. Now, this, your recent New Zealand tour. That was the one that Pinky joined you on.
[00:50:25] Speaker D: Yes, correct. Yep. Yeah, we did that in October. So, yeah, that was about six weeks ago now.
[00:50:32] Speaker C: Your 2020, September 2025 tour is already Sold out?
[00:50:37] Speaker D: Yes. Yep. Oh, my gosh.
[00:50:39] Speaker A: And so is the Tasmanian one in March.
[00:50:41] Speaker D: Wow. Yeah, this is a. This is the sort of conundrum of today. I. I'm enjoying the chat and really appreciate the exposure, but I've got nothing to sell because everything. Everything's full, mate.
[00:50:56] Speaker C: You're gonna have to start charter. Chartering 787s for your own personal tours, flying people straight to Antarctica.
[00:51:04] Speaker A: Now, I remember how she landed on. There's a photo on the tour page of your website where you guys landed on a glacier. Was that right? In a smaller prop plane. How did you find that experience as a pilot?
[00:51:19] Speaker D: Terrifying, because, like, I was sitting in the. Towards the back of the aircraft, so my views mostly at the side, but I could see a little bit up at the front. But from my perspective, the pilot who was flying, he would just turn straight towards a big mountain and then descend into it. And so my natural reaction was, holy crap. Like, you know, that goes against all.
[00:51:47] Speaker A: Your training, doesn't it?
[00:51:48] Speaker D: Absolutely, yeah. 100%. Yeah. But. But, yeah, Bearing in mind his intention was to land on the mountain, and it makes sense. You got it. But, yeah, from my perspective, yeah, just to watch an airplane turns towards a hill and then descend into it, I had to sort of sit in my hands a little bit and close your eyes.
[00:52:07] Speaker A: Now you know how the rest of us feel.
[00:52:09] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:52:12] Speaker D: But the guy did a brilliant job. He really did. It's a very unique skill to be able to do that, actually, because, you know, glaciers aren't flat and level, they go downhill. And we actually landed twice that day because the first time he landed on it and came to a stop, and then he put the power on quite a lot to get it going. And I was sort of thinking, what's going on here? But then I realized what he was doing was testing to see how solid the ice was or the snow was. And in this particular case, it was actually too hard and too slippery. And so he was concerned that if we got out, we'd all fall over, because it was just. It was literally ice, you know, there was not snow at all. It was just rock solid, hard, slippery ice. So we just sort of sat there for about 10 minutes. I think it was just coming up with another plan and another location. And also, the more the sun got up, the more it would sort of, you know, soften the snow, shall we say?
So we ended up taking off again and went to a different location and landed there, and that was much better. But, yeah, so then we got out and had a Bit of a play for about half an hour.
So. Yeah, it's pretty cool though, on top of the glaciers because we're the only ones there. I did a sort of a sunrise takeoff. It was organized especially for our group, so I organized it for our group only there was nobody else and there was nine of us in the aircraft and. Yeah, so we got there really early before the regular tourist flight starts. And we were literally the first footsteps on the glacier that day. So it was pretty cool.
[00:53:42] Speaker A: That's amazing. That would have been such a. I can see why the tour is booked out. It's like that.
[00:53:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:47] Speaker A: Feels like the ultimate. You know, a lot of people have bucket. Bucket lists and wish lists of places they want to photograph. Like, you know, Iceland and, you know, the Grand Canyon and. And, you know, being able to land on a glacier and get out and set foot on. On the glacier with your camera in hand just sounds like a dream.
[00:54:08] Speaker D: Yeah, it's very, very. It's one of those moments, as I said earlier, with why I enjoy landscape photography is once again, I ran around for the first 10 or 15 minutes taking photos, but then I just put the camera down and just enjoyed the moment, you know what I mean? It's just such a unique, surreal experience to be up there and when everybody stops talking, it's just deathly quiet. About all you can hear is just the occasional crack of ice and things like that. So it's just really quite. Yeah, quite surreal. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think everyone enjoyed it.
[00:54:41] Speaker A: And how many people go on the tour on like a tour like that to New Zealand or the Tasmanian tours? How many people do you take with you?
[00:54:49] Speaker D: Look, we take seven to Tasmania and 11 to New Zealand.
I say we because the person I haven't mentioned at the moment is Richard Taddy and I teamed up with him. Yeah, yeah. I believe he lives up your way, Greg.
[00:55:10] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:55:13] Speaker B: He's in Bendigo.
[00:55:14] Speaker C: Yeah, with Jim and I. He used to do wedding videography while we were shooting weddings. And that's.
[00:55:19] Speaker D: That's how he live in Bendigo.
[00:55:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:55:23] Speaker A: I'm in South.
[00:55:27] Speaker D: Africa.
[00:55:28] Speaker C: He's a legend.
[00:55:29] Speaker D: Yeah, absolute legend. He is. He's a fantastic guy. He really is unbelievably patient and just so willing to share his knowledge.
But just to explain why I'm bringing Richard up is because about 18 months ago I was setting up or constructing another tour to Tasmania and I noticed it was around. Well, not so much notice. I made sure it was around a no moon phase, so that there was a bit of an opportunity for both Astro but more importantly aurora because as you probably all know, we're in the peak of the solar cycle at the moment. It's an 11 year cycle and the peak is this year. It'll slowly taper off over the next few years.
[00:56:14] Speaker C: There's one happening in space right now that's an aurora in the background. It's strong today.
[00:56:22] Speaker A: He's got a skylight cranking through.
[00:56:26] Speaker C: Anyway, sorry.
[00:56:28] Speaker D: So I just thought it'd be good to put a real Astro focus on that particular tour. And I had done a fact. One of the things that got me into astrophotography in all honesty was I did do a tour with Richard. Sorry, not a tour, a workshop, a weekend workshop with Richard 10ish years ago, give or take a bit and learned a lot over that weekend. And again, more than anything though, it just cemented my interest and love of the style of photography. And I've kept in touch with Richard off and on over the years and we literally might go four or five years without, you know, communicating but then every now and again something will pop up and give him a call or send him a text or an email or whatever. So we've sort of loosely kept in touch over the years. But on this particular occasion I thought, well, I wonder if he would be interested in getting involved in doing the Tasmania tour with me so that we can put a real Astro focus onto it as well as the seascape and landscape. So I phoned him up and we had a chat for a couple of hours and eventually he said, yeah, I'm in, we'll give it a go. And we did Tasmania 23 and it was just brilliant. It was just we worked together so well.
Neither of us had to say a word to each other about, you know, if something needed to be done or if something needed to be organized or if a particular guest was struggling with something or other. Then it's not as though I had to say to Richard, you know, mate, can you go over there and help Mary or whatever, you know, it was just, I don't mean Mary, I just mean anybody. But, but he just did that naturally. And so we just worked so well together as a team and it all went really, really well. So after that I just said, well, are you interested in doing a few more? And he went, yeah, why not? So we've sort of unofficially joined forces now, so to speak. And yeah, so I kind of, you know, still do all the organizing and all that side of it.
But Richard comes along on the tour now and brings his magnificent Astro expertise to it all as well. So. Yeah, and it's turned into just a winning combination if I've got to say. I just, I love doing the tours now. I honestly do. Every time a tour is coming up, I get excited and when the tour is over, like it's. It's almost like your favorite dog just died. You know, it's just sort of. You get to miss the people and it's just really sad sort of thing when it comes to an end. So. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, he's made a huge difference.
[00:59:01] Speaker A: And so at the moment, Levin, you're doing, you had the two workshops last year and you have two that are already booked out for next year. Do you think that in time you'll ramp up the volume of workshops or are you happy?
[00:59:15] Speaker D: Yes, yeah, no, no, look, I definitely will.
The problem is I've also got a real job at the moment flying aircraft still. I'm still an active pilot.
[00:59:25] Speaker A: Responsibilities endless.
[00:59:28] Speaker D: Oh, well, you get used to it, you train for it and you understand it. So I don't sort of think about along those sort of lines, but. Yeah, but look, I'm hoping to retire in about three years time to two to three years time. And so as I'm in effect, even from January on, I'm going on to a reduced roster, sort of slowly working my way towards retirement in that regard.
Which is also just another reason why I decided to start doing these workshops and tours. Because I've seen other people retire over the years and literally two or three years later, they literally, I mean, they literally die from boredom. And I thought, no, I'm not going to get myself in that situation. So. And as you can gather with my background, you know, starting as an engineer, then a pilot and then photography into tours, that sort of stuff, I'm a fairly motivated, driven sort of person, so I don't tend to sit on my hands and do nothing. I do enjoy challenge. And so, yeah, this is just another phase in my life is to start sort of doing these tools and ramp them up as time goes on. So, yeah, but you know, slowly, slowly I've got to make sure I'm doing them right. There's no point pumping out a bad product over and over.
[01:00:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:00:41] Speaker D: So I'm making sure I'm getting them right and as I get them more and more right, I'll sort of expand into other disciplines. In fact, probably jumping the gun a little bit here, but I'm hardly likely to head over to Norway.
[01:00:55] Speaker C: Sorry, breaking news.
[01:00:57] Speaker D: Breaking news. Yeah, look, I'm Very seriously thinking of heading over to Norway in February, March next year, just purely to do research and reconnaissance over there with the possibility of turning that into a tour in 2026. So I'm still very early research stages for that.
I did go over to America earlier this year in February and did Death Valley and Monument Valley and that sort of general area.
The Canyon or Grand Canyon obviously, but that was the name of the other little canyon in the area. But anyway, Bryce Canyon. That's what I'm thinking of there.
[01:01:39] Speaker C: I went there this year as well. Yep.
[01:01:42] Speaker D: Stunning. Did you really? Yeah, yeah.
[01:01:45] Speaker C: In May and June we did a road basically from LA through like down to the Grand Canyon, up through.
We didn't go to Monument Valley though. We end up skipping it. We just got. We went. We did.
What's it called?
The one that everyone goes to. Yes, Amity.
[01:02:04] Speaker D: Yellowstone.
[01:02:05] Speaker C: No, Yellowstone. But basically we went up along the coast up to Yellowstone, down to the Grand Canyon and then up through Arizona and stuff. Went to Bryce Canyon and the one that has Angels Landing. There's so many that I keep forgetting.
That's the other thing.
[01:02:23] Speaker D: There's so much in that area, isn't there? It's just. There's so much to see.
[01:02:26] Speaker C: We got, we almost got. I mean we had a great time but we almost got burnt out on. That's why we, we skipped Monument Valley. We were like, man, we have just been. Been getting like hit with amazing national parks over and over again and it was getting a bit busy because it was coming into tourist season. So we skipped Monument Valley and a couple of other potential ones. But yeah, it was like there. Amazing. Bryce came very quick.
[01:02:51] Speaker D: I totally agree. It's a breathtaking location and there's so much to see in such a. I'll say relatively short area as well. A relatively small area. Yeah. It still might be four or five hours drive apart but it's not a two day flight to get there or anything like that. So. As in to get from one area to another. So there's just so much to see in a relatively small area. It's brilliant. But I went over there.
[01:03:15] Speaker C: Sorry, goes just never mind. It's not that interesting but when you said. But you said before you took. You take two cameras in case one breaks and that sort of stuff. I took one camera for three months.
One camera with a fixed lens for three months of national parks.
[01:03:36] Speaker D: Well, that would force you into exploring all of the avenues with that camera.
[01:03:40] Speaker C: It sure did. It makes you walk. Walk a lot more and yeah, it was. I really Enjoyed it. I would go back now to traveling with a little tiny bit more gear. But it was a, it was a fun experience, that's for sure.
[01:03:53] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. Look at one of the hardest decisions you got to ever make. I get this from my guests all the time and even I struggle with it. It's not what to bring because you want to bring everything. It's what do I leave behind. And that can be such a hard decision. But. But I've learned to really bit like you've just mentioned, then really simplify it, dumb it down and just bring the absolute basics. And I've found that just works best. I really do.
[01:04:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:04:18] Speaker D: And yeah, but.
[01:04:21] Speaker C: I was just going to say worst case. You get over there and you go, wow, really would have been nice to have a telephone telephoto. But, oh, well, you know, like the worst, worst case, you. And then, you know, next time maybe I'll bring a telephoto lens like you.
[01:04:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:04:33] Speaker C: But it's not, you know, it's. Sometimes it's good to be left wanting a little bit. You know, you don't want to go with. Go with nothing. But yeah, it's the worst case.
[01:04:43] Speaker D: But I've also found that there's almost always a workaround as well. So like you're saying the telephoto, you know, like I usually only trouble with. Now up to a 70 millimeter lens, I don't even bother taking my 70 to 200 anymore.
So 70 mil was sort of look for the style of photography I do. You know, landscape and Astra. So if you're shooting wildlife safari and that sort of stuff, clearly you need the telephoto lens. But the point is, if I get to somewhere where, gee, I do need more than 70 mil, I either just put the camera into APS C mode and that instantly buys me another 0.4, 0.4, 0.5. I've forgotten on my camera now. But anyway, it buys me that more. But with the 5, it's a 60 megapixel camera, so I'll crop in later. Yeah, all the details still there. And likewise the other way, if it's a really expansive vista and you just want to get it and 24mil is not wide enough or 20mil is the other lens I take. If it's not wide enough, do a panorama.
[01:05:40] Speaker B: Exactly.
[01:05:43] Speaker D: There's always a way around it. Yeah. Yeah. And so I've learned.
[01:05:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:05:46] Speaker D: If you just dumb it all down. And so I've reached the point now I literally do just take two bodies, but Only the second one, well, two as a spare and also I might be doing one with stills and one with time lapse, but I literally take two bodies and two lenses now and that's the end of it.
[01:06:02] Speaker C: So what's the other. What's the other lens then? What. So is a 24 to 72.8? Is that like that's your primary workhorse lens, correct?
[01:06:10] Speaker D: Yeah, yep. That's the Sony 24-70G Master 2 and. But the other one now, Yeah, I look only because it's more.
It's more compatible with the R5 with the autofocus system. The lens has got a dual high speed autofocus system in the lens, but the only camera that can drive it is the R5. So I originally had the original G Master and loved it. It's sort of my go to lens, the 2470. But when I upgraded to the 5 body, I also upgraded the lens to so that the two would match and I just worked better together. So that was the only real reason I did that. Yeah, yeah, but. And the other lens that I take with me, which is one I predominantly use for astro, is the 20 millimeter F 1.8. It's just a G series lens, but it's. It's as good as a G Master. All the specs are the same as a G Master. It's just at a G price. So it's actually not an expensive lens in the scheme of things.
But they're the two lenses that I travel with now. And as I say, I find that covers, you know, 95% of everything I want to shoot anyway. And the other 5%, I just work around it.
[01:07:32] Speaker C: That's a nice, simple kit. That's awesome.
[01:07:34] Speaker A: Yep.
[01:07:35] Speaker D: Yeah. But it took me a few years to figure that out, though. Like everybody else, I started going with everything. You know, you just.
[01:07:43] Speaker A: I remember my first trip to Japan. I took everything. I took two Fuji bodies and all my lenses because I thought I don't want to miss the shot. But by the third day, I left my camera bag in the hotel room, was just walking around with one body and a 23 millimeter and a 16 millimeter prime. Yeah, because I was just. I was. It was destroying my enjoyment of being in Japan because I was so worried about this heavy backpack and. And I couldn't buy any souvenirs or, you know, trinkets or anything because the bag was chockers. And so by my last trip to Japan in 2019, all I took was a Fujifilm XC4 with a 23 millimeter and my Fujifilm X70, which has a fixed 18 millimeter lens. And as it turned out, I mostly just use the X70. And I would walk out my hotel room with my passport, a spare battery in my pocket and the camera, and that was it. It was such a better experience than those first few trips.
Just, you know, not having to lug, not having to worry about it. Just. Yeah. Making it work.
[01:08:45] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Levin, I was gonna ask you something before with the. The workshops and education and stuff like that. Have you found that your, I guess, understanding of photography has increased dramatically by having to explain things, being able to explain things to other people? Like in.
[01:09:05] Speaker D: Absolutely. Yeah, definitely.
I sort of also learned that because even at work, with my flying on, one of the ground instructors there. So when new pilots come into Jetstar, they spend their first week with me and we go through all. It's not flying, instructing, it's all the ground side of stuff. So.
But I've found, yeah, if you.
If you don't know it yourself, you can't possibly teach it, so therefore it forces you to know it. And there's a bit of the old saying, those who do, can, those who understand teach. And so it's really important that you understand what's going on so that you can teach. So. Yeah, definitely. You know, I've had to put a lot of. Well, I would say makes it sound like a chore, but I really do enjoy it. But, you know, I've spent hours and hours and hours and hours researching stuff and working out how to do things. And it's everything from reading to YouTube videos to just sheer experimentation. And that worked and that didn't. So I won't bother with that again. And, you know, you do that as a passion because I just really enjoy it. But from that you learn and therefore you are able to sort of. Yeah. Show others and impart that knowledge onto others that are also going through that phase. So. Yeah, so definitely. Yeah, you're exactly right. The more.
Yeah. Teaching forces you to make sure you know it.
[01:10:28] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[01:10:29] Speaker A: I have a question.
[01:10:31] Speaker C: I have a question about your own photography. Do you have.
Okay, first, is there a tour that you would be keen on attending? Now, obviously, probably a bit busy at the moment because you're still working and trying to get your own tours kind of happening. But if you had the time, is there a tour with a photographer to a certain destination that you would be keen on?
[01:10:57] Speaker D: Yeah, all of them, yes.
I got a bit like every time I go on, in fact, only yesterday I noticed there's somebody running a tour to Namibia. I just want to think of the photographer's name now. He was an international photographer and I thought, oh yeah, that'd be cool, you know, because I've always wanted to go there and.
But I guess it's more a place of bucket list items and yeah, look, Patagonia is on my list but I think I'm getting a bit too old for that because everything I've read, it's a very strenuous like five to seven day hike and although they have, you know, porters that will carry tents and camping gear and that sort of stuff, you still gotta lug your backpack and tripod and all that sort of stuff around for seven to 10 days and you're literally, you know, sleeping on the ground on a rock for all of that time. And I just thought, I don't think I might be getting it too old and too spoiled for that sort of thing. So as much as I would love the area, I'll wait for them to bring out the first class tour on that one.
[01:12:01] Speaker A: Glamping.
[01:12:04] Speaker D: Yeah, yes. Yeah, yeah, Helicopter me. That's a good idea. Yeah, it should do that. Yeah, yeah.
[01:12:10] Speaker A: What about you? Justin is there. Sorry, Levin, you go on.
[01:12:13] Speaker D: No, no, go for it.
[01:12:14] Speaker A: I was just going to ask Justin, is there a workshop and a presenter you'd want to work with, do a.
[01:12:19] Speaker C: Tour or a workshop with man, A specific presenter? Not really.
Like there's a ton of people that, that I know that run great workshops but it's that kind of. Unfortunately the ones that I've been attracted to are all those bucket list ones that I just not on the cards for me financially like Antarctica and you know, safaris in Africa. Like some of the stuff that Jay Collier runs and even Matt Crummons I think has been advertising some of them that kind of.
[01:12:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I think he's there at the moment or he's just come back.
[01:12:53] Speaker C: Yeah. And then there's always the, you know, the Iceland stuff, there's the Norway stuff, you know, see the light. But I think I'm kind of still at the, you know, like, as much as I'd love to, and I'd love to be in a group of photographers, I look at the price tags and I'm.
[01:13:12] Speaker D: It's.
[01:13:12] Speaker C: They're a little bit out of reach for me sometimes in terms of the stuff that I really love to do, you know, you see that price tag of eight grand, 12 grand or whatever, plus air fares is probably not in my scope of things right now.
So I'm still kind of like the, you know, I'll just, I'll just romp around Vietnam on a scooter with my camera for your partner jogs along beside you. Yeah, yeah, exactly. For a lot, a lot less money.
But this certainly a big list of things that I'm, I'm pretty keen on. If I can somehow wangle my way onto, onto tours by, I don't know, doing something, giving him a million camera straps or something like that. I'll try that. But what I, what I am interested in is, is there anywhere that you go, Levin, to find tours or to stay up to date with tours that people are releasing?
And if not, like, how do people find tours, good tours, how do people that are thinking I want to do this, but what, I don't know what photographers are going, where and when they release their tour that's already sold out and you're like, damn it, I missed it. Like, how can people find cool tours?
[01:14:29] Speaker D: It can be very challenging. I agree. Because it's not as though there's a central website for all of this sort of stuff or anything like that. You've literally got to start researching individuals names or.
[01:14:41] Speaker C: I've thought about making one, but it seems like it would be a lot of work keeping it updated, like making, I would imagine. Yeah, yeah.
[01:14:49] Speaker D: I think you'd have to be a bit of an IT expert, not a photographer to be able to achieve that.
I. But you are quite correct. Look, sometimes, you know, Google, the old Google is amazing what it can reveal these days, there's no doubt about it.
But I found a lot of it is word of mouth, which certainly people's.
[01:15:11] Speaker C: Own social followings and stuff like that, you know, like they'll just put it out on their Instagram or something and.
[01:15:18] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, exactly right.
I've found almost all of my guests on tours, people that have generally done a workshop with me in the past. It's certainly not a prerequisite, nothing like that. But they get to know me and they get comfortable with me and so they're then willing to take the next step of, well, okay, I'll risk my six or eight thousand dollars to go on a tour with Levin because I know I really enjoyed that workshop, you know, two months ago, something like that. So definitely it's to a certain extent it's still very much a little cottage industry in one way.
So yeah, I found most of the guests have come through people that have already done workshops with me or have had some sort of interaction with me anyway in the Past.
And now that Richard's on board with running these tours with me as well, it's the same with him. All the people that have come on the tour so far are people that he knows, or I'll rephrase that, people who have already done a workshop with him and they know him and he knows him and that sort of stuff. So there's kind of already this element of trust and understanding I did do. In fact, the reason I went over to America in February this year was to do a workshop with a guy over there at Death Valley.
He's one of the few people around who can sort of do advanced astrophotography training and that sort of thing. So I did go with him, but I better admit, overall, I wasn't particularly impressed.
Very poor value for money.
It cost me a lot of money to do it, but I still had to supply my own car to get around and buy all my own meals. So basically all he was supplying was accommodation and him, nothing more. But it was still costing me an absolute bomb. So I don't regret doing it because I learned stuff and there's no problems there. The only sad thing, which is totally out of his control was the night before I got to Death Valley, they literally had a year's worth of rain that night, and 99% of it was all flooded out. In fact, I had to drive through flooded roads to get to it. But, yeah, so that was sort of one situation where, okay, I probably wouldn't do a tour again with him because I just. It was not that he did it badly or anything like that. I really. At the end of the day, I kind of really have no complaints. He actually did as well as he could, given the circumstances, but overall, I just found it very poor value for money.
Sometimes you've just got to take a leap of faith. But certainly, yeah, if you do sort of, you know, Google nailed it. Start with the location, find the area that you're interested in going, Google that. And if you end up with a number of choices from that point, all I can say is, yeah, do your research on the guide and try and, you know, sort of get feedback from people that have already done a tour with him or already had some sort of interaction with them, just to understand, because I don't personally, I. Everyone that I've dealt with or had an interaction with who run tours, I'll say, in Australia, and that sort of stuff are all very good. I honestly can't think of one person where I just. Not that I'm about to mention Names anyway. But I honestly, honestly can't think of one person where I go, oh God, no, don't go with them, you know, blah, blah, blah.
I think, I think most of them, a little bit like me, they have a genuine passion for photography and willing and willing to impart their knowledge and all that sort of stuff as well.
Whether they've got the ability to do that. That's probably the biggest thing is it's one thing to have the knowledge, but it's totally another thing to be able to pass it on to somebody else in a way that they understand and it's another skill set and appreciate it is. Yeah, it's definitely a skill set. Yeah, I've sort of been doing it in aviation for 15 years with the ground instructing and all that sort of stuff.
And so I sort of, hopefully, anyway, I've sort of got those skills to be able to do the same in photography, just to try and explain things clearly to people so that they understand. And particularly with astro, it's a complex topic and very few people get it the first time. And so you've just got to be understanding and patient and you will eventually get there.
[01:19:45] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. I think also it's underestimated how, how much of a skill set it is to just host people and coordinate a tour from. Just from the logistics. One side, problem solving, keeping everything moving on time and on track, but also being able to see if people are having a good time, make sure that, that they're not being left behind or left out or anything like that. But without having to kind of constantly ask everybody, you're just kind of aware of the group dynamic and individuals, that that's a skill and it's not something that every photographer has. And even amazing photographers that have the knowledge and can teach knowledge just might not be a great tour host in terms of people just having a good time, you know, so that's something else.
[01:20:35] Speaker D: Yeah, you're spot on. And certainly with the logistics. Look, I find it's very time consuming creating a tour. There's no doubt about it. Like I'll spend months and months creating a tour, but my gonna sound like I'm really up myself here. I'm not trying to make it sound that way, but my job as a pilot, I don't fly airplanes, I manage risk. That's my whole job is I predict a potential risk and I manage it before it's even happened. And it may never happen. Hopefully it'll never happen. But if it does happen, I've already managed it and so You've got to approach the tour from the same perspective. What happens if this goes wrong? What happens if there isn't accommodation available there? What happens if the car breaks down, all that sort of stuff. So you've got to think ahead of all of these unforeseen. Well, unforeseen is always unforeseen, but potential risks with running the tour and have a backup plan for it so that you can sort of work your way around it and through it. And once you've done that and you're on top of that, then to be honest, it's fairly. It's just fun because I've sort of already. Hopefully not always, but hopefully I've already worked out all the problems and have solved them before they even come up. So, yeah, that's sort of one of the things that I sort of. I guess I'm good at because I do it every day anyway. But you're right, the group dynamics. So far I've had really, really good groups of people. I haven't had one single person that's been awkward or painful.
I have to take my hat off to photographers generally. Most photographers are just really nice people who are just there to have a good time and have fun. And yeah, it's been great.
[01:22:18] Speaker B: I think if they're investing that kind of money, you're not going to like you're getting. Everyone's there for the right reason, there to do the same thing.
They understand like what, what we're trying to. Everyone's trying to achieve. So.
[01:22:31] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. Where it really shows through is when you get a bad day, weather wise or something like that.
Everyone wants the amazing shoot or the amazing sunset and all that sort of stuff. Well, sometimes you just don't get it. Some days, you know, sunrise and sunset is just crap. But you've, you've. They understand that because they've been doing it long enough to realize that. Yeah, you know, some, some days are winners and some days are just absolute bombs.
But even on the bomb days, there's always a way to make it work. There's always a way. So I found that it's. Sometimes you're just going to make that mental mind change, that sort of. That you just got to swap your brain basically. So, yeah, you're expecting this lovely glorious sunrise. Well, it's not there today. Put that aside. Forget it, that ain't happening. So now swap your brain into a different mode and let's make the best out of what's in front of me. And if you can achieve that, then that Reality also can make a real big difference. And that's sort of one of the things that I've sort of tried to impart on the people during the tour is. Okay, today didn't work out as we were expecting, but we can still get some really good shots no matter what.
[01:23:40] Speaker A: Yeah, very good. Jim, I was just going to ask you before we move on to the next segment, is there a photography tour that you would like to do that's on your wish list at the moment?
[01:23:52] Speaker B: No.
What about these ones for photography? Not at the moment.
Yeah, I'm kind of content and. Yeah, busy, probably in other areas is probably me at the moment, so.
[01:24:07] Speaker A: Fair enough.
Fair enough.
[01:24:10] Speaker B: Thank you.
[01:24:10] Speaker D: All right.
[01:24:11] Speaker C: No, he doesn't want to go anywhere. Well, yeah, never mind.
[01:24:17] Speaker A: Yeah, we were gonna. Yeah, this was your Christmas present. We'd worked out. That's why we're not having a Christmas party, because we paid for your gift instead.
[01:24:23] Speaker C: That's right.
[01:24:24] Speaker B: You can still send me somewhere.
[01:24:25] Speaker A: Yeah, okay.
[01:24:26] Speaker D: All right, we'll work it out, Elmore.
[01:24:29] Speaker A: Now, Justin, have you got a set of images that we can have a look at while Levin is here to judge? And we're not judge, but to.
[01:24:36] Speaker B: No, we're judging.
[01:24:37] Speaker A: Yeah, we're judging.
[01:24:38] Speaker C: Yeah, I do. I should explain.
[01:24:41] Speaker D: Don't explain.
[01:24:42] Speaker A: Explain it to Levin.
[01:24:43] Speaker D: And for those that.
[01:24:44] Speaker A: First timers.
[01:24:45] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm. I'm in week seven of a photography challenge, Levin. I seem to pick random things to do to try and improve my photography. This is a bit of a weird one. I decided seven weeks ago that each week on the podcast I would submit a set of 12 images.
No more, no less. Must be 12.
And they would have some sort of theme tying them together, kind of like a photo essay. But not all of them have ended up like that because I'm a person with a life and it's a busy time of year, so. Excuses, excuses. I'm really setting this one up. Last week was sort of similar, but this one's probably even worse. So I've just been experimenting with different themes and stuff like that.
And most of them have been shooting JPEG images straight out of camera as well, just to add another level of no editing it. Really focus on the images.
Anyway, this is.
[01:25:48] Speaker D: Sounds like a fun challenge.
[01:25:50] Speaker C: It is a fun challenge. And I think I'm going to tell you what the go is with this week's set, because it's not something you guys can uncover by looking at the images, and the images aren't great, so.
[01:26:01] Speaker B: But maybe that's. Maybe that's A common theme that they're not great.
[01:26:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:26:06] Speaker D: Maybe that's the story.
[01:26:09] Speaker C: Yeah. See, I've. I've done it. I don't even have to show you them. They suck.
[01:26:14] Speaker A: All right, come on, let's see them.
[01:26:16] Speaker C: All right, so the. My look, it has been very, very busy. Let me get rid of these banners and branding.
Hide. There we go. It's been a busy week. Honestly, it's been. This challenge has been challenging, which is the point this week. I didn't want to do this. I had no ideas of photos to take, and I. I'm just tired. And I was like, I don't know what to do. I even contemplated getting on the podcast and being like, I. Sorry, I'm not doing it this week.
But then I decided that it is the challenges that make us better and that pushing through is what will drive the adaption of becoming a better photographer. So I thought, I'm just going to come up with something that doesn't require me to think creatively, and it doesn't matter if the images suck. And so what I did yesterday, I set an alarm for every hour on the hour for 12 hours.
And when that alarm went off, I had to grab my camera and take a photo of what I was doing.
[01:27:21] Speaker A: That's interesting.
[01:27:24] Speaker C: And obviously, the first hour, when it come around, I was like, kind of knowing that it was coming up or whatever. But as I got into my day, the idea was to kind of forget what time it was. I don't really keep an eye on the time too much while I'm working because I don't have a job, and just kind of let it unfold. And when that. So when it went off, the buzzer would go off, and within 60 seconds, I had to grab my camera and take a photo of what I was up to at the time. And these are those photos.
[01:27:52] Speaker A: All right.
[01:27:53] Speaker B: We might have been able to guess this.
[01:27:56] Speaker C: Obviously. Obviously working.
[01:28:00] Speaker B: What time is this?
[01:28:02] Speaker C: This would be 9:00am the first shot was at 8:00am Hungry, hungry boy.
I was outside.
[01:28:19] Speaker B: Grasses looks dead.
[01:28:21] Speaker A: Oh, that's interesting. That's cool. Yeah.
[01:28:36] Speaker C: I was trying to. My hard drive filled up.
There's a sequence of shots from here. I picked this one, but I was having a tough time. My hard drive filled up. I was trying to transfer stuff and. Yeah, you know, when you just get lost in a mess of files that you're trying to move to different hard drives and things, it was.
It was a rough time.
[01:28:56] Speaker A: It's a really good photo.
[01:28:57] Speaker C: Yeah, that's my favorite one, I think.
[01:29:01] Speaker D: What camera are you using for this? Your phone camera or.
[01:29:04] Speaker C: No, no, this is the Canon R5, but it's actually with the new Tamron crop sensor lens. It's one of the first autofocus like third party lenses available, which I've been testing. I gotta send it back. So all of these were shot in a crop mode, which is why they kind of look like Fuji and. But it's a, it's a good lens. So it's a wide angle like equivalent of roughly a 16 to 30 mil wide angle. Roughly.
[01:29:33] Speaker D: Okay.
[01:29:38] Speaker C: This is what real photographers desks look like.
[01:29:41] Speaker D: Yeah, that is.
[01:29:41] Speaker B: That is chaos.
[01:29:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I thought you'd like that.
[01:29:44] Speaker B: Jim, that is not neat at all.
[01:29:47] Speaker C: You're not neat and.
[01:30:00] Speaker A: Shifting with your right hand.
[01:30:03] Speaker C: Yep.
And that's that.
Actually I like.
[01:30:11] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a cool shadow actually.
[01:30:13] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:30:13] Speaker A: And I like that it started and stopped with like it started and finished with photos of your feet. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[01:30:21] Speaker D: And the shadows. Everything good.
[01:30:25] Speaker C: The feet were a recurring theme.
[01:30:27] Speaker A: Yeah. You could set up an only fans page.
[01:30:30] Speaker C: I could only feet. There was actually. I miss. I miscounted how many hours I did this for. So there was actually one final shot of me on my, my two weekly mastermind calls that I have with a couple of other guys. One's from Norway actually. Levin.
Yeah, so. So this guy here, this is Carl. Have you ever heard of Valorette gloves? We sell them on the website, but they're a Norway photography glove company. They make gloves for like winter photography that have flipped fingers.
Oh yeah, yeah, this guy. So you can see the gloves, the gloves back. Yeah, so he, he started that company, he runs it and I'm on a call with him every couple of weeks. And this guy's.
[01:31:13] Speaker D: I gotta say, a good cold weather glove is hard to get.
[01:31:16] Speaker C: Wow.
Say no more.
[01:31:20] Speaker B: We know a guy.
[01:31:21] Speaker C: We know a guy.
[01:31:22] Speaker D: Yeah.
[01:31:23] Speaker C: But yeah, he had to. He didn't make the cut. And it actually worked out all right anyway because I did like that it's started and finished by chance with the same kind of thing we walk every morning and afternoon. I was actually waiting for Yelena at the front when this, when the alarm went off.
So, yeah, that's. That's it. Look, obviously they're not. Not amazing images, but you know, I.
[01:31:45] Speaker B: Think the theme is probably like, even though you're saying the photography is, you know, it's not like when you're in Vietnam. But I actually think the theme is probably the most interesting part of this.
[01:31:57] Speaker C: Well, I wanted to do a. I wanted to do A Like a day in the life of kind of thing at some stage. And honestly, the thought of doing that this week was just painful. Like having to make the decisions of what to shoot and stuff like that. So this. It took it well. Just what activities, you know, like, do I do. I take the camera to the gym and show me at the gym. And then it sort of became like, what is this? Like a social media kind of highlights of your day kind of thing. I didn't want it to be that. I wanted it to be just whatever is happening at the time with no thought about what will I do, what will I capture, you know?
Yeah. Anyway, that's. So this. This was legitimately me trying to deal with these ones didn't make it in, but trying to deal with this full hard drive, it was.
It was painful.
[01:32:51] Speaker B: This. This view could be a new podcast here.
[01:32:54] Speaker C: Yeah, right up the nose, up upwards.
Anyway, so, yeah, so look, that's. That's that. I got it done.
Challenges are supposed to be hard. That was my lesson this week.
[01:33:07] Speaker A: Yeah, very interesting.
[01:33:09] Speaker D: I like how they're all black and white.
Yeah, I like how they're all black and white. And I know the first and the last one you guys are talking about feet, but I'm actually looking at the shadow as I reckon the shadows are really interesting.
And particularly that there. That one there. You've got a beautiful separation between your shadow and the person in front. So that's the bit I'm looking at. Not so much for you.
[01:33:34] Speaker A: I actually like the one of you stressing over your hard.
[01:33:41] Speaker C: So look how well this lens focus, though. It's actually pretty cool.
[01:33:46] Speaker B: Yeah, it doesn't look that good in the large view over the screen, but when you zoomed in, then you can actually see it's obviously super sharp, so.
[01:33:53] Speaker C: It is sharp. Yeah.
[01:33:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:33:56] Speaker D: It's such a unique perspective as well. So it's very, very unusual. Yeah.
[01:34:02] Speaker C: And if anyone wants any old investing advice, Warren Buffett is a pretty smart man.
I discovered after listening to him talk for an hour and eight minutes yesterday.
[01:34:13] Speaker D: Wow.
[01:34:15] Speaker C: Yeah, he's funny, too.
Anyway, so that's it. That's week. Week seven done.
[01:34:23] Speaker A: And given that you found the week hard, challenging to come up, how do you think, what are you feeling about moving into this week's challenge?
[01:34:32] Speaker C: I haven't even thought about it yet, honestly.
Hopefully something will happen over the weekend that inspires me to take the camera and maybe shoot in. In a situation that's not, you know, just me having to come up with something to shoot for.
[01:34:48] Speaker B: The.
[01:34:48] Speaker C: You know, if I'm. If I'm thrown into a situation, I can start to maybe uncover a story of whatever that is. Yeah, cool. But, yeah, I'm. I don't know. I keep feeling like the photos aren't very good. That's the problem that I'm having.
[01:35:04] Speaker D: I think you should stop thinking, what are you finding is harder? Is it harder to come up with the theme for what you're wanting to do or an idea of what you want to do? Or is it harder to actually take the photos?
I'd imagine, for me, I would have thought the hardest thing of all would be to try to decide, what am I going to shoot today? What. What topic, what theme? What sort of thing am I looking at? Once you've got that cemented in your mind, then actually taking the photos is your next challenge. So what do you find the hardest? To dream up the idea or to actually do it?
[01:35:34] Speaker C: It's a bit of both. Sometimes. I haven't had to worry about coming up with the theme because it's just been a. So when I did some weeks where I was in Vietnam and it was. What I would do is shoot, and as I was shooting, the theme would kind of uncover itself. So I wasn't going out sort of thinking, I'm going to try and take shots with a certain theme. I would shoot and then uncover the story through editing the photos down. A set of 12 that told hopefully some sort of story. And that was part of the process that was. Was interesting.
So it depends on the week. And honestly, it's. It's been.
It's been different each week as to what the hard part was.
But the hardest part has always been that the images don't seem great because I'm not going out and shooting, you know, epic sunsets or whatever.
I don't know what's.
[01:36:32] Speaker B: What's the challenge supposed to be doing for you, though? Is it supposed to be making you just think more and, you know, push through challenges? Because, you know, obviously this week you didn't want to do it, but you did. And I actually think, like, from my perspective, this theme is probably the best theme you've had.
[01:36:51] Speaker C: Thanks.
[01:36:51] Speaker B: Like, so, you know, maybe, yeah, maybe a photo of your bacon and eggs isn't that interesting. But I think the theme. The theme holds up the photos.
[01:37:00] Speaker C: Yeah. Which is why I thought I just needed to explain it first. Because if. Yeah, again, if I did it just whenever I wanted throughout the day, I think, actually, yeah, there probably would have been then more pressure to pretend I'm an interesting person.
[01:37:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:37:15] Speaker C: And to take better photos because I could take them whenever the perfect photo arose through the day. You know, like, yeah, you could have.
[01:37:21] Speaker B: Taken the bacon and eggs outside and shot with some nice light or put them on, like put them on the grass or something.
[01:37:25] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Or I went for a hike at sunset and I just happened to, you know, be in the perfect spot for this amazing shot or whatever.
[01:37:33] Speaker D: And that's why I think you also.
[01:37:35] Speaker A: Need to stop classing your or grading your own photos as being good or not interesting or not good. You know, you've spent a decade training yourself to look for perfection and to capture perfection and to edit perfection for a client. You're still in a process of untraining yourself from that. So when you take an everyday photojournalistic style shot, you don't see its value because to you that's, you know, the composition's out or the, you know, the background didn't blur the way I wanted. But I think there's more for you to learn.
I think, I think you need to stop grading yourself. I think you just need to go, these are the shots I took and focus on the story.
[01:38:17] Speaker C: Okay.
[01:38:18] Speaker A: Because I think your natural skills will flow through. You've got the skill set, we all know that, we've all seen it. You know that you've got the necessary skills to take amazing shots, focus more on the story, the shots will follow.
Yeah, okay, that, that's my advice.
But, but yeah, look, I think, I.
[01:38:39] Speaker D: Think what the, at least the set that you presented today reminds me a little bit almost like street photography. And that's again, it's one of those areas that like any genre of photography takes a while to build up those skills. And so the old story, you know, they're always not the best photos initially, but as time goes on and you just repeat the process and you, you get better at it. And so I think stick with it and probably as just mentioned, don't judge yourself quite so harshly.
We'll do that for you.
Yeah, I don't know if you're into competitions or any of that sort of stuff, you know, but competitions can be soul destroying if you really take them to heart.
[01:39:23] Speaker C: That's the other topic I wanted to dig into with you because you've done quite a bit of that actually very quickly. I'll just read this comment out, but then, yeah, I had some questions around the competition side of things.
This comment is agree with Jim. Probably meant to be difficult and being less than happy with the results is how we all feel probably most of the time. So in that respect the challenge is doing its job. Yeah.
So questions about photo awards? One actually before that 11. Have you ever done any projects like this of any kind of sort, any like photo a day or any kind of challenges you've set yourself to to try and improve your photography or anything like that?
[01:40:10] Speaker D: Look, I'll say rarely.
I did a couple of years ago I set myself a bit of a challenge to simplify everything.
I wouldn't go so far as to say minimalist photography, but I definitely sort of tried to set myself basically just a camera and a 50 mil lens and go out and take really simple, clear, not clear as in focus, I mean clear concept I suppose, sort of images where you just sort of try and capture the subject and the meaning and cut out all the peripheral stuff that's not really adding to the photo. So I did that for about a month or so some years ago. It was good. I sort of learned from that.
I've got to say that did help eventually later on with my composition with landscape and seascape is to what do you keep in and what do you keep out and if it's not adding to the story, try and get rid of it. So I did find it beneficial. So yeah, I'd say keep doing it because it might reveal benefits in an area later on that you just weren't expecting.
So if you're sticking with this idea of doing a theme and different photos, that sort of stuff, you know, if some of your photos aren't working out as well as you'd hoped, so what? But you will eventually get photos that you are happy with and that may well transfer in some other aspect of your photography in a completely different field that you weren't expecting and probably you won't even know it at the time. It won't be until months later that you realize oh yeah, doing that particular project clarified a few things for me later on. So stick with it. But I don't do that often, I must say. But yeah, definitely a little bit in the past.
[01:42:03] Speaker C: And tell us a little bit about what you have done with entering photography awards and how that has pushed you in terms of improving your photography.
[01:42:15] Speaker D: Yeah, look, I guess it all started mostly with the camera club because I was in the or still am in the SM camera club. It's a club that is fairly competition focused. Not all clubs are, but in the Essendon club they do hold a monthly club competition. So every second meeting is basically a competition night and it's just internally within the Club, we do get external judges in to judge them. And so I guess I kind of went down that path initially and then I expanded that into the more wider competition scene, but still very much through the Club Network.
And I ended up getting associate, actually. I have to go grab the certificate to see what it says. I've forgotten the actual name, but there's various levels of competition, awards or standards that you can get through the Club Competition Network. And by this I mean it's a worldwide thing, so you can enter international competitions and domestic competitions and all that sort of stuff, but it's all done through the Australian Photographic Society.
And so because you're a club member, you're eligible to join these. And I'd suggest for anyone who does want to start down the path of competitions, that's a really good place to start because it's relatively inexpensive.
Most of the competitions are free. You might have to pay 5 or $10 for an entry in some of them, something like that. But on the scheme of things, it's relatively inexpensive.
The moment you start going down commercial competitions, like with magazines and that sort of stuff, it can work out to be very expensive. You can be paying up to $50 per entry in some of these competitions, sometimes even more. And the other thing with commercial competitions is you've got to be very wary of who's running them because there's plenty of people in India and Asia who literally run competitions in order to make a profit out of it. They couldn't care less how your competition, sorry, how your image stacks up into competition.
And they're probably not even judged at all. All they simply want is your $50 entrance fee and then four months later they'll spit it, oh, yeah, this guy won and this guy won with absolutely no feedback or that sort of stuff. Or I've even had one competition where just never heard from them ever, you know, that they got my 40 or $60 entry fee and then that was the end of that. Just never heard from. So you've got to be very wary of commercial competitions. Do them with reputable organizations.
But look, I'd certainly suggest that the Club Network is a place to go if you want to.
[01:44:53] Speaker A: I think it's a good starting point.
[01:44:55] Speaker D: It's a good thing.
[01:44:56] Speaker A: That's always. That's always turned me off the fee. Starting off as a photographer and being excited about a competition that I could enter, then finding the website, starting the process, only to discover that there's a pay to play fee involved. You know, I understand why it's there but it's always just turned me off.
[01:45:17] Speaker D: Yeah, and you did. Right. And that's why I sort of recommend the club. There's still a small expense involved, but for the most part it's relatively cheap. And also they're well recognized, reputable competitions that are run by the Australian Photographic Society. So I think it's. You're going to get good feed. Yeah, yeah.
The other thing I'll say about competitions is think about why you're doing it. Why am I entering a competition? And if it's for the glory, you're going to be bitterly disappointed because it's very, very rare to win a competition, that sort of thing. And so if you're in it for your ego or your glory, you're just going to get destroyed.
But I think the way I approach it and the way I look at it is it's not like a race. You can't look at, like a race where you come first, second or third. Because if you look at it that way, as I say, your soul is going to be destroyed within a matter of months.
You've got to look at it from the long term perspective and the big picture. And that is, if I start entering competitions in the first year, I might end up with say 15 acceptances. And in the club world and acceptance means that it's, it's reached a level where it's good enough to be accepted, to be judged. And so if you get an acceptance, that means that your photos are at a certain level and from that point on that's when they start giving awards and merits and honors and all that sort of stuff if they're better and better and better. So in the first year you might end up with 15 acceptances and you go, okay, that's all right. The next year you might end up with 20 acceptances and five honourable mentions. And the year after that you might end up with 40 acceptances, five or 20 honourable mentions, 15 merits and maybe even a third. And as each year goes on, your general results just improve and get better and better and better. And so I do the competitions mainly because it's letting me know how I am progressing generally as a photographer, is my skill level improving.
And if the number of awards and acceptances and that sort of stuff is sort of slowly going up and up and up and up, then I know that generally my standard is getting better. And so that's the way I approach competitions. And when you get to the stage where you start getting, you know, top 25s and top tens in commercial competitions and that sort of stuff then, you know, you sort of, yeah, you're sort of getting up there, you're well and truly, you know, into that sort of more knowledgeable bracket, I suppose, of photographers and experience, that sort of stuff. So I haven't got any better than that yet. So I don't know how it goes from that point on whether you do start winning a few, whether that does start getting into your ego. I would hope not. But yeah, as I say, the reason I do it is more about. It's just my way of confirming or working out am I on the right path? Am I slowly getting better with this or am I just stagnant? You know, if your results aren't improving over time, you got to start having a bit of a think or why, what, what, you know, what's, what's holding me back here or what additional information or experience or training do I need to sort of try and improve this?
[01:48:54] Speaker A: It certainly makes sense as a good feedback loop. I think you're right because all too often our craft is a lone wolf adventure.
We have photography friends and colleagues or, you know, if you are in a club, you can get feedback from your peers, but it is a good, consistent means of tracking your overall performance as a photographer.
[01:49:15] Speaker D: Yeah. And competitions are really subjective too because, you know, an image, you might enter an image, Greg, that you just love. It's fantastic.
And I'll look at it and I'll go, why did he even bother? Or the other way around, you know, just. Yeah, you see what I mean? So it's such a subjective subject like this.
[01:49:35] Speaker A: It is true, yeah.
[01:49:36] Speaker D: There's composition and there's technique and there's skills. That sort of stuff you gotta have. But at the same time, at the end of the day it's still a very subjective form of art and so you've got to allow for that. And that's what say you can't view it as a first, second, third thing from a particular judge. And I've had images, honestly, I've had an image that it actually won the New York Metropolitan Competition about five years ago. It was a Norway image and it won it outright, the whole competition. I was thrilled. I got a medal and everything. It was fantastic. I then put it in a local competition here in Victoria and it didn't even get accepted, it just got nothing. So it's the thing, as I say. Yeah, you cannot look at it like a first, second, third. You've just got to look at it as a general buildup and improvement of your skills.
[01:50:26] Speaker C: Yeah. And A learning experience, but don't take it to heart, you know, like, just take the learning from it, but don't take. Don't let it crush your soul, like you said. Just exactly right.
[01:50:39] Speaker D: Exactly right.
[01:50:40] Speaker C: Yeah. How can it help me improve and otherwise. Yep. People will think what they think and who knows why they decided that.
It's a very interesting topic and it's one that we want to do on the show because, yeah, we've had multiple. I've seen both angles come at it from, like, photography awards are a great way to kind of improve your skillset and get a bit of feedback and have a bit of fun, hopefully as well. And then to the other side of, like, why would anyone ever think that they could judge someone else's image and give it a score out of 100? How could they possibly be that? I guess cut and dry with something that's so subjective and artistic. And I love both sides of that argument and I think it's a cool discussion to have.
[01:51:25] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.
[01:51:29] Speaker A: No, it doesn't, but it's. It's a good topic. And last week we caught up with Emily Black, who is an Australian photographer, but she's also an international photography judge and an Australian photography judge, obviously. And we're kind of looking at putting together a bit of a panel for a future podcast episode to talk about this topic in greater detail. Just in the interest of time. It's just on 11 o'clock here in Australian Eastern Daylight Time might move towards closing up the show. But just before we do, there's a couple of news articles that I'd like to go across. We haven't had much news for a couple of weeks because it's all been about Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Wacky Wednesday, you know, Taco Tuesday. All these sales have been on. There's been very little news because it's all about selling units. So, Levin, can you hang around for a few more minutes?
[01:52:21] Speaker D: Yeah, no problem.
[01:52:22] Speaker A: While we cover some. Some news articles, please.
Cool.
What's the first one now? The very first one I want to cover is this.
Now the boys. I'm a bit upset. I'm a bit hurt, Levin, because the boys went out and bought matching pajamas and I no longer feel a part of the team. I don't feel like there's a quality in the group.
[01:52:47] Speaker D: They look stolen from the hood.
[01:52:49] Speaker A: They feel they look stunning in their matching pajamas. But they did win an award. Justin. Jim, do you want to tell us a little bit about your. Your accolade?
[01:52:57] Speaker B: You go, Justin.
[01:52:58] Speaker C: Well, it was actually, I'M letting Jim hold it in this picture, but it was actually an award award for me for being able to work with Jim for so long.
And I'm really proud of that award because it has been tough. It's been. It's been A long, long 10 years. And actually, I think a bigger trophy was. Was appropriate.
[01:53:21] Speaker A: Jim, can you give us a real answer?
[01:53:23] Speaker C: I'm blown away how much bigger Jim is than me physically. Look at the guy. He's huge.
[01:53:28] Speaker A: He's ripped.
[01:53:29] Speaker B: I. I'm a step closer to the camera, Justin.
[01:53:32] Speaker C: I don't worry about that.
[01:53:37] Speaker A: So Culture Hitch. What is Culture Hitch? Awards.
[01:53:41] Speaker B: So Culture Hitch is like a local wedding directory that I. Or we're a part of, Justin. Not. Not as much, but his name.
[01:53:51] Speaker A: For someone who doesn't have a job, he's certainly getting some prizes.
[01:53:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
So they. So every Christmas they do like a wedding awards. It's very low key. It's not like who's the best photographer, who's the best celebrant. They're different categories.
We were the joint winners because there was two for anything for the shop, which, yeah, is a pretty cool thing. It's not about, yeah, who's the best photographer?
[01:54:20] Speaker A: It's more about how low you can stoop.
[01:54:22] Speaker C: Pretty much.
[01:54:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:54:23] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
Congratulations to get the photo.
[01:54:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:54:28] Speaker A: That trophy, is that in Jim's. Is that what's casting that pink glow in Jim's office?
[01:54:32] Speaker C: It is just.
[01:54:33] Speaker B: I'm matching my office to the. I wasn't. But that's a good idea.
[01:54:36] Speaker D: It is.
[01:54:37] Speaker A: Congratulations.
[01:54:39] Speaker B: I'd show you the picture, but I don't think it'll show up. But yeah, you can see us in our shirts.
[01:54:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
Stunning.
[01:54:45] Speaker B: So if you can time travel back, Greg, to 2019, you could get one of those shirts too.
[01:54:51] Speaker C: Yeah, they don't sell them anymore.
[01:54:53] Speaker A: Oh, well, okay, let's get to the news.
[01:54:58] Speaker B: Maybe we can wear them on the podcast next week.
[01:55:00] Speaker D: Whatever.
[01:55:01] Speaker C: Yeah, we'll do that.
[01:55:02] Speaker B: No, I've got Christmas cardio.
[01:55:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I've got an invite.
Canon announces new APSC firmware for their R. So that's the R10, R50, R70.
[01:55:17] Speaker B: They're selling it.
[01:55:18] Speaker C: They're selling it.
[01:55:19] Speaker A: They're selling it. They're not just offering it, they're selling it. So this is US$20.
[01:55:25] Speaker C: That's like 4,000 Australian dollars.
[01:55:27] Speaker D: It's.
[01:55:27] Speaker B: It's starting.
[01:55:29] Speaker A: And just so everyone knows, I'm now officially a journalist because I handle all of the news
[email protected] so I, I do daily photography news for that site. So I'm now, I'm now a journalist as well. I can add that to my.
[01:55:42] Speaker C: Fake news. Fake news, whatever.
[01:55:45] Speaker A: So basically they're cropping guides. They're pretty basic cropping guides. So the magenta and blue lines in this shot you can see. Sorry for those of you that are audio podcast listeners, but you can check it out on the, on the video. They're adding framing lines, guidelines basically to achieve better composition. Predominantly for headshots and full body shots.
There are a number of different guides. I think there's four guides to choose from.
The problem is that this is not a standard feature with the APS C R EOS cameras.
So if you want to get this new feature, you have to take your existing R50, R10 and R7, send it to Canon, they will perform an update and send it back to you. You have to pay for postage both ways and US$120 to get the firmware update. So they're not making it something you can just download onto an SD card. It must be something a little bit more deeper than that. Yeah, in, in software.
But 120 US dollars plus postage and you know, the USA is a big country. It could cost you a bit to post and you probably want to insure it.
You can buy your Canon EOS R7 10 or 50 with or without the firmware. And on sites like B H in the states it's 120 difference between one without the firmware, one with the firmware.
It's an interesting move.
[01:57:22] Speaker C: Yeah. That's a terrible idea. That's a terrible idea. What are you doing?
[01:57:27] Speaker A: Well, when you think that a lot of people. Let's, let's just be generalist here. The R10, R50 and R7 entry level canon mirrorless cameras. Would you agree?
[01:57:38] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[01:57:39] Speaker A: I mean, yes. It's an entry level feature in terms of how to compose and frame and keep the, keep your shot in. But I can't see many entry level people paying 120plus posters just to get it.
[01:57:50] Speaker B: No one's going to ship it there. Like they're not shipping their camera for a week or two.
[01:57:54] Speaker A: No. And, and you know there's risk involved with that. Yeah, it's just, it's a weird move by can.
[01:58:02] Speaker B: Very weird.
[01:58:03] Speaker A: And for speed.
[01:58:04] Speaker D: Would it be fair to say, Would it be fair to say it's an optional extra, like an option?
[01:58:08] Speaker A: Oh, it is optional.
Yeah, it's optional. You don't have to do it. And when you, you can actually buy from, from brick and Mortar and online stores, you can buy it with or without the feature.
Which is weird because now they've got two SKUs for the one product.
[01:58:26] Speaker B: Yeah, that's just getting messy, isn't it?
[01:58:28] Speaker A: It's just a really odd move. I don't know that it's actually cost them that much to build this firmware.
[01:58:37] Speaker C: They would have been better off just rolling it out.
I mean, obviously maybe they can't, but putting it into new cameras as a feature to sell them so that when someone comes in and says, I shoot sports, sporting teams and stuff, the person in the shop goes, well, you should buy a cannon because it's got this feature. You know, buy a new. Buy a cannon, crop sensor or whatever. Yeah, just quickly. Hey, Jonathan. Jonathan Ortega. What's up? Hey, Jonathan from the States.
[01:59:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the show, mate. You're gonna have to go back and watch from the start. You've missed all the best bits.
[01:59:07] Speaker C: I don't worry about it.
I met Jonathan in LA at the.
Where was it? The West Coast Classic CrossFit competition. He's a fitness fitness videographer and photographer. I think he does both. Yeah. Runs around doing all sorts of crazy stuff. I, I also believe he may be now the owner of a Leica. I don't know if that is true or not.
[01:59:31] Speaker A: Oh, let us know in the comments. Jonathan. Next bit of news, just quickly, Fuji from Japan how implementing shopping rules for online purchases of their products.
So basically we saw with, especially with the Release of the X100 Limited Edition, lots of people bought that up in mass quantities. There was only 1936 of them made.
Scalpers basically went in, bought a lot of them and then sold them obviously at much higher rates on, you know, Facebook, Marketplace and ebay and places like that.
[02:00:10] Speaker C: So Japan, Greg?
[02:00:12] Speaker A: Well, it's to do with. In Japan only at this stage.
They're basically on their own sales site, they call it a mall. On their own sales mall. They will limit. So you can't. People in the same address can't buy multiple. So like, you know, let's say if you and Yelena went and bought one each at the same address, they won't allow that.
So you can't use multiple names at the same address.
[02:00:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[02:00:36] Speaker A: They also will not let you know like an individual buy more than one.
[02:00:40] Speaker D: Yeah.
[02:00:41] Speaker A: And also they're going to be more proactive about shop fronts like e commerce sites being forced to take down products that are being sold at a ridiculous margin because of scalpers.
[02:00:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[02:00:55] Speaker A: So at the moment that's only in Japan, obviously. They only have so much control. But I think it's an interesting move because, you know, it happens with a lot of brands. You know, like you can't get a Ricoh GR at the moment, but you can get them on ebay, you know, brand new but for crazy markups. So it's interesting. I just thought, you know, we often see this when limited products come up, that there's no point applying for it, you know, because, you know, it's like anything. It's like concert tickets or, yeah. You know, fancy runners or, you know, it's happening in every neck of the woods at the moment where people are seeing opportunity to resell products at a higher margin because they. And it's like an investment, you know.
[02:01:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
My theory to solve this would be as a public service announcement to all photographers out there. If there is a camera that is so hyped up that you can't buy it at the retail price, don't buy it. There's a ton of other cameras. Go get a Sony. Go get, go get something else. There's tons of great cameras out there from brands that are, that are making stock and they're making it available to buy. And I'm not saying Fuji is doing anything wrong. Fuji is just trying to keep up with sales. That's totally fine. But like, if you, if you can't buy it, don't get so desperate that you go and pay above retail for something.
[02:02:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[02:02:15] Speaker C: From a secondhand source. You don't need it that much. You don't. And you don't need it that much. There's a million great cameras that you can buy. Don't overpay for something. Get something on a deal. Save the money. Go on a photo tour.
[02:02:28] Speaker D: Yep.
[02:02:28] Speaker C: Anyway, that's my, that's my rant. Jonathan bought a Leica Q2. How good, how good are they? You need one.
[02:02:37] Speaker A: Speaking of Leica, they just announced their 20, 23, 24 fiscal year results. This is their, this has been their best year in history financially. And they were almost bankrupt like what, 20 years ago, 16 years ago they were almost bankrupt and now they've been having killer results.
[02:02:57] Speaker C: Dumb enough to buy these cameras is crazy.
[02:03:00] Speaker A: Idiots.
Yeah.
[02:03:02] Speaker B: It was making me laugh earlier, Justin, when you were like, I can't afford to do a photography tour with my Leica.
[02:03:09] Speaker D: That's good point.
[02:03:11] Speaker A: Yeah. That's a sound bite we're going to keep.
Very quickly. Samyang announced another AF autofocus 12 millimeter F2 for RF soap, Canon R cameras.
I don't know if they set a price it's small, it's compact, it's lightweight, probably around 450 bucks US I'm predicting.
[02:03:37] Speaker C: It now 2025 will be the year of aftermarket.
Canon RF full frame to see the floodgates open.
[02:03:47] Speaker A: I don't, I haven't written this. Yeah, no, no, I haven't written this news piece yet but there is a rumor that a Chinese company is trying to do it.
There was a company that did it a few years ago and can enforce them to take the product off the market.
[02:04:00] Speaker C: It was Sam Yang, I think.
[02:04:01] Speaker A: Yeah, it was Samyang.
[02:04:02] Speaker C: Yeah, they did an 85. No, it wasn't. It was, it was, it was. They didn't. 85.1.4 I think it was.
[02:04:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[02:04:09] Speaker C: And people really liked it. But Canon legally stopped it from happening.
[02:04:15] Speaker B: They got it to people. They got it for sale.
[02:04:18] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yep.
[02:04:19] Speaker A: And Canon was slow to move on it because they thought, oh, no one's going to touch our mount.
But you're right, Justin, I mean they have, they have now finally conceded they're meeting demands of the photographers and these third party companies to have alternative solutions, often cheaper to first party lenses. Another one that's just been announced is Sony Samyang, which again South Korean company, they have announced an AF35 14 lens for Sony E Mount.
So these third party brands are pushing into, you know, the full frame territory and producing capable and competent alternatives for all photographers, which I think is important.
[02:05:01] Speaker C: Do you have it, do you, have you had any third party lenses, Levin, for your Sony system or. You always just stuck with Sony stuff?
[02:05:09] Speaker D: Early days I had a couple of Zeiss lenses because in the very early Sony days I had a very, very limited choice of lenses available and certainly nothing for Astro.
So I bought two, an 18mm and a 25mm Zeiss lens because they were about the only lenses that could get with fairly wide apertures, f 1.8 and f 2 and brilliant lenses. Just magnificent. But as time went on and Sony increased their range of lenses, I eventually swapped over, you know, the last four or five years I've got to say.
But prior to that I've had a Tamron lens in the past and a signal. Yeah, but yeah, just as times moved on I've sort of evolved and they're just sort of sticking mainly with the brand now. Yeah, fair enough, I find, just because I matched the camera with its capabilities and features and that sort of stuff.
[02:06:03] Speaker C: And Sony's got a pretty epic lineup now of lenses.
[02:06:07] Speaker D: They do now. Yes, yeah, they've had so absolutely yeah, yeah, well, they've been the longest many years to achieve it.
[02:06:14] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, but they've got it. Yeah, I'm jealous of quite. Especially that that twist. 21.8. Canada have got nothing to compete with that.
[02:06:23] Speaker D: Yeah, it's a brilliant little lens. Yeah. My go to lens for Astro used to be the Zeiss 25 millimeter. But yeah, about three years ago I bought the Sony 20 mil F 1.8. And yeah, it's, it's, it's really good. Superb lens, superbly.
And as with all lenses, you know, the body buys you the features, but the lens buys you the quality.
Yeah, I've just learned that. Yeah, they're not, they're not cheap, particularly Astro lenses, as you know, they're very expensive. But if you want the quality, it's just what you do.
[02:06:59] Speaker C: That's it.
[02:07:01] Speaker A: Just before we wrap up, Justin, and just for those of you watching and listening along at home, just reminder that the Camera Life podcast is brought to you by Lucky Straps, for which we're eternally grateful. We're heading with 13 days from Christmas. Justin, how are things going over at Lucky Straps? Do you have some cutoff dates for postage?
[02:07:21] Speaker C: We do. It's pretty much now if you want something personalized roughly around now, depending on where you live. If you're in Australia, we've got a little bit of time up our sleeve. If you're not sure about which particular product, let us know. But if you go on the website, there is a pretty clear cutoff date guide per region.
Yeah, per region, all that kind of stuff. Let me, let me show you.
[02:07:46] Speaker A: Yep. So Australia, if you're having, you're ordering a strap with no personalization, you've got until the 20th center the better.
[02:07:54] Speaker C: If you go up the top here, you can just press on this and it'll tell you some dates, press on that, it'll tell you like everything for everywhere so you can be quite clear. And we'll guarantee delivery by these dates. Obviously things can happen in customs and stuff like that, and if that happens, we'll work with you and do whatever we need to do. But yeah, we'll guarantee it. Elena says, except poor Canada. Yeah, Canada. Postage strike right now, that's causing some problems. So sorry, Canada, that's not our fault. Yeah, but if you're from Canada, you can get in touch with us as well if you're not sure about what's happening. And we'll keep you updated. Yeah, but yeah, otherwise it's all happening. We've actually got some deals on camera straps at the moment, too, so you can get a little discount.
[02:08:38] Speaker B: And if you are from Canada, you still can order and we'll hold on to it until the. The strike lifts too. So, yeah, you don't have to miss out on the sales.
[02:08:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Or get it sent to a friend in the States, in a northern state, and ask them to smuggle it across the border for you.
[02:08:53] Speaker C: If you are in the States, you might. You might like one of our. One of our hoodies. They're quite warm. Look, there's Jim wearing the hoodie.
[02:09:04] Speaker A: From behind, Jim looks a lot like Yelena.
[02:09:07] Speaker C: His hair is longer at the back.
It's interesting.
[02:09:10] Speaker B: Some mullet.
[02:09:11] Speaker A: It's a mullet. Elena has a mullet.
[02:09:14] Speaker D: I have to say, Justin, too, I've learned the hard way the importance of a good camera strap. I've turned two cameras into bowling balls over my time. And after the second one rolled 10 meters down the street, I got to the point where I'm thinking, why am I hanging my $6,000 worth of camera gear on a $20 strap? And after a while I just thought, no, that's just stupidity. So definitely don't underestimate the value of a good camera strap. It's vital.
[02:09:47] Speaker A: And we did not pay him to say that.
[02:09:52] Speaker D: I learned that through hard experience and cost.
[02:09:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think we've all been there at some stage in the past.
[02:09:59] Speaker D: Exactly.
[02:10:00] Speaker A: Well, that's good. That's good news. And for those of you in the northern climes, also, don't forget to look at the Valarate gloves on the site. The winter gloves. I've got a pair. I took them to Bright for those very, very, very chilly early mornings and found them incredibly beneficial to my comfort and camera control.
Look, that does bring us to the end of the Camera Life podcast. This is episode has been episode 42. It is 13 sleeps until Christmas.
Oh, there's Justin with his.
[02:10:33] Speaker C: I'm just. I'm just playing with them.
[02:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah, he's our product model.
But I would offer, Levin, I would offer you to promote anything that you've got coming up that you'd like people to be a part of, but everything you've got coming up is booked out. So I kind of feel like I don't need to do that part of my job today. But is there anything else you want to share with us just very quickly before we wrap up?
[02:10:56] Speaker D: Look, I definitely will be, you know, launching more tours as time goes on. So the best thing I can suggest is go to my website and just join the newsletter subscriber list. Yep. I do say I call it my occasional newsletter and I really mean that because I'm pretty slack with those and I'll tend to spit out two in a month and you'll hear nothing for me for about six months. So they certainly are occasional and random.
[02:11:21] Speaker A: You do have a day job.
[02:11:23] Speaker D: Yeah, it's exactly right. Yeah, precisely.
And it's not just plugging tours and workshops. So you also try to make at least half them educational sort of stuff as well. In fact, I just did one about. Only about a fortnight ago, just with all these Black Friday sales and that sort of stuff that hitting at the moment about, you know, don't waste your money on.
It was more about the gear. I called it the right stuff and it's just about getting the right gear for the photography.
So I just did a little blog on that. So as I say, I try to keep them educational at the same time, but. Yeah, but look, if people want updates for future tours, that's my suggestion. Subscribe to that newsletter.
[02:12:01] Speaker A: And so for everyone that's watching and listening along, it's rare. View R A R E V.
Is that correct?
[02:12:14] Speaker D: Correct. Yep. You got it.
[02:12:16] Speaker A: Yes.
[02:12:16] Speaker C: So head to Rearview photography in the bottom links under the show.
[02:12:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you.
[02:12:22] Speaker D: Appreciate that.
[02:12:24] Speaker A: For those of you watching and listening, please jump on, have a look, even just have a look at some 11's work. It's. It's truly mesmerizing.
But on behalf of the Camera Life team and obviously on behalf of Lucky Straps 11, we really thank you for your time today. It's been a fascinating chat, especially getting a perspective of someone who has traveled so much, both professionally for your job, but also for your photography. I think it's really encouraging and interesting to see the varying ways in which we can approach our craft. So on behalf of us, thank you very much for being a part of today's show.
[02:12:59] Speaker D: Absolutely my pleasure. No, thanks for the invitation. I really appreciate it. It's been fun. I've enjoyed it.
[02:13:04] Speaker A: Very good.
And thank you, Jim. Good to have you back again.
I kind of feel like you just like the. You like the, the excitement of Jim's back, everybody.
But yeah, good to have you on. Anything happening in the coming weeks for you, Jim, other than Christmas, any photography?
[02:13:25] Speaker B: I'll start shooting again. Yeah. Pretty soon. So.
[02:13:28] Speaker A: Yep, that's good news. That's great news.
Very cool. And Justin, the unemployed photographer and business runner, what's on for you?
[02:13:41] Speaker C: Nothing exciting enough to talk about, so we'll just go over some final comments. Ortega says oh, you got hoodies now.
[02:13:48] Speaker B: Yeah, and T shirts.
[02:13:51] Speaker C: Frog says hoodies are schmick. He would know. He's got one.
And David. David from San Francisco says, Levin, do you do online classes? Do you do online classes?
[02:14:02] Speaker D: No. That's something I haven't even thought about. Look into. So, look, sorry. Sad answer is no. I don't know.
[02:14:11] Speaker C: Does Richard. Does Richard do online classes?
[02:14:13] Speaker D: Faster. Richard has got literally hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of training videos on his YouTube, where they're just free.
Yep, yep. He's a remarkable gentleman. He's happy to impart all of this knowledge, you know, all around the world. So, yeah, Richard Taylor, Nightscape Images. Yeah, Nightscape Images is his website. But more importantly, go to his YouTube channel, Nightscape Images on YouTube. And he just has a. Like, literally thousands of videos on astrophotography and all that sort of stuff. So, yeah, that'd be the place to go, without a doubt.
[02:14:50] Speaker C: And finally, Yelena says no flanny, though. Jim. Yes, Jim normally has a flanny on. Obviously it's too hot. Summer.
[02:14:57] Speaker B: No, Justin's paying me extra to wear the lucky shirt, so we try and sell something.
[02:15:02] Speaker A: Oh, you're getting paid for it. Oh, hang on.
[02:15:06] Speaker C: Richard who? Richard Taddy. Richard Taddy. Nightscape Images. Richard Taddy. TTI Like.
[02:15:13] Speaker D: Yes, like T, A, T, P. I know. I don't have a stutter.
[02:15:21] Speaker C: Taddy.
[02:15:27] Speaker D: Lovely gentleman. Lovely gentlemen.
[02:15:29] Speaker A: All right.
[02:15:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[02:15:30] Speaker A: Well, check him out, guys. And have a look at Levin's side as well. But on that note, I think we're going to wrap. Justin's going to play us some. Some music.
[02:15:39] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, I got to.
[02:15:41] Speaker A: And we're gonna say goodbye.
Yeah. Stay out of the shopping centers. They're crazy.
[02:15:48] Speaker C: Yeah, don't do that.
[02:15:49] Speaker A: Disturbing time to be shopping. Disturbing time.
But on that note, have a great week, everyone. We'll see you next week, same time, same place.
