Third TV Studio

 The number of studios depends on how many simultaneous broadcasts or productions you make. I have currently two set up studios. One I use for my 1:1 teaching and another in the lab to do experiments, but do we need a third for the online classes?

Looking for choices

 At @ProAV having a look at some cameras on my shopping list. I am still looking at the black magic 6K pro as another video camera

Bank Holiday

What a good day to get the camera out and just take some photos or video of anything you like. We get few down days. This is our first Bank Holiday off this year so we can get out and take some photographs of things and places around us as we go out.
 

Preparing for the Photography and Video Show

 

The Photography and Video Show at the NEC is approaching. I am getting my shopping list ready. I just hope there are more suppliers there this year  as last year many were missing and that makes buying more difficult.

New Drone

This is the first Drone I have been tempted by. I have done a lot of photos and videos in the past without one, but watching how easy it is to fly and safe to use I might just try one out.

Meike drop in filter holder

 Evaluating the £160 Meike drop in filter holder with ND and clear filters for the Canon R5C. The package seems to work well. The parts seem well made and appear to work exceptionally well especially considering the price point

Setting the scene

The scene is set.  The research done, the script is written, the lights are on, the sound is recording, the and the cameras are rolling ... but I am sure I have forgotten something.
 

New Camera Stand

 For my main teaching over Zoom camera I have upgraded the camera stand to the ifootage Cobra RB-A200 Round Base Monopod. It is very stable with is round flat base and takes a Manfrotto head holding a Black Magic Camera

Ideal Portraits

Using the 70-200mm lens for portraits. Using a full frame camera in the past I often used a 135mm lens as a lens of choice for portraits. Now with the 70-200, I can get a full range of telephotos on the 7D mark ii or the R5
 

Storing Magazines

 For some of these magazines we buy, they are useful to keep and refer to, but this is even easier if they are catalogued and stored in some binders. I do this with the can magazines so we can find the articles we want.

Electronic Lessons

 Lessons recorded on a Wacom and set directly to the students phone seems to be working well. The students only have to bring their phone to have all their notes and videos and photos. Some are even finding flash revision cards on the phone work too.

Steaming out the creases

Getting rid of the creases in the photographic backdrops using a steamer. Its a hard job and the creases only come out slowly
 

iLOK

 We seem to be going full cycle. When I started using computers many systems had dongles to prevent being stolen especially music and CAD software. Now it seems that I am having to go back to dongles again

New led Video Lights

 Just purchased a couple of new led lights from @Proav. These are ifootage gear 220W led lights with 90cm softboxes. Tried then out today taking a few portraits. Fantastic amount of power and excellent colour balance.

Water soaking away

 Out in the field testing why the water doesn't flow away. The ground was so dry the water didn't soak into the ground at all

Filming the drought

 Out in a local park filming about the drought. In the middle of the day in the height of summer on a nice day, no one was to be seen in the whole park

Film Making

 Looking at the reaction of Silver Nitrate with Sodium Chloride had to be done outside to get the amount of light we needed for the reaction to work. Doing chemistry experiments outside is much more difficult than in the studio.

DSLR camera above my head

 Setting up a stronger Manfrotto to stand to support a DSLR above my head for a video

Laptop died

One of our laptops was so so that we decided to reinstall windows. Nine hours later it came back to life chatting to my son . Maybe we can keep it going.

Update Day

 Time to look at the equipment, make sure it is all fully working, cleaned and if necessary updated. A few items need some polishing and checking that they are as good as new.

In Control

 When working on your own or in a small team, then it is necessary to do multiple jobs, like using the camera remotes to start stop and zoom the cameras.

What a Photographer looks like

 Ask anyone, what did the photographer look like and you get well I didn't see his or her face

Changing the angle

 Sometimes to get the best shot, it is a case of going high up or low down. Being low down the elbows act as a tripod making for some steady video.

Philip Photo

 I needed to have a new Photo taken for the website we are building - It wasn't until I looked at the photo I remembered I hadn't shaved - Ah well do it again tomorrow.

Its what you don't see

It's what you don't see in a photograph that is often important. When we go on location to take photographs or videos for corporate events, the job is often to hide the background to tell the story you want to tell.
 

Microscope Line up

 Looking at images today under all the different types of microscopes. Proving perhaps that the highest magnification isn't necessarily the best

Time

 How long does it take to make a video, sometimes nothing compared to how long it takes to design and set up the experiment

Screen Protector

 The glass screen protectors have arrived for the Wacom tablets. This time I have chosen glass instead of the matt plastic, which is great except that it wears the pens out super quick. Fixing the last corner is more tricky

Looking for a B camera

 I have a really good Canon R5C as my main camera for photos and I am looking for another to replace my aging EOS 7D mark ii. Do I try and get a new R7 not available yet with no battery grip or do I go for a second-hand 5D mark 4? The battery grip with the extra batteries is ideal for me and for vertical shots and the R7 won't have one. Or do I stay with old technology?

Storage

 Storage is a problems for all of us, I have just bought a new ... and where shall I put it. You can throw away if it is a replacement, but something new needs somewhere to go. I use these boxes that stack but it makes it harder if you want something lower down.

Tethering the camera

 

Is it best to go on a corporate portrait photoshoot and take lots of pictures, or is it better to tether the camera to a laptop and mark and check each photo as you take it. For this photoshoot of lots of portraits tethering is better, but which software to choose?