About my umbrella setup and going full-frame

The two pictures below show my latest construction. No, it's not a time machine. It's a 50D on a tripod with a Bogen Super Clamp attached to it, which is also attached to another Super Clamp that's holding a golf umbrella :-)

With this construction it should be easy to take pictures during rain and snowfall. It gives you more freedom with your hands while staying dry. I originally had the idea from Dave's blog without remembering the details on how he got the umbrella attached to the monopod. Anyway, I thought it was a very original idea. When I told it to a sales person at the local camera store, he knew exactly what I needed. Turns out that this is a common setup that is used by sports photographers. Compared to internet prices, I paid way too much for the Super Clamps by buying in that store, on the other hand I wouldn't know how to do it without their advices. There were not many good chances for me to try this yet, but once I do, I will let you know how it went.

About going full frame. I finally sold the 50D. Man, it's so much harder to sell a camera body than selling a lens. I didn't think it would be like this. Fact is, camera bodies are outdated quickly whereas lenses are kind of timeless. They don't update a lens often, and even if, what you mostly pay for is the glass, and glass doesn't wear out. I'm still getting requests for the 24-70mm 2.8.

So here is the thing: I only have the 20D left and I think I will keep it. The camera was outdated years ago, which would force me to sell it for almost nothing. I won't do that. It is an excellent digital SLR, so why throwing it out of the window?
Other than that, I'm pretty much ready to do the final step going full-frame and get the 5D Mark II. The problem is: this camera is not in stock anywhere. Canon seems not to be able to produce them as fast as they sell. Pretty amazing.

I'm currently using the 20D again.



Fotocommunity News


I have a second image voted into their hall of fame in one week. How funny, I always thought the FC is too conservative for me and that my images wouldn't fit there. The excitement is a bit gone now, so maybe I won't report about it in case it happens again. It probably doesn't interest you much anyway.

Times Square Rush

Exposure on Fotocommunity.de


Once again, four of my pictures will be featured on the main page of fotocommunity.de. They are scheduled to appear for an hour on Wednesday, starting at noon (German time), or 6 am EST.

Last time it caused tons of fc-comments, page-views, and messages, which is a big deal for a little photographer.

An essay-like post on a snowy winter night


Don't worry, this text is not going anywhere.

I have excellent night vision, and I'm frowning a lot in daylight. On winter weekends, when I don't work and everybody leaves me alone, I often don't leave the house before sunset. I have to force myself a little bit in order to have a regular day/night rhythm. That's nothing difficult to deal with, but I noticed how quickly I switch into my personal default rhythm as soon as I have the chance. Once I read that it's genetic. That's good to know, but doesn't help about the fact that I'm kicked out of places half of my "day".
Usually I'm first kicked out at work, because the building closes at 10pm, then comes either the library or the gym. Later at night there are opportunities for being kicked out at two Cafes in Princeton. Everything that's open 24/7 excites me and I have never gotten an early-bird special.
Being "kicked out" sounds more harsh than it is. It's usually not more than a friendly "hello we are closing in 10 minutes" kinda thing. My last being-kicked-out experience of the day however is indeed physical. That's when my girlfriend wants me to go to bed and pulls me from the couch. She is tiny compared to me, but over time she figured out this incredible technique that lets me find myself on the carpet after a 180 degree turn. No idea how this works, but once I'm on the floor, I'm pretty much ready to call it a day.

Today I left the house around 10:30 pm, I guess that's okay, it was a Saturday night. As soon as I pulled out of the parking spot, I turned on the radio. Before I came to the east coast, I somehow assumed that New York City would have fantastic Hip Hop stations with cool stuff that you would never get to hear in Germany. Fact is there are two stations. There is "the official number one for Hip Hop and RnB"
and there is "the new number one for Hip Hop and RnB". Another fact is, I can rarely find good music on either of them. What I noticed is, there is a lot of whining going on, which must be the RnB part. Other that that, the radio DJs do a lot of megalomaniac yelling accompanied by much fanfare and razzmatazz. The yelling is however limited to the words "NEW YORK CITY!" and sometimes the names of some apparently sensational people that are "IN THE BUILDING!". Which building they are talking about has however always been a mystery - there are so many in the city. Oh, and the words "LET'S GO!". Go where? To another building? I noticed that they are always leaving the house the same time I do.

Tonight was a bit different though. No one seemed "in the building", instead the radio host yelled several times "TONIGHT IS ONE OF THEM NIGHTS!". This was followed by commercials, "we are paying some bills now" he said. Wow, I guess "one of them nights" is somewhat relative. Maybe I'm just paying my bills too regularly. So what did I do with "one of them nights"? It was "one of them nights" where I took some pictures. Ha! This is a photography blog, what else would you expect? It was quite nice, everything was covered with snow, and the pictures will probably show up here later in "one of them posts".

I told you this is not going anywhere. But maybe I can give a useful advice to someone looking for a unique radio program.
Try WPRB. It's located here in Princeton, but you can tune in over the web via WPRB.com. Oh, and please don't judge on me if you hear something terribly weird on there. Just wait for an hour and you will listen to something totally different, it might be an interesting folk music from a remote region you've never heard of, it might be a Mozart Symphony, or it might simply be the best Hip Hop music you have listened to in years.

I'm selling my cameras

My cameras and most of my lenses. I finally decided to go full-frame, namely the Canon 5D Mark II. My favorite lenses are made for APS-C sized sensors, so those need to be exchanged as well. If you are interested, I have a pdf-file ready for download with pictures and prices.

Anyway, here is a short list with everything I'm selling:

- Canon EOS 20D body + lens kit
- Canon EOS 50D body
- Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0 lens
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens
- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens

I'm first owner of all items, some things are barely used.
Comes in original packaging and accessories.

For details: PhotoSale.pdf