Holiday Gift Guide 2023 – 1st Up, Something For Your family

Sure, the deals are coming faster than ever this year, and in the coming days, the posts here will cover a range of gifts for the image maker in your life.
Or maybe just you!

With holidays here, your chances of hanging out with family are darn good, and I’d like to suggest something to you:

Interview and Record the elders in your family, and create a family history video that can be shared, cherished, and passed on.

dad-2

When my grandmother was 92 and my daughter was 2, I saw them hanging out, and knew that the knowledge of family history my grandmother had would never get told, unless she told it.
Some family members felt it would be revisionist history. You know what? It was the only history we had.
And everyone sees life through their own eyes and experiences. No one is objective.
So I sat with Grandma Kate, and my daughter at one end of her bed, and proceeded to ask her questions.
Even if she didn’t know what she ate the morning before, she knew her personal history.
With a video camera in hand, I made a record for us of who were, where we came from, what my dad’s life was like, and look into the past that only she could provide.
Since then I have a made a bunch of these, and honestly, as you hone your interview skills, shooting skills, you will have made a very special gift for yourself and your family.

There is a reason that companys like Ancestry.com and DNA kits have become so popular. We want to know who we are, and knowing where we came from is a big step in that direction.

It’s up to you.
With your skill set, the tools, and during the holidays, the PERFECT opportunity, you can create a video that would bring a lotta happiness to your family.

The picture above is my father when he was a radio announcer in NYC.
Never got to interview him, and always wanted to share the sound of his voice with my daughter. Didn’t happen.

Give your new gear a run through with a purpose. Plenty of time for selfies.
Just a suggestion.

If you own a company, and still are making your year end purchases, coming up are more gift guides to help you make some gear decisions. Plus more.

My personal go-to purchases at this time of year are media cards and hard drives. Boring maybe, but essential, and best prices this time of year.

One thing to note is that there will not be camera systems in the gift guide. Every brand comes out with new and improved models, yet to switch systems is not and easy or cheap move. You know what you like, and perhaps the new global sensor is what you are after. Or you want to wait for the 2nd gen.

What will be posted in the next days will be gift ideas that will help you, or the giftee, in their image making life

The Little Product That Is Going Right Into My Bag!

As I start gathering all of the latest products for our annual Holiday Gift Guide, I’m seeing an interesting pattern:
It seem to be 2 major categories: Content Creation Tools, and pro-end products all designed to make your projects look the best that they can be.

Let’s start with this MagSafe light from Joby. Called the Beamo™ Ring Light for MagSafe

Imagine a ringlight with 4 levels of intensity, 4 hours of power, that can be attached to your phone by MagSafe.


This little unit is complete with a mirrored surface to make sure you are lit right, and the best part: it stays on the back of your phone with the beauty of MagSafe. Continue Reading »

Social Content & Platypod, Plus More! : Tools For The Kit

How do we share these enriching experiences with a wider audience? In this digital age, social media reigns supreme, with IG reels and TikTok leading the way. Like it or not, it’s a fact.
Personally, I’ve embarked on a journey of increased content creation and discovered some invaluable tools along the way. When it comes to outdoor shoots, I’ve opted for a compact setup – I still shoot Fuji for those captivating stills reels and my trusty iPhone for additional IG reels and Tik Tok adventures.
I have kind of Frankestein-ed this from a variety of items in my general kit.
Depending on needs.

Here is a list:
*Platypod Extreme tripod Base
*Platypod Handle
*LumeCube phone holder
*LumeCube mini LED
*Manfrotto BallHead – (link is to a diff ballhead, than what is in the photos)
*Joby Impulse 2 Remote + (the secret weapon)
*Ankerwork M650 Microphones


Continue Reading »

Fall Will Bring A New FujiFilm GFX 100 II – Medium Format Flagship Gets An Update!

The FujiFilm update to their medium format camera has been rumored and is now about to become available.

The GFX 100II will be here this fall!


What do you get different from the last model?
For one thing the learnings of the sensor on the X-H2s, you get an improved 102MP Sensor with faster and better AF. We all need that!
Burst shooting has gone from 5 FPS to 8 FPS Continue Reading »

BH Sponsors a Gear Show, and PhotoFairs NYC Brings the Artistry

After a week in NYC with a gear show, Bild Expo, and an art show, Photofair, it became a meld of great effect. Both were happening within feet of each other in the Javits Center.

Bild Expo was created by BHPhoto and since PhotoExpo isn’t around, this may become the new deal. To be able to check out the gear, speak to brands about what you may be wanted to capture, and talks by photographers about their journey, was invaluable.

While perusing the new offerings of the latest gear , it was clear that there was indeed, nothing new under the sun, but improvements on what existed.
Great to see some of the brands that I have seen for years, still upping their game, and seeing familiar faces.

And mere feet away was a collection of over 56 global photo galleries, so you could see what some practitioners of fine art photography were creating.

PhotoFair was exhibiting some of the best artists in the field, with 56 galleries, representing about 120 photographic artists, plus talks by folks like Dawoud Bey, in a very comfortable setting.

Inspiring to say the least. When you see a major showing of fine art photography, it’ll make you examine your own path. Or bring you into the world of collecting.
Continue Reading »

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  • April 25 – 28, 2024
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