[Photography] Product Review: Polaroid Carbon-Fiber Travel Tripod and Varipod

First a little background: I’m a wilderness photographer. I spend time, a lot of time, every year on multi-day river, backpacking, and winter trips in Alaska. This past summer, between June and mid-September, I spent more than 60 days in the backcountry. On every one of these trips, to one degree or another, weight was an issue, and I’m always on the lookout for good, light equipment that might suit my travels. With that in mind, on to the review of two new support products from Polaroid, the Polaroid Pro Series Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod, and the Varipod.

Image made using the Polaroid Pro Series Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod (ISO100, 1/5th sec @ f22)

Polaroid Pro Series 55″ Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod With Removable Ball head

I was excited to open up the box containing Polaroid’s new carbon travel tripod. Upon first inspection, I was impressed. There are five leg segments, each about eight inches in length making the tripod very compact. Additionally, it is designed so the legs fold back over the center post and included ball head, making the fully collapsed tripod very small indeed.

Build

The leg segments are of the twist-lock variety, ergonomic, and very effectively hold the sections in or out with a simple, quick twist. The numerous legs section means that the lowest sections are thin, giving the impression of flimsiness. However, after several days of use, they did not strike me as fragile.

The legs of the tripod, even when fully extended are not very long. Polaroid has made up for this shortcoming by having a fixed center post that extends up another foot or so from the top of the tripod, adding substantially to the height. The post itself is expandable, allowing the very compact tripod to stretch almost to my eye level (I’m six foot). Though using this extendable system reduces stability.

The included ball head is the highlight of this tripod. Made of machined aluminum, it’s designed much like the large Kirk Industries head on my full-size tripod. Polaroid’s version uses three knobs, one to lock the quick release (similar to Arca-style plates), one to control the rotation, and one to lock and unlock the ball itself. One side cut allows for vertical compositions. Simply, it’s a great little ball head that held my big Canon SLR easily. In fact, it was so good, I wish I could purchase it separately to replace the flimsy head atop my current compact tripod. As the head is the point where many light and entry-level tripods fall short, I was impressed and surprised by this one.

Usability of the tripod

I put this tripod to use a number of times over a couple of weeks, including a couple of sunset photo shoots on a beach, and two evenings photographing the aurora borealis. In bright conditions and relatively fast shutter speeds, the tripod worked well. The height adjusts easily and quickly, though the center post system does limit how low the camera can go. (At its lowest, the camera is still 12-15 inches off the ground, see photo below.)

During my sunset photo shoots, the system worked fine at a variety of heights, and I was able to use shutter speeds down to about 1/5th of a second, and still maintain sharp images (see top image in this article).

Image showing the design of the non-retractable center post on the Polaroid Carbon Travel Tripod.

It was when I tried to shoot the northern lights that the tripod showed its one flaw – instability with a heavy camera. The non-retractable, non-removable center post, make the tripod a bit jiggly when used with a full-size DSLR. A point and shoot, or mirrorless system would not likely have the same trouble. However, even with the heavy camera, I was able to attain sharp images when I used a remote shutter release and the mirror lock-up function of the camera.

To maintain sharpness at extended shutter speeds, I used the camera’s timer and mirror lock-up functions.

Conclusion

If it weren’t for that wobbly center post, I would give this small, light tripod, with an awesome ball-head, a glowing review. I’d like to see Polaroid include a system to retract the center post to add stability when I drag the shutter. If the next version of this tripod includes such a feature, I’ll strongly consider adding it to my quiver. In the mean time, I can easily recommend this tripod to anyone shooting with a light-weight camera system. If you are working with a point and shoot, or mirrorless, the simplicity, flexibility, and the particularly impressive ball head make the Polaroid Pro Series Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod a contender.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Polaroid 65″ VariPod

2-in-1 Telescoping Camera Monopod with Removable Tripod Balance Stand Base

Out of the box, Polaroid’s rendition of this classic long-lens tool, the monopod, looked more or less like a standard version of the product, with one exception. The foot of the monopod incorporates a removable, articulated, three-legged base. At first, I didn’t understand the purpose of this feature, but later, as I used the Varipod outdoors, I figured it out (more on that in a moment). The expandable leg, like the tripod reviewed above, uses a twist-lock system that holds the aluminum tubes firmly extended. I had no issues with segments collapsing, even with a heavy lens and SLR.

In the field, the monopod worked well. The removable foot is articulated so it doesn’t interfere when you tip the monopod forward or back. Though at first confused by this seemingly unnecessary add-on, as I shot with a 500mm f/4 on a sandy beach, the usefulness of the stand was obvious; the monopod foot didn’t sink into the muck. This could be useful to anyone shooting in soft terrain, whether the sidelines of a sports field or a muddy wetland.

The foot system did seem overly complex. It is made of aluminum with various hinges and springs. Though effective at providing support in soft terrain, it also got dirty and was very difficult to clean. The foot had to be blown out, rinsed, and shaken before I eventually managed to remove all the grains of sand.

The support provided by the monopod allowed me to achieve sharp images with my 500mm f/4 at shutter speeds as low as 1/30th, opening up creative composition possibilities with moving subjects. The monopod is also far lighter and maneuverable, though of course less stable, than a full-size tripod.

Conclusion

The Polaroid Varipod works. The articulated foot provides support in soft terrain, and the legs are sturdy and easy to adjust. My main complaint is the complexity of the foot and difficulty in cleaning. I’d like to see this made simpler, with fewer parts that can jam with sand and dirt. Otherwise, it’s a solid contribution to the market.

Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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[Photography] An Overview of 8 Adobe Creative Cloud Mobile Apps

If you currently have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, did you know that you have access to a variety of mobile apps developed by Adobe? Even their least expensive subscription plan (the Photography plan, which includes access to Photoshop and Lightroom for $9.99 per month) includes access to eight different mobile apps that have so much to offer! In this article, I’ll take you through an overview of all the Creative Cloud Mobile apps included in the Photography Plan, and explain some different ways that you can use them.

1. Adobe Photoshop Fix

The first app is a mobile version of Photoshop (called Photoshop Fix) that includes simple retouching with the ability to liquify, heal, patch, smooth, lighten, and darken images. You can also do some basic image adjustments such as controlling exposure, adjusting contrast, and saturation. You also have the capability to send your image directly to the Photoshop CC desktop program with layers intact, to continue editing there if you’d like.

The mobile app is certainly a scaled-down version of the desktop program. But it does offer lots of options for simple retouching and adjustments of images you’ve taken with your cell phone, and is a fantastic (FREE) resource!

Screenshots of Adobe Photoshop Fix for iPhone.

2. Adobe Lightroom for Mobile

Once again, the Lightroom Mobile app is a scaled-down version of the desktop program which allows you to make basic adjustments to your images via your smartphone or tablet. Easily make adjustments to temperature, tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, clarity, saturation, sharpness, noise, moire, color hue, and more. The real gem of the Lightroom mobile app is the access to 40

The real gem of the mobile app is access to 40 Lightroom presets that can help elevate your images in one touch. I especially enjoy the 11 black and white presets, which are significantly better (in my opinion) than other apps that offer one-touch editing. They also offer everything from low contrast to film versions.

Screenshots of Adobe Lightroom app for iPhone

3. Adobe Photoshop Mix

Adobe Photoshop Mix allows for more creative editing than the original Photoshop Fix app. It specializes in cutting out portions of different images and merging them together into one image. I haven’t found this app to be particularly useful for the type of photography I prefer, but if you ever find yourself in the position of needing a photo of Santa on the beach, with no time to make a photo session happen, this app would be your go-to.

I found this app much more difficult to use with my finger than any of the other Adobe apps, but it may be easier to manage with a stylus. Like the other Adobe apps, it runs seamlessly with the desktop programs, so you can fine-tune your images on the computer later if you wish.

4. Adobe Spark Post (formerly Adobe Post)

Adobe Spark Post allows you to quickly create graphics combining photos and text for social media. You can begin using a number of different templates, import your own photo, or search from Adobe’s free photo library. Next, enter your text, choose your font, spacing preferences, and color palate. With one touch, you can select whether you’ll be posting to Facebook, Instagram, on a blog post, or a number of other options, and the app will automatically size the image for you.

I have found this app to be so useful in so many different ways. Need a quick graphic advertising mini-sessions? Check. Want to combine a photo with a quote you love? Check. Need a pinable image for a blog post or article? Check. All of these examples are things that I could certainly do from scratch in Photoshop, but the ease and speed with which I can create very similar graphics with Spark Post has completely won me over. It’s the app you didn’t know you were missing!

Sample graphic created with Adobe Spark Post on iPhone.

5. Adobe Spark Page (formerly Adobe Slate)

Adobe Spark Page is a quick and easy way to create easy photo journals and web stories that are shareable on social media. It is suggested to use Spark Page to easily create newsletters, presentations, and travel journals. Once again, you can begin with a number of different layouts from Adobe that take all the guesswork (and time) out of the project. Spark pages automatically adjust to a plethora of different devices, and you can preview the way that your particular page will look on each. I haven’t implemented Adobe Spark Page into my process as of yet, but am currently contemplating using it as an avenue to share collections of images on social media.

6. Adobe Spark Video (formerly Adobe Voice)

All of the Adobe Spark apps are similar in that they are designed to elevate what you’re sharing on social media, while simultaneously streamlining the process. In this instance, Spark Video allows you to create simple and easy videos with lots of different options and layouts.

When you first begin creating a project with Spark Video, it asks whether you’re promoting an idea, sharing something that happened to you, telling a story about someone overcoming something difficult, telling about something important to you and attempting to engage your audience to participate, or sharing an experience that changed your view on the world. Depending on which option you select, Spark Video moves into a template that prompts you with what to include on each 2-second clip of your video. You also have the option to start from scratch and build your video from the ground up.

You can also record yourself narrating the video, or chose from a stock music library. There are so many different ways that you could think about utilizing Spark Video–whether making a video of a particular session, easily explaining what to wear for a family session, or creating a quick ad to use on social media. The possibilities are endless.

7. Adobe Portfolio

With Adobe Portfolio, you can build a website in just a few minutes. Again, there are many different templates available, including several designed especially for photographers. You can select images to act as feature images to link to albums, include some brief information about yourself, and gives you the ability to enable or disable right-clicking to save images. The process to build and edit your site is simple and requires no knowledge of HTML or CSS. You can even use your own domain name in conjunction with the portfolio you create. You can also achieve a similar but even more streamlined effect, by using Adobe Spark Page to create a portfolio of your work.

An example of a basic portfolio created with Adobe Portfolio. More galleries could be included as you continue to scroll down past the header.

8. Adobe Premiere Clip

With Adobe Premiere Clip, you have access to some amazing video editing capability right from your phone. Drag and drop videos, trim them and arrange into a video. The app is smart enough that you can add music and set it to auto-fade during any dialogue. If you have an iPhone, you can also import an entire collection from Lightroom for mobile to Premiere Clip to easily create a video of your images.

Accessibility

In order to use these apps, simply search for them individually in the app store (or use the links provided for you above), and download them. Once you open the app, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your Adobe ID. Simply sign in using the same ID you used to purchase your Creative Cloud subscription, and you’ll have access to the app! Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that many of these apps (Spark Page, Spark Post, Spark Video, and Adobe Portfolio) are also available via web browser, so you aren’t necessarily limited exclusively to your mobile device.

In all, these apps pack a big punch and are a huge bonus to the desktop access to Photoshop and Lightroom! If you have a Creative Cloud subscription and are not already using the Adobe Creative Cloud Mobile Apps, I’d absolutely encourage you to check them out. Whether you’re a professional photographer or just someone who enjoys taking photos in their own backyard, there’s likely at least one app that you’ll find useful!

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[Photography] 4 Tips to Leverage Natural Light Using Just your Camera and One Lens

In photography light is everything. Without light, whether that be artificial or natural, there is no photography. The problem is that sometimes there is just too much or too little, and in both cases, artificial light may need to be added. But what if you don’t have any artificial light available to you? And what if all you have is literally a camera with a lens and nothing else? This article focuses on how you can leverage natural light using just one lens and working without a reflector or a speedlight.

#1 Position your subject in relation to the light

Let’s take a look at these photos below. It was a very sunny day and I wanted to capture the blueness of the sky and the sea as well as the people in the shots. I had a D700 which has a base ISO of 200 and the 50mm 1.4 lens. I have provided the settings below for each photo.

f/5.6 ISO 200, 1/2000th

f/5.6 ISO 200, 1/1250th

f/6.3 ISO 200, 1/2000th

These settings are okay on a very sunny day if you shoot with the sun positioned behind you shining towards your subject. In this case the sea and sky, which also illuminated the people that I wanted to be in the photo.

Lighting position

While these photos are fine, there are a few issues. First, put simply, when this is the lighting position, anyone, and any camera can take these types of photos. You can shoot in automatic mode and the photos would look the same. Mobile phones nowadays can take even more amazing photos in this situation where there is a huge amount of light hitting the subject and the background directly.

I love these types of photos for travel photography, high contrast shots and snapshots that would make me remember such scenes. But if I am after portraits, would I hire a professional photographer who would give me photos that anyone can take? Definitely not! Sure, the occasional lifestyle snapshot in this lighting is acceptable such as this one directly below shot at f/2.5 ISO 200, 1/2500th. But I would not want proper portraits of my family to be taken in this lighting situation.

Harsh shadows

The second issue is the harsh shadows. As a professional photographer, this would never be my lighting position for people or portraits. Even if the sun was coming in at a side-angle, undiffused sunlight directly hitting the subject still produces harsh shadows and hotspots. I would prefer for the sun to be behind the subjects, also known as backlighting, rather than directly in front of them.

If your intention is to take nicely lit portraits with a background that is not blown out, for backlighting to work, you would need to have a big enough flash or reflector to illuminate your subject to avoid silhouettes. Conversely, you can simply expose for your subject but you will have to blow out (overexpose) the background. Therefore, you end up with a white sky rather than a blue sky.

An example of backlighting is this sunset photo below. The houses and the boats were not illuminated. I was too far away for my pop-up flash to be of any help, and I didn’t have a tripod for a long exposure and smaller aperture. But I still wanted to capture some of the soft sky color along with the sunset. Balancing the exposure was tricky and I ended up shooting this image with the following settings; f/5, ISO 200, 1/320th. While the ambient light of the sunset was captured, the other elements in the photo were too dark and ended up almost like silhouettes.

What if you have nothing else but a camera and lens with you? You do not want all your photos to be silhouettes when shooting backlit, or too dark when shooting in the shade. So what you can do is leverage your surroundings by positioning your subject carefully in relation to the light. If you have to shoot backlit portraits in a situation similar to above, shoot an intentional silhouette or use your flash for fill light (more on this below).

If you’re doing portraits where you want to focus on well-exposed faces, avoid positioning your subject where they are facing the sun which results in harsh light and shadows. On a very sunny day, you may want to wait for the golden hour – the time shortly after sunrise or before sunset –  when the sun is much lower on the horizon and the light is much softer. This yields a light that is much more flattering for portraits. If it is a bright but overcast day, the clouds act as a huge diffuser and the shadows are not as harsh so it is easier to photograph portraits in those conditions.

#2 Look for ideal light

Ideal light is often indirect, reflected, or subtractive light. This can take various forms:

• Indirect lighting can be the soft diffused light coming from a window.
• Reflected light can be that bouncing off a white floor, wall, bright sand, or from white or light-colored clothing you are wearing.
• Subtractive light can be achieved by blocking the light with a diffuser, umbrella or a flag (any flat black object large enough to block any direct light hitting your subject).

Get out of the sun

As this article does not involve any equipment other than your camera and lens, instead of blocking the light, I positioned my subject in the shade. So that instead of subtracting light from my subject, I subtracted my subject from the light and put her in the shade.

In this example below, it was a very bright day and I did not want any direct light falling on my daughter’s face. I put her completely in the shade but deliberately next to the caravan wall which was light beige. There is some reflected light from the side that helps illuminate her face and the generally shadowed area we were in.

In this photo below taken in the zoo, there was no natural light at all. A fluorescent light illuminated the box where the snake was. You can see this white light reflected on the top part of the snake’s eye (catchlight). I waited for the snake to get into this position and used the light which was bouncing from the ceiling onto him to get this shot.

In this photo below, there was no ideal light! We were in a pretty darkly shaded area and the enclosure was mottled with spots of sun and shade. I positioned myself where I knew I could catch a good close up of the tiger in complete shade and waited for it to pass by.  The contrast between the light and shade was so strong that had I taken the photo of the tiger with his body in half sun and half shade, it would not have come out well at all.

#3 Use your pop-up flash as fill light

Now I know that photographers are sometimes funny (and snobby) about using the camera’s built-in pop-up flash. I am one of those photographers, with good reasons. The camera’s pop-up flash blasts light directly onto your subject. It gives you a rather flat and unflattering light with a harsh shadow around the jaw and head to boot. Unless your intention is to shoot like this such as some fashion houses do (and they do it so professionally by the way), then this is a no-no in portrait photography. Ideally, you want the light bounced and angled – anything but aimed directly from the camera toward the subject.

However, I do use my pop-up flash quite a bit! In fact, I use it when I don’t have a flash gun (speedlight) and I’m shooting backlit, especially when the sun is strong. And I have no qualms using it as a direct light in this situation because the camera’s flash is not strong enough to overpower the sun anyway. So the most you get out of it is a little bit of fill light.

Take this photo of the monkeys below. Had I not used my pop-up flash, there would have been no detail captured on the monkey’s face at all. The sun was too powerful that the pop-up flash could never have flattened the face and created harsh shadows anyway, and I was also too far away from the monkeys for that to happen.

Using the pop-up flash is a fast and easy way to add light. Just be mindful of the caveats and be circumspect when using it.

#4 Try long exposures to capture natural light

Shutter speed has everything to do with ambient light regardless of whether you are doing long exposures or using on-camera, off-camera, or pop-up flash. In fact, with regards to the latter three, flash exposure is completely unaffected by shutter speed.

With long exposures, you can take photos even when very little light is available. You need a tripod, or something steady and flat to rest your camera on like a table or chair, and you’re good to go. So why would you want to slow down your shutter speed and when must you do it? Do it when you want to capture the ambient light.

Armed with just a 50mm and the camera placed on a steady surface, I slowed my shutter speed right down to a few seconds using the bulb setting. I may have captured the moon rising but the sky is pitch black and not enough ambient light was captured. My shutter speed might have been slow but not slow enough. Ambient light was very crucial here because there were stars in the sky.

In contrast to the above, the photo below is the same scene photographed with a much slower shutter speed so that the stars are visible.

Even with just the 50mm you can photograph the starry sky such as below. However, don’t go over 10 seconds as you would then start capturing the star trails.

Using shutter speed wisely and skillfully is a great tool for capturing mood, color, and ambient light, even when there is very little of it. There is some light you don’t ever want to kill such as the soft evening light just after sunset. These photos were taken simply with a camera with a 50mm lens at a slow shutter speed, a wide aperture, and a fairly high ISO (as I was on a slow moving boat). These images were shot at;  f/2.5, ISO 2500, 1/100th. A faster shutter speed would have killed this light and rendered the sky pitch black. Too slow I would have run the risk of blurry photos due to the moving boat.

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[Photography] Tips for Creating a Killer Vacation Photo Book

Putting together a great photo book of your recent trip to show friends and family isn’t always easy. The majority of people always fall into the trap of too many photos, most of which are too similar. To stop your family and friends from switching off and instead really engage with your photos, you need a clear flow with a few key shots. Here are some tips to help you put together a killer photo book.

Venice Italy

The Wow Shot

If you were photographing a story for a magazine, your wow shot would be a double page spread. This is the photo that needs to capture the viewer’s attention and make them want to turn the page to see more. This is no different if you are putting together your own photo book from a recent trip.

Depending on what the trip or story is about, you’ll need an image to capture the basis of the narrative. For example, if you are in a national park, your double page spread might be of a stunning landscape vista, or if you’re in a city it might be a famous landmark. The key for this image is that it has the wow factor so choose wisely.

The Landmark

Everyone has seen the world’s landmarks thousands of times and they have been photographed even more. That is because they are amazing works of art or architecture, natural wonders, or historically important places or things. Thus, they should be on your destination shot list and subsequently in your photo book.

How you photograph them is up to you, so that’s where your research and creativity can help set your images apart. It is key though to not overwhelm your photo book with photos of the landmark, just two or three images are more than enough.

The Blue Mosque – Instanbul Turkey

To avoid having repetitive photos of a landmark in your book try to capture one which focuses on the whole place (the shot from the distance). Then add one or two that focus on the details or what’s happening in and around it. This will help your friends and family stay more engaged with the story and make it less boring to look through.

The inside of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Local Food

For me, the local food of a destination is one of the main aspects that should be captured and featured in any photo story about a location. After all, every country, city, or region has its own specialties. But photographing food outside a studio can be challenging. You are often battling low light conditions, as well as a product that will begin to deteriorate the longer it is left.

Food – USA

The easiest way to photograph food without the control of a studio is outside using natural light. Find somewhere with some shade which will make it easier as you won’t have harsh shadows from direct sunlight to deal with. Once you have your photos, just edit them to one or two key dishes rather than showing what you ate at every meal.

Food in Istanbul Turkey

The Locals

This is the photo that most people struggle with as it requires you to engage with the subject and some photographers can often find that daunting. But a photograph of the locals is one of the key shots that should be in your vacation photo book. However, even if you have a lot of photos of the locals, pick only a few key ones rather than including everything. Try to have a mixture of traditional and environmental portraits to avoid your photo book from looking too repetitive.

One of the best places to get candid photos of locals going about their daily lives is in local markets. This is often where you will see the real destination away from the crowds. Local markets will also give you an opportunity to photograph local foods and produce as well so make it a priority for any destination you are visiting.

People in Turkey.

Cityscapes

The skyline of a famous city is often one of the main photos that people like to see from a destination. But doing the scene justice and ultimately having a photo that captures people’s attention in your photo book requires research and dedication to achieve. Often a great cityscape photo can work for your opening wow shot, but it needs to be more than just the city skyline.

It could be a dramatic sky, an alternative view of the skyline, or maybe just the way you have composed your image with a point of interest in the foreground. Capture a stunning cityscape and it will immediately stand out in any photo book.

Cityscape in the United Arab Emirates.

Close-ups

Magazines often call these sort of images fillers, in that they look wonderful when used in a small size. It could be that you have a series of nine of this sort of close-up images all clustered together in a square. Not only will they look great, but they are also incredibly fascinating to look through.

Details are all around you at any destination so the most important thing is to keep your eyes open and look around. It could be carvings on a wall, local fauna, or even street signs. Not only will they look great in your photo book but they will also show the viewer things that are often missed by the naked eye.

Details – Cambodia

The Alternative View

The one problem facing all photographers these days is that most places have been photographed numerous times. So how can you make it look different in your photos rather than showing people the same photos they have seen so many times before? This part comes down to you as a photographer and how creative you can be on location. Sometimes you get lucky and unique photo opportunities present themselves before you. But often you will need to think of how to make your images different.

Having a few photos which are different from the usual ones you’d expect from a destination can really help make your photo book be engaging to friends and family, and possibly even potential clients.

Brick Lane is one of the historic and unusual parts of London. Most tourists stick to the landmarks, but areas like this can really offer a different view of a location.

Conclusion

We’ve all sat there as a relative has shown us hundreds of photos from their recent trip, most of which are the same. Putting together a cohesive vacation photo book from a recent trip is not only good practice for real life (if you are working on a story) but also helps you to enjoy seeing and sharing your photos. People love seeing photographs and if you can engage your viewer, even if they are a family member or a friend, then you are on your way to being a great photographer.

Any other tips or advice? Please share them below.

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