A surprise again that the readers of Sedona’s local weekly entertainment magazine made Bob Coates Photography the 2018 winner of Best Photographer.
Thanks so much to the people of Sedona for voting me in! And, thanks to Kudos (The Good Life) entertainment magazine/newspaper for holding the contest.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
I am incredibly fortunate to live in a picturesque area filled with red rocks, blue skies, and bounteous wildlife. I carry a camera with me wherever I go. I used to try to do this in the past but found myself parking my camera when I wasn’t officially working because the weight was uncomfortable. As a Panasonic Lumix Ambassador, I find that I have a camera with me at all times because the gear is lightweight and gives me the quality I need.
Path down to Bell Rock in Sedona made with FZ2500
My quest for lighter weight gear was prompted by my wife Holly who pointed out that I was hauling thirty-five pounds of photo gear with me on personal trips. When I said, “What’s your problem? You aren’t carrying it.” She replied, “Neither are you as you often leave the gear in the room because it is so uncomfortably heavy. My wife is a brilliant woman who knows how to pierce my sometimes thick skull.
Courthouse Butte – Images processed with Adobe Photoshop and Skylum’s Luminar 2018 **
Today I’m featuring the Lumix FZ2500 which is a prosumer camera. It can do almost everything as it is an all-in-one with a zoom range of 25-480mm and tons of features. The FZ2500 is a little under 2 1/2 pounds. The beauty is that it can focus in macro mode almost as close as you can get the camera to the subject. With the built-in f2.8-4.0 power zoom lens, it has a reach of 480mm optical. That’s a long way!
Detail of Courthouse Butte
One more thought is that many times a crop of the photo can be much stronger image and tell the story in a better fashion. Here’s square crop of the top photo in the post.
A stronger rendition of the top photo with a square crop.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Take ten bucks off Luminar or other Skylum software with the coupon code – COATES
“I’m an optimist. I’ve always believed the future is going to be better than the past. And I also believe I have a role in that. The great thing about human beings, myself in particular, is that I can change. I can do better. If you can get up every day, stay optimistic, and believe the future is better than the past, those few things get you through a lot of tough times.” – Jeffrey Immelt
It’s one of my favorite quotes, because I’m often criticized for being overly optimistic. I love this industry and while being a small business owner keeps getting tougher, there’s business out there, but it takes creativity, diversification and focus to find it.
Above Bob Coates taking a break in the studio getting ready for some ‘Chill Time’.
I don’t know anybody who’s afraid of working hard, but the tough part is patience and recognizing when you need to take a break. You can’t be creative if you’re tired or missing time with family and friends because you’re working so hard.
For example, now and then something comes along that totally lights your fire. You’re driven by the passion for some aspect of this business you love. Before you realize it you’ve become completely consumed. You’re totally focused, never noticing that very thin line between your obsession for your business and that of a crack addict!
You’ve got to recognize what they meant when they coined the phrase, “Rome wasn’t built in a day!” That means it’s up to you recognize when you’re approaching burnout and take a break. It takes work to find balance between all the hats you wear, and it’s just as constructive to step away from the business as it is to keep working.
Remember, you can’t create images that tug at people’s heartstrings if your own heart isn’t in it! Recognize when you’re tired, creativity is declining and you need a break. Then, like the Nike tagline: JUST DO IT!
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic in
dustry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
I was working on a commercial job photographing product for the Crystal Magic website today. I’ve got to tell you the tethering experience with this camera was sublime. I know that is some pretty intense emotion for working with a camera. But, if you’ve worked with other systems that don’t hook up quickly to the computer or drop the connection in the middle of a shoot, numerous times, you know exactly how I feel.
Here’s one of the finished beauty shots of the bracelets showing the detail and closeup color.
I’ve been shooting with this set-up for a while and realized I hadn’t shared the ease of this and how wonderful it is when you are working on set with a designer or other creative. When they can see exactly what is happening with the live view, it speeds the setup time immensely. And, then immediately see the finished exposure seconds later, while moving RAW files, well what can I say? Wahoo!
I was working with Molly from https://www.crystalmagic.com, and we were shooting a large number of bracelets that needed multiple shots of each. With Molly getting confirmation on each Item and angle as we worked it sped up the process immensely.
Screen showing Live View from the with Adobe Bridge on the right with the captured photo
With the free download of Lumix Tether which you can get with Lumix G9 camera ownership, you can control the camera, use Live View and move images to your computer in a snap via a USB cord. I shoot to a folder on my desktop and link Adobe Bridge to that folder. When an image is photographed, you can see it almost immediately.
Lumix G9 on set. Note that the camera is set to show what the image will look like in a square format.
All images on the website are to be square aspect ratio. The camera is set to show that to make it easier to determine composition. It’s a great feature, but in case you want to view the entire image in 2/3 or 4/3 format after the fact you can strip away the crop and see all of the photos, but only if you shoot in RAW. If you shoot in jpeg, the crop factor is baked into the file.
In a couple of weeks I will be doing a video on the full use and ease of setup on the G9 and Lumix Tether system.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
No graphic by Bob Coates Photography
Many of you aren’t old enough to remember Nancy Regan’s “Just Say No” campaign, but I ran across a reference to her recently and started thinking about the simplicity of that statement. Well, it seems like the perfect way to have some fun thinking about a few new ground rules for professional photographers:
Just say no to thinking, “I’ll fix it in the computer later!”
Just say no to companies who make promises to deliver on time and then don’t come through.
Just say no to lowering your pricing before you’ve exhausted every idea you have available to add value!
From an old post from Cliff Mautner: “In order to combat the apprehension of my wedding clients, I felt the need to add a bit of value to their collection in lieu of reducing my pricing – which I was dead set against. An added hour here, a flexible payment plan there, and things fell into place nicely.”
Just say no to putting off that mailing you need to do to all your previous brides who are now starting families.
Just say no to those “trolls” in your life who drain energy instead of creating it!
Just say no to giving up the fight to be creative in attacking the market and developing a program of diversification in your business.
Just say no to negative people in your life. They don’t have to love your dreams, just respect them!
Okay, who wants to add a few more?
Skip Cohen has been involved in the photographic industry his entire career and previously served as President of Rangefinder/WPPI and earlier, Hasselblad USA. He founded SkipCohenUniversity.com in 2013. Skip is a co-host for “Mind Your Own Business” and “Beyond Technique,” webcasts through Photofocus.com, writes for several publications including Shutter Magazine and is actively involved in several advisory boards for non-profit organizations.
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Best embroidery ever. Give Queensboro a try, get a $20 instant credit to get started by clicking on the logo! They specialize in great quality custom logo apparel and promotional products with the best customer service.
Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
