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Articles by Mike Hagen
Aaron Rodgers Impresses and Wins Over New York Jets
By Mike Boot Hagen “Personally, I’ve never worked with a quarterback like this. And I’ve had good quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo or Matt Schaub. This is a different level and I don’t want to badmouth the others.” Robert Saleh is in love. The New York Jets coach couldn’t contain his excitement about new signing Aaron Rodgers at a press conference. So far they’ve only trained together, but according to Saleh “it couldn’t be better”.
Shutter Priority and when to use it
Shutter Priority exposure mode is a fantastic tool for controlling how motion appears in your final image. This exposure mode allows the photographer to set the shutter speed while the camera determines the aperture. Most DSLR and mirrorless cameras offer at least four different exposure modes including shutter priority, aperture priority, program mode and manual.
Aperture Priority: What’s it good for?
As a working photographer, I’m always looking for the most efficient way to create high-quality images. There are hundreds of things to keep track of during a photoshoot, but nailing the exposure is definitely one of the most important. Choosing the right exposure mode can make or break your photo experience. Modern cameras generally give the photographer four exposure modes to choose from: programmed auto, manual, shutter priority, and aperture priority.
Mobile Mondays: Five keys to printing cell phone photographs
Every week I get questions from people about the image quality of cell phone cameras. In fact, just the other day, I was meeting with a gentleman over coffee and he wanted to know about the image quality differences between my Nikon D850 and my iPhone X. It seems like a silly question to compare a DSLR camera to a tiny mobile phone camera, but the truth is that many of us use cell phones all day long.
The advantage of Auto ISO
Using Auto ISO can have advantages when you’re out photographing. In photography, ISO is a rating of your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. A lower ISO like 50 or 100 means that the sensor will require longer shutter speeds and larger apertures to properly expose an image. A higher ISO like 1600 or 3200 will require shorter shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures to properly expose an image.
Exponential Power Acquires MaeTec Power, Inc. to Provide National Coverage for the Telecom Industry
Exponential Power, Inc. has acquired industry-leading MaeTec Power, Inc., expanding the company’s position as a best-in-class supplier MENOMONEE FALLS, WI, UNITED STATES, January 12, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Exponential Power, Inc. has acquired industry-leading MaeTec Power, Inc., expanding the company’s position as a best-in-class supplier of DC power, products, solutions, and services.
Landscape photography on overcast days
There are two things you are almost always guaranteed to find on the Oregon Coast: Stunning beauty and lots of rainy, overcast days. I took my family on a quick photo adventure along the central Oregon coast. We wanted to enjoy the last days of sunshine before school started up again. One location we visited was Devil’s Churn. It’s a place known for beautiful landscapes surrounded by crashing waves from the Pacific Ocean. My plan was to shoot some sun-kissed landscapes.
Using the Sony Xperia 1 for portrait photography
Drobo – Drobo is the smartest storage solution in the world. Drobo is storage that protects data — photos, videos and everything else — from hard drive failure. Drobo is peace of mind for the working pro or serious amateur who have a lot of external drives cluttering up the desktop. Save 10% with the coupon code PHOTOFOCUS. Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World’s Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting.
Using the Sony Xperia 1 for portrait photography
This is part two of my two-part review of the Sony Xperia 1 camera system. Sony’s PR firm sent a new Xperia 1 for me to test for about one month. Over this year, I’ve been doing more and more studio photography with mobile phones. Not only am I intrigued by the new technology, but I’ve wanted to move outside of my comfort zone and push myself creatively. Creating images in non-traditional ways is a great way to grow as an artist.
Capturing outdoor and travel photographs with the Sony Xperia 1
Drobo – Drobo is the smartest storage solution in the world. Drobo is storage that protects data — photos, videos and everything else — from hard drive failure. Drobo is peace of mind for the working pro or serious amateur who have a lot of external drives cluttering up the desktop. Save 10% with the coupon code PHOTOFOCUS. Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World’s Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting.
Capturing outdoor and travel photographs with the Sony Xperia 1 review
Drobo – Drobo is the smartest storage solution in the world. Drobo is storage that protects data — photos, videos and everything else — from hard drive failure. Drobo is peace of mind for the working pro or serious amateur who have a lot of external drives cluttering up the desktop. Save 10% with the coupon code PHOTOFOCUS. Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World’s Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting.
Capturing outdoor and travel photographs with the Sony Xperia 1
This is part one of my two-part review of the Sony Xperia 1 camera system. Sony’s PR firm sent me a new Xperia 1 to test for about one month. Like many of this year’s new mobile phones, the Xperia 1 comes with three cameras: A ultra-wide, a normal and a telephoto. My goal was to see how Sony’s new technology holds up to some of the other standard-bearers in the industry. I took the camera to a variety of locations to see how well the Sony cameras held up to my iPhone and my Nikon Z 6.
Combining the SpyderCHECKR with the SpyderCUBE for high-end results
The Datacolor SpyderX Capture Pro bundle comes with four tools designed to help you attain professional-level color accuracy and focus in your studio hardware. The SpyderLENSCAL, SpyderCHECKR, SpyderCUBE and SpyderX Elite are packaged together to assist you with calibrating your camera, computer monitor and post-processing software. Two of the products, the SpyderCUBE and the SpyderCHECKR, work well as independent tools, but can also be mounted together for even better color and tonal accuracy.
Calibrating your camera’s autofocus system with the Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL
Making sure your camera’s autofocus system is properly calibrated can be important for a variety of reasons: • Determining if your lens’ AF servo is operating properly • Determining if your camera’s AF sensors are accurate • Calibrating your lenses for a specific working distance; for example portraiture or macro The Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL is designed to help owners of DSLR cameras ensure their autofocus systems are operating accurately.
How to use the SpyderCHECKR for accurate and consistent colors
As photographers, we spend thousands of dollars on camera gear and lighting equipment. We also take great care to pose the subject and achieve accurate focus, but how much time and effort do we put into making sure the colors are spot on? The Datacolor SpyderCHECKR is designed to help you create very accurate color profiles in Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop or Hasselblad Focus. To do this, you take a test photo that includes the SpyderCHECKR’s 48-swatch color grid.
How to use the Datacolor SpyderCUBE for white balance and contrast
Achieving accurate colors and contrast in your images can be difficult for many photographers. Without the proper tools, you are often just guessing at the best overall settings during post-processing. For lots of people, getting close enough to accurate color works most of the time, sometimes you need to be more accurate. The SpyderCUBE is a tool by Datacolor that allows you to quickly and accurately set a photograph’s white balance, white point, shadows and black point.
Customizing Nikon Z 6 & Z 7 function button for autofocus
This year I added Nikon mirrorless cameras to my photo business and have been very happy with them. After spending so many years mastering the Nikon DSLR cameras, including writing many books and teaching hundreds of workshops on those systems, I came to really trust the performance of Nikon’s DSLR cameras. Platforms like the Nikon D5, D850 and D500 are excellent and are some of the best cameras ever created.
Creating visual dissonance in outdoor and travel photography
One of my favorite things to do in photography is finding patterns. Like most people, I am drawn to patterns, textures and repetition. As fascinating as patterns and textures can be on their own, photographs of these elements are invariably improved when a pattern or texture is interrupted by something unexpected. Visual dissonance I commonly refer to the technique of breaking up textures and patterns as visual dissonance.
Four creative techniques for photographing fireworks
Drobo – Drobo is the smartest storage solution in the world. Drobo is storage that protects data — photos, videos and everything else — from hard drive failure. Drobo is peace of mind for the working pro or serious amateur who have a lot of external drives cluttering up the desktop. Save 10% with the coupon code PHOTOFOCUS. Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World’s Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting.
Using the texture slider in Lightroom Classic
I use Adobe Lightroom Classic every day in my photo business and rely on it to help me produce images for my clients. The May 2019 software update brought a new tool called the texture slider. I immediately began using the tool for much of my work and it has already found a home in my digital toolbox. The slider allows you to emphasize or de-emphasize medium-sized details in your images.
Having fun with the Canon IVY Cliq+ camera and printer
Photography should be fun. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to test out this new Canon IVY Cliq+ camera that is also a printer. Both my daughter and I put it through its paces to see if it meets the “fun” criteria. The answer? Yes! I asked my daughter to take the camera to the beach with a few of her friends. My instructions were to shoot as many pics as she wanted and to also try out printing from her cell phone. Her and her friends absolutely loved it.
Best organizational practices for Luminar 3 catalogs
In addition to being an excellent image post processing tool, Skylum’s Luminar 3 is also a digital asset management tool. As with any photo organization tool, users should put some thought into the organization of the images on their hard drive before getting too far along with the software. A poorly-organized hard drive can make finding and working on your photographs a nightmare.
Integrating Aurora HDR into your photo editing workflow
I use Lightroom Classic for the vast majority of my post-processing work. I like to use the software package as my overall working hub and then shoot images out to other programs as necessary. As long as the images come back into Lightroom then it is easy for me to always find them and organize them into folders, collections and slideshows.
Decade mini tripod base – how does it compare to the Platypod? | Photofocus
Please support our partners: Adobe Stock – The marketplace where videographers and photographers make money with their video footage and still photographs. Become a contributor today! Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World's Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting. ACDSee – Experience ultimate creative freedom with the world's first digital asset manager and RAW editor with layers.
New software bricked my iMac - how my data backup system allowed me to recover
My iMac (Retina 5K 27”) completely crashed after installing DJI Pro Assistant software. Here’s how I recovered from the crash along with three important lessons about having a backup system everyone should take away from my experience. VIDEO The cause I own a DJI Ronin S gimbal and use it with a variety of cameras for video work. One of my favorite DSLR video bodies is the Nikon D850.
Talking the Travel Backpack 45L and Tech Pouch with Peak Design
My very first purchase of Peak Design gear was in 2011 when I came across its Capture Clip system on Kickstarter. I actually contacted the president of the company, Peter Dering, and asked him if I could take a prototype of the new product up a mountain I was climbing that same week. He said yes and overnighted me a prototype so I could test it out in the field. That started my long affiliation with their products.
Photo Mechanic details version 6 and Plus, announces catalog feature
The team of developers at Photo Mechanic have two big software announcements for 2019. First, Camera Bits (Photo Mechanic’s parent company) is releasing a new version of their excellent browsing software in March 2019. Second, they are releasing their long-awaited image catalog functionality in April of 2019. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this software announcement.
First Look: Tenba Axis and Fulton camera bags
Please support our partners: Adobe Stock – The marketplace where videographers and photographers make money with their video footage and still photographs. Become a contributor today! Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World's Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting. ACDSee – Experience ultimate creative freedom with the world's first digital asset manager and RAW editor with layers.
A preview of what's to come for Saramonic Pro Audio Equipment
Please support our partners: Adobe Stock – The marketplace where videographers and photographers make money with their video footage and still photographs. Become a contributor today! Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World's Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting. ACDSee – Experience ultimate creative freedom with the world's first digital asset manager and RAW editor with layers.
First Look: Tether Tools Onsite Power and Case Air Wireless Tethering System
Tether Tools is always working on creating new products aimed at making our photography more efficient. I met up with my Tether Tool friends at the 2019 WPPI show in Las Vegas and asked them show off two of their newest products. Check out our quick video interview below, then read on to learn a bit more about the ONsite Power System and the Case Air Wireless Tethering System.
Three new bags from Think Tank Photo at WPPI 2019
Please support our partners: Adobe Stock – The marketplace where videographers and photographers make money with their video footage and still photographs. Become a contributor today! Lume Cube – Proudly known as the World's Most Versatile Light™, Lume Cube represents the future of LED Lighting. ACDSee – Experience ultimate creative freedom with the world's first digital asset manager and RAW editor with layers.
What is a "normal" lens?
Photographers often talk about using “normal” lenses for their work. What they are referring to is a lens that mimics the field of view of human vision. In general, most photographers agree that a focal length of around 50mm on a full-frame camera is regarded as a normal lens. So, what exactly is a normal lens? The standard litmus test is a lens that renders a printed photograph of a scene held at arm’s length that matches the real-world perspective when viewed with one eye.
Macro photography with the Nikon VR 105mm f/2.8 and D850
The Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 IF-ED lens was released in 2006 but continues to be one of the best macro lenses on the market. I love shooting with this lens and regularly use it for my professional work as both a closeup (macro) and portrait lens. Video and field use In the above YouTube video, I demonstrate photographing bees and insects in the branches of a maple tree and a cherry tree.
Datacolor SpyderX Elite review and installation guide
Datacolor contacted me a few months ago about a new color calibration product they were releasing. After meeting with their PR team over a conference call, they sent me a pre-release SpyderX Elite calibration system to test. They did not compensate me for this review, nor do they expect anything specific in return. I’ve written this review as a service to our audience and as a guide to those who might use this equipment in their own workflow.
Shutter Priority and when to use it
Shutter Priority exposure mode is a fantastic tool for controlling how motion appears in your final image. This exposure mode allows the photographer to set the shutter speed while the camera determines the aperture. Most DSLR and mirrorless cameras offer at least four different exposure modes including shutter priority, aperture priority, program mode and manual.
Aperture Priority: What’s it good for?
As a working photographer, I’m always looking for the most efficient way to create high-quality images. There are hundreds of things to keep track of during a photoshoot, but nailing the exposure is definitely one of the most important. Choosing the right exposure mode can make or break your photo experience. Modern cameras generally give the photographer four exposure modes to choose from: programmed auto, manual, shutter priority, and aperture priority.
The advantage of Auto ISO
In photography, ISO is a rating of your camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. A lower ISO like 50 or 100 means that the sensor will require longer shutter speeds and larger apertures to properly expose an image. A higher ISO like 1600 or 3200 will require shorter shutter speeds and/or smaller apertures to properly expose an image. Auto ISO is a fantastic tool to use for birds in flight, sports and action photography. Oystercatcher, Iceland. Nikon D500, 200-500mm, f/5.6, 1/1000s, ISO 100.
Trail Tough’s new Trail Savage Gear Set
COTTAGE GROVE, MN – We’re extremely excited to tell you about Trail Tough’s new offering for Suzuki Sidekick, Geo Trackers, and Grand Vitara. What is exciting is not only that Brent and his fine crew in Medford have bridged the gap between the stock gear set and the 4.24:1 low gear set that may be too low for many applications.
Creative Christmas tree light photography
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for us photographers because we get to experiment with all of the beautiful colors and shapes associated with the season. I’m always striving to find new ways to be creative, so last year I challenged myself to produce creative interpretations of Christmas tree lights. I’d like to show you six different techniques I used that should help get your own creative juices flowing. Since these images require long exposures, you’ll need to use a tripod.
Getting started with Adobe Lightroom HDR panoramas
A few months ago I traveled to Knoxville, TN for my niece’s graduation. I took an afternoon to take a side trip down to the World’s Fair Expo center to do some architectural and travel photography. It was an overcast day and the afternoon thunderstorms started to roll in, but I wanted to photograph this really interesting outdoor amphitheater and noticed that I need to create a panorama in order to capture the entire structure from left to right.
Landscape photography on gloomy days
There are two things you are almost always guaranteed to find on the Oregon Coast: Stunning beauty and lots of rain. This summer, I took my family on a quick photo adventure along the central Oregon coast to enjoy the last days of sunshine before school started up again. One of the locations we visited was Devil’s Churn, a place known for beautiful landscapes surrounded by crashing waves from the Pacific Ocean.
Five keys to printing cell phone photographs
Editor’s Note: We welcome Mike Hagen to the Photofocus team. Mike Hagen is a professional photographer, author, and educator. He operates workshops around the world and is well known for his engaging style and humor. Learn more about Mike at visadventures.com Every week I get questions from people about the image quality of cell phone cameras.
The Mike Hagen Daily
www.nationalgeographic.com This story appears in the January 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine. If birds left tracks in the sky, what would they look like? For years Barcelona-based photographer Xavi Bou has been fasc...
ZUKIWORLD Reviews: Rocky Road Outfitters Suzuki Sidekick 2wd Low Kit
We install and test their new kit for the Sidekick. COTTAGE GROVE, MN -Mike Hagen installed and tested Rocky Road Outfitter’s new 2WD low Conversion Kit for the Sidekick. Results were overwhelmingly positive. This new kit really adds another dimension to the Sidekick’s wheeling ability. After I was done I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was so smooth it felt like Suzuki built it this way. Unlike the Sami 2 low, which I like to call the mystery shifter, the shift pattern is simple.
OPERATION: ROCKSTAR - Building A Stadium Rock Sidekick On A Club Band Budget - Part 2
COTTAGE GROVE, MN -In our first installment of this series we posed the question How far can you go with a Trackick? In this second part we pick right back up with our builders in the shop for build days three and four. We started our day by removing our 2wd transmission and installing our 4wd trans and t-case. We decided to weld the rear axle since it was cheap and we thought a lincoln locker should be fine for an off road only vehicle. Only time will tell if this was a mistake.
Over Rotation of the Rear Suzuki Sidekick Axle.
Over Rotation of the Rear Sidekick Axle. COTTAGE GROVE, MN. ?Every offroader dreams of having driveline angles that are straight but it?s not very realistic on most lifted vehicles. Thankfully, it is very possible and doable on a Sidekick. This article will give you some tips on how to accomplish this mod on the CALMINI 3 inch and Rocky Road?s Rock Steady kit. NOTE: This will require welding and grinding. This is one of my favorite modifications to the Sidekick and here is why.
Big Dreams; No Money - Suzuki Sidekick Rock Crawler Build Project
Minneapolis, MN – Building a rig for maximum performance on a budget means that it will require a lot of time and you will need to get creative with as many stock components as possible. Keeping it lightweight helps keep the stock components alive so we ditched as much weight as we could shave and only added what was necessary. That’s where it can get tricky… What money is necessary for the performance you expect and what can you pass on.
Front End of Steel for the Suzuki Sidekick Geo Tracker
Cottage Grove, MN. -A couple of years back I started having this chronic problem with blowing the guts out of my front differential. 32-inch tires, a strong motor, and a driver who didn?t want to let up just proved to be too much for the aluminum differential to take. It wasn?t until I couldn?t get through a weekend of wheeling without smoking a differential a new plan was devised.
Simple Suzuki Sidekick Modifications - Hagen’s Widening Mod
COTTAGE GROVE, MN. ?To answer the first question of “Why?”, will take a while. Our original reason for doing this modification was to be able to use the left axle shaft in the right side. This would make it far easier to swap axle shafts on the trail and we would only need one spare. Just in case you didn?t already know this, to swap out a left shaft you don?t even need to remove a wheel. If you leave the front center caps off you can remove the six 12mm bolts at the hub and remove the lockout.
Installing a Ford 9″ rear end into the Suzuki Sidekick / Geo Tracker
Cottage Grove, MN -Why do you need a nine-inch? There’s a good chance you don’t. I wanted to do this because of a few problems I was having. First were the twisted axles. After smoking several rear axles and experiencing a rash of twisted splines, I began to carry spares. If your carrying spares of anything, you are planning for breakage. Sounds like a sure sign to upgrade. Second, my rear shoes would get full of mud and wear out quite often.
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