• John Johnston Photography.

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    If you have any questions please drop me an or call me on 07749547218.

    Thanks
    John

Category Archives: Photographers

Dolly skater for DSLR.

Picked myself up a little skater / dolly product for my cameras. I already own the glidetrack but i figured since this wasnt so expensive i’d pick it up.

The only downside is it can only be used on smooth surfaces but the upside is its so small compared to the glidetrack and your dolly shots can go on for as long as there is a smooth surface:-)

Plus the wheels can be turned so you have many options with this little thing.

Below is just a little test but i can see this being useful in a lot of situations.
You gotta love the introduction of amazing HD video in these little cameras.

dolly skater

Sanyo Eneloop Batteries

For anyone ( photographers ) who dont use these batteries, go get some:)
I already have about 16 of them but just recieved another 8 ( you can never have enough batteries as a photographer ) from Amazon this morning.

A couple of reasons why i use them for my speedlights is my canon 580ex’s seem to have a faster recycle time in between full powered shots. So if i set my speedlight to full power, fire a shot off, its ready again within seconds to fire off again at full power. Obviously even faster if coupled them with Canon’s battery pack.

Another reason is these batteries hold/keep their charge ALOT better than other batteries. So i can charge them and leave them be for weeks/months and if i decide i want to use them, they are fully charged ready to go. Other brands lose their charge over a period of time.
According to their website….

The key-advantage of the eneloop compared to conventional rechargeable batteries is its extremely low self-discharge. Once charged eneloop keeps its charge even if you store it for 3 years. (85 percent of the charge after 1 year, 80 percent after 2 years, 75 percent of the charge after 3 years)

For a rechargeable battery this is a revolutionary advantage.

Go check them out over at their website – Eneloop batteries

Eneloop batteries

Glasgow Product Photographer.

Having just finished a product shoot through in Cumbernauld last week ( which i’ll be blogging soon ) i thought id try out a wee personal project with the new light tent that i purchased.
Some may be wondering what a light tent is? See Here:)

Below are a few shots i took of a watch i had lying around the house. The reason i wanted to try this particular product is how reflective it is. One of the hardest parts of shooting anything reflective like this is trying to minimize the amount of reflection you get from your lights whilst photographing it.

Ive shown 2 examples. The first example i have both lights shooting towards the watch. Doing this you can see a lot of reflections on the watch coming from the lights.
The second example i moved the lights almost behind the watch ( as shown in the first pullback shot ) to try and minimize the reflections around the edges of the watch. Both producing 2 completely different shots IMO.
Another thing you really try to do is minimize shadow. Although personally, i like to show a little shadow beneath the product to show its not actually floating. Again, a personal choice:)

Ive also posted some pull back shots to show any ( geeks like me:)) photographers my set up.
Gear used was :

Canon 5D Mark II triggered by Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and 2 Flex TT5′s on Canon 580ex flashes.
Canon 100mm Macro Lens.