The new year ahead - 2013

First off: Happy new year to all! we all happen to still be here (well most of us in fact  and we probably will be for the next couple of years to come. Lets wait and see what the next world Apocalypse idea will be.

Enough about the world! Time for what you are really here about - Photography!
I have been slacking slightly over the past few months and havn't really posted anything up here. I have thought about it, I just never got around to it. I am going to change that over the next few days.

FroKnowsPhoto Competition

One of the YouTube channels I've been subscribed to for a while has recently just started up a competition. This competition has over $7000 worth of stuff up for grabs like tripods and Black Rapid straps. If you are interested in entering click here. More information can be found on the link to enter or on the following video. Good luck if you are entering!

I am not a part of this competition I am just relaying the information through to anyone that reads my blog.

Isolated Images

Here are a couple of images I took a while back. I've been a bit lazy and I am only uploading them now (sorry guys!)

Most of these images were meant to appear on my stock photography profiles but after I did some closer inspections of the images I noticed a lot of dust on some of the electrical components... BUMMER! Sometime ill have to redo these photos.

Update: General things

I really shouldn’t be writing a post now as I should be studying hard for my matric exams but anyways.

Couple of things to update on:

Firstly- since the last time I made a post I have taken exactly 0 photographs. Yes you read that correctly! Zero! I know you’re just as disappointed as I am. However I have been busy with a few other things such as email signatures, email accounts and other forms of social media. Hopefully at the end of my exams (the 26^th of November - It’s soon!) I can put my head down and really crack on through all the things I’d like to do.

Stock Photography in South Africa - It's Not All That Easy

Hi all,

So I've done a few uploads of my images and well out of 4 uploads 1 was selected. Fotolia accepted my stapler image but Dreamstime complained about exposure and contrast. At least they give more details as to what is wrong with your image when compared to Fotolia.

Photography Hints and Tips - Google and Its Usefulness

Some of you may have notice my blog has had some changes recently (moving up in the world as some would say). It has been tweaked and formed into something more pleasing to the eye over time and has been slightly monetized. This is not all though. Today i managed to link up my long dormant domain to my blog and you (yes you) can view my blog by typing www.wezphotography.co.za into your preferred browser. Don't worry you could still use the old link if you really wanted to but i don't see why you would.

Stock Photography in South Africa - First image accepted!

Hi all,

This morning i woke up to see an email i have been waiting for all week

Hello wezphotography,
Congratulations!
Fotolia has approved photo 45863874. The image is now available for sale. It may take up to 24 hours before our search engine incorporates your image into the keyword database. 
Regards,

Stock Photography in South Africa - Good news

This is a follow up from my previous post: Stock Photography in South Africa.. EISH!

I have done some more reading into Microstock photography and many Stock photographers in South Africa say by far the easiest way to go is through Moneybookers. Paypal is definitely a good way to go but the high withdraw fees (Paypal + reserve bank + your bank + FNB) turn people away not to mention the monopoly of FNB being the bank that controls withdraws in our country.

Exams around the corner

Hi all, My posts here may be less frequent over the next 7 weeks as I will be writing my final exams (yay school will be over!) but after that I should be back in full swing. When I return I will hopefully full this blog up with loads of guides, pictures and general information.

Lighting Diagrams

Hi all,

I've been putting a lot of research into this blog (spent most of last night and this morning on it: small tweaks etc.) I decided to help out those interested in starting photography or need help with lighting since this is what has been my biggest interest ever since I saw David Hobbies blog. Definitely worth checking it out by clicking the picture below

My plan for this blog is to post pictures that i take and also post the lighting diagrams and shot set-up for said image. I will also post some guides and general tips on the things I have learnt in my research. Hopefully ill inspire a few people and maybe get famous (don’t we all want that?)

1st High key shot

1st High key shot, a photo by wez1007 on Flickr.

my first High Key photo. still some fixing to be done to it but its not too bad. slight gradient on the top of the background. nothing a little Photoshop cant fix! next up is learning how to do clipping paths!

Stock Photography in South Africa.. EISH!

Hi all.

I have started the great venture into the world of stock photography! I've gone through a couple of books and I am currently improving my knowledge on Lightroom and Photoshop processing.

I have seen the need to start making a couple bucks off of my photography as a lot of time and money has been invested in equipment and knowledge. I do not really charge people around my small town for photographs since there is a lot of competition and I am still new to it all. However I have a few tricks up my sleeve. If I offer people photo shoots for close to nothing but then tell them in return all they need to do a couple photos for myself (ok not those exact words but I'm sure you get the idea). This would mean the model / client is happy since they pay a very decent amount for their shoot and I am happy because I earn a little money off the shoot and possibly more off the long lasting stock. Win-win situation!

my flashes have all arrived! I now own a YN 560 (pretty big and powerful if you ask me) and a YN468 II both of which are amazing speedlights. I have now got an umbrella as well. after watching David Hobbys' lighting seminars I decided that I NEEDED at least 1 umbrella and so ordered one.

Yn468II returned...

So my yungunuo yn468II had to be returned.... pretty sad about that. There could be a number of things that caused it... bad connection and maybe even slight overheating (running in slave mode with other people taking photos will lead to an overheated flash...) but hopefully it will be back in a week or so... next in the pipeline is a new YN560 (1st gen) if I can get it on auction for under R600. Otherwise ill be investing in a set of yungunuo 301p triggers ( I think that was the model number but I'm not really sure) anyway its a set of 2 receivers and one transmitter. It has the hotshoe mount on the top with a pc sync port on the side (I'm hoping both can be used symitaniously. ) an up side to these little tirggers is they will mount ontop of a tripod (they have the thread underneath) which is awesome if you can't afford a lightstand and umbrella mount ... shall post an update soon. In the mean time here is a link to my flickker.. couple shots on there and more to come

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wez-photography/

Stock photography

Just resigned up for a istockphoto account... hopefully i can start making some passive income off of it.

EDIT: may be a while before that starts to happen.... havnt managed to get some models ect... maybe a still life table is a good idea

new flash + cardboard snoot = awesome selective light

so as you can see the new flash is awesome.fairly powerful and very well built absolutely no wobble on the hot-shoe and the tilt and rotating is solid. next up are some gels, YN560s and some wireless triggers

first post! and some awesomness to come!

been a busy week so far. with school projects and all... however this weekend should be interesting as my new Yungnuo YN468II has just arrived... possibly some pictures and a slight review are on the way!!