Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review:Four thirds (17.3x13mm) sensor 16.1 million effective pixels with 4608x3456-pixel output Weather...
Category: Other Tools
Irreverent Fun
Don’t think for a minute that fun can’t be a potent photo tool. Of course, there is nothing irreverent about having fun in and of itself. It’s what you use for fun and entertainment during photo shoots, and those long photo-editing sessions at your computer, that can certainly be irreverent. (See Figure 10.25.) Personally, I’m [...]
Notepad and Pen
Just as with dreams, if you don’t record a great idea the moment you have it, the essence and details of the idea can fade away or be entirely forgotten. In fact, I have my best ideas when lying in bed at night. For that reason, I always keep a small notepad, and a pencil [...]
Wooden Clamps
Many years ago, a friend gave me a trunk of tools that included some wooden clamps. Wooden clamps can be bought new, usually with metal spindles, but I have a few vintage, all-wood versions that I use in the studio, and I have seen vintage wooden clamps sell very inexpensively on auction websites. Wooden clamps [...]
Forearm
I suppose it was only a matter of time before I included a body part as a photo tool. The forearm is the perfect tool to help wrap electrical extension cords with lengths from 10 to 50 feet. The length of the forearm is just about right, and you have the elbow on one end [...]
Cable Clamps
Throw away those twist ties and pieces of string, because there is a better way to bundle cables together and be able to release them quickly, and the tool is called Cable Cuff or Cable Clamp, depending on where you buy it. (See Figure 10.13.) You can see the wide variety of sizes and colors [...]
Clear Fishing Line
Even though fish have excellent eyesight, fish don’t know clear fishing line is there, because they just cannot see it. You won’t either, and the beauty of that is clear fishing line tends to disappear when present in a photograph. But there are two other attributes of clear fishing line that make it a must-have [...]
Compass
I have heard that Leonardo da Vinci could draw a perfect circle freehand. I’m no da Vinci, and unless you are, you’ll be well served to keep a compass, a.k.a. pair of compasses, around for just such a purpose. (See Figure 10.9.) If you want to cut a color theatrical gel to fit over a [...]
Aviation Snips
Aviation snips, a.k.a. tin snips or sheet metal shears, are a potent tool for cutting. Because of that, you might think that aviation snips are too strong for most photo-oriented materials. But the reality is very much the opposite, and tin snips work great for cutting a wide variety of materials a photographer might use, [...]
Gorilla Glue and Gorilla Tape
If you took a look in my cabinet of glues and adhesives, you’d probably say that I had enough. But most glue works great only on paper, wood, or plastic. The problem with most types of glue is that they don’t bond to some other materials like stone, metal, or rough, textured ceramic. If the [...]
