What appealed to me was a phrase Loic used,

"Its a lot better to make your own job than look for one."

In my world, most people work for somebody else, more likely than not a large company. I myself have always worked for large retail organisations - Halfords, Woolworths, Jessops and Machine Mart.

I've never even considered starting up on my own, and always dreamed that if I ever managed to make my living from photography, it would probably be working for someone else.

Loics statement got me thinking. If I really want to make photography my job, why don't I start thinking about how I could make that job myself. How could I create a company that would earn its revenue from streams related to photography.

This is the first of a series of posts where I consider that issue. What should my job be? What's the business plan? What are the alternatives? How can I make a career of my love of photography?

Watch this space.

Thanks, Rob.

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

No trip can last forever, and like all camera manufacturers Olympus had to move on from the Trip 35 to more modern designs. The XA2 is one of the more simpler models from the XA Series, but that's also its appeal.

Running off two SR44 batteries, the XA2 features automatic exposure and zone focussing where you move a little switch to select the camera to subject focus distance.

I like the clam-shell design, but the shutter button is very sensitive, so be careful as you compose your shots not to fire the shutter too early.

The electronic exposure means that the XA2 can handle longer exposures that the Trip 35, making it a lot more versatile, but of course watch out in low-light situations for camera shake.

I've taken some OK shots with my XA2, and it's a great little camera, so if you see one going cheap, snap it up, the XA2 is another fine film camera from Olympus.

Thanks, Rob.

Getting back into the groove...

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Subscribe with other Podcatchers. (Google Reader, etc) (For Free)

Download / listen to the mp3. (Right-click then "save target as" / "save link as".) (Did I say it was free?)

Download / listen to the LOW BANDWIDTH (small file-size) mp3. (Right-click then "save target as" / "save link as".) (Again, free!)

 Please check out TechPodcasts.com.

My new Yongno YN560 flash.

The May / June Assignment.

My Two Attempts:

My Fort Fareham Photowalk: (You can watch a slideshow here.)

(The whole set is here.)

Check out Everyday Jones at their website and on Facebook.

If you'd like to contribute a little something to SCL, please Donate!

Come on over and join the Flickr group.

Cheers, Rob.

(If you can't see the video please click here.)

The Galaxy Nexus is a great phone and its gorgeous 4.6" screen is perfect for watching video, but there is a fly in the ointment, and that fly is bandwidth, and it's swimming with a close friend Google Listen.

To explain further, the common Podcast Aggregator that comes wirh Android, "Listen", at the moment can't subscribe to video podcasts. Sure, there are paid solutions out there, but I prefer a free answer whenever I can.

The fact that most users are also on restrictive mobile data plans means that you don't want an app downloading video podcasts that are hundreds of megabytes in size whenever it likes. We need to be able to control what happens and when, and to do that we need a great fee app - "Podkicker".

With Podkicker you can subscribe to video podcasts without the fear of exceeding your monthly bandwidth allowance, because you choose when to refresh the feed and you choose when to download the video files. 

I really enjoy watching Twit Photo, so in the evening when I'm on my home wi-fi network I open up Podkicker and fresh the feed of that particular show, and if there's a new episode I download it over Wi-Fi and not the mobile network.

Podkickers built in Video Player works fine, but unfortunately it won't remember where you got to if you close the app, but that's a small niggle in an otherwise great app.

Podkicker probably won't replace your audio podcast app, hey, I still use my old Ipod Nano for that, but Podkicker does provide an elegant solution for downloading and watching video podcasts on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus Andoid Phone, using the new Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System. Why not give it a go yourself, after all, it's free.

Thanks, Rob.

(If you can't see the video please click here.)

C'mon, if you haven't visited The Strobist at least once in the last couple of years and hence fancied having a go at off-camera flash you can't have been reading any of the photographic press.

Small strobe / flash photography promises the studio look of the professionals at a fraction of the cost and without all the hassle of hot-lights or studio strobes.

Even though off-camera flash can be cheaper than larger strobes, it's still not that cheap, but at least with the JJC JF-T2 Wireless Flash Triggers we can knock a few bucks of the price and have a go for a more reasonable price.

I got my twin reciever pack from eBay for about UK£20, and so far they've been reliable and a complete bargain. They work with two of my older flashes, and my newer Yongnuo flashes, on all of my cameras, from vintage Olympus Trip 35's to my modern 350d Canon dSLR.

The system works using Radio Frequencies so there's no line of sight problems, plus there's four channels so you can avoid interference from other units and transmitters.

I'm no expert at using these flashes, but what I have learnt is that having the flash system is only the start, there's a whole world of new techniques and light modifiers to master... So lets get learning!

Thanks, Rob.

(If you can't see the video please click here.)

If you're wondering what Instagram is all about, please let me explain. It's a combination of photo editing app and social network, a Twitter for photographs if you like. Use the camera part of the app to take a photo, edit it, then share it with your followers. If you're in the mood to look at images you can peruse those of the people you follow or the most popular photographs in the whole network.

What I like about Instagram is the way that you can choose who you follow and then have a daily dose of inspiration from their photographs. Sure, lots of the most popular images are cute girls, cats and pop-stars, but dig a little deeper and choose who you follow with care and you'll have a more rewarding experience.

You don't only have to use your phones camera to take your Instagram photos. It's just as easy to share photos from your SLR or compact camera, especially if you use Picassa and the Google Plus app to upload your photos from your desk top to the net and your phone.

Recently bought for one billion dollars by Facebook, Instagram is only going to get bigger and attract more users, so dive in now and get a piece of the action, and it might just help to improve your photography too.

Thanks, Rob. 

A few car boot goodies too...

Subscribe on Itunes. (Will open Itunes, then you need to click on the "subscribe" button.) (Free)

Subscribe with other Podcatchers. (Google Reader, etc) (For Free)

Download / listen to the mp3. (Right-click then "save target as" / "save link as".) (Did I say it was free?)

Download / listen to the LOW BANDWIDTH (small file-size) mp3. (Right-click then "save target as" / "save link as".) (Again, free!)

Please check out TechPodcasts.com.

Sponsor: GoToMeeting with HD Faces makes it easy to collaborate online anytime. Try it Free!

My new Yongno YN460-II flashes.

The March April Assignment.

The new May / June Assignment.

Check out Everyday Jones at their website and on Facebook.

If you'd like to contribute a little something to SCL, please Donate!

Come on over and join the Flickr group.

Cheers, Rob.

(If you can't see the video please click here.)

Let's face it, with the built-in editors and apps like Instagram and Flickr, it may seem strange that my favourite Android Photo editing app is Vignette, but let me share with you two words - Full Resolution.

Other apps may be more popular, but the paid version of Vignette offers photo editing without a compromise towards image quality and size. To put it simply, Vignette doesn't  make your photos smaller.

This is the paid version of the Android app, and to date it's the only application I've paid for, but it's worth every penny. There are a wide variety of filters, from lomo type extremes to subtle black and white or colour conversions.

There's some nice frames as well, and the only missing feature is the ability to straighten images where they're slightly off kilter, but I'm sure we'll see this in an update in the not too distant future.

So, if you want the best photo eding app for your Google Android Smart-phone, like my Samsung Galaxy Nexus, head on over to the Play store and grab Vignette, you won't regret it.

Thanks, Rob.

There are two questions I ask myself before I press the shutter to try and keep my photography fresh and interesting, and you may find them helpful too.

1) Has someone taken this photograph before, and how can I alter the Subject, Composition or Light to make the image unique.

2) Am I about to take a Post Card Photograph?

How do you keep your photography fresh and unique?

Thanks, Rob.