LowePro Messenger Exchange Bag Review by Jansen Photo Expeditions

      

The LowePro Messenger Exchange Review by Holly Higbee-Jansen of Jansen Photo Expeditions.

When I scaled down the size of my camera to the new awesome Olympus mirror-less,  I wanted to get a light weight, low profile bag.  The LowePro Exchange Messenger has got great access to a moderate amount of photographic gear, and it works in the city or out in the back country.  Check it out! 

By Holly-Higbee Jansen

www.jansenphotoexpeditions.com                               www.markjansenphotography.com

Our Changing Megapixel World

I remember just a few years back when we were on an mountain top in 2004, deep in the Canadian Rockies capturing Alpine glow peaks with our trusty and reliable 5 mega pixel Olympus E-1's.

We had made the break from film completely and embraced digital capture and all of it's supposed limitations and new advantages in image quality as compared to what the critics were saying at the time. That its just not as good as film, yet! When looking back to those days compared to the high resolution 16 and 36 mega pixel image machines we brandish ourselves these days. I often wondered then if the technology we used then would ever match or even come near to at least 35mm film in the future affordably.  Would it be possible for mere mortals to obtain these devices without venturing into the high cost realm of medium format digital bodies.

We'll, I think day has come where all can reproduce great quality images at a relative low cost. The field has been leveled to the point that everyone one has a shot at quality capture. Now composition and story rule, and the artist can rise.  The days of chasing this quality Holy Grail have seemed to end for most albeit the high ISO crowds. I’ll explore that later…

By Mark Jansen

Digital SLR's and Smart Phones. When Worlds Collide?

Seems the world has cracked open and imagery flows with abundance in our digital world. Being an early adopter of digital image capture devices dating back to early 2000, we armed ourselves with simple compact 2 megapixel cameras and accepted their limitations for the shear flexibility and excitement of leaving the dark cave of chemicals behind forever.

We moved through several cameras onto a steady array of DSLRs, with improvements and now have finally come to, what I feel is the pinnacle of digital SLR image detail and my journeys end,
the Extreme Mega pixel and high ISO offerings by the big camera manufacturers.

We now seem to have come full circle back to the compact days with the fun and sheer creative powers that smart phone cameras provide us all.
While complimenting these modern high mega pixel DSLR marvels in a fascinating way, these small  camera phones give us a daily feed of expression at our finger tips, while not possible with DSLR's, albeit for some of the new mirror-less options. These smart phones tune our senses, and help train our eyes daily on how we view the world. Now, when we power up our DSLRs, our vision is sharpened to a higher level than ever before.

By Mark Jansen                                                                                   ©JansenPhotoExpeditions.com
www.markjansenphotography.com
www.jansenphotoexpeditions.com

Mark Jansen: IPhoneography- Getting The Shot Using Your Iphone

Mark Jansen: IPhoneography- Getting The Shot Using Your Iphone

We're looking forward to our webinar on Jan. 31 with the Manfrotto School of Xcellence, please join us to learn about everything photographic with your iPhone!  Sign up in Advance to secure your place!
Manfrotto School of Xcellence   Reserve your webinar seat now.

Big Sur Adventure Photo Expedition

Experience a bit of glorious Big Sur on a late December Day!

Find out more about our workshops

LowePro ProRunner AW 350 Pack Review by Mark Jansen Photography 2012

The LowePro Pro Runner AW 350 Pack Review by Mark Jansen of Jansen Photo Expeditions     

     Choosing a large versatile camera pack can be daunting, especially if you're an outdoor photographer with a desire to venture into the urban jungle occasionally and want to blend in a bit. You might want to check out the LowePro 350 All Weather pack.  It's got great access to a moderate amount of gear, in a nice medium size pack. It's got a stowable pull out waterproof cover and a side stretch pocket for a small folding umbrella or water bottle. This bag works great. You can crawl out of the back country and head out for an Architectural shoot the next day with the same pack that looks low key and professional. 

www.jansenphotoexpeditions.com           www.markjansenphotography.com

Tanzanian Photographic Odyssey in 2013...

Tanzanian Photographic Odyssey in 2013...

JANSEN PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS

AND

INFINITE KAYAK ADVENTURES

PRESENT A 14 DAY PHOTOGRAPHIC TANZANIAN ODYSSEY

Dates to be announced

$8950 per person

View Itinerary

That Wild moment in time...

Mom & Kids

Capturing any wild animal can be a challenge anytime. Being prepared for the action with your camera settings is only half the battle. The real challenge in a wildlife captured, is a unique moment in time. Search the scene for patterns. Attempt a story when an opportunity presents its self. Take a breath, looks what's going on around that wild bear, big cat or goat...

Exploded vistas await you...

Yucca Vista

Strange as it may seem, the last thing on my mind was that way back on July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb exploded at a place called Trinity. Located in White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Today, the Trinity bomb site is open to visitors only twice a year. But we were interested in exploring the white powered wonderland that gave this place its name "White Sands". Located just outside of the Trinity site, and always open to the public. We weren't too sure on what to expect. Wow, I was quite surprised at the natural beauty and immensity of the place. It's not like anything you'll see anywhere else. You'll think of snow drifts at first glance. The white is almost blinding in this wind swept land.

It was a lucky day for us, we found sweeping vistas of cloud filled skies, and the gusting winds of a clearing storm. We found intriguing compositions waiting to be discovered in this pearl like landscape. Yuccas seemed to be emerging from drifting white sands, like aliens from another world, great legions of them, wading through the wind blown dunes of white. I found Black and White exposure to be the only solution for relaying most of what I was feeling on this blustery day.

"Click" to see more images

You can also "Click" watch and see some of the area.

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles…

If you don’t have a level feature already built into your digital SLR, this is the single most important little tool that can save you lots of time in post process. Yes, you might have an interesting landscape capture. But if that horizon line is off, you’re going to be loosing pixels when you fix it. So, spend 5 bucks and get it straight in-camera. Pick up one of these hot shoe bubble levels and save yourself some time and frustration.

Ya Gotta have a plan...

East side Iris

This is the first thing I do before heading out into the wilderness. I find it really helpful to formulate a little plan to maximize my photographic experience. First, I'll simply check the weather forecast for the selected area, then the lunar cycle. A full moon setting always adds interest to an early morning sunrise. Then, if the weather is projected to be a little blustery, this may contribute some interesting skies, even better if Black & White exposure is the final conclusion of an image. In fact, the death of many photographic expeditions is blue bell, clear conditions. Clouds invariably, can be the major part of a less than spectacular landscape image. In many photographs, clouds can really make an image sing. Also, you might want to check for a particular bloom of flower if that's your game. Many wildflowers bloom at different elevations as spring rolls into summer in high elevation locations. I always like to check with a local botanist in a given area before I head out. This saves a lot of time when you can key into a particular area. Don't be afraid to ask a particular question on a flower you might be looking for. These folks spend almost every day cruising around an area and might be able to put you on to some great locations with first hand information. You also might want to take advantage of many of the wildflower updates online.

Exclusive Hot Air Balloon Field Guided Photography Workshop in Santa Paula, California! July 29th - 30th, 2012 This workshop is located in the lemon and Avocado orchards just outside the farming community of Santa Paula, California during the Citrus Classic Balloon Festival. Our workshop runs in the late afternoon of July 29th and early the next morning, July 30th. The participants will be granted exclusive access by the event organizers to specially designated areas during this event. General admission guests will not be allowed in these areas. Special photographic areas will include farming structures near the ballooning areas, as well as orchards and farming equipment. We will photograph a period barn, classic exterior housing and a pump station before the main evening's balloon "Glow" events which occurs on the evening of Friday the 29th. Then, our group will gather again in the predawn hours for an amazing balloon launch, conditions permitting. During the workshop all participants will be granted in turn, special access to an elevated flat bed platform. This will provide a slightly higher expansive view of the ballooning area far and above the general admission crowds During our workshop, we'll cover all aspects of photography to help you get the best out of this amazing fluid and action packed environment. Instruction will include how to get the best positioning for storytelling, and how to have the best creative composition to help draw as many elements into the frame quickly. We'll be close by for instruction and to answer any questions in regards to exposure, lens selection and usage of your equipment. Click this link and go to: "Sign Up Info" at the bottom of the listing to register.

MARK JANSEN FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY NATURE / AVIATION / AUTOMOTIVE / GIANT WALL MURALS / CANVAS / PLEXI

It's a low down dirty shame...


 This is my latest landscape photography trip tip… Next to the camera, your Tripod is is single most important piece of equipment for sharp and interesting image making. We will be getting low, down and dirty and you tripod will need to also. So if you can, try to loose your long and useless center Column. Like I’ve done here… Some tripods have a way to do this without cutting it, some don’t. It seemed like a shame, but I cut mine and never looked back.

Now I’m not suggesting you butcher your pricey carbon tripod like I did, but shorting it will open your wide-angle lenses to a whole new world! But if you’re handy with tools, you shouldn’t have a problem. Have a look and see if you can pull this off, or out some way. Remember, this is only a tip, before your next trip!

©MarkJansen

New workshops in 2011... "Click"

Watch the July 18th episode 4 of WEEDS on SHOWTIME and see some of my early Yosemite Landscapes.

Create and tell a story with your image.

Dawn Patrol

Slow down and look around. Bring all the elements together in your frame, foreground, mid-frame and background. Attempt to tell a story with your composition.