Last week, after a long time, I picked up the classic Nikon D850 DLR camera. Why did I do that? Well, to digitize the photos I took with even more classic cameras like the Nikon FM 3a. I didn’t stop with this relatively recent history and started digitizing some of my parents’ old slides as well. You will soon be able to read about how this can be done easily and without a special scanner. But before that, you can read about the latest news from the world of photography.
Maniacal about making backup copies of photos and video footage like I am? Then this baby is for you. When set to RAID 1, the SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR drive automatically duplicates data onto a second built-in drive as it’s stored to provide worry-free data redundancy.
Overview
Backup copies of data, images and video files are like vitamins: we know how important they are, but sometimes we forget. Oh, you might sidestep disaster for a while, but sooner or later fate catches up with you. The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR external RAID drive takes human frailty out of the equation and automatically keeps two copies of everything you save to it. The benefits are obvious. In the unlikely event that your primary storage drive fails, you have a backup immediately at hand. Score that Technology 1, Regret 0.
RAID is an acronym for “Redundant Array of Independent Disks,” which is self-explanatory. RAID drives can be configured in various ways, each identified by a number after the word RAID. For example, RAID 1 is often called “mirroring” because it saves two identical copies of all data as described here. The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR external drive comes out of the box set up as a RAID 1.
The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR can also be arranged as a RAID 0, where instead of being saved as two distinct and identical copies, data is divided and spread across multiple drives. This is called “striping” and the primary benefit is increased data transfer speed (but with no redundancy). This SanDisk drive can likewise be setup in the JBOD configuration. JBOD stands for “Just a Bunch of Disks.” In fact, with the SanDisk G-RAID Mirror drive, users can change the RAID mode setting from default RAID 1 to RAID 0 or JBOD just by flipping a switch, i.e., without the need to download an app or install special software.
Key Features
Delivers up to 44TB of max capacity (22TB in default RAID 1)
Equipped with two 7200RPM Ultrastar Enterprise-class hard drives
Default configuration is RAID 1
Expandable capacity via PRO-BLADE SSD Mag slot
Fast Thunderbolt 3 interface
Pairs well with iPad 4 tablets
Reasons to Buy Today
Your image and video files are priceless
See reason #1
Sum & Substance
The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR external RAID is an external drive that can easily be transported from your studio to your office. Measuring 5.2 x 8.3 x 4.0 inches (133 x 210 x 103 mm) it occupies minimal desk space and delivers maximum peace-of-mind. It’s plug-in simple to use and hard to mess up. It can grow with you because it features a PRO-BLADE SSD Mag slot that enables you to add SSD capacity and performance without adding to your workspace.
Data safety is important for non-photographic files, too, of course. Nowadays, everyone keeps records of life transactions digitally. Protect your tax records, client communications and other important data backed up automatically.
Highly recommended.
Price & Availability
The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR external RAID is available in 12, 16, 24, 36 and 44TB capacities. Prices start at $659.99 for the 12TB model. (Bear in mind that RAID 1 mode divides the overall drive capacity in half when saving two copies; a 12TB holds 6TB of data in total.) It’s available now from Western Digital, parent company of SanDisk, and authorized SanDisk Professional retailers and e-tailers including Amazon.
Capturing beautiful female portraits can be very challenging for inexperienced photographers. And when the “model” is also new to the game, things become even more difficult. After all, many of our subjects aren’t really models at all, but rather spouses, loved ones, or female friends.
This tutorial from the popular In Your Fayes YouTube channel isn’t about camera gear, posing tips, lighting, or shooting techniques. Instead it concentrates on an oft-ignored task; namely, how to put your subject at ease during what could even be her first modeling session.
Today’s instructor Faye is the channel’s namesake and she’s known for her captivating portraits. She’s also an attractive professional model, so she knows of what she speaks. In this helpful six-minute episode she shares eight ways to make your subject feel comfortable and allay any fears—thereby making the shoot productive and fun for both of you.
Faye has been modeling since she was 16 yeas old, and she quickly learned that her comfort level had a big impact on what “I radiated with my face” and the impact of what the photographer was able to convey. This fact is particularly important when working with novice subjects because, despite a great appearance, they may be insecure about their looks.
The process begins when first reaching out to a subject, and it’s important to be very clear about how you intend to proceed, the type of images you’re looking for, and what you expect from the model. Wardrobe expectations are also very important.
Getting to know your subject and developing trust and a friendly rapport is the first thing you should do, so don’t pull out your camera and begin shooting as soon as she arrives. Otherwise the session could become awkward from the onset, and that can be difficult to remedy as the shoot proceeds.
Tip #3 has to do with the fact that “everyone loves food and music,” so make sure to put on some sweet sounds with good vibes and have snacks or even a meal planned depending upon the anticipated length of the session. In other words, it’s difficult for a nervous, moody, or hungry model to really deliver the goods.
Good communication is also essential, both before and during the shoot. So make sure the model understands the “feel” you’d like to convey with your images and solicit her input so that she feels like an important member of the team.
At this point you’re only halfway through the lesson, and there’s much more helpful advice to go, including the power of positive feedback and why you should let the model view the photos as they’re captured so it’s easy for her to switch things up for a different look. Ask a few questions, listen carefully to the subject’s responses, and, above all, have some fun!
Outdoor photographers often confront a confounding challenge when shooting scenes with an extremely wide range of tones from deep shadows to bright highlights and everything in between. The problem is this: Their cameras lack sufficient dynamic range capabilities to nail an exposure in one shot.
As a result, there’s often a choice between crushed shadows, blown-out highlights, or worse yet—a combination of the two. In this eye-opening tutorial from photographer Kurt Wang you’ll learn an effective solution that combines shooting techniques with straightforward post processing.
Wang is a Toronto-based shooter and educator who specializes in urban landscape photography, but the method he explains will work wonders for other types of images you shoot under difficult light. Best yet, this method is easy to accomplish. In fact, Wang makes this bold promise: “Whether you’re a novice or seasoned photographer this tutorial will equip you with the expertise to master HDR photography.”
So what exactly is HDR? The term is an acronym for “High Dynamic Range,” and you may think that there’s no need to read further because you own a new high-end camera with a great sensor that’s capable of rendering more than an amazing dozen stops of light.
But think again, because Wang says that even if this is the case there are still many situations with very tricky lighting and super high contrast that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to balance highlights and shadows with one shot in the camera. This is where HDR Wang’s HDR process can save the day.
In this comprehensive lesson Wang walks you through a step-by-step process of shooting photos using Exposure Bracketing, and subsequently merging them into one stunning HDR image with either Lightroom, Camera Raw, or HDR Pro in Photoshop.
Wang discusses Auto Exposure Bracketing and helps you determine how many images you need to shoot in your sequence. Equally important is deciding on the proper exposure gap between each of these multiple photos.
The last portion of this critical lesson is understanding the method of merging your images during post processing, and he demonstrates a number of techniques that do the trick with whatever software you use. He even describes how “Deghost” works if Lightroom HDR photo merge is approach you decide to take.
Overview
The SanDisk Professional G-RAID MIRROR can also be arranged as a RAID 0, where instead of being saved as two distinct and identical copies, data is divided and spread across multiple drives. This is called “striping” and the primary benefit is increased data transfer speed (but with no redundancy). This SanDisk drive can likewise be setup in the JBOD configuration. JBOD stands for “Just a Bunch of Disks.” In fact, with the SanDisk G-RAID Mirror drive, users can change the RAID mode setting from default RAID 1 to RAID 0 or JBOD just by flipping a switch, i.e., without the need to download an app or install special software.
