I had issues with my photos having spots that I attributed to dirt on the sensor / high-pass filter. My current blower bulb / brush could not deal with the issue and I really do not like touching that component much. I read a lot about this wonderful blower from Giottos called  Giottos Rocket Air Blaster. Looking at the product shots, I kept wondering how it could be so much  better when it looked about the same as what I already had. Maybe the special nozzle? Well, reviews were good so I went for it. When I took it out of the box, I knew what the difference was. It was not even close to the size of my current blower brush. I know, I could have ready the specs and measurements and arrived at that conclusion sooner but that would be too easy. That brings me back to a few posts back where I commented on the lack of perspective in a landscape photo. However, in product photography, isn't the perspective more important? While the lack of perspective in an outdoor photo can be a fun way to spur imagination, product photography should provide answers, not questions, right?

So, how does this Giottos Rocket Air Blaster compare to my old blower brush? You can see that one on the left. Comparing left and right, they still look pretty similar, right? Yes, it may already be clear that the new one can fit more air volume in the bulb due to its shape. But all in all, don't they look comparable?

In the third photo to the right, you can see the two blowers side by side. So now the question of where the effectiveness comes from is answered and it's clear the blast of air from the Giottos will be much more powerful.

But do you know how big they really are? Based on your monitor size and resolution, the photo may be smaller or larger than life size but for most, it will be smaller. Without adding a comparative element, something of a well known size, the true size is still not obvious.

By the way, the new blower worked like magic. Both my sensor and mirror and focusing screen are now clean without blobs on my photos and in the viewfinder. For under ten bucks, you can't go wrong!

Have fun!

All in all a pretty straightforward book with a simple premise and a strong reinforcement. Bryan advocates using manual exposure mode to control the ambient light and manual flash exposure to get predictable results. The book shows many examples with descriptions of how he got the desired results. The provided examples not only reinforce the material but also provide inspiration. Because of the simple premise and lots of examples, this is a quick and fairly easy read.

I had to quit reading for a while right at the beginning though and make myself some tools that would let me get the most of the book. Unlike what the book assumes, my current flash (SB-600) does not do the manual calculations automatically! Well, it does not do them at all. And since I own two of them and am happy with them otherwise I did not think the book's price should be increased by the price of a new SB-700 or SB-900. I think I will not be alone in this boat and some words on how to use flashes without the automation would be nice. I spent a whole evening putting together an easy to use one-page chart that would give me the aperture / distance data while reflecting the flash power, ISO, and zoom head setting! I needed the flash manual for my unit and some Google research. Later, I shot a variety of combinations to check that my matrix properly worked. That alone was an interesting and fun exercise. However, what the manual alone had was not exactly usable, calculating everything based on guide numbers in the field would not be too practical. I plan to share more on this topic soon including the chart I created.

In a few spots the book has a few inaccuracies. It suggests adding a diffuser or a gel cuts about 1 stop of light and as such you had to move the light to about half the distance. I realize the two about words and even the 1 stop being just approximate, but reenforcing the square law of distance would mean that if a gel cuts 1 stop of light, you only need to move to just under 3/4 of the distance to double the light back up (need to move to 1 / √2 of the distance, i.e. 0.7 times the original distance).

Towards the end, the book mentions there is no exposure compensation button on the camera. I realize how that was meant (at least I think so) and the rest of the explanation wrapped around both the camera and the flash being in manual mode was right on and with great examples. However, for people still using automation a bit more, there is an exposure compensation button on the camera. For example, on the D200 it is right next to the shutter along with the mode selection. And unfortunately, it works in a rather confusing fashion, in my opinion, at least combined with TTL flash. Using this exposure compensation button, the overall exposure is impacted, ambient and flash! I do not like that behavior a bit. It is not easy to darken the ambient exposure without impacting flash. Once the main exposure compensation is adjusted towards underexposure, the flash exposure compensation has to be brought up in the reverse direction to maintain the proper flash exposure. That alone is a great reason to go manual to stay sane! Many times, I use the camera in manual mode to control ambient light and then keep the flash in TTL. I find it rather predictable. Unlike using automatic exposure that can be fooled by different darkness of the background, the flash is usually right on since by the time the light reaches the background, it is less meaningful for the overall exposure.

Have fun!

Revisiting Locations Again, Buffalo's Lafayette Square The original target this evening was the Roosevelt Plaza in Buffalo, NY. I wanted tout together something unique that I did not have yet but I guess I set the bar too high, or I just was not ready with the right idea yet. After a little while of trying without much luck I walked couple block south and ended up back on Court Street with the view of the beautiful Buffalo City Hall. Not to repeat myself, I headed further away this time all the way across the Lafayette Square towards the Central Library. And once there, a new idea showed up. Let's put the city hall in the background, way back in the background. Let's show some of the other architectural staples of downtown Buffalo.

Front to back, The Rand Building on the right is the third tallest building in Buffalo, NY (1. One HSBC Center, 2. Buffalo City Hall, ... 4. Main Place Tower, 5. Liberty Building). It was the tallest when built in 1929 at 391 feet and 29 stories. It has the prominent radio transmitter on its roof. Like the City Hall, it's built in the Art Deco style.

The Liberty Building on the left is the fifth tallest building in Buffalo built in 1925 at 333 feet and 23 stories. It has two towers, east and west, each fitted with a Statue of Liberty replica on its roof (only one tower visible here looking from the east).

Buffalo City Hall is the tiny building in the far back just to the right of the Liberty Building. It's the second tallest building in Buffalo built in 1931 at 378 feet and 32 stories.

Have fun!