Holiday lights in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

Last week I was up in San Francisco with my son and his wife because we heard about some special holiday lights in Golden Gate Park to celebrate the park's 150th anniversary. As you may know, I love night photograph, so I was excited to see the display with them and also capture some images in the camera. 

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 34mm, ISO 125, f/13, 8 second exposure)

Our first stop was in the main concourse of the park (where I thought the light display would be located). The newly remodeled Music Bandshell was lit, but not much else. 

(Canon R6, Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm, ISO 2000, f/15.6, 1/20 second exposure)

This was the same night as the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, but it was not a great shot with the Canon R6 and Canon 100-400mm lens. I needed a lot more reach!

(Canon R6, Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm, ISO 100, f/15.6, 1/400 second exposure)

But we did have a great view of the moon!

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 32mm, ISO 640, f/9, 3 second exposure)

After a little searching on our phones, we found the location of the "Entwined" display which was a short walk away in Peacock Meadow. I used my Canon R6 camera with the Canon RF 24-105mm lens and mounted it to my Gitzo tripod and Acratech ballhead.

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 32mm, ISO 640, f/4, 1/6 second exposure)

It was fun to capture the ever changing colors and brightness of the display.

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 35mm, ISO 640, f/6.3, 2 second exposure)

The Conservatory of Flowers was lit with projectors, which was really pretty.

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/10, 2 second exposure)

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/14, 2.5 second exposure)

As the patterns changed, I would keep shooting images to see which scene I liked best.

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 640, f/14, 2.5 second exposure)

This reminded me of my time in Sydney, Australia during their Vivid display (which you can see below).

(Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 24-105mm lens at 59mm, ISO 160, f/4, 1.3 second exposure)

I had so much fun leading a photo tour in Sydney during the week of their light show. You can see those images here.

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 35mm, ISO 640, f/8, 13 second exposure)

Before heading home, Emma wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge at night for the first time. I drove us down to Fort Point, where we were lucky enough to have calm winds and a nice temperature. I took photos of the bridge, but knew that it needed something more. 

(Canon R6, Canon RF 24-105mm lens at 31mm, ISO 640, f/8, 15 second exposure)

I lowered the tripod to include the chain in my photo, and lit the chain with the flashlight of my iPhone. That one added element made the photo so much more interesting. 

Even though I grew up in San Francisco, it just never gets old shooting there.

Oh...and not only did we have a great time in the city, but we also enjoyed an unbelievably good pizza from the world famous Tony's Pizza Napoletana!

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
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If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

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Holiday gift ideas - and some of my favorite products of 2020

I know this is a little late in the holiday shopping season, but some people have asked me to list out my favorite newer products and give them some suggestions to add to their gift list this year. The following list includes my favorite photography equipment which range from very inexpensive accessories to more expensive cameras and lenses. I have put shopping links for each item so that you can go right to B&H Photo to order if you want.

I hope this helps you find something good for family, friends or yourself.

Canon R5 and R6 Mirrorless Cameras

Price: Canon R5 ($3899) and Canon R6 ($2499)

I have reviewed both of these cameras in previous blog posts and have found them to be game changers. Even though I have the Canon 1Dx Mark III and Canon 5D Mark IV in my gear bags, I keep opting for the new mirrorless cameras to do my work. The Canon R5 has a massive 45MP resolution while the Canon R6 only has 20MP. But honestly, 20MP is more than enough for what I shoot (95% of the time) and so I have opted to use the Canon R6 for the bulk of my professional shooting. The Canon R6 is also much less expensive than the Canon R5. Either way, you won't go wrong with one of these amazing products.

Canon RF 100-500mm lens

Price: $2699

I returned from the rain forest of Costa Rica in the middle of November, where I used the Canon 100-500mm lens for the first time. This lens is not ideal for low light shooting, since the best aperture at 500mm is f/7.1, but for any situation with decent light, this lens is great.  It is super sharp all the way from 100mm to 500mm, with fast focusing and easy hand holding.

Thinktank Essentials Convertible Rolling Backpack

Price: $279

I love the camera bags from Thinktank and have been using them exclusively for many years. They are super rugged and I have never had any issues with them, even having taken them around the world countless times. My go-to bag for the last 5 years has been the Thinktank Streetwalker Rolling Bag, but their latest rolling backpack is even smaller and lighter. For those times when I want to travel light, I am now using the Thinktank Essentials Convertible Rolling Backpack which can be rolled or used as a backpack. For longer trips when I pack a lot of gear, I still opt for the Thinktank Streetwalker Rolling Bag, and for shorter trips or day trips from home, I am now using the Thinktank Essentials Convertible Rolling Backpack. Both are awesome!

MagMod Magbox and MagShoe

Price: MagBox ($179) and MagShoe ($59)

I am a simple guy who likes to go out and take nice photos without taking a truckload of equipment with me. When I go out to take portraits of people, I take the MagBox. I really like the light weight of this product, but the best part is the simple way in which it sets up and breaks down. And I mount this on the MagShoe, which is on top of every one of my light stands now. I know this sounds weird to say that a flash folder makes a huge difference to me, but this one does. It holds the flash better than any other product and even locks it in place. Both of these products are simple and work incredibly well.

Tourbox

Price: $159

I recently reviewed the TourBox on the blog (which you can see here), and have fallen in love with this little accessory. You can read the review to learn more about this little known product. But trust me when I say that this little tool can really help you save time when editing.

Macbook Pro 16"

Price: Starting at $2099 (and up depending on configuration)

About a year ago I reviewed the new MacBook Pro 16" from Apple and was really impressed with the performance and usability of this laptop computer. It is so good that I have never traveled without it. When it came time to upgrade my desktop system, I actually researched different options and decided to purchase a second MacBook Pro 16" to act as my desktop workstation (connected to an external monitor and keyboard). I opted for the unit with a 2TB SSD (since most of my data is stored on the Drobo 8D RAID system) and 64GB of RAM (to make sure I got the best performance when using programs like Adobe Photoshop).

iPhone 12

Price: (Depends of carrier and capacity)

I was really happy with my iPhone 11 Pro that I had been using for more than a year, and even contemplated holding onto that phone and not upgrading to the iPhone 12. But with the new 5G network (providing super fast Internet access) I saw that as a reason to upgrade. Heck, the iPhone is my most used piece of technology and so it better be good. I decided not to go with the iPhone 12 Po since the main difference was in the camera lenses, and if I want a really good wide photo, I will grab my Canon R6.

ProGrade Digital V90 SD Cards

Price: From $84 (64GB) and up

Now that I am doing almost all of my professional photography using the Canon R6, I need to get a lot more SD memory cards. I love the V90 cards from Pro Grade Digital because they are fast and very reliable. The speeds are perfect for capturing RAW images and 4K video (which I am starting to shoot now).

Powerex Batteries and Chargers

Price: $12 and up

Things don't have to be expensive to be useful, and that is the case with the Powerex batteries. These are not really new, but the company has come out with some new chargers with which you can recharge the batteries. I have their D cells (for flashlights), AAA (for my wireless microphones), but mostly use their AA batteries for all of my Canon 600 EX-RT flashes. These batteries last a really long time. I am still using sets of AA batteries that I put into use 3 years ago. My favorite charger is the MH-C800S which will charge AA and AAA batteries in an hour.

Jeff Cable Sweatshirt, Hat or Mask

Price: Sweatshirt ($35), Hat ($19), Mask ($15) - Plus $8 shipping

OK, I know that these are not really photography accessories, but I thought I would add them to the list anyways. I do have branded sweatshirts, hats and face masks if you are interested in proudly wearing these while you are taking photos. If you are interested in purchasing these, click here.

__________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

__________________________________________________________________________  

I am addicted to this new inexpensive photography tool

I have to admit something to all of you...I have been using a new tool on my main editing workstation for the last 6 months and only mentioned it on my Zoom meet ups. I have been meaning to write a blog post about it, but just have not gotten to it. Well...until now.

The product is called the TourBox and it has become an essential part of my workflow now. The company contacted me at the beginning of the year and offered to send me one to try. They said that they had a product that would help save time in my editing by customizing buttons and dials for commonly used tasks. I agreed to try it but did not have high expectations. I figured that this would be another gimmick that I would try a couple of times and throw in a box never to be used again. But I was definitely wrong.

The first thing I noticed was that the product was packaged really nicely which made me think that this company took this product seriously. I removed the TourBox from the box and noticed that it had some serious weight and a really solid build. The buttons and dials all moved with precision. Not what I was expecting.

Then the big questions was: What would this do for me? 

As many of you know, I do almost all of my culling and retouching using a combination of Photo Mechanic and Adobe Photoshop. I do not have a mouse on my editing computer, instead I rely solely on the medium sized Wacom Intuos graphics tablet. 

So...my right hand is usually holding the Wacom stylus, and my left hand used to work the keyboard to select the Photoshop tools, brush sizes and more. 

Now my left hand rests on the TourBox and I have most of my common commands programmed to the TourBox buttons and dials. It works with Mac and Windows and comes with very intuitive software for customizing the device. I have one dial set to control the zoom level, another set to control brush size, and buttons set for commonly used tools like the healing brush, clone tool, the undo command and others. There are many knobs, wheels, and buttons on the top and side of the device. I even have a different set of shortcuts for different applications on my computer, and the software automatically knows which program I am using and switches the commands without me having to do anything. 

I did not even know that I was becoming addicted to this product until I had to unplug it one day to plug in another USB device. I started to retouch some images and immediately became frustrated without having the simple controls of the TourBox. It was plugged back in immediately and has not been removed since.

The price of the TourBox is $159 which makes it a pretty inexpensive tool in the photography world. And since it helps me work faster and more efficiently, I think that this is a great value.  I thought I would share this with all of you, since it could be a great holiday gift for you or your photography friend. 

__________________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

__________________________________________________________________________