Costa Rica Photo Tour - A full day of macro photography

You can't go to the rain forest of Costa Rica without a macro lens. There are so many cool small things to photograph there. On Aug 16th, I took our group to one of my favorite places to photograph the tree frogs and snakes in the area.

We started with the red-eyed tree frogs and everyone had so much fun capturing images of these beautiful little creatures. I would set my Canon 5D Mark IV and Canon 100mm macro lens on my tripod, determine best camera settings for everyone, and then they would take turns getting their photos, using my suggestions and experimenting on their own.

This frog is about half the size of the red-eyed tree frog (about 1/4 inch in length), and very difficult to photograph.

This lizard was about two feet long and much easier for us to photograph. I suggested that everyone move to this location, to photograph the lizard with a solid background behind our subject.

When it came time to photograph snakes, we all stood a little farther away and switched to our longer lenses (many of which were loaned at no cost by Canon Professional Services!)

Even the snakes in Costa Rica are colorful.

At this point I was using my Canon 1D X Mark II with the Canon 100-400mm lens (the same lens that most of the group was using).

This Eyelash viper was the coolest of them all. Look at those amazing markings!

We had lunch at the top of the mountain, and after taking more macro shots, we headed back towards the resort. As we were heading down the mountain side, I saw this scene and asked Dennis (our trusty guide) to stop for a group photo. Being an experienced photographer himself, I asked him to take the group shot for me. Thanks Dennis for taking this photo of our happy group!

Stay tuned for more Costa Rica shots. And if you are interested in going on the 2019 trip (only time for one next year), please contact me. We have 4 spots left.

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, 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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Costa Rica Photo Tour - The first couple of days of our tour

In August I lead another photo tour to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, one of my favorite places in the world. This was the only photo tour to the rain forest for 2018 since my schedule is just too busy to fit in any others. But it was an epic trip for the ten of us, as you will see in the following images from day one and day two of the adventure.

Since we had 10 of us, we were able to charter our own plane to get us to the rain forest from San Jose, CR. This was a twin engine plane that made the trip in a brisk 40 minutes, and allowed us to take as much luggage as we wanted.

Having done this flight many times, I told my guests that we may have visibility of the rain forest on the flight in, or may not. It really depended on the weather. I recommended that everyone have one camera with a medium length zoom lens. I was using my Canon 5D Mark IV with the Canon 24-105mm lens. Well...as you can see, it was very clear and we all got great shots from the plane.

We landed at the resort early enough to have a nice breakfast, and then went out for a walk on the resort grounds. This time I took my Canon 1D X Mark II with the Canon 100-400mm lens. In the first couple of minutes we saw this Cayman swimming in river. They are pretty harmless, so we took turns getting down low to the water and taking photos, loving the reflection in the still water surrounding him.

Also along the river's bank is a tree that is almost always covered in these birds. The difference this time was that we could see the babies in one of the nests. This is why I took the Canon 100-400mm lens, so I could zoom in on subjects like these little ones. Almost everyone else on the tour was using the same lens (other than the Nikon shooters) since Canon loans them for free to anyone who comes on one of my photo tours.

One of the great things about the Canon 100-400mm II lens is that it can focus on subjects that are very close to the lens. I was able to use the long zoom to get this "macro type" shot of a butterfly.

We saw this Tucan in a distant tree and we were able to get a reasonable photo of this awesome bird.

We did take a short drive from the resort and found some Squirrel monkeys moving from one tree to another.

On the second day, we drove out searching for the four species of monkey in the area. Not long into the drive, Dennis (our faithful guide) spotted some Howler monkeys in the branches above the road. We all got out of the vehicle and captured photos of these monkeys. This one had some bad teeth, but gave me that Elvis Presley look. That made me laugh.

While stopped on the roadside, Dennis spotted this lizard in a nearby bush. I moved to a position where the light was really nice and grabbed this shot. This was also a good teaching spot, showing how to move to avoid distractions in the background.

We also saw this Roadside hawk watching us from above.

The group was excited to see this adult and baby Squirrel monkey.

Costa Rica has the coolest looking birds!

It isn't easy to capture photos of the monkeys jumping from one tree to another, but these monkeys followed each other, taking turns jumping from the same branch, which made it a little easier.

This Squirrel monkey stopped in the perfect place for a portrait, helping all of you see just how long their tails are.

It was later in the day when we saw our first Spider monkeys. They were pretty high in the trees and Dennis and I were deciding whether it was worth stopping to try and photograph them. We decided that it might be worth it. And I am so glad that we did.

While we were photographing the monkeys, Dennis spotted a Three-toed Sloth low in the tree.

The sloth was only 15 feet from the road and almost at eye level! Usually we see sloths high in the trees, and get the typical "sloth butt" shot. But not this time!

At first, the light on the sloth was not good, but we saw that clouds were coming in, which would neutralize the light. We must have photographed this sloth for at least an hour and a half as it ate and moved around.

I told all of the photo tour guests that this was a rare treat, not only seeing the sloth so close, but also having it be so active. We all drove back to the resort happy as can be, knowing that we got some really epic photos of the sloth!

Stay tuned for more Costa Rica shots. And if you are interested in going on the 2019 trip (only time for one next year), please contact me. We have 4 spots left.

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, 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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Photography workflow - Why is it so important?

I have been teaching photography workflow for most of the last decade, and even after all these years, I still seem to get the same questions and frustrations from photographers and photo enthusiasts. 

I hear questions like:

* What software do you use for your workflow?

* How do you deliver your images to clients so fast?

* How do you work with a 14 minute deadline at the Olympics?

And comments like:

* I know you cull quickly, but there is no way I could do that.

* This trip was awesome. I will go home with my 10,000 images and go through them later.

* I went on my vacation last year and still have not finished going through the photos.

I wanted to write this blog post to try and help ALL of you work more efficiently. And when I say ALL of you, I mean it. This is pertinent to photo enthusiasts and professional photographers alike. Sure, for professional photographers the whole "time is money" factor comes into play. But having a fast and efficient photography workflow is more than that.  

What exactly is photographic workflow? It is the selection, retouching, posting and delivery process after the images are captured in the camera. 

To me, having a streamlined workflow means:

* I can go through all my photos and deliver them quickly to my clients: making them happier than my competitor's clients who are waiting weeks or months to see their proof images. This is a real competitive advantage for me. 

* I get the work done and get it off my plate. There is nothing better than culling through all my images that I just captured, finding the best for the client, posting the proofs to an online gallery, retouching a couple for the client to share, backing everything up, and knowing that it is complete. Now I can look forward to the next shoot.

* I am able to stay ahead of my work. I know so many people who capture thousands of images and fall behind. Once they are behind, the pile of photos grows and grows to the point that they never seem to catch up. Remember that old overflowing box of photos that your parents used to have? You know, the one full of random photos that would never get looked at? I strive to say ahead of all my shoots so that I don't become overwhelmed. 

* I can accept jobs that require fast turn arounds.

* Did I mention that my clients are extremely happy to have their proof image right away? Nothing is more important than this!

A typical view of me working (according to my family) - just the back of my head.

Here is how I achieve this:

* I always download my photos when I am done shooting for the day. This is true for my personal images and for client's images. I never go to sleep without knowing my images are downloaded off the memory cards. I use a fast Mac computer and the fastest memory cards and readers from ProGrade Digital so that I am moving data at super fast speeds. On my last photo tour, I was able to download all of my images from each day in 5 minutes whereas some of my guests would have to wait 30-40 minutes using slower computers, memory cards and readers.

* When I am on a photo tour or at the Olympics, I always cull through my photos and delete duplicate images, images that are soft in focus, and photos that I do not want (like people not looking good). When I shoot an event for a client and return home at midnight, I always do this process the next morning. I stay VERY focused when doing this, to make sure that I am selecting the right images to delete and the best ones to show the client. I use Photo Mechanic (more info here) for this process because it is blazing fast and helps me get the job done faster than any other program on the market. I have also spent many years doing this, so I know what to look for and make quick decisions.

(I just finished shooting a 3-day event for one of my really great clients. Between myself and my second shooter, I had 7000 images to go through. Even though I photographed their Sunday brunch until 12:30pm, I still did this whole process and had their gallery posted by 10pm on Sunday night.)

* I use Adobe Photoshop (and Adobe Lightroom would work too) to retouch my images, and usually only retouch a handful of the best photos. These could be for me to post on social media, or for my client to share with their friends and family.

* I use a Wacom Intuos Pro (medium sized) graphics tablet for all my retouching. This inexpensive tool has saved me countless hours and I rely on it heavily!

Want more information on my workflow?

If you want to get even more information on my photography workflow, check out this blog post about travel workflow, and this blog post about my Olympic workflow. I also did this presentation many years ago at B&H. It is 5 years old but most of the information still holds true. Better yet, join me on one of my photo tours where I will teach you in person. 

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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, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

__________________________________________________________________________

New videos for everyone to enjoy (and learn from)

In the last couple of weeks, there have been numerous videos posted online with me either presenting (at B&H Photo in New York) or being interviewed. These videos are FREE and will hopefully be educational and entertaining for you.

Here are four of the most recent videos posted to YouTube... (You can click on any of the video images to take you to the respective video.)

B&H Photo Event Space - Photographing Wildlife

B&H Photo Event Space - Creative Event Photography

This Week in PHOTO - Exciting New Gear from Canon and Fuji

This Week in PHOTO - Why You Be Trippin? (Smart travel habits for photographers)

I hope you enjoy the videos. If you have any comments, feedback or suggestions, please feel free to leave comments here on the blog.

__________________________________________________________________________
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, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

__________________________________________________________________________

Hands on with the new Canon EOS R camera!

My last blog post gave my impressions of the newly announced Canon EOS R camera, Canon's first full frame mirrorless camera. That blog post was written based on all the camera specs and without me having a chance to play with the camera in my own hands.

I have now had a chance to get my hands on the EOS R and wanted to follow up my previous blog with some more information and real-world thoughts.

And, as many of you know, I hate writing a review of a product based on specs. I really prefer to get the camera in my hands and see how it performs in a real world scenario. I don't shoot specs, I take photos! With that said, I want to let you all know that my first thoughts on this camera, written last Friday, mostly remain intact.

But now that I have had a chance to play with the camera, here are my thoughts:

THE CAMERA BODY

* Unlike other mirrorless cameras that I have played with, the Canon EOS R feels more substantial, much like that of a traditional DSLR. This is both good and bad. The build quality seems to be excellent, but this also means that the camera is not that much smaller or lighter than a Canon 5D Mark IV.

* Unlike many smaller cameras, the EOS R actually felt good in my hands. It was weighted nicely and had plenty of room for my rather large hands to get around the camera's grip.

* FINALLY Canon has included a UHS-II SD card slot in this new camera. I have no idea what took them so long to adopt this technology, as it was missing in the Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 7D Mark II and other higher-end cameras. Nikon and other cameras have had these higher-speed card slots for more than 5 years.

* The EOS R has a full sized hot shoe and will work with all my existing flashes. The camera has a synch speed of 1/200 sec, much like it's predecessors.

THE USER INTERFACE

* This camera is VERY customizable! The user can customize just about every button and dial on the camera (and new lenses) to suit their individual needs. I set the lens ring to control the ISO, the top dial to control aperture and the thumb wheel to control exposure compensation. I really liked this setup and felt that it mimicked my Canon 1D X Mark II and Canon 5D Mark IV pretty well.

* There is a touch bar on the back of the camera which sounds really cool, but I found that it was too slow to use for changing something like ISO. (It is possible that the sensitivity can be changed, but I am not sure about that). It was also in a slightly tough spot to manipulate when the camera was up to my eye.

* The LCD display on the top of the camera was very easy to read, even in low light. I like this display much better than what is on the current DSLR cameras.

* I always shoot using back button focusing, and found that the AF-On button was in a very tough spot. I kept having to hunt and search for it. This would take some getting used to.

* On the spec sheet this new camera shows more than 5000 focus points, which really excited me. In actual use, I found it hard to position the focus point on the new camera. I could point anywhere on the screen to move the focus point, but I would prefer to move the focal point while the camera is up to my face and I am shooting. I also found out that all the 5000+ points are not available when using Servo focus. This is a big disappointment for me since I use servo focus so often when shooting moving subjects. 

* The electronic viewfinder is excellent! When looking through the electronic viewfinder, I could hardly tell that it was a digital representation and not through the lens.

THE NEW LENSES

* I really love the control ring on the new lenses, and found it immediately useful. As stated before, I chose to manipulate the ISO with the control ring and found that much easier than finding the ISO button at the top of the DSLR cameras. I was a bit confused when I turned the control ring for the first time and nothing happened. It turns out that I had to hit the shutter button halfway down for the control ring to enable. This may a good thing since I don't want to arbitrarily set the ISO with a turn of the dial without meaning to do so.

* I did try the new Canon RF 24-105mm lens and the new Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 lens for the EF Mount and found them to be very sharp. Not being much of a mirrorless camera expert, I had always heard that the advantage of mirrorless cameras was the reduced size and weight. But just like the camera body, I was surprised that the lenses for the new RF mount were not much lighter than the L series lenses I use today. They are definitely weighted better than the standard EF mount lenses with the weight being evening distributed front to back. This was my biggest complaint of the older Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens which was so front heavy that I found it awkward to use.

* I am very happy that Canon has designed a low cost lens adapter so that I can use all my other Canon lenses with this new EOS R.

Actually, there are three different choice adaptors:

* A low cost standard adaptor
* An adaptor with a control wheel
* An adaptor with a rear filter option

I tried the adaptor with the control ring (in combination with my Canon 70-200 2.8 II lens) and found the same image quality, focusing speed and sensitivity as using my L series lenses on my DSLR cameras (with the added benefit of the control ring).


OVERALL IMPRESSION

After playing with the Canon EOS R for a little while, here are my thoughts:

* I am very excited that Canon has created the new RF mount system. It has been about 30 years since the Canon mount system has been changed and I think that this new mount will allow for some really cool new lenses in the future.

* As I stated in my last blog post, this is definitely not a camera designed for professional photographers like myself. Here is why:

- The camera only has one card slot
- The weather sealing is not as robust as the bigger DSLR cameras I use today
- The EOS R can only shoot at 5fps in servo focus mode. Definitely not good enough for the Olympics!
- The battery life is very limited (430 shots per battery)
- The small buttons are hard to reach in come cases

* I do feel that this could be an excellent camera for the non-professional photographer. It has a ton of features, great customization, excellent lens options (with the adaptor), and offers the same great sensor found in the Canon 5D Mark IV for $800 less than the 5D.

* Unlike switching from a Canon 5D Mark III to a Mark IV or even switching from the Canon 5D series to the Canon 1D series, this new R system is very different. I could not grab this new camera and go shoot an event the same day. This new camera is so different that I would need at least a couple days of shooting to get used to the new button layout, menu changes, focal point movement and more. And...I welcome the chance to spend that time with the R.

* Even though I do not shoot a lot of video with my Canon cameras, this camera has some impressive video features and should be very useful for all those videographers out there.

* Last week's event was not a camera introduction from Canon, I believe that it was the introduction of the future of Canon's camera lineup. I think that the R is just the first of many new cameras coming from the company. As I said in my last blog post, I am exited to see what comes next. I am assuming that some time in the next 18 months (before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo) we will see a new high-end mirrorless camera using this new system.

I would like to thank Calvin, my Canon Pro Rep, for taking the time to meet up with me and show me the new system. As a proud CPS member, I rely so heavily on Calvin and the other pro reps to keep me informed, service my equipment, and answer my technical questions. Kudos to him and the team!

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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, 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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Mirrorless cameras are coming out in droves! My first impression of the Canon EOS R

It seems like the last couple of weeks has been mirrorless mania with big announcements from Nikon, Canon and even Fujifilm. People have been asking me if and when I would switch to a mirrorless camera, and up until this point, I really have not seen the need to do so. For the type of photography that I do (a little bit of everything from events to portraits, to sports and wildlife), I still feel that the DSLR cameras are a better choice.

In the last couple of weeks, I have seen a ton of hype about the new Nikon Z series cameras and all day yesterday my inbox was flooded with information about the new Canon EOS R mirrorless camera announcement.

Yesterday was a big day for Canon, with the announcement of their first full frame mirrorless camera, and I see this as a tease for what is coming in the future. When I say that this is a tease, I don't mean that these cameras are not good. I am saying that the cameras may be amazing for other people, but for me being a professional photographer, I need a little more to make the jump.

Here is what I see as major improvements with the new EOS R camera:

* It has the same 30MP sensor as the Canon 5D Mark IV in a smaller camera body.
* It has more than 5000 focal points, which I really want.
* The smaller size and weight of the camera and new lenses would be welcome, especially when traveling.
* Canon has come up with a control ring on the lens which can be customized. A very cool idea!
* The new RF lens mount allows for faster focusing and more communications between camera and lens.
* Shooting events, I welcome the ability to shoot with no shutter noise at all.

Here is why I won't make the switch just yet:

* The camera only has one memory card slot. This is a deal breaker for me. I ALWAYS shoot RAW images to both card slots in my Canon 1D X Mark II and Canon 5 D Mark IV cameras. I am capturing images for paying clients, and I need to know that I have their images safely on the memory cards. Spending 12 years in the memory card business, I know what can go wrong with the cards. And even though I am using ProGrade Digital cards and readers now, which are the highest quality, I still don't want to rely on only one card to store my photos.

* The Canon EOS R cameras are not weather sealed like the bigger DSLR cameras I use today. That may not matter for event photography here in Northern California, but it definitely could be an issue when I teach wildlife photography in Costa Rica.

* The interface of most mirrorless cameras is vastly different from what I am used to. Since the cameras are smaller, there is less room for buttons and dials. And I use those buttons and dials on my cameras all the time and do not want to be hunting through menus on a screen to change a setting.

* The EOS R can capture up to 8 frames per second, which is great, but I am used to the Canon 1 D X Mark II which captures 14 fps.

* People are excited that the new EOS R uses the familiar LP-E6N battery. But this battery only provides enough power to take 430 shots (according to the specs). I am used to having a larger battery that will let me shoot thousands of images per charge.

I am excited to see that both Canon and Nikon have jumped into the full frame mirrorless camera race. Up until this point, Sony has been making the most noise in this space, with other companies like Fujifilm and Olympus holding their own as well. But it was only a matter of time before the big guys got into the game.

Now the big question for me is: What is next from Canon?

Here is what I am hoping for:

* A professional grade camera with two memory card slots
* Proper weather sealing in the camera and lenses
* Even better ISO sensitivity, giving me cleaner images at high ISO
* A camera that can capture 18 frames per second (or in that range)
* A larger battery for prolonged shooting
* A really good image through the viewfinder. Most of the mirrorless cameras I have played with so far do not provide a great digital representation through the eyepiece. (I have heard that the EOS R has this, but will not know for another couple of days when I get to play with one.)

My fingers are crossed, and hope to see a higher-end pro version announced next.

__________________________________________________________________________
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, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.
__________________________________________________________________________

A shout out to teachers!

It is that time of year when all the kids are going back to school. And what a fitting time to give a shout out to all those hard working teachers out there who are doing their best to inspire our kids. They work so hard and invest so much of their time, all for mediocre pay. But what they do can change the future for their students. Heck, I was one of those kids. I had numerous teachers take me under their wings and create the spark that would change my future.

I went to an elementary school back in the 70s that actually had Super 8 video cameras in a lab, and let us students create our own films. I created a stop motion animated film about dolphins. It was simple, but I think back to that film often. My teacher, without even telling me, entered it into a nationwide contest and I won my own video camera. I will never forget Ms. Folz.

Over the last 8 years I have received many emails from teachers who like to use my blog as a teaching tool.  This ranges from high school students who are interested in learning photography, to elementary school kids who are learning about the world.

Our good friend, Andrea has her students read the blog every week, and I even video conferenced them from the Olympics in PyeongChang, Korea in February. I am not sure who was more excited, them seeing me at the Olympics, or me seeing the excitement on their faces. Andrea not only uses the blog to educate the kids about the Olympics, wildlife, foreign lands, and other worldly things, but she even uses it to teach math. When I posted the images of all the Canon equipment at the Olympics, she created an assignment to see if the kids could determine the value of all the lenses and cameras. (Being a teacher, she also isn't afraid to let me know of any typos I have in my blog posts. And that is much appreciated too.)

This week I received a bunch of photos from Laura (my sister-in-law) and her classroom in Sacramento where she is using images from my recent trip to Africa to teach the kids language arts.

I video conferenced with their class the other day and took questions from the students. They asked about many of the animals in Africa and were most interested in the hippos. 

Here is a photo of my wife and her twin sister in her sister's 6th grade classroom in San Diego (when they did their best to fool the kids with my wife going in and teaching the kids to see if they would know that it was not Michelle). Michelle loves sharing the blog with her students as well.

I have visited numerous high schools to present at their career days, done show-and-tells at elementary schools, and will be doing a keynote speech at a university in Washington in October. I feel so lucky to be able to share photos and stories from all over the world, and to know that maybe it is affecting others. 

If you are a teacher using the blog, or know someone who is, let me know about it. Maybe I can video conference with your / their class too. 

And don't forget to thank the teachers in your life.

__________________________________________________________________________
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, 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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