Strobist Boot Camp 2

Update: My entry made it up to the final cut only (out of 700 entries). Not bad. The results were announced here.
If you haven't heard of Strobist, then you're missing a lot of good info on lighting and photography. Now, if you have been reading it, then I would like you to know that one of my photos (above) was chosen as a finalist(screams like an excited little girl).



Alright, for all you late strobist bloomers out there, David Hobby (the guy who coined the term strobist) is running a photography and lighting exercise on his site called Strobist Boot Camp 2. It's basically a list of weekly assignments that you need to complete and submit. He then judges them and picks out a winner. Boot Camp 1 was in '06, so this has been along time coming. For the first assignment, he's giving out prizes as well. Read more here.

The 1st assignment deadline was 2 days ago. I just found out that David tagged my entry as one of the finalists! Click here (for a better view) and here (and with David's note) side by side with my photo ( as it was a requirement) through my flickr stream.

Anyways, there's a lot of other very good photos there. win or lose, I'm pretty happy with what I got and I had fun doing it. I can't wait for the next assignment.

Camera Gear for Rent

No budget to buy a camera? What? No flash? Now there is no more excuse for you not to take better pictures! More info after the jump.

I had a paid assignment a while ago where my gear just ain't gonna make it. I was shooting a sporting event, and my current gear weren't long enough to reach the subjects from a safe distance. Enter CameraCart.

CameraCart provides camera gear (mostly Canon) for rent. With a wide variety of products for sure you'll find what your looking for.

As a Nikon user, I was really not interested on even trying on Canon (it's a loyalty thing). But when I saw they are offering L lenses, I kicked loyalty's butt out the window and whent ahead and called Cameracart. I ended up renting a 40D and a 70-200 f/4 L. Sweet. They delivered and picked up the items. Now that's great service.

Renting is a great way to get your assignments done, or just try out a product before you buy them. CameraCart has flash units and strobes available so you can even pratice your lighting for all you strobists out there.

So if you are within the metro, give CameraCart a try. And for you Nikon users, there is also one here, but a little more expensive.

CameraCart's site