- FOGG Odyssey

Christmas Came Early for Me This Year!!!

Posted on November 30th, 2009

Archived in Other

Today I’m a happy man! I got my camera gear oder from the US and if it wasn’t for my good friend Melissa it wouldn’t have happened. Living in Ecuador has many benefits but there are drawbacks as well. One thing is shopping, especially anything electronic. Your only option is to buy something online and have it shipped, have someone bring it to you or go without until you can pick it up somewhere else. The problem with ordering online is that you have to pay for shipping (which can really cost) but even worse then that, you have to pay customs on all items imported into Ecuador. You can pay as much tax as 25%-30% of the total bill for the items, so combine that with the shipping cost and your almost paying double.

So I have been wanting to put in a camera order for some time. I tried to pick a few of these items up in Asia while I was there but had some problems with it and decided I’d do it another day. So when I had a friend from St. Louis, MO tell me she was going to come down and visit me this year I was excited, not only to see her and her husband but because I could finally put in an order, as she could hand carry it down. I loaded up (I should be good for another couple years) and put in my order. No sooner then I did I found out she wouldn’t be able to come to Ecuador (she had even bought their tickets). This sucked in so many ways and at first I didn’t even think about my camera order, then it hit me!

So I thought I would just return it all and the people at B&H were cool about me sending back a whole order even before I had gotten it. Then my friend emailed me and said she had a co-worker who was coming down this weekend and would be able to carry my order down to Ecuador for me. I wasn’t sure about it but if my friend trusted the guy, then I trusted her. I got it all safe and sound on Saturday and couldn’t be happier. If I don’t post anything for a while it’s because I’m out playing with off camera flash and experimenting on new techniques.

Below is what I picked up and no longer have a wish list anymore…well maybe only 1/2 true!

Canon Wide Angle EF 35mm f/1.4L USM Autofocus Lens: I have read nothing but good reviews about this lens and was able to use this lens in Singapore with a friend that had one. Fell in love with it the very first time and been trying to get this lens for the last year. Will be a great street and portrait lens and can see myself hanging up my old 24-105mm and using this as my primary now.

18-usm

Canon Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Autofocus Lens: A friend of mine uses this as her primary portrait lens and for the cost you can’t beat it. Didn’t really want to get two lens on this order but I thought with the 85mm fixed lens and 1.8 could allow me to get some different shots other then with the 35mm f/1.4 above.

Canon Speedlite EXII

Canon 580EX II Speedlite TTL Shoe Mount Flash: I picked another one of these up so I could have two light sources now. I can’t wait it try and experiment with them and see what new affects and styles I can get out of them.

Orbis Ring Flash

Orbis Orbis Ring Flash Diffusing Attachment: I have been wanting one of these for a long time. Have you ever seen the Saturday Night Live pictures of all the guests on the show, where they have no shadows…well that’s because they use a ring flash. It will work in conjunction with the 580EX speedlight and can’t wait to start using it on the Faces series. I also got the mounting bracket to go with it.

picture-15

PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver/Relay Radio Slave: Now that I have two flashes I needed to be able to take them off camera. With these I can place a flash 10 ft from the subject and another one behind them to add for affect. No longer will I have to do on-camera flash work and will allow me to be much more creative with my work. I also had to pick up the cables for them, as you must have one to attach them to the flash from the Pocketwizard.

rosco-filter-kit

Rosco Strobist 55-Piece Filter Kit With Gel Holder: I picked two of these up for each flash so that I could add gels to the light. You wonder how people make those pictures where everything has a blue tent to to them…well they either use filters, Photoshop it or gels. I went with the gels as it seems to give a more natural tint and doesn’t look as much Photoshopped.

A few other items I picked up: