Join us on Wednesday, April 8th for an online Socality x Canon Creator Lab workshop with instruction from portrait photographer and YouTuber Irene Rudnyk (@irenerudnykphoto) as she teaches the second of two online workshops around the subject of creating depth and feeling in your photography (Session I) and editing (Session II).
Tools for modifying and enhancing your background blur in post-production
Editing your subject and background to increase the depth
Tips and tricks for using Dodge and Burn
Q&A
This workshop will include a combination of teaching from Irene and the Q&A portion.
About Irene:
Irene is a portraiture photographer inspired by feminine beauty. She works to capture the woman in front of her camera in a more creative, romantic manner, putting a lot of thought into the environment and details of the photo to create a visually pleasing and feminine version of the finished product. Irene enjoys helping other photographers with tutorials, behind the scenes, and DIY videos.
After a couple of weeks working from home, you may be tired of your webcam and computer microphone. If you want to take it up a notch in the easiest way possible, check out the Marantz Turret Streaming System for $399.
Although non-essential retail stores are closed across Alberta, we are still here to help serve all your photo and video needs.
Our team is available for calls at 403-234-9935 and will be answering emails during our regular business hours from 9:30 AM-6:00 PM Monday through Friday and 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM on Saturdays.
We are still accepting and processing online orders with the options of either curbside pick-up or free shipping across Canada for most regular items.
If you have any questions while we are closed, please email us at info@thecamerastore.com, or contact us on our Facebook page so we can get back to you as soon as we can.
We are following Alberta Health Services recommendations closely. At this time, The Camera Store will continue to operate as normal with online and in-store services during regular business hours.
However, we will be canceling all events for the month of March including demo days, in-store talks, meet-ups, classroom seminars, etc. We will continue to evaluate the situation to determine if we need to cancel more events going forward.
Youtube was a new frontier, only a few years in its infancy when the original TCSTV youtube channelcrew, Jordan Drake and Chris Niccolls, set up a shoot to capture The Battle at F-Stop Ridge. Several of The Camera Store’s staff went out with a huge assortment of gear to stage a ‘camera war’ commercial. At the time, the store was closed, and the store owners were unaware of what transpired in a local park.
The one-minute video that resulted would go viral, beating the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce for a day or two. Not only was it a video hit, but it also set the stage for the dynamic duo Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake to grow a successful camera review YouTube channel.
The chase to create another viral video was exciting, yet not fruitful. At least not in the way the pair originally expected or hoped. The production quality on The Battle at F-Stop Ridge 2, as well as another concept titledWorld Photo Gamesimproved dramatically. But, they simply did not have the same je ne sais quoi factor as the original battle video.
That being said, the impact of the video was a huge deal for the channel. It propelled Jordan and Chris to new heights, with respect and recognition around the world. Camera brands began recognizing the value of putting their latest products in the hands of The Camera Store’s reviewers. TCSTV continued to grow and improve drastically in terms of production quality and showmanship.
In the spring of 2018, the camera review website DPReview invited Chris & Jordan to join their team. It was a difficult decision for Jordan and Chris to leave the channel that they created and grew to over 310,000 subscribers. But, it was a move that gave them the opportunity to focus their careers on exclusively doing what they love, creating content for the photography and videography community.
They left TCSTV in the hands of Jordan’s wife Evelyn Drake and her co-host Dave Paul with appearances from other TCS staff and local photographers. They continue to produce camera reviews and photographer features on the channel that currently has over 335,000 subscribers and 68-million views. Click here to watch and subscribe.
Our friend and colleague, Kaitlyn Kerr, had all her photography equipment stolen in Athens, Greece last week. On the evening of February 24th, 2020 she was waiting at a bus stop near Syntagma Square. Everything she had was in a black ONA canvas backpack with a padlock. Poof! Just like that, it was gone.
The bag contained her computer, 4 hard drives, film, her cameras, lenses, and almost everything that she has been carting around Europe for the last five months since departing Calgary. Someone spotted the bag and snatched it. The gear would probably be sold quickly, the hard drives and film, likely trashed.
We just discovered the LEE Swatch – Lighting App for iPhone and Android. It’s a free app that takes the guesswork out of using LEE gels for photo and video lighting. It’s not new by any stretch. But it’s pretty slick and handy. Slide through the swatch colours for inspiration, then tap to add to your palette. Review detailed information about each colour, including spectral charts. Professionally designed palettes to get you started, plus the tools you need day-to-day.
An affordable new studio space has just opened in Calgary. It’s run by Jeremy Fokkens who is a talented local portrait and advertising photographer, not to mention a genuinely nice guy who we love working with. We had the opportunity to give the space a test drive for our latest Nikon D780 review during the recent cold snap.
Sigma has three professional-quality F2.8 zoom lenses including a wide, standard and telephoto lens that are known in the photography community as “The Big Three”. This selection covers a great focal range with F2.8 brightness throughout. These three lenses are made to be durable, high-end models featuring high performance for professional use.
Who is a sleek, retro-styled mirrorless camera with a fully articulating screen, and a refined autofocus system in a kit for under $900? It’s me, the Fujifilm X-A7!
Fujifilm just announced a new little camera that is their entry-level competitor against other new mirrorless cameras in the 24-megapixel range. (i.e. Sony A6100, Canon M50, etc.) They say it is designed to attract new photographers or people who have been primarily photographing with their phones.
