WildShots

Outdoor Photo Gear – A story of exceptional customer service

Posted on 30. Mar, 2010 by Paul Burwell.

Many moons ago, I used to work in the retail industry. While my job rarely took me to the front lines of retail service, I was always keenly aware of the many challenges involved in providing customers with a great level of service. Stories of poor customer service abound on the various Internet forums one comes across and that is all useful information. But, I think it is even more important to share the positive…

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2009 – My photo year in review plus a new contest

Posted on 11. Jan, 2010 by Paul Burwell.

I was sitting back the other day contemplating what a great year 2009 had been. 2010 is going to have to be pretty spectacular to upseat it, but I’m optimistic. My year, like my life, largely revolves around photography and I thought it might be useful to run through the time line and hit on a few of the highlights…

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Canon 5D Mark II Autofocus Sucks? NOT!!!

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to start going through some of my pictures that I made during my recent Spirit Bear Tour. While I normally prefer to photograph with my Canon 1Ds Mark II, I decided to take a chance and exclusively use my new Canon 5D Mark II for the majority of the trip. My original intention in purchasing the camera was the use it primarily for its high-definition video abailities, but I’ve been extremely…

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Shoot like a pro – Lens collars

Posted on 15. Oct, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

Many pro photographers use tripods and monopods in their daily work. One accessory for a lens (sometimes included and sometimes not) that makes using a “pod” a lot easier is a…

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A week in the rainforest; What worked and what didn’t

Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

…I’d like to impart a few thoughts about the term “Water Resistant.” I’d like to meet the marketing schmuck who came up with this term? Every piece of gear that someone had that was labelled water resistant leaked like a sieve when exposed to anything more than a gentle mist for more than 30 seconds. Pants, jackets, gloves and yes, even camera covers labelled as “water resistant” all failed miserably in terms of keeping things dry. If I were running the world, I’d ban that term. Gear would either be rated as water proof or not. None of this namby pamby stuff…

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September Update – Wolves, Lynx and Leopards!

Posted on 08. Sep, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

September has returned all the daytime wanderers (school folks, their parents, folks on holidays, etc.) to their regular routines and my errands today took half the time they did during the summer. It was the beginning of August when I noticed the first leaves starting to turn colour here in Edmonton, and while the full fall colour season is still probably a few weeks away, the trees seem well aware that winter is on its way.

I’m very excited about my upcoming…

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Photog goes crazy, starts shooting video!

Posted on 22. Jun, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

I’ve been facinated by the new hybrid DSLRs that can shoot both still and video images. And the video I saw from the 5D Mark II was really, really impressive. It’s ability to produce high definition video at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p) is really stunning. I’m a bit of a movie fanatic and I think part of me harbours a fantasy of…

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3 occasions when it’s acceptable to use digital zoom

Posted on 15. May, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

…I encourage my photography and workshops students to never, EVER, under penalty of death, use the digital zoom on their cameras. At a glance, I can usually guess when an image was taken with digital zoom and it really creates inferior images. But of course, like all “rules” there are exceptions. I’ve thought of three occasions when using the digital zoom on a camera would be acceptable…

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BWG-Pro Gimbal Head Video Review

Posted on 14. May, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

If you are using a large telephoto lens like a 200-400mm F4, a 300mm F2.8, a 500mm F4, a 600mm F4, a 300-800mm F5.6 or a 800mm F5.6, you need a really good tripod head. And in my opinion, you are foolish to consider anything other than…

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Khumbu Xtrahand Vest – Video Review

Posted on 12. May, 2009 by Paul Burwell.

I’ve had a Khumbu photography vest from the Vested Interest folks for about 4 years now. They have different vests for different types of photographer. The models include the Still, Magnum, Pro Video and the one I use, the Khumbu. For the wildlife photographer the Khumbu vest is a very useful accessory for trecking gear around. Every once in a while I see folks in the various Internet photography forums enquiring about them and thought it would be a useful…

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