Daniel Houghton- Photojournalist » Blog

For Sale: Canon 40D Body Only

admin — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:30:24 +0000

This camera is in great condition. I am a photojournalist, and have used this camera for a year and a half. It has normal wear and tear after everyday use, but no major scratches or missing paint. Camera looks brand new. I have all the original packaging, box,camera strap and software that will be included. I will also throw in two other batteries (other than the one in the camera) that I have.

10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
Large 3.0-inch LCD display with enhanced Live View and broadened color gamut
6.5 frame-per-second continuous shooting capability (for bursts of up to 75 Large/Fine JPEGs or 17 RAW images)
sRAW mode; 35-zone metering system; integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
Powered by BP-511A, BP-511, or BP-512 lithium-ion battery pack; stores images on CF cards

ShakeItPhoto – Almost as cool as the real deal

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:02:27 +0000

While photographing Rome a few weeks ago I started using an iPhone application called ShakeItPhoto $0.99 (iTunes link). A friend of mine Simon Biswas first showed me the application during the Eddie Adams Workshop last October.

Normally my iPhone pictures are reserved for my favorite photo applications like BestCamera (iTunes link) but I really like the way ShakeItPhoto virtually develops your polaroid like image by shaking the phone to develop it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s as cool as using polaroid film, without all the cost involved (not to mention it’s not being made anymore).

At $.099 the price is hard to beat and it’s a fun way to use your iPhone’s camera. Read more about iPhone photography here.

ShakeItPhoto in Action:

ShakeItPhoto on the streets of Rome

Packing for international travel: Rome

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:02:10 +0000

I’m attempting to stick with the less is more theme I set for myself in 2010 and not taking a lot of gear to Rome with me this week. I’ve been around to a few continents: Africa, South America and Europe before and each time I change my strategy of what I take with me. I’ve lugged everything from a fully loaded lowepro backpack filled with lenses, portable lights and pocket wizards to making day trips with nothing but a Canon G10 point and shoot.

When deciding on what to take it really comes down to what you will be photographing while your there. For me, I’m going to Rome for a few days for a relaxed photo vacation. I’ve decided not to mess with a lot of stuff and just stick with the basics.

Here’s a list of the major items:

Canon 5D Mark II (never leave home without)

35 f/1.4 (sharpest lens I’ve ever used)

50 f/1.4 (can’t go wrong with a 50)

100 f/2 (sharp as can be and has awesome color)

Other than a body and three lenses I’m also taking along the following:

2 Western Digital 500 gig external passport harddrives (keep these in separate places or you might as well just take one)

USB Compact Flash card reader

Colorchecker passport

Flashlight with some gaffers tape

Plastic bags (in case of a weather emergency)

30ish gigs of Compact Flash Cards

Macbook (duh)

It’s tempting to want to lug around a 16-35 or 70-200 but I’ll leave that for covering football games. Shooting with primes helps me focus and think more about the picture. Since you’re always walking around (because your feet are your zoom) you might as well try something different and make a better picture. Hopefully I make some nice pictures with this set of gear.

Stay tuned for posts throughout the week (so long as I find some wifi) of my Rome pictures.

Learn something new this year

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:24:53 +0000

An application on my iPhone called 31 seconds (iTunes link) called this George Iles quote to my attention today and it got me thinking. You really can’t ever stop learning and expect to accomplish something new in life.

As we get rolling on the new decade here I completed one of my 2010 resolutions and took a course from lynda.com on the proper workflow when using a 5D Mark II and Final Cut Pro. There are many ways to edit 5D footage in FCP and although I wasn’t thrilled with watching 2 hours of a talking screen I ended up perfecting my workflow and speeding things up.

Just because you’re out of college or have been at the same job for years doesn’t mean that you should stop learning. Take this as a nudge to get out there and learn something because as old George says, “Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student.”

Check back next monday for some international photo trip packing advise.

-Daniel

Do MORE with LESS

admin — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:33:59 +0000

I’m not big on New Years Resolutions. For the past week I’ve been trying to determine what I want to change about the way I live my life in 2010. I came up with a list of things that would benefit me this year such as reading more books, or saving more money. Often, it seems that to achieve what we want, we require more of something. My goal this year is to do more with less. I challenge you to take advantage of your opportunities and do whatever it is that you have been trying to do. Don’t let them revolve around New Years.

After the summer ended, I found myself writing down my ideas and keeping them in one place so I can come back and think about them later. One of my ideas was to start writing about things that interest me on this website. I’ve always thought that your website should say a lot more than look at my 8 pictures in my portfolio gallery. I’m not sure what direction this will go but I’ve decided to write something each monday that will hopefully interest you readers, whoever you are.

Since beginning this wordpress adventure in early February 2009 I’ve have 7,633 visits and over 19,000 page views. Most of you are Facebook friends, twitter followers or came from the Graph Paper Press website. Whoever you are thats for stopping by and I hope to entertain you with whatever it is I come up with in 2010.

First post monday, Jan. 4!

-Daniel