ePHOTOzine.tv - the Photography TV Show: No2

Does anyone think that the opening sequence of Matt in the Butterfly Centre looks like the bloke in the shop in Little Britain? I was waiting for Margaret to shout Yeeees!

Good work Nik, much better than the first episode I put together. Looking forward to Show 3.

Don't think I came across as a complete numpty (maybe a partial numpty!!)!! Don't think I've got a career in the movie world though!!

Thanks for asking us Pete (I think!), and thanks to Nikita too.

Martin

Some good items, but also some disappointments.

I really liked the studio photography part, and most of the news items.

However, the news item about photographers' rights was too vague - it didn't mention exactly what is wrong with the way some police officers treat photographers.
And the sound outside the Jessops branch wasn't very good.

The idea to go and show a photo location, like the butterfly house, etc., was in itself good. But it also presented an opportunity to go into the technique of shooting butterflies and flowers in a hot, humid environment, and that opportunity wasn't taken. All Matt did was briefly mention that his camera still wasn't acclimatised after half an hour, but he ignored the possibility to give some tips. Also, in the rest of this piece, he seemed more interested in rattling off lens designations than in giving tips. An opportunity not taken advantage of, I'd say. Pity.

The demonstration of the Manfrotto camera support was interesting in itself, but I found it strange that it was demonstrated with an SLR while it was mentioned that it wasn't really meant to be used with that. If it was meant to be used with a compact or a camcorder, why not demonstrate it with a compact or a camcorder?

Also, if you shoot a presenter in front of a white wall, why not check that wall for conspicuous stains? Or have her stand further away from the wall, so we don't notice the hard shadow so much?

Overall, I liked show no. 1 better.

But did I mention that I really liked the studio photography part in show 2?

Thanks Conrad, really good feedback, much appreciated. You'll be pleased to know that the next one will take on board some of your suggestions and we'd noted a few of these too. The white wall shadow problem will not occur again. We've fixed that with some quality Redhead lighting.
Your point about the Manfrotto support is valid as it's not clear that the Fuji used is not an SLR and uses the LCD panel as the viewfinder so it's fine to use, but I can see how it looks contradictory.

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who prefers, overall, Show 1!

The stills shown during this one are pretty dire as examples during the location section, but when an EC is mentioned during the landscape part, I fully expected it to pop up and it didn't!

As Conrad has said, the opportunity to include tips is what I thought the shows were about, but this one is sadly lacking with the exception of the studio item. That was spoiled by the second camera wandering around all over the place! As much thought needs to go into the second camera positioning as the first!

I thought the Fuji was an SLR too!

Nikita's delivery was good but perhaps a little too quickly spoken with her accent for us southerners! I struggled occasionally to understand what she had said.

The shadows I mentioned about in Show 1, but have turned from lighter moving ones to hard static ones! Move further away from the backdrop and they disappear! Expensive lights aren't that nesscessary! Does Shireoaks have a Church hall or something similar you can borrow/hire for an hour to shoot these scenes if you are short of space?

In the news, the main point about the one man protest was completely missed. The protest was illegal, but the hoard of photographers that had been invited along to photograph it was completely within the laws that the protest was about!

Overall, the sound quality, not just outside Jessops, was not up to the standard of Show 1!

Sorry to be so negative, but you are not the only ones who have not attained the same degree of production in the second show!

Ian

Furthermore to Conrad's points, I would like to add 1 more:

The studio lighting session - Rather than go straight to 3 - 4 lighting which is rather complicated, why not switch it on one by one to see how they affect the shots?

There are some niggles but on the whole I think its very good, I did wonder about why the second camera was being shown in the studio lighting section. Nikita is a very believable presenter and with practice I think she will be fabulous, and I understood every word Loved the interview with both Martins, really good to see the people behind the pictures (and nice to see some good images taken in the location being discussed) and such nice gentlemen too, I hope there will be more interviews in future episodes, might be worth gathering questions from members beforehand if you do? Personally I'm not convinced about the studio shoot, didnt offer much in the way of tips. However, it wont be all things to everyone so while some shows will offer something to some, others may not. Overall I think you are on the right track, the polish will come. This is only the second show and a where everyone is still on a huge learning curve so I say good luck, thank you and really looking forward to the next show

My thanks to Nikita too, I rather enjoyed the experience. A word too for her professional approach...and to the fact that while it was extremely cold on Higger Tor, she finished the interview while slowly freezing to death

I enjoyed it. Found the blind man comment a bit strange (was it an in-joke?). Found the studio section interesting and enjoyed the interview with the 2 landscapers. Thought the butterfly centre was a good idea but perhaps a bit lacking in in-depth content, technique, tips etc. Tend not to bother with the news items. Looking forward to next one.

Content fine, good to see members, production values, still too poor for me

The butterfly house was only a location guide, but points have been noted and the next one will be improved upon. We don't want it to change into a techniques show, though.

Ps, I thought I was very good in it.

Good lighting guide shame about the model lol

True.

Matt, for someone your size, you do well walking on that tightrope! (That is assuming you are still alive!!)

A great show!
I had EPZ.tv on the back burner for a long while, looks like I will be revisiting more often from now on,