Sites Worth Your Time - The Strobist

This is the second Site Worth Your Time but by no means is that an indicator of the usefulness of the site.  In fact, The Strobist might be one of the greatest resources ever on the web.  The Strobist has one mission:

This website is about one thing: Learning how to use off-camera flash with your dSLR to take your photos to the next level. Or the next ten levels.

Now I have to admit I thought off camera flash was something strange, arcane and only for professionals.  About 5 minutes into trying to make my AF360 work in wireless mode I was SURE it wasn't for me!  I mean, I had to read the instructions!  Once I finally got it to work, the results were just not that impressive and I was back to traditional on camera work.  A few months later I stumbled on to The Strobist and saw this lesson and I was hooked.  Trying to get pictures like this or this is not easy, but its not nearly as hard as I thought.  In fact, the instructions are so good, I managed to get some semi decent ones on my first try.  

Off camera flash is not for everyone.  For one, if your camera doesn't have built in wireless capability, you will need to buy either transmitters or cables that are compatible with your brand of camera and flash (one of those "value" reasons I went with Pentax).  And of course it means more gear because you cant JUST have a flash.  Pretty soon you will want stands, umbrellas, hot lights, back lights and on and on.  Well maybe not.  Turns out you can do a LOT with just one flash and your hand to make a picture better.  The Strobist lays it all out in great detail starting with Lighting 101.

Once you have worked through all 29 (!) lessons, head over to Boot Camp.  Boot Camp II just started so you have a chance to not only learn but win some great prizes.  But dont forget to go through the Boot Camp I lessons and results.  You can learn a TON from the good, bad and ugly that other photographers produce - especially if you know how they were trying to do it.  Not that you will find much bad or ugly.  I think the first thing I learned once I really got my flash off was that one of the biggest difference between professional looking and amateur looking pictures was the proper use of a flash.  With the lessons here (don't forget Lighting 102), you can banish those flat, red eye monster pictures and take pictures for people to chimp about (ooooh aaaaah).

I am personally amazed by the depth and breadth of information David Hobby (aka The Strobist) has put on this site.  That he has it all available FREE is even more amazing.  He could easily charge for the site and get a TON of subscribers.  I would be right there.  But it is free and so its silly to not read and learn.  I have no idea how much a class or workshop would cost to teach everything available on the site but I know it would be more than what I spend on all my gear.  If you think of it that way, its like getting a bunch of free gear or more importantly, teaching you how to maximize the gear you have.  

The Strobist is a Site Worth Your Time

Sites worth your time - Pixel Peeper

On the right I have a list of "Sites Worth Your Time."  First off, the list is a work in progress and not chiseled in stone.  And it is, of course, my opinion.  I don't have an objective measure of what makes a site worth your time, just my personal observation of the ones that I find I visit even on days I dont have a lot of time.  I had planned to cover them in order but I realized alphabetic order is a bad way to look at them.  So I am going in my order starting with Pixel Peeper.

Im starting with pixel Peeper because it is unique among the sites I call worth your time.  The site has a very limited agenda - showing you actual pictures shot by actual photographers with identifiable gear.  From their FAQ:

Pixel-Peeper is a lens and camera comparison site. You can examine full size pictures from a specific lens or camera (more than 1,000,000 photos are available), also based on a specific setting (e.g. aperture, focal length or ISO).

Each lens/camera page also lists a number of online stores and eBay auctions along with availability that you can use to purchase equipment, or simply to check prices in your country.

One of the reason I dont like a lot of the "review" sites is that they take pictures of these reference images that have no relation to anything I would shoot.  And it seems like every lens I can afford is called "soft" or it is has "fringing" and is therefore no good. Yet when I look at reviews on Amazon and other user sites, I hear great things about the same lens.  So how to decide?  That is where Pixel Peeper comes in.  Thinking of buying that Pentax 50mm f/1.4 for low light shooting?  Instead of reading about "front focus" issues, look at real pictures.  Want to know if the Nikon 18-200mm is significantly better than the Sigma 18-200mm?  Check it out and decide for yourself.

Same for DSLR bodies and and "point and shoot" cameras.  There are no reviews, no judgements and no comparisons other than the ones you make yourself.  You get to decide if the extra stops on on that f1.4 are worth $500 more or if f2.8 is good enough.  

One warning - this site can be depressing!  Wander into the Digicam section and you will see some amazing pictures being taken with point and shoot gear that cost less than my camera bag.  It graphically teaches that it is not the camera but the photographer.  

If you decide to create an account, you can input your equipment and create a wish list and a "watch" list.  The watch list will alert you if something you want shows up on ebay.  Pixel Peeper uses Flickr for its source images and to a certain extent depends on accurate tagging by flickr users.  I think it is a good, objective tool for determining if the lens you are interested in is "good enough" or if the extra expense of a lens is worth it to you.  For Non SLR Digital Cameras it can be even more valuable because you are seeing the exact lens/body combination you are buying.  A lot of times you are going to find out that in the real world, good enough is pretty darn good.

Pixel Peeper has all the qualities DPOAB is looking for - fast, easy to use and easy to digest information.  It lets you make informed decisions about where to spend your photography budget and is therefore a Site Worth Your Time.