Force 8 Photo Digital

Gaboogie - My recommended conference call service

admin — Fri, 25 May 2007 10:02:17 +0000

FREE TRIAL
I’d like to share an inside tip about a very useful marketing tool just released by a Canadian company called Gaboogie. (Force 8 designed the logo). Gaboogie (Gab + Boogie) makes simple work of conferencing with your regional staff or VIP customers or project teams. It’s obscenely easy to use, and family bias aside, is my recommended conference call service. For the next two weeks they’re offering 100 MINUTES OF FREE TIME to test out the system (that’s 5 people on a 20 minute call). No credit card details or payment of any kind required. Hop on there and try it out. If you don’t have anything in mind for work, then call your family around the world! You just enter in the time you want the call to happen, enter in everyone’s phone numbers and the system CALLS YOU all at exactly the same time. Sound quality is excellent, as it uses the regular phone system, not VOIP. (One tip: When entering phone numbers you need to click on the +1 to change the default to +61 for numbers in Australia, or change to +44 for UK). Visit www.gaboogie.com to find out more! I would love to hear your feedback.
Randy Lagerway

Aerial Photography Primer - On Poles, Blimps, Aircraft

admin — Sat, 12 May 2007 07:16:46 +0000

There are are basically only three common ways to shoot controlled aerial photographs.

For low shots a telescoping pole - usually mounted on the back of a 4WD - will take the camera up to about 18m to 20m. The benefits are that the vehicle can drive up to the curb, raise the pole to varying heights in that position. Additional positions require the pole be retracted and vehicle moved. The disadvantage is that the shots can only be taken from wherever a vehicle can navigate.

Aircraft are used for larger properties or properties too inaccessible or isolated to economically drive to. Aircraft photographs are great, but are limited in the shot angle and height. While a chopper can get clearance to fly right down to near ground level in unpopulated areas, all aircraft in Australia cannot fly below 1,000 feet (300m) in populated areas.

For aerial photos at that sweet spot in between, enter the blimp. According to CASA aviation regulations in Australia, the blimp is allowed to fly to 400 feet, or about 120m. The camera rig is hung under the belly of the blimp, which is tethered to the operator on the ground. A wired or wireless video camera sends an image of what the camera is seeing to the operator, who jockeys the ground position and altitude to get the hero shots the client needs. Remote controls allow the operator to control zoom, pan and tilt, and of course shutter release. The blimp can operate anywhere a person can go with clear air to sky. We have jumped fences with it, flown it from a powerboat, traversed narrow sidewalks, shot on the beach, even from rooftops. The blimp is suitable for shots ranging from close-ups of single family residences to entire subdivisions. Check out www.BlimpWorx.com for a few samples.

Tips on Photography Assignments 1 - Close, Medium, Far

admin — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:51:07 +0000

When shooting a photo assignment, it is important to supply a rich variety of shots to your client. But what many new (and seasoned) photographers often forget is to vary the proximity of the shot. A series of medium telephoto shots will be safe, but not very exciting.

Give your client a FULL range of shots, from very close up wide angle (remember the hilarious pool scene in Ace Ventura - Pet Detective?) from low, from high, then back out for a more conventional series of shots, then move farther away and shoot some longer telephoto to blur out the background. Your client will have a fantastic array of material to work with, easing their job of creating something exciting.

Randy Lagerway

What country is your website hosted in?

Nic — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:06:53 +0000

Many so-called Australian web hosting companies don’t physically host customer web sites in Australia. Often due to cutting costs, hosting companies turn to use services which are often based in North America. Rest assured, F8 Media hosts client’s websites in a state-of-the-art datacentre in Brisbane, Australia with all the necessary precautions in place for maximum uptimes.

Is your target market is mostly Australian-based customers? They will thank you for not hosting overseas - Website download and response times can be up to 5 times faster for a visitor to your web site from Australia.

You only need to contact one place for any issues or questions you have regarding your website or hosting services. We can provide fast response times to your technical difficulties for you, rather than deferring your questions to an offshore company overseas.