Fun Gifts for Photographers

When I started putting my ideas together for gifts for photographers I realized there were two different categories that they all seemed to naturally fall into practical and fun.  Here are the fun ones!! Not that the practical gifts are not fun these are just items that people might not buy themselves but would love to have.

1. Photography Best Cure for Bad Memory Tee - I like the saying on this one. Very true! I think the typography is really nice. 
2. DSLR Wheel of Filters - A fun way to break up your photography style! And with the Holga's being discontinued an easy way to get the look on your DSLR.
3. I Want to Capture You Tote Bag - I love the old camera on the tote.
4. James Camera Strap  - Beautiful leather and a great new camera strap to replace the one that came with the camera. I love the leather, but they also have options with canvas that are beautiful as well. 
5. Photographs are like Wine Mug - Another item with beautiful typography from Click and Blossom! I just found this site and I think their items are beautiful. We all need a nice mug for coffee when we are editing. 
6. Kelly Moore 2 Sues Bag - Kelly Moore's bags are beautiful. One has been on my wishlist for a long time. I love the 2 Sues because of the pockets on the front and back. 
7. DSLR Flash Drive - Why not?  Everyone should have a funny flashdrive.

I hope you like these ideas! Please let me know what you would pick out of this list. 

Emily

Practical Gifts for a Photographer

I know sometimes it can be hard to buy for a photographer. Everything that seems important like lenses and studio equipment seem to cost an arm and a let. I have compiled a little list of items that I think would make great gifts or even stocking stuffers.

 

1. Memory Cards - I used the PNY Elite Performance card as just as an example. But if you like that brand you can find them here. Photographers always need more memory. You would never hear me say wow I think I'm all set with memory. Whether they prefer compact flash or SD cards a photographer will be happy to get more. I know these are a little boring but they are a necessity. 

2 Lighting Kit - I just received one of these as a gift for my birthday. I am not sure which kit I was given as it was a gift but this one looks good and has 4/5 stars. So if you have someone looking to get into studio lighting this would be a great kit. At $129.99 I do not think you could go wrong. 

3. Tripod - I love my tripod for group shots! Also comes in handy when you need to take a nice self portrait that does not involve a selfie stick. This one has great reviews on Amazon and is the #1 best seller for tripods on the site. 

4. Lens Cap Keepers - These are more of a stocking item but they are darn helpful. I have had a few lenses come with them on and they have been a saving grace. I truly need to order these for myself. The ones I found come in a pack of 6 and for $5.99 plus being Amazon Prime you can not beat that. 

5. White Balance Filter - Everyone needs a way to do white balance. I found this paddle. It looks interesting compared to the different ways that I have seen. But this one you do not have to screw on and off your lens and is a third of the price of some of the caps that I have seen. 

6. Marco LED Ring Light - This would be a great tool for anyone who likes to take macro photographs. Also I have seen photographers use them for portraits to get a nice even light around a face.

7. & 8. 24mm & 40mm Lenses - It is easy to forget the more affordable lenses that are out there when there are the $1000 + ones out there to lust after. I recently recieved a 40mm pancake lens as a gift and have really enjoyed shooting with it. It is a fun lens to take out on walks and just around when your unsure of what you might find.


I hope these are  helpful ideas! Soon I will be posting on the "Wonderful yet slightly less necessary" fun gift ideas for a photographer. Please let me know what is on your photography wishlist this Christmas!

Emily

Please Note: I realize these all link to amazon products. This is not a sponsored post. I just thought I would try to use a major retailer. Thanks!

Darkroom

For the past 4 weeks Steve and I have been taking a B&W dark room class. We took the class with an awesome new non-profit in Atlanta called The Photographers Studio. They are a community darkroom and educational center for photographers all in one. I am so glad that I found them. I have been searching for a class to learn how to develop my own pictures for ages. It was an awesome and insightful course. If you are looking to learn to develop or for other photography classes please check them out! Here is a link to their site. The classes change all the time and they are adding new ones.

We have been wanting to learn this together for a long time. Steve is very good at processes and so meticulous that developing is perfect for him. Before we even had taken the class Steve has been wanting to buy equipment that we have found on Craigslist. Well after taking 3 weeks of classes.. probably a little premature we decided to buy some equipment.

We found a wonderful older gentleman who sold us his fathers old equipment. We ended up with a Besler 23C with a color head. It came with the enlarger lens for 35mm and medium format negatives. I can not wait until we can have a permanent space for this equipment. Until we have bought a home it may sit relatively still because we do not have a dark space in our rental home. I do think it was a great purchase though! I would rather save it now and have it for the future.

We also ended up with quite a few filters. There are boxes and boxes of them along with original Kodak darkroom light glass.

I can not wait till the next film class at The Photographers Studio. It would be great to go into more detail. It was a brief overview of everything. So I got a little bit of a taste of it all but now I want to perfect it!

Do you shoot film? If you already shoot film and develop your own I would appreciate some tips!

Emily 

Georgia Underwater

 Welcome those that have came over from Eager Emily. I'm excited for y'all to come over here!

 Out of the past 7 days we have had maybe one afternoon with some sunshine. It feels like we are underwater. I know for some places that probably does not seem like a long time. To me it has felt like eternity. I had to get outside the other day and take some pictures even though it continued to sprinkle on me the whole time. With all of the rain it has taken down the majority of beautiful leaves that we had on our trees. Transforming our yard and driveway into a yellow brick road of leaves.

I don't even want to think about raking leaves...

Emily

Vintage Haul

Hello Everyone!! I apologize for being gone for so long. I am learning as I get older that it is easier to get distracted by day to day life. I recently went out with my Grandmother on a yard sale day. Near where I live we do an Old 41 yard sale which is also called the Dixie Hwy yard sale. It goes for miles and you generally find a lot of good things. This year we started in Emerson and went to Adairsville. For those that want to go next year I highly suggest making it to at least Adairsville. There are a lot of people selling there. Here are the goodies that I found. 

 A Creamer and Sugar set by Fire King. I have never found Fire King in this pink color. If you know more about it please let me know!

 There was one vendor that had a basket full of old photographs. It always make me sad when I see old photos in a yard sale. I am slowly starting to collect them though.

  I believe this one is a tin type. If anyone knows differently please let me know! It is not in the best condition but I got it for $1. So I was not feeling to picky. I would love to start collecting tin types. This one especially intrigued me because it does not look to have been done in a studio. A lot of the older photographs I have seen like these are in a studio setting.Also I love how he is holding his pipe.

This little snap shot struck me. I love the angle and that everyone's back is turned. The women in their 50's clothes and hair. Then the military man walking in front of them with the old and palm trees in the background. Its just perfect to me. I want to think that this is in California or Hawaii.

 Portraits like these are not normally what I am drawn too but when I opened the little trifold envelop and saw the adorable faces I knew I could not leave this in the basket. 

 My $10 Polariod. This little guy is in pretty rough shape. Steve and I are going to work on trying to get it functional again.

 I love vintage planters. I have never bought one and this trip I actually bought 2! This little one I found in an antique shop on the way. It is pretty solidly built and said USA on the bottom. The USA appears to be written in the clay. I love the yellow.

This little planter got to me by the beautiful color combination and that it was a $1. It has been well loved. There is a crack in the back and a few chips. I do not think the crack will keep me from being able to use it though. It seems to be sealed. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my finds! Please let me know what you have been lucky in finding lately! Also if you have any information on the items that I found I would love to hear it. Be on the look out! I have an awesome announcement coming soon!

Emily