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