I'm pleased to report that my camera strap continues to gather interest around the internet. As a result, the orders are trickling in at a pace I'm happy with. Because the straps are so labour intensive a trickle is preferable to a deluge. As I work on each strap I'm constantly seeking to improve the design and finish, and this week I made a small but significant improvement. I now tie the entire strap with a single piece of cord! It's a simple idea, but very difficult to do when working with over fifty foot of cord.
When the strap is fitted to a camera you have the option of using the leather sleeves, these hide my workmanship but protect the camera. So you might ask, what's the point? The point, or reason for the change is simply to refine the design, plus I like to show off. My original strap had two finishing knots, the new straps have one. The other end still spliced and finished with a celtic knot, to allow for adjustment and to bring the owner luck.
The Dutch artist Bart Jansen makes his dead cat Orville fly, after having him stuffed and mounting propellers to his legs.
The 'Orvillecopter' is exhibited at Amsterdam's KunstRai, the city's annual art show.
One more day to go before the holiday is officially over. I'm finding the diamond jubilee holiday very intense. I can't remember when the Queen's diamond jubilee officially started, maybe three or four days ago, but it seems a longer to me, like three or four months. The weather, which is cold and wet, hasn't dampened the celebrations, but driven them indoors to town halls, church halls and scout huts where British senior citizens are gently celebrating in front of big screens.
Here's my perfect camera strap. Presented to you in a little understated video I made.
Reasons to recommend this strap:
Comfort in the hand or around the neck.
Very occasionally, I carry my camera with the strap running
diagonally across my chest (never in front like a tourist). But most of the time I carry my camera with
the strap wrapped around my wrist like a hand strap. My strap feels great however you carry your camera.
No fiddly adjustments and no buckles. I just want a strap the correct length, for me. Not too long and not too short.
Strong. Oh yes, very strong.
Design. I want a strap that compliments the look of my cameras. Also, I like the feel and quality of handmade items.
Red Bespoke Strap
I've been a professional photographer for the past 30 years, I know exactly the
sort of strap I needed/wanted. So while this blog has been quiet, I've
spent the past months testing materials and making prototypes. As an ex sailor in the merchant navy (marine), I remember my knots, so it's natural that my strap would be hand knotted and spliced.
The cord is military grade, made in the US. It's very strong, a single strand will hold over 600 pounds. For added security the ends are spliced to form a loop, where a
stainless steel split ring connects to the camera. I've used a leather tube to protect the camera from rubbing against the split ring. The loose ends are finished with a celtic knot for luck and love. The new strap initially feels a little stiff, like a new pair of jeans, but with use it will relax and become the most comfortable material in the hand. It feels great and because it's cylindrical it rolls instead of digging in.
There are no buckles and bits of plastic, the strap is bespoke and is made to any length, from 30 inches to 50 inches. At the moment colours are black, gray, khaki and olive, but I'm playing with new colours and will show them here as I make them.
Apart from the leather protector, the only tools used are a rigging knife with a marlin spike. Each strap takes between eight and ten hours to make, so my straps are rare animals.
The straps are available from my BitMit shopbut they sell out very quickly. If there are no straps in stock, keep checking the shop and this blog for up-dates.
We've had some very British weather this year. Freezing, wet, windy, dull and damp. Then last Tuesday the sun came out. So after being assured by the weather forcasts that we'll have blue skies for two weeks, I arranged to spend last Friday taking photographs and videos on the Norfolk coast. The promise of sun made the beach popular with families, but despite the forecasts the whole day was misty, which was a bonus for me, but it did feel slightly strange.
A few months ago I bought a new Fuji X100 camera. I'm pleased to say it works as it should, there have been very few dramas. However, there is one niggle and that is the strap supplied with the camera is awful. That's not such a surprise because most straps supplied with cameras are awful. The strap that comes with the Fuji camera feels and looks cheap, its been thrown together with poor materials - mine came out of the box with loose threads and frayed edges. Sadly, it's what I've come to expect. The Fuji X100 is a $1,200 camera, I expect better.
Freelensing is a technique to try when everything else has been done, when your subject is a cliche. It's a tilt and shift lens for the poor and it allows you to focus on a point of interest and blur out distractions. Kings College in Cambridge is one of the most visited and photographed buildings in Britain. You see all those blurred people at the bottom left of the photograph? They're all tourists and they're all snapping away. Kings College has been photographed to death, so it's an excellent subject to freelens.
Freelensing is simple, just remove your lens, then hold the lens in front of the camera and gently and slowly tilt it. Just play around until it looks interesting, then press the shutter. It does need practice and patience. As you're tilting, use your fingers to avoid light leaks. It works best on standard and short telephot lenses, I used a standard 50mm lens on a 35mm slr camera for this photo.
