As my obsession for photography grows I look for new tools to help me. I just ordered the level on the left which fits the ‘hot shoe’ mount on Clicky. Recently, while taking pictures very close to ground level I’ve found it difficult to keep my shots parallel to the ground. Unless I crawled on my belly there’d be no way to truly know. As soon as my package arrives from Hong Kong (via airmail… so by November) it will be problem solved!
I thought I’d also like a “gray card.” Photographers set their exposure and color balance with these cards, usually a specific 18% gray (whatever that actually means). Before spending $10 or $20 for a piece of laminated paper I figured I try a little ingenuity. This afternoon on the way in to work I stopped at Lowes and headed to the paint department.
I looked through the paint chips and picked out a selection of what looked close to 18% gray. All for nought.
When I began to look closely I realized there was no way for me to know what’s gray and what’s gray with a little green or blue or red or a combination of all three. There’s no online guide to tell what the components are in “4008-1A Bay Waves” and how that’s different from 4001-1A White Pepper.” Without knowing that, I know nothing.
So, thanks for the chips Lowes. Nice experiment. If I want gray, I’ll have to order gray. It’s not the money. I just wanted to beat the system. Who doesn’t?