Hooper Camera & Imaging Centers

Why Should You Shop Small?

2011-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! The Hooper Camera team is pleased to announce our participation in Small Business Saturday on November 26th! On this day, American Express customers will receive a $25 statement credit when they spend $25 at an eligible retailer. AmEx teamed up with Facebook to get the word out about this exciting event. For more information, or to take the pledge to Shop Small, please visit facebook.com/shopsmall.

Of course, we'll be running several special promotions on that day. If you'd like to hear about these discounts, please sign up for our preferred customer email list here.

But this post isn't about our products and services; instead of focusing on marketing, we'd like to discuss the reasons why it's important to support brick and mortar businesses, such as ourselves.

Neighborhood stores put your money right back into the community, where it belongs. Statistically speaking, these businesses are more likely to hire local residents than their corporate counterparts. For instance, Hooper Camera & Imaging just hired two young CSUN graduates to work in our photo labs. Both of our new team members live in the San Fernando Valley, so hiring them made a positive impact on the area.

Indeed, independent merchants employ a substantial portion of the U.S. workforce. According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics, small businesses account for over half of private sector jobs. That means at least 50% of your friends and family members obtain income from non-corporate companies.

Mom and pop shops routinely demonstrate an interest in the city's welfare by joining various civic organizations. These connections may foster business to business partnerships or allocate resources to worthy causes. Hooper Camera gets involved in charitable events through the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Hooper team attended the Metrolink Holiday Toy Express last Friday, which is an annual gathering that benefits children in need.

Beyond these reasons, consumers should patronize small businesses for superior customer service. Large retailers tend to emphasize quantity over quality in many respects. If you're looking for a personalized shopping experience, then avoid the major chains altogether. Neighborhood stores, on the other hand, depend on repeat visits in order to survive. The need for regular clientele creates a consumer-driven mentality. You'll also find that small stores typically value longevity in terms of the sales staff. It's comforting to see the same faces every time you walk in a store, and that's something the big guys can't deliver.

We could go on about this topic forever, but we'd rather get your input instead! Do you buy locally when you can? Do you notice a difference between the corner store and a national chain? Leave your comments below!

"When You Find Me" Movie!

2011-11-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Our friends over at Canon Cameras collaborated with Oscar winning director Ron Howard on a really awesome photography project a while back. Howard created 8 short films using the winning images as thematic inspiration. Check out the trailer:

We got a hold of three extra tickets for special screening of "When You Find Me" at the Sunset 5 in Hollywood. We'd be happy to give these tickets away to anyone who's interested; post on the Hooper Camera Facebook page and we'll save you a seat!

Hello again!

2011-11-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time since we posted last. We're still here, and we thought it was time to get back in the swing of blogging again. With the holidays coming up, we know there are tons of amazing photo opportunities just around the corner. So stay tuned for more camera reviews, photography tips, and photo industry news from your friends at Hooper Camera & Imaging!

From the new Hooper Camera Flickr Account!

2011 Relay For Life of Chatsworth CA

2011-04-28T16:25:00.001-07:00

2011 Relay For Life of Chatsworth CA
Saturday, April 30, 2011 9 AM at Chatsworth High School
2 days left until Relay

DIY - Simple Variable Neutral Density Filter

2010-06-21T08:46:00.001-07:00

Simple Variable Neutral Density Filter - More cool how to projects

There's No Substitude for Speed by Bruce Stein

2010-06-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Photo Tip of the Month
There's No Substitute for Speed by: Bruce Stein

In one of the strangest ironies in photography, the least expensive lens in any manufacturer’s line is also one of the best tools that you can have in your camera case. The 50mm f/1.8 used to be the “kit” lens that they included with most cameras up until the mid 1980s when the quality of zoom lenses became good enough that most people were willing to give up the speed of the 50mm lens for the versatility of a zoom. When talking about lenses, speed refers to the maximum or widest aperture that the lens will shoot at permitting more light to enter the camera and allowing you to shoot at a faster shutter speed. The byproduct of shooting with a faster lens is that you can also create much more depth than a slower zoom lens. Nowadays many people are shooting portraits of their own families, or family friends and are frustrated that they can’t blur out the background like the professionals and often come in asking how it’s done. The answer is the 50mm 1.8 lens, which gives a great focal length for an individual portrait and the speed (1.8) to blur out the background for a pleasing, professional looking portrait. I’ve included two sets of sample photos this month to illustrate the major advantages of using this lens; the first set demonstrates the difference between shooting at an aperture of f/1.8 indoors which allowed me to shoot at 1/60^th of a second, but when shooting at f/5.6 I was only able to shoot at 1/8^th of a second causing a slight camera movement which you will see in the lack of sharpness.

The second set of photos shows an example of the depth of field that you can get shooting at f/1.8 for a blurry background as compared to the sharper background when shooting at f/8.0.

Number then Rename those Digital Camera Files

2010-06-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Number then rename those Digi Files?

by: Dean Lawrence

This month we are introducing our new photo catalog books. I thought this would be a good time to mention a very common practice that I would recommend to our VIP Customers. Many of you my know already that our Photo Lab printers have the ability to print the file names on the back side of the photo paper. What you may not realized is, we only have the ability to print 8 - 10 characters. Often our customers tend to rename their digital camera files with long descriptive names of a vacation or special event. But at the end of the file name, this is a number sequence to indivualize each file. These long file don't work well at all for creating photo INDEX Prints, Locating files on a CD or DVD, and most importantly, located on the bottom of thumbnail images on our new Photo Catalog Books.

So I recommend using a file numbering index system in the prefix part of the file name first, then use a meaningful name for the remainder of the file name to help describe the photo file.

Prefix the file number ahead of the file name description for best practices.

0001Hawaii_July2010.jpg is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img001.jpg
0002Hawaii_July2010.jpg  is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img002.jpg
0003Hawaii_July2010.jpg  is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img003.jpg
0004Hawaii_July2010.jpg  is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img004.jpg
0005Hawaii_July2010.jpg  is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img005.jpg
0006Hawaii_July2010.jpg  is better than Smith family vacation in Hawaii July 2010img006.jpg
I highlighted the above 1st eight characters to show you what would typically be see on the back side of a photo print or under a photo thumbnail image on an index page or photo catalog page.

Within our industry there is a widely known " irfanView " while our photo lab department has expert photoshop associates around,   We use irfanView often for "Batch File Renaming"
I found some interesting links to YouTube videos that explain this procedure.
IrfanView Batch Conversions Video
IrfanView resize and rename Video
Image Editing and Batch File Renaming using IRfanView

Help us celebrate Earth Day & get rewarded!

2010-04-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Help us celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd by bringing in empty ink cartridges, toners, or old cell phones and we'll give you one HooperBuck for each item you bring in to recycle.

RECYCLE & SAVE!

HooperBucks are worth $5! That's a 20% savings on any of our Photo Lab Services.

Here are some of the key items we recycle here at Hooper Camera:

• Photo chemistry waste, silver recovery from chemicals.

• Photo ink cartridges, toner.

• 35mm film canisters, plastic film containers.

• Disposable cameras.

• Computer monitors, electronics, etc.
• Plastic bottles, cans, etc.

View Hooper Camera store locations:
http://www.hoopercamera.com/contact.aspx

Photo Tip of the Month - Tricks with tripods by: Bruce Stein

2010-04-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Often times we buy something for a single purpose and find out that the real fun begins when we explore new and different uses for that item; such is the case with tripods.

The obvious reasons to own a tripod are to steady the camera for longer than normal exposure times under available light conditions or to support the camera while shooting family or self portraits, both very valid reasons for owning a tripod. However, there are ways to use a tripod to make them more fun and less utilitarian and achieve cool special effects in the process. One such way of “playing” with the tripod is to try a panning motion shot, which can be accomplished without a tripod with less pleasing results, as you can see with the accompanying photos.

In the first photo I used the Promaster 7100 tripod and the car and the background are sharper than in the second photo where the camera movement is evident. Panning is a relatively easy method to achieve the effect of a reasonably sharp moving subject that shows that it is indeed moving. To best way to perform this function is to set your DSLR to the shutter priority mode and select a slower than normal shutter speed, typically less than one-thirtieth of a second I shot these at one-sixth of a second. In bright sun, you will probably need to use a neutral density filter (or a circular polarizing filter) to cut down the amount of light hitting the sensor to get your shutter down to the desired speed. From there all you do is follow the subject at approximately the same rate of speed that it’s traveling and when you feel that you’re tracking it at an even pace, snap the picture.

Good luck and have fun!

Second Tamron 2010 contest announced

2010-03-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

Second Tamron 2010 contest announced

Epson website sweepstakes offers consumers chance to win prizes

2010-03-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Epson website sweepstakes offers consumers chance to win prizes

Photography Book Now 2010 offering $25,000 grand prize

2010-03-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

Photography Book Now 2010 offering $25,000 grand prize

Kodak to sponsor second annual Streamy Awards

2010-03-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Kodak to sponsor second annual Streamy Awards

“Tonight Show” opening sequence gets DSLR video treatment

2010-03-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

“Tonight Show” opening sequence gets DSLR video treatment

Lensbaby launches pinhole photo contest

2010-03-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Lensbaby launches pinhole photo contest

Hillcrest Labs introduces web browser for television

2010-03-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hillcrest Labs introduces web browser for television

Why print photos from digital?

2010-03-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

by: Dean Lawrence
In this new digital age, we capture more digital images than ever before in recorded history. Some of us still use traditional film. Many of us are using digital cameras. Most of our young people are using cellular phone cameras. But what do we do after we capture those six billion photos taken last year.

Are we uploading them to online social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, or others? Do they stay in our cell phone only to be lost when we replace our phones every six months with the latest models? Are the cellular phone companies storing them forever for us?
So now my images are online somewhere, I can share them via email, social media links, rss feeds, post on blogs or web sites.
Decades from now, will my family have access to those memories? Will future technologies be compatible to show our current generations digital images?
I myself find that I am shooting pictures of family and friends, clearing the media card off by uploading the images to my personal computer, then, maybe a few weeks later, burning a DVD so I can clear my drive. My images take quite a little journey after capture and often times the only person that sees them is me. Not good, and yes, shame on me.

Check out this funny Video about Why We Print Digital Photos?
Aritcle: Why I’ve Gone Back to Making Prints of Family Photos

Pointers for Pleasing Portraits

2010-03-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

by: Bruce Stein
There are many aspects to consider when judging what comprises a great portrait.

First and most importantly, the photographer must have the patience to wait for a pleasing facial expression and the eye to recognize the right expression. Assuming you’ve mastered those aspects (I don’t have the patience).

The technical aspect that eludes most amateur photographers is the lighting and today I’ll give you an inexpensive tip that will greatly improve the quality of your portrait lighting.

Photo without a Diffuser

The non-diffused flash portrait has many bright or “hot” spots on his face, whereas the shot with the diffuser has a more even and softer lighting effect. Similar diffusers are available for the external flashes that are sold for most cameras.

Diffuser used with this photo

If you look at the two samples you’ll see a big difference in the uniformity and overall quality of the light on my son’s face which I achieved by using a $20 flash diffuser in front of the built-in flash on my Nikon camera.

Welcome

2009-02-21T17:50:00.000-08:00

New Hooper Camera & Imaging Centers public blogspot.