The Value of Networking… Using SmugMug and Facebook

About two weeks ago a friend of mine, fellow SmugMug photographer, firefighter, full-time college student, and part-time photojournalist, Patrick (PJ) Kellam, put out a blast on Facebook … “OK photographer friends, I need some help… I recently purchased a Canon EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6 L USM Lens. It is an older lens and I am having trouble locating a tripod collar for it (it did not come with one). I am also having trouble finding info about WHICH tripod collar to get for it. IF any of you can help it would be appreciated.”

Having nothing to do at that particular moment, I took PJ’s information on the lens and collar and sent my own blast on four SmugMug User Groups (SMUGs) that I belong to; San Diego, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and New Jersey, roughly 500 people. Within minutes the SmugMuggers started to respond with suggestions and possible sources for the tripod collar; that was February 16th.

A search of eBay and the Internet in general, provided leads on plenty of grey market rings available for the 28-300mm lens, some even promised to fit the 35-300mm lens.

However, after reading the fine print, the 28-300mm collars only opened to 81mm and all were missing the all important interior groove necessary to accommodate the raised rivets on the 35-300 lens barrel. The 35-300mm collar also needs to be 82mm to fit the 35-300mm lens barrel. There were no solid leads on a OEM tripod collar.

On Friday, February 17th, Rob Douglas of the New Jersey SmugMug Group, stepped up to the plate with an original

Canon tripod ring for the 35-350mm lens. Doug had a lens of this type at one time and it met with an untimely death when it slipped out of his hands while changing it out at about 100 feet off the ground. That was a very expensive Ooops. Thankfully for PJ, the collar was not attached at the time, and Rob saved it.

PJ finally received the tripod collar in the mail last week and has reported that it fits like a glove on his lens. The lens resides on his Canon EOS 50D w/battery grip.

Networking with other photographers on Facebook and in the SmugMug community has never let me down and it’s fun. I have been a photographer for a long time and I am always asking my peers for advice on one topic or another through the network. Let’s face it you can’t remember everything.

I would like to say thanks to everyone who was looking for the tripod collar, and thanks to Rob Douglas for digging through his collection of equipment and locating the collar. My friend PJ appreciates your assistance as well. 

UPDATE – Thursday March 1, 2012 2330hrs.

PJ has sent me updated photos and his current gear inventory.

Cameras

• Canon EOS 50D – DSLR Camera Body with Battery Grip attached and a SmugMug Pro neck strap – 15.1mp
• Canon Powershot S5-IS – 8.0mp
• Canon GL 1 Mini DV Video Camcorder

Lenses

• EF 50mm 1:1.8 II
• EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS
• EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III USM
• EF 70-200mm 1:4 L USM w/ ET-74 Lens Hood & Tripod Collar
• EF 35-350mm 1:3.5-5.6 L USM w/ EW-78 Lens Hood & Tripod Collar
• TOKINA 100mm 1:2.8 D Macro AT-X PRO w/ 13mm, 21mm, & 31mm Macro Extension Tubes
• All lenses are protected with filters; UV, FD, Circular Polarizing, and 8-Point Star Filters.

Other

• 2 Speedlite 380EX Flash Units
• PocketWizard Mini TT1
• PocketWizard Flex TT5 remote digital triggering system
• Quantaray Tripod/Monopod Combo that is a tad taller than me (I’m 5’8″)
• I carry all lenses with front and rear caps on them
• I carry plenty of spare AA Batteries as well as spare Li-Ion batteries for my cameras and their respective chargers
• I carry lens cleaning cloths and spray cleaning fluid.
• and of course I carry PLENTY of business cards and business card refrigerator magnets.
• All DSLR Equipment is carried in a Pelican Hard Case for protection.

PJ does all of his editing in Adobe Lightroom 3 and works almost exclusively on Apple products.

I have to tell you I am impressed with PJ’s inventory of equipment. Varied and flexible for any situation or event.

I have known PJ since he was about 13 years old. At the time, I was the On-line Editor of 1st Responder Newspaper and Editor/GM of the California edition. I was beginning to receive some very spectacular photos of working fires in the Chattanooga, TN and northwestern Georgia area. The photos would arrive via email with a short story and a Byline of PJ Kellam. The newspaper doesn’t pay for online photos and there was no regional issue printing at the time. Several months later, the Georgia edition came alive and we started printing PJ’s photos in the Georgia edition.

After the first issues printed we had to have someplace to send the check, so I found PJ’s number and gave him a call. His dad answered the phone; I asked for PJ and his dad wanted to know who I was. At this point I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I explained who I was and why I was calling. PJ’s dad then said to me, “… you do know that PJ is only 13 years old …”. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather.

As it turns out, PJ’s dad was driving him all over the place for these working fire shots, including the middle of the night, and as Steve explained, PJ had made quite a few friends in the local fire departments, not only with the firefighters, but with the Chiefs as well. PJ would be taking these long shots most of the time and then if conditions were safe, the firefighters would escort him in for closer shots. PJ’s skill level at that time was unbelievable. All of his photography was spot-on.

I can only imagine the adrenaline flow when you are 13 years old and these firefighters are escorting you around a working fire scene; and then have your photos published in the newspaper and on the Internet. Very Cool!!!

The theme of this blog entry is Networking, and looking back those nine or ten years ago, PJ was doing exactly that, without Facebook. His photography still has that great composition and crispness. You can find PJ’s photography at http://pjkellam.smugmug.com.