How To upgrade your MacBook Pro 15" 2011 to near MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Performance for next to Nix

How to Upgrade your MacBook Pro 15" to near Macbook Pro 15" Retina Display performance for under $1000 Aussie...!

OK 'togs - I know you covet the new Apple Macbook Pro 15" Retina Display.   I've looked, and I'm hooked on them.   They're awesome!   That display is amazing and the performance is incredible.   But they're expensive at $3K+

So - what if you're like me and you've got a relatively current MacBook Pro?  One with a Thunderbolt port - say from early 2011 onwards...     My Macbook Pro 15" is an early 2011, 2.2GHz Quad Core i7 with 4GB SDRAM and 750GB HDD, Thunderbolt port etc.?   It's a grunty little machine that I spent approx $2K on a year ago, and I don't want to upgrade just yet...

Upgrading your own Macbook Pro is not as hard as it may seem.   I've just done it - and all for well under $1000 Aussie.

Over the next few days I'll add more posts with links to the best value bits and pieces you'll need, where to get them (if you're in Australia), and how to videos on youtube to guide you through the process.   And in the new year I'll reveal the ace card - the key piece of kit that will make it all work just about as good as a brand spanking new Retina Display...   But I've got to wait for that piece of kit to arrive from the USA in early 2013 - so more on that a bit later.    In brief though I've just added a 256GB SSD drive and 16GB RAM to my Macbook Pro 15"; it was easy and fast; and it's totally transformed it's performance for editing both photos and videos.


For the first of these articles let's cover INSTALLING A NEW SSD.

1.  Check out this article at LifeHacker which gives a fabulous overview of the entire process Build the Perfect Powerful Portable Mac, then keep it in your pocket

2.  Check out UMART online - their Milton store had OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD's for $225.   The SSD replaces your original equipment hard disk - in my case it's a 750GB Hard Disk.    These disks are 2.5" form factor and use SATA III.    See  UMART Milton   Go to their Hard Drive section and look under SSD's   For reviews of many of the SSD's check out AnandTech.   Here's the review of the Vertex 4 256GB SSD   OCZ Vertex 4 Review 256GB   The Vertex 4 is one of the better performing SSD's available on the market today, but is reasonably priced.   In particular it has high write and read speeds - great for working with photos and video...

3.  After buying the drive you'll need tools to open up your Macbook Pro and remove the old drive.  You can get the right tools from MacFixIt.com.au here   11 Piece Macbook Pro Toolkit with the Newer Technology 11 Piece toolkit for Macbook Pro.

4.  And lastly a little guidance on performing the modification.   Here's a great video that explains everything very clearly at MacMixing   How to Install a SSD in a Macbook Pro    Watch this a couple of times before attempting the modification yourself.

Now you're on your way...   Enjoy the enhanced performance of your Retina like Macbook Pro...  In the next article we'll cover upgrading your RAM.

Aussie golfing legend Ozzie Moore

Ossie Moore - legendary Australian Golfer and all round nice guy, posing tonight with the Gold Plated PING Putter he was awarded by the PING company after winning the 1989 Australian Match Play Championship.

The golf stories Ossie tells are amazing and awe inspiring. Trevino, Faldo, Balesteros, Norman - he has met and played rounds with them all...   Truly a life of sacrifice and dedication to excellence.   I learned many valuable lessons in just a few minutes of his time.

I am very fortunate to meet fantastic people in the course of my photography.  These experiences always leave me thankful, grateful; and inspired.

This image was shot at the Nudgee Golf Club Champions Dinner, 2012.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, ISO 6400, 1/320 sec at f/4.   AV mode with 580 EX Speedlite providing fill flash.

Flying out of Sydney last weekend - sunset over Myall Lakes National Park.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, ISO 1250, 1/40 sec at f/9.0. 0 EV

Sleep deprivation in Sydney.

So I'm in Sydney at the Park Royal Hotel on Day Street, it is 1.20am in the morning and I can't sleep.  I've got a big day tomorrow!   I need to sleep!

What to do?   How about a bit of night photography out my 6th floor window with the Canon G1X on my trusty Joby tripod...?   Sounds like good fun!

Here's the shot - after a little LR4 HDR magic.      It's crazy what photographers will do.   Now for some ZzzZzzz's.

Canon G1X on Joby Tripod, Manual mode with 2 second shutter delay, ISO 1250, f/11 at 8 sec. 

Jacaranda Season in Brisbane

October is always a colourful month in Brisbane with the Jacaranda Trees in full bloom and the paths and streets blanketed with their bounteous purple blooms.   There's no more certain sign that summer is well on the way and that the short transition through Spring is in full swing.

I currently live very close to the oldest building in Queensland, the Tower Mill at Spring Hill which just so happens to be surrounded by Jacaranda Trees and has a commanding position looking out over the centre of Brisbane itself.

Constructed in 1824 as a flour mill it was wind powered in it's early days.   There's a good Wikipedia article on the building here The_Old_Windmill_Brisbane which reveals some of the Tower Mills dark past...

After several days of watching the progress of the local Jacarandas I judged that sunrise on the 22nd October was going to be the best time to get photos of this historic landmark and it's Jacarandas in full bloom.   Here's the final picture cropped down to 16 by 9 ratio off the EOS 5D Mark III, with the EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens.   Settings were 17mm, ISO 400, f/16 with 5 exposures between 1/160 sec and 1/25 sec at 2/3 stop intervals - these 5 images were exported from LR4 into Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2 and blended into a HDR image, with some further adjustments in PS CS5 and dFine 2.0 and Vivenza 2.

I've left the flag pole on the right in place as it too is a historically significant structure being one of the first places that radio signals were transmitted in Brisbane and also being the site for early TV transmission tests in the area.   The Tower Mill is on the right, with the Stores buildings in the foreground left and middle.

17mm, ISO 400, f/16 with 5 exposures between 1/160 sec and 1/25 sec at 2/3 stop intervals - photo captured just after sunrise.

Logan THUNDER vs Canberra CAPITALS

Last nights shoot was the WNBL game at Metro Sports Centre, Logan; between the Logan THUNDER and the Canberra CAPITALS.   Lots of familiar faces and it was great to catch up with everyone.

This shot is of Big Joe keeping the crowd amped with awesome tunes...

Natalie Taylor (#20, Logan Thunder) was game MVP.   Here's a couple of photos of her.

Brown Brothers Cellar Door

Tonight I found myself going through photos from Mum's 70th Birthday party and found this image of the Cellar Door area at Brown Brothers Winery in Milawa Victoria.   We celebrated Mum's 70th on the 13th May 2011 in the restaurant at Brown Brothers, which is just across from this building - an experience that I highly recommend for everyone.

What is really special about the Brown Brothers restaurant experience is that the wines are specially matched to the course of the meal as it is being served.   Across the duration of any meal you may be served 3 to 6 different wines, each designed to match and accentuate the palate.   Exquisite.

The whole family had a great day out and Mum really enjoyed her birthday.   A special day for everyone.

So I've reworked this HDR image for Mum.   Here's a preview for everyone on the web.

Road Trip to the Beef Capital of Australia - Rockhampton, QLD

This last weekend I flew North from Brisbane to Rockhampton with the Ipswich FORCE and Gold Coast ROLLERS QBL teams, along with several Basketball Queensland staff, to photograph the Queensland Basketball League mens 2012 Finals. Other teams participating in the finals were the Mackay METEORS and the Rockhampton ROCKETS

During some free time on Friday I took a quick drive up Mount Archer for a view of the town and the Fitzroy River (Queenslands largest), and some of the surrounding country. Rockhampton sits astride a large river delta near the East Coast and is surrounded by mountains of the Great Dividing range. The farmland is rich and hosts some of the most intense beef farming in Australia. I've never seen meet freezers so large in supermarkets - undoubtably 'Rocky' has some of the best value beef in the country.

Here's some images from the finals series - which was won by the Mackay METEORS who beat the hometown favourites, the Rcokhampton ROCKETS.
















More images are available at my website under the Sport link.

Brisbane by Bike & G1X Post #2

Yesterday was time for a trip to Nudgee Beach, taking the new bike for a roll via the bikeway from Nundah.   This bikeway/path goes through parts of the wetlands near Brisbane Airport and runs along parts of Nudgee Road.

Here's some photos - first, the new treadley - a MERIDA TFS 100-D.  I've updated the seat on it for something more comfy.  Future weeks will see me update the pedals as well.   This has been the best investment in my health that I have made in a while.   The trick will be working this into my life on a daily basis and developing the habit...

Canon G1X, handheld, ISO 400, f/5.0, 1/40 sec, 0 EV  No post processing.

Nudgee beach isn't much of a beach, more a bunch of mangroves and tidal flats.   This shot shows a car mover traversing the channel from the Port of Brisbane, Moreton Island in the back ground and one of those mangroves at low tide.  Oh - there's a tiny little bit of beach int he foreground too!   lol...

Canon G1X, Joby Tripod at beach level, ISO 800, f/11, 0.3 sec, -2/3 EV   Post processed with Lightroom and Nik Software Suite.

The G1X is proving to be an ideal travelling camera for the bike - nice a light, yet easily good enough to render detail in the sky that was deep in the Earth's shadow as in the shot above.  What a superb little camera!  I'm really, really enjoying it - and it's expanding my thoughts of future travel possibilities.

For anyone interested here's the overhead image of the bikeway from Nundah to Nudgee Beach, an easy 10 Km's of flat riding.  This image captured from Google Earth.

Ah - the power of the EOS 5D Mark III

Here's a couple of shots from Wednesday this week when I had an early start shooting for a client.

First, a shot of the setup.

Canon G1X, handheld, ISO 800, f/11, 1/200 sec, -2/3 EV

The G1X does a great job with this image but I thought out of interest I would add the shot taken from the EOS 5D Mark III.   For this shot I'm using a remote release cable, Manfrotto 055 Tripod with friction ball head and the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, with Image Stabilisation off - we don't need it due to the tripod...   Sounds obvious but lots of people leave this on even when using a tripod.  I've always been keen to keep the IS off if I'm using a tripod.   Why have the IS working when it doesn't need to???

Here's the shot from the EOS 5D Mark III taken for the client, Nudgee Golf Club, in Brisbane.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM lens at 45mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/20 sec, 0 EV

Note: This image has been modified in post production (stakes and vegetation removed to create a cleaner image).

The comparison between the images - taken only a minute or so apart is quite interesting.   The G1X does not produce the same richness of colours or gradation in the dark and light tones as the EOS 5D Mark III, but the results are quite striking.

I was only taking the G1X shots to record the circumstances of my setup so little effort went into them. It would be interesting to hear peoples opinions on the comparison of these images.

Brisbane by Bike & G1X

Life's little challenges are coming thick and fast so I've decided to start a little project - to photograph Brisbane using only my Canon G1X from a cyclists point of view.

I've traded the road bike for a mountain bike which should enable me to get to quite a few more interesting places.  This has in part been inspired by a photographer friend who has recently bought a mountain bike, and convinced me of the benefits...

I'll update this blog occasionally with images from this project and keep everyone informed of my results.   The goal is to lose 10kg in 6 weeks.

And for the photographers out there I'll post details of how the image was captured including settings. Here's the first few, all without any post production modifications (except for cropping)

G1X, camera resting on bridge support - ISO 400, f/3.2, 1.0 sec, -2/3 EV, Aperture Priority

G1X, camera resting on bridge railing - ISO 1600, f/7.1, 1.0 sec, -2/3 EV, Aperture Priority

G1X, camera resting on bridge railing - ISO 1600, f/8.0, 0.8 sec, -2/3 EV, Aperture Priority

Brisbane really is a gorgeous city by might and there's lots to see.   Now to get some decent pedals for the mountain bike and a more comfy seat for the long miles ahead...!

Brisbane's smog - becoming too much?

I was out and about Brisbane last night and captured this image - which disturbed me.
In the early 1990's I moved to Brisbane partly because it was a cleaner greener city than Melbourne where I had been living.   My asthma immediately improved and I felt better physically.

This image captures Brisbane's smog layer and a concentration of smog over Mount Cootha (in the background).  It raises questions for me about whether Brisbane is still a healthy place to live...

This image was captured using the Canon G1X, handheld.  ISO 400, f7.1, 0.8 sec, -2/3 EV

New Pocketwizard Plus III's - simple and faultless

A situation arose today where we had a chance to pick up 3 of the new PocketWizard Plus III units and immediately employ them (within minutes of getting our hands on them) on a studio shoot.

Initial impressions are that these units are extremely simple to setup and use. Plug some AA batteries in, turn them on, test them, hook them up to the Studio Strobes, set the zones you want, set one up on your primary camera and you're all set... Zero dramas, zero misfires, zero inconvenience, no missed shots and much better communication with clients. Both Mark and I were suitably impressed with these new toys and we're immediate converts.

OK - PocketWizards are more expensive than some other systems out there that I won't name here - but for simplicity and reliability one can not complain about these transceivers.

Over the next few weeks we will be experimenting with more of these units - and I will post more as we discover more uses for them. But if you're debating whether to get these or not - I'd be getting them for sure, unless you want ETTL control over flash units, in which case I recommend the Mini TT1 and Flex TT5.

PocketWizard Plus III --> Highly recommended...!

Night time ventures with the Canon G1X Powershot

More Canon G1X images tonight from my walk around the city. I wanted to see how the G1X's fixed 4X zoom lens handles difficult lighting such as that presented by the lights on the Story Bridge at night. I also wanted to see what the blacks were like, given the bright lights present in the image.

ISO 800, 5.0 sec at f/11, 0 EV

Above - All Saints Anglican Church, with the Suncorp Metway building in the background. This small church is one of Brisbane's original buildings and is dwarfed by the modern skyscrapers that now surround it.

ISO 250, 10.0 sec at f/11, 0 EV

Above - Venice Restaurant (one of Brisbane's best) on the Brisbane River Walk - city skyscrapers behind.

ISO 500, 20.0 sec at f/11, 0 EV

Above - The Southern end of the Story Bridge, officially known as the Bradfield Highway, with the lights of Jets departing Brisbane International Airport overhead.

ISO 250, 20.0 sec at f/11, 0 EV

Above - Story Bridge with Brisbane City in the background. This is perhaps the most telling image - with quite stunning clarity in the various tonal ranges of the picture. However there are some minor artifacts visible in the top right of the image... Further testing needed to see how that affects other types of images.

All the pictures above were taken using a simple Joby tripod and setting the camera to a 2 second timer delay for the shutter. The weight of the entire rig is less than 800 grams. Amazing...!

3.7 Megapixel Crop of Pier 1 image.

Here's a cropped version of the Pier 1 image showing more detail. Even this image when cropped in Photoshop was still 2229 pixels wide by 1672 pixels high = 3.7 Megapixels. I've resized this for the blog to 720 pixels wide at 72 DPI...

It's quite incredible to think that today i'm dragging around a 14.3 Megapixel camera that fits in my hand, shoots amazing quality still and video images and costs under $700, whilst only 7 years ago my EOS 1D Mark II set me back $7500 and was only 8.2 Megapixels... What seemed brilliant back then seems very ho-hum now...

The detail in this cropped image is quite astounding... The handling of the lights is not ideal but it is quite serviceable. As a travel and documentary camera the G1X is very good.

Pier 1 at Newstead (Canon G1X Powershot)

I've now begun to take the G1X with me when I walk around Brisbane each day. It's much more compact than my DSLR's and its capabilities mean I can still take photos at night. When combined with a Joby tripod - this little machine is a wonderfully flexible rig.

This image was captured at the new Pier 1 development at Newstead. ISO 800, 1.0 sec at f/4.5, -2/3 EV, Aperture Priority.

I highly recommend the G1X for photography enthusiasts and pros alike. Pros will like the freedom of its small form factor, ease of use and its inconspicuous nature that will allow them to get closer to everyday subjects. Enthusiasts will enjoy being able to take more control over their image captures and the freedom that this camera will give them. They will also find it great for video (if they don't need slow motion) and image captures in low light situations.

I see that many pros are starting to keep one of these cameras in their kit - especially those shooting photojournalism and travel. That doesn't surprise me in the least... As I've mentioned previously - this little camera is now a key component in my camera bag - valued as highly as my DSLRs, Speedlites and Pocket Wizards... It's purpose is different for sure, but it's finding plenty of use and enlarging my photography opportunities because of it's convenience.

Now I just need to find a good small bag for it...

EOS 5D Mark III - quite amazing...

The tonal range in this image of the 13th Hole at Ipswich Golf Club shows one reason why I'm really impressed with the new EOS 5D Mark III.

ISO 400, 1/500 sec at f/11, -1/3 EV. Vignette added in Adobe Lightroom 4. 16:9 crop ratio. EOS 5D Mark III with EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Both the original EOS 5D and the EOS 5D Mark II had frame rates that were too slow for my photography needs which are heavily biased towards sports photography. The EOS 5D Mark III barely crawls across the acceptable line with 6FPS. Not great but usable. 8+FPS would be ideal but I used to shoot MotoGP and World Superbike with the EOS 3 and a PB-E2 vertical grip, which gave the EOS 3 7FPS...

But that's the only gripe I have with the new EOS 5D Mark III. In every other aspect this camera is quite amazing. It's image quality is superb and the new autofocus system is brilliant and very quickly adjusted to suit different types of subjects. It's also robust and recently handled a heavy workload on a very long job that involved several thousand frames being captured over 4 days, mostly in difficult lighting conditions.

Perhaps most amazing is it's low signal to noise ratio which produces clean images at very high ISO levels. The image below is from that job - ISO 10000, 1/500 sec at f/2.8, +1/3 EV. EOS 5D Mark III with EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. Note the lack of noise and high levels of detail in the shadow areas.

More Canon G1X goodness - photo by Simon Chadwick

Last week I had a round of golf with Simon Chadwick at Ipswich Golf Club, which is very close to Amberley RAAF Base - Home of the Australian F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The 16th hole is a long dog leg left Par 5 that goes over a rise, down a long hill and across a creek just in front of the green. Bunkers surround the green and the photo here - taken by Simon Chadwick using my Canon G1X Powershot - shows me blasting out of a deep one.

Testament to the ease of use of the G1X I just threw the camera to Simon and said "Here - take a shot of this will you...?" He only had the time that it took for me to grab my sand iron, walk to the bunker and line up the shot to get the camera turned on, select the appropriate mode (Shutter Speed Priority, Tv), select the shutter speed and ISO; and take the shot. Nice job - don't you think???

Admittedly, Simon is well versed in the use of Canon Digital SLR's and has done a fair amount of sports photography with Zen Creative Studios - but I still think this is an impressive test of the ease of use of the G1X...

Settings  ISO 800, 1/1000 sec at f/8.0, 0 EV

Thanks Simon for the awesome job on the pic - I like it...! It's not often I get a good shot taken of me...

Insurance for Australian Photographers

This is a handy site to help photographers based in Australia with their insurance requirements.

More Canon Powershot G1X goodness

A good mate of mine is currently in Europe and capturing the beautiful cites and villages using his G1X. I too have been experimenting somewhat with the new Powershot and the more I explore the more I like.

Here's a few pictures I took using the miniature function - the subject is Central Train Station in Brisbane. I love it...!

I really like this little camera...! I'm particularly impressed by it's low noise levels at high ISO's.