This is Michael, the son of some friends of ours, taken in January last year, when he was about 10 months old. As is clear from his facial expression, he wasn't too keen about being in the bath!

The colour of the wall and the lighting give this photo a very retro 70s look, and in fact, the location, Camp Leschenaultia, probably was built in the 1970s.

Michael - no longer enjoying the bath

Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @85mm, 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

Here is a shot taken in July 2007, during a business-related trip to Sydney. I was in Sydney for two weeks, so I used the weekend to do some exploring.
The colour version wasn't too exciting, but a sepia conversion provided a better result.

Sydney Opera House in sepia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @59mm, 1/320 sec, f/7.1, ISO100

The Phottix Nikos Digital Timer Remote is an intervalometer, ie, a device that counts intervals of time. Specifically, it is a digital timer designed to trigger a camera shutter periodically at specified time periods.

The Nikos can be used as a simple wired shutter release for your camera, you can use the timer functionality to add a self-timer delay, or you can use the interval timer to take photos at periodic intervals (ie, time-lapse photography).

This review takes a close look at the Phottix Nikos digital timer remote, including the various timer options it supports.



Phottix is a company headquartered in Hong Kong that manufacturers many different camera accessories, providing a cheaper alternative to the genuine accessories offered by Canon, Nikon, and other camera manufacturers.

The items are manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and Phottix has offices in Hong Kong, China and Poland. Phottix has many authorised distributors in various countries, and one of the retail outlets for Phottix accessories is a sister company called HK Supplies, based in Hong Kong. HK Supplies sell cameras and accessories (Phottix and others).

The motto used by Phottix on their packaging is "You better control your camera".

Thanks to HK Supplies for providing a Phottix Nikos C8 unit for review purposes.



The Phottix Nikos Digital Timer Remote was released in October 2008 at Photokina.

The Nikos remote is labelled as "TC-501", and interestingly, while the packaging clearly labels it as a "Nikos", the "Nikos" label is absent from the remote itself, although there is a prominent "Phottix" label on the front of the remote.

The model I have for review is the Phottix Nikos C8, designed to suit Canon's N3 connector that is used by the 10D/20D/30D/40D/50D/5D and 1D cameras.

package contents - cable with N3 connector, wrist strap, and Nikos remote

Included in the package was the Nikos timer itself, a cable to suit the Canon N3 connector, and a wrist strap. The wrist strap also allows the timer to be hung conveniently from your tripod when you're not shooting, rather than letting the remote dangle from the end of the cable.

The Phottix Nikos typically retails for about AUD$75 (approx USD$50), and the Nikos C8 model is directly competing against the much more expensive Canon TC-80N3, which sells for USD$136.95 from B&H (approx AUD$212) or AUD$280 from qualitycamera.com.au (approx USD$180).

Update: Phottix are now selling the Nikos via their recently launched their online store.

My wife and I have been looking for a good solution for displaying photos in the house, but until recently, had not found a good solution.

A pinup board results in holes in each photo, and moving a photo to another location on the board means you need to remove and re-insert all the pins in that photo.

Magnetic photo rope (using magnets to hold photos onto a steel cable hanging on the wall) is a cool idea, but the photos will blow around when doors are opened/closed, or if the wind blows in through a window.



However, the use of magnets gave me an idea, and last week, I bought a magnetic whiteboard from a local office supplies shop, along with some tiny rare-earth magnets.

using tiny magnets to hold photos on the board

There is something nice about the retro look of a Polaroid photo, and using the free Poladroid application, you can easily re-create the nostalgic look of Polaroid photos, complete with scratches and fingerprints.

While similar results can be achieved in Photoshop or another image editing package, the free Poladroid application provides a very easy way to produce consistent results with minimal effort.



Here are some examples of the Polaroid-looking images generated by the Poladroid application:

storm clouds over the Royal Perth Yacht Club

beach chair

lonely autumn leaf

Taraxacum flower

During a recent walk around Burswood with a colleague one lunch time, we found this egret wandering around one of the lakes behind the Burswood Casino complex.

Intermediate Egret

(Ardea intermedia aka Egretta intermedia)

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @200mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4, ISO100

In recent weeks, there seems to be a growing interest in tilt-shift photography, as well as applying a fake tilt-shift effect to photos. This post provides some background information, as well as details on how you can achieve a tilt-shift effect with your own photos.

Narrows Bridge into South Perth, digitally tilt-shifted

I like the simplicity of the autumn leaf against the green grass in this photo, which was taken a few years ago at Matilda Bay.

lonely autumn leaf

Matilda Bay, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @76mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO400