2010 Year in Review

As we say good bye to 2010, I think it is a great idea to make your own personal list of your accomplishments, milestones and things you learned in the past year and write them down somewhere, preferably in a journal. It’s cool because I have done this for a while and I can think about a year, and quickly remember all the good things that happened in that particular year. It also encourages and reminds me that if you plan carefully and work at it consistently, you can do amazing things.

Ill be posting a an entry tomorrow on my own personal tips to ‘Resolutions and Goal Setting’. It may not work for everyone, but I am definitely getting results from this particular system. I think the biggest problem I have with goals and resolutions is ‘overkill’. Trying to do too much and not taking enough breaks, it wears me out sometimes to the point I have to sleep for a few days. Not kidding.

Michael Andrew’s Year in Review

Things I learned in 2010

– One person really can make a huge difference.
– Several individuals, when focused on a single common goal for the right reasons, can accomplish a tremendous amount of good.
– I need to do to a better job of telling those I care about that I love them, they (or myself) can be gone in an instant.
– I am constantly doubting myself and need to do a better job of identifying when I am being negative with myself.
– It REALLY pays to think big and be a little crazy. I need to find a way to think BIGGER than I have been.
– Big problems are solvable when you are able to break them down into smaller pieces.
– I need to learn ways to give better quality or service to my customers, there is much more I can improve on.
– I need to appreciate people for who they are, not what I expect them to be.
– Reinvention is constantly necessary, especially if you are successful.

Accomplished/ Good things that happened’

– Trip 1 to Help in Haiti (3 Weeks)
Canon 7D Crash Course DVD
Photographers Contract Maker App
Canon T2i Crash Course DVD
Contract Maker Pro App
Advanced Photography Techniques DVD
Michael The Maven App
– Relocated to Maui (long time goal)
– Trip 2 to Haiti (About a week)
– 2010 Photography Contest (we had 10x the number of people from the first year)
Photography Business Crash Course DVD
– Set Up Michael The Maven Affiliate Program (Full Launch in Feb 2011)
Canon 60D Crash Course DVD
– ‘Project X’ (You will be hearing about this very, VERY soon)

Did not Finish:

– ‘Project Y’ (It’s software based- will take a few more months, but wow…its awesome)
– Lighting Crash Course DVD
– Wedding Crash Course DVD
– 2 other Secret Projects, the scope of which are truly ginormous. One is halfway done and will be my main focus in Jan 2011.

2010 will also be pretty much ‘stained’ because it was the year we lost Mark. I still think about and miss him pretty much everyday.

On a more personal note, which I don’t really share too much of, is I thought I had found someone with huge potential to be ‘the one’, but things didn’t work out. In a way I kind of wished I shared more about her on here, but I don’t think any woman should know that details of her love life are being posted for the world to see. It’s frustrating to want to find that right person and not have it happen. I feel I am a better person for having known her. I am recommitted to just being the best I can be, focus on what I can actually control and let the consequences take their effect.

All in all, 2010 was a pretty good year for me and I am excited to press forward with many new exciting goals, DVDs, Apps, Videos and other cool stuff.

I also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone out there who reads this blog and supports me. Its because of you I am living my dream and I hope I can continue to be the best Maven I can be.

As we say good bye to 2010, I think it is a great idea to make your own personal list of your accomplishments, milestones and things you learned in the past year and write them down somewhere, preferably in a journal. It’s cool because I have done this for a while and I can think about a year, and quickly remember all the good things that happened in that particular year. It also encourages and reminds me that if you plan carefully and work at it consistently, you can do amazing things.

Ill be posting a an entry tomorrow on my own personal tips to ‘Resolutions and Goal Setting’. It may not work for everyone, but I am definitely getting results from this particular system. I think the biggest problem I have with goals and resolutions is ‘overkill’. Trying to do too much and not taking enough breaks, it wears me out sometimes to the point I have to sleep for a few days. Not kidding.

Michael Andrew’s Year in Review

Things I learned in 2010

– One person really can make a huge difference.
– Several individuals, when focused on a single common goal for the right reasons, can accomplish a tremendous amount of good.
– I need to do to a better job of telling those I care about that I love them, they (or myself) can be gone in an instant.
– I am constantly doubting myself and need to do a better job of identifying when I am being negative with myself.
– It REALLY pays to think big and be a little crazy. I need to find a way to think BIGGER than I have been.
– Big problems are solvable when you are able to break them down into smaller pieces.
– I need to learn ways to give better quality or service to my customers, there is much more I can improve on.
– I need to appreciate people for who they are, not what I expect them to be.
– Reinvention is constantly necessary, especially if you are successful.

Accomplished/ Good things that happened’

– Trip 1 to Help in Haiti (3 Weeks)
Canon 7D Crash Course DVD
Photographers Contract Maker App
Canon T2i Crash Course DVD
Contract Maker Pro App
Advanced Photography Techniques DVD
Michael The Maven App
– Relocated to Maui (long time goal)
– Trip 2 to Haiti (About a week)
– 2010 Photography Contest (we had 10x the number of people from the first year)
Photography Business Crash Course DVD
– Set Up Michael The Maven Affiliate Program (Full Launch in Feb 2011)
Canon 60D Crash Course DVD
– ‘Project X’ (You will be hearing about this very, VERY soon)

Did not Finish:

– ‘Project Y’ (It’s software based- will take a few more months, but wow…its awesome)
– Lighting Crash Course DVD
– Wedding Crash Course DVD
– 2 other Secret Projects, the scope of which are truly ginormous. One is halfway done and will be my main focus in Jan 2011.

2010 will also be pretty much ‘stained’ because it was the year we lost Mark. I still think about and miss him pretty much everyday.

On a more personal note, which I don’t really share too much of, is I thought I had found someone with huge potential to be ‘the one’, but things didn’t work out. In a way I kind of wished I shared more about her on here, but I don’t think any woman should know that details of her love life are being posted for the world to see. It’s frustrating to want to find that right person and not have it happen. I feel I am a better person for having known her. I am recommitted to just being the best I can be, focus on what I can actually control and let the consequences take their effect.

All in all, 2010 was a pretty good year for me and I am excited to press forward with many new exciting goals, DVDs, Apps, Videos and other cool stuff.

I also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone out there who reads this blog and supports me. Its because of you I am living my dream and I hope I can continue to be the best Maven I can be.


Canon 60D Crash Course DVD Pre-Orders Now Available!

Just received word that the Canon 60D Crash Course DVD has been green lighted by our disk manufacturer and we should have it in stock to ship before Jan 20 2011. The last time they gave me a quote like this, it arrived 10 days early, and one of the benefits of doing the Pre-Order is that we ship your DVD out the same day we get them in, the benefit is you receive them several days before everyone else, because there is some stocking and inventory stuff we do which delays everyone else’s ship date.

If you own a Canon 60D dSLR and are not sure how everything works, this is the DVD for you!

Canon 60D Crash Course by Michael Andrew


Canon 70-300 L Lens Reviews

I am in the market to upgrade to a bigger zoom lens, the two I have narrowed it down to are:

Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 L IS
Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. It is speculated the 100-400 will be updated very soon, so I am trying to be as patient as possible. The 70-300 however, is significantly smaller and I am hearing that is performing much better than anticipated. There are two new reviews out on the 70-300 and I am very impressed with the quality of images and feedback from each photographer.

Be sure to check it out if you are in the market for a new Canon Zoom:

Canon Rumors Review of 70-300L
Eric Meola’s Review of 70-300L


Best Portrait Lenses for APS-C (1.6 Crop) Canon Body

On a Full-Frame camera, such as the Canon 5Dii, the Canon 50mm 1.4 , also known as the “nifty fifty” is a great portrait lens. Scratch that- it’s fantastic. It runs just over $340, and is a half stop away from the amazing Canon 50mm 1.2 L (which runs hovers around $1400). In terms of “bang for your buck”, I have a very hard time thinking of another lens which comes close, though the Canon 50mm 1.8 is second.

That said, many students ask me: “What is a good portrait lens recommendation for my non-full frame camera, ie the XSi, T1i, T2i Rebel, 50D, 60D, 7D, etc.?” In the past, I have still recommended the Canon 50mm 1.4, which when used on a Canon’s Smaller Sensor Camera bodies becomes an effective 80mm lens, due to the 1.6x crop factor. (Because as I point out on most of my videos 50mm x 1.6= 80mm).

However, anyone who has used a nifty fifty on a 1.6x Body, knows that it requires you to back up a few extra steps, and sometimes it makes it a little harder to shoot, especially indoors with tight space or when trying to shoot from above (which would require you to stand on something).

So the question I wanted to know was this:

“Which lens best lens best mimics the “nifty fifty” on a full frame camera, when used on an APS-C 1.6 body?”

This is not a simple question- however, I was up to the task and decided to do a little test. A huge thank you to BH Photo.com for supplying the lenses.If money, cost, size and weight are no matter, the answer is simple. You want the Canon 35mm 1.4 L $1370 The quality of images are outstanding and the best part is, it is a great portrait lens on both full frame and 1.6x crop bodies. That said, not everyone has that kind of money to throw down on a portrait lens.

What are the next best alternatives when it comes to functionality, cost, size and weight?
What would be my overall recommendation? The 4 Lenses I decided to test were;

Canon 28mm 1.8 – $459
Sigma 30mm 1.4 – $439
Canon 35mm 2.0- $299
Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro- $299

Testing Method

Lockdown a Canon 5Dii on a tripod using a 50mm lens. Take a portrait of a model in a particular pose. Swap out for a 1.6x Body, in this case, a Canon 7D and Shoot with the test lenses. The things I am looking for are:

1. Bokeh – Something that makes the 50 1.4 so dang awesome for portraits is the buttery backgrounds. We want something that mimics this.
2. Amount of Frame Filled By the subject. Equivilent Focal Lengths are as follows:

30mm x 1.6 = 48mm
28mm x 1.6 = 44.8mm
35mm x 1.6 = 56mm

3. I am also looking for Clarity and Sharpness.

I took liberty to shoot wide open on all the lenses, and adjusted for exposure with shutter speed in camera. There were very minimal exposure and white balance adjustments made to each picture, nothing else.

Here is the Original on a Canon 5Dii with a 50mm 1.4 Side by SIde with the Canon 7D & Canon 35mm 1.4L: Canon 28mm 1.8 and Canon 35mm 2.0: Sigma 30mm 1.4 and Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro :Michael’s Conclusions:

Overall- Honestly, I really liked the Canon 35mm 2.0- $299 the best for portraits for the following reasons:

1. It is one of the smallest and lightest lenses I have seen. Ever.
2. Price, it was among the cheapest of the bunch.
3. It was easy to Focus. Granted it’s not super buttery, but more so than a 2.8.
4. I also liked the Canon 28mm 1.8, but it seemed the wider angle focal length diminished the Bokeh to be almost identical to the 35mm 2.0.

If you are doing any kind of Macro work or if you like to get very close to your subjects, I am going with the Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro it is absolutely a real GEM. At just under $300, it was the only lens of the bunch that can shoot Macro and I was very impressed with it. Not as wide as the others, but it’s ability to get very close to your subjects created beautiful DOF:Best all round, those are my recommendations.

If Aperture and Bokeh are your main concerns, I would go with the Sigma 30mm 1.4. It is also a great substitute for the Canon 35mm 1.4 L $1370 and it really reminded me of that lens. It is possible I did not like it because it was big and the heaviest of the bunch (by far) and I already had a Canon 35 1.4, but make no mistake this is a great lens.

In summary what I am saying is there are some great APS-C Portrait lenses out there, but which one is best will come down to subtle differences in Aperture, Cost, and Size.


Black Swan

I have heard a lot about this movie and finally got a chance to see it 2 nights ago. I am a big fan of Darren Aronofsky’s movies and Natalie Portman will probably be nominated for something in what is her best performance ever. It is a very artsy and goes for a lot of “shock” type moments.

That said, I cannot recommend this movie- It is disturbing on many levels, which I think was the goal. (Spoilers: If you enjoy watching a movie about a dedicated, pure woman slowly losing her mind and virtue- then you will probably enjoy it.)