Look, See, Reflect, Do

The importance of being Earnest

2012-01-18T15:14:00.001+11:00

Street Photography isn’t new. It’s as old as the redoubtable Henri Cartier Bresson or even Jacques Henri Lartigue. With Vivien Maier as a standout (who probably never made a cent from her passion) through to the current New Yorkers Joe Wigfall, Jamel Shabazz, Major Deegan. These guys have the magic of establishing relationship pretty fast, almost Yeow-like and Robin-esque. They engage pleasantly and comfortably with their human subjects, producing street portraits that are both impromptu and attractive. Quite the opposite style to in-your-face Bruce Gilden and the young exponent Eric Kim.

Sifu Yeow at work

The most approachable security guard I’ve met

Call me “Porkman”, he said.

How do you maintain a deadpan look of enquiry?

Shots of behinds don’t often work. I rather like this one

For human subjects, it’s particularly important to apply the golfer’s analogy instead of the tennis analogy – one has oneself to beat, not the competition. You’ve got to be comfortable in your skin and with your gear.

Endless debates cover:

the size of your camera
the size of your lens
the focal length to shoot at
the distance to shoot at
the risk of equipment loss through theft and mugging
whether you’re sucking the soul of the sitter through your lens can then selling it to the devil.

Only you can rationalise and emotivise your feelings. Only you can decide what style of human interaction works for you.

While you’re pondering that, take a look at David William’s work

Soaking in the vibe

2012-01-17T22:41:00.001+11:00

The thing with most humans is that they want everything, all at once, right now. It’s not an unusual desire but in most cases, it just doesn’t happen. And so with photography as well.

I’m on my annual pilgrimage to the air, sights, smells, sounds and vibe that I grew up with. It’s quite a fascinating return each year if I allow myself the pleasure of enjoying the old and the new. I have old memories and perceptions to catch up on and I have new friends to see – Robin Wong, C.L.Yeow and Ronnie Oh were very quick to extend invites to a specially arranged photowalk and friends at the PEN Lovers group (as well as others) were there to make it a social and fun happening.

Although I have very fond memories of the locale (well, I prefer the fond memories than the gawky, fumnbling youth that I was), my street vibe in Melbourne with Marg is quite different. From the very fundamental thing like preferred exposure – Ev -0.7 in Melbourne’s direct sun vs Ev +0.7 in Kuala Lumpur’s gauzy sky, to the way human subjects react when encountering a dude with a camera, it’s different. Sure most passionate photogs want to step off the plane and get way excellent street shots in any city in the world, in reality, it doesn’t work that way. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

So, I changed pace, soaked in the vibe. It isn’t all about photography as well. It’s human watching, taking in the ultra wide angle view of the scene (which only the human eye can do), interpreting the significance of dress, facial expressions, gestures. For maximum satisfaction, absorb that – it remains with you long after you’ve shown off that travel set of shots for the upteenth time.

The shot above – with a Tamron 28mm manual focus prime lens on the Olympus PEN E-PL1, faded effect courtesy of Picasa desktop client. Coming from a long flight, the atmosphere was lethargic – taxi drivers waiting for work. The guy on the left did not appear to be a taxi driver. And you sit on anything other than the floor – the public floor in the tropical Malaysia isn’t something locals are conditioned to sit on.

This was the neighbourhood wet market – the wet market is well, sorta wet. Old customers come back to favourite stalls and money changes hands, for in this case, freshly slaughtered chicken. That’s the way they do it.

Take a drive amongst tall buildings and you are in a different world – where the locals come to shop, relax, be seen.

Introducing the Canikon 1D3s (Parody)

2012-01-08T11:35:00.000+11:00

Missed this gem from DigitalRev.

Last post for 2011

2011-12-31T13:05:00.001+11:00

Well, it’s the last day of 2011, Lovely agapanthus waving in the sun. I just saw a honeyeater perch on a stalk and feed off the agapanthus. Watched in awe until I thought, hey, the Olympus E-620 is near. Missed the shot but hey, it’s such a relaxed state of mind.

Thanks for the good company of Marg and David, I had a lovely time in shirtsleeves, light breeze on the face, peering into the complexion of huge Lotus blossoms at the Blue Lotus. Could’t be more enjoyable.

Looking forward to a new year. May 2012 be blessed and good things to all.

Happy Seasons Greetings / Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:38:00.001+11:00

I’ve been head down in non photographic work – that’s why I haven’t been writing on photography that much. 2011 is coming to an end, it’s been a good year, photographically, for me. I got myself an Olympus E-620 to replace my E-330 that failed. And some months later, the E-PL1. I also shot a few rolls of film on my old Minolta X-700 and my new-old SRT-101.

I haven’t gone through everything I’ve shot on my hard disk, but I thought a few shots from flickr would be nice to review.

Above is film shot with real light leaked right edge. The patina of warm browns and hazy unsharpness is a lovely memory of that day’s shooting.

Women’s shoes have attracted my interest in previous years, but this year showed a resurgence of the thick heeled platforms from my Uni days. Of course, if they are in gold, they are super scrumptious.

Paul was kind enough to invite us on his maintenance checks for the Puffing Billy railway. It was a wet day and we were a little exposed to the elements sitting on the side of NWV-1. This was taken with the very special 7-14mm Super High Grade Zuiko Digital ultra wide angle lens. A really sharp scenic lens as long as one remembers to stop down to f/8 to avoid over shallow depth of field.

I saw these Nonya Ladies at the Malaysian Festival in Melbourne. Their sarung-kebaya garb with kerosang reminds me so much of what mum used to wear in her younger days.

I see this some evenings and never tire of its beauty.

MWAC Attack: Episode 5- Market Yourself

2011-12-22T10:09:00.000+11:00

She's hilarious!

Making up your mind on a new camera

2011-12-03T22:33:00.000+11:00

Choosing the Brand (from the DSLR / Interchangeable Lens category)

Revised and updated: December 2011

The individual camera brands have personalities - bear that in mind when you are befuddled by tables and comparison matrices of blow by blow feature lists.

Canon

Canon produces the most cameras worldwide. Pros shooting Olympics, Getty Images, in war zones, in sports, use them. They have a full range of product from small compact point and shoots to the big DSLRs with honking big, white, expensive "L" lenses. If you are a pro or wanna be a pro or want people to think you are a pro, it seems like one of two brands to embrace. If you want the safety and conservatism of being part of a large tribe, this is the brand for you. Regardless of whether you bought a hundred dollar Canon camera, you can say - "I use this brand, hey!"

But, as in all well run and structured religions, let it be known that Canon has circles - the pros, the wannabes, the want-to-be-known-as, the nerd shooter and the family shooter. And so, you will be offered competent cameras and lenses. Doesn't mean that your $200 lens is the equivalent of an "L" lens worth ten times more. It isn't.

Canon DSLR bodies have bulk and volume. At the low priced end, they can feel hollow (less dense). At the lower end too, I find the right hand grip a little odd, my hands don’t curl around the grip comfortably. But that’s me. The menus seem to use more icons and less words.

Canon changed their lens mount some time back, the old one was called FD and the current one is called EF / EF-S. Of course FD lens owners were not happy but that was some time ago. Canon bodies don’t have an internal AF focus assist lamp – so in dim light, the built-in flash blinks in a beserk manner to light up the near subject.

Canon does put attention to their non DSLR compacts and bridge cameras. They have some individuality and features. There are firmware hacks (CHDK) to enable features that are not normally available in these cameras.

Nikon

Nikon has the next largest market share. I confess to having a soft spot for them but I was let down by the first Nikon I ever owned, a Nikon 775 compact 3x digital zoom camera. Nikon does have a range of non DSLR compacts and bridge cameras but mostly the passion to make them stand out isn’t the same as Canon.

Now, the Nikon DSLRs go head to head against the Canon DSLRs and are used by pro photographers. Their lenses are good too, however, Nikon stove pipe lenses are black not white. Lowest range Nikon DSLR bodies do not have an AF motor in the body (for old lenses) and cheaper bodies are said not to meter the scene with old lenses in a convenient way – a sign of product differentiation. This is at odds with the pride that the Nikon physical mount has changed little and old, old lenses fit new, new bodies.

I like the Nikon DSLR grip, even the cheapest ones, and the cheap bodies feel dense and compact. The feel of solidity and denseness is a Nikon design ownership aesthetic.

Either brand will do if you are into the "I belong to heap big tribe" attitude.

And now, the other small tribes

Firstly why bother with a brand that is not in the top two in market share?

You like to root for the underdog.
You want new features, earlier. They try harder – they introduce more innovative features, earlier. Flip Twist LCDs. Auto HDR. Sweep Panorama. Smaller and lighter gear, More attractive out-of-the-camera JPEGs. Mirrorless or non swinging mirrors. The list goes on.
You eschew conservatism, financial and asset safety and are willing to take risks

Sony

Sony is the next DSLR brand to discuss. Originally, the DSLR factory was Minolta but Minolta got sued heavily by Honeywell over a bun fight about who invented Auto Focussing and amongst other things, Minolta merged with Konica and then the merged entity lost interest in high risk, low returns camera market, so sold to Sony.

Sony DSLRs of course have very strong innovative features - Sweep Pano, Automatic HDR, Translucent Mirrors and so on. Mirrorless. And with Sony's money bags, they can afford to launch several similar models at the same time and multiple lines of cameras - Full Frame, classic APS-C with mirrors, translucent mirrored SLTs and mirrorless NEX. They can afford to overlap market segments – compete with themselves. And ally with Carl Zeiss (lenses).

Pentax

Pentax has been a reliable, middle performer brand. They have moments of brilliance. They make good, respectable bodies. Their range of single focal length lenses / pancakes are famous. They’re cost effective. Competent. And now they come in scores of shades and colours. They have a long history of being “there”. Unfortunately, it’s hard being a small company. Hoya bought Pentax and then sold Pentax to Ricoh.

Olympus

Olympus is a maverick. Has been, Will be. Somehow Y. Maitani has retired but the legacy of his boldness is still in the company’s culture. They are the essence of the Japanese bento box – delicately made, well presented. Small. Because they don’t have a large tribe in tow, they have to be and are agile. Risk takers – again, if you are that size, you take the risk or become lost in the herd of tribesmen from other tribes. Who else would come out with a Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera first? Who would take the decision to voluntarily retire the bulk of their DSLR line ahead of time? Their last and remaining DSLR model is the E-5. They are fully focussed on designing and making their PEN series of interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras.

However, the management has been in disgrace – they have carried out all kinds of financial and management misdeeds. We hope the company makes it.

Panasonic

Panasonic and Sony are rivals in the TV and appliance space. In the photography space, Sony has the lead but Panasonic is not weak. Panasonic have established credibility in the compact and bridge categories. They have allied with Leitz (Leica) as Sony has allied with Carl Zeiss.

In the DSLR space, Panasonic allied with Olympus but were quickly dissatisfied with progress in that category in terms of sales achievement. Panasonic are more comfortable in a category where there is more electronics than mechanicals so they jumped into the Micro Four Thirds mirrorless category with Olympus as collaborators.

How about the different Types of Cameras?

I’m not a camera taxonomist and I now look more at Interchangeable Lens Cameras (both Mirrored i.e. DSLR and Mirrorless)
Let’s start from the top.

The Pro DSLR

Firstly we have the big bodied 24x36mm sized sensor “full frame” DSLRs. Expensive. Big. Heavy. Robust. Professional. Chatter faster than a machine gun. Takes equally expensive, big, heavy lenses. Why?

Because you need professional quality equipment. I didn’t say anything about the often misused phrase, image quality. I said high quality equipment. Weather sealed.
You have more cash than you know what to do with.
You like carrying something weighty.
You take out insurance and are not worried about getting mugged or robbed. Heck, you could even bash out the mugger’s brains with that D3s.

The Enthusiast / Premium DSLR

You wish you had the cash for a Pro DSLR but don’t.
You want a second body for your Pro DSLR.
You want a really good high ISO performance.
You want a sizeable, dense body
You want dual dials and big viewfinders, big, detailed LCD screens and lots and lots of mod cons. You want gear that performs.
You want to be one up on the guy next door.

The Entry Level DSLRs (or any DSLR for that matter)

You want to “take your photography to the next level” and you see so many people with those black DSLRS.
You want to shoot “manual” whatever that means.
But you’re “happy to use iAuto or SCENE modes for the time being”
You’re dissatisfied with your previous “point and shoots”
You think a DSLR will make you a better photographer – after all, if you are the constant factor, surely throwing money at a better camera will make you take better pictures, right?
You want “bokeh” whatever that is.
You want to take shots of kids in motion in dark, dim rooms without flash. Or heck, just kids in motion, they never stay still and your “point and shoot” just shows the back of the leg in a blur.
You are willing to step down from having a big zoom range to a paltry 3x or less zoom in a camera and lens package that costs more. Oh, by the way, how do you measure a DSLR lens when you want to compare it with your current insane 36x zoom?
You think these entry level DSLRs are soooo good, why on earth would you fork our more dough? After all, the sensor is the same, right?

The Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera

You want a DSLR but you don’t want a DSLR in bulk and weight and clumsiness.
You don’t mind paying more in the long run for this smaller camera than you would for an entry level DSLR – such new MILCs and Lenses are new, risk taking product – the companies need / want to make a good buck before the big tribes spoil the profits.
You are willing to let go a little of that bokeh or use a manual-everything lens to get it.
You’re ok with one, maybe two settings worse graininess or lower ISO ceiling.
You’re ok with less choice of lenses because the lenses you want to use now or eventually are already in the catalogue.
You’re ok with a slight hesitancy before the shutter clicks.
You’re gonna try harder for shooting birds and sports.
You don’t mind not having an optical viewfinder or even no viewfinder sometimes. And you enjoy Transformer type gadgets.

The Ultrazoom / Bridgecam

You don’t think all this interchangeable lens business is worth the money or the trouble.
You want a real zoom. I mean 40x, is that too little?
You want maximum bang for buck.
You’re sure that your sensor isn’t small and besides, most of your shots are in bright sunny seaside towns of Devonshire
You are a “point and shoot”. Really,
You like Kodakcolor, Fujicolor or Panasonic Color (thought I was gonna say Panacolor, didn’t you)
You know how to fake bokeh with software. The real thing is over-rated.
You haven’t got the time to futz around on a tourist trip. Wife and family aren’t gonna wait for you to set up a shot.

The LX-5, ZX-1, S95 class of compact cams, with good image quality

You want a real compact cam. I mean, have you seen one of those huge MILCs?
You reckon the image quality is good enough.
You don’t mind a 3x or 5x maximum zoom. Really.
You like deep Depth of Field. Bokeh is for the birds.

The ubiquitous Photoshop 8bf plugin

2011-12-02T23:44:00.001+11:00

I’m not tuned into Photoshop although it is the de facto standard amongst post processing peers, the photo industry and graphic artists. I’ve sat in front of Photoshop several tines and then the MEGO syndrome hits me (My Eyes Glaze Over). Yes, there are certainly video tutorials, magazines, books dedicated to teaching and tutoring Photoshop techniques as befits a de facto, popularly recognised tool – we speak of Photoshopping in the same verb sense as Xeroxing.

I find though, I get on with Picasa (even though it is said to strip .icc profiles from processed JPEGs), Olympus Viewer 2, PAINT.NET and lately Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

The 8bf Photoshop effects Plugin though is another matter. Because Photoshop has become so popular, there are a host of free, then inexpensive, then expensive Photoshop plugins that have been published. Since I have been checking their compatibility with other programs, this article will detail some programs and how they can use the 8bf plugin.

Pre-requisites

Even though you might be running Windows 7 / 64 bit and some fancy hardware and software, some of the plugins require the following:

MSVCRT10.DLL
plugin.dll

You can get both from PSPUG. Both should be in your Windows SYSTEM folder. PUPUG also host many 8BF plugins as well.

PAINT.NET

PAINT.NET is a free editor. To use 8BF plugins, it needs PSFilterShim. After unzipping it, put it in the EFFECTS sub-folder where PAINT.NET is installed. Put the 8BF files in the same folder or sub-folders of the EFFECTS folder

Corel Paintshop Pro X4

PSP does not need assistance to use 8BF plugins. Put these plugins in the LANGUAGE\EN\PLUGINS subfolder where PSPX4 is installed. You can nominate a different folder for plugins by changing the setting in PSPX4 settings.

Helicon Filter

Helicon Filter is a RAW processor – much less publicised than Lightroom, Raw Therapee or Silkypix. Helicon Filter has a Plug-Ins sub folder – put the 8bf files there.

Irfanview

Installation of 8bf files in Irfanview is detailed at namesuppressed

XnView

Installation of 8bf files in XnView is detailed here.

Mediachance Photo-Brush

Installation of 8bf files in Photo-Brush is explained in the help.

Did you hear the birds / It’s not about photos or the gear

2011-11-23T18:45:00.001+11:00

I had a shorter work day, it’s spring in Melbourne, the day was sunny, bright, shirtsleeve warm and cheerful without being hot for any length of time.

I whipped out the Olympus E-620 and was puzzling about why I had a little trouble with the Autofocus on the weekend. I set it to Continuous AF, Single Point vs Multiple Point and was targeting a leaf waving in the slight breeze and a Rosella sang just over the neighbour’s fence. What’s the point with using a wavy leaf to simulate movement when I have a real live singing bird? So I next start targeting the bird with the 40-150mm kit zoom lens and pumping the shutter release. The bird was quite small in the frame, but the exercise gave me some ideas of the performance of the camera.

Then, a pair of brown feathered bigger birds swooped onto the neighbour’s tall gumtree, and a few moments later, different bird calls. I couldn’t see these bigger birds clearly and paused, camera lowered. The exchange of bird calls grew in frequency, making interesting listening. Eventually, in as many minutes I counted 5 different bird calls.

There are few moments of epiphany in our lives, this was one for me. The photos or the gear subsided in significance. The day was sweet, I’m alive and not in pain and that’s my moment.

From 20111123

The Willow Tree Outside

2011-11-14T19:59:00.001+11:00

The Willow Tree Outside, a photo by Ananda Sim 88 on Flickr.

Spring is in town in Melbourne, Enjoy the moments, for the seriousness of Summer comest

Get A Real Camera

2011-10-23T21:23:00.000+11:00

Olympus Korea gets it right, again

2011-10-05T21:49:00.000+11:00

Just caught up with some Youtube videos of Olympus advertising. My vote goes again to Olympus Korea. Simple, understated sell line. Just works. Communicate:

It's small - not a camera phone but it's small enough to ride a push bike with
It can't be too heavy the way he's holding it (well it is, but the ad doesn't make it like it is)
It can fit a longish zoom - well not a bazooka but he seems to be happy with the zoom. Notice he's not on his bike for that.
It's fast enough AF to catch the girl. No need to bring out the number crunching calculator and compare with DSLRs, it just is fast enough to focus and get a shot.
Autofocus detects stuff that you wouldn't be bothered to concentrate on. Point and shoot. Yeah. "You pick the subject, let the camera do the rest" - uh, where have I heard that before?
Won Bin's holding it - he must be some hot celebrity amongst his fans - if he uses it, ok, must be good enough for his fans.
His photos are not arty - he's just shooting everyday fun shots that any guy might shoot.

There's no need to thump the desk, get endorsement from some pro photog that the man in the street would not identify.

He feels good with it, shouldn't you?

Community Articles at DP Review

2011-10-01T12:15:00.000+10:00

Recently, dpreview.com offered members the ability to publish Community Articles. I've been waiting for forum stickies - those posts that will not descend into the vapour of the timeline and these could be used as a reference point instead.

I've contributed a few - the Table of Contents is at A-compilation-of-tips-for-beginners.
Enjoy!

Driving into the The Light

2011-09-28T17:35:00.001+10:00

Driving into the The Light, a photo by Ananda Sim 88 on Flickr.

This is another IDHDR shot. Spotted this familiar scene driving, watched for traffic and stopped by the side of the road. In most circumstances this would be a fail or defeat shot. The sun is in the frame of vision and it would distract the exposure metering such that most of the scene would be black silhouette. With the HDR treatment, we've got a road and roadside with trees and shrubs and grass that you could swear were what you saw - notice that red tree. Of course we get sunspot flare but that's not too distracting either. And the sun looks blinding which it was.

Amazing in its white brilliance

2011-09-28T17:25:00.001+10:00

Amazing in its white brilliance, a photo by Ananda Sim 88 on Flickr.

This is quite an amazing shot for me. The building is quite mundane although I have not figured out what that rectangular arch above the footpath is - it does not seem to have any functional use.

Anyway, I've shot the building a few times but the results have not been of any consequence. This time, I whipped out the Samsung Galaxy S Android phone with the HDR Camera+ app. Three quick JPEG shots later, here it is.

You can see a niggly rainbow from the moire pattern caused by blending of three shots but this is the scene as your eyes would see it. The white paint is searing bleached white in the sun, although your eyes might see some texture as they would be better than any camera sensor. The shadows would be dark and deep but again, your eye might pick up some shadow detail. And the footpath is that off grey colour with the wall bricks a little beigy.

It would be pretty hard to capture all the tones with a conventional shot from even a better camera but this IDHDR allows a puny camera phone with this leeetle small sensor to render a whole lot of detail and tonality.

Selling a camera is easy. Really?

2011-09-18T21:05:00.001+10:00

I’m not talking about selling my second hand gear. I’m hopelessly truthful. I’m talking about those camera companies very seldom “getting it” with regards selling cameras – their lifeblood product. What do they try?

They get actors, tennis players (not the sports photogs) to do product endorsements.

They get artsy artist-photographers, the more abstract and high fashion the better, to showcase their art. Yet, somehow, the camera becomes a wanna-be second, eclipsed by the photog’s distinctive style. They actually alienate the buyer as the results are so different from what the man-on-the-street envisions.

Really, it’s much simpler than that. Have a look at The Gruen Transfer specifically Episode 4 Season 7 (sorry for those not in Austalia, the video is restricted). It’s about selling shampoos. Look at

2:49 “Appeal to sub-categories of consumer – make it appear specific to the user” – say Crafted for Experts, Made for You
5:40 “Actual Self + Brand = Ideal Self”
6:30 Create “Perceived Value” on top of the common features for every product.
11:00 “The Price Placebo” – say “Pros use this Product” – it must be better than the other product that Pros seldom use.
16:00 “Count your features twice – increase Believability”
17:15 “use the Because phrase” – make reasons to rationalise that choice.

Oh, and throw a science diagram, numbers and charts into it.

Now, you may, well selling shampoo is selling shampoo, surely we’re selling a Nikon D7000 or Canon 7D or an Olympus PEN EP-3, they’re a different product category. Well, think about this. If you could sell as many units of cameras as you can sell bottles of shampoos, it sure doesn’t matter when your company laughs all the way to the bank.

Let’s put this in the context of cameras. The easiest sell for me, is to appeal to sub-categories of consumer. Take a look at any varied forum. The point and shoot owners and the DSLR-owner wanna-bes. What do these people shoot? Photos of dogs, cats, birdies, bugs and flowers, firstborns, grandchildren and GFs (Girl Friends). Even turn the camera around and shoot themselves. Holiday snaps, repetitively of the same sights in Venice or Rome. Sunsets skies. How many people are in this category? By my guess, heaps. Many, many more than the vocal seniors at the DPR forums. Recently, Simon Joinson remarked in a forum post that the site gets way more traffic than the forums themselves. If these people are really the ones who will buy the camera you are selling shouldn’t you primarily (pardon the pun) focus on them?

What selling angles would work best with these people? Hands up! Who says “Subcategories – Crafted for Experts – Made for you!”. Simply put, that means showing these people examples and scenarios of “Actual Self + Camera = Ideal Self”. Those are very, very easy to do, powerful and yet underutilised by the camera brands.

Instead, too many camera ads work on the only point – “Count Your Features Twice – Increase Believability” – that’s a very, very hard angle to sell in a tech gadget which modern cameras are – whatever you innovate now, in six months, your competitor will have come up with another feature. Counting features is well known to the electronic appliance companies – the deeper the pocket for gee-whiz features and multi-lingual cute icons representing the matrix of features.

For the rest of the potential buyers – the camera fans, nerds, high ISO low noise / dynamic range / resolution numbers measurebrators, you seed the community with evangelist fanboi and trolls. You conjure perceived value and work on the price placebo. And you use the “Because phrase” a lot.

Celebrity endorsements? Worked for Lux soap – or was that “Actual Self + Brand = Ideal Self”? I don’t think it’s that effective for cameras.

IDHDR–the confessions of a former HDR reluctant

2011-09-10T13:52:00.001+10:00

No, don’t look at the title, and leave. Just because every Google+ photographer seems to have a fetish for HDR doesn’t make this current vogue or passé.
I’ve previously recoiled a bit from HDR. Trey Ratliff has been the sifu and legendary evangelist of HDR and some of his works are exemplary, not just in HDR but in wide angle lens compositions. But as with anything if you see too much of that, you get jaded. And I am seeing too much of the dramatically emphasised tone mapped HDR the past month at G+.
I’ve tried HDR – the Photomatix way. The EasyHDR way. The Dynamic Photo HDR way. They’ve all been klutzy. Really, taking the time to shoot at least 3 shots. Coming back to the computer to blend them. No, I won’t use Photoshop super alignment whizzo. I’m about as keen to Photoshop anything as plucking my eyebrows.
In-Device HDR, on the other hand, I’m recently more than happy with. My Samsung Galaxy S (Android) phone-cam has an easy no brainer app HDR Camera+ – costs heaps, all of AUD 2.82 – yes, I haven’t made a mistake with the decimal point. You point, you hold steady for 3 clicks, and that’s about it. You can even post up to Google+ or Facebook. The small sensor phone-cam really benefits from extending the handling of dynamic range – skies improve instead of being dead white.

Rob and Rae's big Eucalypt at sunset – a tough shot in view of the shadows

Off Maribynong Road, Pascoe Vale Even with HDR, the yellow wall on the house across the road is whiter than yellow but there is enough tonality to make this shot

The brilliant red of this Monash University, Clayton Campus building isn’t as red as it should be but this is in the middle of lunch time, staring into the bright sun, slightly behind the cloud.

Early morning at the Monash Staff Development Unit on Wellington Road with deep shadows and bright, bright happy but cold sun.

And the app seems to resolve walking people ghosting as well as hand movement between the three shots. Something I struggled to resolve with the PC HDR apps

I love this shot. The girl is on the shadow side, patiently waiting for her partner who is momentarily enamoured with the stone lion.

Your Sense of Self in the Photos You Take

2011-09-04T09:16:00.001+10:00

It’s father’s day 2011, “Happy Father’s Day” to all those Dads. I’m pausing for reflection on the times and memories I had with my Dad and those I have myself with Number One. I’ve also been thinking about the photos I take and incidentally, Robin Wong has just posted on his blog - Robin Wong- Snapshots vs Photographs.

To add context to my searching for self, I’ve been exposed to a barrage of Photogs on Google+, with lists of lists of lists of Photogs. Some with an immense sense of self, some with a sense of sharing, some that make images that you can tune in, some that are nowhere like it. On the other hand, I participate in the Beginner’s Forum at DP Review and that brings insight as well into how digital beginners view their efforts and their search for instantiation and validation by their peers.

Really, it’s this. Photography is a journey for me. A search for my ability to create artistically – when my other pursuits are more logical and analytical. A liberation and a breathing of soul and life.Not every one approaches photography like this.

Some people just want a quick snapshot of life, of the moment, of the people, of the circumstance. We speak of snapshots in a somewhat second class way, as something we don’t bring to the table in intellectual company. And yet, without this fervour for snapshots through the years, those intellectuals and collectors who now treasure sepia toned or faded colour photos for their vintage effect, won’t have much to treasure or collect.

Some others treat Photography as an income source, with a workman like approach to the skill, to the photos and whatever perfectionism they place in competently and repeatedly taking a reliable, technically valid shot for a client brief. No, these are not snapshots, they’re sometimes very “set up”, staged and planned but I propose, they are not automatically satisfying to every individual viewer.

And there’s a whole rainbow and plethora of reasons and rationale between the two cases.

So, where does that leave you?

You’ve got to shoot what you like, in the way that you like.
The issue is that on the start of the journey through photography, one seeks validation and one seeks out a critic, a judge or failing that a peer. I guess that is part of the learning process – what do people think about your efforts. Is it too dark? Is it too light? Can you see what I see? Is my bum too fat in this?

In some ways, this is inevitable – the search for truth in aesthetic appreciation. In other ways, it can be quite painful, tortuous as different viewers give varying opinions. Do you trust this opinion or the other opinion? At the end of the day, it comes back to you making your own opinion – it’s like the oft repeated saying of hiring a consultant to affirm what you already know.
A new aspect to me, is establishing what I like to see. Yes, before Google+, you had to venture out to see another artist’s work. Now, you just have to Circle everyone and your Stream is full of some gems and a lot of photos that you would not shoot yourself. And that’s the second big point – you take the time to sieve out what you don’t like and you absorb osmotically, visually, what makes you happy.
Finally, the pursuit and the journey – to produce the images that make you, and make what you like.
Don’t be in a hurry to achieve that final goal. Remember, it’s a journey of self discovery. You’re supposed to enjoy the journey. You’re supposed to discover yourself and your skills. If you could produce what you want yesterday, what would you do next?

A camera ad done right

2011-07-26T22:36:00.000+10:00

Makes you want to go out and shoot as well.

Companies having a death wish

2011-07-16T18:37:00.001+10:00

My friend says that he gets the shivers when he walks into a head office reception area and sees an aquarium with goldfish. He means that the company has reached a peak and is looking to go downhill. Rather like when you hear that such and such company has implemented the "best of breed" or "world class" enterprise resource planning system (SAP). The equivalent of being nominated and displayed as the "man of the year" on Time Magazine.

The number of camera companies, particularly those with interchangeable lens cameras (DSLRs) has sharply reduced since the glory days of SLRs in the 1970s. Yashica. Contax. Minolta. Miranda. Chinon. Praktica. They're not there anymore. Mamiya, Fuji, Leica, Ricoh are shadows of their former selves. And now Pentax, a steady old faithful is being divorced from Hoya and being absorbed by Ricoh.

Camera historians will regale you with yarns and stories of how they bit the dust. But really, why are Canon and Nikon still around and dominating with 80% market share? It's because they are big enough, confident enough and conservative enough that they can just stand still whilst the smaller brands destroy themselves by senseless marketing, distribution and sales bloopers.

My favourite brand used to be Minolta. They're gone, consumed by the giant Sony. Now, my allegiance is with Olympus but they sure have a marketing and advertising deathwish. Remember the Kevin Spacey ads in US?

I like Kevin Spacey a lot. And his humour. But the ad just doesn't go down well.

Not to be outdone, the Aussies now have this:

This is actually a two part "clever" ad - this is the first point to intrigue or stir interest or chagrin. The second part is to come up with the punchline - Olympus offers three new REAL CAMERAS.

Thing is, you advertise to win new friends. You want 100% conversion if you can. If you use intended humour that doesn't work, i.e. offbeat or quirky humour, you're hoping that the viewer doesn't get alienated by the first point. If they are, the second point, the one-two punchline doesn't work and in fact infuriates them more.

I'm all for the innovation and the risk taking by Olympus engineers and management in kicking over the DSLR barrel and going mirrorless. But heck, for Pete's Sake, you don't have to gamble the house on the ads too!

What do you think?

Reactions:

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2011/07/olympus-is-talking-trash-about-your-camera-phone/

‪Photographing Children - Tips

2011-07-16T17:41:00.001+10:00

For those newbies who want tips on taking photos of their active children

We get a lot of newbies at DPR saying that they need the bestest camera at the cheapest price in the smallest package with the most bang for buck to take photos of their never still, restless children. I happened to see a video at the Tamron website and then followed the breadcrumbs....

When you can get your hands on 100 digital cameras....

2011-07-16T11:35:00.002+10:00

Gotta see this one: What You Can Do With 100 Olympus Cameras

Porcelana - Making Of from Real Creations on Vimeo.

When Camera Advertising is More Effective

2011-06-27T10:23:00.000+10:00

We've been lamenting how Olympus makes superb gear, well thought out, gentle and genteel, with a flair for breaking out of conservatism. But in many instances, the relevant marketing efforts in each country, well, they can't market for nuts. Really. I had a look at YouTube and these are the ad styles that I would pick. It's very hard to establish a hunger to want to buy your product in 30 seconds - priming the public on tech supremacy is just, well, ineffective. So don't. Establish the need some other way.

Give it to an Idol to show
(and for heavens sake, not Kevin Spacey spouting grumpy old negatives - Kevin himself is better than that)

Lifestyle - make it look easy

Talk Straight but twist it with the incongrouous

Behind the Scenes: Making the Amazing Olympus PEN E-PL1 TV Ad

2011-06-05T21:43:00.000+10:00

Beginners continually ask whether they can shoot video with new DSLR and ILC-M (Interchangeable Lens Cameras - Mirrorless) - whether the camera can do this or that, autofocus this or that.

Good video is not about the camera. Look at the effort (script, assistants, salaries, lighting, makeup, resources and crew) that go into a high quality video clip and the gear that they use (which dwarfs the actual decision of "which is the best camera"). And the editing skills.

The actual short video clip looks soooooooo simple and easy but there's heaps of skill, money and work behind this video shooting.

The Art Filter or the Effex filter

2011-05-29T20:34:00.000+10:00

Olympus was the first to incorporate in-camera Art Filters into their DSLR and ILC-M (Intercheangeable Lens Cameras - Mirrorless). From there they have progressed the their product naming to Magic Filters which may be a more palatable term for conservatives.The branding of the "Art Filter" name is of course to capture the imagination of the public. We all know taking a ready made can of "Art" vs producing a work of Art, aren't the same thing. But I like the idea of having effects filters in the camera - just like you can buy a can of Niks for the computer, why not let the camera have one as well? And you know when you're onto a Good Thing when the competition flatters you with imitation. So far, several camera brands have responded by incorporating this into their products.

For those who don't "get it", an Effex filter when implemented in the camera does the following:

display a result show on the LCD after the shot - in your hand, in situ - if you don't like it, you can shoot again immediately. Even something simple like conversion to black and white helps me visualise the patterns by suppressing the colour during framing and composition.
show you in Live View before and during the shoot to predict the shot - this allows you to tweak settings, change framing and composition, depth of field - it all becomes tangible and real rather than waiting for some hours later to sit at the computer
often you can shoot RAW + JPEG. This allows you to the ability of preview and look at your result, yet, you have an untampered copy where the manufacturer's software can render at the computer or avoid the effect altogether.
for those who shoot movies, it seems really cool to be able to apply live filter effects, in situ.

Anyway, Robin asked today, whether we had any Art Filtered shots to show off. Here are some.

A wet Sunday and reflecting on technical RAW image quality

2011-05-29T18:41:00.000+10:00

Here's a response I posted on at a DPR forum:

Question

I was looking at the reviews on dpr and wanted to know about RAW image quality. All other things being equal is RAW image quality the most important? I mean isn't that the "real" picture?

Response

The most important, in no real rank sequence are:

The shooter - at least 80% of the picture. I have repeatedly seen Grumpy Old Conservatives (sometimes I am one of them) proclaim that gear A is so bad that it could not be used for activity X and then wait a few months, look around and voila, some unknown person on the other side of the internet produces an image which is spectacular.
The ability of the shooter and camera to get exposure "right". Some people rely on the camera a lot, others rely on themselves a lot. Those who rely on the camera need the exposure to be "just right"
The ability of the shooter and the camera to get the focus "right". Again some people rely a lot on the camera, others are more tolerant
For their needs, some shooters rely on the in-camera JPEG engine to get it right. They have no patience or persistence to sit at the computer and process data, their skill is in the field - composing, choosing the "decisive moment" - you can get gear that is technically perfect (i.e. 99% better digital quality vs 80% digital quality) but the image sucks because the shooter is a dud and gets composition, focus, exposure, depth of field or the moment, wrong.
RAW quality is technical quality - in order to render on the screen, a human or a program has to initially preset the choice of gamma transformation curve, colour saturation, sharpening, aberration correction, perspective correction. Any image you see on the screen that is recognisable to a human, has been rendered with these rendering parameters - the rendering is not about technical perfection it is about visual choice - the two do not have to be equal.
The RAW quality is the sensor and image processing pipeline quality - if you pick a camera which does not have the lens you want to use or the lens quality that you want, then the image could suck.

The Four Stages of Exposure Awareness

2011-05-06T21:25:00.001+10:00

Stage 1: The first thing that newbies learn about is that there is an Exposure Triangle. Some Peterson guy is said to have wrote about it in a book. I haven’t read it. I’ve seen his videos. Maybe his intentions are good and he knows what he’s doing. But a heap of newbies don’t “get it”

Stage 2: Eventually it dawns on people that the Exposure Triangle has a Fourth Side.

Stage 3: After rummaging around, comparing effective techniques of whether to use P A S M or figuring out which metering pattern is better – Evaluative Matrix vs Centre Weighted vs Spot vs the classical Sunny 16 rule vs Interpreting the Histogram vs ETTR and asking themselves where the hell they put the white towel / Kodak 18% Neutral Gray Card or the XRite thingamajig, someone mentions that Adams chap who wrote about the Zone System. And bang! Smack on the head. There is no Correct Exposure. There is what the camera measures as an instrument and what the artist (you) choose to convey and interpret. The two are not and do not have to be the same thing

Stage 4: So far, so good. People are shooting decent shots. But they’re not spectacular. Like those gorgeous smooth skin tones and sharp, clear irises of the girls in the portraits. And so on. So we ask, how on earth does so and so get this shot with his iPhone but we can’t and we’ve almost spent as much as a Nikon D3s? And the penny drops. We can’t. If we REACT to the scene. Often times, the pros don’t react, they’re pro-active. They light up the scene the way they want. Or gain a vantage point if they can’t control the light. And having done their utmost to light the scene well, they touch up with Photoshop. Delicately and Emphatically. Not the other way around.

And then, there’s Black and White

2011-05-06T21:03:00.001+10:00

For a long time, I didn’t get any joy out of black and white shots in the digital Bayer colour sensor era, with LCD screens. I didn’t get the drama that I wanted, the depth of tones in monochrome that I visualised.

Not that I did that well in the film days. I used several films but my favourite turned out to be Agfapan 100 processed in Rodinal. Or was it Neofin Blau?

Seeing the picture was an issue with black and white. I guess I dream in colour and that hampers my recognition of what the panchromatic translations would yield, days after the fact.

With the Olympus PEN E-PL1, I’m on a new adventure. I can see, in Liveview and in different aspect ratios, the gritty black and white that I almost like (well, it’s better than most of the bland monchromatic transformations). It’s not that I can’t get one good monochrome shot, once in a while, it’s just that I don’t get one regularly.

Victory with Kodak V705

Discarded Shoes with the Samsung Galaxy S

Fellini with the Olympus C-750uz

Enchanted with the PEN E-PL1

An Awakening of the Senses, A Quickening of the Pulse

2011-05-06T20:37:00.001+10:00

You know when you have a camera that you will bond with when you hold it in your hands, switch it on, point it around, have a feel of the sounds it makes, the menus and displays, the feel not just of the weight but of the skin texture and so on.

That’s why we often ask “what camera shall I buy” newbies to go to a shop and actually hold the cameras that are on their shortlist. Sometimes they reach an epiphany, sometimes, they come back with a shrug of their shoulders and say “feels a much of a muchness to me”. That’s just sad, actually not being able to realise that moment.

It gets better when you actually have your first real outing with the camera (aside from pointing it at the ceiling lights in a darkened room and making vroom, vroom sounds (or whatever sounds photogs make).

And in your first outing, you feel at one with the camera, you see, you point, you shoot, you chimp and it feels good. Then there is that bated breath moment when you actually see the images on the screen (or print if you are so inclined) and YESSSSSS, it is as you envisaged at the time you clicked the shutter release).

For some cameras that I have owned, it doesn’t feel like this. Ever.

For the newly discounted (for Mother’s Day 2011 in the US), PEN E-PL1, I get it. The attractiveness of the LCD. The often deprecated buttons that get me to the menus. The sound of the shutter. Oooh. I’ve had several cameras with focal plane shutters. There are only two that I have owned where the sound of the shutter turns me on – the Minolta X-700 (film SLR) and the E-PL1. For some reason, it puts a spring to my step during Shutter Therapy.

And, of course, the results.

A flourish with the PEN

2011-04-29T23:25:00.002+10:00

Yes, I could have carried the DSLR with me and yes, my Olympus PEN E-PL1 isn’t the smallest because it is fitted with a legacy alien Tamron Adaptall II 28mm f/2.8 lens. In fact the glass in this lens is quite small diameter but for some reason the non optical material increases barrel diameter by double or more.
Still there I was overlooking the valley at East Keilor after finishing work with Pierre. I had shot this several times, early morning too, with my Kodak P880. I wanted to see how I would go with the PEN.
A friendly man of European origin stepped out of his car and had a chat with me – he felt the grass was unkempt but was impressed when I was showing darkened sunset silhouettes rather than normal shots of grass.

Living with an Android

2011-04-27T19:51:00.001+10:00

I had the Olympus PEN E-PL1 (painful suffix that, have to press a bunch of keys to PL1 – there, did it again) but not on me (so to speak). Knox City is a mecca for the middle class raising-a-family and teens-wanna-have-fun-and-grow-up crowd, yet No Photography rules all over the Ozone.

But I had the Samsung Galaxy S in my pocket when I encountered this gorgeous Red Vespa. Unfortunately on the way in, the 8%$@ phone was frozen again, doing some data sync and presumably consuming 100% CPU – darn poor Process Priority “Give” and unpredictable app startups. Went into Teds, Harvey Norman’s, had a KFC (yes, I knoooow!), bought some nice big chestnuts and a $19 pair of Logitech 2.1 computer speakers (they’re cheap but no Creative mid-range sweetness at all).

Anyway, second chance, the Vespa had not moved, so put down the Logitech box, chestnuts, fired up the Vignette Android App (paid version). Just love the Red.

Isn’t this just like, cool?

And just one more

Figuring out the Olympus PEN E-PL1

2011-04-27T09:19:00.001+10:00

The E-PL1 is quite a sophisticated camera once you switch it off iAuto (even iAuto allows more control than some other cameras). To map all those functions onto just four buttons and no dials is quite an achievement but I kept getting confused just reading the manual. This flow chart hopefully captures the logic and context.

in reference to: http://myolympuspen.wikispaces.com/UsingLiveViewAndAdjustingShootingParameters (view on Google Sidewiki)

On the future of the Olympus E-Series DSLR

2011-04-24T10:14:00.002+10:00

"Watanabe: On the new product plans to disclose here, E Series, a double-digit model number and (E-5 and E-30), we will certainly continue to introduce products, E system is certainly some of the features PEN series can not be achieved. The E series of triple-digit products, we will consider the use of PEN series replaced. PEN series of lenses we will continue to research and development, and 4 / 3 system lenses will not interrupt research and development. PEN series of shots that we think are not enough, the recent focus may be on the PEN series."
in reference to: http://tech.sina.com.cn/digi/2011-04-22/17001727716.shtml (view on Google Sidewiki)

Updated 2nd June 2011:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/olympus-official-response-to-dslr-and-pen-rumours-16303

Q. 2) Will future E-Series Digital SLRs be Micro-Four-Thirds based or Four-Thirds based with optical viewfinder?
A. 2) E-X and E-XX DSLRs will continue as long as mirrorless systems can't fulfill SLR users demand. We don't know when we will have technologies that will be able to substitute this camera class."

Autographing with the PEN

2011-04-23T22:45:00.001+10:00

After looking and thinking, then looking and thinking some more, I finally gave in and bought myself an Oympus PEN E-PL1.

For those who don’t yet know what a PEN is, it is an Interchangeable Lens Camera (Mirrorless). Several names have been suggested for this genre of cameras, from EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) to hybrid (i.e. a blend between the DSLR and the fixed lens point and shoot cameras) to MILC. DP Review recently asked forum participants to suggest names.

My background in digital cameras starts in the year 2000 (I shot film rangefinder and SLR previously) and covers the Nikon 775, Olympus C-750uz, Kodak P880, Kodak V705 fixed lens cameras and the Olympus E-330, E-510 and E-620 DSLRs.

The E-PL1 is definitely a new beginning – it has the bigger sensor and shallower Depth of Field commonly associated with DSLRs (this has a crop factor of 2x) and yet, it has been aimed and primed for Point and Shoot activity – aim and frame using the back LCD screen, iAuto (intelligent Auto mode of operation) with full P A S M controls. Unlike the Sony NEX competitor line, it even has an external hotshoe for TTL flash.

I am seriously watching pennies, so I decided to wait for the E-PL1 to age sufficiently to the extent that it has become an outgoing model, with resultant price discounts. And for the E-System to PEN system (oh, alright, Four Thirds to Micro Four Thirds system) lens adaptor to come within penning pinching reach.

I wondered about accepting the standard, Mark 1, kit lens. And I declined.

So, good friend Gerhard wants to see me for a walk around his neighbourhood (he’s sporting a Panasonic FZ-35) and I bring the PEN with my E-System 14-42mm Mark 2 kit lens.

The experience of shooting is quite, quite different. It is indeed a blend of my hands stretched forward technique from my Kodak V705 style with frequent pauses for adjustment à la DSLR style. Having continuing experience shooting both types camera, habits and instinct kick in without explicit concentration. That’s a nice feeling. Also nice feelings is the right hand grip of the PEN and that confident, baritoned thud of the focal plane shutter.

Instead of raising the DSLR to the eye, aiming with the optical viewfinder, clicking, then lowering the DSLR, chimping, setting Exposure Compensation, rinse and repeat, with the PEN, you aim using LiveView, potentially assess the scene and apply Exposure Compensation BEFORE you click. With sufficient rendering quality and clarity of observation, the rinse and repeat frequency is reduced and you get your shot faster and more reliably. Of course, if the LCD screen gets blinded or lags in display for fast action, hectic work, this would be an issue. It wasn’t today.

I’m used to the Olympus DSLR Vivid, Natural, Muted image style choices – the PEN has a new one – i-Enhance. I used it, above.

On the other hand, with this next one, I used the RAW and increased the saturation in Picasa on a gently, gently basis.

I thought this flower below was just gorgeous.

Taking the time to see, to learn, to shoot

2011-04-04T18:59:00.001+10:00

An article in context.

in reference to: http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/wherever-you-go-there-you-are.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Better in Black and White

2011-03-13T12:43:00.001+11:00

After a long time away from film, I shot a roll of expired Rollei Retro 100 – it reminded me of Agfapan 100 that I used to shoot in the late 1970s.

But these days, film is messy and expensive – you pay for the roll, you pay for the processing and optionally the scanning and the scanning (for a 35mm film) may have hideous tramlines and dust artifacts.

So I thought, how well does Kodak do in their cams with black and white? I mean, born in the camera but lightly adjusted later. Because, black and white to me is about visualisation and visualisation in monochrome is difficult for me these days when colour is prolific. Well, not too bad. Kodak V705.

del.icio.us Tags: Kodak,v705,blackandwhite,monochrome

Taking photos with whatever you have

2011-03-13T11:44:00.001+11:00

I’m glad Robin takes time away from his E-5 to “smell the flowers”, see what else he can do. He had a bit of fun with his phone cam, a Nokia.

My Nokia E-71 as a camera was and is, really hopeless. Really hopeless. It may not may not have good image quality but I would never know. It would emit a loud synthesised audio click but then, much later, when my hand moved away, the camera would actually record the image. There was a macro mode but it didn’t get very macro-ey. In short, that phone cam just refused to perform it’s cam duties properly.

My Samsung Galaxy S can still be recalcitrant, but it more often, does perform as instructed. The only thing is, I must always remember to rub the lens port – somehow it has the habit of collecting every bit of finger grease in its idle time.

I still carry my Kodak V-705 for those wide angle moments and when I remember to, but the convenience and availability of the phone-cam, one that works as a cam, is satisfying.

del.icio.us Tags: samsung,galaxyS,phonecam

Breaking the ponderous camera habit – the Olympus XZ-1

2011-01-25T12:28:00.001+11:00

Over the past few years, a small number of cameras have gone against the trend for small, pocketable digital cameras. They were built in response to owners of DSLRs who had got a little tired of the bulk and weight of their DSLR gear. Time and again, diehards would evoke the memory of the Olympus XA or similar rangefinders.

The initial response from the manufacturers and photographer peers was “this isn’t the sales and production trend” – the trend is towards higher and higher megapixels, bigger and bigger ultrazooms – those two numbers sell to would be buyers whilst a small body, with a good lens and excellent technical image quality would not be marketable.

Once the competitive market saturated though, the manufacturers could take a breather and assess whether such a modest sized, modest pixel sized, larger sensor camera might be a saleable, niche product item.

First out the door was the Panasonic LX-3 – I have held and admired my friend’s camera and it is indeed a good camera – good technical image quality, an expansive wide angle, clever automatic mode and built to feel like your money was well worth parting with. Canon with their S90 came with an even slimmer body, less wide lens. Again, it “hit the right spot”.

Olympus is late coming to the game but they have achieved some understanding of this market sector. Their candidate is the XZ-1. David Chua courtesy of Olympus Malaysia was kind enough to let me use it for half an hour during a recent field trip / photo walk.

Now, I’ve had interests in both camps – I shoot a DSLR with several lenses and I also shoot a Kodak P880, V705 and even the Samsung Galaxy S Android phone. I’m used to the purposefulness and explicitness of the DSLR and I am used to the quick draw and shoot of V705 and the Galaxy S.

The XZ-1 ~~is smaller than the Panasonic LX-3~~ – and more importantly, it doesn’t feel so expensive. That’s not such a negative. When I feel that a camera is way expensive, it interferes with my desire to be casual with it, to use it freely. When I held my friend’s LX, it was with some trepidation and care that I handled it. I placed it gently on the table even though it was dense and heavy. The XZ-1 does have a relatively conspicuous and enormous lens (f/1.8 at brightest) and that’s the part that you might be careful with but the package didn’t make me feel overly precious with it – maybe it has less density.

Update: On second acquaintance, the XZ-1 is thinner, taller than the LX-5. The LX-5 feels denser with more cold in the feel of the metal skin. The LX-5 has a stubby protrusion to help your right hand grip the camera. The XZ-1 is taller and thinner than the LX-5. Somehow it doesn’t feel as cold or dense or expensively precious – it’s a perception thing. My right pinkies don’t seem to curl like when you hold a dainty teacup.

Now, the XZ-1 has a short focal length (physically) lens and yet a small f/no – f/1.8 – this means that often it has tremendously deep depth of field and yet with f/1.8, it grabs a lot of light. I set it on Programmed Mode (“P”), even though it has “A” and “M” – my experience with the Kodak P880 is that the designers know they have a deep depth of field and don’t want to go down the slippery slope of high ISO, grainier photos early – so “P” is not an unintelligent optimisation. For small sensor cameras too, the theoretical bogeyman of diffraction limits appears towards f/8 so the idea is to keep your f/no small mostly. In fact, just set it on “P”, point and click.

And I did, at fellow photographers in our group at a shopping mall called The Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur – it was not dim but it was indifferent light and just right for some casual point and shoot testing. Whilst the gang were practising their manual focus lenses on their E-P somethings (and I had also on my E-510 DSLR), the XZ-1 epiphanic moment is that you just go near, point, the face detect auto focus draws a focus square very quickly and the click is done. Takes longer to say than to action.

The result? Overbright white walls (because the faces were in slight shadown and darker than the walls) but the intelligent auto exposure calculation had optimised for the faces –which was the intent. The JPEG White Balance? Very satisfactory, again, nothing to wring your hands about.

If the ISO had to be automatically raised (I had set it for Auto ISO), then of course, you would have some JPEG smearing, viewed close due to the noise reduction but really for small, let’s point and click cam, that is the last thing on your mind.

Once outside, I happily pointed and clicked, not being very slow behind two of our group. I’ve been the photographer in a family group with a DSLR before and it’s painful for all concerned – you delay them, you are stiff from the waist down because you’re carrying gear and a ponderous “I am a camera” DSLR. With the XZ-1, I happily bent the body, knees, lowered the camera to chest level to helow waist level, all very nimble like. I’ve seen discussions from DSLR owners about “OMG, the XZ-1 does not have this feature, OMG” – really you are in a completely different mindset when you have such a small camera. You really don’t care.

My conclusion?

Nice JPEG colours, the package knows which subjects I want sharp and well toned – it just works. A breath of fresh air from DSLR shooting.

Observational vs Expressive Styles

2011-01-23T16:17:00.002+11:00

In a recent discussion, a respondent asked what I meant when I said that most beginners start with an Observational Style and progressed to an Expressive Style. My take on this is that when one gets a camera and starts shooting, the scene one captures is what the camera sees, not what one wants to convey. Of course, there are exceptions, people who have what we call, a “natural eye” for the photo but they are exceptions rather than the rule.

That “visualising eye” may indeed be inherent or it may be consciously and explicitly developed. Some “get it” early, some achieve some semblance of it, some work very hard but never “get it” – that side of the brain is so recessive that it appears with difficulty. There’s always hope though, that’s what’s so fascinating about going out with the camera on a purposeful mission – your encounter with the world should bring new, unpredictable, savoured moments – if you feel you’ve “been there, done that”, it’s maybe time to give the hobby or your approach to that hobby a rest or a change.

I often see beginners on the DPR Beginners Forum ask – “which camera, which book, which website, which tutorial DVD” and on. And yes, there are products that will provide information but information is not knowledge and knowledge is not “soul”. You really need to go out, hang out with people who have soul, who have passion, to get some Shutter Therapy otherwise, as much as you read about cameras and menus and settings, it is hard to develop your aesthetic appreciation and artistic skill in a vacuum. Of course, there are exceptions.

On a fresh and upbeat topic, I’ve just met up with a nice bunch of guys and girls – they’re members of the Malaysian Pen Lovers / Zuiko Lovers Group. David Chua is the Olympus product and brand evangelist (he assures us it is part time and he has his own clients as well as a young family) and the fabulous Robin Wong turns up when he can to contribute and lead as well. Robin’s written a blog article of our meetup as well: Robin Wong: Olympus Walkabout in KL
The youthful exuberance and joie de vivre is infectious. You really have to walk in their shoes:

Add to that, age old memories of that little hill that hold Stadium Merdeka and downtown Petaling Street and it is a magical journey, a revisit to the past and the dilapidation that is here today.

Robin comes from Sarawak, and he sees Kuala Lumpur with new eyes and new visualisations. I do too, as a visitor now, rather than someone who went to two schools in the city. There are so many offbeat visuals jostled within the life and living today. Many family businesses and even shops have extinguished and torn down, but there is still a lot of grit and texture to see.

It’s not an easy life in the streets, in some respects, the whole world has shaken off its lethargy and it is no slack life anywhere else. The work in KL, however can be demonstratively hard.

As the city develops into more styrofoamed, artificially contrived shopping malls, where the environment and appearances are manipulatively manufactured out of textureless blankness

are we merely textureless visually or do we still run lives of challenge and difficulty like we’ve always run?

Monte Zucker's Lighting Tips

2011-01-08T18:51:00.001+11:00

Worth a read.

in reference to: Light Control | Monte Zucker: Portrait and Wedding Photography Teacher (view on Google Sidewiki)

Advice to newbies asking “is this photo good”?

2011-01-03T16:21:00.002+11:00

Some random thoughts that occur to me when I look at photos that newbies show:

When anyone shows a photo, we look at the photo in its entirety. It's very difficult to look at a photo for "exposure" alone and not assess composition. It's like one bangs the keys on a piano and then one asks, was that a good piano? Without playing a recognisable tune, the banging of the piano overcomes any aesthetic appreciation of the quality of the piano.
Aesthetic appreciation varies with the person and with his mood.
Some people are more direct, some less. Sometimes you learn more from a direct remark, sometimes an ego gets hurt. That's life.
Just because someone buys a camera does not mean that someone is an artist or wants to be an artist. Cameras are no longer expensive now and everyone can choose to get one. People buy cameras to fulfil a need and that need may not be artistic. They may simply want to record and event, a memory. They may indeed want to “show” or “show off” to family and friends where they were, what they saw and they did not plan or did not have the opportunity to take more than a second to point and shoot. Or they may want an artistic shot but decades of mind numbing mundanity has grimed its patina onto their consciousness.
I've also noticed that cultural environment / economic environment / geographical environment / opportunity means that people point the camera at something quite different with quite different sense of aesthetic. Some of the photos look downright ugly to me but it may well be that I do not view them in the context that the shooter views them.

On the other hand, you want standard, good old fashioned classic advice and criteria, then have a look at this Kodak Tutorial.

del.icio.us Tags: photography

What’s my motivation?

2011-01-01T19:17:00.001+11:00

Unlike professional photographers, amateur photographers don’t have the simple expedient of picking income as the reason behind their photos. And, unlike the non-photographers – those who consciously identify themselves as “I’m not a photographer”, the keen amateur photographer must be guided by some motivation or go rudderless snapping at anything and everything with equal abandon. Newbies with an expensive camera keep asking “Am I ok? Is this ok?” – funny, they don’t ask this when they have a cheaper camera – they just go ahead and shoot.

Looking at the Vivian Maier collection, I’m awed. Impressed with why she shot, what she shot. Then I look at my own work and I ask myself, why. Would I come back and look at my own photos? Do they satisfy some inner urge in me?

Bokeh is an often misused or misunderstood word

2010-10-27T08:02:00.001+11:00

Neil shows examples of smooth and less smooth bokeh with actual examples coming from lenses people may be familiar with rather than some oddball legacy lens. Worth bookmarking for demoes to newbies.

in reference to: bokeh – a few notes « Neil vN – tangents (view on Google Sidewiki)

Criteria of Assessment

2010-10-21T13:00:00.000+11:00

What question should I ask

2010-10-09T18:47:00.001+11:00

Many, many times, we see newbies ask questions which they consider is crucially important or which they don’t understand the context of, at all. Invariably they desire a clear answer to the question. And proceed to the next question in a hurry, so that they resolve the issue of choice.

TED Talks: Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice

Let’s walk through some of these questions. (I’ll add more as I find them)

Q1: I wish to purchase a wide angle zoom lens for taking wide angle landscapes. Should I buy the one with the bigger zoom range?

A: No, you buy the one that has the wide field of view that you desire, has better image qualities, is within your budget reach. A bigger zoom range is a practical desire but it’s not the highest priority criteria.

Q2: Should I choose a brand that has In Lens Image Stabilisation or In Body Lens Stabilisation? Which is better? Does In Body work out cheaper?

A: Choose the camera model that you like to use and bond with. Choose the camera brand that you like to own. In Body Image Stabilisation works fine and is useful when you want to fit any hunk of glass (lens) onto the body, often old legacy lenses or modern wide angles which are not offered with In Lens Stabilisation. In Lens Stabilisation is good when you want the best expensive pro grade telephotos – because the lens should have a mechanism tuned just for that lens. The cost of an expensive lens is largely in the quality and size of the optics and build – the cost of the IS mechanism does not affect the price advantage either way. Some brands offer an IS body can third party lenses for that body offer IS in the lens. That’s nice to have but I wouldn’t use that feature as the prime criterion.

Q3: I love those low light shots. Should I get the Canon XXX or the Nikon XXX? I’m avoiding those small sensor cameras because of high ISO image noise.

A: It is true that an APS-C size sensor camera will have better high ISO, low noise performance, relatively. It is also true that these two brands typically have a 50mm f/1.8 nifty fifty cheap and bright lens. But that’s it.

If you are into landscapes, a formal one that is set up nice so that you reap the rewards of taking the patience of setting it up means, a tripod. I don’t like to carry a tripod and I hand hold whenever I can but really if you want a horizons level, nice depth of field, good composition that takes more than a split second of framing then click, high ISO isn’t the sole criteria. You might take the time to bracket your exposures or explicitly meter your exposure and mentally employ an Ansell Adams moment or a histogram / review moment to get it right. A high ISO, feel good fast click isn’t the sole reason to choose a camera.
Having a fast f/1.8 lens isn’t the absolute solution either. If you shoot an f/1.8 lens at f/1.8, the sharpness and micro contrast of that lens at that aperture isn’t the best. Additionally if you intend to use f/1.8 for indoor portraiture, the 50mm image magnification size and the shallow depth of field yields very soft portraits except for the eye you are focussing on or the nose that you mis-focussed on.

Get some experience first and see what the total package works like in practice. Maybe you need a flash and reflectors. Maybe you need a tripod. Maybe you need brighter lights indoors or ask the subjects to come nearer the windows or existing lights.

Theory doesn’t overcome practical experience.

More as I see them….

Robin Wong: Olympus E-5 Review: Macro Shooting at Butterfly Park, Kuala Lumpur

2010-10-04T17:33:00.000+11:00

Robin's a young photographer who came to my attention in his continuing and evolving street shots of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He brings so much identity and nuance to scenes that I grew up with.

He's been testing the new Olympus E-5 with one of my yearned for, favourite lenses, the 50mm Zuiko Digital Macro. Brandon's let me try it from time to time - it's amazingly sharp but very leisurely in its autofocus because it has a long focus travel.

I thought the E-5 would be too rich in price for my taste, but with results like what he's showing, ahem........ Obviously, it's the photographer in Robin that made those shots sparkle.

Robin Wong: Olympus E-5 Review: Macro Shooting at Butterfly Park, Kuala Lumpur

Interesting article showing the progression if Image Quality

2010-09-28T15:09:00.001+10:00

For the Canon G series cameras...

in reference to: 9 years in the megapixel race - noise or quality - Pixinfo.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Desiderata

2010-09-25T11:45:00.001+10:00

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans…

When I was in school, this Max Ehrmann poem was all over students’ doors, walls. It’s since lost favour in this world of incessantly competitive and vexatious world of internet forums and dropped remarks.

As I participate in DPR forums, the Beginners Forum reveals lots of insecurities and misconceptions. Lots of people want better photos with the elusive Image Quality (IQ) – they think that getting a better camera magically creates better photos. We keep telling them that 80% of the photo comes from the envisioning + patience + persistence + evolving skill of the photographer. Particularly when one starts from zero base. And a 50% improvement in equipment performance is 50% enhancement of the remaining 20% due to gear. Certainly a skilled craftsperson can and does benefit from heavy investment in better gear but encountering that boundary requires a enlightened understanding of that encounter.

I’ve shot the scene above, many times, under different weather, different seasons, with different cameras at different times of day. Whilst persevering with my Kodak P880 a few days ago, I was evolving my approach. The P880 is a love-hate camera for me – it can surprise with amazingly clear and detailed photos (usually in the hands of someone who lives in Devon, England or Greece) and amazingly unspectacular, nondescript photos. And this scene has shown all the variations.

This time it works for me. Nicely detailed foliage, stone and wood. Sky not burnt out. Strong colours but not distractingly burnt out.

ISO 50. Matrix Metering. Programmed Mode. EV – 0.7. In-camera contrast at max. In-camera sharpening at max.

del.icio.us Tags: Kodak,P880,Beginners,Photography

Switching Chairs

2010-09-21T12:13:00.001+10:00

Is Switching Chairs like Changing Hats? Do we take gain a different perspective when we sit on a different chair? Maybe we can elevate our vision by stacking them.

Standing Out

2010-09-20T00:00:00.000+10:00

Sometimes, all you do is stand out. Stand different. Is this you? Do you seek conformity or do you seek individuality? I guess it's relative to the context of existence.

Vietnamese Garden at Diggers Rest

Going nowhere

2010-09-18T22:14:00.000+10:00

As the sun sets, we reach the bridge. Does it lead us to the future or does it link us to the past?

The Old Iron Bridge at Keilor

Talking about Blown Highlights

2010-09-08T19:07:00.001+10:00

Here's are reflection.

in reference to: Avoid the “blown” highlights obsession « ESFotoClix Blog (view on Google Sidewiki)

Some de-noising techniques

2010-09-04T18:49:00.001+10:00

from the Online Photographer.

in reference to: The Online Photographer: Can You Get Good ISO 6400 from an Olympus E-P1? (view on Google Sidewiki)

Timestamping your photo after the fact

2010-08-31T23:22:00.001+10:00

or cropping your JPEG losslessly for printing....

in reference to: Edit JPEG photos without recompression loss - Better JPEG (view on Google Sidewiki)

About Lens Hoods

2010-08-20T20:38:00.001+10:00

Paul van Walree writes about Lens Hood shapes and designs.

in reference to: Lens hoods (view on Google Sidewiki)

Good work with the Olympus tele kit lens

2010-08-09T21:22:00.001+10:00

A collection of flickriver photos

in reference to: Flickriver: Photos taken with Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f3.5/4.5 lens (view on Google Sidewiki)

The Left Handed Micro Four Thirds

2010-08-09T20:32:00.001+10:00

Terry Lane describes his motivation to create his device.

in reference to: The Lefthanded Camera Project (view on Google Sidewiki)

Can't judge distance?

2010-07-30T21:38:00.001+10:00

Use the Human Rangefinder Card.

in reference to: Human Rangefinder Card Generator (view on Google Sidewiki)

Neil's writeup explaining "correct" White Balance

2010-06-20T17:55:00.001+10:00

Neil did a good show and tell of choosing a White Balance.

in reference to: which white balance setting should I use? « Neil vN – tangents (view on Google Sidewiki)

Iconic Photos - by the Simpsons

2010-06-18T18:42:00.001+10:00

How many do you recognise?

in reference to: The Simpsons do iconic photos « Iconic Photos (view on Google Sidewiki)

Hear TED Talk

2010-06-18T18:34:00.001+10:00

14 TED Talks by Photographers over at PetaPixel

in reference to: 14 Powerful TED Talks by Photographers (view on Google Sidewiki)

Telling A Story

2010-06-16T19:58:00.001+10:00

Image by Ananda Sim 88 via Flickr

It’s been on my mind to write about the aspects that I appreciate in photos – both my own and other peoples’. At first pass, one would think that the Technical Image Quality Aspects of a photo dominate appreciation of photos, but no, not really. There are quite a few photos that I have seen, and maybe you have to, that are iconic, stand out keepers despite of the fact that they may rate poorly in the Image Quality aspects of exposure, sharpness, colour and so on.

So what is it that we subconsciously search for in a photo when we look at it? It’s that the photo needs to tell us a story. A story about the scene, about the subject, about the object, about the air and feeling, the mood, the time of day, that location on earth. The essence.

To convey some essence of the subject or scene then, the photographer needs to convey some adjective or adverb about the object or about the environs, about that time of life.

On the other hand, what makes a photo just discardable floatsam and debris, regardless of the technical superiority? It’s when we don’t connect to it. The photo could be beautifully posed, shot and post processed but if it says nothing to me, it’s a “next please”. Have you heard of the phrase “ill fitting clothes?” That doesn’t mean the clothes are cheap or dowdy – that just means that the clothes don’t fit the person – and when there have been times in the past (and will be times in the future) when we effect a look, just for sheer trying, that doesn’t match the topic that we are trying to convey. So there. In a nutshell.

del.icio.us Tags: composition,photography,postprocessing,imagequality,storytelling

Remove photo backgrounds in Powerpoint 2010

2010-04-21T09:12:00.001+10:00

Interesting blogpost for new easy feature for photos in Powerpoiont 2010

in reference to: Microsoft Office 2010 Engineering : More About Background Removal in Office 2010 (view on Google Sidewiki)

A quick summary of DSLR vs Point & Shoot

2010-04-05T15:50:00.002+10:00

At Earthbound Light.

in reference to: DSLR versus Compact Point-n-Shoot Camera - Ten Reasons to Favor Each - Photo Tips @ Earthbound Light (view on Google Sidewiki)

Making more of the good ol' Olympus C series Ultrazoom

2010-03-23T22:48:00.005+11:00

I've had my C-750UZ for a long while. The plastic latch on the battery door is half broken. The internal capacitor doesn't hold charge much anymore. It's voracious for energy. Normal alkaline AA batteries (four at a time) don't last very long in it. Lithium one use disposable AAs are a bit expensive. Enerloop type modern NiMh have just enough fresh voltage to last enough and still not cost you an arm and a leg.

Despite it all, the colours of the C series JPEGs are happy and presentable - the greens are punchy yet not over the top and so on.

Just today, I came across a forum posting that noted that the C series Ultrazooms can produce RAW files - with a lot of help from some Russian hacker forum. I tried it, haven't made up my mind whether it's worthwhile or successful. If you want to give it a go, here's what you have to do:

Download OlyRAW program - it runs on Microsoft Windows PCs - I tried it on Windows 7 and it still works on that newer Windows. Keep that aside for a while.
Take your C series camera and switch it on.
Open the xD card compartment door. A red alert message will appear on the LCD screen.
Hold down both Ok button and the switch LCD/EVF toggle button together for 3 seconds.
The LCD display should now shows a two panel menu - cursor around the menu so that it reads USB -> CONTROL, press OK
Now close the door, switch off.
You will need a (currently) common USB to mini-USB generic cable (your C-series camera came with one). Attach the cable to the camera and the running computer
Switch on the camera - the computer will acknowledge and the camera will display a 3 choice menu on the LCD. Choose PC on the camera.
Run the OlyRAW program and tick the RAW Enabled checkbox, then click Ok on that dialog .
Switch off the camera and disconnect.
The camera will now create two files with a JPG extension each time you click. One file will be a real JPEG, the other will be an unusual RAW file but it will still have a .JPG file extension.

Processing the RAW file.

When you want to process the RAW file, copy the file to your computer.
You might want to rename the RAW file's .JPG extension to .BIN so that you do not get confused.
You now need to run RawWork.exe to convert this RAW file to an .NEF file.

You will need RawWork.exe, Rawnef.odb and optionally a configuration utility rawutil.exe. Get these files - from this raw2nef webpage and the rawwork webpage.

Note: The RawWork database does not have an entry for the C-750uz - there are entries for the C-770, C-765

Note: NEF, by the way, is the Nikon RAW file format.

When you don't want the C-series camera to produce RAW files anymore, you need to run the OlyRAW program and untick the RAW Enabled checkbox you ticked previously.

Disclaimer: These are instructions derived from the OlyRAW Russian website - play with your camera at your own risk - no liability is assumed if it becomes a useless brick.

Autumn in Melbourne 2010

2010-03-14T17:15:00.001+11:00

I haven’t blogged much since I got back to Melbourne. The pressures of living and life imposed their tax.

Last week, it was a cold and tempestuous Melbourne, replete with hailstones. The past few days, it’s been the relaxed, autumnal Melbourne, – lazy comfortable shirtsleeves temperatures, bright but not harsh sun, lovely golden light washing over scenes most of the daylight hours.

I was over at Werribee for some work and chanced by the Werribee Mansion. Disappointingly, I was either too early before work or too late after work, to make a photographic visit. The eucalypts along the way were scenic though – ordinary scenes painted gold by the sun.

There’s something calming about this scene, the P880 with my help of EV-0.7 renders it well. The sky’s blue is unassisted by ND or polariser.

I must confess to warming up this shot and the one below. Auto WB is a relaxed choice but absorbs colour nuances when you want emphasis.

And a tight crop brings the companionship of these two trees better to mind.

Ken Rockwell on composition

2010-02-19T09:18:00.001+11:00

KR is notorious. Some people worship him as a deity (no, not diet, deity). He does ramble on about Nikon. But he's a presenter. An entertainer. He says as much. Being an entertainer goes help points across and aids storytelling.

His article on composition is thought provoking and I would say a revelation to beginners who come to you and say "is my shot any good".

Just don't make him your sole diet.

in reference to: http://kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm (view on Google Sidewiki)

I need theatre in the taste, not so much the presentation

2010-01-10T14:27:00.001+11:00

Sis and I were viewing a Master Chef episode. You know, the one where they are down to four and Justine was knocked out with that chocolate mousse. There was good ol’ Mr. Cravat. Matt Preston. I wonder what he would say about my favourite fruits.

Every time I come to Malaysia, I hope to have a mouthful of Bee Cheiu – that’s a small banana with thin, easily bruised skin. The taste is superb. It doesn’t have the coarse “I am carbohydrate startch"” blandness of Aussie bananas – it’s a very delicate sweetness that leaves a gentle end of taste in your mouth.

Because it is easily bruised, it may not stand the rigours of transportation to supermarkets and so on. But it is heavenly.

As heavenly as chiku. I mean real Malaysian chiku.

The Tropical Greens

2010-01-09T13:37:00.001+11:00

I like the temperature climate of Melbourne and the plants and flowers. But tropical Malaysia with the benefits of constant rain, sun grows anything you like to grow with less effort.

The oleander bonsai style (if this is indeed an oleander) is a current favourite amongst the residents.

Small bright flowers on small ground cover bushes with waxed leaves are flora du jour as well.

This one’s a firm favourite for the small crumpled trumpets. Sis says they smell lovely.

I recognise the shape of these trumpets – our neighbour in Melbourne has the larger variety, red that bursts into a Rosseau like profusion. This one is smaller, yellow.

Red Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia. Now there are so many different varieties.

Ah Hun Ee has this gorgeous green coloured spiky grass shrub.

Ladies Fingers (Okra) is nice to eat as well as decorative.

Daun Kadok has so many lovely green colours and textures. It adds a special taste to our nonya steamed Otak Otak.

I love my four angled bean, the Kachang Botol. We can get some variety from the Springvale Vietnamese shops but they’re lighter green and the flavour isn’t as intense. I can eat them raw just like one would munch fresh snow peas off the vine. As a child, I used to grow them at every house we stayed in. The nurturing time was mainly over the seedling phase, once they grabbed root, maintenance free of pesticides, fertilisers – just sun, rain, nearly any soil.

I’m unfamiliar with these variegations. They are nice, anyway.

Keeping the light burning

2010-01-09T13:20:00.001+11:00

Why do we leave the light on in the front? Is it to give us working illumination when we wake up earlier than sunrise? Is it because we forget to switch off the night before? Or is it to be a beacon to lost souls?

What people do…

2010-01-07T13:34:00.001+11:00

Sometimes, it takes a visitor to see aspects of what one takes as normal and the way living. I’m been away from the Malaysian way of looking at things, so it’s both interesting and absorbing to see the sights with blended native and visiting eyes.

This scene typifies the Malaysia (and South East Asia) that is so vitally intense, engrossing and interesting. As Malaysians obsessively watch Astro (and in this case, Taiwanese Hokkien soaps), they escape (or they see virtualised, abstracted, emphasised versions of their lives and living).

The scene above shows the huge umbrella. It belongs to a street vendor, probably selling food. Obviously, the vendor comes regularly to this spot, so X marks the spot. In the background are double storey shophouses, retailing a melange of goods and services. Not the clean, synthetic, uniformised chain stores that so disenfranchise themselves from being nostalgic tags in the timeline. No doubt, the middle class will remember the good times at KMart in Australia, with a passing parade of staff that service the outlet.

But here, in the Taman Desa suburb of Kuala Lumpur, you can eyeball and see the small business owner. And his wife (maybe) because she runs the non related business upstairs. And their children as they come back from school.

Here, someone’s taking Kodak to the Laundry.

In some capitalist Western societies, being a businessman seems to attract and undesirable trail of ethics, motivational queries. In Malaysia, a fair number of people are in civil service or work as nine to five office workers. But being a business person, particularly a small business person is not a withdrawal from society.

It’s just a place where you can hang your hat.

Play Misty for Me

2010-01-07T13:23:00.001+11:00

There was hesitancy about KLIA, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when it was first opened. Worries about the volume of baggage traffic, people getting lost and things like that. Now, this hub has settled in to normal operations, it’s a wonder that people were initially concerned. At one terminal, KLIA has an indoor treery. I have not walked into it – I was not aware it was something you did. But this time, the doors are open. The airport is cool and air conditioned – you don’t realise that this is a synthetic environ until you walk into the tree-ry and your lenses fog up. Alejandro (one of my Facebook friends) reckons RainX should work – but I am a bit hesistant on subjecting my 7-14 front element to that – maybe I’ll try it one day one a less expensive lens.

Anyway, you don’t realise how much mass the 7-14 holds in terms of temperature inertia until you wipe it, wait, wipe it, wait, wipe it…..

They’ve even managed to get some weaver birds in (or were they recorded bird calls?)

The Head of Kodak Kuala Lumpur Advertising Department

2010-01-07T12:06:00.001+11:00

I was on the DPR Kodak forum (where we have a nice social camraderie) and posted a photo of the first advertisement I had ever seen (in Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur) extolling the features of Kodak Smart Capture in their cameras. Kodak has been through a tough financial year (well, several) and their camera business is sadly in some disarray. Lots of what looks like oem models (i.e. somebody makes them, maybe somebody designs them, proposes them, makes them – an Original Equipment Manufacturer with a name beginning with F… with factories in South East Asia and elsewhere). Kodak diehards were horrified to hear that one of the new gen 9xx series ceased production just before 2009 Christmas and New Year holiday sales season, goss being that they had contracted the oem for a fixed number of units, contract satisfied earlier than expected (hey something went right, sales were good) but the manufacturing and distribution dried up at such a crucial time. This is goss, we won’t know the truth.

Anyway, we love our Kodaks, old and new and I was thrilled to see scooter rider (in sandals, teeshirt) flying the flag at an intersection. Chiue reckons he’s the head of Kodak Kuala Lumpur Advertising Department. Maybe they’re starting a viral ad campaign at the grass roots? Maybe…..

del.icio.us Tags: Kodak,V705,Malaysia,Advertising

The Return of the Native

2010-01-06T14:11:00.001+11:00

This isn’t a reference to the Lord of The Rings trilogy, which is something that is more modern, considering the movies. I have in my mind, more the Thomas Hardy novels that I read when I was much younger.

I’m visiting Mum – the past few years has been a new deal for me with respect to perspectives of Malaysia. There’s a whole jumble of sentiments, perspectives, detractions yet positives, nostalgia, relationships – the lot. Does having a landmark birthday bring upon such ruminations of lost opportunities and what to do for now and for the future?

As I encounter a flood of regrets (it gets tough as the emotional and psychological baggage increases) as well as a sense of helplessness of how to handle the future, Malaysia is one place where ruminations don’t become abstract without interruption. There’s so much going on as life keeps living and moves on, whether you’re debris in the flotsam or steering a purposeful boat, there’s more to come and coming now.

Took a walk with Mum – she only does a short circuit, so I went out for a slightly longer one (the urgency to lose the tum is quite an imperative, although a feeble one).

I was kinda looking for the “golden light” of the morning – it comes at a different time of the morning in Malaysia and at a different angle.

It’s a new day of course. What’s surprising for me, is that the sky is blue and the clouds are white and fleecy. The V705 can even be convinced render the scene. The past few times, Kuala Lumpur has had a thin grey, polluted gauze of a sky.

This is a middle class suburb, with a whole range of residents. My sis is into greenery regardless of the size of her garden area – she works really hard at it, it’s a hobby and a passion for her, like photography is for me. It liberates the inner soul.

Signs on lamp posts have been around for a while. They seem to be breeding. Someone wants to sell a fridge, a washing machine and the ubiquitous Astro equipment. Maybe they want to rent out a lorry (truck) as well….

When I was a child, we used to look at birds on the wires between lamp posts. There are still lamp posts, but lately, a Kagi antenna sees to be a preferred choice.

I think this photo above is just gorgeous. It’s with the Kodak V705. I could have rushed back to get the Oly DSLR or I could have carried the DSLR with me in my shorts, old tee shirt and open sandals. Nah. It was comfortable and more convenient with the V705.

The tropical climate – sunshine, heat, rain brings easy growth. Residents love to have something to please the eye – the plant on the left has hairy leaves and spikes. On the right, there seems to be some umpela dwarf variant

These yellow flowers are distinctive.

Nice and peaceful huh?

What do we know about human nature? Peace and a comfortable existence is fragile. Seems this part of the housing estate (that’s what they call a block of houses in Malaysia), there’s a war broken out. This family who’ve been residents for more than 30 years are neighbours to a tuition school.

After school tuition has been popular and commonplace in Malaysia since my primary school days. Tuition classes are held in linked shop houses (commercial establishments) as well as homes of teachers – it’s a small overheads, fair revenue stream. Parents and kids identify good places and come to learn.

Unfortunately the neighbour seems to be very popular and traffic and parking in conveying students has become such a nuisance that a local war has broken out. This resident has taken to blocking off the road and various parties have taken to scratching the car paintwork as well as other misdemeanours.

And so, the day passes.

del.icio.us Tags: Malaysia,Photography,Kodak,V705,KualaLumpur

Photo Tagging and Metadata

2010-01-03T09:07:00.001+11:00

Good list of metadata formats.

in reference to: http://www.photometadata.org/META-101-metadata-types (view on Google Sidewiki)

Interesting set of photos of ethnic Chinese

2009-12-25T12:15:00.001+11:00

More than Han....

in reference to: http://news.wenxuecity.com/messages/200911/news-big5-952715.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Merry Christmas and a Properous New Year

2009-12-25T11:57:00.001+11:00

After doing the annual carpet shampooing (should do this more often) and the lawn mowing, finally got time to wish y’all a Merry Christmas and a Glorious New Year.

This is my first Christmas on Facebook and it sure is nice to have my old friends so near with wishes and greetings.

A fascinating use of flickr photos

2009-12-20T14:17:00.001+11:00

You get some really weird photo-words combinations

in reference to: http://www.storiesinflight.com/flickrpoet/index.php (view on Google Sidewiki)

Four Weddings and a Third

2009-12-04T13:43:00.001+11:00

Martin Frost alerted us on DPR to this Flickr Stream

in reference to: http://flickriver.com/groups/43weddings/pool/interesting/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Interactive Learning Tools for Newbies

2009-11-28T18:11:00.001+11:00

del.icio.us Tags: newbie,photography,f/no,iso,shutterspeed,aperture,PASM,auto,manual

People who are new to photography or exercising control over their cameras (e.g. new DSLR owners) find that it’s not as easy as it seems. And they think it should be, after all, this is 2009. It’s not like they were Lartigue in 1900.

Sometimes, they don’t want to read dry text, so I point them to interactive tutorials or visuals on the web.

Tamron offers a Focal Length gadget

Tamron offers a Depth of Field gadget

Craig Hickman offers Camera Demo, a gadget that lets you play with ISO, Shutter Speed, f/no, Light Level, Exposure Compensation and different modes – P A S M and full Auto

PhotonHead has some simple pages showing tables of Shutter Speed, f/no and what a “stop” means

Looking Wide

2009-11-18T23:36:00.001+11:00

del.icio.us Tags: uwa,Zuiko,Olympus,FourThirds,wideangle,macro

I’ve had my 7-14mm ultra wide Olympus Zuiko for a while now. The fervour to use it as a general walkabout lens has subsided. The mollycoddling of the bulbous front element has subsided. The fervour to shoot at 7mm (14mm equivalent to film) has subsided.

Now comes a more relaxed, patient and hopefully longer lasting relationship with that lens. One of the happenings that lured me away from the frenzy of all-wide was a return to 24mm equiv for the NILCs (Non Interchangeable Lens Cameras), otherwise known as the Point and Shoots. I got myself a second hand Kodak V705 and it taught me that even an NILC can provide good wide angle shots. Maybe not the technical image quality of a larger sensor, more expensive Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC), but a shot nevertheless, when the ILC is not with you. And often, in your daily life, the ILC is not with you.

I also learnt that learning about aesthetics, perspective, wide-angle-ness is a journey and the more experience, the better my eye for composition and spotting a scene becomes.

With that eye, one can even finesse a wide angle perspective from a non wide angle lens – it’s the old adage of “it’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it”

Can a Llama outrun a car?

2009-11-07T10:50:00.003+11:00

I'm munching on leftover re-heated pizza as I overhear Kim Possible. "Can a Llama outrun a car?" Well, rephrasing that, can a fixed focal length shoot better photos than a zoom? I'm not talking about the eternal quest for image quality. I'm talking about shooting satisfying photos.

And certainly, the answer is Yes. Certainly, a zoom is much faster to frame without moving your legs. And modern zooms are sharp enough - we take them so for granted that we don't even blink when standard walkabout lenses we pick for an Interchangeable Lens Camera are zooms.

So what do you lose with a zoom?

a large enough aperture / small enough f/no. For light gathering goodness and subject isolation.
the nudge to move your body and walk your legs - you're not discovering the alternative framing angles, perspectives in composition. Yes, you could use a zoom like a fixed focal length prime and refuse to zoom. If you can resist the temptation, you're a better person than I, Mbutu.

Now, that off my chest, one day, I'll gather enough motivation to write about what you lose when you have an Auto Focus lens.

Photography is a journey. Enjoy your journey

Which is the best entry level DSLR? The Canon or Nikon?

2009-10-17T10:54:00.008+11:00

We often see questions like this in the DPR forum(s). Often, even more specific like "Which is better, Canon model A or Nikon model B?". And each new poster wishes a personal dialogue, so asking them to search and read previous posts is fruitless. It's such a common question that here's my answer.

Answer 1:
They are both good. Each Model and each Make has it's distinctive personality (of course, how would you sell competing products that look the same and act the same). All of the DSLRs are capable cameras and will give you the opportunity to shoot satisfying shots. The shots become better and better the more skilled you are and the more you spend on gear. Actually, you could buy a Pentax, Sony or Olympus DSLR and still get satisfying shots.

Answer 2:
They're both useless. What you need is a top of the line, full pro model D something with full pro, premium priced lenses. Wait a minute, even those pale if you go Leica shopping. Why don't you buy one of those?

"Ok", then they ask further - "But which one is best?"

Well, there can't be a best. For several reasons.

As already said, both are competent in general and both have a personality. (Often the personality of these tools can only be felt by hands-on use and experience). There is a difference in which in where each model's strengths and the weaknesses are placed.
There is a Better For Me, and this may be different to Better For You. Really we may have different portability expectations, different image quality expectations, how much we want bragging rights / swank value, how we shoot, what we shoot.

"Yes", they say. "But why doesn't this model have better high ISO performance, flipping LCD, spot metering, weather proofing and a 20x zoom?"

Well, yes, there is such a model. It's a CaNikOlyTaxSon. Look here - I just made a mockup using Photoshop from bits and pieces of all the cameras. Why aren't the makers smart enough to make a real one?

Body based sensor image stabilisation

2009-09-28T18:34:00.001+10:00

del.icio.us Tags: ImageStabilisation,Sensor Size,Body,OIS

There’s an age old tussle amongst proponents of the sensor-based image stabilisation built into the body (Olympus, Pentax, Sony DSLRs) vs the lens-based stabilisation favoured by Nikon, Canon, Panasonic DSLRs. Sensor based IS works on the sensor so you don’t get steadying of the view when you are sighting the shot before you click. Then Bluetrain048 talks about a procedure where you hold in the IS button of the Olympus E-510 and it stabilises the image and keeps it steady for a couple of seconds. Well, I never knew it was there…..

DIYPhotography’s Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet

2009-09-28T18:10:00.001+10:00

I thought this was fun – you see instructions on how to use your studio lighting, DIYPhotography has taken the time to make a Cheat Sheet.

Inexpensive Wide Angles in your pocket

2009-09-26T17:50:00.002+10:00

I like wide angle perspectives. So much so, I bought the widest ultra wide available for my DSLR – the Olympus Zuiko 7-14mm. It wasn’t cheap and I would normally not go out and spend money like that, but I just had too, it was a special birthday and all.

I still like wide angle combinations which are more pocketable though. Pocketable wide angles are not easy to get – the small sensors in pocket, compact cameras mean that a “normal” angle of view lens for these cameras is already 4mm optical focal length. Making a wide angle forces the optics to go 2mm, 3mm which is really small.

I was happy to come across a second hand Kodak V705.

There are two lenses on it. The equivalent 23mm wide angle is a good lens but doesn’t focus (I think it’s a fixed focus) so it can’t go macro. The second lens – a zoom, does focus but either the exact camera I have is not good or the camera does not have a very good mechanism in that one. Ready-to-shoot time for the camera is fast, right after the sliding lens cover unhides the lenses, the 23mm is about ready to shoot and there is little or no shutter lag because the 23mm does not need to focus.

The camera is chunky though, it is small but not slim.

Looking around for other cameras (do you call it window shopping if you use Microsoft Windows?), there are a few wide angle compacts – but I like low cost because I expect the camera to be tossed around, sometimes with keys in my pants pocket.

What else is there that is wide angle and inexpensive?

There’s the Olympus FE-4000 Magenta. This has a 26mm equivalent wide angle lens, 4x optical zoom.

It’s about AUD 240 It has a 24mm equivalent lens with zoom to 120mm. It’s about AUD 199. I can’t yet find a review but there’s one for the FE-5020. PhotographyBLOG carried out a review.

The Panasonic DMC-FX40 is another inexpensive model with a 25-125mm equivalent zoom. Photography BLOG has a review. It’s about AUD 199 too.

Finally, the little known Kodak M420 with a review here – It’s not available in Australia – well, I did say it was little known.

Caring Tuppen for Precious Rocks

2009-09-24T21:15:00.002+10:00

See how loving wrapped the rocks are? They must be fragile art pieces.

APR – AnandaSim’s Photo Rating System

2009-09-22T12:49:00.004+10:00

With increasing awareness brought by the accelerated learning that digital photography and the internet brings, I’ve sometimes thought of a rating system to assess my own as well as other photos I see. Here’s my first edition.

Note: Updated September 22nd, 2009 1848 hrs AEST

Let's call this Edition 1.1

Subject Choice	Max 2 out of 10 aggregate points
Wow Factor (includes Story Telling)	Max 2 out of 10 aggregate points
Visualisation – Covers Scene Lighting, Composition, Specific and explicit choice of exposure and other elements of rendering, presentational aspects	Max 3 out of 10 aggregate points
Execution – the Technical Image Quality – Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness/Sharpening incorporating in-camera processing as well as post processing	Max 3 out of 10 aggregate points

Observations:

The maximum possible score in each category is largely subjective. That’s intended. You preference for a Subject may be quite different from mine.
The subjective parameters outweigh the technical parameters. That’s intended. Glorify art and life not gear.

S:2 W:2 V:3 E:2 Agg:9

The old KB 18

2009-09-09T20:49:00.001+10:00

For a few years, I gave up on carrying the film SLR. My Minolta XE-1 had run into shedding its flock and the silvering of the mirror was disintegrating, my X-700 was fine but I could not bring myself to completing a roll of film, even if it was 12 exposures. There didn’t seem enough to shoot at and the SLR was cumbersome and expensive to carry around. For that interim period, I got a near disposable Kodak KB-18. Kodak has a weird sense of balance – for such a cheap camera, Kodak has a support page just like its more expensive cameras. The pdf manual is online. It even has a FAQ article on Premature Rewind – is that as embarrassing to you as it is for me to discuss?

The KB 18 is no more, it broke a few years ago. But what nostalgia.

Taking photos of kids

2009-09-06T10:32:00.007+10:00

Over at the DPR forums, we routinely see beginners or rather new parents who want to take photos of their young kids all the time. They have this "I wanna take a photo of them anytime, everytime, anywhere, everywhere" urge that, after a few years, I'll bet becomes "oh, maybe we should take a photo of junior, Hon, where's the camera, did you see it last, did we ever buy batteries for it?"

Regardless, it's nice to have the family moment and to treasure each other, so we still want to take a photo or two. Only, we can't have every shot we want, at any time and at any place - when the kids transition into a mid phase, they'll even cover their faces when you raise your camera.

Taking photos of kids has to be a case of social engineering and management - as the adult and the parent, you HAVE TO manage the situation. Not the other way around. You'll go nuts with any camera chasing after them - you have to stage the situation, set up the shot.

I just came across a Tamron video, I think some points are really funny, but it does reinforce the idea that you have to manage the situation.

Candice says that the Tamron she is using is "lighter and more compact" than the other lenses. I guess that's a relative statement - it is an f/2.8 lens (which explains it's bulk) but it sure doesn't look compact or light. Additionally, she's shooting in bright daylight and shadows on a DSLR, so the f/2.8 isn't vital for getting a high shutter speed, it's more for a shallow DOF. Which is not easy to work with, even in this staged environment when you have kids moving actively.

The other point is she's shooting in a high dynamic range scene. This means she has to sacrifice the highlights - many newbies don't yet understand this and insist that the photo is flawed when the highlights are burnt out.

Here's one from expertvillage:

And she talks about forcing the flash on or "fill in flash"

Carson hosts a demo for Nikon, baby photos, again in studio environment

Here is another one

The shallow Depth of Field thing

2009-09-05T17:56:00.003+10:00

It's not often I take my Olympus E-330 out for family lunch. But I didn't feel like driving and being the responsible adult, so off we go, E-330 with the manual focus alien Tamron 28mm f/2.8 Adaptall II mounted on a jinfinance Four Thirds lens mount adapter.

There's a restored Austin A40 outside the local church at Kingsway - what a lovely oppurtunity.

I got in as close as I could, I used to think the lens wasn't that sharp but the photo above is at full aperture open. Bokeh is quite pleasing too.

Of course, I took a look inside at the quaint speedometer.

Been distracted....

2009-08-29T11:25:00.003+10:00

I've been distracted from blogging - a lot of fun interacting with the folks at the DP Review Forums and in my work life. I would write that I picked up a second hand Kodak V705 - always wanted the 23mm wide angle and in-camera-pano-stitch in the dual lens pocket. There's the old saying of "be careful for what you wish for, you might get it and it's not what you want".

Well, for the second hand price, it has given me much joy - as much I suppose as those Olympus PEN EP-1 owners are getting. This small camera lets you let your hair down - you don't have to be so ultra formal and ego centric with a big DSLR and big lens, you just stretch out your arms, point and shoot, and oh, well, if it doesn't work, next time, you did try.

There are serious deficiencies with this Kodak V705. The JPEG compression is really aggresive - the Kodak P880 which I also have has selectable compression but the V705 does not - it's a V series, not an el cheapo C series - why did they make it compress JPEGs so much? Buyers of the camera when it was new would have had enough money to buy more SD cards for sure, so card capacity isn't an issue. Maybe it's the camera busy time during file save.....

The second lens, the 3x zoom is poky to autofocus despite the impressive looking illuminated AF points on the LCD screen (the P880, even more expensive does not have that) and having an AF LED (that you can't switch off). And sometimes, it just loses focus trying too hard - maybe my second hand sample is faulty.

But the 23mm equivalent angle of view that I bought it for? That's a barrel of fun.

The V705 is now my in-pocket-always-with-me camera.

Looks like Rome? No, it's the Box Hill Town Hall.

I call this, Pierre as he goes home after a long day....

Kenny Rankin - Rest in Peace

2009-08-07T14:54:00.003+10:00

I had a wave of Nostalgia when I played Kenny Rankin's old album on cassette tape from the late 1970s. Found out he passed away June 7th 2009. Thanks Kenny for all those emotional warmth and comfort you gave through your songs and unique vocal style.

Melbourne at the boatsheds

2009-08-04T18:53:00.001+10:00

Southbank, up close and personal

2009-08-04T18:50:00.001+10:00

My companion photographers on the bridge

Travel Pictures

2009-07-26T10:48:00.001+10:00

Lots of people wonder what gear to take when they are on a tour or travelling. I do too. At home, I’ve some gear and I can always return home and get more gear. When I am overseas or on a tour, I can’t do that. And therein lies the issue – if you seldom or have never been to a magical place, you do want all your gear. But unless this trip is a professional photography trip or a purpose planned amateur photography tour, you just can’t carry all your gear.

So what do you carry? Well, it depends on type of photo you want to shoot.

Portrait Videocasts

2009-06-24T11:04:00.001+10:00

ProphotoLife's YouTube Series

Studio Portraits

Quality of Light

One Light

Three Lights

Outdoor Portraits

Outdoor Portraits #1 here

Outdoor Portraits #3 here

Peachpit Within the Frame videocasts

2009-06-24T10:56:00.001+10:00

Photographer’s Insights

2009-06-24T10:51:00.001+10:00

Following a forum discussion, I came across these YouTube videocasts.

Joe McNally for Authors@Google

Joe McNally

Chris Orwig

Rich Harrington

Kevin Ames

Scott Kelby

Matt Kloskowski

When you have trouble visualising a scene.....

2009-06-23T22:32:00.003+10:00

Bring a frame to help you. And if the frame is not big enough, bring a bigger one.....