Mike's Photo Blog

X100 Sticking Aperture Disease

2012-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

I might need a few more of these. I took this quick snap of my beer as I sat down with my photog friend Andy at Wahoo's on South Congress in Austin. We'd just finished a photo walk with our friend Tony and decided to grab a quick bite and beverage. I didn't know at the time that I'd be taking my last few shots with my Fujifilm X100 for a while!

The X100 had a few hiccups that night. I thought at first that maybe the metering was getting thrown a bit by the bright lights in the busy urban area where we were shooting during the evening hours. Intermittently, the exposures didn't match up with the meter reading. I was getting an occasional over-exposure and adjusted the shutter speed to speeds that didn't make sense in some cases. I didn't think much about it at the time. I was getting tired and thought maybe it was just me.

The next day, I did some searching online to see if anyone else with an X100 had a similar issue. I quickly discovered that a number of people talked about S.A.D. (Sticking Aperture Disease!) I'd heard of this before when I was researching the X100 but the occurrences seemed low enough to not worry about and I figured the camera had been out long enough to work out the bugs. There was the initial feeling of dread as I read about this problem, kind of like the feeling you might get when you watch those drug commercials on TV and you start thinking, "Aw man, I've got those symptoms!" Things on the internet are usually blown out of proportion any way.

Unfortunately, my fears were warranted. I tested my camera by stepping through the aperture settings in manual mode and half-pressed the shutter to get the aperture to stop down. There was definitely a hesitation at the wider apertures and about half the time it failed to fully stop down at the smaller apertures. The more I played with it, the worse it got. My camera has S.A.D.!

According to the reports I read online, Fujifilm has been attentive to the matter and is replacing the lens in a timely manner. Rather than dealing with them directly and wasting my time making arrangements and shipping the X100 in for service, I opted to put a call in to Precision Camera where it was purchased from. They said they'd be happy to handle this for me at no cost since I bought it less than 6 months ago. Cool. I dropped it off over lunch today and bid an almost tearful farewell.

Hopefully Fujifilm has whatever bug contributed to this problem under control. There are only rumors online of some hardware issues in the wake of damage sustained by their factory as a result of the Japan earthquake last year. Whatever the case may be, I'm sure Fujifilm will make it right. The X100 is out the door, on its way back to its maker. Fingers crossed, hoping for a speedy return.

A Dramatic Look Through Cross Processing

2012-01-15T16:40:00.000-08:00

I was working on some shots from a recent photo shoot with Model Eight and had one shot that I really liked. However, after doing my standard model post processing it seemed like it was missing something. It's good shot (in my humble and biased opinion) so it wasn't like I was looking for a way to salvage a marginal image. I just felt it could be a bit more dramatic. After some experimenting with contrast adjustment and B&W conversions, I decided to sleep on it and take a fresh look the next day. Here's the shot.

The next day I remembered reading about cross processing in the book Lightroom Adventure. Not happy with anything else I had tried, I thought I'd give this technique a go. Prior to reading about the technique and seeing some nice results in this book, my thoughts on cross processing conjured up a hokey software preset that usually gets used to make a bad image look even worse. But, since I wasn't sure where to start exactly, I began by taking a look at Lightroom's presets. None of them fit what I was looking for exactly. In fact, they looked rather crappy. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Well, the more I looked, I decided that one of the presets was close enough to be a starting point. It was a step in a good direction but it needed serious refinement. I made some adjustments to the exposure and played around with the colors in the preset's B&W mix. Colors in B&W mix? Sure! The colors are there; they're just converted to grayscale. Tweaking the underlying individual colors allows you to manipulate the contrast and tone of a B&W image. After a bit of tweaking, I reached something that I was fairly happy with. Here's what the original spin yielded.

The change is drastic and kind of an unusual effect for me. There is a certain ghostly quality that I like and the image is definitely more powerful that the original in my opinion. Still, I wasn't sure about this since I'd never done anything like this and I wasn't sure how it would be received. So, I decided to let some of my photog buddies take a look for some feedback from folks with fresh eyes. I would sleep on it one more night while waiting for the guys to hack it apart for me.

The next day I got some great ideas from the gang. There were a lot of good suggestions and I picked the ones that made the most sense to me. It was suggested that the dark shadowing on legs was too much of a contrast with the radiant light on her upper body. Very true! I was actually shooting tighter in with a gridded light, so not much light was getting on her legs between light fall-off and her dress blocking it. I backed up for a few shots when the wind picked up to get some of her dress blowing and I didn't change the lighting to handle full body coverage. This didn't bother me at all in the original color shot. Unfortunately, the cross processing effect further emphasized the uneven lighting and gave her skin an odd two-toned look. Another suggestion was to boost the detail in her face. The exposure adjustments had left it looking a bit washed out. I liked the ghostly look but there was some room for improvement.

First, I dealt with her legs by using a Lightroom adjustment brush to bump up the exposure on just the legs. The auto-mask feature in the adjustment brush made this a quick task. Next, I boosted recovery a bit to help bring back more detail to her face. It was still a bit lacking, so I took the image into Photoshop and created a B&W layer with Topaz Labs B&W Effects. I blended the B&W layer in with the cross processed layer at a low opacity where it needed it. Here's the final result.

I have to say I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. It was a lot more work than I bargained for because I was dabbling in a new technique. The experimentation paid off and I came away with something new that I can stash in my toolbox of post processing techniques. It's an extreme makeover sort of technique that certainly won't be appropriate for every (maybe not even many) images. It certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. One of my photog buddies jokingly made the comment, "So, that's how you take an image from a $1200 camera and make it look like it came from an iPhone!" I got a kick out of that and sure, on the surface, it may appear to be a one-click effect. The truth of the matter is that it took 3 days of thoughtful consideration to produce, along with a lot of slider movement and brush strokes. The effort was worth it to me. Of course, there is nothing so subjective as art and whether or not the look is appealing will depend on whose eyes it is seen through. I dig it. I hope you do to. The next time you're stymied by an image that needs "something," give cross processing a try. It might be the ticket.

2011 in Photos

2012-01-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who read my blog, checked out my images, and especially those who offered words of encouragement throughout 2011. It was a good year for me with photography. It was my second year engaged in the art. It was a year of discovery of new photographic styles, subjects, and post processing techniques. I learned quite a few things and feel like I have made a lot of progress in figuring out my personal style.

I found myself doing less HDR images this past year. There were a number of reasons for this. With the limited time I have to pursue my interest in photography, I found that I much prefer getting out and shooting to spending time in front of the computer processing. Not that I don't enjoy the creative aspects of image crafting in post production and the HDR technique - it's just that I spend a lot of time in front of computer screens at my day job so I try to limit my gazing at the backlit screen at home. I also discovered that as I have learned more about image exposure I am often happy with a single exposure or maybe a subtle blending of a couple of exposures over a full tone mapped blend of numerous exposures. HDR is a powerful and wonderful tool that I can pull out of my photography tool box when needed. I think I've gained more wisdom the past year about when it should be used. I've come to appreciate the use of shadows in images, purposely limiting the dynamic range for dramatic effect.

A big turning point for me in my post production work came through a workshop I attended early in 2011. I attended a weekend course in dramatic post processing taught by David Nightingale. His instruction completely changed the way I process my images. I learned how to give a dramatic, yet "plausible" look to any image. Through simple but powerful tools such as the Curves adjustment in Photoshop I have learned to add depth and contrast to images. I find myself relying less on Photoshop plug-ins since taking David's course. I also learned a great deal about composing for dramatic effect, which changed the way I capture my images. David's workshop was money well spent!

In 2011 I was introduced to Strobist photography and working with models. Perhaps more accurately, I was dragged into it! Early in the year I had volunteered to be a photography coach for newbies on a photowalk hosted by Trey Ratcliff. A local model, who goes by the name 8, was on had to pose for folks. At the time, I had never shot a model and honestly didn't have much interest in doing so. Along the walk, 8 repeatedly asked me to take her picture. I pretty much blew her off! Thankfully, 8 doesn't know how to take no for an answer. I was finally persuaded to take a shot of her with another model and I really liked the image I captured. 8 and I later hooked up for a photo shoot after I acquired a meager set of flashes, stands, and umbrellas. I learned quickly thanks to a gracious and patient model. We did a lot of great shoots together throughout the year and I have since worked with a number of talented models. I discovered that I most enjoy on-location shoots in an environment portrait style.

I did a lot of shooting with prime lenses the past year. I challenged myself by leaving the zooms at home and often just walked around with a 50mm prime on my Canon 5D. On model shoots, I shot with either the 50mm or a 100mm prime. I often walked around with only my Fuji X100 (35mm equivalent prime.) Using a fixed focal length lens has really helped me compose better and think more about how best to capture my subject. I highly recommend you "limit" yourself like this from time to time. It really makes you think and move around more. The results can be wonderful.

Speaking of the X100, I have also come realize that I love the simplicity and easy carrying of such cameras. As much as I love my DSLR, it is like a lead weight that I drag around sometimes. I am becoming a big fan of small cameras. I can carry the X100 daily without it feeling like a burden. The image quality and dynamic range of the X100 and comparable cameras in its class are truly astonishing. I have even taken the X100 out in a strobist kit that fits in a small messenger bag to shoot models. I look forward to the continual improvements in technology that will make shooting with a small rig even better.

I learned that I really enjoy shooting at night. This comes partly out of necessity since I work during the day. However, I really enjoy capturing urban shots using available light. Some of my favorite photo explorations have been walking around with a camera and tripod taking long exposure shots in the city. I also stopped by a few carnivals during the year and got some great shots of lights in motion. I really enjoy combining lights, color, and motion under a night sky, particularly in the early hours of dusk.

So, what are my plans for 2012? I hope to do more model photography in creative environmental settings. I'm toying with the idea of doing some commercial portraits on the side to help support my equipment and web hosting costs if nothing else. I plan to do more urban landscape photography. Additionally, I plan to get out of Austin more. My work schedule doesn't afford much time off for travel but I do want to make it a point to get out and capture the world that I can access readily. Specifically, I want to get out to some of the surrounding small towns in Texas and capture some of life beyond the city.

Have a great 2012, folks! Please enjoy this video clip of the images I uploaded to Flickr in 2011 and stay tuned for what 2012 will bring.

Fujifilm X100 Review

2011-12-04T07:49:00.001-08:00

A few months back, I made a substantial change in my photography gear. I traded off my Olympus E-PL1 rig and my backup DSLR, a Canon 30D, for a Fujifilm X100. I had been studying the X100's specs, reviews, and image samples for quite some time until I couldn't stand it anymore and made the plunge. It was a bitter sweet decision to make. Let me first say that I liked my E-PL1 and if I could have afforded to pay the $1199 for the X100 outright, I would have liked to have held on to the E-PL1. With the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7, the only lens I really used on the E-PL1, I had a focal length close to the X100's fixed lens with faster glass and image stabilization in the camera body. I loved that Panasonic lens and it was tough to move to a slower piece of glass at "only" f/2.

So, why make the change? Well, my love for the Panasonic 20mm lens just wasn't enough to keep me married to the E-PL1. That's not to say that there weren't some things that were great about them together. I really liked the form factor of the camera/lens combination. The image stabilization came in really handy. Color rendering was awesome. On the other hand, the E-PL1's quirky controls were a source of irritation. I always hated having to use arrow buttons instead of dials for shutter and aperture. My real gripe though was the sensor. I hate sensor noise and the E-PL1's max threshold for me was about ISO 800. I could work with images up to 1600 but I felt like I was giving up too much detail in the noise cleanup. I don't intend to make the E-PL1 sound like a dud. On the contrary, I still maintain that it's the best deal going in interchangeable lens compacts. I'm just a picky pixel peeper and I thought I could do better. While researching alternative cameras, I came across the X100. I tend to go look at images over specifications and I was really taken by what I saw. Exceptionally clean images up to ISO 3200 from the X100's larger APS-C sized sensor! I was intrigued.

Let's start with the physical characteristics of the X100. It's an attractive camera, kind of sexy (there, I said it.) It just feels good in the hands with it's retro styling and substantial weight. It feels like a quality piece of gear, which is refreshing in this age where everything is made of the cheapest plastic possible. The appearance might lead one to believe this is a rangefinder camera, although that is not the case. I find that styling to be pleasing, but I must admit that I haven't been into photography long enough to have ever used a rangefinder camera. It has a certain look and feel that harkens back to a time when things were crafted with precision. It's an overall solid build that makes me feel better about spending $1199 on a compact camera. BTW, I'm not including any of my own pictures of the camera since there are plenty of really good ones here on the X100's official site. Pictures I took with the camera are coming up soon, so keep reading!

The X100 came in an attractive black box, cradled in soft cloth. A neat looking metal lens cap covered the lens. Nice aesthetic touch, but I soon realized it was not very functional. The loose friction fit made it all too easy pop off and I quickly replaced it with an aftermarket plastic cap. The alloy body feels solid and the textured grip provides a reassuring grasp. The aperture and shutter controls are provided in traditional locations, on the lens and a dial on top of the camera respectively. The stop points have a nice positive feel. These controls move in one stop increments and finer 1/3 adjustments can be made with the two wheels on the back of the camera. I do find myself wishing that the aperture at least could be completely controlled in 1/3 stops on the lens. The ISO setting is quickly accessible through a programmable function button on top of the camera. You can assign other functions to that button, but I don't know why anyone would want to. A secondary programmable button would have been a nice addition for something like quickly changing white balance. There is a dedicated RAW button on the camera back, used to create JPEG files with differing camera settings, that would make an ideal candidate for a secondary function button. Unfortunately its single function cannot be changed.

An EV adjustment dial is located on top of the camera. I've got mixed feelings about that. It's in a bit of an awkward spot that makes it easy to inadvertently change. This is the quickest way to make 1/3 stop exposure adjustments in aperture or shutter priority modes. You just have to be careful that you don't bump it during handling of the camera. I tend to shoot in manual mode much of the time and the EV dial does nothing in that mode. It would be nice if it could be assigned to modify the shutter (preferably) or the aperture values, as the dial is a bit easier to quickly manipulate than the back control wheels.

The shutter button is located in the typical location and Fujifilm went with a traditional style button that accepts a manual screw-in cable release. Kudos for that nice retro touch, but I'm disappointed that there isn't an electronic, preferably wireless, option built-in. Yes, the old fashioned cable style is neat. I'd much rather have a modern wireless option in this instance.

I'd like to report that Fujifilm didn't cut any corners on this handsomely styled body, but they did. My first big gripe is the battery door. It's cheap plastic and I fear that I will eventually break it. Really, Fuji? You couldn't have used a metal door with a more positive latch? The USB/HDMI ports are also covered by a rather cheap feeling plastic cover. That is more forgivable to me since it at least integrates well with the grip texture and I rarely use those ports. I'm also not crazy about the focus mode selector switch that lets you change between manual, single, and continuous autofocus modes. It's a fidgety 3-position plastic switch that really mars the look and feel of otherwise positive feeling main controls. One last gripe is the tripod adapter. The hole is right next to the battery door which means you have to remove your quick release adapter to get to the battery or SD card.

Manual focus is on the lens barrel as you would expect. The movement is nice and smooth. However, the rotation required to make significant focus adjustments is very excessive. My Panasonic lens was bad in this regard too. Both the Panasonic 20mm and the X100's built-in lens are focus by wire. I have to say, I hate focus by wire. I find myself using auto focus to get locked on to something in the ballpark and then tweak manually from there. There is a "back button" focus on the camera back that works quite well in manual mode (i.e. you can achieve autofocus even in manual mode and it stays locked when you release the button.) I actually find myself using that button the majority of the time instead of the typical half shutter press.

A key feature of the X100 is its optical/electronic view finder. I love this feature! I like to use the optical viewfinder when I can. It is a wider area of view than the sensor so you use guide lines to frame your composition. The distance from the lens can create some issues when focusing on close objects though. I tend to switch to the electronic viewfinder for any close up or macro work, as well as portraits. You switch between optical and electronic modes with a switch on the front of the camera. When using the electronic mode, there is an eye sensor you can enable to automatically switch from the back LCD to the viewfinder when you raise the camera to your eye. Very cool.

When I was researching the X100, I found a number of folks complaining about the menu system. I actually don't have any problems with it myself. It navigates very quickly for me. If anything, I could complain that the menu button in the middle of the main control wheel is a bit tough for someone like me with large fingers to hit. I find it's easier to hit it with my thumbnail. Standard drive, flash, and macro focus controls are available at the typical points for modern cameras on the control wheel. If I could complain about anything it is that I have to scroll through the menu system to enable an external flash on the hotshoe. It would be nice if that would just work automagically.

There are some annoying quirks in the firmware. It looks like Fuji really rushed this camera to market and the initial firmware was very buggy. I'm on the second update now and things are looking pretty good. I really have only one complaint that drives me completely bonkers. If you make any fine tune adjustments to shutter or aperture with the back control wheels and then view your captured images, those settings will be lost when you leave image view mode. That has bitten me a number of times! Epic, epic fail! This could easily be fixed in the software, so hopefully a fix will be forthcoming soon. I noticed that the X100's little brother, the X10, does not have this problem.

So, enough babbling about the physical and functional characteristics. Let's get to what is really important, the images it captures. I started off by testing the camera in the worst environment I had readily available, my office. It's fairly dark and the lighting is horrible, with an ugly color cast. Perfect to shoot wide open, see how autofocus works in low light and to check the noise levels at high ISO. One of our poodles, Chloe, was kind enough to be my subject.

f/2, 1/20, ISO 3200 (from raw)

I was very impressed with the high ISO performance. Noise is well controlled and easily cleaned up. Autofocus was a bit touchy, but no worse than my Canon 5D. Sharpness at f/2 (wide open) is acceptable. I have to be honest, it's not tack sharp but it is good enough to be sharpened up nicely in post. Drop a stop to f/2.8 and then I see tack sharp.

A pleasant surprise in the X100 is the built-in flash. I didn't expect much but it is actually quite good for a fill. I snapped this shot of my friend Andy in a dimly lit restaurant (apologies, buddy!)

f/2.8, 1/30, ISO 800, fill flash (JPG straight from camera)

Another great feature in the X100 is the built-in ND filter. This kicks butt. Can you say f/2 in bright sunlight? Heck yeah, drop out the background into soft bokeh in the middle of the day!

f/2, 1/850, ISO 200, ND filter

How about toning down the background on a portrait? I used the X100's hot shoe in this next shot to trigger off camera flash. The X100 has another really cool feature. Flash sync is up to 1/2000! It would have taken a lot more flash power to pull this off without the ND filter and the fast sync speed. The 35mm focal length equivalent lens is great for this sort of environmental portrait. I have used the X100 instead of my Canon 5D for environmental portraiture on several occasions now.

f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 200, off camera flash

I love night photography and this is another area where the X100 shines. Long exposure noise is low and the dynamic range is quite good. Here's a shot I took at a recent carnival. This is a raw capture that I have tweaked minimally in post.

f/11, 1sec., ISO 200 (from tripod)

The aperture produces round bokeh coins in the center of the image with lopsided ovals toward the edge. There are some interesting, sometimes annoying flare characteristics. In the upper left corner below you can see one type of flare. I actually have grown fond of this sort of flare and have learned to position it creatively using the electronic viewfinder.

f/2, 1/45, ISO 1600

Next shot is the X100's lens flare at its worst. I purposely composed this shot to illustrate the various flare characteristics I have observed. I think I managed to get them all in one frame! From the left corner you see nearby street light flaring across the frame. That is easy enough to control with composition, a hood, or your hand. Bright lights head on can produce the spikes of flare you see at the top. Stopping down the aperture or tilting the camera can minimize or remove that. You can also see some flare spots in the lower half in the center. That may be reflections caused by the protective filter I had on at the time - not sure on that. The one type of flare that is really kind of annoying to me is the light "ghosts" like you see off of the street light on the left down the street. Again, changing the aperture or camera angle can reduce that. The good part is that you can see this stuff on the LCD or in the EVF before you snap.

f/2, 1/9, ISO 800

I'm an HDR buff and while I have gotten some good bracketed sets to work with from the X100 I'm disappointed that it only captures 3 brackets at a max of 1 stop intervals. I wish it would do 5 or 7 bracketed shots. On the plus side, when in timer mode, it will rattle off all the brackets with one shutter press.

f/8, 1/125-1/60-1/30 (3 shot bracket), ISO 200

Regardless of its shortcomings, I really like this camera and find my self preferring to work with it over my DSLR whenever possible. Once you get used to its idiosyncrasies, it is a powerful photography tool. It has an excellent sensor and a very good lens and that is what matters most. It's not for everyone though. This is not a typical point shoot (it's much better than that) and it's not a DSLR. Many will find the prime lens limiting. I personally love it and find that it makes me look at my compositions a little more creatively. If you are looking for DSLR quality images from a small, rugged camera and can live with a prime lens, the X100 may be right for you too.

Update (Jan. 18, 2012): My X100 got sick with Sticky Aperture Disease and had to go back to Fuji for repair!

Improving an Image with Subtle HDR

2011-10-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Those who follow my work know that I love HDR. It's a great tool, but it's not always the best way to capture and process an image. When I look at a scene that I want to capture, I try to evaluate the dynamic range and decide whether it would be best to capture a bracketed set of images. I'm getting better at guessing things like how much EV range I need to capture to adequately represent the dynamic range in my subject.

The barber shop store front above is an image created from a single raw capture with my Fuji X100. I almost always shoot in raw format for the most control over my post processing workflow. In my estimation, I only needed one exposure because the area was lit fairly well by the low sun behind me. The sidewalk might have blown out if anything, but when I looked at my histogram there was no highlight clipping. Satisfied with the exposure, I moved on.

Later, while processing my raw capture, I decided that the image was looking a little flat. I played around with contrast curves in Photoshop and experimented with some of my plug-ins. Nothing really looked "just right." I decided to run the raw file through Nik HDR Efex. Now, I have to admit that I'm not really crazy about HDR Efex. The looks it creates always look a bit too harsh for my tastes and I favor Photomatix for HDR tonemapping. For single raw file work though, I think HDR Efex does a better job than Photomatix for whatever reason.

Normally, I like a touch of the surreal in my images. I'm not going for a blatant painterly look, but I find that giving just ever so slight of an illustrative look to my HDR images makes them a bit more engaging. For this image, I thought it best to lean more toward the side of a natural look. While HDR is most often used for compressing dynamic range, it can also bring out a lot more detail in an image. This is something I had to be careful with in this image. It is easy to go overboard with detail and make an image look too grungy or cluttered. There is a lot of dirt and texture in this image - on the windows & blinds, on the fabric of the sofa and chair, etc. It would be very easy to bring out too much detail of the dirt & grime and end up with a muddy image.

What I chose to do was selectively blend in some of the HDR rendering with the "normal" rendered raw file. I wanted to add some pop to key areas, such as the fabric on the sofa and chair, without bringing out every last bit of detail in less important areas like the sidewalk or ceiling. The result is a very subtle HDR image. It is "plausible" as a representation of the scene, but it contains more detail and slightly boosted color over the original. Here is what the image looked like prior to HDR blending.

The difference is subtle, but there is a significant improvement over the base capture (you can click the images for a larger view.) Next time you have an image that looks like it's lacking something, considering processing the raw file (you do shoot in raw, don't you!) with HDR software and blending the tonemapped version with your original. It may be just the extra bit of kick you need to improve a blandish image.

The Mirage

2011-08-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

It's been tough to find motivation to get outside and take photos this summer. These parts of Texas have been experiencing the worst heat wave and drought I can remember. While the sun is in the sky, it just sucks to be outside. It's like walking into a blast furnace. Generally, I like to shoot my images in the evening, catching the last light of the day. Temperatures have been running 105-108 degrees in the time that I'd like to be walking to a location and setting up a shot. When the sun goes down, things cool down to a tolerable, but still quite balmy temperature in the upper 90's. It's been like that for 70 days in a row as I write this. It's a new record in Austin since they have kept track of such things. It's not over. Forecasts are predicting that current conditions will continue well into September. Another 3-4 weeks of hellish weather…joy. Rain is a distant memory and the earth looks rather scorched. Still, I can't just let the summer creep by while I hide in the air conditioning. I really wanted to get out and shoot the streets of Austin this summer so I've tried to get out and get a shot of something at least once a week.

Those who follow my work know I've been doing a lot of portrait work this summer, a good deal of which have been taken on location in Austin in the evening hours. While I do enjoy that sort of thing, I have been longing to do some urban landscape shots. The shot I'm sharing today is one that I had been wanting to capture for a while. It was inspired by a shot taken by my friend Van, a talented Austin photog. I had never been to this location before and I just had to find and shoot from this great spot. The heat be damned, I finally made the trip into downtown after work one night last month to get my shot.

I knew I wanted to capture the view of downtown Austin right around sunset, in that brief transition from day to night when the sky is colored with a deep blue hue, before it fades to black. I arrived downtown at Zilker Park in plenty of time to walk to this spot, known as Lou Neff Point. The path to the point is shaded, but there wasn't much of a breeze that evening. It was quite warm and I had broken a good sweat by the time I got there. "Should have warn a hat," I muttered to myself as sweat dripped from my brow onto my camera as I got things setup.

I set my tripod down low on the shoreline and waited until sunset. A few people passed by in the water, paddling their canoes. A couple of ducks swam by. A turtle poked its head out of the water briefly. The lake was otherwise quieter than it should have been this time of year. There was a lot of muck and debris in the water. I wondered if that was due to the lack of flow during the drought. The water here is Lady Bird Lake, which is not really a lake at all. This is a dammed up section of the Colorado River running through Austin. The water level is kept fairly constant. Lake Travis, upstream of this water, told a different story. It looked like a half empty bath tub.

The sun reflecting off of the tall buildings downtown was almost blinding when I arrived. As the sun retreated, the buildings started to take on their own glow as their lights came on. Some clouds drifted by as I framed up my shot. Some were dark , giving the impression that a thundershower might develop. No, these clouds wouldn't be dropping any water on the city. The high pressure system that has lingered all summer over these parts has an iron grip on the clouds. There will be no real rain until the system is pushed south, hopefully soon.

A deep blue sky started to reveal itself as the sun shined its final light, striking the windows of one of the buildings as if landing a final blow for the day. The calming blue sky moved in and the city appeared quiet, serene, even cool. I know there is a certain deception to the image I created, having been there as it was captured. It is like a mirage.

I had gotten the shot I was wanting that night. Ordinarily, I'd want to linger in downtown and take a few more night shots. No, it was too hot and I had my mind set on a cold drink in the air conditioning somewhere. I had long finished up the water I had brought with me and I was dripping with sweat. I headed back to my car, satisfied at least that my efforts were worthwhile. The weather hadn't broken my vision and resolve.

Lighten Up and Shoot Workshop Review

2011-08-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

One of the things I want to do for the rest of the year is to watch some instructional videos and read as much as I can about photography. I'm treating it as if I were taking formal classes. There is no set schedule, but I vowed to myself to spend at least a couple of evenings a week watching instructional videos, reading a book on photography, or even just looking on the 'net for images that inspire me. I was hoping to get a workshop or two in as well before year end. Those can be rather pricey though and I'm always worried whether I can get enough out of the typical 1-3 days to justify the expense.

Recently, I heard about Creative Live workshops from a friend. If only I'd known about this sooner! What they do is offer online workshops by some of the top names in the photography industry. The best part is that most, if not all, are free to view online. The catch is that these are live classes. You have to be able to commit to watching them during the broadcast time. I was fortunate enough to catch most of the Lighten Up and Shoot workshop that aired this past Friday through Sunday. I had to work during the day Friday so I couldn't watch the live broadcast. Luckily, there was a re-broadcast of the day's class that evening. Free is great, but if you can't be online during the broadcast times, Creative Live has an option to purchase at a discounted rate during the broadcast weekend. At the end of the class, the download price goes up. For this class, the price is now $149, which isn't bad at all for a 3-day workshop!

The workshop was taught by Mikey and Andy, the Lighten Up and Shoot guys. Their specialty is street photography and they have a great website with lots of down to earth tips and videos that cover the basic essentials. These guys are all about getting good pictures of everyday people on the street and having fun doing it. While I'm not sure if I can ever feel completely comfortable asking strangers if I can take their picture, it does seem a little less intimidating after seeing these guys work. Honestly though, I primarily tuned in to the workshop to pick up the technical details of their street optimized gear and techniques since I like to photograph models in urban locations.

For my on-location urban portraits, I've been carrying a 43" umbrella, 16" collapsible softbox, stands, and a small softbox that mounts on my hot shoe flashes. Mikey and Andy carry around a Wescott Apollo Softbox, either 28" or 50", as their key light source. They demonstrated the use of the soft boxes in studio and street scenarios and they have me really interested in this modifier. The recessed face of these softboxes will provide a lot more control over an umbrella and they set up just as easily. The Apollo softboxes expand and collapse just like a regular umbrella. I will definitely be looking at adding one of these to my lighting gear. They also demonstrated how to effectively use a grid on a hot shoe flash. I like the effect they were getting and I have already picked one up to start playing with!

I expected the workshop to focus on street shooting, but the majority of the time was actually spent in studio-like staged demonstrations. This was understandable due to the live and streamed nature of the presentation. To cover the street stuff, there were some videos shown of Mikey and Andy out on the town with their workshop students. These were taped in the evenings after the streamed workshop sessions. I think they covered street shooting as best as they could given the format of this live workshop. Nothing was shot in the studio setting that couldn't be taken to the streets. The lighting setups were minimalist and easily portable and adaptable.

Mikey and Andy have a thing they call the Genius Square for explaining the relation of the elements of a flash exposure: ISO, shutter, aperture, and the flash. Overall, I thought it was a good way to think of how these elements work together. They include a simplified way of thinking about flash power and distance to the subject that really is easier to understand than the usual inverse square rule that tends to make most people's eyes cross when they first hear it. While I like the visual representation of the Genius Square, I couldn't help but wonder if it actually makes things a little more cumbersome for understanding the difference between flash and ambient exposure than it really is in the big picture. In my mind, an exposure with or without flash is always assembled with a combination of ISO, shutter, and aperture values. The only real difference with flash is that the flash exposure is not affected by the shutter value, given that the shutter is fired at or below the camera's sync speed. All three elements still affect ambient, while aperture (preferably) and ISO affect flash exposure.

The guys have a rather non-technical, laid-back style that works for them and gets the job done. They "chimp" a lot (constantly checking the camera LCD while getting the exposure dialed in), but that is par for the course for most photographers in the digital age. I prefer to use a light meter to quickly dial in my key light where I want it to be. I'll usually chimp any fill or accent lights though. What is surprising is that Mikey and Andy did not seem to be watching the histogram at all. I wasn't sure if it was a side effect of the video stream, but a lot of their live shots appeared rather dark. I was wanting to see the histogram for some of the shots. I did ask via the live chat and a moderator informed me that Mikey and Andy don't really use the histogram much and my question didn't get forwarded to the guys. That really struck me as odd.

True to their informal style, the workshop seemed rather unstructured at times. The third day seemed to fall apart a bit and there wasn't much direction. The guys, along with some of their students, played around with some natural light and simple flash shots with a couple of models. There was a lot of experimentation and the results didn't look as good as shots taken on the earlier days. That said, I did get a lot out of most of the demonstrations, especially on the second day.

In spite of their loose style and sometimes goofy antics, the guys did communicate some good stuff. Perhaps most importantly, they have a passion for what they do and it is infectious. I was very motivated by what they had to say. So, what are my main take-aways from the workshop? First, you need to be having fun shooting people. You and your subject(s) get better shots when you are enjoying your work. Second, it doesn't take a lot of gear to get good shots. The guys showed that some amazing shots are possible with a single light and maybe a reflector. They work a lot with old, manual prime lenses (cool, as I'm a prime lens buff myself.) Finally, if you see someone that looks cool, don't be afraid to politely ask to take their picture. The worst they can do is say no. Engaging with someone is a lot more rewarding than taking a "drive-by" photograph.

Would I recommend that you buy the recorded workshop? It depends. I think it would be very helpful to newbies. Those who are interested in street shooting will benefit, but you may disappointed by the fact that very little of the presentation actually takes place in that environment. Those new to off camera flash will certainly benefit from their explanation of exposure and their lighting demonstrations. Anyone can benefit from observing how Mikey and Andy engage with people on the street and models to quickly build a rapport that helps get a great shot. If you're looking for a lot of technical detail, you'll probably be disappointed. I'd say check out the Lighten Up and Shoot website and watch some of their free videos. If you like what you see, by all means check out their full workshop. The price isn't bad at all for a 3 day workshop.

Escape From Oz

2011-07-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

A while back my good friend and model, Eight, had an awesome idea. How about getting the characters from the Wizard of Oz out of their element and into a modern scenario? Wouldn't it be cool to have them sitting around playing cards or shooting pool? Maybe we could even get the Wicked Witch to behave herself and join in the fun. Eight recruited myself and Atmtx to shoot this concept with her and a few other talented models.

Last week, we got the opportunity to put this concept shoot together. The original bar we had in mind closed down, so there was a last minute change of location. We were able to secure a spot at Slick Willie's pool hall in Austin to make this happen.

The costume, jewelry, and makeup artists and designers did a great job getting the models into character. I really like the minimalist approach they took. Apart from some makeup and some straw (the latter of which got scattered about our pool table by the end of the night), the models could just about pass for regular folks.

Being that this was a typical dark pool hall, we needed lots of light. We pulled the shoot off in strobist style with a few hot shoe flashes and an LED video light. For the group shots, we used two flashes, one on either side of the group, fired through umbrellas. Another flash was high and behind the models for some separation from the background. An LED panel provided fill.

We shot a bunch of poses that carried along a little story. The game started off cordially with Scarecrow doing the break while the others watched on. There was some trepidation about the Witch being there, but Tin Man agreed to play on her team.

The Witch and Tin Man got control of the table and things seemed to be going her way for a while. It looked like Dorothy, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion might lose the game.

Tin Man missed a shot and the Witch wasn't happy about that. At her urging, Tin Man got a little testy with his friends. Dorothy admonished him to be a good sport. It's just a game, after all!

Cowardly Lion stepped up for his turn. While setting up his shot, the Wicked Witch decided to try and distract him with a seductive look. Oh no, the Lion missed! Dirty pool, Witch!

"Two can play that game", thinks Dorothy. Tin Man loses concentration on his turn. Things are heating up now!

All of the attention is on Dorothy now and the Witch was steaming mad!

Turning away for a second, the Witch dropped a bit of a mysterious potion in Dorothy's drink. "Have a drink, my dear", she said with a sly grin. "No, Dorothy!", exclaimed the Scarecrow!

Her plan to poison Dorothy foiled, the Witch tried to make things a lot hotter for Scarecrow!

"Leave Scarecrow alone!", exclaimed Dorothy! And so what started as a congenial game of pool quickly degraded into a bar room brawl. Even though far from Oz, the Wicked Witch once again showed her true colors! Be careful, Dorothy! She fights dirty!

I had a blast shooting this! Thanks to all of our models, designers, and artists for their hard work putting this together. Special thanks to Slick Willie's for use of one of their tables!

Flashpoint 16x16 Softbox Review

2011-06-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

I noticed that Adorama had the Flashpoint 16x16 Softbox on sale last month and I decided to order one. At about $35 on sale, I was willing to give it a try. The size is about right for a few purposes I had in mind, such as photographing my small dogs and head shot portraits of people.

The Flashpoint softbox is designed to work with standard shoe mount flashes. It looks very close to a more expensive softbox made by Lastolite from what I can tell, although I haven't had the opportunity to make a direct comparison. The Lastolite folds up into a compact carry bag and the Flashpoint softbox works the same way. For my limited purposes, the Lastolite model is a bit pricey so I was glad to find a fairly inexpensive alternative.

Flashpoint softbox folded, laying on top of carrying case

The construction of this softbox is acceptable for its price point. The cloth is what I would call a medium thickness. Single stitching is used, which is not surprising. Rigid spring wire forms the framework that gives it shape. To open the softbox, you simply pull two corners apart and it springs open. The inside is silver lined and there are elastic loops in about the middle of the softbox that serve as anchor points for a handkerchief sized white diffusion panel. Oddly, no instructions were provided in the box. The assembly is relatively self explanatory though. I was a little afraid that I was going to break it when folding it back up since it takes a good bit of force to overcome the spring wire. I've popped mine open and closed dozens of times now and it is no worse for wear.

Softbox interior

The white front diffusion attaches to a velcro strip around the inside edge. Unfortunately, there is no further velcro for attaching a grid in front of the panel. There is about 2 inches of the outside edges of the box extending past the panel, which helps contain light spill.

Assembled softbox, front view

A mounting bracket is supplied for attaching the softbox to a standard light stand. The back "lips" of the softbox are pulled over a metal ring. The rigid wire skeleton is what holds it on. The fit feels somewhat sloppy and I would be concerned about it popping off in a gust of wind. I haven't had any trouble so far though in a couple of outdoor shoots. The bracket includes a cold shoe adapter for a speed light type flashes. I do like the cold shoe as it is easy to attach the flash and it tightens down snuggly. A ball joint provides adjustment range. It is a rather flimsy feeling joint, but it does seem stable enough once it is tightened down. Unfortunately, the adjustment range of the ball joint is limited by the bracket design. You cannot get much of a downward angle to the softbox with this arrangement, but I found it adequate for my uses.

Rear view with flash mounted

One thing that is annoying to my obsessive self is that the softbox does not form a good square face when assembled. There always seems to be a slight slant to one side, kind of a spring memory thing from being folded. Futzing around with it by trying to bend it to proper shape helps a bit. It's not off by much and probably does not really matter in the big picture.

So, how are the shots with this thing? The first shot here is of one of my toy poodles, Lucy. This softbox is a great size for small pets and I was able to move it in close and get a much nicer enveloping light on her than I have gotten with umbrellas. The softbox is at camera right, at about a 45 degree angle. There is just a small bit of light fired from a bare flash off to the left to help provide separation from the background. I have to say, black dogs are a tough subject to get the light right. I am happy with the results I'm getting with the softbox here. It is working better for me than a shoot through or reflected umbrella in this situation.

Softbox camera right

Next, I tried the softbox out with a closeup portrait of my model friend, Eight. The softbox is at camera left. The little bit of edge that extends past the front diffusion panel seems to do a good job with containing light spill. The small size makes it easy to bring the softbox in close to the subject without making her or him feel crowded. Here I used it with a low power flash to subtly light her in the shadowed area she was standing and add a bit of warmth to her skin tone with a slight warming gel. The softbox stayed put in spite of a breeze this day, in contrast to an umbrella that got knocked over earlier in the day.

Softbox camera left

While there are some weaknesses to this softbox, I'm pleased with my purchase overall. This softbox is a bargain, even at the current regular price of $45 at the time of this writing. I do have some concerns about its durability and time will tell how long it will last. I'm not certain it would stand up to heavy use with frequent tear down and setup. I don't think the fabric or stitching would stand up, but if you are careful it might just last a long time. For an occasionally used portable light modifier or keeping it permanently setup in a studio, it should be fine.

Close Assault 2011

2011-06-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

This past Memorial Day weekend I had the opportunity to attend "Close Assault", a WWII reenactment staged at Camp Mabry in Austin. This performance was a reenactment of a ground attack on a Nazi stronghold by the 36th Infantry "Texas" Division. It was my first time attending such an event and being a somewhat of a WWII buff I couldn't resist the chance to see one. Since one of the main purposes of the reenactment is to honor those who fought, it seemed like a great way to spend an afternoon over the holiday weekend.

For those who have never been to something like this, it is a great lesson in history. Over an hour was devoted to a telling of the history behind the 36th Infantry and explaining the gear and weapons used in the war. The weapons were demonstrated one by one and the actual reenactment concluded the event. The reenactment itself was surprisingly short! I fired a lot of frames during the flurry of action. I came away with some nice action shots, but my favorite images were the candids I snapped before and after the performance. One of my self criticisms is that I tend to focus more on things and actions than the people involved in events like this. So, I made it a priority to capture close images of the actors and create a more personal look at the event.

One of the things that I noticed about the actors is how happy they were to put on this performance and share a bit of history. It was really hot that afternoon, but the heat didn't dampen anyone's spirits.

A smile crept across this corporal's face as he waited in the shade of a camp mockup prior to the performance. All of the actors were happy to show and explain their gear. Note the enbloc clips holding blank rounds clipped to his straps. I believe I heard that this group spends around $600 per performance in blank ammunition costs.

Another neat thing about this event was how many young people participated. This youngster was taking a break in the shade prior to the performance. I was impressed by the dedication of these young people.

I noticed these young fellows taking a closer look at some small models on display. I was glad I had my camera ready at my side. It was a fantastic moment, seeing the look on their faces as they studied the small vehicles.

Must be a couple of officers! The small rifles carried by these men are M1 Carbines, a favorite gun of mine. These small and light rifles were typically carried by officers or communications persons already carrying a heavy load of gear.

Most soldiers carried the heavy (9+ pounds) M1 Garand. This formidable semi-automatic rifle really tipped the scales in favor of our soldiers at a time when enemy soldiers were primarily equipped with bolt action rifles. General Patton called this rifle "the greatest battle implement ever devised." It feeds from the 8 round clips seen earlier and it makes a distinctive "ping" sound when it ejects the clip after the last round fired. There was no mistaking when the gun was empty.

You can't stage a reenactment without including portrayal of the enemy forces. The Nazi side assists each other with getting their gear on. It is amazing how detailed and historically accurate these actors are dressed.

A Nazi and American soldier chatting jovially on the battlefield? Must be a reenactment! This guys stayed on the field after the reenactment to chat with anyone interested in discussing the event and help kids find spent brass cases for souvenirs.

While this was a reenactment, there is a lot of work that went into it, along with a certain amount of danger. Everyone has to be in the right place at the right time to avoid injury from the explosive gasses emitted by the blank firing guns. There was a certain look of concentration on many participants prior to the reenactment.

This young man looked particularly lost in thought as he reclined in the shade before his performance. He reminded how young some of the guys are who go to war in defense of our country.

This guy playing a Nazi officer caught my eye. He was drinking water from a French wine bottle. No detail was spared by these guys!

This is my favorite image from the event. It was kind of a surreal moment where I raised my camera and his eyes met my lenses just as I brought him into focus. I call this the battle stare! I promptly got out of the way before I was run over by his jeep.

This is a lot of images to share this time around! I took many more, so please check out my full gallery of this event. There are plenty of action shots that I didn't share here. If you get the chance to attend a war reenactment, I highly recommend it.

Hutto Relay For Life

2011-05-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

I was asked by one of the members of the Hutto city council to take some photos of a special event last Friday night. It was called the Hutto Relay for Life and it was a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The idea was to collect pledges of support and then spend the night on the track of a local school. Cancer doesn't sleep and neither would a whole bunch of people who committed to walking the track all that night. It is a worthy cause and I agreed to stop by for a few hours and get some shots.

There were some powerful moments at this event. Many cancer survivors were there, along with their families and support networks. The courage and fight in these people was evident, as was the joy and love of life as seen in their eyes. This shot was taken at the start of the survivors' lap around the track.

The most emotional time to me was the placing of hundreds of luminaries along the track. Each one represented someone lost to cancer or currently battling the disease. I placed a couple myself - one in memory of my grandmother and the other for a friend of my family who passed last year. Walkers would circle the luminaries throughout the night.

At one point, I was setting up some long exposure shots to capture the luminary lights in the darkness. A girl's voice called out behind me, asking if I would take a picture. I turned around and saw the following scene.

"Wow" was all I could think. I had nothing to do with setting up this shot. It came from their hearts. Eddie is a friend from school, an athlete who was diagnosed with cancer. They were there to raise money in hopes it might help him in his battle. I fumbled to change my camera settings while they waited. I was truly taken back.

The sun was gone from the sky when I returned to take some long exposures of the luminary lights. I snapped a few off and checked my results. Another "wow" moment hit when I saw this image on my LCD screen.

Now, it wasn't image itself that made it a "wow" moment. It was what I realized it represented. The blurry mixture of a crowd of people walking by, some with glow sticks or small flashlights, moving along a line of softly glowing luminaries, became a strong visual representation of what was going on. People moved together with one purpose and the lights represent the lives of those who struggle with cancer or have passed away because of it. People that we love leave something of themselves within us. Even if they pass on, that "something" never goes away. It travels with us, much like the wispy trails of light that flowed along the track amongst the crowd.

I'm glad to donate some time and images to charities when I can. It's tough work covering an event. But, who knows? You may come away with an enriching experience, helping others in the process.

Strobist HDR

2011-05-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I love HDR photography. I've also been enjoying strobist photography lately. Two great things...can they work together? My photog friend Atmtx and I decided to find out. We worked with Model Eight to create some scenes where the blend would be appropriate. Atmtx got some great shots in a dark alley way and you can check his results out here. I was so impressed with his images that I had to try my hand at it. I thought a sunset would make a great background for this sort of image and I'm happy with result.

So, how do you go about combining a strobe lit model with an HDR image? Well, the model and the background get shot separately. I captured the background first. My camera was set up on a tripod and I shot into a sunset, grabbing 6 exposures at 1 stop intervals. I shot in manual mode at f/16 for good depth of field. In retrospect, it would might be better to capture the image with the model first. This is because you may need to tweak the lighting and the model's pose, which takes time. In my case, I was losing the sun with each passing moment! Assuming a simple lighting setup that you can pull out of the scene quickly when you're done with the model, I'd suggest doing the model shot first. Here is the image that would become my background, after HDR processing.

I captured the image of the model with an off camera flash. A single light fired through an umbrella was sufficient to provide some fill light on her against the sunset. A big, close light source is important to avoid any harsh shadows. I opened my aperture up a couple of stops to get a bit more ambient light as well. The aperture change didn't matter since I was just going to be masking the model into the background image. Here is what the model shot looked liked. It doesn't matter that the umbrella is in the shot; I'm only using the model herself from this image.

Using Photoshop CS5 and Topaz Labs Remask, I carefully masked the model into the HDR image. At first, she seemed to pop off the background a bit too much. I tweaking the image further by blending in a bit more of the surrounding area around the model in places and using a dark Curves layer to add some faint shadowing where appropriate. This is rather painstaking work to make it look right! Here is the result:

There is a bit of a surreal feel to the image. Followers of my HDR work know I tend to process things just on the edge of reality. I could have added some tonal contrast to the model or even tonemapped her single exposure to make her more of a fit in the HDR surroundings. No, I didn't think that was the way to go. I rather like the contrast of an ordinary person placed into an HDR world. What do you think?

Check out another glimpse behind the scenes of this shot and a humorous look at why photographers can be terrible assistants!

Light Painting and HDR

2011-04-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

I got invited by my good friend Andy to visit the old Seaholm power plant in Austin. This plant served the city until 1989 and was officially decommisioned and designated for repurposing in 1996. The building has sat idle for years, but preparations are now underway to turn the property into office and retail space, as well as condos. Unfortunately, the turbines and other equipment have already been removed, leaving behind a shell of a building. Regardless, we found some cool stuff to shoot.

Some of the most interesting places to explore were in the catacomb-like subterranean levels. The concrete levels were very dark, lit only by whatever daylight filtered in from windows in the upper level and fell through the holes in main building's floor where the turbines used to sit. This environment presented a challenge, even for HDR capture. In a lot of places, I could barely see and needed a flashlight to illuminate things. My camera was wanting bulb mode and I would have had to push the ISO quite high to get shots in a timely manner. So, I decided to try something new.

I'd heard of light painting before, but I'd never tried it myself. This seemed like a great opportunity to give it a go. The basic idea is that you use a long shutter speed and "paint" the subject with a flashlight to light whatever you want to expose. It took only a little bit of experimentation to get some good results. There is definitely skill involved to evenly light things and not leave flashlight "brush" strokes. You also have to look at the scene and figure out where to light. You don't want to remove all shadows and end up with a flat looking image.

For this shot, I used my flashlight to illuminate the graffiti painted wall during the long exposure. I liked the look I got, but I still wanted to bring out the gritty textures some more. In post processing, I ran the single exposure through NIK HDR Efex Pro. While HDR is generally used to compress dynamic range, it is also great for opening up the textures in an image. Being in this place felt like a creepy level in a video game and I really wanted to communicate that. The tonemapping process brought out the textures, but also increased light levels in shadow areas that I wanted to keep dark. So, just I blended the tonemapped file with the original to help get the lighting where I wanted while keeping the dark shadows as they were originally.

This image was a challenge to compose and capture. A little bit of light is falling from above, enough to make out the stair case. The small room behind the stairs was pitch black. I had to use my flashlight to compose and focus the camera. Next, I experimented with a couple of long exposures while painting in the stairs and the background. One nice thing about capturing the scene with light painting was that I was able to keep a tighter aperture for good depth of field. Without the light painting, I would have had to use a wide aperture and higher ISO with excessively long shutter times to expose for the dark room. To get maximum grit, I again used HDR Efex Pro to tonemap the single exposure and blended it with the original to adjust for the best shadow areas.

Light painting is certainly a useful technique that I will continue to experiment with as the situation calls for it. It takes a bit of practice to get the fluid movement of the light correct. You have to figure out where to light and how fast to move the flashlight. Check your LCD and histogram after each attempt and see what you are getting. In the areas that you illuminate, check for even coverage to avoid brush strokes of light. It might be a good idea to have a couple of flashlights of different power levels with you. My Surefire flashlight has a high and low mode that I found to be handy. Combined with HDR, light painting is an especially powerful tool in my photography toolbox.

SWSW Photo Walk with Trey Ratcliff

2011-03-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending and assisting with Trey Ratcliff's huge SXSW Photowalk. Hundreds of photogs came out for this fun event. I volunteered to assist as a photo coach for any newbies who might have questions. All of us coaches were standing at the front as everyone got seated in the Driskill ballroom. Trey leaned over and asked if that was a wide angle lens on my camera. Yes, it was. Treys said, "Good, I need you to take the group shot." Wow! I actually got a little nervous about being the official event photographer! The room was dark, so the exposure would be tough. Of course, I had my tripod and managed to pull it off. Very cool opportunity and honor! I was proud to have my photo featured on his blog for a day.

I had fun coaching others on the walk. It seemed a little weird offering advice when I haven't been a photographer all that long myself. However, I know what I know due in large part to the generous sharing of others and I'm more than happy to give back to the photog community. I expected to get lots of questions about HDR. Instead, I got asked a lot more about night exposures. I often use single long exposures at night instead of HDR. It really depends on what I'm trying to capture. In the case of light trails, I usually go with a single exposure.

Here is one shot that I took while explaining what I was doing to a couple of folks.

This type of shot is not very difficult. I set my ISO to 100 and my aperture to f22. I want low ISO to keep the noise down and I use f22 to get nice points on the lights. For shutter speed, I make an educated guess and take a shot. I find that 8-10 seconds is usually enough, depending on how much light there is from cars and streetlights. I try to get the car tail lights and prominent lighted signs properly exposed. Buildings may go a little dark, but I don't mind. The idea is to emphasize the light trails.

Because this was a Trey Ratcliff photo walk, I just had to get at least one HDR shot. As the walk concluded, I walked alone back to the Driskill. I passed a cool entry way to an office building. I'd seen it before and now it was time to get a shot. SXSW was in full swing, so the city streets were bustling. I moved my tripod in as tight to the building as I could to avoid being bumped by people passing by.

Here is the shot that I ended up with.

A few models showed up for the event as well. I had no idea that we would have models and I didn't bring any appropriate lenses for my 5D or a flash! Well, I did have my Olympus E-PL1 in my backpack with a 20mm f1.7 lens. It proved to be good enough to get a few shots of a couple of the models after the photowalk. This shot was taken at the Pure Ultra Lounge on 6th St. The lighting in this place is blue. Without a flash, the girls looked like Smurfs. So, I did a monochrome conversion and it turned out nicely.

Trey was shooting for a world record number of photowalk attendees. I'm not sure if he got there, but there were certainly a great number of folks there and it was a heck of a lot of fun.

Photographers for Japan

2011-03-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

In the wake of a tragedy like the devastating tsunami that hit Japan I always wish there were something more I could do. Sure, I donate to relief organizations and offer my thoughts and prayers to those affected by a terrible disaster. I just wish there were something more I could to make a difference. The other day, I stumbled across a great idea by Oliver Fluck. For a limited time, he is donating the profits from sales of his prints to the Red Cross. What a great idea!

I'm happy to step up and join him. Through the end of the month, all profit from any sales of prints on my site will be donated to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Japan. I've had a number of people asking about prints and now is a great time to get one if you've been thinking about a purchase. I would be thrilled if my photography could help make a difference, if even a small one. Even if you don't purchase anything from me, please visit the other participating photographers' sites listed on Oliver's blog.

Different Perspectives on the Holly Street Power Plant

2011-03-07T21:08:00.001-08:00

Some of you may remember a story I posted a while back about getting chased off of a public sidewalk by security guards at a decommissioned power plant. A lot of people asked why I didn't stand up for my rights on the spot. Instead of arguing on the street with security guards and potentially the police, I thought it best to move along and resolve the matter with the appropriate authorities. My intent was to call Austin Energy and possibly city offices in the morning, but before I could look up the numbers I was contacted by someone from Austin Energy who had stumbled across my blog entry about the event just a few hours before!

All things ended up for the good and I was invited to come out to the plant and photograph the plant inside and out. So, I rounded up a group of some of my photog friends and we got a special opportunity to shoot this great place before it gets demolished later this year. Because I knew ahead of time that lighting conditions would be poor without any power to the old plant, I invited a bunch of guys like me who tote around tripods for HDR shooting. I want to thank Ed at Austin Energy for making this happen. A huge thanks also to Carlos and Bobby out at the plant for graciously guiding us through the building and waiting patiently for us to get our shots.

I thought it would be cool to share a shot by each photographer. It's great to see the different perspectives we captured. My favorite personal shot was this control room. I had to climb a creaky staircase to get to this dark room. Only a little light filtered into the windows from across the turbine hall. It was so surreal seeing the room empty and dusty with things in place as if everyone just got up suddenly and left. It was a creepy feeling and I just took this one shot before moving on.

Michael Connell

We had a long time to play around in the turbine room of the plant. I did a lot of closeup shots and would have liked to have gotten a grand view of the room, but I didn't find a composition I liked. My good friend Andy came through with this shot. His overhead view from a balcony outside of a control room is just the ticket.

Atmtx Photography

This staircase was shot by Dave Wilson. Being as afraid of heights as I am, I opted not to wander out on the many outside stair cases. This HDR shot brings out some great tones from the rusty structure. There is a warped perspective created by the lens that draws me in and makes me think of how I feel when confronted by stairs at a great height!

Dave Wilson Photography

Alex Suarez was a little late in joining us but he got some nice closeup details. I like his shot of this confined space entry point. His B&W treatment is very suiting for this shot.

Alex Suarez

Here's a "Why didn't I think of that?" image. Michael Tuuk grabbed this cool shot of one of the entry doors to the plant. I really like his composition with the reflections in the door and the towering structure of the plant up the side.

Michael Tuuk

My friend Van got this great shot of another control room. I love this wide angle capture of the entire room. It's amazing work in very difficult lighting and his HDR treatment makes this image really pop.

Van Sutherland

Last, but certainly not least, is an artistic shot by my friend Tony Tobin. Tony has great skill at capturing artistic shots, especially in low light scenarios. I like this shot of his through a cable rack. The shapes, lighting, and bokeh are very appealing.

Tony Tobin

There you have it, 7 perspectives of the Holly Street Power Plant from 7 photographers. We're only a few days out from the shoot, so be sure and check our sites for more to come as we process the images we captured. We had a blast!

The Tactical Camera Bag

2011-02-22T19:45:00.000-08:00

I quickly discovered that in the world of camera bags, there is no one perfect bag that covers all usage scenarios. I'm sure I'm not the only photographer with more than one bag. As of this writing, I'm up to three. I have a Kata DR466 backpack that works well for times when I want to travel fairly light (one camera and a couple of lenses) with a notebook system or a portfolio binder. Another backpack, my Think Tank Streetwalker, is probably my favorite for general photo outings. It caries my DSLR, my micro 4/3 body, and a few lenses plus other odds and ends. I'll probably write more about those bags in the future. Today I wanted to discuss another option that I recently found.

Why another camera bag? Well, the thought first came about when I bought my Olympus E-PL1 a while back. My other bags were overkill for this little camera and an extra lens or two. I wanted something smaller that would be easy to tote with me on a daily basis. Now, I'm really picky about bags. I tried out a bunch in all the area stores and left unsatisfied each time. The storage wasn't right or they just looked "wrong." A lot of the bags in the size I was looking for were just too purse-like. Can't have that.

I started thinking about my shooting range bag. One of my other interests is competitive pistol, rifle, and shotgun shooting. My range bag is laid out perfectly for its usage with handy pockets all over the place to store the various things needed at the range. Why can't a camera bag be set up like that? Then it hit me. Off in the corner of my garage was a small tactical utility bag that I'd gotten for free with a promotion on some other stuff I bought for the range. It was about the size I was looking for, but it wasn't configured for camera usage. I knew I was on to something though. I took some measurements and after a little online research I found an insert that I thought would work. As luck would have it, one of the REI stores in town had the insert in stock. A quick trip to the store confirmed that I found a winning combination.

The bag is called a bailout bag. It's currently a popular tactical bag for police gear or a range bag for shooters. I've seen them sold under a variety of brands, but the best source is LA Police Gear. They usually have it on sale for $19.99 This bag is built tough. The cool thing is all the pockets on the outside. There are plenty of handy places to stash stuff. I use mine for quick access to a pen, flashlight, business cards, memory cards, flash drive, my glasses, a table top tripod, etc. There are also big end pockets, designed for police radios, that are perfect for water bottles. Rugged carry handles are on top and it comes with a sturdy strap with a nice no-slip shoulder pad. The bag measures approximately 14" x 10" x 6".

Large pockets on one side

Small pockets on other side

Bailout bag with Canon 5D and 17-40mm lens for size reference

To complete my camera bag, I chose an insert made by Mountainsmith. The insert is called a Kit Cube. I paid $29 for mine locally. I just folded the cover down on the outsides of the insert and stuffed it in the bailout bag. It fits a little snug, but it is just about the perfect size. There is plenty of clearance to zip up the bag over the insert. The insert comes with standard velcro attached dividers to break out the compartment into three sections. I usually keep it set up in three sections to carry my E-PL1 and a couple of extra lenses. With a little rearranging I can carry my DSLR and maybe an extra lens instead of the E-PL1. I've found that my DSLR with a prime lens will fit well with my E-PL1.

Bailout bag and Mountainsmith insert

Bailout bag with Mountainsmith insert installed

Bailout bag with Olympus E-PL1 and 2 extra lenses

For about $50 you can build out a capable camera bag that is probably more rugged than a lot of dedicated camera bags on the market. It has a utilitarian look that doesn't scream camera bag. The pocket layout is great for keeping the things you use most close at hand. I find it easy to carry every day during the work week so I've always got a camera with me. The small size means it fits well in my motorcycle's small trunk or saddle bags. I'm happy with my choice and this is a setup well worth considering if you're looking for a way to tote a small camera rig.

Water Reflections

2011-02-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to take some shots in downtown Austin recently on a day when the winds were calm. It was late in the day, just a little before sunset. The conditions were great for capturing some of the city reflected off of Lady Bird Lake, so I headed down to the south bank to grab a few shots. I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned about getting a good image of water reflections.

1) You obviously need a lot of light to create the reflections. Choose a time when the sun is low in the sky to get a good angle of light. You'll want the sunlight coming from behind you and your camera.

2) Pick a day when the winds are calm. You want the water to be as still as possible. If boats pass through the body of water, wait until they move on and the wake calms down.

3) Find a subject, whether foliage or buildings, close to the edge of the water opposite of your location. The closer and taller they are, the longer the reflections across the water.

4) Use a tripod. You'll be getting some long exposures, regardless of whether you capture bracketed exposures for HDR processing.

5) Get low. Set your tripod as low as you can. Depending on the location, you might be better off setting the camera on the ground, a rock, or a low wall. Crouch down low, sit down, or even lay on the ground to find the best height for capturing the reflections. People passing by will give you strange looks. That's OK.

6) Use a remote shutter control or the camera's timer to minimize movement for long exposures.

7) Set your aperture to a high number for deep depth of field and to get longer shutter speeds. Set your ISO low to keep noise at a minimum. In my bracketed exposure sets for HDR, I like to get some exposures up in the 8-10 second range. This helps pick up a lot of shadow detail and the longer exposures help smooth the water out. If you are not shooting for HDR, a neutral density (ND) filter may be useful.

8) Capture bracketed images and use HDR post processing. You will be capturing a wide dynamic range and this is an excellent application for HDR technique. You'll be able to bring out a much wider range of light and tones in the water than you can get in a single exposure. Even if you don't want to process an HDR image, you may want combine multiple exposures manually with layers.

9) Include something interesting in the foreground. It might be some plants, rocks, a log...you get the idea. This gives the image depth and makes it much more interesting.

10) Shoot from a shallow edge of water if you can. I love shots where I can see through the water in the foreground. Pebbles and other details seen through the water can be quite engaging.

I hope some of these tips are useful. There is great beauty to be found in water reflections. Seek out your own and feel free to share your tips and links to your shots in a comment.

The Power of Curves

2011-02-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I attended a great workshop. It was taught by David Nightingale and the topic was dramatic post processing. David shared some great Photoshop techniques for post processing photos with the idea of making them more dramatic so that they stand out from the rest. The techniques he taught are primarily achieved with Photoshop's Curves adjustment layer. Curves are much more powerful than I thought going into the workshop. I learned a great deal about how they can be used to improve a good image or perhaps save an image with lighting or color issues.

One of the most interesting things about David's approach is his belief that it is advantageous to think about capturing an image with post processing in mind. This is in contradiction to the school of thought that I have encountered among a good number of photographers, i.e. if you shoot something "correctly" you shouldn't have to do a lot (if any) post processing. David's approach is rather liberating. I can say that there are number of times when I have walked away from a shot because the lighting conditions weren't right, the sky was too plain, etc. Thinking ahead of time about post processing allows you to visualize what a subject or scene could become. Maybe some strong contrast would bring out some details or a shift in the tones might create a more pleasing image.

David has a very practical and hands-on approach. We spent a lot more time practicing his techniques than just having him talk to us about them. One assignment he gave us was to grab our cameras, go outside, and find something not so exciting to shoot. The idea was to find something plain or a subject in poor, bland lighting, think about what could be done in post processing, and capture the image. The image below is one of the scenes I stumbled upon. It was the patio of a restaurant and I was attracted by the rusty screen that enclosed it. There wasn't anything exciting there to focus on otherwise - just some patio heating lamps that were chained up to prevent theft. Bright daylight from a cloudless sky spilled into the area.

This is how the scene looked straight out of the camera (note that you can click any image for a larger version):

Here is the image I created in post processing:

The final image was cropped to remove the sky and better feature the screen and the chains. Several specific contrast Curves were applied: one overall and several targeted curves for specific areas, which were masked in. The resulting image is cleaner with improved color and bolder detail.

David also asked us to bring some old images to the workshop. One of the images I chose is an HDR shot I captured a while back. I wasn't happy with it because of heavy shadows on the subject. Even with HDR processing, I couldn't pull enough detail out to make the subject look interesting without getting an over processed look. It was a case where I really should have captured another overexposed shot or two for the tonemapping process.

Here is what the middle exposure of a 3 shot bracketed set (-2,0,+2) looked like:

Here is what I ended up after tonemapping and post processing the resulting image:

The final image was treated with noise reduction and sharpening plug-ins in Photoshop. I then used several Curve layers to adjust contrast, color, and brightness. I also added some vignette with Curves.

We were asked to bring some portrait shots as well. I brought one that I was already pretty happy with. I found out some ways that Curves could improve upon my results.

Here is the original:

Here is the Curve modified version:

The difference in this portrait is subtle, but powerful. Can't see a difference? Look closely at her eyes (click the images for larger versions.) I used Curve layers with masks to accentuate the model's eyes and they stand out a lot better now. Separate curves were used on the pupils and white of the eyes to make them stand out better. A slight vignette was added with another Curve layer to better draw the viewer's eyes to the model's face.

I am very pleased with the workshop and can't wait to put David's techniques into more practice. If you ever have the chance to attend one of his workshops, it is definitely worth your time. A lot of the material he presented is also available in his online tutorials.

Not the Shot I Hoped For Today

2011-01-30T22:05:00.001-08:00

Update (3/7/2011):
Since I originally posted this, I have had a number of people ask why I didn't stand up for my rights. Well, there is a time and place for the battle. Arguing with a security guard would not have gotten any where and had the police been called, I would not count on them knowing the law on this matter any better. I never intended to let the matter go and I planned to contact city hall, Austin Energy, the newspaper, and the local news channels the next morning. However, within hours of posting this blog entry I was contacted by the Public Information Officer of Austin Energy after one of his staff saw my blog. He apologized for our treatment and told me that a memo was already sent to the security company about their error in confronting us. I was even invited to photograph the plant interior! Read about that experience and check out some shots here.
___________________________________________________

Not the Shot I Hoped For Today
Originally uploaded by Michael Connell

I've read a number of stories on the internet about photographers who are warned, harassed, and in some cases arrested for photographing state, federal, or other buildings deemed "sensitive." It has always been incredulous to me that the state or federal government would prohibit the photographing of a building in plain public view.

An informal group of photography amateurs convened at the Austin Holly Street Power Plant. This power plant has been out of commission since late 2007. It is scheduled to be torn down this summer and some of us thought it would be nice to grab some images for posterity. Besides the buildings themselves there is some interesting graffiti on the walls around the premises.

I got there a little earlier than the rest of our group and was setting up my tripod on the public sidewalk outside the front entrance. Before I could get any shots off, a security guard came up and told me that photographs of the power plant were prohibited. How interesting. A huge power plant that is visible for blocks around cannot be photographed? I explained that I was part of a group of amateur photographers and we simply wanted to take some shots for our personal blogs and such. After making some calls to a supervisor, I was finally told that our group could take some photographs from the sidewalk as long as we stated why we were there and provided our driver license numbers. Really? I courteously thanked the gentleman and said that I was not willing to show my driver license in order to take a picture from a public place.

Once everyone arrived, we decided as a group to walk over to Lady Bird Lake and take some shots in the park there instead of photographing the plant. A public walking trail runs along the outside wall of the power plant and leads to the park. The concrete wall is about 8-10 feet high and is painted with a lot of cool graffiti. I decided to take a picture of a bit of the artwork on the wall before we moved on. I no more than got the legs of my tripod opened when a guy who was apparently the security supervisor yelled down to me that no pictures were allowed. I explained that I was already told not to take pictures of the power plant and I was simply taking a photo of some artwork painted on the wall. I assured him that the power plant was not in any way visible in my frame. He said that would be fine, if I would explain to him why I was taking photos and provide my driver license. I politely said that I would rather just be on my way and I left the area with no photos of the buildings or the outside wall.

I believe that we were in our rights to be there and take photos from a public area. One should not have to present ID to a security guard when standing on a public sidewalk or walking trail. However, I feared that if we remained we would soon be having the same conversation with Austin police. I'd love to have gotten some photos of this facility before it is torn down, but not enough to risk being arrested over. I have no desire to break any laws, although I have a hard time believing that there are any that apply in this circumstance.

It is so sad that this is the state that our society is degrading to. Is it paranoia of a security threat that causes such ludicrous policy? If so, is a decommissioned power plant tucked deep in east Austin really such a sensitive area? Perhaps the walls should be a lot higher it that is the case. A baseball field is directly behind the site and surely the plant gets photographed regularly by many parents snapping shots of their kids playing in games. Houses surround other sides. I suppose one must be careful with any backyard photography on those properties. Ironically, many photos of the plant are provided on Austin Energy's web site and these are far more detailed than anything we could have taken outside the walls. So what gives?

In lieu of power plant photos of my own, I took some nice shots along the banks of Lady Bird Lake in a public park. There are some buildings that disrupt the scenery in this shot, but there was regrettably no way to avoid them.

A World Reflected

2011-01-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

I decided to try something a little different on a recent photowalk with some friends in downtown Austin. While I was walking down 6th Street looking for good compositions, I started to notice some really interesting reflections. Things took on an intriguing look when reflected back from the dark windows of bars and parked cars.

The first scene caught my attention because of the curtains hanging in the window. They created a neat textured look on this street scene. The street lights and neon sign provided just enough illumination to reveal the Friday night partygoers walking down the street. The slow shutter speed added blur to the people, adding a sense of motion.

I saw this next reflected scene in the rear window of a minivan parked along the street. This image adds some complexity because the street is visible through the windows, as well as being reflected. The interior of the minivan adds additional dark shapes that further convolute the image in a way that may lead the viewer to look deeper and question what is reflected and what is directly visible. The effect might lead one to believe that multiple exposures were blended.

This last image is deceptively intricate. It is largely a reflection on a glass doorway, with part of the street outside visible through glass. The negative dark space is an unlighted area off to the side of the door. I saw this image as three distinct components, almost broken into thirds: the street through the glass, the interior reflected, and a dark void. The angle at which this was shot serves to overlay some of the interior elements in the bar over the outdoor part of the image. The intermingling of the reflected and directly visible components blurs the lines of reality and invites a closer look.

In all of these images, the reflected imagery is the subject of the composition. I chose angles that provided the right amount of opacity to allow some complimentary elements to be visible through the glass. Standing at an angle to the glass kept my own reflection from view. Because the images are predominantly dark with bright lighting in few places, the camera metering will probably blow the highlights badly. I shot in aperture priority mode and used exposure compensation to underexpose a bit from the metered reading and minimize blown highlights. A fast lens (Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7) was used to capture as much light as possible while keeping my ISO down. I used my Olympus E-PL1 and kept the ISO at 400 to minimize noise. Shutter speeds will be slow in situations like this, so image stabilization is a big help.

Next time you are out on the town, take some time to look for interesting reflections. You might be surprised at the things you discover in a world reflected.

Textured HDR

2011-01-17T23:01:00.001-08:00

Textures & Rust
Originally uploaded by Michael Connell

I spotted this old truck in Smithville, TX last year. It's kind of sad that it now sits as a rusting lawn ornament! At least it does have a fairly prominent place by an old Mobil station near the center of town. I am glad that it is out there on display rather than condemned to a junk yard. It seemed a fitting subject for an HDR image, so I decided to grab some bracketed exposures of this old relic.

When I checked out my images later, I just didn't like the sky. There were some really bright clouds and I didn't get enough exposures to preserve enough highlight detail. There were also a couple of trees poking up in weird places from my angle and there were a number of power lines overhead. I decided to scrap the sky and pop in a replacement from another shot I took. The problem was that the image just looked too plain. I didn't have an appropriate sky to create the mood I was after.

Textures proved to be the answer. I was inspired to try this technique by my buddy Theaterwiz, a very talented photog with some amazing HDR skills. I really liked his textured treatment of some rusty old heaps that he came across. So, I searched around online and found some quick tutorials. The technique is easy enough. Basically, you just copy the texture image in as a new layer and change the layer mode and opacity to your liking. There are, of course, more advanced techniques you can utilize. For this image, I only needed the basics.

The textures I used were created by Jerry Jones (aka skeletalmess). He does some amazing work and he generously shares his great texture images on his site. He has nice tutorials out there as well, so be sure and check out his stuff. I was going for a sort of vignetted look with more pronounced dark texture in the empty sky and grass areas. I found just what I needed in Jerry's collection.

I processed my bracketed shots with my normal HDR workflow. More detail on that can be found in the post for this shot in my Flickr photostream. Two different textures were layered over this image. One was blended in as an overlay layer and the other was blended in with a multiply layer. It took just a little experimentation to get the look I was after. I processed the truck in a surreal style that accentuated its color and texture. The textures add an additional visual element that seems to reinforce the artistic portrayal of the subject. I'm happy with my first experiment with textures!

Captain Kimo HDR E-book Review

2011-01-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

I'd call it a New Year's resolution, but those tend to be broken. I prefer to set goals for myself. It just sounds more realistic. Anyway, one of my photography goals for the year is to read at least one book on the art each month.

I got off to a good start for the year when Kim Seng, AKA Captain Kimo, asked me to take a look at his new E-book, Secrets to Mastering HDR Photography. I met Kim through Flickr and he has proven to be an inspirational contact. Kim is probably best known for his dramatic HDR landscape shots. There are certain photographers out there with a style that makes one of their shots instantly recognizable. It's a certain way that he or she processes their work that is uniquely personal. Kim is one such artist and in his new E-book he shares some of the techniques he uses to get the "Captain Kimo" look.

More than just an E-book, Kim includes a set of bonus material that makes the book more of a hands-on tutorial. It's like a self-paced workshop. Included with the E-book are a set of bracketed exposures, a Photoshop actions file, and several Photomatix settings files.

The first part of the book walks the reader through the process of tone mapping the provided bracketed exposures in Photomatix. The various sliders that control the settings in Photomatix can be difficult for HDR newcomers to understand. Kim walks the reader through what is one of the most exhaustive explanations of the various settings that I have seen. He clearly explains what each one does and why he sets things the way he does. Because you have the same image files used in the tutorial, you get to see the effect of the various Photomatix settings first hand as they are applied in Kim's tutorial. This has the added benefit of letting you experiment with different settings on your own, which may aid in understanding Kim's choice of a given setting.

After the Photomatix walk-through, Kim offers up 10 tips for HDR processing in Photomatix and Photoshop. These are some practical considerations that go beyond the mechanics of the Photomatix tone mapping process. Topics include the use of light and detail to create images with depth, how to reduce noise, and avoiding the dreaded HDR halos.

Another chapter is a brief tutorial that walks the reader through the basics of layer masking in Photoshop. This part of the book is more of a quick and dirty explanation of the process. The reality is that there is more to layer masking than the brief introduction given here. In all fairness, it is a complicated topic that would easily take more pages than this entire E-book to cover thoroughly. Anyone wishing to effectively work in HDR really needs to have a solid understanding of layer masking and an investment in a good Photoshop book would be a wise investment.

Something that HDR newbies may not realize at first is that tone mapping an image in Photomatix or any other similar program is only the beginning. A side effect of creating an image with increased dynamic range is that it tends to look flat. Continuing with his workflow on the supplied bracketed images, Kim walks the reader through some common post tone mapping tasks in Photoshop that give life to the image and fix some of the negative artifacts often encountered in tone mapping. Topics such as the correction of minor issues though layer masking and exposure adjustment with Photoshop or Topaz Labs Adjust are covered in a manner that allows the reader to follow along with the sample images.

The most useful portion of the E-book to me is a chapter of 10 Photoshop post processing techniques. This is where the real meat of the book is found. These are some "insider" techniques that Kim uses to get certain looks to his images. I learned a number of things from this insightful chapter. The chapter covers such topics as adding detail, smoothing out water in a scene, creating complex layer masks, and dealing with the common problems of halos, ghosting, and blown highlights.

One chapter, called "Secrets Revealed", would seem to imply that there would be a lot of detailed instruction. While I found this to be perhaps the most enjoyable chapter to read, it is more demonstrative than tutorial in nature. The reader is shown the original image brackets and the final result, along with some brief background and image capture or processing notes. There is some enjoyable reading here, kind of what I have come to expect in something like a typical "coffee table" instructional book. Kim applies what you have learned throughout the book and you get to see what is possible with a given set of bracketed exposures, but without the exhaustive detail given to the post processing of the sample images in earlier chapters.

I really enjoyed reading Kim's E-book. It is great that he is so willing to share his techniques in explicit detail. A lot of talented photographers out there tend to keep their best post processing secrets closely guarded, with the possible exception of an expensive workshop. For the price, you get a lot of practical information that you can use immediately. The information provided would easily take up a 2 day workshop, making this E-book an absolute bargain. The manner of presentation makes this book suitable for both beginner and advanced HDR photographer alike.

It should be noted that to take full advantage of Kim's lessons, you should at the very least have a copy of Photomatix and Photoshop CS4 or CS5. It would be very helpful to have the Topaz Labs bundle as well, as Kim relies on this reasonably priced suite of software for a number of post processing tasks.

I can honestly say that I highly recommend Kim's E-book. The low price makes it a no-brainer investment in your HDR post processing skill set.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who has visited my blog over the past year. I hope that the things I share prove useful. My schedule has prevented me from writing as much as I would like, but I expect that to improve in the new year. Look for more regular postings as I delve deeper into the art of photography.

I can't help but reflect back what I have accomplished the past year in photography. It has been just a little over a year since I picked up a camera and learned how to use it. I have over 400 images on Flickr, with over 50,000 views. I'm so happy to have published a collection of images that people seem to find interesting. In the past year I also launched a portfolio site to better showcase my favorite images. I've been getting out and shooting as much as I can and over time I am discovering and honing my art and style. It's a continual learning process!

In the new year, I plan to further hone my HDR photography. It's a style that still intrigues me and I will continue to work with and evolve this technique. I also enjoy night photography and abstract images, especially with the two combined. I plan to continue pursuing the artistic side of photography in these areas. Finally, I hope to learn lighting techniques and I'll be playing with some strobist setups. After all, one of the biggest reasons I chose to pursue photography was to preserve memories and capture better images of the people in my life.

Since images are better than words, here is video retrospective of my past year of images as published on Flickr. It only takes about a minute to view my entire photostream in this fast paced slideshow.

Thanks again for reading and looking!

Not a Creature was Stirring

2010-12-25T21:02:00.001-08:00

Driskill Lobby Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

I went downtown last week to look at the Christmas decorations and get some shots. Maybe it's the warm weather we've been having, but it just didn't feel like Christmas and I thought seeing some lights and hearing some holiday music might help. Here is a shot from one of my favorite stops during the holidays, the Driskill hotel. They always have a big beautiful tree in their lobby.

This is an HDR shot composed from 7 exposures. I tried to keep the warm feel of the lighting as it existed in person. One of the things I've been working on as my HDR technique evolves is to allow more dark shadow area to exist. HDR offers the opportunity bring light and detail into dark areas, assuming you get enough exposures to capture the entire dynamic range. That seems neat at first, but over time I've come to realize that shadows are an important part of the mood of an image. I felt that preserving the dimly lit feel of the room helped to draw attention to the tree.

Despite the empty appearance, this is a busy lobby! I get asked sometimes how I avoid getting people in HDR shots. Well, basically it takes a bit of patience. Here, I took my time and snapped the exposures as people walked out of my frame. Some people are hidden behind the tree. For the longest exposures, I had to accept that there would be people walking through. Fortunately, as long as people keep moving, they really don't show up in a really long exposure of several seconds. Correcting what little ghosted movement that remained was relatively easy. I just used a couple of original exposures and masked them in with a brush set to darken or lighten mode as appropriate.

Merry Christmas to everyone who is kind enough to visit my blog and photostream throughout the year! I've learned a lot in the past year and I've enjoyed sharing my thoughts and images with folks.

Shooting an Air Show

2010-11-14T19:42:00.001-08:00

I went down with some of my photog friends to an airshow at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX. I've never photographed planes in the air and I was excited to get the opportunity. This was kind of a learning under fire experience since I knew relatively nothing about this kind of action shooting. I thought I'd share what I learned during this great experience.

The first dilemma I faced was what equipment to take. For the best image quality I chose to take my Canon 5D. Glass was a bit of a problem though. My longest lens is a 70-200mm and I was pretty sure that 200mm wasn't going to cut it. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a 100-400mm lens for the trip. This was a great choice, as most of my shots ended up being in the 300-400mm range.

Normally, I'd take a tripod and a wide angle lens along on any photo outing. I knew there would be opportunity to photograph planes on display, but I opted to take just the one telephoto lens. There were several reasons for this. First, security was rather tight and it initially sounded like camera backpacks wouldn't be let in (it turns out that they were, with a search.) Second, this was a crowded event and I figured that the planes on display would be surrounded by people (not the best for HDR work.) Finally, I thought it would be best to just travel light and not have so much to carry. Parking was a good distance from the entrance, making runs back to the car to swap out gear impractical.

I had the gear and my mission was clear. Grab shots of planes in the air. I also figured I'd get some closeup shots of artwork on the planes and other details on the ground. Anything else I could capture with the relatively long focal length lens would be icing on the cake. I ended up snapping almost 600 shots, coming close to filling up 3 4GB cards. Of course, not all were keepers but I came away with a lot of great shots.

Here is a synopsis of what I learned in this experience:

1) I'd say that you need a lens with at least 300mm of focal length. I took some shots at shorter focal lengths, which worked out fine when the planes were making close passes. Trying to crop a useable picture when they were further out just didn't work. Even this close pass of a B-29 bomber was taken at over 300mm.

2) You'll more than likely need to use exposure compensation to bump your exposure up any where from +1/3 to +1. If you don't, the planes will just be dark shadows. Check your shots and histogram frequently!

3) On a bright day, it's almost impossible to see your LCD screen. I had a heck of a time reviewing shots and I was kicking myself for not buying a Hoodman Loupe when they were on sale a while back. I'll definitely be getting of those in the near future!

4) Focusing on fast moving small objects is tough. I noticed that the distance scale fell into the infinity zone virtually all the time. In retrospect, I'm wondering if it's worth it to try and autofocus at all instead of just setting the lens to infinity and firing away. I focused on bigger planes and set the lens to manual focus most of the time and that seemed to work.

5) The best way to get clear shots is track planes and pan with them. It's kind of like skeet shooting in way, without the lead. I tried to pick them up as far out as possible and track them in close, firing 2 or 3 shots when then got in as close to filling the frame as possible. Zooming out to find them and then zooming in when you lock on one may be necessary.

6) For jets, you want fast shutter speeds. Probably no less than 1/500. I tried to keep it at 1/1000 or higher. Setting my ISO to 200 and my aperture at 5.6 in Aperture Priority mode seemed to keep the shutter speeds fast enough.

7) For prop planes, you want slower shutter speeds. Why? Well, if you use fast shutter speeds the propellors will be frozen and the planes look like a toy model floating in front of a blue screen! I found that shutter speeds of 1/200 to 1/250 worked well. I set these speeds in Shutter Priority mode for the prop planes.

8) Shoot in RAW format. I always do anyway. This gives you the most control over the exposure, allowing you to adjust things in post processing. This can mean the difference between an awesome shot or an image ruined by underexposure or blown highlights.

9) Take lots of memory cards and take lots of shots. Memory is cheap and if you made the effort to attend the event you want as many good shots as you can get. You'll have a lot of throwaways, believe me!

10) This is kind of subjective, but I find that shots of the planes approaching or tilted toward the camera are more exciting. Straight profile shots on a fly-by or the rear of the plane flying away just don't do it for me.

Bonus tip: Prepare yourself for a day in the sun. Stay hydrated and take a break in whatever shade you can find periodically. Put on sunscreen. Wear a broad rimmed hat. Wear comfortable shoes.

There you have it, several tips based on personal experience from my first air show photo shoot. These events are a blast and I highly recommend them. Checkout some of my photo highlights from the show in my air show set on Flickr.

A new-to-me way to capture the world

2010-09-05T10:13:00.001-07:00

Looking at a New Day
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

I love my Canon 30D, but I've been looking at other camera bodies for a while now. It wasn't so much the yearning for something newer, as I am content to remain a generation or two behind the latest greatest technology. I prefer to wait for prices to drop on an older model after a new model comes out. However, my interest in a new body, the Canon 7D, was piqued by recent price drops and the availability of factory refurbished cameras for even less. The big question was whether Canon's latest crop body would meet my needs, or more specifically offer a substantial improvement over my 30D in the areas that I see weakness.

A couple of my photog friends offered up another possible solution to consider. Knowing my style of photography, it was suggested that I consider a full frame body. Yeah, that would be great I thought, but those are really expensive! Not necessarily though, as it turns out that Canon's previous generation full frame, the 5D, can be had for considerably less than the current flagship 1.6x crop body. This led me to the consider the full frame vs crop body debate and whether I would be better served by the 7D or an older full frame design, the original Canon 5D.

Primarily, I wanted to improve my shooting ability in low light without a flash. I like to be able to fire off shots indoors without blasting my subject with a bright light. I also enjoy photographing city night life as it exists in the available light. This means using a fast lens and high ISO. I just wasn't happy with my 30D above ISO 800 because of the noise. I wanted something to go at least a couple of stops higher and still have usable images. "Usable" is a subjective matter, but suffice to say that I hate noisy images and I go to great lengths to reduce noise in my images.

This is where I get kind of irritated with modern sensor design. For quite some time, the camera manufacturers have been in a megapixel race to see how many pixels they can cram on a tiny sensor. More is not always better, especially when it comes to image quality. Increased pixel density tends to increase the noise level, especially as ISO is raised. In-camera noise reduction helps minimize the effect, but at the cost of reduced sharpness and detail. This doesn't bother a lot of folks, but I have to confess that I do tend to pixel peep and it bothers me.

I had the opportunity to borrow a 5D and shoot some RAW images with it. This body can shoot up to 3200 ISO. It gets noisy at that range, but it's a different type of noise than what I see on the crop sensors. It's a finer noise that seems to be more easily negated by the top noise reduction software apps. Really, it boils down to the fact that there is more breathing room between pixels on the larger sensor of the 5D. I didn't get to shoot with a 7D, but a friend sent me some RAW image files. The 7D can go considerably higher than ISO 3200 and to its credit, it handles noise pretty well. In my opinion, the 5D handled it better in the overlapping ranges.

While I was really impressed with the image quality of the 5D, I was not without concerns. The main thing that bothered me is that the focus system on the 5D just really sucks by current standards. It may even be worse than my 30D. This is a bummer, but after much agonizing over the matter I decided that it was not an insurmountable obstacle. The lenses that I mostly shoot with have full time manual focus, so I can live with manually tweaking focus when necessary. For my style of photography, it's not a great big deal, just a little inconvenient at times.

I ended up picking up a used 5D in pristine condition locally, for a price that I was happy with. So far, I'm loving it. Rather than replacing my 30D, this camera compliments it. The 5D will be my main camera, but the crop body will have its uses. For now, the 30D will still be used for wide angle with my Canon 10-22mm EF-S lens until I get a wide angle lens for the 5D. When I want to shoot at the longer end of my 70-200mm lens, the 30D will also come in handy for that extra reach.

What's the bottom line? Is full frame superior to crop sensors? I'm not going to go there. There are plenty of arguments for both sides out there if you do some searching. I'm not looking to throw more fuel on what is often a heated argument. In my situation, full frame does provide an advantage for the ways that I typically shoot. Honestly, it's not enough of an advantage that I would be willing to shell out the money for Canon's current model, the 5D MK II. The 5D seems like a good deal. It's a 5 year old design, but I did pick it up for about a third of its original price.

There is one other full frame characteristic that excites me. Besides the image quality, you know what I enjoy most about my 5D? The focal length is what it says on the lens. I don't have to think about what the focal length equivalence is on a crop body. With a crop sensor, you also have to multiply the crop factor times the focal length to get the minimal handheld shutter speed. Yeah...I hate math!

Does HDR Kill Kittens?

2010-08-12T19:22:00.001-07:00

UT Littlefield Fountain Sculpture
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

This is one of my early HDR shots and it is still one of my favorites. I've learned a few things since I created this image and could probably do a little better job now. Still, it represents one of my best efforts as a fledgling new photographer who dove straight into HDR photography. Some time back, I posted this shot in a meetup group album for consideration as a "Photo of the Month." I got some good feedback on it, even though it wasn't voted as a winner. In fact, I got one of the most interesting comments that I have received to date. Someone criticized this shot for not looking "normal." He went on to suggest that I killed a kitten when I created this image!

Well, I certainly bear no grudge against kittens and I hated to think that I somehow contributed to some small furry creature's demise. I questioned my critic about why he felt that I was murdering cute domesticated animals. His response was that he had walked by this fountain hundreds of times and not once did it ever look like this. I had crossed the boundary of reality and normality. Hearing this, I have to say I was tickled. I took his assessment as a complement. Indeed, a view beyond normality was the whole point!

When I shot this image, I had an image in my mind that was certainly an exaggerated vision of this fountain sculpture. Under looming storm clouds, my mind's eye saw a ship charging through waves, led by men on mythical creatures. It wasn't a sculpture I was trying capture at all. It was motion and emotion: a storm, crashing waves, fury, pride, persistence. A "normal" well exposed snapshot wouldn't have done it justice.

The concept of normality got me thinking. What is "normal" in the art of photography? Are we not capturing a personal interpretation of a scene every time we frame a scene and snap the shutter? What would constitute a "normal" photograph? Would the distortion of a wide angle lens be considered a break from the norm? How about the compression effect of telephoto? Fish eyes must surely be taboo. What depth of field is normal? How about lens filters? Light modification? Don't flashes and reflectors modify existing (normal?) light? What about post processing? At what point do we cross the line and start sacrificing kittens for the whims of our artistic visions?

The bottom line is that photography is an art and like any art it is highly subjective. I take no offense whatsoever when someone doesn't like one of my photos, HDR or not. I do appreciate when a critic is willing to elaborate on his or her opinion. I ended up having a good healthy discussion with my critic in this case and there are no hard feelings whatsoever. I got a kick out of his spirited opinions and though I don't agree with all of them, I wouldn't hesitate to have a beer with him sometime.

Oh, and for the record, absolutely no kittens were harmed in the making of this image.

Shooting Fireworks

2010-07-17T20:05:00.001-07:00

Independence Day 2010
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

No, not shooting off fireworks; that would be illegal in the city! It's best to avoid legal troubles and just enjoy and take shots of the pro shows. I grabbed this shot at the Round Rock Express fireworks display after the game on Independence Day this year. This was my first time shooting fireworks and I was pleased with several of my images. I read up on tips for capturing images of fireworks on several web sites and blogs before heading out to the show. Basically, it boils down to a long shutter speed and a little bit of luck! Here's how I did it.

1. I got as close to the field where they were being shot from as I could. I didn't want any of the stadium or parking lot lights to interfere with the exposures.
2. I used my Canon 10-22mm super wide angle lens. I had no idea how high the fireworks would be in the air so I wanted as big of a coverage area of the sky as I could get. I prefocused the lens to infinity and set it to manual so it wouldn't try to autofocus.
3. My camera was mounted on a tripod (an absolute necessity).
4. I used a corded remote shutter release. You'll want one of those too.
5. The camera was set to manual. ISO was set to 100. Based on recommendations that I found online, I used apertures of f8 and f11. At f8, I got some good shots at 3 second exposures. At f11, I got good results at 4 seconds. This shot is the latter.

It takes some trial and error to figure out what works. I waited until I heard the booms and hit the shutter release. My 3 to 4 second exposures worked well for the fireworks, but everything else is dark. Longer exposures would definitely be needed to capture surrounding details. This is tricky because going too long, particularly with multiple explosions, will result in badly blown out highlights.

Like anything else, it takes practice to figure out what works. I will definitely be taking advantage of the frequent fireworks shows after the baseball games around here to get some practice in for bigger shows.

Off-camera Lighting

2010-06-20T17:27:00.001-07:00

Gabriela
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

One of the things I have wanted to learn in photography - actually what motivated me to move beyond the world of point-n-shoot - is how to take better pictures of people. Until recently, I have been content to shoot in available light. I've got a couple of fast lenses that let me do this in a lot of lighting scenarios. I do have a hot shoe flash, but frankly I don't know how to use it very well. I've had great success using it for macro shots and not so great luck with anything else.

In recent weeks, I've attended some workshops that piqued my interest in flash or strobe photography. I had always been intimidated by the this sort of thing because it just sounded so complicated when I heard photographers talking about it. Lately though, I've seen some photographers work with very simple, minimalist lighting setups and I've decided that maybe I can learn to use off-camera lighting effectively. The Austin SmugMug group recently held an off-camera lighting workshop that gave me a little hands-on time with a minimal pro lighting setup. Tim Babiak of Exquisite Photography in Austin was kind enough to lead this workshop.

I got to plug my camera into Tim's wireless transmitter and take my first "real" portrait! This is Gabriela, a professional model with the Wilhemina Brown agency. She is illuminated by a single White Lightning strobe behind an umbrella high and to her left and a white reflector low on the other side. Tim had me zoom out to 200mm for the most flattering capture of our model. This probably wasn't the best idea without a tripod because the exposure he had me setup for was a 1/250 shutter speed, which is a little slow for hand held at that focal length with my Canon 30D. The shot came out though and I'm very impressed with the difference good off-camera lighting can make.

I performed some minor touchups to smooth Gabriela's skin out a bit (yes, even professional models have some blemishes and the strobes bring everything out.) The light may be just a touch harsh, but I'm happy with the result and I'm encouraged enough to further pursue learning the art of off camera lighting. I plan to purchase a new flash with manual flash control soon. My current flash doesn't have manual adjustment and it doesn't seem to do that great with ETTL metering either. I also plan to get an incident light meter to assist in my learning how to "read" the light in a situation.

BTW, in my research of flash photography, I came across a great site: the Strobist blog. There is a great tutorial there and I'm learning a lot as I go through it. I highly recommend it!

Background Bokeh

2010-05-25T19:34:00.001-07:00

Painting with Tubes
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

I'm intrigued lately by the creative use of blur (bokeh) in photos. I thought I'd continue my thoughts on bokeh and offer another use for it in a photo. This time I'll move the bokeh from being the construct of an abstract photo to a background element that serves to isolate a subject.

We Texans love to photograph our state flower in its brief annual appearance during the spring rains. I wanted to do something different from the usual field of bluebonnets shot. For this one, I didn't have to travel far. This was taken in my neighbor's landscaping!

I decided to do some closeups and I wanted to keep the depth of field shallow since this was just a small patch. I attached an extension tube behind my 70-200mm f4 lens to allow it to focus closer and further limit the depth of field. This allowed me to isolate a single bluebonnet stem and create an abstract background blur with the surrounding plants. The background has kind of a water color painted look that I really like. The point of view also gives a bit of a 3D effect with the blooms in focus rising up from the sea of color.

There you have it - another way to create an artful image with intentional blur!

Blurry Light as Abstract Art

2010-05-01T20:29:00.001-07:00

1st Street Bridge in Blue Hour Bokeh
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

1st Street Bridge in Blue Hour
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

Usually, a blurry shot is not considered a good thing. Lately though, I've come to see the beauty of how deliberate blur can be used to create interesting and artistic shots. Desirable blur in photography is called "bokeh." Good bokeh is an out of focus area in an image that is aesthetically pleasing. Out of focus lights are a common way to capture bokeh in an image. The lights may be a background element or the subject of the image. The latter can be a really nice abstract work of art.

I decided to experiment with bokeh lights on a recent photowalk in downtown Austin with some of my Flickr friends. These images are of the same scene, the 1st St. bridge over Lady Bird Lake. Both are pleasing to the eye (in my humble, yet biased opinion) for very different reasons. One captures the detail of the structures, subtly complemented by light reflected in the water. The other image is an abstract display of symmetrical light and color. To get the bokeh shot, I simply defocused my lens and captured an exposure as long as I could without blowing the highlights.

The shape of the defocused light points will depend on your aperture. A wide aperture will yield round shapes. This bokeh shot was taken wide open on my 30mm prime at f1.4. A narrow aperture will be more like a hexagon, depending on the number of blades to the aperture.

So, blurry photos aren't always a bad thing. I had a great time experimenting with this artistic photography style. Give it a try!

Meetup Groups

2010-04-05T19:41:00.001-07:00

Westcave Waterfall
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

Since I got into photography just a few short months ago, I've sought out other photographers. How better to learn than to form friendships with good photographers who are willing to share their knowledge? It is also good to have some photographer friends to go on photo outings with, so I'm not just the lone geek with a camera running around.

To that end, I've found a few local groups and I've had the chance to make a few meetings and photo walks with each one. Through these channels, I've formed some great friendships with some talented photographers. I found these groups through the Meetup site, which is a great resource for locating groups for virtually any hobby or interest that you might have.

The shot I'm posting today was taken on a Meetup outing with the Amateur Photographers Social Club. They arranged a private tour of the Westcave preserve near Austin. It was a great time! I made new friends and came away with some great photos. This shot is of the grotto behind a waterfall. It is an HDR comprised of 5 exposures. Click the photo to see the full processing info, as well as a larger view on my flicker photostream.

Other great meetup groups I've found include Austin SMUG and the Austin Photography Group. Checkout the Meetup site and seek out a photography group near you! Maybe you'll get to visit some great locations like Westcave and make some new photog friends.

Canon S90 Review

2010-03-16T18:48:00.001-07:00

Texas Capitol Dome (Angled)
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

It wasn't long that I was into photography before I realized I needed to have a camera with me all the time. I tried to have my camera with me everyday, but it just isn't practical to always have my DSLR with me. So, I searched for a good compact camera that would give me decent shots without the bulk. After agonizing research that involved reading countless reviews and looking at zillions of sample shots, I decided on the Canon Powershot S90. It had the main features I wanted: f2.0 aperture, good low light capabilities, auto exposure bracketing (AEB), and raw file support. Oh, and be small enough to slip into my pocket or backpack, of course.

I bought this little camera back in December, a little over 3 months ago now, so I've had some time to get familiar with it. To cut to the chase, I like it! At just under $400 street price, it's not a cheap point-n-shoot and it's still far from DSLR quality. While it won't replace my Canon 30D, the images out of S90 have surpassed my expectations and it is well worth the price.

I'm not going to post pictures of the camera, as there are plenty of shots of it online. There are also plenty of sample images, so I'm showing you the one that has impressed me the most so far. I love HDR and high contrast colorful images. A lot of what I do is processed as HDR, which is why raw file capture was important to me. However, this image that I took with the S90 is NOT an HDR processed image! This particular shot shows off the inherent dynamic range of S90. When I first took this shot and looked at the LCD, I figured I would be cropping out the top due to the darkness. When I got the image home, I was surprised that there was detail there! This image has been enhanced with some noise reduction through Noiseware and some color saturation and detail tweaking with Topaz Adjust. Basically, I just highlighted what the sensor caught. I'm not sure my 30D could have captured any better. This shot of the TX Capitol dome looks best on black.

The image quality is great overall. What else is there to like?
- F2.0 aperture. Great for getting as much light in as possible to keep ISO down and have a lot of control over depth of field.
- Low light capability. I don't hesitate to shoot at ISO 800. You'll get some noise, but it is easy to handle with popular noise reduction applications. The camera can go higher, but it's too noisy for my tastes beyond 800.
- Size. Easily pocketable.
- Ring control. I love this feature! Its function is programmable and mine usually controls aperture.
- Shortcut button. Another programmable feature is a button on the back, which I keep set to take me to the ISO setting.
- Back control wheel. This is a love/hate thing. I love that it lets me control my EV setting, just like my DSLR. I'll talk about the hate part in a minute.
- Nice large LCD. Very bright and color seems accurate.
- Real time histogram. You can bring it up on the display as you compose your shot. I wish my old 30D did that.
- Raw file support. A necessity for HDR, IMO. It can capture RAW+JPEG, which is a nice feature that only costs you some space on your card. It may help save a shot that was a little off on the exposure.

What's not to like?
- Body is too smooth. It's hard to get a good grip because the front is so smooth. Not a good combination with sweaty hands!
- Macro focusing is sketchy. It struggles to focus in macro mode sometimes. The good news is that you can manually focus.
- CA. The CA can be pretty bad wide open. Probably not going to find much better in a compact. Just have to deal with it in the software.
- Barrel distortion. Bad at the widest zoom, but easily correct by software. Auto-corrected by the camera in JPGs, so really only an issue in raw processing. DPP or the most recent Lightroom update will handle it.
- Battery life. I'm only getting a little over 100 shots typically. I rarely use the flash. Maybe I keep the LCD on too long.
- Back control wheel. Way too sensitive! You have to be careful not to accidentally change your exposure. Check it before every shot! Canon should have added a lock or at least made it a little stiffer.

All things considered, this is a great "everyday" camera. As small as it is, there is no excuse not to carry it with you and if you do your part, it can deliver some high quality images.

Check out more images taken with this camera in my flickr S90 set.

Framing the Subject

2010-02-19T19:07:00.001-08:00

Farm House Beyond the Trees
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

I've been thinking a lot about composition lately! Framing is another technique that I'd heard photographers throwing around and I decided to look into it further. The idea of framing is to use something in the composition - maybe tree limbs or a window to "frame" the subject. The frame helps to draw the viewers eyes to the subject of the shot. It can also help create a sense of depth.

I was driving down a country road looking for interesting things to shoot when I noticed this farm house in the distance. I happened to see it at just the right time through the trees as I was passing by and the framing concept immediately came to mind. So, I pulled off to the side of the road and grabbed this shot. I was using my 70-200mm lens so I could have gotten in closer on the house. But, I chose to capture what originally caught my attention from the road: a distant farm house in the middle of a big barren field, with one of the bare trees seemingly embracing it. I think the trees nicely frame the shot and help convey the idea of depth and solitude in this scene. A tighter zoom would have captured more detail in the house, but I don't think it would have been as interesting.

This is a single raw capture that I processed with Topaz Adjust and Detail. I just made some exposure adjustments and brought out the detail in the trees. I also applied some light noise reduction with Noiseware and some tone curves in Photoshop to balance out the lighting.

Composition: Rule of Thirds

2010-01-30T09:54:00.001-08:00

Old Shed in Corner of a Field
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

I've heard photographers talking about the "Rule of Thirds." What the heck is that? Photography has rules? Say it isn't so! Well, the Rule of Thirds is a helpful guideline for photo composition. The Digital Photography School site has a good description of the concept. Basically, you divide up a scene into thirds vertically and horizontally (i.e. draw two equidistant spaced lines across the scene each way.) You end up breaking the scene into 9 boxes. The idea is to place the subject of the photo along one of the lines, preferably near one of the intersections of two lines (the corners of the middle box is another way to think about it.) For whatever reason, this is where our eyes tend to look, rather than dead center in the photo.

OK, time to put the Rule of Thirds into practice. This is one of the first images I took with this concept in mind. My horizontal lines would be approximately along the horizon and the bar coming off of the fence post on the left. My vertical lines would be about near the right side of the fence post and through the little shed. The shed is my subject. I could have positioned myself to leave out the fence post altogether, but it is there to add depth. The fence post is blurry, which is how it would appear in reality with someone's eyes focused on the shed. The main feature of the shed that I wanted to highlight was the open door, so I got it as close to the vertical line on that side as I could while keeping a symmetry with the fence post. I like the result and I think this is a rule I can live with.

This is an HDR image, created from a single raw capture processed with Photomatix. I applied some noise reduction with Noiseware, then used Topaz Adjust to tweak the exposure a bit and bring out the color in the grass. I also used Topaz Detail to add a bit of detail enhancement. A mild tone curve in Photoshop balanced things out.

Getting Down to the Subject's Level

2010-01-14T20:16:00.001-08:00

First off, Happy New Year. I've been so busy at the start of this year and just realized that I hadn't made a blog post yet! I spent a lot of time with my photography over the holidays though. I've learned a lot and captured some cool images. My goal for the year is to get plugged in more with the photographer community in Austin so I can learn and share with the many talented people around here. I'm going to try and share cool photos with everyone via Flickr at least weekly and share some of the things I've learned out here on the blog.

Well, I've got a lot to learn about composition. One of the things I've heard said is to get down to the subject's level. In my point-n-shoot days I was as guilty as anyone of pointing my camera down at my dogs from a standing position. What a bunch of totally boring pictures of their backs! I was missing out on all the detail in their facial expressions.

Now, I get down to their level. For toy poodles like Lucy here, that usually means laying down on the floor with her! The result is a much cuter picture that is up close and personal - not just an overhead shot from 6 feet away! A fast prime lens let me get a good shot indoors without blasting a flash into her face. It pays to get yourself down there face to face!

Enjoying a Good Chew
Originally uploaded by tx_shooter

Aperture: 1.4
Shutter: 1/50
ISO: 1600

Christmas in the Capitol

2009-12-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

The Austin Photography Group held a holiday photowalk last weekend. Peter Talke was kind enough to organize the event and offer tips to newbies like me. We met at the Capitol building to take some shots there before walking down Congress Ave. to 6th St. There were some talented photographers there and I learned quite a bit. I came away with a number of good shots and I wished there had been time to take more. It's really cool to have other photographers around to bounce ideas off.

Since this is the week of Christmas, I'm sharing a shot of the Christmas tree in the Texas House of Representatives. This is an HDR shot from 3 exposures (the longest of which was 4 seconds.) It was kind of tricky lighting because of the incandescent room lighting and late day sun pouring in through the windows. That's the cool thing about HDR though - you can really manipulate the lighting in post processing to get a great image that would be tough, if not impossible, with a single exposure.

Aperture: 8
Bracketed exposure: 1/4, 1, 4 seconds
ISO: 100
Canon 30D, 18-55mm lens at 18mm

Merry Christmas!

HDR Party at the Driskill

2009-12-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

I attended Trey Ratcliff's HDR book launch party at the Driskill Hotel in Austin last night. Trey shared some info about some of his work and then turned a herd of photographers loose to get some shots around the hotel. The Driskill was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Everyone had to get a shot of the big tree in the lobby! Here is one of mine. Naturally, this is an HDR shot. It was created from 3 exposures at -2, 0, 2 EV. Tripod in use, of course.

Aperture: 5.6
Bracketed exposure: 1/6, 0.6, 2.5 seconds
ISO: 100
Canon 30D, 18-55mm lens at 18mm

No flash with shiny objects

2009-11-28T07:46:00.000-08:00

I like to attend the annual Cycle World show that always comes through Dallas/Ft. Worth. There are so many cool bikes to photograph! In the past, I used a point and shoot camera that forced me to use flash. The problem is that the flash bounces off the chrome and shiny paint jobs, ruining a lot of shots. This year, I took my 30D and a lens I recently acquired, a Sigma 30mm 1.4. This fast prime lens allowed me to shoot in the 400-800 ISO range at the show with no flash.

On my 1.6x crop body, this lens puts me at a working 50mm. This is a little tight for a motorcycle show where there are lots of people mingling about trying to have a look at the same bikes that I'm trying to take a picture of. There weren't a lot of opportunities to back up far enough to get the full bike in the frame. This forced me to get in closer and work with pieces of the motorcycles at a time. To stay at or below ISO 800, I had to keep my aperture at or below 4, which didn't give me much depth of field. This was a challenge, but it was actually kind of cool. These conditions made me think harder about composition and creativity. I was happy with the shots I got and it was really nice to walk around with a small camera bag. Since I always ride my bike to this show, the less gear I have to pack, the better!

Shutter: 1/30
Aperture: 4
ISO: 800
No flash

Pumpkin Season

2009-10-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween is right around the corner and the pumpkins are out! This is another HDR picture. I thought that would help bring out the wide range of color. It was kind of an overcast day, making the initial shot look a tad dull. The HDR processing helped to liven it up a bit. I tried to get this one in a compromised spot between natural and that "painted" look.

Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 400

Fast Lens in a Dark Place

2009-10-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

I did some more experimentation with my Canon 50mm 1.8 in dimly lit indoors locations, mainly since I haven't had time to do any other photography lately! My office gets really dark at night with only a couple of overhead bulbs behind a frosted glass fixture. I did some shots in there a while back, but I hadn't yet really pushed the lens to its limits. So, I set my aperture to 1.8 and cranked the ISO up to 1600, where I was able to get shutter speeds up to around 1/100 or a little higher. The resulting pictures are rather grainy, which is to be expected at a high ISO. However, it's still possible to get usable shots. Chloe is always curious when I'm playing with the camera gear and I took this picture that managed to capture her big soulful eyes. Considering the light, or lack there of, I'm happy to get a shot like this. Having a wide aperture can make all the difference in getting the shot in poor lighting.

Shutter: 1/160 (handheld)
Aperture: 1.8
ISO: 1600
No flash

Extension Tubes

2009-09-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about getting a macro lens. I'm not sure which one to get yet, so I've been checking out various lens in the stores and borrowing my friends' stuff to see what I like. One of the things I tried is a set of extension tubes. What are extension tubes? Well, they are basically empty tubes that extend the lens a bit further from the camera's sensor. That's it. Why would you want to do that? Because this will allow the lens to focus at a closer distance than it normally could, giving the lens a bit of macro functionality. The up side is that since the tubes are empty, you aren't potentially degrading the image quality with additional glass. The down side is that you are losing some light. I had previously dismissed extension tubes as a cheesy solution to macro photography. My experimentation with a set today proved me wrong.

I attached a couple of tubes behind my 50mm lens and I was pleasantly surprised by the pictures I snapped. The subjects are sharper than I expected and there is pleasant background blur. I was focusing manually by moving myself and the camera back and forth. With this tube setup, I did have to get pretty close to what I was photographing. This is where a longer focal length true macro lens would be better by giving more working room (not to mention more magnification). I don't see the distance (maybe 2 inches) as a real problem in floral shots, but it would be an issue with insects. Here's a couple of pics.

Shutter: 1/250
Aperture: 16
ISO: 100
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.8 (36mm and 12mm extension tubes)
Camera: Canon 30d
Flash even with front lens

Shutter: 1/250

Aperture: 16

ISO: 100

Lens: Canon 50mm 1.8 (36mm and 12mm extension tubes)

Camera: Canon 30d

Flash even with front lens

Canon 50mm 1.8 lens

2009-09-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

My first additional lens (to the 28-135mm that I bought with my Canon 30d) is a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime. It's an inexpensive lens that came highly recommended by a friend of mine. I decided to get it because it is a "fast" lens, meaning that it has a large aperture (1.8) that lets more light in. I wanted to try it out for indoor pictures that are typically not in the best of light. My hope was that it would allow me to get shots without having to use a flash all the time. Here's one of the pictures I took of Lucy, one of our poodles.

Shutter: 1/13 (on tripod)
Aperture: 2.0
ISO: 200
No flash

This lens is teaching me a lot about depth of field - specifically that there isn't much at wide apertures! There is a nice soft blur around the subject. The lens is a little slow to focus and I have been using manual in darker settings because it tends to hunt too much. Can't complain too much though, as a little black dog is hard to auto focus even with the USM focusing in my 28-135mm. The only real bad part about this lens is that the focus ring is so small! Also, it doesn't allow full time manual focus, so you have to switch it between auto and manual with the little switch on the side. It feels very cheap, being all plastic, but these little suckers get great reviews so I'm not too worried. It did cost only $99, which is practically free in the world of lenses. In spite of its Cracker Jack build, it's a nice piece of glass and I'm able to capture pictures that would have been almost impossible with my 28-135mm without a flash. Chloe was kind enough to help demonstrate in my darkish office with overhead incandescent lighting at night.

Shutter: 1/20 (pretty slow for hand held!)
Aperture: 2.8
ISO: 400
No flash

Here's one more shot at a smaller aperture to show a little more depth of field. Chloe is probably getting a little annoyed with the new toy!

Shutter: 1/250
Aperture: 8
ISO: 100
Flash bounced off ceiling

For the price, this is a nice little lens. One of these days, perhaps my photography skills will be good enough to warrant an upgrade to one of the bigger brothers to the 50mm 1.8 - the 1.4 or (gasp) the 1.2! In the mean time, I'll have fun playing with the "fantastic plastic" 50mm.

HDR Photography

2009-09-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

I've been fascinated by HDR photography ever since seeing Trey Ratcliff's work. Basically, you use special software to combine images at different exposures into one image that is a broader dynamic range than the camera sensor can capture in a single exposure. The result is a very vivid picture that can look natural or morphed into a painting-like image. I'm especially fond of the latter. Here's a couple of my first pictures, a train stopped near a manufacturing plant and a piece of farm equipment that I noticed on my way home from the range today. The farm equipment is a more natural rendering and I went for more of a painting effect with the train.

Hand Held Macro Photography

2009-09-02T06:29:00.001-07:00

_MG_8816
Originally uploaded by mdconnell67

I recently attended a brief class about hand held macro photography. The instructor presented a "recipe" for getting good macro shots without having to use a tripod. This is cool because as I quickly discovered, by the time you set up a tripod a lot of things can change or the subject may be gone altogether. The elements of the technique are simple.

1) Use at least a 100mm macro lens
2) Select the flash shutter sync speed for your camera (see my previous blog entry)
3) Use 1/16th power output of your off-camera flash (or diffuse somehow, like with a handkerchief)
4) Set aperture (f-stop) to 16.
5) Set ISO to 100

Attach the flash with a cable and hand hold the flash so that it is even with the front lens element. You may have to play with the flash output a bit, but I got good results with my cheap non-adjustable flash and a diffuser. My shutter sync speed is 1/250 and I experimented down to 1/100. These speeds are fast enough that camera shake is a non-issue. I don't have a macro lens (yet) so I used the macro focus of my Canon 28-135mm lens. You don't auto-focus; set to manual in the macro range and then move the camera back and forth to focus, snapping the shot as soon as you achieve focus. It's a simple technique and it seems to work quite well.

Flash Shutter Sync Speed

2009-08-30T19:27:00.001-07:00

_MG_8881
Originally uploaded by mdconnell67

I'm learning lots of new things as I play around with photography in my spare time. I took a hand held macro photography class recently and one of the things the instructor mentioned was shooting at flash shutter sync speed. I had a hard time understanding what this was and the documentation I had for my Canon 30d wasn't very clear. It took some experimentation and digging around on the 'net to finally get what he was talking about. I thought I'd share what I learned, since it is something that seems clear as mud in a lot of the explanations I found.

I found out that flash shutter sync is the fastest shutter speed at which the camera is able to expose the entire sensor to flash's burst of light. Essentially, it is the fastest shutter speed you can use with flash on your camera. Any faster shutter speed would allow only part of the sensor to be exposed with the flash, resulting in uneven exposure. Ken Rockwell has a good explanation of the concept. My class instructor recommended using flash shutter sync speed to make effective use of flash under the conditions of hand holding the camera while capturing macro images of things that may not be perfectly still, such as plants moving in a breeze or insects. You can go with a slower shutter speed than the flash sync speed, but not faster. Makes sense to me now.

First DSLR Camera

2009-08-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

I recently dove headfirst into the world of digital photography by buying my first DSLR. I went with a new-to-me Canon 30D. I chose Canon because a couple photo geek friends shoot with Canon and I figured they could answer my newbie questions about it. I decided to buy used because I wasn't sure how "in to" photography I would be in the long run, so it didn't make a lot of sense to break the bank right up front.

The 30D is a couple generations old in its model line, but it is still a fine camera by today's standards. The image quality is fantastic and I'm happy with the 8 megapixel resolution (no need to waste disk space since I don't plan on huge prints any time soon.) I picked my camera up at Precision Camera in Austin. They usually have a good used selection of used gear and the staff are helpful and friendly. They have a 10 day return period on used stuff and there are warranties available for a low price, so the used gear risk is minimal. I picked up the 30D body and a Canon 28-135mm lens as my starter kit.

I've got my work cut out for me, learning to run this thing properly. It will be a fun experience! The picture of Chloe, one of our toy poodles, is one of the first pictures I snapped.

A special photo

2009-08-16T09:02:00.001-07:00

IMG_0092
Originally uploaded by mdconnell67

This is photo I snapped of my mom and brother at his graduation from SAPD. It was taken with a typical point and shoot camera, a Canon PowerShot A510. Like most point and shoots, it doesn't do that great in low light situations. Most of the shots I tried to get in the dark auditorium didn't come out. This one did, even though it has some problems. I was lucky to catch this shot that day. I didn't realize how lucky until last November when mom passed away unexpectedly. This picture suddenly came to mean the world to my brother. It also became an inspiration to me to learn how to take better pictures so that the special moments in life like this don't slip away. I recently upgraded to a used Canon 30d DSLR and I've been enjoying learning how to use it. Capturing images of the beautiful things in life has become one of the ways that I honor my mom.