I've been busy...

Tickled Pink

Being military, I was absolutely tickled pink by this.

I thought I knew all the basics of photography and even some of the more advanced some. However, it appears I know jack about Depth-of-Field. Here we have an aperture of 5.6 and the DoF is incredibly shallow. Now most individuals know the smaller the aperture you use, the shallower the DoF. More often than not, this is what most photographers want to separate their subject from its background. But what if you want everything in clear focus? How high can you push the aperture before the shutter speeds require tripods or diffraction becomes an issue?

There are online DoF calculators available, and they are actually quite useful for not just macro work, but portraits as well, especially when you want the whole subject in focus. It also keeps you from having to do all the horrible math associated with it. This also shows why so many studio portrait photographers use f/8 and landscape photographers use f/16 and sometimes higher. This in addition to the fact that most lenses are sharpest between 8 and 11 gives good reason to use those apertures when wanting everything in clear focus.

Happy Medium

I've come to realize there is a big difference between what I like, and what is popular. So a choice has to be made as to whether you sacrifice your ideals to reach masses, or stick to a niche and garner a smaller following. Perhaps you can even be lucky and maintain a happy medium. However, while straddling that line, at some point you may still have to pick one or the other.

Kittens and cute smiling kids, or my love of shadow play to create shape and form. Someone once said to do what pays the bills, but to not forget to do something for yourself every now and then as well. To go out and shoot what you enjoy. I guess this keeps you sane.

Here's some of what I enjoy.

More snow!

I took this with the Nikon 70-300mm VR, and incredible lens for a very reasonable price. It is certainly not the acclaimed 70-200mm VR 2.8, and will set you back for a little under $500, but if given the choice, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Sharp to about 200mm, with 9 curved aperture blades to produce incredibly beautiful bokeh, I've used this lens from sports, to portraits, and even nature shots.

This shot was taken at night. I had the idea in mind for some time for a flower with a long shadow protruding from the snow. Now, while I don't doubt there is fairly hardy grass alive in my backyard, the 4 feet of snow makes it difficult for anything to protrude right now. I was literally up to my knees as I attempted to set up my lighting equipment. I will most likely try this shot again later, perhaps with the setting sun instead of a strobe light for a warmer, more natural looking glow.

Snow Photography

This is my first winter in the Northwest, and while it is not brutal by any stretch, we have had our fair share of snow. The snow provides for some fun, but a serious challenge when taking photos. Due to the massive amounts of snow abound, a cameras sensor will interpret the white as a extremely bright sun, using a higher shutter speed than necessary. This will more than likely leave your photos underexposed as well as being a dull gray. There are a few ways to combat this. For one, you can set your EV compensation to -1, or basically to underexpose the image by a full stop. This should give you subjects that are well exposed, and bright white snow instead of a dull gray. It may leave the snow overexposed in the scene, so if snow detail is what you want, be sure to keep that in mind.

Another way is, and this depends on what kind of camera you are using, is to use spot metering, or where your camera meters only off a very small portion of your target subject. This works well when you are focusing on a specific subject in a snowy scene, like your kids for example. The final option is just good 'ol Photoshop. There are many ways to adjust in Photoshop, from simply adjust the brightness and contrast, to using curves, and levels. Find a method that works for you, as all can give you very similar results. Personally, I prefer curves as in Lightroom you can select an individual area of your image and adjust it that way (same can be done in Photoshop, but it's a two step process instead of one step).

3 Quadrillion Dollars!

I swear, this country is going to hell in a handbasket.

Brand Loyalty

0%How Addicted to Apple Are You?
A friend sent this to me, and for some reason, was shocked by my score. No, I don't think Windows is perfect, and I sure won't be upgrading to Vista anytime soon. Some of the questions on the quiz is comical, in the sense that it goes by how much pride individuals take in not just a line of products, but seeing others share in it. As though they are all shareholders and their stock increases every time they see someone use an iPod or iPhone. But then I think to the many times I smile when I see someone using a Nikon camera, or catch a glimpse of that little red triangle in the movie. So I guess it's forgivable.

New York Times 2007 Year in Pictures

A great collection of photographs from the New York Times newspaper from 2007 encompassing world, national and sports. Fair warning though; some of the images are quite graphic. Despite this, the images are all quite moving and powerful and definitely worth the look.

Read

2007 in Review

How was 2007 for you? For me, even though I've had a long history with cameras, and used an SLR when I was younger, this is the first year of actually owning my own DSLR and actively seeking to understand the concepts of photography. In the span of almost year, I've seen my talents completely transform. I can only imagine where I will be in 2009. It's difficult for me to pick my favorite of 2007. Obviously my newer images are better than my older ones. It's important not to discount the fact that these newer works are based on the knowledge garnered from my older images.

Some favorites from 07.

In the palm of her hand

In the palm of her hand

The inspiration for this image, and many to come in the future came from the manipulations of Christophe Huet, a managing director of Asile Retouching Studio. It is said that the greatest form of flattery is imitation. But to me, it goes beyond that. Though we may imitate, we can never quite recreate the original. Though strongly influenced by the work of another, something new is created, and over time an artist discovers their own personal style. Now keep in mind, I am not advocating blatantly stealing the work of another, but using it to foster novel thought. Accreditation should be given to any aspect of your creation that was garnered from the work of another.

For the budding photographer, Digital-Photography-School has a list of 99 Remarkable Photographer's Portfolios that you can peruse, and in viewing the works of others, you just might discover yourself.

Memories of Childhood

Memories of Childhood
Originally uploaded by Daily Mik

We've gotten quite a bit of snow out here in Spokane. I imagine it has afforded many great photo opportunities. I say I imagine because I've for the most part stayed indoors. I did head downtown once with my girls to let them get out and play for a bit. Other than that, looks like it is going to be a slow start to the New Year.

Replacement to D40/X as early as Spring?

File this one under rumor mill and wild speculation. According to a wildfire post on Dpreview, the D40X is apparently at the end of its shelf life and there is a possible replacement for the camera coming soon. While change is good, this flurry of camera releases by Nikon for its entry level cameras is not following the 18 month to 2 year product cycle normally employed. Nikon certainly shocked (and disappointed) the community when it released the D40X; a camera that seemed to play more into the marketing hype of the mega-pixel myth than an actual camera upgrade. Consumers who purchased the D40X appeared to basically be paying $50 for each additional megapixel and a very minor list of additional features, as well as the downgrade of the max shutter sync speed (non FP) from.

Also in the rumor department is the talk of a new Nikon lens, the 16-85 VR, which is interesting since Nikon just recently upgraded its 18-55mm kit lens to VR status as well. To be honest, VR isn't really needed in that range, and the consumers who purchase it are the type that are confused about what VR does anyway. All in all, I think PMA 2008 is going to have a lot of surprises for us when it comes around in late January.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you all!

World's Most Expensive Camera

No it's not a Hasselblad; not even close. This honor goes to a camera called "Daguerreotype", which is also an early form of photography in which the image is imposed upon mirror-polished silver surface. This early system didn't create negatives, so copies of images was not possible in the traditional sense.

Created in 1839, it's considered the first commercially manufactured camera in the world and is expected to fetch a cool million Euro, or $1,329,000 against our fast fading dollar. All this and no live view or image stabilization. How did they do it back then?

Photography: The Rules Of Composition Video

Here is a quick and dirty 4 minute video from Video Jug that quickly goes over four basic, but important rules of photography. Keeping it simple, rule of thirds, balance, framing, and placement are all covered, though some are explained a bit differently than expected. Their explanation of framing left me raising an eyebrow. Nonetheless, still a good view for the budding photographer.

Now granted, rules are made to be broken, but as the video so eloquently points out, you have to know the rules, to know when to break them.

Digital-Photography-School

I love Digital-Photography-School. They were instrumental in the many things I learned in my first year of DSLR photography. I'm the kind of individual who likes to research and learn using online resources, and this site is filled with a plethora of resources to help the budding photographer in what can feel like an ocean of things to learn. From the simple basics to more advanced techniques, this site has it, and is backed by an ever-growing community who produce a wealth of knowledge and answers to almost any question you may have.

As many sites are undoubtedly doing, they are posting some of the great articles they've had for 2007. Titled under "How to Photograph..." it covers topics from photography your kids and pets to wedding, air show and fireworks photography. Something useful for almost everyone.

Copyright Infringement for fun and profit!

Not a week goes by that I don't find a thread or article about a photographer's struggle with having their images stolen. Recent headlines like Virgin Mobile infringement of a Flickr image for an ad (and resulting lawsuit) and the shameless usage of a photo by Philip Warner of Apnea to promote an iPhone ripoff (double wammy!) may make one just a wee bit weary of posting their precious images online. I've even found my images in use after doing a simple vanity crawl. However, a quite lengthy blog post by Dan Heller argues that you should post your images online under the guise that it can be quite profitable! This is assuming you take the proper steps and be prepared for a lot of work if and when the time comes.

New Yorkrican

My friend Angel has been wanting a good photo that shows his features really well. I know this isn't what he had in mind, but I had the idea for this the moment I saw it. sb600 to camera left through 42" white umbrella at 1/4th. Triggered via CLS.

2008 Predictions by Thom Hogan

Thom over at Bythom has made his Nikon predictions for 2008. He mentions the predictions from 2006 that he made about to include the Full Frame D3 and the 24-70, albeit he said it would be a VR model. I don't see a new for VR in non telephoto lenses, but of course it couldn't hurt to have it.

For 2008 he predicts a replacement for the D80, and surprisingly even a replacement for the D40/D40x. I find it surprising as DSLR usually have a 2 year product life before replacement, and the D40/x has barely been out a year. Then again, considering how quickly an X model was brought out for the D40, it could very well be possible.

Of interesting note, he not only believes that Nikon won't come out with a smaller size FX body, similar to Canon's 5D, but believes that the DX format will prosper for years to come. Part of this goes to Nikon being busy with the D3, as well as the DX theoretically being at its resolution limit until about 34mp. Looking at the sizes of the uncompressed raw images from the D300 (25mb a pop!) I can't find a need or desire for that many MP. Most consumers don't need over 6 to get good 8x10 prints, though opponents to that will contend the need for cropping power. The pro response to that would simply be to get the shot right the first time, but I'm no pro!