Category: Photography

Equipment, examples, history – all matters photographic

Digital photo frames have stupid aspect ratios

The aspect ratio of an image of photograph is the ratio of the length of one side to the length of the other. For instance, 35mm film, 4×6″ prints, and full-frame digital sensors all have proportions of 3:2. Most APS-C sensors, used in cheaper digital dSLRs are also around 3:2. Images from my Rebel XS are 3888 × 2592 pixels, which is a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Standard definition televisions and many point and shoot digital cameras use an aspect ratio that is closer to square: 4:3. 4:3 is also used for Four Thirds system cameras and 645 medium format cameras. For instance, my old Canon A570 IS produces images that are 3072 x 2304 pixels, which is a 4:3 aspect ratio.

What vexes and perplexes me is the fondness digital picture frame manufacturers have for making wide-screen devices. They have ratios like 16:9 and 15:9, which means that images from virtually any sort of commonly-used film or digital camera will appear with relatively thick bands of black screen space on either side. This is akin to watching a VHS tape or standard television broadcase on a wide-screen high-definition television. Given how much digiframe manufacturers charge for screen space (a good 10″ frame costs around $300, whereas 19″ LCD monitors can be had for around $150), it seems foolish for them to throw away so much of it. Why spend $300 on Sony’s DPF-V1000 frame knowing that a good fraction of the screen space will be wasted with every photo you ever display?

A frame with a 3:2 aspect ratio would show images from film and higher grade digicams perfectly, and images from cheaper digicams with minor bars. Why this is not the standard for digital photo frames therefore bewilders me. It might have something to do with being able to brand them ‘high definition.’ Of course, you can have a 3:2 aspect ratio frame with any level of definition you want: it could be three billion by two billion pixels!

Aside on ‘megapixels’

It is also worth noting how the number of pixels along the long edge of an image gives a better idea of comparative resolution than megapixel count. After all, it follows that the size of each pixel will shrink by half, every time you cram twice as many of them along either edge.

Looking at the pixels, it is easy to see that the A570 has 79% of the resolution of the Rebel XS. By contrast, reading that the Rebel has a 10.1 megapixel sensor and the A570 has a 7.1 megapixel sensor might lead to a customer being mistaken about how much more image quality they are getting. The difference gets even more significant with higher end cameras. A consumer might naively think that a 21.1 megapixel 5D Mark II has three times the resolution of my cheap A570IS. In fact, it produces photos that are 5616 x 3744 pixels. The sensor in the A570 puts out 55% as many.

Admittedly, there are many properties of the sensor that are at least as important as resolution, such as noise level at high ISO settings. That is why I argue that – above 6 megapixels or so – resolution ceases to be an important issue in comparing cameras. Factors like noise and dynamic range are much more important

Chaudiere Bridge and Domtar Mill

For two years, the Chaudiere Bridge and Domtar Mill were between home and work for me. Indeed, throughout Ottawa’s long winter bus strike (and much of the time in nicer months), I would walk through both most days of the week. The mill is mostly shut down now, though part of it has been converted into a run-of-river hydroelectric station.

While there are still security personnel and vehicles around, most of the mill seems to be shut down and locked up. The area is full of fences, locks, and barbed wire.

I love how malicious this lightning creature looks, striking down the small boy. It is certainly an effective warning sign.

High-pressure steam pipes run all around the complex. At regular intervals there are pressure release systems that vent steam every few seconds.

Both upstream and downstream, there are signs and barriers to warn boaters about the dam.

For several months last year, the Chaudiere Bridge was either closed or taking restricted traffic, because of concerns about its structural stability. Ottawa’s freeze-thaw cycles are brutal on infrastructure, especially roads and bridges.

I have always found bridges to be especially elegant and compelling structures. It has something to do with the mathematics of them, as well as the way in which they serve as an interface between human desires and the natural environments in which people live.

These green struts extend around the bridge, mostly supporting thick steam pipes that run between different parts of the mill.

Most of the metal in the area is corroded to one extent or another. Part of that must be the result of constant exposure to the salt used by the city to keep the roads and sidewalks relatively clear of ice in the winters.

Even on a Sunday evening, the bridge always has traffic. Walking to and from work may have contributed to my increasingly genuine hatred of automobiles. Single individuals, needlessly spilling greenhouse gases to propel themselves around in giant hulks of metal and glass, splashing and killing pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Even in the more remote accessible corners of the Domtar complex, you can see papers and personal effects behind windows. It is hard to tell whether these are active offices, or abandoned workspaces.

The complex is full of interesting structural details – power cables, girders, metal and concrete works built to constrain the flow of the river.

One of the taller Domtar buildings has been converted into an indoor climbing gym. As far as I can tell, this one has just been boarded up and abandoned.

On the eastern side of part of the complex, some sort of big recycling effort is underway. These girders may eventually find their way into something new.

The giant recycling bins themselves are corroded, with peeling paint and sharp edges.

Apparently, there were three previous Chaudiere bridges: 1827, 1845, and 1892.

Donate art for Haiti

Ottawa Centre Member of Parliament Paul Dewar is collecting art, which will be sold to raise money for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Local artists who want to donate something should get in touch with his office (Dewarp1@parl.gc.ca). All donations must be confirmed by February 5th. Only one work per person will be accepted.

The art will be sold on Tuesday, February 9th at the Cube Gallery, on 7 Hamilton Street. It will be on display as of 11:00am, with a sale starting at 6:00pm and an auction at 8:00pm. Some light snacks will apparently be provided.

I will be donating one of the remaining prints from my Raw Sugar photo exhibition.

[Update: 10:43am] An error was corrected in the post above. The date listed is now correct.

[Update: 2:23pm] Readers in Toronto may be interested in attending the Haitian relief fundraiser my friend Tristan is organizing. It is on Saturday, February 6th at 8:00pm. $10 will get you a buffet vegan dinner and the chance to hear music from Tyler Shipley and several other musical acts.

Pro-photography protest in London

Yesterday’s pro-photography protest in London was rather encouraging. Amateur and professional photographers came together to protest the restrictions and harassment of photographers that has developed in response to concerns about terrorism. The protest follows a European Court of Human Rights ruling that police don’t have the right to indiscriminately search people, just because they are taking photos. The “I’m a photographer, not a terrorist” campaign has objected specifically to police using Section 44 of the UK’s Terrorism Act to harass photographers. High-profile recent incidents include “7 armed police detaining an award winning architectural photographer in the City of London, the arrest of a press photographer covering campaigning santas at City Airport and the stop and search of a BBC photographer at St Paul’s Cathedral and many others.”

In addition to creating art and a historical record, photography has an important role to play in keeping security entities accountable for their actions. As I have said before, photography is an important mechanism for maintaining oversight over the police and private security forces. Restrictions on photograpy allow for power to be used with less oversight, probably leading to more incidents of abuse and fewer cases in which abusers are punished. Indeed, it has been shown repeatedly that only photo or video evidence is sufficient to produce convictions for police brutality. In short, restricting photography makes us less safe.

Both casual photographers and those with a more substantial connection to the practice should be aware of their rights as photographers, and be willing to stand up when people try to bully them out of taking pictures. The British campaign has produced a pocket sized card outlining what rights individuals have when stopped by a police officer. I have been meaning to print off and laminate a card with the relevant sections of Canadian law, for use next time someone insists that taking photos in public spaces is forbidden.

Media from the anti-prorogation protests

Today’s Ottawa protest against the prorogation of Parliament drew fewer people than the Fill The Hill climate protest, though it enjoyed much nicer weather.

Here is a slideshow of all of my photos from today. Higher resolution versions are available on request.

One of the more entertaining parts of today’s rally was Trevor Strong‘s song “The Wild Proroguer.” This member of the Arrogant Worms modified a traditional song to include lyrics about Canada’s second prorogation in about a year. The MP3 is on his website; I uploaded a video of the performance on Parliament Hill to YouTube.

This might be the funniest sign I saw today. The owner will never need to make another one, regardless of how many protests or counter-protests they decide to attend.

Note: all this content is covered by a Creative Commons license. Feel free to use it for non-commercial purposes, with attribution.

[Update: 24 January 2010] Other Ottawa bloggers also attended the event: Zoom, Watawa Life, and Coyote.

Soft light layer in Photoshop

Here’s a nice little trick I learned to improve the contrast and saturation of images in Photoshop, without having to spend too much time messing around with levels or curves:

  1. Open the original image
  2. Create a duplicate layer (hit command-J on a Mac)
  3. Right click on the new layer, in the layers tab
  4. Select ‘blending options’
  5. Under ‘blend mode’ choose ‘soft light’

The effect can be weakened or strengthened by adjusting the opacity of the layer. If you want to push it beyond 100%, just make another copy of the original layer and blend it in as above.

With portraits, this trick can make people look a bit red. If so, adjust the hue and saturation by selecting Adjustments >> Hue/Saturation. Then, edit ‘Reds’ by dragging the slider over a bit to include oranges, then reduce the level of saturation.

A video explanation of all this is online.

More camera and travel issues

Earlier today, I got my Rebel XS back from Canon. Apparently, they had to replace one of the circuit boards to deal with the infinite loop the camera got itself into at the Fill the Hill event. Unfortunately, whoever did the repair managed to disable my on-camera flash in the process. I had little choice but to send it back to Canon immediately, since my one-year warranty will be up in a few days.

Henry’s says they will definitely lend me a body for the family reunion in Vermont, since I bought their three-year extended service plan. I just have to hope I get the camera back before December 19th, when I will be leaving for Vancouver. I really doubt Henry’s would lend me a body for a whole month, but it would be really intolerable to be sans-dSLR during my first trip to Vancouver in two years. I am told that ‘re-repairs’ are generally faster than ordinary repairs. That’s a bit comforting, though it is unnerving to know that cameras are broken often enough during the repair process for the Henry’s staff to be familiar with the statistics. What ever happened to quality control?

As for the mode of travel, I am leaning warily towards the bus. It’s a lot faster and cheaper than the train, and 1/5 of the emissions of flying. On the ‘sociology of travel‘ side, nothing shows commitment to climate change mitigation more than extending the length of your journey twelve-fold, in order to decrease the associated emissions by 80%. Well, I suppose the only thing that would would be avoiding the journey entirely, and passing the time blockading nearby coal power plants instead.

The Rebel XS and the 20D

Heron in Dow's Lake, Ottawa

Unfortunately, my year-old Canon Rebel XS suffered some kind of failure on Saturday: constantly reading ‘busy’ in the heads-up display and being unable to take photos. Henry’s is sending it back to Canon for repair, and estimate it will be away 4-6 weeks. Quite kindly, when they heard that I was planning to take photos for the Fill the Hill event, they lent me a 20D for the weekend.

The 20D is an older camera positioned at a higher level than the Rebel XS. It is larger and sturdier, and feels more substantial. It also feels more balanced with heavy lenses like my 70-200. Two things I really like about it are the shutter release sound (which seems a lot more pleasing and professional than the Rebel XS) and the intangible sense that this camera is always eager to take photos. Pressing the shutter feels like allowing it to follow through with a restrained urge. Part of that feeling may come from the absurdly fast burst shooting speed.

I do have some complaints about the 20D. Some of the controls are very confusing. For instance, the on-off switch has three positions. In one ‘on’ mode, you can use the rear control wheel for exposure correction, once you have half-depressed the shutter button. Nobody would ever guess that, and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out how to undo the -1/3 correction I accidentally applied (I eventually got it back to 0 by switching from 1/3 stop increments to 1/2 stop). The screen is much smaller and less useful than the one on the Rebel XS, so it isn’t really all that useful for reviewing images in the field. Also, the processor is slower, meaning that photos take longer to download.

All told, I now have a better understanding of why people buy Canon’s $1000ish cameras, when their features are mostly the same as those in their $500ish cameras. The 20D certainly looks and feels more professional than the Rebel XS. That being said, I think I will stick with my plan of saving up and eventually buying a dSLR in the much more costly category of those with full-frame sensors.

P.S. With my Rebel XS away, it may be tough to produce nice photos of the day for the next month or so. I went out and took a heap of fall photos today, to try to see me through the dry spell. If I do end up going to a family reunion in Vermont in November, I will probably rent a dSLR (and maybe the 24-70 f/2.8L lens) for the duration.

P.P.S. One other lesson from all this is that megapixels really don’t matter. Which has more, the Rebel XS or the 20D? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter in the slightest.

[Update: 14 November 2009] The Rebel XS came back from Canon with a new flaw introduced.

[Update: 14 June 2010] Recently, the electrical system on the Rebel XS failed again. Rather than get a replacement under the Henry’s service plan, I got credit towards a 5D Mark II.

Keep your flash in your pants

Colourful metal dots

The other day, I attended some live music at the Umi Cafe on Somerset. Throughout the multi-hour performance, there was a cadre of amateur photographers – some with point and shoot cameras, some with dSLRs – happily snapping away. Almost without exception, every shot was accompanied by a bright white flash. There are two major reasons why photographers should avoid this pattern of behaviour.

Firstly, it produces ugly and unnatural pictures. Using a flash is akin to looking at a scene with a bright white miner’s lamp on your head. This is problematic for several reasons: (a) it lights close things much more than far ones, leading to blinding white foreground objects and black backgrounds; (b) it throws very harsh shadows, leaving a person’s nose looking like a mountain on the moon; (c) the light from the flash is a different colour from incandescent or fluorescent lighting, making the scene look oddly discordant in colour.

Secondly, it really annoys people. While the ‘stadium full of flashes’ effect is a Hollywood cliché, the actual impact of using lots of flashes – especially in a small and intimate environment – is to impose your weird lighting preferences on an entire room full of people, many times a night. Flashes are distracting and rude, and should only be deployed when really necessary.

There are easy ways to avoid using the flash. First and foremost, don’t use your camera in full auto mode. With no guidance, it will usually decide that the pop-up flash is the safest way to get a usable photo. With just a bit of thinking, you can usually do better.

The first way is to increase the ISO setting on your camera. This basically makes it more sensitive to light. While doing so will make your pictures grainier, they will look a lot more natural than ‘headlamp effect’ flash shots. If you don’t know how to do this, check your manual or search online. With most point and shoot cameras, and all dSLRs, it is a fairly simple procedure. Many cameras even have a dedicated button for it. On a point and shoot camera, try cranking it up to 400 or so. On a dSLR, don’t feel shy about using 1600 ISO, or even faster. Here is an example of a high ISO photo taken with a cheap P&S camera. A flash photo of the same scene would have been infinitely worse.

The second way is to brace your camera somehow. If you have a two-second timer, this can be easily achived. Just frame the shot, with the camera sitting on the edge of a table, wall, or solid object. Then, press the shutter and then leave the camera still to take a photo. Anything moving will probably show some motion blur, but you are once again likely to produce a nicer and more natural image than you would with a flash. Tripods are also an excellent idea, and there are tiny little tabletop ones that can be easily carried around and used with a point and shoot camera. I used the combination of a $180 Canon P&S camera and a $5 tripod to take these photos: Montreal, Ottawa, Morocco, Paris, Istanbul. A great trick for churches and other buildings with interesting ceilings is to put your camera flat on the ground with a timer set, press the shutter, and step back. I used that trick to take these: Oxford, Istanbul.

People think about photographs as something you ‘take’ by pointing a camera at something and pressing the shutter. In fact, it makes more sense to think about photos as something you ‘make’ using a combination of light, gear, and intelligence. By putting some thought and effort into things, you can produce more natural photos in intimate settings, without temporarily blinding and annoying everyone around you.