Category: Photography

Equipment, examples, history – all matters photographic

Win a print for commenting

As regular readers will already know, next month I have a photography exhibition at Raw Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset, Ottawa). Some kind of an event corresponding to the opening of the show will be arranged, with details to be published here when known.

As a means of encouraging discussion, the following will be in effect for the time between now and the start of the show: anyone who posts a comment on any of my posts will be entered into a draw for a mounted photographic print of mine which I will select. Each comment will have an equal chance of winning, so people who post more will have better odds.

I will have the print delivered for free (though not necessarily immediately) to anyone in Ottawa, Toronto, or Montreal. Those farther afield would be required to reimburse me for the shipping.

Incidentally, if anyone wants a print of any of my photos, they are welcome to contact me. I am sure we could work something out.

Continue reading “Win a print for commenting”

Spy photos of Arctic ice

Woman pouring water at Raw Sugar

A number of sources are reporting that the Obama administration has made public spy photos that show the effects of climate change in the Arctic. The photos have a one metre resolution, and were provided through a program called Medea which allows scientists to request intelligence images of environmentally sensitive areas.

With luck, the photos will allow climate models to be further refined: for instance, by better incorporating the positive feedback associated with changed albedo when white ice melts and is replaced by darker water. Other scientific information that could be derived from the photos includes: “the relationship of snow to ice-surface topography, the initiation and development of meltwater ponds in summer, and the relationship of stress and strain and how they are reflected in the pattern of cracks and other features in the ice.” Thorsten Markus – at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre – has said that the key value of the new images lies in their high resolution, compared to those that were previously available.

Photo exhibition planning

In September, I will be displaying some of my photography at the Raw Sugar Cafe, on Somerset Street. With September 1st just six weeks away (and I will be unusually busy in the interim), I should start thinking about a theme. In total, it would be plausible to display anywhere between nine and 18 medium-to-large prints, with one horizontal level in the first case, and two in the latter. Including a few rather large prints among the moderately-sized ones would be an option, as well.

The first major consideration is choosing photos that strangers will want and appreciate. Portraits of people who I know are unlikely to fit the bill, unless perhaps they are very clearly artistic in conception. Basically, they need to be the kind of thing a stranger would be likely to want on the wall in their home or office.

A second consideration is image quality. Producing 8″ x 10″ or larger prints that are good enough to sell requires either files that came from my new digital SLR (purchased in November 2008), or shots taken under good conditions with previous point and shoot cameras. In particular, high-ISO, low-light shots may not be of acceptable quality.

One possible theme would be photos from various cities, from Paris to Ottawa to Istanbul to Vancouver. Conversely, I could probably come up with a suitable number of decent nature photos. Relatively abstract photos would be another possibility, such as close-up shots of objects and architectural details.

The exhibition will be divided between two walls: one shorter and suited to about four prints per horizontal level. The longer one would probably be best with five. As such, it would be possible to make the two walls contrast with one another: for instance, with colour prints on the longer wall and monochrome ones on the shorter wall.

Do readers have any theme suggestions? Alternatively, do they have any photos they particularly like and think would be suitable? My photo.net page includes more than 500 of my better photos, though it isn’t especially well updated with recent ones. More links are on the ‘my photos’ section of this site.

[Update: 31 August 2009] The exhibition opening party / music gig has been mentioned on the blog of the Astronaut Love Triangle.

[Update: 9:02pm] The event is also mentioned on David Scrimshaw’s blog.

[Update: 1 September 2009] Hella Stella has also drawn some attention to the event.

[Update: 10:57am] Zoom also has the story.

[Update: 11:01am] Incidentally, the photo exhibition is now fully planned. More information on the photos chosen is here. There is also a contest where you can win a mounted print for commenting.

Don’t bring cameras to concerts, bring binoculars

Landsdowne Stadium bleachers, Ottawa

Going to see Neko Case and Ani DiFranco at Bluesfest reminded me how, these days, 1/3 of the audience will be trying to capture everything on their cell phone cameras, while another 1/3 will be trying to do so with low-cost digital SLRs and cheap zoom lenses. It is only fair to point out that neither will produce photos of remotely comparable quality to concert images of the artist you could find using Google or Wikipedia in a couple of minutes.

Say you want to engage with the experience using hardware that will produce output of good optical quality. There are at least two routes open to you:

1) Still camera:

  1. Buy a crazy lens. Two options to consider are the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (US$1,575) and the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM (US$$7,650).
  2. Buy a good quality filter to protect the expensive front element ($60-80).
  3. Buy a camera body that produces good images at high ISO. An excellent option would be the Canon 5D Mark II (US$3,900).
  4. Attach your 1.4kg lens to your 820g body.
  5. Get both past security people wary of commercial photographers.
  6. Worry a lot about the $5,000 to $10,000 worth of gear around your neck, as well as spinal damage from the 2kg weight.
  7. Get fairly close to the stage, and spend the concert concerned about AE correction for changing backdrops, flare from stage lights, etc. Worry also about the limited dynamic range of your digital sensor, white balance issues, and the fact that most photos of people singing come out looking awkward.

In short, unless you are being paid to document the concert, or happen to already own the appropriate gear, this isn’t a terribly appealing option.

2) Binoculars:

  1. Buy some moderately priced binoculars. Good options include Bushnell 8×25 Binoculars (C$50) or, even better, Pentax 8×21 UCF-R Mini Binoculars (C$58).
  2. Carry your 200g binoculars through security.
  3. Find a spot about a bus-length from the performer.
  4. Enjoy watching them in high resolution, full frame, full motion video.
  5. Note, also, that they will be in three dimensions, with an even more flattering depth of field effect than the monocular version offered by the best zoom lenses.

For less than the cost of a filter to protect a crazy lens, you can buy an optical instrument that can contribute more to engagement and enjoyment than the whole photo setup. Concert lighting is set up to look good to human eyes (the relevant sensor when using binoculars), not digital sensors (the ultimate target of photos flying through your expensive photo rig). Wearing your crazy photo rig, you will feel like part of the paparazzi. With good binoculars, you will feel like a falcon.

While you will probably never be able to take a better photo of a performer than you can readily find online, you can quite easily watch them with your own wonderful eyes at a much higher quality level.

P.S. Neko Case is a very strong live performer. Her on-stage renditions of songs are remarkably similar to her studio albums. I found that Ani DiFranco is really amazing on stage, even though I am less familiar with her music. She has wonderful spirit, lots of technical skill, and a notable ability to engage with the crowd.

Photos of Ontario and Quebec birds

Here is a list of the birds I have photographed so far as part of my open-ended project. The links go back to the posts in which the photos originally appeared. Eventually, I might sub-divide this list according to type or location.

Presently unidentified birds: none.

Colour-based Google image searches

Google Image Search now lets you search for images that are predominantly similar to twelve different colours. For instance, the set of all photos from my site they have indexed can be restricted to just those with red highlights or those dominated by blue.

All told, Google currently includes 204 images from my site in their index. Here is the colour breakdown:

  • Red: 10
  • Teal: 7
  • White: 11
  • Orange: 17
  • Blue: 25 (lots of the sky)
  • Grey: 41 (many of them in black and white)
  • Yellow: 2
  • Purple: 2
  • Black: 47
  • Green: 8
  • Pink: 0
  • Brown: 45

You can also search for various image types: news content, faces, clip art, line drawings, and photo content.

As ever, Google Image Search is a somewhat perplexing creation. It’s not clear why it selects the photos it does or how it ranks them. I look forward to further improvements in the service.

Photographing birds in Ontario and Quebec

I enjoy photographing birds, and been having increasing luck doing so with my new 70-200mm lens. I think it might be a good project to collect images of birds that congregate around Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, use them as photos of the day, and identify their species.

It can be a project a bit like collecting the Oxford colleges, though it is obviously much more open-ended.

A few I have shot with the new lens:

  1. Species unknown – near the Rideau Canal locks
  2. Rock Pigeons (Columba livia) – on Somerset
  3. Species unknown – Kensington Market area, Toronto
  4. Species unknown, possibly a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) – Victoria University, Toronto

Can anyone put a name to the unknowns above? I will try to come up with some new bird photos during the next week or so.

P.S. Has anyone tried the Canon 1.4X or 2.0X teleconverters? Does either work with the f/4 70-200mm zoom (I remember the box saying the lens is compatible with them). Do the focusing and metering systems still work properly, despite the lost 1-2 f-stops?

Telephoto zoomed

I went for it and bought an image stabilized, L-series telephoto zoom: Canon’s 70-200mm f/4. I briefly considered the f/2.8, but I decided it was just too massive to carry around (it weighs about 1.5 kilos). I also considered the non-IS version, but decided that it made more sense to buy the best possible lens once than buy a lesser one and regret it a few years later.

On the basis of my brief experience, the image stabilizing ability of the lens is not exaggerated. Being able to hand hold a shot at 320mm with a 1/45th of a second shutter speed is quite impressive.

Next, I will probably aim to buy a wide angle zoom. Then, at some distant future point, a body with a full frame sensor, like the 5D.