Category: Photography

Equipment, examples, history – all matters photographic

Back in the UK

Istanbul cats

Back in the comparative warmth of Oxford, I am enjoying how it feels to be on a computer with a properly calibrated screen and a keyboard familiar enough to require no peeking. It is gratifying to see how much better my photos look when properly displayed.

Since this is my father’s last night in England, I am not going to spend the three hours or so that it will take to sort through my photos from Turkey, just now. You can expect my previous entries to start getting illustrated as of tomorrow, as well as additional batches on Facebook and Photo.net.

PS. Both my iPod Shuffle and my USB flash drive picked up a few viruses over the course of visiting hostel and internet cafe computers. Thankfully, they are all viruses that only affect Windows machines. Travelers with laptops (or computers running Windows back home) beware. I do feel bad about spreading viruses between all those machines; no wonder they were so slow.

First Turkey photos

Those wanting an early peek at my photos from Turkey can have a look at the images I uploaded to Facebook this evening:

Since the machines in cafes do not have Photoshop and have poorly calibrated monitors, these images are entirely unmodified. The more patient among you can wait for more nicely presented images in about six days, as well as for my scanned photos from film in two weeks or so.

Note that I will add the most attractive appropriate photo to each of these blog posts, upon my return to Oxford. I will also build the posts and images into the standard places in the site architecture.

Photo backup

I’ve copied the 160 or so digital photos that I have taken so far onto this internet cafe computer. Due to a less-than-zippy internet connection, it would take about ten hours to transmit the 155 megabyte file. As such, I have squirreled it away in a system folder, to return to when I can come back with my USB memory stick. The only alternative would be sacrificing all the music on my iPod Shuffle, which would hardly be wise with another noisy fourteen hour bus ride in a few days’ time. Simon & Garfunkel, along with my noise isolating Etymotic ER6i headphones, are the only reason I got any sleep last night.

The reason for burying the folder with my images is mostly an observation that dozens of people have left similar little caches of Turkish holiday snaps in more conventional places. There is some voyeuristic pleasure to be gleaned from skimming over them. They range from shots so professional that I am tempted to steal them to those that would prompt me to offer the photographer a few basic lessons.

With the sun down, it is now well and truly too cold to type in this unheated and open-doored cafe. Adieu until tomorrow.

Intercontinental crossings

Bosphorus Bridge, Turkey

Today’s boat trip involved bouncing back and forth between Europe and Asia while heading northwards up the Bosphorus. After less than two hours – spent watching passing ships, seagulls, and the countless jellyfish in the waters beside the ferry – we found ourselves at the northernmost village on the Asian side.

The place was well populated with tourists, despite there being only one ferry per day which pauses between about noon and 3:00pm to allow people to see the place. As the motors began to warm up at three, you could see many people in restaurants with ocean views hurrying to settle bills and put on coats. A hill overlooking the Black Sea contains the ruins of at least two generations of fortresses, while the town itself contained both more cats and more assault rifle toting soldiers than anywhere else I have seen in Turkey. As we ate lunch at a roadside cafe, at least five canvas-topped trucks full of them rumbled by. Clearly, the northern entrance to such a strait remains strategic.

Both in spite of and on account of the ever-present haze that sharply reduces visibility around Istanbul, I have some photos that I am excited about from the crossings. In particular, swooping sea birds in front of misted freighters and the clean lines of the two intercontinental suspension bridges should be attractive. I am reaching the point (with 120 images on my memory card and one roll of film shot), where I begin to worry about unexpected data problems. I wish I had some mechanism for putting them online now, but carrying my six pound and worry-inducing laptop around Turkey wasn’t really a good option.

Tomorrow, it seems we will be making a twelve hour journey to either Ephesis or Capadoccia, though the final decision remains to me made. Personally, I am quıte sure that Ephesis would be amazing, but it seems likely to emulate other Mediterranean spots fairly closely. Capadoccia, I expect, would be more specific to Turkey. Forgive my spellings if they are incorrect; both of those above have hundreds of Google hits, but no Wikipedia pages.

Notable domes of Istanbul

Ceiling of the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent

Today, my father and I took a guided tour around Istanbul’s most essential historical sites. The architecture itself was quite spectacular, though language problems and a certain lack of interest on the part of the guide, who did not seem to appreciate questions, made the tour itself less engaging than it might have been.

In the morning, we saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, as well as the reasonably unremarkable expanse of the Hippodrome between them. It used to be a stadium, but nothing remains of it save a couple of pillars and an open area. The Blue Mosque was certainly impressive. The elegance and symmetry of the domes, coupled with that of the tiles and calligraphy, make it an inspiring structure. It is a great shame that they have chosen to hang electric lights from thick black cables descending all the way from the dome high above: they diminish the grandeur of the space.

The Hagia Sophia was the day’s most impressive site. Ancient and gloomy in feeling, the inescapable particulate matter of the air here creates sharp beams crossing the vast space. First an Orthodox church, then a mosque, and ultimately converted into a museum by Ataturk, the great domed structure also seems to have a history worthy of further examination. On account of the low light, I was glad for my two Pound mini-tripod. I suspect the photos from today will make me less annoyed that it broke (fixably, but not without tools) during the first couple of hours of real usage.

During the rest of the day, we peeked into the Grand Bazaar, failed to have carpets sold to us during a sponsored pause in the tour, and visited the Topkapi Palace. We also saw a lot of bad traffic and, last of all, the day’s most elegant structure, ın the form of the Suleymaniye Mosque. In better shape than the Blue Mosque, as well as farther off the normal tourist path, the interior is quite stunning, with an intriging interplay of colours and geometry. Despite the broken tripod, I am excited about the photos I took there.

The next task is to pick up some dinner, followed by meeting my cousin Ivanka at Ataturk Airport. Tomorrow, we will probably be heading up the Bosphorus to the Black Sea. My plan is to pretend that I am on the way to the Yalta Conference.

Recommendation for moderately priced digicams

Canon Powershot A510 in mirror

In the last couple of days, three people have asked me for recommendations on point and shoot digital cameras (must be on account of Christmas approaching). In the $250-$350ish range, I don’t think you can beat the Canon Powershot A series. The digital camera that I use is an old Powershot A510 (3.2 megapixel). Nowadays, I would choose one of these:

(Model – Price in C$ – Megapixels – Largest Good Prints)
A530 – $249.99 – 5MP – 6 x 8″ at 300 DPI
A540 – $299.99 – 6MP – 7 x 10″ at 300 DPI
A630 – $399.99 – 8MP – 10 x 14″ at 300 DPI

All are far more than would be required to take photos to put online. If you start uploading images much bigger than 1024×768 pixels (half the maximum resolution on my 3.2MP camera), few people will thank you.

Aside from the number of pixels in the sensor, these cameras are all very similar. The reasons I recommend them are that they have good image quality, decent lenses, and a nice combination of manual and automatic controls. They are easy enough to use if you know nothing about photography, and flexible enough that they can be used quite creatively. Dollar for dollar, my A510 is surely the best camera I have ever owned (a fact that would remain true even if I bought a snazzy digital SLR like the Rebel XTi).

Every photo in the following albums was taken using my A510, though they have been scaled down from the maximum resolution (2048×1546) to just 800 pixels, measured along the longer edge:

Other recent albums include both film and digital shots. Look at the details below, for Photo.net hosted images, to see what equipment was used.

[Update: 30 November 2006] This was the photo previously at the top of this post (thumbnail). It was one of very few photos that I have that include the A510, but it isn’t very good. The photo now atop this post was originally posted here. Because this one page of the blog was getting so much traffic, I decided to make the switch. It helps to not seem photographically inept, when you are trying to give people advice about cameras.

First published photograph

Costumed people dancing, Queer Bop, Wadham College, Oxford

On page 3 of the 23 November 2006 issue of The Oxford Student, there is an article by Kate McMullen on the Wadham Queer Bop. Specifically, it describes a homophobic attack being investigated by the police. Accompanying it is a photo that I took at last year’s bop and posted on my blog. The same image is on Facebook. It doesn’t suit the headline very well, and it wasn’t taken at this year’s bop, but it seems like such issues are not of major concern to the editorial staff at The Oxford Student.

It would have been nice for them to have asked me, prior to using it, or at least given me some accreditation. I have sent a short and friendly letter to the editor:

Sir,

I was surprised to see – on the third page of your November 23rd issue – a photo that I took at last year’s Queer Bop and subsequently posted to my website (www.sindark.com). Next time, please let me know that you are planning to print one of my photos, and I will send you a higher resolution copy.

Thanks,

Milan Ilnyckyj
Wadham College, Oxford

That said, it is good to know that I have taken at least one photo that is worth blowing up and putting in a newspaper. The official student newspaper of Oxford might also be considered a cut above your standard such offering.

[Update: 9:30pm] As Sarah quite correctly pointed out, my focus on the photo issue completely missed the broader concerns raised by the story itself. A homophobic assault taking place within an Oxford college should definitely result in a comprehensive investigation and the punishment of those implicated to the fullest extent of the law.

[Update: 27 November 2006] I sent a message to the Oxford Student asking them to do three things in order to amicably resolve the above situation: print the letter to the editor above, credit me for the photo in the web version of the story, and formally state that they will not use materials from my websites without prior permission in the future. I have received the following response and, pending the printing of the letter above, will consider the matter formally and amicably settled:

Dear Milan,

Thanks for your message. Apologies for the unattributed use of your Queer Bop photo. I’ve forwarded your message on to the relevant news editors (Kate McMullen had nothing to do with the photo). btw, it’s a fantastic photo and really makes the page look great. The issue it appeared in was the last one of term, so your letter cant be printed in the paper until next term.

Statement: We will not use photography or other content from webpages that you operate in the future, without prior written permission.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Cookson
[Editor in Chief]

As I said in the past, I am quite happy to have my photos used in newspapers and other publications, provided that a request is received in advance and proper attribution is given.

Living with low light

For those interested in digital photography, you can find a good set of very comprehensible suggestions on the Lens & Shutter website. Judging by the photos you see on Facebook, I would say that the one on flash use is the most essential piece of reading for most amateur digital photographers. As highlighted in Philip Greenspun’s good free tutorial, awareness of light is critical to all good photography.

Reading about photography frequently makes me miss my tripod, which is back in Vancouver. (It makes a cameo in a relatively bad photo of Astrid.) I should get a little one so that I can actually aim my camera when I use it in timer mode on a solid surface, rather than just shooting straight up or at whatever angle the surface allows.

PS. Despite my love of wide angle, and hence aversion to digital SLRs with small sensors, my heart is definitely softening towards something like the Rebel XTi. That said, my dSLR fund is only worth about 36% of the price of that kit, and seems unlikely to expand prior to my departure from Oxford.

Perspective

The following is simply plagiarized, from Carl Sagan, but it is nonetheless quite important. Back in my insomniac elementary school days (as opposed to my insomniac graduate school days), I remember reading quite a number of his books. The non-fiction ones tended to be particularly interesting and well illustrated. These specific observations of his have always struck me as especially poignant:

The Earth from deep space

We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.

Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity — in all this vastness — there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

This is an expression that I expect would be inspiring, humbling, and amazing for any human being.