Where does your inspiration come from?
For me, a trip to the local Barnes and Noble News Stand is more than enough to fire me up about photography! With all the great US and European Photography Magazines to peruse, I am reminded that Edwin Morgan is not the only Photographer in the world ( Shocking, I Know! ) and that new ideas are not in short supply. There are more than enough people, places and things to point my camera at and it's up to me to find the inspiration and motivation to make that next great image! If Bjorn in Finland can make an entire portfolio out of artfully Blurred Holga Close-ups of his pet chicken, well then, I guess I should be able to come up with something too. And with High Speed Internet connections in most of our homes, a Photographer / Artist doesn't even have to leave their home to get a fix of Inspirational Imagery. There are more than enough Photo Blogs, Photographers Websites and Online Magazines to fill those empty hours when you're not saving the planet from Global Warming or playing with your X-Box.
This all brings me around to the ultimate time killer and inspiration finder.......... 'Stumbling' on the Internet with StumbleUpon.Com. If you haven't tried it, you truly don't know what you're missing. I mean that literally! Your preferences noted on their server for your likes and dislikes, with Photo Blogs and Picture websites as favorites, you will 'Stumble' on some of the coolest photography and art related stuff on the Internet. Inspiration Galore!
Today's great find is the Website and Online Catalog of Austin Texas based 'Master Painter' Roi James, whose otherworldly landscapes and mystical figure portraits grace the walls of Fine Art Collectors and Galleries throughout Texas and the US. His Figure Portraits are the essence of light and shadow. If you can't find inspiration in his Painting " Woman with Scarlet Tanager" 2003, Oil on Canvas, and "Faith Hope and Love 2" 2005, Oil on Linen, then you might as well give your camera away to someone else.
Special Thanks to Roi James for allowing me to post images from his website.
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Thursday, September 6, 2007
Photographic Inspiration From A Master Painter...
Monday, September 3, 2007
Sigma 50 - 150 f/2.8 EX DC APO
And the winner is....
In my August 7Th Blog Post " Canon Zoom or Sigma? " I asked my friends and readers to help me decide which one of 7 very different zoom lenses would, should or could give me the most bang for my buck! The contenders were as listed:
- Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-200mm f /2.8 EX DG APO Macro HSM ( that's a mouth full!)
- Sigma Zoom Normal -Telephoto 50-150mm f /2.8 EX DC APO HSM
- Sigma Zoom Telephoto 100 - 300mm f /4.0 EX DG IF HSM
- Sigma Zoom Telephoto 80 - 400mm f /4.5 -5.6 EX DG APO OS ( More letters mean more money and more fun! )
- Sigma Telephoto 105mm f /2.8 EX DG Macro
- Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70 -200mm f /2.8L ( No image Stabilization )
- Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 70 -200mm f /2.8L IS ( Image Stabilization )
My current All - in - one Zoomage is cursed with a Varying Aperture ( F / 3.5 at it's widest ) and loud autofocus, but its sharp and I'll have to say, useful as hell! I haven't used another lens since I bought it, having removed it only a few times in the last two years. I can't even imagine going back to a camera bag filled with prime lenses, switching lenses every time a set- up changes or a subject moves just a little closer to the camera. It has definitely changed my whole way of thinking about Zooms Vs. Primes, especially for the type of shooting that I do. Image quality and Zoom Creep, which used to be a big concern for older Zoom Lenses is hardly an issue with the modern lenses being manufactured today.
Having decided that an f /2.8 fixed Aperture zoom was the way to go, Budget being a big factor but not the main concern, I decided to go with the lens that best covers my daily needs for the long haul.
And the winner is ......
The Sigma Zoom Normal-Telephoto 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS Mfr# 690101 • B&H# SI5015028CAF - $679.00@BHPhoto
I think this one will pretty much cover the range I like for portraiture and product shots. With a wide f / 2.8 fixed Aperture and Internal Focusing it should be a compact and useful lens to have in the bag. According to the reviews I have read, it seems to be a sharp and well put together lens that should give many years of use. My next purchase will be a second lens to cover the 16 - 50mm range!
Hmmmmm?
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Saturday, September 1, 2007
Editing......Part 7
Continuing from the 'Editing......Part 6' post on August 5Th:
14) Before you hit the Go Button on your Batch Processing Command, make sure you have created a Destination Folder on your Desktop to receive the newly converted files. This could have been done earlier when you were preparing to edit the files, but if you haven't yet, now is the time.
I'm not exactly sure why, but there is something very satisfying about Batch Commands, both in my Raw Conversion Software and in Photoshop. I think you have to have the experience of doing things the hard way, to really appreciate the magic of pushing a button and watching the computer do it all for you. When given the choice..........Automate!
The time it takes to convert a Raw file to a usable Tiff varies with the particular Raw Conversion Software, your system's available RAM and most importantly the power of your computers Processor. The Bit Depth of your final file is also a factor in the processing time. As I have mentioned earlier, my Raw Conversion Software takes much longer to produce an 8 bit file than it does to convert the same Raw File to 16 Bit. I guess the processor is having to work overtime to decide what color data to toss out. Who knows? The point is to create the best files with the most Color Data. The Photographer who dies with the most Color Data... Wins!
As an example of processing times, a typical Canon CR2 file, 8.02 Megapixel (12 bit Raw) converted to a 16 Bit Tiff in Canon's DPP will take approximately 10 or 11 seconds of computer time. That's about 10 files every 2 minutes, depending on your computers speed. I'm sure the times will vary somewhat in different Processing Software and systems, but that's a good example of the average.
Use the extra time you have while your files are running to make yourself a good Cup of Joe and to gather your Analog Recording Device ( Pencil ) and paper. You will need these to help you organize and streamline the work on the newly processed Files. Some of them more than likely from the same set-up and requiring the same basic curves adjustment and manipulation. No matter how fast your computer or editing skills, writing a few things down on a piece of paper will speed up the final work on your images. Remembering my own admonition to not try and re-invent the wheel every time I sit down in front of the computer, I always make a note to group similar images in a editing session. This allows me to run a Curves Adjustment Layer on the first image in a series and to drag it seamlessly to the others from the same session. Every image requires a little TLC, some more than others, but similar images taken at the same time will require a Basic Curves Adjustment that will vary very little. Why not work on one and transfer your settings to all the others from the same set - up. It's as easy as dragging an Adjustment Layer from the first file to any of the others, they only have to be open a the same time and you have instantly performed the same action on each file. Beats the hell out of trying to replicate the same adjustments on ten or twenty individual files!
To be continued...
Special thanks to Bob Johnson at EarthBound Light for his excellent tutorial on Adjustment Layers! Please take the time to check out his wonderful site!
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Monday, August 27, 2007
DP Review Posts 'Beta' 40 D images...
Phil Askey and the good folks over at dpreview.com have posted some sample pics from their Pre-Production Eos 40D provided to them by the Engineers at Canon. The link above will jump you to page seven of the full Camera Review.
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RED ONE! The Future of Digital Cinema Production...
I have been hearing a lot of rumors lately from the Video Production Geeks that I know. Something about the Color Red, Digital Cinema and the end of Video Tape. And that's not all, they're telling me that you cinema guys can throw the motion picture film you've got stored in the freezer straight into the toilet. The be all, end all of Digital Cinema Production has arrived!
The Red One Digital Cine Camera is purportedly the Quantum Leap in straight to Digital, Motion Picture Cameras. Weighing in at under ten pounds and costing just under $20,000 US, the Red One is described as obsolescence proof; the modular design allowing for any future updates to mechanics and electronics. Follow the link above to their site and be prepared to be blown away!
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Canon 40 D High ISO Test Images...
The Japanese Photo Website 'Photo Cafe' has examples of High ISO Captures with the Canon EOS 40 D. The still life images of a flower arrangement are taken at 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 ISO, with and without the Noise Reduction setting. The quality of the files is remarkable by comparison to the High ISO images produced from Professional DSLR's just a few years ago.
Check it out!
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