Modern Architecture

Week 21

I took this photograph on the way home this evening. With a few exceptions, when I photograph architecture it is historic or classical in nature. Among the exceptions are the Sydney Opera House .

Actually, I've photographed this location on Stephen Avenue in Calgary before and posted it here on my other blog. Modern architecture, like all architecture, is art in it's own right. Curves and free flowing shapes seem to be in vogue now. I think they tend to photograph well at night.

This shot was made with a Nikon D3 and AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm 1:2.8G ED lens. The camera was in aperture priority mode at f/3.5 and the ISO fixed at 800. The D3 has very little noise at ISO 800. I probably could have opened the lens all the way up to 2.8 but there was enough light to stop it down a little. It was right after the sun set but there was enough light in the sky to make it electric blue. I bracketed the exposure plus and minus one stop off of what the meter indicated. The one that I selected was right where the camera thought would be best at 1/20 second. Focal length is 15mm to capture everything and focus is on the giant Christmas decoration. I braced on a barricade to keep the camera steady as I didn't have a tripod with me.

In post I cropped to 8x10 and used the lab mode to increase contrast and saturation.

Idea based on Architecture with Attitude, pages 10-13, in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost.

Vacant Church

Week 20

This is the Morleyville Mission, built in 1875 on the Bow River in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. At the time, plains indians were still hunting the buffalo and the first large cattle ranch wouldn't be established at Cochran near Calgary until 1881. The church was built by the Rev. George McDougall to serve the the native people and fur traders of the area. A town sprung up and at one time it was the largest in Southern Alberta. Today nothing remains but the mission.

Like a lot of people, old empty buildings attract me. This old church has seen sermons, celebrations, weddings, and funerals. It had deteriorated but was restored some time back and services are now held there twice a year. You can also rent it for a wedding other other gatherings.

The photograph was taken with a Nikon D3 and Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.8G ED N lens. The sun is low this time of year and behind my left shoulder. The clouds were playing peekaboo with the light and I took this shot just as it played across the church and the hills.

The camera is in aperture priority mode at f/11 to give sufficient depth of field. ISO is 200, standard for the D3, which gave 1/400 second exposure per the cameras meter. It just so happens to match the sunny 16 rule too. Focal length is 48mm.

In Photoshop I cropped square and applied a bit of contrast and light sharpening - that was it.

Idea based on Vacant Possession, pages 152-155 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Bronica S2 Medium Format

Week 19

Square format cameras force you to see things differently than the 4x6 ratio that 35mm gives. And these days you can buy a nice square format camera pretty cheap. I like the old mechanical cameras and the Bronica S2 (see mine here) is a nice one with Nikon lenses and a cool retro look with a "Z" for Zorro on the waist level view finder.

When you look down in the view finder the first thing you notice is things are backwards and that is a problem when you are trying to follow things with the camera. You can buy an eye level viewer or a sports finder for them but for subjects that aren't moving it isn't a problem. A nice thing about medium format is that the negatives are LARGE and in a good lab with a good scan the results can be as good or better than a 35mm digital. Unfortunately most labs these days aren't that great and a good scan can be expensive.

The shot is of Pyramid Mountain in Jasper Park with Patricia Lake in the foreground. It is early morning with sun behind me and to my right. The camera is a Bronica S2 with a Nikkor-P 1:2.8 75mm lens. It is the equivalent of a normal lens on a 35mm camera. The film is Fuji 400 print film (120 roll). I used my D3 as a light meter and came up with an exposure of f/9 and 1/500 sec selected so I could hand hold since the Bronica has a fair amount of mirror slap by reputation. This was the first roll I ran through it and all shots turned out fine. To see a comparison with the Nikon D3 click here.

Which one is the D3? The D3 is the clear winner at full resolution but I suspect it was because my lab here in Calgary didn't do a particularly good job. I'll have to try a different lab. I've put them at the same resolution here and the D3 is the one on the right.

In Photoshop I removed some dust specs and streaks from the lab and a blue cast from the daylight balanced film. The D3 auto white balance had done a good job by comparison and the digital negative was cleaner. I liked the saturated colors and look of the Fuji film and straight from the camera found I liked it better than the D3 on some occasions (of course Photoshop can help there). All in all, much better results than what I normally achieve with 35mm film but still not up to the D3.

By the way, the chapter in the book is about using twin lens reflexes like the Mamiya C220. I have been trying to get a Yashica TLR for a reasonable cost but gave up when I found out I could get the Bronica for about the same amount. Some people prefer a TLR since there is no mirror slap. But I'm a Nikkor guy and the look of the Bronica is too cool....

Idea based on Two for One, pages 148-151 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Faces (or Zombies on Stephen Avenue)

Week 18

See more zombies by clicking here, but be warned! Some are pretty gruesome.

The faces of people are endlessly interesting, but photographing strangers up close is difficult for me. It seems easier when I am in a foreign country and I am the stranger because afterall it is expected of a tourist, but it seems hard when at home. Fortunately zombies don't seem to mind if you photograph them. In fact, they seem to like it.

The Zombie Walk was yesterday here in Calgary. Most zombies go "into character" as soon as they see a camera pointed at them. I think a number of people thought I was with a newspaper or something. Those that I asked for a photo did so willingly. This was a fun day and I must have photographed a 100 zombies.

The Nikon D3 is perfect for doing this kind of photography. Focus is fast and I put it on continuous focus when the people started moving. I used an AFS Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.8 G ED lens and zoomed to fit the situation.

Primary light was from an overcast sky with no direct sun for the most part. I used a SB800 flash in TTL mode attached to the shoe and dialed down by 0.7 to 1 full stop for fill on most shots. It puts a twinkle in the eye and takes the shadow off the face. It also falls off fast if you are near the person being photographed and by brightening them relative to the background makes them pop. It also freezes some movement. For most shots the camera was in aperture mode.

Almost all the photos were processed the same way. I was shooting raw photos and the first thing I did in Raw was to make sure there were no blown out areas then moved the slider to around 15 for both clarity and vibrance. After opening in Photoshop I removed distractions in a few cases and put at least linear contrast on every photo in Curves. I put a heavy vignette on most of them.

Idea based on Face Value, pages 36 and 37 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

In the Red

Week 17

Infrared in black and white makes the sky very dramatic. Rather than shoot infrared film or convert a digital camera I have used an infrared conversion filter in Photoshop here.

My Nikon D3 is in program mode at f/8 and 1/250 sec, ISO 200. The lens is an AFS Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.8 G ED with the focal length at 24mm. The light is early morning and behind my right shoulder.

This is really about post processing. The original color version is here. To make the conversion I began with a black and white adjustment layer and used the pull down tab with infrared as a start before tweaking the sliders. In this case I moved the blue slider a bit to darken sky and water. I also put a bit of diffuse glow on it - not too much or it blows out the snow on the mountain.

Idea based on Red Alert, pages 94 and 95 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Isolation

Week 16

The subject is isolated here to draw attention to it. Sometimes what you leave out is as important as what stays in. This technique is frequently used in portraiture and there are several approaches you can use or combine:


1) use a longer lens,
2) control (open) the aperture,
3) simplify the background,
4) and get closer to the subject and further from the background.


I've used all four techniques here. It was wet, snowy, and windy this morning and generally not nice weather so I wasn't planning on going too far from the apartment. I was watching the snow from the patio when I notice how pathetic the berry bushes were. When the snow stopped I thought I would try to make a photo of one of the leaves on a bush and after 130 tries this is what I got. I tried different apertures, frames, natural light, a soft box, rimlight and various combinations.


The camera is in aperture priority at f/8 to get the depth of field I wanted - the lens is capable of f/2.8 but I am very close here. In fact, the leaf is not in sharp focus from front to back but I thought it was a good compromise. The lens is a AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm 1:2.8 G ED VR on the Nikon D3 and I am maybe 50 to 60 cm or so from the leaf. The stucco wall of the apartment is about 1 m behind the leaf. I couldn't get the camera where I wanted it on the tripod, and the wind was blowing the leaf, so I hand held and put the sensor speed at ISO 800 to get a faster shutter. It ended up being at 1/250 second.


Natural light is from the right but is extremely diffuse from the clouds and light snow flurries. To pump up the shot I had a speedlight (SB-600) being controlled from a SB-800 on the camera from behind giving rimlight and putting a glow on the leaf. There is also a small LiteDome XS softbox with another SB-600 (you have to get all your equipment out every once in a while) dialed way down on the left just outside the frame.


Post was more than I normally do... In addition to isolating the leaf and darkening the background I added saturation and contrast to the leaf along with final sharpening.


I like this although it is not one of my better pictures. It tells a story though - it is the last leaf standing when the snow starts to fall. The berries are shriveled and the other leaves have fallen. Soon, it is going to be cold, cold, cold. I use this separation technique fairly often. For example, here is a fern frond in Australia where the background softened.

Idea based on In Isolation, pages 48 and 49 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Something Different

Week 15

This week is about getting away from it all but instead of travel to an exotic country we went to a wildlife festival in Waterton Park in Southern Alberta.

The wildlife festival had multiple speakers and fieldtrips and there was a two hour photo course on wildlife that we went on where I took this picture. I photographed a number of animals in Waterton, but this black bear was the best shot. Some of my most favorite photographs are of birds and wildlife so I enjoyed getting this one.

When we first saw the bear, he was maybe 100 meters away and pretty small in my 70-300 zoom at 300mm focal length. The pro had a 600mm Nikkor AF-S 1:4 with a 1.4 extender and I tried that with better results. He recommended aperture priority at f/8 to make sure the face was well focused front to back with the long lens and that is where I had it. Unfortunately, the bear was in grass and shrubs so they weren't great shots. I took my camera off the 600mm so someone else could try it and put the 70-300 zoom back on the D3.

In a minute or two he started to amble down the hill and to the left. He disappeared into a gully and then came out. Just before he climbed down to the road I made this shot. Light is from fairly low morning sun to the right. I took a string of shots at 3 frames a second while he was turning his head and caught the face lit nicely.

The camera is a Nikon D3, ISO 200, set in aperture priority and still at f/8 from the long lens. The lens is a AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G ED VR. The resultant shutter speed is 1/200 second which is probably a bit slow. The D3 lets you set a minimum shutter speed (it varies ISO in the case of fixed aperture if shutter speed drops too far) and I'll set that in future at 1/300 second probably. The bear is maybe 30 meters from me and moving away and to the left. I had the presence of mind to frame him pretty well at least.

The post was to tweak curves for contrast and I also put a vignette around it. I cloned out some small rocks in the lower right. I could have left them in or cropped them but found them distracting and liked the original composition. I did crop it to 8x10 starting in the far lower right up to the top of the frame.

Idea based on Take a Break , pages 132-133 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Peace Festival

Week 14

This week is about festivals but I've strayed from the book quite a bit. The chapter in the book is about going to Venice to photograph the Carnival. I don't think I'm going to get to Carnival this year, but it just so happens they were having the Calgary Community Peace Pole Unveiling Celebration this morning so I went there instead.

The Venice Carnival is brimming with people that are in costume and photogenic. The Calgary Celebration is a little lower key but I did photograph this lady. She goes by the name Shanti Amani Salaama, the Peace Fairy, at least for this festival. Festivals are a great place to photograph people though. You see a lot of real characters and they actually like to be photographed :-). Other good spots are Renaissance Festivals, Battle Reenactments, other Mardi Gras celebrations, you get the picture...

Light is from late bright afternoon sun over my right shoulder. You can see the hard shadow on her face. I was using a Nikon D3, ISO 200, at 1/2000 second in aperture priority. The lens is a AF Nikkor 300mm 1:4 at f/4 to minimize depth of field since the background wasn't too appealing. I've been working on reduced depth of field this week and here is another example with two blackbirds.

Post processing was minimal - basically a crop and slight contrast increase.

Idea based on Festival Spirit, pages 38-39 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

Reflections

Week 13

I do reflections from time to time, but usually end up not caring too much for them - for one thing mine often seem too symmetric. Sometimes they seem best blurry - see for example this picture of Story Bridge. But today I was trying for a sharp reflection and something more offbeat.

The location is Kananaskis Upper Lake and the light is afternoon sun from the left. The lake has a lot of dead stumps along the shore and that was to be the main subject. Of course there is a lot more in the frame, maybe too much. But somehow it comes together for me. There is fair balance for one thing. I really like the roots on the tree, they look like an octopus' arms. I thought it might be good in square format and framed it with that in mind when I shot.

The camera is my D3 and was in aperture priority at f/22 - I might have set it a little more open but I wanted good focus from front to back. A lot of people worry about diffraction at small apertures but I don't for small pictures and the interntet. Probably should have set it at f/16 and taken a little more care anyway :-). The lens is a Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 at 24mm. I took a couple of frames but thought this one worked best for a reflection. It is set at ISO 400 so I can hand hold at 1/80 sec. Probably should have had a tripod too :-).

Post processing consisted of the square crop and going into lab mode with soft light to get a bit more contrast and punchier color. I dialed lab color back to 50% to tone it down it a bit.

Idea based on On Reflection, pages 82-83 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost

The Normal Lens

Week 12

The 50mm prime lens, also known as a standard lens or normal lens, came on a lot of 35mm cameras and was mounted on the first Leica that made 35mm popular.

I have several 50mm lenses for my Nikons, both manual and auto focus. They are nice because they are small, have low distortion, usually are very sharp, and are fast - down to f/1.4 or even f/1.2. Even the slowest ones are faster than the amateur zooms that come on most cameras today. Here is a shot taken at night in very low light with Nikon's cheapest current lens - a 50mm f/1.8 autofocus. I had to pan to keep the boat sharp but it shows what is possible.

Why is a 50mm lens considered normal? Actually there is a range that fits in this category and it varies according to film or sensor size. Typically normal perspective as perceived by humans is taken to be equal to the diagonal distance of the frame. For a 35mm frame the actual dimensions are 24mm x 36mm so the diagonal is 43.2mm if I have done my math right. That means a 50mm is actually a slight telephoto in the 35mm format.

Older rangefinders often came with a lens around 42mm to 45mm in focal length, including the camera I used to take this picture - a Kodak Signet 35 from the early 1950's. This is closer to an ideal normal perspective, at least according to the mathematical definition I've used above.

Back to the photograph. It was taken in a hotel room as we were waiting to move into our apartment. I took it because of the quality of the filtered light coming through a large window on the left side of the frame and it gave me a chance to test the lens wide open (in this case only f/3.5). I thought it would probably be a bit dreamy and not too sharp given the age of the lens but actually it is pretty sharp. Film is modern Kodak 200 bought in a drug store.

It is a bit overexposed and not on purpose. I determined exposure by taking a snap with my Nikon D3 which came up with f/3.5 and 1/15 at ISO 200. The Signet 35 doesn't have 1/15 but there is a 1/25 shutter speed so that is where it was set for this hand held picture. So why is a faster shutter speed overexposed? Probably because the shutter needs adjusting after all these years.

There is very little post processing in the picture. I straightened it a bit and took some shine out of the framed picture on the wall using the cloning tool. I like the way the out of focus areas look but can't tell how much of that comes from the film, the camera and lens, or the relatively low resolution scan. The D3 is quite a bit sharper and of course exposure is "better" but I like the Signet 35 look.

Idea based on Standard Bearer, pages 120-121 in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost