Christmas Theme

Week 26

It is really cold right now in Calgary, around -25 degrees C and although I have gotten out to photograph a bit it is a lot more pleasant inside. When it gets cold, rainy, or miserably hot then one way to exercise your photographic eye is indoors, in the house, and that is what I chose to do this week. And since it is getting close to Christmas, I had an array of seasonal things to chose from.

Now the thing about photographing reflective round things is that they are prone to hot spots and of course they reflect things you may not want in the picture. One solution is even lighting all around, another is to carefully place things to minimize reflection or at least have it where you want it. I chose even lighting.

I put down a sheet of white card to act as a seamless background and then moved my softbox right on top of it and surrounded it with styrofoam. My softbox is a medium sized Photoflex LiteDome and I used a Nikon SB-600 flash. The SB-600 can drive a medium softbox if the subject is moderately close. I stuck one more SB-600 inside this contraption and bounced it off the front styrofoam. The SB-800 on my camera was used solely as a master for the two SB-600s. Both SB-600s were in i-TTL mode with no further adjustment to flash.

The camera is a D3 set as follows ISO 200, aperture priority f/16, and shutter speed 1/30 second (why wasn't it at 1/200? because I forgot). I was at f/16 to increase the depth of field. I probably should have put it in manual mode to get more even exposure. Exposure compensation was set at +1 stop on camera to lighten up the background a bit. Then lens is a Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm1:2.8G ED so I can get close.

Post processing was minimal. I cropped all of the photos square to the same size and moved them on to a background layer. Once on the background, I arranged them to taste, and using curves adjusted backgrounds until they were all about the same. Then I flattened and removed sensor spots on the background (I need to clean that sensor). The background looked too dark, so I lightened the exposure overall with an exposure adjustment layer until it was a bit brighter and that was it.

Idea based on Household Chores, pages 46-47 in the book 50 Photo Projects by Lee Frost.

Fake HDR (High Dynamic Range)

Week 25

OK, I'm halfway through this exercise now with only 25 weeks more to go!

This week I'm (kind of) blogging about getting additional dynamic range out of a camera using HDR - High Dynamic Range - which are digital methods of combining one or more photographs with different exposures. Well, actually I cheated and only used one exposure but more about that later.

Why would you want to do HDR? The potential need arises when there are high contrast scenes with very bright areas as well as dark areas with important details. The human eye can handle this pretty well but a camera only has so much range. HDR manages the trick by taking exposures for dark, bright, and in-between areas as needed then blending them.

There is software, with Photomatrix being a popular one, that will do the work for you and allow easy adjustment. It can also be done in Photoshop although I've not had great luck there. There is an example here of a photograph I took in Australia and applied HDR to in Photoshop. It isn't that great, the area around the sun is burned out even with HDR. Like I said, I haven't had great luck with it. I've also done it manually where I superimposed two exposures and blocked out the over or underexposed portion with a mask.

Here are some other considerations for HDR:

1. It isn't reproducing what the eye sees - it is squashing exposures into a narrower range


2. It can give some wild colors and not look very realistic


3. It doesn't work too well if things are moving between exposures

But it can give some really neat effects when not overdone, although it isn't for everyone. Another way to handle high range is with a graduated filter, at least with some scenes where the sky tends to overexposure.

I personaly like the look when blended back. In fact, it is possible to get something of the look without using HDR and that is what I did on this week's picture. Click on it to enlarge and see what is going on. There is a lot of detail under the bridge for example that wouldn't normally be there and the clouds reflected in the glass of the building really pop. I've left some of the wild color as well as gritty detail that can occur when you use this method.

The tool I am using is a Photoshop plug-in called Topaz Adjust 3. It gives a range of effects with this being one of the cooler one. After adjusting the photo for keystoning (it is wide angle) I cropped and then applied the Topaz Adjust 3 "Psychedelic" filter, dialed back the layer, gave it a vignette, and sharpened. That was all.... The original photograph without adjustment is here.

The camera is a Nikon D3 set at ISO-200 with an exposure time of 1/250 of a second and a Nikkor AFS 14-24mm 1:2.8G ED mounted wide at 14mm with an aperture of f/8.

Idea based on Extend Your Range, pages 32-35 in the book 50 Photo Projects by Lee Frost.

Sunset over the Bow

Week 24

The sunset was really pretty this evening, and actually the sunrise was as well. This shot was taken from our balcony and I've tried it many times before and have always struggled to get the shot. I have Cokin graduated filters but to be honest I don't really like using them.

Everybody likes sunsets - I just wish they were easier to photograph. I actually do better either just after sunset like this shot in Brisbane towards Story Bridge off Kangaroo Point, or this blog posting about Modern Architecture. I really like late afternoon directional light too, but usually I'm shooting away from the sun or at least at an angle like here (also taken in Brisbane with Kangaroo Point in view).

The camera is my D3 mounted on a tripod in aperture priority at f/5.6. The camera is set to give a minimum shutter speed of 1/30 second and determined on it's own that ISO should be 250. I bracketed this shot but I used the one with no offset. The lens is a AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.8G ED zoomed to 38mm.

I pulled this up as a raw file and fooled with it a while - in the end I just took the jpg straight from the camera and posted it with a bit of straightening and cropping (you shouldn't have to straighten if you use a tripod :-). The camera was set in my custom "vivid" mode which adds some saturation to the jpg files. The main decision for me here was whether I wanted more detail in the shadow area - I decided not to and it is almost a silhouette. To get more detail I would have used the overexposed shot in a layer or HDR. I don't think the graduated filter would give me what I was looking for.

Idea based on Last Light, pages 62-64 in the book 50 Photo Projects by Lee Frost.

Stormy Day

Week 23

We were in Seattle this last weekend and it rained every day except the last afternoon when the sun broke through as we were heading back to Seattle on the ferry. It is a busy photograph but it has a lot of interesting things about Seattle in it - the needle, a seaplane, the wharfs, and skyline.

The lens is a AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G VR that was hand held. The vibration reduction (gotta love it) was in active mode since I was on a moving boat. The camera is a D3 at ISO 200, focal length of 125mm, aperture of f/9, and shutter speed at 1/320 to keep things sharp.

Light has broken through the cloud and is behind me and low in the afternoon sky.

Idea based on Storm Chaser, pages 124-127 in the book 50 Photo Projects by Lee Frost.

Pinhole Silliness

Week 22

This really is silliness. The subject is an earthenware vessel I bought in Papua New Guinea and I've photographed it with two very different lenses. The version on the left was made with an AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.8G ED and the version on the right from a plastic cup bottom with a pinhole punched in it (with of all things a pin).

I made the lens from a Nikon PK-13 extension ring that mates the plastic cup to the camera. The silliness is because I've attached a piece of plastic with a hole in it to one of the better cameras on the market today. I couldn't stand the thought of buying a decent pinhole camera and I didn't have my tools available to build a better one myself. An interesting thing about pinhole cameras is that they hold focus from front to back but aren't very sharp, especially if enlarged. People do use them for artistic purposes, and Lee Frost has some in his book I like. But they really aren't my cup of tea which is why I haven't gone any further than a plastic cup.

The subject is lit the same for both pictures. It is on a curved piece of poster paper to give a smooth background and surrounded with styroform slabs to reflect the light evenly from a single daylight balanced fluorescent bulb.

The photo has a blue cast to it because the cup bottom was blue and some of that light has seeped in. The exposure was in manual mode at 1.3 seconds with ISO set at 200. By back calculating from the other exposure I guesstimate the aperture of the pinhole is f/500 or so. The focal length might be around 35mm or so, just guessing. My hypothesis is that there is an optimal aperture, which would be an interesting experiment. I also think a pinhole with a sharp edge and no burr would make a better picture.

To make it a somewhat better shot I increased contrast in Photoshop by moving the sliders in on Levels. There is no post to the picture shot with the Nikkor lens other than some sharpening after I downsized.

I probably could have found a better subject too but I ran out of time this week. Anyway, after this experiment I am ready to go back to my better lenses....

Idea based on Pin Sharp, pages 88 to 91, in the book 50 Photo Projects, by Lee Frost.

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