Shooting In The Desert - My First Time

 

A couple of years ago I noticed that one my friends started posting lots of "Dunes" pictures, they usually consisted of a car or two, a few guys and lots of sand. I wondered what they did in these trips and where did they go to, so he offered me to join him in one of the trips and I jumped at the opportunity. I wanted to enjoy the adventure and take better-than-camera-phone pictures, hit the jump for the full pictorial.

 

 

This is my friend's car, a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser, fully prepped and modified for such treks, in this picture we have just left the asphalt and were reducing the tire pressure to get a larger footprint and avoid getting stuck in the soft sand.

Camera wise, I chose my 15-85mm lens and skipped everything else for two reasons, knowing that it will be windy, I was not keen to change lenses when there's a chance I might get dust on the sensor (never cleaned it, and hope to never need to), the other reason being the flexibility of the zoom, I knew I will be mostly shooting landscapes with a large DoF, and this lens provided a 24mm equivalent field of view, so the small aperture didn't put me off, I spent most of the time between f/8 and f11, and when I needed to zoom or get a close-up, it also served me well.

 

 

Of course with such environments a CPL is a very useful accessory, it really helped enrich the blue hues of the sky and darken the sand's color. The other accessories I took with me were a Manfrotto tripod + a remote shutter release /intervalometer for the night shots (review coming later), a couple of speedlights, the Lumiquest SBIII and a lens cleaning kit.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the night behind the rocks you see in the picture above, it provided a good shelter from the wind. Once we settled in and setup our tents, it was almost sunset time, I took a few pictures of the beautiful violet sky hues like the picture at the top of the post, and the one below.

 

 

Once it got dark, I setup my tripod and started taking photos, the most difficult thing was focusing on far away objects in almost complete darkness. During the below shots, I learned that I don't have the patience for long exposures, I hope I can rectify this in the future.

 

 

 

 

In the photo above I wanted to light the rock to give it a more interesting look, so I setup the camera on the tripod, adjusted the exposure, and asked my friend to release the shutter when I signalled him.

The rock was quite far from the camera, so I left one speedlite with my friend and I took the other, and we agreed that I will signal him with a flash and he will release the shutter, then I will start using my speedlite's test button to light the rock, I had no idea how much light is enough, so I set my flash to full power and kept firing it during the exposure.

As you can see, I didn't really succeed (can you see me to the right of the rock?), and due to the failure of our signaling system and my lack of patience, the above shot was the only one I got. I slept very early that day and resumed shooting the next morning with the sunrise.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed that trip very much, and would not hesitate to repeat it anytime. I was also happy with the IS performance of my lens, I took loads of nice shots from inside the car while we were jumping around.

 

 

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Window Shopping: Comparing Window Light

I'm still on vacation hence the infrequent posts.  Meanwhile here's a quick post about a basic lighting tip.

---

A common tip for lighting is to use window light.  However not all light from windows have the same quality or color.  In that regard, painters have known for centuries that in the northern hemisphere, the light from a north-facing window is the softest and most constant window light because it never receives direct sunlight.

I decided to see for myself how different north light is from south light and from the light of a window facing away from the sun.



In this experiment, I took comparison shots in a large room that had similar-sized windows facing north, south and east (i.e. away from the sun).  The sky was about the same in each direction.  The shots were taken about 1pm.

And here are unedited straight-out-of-the-camera shots of the red ball from each direction:

south

east (during the afternoon)

North

The north light is evidently the softest by far, followed by the window facing away from the sun.

I came back later in the afternoon when the sun was lower in the horizon and there were more clouds.  Under those conditions, there was almost no difference between the shadows.

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What Camera Should I Get? (Basic)

If you're a beginning photographer or a nonphotographer and you're wondering what camera you should get, then this blogpost is for you.

First of all, I'm not going to say, "The best camera is the Canikon Ultra 2000EX Pro" or some other camera model.  Camera technology keeps evolving and the best model for you will change over time.  Besides, everyone has particular needs (e.g. camera size, budget, etc.) that makes it impossible to make any single camera the best one for everyone.  Instead, I would rather show you HOW to figure out what's the best camera for YOU.

More after the jump.



INTRO: HOW A CAMERA WORKS
Before we get to the answer, we need a crash course in how a camera works.  Basically, to record a picture, the camera has a hole that lets light shine on a sensor.  The recorded light becomes the image.

There are three things that a camera needs to adjust to record the image properly: how large the hole is ("aperture"), how long the sensor stays exposed to the light ("shutter speed") and how sensitive the sensor is ("sensitivity"):
- Aperture is indicated by the "f-number" such as f/2.8 or f/5.6.  The LOWER the f-number the WIDER the aperture.
- Shutter speed is usually shown as a fraction of seconds like 1/60 or 1/125 sec.
- Sensitivity is usually measured by "ISO".  Higher ISO means higher sensitivity.  Unlike film, digital cameras have changeable ISO.
The three variables work together.  You can widen the aperture and use a proportionately slower shutter speed.  You can increase the sensitivity and use a smaller aperture.  You get the idea.

HOW TO GET CLEARER PICTURES
The most common quality that people ask for in a camera is clearer pictures.  Here's the tricky part: blur can be caused several ways.
1. The subject could be moving too much.  The solution is a faster shutter speed.
2. You might not be holding the camera steadily.  The solutions are a faster shutter speed, and/or a tripod, and/or "stabilization" (the camera will move the sensor or the lens to counteract camera shake).
3. The sensor might have poor quality.  If the sensor sucks, the image is not going to be very clear no matter what.  To illustrate this, compare the pictures from a cheap webcam, old cellphone, or sub-$50 camera vs. a picture from a "normal" digital camera.
4. The subject could be out of focus.  You can tell that this is the issue when part of the image is clear (just might not be the part you wanted).  In cameras these days, this is usually not the issue except for occasional mis-focusing.
5. The lens might have poor quality.  As with the sensor, if the lens is poor quality, the image won't be clear.  In the real world though, any half-decent camera will have a reasonably functional lens.  So this is not likely to be the issue.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD CAMERA
Although there are many causes of an unclear image, the good news is that you need to look for a few things in a camera to address all those issues:

A. Good sensor.  When a camera increases its sensitivity, the image will have more "noise."  A noisy image looks very grainy and/or there are colored splotches on the image, especially in the shadows.

A picture with lots of noise. Click and zoom in to see the grain.

Camera makers have a way of "fixing" noise.  It's called noise reduction which removes the appearance of noise but sacrifices detail.  When the noise reduction is very strong, the image looks blurry, like it was painted with water color.

An image with high noise reduction resulting in some loss of fine details and texture.  Click to zoom in.

A good sensor can increase sensitivity without having too much noise (and won't need very high noise reduction).  When a camera can have high sensitivity with low noise, you can shoot with a high shutter speed, addressing issues 1, 2 and 3 at the same time.

Please note that just because a camera has a high sensitivity setting doesn't mean it necessarily has low noise.  There are some compact cameras that tout sensitivity as high as 6400 but look like crap at that ISO, so it's not useful.

To find cameras with good sensors, check out many sites that show high ISO comparisons of cameras such as DPReview.com. Or google "high ISO" with the camera you're investigating.  The difference between sensors usually becomes very visible at ISO 1600 and above.  Another way to compare is to see the size of the sensor.  Generally, larger sensors have less noise than smaller sensors, although new small sensors can have less noise than a larger but older sensor.  And if YOU can't tell the difference then don't sweat it - no matter what the review says.

B. Stabilization.
Stabilization can solve issue #2 above.  With stabilization, a camera will try to counteract the camera shake by moving the lens and/or the sensor.  Some cameras have effective stabilization while others don't.  Some cameras have no stabilization at all.  Others will claim to have stabilization but actually do nothing but increase sensitivity (to raise shutter speed so as to make camera shake less noticeable).  See http://www.dpreview.com/news/2007/1/5/notimagestabilization .

To find out the effectiveness of a camera's stabilization, read reviews from sites such as DPReview.com.  They will usually comment on how effective the stabilization is.

C. Wide aperture.
The wider the aperture available, the higher your shutter speed can be.  This can solve issues #1 and 2.

The aperture of lenses is not unlimited.  Lenses have a maximum aperture that will be shown in the specifications.  You'll often see a number like f/3.5-5.6 or 1:3.5-5.6.  That means the lens' widest aperture changes as you zoom in.  The first aperture (3.5) is the aperture when the lens is at its widest.  The second aperture (5.6) is the aperture when the lens is at its longest.  I would pay attention to both numbers and probably give greater weight to the second number.  In other words, I much prefer a camera that has an aperture range of f/2.0-3.3 over another that has f/1.8-4.9.

What about lens quality?  Fortunately, camera manufacturers know their market pretty well.  They know that any buyer who is looking for a good sensor will be particular about the lens quality.  So all cameras with good sensors have decent if not good lenses.  If you want to be particular about it, you can see reviews to compare resolution, contrast, color, distortion, chromatic aberration and other lens characteristics.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY
In addition to the foregoing factors that have the most direct impact on image quality, there are other features that you may want in a camera if you plan to learn photography, even though you might not think they're useful now.

D. Manual controls.  If you really want to learn photography, look for a camera with the four primary exposure modes (PASM), PSM, or at least Manual mode.  However, not everyone is willing to take the time to learn photography and in my view, it is possible to get good pictures even with fully automatic controls.

E. Wide angle.  A wide angle is useful for capturing more of a scene or for shooting subjects in smaller spaces.  In terms of composition, a wide angle has a unique look that cannot be easily simulated (except by stitching several shots).  In this regard, many compact cameras have the not-so-wide equivalent of only 35mm or so.  True wide angle would be 28mm or wider.

24mm equivalent

F. Hot shoe.  A very important aspect of photos is lighting.  In that regard, having a hot shoe allows you to use external flashes which give you many more options for controlling lighting.  Good flash technique can also address issues 1, 2 and 3.  Almost all cameras use a "standard" hot shoe, which makes many flashes partially interchangeable.  The exceptions are Sony and the Nikon 1 series which have their own kind of hot shoe.  If you don't plan to learn photography, you don't need a hot shoe.

G. Raw mode.  Another important aspect of photography is postprocessing (editing the photo after it's taken).  To have the most options for changing the image during postprocessing, you need raw mode, which means means the camera can give you an uncompressed and unprocessed image file instead of a picture file that has already been processed according to what the manufacturer thinks.

There are other factors that determine quality of a camera such as its dynamic range or whether it has certain features that are important to photographers.  But those are the basics.

CONTROLS
Before buying a camera, I also suggest handling it to see if you like the controls, menus and ergonomics.  For some people, this can be the deciding factor.

MISSING THE SHOT
I should mention that the other most commonly requested feature is a camera that can "shoot quickly."  They usually complain that they are trying to take a photo of their kid or pet but the camera takes too long to capture the shot, thus missing the photo opportunity.

Comments:
- There's a unique camera out never needs to focus yet will always take perfectly focused shots (in fact you can change the focus *after* the photo has been taken). But it's not cheap and has many limitations.  Lytro $399.
- Next fastest-focusing option: DSLR.  Most DSLRs can focus faster than compact cameras.  There are exceptions (a few DSLRs are slow to focus) and focusing speed is affected not just by the camera but by the kind of lens.  See below: "Should I buy a DSLR?"

For most people, though, the best answer to capturing the moment (other than avoiding cameras known to have slow autofocus) is through shooting technique.  Specifically, by pre-focusing and anticipating the moment.  Reducing "Shutter Lag."

QUALITIES THAT ARE NOT IMPORTANT
- Megapixels.  More megapixels doesn't mean that the sensor is better.  It's much more important to have a sensor with less noise.  Unless you plan to print huge posters, anything that has 6 megapixels is more than enough.  Moreover, having too many megapixels usually means a sensor with higher noise.
- Digital zoom.  Digital zoom doesn't mean anything more than the camera cropping the middle of the photo to make it appear larger. Digital zoom doesn't offer any additional detail and you can do it yourself in a computer.
- Very long lens.  Manufacturers sometimes make a big deal about their camera having a very long lens (let's say over 300mm). However, for most people, there are only a few situations that require a very long lens, such as bird photography, animals, or stadium sports.  Even then, you would need a tripod to hold the camera steady.  For most people, it's not practical.  Another thing to note is that when the lens is fully zoomed in, the aperture is usually very small (thus often forcing a slow shutter speed, which is ironic, given that animal and sports photos usually need high shutter speeds).

CURRENT EXAMPLES OF GOOD COMPACT CAMERAS THAT *MAY* BE RIGHT FOR YOU
As of December 2011, these are some compact cameras that in my opinion meet the needs of many family photographers:

• Fuji X10 - has all of the foregoing.  Much more than what most casual photographers need but if you have the cash...
• Canon S90, S95, or S100 - has all of the foregoing except a hotshoe.
• Panasonic Lumix LX-5 - has all of the foregoing. Reviewed here.
• Nikon P300 - has all of the foregoing except a wide aperture, hot shoe, and raw mode.  Reviewed here.

If you don't need a camera that is so compact, you might consider moving up to a mirrorless or DSLR.  See below.

SHOULD I GET A DSLR or MIRRORLESS CAMERA?
Almost all DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have superior image quality compared to compact cameras.  99% of the time, a photo with one of these larger cameras will look better (less noisy, more detail) than a photo with a compact camera taken under the exact same circumstances simply because these larger cameras have larger sensors and more specialized lenses (rather than a lens that tries to do it all, and at low cost).  Moreover, these cameras have controls that a budding photographer can grow into.

It goes without saying that when you're getting one of these interchangeable lens cameras, the image quality will also depend on the quality of the lens you choose.  I hate to say it but when it comes to lenses you generally get what you pay for.

I should also caution you that getting an interchangeable lens camera will not necessarily guarantee that your photos will actually look good.  That's because...

FINAL REMARKS
...I'll let you in on a secret: none of this really matters.  If what you care about is having good photos, the way to get that is through learning photography techniques. Start with good composition and lighting.  When you get decent at that, I suggest learning post-processing.  If you have at least a decent (even if not great) camera, learning photography will have a greater impact on your photos than buying a high quality camera.

RELATED POSTS:
Simplified Guide to Exposure
Roadmap for Family Photographers
Basics of Lighting
Should I Buy a DSLR?

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Traveling Light

I'm going to be on vacation for a couple of weeks to visit friends and family.  I don't expect to go to any exotic places so I decided to bring just minimal equipment.  Here are what I'm bringing:

• Lumix LX5.  In this case, I'm betting that it will be an adequate camera to cover the wide to standard focal length.  This allows me to leave behind my Tamron 17-50 VC, while still having two cameras, and a compact when the situation doesn't warrant a DSLR.  Furthermore, I can take videos.
• Nikon D70.  It will be kind of sunny where I'm going, so the sync speed would be useful.  I also like the extra long battery life.  Plus if it gets damaged or lost while I'm traveling, it's not a big deal.  The D300 will get some rest. :)
• Sigma 50-150.  To cover the telephoto.  Complements the focal length range of the LX5.
• one SB-800.
• Lastolite Brolly Grip + Lastolite Trifold Umbrella.  I really like the results I get from this compact lighting combo.
• Nikon SC-29 TTL cable.  Makes the Brolly Grip combo much easier to use.
• charger for the LX5 and D70.

The whole kit fits into a fairly small camera bag, the Lowepro Nova 3 AW (the umbrella is under the top cover).  Pardon the nasty shots.  We're hurriedly getting ready for our trip so I only used my iPhone.

The Trifold umbrella peeks out from under the top flap cover.

See y'all later!

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Official Nikon D4 product video

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Circular Polarizer: Miracle Maker

Circular polarizers are a very interesting piece of equipment and usually overlooked by beginners who only buy UV filters as per the sales person's advice. I like to say that the polarizers are magic makers, the very first time you use one, you will be astonished with what it can do. Hit the jump to learn more.

 

The polarizer filter idea is the same as your sun glasses, I don't want to get into scientific details about light waves, polarization and stuff, but if you're interested, you'll find a good explanation here. Suffice to say, a polarizing filter cancels a part of the light reflected from any object, be it the sky, a car's windshield or the water's surface.

 

So how can this be of benefit for you? I'll give you a small exercise, go outside in the morning and try shooting your car from outside and see the car's interior through the glass, mostly (depending on your angle) you'll find that the glass reflects the sky and the surroundings. Check this example:

Now here's the same picture with the circular polarizer:

Just like magic, but the sharp reader will notice that the side windows have become reflective in the second picture, you can't have everything when there are different angles from which the light is reflected. But if I had to have them all clear, I would use a tripod, take two shots and use photoshop to merge the parts I needed.

Polarizers are generally useful in eliminating reflections like the example above, more examples would be shooting wrist watches, shooting fish through tanks, shooting through the surface of the water, etc...

They can also be used to get better contrasting skies and miraculously vibrant images, this works better when you're shooting 90 degrees to the sun (i.e. the sun is either to your left or your right), and since the polarizing effect depends on the angle of reflection, you'll usually find that the sky color doesn't become even across the picture. The picture below is a standard picture shot without the polarizer.

And here's the same picture with the polarizing filter:

Unbelievable! So how do one use a polarizer? See the picture at the top of the post? This is how it looks like, you thread it to your lens like any other filter and you have a part at the front that rotates, and you keep rotating the filter while looking through the viewfinder until you get the look you want. It will also be very good if your lens' front element doesn't rotate with focusing since this will change the filter's rotation each time the camera changes focus.

They always tell you to buy the best brands in filters since they have coatings that minimizes reflections and will not degrade the picture in terms of sharpness, however, polarizers are very expensive especially if you have a large diameter thread, and different lenses with different thread sizes. I myself went for a not-so-expensive 72mm (larget lens thread size I own) Chinese brand since I don't use it a lot, and I didn't find it cost me pixel sharpness at all, and for my remaining lenses I bought some cheap Bower step-down adapters like the one below.

 

 

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Posted in cpl, polarizer | No comments

Wednesday, 28 December 2011

Christmas Portrait On-Location

Posted on 19:20 by Unknown

We're sending our Christmas cards pretty late this year (it's now more like a Happy New Year card).  At least I'm pleased with the portrait that we finally got to do.  Rather than discuss the lighting itself, I want to talk about the shooting process.  (If you want to know about the lighting per se check out this post)  Here's how we put together this shot.

1. Scope out the site beforehand.  I thought of a location for our family portrait.  Although we had been there before, I checked it out to see possible places to shoot our portrait and to note the sun's position.
2. Have a plan.  I visualized our portrait and thought of the lighting equipment I would need to get the look I wanted.
3. Test all equipment.  Before the day of the shoot, I made sure to test my equipment to confirm that they were functioning as expected.  I had been planning to use the Cyber Commander but I couldn't get it to trigger properly (will soon be posting how I resolved it).  Although I was disappointed, I was glad to find out then rather than on the field.  I switched to the Radiopopper JrX.
4. Don't haul too much equipment.  Whenever I have a shooting session I often bring everything I can fit into a large storage chest so that I can address as many issues as possible.  Most of the time I don't use even half of the stuff I bring.  At the same time, hauling around the equipment is stressful not just physically but mentally, limiting my imagination for alternate locations (to avoid having to relocate the equipment).  This time I brought only what I needed, with only a few backups.  Worst case scenario?  Shoot ambient and fix it with postprocessing.
5. Setup before the client gets there.  It usually takes me a while to set up the lights with care.  Meanwhile my wife has little patience and has to deal with two kids running around.  To avoid pressure, we planned for me to get to the location ahead of time and set everything up.  That worked very well and I was able to prepare at a relaxed pace even with my son looking around the area and asking lots of questions.  I looked for the best shooting angle, setup the tripod, took test shots, set my ambient exposure, adjusted my flash exposure, tinkered with the location of the lights.  By the time my wife and daughter got to the shoot, everything was ready and they just had to pose and smile.
6. Be open to other possibilities.  Although I had a plan, I wasn't attached to it.  When I got to the location on the day of the shoot, I analyzed it with fresh eyes.  I saw that an alternate location would allow me to use the sun as a backlight/rimlight and I proceeded to create a new plan from there.
7. Simple vs. Ambitious.  There were many techniques I wanted to try and I wanted to add fancy lighting effects.  In the past though that approach hasn't been easy and I wasn't able to execute the complex plan very well.  Instead I kept things simple.  Because the setup was so simple I was able to execute it very well, which freed my mind to focus on other things like facial expressions.
8. Top-down vs. Bottom-up lighting.  Along the lines of having a simple plan, my plan wasn't built on eliminating ambient light and creating all the light sources I would need for a portrait that was designed according to my imagination.  Instead, I analyzed the ambient light first and because it was pretty good, I built my lighting plan around the existing light.
9. Plan for merging group shots.  I took over 150 shots of us yet not one of those shots had us all with great expressions.  The fact is that when I'm not behind the camera I can't see everything, and it's virtually impossible to take a perfect portrait with kids.  Instead I just have to accept that I will need to merge faces.  To facilitate this, I take a background shot every time I move the tripod. I make the tripod as steady as possible (by hanging a bag off the hook for example) and I shoot a little wider than I want (for flexibility with cropping).
10. Use manual focus mode.  Autofocus slows the camera down especially in challenging conditions such as strong backlight.  It's better to get the focus right then switch to manual focus so the camera won't have to take the time to autofocus.
11. Vagabond II instead of Vagabond Mini.  For this shot I used a Vagabond Mini because it was lighter and I didn't need a lot of flash power.  However the Mini had a difficult time recycling the flash fast enough.  Note to self: use Vagabond II instead when I expect to take a lot of shots.

Equipment used:

1. Nikon D300
2. SanDisk UDMA CF Card. The fast CF card allowed me to take several shots in quick succession without worrying about locking up the camera.
3. Tamron 17-50 VC.  I've come to rely on the very useful focal range of this lens.  I didn't need its fast 2.8 constant aperture on this occasion but it would have been there if I needed it for impromptu solo portraits with shallow depth of field.
4. Linco light stand.  I love this light stand because of its extra wide base and sturdiness.
5. Targus TG-P60T tripod.  This "cheap" tripod continues to serve me well.  It's not as rock-steady as "real" tripods but for my kind of photos (I rarely use long exposures) it works.
6. Meike MK-RC7 remote shutter.  Performed perfectly on this shot.  No misses.  Hopefully it stays that way.
7. AlienBees B1600.  Small and light relative to the amount of power it has.  Has always been very reliable.
8. Radiopopper JrX Studio.  The most reliable radio trigger I have.
9. Westcott 60" convertible shoot-through.  As long as it's not windy, it works well.

Thanks for visiting the blog.  We wish you and your family happiness throughout the new year! 

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Posted in christmas, family, holiday, lighting, location, planning, portrait | No comments

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• auto white balance
• autofocus
• AWB
• awl
• back button focus
• background
• background blur
• backlight
• backlighting
• backlit
• bad behavior
• bad photography
• balance
• bare flash
• battery
• BBF
• beach
• beams
• beauty dish
• bellagio
• BFT
• birthday
• black
• black foamie thing
• black rapid
• blackrapid
• blogs
• blower
• blown
• blur
• bokeh
• bounce
• bounce card
• bounce flash
• bower
• bracket
• brightness
• brilliance
• brolly grip
• brother
• build
• burst mode
• butterflies
• butterfly
• C.Fn
• cable
• cake
• camera
• camera bag
• camera releases
• camera settings
• candle
• candlelight
• canon
• Canon 100mm Macro L IS
• canon 200mm f28L
• canon 24-105
• canon 40 stm
• canon 40mm f28 pancake
• canon 50
• canon 50 1.4
• canon 55-250
• canon 5d mark 2
• canon 5d mark ii
• canon 5d mark iii
• canon 5d2
• canon 5d3
• Canon 60d
• canon 6d
• canon g11
• canon speedlite
• car
• carbon fiber
• catch lights
• cheap
• christmas
• clean
• cleaning
• clipped
• clipping
• close up
• clouds
• cls
• clustered
• color
• compact
• comparison
• composition
• compositional aid
• construction
• contrast
• cooler master
• copyright
• core i7
• cowboy
• cowboystudio
• cpl
• creepy
• crop factor
• crop sensor
• cyber commander
• cybersync
• d-lux
• d-lux5
• d3
• d300
• D5100
• D600
• d70
• d700
• D7100
• d90
• dark background
• david hobby
• daylight
• dell 24 inch
• depth of field
• desert
• diamond
• digital
• directional
• distance
• diy
• dlux
• dlux5
• dng
• double
• dslr
• DSLR bag
• dual
• dust
• dx
• dynamic range
• earthquake
• ebay
• ebay trigger
• eclipse
• editing
• EF 40mm f/2.8
• ef-s 60mm
• einstein
• Electro GN
• engagement
• environmental portrait
• ep5
• equipment
• ETTL
• ettr
• europe
• events
• evf
• ex600
• existing light
• expensive
• exposing to the right
• exposure
• f/3.5
• family
• faq
• fasten-r3
• favorite
• fayoum
• Fayoum desert
• fill
• fill light
• film
• filter
• finepix
• fire
• fireplace
• first impressions
• fish-eye
• fisheye
• fix
• FL600R
• flash
• flash bounce
• flash sync
• flash trigger
• flashmeter
• flashright
• focal length
• focus
• food
• football
• fotodiox
• fountain
• freexwire
• fuji
• fujifilm
• Full Frame
• fun
• fx
• galaxy s 3
• galaxy s4
• gecko
• GeForce gtx570 OC
• gel
• geomag
• ggs
• ghost
• gigabyte z77 ud3h
• glass
• gn
• Goodbye
• gorillapod
• gregg
• grid
• grip
• group shot
• gskill ripjaws
• guide
• guide number
• gx7
• haf 912
• handheld
• hands on
• hands-on
• hdr
• head shot
• hiatus
• high dynamic range
• high iso
• high speed sync
• highlight
• highlights
• histogram
• holder
• holiday
• home
• home made
• Honda civic
• honeycomb
• hotshoe
• hoya
• humor
• i9500
• id
• image quality
• impressions
• indoor flash
• infrared
• infringement
• insects
• inverse square law
• japan
• jewel
• jewelry
• joby head
• jpeg
• Kingston hyperX SSD
• kirk tuck
• kl bird park
• krakow
• kuala lumpur
• las vegas
• lastolite
• laurence kim
• lax
• lcd
• leica
• lens
• lens cap
• lens compression
• lens review
• lenses
• lenspen
• lensrentals
• light
• light painting
• lighting
• lightroom
• lightroom 4
• lightroom 5
• location
• long
• long exposure
• los angeles
• low key
• low light
• Lowepro
• Lowepro 45aw
• Lowepro 55aw
• lr4
• lumiquest softbox III
• lumix
• lx-5
• lx5
• m4/3
• m43
• macro
• macro adapter
• makernotes
• malaysia
• manfrotto
• manfrotto tripod
• manual
• mark ii
• mark iii
• MFT
• mft. micro four thirds
• micro four thirds
• mielec
• migration
• mini review
• mirror
• mirror-less
• mirrorless
• mobile
• modification
• modifier
• monobloc
• monoblock
• monolight
• motion
• motion blur
• multi function printer
• multiple
• nano crystal
• natural light
• neil
• Neil VN
• niekerk
• nikkor
• nikon
• nikon d600
• noise
• off camera
• oil
• olympus
• olympus 12-50
• Olympus 40-150
• olympus 45
• olympus 45 18
• olympus om-d em-5
• om-d
• omd
• omd em1
• omd em5
• omd em6
• on-camera
• one inch
• overexposure
• overpowering sun
• panasonic
• panasonic leica 25 14
• pancake
• party
• passport
• pastries
• pastry
• pc
• pentax
• peter
• phone
• phone photography
• photo
• photo tips
• photography
• photokina
• photomerge
• photoshop
• photoshop elements
• planning
• pocketwizard
• point and shoot
• poland
• polarizer
• popup
• popup flash
• portrait
• post processing
• post-processing
• postprocessing
• product
• product shots
• profile
• protection
• protector
• quad-flash
• quantum
• radiopopper
• raid 0
• Range finder
• raw
• raw editing
• raw+jpeg
• rays
• real
• recovery
• reflection
• reflector
• resources
• restaurant
• review
• rf-603
• rf603
• ricoh
• ring
• ringflash
• robin wong
• roger cicala
• rogue
• rokinon
• roll off
• roll-off
• rolloff
• rs-5
• rs-7
• rumors
• s5
• s5 pro
• s5pro
• samples
• samsung
• samyang
• sb-26
• sb-80
• sb26
• sb800
• screen protector
• sensor
• sensor swab
• sensorclear
• sensorklean
• sensorklear
• separation
• shadow
• shadow pulling
• shadows
• shards
• sharpening
• sharpness
• shoot through
• shoot-through
• shoot-thru
• shooting technique
• shootout
• short
• sigma
• sigma 50-150
• skin tones
• skylight
• Slik Mini Tripod
• slingshot
• slow
• small
• smooth
• soft
• softbox
• sony
• sony a99
• sony rx100
• sony t10
• specular
• speed
• speedlight
• speedlite
• spinlight
• spots
• standard
• stockholm
• story
• strap
• strobe
• strobist
• studio
• studio strobe
• subject
• substitute
• sudden
• summilux
• sunrise
• sunset
• sweden
• swivel
• sync speed
• t2i
• t3i
• Table top tripod
• tamron
• technique
• techniques
• tele
• telephoto
• thinktank retrospective 5
• third party
• tips
• tokina
• tonal
• tonality
• tone curve
• toploader
• toys
• translucent
• travel photography
• tri-flash
• Tribute
• trifold
• trigger
• tripod
• truth
• ttl
• TTL Cord
• u43
• ultra-wide
• ultrawide
• umbrella
• underexposure
• unlimited sync speed
• up-rise
• up-rise 15z
• update
• uprise
• USM
• uv
• uwa
• vanguard
• versus
• vertical
• video
• view nx2
• visual science lab
• vs
• wadi rayan
• wd caviar black
• web
• weekend
• westin
• white balance
• white lightning
• wide
• wide angle
• window
• wireless
• wireless flash
• wireless release
• wireless trigger
• workflow
• Yashica
• yashica gtn
• yashica st-7
• yn-560
• yn-560ex
• yn-ex600
• yn560
• yong nuo
• yongnuo
• zack arias
• zoom
• zoom toploader
• zuiko

Blog Archive

• ▼  2013 (165)
  • ▼  December (5)
    • Olympus E-PL3 with 14-42 Lens $199; Moving from Ni...
    • Sigma 18-35 1.8 Revisited; Where to Get It
    • Speedlight Modifiers - 50% discount at Fotodiox
    • Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 Mini Review
    • Evening Portraits with Flash
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