Thoughts from First Charity Auction

Singapore Chamber of Commerce here in Jakarta, had our Singapore National Day celebration on 26 August 2015. Thrown in last minute were pictures of Singapore, they wanted, and to be auctioned off for charity!



1.Selection
I don't have a lot of Singapore pictures, since I only shoot when I go on Biz Travels, and timing wise, not always that fantastic. I struggled to find those "print" worthy.

I picked the top pix, as it was obviously Singapore, and did quite well on social websites like 500px and Pixoto - which was taken fairly recently. I had to dig through some older pictures.

The last picture in this blog, was the one I thought over the most, I hated it when I took it, just didn't make it. But I didn't have enough, so decided to see what could be done.


2.Post Processing

Since I was going to print this biggish, I wanted to re-touch up the post processing of the pictures - for facebook, I don't really do much, as FB resolution is small, and often degenerate the picture anyway.

But this picture, which I previously liked, looked bad. I struggled with the post processing, the sky too grey, the sea not clear enough.
Anyways, I finally went to the printer, and got the 5 printed. I realized it's really nice to see pictures printed out. But all the flaws are also blown up.



3.Lessons from the Print - Calibrate your Monitor
 
The B&W picture were fine, but the color pictures, just seem a bit off. I was not so happy with my post-pro, and how it turned out. There IS a difference, and next time I do something similar, I will invest in a monitor calibration spyder thingee.









4.Lessons from the Auction - Prepare a story
My favorite picture was this @ Changi Airport. And I was really surprised that it was the "cheapest" at Rp1.2mn? It was the first photo, and people weren't so sure what to expect.
I realized that if I had prepared, and explained the picture or the story of the picture, it would probably have done better, or given it more meaning.





5.Lessons from the Auction - People see pictures diff from Photographers?

This was the picture which nearly didn't make it. I wasn't so happy with it - but surprisingly, this was hotly auctioned, and went for Rp7mn! and the 2nd bidder asked for a copy after too. I was completely blown away.

People seemed to like the B&W more, and suggested I shoot more of it. And it is partly because of the color being off, partly as they were mostly night scenes, and not the ideal golden hour.

But this gives me lots to think about. Maybe I will focus on B&W, which I love, but can't seem to find good enough pictures. I will need to work on this.

All in, besides this all for a great cause, it really was a big boost to my confidence that people paid money for MY photographs. I am really humbled. And I gotta keep working on my "craft" and keep shooting!

Lessons from Shooting Events

Shooting Events, aren't as "pretty" as landscape or holiday shots.

But I've been shooting quite a few recently - All Saints 20th Anniversary celebration (Men's breakfast; Dinner and Sunday Service); ARPC church camp, there's a few things I'd learned.

1. Background.

 The stage had a backdrop of projector screen. So if you shoot straight on, the background will be messy and very bright, and person cannot be seen so well.

So I had to shoot from an angle, pick a dark and relatively uncluttered background, so that the person's face can be clearly seen and stand out.













2. Moments/Expression.

I think a picture is more interesting when it captures a certain expression/moment/expression. So here, I wanted to shoot Philip and Judy together (coz they were obviously the VIPs), but waited till they laughed at something said - it makes them look better, and it's a picture that invokes an emotional response - you just smile.

Like here on the right, some interaction between the people you want to shoot, always works better.










3. Shoot long and go Candid

I spotted these 3 men all engrossed, but ended up with similar poses and shot it quickly.

As you see, I prefer candid shots, and sometimes, it is easier to shoot candids with a long(er) lens, in this case, 200mm. You spot, you shoot. and the Subject doesn't know or doesn't have time to respond to the camera!

But it is very much up to the person's preference.



4.White Balance

If you note, the pictures taken for All SAints (2nd and 4th) have a more yellowish tone. It is both a function of using orange gelled flash, light of the room. Although I do like a warmer picture, in hindsight, it is tend to be a bit more yellow. The 1st and 3rd picture, was shot under white light, and no flash. The colors come out more natural and nicer.
I still need to go understand better on using flash and color of ambient light.

5. Mixing it up.

Since I have the fish eye, I always use it when I want to capture "it all". Composition is also important, balance between the elements. In this case, the groovy lines of the carpet balances with the roof, and yet you can take the whole ballroom in.

 Here's another use of the lens I like, to shoot people sitting in a circle, which would be much harder to, using a normal lens. I went, took 5 sec, snap and off I went. Didn't have to get people to move around.

Here, again it is to play with the carpet and composition. Just a fun shot, with kids playing, and them having a "natural" reaction.

Have fun shooting, shoot what you like, shoot for yourself, and sometimes, that fun comes through, and you break the boredom of shooting boring shots.





Conclusion
Shooting events requires you to watch people, anticipate reactions. You have to observe lighting, be familiar with your gear and settings (you know what settings each lens require, instinctively), watch the background. I experiment, shoot from different angles and then pick and choose. Like the camp, by the time I reached the 5th day, I knew where I knew which angles/lens work better. And you are very much limited by the venue, so mix it up using different lenses.

I obviously have a lot to learn, but it was good fun (albeit functional) just shooting, learning, then shoot somemore.

Happy Shooting!

New Year Resolutions

It seems a good time to be making new year resolutions - let's see how many actually lasts the whole year! These are do-able, not too strenuous on time commitments... so here goes.

1.Print and Frame up 10 photos.

I cheat. I got 2 photos framed up by someone else (above is one of em), although the framing was very cheap - hanging up in my office in front of me - is quite nice! Photos were meant to be printed and enjoyed, and not just as a desktop wallpaper. IMHO. So I think there is space for 8 more. There's always wall space at home to be invaded too!



 

2.Intentionally shoot

Go out and shoot something intentionally once a month. More than just family shots, events or church pictures. I will (try) and make time (Saturday morning or an evening) to go out and shoot something.

 






3.Learn something on Photoshop.

I'm a complete newbie on Photoshop. Ok, I did learn how to post-process star trails,  But if I am to develop (*get it?*) I need to keep expanding all parts of my photography journey, and the weakest (well, amongst many other parts) link is my post-processing. I did buy a book last year, which I never quite got started - so I'm calling it - learn something (could be an simple action, but something I didn't know before) once every quarter! That should get me to chapter 4 by end of the year.

 
4. Attend a photography tour/workshop.

Ideally, twice, but let's start with just 1. I did a Bromo shoot last year, which was really really fantastic - in getting me out of my photography doldrums. It's great to meet other photographers and learn something practical.

 





5.Travel and shoot

I also tremendously enjoyed shooting in Bhutan (in my getaway with the wifey) last year. Nothing like a new place, culture to pique interest. Love it!

 









6.Shoot something different.

Last year, I learned shooting stars, dabbled in a bit of Infrared photography, and using fisheye.
I need to keep on trying the IR, learn to see architecture through the fisheye. Maybe I will try Macro photography (not bugs though, maybe seeing common everyday things in a different light) - which means I HAVE to buy a new lens... (hehe).


Do you have any resolutions that hasn't been already broken since 1 Jan?
Happy Shooting everyone!

Anatomy of a Shot

I was just in Singapore for a meeting, and as always, I bring my tripod and camera with me, because I find that there is always something interesting to photograph (grass is greener on the other side?)
Anyway, I was a little short on time, and didn't get to shoot anything, but when I got to the airport about to come back - I told myself that I HAD to shoot something, so that I didn't feel like I wasted the effort of lugging my camera stuff for nothing.

As usual, I'm drawn to the stark architecture of T3. 2 of the lift had the top covered by advertisements (urgh!), but managed to find one "naked", where I camped for 45min after checking in, and before having to board.

And just because it's been ages since I blogged, I thought I take a walk through the process of this shot, from beginning right up to the post processing.

First thing is to pick the scene, work on the composition of the frame. I wanted this lift to be the main focus of the shot, I liked the bare, industrial look of it, which fits in with the roofing, and the lines on the floor kinda lead to it. I took maybe 20-30 shots, trying out without filters, and with filters, various exposure times.

In the end, I selected this - coz I thought pictures without people looked too sterile and cold. The slow shutter speed gave a sense of movement - and the guy walking across, without blocking the lift was what I liked. A trick is that since I was camped there, all set up with a tripod and remote trigger, people will ignore you - if you pretend to look elsewhere. :)
 
Anyway, this is the RAW file.

 Due to the nature of the lens (wide angle), you will see that the picture is "bent". But Lightroom has now evolved so that it auto-corrects the distortion. One click later and you get

Pretty neat huh! All the bent lines (and pillars) all straighten out.

Next, I strip out the colors, cause it adds nothing to it. I just love black and whites.

Now, the problem is, because the window scene is very bright, the rest of the picture (indoor) is a bit dark. The lift is lost in the business of the picture - so my global (affects the whole picture) adjustments in Lightroom is to lower the highlights, increase the shadows, and boost clarity.

I still didn't think that the lift stood out clearly enough, so I "darkened" the bright window more, darkened the lift, boosted overall exposure to accentuate the dark lift against the white background. I actually spent a bit of time fine-tuning this via the black and white sliders - to give the final image right on top.

The lessons are:
1. Start with an image you are happy with in terms of composition - this takes time and effort to experiment with various settings/filters. 

2. Post processing is an important part of getting to how you envisage the final image to be. You will see that the final image is starkly different to the RAW. And whilst I don't really use photoshop, I am a big proponent of Lightroom - it is a important and very powerful tool - that is (almost) as important as the gear you use.

Happy Shooting!

Anatomy of a Super Long Exposure Shot.

Holidays are the best times to explore and photograph new places.
Here's a shot of Rainbow Beach, just a stone's throw where we holidayed (in Gold Coast) just.

This is the EXIF: 16mm (as wide as you can go); ISO100 (native ISO, for the cleanest pictures); F16 (I always start with F16 in landscape shots); 446s (yes, that is more than 7 minutes).

Here's how its done.

Firstly, the key is composition. Take your time, look around, and find a composition that you like.
So I liked the dramatic clouds, foreground interests (big boulders). I decided not to go rule of thirds, and just shot the horizon at the middle, because I wasn't sure which I liked more - sky or boulders. In long exposures, the clouds are important, they are the paint brushes for the shot. But the foreground interest is the stability in the picture, that adds great contrasts. So I kept both.

Side note, shooting with the tripod in the sea - is difficult. I tried quite a few, but coz of waves, it ends up not tack sharp/blur. So I had to navigate through the boulders to find a spot for my tripod - stable enough, away from waves, and a decent composition.

Take your time.

So this is the first shot, without the ND filter. F16; 16mm; ISO100; 0.8s.
I love the ND filter, ever since I solved my light leakage problem, I was confident again in using this. A recap - this filter takes out 499/500 of the light hitting the camera sensor.
So if the shot above is 0.8s, with the filter, it should be 0.8 times 500 = 400 (or 6 min 40s). As the sun was setting, light was dropping - I let it go open for a bit more.

This is what I got.

I got this strange purple hue at the bottom right (the picture is already slightly corrected, but couldn't get rid of this) - so what I did was to convert it to Black and White - and you get the picture right on top.

So the ND filter smoothens out the water, giving you that milky tranquil feel. The clouds become your paint brush. It really is a trial and error process, you never really know what you are going to get. But if you don't try it, you won't know.
Also, with a 7 minute shot, you don't get many chances at this.

There you go. Keep shooting!

How a Hat solved my photography achilles heel

Since my trip to Australia in March last year, I've noticed that this line/purple hue appears whenever I use my Hoya ND400 filter (its a 9 stop filter which allows 1/500 of light through - to allow you to shoot long exposures) - see example above. Initially, it only appeared occasionally. Eventually, the filter fell apart, and I replaced it. I also upgraded my wide angle lens from Tokina 11-16 (DX lens) to Nikon 16-35 (Full Frame) lens. The frequency of the purple banding/line - became almost 100% - and asking my photography friends in Indonesia, in Singapore - no one had ever seen it. I didn't think it was the filter (since it was new, and also happened with the old filter), the lens or camera (since it doesn't appear when I don't use the filter).

This recent trip to Lombok, it appeared again! And I was determined to eliminate as many variables as possible, before I ditched the filter and adopt a new system.

So here's the normal 16mm shot, without filter.

The shot with the filter is right on top. Argh!
So, I tried it with a different lens - the 24-70mm. And this is the result:

ok, no problem right? Here's the same shot, with the ND filter.

Argh! So it definitely isn't a lens problem. Maybe a filter problem? I try the same shot, but this time, the filter is turned 90 degrees... to see if the line changes.

?!!! erm, three's no difference! I'm stumped. It isn't a problem with the filter, not the lens. I try searching on the internet again, and finally stumble on the problem - light leakage from the view finder! Its when you have light going through the view finder, leaking into the sensor. Its more pronounced during long exposures.

And so, since I didn't bring the view finder blocker (which I've never used) - I used my good old trust-worthy hat- and just hung it over the view-finder...

Voila! It works! Trying about 10 more different shots, the line is gone! Hurray!
Light leakage - it seems to be more camera specific, and happens with the D600 (didn't happen with my D90). So if it happens, use your hat!

Exploring Lightroom 5's Perspective Correction

An interesting picture of one of Jakarta's main streets - Jl. Jend. Sudirman at right at peak hour. So I used a 10 stop Neutral Density filter, so the busy cars zipped by (slowly), leaving only bare trace of light trails.

And as I used a 16mm lens, you'll see the lens distortion - buildings aren't upright. And you'll need photoshop to correct it.

However, since the release of Lightroom 5, a new feature is the perspective correction - which I tried. So the "Auto" turns out like this:

Not too bad - the buildings are more or less upright, but maybe a little to much as the top looks bigger than the bottom.

There is a "Full" perspective correction, which makes the picture like this:

So.... not always turns out well.

Summary: It's a useful little feature, which is a one click adjustment. Works out some of the time - whether "Full" or "Auto", try and experiment to see which turns out better, or which you like better.
Is it worth an upgrade to LR5, if you have say LR 4? Prob not. But if you have it, use it.

Keep Shooting!
Soo Sing

Sports Photography Tips - 1 year the wiser?

I believe I can fly. F2.8; 1/500; ISO2200.

Here's a follow up, one and a half years after writing this.

I still love going to my kids' sports events - both to see them grow in the sports they love, as well as for me to use the hobby I love to some good use!

1.Equipment

I armed myself with my standard lens 24-70 f2.8 and my "sports" lens 80-200 f2.8; and of course shot with my beloved D600.

With basketball, at least in the arena I was shooting, it was small, and I was able to get up close, so I shot manly with the 24-70. A thing to note is that, because basketball is a very quick game,having a zoom is very useful - if not essential - to getting the shot. Especially if you are like me, with only 1 body to use.

Shooting indoors can be tricky. Hard to hit 1/500 if there isn't enough light. So having a f2.8 (or faster?) lens is helpful. But it is more expensive. The key is really to use whatever lenses you have.






2.Shooting Mode
To freeze the action, you'll need to shoot at at least 1/500 or  faster. So I use aperture mode (biggest aperture possible at F2.8); allow a highest ISO (better noisy sharp picture, than clean blur one) plus a minimum shutter speed at 1/500.

I also used with Auto-Focus (Continuous) or AI-Servo in Canon speak, so that the camera continues to track the subject, and changes the focus accordingly. Not 100%, but its pretty good - maybe 80% it is able to track the subject. The problem with the D600 is the small focus area this has. But we work with the "limitations" we have.

Instead of the normal single shot I take, I take multiple - which will give me a better chance of catching the "moment".

3.Know the sport and Anticipate
To shoot sports, you need to know about the sport (fortunately, knowing how to play it is completely optional). You'll need to know how fast the game is, where your subject (my son) will be; what position he plays, what kind of plays he likes to make - where the action will be.

My son is a scorer (shooting guard I think), always attacking the basket. So I plonked myself just under the basket at where I know he'll be shooting.

In the picture above, my son stole the ball from the opponent, dribbled quickly towards the basket - I knew that he'd either lay-up or try a short jumper - so I'm tracking him with my camera, and shooting - until he takes the shot, then you get your shot. 

4.Capture the moment
I love this picture because it captures that moment - the moment when he just release the shot; and since its a steal, everyone is chasing him, and nicely facing the camera.

I converted the picture to black and white - because color would just be too fussy, distracting. With black and white, you focus on shadows and shapes - and in this case, my son is enveloped by the indoor lights; and the shadows of the players chasing him cast on the court.



There are no short cuts to any form of photography. No amount of reading books/forums/internet can replicate just going out there to shoot, and learning from experience. It's also not about the equipment. Just keep shooting!

Rookie Mistake! Sigh.

I almost always shoot in Aperture Mode. Sometimes Manual for landscapes.

There was a dance at church earlier that day, and decided that with the low light, I wanted to capture the movement "frozen" - and so switched to Shutter Priority - setting 1/500s, and letting the camera pick ISO and Aperture size.

And of course, I forgot to switch it back (you know where this is heading....).
So when I had a hot date with my wife at night, I had to shoot what I eat (wife groans...) and shot this appetizer (warm brie with grilled vegetables - which was quite nice). I noticed on the screen it looking a little dark, but didn't think too much, shot a few, then ate.

Then when I processed the picture - I noticed that this was shot at aperture f2.8 (which is right); ISO 25,600 (erh....); and shutter speed 1/500s! Doh! Forgot to switch back, forgot to check - rookie mistake!

Oh well, lesson learned. Always double check your settings, before you shoot.
And yes, keep shooting!

Late to the Instagram game?

Yes I'm late to the game.

I used to have an iPhone 3GS, and loved taking pictures with it - back in 2009.
I shot my family's trip to UK with it, and had a real hoot tooling around all the different apps.
Then it got pickpocketed in 2010, and thus ended my short mobile photography.

I finally got another iPhone earlier this year, but the camera as much as I thought I would, as I still carried my DSLR everywhere!


 

 Well, last weekend, I went on a Minimoon (short cheap trip, no kids!) with my gorgeous wife to Bali. My inlaws were zipping into town, and whilst seated in the plane, I saw them disembark from the plane next to us (their flight was delayed, we missed them), and walking on the tarmac - oh no! Camera in the overhead compartment, and so whip out the iPhone - snap - and upload immediately?!!! wow.









 Whilst lounging around the villa, I tried out various apps, hipstamatic (which I loved from before), camera + (which I remember was highly acclaimed!), iphone's own camera, and of course instagram.

I did find that the instagram app, was the easiest to use - in terms of adding filters - I really didn't want the filters to be the gimmick of the pictures, and spend too much time combing various apps to get the "effect" - bit too gimmicky.

There's also seem to be whole communities around Instagram. Although I did notice that people used #hashtags, which I had to google and see what its about.

The interesting thing about Instangramming/Mobile photography is, its quick, easy to use, and really quick to process/upload if you want to feed into your social media (facebook). 

The square format is interesting - and I did find myself having to compose and think photographically differently! Somehow, I suddenly felt freer to take the frivolous - working not on the technical aspects of the picture, but how to frame it, compose the picture. 

 The rules of photography still applies, rule of thirds, leading lines etc, but just framing a picture in a square is different, its fun, its quirky. 

And the good thing is, its fast, non-threatening and discrete. Just whip up the camera, snap, and you can always process it discreetly a few minutes later. 

, and during one of the days, we just nua (did lots of nothing, wife read) in the villa, where I toyed with the iPhone and checked out mobile photography, trying out various apps!

 To be honest, after reviewing the pictures in the computer, the quality of an Instagram and a DSLR picture is vastly different. But they serve a whole different purpose altogether.

It is an art form, that is completely different. And that's the best thing about Photography - you are not bound by the equipment you have, and after all, the best camera you have is the one you have on you - and most of us always carry our phones with us - so that's no excuse!

So keep shooting, with whatever you have.
See you on Instagram! (look me up @ soosing)

Patience, Perseverance and Perth

In my recent trip to Margaret River in Perth, I knew that I had to go shoot something new, different, and hopefully interesting/good. And if you are shooting any landscapes, you'd know that the best time to shoot is sunrise or sunset.
Not quite willing to wake up at 5am, I'd settle for sunsets, and with just 3 days in Margaret River, I'd basically 3 chances of trying to shoot.

1st day, I dragged my family to Surfer's Point @ Cowaramup Bay - which is the closest beach to where we stayed. The sunset was gorgeous, I snapped, and snapped, and sadly, after over 1 hour, nothing I shot worth anything. The only picture I liked was this of my family, the gorgeous golden light makes everyone look good. But no landscape - the spot was just a plain beach, kinda a cape like pointy beach, with no features. Sigh.

Day 2, we went to Yallingup Bay, there were lots of rock formations, so I thot it'll make great long exposures. Well, the problem was the sun was setting on the beach side, and casting a lot of shadows on the beach side. The numerous pictures I took, were pathetic. I kept moving, shooting, and trying. Finally, whilst my boys were just exploring the rocks, I saw my sons just were the Sun was, and told my oldest to put out his hands, moved to frame the setting sun behind him, and shot. Never tried it before, after my pathetic attempts, I had nothing to lose. At the end of the shoot, I went back quite disappointed. 2 days wasted.

Well, upon post processing, I did find that whilst the landscape shots were bad, this particular shot came out more interesting than I'd thought. My sons in the picture made the difference, in an otherwise pretty boring shot.

Day and last day, after dropping the gals off to shop, I dragged my sons to yet another beach spot -
Gnarabup Beach - with promises of more places to climb/explore! This was my last chance to try and shoot something special. I found a small jetty/pier - and thought perfect for that long exposure. 

But people kept using the pier, to hang around. What interested me, was then 3 boys who was oblivious to me, and playing off the jetty. I took lots of shots of them, whilst waiting for the pier to be empty of people - and this, to me, was the most interesting. I love how daring and carefree they were.

Well, the pier never cleared, so I wandered off to the beach. Time ticked, and I could never get that illusive special landscape I craved for. Time ticked on, and this was perhaps the best of the lot. Not a particular fantastic shot, shot with my favorite ND400 (9 stop) filter.

 Anyway, I did realize that, good landscape photographers, work hard to get the shot. I strolled up to a spot, and expected to shoot a fantastic shot - and it just doesn't work that way. Good landscape photographers would research where to shoot, what time to shoot, scout around, explore - getting that shot is the culmination of the hardwork - it really takes patience (especially if the photographer has a family in tow), and perseverance to keep trying.

My best photo (in my opinion) for the trip was probably the 2nd picture above with my sons, a shot by accident rather than intent.

And I will get that illusive magical landscape one day.

Entering Year 3.

I'm entering into the 3rd year of my journey into photography. Just penning my thoughts about that journey down, on this romantic Valentines day.

Year 1
In my 1st year, it was all about the equipment - Nikon or Canon (no, it doesn't really matter), zoom or prime lenses (I got both), UV filters or not (I decided to go without), which tripod - and how to use them.

I consumed a lot of information on the web, magazines, books - about how to use the camera, the tools.I experimented with various things like HDR, "Brenizar" method, Light painting, "Time-Slice", ND filters etc. But the best tool I learnt was using Lightroom, and besides ND filters (which I still love using), I've pretty much ditched using them for the sake of using them.


Year 2
I came across the website Pixoto, and had a lot of fun uploading my pictures, and seeing how they fared against others. I loved the almost instant "feedback", and gave me lots of examples of great work, ideas on how to get great shots. It gives out a lot of "awards" too, from best (from top 20% to top 10) of the day/week/month/year - and out of sheer vanity, I linked Pixoto to my facebook account. Getting good feedback, and likes, is addictive.


I also got to shoot 2 weddings, and 1 "unofficial" portrait session - they were stressful, but great fun and learning opportunities.I finally took the plunge and got my full frame camera, then had my computer crash and lost the last 5 months worth of photographs in 2012. I also ran a workshop for some photo enthusiast from my church, which I think went alright.

And I've really learned how to handle my own camera, esp when I struggled during the 1st weeding shoot - I got down and tried to learn everything about the camera, so that I know exactly what settings to use, for what purposes.

Year 3
As I enter the 3rd year, I've realized that I've come a long way since I started. Ironically, as I have improved technically, my own "standards" have raised, and not so easy for me to be "impressed" by my own photography. I seem to get less "wow" shots, and sometimes, I shoot less - as I realize that I won't be able to get a good shot.

I now know that I have absolutely no interest in macro photography, photos of flowers/nature stuff, using photoshop (so far), funny filters (which I did when I shot with iphone) and gimmicky photography.

I do like a great cityscape/landscape, and shooting what I eat, and would love to hunt for the holy grail of mastering light - both natural, as well as learning how to master the use of the flash. And I've found myself drawn to - is photo journalism. I love shooting events as they unfold, and if in "another life", I'd love to be a conflict photographer, shoot for a newspaper covering events. I love shooting people, I want pictures that show emotion, that draws you into the picture and forces an emotion out of you.

Back to equipment, I love the tools I have now. I am absolutely loving the D600 camera (ISO, dynamic range, and functionality of it). My 24-70 lens is a bit stiff, suffering the wear and tear & prob needs a bit of repair - but it is the perfect match. I also love the 50 f1.4 prime, and whip out the 80-200 when I need the distance or shooting sports. And it is much less about getting equipment now. I've been flirting with getting a nice Carl Zeiss 21mm lens for wide angle landscape, but that's a $2k lens which can wait.

It's been a wonderful journey - I am much more focused now. I hope my desire to learn doesn't stop, as a result. And I hope that I can be using my "hobby" not just to "gain glory for myself" but in more useful/beneficial ways of helping others. Let's see.

Uninspired. Just like the title of this blog post.

Still feeling quite uninspired. So I've been reading (Zack Arias blog; Joe McNally's The Moment It Clicks, and now started on David Duchemin's Within the Frame, which by the way is an EXCELLENT book), and got me thinking about my own photography journey.

I've realized that right now,

1.Technical know how
I have a lot more know how, both in theory and practical - well, at least more than say 1 year back.
I do know how to use my camera, I know a lot of the functions within the camera. I'm really quite happy with the gear I have, no particular yearnings to go get more stuff (a rarity!). 

To broaden my horizons, I've tried a few things:

a) HDR (not particularly keen);
b) Brenizar method (1 trick pony which I'm not very good at);
c) Light painting (if used properly, could be interesting)
d) "Time Splicing"  (whatever it is called, where you take a picture that transitions from day to night - takes time), but you do need a nice cityscape to carry this through. On the look out.
e) Panning (not very good at, need more practice) - something which doesn't replace having good composition
f) ND filters - love using this. But need great composition to carry this through.
g) Flash - knowing how to "manipulate" light properly, is one BIG learning curve, which I am but at the beginning. Something to keep practicing and learning.

I think it is useful to know these things, as tools to a trade, you learn how to use them, but use them only when they are useful. And in no way do they replace the need for great composition, and a great picture.

And I've been taking a lot of technically ok/functional pictures, which are otherwise quite uninspiring.

2.Things I'm NOT into
a) Macro, insects, flowers
This is a whole different field on its own. I'm fascinated with some really good insect close-ups, but on the whole, this genre is not something I'm that interested in.
Possibly I might get a Macro lens to go shoot some strange close-ups, Iris, bible, make the familiar unfamiliar. Not right now.

But show me another picture of insects making out, and I'll SSSSCCCCCREEEAAAMMM!!!!

b. Studio set ups, multiple light sources
Just need to master using ONE light source (flash) plus ambient light first.

c.Architecture
I actually do like this, and first thing that I do when I walk into a new building is to see if there is anything interesting or angles I can shoot at. But architecture by itself, is starting to feel like there is little "meaning" , its could be a cold picture of an interesting architecture, but really it is hard to connect with it.

d.Stock photography
It's tough to even get accepted! I tried at 2 of the largest stock agencies, and failed. Too lazy to retry.
What they look out for, is completely different. It's not art, not vision, but technical perfection, and what would sell. It's not going to get me too excited about photography. So foggitabbodit.

e.Shooting for competitions/award/praise?
It was nice at the beginning (GPI, Pixoto, Podiumfoto, etc), bit of an ego booster. But I want to shoot pictures I can be proud off, not to please others or to "win" awards. I'll still enter, if I think a picture is good enough, but it'll be very much a by-the-way thing.


3.Things I want to shoot

I want to shoot pictures which have meaning, if not to others, at least to myself. I want pictures to speak to the viewer. It's a goal which I've yet to even
 
a) Family
I always want to shoot them, events in our lives, because they have meaning to me. Boring yes, but great to remember stuff.

b) Cityscape & Street
 It's where I live. I want to express what it is like living in a place, through a photograph.
Maybe I will start a theme, like people taking public transportation. 

c) People
I realize I like portraits. Portraits of the old guy with years engraved on his face. Portraits of people around me - whether through their expression or lack there of, you can tell something of the person. Maybe environmental portraits, where it sets the person in a context of where they are, or where they live. I have a feeling a lot of this will be in Black and White. I love B&W photos.

d) Landscapes
It's always about composition and light. Capturing a great scene, with great light, is magical. I will always be on the look out for this.

e) Style
Starting out, I was trying lots of different things, different post production. But I'm beginning to think about shooting that is something characteristically me. I don't have enough experience to have a style, but just something to think about.

And it starts with post production. I love black and whites, so I'll always have that. And for color, I probably will start to lay off the gimmicky filter looks. Try and post pro much more subtly. nuanced, rather than much more obvious post pro I've done in the past (inspired by Zack Arias).

 f) Vision
I want to see, to really see. I think I still will keep shooting whatever, but to learn to see pictures, see the unfamiliar, to shoot pictures with soul, pictures that will speak to the viewer by itself. I'm quite inspired by David duChemin's book, and only at the beginning. I'm not even there yet.

so uninspired that I had to write it all down.
Let's see.

Take a walk when you hit the wall.

I've been feeling that I've hit a photographic wall.
For the past few weeks, the pictures have been just functional, nothing too inspiring or creative.

So I took a walk home.
Carried my tripod, got my camera ready and my landscape lens (11mm) -and observed as I walk.
How things look different when you walk. You take the time to look, see lines, see people - whilst braving the smog and traffic.

I don't think I'm over that wall, at least I think I got 1 decent (not terrible inspiring) picture out of my walk. Just standing there at that junction, with cyclist, drivers and pedestrian looking at you crazy, seemed strangely liberating. Time seemed to slow, as the cars whizzed by.

Going to try the same walk again, this time with a street lens (35mm), and see what transpires.

So, when you hit a creative wall, go take a walk. May not do much for your photography, but it may give you a different perspective of the city you live in.

Just keep shooting.

D600 First Look

Getting my D600, was a "monumental" event in my photography journey.
It's the latest IT camera, cheapest full frame, and 2nd best rated sensor (just a tad shy of the D800).

The D90 isn't a bad camera, but had its limitation in dynamic range and ISO performance. Auto-focus wasn't great too. So I was really looking forward to the D600, which came here to Jakarta at a great price, and no crazy queues like D800, so with my wife's blessings, I took the plunge.

External Bits - the good


1.Controls
I like having more controls on the outside.
Now, if I use the remote, there is a dial for it, rather than having to go through menus, and reset by itself.

The same dial allows one to also go to mirror lock-up, which minimizes camera shake even more - a feature that the D90 didn't have.

2.2 SD card slots
There's been a few times, where I take out the SD card from the D90, process it, and forget to put it back, and have those "D'oh! No memory Card" moments. A little frustrating to say the least.
Now with 2 SD card slots, I will always have 1 in there as backup, even if I forget to put it back.

3.File sizes
I used to fit about 1000 pictures (RAW) in 16 GB  card. I fit 250 now. So picture size is about 4 times?
I havn't yet read the manual, so not sure if I'm comparing light for light.
Processing is a tiny bit longer, but my computer can handle it so far.

But nice to have a few more pixels to crop.

4.U1 and U2 settings.
Customizable settings. This was useful when I was shooting my son playing basketball. Aperture priority for normal shots, but a quick switch and I shot in my "sports" mode (min shutter speed of 1/500, aperture mode). Handy.

5.Clip to hold battery in place
When you open the battery cover, there is an additional little clip to hold the battery in place.
Neat.

6.Weight
Despite it being full frame and having all the latest whistles, it doesn't feel much heavier than the D90.

7.Lens compatibility
Ready to ditch my 3 crop sensor lenses (Nikon 18-200; Nikon 35mm f1.8 prime; Tokina 11-16mm); I find out that my 35mm f1.8 and Tokina 11-16mm (at 16mm) can still be used in full frame mode (and no vignetting)! Wow! That'll save me a bundle. (below is a sample of Tokina lens at 11mm (left) and 16mm (right). There is some distortion (not unexpected), but still usable - at least until I splurge for a full frame equivalent.

And I've found the 24-70 lens (which was a bit of a white elephant previously) - the perfect lens for full frame.
For my son's basketball, where the action is fast, it is just the perfect range for it, and everyday use.

External Bits - the bad

1.Battery Cover
This comes off too easily! Just opening it, caused it to come right off (25% of the time).
I charged my battery one night, and the next morning, realized the batter cover was missing! I searched high and low, at home, the car and the office. The official dealer didn't have the part yet (since the camera is new!), so was really kicking myself for losing it, and ruining the weather sealing.
Strangely, it appeared on my dining table a few days later (the housekeeper must have found it somewhere and put it there).

2.Eye piece
It must be me, but this dropped off only in my 2nd week of owning this.
Gone. I don't need it per se, but it is irritating. (I also lost the D90 piece, but only after 1.5 years).

Internal Bits - the good

1.ISO. 
This is a picture shot at ISO 6400. Wow, it is at least as good as my D90 at ISO1600, possible ISO800. Who's afraid of the dark? :)

I shot my son's basketball game, and light not being great, to shoot at 1/500, 2.8, I had to boost the ISO to.... ISO12800! Impressed yet? Still usable at ISO12800 (to be used only in emergency). For the D90, ISO3200 was already rubbish (worse than below).

The ISO also goes down to 50. So the picture right on top is shot at ISO50. Nice!

2.Dynamic Range
 I shot this around 2pm, blazing sun. Trishaw/Becak stopped under the tree, and I took a shot. When I looked at the LCD, I couldn't see anything in the becak, just black - due to the contrasts. Boy, was I surprised when I opened the file in Lightroom, and lo and behold - the details are all there!
The dynamic range is just fantastic.

3.Depth of Field
The advantage of the full frame is larger sensor, and more shallow depth of field.
But to be honest, I havn't shot a lot of wide open pictures (I have to use my 50 f1.4 more!), so at this moment, can't say that the difference has jumped up at me. So jury is still out on this.

(70mm, f2.8; ISO125; 1/200)

4.Auto-Focus
 The D600 auto-focus rocks.

With the D90, even with spot focusing, it'll sometimes mis-focus.
Again, with my son's basketball game, fast moving, quite a few people running around, all the 3D tracking worked wonders, and I was able to get my son in focus most of the time.

Conclusion
To say the least, it's a fabulous camera.
I've yet to read through the manual, to fully learn what this can do. But so far, it can everything a little better. And am sure there's a lot of it I havn't even scratched.

But it is only a tool to use to take pictures. Sure it helps you do the job a little easier.
What really matters is that you keep using the tools you have. Learn its limitations, and shoot.

So my first take on the D600. Now to go on shooting!

Keep shooting.