tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43511368693346865822024-03-08T03:32:10.388-08:00Photo Travel AsiaPhoto stories, useful info and equipment advice for all travel photography enthusiasts in AsiaColsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-2574624236945222652013-12-21T23:42:00.000-08:002013-12-23T05:09:44.147-08:00My Fave Photobook buys of 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey everyone, I was just looking at all of the end of year lists that are appearing of the 10 best, movies, songs, photos etc. and of course the many, many versions of the top photo books of the year by various critics. This got me to thinking of the photo books that I have personally bought this year and to be honest its been a bit hit and miss in terms of quality and alignment with the the topics and visions that interest me. Having said that I have been lucky enough to acquire what I think are some simply extraordinary pieces of photography and I am personally a huge fan of the photo book as being the ultimate expression of the art. One thing that struck me about the critics that proposed these lists was that they probably hadn't bought and paid for these books themselves and they all seemed to strive to be unusual or unique in some way. I guess that is the way of journalism and the search for originality. With that in mind I thought it would be a bit of fun to highlight my favourite recent purchases, photo books that I have bought with my own hard earned. These are not in any order of significance or rating but the idea is simply to perhaps whet your appetites and give some insight into the books and why I personally like them. So settle down with a coffee and packet of your favourite biscuits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First up then......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Ernesto Bazan</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am lucky enough to own two personally signed books by Ernesto and they are prized possessions for a number of reasons including the wonderful memories they evoke of working, shooting and learning from Ernesto in Sicily and Brazil. The two books that I have are both from the fourteen year period that Ernesto spent in Cuba during the turbulent period when Russia was moving into Perestroika and economic aid to Cuba was largely cut off. Both books are of course crammed with Ernesto's beautiful, poetic and lyrical photographs and it is obvious that this depth of work can only be created over a very long period of time by someone with the tenacity and skill to understand and express the people of Cuba and their environment. The books are different in that Al Campo, the study of the Cuban countryside and farmers, is in colour while the first book in the soon to be trilogy (the final book in preparation is very beautiful and shot on an Xpan) Bazan Cuba, is in black and white. Nevertheless the same sensitivity and outright beauty is apparent in both. Despite having a personal preference to shoot B&W I continually find myself returning to the colour Al Campo most and I love the mood, feel and warmth that book generates for me. I particularly like one of the most simple shots in the book of an old lady and some flowers. I find the photograph completely beguiling and timeless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bazan Cuba on the other hand has a more documentary feel for me and despite the fact that many of the photographs are timeless and insightful, you can't help but get a feeling of historical significance and I think it is a book that is going to become even more important with the passing of time. Many famous photographers have visited Cuba and tried to interpret it but in my opinion, only Ernesto through his integration (he also married a Cuban) really understood the people and place and for that reason his work is I think the definitive book on Cuba.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, the book is classic Ernesto and filled with beautifully observed and sensitively shot images that combine to create a visually stimulating and thought provoking document of Cuba.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think Bazan Cuba is coming towards the end of the first edition print run and is getting harder to find and more expensive. If you are looking for an absolutely classic photo book that will interest, inspire and educate you as a photographer then I would highly recommend either Bazan Cuba, or Al Campo, you won't be disappointed and you will be buying something that will only become rarer and more valuable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Daido Moriyama</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now for a complete change of tone and style and a quick look at a few Daido books. I find that Moriyama polarises photographic opinion and perhaps its not so trendy to like his work as it used to be. Personally I don't care about trends and I find Daido's work truly inspirational and own a large number of his books, many of which are signed. I wanted to mention three of his books here; the seminal 71 New York, Buenos Aries and Reflections and Refraction. The first two mentioned books are recent reprints and come in a very nice pulp paperback type form. These two books for me have to be looked at in their entirety and I find it pointless and almost meaningless to isolate individual images because the books seem to create a narrative, mood and sensation of walking along these streets beside Daido. They have rightly been likened to beat poems and I always think that is the best way to describe them, I find them vibrant, loose and energetic. I always make a point of re-reading 71 New York if I am setting off to visit a new city, it seems to create that 'road trip' feel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think you are either going to love or hate Moriyama</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">so if you are not familiar with his work have a look around first, there is no shortage of it on the web. If you find you like it then I think 71 New York is a great place to start and it would do no harm to look at where Daido got his inspirations for the book from, Midnight Cowboy, William Klein and James Baldwin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Nikos Economopoulos</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, I consider myself very privileged to own a personally signed copy of Nikos' classic Balkanlarda which I bought in Istanbul. Nikos, for me is an out and out artist, his eye for shape, structure and his bold compositions are a delight and like Ernesto's books, I find this a highly educational as well as enjoyable piece of art. There are other parallels in that this book was composed over a considerable period with Nikos wandering around the Balkans in his camper van (which he still does incidentally as part of his workshop programme)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think any photographer that takes the time to study this book will come to marvel at the innovative framings and structures of Nikos photographs, following my meeting with him and the workshops I attended with him I felt an intense sense of liberation from the cliched concepts that I had previously understood to be required for 'good' photography and I can truly say that Nikos set me free to look at things in a more individual way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Jason Eskenazi</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Make no mistake, this small, unassuming little book is a thing of very great intelligence and beauty. Jason Eskenazi is not a name that jumps to mind for many photographers and I think that is only because he likes to keep a very low profile and happily just wander around taking the most incredible photographs. I do not exaggerate, there is not a single image in his Wonderland book that you could class as a filler or in anyway mediocre, its that good. Some of you will be aware of the incredible story that Jason was a security guard at MOMA in New York and travelled many times to Russia to create his 'fairy tale of the Soviet monolith' which he structured around the classical folk tales, child gets lost, taken in by guardians who don't really care about her and so on. I feel that I don't want to spoil the enjoyment that anyone who reads this book will get by saying too much about it, read it and see for yourself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I can think of very few photographers that can compose a frame with the precision and insight that Eskenazi can. As with some of the other books shown here I see this as a paragon of intelligent photography and there is an enormous amount to be learnt not only from the photographs but in looking at the overall structural concept and strict editing that Jason has applied. Like some of the others in this short list, this is becoming harder to find and more expensive so if you see one, don't hesitate to buy it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Anders Petersen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My ownership of this book and introduction to Anders Petersen's photography was a lovely piece of good luck when a friend in Singapore who acts as the unofficial librarian for the Invisible Photographer Asia community asked if anyone was interested in Petersen's 'Soho' so that we could share shipping. I decided to take a chance and this amazing book showed up a few weeks ago. Its always so nice when something unexpected works out so well, the book turned out to be really cool and there is so much I like about it even down to the physical choice of materials, cover etc. very understated but high quality - just like the photography. I have bought a few books from Mack who published this book and I always find them to be exceptional in the presentation and quality department.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8SZ06TIwfygPez_AuCiP6tOJsQ1Q4lD71MOgzROipEEW0XR4YA6-kk3ATbS2uNbXZA7a6KyX6dLMdi0j_4-yzsxHoXCdB6XHgIoEC5mubdWhK32GpUzhWMOtwdPZ7hl1agikJNq8olY/s1600/Photobook2013-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8SZ06TIwfygPez_AuCiP6tOJsQ1Q4lD71MOgzROipEEW0XR4YA6-kk3ATbS2uNbXZA7a6KyX6dLMdi0j_4-yzsxHoXCdB6XHgIoEC5mubdWhK32GpUzhWMOtwdPZ7hl1agikJNq8olY/s640/Photobook2013-14.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back to the photography and I guess that you could draw similarities in Petersen's style with other photographers that I like, admire and try to learn from, in particular Moriyama and Sobol. Petersen's book was a commission to shoot London's Soho and he has done a damn fine job of capturing the sense of the place and its uniqueness. One thing that particularly struck me in many of the photos was how he captured eyes and to me its this feature of his work that takes the book beyond the ordinary. Personally I think its become very tiresome looking at harsh, flash lit 'street photography' but the way that Petersen and Sobol in particular use flash to create stark tones is really masterful and, as opposed to the mainstream approach which tends towards sensationalism, the flash and stark contrast enhances the mood and subject.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like Sobol, he also seems to have a knack (and the courage) to find and engage with extremely interesting subjects and it is the blending of these fascinating subjects with the quirkiness of the Soho environment that makes the book a winner for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Takuma Nakahira</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nakahira's For a Language to Come, has been out of print for a while and become pretty expensive and hard to get. However Osiris have now republished this piece of photographic magic and I was lucky to get a copy. Like Moriyama, this book and Nakihira's style will polarise photographers and I have a few friends who are much better photographers and more credible in this area than me who do not like this at all. That's the beauty of human diversity, and I am sure there are many people who will not like or agree with other choices in here and that is a fantastic thing and, ultimately for me, one of the sources of creativity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think its important to contextualise Nakahira as someone who was brought up in post war Japan and I think you see his thoughts on that in many of the photographs. Somehow he strikes into deep rooted sensibilities inside me and I find the photographs universal and disturbing and scary and beautiful all at the same time. As with Moriyama, don't buy this without having a look first to see if it aligns with your senses and ideas. There is a very nice little piece here by Gerry Badger if you want to find out more: <a href="http://www.gerrybadger.com/fire-and-water-takuma-nakahiras-for-a-language-to-come/" target="_blank">For a Language to Come</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Vanessa Winship</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcTwgKGxICNGqNToGjLILiuN_fj8Kiutwo0y-taAsy8FwlpMD6dPxo4NxAbmdusUYLyYFVW8ptKEo_Ox5NOBldMpWQakkImx-rZJSACibOSfnoneskfgyhaizU7SuSGqgTbfE6NCkvuM/s1600/Photobook2013-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwcTwgKGxICNGqNToGjLILiuN_fj8Kiutwo0y-taAsy8FwlpMD6dPxo4NxAbmdusUYLyYFVW8ptKEo_Ox5NOBldMpWQakkImx-rZJSACibOSfnoneskfgyhaizU7SuSGqgTbfE6NCkvuM/s640/Photobook2013-19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a very, very special book and like some others in here it will easily stand the test of time and become more and more relevant as it ages. As I understand it Winship was the first woman to ever win the Cartier Bresson trust award (how can that be ???) and she used the modest amount of the award to fund some trips to America which she had always wanted to photograph. How easy would it have been to try to update Frank and do some kind of modern road trip work? Not Winship, 'She Dances on Jackson' is as original, sensitive and insightful a photography book as you are ever likely to come across. Again, its published by Mack and the prints inside are delicious in the way they pull you into the pages. I have no idea how you can create a book of this quality at a reasonable retail price, if you were to have all of these shots printed separately to this level of quality it would easily cost three or four times more than the entire book cost, amazing stuff.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gkoDjTyHwKwnvoaHdWX9qh3kUrOfkbugB-rgjMElyuCh_hozUNVJ9vNGOWeGJQjsciHhuGfeancoe5P3KtQ1BaabeHsz7JxRcBFSvzLivRxghUzmImMKTDC-6EucErnl4TyINJBY4WKC/s1600/Photobook2013-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0gkoDjTyHwKwnvoaHdWX9qh3kUrOfkbugB-rgjMElyuCh_hozUNVJ9vNGOWeGJQjsciHhuGfeancoe5P3KtQ1BaabeHsz7JxRcBFSvzLivRxghUzmImMKTDC-6EucErnl4TyINJBY4WKC/s640/Photobook2013-20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I read somewhere that she doesn't like 'shouty' photographs and that is very clear in the subtle beauty of this work. The photographs are almost delicate and even the many portraits have that gentle, lyrical but always meaningful, sometimes disturbing look.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv82wcdrH_UHMcxNFsSGlzvpWpCBigyeg0kVvXFjIn1tg8-shonv-eg2avNKL2dHV6xeJJWIyQVmHYdozheu0HNeKOjXJ_M9SeWeLwRCzRA3GqkkllXS6r3Z6Pa4pM81NBftx32pGWxRSj/s1600/Photobook2013-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv82wcdrH_UHMcxNFsSGlzvpWpCBigyeg0kVvXFjIn1tg8-shonv-eg2avNKL2dHV6xeJJWIyQVmHYdozheu0HNeKOjXJ_M9SeWeLwRCzRA3GqkkllXS6r3Z6Pa4pM81NBftx32pGWxRSj/s640/Photobook2013-21.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am convinced that we will be looking back in 10 years time at this book as an out and out photographic classic. Winship has in my opinion done something extraordinarily creative in here and it looks like the culmination of all of her years of experience and craft. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Roger Ballen</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am at a bit of a loss here as to what to say about Ballen's work that hasn't been said before. This year however was my introduction to him and, although I own a few of his books 'Shadow Chamber' is my favourite. It has a rawness that has now left his more modern work and, like all of his work it is psychological in its nature and can be deeply disturbing and thought provoking in equal measure. I really like the way Ballen constructs his frames and there is a lot to be learnt from his structuring and arrangement of elements and shapes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">More than any photographer I can think of Ballen has a unique ability to tap into our deepest recesses and his photographs both disturb and fascinate me. Perhaps an acquired taste but well worth looking into if you want to see some completely original and creative work by a accomplished master.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Todd Hido</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Todd Hido seems to be very much in vogue just now but unlike many trends and styles that come and go I think the substance behind his work is enduring. His latest book is 'Excerpts from Silver Meadows' and is structured around his search for the home of his younger days. What sets Hido apart for me is his ability to create universal metaphors and evoke generic memories that most of us have, this is his genius.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It takes enormous skill to blend different formats and mediums the way Hido does and there are not many photographers that could pull this off. Its easy to be drawn in by the motel room female shots, and they have their part to play, but I personally find his lovely, through the windscreen landscape shots to be exceptional. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a large book and definitely benefits from the sense of scale but from a learning viewpoint its also worth considering his arrangements and sequencing, very powerful but accessible photography.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Peter Turnley</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As many of you will know, Peter is a world renowned photojournalist and there is almost no major world event of the last twenty or thirty years that he has not shot. Peter and his twin brother David have been very much in the news recently due to the close relationship they shared with Nelson Mandela and their documenting of his release from prison and subsequent shaping of modern South A</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">frica. Peter has lived and photographed in Paris for around forty years and this book is, as he says, is his 'love letter to Paris.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had a deep concern when I first saw this book coming out that it would be a bit twee and while Peter does get dangerously close a few times, I think the over-riding sense of love, sensuality and out and out joy in the photographs bring it home for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My own favourites in the book are the more subtle and in a way artistic shots as I get a sense that these were Peter's therapy for the horror, conflict and desperate situations that he routinely photographed in his journalistic work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In some ways this is a very different book from the others in here but I think that, like me, many people will appreciate how the delicacy of the photographic situations and Peter's obvious love for Paris and people make this a very worthwhile addition to any photo book library.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Twentyfifteen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, something a little different and closer to home to finish with. I have been working and living in Singapore for over six years now and find it an exceptional place to live, and, as an added bonus, there is also a thriving photographic community. From that community twenty locally based photographers have gotten together to produce a set of books in commemoration of Singapore's Golden Jubilee in 2015. The books are very innovative and high quality in their concept and design and each photographer seeks to show a unique aspect of Singapore from their perspective. There are currently only four published but their intent is to complete the entire series prior to the Jubilee events. Needless to say the photographers are very different in their style and approach and this is one of the things I enjoy about the series. I know that this is really of most interest to Singaporeans' but if you are interested in the books have a look here to find out more:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://twentyfifteen.sg/" target="_blank">http://twentyfifteen.sg</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also, if photography in Asia interests you there is no better place to find out what's happening and see very original work than <a href="http://invisiblephotographer.asia/" target="_blank">Invisible Photographer Asia</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's it for this year folks, please take this article in the spirit it was intended. This is not a definitive 'best of' list, this is simply my favourites from the books that I have personally bought recently and, as such, I am sure there are many, many other great books that I have not yet seen or enjoyed. My intent here was to share, and hopefully some of you will like these choices and enjoy and learn from them in the way that I have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to conclude the blog for this amazing year, I have tried to bring together this years (and Istanbul from last year) work into one place on a new website. I have to say that I was a bit shocked and disappointed about how uneven and choppy it all looks but I think that some of the separate portfolio pieces work well and I am personally very fond of the Brazil 1:1 set.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have a look here if you are at all interested and have a very happy Xmas and a great New Year. <a href="http://colin-steel.4ormat.com/portfolio" target="_blank">Colin Steel Portfolio 2013</a></span></div>
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Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-9748171514089917722013-11-07T03:13:00.000-08:002013-11-07T03:13:06.911-08:00Ricoh GR Tokyo Style<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wow, my mind is a whizz just now with all of the exciting new cameras that are being hyped and launched at us in a seemingly endless stream of intense campaigning by all of the big manufacturers, incredible times and I must say I really enjoy looking at all of the shiny new stuff. One of the less highly hyped cameras of recent times that seems to be quietly slipping into the background though as it is eclipsed by the exciting FF, M43 and retro Nikon's is the good old Ricoh GR. I wrote briefly about it in a recent post from a trip to Brazil where I used it in a limited way but began to respect its small size and easy handling. Last weekend I had the opportunity to make a short weekend trip to Tokyo and I decided to take the little fellow as my only camera as I thought it would be perfectly suited to city shooting on the streets of Tokyo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Given that I had only three days in Tokyo I wanted to treat it casually and just enjoy the gorgeous Autumn weather and light, and to catch up with a few friends including the amazing Bellamy Hunt (<a href="http://www.japancamerahunter.com/" target="_blank">Japan Camera Hunter</a>) who is the font of knowledge on all things film camera in Tokyo. Before I left for the trip I happened to be having dinner with a few friends in Singapore, one of whom also happened to have the GR and while we were messing around Kevin Y Lee (founder of <a href="http://invisiblephotographer.asia/" target="_blank">Invisible Photographer Asia</a>) who is a smashing photographer and very knowledgable camera dude pointed out the High Contrast B&W effect preset and laughingly called it 'Daido mode' after the style of the revered Tokyo based photographer Daido Moriyama who also happened to be a Ricoh user. Well, like most serious photographers I am usually totally dismissive of in-camera effects and normally don't even bother to look at them. We continued to mess around with the setting and against my ingrained bias, I had to admit that the effect was pretty cool for certain subjects and I decided to give it a try for a bit of fun while shooting in Tokyo over the weekend with of course the camera RAW files for my more normal stuff.</span></div>
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With the little GR set up to shoot RAW + jpg and in the B&W high contrast (Daido mode :) ) my buddy Jay and I decided to try to stay out for 24 hours and shoot what ever came our way while wandering around Akihabara, Shibuya and Shinjuku. As any photographer who has been there will know Tokyo is a delight for just wandering and shooting as you go and the more discreet your camera the better and I don't think its any coincidence that the film GR was Moriyama's tool of choice. Where the modern GR scored big time for me was with the snap focus function, which as I mentioned before, I have programmed onto the function button on the side of the camera and I usually leave it set on 1.5 metres which works well for me most of the time.</div>
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As I said, the use of in-camera effects is usually frowned on by serious photographers and I think for very good reason. However, as I found out, they can be fun if applied appropriately and sympathetically to the shooting context. I thought it might be worth mentioning what I personally consider the pros and cons of this kind of effect. Firstly, I don't think this particular effect is overly extreme and indeed many great photographers (particularly Japanese) develop, process and/or edit their shots in this way because of the visual impact that it can achieve and from that point of view is a fast and simple way to get that look. Secondly, I very much like the consistency factor that using the strong B&W effect gives and that goes a long way to creating a mood and rhythm to your set or portfolio. Finally, I like to see my shots in-camera and as I am shooting in as close a form to the finished article as possible and I normally have my Fuji's set up for square and B&W with a yellow filter so that I can see how the light is behaving and how the shots are looking as I take them and when I review them. With the GR I have a small Lumix optical VF that I picked up cheap but I still predominately use the rear screen to frame and shoot. Its a style that I liken to a gigantic rangefinder and I have come to like it so it makes sense to see the shots on the screen in as close a representation of how you want them to finally look.</div>
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I think the downsides of using effects are pretty obvious. There is a real danger that the shots become cliched (as happened to me with a couple of these..) and that the pre-set becomes dominant at the expense of creating proper emotional effect or mood. On initial viewing some shots can appear very attractive but that can sometimes wear off very quickly after looking at a few shots if the subject matter, light, form and content is not good and the overall effect becomes tiresome.</div>
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Going back to the GR as a camera for a moment, I don't want this short, fun article to detract from the enormous capability of this tiny titan. I managed to stroll around Tokyo for hours on end without carrying any bags or other encumberancies with this little gem on a wrist strap. It goes without saying that the longer you walk and venture around a city like Tokyo then the more you increase your chances of finding interesting situations and material and, along with some good light footwear I can think of no better photographic tool for city shooting.</div>
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I don't think there is room in this short post to show enough of the set I created (40 shots) in order to build the full mood and feel that I was trying for but I hope the benefit point I made about consistency begins to emerge at least in a limited way. I haven't had a chance yet to look at the RAW files from the three days but am keen to do so to see what else is in there as I think the strong contrast obscured some detail that may be interesting.</div>
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At risk of stating the blindingly obvious, this kind of effect works best on simply sturctured subjects and frames and you need to be very careful that you don't start to miss important shots and details because your screen is showing you a mass of pure blacks and whites with very little real tonal detail.</div>
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Finally on the in camera effect front, I did out of interest try one other mode that my friends had mentioned and it delivered a shot that I like very much and for me captures a little of the essence of Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. The effect is called positive film look I think and clearly it emulates a nice slide film appearance. To be honest I don't think I will use these again in any seriousness as I like the output from the camera as it is and I think these effects can make you lazy in your shooting style. Having said that, I can't deny the fun I had with the 'Daido look' setting and it contributed to a fantastic, fun weekend in this endlessly interesting city.</div>
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Well, thats it for this brief bit of fun shooting. I mentioned at the start all of the amazing cameras that are coming our way and, as I said, I am as big an addict as anyone for cameras however, I think its a shame that less well marketed or hyped cameras like the GR will quickly be lost in the stampede, don't be seduced by the marketing spin, I never buy a camera until I have held it in my hands and got a sense for its responsiveness to the way I work. That is much more important in my book than the sensor size, resolution or tricky features. </div>
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Incidentally for any photo book fans visiting Tokyo, the area around Jinbocho station is a treasure trove of used bookshops most of which have photography sections and I picked up a lovely cheap copy of Tarkovsky's polariods which I can't put down. Happy hunting if you get a chance to go there.</div>
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As ever, safe travels and happy shooting.</div>
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Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-2228457510293778872013-09-13T05:52:00.001-07:002013-09-13T05:53:47.671-07:00Brazil, 3:2, Colour, GR etc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey friends, sorry its been a while since I posted anything but I thought some of you may be interested in some thoughts I have on the newish Ricoh GR which I used in a pretty limited way on a recent trip to Brazil. Regular readers will know that I have been shooting 1:1 black and white for a while now and this trip was no different, I used my trusty Fuji X20 and to a lesser extent the X100s for most of the work I did (working on a post on that to follow). However, I also had along with me a newly purchased Ricoh GR and I decided to see how that worked for me as a camera and just for a change, to show the results in a normal format and in colour. As most of you will know, I kind of take image quality as for-granted with modern cameras and of more importance to me personally is how the camera fits the way I work and its overall usability factor. Here are some links to reviews that you might want to look at if the camera interests you at <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/06/07/the-ricoh-gr-camera-review-the-new-large-sensor-gr-arrives/" target="_blank">Steve Huff</a>, and, although I much prefer Steve's real world user style, here is the more thorough and technical <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/ricoh-gr/" target="_blank">DP Review</a> version. I think as you can see here, you will have no problems with IQ and so on and almost all of the reviews I looked at were very positive on the camera overall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just in case anyone is wondering, I stopped shooting colour and 3:2 because firstly, I am very colour blind and had a lot of problems in Lightroom when editing and secondly, I really find that I can fill the frame more interestingly with a square format. These are only personal preferences of mine and I will try to explain the thinking behind them a bit better in my next post on the main body of work from Brazil. Anyway, these colours look ok to me but please bear with me if they are a bit off in any way. All of the shots here have had very minimal adjustments with a mild saturation boost and a little clarity added and that's more or less it. Enough of the background stuff, what about the camera as a travel partner and photo tool?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>GR, Friend or Foe?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Quite often camera reviews often end with a 'who is this camera for?' statement or an extensive list of pro's and con's that can often be somewhat amusing. For example I read a review of the GR that had the fixed 28mm equivalent lens as a con, you have to be kidding !!!!!! Surely no one in their right mind would buy a camera like this if they didn't see that as a distinct advantage for their needs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The longer I am involved in photography and the more passionate I become about the creative possibilities of its art, the more and more I gravitate towards simplicity and compactness in the cameras that I use and this little wonder ticks all of the right boxes in that respect with a couple of major operational upsides that I will come to shortly. The reason I mentioned the lens comment is that I have tried to show with the photos that I have chosen to show here that this is an extremely versatile camera and much of that is down to its maturity as a product (the GR range has a strong film heritage) the focal length chosen and its overall ease of use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From a handling perspective I really love this camera, I attached one of the marvellous <a href="https://peakdesignltd.com/leash-cuff/" target="_blank">Peak Design</a> cuff wrist straps on it and it becomes a highly manoeuvrable and flexible, one hand if I want it, shooting marvel. Let me explain why and also point out where you have to be a bit careful with this as well. The GR is very easily configured to your preferred set up and very easy to control with one hand if you need to - here is what I find works best for me and you might want to try yourself. First up, I set the camera in the Pentax/Ricoh unique TAv mode which allows you to set both shutter and aperture via the front and back control dials and the camera then gets the correct exposure by choosing the ISO value. This is extremely liberating for me as I tend to value a lot of depth of field but at the same time want to make sure that I can maintain a suitable shutter speed for my situation. I also found that ISO up to 6400 was a breeze for this camera although you need to be very careful in colour if you go beyond that. So, all I do is tweak the setting as I move into a new environment. In other words in daylight I would normally walk around with the GR set at F8 and 1/125th as I know this will get me almost any shot I want as long as there is no great movement going on. Indoors in poorer light I simply open up the aperture F3.5 or something and if things are static drop to 1/40 s shutter speed or thereabouts. This is a very simple process that quickly becomes second nature and gives good predictable results. Then the icing on the cake is that I have configured the 'effect' function button which is handily placed on the left hand side to control the snap focus distance and I use this as a kind of insurance policy by normally setting it on 1.5 metres so that I know that if I press he shutter straight down it will focus there and my additional DoF via the aperture will get me the shot. I realise as I read what I have written here that this sounds a little complicated but trust me its not, simply try it for yourself and you will see how it frees you up to think about the shot and what you want to say with it. The only catch I have found with this is that you have to be respectful of not shooting one handed unless it suits what you are doing and this is because of the obvious risk of the inherent lack of stability that goes with this style of shooting. Its fine to control the camera with one hand for the settings and so on but better to get as much grip on it as you can when actually shooting. I believe some of the previous GR models had image stabilising in them and its a shame it wasn't possible to engineer it in here, just be sensible and you wont find it a big deal. Thats it for menus and settings for me, I simply don't touch the menus again after that initial set up and only apply small variations to the aperture and shutter speeds as I described. Incidentally, I mentioned that the GR is a mature product and it feels just great in the hand, the grip and tactile feel is superb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a good example of the one handed approach giving me an interesting angle and there is a strange story to this shot as well. Two of my companions were Brazilian and unbeknown to me this guy that I was photographing outside the tiny Bar Dos Amigos cantina had told them that he had killed a guy with a machete the day before !!! Not sure if this was true or not but he did look a bit sinister and I am glad I was blissfully unaware. As usual with smaller cams though, they are generally much less intrusive and discrete and I think that, as many of you will have experienced, they lend themselves to a more intimate style of shooting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As other reviewers have pointed out, I did find that the camera has a slight tendency to underexpose but personally I tend to like a slightly darker tone and the exposure compensation is a breeze being handily located near the thumb grip. You may want to consider setting the AEL/AFL button on the other side of the thumb grip to exposure lock and using that to control metering off of neutral tones if required or to lock on a sky as in this shot above. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had intended to keep this brief as in all honesty I didn't use the GR very much on the trip so I want to finish by returning to the lens and its benefits and then looking at what happens when you push the ISO on the camera.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At 28mm equivalent focal length this is about as wide as I am prepared to go nowadays as I have come to really dislike the distortions that come in with wider lenses. The distortion is here too in the GR but I chose this shot as an example of how decently controlled it is for such a wide lens. You can see the 'pull' on the boys eye and face but for me it doesn't ruin the shot or overly distract me and I think that is a fine achievement by Ricoh and this is a pretty extreme example. Sharpness is something else that I usually take fore-granted in modern kit as I don't think its that critical for my style but even with my dodgy eyesight this looks sharp all of the way to the edges. Again, this is born out in the techy reviews.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the way, all of the shots here were taken using the superb rear screen on the GR and I never once felt that I couldn't see properly to frame my shots. I have mentioned it in previous posts but I rather like the giant rangefinder effect of being able to see the complete environment while framing. Since returning from Brazil however I did have a bit of luck and found a a Lumix 24mm optical viewfinder used for S$70 and its proving great for when I feel a viewfinder framing is needed. Absurdly the stated 24mm frame lines seem to fit perfectly the 3:2 size of the GR images. I don't know if anyone else has had this experience but if if you are looking for a cheap viewfinder option I can highly recommend this</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I want to draw towards a close with a couple of shots that were taken in near impossible light at what I think was the cameras highest ISO setting. I had to apply quite a lot of NR in Lightroom to these and the they became a bit mushy but I rather think they still just about make it. I am not a purist at all in these matters and prefer the fact that the images have some degree of visual and emotional impact on me that overrides the lack of clarity in the final image. The following shot was taken with flash and unfortunately this one is a bit more mushy but I still like the overall effect and I could probably have gotten away with more in a B&W conversion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the way, I think the marvellous Roger Ballen would have loved this place which was a riverside abandoned sugar cane factory which had been occupied by itinerant fishermen and their families. I would dearly love to go back and try to shoot in a more controlled way, it was an astounding setting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Which leads me to the end here by mentioning that I have been studying with the very wonderful <a href="http://www.bazanphotos.com/workshops/" target="_blank">Ernesto Bazan</a> for a while now and the trip to Salvador de Bahia and Cachoeira was as part of one of his incredible workshops. Ernesto is a dear friend, very fine human being and wonderful maestro so if you enjoy learning and want to develop your style while having a great time, have a look at his amazing schedule.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's it folks for this short piece, I sincerely hope that there was something of interest in it and hopefully it will have at least given some ideas to anyone thinking of buying the Ricoh GR. I will round out by saying that I have been carrying it in my bag every day and while I don't see it unseating the X20 for my personal way of shooting, its definitely a very fine creative tool.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">safe travels and happy shooting,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-21857208291411625572013-04-12T06:55:00.002-07:002013-04-12T06:55:44.857-07:00Il Cuore Siciliano 1:1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey folks, I am just freshly returned from my two week trip to Sicily where I photographed the Easter festivals and celebrations. For the Sicilians this as an extremely important and often very emotional event for them and it culminated in following and shooting the highly charged 24 hour procession of twenty four alters through the regional town of Trapani. Just to add a little fun for me I managed to purchase the new Fujis (X20 and X100s <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/03/25/the-fuji-x100s-review-the-s-stands-for-sexy-speedy-stealthy-by-steve-huff/" target="_blank">A really useful review by Steve Huff)</a>) specially for the trip and I will share my thoughts on them for this type of event based documentary photography. As anyone who has read my posts before will know, what I wont do is dwell on the image quality and technical aspects of the cameras as I find that most cameras nowadays can produce acceptable technical quality results and, given that all of the shots had some post processing in SilverEffexPro, the differences become largely redundant for my purposes. What 'image quality' means to me is how effectively can I create interesting photographs with these tools ? Not what do the files look like at 100% enlargement of stamps, bottles or walls. For that reason I wont even say which shots were taken with which camera (mainly because I can't remember and can't be bothered re-checking each one :) </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before I go into some background on the shooting and make some observations about the cameras, I think it would be good to mention something important that emerged in my approach to some of the photographs. Never having been to Sicily before or having previously attended an event of this nature, I was taken by the iconic imagery of the paintings and statues within the churches and halls that I was shooting in and I tried my best to imitate that look whenever it was appropriate. I did that by watching for the right light and compositions where I could remove background distractions and create a 'painterly' appearance to the photographs. I also used the Tri-X film simulation in <a href="http://www.niksoftware.com/nikcollection/usa/index.php?view=silverefexpro%2Fmain.shtml">silverefexpro2</a> to add to the feel of the images (more on the editing and PP later)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Background</span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been very lucky to meet many fantastic people on my travels and a few of them have become very good friends despite being from extremely diverse locations such as Costa Rica, Chicago and Geneva. As we share a joint passion for photography and travel we decided to try to meet up this year at a location that none of us have visited before. Also, having previously enjoyed attending workshops hosted by knowledgeable photographers who's work we admired, we decided to combine both and attend an <a href="http://www.bazanphotos.com/workshops/">Ernesto Bazan</a> workshop in his home country of Sicily. This turned out to be an inspired decision and I will talk about the workshop experience later as I am beginning to think that, when wisely chosen, these are the best single photography learning and educational investments you can make to improve your skills and style.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The context for Ernesto's Sicily workshop was to locate everyone in a gorgeous traditional villa by the seaside and near to the town of Marsala as a base and then make the short trips to shoot the various processions and festivities that took place over the Easter week. I think its fair to say that Ernesto's approach is to encourage the search for emotional and poetic inspiration and as we all know, that is not so easy at the best of times and even more difficult when you are shooting in throngs of people with myriad distractions and 'shot-killing' elements. To this end he set a very high standard for everyone and immersed himself with us in trying to interpret the events as we individually and uniquely saw them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1476999066"></span><span id="goog_1476999067"></span>As I said earlier, my own main focus was to try to use the light as best I could to create the iconic, painting look that I had observed in the many churches we visited. Additionally, it appeared to me that there was somewhat of a 'dark' and mysterious side to Sicily that I also wanted to try to incorporate without becoming cliched. Given this approach that emerged as to my interpretation of sicily and these festivals, how did the equipment I used help or hinder in achieving the results that I was looking for?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Firstly, as readers of previous articles will know, I have been shooting in a square 1:1 crop and in Black and White for some time now. I am at a loss to explain the square crop other than that I like the tightness and symmetry of the results I get. Although it could be argued that it is more suited to portraits and still life, for me (and many more superior photographers than me like Vivian Maier, Diane Arbus and any of the TLR users) it is not difficult to adapt to documentary style photography although you do lose the undoubted advantage of the 3:2 narrative style. Anyway, I have settled on this format in the meantime and now find it extremely difficult to frame outside of that and this is one of the major benefits of these cameras and in particular the delightful X100s, let me try to explain. The X100s has a marvelous optical viewfinder that frames like a rangefinder and when 1:1 crop is selected the frame lines adapt to a centered square with lots of space around the lines so that you can tighten your composition just like in a Leica or other rangefinder. I appreciate that the vast majority of people shoot 3:2 and the frame-lines are nearly as good in that format and are reasonably accurate. Additionally, the X100s now has an extraordinarily good manual focusing system that is deadly accurate. At first when I read about this feature I thought it was a bit gimmicky but believe me, this is the real deal. If, like me, you like to shoot with a lot of depth of field whenever possible, this manual focusing system is fantastic and lends itself very well to zone focusing at set distances. If you have ever used a split screen to focus (as in old film slr's) this is based on a similar principle with the added benefit of enlargement to aid and also a 'focus peaking' type shimmer on the focused area. I used this a lot and found the best way was to aim and press the AF button which is very conveniently located and then fine tune if needed via the light focusing ring on the lens. For my purposes I find this much simpler, easier and quicker than trying to change AF points and I found that I could get very nice tight results even in very low light.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having praised the manual focus which I used a lot, the auto focus on the X100s is also vastly improved as well although, despite Fuji's claims and what I have read, I personally did not find it to be as fast as the Olympus OMD or Nikon V1, but it is more than adequate. On that subject, I still don't find this camera to be a speed merchant in any area however, I did find that for the type of shooting I do it worked an absolute treat and I was extremely happy with its all round performance. I wont bore everyone by re-iterating the key selling points of the Fuji X range but suffice to say that this is one extremely well made camera with exactly the type of manual controls that photographers who concern themselves with the final image rather than playing about with endless mode settings and menu trickiness will value. The ability to have a clear optical viewfinder with superb frame-lines, just the right minimal amount of shooting information required to make a shot and the the ability to use the nicely weighted exposure compensation dial with your thumb when you know the meter is going to make a mistake, is all that I can ask from a camera so well done Fuji, this is a classic. Of all of the camera manufacturers these are the guys that are really homing in on what real photographers want and need.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to round out on the X100s, like its older variant the X100 the lens is fast and sharp and the silky aperture ring around the lens is a joy to use. For what its worth my preferred set up for the camera is to use the square format, aperture priority, optical viewfinder, B&W film mode with yellow filter and manual focus. As I mentioned earlier, this gives me complete manual control of all of the critical photo making aspects of the camera as a creative tool and it all becomes extremely intuitive and very fast to use. The only other point worth mentioning is that I shoot RAW plus Fine JPG and this gives me the margin for error with the crop in the 3:2 RAW file if I need it (which isn't often thankfully) I hope you begin to get a sense of how much I enjoyed this camera and the pleasure I got from its ability to get out of the way when I was looking for interesting light, form and content to shoot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Fuji X20 is a very different but complimentary camera to the X100 (and nearly any other camera I can think of) for a few very key reasons. Like my much loved X10 before it, it is stunningly well made and is essentially manual in control of the key creative photographic functions. As you will all probably be aware, Fuji have updated the sensor and processing engine and critically added shooting and focus information to the optical viewfinder. This transforms the camera into a superb, compact shooting tool and I found it even faster than the X100s in practical shooting use as it seemed to me to focus more quickly. Although I very much liked the viewfinder improvements I still found myself shooting more with the rear screen on this camera to compose and this allowed me to shoot from higher or lower angles when I needed to. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When the action was getting faster at the end of the parades, I found myself using the two cameras in tandem by using the X20 when I had to do something fast and reactively and the X100s when I had more room and time to compose. I also sometimes used the X20 at 50mm equivalent on the odd occasion when I couldn't get as close as I needed for the X100s' 35mm equivalent. Did I need two cameras to do this? Of course not but I did find that the similarity in controls, function and results meshed very nicely to the extent that I can unreservedly recommend these as a delightful and highly usable pairing for anyone in a similar shooting situation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't want to go over all of the aspects of this camera that I liked again as they are identical to the ones I mentioned in the previous X10 article but the manual switch on and zoom which I can now guide to 35mm or 50mm by touch is exceptional and the exposure compensation dial which is similarly placed and functional to the X100s completes the control package. Because of the family similarity of controls and menus these cameras make using them together a very simple and attractive proposition. On that compatibility advantage, because I was unsure of how the lighting conditions would play out, I took along the wonderful Fuji EF-X20 flash unit which is a beautifully built but tiny marvel that works equally well on either camera. I did use it very sparingly but once or twice it got me shots that would have been impossible to light otherwise.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know this will get me in deep trouble with the strobist community but I am personally very fond of the flat, shadowy, frontal look of camera mounted flash and that is exactly where I used this little marvel as it added so little size or weight to the camera. I kind of like the almost grotesque, paparazzi look that can be achieved with it. If anyone is interested in how this style can work as show by a master creative photographer, have a look at <a href="http://blog.leica-camera.com/topics/special-series/jacob-aue-sobol/" target="_blank">Jacob Aue Sobol's</a> work with the Leica MM where for almost every shot he took he used on camera flash. I had the very good fortune to meet Jacob in Singapore and he explained to me that he had a very unique, high contrast processing style for film which up until that point he had used exclusively and to get similar contrasty results with digital he had to use the on camera flash.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think by now you can all tell how pleased I was with the Fuji cameras and the ultimate functionality and simplicity of using them to make photographs. To finish off on the X20 my preferred set up is again RAW plus fine JPG in square crop (the square crop does not show in the X20 viewfinder but its not difficult to judge) B&W film mode with yellow filter and aperture priority.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Post Processing</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Every shot shown here was processed in a similar fashion and here it is: Although I set up for fine JPG in B&W I tend to use that more for review to make sure I am getting the look I want and the actual PP images are taken from the RAW files. The process I used is ultra simple as I hate spending time on the computer. As the RAW files are presented in square in Lightroom, unless I need to change the crop slightly (and that is unusual thankfully) they go straight into </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.niksoftware.com/nikcollection/usa/index.php?view=silverefexpro%2Fmain.shtml">silverefexpro2</a> where I normally apply the Tri-X film look filter and occasionally selectively darken or lighten a distracting area with the simple to use control points. I generally then add a little vignette using the lightest option unless something a bit more severe is required for the mood and that's it. If it takes more than a few minutes something is very wrong and I usually give up on the shot at that point. Despite never having shot film, I have become a huge fan of the Tri-X 400 look and the contrast and grain is gorgeous. In one or two of the low light shots here this has become pronounced and I love it as it creates exactly the look and mood that I am after. It never fails to astonish me how simple the modern processing tools have made it to achieve this look and this is the reason why I think conversations about the sensor quality and output in modern cameras are pretty irrelevant. To my mind the files output by both of these cameras are very robust and they seem to adapt to the Tri-X look beautifully. I would imagine that if you are a fine art or salon type photographer the X100s could be a dream for you with its sexy smooth looking images.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This has been the longest post I have written in a very long time as I completely lost enthusiasm and felt that I had run dry on photography as a subject. I feel the need to change topic here or I will talk to much about equipment rather than the creative photographic art and that is exactly why I lost enthusiasm in the first place !! :) A couple of events changed my life in many ways last year and they were both photography workshops with people that I consider to be at the absolute top of the game for the type of photography I like and it has now happened again this year and I consider it critical to share this with anyone who is reading this that has the drive and passion to try to improve their photography to both better understand humanity and express their uniqueness in their own style. As regular readers will know, I love travel and out of that developed a love of photography however I began to feel that the type of travel photography I was doing (even though it was commercially successful) was very unsatisfying and clearly not expressing any of my personality or thoughts on the world. I still wanted to travel to unique places but also wanted to learn from photographers who to me were credible and whose work I admired. With this in mind I travelled to Sicily, where these photographs were taken, to a workshop with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.bazanphotos.com/workshops/">Ernesto Bazan</a> having researched his work and found myself admiring his work on Cuba very much. This turned out to be a completely inspired decision and the environment that Ernesto created and his out and out humanity, openness and passion made this a truly life enriching experience. I know some of you may think I am getting carried away here but its very true and I think any of the 10 other students would say the same. I am beginning to form an opinion that if you are open to it these type of workshops somehow give you better insight into yourself both from a human and personality perspective and from this comes moments of insight into the gorgeous diversity of this world and the endless visual richness that light reveals to us. Personally, I feel that it is this combination of personal insight and increased sensitivity to visual possibility that transcends technical competence and conventional structure to allow you to be more creative and to express yourself in your own way, this is what Ernesto enabled for me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In conclusion then, if you are thinking of a photography workshop I would advise going through the following simple thought process before you make your choice; firstly, select a location or event that interests you a lot, this is more important than you may think, secondly, look at which photographers run workshops there (I will add links of my favorites at the end), thirdly extensively research their work, it is vitally important that you admire their work greatly. I think if you follow these simple steps you will find the workshop to be the single best investment that you can make to improve your photography. Forget about new equipment, on-line training and college classes as a properly chosen, minimum 7 day workshop with a real creative artist will reward you with greater satisfaction and development than all of these put together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If anyone is interested, I have a simple way of funding my passion to learn and develop (and to buy the equipment that I am addicted to....) and that is that I simply stick $50 every time I think on it in my Starbuck mugs that I have collected from the cities I have visited. I am continually amazed at how this accumulates and finances my photography :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am sorry if this has been a bit too much of a ramble for any of you but there was a lot in my head that I wanted to get out and writing doesn't come easily to me so apologies for any grammar, spelling and structural errors :) I do hope that you have found at least something of interest in here and even more hopefully, something that helps you to enjoy photography more.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the links:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.bazanphotos.com/workshops/">Ernesto Bazan</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://ontheroad.gr/ontheroad/home.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nikos Economopoulos</span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span></div>
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Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-60039807662133528882013-03-01T23:12:00.003-08:002013-03-02T16:54:36.969-08:00<h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Forgotten Friends, the 'Year Old' Camera</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjYNb7lmyyJZUTrxnv5xIKfiJC1gj4IDzvR2K43-Xu8EUfDkgpF9scjDcJZ1Rx2wvQpzAeVF5sGwEfgEuOSPH-WlfooAos_zm3YwFTNQVN2dojp1dJUvVJh323MjkLUV_5XH66gz4A9Q/s1600/Bangkok+1-1-7-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTjYNb7lmyyJZUTrxnv5xIKfiJC1gj4IDzvR2K43-Xu8EUfDkgpF9scjDcJZ1Rx2wvQpzAeVF5sGwEfgEuOSPH-WlfooAos_zm3YwFTNQVN2dojp1dJUvVJh323MjkLUV_5XH66gz4A9Q/s640/Bangkok+1-1-7-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey Folks, it's been a long time since I had the energy to write anything here but I thought you might like to hear about a trip I made to Bangkok recently with the now very unfashionable Fuji X10. I am continually amazed nowadays at how quickly cameras come and go and it only seems like yesterday that I was eagerly awaiting the launch of this super-sexy little cam and Fuji's nice ad campaign really had me wanting one. However, some major travel and expense came along at that time so somehow I passed it by but I never forgot the impact that the look and apparent usability of the camera had on me so when I got the chance of one recently for S$ 450 (US$365) I jumped at it, and believe me, what a bargain I got. Here is Steve's review for those of you that may have already forgotten it :) <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/11/08/the-fuji-x10-digital-camera-review-a-look-at-the-baby-brother-of-the-x100/" target="_blank">Steve Huff X10 Review:</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQEr-KM7WWWbqkS0AVrtIzFpkONUowupGZaQ72Mhqy5qfOqPSdB1tjlgbpCnlY8EimD28CD4tvGq4IVdiqsZ4zpn5KMF0rPJ8L5qptafgVrwoTzHGFpC_o3o2FKaRlZk3iYTCUG_GI1OY/s1600/Bangkok+1-1-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQEr-KM7WWWbqkS0AVrtIzFpkONUowupGZaQ72Mhqy5qfOqPSdB1tjlgbpCnlY8EimD28CD4tvGq4IVdiqsZ4zpn5KMF0rPJ8L5qptafgVrwoTzHGFpC_o3o2FKaRlZk3iYTCUG_GI1OY/s640/Bangkok+1-1-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So just what exactly attracted me so much about the camera given that it was picking up some mediocre reviews and some folks were making a big issue out of the 'white disk' sensor problem? Well firstly, this is one beautifully made and designed camera, it just oozes quality. The black finish is very understated and with the lack of front logos, very discreet as well. The metal lens cap is something I thought I would dislike but it turned into a key feature for me. I usually put a lens hood on my cams only to protect the lens from knocks as I don't believe in putting a filter in front of good glass. I quickly developed a workflow where I can whip off the cap, turn the lens to 35mm and start shooting very quickly indeed. which leads me on to the other key feature for me and that is the phenomenal lens which serves to switch on the camera and then manually zooms all at fast apertures if you want. I find that I have judged the 'twist and on' movement so that I end up spot on 35mm at which I can shoot at a reasonably fast f2.2 in low light. Really classy design, well done Fuji, none of that dreaded zoom hunting that plagues small cameras.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the criticism I always read about with small cameras and M43 is that there is no great depth of field possible for blurring backgrounds, I am at a total loss to understand this, I want all of the depth of field I can get !!!! Take the above shot which was taken underneath a motorway overpass in the Klong Toey slum area of Bangkok and the light was not as good as it might look in the photo. I was very close to this guy and shooting at a wider aperture than my ideal for the shot in mind, but I desperately wanted to keep the people in the background at least enough in focus to be discernible, particularly the old guy with the little baby. I almost made it but this kind of shot would be impossible at wide apertures on a DSLR, I know its not what everyone wants but I think its really important to show context and other important elements that make the subject come alive. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While in Bangkok I was able to speak to Magnum photographer <a href="http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL535QJL" target="_blank">Nikos Economopoulos</a> about this very subject and he told me that he only ever uses two ISO settings with his Leica M9, 640 for daylight and 1250 in poor light, the reason for this was simple, he wanted to shoot at F11 or at worst F8 as often as possible so that he could arrange the elements clearly in his photos. I know this will surprise many people but I also believe that for a documentary style its better to shoot at smaller apertures if you can and the more depth of field the better.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While on the subject of Bangkok areas to shoot in, all of the shots shown so far were taken in the slum area of Klong Toey which is easily reached by train from the central areas of Bangkok. Although poor I found the people to be very tolerant and gracious to me at all times (even when they were very drunk !!!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back to the X10 and its not my intention to re-iterate a review of the camera as, given its age, its been reviewed many times by people better qualified than me. What I want to do is let you know how I found it in terms of usability for documentary style photography and I have to say that it performed better than I expected and I have grown to really like the camera. Although I mess about with and own many cameras, very few of them make it into the 'loved' category but this little beauty certainly has. It is one of the few cameras that I like to use with a wrist strap and it seems to fit perfectly into my hand and, as I said, I have developed a shooting workflow where I can have the lens cap off, turned it on at 35mm and be shooting extremely quickly. This is very important to me and that usability factor along with the manual control for exposure comp really makes this cam work for me.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Surprisingly for such a small sensor, the X10 handles difficult light really well and the dynamic range appears to be better than I would have imagined. I also mentioned the exposure comp dial and it works seamlessly with the rear screen to allow you to see the result of your adjustments. This isn't unique to the X10 of course but is an extremely useful aspect of electronic screens and viewfinders. I used to use a Nikon D3 for just about everything I shot and I picked it up recently and was shocked at how stone age it felt with the DSLR mirror slap and noisy shutter.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I dont use it often but, as many reviewers have pointed out, the Fuji cameras are really classy when it comes to balancing light when you use the in cam flash. Take the above shot for example which was just completely impossible without a little help form the pop up flash on the X10. I think you can see how very bright it was behind the couple but the flash dealt with it very nicely indeed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the other criticisms of the X10 was of the optical viewfinder and its slightly narrow view and lack of any shooting information. For me I have found that I mainly prefer to use the screen to compose and that allows me to 'grab' shots like the one above where I see something that is going to change very quickly but I can lift the camera to above eye height, frame and shoot very quickly. Its almost like using a giant rangefinder where you have complete visibility of everything around you but can frame what you want. The criticism of the VF is I think pretty fair but its not at all unusable and you quickly learn to trust the focus if you leave the focus point on centre and recompose so for me its no big deal. There is a somewhat strange effect here that I noticed in myself though and that is that I seem to adapt to the camera rather than have a totally fixed personal style. Let me try to explain, I also have and often use a Fuji X100 (another loved cam) but I very seldom use the rear screen and almost always use the viewfinder because it works so well. With the X10, whether its to do with size or whatever, I find that I use the viewfinder less and shoot maybe 75% of shots with the screen and I am entirely comfortable with this.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A final comment on the usability of the X10. Most of you will have noticed by now that I have shot all of these in a 1:1 or square crop. This is something that I struggle to be able to explain and it doesn't always work as you lose the narrative effect that comes with 3:2 however, somehow I find that I can get nice tight expressive framing with it and I find that it defines the main subjects better for the way I have been shooting. With the X10, like many other cameras, its so easy to set the camera to square and compose that way on the screen safe in the knowledge that you will have a 3:2 RAW file if you get it wrong. In terms of shooting approach then, I set the camera on square, RAW + Fine jpg and the B&W film effect with a yellow filter. This wont work for everyone but it certainly produces the results that I am looking for and gives me the RAW insurance policy if I need to re-crop.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would like to pull this together now and one of the things I hope this little article does is make people think about the 'year old' camera if they are thinking of changing gear. Its very clear to me that models are changing so quickly now that the previous models are just nothing short of extraordinary value. I have now seen the X10 for sale in Singapore used and in exceptional condition for S$ 350 (about US$280) and that includes the good quality fuji case that came with the camera !!! Similarly the X100 is down to S$700 (US$560) these are incredibly good if not great cameras and they can be picked up for the price of a cheap DSLR lens !!!!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having said that, I am as prone as the next guy to marketing and my mind is already a whirl at the thought of new X20's and X100S :) its such fun though to pay small money for a camera that can deliver great results for you. Just ignore the forum talk about image quality, lens sharpness and all of that guff, find a cam that <u><b>you like to use</b></u> and focus on the <b><u>content, light and form</u></b> of your shots, the results will be much more satisfying.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's about it folks. I am very pleased to return to posting and I really hope this was interesting for at least some of you. If anyone would like to see more in this style I have three free ebooks that can be downloaded from Blurb here <a href="http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/377589-bangkok-1-1" target="_blank">Colin ebooks</a>. The process is very simple, just log in (or create a free account) add the books to your cart, check out (remember its free) and Blurb will send you the link to download to Iphone or Ipad. I have found that the app looks better on the iphone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have an upcoming trip booked to Sicily for the Easter festivals there and will be spending some time in Rome on the way back so I should have some more material and experiences to discuss soon.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">in the meantime, safe travels and happy shooting.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span></div>
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Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-18969731104462845482012-07-15T11:39:00.000-07:002012-07-15T11:39:05.623-07:00Moments........and Intimacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I mentioned in my previous post about the subtlety of the learning experience in the <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/workshops.shtml" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a> workshop that I attended in Istanbul and, in response to some of the questions I received on it, wanted to give some simple examples by way of explanation.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the great learning opportunities in the workshop was the group sessions where Peter would review and edit the previous days work. The objective of these sessions was three-fold; firstly, to create a fifteen shot portfolio that explored a theme on the city, secondly, to provide a platform for Peter to provide feedback on individual photographs and to comment on technique and style, and finally, and I don't know how intentional this was, to show how the editing process works as demonstrated by someone who is enormously experienced at ruthlessly reviewing and editing down to the best photographs for publication. Initially this process was a little unnerving for me as I watched as what I thought were strong shots hit the cutting room floor. Why was this? well, for me and my personal style, it came down to what I think was the question of intimacy in the photograph. Let me try to explain.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The above opening shot was taken in a side-street that was a little bit off the beaten track near the amazing Galata Bridge. I had decided to wander around the back-streets while I waited for the rich, creamy, later afternoon light that I liked so much at the Bosphorus and I came across this lovely old gentleman sitting outside a cafe. I was immedeatley attracted to the setting and the obvious interest created by his appearance and in particular his face and eyes. Putting some of Peter's philosophy into practice, I didn't sneak around and try to catch a shot on the fly, but simply walked up openly and started to build some rapport and empathy with the old man. He couldn't speak English but that wasn't a problem, I showed him that I was here to take photographs and together we looked at some of the days shots. He recognized the locations and immediately pulled over a small chair so that I could join him for a cup of tea and also showed his willingness to be photographed himself.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I found that I liked the shots very much because of a twinkle that I could see in his lively eyes and a somewhat mischievousness in his expression. But here's the thing, although these are decent, interesting shots the intimacy in them is personal to me. Much of my liking of the shots is based on the overall experience and emotional connection that <b><i>I had</i></b>, the friendliness of the old man and the joy of sharing a tea sitting on the street with him and his companions in this wonderfully vibrant city. The problem really comes with the directness of the relationship, he is looking straight at me (and the camera) in all of the shots that I took and as Peter helped me to see, this destroys emotion and takes away the need for the mind to question and extrapolate on what is going on in the shot. Here is another example that works a little bit better because of the humor, but still has the directness of personal relationship that devalues the photograph. It was Peter's advice that more often than not when the subject looks directly at your eyes or the camera, the photo will not have the same level of mystery or overall interest as a result of the personalization that occurs. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Moments of Non - Personal Intimacy</span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By way of contrast, it became very clear in looking at everyone in the groups shots that the intrinsically more interesting photographs had captured a moment of intimacy that had no direct relationship to the photographer. This was also evident in the review of the masters of the craft. Here is a near miss of mine that got edited out for poor composition by clipping the hand of the accordion player but it definitely has a more thought provoking moment of intimacy as the mind looks at the expression and tries to assess the meaning of all of this and its hard not to see a sense of regret or sadness in the expression that is heightened as the mind looks for further detail and information to better understand what is going on. This detached intimacy is critically important to creating a sense of demanding the viewer to think and assess what is happening as opposed to the direct approach where the mystery and challenge is removed. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This can also be seen clearly when there is more than one person in the shot and its possible to explore them together if they are interacting with each other, or to provoke a more poetic response if they are in a moment of personal thought or reflection. Something that I personally like that I sometimes think adds another dimension is to use mirrors or windows to show another perspective and here is a nice example of that in a simple cafe shot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Its not the best composed of shots but I like the fact that the intimacy of the moment is explored from two angles and the girl on the lefts face is a little poetic when seen from both perspectives.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This can be seen again in the following shot from a card game in a cafe in the Tarlabarsi area of the city. This area is known for the interesting streets and is consider a bit of a slum being occupied by migrants to the city who come in search of work. I found the people to be very friendly though, and, when approached respectfully, were great fun. After speaking to the men outside the cafe for a few moments we were graciously invited in and furnished with a cup of refreshing tea while the card players laughed and posed for us. After a while the novelty wore of and, as Peter advised, the real moments of intimacy began to emerge as the directness of the relationships to be explored were removed as the men returned to the much more serious business of concentrating and winning at cards. Again, I like the use of reflection to create a little tension but then open up the story of what is happening. By the way, the men in this photo come from an area of the city that is often problematic and the scene of political disputes. I have to say that I have always found it better to view people as you find them and I can assure you these people could not have been nicer to me and my fellow photographic companion.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope this short exploration of moments of intimacy makes sense and, although the examples I used may not be the best, that the concept is better understood. It should be clear that there is a critical difference between direct moments of intimacy where the intrinsic interest is reduced, and indirect ones that create much more interest and challenge to the viewer.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If anyone is interested in learning more and taking their photography to a new level then Peter runs ten to twelve workshops a year in all of the most stunning locations for this type of photography. <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/workshops.shtml" target="_blank">Peter Turnley Workshops</a></span><br />
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<br /></div>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-25401109368907741282012-07-10T00:02:00.002-07:002012-07-11T08:15:44.993-07:00Istanbul Daydreams - Reflections on a Peter Turnley Workshop<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes beautiful moments just appear and surprise you....sometimes you have to search for them......and persist.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Daydreams & Rhythm</span></h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have just returned from ten days and nights in Istanbul, a week of which was spent in a 'Streets of Istanbul' workshop with <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a> and a small but diverse group of fellow photography enthusiasts. This was my first visit to Istanbul and its rhythm, color and openness took me completely by surprise as did the workshop itself which I eventually learned is a lesson in humanity and creativity, not on how to take photographs. Peter should need no introduction to photography enthuisiasts and his powerful, emotive photojournalistic work is well known. What surprised me a little after having looked at this work was his creative, artistic side and out and out sense of humanity. I found his teaching to be subtle (for me) and nicely paced to create an overall learning experience that not only greatly enhanced my competence as a photographer but instilled a much deeper sense of the moments of beauty, surprise and meaning that are always all around us, waiting to appear or be sought out.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having arrived in Istanbul with some wildly misplaced and somewhat negative perceptions as to its nature, much to my surprise, I couldn't have been more wrong. What I discovered was a vividly colorful, warm and unendingly fascinating city that welcomed me with open arms. I immediately fell into time with its pace and pulse, stepping easily into its rhythm and flow and, after a day of orientation, I found myself wandering aimlessly, walking the streets, resting in the mosques, and hopping on and off the many ferries that traverse the mighty Bosphorus. This might sound absurd but somehow I felt that I slipped into a dreamy state and found that my walking pace and movement slowed, I saw things more easily than normal and felt more attuned to the life of this wonderful city. I discovered that every aspect of the city seemed to be slower paced and more aligned to my own natural rhythm which I guess I have lost somewhat in recent times in the hubbub of Singapore, travel and the pressures of a working lifestyle. This pace extended through everything that I did from walking its streets and alleys, through the marvelously relaxed cafe and dinning experience until eventually finding its way calmingly into my photography. The idea of photographic rythm is an interesting concept and one of the key learnings that I received from Peter in the workshop is the requirement to create a sense of pacing and timing in your work to achieve a flow and avoid repetition and redundancy. This is something that I believe I have completely missed previously as a photographer and I like to think that with Peter's guidance, the work I created here is much closer to the reflection of how I see the world and I sincerely hope that at least a little of the dreamy mood I felt in Istanbul comes through in the pictures that I made.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Be a Photographer</span></h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second important message that I had from Peter was to take on the mantle and mindset of permitting yourself to 'be a photographer'. This might be a little tricky to understand externally without having experienced the workshop and spent time with Peter, but it really hit home for me. If you want to capture and translate something of the world as you see it, and to crystalize your photographic ideas, its essential to adopt the attitude that <b><i>you are a photographer</i></b>, not a part time shooter or hobbyist (despite the fact that you are not making a living from it) This lesson is better understood by watching Peter waltzing into a shooting situation, charming and creating rapport, and more often than not, leaving with a worthwhile shot and some new friends. This is a challenge for most people and the ability to approach and gain the trust of an interesting subject is a skill that should not be underestimated and one that ultimately makes the difference between interesting snapshots and meaningful work. Nowhere did I see that better demonstrated than when I had the good fortune to watch him create the gorgeous reflection shot of the lady on the ferry that you can see on his <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151242173504418&set=a.471975064417.258964.657519417&type=1&theater" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page. I watched as Peter engaged with this shy woman and, without giving directions, shot and waited and shot and waited until he made the photograph he envisaged. Peter is clearly a master at this and although I can only aspire to his level of communication with people, I definitely learned the lesson and am now practicing moving confidently into situations with the authority of belonging there, because I am a photographer.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Humanity</span></h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think the third enduring lesson that I learned from Peter was the most critical and important one for me personally. What Peter taught and showed me was that its not really about understanding composition or the technical side of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">photography,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> more importantly its about realizing that you are working with humanity. Through this I came to see that the most beautiful and interesting scenes are best appreciated and the critical moments captured when you become aware that its a human situation that you are in. Then, by both having insights into that situation, and the confidence and ability to enter it as a photographer in a constructive, patient manner, some unique moment will eventually emerge for you to capture using your photographic skills. I do firmly believe that the sequence or process works better once the photographer realizes this rather than the more conventional reversal where the technical skills are learned first before the realization that neither they nor any amount of megapixels or razor sharp, fast lenses will give you the images you desire. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Persistance</span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most delightful moments of the workshop came when Peter took us to the cafe and studios of the world famous photographer <a href="http://www.araguler.com.tr/" target="_blank">Ara Guler</a> . Ara was once voted one of the worlds seven most influential photographers and it was a fantastic experience to meet, talk to and be photographed with the great man. By good luck one of our group Anja, had already bought a copy of his book and he took great pleasure in signing it for her while engaging in some good humored banter. I was very dissapointed not to have had a similar opportunity and all to quickly the moment passed and was gone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Undaunted, I returned to the cafe at every opportunity while wandering the city and had lunch and dinner there with one or more of the group on numerous occasions. Unfortunately there was no sign of Ara. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I guess the final lesson from Peter was that of being persistant and sticking with it until something happens. I would watch as he would often take some shots, appear to turn away apparently finished only to return once the situation relaxed to get the moments that presented themselves once his subjects thought the photo was taken and they could return to normal.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On my final day in Istanbul, once Peter and all of the group students had left, I made one final trip to the cafe climbing the steep slope up from the Galata bridge and wandering along the thouroghfare shooting the buskers and cafe scenes. On arrival at the cafe and much to my delight, there was Ara sitting joking with his friends and what looked like some of his family. Without hesitation I sprinted to the nearest bookshop and bought a copy of his lovely portraits of the shapers of the 20th century and returned to spend a wonderful twenty minutes or so chatting to him as he graciously struggled with my Scottish accent and not only signed, but decorated the book with some little sketches. My lasting memory of this wonderful moment for me was when he paused after signing and decorating the title page and, disturbed by some lack of balance in the composition, flicked a little tick shaped bird onto the blank page opposite quickly bringing it into equilibrium.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Additional Information</span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The work created by the workshop group can be viewed shortly on Peter's <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/students.shtml" target="_blank">Gallery page</a> and it will serve to give some insight into the substance of the workshop output. I should mention at this point that this was the most wonderful and interesting group of people that I have ever come across and it was humbling to hear their life stories and to see them develop their photographic ambitions with Peter. Much of the enjoyment and learning in the workshop takes place at the review and edit sessions and I am sure we all benefited greatly from looking at and understanding the diversity of each others work. Peter runs the workshops in many of the Worlds most fascinating cities and the full list can be seen <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/workshops.shtml" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is a Peter Turnley workshop for you? Well, if you have a passion for people and a desire to learn how you can interpret your world better both photographically and in your relationship to it, then I can't think of a better way to spend a week:)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-47135371738094603162012-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:002012-06-30T14:19:08.581-07:00Istanbul Day 3- OMD on the Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03dabtu2yymJnlysOFstA2N89R2Q9fUKVSMg7bVwSk1Vl5cmgoBKKNlvW02RQT0LD-5qJfo-WYMU_5cvglJo2tJelAubBLDuDT8CAPIa4LRJNNz1ECeZoe-XcEDIGMYGwn5fwGNqCao1A/s1600/GX1+Istanbul+June-July+2012-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03dabtu2yymJnlysOFstA2N89R2Q9fUKVSMg7bVwSk1Vl5cmgoBKKNlvW02RQT0LD-5qJfo-WYMU_5cvglJo2tJelAubBLDuDT8CAPIa4LRJNNz1ECeZoe-XcEDIGMYGwn5fwGNqCao1A/s640/GX1+Istanbul+June-July+2012-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I started yesterday with sunset from the terrace at the <a href="http://www.rasthotel.com/" target="_blank">Rast Hotel</a> where I am staying in Istanbul so I thought I would start today with sunrise (or nearly, I overslept a little). What a view, I could spend all day lounging about up there, but I didn't :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wandered the streets a little today but in all honesty I think the jet lag and overnight flight from Singapore is catching up so I decided to take it easier and have a more relaxed day. Having said that, I still came across some really nice people like this guy at Beyazit Square. When I asked if I could shoot his ringed hand and cane for a detail shot he promptly assumed I wanted a fully posed portrait and stood to attention. Not really what I wanted but I think the shot works because of the tight crop and the glance from the old man on the right. A quick word on the processing of these shots which is probably a bit more colorful and contrasty than my normal style but I felt it suits the vibrant atmosphere of Istanbul, I hope its not overdone as I am hopelessly color blind but it looks nice to my eyes. Out of interest its a very simple piece of Lightroom editing and I am simply adding a bit more presence and vibrance than normal, just about everything else is the same as usual.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't think that the above shot is very inspirational but I really liked the way the light was falling on the scene and it looked very rich and saturated, the coins, notes and paraphernalia the guy was selling was also interesting and I spent a very pleasant five minutes or so looking at his wares.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We all love barber shops, the light is usually </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">good and there is always a mirror for that all important reflection. Its a bonus when the barber is waring the favored Turkish red and has a good tatoo into the bargain. This guy was also very tolerant and allowed me to shoot for a while.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Turkish Wedding</b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes you just get lucky, the hotel manager recomended a restaurant to us and when we got there a wedding party was in full swing and the bride and groom very graciously allowed me to shoot a few photos. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In looking at these shots I think I overdid the noise reduction as they are looking too plastic for my liking, still its too late at night now and I still like the smile anyway. These are very low light shots at ISO 3200 and while usable, it doesn't take much to push them over the edge.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As at the barbers shop, mirrors are your friend. There seems to be a tradition at Turkish weddings that the girls carry a small candle in each hand, not sure why but it made for interesting photography.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the last shot of the day and although the lighting was poor and my exposure was a bit off I had to include it for the sultry look from this beautiful young Turkish lady....oh to be young again.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That's it for day 3 folks, the workshop with Peter begins tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how it progresses and what other delights this fascinating city has in store.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cheers,</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Colin</span></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-77109977230303324402012-06-29T13:40:00.001-07:002012-06-30T01:25:14.834-07:00Istanbul Day 2 - OMD on the Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Inspirational Istanbul</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIIGcojemK1HUEo4Iq9kM27nJpnDdQU9wWdJNhu81WwHpNvvO_0_lZWOIgW3colY2aU7sM61Z6kNdNn-J3Kk4nmbcbw6f2CcmHAA-bPsvW8cOw9rQ_KU7Qc6t7ECwdk0uenT2WfAJydMR/s1600/OMD+Istanbul+June-July+2012-1-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIIGcojemK1HUEo4Iq9kM27nJpnDdQU9wWdJNhu81WwHpNvvO_0_lZWOIgW3colY2aU7sM61Z6kNdNn-J3Kk4nmbcbw6f2CcmHAA-bPsvW8cOw9rQ_KU7Qc6t7ECwdk0uenT2WfAJydMR/s640/OMD+Istanbul+June-July+2012-1-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hi Folks, and welcome to day two from Istanbul. Well thats not strictly true as I wanted to start with a couple of shots that I took from our hotel balcony last night at dusk, how's this for a view !!! The second shot was at ISO 3200 handheld so I had to give it a bit of noise smoothing in Lightroom, still it has a nice feel to it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The hotel is called the <a href="http://www.rasthotel.com/" target="_blank">Rast</a> and is in a fabulous location right in the centre of Sultanahmet in the old city. Before I start on todays shots, now that I am fully rested after the overnight flight from Singapore, I wanted to show a few photos that I took late yesterday afternoon.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Regular readers of the blog will know how fond I am of backlighting and there were many opportunities to take these kinds of shots in the narrow cobbled streets in the old city. If you are trying this, you need around + 1.7 to +2 exposure compensation and shut down the lens as far as possible to help with the starburst effect.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is another nice example of a street seller who appeared towards dusk at Beyazit Square near the university. This is a very interesting spot that I visited a few times during the day and it seemed to change very time I went. I took a few shots of him before he got fed up with me and I can't make up my mind which I prefer, I like the feel and action of the first but can see his face and expression in the second.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is another backlit streetshot that I like a lot, the rim lighting is just right and as an added bonus I have another model in red in the top left of the frame, this wasn't intentional but I think it improves the photo immeasurably. Ok, Here is the last shot from Yesterday afternoon and its a cigarette street streetseller. In my enthusiasm I didn't spot that I was reflecting in his machine, never mind, I like the back-lighting and the pose. A quick word about the little Lumix lens, the 14mm F2.5 is a fabulous street lens, its extremely light and compact, reasonably fast, sharp wide open and very flare resistant when shooting these kind of backlit photos. Its become a firm favorite with me and is never off the OMD now.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For today, feeling totally refreshed after a long lie and very nice breakfast. I decided to follow the tram lines done towards the Bosphorus and see where I ended up. I personally love just wandering aimlessly and its amazing what you come accross. I found my way to Sirkecis Train Station and got a few nice natural light shots in the old waiting room area.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am finding that most Istanbul citizens are pretty good when it comes to taking photos of them and they either ignore you or politely smile and let you get on with it. This was the former :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You really can't go wrong with nice window lighting and its also hard to go wrong when you get a nice graffiti painted wall, all you have to do is station yourself and wait for the right actors to appear on your stage. I had only settled there for a few minutes when along came this guy in red trousers and i had a polarizer on the Lumix 14 so the result is very nicely saturated.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Galata Bridge</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Following a refreshing afternoon nap I decided to try the evening light down at the Galata bridge which spans the Bosphorus and is a hive of activity in the late afternoon. The bridge itself is pretty big and has two levels, the lower of which houses restaurants and bars. With the OMD rigged with my favorite 14 mm lens and the GX1 over my other shoulder with the equally flexible 20mm F1.7 attached I was ready for anything. For some reason I found myself favoring the GX1, 20mm combo this afternoon and I quickly found a fascinating shadow opportunity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I thought it looked cool to leave my own shadow in the shot it seemed to create a nice tension across the frame. I really liked this location and took a lot of shots trying to find the right subject and it turned out that timing was everything, it proved very tricky trying to anticipate and shoot at the right moment. Something I like about the GX1 like the GF1 before it, I seem to be able to view with my left eye and watch for subjects out of frame with my right rather like rangefinder shooters do.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is another shot that I liked of the avid fishermen on the bridge. These guys were really keen and some of them spend all day on the bridge and for some it turns into a kind of family affair.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to close, here is what I think is my favorite shot of the day that I took just as the light was going. I really like the feel of this and somehow it creates an 'end of the day' type emotion. This really is a gorgeous setting in the late afternoon and I am really liking the flexibility of the OMD 14mm and GX1 20mm set ups, they cover the perfect range for my style of shooting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well thats it for day two folks. I am off for some well earned sleep and have one more day to wander about on my own before the course starts. I am off to bed weary but already filled with anticipation for tomorrow.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-44516137546178973602012-06-28T06:23:00.004-07:002012-06-28T06:23:56.528-07:00Istanbul Day 1 - OMD on the Road<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>First Thoughts on Istanbul</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travelers, welcome to this first post from my trip to Istanbul for a workshop with <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/workshops.shtml" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a> . The workshop is street shooting orientated with a photojournalistic theme and I decided to arrive a few days early to acclimatize and get into the spirit. I arrived at the hotel at 9:00 a.m. this morning having flown over night from Singapore and decided to hit the streets immediately. The hotel we are in is right in the centre of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sultanahmet in the old city and I just couldn't wait to explore so I grabbed my Olympus OMD with Lumix 14mm F2.5 and hit the streets. First up, this is a wonderful little travel combo, incredibly light, robust and flexible. I mentioned in previous posts that I am really warming to shooting with the touch shutter on the cameras rear screen and I am convinced this is the way to go with street shooting. I am also finding that its not an intimidating set up and it doesn't get the reaction that the bigger DSLR and lenses would. The opening shot is a good example of this as I was able to engage the subject in conversation while I shot away with the touchscreen, and it worked a treat. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Although I would class myself as an experienced photographer, the thought of focusing entirely on Street Photography was a little foriegn although fortunately I think it aligned with the way I shoot anyway. Traditionally I use wider lenses of the order of the 24, 28, 35 & 40 focal lengths and I usually try to shoot what I would term 'context' shots so I guess trying to story tell and create interesting little series of shots isn't actually that far from what I do anyway. I watched a tremendous little Magnum in Motion clip by <a href="http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/istanbul" target="_blank">Alex Webb</a> when I was researching for this trip and I was struck by the depth of interest in his photos, the best ones seem to be multilayered with interesting elements that all come together to trap your eye in the frame. Inspired by this I have been trying to keep that in mind when I explore any interesting subjects that I come accross and I think the window shot above is about as close as I have got to it yet.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One thing that is clear to me after my first few hours here is that I think I have the gear choices spot on. As is my way recently, I have gone really light and brought the OMD, GX1 and a few primes including the Lumix 14 & 20, the Sigma 30 and the Olympus 45 (these all of course double for equivalent focal length). In addition I brought the Samyang fisheye thinking it might be useful in the gorgeous mosques. I have started out today with just the OMD and 14 & 20 and they have been perfectly suited to this style. I also bought a very cheap <a href="http://products.lowepro.com/product/Exchange-Messenger,2189,20.htm" target="_blank">Lowepro Exchange Messenger bag</a> which is ridiculously light and a great compliment to the micro 43 kit, housing it all with ease and, in combination with the tiny lightweight lenses, being no trouble to carry in the city heat.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">From what I have seen so far of Istanbul, and please remember I have only been here for a matter of hours, its reputation as a street-shooters paradise looks to be warranted. Every turn of a corner holds something new to see and some variety of light and subject matter. The blend of old and new is certainly there as well and contrasts abound. So far I have only been refused by a couple of subjects and thats fair enough, I think as I adapt and become better at this style, the hit rate of keepers will rise. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, I am starting to tire a little so I am going to grab some coffee and a snack before I shoot in the late afternoon light which should be great. It is also my intention to leave the hotel around 5 a.m. tomorrow to see how the city looks around sunrise so it will be an early one tonight. It is my intention to try to update this every day if I can but not sure how achievable that will be once the course starts and I really get into it. Anyway, in the meantime happy shooting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-73131752869597066712012-06-24T03:31:00.001-07:002012-06-24T06:59:09.340-07:00Panasonic GX1 - How did I miss this??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travel fans, welcome to this short post on my latest purchase, the delicious little Lumix GX1. First of all, how did I miss this delight of a camera?? Those of you that read this blog will know of my deep affinity for the GF1 which I have been using since it came out but somehow I didn't really catch on to this updated version. I think what put me off initially was that I read of the change to a touchscreen interface for the shooting menus from the GF1 shooting dial and that for me was one of the killer features of the GF1. Anyway, I saw a GX1 advertised on Singapore's Clubsnap site for S$630 and as I was looking for an M43 partner for the OMD for my upcoming trip to Istanbul (more later), I went ahead and bought it and boy, am I pleased I did :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the shooting menu and touchscreen interface, its nothing like as bad as I feared. I still much preferred the GF1 dial as I frequently use bracketing to protect exposure on the ISO sensitive GF1 and also use the 2 second timer setting when I am in low light and don't want to press a shutter. So why bother with the GX1 if I still prefer the GF1 controls? Well, quite simply, the GX1 is a much more mature camera. The body, grip and in particular sensor are vastly improved over the GF1, and it was a pretty mean design from the start. In particular, the grip on the GX1 is exceptional for such a small camera, this is really well thought out design at its best. The ridged front grip combines very elegantly with a raised thumb rest type grip on the rear to provide a solid and comfortable hold. The sensor is also a huge improvement and pretty much up there with the my favorite camera of the moment the Olympus OMD. The above shot of the busker and the following shot were both taken in pretty murky light and the camera has done a great job of handling them. A little tweaking of the robust RAW files and I have very usable results which would have been simply impossible with the GF1.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The white balance was also spot on and although the meter has a slight tendency towards under exposure its easily adjusted on the simple compensation dial which toggles nicely with the aperture setting. This is a feature it shares with the GF1 and one I like very much, it seems to be the two controls that I use most and they interact nicely. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Something to consider if you are thinking of getting one of these is that you really need to get the EVF attachment, it really does transform the handling and I really like the flexibility to tilt it. I paid S$300 for one which significantly boosted the overall cost and suddenly it wasn't looking such a bargain. Having said that its still cheaper than the OMD which I think is fair as the OMD outperforms it in several handling areas such as the water/dust sealing and better quality articulated rear screen.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another area of clear improvement in the GX1 over the GF1 is its color handling. I need to go on record here as being badly color blind and to having a liking for the slightly strange tones from the GF1 which I always felt looked great when slightly desaturated. It is clear even to my eyes that the GX1 is more accurate and the colors also respond very well to the vibrance and contrast controls in Lightroom. I have to say that the files behaved well in editing and they have much more leeway for adjustment. Incidentally, the above shot was taken at a Graffiti art competition at Marina Bay in Singapore.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The more I messed around with the GX1, the happier I became with it as a choice to work with the OMD on my Istanbul trip which is predominately about taking a photojournalistic approach to a theme on the city. One reason for the success of the blend is that they compliment each other very well. The OMD has its lovely tilting screen for high/low angle shooting and its body image stabilization make it better for use with my primes (none of which are stabilized) in low light. I can see me using the Sigma 30 and Olympus 45 on the OMD and the wider Lumix 14 and fast 20 on the Lumix. While the GX1 is very discreet and holds well in one hand and has a cool little ace up its sleeve with the tillable in built flash. I snapped the following shot by tilting the flash into its upwards setting and holding the palm of my hand flat behind it as a reflector. I was blown away with how natural the result looked and to my eyes it has none of the shadow and flatness normally associated with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">built in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">on camera flash. This is one of the few cameras that I know of where you can do this with a built in flash and its a great technique for close in portrait and street snapshots. The only watch out is that the skin tone from your hand can make for an overly rich cast on the subject. It worked fine in this one though.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Usually when I am editing my photos I often get a very strong urge to convert to B&W but I found myself having so much fun with the GX1 files in color that I don't yet have a single B&W conversion. Look at the lovely red in the following shot, really cool rendering and with just a little vibrance added.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think you can probably tell how pleased I am with this low cost addition to my camera family but here is the real impact of this choice. It has spurred me to clear out my dry cabinet and bag collection !!! I really can't see the reason to carry a lot of gear on my travels from now on. I have always liked to travel as light as possible but I am now so bought into the M43 system and the little Nikon V1 that I simply don't see me taking a DSLR on a trip again (hope I don't live to eat these words ....) I have sold off my Nikon D300 and am working my way through my large Nikon mount lens collection. I do intend to keep my D3 and a few of my best primes but the rest are going along with the larger bags and Think Tank systems.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you are interested in the GX1 then here are a few reviews from people whose opinions I really respect and they give a nice balanced view. First up <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/01/06/my-final-thoughts-on-the-panasonic-gx1-vs-e-p3/" target="_blank">Steve Huff</a> , and I think its fair to say that Steve was a little disappointed that the GX1 didn't make up more ground with an in-built EVF and in body stabilisation. I have to say that I am with him on both of these comments but the add-on EVF is very good and has the benefit of tilting (along with the drawback of significant extra cost) and unfortunately, like Nikon and Canon, Panasonic I believe made the mistake of going for lens stabilization. The reason I think this is a mistake is because of the legacy lenses that would benefit from body stabilisation and even the wide and mid range primes that Lumix brought out don't have OS. Here are a couple of other reviews from guys who's attitude and output I really admire. If you get a chance have a look at what Bert Stephani has done with the GF1 and a little flash <a href="http://bertstephani.com/2011/12/30/confessions-xl-video-gf1-guerilla-style-finally/" target="_blank">here</a> , and here is his short review on the <a href="http://bertstephani.com/category/gf1/" target="_blank">GX1</a>. I also like this review by <a href="http://www.stillmation.com/roblog/om-d-new-tech-retro-look/" target="_blank">Rob Mitchell</a> where he looks at the OMD and GX1 together (he also reviews the GX1 seperately) Finally, here is a more technical look at the camera by Gordon Laing at <a href="http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GX1/" target="_blank">Camera Labs</a>. Interestingly, Gordon took the GX1 as his camera of choice on an extended holiday trip and you can see his thoughts on that and the lenses he chose in his video blog on the trip.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's about it on the GX1 folks and my thoughts are turning seriously to the upcoming Istanbul trip which is based around a workshop with <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a> and I am really excited about the whole adventure which is a real break from my normal travel style of photography. I am sure I will learn loads and am hoping to update the blog with my thoughts as the course develops. In the meantime, have fun shooting and I may have time for one quick post on the gear I am taking and the trip prep before I go, so keep your eyes peeled for that one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-71809896121816924632012-06-18T09:17:00.003-07:002012-06-18T09:17:45.457-07:00Fujian Pt 2<h2>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Traveling with the OMD & G3</span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travel fans, welcome to the second part of the post on my recent trip to the Fujian region of China. Just to recap, I spent eight days on the road in the Fujian region of Southern China shooting with a pretty lightweight kit consisting of the Olympus OMD, Lumix G3, Fuji F600 and a good assortment of M43 primes along with the marvelous, inexpensive Lumix 45-200 zoom. The zoom saw a lot of service for the pattern shots that I mentioned in the </span><a href="http://phototravelasia.blogspot.com/2012/05/omd-on-road.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">last post</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and I got so much reaction to those shots that I decided to include some more and also add in the overall context so that you can get a better idea of how the shots work. To conclude on the trip I will also take a look at the Hui An coastal region and the stunning </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianluokeng_Tulou_cluster" target="_blank">Earth Buildings</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">at Tian Luo Keng. So lets get going......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The Pattern Shots</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">First up here is is the set up for the shots that I took of the boat in the 's' shaped channel created by the poles that protect the waterway and provide the support for the nets to catch crustaceans and shellfish.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The shot is taken from a vantage point on the roof of the local schoolhouse that we were lucky enough to get granted access to - again why you need a local guide. Here is a different variation on the shot that doesn't work quite as well as the others because the pattern and shape is not as strong in the composition. Hopefully you can now get a better idea on how the shot was created though and why a long zoom is simply essential. Most of my traveling companions shot with tripods but I found that the OMD IS worked superbly well and there was enough light to maintain a decent shutter speed. Just remember to switch off the stabilization on the lens if you are using a Lumix OIS version. Full marks to the OMD & Lumix 45-200 combo which worked a treat giving me nice crisp shots. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For a final look at this set up, here is a shot that works better but I still prefer the vertical shot from the original post.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On to the next location and this was one of my personal favorites for a number of reasons; firstly, the patterns were fantastic, secondly, the boatman rushed back with his catch and also turned out to be a very fine chef who ran a little cafe (more later) where we had lunch. Anyway, here is the context shot for the setting and you can see quite clearly how the sandbanks sit from the vantage point which was a pretty steep climb up a hill behind the estuary.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As with the other location, I think I preferred the vertical shot that I showed in the last post but here is a tighter crop version that works well in Hi Key. Again, the huge pull of the 400mm equivalent on the long end of the Lumix is vital to making this work and while I was shooting with the OMD on a pistol grip with the relatively tiny Lumix zoom, my fellow travelers were all on tripods with 2X extenders on their 70-200's. That's a huge difference in weight to carry up these hills and to be honest I don't think there is much to choose from in the results.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I mentioned in answer to a comment that I got from the post that <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/05/03/on-the-road-with-the-olympus-om-d-by-colin-steel/" target="_blank">Steve Huff</a> did that, for me these pattern shots are 'being there' takes, in that any competent photographer could get similar ones if they could find the same locations. Part of the technique on these shots though is timing and the one above is just slightly off as its better to catch the boatman pushing the pole at full extension. On the timing issue, I found the OMD to be highly responsive and much easier to move the focus points on than the G3. It was also capable of nice little bursts and the bracketing is relatively simple to implement although not in the league of the outstanding GF1, am I alone in thinking that the GF1 shooting dial should be copied on every camera? I mentioned previously that the boatman in these shots was a damn fine cook and he rustled us up a marvelous lunch in his little cafe before relaxing to enjoy his own work with his mother watching over. A quick point here, <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/05/06/the-olympus-om-d-e-m5-digital-camera-review-micro-43-finally-matures-for-real-by-steve-huff/" target="_blank">Steve Huff</a> and others pointed out that the Jpg's in vivid mode can be a little over-saturated, particularly in skin tones and this is spot on. I had to use some Jpg's prior to Adobe releasing the RAW converter for Lightroom 4 and also found this to be the case. Vivid renders bright punchy colors that are useful in certain scenes but it doesn't work well on Asian skin so just be careful if you are using it. Apart from that, I thought the Jpg's looked great out of the camera.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is the final location and context shot and this turned out to be a very challenging shooting situation as it was wet and overcast. Much has been made of the water resistance of the OMD and its a pretty handy feature. Even although I don't have the weatherproofed kit lens I had the camera and lens in a ziplok bag and felt a sense of added confidence that even although my hands were wet, there would be no problem with the camera. Well done Olympus and its crazy to read critics complaining about the control buttons being a little spongy, that to me seems an obvious consequence of the water sealing and a small trade off to make. Personally, I think dust sealing is more important for the kind of travel work I do and I have never had a single dust related problem with any of my M43 cameras. The OMD looks to take that to a new level of robustness, a big plus in my eyes.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I left the negative space and blueish cast in this photo as I felt it gave a sense of the misty, damp morning and huge expanse of the scene. I tried a few different takes on this location because I loved the shapes and textures but in all honestly the light was just too bad, this is about the best of the efforts. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the final shot from this location and again, I just didn't have enough light in the misty conditions so went for an atmospheric shot instead. I think when you travel that sometimes you just have to make the best of what your given, although I must say I would love to go back here on a better day, its a great scene to shoot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next few photos are my personal favorites of all of the vantage point pattern shots and its mainly because we were eventually blessed with some decent light at this location. You can see the context below and get some feel for how high we were above the actual scene. Incidentally, these first two shots were taken with the Fuji F600 which I find to be a nice handy pocket camera.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I hope you can see these two shots were taken in quick succession but look at how the impact changes when you zoom in and start to isolate the subject.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I said, the light here was the best we had on the whole trip and it is just as well as, unlike the other pattern shots, there were no stakes or man made shapes to aid the shooting. This required the sunset light to make it work and give the required contrast. You can see from the following shot what I felt was the most interesting blend of the pattern and contrasty sunset light. This occurred in the area where the tide and waves had left a ripple pattern in the sand. At first I didn't think I was going to get the shot as none of the fisherwomen walked past that area until eventually, at long last I managed to catch one going across the best area. Like the other pattern shots its important to try to get a clean shot of the subject in good motion and also to get the full reflection if possible. I didn't quite make it with the reflection but I think there is enough there to make it work.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ok, two non pattern locations to go and first up are the magnificent Earth Buildings at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tian Luo Keng.</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The buildings in this complex are figuratively known as</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">'four dishes and a soup' because of their layout and there is a piece of local folklore that the American CIA located them from a surveillance satellite and believed them to be a missile installation from the unique layout. American visitors are therefore treated with humor as being 'CIA spies' come to verify. Either way, the buildings despite, being constructed from earth around a wooden skeleton, have been around for 700 years or thereabouts.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, the wet, misty weather followed us from the coast so it was very challenging to shoot anything meaningful. I did find that the drop down graduated filter effect in Lightroom can be a bit of a life saver for these kind of shots. This takes me to one of the few criticism's I have of the M43 system and that is that the lenses are too small to effectively use grad filters. I would much prefer to get the shot right at the point of taking it as, despite the advances in software, it always introduces a trade off of some sort when you start any kind of heavy manipulation. For this reason I find it best to keep use of the effect light. Interestingly on this subject, if you get a chance have a look at how the amazing <a href="http://bertstephani.com/category/video/" target="_blank">Bert Stephani</a> uses the Lightroom grad filter to give vignette effects in his portraits. All done with a GF1 and a tiny flash, great stuff Bert.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rLbPgqh8XtXkBByQeI7n-KP37Jb_dNBHLI-DR_t7nzJF2rRSCHcOMLBoCoHmgYaVHZ7LDU0iH01azJ_Qwfr1NfSfVaN4MS58aGmoXz9MF08w-KsfpzBga6R6oN27HywV-_ScUAPmqro/s1600/OMD+Earth+Buildings+2+14+F6.3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rLbPgqh8XtXkBByQeI7n-KP37Jb_dNBHLI-DR_t7nzJF2rRSCHcOMLBoCoHmgYaVHZ7LDU0iH01azJ_Qwfr1NfSfVaN4MS58aGmoXz9MF08w-KsfpzBga6R6oN27HywV-_ScUAPmqro/s640/OMD+Earth+Buildings+2+14+F6.3-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I mentioned in the previous Fujian post, its always a good idea to force yourself to shoot a vertical as well and I am glad I did so here as I like the perspective.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Aside from the Earth Buildings, the main reason to come here as a photographer is to shoot the people of this area in their round village environment. Many fantastic street shooting style opportunities will come your way and I have to say that both the G3 and the OMD are great for this kind of shooting with their touchscreen focus and shoot, coupled with the lightening fast focusing. Here are a couple of good examples taken with the G3 and Lumix 20 F1.7. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The subjects were a mother and daughter and, although they had no English, the universal tried and tested travel photography technique of patience, a warm smile and some simple gestures worked wonders. As did buying a small bag of their delicious tea :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the same building I also came across this superb musician who was carrying on the family tradition of making and playing these lovely wind instruments and flutes. He treated us to a virtuoso performance and was very happy to pose for these shots.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I am shooting subjects like this I usually have two cameras round my neck, one with a widish angle and something like a 40 or 50mm equivalent to get tighter shots. The reason I do this is that I like to take a subject plus context shot first using the wider angle lens and then quickly tighten up with the standard type lens. This gives good variation and, as I have stressed before, don't forget to shoot both horizontal and vertical. For some reason I am a horizontal shooter by nature and I really have to discipline myself to shoot in vertical but it usually pays dividends.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDambzJt3tshtdg49ZDkmrKJWVUeEa397nxRLyXpcalRuF_cezOFnTUq5-Mjtzi90AjXlaNzX5W4tXv8-2AiR6BZpCoJnyIh41f8HccPUWH9x70S4XjDwnL0LGESTF28nGaEoDJULY37H2/s1600/OMD+Earth+Buildings+13+14+F3.5-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDambzJt3tshtdg49ZDkmrKJWVUeEa397nxRLyXpcalRuF_cezOFnTUq5-Mjtzi90AjXlaNzX5W4tXv8-2AiR6BZpCoJnyIh41f8HccPUWH9x70S4XjDwnL0LGESTF28nGaEoDJULY37H2/s640/OMD+Earth+Buildings+13+14+F3.5-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This isn't a particularly good example of the point i am trying to make as it was very tight in the small shop but I did want to show the photo on the wall of what I assumed were the owners father or uncles. This helped a little with the story before going in tight to focus on him and the instrument.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, these were pretty low light shots and required faster lenses. This is an important aspect of the M43 system for me in that I find the lenses work great wide open with no compromise to the IQ. This is a major factor that is often overlooked and I read a lot about Nikon and Canon lenses working best when stopped down a little. This good IQ wide open appears to be a trait that the best M43 lenses share with Leica and its a huge advantage of the system. Here are a few final shots that will hopefully give some idea of what the earth buildings are like and also a couple of shots of the locals.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Shooting the locals was a bit hit and miss, with some being ok and others actively discouraging it. This nice lady was very happy to be photographed and one of my traveling companions from Singapore speaks Mandarin and was able to chat to her while I shot. We also bought a couple of her fried bread sticks which are ridiculously cheap and very filling.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3fEUABJ-nKk0WXgSUUpUwhVeRCF3HC0lNvRAH5RW6mC1D6NYd-oB74JU72KmP7XGq7PQJ8JU5GoV863lVmbOEsjpwj6BHaWq7DlkI8BhuXWF2pFPO6ZqRHaaMpSzRMCn1Rs6SFKNoN2N/s1600/OMD+Earth+Buildings+24+14+F5.6-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3fEUABJ-nKk0WXgSUUpUwhVeRCF3HC0lNvRAH5RW6mC1D6NYd-oB74JU72KmP7XGq7PQJ8JU5GoV863lVmbOEsjpwj6BHaWq7DlkI8BhuXWF2pFPO6ZqRHaaMpSzRMCn1Rs6SFKNoN2N/s640/OMD+Earth+Buildings+24+14+F5.6-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last up, this guy was laughing because the woman who was sitting with them started to berate me and moved off as soon as I raised the camera, he found this hilarious and graciously allowed me to shoot. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Final stop for this post was at Hui An and we were lucky enough to be able to photograph some of the local women in their colorful traditional costume. These women are famous for their work ethic and they can be found fishing and even laboring on construction sites. In fact the lovely ladies we shot headed straight off in the rain to a local building site.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This nice tight shot was taken with the very nice Olympus 45mm F1.8 which I am finding to be a lightweight marvel. Its not a focal length that I am very comfortable with as I prefer the 24 to 40 zone but I am working on it and there is no question in my mind that it is an extremely capable piece of glass. It works really well in combination with the OMD because of the in-body stabilization and fast aperture which also works really well wide open. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is an nice example of the colorful traditional costume hat and scarf combination. Unfortunately it rained heavily again at this location so the light wasn't very favorable. In addition to being bright and colorful the costume also has intricate embroidered detail which is complemented by lovely silver belts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I said, the weather was not favoring us and frustratingly we had to call it a day as the girls (and photographers) were getting very wet. I felt a bit frustrated as they were very approachable and photogenic and I think I missed out on what was potentially a very nice and relatively unique travel photography opportunity. never mind, always a good reason to go back :) </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One thing you can do when the weather turns bad is head to a local market and I managed to catch a nice candid of the this stall-holder as the light was fading.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's about it from Fujian folks but I would like to finish with a similar shot to the opener which is of course one of the staged shoots much beloved by Chinese photographers who seem to thrive on smokey scenes. Its easy to be disdainful of these set ups but personally, although I don't see much photographic merit in them, I do thrive on the technical challenge that they represent and its not that easy to get this kind of lighting right.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was really surprised at how well the OMD and G3 handled the difficult lighting and when I got the RAW files into Lightroom it was very easy to get them to look the way I wanted. I know that Steve Huff picked up on the dynamic range available in the OMD RAW files and I can certainly confirm that there is a lot of leeway to work the shadows and highlights.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, that's it folks, I hope that this has been at least a little interesting and informative to anyone thinking of going to Fujian. I mentioned in my last post that I was going to Tibet and Nepal at the end of the month but the Chinese Government have closed the border to tourists following some local unrest. That was a bummer but by sheer luck I managed to get booked onto a <a href="http://www.peterturnley.com/" target="_blank">Peter Turnley</a> workshop in Istanbul, every cloud and all that......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">More on this in my next post along with some thoughts on what kit I will be taking for what is essentially going to be street shooting with a photojournalistic edge. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to drop me a note or leave a comment if their is anything I can help with or expand on in relation to this post.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span></div>
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</div>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-2996319898928038642012-05-06T01:46:00.000-07:002012-05-06T01:46:29.470-07:00OMD Homework 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSACo_7cCOxeb5DF-kr8n-eZZO5DY13Irseoa1pSyc87ZgHwKyJGRAJLwLzY6jZ_ITrQ2nU7cTz1cNOZ5ovHgCEdeevdiS9Pb0qt_Jb0C_mZ3bQ2qFI1Cx0sc9E_D7JeHUray8yiSrG8CR/s1600/OMD+T+Flash+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSACo_7cCOxeb5DF-kr8n-eZZO5DY13Irseoa1pSyc87ZgHwKyJGRAJLwLzY6jZ_ITrQ2nU7cTz1cNOZ5ovHgCEdeevdiS9Pb0qt_Jb0C_mZ3bQ2qFI1Cx0sc9E_D7JeHUray8yiSrG8CR/s640/OMD+T+Flash+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Shooting Practice</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey folks, this is a quick one and its a follow up to yesterdays post on the 15 minute challenge. I was messing around this morning and decided to try some shots of my favorite Lee Morgan T shirt using the <a href="http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/dslr_FL-36R.htm" target="_blank">Olympus FL-36R</a> flash that I bought ages ago to use with the GF1. I really like this T (and the album) and its very contrasty. I did the 15 min challenge with it and edited in <a href="http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/desktop/" target="_blank">CameraBag2</a> again with the nice contrasty look I liked. I know its a bit over the top but its just some fun.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is another take on it with a different background. I know these are not technical shots but if anyone is interested the strobe is in close with a <a href="http://www.honlphoto.com/traveller8-softbo8.html" target="_blank">honl travel softbox</a> attached. This is about the limit for the FL-36R which is not really that powerful. I like it a lot though as it works TTL with the Lumix and Olympus cams, is very light and portable and works off two rechargeable AA's. I like the set up with the OMD though and I can get it off cam with cord. Will be trying this out some more over the next few weeks. As you will have noticed I put the shot in a square crop film border in camerabag for a bit of fun, I think it looks really cool.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the final effort from the 15 min shoot and I think I will quit there before it gets tiresome.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would urge anyone stuck at home to give this a go, its great fun and sharpens your eye and camera craft for the 'real' situations when you travel.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are a couple of other shots that I saw today when I finished with the T shirt strobe shoot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I tried three takes on this and like the last one best. Incidentally, these ones are with the Sigma 30 F2.8 that I have been trying out and its beginning to grow on me a lot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is the final one below and my personal favorite, simplicity wins out as usual.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's a good thing about this homework exercise, it makes you strip things down to simpler elements.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's it for this short bit of fun post folks, need to get back to editing the Fujian shots for Part 2 of the post.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-46156998697510808172012-05-05T02:26:00.002-07:002012-05-05T02:26:52.254-07:00Homework<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Camerabag2 & OMD Sigma Combo</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes when I come back from a trip I get really lethargic, I haven't even really tackled getting all of the Fujian shots into Lightroom yet :(</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, I decided to have a lazy Saturday but wanted to share a couple of things I have been messing around with. First up, I have been playing around with a new App I downloaded called <a href="http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/desktop/" target="_blank">camerabag2</a> , this is way cool and a load of fun. When I first saw it I thought 'so what' but then I watched the training videos and saw how powerful (and fun) it was. It is pretty cheap, fast and easy to get to grips with. Secondly, I have been working some more with the Sigma 30mm F2.8 that I bought and am beginning to see more benefits in it. Have a look at the opening shot, its very sharp and I like the fact that it doesn't seem to have any distortion. I also have some color shots from Fujian with it that look very nice and contrasty and they will be in the part 2 post coming shortly. I edited the shot in a minute or so in camerabag and used a preset called 'magazine' that I seem to be drawn to by the contrasty, sharp look. There is an infinite amount of variation in the app but its not at all confusing, all in all a very well thought out product for photographers who don't like the complexity of Photoshop.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a product type shot of the Sigma given the same look. It wont win any beauty contests but personally I like the plain dark looks, it looks reasonably strong and discrete which I prefer to red or gold rings and loads of lettering. It balances well with the OMD and it is an interesting focal length that has some good advantages for landscape and street as we shall see in the upcoming Fujian post.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Working a Theme</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes we miss things because they are common and around us all of the time so I like to challenge myself if I am at home and I looked for something that I could spend 15 mins working. I find this a great exercise on a couple of counts, it gets you more familiar with your camera and lens in a safe environment and it also challenges your creativity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is the starting point of my effort at this today when I noticed my Ipad on the lounge chair by nice diffuse window light. This is the camerabag mono look with a tiny hint of color brought in and its clearly very contrasty.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Incidentally and critical to the shot, the Ipad article I was reading is from the fabulous <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/british-journal-photography/id444722617?mt=8" target="_blank">british journal of photography Ipad app</a> and is a stunning shot by Chris Capozziello. If you are at all interested in creative photography then this is a must for you. Unlike the mainstream photo mags it has real depth, substance and style. I don't know about you guys but I am really tired of the 'soundbite', instantly forgettable, repetitive and tiresome, ad filled mainstream camera mags. This is on the other hand what photography magazines should be about, quality insight and beautifully presented articles with real depth and substance, not just 2-3 page reviews that are usually inconclusive anyway because they don't want to piss off their advertisers. I had been looking at this wonderful image for ages and I noticed that it contrasted very nicely with the white chair. So set about a 15 minute challenge to explore it with the OMD and Sigma 30 and then quickly edit in camerabag.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a closer, vertical take with my reading glasses in shot and I have to say that I liked the fact that even at a 60mm equivalent its possible to get pretty close with the Sigma and the DoF is about right at F3.2.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, a different take with the emphasis moved to the glasses. If you like a contrasty look and are not snobbish about your editing then the pre-sets and infinite, simple but effective adjustments in camerabag will be right up your street.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't want to labour this because its more about the exercise and challenge and these are just shots that I liked personally, I know they will not be to everyones taste. Give it a go if you are bored or weather-bound at home, remember, 10 minutes to shoot and edit :) Stick to one camera lens combo and go for it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have to say the Sigma is winning me around the more I use it and get used to it, it is certainly capable of nice crisp results.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to wrap this up, here is a shot I took on the flight home from Fujian, I couldn't sleep and was still fired up with the shooting bug.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again its a camerabag magazine preset and it was shot on the amazing little Fuji F600.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I should have the Fujian Part 2 post up tomorrow night and it has some good Sigma 30 shots and more emphasis on people. In the meantime, fun shooting.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-49990716614199478492012-05-02T08:31:00.000-07:002012-05-02T08:31:43.867-07:00OMD - On the Road<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">China, Part 1</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travelers and camera addicts, welcome to the first of a three part set of posts on my first trip to the Fujian coast of Southern China. This first post has two distinct themes; firstly, it focuses on my experiences on the road with the Olympus OMD, which has been very interesting, and secondly I am going to have a look at shooting pattern which is the primary reason to visit this part of China. I have had the OMD for two weeks now but this was the first chance I have had to travel with it to get to know it better in some diverse shooting situations. In some ways this was the perfect trip to try it out on as it poured of rain every day except the first and I got a chance to use it with a variety of lenses from my fave 14mm f2.5 to the 45-200 mm zoom. I also took along the new Sigma 30mm f2.8 and have a few shots and some thoughts on it as a newcomer to the M43 range.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Fujian coastline is famous for its shellfish, fishing and seaweed harvesting, and all along the coast there are intricate layouts of channels and bamboo poles along the beaches and estuaries. Its these channels, sandbanks and poles that create the much sought after patterns and all it takes is the right vantage point, some half decent light and you have hours of interesting shooting on your hands. This leads me to my first observation on the OMD and that is that I found battery life not to be so great in extended use and I reckon it would take two to three batteries to get me through a full day of travel shooting. Unfortunately I wasn't able to source spares in time for this trip so had to stop shooting on a few occasions when the juice ran out. I don't see the OMD as any worse than similar cameras in this class but I did use the rear screen more than I thought and had several dawn to dusk days of shooting. Just pointing this out and I will be better prepared next time. As ever on a trip like this its always wise to have a back-up, particularly if you are using a small cam system like M43 and I took along a G3 and also a little Fuji F600 P&S.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXCuUgXB6M7Twsf_FrHy37R5T27-v_efRnHam9JE4izK_JiQyU2fzwRh6W48dq4LcbXZfAkizuSgANobLVC2sfVgd2eq_BYD6XIFwxTGtI0J6gfAgt2GvZZjKYoqAttul1ZuC15ytRirM/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+53-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXCuUgXB6M7Twsf_FrHy37R5T27-v_efRnHam9JE4izK_JiQyU2fzwRh6W48dq4LcbXZfAkizuSgANobLVC2sfVgd2eq_BYD6XIFwxTGtI0J6gfAgt2GvZZjKYoqAttul1ZuC15ytRirM/s640/OMD+Fishermen+53-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Like many coastal areas, the weather in Fujian can be unpredictable and unfortunately for most of the trip we got caught in some really wet, misty weather. This is far from a show-stopper though, it just creates a different shooting environment and you have to get on with it. I think the second shot above is a very good example of this where the misty light forced a hi-key look and I think it worked rather well.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Before we look at how the OMD and M43 lenses worked in this environment a quick word about shooting these patterns from a technique and style perspective. Photography is hugely popular in China and there is a kind of style that is expected when shooting these scenes. For example, to the Chinese mind the landscape and nature should be large and any humans small by comparison. The conventional idea is to shoot down from on high, frame your subject entering from the bottom left and work to get the pattern interesting through either using the poles, sandbanks or waves. As I have written before in a previous blog, I think these location cliche shots are incredibly important but you should try to put your own unique take on it whether that be by varying the rules a little or using the light differently. Because of the poor weather I was forced to use a high key look and its worth mentioning here that its very easy to underexpose these so keep the exposures up to the right and don't be afraid to use a stop or more of positive compensation. On the shooting technique for these I didn't use a tripod but instead used the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5lAjVAm9NSU#!" target="_blank">pistol grip</a> I showed in the last post and this gave me an incredibly stable hold on the OMD which was mounted with the Lumix 45-200mm. I found this to be a really neat, stable shooting set-up for this kind of landscape photography and can highly recommend it. All you have to do is remember to switch off the Lumix stabilization on the lens and let the OMD's marvelous in-camera stabilization do its stuff. It goes without saying that you should try to stay at sensible shutter speeds for what is a pretty healthy 400mm equivalent max zoom but I had few problems at 1/250 and lower if I was careful. I can't recommend this set up highly enough, the zoom is a cracker and I enjoyed watching my travel companions lug there pro bodies, 70-200's and tripods up to the vantage points while I had the tough little OMD and the small M43 lenses to carry :)</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here is the OMD looking rather splendid with the pistol grip and my favorite lens the 14mm F2.5 Lumix. This shot was taken with the Lumix G3 and Sigma 30mm which I took as a back-up camera and I have to say that I found its overall performance to be not in the same league as the OMD, but more on that comparison in the next post. The Sigma lens is an ok performer and pretty sharp but I didn't find it as useful overall as I thought it would be. At f2.8 it sits a bit uncomfortably between the much more able 20mm F1.7 and lovely 45mm F1.8 Olympus.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxLYCpFuQJCja4-W1QEgrDWqmPDW0J3ml22lEFIO8Gy6ZDpEzCx49MPOOGnwamWyIVgyLXQFrt_Omzxvo_-NLz0bxNoRhysiiZkgSF-54BEkQUU4yg6wMI89KfKmizG5OMZU0iMawOjYr/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+40-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxLYCpFuQJCja4-W1QEgrDWqmPDW0J3ml22lEFIO8Gy6ZDpEzCx49MPOOGnwamWyIVgyLXQFrt_Omzxvo_-NLz0bxNoRhysiiZkgSF-54BEkQUU4yg6wMI89KfKmizG5OMZU0iMawOjYr/s640/OMD+Fishermen+40-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Going back to technique for a moment, its also desirable to make sure your subject doesn't overlap the darker background areas and try to show the full reflection if possible, just good compositional basics. Incidentally, I managed to download the new <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4-1/" target="_blank">Adobe Lightroom4-1 beta release</a> which has the OMD RAW convertor so I had a go at the RAW files and I have to say they looked good and stood up well to the Hi-key work although the sunset shot above didn't need so much because the light was the best we had on the trip and I set the OMD to shade white balance for that nice glow. Here's a slightly different angle so that you can get a better idea of the overall scene from the vantage point.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcljmjWomhngFyLo1DiVggBomGumc3dtZVqszDqfMGN7PYjF4qeQOWNPAZopvc60zULMzwEs8Snhk4HgYeRMv3-0zym-CxqlkTH3exICf632JAberYRyePIVjKuxFFhjzgeXveIG-EWsGv/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+45-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcljmjWomhngFyLo1DiVggBomGumc3dtZVqszDqfMGN7PYjF4qeQOWNPAZopvc60zULMzwEs8Snhk4HgYeRMv3-0zym-CxqlkTH3exICf632JAberYRyePIVjKuxFFhjzgeXveIG-EWsGv/s640/OMD+Fishermen+45-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One thing to watch out for when shooting late in the day is to milk the scene to its last as just when the light was going I thought the shooting was over but I noticed the fisherman going to spread the nets and managed to get a nice pattern as he moved into the arrangement. This is pretty low light stuff at a long zoom and the OMD 45-200 combo handled it with ease.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8FEqeiKIMfVCdsMaC87ENom4QoMsgB8i2kYs9w_Ad4rOIxmTgcY9lnv1AwlbGX_6iN3vna_5NcyZzEsKPi2Nqxh_yecQUnS_Ruhu0HbzENVs0-1CoJ5PB7dKP0na2cGWDl2fmCE5hks/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+49-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD8FEqeiKIMfVCdsMaC87ENom4QoMsgB8i2kYs9w_Ad4rOIxmTgcY9lnv1AwlbGX_6iN3vna_5NcyZzEsKPi2Nqxh_yecQUnS_Ruhu0HbzENVs0-1CoJ5PB7dKP0na2cGWDl2fmCE5hks/s640/OMD+Fishermen+49-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Returning to the flat, diffuse light issue for a moment, I see a lot of comments about M43 that criticizes the lack of DoF. I have to say that I am totally bemused by this and have found that I have 'lost' more shots (creatively) through having too little DoF than too much. I have many shots taken with my D3 and 50 f1.4 where I have nailed the closest eye but don't like how quickly the focus falls off on the rest of the subject. Narrow DoF is without doubt a useful technique but I find that for travel use in particular there is more advantage in the M43 sensors DoF range, so far from being a drawback, and in this lower light, it is without doubt a very distinct benefit.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In any case the shallow DoF is there anyway if your technique is right as this G3 shot with the Sigma 30mm at f 2.8 shows. This isn't even that fast a lens but any more shallow DoF and the photo would have completely lost its sense.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I don't want to labour the DoF topic too much, but it is my personal view that this is simply not an issue with the OMD, a good lens and decent compositional technique will give you shallow DoF if you desire it for creative effect.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Shooting Vertical</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I noticed that my travel companions didn't shoot vertically very often and it was evident in many of the local images that I looked at that horizontal view was predominant. I think you have to be careful when shooting these natural patterns that you don't get stuck in the conventional horizontal landscape view as many of the more interesting patterns actually emerge in the vertical. As always, its simply good camera craft to change your angle and view frequently and I developed a reverse shooting technique for vertical shooting with the OMD and pistol grip. I found that by holding the pistol grip in my right hand I could get a very solid hold and trip the shutter button with my left index finger. It sounds a bit awkward but if your are using a pistol grip give it a try and see if it works for you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I personally really like this compressed vertical look that you get when using very long telephotos. It seems to look more elegant and interesting to my eye. You can compare these two vertical shots with the ones from the same scenes in shots two and three for contrast. I don't think either view is better but I do think they are nice variations.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdmTeYr6J04fl0g8Z0tGBU-5ixgYBHss2V0B9qZEOc1-mcB6yrts_XWX7-7vdBCm1XE40qK-YpLSN4jQymwqRI0fE667fhoYXv0ckpvB21szxGsDCFwvByNV9uXNLJsgSi1T4RyrnIFOo/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+51-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdmTeYr6J04fl0g8Z0tGBU-5ixgYBHss2V0B9qZEOc1-mcB6yrts_XWX7-7vdBCm1XE40qK-YpLSN4jQymwqRI0fE667fhoYXv0ckpvB21szxGsDCFwvByNV9uXNLJsgSi1T4RyrnIFOo/s640/OMD+Fishermen+51-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Finally on the subject of view and framing, don't forget to try a different crop if it fits the subject, sometimes a 16x9 crop will enhance a scene for example.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh, and its also worth trying some variation on the editing technique, this is very de-saturated but somehow I like it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTrhYS8DXnBsViiOLk6Y1-fRiDI8T8UR2mAb53D3sPZdL7UwiYBKm_xhr06eA7l1fp_r0DMUlZav2m7pKmGPclxLoe14N32t_jCkeJqqlO0gz3X2Ph1Nsz5wRa-9o5OdQnrjhyphenhyphenMMvY9HE/s1600/OMD+Fishermen+13-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTrhYS8DXnBsViiOLk6Y1-fRiDI8T8UR2mAb53D3sPZdL7UwiYBKm_xhr06eA7l1fp_r0DMUlZav2m7pKmGPclxLoe14N32t_jCkeJqqlO0gz3X2Ph1Nsz5wRa-9o5OdQnrjhyphenhyphenMMvY9HE/s640/OMD+Fishermen+13-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Pattern is Everywhere</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Since we are on the theme of shooting pattern, it's not only during the location shooting that you need to be aware and its worth keeping a camera with you always on these trips. This is a real benefit of the OMD, its small, discrete, fast and easy to work with in use. The only real issues I had with it were a couple of physical niggles and I will summarize those at the end. I saw the following shot while we were waiting for our driver and caught the subject passing through the shadow pattern.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplL1e5iESk8HM-A7BWGAsVcPXYgr-4V-5XgEwC5w5cFE-59NAkVLtMqp8blAoFxDN8DeRgq1_t0oi-zjyrrBY2bfWmSqqaPdRWvV2otM79x4_mtei9gtl6z4t_p-G9vqT0flleVDcMS4O/s1600/OMD+Driver+Pattern-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplL1e5iESk8HM-A7BWGAsVcPXYgr-4V-5XgEwC5w5cFE-59NAkVLtMqp8blAoFxDN8DeRgq1_t0oi-zjyrrBY2bfWmSqqaPdRWvV2otM79x4_mtei9gtl6z4t_p-G9vqT0flleVDcMS4O/s640/OMD+Driver+Pattern-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I really like this kind of shot and in many ways find this more interesting than the vantage point formula takes. Incidentally, if you are using the Lightroom release I mentioned, it doesn't complete the conversion to allow the use of plug ins so I couldn't get this shot out to Silvereffex pro where I think it would have looked great. I ended up using a Lightroom plug in downloaded free and it gives a rather nice de-saturated look. I liked the scene so much that I had our driver take a portrait of me which is intended to reflect my frustration with the Chinese internet censorship that prevented me from getting to my own blog or any of the other photo blogs that give me my daily fix :) </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Anyway, the OMD handled all of the contrasty scenes I threw at it with aplomb and there is no doubt in my mind that the sensor is a cut above the G3, it handles higher ISO better to my eyes and the RAW files seem to have more to them. There is no science to this from me but if you want to look at the detailed testing then I guess the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusem5/" target="_blank">DP Review</a> one will satisfy you, personally I think it might be better to try one yourself or wait for more 'real world' takes from <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/" target="_blank">Steve</a> and others who are more interested in how the camera works in use.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">OMD For Travel Summary</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lets cut to the chase, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this is an absolutely outstanding travel camera, it's weatherproofing and sealing makes it ideal for the beach, rain and humid mist that is often encountered in Asian travel situations. It is very versatile and when coupled with the excellent Lumix and Olympus lenses can cover off everything from environmental portraiture to the long range pattern shots shown in this post. I just love the above portrait of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mr Zhang Han Zhong, who is chairman of the Hui An photographic Society and an extremely nice guy. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The OMD is also very robust and well put together, the only minor niggles I have were picked up by <a href="http://robinwong.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Robin Wong</a> and others in early use and relate to the misting up of the EVF in damp conditions. I don't really see that there is much Olympus could do about this and don't consider it a design flaw as such, just try to keep water off it if you can and when it goes you obviously have to default to the rear screen. I found it helped to use a ziplock bag which I had to use in the rain as I didn't have the weather-sealed kit lens. It also clears pretty quickly when it gets dry. On the subject of the viewfinder, be very careful with the rubber eyecup which comes loose easily and I nearly lost it a few times. I might pop a tiny spot of glue on the corner to hold it. I also took a S$7 small 7eleven umbrella with me and the OMD handles so well that I was able to hold the brolly against my shoulder and shoot at the same time. Take a white one and it can double as a diffuser or you can even shoot a flash into or through it.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mentioned the battery life previously and it also takes a long time to charge the battery so I fully intend to get three as soon as they are available, just be aware of this if you are intending to travel with one.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Fujian Locations</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In case you are thinking of making this kind of trip, the beaches shown are at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Xiao Hao, Dong Bi, Sa Jiang and Qu Di. The trip I went on was with an old friend Vicky Yeow who runs her own photo travel company <a href="http://www.vickyphotographyworkshops.com/" target="_blank">vickyphotographyworkshops</a> and I can highly recommend her. Unless you are very familiar with the area you will never find the proper vantage points or interesting shooting sites, and its also critical to go at the right time for tides and so on. On the equipment front, a long zoom is essential and you may want to consider a tripod although I found my pistol grip set up and the superb stabilization in the OMD was just fine. I would suggest that the OMD Lumix 14 & 20 primes along with the 45-200 zoom and Olympus 45 make a state of the art travel set up that can take on anything.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's about it for this first post folks, I will be covering off more people orientated shots at different locations including the fascinating 'Earth buildings' in the upcoming posts and will also look more closely at the Sigma lens and some shots from the G3.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I feel I have been a bit lightweight on discussing the OMD here but I think that is simply down to the fact that it is such a good travel camera that there is really nothing to comment on other than how well it does the job when coupled with the right lenses.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope the somewhat unusual shooting of the pattern scenes with it have been of some interest and as ever I look forward to any comments or questions that you may have.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Until next time, safe traveling.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-55697767171874046722012-04-21T08:31:00.000-07:002012-04-21T08:31:25.946-07:00OMD - Week One, Some Further Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travelers and camera junkies, welcome to this short update on my first week with the gorgeous little Olympus OMD. I had the very good fortune to have the last post published on <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/" target="_blank">Steve Huff's</a> website and it got some very interesting reaction. I think for the most part it was no more than a lightweight introduction to the camera and I intend to build on that a little now that I am getting more familiar with the it and have had a chance to see how it works for my shooting style. I have also added a low cost accessory that is astonishing me with its benefit, more on that later. As you can see above, I managed to get out and about with the camera this evening and took along the Samyang fisheye and a new acquisition, the Sigma 30mm f2.8 which I bought to fill the gap in my prime range between the 20 and 45 's. More on it later on and a few early shots from it as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For some reason I am finding that the Lumix 14 pancake is my favorite on the OMD at the moment though and I see that Steve has the Olympus 12 f2 so it will be interesting to see how it works out in his tests. There is something about that focal length that really works for me though and I find that I get some really nice grab shots with it. The responsiveness of the OMD is first class in this respect, it fires up, focuses and snaps of a short burst perfectly for this kind of shooting. Sorry to the purists out there that didn't like the Snapseed editing in the last post but the 'drama tone' works really well for some of these shots and its so easy to use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I also took along the 40-150 zoom as I anticipate using it a fair bit on next weeks trip to the Fujian coastline of China where I hope to shoot seaweed harvesting and other fishing activities and landscapes from vantage points. I mentioned in the last post that I am no fan of the build materials of this lens and it doesn't look robust enough for prolonged travel use however it did seem to perform well enough and I got some nice shots of this musician although its a bit weird to see a Singaporean playing a targe !!! I am thinking of taking a M43 only kit on this trip and will also take along the Lumix 45-200 which I find pretty good but like all of these lenses a bit too slow for anything other than good light. I will definitely give it a try on the OMD with its superior looking stabilization and decent high ISO performance. On the subject of using Lumix lenses on the OMD, remember to turn off the stabilization on the lens and allow the OMD to do its stuff. Also, if you are using a tripod like I did for these following shots, turn off all stabilization.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Sigma 30 mm F2.8</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I made a bit of an impulse purchase yesterday and, given my love of prime lenses, I bought a <a href="http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/30mm-f28-ex-dn" target="_blank">Sigma 30mm F2.8</a> which of course gives a rather handy 60mm equivalent that I thought would be quite nice as a portrait & context lens where I would be able to take close in portraits but still have a little room for the surrounding environment. I really haven't been able to put it through its paces in that respect but its in the bag for tomorrow's China trip and in the meantime I used it for some still life shots and to shoot a few things that I am taking on the trip.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It occurred to me after the last post that, despite my like for Richard Avedon's work, I should really have been associating the Olympus's with one of my other favorite photographers, David Bailey. Bailey is fascinating to me because he sums up the era that I was brought up in and shot iconic images of every major musician or star of the 60's. He was also famed as an Olympus user but how much of that was marketing spin I am not exactly sure, maybe someone out there has a take on that and can let us know...... Anyway, here's a nice contemporary self-portrait of him and I have added a lovely old OM1. For the IQ eager out there, these are out of the camera Jpg's as I don't yet have the Lightroom update. All of the shots are taken with the Sigma 30.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">No one that enjoys photography can forget some of Bailey's interpretations of the media personalities of the day and here is the fantastic shot he did of the infamous East End gangsters, the Kray Twins. How Bailey got them to pose like that with snakes I will never know, what a classic shot that says it all.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is one of the few color shots of his from the era and these can be found in a lovely little, inexpensive book called 'Look'. It's really worth searching out as all of his classic portraits are in it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I can't leave this topic without including his extraordinary and widely copied portrait of Michael Caine in a shot inspired by his Harry Palmer movie character. By the way, if you get a chance watch 'The Ipcress File' and drink in the outstanding cinematography work of Otto Heller. I wrote a little piece on drawing inspiration from the movie if anyone is interested <a href="http://photographicinspiration.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Photographic Inspiration</a> . I also liked the post on Steve's site by <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/04/17/progress-and-the-olympus-om-d-by-robert-falconer/" target="_blank">Robert Falconer</a> where he tracked the evolution from the original OM designs, its well worth a look if you like the OM's.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On the Sigma lens itself, I have pretty mixed feelings. It seems sharp, no question, but the first few shots I took with it were into the light at Marina Bay and it flared horribly, the images were very washed out. This may be down to a lack of coating or something but I know I can take similar shots with the Lumix 14 & 20 without the same issues. It is pretty well made though and I personally like the simple, discrete, unobtrusive looks. It is a fair bit bigger than the Lumix pancakes and not as fast, but it does offer a nice range for environmental portraiture. I am going to reserve full judgement on it until I can use it more in the field in realistic travel situations and I look forward to seeing if any of the reviewers have the same issue I did. One real gripe with Sigma is the lack of a lens hood with the camera, I was able to source a nice metal one for S$15 and I would have traded this for the fancy lens case that I will never use. Even although the lens was cheap at S$299, its still not on to miss out this important accessory, especially when the lens flares the way this one did on me. Full marks to Sigma for entering the M43 system with some reasonably priced, good quality optics. I would like to see them bring out some faster glass if they are going to bring something new to the system though.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">On to my other impulse purchase and this is something I have been meaning to try a for a long time, a pistol grip for the M43 cams. I was initially a bit skeptical about this until I tried it and the difference is amazing. I have always thought of myself as someone who has good camera handling skills and I can usually hold well at low shutter speeds but this thing brings a new dimension to steady shooting. I can feel the difference when I use it and although it looks a bit naff I am convinced the results will show its worth. Again its going with me to China and I will put it through its paces and report back.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a shot of the grip in action and shot with the Sigma 30 (Snapseed edit) I like the close focusing of the Sigma and it is a useful range for me and I think it looks very nice on the OMD into the bargain.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well I am off to pack my bags now for Fujian so I will close with some final shots from the OMD. This one of the chairs is taken with the Sigma 30 and looks very sharp and contrasty.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here by contrast is a shot with the Lumix lens that is similar to the one that I couldn't get with the Sigma. I am going to mess around with this a bit more but I did have a hood on it and was surprised with the extent of the flare. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That's it for this post folks. Gotta say I am getting on really well with the OMD and am really looking forward to putting it to the test on a trip. The weather forecast for China is not looking so good so I may also get a chance to put the famed weatherproofing to the test as well !!!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keep a look out for the China post which I will get up as soon as I get back. In the meantime, safe traveling folks.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-1766848603900809282012-04-15T08:14:00.002-07:002012-04-15T08:14:31.450-07:00Olympus OMD - First Day in Singapore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhvOpmUeRU89-56a501xE2PgObIucbLeP9UYjb7WYIiDMUGl_FVlA-kS-PlzWQRRJVXjcP3GXbktCa6NeVFvbO8uM6EG7uXcsoJpwHpYHDTdc_elN67nxYUBP9im_oV6LPKIYL0KD17c/s1600/OMD+with+Zuiko+50+F1.8+3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhvOpmUeRU89-56a501xE2PgObIucbLeP9UYjb7WYIiDMUGl_FVlA-kS-PlzWQRRJVXjcP3GXbktCa6NeVFvbO8uM6EG7uXcsoJpwHpYHDTdc_elN67nxYUBP9im_oV6LPKIYL0KD17c/s640/OMD+with+Zuiko+50+F1.8+3-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I got a very big surprise yesterday when the guys at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.artworkfoto.com/" target="_blank">Artworkfoto</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> in Singapore contacted me to say they had OMD's in stock !!! I jumped at the chance and bought the two lens kit (they didn't have the new 12-50 one) as I wanted a longer zoom for the trip to China and the 40-150 would fit the bill nicely. I have slightly mixed feelings about this as I will never use the 14-42 and to be perfectly frank found the build quality to be way, way bellow the Lumix lenses that I have. Oh well, too late now. I will use the 40-150 for the upcoming China trip but can't see it standing up to the rigors of prolonged travel use. Having said that, the OMD in black is to my eyes absolutely gorgeous. It has a real quality feel to it and appears to be very well put together and I am so glad to see Olympus paying homage to the stunning designs of the 70's OM's.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't have a choice and I know many people are favoring the silver one but to me the black one has the killer looks. My instant reaction on getting it home was to stick on the Zuiko 50mm F1.8 and try it out and I think this combo not only looks great but delivers lovely dreamy results, definitely one for a future portrait session :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back to my thoughts on the camera. I am not a camera reviewer per se and will leave that to guys like <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/" target="_blank">Steve Huff</a> and <a href="http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kirk Tuck</a> who are better at that than me. All I wanted to do here was show some early shots and share my thoughts on it as a travel camera. This post will focus on my views of the handling and usability of the camera and I will leave the technical and image quality tests to other better qualified testers. Please also bear in mind here that I couldn't open RAW files in Lightroom so I just edited the jpg's in <a href="http://www.snapseed.com/" target="_blank">Snapseed</a> which I find great for simple stuff anyway. I have been looking a lot recently at the work of fashion photographers and had an opportunity to try the OMD with a model so I jumped at the chance. I immediately took a liking to the handling and the EVF which is nice to use. I personally use exposure compensation continually and I was delighted to find it on the front dial near the shutter so that I could find and use it with the camera to my eye. I have never overly concerned myself with camera metering accuracy preferring instead to use my eye and compensate or, as I have been doing more and more recently, bracketing the exposures by one stop over a set of three. I do think this is very important with smaller cameras as you don't want to be too far underexposed if it can be avoided.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was pouring rain in Singapore so I decided to try some still life shots using the 45 mm f2.8 Lumix macro. I was delighted with the OMD rear screen and touch focus, this for me is a major boon for this type of shooting. I simply set up the OMD and 45 on a tripod and configured a 2 second timer delay, touched the screen on the focus point and a few seconds later I had the shot. I know this is dreadfully cliched but I couldn't help but pay homage to the film OM's and a couple of very nice books that I have been reading lately.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please remember my comment at the start, this review is not about the image quality, I am simply sharing my early thoughts on the use of the camera. Having said that, with some simple </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.snapseed.com/" target="_blank">Snapseed</a> editing I got some pleasing results.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, I apologize for the cliche, I am sure we will all get sick of these soon but it did look rather lovely and that tasty little 50 mm Zuiko will be working its butt off shortly on the OMD.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The good news is that I was finding this very simple and after a few shots the camera was out of the way and I got more focused on the composition and look of the shot. I have mentioned this previously when I re-visited the GF1 but I can't stress strongly enough how important it is to know how you shoot and know your camera intimately for the control you need for your style. this was a mojor objective for me today, I know how I like to shoot and I had to get to grips quickly with the focusing (manual for the Zuiko's), bracketing for exposure and fast exposure compensation. Once I get these things nailed I can get on with the look and composition and forget the camera settings.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I tried a few different presets in Snapseed and really liked the B&W one above. I am not usually a fan of the Snapseed B&W but this seems to have come out fine. Finally, here's a color shot using my other favorite read of the moment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At last the weather picked up and I headed off to my favorite shooting location in Singapore - Marina Bay. I just love the afternoon light there and I stuck the Lumix 14 and 20 lenses into the bag and off I went.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are the first two shots which both benefited from the 46 mm polarizer which, as I have mentioned previously, fits both the 14 & 20 Limix lenses, this is a huge benefit and one that is often overlooked. Like many of the shots I took at Marina Bay these have had a tweak in Snapseed 'dramatone' filter. Somehow I felt it worked really nicely for the contrasty shots at the Bay.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The one above was taken low and again the benefit of being able to fold out the screen and focus by touch point was significant in making the shot. This is a great feature of mirrorless cameras like the sony Nex's and some of the Lumix models and I have to say that I pretty much consider this essential in a modern camera, it really does make a difference as we shall see with my late afternoon shots.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am no fan at all of many of the options in the OMD menus but couldn't level this criticism at Olympus alone. They simply clutter though and all of the pointless art filters and so on are better managed in simple apps like Snapseed which offer more flexibility. I am a bit of a fan of the Snapseed drama tone for example and found it more subtle and flexible than the OMD efforts, Similarly with the above grainy B&W shot. Here are another two using the same effects and I really liked the EVF in the OMD, I read that its not as good as the Sony NEX 7 one but it is very usable and I found that it was preferable to disable the eye sensor trigger and leave it on either the EVF or the screen and manually switching depending on what I was doing.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was trying so hard to close the lens down to maximize the sunburst that I got surprised by this cyclist and the shutter speed is a shade too slow but I liked the shot anyway and I found the focusing and speed of the OMD to be spot on for this kind of street work, the motion blur on the subject was all my fault.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the sun started to go down I found myself relying more and more on the screen and touch focusing. This allowed me to get some interesting low angle shots of the late afternoon walkers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This sequence of shots were taken with the OMD on the ground and pre-focused on where I thought the feet were going to be. Much as I liked the subtlety of color above, I found drawn to the drama tone in Snapseed when I was looking at these as it really brought out the boardwalk nicely.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I quickly found that people don't really take so much notice of little cams like this and was able to sit for ages capturing a wide variety of contrasting shots.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I know that effects like 'drama tone' become tiresome very quickly but as this was a fun shoot and more about me learning to use the OMD than anything else I shot away until the sun went down.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jL1JY0bAiVELM2nN1Adah7iju1DL5_h6eh4wq50fp44Gi5VY9BAVhJK4gEj_63bJD9-lL-hrcAiLOM9-xIN1ooBFCL9-pUynZ-Xk4Bk3FtoMqwwXny6GntHT0b-m0ffvZOoXI-PaYdoZ/s1600/_4150307_Snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jL1JY0bAiVELM2nN1Adah7iju1DL5_h6eh4wq50fp44Gi5VY9BAVhJK4gEj_63bJD9-lL-hrcAiLOM9-xIN1ooBFCL9-pUynZ-Xk4Bk3FtoMqwwXny6GntHT0b-m0ffvZOoXI-PaYdoZ/s640/_4150307_Snapseed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Just in case anyone is thinking that I have gone all voyeuristic, I also found that it was extraordinary the variety of different subjects that I shot and everything from cycles and scooters whizzed into the sunset view. I also get a sense from using the jpg files that they were easy to work with and I have high expectations of the RAW files when I get the Lightroom update. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I suspect we will all have 'drama tone' overdose by now so here is a nice simple shot taken as the sun descended behind the Fullarton Hotel and the new LV store. This was hand held and it looks like Olympus's grand claims for the in camera stabilization look justified and this will be awesome for using with the old Zuiko lenses.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Time to wrap up then with some early thoughts on the camera.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite some early irritations with the menu system I have gotten to grips with it quite quickly. I still feel that Lumix spoiled us with the GF1 and its usability, but the OMD comes reasonably close and in some respects the dual dials work better giving really fast control over vital exposure compensation and aperture variation. The flip out screen is superb and the touch screen focusing brilliant, this is a real step forward for varied angle shooting and works really well. I didn't find the limited articulation of the screen limiting at all but I think it might disturb some users who want vertical movement as well. The stabilization works well and I am a big fan of in-camera type as opposed to the lens version. This allows for more effective use of legacy lenses for example and once I got to grips with the magnification manual focus assist, I found that my Zuiko 50 mm f1.8 had a new lease of life. I also have a nice 135 that became unusably long on the GF1 and I look forward to trying it out. My real disappointment with the kit so far is with the lenses which I am sure will be adequate optical performers but they simply don't look strong enough for prolonged travel use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It will be interesting to see how the image quality reviews but I have to say that for my purposes as a travel cam this thing looks perfect and its rugged build and out and out usability have me itching to get it on the road for a more thorough workout.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope you enjoyed this somewhat lightweight first look at a very interesting camera and I know the cliched OM shots are a bit stiff and the 'drama tome' overused but please look on it as what it was - a learning experience for me in using the camera the way I want and a bit of fun into the bargain.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a nice moody street shot to finish and I think this was with the lovely 50mm Zuiko. Until next time, safe traveling and if you are looking for a new travel cam don't hesitate on the OMD its a cracking camera, just don't buy the two lens kit :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-62919805390644389052012-04-07T05:32:00.000-07:002012-04-07T05:32:06.344-07:00Saturday Fun - GF1 & G3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Lighting - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Keeping it Simple</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hey friends and fellow camera addicts, welcome to this short post on using the Lumix GF1 & G3 with the sexy 20 and 14 mm primes in a very simple lighting set up. It was a pretty rainy day in Singapore so I got together with some friends to mess around with this lovely old Ibanez Artist guitar and a <a href="http://solutions.3m.com.sg/wps/portal/3M/en_SG/PolarizingLight/Lamp/" target="_blank">3M Desk Light</a>. If you don't have one of these do yourself a favor and go get one, not only is it a cracking reading light but the clear polarized light it emits is perfect for simple photography lighting.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The set up for these shots is simplicity beyond belief and I always get a chuckle when I look at some of the lighting set-ups used in many instructional clips where it seems essential to have at least three lights and a giant Octa to light any kind of subject. Don't get me wrong, the results from these set ups are awesome and I occasionally venture into that environment myself but its also way cool to get good results with basic, even primitive set ups. These first two shots were taken with the 3M desk lamp close to the guitar and through a 32" reflector with the covers off to use the diffuser. I also edited them in some cool Lightroom presets that I downloaded free !!!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Regular readers will know that I am on a roll just now with the GF1 and I recently added the lovely little 14 mm F2.5 prime which is not only sharp enough wide open but is also extremely close focusing and this is an often ignored benefit in any lens and one that I think is critical. You can see this clearly in the following shot which for me works only because of the impact from the detail on the guitar and, because its shot open, there is a nice little blur of the background, all from a little pancake 14 mm lens. Incidentally, the shot was processed in <a href="http://www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro/usa/index.php?view=intro%2Fmain.shtml" target="_blank">Nik Color Efex Pro</a> using the 'film effects' processing and set on Ekatchrome 64 which I thought brought out the lovely sunburst on the guitar. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A quick word on 'keeping it simple'. Everything in this shoot and post was done for simplicity and speed. The little GF1 camera and prime lens set up is cheap, effective and fast to use once you know the controls and the lighting is in every day use as a desk lamp but can easily be pressed into photographic use when required. The editing was done in Lightroom and I either hit one button for the free preset effects, used the easy to select Nik features or did some simple contrast tweaking.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2bENfgskLNelpeeY64W_vKuQyrWytzIDtqeWktJt71gfGEvU5ICOuDkPA2_oNShZA1f2PKlHuEQJYXwmLn0Et6OypdfdQAdnkcrraFZyXOkfJdhtVoYToMD7NtlIae6GwqvrykxQprEc/s1600/GF1+Ibanez+Artist+8+14+F2.5+Lroom+pre-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2bENfgskLNelpeeY64W_vKuQyrWytzIDtqeWktJt71gfGEvU5ICOuDkPA2_oNShZA1f2PKlHuEQJYXwmLn0Et6OypdfdQAdnkcrraFZyXOkfJdhtVoYToMD7NtlIae6GwqvrykxQprEc/s640/GF1+Ibanez+Artist+8+14+F2.5+Lroom+pre-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I wouldn't normally go so crazy with the presets but it was all part of the fun of the shoot and aligned perfectly with the simplicity ethos ( and they cost nothing...)</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Much as I love the gorgeous worn sunburst color of the Artist I found that I liked the preset effects or a B&W conversion better, I think this is probably down to the contrast effect of the backlit lighting set up but look how nicely the 3M/diffuser set up has rendered the texture on the guitar in this one.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a similar but even more contrasty take on the same set up, this was done to bring up the reflection.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_y6527fhHH0oHK7GsvCmGs45u3Ebs8KyIDh89ITlATxXcpNb6ZsGDd_mZz9r4eZdskFNBzXP1juk9vbYd62cun7QPR0iyIOY74eP12wVeinR13vgzJZTRd10cVinCwaoyvoZBbBlGc6mU/s1600/G3+Ibanez+Artist+5+20+F1.7+LR-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_y6527fhHH0oHK7GsvCmGs45u3Ebs8KyIDh89ITlATxXcpNb6ZsGDd_mZz9r4eZdskFNBzXP1juk9vbYd62cun7QPR0iyIOY74eP12wVeinR13vgzJZTRd10cVinCwaoyvoZBbBlGc6mU/s640/G3+Ibanez+Artist+5+20+F1.7+LR-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The more I use the GF1, the more convinced than ever I am that for my personal purposes and style of shooting the M43 and small mirrorless system cameras work best. It really is so easy to shoot low and bracket the exposures (spoke about this in the previous post) that I find the shortcomings of the high ISO and to a smaller degree resolution issues are insignificant to me. I would urge anyone who has not tried one to buy a secondhand GF1 and either the 20 or 14 and give it a go, if it doesn't do it for you then you will pretty much get your money back anyway - what have you got to lose??????</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Well that's it for this more equipment than travel orientated post which, for me, is all about sharpening skills and technique for when you are in situations where it is critical to get the shot you want. Big thanks to my mates and in particular the lovely legged Cyn for making this such fun, and lets not forget a note of thanks to whoever dreamed up these cracking Lightroom presets.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Until next time, feed the addiction folks and drop me a note on any simple lighting tips you might want to share.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cheers,</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Colin</span></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-18679085134089833702012-04-02T08:10:00.000-07:002012-04-02T08:10:27.389-07:00Singapore Sunday with an Old Friend - the GF1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow travel photo fans and camera junkies, welcome to this short post on Singapore and a lovely Sunday evening stroll with an old friend that I have fallen in love with all over again - the Lumix GF1. I posted recently (<a href="http://phototravelasia.blogspot.com/2012/03/travel-gear-gf1-re-visited.html" target="_blank">GF1 Revisited</a>) on my rediscovery of my GF1 and how I found that somehow I really liked to shoot with it and this short article expands on that a little and attempts to rationalize this affinity while having a look at Singapore's Marina Bay area.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been shooting a lot recently with the little Nikon V1 and getting pretty reasonable results However, certified camera addict that I am, I spotted a 14mm f2.5 pancake lens for the M43 system on Singapore camera communities <a href="http://www.clubsnap.com/" target="_blank">Clubsnap</a> market place and scooped it up from a very nice guy for S$245. Regular followers of this blog will know that the vast majority of my work is shot at wider angles and I am at a total loss to explain why I have never bought this lens before - well better late than never. Looking resplendent with its new lens in place I set off for Singapore's Marina Bay with the GF1 back home on my shoulder.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Marina Bay is a pretty new part of the city and built on reclaimed land. The main attraction for me is the Sands Resort casino complex with its stunning views and fantastic riverside boardwalk. It goes without saying that boardwalks just cry out for late afternoon shooting when the shadows and contrast is at its highest. This was a great test for the new 14mm and I have to say that I was really loving shooting with it and it handled the contrasty scenes superbly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have always believed that Black and White is the GF1's true forte and although I have never had the good fortune to use a Leica, I felt that the little GF1 with its primitive EVF attached gave something close to that experience. Let me explain what I mean by that. It's a waste of time trying to use an LCD screen in this kind of light so I always use the hot shoe attachable viewfinder accessory. Now, as I have said before, this is a stone age device compared to the new Sony's however, for this kind of shooting I am only interested in the framing and I find that because I am left eye dominant I can look into the VF and use my right eye to scan for approaching subject material and that is how I got the shot above.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In addition to the framing experience, the GF1 also allows for excellent manual control of the camera and I find two aspects of that to be invaluable. Firstly, its a dawdle to change exposure compensation through the little thumbwheel that also controls aperture, and secondly, its so simple to bracket exposures using the shooting control dial lever. This to me is a hugely underused feature but one that is essential to getting the best from the GF1. Set it up to bracket 3 exposures at 2/3 + and - and you will seldom get a badly exposed shot. I firmly believe that when the light begins to fall you need to use this on the GF1 to avoid having to mess about too much with the exposure in editing thereby minimizing the amount of noise you bring in if above ISO 400. I like to pride myself a bit on my ability to judge exposure and get the compensation right but this method is faster and gives a good margin for error. This really came to my attention when I watched a wonderful show on <a href="http://kelbytraining.com/" target="_blank">Kelby Training</a> which was Scott Kelby wandering the streets of New York with Jay Maisel and guess what? Jay exposure bracketed all of the time.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the final B&W against the light shot of the day and I have to say that I am so pleased with the little 14, I think that coupled with the 20mm f1.7, this is one of the finest walkabout kits going. These lenses appear to take the contrasty, straight into the sun shots in their stride and are still fast enough to use when the light goes down.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back to color and a bit more about Marina Bay. It really is a photographer's paradise for evening shooting and you will see loads of tripod, and kit laden, sunset hungry shooters on the go. It's a very easy place to walk around and I would recommend starting at the far end from the theatre centre to get the sun descending through the buildings before you come around to the front of the casino complex for the sunset shots. If, like me, you don't like tripods there are loads of barriers and pillars that you can steady against when the light goes down.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a pretty dodgy shot that was taken wide open from the Helix bridge that links the Esplanade to the Sands Resort. To be honest, despite what I said above, this could really use a tripod :) This is the last leg of the walk and its worth going over to the other side of the bridge to get the shot looking back.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You may be wondering a little about the projected images on the Lotus shaped science and arts complex and this is all part of the sustainable light show that has been running this month and sadly closed on Sunday, how lucky was I to get there on the last day.... Well, as you should all know by now, its not luck at all, there are always, always, always interesting things to be shot and if I hadn't meandered along here to try out the new 14 I would have missed out, for me going here is a no brainer whether there are light shows or not its just an interesting place with great light. If I hadn't set out on this trip to try the new lens I would have missed the following shot which I enjoyed taking so much. I have no idea whether this appeals to anyone else but I was really tickled at the image of Andy with the giant, colorful explosion above. This is how I imagine his mind to look if I could ever photograph it.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope this isn't too pretentious for you folks, but I am really serious that I enjoyed the craft of making these last two shots so much with the GF1. They were both bracketed in the way I describe and shot with the little 14 wide open. I have no idea how this lens reviewed and frankly, I don't care. I often find that when I use kit it behaves differently from the reviews, I don't shoot walls or dolls but I do shoot into the sun and don't want washed out over-flared images. I also like to shoot open with these kind of lenses and this one did just fine.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, back in love again with my GF1, here's the last shot from the shoot and again one of the two personal fave's along with the Andy shot above. Until next time, happy wanderings,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-1689718974743008412012-03-21T04:15:00.001-07:002012-03-21T04:41:33.845-07:00Travel Gear - GF1 Re-visited<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">GF1 - An Old Friend</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey fellow photo travelers and camera junkies, like most of you I love reading <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/" target="_blank">Steve's site</a> to hear his thoughts on the latest kit, I can hardly wait for the Olympus OMD to hit, it just looks sooo cool. In the meantime I got to looking out all of my M43 gear, in addition to the original Kit zoom (<a href="http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2012/03/quick-review-of-lens-for-micro-four.html" target="_blank">Kirk Tuck </a> seems to like) I have the 45 mm f2.8 Leica designed macro, a recently acquired Samyang fisheye and my old favorite, the extraordinary little 20mm f1.7. This of course becomes what appears initially to be a bit of a weird 40mm equivalent focal length which puts it in no mans land between the favored 35 and 50 mm standards. I don't know why but somehow this focal length really works for me and I find I can shoot all day on it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rather than be some strange sort of outcast from the traditional primes family, the 40 mm length somehow combines the best features of both the 35 and 50. It's reasonably wide but can still be used for closer people or street work if you need to. You could argue that this makes it a compromise, but its a good one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Similarly with the 45mm which gives a very nice 90 MM focal length. There is a big weakness in this otherwise lovely lens though and its the slowish aperture when used with the GF1. I have never been entirely happy in using the GF1 at anything above 400 ISO and despite the inbuilt lens stabilization, the need for shutter speeds in the 1/100th second range for good sharpness means that the lens needs decent light to work at its best. Having said that, it does focus close and delivers good results. I tried to capture the beauty and dignity of dying flowers in this shot which required getting really tight to the Frangipani flowers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Back to the GF1 and I have to say that I have probably used 3 cameras in my time that I have gotten really close to and this is one (I will talk about the other two in a future post) Let me tell you why.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About a year ago in an attempt to further develop my skills I signed up for the marvelous <a href="http://www.overgaard.dk/the-thorsten-overgaard-photography-extension-course.html" target="_blank">Thorsten Overgaard photography extension course</a> and despite the fact that I am only half way through it (my fault entirely) it triggered a period of fantastic creativity for me through his belief in learning your camera intimately and then getting it out of the way of your shooting process. Because of this exercise I forced myself to learn every intricacy of the GF1 and I could manipulate it instantly to do what I wanted without much conscious thought. I would anticipate a scene, have the camera already set up for the environment and often spot meter from something that looked right to get the exposure - guess what ??? I firmly believe that my photography took a leap forward.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I almost exclusively shot with the 20mm, nearly always wide open and my framing and exposures improved dramatically. I wandered around Singapore and had an absolute ball just shooting in rhythm. I know that this is why so many people like Leica M9's, the process becomes different and the camera craft is much more aligned to thoughtful shooting and I believe that the GF1 and its simple, mainly manual interface allowed me to find my own approach in similar way.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like the NikonV1 that I have been using extensively recently, the GF1 is a very discreet and quiet camera in use. It lacks the blistering speed of use of the V1 but I still believe that the RAW images at ISO below 400 are better and need less work. It's add on viewfinder is stone age by comparison to the V1 but it still allows basic composition although there is no subtlety at all about it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Again, like other small cameras I own, I found that I carried it more as well, and through my familiarity with it this led to me getting more instantaneous, unplanned shots than normal for me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I also traveled extensively with the GF1 and had a particularly good time with it in Bali where I got a nice series of shots of the ferry at Kusamba Beach.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I firmly believe that the simplicity of use and familiarity I had with the camera helped me enormously to move around shooting high and low to get the subjects above or below the horizon depending on what the shot needed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you ever get a chance to go to Kusamba Beach it can be a little tricky to find this particular location so its best to take a taxi and ask him to take you to where the salt farmers are. You need to be there very early, well before sunrise in fact if you are to get the best shooting light and activities. There is something I like very much about the quality of the light there and I think its partly to do with the black volcanic sand, white surf and early morning light. I de-saturated these photos for a particular look that I was trying to achieve so it doesn't accurately reflect the actual lighting - in retrospect I should have left them alone :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Its astonishing to watch people board these ferry's and very often the porters have to carry passengers through the surf.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, enough of this reminiscing, I have worked up sufficient enthusiasm to charge the battery and get shooting with this lovely camera again (there's also a sneaking urge to try a GX1....)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well that's it for this short post guys, I am very interested to hear from anyone else that has a love affair with the GF1, please leave a comment or pop me a note.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-30759860699976601712012-01-27T22:29:00.000-08:002012-01-29T02:01:45.719-08:00Tokyo....Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am long overdue in writing something about my travels to Tokyo. I have been going there intermittently for the last four years and this has been a business destination for me so I haven't had the time to photograph it with the same fervor that I would apply to a focused travel trip. My photographic opportunities have been limited to catching some hurried shots on coffee breaks or on the way back to the hotel. As my visits have been business based I usually have one of my smaller cameras on hand so that I can carry it in my laptop bags and in the case of this post its the tiny but robust Canon S90 that made the trip.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the locations I shot in and share some experiences with this little gem of a travel cam. I intend this to be a two part post as there are some aspects of the Tokyo experience and how I feel about it that I would like to share along with the photo stuff. I also tried out a few of the small cams I have and even took a D300 on one trip so we can look at these in the future posts.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Firstly, the S90 experience. The <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm" target="_blank">S90 Ken Rockwell review</a> will tell you all you need to know about the camera from a review viewpoint so I will only reinforce what Ken says about the size (very small), lens (very fast for this type of cam at f2) and the very poorly designed adjustment dial which, if you are set on aperture priority will spin in all sorts of exposure adjustments at the slightest touch. You need to keep a continual eye on this control.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I took the camera to Rappongi's Mori tower which is where my office for Japan is and it has the most amazing observation deck on the 52nd floor. Make a point of getting there about an hour before sunset and you can shoot in the interesting gardens and buzzing courtyard. There are two cliche shots that you should look out for once inside the tower, firstly, near the entrance you will find a nice vista with the Tokyo tower in view.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have never been that enamored with the tower and it gets very heavily photographed so best to get your shot and move on to the more interesting sunset view around the other side.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I bit of advice on shooting through the windows which are pretty clear but if you don't get you lens right on the glass and surrounded by a piece of cloth, you run the certain risk of having unwanted reflections in the shot and this will be ruinous. If you are going up with a bigger camera I would suggest buying a cheap, flexible rubber lens hood so that you can completely seal the camera lens against the window.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once you get around to the other side stake yourself out a good location at the window and don't move until the light is gone. You should be able to get three or four different types of light and you can compose for different effects. The lead in shot at the beginning above is one of these and is pretty much the full vista with Mount Fuji behind and the sun just out of shot so that I could hold the golden color without blowing out. Regular readers will know that I have been shooting at dusk with a Nikon V1 recently and using a 'shade' setting for sunset with nice results. I would very much like to go back here with that set-up and shoot the scene again, I am convinced it would come out very nicely.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is probably my fave from the session and I was lucky enough to have the low cloud that momentarily blocked the sun enough to get this little bit of starburst and flare. This one is obviously shot about ten minutes before the sun descends completely. Next up you can shoot just as the sun goes and try to get some street detail into the shot by trying a little bit of + exposure comp.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last up would be once the sun is down and the city lights start to come up. If you have braced against the window as I suggest you should be able to get away with a slowish shutter speed for this final shot. I think I zoomed this a little to emphasize Mt Fuji again.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately my S90 ran out of battery at this point and I had to pass up some very nice silhouettes of people viewing the last light through the floor to ceiling windows, make sure you take a little time for these as I thought it looked great.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once you get back to the courtyard level at Mori tower you will be able to find something to rest your camera on and set off a few longer exposures with the self-timer before the sky gets too black.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once you have these shots in the bag its worth getting out onto the streets and I will dwell more on the street shooting in the next post but here are a few that I took with the S90.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Reflections play a big part in street shooting in Tokyo and you can see that the taxis are colorful and plentiful. It's worth messing about a bit with these and exploring how you can make the shapes, colors and light work to your best effect.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Tokyo subway and train system plays a huge part in almost everyone in the cities life, and with taxis being so expensive you will most likely end up in there at some point. It presents a wealth of photographic opportunity however this was where the S90 began to show its weaknesses, and its slow focus and operation and mediocre high ISO shooting makes it a little bit more limited than say a better M4/3 camera would be. Nevertheless you should find some interesting subject material and its worth trying to use these disadvantages positively by slowing the shutter to get train and people movement blur to emphasize the commuter activity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is hardly the best of shots but you can see what I mean.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally for this first post, here is one of my favorite Tokyo shots taken in Akihabara which is camera shop paradise and you will find all of the latest models, every camera and lens you can think of, and all sorts of electronic and computer kit in the massive department stores there. Incidentally, this the only shot here not taken by the S90, it was taken on a Ricoh GRD 2 that I have subsequently lost somewhere :(</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As usual, I sincerely hope that this was at least a little bit useful and will be helpful to anyone on a short visit to Tokyo. I will be writing the other parts up over the weekend so stay tuned.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin </span></div>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-12279944039994837472012-01-24T00:24:00.000-08:002012-01-24T00:24:56.493-08:00Myanmar.......Minimalist Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Myanmar, Some thoughts for Photographers</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I had some comments on the previous Myanmar blogs from <a href="http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kirk Tuck</a> who writes one of the most intelligent photography blogs around and is a daily must read for me. Kirk suggested that readers might be more interested in the 'Myanmar Experience' as well as the photos and I fully agree. It has always been my intent with this blog to inform and give some insight into the destinations as well as to talk about equipment and the technical side of getting the shots. Well here goes...........</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Why Myanmar?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hmm, I travel a lot in Asia both on business and to feed my insatiable desire to photograph interesting people, places and cultures and for me Myanmar is by far the most interesting location that I have been to so far. Why do I say that? Well, firstly you have the diversity. Myanmar has everything from crumbling but colorful cities like Yangon, the mystical majesty of the temple covered plain of Bagan to the completely different, cooler and unique Inle Lake. Every type of photographic situation can be encountered; streets, markets, glorious sunrises and sunsets over thousands of temples and water born shooting of fishermen who have a totally distinct technique that hasn't changed for centuries.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Add to that the fact that there are very few tourists at the moment and its getting easier to get an entry visa, English is widely spoken, food and transport are cheap and you have a very compelling mix for the travel photographer.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I also find people in Myanmar to be amongst the friendliest and most amenable to be photographed of any of the Asian countries that I have visited and it would only take the purchase of one of the great value and extraordinarily high quality and original crafts on offer or a gift of some pencils and pads to kids and they will pose happily for as long as you want. Somehow or another there still appears to be a structure to the Myanmar society and it feels very safe to me and all of the places I visited were clean and had very tasty and nourishing food. Being close to the Indian and Thai borders, the food is very much based around mild but tasty curries and rice. Vegetables figure large and I have to say that I felt very healthy during and after the trip and even shed a few unwanted pounds from the waistline :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Where To Go?</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a little bit tricky to answer as this is very much a function of the time you have on your hands and the degree of adventurous spirit and travel experience that you have. So, lets assume that you are a first time visitor (as most people are) to Myanmar, what are the best locations to visit and what should you look out for?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For me there are four key locations for the first time visitor; Yangon, which is the international point of entry, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake. All of these places have good hotels, safe food and have a different and somewhat unique, aspect to them from a photography point of view. Lets look at these locations in turn and in particular focus on the most interesting locations to visit at each separate destination. Just before we do that though, a couple of travel watch outs that might catch out the unwary. First up, its getting easier to get a tourist visa to enter Myanmar but allow yourself at least a week before travel to get it and don't leave it to the last minute. In some cases a visa can be arranged on arrival but I would advise against this as it can be based on your nationality and could be whimsical. Secondly, be very careful with the cash you bring. Don't panic. I am not talking about theft, what I am referring to here is the age and condition of your notes. Bring crisp, unfolded US dollars that were printed after 2006 or your money will not be accepted and there are no exceptions. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ok, having got these tips out of the way, lets look at the key locations I mentioned.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>As I mentioned, Yangon is the point of entry to Myanmar and it has a nice clean and modern airport. Surprisingly for Asia its pretty quick and easy to clear customs and collect your luggage, just exercise normal travel diligence and you wont have any problems. Incidentally, always travel with a photocopy of your passport in your case and keep 2 passport sized photos with you. The must see location in Yangon is the fabulous Shwedagon pagoda which is visible from many points in the low rise Yangon city. Most photographers carry a tripod to capture the magical period between sunset and the golden temple being illuminated and there is no problem bringing or setting one up. It's definitely worth coming late afternoon and exploring the side alleys adjacent to the four entrances to the pagoda. Some of these are book sellers who specialize in Bhuddist texts and you will always find some monks hanging around. There is also a nice relaxed feel to these passages and a there is no shortage of subject material in the nice contrasty light.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The second location worth a visit is Botatuang Pagoda which is famous for its golden corridors and Bhudda hair relic.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The courtyard here is also open and is a nice place to wander around and if you shoot discretely its easy to blend in.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As ever in religious centers your manners need to be considerate and a degree of politeness is required as these are functioning Pagodas and not tourist sites. You may want to consider that its best to travel with very light flip flops that you can stash in your bag as footwear is not allowed inside the pagodas and its just safer to carry them with you in case they disappear.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The other benefit of </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Botatuang is that it is adjacent to the main Jetty and I wish I had spent more time there in the late afternoon as you can get some great shots of the still manual process of unloading the boats. It's also a nice spot for the sunset and you are assured of some interesting subject matter.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I mentioned, time your trip to the pagoda so that you can get to the jetty for the last hour of light, its only a five minute walk from the pagoda and you will encounter all sorts of interesting subject matter along the way.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I think that if you are on a shortish trip then Yangon should only get a couple of days of your time at either end of your trip, that gives you two evening shoots for Shwedagon and the jetty and a morning to catch either some street shooting or visit the railway station or Scott's market. Incidentally, one unique feature of Myanmar that you will quickly notice is that people wear a form of make up which is made from grinding a kind of sandalwood into a paste, its designed to protect the skin from the sun and has the benefit of making the subjects highly photogenic.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally on Yangon, I stayed on both of my recent trips in the excellent Traders hotel which is in a great location for all of the pagodas and next to the market and railway stations. It's also easy to wander out and quickly find yourself in fascinating street shooting territory.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Bagan</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think that keen photographers of all types develop a thirst and style that aligns with the places, people and situations that interest and stimulate them. For me when I travel, I enjoy spectacle and grandness and I particularly seek out contrast and shadow, and above all, as a European, I am fascinated by the culture and people of Asia. This is why Bagan is one of my very favorite destinations.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bagan is just such an intoxicating blend of grand landscape splendor and captivating pagodas and markets that I am convinced that if you come here you will wish you had stayed longer and will be itching to return. The range of subject matter is huge and it takes nothing more than a polite word, small gratuity or purchase to have people like this gentle old cheroot smoking lady patiently pose for you.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The vistas at sunrise and sunset are extraordinary and its so easy to find a vantage point from which to shoot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">These shots were taken from Myengon Pagoda or you can simply shoot at ground level to get some interesting silhouettes or backlit pagoda towers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Somehow I like this simple shot more than some of the grander landscapes that are on offer. It was taken in the very last light of the day, handheld on the magical little Nikon V1.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are three locations that you must visit in Bagan and the first, and my personal favorite, is Shwezigon Pagoda which has a long, grand walkway leading via market stalls to its lovely golden pagoda.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would strongly urge that you try to make time for at least a full morning here as it has everything from the contrasty, pillared walkway to the golden splendor of its magnificent pagodas. Just ask any local and they will scare up the birds for you by throwing a harmless tennis ball onto the roof. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no shortage of interesting people to photograph either, just take some time, wander around in hunter mode and the shots will come to you. There is good advice about photography that you can do one of two things; find a great stage and wait for actors to come along onto the stage, or, you can follow interesting actors and wait until they are on the stage you want. This location lends itself perfectly well to either approach, I could happily sit for hours in the pillared walkway waiting for subjects to come into it or simply track down or follow one of the many fascinating people that you will find here.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The second must see, is Shwe San Daw where you will find the giant reclining candlelit Bhudda. A fisheye is a good idea for this one if you have it. I will come back to this later, but a fixer is pretty much essential for you on a first trip and they will easily organize some novice monks to pose for you to get the cliche shots. This is also a great location to climb the pagoda and shoot sunset so its probably best to leave this to later in the day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, of the three pagodas to see is the Htilominlo pagoda complex. I have a nice story about this when I left my camera bag, complete with passport and money on the roof of this pagoda only for the little girl in this photo to show up at the bus with the complete kit intact and untouched. I willingly bought the wind-chime from her for $20 and she was delighted. I also felt great with my faith in human spirit intact, so much so that I give the chimes a good luck ring every time I enter and exit my apartment. The chimes she chose for me were inscribed with symbols for my favorite days, Friday and Saturday.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For accommodation on this trip I stayed at the marvelous Bagan River View hotel which is superbly located for all of the sites and also backs onto the river where you can find interesting shots like the one below which was my personal favorite from 2011. Like all of the locations you will find in Myanmar, they are functional and active, not tourist centers. This was the case with the shot below which is of poor people who carry stones dredged from the river bed and haul them up the river bank on their heads - and you thought your job was tough some times.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Additionally, you will find very nice sunsets at the Ayeyarwarddy River side as the sun sets on the opposite bank. It's worth visiting the village first if you have some gift packs for the people and kids and then proceed down to the river. You will be a little like a pied piper as the kids will follow you but they are very polite and will either help you get some shots or stay out of your way if you ask.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The fishermen and people in this locality live in a simple little village on the river bank next to the hotel and it's a nice idea to take along some small gifts, torches, batteries, soap and any old clothes you have, and of course some pencils and pads and balloons for the kids. You will find this kind of gesture will be greatly appreciated and respected, and of course there is always the possibility of some lucky photographic karma to enjoy....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to close out on Bagan, there is also a very nice working market at Nyaung U where ancient buses lurch through the town which has local crafts, 'wet foods' and every conceivable necessity on show without the usual tourist tat you will get elsewhere in Asia. At the end of a hard days photography, for dinner and evening entertainment I can strongly recommend the delightful Queen House restaurant complete with cultural music and dance show as the perfect way to round off your day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mandalay</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mandalay was one of the ancient capitals of Myanmar and was of course immortalized by Rudyard Kipling in has famous 'road to Mandalay' poem. It's a short and easy flight from Bagan and its main point of interest for photographers is the U Bein bridge which is most frequently shot at sunset from a boat on the Ayeyarwarddy river. In all honesty, I have never spent a great deal of time there and, given that it is the main centre of industrialization in Myanmar, I would advise not hanging about and giving it a day of your time only. There is no doubting however that the U Bein bridge is a very interesting photographic location, problem for me is that many other people think likewise and it is probably one of the most iconic and photographed locations in Myanmar.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The bridge itself can be shot in a number of different ways and I have included a few here. It's also possible to go underneath the bridge to photograph the lone tree on the other side but you will pay the penalty of having to find a good position for the sunset when you get back to the other side. The other locations in Mandalay that are worthy of a visit include the Mahagandayon monastery where you can photograph the hundreds of monks and novices queuing and then eating their dinners.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is an interesting protocol about all of this in that apparently the monks wont speak to each other and its forbidden to look at anyone else's food. Full focus should only be on your own meal and these manners are strictly observed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As usual, its also worth wandering about and getting away from the main activities, this will more likely reward you with more interesting shots and a better opportunity to talk to the monks, some of whom speak excellent English and have a thirst for learning. I had a great laugh with a monk who asked me to explain what 'Lovely Jubbly' and 'Trouble and Strife' meant !!! He had apparently been listening to some BBC radio where these Cockney terms were used.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Incidentally, it's also worth hanging around at the kitchen areas as there is always lots of activity and I was lucky enough to get this shot on a previous trip there. Just make sure you don't get in the way and remember at all times that this is not a theme park and most of the people there will be mystified as to why you find these mundane tasks so fascinating.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having visited the monastery, the other location I would recommend is the U Min Thonze cave temple at Sagaing Hill. Inside the temple is a startling row of Buddhas and the lighting is nice if you can get the right subject. I had a very near miss with this shot as I stopped shooting at this point not realizing at the time that one more shot frame would have got me a nice reflection of the monk in the mirror on the wall. These little details are what makes a photo different and unique for me and I continually search for them to try to make my photography that little bit different and unique from all of the others that will shoot the same location.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Finally on Mandalay, I stayed at the Ayeyarwarddy River View hotel and again learned the lesson of always keeping a camera handy. I took the V1 with me to a very early breakfast in preparation for the flight to the last destination at Heho (Inle Lake) and saw one of the kitchen staff having a quiet moment on the balcony. It's a nice serene shot in the morning dawn light and it seemed to me to evoke an atmosphere that is often missing from my shots. I am so glad that I carried the little V1 everywhere. I really like the negative space of the sky and I know that if I took this to a photo critique I would get advised to 'loose the empty space' which for me would destroy the tranquility of the shot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Inle Lake</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is the final recommended destination for a first time trip to Myanmar and for me its a close second to Bagan for interest and photographic opportunity. It's again a short domestic hop from Mandalay to Heho and then on by bus to the head of the lake. One nice thing about places like this is that the light is generally wonderful and, given some decent blue sky and clouds, you will be guaranteed some fantastic shooting opportunities. En route to the lake you can stop off at Shwe Yan Pyay Temple which is famous for its oval windows which are usually shot with novice monks framed in them. Unfortunately, I have been there twice and the light has been far too harsh to get this shot and its no great loss as its one of the very cliched Myanmar shots and I am very doubtful that I could have added any new interpretation to it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can however mingle with the monks as long as you don't overly disturb their studies and its possible to get some nice relaxed shots of them once they are used to your presence. The head monk also makes an interesting subject and I have shot him a few times. I quite like the most recent one from this trip for that rather nice context of the table, books and bell and his contemplative posture.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As an added bonus you may be able to get some of the novices to pose for you in the old pagoda which is adjacent to the main monastery, it's small but wonderfully colored and detailed. Please leave a reasonable donation to the monastery if you do this, it will be small money to you but mean a lot to sustain them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once you arrive at Yuang Shwe town its very simple to charter a long tailed boat down the lake to your destination. On the way you will confront all sorts of shooting opportunities as the daily life of the lake unfolds for you. Keep your camera on hand at all times set on a high enough shutter speed to give you half a chance of a steady shot from the fast moving boats.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I commented on a recent <a href="http://phototravelasia.blogspot.com/2012/01/nikon-v1-with-ft1-adaptor.html" target="_blank">post</a> on the blog that <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikonv1j1/" target="_blank">DP Review</a> had suggested that the V1 was the ideal camera for 'soccer mums' hmmm, well if you are a soccer mum zipping along on Inle Lake in a long tailed boat you will be very happy that you brought a V1 as its snappy focus, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">lightening frame rates and stellar stabilization system absolutely shine in this kind of shooting environment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The lake itself is a whole floating ecosystem and the local people never leave the water. They live, fish and even farm rows of tomatoes, cucumbers and other moisture loving plants all on the lake itself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I stayed at the Sky Lake resort hotel which, like the other hotel I stayed in on a previous trip, is a series of chalets on sticks perched on the lake. These hotels are pretty basic but have a real charm about them and the setting is simply extraordinary, I am sure you wouldn't be disappointed and its hardly roughing it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Get your boatman to take you up the side canals and as the afternoon light comes up you will get really nice reflections and textures. I am particularly fond of the white, wispy marsh grass that looks amazing with the sun lighting it. It's not easy to frame your shots as you whiz along on the long tail boats which are very fast and anticipation is, as usual, a very valuable photographic skill in these situations.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once the day starts to come to an end try to get close to some of the fishermen and for a small gratuity they will maneuver into a sunset position or simply look for the more natural shots on offer as the fishermen ply their trade in the late evening light when they seem to step up their efforts.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I like to get shots the way I want them in camera as opposed to spending time in Lightroom or editing so I will sometimes play about a bit with the white balance and I found the 'shade' setting on the V1 produced very nice light golden tones on the lake at sunset.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a different tone with a more daylight effect, shot on a G3 that I was using in parallel with the V1 but with the lovely 20mm prime.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpvU34rjnKi0NZDArdEVCGMOJOr9taLfPAkmmCEHJz1d39JzkfYhyAjVNKLhmn6CDlo636mgnwS78p3SswFD_xxOOS_5KK7OXZ-JphWBKyfLj7g7qZ3EFqa_jmpAqujRXOXphyphenhypheno8c1ak/s1600/V1+Inle+Lake+12+CEP-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKpvU34rjnKi0NZDArdEVCGMOJOr9taLfPAkmmCEHJz1d39JzkfYhyAjVNKLhmn6CDlo636mgnwS78p3SswFD_xxOOS_5KK7OXZ-JphWBKyfLj7g7qZ3EFqa_jmpAqujRXOXphyphenhypheno8c1ak/s640/V1+Inle+Lake+12+CEP-.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As usual, never stop shooting until all of the light is gone, it's possible to get some very atmospheric shots as the last remnants of twilight fades and you can of course hold a fisheye steady at ridiculously low shutter speeds anyway.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The other aspect of shooting on the lake is to catch the earliest light as well as the latest. Mornings on the lake are usually misty and this of course is as much of an opportunity as it is a drawback. If you tail some of the boats on the lake you can usually catch the trailing gulls. Just be very careful as you will probably need to stand up to get this kind of shot and it doesn't take much to tip these shallow boats so it's usually best to ask the boatman to slow a bit and warn your fellow passengers about what you are doing so that they don't move while you are up.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally from Inle Lake, always remember to look behind you, there is nearly always something just as interesting there as in front. I got several very nice shots of my boatman who was spectacularly well color co-ordinated with his boat !!! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lets be clear about my intent here, I am trying to share some insight into what I find to be a fascinating country to visit and show some examples of how you might want to approach some of the locations and subjects with one or two useful pieces of advice thrown in. This is not Lonely Planet and I am not into the minutiae of every city and location, I have unfortunately only spent a couple of weeks in the country myself so do not feel qualified to go into that kind of detail.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I can do is give some advice to the photo traveller who is considering a visit to Myanmar:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. It's best to go as part of a structured, specialist photography trip for your first visit as these guys will know the best locations to shoot, value for money places to stay and eat and very importantly will always have a local guide who can arrange any scenes or subjects that some of these photos simply don't work without. It takes all of the logistic thinking out of your first visit and leaves you free to shoot in this photographic paradise. The best people I know for this kind of trip are <a href="http://www.sgtrekker.com/" target="_blank">Singapore Trekker</a> and <a href="http://www.eyesonasia.net/" target="_blank">Eyes on Asia</a> they are both run by the nicest people you could hope to meet and both will give you a hassle free and insightful trip. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Best time to go is probably around January to get the best weather and least tourists (although its hardly overrun by tourist hordes)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Food is very good and just exercise the usual travel basics and you will be fine. I personally liked the cuisine very much and its a much more healthy diet than you will encounter in the West being predominately mild vegetable curries with chicken and fish. A bit of a hybrid between Indian and Thai as you would expect from the location. It goes without saying, drink only bottled water and avoid ice.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. This might be a little controversial but make sure you leave your politics behind, you are here to take photographs and gain some insights into a fascinating blend of cultures. You will do neither yourself or the local people any favors by agitating in any way. This is a mantra of mine, I seek to show what I see and my understanding of these countries, their people and cultures and I leave my politics and religion out of it. My experience of Myanmar was far superior to that of many other countries in Asia that are not perceived as having political strife and at no time did I feel unsafe or at risk of robbery. The people I met welcomed me and treated me very well and that should be reciprocated. It's easy in Asia to make a career out of showing people in poverty and in desperate situations, like bad news this is often much more stimulating to people and 'sells more' however, I personally prefer to see things my way and show the more positive aspects of life if I can. To me Myanmar is about color, the light, diversity, the deeply religious life that people live and the fascinating places that are, as yet, largely unspoiled. This is not a cop out, if I see something that has to be shown as a reality then I will do so, but my primary aim is to immerse myself as much as I can to show the country and people as I see it and I would urge you to do likewise.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Travel light, by that I mean take only what is essential to <u><i><b>your</b></i></u> photographic approach or style. I do not carry a tripod unless I know in advance that it will be essential to have one for a particular location or shot. My standard travel kit is a Nikon D3 with 24 & 50 f1.4 lenses although I took the tiny and lightweight Nikon V1 twin lens kit on my most recent Myanmar trip and only once or twice missed the D3 and very fast glass. The reason for this is that I knew from experience that many of the shooting situations in Myanmar require a longish zoom or telephoto because of your shooting position. This is particularly the case when shooting the vistas on Bagan plain, the magnificent U-Bein bridge at sunset and fascinating fishing and village scenes at Inle Lake, you simply wont get the shots you want without a well stabilized longish zoom.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is my standard travel kit and pretty much what I took on my first visit to Myanmar (you can read my thoughts on this kit here if you are interested <a href="http://phototravelasia.blogspot.com/2011/08/bali-what-good-place-to-start.html" target="_blank">D3 travel kit</a> ) It all fits very nicely into the Think Tank bag and is reasonably portable - thats all I have to carry. What I did notice was a bit of a change in my shooting style with the V1 but I did get the shots I wanted - horses for courses? I found the V1 made me look at things differently and I used it to get shots that I normally wouldn't take which is great. If you are going to Myanmar on any kind of itinerary similar to the one I suggest then you wont go wrong with a V1 or M4/3 camera with a stabilized zoom that gets you around 250 - 300 mm equivalent. Apart from that, unless it's intrinsic to your style, I would leave the tripods, flashes, filters and all behind and stay unencumbered, learn your camera and push it beyond what you think its limits are :) One of the reasons I urge you to stay light is that to fully explore Myanmar you will do a lot of internal, domestic flying and these smallish turboprop planes have minimal storage space in the cabin and its a real pain to cart a lot of gear through these small airports. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a quick summary of the locations and suggested hotels which are the ones I used on this trip which was organized by the wonderful guys at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.sgtrekker.com/">Singapore Trekker</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Yangon: </b>This is the best point of entry for International flights and we spent the first and last nights here in the very comfortable and well located Traders Hotel which also had the luxury of an albeit very slow internet connection. Incidentally, there is almost no mobile coverage outside of Yangon and even there you need to buy an expensive SIM and rent a handset - I would give it a miss and revel in the luxury of being out of contact :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bagan: </b>Traders Hotel in Yangon is not far from the airport and we caught a short internal domestic flight to Bagan on <a href="http://www.airmandalay.com/" target="_blank">Mandalay Airlines</a> (all domestic flights on same airline) and stayed at the Bagan River View Hotel which is really well located and very nice. Breakfast in particular is a real treat on the river bank.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Mandalay: </b>Another short flight takes you to Mandalay and we stayed at the Ayeyarwarddy River View Hotel which was good value.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Inle Lake: We stayed at the Sky Lake Resort Hotel which was basic but very well located and friendly. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I hope that this post was helpful to anyone considering a trip to Myanmar and hopefully it will stimulate some thoughts on how to approach it photographically. I am personally planning to return and if possible visit the coastal region which I have not yet been to.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>You can read on the blog about similar experiences in Bali, Lombok/Gili Meno, Chiang Mai along with some views on travel photography equipment and I also have plans to visit Central Vietnam in February so keep an eye open for that update.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Finally, I make no excuse for finishing by another vista from the magnificent Bagan, hope you enjoyed this and found something of use.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Colsteel</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1aBSNNR4p1dVFtoeZJHUTqggakn5eHJzwr7mtVmZWZ9fN2u4cOnPyP2_KVbKAANynN0BrwkVvenlcks0ej8NI8dCUCle9bNjdz5xtGgBCzNsheFa2CxHbY8CuHwwE6B6QUwwRdSLRtOky/s1600/V1+Bagan+15-3287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1aBSNNR4p1dVFtoeZJHUTqggakn5eHJzwr7mtVmZWZ9fN2u4cOnPyP2_KVbKAANynN0BrwkVvenlcks0ej8NI8dCUCle9bNjdz5xtGgBCzNsheFa2CxHbY8CuHwwE6B6QUwwRdSLRtOky/s640/V1+Bagan+15-3287.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-30576866974941960332012-01-07T21:16:00.000-08:002012-01-08T03:47:19.203-08:00Myanmar......Minimalist Part 2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Traveling Light in Myanmar Part 2</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hey fellow travel photographers, welcome to part 2 of this blog on my recent trip to Myanmar with <a href="http://www.sgtrekker.com/" target="_blank">Singapore Trekkers</a>. As you will recall, I decided to go minimalist for this trip and carried only a <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/11/14/the-nikon-v1-camera-review-the-camera-i-expected-to-hate/" target="_blank">Nikon V1</a> with the two lens kit (10-30 & 30-110), a <a href="http://www.manfrotto.us/category/8374.83528.0.0.0/pockets" target="_blank">Manfrotto Pocket Tripod</a> and a tiny <a href="http://www.manfrotto.us/pocket-12led-light" target="_blank">Manfrotto Led lightpanel</a> that also doubled as a torch. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here's a pretty poor shot of the full kit but it gives you good idea of how light and compact this full set up is.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I mentioned in the previous post some mods that i would consider essential if you are going to do any serious traveling with this camera. Firstly, its a good idea to stick some gaffer tape over the grip at the right hand side to assist handling when it gets humid and damp, I also took the opportunity to make the camera more discrete by covering the somewhat cheesy V1 logo. Secondly, my experience of traveling with cameras is that anything that can detach, will detach, fall off and get lost. This applies to expensive so called pro gear as well. Do yourself a favor and put some tape over the flash cover or it wont last long. </b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Finally, if you don't want to shoot video, set the control dial to the still image setting and get some tape on it to hold it in place. This is a major design flaw for a travel cam and the dial will change on you at the worst of moments.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>These mods are not pretty but they are highly functional and they also make the camera look very inoffensive and discrete, ideal for stealthy shooting. My only other setup comment would be to set the ISO to auto with a limit of 3200. the only time you need to watch out on this is if you have subject movement when you need to control the shutter rather than let the camera set it.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In addition to the V1, I also took a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcg3/" target="_blank">Lumix G3</a> that came late as a Xmas gift on this trip. I had bought a <a href="http://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test=obiektywu&test_ob=317" target="_blank">Samyang 7.5 mm Fisheye</a> for the enclosed temple and pagoda situations that I knew would crop up in Myanmar. This is a very easy lens to use and I found it could be left set on infinity focus and used across the range of apertures to control the exposure. This is of course a manual lens and therefore its best to set the camera to manual as well and, as I said, control the exposure through aperture selection. I found that the lens delivered some very nice shots and here are a few examples of how versatile this kind of somewhat specialist lens can be:</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawX20xKVS_zMzzHkXSsuxHypXLRMwH686H8UelNAgQ0-fBiO4hbEQhYFJZcYYrAZ7WYslMD8CUxO6wfG16lV5iQtypWBjD1ddeVSNGERbRE6JVJbEanXEXBptHrNRTTBeenoNfMykIl3l/s1600/G3+Mandalay+Myanmar+-1000261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawX20xKVS_zMzzHkXSsuxHypXLRMwH686H8UelNAgQ0-fBiO4hbEQhYFJZcYYrAZ7WYslMD8CUxO6wfG16lV5iQtypWBjD1ddeVSNGERbRE6JVJbEanXEXBptHrNRTTBeenoNfMykIl3l/s640/G3+Mandalay+Myanmar+-1000261.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The exaggerated perspective of these lenses can be very tricky to control, however, I found that my 'get in close' normal shooting style worked very well for this combo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JSDkYu5ny5DhsOEVKMMf-EI2GoLA6mbJIQqNwHmdi2zSb6pQb7e2wiyccdETRphxDOEN8bh71Tc_buhnQfpzfJ9pWW70Rl-ndJ9DQIMpttPod6rNUwL78oaCnSlm8HPDDUieSRQIPx0q/s1600/G3+Inle+Lake+Myanmar++6-1000555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JSDkYu5ny5DhsOEVKMMf-EI2GoLA6mbJIQqNwHmdi2zSb6pQb7e2wiyccdETRphxDOEN8bh71Tc_buhnQfpzfJ9pWW70Rl-ndJ9DQIMpttPod6rNUwL78oaCnSlm8HPDDUieSRQIPx0q/s640/G3+Inle+Lake+Myanmar++6-1000555.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>This is particularly clear in the above shot which, although pretty cliched, is still very effective and creates an interesting perspective.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaimSV6ztrSmnnZrxwMZMTxgtmMS4uKGX0mFIr6tACWZqAmJY43ELdM2osV9DSyLs-Z0YojYbY4r6a050hu7H_mtgXkNpEHbocQ_3sfRdDRMJRc0i_RTEH49hoZQBmtRZwVhQbU7YSWAH/s1600/G3+Inle+Lake+Myanmar++2-1000287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaimSV6ztrSmnnZrxwMZMTxgtmMS4uKGX0mFIr6tACWZqAmJY43ELdM2osV9DSyLs-Z0YojYbY4r6a050hu7H_mtgXkNpEHbocQ_3sfRdDRMJRc0i_RTEH49hoZQBmtRZwVhQbU7YSWAH/s640/G3+Inle+Lake+Myanmar++2-1000287.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It's also important to retain symmetry wherever possible and keep your subject centered in the frame to avoid distortion. To be honest, although versatile, the effects can become a bit tedious so use sparingly and exploit situations where no other lens could really create the effect you are looking for.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Enough on the G3, Samyang set up, let's get back to the main point of the post, the Nikon V1 travel kit. I mentioned the </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.manfrotto.us/pocket-12led-light">Manfrotto Led lightpanel</a> that I took along and I think it's worth putting it quickly into perspective. Let's be clear, this is no flash substitute, its merely an emergency fill light and a damn useful torch!!! It works off a single AAA battery and weighs nothing. Here are two examples where I had no shot and the little bit of light from the Manfrotto at least gave me something usable.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Far from fantastic photos I know, but at least I have something semi-decent and these kids were so delightfully polite and friendly that I wanted to have a shot that I could print for them on my next visit.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkurz3VVagbj9Jt7YacGsYqq91wJrY3fCcJsMhICuoRir-Jp1hklLwqHDXusRnhinapu0z-9xU-ltDR6R_0y6rsDf7_stKIpFKlMkGWiE97WrPYENgaZkFFq7LHsFEfkwzvVw0u3HQts/s1600/V1+Bagan+Myanmar+River+9-4740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkurz3VVagbj9Jt7YacGsYqq91wJrY3fCcJsMhICuoRir-Jp1hklLwqHDXusRnhinapu0z-9xU-ltDR6R_0y6rsDf7_stKIpFKlMkGWiE97WrPYENgaZkFFq7LHsFEfkwzvVw0u3HQts/s640/V1+Bagan+Myanmar+River+9-4740.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Notice the catchlight is a bit too pinpoint to be useful so be careful when you use it. To be honest, I would recommend buying the next size up which, although more bulky and requiring more battery power, would be ultimately more usable.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It's pretty common in travel photography that you start very early to catch sunrise, then finish the day with a nice sunset location. With this in mind its worth considering setting the white balance to shade for these situations. Although this can easily be adjusted in Lightroom or processing, I personally like to make the photograph as complete as I can at the point of creation and for that reason I like to see how the image looks when I take it. I set the white balance to shade for these two shots which were taken at sunset.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The warming effect is evident and gives the images a very nice feel. I particularly like the golden glow in the above shot, this is gives the shot a nice golden look which is still clean and not exaggerated. The sunset below is by way of comparison very rich and much deeper in color tone, still a very nice effect though and it worked very nicely with the wispy grass.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Well, that's it for this part 2 Myanmar post, I will have some more thoughts on the V1 and more detail on good locations to visit if you are going to Myanmar. I am happy to answer any questions on these images from a location or technical viewpoint, just pop me a note or leave a comment.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cheers,</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Colsteel</b></span>Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-46152299554335735822012-01-07T06:44:00.000-08:002012-01-07T06:44:34.960-08:00Myanmar....Minimalist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Traveling Light in Myanmar Pt 1</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXknUi4d9z2tcJ23jb10jwUE-CyAhwjYHkR9s4RoyffgIB5ARw-H_XYcCLDAuyAXz4obEd8AxVo6W8qwskgRk1f78KVsjPSyOSwSlIm0tvluMP1lrVKjiV54IwPMga6n_ca0zrbCP3cn8/s1600/V1+Bagan+Myanmar+Sunrise+8-3631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXknUi4d9z2tcJ23jb10jwUE-CyAhwjYHkR9s4RoyffgIB5ARw-H_XYcCLDAuyAXz4obEd8AxVo6W8qwskgRk1f78KVsjPSyOSwSlIm0tvluMP1lrVKjiV54IwPMga6n_ca0zrbCP3cn8/s640/V1+Bagan+Myanmar+Sunrise+8-3631.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hey photo travel fans, I am newly returned from a week long trip to Myanmar with a twist. I decided to travel very light with a totally minimalist kit comprising a Nikon V1 with two lens kit (10-30 & 30-110), my tiny Manfrotto travel tripod and a small Manfrotto led light. I also carried a Limix G3 and Samyang fisheye for the many temple and pagoda shots that I new would be coming. More on this later but here is one of the first shots I took with it....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trip was organized by the great guys at <a href="http://www.sgtrekker.com/" target="_blank">Singapore Trekkers</a> and I have to say that it was one the most enjoyable and interesting photography tours that I have ever been on, well done to Melvin who hosted. Part of this success was down to the sheer diversity and variety of photographic opportunity that Myanmar presents and you can't help but feel that the country is going to change dramatically in the next 2-3 years so I would urge anyone who is thinking about it to go now. I am totally apolitical and will in no way comment about the political change process that is underway other than to say that I find the people of Myanmar to be the kindest and most respectful in South East Asia and I sincerely hope that it turns out well for them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxssZooY2JQU6gBPETT3sD2FAhrANTiPGIIqtLGMIXI7f8TOV-Lfu9G2SxnCDX5RlgIxhVPCjoo6YTvTxenATwuAJICpJ9YwY2hSfpKCyc-xOj-ObWJaM6ThBlBTTubWkoTe9AADjBp2f/s1600/X100+Bagan+Myanmar-6599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxssZooY2JQU6gBPETT3sD2FAhrANTiPGIIqtLGMIXI7f8TOV-Lfu9G2SxnCDX5RlgIxhVPCjoo6YTvTxenATwuAJICpJ9YwY2hSfpKCyc-xOj-ObWJaM6ThBlBTTubWkoTe9AADjBp2f/s640/X100+Bagan+Myanmar-6599.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I did however spot this somewhat metaphorical shot which for me appeared to suggest how the country will move forward.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, back to the minimalist kit approach and those of you who follow these posts will know that I usually base my travel kit around a Nikon D3 with 24 & 50 F1.4 lenses. Regular readers will also know however that I have a very strong dislike of lugging too much gear when I travel and so I have been thinking about a lightweight travel kit which I initially intended to compliment the D3 with some reasonable zoom capability. Like many others, I initially regarded the launch of the Nikon V1 with scorn. However, I read a blog post by my favorite photography writer <a href="http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Kirk Tuck</a> who had actually bought and was using the camera. Much to my surprise, he liked it very much and his <a href="http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2011/10/nikon-1-counterintuitive-crazy-and.html" target="_blank">V1 review</a> demonstrated what a versatile camera this could be. I followed this up by reading <a href="http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2011/11/14/the-nikon-v1-camera-review-the-camera-i-expected-to-hate/" target="_blank">Steve Huff's</a> review where he openly admitted that, like myself, he expected to hate it but ended up wanting to buy one. The selling points that both of these guys highlighted were the astonishingly fast focusing, long zoom reach of the 30-110 and the reasonably good high ISO performance. I have to say that it was the fact that I had been to Myanmar before and knew that many of the locations needed a long zoom to exploit them to the best that finaly sold me on the V1 (along with the very attractive S$1,100 price at KT Photo in Funan). Here is an nice example of this from Inle Lake which is famous for the fishermen who row with one leg and use a kind of cage trap with spear arrangement to catch fish.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Additionally, there are many locations that present the opportunity to compress perspective and this of course requires a longish zoom to create this effect.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The V1 handled this very well and there is no question in my mind that the Nikon lens stabilization system is extremely effective. Both Kirk and Steve pointed this out and they are spot on. shooting with a longish zoom is a real novelty for me and I have to say that I had great fun with it and felt very confident that I would get a good shot with it regardless of the light levels. Here's another example of the very nice compression effect taken in very low light conditions.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I will follow up with more details on the overall performance of the V1 in upcoming posts from the Myanmar trip including some basic essential travel mods that it needs and some sunrise shots using the tiny Manfrotto pocket tripod. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To finish on the V1 for this post though I thought I would use what I found to be a very nice Black & White conversion and a lovely <a href="http://www.niksoftware.com/snapseed/usa/index.php?view=intro%2Fmain.shtml" target="_blank">Snapseed</a> conversion done on the fly with my Ipad. Here's the B&W shot first.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just love the way this worked out with the wispy grass and slightly gradating background. Finally, here's the Snapseed shot taken in near darkness in a bouncing boat !!!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, that's it for this opening post from what was a fascinating trip to Myanmar with a great bunch of fellow photography enthusiasts. More soon....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cheers,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colsteel</span><br />
<br />Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351136869334686582.post-75675309945123592782011-09-21T06:43:00.000-07:002011-09-21T08:33:59.039-07:00Lombok Part 2 - Gili Meno<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Welcome to part 2 of my Lombok blog which focuses on Gili Meno which is one of a chain of three small islands just off the coast of Lombok.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have previously visited all three but Gili Meno was my favorite as it is the quietist and least developed. It also has some stunning beaches with the gorgeous Mount Ranjani backdrop.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The above shot was taken at sunrise and is of our hotel receptionist catching his breakfast !!! The shot is taken with the delightful X100 and photo opportunities like this abound. The island is so small that you can shoot sunrise early and then in the later afternoon stroll round to the other side to shoot sunset - cool yeah?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another take on the awesome sunrises, I really like shooting against the light with the X100. It seems to behave extremely well and has fantastic dynamic range. It's a bit intangible but somehow for me it captures more of how I <i>feel </i>about a scene than any other camera I have.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, enough on the photos for now, let me give you some tips on the logistics of getting there, where I stayed and some generally useful info for travel photographers.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Getting There</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is a breeze and very cheap. I would suggest you spend a day or so in and around Senggigi and then book the Gili Meno trip at any of the many agency outlets in the town. Don't pay more than IR 90,000 (S$13) for the round trip. I know this seems ridiculously cheap but that's the rate and that will get you collected at your hotel, taken on a mini bus (primitive and no aircon) to Bangsal Harbor where you will catch a local ferry to the islands. Gili Meno is direct and its best to get the early morning one as the sea is calmer.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpVyc5avuhwBogux0u4hiP4aOAdAG-BBzeFjUsJahJpIyPmFi1JOUKo0qc1rb3SGNeJfwTSVSYHgc_H350m-ylgE-uwKrbILR4BEsRzK4oXM2PFR3ixUA8xEU_X6y_MWSCtyDZjkMTC8/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Ferry+2-1828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmpVyc5avuhwBogux0u4hiP4aOAdAG-BBzeFjUsJahJpIyPmFi1JOUKo0qc1rb3SGNeJfwTSVSYHgc_H350m-ylgE-uwKrbILR4BEsRzK4oXM2PFR3ixUA8xEU_X6y_MWSCtyDZjkMTC8/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Ferry+2-1828.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ferry will be crowded and colorful so keep your camera handy !!! A couple of things to be aware of; firstly, the bus is not allowed into the harbor road and drops you at a cafe about 10 mins walk from the beach and boats. There are numerous horse and cart rigs that will take you down for IR 20,000 and its good fun. Secondly, once you get there you need to get onto the boat which will be bouncing around in the surf !!!!!! This is where the nimble porters come in and they will carry you and your luggage for around IR 10 to 20,000 dependent on your size and how much luggage you have. Make sure to have small notes as there is no way they will give change. Once on the boat its good fun and you will find the locals good natured and willing to share a laugh with you. Some of them will be hawkers on there way to the island for the day and they will be sizing up the possible opportunity and you will certainly see them again. One other thing you may want to consider is to either wrap you camera and lenses in ziploc bags as I do, or buy a waterproof bag or sack. I have seen these for around the s$ 70 mark tops. This will give you peace of mind against a dropped bag or splashing from the surf.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgnDvxjXZKM/TnnbOw4aRaI/AAAAAAAAALY/8zC-MT7YXH4/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Ferry+B%2526W-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgnDvxjXZKM/TnnbOw4aRaI/AAAAAAAAALY/8zC-MT7YXH4/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Ferry+B%2526W-.jpg" width="492" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I said, the trip itself is interesting and you might get some nice shots on the boat. Its also worth shooting the loading and unloading which can also be good fun if the surf is up. The return trip is a simple reverse and, again, advice would be to get the early boat back as the sea gets a bit rougher in the afternoon. Its also simple to charter boats for the trip or to hop around from island to island but to be honest I found the trip good fun and don't consider chartering worth the extra cost. If you want to go that way expect to pay IR 400 to 500,000.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Once your there...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's very easy to get around and most of the hotels are a short walk or horse and buggy ride from the harbor. There is no motorized transport allowed on the island so this is your only option.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The island itself is pretty tranquil and you should have no problem finding a nice secluded beach spot or finding some nice landscapes to shoot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The above shot shows the kind of boats that are available if you want to go snorkeling or island hopping. I am far from expert but can highly recommend the snorkeling as this is one of the few places where you will be able to see giant sea turtles in the wild.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Accommodation on Gili Meno is mainly of the chalet or beach hut type. personally, I think I struck gold :) We stayed in the <a href="http://www.agoda.com/asia/indonesia/lombok/gazebo_meno.html?type=1&site_id=1410012&url=http://www.agoda.com/asia/indonesia/lombok/gazebo_meno.html&tag=8da0abf3-ef41-4606-94b6-a034ccb729da&gclid=CMPj3M25rqsCFQd66wode087Ig">Gazebo Meno</a> complex and it was great. I booked it through Agoda and it cost US$50 per night, what a bargain. Despite the poor reviews on trip advisor and elsewhere I found it to be wonderful. The chalet was roomy, clean and secluded but 2 mins walk to the nicest beach you can imagine. In fact, all of the sunrise shots in these posts were shot on that very beach in front of the chalet.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sunrise on Gili Meno from the Gazebo Meno beach, awesome.....shot on the trusty X100. I make no apology for the number of these sunrise shots in the post, it was simply breathtaking and the colors fabulous.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqFbkjx3Fz5uLx4E897J23yL3wiad843C_GlVRtJmddYuUZgWme2srgPxWImLdvHIvT_zh4t7SFWe28pzeYbIMk1DYGIRlHCGIFIabPs2U0VHR-XS4HCINXiY1T0Keil1W0-esxzJkSas/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Beach+Sunrise-2596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqFbkjx3Fz5uLx4E897J23yL3wiad843C_GlVRtJmddYuUZgWme2srgPxWImLdvHIvT_zh4t7SFWe28pzeYbIMk1DYGIRlHCGIFIabPs2U0VHR-XS4HCINXiY1T0Keil1W0-esxzJkSas/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Beach+Sunrise-2596.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I said, the chalets were spacious and very comfortable if a little tired.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK3GToikbh6BbuZkCF5knAN7p1kBaMM1yM8Zp1H3bearpDrOnXsYZwT2ZiBdcsJLJ1ohKzBtrMIlqi4AWd_he3BsYElO6xgsXRpo_TagTXjiHOQb948C0dvoFtEj26mpMKCdGWEij1dQ/s1600/X100+Gazebo+Meno+2-2640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQK3GToikbh6BbuZkCF5knAN7p1kBaMM1yM8Zp1H3bearpDrOnXsYZwT2ZiBdcsJLJ1ohKzBtrMIlqi4AWd_he3BsYElO6xgsXRpo_TagTXjiHOQb948C0dvoFtEj26mpMKCdGWEij1dQ/s640/X100+Gazebo+Meno+2-2640.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The decor was traditional and the aircon worked a treat - what more can I say ????</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKo8rllD2tGWjMg2sQAWbAGo-jqjhRNkaybB140QE1i69suB_Ruffja3fVY_oe0bhVfmAW6XjQkxmuTxVr-C3tG6e6rpSp7TicpM60L4PXwiXVcAe6F2z_6yguFZ42vOX_mq5rskVdrJg/s1600/X100+Gazebo+Meno+3-1874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKo8rllD2tGWjMg2sQAWbAGo-jqjhRNkaybB140QE1i69suB_Ruffja3fVY_oe0bhVfmAW6XjQkxmuTxVr-C3tG6e6rpSp7TicpM60L4PXwiXVcAe6F2z_6yguFZ42vOX_mq5rskVdrJg/s640/X100+Gazebo+Meno+3-1874.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">On to the photography</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You will have no problem finding interesting locations on Gili Meno but here are a few suggestions anyway. Apart from the awesome sunrise at Gazebo Meno beach I would suggest taking a wander around to some of the ruined hotels from the slump that followed the Bali bombings. There are two in particular that are worth a visit and both have unique characteristics and opportunities. My suggestion would be to visit them in order in late afternoon and there is a good reason for this that I will explain later. First up is the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bougainvillea which is reached by simply walking to the right from Gazebo Meno and wandering along the beach a way. The ruins make a great setting and can be nice and contrasty in the afternoon light. The following two shots are with the D3:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-clRIz39YboU/TnnsGmhz1SI/AAAAAAAAAL0/mUiua6CQ1R8/s1600/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+1-2394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-clRIz39YboU/TnnsGmhz1SI/AAAAAAAAAL0/mUiua6CQ1R8/s640/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+1-2394.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I really like the contrast in the one below. It's not flattering for the model but I think it makes a really nice, interesting portrait. It could also have stood up nicely to a B&W conversion but I liked the red sarong that Riyanti was wearing.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a different, framed type of shot, taken on the X100 in the ruined gate entrance to the hotel. Its very atmospheric and the wall textures are amazing. I didn't try it on this trip but I think incredible results could be had here with a simple strobe setup...one for the future.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would suggest leaving the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">Bougainvillea around half an hour before sunset and heading round to the next suggested location which is the Bounty. Again this is a ruin from the slump a decade ago and its about 15 mins further round the island on the sunset side.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YxAlzUAeh74/Tnnu9qaGUMI/AAAAAAAAAMA/utlqYcpmOFs/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Ruins+2-2106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YxAlzUAeh74/Tnnu9qaGUMI/AAAAAAAAAMA/utlqYcpmOFs/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Ruins+2-2106.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is an amazing place and is full of opportunity, you could happily shoot here for ages. The one thing to watch out for though is a sunset bounce that occurs just as the sun sets. The sun bounces off of the sea straight into what was once the reception area, bathing in it in a gorgeous sunset glow for around 5-10 mins.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmwro2-JgKw/TnnvE1lJNDI/AAAAAAAAAME/VDQ5hsP81PQ/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Ruins+3-2113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mmwro2-JgKw/TnnvE1lJNDI/AAAAAAAAAME/VDQ5hsP81PQ/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Ruins+3-2113.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 24px;">The above two X100 shots give some idea of the lovely color that drenches the wood lined space. I think on this first visit I got caught a little unawares by this effect and, as I said, it doesn't last long so I went back the next night and tried some different takes with the D3 and the 24mm and 50mm F1.4's.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_481IBwOR4/TnnwV1B_ZZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/aciHzZmFogM/s1600/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+2-2737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_481IBwOR4/TnnwV1B_ZZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/aciHzZmFogM/s640/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+2-2737.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I wouldn't say that these shots are necessarily better but I do like the way the Nikon kit has captured the light and they have the benefit that once the 'bounce' goes you can move smartly to the beach and use f1.4 to squeeze the last few drops of sunset light.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNJxtQlG8Vk/TnnwanaA4JI/AAAAAAAAAMM/gVyN2_BilnA/s1600/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+3-2760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MNJxtQlG8Vk/TnnwanaA4JI/AAAAAAAAAMM/gVyN2_BilnA/s640/D3+Gili+Meno+Ruins+3-2760.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This shot was taken just before the sunset light gets going and gives another aspect on what's possible there. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QFzL_dbunM/Tnnzmiunp1I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/AdT-fDgv67M/s1600/D3+Bounty-2677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6QFzL_dbunM/Tnnzmiunp1I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/AdT-fDgv67M/s640/D3+Bounty-2677.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I mentioned above, there is also the option to move to the Bounty beach and again, there are numerous ways to approach this and here are a few ideas. First up there are a few boats on the beach and the light is nice for shooting beside them. I would have preferred to have had some kind of strobe or even a reflector on hand for these but they still came out not too badly.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HHqB534R8w/Tnn1T8iMpjI/AAAAAAAAAMU/lAMDNfBOeg8/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+1-2030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9HHqB534R8w/Tnn1T8iMpjI/AAAAAAAAAMU/lAMDNfBOeg8/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+1-2030.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also keep an eye open for the fishermen landing small catches and coming up from the beach. These three photos are all with the X100 and regular readers will remember that I tried the same shot with the Olympus E410 (see the post on it) but couldn't get the exposure right and there wasn't enough in the raw files to bring up the fisherman's face. well luckily I had the X100 over my shoulder and managed to squeeze off this one shot which to my eye is way better than the E410 effort.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNg4jCIyzhTIlsRYFRuluylj1E3kIrPz4Z7p9jy292FK0AD7zIQn-g8vyZU3rTlJvn8NYTSA3EFVqC2i2XP0XfdZB7xhaaUUNgCBIY-6AuwaQPQUdj9XwNXVpjpr9JgkHrTWyNqkP3GO3/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+2+Viveza-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNg4jCIyzhTIlsRYFRuluylj1E3kIrPz4Z7p9jy292FK0AD7zIQn-g8vyZU3rTlJvn8NYTSA3EFVqC2i2XP0XfdZB7xhaaUUNgCBIY-6AuwaQPQUdj9XwNXVpjpr9JgkHrTWyNqkP3GO3/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+2+Viveza-.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, here is a shot taken using the little Manfrotto MP3 - DO1 travel tripod (reviewed in a previous post) at small aperture and with the ND filter activated to give a slow shutter speed. I quite like this shot even although its not an extremely long exposure its still enough to render the water nice and milky smooth.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGalM0UUT1vFsTjxv_oDjh_12SrbdEy-aFpp1-Rr7zta1WWkOCZ_bGftJM8bxVA5AdlYPY5m1mWwA7FgqX9Vmej2TzgS6VrEM5xYzJ3io6gPpHKOuvCkviuD7F9Zt4fClNWlMtyxzPCfjD/s1600/X100+Gili+Meno+Boat-2574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGalM0UUT1vFsTjxv_oDjh_12SrbdEy-aFpp1-Rr7zta1WWkOCZ_bGftJM8bxVA5AdlYPY5m1mWwA7FgqX9Vmej2TzgS6VrEM5xYzJ3io6gPpHKOuvCkviuD7F9Zt4fClNWlMtyxzPCfjD/s640/X100+Gili+Meno+Boat-2574.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All of these shots were taken within a very short distance of each other and just to close off on the sunset side of the island here are a couple of whacky ones that I took for the filter review post using the Olympus E410 and some cheapo grads from ebay.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EU-p9J1L1Tc/Tnn6AurmCHI/AAAAAAAAAMg/CURyhVw6s-g/s1600/E-410+ISO+400+F4+1-50+Gili+Meno+11-8180285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EU-p9J1L1Tc/Tnn6AurmCHI/AAAAAAAAAMg/CURyhVw6s-g/s640/E-410+ISO+400+F4+1-50+Gili+Meno+11-8180285.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think these are both using the tobacco and mauve grads stacked, a bit weird but not unattractive in an arty way - maybe Olympus will introduce this effect on their Pen series !!!!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As you can hopefully see, there are many and varied settings on Gili Meno that can be shot in an infinite variety of ways. I want to close the post with a look at some strobe work I attempted while there. One of my objectives for the trip was to rectify some mistakes that I made on my last visit when I messed up the flash shoot that I set up on the same beach in front of the Gazebo Meno chalets. Well to be honest, I didn' achieve what I wanted and I am a bit disappointed. I carted a light-stand, flash and small umbrella only to find that it was a bit breezy on the beach and I struggled to get the set-up I wanted in the surf. Anyway, I tried to make the best of it and managed a few shots. Firstly, I used the D3 with the SB900 shot into a small umbrella and the result wasn't too bad. There was a really dramatic sky and I underexposed the ambient light by two stops to get this effect. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-glAeOPU-fVg/TnnTZamhPHI/AAAAAAAAALI/WSQ5XCs3sPI/s1600/D3+strobe+sunrise+3-2032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-glAeOPU-fVg/TnnTZamhPHI/AAAAAAAAALI/WSQ5XCs3sPI/s640/D3+strobe+sunrise+3-2032.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's a second try, full length this time and again the exposure is good but I found the the umbrella and single strobe not really up to it. I would have </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">much </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">preferred to have had a softbox as main light and something to fill in behind to lighten the dark shadows.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4JYJ4RAUEo/Tnn_xxohV2I/AAAAAAAAAMo/dkpxL4eWOl4/s1600/D3+strobe+sunrise+5-2053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4JYJ4RAUEo/Tnn_xxohV2I/AAAAAAAAAMo/dkpxL4eWOl4/s640/D3+strobe+sunrise+5-2053.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This was really unfortunate because when I went back further to get more of the background in, the light set up cast a strange looking light and dark spread that I found really hard to control. You can see it clearly in the shot below.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFrEoWlIf6U/TnoA6nIxs4I/AAAAAAAAAMs/kKbh4DQgERI/s1600/D3+strobe+sunrise+2-1998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFrEoWlIf6U/TnoA6nIxs4I/AAAAAAAAAMs/kKbh4DQgERI/s640/D3+strobe+sunrise+2-1998.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, back to the drawing board and a great excuse to travel back again to get it right :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just to close out, and by way of thanks to Riyanti for modeling and posing on the trip, here are three shots that she took with her deadly little Canon S90. Two are really nice sunrise shots on Gazebo Meno beach (I never tire of these) and the final one is a somewhat haunting shot of one of the ferry travelers.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What a great angle, the camera must have nearly been in the surf !!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-L5Q0w4KWW1_13tkQEd1Qpj4gkmoduTHW-1UMAuZXMKJhPvQGmmv6_0K2IiwlpRIxrS33v5X-CNzi8X3kWFakImwQuemGJCyVe8rXaNvIwwirQzDB4gKxyhv9irMXZgMJnTW6wIB5Lljc/s1600/S90+Gili+Fisherman+3b-7828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-L5Q0w4KWW1_13tkQEd1Qpj4gkmoduTHW-1UMAuZXMKJhPvQGmmv6_0K2IiwlpRIxrS33v5X-CNzi8X3kWFakImwQuemGJCyVe8rXaNvIwwirQzDB4gKxyhv9irMXZgMJnTW6wIB5Lljc/s640/S90+Gili+Fisherman+3b-7828.jpg" width="514" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And hows this for a bit of fishing ballet ??? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW_4bdPmgPz5qjc2sIz0PXgjwr6M15WIB8yfpZ3dEJwDR7YxOE2R4xQ6kaLjcD1mtje62MyN24uXwNxwhF8HcyxXxNznwe7SWfm86g4sSsCwDOZdFzT-5JuDoY7sprOMt2KVxp9UF0B_9/s1600/S90+Gili+Fisherman+5b-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRW_4bdPmgPz5qjc2sIz0PXgjwr6M15WIB8yfpZ3dEJwDR7YxOE2R4xQ6kaLjcD1mtje62MyN24uXwNxwhF8HcyxXxNznwe7SWfm86g4sSsCwDOZdFzT-5JuDoY7sprOMt2KVxp9UF0B_9/s640/S90+Gili+Fisherman+5b-.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, as usual I hope you found something interesting in here, part 3 is underway and is based around the final part of the trip back in Lombok and with more strobe work.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">See all again soon and keep shooting,</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Colin </span><br />
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<br />Colsteelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14703573729649568594noreply@blogger.com1