CalevPhoto

Sometimes you just need to realize equipment will not help

As some of you may know, I have been eyeing a large telephoto for quite some time.  I have long agonized when I will finally purchase my large telephoto and which one will I buy.  Will I buy the more portable 500mm F4 or the longer but heavier 600mm F4?  Perhaps I will go all out and spring for the 800mm 5.6, or perhaps I will go the sports route and get the 400mm 2.8?  I have spent a great deal of time debating this and bugging others about it.

This weekend, though, I decided to do something a bit different.  Given a home I had to photograph in Monroe, I decided to take a trip to Ben Hierland’s Wildlife Park.  I took along my 100-400 and my 7D and used my monopod for stabilization.  I’ve had my 7D for a good month now, but this was the first time I had actually used it for wildlife.  The idea was that the crop factor should give me a good idea what magnification I truly needed and which lens would work the best for me.

I must say I was completely shocked at what the answer turned out to be.

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Are Modern Economics Killing Professional Photography?

There has recently been a growing chatter about the rise of the amateur photographer and the threat this poses to professional photographers making a living today.  The claim goes that, since these photographers offer their photos for free or for pennies on the dollar, true professional photographers can no longer make a living.

This argument has grown quite heated at times.  One the one side, you have professional photographers trying to convince good amateur photographers to sell their photos for a good rate.  On the other side you have amateur photographers complaining that professional photographers are trying to control the market.

There is no denying that the market has changed.  Places like Shutterstock and IStockphoto have certainly changed the equation and people on FlickR giving their photos away for free are also changing it.  Journalism has also significantly changed, meaning many once employed photographers are now looking for jobs as newspapers fold and news organizations look for amateur photographers on the ground.

However, just because the market changed does not mean professional photography is going the way of the dodo – far from it.

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An Entertaining Blog

Lately, I haven’t done much with this blog because I have had difficulties determining what its actual purpose is.  Day after day of blogs discussing some particular insect I ran across – when most of these insects were the same as ones before – became rather tiresome.  I suspect this was tiresome not just on me – but also on those who read this blog.

I had some decisions to make.

At various times, I considered turning this into more of a review blog.  The idea was to review various pieces of equipment and books and then get a cut when someone ordered something from my links.  I did post several of these blogs, but came to realize something very quickly.  Those who are well known for writing about photography are generally not well known for their photography itself.  In other words, the more one writes reviews about lenses and other equipment, the less one progresses as a photographer.

I also thought about using this as a stage for my best photography.  This can get rather boring too though.  Hey!  Look at this!  Some pictures are better than others and some I do want to show off, but I want this to be an entertaining blog – not one where I attempt to stuff my photos down your throat.

So what type of blog will this be?  My goal is for it to be an entertaining one.

I must admit that the implementation of this idea is not entirely set.  I do have some ideas which I will begin to implement very soon, but my hope is that those who do read this blog find it entertaining.

While I will no longer provide any equipment or book reviews here, that doesn’t mean this blog will not teach something.  I do hope to teach others about the nature around us and other things, but I also plan to do this in a manner that is not tediously boring.

I apologize for being vague here and ‘pardon the dust’.  Rather than explain this further, I think it is best to begin showing you…

A Status Update

Wow! Things have been amazingly busy.  Between a very hectic schedule at work and a lot of things at home – including gutting the entire interior of our house, I think I am finally back to the stage where I can begin to write blogs again.

Photography-wise, much has happened in the last several months.  I purchased the Canon TS-E 17 and the Canon TS-E 24 II lenses for a number of purposes and they are now two of my favorite lenses.  I will discuss them more in a future blog.

I finally bit the bullet and purchased Lightroom – along with Photoshop CS4.  I am still getting used to Lightroom and have barely used CS4 yet – though I hope to ramp up on them soon.  I do rather like Lightroom – particularly the keywording feature – though I must admit I’m still getting used to non-destructive editing.  I think the thing that annoys me most about it so far is I cannot (or at least I haven’t figured it out yet) overwrite the original JPEG.

I typically use the RAW file as my negative and the JPEG as my currently edited version.  If I change an image significantly – I’ll generally save it as a new file.

I have also learned quite a bit about time management lately.  In the past, I heavily participated in photography forums – most particularly a photography alias at my work.  I have come to realize though that these forums are not that incredibly useful.  In particular I began to notice the following.

1) I was writing more about photography equipment than on actual photography.  This may sound rude, but I have noticed that those who write the most about photography generally don’t take the best pictures.  The reason is the exhausting amount of time it takes to create a decent review and research things.

2) In most forums, the truly professional photographers are few and far between.  If you really want strong criticism of your photos and techniques, you’ll generally need to go directly to the photographers – not to the forums.

Therefore I have ceased participation in most of these venues.  I do still occasionally post in a few places – but only when I have a very particular question and I know there are members there that are very familiar with that subject area.

This has allowed me more time lately, which I hope to channel into consistently writing blogs.

A great book for a greater cause

Check out this book!

You probably know that I am into photography and I am a member of the Microsoft Photography Club. This year Photography Club Members from around the world spent five months assembling and publishing a world-class, fine art photo book. The time and talent that went into this project makes every copy of the book a gift to its owner. We even put a full book preview online (160 pages of preview!) 100% of the profit from sales goes directly to the United Way and you get a valued and timeless reminder of how you too make a difference for those in need.

You can preview the book, or order the book, from your desk. Not only does this book make a wonderful addition to any collection, and a thoughtful gift, each copy you purchase contributes directly to the ongoing, important work of United Way. This book is offered for purchase at the cost of printing plus $25.00. This additional amount is contributed directly to United Way in your name and is fully tax deductable as a charitable contribution.

Even if you don’t think you’ll buy a copy of the book, go take a look at the online preview anyway. It really is amazing!

And yes, my photo is in the book.  It is this one.

Upcoming purchases and debates

Recently I have been debating quite a bit two questions.

1) What will I get next?

2) What do I eventually want to get?  In the end there should be some limit to what I buy?

In terms of what to buy next, I have had several thoughts given my budget.  I have already decided to pickup the Canon TS-E 17mm once our kitchen remodel is finished.  The question is what else to purchase.

Option 1

Canon 200mm F4 Hybrid IS Macro – This is only a rumor of course.  However given Canon’s press release about a hybrid IS coming out in a lens before the end of the year this is a very possible reality.

I am very torn about this one.  Recently I sold my Canon 180mm macro because I just could not get dependable results out of it.  I do not know what it truly was, but while I can get consistent results from the MP-E 65, I found that the sharpness on the 180L was lacking.  I suspect this new macro would not have this issue.

Canon 85mm 1.2L

This is one incredible lens, but my main worry is how much I will use it.  I would mainly use it for shots of my kids.  It would certainly allow me to sell my Canon 50mm 1.4 that I hardly ever use.

Canon TS-E 24 II

At first it seemed silly to buy this together with the TS-E 17mm.  However, they make an incredible combo.  While the TS-E 17mm has the width, the TS-E 24mm has the advantage that it accepts filters and has more shift.  For real estate, the TS-E 17mm is the best for interiors, while the TS-E 24mm is better suited to exteriors.

Buy nothing and save for the 600mm

This is my dream lens, but it doesn’t seem very logical to put everything into this lens right now.  Besides, at the end of next year they’ll probably announce a replacement.

And the answer is…

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Time for some planes

I apologize that it has been so long since my last post. We are in the midst of a huge remodel here that has taken a great deal of my time.  I have also been busy photographing homes for Nelya as her business has really taken off.  Of course I have been photographing and I have a backlog of interesting shots to talk about.

Last weekend we took the kids to see the Blue Angels in their annual show in Seattle.  This was the first time I finally had a lens that could catch them decently in the Canon 100-400.  The lens worked fine and for the most part I felt the focal length was adequate on the full frame 5D Mark II.  The autofocus was quite slow, but I was still able to get some decent shots.

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Friends don’t let friends take horrible fireworks pictures

Awhile ago I posted about how to take fireworks pictures.  Every year I see the same thing.  Shortly before the 4th of July I see tons of requests on how to take fireworks pictures, followed by a slew of truly awful fireworks shots after the event.  Let it stop!

Here’s the truth about fireworks shots.  In order to get that truly amazing fireworks shot you need to be familiar both with where the fireworks will be shot off that year as well as the optimal spot in the city to take a shot.  Typically this ‘optimal place’ will not be empty and you will need to set up way ahead of time in order to get the spot.

While you are setup in this spot, you will need to deal with photographers and spectators setting up right in front of you and if you need to use the bathroom you can consider your spot gone.  If you have kids, you’ll either need to not take them or they will get restless waiting hours before the fireworks.

The other thing to consider here in the Seattle area is that all of our fireworks shows suck.  The fireworks companies here simply do not utilize the more creative shells that many companies on the East coast utilize.  The one show I know of not shot by a local company here – the Seattle show shot by Pyro Spectacular – also sucks.  This puzzled me for some time, as Pyro Spectacular has a good reputation in the fireworks industry.  After some digging I found that the city of Seattle is not a fireworks friendly city and is such a pain to deal with in terms of budget and restrictions that the end result sucks.

Part of being a truly professional photographer is knowing when not to click the shutter.  Fireworks are pretty, but the chances that you will get a great shot haphazardly are close to infinitesimal.  If you are going out with the intention to photograph the fireworks show, my recommendation is to not go out at all.

Several years ago I got sick of fighting the crowds and found my fireworks shots no better than the millions of other horrible fireworks shots that plague the ‘Net after the 4th.  Therefore, I decided to go a different route and I now purchase some small fireworks items and shoot them off in our backyard with the kids.

Our kids now absolutely love the 4th of July and count the days before we shoot the fireworks.  As we have a small backyard I don’t buy anything big – mainly sparklers (the wood kind), some small fountains, bees, and pagodas (a yearly tradition – each child gets his/her own pagoda).  I do not shoot any festival ball and we stopped shooting firecrackers after some of our guests complained about the noise.

This year I hope to take some pictures of the event, as last year we used small sparklers that expired quickly and I spent all of my time distributing them.  My shots may not be masterpieces, but they will be far more memorable and valuable to me than the junk I would have taken at the fireworks shows here.

Therefore, please do your part this year and save energy by not forcing servers around the Internet to transfer your garbage among the millions of garbage fireworks shots that come after the 4th.

The Rule of Three Colors

I’m sure most of you have heard of the Rule of Thirds – which states that if you divide a picture up into thirds, the subject generally works best when it is not in the middle third.  I think this rule works quite well, though as with everything in photography there are times when it should be broken.

There are a number of other “Rules” in photography, but one of those I like most is what I call “The Rule of Colors”.  I’m sure it is not new – and there may be a more widely known name for it, but I did notice it myself before anyone mentioned it to me.

To illustrate this rule, what do these two pictures have in common?

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Why Photoshop Sucks

Well, it doesn’t actually suck, but I am constantly annoyed by the number of people who believe that mastering Photoshop is the gateway to better pictures.  They rush to find the latest plugins that will perform some kind of magic and read tons of books from the latest Photoshop masters on how to improve otherwise boring photos.

Too often I see requests on how to salvage a photo in various forums.  In my opinion, it is simply not possible to salvage a photo.  It is possible to improve a photo, but if you feel the need to salvage it the truth is your photo simply sucks.

One of the key differences between true pros and amateurs is pros understand that some of their photos suck, and live with it.  Rather than trying to bring back a photo from the dead, they focus on improving their skills so they don’t need to worry about it the next time.

Another difference is pro photographers will not waste their time taking a photo of something with the hope that they will be able to salvage the photo later.  Sure, a stray pole or piece of garbage is easy to clone out.  However, if the lighting isn’t right or the view just not that interesting, they won’t bother with the shot.  One thing I have found out is understanding when not to take a picture is just as important as understanding when to take one.

So the next time you look at a picture and are hoping that you can ’save’ it, just give up and let it go.  Instead, consider why the picture sucks.  What could you have done better?  That way, the next time you will be able to improve.  In this way, you will find yourself slowly getting better as a photographer, rather than spending hours in vain rescuing a photo and remaining in mediocrity.