CalevPhoto

On Photographing in China

As many of you know, one of my strongest passions is for travel photography.  Every year a great deal of time is spent determining where we will go on our next trip.  Once the next trip is decided upon, I spend a great deal of time debating which lenses and equipment to take on the trip and what types of things I want pictures of.

After spending seventeen days travelling through Beijing and Xi’an in mainland China, then Hong Kong, the following is a post mortem of what wound up working well for me and what did not.

What went well

Having two cameras

This is the first vacation where I took both my 5D2 and my 7D.  This provided quite a few advantages over a single camera – primarily that I did not need to change lenses often and could rapidly switch between closeups and wide angle shots.

The configuration I most often used was a TS-E 24 II on my 5D2 and a 70-200/4 IS on my 7D.  I would often zoom in on details of a building with my 7D, then take the entire building with the 5D2.

I did not always have both cameras around my neck at the same time, and on some short trips I took only one camera (typically the 5D2) so as to not overly annoy my wife, but overall the combo was extremely useful.

Using tilt shifts

As I use my tilt shift lenses more and more, I really am starting to feel that autofocus is truly overrated.  Sure, it is extremely useful for action, sports, and wildlife shots – but for most travel photos it is just a convenience – not a necessity.

On this trip I brought my TS-E 17, TS-E 24 II, and TS-E 90.  By far the TS-E 24 II was the most used.  I also used my TS-E 17 for a number of situations – though for the majority of situations it was too wide.  The TS-E 90 was used sparingly – primarily from our hotel room.

I used shift far more than tilt for most shots.  I did take a few shots playing around with tilt – such as above, but the majority of shots used shift for architecture.

Arranging for private tours in Xi’an and Beijing

Mainland China can be difficult to figure out.  I chose to not bother trying and pay a local to do this for me.  This enabled us to very quickly move from site to site – whereas in other trips we would often spend a tremendous amount of time finding places.

What went OK

China Tours

We used China Tours (ChinaTours.net) to book the private tours.  The guides were cordial and we saw for the most part the places we wanted to see, but what we really did not like was that each day we had to stop at one or more shops and spend a specific amount of time there.  We paid for a tour – not to stop in shops.

For others travelling to China, I would not recommend this agency and I would instead specifically enquire whether any time would be spent in shops.  Once already there, it is generally much better to just hire a taxi – as they were OK with us not wanting to go to shop (they didn’t even ask).

What didn’t work well

Monopod

I did not use this a single time and for our next trip I will not bother to take it.  A monopod works extremely well when shooting with longer lenses such as my 300/4 or 100-400, but for the shorter lenses it is fine to just shoot hand held or when not a tripod is required.

Playing around with dandelion seeds

Dandelions have always been one of my favorite subjects – in particular the seeds as they fall.  Sure, they’re weeds – but they’re graceful weeds.

This particular image is a focus stack from two images.  I have been working a bit more with focus stacking using Zerene stacker and find it very useful – in particular for someone like me who does not have a lot of time.

Dandelion seeds can actually be rather tricky to photograph.  I usually find that more than 1:1 magnification is required so I use my MP-E 65 anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1.  Generally the seeds do not stay still so a flash is required.  It can be quite tricky though getting the seed in your viewfinder and in focus as they tend to sway quite a bit in the wind – causing the seed to come in and out of my viewfinder.

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The wonderful sand dollar

I think almost everyone in the world is familiar with the sand dollar so often found on the beach.  Until recently, I always believed that all sand dollars were white.  I must admit that I thought that the actual animal lived inside of the white shell and that birds would open it up to eat it.

In truth, sand dollars look quite a bit different when they are still alive.

These two sand dollars were found at Kopachuk State Park, where it’s literally impossible to not find a sand dollar.  They can be found in the thousands there and in places it is difficult to walk without stepping on one.

This one appears to be Echinarachnius parma, or the Common Sand Dollar.  Interestingly, sand dollars are either female or male – just like other animals and insects.  Even more interestingly, sand dollars are one of the first creatures found to use cloning as a means for self defense.  The sand dollar will deliberately break of parts of itself that are small enough for predators to not bother them.

Taking a look at the sand dollars on the beach, it was very clear upon looking at them that they are truly living – as it appeared something was moving on them.  Of course I had to take a closer look.

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Harvestman Study

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the harvestman is one of the coolest and easiest critters to find.  At the ponds by my office, they are very common and I see one almost every time I photograph there.  I have a number of pictures of them, but I decided to play around a bit more this time to see if I could be a bit more original.

My goal with this shot was to emphasize the legs coming right out at you – as if they harvestman were about to grab you.  I created several versions of this shot, but this one I like the best – with the body of the harvestman just visible behind. 

For those not familiar with our friend the harvestman, they are not spiders.  They are arachnids, but are in the order Opiliones while spiders are in the order Araneae.  Of course, for the squeamish that isn’t very important.  Most people know the harvestman by the common name “daddy long legs".

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The Northern Flicker – aka my first success in birding

After last weekend’s disastrous effort in birding, I decided to get back to my good old macro shots when I went for a stroll by several ponds near my office.  The day’s efforts were OK – as I found several flies mating that I will need to later identify.  After getting some decent shots, I packed up my camera and started to head back.

Not far from being back in my office I suddenly heard several loud knocks as a I passed a tree.  I’m not a birder, but neither am I an idiot.  I immediately knew what that could be.  After several moments, I located the culprit.

I must admit that I had to look up what type of woodpecker this is, and it is a Northern Flicker.  It is actually quite common everywhere in the US and I’m sure for many birders this is a rather ordinary bird – but for me at least this is the best look I have had of a woodpecker.

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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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The Mighty Mite

I remember as a (slightly abnormal) kid collecting firecracker packs having a pack called ‘Mighty Mite’.  At the time, it never really occurred to me what a ‘mite’ was – I just collected the pack.

It isn’t difficult to find mites whenever taking macro shots.  They are everywhere and you really just have to turn over a leaf that is decaying on the ground to find one.  Photographing one, though.  Well that’s a different story.

Complicating getting a good photo of one of these little buggers are two things.

1) They are extremely small.  The shot above was taken at 5x – and even then I cropped it.

2) They move rather quickly and do not sit still

About a week ago, though, after not finding much anything else to photograph that day, I decided to take my chances.

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Playing with some new toys

Although we do not celebrate Christmas, that doesn’t mean I did not get any toys… With my birthday earlier in the month and with some spare photography money I received a few things this season and yesterday I finally had the chance to get out and play with them – well sort of.  I had two real estate shoots to take care of and one of them was at a property with quite a bit of land and a horse barn.

The image above is a seven image exposure blend using my TS-E 24 II and my new Singh-Ray Color Combo.  I really like how the Color Combo brought out the blue in the sky.  As those of you who live here know, blue skies are quite rare here.  Had I not used the filter the sky would have been whitish and I would have had to do some post processing to get the sky bluer – though it would not have looked as natural as it does here.

Above is another image with the Color Combo.  While the previous image was not shifted very much, this one had a bit more shift.  As you can see the vignetting with the TS-E 24 II is minimal.  I generally use the TS-E 24 II for exterior shots and the TS-E 17 for interiors.

The above image used by TS-E 17.  The TS-E 17 does not accept filters  – though a polarizer would have had a negative effect indoors anyways.  In this shot I replaced the windows in Photoshop.  I did it rather quickly and am not crazy about the result but these images will be viewed small.  I also used one of my new toys – Viveza by Nik Software.

This weekend I purchased the Complete Collection by Nik Software using a discount on Ron’s blog.  I have been having fun playing with all of the tools in the package (except for SilverEfex – right now I do not do too much in black and white), but for real estate so far Viveza is the only one I need.  I found that by adding a bit of warmth to the shot and removing some of the green the shot looks a lot better.

The above is another similar shot in these conditions.  In this case the window removal came out a bit better.  I honestly just used the quick select tool in Photoshop.  In some cases it works well while in the previous shot I should have been a bit more careful.

Next week I have my final toy coming – well sort of.  We ordered a G11 for an upcoming vacation where I will not be able to take my 5D2.  Of course, it is probably foolish to think that I will have a chance to use it, as Eitan has been wanting that camera and will quickly take it from me.

Why aren’t you bugging me?

OK, OK, so it’s been awhile since I have posted a decent old fashioned bug shot.  The reality is between being extremely busy and having rather lousy weather here I haven’t taken too many bug shots lately.  I hope to change this soon.  Last night we had a ton of midges get into the house during a party – as if they were wondering where the heck I was.

This shot was taken a few months ago by the ponds outside my office.  I spent some time photographing one stink bug and when I found another on a different leaf – I figured – why not?

They stayed together for about thirty seconds – but this was long enough to get a decent shot.  They didn’t seem too offended by one another – but soon went their separate ways.

Stink bugs are one of my favorite insects to photograph as they are so colorful.