Time of our lives

The world spins around you,
A kaleidoscope of Emotions.
Best of friends re-unite,
Reliving the time of our lives.

Thus is the spirit of the MAF

Let there be lights!

This might well be a revolution in my photographic life. First, the "discovery" of the SU-400 remote flash mode hidden withing my SB800. I now have 2 lights, the first being on camera, and a second, the flash. This allows me to side/back light me subject, with the on camera for fill. However, the built in flash is still very much restricted as it is.. well.. built in. Direction is still flat

And then, after digging out my old Emoblitz 328, I guess I hit the gold. This little $50 gadget has a built in slave trigger, allowing it to be triggered remotely! Now i can have lights on different axis of the subject, creating eye popping imagery I'd never dream before. One catch though: The emoblitz has no manual mode. I gaffer the thyristor to let it fire at full power, varying only the distance to subject.

The only things I lack now are hands. I'd probably go hunt down for cheap light stands and umbrellas.

Iridescence spotted

While this is not totally uncommon, it is rare to spot one so big and obvious. I resorted to handheld HDR to capture the full range of colours present.

A day without f/2.8

I've always been tempted to get myself the tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, given its affordable price and exceptional performance. Yesterday made this temptation even more so. I was practically struggling to get sharp enough photographs, working in dim lighting and high ceilinged indoor conditions. Pushing my iso to the top, i still have plenty of blur shots, from motion and noise reduction. My sb800 worked hard as well, trying in vain to light up an auditorium. This is a pretty pitiful situation.

Until iso6400 is readily available and usable, i would get one of those f/2.8s... probably in the near future.

Blistering Barnacles! The D300!

The d200 is a great camera, and I confess I wanted it as a replacement for my d70. When I heard of the imminent d300 launch, I was hoping to snatch up the d200 at cheap second hand prices. However, my mind was quickly changed when the d300's specs were revealed.

This is one hell of a cam. It is everything better than the previously top of the line d2Xs, at half price! I was pleasantly surprised at how generous Nikon has been, allowing the greater mass to have a taste of cutting edge features such as 51pt focusing, 8fps speed and Live-View, at a not so high premium. If my d70 decides to kick the bucket, this butt kicking machine will be my next target. (anyone wants a new kidney? Just kidding)

The feature list of cameras released this week is so extensive I could write a GP essay out of them. However, it is always the case of who's behind the cam that makes great pics. After serious considerations, I would like to list out the must have upgrades for my d70 replacement:

1. Noise control must be a big leap from d70, enabling ISO 3200 pictures with as little noise as my current ISO 800. This is very very important. I have no money to stock up a cupboard full of f2.8 VR lenses, and i wouldn't want to carry trumpets for holidays. Indoor takes up a significant percentage of my work, and while i suck thumb with my current ISO 800, I can always visualize how much better they will be if i have access to noiseless ISO 1600.
2. Big and high res LCD. The one on the d300 (3 inch VGA!!!) is worth drooling over, while the current 2.5 inch are acceptable. But the 1.8 inch behind my d70 is a cause of many of my mistakes, as i cannot accurately determine my exposure (and sometimes composition) just by looking at it. Most of the time my shots need lots of leveling, which only worsens the noise of the image. I'm sick of it. (maybe i suck, but big screens will definitely improve my workflow)
3. More and better focus points please. 5 pts (or even one) is enough for landscapes, but how am I expected to track action while composing? I have to keep the subject in the center, resulting in very cliche pictures.
4. Big viewfinder. I'm sick of the d70 viewfinder being so small. Even the d40 is years ahead in this expect.
5. ISO display in viewfinder. As much as i'd like to use auto ISO, I want to know what it is doing. Don't expect to shoot a once in a lifetime pic only to realize it is smeared with noise from ISO 1600. I'll kill myself.
6. Ergonomics and control. Built quality is very good on the d70 already, but not ergonomics and controls. Stuff like AF-C and auto focus modes can only be activated in menus, which is so slow i reckon i lost a dozen shots because of this. The d200/d300 ergonomics is SUPERIOR, with individual knobs and dials. They are also weather sealed, great for someone like me who loves to shoot outdoor and landscapes. Hopefully, the rubber grips on d300 has stronger glue applied.
   

With regards to high fps shooting, wireless networking and live view, it is not a must have.

My d70 might be crippled now, but it still works. It might even take years before I find a good enough excuse for a d300. Enough of rants and more photos.

Smoked by China

I take back my comments on the Spanish performance yesterday. The China display made it look like it's spring again. True, there are over hundred different fireworks on display, but where did marina bay go?

Fortunately, with photoshop and experience I had yesterday, I came up with a different strategy to counter the problem. It served me well for most of the shots.

A mess of sparks, flames and smoke

While many would find the musical fireworks display put up by the Spanish a mesmerizing experience, this is certainly not the case for the throngs of photographers who lined the coast along Marina Boulevard. The fireworks were by no means symmetrical, and the bursts were heavily stacked. A huge cloud of smoke also threatened to engulf the marina bay skyline.

Photoshop saves the day once again. I brutally edited the pictures, developing a work flow that might classify my pictures more as a digital art than photographs. So long as they look good, who cares?