我和我自己的影子

Stamina and dedication is one aspect every aspiring photographer must have, and above all, passion as the force multiplier.

Night HDR. Something I've always wanted to do, and (after this shoot) to do more. Night is cooling, and there are many places that only shine when darkness falls.

Great way to waste petrol

There's a very predictable pedestrian traffic light somewhere near my place. 3 seconds after one presses the button, the amber light will turn on for 3 seconds, and then the red. This observation led me to conceptualize this image - one that captures all 3 lights in 1 single exposure.

Predictable as it is, I still required 4 activations of the traffic light to catch this image, as it isn't really as easy as it seems. First, I must set the intervalometer to start taking picture 5 seconds after I leave the camera. I'll have to push the button at the start of the exposure. Most difficult part is to time it such that there are enough cars passing the lights before the red comes on, so as to record some trail lights.

I guess the drivers stopping at the lights must be real pissed... seeing this idiot stopping the traffic just to shoot some lame picture. Sorry fellas!

It's all about being there

清明时节雨纷纷, this is particularly true for me this year. I yearned for a stunning sunrise, with the gleaming sun bursting through the morning mist, amidst the padi fields in a kampung setting. Just the thought of the picture is enough to keep me awake the night before... and the first sounds of rain prevented me from falling asleep thereafter. Althought it was reduced to a drizzle around 6am, I couldn't see any stars in the sky, and this can only mean 1 thing - Heavy cloud cover. Not the best day for a sunrise dude...

But I had only one chance... seeing that my cousins were already awake, we drove into the darkness, heading for any roadside padi-fields available (no chance to recce the day before). Arrived, deployed, and only after 2 exposures, we were hit by yet another wave of showers. Cold and hungry, I felt guilty for bringing my cousins outfield. And then... miracle happened.

A hole opened up in the sky, revealing pink fluffy clouds beyond. Stalks began flying in squadrons before me, intercepting perfectly with the opening. This is no opportunity to miss. If there had to be only one picture from this trip, it had to be made now. Shot as many as possible before my filter gets smeared with raindrops. It is hard to catch the birds in a graceful formation... their wings were hardly in sync. Toyed with the idea of cloning... but heck... this is nature... nothing is perfect.

Lesson learnt: Opportunity is random and hardly predictable. It's all about being ready... it's all about being there.

Journey in search for the roots

2 days of driving brought me back to the place where my parents were born. A PAS controlled state for many years, Kelantan is one of the most under-developed states in Malaysia. Going there primarily for Qing Ming Jie festivities, I also took the rare opportunity to document the local people as well as their lifestyles.

There are many pictures that I love to share, but it would be hard to present it as a list on this blog. I've decided to embed a slideshow from google's picasa albums, but it is setup to run continuously by default. I'll strongly suggest you take time to read my captions, so pause the slideshow and advance manually. Alternatively, go straight to my web album to browse them in full view.

The album also compressed my pictures, reducing the vibrance while increasing JPEG artifacts, which is a pity as it does not do justice. Anyone has a better suggestion as to where to host the pictures?

How long how long?

After about 4000 shots with my new toy, I begin to see subtle improvements to my pictures. They are mainly in event photography, where the speed and ISO performance really makes a difference. But even so, I've come to demand much better pictures than before, so much so that none of the pictures taken so far deserves a place on the blog. (ever since the bird nest pic)

I've decided to rant a little, and add a mediocre pic (trying out the panaromic crop) just to keep this blog alive. Also wanna update on what feature on the new camera has proven its worth.

1. Live view - Surprise surprise =) This is a very useful feature to have. It allows me to get pictures from wilder perspectives, perspectives that others have to rely on experience and trial and errors to get.

2. Auto area AF - This is another sick feature. Not because it isn't seen on other cameras (it has been there since the days of the d70), but because of the awesome coverage of the AF points, together with a dedicated switch to flick it on. Shooting from the hip? No problem. Run and gun? No kick. In a flash you are ready to tackle the situation.

3. Auto ISO - This is one hell of a feature. So powerful i wonder how i managed without it in the past. Together with the "flash off" button, it does wonders especially indoors. Set the base to ISO800 to retain background detail when using flash, and when you cancel the flash with "flash off", the iso automatically ramps up to attain proper exposure. I can take successive with/without flash shots instantaneously. Sick.

That said, I feel that I am still at the tip of the iceberg of features the D300 has to offer. I still make lots of stupid mistakes, like leaving ADlighting on, and switching shooting modes without checking ISO used. The above picture was shot at ISO800. What a waste.

Mom, what's for breakfast today?

1/250th f11 ISO 800
AFD 80-200mm
Vivid

Had the luxury of covering a sunbird family's breakfast, as they conveniently built their nest on my neighbour's plant. Sunbirds always return to where they built their nest previously, and I was told by my neighbour that this is the third time this couple chose this spot. Even if they are forced to abandon a half built nest, they would reuse the materials collected.

I've been keeping an eye on their activity about a month ago, ever since they began construction. Both the male and female contributed to building the nest, and soon after completion the female lays her eggs. Only 2 eggs were laid. I suppose thats the maximum the nest could hold, and perhaps the max the female could produce as well.

12-14 days later, the eggs hatched and out pops the chicks. Both parents took turns feeding them. It is really heartwarming to see their co-operation =)

Sunbirds are curious creatures, and quickly adapt to human environment, as well as human presence. After standing beside the nest for about an hour, they completely ignored my presence (so long as I don't move) I was able to get as close as 1.5m.

With 12mpx, I was able to discern what was fed to the chicks. This mornings menu was full of caterpillars and grasshoppers, different from yesterday's berries. I was also able to tell that little yellow feathers are beginning to grow on the chicks. What's most interesting is the materials used in the construction of the nest - feathers, twigs, tree barks and nylon strings.

Some tips I picked up:

1. Use a tripod. U will have to hold the setup in position before the birds come in, and you will never be able to handhold for hours, even a compact camera is going to render you exhausted.
2. If you had to use flash, always use manual. Small birds have super fast reflexes and will react to your pre-flash. I was told that certain species can even fly away when your mirror flips, and before your shutter opens!
   
3. Lots and lots of patience. And do some homework on the bird's behaviour before approaching the subject.

Oh yah in case you are wondering, I only had photos for today's breakfast.

路遥知马力

F2.8 1/6th ISO3200
Picture control: Vivid
Active d-lighting: Normal

1 month into using the camera, and I'm still at the stage of customizing it. Here are my latest impressions.

Memory Banks

There are 2 kinds of memory banks, namely Shooting menu bank, and Custom menu bank, and it is the most confusing aspect of the camera I've found so far. Each of these banks have 4 slots, and can be renamed. Problem is that ALL the settings can be stored in banks, so I always forget which bank has what settings. It is very frustrating to pick up the camera only to realise that sometimes this button does this, and sometimes not. Sometimes it beeps when in focus, other times it just doesn't shoot. So one fine day I sat down, drew out a large table on an A3 paper with all the available settings, and carefully planned out what I deem should be the most effective way of utilizing them. (And up till now I am still fine-tuning the chart) Here's my plan for reference:

Shooting banks - I tend to think of them as the "film" I load, and name them rightly so.

A - "Standard outdoor" - ISO auto base @ 200/Standard + 5 sharpening/NR low/AD-lighting normal. This is the mode I'll use for walkabouts and casual shots. It delivers pictures ready for print, and works well when flash is not used indoor too.

B - "Indoor flash" - ISO auto base @ 800/Standard + 5 sharpening + 1 saturation/NR low/AD-lighting off. This is usually for indoor events. The reason for ISO auto is that if subject is too far for flash to light up, it will automatically bump up the ISO. For all other cases, it remains at the base 800. U will have to manually crank it up if u want more ambient light. ADL must be off. If left on, it will ALWAYS underexp 0.3~0.7 stops depending on settings, and then level it up in PP. My strategy indoors however is to overexp 0.3 stops and level down, as indoors we are more worried of shadow noise than highlight blowouts.

C - "Vivid landscapes" - ISO auto base @ 100/ Vivid + 5 Sharpening/NR low/AD-lighting high. This is used interchangeably with A. It is equivalent to Velvia 100. Very good for high contrast landscapes.

D - "HDR" - ISO base 100/Neutral/NR off/AD-lighting off. As the name states, this is purely for HDR, as well as pictures where I want to do heavy PP. Since we will be shooting and bracketing on a tripod, NR and ADL isn't required.

Any other settings are normalised throughout the 4 banks so as to reduce confusion.

Custom banks: I think of this as the "camera" I'm using. This is also effective should you be sharing the camera with someone else. Right now I'm only varying the AF settings and button arrangements across the banks. It is worth to consider reserving a bank as "dummy", with everything auto, so that the friend who is picking up your camera won't suddenly realise that the buttons don't work as labeled.

High ISO performance

This was taken for granted in the Canon camp. But with the D300, Nikonians are finally on the same level. But this is no D3. D3 is the jaw dropping available DARKNESS shooter. That said, the shot above was taken around 7.30pm, and the tires were lit by streetlights. Very impressive, coming from a Nikon. But Nikon has never been stingy with image quality. I wouldn't be surprised the upcoming D90 will have better high ISO performance, so this shouldn't be the main factor for any upgraders.

Liveview

I shot the above pic using LV. Otherwise i'll have to prone on what looks suspiciously like an army of ants. But it is without it's idiosyncrasies. It still flips its mirror down, and up, before a picture is taken, even in MF mode. I know I have a 150,000 shutter durability unit, but this is a stupid way to waste shutter count.

AF

It is not magic. U HAVE to fully understand the algorithms before you can max it out. That said, I just shot my nephew - an 18 month toddler running around the house in 3D 51pt focus, and results are superior to D70. I no longer need to focus and recompose. I can concentrate on composition while the camera takes care of focus. You have to watch it though, it may go nuts when the light gets low.

AWB

This is something head and shoulders ahead of D70. It is eerily accurate even under artificial lighting. Tungsten is a little warm though, but very representative of what our eyes see.

That's all for tonight. Shall end with a picture for my 6 year old favourite transportation.

F2.8 1/50th ISO 2200
Yes, the orange light is streetlight as well