Randem Photo

City in the Sky

2007-09-13T14:30:00.001-04:00

This is a photo I shot last week. It was one of those days when I was just leaving work and heading for the train station. It was just starting to rain a little bit, so I wasn't trying to dilly-dally, or lolligag, or any other nonsensical word for taking your sweet-ass time.

City in the Sky

As I was walking, however, I happened to look up and catch the sun reflecting off of the buildings to the west. I ended up crossing the street and doubling back for an unobstructed view. It only looked right from one specific position, so I had to move around a bit to find it.

For me, this just underscores the importance of always keeping a camera with you. Great photographic moments happen with or without you. You may have to stand in the rain, and you may have to catch a later train, but do what you must to get the shot.

Disposable camera mods

2007-07-19T11:42:00.000-04:00

Also by way of Make Magazine, I found this top 10 list of mods for disposable cameras. [Link]

DIY Lightning-activated shutter release

2007-07-19T11:39:00.000-04:00

By way of Make Magazine I came across a schematic and instructions for building your own lightning-activated shutter release. [Link]

Chicago, old-style

2007-03-21T11:57:00.000-04:00

Chicago

At long last, here it is: the first photo in a very long time that doesn't feature some sort of moisture.

It's interesting how the lack of color in a black-and-white photo can give the subject a completely different feeling. In this case, it seems like the photo might have been taken 100 years ago.

Navy Pier, one winter night

2007-01-19T11:36:00.000-05:00

Navy Pier

Forgive me while I wear out the photos of light reflected in water. There's just something magical about moisture in a photo that makes it more visually interesting.

This photo was taken in the middle of January, on a cold winter night. Yes, I froze. Sometimes you have to suffer for your photos.

The Reedy River

2006-08-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

The Reedy River

It's amazing how much light there really is in the dark. After leaving the shutter open for nearly 30 seconds, I was able to gather enough light to make this almost look like a daytime shot.

Once again, the presence of water makes this photo interesting. I'm starting to wonder if a career could be made shooting only photos that contain some form of moisture.

One shot, one kill

2006-07-30T03:13:00.000-04:00

Liberty Bridge

I walked to this spot with the intention of getting this shot, but as I approached I could see the couple on the bridge. They were in their own world, and I didn't want to disturb them. I sat on a nearby bench for about 5 minutes and in that time they didn't move an inch.

I could see that these two had no intention of going anywhere any time soon, so I casually started extending the legs on the tripod. Then I mounted the camera. Since it was late, and the bars were letting out, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't want to spend a lot of time drawing attention -- and more people were starting to come -- so I took a bit of a guess at the exposure, hit the shutter release, and paced for 15 seconds.

When this image turned up on the viewer, I knew I didn't need any more. I'll save the experimenting for another time. So this is my "sniper photo" -- one shot, one kill. Nice.

Using Polarizing Filters

2006-05-29T09:54:00.000-04:00

There are two types of polarizing filters - linear and circular - and there are a lot of misconceptions and confusion in understanding the differences between the two, and which one is right for you. Because questions about polarizers come up so often, I will try to lay out the differences here for easy reference.

BASICS
Before you can understand the difference between types of polarization, you must first understand what polarization is, and that requires a basic understanding of the properties of light. A detailed understanding of light and polarization would require knowledge of quantum mechanics - which I won't get into - but a basic understanding can be had without getting carried away.

Light is an electromagnetic wave. It travelles as a wave form. Most of the primary light sources you'll encounter - sun, light bulbs, strobes - in photography are unpolarized. That is, the EM waves that make up the light travel equally and randomly in all directions away from the source.

LINEAR POLARIZATION
Polarization is the orientation of the electric field of an electromagnetic wave. When the electric field vector is oscillating in a single plane, it is defined as linear polarization. Linear polarization commonly occurs in nature when light is reflected off of a surface, such as a wall or a lake.

Reflected light is often polarized at the angle of the surface it is reflected off of. If it is the surface of the lake, the light will be polarized horizontally. If a vertical wall is the reflector, the light will be polarized vertically. This is the technology behind glare-reduction filters or "Blue-Block Sunglasses." The polarized lenses can block out this reflected light since it tends to be polarized the same way.

A linear polarizing filter allows only light that is oriented a certain way to pass through. Because any photon can be oriented to any angle, most photons will probably not be oriented in the direction that the lenses allow. Thus, linear filters can block as much as 60% of the light from reaching the film.

CIRCULAR POLARIZATION
The concept of circular polarization is similar to that to linear polarization. Circular polarization is a combination of two perpendicular linear waves that are 90 degrees out of phase with each other.

A circular polarizing filter is nothing more than a linear polarizer, with the addition of a quarter-wave plate (QWP) which converts the linear polarization of light passing through the polarizing filter to circular polarization. A circular polarizer is able to block all photons rotating in one direction while allowing those going in the other direction to pass.

Although not scientifically correct, a circular polarizer more or less restores the natural 50/50 vertical/horizontal balance of polarization, without affecting the initial pictorial result.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FILTER
Linear polarizing filters seem to have a greater effect on the final image than circular polarizers do, and in spite of many misconceptions, you can use either type of filter on any camera. But there is a catch: if you use a linear polarizer on a modern camera, you may not be able to use your built-in metering, or autofocus, or both.

Modern autofocus systems use mirrors that act as beam-splitters: most of the light is reflected to the viewfinder for metering and viewing, while the rest (typically 25%) is transmitted and then reflected by a secondary mirror to the autofocus sensor, which is in the camera body. With a polarizing filter attached, the ratio of reflected/transmitted light (fixed for non-polarized light) varies with the polarization plane orientation of polarized light, relative to the beam-splitter, causing the amount of light reaching the autofocus sensor to vary. This effect can be particularly troublesome if your front element moves with the lens, as it would cause the amount of light reaching the sensor to change while the lens focuses.

While you can see (rather easily) when your autofocus system has been confused by a linear polarizer, there isn't such an easy way of knowing whether or not the internal light metering system has been stumped. The same loss of light principles that affect the autofocus system can also affect a camera's built-in meter, and obviously this is never good. What use is a light meter if it receives the wrong amount of light?

In both situations, a circular polarizer corrects the problem. Having removed the effect of linear polarization, the light functions normally inside the camera, in the beam splitter, and reaching the autofocus and metering sensors properly. Therefore, for your convenience, you should use a circular polarizer if your camera has autofocus or built-in light metering features. However, if you focus manually, and use a hand-held light meter, you can use a linear polarizer on any camera you wish.

USES FOR POLARIZING FILTERS
Polarizing filters have a number of uses, among them:

Reducing haze.
Since light comes from all over, at random polarizations, adding a polarizing filter will block the crossing polarization patterns of scattered and reflected light to reduce haze.
Removing reflections.
As mentioned above, light is naturally polarized when it is reflected, so by rotating your polarizing filter to cross-polarize the reflected light, you can effectively remove the reflection from the photo.
Increasing color saturation.
By reducing haze from scattered, random light, saturation of color is dramatically improved. The effect is particularly evident in skies and in foliage.
Neutral density.
The natural loss of 1-2 stops of light, without shifting color, makes a polarizing filter a good ND filter as well.

NOTES
Here are a few other things to keep in mind when using polarizing filters:

When stacking filters, the polarizer should always be the last (outermost) filter on the stack. Passing through a polarizing filter further down the chain may alter the results of other filters you had used.
Lenses with rotating front elements will mess up your polarizing filter's rotation. If your lens has a rotating front element, you should adjust the polarizing filter after you've set the focus.
The effect of polarization (outdoors) is most prominent at a 90-degree angle to the sun.
The angle of polarization varies continuously with the angle from the sun. With a lens wider than about 28mm (in 35mm film terms) the sky will be unevenly polarized. If you like the effect, go ahead and use it.

LINKS
DP FWIW
U Penn
SCEC
Luminous Landscape

Working With Children

2006-05-26T10:21:00.000-04:00

Birthday Boy

...can be a real pain in the ass! You watch and watch for that one perfect moment and by the time you hit the shutter release the moment is already gone.

One thing I learned to do is to keep giving the shutter release a half-press to keep the autofocus where I wanted it, and to keep the autoexposure adjusted to any changes in lighting.

Ultimately, I managed to get a couple of incredible photos... but it was a lot of work.

Moisture

2005-12-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

Rockafeller Center

The photographic value of water can not be overstated. Photography is all about light, and moisture (rain, fog, puddles, etc) affects light in endless interesting ways.

Bank of America Stadium

2005-10-09T23:33:00.000-04:00

Bank of America Stadium

Among the many photo project ideas I've had is the desire to visit each of the NFL's 32 stadiums.

Two weeks ago I found myself in Charlotte and while I didn't get into the stadium, I did get a few photos. I plan to visit the inside when the Buccaneers come to play the Panthers.

Yes, the EOS-5D is real.

2005-08-22T11:50:00.000-04:00

The rumors are true. Canon will release the EOS 5D in October, at an estimated street price of $3300. It will feature a 12.8 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor powered by Canon's DIGIC II processor.

The 5D will also feature a new high-speed, vertical travel, focal plane shutter rated for 100,000 shots. Shots will be viewed on a new 2.5" TFT LCD with a 170-degree viewing angle. Autofocus will use a new 9-point system with six "Supplemental AF points".

Visit Canon's EOS 5D page.

Canon EOS-5D soon?

2005-08-11T11:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday it was on Engadget, and now today I see it on Photoethnography - there is rumor spreading that Canon has a new digital SLR coming to market soon.

Rumors of the EOS-5D include:

13 megapixel full-frame sensor! (24mmx36mm)
9 point autofocus (w/ 6 invisible points)
up to 60 frames at 3fps with JPG high quality
2.5" LCD display
USB 2.0

If there is any truth to this, an announcement should come within weeks, and the camera itself should be available in October. Street price is rumored to be around $3000 USD.

Photobooth.net

2005-08-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

A cool blog about photobooths.

MTA keeps a secret file on photographers

2005-08-02T09:07:00.000-04:00

I recently read an item in the Photoethnography blog pointing to a New York Daily News article reporting that the MTA has a secret film file on photographers.

If this is true, this is very disturbing. Both amateur and professional photographers are being turned into modern day boogeypeople. And when a terrorist incident happens, what do the authorities want? They want people to send them their tourist snapshots so that they can try to see if they can spot the bad guys before the act. Argh!!

Just a quick civil liberty note: You do not have to hand your film over to any one in uniform just because they ask for it. You can do so voluntarily if you want. If they try to force you to hand it over, then do so (refusing would be bad) but ask them under what authority they are requesting it, ask for a receipt and be sure to follow up. Even if you were breaking the law, they would still have to issue a receipt for the evidence that they are taking into custody. Sigh....

This disturbs me too. Mainly, I despise how easy it has been to turn anyone with a camera into a suspicious person. And it's not as if they're suspicious of everyone who photographs things, just those with video cameras or high-end still cameras. That means that a terrorist with a 5-megapixel cameraphone can do all the reconnaissance he wants without interruption, and now he'll feel safer doing it because the authorities will be busy harrassing me.

Photographer vs. Model

2005-07-28T09:33:00.000-04:00

This is great! A photographer who is willing to be photographed in the same poses as his models.

"First, I really thought that the shots would be funny. Second, it was about the only truly creative idea I had ever had. Third, what better way to blunt the criticism that most nude art degrades women?"

If nothing else, the shots certainly are funny!

Enough Already

2005-07-26T15:58:00.000-04:00

Pete Meyers discusses the hassle of complicated modern cameras and posits that film IS, in fact, easier and more convenient.

MySpace.com

2005-07-18T13:44:00.000-04:00

Since I started working with models - and/or aspiring models - I've heard MySpace come up frequently in conversation. Many of the people I've worked with have profiles there. Many are regular participants in the social networking that goes on there. It seems like a pretty big deal, which made me wonder why I had never heard of it before.

Naturally, after hearing it come up more than once, I took it upon myself to go have a look. My immediate first impression was that the site is a clumsy, ad-ridden, disaster of a web site. The front page has more real estate dedicated to advertisements than it does to content, which is an immediate red flag to web site professionals such as myself. Even community-oriented web sites (eg, One Model Place, Garage Glamour) dedicate prominent space to content, acknowledging that the point of community is advancement. MySpace doesn't bother with content. They give a half-assed attempt at providing some music related content, but it's little more than record-industry advertisements disguised as entertainment news.

From my cursory look at the site, MySpace is only about the endless pursuit of popularity. Your goal as a member of the site is only to be the most popular person on the site, nothing more. Psychologically, this makes sense when we're talking about models - after all, popularity is everything to a model - but what about those who aren't modelling? And even for models, I can't help thinking there are better places to gain notoriety, such as web sites that photographers have actually heard of.

Ultimately, I've dismissed the site as a popularity contest that exists as a natural extension of high school. High school ends, and if you're not ready to grow up and get old you have to find some way to keep the experience going. Similarly, the web provides a world-wide platform on which one can push the popularity contest to a higher level. Regardless, the site is mostly useless to me.

Still, I can't ignore the implications a site like MySpace has on photographers like me, who like to work with new talent and can't yet afford to pay professional models. Until I'm making huge money as a photographer, I'm probably going to continue using amateur models and subsequently I'm likely to keep running into more and more people who are members of MySpace.

And so, if you're reading this, there is a good chance that you are a member of MySpace too. If so, I want to point you to something I read recently which points out a number of flaws and security holes in MySpace, so you're aware of the risk you run just by using that site. The author of this article explains a few simple tests he made, which prove that anyone could easily misuse the URLs on that site to gain your personal information, or even to send you a virus.

This is the age of digital photography...

2005-07-09T17:11:00.000-04:00

...and having digital cameras would have definitely saved the world's coolest parents from their legal entanglements.

Vacation Photos

2005-07-08T17:33:00.000-04:00

Tennessee Farm Country

Sometimes all you need is the right subject. With a little attention to composition, no special photographic skill was necessary to take a few great photos of my vacation.

Shadows

2005-06-26T17:59:00.000-04:00

Shadow of Evil

One of my favorite things to use in photography is shadows. It's often too easy to pay so much attention to your subject that you miss the shadow they're casting. Each person's body, arms, legs, head, and hair combine with posture to form a unique shadow unlike that of anyone else, and as a photographer, each subject's shadow can be very interesting.

I like to think of it as playing shadow puppets with a whole body. You can make a a hedgehog, or a witch, or a statue.

Art and the Flag

2005-06-23T10:49:00.000-04:00

American Wasteland

Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a Constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the flag by a vote of 286-130.

This is the seventh time the House has approved an amendment since 1989, when the Supreme Court ruled the federal Flag Protection Act unconstitutional. The bill has been endorsed by all 50 states, but keeps getting shut down in the Senate.

Folks, this is scary.

Look, I have my complaints about this country, but it's still my home. The American flag represents a lot of good things. I'm not saying that we should burn, or soil, or defacate on the flag... I'm only saying that we should always have the right to do so.

The Constitution gave me the freedom of expression, and included in that is the freedom to make photos like this. But once we allow laws with words like "desecration of the flag", it opens the door for every thin-skinned nutbag who thinks he (or she) knows what's best for everyone to call what I do "desecration". Trust me, it WILL happen.

Don't let the government silence the expression of artists. Call your senator. Call your state government. Don't let the Republican party start silencing your freedom of speech.

Building a digital SLR system.

2005-06-22T13:42:00.000-04:00

Phillip Greenspun has a new article up offering some advice to beginners who want to get started in digital photography with a digital SLR.

Feldgrau

2005-06-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

Feldgrau

Most people would probably run for cover and reschedule their shoot if it started to rain, but I chose to press on and the band didn't have a problem with that. This is one of those times when having a bunch of old, fully manual film cameras was far better than some modern digital wonder. My digital stayed dry in the car while I churned out film in a torrential downpour. I'm glad I did, too, because this is my favorite photo from the shoot.

Pixel

2005-06-16T13:10:00.000-04:00

Click to see more.

After some relatively "tame" swimsuit photos, we brought an end to the normalcy and pulled out the fishnet and gas mask. This is what I love to do, and I was happy to see my model felt the same way. "I like making pictures that piss people off," she said. I think we got a few of those.

See more photos in Pixel's gallery.