Sailboat Reflections

As much as I like my D5100 and the quality photographs it produces, it's not something I bring with me everywhere a photo opportunity could potentially arise. Such was the scenario Saturday while my family and I were spending some time in Anacortes on a nice sunny winter day. We decided to bring our old compact Canon so we would have a camera and not have to worry about the Nikon.

While walking around by the Marina, I took a couple quick shots of the sailboats sitting in the still, glass smooth water. Below is one of the shots I took.



The reflection is so near perfect that I had viewed this image on the camera's LCD upside down and was thinking to myself that something didn't look right before I realized I was viewing it flipped.

Blessings,

Jesse

Planning Lunar, Astronomical or Scenic Photos with the Lunar Phase Andoid App

When I was finally able to purchase a DSLR, one of the first photos I wanted to take was one of a full (or nearly full) moon. It was a type of photography that was not doable with my point and shoots and one I wanted to try for myself.

I have on a few occasions taken the time to set up and take some photos of the moon and you can see some of my results in my Shooting the Moon post and again on my post titled Shooting the Daylight Moon. All of my lunar photo sessions have been spur of the moment type scenarios where the conditions are favorable and I grab my gear and go take my photos. Planning a lunar photo shoot is next on my list as I have in mind what I anticipate to be a good location for a full moon rising picture.

Recently I have found a great Android App to assist in the planning of any photographs involving the sun, moon or lack of either: The Lunar Phase app developed by AndScaloid. The app is packed with every stitch of information you could possibly need or want to know about the moon. Starting with the obvious: the moon's phase, we'll also know rising and setting times, its age, illumination and if its ascending or descending (among other information available). You can also choose to display information for the sun (rise, set, civil dawn, civil dusk and more). The rise and set times will come in very handy for planning a sun/moon rise/set photo, as will the calendar to view when the next full moon happens to be. Or on the other hand, you can see when the new moon is if the goal is a night sky photo with no moon visible.

You can also add a bookmark for your location and you will get two arc's drawn on a Google Maps view depicting the path of the moon and sun, complete with graphics of each when they are in view. You will need to get a latitude and longitude coordinate for this feature though, but that is easily attained on Google maps by right clicking on the location and selecting the "What's here?" option. Just make sure you set your time zone in your bookmark or you may be wondering why it always defaults to the time in New York.

All in all this is a great app that I would definitely recommend if your looking for something to help plan out any photos that involve the sun, moon or night sky in anyway.

Blessings,

Jesse

Developed RAW vs Developed JPG

When it comes to the RAW vs JPG debate, You don't have to look very hard on-line to find ample amounts of writing espousing the benefits of one format or the other and why you should or shouldn't shoot exclusively with either one. And despite what the title of this post may imply, I will not be debating the merits of either format but rather providing a visual example of one image edited with both formats as a starting point. Both the RAW and JPG file formats have their inherent advantages and disadvantages, but that's another post.

The photo below of a Giant Pacific Octopus was taken on a recent trip to the Seattle Aquarium. The photo was taken on RAW+JPG @ ISO 3200, with the RAW file then developed in Darktable and the JPG file in the GIMP.


Camera JPG


Darktable Edit


Gimp Edit
Of the two developed files, I think the Darktable version is closer to what the scene looked like. But then again, I don't recall exactly as I spent about as much time watching the Octopus as it took to take that photo. Chasing my highly active and very excited 16 month old son left little time to focus on taking anything more than the passing snapshot. On the other hand, in this case I like how the GIMP edited photo turned out a little better, the slight color differences change the mood and feel of the photo. I also could have explored more of the editing options in Darktable to get a similar look, but this was a fairly straight forward, minimally adjusted image for this comparison.

Blessings,

Jesse

Darktable's Profiled Noise Reduction

If you are working with JPG files from your camera, you will not need to be too concerned about noise reduction unless you are shooting at a high ISO as the JPG compression algorithm of your camera will apply some form of noise reduction, even if set to off.

RAW files on the other hand will naturally not have any in-camera noise reduction applied and it will be up to you to determine if and how much will be applied during post production. You will likely be able to notice noise even at and ISO as low as 200 when viewing your RAW files at 100%. If not removed, that noise will be present in the exported JPG as well.

When working with Darktable, there has been a profiled noise reduction option since version 1.2. As the name implies, the Profiled Denoise option is based on unique camera model/ISO combinations to optimize the noise reduction while retaining image quality. From working with my RAW files I have found this to be a fantastic option that works very well and it is usually the first edit I apply to any of my images.

For comparison, here is a series of 100% crops taken at ISO 200, 800, 1600, 3200 & 6400 with the Darktable edited photo on top, and the straight off the camera photos on the bottom. The color difference is simply the difference between the standard setting on my Nikon D5100 and the RAW image after Darktable applies it's built in base curve. The Profiled Denoise was set to the default value on all images except for the ISO6400 shot, which was changed to patch size 3, strength 3.



For reference and more in depth comparision, you can see all the full resolution shots at this Flickr Set.

I have found working at ISO400 gives me a good balance between low initial noise, quicker shutter speeds and very little detail loss from the denoise algorithm. Below is a good example of a developed photo taken at ISO 400: My Father-in-law's 1964 Impala SS.



Blessings,

Jesse

Confession of a Gear Junkie

Forgive me Father for I have sinned... I have spent many a night with my thoughts wandering through a maze of equipment, hyper focused on thoughts of acquiring a shiny new camera coupled with equally shiny and vastly more expensive lenses. 

Instead of sleeping, my mind would fixate on a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom, envisioning the weight of the lens in my hand and seeing the beautiful photos I would take with the lens zoomed to 200mm @ f/2.8. The mind may then drift to dreaming up scenarios in which a 105mm f/2.8 Macro lens would come in handy. Time would tick by and instead of my unconscious mind rendering random dreams that would only leave a vague impression in the morning, my still very conscious mind would be rendering dreams of self centered spending on my hobby of choice.

But it wouldn't stop there... A simple trip to Costco turns into a derailment of intended purpose as my eyes are drawn to the camera display with new models beckoning my eager curiosity to come hither and explore. Enticed to pick up the display model, to feel the balance and ergonomics in my palms. Compelled to trace the contours of the textured plastic and feel the subtle resistance of the dial as it rotates and clicks into place for each available shooting mode. And then, to press the soft rubber eye piece to my eyebrow: peering through the viewfinder at the uninspiring landscape of a shopping warehouse. And now, with the focus set it would be time to depress the shutter release and hear the symphony of a mechanical shutter and the nuances of how the sound differs from the familiar actuation of my trusty D5100. As if that was not enough, I would repeat the whole process with nearly every shiny new model on the display line: how does the D5200 sound? Or the D3200? And does the shutter of the new Canon T5i still have that familiar high pitch sound possessed by many of its predecessors?

I confess, I am a gear junkie: I like to know what's new, what's available and especially whats exciting in the world of digital photography - even if I am unable to afford it (either now or ever). I am also realistic in what my budget allows and will never put my hobby (especially spending on that hobby) above my family in importance.

For me, being a gear junkie mainly entails a drive to know whats out there and how I should expect it to perform should I ever be blessed to purchase it. This can come in handy for making recommendations, or can even lead to conversation pieces that could alert a fellow enthusiast to a previously unknown option. Either way, inquisitive minds want to know and learn which is a nature that is rarely satisfied.

Unlike some, my fascination with newly available technology doesn't mean the currently owned gear gets relegated to a dusty shelf while new gear is acquired to the peril of the Visa bill. No, the current gear is used as much as possible while I learn and grow in my photographic abilities - but a man can still dream about available possibilities should the budget change to favor a future purchase. And when that time comes, you can bet I'll be informed and ready for it.


Blessings,

Jesse

Tamron`s Recently Announced 150-600mm - I Would Like This Lens!

When I first read about Tamron's new 150-600mm lens my gear junkie radar went crazy and I was instantly intrigued and wanted to know more, and of course see sample photos. I also instantly wanted it (provided it was a decent lens and not prohibitively expensive). The lens looks to replace their 200-500mm lens and should make a great "budget" super telephoto for all of us with out unlimited amounts of expendable money laying around - it is also set to be shipping mid January in the new year. 

The rumored price of $1,069 is especially amazing considering there is no super telephoto zoom lens near 600mm from Canon or Nikon and the offerings they do have: such as Nikon's 80-400mm, 200-400mm f/4 or Canon's 100-400mm are much more for less range (significantly more for the Nikon's). And to top that off, if you want to get 600mm lens from them you will be spending enough to buy a decent car for the 600mm f/4 offerings.

Of course being on a budget, even the rumored price is likely out of my attainable level for who knows how long, but I would still love to try out this lens - I just might have to give LensRentals.com or BorrowLenses.com a shot when I have some extra cash, some time to play and some 600mm subject material. I know this lens would have come in quite handy on our whale watching trip for sure, though I would definitely want to invest in a monopod for a long reach lens like this.

This sure looks like a winner to me, and it will definitely be interesting to see how it competes with Sigma's existing 150-500mm and what we might see come out of Sigma once this lens has had some time on the market.

Blessings,

Jesse

An Essential DSLR Accessory

If you are looking to upgrade to a DSLR or have recently purchased one, there is one accessory you will definitely want in your camera bag: A remote shutter release. Be it wired, or wireless - you will find a remote shutter release immensely useful.

Moving to a DSLR from a point and shoot brings with it additional learning opportunities and technical differences. One of them being a big increase is weight (especially with larger zoom lenses) and lens design which can be more sensitive to camera movement than a point and shoot would be in similar conditions.

Whatever the case, there will come a time when it will be advantageous and in your best interest (and your final result's best interest) to trigger the shutter remotely. I have a Promaster cable release for my D5100 and find it indispensable. Everything from working in a light tent for product photography, to shooting the moon and Lightning Photography - the cable release (or even a wireless release) makes tripod work much smoother and eliminates the possibility of camera shake.

A definite must have DSLR accessory for sure.

Blessings,

Jesse