John Ares Photographic Blog

LIGHTROOM PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT - PART 2

2012-01-25T14:07:00.001-05:00

With my new memory installed, importing into Lightroom is also much improved. Pulling in 4BG cards used to take about 25 minutes or so. Now, when Lightroom wants to grab all the remaining memory, the picture looks like this. Bottom line, it now takes 15 minutes to download. If you need to mess around with viewing and editing while downloading, the download will take longer.

Almost 40% faster download? I'll take it.

MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE

2012-01-17T15:23:00.001-05:00

I have been going through the PERFORMANCE BLUES lately. My machine was grinding to a slow slog as it tried to use PHOTOSHOP, BRIDGE, LIGHTROOM and a couple of browsers at the same time. Shame on me for trying to do that with only 6GB of RAM. And I thought 6GB was a lot.

I caucused with folks at the APPLE GENIUS BAR and they showed that I needed to monitor FREE MEMORY in ACTIVITY MONITOR. I barely had any Free Memory showing (green area), which is key to performance. All it took was Firefox getting stuck on one FLASH webpage and it could bring the machine to its knees. I added 8GB and now with a total of 14GB, I am a happier camper. Windows folks will have a similar feature in Control Panel or similar "under the hood" utility.

Moral of the story: Max out your Memory in your machine if you use PHOTOSHOP, BRIDGE, LIGHTROOM or Apple Aperture if you don't want to waste time.

Here are the Halloween Cats, the latest from the EYES Gallery. Enjoy.
JA

ADOBE LIGHTROOM 4 BETA Announced

2012-01-16T11:11:00.002-05:00

Adobe announced a few days ago that there is a new BETA for LIGHTROOM 4.
According to Adobe, here are some of the new features:

New Features in Lightroom 4 Beta
- Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights.

- Photo book creation with easy-to-use elegant templates.

- Location-based organization lets you find and group images by location, assign locations to images, and display data from GPS-enabled cameras.

- White balance brush to refine and adjust white balance in specific areas of your images.

- Additional local editing controls let you adjust noise reduction and remove moiré in targeted areas of your images.

- Extended video support for organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to video clips.

- Easy video publishing lets you edit and share video clips on Facebook and Flickr®.

- Soft proofing to preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.

- Email directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.

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Collapse of the Point & Shoot Market?

2011-12-05T21:16:00.001-05:00

INDUSTRY INNOVATION NEEDED for iPhone

Read today that the Smart phones are killing the Point & Shoot Market. Glad I didn't invest.

We need better housings than bags to shoot underwater. We also need good, simple, $20 rubber grips to use the iPhone single handed on land as a camera. The iPhone is really difficult to handle one-handed as a "real camera." $150 Iron Maiden attachments with lenses exist but are overkill.
JA

LIGHTROOM - Getting Tone Curve Sliders back

2011-11-28T17:05:00.003-05:00

Light most Adobe products, LIGHTROOM works in "strange and wonderous ways." This best tool we have for organizing photos is sometimes a "challenge" when editing. Another case in point is using Tone Curve to edit contrast in a photo. Tone Curve acts somewhat like Curves in Photoshop. I discovered a feature the other night that I did not know existed. Nor did Adobe give an informative way out without combing the depths of the Help Jungle.

When editing a photo using Tone Curve, the slider controls look like this. The default mode.

During a session the other night, I was presented with the following view without consciously doing anything to change the view. The sliders DISAPPEARED.

I was not a happy. There is NOTHING obvious to suggest a toggle command or "go back."

When I did a mouse-over on the Linear ICON, this informative message shows: "Click to stop editing Point Curve." I did not know that I had started! It should say "return to Slider Mode." Photographers are clearly not used in Adobe testing, just programmers.

The way to get out of this mode is simple but not obvious: Click the icon at the bottom right and you will be toggled back to "Slider" mode.

By the way, using the Point Curve mode is not bad at all. It is very much like Photoshop in that you can add points to the line and bend the curve to change contrast. Here I added two points and shifted their positions to adjust the tones to my liking. See more on curves here.

Click here to see the Great White Sharks and the rest of the underwater galleries.

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT WHITE SHARKS – PART 1

2011-11-22T15:22:00.014-05:00

Being able to swim with big animals is one of the great pleasures of being a Diver. Humpback Whales, Whale Sharks, Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays, Sea Lions, Sea Turtles and Manatees are all a thrill to dive with. Obviously, the Great White Shark presents some challenges since they are the apex predator.

GUADALUPE ISLAND

is one of several reliable locations around the globe where you can predictably and safely dive with Great White Sharks. A population of about 120 sharks visit the island from about July to year end. Diving operations end around November. The sharks migrate to Hawaii and other locations during the rest of the year. Surprisingly, there is much more to shoot there.

Guadalupe island is about 22 x 6 miles and is mountainous, being composed of two extinct volcanos. It has a very low population being declared a biosphere reserve. Guadalupe Island has a microclimate that tends to burn off clouds that are around the island. Visability at Guadalupe, perhaps 190 feet (calculated via boat length and anchor line to 60’) and water temp 64 to 70 degrees F.

Not being reckless or a daredevil by nature, the idea of diving and photographing Great White Sharks from the safety of a strong cage was very appealing.

BOAT SPECIFIC – This article is based on experience on the Nautilus Explorer. The tips will be most useful for shooting at Guadalupe Island. The Baja Aggressor and other boats diving these waters appear to offer similar cage logistics. Other Great White destinations such as Australia or South Africa, will require modifications to the techniques and equipment needed as the animals, local customs, visibility and cage configurations vary.

GETTING THERE:

Fly to San Diego – meet at the Ramada Airport hotel via shuttle bus. At the hotel, store your equipment and have lunch / dinner (no dinner on the boat this night). Photograph the shore birds at the extensive Marina area.

San Diego to Ensenada Bus Ride

Meet the bus around 7pm ish for the 2-3 hour ride through customs stop in Tijuana to Ensenada. Board the boat around 11pm in Ensenada for the 20 hour ride to Guadalupe Island, about 200 miles off shore.

SUBMERSIBLE CAGE SAFETY

Theere are two SUBMERSIBLE cages are maybe 15 feet tall, double decker affairs. Very well constructed out of 2 inch diameter aluminum tubes and strong (steel?) grates on the bottom of the cage. There are backup SCUBA units to supplement the surface supplied air. The cages are winched up and down to 40' via lines and there are backup ballast tanks for independent ascents.

Getting into the cages requires a little, easily learned maneuvering wearing a 40 lb harness. Divemasters assist entry and use of the Hookah. Divemasters also control the ascending and descending of the cages and generally ride in a semi exposed position on the top of the cages.

SURFACE CAGES

There are two cages attached to the stern of the boat that do not change position. They have surface supply and can fit three people. One is about 7-8 feet deep and the other is about 15’ deep with a semi-exposed entry “tunnel / ladder.” These are great for testing equipment and settings and getting more action in-between submersible cage dives. These are really the only place you can attempt Over/ Under shots. I was not at all comfortable with the idea of doing this with the 15’ Cage.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS (SA)

You should have some situational awareness that you need to keep your arms and legs inside the cage for obvious reasons. These are the “big hungrys” and are not as docile as Reef White Tip Sharks. Can a shark stick its snout between some of the bars? The answer is yes, but they are too big to enter the cages.

SUBMERSIBLE CAGE ETTIQUETTE

There are two man and four man Submersible cages. The two man cage is the better to be in from a logistic standpoint. You will be rotated around and have opportunites in all the cages. Try to ask the divemasters on the departure night to schedule you with non-photographers or small camera/video folks. Four photographers in the same cage with big cameras and strobes would not be a comfortable situation.

When the action gets active, you may be joined by the divemaster from the top. Using surface supplied air, the lines can get tangled and you may want to use a free hand to hold the regulators to avoid tugging or pulling out of your mouth.

Situational awareness is needed when moving around the cages. You don’t want to hit the other divers with your housing or strobes. On our trip, we found that sharks tended to circle in a clockwise fashion around the cages, so you need to be aware of coiling your hose. Circle back and turn the opposite direction when the action cools down to be sure you are keeping your lines free and not coiled.

DAILY BEHAVIOR

There are four dives offered each day with the activity and numbers increasing toward the end of the day. The earliest dive may have one shark from a distance, and the last dive have multiple sharks making close passes. You never know, this is the ocean and not a zoo but there are trends. Yes, that is an upside down Sea Lion taunting the shark in the photo below.

BEHAVIOR DURING THE WEEK

Over three days, the sharks were window shopping on the first day and more cautious, on day two, they were taking test bites of the cages and ramming the cages on day 3. You never know, this is the ocean and not a zoo.

LENSES – Get close, but not too close

Get close, then closer is the U/W photographer’s mantra. Lens choice is a challenge given the behaviors described above. Be prepared to change lenses or zoom settings frequently. On earlier dives and earlier in the morning, you may want to go with longer focal lengths like a 35mm equivalent of a 35mm lens. On an APS-C size sensor, this is the equivalent of about 22mm on a Canon 10-22 lens or about 54 degrees when using a dome port.

You will want to vary this if your controls allow depending on the behavior of the sharks. You may start the day at 22mm and as the sharks get bolder, you may use 15mm in the middle of the day and 10mm at the end of day when they are very close to the cage. Maybe too close.

I used a Tamron 11-18 at 18mm half the time and a Tokina Fisheye set at 17mm half the time.

Click here for more shots from the trip.

Click here for the Trip Logistics,

In the next post, Part 2, we'll discuss using strobes, "Hail Mary" shots, Going "Up Top," Video Opportunities, Developing the Shot List, Diving Equipment and the Cast of Sharks.

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT WHITE SHARKS – PART 2

2011-11-22T14:42:00.004-05:00

This picks up from Part 1 with some more technical discussion.

STROBES VS AVAILABLE LIGHT

To strobe or not to strobe, that is the question. On this trip, strobes both enhance and detract. They enhance because at 40’ they add the natural color when the sharks are closer than 10 feet. They detract because they pose a logistical decision when the action gets going as you will be slamming the strobes into the cage bars as you whirl around trying to get the right angle and they will slow you down. You don’t want to be bashing your buddies or more likely, pulling out regulators from other divers. This will not make you popular.

When using strobes, you will need to be flexible on position, sometimes setting them above the lens to accommodate the bar positions. Other times you will need to set them below the bar depending where the shark is. If you are not skilled at positioning your strobe arms, you will get frustrated. Two strobes are recommended because on half your shots, a cage bar will be blocking one strobe.

I generally shoot on manual and tend to use 1/60^th of a second for shutter speed and f/8 or 5.6 depending on distance. ISO 100 whenever possible. ISO 400 when things get dark-ish.

You might choose to use strobes early in the trip and for the last dive of the day as the sun will be setting. For the fast action dives, you will most likely want to go without strobes. JUST REMEMBER TO CAP YOUR BULKHEADS and cords when removing the Strobes to prevent floods and corrosion!

For available light exposures, I will shoot at 1/60^th and switch to Shutter priority (Tv) mode due to differing lighting conditions when shooting fast.

“HAIL MARY” shots

A "Hail Mary" is where you point the camera in the basic direction and hope/pray for the best. I probably shot 1/3 of my underwater photos by pointing the housing in the general direction of the shark, not using the viewfinder due to the rapidity of the action and anticipating where the cage bars were and where the shark was going to be. Viewfinder or not, I always pre-focus for a half a second or so, then hit the shutter at the “decisive moment.” This reduces the shutter delay or time parallax.

For upward angles, I stuck my hands out of the cage and pointed the camera up. You always need to be mindful of the shark positions. “No surprises” awareness is good way to keep your hands and camera. Situational Awareness. When a third shark arrived, I did not even consider this maneuver.

“GOING UP TOP”

There is at least one another way to beat the issues of the cage bars. Go up top with the divemaster. Let’s give that a moment to sink in. The divemasters are very experienced piloting the cages in a semi-exposed part of the cage. It is not without risk.

You can get clearer shots, but I declined due to valuing my skin more than the off chance of impressing some editor somewhere. That is up to you and I especially DON’T recommend using strobes on top. In the event of a suddenly active shark, you need to get down the cage bottom quickly (tight logistics like a submarine conning tower). Strobe arms could easily get caught going down, perhaps putting the divemaster’s intact condition in jeopardy trying to follow you down.

VIDEO OPPORTUNITIES – “Camera on a stick.”

The new Go Pro video cameras are a stunning breakthrough in small technology. Using these cameras on a short three foot monopod stick is ideal for beating the cage bar blues. On two dives, I used a Canon G-9 and got some nice footage. Click here to see the YouTube post.

SHOT LIST – here are some suggestions:

· Shark Head Shot

· Full portrait

· Shooting the other cages with the shark

· Shooting upward / down

· Distant approach and retreat

· Cage test bite

· Cage attack sequence

· Two or more sharks in one frame

· Huge schools of the Rainbow runners and the boat

· Divers in the cage / different angles

· Cage Geometry

· Rainbow runners inside the cage

· Sea Lions – Surface, Underwaters and Coastal Tour

· Tuna individuals and Wolf pack hunting

· LIMITED OVER/UNDER Opportunities - Patience
Coastal tour of the beach life “BEACH” PHOTOS / NO GOING ASHORE ALLOWED (Bring a long lens, perhaps 400mm) ELEPHANT SEALS & GUADALUPE FUR SEALS

· Around the Boat

· Great SUNRISES / NO SUNSETS due to the height mountains.

· Ensenada Harbor - Sea Lion colony on arrival back at port.

DIVING EQUIPMENT:

I prefer a Black Skirt Photographer's Mask that prevents reflections and distractions.

7mm full wetsuit, boots, gloves and Hood or drysuit. Mares 2/3mm gloves provided ideal dexterity vs warmth. Water temp down to 63 F at depth of 40.’ Dives last 40 minutes or so and you will get chilled. Expect four dives a day with unlimited time available in the surface cages.

Leave the following at home: BCD, Regulator, FINS, (optional - SNORKEL could be of limited use in the shallow cage if all hoses are being used). Snorkels will get tangled in all the other cages – mostly useless and a hazard. Macro is useless. If you can use a macro lens on these sharks, you are TOO CLOSE.

Ship supplied Hookah (Surface supplied hoses with SCUBA in cages as backup)

You are supplied 40 lb DUI harnesses.

THE CAST:

Click here to see the gallery of the seven individual sharks.

4 Females:

1. Large, “clean” unscarred shark with cleanly TRIMMED Right Pectoral fin

2. Ragged Left Pectoral fin (notched)

3. Dorsal fin flaking in two spots, tagged and distinctive gill slits

4. Caudal fin has spot roughly looking like Italy

3 Males:

1. Bump on Nose, caudal fin dot

2. Dorsal tag at top of fin, shark looks beat up.

3. Two spots on ventral side

Click here for Part 1 of this article.

Click here for the Trip log

Click here to see the Shark Galleries

Click here to see the YouTube post.

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NOTE TO SELF: Full Frame Sensor Prices

2011-11-09T23:53:00.003-05:00

NOTE TO SELF:

We need to do a post on Full Frame Sensor Prices. Specifically as they relate to DSLR pricing. Seems like the Canon 5D Mark III is way too late and not much has changed in this technology according to Moore's law in the last three years. Given the drop in storage pricing, big sensor pricing ought not to be far behind. Hmmm.

But still...APS-C ought to go the way of the flood - ASAP.

Retaining Lightroom Metadata when transferring between computers

2011-11-06T16:47:00.005-05:00

It is hard to remember all the features that Photoshop and Lightroom have. Adobe Products are not exactly known for being intuitive. There is nobody at the head of Adobe that is driving simplicity and ease of operation. No Steve Jobs. No one with his passion for ease of use. No one with a name to stamp on a concept. Indeed an entire corporation, Kelby Training, has formed a cottage industry in trying to explain what the Adobe Enginneers cannot.

Back to Metadata. A simple IMPORT on the Desktop from Lightroom WILL LEAVE ALL METADATA AND ADJUSTMENTS BEHIND on the source computer (laptop). I sometimes forget that to retain the Metadata, like Keywords and adjustments that you input on the road (using a laptop) you need to combine or merge catalogs. The following is from Adobe's webpage:

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/3.0/Using/WSBED0E080-63AF-4ba4-ACCF-EC48C4F92D6D.html

Combine or merge catalogs in Lightroom

You can create a catalog from existing photos in Lightroom by selecting the photos and exporting them as a new catalog. Then, if desired, you can merge the new catalog with another catalog. This is useful when, for example, you initially import photos into a catalog on a laptop computer and then you want to add the photos to a master catalog on a desktop computer.

Select the photos you want to add to the new catalog.
Choose File > Export As Catalog.
Specify the name and location of the catalog.
Indicate whether you want to export the negative files and previews, and then click Save (Windows) or Export Catalog (Mac OS). “Negative files” refers to the original files that were imported into Lightroom.
The new catalog contains the selected photos and their information. You must open the new catalog to view it.
(Optional) To combine catalogs, import the new catalog into another. See Import photos from a different Lightroom catalog.


The keywords for this one are: ascending, attacking cage, cage, Great White Shark, GUADELUPE ISLAND, Mexico, Nautilus Explorer, Pilot fish

ADOBE BRIDGE PERFORMANCE FIXES

2011-10-13T14:09:00.003-04:00

I had been having issue with Bridge crashing, hanging and otherwise taking forever to access my files. After some research I found this for BRIDGE CS4 & CS5.

Click here for the Adobe solutions. Applies to both Mac and Windows. The prodedure takes a while, so be patient based on how many files have to be cleaned. I would suggest doing the procedure when you don't need Bridge so it is free to take as much processor power as it needs. It will grap a LARGE portion of CPU power if available.

There are SEVEN fixes listed, but my issue were resolved by a simple procedure to RESET PREFERENCES and CLEAN THE CACHE.

CAUTION: YOU WILL LOSE YOUR COLOR LABELS. In my case they were all turned WHITE.

No doubt, there will be other ININTENDED CONSEQUENCES I have not identified and Adobe has not flagged.

Best of luck.

Used Bridge and Adobe Photoshop CS5 to produce one of my new t-Shirts yesterday. Orchid shot with four lights. Order if you like.

Adobe LIGHTROOM 3.5 Failing Grade

2011-10-05T21:45:00.002-04:00

Grrr. Adobe is updating Lightroom to include new cameras and doesn't fix serious issues with version 3.5. I barely use the develop module anymore. I switch to Photoshop. Using Mac Lion, develop can't retain cropping, takes forever to load and is a general waste of my time.

AWFUL noise is still persistent using the tone curve adjust in Lightroom.

Upgrade grade: F

Note to Adobe: hire me part time as a true release tester.

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GUEST POST ON COPYRIGHT DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICES

2011-09-30T17:07:00.000-04:00

Guest Post from my buddy Dave Haas on copyright DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICES. Dave is the guy to get Ikelite Underwater photography equipment from.
JA

Folks,

An interesting read on a newer law specifically related to the internet theft of your images.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/1999431312/two-easy-steps-for-using-a-dmca-takedown-notice-to-battle-copyright-infringement

Worth bookmarking!

David Haas

Haas Photography Inc.

4596 Greenlawn Dr.

Stow OH 44224

330-678-0591

330-329-5981 cell

davidhaas@sbcglobal.net

www.haasimages.com

ADORAMA LIGHTROOM SPECIAL SEPT 1 ONLY - ENDS SOON

2011-09-01T14:22:00.000-04:00

Special promo Lightroom for $150.00!

HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 2

2011-07-31T16:55:00.007-04:00

Picking up from the last post, we were getting ready to modify the Cheap Strobe Mini-stands so they will allow a secure mounting to a location Speed Ring for a softbox, such as the Chimera shown. The Hot shoe mount that came with the Speed Ring is awful and practically BEGS the strobe to fall off unless extreme care is taken to exactly align the strobe. The distractions and thinking on your feet of working on location do not allow for that.

Here is the end product goal. A SECURELY mounted strobe with the sensor available to an optical transmitter like the Canon ST-E2 Line of sight is not necessary with a Wireless radio transmitter. For simplicity, the Softbox is NOT SHOWN.

Looking at the Cheap Mini-Stands from the previous post, here is our goal: Use a hacksaw or Electric Jig-Saw to easily trim the edges of the plastic ministand to fit on to the Speedring Flash arm. This is why modifying the metal Canon ministand is not recommended. This is the top view.

Bottom view. You want to make the cuts as close as possible with out ruining the INTEGRITY of the tripod mount or show itself. Here is the bottom view. I used the close-in plastic rails as my guide to keep them intact. They call it a hacksaw for a reason.

Voila, the Secure Hot shoe is attached to the flash arm of the Speed Ring and is ready for the Strobe to be mounted securely. Note the angle can be changed to the left or right depending on the location of the Master Strobe or Transmitter.

My preferred location strobe is the Canon 580 EX.

HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 1

2011-07-31T16:35:00.005-04:00

Mounting an external flash (like a Canon Speelight 580 EX) on a light stand is not as simple a proposition as it might first appear. There are standards that Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax use. This is ISO standard ISO 518:2006. Click here for the Wikipedia reference.

After suffering a strobe nose dive and subsequent repair, I noticed that various light stand and hot shoe fixtures that are widely marketed are absolutely SUB STANDARD. The following do not have registration holes for the strobe shoe locking pin and will easily allow the strobe to fall out of the shoe.

The following have a 1/4 inch mounting screw on the bottom and DO follow the ISO 518 standard with registration holes. The Stand on the left is the Canon Mini Stand that comes standard with the strobe and is made of Metal. The stand on the right is a Chinese knockoff from E-BAY and is cheap plastic. BUT in this case, that is good. So these are good for having spares.

The plastic stands can be found on E-BAY for $2.29!

Here an ISO Compliant stand replaces the non-compliant hot shoe on a small ball swivel I use on a background light stand.

Now here is the bonus: the plastic stands can be EASILY MODIFIED with a HACKSAW to fit on a SPEEDRING. That is coming up in PART 2.

Check out my portrait gallery to see the lights and stands in action.

PHOTOSHOP vs LIGHTROOM EDITING ISSUES

2011-04-27T18:58:00.004-04:00

In doing the Hawk Picture nearby, I sadly was reminded of the differences between the capabilities of two packages. Lightroom version 3.4 was announced today. Don't know if it solves this problem. It wasn't obvious in the press release.

Here is the first image of the hawk, done the deliciously quick way using Lightroom's adjustment brush.

BUT... there is a catch...Using adjustment brush in Version 3.3 adds the hideous artifacts below upon close examination, especially if you need to go toward the midrange of tones or further. Completely unacceptable performance. I HATE HAVING MY TIME WASTED.

This was edited using CURVES in PHOTOSHOP CS5

Here is the closeup. Major difference. San Jose, we have a problem.

How to Photograph Hawks

2011-04-18T22:36:00.005-04:00

How to Photograph Hawks. A brave title. Luck is involved. Timing is involved, preparation of batteries and cards is assumed. OK, the basics. YOU MUST have a 400mm or better lens on a fast acting, fast focusing D-SLR. Image Stabilization is important and "dual mode" stabilization may make the difference. I use a Canon 70-200 with a 2X converter on Mode 2 setting. Set on IS Mode 2 to account for the camera swing as you follow the bird. Mode one assumes you are still and folllowing a still creature with a slow shutter speed. 1/500 is a minimum shutter speed.

Here the hawk, caught at 9:00 am in Staten Island, clutching a thouroughly executed prey bird is headed back to the nest in an arresting sight.

Go at least one stop overexposure compensation to account for the bright sky. In Photoshop, will need to enhance the feather tone. Point and Shoot users, sorry you are out of luck for flight, but don't give up hope.

Still, good shots are still possible. STALKING skills beat shooting skills here. Knowing bird behavior and a sense for their "spook distance" are critical for getting in range. Change position. This is likely the same bird above, hours after the catch above. While shot with the same lens & Camera combo above, the bottom shot could easily have been taken with a long zoom EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder / Interchangeable Lens) Camera or a PowerShot SX30 IS Digital Camera with its long zoom.

Here is my Bird Gallery.

To buy Birds Shirts, click here.
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BOOK REVIEW: PHOTOGRAPHIC CREATIVITY - A Whack on the Side of the Head

2011-04-16T17:43:00.003-04:00

In my Photographic Creativity course, "A Whack on the Side of the Head" by Roger von Oech is one of recommended reads. Here's why.

I often hear folks say "I'm just not creative." Nonsense. Creativity is a process, and any process can be repeated and learned. You just need practice and good coaches.

Right off the bat, I like von Oech's first premise: Creativity is Mental Sex. "It's a lot of fun...indeed I like to think of creative thinking as the "sex of our mental lives." (Page 5 of my edition)

Some chapter titles:
1. The Right Answer
2. That's Not Logical
3. Follow the Rules
4. Be Practical
5. Play is Frivolous
6. Tha't not my area
7. Avoid ambiguity and so on up to chapter 16

Obviously, von Oech has a fine sense of sarcasm as he explodes all myths behind all the rules we have been "taught" by our teachers, managers, or other "handlers" in life.

Photographic creativity is NOT the cental thesis of the book, but the concepts are crucial, like Cross Fertilization on page 104. I am always on the alert for life's surprises. For inspiration for Underwater photography, I look to other masters for ideas, rather than trying to repeat the work of the Nat Geo Bubble-Blowing legends. Likewise, Land photographers may benefit from studying the work of the Underwater Masters.

A lot of my creativity lately has been going into the design of t-shirts. Click here to buy one.

Click here for some other shots I consider creative.
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BASIC EDITING in PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS & iPhoto (update)

2011-04-07T15:28:00.000-04:00

We gave the presentation on basic Editing last night.

Click here to get the best Amazon price on Photoshop Elements.

ADORAMA April Fools Day Specials

2011-04-02T12:45:00.001-04:00

Click here for the Adorama specials.

Digitizing your Slides and Negatives

2011-03-30T16:35:00.002-04:00

NOTE : Photos are appearing fine on Safari. Other browsers are rebelling.

This post is meant to inspire you. Using a Digital SLR with Macro Lens and Strobe to copy slides and Negatives is perhaps the fastest way to get your film based images onto your hard drive. It is considerably faster than using a Digital Slide Scanner. Resolution of the image is likely to be higher than a scanner since you are using a DSLR.

Assemble the parts shown above into a configuration that make sense for your camera model. DO NOT use a cheap optical slide duplicator from E-Bay, because you will not be satisfied with the results. The package below is ready to copy, just add a strobe.

Here is one configuration using a camera mounted strobe shooting into a white reflector. You can use a strobe extension cord and shoot directly into the lens as an alternate setup. That is the one I use. I dedicated a "clamp lamp" as a focusing light as shown. You can keep it on when the strobe fires.

Set your camera on Manual and experiment with exposures, bracketing exposures until you are satisfied with the results.

Once you are set up, you should be able to shoot three exposures within 30 seconds. Don't forget to dust your slides and negatives.

At the beginning I said inspire you. If you are still unsure about the process and want detailed instruction, check out my one-on-one, on-line / over the phone Seminar.

Creativity Seminar Book Recommendations

2011-03-24T23:02:00.008-04:00

I am giving a presentation on CREATIVITY in U/W Photography on Saturday at the Beneath The Sea Conference at the Meadowlands.

The link to the handout for the seminar is here.

A lot of it is inspired by one of my mentors, the late great Galen Rowell, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. I will be recommending these books:

Galen Rowell's Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

The first third of the book is worth its weight in gold. While some is based back in the film era, this is absolutely the best thing I have read on being a photographer.

Galen Rowell's Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography

An earlier companion volume to the one above. Also has tons of nuggets compiled from his time as a columnist at Outdoor Photographer magazine.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Photographer: A compendium of the great master of the "Decisive Moment."

Adorama Specials for March 7th.

2011-03-07T14:22:00.001-05:00

Click here for the Adorama Specials for March 7th.

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Photoshop Auto Save - Electric Iris Trial Update

2011-03-06T16:59:00.007-05:00

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On Feb 27, ONE WEEK AGO, this space posted a wish list for Adobe Product Bug Fixes and Feature updates.

Part of that mentioned a trial for a product I was using, PsdAutosSaver by ElectricIris.com. I just got a notice that my ONE MONTH TRIAL has expired. No problem but that is incorrect. It has only been one week. Bug in the programming. I was opening a photo from Lightroom to edit in Photoshop on my Mac and Photoshop crashed after getting the error message from Electric Iris. I sent a crash report to Adobe and Apple.

I re-did the same sequence and Photoshop crashed again after getting the same warning from Electric Iris. Being the sharp knife in the drawer that I am, I trashed the PsdAutosSaver program and VOILA, problem fixed. Bug in the program. I wasn't about to buy the program to continue to do the Alpha testing for the company gratis.

In the week that I was allowed to try PsdAutosSaver, the results were inconsistent. Sometimes it saved a backup copy, sometimes it didn't. If I worked on JPG, it would create a HUGE .PSD file that did not show my changes, so it does not do what I had hoped it would do. If you are using Lightroom, backup files are automatically saved because when opening Photoshop from Lightroom, it creates a duplicate file, leaving the original untouched.

Adobe, I still want an adjustable Automatic Autosave feature that allows me to set the timer from 1 minute to 30 minutes. Default version is set to ON at 10 minutes. Preference to adjust the timing or turn off if the Autosave becomes a pain.

Photo Rescue Using Photoshop Curves

2011-03-05T13:38:00.017-05:00

Sometimes, shooting circumstances are just not ideal. Case in point, shooting a singing Humpback Whale. It is not every day that you get to do this. If you find a singing whale at all, it is likely to be very deep and you will probably be snorkelling, not using SCUBA. There was no option to handoff the camera to free diving champion Tanya Streeter. Here is the shot and it needs rescue.

The tones are muted because it breaks every rule in the book: 1. far away from the subject, 2. shooting down, 3. not using strobes, but they would be ineffective at that distance anyway.

Here is the multi-step fix.
NOTE: it is helpful to have a good understanding of using the LEVELS command first. Recommended resource: Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual by Lesa Snider.

Press Command + M (Mac) / CTRL + M (Win) in Photoshop (NOTE: Photoshop Elements does not have this tool). This is the initial Histogram:

Drag the control points to fix the Black Point and White Point at either end. The result is shown below.

Click OK to "register" this initial correction. The Photo will look like this and much improved.

Reopen Curves by pressing Command + M (Mac) / CTRL + M (Win).

"Finess" the control line by first adding one control point and SLOWLY experiment by dragging the line up or down and around for the darker tones, on the left until the picture looks better. Add another control point for the lighter tone on the left and SLOWLY drag up and down and around. The result is the S-Curve shown.

In the photo at this point, the Suns rays are more visible and the contrast is better, and you can better see the clumps of coral on the bottom over 150 feet away and the white tail flukes are closer to the true white tint. Click OK to register the changes.

Now for the final touch, reopen Curves. This time, Click on the Channels dropdown box and select blue since the predominant color is blue.

The BLUE channel shows severe deficiency in the shadows and darker tones. So slide the black point to the right until the photo is improved.

This shows Histogram after correction. Click OK and save your work. At this point you could work on the RED and GREEN Channels but they are inconsequential in this particular photo as those parts of the spectrum are naturally filtered out by the depth of the water.

The final rescued photo of the singing fifty-five foot whale. Worth the work!

Catch us at the BENEATH THE SEA conference at the Meadowlands Expo Center. We are presenting the seminar on the Humpback Whales of the Silver Banks on March 26th at 2pm.

Click here to see more of my underwater favorites.
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DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURES WANTED: Easy e-mailing of Photos

2011-02-27T21:56:00.010-05:00

This may be out there somewhere but not on any of my Canon cameras. Seems to be available on Smart Phones but not real cameras. Let's face it, Digital Cameras are designed by engineers governed by their Marketing Department Masters. Not photographers, the end users. There is an inherent problem with this. Case in point: Downloading pictures and emailing them.

WANTED:
A BUTTON on the back of a camera, not yet another godforsaken menu-pick. The new button, universal among manufacturers, when pushed, transfers the photo DISPLAYED on the back of the camera to the DESIGNATED or AUTOMATIC EMAIL bucket on the computer designated on setup via WiFi. The photo is in 6" x6" dimensions to accommodate 4x6 in vertical or horizontal jpg and 72 dpi resolution, not the "full RAW FILE monty." Option to include Copyright and Watermark info if desired.

WHY?

Digital Photography is a hassel. "If you want pictures, shoot film. If you want work, shoot digital." - John Ares

Current process:
1. Take the card out of the camera
2. Locate and connect card reader to computer with the correct functioning slot for the card.
3. Insert card
4. Wait for Lightroom or other software to recognize card
5. Go through endless dialogs to download photo including setting up new folder with correct name and important Metadata, manually designating presets to "work automatically."
6. Wait up to 30 minutes while entire card is downloaded.
7. Select photos.
8. Export the photos
9. Select the correct EXPORT dialog preset from a list.
10. Send files
11. Log into Email and select photos and send.
12. Endure interruptions encouraging upgrades for security and the photo software by Adobe. The upgrades now include the latest camera models from native manufacturers like Nikon and Canon denied to Adobe and they had to spend time and resources to reverse engineer. Great business models. NOT. Lets grow up folks!

Just remember, this 12 Step Program explained in Marketing's Powerpoint presentation is for our benefit and makes life "easier, better, saves time & money."

ADOBE LIGHTROOM, BRIDGE AND PHOTOSHOP ISSUES

2011-02-23T22:02:00.000-05:00

Adobe has some serious bugs and performance issue in their flagship programs. Providing feedback to them formally is a pain and always goes unacknowledged except for the user forums where comments go on forever it seems without resolution. I had a clipboard issue that was one example recently. I still get e-mails.

In any case, I am posting this in the hope that ADOBE actually trolls and finds this. There are a lot of fixes needed on the MAC Versions. Adobe needs to employ more programmers than lawyers!

Make your voices heard. You are not alone.

LIGHTROOM

DEVELOP
SERIOUS Develop commands like Tone and Crop are still unstable and frequently reset on their own.

LIBRARY
ANNOYANCE: IMPORT Preset - not a default. Must always select. Easy to forget to set. Why not a preference? Fewer clicks are better.

SYNC
SERIOUS Synchronize is DYSFUNCTIONAL. Major problems. Bridge shows 102 photos. Lightroom after SYNC shows 22. I have NO TRUST IN THIS PROGRAM.

When Synchronizing, it shows only the new ones in the folder that were imported. Should be an INTUITIVE button to show the entire folder contents. ALTERNATIVE: HIGHLIGHT THE CORRECT FOLDER just synchronized in the TREE FOLDER PANE with BOLD YELLOW. Don’t make me think about what should be obvious.

Should be an AUTO SYNC option in preferences.

Autosync is would be a nice feature. A preference, prevents constant guessing of what updates were made. Put a timer on and let it run at 3am.

PREFERENCE for Delete default. DELETE from disk is not the default. Level of security should be selectable. Fewer clicks are better.

Selections
Selections do not work properly
Selecting multiple photos and hitting the delete key, only selects one. Must right click.
Same with flagging picks.

To select the VIEW PICKS filter, you now need to click twice. Clicking once does nothing

Folder structure collapses when changing or adding folder names, forcing retracing of a lot of steps. Worse performance than 2.X

Use MAC Color Sceme on Folder Tree Structure. I carefully color code my folders and in both Bridge and Lightroom, it is not shown. Yet, in Photoshop, when I try to find a file, the folders open in all their relevant, colorful glory. Surely the Mac / Adobe “Special Relationship” should allow for this to happen.

Import JPEGs and convert to DPG: don’t give me an excuse and message that it was’t done.

Add to a given collection - quick, the B key is quick collection, what is the shortcut key to add to a SPECIFIC Collection?

Need one EASY shortcut key to go to Library, not compound. How about L. Change L for lights out. Lights out should be FULL SCREEN slide show without the loading delay. Current feature is of limited use to me.

Camera Raw updates not coordinated. Despite having Lightroom 3.3, and CS5, Adobe Updater still thinks I am out of date.

Keywording panel is too hard to customize. I repeatedly need to fill in only a few fields but have to scroll all over creation. How about “Right click and use check boxes for the fields you want to see.”

Explanation of creating a hierarchy needs to be better. I have lots of creatures with Common names and Latin names and Adobe hasn’t made my life INTUITIVELY easier here.

BRIDGE
Some Items are UN-LABEL-ABLE. Need to skip some and just remember the one that needed a label or rating.

VIEW /Sort View is a mess. Buried many menu clicks deep, it should always be visable. I frequently have to do sorts Ascending and Descending, by date and by filename. Make Sort a different menu bar item and use checkboxes so we can do things quickly, not having to back in repeatedly. Fewer clicks are a good thing.

COPY TO AND MOVE TO should support longer lists of folders. ACDSee does this better, but they are flailing and uncommunicative as well.

Use MAC Color Sceme on Folder Tree Structure. I carefully color code my folders and in both Bridge and Lightroom, it is not shown. Yet, in Photoshop, when I try to find a file, the folders open in all their relevant, colorful glory. Surely the Mac / Adobe “Special Relationship” should allow for this to happen.

Enable Mouse/Trackball wheel scrolling to go to next picture.

Using MAC OSX, switching to Lightroom requires going via Bridge, or other application. Most of the time, my monitor 2 appears and not the main view. Could be a video card issue.

PHOTOSHOP
Adjustment Brush wanted, not just in Camera Raw. Dodge and Burn is messy and awkward.

Opening shots from BRIDGE, you can’t pre-determine where the picture will appear between two monitors. Arbitrary and files can get buried and hidden.

INCREDIBLY, PHOTOSHOP STILL DOES NOT AUTO SAVE DOCUMENTS. Auto-update Open documents is a useless term. AUTO SAVE OPEN DOCUMENTS is better, should be default setting.

I have NO IDEA what AUTO-UPDATE DOES. It surely does NOT AUTO SAVE. Deceptive name to the function. Electric Iris has a plugin (http://www.electriciris.com/psdautosaver.html) but that is not the answer for a program that just celebrated its 20th ANNIVERSARY!

PORTRAITS: Tibetan Portrait - The Power of Compassion

2011-02-22T22:21:00.014-05:00

BOOK REVIEW: Tibetan Portrait - The Power of Compassion Photos by Phil Borges

Learned of this book at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art in Staten Island where this exhibit is in it waning days. The museum is lilliputian, but the grounds are photogenic in themselves and perfect for a party / celebration. The view from Lighthouse Hill is one of NYCs best kept secrets but that is a post for a another time.

The book has stunning photographs of Tibetans from circa 1994. Count on this venue to keep you up to date even it takes 20 years. Photographers learn in many different ways as most humans but we, DUH, tend to be more VISUAL in our learning preferences. This book is a PRE-DIGITAL LESSON in four things: 1. Human expression, 2. Subtlety of color (B&W combined with Sepia), 3. Lighting and 4. Use of "Frames" in a pre-photoshop era.

The book it out of print but available. Rizzoli is the publisher.

Steve McCurry, Richard Avedon and Annie Liebowitz are among my favorite portrait photographers. Whether studio or outdoors, the human being is still among our most fascinating subjects.

Tibetan Portraits succeeds because these folks are NOT from here. They look different. You will not see them in the local Chinese restaurant. They are different, they are Tibetan. Their culture is in their eyes. The Dalai Lama shot is stunning, yet he blends in with the rest of the subjects. Much to learn here. The text accompanying the photos is provided by the Dalai Lama.

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Adorama Specials for Feb 17

2011-02-18T17:24:00.001-05:00

The Adorama Specials for Feb 17 are available here.

INEXPENSIVE MUSLIN BACKGROUNDS

2011-02-16T15:30:00.004-05:00

Having a variety of backgrounds is important for any studio or enthusiast photographer. Having a primo background that is contemporary and painted with different tints can give your work a distinctive look. Model Beatriz Carranza is depicted below using a Wescott background. (Her contact info is found in my portrait gallery here.)

However, you want to change things from time to time and BLACK and WHITE are basic alternatives. So much so that Botero has given away a ton of their plain white #000 background when you buy another background. Except it isn't Muslin, most likely it is nylon or polyester. Muslin by the way is a fabric weave of COTTON. Flannel is a different weave of cotton.

So why then is the black version of the #000 near $80.00 or so? It is a mystery of the seas.

To avoid that toll, I went to a fabric store today and saw they had a MUSLIN department. The material is 9 feet wide and I got 3 yards as it is sold by the yard. Cost? Under $30.00. You may want to have someone sew a flap on one end so it can be supported in a background stand. Voila!

Here is the earth held up to my black background. Just kidding. See this and more in my Surreal Gallery.

LONG LENS MYSTERIES

2011-02-09T17:17:00.010-05:00

Long Lenses are critical if you are a bird or wildlife photographer. There is no using a point and shoot with a 140 mm equivalent zoom lens. A minimum 400-500 mm is required. OK. However, a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out the current lineup of Focal length by manufacturer and their prices. What is wrong with this picture?

The prices are from B&H today but the exact pricing is not important. The BIG RED HOLE above is the gap that is the elephant in the room and NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT.

What this says, is that if you want a 600 or 800 mm 5.6 lens, you must spend over $8000!

I am using a Canon 70-200 2.8 L with a 2x extender. The resulting 400mm 5.6 beats my 170-500 Sigma hands down, never mind the image stabilization. I pushed the extremes and equipped the Sigma 5.6 with a Sigma 2X converter and have a rarely used 1000mm f/11 manual focus dreadful, unsharp compromise. Autofocus requires f/5.6 or better.

Now, why must we spend $8000 for a decent 600 mm? Do market forces dictate so little demand for the lenses and the expense of manufacturing so high, dictate that nothing decent can be had for say $2500?

Here is a challenge for long lens manufacturers, Canon, Nikon, Sigma, and Tamron to come up with a single focal length 600 mm IS 5.6 lens that does not break the bank.

Here is my T-Shirt design shot with my Canon telephoto from a safe distance.

See my bear gallery shot with various long lenses.

COMMENT FROM GREG SMITH:

Funny you should post on this. Just yesterday, I noted with some dismay that the Canon 500/4 now costs more than $9k. Not so long ago, the previous version (the $9k is for a "II" model) was less than $5k.

The dollar has depreciated against the yen. Many costs are up. But few of us who actually try to make a living with such glass have been flourishing.

After years of limping with a Canon 300/4 IS and Canon teleconverters, I found a great, open-box deal last year on one of the few well-built, off-brand 300/2.8s remaining on the market. It's surprisingly good, even with the Canon 1.4x. And the 2X combo is fairly practical.

Certainly, I would like to have the white 500/4, 400/2.8 or even the 400/4 DO. But I simply don't see a business plan to support owning any of them - let alone a 600/4. I guess Canon figures safari-addicted doctors and lawyers will pay for the arm candy. Perhaps they figure that if the price is higher it will draw more conspicuous consumers.

Certainly there's more profit in such folks than in pros struggling to make more for less in the digital age.

-- greg smith

http://www.facebook.com/l/52a31uZ5mT6YTopWMUKa6QFeGsg;imediasmith.com

COMMENT FROM DAVID HAAS

I don't think any manufacturer is going make a fixed f5.6 400mm, 500mm, etc. at a lower than $3K price.

Reason being they don't NEED to......

Between SI (Sports Illustrated) type photogs and the remaining news services (plus the well heeled customer "Hobbyist" shooters) they will sell whatever limited numbers they produce. At a decent profit I'm sure, too.

Lens rental places will buy them and make oodles of money for the "one safari of a lifetime" folks who need that lens on a once in a lifetime type trip.

I haven't bought a lens over 300mm EVER.........Especially only owning 1.6X crop type dSLR bodies.

It's similar to the tiny world of UW shooter lamenting about new EVIL cameras with APS-C sensors and interchangeable lenses in smaller bodies. It would be GREAT if these took off meaning a lighter smaller housing to travel with.

But a conversation I had with a photo industry friend the other day spells it out...........

I cried "Why isn't my beloved Canon announced one yet?"

If you read the rumors sites neither Canon nor Nikon are rushing to bring one out and compete with Sony NEX-5 or other models like the Olympus E-PL2, a few other Panasonic and the like...

The MAIN reason, they don't HAVE to.

They're already tooled up to produce a few hundred thousand (close to a million?) each of lower end dSLR cameras (such as the newest Canon Rebel T3i) the Nikon D3100 and other various priced models. They also can then sell you lenses, flashes, accessory grips, etc.

Right now look how cheap a dSLR is that take astounding pics at higher ISOs than1-2 generations ago. So "fast" lenses aren't needed as much for 99% of dSLR owners.

YES, for isolation you need to vary your technique but it isn't that hard with even a moderate zoom variable aperture lens like a f4-5.6.

I routinely shoot my Canon 60D at ISO 400 - 800 and higher.

Awhile ago I thought the low priced dSLR would die soon.

Now I'm not so sure.....

    David Haas

    www.haasimages.com

ADDITIONAL JA COMMENT

DATA POINT: Unfortunately, major lens rental places IN NYC don't seem to have 600mm or above for rent AT ALL last time I looked. Anyone please prove me wrong, there may be a business opportunity here to rent 600mms in NYC.

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ADORAMA SPECIALS for February 7, 2011

2011-02-09T16:45:00.000-05:00

A bunch of cool stuff this week including memory Card discounts.

Click here.

CANON LENSES: Gaps in the line

2011-02-01T15:15:00.004-05:00

This is a major failing of the Canon Marketing team in my opinion. Looking over the Fall 2010 EOS System catalog, the most glaring need is in the area of the Canon 15-85mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM. Canon needs to make a slightly wider version of this maybe 12-85mm. However, this would be IDEAL as an "L" Series 2.8 Lens to satisfy those of us using APS-C sensor cameras.

The Existing lineup of L Series lenses has only a 16-35mm 2.8L USM and new fisheye 8-15mm. These are hardly good for portraits. The L-Series lenses that are made are the 24-70 2.8L and the 24-105 4.0L. Nice, but not wide enough as was outlined in the chart of my previous post.

The Canon solution is for me to sell all my APS-C cameras and get a couple of FULL FRAME Cameras like the Canon 5D Mark IIs, and that is considerably more painful than buying one lens.

If you feel the same way, please provide feedback to Canon at:
carecenter@CITS.CANON.COM copy me too at John@JohnAresPhotographic.com

and Canon Rumors at:
http://www.canonrumors.com/category/photography/canon-lenses/

Marketing Lenses: Industry Failings

2011-02-01T14:26:00.005-05:00

I think that camera and lens manufacturers such as Canon, Sigma and Tamron have missed the boat in the way they market lenses. Similar to the great, deceptive MEGAPIXEL wars (much ado about nothing) giving a "35mm equivalent" is not especially helpful.

I frequently like to shoot fairly wide, around the magic angle of 90 degrees, the full frame equivalent of 20mm. To do this using the highest quality lenses from Canon is a challenge as their L series ZOOMS mostly stops at 24mm. At this end of the lens spectrum, every millimeter counts.

The Sea Lions below were shot with an 11-18mm Tamron Lens at 11mm.

See more of my Sea Lions and Seals here.

The following chart I derived from a Wikipedia chart and illustrates typical angles of view.

What does this all mean? For real meaning, I want the camera and lens manufacturers to start marketing lens angles using DEGREES of Diagonal coverage, not Focal length.

The Sea Lion shot above is available for sale as a T-Shirt here.

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JAN 27, 2011

2011-02-01T00:46:00.000-05:00

Click here to see this week's specials.

HOW TO SHOOT THE EIFFEL TOWER

2011-01-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

The Eiffel Tower is as iconic to Paris and France as any structure in the world. A marvel then and now for its innovation and sheer beauty. It is also easy to create a perfectly mundane photo. I don't believe the one below is in that category.

Click here to see more from Paris.

Most people shoot it during the day with a standard lens from less than a mile away. So do THOUSANDS of other people.

So a few considerations for something different:

Relationship to other parts of the city.
Time of day
Angle and
Lens choice.

1. The tower is fairly central to the city on the western side along the Seine River, so it is visible from many locations. At 1063 feet tall, it is still taller than many surrounding hilly neighborhoods to the north. With careful planning, you can combine a shot with other landmarks.

2. Time of day. This may not be the mountains, but Galen Rowel's "magic hour" concepts do apply. Midday pictures are uniformly dull. At dusk, the tower becomes illuminated by the famous golden lights. So you need to consider, Sunrise, Sunset or Night to get something more original.

3. To shoot a different angle, your choices are more limited. Get up in the hills near the Basilica of Saint-Coeur and shoot with a 200-400 lens, get aerial, but I am not familiar with the tour planes that are available, or get underneath. Voila!

4. I shot "Tour Eiffel" with a fisheye, a Tokina 10 - 17mm lens on my Canon body.

This shot also made a good Paris T-shirt. Click here to buy.

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JANUARY 19th

2011-01-20T11:41:00.001-05:00

This week's Adorama specials are posted here.

HOW TO SHOOT LIONFISH

2011-01-15T13:22:00.001-05:00

THE PROBLEM WITH LIONFISH

Lionfish, a beautiful and venomous predator fish of the Pacific has made headlines in recent years because they have been introduced in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea accidentally. The bad news is that they like it in the Atlantic a bit too much. The fish below was photographed in its native Fiji at a famous SCUBA Diving site called E-6.

See more of Fiji here.

Since Lionfish are venomous, common sense says you need to exercise caution when approaching them. The venom resides in the tips on the feathery and beautiful Dorsal and Pectoral fins. Wear gloves and a full wetsuit. I advise this for all diving as abrasion protection. Approach slowly from the side being aware that they may aggressively try to chase you off. Use the camera as your defense to gently control their advance. While they are aggressive, they do not mindlessly try to inject you. They are not as aggressive as Damselfishes or some Clownfish (biting).

This shot was done with a Canon camera with a Canon 20mm lens in an Ikelite Housing using a single strobe held above and to the left of the subject. Distance was about 6 inches away, the fish was about 12" long. Look to capture behaviors such as feeding or capturing pairs, etc.

NOAA has instituted a program called "Eat Lionfish." Since the fish in the Atlantic is now a serious problem, with no natural predators, populations are growing and threatening native species. Leave the native ones elsewhere ALONE!

To help with publicizing the effort, we have created a t-shirt that uses a variation of the shot above. It is available for sale here.

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JAN 13, 2011

2011-01-14T13:41:00.000-05:00

Click here to see the ADORAMA Specials for Jan 13, 2011.

HOLIDAY SPECIALS from ADORAMA

2010-12-15T15:52:00.002-05:00

Click here for the HOLIDAY SPECIALS from ADORAMA

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CANON Error 99

2010-11-29T16:40:00.001-05:00

Error 99 is a common error with Canon D-SLR cameras that reminds me of the "Check Engine" light on your car's dashboard. Its meaning is cryptic and literally could have MULTIPLE causes.

We got hit with it while traveling in Greece. Cameras never fail in the closet you know. Turns out the culprit was a Sigma 35-200mm lens whose electronics had given up the ghost.

The error appears intermittently which is maddening since it make diagnosis difficult. Sometimes it was "cured" for a moment by shutting off the camera and turning it back on. Other times this was a fools errand and didn't work.

I tried the lens on another body and sure enough, it produced the error, so back to Sigma went the lens. It cost around $100 to fix, so be prepared for that. Other web posts had said that the repairs were pro-bono, but that was not my case.

Check out this site for additional causes.

Shot with my Sigma 18-200mm in Santorini Greece. Shot in Fira looking toward Oia. I was literally sick as a dog but had to get the shot. Click here to see more of Greece.

ADORAMA POST THANKSGIVING SPECIALS

2010-11-29T16:11:00.003-05:00

The Post Thanksgiving Adorama specials are posted here. Enjoy!

GAPS IN PHOTOSHOP AND LIGHTROOM - CONVERTING COLOR NEGATIVES

2010-11-15T06:10:00.004-05:00

Gaps in features provided by Adobe mean opportunities for other Photo Software Developers. Case in point, converting Color Negatives to Positives. This Blog has posted articles on how to do this previously, but the process is not exactly easy or straightforward. You need to fiddle a lot with getting the white point exactly right.

There is a program called Cyberview X that is bundled with Pacific Image Powerslide Scanners, but you cannot use it on an existing file that you copied from a negative. I spoke to Pacific Image about this and they told me they have no intention of modifying the software to load existing files, it is only designed for scanning in progress using their scanner.

I bought a utility called Vuescan, but it won't do BATCH! Again, it is designed with the SINGLE PURPOSE of using with an ATTACHED SCANNER. It has been upgraded since I got it, but for the purpose of converting an existing file, the process is NOT obvious with the new version. All the elements seem in place, but just try and figure out how to get to it.

Some Lightroom Presets are free on the net but I was not happy with the results.

So here are the requirements:

Using an existing file of a color negative

Have a selection to convert by Film type (Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, etc will have different orange masks)
Convert to positive either in batch or singly.
Sell as a Lightroom Preset or Photoshop/Elements Plugin

With all the energies devoted to virus development, here is a clear opportunity to solve an existing problem that the "BIGS" don't want to touch. What say you Vuescan, ACDSee, Alien Skin, OnOne and Nik?

GAP IN CANON LENS LINEUP - Part II

2010-11-13T22:51:00.010-05:00

This is a follow up to a previous post on the same subject. I love Canon Products. I am a part of Canon Professional Services (CPS). They don't favor their APS-C shooters. I think much of the lens line is redundant and the third party manufacturers like SIGMA are taking a similar stance. We need innovation beyond the 18-200mm do-it-all & nothing f/5.6 travel lens.

Here is the case. I shoot a variety of subjects. Some on land, some underwater. Some WIDE and some needing TELEPHOTO and MACRO. On land, I find it easy to carry two cameras to cover a wide range of subjects but the current Canon lineup of lenses isn't wide enough to fill the bill. I was weaned with a Vivitar 20mm lens in my hand on my old screw-mount Pentax Spotmatic. That is about a 90 degree field of view.

90 degree wide allows an extra measure of perspectivie and creativity without fisheye distortion. For APS-C, taking into account the 1.5 magnification factor, that means lenses in the 12- 13 mm range. 1.5 x 13 = 19.5mm which is about 20mm. EVERY MILIMETER COUNTS. However, for APS-C, Canon only has the 10-22 EF-S. ALL THE REST start are woefully inadequate like the closest Canon 15-85 3.5-5.6 IS USM. 15mm = 22.5 in APS-C terms. But it isn't enough.

I want L (Flourite) glass that Canon produces for full frame sensors. I want a 2.8 Lens, not 5.6. The popular 24-70 mm 2.8 L USM is the laughable equivalent of a 36mm in APS-C terms. The widest L Zoom is 16 - 35. 16mm full frame = 24mm for an APS-C or about 70 degrees at the widest. Not good enough. Subjects occur between 35mm and 70mm. THREE milimeters of Focal length cuts off 20 degrees of capability / creativity for APS-C users. Nobody has noticed. If you have, you need get vocal to Canon.

A lens from 13mm - 70mm EF-S 2.8 L would be the perfect solution to accompany a 70 - 200 EF 2.8 L. Subjects occur between 35mm and 70mm. Encourage the rumor. I invite your comments. Part 3 will talk about the huge gap in Canon telephoto lenses.

Shot with my really sharp Tokina 10-18 Fisheye. Stock photo available for sale at ALAMY.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM EXPORT PRESETS

2010-11-12T17:06:00.007-05:00

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a fabulous tool but it must be configured properly to get the speed benefits. Case in point: EXPORT PRESETS. Remember in Lightroom, you create copies of your files by EXPORTING.

EXPORT PRESETS can be very useful if you are dealing with many different requirements. EXPORT PRESETS can be customized to:

Make batch changes in format to DNG
Resize your images for the Web or Email,
Add Watermarks or any combination of the the above.

When you are finished editing your next batch of photos in the Develop Module and you have selected the ones to export, you click EXPORT and you are presented with the EXPORT dialog pane. Presets are at the top left of the pane. Adobe ships Lightroom with several factory made presets. I chose For Email for this example.

A single click will being up selections that have been made.

For some STRANGE REASON, Lightroom ships with ADD TO CATALOG Unchecked as the Default. Why you would want your photos to be invisible to Lightroom is a mystery to me. Be sure in all your presets, you CHECK the Add to This Catalog checkbox as shown below. Lightroom will be VERY FRUSTRATING if this is not Checked and Saved properly.

In the factory preset For Email, you will see that the size is being reduced along with resolution. However, I don't like minimizing the Metadata. It strips out much of the Metadata that I painstakingly added to the the photos.

To modify the preset for our purposes, uncheck the Minimize Embedded Metadata box.

So save these settings as a custom preset, click on ADD at the bottom left.

The Naming Dialog will appear. Enter a unique name for your preset and click CREATE.

Lightroom is capricious in where is puts your preset, so scan the list, it will most likely be in either User Presets or psa.lrplugin. This is most likely a bug in ver 3.2.

You can organize your presets just by dragging them all to User Presets and they will be listed alphabetically.

You can RENAME your presets by RIGHT clicking on the preset. You can DELETE or save updates from the same Right Click dialog.

The following was created using a preset designed to reduce the size and watermark for the web.

The photo above is also available in our NEW T-Shirt Store! Click here to visit our unique collection of Classic and Edgy shirts, many with a sense of humor.

ADORAMA SPECIALS for NOVEMBER 12

2010-11-11T17:25:00.001-05:00

Click here to see the specials for November 12, 2010.

INNOVATIVE FILM A THREAT TO DIGITAL?

2010-10-28T22:02:00.001-04:00

A slightly older story but worth following as the technology develops.
JA

SOURCE: http://www.eetimes.com/General/DisplayPrintViewContent?contentItemId=4088144
Quantum film threatens to replace CMOS image chips

R Colin Johnson

3/22/2010 12:28 AM EDT

Just as film was displaced by silicon chips, so now quantum film threatens to replace CMOS image chips by responding electrically to light instead of by changing its chemical composition.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Just as photographic film was mostly replaced by silicon image chips, now quantum film threats to replace the conventional CMOS image sensors in digital cameras. Made from materials similar to conventional film—a polymer with embedded particles—instead of silver grains like photographic film the embedded particles are quantum dots. Quantum films can image scenes with more pixel resolution, according to their inventors, InVisage Inc., offering four-times better sensitivity for ultra-high resolution sensors that are cheaper to manufacture.

"Many innovations are said to be revolutionary, but are really incremental changes. InVisage's quantum film, on the other hand, really is revolutionary," said Tom Hausken, director of photonics and compound semiconductors at Strategies Unlimited (Mountain View, Calif.) "Quantum dots have been a solution looking for a problem for several years, and InVisage has found a very significant problem they can solve."

According to Morry Marshall, vice president of strategic technologies at Semico Research Corp. (Phoenix), InVisage could have the next generation image sensor. "It gathers more light so you can either make a smaller image sensor for a less expensive cell phone camera, or you make a higher resolution sensor for high-end digital cameras," Marshall said. "It's a huge step forward and the market is also huge, so they will also need to overcome the problems facing any small company when trying to penetrate a large market."

The new semiconducting material was invented by Univeristy of Toronto professor Ted Sargent, who is now chief technology officer at InVisage. Sargent perfected a method of suspending lead-sulfide nanoparticles in a polymer matrix to form a new class of semiconducting polymer that Invisage has spent the last three years integrating into a standard CMOS process. Now it can paint quantum film atop a low-cost wafer that has the electrode array for super-dense high-pixel-count images, but without any of the expensive CMOS photodetectors that make up the bulk of conventional digital camera sensors.
"Our quantum film replaces the silicon used for image capture, but what we have really created here is a new semiconductor material," said Jess Lee, InVisage president and CEO. "Our quantum film even looks like photographic film—an opaque black material that we deposit right on the top layer of our image chip."

Unlike tradition semiconductors, which have a fixed bandgap, the bandgap of Invisage's quantum film can be adjusted by changing the size of the embedded quantum dots. The film can also be painted-on at room temperature, obviating the need for expensive high-temperature fabrication techniques required by conventional sensors.
"We can paint our quantum-dot film onto any surface," said Lee. "Right now we are painting them on silicon wafers for our first product—an ultra low cost image sensor that obsoletes CMOS sensors."

Traditional CMOS sensors require that light filter down past several microns of metallization to reach the photodetectors on a silicon wafer, but InVisage's quantum film is on the top layer for 100 percent exposure to incident light.

"Traditional CMOS sensors require light to travel down through four or five microns of metal before reaching the photodetector, whereas our quantum film captures all the incident light in a layer just 500 nanometers thick," said Michael Hepp, director of marketing at InVisage (Santa Clara, Calif.).

This process that was improved upon by OmniVision (where Lee was formerly the vice president of the mainstream business unit) with back-side illumination (BSI). According to Lee, BSI only converts about 80 percent of incident light because trenches are required between pixels to prevent cross talk in conventional sensors. Quantum film, on the other hand, exposes the entire top layer of the chip to light, allowing 100 percent pixel coverage and without the need for BSI.

"Just by virtue of having our detector on the top surface, we get a 2X increase in sensitivity—the holy grail of the industry," said Lee. "Beyond that we have changed the materials too—our quantum film is twice as efficient at absorbing incident light for another 2X improvement, for a 4X improvement overall."

Physically, what happens is photons hit the quantum dots, but because of their small size quantum confinement converts the energy into an exciton—a bound electron-hole pair. The metal electrode then conducts the electron away thereby sensing the incident light.
"We draw down those electrons and store them on a capacitor in a very standard-looking CMOS pixel—except we don't have to build a photodetector too so we can use much larger and less expensive geometries, since the quantum film has already done all the light capturing steps on the first layer," said Lee.

As a consequence, InVisage claims to be able to create image sensors that are four-times as sensitive (or four times smaller for the same sensitivity) using a low-cost 8-inch, 1.1-micron CMOS line at TSMC, compared to the CMOS image vendors today who have to use an expensive 12-inch, 65 nanometer process to achieve inferior results.

For the future, the company also plans to target other specialized applications, such as pitch-black night vision goggles, cheaper solar cells and even spray-on displays.

"Because we have better quantum efficiency, we can also apply our quantum film technology to more efficiently collect light for solar cells, or for paintable displays on textiles, clothing and other novel uses such as glowing street signs and other night-time illumination needs," said Hepp.

InVisage has had two rounds of funding since its founding in 2006, including about $30 million so far from RockPort Capital, Charles River Ventures, InterWest Partners and OnPoint Technologies.

UPDATE PHOTOPLUS EXPO

2010-10-19T14:09:00.000-04:00

I just found out that PhotoExpo Plus entry can still be free. The Expo is comin Oct 28-30 at the NYC Javits Center

The deadline for free expo registration has come and gone, but friends and colleagues can still get in to the exhibit hall absolutely free! All you have to do is register online and use VIP Code FRIE1

http://www.photoplus...expo.com/

PHOTO PLUS EXPO - NYC

2010-10-06T15:59:00.002-04:00

Photo Expo Plus is at the Javits Center in NYC Oct 28th - 30 and the expo is free till Oct 15th. Three days of Seminars are available at extra cost. https://www.xpressreg.net/register/phot100/landing_p.asp?al=1&h

CREATIVITY SEMINAR AT NYUPS

2010-10-04T21:08:00.000-04:00

John will be presenting a seminar on CREATIVITY in UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY at the New York Underwater Photographic Society at the Arctica Bar, 28th St & 3rd Ave, NYC at 7pm. More info and a download of the presentation, visit NYUPS.ORG

CREATIVITY - Point & Shoot Limitations

2010-07-21T16:47:00.003-04:00

This venue doesn't spend a lot of space on equipment because ultimately, the camera make or model really matters little. Whether I have a Nikon, Canon , Olympus, Pentax or SONY is largely immaterial.

What matters much more is the question "is the tool capable of doing what you want?" If I want to shoot birds or nature, this pretty much rules out a Point & Shoot (P&S). Sure you can force a long zoom Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) into play, but it will still suffer from shutter lag / delay. You will be frustrated until you start using the larger and heavier SLR.

Surprisingly, you will also be frustrated with shooting kids and cats! Both are fast moving subjects with fleeting expressions. However, the SLR with its industrial strength image processor & sensor are capable of RESPONDING quickly. An SLR with long lens is the only style of instrument than can deliver the goods in this case of the capturing the geese below reliably. The Windmills are just north of Atlantic City, NJ. The geese are at Forsythe National Park.

See more bird pictures in my Bird Gallery.

However, it you are shooting casually, and perhaps still scenes, you creativity may not be crimped at all. If you are likely to leave the big camera at home a P&S will be your best bet for having something in your pocket. My Canon G9 has produced very nice low light shots in New Zealand. Due to its medium size, I use the G9 in a compact case on my belt. Below, the Sky Tower in Aukland was not going anywhere fast. And it also makes a nice enlargement up to 13 x19.

License this image at Alamy

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ADORAMA Specials for July 16

2010-07-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

Click here for the July 16 Specials.

Canon S90 - WAITING FOR THE NEW LEICA

2010-07-15T22:48:00.008-04:00

Thanks to digital, Photography is no longer a Joy. Seriously. Press the shutter release, take the picture... err, no,,, um...wait a minute..scene gone... PERFECTLY EXPOSED TECHNOLOGICALLY MEANINGLESS LATE SHOT, DEVOID OF MEANING OR INTENT.

OK with the "serious" Prosumer and above D-SLRs, The "time parallax" or shutter delay has finally been fixed. Not in the under $500 P&S category. I had the opportunity to give a Canon S90 a workout yesterday.

On/off button. Can't even Canon be consistent with the simple on/off thing? Geeze! My Canon G9 is in a very different place from the S90. Get out the engineering baseball bat! Talk to each other Canon guys! Don't be creative here with every new model folks! Don't be like the separate Adobe and Lightroom and Photoshop teams not talking to each other!

Here is the list items that needs some standardization:

On / Off - same place (Keeps changing)

Zoom - same place

Take the Picture - Same Place

Chimping playback - same place (keeps changing)

Flash on off same place - (inconsistent behavior - needs three modes all the time( Yes / No / Camera program choice)}

Macro - Same place

All else is subject of "improvement and modification." Keep all the rest the same for the sake of restaurant waters and brand users.

The Leica sized cameras have not been fixed in the under $500 category in my opinion. I own and love my Canon G9 for what it can do. However, neither can hold a candle to an old technology Leica 35mm in response time. Either in focus time or shutter release. Slavishness to the "god of Automation" now make compact point and shoots still "toys." Not even close to a professional or enthusiast tool for "casual" use. Capturing the "the Decisive Moment" is not for these cameras.

Interior and dim light party setting. Perfect for this kind of test. Good "stand and get the group shots" on P-Program. Not good for upward shooting in face mode where it couldn't find the lone face. It kept searching - forever.

Like the G9, Canon still haven't fixed the flash choices. You can choose between Flash on AUTO (it decides when it feels like firing) or No flash. You cannot choose YES, I CHOOSE FLASH ON. Canon wants you to believe the S90 Knows better than you do. Many shots were taken with no flash when I knew it needed it. No way to deliberately turn it on using a button. You may need the INSTRUCTION manual to go three menu choices deep to discover this "feature."

So a lukewarm recommendation for the S90.

Where is my new responsive digital Leica for under $500?

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JULY 14, 2010

2010-07-14T16:08:00.001-04:00

Happy Bastille Day! Click here for the Adorama Specials for this week.

CANON LENS DEVELOPMENT REQUEST

2010-07-10T15:14:00.002-04:00

Back in April, CanonRumors.com posted a poll asking readers to vote for one of eight lenses they listed. I disagreed with the candidates listed at: http://www.canonrumors.com/2010/04/new-lenses-2/#comments.

I followed up with the comment below. What are your thoughts? SIGMA - How do you see the market?
JA

John Ares

June 13, 2010 at 8:33 pm

I think the poll is wrong. I like to shoot with two APS-C bodies. My long lens is the 70-200 2.8 IS L. I have been campaigning for Canon to make a COMPLEMENT that starts at 95degrees. This would be about the equivalent of a 15-70 2.8 L Lens. Does any one agree? The current "L"stable is all designed for full frame.

The spider below was shot at night on Staten Island with my Canon 70-200 2.8 L with a 2X extender at effectively 310mm using flash. Click here to see more of my INSECTS & SPIDERS Gallery.

10 Tips on Photographing Bears

2010-06-21T16:29:00.008-04:00

This should really be called "How I shoot Grizzly Bears." Photographing bears in the wild can be hazardous so you need to make yourself familiar with basic bear safety rules and go with competant guides. You really do not want to become another Timothy Treadwell and end up on a bear's menu. I am not encouraging anyone to go and shoot bears any more than shooting sharks. However, it can be one of the most rewarding experiences for any photographer or naturalist at heart.

The following is based on a recent trip to Katmai National Park in Alaska. We went with Bald Mountain Air based in Homer, Alaska and is run by Gary and Jeanne Porter.
800-478-7969 or 907-235-7969. They have been doing this for 17 years as of this writing. Gary was our guide for adventure. Advanced booking is a must.

1. Go with an experienced guide. Despite all the video on cable news of bears bouncing off trampolines, bear encounters can be rewarding or tragic. Educate yourself on your subject. Grizzlies (Brown Bear) behave differently than Black or Polar Bears. I am an expert in NONE of these, but I listen closely to those who ARE expert.

When you listen to them, this becomes a safe experience and not the ego stroke to cross off on the bucket list. We did not feel scared during the experience so adrenaline junkies will be disappointed.

2. Go in a group. Recently we had a group of six, four paying customers and two crew.

3. Listen to your guides and stay close as a group. Our band of six stayed within three feet of each other when travelling and stopped as advised by the guides. When appropriate, he would motion to us to sit down as a group and we sat for maybe 15 minutes or so just observing and photographing the bears.

4. Keep your distance. In Katmai, the rangers suggest at least 50 yards which seems appropriate. Read this link.

5. Keep bears in context. Open Tundra is different from a salmon fishing river, is different from the woods, is different from the suburbs of Anchorage. You don't want to surprise a bear or get near a mother and cubs. Learn about bears.

6. Use a 400mm lens at minimum (600 - 800mm is best) with Optical Stabilization if possible. A lightweight corrosion-proof tripod can be helpful depending on the situation. Tundra is like a marsh (wet). You can use a BIG ZOOM Point and Shoot such as the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

7. Since you may likely be out all day, bring lots of cards and battery changes. I prefer to use a vest and small backpack. A working shoulder bag is not as streamlined for crossing streams, etc.

8. Follow your guide advice regarding food and TP needs. You may be in complete wilderness.

9 Camera Rain shield and warm layers of wicking (non-cotton) clothes are a must in Bear country where weather can change quickly.

10. In Katmai, plan your trip according to the month and bear activity. In June you will likely end up at Hallo Bay as the bears are shaking off hibernation and eating sedge grass, In July at Brooks falls to catch the bears at the falls trying to grab salmon. This is a highly regulated and timed experience. In August your destination may be Geographic Harbor where the bears grab salmon in a less restricted environment.

11. Shoot captive bears. You will get better portraits at no risk to your or the bear's life. Just disclose.

Click here to see my Bear Gallery.

Click here to see my Alaska Gallery from the trip.

Recommended reading:
Into Brown Bear Country by Will Trover

Death in the Grizzly Maze - The Timothy Treadwell Story by Mike Lapinsky

SCUBA NEWS BRIEF - NEKTON CRUISES END

2010-05-24T22:39:00.003-04:00

The Nekton Liveabords have been a staple of the SCUBA and Underwater Photography world for many years. They have ceased operations as of May 17th. The Aggressor fleet is picking up their reservations. Sorry to see them go. Click below for more

http://www.facebook.com/notes/aggressor-fleet/aggressor-dancer-fleet-honor-nekton-reservations/393524017269

http://www.nektoncruises.com/

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY - Photographer's Mask

2010-05-22T11:53:00.005-04:00

If you are an underwater photographer, being able to view and compose a photo using a D-SLR in a housing is much more challenging than on land. Nikonos photographers using an accessory viewfinder and those using a digital Point & Shoot camera screen do not have problems viewing with most diving masks.

The way to make viewing and composing easier with D-SLRs is to use a PHOTOGRAPHER'S MASK. By definition, a Photographer's Mask is a mask with:

BLACK or Dark SKIRT,
Low Volume and
Very close to the eyes.

Of course, the most important feature of a mask is correct fit. Once you have established that you like a mask, the advantage of the black skirt is that reflections are eliminated. These can interfere with viewing inside the housing.

Low Volume allows for a design that gets the glass of the mask close to the eyes. This gets your eye a more normal distance to the camera viewfinder inside the housing and allows you to see more of the entire image in the viewfinder. Using a standard Diving mask, there is a high likelihood there will be severe vignetting, cutting off the edges of view. Your photos will most likely be poorly composed and require a lot of cropping. The mask on the left is considerably closer to the eyes than the one on the right, and provides room for a prominent proboscus.

Composing the Sea Lion dance here required a good clear view and fast reflexes.

Click here to see some more examples of my underwater favorites.

I currently use a Cressi Matrix mask.

Other Black Skirt examples are: the Cressi Superocchio, ScubaPro Framless, Essence Liquidskin Mask, Atomic SubFrame, Mares X-Vision or the Oceanic Shadow.

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DECLARING WAR PART 2: ASPECT RATIOS

2010-05-19T20:51:00.009-04:00

Resuming the discussion from yesterday, clearly the camera manufacturers, the printer manufacturers and the ancillary frame manufacturers and art world never break bread at the same table. In the sophisticated age of 2010, looking at the absolute chaos and mishmash of formats and Aspect Ratios, the physical photo landscape looks like:

Software printing preset sizes (Photoshop, Lightroom, et al.)
Printer Paper sizes
Frame sizes,
Chip sensor sizes
Backing material sizes and
Mounting Adhesive sizes

were all designed in a Vacuum. This may all be moot as hanging a photo on the wall becomes a quaint memory.

MY vote is that 4 x 6, 6 x 9 and 8 x 12 OUGHT to be the 21st century standards of 1.5 to 1 ratio. There is a 2 inch increase as you go up the scale of the proportions: 4, 6, 8. These represent 80% of the worlds cameras see below from Wikipedia. The sizes of 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 need to go away forever.

Wikipedia entry:
As of 2008, DSLR sales are dominated by Canon's and Nikon's offerings. For 2007, Canon edged out Nikon with 41% of worldwide sales to the latter's 40%, followed by Sony and Olympus each with approximately 6% market share.^[27] In the Japanese domestic market, Nikon captured 43.3% to Canon's 39.9%, with Pentax a distant third at 6.3%.^[28]

COMMON ASPECT RATIOS

D-SLR CAMERA SENSORS
Full Frame 35mm & APS-C = 1.5 x 1 = 4 x 6 print = 8 x 12 print = 6 x 9 print Most Canon & Nikon D-SLRs

APS-H   = 1.81 x 1 (a few high-end, very high speed Canon models)
4/3 rds = 1.33 x 1   Olympus / Pentax

PHOTOS / FRAMES
4 x 6 Print   3:2 = 1.5 x 1 (See above)
5 x 7 Print = 1.4 x 1
6 x 9 Print - 1.5 x1
8 x 10 Print = 1.25 X 1
8.5 x 11 Print = 1.29 x 1
8 x 12 Print = 1.5 x 1

VIDEO
4/3 rds = 1.33 x 1 = Standard TV
16 x 9 = HDTV

MEDIUM FORMAT
1:1 = Square

Speaking of format, I highly recommend the book: Photographic Composition by Grill & Scanlon.

For an offbeat look at format, Panoramic breaks all the rules. Click here for an example.

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DECLARING WAR - Frame & Paper Manufacturers

2010-05-17T16:29:00.006-04:00

I have declared WAR on the printer Paper manufacturers and ALL the Frame People.

The war is about The Business world being 8.5 x 11 and the same for digital photo printing. The traditional film photo world was 8 x 10. Film is gone, but the Frame People AINT CHANGING! Maybe the digital people don't frame anything and the endangered species (remaining film people) still go to Costco and have an 8x10 made.

There has been no transition to keep up with plethora of formats since the digital revolution. Now add on Mounting Board sizes, mounting tissue and being able to frame in 2010 is a complete mess.

Go into Adorama or B&H in NYC and you see rows and rows of 8.5 x 11 paper. Go into an art Store like Pearl or Michaels and you can barely see any 8.5 x 11 frames except for the cheap certificate frames. Now that we have the extra size of the 8.5 x 11 the helpful employees that can't sell me the frame size I need, cheerfully suggest that I "cut the picture to fit." That is not the right solution!

Going on-line to Print? Costco offers 8 x 10 or 8 x 12!

Ever shoot medium format in the film days? I loved the square format a Hasselblad could produce. Don't get me started on being able to find frames. It is all custom, naturally. Still, here is a nice square composition from Sulawesi Indonesia. It is a nudibranch, Nembrotha cristata. To see more from the Sulawesi trip, click here.

I invite your comments.
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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5 ANNOUNCED

2010-05-13T16:22:00.003-04:00

Adobe says they are now shipping Adobe Photoshop CS5 but Amazon says they shipping May 25th. I am not sure when Adobe is actually putting the boxes in the mail.

This is major upgrade with the easy to use and controversial CONTENT AWARE FILL feature. This is a powerful new feature that makes editing faster and smarter. The downside is that it has lots of implications for retouching such as EASILY removing your watermark from photos you want to protect.

At the recent NAPP seminar at Javitz Convention center, they told us that Noise reduction in Camera Raw is improved and hopefully we will not have to rely on plug-ins like Noise Ninja. This improvement will also affect the performance of Lightroom as it uses Camera Raw as its processing engine too.

There is improved full HDR functionality, so Photomatix may no longer be necessary For the HDR crowd. Adobe giveth, Adobe taketh away. And, so cool, there is now a mini-Bridge built into Photoshop.

In addition to new features, Adobe put their development team to attack over three dozen "annoyances" or fixes.

Click here for the Abobe site for CS5 Adobe upgrade is $199, full version $699

Note there is a Student and Teacher edition for $199 at Amazon if you meet their criteria. This has ALL the features of the regular version.

Windows Student & Teacher Version

Mac Student & Teacher Version

Ugrades from Amazon are $191. You can upgrade from the following versions:

Photoshop CS2, CS3, & CS4
Photoshop CS3 & CS4 Extended

For more information on eligibility, visit www.adobe.com/go/upgradeinfo.

Windows Upgrade

Mac Upgrade

Full Version from Amazon is $661.

Windows Full Version

Mac Full Version

Check out my fine art gallery which was made possible by Photoshop.

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MANATEE PRESENTATION UPDATE - Venue Change May 12

2010-05-08T11:54:00.000-04:00

Quick update - we have a venue change for this Wednesday:

I will be presenting a multimedia program and slide show of the Manatees of Crystal River, Florida on Wednesday May 12 to the NYC Sea Gypsies club in Manhattan. All are welcome.

Old Castle Pub & Restaurant
160 West 54th Street (around the corner from MOMA)
New York, NY 10019-5301
(212) 471-4860

CHALLENGE: NEW METADATA DEFINITION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

2010-05-07T16:34:00.003-04:00

Metadata in Digital Photography can be a subject attacking the brain 180 degress from the creative instincts of most photographers. BORING. But is is a critical topic to understand because of Intellectual Property rights, Copyright issues and use on the Internet in particular. It is also important for your sanity in being able to find find images in the archive on your hard drive.

Most searches bring up a drab computer definition stating that metadata is "Data about data." This doesn't do anything for me regarding photography. So I came up with one.

What is Photographic Metadata?
“Useful information written into your photo file that will identify who owns it, what camera took it along with exposure information and keywords describing the photo making it SEARCHABLE. Some is written by the camera and some is input by the photographer after downloading to a computer."

I invite your comments.

Now Metadata can include GPS tags that would locate where this picture of the Manthiri Liveaboard Dive Boat was taken in the Maldive Islands. See more of my Nautical gallery.

The excellent book, The DAM Book, Second Edition, by Peter Krough has a good relevant definition on page 64 but it is too long.

IKELITE - DSLR HOUSING UPGRADE & STRATEGY

2010-05-03T17:09:00.006-04:00

Ikelite recently upgraded it venerable D-SLR Underwater Housing. The main improvement is the addition of two additional port locks bringing the total to four. I have been using Ikelite camera housings since 1980 with no major issues or floods and I used to sell them as well. Older housings can be upgraded for a couple of hundred dollars and to my mind, it is almost like getting a brand new housing for the price of a tuneup. Details can be viewed here.

Some folks have been critical of Ikelite because of port lock failures but I never had an issue. I was and still are RELIGIOUS about watching the port lock indicators snap to attention to be sure they are locked. I used the two lock system for years without incident.

The other improvement to the housing is the addition of a 1/4 Screw socket at the top of the housing. This is ideal for mounting a Focusing light, small video camera in its housing, etc.

In practice, the housing is still an excellent performer as it always has been. Of the "serious" housings for shooting underwater, Ikelite is perhaps the most versatile choice depending on your camera model. Some Olympus D-SLR housings might be be less expensive, but will not work with non-Olympus systems. However, Ikelite is not as expensive as the metal housings. That can leave you with extra money to buy a BACK UP BODY as insurance against the unthinkable. We always travel with back up bodies for each housing.

You can purchase Ikelite housings here.

Here is a hilarious new photo from the Crystal River, Florida trip using the new Ikelite housing. The Manatee is fine, just sleeping upside down. I could almost hear the snoring. Click here to see a larger version in the Lighter Side Gallery.

CANON 60D

2010-04-30T14:18:00.001-04:00

Go check out Canon Rumors on the upcoming 60D. A real teaser. The Canon 50D has seen some recent price drops.

CREATIVITY - A Kick in the Seat of the Pants

2010-04-28T14:05:00.009-04:00

Like its predecessor, this not directly a book about photography. No megapixels were hurt in its creation. But is is a valuable tool for idea generation that can translate into better photographs.

A Kick in the Seat of the Pants is the second book by Roger von Oech, author of
"A Whack on the Side of the Head." The concept of WHACK was "...we're all born with the ability to think about things in original ways, but as we grow up, we develop attitudes that undermine this creativity." von Oech then goes through steps and exercises to expand your thinking.

It this second book, he explores the fact that there are different ways of thinking. This ground has been covered in different ways by people like
Ned Hermann, Carl Jung and Myers-Briggs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator

von Oech treats the four modes of thought as the Explorer, the Artist, the Judge and the Warrior. We have aspects of all the above characteristics in our personalties, but he explores how each contributes to the creative process. Photographers that are "socially conscious" will approach their craft very differently than say a "Fine Art Printer." Their brains are wired differently.

One actionable tip: Put a waterproof slate in the shower with a grease pencil. Many people get their best ideas in the shower. I use a SCUBA Diving slate.
This was a GREAT idea from the book that I use every day. Most of the ideas I get are of course Photo related.

Click here to see my photos that were inspired by Sarah Palin and the Tea Parties. I wrote the ideas on the slate so I wouldn't forget.

You can purchase the book here.

Click here to see the first article on A Whack on the Side of the Head.

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ADORAMA Specials for April 23

2010-04-28T12:26:00.001-04:00

Click here to see the specials for April 23.

VACATION OR EXPEDITION?

2010-04-22T17:37:00.002-04:00

Photographers, if they do it correctly, don't go on vacation. They go on expedition. While not part of the official dictionary definition, we must plan ahead for having adequate equipment, batteries, cards, chargers, laptops and backup drives. Now think about packing the basic cameras, strobes and lenses. Add to this, the additional equipment if you are an underwater photographer.

If you are a pro, vacation was never in the picture. You need to think shot list, additional opportunities for marketing images, review what has been done before, plus think openly about new approaches, destination client and publisher expectations.

Then to deal with the gauntlet of our wonderful friends, the airlines. What fun the post 9/11 world has become. Don't you wish you could go back to being a tourist carrying a point and shoot so gleefully and unrealistically described in the Airline ticket folders? Devotees and Pros do not exist in their eyes. Even the TSA is frequently taken aback by what we carry.

So packing is a challenge. Taking stock of inventory and distributing weight is the order of the day. A small camping scale with a max capacity of 50 lbs is a great help to travel with you for rebalancing when needed.

Backup equipment is recommended for everything. You first learn something doesn’t work when you are USING it. It depends on your budget, insistence on perfection, and personal neuroses for how you handle this. Respectfully, you may be going to places where electricity is novel or different voltages. Digital photography is electric intensive.

Digital backup capacity

Important consideration for not running short. Think about how much you will shoot, and plan cards, hard drive capacity to last the trip. It is not hard now to shoot 8 – 16 GB per day even with Point and Shoots and movie files. Do the math and plan accordingly. Plan on bringing back files on two devices or two media for safety. Example is a Laptop Hard Drive and an external Hard Drive. Relying on just one is risky. PACK THESE SEPERATELY in case one bag is lost!

SLEEP NOTE: If you are diligent, the External Hard Drive will easily allow you to do backups each day due to the speed of the drive, especially if you use firewire. If you are doing DVD, the discipline required at bedtime may cause you to skip the backups. Buy more Cards as an alternative to the chore.

Ancillary items that complement the checklist:

o Equipment Serial Number list for Customs and Insurance. One for passport wallet, one in each major piece of luggage.

o Camping Scale to balance out luggage - 50 pound capacity min.

Personalize the checklist

It is only of value if you ADD / DELETE / MODIFY items as they apply or don’t.

If you are an Underwater Photographer, I have two lists posted on Dive PhotoGuide:

Click here for the DSLR list.

Click here for the Point & Shoot list.

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COMPREHENSIVE LIST (For Customization)

CAMERAS

o MAIN SLR BODY

o Backup SLR BODY

o Point and shoot Camera

o SLR batteries (3 minimum)

o Point & Shoot Batteries

o SLR battery chargers

o Point & Shoot Charger

o Carry on bag

o Camera Manual

LENSES

o Wide Angles

o Fisheye

o Macro 1 (50 – 60?)

o Macro 2 (100mm)

o Normal fast (50 1.4)

o General Purpose Zoom(s) for land (eg. 18 – 200)

o Wildlife Zoom(s) for Land (eg. 100 – 500 )

STROBE(S)

o Strobe (s)

o Strobe Batteries and spares

o Sync Cord(s)?

o Strobe charger(s)

o Strobe Manual

TOOL KIT

o Lens paper

o Screwdriver with multiple tips

o Duct tape, maybe three feet rolled up as a neat roll (just standard procedure- improvisation)

o Electrical ties (just standard procedure - improvisation)

o Multi-tool like a Leatherman or small vice grip

o Sensor Blower bulb / kit

LAPTOP & BACKUP/ DVD GENERATING SUPPORT

OPTION A: LAPTOP & External Hard Drive - Best option

o Laptop

o Card Reader & CABLE

o USB / Firewire Cable for Hard Drive

o External Hard Drive

o Laptop charger

o International Voltage Transformer (If needed)

o International Plug adapters (If needed)

o Power Strip / Surge protector

o Three prong grounding adapter.

o Combo Camera & Laptop bag (carry on in camera bag like Lowepro Laptop & Camera backpack)

OPTION B – Laptop & DVDS

o Laptop

o Card Reader

o USB Cable

o Laptop charger

o International Voltage Transformer (If needed)

o International Plug adapters (If needed)

o Blank Disks

o Container for burned discs or disc pages

o Power Strip / Surge protector

o Three prong grounding adapter.

o Combo Camera & Laptop bag (carry on in camera bag like Lowepro Laptop & Camera backpack)

CREATIVITY - The Decisive Moment

2010-04-17T12:17:00.006-04:00

Creativity, its source and those who wrote about it have been one of my hot topics this year. Creativity is always important, but I have been trying to synthesize the writings of those who most inspired me in the hopes of really putting the concepts into action and by extension, becoming a better photographer.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is without a doubt, one of my earliest influences. Cartier-Bresson was famous for the concept of “the decisive moment "Photography is not like painting," Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957. "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Cartier-Bresson)

I especially like this quote:
"My contact sheets may be compared to the way you drive a nail in a plank," he said. "First you give several light taps to build up a rhythm and align the nail with the wood. Then, much more quickly, and with as few strokes as possible, you hit the nail forcefully on the head and drive it in."

I took the photo above using the same philosophy. After 10 minutes of stalking and shooting the school of Plotosis catfish in Sulawesi, Indonesia, this scene revealed itself with perfect alignment.

The following quotes are from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Masters of Photography, an Aperture Monograph:

... For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which - in visual terms - questions and decides simultaneously. In order to "give a meaning" to the world, one has to feel oneself involved in what he frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, a discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by great economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression. One must always take photos with the greatest respect for the subject and for oneself.

... To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeting reality.

... "It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy."

...It is putting ones head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis.

...It is a way of life.

You can purchase the book here.

See another of my images that used his "Decisive Moment" concept. It is the one with the two cats and the red door frame. A variation on the above theme of the build up, there was ONLY time for one shot before the bottom cat moved. Shot in Padova, Italy.

BOOK REVIEW: A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD

2010-04-13T18:12:00.009-04:00

Creativity in Photography is a critical skill that is infrequently discussed. It is hard to define because it is so personal. Breathless discussions of megapixels are far easier. However, Creativity is a well defined process and there are tools and techniques that anyone can use to become more creative (AND MAKE BETTER PICTURES).

THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY. Roger von Oech wrote this classic book in 1983. A Whack on the side of the Head is chock full of ideas, exercises and approaches. It is a good resource when you get a "creative block " or are looking to jump start new ideas.

Here are some examples from the Table of Contents:
1 The Right Answer
2. That's Not Logical
3. Follow the Rules
4. Be Practical
5. Play if Frivolous
6. That's not My Area
7. Avoid Ambiguity
8. Don't be Foolish
9. To Err is Wrong
10. I'm Not Creative.

As you can see, the opposite of all the titles is closer to the truth of creativity.

You can purchase A Whack on the side of the Head here.

Speaking of Creativity, click here for my fine art galleries.

Click here to see the follow up review of "A Kick in the Seat of the Pants."
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MANATEE ARTICLE PUBLISHED in DIVEPHOTOGUIDE.com

2010-04-06T14:13:00.004-04:00

Our article on How to Photograph Manatees has been published on DivePhotoGuide.com.

To read the article, click here.

To see my gallery of Manatee pictures, click here.
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TOOLS AVIATION BATTERY CADDIES

2010-03-24T18:04:00.004-04:00

Use rechargeable batteries frequently? Strobe batteries like AAs or other sizes? I found some really useful Battery caddies from TOOLSAVIATION.com. These were originally developed for pilots to avoid fumbling, they are a very compact and secure solution to batteries floating abound a camera bag or boat bag.

Visit their site for all sizes and products.
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John Ares Photographic Blog

LIGHTROOM PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT - PART 2

MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE

ADOBE LIGHTROOM 4 BETA Announced

Collapse of the Point & Shoot Market?

LIGHTROOM - Getting Tone Curve Sliders back

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT WHITE SHARKS – PART 1

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT WHITE SHARKS – PART 2

NOTE TO SELF: Full Frame Sensor Prices

Retaining Lightroom Metadata when transferring between computers

http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/3.0/Using/WSBED0E080-63AF-4ba4-ACCF-EC48C4F92D6D.html

Combine or merge catalogs in Lightroom

ADOBE BRIDGE PERFORMANCE FIXES

Adobe LIGHTROOM 3.5 Failing Grade

GUEST POST ON COPYRIGHT DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICES

ADORAMA LIGHTROOM SPECIAL SEPT 1 ONLY - ENDS SOON

HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 2

HOT SHOE Innovation - Part 1

More SIGMA Lens Problems on Canon DSLRs

PHOTOSHOP vs LIGHTROOM EDITING ISSUES

How to Photograph Hawks

BOOK REVIEW: PHOTOGRAPHIC CREATIVITY - A Whack on the Side of the Head

BASIC EDITING in PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS & iPhoto (update)

ADORAMA April Fools Day Specials

Digitizing your Slides and Negatives

Creativity Seminar Book Recommendations

Adorama Specials for March 7th.

Photoshop Auto Save - Electric Iris Trial Update

Photo Rescue Using Photoshop Curves

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURES WANTED: Easy e-mailing of Photos

ADOBE LIGHTROOM, BRIDGE AND PHOTOSHOP ISSUES

PORTRAITS: Tibetan Portrait - The Power of Compassion

Adorama Specials for Feb 17

INEXPENSIVE MUSLIN BACKGROUNDS

LONG LENS MYSTERIES

ADORAMA SPECIALS for February 7, 2011

CANON LENSES: Gaps in the line

Marketing Lenses: Industry Failings

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JAN 27, 2011

HOW TO SHOOT THE EIFFEL TOWER

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JANUARY 19th

HOW TO SHOOT LIONFISH

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JAN 13, 2011

HOLIDAY SPECIALS from ADORAMA

CANON Error 99

ADORAMA POST THANKSGIVING SPECIALS

GAPS IN PHOTOSHOP AND LIGHTROOM - CONVERTING COLOR NEGATIVES

GAP IN CANON LENS LINEUP - Part II

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP LIGHTROOM EXPORT PRESETS

ADORAMA SPECIALS for NOVEMBER 12

INNOVATIVE FILM A THREAT TO DIGITAL?

R Colin Johnson

3/22/2010 12:28 AM EDT

UPDATE PHOTOPLUS EXPO

PHOTO PLUS EXPO - NYC

Photo Expo Plus is at the Javits Center in NYC Oct 28th - 30 and the expo is free till Oct 15th. Three days of Seminars are available at extra cost. https://www.xpressreg.net/register/phot100/landing_p.asp?al=1&h

CREATIVITY SEMINAR AT NYUPS

John will be presenting a seminar on CREATIVITY in UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY at the New York Underwater Photographic Society at the Arctica Bar, 28th St & 3rd Ave, NYC at 7pm. More info and a download of the presentation, visit NYUPS.ORG

CREATIVITY - Point & Shoot Limitations

ADORAMA Specials for July 16

Canon S90 - WAITING FOR THE NEW LEICA

ADORAMA SPECIALS FOR JULY 14, 2010

CANON LENS DEVELOPMENT REQUEST

10 Tips on Photographing Bears

SCUBA NEWS BRIEF - NEKTON CRUISES END

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY - Photographer's Mask

DECLARING WAR PART 2: ASPECT RATIOS

DECLARING WAR - Frame & Paper Manufacturers

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5 ANNOUNCED

MANATEE PRESENTATION UPDATE - Venue Change May 12

I will be presenting a multimedia program and slide show of the Manatees of Crystal River, Florida on Wednesday May 12 to the NYC Sea Gypsies club in Manhattan. All are welcome. Old Castle Pub & Restaurant160 West 54th Street (around the corner from MOMA)New York, NY 10019-5301(212) 471-4860

CHALLENGE: NEW METADATA DEFINITION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

IKELITE - DSLR HOUSING UPGRADE & STRATEGY

CANON 60D

CREATIVITY - A Kick in the Seat of the Pants

ADORAMA Specials for April 23

VACATION OR EXPEDITION?

CREATIVITY - The Decisive Moment

BOOK REVIEW: A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD

MANATEE ARTICLE PUBLISHED in DIVEPHOTOGUIDE.com

I will be presenting a multimedia program and slide show of the Manatees of Crystal River, Florida on Wednesday May 12 to the NYC Sea Gypsies club in Manhattan. All are welcome.

Old Castle Pub & Restaurant
160 West 54th Street (around the corner from MOMA)
New York, NY 10019-5301
(212) 471-4860