George Schaub's Photo Blog

Art & Craft

2011-06-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

This 5x7 glass plate negative made in the nineteenth century was made into a print by scanning using a flatbed scanner. The mix of materials and techniques in photography bridges technology and melds 100 year old images with modern techniques. While the image, the art, remains, the techniques are in a constant state of change.

When lovers of great literature gather they rarely debate the make of typewriter used by Hemingway, or the paper on which he typed his first draft of A Farewell to Arms. Yet photographers tend to spend an inordinate amount of time discussing equipment and technique. Naturally, lively talks about inspiration and vision take place, but only critics and outsiders seem to disdain the important matters of craft. Those who practice photography know instinctively that there is no wall between the art and craft of photography.

Photography is a field in which this dialectic is affirmatively resolved, where discipline of craft equals freedom of expression. It’s as if a painter could create a painting without knowing how to mix paint. It might work, but some subtlety of expression would be lost.

Even the briefest study of photography leads to the conclusion that the greater ability to express, and the expanded modes of expression are intimately tied to the evolution of the ways and means of taking and making pictures. While the subject of the image is often a child of its age, an expression of the attitudes and social mores of its times, the mechanics of camera, processing and printing is often as much a part of the image as the idea communicated in the image itself. Though new ways of seeing are at the core of the evolution of photographic art, the defining principles of that vision are greatly determined by the equipment and processes used to manifest that vision.

Arguments have been made that portraits made in the first thirty years of photography surpass in beauty, charm and revelation of the human spirit those made today. Those images were more startling to their contemporary viewers than most photographs are to us today, if only because the medium was nowhere near as prevalent as it is now. Yet the revelation of character in today's fine portraiture, with all the layers of meaning we bring to the image, could only be achieved with today's equipment used by today's photographers.

Just as with early photographs, admittedly viewed through the filter of the ravages of time, the images created today are subject to the matrix of vision that is bounded by our ability to manifest that vision. That is why with each progression in technology there is so much more visual expression to explore.

The vigor with which photography grabbed the human imagination can be traced to its serving both masters so well. Essential to its understanding is that it addresses most directly the very human need to communicate through images, and plays upon the human ability to empathize with abstract forms. Thus, the mechanical serves the artistic, which in turn creates communication on virtually every level of visual perception.

The linkage between the art and craft has its roots in those people who pioneered modern photography. Many of the early explorers were artists seeking new and more efficient ways to create images from nature. Many were men and women who were grounded in the scientific method of discovery, yet who were also practicing artists, or associated with circles concerned as much with aesthetics as they were with experimentation.

Photography sprang from a time when the lines between science, art and craft were no so clearly drawn, and when curiosity went beyond prepackaged solutions to meaningless problems.

What’s Tech Got to Do with It?

2011-06-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Image: Today's camera tech opens up some amazing photo ops that would have been near impossible before and makes us think less about how we make the image than why we might be making it. This shot of Taos Plaza at Christmas time was made at an ISO of 12,800 with a handheld camera at 1/10 sec using a VR (vibration reduction) lens. Copyright George Schaub

Do today’s SLRs: A) help us make better pictures; B) change the way we see; C) all of the above; D) none of the above

There’s no question that modern SLR cameras represent the height of photographic technology and in many ways echo the ingeniousness and at times presumptuousness of all machines today. The speed at which these cameras make and apply judgments about focusing and light reading is incredible, at times following focus and adjusting to changing light at 10 frames per second. Considering that we are often still dealing with a mirror assembly (though this may change with Sony’s new “translucent” technology) that must raise and lower while the camera simultaneously changes light settings and focusing distance, the coordination of calculation and mechanical application is fairly mind boggling.

Many people have mixed feelings about just what this technology offers. They question whether it helps or hinders the photographer in becoming more expressive and spontaneous, yet have little doubt that it allows him or her to more productive in their work.

The obvious response to all this is that it’s the eye and not the camera that makes pictures. But there are other factors involved. In some instances the capabilities of today’s picture machine demands that the photographer think beyond what their eye can see and that presumed limitations on the kind of images that can be made no longer hold true. It is becoming evident that photographers should consider changing their thinking and go beyond what he or she might have created with a standard bred 20th century 35mm SLR. The new technology is challenging in and of itself, in that photography must be relearned in the context of how it is now applied. The challenge necessarily extends to considerations of just what kind of images the new technology allows us to make.

Recent advances have a lot to do with speed, both in operating and capture times. There are now super-fast shutter speeds (such as 1/8000 second is typical) and super fast framing rates (8 frames per second is not uncommon). We can also now use longer lenses at faster shutter speeds with vibration reduction technology. Along with speed comes increased exposure and focus automation. One of the most exciting fields is in flash exposure automation and multiple wireless flash with TTL automatic exposure.

The old school still insists that photographic principals haven’t changed for 150 years and that we should continue to teach photography in the same way we did in the middle of the 20th century. Where I teach some of my colleagues still insist that students go out and buy a manual exposure SLR, take manual exposure readings and set them by hand. The thinking is that this is the only way to understand light and equivalent exposure, learn depth of field, and so forth. This might have been true twenty years ago but to me it’s like considering the divine spirit as some sort of thirteenth century robed patriarch with a beard sitting on a throne up in heaven.

It also misses the point of just what the modern SLR offers. True, there is certainly merit to the thinking that much of the new technology is technology for its own sake, a competition between rival engineers who sit up at night gnashing their teeth over how to shave microseconds from mirror bounce effects. But there is also merit in considering just what this new technology means to a photographer’s view of the world and how he or she can express it.

To me the changes in camera technology, which I have reported on for the past thirty years, have as profound effect on photography as the affordability and accessibility of digital imaging techniques. Anyone who has worked for any amount of time with images in the computer know how it changes your relationship with your work. It has freed photographers from the old limitations of the chemical darkroom and made imaging more available to more people than ever before. I am of the school that the creative cycle is not complete until you make your print from the image you captured. Anyone who has done so knows how it closes the circle and how essential it can be to the photographic process.

Today’s SLR technology might seem quite shocking to anyone who hasn’t played with a new camera even in the last three years. Autoexposure is one clear example. Today’s systems are a far cry from past light measuring cells that sent out current to a meter that converted the light energy to aperture and shutter speed values. Evaluative or Matrix metering systems now analyze the image by dissecting it into a number of zones. The system then calculates exposure by performing complex calculations. This compares the distribution and intensity of light in those zones to a large set of stored exposure solutions in its microprocessor. Only then is the exposure value sent to a system that holds one factor constant (aperture or shutter speed depending on the photographer’s chosen metering mode) while calculating and setting the other to match the light intensity at hand. Add built-in tone compensation, built-in “HDR” and more and exposure, and even consideration of light, is a far cry from the work done even in the late 20th century.

With this automation comes the recognition that overrides are needed to sometimes correct the camera-recommended exposure. This is especially true should the photographer work in any of the spot metering modes, where tonal placement must often be adjusted for the classic metering failures such as bright and dark dominance within the frame. We can take for granted that these overrides will allow us to finesse the automation. We also have autoexposure bracketing, autoflash bracketing and easy exposure compensation inputs. We can even control which variable will be affected by choosing aperture priority when we want to compensate via shutter speed and shutter-priority should we want to have aperture change in our bracketing sequence.

Autofocusing has come a long way since it’s first awkward attempts at hands free distance settings. I remember the amazement that met the Minolta Maxxum camera when it first hit. But I also remember going out on a field test with Sports Illustrated photographer Richard Mackson with one of the early AF cameras (not the Maxxum). About ten minutes into the basketball game Mackson asked me to hold the camera between toe and finger so he could make a field goal kick of it into the stands. It couldn’t follow any action and often jumped from player to player just as he was about to take the picture.

Now we have follow focus, dynamic focus and multiple focusing targets within the viewfinder. AF lock stays with a subject even if another one momentarily blocks the view. Subjects are passed from one focusing target to another through the viewfinder frame. We can select single or multiple AF sites and even link or separate metering from those sites. True, autofocusing still has its foibles, but ask nature and sports photographers how AF has affected their work.

Advances in flash exposure, especially when coordinated with ambient readings and fill flash techniques have been particularly impressive. Those who grew up with guide number calculations and chart reading on the back of flash units and who haven’t experienced a modern dedicated flash can only guess at the convenience they afford.

Tricky daylight fill flash, night slow sync techniques and off-camera and wireless, three unit flash exposure is now through the lens automatic. Even close-up flash techniques, which in the past required bellows extension factors and all sorts of angling and reflectors, are now pushbutton automatic and multi-flash capable. Flash overrides and compensation can now be coordinated with ambient light exposure compensation to give the photographer more control over light and its manipulation than ever before.

You can now also customize SLRs to operate in ways that you feel fit your personal style or shooting needs. These custom function settings arrange or re-arrange the camera’s default operating procedures. You can change the buttons and dials you use for exposure compensation and autoexposure and autofocus lock, change the degree of compensation, change the focusing patterns and spots, link or disengage autofocus and spot metering coordination, change the coverage of the center-weighted meter, add or eliminate a grid screen display in your viewfinder or LCD, etc.

All in all, it’s fairly easy to scoff at automation as a crutch for the less photographically gifted. Sure it’s easy to figure out flash exposure if you have the guide number and know distance and aperture, or to even gain an instinct for it. And one could say that it is best to learn enough hand/eye coordination to release the shutter to catch the peak of the action rather than bang away at 10 frames per second knowing that the peak will probably not fall between the cracks.

But to me that misses the point. No one has to prove themselves to work with a camera. There is no test you have to pass to make images. There is no gauntlet you must run to prove yourself worthy of the name “photographer”. Life is too short for that sort of nonsense.

But there is some added responsibility with this new tech. First there’s the need to understand the new terminology and how it translates from the old. Following that there’s the need to consider what a shutter speed of 1/8000 second or a ten frames per second framing rate might teach us about how we can image time and motion. Or how multiple flash automation might change the way we think about light manipulation in the field.
Consider the new tech as a springboard to new ways of making images.

If you could be fairly well assured that 90 percent of the time exposure and focus will be on the mark, how would that free up your “seeing”? Perhaps this automation allows us to dwell on what we want to say rather than how we need to make settings to go about saying it. Perhaps we can waste less time making settings and more time looking.

In essence it raises the question of what’s more important--the how or the why. Today’s automation diminishes the worry and time taken with the how and gets you closer to the perhaps more essential issue of the WHY.

Weighty issues those, considerations of time and motivation. And, perhaps, pretentious ponderings as well. But if we are to take our photography seriously, and I contend that it is one of those things we should take seriously only because it often tells the story of our life, then we should perceive automation not as a deterrent to learning about photography but as a way towards gaining a newfound freedom of expression. Of course we should know what increases and decreases the zone of sharpness and how shutter speed settings affect how thinly we slice the arc of time, but let’s leave it at that and let the machine handle the rest. The more transparent the machine the more we can think about where it can take us. Perhaps we will have less control over camera operation. But letting that go might just allow us to create images that we might not have imagined possible before.

Hyperfocal Distance & Zone Focusing

2011-06-02T07:24:00.001-07:00

This entry is aimed at those who want critical focusing control in their work. The techniques apply to working with a fixed focal length lens and working in manual focus.

Image: To make sure that focus was sharp from the foreground of this old truck to the facing truck in the background I worked in manual focus mode with a 24mm lens and used the hyperfocal distance technique described in the text. Copyright: George Schaub

Focus on an object very far away and take a moment to look at the distance scale on the lens; you might see that the distance setting is beyond the last numerical value on the distance scale (usually that's 30 feet on a 50mm lens) and is marked with an infinity sign. Now check the parameters of the f/16 notation on the depth of field scale-this shows that your zone of focus stretches from about 15 feet (the distance on the border of the f/16 mark on the left side of the depth of field scale) to well beyond any marking on the distance scale. As there is no distance beyond this infinity, this setting tells you that you are in focus from 15 feet to, well, the moon and beyond.
But what about the fact that you have the right side of the f/16 depth of field hash mark well beyond any footage indicator-does this mean you are "wasting" depth of field potential? In a word, yes; but there's an easy way to get it back. (Note, in some lenses the footage markers within the depth of field scale work in reverse to how we're describing it here. If your camera works in this fashion, just reverse left and right as you read on, Actually, the direction in which the distances move is much less important than the idea of manipulating distance settings on your lens to maximize depth of field.)
If you're shooting from the rim of the Grand Canyon out into the distance, your depth of field setting is unimportant, as long as the infinity setting is enclosed within the hash marks of the aperture in use. But if you have subjects in the scene that sit closer than 15 feet, you can set the lens so that you still have focus at infinity and include a focused item in the foreground as well.
The technique you use to do this is called using hyperfocal distance. The first step here is to turn off autofocus. Then you align the infinity marker with the right-side hash mark on the depth of field scale with the aperture number in use, then take note at what distance the left side aperture number falls. The left side number is the minimum distance at which you will have focus, when your furthest point of focus is at infinity.
For example, if we set hyperfocal distance on a 50mm lens at f/16, we find that our zone of sharpness is about eight feet to infinity. This is a pickup of seven feet from our previous setting; we don't lose anything by setting hyperfocal distance, we just gain a bit more foreground sharpness.
You can also manipulate the zone of focus when the farthest shooting distance is less than infinity. Called zone focusing, it's based on the same idea as hyperfocal distance; you manipulate the depth of field scale so that aperture settings enclose certain distances-these distance settings become your zone of sharpness.
For example, let's say that our farthest subject is ten feet away; by setting the number 10 next to the f/16 hashmark on right side of the depth of field scale, we see that we know have a zone of sharpness from about 4&1/2 to 10 feet. Likewise, setting at the 30 foot mark shows a near-focus of seven feet. Keep in mind that these settings are estimates of the actual depth of field; however, the settings certainly will be close enough for most of your shooting needs.
Pre-setting zone of focus can be a real help when you're doing spontaneous candids, or when you just don't have time to focus each shot. By pre-setting your zone of focus so that you can shoot without worrying about focus from, say, four to fifteen feet, you can photograph without bringing the camera to your eye, and still get almost every shot you take in focus. Of course, your composition may be a bit off, but "shooting from the hip" is an old tradition with candid street photographers.
Of course, there are times when you can be more deliberate about what you want to bring into focus. By using the depth of field scale you can make fairly precise settings to get the most out of the available zone of sharpness. For example, let's say you're shooting a statue in front of a building and want to include both the statue and building in focus. Without using or being aware or depth of field manipulations you might not get the effect you wanted; with them you can play some amazing visual tricks. It's safe to say that depth of field manipulations are underused by most photographers, especially those with autofocusing cameras; get a handle on them so you don't lose out on their amazing potential to make the most out of every shot.
The depth of field preview button is an important player in this game as it stops the lens down to its taking aperture, thus allows you to see the effect the lens setting has on focus. At some apertures, such as f/16, the viewing screen becomes quite dark; so dark, in fact, that you may have trouble seeing what's going on. If this happens, open up another stop so you can see focus on the viewfinder better, then stop down to your selected aperture when you take the shot. This won't give you an exact idea of the depth of field at your taking aperture, but it will certainly give you a better idea of final picture focus than will looking through the lens at maximum aperture. If your camera does not have a preview button, get another camera and in the meantime use the depth of field scale on the lens.

Online Photo Storage: A Cautionary Tale

2011-06-02T06:56:00.001-07:00

The following I guess could be thought of as what's known as a cautionary tale, one that you might like to read to get an idea of the ethereal nature of this medium, especially for items you might treasure like family photos. This was written in late 1999 and while admittedly things were in their "infancy" at that point, in terms of photo sharing the models and concepts remain the same. The game here is to find how many of these photo services are still around and guess what might have happened to all the images stored on them. It also shows just how naive the writer (me) was about all that at the time.

Online Finishing: The Growth of a New Industry

With the growth of digital camera sales and especially the increase in film images being digitized, the photofinishing industry is gearing up for a new way to receive and print your images. The idea of photofinishing on line has become a reality. Everywhere you turn—from radio to TV to newspaper ads—there are photo related sites touting the ability to hold onto the family album, send and share pictures between distant relative and friends and offer prints from uploaded or pre-loaded images that come from virtually every source. While the digital minilab and the walk-up kiosk may still handle the walk-in trade of the future, it’s becoming clear that many people think that the Internet will be a major venue for photofinishing services as well.

According to Media Metrix, the use of home PC photography programs has grown from 3.8 million users in 1997 to over 16.7 million users in late 1999. That means that just about 1 in 5 of every home PC is using digital photography in some fashion or other. While that growth is impressive, so is the future potential.

A host of innovative companies have fueled the rapid development of online digital services. Many of these Internet sharing sites are brand spanking new. In a touch of graceful irony one such firm, established in 1998, claims to have a “well-established track record.” But that’s what’s old in this new age.

If you’d like to check out what these sites are like you might try two of the most successful, Shutterfly.com and ActiveShare.com. In fact the two sites are linked in a partnership that brings the best of both worlds—the photofinishing expertise of Shutterfly and the muscle of ActiveShare’s parent, Adobe software—to the table.

Shutterfly.com is a sharing site, printing site and photo enhancement site all in one. Just what is a sharing site? It’s a place where you can either upload your images from your digital camera or those film images you have had digitized via Picture CD and share them with family and friends. You are assigned an album space, actually memory on a server, that you fill up with images. Your album has an address that is accessed only through a password you choose and that you share with those you want to see the images.

Once you have an album account established you can order and send prints, enhance the photos with borders, cropping and other special effects and then have them printed and add to or create new albums as you go.

So let’s say you take some photos on vacation and want to show them off to your family and friends in different parts of the country. Or you’ve met new friends on your travels and want to send them images you took of the times you spent together. All you need is their e-mail and your album password.

You use Shutterfly's Smart Download software to get your digital images from your camera or hard drive and send them over the line. Or if you’ve shot film you can send them the roll and..guess what? You get free film processing and posting of your images online. It seems like a win/win situation all the way down the line. You get free film processing, free sharing and free access to your album while Shutterfly gets the chance to sell you prints for yourself and your family and friends.

Adobe’s ActiveShare site works with Shutterfly. If you enter their site at ActiveShare.com you can also get prints through Shutterfly, plus you can create a sharing circle of friends. The service is called e.Circles and it’s a way to create an instant community of photo sharers. What you do is identify friends as interested parties in certain types of your photos. Some might like to see your vacation shots while others are for closer family and friends. You can limit pictures of the kids to grandparents and siblings while sharing your hobby with another group of eCircle folks. It’s like a broadcast service built into a sharing site.

You can also use ActiveShare.com’s AmazingMail.com for creating postcards using any of your images. You upload images and order the postcard, and the company will create and mail them for you.

Of course the best way to get the most from the site is via Adobe’s PhotoDeluxe software, which comes with ActiveShare as part of the package. That way you can make all sorts of changes and do lots of creative work on your images and then send them or order prints.

Another active e-finishing business is PhotoPoint, which claims to be the world’s largest photo sharing website. Recently, PhotoPoint signed an agreement with Kodak making Print@Kodak available to PhotoPoint folks. The company is also very promotion minded, recently awarding a photographer a million bucks for winning a contest. The company also announced that it recently received their 10 millionth image.

Zing and Sony
At Zing they claim to be the most trafficked online photo community. The site, zing.com, provides free photo storage, album and sharing services, content and mail order photo printing. The company claims that their open architecture allows them to provide a customized, co-branded photo center that can be integrated easily with partner website activities.

Recently, Zing announced a partnership with Sony to help strengthen Sony’s online digital imaging presence, dubbed ImageStation. The company also is offering PictureIQ, an online photo editing and manipulation application. The company also works with HP and their new “scan to web” technology. This takes images scanned on HP scanners right into a Zing sharing site.

Talking Pictures
At dotPhoto they claim to be the first web site that integrates photo sharing with voice and sound capability plus digital finishing. The company offers, for $4.99, a first time membership that includes printing of 36 uploaded images, free shipping and a free personal computer microphone, required for the voice-to-picture technology.

The Kodak/AOL partnership has been getting some press, so the logical next step was for Yahoo! to get involved. They have done so with Yahoo! Photos, with printing and services provided by Shutterfly. As an intro, the company is offering first time users 15 free prints. At Yahoo! Photo you can create albums, add photos, share and send and order prints. There’s also one click access to club and auction sites.

So photofinishing has become e-photofinishing and now labs are web-based application service providers for both consumers and other imaging partners. The jargon is amazing, but so are the ideas and changes ahead. Has e-finishing taken the world by storm? Not yet. In fact, regular film processing increased over 10% in the last year. But digital camera users now have a photofinishing service that is almost as convenient as bringing the film down to the corner store. But the only highway they have to drive on to get there is the Internet.

Minolta Maxxum 9

2011-06-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I will post some older reviews of cameras for the purposes of saving these archives for future searchers and researchers. Some of these were published prior to content being saved on the Internet; most are fairly arcane and I trust of some historical interest.
Here's a review of the Minolta Maxxum 9, one of the last full featured camera 35mms from that company and indeed in its class. This was written in August, 2000.

The Minolta Maxxum 9

by George Schaub

Every time you turn around another 35mm SLR manufacturer plays "top this" with its competitors and perhaps with the electronic imaging medium as well. This is great news for photographers and has resulted in some rather amazing photographic instruments of late. We've seen cameras with 10 frames per second framing rates, metering systems that measure both light intensity and color influence on exposure and now, with the Minolta Maxxum 9, a top shutter speed of 1/12,000 second and truly easy wireless remote flash. It makes you wonder just what SLR makers might have up their sleeves next.

The Minolta Maxxum 9 is one of those instinctive cameras that feels right at home the moment you take it up in your hands. It weighs lighter than it looks, which is quite sturdy, and apparently can take some punishment, due to its stainless steel and zinc body. Like some of its recent competitors, the Maxxum 9 has a decidedly analog look, although the insides are hardly driven by springs and wind up gears. Virtually every override and extra control is done via these "analogish" dials, while the basic choices of aperture and shutter speed and some custom functions are the work of the front or rear control dials.

While thinking that there is logical placement of controls may be the work of a rationalizing mind, the Minolta Maxxum 9 does seem to have been designed by, and for, people who actually take pictures. After a ten minute drill there's little confusion how to work the camera. The really good thing about it is that controls that are too often buried inside submenus or require near-impossible feats of dexterity on some cameras are right up front on the Maxxum 9. And these are the controls that most experienced photographers will use every day in their work.

Let's talk flash and exposure compensation controls. Both are located on stacked analog dials on the photographer's left side of the camera body. You first unlock the dial and then turn plus or minus 3 EV. The flash exposure dial is on the bottom of the stack, placed there because it probably will be used less than the ambient exposure compensation dial on top. The flash exposure compensation dial can be moved in half EV steps. The ambient exposure dial can be twirled so that it can compensate in either 1/3 or 1/2 EV steps. That right, no custom function to apply, just a manual changeover in how the dial functions. And yes, the dials do lock well into place. In a week of trials I had no misfires there.

There's an equally ingenious and stacked dial on the right side of the body for changing exposure mode (the usual suspects of manual, aperture- and shutter-priority and program) and for setting up an autobracketing sequence. You know about these exposure modes. One thing you might be used to is a Program shift mode, but the shift here is actually in manual mode. You get the exposure you want, hold in the AEL (autoexposure lock) button and then turn the control dial to get equivalent exposure while changing aperture and shutter speed relationships.

The dial beneath the exposure mode dial handles a number of functions including multiple exposure, drives (continuous and single shot, with 5.5 frames per second in single AF or manual focus and 4.5 fps in continuous AF) and autobracketing in both single and continuous drive modes, as well as a self timer. This may seem like a lot of controls on one dial but it's really easier and more efficient than it may sound. There's no lock per se on either of these dials and once I did move the exposure mode dial accidentally while setting up a bracketing sequence. I did that because I grasped the dials somewhat clumsily. When you get used to how they move, as I did quickly, you'll probably not make the same mistake twice.

I kind of glossed over the 1/12,000-second top shutter speed, and it is worthy of extra note. While I'm not certain what I would have to photograph at that speed I know it's certainly a bragging right for this camera. You may have great use for that speed and if you do the Maxxum 9 is for you. Just remember to pack some fast film. (Using the sunny 16 rule with ISO 400 film you'd get 1/12,000 second at f/2.8.) A few pro cameras do have higher framing rates, and for those who do sports having more than 5.5 fps available might be necessary. For those of us who photograph more sedentary subjects the 5.5 fps is sufficient.

On the back of the camera are the flash controls for the built in flash (more on that shortly), the metering pattern selector (14 segment honeycomb for ambient, 4 segment for flash, center-weighted and spot), the slow sync selector (actually the AE lock), the AF lock and the AE lock. You also get a rear control dial and a little switch that allows you to light up the very basic LED. The LED gives you frames shot, aperture and shutter speed. It also helps you set up bracketing sequences and change Custom Functions. That's it, and that's okay. For more info gaze into the viewfinder, where the information should be anyway, and you get a meter index, indications of flash status and mode, a focus signal, aperture and shutter speed, an AEL indicator and a countdown when less than ten frames remain on the roll. Of course you also get the AF indicators and spot metering circle. By the way, a nice and rare treat is that the viewfinder gives you 100% coverage.

These indicators and controls are for those who know their way around a camera and who understand the cause and effect of it all. In other words, readers of this magazine. There are no pictographic modes like people running or little flowers to guide you on you way, or to get in the way of your work. Please join me in a round of polite applause for this return to sanity. But Minolta still has kept "eye start" on the 9, a feature I am at a loss to appreciate. It certainly doesn't get in the way and can be turned off when desired. For those who haven't experienced it the camera powers up when eye start is on and you move the camera to your eye, saving you the great effort of having to flip the on/off switch.

Camera makers have increasingly added built-in flash to their upper end camera models, which I think is a great idea. The Minolta Maxxum 9 does not insult the user by automatically flipping the flash up in low light, like lesser models, but allows you to raise the head manually when you want the extra burst of fill. For some assignments and social events the built in flash might be all you need. It has a nice little GN of 40, which at 6 feet with ISO 100 film gets you between f/5.6 and f/8. The little flash also allows you to shoot with slow sync, red-eye reduction, rear curtain sync and to use the very neat flash exposure compensation and flash bracketing feature that's built into the analog controls. Sync speed is 1/300 second, by the way.

The flash capabilities of the system are truly exploited, however, when you get the Minolta 5400HS shoe-mount flash. The GN varies with film and focal length, but at 50mm with ISO 100 film at a 1/1 power level the GN in meters is 42, 140 in feet. That's enough to get you between f/11 and f/16 at ten feet. You get direct TTL OTF metering in all exposure modes, the ability to set power ratios controls (or levels) from 1/1 to 1/32, an AF assist illuminator for low contrast or plain old low light and power zoom head coverage between 24mm and 105mm. The HS in the moniker stands for High-speed sync, which means you can get flash sync without loss of edge information at shutter speeds up to that incredible 1/12,000 second. This is great for fill flash in bright light when you want to work with a shallow depth of field.

The multi-flash capabilities are easy to apply. You mount the 5400 HS on the camera and turn on the camera and flash. You then slide a lever on the camera to "wireless" and do the same by advancing the mode button on the flash unit. You then disengage the 5400 HS from the camera (leaving it powered up) and raise the built in flash. Because you have it set on wireless the built in flash does not fire but acts as a signal device to fire the flash. You can work with any exposure mode as well as manual where you can set power ratio controls. You can also activate the built in flash to fire along with the 5400 HS to provide a 1:2 fill, the built in flash delivering the lesser output of the two.

This multi-flash capability with wireless worked well in just about every situation I tried it. The trick is to rotate the AF illuminator on the 5400HS toward the built in flash. When you see a double blip from the AF illuminator you know you have communication. If in doubt you can do a test fire before the actual exposure. The 5400HS must be within peripheral "vision" of the built in or the signal will not work.

There are Custom Functions that you can use to customize the camera to your liking. There's the usual film rewind options (leader in or out) but there's also something very neat called Mid Reload. Here you reload a film you've shot to, say, frame 18. You load it as usual, then you use CF 3-3 to put in the frame number to which you want it advanced and the camera does so automatically. Other useful CFs include one that allows you to select the local focus area with the AF button and another that lengthens the display on the selected focus area. You can also make Program exposure mode make action or depth priorities and have flash metering be the default 4-segment, averaged or spot according to the focusing area selected.

The Maxxum 9 fits right in with the extensive line of lenses and accessories that make up the Minolta SLR family. The AF lenses include everything from a 17-35mm f/3.5 G zoom to a AF 600mm f/4 APO G and a AF 200mm F/4 macro APO G. The G lens group, by the way, is Minolta's large aperture, high performance series. You can also interchange focusing screens and use a data memory back.

The Maxxum 9 proved to be an excellent field shooting and travel companion. The flash setup is intriguing, and should be considered by those doing wedding candids with 35mm SLRs. All in all, the design offered many meat and potatoes functions and creative options while basically getting out of the way when pictures were being made. To me, that's the mark of a good camera.

Technology and Vision

2011-06-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Even the briefest study of photography leads to the conclusion that the greater ability to express, and the expanded modes of expression are intimately tied to the evolution of the ways and means of taking and making pictures. While the subject of the image is often a child of its age, an expression of the attitudes and social mores of its times, the mechanics of camera, film and printing is often as much a part of the image as the idea communicated in the image itself. Though new ways of seeing are at the core of the evolution of photographic art, the defining principles of that vision are greatly determined by the equipment and chemicals used to manifest that vision.
Arguments have been made that portraits made in the first thirty years of photography surpass in beauty, charm and revelation of the human spirit those made today. Perhaps those images were even more startling to their contemporary viewers than most photographs are to us today, if only because the medium was nowhere near as prevelant as it is now. Yet the revelation of character in today's fine portraiture, with all the layers of meaning we bring to the image, could only be achieved with today's equipment used by today's photographers.
Just as with the early photographs, admittedly viewed through the filter of the ravages of time, the images created today are subject to the matrix of vision that is bounded by our ability to manifest that vision. That is why with each progression in technology there is so much more visual expression to explore.
Photography emerged within the context of the industrial revolution, with its concommitant alienation and dehumanization. Yet it was also the darling of the age of discovery, and grew alongside other profound changes in the visual arts. The vigor with which it grabbed the human imagination can be traced to its serving both masters so well. Essential to its understanding is that it addreses most directly the very human need to communicate through images, and plays upon the human ability to empathize with abstract forms. Thus, the mechanical serves the artistic, which in turn creates communication on virtually every level of visual perception.
The linkage between the art and craft has its roots in those people who pioneered modern photography. Many of the early explorers were artists seeking new and more efficient ways to create images from nature. Many were men and women who were grounded in the scientific method of discovery, yet who were also practising artists, or associated with circles concerned as much with aesthetics as they were with experimentation.
Photography sprang from a time when the lines between science, art and craft were not so clearly drawn, and when curiosity went beyond pre-packaged solutions to meaningless problems.

An Occassional Glossary: F.G

2011-02-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

F-NUMBERS: A series of numbers designating the apertures, or openings at which a lens is set. The higher the number, the narrower the aperture. For example, f/16 is narrower (by one stop) than f/11--it lets in half as much light. An f-number range might be f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11...To find the next aperture in a narrowing series of single full stops, multiply by 1.4. F-numbers are arrived at by dividing the diameter of the opening into the focal length of the lens, thus a 10mm diameter opening on a 110mm lens is f/11. Alternately used with f-stops.

FAST: A term used to describe a film or sensor setting with a relatively high light sensitivity, a lens with a relatively wide maximum aperture, or a shutter speed, such as 1/8000 second, that will freeze quick action.

FILE FORMAT: An arrangement of digital information that may be particular to an application or generally adopted for use by a wide range of devices. Image formats in wide use include JPEG and TIFF. Raw format is proprietary to each maker, and often each camera by that maker.

FILL-IN FLASH: Flash used outdoors, generally to balance a subject that is backlit. Can also be used to control excessive contrast, add light to shadows, or brighten colors on an overcast day.

FILTERS: Any transparent accessory added to the light path that alters the character of the passing light. With film, filters can alter contrast, color rendition, or the character of the light itself (diffusion, diffraction, etc.) In printing, variable contrast filters are used to evoke different contrast grades from variable contrast black and white paper. In computer imaging software, a set of instructions that shape or alter the image information. In digital processing, filters are algorithms or a set of actions that change the character of the original image. Filters in digital are often "plug-ins", which means they work within the architecture of the main image processing program.

FILM: A compilation of light sensitive silver salts, color couplers (in color film), and other materials suspended in an emulsion and coated on an acetate base.

FINE GRAIN: Usually found in slow speed films, a fine-grained image is one where the medium of light capture and storage, the silver halide grain, is virtually invisible in the print or slide. With high, or coarse grain films (usually very high speed films) the texture of the grain becomes part of the physical reality, or weave of the image.

FIXER: The third step in black and white print and film processing; the bath removes unexposed silver halides.

FLARE: In lenses, internal reflections and/or stray light that can cause fogging or light streak marks on film. In general, zoom lenses have more potential for flare than fixed-focal-length lenses; in either case a screw-on lens hood helps reduce the problem.

FLASH: The common term used to describe the burst of light produced by passing electrical current through gas in a glass tube.

FLASH MEMORY: A special type of RAM memory that can hold data without electrical current. It is used in memory cards, the removable "digital film" used in digicams.

FLAT: Low in contrast, usually caused by underexposure or, in film, underdevelopment. Flat light shows little or no change in brightness value throughout the entire scene.

FLATBED SCANNER: A scanner that uses a linear CCD array for digitizing prints and film. Generally, the image is placed on a glass plate and the array moves past the artwork.

FOCAL LENGTH: The distance from the lens to the film plane or sensor that focuses light at infinity. The length, expressed in millimeters, is more useful as an indication of the angle of view of a particular lens. A shorter focal length lens, such as a 28mm, offers a wider angle of view than a longer one, such as 100mm.

FOCUS: Causing light to form a point, or sharp image on the image sensor or film.

FOCUS LOCK: In autofocus camera systems, a button, lever, or push-button control that locks focus at a particular distance setting, often used when the main subject is off to the side of the frame or not covered by the autofocus brackets in the viewfinder.

FORMAT: The size of the film, thus the camera that uses such film. Large format refers to 4x5 inches and larger; medium format uses 120 or 220 (6cm wide) film. Smaller formats include 35mm and 24mm. In computer imaging, the file structure, or "language" that can be understood by the device. The film analogy to format in digital terms would be more akin to sensor size and megapixel count.

FRAME: The outer borders of a picture, or its ratio of the height to width. The individual image on a roll of film. Also, to compose a picture.

FRAME GRABBER: Usually refers to a board that can digitize and process video signals to a single frame. Mac's Grab utility is a frame grabber, but can also be used to select certain areas of the monitor for capture.

GAMMA: A value that defines contrast of a photograph or electronic image. Gamma curves are key elements of monitor calibration. Gamma can be altered in black and white printing by working with various contrast grade papers. Gamma can be changed in an electronic image by working the curves in processing programs.

GAMUT: The range of colors available in an image or printer.

GIGABYTE: One billion bytes, or 1000 megabytes.

GRADE: With black and white printing papers, the built-in contrast of that paper, or the contrast evoked in variable contrast papers when printing through variable contrast filters. The lower the grade number the lower the contrast.

GRAIN: The appearance or echoes of the silver crystals in film in the final negative or positive image. The larger the area of the grain in the film emulsion, the more sensitive the film is to light; the more sensitive it is to light the "faster" it is. Larger grains are manifest in the image as mottled or salt-and-pepper clumps of light and dark tones, usually apparent in very fast films on visual inspection, in slow films upon extreme magnification. Grain is most easily seen as non-uniform density in areas sharing the same tone (such as a gray sky.)

GRAY SCALE: The range of tones, from bright white to pitch black that can be reproduced in a film and print.

GROUND GLASS: A specially prepared glass used as the focusing screen in cameras.

GUIDE NUMBER: A number that relates the output of electronic flash when used with a particular speed film or ISO setting on a digital sensor. The higher the guide number, the more the light output. Guide numbers, or GN, serve as a way to calculate aperture when shooting flash in manual exposure mode. Dividing distance into guide number gives the aperture: For example, a flash with a guide number of 56 (with ISO 100 film) would give a correct exposure at 10 feet with an aperture of f/5.6. With the state of today's automatic exposure flashes, guide numbers today are mostly useful for comparing the relative power of one flash to another and gauging the coverage a flash will afford. In most cases GN relates to the coverage when using ISO 100 film. It should be noted that some flash manufacturers will fudge the numbers by stating the GN at ISO 400.

Manipulating Light in Recording

2011-01-04T03:22:00.000-08:00

Here's some follow-up on metering that to me makes mastering exposure worthwhile.
Moving light values around—it’s an odd idea, but one that allows you to make creative choices about how light is recorded. You can work to get as much visual information and tonal richness as possible, or you can eliminate certain values for graphic effects. Though it's usually best to go for the former, the ability to juggle recorded tonal values is a key creative element in photography that brings a personal touch to an often forgotten skill—seeing and interpreting light as you shoot.
One of the ways to begin the process is to shun the “matrix” or “evaluative” metering pattern. Not that there’s anything incorrect or faulty with that pattern; it’s just that we want to be able to direct the exposure system to read values as middle gray. Move on over to spot metering pattern.
If you spot meter off a bright area in a tonally-varied scene and do nothing, the bright areas will record as middle gray and the darker areas will be compressed down into darker and darker tones. Conversely, if you meter and expose for the darkest area in the scene the brighter areas record brighter on film and may be driven up into overexposure. Think of the tonal scale as working in lock step, with the ability to record a range of values as having a fixed spread that can be moved up and down the grayscale “spectrum” of brightness values.
Once this idea becomes real to you the path toward being able to manipulate light should open. You can, as mentioned, read only from a bright value and record that as middle gray, and have the darker areas lose detail and become dark tones. Or, you can read the bright value as middle gray and then compensate exposure by opening up two stops; thus the birghter value will record as bright with texture and visual information. Or, you can open up three stops and have that value record as bright, textureless tone. (For example, plus two would keep the texture of wood in a brightly lit white picket fence; plus three would give you pure, driven snow.)
Conversely, you can read the significant shadow value and have it record as middle gray, which will make the brighter values record brighter still (or perhaps become overexposed.) You can also read the dark value as middle gray, close down two stops to have detail recorded in that dark value. Or, or you can use that same reading, close down three stops and just get a deep tone with virtually no visual information. In these ways you control what is recorded with detail, and what records as dark or bright tones without detail. Compensation is not limited to working with two stops--you can manipulate values by one stop, or by half stops if that serves your purposes.
The above assumes you are working in an autoexposure mode, like aperture priority. If you prefer working in manual so much the better, as you can dispense with using the exposure compensation and exposure lock features on your camera.
All this gives you control over highlights and shadows, and how the scene you have in front of you will record. Once you grasp the concept of value and tonal manipulation you have a wide range of choices that allow you to shape the exposure in many ways.

Spot metering for the highlight in this shot "drives down" the darker values into deep shadow, or pure tone.

Image and text copyright: George Schaub

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Digital Image Quality Considerations

2011-01-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

Today’s digital cameras range from simple point and shoot models to those used by pros. One of the keys to getting good images to print is the megapixel count of the sensor. Mega means “millions” and refers to the number of photo sites—or light and image gathering points—on the sensor. If you would like to make prints as large as 8 x 10 inches you will need at least a 6-megapixel camera. If you want to make larger prints—or get the best quality in your 8 x 10 inch prints—then a higher megapixel camera is recommended.

You might think that you can simply buy an older camera and get the megapixel count required to make great images and prints, but the key here is in the image processor. Older digital cameras tend to produce much noisier images with numerous image “artifacts” that can be quite detrimental to image quality. My advice is to avoid buying a used digital camera made prior to 2009.

You have a number of options when making photographs with your digital camera. For the best prints follow these guidelines:
If you have a camera that only allows you to photograph in JPEG format:
1) Choose the largest file size you can get. If you have a choice of various pixel resolutions choose the largest. This is generally indicated as “L” on the menu choice (with M or medium and B or basic also available.)
2) Choose the lowest compression ratio. Compression is a way for the system to gather more images on a given capacity memory card, but it tosses away information when it writes to the card and replaces that information with mathematical formulas, not “raw” image data. If, for example, you have a choice between Super Fine, Fine and Normal, or some such naming scheme, choose Super Fine.
3) Don’t “tweak” the image processor in the camera with contrast or sharpness settings. These are fine for special effects in the camera, but we can do better with the image information later in the digital darkroom.
4) Don’t use digital zoom. This actually crops into the sensor rather than getting optical information through the lens. Even if you use the largest available resolution (Large) and lowest compression you’ll lose information.

If you have a camera that allows you to choose between JPEG and Raw format, do the following:
1) Choose Raw. The only drawback to Raw is that you have to open and view and change the image file in special software, usually bundled with the camera that has a Raw mode option.
2) If you have a choice of pixel resolutions in Raw choose the highest pixel count.

Although the image resolution or file size is key when making prints, that’s just part of the equation. Exposure and lens sharpness and how the camera’s internal image processor converts the data from the sensor to digitized image information have a very important role to play as well.

When thinking about settings on your digital camera consider how file format and compression will affect results, and what the end use of the image will be. This shot was made in a coastal town in Maine using RAW file format on a Canon DSLR.

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Copyright: George Schaub 2011

An Occassional Glossary: C, D, E

2010-11-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit more on the ongoing glossary project, C through E

Center-weighted Metering Pattern: In a metering scheme, an exposure system that takes most of its information from the center portion of the frame. Most center-weighted systems also take additional readings from the surrounding areas, but weight the reading towards the center.

Color Balance (digital camera): The setting in a digital camera that matches the available or artificial light to faithfully renders color.

Color Temperature: Described by the Kelvin scale, which is defined in degrees. It is used as a standard for judging the effect or color cast a certain light source will have on color rendition.

Continuous: The shooting mode that allows for continuous firing without lifting the finger from the shutter release button In tonality, a smooth range of tones from black to white. In autofocus, allowing shutter release regardless of whether subject focus has been attained.

Contrast: The relationship between the lightest and darkest areas in a scene and/or photograph. A small difference means low contrast; a great difference, high contrast. High contrast scenes may cause exposure metering problems; however, their “difficulty” can mean they hold the potential for more expression. In addition, combining bracketed exposures, HDR and tone curve compensation techniques can overcome high contrast challenges, Though contrast is often linked with scene brightness, there can be low contrast in a bright scene and high contrast in dim light. Contrast can also describe attributes of color, composition, and inherent qualities of film and sensors.

Correct Exposure: The combination of aperture and shutter speed that yields a full-toned image and the best possible representation of the scene. The constants in an exposure calculation are the ISO or sensitivity of the sensor and the brightness of the scene; the variables are the aperture and shutter speed.

Dedicated Flash: A flash that coordinates with the camera's exposure, and sometimes focusing, systems. Dedicated flashes may, among other things, automatically pick up the camera’s ISO setting, set the camera sync speed, and "tell" the camera when it’s ready to fire. Flashes dedicated to autofocusing cameras may also vary their angle of flash throw (coverage) according to the lens in use (even with zoom lenses), and emit autofocus beams that aid focusing in very dim light or even total darkness. For outdoor work, dedicated flashes may provide totally automatic fill flash exposure. In short, a dedicated flash can make flash photography as simple as automated natural light photography.

Depth of Field: The zone, or range of distances, within a scene that will record as sharp. Depth of field is influenced by the focal length of the lens in use, the f-stop setting on the lens, and the distance from the camera to the subject. It can be shallow or deep, and can be totally controlled by the photographer. It is one of the most creative and profound image effects available to photographers.

Depth-of-field Preview Button: A switch, button, or electronic push button on SLRs that allows the photographer to preview the depth of field of a selected aperture in the viewfinder. During composition the lens is wide open, thus the depth of field in the viewfinder is always that of the maximum aperture of the lens. DOF Preview is very useful for critical selective focus shots.

Dynamic Range: The ability of a sensor to record a certain range of light.

Electronic Flash: Known as a flashgun, strobe, or speedlight, a device consisting of a gas-filled tube that is fired by an electrical charge. It can be mounted directly on the camera hot shoe (which links the shutter release to the flash firing), or on a bracket or stand, and be connected to the camera via a sync cord or wirelessly through IR beams or radio signals.

Equivalent Exposure: Recording the same amount of light, even though aperture and shutter speeds have shifted. For example, an exposure of f/11 at 1/125 second is equivalent to an exposure of f/8 at 1/250 second.

Exposure: The amount of light that enters the lens and strikes the sensor. Exposures are broken down into aperture, which is the diameter of the opening of the lens, and shutter speed, which is the amount of time the light strikes the film. Thus, exposure is a combination of the intensity and duration of light.

Exposure Compensation Control: A camera function that allows for overriding the automatic exposure reading. The bias, or shift, can be set in full or partial stops. Used in difficult lighting conditions, when the reflective meter might fail (that is, dark or bright value dominance), or for deliberate under- or overexposure of a scene. Can also be used to bracket exposures.

Exposure Meter: Light-reading instrument that yields signals that are translated to f-stops and shutter speeds.

EV Numbers: A system of expressing exposure that combines apertures and shutter speed. Scene brightness translated to aperture and shutter speed values. For example, EV 15 at ISO 100 might mean 1/1000 second at f/5.6, or 1/500 second at f/8. EV numbers are often used as shorthand for the combined aperture and shutter speed value combinations and are used for making exposure compensation, when doing autoexposure bracketing or for readouts of exposure.

Very Selective Focus

2010-11-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

There are a number of lenses that allow you to break the rules of depth of field. Because you can shift and tilt these lenses on an unusual axis not parallel to the image sensor, you can correspondingly tilt (up and down) and shift (side to side) the planes of focus in the photo. This technique is often used by large format, view camera photographers to attain unusually deep depth of field, where the shifts and tilts can be coordinated between both the front (lens stage) and back of the camera itself. Because the back of a DSLR is rigid there is less freedom of movement, and while specialty lenses can be used to create very deep depth of field, I use them for creating an almost angular plane of focus, thus a very shallow depth of field and “odd” focusing effects. What is most unusual is that these lenses allow you to turn the rules of depth of field on their head, if you will, by allowing you to have sharpness in, for example, one subject six feet away on the right side of the frame while another subject six feet away on the left side is quite unsharp.

While you can attain this effect via software, shooting with lenses that mount on your camera in the field is a much more visceral and engaging activity. I have used two types of lenses for this work-- “Lensbabys”, with various options for effects and operation, and a PC (perspective control) lens. Both are available for most every make of DSLR. They require manual focusing but usually can be used with automatic exposure, albeit with some occasional exposure compensation required.

PC lenses have a tilt and shift mechanism with various knobs and locks on the barrel. This allows you to tilt the lens to and fro and shift plus and minus. If you look at the back of the lens you will notice the rear element is recessed into the barrel. This so-called retrofocus-type construction allows the lens to be swung to and fro because the coverage of the lens circle exceeds the diameter of the sensor or film. Most of these pricey lenses are constructed so the tilts and shifts do not cause excessive vignetting, although you should watch for that with some more extreme movements.

You can play with the planes of focus in odd ways with one of the Lensbabys (www.lensbaby.com). This replaces the normal lens directly on your camera and allows you to shift the focusing planes so they are not parallel to the camera, something that is at odds with how we think about photographic sharpness. You do this by literally twisting or pressing down on one side of the lens; the bellows in the mount give way to make the lens surfaces sit at odd angles to the sensor. The lens can be shot wide open (usually about f/2.8) as supplied, or you can insert small diaphragms that create various aperture settings. I usually don’t use those stops as I want as shallow a plane of focus as possible.

Tools: PC (perspective control) lens or one of the Lensbaby models. Live View if available. Aperture priority or manual exposure mode. Manual focusing.

Depth of Field

2010-05-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

The aperture setting determines the “thickness of the pipe” through which light flows, thus the volume of light and exposure. But as, if not more importantly it influences depth of field, thus plays a major part in creative focusing decisions.

You can think of depth of field as a grid of distance markers from the front to the back of your photo, sort of like a football field. When you make different aperture settings you are influencing how sharp objects at the ten, twenty, thirty yard lines, etc, will be. You are also influencing how sharp they will be in relation to the point or distance you actually have focus set.

Some settings will make the difference of sharpness between, say, the ten and thirty yard lines quite dramatic, and others will make it less so, and others will eliminate any sharpness difference between those distant points.

How can we control the fact that this image shows sharp foreground trees as well as the massive falls miles away? That’s the kind of control depth of field gives you. With a 24mm lens, exposure at ISO 250 was f/9 at 1/125 second.

Obsolete So Soon? A Look Back at Early Digicams

2010-03-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

The rush of events in the past few years has left us all fairly breathless, what with the pace of change wrought by digital. As product trumps product, and new operating systems and formats rush to grab our attention, older systems and gear quickly fall by the wayside. Some have come to rest in my Museum of Photographic Obsolescence (MOPO). The halls of that hallowed institution have become quite crowded of late; a new wing is being built as you read this.

You needn’t go too far back to find tech and gear that vie for space in that exhibition hall. Look through the back booths of a book store and you might find a few ragged copies of 1940-1950 era Pop Photo or even good old Modern Photography and been amused by the proliferation of ads for movie projectors, tape recorders and even some old Federal enlargers, once staples on a dealers’ shelves. But I didn’t have to reach that far back to find some goodies and more recent exhibits for the MOPO; indeed, many came to the fore when I did some spring cleaning recently and discovered some clippings from writings past. I thought you might get a kick out of some of the hyperbole and prognostications.

Here’s one, from July of 1984. The lead reads: “Eastman Kodak Company announced its entry into the consumer electronics field at CES last January when it introduced the Kodavision Series 2000 video system.” According to then VP Roger Sharp, ‘Most reactions from dealers indicate they are particularly happy to see ½ inch video cassettes on their shelves... It will provide another incentive by making it easier for people to take electronic home movies and play them back through their VCRs.” Along with a classic hardware entry into the Halls of the MOPO, I counted one major technology and one format that went down the tubes from that release. (Anyone recall Polavision? Yes, that’s in the days when marketers didn’t capitalize mid-word.)

In the same year, there was some prognostication that was not too far off the mark. Buried about five paragraphs down from a frothy lead about the future of video still cameras, Mikio Ashikawa of Toshiba was quoted as reporting that to overcome the resolution hurdle, video still cameras might catch up to film by “not increasing the pixels but in electronic rearrangement of the available information, that is, image enhancement through computers.” The movement of that enhancement from desktop to inside the camera is what marks digital imaging today.

The article goes on to say, “Many scientists (at the SPSE conference in 1984) feel that electronics and film will make a happy marriage, with film serving as the input and electronics taking care of the processing side of the business. One scenario is that film, once developed, would be scanned by a device that converts the information into digital form and then that data would be put through various image producing and enhancing channels.” Well, that wasn’t too bad, even in 1984.

It’s always fun to read ad and promotional copy from years past, only because some of it seems almost naïve in light of what we’re experiencing today. I quote from Nikon copy from 1999 not to pick on Nikon, but to illustrate how quickly things have changed. Indeed, everyone was caught up in the same game.

After a flurry of promotional matters the copy goes on to say: “Now, Nikon asserts that (digital photography) leadership again with the announcement of two new digital cameras—the Coolpix 950 and 700—both of which break the 2 megapixel barrier in the affordable, under $1000 digital camera category. This means that photographers can now record uncompressed TIFF images as large as 6MB, resulting in never-before seen quality in affordable cameras.” The changes this press material mark from just eleven years back are glaring. The 2MP cameras are now gone, or relegated to toys; that model category, though non-existent today, would be probably $1300 in 2009 dollars; the camera, if sold now, would probably be 10% of the then asked for price of “under $1000”; and of course TIFF as an in-camera format has for the most part gone away. The memory cards of the time were also quite expensive, and those prices have dropped 80-90% from 1999 as well.

And while we’re on cameras, just for fun I pulled a 1987 PMA report that breathlessly reported “tremendous gains in the electronic still photography field in the past year.” Known then as ESP (electronic still photography) there was the Panasonic Photovision 3100, which recorded 300K images on a 47mm video floppy disk; the Konica SV-C40 (another 300K unit which could fire off four frames per second in the “higher resolution” frame mode); and the Fujix ES-2P, which delivers “380K images, resulting in higher picture quality than most similar cameras.” These video still cameras have a special hall in the evolutionary exhibits in our MOPO.

One of the most interesting pieces from the yellowing archives was an interview done with Robert C. Davis, then president of Bremson Data Systems, in 1985. In response to what we might see in 1995 (ten years from the date of that interview), Davis said: “The big question on everyone’s mind is whether silver halide based imaging is going away. Everyone’s concerned with that…You may get a system where you dump in a roll of film at one end and out the other will come pictures and negatives all wrapped together, and in between you may get a videotape and a video disk along with it. At that point a (pro) photographer may be showing his proofs on a video screen...The professional may begin to use electronic cameras in the studio. We may get a cartridge, or a floppy disk, and put it in a processor and out will come 11x14s to wallet packages. Package work may bypass film. It all depends on how fast the U.S. and Japan will develop the chips necessary to do that—there’s still the resolution problem to deal with.” Most prescient for 1985 eh?

The mid-eighties saw digital photography as just a glimmer in some engineers’ eyes. In each sector—camera makers and photo processors—the groundwork was being laid for the coming sea changes in photography. The point of me bringing all this up is that we might just be in a similar period today. The changes wrought over event he past three years are incredible. We even have people today who are quite avid photographers who never exposed a picture on a roll of film in their life. Where this might lead, and what formats, gear and technology that are now the hot items will be new entrants in our MOPO, is anyone’s guess. But we can all rest assured that what we see as breakthroughs today will be quickly overtaken by what’s just around the corner. And we might look back in 2030 with similar amusement about how naïve it all seems in 2010. Or will we gain that perspective by 2011?

Creative Focus: Part 1

2010-03-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

At first glance it would seem that focusing is a simple matter. You look through the lens, press the shutter release button to activate the autofocus mechanism and make the photograph. Or, when using a manual focus lens, merely turn the focusing collar on the lens until the image seems sharp in the viewfinder, and then press the shutter release. This would work fine if we lived in a two-dimensional world. Yet subjects in most scenes sit different distances from one another. Some may be close together while others could be miles apart. Working with focusing techniques you can either make subjects at great distances appear sharp within the picture or have a background that is as close as a foot to your subject appear unsharp.

Focusing is one of the most important creative options. The technique for creative focusing play is called selective focus or depth of field, and it is based on the idea of “circles of confusion”, or what our eyes perceive as sharp and unsharp in an image.

Think of a magnifying lens slanted toward the sun and a piece of paper receiving the rays of light through the lens. As you move the lens back and forth the rays from the sun form a circle or a point on the paper. When a lens is mounted on a camera it directs light toward the film or sensor. Those rays that converge on the film or sensor at a point, or at a near point, are what we perceive as sharp in the image. Those that form a circle beyond a certain diameter are perceived as unsharp in the image.

Our eyes tolerate a certain diameter of circle, or “blob” as being sharp. We do this at a certain distance and with a certain degree of magnification of the image. Change the viewing distance and/or the magnification and what appeared as sharp might later seem unsharp. That’s why when we enlarge prints that looked good in a snapshot size print (4 x 6 inches) to 11 x 14 inches the print may look slightly unsharp. Close inspection of image before enlargement can help prevent this problem.

Next: Viewfinders and Live View

Photo and Text copyright George Schaub 2010. Depth of field controls set up what is sharp and unsharp in the photograph. A deep depth of field, as shown here, means the eye perceives everything from front to back as in focus, or sharp.

An Occassional Glossary: A, B

2010-03-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

AMBIENT LIGHT: The light in the scene, as opposed to the light provided by the photographer with flash, photofloods, etc.

ANGLE OF VIEW: The maximum angle a lens covers in the field. Measured in degrees, and qualified by terms such as wide-angle, normal, and telephoto. A wide angle lens has a wider angle of view than a telephoto lens.

APERTURE: The opening of a lens, the size of which is controlled by a diaphragm. The term aperture is also used to designate f-stops, such as f/4, f/5.6 etc. Actual aperture size may be different on different lenses but always allow in the same amount of light. Thus, f/11 on a 110mm focal length lens allows in the same amount of light as f/11 on a 28mm lens. The wider the opening, the lower the f-number, the more light is let through the lens.

APERTURE PRIORITY: An autoexposure mode in which you select the aperture and the exposure system selects the appropriate shutter speed for a correct exposure. Sometimes referred to as Av or simply A on exposure mode control panels.

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT: Any light not directly produced by the sun. Can be tungsten, flash, household bulbs, sodium vapor street lamps, etc.

AUTOEXPOSURE: A method of exposure where aperture and shutter speed settings are first read, then set, by the camera itself. Various autoexposure modes allow you to customize, or bias the automation.

AUTOEXPOSURE LOCK: A pushbutton, switch, or lever that locks in exposure after you have made a reading, regardless of a change in camera position or light conditions. Useful for making highlight or shadow readings of select portions of the frame, and an essential feature for critical exposure control with automated cameras.

AUTOFOCUS: A method of focusing where focusing distances are set automatically. In SLRs, a passive phase detection system that compares contrast and edge of subjects within the confines of the autofocus brackets in the viewfinder and automatically sets focusing distance on the lens. Autofocusing motors may be in the camera body or the lens itself. Active IR (infrared) autofocusing systems may also be in some cameras in the form of beams that are emitted from the camera or flash, bounce off the subject, then return and set focusing range, and are used when light or contrast is too low for the passive system to work.

AUXILIARY LENS: An add-on optical device that alters the focal length of the prime lens for closeup, telephoto, or other special effects photography. Closeup lenses, for example, usually comes in +1, +2, and +3 powers; the higher the number the greater the magnification. As differentiated from Lensbaby optics, auxiliary lenses are usually added onto the camera lens via the threads on the lens collar.

AUXILIARY LIGHT: A flash, strobe, or tungsten lamp or bulbs used to change the character of light in a scene. Any light under the control of the photographer.

AVAILABLE LIGHT: The light that's normal in a scene, although the term is generally used when the light level is low. Available light shooting usually involves high ISO settings, low shutter speeds and apertures, and/or the use of a tripod.

AVERAGING: In light metering, a metering setup where the light is read from most of the viewfinder frame (70%) then averaged to yield an overall, standard exposure for the scene that averages all the values read to middle gray.

B or BULB: A shutter setting that indicates that the shutter will remain open for as long as the shutter release is pressed. The term originated with the rubber air shutter bulbs used to operate shutters in the old days. B settings are generally used in nighttime and time/motion study photography.

BACKGROUND: The portion of a scene that sits behind the main, foreground subject. We can make the background sharp or de-focused through the use of selective focus techniques.

BACKLIGHTING: From camera position, light that comes from behind the subject. Usually, a backlit main subject will be underexposed unless the metering system is set to read selectively off the subject. Extreme backlighting can be exploited to create silhouettes.

BATTERY: The power supply of the camera and flash. In many of today's cameras (and certainly in flashes), no power means no pictures.

BLACK-AND-WHITE: Monochrome images. Though we think of black and white mainly in terms of a grayscale, monochrome images can have a wide variety of subtle tones, from blue- to brown-black.

BLUR: Unsharpness because of the movement of the camera or subject during exposure. Though we usually want images sharp, blur can be used for many creative effects.

BOUNCE LIGHT: In flash photography, directing the burst of light from the flash so it literally bounces off a ceiling, wall, or other surface to illuminate the subject. This method of flash is often preferred because it softens the overall light and eliminates the harsh, frontal look of an on-camera, straightforward flash.

BRACKET: Making exposures above and below the normal exposure, or that which is suggested by the camera's autoexposure system. Useful as a failsafe method for getting "correct" exposure in difficult lighting conditions. Bracketing can also be used to make subtle changes in the nuance of tone and light in any scene and is an essential ingredient in HDR processing.

BRIGHTNESS: The luminance of objects. The brightness of any area of the subject is dependent on how much light falls on it and how reflective it is. Brightness range is the relationship we perceive between the light and dark subjects in a scene. Brightness contrast is a judgement of the relative measure of that range, such as high, low, or normal.

BURNING-IN: In processing, giving additional density (dark tones) to a portion of a print or image.

BURNT-OUT: Jargon that refers to loss of details in the highlight portion of a scene due to overexposure. It might mean that no image detail has been recorded, or that highlights show no texture or tonal information.

Photo and text: copyright George Schaub 2010. Backlighting is when the main light in the scene sits behind the subject facing camera position. It can be used for creating silhouettes or here as a combination of silhouette and translucent light quality.

Spot Metering

2010-03-05T06:22:00.000-08:00

One of the three options you have for a metering pattern, or the area in the viewfinder where the metering system takes its information to calculate an exposure, is known as “spot.” The spot options generally takes its information right from the center of the viewfinder and is often defined by a small, etched circular pattern. Some Custom Functions allow you to define the exact circumference of the spot area or move the spot to match a focusing point.

Because spot metering is quite exclusive it does require that you occasionally use it in conjunction with exposure compensation. Like all metering it converts what it reads to a middle gray, so if you meter a white area and want it to record as white you have to add exposure to the reading; conversely if you meter a very dark area and want it to stay dark as seen then you have to take away exposure.

The best way to add or subtract exposure when using a spot meter is to use the exposure compensation feature. You can preset this at +1.5 when, for example, shooting on a bright snowy day and reading from the brightest areas. This should insure that you get texture in the bright white (although it still might shadows areas to become underexposed.)

Spot metering also aids in making readings from smaller areas within the scene, such as a backlit face. In that case no compensation is required.

The easy rules for spot are:

When you spot bright white add exposure (usually +1 or +1.5EV) if you want to render it bright white in the recording.

When you spot a color you will saturate that color.

Text and photo Copyright George Schaub 2010

To saturate the bright yellow and red here all it takes is placing the spot pattern on the color and locking exposure.

Center-Weighted Metering Pattern

2010-02-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

Center-weighted averaging is a bit more “old fashioned” in that it is how light was read, for the most part, before advanced microprocessors got into the mix. The light is read from all parts of the viewfinder, with 70% of the light reading coming from the center of the frame and the remaining 30% of the calculation from the edges of the frame. It is called “averaging” because it takes in all the various brightness levels and then averages them to what is called a “middle gray” exposure reading. This is the basis for much of how metering and translating light value works, so is worth some consideration.

When the metering system receives light from the scene it attempts to average the exposure values so that the bright areas record as bright and the shadows as dark, in essence arranging the light values along a scale of light and dark. Let's say you are working with a scene where there is a range of values, from the bright white in clouds to the deep shadow of a valley. If you read the clouds alone with a spot meter they might read f/11. The edge of the valley might read f/8; the shadow area reads f/5.6. An averaged exposure would be f/8. This “places” the brightest clouds as a highlight, the edge of the formation as the middle value and the deep shadow as quite dark. Thus, exposing at around f/8 places the brightness values as they appear in the scene.

Because the pupil of the camera (the lens opening) is fixed at the moment of exposure, there is no leeway for adjusting to various levels of brightness within the frame. This means that one exposure time has to handle all the lights and darks in a scene, and try to get detail from them all. This is, as you can imagine, a delicate situation. How it is handled is to arrive at an exposure that allows in just enough light to bring detail into the dark areas (the shadows) and not get overwhelmed by the bright areas (the highlights.) This is usually an average of the two intensities of light. The average reading sorts out the lights and darks accordingly so some records as brighter than the average and some darker than the average, as it should be.

Although the exposure system is quite sophisticated you too have to do your part. In essence, the information you “feed” the brain of the meter is the information it acts upon. In exposure that means making a reading by pointing the camera and sometimes locking exposure values to get it right.

For example, let’s say light values EV 11, EV 7 and EV 9 exist in the scene. A change in 1 EV (exposure value) is one stop difference. The average of these three readings is EV 9, which we’ll call f/11 at 1/125 second. That’s the reading the meter will recommend and set for you. EV 9 then becomes the middle gray of the light to dark brightness value, or tonal scale of that image. In essence, the meter has read and set up a range of tones that will be recorded. With EV 9 as the middle gray, EV 11 records as a brighter value and EV 7 as a darker value.

If, however, the reading was made incorrectly and the middle gray was set at EV 7 (which you would get if you just read the shadow areas) then the EV 11 (quite bright) value would record as very bright, and result in overexposure. Conversely, if the middle gray were EV 11 (created if you just read the highlight area) then the EV 7 reading would become much darker than it appears to your eye. All the values work in lock step, so making a bright value a middle gray makes all the dark values darker (and perhaps underexposed, where no detail is seen) and making a dark value middle gray can cause all the bright values to become quite overexposed.

A sunset scene is a classic shot for center-weighted metering. The intent is not to get detail in the ground but to use it as a form that offsets the sky and defines the horizon line. The simplest approach to sunset shots where you want to have a rich sky is to use center-weighted metering, aim the camera at the sky (not the sun!), lock exposure and shoot. Use this method and you’ll never miss a dazzling sunset again.

This might seem quite confusing in the abstract, but working with the camera and making readings exclusively from certain brightness values in the scene, and observing results, will quickly show you how this system works. In fact, you can even make use of this knowledge to create very expressive exposures.

The key to center-weighted reading is to "bias the exposure" towards the highlight. In other words, point the camera towards the highlight area (including other areas as well) and make the reading from that area. This is especially true if the highlight area sits at the corner or out of the center of your framing.

Photo and text copyright George Schaub 2010. In this scene the camera was set on center-weighted metering pattern, pointed towards the brighter area in the upper right, and then exposure was locked and the image reframed to the compositon you see here. Matrix or evaluative would have undoubtedly overexposed the highlights in this scene.

Basics: Lens Aperture

2010-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

Exposure is controlled by the aperture and the shutter speed settings. The aperture setting also influences depth of field, thus plays a major part in creative focusing decisions. Aperture settings are called f-numbers, and are expressed by "f/" followed by the number of the aperture set.

Aperture settings are indicated on a lens by a series of numbers; with some cameras and lenses there is no aperture scale on the lens barrel and the settings appear in the camera's viewfinder and/or LCD panel. A typical aperture scale might read: 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16. Each number indicates the ratio of the actual diaphragm opening to the focal length of the lens in use, thus any same aperture on any lens always allows in the same amount of light. As these are actually fractional numbers the smaller numbers signify larger openings. Thus, f/2 (or 1/2) represents a wider opening (or greater value) than f/16 (or 1/16).

As mentioned, f-numbers represent the same light value regardless of the lens or format in use. Thus, f/2 on a 50mm lens for a 35mm camera delivers the same amount of light through the lens as f/2 on a 200mm lens for a medium-format camera, even though the diameter of the openings themselves are different. If this wasn't the case the entire light control system in photography simply wouldn't work.

Each subsequent number in an aperture scale represents a halving or doubling of the amount of light that the aperture allows through the lens. (You can calculate the next higher number in any one-stop-step scale by multiplying the previous number by 1.4). Each step in the scale (say, from f/2 to f/2.8) is called a stop. Thus, every time you open up or close down the lens by one stop (opening means going to the next lower number, or wider opening; closing down means going to the next higher number, or narrower opening) you are changing the amount of light entering by the power of 2. A one stop change (say, f/8 to f/5.6) is a 2X difference; a two-stop change (sat f/8 to f/4) is a 4X difference; and so forth.

The best way to see how aperture settings effect light transmission is to take the lens off the camera, hold it up to the light and click through the aperture settings. (Note: Some lenses do not allow for aperture changes on the lens itself, but rely on the camera to change apertures,) You'll see that the maximum aperture, say f/2, is the widest opening. As you click through the scale, you'll see the diaphragm in the lens getting smaller. Think of water as it flows through a pipe. Given that the water will always fill the pipe, a larger diameter pipe will allow more water through. This can be applied to light flow and the aperture diameter.

Most lenses and cameras today allow for partial stops, like older lenses with click stops, or detents, between the aperture settings. On older lenses these are half-stops, and though not marked indicate a halfway point between the two aperture numbers on the ring. On newer lenses you can have 1/3, 1/4 or other fractional spreads. These step-less aperture settings means any value can be set, such as f/9.7 or f/11.3. These values are indicated in the camera viewfinder and/or the LCD panel on the camera.

Aperture rings are usually inscribed with all the available full stop settings on the lens, from the maximum, or widest, to minimum, or narrowest lens opening. The range of the aperture scale may differ depending upon the construction of the lens and its focal length. One scale may read f/2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, while another may read f/4, 5.6,8, 11, 16, 22, 32 (the latter is more typical of zoom or telephoto lenses.) The lowest number in the scale (thus the widest opening) is called the maximum aperture; the highest number on the scale (thus the narrowest opening) is called the minimum aperture.

Photo and text copyright George Schaub 2010. Aperture settings allow you to control the depth of field, what appears sharp and unsharp in your photo. To get focus from foreground to background here an f/16 setting was used.

Color and Light

2010-02-16T06:46:00.001-08:00

The overall quality of the light source can have a profound effect on color perception. Light and dark tints of color that in flat light would show as one hue become more differentiated in bright light--the effect of color contrast. Yet, if that light is too bright and the surface is glossy we will get greater interference, thus some of the color that we might see in flat light becomes "washed out" or replaced by white. If the surface is matte the reflection becomes more diffuse we see more color. Thus, the greater the surface reflection the less the color richness or saturation we perceive. Rough surfaces throw off all sorts of reflections that can vary the color in many ways.

Atmospheric effects also alter color. If you look at a range of mountains from a distance, for example, you see them as blue. When you walk or drive closer to them, however, you see them as green, or red or whatever color they might be.

The same goes for the color changes subjects seem to undergo throughout the day. The inherent color, if you will, of sandstone formations do not change but we all know that photographing those formations late in the day, on a clear day, will yield the most spectacular results. Those afternoon colors are influenced by the prevailing light. Their amber tint results from the color bias of the light as it travels longer distances later in the day.

The color of any one thing does not exist in a vacuum. It is influenced by the color of subjects around it and how those subjects absorb and reflect light. It's as if we exist in a world of color mirrors and reflectors that bounce light from one subject to another. This sets up the world of color relationships and creates many of the color enhancing vibrations and associations we see around us.

In short, the way we see color is almost subjective--it is certainly conditional. Just as brightness is influenced by a host of factors, color itself is always changing and being affected by the energy around it.

The color mood of this image is affected greatly by atmospheric conditions. Photo and text copyright George Schaub 2010

Looking at Scene Contrast

2010-02-11T07:20:00.000-08:00

The main issue in making good exposures in high contrast scenes is learning the difference between how your eye “sees” and handles contrast and how the sensor “sees” and records brightness values. Contrast is defined as the difference between the brightest and darkest areas in a scene. In photography the areas that define a usable contrast range are those in which you can see and record detail and tonal values; the compositional decisions often involve how you treat those brightness areas that fall outside this range.

For example, if you photograph a white car in bright light you would want texture and tonal value in the car body and details and perhaps even in the tire tread. But you might not care about the details in the asphalt that sits in the shadow of the car. Or, if you’re taking a portrait in bright light you’ll want good skin tones values in your subject but may not care about information (details) in the shadow he or she casts. When we talk about a usable contrast range we are talking about those areas that you want to record and not those that may also be in the scene but that can fall into tone without detail, like a deep shadow. We can call this usable range of values the "significant" tones, with the brightest in which you want texture the significant highlight and the darkest in which you want detail the significant shadow.

If you take an exposure reading of just the significant highlight you are placing that highlight on the middle of the recording scale—-in essence, you are telling the exposure system that you want the highlight to record darker than it appears in the scene.

And, if you take a reading of just the significant shadow area (like in the image shown here) you will be recording it as brighter than it appears in the scene. This throws off the balance of brightness values in recordings where there are both bright and dark values. If you make a reading of and record the darker areas alone it will cause the brighter areas to “burn up” and become overexposed, just like the side of the building here.

If you want to make a quick test of how making readings from the lighter or darker parts of the scene affects your results, set up a bracketing sequence at +/-2 EV and take three pictures of a brightly lit scene with shadows and highlights. One exposure may average the two values, one will expose for the highlights and one for the shadows. You’ll see how making exposures for just a certain part of the brightness scale affects the other areas.

Photo and text copyright George Schaub 2010. Exposure here was read from the shadow areas. The result in a high contrast scene such as this is fairly substantial overexposure of the highlights, never a good thing in digital (or film) photography.

George Schaub Workshops 2010

2009-12-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am in the processing of finalizing photographic and printing workshops for 2010. Here are the confirmed classes as of December 15. Check back for updates. Any questions please send me an email at schaubphoto@gmail.com.

Workshops
Feb 6, 2010: One Day Intensive DSLR Intro

New School University, New York City

http://ceregistration.newschool.edu/register/index.cfm?deptcode=NART&semesterpick=200930

March 15-19: Digital Black and White Printing

Palm Beach Photo Centre

West Palm Beach, FL

http://www.workshop.org/digital_imaging_workshops.html

April 12-16: Digital Black and White Printing

Santa Fe Photo Workshops

Santa Fe, NM

http://www.santafeworkshops.com/workshops/calendar-detail.php?workshop=473&all=1

August 1-7: Iceland Digital SLR Field Techniques

Iceland Tour

http://www.focusonnature.is/id/1000305

August 29-Sept 3: Digital Black and White Printing

Maine Photographic Workshops

http://www.theworkshops.com/

To see a portfolio of images please visit:

http://georgeschaub.com

On-Camera Fill Flash

2009-09-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

The small, built-in flash on your camera is not meant to be a powerhouse that will enable you to capture large groups indoors or throw light any significant distance outdoors. Most are good to about 10 feet maximum, though range can be boosted somewhat with higher ISO settings (with the increased noise price that you pay.) Some have a bit more power than others, but rarely do they go beyond a fairly short range. However, there are times when the small output can be used for adding just a taste of light to highlight a foreground subject and to bring lighting balance into a contrasty scene.

An opportunity for just that situation came up when photographing along the Rio Pueblo in Northern New Mexico last year, where the foreground sat in deep shadow. I knew I wanted to retain those shadowed forms to highlight the bright foliage, but after the first shot I thought that the shadows were too dominant (fig 1). Near my shooting position sat a small bush with the same yellow coloration of the background that did not record in my first shot.

I raised the small flash on my camera and took a shot. I liked what it did for the composition but the foreground plant looked too bright, a result of hitting it with flash from a few feet away. I then chose to use flash exposure compensation at -1.5EV, a good practice when working close like this. The resultant shot helped balance the composition and brought some visual interest into the foreground.

So next time you are working in strong contrast, and want to compose to maintain the shape and form of the shadows, consider using the small pop-up flash, along with flash exposure compensation, to add some extra visual “kick” to your images.

1
Exposure: Spot meter reading on bright bushes in background, f/16 at 1/125 sec at ISO 100; 24mm (equivalent) lens.
2
Exposure: f/16 at 1/125 sec at ISO 100, fill flash (on-camera) set at -1.5EV flash exposure compensation.

Landscape and Nature Photography

2009-09-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

“I was studying for a degree in environmental conservation at the University of Colorado in Boulder, taking classes in mountain ecology...My summers were spent backpacking in National Parks. My mother gave me a camera when I went away to school, and it seemed like a natural thing to take along. I wanted to document what I was seeing and what was exciting to me. Photography didn’t start out as my ultimate goal. After a couple of summers backpacking and photographing nature, the activity of photography grew to be more important than backpacking.”

William Neill, from an interview with Grace Schaub

The desire to incorporate the power and beauty of the natural world around us into our being is one of the prime motivations for making landscape and nature photographs. These photographs can then be shared with others to show where we’ve been and what we’ve appreciated. A landscape may depict clouds rushing over mountains in the wilds of the Rockies, or a barn or rustic farmhouse in mannered fields. Not all of nature is bucolic and sunny. Powerful landscapes can also show the power and, at times, fury of nature, even the devastating effects of man upon the natural world.

One of the keys to successful landscape photography is using visual and technical applications to capture a true “sense of place.” The aim is to record both the external visual record of the place as well as the internalized power and presence of the experienced moment in which it is recorded. The most powerful images are both visual and emotional records.

Landscape images may at times be a gift from a coincidence of sky, light, time of day, or the viewpoint offered by the road or trail. However, evoking a true sense of place usually demands patience, applied technique and a willingness to “feel out” an area prior to photographing. It also requires active seeing and contemplation on what framing, exposure and time of day will best communicate the power and beauty of a location.

One way to approach landscape studies is to leave your camera in your bag before you begin to shoot. Move through an area and make mental notes on framing, the direction of the light and the best point of view. While spontaneous moments of inspiration should not be denied (especially on days when the light is undergoing constant change), consideration of a number of photographic options prior to making pictures may be the best course. It also allows time for enjoying and appreciating the place.

Landscapes tend to be broader views of an area that encompass sky and ground or a lake with surrounding forest. Though the distinction may be slight, and the photographs may be made in the same locales, nature photography is generally on a more intimate scale. It may be photographs of wildlife or a clump of fall leaves caught in the glistening waters of a rushing stream. Nature photography often relies on chance, or serendipity, and pictures are found while enjoying a hike in the woods or a stroll down the beach. Nature can also be an excellent source of abstract forms; images made in that frame of mind become metaphors for a grander design, or touch emotions not usually engendered by the subject’s face value.

Landscape and nature studies have always been an important part of photography The earliest book of photographs by one of the pioneers of photography, Fox-Talbot, was entitled “The Pencil of Nature.” Nature as metaphor was a major theme of photographers such as Minor White, Walter Chappell and Edward Weston. The linkage of nature photography with conservation became the life’s work of Ansel Adams. Many activist-photographers carry on this work today.

Digital Infrared Black and White

2009-09-12T10:07:00.001-07:00

Infrared light is by definition “invisible” light that resides above the threshold of human vision. It is not Kirilian, or aura photography, though it sometimes creates an ethereal, ghost-like representation that can be quit seductive. Like most things photographic that appear visionary, there is a bit of science behind the magic. This involves disabling the “normal” operation of the camera to allow infrared level light to record, something that is usually blocked by an IR cutout filter placed in the light path from lens to sensor. It turns out that without this internal filter the digital image would be “polluted” with IR, and would, for most people, create less than desirable image quality. In truth, digtal sensors often have considerably more infrared sensitivity than you might think.

In most cameras the filter is “hard wired” into the construction, which means that if you remove it you now have a fulltime IR capable camera that cannot be returned to normal use. This must be done by a service company that knows its stuff; it’s something you cannot do on your own. Some cameras come IR dedicated, mostly those used by law enforcement agencies for gathering forensic evidence. A very few can be converted in do-it-yourself fashion, such as the Sigma model DSLRs, where you can remove the lens and literally pick out the IR filter (which doubles as a dust filter), albeit very carefully, and reinsert it later. Those who are true IR fans would do well to investigate the cameras used by police departments; as of this writing Fuji makes a few such models.

Another step that needs to be taken to capture true IR images is placing a filter over the camera lens, something that is uncommon for most digital photography (as most filter effects can be added later in software.) If you shoot IR without any filters with an altered camera you will get a sort of reverse pollution of visible light, something that certainly diminishes the IR effect.

There are three types of basic filters that can be used, with one being quite expensive and, in my experience, unnecessary to gain the effect. The filters used include a red filter, something black and white film photographers might still have in their closet, (a Wratten 25A), plus two filters that block more and more visible light and do not allow for image recording below the infrared threshold. The two other filters, which go under various names and codes according to the filter maker’s markings, block light under 700 nanometers and 830 nanometers (and some higher) on the spectrum; in other words, progressively more IR light and much less visible light. The highest blocking filter (830nm and above) gets very expensive and is only for well-heeled purists and aficionados.

The effects achieved with the two blocking filters can be amazing but you cannot see what’s going on in the viewfinder, which means that you have to frame and focus prior to placing the filter over the lens and making the exposure. Some photographers view over the top of the camera for an approximate framing. The red filter, while not as “pure” lets you at least see what’s going on in the finder. If you are an IR fan then the blockers will be your choice—those who dabble in it, as I do, will find the red filter is fine.

Exposure is unusual as well. It has nothing to do with making readings and using metering patterns, since you are not dealing entirely or at all with visible light. It’s a strange concept, but that’s also part of the IR mystique—being out of normal bounds of having to read exposures and balance highlight and shadow. The best way to work IR exposures is to start at somewhere around f/11 at 1/125 second and then review the image after exposure and adjust accordingly. The view in the finder is quite different than you’d expect, so you will have to gain experience with what a processed IR image looks like according to a certain exposure level. This is the only way you will be able to make predictions about what the correct exposure might be, or at least what it should look like upon playback.

There is something in IR known as a “focus offset”, which means IR light bends a bit differently and may arrive at the sensor plane in different ways than visible focusing. This will become critical when doing close-ups, but does not have much effect, in my experience, for photos made beyond six feet. I often shoot at f/11 or narrower with a fairly wide angle lens just to take up that slack, changing the shutter speed accordingly.

The procedure some use for shooting is to purchase a filter that is a bit larger than the largest diameter lens they own (thus it can be used on all the lenses owned). They first frame and focus the tripod-mounted camera, then hold the filter over the lens when the exposure is made. This procedure takes care as it can result in some light leak from the corners, but that is usually eliminated with some practice in proper holding of the filter. Exposure is set manually. Some bold photographers shoot handheld in the same fashion, viewing over the top of the camera to yield an approximate framing and shooting a bit wider than they normally would for a “fudge” factor. They figure they can apply a more specific cropping later.

IR black and white has always been near and dear to landscape photographers, and now that high-speed IR black and white film has been discontinued by major film makers digital seems the only way to go.

Travel Photography

2009-09-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Lisl Dennis, Interview, 1985

A person may live and work in the most inspiring locale in the world and rarely pick up a camera. If another person travels to that area they may be so captivated that their camera rarely leaves their hands. Travel reveals "the shock of the new", while an inhabitant may have become so visually jaded that they are blind to the amazing people, places and things around them.

The impetus to photograph when traveling may come from the need to bring back "trophy" pictures (the "I was there" shot), or simply from the fact that new places, faces, architecture and landscapes tend to open the "photographic eye". That inspiration is often enough to get the creative juices flowing.

Much of travel photography is the record shot, a virtual inventory of the obligatory sites on a tour. While there's nothing wrong with this, such shots are readily available at the local souvenir store, or from the host of travel sites that dot the web and that seem to cover virtually every popular destination. Although some record shots are inevitable, memorable travel pictures are those that take a more personal, interpretive approach to the subject matter.

The degree to which this can be done is often determined by the journey's itinerary. Covering eight countries in five days will often yield photographs that seem to be no more than a glance back at subjects that whiz by. Immersion in an area usually results in better pictures, as there is time to study and observe subjects. That study may simply be noticing when light is best on certain scenes and shooting accordingly. Observing the flow of life in the locale, and photographing people in the market, during festivals or simply going about the business of their daily lives can become the real treasures of the travel experience.

Ever since its invention, photography has been tied to travel. When getting about was a more difficult task, only available to a small segment of the population, photography served as the eyes of the world on exotic and far-flung regions. Pioneering photographers traveled around the world to bring back pictures for exhibitions, books, parlor stereographs, and later, for newspapers and magazines. When cameras and film became more portable at the end of the nineteenth century, and travel became more accessible to more people, the linkage between the voyage and the camera was sealed. Today it is almost unthinkable to travel without a camera as part of the luggage.

Both professional and avid amateurs provide many of the photographs for today's travel industry, either on assignment from tourist boards and travel publications, or as so-called "stock" photographers, who shoot on speculation. A large network of picture agencies sell stock images to the travel industry and magazines. Freelancers try to combine business with pleasure by making travel pictures when on vacation or weekends, or plan elaborate trips that are actually self-assigned photographic essays. The sheer volume of photographers engaged in this industry makes for a competitive marketplace, one where the ability to combine a travel "lifestyle" with technical excellence is key.

The eyewitness type of travel photography is a major part of the shots made today. Click on a hotel booking site and you will see dozens of images of cities and towns, along with actual shots of the hotel made by travelers (often quite different from the hotel supplied shots) and even shots of particular rooms and the view from that room! One of my favorite to browse, and the use fro booking advice from fellow travelers is http://www.tripadvisor.com.

The digital SLR is the camera of choice for those seeking to make more than snapshots on trips, although cameras with excellent optics and high megapixel counts can work as well, although care must be taken not to shoot at too high an ISO. For competitive reasons, pros often use full-frame DSLRs with high megapixel counts. In general, zoom lenses are good choices for travel, as they cut down on the amount of gear. While tastes differ, as does the requirements of different locales, a good lens kit should include a zoom in the 28-80mm and one in the 70-210mm range; this covers most picture needs. A small portable flash also comes in handy.

When traveling always carry-on the gear and especially the “take” after the trip is done. Never, ever pack anything of value in checked baggage. Personal experience has shown me that should you have something “lost” when in checked baggage results in a round of finger pointing on the part of the authorities that brings you through a circle and back again.

There are a host of accessories for the traveling photographer, including camera bag-sized tripods, photo vests, hip cases and "fanny packs". Small beanbags for steadying the camera on virtually any surface during long exposures can come in handy. While traveling with a camera is fun, lugging too much gear will always get in the way of the travel experience.

Where Does Film Go From Here?

2009-09-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

I recently got to thinking about how future generations might come to regard film, as a sort of an odd way to store images that faded, got scratched and in the year 2020 became a neigh-on impossible format from which to make prints. Sure, there is an image on that base, but what do you do with the darn things? It’s amazing just how quickly many folks are losing touch with the film world, and indeed never experienced it in the first place. I know that more and more schools are dropping their darkroom and even film-shooting classes, and that the art of printing using anything but an inkjet and digital files will soon be an “alternative process” that gets as much use as the gum bichromate or cyanotype processes (see, you forgot those already.)

While many people in the industry were “raised” on film, we’re seeing more and more companies coming into the fold who have little or no clue about the film realm at all, and who look at you funny if you raise the medium in discussions. Take a look at the roster of companies who exhibit at photo trade shows and you’ll see lots from the computer world, those whose medium is bits and bytes and not silver halide. Look at categories like bags and tripods and flash and you’ll see that most companies are using what they must consider the magic bullet of “digital” in their product branding. What pray tell, might a digital tripod be? And any camera bag without a slot for a laptop is simply not considered viable anymore.

There’s no question why all this is happening—digital cameras have taken off like a shot and the vast majority of new cameras sold are digital. Film sales and processing have fallen off a cliff, at least in terms of year-to-year sales, and there hasn’t been any development money dedicated to film SLRs in many a year. Indeed, the only new film cameras are single-use, and even those are very few and far between.

What might have held digital up in the past, at least in relation to the convenience factor, has been resolved. The infrastructure is now in place for easy printing, what with kiosks, Internet and at-home printing solutions. And even if the image starts out on a piece of film there’s little doubt that somewhere in the chain it will be converted to binary code.

Digital has unlocked a potential for images and their use that film never or rarely achieved. The ability to share and distribute images grows each month, with web based setups that will allow people to share “content” anytime, anywhere and with anyone. An amateur in Australia can as easily show off images to someone in Holland as they can send an e-mail. Internet picture site owners talk of millions upon millions of participants, with the number of images growing exponentially each month. Photographers are routinely buying desktop storage units that can hold 500 gigabytes of image files.

So, where does this leave film? Clearly the number of companies making film has shrunk over the past years. Yet, when you talk to those still in the business of coating by the mile and selling by the yard they don’t see the loss of their competition as increasing their own film sales. Perhaps there might be some uptick, but in general the hemorrhaging of film sales in general has overcome any gains one might expect by the exiting of two major film manufacturers. Indeed, the net loss of film sales overall has continued.

Yet, yet…here’s no question that there are still millions of film users, and hopefully they will always have something to load in their cameras. It was thought that the so-called “developing nations” such as China and India would be film buyers for years to come, but this has not come to pass. The rise of the middle class in both countries and their quick leap into technology makes this market a less viable bastion for film’s survival than anyone predicted. On the other hand, a growing legion of young photographers is beginning to embrace film again. True, some gets loaded into toy cameras for so-called “alternative” looks, but some black and white silver shooters and printers are hanging in there and some schools refuse, rightfully so, to put their darkroom gear in the dumpster.

The debate of film versus digital has continued, despite the all-digital trend. There are many who point out the vapor-like quality of digital, and the fact that their film cameras are still quite viable after even ten or twenty years of use. And of course, there’s the film “quality”, the look and feel of the medium itself, and the beauty of the silver print. No argument there. But in this world it’s not always about people’s tastes or their likes or dislikes—it’s what the industries making the products deem the proper place for their R&D, marketing and distribution dollars. And as far as the photo industry is concerned it would seem that, to any objective observer, film is on the way out.

Yes, there will always be some film offered and made, but the selection will shrink as the years progress. Now that users of digital cameras can dial in any ISO, any contrast and saturation, color or monochrome and indeed almost any level of sharpening and color response (which is after all the attributes of a distinct film emulsion) why have so many brands and types of film on the shelf, or at home in the refrigerator? And how many photographers can ever again take a picture again without looking at the back of the camera to see how it turned out?

Images and text, copyright George Schaub 2009

Color the Way You Want It

2009-08-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Color can be a subjective experience. Yes, there are defined color spaces, and gamuts and color meters that define, measure and make suggestions for balancing color to be as “true” and accurate as anyone could desire. But for photographers color is what they see and want to communicate, not always what objective measurement might indicate. For film photographers, especially those who shoot slide film, the color “profile” is determined by how the film emulsion is structured and how one exposes and develops the film. Push a film a stop and color will change; underexpose slide film and the color will shift accordingly. For color print shooters, the color is initially described by the film structure, but very much interpreted by who is making the print and on what paper they might be printing.

Digital photographers have a wider choice about how color is seen and recorded. There are no dyes or emulsion to determine the color, just codes that can be changed with ease. Want a blue apple? No problem, just select the red or green and replace that color with ease. Want rich, vibrant color that any high-saturation color slide shooter would love? Just move the saturation and contrast up in the camera menu or later in software. Want super-accurate color? Just place a gray card in the scene, click on it later with the middle gray eyedropper in Curves or other software control and all the other colors line up like you read it with a color meter and lit it with perfectly balanced lights.

There are so many color controls in image manipulation software that any expressive use of color can easily be obtained. You can get as elaborate or as simple as you like with these controls. In camera you have color choices as well, although they are not as nuanced as those found in software. And if you shoot in Raw mode you can start with one color interpretation and very easily move onto many, many more later. The point of all this is not to confuse you with too many choices but to give you a sense of the freedom of expression now available.

Photo Galleries: Actual and Virtual

2009-08-17T05:42:00.000-07:00

The desire to show and share their photographic work is common to most photographers, whether it be for approval, justification or feedback or to advance the work into other fields. Taking the work out of the drawer puts it up against the standard of other work and is often a key phase in the development of a photographer. It is both a challenge and a way to build confidence, as it forces the artist to confront and then state the concept and underlying principle of his or her work. And it can be fun.

The challenge is first defining a body of work, or a theme, and then building a set of images around it. That theme can run from the sublime to the ridiculous and be composed of seemingly disparate elements that somehow come together as a group. It may be portraits, street scenes, a location or a point of view. Once the theme has been established, the work has to be created to a very high standard.

Print Quality

Perhaps the greatest demands on overall print quality are made in the gallery and collecting world. Those who view the work as curators (people who organize such shows and create a marketplace for photographic images), as well as those who consider the work as art "consumers", usually have a high degree of visual sophistication, thus often compare the work they see with the best of what's available.

The gallery world looks at every print for surface flaws and weakness of print tonality. In short, the prints are subjected to a visual "fine-tooth comb". Gallery owners and curators view prints as "precious things" onto themselves and often consider print presentation (the care in mounting and matting, as well as the smoothness and cleanliness of print surface) as a critical element in their evaluation of the work.

A Consistent Look

Unless the show is a retrospective of many years and styles of work, a cohesive approach--paper surface, print quality and even mat and mount board consistency--may be part of what makes a good impression. This is particularly true of themes or essays. A highly professional presentation, in short, is the only acceptable approach.

This is not meant to imply that the work needs to be formalized or presented in a narrow way. The environment of the gallery or display area (be it a library, bank, restaurant or bar) and the tastes of its customers give the best indication of the type of work that is accepted and expected. The gallery owner or curator may also be helpful in this matter, as will the work that is hung on the wall and the photographers that are shown.

Lighting can be merciless in galleries, though some are lit as dimly as a cozy living room. When the lighting is intense every flaw in tonality or print finish will be revealed. Extra care must be taken in printing and preparing the print for framing. When sending or transporting work to a show be sure to pack it carefully; insure the work and use a shipper familiar with the hazards. Bent frames or broken glass are all too common.

While the image itself will guide technique, consider the venue when creating work. Display lighting can be simulated by studying the work under similar conditions. Some display areas cry out for larger prints while others allow for a more intimate approach.

The frame used is a personal matter, though most photographers choose metal sectionals or simple wood frames. If the aim is to show a variety of work in different venues, consider buying one or two standard frame sizes then overmatting all work, regardless of image size, out to those standard dimensions. This will save money and allow for the changing of prints for different shows without making any further investment in frames. Though glass does transmit the image better, Plexiglas can be more practical if the show travels.

The Virtual Gallery

It’s evident that literally millions of photographers are choosing to show their work on the Internet or on their own Web page. Go to any search engine and type in photographers (or more specifically, nature...black and white...landscape...travel, etc. photographers) and the listings seem to go on and on. The idea is instant access without the need for portfolio review and the hassle of waiting a year for exhibit space. The diversity of work now on the Web is astounding, as are the different levels of quality. But there's no question that the Web has opened up new ground for those wishing to exhibit their work to a world-wide audience, one that breaks all regional and city boundaries.

The Web has also proven to be an excellent venue for gaining employment and increasing print sales of event photography. Wedding and portrait photographers now point prospective clients to their Web page for a look at their expertise and style. Commercial photographers post the progress of studio photography to clients across town or the country. Once an event, such as a wedding, is photographed, photographers post the images on a private Web site to allow those who could not attend the wedding or those who otherwise would never to see the proofs to order prints. This has proven to be an excellent way to increase print sales.

Photographers also put up Web pages for print sales. While this is arguably the toughest way to make a print sale, this method of displaying images for sale will become increasingly important as time goes on. Galleries are also showing their collectible prints on Web sites and museums and historical societies are publishing their archives as searchable archives.

For those who want to become engaged in Web display, page design can be as elaborate or as simple as desired. There are literally dozens of software programs and linked software in image editing programs, as well as web “hosts” that will build pages for you. (See georgeschaub.com for a hosted page.)

Other options include social networking sites and, for a more private showing, online albums accessible through a personal address code. This limits the number of people who can see the page, as they must have the code to access it. Professionals use this approach to show their work only to select clients.

The Web has changed the way information is distributed and gathered. It continues to do the same for photographs and photographers. The full potential of this medium will be realized when upload and download times decrease for all.

Travel Photography: Business and/or Pleasure

2009-08-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

"You certainly don't present a negative, or even a real attitude about a place. There's no point for a travel photographer to show refugee camps. If you can show them as romantic hill tribes, fine. There's a difference between travel photography and photojournalism, and a different function to each."
Lisl Dennis, Interview, 1985

A person may live and work in the most inspiring locale in the world and rarely pick up a camera. If another person travels to that area they may be so captivated that their camera rarely leaves their hands. Travel reveals "the shock of the new", while an inhabitant may have become so visually jaded that they are blind to the amazing people, places and things around them.
The impetus to photograph when traveling may come from the need to bring back "trophy" pictures (the "I was there" shot), or simply from the fact that new places, faces, architecture and landscapes tend to open the "photographic eye". That inspiration is often enough to get the creative juices flowing.

Much of travel photography is the record shot, a virtual inventory of the obligatory sites on a tour. While there's nothing wrong with this, such shots are readily available at the local souvenir store, or from the host of travel sites that dot the web and that seem to cover virtually every popular destination. Although some record shots are inevitable, memorable travel pictures are those that take a more personal, interpretive approach to the subject matter.
The degree to which this can be done is often determined by the journey's itinerary. Covering eight countries in five days will often yield photographs that seem to be no more than a glance back at subjects that whiz by. Immersion in an area usually results in better pictures, as there is time to study and observe subjects. That study may simply be noticing when light is best on certain scenes and shooting accordingly. Observing the flow of life in the locale, and photographing people in the market, during festivals or simply going about the business of their daily lives can become the real treasures of the travel experience.

Ever since its invention, photography has been tied to travel. When getting about was a more difficult task, only available to a small segment of the population, photography served as the eyes of the world on exotic and far-flung regions. Pioneering photographers traveled around the world to bring back pictures for exhibitions, books, parlor stereographs, and later, for newspapers and magazines. When cameras and film became more portable at the end of the nineteenth century, and travel became more accessible to more people, the linkage between the voyage and the camera was sealed. Today it is almost unthinkable to travel without a camera as part of the luggage.

Both professional and avid amateurs provide many of the photographs for today's travel industry, either on assignment from tourist boards and travel publications, or as so-called "stock" photographers, who shoot on speculation. A large network of picture agencies sell stock images to the travel industry and magazines. Freelancers try to combine business with pleasure by making travel pictures when on vacation or weekends, or plan elaborate trips that are actually self-assigned photographic essays. The sheer volume of photographers engaged in this industry makes for a competitive marketplace, one where the ability to combine a travel "lifestyle" with technical excellence is key.

The digital SLR is the camera of choice for those seeking to make more than snapshots on trips, although cameras with excellent optics and high megapixel counts can work as well, although care must be taken not to shoot at too high an ISO. For competitive reasons, pros often use full-frame DSLRs with high megapixel counts. In general, zoom lenses are good choices for travel, as they cut down on the amount of gear. While tastes differ, as does the requirements of different locales, a good lens kit should include a zoom in the 28-80mm and one in the 70-210mm range; this covers most picture needs. A small portable flash also comes in handy.

When traveling always carry-on the gear and especially the “take” after the trip is done. Never, ever pack anything of value in checked baggage. Personal experience has shown me that should you have something “lost” when in checked baggage results in a round of finger pointing on the part of the authorities that brings you through a circle and back again.

There are a host of accessories for the traveling photographer, including camera bag-sized tripods, photo vests, hip cases and "fanny packs". Small beanbags for steadying the camera on virtually any surface during long exposures can come in handy. While traveling with a camera is fun, lugging too much gear will always get in the way of the travel experience.

Text and image copyright George Schaub 2009. All rights reserved.

Operation Information Overload

2009-08-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

The pace of change in photography these days is breathtaking, photographers wondering when it will relent. Guess what—it won’t. As competition on all levels and product lines continues to grow, the pressure on manufacturers to innovate will be even greater. Long ago these software and hardware makers realized that as products and ideas become commodities the only way to realize profit was via change, with innovation leading the way. That’s why you can set your clock on when software will move to the next version or when the megapixel and sensor size ping pong match will start all over again. Even with some consolidations and buyouts in the works there still will be new players who see enough gold in the digital hills to keep the momentum going.

There are many ways to stay informed. There are web sites that dedicate 10,000 words to point and shoot cameras, and enough digicam orgs and bloggers out who fill every free hour of the day churning out reports for anyone so inclined to read them. But most people have a life, and reading the arcane and the obvious about every aspect of a camera, software or printer is not what they tend to do.

For most folks photography is a pleasant pastime, a part of holidays or special events that records memories. For travelers it’s a way of bringing back trophy shots of their trips. And for the enthusiast it’s a way to show a creative side, one that helps them escape the everyday and perhaps even put some bread on the table. For most of us, photography is an integral part of the social fabric, one that has been passed onto us by generations before as a valid way to keep close the memories of their families and individual lives.

For the many of the years I have been involved with reporting on all this, photography had been regarded as a “mature” industry, one that could be counted on to continue to grow, not fluctuate much from year to year. This point of view all seems rather naïve now, what with the pace of change the consumer electronics component brought to the mix.

We have been asked to learn many new things, to grasp the meaning of megapixels and how various levels of resolution should be put to use. We have been required to become computer savvy beyond the simple tasks of sending emails and downloading recipes from the web. Terms like optical stabilization and shutter lag, technology so obscure that only pure techies even considered them only a few years ago, are now part of the parlance. In short, we have been engaged in Operation Information Overload, and thrown a few curves in the bargain.

While the benefits of digital are many there are also a few dark sides to all this growth. One example would be upgrades. In the past that might have meant getting a camera with a better lens, or switching over to an SLR. Now it might mean that the memory card that works today might not work in a future camera with the same size memory card slot, a switch in capability without a change in format. Or it could mean buying a new computer and discovering that all the software you already own won’t operate well, or at all, in the new operating system. (Indeed, Adobe just announced they will only be developing future software for Intel-based Macs—the rest can go swim.) Or that the Raw files shot today might not be capable of being read a few years down the road. In some cases the changes are proper responses to new and better ways of doing things. In others, viewed through an admittedly cynical eye, it’s a case of flipping solely for the sake of getting us to dig into our pocket once again.

It’s selling soccer moms cameras with very impressive integral long range zooms so they can catch the action as their daughter streaks in for a goal, only to find that the camera’s intolerable shutter lag makes any hope of actually getting the shot they want slim indeed. It’s telling folks that an 8 megapixel camera can get them great 11x14 prints, only to trump that with 10 and 12 MP cameras a year or two later. It’s offering inkjet printers and even some kiosk setups that produce prints that are known to fade so quickly that future generations will never see the images from the family’s past. Indeed, one of the greatest fears folks seem to have about digital photography is that it is as temporal as their hard drive and as a corruptible as a cheap CD.

Yet, we have all taken to digital in droves, a case of technology replacement that has shocked even futurists who are paid to know better. The advantages of digital are legion and most folks quickly understood the benefits of this new form of photography. Walk through any tourist site these days and all you see are digicams; go to any family occasion and that night you’ll be able to look at, download and even order prints right off the web. There are literally billions of images loaded on servers the world over, with new personal sites and public sharing spaces coming on line every day. Digital has changed photography forever, and there’s no return to the old days, despite some grumbling from some pros and old guard film fans.

So, how do we sort out all the confusing jargon and make it less of a grind? When will we finally arrive at some standards that all can agree to so that we can make some judgments about what’s best for us and the type of images we want to make?

In many cases we will vote with our wallets and certain systems and companies will prevail. And with all the blogs and forums out there, savvy consumers will have their voices heard as well. But for now, Operation Information Overload goes on, and on.

Copyright George Schaub 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Photographer Quotes: Photojournalists

2009-08-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

Photographer’s Quotes: Photojournalists

I have interviewed quite a few photographers over the years. Here are some of my favorite quotes from those interviews, here focusing on photojournalists.

Walter Iooss (http://walteriooss.com/) covered the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. He also did much of the photography of the athletes prior to the games on assignment for Fuji Photofilm and Sports Illustrated. This was a dream assignment for a sports photographer, and Ioos handled it with a style that changed the way sports photography was done forever after. His method of work changed after the initial phase because of the changed nature of the Games in the aftermath of the Munich massacre.

“Because of the enormity of the event and its political nature, movement will be quite restricted. Security will be very tight and the restrictions on movement should make photographing the games a difficult job. I’ve always prided myself on moving around, on not duplicating everyone else’s shot. While the Los Angeles committee is doing its best, it’s going to be hard for photographers not to be caught up in the ‘one big cable release’ syndrome.”

John Isaac

John Isaac (http://www.johnisaac.com/) served as the photo editor and assignment photographer for the United Nations for many years. His work combines a compassionate eye with the discipline of a documentary photographer.

“There are two keys to assignment photography—know about the background of what you are shooting, and expect the worst. I strongly believe that pictures should not degrade anyone. The big question is: how much should a photographer intrude on privacy—where do you draw the line? I believe in trying to convey a message, to show a part of someone’s life.”

Neil Leifer

Neil Leifer (http://www.neilleifer.com/) was a staff photographer for Time magazine and later specialized in work for Sports Illustrated. His has dozens of covers and has hundreds of published images to his credit.

“You remember the pictures you liked and say, ‘How did I do that?’ And when you encounter the same situation something clicks. You take your time when you shoot and you edit and you begin to know what you like.

“I’m just curious about things. And I try to let my camera bring me in to see what things are about. I’m not suggesting that the work is easy. It’s not. The pictures don’t just happen—I’m not that good. I put a great deal of effort into them and enjoy the challenge.

“My philosophy has always been that the magazine pays my salary and they’re going to get their money’s worth.

“This job has so many things to do that have nothing to do with photography. There are the obvious things—like plane and hotel reservations—but there’s also a lot to do with just setting things up. People would be amazed if they knew what went into setting them up. But people do cooperate.

“I never fooled myself into thinking they were saying yes to Neil Leifer. They were saying yes to Sports Illustrated and Time magazine.

“ I’m always thinking about the picture I’m going to shoot for the magazine. I’m not overly impressed by the celebrities. The idea is to get the picture. There is a point when you turn out the lights and put on the projector, and the picture is there or it isn’t.

“When I look back at my experiences I know that photography has brought me to meet all these people and see all these events and has given me experiences that no money can buy.”

Digital Imaging Advances

2009-08-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

Digital photography is advancing on many fronts these days, with each advance making some “old” tech obsolete and fostering new ease of creating very high quality images and prints. The progress in image data backup and storage, Raw file conversion and flexibility and long-lasting inkjet print output has been and continues to be impressive.

One of the challenges of being a digital photographer is image file management. It’s not only being able to track and find the images made, but being assured that those files will be around when sought later that has had photographers concerned. A digital image is a virtual thing, a collection of information that without computer, software and monitor is invisible and ephemeral. Recognizing the potential for losing images without a backup plan, digital photographers are at least becoming aware that they should not just back up images on their hard drive, but should make copies on whatever medium is available. In addition, as digital cameras routinely deliver at a minimum 1GB loads during download, and now up to 16 or 32GB, so the need for even greater memory capacity has become obvious.

Having just converted and tossed away a couple hundred dollars worth of 100MB Zip drives to DVD backup, I can attest to the fact that photographers today have to be kept aware of the shifts in mediums and backup technology. Indeed, those 100MB Zips seemed massive a few years back, but now even tiny flash memory on key chains offer substantially more storage. And what about backup on CD’s? Today they also seem quite slim on capacity, and DVD’s are an obvious move. But trumping even the 6+ GB DVD’s these days is the external hard drive, which in many manifestations is being sold at what seems like bargain-basement prices for massive amounts of storage capacity.

Indeed, photographers can get almost 1 TB storage for under $400, with a backup regiment that is as easy as drag and drop. No waiting for the CD or DVD to burn, or concern about disk warping or unreadability. And those backups can do double duty as system backups as well. And this new way of backing up has brought increased attention to the digital photography realm from companies like Western Digital (www.wdc.com). Many companies offer portable backup systems as well, wallet-size drives that are sure to become part of every digital photographer’s travel kit. Now, all one or all of them has to do is create a patch from their portable drives directly to digital cameras, especially DSLRs, so that photographers need not carry both backup and laptop on the road.

The other part of image management is software, and that’s where Raw file format comes into play. There’s little doubt that Raw yields the best image quality, and the most flexibility in image enhancement. Yet, some photographers are still more than a bit stymied by this format, and it seems shrouded in a veil of mystery for many. Why, they ask, do they have to convert Raw, and how do they go from Raw to a format like JPEG for emails or TIFF or .psd (Photoshop format) without a lot of gymnastics?

When Raw first came on the scene it was quite confusing, and for many remains so because of its proprietary nature, with each maker, and indeed often with each model from each maker, offering formats that are unreadable by generic software.

True, users can download updates of the Adobe Camera Raw (www.adobe.com/downloads/updates), or use Raw converters like those from Phase One (www.phaseone.com) and similar companies, but to some this is just too much trouble, and too confusing. And that’s a shame, because Raw is the future of digital photography, at least for those wanting the best quality from their digital cameras.

While a number of Raw converter software programs are currently vying for attention, two I have worked with recently make Raw just as easy to work with as any JPEG. Apple’s Aperture (www.apple.com/aperture), for Mac only now and in the future, and Adobe Lightroom, treat and read Raw files with ease and make image enhancement all part of an easy workflow that just might clear up any difficulty photographers have with Raw today. In my experience, Raw makes digital make sense, and makes the experience with digital both rewarding and delightful.

Nothing completes the circle of snapping the shutter like making a print. The recent PMA (Photo Marketing Association, an industry group www.pmai.org) report on printing shows that the kiosk and lab printing of digital images is still growing, and that many consumers have finally caught up with the strides the industry has made in quality and availability of the digital printing infrastructure. Equally important is the improvements in desktop printers for those photographers who enjoy making their prints in their home or studios. And one of the differentiating factors is the growing recognition of the archival quality of pigment inks and printers that deliver same.

While the knowledge of dye vs. pigment ink longevity has yet to permeate the consciousness of the majority of digital photographers, there is a growing number who understand the difference and apply it to their own work. Indeed, there are times when the cost of dye or thermal printers and the end use of the prints will determine that choice. Increasingly, however, “fine art” photographers and avid amateurs are choosing pigment ink printers for the work they want to sell, or simply want to last for many more years than the dye-ink print counterparts.

All these changes bode well for the future of photography and for its continued growth. It seems that as issues arise the industry responds with new and improved products, better solutions and innovations that answer the needs of the end users. While issues of too-rapid obsolescence, constant upgrades and unit incompatibility still dog digital photography—issues that come, I suppose, with being engaged in the computerized world—I see a constant change for the better, with image quality always on the rise. It’s ironic that film will be going away just as it seemed to reach its highest quality, at least in my working and testing experience with the new Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film. While digital still has “issues”, the pace of change is such that what we use and work with today will seem quite obsolete in a few short years. That’s both encouraging and frustrating as we all do our best to keep pace.

Exposure: Film and Digital

2009-08-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Exposure is the change caused by light when it strikes a photosensitive material. It has two factors—time (or duration of exposure) and intensity (the volume of light striking that material.) In both film and digital systems the time of exposure is indicated by the shutter speed, the amount of time that the gate through which light travels after it leaves the lens remains open. The volume of the light that gets through in that time period depends on the size of the diameter of the opening in the lens, known as the aperture number or f-stop. Exposure is like turning on a faucet and letting water flow through a pipe. If we leave the tap open for a longer period of time more water will flow through. If we enlarge the pipe more water can run through in that same period of time.

Exposure is calibrated with a system of stops, or the modern equivalent, EV (exposure value). If the total amount of light doubles or halves there is a change of one stop, or one exposure value. A 1 stop or 1 EV change can be made by halving or doubling the exposure time (shutter speed, for example changing from 1/15 to 1/30 second, or from 1/30 to 1/15 second). It can also be changed by opening or closing the lens diameter by one f-stop (for example, by going from f/11 to f/8 or from f/8 to f/11).

This system allows us to expose with the same amount of light and alter image effects by balancing the changes we make in aperture and shutter speed. If we use a faster shutter speed we can freeze motion; if we use a narrower lens opening we can increase depth of field. As long as we maintain a balance between the two (change the shutter speed in proportion to how we change the aperture—one going up one stop and the other down one stop) we maintain the same overall exposure. This setup is called “equivalent exposure” and is the basis for many creative techniques used in photography.

This exposure system holds true for both film and digital photographic systems, as do the image effects they create. As mentioned, the physics of photography do not change because we have gone from a film to a digital medium.

Digital SLR Photography

2009-08-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Your decision to work with a digital SLR (DSLR) might just change the way you make, process, store and print your images. True, both film and digital photography capture light and require processing steps to see that recording as an image. But digital imaging differs in that it begins as an electronic signal generated by light and ends up as binary code that describes color, brightness and tonality. It is in how you deal with those codes to create an image that makes digital so different.

At first, DSLR cameras can seem familiar. Placed side by side, film and digital cameras often resemble one another; in fact, most DSLRs are built inside the frame of a 35mm SLR body. There are also similar buttons, dials and controls. Terms such as shutter speed, aperture, autofocusing and exposure are all quite familiar to the film photographer. But it is in the behavior of the digital sensor where the two mediums diverge. This is especially true in the image record--the digital image file. It is so unlike the film record that it’s easy to become confused by familiar terms that mask the need for very different operating procedures.

Digital images require considerably more “housekeeping” than film. Both types of image record must be stored properly, be kept safe from damaging influences and must be archived in a way that makes them readily accessible. But you can hold a piece of film up to the light to see the image. Not so with the digital image file. It is “virtual” (mathematical, really) and requires a good deal of computation to be read. It cannot be seen without the aid of a computing device. It requires the intercession of yet more machines and mediums to be maintained, and is always tied to the “grid”—sometimes called the “digital imaging infrastructure.”

This grid is dynamic and can change over time. It can render some cameras and devices obsolete in short order. It can drop image-recording mediums entirely. This pace of change means that there has to be a fairly strong awareness of changes in the computer and imaging industry at large and how some modes of recording and reading systems will change. As you get more involved you’ll see that copying, backup and why an awareness of how recording and playback systems and formats may change over time is important.

The housekeeping extends to archiving, storage and, ultimately, to you taking in hand the actual processing of the image itself. This does not mean you have to do the math or complex programming—the camera’s on-board image processor or your computer handles that. But to get that image onto a print, or corrected or refined to meet your standards, often means your intercession will be necessary. It is this hands-on demand that can make digital so different for many photographers. Granted, this is where your creative process as a photographer comes into play, and where the real potential of this medium resides. But digital is anything but a “you push the button and we do the rest” process.

This is not meant as a cautionary tale to scare you off the digital path. It is presented in the hope that this will become an eyes wide-open endeavor for you.