Maniac With Camera Blog

Flowers & Tall Ships

2012-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

Digging through the archives.

"Look To The Bridge"

2012-01-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Books for the Photographer's Camera-Bag

2012-01-28T17:33:00.001-08:00

Photography also involves reading books: lots of books. The books I have accumulated involve my chosen field of wildlife photography and photography technique as well as books about photography business. These books are great starters for your photography library.

The first book is one book in a series on Digital Photography by Scott Kelby. He is a well known photography and president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. This is a great book to focus on technique in photography. He covers all sort of technique, lighting and other photographic related subjects. It's probably one of the best books written on digital photography, get the book, better yet, get the whole set. I plan to.

This is a must have in your camera-bag. Digital Field Guides for your camera are essential. Unless you have a photographic memory, you probably have been out and you have to figure out a certain obscure function. With this book you have a manual that's quick and easy. If you want to find a certain function, just flip to the index and then go to the page which is illustrated with great big photos of the menu system. Nikon, Sony, and Canon are covered in these books.

Dane Sanders is a wedding photographer and a motivational speaker. And he has delved into the psychology of the photography business and how to create a successful business by utilizing your strengths and personal niche to create a unique service to photography clients. These two books: The Fast Track Photographer and the Fast Track Photographer - Business Plan are a great way of mapping out your career as a professional photographer.

Ducks

2012-01-26T13:06:00.000-08:00

n' Flowers. Going through a bunch of my old photos...

I must have a major fascination with ducks.

The flower that I posted up: I have no idea what kind of flower it is. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know.

I also enjoy photographing clouds.

Red Tulip Pair

2012-01-25T01:38:00.001-08:00

This is just in case I don't get a chance to put something up today. Have to run into Guildford for a family appointment so enjoy this image.

Happy shooting.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Apps

2012-01-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

After dipping my feet into the world of having an iPhone 4s, I've been immersed in apps. These things are great and if you pick the right ones for nature and landscape photography, they're very informative too. I haven't dipped into podcasts yet, but rest assured if I run across one that I feel is worth a look, I'll post it up here and let you all know about it. In the meantime, here's a view of my menu on my iPhone 4s. Everyone has the first page, so I'll start with the second.

I'll go into talking about them in other posts. Since I've had the iPhone 4s for less than a week, I'll just say "Let me get some time to get used to all the new features..." and this troglodyte will get around to assessing them...one at a time.

Happy Shooting.

Using A Hotshoe Flash

2012-01-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

When most people think of a flash, they think of the onboard camera flash: the little pop-up flash that comes with most lower-end semi-pro and consumer grade DSLRs. Unfortunately it's not the most flattering flash that you could use for your photography. When you use a pop-up flash, the light is glaring, skin tones are faded and you end up with "glowing red demon eyes". If you were shooting stills for a horror film, that would work out just perfectly. However since you're not...well...not so good.

The next photo was taken with a SB-600 hotshoe flash. Those are those fancy looking light things people stick on top of their DSLRs. We usually say that they make us look like we know what we're doing. The next shot was taken with the light pointed right at the subject (the angel on top of the tree). This is just as harsh as the "pop-up flash", although you can control the output of the hotshoe flash to make the output less harshly lit. You see sharply pronounced shadows on the wall from the flash.

The third photo has me pointing the flash output up at a 20-degree angle up from the subject, which results in the photo being less harsh than the resulting directly targeted flash. Note the shadows are more diffused.

The fourth photo has me pointing the flash output up at a 45 degree angle from the subject. Here you start to see some depth to the image and less of a harsh glare on the subject. You see much less shadow on the wall in this photo.

Indoors most photographers use a 90 degree angle to the subject when they are using a hotshoe flash. This bounces the light off the ceiling and thus diffuses it so that the shadows are nearly non-existent and the subject in the photo has some depth to it rather than being harshly lit up like the pop-up flash image. This is what is known as the ideal hot-shoe flash image.

When you are doing portraiture, weddings, or event photography, a flash (better yet, several) are an absolute necessity. Since I shoot Nikon, my choices are the SB-600 (now outdated), the SB-700 or the SB-910. I do not recommend the SB-900 since the 900 had overheating issues. These issues have been rectified with the SB-910 and it has become the best remote "commander" flash that Nikon has produced.

If you want to get away from the harsh glare photography that the pop-up flash provides, buy yourself a hotshoe flash. It's probably one (or more; depending on how many flashes you buy) of the singlemost important investments that you could ever make in your photography.

Happy Shooting.

iPhone Photography - Worth Trying Out (if you have an iPhone)

2012-01-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

The iPhone 4s is quite the little multifunction device. As a camera, it definitely is satisfactory. The photos, considering the size of the sensor chip in the camera, are grainy, however the grain isn't very noticeable when you come right down to it.

It definitely is not a DSLR and is not meant to replace my camera. However I do enjoy shooting photography with the iPhone 4s and it's probably one of the best little carry along camera (next to my L11) that I can have around. Not to mention it's primary function is as a phone (making and receiving calls).

As a photographer, I've always enjoyed challenging myself and this iPhone 4s is a definite challenge. Now, I'm not going to ditch my d300s and exclusively become an iPhone photographer. That much is clear. Different gear for different objectives. Here are my three latest shots.

As you can see, it does have a decent range of image reproduction, however you do have to do some tweaking in Photoshop Elements to bring out the tonal quality. But on the whole it's great. I tend to do a little post processing when it comes to iPhone photography as opposed to posting it up directly from in-camera. I find that Photoshop Elements brings out the best in the photography as opposed to the in-camera apps.

I'm looking forward to doing more with iPhone 4s photography. Maybe I'll get myself a gradient filter app. Anyways. Grab your camera or camera phone and get out there and shoot. As always, Happy Shooting.

White Balance and Taking One With a Grey Card.

2012-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my wife acquired me another necessary photo-tool. As photographers get more experienced, the less they like to monkey around with their photos in the computer and look more towards doing everything correcly in camera. One of the main problems in photography is the variably changing light in the environment. It becomes necessary to constantly be customizing your white balance in order to get the correct exposure for your photo.

My wife bought the PhotoGreyCard.com brand of foldable grey cards. Suffice it to say, it folds up like a reflector and I can throw it in my camera backpack or bag and take it with me whereever I go. The accuracy standard for a custom white balance is an 18% reference target.

The way to use a grey card is to set your custom white balance on your camera. I'll show you how I do it for my D300s, works the same for D100, D200, D300 and D300s. The best way to learn how to set your custom white balance is to check your manual for your camera.

1. I first set my custom camera to PRE (Preset) on my WB menu. (photo 1) The easiest way on a D300s is to hit the white balance button on the left hand side and rotate the rear dial (you have a front and a rear dial - one to control shutterspeed, one to control aperture. The rear wheel will control multiple functions when you hit the auxiliary function buttons on the left hand side) until you see PRE on the LCD menu screen to the right of your camera hotshoe. (photo 2).

photo 1

photo 2

2. Secondly you hit the WB button until you see the letters PrE come up to the top left of the PRE (photo). That means the D300s is ready to take a reference shot. Take a shot of your white balance card by holding it in front of the lens. It doesn't need to focus. What the camera is doing is taking a metered reading of the light reflecting back off the card and internally assessing the grey according to algorithms that are too complicated to get into here.

3. When you take a reference shot, the menu LCD display will either tell you "No gd" if your reference shot was unacceptable to take a white balance reading or it will read "Good" if it registered the reference shot. (photo). Then you can proceed to start taking photos.

Keep in mind that if the light changes or you move from your designated area into an area where the light is different, take another reading.

Now, I'm going to go look into finding ways of getting D300s menu system screencaps so that I can put up tutorials. Have fun. Happy Shooting.

1st Shot With iPhone 4s

2012-01-21T01:54:00.001-08:00

Ornament Reflection

The first shot. Probably not the best shot, but it's gonna take a little learning curve.

Finally an iPhone User

2012-01-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

My wife bought her iPhone 4G last year and all things considered, she's really enjoyed using it. Me: I preferred the "being unreachable by phone" solitude. However at my beloved wife's insistence, I finally caved. My wife bought me the iPhone 4s this evening. The one thing that really attracts me to this iPhone is the 8mp camera which by far is the best megapixel rate of any cameraphone out there. Now I'm not saying that I'm going to dump my D300s. A cameraphonen is still a cameraphone and will never replace my D300s. But for taking snapshots and stuff quickly, a cameraphone becomes very convenient.

Also, there's Siri, but that's a major drain on battery juice as well as data plan minutes. So that will more than likely be used very sparingly. I'm not going to get into the nuts and bolts of this camera. Other tech-geeks do it much better than I do. What I'm going to be doing is doing some practical real-world photography with this iPhone and between my iPhone 4s and my Nikon D300s, you'll be seeing a lot more shots this coming year.

Well...I'm a very happy new iPhone 4s owner now.

Stop SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-19T01:37:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard, the United States government has been throwing around the idea of the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and (Protect Intellectual Property Act). On the surface it looks like a great idea. I'm all for stopping online piracy and protecting intellectual property. Frankly, I make my living out of my photography and I would love to have my intellectual property from being stolen by those who would try to make money off my efforts. However the problem is that this doesn't protect anybody except for those who have the money and can throw their weight around.

If you were to post up a cityscape for example that were to have a brand-name shoe company billboard in the background, yet were recognized to have done so you would be violating copyright and subject to IP shutdown and an exhorbitant fine. You could be playing a copyrighted song in the background of an instructional video by accident because you didn't remember to shut off the stereo. Little innocent things like this that you don't take notice. Not only that, the law makes you responsible for the copyrighted content that users may put up on your comments page or, let's say, Facebook Wall.

If we take the law to the utter ridiculous, I suppose that Walt Disney could sue all of us wildlife photographers who shoot mallard ducks for copyright infringement because a duck is synonymous with Donald Duck. That might not happen because the logic is so ridiculous that such a case would get thrown out of court (just as when the United States Navy SEALs had to defend their Seal Team 6 logo against Walt Disney who had registered a trademark). After all, nobody messes with Seal Team 6, not even a conglomerate as large as Disney.

Let's have a crackdown on copyright violaters, but not at the expense of those who innocently have violated copyright unknowingly. At this point, until there are some very marked changes in the wording of the legislation, I do not support SOPA/PIPA at all.

A Bit On The TC-20EIII and A Shout-Out To A Friend.

2012-01-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

TC-20EIII

The TC-20EIII is the newest 2x teleconverter that Nikon has brought out. Now most people know that it probably isn't the wisest thing to put more glass in front of their glass. And most photographers know that it is unwise to put a teleconverter on a zoom lens. The rule of thumb is that teleconverters are for prime lens use only. This is the first teleconverter that Nikon has brought out that is constructed with an aspherical lens. This is meant to reduce lens flare and aberration in the teleconverter and in the resulting image.

With the previous iteration, the TC-20EII, the image quality was absolutely unacceptable. The image quality on the EIII far exceeds the EII by a wide margin. This came as a surprise to a lot of photographers who have had the experience with the previous version of the 2x teleconverter which they roundly denounced as unusable.

As you can see from the shot that I took inside the mall last year (not the most ideal shooting location) with the TC-20EIII, it performs exceedingly well. The image quality at wide open f/5.6 (with the teleconverter) it was crisp on the subject (the little blue line on the glass mall entrance door)

No TC at f/8

TC at f/5.6 (wide open).

It is said that the TC-20EIII seems to be made to fit with the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII and the 300mm f/2.8 VRII. With the 200-400mm f/4, with the wide open aperture at f/8 and a useable aperture sweetspot for sharpness at f/11, that may stretch it's capabilities a bit. With the 600mm f/4 that I plan to get, it will make the 600 a 1200mm f/8 and a manual focus lens at that considering that auto-focus doesn't work well (if at all) at any aperture below f/5.6.

I don't know if I will get the whole trifecta of teleconverters (the TC-14EII, TC-17EII and the TC-20EIII), however I plan to get at least two of them. The TC-14EII for the 600mm and the 20EIII for the 70-200mm f/2.8 at least.

Keep this post bookmarked, because when I acquire this TC-20EIII for my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII, I will be posting up photos of without TC and with TC comparisons out in the field. And dammit, I'm going to get TGDB (the Green Timbers GBH) once and for all!!!

Also a shout out goes out to my friend, BTV Photography. Brent Veitch. A former school mate of mine from Garibaldi Secondary School, a very talented wildlife photographer who has had his wildlife photos published in the WWF calendar not once but twice. He's a great up and coming photographer who ranks with the best out there.

He has got a new blog up for 2012. BTV Photography at Blogspot. Plus on top of that, I envy his 200-400mm f/4 (version 1), unless he's traded his in for the VRII. And hey, Brent, when I get my 600mm...we need to go out shooting together.

Icy Branches.

2012-01-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

Walking home from taking my oldest son to his hockey practice, I see some gorgeous winter scenery.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day with blue sky and bitingly cold too.

The pine branches were completely iced over with a glaze of hardened snow.

As were the branches of the deciduous trees.

Tomorrow I plan to go over to Green Timbers and shoot some landscapes of the lakefront. Look for some more images to crop up on this blog.

Hockey Practice

2012-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

My son had hockey practice at the Surrey Sports and Recreation Center on Fraser Highway Sunday morning. 8AM start time at the rink. They also had a pickup game.

Getting game-ready

Chris's friend Edward on the perimeter waiting for an opportunity for a shot from the point.

When I get some more of those shots edited, I will post them up on the same blog entry. Looking forward to getting a few more shots next week, unless my wife wants to go see the snowy owls.

"It's Not About The Gear, It's Only A Tool"

2012-01-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Why do experienced photographers always seem to tell photographers who are just starting out that "It's not about the gear, it's only a tool"? To the unexperienced layperson, it seems that it sounds rather pedantic and egotistical. To most beginners it sounds like the experienced photographer is looking down at the starting photographer.

On the flip-side, photography neophytes tend to always sound off about "Oh, I could get that shot if I had the equipment that the professional has." Unfortunately, that's not the case. It comes from experience and knowledge. Knowing how to use the equipment that you have in your hands is key. Knowing all of the features of your camera is the key to getting the shots that you want. Even the most basic DSLR is enough to get the shots that you require and is more than enough to learn enough technique to become a very good photographer.

In my personal opinion, I think the phrase of "It's not about the gear, it's only a tool" is meant to keep beginning photographers concentrating on their technique as opposed to getting hooked on gear addiction or the "I can get great photos too if I just had the ...latest and greatest gear" syndrome. I don't think the phrase was meant to be used for people who are already confident in their technique. We know the limitations of our equipment so we know when to upgrade unlike beginning photographers who are just starting out and do not need to be hooked on the "upgrade because something new came out." The upgrade should only happen when the camera's features give you enough options that it will make a significant increase in your photographic flexibility to justify it. Beginning photographers don't have the necessary technical knowledge in photography to know when to justify the increase. It's only because 'they want it." To those who are beginners. Learn your craft, then think about the necessary tools to take you to the next step in your journey.

I spent 4 and a half years trying to learn everything that I could with regards to my camera, and technique for photography before I upgraded from my D50 to the D300s. In fact, I've grown very attached to my D300s, and my recent acquisition list has all pretty much been lenses rather than camera frames that I need to pursue the photography genre of my choice. I've only put 4800 frames through my D300s, and am nowhere near requiring to upgrade that frame. At least it gives me enough time to get the two lenses that I really need for the photography I want to do. (yep, you guessed it, wildlife...). I'm hopefully gonna get out to Boundary Bay and shoot some snowy owls over the next week or so. But with a 70-200mm VRII as my main lens of any telephoto length, it's going to require my getting close to get some decent shots and running the risk of driving some birders frothingly insane. Either that or taking some shots, like what Moose suggested in his blog (keeping some of the owl's environment in the frame instead of focussing on "filling the frame"). The 300mm f/2.8 VRII and the 600mm f/4 are a definite requirement. But I figure those lenses will come in time. My motto has always been "use what I have now; not what I wish for." I'll get my 600mm sometime around 2017 and the 300mm in 2019. So I have a lot of shooting to do between now and then. Maybe I just might upgrade to the D5 when it comes out.

Until then, I have to figure out what pieces of equipment that I can acquire to get me out to 400mm (the prime supertelephoto range for wildlife). There are three options in Nikon to achieve the hallowed ground of 400mm. Buy a 400mm f/2.8 VR at a brain-stunning price of a $9,000 CDN. Obtain the TC-20EIII to give me an effective range on my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII to 140-400mm f/5.6 with VR and a $600.00 price tag or get myself an 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 D ED with VR at a price tag of $1499.99. Or I can use technique to try to get closer which doesn't cost me anything. Sometimes though, you can't use technique and that's where the knowledge of your surroundings and your equipment helps you make the decision on whether to upgrade your equipment list or not.

In that regards, I have the knowledge base to be able to make the personal decision to upgrade my equipment or not. If you are an experienced photographer, you will know when the decision to upgrade your equipment is right or not. If you are a beginner, focus on learning your current camera that you have right now, until you are getting great shots with greater regularity, then with experience you will gain the knowledge to know when to upgrade.

First Significant Snowfall of Winter 2011-2012

2012-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, looked out the window and saw a ton of white cold flakes coming down. Looking forward to making a trip out to Green Timbers and doing some landscape photography with the 50mm f/1.8 and quite possibly the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5. Winter has finally come to the Lower Mainland and not a moment too soon.

Why Do I Shoot Photography?

2012-01-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

The question has been posed to me several different ways. Questions like: "How is your business going? How do I make a living at photography?" or statements like "Man, it's gotta be fun doing photography for a living."

If there is a standard of success in the business of photography. Well, I can truly say...with some level of certainty. "I ain't there yet." All I can say is that I am a decent photographer. All I can say is that I am an advanced amateur with a camera. I know what I need to know to get the shot I want looking how I want it "in camera"...nothing more. When something new comes around, I look at it. I always keep my educational options open in photography. You never stop learning in this business. When you think "you know it all", that's when ego takes over and you start walking around like a diva, that's when your business nose-dives.

When you look at the guys who have been doing this for some time; they all have one thing in common, they have devoted their life to photography and they are all doing something that they love to the very core of their being.

I bought my first 35mm SLR in 1984 and back then I was a "spray and pray" artist. Half the time I shot, I didn't know what the heck I was doing, the rest of the time, I thought, if I hold the camera this way, I'll look like a photographer. I bought my first DSLR in 2006. I turned my poor D50 in and out. It was my camera, instant development lab and photography tutor all wrapped up into one. I swore to myself that when I picked up that digital SLR, I wasn't going to stick it on P and let the camera make my decisions. For the first year and a half I shot in M. I learned what aperture settings did, what shutterspeeds did...and how each affected the resulting shot. I took my first camera course in 1985. My mother enrolled me in it. With the two week turnaround on developing 35mm film, by the time I got the rolls back, I couldn't remember what settings I had shot my images on. When I got my Nikon D50, I challenged myself to learn whatever basics of photography I didn't learn (which was darned near all of it) when I took that first class way back in 1985. I tested myself on composition. I learned everything that I could know about the basics of photography. Then I started challenging myself to create better looking images, taking into account what I learned of the basics, what I learned about the Rule of Thirds. I studied both online (thru various websites), through photography books that I read and re-read until I could understand the concepts (and believe me it took a long time) and through experimentation. All I can say is if you have the chance to take a formal course of instruction in photography, do it. I did it teaching myself because that was the best way for me to learn. I could go at my own pace.

If one is thinking about selling their images...take these points into consideration. As far as selling images are concerned, it's a tossup. You can put years and years of effort into your craft, but whether someone will like the output, you'll never know. Frankly put, it takes lots of time and effort perfecting your craft. Even then you'll find people either like it or they don't. You take the good points from all the critiques and utilize them. Above all, never stop learning. I've had good friends - Scott Linstead, Ethan Meleg, Jamie Douglas, Bob Krist, Darwin Wiggett and others' images to see what they produce and sell...and my main commitment was if I was going to make a living out of this field of work, my work had better be up to the quality of the above names. The only suggestion that I have is "Commit to being the best at your craft that you can become. Figure out what the pros are coming up with. Learn your craft to the point where you can create images with that same quality over and over again...so that it isn't a matter of luck, but ingrained." Don't be a fly-by-night...spray and pray "artist". Learn your gear, learn your craft...ingrain it into your memory so that you don't have to fumble around with your gear.

Understand that this is 5 years of intensive self-teaching until I got to the point where I was even considered competitive. I crammed the equivalent of a degree in photographic arts into reading magazines...and wearing the living daylights out of my Nikon D50. Keep in mind, photography isn't completely about gear, it's about knowledge. Knowledge is the key to your success as a photographer. Read what books you can obtain or are available in your country on the subject of photography. Learn your the functions of your current gear inside and out. Learn about photography: Why is Rule of Thirds important and why do you have to learn it before you even know when and how to break it. What is the Golden Mean (as it pertains to photography). Why does shutterspeed, aperture and ISO impact what your photograph looks like. What is Depth of Field, What is Bokeh. Why do different lenses have different DOF and how does each lens affect your photograph. How do you push your ISO to gain shutterspeed? These are the questions you have to learn and drill into your shooting technique until it becomes rote. Only then...should you even consider "do you have what it takes to start a business in photography?" It's not hard to learn all that...it just takes commitment.

I'm not a professional yet. I'm just a serious amateur who was lucky enough to find someone who liked my images enough. Why do I shoot if not for money? I shoot for the love of the craft and the fact that I enjoy wildlife and landscape photography, I shoot well and I take pride in what I do. And that is why I charge for my images if someone wants to utilize them. And that is why I don't let my work go for less than the going rate of art prints. I respect my professional photographer friends to not devalue their work by not letting mine go for peanuts.

Shots from Last Year (Going Thru The Stack)

2012-01-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

I do find that I have to do some major clearing out of my shots that I took last year. There are a few that were keepers. There's a lot that weren't. Yet going through them, I do find a few shots that I have missed in the course of shooting almost a thousand frames through my D300s this past year.

Now he's a happy crow.

Unfortunately the top of the rock is probably not the greatest place for foraging for food.

A shy mallard trying to tuck its head under its wing.

Now, I do the occasional landscape image. This is a rather photogenic barn that I've shot numerous times already. Each time I try to shoot it in a way that I haven't tried before, or I try to get a good light. This one seemed boring until I put it into black & white. I hope to try my hand at other locations throughout the Lower Mainland, one of these days. Rent a car (don't own one at the present time) and go out for a drive to some interesting locations and shoot.

I've always said that if you don't have your DSLR with you. Grab whatever camera you have at the time. Who says you can't get great photos with a Nikon Coolpix L11? Certainly having a RAW format (which the L11) doesn't allows you to do a lot with the contrast and the colors of the image so that it will stand out. For me, this JPG image took 5-10 minutes to adjust the white-balance and the contrast...to the point where I liked it.

Never allow yourself to think that "I don't have my good camera...I can't get the shot." You know what? Use what you have on you. Get the shot compositionally, then worry about how to make it stand out. If we all started using that rationale, then how many more outstanding shots would we have. Of course that rationale doesn't work when you're selling photos (so hence the reason why I admonish people to keep your good camera with you, so that you won't be banging your head off the photo-editing desk when you get home after missing a terrific shot).

There are times when I just don't want to lug that D300s and 70-200mm f/2.8 with me so that's when I pull out my trusty little L11 (which I hope to one day upgrade to the P7100 with all the shutterspeed, aperture and ISO controls, RAW format and other nice bells and whistles) but until then, I'll use what I have.

Jamie Douglas Photography

2012-01-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

Jamie Douglas is a friend of mine whom I met on 500px and Facebook. He is a superb wildlife photographer and a good friend who lives close by (in the Lower Mainland). He's an inspiration and viewing his images helps me to ramp up the quality of my own.

His images can be seen here at Jamie Douglas Photography. Again, like I asked with regards to any photographer whom I mention here, please respect their copyright. If you wish to obtain an images, please purchase it from them. Thank you very much.

And thanks again to my friend, Jamie Douglas, for his photographic inspiration.

Purple Hyacinth - 01-07-2011 & A Shot from 2011

2012-01-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

The hyacinth shot was simply an on-camera flash, shot on the coffee table, nothing more extravagant than that. That shot would have looked better with a 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens.

And a shot from September 2011 at Green Timbers. Bottoms Up!

A yellow rose shot from August 1, 2011. I have to thank Adobe. Spent a grand total of 15 minutes on the line with customer service. The drive from our old destroyed Acer computer which holds my old copy of Adobe Photoshop installed is unable to be uninstalled except via completely formatting the old drive. So they were able to allow me to load Photoshop Elements 8 onto my new HP computer. So now I have a functioning copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 on the HP computer I use now for editing.

Back Up Your Photos...

2012-01-07T17:44:00.001-08:00

The importance of backing up your files is profound. When you run a business with thousands of photos, backups are crucial. the loss of those photos could be immeasurable. Hence the reason why I choose to backup my photos. I am in the process of acquiring a portable hard-drive of 1TB (1 terabyte) capacity in order to backup my photos so that if there is a hard-drive crash I will retain my photos. I also back them up onto DVDs as a secondary measure of protection against hard drive crashes.

Unless you have gone through a hard-drive or system crash before, there is no way of realizing just how time-consuming and irritating that overcoming such a crash can be. I have files in my desktop computer that have remained dormant since my system crashed in November of 2009. I have decided that I am going to turn around and try to recover them by putting the hard-drive in a portable hard-drive case and get them onto the main laptop that I am using currently for my image processing computer. By 2017 I should have a new desktop computer and then I will be able to put some very heavy-duty image processing programs onto the computer. My three main photo-editing programs will be Adobe Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Lightroom and Nikon Capture NX2. This threesome will be able to accomplish the gamut of what I want done with most of the photos that I take.

Some of you who read this blog are not running a business but backing up should be a part of your computing routine. Why? Because family photos are the most important shots of all. They are memories and events that cannot be relived. A wildlife shot can be reshot. The 5th birthday party that your son or daughter had cannot. So do yourselves a big favor and go buy yourself a removable hard-drive, or a DVD burner. Burn your important images onto DVD and keep them for a lifetime.

Digital images are fragile, but less so than the paper photos of yester-year. We can save the original image and get "reprints" whenever we need them. A hard-drive or DVD hidden in a fireproof vault is a way of reclaiming our past the way our ancestors could not. A house fire in the past would wreak havoc because of the loss of all the possessions, that could be replaced and pictures that could not. The advent of digital imaging meant that if one kept a DVD of all the family photos offsite, the real loss of photo memories could be removed from the equation.

Keep your memories safe or your business intact. Make sure that you back up your photo image files regularly. Keep a copy off-site. Above all, no matter which images are important to you, backing up your files is crucial and may even bring you comfort in a time of need.

Happy shooting,

Nikon D4 Announcement January 5, 2012.

2012-01-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

Nikon tried to keep its announcement under wraps, but this one slithered out almost a week or two before the actual announcement. So when the Nikon D4 announcement came out yesterday, it was a kind of a dénouement, in comparison to the D3 announcement back in 2007 where the D3 just kind of blew everyone away. Nikon in 2007 didn't really have a full-frame camera and they had made no indication that they were moving in that direction, so the D3 being full-frame just made everyone sit up and take notice.

However this D4 has the following specifications:

16.2 Megapixel Sensor

51 AF points

11 fps Continuous shooting mode

ISO range 100-12,800, expandable up to 50 and 204,800

Autofocus system: 9 cross-type sensors (operational up to f/8)

AF detection range will go down to EV-2.0 (the D3s went to EV -1)

Hybrid Viewfinder

Compatible with the new Nikon WT-5 wireless transmitter

Integrated Ethernet in the camera

Improved video mode, 1080p/30/25/24 and 720p/60/30/25/24 similar to the Nikon D800, Uncompressed video out through the HDMI port

Ability to assign the two buttons on the front of the camera to smooth aperture control during video recording

CF + XQD memory card slots

Check out the official Nikon Specifications on Nikon's D4.

Personally, I do like the D4, but unfortunately with a price tag of $6300.00 MSRP, it's completely out of my price range. With my interest in wildlife photography, I would prefer the replacement for my D300s (hopefully a D400). At around the 10,000 shot range, you start to need to figure out when you are going to relegate the camera to a backup role. I'm up at about 3,800 shots.

I'm not interested at this point at a full-frame camera. However, I do find that the landscape portion of my business is going to require an upgrade to a FX camera. But for wildlife, DX is the best solution at this time.

Photo Challenges - Challenge Your Photographic Eye

2012-01-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Photo Challenges can make photography interesting. You can take an ordinary household objects and figure out ways to photograph them. What I found is that I occasionally like to take certain objects that you use every day...and figure out what I can do to make them look interesting. Other people like alter the object and make new objects out of it, but I like to test myself out by seeing if I can make objects interesting by perspective. That is the essence of the photographic eye.

Take for example a toilet paper roll - yes, that's a weird subject. Well...what else but a challenging subject:

Yes, I know. I must be incredibly bored to photograph toilet paper.

You can do the same with Christmas lights.

These were done with the D300s and 50mm f/1.8 D

Learn to see photographically and let your photography ideas take off.

Lots of Places in Metro Vancouver/Fraser Valley to Photograph Wildlife.

2012-01-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

This year, our objective is to get out to places that we haven't managed to get to in previous years. This will hopefully provide us with opportunity to shoot subjects that we haven't been able to do so before. One of the subjects that I've been interested in photographing is the sandhill crane. They are aggressive birds and if they are nesting, they are even more protective, so I'm certain that I won't be going near them with anything less than a 400mm f/5.6 (TC-20EIII on 70-200mm f/2.8).

We're hoping to photograph new subjects this year. I'm still tossing up whether it is essential to get accredited through the Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) and their British Columbia division. It is quite an expenditure of funds (that could go towards gear that is sorely needed - namely a 300mm f/4, 600mm f/4 and teleconverters) and would be a decision of some magnitude that requires a lot of forethought before committing to that course of action.

One of the first places this year that my wife and I plan to get out to (while the snowy owls are there) is Boundary Bay. I may not be able to get saleable shots on the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII as I won't be able to get close enough on the 200mm end, but I do hope to get some shots and practice some technique and birding principles while I'm there in order to nail at least some useable shots for the blog.

Stanley Park is a repeat visit that we plan on making for practice on technique. There are mute swans, a heronry and various ducks in Lost Lagoon that are worth photographing. Two of the subjects there that I would love to be able to photograph are the wood ducks and Mandarin ducks. The wood ducks and mandarin ducks sport similar plumage however the wood duck is the duck that is a native species to Coastal British Columbia. The Mandarin duck was imported and ended up being released into the wild. They quickly established a small population at Stanley Park, and thus we can find them in the Lost Lagoon area. I am looking forward to tracking a few of those special specimens down.

The key to finding those special specimens to photograph is researching where they are located, researching their behavior and reactions to human interaction and what we can do to minimize our impact on their lives. Also consistent practice of camera technique to maximize our keeper/shots taken ratio on specimens that are used to interacting with humans is a great way to make certain that our skills are kept in top-notch shape each year as we go to find those shots that will actually earn some cash.

One of the places that I hope to go to this year also is Sapperton Landing Park just across the Fraser River. I've heard rumors of a green heron that nests in that location and would just love to have the opportunity to quietly take a photo of that green heron.

Another location that interests me to visit this year is Iona Beach Regional Park. Nestled just off the North Western tip of Sea Island, it is home to passing seal populations, and seabirds. This would be a great location to get some interesting shots. Another park would be Shoreline Park in Port Moody. It would be interesting if I was able to see a black bear there. Of course keeping one's distance is a prudent thing in that situation.

There are plenty of photography opportunities in the Lower Mainland. One of the best books that my wife managed to locate is Nature Vancouver's "Park and Nature Places Around Vancouver". This well illustrated volume gives numerous locations around the Metro Vancouver, Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley which have opportunities to enjoy nature and interact with wildlife. The book also includes transit information for people who are limited to public transit. This book has formed the basis of some of my most fruitful photographic adventures in the Lower Mainland and I hope to continue that trend into the coming years.

Happy Shooting.

CPP Accreditation Is A Good Thing (But Only If It Covers Everyone)

2012-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

There is this push from Winnipeg PPOC with regards to adding on a requirement for certification before anyone who is a photographer can do business. Mainly due to a push by "Master Photographer" Bruce Allen Hendricks. MPA, F.Ph. CPP. I think the motive is good but I think this certification process requires a major rethink. I have no problem with certification, however the certification process involves a whole bunch of crap for a genre of photography that I am not interested in doing. I will not be associating with portrait photography, nor will I be doing event/sports, or weddings. I will not be using reflectors, strobe flashes or concentrating on Rembrandt, Short, Broad, Loop or Split lighting because in no uncertain terms: animals will not sit and wait for photographers to cart out and set up a fancy flash setup out in the wild. Anyone who thinks so, is a first class idiot and doesn't know the first thing about doing wildlife or nature photography. Does he realize just exactly what would happen if he tried to attempt 3:1 lighting on an American Alligator??? My suggestion is: Get your head out of your ass, stay in the studio and leave the wildlife/nature photography to the "professionals" whom you ignored in your CPP requirements.

In his own words: "What I REALLY want is licensing requirements from PPA and PPOC in Canada and the USA. If you are not good enough to meet a specificed standard of those associations.... you are not allowed to get a business license. Un-licensed photographers would be subject to a fine for conducting business illegally. Hey, if you are good enough to make the cut, go for it! But if you are not stay off the field and watch the starters play.

Bruce Allen Hendricks MPA, F.Ph." (Well, I'm certain that there are many wildlife/nature photographers who are unlicenced or not certified but they're damned good at what they do. However congratulations. Bruce, That makes it legal for you to do wildlife photography badly, just because YOU have a certification/licence. But what we can do is turn around and make sure you don't get any business at all in wildlife/nature photography because your nature/wildlife photos would SUCK.) What Bruce A. Hendricks is saying in his quote is that he wants to make it illegal for anyone to present themselves as a professional photographer unless they have CPP accreditation (he's trying to force PPOC to play ball with PPCC) and from what I can see, there is no accreditation process in the works for anyone who is anything other than a commercial, wedding, portrait, or event/sport photographer, leaving us nature and wildlife photographers out in the cold. In otherwords he's trying to skim off the photographers who do nature/wildlife by only allowing those who also do portrait/commercial/weddings/sports and event photography to make any money out of ANY photography. The PPCC do not intend to deal with those who are working nature and wildlife or even bother certifying them because to them, the certification process does not apply. Even the PPCC says this: "If 100% of your images are in this class (I'm still not sure why you'd need certification for this)" Illustrative/Scenics - evidently wildlife falls into this category. The simple answer to this is "people like Bruce who want to eliminate the equal playing field"

And this I will not let happen. If a photographer is good at portrait/commercial/weddings/sports and event photography, then stick to that. Don't take away the market for those professional wildlife/nature photographers who specialize in those genres exclusively by enforcing it so that "only those you choose to be in the higher echelon" who don't have any experience shooting wildlife/nature to begin with. Don't step into my arena and the arena of those of my friends (who are well-known photographers with many publishing credits to their names) who have chosen to do wildlife/nature for a living.

I'll go toe to toe with anyone who says that he or she wants to make CPP mandatory when the CPP credentials are incomplete for all genres of professional photography when they don't know anything other than portrait photography. I absolutely guarantee you that the only things he's accredited in (7X according to his profile are) categories related to portraits and weddings. And I see he spams in Winnipeg Amateur Wildlife Photography Group's Facebook page when he doesn't know anything about wildlife photography and what constitutes a good wildlife photo in order to promote his lighting seminars. In that case he needs to shut the hell up and stick to what he's good at. I don't like it when someone who earns the majority of their money in weddings and portraits moonlights as a wildlife photographer, (unless he/she shows artistic merit in the field of wildlife). Just because they have a CPP after their name doesn't entitle them to a free ride in wildlife/nature photography. That brings down the quality of work for those who have paid their dues and earned the right through experience and hard work to call themselves a professional wildife/nature photographer.

I'm planning on pursuing accreditation through the PPOC in category 48 Nature and further pursing my Master Photographer certification with a further accreditation in category 73 Wildlife and a possible 3rd in Category 09 Botanical. But I will steadfastly refuse to support the CPP designation until it covers all genres of photography and produces an analogous and fitting requirement that meets the criteria of certification for those categories that BAH roundly ignored in his "Draft of Proposal to Certify All Professional Photographers". In doing so, I do not want to see portrait techniques applied to wildlife certification criteria. I want to see WILDLIFE techniques applied to wildlife criteria for certification as a Certified Wildlife Professional Photographer and if he cannot propose fitting requirements for certification then his whole certification process can go jump in a lake.

I do not take lightly to self-proclaimed "know-it-alls" like Bruce Allen Hendricks (regardless of how nationally acclaimed in his field he is by his peers) stepping into the wild to take photos using techniques that are better left in the studio, tromping all over vegetation and wildlife in the process and then pass themselves off as professional wildlife photographers. My advice to Bruce Allen Hendricks is: 1) quit spamming your lighting technique in Winnipeg Amateur Wildlife Photography Group's FB page because your "studio lighting techniques" don't apply out in the field of nature and wildlife photography and 2) Stay the hell out of the wildlife/nature arena and leave that to those who know what the hell they're doing. If you want to pursue your agenda of CPP requirement for all professional photographers, then make damned sure that your CPP requirement COVERS all professional photographers including wildlife/nature photographers and make those requirements FIT THE BILL! Because your lighting techniques would SUCK...out in the field.

In otherwords, to put it plainly, Bruce Allen Hendricks, I don't give a shit about your Masters in Photographic Arts. I don't give a rats ass about your Fellowship in Photography, I don't give a tinker's damn about your Certified Professional Photographer credentials, I don't give a monkey's behind about your 7X national accreditation with the PPOC. Unless you have paid your dues with wildlife/nature photography, then you don't know JACK SHIT about wildlife/nature photography. So stay the fuck in the studio and whine your ass off about photographers who would take your business. Because you sure as hell ain't takin' away my nature/wildlife photography business. PERIOD...and THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE!!!

SLR versus SuperZoom Camera or "Why I Use A DSLR".

2012-01-02T03:51:00.000-08:00

People ask me why I use a DSLR, especially when I'm constantly complaining about how I'm limited in range and that supertelephotos that range out to the 500 and 600 mm ranges tend to run in the neighbourhood of $8,000 and up. Why is it that I prefer to use a DSLR when I can get a superzoom for less than 1/10th the cost of a super-telephoto?

For one, cost isn't everything. I compared a superzoom that my wife owns - the Nikon Coolpix P80 which has 18X zoom (equivalent to roughly 500mm). Unfortunately, at the 500mm range, the image quality drops of immensely, and because of the small size of sensor you begin to see two things happen, your images start getting pixellated, and your image ends up mired in chromatic aberration and color fringing.

These two images when set side by side don't seem to differ very much

But it's a completely different story when you put 200% zoom on a section of each photo (I'll pick the top left quarter corner just to illustrate.

Nikon Coolpix P80

Nikon D300s with 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII

As you can see by the image crop, that the P80 image degrades significantly as opposed to the D300s CMOS image.

The reason is that the smaller sensor has smaller pixels. And no matter how many you shove onto that small CCD-compact sensor, you will suffer image degradation due to pixels light bleeding onto neighbouring pixels. Chromatic and color aberration, and color fringing is also evident along the edges of the subject in the P80 image.

This is why if you are selling photos for money, a professional calibre DSLR like the D300 series, D700 series, or D3 class camera is the only way to go. If you are doing it for fun, or just to take snapshots, then by all means a Superzoom is the way to go to economically get the range you want.

Me, I'll stick with a DSLR.

Pick The Right Tripod For The Job!

2012-01-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more aggravating than having a tripod unsuited to the task at hand. In order for a tripod to be steady enough, it has to be heavy enough to counteract the vibrations imparted from the slap of a shutter closing. The Manfrotto 190XB fails to do so. At f/18, in order to maximize sharpness of the image, at a shutter speed of 2 sec, there is a noticeable vibration that has been imparted to the tripod which translates into a blurry picture.

The only way to truly get your photos completely rock solid steady with a tripod unsuited to the task is to either do one of two things: 1) stand clear and use a shutter release or 2) put your hand on the tripod and the camera and hold the tripod rock-steady while depressing the shutter.

The more expensive option and perhaps the right solution is to get the right tripod to do the job you want.

Blurry Shot.

Close up of blurry lights

I had to use option #2 as my Manfrotto 190XB is not suitable for the weight and vibration of the D300s that it is supposed to absorb into the frame. Hence the reason that I will be looking to upgrade up completely into a Gitzo frame suitable for wildlife super-telephoto lenses. Either way, option #2 is still a must no matter what size of lens you use. Holding the camera steady on your tripod supports is the only way that you will get a steady shot. The size and weight of the tripod is a definite help to keeping your camera rock-steady allowing you to concentrate on the shot rather than worrying if your camera is steady.

The keeper shot.

Also, play it safe. Take multiple shots, just to be certain.

Business Resolutions...Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

As my business is still in what I would consider the fledgeling stage even after 5 years (I'm accruing no debt because I buy my equipment outright in cash, rather than on credit: that way the equipment is 100% mine and not on loan to me by a credit card company). I still have "true" wildlife lenses that I need to acquire and thus am in a quandary in terms of not having the range to get the shots that would really be profitable. However that is on the table. And hopefully, I should have in the next two years five acquisitions that will bring a lot more to the table.

A 300mm f/4 lens

A 105mm f/2.8 VR Macro

The set of teleconverters to go with the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII and the 300mm f/4 lens to bring me a decent range

A tripod (the Gitzo SGT GT5561) and the Jobu BWG-Pro2 gimbal head

A set of Lee 0.3, 0.6 & 0.9 Graduated Neutral Density filters.

This will allow me to expand my ability to create saleable landscape photos and saleable wildlife shots.

My long term goal is to replace the 300mm f/4 with the 300mm f/2.8 VRII or the 200-400mm f/4 and get an incredibly long super-telephoto with the 600mm f/4.

So my business resolutions are as follows:

I will do my utmost to increase 100-fold the number of images in my saleable inventory, which means getting out to do as much shooting as I can possibly manage to do so given the restrictions with my being a family man.

I will take my camera everywhere...

I will train my eye to see more opportunities in everything (wildlife or landscape) that I shoot.

I resolve that I will start sending out my photos to the magazines this year and try to nail down a few sales (5 sales to start would be the impetus) this year.

I resolve to get out to the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival each and every year from now on. This is going to be an annual event with me every year.

5 resolutions that I hope to uphold and take into this 2012 with me. Looking forward to new photographic opportunity and success this year. Happy New Year and May the best come to each and every one of you.

1st post of the New Year is the same as the one that I've placed on my business blog yesterday. Happy New Year to everyone and Happy Shooting.

Happy New Year - Our Photography Resolutions...

2011-12-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

As we count down the days remaining in 2011 and round the corner into the New Year, we see plenty of posts about what New Year's resolutions we have on the plate this coming year. As a photographer, what I think about is what can I do in 2012 that will propel me to the next level. What sort of photography am I producing that will make me stand out from the crowd? What can I do with what I currently have in my camera bag that I can use to create a photograph that will make people sit up and take notice.

As a wildlife photographer, it's not the easiest thing in the world to be limited to a 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII when you are trying to take photographs of wild creatures who aren't too tolerant of the fact that you're trying to get close to them to get the shot. In my perfect world. I'd have the trifecta of wildlife photography lenses (300mm f/2.8 VRII, 600mm f/4 and a 200-400mm f/4) along with all three teleconverters. But that won't happen very quickly, unless I were to be lucky enough to win the Lotto Max. So what can I acquire that is in my range that I will be able to compete with my colleagues in the wildlife photography arena? And most importantly, what will enable me to get out to the hallowed ground of 600mm?

My concentration in wildlife photography is raptors (eagles, hawks, owls and falcons) and waterfowl )(ducks and herons). Those are the subjects that get my blood racing. Also I am interested in North American wild canids and felines such as wolves, coyotes, cougars and bobcats. Secondary on my list are the ursines (bears, both black, brown and grizzly) and the ruminants (elk, deer, moose) as they are awe-inspiring, but not as interesting (to me). As a wildlife photographer, you have to be a jack-of-all trades, meaning you go after every wild animal that you can find on the off-chance that you get a saleable shot. But would I go after a ursine or a ruminant with a 70-200mm f/2.8...not if I don't want to become the grizzly bear's next snack or become a rather grizzly (no pun intended) antler ornament.

What did I accomplish this year? Well...I managed to prove to myself that I could shoot a high-calibre quality of wildlife photographs with the lens that I have now, provided that the subjects were relatively used to human interaction. I did manage to prove that I could get some interesting shots, well composed and well-lighted on a consistent basis. And I did find and manage to narrow down the wildlife lenses that I need to compete with the big names. I also joined the 500px photography site which happens to be one of the best sites out there for people who are serious about their photography. But frankly, I'm still to damned scared to go onto 1px, they seem a bit more elitist...than even those of us on 500px. We 500px'rs take pride in our photography and try to do the best we can at what we do.

Oh, the 600mm f/4 is still on my list, but I plan to get a few lenses that will allow me to compete on a level playing field first, namely the AF-S 300mm f/4. A steady stable support (a tripod (Gitzo SGT 5561GT (systematic tripod))) with a gimbal head (the Jobu BWG-Pro2)...to help mount the 300mm f/4 for steady shots unless I'm trying to go after birds in flight. I also plan to get a TC-17EII 1.7X teleconverter to allow me to get out to 510mm of focal length. It won't allow me to get too close, but still, it is good enough while I'm saving up for the big 600mm f/4 lens. And it may allow me to get some birds-in-flight shots that I wouldn't be able to otherwise do.

I also plan to get into a sideline of macro photography to supplement my stock photography. Hence the requirement for the acquisition of a 105mm f/2.8 VR Macro lens which I hope to get sometime this 2012. This will allow me to get together a substantial stock of seasonal images that I will be able to put up for sale. I am also going to complete my Lee equipment acquisition with the Lee 1, 2, and 3 stop hard neutral density gradient filters, so that I can attempt to take landscape photos of the areas around where I live, quite possibly getting a few saleable landscape shots.

What do I still need to work on? My raging case of "lens envy". Whenever I see someone with a 300mm f/2.8 400 f/2.8, 200-400mm f/4, 500 f/4 or 600mm f/4...I get this nervous tic in the side of my face...along with a desire to run to the nearest camera store to pick up one of my own, if I could convince a bank to extend me a $15,000 line of credit; my inferiority complex that I can't do equivalent work compared to a pro with the lenses that I have (unless we're talking serious ursine, ruminant, wild canids or wild felines) which I have proved myself wrong repeatedly the latter half of 2011 and the raging desire to run to the nearest camera store...and plead and beg that I'll sell photography equipment for them for free for the rest of my life in exchange for the two lenses of my desires (NO lens is worth short-changing myself in my life-goals).

Overall, the thing I learned the most from 2011, is that if I want something bad enough...the only solution is to go after it, utilizing the skills and equipment that I have. So I look forward to 2012 with renewed hopes and a drive to create ever more high-quality images. So fellow photographers, here's to a 2012 that is filled with incredible opportunities for creating images for each and every single one of us. Happy New Year.

One Last Photo of the Christmas Tree for 2011

2011-12-27T20:48:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

May The Force Be With You This Holiday Season.

2011-12-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas Ornaments. And if anything I love Christmas Ornaments when they transect with my favorite movie saga: Star Wars. Currently, the only two Christmas ornaments that I have that are Star Wars related are the following:

Han Solo

Chewbacca

Both of which were given to me a long, long time ago in a holiday season far far away by a fellow J.A.G. fan. I would like to eventually pick up Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Darth Vader. The droids C3PO and R2D2 will be a later acquisition. There are other ornaments as well.

A Plan To Visit A Place In My Family's History - Photo Essay plan.

2011-12-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

In 1942 my grand-parents, my uncles and my mother were rounded up and sent to live in Slocan. Under Order-in-Council P.C. 1486, my grandparents and family and thousands of other Japanese-Canadian citizens were sent to internment camps outside the 100 mile exclusion zone that surrounded the coastal areas. This was a dark time and during that time, my family's assets were seized, sold at rock-bottom dollar and my family never saw a penny of it.

Many second and third generation internees are now of an age where they are passing from our lives. The fourth and subsequent generations will only know this as a publication in a school history textbook (maybe two or three paragraphs at most).

Many internees are choosing to visit the past, but my mother finds it too painful to show my children (who are half Caucasian and half Japanese) the legacy of "shame and betrayal" that encompassed a good portion of their grandmother's life while growing up. We need to not forget. We need to be able to keep this injustice at the forefront so that we never, ever do this again to any other ethnicity.

I take my inspiration from David Suzuki, Nobby Hayashi and all those who have come forward in an attempt to bring this ignominious period in Canada's history to light. To not just let it sit buried in some textbook somewhere to be glanced over then forgotten. It is my legacy to take my camera to some of Canada's forgotten internment camps to document it for posterity before time and forgetfulness put those historical sites on the chopping block for budget cutbacks.

I am lucky that I, despite my youth, (most 3rd generation children are in their late 50s and 60s some are now in their 70s and experienced the internment first-hand) was affected by this tragedy, my connection was a direct one to that of an internee, yet I am in my 40s and it is our job, the third generation legacy, to remind our children that they need to understand what it was that their previous generations fought for with Redress.

Never forget; always remember...Never, ever let it happen again.

How To Make Santa Tear Out What's Left Of His Hair (...and Beard)

2011-12-08T16:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Holiday Season. This is the time of year where people try to buy gifts for the photographers in their lives. Now photography gifts aren't the cheapest things in the world and sometimes it seems like nothing short of a lens will put a smile on your photog's face when he unwraps the present under the tree.

In this post, I'll give you an idea of what my Christmas list to Santa has been for the past few years. Needless to say, he hasn't been too receptive to the idea and frankly, this list freaks out a lot of other photographers as well.

Here's my Christmas Wish List:

AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II

- Still debating on whether to get the 200-400mm f/4 versus the single length 300mm f/2.8 VRII.

AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR

AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED

AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E II

AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E II

AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III

Lee 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 Hard-edge Graduated Neutral Density Filters

Nikon Capture NX2

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3

I'll probably edit this list as my list of lenses and other items grows.

Holidays Are Here Again...

2011-12-06T00:41:00.000-08:00

Holidays are a fun time for pulling out the camera and taking pictures of lights. At least I find it fun to photograph the ornaments on the tree due to the lights flooding the background of the photo with color. And especially if you have some crystal ornaments; the reflection off those ornaments make the lights cascade in many different directions.

Hopefully once I manage to pick up a 105mm VR macro lens, I'll be able to hone in closer to the ornaments I want to display. I'm going to also try to get out and do some shooting of light displays outdoors over the next while. So hopefully I'll get a few more posts up before the end of the holidays.

Happy holiday shooting, everyone.

Coming Close To Holiday Time

2011-11-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

Holidays are here again. Time for decorations.

The Myth of the "Equipment Miracle"

2011-10-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Subtitled: "Hey, I need a new camera so I can take just as good shots as that Pro there..."

The myth of the "Equipment Miracle" is alive and well. Just recently Nikon put up a post on Facebook indicating that equipment was what made the photograph. That was roundly denounced by many of the photographers who were on Nikon's fanpage. Yet it is an opinion shared by many novice photographers with complaints like. "If I had the equipment that he had...I'd be able to get shots like that..." or "I need a new camera".

There is no miracle cure for a crummy photograph. You need to learn to use your tools. Just as you would not give a chimp a chisel because more than likely he wouldn't be able to use it properly without instruction and would end up hurting himself, you don't give a novice a camera more than he can handle. Information overload will end up killing his/her interest in the hobby much quicker than if he spent the time learning to use his point and shoot to the best of his ability.

The "Equipment Miracle" goes hand-in-hand with the "Ego". In that the larger the lens and more complicated looking the camera, the more like a pro-photographer, the amateur looks and consequently, the more he thinks his photos rank up there with the professionals no matter how faded looking they are, no matter how crappy the end-result is...because the only thing that matters is that he has a D3X or Canon 1Ds Mk. IV and the requisite 70-200mm f/2.8s (either VR or IS) and he's loaded for bear.

For most people, taking a photo means - pointing the camera at the subject, getting them to say "cheese" and taking the shot...not really knowing that if you point the camera into the sunlight you're going to end up with a crappy shot because of the lens flare, making the subjects unrecognizable. Or flashing a photo in the midst of a crowded pub making a really flattering featureless face out of your subjects otherwise known as the "GHOST" where you can really only see two eyes...a mouth and a sheer white torso.

an example of a "ghost" image

There's really no excuse for not knowing your settings on your camera whether it is a point and shoot or a DSLR. There are night photo settings on your point and shoot, but the only problem with that is that you need stabilization - in other words...A TRIPOD! But nobody wants to carry that into a pub. Hence...crappy picture. You also need to know that light sources = crappy lighting. There are settings for white balance in your point and shoot? Does anyone even bother to look at those? NO.

Ultimately...it's NOT YOUR CAMERA...it's you! Take the time and read the manual. RTFM!!! and RTFM some more. That's what it's there for...not to make the box seem more substantial in weight when you buy a camera.

Then maybe when you're able to photograph great shots (with no lens flare; with regularity - and after realizing that just maybe...just maybe this photography is the basis for a great hobby)...that's when you upgrade to the next camera. It's not so that you can look COOL...holding a D3X when you shoot in AUTO. Trust me...most serious amateur and professional photographers can tell.

shot with a Nikon E2200 (2.1 MP point & shoot camera).

Who says you can't get good shots with a point & shoot? Knowledge is Key.

Nikon Rumors: Nikon files patent for 800mm f/5.6

2011-10-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Nikon Files Patent for 800mm f/5.6 - Nikon Rumors

Evidently Nikon is stepping into the super-supertelephoto range in replacing its old 800mm f/5.6 ED-IF with the Nikon AF-S VR 800mm f/5.6. Already in the competition is the much lower-priced Sigma 800mm f/5.6 and the $14,000 Canon 800mm f/5.6 IS L. Not to knock Sigma, but with Canon's L lens and their new Nikon playmate (once Nikon decides to go ahead with production of it, it's going to change the 800mm game table. I'm sure though that the 800mm f/5.6 VR is going to be either price above or similar to the Canon lens, either being around $14,000-16,000. This will be pretty much a strictly newspaper event or professional wildlife lens. At these prices, it's not worth it to re-mortgage the house to buy this or end up having to save for 6 1/2 years to put one in the lens arsenal. It's a nice looking lens, but I'll just as soon go for the $10,000 600mm VR f/4.

Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

What can most people write about a man who changed a generation? All I can say is that Steve Jobs' creations defined my generation and the generation that came after it.

When I was in elementary school, the original Apple personal computer came out. It was a unique fad, or so we thought. Personal computers were not widely available back then and they cost an arm and a leg. Back then we had punch-cards that you marked off with an HB pencil and they were taken to a mainframe of some sort that figured out your answers and whether you passed the test or not. The personal computer was a pipe-dream...or so we thought. To Steve Jobs, it wasn't. He was a visionary. He pictured a computer in every home, in every school, in all walks of life, even before most people thought it was a logical move. His Apple and Mac computers made this possible.

The simple fact that I am typing this eulogy on a laptop computer is partly because of Steve Jobs. The ensuing battle between Steve Jobs' Apple Corporation and Microsoft magnate Bill Gates' Personal Computer (PC) caused computer prices to drop to the point where most people could afford one or the other.

The first industry to profit from this was the personal computer gaming industry. There were a lot of games during the 80s. Some good (like The Legend of Zelda) and some not so good, but we had a variety with the Apple and Apple II computers. The first personal computers by Apple were the realm of the creatives and that's where Apple's niche has been. Microsoft won the business war...and that's where their niche has been.

When MP3s first came out, Steve Jobs was at the forefront of the technology. He envisioned a device that could be used anywhere and that fit in one's pocket, a small boombox that could be taken anywhere without having to have a whole load of tapes or CDs to be carried around with you. He thus invented a way to digitize music and then the device to play it with, and thus was born the iPod. Now it has gone through several changes. Now it plays different forms of multimedia. For the longest time, I resisted becoming a Pod-person (the derogative nickname for people who seem to be glued to their iPods), but now I have a Nano 8GB powder blue iPod to which I appear to constantly drag around with me. Yes, that was another game-changer.

Then there was the run to compete with Blackberry and the iPhone came into being. To think that you could create "applications - Apps for short" and use them in the same way that you can run programs on your computer and it all fits in the palm of your hand or in your pocket. Steve Jobs was responsible for putting the term "There's an App for that" in the vernacular. Now Blackberry isn't as popular as it used to be...and everywhere I look (including in my wife's hand) is an iPhone.

Without Steve Jobs' vision, the digital darkroom would never have had a chance to grow, and we would still be tinkering with noxious chemicals and emulsion fluids in the dark cramped confines of a standard darkroom. But with the advent of the personal computer and the resultant flock of programmers who designed new programs for creative photographers, we now have the equivalent of the darkroom on our desktop without having to deal with smelling foul-smelling chemicals...and giving our doctors (eventually) their sons' and daughters' college educations.

The visionary that was Steve Jobs had incredible foresight and intuition into what it was that people were looking for in their technology that they use every day. There are very few people in this world who can change the world like he did. Henry Ford was one of those types of visionaries. Thomas Edison was yet another. But to instantaneously bring about a change in the way we do business, in the way we share our information, in the way we entertain ourselves on a worldwide scale and in such a short period of time, that is a visionary of incomparable skill and acumen. And that was the type of visionary that Steve Jobs was. The tech world has lost a great leader and visionary; the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetime.

Rest in Peace, Steve Jobs. You've earned it.

Google+ and Facebook

2011-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

"Hey, Joe...you wanna friend me on Facebook???"
"Sorry, dude, my computer shorted out in the lake"

I've been using Google+ for a while now. It's been interesting. I've kept it strictly for photography circles and to appraise select friends of what I've been doing with my photography, whereas I use Facebook for my social interactions as well as for displaying photography.

My Google+

My Facebook

I don't play games on either one of my social networks. I just cut loose my last game and I'm strictly keeping my Facebook and Google+ for sharing photography. So if you want to friend me on either Facebook and/or Google+, please don't send me game requests. I don't answer those.

A Morning At Green Timbers.

2011-10-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

Saw what was actually a juvenile pied-billed grebe...wish I had a TC-20EIII. Actually forget I said that. I want the bloody 600mm f/4 and a 1.4X teleconverter!!!

The posing ducks looked as if it was asking me for guidance on what kind of pose to do for the camera.

This mallard female was the mate of the other male that was swimming by and looking for approval for the poses that he was providing. Likewise with this female. Evidently she was looking for approval of her swimming poses.

Saw the Great Blue Heron, but it wanted to play "peek-a-boo" instead of posing for a shot.

This mallard female got spooked by some schmuck with a dog off-leash who promptly proceeded to come barking and charging the ducks so she reared up in a major threat-display warning all the other ducks to keep clear of the shore. The mutt got the freak out of his life when that big object (me) sitting on the rock got up and stared eye-ball to eye-ball with said stupid mutt.

Fight! Fight!! These two mallards males got into it pretty good. The dominant mallard really chased the subordinate mallard male around their section of the pond pretty good.

Is the TC-20EIII Worth It?

2011-10-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Now...for the past 6 months, I've been vascillating between lenses and teleconverters and I've been wondering if buying a teleconverter for the lens that I currently have (the AF-S VRII 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED) is worth the money expended on it. In determining the value of the TC-20EIII on the lens, I've undertaken the following test on this particular teleconverter to where I would be using the TC-20EIII the most - Green Timbers Urban Forest Park. The TC-20EIII attached to my 70-200mm f/2.8 would get me the equivalent focal length of a 140-400mm f/5.6 as I would lose the equivalent of two stops.

The Park Test - had to mimic the TC-20EIII on the lens by % increase of 200%

The Great Blue Heron Subject at 200mm

The Great Blue Heron Subject at 400mm (equiv w/% tweaking)

The Store Test - with the actual TC-20EIII attached to the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII.

@200mm

@400mm (the subject being the blue line on the door)

Ultimately there is not much increase in the size of far-away objects with the TC-20EIII and there is a noticeable drop-off in image quality especially when used indoors as in the mall-test. The only other alternative is to get the 300mm f/2.8 VRII but that is quite a number of years away.

300mm range (shot with my 70-300mm f/4-5.6)

600mm equivalent range (TC-20EIII on 300mm f/2.8 equivalent (digi-tweaked))

It's all fine well and good if you're standing in the middle of a field to use your legs and get closer to the wildlife in question, but when you've got a skittish heron or other subject and the barrier in between you and getting closer is a lake...well, kinetic zoom is just out of luck. When you are stuck on the shore of a lake, a longer super-telephoto lens is your best bet for getting distance. However, if you haven't got the $$$ to cough up at least $10,000 for a 400mm, 500mm, or 600mm lens, a teleconverter may be your best friend, then you may end up having to crop to get the image you want.

For now, I think that the best solution for my distance problem is to get the TC-20EIII and use it in conjunction with trying to get as close as possible to the subject.

Seagulls and Some Color on the Clouds

2011-10-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Didn't think about pulling out the D300s and 70-200mm VRII, but found that there was some photo-ops when I got out to the Zellers end of Willowbrook. Several seagulls happily posed for me. Evidently upon further investigation, these were juvenile ring-billed gulls.

Is there food for me here???

On the way back, we saw some color on the clouds.

Lens & Shutter - New Store Open in Langley (on September 20, 2011)

2011-10-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Will put photo up when I visit today.

Evidently it opened on September 20, 2011 according to this blog Lens & Shutter Blog, he hasn't visited yet, so hopefully, I'll be the first to get the pics up. I don't know if it is a store blog updated by an employee, or whether it's some random guy who is blogging on Lens & Shutter. Anyways. Always good to get a scoop. ~evil grin~

update: 8:51PM

I have to say that this store is probably what you would call "considerably smaller" than the Broadway "Lens & Shutter" main store. The selection of lenses on display are smaller, but the people who I talked to at the store were decent on their knowledge base. It's a nice place and they do have a decent selection of gear...their bag selection is decent and half their store is frames. I saw they also have an interesting selection of 35mm film.

All the Lens & Shutter stores have the ability to special order in the pro gear so it's going to be easier to go to Langley if I do decide to put my 600/4 lens order through Lens & Shutter.

I plan to go there whenever I go out to Langley and look forward to getting some of my stuff there.

Outdoor Clothing: What to Wear to Survive

2011-09-20T09:27:00.001-07:00

At some point, talk about outdoor photography turns to what clothing and footwear do you need to use in order to stay warm and safe in the outdoors, especially in this climate (Coastal Rain Forest) in British Columbia. I'll touch on this for a little bit.

First of all you need proper foot gear to go tromping out in the woods. Most outdoors types hate the ankle high hiking boots of yesteryear with the heavy soles. Sure it's great if you're on a construction site and you've got steel-toes, but do you need that for traipsing around the woods? No. The best tool that you have is your eyes and a light set of good trail runners. Make certain of your step and footing before you take the next one. Unless you're climbing on logs, you don't need to worry about your ankles. And if you're wanting to climb on logs and do something stupid; try to stay away from trails and the outdoors. The outdoors can kill you without trying and you don't have to do stupid things and risk your neck to get killed. Just stay out without enough proper warm clothing and hypothermia will get you.

My Hiking Shoes (trail runners) - Nike Air Alvord 8s: Notice the heel and the good tread - needed for grip...

There is a saying in the outdoor community: "Killer Cotton". Why? Because cotton, that wonderful natural fabric sucks as outdoor-wear. When cotton gets wet; it stays wet and it doesn't breathe. Water and sweat stays trapped in the fibre and you end up with a sopping rag covering half your body. Cotton has resulted in many deaths of outdoor adventurers.

What do I wear in place of a cotton t-shirt? I wear "UnderArmour" or like-clothing with moisture-wicking fabric. Sportek creates UnderArmour-similar fabric t-shirts and long-armed undershirts for this purpose for less cost than Underarmour. They also make underwear in the same fabric as well as compression long pants to keep you cool and dry down there as well. Then all you have to do is throw some goretex or other rain resistant material over-clothing on top and you're all set to get out in the wild. Fleece is also a good material (it sucks when it gets wet, but you can use it in colder weather under goretex and over the Underarmour longsleeved breathable fabric to stay warm.

They say: dress in layers when you go into the outdoors. Sweat and moisture kills. You need to be able to strip off layers in order to allow your body to regulate it's temperature. If you are sweating, it means your body is too warm. That means it's time to shed a layer and throw it in your backpack. Remember the mnemonic: Cool and Dry Stays Alive. Frankly, experienced outdoorsmen don't allow their bodies to sweat because they wear the bare minimum to stay warm and pace themselves in order to not get hot enough to sweat. This also means take lots of water and stay hydrated.

There are three layers: Your base layer, your middle layer and your outer layer.

Your base layer is the layer of clothing closest to your bare skin. This means that you should wear something like UnderArmour (long-sleeved shirt or t-shirt depending on whether it's winter or summer), long underwear, and socks (yes, Underarmour makes socks too). This fabric wicks moisture away from your body and allows it to evaporate.

Your middle layer should be something like fleece, polyester or wool. This is a layer primarily used to stay warm and if you feel the slightest bit warm enough to sweat, you need to take it off. Wool take a long time to dry when wet and should be avoided, but fleece tends to be a better substitute for wool. Avoid down. When it gets wet, it loses all insulating capability and it will not dry unless you throw it into a dryer and you don't have one of those in the wild. The middle layer should also be able to wick moisture from your base layer and out.

Your outer layer is the shell; which needs to be resistant against incoming moisture from the exterior and be able to evaporate your moisture from inside. This primary shell material should be Gore-tex as it doesn't allow environmental moisture to penetrate yet allows the moisture wicked from the inner materials to evaporate out into the environment. Unless it is raining or snowing, this shell is rarely ever worn.

So to encapsulate the three layer system of staying alive in the outdoors (in terms of outdoor clothing):

The first layer wicks moisture away from your body.
The second layer traps body heat in order to keep you warm.
The third layer sheds water and snow...and repels wind.

Debating the Big Purchase of a Super Telephoto

2011-09-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been talking and she's been mentioning that I should be looking into the high-powered lenses. I've come up with 5 options that encompass two lenses.

Option 1: The Whole Kit and Caboodle.

LensRetailer Price Price w/tax Per/Month Savings
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4 G IF ED VR The Camera Store 9,646.47 10,847.65
Nikon AF-S VR 200-400mm F4 G IF-ED Broadway Camera 6,439.99 7,213.00
Nikon TC-14EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-17EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-20EIII The Camera Store 548.77 614.62
Gitzo 5561 SGT 6X tripod B&H Photo 1,299.00 1,534.51
Wimberley WH-200 B&H Photo 594.95 691.06 21,810.62 $ 610.00/mo

Nikon AF-S VR 200-400mm F4 G IF-ED

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4 G IF ED VR

Option 2: Just the Big One and TCs Plus Tripod

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4 G IF ED VR The Camera Store 9,646.47 10,847.65
Nikon TC-14EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-17EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-20EIII The Camera Store 548.77 614.62
Gitzo 5561 SGT 6X tripod B&H Photo 1,299.00 1,534.51
Wimberley WH-200 B&H Photo 594.95 691.06 14,597.62 $ 408.00/mo

Option 3: Bare Bones and Use Monopod w/ Gimbal

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4 G IF ED VR The Camera Store 9,646.47 10,847.65
Nikon TC-14EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-17EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-20EIII The Camera Store 548.77 614.62
Wimberley WH-200 B&H Photo 594.95 691.06 13,063.11 $ 390.00/mo (use Wimberley on 680B Monopod - which I already own)

Option 4: Big Lens + TC

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4 G IF ED VR The Camera Store 9,646.47 10,847.65
Nikon TC-14EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-17EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-20EIII The Camera Store 548.77 614.62 12,372.05 $ 345.00/mo. (screw the Manfrotto 680B monopod onto the 600mm foot)

Option 5: 200-400VRII Option

Nikon AF-S VR 200-400mm F4 G IF-ED Broadway Camera 6,439.99 7,213.00
Nikon TC-14EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-17EII The Camera Store 396.15 454.89
Nikon TC-20EIII The Camera Store 548.77 614.62
Gitzo 5561 SGT 6X tripod B&H Photo 1,299.00 1,534.51
Wimberley WH-200B&H Photo 594.95 691.06 10,962.97 $ 299.00/mo.

All of the "savings per month" is based on a 3 year save-up period. This is no longer a hobby, but a dead serious shot at a career in wildlife photography. I'm fed up with playing it safe and I'm going for it. I'm getting the equipment in 3 years time.

Questions and Comments To Not Say To A Photographer

2011-09-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

Have you ever come across a photographer while you're traipsing your way (quite possibly walking your dog) around a park. He's got a nice camera (a DSLR from the looks of it); and a rather large lens mounted to the front of the camera? So you think? "Wow, he must know what he's doing. And maybe he might be able to give me some pointers." Y'know what? Chances are, he isn't going to be solicitous if you interrupt him in the midst of his photography.

When the camera lens is UP...and attached to his face...THAT is NOT the time to bother him with questions. Wait until he gets the shot and brings his camera down.

And there are several things that you needn't touch upon:

That's a nice camera (or lens)
Yes he knows that's a nice camera and/or lens, he bought it as a tool and he uses it to get the photos he creates. When he's not using it, it sits in his camera bag and not in some sort of shrine dedicated to the God of Photography or something. And another variant of this is "Nice photograph, you must have a nice camera..." That to a photographer is like my telling a hunter who has made a great kill and saying "Hey, nice shot, you must have a great rifle." It's not the camera, it's the vision of the photographer.

Will you shoot my wedding?
If he's shooting animals with his camera, chances are you've stumbled across a wildlife photographer, especially if he has an extremely long lens. And most wildlife photographers are solitary animals, much like the prey they stalk. The last thing they want to do is hang out in a smoke-filled room filled with boisterous, loud people who use this wedding as a way to socialize. Most Wildlife photographers don't socialize; we're out tracking. And frankly, I'd rather shoot an irritated king brown in the Outback with an 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 than shoot a wedding. NO thanks.

Oh...I see you've got such and such a brand and model of camera; I've got this brand and model...it's so great; I'm sure it'll get me just as good shots as you create...
Yeah...so? I've spent 26 years working on my photography skills. And chances are 9 times out of 10 my shots turn out. Again, it's not the brand and model of the camera you choose, it's whether or not you can make use it or not and have results come out of it.

Oh...you're using a digital? Well, I use a film camera...
See above. The other corollary to this is "I use film, any person who knows photography knows they really learn when they have to use film. Uh...OK...whatever. It just so happens that visual learners learn the best when they see immediate results, not results 2 weeks down the road (such as were developing times when I was growing up unless you wanted to pay $$$ out your nose for 48 hr turnaround) by which time, you forget every damned setting you used. Hence I learned best on a digital SLR. And like one of my friends, Paul Burwell, said "Digital has far surpassed the quality of film cameras nowadays." You don't need to worry about exposing your film to light when you have to chance film speeds or carry around a black bag with you to swap out your film rolls when you have to make a film speed change. All you have to do is flip a dial and up your ISO. So frankly when I hear a film user complain that you can't learn "true photography" off a digital camera, I say they're sucking sour owl s***.

What do you think of my photos?
Look, if I give you an honest critique of your photography, 9 times out of 10 you'll be annoyed unless you're a serious amateur photographer who is looking to advance in your photography. If you're just a person who likes picking up your camera and taking shots once in a while to have fun...you're probably just expecting me to blow sunshine up your ass. Unfortunately, I'm a photographer who takes his work very seriously and I don't spend my time blowing adulation in anyone's direction, so frankly, I'm the wrong one to ask. I can usually tell if someone is serious about their photography. They take the time to study online, read up everything that they can possibly get and they'll usually have a photography magazine (subscribed to, of course) in their camera bag that they've got their nose in if and when they don't have their camera attached to their face. Real serious amateurs live and BREATHE photography.

Did you Photoshop that?
Yes, all photographs require some post-processing. The most I usually do is amp the colors up some and do some slight sharpening, but other than that, most of my work is pretty much straight out of camera. I will not remove a branch with the clone tool...I will more than likely just reposition and reshoot. Better to get it right in camera and have to do the least amount of post-processing possible.

I just bought a $1,200 DSLR...why are my pictures blurry?
Your minimum handheld speed is 1.5X the focal length of your lens. So if you are shooting a 200mm lens. Your minimum shutter speed at ISO 200 would be 1.5x 200mm= 1/350th of a second; and frankly, the higher the better. On a sunny day, I'm shooting somewhere in the neighbourhood handheld at 200mm 1/1000th of a sec. That's more than enough to freeze moving objects.

Do you do selective coloring on your photography?
No ma'am...that is strictly in the realm of "faux"tography. I generally call it "bad taste".

Hey, do you think I can get the same shot with my 12.1 MP P&S?
You have a 12.1 MP point and shoot, your sensor is half the size of mine. Do you know what light-bleed is? Do you know what happens when you cram 12.16 million pixels into a space 1/2 the size of a postage stamp? You have absolutely no control over your ISO, shutterspeed and aperture. Let me put it in this way: You have a Lilliputian idiot inside your camera selecting your shutterspeed and aperture as well as ISO by putting numbers on a dartboard and throwing darts at it BLINDFOLDED. In other words...NO.

Yes, this article is incomplete. I don't think I have run across ALL the questions that I have gotten asked yet. I'm sure I will probably think that I will have run across all of them in the course of my photography over the next few years, but then someone will come up with another chart-topper.

The Red-Tail Hawk...I saw this morning...

2011-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

On my way back from Wal-Mart after I picked up a 2L of cola (my go juice), I find a bunch of crows going completely gaga-frickin' nuts. Well...1st rule of thumb, is when you hear crows going nuts, chances are there's a predator around. And then this lady comes along and asks, "Did you see that hawk around?" Well...that pretty much got my head out of my rectal area and made me look around at the trees to see where it was located.

And I found it.

The Red-Tailed Hawk staring at me through the branches. Cue Robert DeNiro's voice "Hey, are you lookin' at me???"

I Need To Be Awesome (No...I'm not having delusions of grandeur...)

2011-09-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

But Awesome in the 500px way. In order to go awesome from your basic 500px account; you have to cough up $50.00 per person and in that way you get access to multiple "collections" that you can create and in essence create your own simplified "webspace" on the World Wide Web. For an HTML troglodyte such as myself, this is a godsend. Right now as a basic member, I have to catalog all my images into one "portfolio" folder and let it play through. Whereas if I went "AWESOME"...I'd be able to allow my website visitors to go and select the "collection" they want to see, whether it be wildlife or landscapes or aviation...etc, etc, etc.

Why do I need to be AWESOME...well...my friends Megan Lorenz, Jamie Douglas, and Misty Dawn Seidel have all become AWESOME since they can really rock a lens and well...why should I be left out? Right?! ~evil grin~

How To Go Awesome on 500px. Look for FalconRose Photography to go AWESOME in the next year.

My Favorite Park...in the Whole Wide World...

2011-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

...and that's because it's within a reasonable walking distance from my home. I just pack up my daughter in the stroller and grab my gear and away we go.

During the week there isn't a whole lot of people wandering the park and that's when I like to go there. It allows me to get up close and interactive with the ducks and that gets me some great shots. I have to say I just love this park because of it's ambience and the peace it seems to generate.

I also have a few more shots taken yesterday up at 500px. You can go to my gallery at FalconRose Photography at 500px

Another Trip To Green Timbers

2011-09-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

We did another trip to Green Timbers Urban Forest. Unfortunately, I found the direct sunlight did some harsh things to the photos. And it'll probably take Adobe Lightroom to edit most of the photos (which I don't have at the moment)

"I'm just taking a rest". - A dragonfly just rests on a plant for a few moments before flying off.

A raven sits in a tree watching all that surrounds him.

An eclipse mallard duck whips the water into a frenzy.

"I'm trying to hide; Is it working?" An eclipse mallard duck tries to make herself less noticeable by trying to hide behind weeds. I'm not really sure it's working too well.

Memory Card Snafu

2011-09-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my middle son and my daughter went over to Green Timbers Urban Forest armed with the intent to go photograph some ducks. We get there, and see a beautiful sight of ducks everywhere paddling around, splashing and generally making wonderful photographic opportunities everywhere.

To top it all off, I see a Great Blue Heron floating in the air...soaring majestically on a north west direction over the treetops, well within camera range. It was an absolutely awe-inspiring sight. And well...it was a sight that could have been preserved for posterity...

except for one thing:

I FORGOT MY MEMORY CARD!!!

So folks, remember, you can't shoot anything if you don't have your memory card in your camera. Make sure that you check your card slot in your camera before you leave the house. Make sure that your memory card is in the slot before you even set a toe out of your front door.

Now as a result of this snafu, the only place where the memory of this majestic Great Blue Heron flying is preserved is in my own memory. Well...that taught me a lesson.

Stormi and Mt. Baker

2011-09-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

Stormi on the bus ride to Willowbrook Mall.

Mt. Baker from Willowbrook Mall.

Just two shots today, but those two were well worth taking.

50mm f/1.8 - Sharpness Assessment

2011-09-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

Though primarily considered a portrait lens(it is not a preferred portrait lens to quite a few photographers - it's more of an environmental portrait lens where you put more of the environment in the photo and leave the people at a distance for esthetics), I find that I use mine for anything but portraiture. There have been people complaining about the fact that the f/1.8 is rather soft wide-open. Frankly any lens is soft wide-open. You're letting in a lot of light and you're going to sacrifice image quality for speed, but nothing that can't be sharpened via post-processing.

Doing a portrait of my shooting buddy Toothy here. you'll find the shots (both full-size and crop in both shots) at both f/1.8 (wide open) and at the sweet-spot (the tipping point between sharpness and speed) of f/8 for this lens.

Full size shot at f/1.8

cropped in shot (100% at f/1.8)

Full size shot at f/8 (the 50mm f/1.8's sweetspot)

cropped in shot (100% at f/8)

So as you can see, there is a noticeable difference in image quality between wide-open and the lens' sweet spot. However it isn't much really to worry about.

Where you are going to be shooting wide-open is usually a portrait shot in dim light and then you are more than likely going to be going for an ethereal glow as opposed to a straight out studio shot portrait in terms of sharpness. If you need it any sharper, then go studio lights and stop down to f/8 or post-process in Adobe Lightroom or Portrait Professional.

The main reason why the 50mm is not preferred as a portrait lens is as follows: (once again using Toothy as the model)

Toothy at 50mm (notice how Toothy's face is rather flat, wide and unappealing... - OK a shark isn't all that appealing any way you look at it, but hey...if you really want to make a shark's face scary, use a 50mm)

Toothy at approximately 105mm (notice how Toothy has suddenly looked like he dropped a few pounds and is now looking like a svelte shark?) - shot with a 70-300mm f.3.5-4.5 lens.

That's the effect of a wide angle versus a telephoto on portraiture.

Don't ask me to do portraiture with models. I'd rather be slathered with honey and fed to a hungry grizzly.

You Know You're Addicted To Photography When:

2011-09-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

You have $300,00 in your bank account and you debate on whether to get decent running shoes and replacement t-shirts (because your shoes are falling off your feet and people hand you money every time you step out) or get yourself that new 35mm f/1.8 lens.
You'd forgo eating just to nail that perfect shot...
You hand your camera bag to your buddy who works in construction; he just about staggers...and comments "What the hell do you have in that bag???"
You look at either the Nikkor Lens Catalog or Canon Lens Catalog and almost drown in a puddle of your own drool.
At work your right hand feels funny because your camera isn't in it. (unless you're a photographer in your day job and then everything just feels fine).
People wonder if you're OK in the head because you're looking at an object from different angles trying to find the right angle and background to take a shot.
You walk out of the camera store without buying anything and have withdrawal symptoms.
When you start talking in acronyms. "Well, you got your 70-300 VR hooked up to your D300s and your MC-62 goes in right there. Then you hook her up to the Man 200PL14; snap'er into the 488RC2 then hook'er up to the 190XB and there ya go. That way yer D300s don't shake. Got it?" and other photography addicts understand you.
When a typical PNW (raining like hell) morning doesn't faze you and you still step out with camera bag in hand (and come back with pictures).
You got a "stuffed animal" shooting buddy in your camera bag.
You talk to your shooting buddy.
Your shooting buddy talks back.
You have arguments with your shooting buddy about which f/stop to use.
You can bolt down a Big Mac, Large Fries and a Coke in 5 minutes flat because you want to get back to your camera and not miss any more photography opportunities.
Your kids run when they see you bring out the camera.
You dream about that big Nikon AF-S 600mm lens, you can feel it in your hand...you're caressing it...when all of a sudden you trip and fall...and break that lens...and you wake up in a cold sweat thinking about how you're going to replace that lens...and you realize it was all a dream but instead of being relieved, you feel depressed.
The local camera shop clerks roll their eyes when you walk into the store, knowing you're coming in to kick tires again.
And they actually die of shock when you turn around and buy a camera from them.

(more to come)

August 30th, 2011 - A outing to Strawberry Hills Shopping Center

2011-08-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

"Hey...I'm WALKIN' HERE!!!"

A crow strutting his way across the street near the Scottsdale Exchange. He nearly got hit by a car but that didn't faze him. Acted like he owned the street.

Red Rosebushes in the Chevron gas station parking lot

Just a small post, but didn't want to leave the post count total for the month of August at 13 (I'm superstitious!).

Thanks Darrell...for your article...on lens acquisition...

2011-08-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

My friend and digital photography author, Darrell Young has a great blog. Darrell Young Blogspot Blog. And in that blog it touches one of the best (and worst) parts of photography: the acquisition of lenses. Darrell's article: Lenses: Pleasure and the Pain of Being A Photographer I just have one thing to say...and that's whenever I take a look at the Nikon Lens catalog I end up like Pavlov's dog and all sense flies out the window. It's the same thing when I'm at the camera store looking at the big cardboard boxes containing the metal CT-602 case along with the coveted Nikon AF-S 600mm f4 VRII IF-ED lens packaged so lovingly inside...they usually end up handing me a mop and bucket to clean up my own drool puddle I have made on the floor.

Yes. I need that lens. I want that lens...and I covet that lens. I would forsake having a car for the rest of my life if I could run my fingers across that lens and know that I could take it home. And make everyone jealous for miles around who hasn't got one. Yeah. I got Nikon Lens Acquisition Syndrome BAD. Of course when that lens comes home. The next one will be the Nikon AF-S VRII 200-400mm f/4 G IF-ED. By that time, unless I've won the lottery, my desire for lenses will be sated. And if by some fluke (lightning hit-potential surpassing chance) that I do win the Lotto Max. I'll probably walk into Nikon Richmond and say "Hell...give me one of everything in that catalog." Uh...maybe 2 of each may be the better bet. Since my wife is giving me the "death stare".

"Maybe if I put this picture on the wall and look at it everyday...and..."

So yes, as Darrell says. "Nobody said reading my blog was inexpensive..." Yep...because I got that feeling in the marrow of my bones...that 600mm f/4 lens "will be mine...oh yes...it will be mine..."

Sunsets aren't cliche...

2011-08-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

At least not to me. I've always enjoyed shooting sunsets. I'm hoping that one of these days, I will be able to get some Graduated ND filters to help bring out those colors.

Should have taken both camera and Toothy...

2011-08-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

He wasn't too happy about getting the raw deal. Yep. I have a little "photo buddy". OK...at 17 inches, he ain't small. But he's quite the character and I guess you could say he matches my personal character very well...(mouthy and not the least bit prone to political correctness).

Unfortunately Toothy had to stay home on Friday and he certainly made his displeasure kmnown but he being a good shooting buddy kept guard on my D300s.

Well, I'm going to have to make certain I take him a lot more places now. I have several ideas with which to use him...and those will be on Toothy's blog at Great White Outta Water. You oughta check it out. Definitely not politically correct either. And Great Whites don't tend to listen when you tell them to be PC.

Coal Harbour Floatplanes

2011-08-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Harbour Air DH-2 Beaver taking off in front of a vista of North Vancouver.

Seair Cessna 675 Caravan C-JMOW moored at the Seair terminal mooring.

These images were shot with my wife's Nikon D90 because I opted to leave my D300s home and stupidly realized that I wanted to take a few shots as well. Teach me to leave my camera at home.

Got to love my Go-To Wildife Lens - My Nikon AF-S VRII 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED

2011-08-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

After owning the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED VRII for just a little over a full year, I find that this lens is probably one of the best lenses for Nikon pros out there. However what I'm going to talk about its versatility for wildlife shooting. At 3.39 lbs, this isn't some lightweight lens when you're hauling it around all day. Add on a Manfrotto 680B monopod or a 190XB tripod and you're talking shoulder ache. At least I don't have to haul around a 600mm and a Gitzo GT5541LS but when I walk over to Green Timbers to shoot wildlife or to carry around on a walk around Stanley Park, I want something light and I want something fast and as far as I'm concerned, the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII is probably the best lens out there. At 8.2 inches it's not the smallest lens out there either and it'll take up a lot of room in your camera bag, especially my Lowepro Rezo 190 AW. I usually carry two lenses with me: the 50mm f/1.8D on my Nikon D300s and the 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII (in the camera bag).

Pixel peepers will complain about the fact that 200mm may or may not be 200mm, but hell...pixel peepers will complain about everything under the sun that they can get away with.

The main thing with this lens is "IT IS SHARP!" By far it is one of the sharpest lenses that I have seen to this date. It is also one of the most versatile lenses in the Nikon catalog. People use this lens for event, wedding and portrait photography. But the other thing is that it is a mainstay for wildlife photography, especially if you're up close or you want to take a environmental shot in wildlife photography where you want to show more of the habitat that the animal lives in.

This lens is fast enough to take "in-flight" shots. Needless to say, this is something I'm going to have to work on.

And if the animals are close enough, you can actually get in and get a decent portrait of them and their environment.

And the fact that you can switch from that type of wildlife shooting to any other form of photography including environmental portraiture of people, makes this an incrediblly versatile lens to have in your camera bag. Especially if you have a spare $1799.99 lying around in need of spending.

I'd have to say: next to the 50mm f/1.8D in my camera bag, I find this is my go-to lens and well worth every penny.

Our Evening at English Bay.

2011-08-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Heather had to go pick up a photo-frame at London Drugs on Davie Street. So we decided to walk along the beach on the West End side of English Bay

Stumbled across an Inukshuk that I figured I'd photograph.

Saw this guy balancing rocks

I guess kayaking is a sport better shared?

A guy walking on the jetty jutting out into English Bay.

The boats and ships out on English Bay during the sunset.

A ship heading out into English Bay (I guess for an evening cruise)

Saw this on the way back to the Skytrain.

Skytrain...heading home to Surrey. Man my feet hate me and I've got a nice blister happening on the heel of my left foot. Time for some new shoes, I guess.

Work The Camera With What's Between Your Ears...

2011-08-18T19:00:00.001-07:00

When someone comes up to me and asks me this question after complimenting me on my photos "What kind of camera do you use?" I invariably hear this unvoiced hope "Maybe if I get the same camera that he has...my pictures will turn out just as good". I usually give the reply "It's not the camera, it's the person behind the camera". And that isn't an elitist answer. To be a competent photographer, you need to develop your sense of when to take the photo, how to compose the shot so that it looks exactly the way you pictured it, with only the need for a little post processing.

Technology has come forward in leaps and bounds since the infancy of digital cameras in the early 90s and the turn of the millenium. In the year that I bought my first digital camera, I was shooting with an Agfa ePhoto 780c, a 0.35MP camera (1 MP equals 1 million pixels - so you do the math). In 2011 just a scant 10-11 years after I bought my first digital camera, we have large format and medium format backs in excess of MP power of 45 MP or more. We have compacts that have 16 MP (though I won't say much for their prints over and above 8x10). When I bought my first Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera (my Nikon D50), it was a 6.1 MP camera. Nowadays, DSLRs have megapixels in ranges between 12.3 and 32 MP (the proposed Canon 1Ds Mk IV?).

When I first started photography in 1984, my father bought me a Mamiya Sekor TL500 35mm film SLR. I had no idea how to use it. And this was before I even knew I had dyslexia and a learning disability. I couldn't make heads or tails out of filmspeed, shutterspeed, aperture and how they related to each other. If I had to spend the 3000 shutter clicks I put through my D50 on the equivalent amount of film developing, I would have spent well over $1620.00; almost the cost of a new f/2.8 lens and I wouldn't, with the handicap of a learning disability and the fact that I'm a visual learner, have learned even the basics of photography that I learned with my D50. So if anyone tells you, that you can't learn photography from a digital camera, that's a load of bollocks.

My Agfa ePhoto 780c - landscape shot

My Nikon Coolpix 2200 - cityscape shot

My Nikon D50 - city feature shot

However, the most important part of photography is knowing your photographic knowledge inside and out. Be able to assess your situation and be able to know instinctively what to do in any given lighting situation. For example given a gloomy forest setting...Do you put your ISO up or do you open your aperture? What will the end result of that be. If you open your shutter, does your depth of field increase or decrease. How will the bokeh result from that option? How much of your foreground or background do you want coming in crisp and clear...how do I achieve that objective? All of these things are things that will be trickling through your head at a given moment and sometimes when you're shooting, you have just a split-second to make that decision. You have to know your equipment inside and out. You also have to know the best composition to bring out your objective. You also have to know your lighting conditions and what do to in each situation. That's the mark of a competent photographer. It's not the fact that you carry a Nikon D3x or a Canon 1Ds Mk III and have lenses the length of my forearm and hand combined. It's "Do YOU...know the equipment inside and out and what to do with it in any given situation?" That's what separates the competent photographers from the "spray and pray" weekend snappers.

Ideally, as a wildlife photographer, I should have a 400 f/2.8 or a 600mm f/4 lens with the assorted teleconverters. However, unless I win the lottery, that lens won't fall into my hands anytime soon without saving like crazy. So I work with what technology I have and use my head to get the shots that I want. It is thanks to friends like Scott Linstead, Jamie Douglas, Paul Burwell, Ethan Meleg, Darwin Wiggett and Megan Lorenz who inspire me to improve my own photography. It is their photography that provides the inspiration and pushes me to improve my skills and composition.

It doesn't matter what kind of camera you have. Learn to be competent with it. The only time that you need to upgrade your camera is when the technology you buy will make doing your job easier or when your skill outgrows the technology you have. My favorite saying is this: "Work the camera with what lies between your ears and not what is on the label of the equipment you carry."

One of my D300s/70-200mm f/2.8VRII shots @ 165mm(no teleconveters); technique, and animal approach for composition purposes by Hugo Chikamori.

Duck...duck...duck-duck...SQUIRREL!!! Nope...a bunny.

2011-08-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way home from Guildford, we decided to stop off at Green Timbers Urban Forest for a little bit of "us time" walking around the park and to enjoy the wildlife there.

The first little denizen of the forest that we ran into was this little guy. This is a feral rabbit. His ancestors probably were domesticated rabbits that were released into the wild. His ears look like they're on high alert.

We walked for a while and came across this wonderful little lake that was in the park as seen in the photo above. There we ran into a veritable array of eclipse mallard ducks. I'm just going to let the photos speak for themselves.

This one is on 500px as well.

This is a Dark-Eyed Junco

More Airplanes and a bunch of birds...

2011-08-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Boeing 747-400, Korean Airlines

McDonnell Douglas MD-11, KLM (tension wire got in the way of the shot)

Airbus A340, Lufthansa

And of course, more birds and a grasshopper

I think these are chipping sparrows, but I've posted it up on Fraser Valley Birding so I'll get an answer some way or another.

This is the unidentified sparrow that I saw. I have no idea what this one is because my confounded "Birds of British Columbia" ID book decided to grow legs and walk off on me. Well, Birding BC identified it as the ubiquitous Spotted Towhee (a member of the Sparrow family). How very nice.

Happy crow on a utility wire.

Say hello to poor Mr. Grasshopper. He's trying to clear the stars out of his head after colliding with my leg. Yes, poor Mr. Grasshopper is alright...this is an AFTER shot. Being a photographer...in retaliation for him hitting my leg, I pull out my camera and happily SHOOT him.

Bridge and House Sparrow

2011-08-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

Code of Ethics (Rules) for Nature Photography

2011-08-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Code of Ethics for Nature Photographers

Above all...DO NO HARM

Nestlings seriously disturbed (FB thread)

This type of behavior is completely unacceptable to a nature photographer and is typical of the type of behavior of the weekend wanna-be nature photographer who goes out willy-nilly into the forest and doesn't think about what he or she is doing.

The first basic law of human stupidity asserts without ambiguity that:
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.

Naturally, there will always be one or two individuals who will screw up and cause harm to the birds that they are trying to locate by disturbing their nest, or getting too damned close to the birds for their own good. There is a good reason as to why nature photographers shoot with 400mm lenses and better in terms of range. That's so that you don't agitate the birds by having to get in really close.

A friend, Darwin Wiggett penned this treatise on Nature Photographer's Online Magazine - My Nature Photography Pet Peeves
Do We Need Rules of Etiquette When Shooting on Public Land? It's very enlightening and we should all take heed.

If you don't want IDIOTS to copy your behavior, don't put up stuff that would incite IDIOTS to copy your behavior...unless you use that as moral lesson and be scathingly damning in the post of behavior such as thus exhibited.

More Birds

2011-08-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

North American Robin sitting on fence. Robin Perspective

A Hybrid Mallard at Bear Creek Pond.

Reflections of Solitude

Metal birds:

Cathay Pacific B747-400

British Airways B747-400

American Airlines B777-200

All these photos were shot with the Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 G - the very cheapest 70-300mm lens that Nikon ever makes. If you want to see my review of it...here it is. My Nikon 70-300mm review which practically tears this lens a good one. Frankly, I still find that this lens requires a good deal of post-processing to get a usable image out of it and this was holding it absolutely rock-steady. Next time, I will be taking my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII.

Shots from August 1st and August 4th

2011-08-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is a house finch with beautiful red coloring

A yellow/brownish-orange gaillardia

A honeybee on a flower. I have no idea what kind of flower this is...

A seagull flying by - got this shot in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

This Great Blue Heron was not too happy with me. Shot him at dusk with my D300s at ISO 2000 and onboard flash at 1/60th of a second.

Further: DO NOT EVER DO THIS...The rods in the heron's eyes are very sensitive. They are also nocturnal feeders. The heron was just extremely lucky that it wasn't temporarily blinded...and while trying to fly off and clearing its vision; it could have very well flown into a tree of which there were many. So please chalk this up to stupidity in the heat of the moment and do not attempt to copy the technique of this shot. Please be cognizant of the feeding habits and nocturnal habits of the animals you track. This is not something that a birder or a nature-loving wildlife photographer should ever do.

More later when I have an opportunity to edit more of my shots.

My Lee Holder is here

2011-07-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

I love my new Lee holder. It arrived on Monday...but it was not until about Wednesday that I opened the box...then of course, I decided to wait for a couple more days before getting together a blog post about it. So without further ado...here it is.

This was what was in the box. This is "Chicken Soup for the Landscape Photographer's Soul"

Primarily, the Lee holder comes in two component parts. The adapter ring which hooks onto the lens.

You'll notice the threads here to attach the adapter ring to the lens. In this case; the 67mm adapter ring is going to attach to a Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens.

The box the Lee Foundation Holder kit came in. Nice...isn't it?

What came in the little Lee bag that the holder came in: 1) The basic holder (with two slots). 2) one additional slot for a 3rd filter if needed + plus longer attachment screws (you replace the shorter screws attached to the holder with the longer screws when you attach the extra slot) 3) a jewellers screwdriver is provided (which is a really nice thought). 4) and a lovely canvas protector bag that you can carry this in. Ah...it felt like Christmas opening this box up.

Now this is what the adapter ring and Lee foundation holder look like fully assembled. I'm going to have to do a video for those who are learning the Lee system. Look for that to come in the next few weeks. It'll be a close-up video of just my hands putting the pieces together, plus me narrating the steps to assemble the pieces together.

QR for iPhone for my 500px FalconRose Photo Site

2011-07-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the new QR code for my 500px FalconRose Photography site.

The Camera Store

2011-07-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, FalconRose Photography's order goes into Calgary for the Lee Foundation Filter Holder kit, and the Lee 67 Wide Angle Adapter Ring. On a waiting list for the Lee ND Grads. Seriously looking forward to getting some scenic landscapes (cityscapes) of Vancouver whenever I can get a hold of those ND Grads. Next month Capture NX2 and a 67" Hoya or Kenko Pro-1D Circ Pol, trying to decide between the Moose Warming Pol and the Standard Kenko/Hoya Pro-1Ds.

Will be saving up for the Lee ND Grad (softs) set and putting them to use as soon as Lee gets enough of an order sent to the shop that I'm buying them from. I have to thank my friend Darwin Wiggett for referring me to that particular shop because I haven't been able to find a damned Lee holder ANY where other than that. Of course they're handmade; and of course their quality control is stratospheric...to the point where they're so in demand that you can't find them unless you have the dough to dump on 'em when they do have them in. Well...here's to chalkin' up money in a savings account set aside for equipment (wife's idea).

Thanks to the great service of The Camera Store in Calgary, I will have the necessary equipment (the holder & adapter) to start using the Lee ND Grad filters when I can manage to get a hold of a set. Thanks to Stacey for the great service (holding the items on order till my money order gets there) and to Evelyn for placing me on the Lee 0.3/0.6/0.9 ND Grad (soft) filter set waiting list. I look forward to making the order as soon as they arrive. And I hope to one day manage to get a chance to visit the physical retail location in Calgary. Looks like a great store filled with knowledgeable staff.

500px - A site for serious photographers...only...

2011-07-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, I've been on Flickr and I've seen it grow from a site dedicated to showcasing and sharing your "best" photography to an behemoth that seems only concerned with the bottom line with no regard to the quality of images being placed up on there.

Now Flickr seems to be populated by high-school/college students (now don't take this the wrong way and assume that high-school and college students can't be AWESOME photographers - the Awesome HS and college serious photogs are certainly welcome to join 500px) intent on sharing their latest wild party pics with no artistic bent in any of them. That was not the Flickr I joined way back in 2005. At least back then, you could sort the wheat from the chaff. Now with the proliferation of drunken party pics that seem to permeate Flickr, I've gotten disgusted with the whole Flickr thing, thrown copyrights onto the remaining photos I've placed on Flickr and decided to amscray for the new Toronto startup 500px.

500px was just started a few years ago (2009 in fact), and it's been popular with professional and serious amateur photographers. That has been its focus and hopefully will remain that way. The site is self-critique: you put what is considered your "best" work up. Frankly, there is no excuse for not harshly critiquing your own work. People also get to like or dislike your images, depending on how they perceive your work, so you can get a good idea of just how popular your images are and tailor your image uploads accordingly. Also, you have the option of following other members to see just what the other members are producing in terms of quality of work and other members can follow you. If you go up to 95% or more in photo popularity, your picture will be placed on a Popular Images lightbox...and you will generate much more traffic for your overall 500px profile (don't ask me how it works, I haven't got there yet).

Now that 500px becomes more popular, I'm hoping that the image quality remains high and that new members will self-critique their images to keep their image flows in context with the high-quality that permeates throughout this photo-site. Or that members will harshly critique "stupid party" pics that are placed up just for the sake of "attention-getting". That's the only way that 500px will maintain its commitment to high-quality images when it goes mainstream like Flickr. Call that elitist, but that's how I feel with regards to this new place we've found. It's become an "old-boys n'girls" club and the only way that we can keep the standards high is to coldly evaluate and ostracize or completely kick out those who "flout the rules".

My 500px profile is here: http://500px.com/falconrosephoto (let me know that you've followed me and I'll follow you).

For those of you who want to check out my spouse and photography partner's work. Here's the URL to her 500px account http://500px.com/HeatherFeatherBelleChikamori

I think Ian Sobolev (the Creative Director for 500px) says it clearly when he says "And thirdly, by showing only great photos and reinforcing this principle helps people realize that this is not a place for their family photos, even though we are not against those — they will be just ignored by the public. All this lead to an interesting effect — the quality of the photos in Popular is constantly improving, and comparing top photos from just half a year ago shows a great leap in quality. So I’m very excited to find out how it will play out in the future." Read the whole article at Naturography - Interview with Ian Sobolev Creative Director, 500px.

Call me controversial and antagonistic, but on 500px, I don't want to see your party pics. I don't want to see your friends making silly faces. I don't want to see the raves that you and your buddies have attended. I make NO apology over my stance on those type of pics especially on a site like 500px which caters to artistic photography. What I want to see from new members is PHOTOGRAPHY; tastefully and artistically done, This site is dedicated to art and should stay that way. There aren't as many restrictions in the way of censorship so you will see artful nudes and boudoir type photography tastefully done, however, outright pornography will get you banned. I tend to stick to my favorite genres, wildlife, aviation and landscape...and the photographers who do those genres are the ones that I tend to follow. I will not hesitate to use the "dislike" button when justified, if I see something that will contribute to the dissolution of the high standards for which 500px is currently known for, so be warned. You can call me a photography snob, but when I find a place that I'm comfortable in, you can be damned sure that I'll out the rabble who want to destroy the place.

Enjoy the place, have fun there, admire the works. Put up your own best work, but please keep the standards high. That way we can scare the rest of those who just don't care about standards into not even joining. Let's keep this a place for serious amateurs and professionals.

Edit: July 16, 2011 Update: after researching what others think about 500px.

I hear that people are complaining about the 500px "Dislike" button: Especially the conspiracy theorists here: 500px is conspiring to keep me down with the DISLIKE button

The Icebox (Flickr) is especially hilarious when it comes to online-theatrical rants against 500px

Periodically in some "so-called" artists profile portfolios I see a standard "head and wall" shot; just a "snapshot" of someone that somebody knows. I don't care for those type of shots. There is no artistic mien to those kind of shots. Anyone can do this with a point and shoot. And it degrades your art. If you're guilty of those kind of shots. Do us all a favor and get them off 500px. Put 'em up in Flickr. I'm not interested in your family shots and I will "dislike" it just to get it the hell off the wall. I don't "dislike" ordinarily out of spite, but I will "dislike" a photo if I feel that it doesn't meet the requirements of what most people would consider "their best photo".

Also what pisses me off immensely is people putting up minor variants of the same goddamned picture. Saw several like images of half-cut off b&w portraits. We get what you're trying to do with one shot. Don't inundate us with 50 shots of the same goddamned CRAP!!!!

Or people putting up gritty urban-style post-processed B&W shots of a blurry bench. WTFH are you trying to express? Because all I see is a f*ng blurry bench. OK? Unless I'm walking around in your brain at the time you pressed the shutter I have no f*ng idea what you're taking the picture for. And it makes me think that you're a "great artist-in-your-own-mind". Listen, Andy Warhol died 24 years ago and frankly you're just a wanna-be. The point of a picture is to get your viewpoint across to other people. And frankly...your picture ain't doin' it for me.

Wildlife photographers don't put up "cutesy animal images". It takes more thought and planning than you could ever put into photography with your just uploading a shot of a candy wrapper lying in the street and calling it "Urban Waste". And shots of models standing take more thought than just merely plunking a human being in front of a building and taking a shot. More Lighting and other effects that you could ever even dream about in your feverish little anarchist "rebel against the system" mind. Don't laugh at what you can't think of producing.

You know what, keep laughing at the photographers who produce award-winning images, keep stewing in your own bitter juices and let the photographers who know how to produce the images that sell...laugh all the way to the bank.

That's all I have to say to the "I'm the best...because I rebel against the system...and produce images that" supposedly "have meaning" type photographers who seem to litter places like Flickr.

"Tell Us A Story, Make People Care" - David Griffin, National Geographic

2011-07-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

A lot of people look at this video and one stark comment comes home. David Griffin stresses the“flashbulb moment” - the moment that takes you and grabs you by the throat and makes you sit up and take notice - And that ultimately is the difference between an amateur and a professional. An amateur takes one or two flashbulb moment photographs; a professional creates them all the time.

But what most people may not see is that David also gives you one of the keys to photojournalistic success and that is "Tell a story, make the viewers empathize with the subjects of your photographs, and provide a solution". This is an important lesson to all who listened is that people, no matter what we are as photographers, whether amateur or professional, is that we need to look at the story behind our images. "Bring out the story, make us care, make us find a solution to a problem". Photography is so much more powerful when it tells a story. Photography is an important medium that can be used to drive home a point when it is used to evoke a feeling, tell a story and make us think about the message that is being sent. And that's the message that I took home from that lecture and presentation. We have each been given an incredible skill and maybe we all should take a look at how we use it.

We can all take beautiful photographs, some of us can do it more regularly than others. But to take that ability and tell an empathic story with it takes photo-journalists to a whole 'nother level. Whether you're a wildlife photographer - (take a story of the plight of an endangered creature, dig deep into the cause, find out why the creature is endangered, picture why the creature is so important to us, seize on a possible solution to the inherent problem. grab people's heart-strings and make them care) or a wedding photographer (Show a person's lifestory in images. bring out their relationship, make their story tug at the heartstrings of the viewer), the recipe is the same. No matter what genre of photographer that you are, it makes no difference, the concept is the same and it makes your photography have more punch.

David Griffin gave me (in this presentation) an essential keystone of what I can turn my photography into, a strength in telling a story that tugs at the heart-strings and the possibility of solving problems with my photography.

The underlying question is: Can we all care enough to make a difference with our photography and will anyone listen?

Outdoor Photography Canada: A rare find and a great magazine

2011-07-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

One of the best finds that I have seen in my hunt for photography information is this new magazine that came out four years ago. It's called Outdoor Photography Canada. It's outdoor photography for Canadian wildlife/nature photographers. It's a quarterly magazine that is jam-packed with info about photo techniques, equipment and other things relevant to a nature photographer. There's even an article by Paul Burwell in one of the issues with regards to smartphone apps that are of interest to nature photographers. And each issue is jam-packed with not only information but eye-popping photography from the likes of Scott Linstead, Paul Burwell, Darwin Wiggett, John E. Marriott, Ethan Meleg (just to name a few) and others.

You can also check out their website for the latest issues. I still have to get the issue that's currently out. Outdoor Photography Canada's website.

I can't consider myself in the same league as the friends who I've mentioned, but I'm certainly going to try to improve. Already, I've been bitten even worse by the photography bug that I'm biting down on a Lee filter holder and am planning the purchase of a set of Lee graduated neutral-density filters for my landscape photography. And I'm indebted to Darwin Wiggett (thanks, my friend) for helping me finally make a choice with regards to a filter holder. Unfortunately Cokin went belly-up as far as I know...and it's just as hard to find a Cokin Z-Pro Holder as it is to locate a Lee filter holder. With Darwin's help, I managed to locate a store in Calgary that has Lee holders in stock, so that's where I'm placing my order on the 20th of this month.

My shot of a blue heron wading in the shallows at Vanier Park

As I said before, I can only try to get as good in my photography as I can but it's going to be a lifetime of studying the habits of the creatures I'm going to specialize in. And I'm extremely grateful for the friends that I've made from reading Outdoor Photography Canada and "finding them on Facebook" and their acceptance of me as their "Facebook friend". They provide me inspiration to improve and progress in my nature/wildlife photography. If I can get my photography to the point where I can get a picture on the cover of "Outdoor Photography Canada", that'd be an added bonus. Thanks a bunch to all of them.

Nature Photography - More flower shots.

2011-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

With the 50mm f/1.8 lens, I find that there is enjoyment in shooting flowers. So thus I've concentrated on those subjects. There really is no special technique to it other than composition. You want to make sure that there is nothing that would affect the bokeh in the background. Cement will put a grey blurry bokeh. Wood chips will put a nasty reddish-brown bokeh. Dirt will be a greyish brown. Those tend to do nasty things to your image. So watching what constitutes your background is important. Positioning your camera to eliminate nasty bokeh, you can make certain of having pleasing bokeh in the background of your image.

When Your Camera Serial Number Is Not Your Own...

2011-07-04T15:29:00.000-07:00

Copyright Protection is a royal pain in the behind for most people. Even more so when your camera has the same serial number as someone else. It just so happens that my D300s has the same serial number as a particular person on the east coast of Canada that has a D60.

Here's the Gadgettrak search on my D300s' serial number and the result of that search has turned up quite a few entries, not including my own 4 results all labelled D300s. All of the other person's are labelled D60.

Now what this means is that I have to go to extraordinary measures to prove that my images are MY images. I have all RAW files for each and every file that I have placed up on 500px.com. I will be purchasing Nikon's Image Authentication Software as well as Nikon Capture NX2; I will be filing copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. I am also expending the cost of a Nikon GP-1 GPS unit to location-authenticate my images from now on. (I'm sorry to any person who likes their privacy, but my copyright protection is more important than privacy issues (at least $150,000 worth for each image potentially stolen)) And I will be putting a digital watermark on each and every image that I put up for sale on my website.

Nikon GP-1 GPS

This may seem like a big deal over a bunch of numbers, however after having 6 of my images stolen via webcrawler and having to enforce a DMCA takedown notice to get the offender to remove them, I have gotten very paranoid about my images and protecting my copyright. Afterall no-one else cares about your images' copyright BUT YOU.

All because a camera manufacturer likes to recycle serial numbers for different camera makes. I certainly hope that Nikon takes this to heart and decides to use model numbers in their serial numbers to differentiate right from the outset that such and such picture was taken by such and such camera. I'd prefer their numbering for semi-pro and pro bodies to be XXXXXXX(7 digit serial#)+(cameramodel#) (for example XXXXXXXD300S or XXXXXXXD3X). That would make it much simpler to differentiate between cameras then they can recycle numbers all they like. Just don't do it within the camera model# or then you're opening yourself up to major problems.

Let's just hope that Nikon takes this to heart because recycling serial numbers opens your company up to a major league lawsuit.

Lee Filters - Why They Take So Long to Produce.

2011-06-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Mike Browne visits Lee Filters

This is the reason why Lee photographic and cinematographic filters take so long to produce. Each filter is custom handcrafted and quality tested. I'm planning on getting a set of soft 4X6 graduated neutral density filters for my landscape/city scape photography so I'm expecting a bit of wait on these filters which will give me the biggest bang for the buck. They are absolutely the highest quality filters that you can get anywhere. Well-renowned for not throwing unwanted colorcasts into the output, these are prized so much that they have a wait-list of up to several months. I fully expect that I will probably be thrown onto a wait-list as well when I order them.

Update: July 4, 2011: I have put my name on a waiting list at The Camera Store in Calgary. It may be at least late summer - early fall before I can actually see the set of filters, but I will be sending in an order for my Lee filter holders by middle of this month. Then I'll be going and getting some landscape shots to put up on 500px.com.

Lack of Entry Level Wildlife Lenses through Nikon

2011-06-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

There has been a distinct lack of "love" by Nikon for entry-level wildlife/aviation photographers. When you look at the Nikon catalog versus Canon, you see the deserted wasteland that is the 100-400mm range, or the 200-500mm range that could be filled by a 100-400mm f/5.6 lens or a 200-500mm f/5-6.3 lens armed with VR and AF-S. Certainly we could go Tamron or Sigma for those lens ranges, but considering that there is a legal fight going on between Nikon and Sigma over VR/OS proprietary rights, I'm kind of wondering what the fallout of that is going to be.

Nikon versus Sigma Legal Filing of Proprietary Rights over Sigma's OS similarity to VR

Right now our only choices are either going 3rd party manufacturers and risking less than quality glass or sticking with a long-in-the-tooth 80-400mm D ED VR lens or slapping a 300/4 with a TC-14EII or TC-17EII which pretty much is the same as throwing your money at a Tamron 200-500mm f/5.6-6.3 Di LD (IF). For those of us who don't have the financial resources to throw at a 400mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4, or 600mm f/4 prime, a 400mm f/5.6 or a 500mm f/5.6 prime would be a god-send. A lot of the amateurs have gone Canon because of the attention shown by Canon manufacturers to the amateur crowd. A Canon 100-400mm f/5.6 IS L is probably one of the prized lenses that amateur wildlife photographers who shoot Canon have in their inventory. Nikon might do well to court that demographic for those of us who have steadfastly and faithfully decided to stick with Nikon for better or worse.

Ships to Shore 2011 - June 4th, 2011

2011-06-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

The tall ships came to Garry Point in Richmond, British Columbia. They will be here from June 1st to June 7th. It's one of the attractions that's going on in Richmond. Well worth going out.

Garry Point Park is located near the Steveston Fish Cannery and fishing docks.

Lady Washington sails up Garry Point to do battle with the Hawaiian Chieftan during the mock gun battles.

It was a great day to be out watching this. I brought my 70-200mm VRII and took a whole lot of shots; a lot of which haven't been edited yet.

Lady Washington delivers a devastating broadside.

...at the Hawaiian Chieftan

Hawaii Chieftan sails upstream.

~more photos to come as they get edited.

Andreas Exner

2011-06-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

I have to say this guy is a maestro with a Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3. So much so that I'm going to think of getting a Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 OS HSM for an interim working lens while I'm saving up for the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 and the Nikon 600mm f/4.

Feast your eyes on these images at his blog: Andreas Exner's Blog

And if you want to see some stunning images of bald eagles taken by Andreas. Go directly to this entry. Andreas Exner's Bald Eagle photos

He is a great all-around photographer. His other images may be viewed at his pbase photographic website Andreas Exner's Photography Website

He is absolutely amazing with that lens and really pumps the "Bigma" for what it's worth. All in all an amazing photographer. And folks, PLEASE respect his copyright. He earns money off his photography as I am trying to do with mine. So if you would like one of his images, please do the proper thing and buy it from him.

The Irises Are Blooming.

2011-05-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

An iris in bloom in our front yard.

A test shot at about 8:30PM with a white 36" reflector and off-camera remote SB-600 flash.

What's In My Camera Bag (Usually)

2011-05-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

As a wildlife and nature photographer, I should have a number of lenses in my camera bag, but unfortunately, each one of those lenses costs more money than I have access to at the moment so they're being saved up for. In the meantime, I have access to two of the best lenses on the market for the money. I should say "I believe in minimalism" however that would ring completely false. So I just suffer not having the supertelephoto primes in my kit bag and make do. That's why I don't shoot rattlesnakes, grizzly bears or any other thing with BIG TEETH OR FANGS. I'd have to get too uncomfortably (for the animal...and for me) close to get the shot. I'll wait until I can save up enough to get the 600mm f/4 with a nice comfy 1.4X teleconverter. Although preferably for rattlesnakes, I'd prefer to have a 3200mm f/22 and haul off shots from 30 miles away. "Get up close to nature"...with a rattlesnake...NOT ON MY LIFE!!!

This is what's in my camera bag:

I use a Tamrac Velocity 7 camera bag with the Nikon CL-M2 bag attached to transport my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII when it's not on my camera. A little awkward at times, but it works and that's the main thing.

I use a Nikon D300s with a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED AF-S VR II which is my go-to versatility lens. When I want to get close I don't have to stomp all over the vegetation to get to where I want to go. I can either get in close with 70mm or zoom in even closer with 200mm. It all depends on what I want to do. And with VRII, I can either stick it on my tripod or handhold it. Either way it's a sharp lens. My D300s is my primary camera and I don't currently have a backup semi-pro body. I'm hoping to either match it with another D300s or just go completely pro body and get myself a D3s but to me, the D3s just doesn't make enough financial sense to me. Maybe one of the pros, I'm friends with, can talk me into it.

This lens has to be one of the best out there in terms of cost, speed and sharpness. For $149.99, you can't go wrong with this lens. The 50mm f/1.8 is a workhorse. I didn't currently have enough for the 50mm f/1.4 and this was a gift. And it has proven to be one of my go-to lenses for close in work. At f/8 (it's sweet-spot, it's tack sharp and worth every penny of it's low cost and more.

As I've said in my last post, it's always good to take a point & shoot, this is not necessarily in my kit bag, but on my hip when I go out even when I do take my D300s. It's for when I'm doing location shots for my blogposts or just general situational reference shots when I take it along with it's bigger camera siblings (the D50 or the D300s) and acts as my primary camera when I take it by itself.

I take my tripod along with me on most of my shoots, because it's the quickest way to get stability for my shots. There's nothing that is more annoying than getting home after thinking you can handhold a shot that's at 1/15th of a second on a 200mm lens and then realizing stupidly that you had a brain fart and you should have used a tripod.

What is this? Well, this is a SecureDigital case for multiple memory cards. There's nothing more annoying than fumbling around in your camera bag for memory cards...losing or misplacing them or just plain seeing them get damaged. Since memory cards can run in the range of almost a third the cost of a new consumer grade lens, they are an integral part of your camera kit. That's why I protect mine with this. You can run over this thing with a car tire (car attached) and it'll be safe. However I wouldn't recommend doing that with a one ton truck (dump truck is definitely out). You can store six SD cards at a time...all in easy reach. You can also lose them all at the same time too with great convenience (yes, sarcasm).
Ask me how I know this.

These are the memory cards that I use. I use Sandisk brand memory cards. Currently I have one so that it's easy to take care of. This one has been abused quite brutally and it still works reliably. I've had read-errors with a lot of cheaper memory cards so I don't trust them to do the job for me. That's why I chose Extreme IIIs. Those ones are pro-grade memory cards designed to work reliably in all conditions. I generally use a 2 GB memory card which gave me 270 shots with the Nikon D50, and 97 shots with the Nikon D300s. Ideally for work, I'd prefer to upgrade to a Sandisk Extreme III 8GB. If people ask me why I prefer to work with something lower than 16GB, I'd have to say, if there's a read-error on one of my memory cards, it's a lot more palatable to lose 180 shots over 316. And with disk recovery programs provided with the pro-grade memory cards. I should be able to recover from between 60% up to 85% of my images off the corrupt cards anyways.

This post will be updated regularly as acquisitions come into the household. And while my beloved SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed - even though she says I don't do much of a good job of "obeying") holds my 18-70mm hostage (until she gets her 18-200mm walkaround), I'll keep that off the page (this page is dedicated to what I usually walk around with).

My Digital Compact Camera.

2011-05-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

Most photographers carry around a point and shoot (compact) camera. I do, as well, as a secondary quick snapshot, when I don't want to lug out my D50 or my D300s. It provides me with a quick and easy solution. Sometimes when you're in a situation like a crowded lobby, you stand out with a D300s and a 50mm f/1.8 lens whereas with a compact camera, you tend to blend into the crowd. Convenience and quick-shot capability in one small package. The limitations in the past have been phased out by longer and longer zooms. The 3X zoom on most compact cameras have been replaced by 5-7X zooms allowing people to get the equivalent of a 28mm (most are set at 36mm) to 130mm lens.

My current point and shoot camera is the Nikon L11. Roundly praised and vilified depending on who you talk to. It is a cheap $139.99 camera that my wife bought in 2008(by now the latest L series compact released in 2011 will be the L24)- Read more about the L24 in DPReview's article: Read the article

Some of my best shots have come from the L11.

Eventually though, I hope to upgrade my point & shoot as well, moving from the compact automatic function of that L11 to a P7000. This one will allow me the same functionality of a DSLR with controls for ISO, shutterspeed and aperture with the compact size of a compact camera (OK...maybe slightly larger than a pocket-sized compact).

All in all, a compact is nice to have in terms of convenience and perfect if you want to be inconspicuous. That's why I will always have a compact as a third camera (just in case)

Lens Showdown: Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6DC EX HSM versus Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED

2011-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

This review will touch on the differences in the output between the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6DC EX HSM and Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. I have shot at f/8, the usual sweetspot for lenses of this type (superwide).

The Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6DC EX HSM ($599.99 at Broadway Camera) is a very nice lens. At your standard 16% screen definition at an f/stop of f/8, the lens worked remarkably clearly and produced a nice image. It was only when we went up to 200% pixel peeping that we could start seeing the noise in the image there was quite a bit of chromatic aberration with different colored pixels and it was most apparent at the demarcation between different shades especially between dark and light images as shown on the 200% pixel-peeped image there. The unusual point in this lens is that there was a little color-fringing on the edges of the subjects in the image where it demarcated between light colors and dark. This is crucial if you are thinking of buying a lens for taking images that are going to be sold for stock (they only take the highest quality images, so the less noise that you have in your image, the more likelihood of your image being accepted).

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6DC EX HSM at 200%

The Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24 mm f/3.5-4.5G ED ($849.99 at Broadway Camera) has very little noise when I pixel-peeped the image at 200%. My standard is the black backdrop in the corner where the passport images are taken. If there is noise in the image, that's where it will show up. Again as with the Sigma, there was some green color-fringing on the edges of the subject. The black backdrop had absolutely no noise on the image and that is where the Nikon 10-24 comes in ahead of the Sigma at f/8. There is some noise in the lighter sections of the image.

Nikkor AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED at 200%

VERDICT: All in all it is a trade-off with these two lenses. If you have cash in your pocket and don't mind spending a little more for Nikon quality, then go with the Nikon 10-24, otherwise you can save a bit (if you're doing some recreational hobby shooting) by going with the Sigma.

As most of you know, I don't go into the nitty-gritty of what makes up the lenses because unless you're a tech-geek and want to know how many concave and convex lenses make up each of the lenses, you don't really need that to shoot images. What you want is the performance of each lens. My eye is on the 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 and I'll do a more extensive review of that lens if and when I put one in my camera bag.

A big thanks goes to Sasha at Broadway Camera in Surrey for letting me play with those lenses for a while.

The Allergy Pen(itentiary)

2011-05-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

Went into the backyard and shot some more flowers today.

But I can't resist. These flowers bring out the life in this garden.

Flowers...Flowers...Flowers...MORE FLOWERS...AH-CHOO!!!!

2011-05-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks, I've shot nothing but flowers. There are a lot of reasons why. I find that there's something therapeutic about shooting flowers. Not to mention their beauty. And frankly, they don't talk back. That appeals to my anti-social side which seems to be more and more intrenched these days.

There was quite a bit of wind on the two days that I took these shots. And I'd have to say that the shots that I take had some really interesting "bokeh" in the background. That's what comes of having a shutterspeed that doesn't freeze the background yet enables the subject to stand still. I'd have to say that I was pretty lucky to nail the shots that I wanted; exactly the way I wanted. The sun was out, but with the wind factor it wasn't the most ideal of shooting conditions.

At least, "flower photography" offers me something to do until I get the lenses that I need to adequately do wildlife photography.

Playin' Possum - Nature Thoughts.

2011-05-05T08:59:00.001-07:00

I had the distinct pleasure of encountering one of nature's unique little creatures this morning on my way to school to drop my kids off there. We walk practically all the time, so this one like many mornings was rainy and wet. As we approached the intersection of 96th Avenue and 132nd Street, there was a flash of grey-white that caught the corner of my left eye and as my head turned to the left to see a pointed face (like a rat), big beady eyes, a body the size of a small raccoon and a bare-naked pink rat-like tail.

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, nor would I have even been able to take a picture even if I had, because as our eyes locked on each other, the poor little opossum's eyes nearly bugged right out of his head; he did a 180 and fled the other direction as fast as his little feet would take him.

I believe that his den was disturbed by a dog, most likely, as he did not appear aggressive nor inclined to stand his ground which would have indicated the potential for rabies. He fled like there were the Hounds of Hades after him. Either way, though it is not wise to approach a wild animal.

This was a Virginia Opossum (Didelphis viginiana), North America's only marsupial. Their populations are confined to the Southern Lower Mainland in the BC area. These were transplanted opossums that were introduced to Washington State in 1920 that have migrated over the border and established a population in the Lower Fraser Valley.

In fact this encounter makes me think of just how much animals have adapted to our urbanization of their habitat. You see robins, crows, squirrels, raccoons and rats daily with nary a thought, but the sad fact is that many of these animals do raid garbage bins to get a meal. Given an easy food source, an animal is less inclined to hunt or forage for itself. If society were to fall into a situation where we had to fend for ourselves like our ancestors many hundreds of years ago, the animal populations that we have fostered due to our careless disposal of garbage will suffer as well. With no easy food source, many of the populations of animals that tend to raid our garbage will more than likely starve before their survival instinct kicks in and they start to learn to forage again.

This was a raccoon that approached Heather and myself at Stanley Park in 2008, way too close for comfort but this is what feeding has done to these animals...they can't really be considered as wild anymore

Those of us who are nature photographers need to keep that in mind as we go about our daily lives, not just a thought here or there while we wander into the wild looking for those "money-shots". Ethically, should we as a species ourselves, leave easy food out for foraging animals to take advantage of, thus losing their natural instincts of survival? I know that may not be our intent. But in the best interests of our own survival as a species, we need to start looking out for nature, not just in bits and pieces here and there but thinking on conservation as a whole species.

Lens Envy

2011-05-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

Lens Envy: the feeling that you get when you see a photographer walking around with a lens that is much bigger or faster (f/1.4,f/1.8, f/2, f/2.8 lenses or large supertelephotos which need to be supported by tripods with legs nearly the thickness of your own legs with aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/4) than the kit lens that you bought with your camera.

There are two kinds of lens envy: the beginner-photogs looking at a photographer who has any type of pro-glass (my 70-200mm VRII for example) and then there are the amateur photographers who look at the guys with the big supertelephoto lenses and making large wet puddles of drool on the pavement.

I've had both experiences. I envy guys who have the money to buy those 400mm f/2.8s - 600mm f/4s that they use to shoot bird photography and I tend to covet those type of lenses...so I am saving up for two long supertelephotos of my own, unlike people who do envy people their lenses and don't do anything about it. And I have also had lens envy directed at me for walking around town with a Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII G-ED. And that is no slouch of a lens.

I tell myself that one of these days I'll be able to afford my dream lenses and I'll be able to go out there and probably inflict some major lens envy on some poor unsuspecting photographer who was just minding his own business until I obnoxiously came along with my 600mm and decided to get a close up of the ducks that he was trying to shoot with his little 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 or 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR and 2009-era D80. Will that make up for all the times I've had to sit and drool at someone else who had one of those big honking huge lenses. Will that compensate for my inadequate feeling even when toting around my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII when I go out and shoot.

Friggin' 'A'...IT WILL. ~evil grin~ Karma, baby, karma.

Tulips for Tomorrow 2011

2011-05-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

Again, the Tulips for Tomorrow benefit for Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation has set up Princess Irene tulips all over the Surrey area. I found these all by Holland Park.

Laci; a Photographic Memorial.

2011-04-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

In 2008, my wife made contact with her 2nd cousin. We found her and upon further research we found her 2nd cousin once removed in April of 2009. Since then we have been as close of relations as we could be by internet and mail as they live in the States. During that interval of time between 2008 and 2009, we found out that my wife was 2nd cousin, twice removed to Laci Denise Rocha. Laci Peterson Wikipedia Entry

In Cousin Sharon's book "For Laci" there is an entry about several of Laci's friends getting divebombed by a dragonfly. And how that was Laci's favorite insect. Well, I have my own "dragonfly" story to relate.

For those of you who cannot think of a world beyond what we are currently living in and finding out who is related to you when we get there. Let me tell you something that happened to me in February 2007. I was taking my kids for their weekend visit to their grand-da's place and as I was walking along Vanier Park, there was this dragonfly. Now ordinarily you wouldn't think much of a dragonfly. But this particular one kept circling and circling...as if it wanted me to notice it and it wouldn't quit circling us. (Now in Sharon's book "For Laci" (which I've never read until just two days ago - thanks to our cousin), one of Laci's friends "Stacey" had another encounter with two dragonflies, one of which kept divebombing her until she took notice of it.) When I said to the dragonfly "Well, hello there..." it seemed happy enough; it quit circling, and then flew off towards Vancouver City Center across False Creek/English Bay. I thought nothing of the encounter until I read Sharon's book. Then it hit me. When you get to "heaven" or to the afterlife, you realize that your life and your relations are an open book...so that dragonfly (which happens to be one of Laci's favorite insects) was Laci's way of investigating who her "new relatives" were. She knew even before we did (we didn't find out until late October 2008). I know deep down in my heart that it was Laci.

She also loved ladybugs; and in that I also have another ladybug story to relate as well.

July 22nd, 2010:

Today I came home from the hospital with my wife and my newborn infant daughter. I had stopped by my father's graveside...to introduce him to his granddaughter. And I looked and crawling on top of my father's headstone was a ladybug. It crawled up onto my hand when I put my hand down beside it, turned towards my daughter and walked over to the edge of my hand and for a long moment, it appeared as if it was gazing down at the sleeping baby. It appeared to me that Laci was checking out her second cousin ...twice times removed. It was wonderful to see you're still around watching over us too...Laci. We love you.

It doesn't matter that we never knew her in life. It doesn't matter that we never knew our familial kinship until after she had been murdered. To us, we lost one of our own. And with that, our hearts are forever sundered in knowing what could have been, will never be. I know deep down in my heart that Laci is looking after us. She looked after my Dad after he left this earth. This much I know for a fact.

So why do I feel that Laci is still around and still with us in spirit? I'll quote Shakespeare's Hamlet: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." I believe because I have experienced it. And therein lies the facts.

Digiscoping Option; Bird Photography Frustration Mounts

2011-04-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Frustration mounts incredibly quickly with me lately and I've been dying for something with range enough to get me close to birds. And finally an idea; possibly a rather nasty brain-fart came to mind. If I was to get a Nikon fieldscope or something in that range and attach my D300s, I could easily get out to 1500mm f/13.3 on my DX sensored D300s which is practically unbelievable even with a telephoto lens. The Nikon ED82 Fieldscope appears to be the best possible bet; armed with a Nikon FSA-L1 DSLR adapter, and a Manfrotto 701RC2 tripod head for my 190XB, as well as a Universal Bracket (also by Nikon), I should have enough to get a head-start on shooting birds.

And from what I have seen from people shooting with the ED82/D300s combo, the results are pretty extraordinary. And all for a little under $3,000.00. It may be slow at f/13.3 but at least it's something and I'll be able to get shots of birds at least for identifying purposes and who knows; I can write a spotting book in the meantime.

I have seen even more crisp and clear birdshots with the Nikon D300s and the newer Nikon EDG-85, but the EDG-85 is going at an astronomical 3,499, while the ED82 is half that cost before the cost of bracket, and adapter are thrown in. The EDG-85 ends up taking the newer FSA-L2 scope ($899.99US) which in turn is over double the cost of the FSA-L1 ($399.99US). With the brackets and other items, the cost could run up to about $5000.00. For an extra $1,000. I could have myself a nice new Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8 VRII lens.

So hence reason and logic won out and I'm opting for the cheaper ED82 and accessories while retaining my desire to save up for the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 and 600mm f/4 down the road while I'm shooting birds in the interim with digiscoping.

Dialing in Proper Exposure on Birds - Testing My Skill.

2011-04-23T09:52:00.001-07:00

I have always had this fascination with birds, (especially raptors) and I have been figuring out a way of shooting them which doesn't turn them to grey featureless blobs while leaving in the details of their feathers and features, while also giving the background a little bit of color. I'm still not sure if I can do that, as any form of +1/3-2/3 compensation on the Exposure Value (EV) meter in-camera tends to bleach out the background.

This was a chance shot of a great blue heron back in 2007 when I was using the Nikon D50.

Note that the white on the feathers aren't blown out and the water reflection is still crisp and clear. Yet, duplicating that feat on smaller birds has been a trial and a half.

This shot of a white crowned sparrow is one of my other shots that came out well. Yet...if I'm to succeed at raptor photography, I will have to do much better at my rate of consistency of the properly exposed shots.

Also I've managed to get a shot of a raptor that I was able to shoot on June 12th, 2010, which came out properly exposed.

But have I been able to duplicate that with any of the in-flight or current static shots of birds?

My recent attempts have been falling abysmally short of the shots that I know I can do.

Red Winged Blackbird

Red-Tailed Hawk

Now most people in the know would tell me to "get in close", go to Aperture Priority, take a reading off a neutral background and dial in +2/3-1 EV to make the bird stand out. But I also don't want the background completely washed out. Hmmm, that is the question.

So here are my test shots based on a light subject (a tree branch) based on +2/3EV(Manual) +1/3EV (Manual), 0EV (Manual), 1/1250 Shutter Speed (Manual), and 1/1600 Shutter Speed (Manual) based on ISO 200 at f/2.8 full wide-open on my D300s/70-200mm VRII.

+2/3 EV at Manual, f/2.8, 1/1000 at 200mm

+1/3 EV at Manual f/2.8, 1/1000 at 200mm

0EV at Manual f/2.8, 1/1000 at 200mm

OEV at Manual, f/2.8, 1/1250 at 200mm

0EV at Manual f/2.8, 1/1600 at 200mm

Considering it's wide open, I figure that is what is bleaching out the background, but wide open is what is allowing me to get the speeds at ISO 200.

Now I've also experimented with dialing down 1 stop to f/4 and seeing what this causes. Here's the results of shooting at the above settings with f/4.

+2/3 EV at Manual, f/4, 1/1000 at 200mm

+1/3 EV at Manual, f/4, 1/1000 at 200mm

0 EV at Manual, f/4, 1/1000 at 200mm

1/1250 Shutterspeed at 200mm

1/1600 Shutterspeed at 200mm

Now at AP (Aperture Priority); I have set the exposure compensation at +2/3 EV and +1/3 EV respectively on the next four shots.

Shutterspeed: 1/800th sec, f/2.8, Aperture Priority at 200mm, +2/3 EV

Shutterspeed: 1/500th sec, f/2.8, Aperture Priority at 200mm, +2/3 EV

Shutterspeed: 1/1000th sec, f/4, Aperture Priority at 200mm, +1/3 EV

Shutterspeed: 1/500th sec, f/4, Aperture Priority at 200mm, +1/3 EV

I still find the meter readings from the AP settings at f/4 to be bled out more than trying to set the exposure manually. However I think more shooting and tinkering with the settings is what is going to solve this problem. Will update more and let y'all know what's going on, on this matter.

You can even see Raptors close to home.

2011-04-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is an area just along the 8900 Block of 128th that has high tension high-voltage electrical wires. The ground has a lot of scrub-brush and grassy area which is great for feral rabbits to hide in. Thus we get a lot of predators. This place is a 15-20 minute walk from my home.

The Mapquest map showing exactly where I'm talking about.

I walk along here on my way to and from Walmart and when I started carrying my camera around (still kicking myself for not taking my 70-300 or 70-200mm lenses with me yesterday) you see some very interesting wildlife. I have yet to come across a coyote, but they are there. I've seen red-winged blackbirds in that particular area, feral rabbits, ravens, hawks, and one juvenile Great Horned Owl. I've also had the opportunity while walking along the path to see high up in the sky two bald eagles soaring and getting harassed by crows.

Yesterday, I witnessed this hawk while walking home while having my D300s and my 50mm f/1.8 lens. So I shot with the limitations of the lens that I had with me.

I had a re-encounter with the hawk farther along the path when it was sitting in a tree being dive-bombed by crows who wanted it out of their nesting area.

All in all, Surrey has some wonderful hidden treasures and despite the gross eyesore of the high-tension wires, this "hidden treasure" has brought in some of nature's interesting wildlife.

Ah, Spring is here...I think...

2011-04-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, cold winter and it's hard to face when you're cold as heck and watching the rain coming down. However you take beauty in what you can find...and I found these beautiful little flowers that I enjoy taking pictures of. Holland Park is a veritable feast of flowers around April and it's worth it to go take a look. Considering the name of the park, it's not surprising that tulips take a front seat...as the showcase of the park in spring.

There's always one that wants to be recognized for their individuality.

"One of the World's Top Travel Photographers"; MY ASS.

2011-04-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Ross Halfin

quote:
Comment from Ross Halfin
(Ross Halfin (b. 1958) is one of the world's top English music and travel photographers. Having shot bands such as Led Zeppelin, Rush, The Police, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, KISS, Metallica, The Who, Rob Zombie, ZZ Top and many others, Halfin's images are widely published in magazines, newspapers and books.)).
-comment quoted from post in GNR Daily

Do me a favor and don't make me gag. Ross Halfin is now proclaiming himself as "one of the world's top Travel Photographers"? Give me a break. The only thing that separates him from the ranks of amateur photographers in the Travel Photography genre is his access to money and the fact that the book is riding off his fame. I can think of several other travel photographers who outdo his travel work any day of the week and twice on Sundays

Kevin WY Lee.

Gavin Gough

Dario Endara

The list goes on and on including some of the people who haven't even been published because they don't have the cash resources you have to do an end-run around proper editing. Ross, don't get too above yourself. Your money is not going to protect you from the hysterical laughter of those who have put time, effort and their lifetimes into this genre. Stick to what you're good at.

Put your travel photos that you think are "top" to any travel photography editor who isn't dazzled by your rock photography fame instead of running your mouth before you've even achieved HALF the awards in that genre and then see if you ever recover from the laughter of these photographic editors. Your "top travel photography" doesn't even rank on the same level as these three that I've quoted.

And your landscapes aren't even on the SAME map as Ash Newell's landscapes or even mine.

Do me a favor, Ross, you got a lot of work in the "travel photography" genre before you can play with the big boys. No matter how much you try to pass it off and say that "the images I wanted to capture were ones that you won't see in the travel brochures"; you try to match up your efforts with the big names in Travel Photography and you fall woefully short.

What pisses me off, Ross, is the fact that you quote yourself as one of the "world's top travel photographers" without having paid your fucking dues like the rest of us. Yeah, you got a fan-base and you want to make money off your fanbase, but in that fanbase are ignorant JACKWAGONS who are going to expect your mediocre travel pictures are the norm for the business...and try to pin your pics as the summit of the standard for travel photography. And that is just plain WRONG. You have to pay your dues in this business. I don't go staggering off into the rock photography world and proclaim myself after several years of work to be one of the "top Rock Photographers in the World!" I'd have to pay my dues...and NEWS FUCKING FLASH: YOU DAMNED WELL HAVE TO...TOO!!!

Stick to what you know or work at the genre you want to get into. There's no excuse for amateur work in another genre...passing off on your rock photography fame. It just pisses the rest of us (who've spent years honing our craft in travel and landscape photography) off.

And for God's Sakes...Don't ever pass yourself off as one of the "TOP Travel Photographers in the World". That's just laughable. And just to make it clearer if I haven't said it clearly enough. Do your homework. Pay your dues in the Travel Photography genre before you mouth off. You may be a GOD in Rock Photography...but PAY THE FUCKING HELL ATTENTION...Ross. You are NOTHING...in Travel Photography.

THERE AIN'T NO FREE RIDE IN THE OTHER GENRES OF PHOTOGRAPHY. ROSS...get that through your head!!!

Broadway Camera opens 4th Store in Central City Mall

2011-04-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's definite! Broadway Camera is expanding again. Rated #2 in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland area, Vancouver's second largest camera store is expanding south of the Fraser River. In order to compete with #1 - Lens & Shutter which has a store in Abbotsford and with Photo Expert (who has maintained a monopoly in Delta/Surrey until now), Broadway Camera has decided to put a store into the newly renovated Central City Shopping Center. They open today.

The new Central City location of Broadway Camera

My experience with Broadway Camera is that they have very knowledgeable sales staff. None of the people that they hire are non-photo shooters. They know what they are talking about and they have always been very informative with regards to knowledge about equipment. Now having not been paid to write this blurb about Broadway Camera you can be sure that you're getting the truth about Broadway Camera and not a bunch of bullshit. OK. The above experiences that I have been having with Broadway Camera has been nothing short of excellent. And frankly, at their Vancouver store, they have always been quite busy (you do have to wait to get your turn with a customer service rep). It takes time for the customer reps to get to you, however when they do, they give their 100% attention to your photo equipment needs. And if you're the type that gets pissed off when you have to wait or can't deal with not being the first in line, then, pal, that's your problem, not theirs.

Now these guys have probably been feeling the fall-out from having a similar name to the "fraudsters" in Brooklyn, New York (Broadway Photo interchangeably used with Broadway Cameras) who were forced to shut down. The guys who run Broadway Camera in Vancouver are nothing but standup, ethical, good-hearted guys who have absolutely no affiliation with that bunch of crooks down in the States. The Broadway Camera that you deal with in Vancouver, Richmond, Coquitlam and Surrey don't use bait and switch tactics or questionable tactics or threats to sell their cameras. They are reliable, knowledgable and above all, honest . Don't hesitate to use our Broadway Camera guys to buy your next camera or your next piece of photo equipment.

I have never been to the Coquitlam store. I don't drive, I use the Skytrain and the bus and frankly, the Vancouver store has been more convenient to get to until now. I will probably go up to the Broadway Camera (Surrey Store) either today or tomorrow. Today probably may not be the best day to go up there because of the opening day rush. I'm sure that when the opening rush settles down, I'll get a better read of the customer service that this new location provides and will be able to put together a better review of the store. But right now, in my experience, their customer service remains a solid #2 (next to Lens & Shutter) in my books.

Edit: as of April 20th, 2011.

Been in there at least 4 times to browse...and fondle equipment. The staff there are great. Sasha and Aaron, the two staff-members that I have had the distinct pleasure of having a conversation with are awesome guys and I'd tell anyone to talk to them with regards to getting camera equipment.

I have to tell the readers of this blog that I'm like a friggin' kid in a candy store with this place. I had the opportunity to fondle a 24-70 f/2.8 (just held it to feel the weight; it had some weight to it but not too heavy) and managed to take a shot each with the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 and the 14-24mm f/2.8. God, I love those two lenses. Sure wish I could take one of 'em home.

Shot focal length fully wide. Should have ramped up the aperture to f/8 instead of shooting at f/10. OOOOPS...oh well...but I'm leaning towards the 14-24 for landscapes.

17-55mm f/2.8 shot of store interior facing out into concourse

14-24mm f/2.8 shot (same view) much wider and much nicer.

Both shots were handheld as I didn't want to use the tripods they had and forgot to bring my 190XB.

My Dream Kit

2011-04-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

Everybody has a dream kit that they want to get. Since I am going to be specializing in wildlife photography, the lenses that I have to get are more expensive than normal. This is probably going to be what I end up getting eventually.

When I finally came to the realization that I don’t particularly need FX (full-frame for wildlife photography (I can do without it), I nixed my idea of a D700 as a primary camera and decided to just go with two D300s for my dream kit. As much as I had wanted a D3s and a D3x. I'm now perfectly happy with using the D300s and if I can get a second D300s body to accompany me into the field, that'll just make it even better.

So my dream kit strictly for wildlife and landscapes is as follows (in red; the gear that I am saving up for - in green, the kit I already have):

Nikon D300s (x 2) (already have 1 body)

Nikon MB-D10 battery grip

Nikon AF-S DX 17-55mm f/2.8G IF ED

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor ED 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF DX (already have this lens)

Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR II (lens acquired June 2010)

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II

Now I've been torn between getting the 200-400mm f/4 or just going and getting the 300mm f/2.8 VRII

Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4G IF-ED VR II (December 2014)

Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-20EIII (??? 2012)

Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-17EII

Nikon AF-S Teleconverter TC-14EII

Better Beamer (Fresnel Flash Augmenter)

Nikon SB-900

Gitzo GT 5541LS (October 2011)

Wimberley WH-200 (October 2011)

LEE 10X ND filters + Graduated 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 ND filters.

What this will take is slow acquisition, one at a time.

Why I Like Raptor Photography

2011-04-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post contains RIBALD, cutting and sarcastic humor as well as COARSE language. If this offends you...unfortunately, I do not tone down my language for anyone. Considering the fact that there is a back button on your browser, that's what it's there for. Consider the use of it.

Reason # 10 Why I like Raptor Photography: You try photographing Tom Cruise’s baby Suri…you’ll get your lights punched out. If you photograph a nest…without trying to disturb the young ones…you’re free n’clear.

Reason # 9 Why I like Raptor Photography: THE STARE. You think the Rock can intimidate…Well…can you smell what this eagle is COOKIN’? The Rock don’t got nothin’ on this eagle.

“Hey…buddy…YOU look like FOOD!!!!”

Reason # 8 Why I like Raptor Photography: They’re natural predators. We’re prey unless we’ve got a bang-stick in our hands. But without one, we’re toast…to anything with sharp claws and teeth. And what better than to capture a natural predator doing what it does best. Killing something.

Reason # 7 Why I like Raptor Photography: Just like humans, being a teenager means you get to be young and stupid. Ever seen a juvenile hawk, they got no fear. They’ll come right up to you and stare you down. It doesn’t matter that you’re three times their size and about six times as wide. And it’s great to be able to use that to our photographic advantage.

Reason # 6 Why I like Raptor Photography: You walk around downtown with your camera and people start looking at you strangely. You walk around the park with your camera and the raptors don’t give a crap what you’re doing. They’re too busy hunting and doing their own thing to care. You want to take a picture of homo sapien in his natural environment, prepare to shell out some dough. You don’t find raptors with their talons out asking for money for the privilege of having taken their photograph.

Reason # 5 Why I like Raptor Photography: It’s all about size of your equipment, baby. You know the rest of the saying…Do I really have to spell it out for you? And it’s not about compensation. We got the size…baby, and we know how to use it.

Reason #4 Why I like Raptor Photography: It’s always nice to photography something about as antisocial as the photographer is. If I was a people person, do you think I’d be shooting wildlife photography? I’d be shooting weddings and making money.

"What the HELL are YOU looking AT??!!"

Reason #3 Why I like Raptor Photography: Raptors don't require model releases. Ever try asking a bald eagle to sign a model release...ain't gonna happen. Then again, they don't give a S*** who or what publishes their photo

Reason #2 Why I like Raptor Photography: Raptors never have bad hair days. Raptors never bitch at you about why their photo came out blurry, or that their feathers just didn't turn out the right color the way they wanted it to.

Reason #1 Why I like Raptor Photography: Raptors can never hire lawyers to SUE YOU. You could sell the photo to an advertising company who uses it on a prophylactic ad with the catch-phrase "Soar like an EAGLE!" and you won't get sued. Try that with a homo sapien. Kiss your finances goodbye.

Rain, Rain and more rain...

2011-04-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Seems like every day, it's pouring liquid sunshine on the Pacific Northwest and Lower Mainland. But that doesn't stop me from going and trying to get some shots. Well...at least as much as this rain-hating photog is concerned.

At least my D300s is weather-resistant. Can't say too much about my 70-300mm lens though.

The shot of the raindrops on the cedars was done at ISO 1600. All things considered, the D300s' ability to handle high ISOs is incredible which makes me really glad that I got this camera. My D50 on the other hand is highly allergic to rain.