I was already looking forward to shooting some spring pictures, but after seeing these 50 Beautiful Examples of Flower Photography I’m inspired. Come on spring!
Keep Your Head Up!
A few weeks ago a good friend invited me to DC for a photo walk around Monument Park. (Worst. Train. Ever… but that’s a post for a different blog.) Those that know me well enough probably get a chuckle at the thought of me walking around through throngs of people in DC. It’s not my element. I’d rather be in some seldom traveled nook of the world shooting some bit of nature that goes unnoticed. Well, on this trip that was right out so I started doing recon days ahead, checking Google Earth and Panoramio to get an idea of what I’d be seeing. After a bunch of browsing and pondering I had come up with a few ideas of the shots I wanted to take. Sweet.
It wasn’t until I was actually standing on the Mall that I realized I hadn’t considered the random tourists that would be everywhere, in every direction, doing everything they could to make it impossible to get the shots I had in mind. I was frustrated, but decided I would try to make the best of things. After all, it was my fault for not realizing what was going to happen from the start. Plus, I had rented a 14mm 2.8 for the trip and didn’t want to waste it. So I try a few of the shots I wanted (mostly HDR) and had mixed results. The random people were causing me problems so eventually I started shooting in the only direction that had no people. Up.
The architecture up there is impressive. I started playing around with the wide angle by aiming at the ceiling to see just how wide the field of view was. As a byproduct I quickly grabbed some shots that I found interesting. Newly inspired, I spent the remainder of the trip with my camera mostly pointed upward, removing the crowds and capturing my idealistic, quiet, calm, even (dare I say) enjoyable trip to DC. (Not the train, though. The train is dead to me.)
Posted in Photo Techniques
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You can rent lenses?
I don’t remember where I first heard of this (I think it was on MostlyLisa), but I do remember thinking it was odd. The idea that you can rent a lens for a few days, a few weeks, months, or more was interesting, but I didn’t see a practical use for me.
Fast forward to months later. I was preparing for a trip to Eleuthera and I really wanted to take a super-wide lens that didn’t have the fisheye look. For the D700, there’s pretty much one solution – Nikon’s 14-24mm 2.8. It’s a super wide, super sharp, all-around super lens. It’s also about $2,000.00. I was pretty sure I’d love the lens, but since I wasn’t sure how often I’d actually use it after the trip I had trouble convincing myself to buy one. All of a sudden, renting a lens made perfect sense!
I hopped over to LensRentals.com to see what they had and was surprised to find a very complete selection including the 14-24 I was after. (BTW, they also rent camera bodies, lighting, and accessories!) I read the terms and fine print and found that if you plan to take a lens out of the country, you need to get special permission from them. All that took was a quick email. No sweat.
After some consideration I decided to get the lens for 3 weeks so I’d have some time to practice with it before I went and plenty of time to get it shipped back when I got home. I still had some time before my trip so I didn’t need the lens immediately. One of the nice services they have is a reservation setup and I was able to lock in my rental for the dates I wanted it. When the time came, they charged my credit card and shipped the lens which arrived a couple of days early. Sweet.
After the trip was over and things had settled down I put the lens back in the box (after a sad farewell) they shipped it in, attached the return shipping label they sent with it, and dropped it off at a FedEx pickup. Done.
I was really pleased with the whole experience. I got to try out at length a lens I am considering buying, I was able to take the pictures I had wanted, and the rental experience was so easy it’s hard to believe. All that for about $200 (which includes a 3 week rental, shipping, and insurance) is a steal. So, scratch your head and come up with a reason to rent a lens. I’m already working on my next one!
Reviewing the Merax GPS Logger
I’ve been using the Merax Photo Finder for over a year now as my geotagging solution. There are some minor annoyances, but overall I’m quite happy with it.
Don’t be confused…
It’s a GPS logger, not a navigational system. Its only job is to know where it is and where it has been. It has no idea about waypoints or how to get back to your car. From time to time people asking me about it will hear GPS and say something like “Oh, so at least we won’t get lost!” to which the response is something like “No. This just gives the news networks something interesting to show while they’re talking about where the bodies were found.”
How does it geocode photos?
It doesn’t. When you get back to your computer a piece of software looks at the timestamp on your picture and looks up your Lat/Long for that time in the GPS log and assumes that the logger and the camera were in the same place at the same time.
Pros:
- Very easy to log data. – Just turn it on a wait a few seconds until the lady’s voice tells you she’s tracking satellites. Nothing else to it.
- Small. – I hang mine from the top of my backpack when hiking/biking or pack it in a small waterproof container for kayaking/snorkeling.
- Good reception. – The Merax picks up very well. The most common signal loss I’ve had with it has been when on steep mountains with high terrain above blocking a large portion of sky (and thus the signal from some of the sats.)
- Long battery life. – I’ve never outlasted the battery on this thing. It goes into low power mode when it senses it hasn’t moved in a while and wakes up again when moved. The battery is rechargeable via USB.
- Not just for photography. – In fact, it’s not really FOR photography either. It just logs GPS data so you can use it for whatever you like. I enjoy taking it on hikes and later using the log file to plot lines on Google Maps to share with friends.
Cons:
- Old, not so friendly interface. – It really feels like the software was an afterthought. More likely it’s a poorly thrown together attempt to pretend that this logger is all about photography. I could go on and on about how poor the software is. However, I only use the software for configuring the unit and downloading the logs so for the most part I avoid the headache. (I recently had an email from a reader who had lost his copy of the merax software. He was finally able to get through to Gisteq support an download a copy from them.)
- Not well documented. – If you decide to configure the Merax to work in a manner other than how it came from the factory you’d better be a self-reliant geek. The documentation is spartan to say the least and their website is no use at all.
- Software reliant. – It would be nice if you could read the Merax as a flash drive and just copy the logs off directly. Too bad. If you want the logs you’ll need to use their terrible software or again dive into the land of geekdom and possibly hack together something on your own. Good luck with that.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a simple, solid logger and don’t mind a few extra steps in your workflow, the Merax Photo Finder may be the one for you. If you don’t know what a com port is you might be happier with something else.
Posted in Photo Equipment Reviews
Tagged geocoding, geotagging, merax photo finder, review
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Sunrises and Sunsets
(Disclaimer: You can damage your vision and/or your camera by looking/aiming at the sun. Do not do that. No matter how convincing your “friend” says it, you will not win a free puppy.)
Capturing a sunset is an easy thing to do with a bit of understanding and some basic camera technique. The only real trick is understanding what it takes to get a correct exposure. Adding a nice foreground scores bonus points!
Exposure
The common factor in most good sunsets is a colorful sky, typically some flavor of orange or red transitioning to a deep blue. When your camera is pointed into the sun, the auto mode isn’t going to come up with the settings you want. It’s busy trying to get a balanced exposure and the result will be a washed out, white/grey sky. Not what you’re after. You need to tell your camera that you want an underexposed image (meaning you collect less light) in order to capture those colors. Start by underexposing by a full stop. (Consult your manual if you don’t know how to do this.) If the sun is still above the horizon you’ll need to underexpose the image even more.
Show up early, stay late.
Sometimes, the best colors will come while the sun is below the horizon. This is because the more atmosphere the light passes through, the more it will refract and reflect. Get familiar with the sunrise/sunset times in your area check the weather. Don’t be put off by clouds. Overcast isn’t good, but partly cloudy (especially high cirrus clouds) will make magic.
Foreground
A colorful sky is great, but an interesting foreground can add a lot to your image. Try to position yourself to catch interesting shapes in the sky. Backlit objects will show up as silhouettes, especially with your camera set to underexpose, so pay attention to the shape. Using a reflective surface such as a body of water or a glass-sided building can create interesting effects as well by spreading the amount of color throughout the frame.
Safety Issues (For You and Your Camera)
This is worth re-stating. Your mother was telling the truth about going blind (at least when she was telling you not to look at the sun.) The intense UV rays will damage all those sensitive eye parts forever.
Remember playing with a magnifying glass and figuring out you could set stuff on fire by focusing the sun’s energy into a spot? Your lens is a magnifying glass and you’re focusing the incoming light onto a small sensor. It may not burst into flames, but it could easily generate enough heat to damage your sensor or internal components. This hasn’t happened to any of my personal equipment, but I’ve had friends tell me they’ve melted a few.