I went to a seminar tonight at Unique Photo titled Advanced Landscape Photography. It was taught by Rick Berk. He covered a whole variety of topics.. focusing on things that would bring your work to "the next level" as they say. I would say it was quite informative.. and I have a few new ideas to try out in the field when the opportunities arise...
I may have to go out and get myself a ND filter.. I have some graduated ones but not a full ND.
Can't wait to attend more of these seminars there... It is just a matter of having the time to go. I may go back on Sunday to listen to a rep from NIK software..
After class I spent a few hours setting up my new smug mug account and building the web site... certainly not done but it is mostly there. I also still have to do some things like point my domain name to it.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Back from Az...
Well I am back from AZ.. 9 days is just too long to be away from home.
My preliminary look at my work from Sedona is mostly positive.. However I do see in quite a few of the shots that the overly bright sun created a haze.. I'll have to do some ACR magic to do some correction (The clarity slider is one of my best friends). It is going to take some time to go through the 400 shots and pick out what I want to use. I shot the same thing multiple times from multiple places (at multiple different times per day) so that will be the hardest task.
Another thing is I did do some bracketed exposure shots with the intention of doing some HDR.. Rather then spend time in Adobe HDR Pro I may try to get the new NIK HDR software that just came out.. supposedly it blows away everything else.
Of course before all that I have nearly 40 images from a previous client shoot to retouch.. and two shoots this weekend... so the Sedona work may be taking a backseat for a while (Along with the rest of my portfolio work). The busy season for my portraiture is approaching. I had wanted to be done with my portfolio by now but that didn't happen.. I am getting impatient so I might start putting up sections of it....
My preliminary look at my work from Sedona is mostly positive.. However I do see in quite a few of the shots that the overly bright sun created a haze.. I'll have to do some ACR magic to do some correction (The clarity slider is one of my best friends). It is going to take some time to go through the 400 shots and pick out what I want to use. I shot the same thing multiple times from multiple places (at multiple different times per day) so that will be the hardest task.
Another thing is I did do some bracketed exposure shots with the intention of doing some HDR.. Rather then spend time in Adobe HDR Pro I may try to get the new NIK HDR software that just came out.. supposedly it blows away everything else.
Of course before all that I have nearly 40 images from a previous client shoot to retouch.. and two shoots this weekend... so the Sedona work may be taking a backseat for a while (Along with the rest of my portfolio work). The busy season for my portraiture is approaching. I had wanted to be done with my portfolio by now but that didn't happen.. I am getting impatient so I might start putting up sections of it....
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The great camera upgrade conundrum...
Nikon just announced their latest camera.. the D7000... some early reviews are saying things like "the most capible camera of its class ever.. beating out the Canon 60D by miles.." etc etc.. So what to do? Do we all just run out and buy it because it is the most amazing camera "of its class" ever?
No.
Seriously.. the only people who win in the Great Camera Arms Race are the manufacturers and retailers.
Case in point.. I got the Canon 40D in 2007.. had to have it.. got it right when it came out.. of course for me it was a huge upgrade. I had been using the XT for three years and it was just time. Here we are three years later and I still use it. (as a side note I still use the XT occasionally as well) While I moved up to full frame with the 5DmkII the 40D still has a place for me in my tool box.. I do all my studio shoots with it.. and when I need that extra telephoto range I put my 70-200 on it and shoot away. My wife uses it as her primary. Do I have any real motivation to upgrade it to the 60D? Or even the 7D? No.. it suits me fine as is. There just arn't enough feature/performance upgrades to warrent spending the money... and I could care less about having an "outdated" camera.
(well.. since the 5DmkII is my primary at the moment I really don't have that "outdated" issue anyway.. but it really is in a completely different class)
I have always felt that photography is more about the photographer then the equipment. (yes I know this isn't a new thought) Give a good photographer any camera, regardless of capability, and he should turn out something with it.. give a bad photographer a good camera and they may not even know how to get 25% of the capability out of it.
Yes.. higher performance and more features may allow you to do things you were not able to do before.. example: getting cleaner images at higher ISOs allowing you to get better shots at lower light... or faster continuous shooting for moving targets.. but in most cases only a knowledgeable photographer will be able to take advantage of them to the fullest. A better camera does not improve your composition ability.. nor does it improve your eye... or give you better judgment to tweak your exposure ever so slightly based on your subject...
We just have to accept the fact that every year or so Canon/Nikon/etc are going to come out with a new version of their cameras.. Unless you are rich you can't (shouldn't) really keep up with that. There is no point. there will always be something out that has higher megapixel.. or faster shooting rate.. or some new fancy video capability.. but none of that is a guarantee that you will improve as a photographer just by using your credit card.
No.
Seriously.. the only people who win in the Great Camera Arms Race are the manufacturers and retailers.
Case in point.. I got the Canon 40D in 2007.. had to have it.. got it right when it came out.. of course for me it was a huge upgrade. I had been using the XT for three years and it was just time. Here we are three years later and I still use it. (as a side note I still use the XT occasionally as well) While I moved up to full frame with the 5DmkII the 40D still has a place for me in my tool box.. I do all my studio shoots with it.. and when I need that extra telephoto range I put my 70-200 on it and shoot away. My wife uses it as her primary. Do I have any real motivation to upgrade it to the 60D? Or even the 7D? No.. it suits me fine as is. There just arn't enough feature/performance upgrades to warrent spending the money... and I could care less about having an "outdated" camera.
(well.. since the 5DmkII is my primary at the moment I really don't have that "outdated" issue anyway.. but it really is in a completely different class)
I have always felt that photography is more about the photographer then the equipment. (yes I know this isn't a new thought) Give a good photographer any camera, regardless of capability, and he should turn out something with it.. give a bad photographer a good camera and they may not even know how to get 25% of the capability out of it.
Yes.. higher performance and more features may allow you to do things you were not able to do before.. example: getting cleaner images at higher ISOs allowing you to get better shots at lower light... or faster continuous shooting for moving targets.. but in most cases only a knowledgeable photographer will be able to take advantage of them to the fullest. A better camera does not improve your composition ability.. nor does it improve your eye... or give you better judgment to tweak your exposure ever so slightly based on your subject...
We just have to accept the fact that every year or so Canon/Nikon/etc are going to come out with a new version of their cameras.. Unless you are rich you can't (shouldn't) really keep up with that. There is no point. there will always be something out that has higher megapixel.. or faster shooting rate.. or some new fancy video capability.. but none of that is a guarantee that you will improve as a photographer just by using your credit card.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sedona
Yesterday I spent the entire day exploring Red Rock Country which surrounds Sedona, AZ. To say the views were awe inspiring is an understatement. You just can't put it into words.. you have to actually go there and see it yourself.
After stopping at the ranger station to purchase a park parking permit (allowing me to park at any of the trail heads etc), and get some information, I headed out to my first stop: Bell Rock. I parked at a trail head which seemed to be quite popular with the bus-tour crowd. I took some pictures of the surrounding rock formations and then had the urge to do the actual 2 mile hike to the actual rock face.. So I went.. "Why not?" i figured. The hike was wonderful and easy. I took with me my Camera and used the 24-105 lens. The black rapid strap was fantastic..
On the way I found some neat trees to shoot... I have a thing for wacky looking trees shot against a blue sky.
One thing I knew I was going to have to deal with was the position of the sun as it changed throughout the day. The changing angle of light lit up the rock formations differently depending on the time of day. Worst case the formation would be back lit.. or unfavorable shadows cast across it. Optimally one would do some kind of analysis that would tell you what time of day was best for shooting particular formations from various locations.. maybe next time I will do that. This time I just started from the south and worked my way upward around the area. Whatever it was it was.
After the bell rock hike I made my way to one side of Castle Rock where there was another trail head. The trail description said the hike was "strenuous"... Again I said "why not.." and set out again. Let me say that I now understand what the park service means by the word strenuous. It wasn't so much of a hike rather a climb over impassible terrain. Most of the time there was little to indicate where the trail actually was. I found myself looking for periodic foot prints (which I did find). Eventually I hit a point where the way was blocked by multiple downed trees. I believe the expectation was to climb over it.. but i was not prepared for that kind of maneuvering given the clothes I wore for the day (jeans short and a light weight shirt). I turned around, partially got lost on the way back, but still managed to get some shots somewhat up close.
After that I wanted something a little easier.. so I headed to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is another touristy spot but still a good place to get some key shots. The chapel itself has been shot to death (For good reason, it is a marvel). However once you get there and climb up to the actual church you are also rewarded with a wonderful view of the surrounding rock formations. So I again took some time there to do some work.
So after that it was mid day and I was getting a bit hungry. So I went into the actual town of Sedona. It is nothing more then an upscale tourist trap (in my opinion). I skipped all the shops and other garbage and found a BBQ place. It was ok.. nothing worth writing home about.
The next actual photographic stop was another trail which was near Sedona airport. This is apparently one of the most used spots for photography in the area. I can see why. The hike took me to two different locations. Both of which were very high up and slightly dangerous (at least it seemed to me). At one point I was on a maybe three foot wide uneven trail which circled round the mountain that the airport was on... nothing preventing me from slipping and falling about 4000 feet to the bottom. But one does what one has to do to get that shot I suppose.. LOL. I again did a whole mess of work here, and made plans that I would return later in the day for sunset.
At this point it was around 2pm and I figured i would kill some time by going to Red Rock Crossing. It is a "day park" which has a stream and some well shot views of the other side of Castle Rock. However on the way I caught sight of another trail head and again figured a stop was warranted (Why not?). There was no marking, just a marker for the start of the trail (with no info on it). So I went on for a while and found myself literally in the middle of nowhere on a flat desert type area surrounded by the rock formations. I have never been to a location which was so "still" and "quiet". The lack of human noise was shocking.. no airplanes.. no cars... nothing. No wind noise... nothing. If one could visit mars on a calm day this is likely what it would be like.
So a bit later on I made it to the park.. and decided to hike up to the other side of Castle Rock (since my first attempt went wonderfully.. not). This time I brought my new backpack loaded with my tripod and all my other lenses. I am not sure how long the hike was.. but it was pretty long. I found one great spot slightly off the beaten path and set up my camera on the tripod for a variety of shots. I even did some HDR exposure bracketing.
At this point I was pretty tired so I took it easy for a bit to kill some more time. Eventually I left and headed back to the airport area. People were already gathering for the sunset. I packed up my stuff in the backpack and hiked up to the highest point. This was a high bluff which had a clear view There already were two photographers there. One was, like me, setting up for some sunset action. The other was doing some work with two models dressed in wedding dresses. He had them on the edge and was using a portable strobe.
So I setup and did some work while the sun was still up. More people gathered.. The show started... and maybe a hour later it was over and time to go. Packed up and found out how difficult it would be to hike down in the dark (wasn't that bad actually).
All in all it was an amazing experience. I have looked at the material on my netbook and I think I've got some things worthy of my portfolio.. I just need to put them through the developing process. I had the urge to go there again today but my body just can't take it (can you say sore? LOL).
Equipment wise.. I managed to use all three of the lenses I brought with me.. especially during the sunset light show. The 24-105 continues to be my lens of choice for most situations. I am surprised how rare i need to get down to 17mm. The black rapid strap continues to be one of the best purchases I have made of late. I was also impressed how easy it was to hike with the Tamrac Expedition x6 pack on my back.. fully loaded with about 25lbs of gear and a tripod.. weight was nicely distributed to my legs and off my lower back..
Anyway.. so that about sums up Sedona...
After stopping at the ranger station to purchase a park parking permit (allowing me to park at any of the trail heads etc), and get some information, I headed out to my first stop: Bell Rock. I parked at a trail head which seemed to be quite popular with the bus-tour crowd. I took some pictures of the surrounding rock formations and then had the urge to do the actual 2 mile hike to the actual rock face.. So I went.. "Why not?" i figured. The hike was wonderful and easy. I took with me my Camera and used the 24-105 lens. The black rapid strap was fantastic..
On the way I found some neat trees to shoot... I have a thing for wacky looking trees shot against a blue sky.
One thing I knew I was going to have to deal with was the position of the sun as it changed throughout the day. The changing angle of light lit up the rock formations differently depending on the time of day. Worst case the formation would be back lit.. or unfavorable shadows cast across it. Optimally one would do some kind of analysis that would tell you what time of day was best for shooting particular formations from various locations.. maybe next time I will do that. This time I just started from the south and worked my way upward around the area. Whatever it was it was.
After the bell rock hike I made my way to one side of Castle Rock where there was another trail head. The trail description said the hike was "strenuous"... Again I said "why not.." and set out again. Let me say that I now understand what the park service means by the word strenuous. It wasn't so much of a hike rather a climb over impassible terrain. Most of the time there was little to indicate where the trail actually was. I found myself looking for periodic foot prints (which I did find). Eventually I hit a point where the way was blocked by multiple downed trees. I believe the expectation was to climb over it.. but i was not prepared for that kind of maneuvering given the clothes I wore for the day (jeans short and a light weight shirt). I turned around, partially got lost on the way back, but still managed to get some shots somewhat up close.
After that I wanted something a little easier.. so I headed to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is another touristy spot but still a good place to get some key shots. The chapel itself has been shot to death (For good reason, it is a marvel). However once you get there and climb up to the actual church you are also rewarded with a wonderful view of the surrounding rock formations. So I again took some time there to do some work.
So after that it was mid day and I was getting a bit hungry. So I went into the actual town of Sedona. It is nothing more then an upscale tourist trap (in my opinion). I skipped all the shops and other garbage and found a BBQ place. It was ok.. nothing worth writing home about.
The next actual photographic stop was another trail which was near Sedona airport. This is apparently one of the most used spots for photography in the area. I can see why. The hike took me to two different locations. Both of which were very high up and slightly dangerous (at least it seemed to me). At one point I was on a maybe three foot wide uneven trail which circled round the mountain that the airport was on... nothing preventing me from slipping and falling about 4000 feet to the bottom. But one does what one has to do to get that shot I suppose.. LOL. I again did a whole mess of work here, and made plans that I would return later in the day for sunset.
At this point it was around 2pm and I figured i would kill some time by going to Red Rock Crossing. It is a "day park" which has a stream and some well shot views of the other side of Castle Rock. However on the way I caught sight of another trail head and again figured a stop was warranted (Why not?). There was no marking, just a marker for the start of the trail (with no info on it). So I went on for a while and found myself literally in the middle of nowhere on a flat desert type area surrounded by the rock formations. I have never been to a location which was so "still" and "quiet". The lack of human noise was shocking.. no airplanes.. no cars... nothing. No wind noise... nothing. If one could visit mars on a calm day this is likely what it would be like.
So a bit later on I made it to the park.. and decided to hike up to the other side of Castle Rock (since my first attempt went wonderfully.. not). This time I brought my new backpack loaded with my tripod and all my other lenses. I am not sure how long the hike was.. but it was pretty long. I found one great spot slightly off the beaten path and set up my camera on the tripod for a variety of shots. I even did some HDR exposure bracketing.
At this point I was pretty tired so I took it easy for a bit to kill some more time. Eventually I left and headed back to the airport area. People were already gathering for the sunset. I packed up my stuff in the backpack and hiked up to the highest point. This was a high bluff which had a clear view There already were two photographers there. One was, like me, setting up for some sunset action. The other was doing some work with two models dressed in wedding dresses. He had them on the edge and was using a portable strobe.
So I setup and did some work while the sun was still up. More people gathered.. The show started... and maybe a hour later it was over and time to go. Packed up and found out how difficult it would be to hike down in the dark (wasn't that bad actually).
All in all it was an amazing experience. I have looked at the material on my netbook and I think I've got some things worthy of my portfolio.. I just need to put them through the developing process. I had the urge to go there again today but my body just can't take it (can you say sore? LOL).
Equipment wise.. I managed to use all three of the lenses I brought with me.. especially during the sunset light show. The 24-105 continues to be my lens of choice for most situations. I am surprised how rare i need to get down to 17mm. The black rapid strap continues to be one of the best purchases I have made of late. I was also impressed how easy it was to hike with the Tamrac Expedition x6 pack on my back.. fully loaded with about 25lbs of gear and a tripod.. weight was nicely distributed to my legs and off my lower back..
Anyway.. so that about sums up Sedona...
Friday, September 10, 2010
AZ!
Well right now I am sitting in Scottsdale, AZ. My business trip was confirmed and things fell into place for me to stay over the weekend. This place is a scenic photographer's paradise (of course that means most things have been shot to death.. but i digress). My plans for tomorrow (Sat) include heading up into Sedona and doing a self driving tour with my camera. I had earlier thought about doing the Grand Canyon as well.. but I think that is too much for two days. I may relax on Sunday.. or do something local to Phoenix.. or head out east/west/south for two hours and see where that takes me...
I'll be here through the end of next week. Hopefully will get some chances for sunrise/sunsets in the area since my hours are shifted to EST still (I get up at like 4am).
I'll be here through the end of next week. Hopefully will get some chances for sunrise/sunsets in the area since my hours are shifted to EST still (I get up at like 4am).
Monday, September 6, 2010
Phase 1 complete!
After working most of the summer I have finally completed "phase 1" of my portfolio work... Back in July I went through all my work up to that point and decided upon nearly 100 photos I wanted to include from the last 10 years.. Since then I have been going through them and re-retouching them to my current standards. (as I previously said I was going to do).
This took a lot longer then I thought it would.. Mostly due to basic human engineering.. but that is to be expected.
Now on to phase 2.... which for me is to go through the photos I have taken since July, pick my choices for the portfolio, and then prepare them. I have some HDR work I did at a local castle.. a hiking trip in the Meadowlands.. and a whole bunch of things from the annual lake trip.. much to go through..
Another thing I am working on is building my my new facebook presence.. and thinking about rebuilding the web site...
This took a lot longer then I thought it would.. Mostly due to basic human engineering.. but that is to be expected.
Now on to phase 2.... which for me is to go through the photos I have taken since July, pick my choices for the portfolio, and then prepare them. I have some HDR work I did at a local castle.. a hiking trip in the Meadowlands.. and a whole bunch of things from the annual lake trip.. much to go through..
Another thing I am working on is building my my new facebook presence.. and thinking about rebuilding the web site...
Monday, August 23, 2010
The plan: what I am doing right now.
So I have been "serious" about photography for 11 years now.. and by serious I don't necessarily mean "good".. LOL. I of course have developed over the years from a total amateur with a Pro-sumer POS to whatever-the-heck-I-am-now. Over the course of this time I have taken probably over 100,000 pictures.. all of which are in my photo archives (don't ask how much storage that takes up.. ). It is organized but not to the level of having keywords setup (future project).
One of my big issues is that I don't really have much of my work on display. People know I am into photography but it isn't like I can show them anything that I have done.. save maybe the stuff I do for CDP which is on the web site. One time long ago I had some work up on the net but it started to suffer from neglect and I took it down.
SO..... A few weeks ago I put together a plan:
So now I am working on #2... and it is tedious. I am working my way from oldest to newest.. My workflow back then was a joke (seriously.. a total joke).. and the image noise in all the Olympus E-10 photos is atrocious.. Doing multiple stages of noise reduction and sharpening.. After a bit of time I have made a big dent into the list. A majority of the "old" stuff has been done leaving just a handful. Most of the new stuff on the list has already been processed to my liking, and now it is just a matter of output sharpening and reduction.
However.. I still have a ton of new material from PA to look at and some other work which I will be including.. so there may be a bunch more to do from scratch once I get to that point. I also have to go back and look at the portrait work as well.
The one thing that so far I will NOT be putting up is my earliest work done with the Olympus c2020 camera. These will require some significant attention due to the noise level and low resolution of the sensor. It is a shame since I have a group of real nice Statue of Liberty at sunset pictures, and some shots of the Blue Angels from an airshow, and I wanted to include them. I have some tentative plans to get more SOL pictures this fall/winter but who knows...
Anyway.. after all that is done I will finally be in a position where I can display my work, and have it critiqued on a different level. I am both excited and hesitant on having my work evaluated by real photographers who are not personal friends. I am curious as to seeing exactly where I am with my abilities.. I KNOW how I feel about it.. every time I think I have a photo which hits the mark I browse some galleries on Photo.net or BetterPhoto and promptly feel that my work is just not worthy. The fact is there are just soo many good photographers out there it is so hard to really stand out.. anyway that is a discussion for another time.
....so this is what I will be up to the next few weeks.. I do have some photo shoot ideas in mind for the fall but this will be limited to my available time. Also.. I *might* be taking a work trip to AZ in Sept and may have a window of time to do what I want. Tentatively I plan to dedicate every waking moment to photography and not sleeping very much either! :) But we will see if i go or not. It is 60/40 at the moment toward going.
One of my big issues is that I don't really have much of my work on display. People know I am into photography but it isn't like I can show them anything that I have done.. save maybe the stuff I do for CDP which is on the web site. One time long ago I had some work up on the net but it started to suffer from neglect and I took it down.
SO..... A few weeks ago I put together a plan:
- Go through all my work from beginning to now and select items to include into a portfolio.
- Re-Retouch everything using my up to date tools, workflow, knowledge, and skills.
- rebuild ChrisOnjianPhotography.com into a 1 stop shop online portfolio, info, etc site to showcase me and my work.
- Build up galleries using one of the various existing photo sites (dphoto, zenfolio, etc etc).
- Establish a blog for my musings.
- Work on putting together some kind of printed portfolio.. (book, prints, etc etc whatever)
So now I am working on #2... and it is tedious. I am working my way from oldest to newest.. My workflow back then was a joke (seriously.. a total joke).. and the image noise in all the Olympus E-10 photos is atrocious.. Doing multiple stages of noise reduction and sharpening.. After a bit of time I have made a big dent into the list. A majority of the "old" stuff has been done leaving just a handful. Most of the new stuff on the list has already been processed to my liking, and now it is just a matter of output sharpening and reduction.
However.. I still have a ton of new material from PA to look at and some other work which I will be including.. so there may be a bunch more to do from scratch once I get to that point. I also have to go back and look at the portrait work as well.
The one thing that so far I will NOT be putting up is my earliest work done with the Olympus c2020 camera. These will require some significant attention due to the noise level and low resolution of the sensor. It is a shame since I have a group of real nice Statue of Liberty at sunset pictures, and some shots of the Blue Angels from an airshow, and I wanted to include them. I have some tentative plans to get more SOL pictures this fall/winter but who knows...
Anyway.. after all that is done I will finally be in a position where I can display my work, and have it critiqued on a different level. I am both excited and hesitant on having my work evaluated by real photographers who are not personal friends. I am curious as to seeing exactly where I am with my abilities.. I KNOW how I feel about it.. every time I think I have a photo which hits the mark I browse some galleries on Photo.net or BetterPhoto and promptly feel that my work is just not worthy. The fact is there are just soo many good photographers out there it is so hard to really stand out.. anyway that is a discussion for another time.
....so this is what I will be up to the next few weeks.. I do have some photo shoot ideas in mind for the fall but this will be limited to my available time. Also.. I *might* be taking a work trip to AZ in Sept and may have a window of time to do what I want. Tentatively I plan to dedicate every waking moment to photography and not sleeping very much either! :) But we will see if i go or not. It is 60/40 at the moment toward going.
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