Joe K Ng Photography

Beautiful Nova Scotia

2010-08-09T20:50:00.006-04:00

Had a wonderful week in Nova Scotia last week. The east coast is so beautiful. It's just so calm over there. Everyone was hospitable and friendly.

I still can't believe that I finally got to see the Appalachians and they're absolutely beautiful. Though the mountains on the east coast are not majestic like the Rockies in the west, these mountains overlook the Atlantic Ocean and driving through the Cape Breton Highlands on the Cabot Trail was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.

In terms of photography, I was trying to play with getting shots suitable for HDR as well I was hoping to capture depth in my shots (to give a more 3-D effect). Hope you like them.

For more of my work, you can visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/joekyng/ or http://joe-k-ng.artistwebsites.com/

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-02T23:02:00.002-04:00

Happy belated Canada Day everyone.

My partner and I spent the day in a little town called Naigara-on-the-Lake. A last minute decision and it was tremendous fun. Finally got to try our hands on taking photographs of fireworks. The results are okay considering we forgot to bring our tripod with us. Dumb mistake, I know.

Fort George, one of the main attractions in town, was free all day on Canada Day and it was a fun visit. I love taking images of oldish lifestyle stuff. That's where the fireworks display took place too.

This is one of the images I took at Fort George. I converted it to sepia and I thought it works quite well. Simple but it conveys an oldish kind of a western feel.

The bustling town of Niagara-on-the-Lake was packed with people. We saw colourful garden spinners for sale at one of the vendors and we started taking pictures of the spinners as some of them were spinning. The owner probably thought we were weirdos, but oh well. I thought the effect was pretty awesome.

JN

A night at a resort

2010-04-24T16:35:00.002-04:00

Spent a weekend at a resort last week and the room had an electric fireplace. The picture on the left was taken with 15 seconds exposure - thought the effect came out pretty good. Gives that warm and cozy feeling. What does everyone think? (For the full version, please click here.)

Alas, spring is here...here hoping I'll take a few good shots this year.

JN

A different type of photography

2010-01-23T20:16:00.007-05:00

Today I went to a rally in downtown Toronto - one of many such rallies across Canada. We came out to demonstrate and protest against our Prime Minister's decision to prorogue (suspend) the Parliament. I thought it'd be a good occasion for me to pick up the camera again - have been on a photography break given the cold weather. It was a bit chilly but it was for a worthwhile cause.

This is the first time that I did photography for journalistic purpose and it was quite fun. It was quite meaningful to capture the spirit of the event. I don't usually get this kind of feeling when I take nature shots. I think I'll be doing more of this type of photography in the future.

Here are some of the images I captured at the rally. What do you think?

A month in review

2009-10-31T23:06:00.007-04:00

Thought it would be fun to analyze my upload and download numbers at the end of the month. Below are my numbers for October. Not the best in terms of sales, especially for DT but what I am most excited about is the fact that SS has almost overtaken DT as my best earning agency. SS has also more than made up for the loss in revenue that I sacrificed when I ended being an exclusive photographer for DT. The remarkable thing about SS is two-fold: 1) SS didn't come into the picture until mid-October; and 2) SS is only 1/6 of my DT portfolio. I can't imagine what SS can bring me after a full month and with a bigger portfolio.

Stock Agency	Online	New Uploads	Downloads	$	$ per download	%
Dreamstime	331	9	15	$14.84	$0.99	48.91%
Shutterstock	52	52	58	$14.50	$0.25	47.79%
BSP	114	2	2	$1.00	$0.50	3.30%
IS	9	9	0	$0.00	0	0.00%
Fotolia	70	3	0	$0.00	0	0.00%
TOTAL:			75	$30.34	N/A	100.00%

Micro Stock Agencies Review

2009-10-21T23:39:00.028-04:00

EDITED: October 24, 2009 (Thanks to Luis' comment, it turns out my rant on keywording is somewhat moot now because of a free software that I could have used. Here's Luis' blog article on this software.)

I thought I'd do a ~~brief~~ preliminary review of the micro stock agencies that I currently contribute to.
(DT = Dreamstime
BSP = BigStockPhoto
SS = Shutterstock
ISP = Istockphoto)

Dreamstime.com

As I have written before (Click here to see previous blog), I have nothing but good things to say about DT. My choice to end my exclusivity agreement with DT back in August was a personal one. I would definitely recommend anyone who's new to stock photography to join DT. I have been with DT for two years and counting, and I absolutely enjoy my time there.

The uploading process (I might be bias) is quite easy. Keywording is simple because you just hit the "space" bar after each keyword. Also, it has a feature that allows you to refer keywords from a prevous file that you had uploaded and you just make changes from that set of keywords. This saves a lot of time if you're uploading a series of photos of the same theme (eg. Thanksgiving, Halloween)

Fotolia.com

I joined this site back in August 2009. As of today's date, I have 70 images online and only two sales. I find the uploading process easy, but the filling out the details part very tedious, especially when choosing various categories. Also, when keywording, it requires you to hit "enter" after each keyword, so with my existing DT files, I can't simply copy and paste my keywords. I have to manually hit "enter" for each word. I still have over 200 images from my existing DT portfolio to finish uploading and keywording. I will definitely need to catch a second wind before I can complete the remaining images.

Since I'm not selling as well as some other agencies (see below), I'm not in a hurry.

Bigstockphoto.com

I joined BSP back in August 2009. As of today's date, I have 112 images online and only four sales. The uploading and keywording process is extremely easy. Better yet, I simply copy and paste from the keywords from my DT's files.

Their review time is pretty fast but it's ashame that the sales don't seem to be there.

Shutterstock.com
*Requires potential contributors to take a quiz and submit 10 images for approval before uploading more images

SS has got to be the most pleasant surprise for me so far. I knew from the get go SS and ISP (see below) are leaders in this industry. So I sort of wanted to at least contribute to one of the two - if anything, just wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Many claim that SS is their top earner and I didn't think it's possible when they only make 25 cents per download.

Well before getting any downloads, I first must get my first 10 images approved by SS. I ran into a couple of hiccups with SS as my intial batch of images was rejected. Their policies require that we wait 30 days before re-submitting new images for approval. This was back in mid-August. And then, my images were rejected again in September. I had completely written SS off until last week when I got an email from SS inviting me to re-submit a new batch of images. Quite courteous of them I thought. Without much expectation and really nothing to lose, I submitted 10 new images and within the next day, I received an email informing me that 9 of the 10 images had been approved. So now, I am able to submit images with SS. (I think you need 7 of 10 approved).

SS' review time is phenomenal. Their upload and keywording process is easy. In 3 days, I have 22 26 approved images online already. And better yet, I have 6 10 downloads!

True, SS is a subscription-based agency, so my sales are only $0.25 each but I can totally see SS outgrossing both Fotolia and BSP, combined, by next Friday.

Istockphoto.com

*Requires potential contributors to take a quiz and submit 3 samples for approval before uploading any images. Note the three samples approved do not get added into the contributor's portfolio.

Being a leader in this industry, I am quite disappointed with ISP. I can't comment too much on this agency as I didn't have enough patience to upload too many images to ISP to really appreciate its system. My three sample images were approved in August and so I was able to upload to ISP.

Among the many disappointments, I was only able to upload one file at a time (couldn't find their FTP feature if they have it) and after each upload, I must insert the description and keywords before I could upload any more files. (October 23, 2009 - I learnt today that there's a batch upload application that I can use. I'll test it out and see how things go now that I could upload multiple images. So I've deleted most of my comments re ISP - JN) Their review process isn't the longest, but it's definitely not the quickest. ~~I just didn't have enough patience to do this consistently, so~~ I only have 6 uploads, so not surprisingly, I have no sales. ~~For now, I have no plans to continue with ISP.~~

If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave me a comment. Thanks.

I think I'll be doing a review periodically on these agencies.

Cheers,

JN

Yellow Flower Macro

2009-10-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

It was an even nicer day today than yesterday. So went out for a long walk and enjoyed more fall colours before they disappear into the snow. Came across a bright yellow flower so I put on my micro 60 mm lens and shot the image on the right.

For a full version, please click here.

PS: If any one knows the name of this flower, please let me know. I don't think it's a sun flower, but I could be wrong. Thanks.

JN

Scenic Hike

2009-10-17T21:13:00.002-04:00

A relatively warm day (8 C) today in Brampton, Ontario, so thought we would go out to enjoy fall colours.

A short trail walk in a conservation site and we were rewarded with beautiful scenery like the image above (entitled "Fall Landscape" - creative title, I know).

JN

Scavenging

2009-10-15T20:14:00.004-04:00

As winter is fast approaching (at least it feels that way of late), it's time to scavenge my backup hard disk to see if there's any photo that I could "enhance".

Surprisingly, there's always a couple of images that I could find that have some potential.

The image on the left, for example, entitled "Crossing the Border" was taken last fall. This is an image of the Blue Water Bridge above the St. Clair River. The bridge crosses the Canadian-US border. Needless to say, this is a very busy bridge in Southern Ontario.

I had always liked the way the Blue Water Bridge curves to the left in this shot. But I never did anything to it until now. Using three different exposures of the same shot (I often take bracketed shots when I shoot outdoor), I combined the images using an HDR software. The results, as you can see, are quite remarkable.

For a full version of the image, please click here.

JN

Eve of Thanksgiving

2009-10-12T18:28:00.007-04:00

On the morning of the eve of Thanksgiving, my partner and I had decided to head out to take some photographs by Lake Huron. We got up and arrived at the beach pre-dawn to hopefully capture the lake at dawn. Unfortunately, the wind was howling mad; the water was violent; and the temperature was probably close to zero degrees Celcius. Needless to say, we didn't last as long as we'd have liked in the cold.

So instead, we changed course and went back into land and stayed away from the water. Smart idea. A couple of blocks away from the lake, we captured this shot entitled "Silhouettes". For a full version of this image, please click here.

It was a very good Thanksgiving indeed. :)

JN

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

2009-10-08T21:45:00.004-04:00

Originally, I was just going to write a two-liner wanting to wish all the canucks out there a happy Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. But then I realized I have more to say than that. So bear with me. :)

Without a doubt, Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday of the year. It's one of those holidays where family get together and just relax without having to worry about buying presents for each other. For the last six years, I get welcomed into my partner's parents' home. We have a lovely homemade turkey dinner. We head out to the local fall fair in the beautiful fall temperature. Everything's just so relaxing. For that, I'm extremely grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cheers,

JN

PS: For a full version of the image above, please click here.

There's something about sepia

2009-10-07T21:09:00.002-04:00

There's something about sepia that I find very appealing. Unlike black and white, which I find sometimes very dull, sepia sets a certain mood to an image. What I find works well with sepia is when applying it on older objects, like antiques, or using it to illustrate an old way of life. Obviously, I try to be careful not to overuse sepia.

The image on the right (entitled "Antiques from 1800s") was taken at a Victorian style pioneer village in Ontario. I thought the sepia gives it an "oldish" feel to the subjects, which was exactly what I wanted to convey. (For a full version, please click here)

Cheers,

JN

Stock Photography

2009-10-05T22:48:00.005-04:00

I have been doing stock photography for about 2 years now. At first, the hardest part was getting images accepted by various stock agencies. Those who do stock photography will tell you that their rejections some times get very demoralizing. It's sometimes difficult not to take their rejections personally. But they're only doing their jobs. These stock agencies have a business to run. And they have to offer the best images to their customers. So it's good that their standards are high.

Initially I started with two or three agencies. Then I decided to only focus on one stock agency (Dreamstime.com) so that I could focus more on the craft of stock photography rather than spending time uploading images and keywording them.

Stock photography differs from traditional photography in that very often the purchaser doesn't want a completed photograph. Purchasers are often designers who need a certain image to incorporate into their "bigger" design.

The image above is a sample of what a stock photograph looks like. Images often are taken with a pure white background in order for designers to easily incorporate these images into their designs and the objects are usually very trivial. (For the full image, please click here)

Doing stock photography has been a very rewarding experience (skill-wise and financially) for me. Dreamstime has a high standard yet they have a very congenial atmosphere so new photographers could fit right in. They run monthly contests and have bonus rewards for exclusive photographers. When I first joined, I didn't even have a DSLR. But it was through working with Dreamstime that I found how fun photography could be which prompted me to get my first DSLR. I haven't looked back since.

Although I am no longer only working exclusively for Dreamstime as I wish to expand on other areas of photography, if anyone wishes to start off as a stock photographer and to hone their basic skills, Dreamstime is definitely the place to start.

Cheers,

JN

Pseudo-HDR

2009-10-03T07:54:00.006-04:00

An un-enhanced version of the image on the right entitled "Autumn Leaves" had always been on my backup drive. It was a picture taken last fall. I never did anything to it as I couldn't think of any way to "enhance" it. Well, last night, I decided to play with its RAW file. Like an HDR image (but not really), I decided to create three different exposures from the same RAW file and the results for this image, to my surprise, are quite stunning. Though not technically an HDR image, I worked on it as though it was an HDR image. Regardless of the technique, I am quite pleased with the result. (For the full image, please click here).

JN

Sun Rise

2009-10-01T22:46:00.011-04:00

Often times, it's hard to choose between getting those extra hours of sleep on the weekend or experience the sun rise by the lake.

One aspect in the art of photography is finding that right light that's suitable to take your photographs. When I do landscape photography especially, that usually requires me to wake up an hour before the sun rise in order to catch the sun rise by the lake. True, there is equipment that you can use, like a polarizing filter, to help shield off the sun or control lighting at different times of the day. But photography at sun rise (or pre-dawn) is special. The colours and the calmness are unparalleled by any other time of the day, except perhaps the sun set hours. But watching the sun sets often comes with a certain sadness - for me anyways. :) Sun rise is much more uplifting.

I have to admit that I haven't yet developed the discipline to wake up early to catch the sun rise every weekend. In the summer time, the sun comes out so early that it almost feels impossible. Then in the winter time, it's so cold outside, it always feels better to just stay home and keep warm. :)

But, on occasions, there are days that I do make myself go out early. And when I do, every time, without fail, I get rewarded by the beautiful scenary of the nature working its magic. The above image (entitled "Serenity") is probably one of my favorite shots thus far. (For a full version of the image, please click here)

So how would you choose? Sleep or experience the beauty of nature?

Cheers,

JN

After Work Delight

2009-09-30T22:58:00.008-04:00

Let's face it - my camera equipment is heavy. I have a long way to commute. Rarely do I bring my camera equipment with me to work. But today was different. I had plans after work tonight and I had some time to kill so I brought my camera equipment with me.

My goal this evening was to try out some HDR shots. Ever since I got the Nikon D300, I never really tried taking bracketed exposure images. This was a great opportunity to try out various features on this camera. It was really fun. :)

Anyways, the image on the right (entitled "Harbour Front") was taken today after work. It's actually an HDR image whereby 3 exposures of the same shot were combined into one. I hope you like it. (For the full version, please click here)

Cheers,

JN

Partial Desaturation

2009-09-29T19:53:00.001-04:00

For the longest time since I started using Adobe Photoshop, I've been wanting to do one of those cool black and white images with only selected objects being in colour. Some time later I discovered that this technique is called partial desaturation. It took me a few weeks to figure out how that's done. Then it took me a year or so to finally find a suitable image to work on.

The image on the left (entitled "Red Guards") was taken during the changing of the guard ceremony in Ottawa, Canada, this past summer. I thought this was a fitting image to apply this technique because the black and white effect brings out the "oldness" of one of the most iconic historic buildings in Canada while the coloured marching guards showcases Canadian national colours of red and white.

What do you think? (For a full version of the image, you can click here)

Cheers,

JN

One Special Day

2009-09-28T23:10:00.000-04:00

One day in 2008 I went on a day trip to Guelph - which is about 1.5 hours west of Brampton, Ontario. It's not a particularly big city. The only thing that I know of from Guelph was its university, so I went there without any expectation.

Then I saw a towering church from a distance. When I went up to the church, I couldn't take my eyes off this virgin Mary statue. Her eyes closed. Praying. So beautiful. So peaceful. Naturally, I took many shots of the statue.

The image on the right is the one that I felt captured the emotion that I had when I saw the statue in person. Gracefulness.

What do you think? (For a full version of the image, you can click here)

Cheers,

JN

Macro

2009-09-27T14:45:00.002-04:00

Here's a macro shot I took using the Micro 60mm lens.

I remember having goosebumps that morning when I was photographing the snail. With the 60 mm lens secured on the Nikon D300, through the viewfinder, I could see the eyes of the snail blinking at me. I couldn't believe it. It was truly remarkable. (For the full image, please click here)

JN

Evolution of my camera equipment

2009-09-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd do a post on the type of camera equipment that I have.

My first DSLR was a refurbished Nikon D50. It lasted a good year or so before I wanted an upgrade to a more professional DSLR. So earlier in the year I also got a brand new Nikon D300. It is an amazing camera - I'm still exploring all the available features on that camera.

As for lenses, I only have a small collection. Hoping to make some money in order to buy more lenses. Currently, I have my regular lens (24 - 85mm) and a 50mm. But my favorite lens is the Micro 60 mm that I got for my birthday. Macro photography is one of my favorite kinds of photography style. I'll be posting a couple of shots from my macro lens next time. Stay tuned!

Cheers,

JN

How it all began?

2009-09-26T18:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess my photography hobby actually started on a trip to the west coast in Canada. Coming from Toronto, landscape here is plain and flat. In the west coast, there're the Rockies. The rugged landscape there is prime photography material. However, my trip ended in disappointment because the pictures that I took were amateurish, and didn't reflect what I actually witnessed there. When I returned home, I was determined to take up photography.

What do you know? This hobby grew and grew and now, I am making a small income from this hobby. :)

This image on the left (entitled "Reflection of Two Knights") was one of my earlier photographs where I experimented with different lighting and actually conciously set up a shoot for my "models". The chess pieces were great to work with. hahaha I thought the effect was pretty good.

That's all for now. JN

Welcome to my blog!

2009-09-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

Just want to try out blogging about my photography. Don't know where this will take me (blogging that is). Hopefully I'll get some support from the readers and this will grow and find a niche. :) We'll see.

I don't have a set schedule yet for publishing articles, but I'll post something as often as I can.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

JN