Marc's blog

Panorama Florence

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:30:00 +0000

August 2015 was the second time I visited Florence.
The panorama consists of 17 images shot with a Canon 70D,Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens at 55mm.

Click here to open the panorama in a separate window.

Panorama WWII Memorial in Washington

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 10:30:00 +0000

Here is a large panorama of the World War II Memorial in Washington. It was a very sunny day!

Click here for the panorama

Panorama Lincoln Memorial

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:45:00 +0000

Here is a panorama I made inside the Lincoln Memorial in April 2015. This is the first HTML5 panorama which is also viewable on an iPhone or iPad.

Click here to see the panorama

F-Stop Loka backpack

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:25:00 +0000

Just got my F-Stop Loka foliage green backpack.
This will replace my old Lowepro Primus AW backpack.

Highlights of the F-Stop Loka backpack:

much lighter (about 1.5 kg) than the Lowepro Primus AW backpack
internal aluminium frame to support the weight of the bag evenly
exchangeable internal camera unit (ICU) to store camera body and lenses.

I made sure I got the new version of the F-Stop Loka backpack:

Molle attachments on the right hand side of the belt (used to be a zippered pouch)
two D-rings on the shoulder straps (the previous version only had a D-ring on the left shoulder strap)

See the 'My Photo Gear' page for links to the products.

Henk Krol op alt-s.nl

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:05:00 +0000

Op dinsdag 22 januari 2013 heeft Henk Krol op www.alt-s.nl een presentatie gehouden over het lek van patientengegevens wat hij gevonden heeft. Het programma eenvandaag heeft er zelfs een uitzending aan gewijd.

Hieronder kan je de uitzending bekijken

Foto's van de dag zijn hier te zien.

Vincent Laforet in Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:47:00 +0000

The well known photographer Vincent Laforet was a few days in Amsterdam to chair the second World Press Photo multimedia contest. Canon and Adobe arranged an evening where Vincent told about his work and projects. I was lucky attend the session in the Beurs van berlage, Amsterdam.

The stage just before the start of the presentation.

Vincent told about his career as a New York Times photographer and how he got famous by shooting the first 1080p video with a still camera. The video is called Reverie, and you can see it here:

Reverie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.
Director/DP - This was the first 1080p video widely released that was shot with the Canon 5D MKII. It was viewed more than 2 million times in the first week of its release.

Vincent talked about his passion for shooting photos from a helicopter (equipped with twin engines just to be sure). He also made a lot of photos from the Empire State Building.

The second part of the presentation was about the various films and commercials he made.

Famous Footwear - "Neighborhood" Spot from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

He told about the work that had to be done before the shots could be made.

BEHIND THE SCENES - "Neighborhood" from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Some facts I learned:

Photographer Clay Blackmore was supposed to have a first look at the Canon 5D Mark II just before it came out. Vincent saw a prototype at a Canon office and begged for four hours to test out the camera. He finally got the camera for just a weekend and had to promise to send the camera to Clay on Monday. That weekend Vincent shot the footage for the movie Reverie.
Vincent's father was a set photographer.
Vincen'ts nick name is 'Spidey' because he made a lot of photos from the top of the Empire State Building, and dangling outside helicopters.
favorite iPhone photography apps: Sun Seeker, Artemis, pCam and Focalware.

His latest movie is Mobius:

Mobius from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

This version is a 720p version of the film that is optimized for fast playback on the majority of systems. It does not show the optimum image quality in terms of resolution and compression.

For the High Quality 1080p version of this film go to:

http://vimeo.com/laforet/mobius

You can see many of the images presented in the iPhone/iPad App Visuals.

VISUALS by Vincent Laforet from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

I would like to thank Canon, Adobe and Vincent for the event!

A Dragon in Assen

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:50:00 +0000

To celebrate the opening of a new wing of the Drents Museum in Assen, Groningen, the Netherlands a dragon was placed in Assen.

The first exposition in the new wing is called ‘The Golden Age of China’, about the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), the glorious dynasty with the most open cultural character in all of China’s history.

Stay tuned for photos of the exposition and the new wing!

Canon 50D settings for HDR Photography

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

In previous posts (My Canon 50D settings and My Custom Function settings on the Canon 50D) I mentioned my Canon 50D settings for general photography.
For HDR photography I use many of the same settings. There are a few exceptions which I want to explain here.

Light metering
For HDR photography consider using spot metering to measure the total dynamic range of your image.
Determine the exposure needed for the darkest and lightest spots while maintaining a constant aperture. The lowest and highest shutter speed are the lower and upper bounds of the dynamic range to be captured.

Focusing Mode
I use the following settings:

AF mode One Shot or AI Focus
Custom Function IV-1:2 Metering start/Meter+AF Start
Custom Function IV-2:1 AF-ON/AE lock button switch

‘Custom Function 'IV-1:2 Metering start/Meter+AF Start’ configures the Canon 50D to start focusing when a button on the back of the body is pressed (AF-On or the ‘star’ button) and not when the shutter button is half pressed. This way multiple photos can be made, while the focus is not altered.
‘Custom Function IV-2:1 AF-ON/AE lock button switch’ sets the ‘star’ button as the ‘start focusing’ button. I am using this configuration this because my previous Canon 350D body used the same button.

Live View
Consider using Live View while shooting the HDR sequence. This has several advantages:

The mirror does not slap up and down. This minimizes camera shake which is especially handy during long exposures
In Live View You can display a live histogram (press the FUNC button). This gives you an indication if you have exposed enough for the shadow detail.

Shooting Mode

Shooting the multiple photos can be done in several ways.

When only three are needed, you can use auto exposure bracketing in conjunction with high speed continuous shooting.

Manual shooting

In manual mode, I start shooting with the fastest shutter speed necessary.

High Speed Continuous Shooting
I use high speed continuous shooting when I am shooting 3 pictures with automatic exposure bracketing (AEB).

Invisble Car

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:00:00 +0000

First seen in a James Bond movie, the concept of an invisble car has been made reality in Germany.

Turnberry Place - Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:47:00 +0000

Miniature of the surroundings where Turnberry Place (luxury high rise appartments) was built.

Gino de Dominicis Skeleton, Milan, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:02:00 +0000

This skeleton was next to the Duomo. The skeleton looks small (as do the people around it) but it is more than 27 meters long.

(Miniature?) shopping street in Milan, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:07:00 +0000

I made this photo myself during a holiday in Italy.

History of the iPhone (video)

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:41:00 +0000

Take a look at this video about the history of the iPhone

CNET UK Presents: History of the iPhone, dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs from Drew Stearne on Vimeo.

The New Millennium Nutmeg

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:16:00 +0000

The New Millennium Nutmeg is the oldest nutmeg tree in Korea. The tree is more than 800 years old and is located in the Bija-rim forest, Jeju Do island.

Hyeopja Smoke Mound

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:17:00 +0000

Near the All In House on Jeju Do island (South Korea) you can find the Hyeopja Smoke Mound. Smoke mounds were used as a kind of communications network to deliver messages around the island. There are 38 smoke mounds on Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. During the day or evening smoke was used to warn of enemy invasions and emergencies. When it was cloudy or rainy, the mound keeper had to ran in order to deliver the news.

The view around the smoke mound.

All In House, Jeju Do Island, South Korea

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:06:00 +0000

One of the first sights we visited on the island of Jeju Do is the coastline near the All In House, located near Seopjikoji (Gosung-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-city).

The All in House is South Korea’s first drama memorial for the popular TV miniseries, ‘All In’ (2003). The house is located on the east part of the island.

Larger map

All In House, South Korea

Garden All In House

You can take a walk along the coastline.

Gare du Nord, Paris

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:21:00 +0000

iPhone 4 with Pro HDR

One of the metro exits near station Gare du Nord, Paris.

Hilversum Town Hall

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:02:00 +0000

Camera: iPhone 4 with Pro HDR

I recently visited an old school friend. He works in this beautiful building: the Town Hall of the city of Hilversum. The architect W.M. Dudok designed this building. After about 10 designs construction started in 1928. The building was finished in 1931.

Crowd Funding voor Religie Nu

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Fotograaf Eddy Seesing heeft met zijn project 'Religie Nu' fotoportretten gemaakt van 70 religieuze bewegingen in Nederland. De voorgangers van de verschillende religieuze bewegingen zijn gefotografeerd in een belangrijk moment voor hun religie (een zogenaamd tableaux vivant). Deze fotoportretten zullen tentoongesteld worden in de Kunsthal Rotterdam van 16 december 2011 tot en met 12 februari 2012.

Om de kosten te financieren van het opplakken en plastificeren van de 70 cm grote foto´s doet Eddy een beroep op de Internet community middels ´crowd funding´. Ga naar projectpagina ´Religie Nu´ op http://voordekunst.nl/vdk/project/view/142-religie-nu en steun dit project met een donatie.

Ik had het voorrecht om mee te werken met één van de foto´s en ik was zeer onder de indruk van de compositie die Eddy had gemaakt. Ik zal de expositie dan ook zeer zeker bezoeken om de overige foto's te bekijken.

Meer informatie over het project kan je vinden op Eddy´s web site: http://www.eddyseesing.nl/eddyseesing/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=16184

The Slant Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:22:00 +0000

This display was on exhibition at the Museum ‘Beelden Aan Zee’ in Den Haag. Several pieces of art of the Chinese sculptor Sui Jianguo could be seen. I have no clue why everything is slanted, but it was fun to see!

Dinosaur Amidst the Wind

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:16:00 +0000

I met this fun creature during my visit to the ‘Beelden Lange Voorhout Route 2011’. It attracted a lot of attention of photographers.

The Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:17:00 +0000

The 'Information Portal to European Sites of Remembrance' has recently been opened and gives a good overview of museums and memorials which have information on the victims of the Second World War and the Holocaust.

The information portal gives an overview of some of the museums located in the Netherlands dedicated to World War II. As you may remember I visited the Verzetsmuseum (Dutch Resistance Museum) during Wikilovesart. The people from the information portal noticed this and requested permission to use the photos on their web site. I gave them permission under the Creative Commons License (of course!). At the moment the following photos are used:

'Poster of the Dutch National Socialists in the exhibition' on the 'Introduction' page of the Dutch Resistance Museum
'Resistance Museum in the Plancius building' on the Victims page
'Printing-press' and 'View onf the exhibition' on the 'Remembrance' page

You can download a PDF version of the pages here.

Maman the Spider in London

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:57:00 +0000

This strange creature looks like a spider and is made by the artist Louise Bourgeois. It is called Maman and is on display in the Tate Modern, London.

At that time I did not know I would meet this creature again… Stay tuned for an upcoming post where I will tell more about the second encounter.

Canon Lens Stabilization

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:40:00 +0000

Here is a nice video on how Canon image stabilization works in a Canon 18-55mm lens

Image Stabilization Revealed from Camera Technica on Vimeo.

Shooting photos with Rick Sammon at Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans

noreply@blogger.com (M) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:04:00 +0000

This year I visited Keukenhof for the second time. I got a chance to hang out with well known Canon Explorer of Light photographer Rick Sammon and his wife Susan. They invited me to join them to shoot some photos of the tulips, flowers and tulip fields.
It's great to see how Rick approaches a scene and explains how to take an interesting photo. You can really see why he uses the tag line ‘Explore the light’. Besides the obligatory picture card photos he learned me to look for interesting shots when the light is coming from the side or shining directly into your eyes.

A well known spot in Keukenhof. This spot is also featured on the back of catalogue of 2011.

We experimented with some tulips which were backlit. This gives an interesting shadow inside the bulb.

Backlit Tulips in Keukenhof

The tulips really pop out the screen when they are backlit from the right angle.

We also experimented with HDR and shooting straight into the sun. Rick encouraged me to set the aperture to f/22 and try to get the ‘starburst’ effect of the sun in the photo. It turned out rather nice!

HDR photo – Canon 50D, Canon 10-22mm, f/22 @ 1/500, 1/250, 1/30 at ISO 200

On this spot it was quite challenging to get a photo without people on it. Although you are not allowed to walk onto the grass, the flowers seem to to be too attractive and people wanted to sit very close to the fields.

Fortunately after a while it got less crowded and I could get another excellent starburst photo:

I got to try the famous ‘Sammon Swirl effect’:

Just outside of Keukenhof we saw some really nice flower fields.

You can see a Google Street View photo of this spot on http://goo.gl/maps/2mPn. The flower field is just behind the farm called ‘Beelen’. It is alongside the road N208 as mentioned in the National Geographic article ‘Road Trip: Flower Route, Netherlands’.
Rick got some cool shots with his fisheye lens. Read his blog to see the shots!
After Keukenhof we also stopped by at the Zaanse Schans.

It was a really clear day, not a single cloud in the sky.

We also experimented with reflections. Here is an example:

Timing is crucial, because here is what the shot looks like a few moments later:

There is no reflection because a slight breeze disturbed the water surface.

Inside the gift shop I made a great HDR photo:

Canon 50D, Canon 17-55mm, f/5.6 at 1/40, 1/160 and 1/10 @ ISO 800

In Rick’s blog post for this day he mentions a few tips. This is how I applied them:
- You don't always have to be looking through the camera's viewfinder for a good shot.
Use the live view mode of your camera to see your composition. Or just hold the camera away from you, press the shutter button and look afterwards on the display for the result. I shot the first starburst photo that way. The camera is pointing upwards very near to the ground and it is almost impossible to take a look through the viewfinder or at the display (see also ‘Have fun’).

- Set a small aperture for great depth of field.
A small aperture helps to get everything sharp in the close-up photos and the wide shots.

- Always look up.
That’s true! I think this is one of the reasons Rick found the great spot where we got our ‘starburst’ photos.

- Take the postcard shots, and then take creative shots.
Very true. Luckily I did my share of postcard shots in 2010 so I could focus on the creative shots.

- Have fun.
It always helps to have a companion with you to discuss composition or who keeps an eye on all your photo gear when you are laying down on the ground trying to take a photo with a fish eye lens shooting upwards to a tulip (Rick and Susan: you know which situation I mean :-)

Rick travels a lot around the world. After this visit in Holland he will be in Alaska teaching a class on photographing the bald eagle. Take a look at his USA and International workshops and perhaps you can meet him one day. Highly Recommended!

Susan and Rick: thank you my friends for a wonderful time and giving me the opportunity to show you around!