Painterly

The E-P5

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 00:35:00 +0000

The E-P5 with its EVF offers eye level and waist level POVs by flipping it up or closing it. It's a great feature. I wish more cameras had it.

A mirrorless camera suddenly becomes the modern equivalent of the Rolleflex, my first camera.

It's old hat now, but in its day, it was a trend setter in style as well as tech:

"The PEN E-P5 - the fourth model in the E-P range - continues this theme, while adding an array of updates that make it easily the most desirable PEN yet. It includes many of the features that made the E-M5 such a compelling package, such as the same 16MP MOS sensor, advanced '5-axis' in-body image stabilization (now with automatic panning detection), 9 fps continuous shooting, and tilting rear touch screen. It also inherits the refinements debuted on the PEN E-PL5, such as enhanced in-camera RAW conversion, a broad-range 'HDR bracketing' mode, and the ability to specify whether you wish to use in-lens or in-body image stabilization with Panasonic OIS lenses. On top of this it adds-in a top shutter speed of 1/8000 sec, a 'peaking' display to assist manual focus, and this year's must-have feature: built in Wi-Fi for connection to your smartphone or tablet."

~ DPREVIEW - Oct 3, 2013

Here it is in all its two-tone glory:

The wi-fi wasn't reliable, but the rest of the controls are easy to set.

Still, it's versatile for static photography, not so much for fast auto-focus situations.

Portraits with the Nikon 1 V1

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Mon, 11 May 2020 18:45:00 +0000

Are the Nikon 1 V-series cameras not the greatest ever made? Not for their specs that everyone condemns, for their otherworldly aspects and the stunning images they deliver without the cost of buying or the burden of toting expensive DSLR gear.

Only problem is Nikon abandoned this innovative mirrorless format a few years back. I've kept my Nikon 1 gear and now use it exclusively, in spite of my affection for the Olympus Micro 4/3 line.

I have the 18.5mm prime lens, the 1o-30mm zoom, the 30-110mm zoom, the 6.7-13mm zoom.

Some say the Nikon 1 cameras do not produce good portraits, that the larger formats (Canon& Nikon DSLRs) do better. They say a lot of things, until they try a V1 or a V3, and see the colors they render for themselves?

Some say Nikon 1 is in between a micro 4/3 or DSLR and an iPhone. If you want something more than a smartphone, this camera is metaphysical wonder, an anomaly that produces painterly images with the base materials it's made of...for a lot less than $2,000+ if you're thinking DSLR.

Fujifilm X-T1: Technology in a Headlong Rush

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 29 May 2014 01:06:00 +0000

Everyone's an artist. Technology has made it so. It's like music. Jazz and classical music that kept stretching out until the harmonic intervals were so far apart that there was nowhere to go except back to zero where it all began. In jazz, they called it Free Jazz — arrhythmic, atonal, dissonant. In classical music, it veered into electronic. Since there were no longer any rules, everyone was a musician. Whether anyone listened was another story; the point was self-expression had arrived.

Now, technology has done away with similar barriers in photography. It doesn't cost that much anymore. No dark rooms to rent or furnish. No film to buy and develop. No enlargers to purchase. No prints to develop. You can use an iPhone and get great results.

This rush to self-expression plays right into the manufacturer's hands. They sell a lot of cameras and other gear. Why sweat out a five-year development cycle when you can have a permanent one? Bring out the new model, position yourself in the feedback loop (it's very easy with the Internet), bring out a slightly upgraded new model with a few must-have new features, and just keep doing it over and over. Round and round the technology tree — organic sensors, HDR, wi-fi, articulating LCDs, EVFs.

Used to be you could tell a pro because they paid their dues. They studied or apprenticed. They scrimped to buy the right gear. They kept it for a long time. Amortized it. Now I can't tell the pros from the amateurs. Yes, some talent is necessary, but there are a lot of unknown great photographers out there.

Really good ones. And a lot of great cameras. My recent addition is the Fujifilm X-T1, which has sort of broken the mold, and that's why its so popular. That, and the fact it's reliable.

A JPG image, I switched to RAW after seeing an
unacceptable amount of fringing around masts and tree lines

I took these images with what is reputedly deemed the worst of the X lenses, the 60mm f/2.4. And even though the grid lines were bouncin' around while I focused, there weren't a lot of rejects. The 60mm was the only lens I had for the last month. It was use it or don't use the camera. So I used it and got used to it.

Yesterday, I received the 18-55mm zoom lens that I'll work over starting now. The 27mm f/2.8 is on the way.

When you're used to the PSAM paradigm, it takes a moment to figure out a new interface based on different approach, which either falls flat (Sony NEX) or goes over big (Fuji X). Fuji X nixed the PASM dial, opting for a uniquely original mechano-digital interface combination of dials, buttons, knobs, and menus. The learning curve isn't all that steep although I did fumble a bit trying to figure it out on my own.

I just wonder if anyone has been as confused as I have been from time to time. Like yesterday, I opened the box, took out the 18-55mm lens, removed the 60mm, attached the zoom and turned on the camera. Where was the aperture setting? I twisted, I turned, I pushed. Still f/11. Finally I found a little switch on the lens — reckoned it governed the settings, which the camera was telling me were set to P. So I switched it over and the P in the EVF became an A. But how to actually set the aperture. I tried the thumb and forefinger wheels on the camera body. Those didn't work. Finally, I tried the spinning wheel on the lens. Voilà.

All the dials, knobs, and wheels — pros and cons — have been written about in numerous in-depth reviews. This post is one person's take on the little used 60mm lens. With one exception, I'll let the images do the talking, and that is it's not the fastest or the most glamorous lens, but it is versatile.

I've read some X-T1 reviews. There're a lot of them. Overwhelming favorable, the ones I read. But I rely on my own trial and error experience because each interface takes time to learn. The reviews/tests are repetitive. I learn by doing.

One test I found useful: The Camera Store of Calgary's Mirrorless Autofocus Shootout. Why? Because they stack each of the leading (for one brief moment, until the next, best comes along) mirrorless cameras against one another and against their own claims. I'll save you biting your nails: The Fuji X-T1 finished in last place. Doesn't mean everyone needs to list their unit on eBay. I'm not selling mine. It means that Fuji has some catching up to do in continuous auto-focus. And why not? They came late to the game, which, once again, consists of manufacturers closing the loop with customers in a continual and permanent development cycle. Why have long testing cycles when you can get the customer to do the testing for you?

Fuji, among all the leading brands, seems to understand the customer. And that's why I like the closed loop of camera bodies, lenses and accessories being made by the same company and sold at a reasonable price. Guess it comes with being an Apple devotee.

Now armed with three lenses, I'll go back to the task of making myself a better artist, now that Fuji has given me some of the best tools available.

The Digital Revolution: A Different Era Requires a New Approach

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:09:00 +0000

For those of us who started photography in the days of film, there was a sequence of events that had to happen before you actually saw a processed photo in your hands. It involved taking photos without the benefit of a preview screen and waiting a day or two while the lab worked its magic.

We took for granted that an unseen accomplice would process our images correctly. Of course, professionals had the luxury of multiple rolls of film and the ability to custom process their images, but for most of us weaned on film, photography was a crapshoot. Perhaps the results would be good, perhaps not. No instant feedback to let you know if you had blundered; you had to wait. Meanwhile, the event — lighting and people — had changed and you could never replicate the event. Learning to shoot was a stutter-step process requiring patience.

I was lucky to have served my "apprenticeship" in the era of film, even if I never matched the standards I set for myself. Nevertheless, my skills had been honed for the advent of digital. It wasn't a smooth transition. Digital photography was seen as the equivalent of Polaroid, APS or other novelty acts. With the early point and shoot cameras, you waited an eternity to focus and capture an image after you pressed the button.

It wasn't until the first cheap digital SLRs arrived that we had the reassurance of a mirror assembly 'kerr-click' shutter release together with the instant feedback of the inbuilt screen. Now we were hurtling down, full-throttle, the magic wonderland highway lined with such exotic rest-stops as HDR, 3-frame GIFs and DIY processing, no longer limited by the cumbersome and delayed nature of film and its requirements. Finally, a medium of capturing photographs that kept up with the age of "instant gratification." A sign of the times, but more pertinent, a technology that required a complete re-thinking of the process.

Reminiscing on the transition from film to digital from a serious amateur, semi-pro vantage point, I was lucky to have been born at a time that allowed me to be enthusiastic about the latter while having spent hours honing my chops with the former. Film was a wonderful training exercise, especially since there was no way of knowing digital was on the horizon, about to make things a lot easier.

The basics are still required. A knowledge of the rule-of-thirds and how to put it into use, a grasp of the elements of focus and exposure, a sense of timing about when to click, a millisecond before the action happens and elements fall into place just-so, but now with the assurance of having immediate feedback so a re-calibration is possible. No more waiting an agonizing few days for the results.

Now, I have the freedom of taking a 100 photos without ever having to think about how many rolls of film this was and having to fumble with the camera back unloading and loading film cartridges. Gone are the days of using filters for trivial tasks like warming a glorious afternoon on the beach when it can be accomplished with a flick of a slider in the most basic image processing software. A vast, unexplored frontier opened in 2006 — when I got my first dSLR, the Nikon D50.

Hits, Runs, and Errors

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 07:44:00 +0000

E-P5 Takes on All Comers
I was truly amazed that anything came out of this shot.

Cal Fire Monitoring Station

It was taken from a car window at 65mph with me driving, holding the wheel with my left hand and the E-P5 with my right hand. Olympus 40-150mm lens, 1/800, f/11. If nothing else, it shows off the 5-axis IS, the top feature of this line.

In recent days, I’m even more amazed at the reception the Lumix GX7 is getting. It’s a direct competitor of the E-P5 and, according to survey info on 4/3 rumors, it’s preferred almost 4:1 by that site’s readers and it’s the most ordered mirrorless camera in the Amazon rankings.

From what I've been reading about the GX7, it may be the sensor's low light capabilities that are turning people on. I would think the Olympus 5-axis IS would outshine the new Lumix sensor, but people like NEW, and the Oly IS is over a year old. Who Knows?

E-P5 15mm body cap lens

I’d never heard about this camera (the GX7) until three days ago and now it’s clobbering the E-P5, which has been promoted for months. I haven’t looked at a Panasonic camera since the G1, which was a good camera, but lacked the features the early Olympus had, so I traded for an E-PL1.

Joe, Lumix G1

Now I have the E-P5, which seems to offer a better keep-to-discard ratio. More hits, more runs, fewer errors.

Still they're all good, and getting better. I cannot imagine the technical improvements they're going to add over the next few years: perfect exposure, perfect focus every time, 4 times today's dynamic range. For accurate color and true HDR, a synthetic, bionic human eye instead of a lens. Who Knows?

E-P5 (late eveming) 40-150mm lens

E-P5 (late evening) 20mm lens

Still, the true test will not be how the camera performs, but how good, interesting and original the images are. The best art is simple. Most photographers, professional and amateur, get this. But it is fun to compare devices...because, because everyone has his/her own reasons and loyalties. The trick is to recognize it and not take it all too seriously.

Lumix GH2

So what do I like/dislike about the E-P5? It's early yet, I've only had it a week and a half. I'm having the most trouble with exposure. I read a review somewhere that mentioned the same issue: the three choices don't seem to be that different. When using a telephoto, I noticed that when I stand in a shaded area, shoot through a sunny one into the shade again, the metering gets confused, even the spot that should nail the spot it's pointed at jumps around.

E-P5 40-150mm lens

I'm still getting used to it, like the SCP very much, and, contrary to the conventional wisdom, I don't think the Olympus controls are so difficult. Perhaps, because I'm familiar with the E-PLx series. Once you get it set up, there's not that much to do.

Jackie and Clarence, E-P5 Olympus 45mm

The big challenge for someone used to the simple controls of an old rangefinder film camera is getting a handle on the proliferating buttons, dials, and knobs that control so many more settings and features. Nevertheless, the E-P5 has the most ergonomic controls of any digital camera I've ever used.

Dream Horses - E-PL5

Rainy Dog - Nikon v1

As for results, it's really personal preference, ease of use and what you do with the tools you have. Witness the following portrait series with the E-P5 and the Nikon v1.

E-P5 75mm lens

E-P5 40-150mm lens

Nikon v1 30-110mm lens

Nikon v1 18.5mm lens

I don't see much of a difference, tech spec-wise. The Nikon v1 is a great camera. What does it do better? It's a bit smaller, fewer lenses cover more situations. But it doesn't have the articulating LCD or VF that the E-P5 (with the VF4) has. And, for me, that's a big deal; I like changing the angle of view, and the E-P5 has that capability.

Auto focus is a draw. And the Nikon v1 doesn't have a SCP-like shortcut menu.

Minimal processing on the following images, all from the E-P5:

E-P5

Is there a winner? Yes, it's me! It's you! There's never been an art form that's become so accessible, so quickly. Heretofore, costly, slow, process, people, and labor intensive, you can do it all now. What used to take several people, cost a whole lot of money, offer a narrower range of results without extensive technical training, you can now learn and practice on your own at minimal cost in gear in twice the time.

For an extended take on this theme, see the always scintillating Kirk Tuck's latest post on the state of the art, the business, and the tools.

E-P5 20mm f/1.7

The above was taken around 9:30pm. Need more practice panning.

E-P5

E-P5 (out-of-focus, but I like it)

E-P5

One thing is certain; I'm going to have fun with the E-P5 and the Nikon v1.

E-PL5 vs Nikon v1

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 17:55:00 +0000

On a recent biz trip to Europe I took a m4/3 E-PL5, an iPhone 4s, and an iPad 3. Yes, the last two are cameras even though many hotshot pro/ams are not likely to concede this. Are the pictures they take as good as ones taken with a dedicated camera?

L'Accordeoniste, Saturday Arcata Market – E-PL5

Depend on circumstances. There are many instances where whipping out a camera and waving it around in candid situations not only puts people off, it is outright impossible in subways, buses, trains, planes, elevators, shops, stores, malls. Some places, like subways and malls, either make it illegal or have ordinances proscribing their use.

Arcata Street Musician – Nikon v1

St. Germaine Street Musicians –E-PL5

I'd rather be using a dedicated camera, but after my trip I now grudgingly concede that mobile devices take good photos and the quality gap is closing. And why not? They're the same companies in many instances and they use the same technologies.

Bombarding the Senses – Nikon v1

Pantomimes, Hamburg Waterfront – E-PL5

But that discussion is not what this post is about; I've already offered a cursory comparison on that issue and, as time goes on, I intend to show more comparisons of the two device types.

Onyx Hotel, Hamburg – E-PL5

This post, however, concerns my choice of dedicated, stand-alone, interchangeable lens equipped camera, of which I have three:

Sony a57, a dependable workhorse, but too bulk for a trip like this
Nikon v1, tiny, controversial, well-designed. Great images, self-contained system, with excellent lenses. Small sensor can exhibit dynamic range issues.
Olympus E-PL5. I had the 1 and the 3 in the same family. I liked the E-PL1 very much, sold it prematurely before the onslaught of the ever-expanding, professional line of Olympus lenses that would have cemented my keeping it.

So let's compare the results from the Nikon and the Olympus, and try to understand why I chose the Olympus, but might have been better off with the Nikon.

Parallel Lines Meet at Infinity, Arcata Fellowship – Nikon v1

It's not a quality issue; both cameras provide satisfactory results, at least to my liking.

Achats de Muguet, Fete du Travail, Paris, 1 Mai – E-PL5

Dreamy House, Arcata – Nikon v1

I didn't realize it at the time, but the deciding factor ought to have been flexibility — being able to capture the greatest number of image types with the smallest amount of gear.

Building Facade, Hamburg – E-PL5

Saturday Market, Arcata – E-PL5

Portrait, street and architecture were the image types I was thinking about, which, in Nikon v1 terms translates to the camera body, battery, and a choice of lenses I had at the time: the 10-30mm, the 18.5mm, and the 30-110mm.

Doorway, Courtyard, Lodeve, France – E-PL5

I now have the 6.7-13mm wide angle, a very nice lens with a difficult-to-attach lens hood. I mentioned this in my B&H writeup. Nikon should recall all these lens hoods and issue replacements! I don't know how this got by Nikon quality control; the 10-30mm and the 30-110mm hoods are fine.

Quai de la Seine, Paris – E-PL5

Arcata Alley – Nikon v1

Those three Nikon lenses would have been fine, but I like shooting indoors — even though today's sample has no interiors — and that's where the Olympus lenses offer better choices. I was also thinking wide angle, but wasn't able to get either the Nikon WA zoom or the Olympus 12mm before I left.

Courtyard Entrance, House of Gunther Grass, Lübeck – E-PL5

Too bad, because I found out that WA, fixed focal or zoom, would have been nice to have in the bag.

Flamingos, Eureka Zoo – Nikon v1

Arcata Saturday Market – Nikon v1

Bateau Mouche, La Seine – E-PL5

At the time I took the Oly 45mm and 15mm f/8, the Lumix 20mm and 45-200mm, the kit lens. The 45mm and the 20mm are fast and the Lumix 20mm is an all-in-one workhorse.

Organ Grinder, Hamburg Quai – E-PL5

Street Musician, Arcata – Nikon v1

German Answer to "The Tardis" – E-PL5

The verdict hinges on the types of images and the available lenses for capturing the desired types. And because I don't really have a style, I'm not always sure of what I'm going to point a camera or cell phone lens at. Sometimes, when I think about it, I tell myself, "Wow, you're the only photographer in the world without a style. Why not work on one? Be a specialist in HDR. Major in portraits. Landscapes are really nice. Nah. I'll just grab a camera, go out, and see what happens."

Moi-meme, Planting Geraniums, Olmet, France – E-PL5

In the end, it really doesn't matter — Olympus E-PL5 or Nikon v1 — both are excellent cameras for my web-centric purposes. As are the iPad 3 and the iPhone 4S.

Next time, I'll include some interiors which may prove the Olympus with its larger sensor and faster lenses was the best choice after all.

Row Houses, Hamburg Area – E-PL5

Hamburg Street – E-PL5

Europe Doesn't Seem so Bedraggled

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 00:48:00 +0000

I took three cameras to Europe on my recent trip. Well, not three dedicated-to-photography cameras, one genuine camera, an Apple iPhone and an Apple iPad. Funny, Lightroom has lens profiles for the iPhone, but not for the Olympus E-PL5, the dedicated camera that went with me. Goes to show you that multi-tasking cellphones are creeping up fast on dedicated cameras.

Surf Motel, Lombard Street – Apple iPhone 4S

My 12-hour plane ordeal started at the el cheapo Surf Motel in San Francisco, an easy jumping off point to SFO.

SFO / Check in lines – Apple iPad 3

The iPad is sneakier than the iPhone because people think you're reading, not framing a shot of them going off about baggage overage surcharges.

Shop on King's Road, London – Apple iPhone 4S

So here's London, once again with the iPhone out of the bus window. It's much easier to use than to wrestle with a camera and lenses on a crowded bus. Don't think about it, just wait for something interesting to develop, like this young woman, standing in the doorway of her shop. Was she bored on account of slow trade? Watching the street for her lover? Waiting for her lunch to be delivered? Checking out the weather? Color coordination didn't hurt this image either. Wouldn't have worked it up if she'd been wearing green.

Off to Brighton via train for a conference on Kundalini.

Waterloo Station, London – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

Everyone's in step, man and fowl alike. The usual large city crowd movements, stoked by the Friday afternoon – weekend homecoming expectations. Trains go faster, planes fly more often, people walk quicker, cars honk louder, but everyone gets home later.

Marks & Spencer's, London – Olympus E-PL5, 45mm f/1.8

Back to London Sunday night, M23 to the Ring Road. Better know where you're going. Better yet: have someone else who knows the roads at the wheel.

David, my host – Olympus E-PL5, 45mm f/1.8

Then onto the continent – Montpelier, France – where we worked in the garden and grounds of his estate. First picking our plants one by one in a very original French pépinière.

Assorted Geraniums, pépinière de Lodeve, France – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

Put them in pots, hang them up to add color to those ancient walls.

Geraniums, Olmet, France – Apple iPhone 4S

He sold me a pair of Moroccan slippers for 9€ to paddle around the rooms or gaze out over the canyons from the terrace in.

Vendor, Saturday Marché, Lodeve, France – Olympus E-PL5

Can't rush planting in L'Herault. It may be the south of France, but even in late April you have the icy cold Mistral winds roaring through the sun drenched canyons.

Canyons behind Olmet – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

Then onto Paris via Orly airport, Sunday evening bus to Denfert. Catch a taxi to the 18eme, famous for Tati's house of tissu by the meter, their marketing notwithstanding.

Tati, Paris 18eme – Apple iPhone 4S

The next day, off the suburbs to meet a man about a book in the always sterile confines of La Defense.

Paris, La Defense – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

After which I beelined it back to Paris for a business lunch and then a stroll with the camera to assuage the extra energy intake of the fine French cooking I'm no longer used to.

Walked from M: Etienne Marcel to St. Germaine, cross the bridges. Not the ones in Madison County, wherever that is, the ones on the Seine. First the bridge from Chatelet to Ile de la Cité...


The City of Light, Lovers on the Seine – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

...Where lovers pause to kiss with the Conciergerie over their shoulders. In that building were confined King Louis XVI and his Queen, Marie Antoinette on their way to the guillotine in 1793.

Two days later, a plane to Hamburg, featuring walks through Lübeck and Hamburg with my good buddy here below.

Sunrise in Hamburg, Portuguese Quarter – Olympus E-PL5, 45mm f/1.8

My first trip to Germany.

Weather's actually warmer than the south of France. Not much chance to catch individual words among the streams of Teutonic utterances flying past my ears. Nor am I able to say they went in one ear and out the other. They merely flew past me at the speed of sound.

City Gates Lubeck, Germany – Olympus E-PL5, 20mm f/1.7

Maybe it's springtime, but Europe's sinking economy seemed supercharged with shoppers while I was there. People I met weren't complaining. Shops, restaurants, airports and train stations were full up. People throwing money around. Thumbing their noses at austerity perhaps.

Dead reckoning for CAC-40 later this year? Doesn't seem so. But it's still a very different way life and a very different outlook. And very different if you have job and your bills are paid. Nevertheless, they've been through 22 millenniums; this is our second. They've seen the ups head down and the downs go up many times.


Swiss Air to SFO – Apple iPhone 4S

Painterly Effects

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 22:57:00 +0000

So are there any redeeming qualities to working with painterly effects? I describe my process and why I use it (all images captured with the Nikon v1 and the 10-30mm lens).

When I walk through an art gallery, I see the same composition and lighting techniques used by photographers. If fact, photographers copied the techniques artists have used for centuries — artists have been playing with these and other imaging techniques long before cameras were invented.

Strong lighting, dynamic range, even in very low key situations, characterizes Vermeer and other Dutch Masters. Simplicity of composition — the artist has the luxury of deciding the number and placement of each object; he/she doesn't have to wait for an exact moment when the wind stops blowing or a person in the foreground stops spoiling an otherwise interesting subject.

Too many centers of interest

So we say goodbye to the pensive guy in the foreground

I'm not saying that these are the greatest images; I'm using them to illustrate how I try to overcome problematic lighting and composition issues. In the above, I eliminated the preoccupied guy in the foreground. Then I made some contrast and sharpness adjustments in Lightroom, after which I loaded the results into Silver FX, sharpened some more and used the selective Color feature to retain the girl's facial coloring. Back in Lightroom, I edited it in Topaz Simplify, applying the Painting IV preset. The reason for using Topaz Simplify is to eliminate the number of elements in the image, or at least give the impression that the composition has fewer elements. That's the whole purpose of Topaz Simplify — to simplify. Yes, the Topaz Plugins and presets usually overdo it, but there are controls that allow you to dial in the amounts you want. At the end I use the Transparency control which permits blending the Topaz results with the original.

And that's how the first image below became the second image.

Original with too many elements

Topaz Simplify does its painterly thing

This image underwent some basic Lightroom adjustments before being exported to Topaz Adjust to receive a dose of Color Blast. This saturates and eliminates clutter. Using the new Topaz photoFXlab interface that allows you to go back and forth among the Topaz Plugins, I applied the Topaz Adjust modifications and then loaded Topaz Simplify.

Here, I made a mistake I would later regret, but found a better way of dealing with the problem in the next group of images. Anyway, I wanted to lighten the faces so I used the Local Adjustment Burn-in feature. I wasn't able to control the tool without burning-in too much.

In fact, I realized that Viveza 2 would have done a better job, but it wasn't worth starting over with this image. I had another that needed some of the same treatment. To finish, I applied the photoFXlab Dynamics tool and then loaded it into Viveza 2, just to play. The overall was a little too much on the face.

Below, Lightroom basics, then Viveza 2 to lighten the faces. I'm not so worried about detail. After all, it's impressionistic. I'm looking to attract the eye, and that means lightening the faces. But there are so many elements in the image it's hard to isolate the important ones. All I can do is preview the image in the various Topaz Simplify presets and then customize the results. So it's Viveza 2, then Topaz Simplify > Oil Painting > BuzSim IV.

Korean Taco - Original image

Korean Taco - Postprocessed image

Is it better that the original? Slightly, perhaps. The original isn't that much to begin with. Sometimes, the painterly effects work really well; sometimes not as well. Here are some more:

Original image with Lightroom modifications

Topaz B&W - Low Key preset - Topaz Simplify B&W preset, 20% Dynamics

See if you can guess which tools were used?

Why are more and more supermarkets featuring this type of junk?
See if you can guess which tools were used?

How is this one different from the previous version above?

Bad News...Good News: The Nikon v1 @ $299

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 23:02:00 +0000

"Nikon, Olympus, and Sony have now reported their third quarter results. Analysts weren't overly impressed. Nikon's stock dropped 18% following their results announcement, despite the fact that Nikon announced a profit. Both Olympus and Sony reported serious losses in their imaging groups."

This quote from Thom Hogan's Sans Mirror site is the bad, good news. Bad because it signals a generalized slow down in the development cycles of the leading sans miroir companies; good because it means overstocking may bring prices down on their existing inventories while supplies last. But — and this is a good thing — fewer iterations per development cycle. Instead of three E-PLx cameras per year, Olympus may only be able to finance one, if that.

Why is this happening? My guess is cell phone cameras are eating into sales of all kinds of imaging equipment. And that won't change. But the cameras out there are so good and so plentiful, sit tight until the prices come down.

It happened to the Nikon v1 just before Christmas, so I purchased one. At $299, that's a real bargain. Couple that with the one I tried — @ $900 — and returned for full value because I felt it was overpriced and I finally feel able to boast a bit. Most of the time I just take a beating on eBay resales when a camera doesn't live up to expectations.

I also purchased the new 18mm f/1,8 (49mm, 35mm equivalent) and set out to capture my usual potpourri of derivative images. The following images were taken with this lens.

Nikon v1 18.5mm f/1.8 lens

Judge for yourself if the lens is okay; I'm not very good at all the technical things that can be wrong with lenses; I just use them.

The Nikon v1 is my favorite small camera. I like it better than the NEX line, and even though I have a Sony a57 as my modest workhorse, it's a bit heavy to take on every street or travel foray.

Nikon v1 - Ocean Park Motel, San Francisco

Sunset/Moonrise - Arcata Bottoms

Today, Adorama was offering the 40-150mm Olympus for $99. An el-cheapo lens, it's nevertheless a very good one. So I got one. Bargains galore should start appearing as the inventories continue to clog warehouses.

No, I don't want these companies to fail; I want them to continue making strides with their R&D. But I think these smaller cameras have been overpriced and are now adjusting their extravagant pricing schedules to market realities. This is normal. They didn't know how to price these devices, so they pegged them in between P&S and DSLRs.

If they lower prices, they can earn a larger market share. I'm sure Olympus sells many more 45mm lenses than their other higher priced, but equally enticing, fixed focal length lenses — the 12mm, the 60mm, and the 75mm. Why? The price differential.

Nikon v1 - no processing


Model adjusts her makeup

Ocean Park Motel, SF

What's going to happen for an encore?

Well, on the Nikon 1 front, there's the announced, but yet invisible 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 (86mm, 35mm equivalent). This is some serious stuff, a slow but a steady trickle of lenses. If they don't come out with lenses, the line will die on the vine. So far no third party interest. And I wish it had an articulating LCD.

Olympus — I have the E-PL5 in the interim, as I wait for the price to drop on the Olympus E-M5 OMD and I'm snatching up bargain lenses. The E-PLx line is very good. Very happy with the results with a subset of lenses — both Panasonic's and Oly's as well as the OEMs.

Sony Alpha has lots of great lenses, some excellent third party ones, to boot. Plus, I bought into the EVF from the outset. I want to have some idea of the final image and the EVF gives me that. What's more, EVF technology is in its infancy. Bound to exceed both current OVF and EVF capabilities as digital moves forward.

Paper Shuffling

Golden Gate Park, SF

Each camera fits a specific need, style, or usage. The Nikon is very compact, focuses in a dark gym. Its fast autfocus might even work for sports if the lenses keep coming. A Sigma, Tamron heads up here.

I'm not sure the E-PL5 could capture the following image, not sure it can handle continuous autofocus? It's more of a versatile street shooter. The articulating LCD and my EVF accommodate many shooting situations and positions.

Rec league basketball

The Sony a57 is my version of a workhorse. Many lenses — both Sony's and OEM, excellent manual focus, peaking, too. Articulating LCD. Able to do everything from street to architecture to landscape. But probably the most iffy autofocus of the three.

Ocean Park Motel...

...The Art Deco Champion

But the Nikon 1 line is also versatile, as many around the web have proven. The sensor size criticism is moot if all you aiming to do is post to the web. Someday I'll get around to printing some Nikon v1 images, just to see how they hold up.

Chico Market Singing Couple

My v1 has taken this collection of photos with one lens under quite different conditions and it always comes through, at least for me. Maybe I'm wrong about the prices and the realignment. Time will tell. In the meantime I'm bargain hunting.

How do I Love Thee, E-PL5

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:03:00 +0000

How do I love thee, oh E-PL5? Let me count the ways.

E-PL5: Trying for the Edward Hopper look

As a matter of fact I'm not sure I love thee at all, not based on the kit lens that came with thee. And that's the only lens I've used so far on the E-PL5, because it's the only one I have. So are these samples indicative of the best this lens is capable of? You be the judge.

E-PL5: Dirty chair

What about the camera? How does it perform? I set the IS and the rest of the settings, went out and recorded some images. The auto-focus IS fast, but is it accurate? It's hard to tell with the 14-42mm kit lens. I'm not set up to judge this kind of thing, wouldn't want to even if I had the equipment to do so. Chimping, the exposure looks good, but when you load them on to the computer, the RAW files need work, and the images don't look all that sharp.

Here's one right out of the camera, a JPEG shot with the Art filter. No post-processing. The rest were captured RAW.

E-PL5: JPEG with Art filter. No post

I'll be getting three and a half lenses soon: The 40-150mm, the Olympus 45mm f/1.8, the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7, and the Body Cap f/8. Add in Fotodiox adapters for my Canon FDs, my Minolta MDs, as well as my 40mm Pen F and that's all I can afford for the moment, enough to judge auto and manual focus under all sorts of conditions.

E-PL5: Up the road apiece

With my Sony Alpha gear, I'm not worried about auto-focus. I can set it up on a tripod for all manual — focus and exposure — and shoot at slow speeds without worrying. But a small camera, like the Nikon 1, the NEXs, or the m4/3 offerings, needs to be able to focus quickly and accurately because I use them for different purposes.

E-PL5: Chico market musicians

The E-PL1 worked well with Panasonic and Olympus lenses. That was before the new Olympus primes became available. I had the 20mm f/1.7, the 40-150mm Olympus, and the 7-14mm f/4, plus the same bunch of third party lenses. The real surprise is the 40-150mm; it's a fine lens for the price. No complaints about any of them, but m4/3 lenses have come a long way over the past two years.

The Olympus 12mm, the 60mm, the 75mm are enticing. Ditto the Panasonic Leica 25mm. But that's a lotta cash.

Image

Same as above, cropped

Focus looks pretty good in the above if the cropped portion is any indication.

So far, among the smaller formats, the Nikon 1 is the easiest to use, best user interface, the E-PL1 is the most versatile, but despite all their great features, the NEXs are the most frustrating. Perhaps, the NEX 6 & 7 have changed all that. I haven't tried either, but I'd be looking for superior auto-focus, above and beyond the hunt and hum of the NEX 5 and 5n. Yes, they have peaking, etc., lots of features, but the auto-focus, even with the dedicated NEX 50mm lens was not reliable, at least for me.

Sony A57, 55-200mm lens: Three Schoolgirls

The Sony Alpha cameras and lens are great, reasonably priced, and forward looking. The NEX system is overpriced and underdeveloped. I'll try the NEX 6, but would probably buy a Nikon V1 since they've dropped the price way down and no one seems to like it.

Till then I'll work on learning the E-PL5. Paired with better lenses, I'm sure I will love thee in all the myriad ways. In any case, I'm stuck with thee. No more trade-ins or eBay going-out-of- business sales.

E-PL5: Chico market vendor

I like the low key look of this image, but I don't think the color to B&W conversion is the best I can do. I used Topaz B&W Effects. I'm going to try again, using different software.

E-PL5: Up the road

More of the Topaz plug-in suite. I like them because they're reasonably priced (upgrades are free), they provide a lot of free Webinar training, their recent upgrades have pulled back on the overly exaggerated HDR look.

E-PL5: Chico street market

I'm going out today around 3:00pm. See how the kit lens handles our fabulous winter sunsets. So far in the dim winter light it's okay. Like any new device, it takes getting used to.

Why is CA school design so modularly cold and uninviting?

To Sony, with Reservations

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:40:00 +0000

I sold off my m4/3s gear, thinking I could convert to an all Sony setup — the larger a57 and a smaller NEX 5n for more intimate situations. That way I could leverage my Sony lenses to a certain degree using the various Sony adapters.

Trouble is, I don't really like the NEX 5n, not compared to the E-PL1, much less an E-M5. Not for focus, not for handling, stabilization, not for exposure, not for images.

Why am I griping now that cameras are so easy to use. Well, what is ease of use? What does it translate to — in imaging terms? For me it's less time alloted to thinking about camera setup and more time devoted to lighting, composition, dynamic range, and exposure.

E-PL1 in all its glory, with el cheapo 40 -150mm lens

I love the a57; it's a great all-around camera, but the NEX 5n doesn't have the same all around adaptability and capability, neither of the Alpha line nor of the Olympus m4/3s cameras.

Personal opinion? Yes. Have I tried the NEX 7 or the NEX 6? Better to ask will I try them or just sell the NEX 5n and hope to get an E-PL5 with the 16-50mm lens and build back from there? Olympus is coming on so fast with their small mirrorless cameras. Yet it's hard to say "I'll never..." Never is an eatable/edible word, an appetizer for stouter fare like, "Apple's always one-step ahead of the rest." They are now, but next year? Next month?


Sony NEX 5n

Things are moving fast in camera design. Sony has some things, a lot of things, right. So does Olympus.

I like some NEX images, but it takes a lot to get them. The E-PL1 autofocuses quickly with even the cheapest lens. So does the Nikon V1. Pity its sensor isn't as robust as the Sony or the Olympus. Sony NEX has the sensor right; it's the other things that aren't dependable, at least for me, at my age, with my eyes. I can rely on Olympus autofocus and stabilization, but not on NEX.

Sony a57 50mm lens

What about manual focus with adapters for third party lenses? Wouldn't that be better? The NEX is supposed to be great with them.

Sorry. Sony doesn't handle them the way Olympus does. Despite the nifty peaking feature that works well on the Alpha a57, I still can't rely on manual focus with the NEX.
So, even though the following pix was taken with the Minolta MD 50mm on the NEX 5n, the focus is so delicate, so precise, bare millimeters in either direction, I started to have second thoughts about my overall experience, decided to cut my loses and migrate back to Olympus. If I could only use NEX or Zeiss lenses — the legacy lenses as a whole being too difficult to focus — wouldn't the more mature Olympus m4/3 gear be a better choice. More lenses, more miniaturization, better stabilization.

Sony NEX 5n Minolta 50mm

Sony NEX 5n

NEX is just not a mature product. Never? Never say NEVER. And now that Sony and Olympus have banded together, they may start finding economies of scale. Lenses, components, sensors made by the one that does it best.

Am I saying the NEX 5n is incapable of great images? No, emphatically not. It's as much me as the camera, probably more me, in fact. I'm just more comfortable with the Olympus rigs, human interface aside.

No, I don't like having two different interfaces, different terminology, controls, etc. That's a drag. But Olympus has faster autofocus and metering and better camera stabilization.

E-PL1

Sony a57 Sigma 70-200mm lens

Sony NEX 5n

Sony a57 - 50 mm lens

Sony a57 - 50mm lens

The sensor is great in dim light, as seen here.

Sony NEX - 50mm lens

Painterly

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:14:00 +0000

I may be wrong but it seems to me that image manipulation software like Topaz is frowned upon when used for transforming images from photographs into "art." Because the results are deemed pretentious? Because they appear exaggerated, even grotesque? Because they detract from the sacred cows of sharp focus or glossy prints?

So why do these products even feature "painterly" tools if people look down on them? Scads of presets, loads of sliders waiting to be slid? Contrast, Dynamics, Soft Contrast, Subtle Contrast, Contrast Boost, Contrast on Contrast?

Downloading the latest version of Topaz Simplify got me to thinking. What if I were to transform all the images I shot today, slide all the sliders, pimp all the presets? Would it render my images — which were pretty ordinary to begin with — into a lot of useless junk?

And then I thought back to my gallery hopping days, spring afternoons spent with young ladies at the Philips Gallery, the National, the Louvre, the Met, the Modern, the Tate, the Prado. If you stripped down a lot of the old and young masters' images, imagined them as Camera RAW images, they'd seem pretty humdrum: still lifes, pastorals, cityscapes. So why are they considered art?

Sony a57 - Topaz Simplify

Claro! It must be the artists' renderings: light and shadow, composition, color, surface treatment, media, detail or lack of that transforms the everyday into art. As for transforming photo images with the Topaz Plug-ins, the term Painterly seems appropriate, as in a Painterly representation.

Sony NEX 5n - Topaz Simplify

As for its legitimacy, I find it no more grotesque than HDR, in fact, a lot less, most of the time. What's more, it seems to be catching on in commercial art, as evidenced by the following:

Mall Art

Now the fact that this technique was used to idealize a portrait of Kevin Durant does not legitimize it as art, or even mainstream. For all I know this could have been painted. Who knows? But I don't find it much different than the following. Technique-wise, that is.

Image below taken with Apple iPhone from moving car through the window.

Trompe L'Oeil: Reverse angle (Street painting seen in reflection of restaurant door below)

Above, the first use of the iPhone camera on this blog. Below, girl is across the street from the wall painting.

Sony NEX 5n — Across the street from Wall painting

Compared to the original, the following image comes alive when a Painterly treatment is applied.

Sony a57 - Topaz Simplify

The original.

Sony a57 - Camer RAW

There's always a temptation to overdo it. Sometimes it's merited; sometimes it isn't.

Sony a57 - Topaz Simplify

Sony a57 - Topaz (I lost track of the Plug-ins used, finally tried "I feel Lucky")

Sony a57 - Topaz Simplify

Sony NEX 5n - Topaz Simplify

Sony a57- Topaz Simplify

Of course, people will say this stuff wouldn't print well, and they may be right. Print technology can't match the artist's handling of texture or medium. At least, not at my level. But so much imagery is absorbed from the web these days, does it really matter what a print version looks like?

And I'm just a beginner when it comes to these tools. I didn't do any masking or compositing. I've got to learn that.

Hats off to Topaz for research and development. It may be time to head in new directions. It is for me. When I capture images to be Topazed, I find myself spending less time with dials and menus, and more time on what it is I want the image to say.

Sony a57 - Topaz Simplify

E-PL3

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 22:44:00 +0000

I had an E-PL1 stolen in shipping. Since then I've tried Nikon v1 (almost a great camera!), the Nex 5, the Sony a57, and finally the Olympus E-PL3.

Thinking I'd recapture some of the E-PL1 glory, I purchased the latter from a friend. Seemed like a good idea at the time because I still have some m4/3 accessories (the VF-2) and lenses.

E-PL3, Lumix 7-14mm lens.

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm lens.

Guess I've been spoiled by the Sony. But I also learned a lesson while trying to wrangle more than one system.

E-PL3, Lumix 7-14mm lens.

I'm keeping only my Sony a57, adding accessories and lenses as I progress. Why?

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm lens.

Recently, I bought an Olympus E-PL3 from a friend. It's complicated my life. Now I have to concentrate on recalling two different operational control systems when taking one or the other out. So while I'm working with the E-PL3, I'm forgetting, or confusing, some controls on the a57. And vice-versa.

E-PL3, Lumix 7-14mm lens.

For example:

The other day I was shooting a street market with the Sony a57, which I hadn't used for two weeks because I was "familiarizing" myself with Olympus. I set the a57 to M — I find I can better control exposure in that mode. I used the index finger flywheel to select the shutter speed, then I proceeded to snap away. When light conditions changed, I reset the shutter speed, realizing I would also need to change the f/stop. All of a sudden my mind went blank. I knew the flywheel also controlled the f/stop with a modifier button, but because I'd been using the E-PL3 for two weeks, I couldn't remember which modifier button to press to change the f/stop. So a camera whose controls I had become very familiar with was suddenly useless as I pressed all manner of button trying to find the right modifier, completely screwing up the settings and pissing me off at myself for being so dumb. Well, it was my fault for wasting time with the E-PL3, unlearning, as it were, important operational controls on the Sony.

E-PL3, Lumix 7-14mm lens.

I know this kind of thing never happens to any of you master photographers out there, you with the perfect memories and lightening quick reactions under all circumstances, you who have mastered all systems (on paper) and know the pixel dimensions of every sensor and the controls on every camera since the Kodak Brownie.

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm lens.

But it happened to me because I stretched my limited capacities too thin. I spent a lot of time learning the Sony controls and experimenting with it; then I wasted a lot of time confusing myself with the E-PL3, which, by the way, I found to be inferior to the Sony and all it's capable of.

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm lens.

Self-portrait with E-PL3 & 7-14mm lens & VF-2

So I'm selling the E-PL3 and all my other m4/3 stuff. One more by-product of the sensory and cognitive overload that browsing the web for gear foists on us: Spreading ourselves too thin.

E-PL3, Lumix 7-14mm lens.

Real good deal on the Olympus, if you're interested...

I've got nothing against Olympus; I just think Sony suits my particular needs better. One example is manual focus; Sony has Focus Peaking. I can use legacy lenses and not worry about focus. Images taken with the E-PL3 and my Olympus PEN-F 40mm (like the following image) were much more problematic. This one's in focus; most of them are not. Without Focus Peaking my eyes alone aren't good enough.

E-PL3, Olympus PEN-F 40mm lens.

The Olympus' best feature isn't even part of the camera; it's the VF-2, and its ability to allow shooting from eye or chest level (by folding the VF up and down). Some of its worst are:

No folding plug battery charger,
Inadequate bracketing range,
No Focus Peaking,
Difficult menu system.

Once I figured out I don't need more than one camera, the rest is easy. The company that seems to have balanced innovation with modularity is Sony; I'm sticking with them.

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm lens.

Yes, the a57 won't fit in my pocket, so I'll probably get a $2C P&S later than sooner.

E-PL3, Olympus PEN-F 40mm lens. Wish I'd had focus peaking for this one

E-PL3, Lumix 20mm f/1.7

Yellow Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:52:00 +0000

Bayside House

Assorted yellow stuff from 2011, starring North Coast Winter Light, colors we don't get in summer. Featuring an assortment of lenses on the Olympus E-PL1.

Time to take the dog for a walk...

...on wet sidewalks we know every inch of

Hey boy, even the filling stations are beautiful in winter light

Early morning light

Late afternoon light

Evening light

Better take the dog home, honey...before the rains come

'N get ready for the basketball game. What else is there to do in winter up here?
And suddenly, we walk outside and a few rays of sunlight peak through the clouds. Winter light loves Yellow!

Let's duck in here for a bite. Oops, it's not the Mexican any more. A Chinese with no customers? Hmm...

Amazon.com Widgets

Street Fair & Boat Dock

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Alice looked through the magic hole, and guess what she saw?

Hey, what's going on in Wonderland?

A street fair with lots of loud people, shouting and gesticulating. What's a girl to do?

We're all out of hot dogs, will you settle for some Skittles?

...But cross the narrow channel to the boat docks where the only noise is the gentle flapping of the waves and squawking gulls. Untie those lines and off we go on another fantastic adventure.

Cast off starboard, hold fast the bow line.

Anchors away!

Hoist the Signal flags

Full steam ahead

All pix, Sony a57, 55-200mm lens...except the following, which features the E-PL1 and the el cheapo, but reliable, Olympus 40-150mm lens.

"A change in the weather, skipper. It's not a trip I'd like to be taking."

'N it's out to sea with Cap'n Gulley Jimson.

Amazon.com Widgets

More on Sony a57

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 20:08:00 +0000

Really like what I have been able to accomplish with the Sony a57. I actually had an assignment, for which I used the Sony 35mm lens, a Vivitar 13mm f/2.8 wide angle Sony mount lens, my spiffy Manfrotto knock-off ProMaster carbon tripod and head.

Tried some panos. They're okay but I need a tripod setup with nodal point capabilities. This will allow including more of the frame and may prevent distortion.


Panorama using Sony 35mm

All images were 100 ISO, which according to Kirk Tuck, would be better served by the low ISO champion Sony a77.

I do intend to get several of the cheap LED lights to balance illumination. Maybe pick up his book on LED lighting, LED Lighting: Professional Techniques for Digital Photographers. For this shoot, I had nothing but daylight and assorted practicals. Overall, the interiors are not bad.

The Vivitar 13mm

I used mostly manual focus and manual exposure, which, coupled with the Sony remote, seemed to avoid noise in the darked images. I'm thinking I could go out the HDMI port in the camera into the Apple HDMI adapter to the iPad 3 to fine tune exposure and focus. I've already used this setup with a Vivitek projector as a classroom teaching aide to introduce teachers to the learning potential of the Apple Read Aloud feature for teaching reading. Works great, and when connected to the iPad's HD screen should provide even better definition.

Sony 35mm lens

I used a mix of home grown post-processing via Topaz, Nik, Lightroom, and Photoshop for tone mapping, HDR, etc. Tried the bracketed exposure feature, but the limited .7 stop bracketing didn't provide much help for this shot.

Vivitar 13mm, three exposure HDR set to .3 stops

Not much gained here, a learning experience perhaps. Next time I'll set the exposure manually and fire off seven to nine images.

Sony 35mm lens

Played around desaturating the above. Left just a hint of color in the trees. Really hard to get something in failing light, that's why the various miracle post-processing applications are so much fun to play with. I've been receiving eMails from onOne Software. Finally took a look at their thing after ignoring them for months now.

Impressive, seems to be a simplified version of Photoshop. Expensive!

Sony 35mm, homemade single image HDR tonemapping

Sony 35mm. Polarizing filter produced these goofy reflections

That's about it. Learned a lot about the camera. Think it did fine with low ISO, even in failing light. For outside panoramas, winter is the time for those amazing north coast skies.

Three image vertical panorama. Sony 35mm

Sown together with Photoshop. HDR effects added. Hope it's not too much. Client seemed to like it, the whole bunch, in fact.

Sony 35mm

And finally a couple of favorites:

Sony 35mm

Vivitar 13mm makes a large house seem rather small

Final shot: My assistant off the side of the road next to the Trinidad cliffs on the way home. Barking seals in the background not included!

Sony 55-200mm f/4-5.5

I clicked the shutter; Nik Silver Efx did the rest.

Getting Used to Digital

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 22:41:00 +0000

Lots of drool on the Internet about cameras. Cameras with too many controls, not enough controls. Too many menus. Confusing menus. Not enough pixels. Too many pixels. Not enough features. Too many. Blah-blah.

Seems most folks don't think their current model is enough camera for them. My problem is too much camera. Whatever camera I have at the moment is too much camera for me, but then again I come from an analog background: ISO, f-stop, shutter speed, DOF markers on the lenses. Why don't digital lenses have DOF marks? Select a range to focus on sure would help when limited by available light.


Nasturtiums

I should be getting used to digital. The Sony A57 I used to shoot these pix is okay. I thought it would solve most of my exposure and focusing issues, but it hasn't, Of the three cameras I've used extensively over the past year — the Olympus E-PL1, the Nikon v1, and the Sony A57 — I think overall the best results were achieved by the E-PL1.

Home is the Sailor, Home from the Sea

Focus and exposure were more dependable and the camera wasn't that hard to use. The Nikon came in second. The Sony is hard core: when I point and focus, I check exposure, get the beeps, but everything seems slightly out of focus.


Arcata Kinetic Sculpture Race

Arcata Kinetic Sculpture Race

So now I'm trying to work exclusively with manual focus and exposure, believing if I can get it that way, the other modes P, A, and S, will follow. The peaking thing works well; it does what it's supposed to

I don't know. Maybe it's a camera shake thing. I shake too much, perhaps.

Olympus has the best IS technology and that's why most images are in focus. As for exposure, Kirk Tuck says the A57 is reliable.

TGIF Humboldt-style

Portrait of a Friend

Forget about all the bells and whistles, when you can't focus and expose correctly, it sure takes you back to basics.

Abstraction

Slice of Queen Victoria on July 4th


I don't know what this image is focused on?

All the beeps and colored lights were glowing in the Finder on the above, yet it doesn't seem to focus on anything.

I used center-weighted focus on this one

Resolved: to wit, keep plugging away.

I hate the idea of sending back a camera because I couldn't do what I wanted with it almost as much as I hate the fact that something may be wrong with it and I have no idea how to master it. Guess I'll just plugging because the strategy Sony puts forth is so enticing — relatively inexpensive lenses; a well thought out series of features; an innovative design.

Sony a57

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:10:00 +0000

Purchased a Sony a57 after reading about its capabilities on the Visual Science Lab. Was impressed by Sony strategy, how they position their camera bodies and lenses (cost/benefit). Seems to me their SLT strategy is well-conceived: they offer relatively inexpensive cameras with lots of features and quality. As opposed to m4/3 or Nikon whose Sans Mirror offerings are expensive, both lenses and bodies.

Seems Sony gets it. They know that camera technologies are changing so rapidly — Olympus has developed and marketed four m4/3 camera bodies in two years, from the EP1 to the OM-D. Initially, all were expensive, so the consumer, if he/she wants to stay current, is forced to fork out $1K per iteration as opposed to Sony whose units cost a lot less. Sony lenses are also faster and better than most of the earlier m4/3 lens offerings, although that is changing.

Still, for someone without unlimited funds, it looks like "buying into" the Sony strategy will provide me an excellent camera now and a cost effective upgrade path for the future, not to mention a line of good lenses that I can keep using.

However, on my first outing, the results were less than satisfactory. My fault, surely. I over-messed with the menu settings, or I'm getting too old to hold the camera steady, even with OIS. Anyway, the focus and exposure were a lot more complicated than my old E-PL1 or my Nikon v1.

Plus, I was using the 55-200mm Sony lens which I purchased for $98. I'm not blaming the lens; I'll go back out today with the settings I learned from Sony Alpha Lab.

Example? This one is not well focused, even though I got the green icon:


Sony a57 - 55-200mm Kinetic Grand Championship in Humboldt County, California

My shooting work flow: point the camera, press the shutter release to half down, it would seem to focus (I'd get the green "in focus" icon), but the images weren't sharp when I loaded them into Lightroom 4.0. Sometimes, after moving either the camera or my position very slightly, the exposure would jump around 2 to 3 stops.

I tried AEL, but then the focus would shift. Gotta be my handling, possibly the wrong settings. I notice that Kirk Tuck says, "The metering (multi area) is not as accurate as the metering in the a77 so I either rode the exposure compensation adjustment or switched to manual." I'm gonna go out today and practice his suggestions.

Here's another one:

Sony a57 - 55-200mm
Not as sharp as it should be

Sony a57 - 55-200mm
Same as above

Hopefully, I'll get it with practice. Gotta set the menus right to begin with, but I'm not used to all these settings.

Sony a57 - 55-200mm
Same as above

Practice, practice, practice I will. I did get a few nice sharp ones with the same settings. Wonder why?

Anyway, here's an interesting, but hardly fuel efficient float, a giant ant that not so much breathes fire as farts it out the butt.

Ant float

Ant float with fart fire

Hopefully I'll get the hang of it. I did go out the next day with the a57 and the 35mm lens the focus set to Single instead of Auto. Got a nice portrait of a very friendly, nice Coop worker:

Sony a57 – 35mm lens

An order of magnitude greater than the cameras I'm used to, most images from Day 1 were not sharp:

Undertaker

Hula Girl

This, on a tripod was sharp. Used a remote to fire the images then stitched in PS.

Three image panorama, painterly finish in Topaz

Constructive advice always welcome...

Samsung TL320

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:24:00 +0000

Looking for a pocket camera, I tried a Sony DSC-WX50. The second time I used it, it turned on — green light and all — but the lens didn't pop out. I had to yank the battery to turn it off. First time that's happened on a day two. Gonna return it. No point in tempting fate. I have no idea if it takes good pix.

I ordered a Samsung TL320 instead. Like all Rear Window LCD cameras, my eyes are too old, the angles too difficult to get decent focus. If I view the LCD directly, the image is too small, the light too bright. And since there's no rotating — up & down — LCD on any Point and Shoot I know of, I can't try angling the framing because once again, I can't see anything. Why don't any Point and Shoots have rotating screens or viewfinders?

Close encounters — Howard and Ben track the solar eclipse

Even with auto focus the images always look a bit soft. Olympus E-PL1 had good auto focus. So did the Panasonic G1.

I hate being dissatisfied with cameras. In the old days, I never was. But now, with the new features, I want a pocket camera with an LCD I can rotate, up and down preferably. It's the best feature for tired old eyes like mine. The E-PL1 with the rotating viewer was nice, but I couldn't shoot from the waist, à la Rolliflex. Had to flip up the finder, bend the head, and raise the viewer to the eye.

Samsung TL320 eclipse

TL320 is a good camera, I guess, better than most P&S, but not easy on the old eyes.


The Wall — Samsung TL320

Gotta go look for a small pocket camera I can see images in, something in $175-200 range.

Front Seat — Samsung TL320

Gonna Google "best P&S camera under $200." Post again when I find one that works...for me. Hate being spoiled about camera selection and features, but some of them plumb don't work right. Take the image above. I must have shot it four-five times. This was the only one in focus. When you hold the camera at arms length, half press for focus, then snap the shutter, I can see the movement, but can't seem to control it. Eye level finder stabilizes the device.

Amazon.com Widgets

Self-Expression and the Photograph

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:54:00 +0000

This post has very little to do with photography, but everything to do with self-expression.

While television excels in reality substitutes, it abhors reality. The scripted — from professional wrestling to Jersey Shore — is much safer, and so much easier to control. The unscripted, on the other hand, might embarrass some powerful segment, a potential sponsor, for instance...and that means lost revenues or ratings.

Nevertheless, the public knows what's real and what's not, moments like:

Alexander Butterfield drops the bomb that Richard Nixon's office was bugged.
Al Campanis "explaining" why blacks are physiologically poorer swimmers.
The Robert Kennedy assassination.

The Chris Mullin jersey retirement ceremony was one such moment. But it offered a special fascination, in that it was part of a closely scripted event that suddenly went awry.

Former Golden State Warrior Chris Mullin's Jersey is Retired

The scene: Halftime during a professional basketball game is extended to allow time for a special event: Chris Mullin's jersey retirement ceremony. Every speaker is timed, every moment is programmed so the second half of the game can begin on schedule. But in spite of the fact that the producers thought every element of the ceremony was fully controlled...nobody thought about the spectators, and what they might or might not do.

Close Game

So the organizers scripted in a final word from owner, Joe Lacob — a seemingly innocuous self-congratulationary tribute to the "new direction" the long-suffering Golden State Warriors are taking. Only the fans weren't buying. They didn't like the fact that the owner had traded the team's best and most popular player only a few days earlier. And once the booing started, there was little the producers could do. They couldn't break for commercial; the second half of the game would have to begin, forcing the ceremony to time out on a deluge of bad vibes.

The best the producers could hope for was the fans to get a grip on themselves, stop booing, and let the festivities end on a rousing note. That didn't happen.

What's my take? It's not so much about siding with either party: team management vs. the fans. Right or wrong. It's about witnessing an unscripted moment over a medium that's timed to the nanosecond for laughs, for applause, for ooohs, for aahs. The driving need for the fans to express themselves.

The Game is Part of the Spectacle; The Spectacle is Part of the Game

After the game, the owner clique, and various ESPN touts, called the fans classless, forgetting, it seems, that the fans in the Bay Area are probably the most upscale, wealthiest in the league. So it was a lot more than just condemning a bunch of unruly soccer fans: it was a CEO appearing in front of his Stockholders and getting a No Confidence vote. Notwithstanding, of course, that the owners seem to forget who really funds the whole operation: The Fans.

So unruly and uncontrollable though they might have been, in spite of the calls from a Pantheon of hall-of-famers, from Rick Barry to Chris Mullin himself, the crowd continued to boo for five long minutes. In ancient Rome, a resounding thumbs-down like this would have resulted in the CEO being dragged around the arena lashed to Charlton Heston's chariot.

If you want more background on the team's years of neglect, mismanagement, bad decisions, you can chuckle along with Bill Simmons' 60-point breakdown of the Warrior's three and a half decades of gloom and misfortune.

Owner, Joe Lacob is a rich guy. I doubt if he got where he is by not being able to handle himself. Thick skin as he showed himself to be, he'll survive. But it was a clear demonstration of the feedback capabilities that Mass Media and the Internet provide.

All of this is a prelude to disagreeing with Kirk Tuck's latest post on the devaluation of criticism. Not with his thoughts about the necessity of criticism, mind you, but that the Internet somehow vitiates its quality.

Look at the IMDB. Some of the amateur film reviews posted by viewers rank with professional reviews. Same goes for photography. If photos aren't worthy of comment, viewers vote with mouse-clicks to other sites.

After all, what are we really measuring here? I believe it's Input vs. Output. In the 1950s my life was all Input. Unless I was an artist, I shut my mouth and was told all about the accepted orthodoxies of the time. What to think, what to do. I'm not saying we've rid ourselves of conditioning influences, we haven't, but at least there are channels for self-expression.

There were very few channels available for Output in the 50s and 60s. Bars and taverns, coffee houses in coastal cities, perhaps, but you weren't liable to find lively discussions on art in Omaha.

Never before: so many avenues of self-expression

How times have changed: Internet, talk radio call-ins, blogs, self-publishing, bulletin boards, FB & TW. Yes, a lot of it is poorly written, poorly expressed, but the important thing is: there are outlets, and the form of it will improve because any and all forms of expression take time to master.

Mass self-expression is in its infancy. No need to tear it down. It will refine itself, or it won't, it will mutate, or it won't. But whatever its form, the new era, the era of Output and Self-Expression has arrived. And we can't change it.

Besides, when you consider its stress-relieving qualities, you realize self-expression can be a healing force.

House of Escher

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:35:00 +0000

Here are some Nikon V1s that evoke (at least for me) the feel of Escher:

In nature, these kinds of patterns are abundant. What does it prove? That nature has a thing for order, for patterns, like the Cephalopods fossils I studied in Geology 101. Here's another:

Which leads me to the issue of Wastelandia, the nether-terrains which increasingly permeate our landscapes. Are they only eyesores, or do they, too, in their wanton disorder, contain elements of order and beauty? Finding beauty in disorder and upheaval: traffic jams, construction sites, dumps, junkyards, housing demolition, back alleys, terrains vagues is as much of a challenge as finding it in nature. Each tells a part of the greater story.

And in aesthetics, is that allowed, or does arrangement trump story? Composition precede substance?

Antioch, CA (from motel window)

Antioch, CA (from motel parking lot)

Nevada City, CA

Junk from previous, cropped

Eureka Alley

That there is beauty of the ordered and disordered sorts everywhere in this world we have chosen to live in is certain:

It is not in the lens of the camera; it's in the eye of the beholder...


Self-portrait with Nikon V1

Although it may not be in the lens, isn't playing with gear — lenses, dials, buttons, menus — part of the wonder of it all? The childlike persistence, the obstinate pursuit of the perfect camera, the perfect lens.

And yet, this digital fuite en avant may be taking all the fun out of it although it certainly has made it easier in many ways. In allowing us to become self-contained, from capture to display. In reducing the relative cost.

In the future, we may have a bionic implant in our foreheads that records video, extracts stills, edits and plays back, then uploads the results to CNN or ESPN.

World Famous Arcata Plaza

Nikon V1 Review

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:12:00 +0000

I bought this camera the first day it became available. Probably a mistake, I thought, as I left the store. Spent the next few hours shooting, wondering if the criticism I read on net would reflect in the quality of the shots. Then I got a look at the photos.

I was blown away by the quality. But don't take my word; judge for yourself. Good color, excellent dynamic range, and minimal noise. Very impressive. So why the outcry? The people calling it a failure can't have tested it; there aren't enough units to go around, not enough time for its critics to test it. Yet, the Internet buzz is largely unfavorable ...except for the sales volumes that, as of today, reached the Amazon Best Sellers list in the UK, the US, Germany.

Farmhouse, Freshwater, Humboldt Bay

So what is it about this camera that's enabled it to buck the negative buzz, allowed it to effect a comeback in the face of so much criticism? Brand name loyalty? Better than predicted results? Curiosity? Advertising?

Well, not everyone spends their time blogging, or even following blogs. Some people actually buy cameras with the intention of using them. And that's probably the case in this instance. The advertising campaign worked, and continues to work. Brand loyalty? No. Brand curiosity is a better term. But the overriding factor is word of mouth. That in spite of the negative buzz, people are beginning to realize that this camera — in spite of conventional wisdom saying that the combination of sensor, lenses, format couldn't possibly merit a once over — produces great images. That somehow Nikon engineers — in spite of the outcry to the contrary — just might understand what they're doing and be headed in the right direction.

Zoltar

Occupy Humboldt - If you just sign this..

Success might have been even greater had Nikon not adopted such a "beginner-friendly" posture. All they had to do is follow the success of the Sony NEX v2.00, copying the features that Sony has finally consented to include, such as:

Peaking
Swivel LCD
Hand-Held Twilight
Sweep Panorama
Auto HDR
Better menu struture
More control dials and buttons

Some of these features are favored by pros; some by beginners. But the upshot is: why go back to Square ONE, picking up where Sony started? Why not learn from their inept first attempts, their bad press, their knocks by highly regarded pros? Nikon would have landed right in the vanguard had they included the above features, especially since amateurs value features like Panorama and HDR.

In the end, I returned the camera, even though I really liked it. A combination of the missing features and a paucity of lenses. The store owner asked me for feedback; I showed him some 8x10s printed without any post processing. He was blown away by the color. I told him I was returning it for the above reasons, but if Nikon v2.00 makes the same improvements that Sony v2.00 have, I would buy one in the future.

Strengths:

Good color
Nice dynamic range
Excellent EVF and LCD
Above average menu structure
Noise under control

Coffee & Computers (kit lens, difficult to focus in low light)

I like candid, low light photography. For this the 10-30mm lens is almost useless. When extended, you're already at f/5.6 with a fairly slow shutter speed, so the auto-focus — no matter how highly touted — is not going to nail it. Too bad.

I thought the whole purpose of a small sensor was the capability of pairing it with small, fast lenses. Well, how about a 16-40mm f/2.8-3.5? That should be doable. Other issues:

How well will the F-mount adapter work?
How quickly will it be available?
Will third parties produce adapters (Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax, etc)?
How quickly will they offer a fast mid-range zoom, fast primes?
Will they include a PASM dial?

Again, I imagine it's going to take time for Nikon to figure out that a lot of really good photographers would buy into this format if only the road map were more explicit and they were convinced it could eventually be used for a variety of purposes, from amateur snap-shooting, to candid street-shooting, to sports, to artistic.

Halloween Mask

In contrast to the torrent of criticism surrounding the sensor, judging from the results I've had so far, I have faith that Nikon engineers can master the technology, take it to even greater heights (the digital age is in its infancy), but I'm not sure they can complement it with a bold sense of purpose.

Slip into something comfortable, why don'cha

What if all the negative buzz kills it before the system really gets tested, before enough innovative photographers — of the ilk that flocked to μ4/3 — are able to prove what it can do.

Charter School

As for outside shooting with the kit lens, judge for yourself. These photos come straight from the camera; no post-processing. I've never had a camera that didn't need some sort of post. I'm sure they're some out there, such as the Leicas and the Fujis I can't afford, but this camera — its detractors aside — shows us that we shouldn't impose limitations on digital technology solely because of previous efforts, be they analog or earlier digital devices. Apple has proven that we can't begin to imagine the breadth of the digital future. Judging tomorrow by what went down today is unsound and simplistic.

Disappointed... 4/3 lens adapted to μ4/3

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:14:00 +0000

One of my biggest disappointments with μ4/3 is the lack of a fast zoom lens. Yes, I know prime lens are important, and it seems like Panasonic and Olympus are making headway therein. However, what's with the lack of fast zooms in the 12-60mm range? Yes, they would be expensive. On the other hand, I can't but think they'd sell a lot of them.

So being a proactive spirit, I decided to test a fast 4/3 lens — the Olympus 14-54mm, f/2.8-3.5, in this case — with my Olympus E-PL1 and the Panasonic DMW-MA1 adapter. Talk about disappointment.

The outside images were okay:

Olympus E-PL1, Olympus 14-54mm 4/3 lens, 1/250 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 200

But in the shots taken inside, AF capabilities were unsatisfactory. Even though AF was locked in in the viewfinder, shots taken inside produced the following unacceptable results across a series of tests:

Olympus 14-54mm 4/3 lens, AF Locked-in

Perhaps, it's my lack of technique; perhaps, I'm at fault, but I can't recall these types of low light results with any other lens I've ever owned. Even my much slower Panasonic or Olympus μ4/3s kit zooms produce better results.

Not one to over-analyze when things don't work out, after a few more tests with similar results, I returned the lens and adapter and am now waiting for some manufacturer to fill the biggest oversight in the various μ4/3 strategic master plans — a fast, medium range zoom lens.

Nevertheless, I'm glad I tried it, glad I satisfied my curiosity. Now I know that the extra weight and the unreliable AF are not worthwhile. Better to invest in reliable μ4/3 offerings. At least that's my take on the matter.

Self-tutorial 03: The Right Lens

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Last night, my wife asked me what I thought Osama Bin Laden's death would mean for President Obama. This citation popped into my mind: "Nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance."

If you saw the film with Lee Marvin in the title role, you know what I mean. If you didn't, I suggest you do, not only for the political spin implications it conjures up, but mainly because it's a John Ford classic, which illustrates that once you are linked — even erroneously — to a momentous event, in this instance the death of a notorious public enemy, your political standing is forever enhanced.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) - L to R: Lee Van Cleef, Lee Marvin, James Stewart, John Wayne

A friend — a beginner — recently asked me, "What lens do I need to shoot objects in the distance and make them appear closer. I decided the best way to illustrate an answer would be to take him out and shoot with various lenses. I decided to go to some fields facing Arcata Bay to see what he'd choose to aim the camera at and how he'd compose his shots.

Olympus 40-150mm @ 150mm (300mm in 35mm)

Olympus 40-150mm @ 40mm (80mm in 35mm)

I then suggested that as important as the choice of lens and the money you paid for it was the story you were trying to tell and the elements you were using to tell it, which, in the case of photography are: light and shadow, framing and composition, subjects and objects, foreground and background, and focus and exposure. So he found a barn and shot it with the same lens at wide and telephoto.

I told him I had played a nasty trick by bringing him to a place where the story was difficult to find, much less to tell. I told him the light was bad; there was nothing to feature, no designs or interesting patterns. no subjects or objects worth attention, that every framing variation was dull and uninspiring. I challenged him to come up with somthing original knowing in spite of these limitations:

He came up with these images, the second was shot with the Lumix 7-14mm, this after he asked if there was any way he could make the house smaller.

I showed this one, shot from under the high tension wires, capturing the lines down the center of the frame over the patch of yellow flowers at the Arcata Marsh.

Olympus E-PL1, Lumix 7-14mm

He said he had the idea so I let him have my E-PL1 for the morning with a couple of lenses. Here's what he came up with. Not bad.

Olympus E-PL1, Lumix 7-14mm, 1/500 sec @f/11, ISO 200

I like the shimmering look he got with the reeds and the zoom effect that the Lumix 7-14 gives the sky.

Olympus E-PL1, Olympus Pen F 40mm, 1/160 sec @f/16, ISO 200

He found some high tension lines here again and played with their reflection in the water, shooting with the Lumix 7-14mm and the Olympus Pen F, on the way back.

I go out there frequently to catch the bird watchers, capturing some 300,000 migrating birds action.

Bird watchers clear the deck for action

The Arcata Marsh is a vast tangle of mud flats, inlets, and waterways, teeming with fish, sea life, crabs, mollusks, and birds:

One thing I think I learned from this exercise is, if you give someone a task, something within their grasp, yet at the same time challenging, provide an adequate description of the end result, enough information not to confuse, the person will probably succeed.

So it was with the Navy Seals that destroyed Bin Laden. For once, the plan succeeded, from top to bottom: no leaks, no screw-ups (except for the "mechanical" failured chopper — we'll probably never know the whole story), tight integration among services. Maybe we can start working together on other issues. Lord knows we're due for a little cooperation on the national as well as the global scale.

Angle and Frame bis

noreply@blogger.com (JJ Semple) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:49:00 +0000

Winding Road, Trinity Alps
Olympus E-PL1, Olympus 40-150mm, 1/200 sec @f/5, ISO 200

Shortly after my last post, the weather turned bad, a rainy month of April without much promise for May. Time for me to get several episodes ahead on my audiobook recordings.

And just after I posted, μ4/3 Rumors posted on pro photographer Gianni Galassi's work with μ4/3 cameras. As soon as read the post and visited his site, his work started me rethinking the subject I had just finished posting about: Angle and Frame.

Galassi subtitles his blog: It's All About Light and Shadow — an excellent title because it sums up his work as well as the importance of time of day and weather in photography, as seen in the following images:

One captured in sunlight, the other in shade; one coming to life, the other flat and one-dimensional.

So, what's so special about Galassi's work, besides the fact that he's a high profile professional working with μ4/3? He's put a lot of effort into using light and shadow, angle and frame to elaborate a unique vision based on abstraction.

Visiting his blog was like a visit to the Museum of Moren Art, inspired use of frame, angle, light, shadow. What about emotional connection, an important dimension in all art? I ask the question because when I watch a movie, look at a painting, or listen to music, I always find myself asking what is the artist trying to tell me?

Duck
Olympus E-PL1, Olympus 40-150mm, 1/320 sec @f/14, ISO 200

In Galassi's case, the answer for me is: Hey, this frame, angle, light, and shadow stuff really tells the story of modern life in a unique way. It also tells us photography can be used in different ways, that there are many ways of expressing a personal vision, and once you have found yours, it makes sense to stick with it and perfect it. The artist experimenting with his various tools, which, in photography, are numerous and sundry. Sometimes, the tools get in the way of the vision, especially in photography, where expensive tools can easily be equated to mastery.

His work helped me situate my ongoing process of becoming a better photographer. I have a long way to go. Hopefully, once my period of experimentation with every approach, every technique, every element is over, I can settle into a comfort zone of limited mastery over some phase of the art.

I like this image. I was trying to use angle, frame, light and shadow when I shot it. Was it successful? As far as I'm concerned. Did I learn something? Yes, the more color, the more difficult it is to use light and shadow, at least for me in my present state of advancement. It's also interesting that I saw the image in my mind before I ever tried photographing it. These are my most successful keeps, the ones I see first in my mind's eye. The ones I have to look for "because there must be something there" are the most difficult.

Commenting on Russian master, Alexandr Deineka, Gianni Galassi summarizes both the process and his vision of "strict geometrical organization of parallel and diagonal lines" more clearly and profoundly than I ever could: "It's not what we see through the viewfinder of our cameras: it's all about the way we look at it, the way we analyze it, the way we compose it before releasing the shutter and, consequently, the way we make viewers see it in our photographs. Deineka also demonstrates that geometry and chromatism (or gray value) are strictly connected. The way we perceive the size, proportion and relationship between, say, two rectangles inevitably depends on their color. Changing or simply switching colors will deeply subvert the overall result. I think every photographer should know the work of this Russian master, whose greatness can be compared to Edward Hopper's."