RAW

Six years in the making

Tristan — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:58:29 +0000

This timelapse was six years in the making and it features seven continents and 24 countries.

I posted this on the RAW facebook group yesterday. It truly is an amazing timelapse project, with breathtaking imagery.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Are you into timelapse photography? Share your timelapse work in the comments, we’d love to see it.

Visit TERRA-SACRA.com

Tamron 70-200 2.8 Review

Tristan — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:48:22 +0000

I finally got myself a 70-200 2.8. The lens that so many people swear by. You see I have never really needed one, when I’m shooting most of the time it’s around the 80-85mm range and my weapon of choice for that is either a 50mm or a 85mm depending on the body. When I’m not shooting portraits I’m usually shooting wide with my Tamron 10-24mm.

Anyway I got my hands on a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 Di LD[IF] Macro lens. Before unboxing it I checked out the various reviews. I’m always interested in seeing what other people have to say about it, even though I’m more than happy to make up my own mind. I found a mixed bag of positive and negative reviews, most people love the image quality especially for the price however they seem to complain about 1) the auto focus and 2) the pump-action from AF to MF.

The lens arrived just in time, a day before the Perth RAAF Airshow, which I thought would be the perfect testing ground for the MF to AF pump-action switch and the auto focus.

A little about the lens

Before I get into my experiences let’s talk a little about the lens and it’s features. First up it’s the cheapest 70-200 2.8 on the marketing coming in under the $1k mark. It is also the lightest weighting 1.15kg. If you’ve ever picked up any 70-200 2.8 you’ll know they are quite a heavy class of lens.

One of the main reasons this is the lightest and cheapest of in the 70-200 2.8 family is because it has now Vibration compensation or image stabilisation. This will either make it or break it for you, to me I don’t really require image stabilisation however at 200mm shooting a smallish subject it could come in handy.

In the box you get the lens, tripod collar mount, lens hood and a lens bag that looks like a wine cooler, but comes in handy when storing the lens in the top part of my Photosport 200 AW bag.

The lens is marketed as a Macro lens but it doesn’t provide a complete 1:1 result however it does have the highest magnification out of all of them at 0.32x, which is 1:3.1 and a minimum focusing distance of 0.95cm throughout the zoom range. It’s not to crash hot for tiny lady bugs, which i was shooting in the back yard, I had to do a bit of cropping however slightly larger objects came up quite well.

It has 18 elements in 13 groups, 9 diaphragm blades and it comes with a 77mm filter diameter, which is quite a standard sized filter diameter.

Issue 1: The Autofocus

As I said above, most of the complaints about the lens was with the auto focus. First up yes it is noisy. it definitely is quite like the USM or HSM of the Canon or Sigma. However it wasn’t much more than your average kit lens, so really not worth jumping up and down about.

I was testing the auto focus on F18′s doing around 1000km per hour at the airshow and I have to say that it didn’t miss to many. Occasionally I would hunt but nothing to drastic. From what I was reading in other reviews, I expected I would have to move out of manual mode and into some like shutter priority or aperture priority as I would be to busy fighting with the auto focus to make those adjustments, well that wasn’t the case. When I found that the lens couldn’t find the subject, in most cases could have been me was I was shooting with 1 focus point and might not have had it locked on the subject, I quickly switched it to MF and to locate it, then back to AF to lock on. Did it work? Yes. Did I end up thinking the lenses auto focus was useless? No. To be honest I really didn’t find it to hard to use. However it is slower than the other 70-200′s on the market.

To further my testing I switched to continuous focus, rapid fire and all focus points and shot away tracking the planes as they flew past at an amazing rate. So far out of quite a few hundred photos I shot on the day with the Tamron I have found 4 photos that are out of focus. I don’t find that to bad.

Issue 2: Pump action shotgun MF to AF switch

It’s an unusual way of switching from AF to MF but I have to say it works pretty well. I always find I search for the little switch on the side of lenses and sometimes end up having to take my eye of the view finder to find it. The pump-action worked so well, no need to search for it, just snap it into place.

I did notice that it needs to snap into what seems to be like two gear cogs together or two pieces from a puzzle. So sometimes I needed to rotate it just a little to get into manual focus. Again really not a major deal, and I was shooting F18 fighter gets a 1000km per hour.

To me the pump-action work really well, not perfect with it sometimes needing a minor adjustment but nothing to complain about.

Overall image quality

The image quality of this lens has never really been a problem. Most people who I spoken to or the reviews that I have read praise the Tamron 70-200 2.8 for it’s excellent quality especially when you consider the price. As a comparison this lens is about one-third of the cost of the Canon 70-200 f2.8 USM II L.

First of all slow shutter speeds you will get out of focus shots, remember the golden rule. Your shutter speed shouldn’t be lower than your focal length. So for instance if you are shooting at 200mm your shutter speed shouldn’t be slower than 1/200.

From the few test I have done I can’t see any problems with the image quality. It’s sharp where it should be and the bokeh is nice a creamy.

Image quality is not an issue with this lens, there is nothing to really report on that front.

My overall thoughts and impressions

I love it. For me the vibration compensation isn’t something I usually look at when I look at lenses. I don’t shoot handheld video and in most cases I have fairly decent light or a tripod. However this could be an issue for you depending on what you shoot, but with modern DSLR’s higher ISO’s are available and you can probably get by.

For me it was more about the 2.8 then the vibration compensation, however if you are wanting a telephoto zoom lens with vibration compensation, don’t require f2.8 and are happy to have a variable 4-5.6 aperture check out the Tamron AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD which has much quieter faster auto focus and Vibration Compensation. Tamron have also just registered a patent for a 70-200 2.8 with VC but that won’t come through for another year or so.

Unfortunately I can’t tell you which 70-200 f2.8 will suite your needs. You may require faster/quieter auto focus or vibration compensation. It also will depend on your budget, in third-party lenses you have two options. The Tamron or the Sigma. The Sigma if you need vibration compensation and a faster auto focus, however the sigma is often plagued by build quality issues and lower image quality or the Tamron if you covet better image and build quality. For me it’s always image quality. I can combat camera shake and slow auto focus, but there isn’t much I can do about poor image quality.

Canon 5dmkIII vs MkII which would you get?

Tristan — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:56:08 +0000

There is more to this then the obvious “of course I would get the 5dMkIII because it’s the latest”, but what if you didn’t already have lenses and you had a budget. Is it better to get the 5dmkIII with the plastic fantastic 50mm. 1.8 or a 5dmkII with a 16-35mm 2.8L?

Kai from DigitalRevTV explores the options.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Which would you choose?

Save 40% on Frank Doorhof’s Live in Boston Workshop Videos

Tristan — Mon, 28 May 2012 06:29:39 +0000

Hope everyone’s weekend was great. I’ve got another great deal for you guys, this time is for Frank Doorhof’s Live in Boston Workshop Videos.

This is an information packed 2 hour video series on the following:

Finding the right angle on your shots
How to choose the right lens
Coaching the model
Lighting setups
Working with both big and small strobes
Transforming a location from simple to stunning
Q&A with Frank
Live photoshoot footage.

The Deal

There is a time limit on this, you have 3 days to purchase the videos for a mere $26. This is perfect for anyone into fashion or glamour photography.

Buy Frank Doorhof’s Live in Boston Workshop Videos

Interview with Marco Franchina

Tristan — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:30:59 +0000

Almost at the end of another hectic week which has seen my planned Sydney trip cancelled, but never fear the videos that we planned to shoot will be going ahead in the next couple of weeks. We are currently doing some research on locations that we will visit in the next couple of weeks. We might even squeeze a couple of trips in. Anyway today’s interview is with the talented Marco Franchina. Check out his website once your done here.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in Pisa, Italy in 1961. My parents brought me to the states when I was 3 years old. Even as a kid I saw things from a different perspective. It wasn’t until my cousin gave me my first camera when I was 18 that I realized where my passion and obsession lay.

By the time I was 21, I was living in Milan and working for the top Italian magazines. I was one of the youngest photographers in the fashion industry at the time. It was an amazingly creative, productive (and not surprisingly) a very crazy time!

From Italy I worked in Australia, Spain and then moved to New York where I spent nine years shooting for dozens of magazines and catalogues.

One of the most gratifying points in my career came when I was commissioned by Andy Warhol to shoot for “Interview” prior to his death in 1987. I photographed Oliver Stone, River Phoenix, Winona Ryder, Gretchen Mol, Edward James Olmos and Sarah Jessica Parker.

I also worked with Jewel, Boz Scaggs, Soup Dragons, Sonic Youth, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheena Easton, Natalie Merchant and others.

After New York City, I moved back to LA to pursue my interest for film and began working as a director on a number of music videos and commercials.

But everything ground to a halt when my parents became ill. I left the business and my career to care for my parents until their passing in 2007 and 2010. My career took a turn during that period of my life, I never stopped shooting, I stopped traveling and focused on fine art photography which allowed me to stay here in LA.

What inspired you to get started in photography?

My cousin gave me my first camera at 18. At that time I had a friend of mine who was a top fashion model, who had already worked for very big photographers. I photographed him and sent it to his agent. They loved the photos and began to photograph lots of their models, I had no idea what was about to unfold, all I knew is that I couldn’t put it down my camera. It is how I express my interpretation of how I see the world, and that has never changed.

What gear do you take to each shoot and what lens can you not live without?

The gear I use is the Nikon system. I’ve used Nikon for 30 years and have never changed.

The lens I can’t live without is a Nikon 14-24 mm F/2.8.

How do you market yourself and has social media been an important part?

Facebook, and also my website has been indispensable (www.marcofranchina.com).

What’s your favourite photo that you’ve taken and does it have any significance?

There are so many I’ve taken but the one that has the most meaning would be what I call

“My Past” Its a shot of the Santa Monica Pier. When I was a boy growing up my dad would take me there.

We would go on the Carousel ride and im not sure if the Ferris Wheel was around. But I just loved it.

So just about 6 months ago I went back one morning and photographed the whole Pier.

Select a photo you have taken, explain how it was taken and how did you edit it?

This photo of the homeless man was taken in Downtown Los Angeles, CA

It was taken with my IPhone using the Hipstamatic app.

I brought it in to Photoshop and sharpened it as well as keeping to a monochromatic look.

The edges are from the Hipstamatic App.

( I believe if you have a good eye you can use any camera you want to produce a beautiful Photograph. )

What processing tool do you use and do you believe in the camera doing all the work or in post ?

I edit in Photoshop.

I believe that a good photographer must have a good eye. Anyone can learn the technical aspects of photography, but if you don’t have an eye, you won’t have a photograph.

Whats your favorite photography accessory other than your camera?

Strangely enough, most of my fine art shots I get from different apps on my Iphone.

Where do you prefer to post your photos online and why there?

Facebook and my website. I get a lot of visitors on my website and a lot of interaction from Facebook. Social media connects to the world. I’ve sold some of my work to Japan and Italy.

Do you ever get photographers block and if so what do you do to get inspired again?

That’s a great question, I get blocked when I don’t travel. I get inspired in diverse settings, I need to put myself in different environments. It keeps me stimulated…

Is there anything you wish you had done when you first started in photography that would of made a difference?

I would have devoted less time in the fashion world and more time to photo journalism.

Any advice for new photographers wanting to go pro?

You have to love what you do. You have to have a passion and a no-looking-back attitude. If you’re good, you will succeed in what you love, because it’s an abundant world. Follow your instincts and your passions and don’t let anyone tell you no.

Visit Marco Franchina – website

Shooting street photography with an iPad

Tristan — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:56:21 +0000

To me street photography is about being discreet. An iPhone or any mobile phone or a small camera works really well in this instance, but what about an iPad?

You must have seen people taking photos with their iPads, at the Google+ walk in Sydney they had a few people that just shot with their iPad. It’s funny because when I see people out and about (mainly tourists) shooting with the iPad it always looks somewhat awkward. Anyway Eric Kim the street photography has just posted a video from his recent trip to Sydney (I’m flying there on Friday) shooting his kind of street photography with his new iPad.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have you ever used your iPad or tablet for photography, and I’m not talking about taking photos of your pets or children, even I’ve attempted to shoot Gizmo with my iPad. Let me know?

How tough is the 7D (Don’t try this at home)

Tristan — Mon, 21 May 2012 08:46:51 +0000

I’m in the process of packing and preparing for my photo trip to Sydney at the end of the week, so I’m busy writing and recording a few updates for the next week while i’m away. I’ll be updating RAW while i’m over there but I thought I better get a few regular posts ready to save me sometime.

One thing to look forward to over the next week or so is a new review of the Tamron 70-200 f2.8, which I’ve just begun road testing two days ago.

For those that have a 7D and want to know just how tough it is, you might want to check out this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I don’t recommend you give it a go but it’s nice to see that it still functions after the hammering it received. Do you have horror stories of dropping a damaging your camera in anyway?

Two new cameras from Canon

Tristan — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:15:05 +0000

CanonRumors is reporting that Canon will unveil two new cameras in June.

There isn’t too much information yet but One camera will be an EOS 650D and the other will be canon’s first entry into the mirrorless camera market.

The Nikon 1 mirrorless camera failed to really create a huge splash when it hit, yet the mirrorless camera market is flying along with the likes of the Sony Nex, Olympus Pen & OM-D and FujiFilm X-Pro 1 etc… So it will be interesting to see what Canon does with this market. So far the major players Nikon or Canon are either silent or wishing they had been silent in the mirrorless market.

Some rumors are floating around about this Canon mirrorless camera but I can’t confirm anything just yet:

APS-C
14 or 24mp
up to 5 lenses on launch.

I suppose time will tell. What would you like to see in Canon’s mirrorless camera?

Source: Canon Rumors

Kai plays with a Lytro

Tristan — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:39:34 +0000

This week has been unexpectedly busy. Usually when I have a busy week coming up I try and schedule a few posts but since in the middle of last week things just got hectic, so I apologies for the lack of posts and lack of social networking i’ve been doing. It looks like things are starting to calm down a little so I’ll play catch up, and yes I am aware I have missed a pod cast, i’ll try and kick things off again next week.

Remember when the Lytro website went up and it spread like wild fire through out the internet. Notable photography bloggers where thinking it was going to be some kind of mobile camera app and various other speculations. Well it’s been around for awhile now and Kai from DigitalRev TV finally got one in his hands to test.

Click here to view the embedded video.

One thing to keep in mind it only works for Mac OS 10.6.6 at the moment so for any of you using Windows you’ll just have to wait. So what do you think? Is the Lytro for you?

Interview with Domenico Foschi

Tristan — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:38:38 +0000

We’ve just a started a new weekly photo theme over on the RAW Facebook Group. This weeks theme is “Blue” so if you haven’t already joined in the fun drop by the facebook group and say “hi”. Todays interview with Domenico takes you into the world of street photography and he mainly uses 35mm film rangefinders to capture his images.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I am a photographer born and raised in Italy. I moved to the US in 1989. Here I made my living by working as a waiter in restaurants, while still cultivating my passion for photography. I tried to make restaurant work the least painful as possible by tackling also kitchen work, which revealed to be a great frustration release.
However, 6 years ago I decided to abandon that safe place and dived into Fine Art Photography full time.

My level of commitment to my passion increased and gradually I participated to more and more shows.

My work has been shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), at the LAX international terminal, in galleries in Spain, Italy and the US as well in Fine Art Photography magazines.

In the year 201o my work was a Grant recipient from the HARC Foundation, and recently my photographs were displayed at the Braendergarden Museum in Viborg, Denmark.
As I write, next week my work will be displayed at the Gina MW Gallery in Long Beach.

What inspired you to get started in photography?

It was by chance. I borrowed my brother’s camera for a trip to Lake Garda in Italy for a windsurfing trip. I actually spent very little time windsurfing. I got hooked by the camera right away.

It wasn’t until I saw the work of photographers in books, especially Janloup Sieff, that I recognized the expressive power that a camera can have if in the right hands.

What gear do you take to each shoot and what lens can you not live without?

I have used large format cameras for about 25 years. The use of these tools require a lot of gear to go with them. Relatively recently, about 4 years ago, I went back to 35mm cameras. That allowed me to keep gear to a minimal. Now I go out with a Leica rangefinder and a 50mm Summitar, which I find it to be a great lens for its unique soft but sharp characteristics. I need to keep it simple, I don’t want to waste time changing lenses or carrying extra bodies. I need to pass as unobserved as possible, and one camera and one lens fits the ticket. I prefer to focus on what unfolds in front of me.

How do you market yourself and has social media been an important part?

Well, yes, of course social media is a big part of todays marketing trends, it helps to keep my work out there, although it’s hard to know exactly who is looking at my images. Through Facebook I have had many opportunities for prints sales and peripheral activities like interviews, publications and brick and mortar exhibits. Living in Los Angeles, I am lucky to be able to submit my work to venues that have relevance in today’s Art world. However, with today’s economy situation sales of art in general have been considerably lower in respect to the previous years so this has given me the opportunity to cultivate another passion of mine which is peripheral to photography, which is teaching photography. Roughly 4 years ago I started to give lessons mainly focusing on the creative side of photography with the aim to encourage the students to find their own voice. Just recently I launched “Los Angeles, Mon Amour”a street photography workshop which has revealed itself to be a great vehicle for freeing the creative energy of the participants because of the communal nature of the event. It was very exciting to see how the students absorbed what I had to say and how they so well reacted to the street photography approach.

What’s your favourite photo that you’ve taken and does it have any significance?

Tough question. Usually my favorites are the good ones I took more recently, but I know it is not a fair assessment if I look at my work as a whole. My work spans in 3 decades, and my projects through these years have delved with different subject matter and have been carried out through different techniques, so you can understand how difficult a choice that can be.

“Pine on gravel road” is probably the image that I have been more recognized for and one that I am very attached to, but then there are others that are equally important to me.

The simplicity of this image and ethereal tonalities makes it one of my favorites. Regarding the significance, to me photography is an emotional act, Starting at the moment of seeing, I am emotionally involved with the scene. Excluding some elements, including others, composing, and then developing and printing the image, are all actions aiming to preserve and express that original emotional response. Of course these emotions are generated by my psychological make-up and I find it excessive baggage on the viewer to have the image explained.

I don’t want to influence the viewer with my words, but with my photographs.
Another one is definitively Portrait I from my “Tarnished Promises” project. This one speaks to me differently, but again is a conversation without words that still carries a message that cannot be explained but only experienced.

Select a photo you have taken, explain how it was taken and how did you edit it?

This time I will choose an image from my latest work on street photography. I saw this woman from the other side of Broadway Street in Los Angeles. It just jumped at my eyes with her dark clothing, the odd oversized turban and those boards attached to herself. I ran where she was, adjusted for composition and right at the moment of clicking the shutter the man in the background pick-a-booed with that hard to define expression. It was one of those moments that made me gasp. One of those exquisite, rare gifts for which you cannot claim any credit for, except for recognizing them. There was very little manipulation in the darkroom except for burning the edges of the image and reducing the flare from my old Summitar by increasing the exposure in the center.

What processing tool do you use and do you believe in the camera doing all the work or in post ?

All my projects are esthetically different, and since all my work is silver based, through the years I have had to re-invent my approaches to image making.

I don’t believe in rigid rules, all is fair in love, war and photography. I do believe that in order to get to the results I want, I need to earn my way to them by learning and making my life less difficult by manipulating the material to my advantage, which is the essence of technique.

Knowing how to use well the camera, how to develop film, and how to print are essential, but I also believe that there is no one way only to use the camera well, and the same goes for developing film and printing. Sometime, especially in approaches like street photography, we don’t have time to adjust the camera because of a rapidly unfolding scene. So, what do we do? We shoot anyway. Is the negative unexposed? Is it overexposed? Is it out of focus? Who cares. What it matters to me is the emotional quality of the image.

Whats your favourite photography accessory other than your camera?

All I need is film, guts to challenge myself and endless discontent. Other than that I am looking forward to refurbish my recently purchased 5×7 inch Durst enlarger.

Where do you prefer to post your photos online and why there?

Facebook. It helps to show to my clients what I am working on daily, so that they might have a more personal view of my development as a photographer. Of course there is also my website.

Do you ever get photographers block and if so what do you do to get inspired again?

I used to get really bad and lengthy photographer blocks, but with the street approach I am in now, it is easier to get back to work with so much around me.

Is there anything you wish you had done when you first started in photography that would of made a difference?

Definitively. I should have robbed a bank first.

Any advice for new photographers wanting to go pro?

Ironically enough the term amateur comes from the latin “To love”. My advice would be that if you want to take the Pro road, still make sure you do what you love. Also, be a good critic of your work: meaning don’t be so harsh to be destructive, but also don’t be too forgiving with your results. One more thing: photography is expensive, make sure you find some ways to survive dry spells. Don’t rob a bank, though.

Visit Domenico Foschi – website, facebook

RAW

Six years in the making

Related Posts:

Tamron 70-200 2.8 Review

A little about the lens

Issue 1: The Autofocus

Issue 2: Pump action shotgun MF to AF switch

Overall image quality

My overall thoughts and impressions

Related Posts:

Canon 5dmkIII vs MkII which would you get?

Related Posts:

Save 40% on Frank Doorhof’s Live in Boston Workshop Videos

The Deal

Related Posts:

Interview with Marco Franchina

Related Posts:

Shooting street photography with an iPad

Related Posts:

How tough is the 7D (Don’t try this at home)

Related Posts:

Two new cameras from Canon

Related Posts:

Kai plays with a Lytro

Related Posts:

Interview with Domenico Foschi

Related Posts: