Quick post for now, maybe add more details later
This is in Tsing Yi area of Hong Kong. This was the wettest, most humid day I've ever experienced. I took my camera out of the bag, and the lens immediately fogged. I waited 20 minutes (with the camera out), still foggy. Wiped the lens. Fog reappeared. This is like trying to shave in the shower, except that I don't wonder about the condition of a $800 sensor, lens fungus, or any other potentially expensive issue when a mirror fogs in the shower.
I'm used to taking a cold camera indoors after dry, cold, Central Oregon winter shots. Just stick it in a plastic bag and wait for the temperature to equilibrate. Not so used to taking the camera out of a camera bag at essentially the same temperature, and dealing with 200% humidity. Advice from any sage travel photographers?
Anyway, I bumped up the contrast and sharpness for the post on this shot, and this is a little more like what I could see before putting eye to viewfinder.
I love the contrast between the modern industrial skyscraper, the guy fishing from a yellow raft (we call 'em K-Mart Coffins in SAR), and the stark matching apartments that you see everywhere in HK.
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 27 - Wet, wet, wet.
Friday, July 17, 2009
July 16 - Baby Mee Mees
My late attempt at the second Strobist bootcamp II assignment. Obviously not at this point for the contest, but for myself, to reach out at an assigned task. I feel bad about not buckling down and meeting the assignment deadline, but want to at least work through the assignments in real-time.
When I was little and cute, I called tomatoes "Mee mees"
These beauties are from our CSA tote this week from Groundworks Organics. Great folks, great vegetables. I'm especially looking forward to eating up the beets (and beet greens) that were also in this week's tote!
Strobist info:
2 Vivitar 285s on cactus triggers, 1/4 power, subject right and left. Diffused by shoot-through umbrellas overlapped to produce a pseudo-lightroom for the tomatoes. (umbrella rods criss-cross over the tomatoes, not mounted on light stands.)
Also tried this in IR to satisfy my curiousity. Click here for the result.
Monday, July 13, 2009
July 13 - The Incredible Lightness
My friend, fellow SAR volunteer, and landscape photography mentor Steve (his website here) loaned me his 20d that had been converted to IR.
I had a little bit of time to play with it today, and I'm saving the big sky views (vivid white clouds, pitch black sky) for my favorite landscape photo of the week). It's absolutely incredible how green foliage pops.
Some other misc photo notes:
The EF 50mm f/1.8 (loaned with the body, as near-IR focuses differently than visible, and the body was calibrated for that lens) focuses MUCH faster than the EF 50mm f/1.4 that I own. That surprised me.
The rear AF button on the back of the 40D is a great addition. I miss it on the 20D, and keep mashing the AE lock button. (Not a big deal since you have to shoot manual on the converted camera).
It's cool how a fun "trick" camera can bring new life to this photo journey. Today I did more experimentation than I usually do, and mainly because I had a slightly different view on the world with IR. Though older and cheaper than the stuff I shoot with virtually every day, this gear got me out with new enthusiasm.
I'll be playing with IR more throughout the week....stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
July 6 - Up with the Sun
This post is a bit sad. We're having four trees removed tomorrow morning, and this is one of 'em.
In particular, this tree is outside our bedroom, and since it's a big, old tree, has probably been here since the first owner of the house. It's been our steady sign of the seasons in the 7 years or so we've been in this house, filling our room with a soft green glow in the spring, changing colors briefly for the week-long Central Oregon fall, and catching the snowflakes in the winter.
Unfortunately, years of going un-tended have left it leaning heavily over our neighbors's yard (and now, house). So the leaves we lovingly watch grow in the spring end up their yard each fall, and I feared that someday the whole tree would end up there as well.
So sad as it is to see this one go, I think it's the right choice -- and better a safe goodbye than an insurance claim for the neighbor because I was nostalgic about an over-grown tree.
We'll be planting new trees in this place, and this will be my reminder to keep them maintained so that they can lead long, happy tree-lives.
July 4 - Homemade
There's a couple things to do on the 4th of July, and this is one of 'em.
Homemade peach ice cream (with a touch of almond flavoring). Perfect. Even better, I got to play with a chainsaw while my wife and daughter were making this.
Grubby lumberjack was summoned first for some photos, and then for the result. Life is good.
Drug the shutter a bit to get some motion. Always a tradeoff on a handheld shot like this.
July 1 - Grid Out
Spent a couple minutes playing with a flash and a paper diffuser. Was hoping to use low-angle light from the right and the reflector at left to soften things. This just made a hotspot at the flash side, and didn't offer any noticable emphasis on the Altoid 'A's
But it was a photo for the day, and a change to play with lighting setups, so I can't complain.
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