Rendering the Light



The Captivating BMW C1 Scooter, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

Here’s another distracted pedestrian trying to figure out where that guy is pointing the camera.

In the original capture, the light was uninspiring and local contrast effects just weren’t moving the image into anything interesting looking. I pulled down my copy of Versace’s “Welcome to Oz”, reduced the image to 8 bit, and fired up Photoshop’s Filter:Render:Lighting Effects filter which Vincent uses in the book.

I created some stage-lit hotspot effects in the image which creates more visual interest. Once you know they’re there, its a little too obvious for my taste, but I’ve found that it’s part of my learning curve for these cinematic images. I push things beyond where they really ought to be to stay believable and then pull them back enough so that they are present but less obvious.

Flickr Diary

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Target Dumpster, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

This image isn’t really a “Flickr” image. It doesn’t read well to me at small size with it’s compressed value. In the print, the vibrant red plays off well against the black and the small illuminated area at the center.

If the image isn’t suitable for Flickr, why post it? My Flickr stream is a diary for me. I can look over my output over time to learn quickly about where I’m moving as a photographer. And I’m very grateful for the audience that a public diary brings. The feedback from individuals and from the view flow is useful in context.

While I’ve been comparison shopping and comparing the iTunes music store with Amazon’s MP3 downloads, I discovered that the old ECM catalog is mostly available on Amazon now. These have been some of my favorite LPs and at 7 or 8 dollars, makes downloading attractive.

Glad I skipped the CD era on these recordings.

Compact Camera Shoot in the National Geographic

Horizontal Ladder

Fritz Hoffman uses a digital camera as polaroids were once used:

Editor’s Pick – Film is dead, long live film – National Geographic Magazine – NGM.com
One digital camera that Fritz does actually carry with him now is a Canon G7 point & shoot (the newest model is the G9). He tends to use it to check lighting, color balance and also as a way to make visual notes—he may shoot a Chinese sign and then later have it translated.

The editors at National Geographic used one of the G7 images as a two page spread in the latest National Geographic. Hoffman prefers film because of his way of working, it seems. No distracting previews, the simple, silent interface of the Leica M camera.

Recovery



Wilting Behind the Glass, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

With a group of nice images from Geneva in Aperture, I can recover a bit. I probably should be out taking pictures every day, but the light has not been very cooperative back here in Baltimore.

I should learn though, that even though I was disappointed with Geneva’s weather during my visit, my yield of interesting images with the DP1 was higher than I expected while I was shooting.

This image was a difficult capture, with these wilting plants in an old storefront. It was only after I was back that I was able to pick the best of the attempts and create this.

Sigma DP1 at DP Review

Illuminated Stones

I’m back from another trip to Geneva. I had a little more time to photograph this time. Again, I brought just the Sigma DP1. I failed to bring great weather for photography however, with one shooting session in the afternoon made difficult by high contrast sunshine followed by overcast and the second session marked by alternating rain and drizzle. Fortunately, right at the end of the day, the clouds cleared out and I had a few minutes of really nice light. Here’s one happy result.

DP Review has reviewed the DP1. As these reviews run, it’s a fair assessment. However, I don’t look at it as a flawed camera, but rather a specialist’s tool. Every time I get back and start looking through the images, I forget about how I have to adapt to the camera, happy that I can use a compact to get what are consistently some of my best images. I can put up with waiting a few seconds for the buffer to clear before adjusting for the next image. The f/4.0 and ISO 400 settings are good enough for my work.

It’s a great picture taking tool for me.

A New Medium



Deep In the Light, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

I was listening to an inteview with Joel Meyerowitz posted on the net at The Candid Frame that got me thinking again about this medium of digital photography. At the very end, Meyerowitz recommends looking at the work of early American photographers William Henry Jackson and Timothy O’Sullivan because they were inventing the new medium as they went along.

We’re inventing a new medium once again and these are very exciting times. The tools are changing quickly, allowing creation of images that could never before be created. It inspired me to take the D300 and my SB800 flash out into the yard and create some images that depend on two new innovations: wireless off camera flash and the rapid review of digital images. Together they allow a rapid experimentation where natural and artificial light are mixed.

In this image, I would have shot the grass and foliage against the light, but the tree would have been dark, a looming silhouette. By using the wireless flash, I was able to create an entirely impossible counter-illumination of the tree, picking out the detail in the bark very dramatically.

I’ve been pushing images in this direction in post processing, but using real light starts the image much closer to where I wanted it to finish. by taking the exposure of the ambient light way down, I was able to get the drama of the light coming toward the camera. I then independently lit the tree.

There are lots of digital photographers experimenting with these off camera flash approaches, mostly in portraiture. I like the idea that the tree here is my main character, the subject of the landscape.

iPhone Camera



Wagon Handle, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

I’ve had my iPhone now for about 8 or 9 months. It’s been my first camera phone and for most of that time, I tend to forget that I always have a camera with me. Mostly I’ve used the camera either to record information (snapping an image of a parking space number rather than writing it down) or very informal family shots.

I happened to be walking out of my front door the other day and liked the light on the plastic. My phone was in my hand, so I grabbed a quick shot.

Photographic Intimacy



Angle of Repose, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

The weather is warmer and I have the Sigma DP1 to carry everywhere. The Nikon D300 sits on my desk like a brick. It waits.

I’m finding it easier and easier to use the DP1 to capture images, knowing what I’ll be able to do in post processing. The sharpness of the lens and film-like qualit of the images is leading me to a more intimate portrayal of the Suburban Landscape than I was pursuing through the Fall and Winter.

I can get these glowingly lit shots easily with the DP1, so I imagine I’ll be mining this vein for a few weeks at least.

Changing Light



Hidden in the Woodpile, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

I’ve been capturing images over the past few days with the Sigma DP1. No very long sessions as the light seems to be disappearing on me. It must have to do with being post spring equinox and creeping up on the summer solstice. We have have harsher and less inviting Suburban Landscape now.

Or it could be that the look I was chasing has run it’s course. I seem to be producing these more intimate images now, pushing more subtle texture and illumination into the images.

Carmichael Field Test Result

This week was an R&R training week, so today I did the first CTS Field Test of the year. While the idea of period all out testing to track progress isn’t a Chris Carmichael invention, his test is very well suited to cyclists. I’ve written previously about the Cooper 12 minute run which is well established and even normed for age groups against VO2Max.

The CTS test for cyclists consists of a warm up, a three mile all out effort, a rest (returning to the start) and a second all out effort. The average heart rate that’s the higher of the two efforts is used to estimate Lactate Threshold Heart Rate and Anaerobic rate to construct training ranges. One of the nice aspects of the two trial test is that it gives one a chance to repeat if the first effort isn’t really maximal and it also provides insight into muscular endurance if the second effort falls short of the first. According to Carmichael, they should be pretty similar.

Subjectively it was interesting. On the first effort, my heart rate rose to about 167 BPM and just stayed there. I was breathing regularly and loudly but in a well controlled manner. My legs just didn’t seem capable of pushing the heart rate higher toward the end. My average HR 164 at an average speed of 17.7.

The second effort was much harder. My heart rate was pegged lower at about 164 and my legs just wouldn’t work hard enough to push my heart rate up any higher. I did get my breathing ragged toward the end, but overall I was breathing just a notch easier. My conclusion was that I didn’t have the muscular endurance to push as hard a second time. My speed on the second dropped to 17.4 and average heart rate was 161.

It’s interesting that the numbers- speed and heart rate seem relatively small compared to the big subjective difference I felt. It’s an indicator though that I probably can improve by working on muscular endurance.

And am I more fit than last year? Last year I tested a bit earlier- April 2. I only felt comfortable with a single effort. My average heart rate was 154.7- substantially below the first test this year. Average speed was 16.5 mph.

So training over a year allows me to work for longer periods at higher heart rates. I’m faster over the measured course. It’s nice that I’m actually better than I was at the last test which was Sept 18 last year, showing that I should be on track to be fitter than last year even looking out 6 months.