Its Panto time

It has been quiet on here recently, but there is a good reason. The last few weeks I have been busy working with the local amateur theatre group, taking photographs of their latest pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, whilst also helping out with the video work. I don't own a HD camcorder so I got a friend to video it from the back to get the full run through, which is what they've had every other time they have had a DVD produced.

I am aiming to go one better and had another camcorder operating from the prompters box - a bit cosy for two but just manageable - to get close ups so that the video comes alive instead of looking flat and boring from a creative point of view!

So far the editing is going well, act 1 is pretty much done, act 2 is next.

To produce the video, I chose Sony Vegas Studio 10 over Adobe Premiere Elements due to poor reports on the latter. Vegas has been great, a little bit of a learning curve but I have video transitioning smoothly using just one audio source with no lip sync issues.

The photography presented its own issues. The stage lighting is bright but that is within relation to total darkness! I only managed to get a few shots at ISO 400 with the camera tripod mounted. The problem was freezing the movement. Trip the shutter at or below 1/60 and the lips and eyes look blurry as the actor moves on stage recanting their lines. So most shots were taken at 800 or 1600 with a 1 stop underexposure to boost the shutter speed. This of course introduced noise, which meant an extra step in post processing - noise reduction. Even using Neat Image, I was pushing the boundaries of the software as I was pushing the boundaries of what the EOS400D is capable of. Noise really shows from EOS400D images above ISO400, so Neat Image had it's work cut out and struggled in a few cases.

You can view the final set of images at photoboxgallery.com/spacetheatre

Mobile images at night

Shooting at night involves waiting around, so what better to do than take photos? I shot this picture with my LG mobile which sports a 5mp sensor rated to ISO800. The settings for this were f/2.8; 1/12 sec at ISO400. Neat Image has been used to reduce the noise but still, for a hand held shot on a mobile, at night, I think that's a good result.

The image shows my 400D on my Manfrotto tripod with a remote release attached with Petra Tou Romiou (Aphrodite's Rock, Cyprus) in the background. If you have ever been here there is a rock just off to the left of the track down to the beach. I positioned the camera at the end of that track where I could lie down and watch the night sky in between exposures.

The Night Sky

I have always had a fascination with the night sky and photographing it has become much easier thanks to the advent of digital photography.

Stumbling across the excellent Ben Canales' astro photography images with fantastic shots of the milky way rising up through the frame, I was inspired to go out, especially after find Stellarium. Stellarium a free open source application that maps the night sky for you, based on your location at any given time and date. It labels the constellations for you and gives you an idea where the milky way is.

Ben Canales has produced a video which he has posted on Vimeo in which he passes on his basic tips for photographing the night sky. Manual focus, fix white balance, focus on inifinty (or just next to it for Canon users - Canon's version of infinity is obviously different to Nikon's!). Watch his video for his full breakdown on how to get started.

The image above was taken using my trusty EOS 400D at 17mm on my EF 17-40mm f/4L; 30secs @ f/4.5; ISO 1600. Neat Image was used in the post processing to reduce the noise which it has made a very good job of - if you have seen how noisy the 400D is at ISO 1600 then you will know what I am talking about.

You never know what you will find in your pictures until you get them on to the big screen. I just missed out on a meteor flashing through the sky, but the last image of the night produced the weirdest artefact. Posted below is a 100% crop without any post processing. Can you tell what it is?

So we're now in the 12 Days of Christmas and either playing with our new toys or lining up next year's shopping list!

My trusty 400D well be celebrating it's 3rd birthday in 2011, but as it was a refurbished model from Canon's eBay outlet, it could actually be older. I have already taken it around the clock and half way round again, so depending on how Canon actually refurbish their cameras, I could soon be hitting the average life cycle of my DSLR. All I need to do is convince my other half of the need to buy a new DSLR. But which one?

The 7D has great appeal, but long term aspirations point to a 5D Mk II. In the meantime, the 60D could be the way to go.

As for lenses, this is where it gets tricky. I have the range 17-250mm covered mainly by two zooms, the excellent EF 17-40mm f/4L and the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS. The latter produces some excellent images, but the AF is prone to hunting even when using the centre AF point and for what I have needed these last couple of months, just a touch too slow. So am I looking for a faster zoom? No.

The latest events I have photographed have required low light photography, so while I could up the ISO, it is a step I am reluctant to take. Anything over ISO 400 on the 400D exhibits excessive grain in my opinion and results from the 55-250 are less than pleasing. The 70-200mm f/2.8 may be the obvious replacement with the faster aperture, but I feel I would be better served by the 100mm f/2.8L Macro USM, or indeed, the non-L version. Why? Looking at the exif info from the images I took at the theatre, I was able to analyse the settings I used, and more importantly, the focal lengths I used. To get the best composition, 100mm would allow me to get a full adult head to toe standing on stage from my unobstructed vantage point. The f/2.8 aperture would allow me to use a faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake and make sure the action on stage is frozen - at 100mm, the 55-250mm gives me f/5.0, almost two stops slower.

Also on my shopping list are a few accessories for the 580 EX II, the EF 24-105mm f/4L and a book on on-camera flash by Neil van Niekerk.

Have a great New Year and don't forget yo ucan follow me on Flickr

References:

Exif Tool - http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Exif Pilot - http://www.fileheap.com/software-exif-pilot-download-16801.html

Christmas

The decorations are out and the tree is up, which means only one thing. Photo opportunities!

Rudolph and Frosty have been posing for me over the last few days and doing a great job of it too, taking my direction with professional aplomb. The images were taken while learning how to use my new flash, Canon's Speedlite 580EXII.

I have been reading Neil van Niekerk's Tangents blog. If you haven't read it and you want to learn all there is to know about how to bounce flash, then you must put it on your list. He backs it all up with example photographs and explains everything equally for Canon and Nikon users.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog, from Rudolph, Frosty and I, Merry Christmas!

It's Almost Christmas

It's been a while since I last posted, and my foray in to micro stock has produced some sales. I will be buidling up my collection over the next few months and making the most of the Cyprus weather.

Recently I have beed asked to photograph a few events, two theatre productions and 10km 'run & ramble.'

I am not afraid to admit that I was flying by the seat of my pants on the first theatre production, a Stars in Their Eyes style singing contest. With a seat set aside for me off stage right, I had a clear view. The only problem was the lighting. The acts weren't illuminated as much as I had hoped so had to rely on flash photography. My problem was I was using a borrowed Speedlite 580 EX II and had barely a chance to learn how to use it. The result was I ended up using high ISO which made the images poor.

Luckily, Adobe Photoshop was able to do all of the hard work for me and the resulting images were acceptable and the theatre was delighted. So much so they asked me back. Again I borrowed the flash but got it earlier and spent a good few hours learning how to use it. This learning experience, a kind of critical reflection, meant that I could use a lower ISO and faster speed by using the Manual mode on my camera. The stage lighting was much better and I was able to take a number of shots without the flash. The images from this production were a major improvement over the last set and a personal triumph for me.

Prior planning prevents poor performance, however when you rely on other people as part of your plans and they don't deliver, then what can you do. Asked to photograph a 10km charity race event, I was in touch with the orgainser who promised me a map of the route. Unfortunately, the map never materialised despite my e-mails and I only got to see the route the day of the event. The photos went well, no flash this time, but waiting for the last finisher in the hail wasn't my idea of fun. They liked the photos, incidentally, this was the first time they had a photographer cover the event and have asked me to cover their next race at the luxurious Aphrodite Hills Resort.

Planning for shoots is so important, I can't stress that enough. Spare batteries, fully charged, for the camera, new batteries in the flash with a spare set too and a backup flash card. Just need a second body now and I will be more confident that I am reducing my risks when covering such events.

Since my last post I have been accepted at Alamy, which is a great boost. No sales from them yet, however I need to add a lot more images before I expect to get a sale there.


Fotolia though has come up trumps. A picture of the Sanctuary of Apollon Hylatis in Cyprus (left) showing the Pafos Gate end of the archaeological site, sold today giving me my first ever microstock sale and first ever image sale (if you discount the wedding photography I did about 10 years ago!)

The thing is, you don't know where your image will get used. I might happen upon it by chance one day, but chances are I will never see how it got used. Would be nice to though wouldn't it?

Edit: Seems that this wasn't the first image I have sold. An image from my Dreamstime collection of Aphrodite's Rock at dusk sold just days earlier.