Category Archives: Photography

Christmas with the “P” Setting on the Canon SX40 HS

IMG_7466
(A little over the top on the lighting intensity but that is how I’m rolling with my P mode this days.)

My “big” camera is a Canon SX40HS Powershot. It is a nice point and shoot with a Superlens which combined with great low light capabilities makes for great concert photos and is “concert legal” because it is is small and doesn’t have the separable lens. The only time I’ve ever been interfered with is at a Sting concert last year at an Indian casino in Thackerville, OK and all the ushers were doing was waving their finger at me. I’d put the camera away for a little while and then resume when they got busy waving their finger at somebody else.

IMG_7462
(I think ice and Christmas lights go well with the P  mode.)

Anyways, the camera has been pretty much locked into the “A” for Automatic setting most of the time unless I used the low light option at a concert. I was using maybe 1% of the camera’s capabilities and I was okay with that.

IMG_7461

The problem was that I was a little frustrated with several things. First off, taking pics inside under artificial light often gave everything a yellow cast and then taking pictures of things like Christmas lights didn’t turn out very satisfying. Also, taking of back lit objects led to dark shadows. I learned to live with all that. I don’t strive for perfection in my photos, I just forge on ahead and go with it.

IMG_7460
(Heather and Rascal, with no yellow! And some detail on Rascal. He usually comes out as a black blob.)

But recently I’ve learned about the “P” setting on my camera and a whole new world has opened up. It’s got adjustments for everything that has been troubling me. It gets the yellow out of inside shots. It has ways of correcting the exposure on back lit objects. You can emphasize or deemphasize colors. I feel like I have a whole new camera!

IMG_7455
(Nana, the world’s great MIL and Fiona.)

Sure, I read the manual a little bit but the fastest way to learn this stuff is via Youtube videos. My favorite are those made by an English lady who goes by “Snapdragon.” Here is her 5 minute video on the “P” mode.

I just love her voice. I understood her perfectly on this video. On some of her other videos I had to replay certain sections and I still had no idea what she was saying. Is their an English to Okie hack out there so I can get a translation?
IMG_7449

So, I’ve been playing around with it. The bear shot above would have been almost impossible before I used the P setting. Now, I’ve learned how to get the camera to using the right exposure.

IMG_7447

This is the kind of shots I was getting before learning the P setting.

IMG_7446

I love inside shots without the yellowish tint.

IMG_7423

And how to make colors pop out. Don’t be yakking at me about how I’m altering the pic to something unnatural. How about I just agree with you and we end the discussion! Sorry to be so blunt. I’m not much of a purist on the whole SOOC thing. I’ve learned on some of Snapdragons other videos on how to edit pics in camera. Given all the things that can be done to photos both during the exposure and afterward I don’t think that SOOC has a whole lot of meaning any more.

IMG_7422

And I achieved, in a modest way, something that is almost impossible in a point and shoot. A little bit of bokeh. I know, I said a little bit. Snapdragon has over thirty videos on the camera and I’ve gone through a half dozen of them and will be looking at more. I don’t know if she covers other cameras or not but I bet you that whatever camera you have there are videos for it by somebody. Probably not with her hot English accent but you know, you can’t get everything you want in this world.

What’s next? She has videos on how to install and use “CHKD” on the camera. That stands for “Canon Hack Development Kit” and is something totally not sanctioned by Canon. It is internal software on the camera that enables one to shoot in RAW format and do all sorts of other wonderful things that typically can only be done on the “grown up” cameras. I am taking some time off over the holidays and I’ll be trying to install and use this mode. I just hope that I don’t turn my camera into a fancy paperweight.

So are using the full capabilities of your camera or is there a whole lot in there that mystifies you? I think with my new found skills on the P setting, I’ve gone from using 1% of the camera’s capabilities to about  2%. I still have a long ways to go and about two dozen videos.

Lessons Learned from Lomography

R2-02894-028A
(The old Amerada Hess Petroleum building. They packed up and moved to Houston in the 90’s. They left the building though. I like all the windows and the almost ceramic finish on the lower level exterior.)

Early last week before the big snow storm I grabbed my La Sardina Lomography analog camera and went for a walk around downtown. I’ve learned a few things about my cheap film cameras over the years. The first thing is that they work best on a bright sunny day. Duhh! is what you old time film photographers say, who would never leave digital. Sorry, is what I say, not everybody is as smart as you!

R2-02894-027A
(This is the old YMCA on Denver Avenue. It is being repurposed into condos now. I was a member of the Y for about two weeks in the early 1990’s. The clientele was kind of rough. Subject of another post I think. This building is similar to the Amerada Hess building because of all the windows, and the ceramic like exterior on the first level. The Amerada Hess building is at the far right of the photograph.)

Second, you have to pay attention to the details because there is no “A” setting. I’ve learned on the Sardina that for single exposures I better have a 400 speed film or things will be dim. If I want to do double exposures I better use 200 film. 100 film, uh, no. Also, you have to manually focus and for goodness sake take the lens cap off. Film photography is expensive, make the most of it.

R2-02894-026A
(The Tulsa County Courthouse. I’ll be visiting again to make my annual trip to pay our real estate taxes. It is across the street from the YMCA building. )

Third, you have to make yourself happy. Most people don’t understand why you are using film. Most of them happily abandoned film for digitial years ago and have never looked back and they don’t know what is wrong with you. (I’ll happily admit that a lot is wrong with me.) What of it. What can I say, I like the look and feel of the pics, I love seeing the grain of the film. Plus it is kind of like Christmas every time I pick up a roll of film. There is always some surprises and a few disappointments.

HipstaPrint

So far I have four Lomography film and three other film cameras. I hope to get another for Christmas. This one a pinhole camera. In other words no lens, just a pinhole. That’ll be fun. That’s getting down to basic.If I get it, as opposed to the lump of coal I deserve.

So that is what I’ve learned. Tuition has been kind of high. What have you learned lately?

Photo Fun with my Takashi 521FX Camera

As some of you know I have a stranage collection of cameras. One of my favorites is the Takashi 521FX camera. It is relatively inexpensive and is designed for a number of effects. My favorite is the Negative effects. I pulled it out of the drawer lately and took a few pics.

SUNP0103

A family friend’s long fence lined driveway. I really like the shadows of the fence.

SUNP0087

SuperPizzaBoy riding a horse. I have taken hundreds of pics of son riding a horse. I’m entitled to a few negative ones aren’t I?

SUNP0053

A landing on the Arkansas River.I love the chains and the water in the shot. Plus I like how the shadows are ligh colored.

SUNP0060

A segment of the beautiful Arkansas River trail system here in Tulsa. I think the negative shot really emphasizes how many trees we have.

SUNP0028

Reflections can sometimes be striking. This is of course a power pole reflected in a window.

Thanks for indulging me.

New Camera for a New Year – Lomography La Sardina Marathon

Well here we are another New Year. I don’t know what has happened but it seems like we fast forwarded from 1986 or so to now awful danged fast. So lets make the most of the time we have and have a Great New Year.

HipstaPrint

The world’s greatest MIL, Nana gave me another Lomography camera, the La Sardina. I think there are over 50 models of this camera. (Lomography is a fancy name for capturing images with “toy” film cameras.) The basic difference besides metal or plastic is the design. Mine is the “Marathon” that is decorated like a sardine can. There is one model that is just white plastic, the “DIY” and the intention is that you decorate yourself with Sharpie pens for those of us who just have to be us, and are gifted artistically which is so not me.

HipstaPrint

Lomography is just one of those things that one either “gets” or you don’t. The photographs are not anywhere near the quality of the most inexpensive digital cameras. You pay money for the film and then you pay more money to develop the film, and to top it off I don’t even get prints, the lab puts the images on a cd. Also, there is no view finder so you can’t see what you got until it is developed, there is no zoom, very little if any in the way of exposure or focus settings. It is also very east to forget to take the lens cap off. It doesn’t make any sense at all,I fully admit.

Deco District

I love the pictures that they take. I can’t explain it and I’m not going to justify it.

Tulsa Central Library

Every shot counts and if you put too much foreground in, that’s too bad! I know that digital photographs are so much more superior. 

Sardina

I love playing around with the Camera. Most Lomography cameras make it very easy to make double exposures. Above is son, SuperPizzaBoy walking one of our dogs.

The Bramble over the Fence

So anyways, I’m liking my new camera. We haven’t had decent weather to do much with it.

Lomography has their “Ten Golden Rules“, as follows. They work. The best Lomo photos are the ones that are up close and spontaneous.

  • Take your camera everywhere you go
  • Use it any time – day or night
  • Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
  • Try the shot from the hip
  • Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible
  • Don’t think (by William Firebrace)
  • Be Fast
  • You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
  • Afterwards either
  • Don’t worry about any rules

Anyway, I hope that everybody has a great 2013. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy visiting everybody’s blogs and the visits made to mine. We certainly occupy a the great side of the internet. Thanks Al Gore!

I put many of my Lomo photos on my tumblr blog (along with digital photos). It is just pure images, no blah blah blah but you’ll see some of the same images. Check it out if you have time.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Skywatch Friday – Crossed Signals

01_00A

I’m always amazed at not just our skies overhead but how much wires, cables, signs, signals and other stuff we have overhead all over the place. As a pipeline engineer I can tell you that there are probably just as many wires and cables as well as pipelines carrying natural gas, fresh water, sewage, storm-water under our feet.

On one level it is all just visual pollution, on another it gives me a feeling of the net of connectiveness between all of us on this planet. If I had your phone number I could probably call you right now as you are reading this.

Would you pick up?

Skywatch Friday

Show and Tell: Hipstamatic, Instagram, and IPod Touch

I have a new obsession recently.

#ginger #dog

No, its not the dog, although I love her. I bought a new Ipod Touch recently. It has a camera similar to the one in the Iphone. It’s a pretty nice camera but I also got an app, Hippstamatic where one can simulate all sorts of cameras including old film cameras like my film Lomography cameras.

#archway #downtown #tulsa

Couple the Ipod Touch and the Hipstamatic with Instagram. Have you heard of Instagram. It’s like facebook but only for photos.

#tulsa #downtown #political #rally #flag

No hurt feelings by insulting your favorite cheesy politician or cause. Just photos.

#tulsa #downtown #orpha's lounge

So I’ve been going crazy with my trio of brand new toys.

Some Okies actually don't care about the Thunder.

The Ipod is small and compact so its easier to get more candid photographs than I could with my regular cameras.

HipstaPrint

Don’t worry, they are just one more tool in my bag. I still love my big Canon SuperZoom, and my little Powershot, as wells as my Lomography cameras, and my special effects digital camera and all the rest. I haven’t gotten off the deep end yet, but I may be headed there.

Compressor

Do you have anything you want to show and tell about today?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Negativity

I took my Takashi 521 FX “digital Holga” camera out for a spin the other day. You can see all sorts of things with it. It has a negative setting. It makes SOOC a whole new world.

SUNP0017

You can see the buildings swinging and swaying due to the Lartigue Effect. It has to be a pretty low tech camera you see to get this effect, one that doesn’t have a shutter.

SUNP0016

At least the library was a stand up affair.

SUNP0023

It makes the “Central Library” sign really pop. This looks like a well lighted night scene.

SUNP0024

And then the ground started leaning.

SUNP0027

It made a tree trunk at a local park stand out.

SUNP0038

And… does it have an Xray lens? In my mind the shadows of the limbs could be the tree roots underground.

Are you into Negativity, in a positive way I mean?

The Ladies of Utica Square

99410010

I had some time to kill waiting for a prescription at a Utica Square shopping center.

99410008

So I took my strange looking Kodak Brownie loaded with the medium format 120 film,

99410001

and shot some old school black and white photographs. Taking old school pics is kind of fun but you know really if I had a digital camera I would have reshot all of these pics to minimize cars, strange reflections, glare and such. Old school though doesn’t give you that immediate feedback you have to turn the film in and wait. And nobody offers one hour processing on 120 film. Still, I love the pics despite the many flaws, or because of all the flaws.

99410005

(My favorite)

It was mid morning and me and these ladies had the run of the place.

The Weekend in Black and White

Enhanced by Zemanta

Lartigue Effect

We have got all sorts of stuff going on in Tulsa these days.  The city doesn’t know whether to lean to the right,
SUNP0033

or lean to the left, or

SUNP0032

Or just kind of shimmy in place.

SUNP0031

So what’s happening? I know the wind blows here in Oklahoma, but not that much.

SUNP0030

I have a cheap camera. The Takashi 521 digital lomo camera. It has all sorts of special effects built into a camera with a plastic lens. One thing this camera doesn’t have though is a shutter. That’s right no shutter. You press the button the sensor gets scanned is all. So that means that if I move the camera while pressing the button the things that the camera sees get distorted.

In a regular camera with a shutter you don’t get that. You get a blur. Blur can be fun, but not that much fun.

This distortion is called the Lartigue effect after Jacque Henri Lartigue, a french dude, who used a “focal plane shutter.” to invent the effect. Here is an example of his work:

Check out the link. He was cool! The main thing is that I love the term “focal plane shutter.” That is like one of the most wonderful pieces of jargon I have heard in a long time. I have no idea what it means. I’m going to use it a lot. I mean talk about authority. For instance, somebody talks about plumbing problems I’m going to shut them up by saying that until they get a Focal Plane Shutter installed they are going to continue to have the same problem.

Those of you who don’t have cheap camera will have to pay big bucks to get a focal plane shutter. That’s what you get for having fancy stuff like shutters on your camera. My shutterless piece of junk can get the same effect using the scan rate of the sensor. Aren’t you jealous? You should be.