Category: Photography

Equipment, examples, history – all matters photographic

Balancing flash and ambient light

I am taking a photojournalism and documentary photography class through the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa. The first assignment is balancing flash with ambient light, taking photos of strangers outside at night. It is strongly encouraged to take photos in manual mode, rather than the aperture priority mode I normally use. As such, I am learning to adjust my thought process.

Normally, my thinking when it comes to exposure settings looks something like this:

  1. Will the lighting be changing quickly, not leaving me enough time to change settings? If so, choose a suitable ISO and white balance, set the camera to ‘program’ mode and hope for the best.
  2. If not, choose a combination of ISO and aperture that is suited to the light and the amount of depth of field I want.
  3. Make sure the shutter speeds generated are suitable to the situation, subject, and lens.
  4. Adjust ISO and white balance as necessary.

Switching to manual and balanced flash/ambient light requires choosing an appropriate aperture, then selecting a suitable shutter speed that will underexpose the subject before the addition of E-TTL II metered flash. It’s a workflow that takes some getting used to, but which ought to be helpful in the long run.

Particularly during the dancing at the end, my photos from my cousin Ksenia’s wedding could have used a bit of flash to top up the ambient light.

The Canon Nikon rivalry

As an undergrad, I decided to replace my old Pentax SLR, with its dodgy light meter, with a modern camera body. At the Lens & Shutter store on Broadway in Vancouver, I ended up buying a Canon Rebel G and a 50mm f/1.8 lens (because Photo.net had informed me that prime lenses were superior to zooms, especially kit zooms). I don’t recall the purchase in detail – or even whether I went in with a solid sense of which camera I wanted – but that choice locked me into the Canon system I still use today.

Given all the money I have spent on Canon-compatible photo gear since, it was a remarkably casual choice to go with that system rather than Nikon’s offering. To be sure, both manufacturers make great gear, and each has the edge on the other in a few areas. That being said, whereas my choices of Macs rather than PCs, UBC rather than SFU, and Oxford rather than Cambridge were all reasoned and intentional, I think the Canon selection was largely accidental.

The relatively few times I have handled Nikon gear have been odd experiences; the functions are the same with both sorts of equipment – ranging from commonly altered settings like aperture and ISO to less frequently used options like depth of field preview and mirror lockup. What differs is the design, and the precise mechanism through which a desired change is achieved. I imagine the difference is a bit like dancing with a man, rather than a woman, would be: the same general kinds of motion, but with surprising differences to contend with. The nomenclature differs as well. Whereas I have some kind of opinion on virtually every Canon camera produced during the last ten years or so, I have trouble remembering which Nikon dSLRs are full frame and which use crop sensors.

My aesthetic sense is that there used to be a strong presumption among professionals that Nikon was the superior brand, but that this has faded significantly in the last couple of decades. As with Windows and Mac OS, it certainly seems to be the case that the existence of a rivalry spurs innovations that are beneficial for consumers – from image stabilization to sensors with lower noise at high ISO settings. Similarly, the existence of additional brands that sometimes challenge the duopoly with innovative features is useful. If only that competition could help to drive down the exploitative prices of accessories like batteries, lens hoods, and cables…

In the long run, I expect that I will eventually dabble in a few other kinds of photography. When they become a bit older and richer, most photographers seem to try some kind of medium or large format camera system. Given the nature of such cameras, the resulting photos tend to have a high level of beauty and technical quality, but little spontaneity or energy. The other probable avenue is some kind of serious small camera: either something relatively mainstream and inexpensive like Canon’s G9/10/11 series, or some kind of expensive film camera like a Leica M-series rangefinder.

Photo storage costs

At Ottawa’s 2010 Capital Pride festivities, I found myself thinking back to my Oxford days when I would generally only take a couple of hundred photos a month on my 3.2 megapixel digital camera.

By contrast, I took around 400 shots during the course of the parade and the party that followed. Initially, that struck me as a bit excessive and made me nervous. Then it occurred to me that a 4 terabyte external hard drive sells for about $400 these days, meaning that the cost of storing one gigabyte worth of photos is around 20¢ – ten for the external drive, and ten for the internal one it is backing up. The biggest constraint I face is the cost of replacing the 750GB hard drive in my iMac, given that the things really have to be stripped apart for that to be accomplished.

The cost per shot of digital is pretty amazing, compared with film. Of course, there is a new danger that accompanies that. With big memory cards and high speed internet connections, you risk putting more photos online than your friends or readers would ever wish to see.

Conceptual/thematic photography

For the most part, my photography just depicts pretty or interesting things that happen to be close to me. That said, I recognize that photography is a medium that has a capacity to go beyond documenting events and producing pleasure, to make meaningful artistic or political statements.

In the next while, I will try to dream up some more conceptual photo projects. Ideas would be welcome.

Photography and social roles

A number of my friends are fairly serious amateur photographers: people who have built up a repertoire of knowledge, various sorts of gear, and who display photography publicly online. Photography is certainly an excellent pastime. It satisfies geeky cravings for toys to play with, while serving as a creative outlet. It also lets you document and share what is going on in your life, with a group of friends who are increasingly likely to be far-flung (as we stay in touch with friends from former schools and employers, all over the world).

In addition to those appealing elements, photography has an interesting role within group dynamics. Everyone wants flattering photos of themselves, so being able to provide them makes you valuable to others. There is also competition between people who take photos. It takes place on the basis of quality of output, creativity, photographing interesting things, and gear. Indeed, photo gear is an increasingly appropriate way of demonstrating wealth. Whereas in some social circumstances, automobiles are probably the premier form of wealth expression, that isn’t well matched to a lifestyle where people move around often and relatively rarely see their friends in person. Photography is useful, visible, and a way of demonstrating capability, access, and wealth.

[Aside] On a somewhat related note, OKCupid has some data on what makes an attractive photo. Specifically, a non-flash shot taken with an SLR or 4:3 system camera at f/1.2 or f/1.8. The average 30 year old iPhone user has also had significantly more sexual partners than the average BlackBerry and (especially) Android user.

Review: Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip

I have been using the Canon 5D Mark II for about a month now, and decided to take advantage of lower American prices for photo accessories and pick up the vertical grip when I was in the US recently.

Why use a vertical grip?

There are two major reasons for doing so: battery management, and changing the physical character of the camera.

Battery management

With the BG-E6, you can operate the 5D Mk II with two rechargeable batteries. It seems to alternate between drawing power from one and the other, keeping both at a similar level of charge. I have found that the 5D Mk II goes through its battery much more quickly than my Rebel XS did, especially if you have the LCD screen all the time. Even a single day of intensive shooting risks depleting a single battery, making a backup rather useful for day-to-day use, and pretty essential for travel. Of course, you can buy three batteries or so for the cost of the grip, which may be a superior option for people who don’t care for the ergonomic changes it produces.

The BG-E6 can also be loaded with 6 AA batteries, using an included insert, which could be useful in an emergency or in remote areas.

Ergonomics

The BG-E6 certainly improves the handling of the 5D Mk II when it comes to vertical shooting. It provides a useful handhold, a second shutter button, and controls for exposure and focus point selection. Because your hands are in a less awkward position when shooting vertically, it is more comfortable to compose shots. I also think you can push the shutter speed a bit lower without generating unacceptable camera shake. The grip also balances out the weight of heavy lenses a bit, making it feel like you are carrying around one big balanced block of photographic hardware, rather than a body with a heavy lens torquing it downwards.

Like using a lens hood, using the vertical grip also makes your camera system look a bit more professional, which could be useful or problematic depending on the circumstances. It might draw a bit more positive attention from potential clients and exhibitionistic subjects, but it will also draw attention from meddling security guards and muggers.

Is the grip worth the weight and the money? That really depends on your needs and preferences. I prefer the feel of the camera with the grip, and find that I take more and better vertical pictures while using it. At the same time, it makes the camera awkwardly large for storing in a camera bag, and does add a significant amount of weight to a body that can be quite an anchor when using a lens like the 24-70 f/2.8 or the 70-200 f/4.

Possessions are anchors

Ottawa has never been my favourite city. While I have certainly met some people here who I like a great deal, and while there are certainly interesting kinds of work to be done here, I miss the beauty and familiarity of Vancouver. I also miss the options and excitement associated with larger places like Montreal and Vancouver, as well as the unique intellectual atmosphere of Oxford.

Lately, I have also felt as though it would be a good idea to spend a big chunk of time seeing more of the world than I have so far (though there are ethical issues that surround emissions from voluntary travel).

One thing that interferes with all of these plans is my rented apartment and the few thousand dollars worth of low-cost IKEA furniture and miscellaneous materials it contains. Finding it took quite a lot of effort, as good places in Ottawa seem to get snapped up almost instantly. That and sheer force of momentum make me hesitant to give it up, especially since that would mean finding a place to store my miscellaneous possessions, as well as a mechanism for moving them to the storage location.

It is odd how incapacitating it can be to own more things than you can carry yourself. The situation certainly suggests to me that it is wise to continue renting. My present situation already renders me immobile to an extent I find somewhat regrettable. A mortgage, property taxes, repair obligations, and the additional stuff that would inevitably accompany any kind of home ownership would be even more stifling.

I am not as badly off as I could have been. I am still using the same cheap IKEA furniture I bought straight after moving to Ottawa, even though an increasing proportion of it is held together with gaffer tape and screws I installed myself. Most of the surplus income that has accompanied full time work has likewise gone into paying off student debts, building up a cushion of savings, and buying photo gear. Photo gear may be the least anchor-like kind of possession, for me at least. For one thing, it packs a lot of dollar value into a small amount of space and weight. For another, every time I use it I want to go somewhere scenic or novel or important, so as to be able to put it to better use.

Photographing and re-photographing the same few neighbourhoods is not the more enriching experience.

Renting lenses in Ottawa

Photographic lenses are expensive things, especially professional grade ones. For example, Canon’s 24-70 f/2.8L costs $1600. Their 70-200 f/4L costs $1480, with image stabilization.

And yet, the 24-70 can be rented for a weekend for just $25, and the 70-200 is $30. Renting makes even more sense with esoteric lenses which are useful for certain projects or for producing a novel effect, but which it doesn’t make that much sense to buy. A good example is the 14 f/2.8L, which costs $50 to rent for a weekend but $2790 to buy. There aren’t a lot of people out there who will shoot more than 56 weekends worth of fisheye shots.

Located at 499 Bank Street, Vistek rents all of these lenses, as well as lighting equipment and other photo gear. My experiences with them have been very good, and they charge the same amount for a long weekend lens rental as for an ordinary weekend. They also have stores in Toronto, Mississauga, Calgary, and Edmonton.

I have already tried renting the 10-22 3.5-4.5 for some day and night photos of Montreal. Some other lenses I want to rent are the 50 1.2L, the 24 3.5L tilt-shift, the 100 2.8L macro, the 100-400 4.5-5.6L, and maybe the 14 2.8L.