#PhotoBTS

[chims97]

220929 yoongi | peace of mind 🎹

[socrat28]

Tag a friend who can relate😂 #portablefilmlights #photographer #nicefoto #strangerthings #sonya7iii #godox #styling #portraiture #instagood #tamron2875 #instaportrait #portraits_ig #westcottlighting #sonyalphaportrait #zeiss55mm18 #tamron #beautiful #blueeyes #photobts #behindthescenes #rgvphotographer #strobist #colorgrading #dopeports #studiophotography #texture #studio #socratesphotography (en Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-m12wKDeY6/?igshid=j5eut19i6nwl

[namgyusoo]

[a-mommabee-universe]

Our "Anchor Away' wedding cake. ⚓💎💙 #anchor #boat #ocean #cruise #waves #wedding #weddingsph #kasal #cake #cakeart #edibleart #honeyveecakesph #WeddingEssentialsPh Watch out for @weddingessentialsph magazine April issue!!! #photobts #bts #behindthescenes #photoshoot #excerpt #myiookamotophotography (at Blue Leaf Silk Pavilion, Mckinley Hill Village, Fort Bonifacio)

[thementalistthebestserie-blog]

The Mentalist BTS 

[qasic]

Photo Backup to Cloud - Google Drive via Syncovery

I've elected to use Syncovery to perform cloud back up of my photos to Google Drive.

I've been very impressed with Syncovery's support. All inquiries were handled promptly, usually within 24 hours. All bugs with resolved timely, within a couple of days (some were resolved within 24 hours). I've definitely very happy about that.

Google Drive isn't necessarily the fastest platform in my tests (Amazon S3 was) but over the long run, Google Drive is going to much cheaper than Amazon. I currently store over 400GB in the cloud and this is expected to grow year after year.

[qasic]

The Big W | Woodward's Building

Woodward's used to be a huge department store in Canada before they closed down. The spot they used to occupy in downtown Vancouver is now a combination living quarters, commercial stores, and university.

This was another test of the Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5 placed at ground level looking up. Let's just say my neck got a good work out :)

For those wondering, there was a small amount of exposure blending to get detail in the London Drugs sign on the bottom right. Topaz Adjust and Topaz Detail were used as well. Sky was darkened using a luminance mask.

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Just a little reminder to myself on point my flash toward the middle of the umbrella when using off-camera flash :-)

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Seminar Review: So You Just Got This Flash with Joe McNally

Introduction

Joe McNally is one of the best well known rock stars of flash photography in the world. With several books under his belt and a long and illustrious photographic career to back it up, he's definitely got the skills to lecture an audience of any skill level.

Vancouver Photo Workshops brought Joe in for 2 weeks for all kinds of different flash workshops and seminars. I elected to attend the "So, You Just Got This Flash" seminar, one of the two (relatively) cheap seminars at $59.

The audience of about 25 at The Ironworks was slanted toward the beginner side of flash photography spectrum so Joe geared his material so that it would be relevant to this audience. Yet again, a lot of the material wasn't new for me. Then again, none of the terminology flew over my head so I was able to see a master apply principles in 'real' shooting scenarios and see how he read the situation and adjusted accordingly.

And yes, everything was done via TTL. A question came up from the audience about manual Yong Nuo flashes and he basically answered that you'll have to manually work it work. I was surprised that he didn't plug the Strobist or Zack Arias. :-)

Building an Image

One of the themes of the night was the concept of "embracing mistakes". You learn more from your failures than your success. You'll take more mistake-filled photos than your keepers. So embrace it. Your expensive camera takes "highly detailed garbage". It's up to you juggle all the pixels into a beautiful and articulate image. Here's some criteria that a National Geographic photo editor uses to select their images:

Pictorially successful (a good image)

Informationally successful (has to advance the story at hand)

Emotionally involved (it tugs your innermost feelings)

And that's why you rarely see sunsets in the yellow magazine :-)

In the three hour seminar, we went through less than a handful of setups. Joe was taking his time, showing us how we could build up the lights, one by one, to enhance the scene for the final picture.

This picture (taken with my iPhone) was particularly memorable because I helped to bring it into fruition as the the HAL (human activated lightstand) on camera right. Joe jokingly teased me for not holding the light correctly because I partially lit the bar instead of focusing 100% of the light on Shazmin.

The image was built piece by piece, one light at a time, until the final image came together. First, with a single light attached with no light modifiers. Then, the LumiQuest soft box. After looking at the picture, we noticed that the EXIT sign was standing out too much in the background. So to diminish it, he had his assistant, Michael Cali, stand outside in the chilly weather on the sidewalk and hold up a red-gelled SB-910 to the window. The flash would then be wireless triggered from the inside. However, the gel wouldn't flash until we another audience member take the commander flash and move it so that both Cali's and mine flash could be seen by the SB-910s infra-red sensor. And then, the red light gently flooded the room.

Final Remarks

Something that wasn't highlighted during the seminar was how expensive flash photography can get. Joe was running multiple Nikon SB-910's with SD-9 battery packs (~$750) with a SB-910 commander extended by a SC-28 TTL cord (~$600). Don't forget the light stands and modifiers too. The cheapest one he was using was the LumiQuest Softbox III which runs you for ~$50. We ended up using the LumiQuest SoftBox LTp a lot longer (~$60). Toward the end of the seminar, we switched over to using an umbrella - an 8-in-1 by Lastolite (~$130). Companies love to milk money from photographers ... LOL.

A side note for those wondering about software. I didn't see Joe use Adobe Lightroom. He used Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 for tethering (looks like tethering was done via ethernet), Photo Mechanic to browse his photos (and dang, was that software fast), and Adobe Photoshop (certain folders on his desktop showed that the photos had been tweaked in that software).

I really enjoyed this seminar, even though the concepts weren't new. Joe's just got this way of presenting that works really well. He links each section with colourful anecdotes, like the one described here. He shares willingly. He even showed us some photos for his next book (sorry, we're sworn to secrecy on that). Plus, I got some of my long standing questions answered, which otherwise wouldn't have been possible. I was definitely appreciative, even when I flubbed. Embrace them. :D

[qasic]

Lens Rentals Canada Review

An Ultra Wide Angle Nikon 10-24 f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S DX 

Motivation

For the last year, I've been playing around with basically the same 3 lens in my bag, the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, the 35mm f/1.8 prime, and the 24-70 f/2.8 lens. I've got 2 other lens (50mm f/1.8, 28-300 f/3.5-5.6) but they're primary function is back up and they stay mostly at home.

The one lens I feel I've been missing out on has been an ultra wide angle. There have been many times when I wish I had such a lens to play with, especially in Yosemite. However, given that I would eventually go full frame, I wondered if it was wise to pony up for a wide angle lens geared for a cropped body (the Nikon 10-24 for $750) or one geared for a full framed body (the Nikon 14-24 for $2000) but would be next to useless on my Nikon D5100 because its field-of-view couldn't even match my 18-55.

I decided to rent a Nikon 10-24 and see how well it holds up. For a the fraction of the cost to buying it outright, I could rent it for a week and see how it went.

Finding a Rental Company

Unfortunately, the majority of people I know in real life shoot Canon so I just couldn't borrow it from a friend ... lol.

There are a few rental shops in Vancouver (e.g., Beau Photo, Camera Rentals Vancouver, FlashPoint, Leo's) but they didn't carry the lens I wanted. Major camera dealers out East also rent. Vistek and Henry's come to mind in particular. However, their prices are again generally higher than their online competitors. Furthermore, these stores will generally perform a credit hold on your credit card for the full retail value of the lens in case you don't return the item.

For online companies, there are Canada Lens Rentals, Lens Lenders, and Lens Rental Canada (LRC). Only the latter carries the Nikon 10-24. For my lens, they weren't as cheap as Henry's but I did have an acquaintance who shared her positive experience with them. After weighing my options, I went with LRC.

Ordering and Shipping Experience

Ordering was easy. Default shipping is Xpresspost. I didn't bother to get the damage waiver. One thing that surprised me was that they charged my credit card immediately; not when the order was shipped. My order was meant to be shipped in about two weeks. Not a big deal though.

My order was shipped on time. The tracking number they sent me was incorrect though. It was the return tracking number. However, a quick chat over their instant messaging system gave me the correct number. No harm done.

From my previous online research, LRC generally tries to ship things so that your rental items will arrive 1 day early. For me, the item did indeed arrive early :-)

The Item

Packaging Material

The lens was packed pretty securely in the box, with the lens sandwiched between two layers of foam, wrapped in bubble wrap.

Lens Cap and Rear Cap

There was no LRC branding on the lens or the hood but there were LRC stickers on the lens and rear caps. The stickers were on the inside though. From the outside, you wouldn't have known that this was a rented lens.

Trying the Lens Out

Field of View

Here's an example of how wide this lens' field-of-view is. This is the front office lobby of SAP Vancouver.

Olympic Cauldron

I'm glad the lens came one day early because on that exact night, the Olympic Cauldron was been lit at Jack Poole Plaza.

Lions

I also got this shot of the lions watching over the entrance to the Port of Vancouver.

To see the photos I've taken with this lens, check this link. There's several more I have in the queue that will be posted up over the next week or so.

Sending it Back

Return Package

It was a sad day when I had to send the item back. LRC makes it really easy to send back. I just had to take off the old shipping label and slap on the return one.

For the shipment back, it's considered to be a "product return" so although you get tracking as to where the package is, there's no formal ETA for the item. It was shipped back using Xpresspost though so it did get back to Owen Sound in 3 business days :-)

Overall Experience

So was the rental experience was great? It certainly was. I definitely loved the lens. Would I go out and buy it though? Probably not. I'm going to wait until I go full frame. If I need a wide angle lens (for example, for when I go on vacation), I'll just rent it again :D

My next rental item will likely be the Nikon D610. I just need to clear my backlog of photos to process. And LRC, if you're reading this, I would really appreciate if you could carry the Sony A7R for rent :-)

[qasic]

Proud and Tall | CRAB Park at Portside

Two lions sit at the north end of Main Street, near CRAB Park at Portside. The Shanghai Port Authority gave these lions to the Vancouver Port Authority in commemoration of their sister port relationship.

This photo is a combination of 3 exposures, with one being a long exposure to get movement in the skies and another removing the light streaks from cars. Final color adjustments were done with Topaz Adjust.

As featured on Miss 604.

[qasic]

Science World Blue Hour from Edgewater Casino

Checking out Science World from the other side of False Creek.

Combined exposures with PhotoMatrix Pro with Fusion Express/Natural. Started off with Topaz Clarity, Topaz Detail, and Topaz Adjust. Then, a few adjustment layers: curves and hue/saturation. Finally, some high pass sharpening.

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Frozen Over | Holland Park

Techniques Applied: Exposure Blending, Hue/Saturation, Curves, Clone Stamp. Processed with Topaz Detail.

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Artificial to Natural at Kaymar Creek in Burnaby

Captured with a 6-stop Tiffen IRND filter.

Processed with Topaz Clarity, Topaz Detail, and Topaz Adjust.

[qasic]

Two weeks ago, I was out at Barnet Marine Park with VanCity Free Capture to try my hand at daytime long exposures.

Shots longer than 2 minutes had this weird purple haze on the right side of the image. I wasn't sure what was going on. I tried all sorts of things but nothing resolved the purple haze. I temporarily gave up and restored to capturing shorter exposures.

Once I got home, I did a bit of Google searching to try to figure out the issue. I first thought this was an IR leak that could be corrected with color temperature controls. Nope. After some more reading, I realized that I was suffering a light leak through my optical viewfinder!

The Nikon D5100 has a eyepiece cap that prevents this from happening but it's small, hard to put on my and easy to lose. It seems the common consensus is to use black gaffe tape so I'll be using that in the future to plug up my light leak :-)

Lesson learned for next time :-)

[qasic]

Vistek Online Shipping Experience

This post is about my shipping experience with Vistek. If you're interested in just my photo posts, I recommend that you simply just ignore this post :-)

Vistek had some awesome prices for Wacom tablets during Black Friday so I ordered one online. It didn't meet the threshold for free shipping so I paid for Canada Post Expedited. I didn't realize until AFTER I had completed my order that Vistek wouldn't release package tracking numbers to users until the provided shipping time had expired. However, when I give them a ring about a week later, they gave me a tracking number.

So I assumed that when you call, they'll give you a tracking number. It turns out that this wasn't the case.

During boxing week, I ordered some MeFoto tripods. I wanted to compare them to Manfrotto setup (For those interested, I was looking into evaluating whether or not an Arca Swiss head would be more firm/stable than my current RC2 setup). I waited for the shipping notice and then sent a polite e-mail request for a tracking number. No response whatsoever. A tweet to @vistek gave me the silent treatment as well :(

@Vistek How come tracking #'s aren't automatically e-mailed to customers when a package has been shipped?

— K Fung (@LaQVrai) December 30, 2013

So I call two days after to ask for the tracking number. This time they wouldn't give it to me*. Apparently, management instituted their current tracking number policy because Vistek had security/theft issues in the past. I've heard about these type of scams. The scam would work like the following: 1) order a high value item to a 'real' address where the building is either abandoned or the resident isn't typically at home during work hours; 2) monitor the tracking to know when the items would be delivered; and then 3) swing by this location to pick up the item shortly after delivery. This makes it that much harder to recover the stolen items when the credit card transaction is eventually rescinded.

Despite this scam though, big companies like Amazon and Future Shop still give out tracking companies. Even Henry's gives out tracking numbers. I'm not sure why Vistek stubbornly sticks to this policy when all these other companies don't.

If they had researched me a little bit longer, they would have known that I was shipping my items to my day job. That should be low risk. Apparently, it isn't.

So be aware. When shopping at Vistek, don't expect to get a tracking number, even if you PAID for shipping that ALREADY INCLUDES TRACKING.

*In the interest of full disclosure, although the lady on the phone wouldn't provide me the tracking number, she did tell me the scheduled delivery date. Kudos to her for doing that. However, I did want to enter the tracking number into my packaging tracking application.