#Some more experiments with shallow DOF

[phodoegraphy]

[14/1/25]

[sixty-silver-wishes]

so I'm redoing a "caligari" fic arc from last year. yippee yay

Part 1

The invitation arrived one afternoon, just when he was beginning to plan how to get what he needed without it. It almost disappointed him; he would have liked to arrive by force, invitation be damned. That was a tempting thought, but he was, at heart, a rational man. The cover of prestige that an invitation provided would make things much more convenient. Playing by these rules- at least for now- might even be necessary. 

Since he’d been released from that detestable cell, he often went on walks. This wasn’t to once again enjoy the sunshine (as if there was any of that in Holstenwall), or the sound of birds (the crows were a nuisance), or the company of the townspeople (heaven forbid), but for a more practical purpose. 

At first, he’d only been looking for the girl. Of all people to escape him, he wasn’t expecting it to be her- weak, innocent, sheltered. He watched the window each day, trying to get another glimpse of her. Rumor had it, one look at her serene face was all it took to destroy five years of careful conditioning, to rot the fruits of his painstaking experiments. He vowed to have that pretty face mutilated- then, there would be no chance of it causing unwanted temptations again.

Once, as he hid beneath a bush, watching her replace the flowers on the windowsill (she did this every three days), he noticed a shape trailing alongside her. Although he could only make out a silhouette, he knew immediately what he was looking at.

Every shadow in an alleyway, every twisting tree, every trick of the moonlight appeared to him as his treacherous Cesare, forever taunting him with his absence. It would have been easy to dismiss this apparition as another mirage- but it didn’t waver, nor did it disappear when he blinked. The following day, he returned, aghast to confirm that his eyes weren’t deceiving him. He watched the girl open the window, unknowingly offering him a clearer view. There beside her was the familiar lanky figure, with his ghostly white face and black gash of a mouth. 

The scene was enough to make his blood boil. How could she have come into possession of what was rightfully his? Were the two of them demons from hell, conspiring to torment him? Why else would they possibly be seen together? He wanted to wring both of their necks, to see them writhe like snakes, to drink their luxuriant moans of pain…

He felt the invitation in his hand. Even if he devoted his life to his own vices, he could slip comfortably into respectability; he did that every day. After all, that was how he’d been able to receive the invitation in the first place. He could sit through an insipid banquet if he had to. He could play the gentleman, doffing his hat and carrying shallow conversations. 

He glanced at the date on the card, then pocketed it. If he didn’t have to humiliate himself enough, it seemed that he would also be kept waiting.

-

“And what do you suggest we do with the wallpaper?” Jane asked. “Should we keep it?”

Cesare poked a long finger at the wall of his new room. A scrap of paper chipped off, and fluttered to the ground.

“I agree,” Jane said. “It’s much too old. We’ll have to replace it soon. And what about these?” She picked up a stack of books from the floor. “I can’t imagine you’d be very interested in fairy tales.”

He shook his head, scrambling to grab one from her hands. “Keep… them.”

“Oh-! All right, then. There is the one that you like, isn’t there?”

He opened the book, holding it out to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t read to you right now; I need to get ready for this banquet Mother is hosting tonight. I can come back later- would you like me to?”

“And… read?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “I can read to you then.” She headed towards the door. “I’ll bring you back some food, all right? What would you like?”

He looked down, wringing his hands together. 

“You can answer however you want,” she reminded him. 

“Apples,” he whispered hesitantly.

“Of course. And I can talk to you about everything when I come back, right? These things are so terribly difficult to sit through.”

He nodded, blinking rapidly with what Jane had come to recognize as enthusiasm. 

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re very kind.” Putting up with me, she thought, as if I have any right to complain.

“Very… kind,” he echoed, yawning.

“Certainly,” she answered. “I’m going to go now; I’ll be back tonight.” She knocked on the door in a recognizable pattern. “Remember, if you hear this, it’s me.”

He repeated the knock on the wall, stretched onto his toes, and bowed.

“Right,” she said. “Goodbye, now.”

Jane closed the door behind her and headed to her own room. Laid out on the bed was a white silk dress, freshly cleaned and pressed for her. She examined the delicate embroidery along the sleeves, the filmy black tulle decorating the neckline, which was just a bit too low for her comfort. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever worn. 

Saves me the time of picking one out, too, she thought as she changed, carefully working buttons into holes and lacing up ribbons. She reached for a shawl- certainly, she thought, her mother wouldn’t object to a bit more modesty. Then, she considered that if her mother wanted her to wear a shawl, it would have been laid out for her, and she hung it back up again. It isn’t that low, now that I’m wearing it, she told herself, but positioned her long hair over her chest anyway.

As she stood in front of a vanity fixing her makeup, she wondered who would be on the guest list. Certainly Paula Hoffmann and her husband- her mother always made a point of inviting the Hoffmanns. Some of her father’s colleagues were bound to be there as well, along with their wives. Emma Lueders, the old clerk’s widow, would certainly be invited- Jane’s mother insisted they were bonded by a “shared tragedy”- but it was highly unlikely she would come.

Along with the intellectuals and socialites of the town, a banquet typically meant the presence of some respectable young man, as Mrs. Olsen put it, was also to be expected. Most often, Jane met these arrogant, hopeful bachelors with polite indifference. The aristocrats’ sons, boasting to her about whatever they had killed on their hunting trips, generously provided her with an endless supply of boredom. The university students were capable of more compelling conversation, but it soon became apparent that they were more interested in impressing her with their knowledge than allowing her to engage in their debates. They, at least, were leagues more young and respectable than the widowers- one of whom displayed his affections by announcing she was as pretty as his own daughter. 

On occasion, they earned her pity. One shy, sniveling youth, for instance, had confessed to her that his own father had dragged him there, in hopes of diverting his heart from the farm girl he was in love with. Another man had lost his young wife to sickness, and couldn’t speak to Jane at all without stuttering horribly. How long would they, like her, have to keep up this charade? 

“Miss Olsen!” Someone knocked at the door, jolting her from her thoughts. She recognized the voice of one of the maids, and opened the door.

“Yes, Louise?”

“Your mother has informed me you’re late,” she said. “She’s expecting you in the dining room.”

Jane tugged at her hair, realizing she hadn’t bothered to properly fix it. She glanced again at the mirror, realizing her makeup was smudged on one eyelid.

“I’m sorry; I just- I mean, of course. Thank you.”

“Are you feeling well, Miss Olsen?”

“Yes,” she answered. Saying no would be pointless. “Thank you again.”

She made her way out of her room and down two flights of stairs, into a large, open room. She then headed into a hallway, covered floor to ceiling in portraits- her ancestors, all watching her as she briskly walked past, her skirts in her hands. At the end of the hallway, she stopped, growing cold. There was her portrait, docile and serene and dead-eyed.

I wonder what Cesare would think of that. For some reason, the thought bothered her.  

She continued on, until she entered the dining room. Light caught in the crystals of the electric chandelier dangling over the long table, glinting off silver trays and crystal wineglasses. She scanned the chairs- there were her parents, the Hoffmanns (of course), the mayor and his wife, an assortment of men from the hospital, ladies from their various societies… and Emma Lueders, sitting in the seat Jane normally took.

“There you are,” her mother said, looking up from her plate. “Sit down.”

Jane glanced at Emma Lueders. “I don’t know if I…” she began. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to-”

“I’ve requested you sit next to me,” an oily voice scratched, making the light conversation around the table fall dead silent. Jane gasped sharply, barely managing to withhold a scream. She stumbled, her back hitting the wall with a thud.

 Everyone turned their heads. Her father coughed. Paula Hoffmann dropped her fork. Emma Lueders tutted something under her breath.

Jane stared at the man hunched over at the far end of the table. How did she not notice him before? She’d never seen him like this, she realized; he wasn’t wearing an oversized hat or a heavy cloak. There were no gloves on his hands. His hair, once straggly and strawlike, was neatly combed, his face freshly shaven. But as the flickering light from the chandelier reflected off his glasses, she caught a glimpse of a familiar pair of cold, hungry eyes. Sitting at her parents’ table, in their house, absentmindedly running his finger over the knife beside his plate, was none other than Dr. Caligari.

She opened her mouth, trying to force out some form of protestation. “I…”

“Jane,” her mother said sharply. “Acknowledge our guest.”

Jane looked back at Emma Lueders. She has to know, she thought. He murdered her husband. 

“Frau Lueders,” she began, her heart pounding in her chest. “Please.”

Her mother flushed with embarrassment. “Jane,” she said slowly, “Frau Lueders is quite comfortable where she’s sitting.”

I’m not trying to- She felt Caligari’s eyes on her from across the table, and suddenly wished she’d worn the shawl.” That’s- that’s all right,” she stammered. “Forgive me.”

“Sit down, then.”

Paula Hoffmann muttered something to her husband. Mrs. Olsen gripped her fork tightly. The lone empty seat stood waiting, a plate of food in front of it. Caligari slid his knife into a piece of chicken, still staring at her.

“I don’t-” Jane took a deep breath- “I don’t feel well.” She gripped the wall. “I think I might faint; I’ve been having these spells ever since I...”

Caligari stood up from his seat, his cane dragging beside him as he made his way towards her. There was something strange about his eyes, she noticed as he drew closer. The hunger she’d noticed before had been replaced by something entirely different- a soft expression of intelligent concern, one she commonly recognized on her father’s own face. It terrified her.

“Ever since your abduction, I presume?” he said. The word made her feel cold. “I suppose that’s only natural, my dear.”

The way he said my dear sickened her even more than the way he said abduction. 

She stepped back, shaking her head.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he continued, as if he were trying to lure in a frightened animal. “After your experience, I can’t say I blame you. Rest assured that I happen to specialize in unconscious states, and I have considerable experience studying them as Director of the local asylum-” he smiled- “or, as I insist on calling it, a place of rest and refuge for troubled minds. All that is to say, if you do pass out, I have no problem taking it upon myself to examine you.”

She shuddered, not wanting to think of what he meant by examining her. Why didn’t I take that shawl?

“My father is a doctor,” she said. “If I have any… health complications, he can help me. You don’t- you don’t need to worry about it; you’re our… guest.”

“How considerate of you,” he said through gritted teeth. “I suppose I cannot question your family’s hospitality, seeing as your mother has arranged a marvelous dinner. Go sit, then. Eat.”

Mrs. Olsen smiled thinly at the praise. Paula Hoffmann cast a haughty look towards Jane, then whispered again to her husband, who nodded. There were two empty seats at the table, side by side with their armrests touching each other.

I could run. I could just leave, Jane thought, but knew it was impossible. She couldn’t bring herself to leave, no matter how badly she wanted to. She couldn’t feign sickness, not with this esteemed doctor practically breathing down her neck. She couldn’t expose him for who he was in front of everyone; who would believe her? Silently cursing Emma Lueders, she moved to her seat. Caligari, gleefully playing the gentleman, pulled it out for her, then pushed it in as she sat down. Her posture straight against the back of the chair, the table at her chest, and her legs stowed snugly underneath, she watched as he sat beside her. 

All of the chairs were now full.

Jane never thought Caligari could look more repulsive than she’d last seen him; after all, it wasn’t something she’d want to give much thought to. Even from a safe distance, his presence alone was enough to turn her stomach. Sitting right next to him as he gorged himself, it was all she could do to keep herself from passing out for real. He smacked his lips loudly as he ate, bits of food getting stuck in his teeth or spraying from his mouth as he interjected in conversation. He gulped loudly from his wineglass, and wiped his hands on the expensive tablecloth. Worse yet, whenever the Olsens weren’t looking, he’d reach under the table with his fork, prodding it at Jane’s thigh. She attempted to endure it all in silence, hoping he’d leave after dinner, and she could explain the whole thing to her parents the minute he was gone. 

She noticed him slip his hand under the table again, and determined she couldn’t take it anymore. “Excuse me,” she said, pushing her chair away from the table. “I need to-”

He put a finger on her wrist, and she froze.

“Tell me about this house,” he said. 

“What do you… what do you want to know?”

“Oh, it’s curiosity, I suppose. This is a very big, very old mansion, and it must have some interesting history, doesn’t it?”

She glanced at her parents. They were each engrossed in conversations at the far end of the table, which felt far longer than it actually was.

“I don’t see why you would care,” she said, moving her hand away from him. For an instant, the remark felt triumphant, even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to talk to guests that way.

He smiled, showing all his crooked teeth, along with the remains of his meal lodged between them. “A bold statement from such a lovely creature,” he whispered. “Judging by our last meeting, I didn’t imagine such a thing was possible… but discovery has a fascinating way of proving us wrong, doesn’t it?”

She didn’t answer, pretending to be interested in her plate, although she’d long since lost any semblance of an appetite she may have had.

“That’s an interesting thing,” he said, “discovery. I’m sure you experience it all the time, in a place like this. Lost passageways, walled-off rooms, secrets hidden by your ancestors. By your parents, I’m sure; I wouldn’t put it past them, in any case. I’d imagine you can live your whole life here and still find it unfamiliar- you can explore every room, and still find rot in the walls.”

“I’m- very comfortable living here,” she said, mostly to herself.

He leaned in, raising his eyebrows. “I’d imagine that even a pretty little thing like you must be hiding some secrets,” he whispered in her ear. “Am I wrong?”

She felt her blood run cold. Cesare, she thought.

“I’m… I’m not hiding any secrets,” Jane said. “It’s not very becoming of a lady to do so.”

“I should think not,” he chuckled, then grew serious. “After dinner,” he said, “you will give me a tour of the house. If you’re comfortable here as you say you are, I trust you will make a most useful guide. You will show me every room, every corridor, every secret.”

She looked around the table- at her parents, their guests, Emma Lueders. She quietly thanked them all; they’d given her an opening, and she knew exactly how to enter it.

“A tour?” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together as she stood up. “What a wonderful idea you’ve given us all!” She raised her glass. “Everyone, to the health of Doctor- um…” She looked directly at him, smiling sweetly. “I didn’t catch your name.” 

Anger flashed behind his eyes, but he waved his hand dismissively.

“You all needn’t bother with-” he began, but Paula Hoffmann cut in.

“Gilda was just telling me about the new portrait she commissioned,” she said. “I would love to see it.”

“Two portraits,” Mrs. Olsen answered smoothly. “One of my daughter, the other of myself. You are all most welcome to view them.”

“What about your ballroom?” one of the women asked. “Didn’t you get it renovated recently?”

“I’d like to see the library,” another one spoke up. “I’ve only seen it once.”

“I’d like a tour of your cellars, if you wouldn’t mind!” one of the men said, prompting laughter from the rest of them.

Emma Lueders spoke up. “I’d like to see the garden, please. It would be nice to see all the flowers…”

The garden! Jane thought. That’ll keep them out of the house. 

“The garden sounds like the perfect place to start,” she said. “I just need to… I’ll meet you there. Make sure you keep an eye on each other, though; it’s quite easy to get lost here.”

Mrs. Olsen smiled proudly. “Paula, you’ll love my roses,” she said. “A shame yours didn’t bloom last season.”

Paula Hoffmann reddened. “I can’t wait to see your lilies, then,” she said. 

Mrs. Olsen gestured to the crowd. “Come on then, everyone. You too, Herr Director- what was your name again?”

Caligari stormed past Jane, shooting her a withering look over his shoulder. She gulped, but returned it with a smile as he headed out with the rest of the group.

Once they were gone, she exhaled, wiping her palms on her dress. She had her mother’s pride to thank, she realized, although she didn’t have much time to take advantage of it. 

I suppose it’s not so bad to be an Olsen, she thought, and took off towards the stairway.

[brennanhenderson]

MED 472 - Brennan Henderson - Blog 4 (Week 4)

The image below is from a scene in Jurassic Park (1993) in which the cameras are utilizing either 35mm or 70mm focal lengths.

2. It is important for directors to understand focal length other than for communicating to the DP in regards to executing their film because knowing about focal length will aid directors in what kind of feel/effect they want to convey throughout the film and what emotions they want to bring out of the audience.

3. The type of focal length you choose to use affects the depth-of-field by making it either longer or shallower. For example, if you have a 24mm focal length, the DOF is longer; if you have a 200mm focal length, the DOF is shallower. When it comes to how focal length affects the angle-of-view (AOV), it works similar to DOF. The shorter the focal length, the wider the AOV. There is a large area, but a small subject. The longer the focal length, the shorter the AOV. In this case, the area is small while the subject appears large. Finally, in regards to magnification of subjects, the longer focal length you have, the higher magnification you get. The shorter the focal length you have, the lower magnification you get.

Sources -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_length#:~:text=In%20most%20photography%20and%20all,to%20the%20center%20of%20projection.

https://greatbigphotographyworld.com/understanding-focal-length/#:~:text=A%20shorter%20focal%20length%2C%20such,but%20the%20subject%20appears%20larger.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/depth-of-field-part-i-the-basics#:~:text=The%20shorter%20the%20lens%20focal,and%2C%20therefore%20a%20shallower%20DOF.

4. The aspect ratio is the picture format for film/video media that filmmakers use when filming. Some aspect ratios include 4:3 and 16:9. When a director wants to differentiate between timelines, he/she would probably go from a scene using 16:9 to a scene using 4:3, like when jumping from the 2020s to the 1980s and you want to convey a VHS 4:3 effect. In another case, when a director wants to choose specific aspect ratios for cinematic choices, he/she would probably use 21:9 for a wide-screen experience depending on the film's story and make it look more cinematic.

5. Lining a script during production is helpful for determining what shots are shown at specific moments in a scene. This, in turn, helps editors to decipher the shots that are meant to be shown at certain points in each scene and shots that are meant to be absent.

6. A shot list is a list of shots (lol) that are typed on a sheet of paper for camera operators to use as help for how to create shots and move the cameras when recording scenes in a film or show.

7. It's important for the director and director of photography to utilize visual reference to communicate with each other because that's how the creative vision for the film comes together. For example, the director and DP would have images of scenes to use as reference for the effect that the director wants to convey.

8. Camera diagrams are diagrams used to map out where the cameras and actors will move to and remain throughout a scene. They help out with blocking by showing lines of reference with arrows and numbers.

9. The minimum required types of shots that must be in every scene is the close-up, medium shot, and full shot.

[eili7dlmcq]

Who are you? 

Self Portrait 

I decided to photograph my cat myself alongside my cat, Cookie. Anyone who knows me well knows my cat too, we come as a pair. I don’t have many sentimental or valuable items, my family recently moved to Spain and my wee cat is my only immediate family I have near by. I look after him alone, and its just him and I in my flat. He’s my best friend and he makes my life super happy and a lot more meaningful than it was before I was his owner. There is a lot of emotion in the image, and it shows the true relationship I share with my cat. Although it took me a while to get him this chill to capture the image as he’s 50% chill 50% hyper maniac.

Camera on timer, propped up on my bedside unit on a cola can. My iso & shutter speed were at 1000 as it was quite dark in my bedroom, and I had my aperture on f/4 in order to create a shallow dof, focusing on myself and Cookie. When optimizing the image I used Lightroom and Photoshop/

Location

I moved around a lot as a child, I went to 4 primary schools and 2 secondary schools. When people ask me where I’m from I don’t really know what to respond with, but I feel at home in Glasgow, especially at home in Glasgow Queen Street. Since the age of 14 I’ve traveled via Queen Street station, initially with my mum as a kid, then to work and to see friends as I got older. The lower level platform as photographed is especially nostalgic to me as this is where my train from home used to terminate.

I used a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the train passing by, to show the busy chaos that is Queen Street Station. The people standing waiting patiently and the blank expression on the woman’s face in the center as the train is zooming past is very effective and interesting to look at, i feel like your drawn in to the image to look closer to see whats happening. Its one of my favorite Iv’e taken to date. When optomising i transitioned to black and white, added grain and a black faded border.

Object

I struggled to find a significant item, I didn't think I had anything that really explained who I was or that defined me. I realised after a classmate made the suggestion to photograph my hair clips, that I wear them almost every single day, and that I wear my name necklace (that says Eilidh) every day - I only removed it to photograph it, so that must mean theyr’e significant to me. My clips are a staple, they’re so simple yet an essential to my day to day look. They can take any basic look from 0-100. I wear about 8 at a time, 4 on each side, Its a look. As for my necklace, it was a gift from my friend on my 20th birthday, I’d never been given jewelry as a gift so it was very special to me and meant a lot, hence why I wear it every day, its also a staple to my look.  

I done the shoot at night, using the street lights from outside my window. They shine in on to my chair, so I placed the objects on to a cushion and shot from there. My iso was high due to the darkness of the room. When taking the photograph, i tried to frame the objects with the shadows that were curving around to the right of the image. I placed the chain from top to bottom of the frame, and scattered the clips vertically following the chain. When optomising the image i used Lightroom to transition from colour to black and white, i also added some noise and a black faded border. The shadows in the image are really nice, It has a kind of 60s feel to it I think. 

I edited all images the exact same so that they all fit with the same theme, i tried to give my images a kind of rustic vintage look. 

7D 70MM 

EVALUATION

I have a personality disorder so I struggle on a daily basis with my myself and who I am, I’ts difficult for me to have interests and hobby's without questioning them and asking myself if I actually like them or if I’m just trying to keep others happy, sounds ridiculous but that’s how my brain works. So finding inspiration for this project was actually really difficult for me. 

It forced me to reflect on myself and find things that were meaningful to me, I had to ask other peoples opinions because i couldn't come up with anything myself, after conversing with my nearest & dearest I realised I have loads of things that explain me, who I am and what I love. It was actually a good experience and it made me realise I have many things and places that are connected to me, and I am just as interesting as the next person. 

I thoroughly enjoyed creating a story about myself using images I’d captured, I had never taken a self portrait before this and I found it really challenging to get a image I liked, but i really love the final image I have because it definetley just sums me up to a T. 

I am happy with all three images.

The first image, the ceiling and cupboard frames me and cookie, we are central and I havent left much negative space in the image above or around us, the composition as I said looks good as we are arranged nicely in the centre with the leading lines to the side of us. 

The second image, the pillars and the lines going horizontally create a frame within the image, it draws our attention to the lady in the centre. The slow shutter speed creates this blur, that is actually a moving train. The grittiness of the graffiti, the bright lights, you can tell its underground. I think anyone who looked at this image would be intrigued to look closer. It wouldv’e been better if i used a tripod to reduce camera shake as the image isn’t as sharp as it could be. 

The third image. the shadows frame the objects nicely, the ripples in the sheet where the shadows lay look so nice. I could have added more interesting hairclips to make the image more eye catching. 

[coincidentallyfahrhaus]

Eyes Wide Open, Eyes Narrow Closed: Apertures and You.

There's a school of thought - one where many of us old Leicaphiles studied- that says every Leica lens (every good lens, in fact) should be shot wide open. This way you make maximum use of the art that went into designing these pieces of high-end glass, the shallow depth of field, and the pretty, impressionist-mimicing bokeh. The idea is to let the lens sing, and the camera play the background music.

But for street photographers, it's never quite so simple. The Depth of Field in your lens - the sliver of distances within which your image will be in focus - gets narrower and narrower as your aperture increases. At f 0.95, it's razoe-thin. At f 8.0, it stretches for yards. So how do you decide what to use, whether to open up or stop down?

Experiment. Experiment again. And experiment even more.

Try this: set the aperture to 1.4., the ISO to 1600 (about the fastest we had in the old film days) , and let the shutter do the rest (this one you can set to automatic, if it makes you more comfortable).

Then try f 2.0, and 2.8, and 4, and 5.6

You'll see the difference I between what's in-focus and what's not. You'll also see what you like.

I personally shoot F 1.4 to f 2.8 for street shots, but that's because I usually use my Leica M or TL2 for the street and my work tends to be with a 50mm, from about 6 feet away. With the Fuji X body cameras or the Leica Q, I find myself getting closer and as wide open as possible, since a wide angle lens will by its nature increase DoF.

My supposedly sage advice after 4 decades of Leica/Zeiss/Nikon use is this: go out and play. It's the best way to understand what you like (and NOT what some manual or article or cranky old photographer tells you) and what you need (and NOT what some sufferer of spec sheets and Gear Acquisition Syndrome tells you).

Best of luck, and welcome to the wonderful world of photography.

[thedailychalkboard]

Depth of Field

In the world of photography Depth of Field, or DOF as it is commonly abbreviated, refers to the visual effect of a lens when selectively focused on a deep or shallow range in the field of view. The outcome depends upon several factors which include  the aperture or f stop that is selected, the focal length of the lens used, and how near or far the subject in sharpest focus is to the lens. The image in the accompanying example exhibits what is referred to as shallow depth of field as only the foreground  is in sharp focus.

This image is a fitting analogy for how we often view life. The lens we choose to look through determines what we see and how we see it. Some people wander through experience after experience using only a single lens through which to view those things around them and then set that lens they use on a very shallow depth of perception. Others are more variable in their outlook. They often will use a lens of greater depth of field in their equipment bag of emotional intelligence when they want more clarity and perception. At other times they just focus on things near to them when it serves their purpose and fits their selected perspective and narrative.

Most of us move through the world applying a variable set of optics and never give much thought to the reasons we select those we use. Then someone, or something, comes along and challenges our reason and purpose for the tools we apply and that forces us to think about the way we choose to walk through life. Photography has taught me a lot about the world at large and how I choose to perceive it. I never could have imagined when I began this journey of discovery just how much I would learn about myself and others simply by the career choice I've made to provide my life purpose and meaning.  

If you appreciate this image, along with the thoughts that accompany it, and wish to discover how to create thought provoking images to share with others, I can help. I teach and mentor, individuals, teams, and groups on the subject of photography and creative seeing beyond seeing. Whether you live locally or out of the area please feel free to connect to find out more. I offer instruction in person or remotely via email, phone and Skype. Isn't it time you took your passion for the art of living to a higher level?  

  © 2019 Michael D. Davis - Visual Artist . Writer . Teacher

[pennyfynotes]

6.26.18 // 4:00pm // camera gear is expensive

part 2 in my photo series! now you know what all the buttons/settings do (ok, all the important ones), let's talk about the gear itself. if you missed the last guide, find it here. as a beginner myself, here's a little bit about different kinds of gear, what you might want to buy camera-wise, and maybe some useful accessories. under the cut! xoxo, m

a bit on cameras: you can honestly take great pictures on a phone (technology is kinda amazing), but if you want to upgrade a little...

1. mirrorless cameras (or CSC): these include models like sony, panasonic etc. maybe not the super big names when you think of cameras. unlike more traditional DSLRs, these don't have mirrors that reflect the light coming in. the light goes straight onto the camera sensor, which produces the image. Most mirrorless cameras have electronic view finders (EVFs), which basically simulate what you would see on your LCD screen (on the back of the camera), but in the view finder. This shows you exactly what you will get (ex: when you change the ISO, the view in the EVF changes accordingly). Mirrorless cameras are also a fair bit smaller than DSLRs, though they usually tend to have less battery life (in part due to the EVF). There are fewer accessories and lens selections native to mirrorless bodies, though you can get adapters to put Canon or Nikon lenses onto your mirrorless. 2. DSLR: the traditional camera with mirrors. bulkier than the mirrorless counterparts, but with better battery life and accessory variety. they are also supposed to be faster at autofocus, though some sources say the new mirrorless are catching up. (i don't have any personal experience with this so idk) DSLRs have optical viewfinders (OVFs) that show you the image the mirror is reflecting onto the sensor. this means you're not seeing a "processed" version of the image. as such, you won't get live exposure adjustments when you change ISO etc. when you first start out, it's probably a good idea to check the LCD screen to make sure you're exposing properly (i totally forgot to do this and had the ISO way up for low-light, then had decent lighting and took some super blown out photos). eventually, you'll get a better feel of what settings to use. i think the viewfinder should also have a light meter (tho i'm not 100% on this). you can also use live view on your LCD while you take shots to get a more accurate representation of the exposure. 3. crop sensors: basically your sensor is smaller. if you have a crop sensor (or APS-"some letter", for example i have an APS-C), make sure to look up the crop factor for your model. the main thing this will affect is the effective focal length you're shooting at. if you're shooting at 50mm on a sony APS-C (which has a 1.5 crop factor), you will get images that look like they were taken at 75mm on a full frame camera (more on focal length later). generally, when people refer to focal length, they'll be talking about the full frame equivalent. all lenses will be labelled with their full frame focal length. for example, a lot of people refer to the "nifty fifty" or 50mm prime lens as a pretty versatile option. if you're shooting on an APS-C, you'd want to get a 35mm lens for that same versatility. you also don’t get the same depth of field as you would on a full frame at the same aperture? (i feel like this is super disputed on the interwebs but i think its true...) at f/1.8 on a crop, your dof won’t be as shallow as on full frame. 4. full frame sensors: a 35mm lens will be a 35mm lens. the sensor is just larger. also said to have better low light performance (less noise). full frame cameras are more expensive, but i (and most of the photography community) think beginners should be just fine with a crop sensor. also, you can only use full frame lenses on full frame cameras, while you can use both full frame and crop lenses on crop sensors. crop lenses use less glass since there is less sensor to reflect onto, so if you use a crop lens on a full frame, you'll get black parts on the edges of your image since the lens didn't reflect enough light. this makes full frame lenses a little heavier/more cumbersome.

a bit on lenses:

1. focal length: a longer focal length is going to crop in your field of view. basically, i'd use a 16mm (a relatively short focal length) to take a wide landscape and i'd use a 200mm (relatively long focal length) to zoom in on my little sister dancing onstage while i shoot from the audience. 2. fstop/aperture: i talked about this in my previous post but here's a quick summary. low fstop = more light = shallow depth of field. high fstop = less light = deeper depth of field. 3. prime lens: these lenses have a fixed focal length (no zoom) and generally come in wider apertures. the wider the max aperture, the more expensive your lens is going to be. they also generally produce sharper images with less noise and force you to really think through your shots, since you have to move to change the framing. however, keep in mind you don't always necessarily have to frame your shot in camera! 4. variable aperture lens: these are zoom lenses (you can change the focal length) where the maximum aperture width changes with the focal length. for example, the lens might say 16-50mm, f3.5-5.6 (this is the sony a6000 kit lens). this means that at 16mm, the max fstop is f3.5, but it is only f5.6 when at a 50mm focal length. the zoom is helpful when you want to frame shots exactly how you might like, especially when you can't move around. 5. constant aperture lens: zoom lenses with a constant maximum aperture width. more expensive and less readily available/compatible, but you won't have to worry about the max aperture being narrower as you zoom in.

some accessories:

1. a tripod: helpful for self-portraits, long exposures or just general stabilization. as mentioned, i'd prefer to manually focus on a tripod. i have one, though i've lost the mounting plate (which is pretty cheap to replace) tho i've currently misplaced the entire tripod since i haven't used it in years. 2. microfiber cloth: your lens is going to get dirty. you'll want to clean it or you'll get spots in your images which may or not be removable in post. 3. rocket blower: again, dirt will happen. this is good to blow off big particles so you don't scratch anything while cleaning. *do not* just blow on your lens/sensor with your mouth. you might accidentally spit on it which is a nightmare. believe me, i've been there. 4. sensor cleaning kit: this generally comes with cleaning solution and swabs. super helpful for removing crap off your sensor. the cleaning solution is also great for lenses. i just put a bit on my microfiber cloth and gently rub. (you could use swabs on your lens but those are kinda expensive and single use so) 5. remote/wi-fi app: a lot of cameras now are wi-fi enabled. most camera manufacturers have apps that can allow you to use your phone as a remote. they'll also allow you to see what the camera is seeing (it might be a bit laggy) and adjust some basic settings. super helpful for self portraits or long exposures where you don't want to touch the camera. you could also buy a remote, but the apps are usually free. 6. camera strap: the ones that come with cameras are super uncomfortable. you can get slightly better ones for pretty cheap, or much nicer ones if you're so inclined. 7. camera bag: protect your camera when you travel. i actually just use a super old camera bag, but it has a little padding. just make sure your camera and/or lenses don't move around a bunch or knock around. some lenses (cough a6000 kit lens) are pretty fragile. you don't want to spend hours trying to repair one or, even worse, have to buy a new one because you didn't take proper care.

again, a fair bit of info. cameras are expensive, so definitely make sure you do your research before you shell out for one! buying used is also a good option. hope this is helpful!

[rioadelesphotogaphictechniques]

Equipment

There are many different pieces of equipment that are needed to benefit you in your macro photography journey. Here are some examples of equipment you might need to get started: -Macro lenses Both Canon and Nikon offer macro lenses that can be used both for macro and general photography. They are specifically designed for close-up work, with a long barrel and optimised for high reproduction ratios. These are among the most popular tools for macro photography. Many modern macro lenses can also continuously focus on infinity and have excellent optical quality for normal photography.   - Extension tubes Macro tubes are circular elements that link the camera to the lens. The rings do not have any optical components, so they do not take any clarity away from the image. If you want to be innovative, you can also make your own macro tubes using long cylindrical tubes, such as a Pringles can.

- Lens reverse   The reversal of the lens is another inexpensive way to obtain macro capabilities.   A lens is usually reversed with a reversing ring, but if you're more concerned with fun than consistency, you can try out free lensing. Free lensing is a technique that can be used with any camera that accepts interchangeable lenses. You detach the lens from the camera and focus by tilting the lens in different directions, as well as by moving the lens closer and farther away from the camera body. - Tripod   You have a very limited depth of field when you shoot macro, often as narrow as 0.5 millimetres. Every change in the camera to object distance is crucial with that shallow depth of field and can throw the subject into the blurred area so you want to ensure that both the subject and the camera remain still. This can also be beneficial if you are using lower shutter speeds.   Macro lenses of different focal lengths find different uses:

Continuously-variable focal length – suitable for virtually all macro subjects

45–65 mm – product photography, small objects that can be approached closely without causing undesirable influence, and scenes requiring natural background perspective

90–105 mm – insects, flowers, and small objects from a comfortable distance

150–200 mm – insects and other small animals where additional working distance is required

Depth of field

Shallow depth of field

Limited depth of field is an important consideration in macro photography. Depth of field is extremely small when focusing on close objects. A small aperture (high f-number) is often required to produce acceptable sharpness across a three-dimensional subject. This requires either a slow shutter speed, brilliant lighting, or a high ISO. Auxiliary lighting (such as from a flash unit), preferably a ring flash is often used.

Like conventional lenses, macro lenses need light, and ideally would provide similar f/# to conventional lenses to provide similar exposure times. Macro lenses also have similar focal lengths, so the entrance pupil diameter is comparable to that of conventional lenses (e.g., a 100 mm f/2.8 lens has a 100 mm/2.8 = 35.7 mm entrance-pupil diameter). Because they focus at close subjects, the cone of light from a subject point to the entrance pupil is relatively obtuse (a relatively high subject numerical aperture to use microscopy terms), making the depth of field extraordinarily small. This makes it essential to focus critically on the most important part of the subject, as elements that are even a millimetre closer or farther from the focal plane might be noticeably blurred. Due to this, the use of a microscope stage is highly recommended for precise focus with large magnification such as photographing skin cells. Alternatively, more shots of the same subject can be made with slightly different focusing lengths and joined afterwards with specialized focus stacking software which picks out the sharpest parts of every image, artificially increasing depth of field.

Focus stacking

What You Need:

A tripod.

- A DSLR camera capable of shooting in manual mode. It is possible to use a point and shoot camera, but it must have a manual mode and manual focus capabilities. - A depth of field app (which is helpful but not required).

- Photoshop or another focus stacking software.

Focus stacking is similar in principle to HDR (high dynamic range) photography. However, with focus stacking, images are captured with different focus points and later combined in Photoshop; this is in order to create an image with more DOF (depth of field) than would be possible with a single exposure. Landscape and macro photography are two genres of photography that benefit most from using this procedure.

But be warned: Calm winds and reasonably stationary objects are a must!

Before beginning to shoot, it is always helpful to know a lens’s sweet spot, defined as the aperture at which the lens produces its sharpest image. (It is usually found about two to three stops from wide open.) Experiment until this important setting is determined.

Macro photography can benefit from focus stacking more than any other type of photography, because a macro lens has an extremely shallow depth of field

- Place the camera on a sturdy tripod   - Frame the subject and compose the shot. - Determine the exposure for the subject, and set the camera to manual mode to ensure that the exposure remains constant for each and every image. - Set the camera to Live View and aim the focus point on the nearest object you want to be in focus. Use the camera’s zoom (the plus button, not a zoom on the lens) to preview the focus through Live View. Then switch to manual focus and use the focus ring to fine-tune for sharpness, if necessary. - Take the first exposure. - Without moving the camera or adjusting any settings, move the focus point to a distance slightly farther away from the lens. Remember that DOF in macro photography will be measured in fractions of an inch, instead of in feet (as in landscape photography). - Repeat as many times as needed to cover every aspect of the subject’s DOF. This could range from as few as six images to 30+ images. Make sure the entire subject is covered or the results may be unusable. If available, check a DOF app on your smartphone to figure out how many images will be necessary to get every aspect of the photo in focus. 

Open Photoshop

Get each image on a separate layer. Under File, choose Scripts and Load Files into Stack. Click Browse and select all the images.

- Check the Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images box.

- Click OK and each of the images will open into a new layer in Photoshop

- Open the Layer palette and select all layers.

- Under Edit, select Auto-Blend Layers.

- Check the box for Stack Images and Seamless Tones and Colours. Optionally, select Content-Aware Fill Transparent Areas, which will fill any transparent areas generated by aligning images in step 3.

- Click OK

- Flatten the image by selecting Layer>Flatten Image and save.

[raygoodwinbaphotographyjournal3]

PHOT301 - Mileage May Vary Shoot #3 - 26/10/2019

Changing formats is always usually causes teething problems. Unlike the XPan, I have used this format before and I have since learned to love it. Shooting medium format is always an interesting experience, as the quality difference between 120 and 35mm is seismic. But, with 120, there are options from 4.5x6, all the way up to 6x17. Here, I am shooting the classic 6x6 format, which I have always felt odd about, even since shooting it since first year. A square photograph is hard to compose for me, as a lot of the typical modes of composition don’t necessarily don’t really apply. With this different format, you have to rely consider how to compose an image and how it’ll work on a square. With this, you have to look at central elements and equal lines. Although since shooting more and more 6x6, I have grown to love it and be able to use it. 

I took my Mamiya 6 IV out for a shoot in the depths of night with Aaron. I loaded the 6 with some Cinestill 800T and set off, into the night. Cinestll 800T is one of mt favourite films, because it’s so different from the usual emulsions that we use day to day. Its an old Kodak motion picture film, that is white balanced for tungsten and has been modified to be developed in the normal colour C41 process. The rem jet layer has been removed so that it can be developed at normal photo labs* without the workers hating you when you ruin their processor. 800T also has a unique handling of highlights, as they create this incredible halation around anything that blows out the highlights - they become surrounded with a orangey red glow which really draw one in, and certainly tells the viewer that it was shot on Cinestill. Its also an 800 speed film, giving a lot of versatility with the exposure, as it can be shot all the way up to 3200 asa, which is two stops! 800T can also be shot in daylight at 500 asa, and with the addition of a warming filter if wanted. Here, I shot it at 800 asa and placed the 6 on my trusty Jessops Carbon tripod with a cable release. Annoyingly, My shutter speed ring moved during the first few exposures, so I wasn’t shooting in bulb as I suspected, rather it was on 1/5s. I noticed this when I was 1/3 way through the roll, which hurt slightly. The other issue was focusing, as shooting a rangefinder at night, with very little light is almost impossible when the camera is from the early 1950′s and the viewfinder looks like a peephole. Scale focusing was also difficult as I was wide open at F3.5 to get a shallow DOF, so the focus was sometimes missed and gathered some insane flare (look at shot 8).

Taken in the Courtenay Street Car Park- the same car park used in a few photos for PHOT102. This Citroen C3 intrigued me, as it was so dirty and had a few dents on it. To meter this shot, I used my newly acquired Canon EOS-1 with a 50mm F1.8 STM, with the camera set to 800 asa and mainly metering in the shadows. Thankfully, the EOS-1 has a very accurate meter an was able to create some good readings. This is also a good example of the halation on the highlights. It gives the image a really unique quality and I feel intrigues the viewer. The photograph has some nuances that creates some artistic differences, which is annoyingly used more too often to photograph American gas stations at night with a greasy rain-drenched ground. I would like to shoot this film more often, but at £13 a roll, it isn’t cost effective for 12 photographs. Its one of those film stocks that takes a special kind of occasion, and when the occasion arises, it can take some stellar images. 

This is a more subtle example of 800T’s qualities, and shows off the 6′s optical qualities. The Zuiko optics create the ‘3D’ pop thing that many strive to achieve with classic lenses. Again, it was taken at F3.5 and at around 1/2s to a full second on bulb mode. The dirt and grime initially drew me to this Rover 75, as it tells me that this 16 year old English behemoth is well loved and used. The Rover 75 has always entertained me due to it’s massive rear number plate filling the boot lid. Why does it have such a large number plate, when the usual plates are regulated and standardised with all UK vehicles. This isn’t the only UK vehicle to have shaped plates, as its joined with the Jaguar X Type, S Type, XJS and Land Rover Discoveries. These plates just seem to comical, but obviously have some sort of reason, even it was down to the designers general aesthetic. 

During the time of this shoot, I also came up with the name for this project: “Mileage May Vary”. I had contemplated and planned a list of names since the inception of this project during PHOT202. Other contenders from the list were: For What it’s Worth, Waste Not-Want Not and Crumple Zone. I felt that Mileage May Vary was rather apt, as the mileage of the prospective cars certainly varied due to its age and if it was scrapped, and harks back to automobile advertisements talking about their gas mileage. Even with this title, I am more proud of it, compared to PHOT202′s Spaces of Banality. To me, that project was so incredibly lacklustre that I am even embarrassed that I had even undertook it, as it was nothing that I wanted, and now I am doing something that wished I could have done during that time. MMV has certainly progressed since its inception earlier this year, and the seeds that were planted during PHOT104. From an aesthetically standpoint, I do enjoy being able to isolate the subject whilst keeping some of the surrounding areas still in frame. I don’t want to totally subtract the car from the street, as I still want it to be a part of the typical non place residing areas of these cars. Although, what the photograph is taken with will vary with formats. This project will include 135, as well as 120 format photographs. As for why, is purely an aesthetic choice and what I am feeling, and they both have pros and cons. 135 allows more photographs with portability, yet 120 offers up a massive upgrade in resolution but limits the amount of photographs per roll. I do not want to limit myself to any one format, and prefer to keep it open ended and mix formats up. I enjoy both formats and able to utilise them to the best of my ability. As well as 135, I plan to shoot more 120 in the future with my ageing Mamiya. I own three rolls of Cinestill 800T in 135, which I would like to use at some point with PHOT301, or PHOT303. 

* - that being said, don’t trust all photo labs. This roll was developed at MyPhoto with a standard 30minute development, and they left the negatives covered in purple spots which can be seen with the expanded contact sheet. I won’t be using them again for Cinestill.

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2018

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two.  This was a great year in film, although I admit some of my favorite moments were films or series made for television.  Whether it’s Alex Borstein wielding her trusty plunger around the Catskills in THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL or Amy Adams waking up from a drunken stupor in the unforgettable SHARP OBJECTS, these shows had more indelible scenes than all of the Marvel and DC superhero movies combined.  

Still, I found myself lucky enough to see the staggeringly beautiful ROMA twice in a theater, because seeing it on Netflix doesn’t do it justice.  If that’s your only option, however, see it and see it with its glorious empathy oozing out of every frame.  EIGHTH GRADE took me by surprise with its unassuming, off-the-cuff filmmaking style.  Beneath that I found an aching, contemporary story of a young girl dying to connect with somebody, anybody…her cracked phone an apt metaphor for a world in which our societal sickness lies buried in an addiction to our screens.  PADDINGTON 2, even more so than its wonderful predecessor, gave us the immigrant experience from an accident-prone, marmalade-loving cuddly bear who just wants to unite everyone.  BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, despite its Powerpoint presentation of a story, oozed with so much emotion, the joy of creating, the beauty of people seeing you, and the sheer nostalgia of it all, I found myself crying throughout.  A STAR IS BORN, while imperfect,  had moments of such gorgeousness, especially the undeniable chemistry of its leads, it’s my prediction to win the Best Picture Oscar.  VICE, another Oscar front runner, had fantastic performances and was nonstop fun, but, for me, didn’t quite lick the enigma of Dick Cheney and demonstrated some juvenile instincts of its writer/director.  

I saw a ton of films, but even I can’t see them all.  I missed SHOPLIFTERS, BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, BEAUTIFUL BOY, and BURNING, among many others…but will catch up with them soon.  So having said that, here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time In Film for 2018:

Gabe invites Kayla over for a “first friend hangout” dinner of chicken nuggets and beautifully lived-in, awkward, nerdy charm, telling this lovely, insecure young girl, “You are awesome” - melting all of our hearts with that sweet, simple declaration. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen and a moment our Kayla richly deserved.- EIGHTH GRADE

A young, pregnant Mexican housekeeper tracks down the father of her child, finding him at some type of military training camp.  When she delivers the news to him, he screams at her to stay away from him and runs off to join his buddies.  We never see her reaction, instead experiencing the moment from a somewhat removed distance.  A lesser filmmaker would have cut to her startled, hurt face, but Alfonso Cuarón knew that we’d feel her isolation and devastation more strongly if we didn’t focus on her.  Only a master filmmaker would make such an indelible decision, along with a thousand other great ones. - ROMA

A Peruvian bear takes his Aunt on a fantastical, eye-exploding, stunning tour of London via a pop-up book come to life.  One of the most astounding animated sequences of all time. - PADDINGTON 2

A band looks out at the masses of people clapping along in sync to one of their songs, and in that moment, the connection feels palpable.  Everyone there, everyone who watched knew this was the moment when legends became immortal. - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Nicole Kidman completely transforms herself yet again as a hardened cop with a life full of traumas etched onto her tortured face.  Just watching her lurch towards a crime scene, ambling like Jack Skellington convinced me that to watch Kidman at her peak is to witness greatness. - DESTROYER

A woman in labor and with a horrifying nail injury to her foot, crawls into a bathtub to give birth to a child.  Unable to make a sound lest she capture the attention of a murderous alien slithering through her house, she agonizingly holds it all in until a competing noise allows her to let out a pained, visceral scream. - A QUIET PLACE

A young cater-waiter gets invited onstage to sing her song with a headlining rock star.  Surprised by her power, surprised by the surge and size of the crowd, her guileless reaction and blazing talent cut through, quickly proving the movie’s title. - A STAR IS BORN

Regina Hall sits on a rooftop with two of her female employees from a HOOTERS-like establishment.  They’re all in a transition period in their lives, unsure what the future brings.  They’ve all gone through an intense day and let it all out with extended screams, an unforgettable, undeniable female rage. This small, simple, subtle film is also one of the year’s best.  - SUPPORT THE GIRLS

More groundbreaking than I had ever thought, Fred Rogers soaks his feet in a little tub and invites his black, gay co-star to do the same, breaking taboos on a children’s show way ahead of its time. - WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

Charlize Theron shows us the real pain of motherhood, never once feeling like a glammed-up version of the harsh realities, and yet saves its most shocking sucker punch for its final moments, delivering a reveal as unexpected as the one I didn’t see coming in SHARP OBJECTS. - TULLY

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), referring to Emma Stone’s Abigail, tells Lady Sarah( Rachel Weisz), “I like it when she puts her tongue inside me”…which is followed by Stone giving Weisz the year’s best side-eye. - THE FAVOURITE

In a film filled with shocking moments - the odd clucking sounds, the decapitated bird head, the unexpected death of a major character, the eerie, incongruous reflection of a teen’s face in a school window, the most jolting moment comes when Toni Collette stands over her offspring’s bed and says, “I never wanted to be your mother”.  Stunned, she seemingly scoops those words back down her throat in an attempt to make them go away.  For this moment alone, and she gives a tour de force performance here, Collette enters the pantheon of actors who made themselves immortal. - HEREDITARY

Modern day cowboys sit around a perfectly shot nighttime campfire as our hero questions his place as a man in this world.  Masculinity has rarely been shot through with such tenderness as in every moment of this quiet stunner. - THE RIDER

“Gucci!” - EIGHTH GRADE

A young daughter ever so patiently and lovingly tells her PTSD-afflicted father that their views on how to live their lives may not converge, reminding us that histrionics don’t necessarily make for great conflict.  You can find it even when people act like adults and show decency towards each other. - LEAVE NO TRACE

My heart broke when a young Lebanese boy tried every way possible to keep his sister from being sold off as a child bride.  The kinetic filmmaking of this sequence mined every second for peak emotions. - CAPERNAUM

A blisteringly romantic tale of star-crossed lovers in Post War Poland wins the swoon award every time Joanna Kulig (a dead ringer for Jennifer Lawrence) sings the refrain, “Oy yoy yoy” - COLD WAR

Jack Black, playing a hard-partying character whose accident leads to the lifelong paralysis of his new friend (Joaquin Phoenix), meets up with him many years later.  In a short but painful scene, we see the wreckage of a life and the profound sorrow written across Black’s face.  I never thought I’d type the words, “Jack Black’s acting made me sob”, but there you have it.  If Beatrice Straight can win an Oscar for a single scene, then Jack Black can too.  Of course, I’m not even getting into how great Jonah Hill was in this film, but I’d be here all day. - DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT

The matriarch of a family takes their housekeeper to a baby store to buy a crib when the chaos of the Corpus Christi Massacre erupts in the streets below, turning a simple shot into something epic, grand and inconceivable. - ROMA

Let’s face it.  It had some of the best and bitchiest one liners of the year:  “I pity your wife if you think six minutes is forever” , “Roger, there's only room in this band for one hysterical queen”, "Tell him thanks for the birthday cake. And tell him you're an epic shag”, and the beautiful, un-ironic exchange, “FREDDIE: Let’s go and punch a hole in the roof of Wembley Stadium.  BRIAN: Actually, Wembley Stadium doesn’t have a roof.  FREDDIE: Then we’ll punch a hole in the sky,” - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Kristen Stewart recounts how Joan Jett gave her some advice on how to capture her essence when she played her in THE RUNAWAYS.  Jett told her to “pussy that wood” in reference to how to attack her guitar.  Advice only a take-no-prisoners, blazingly alive woman could give to another in this energizing look at a true legend. - BAD REPUTATION

All of the tired superhero tropes we’ve become used to in live action appear fresh and thrilling when animated.  Who knew I’d thrill to a whole slew of Peter Parkers swinging through New York on their webs?  Who knew Lily Tomlin would appear in this and absolutely kill as Aunt May?  Who knew Kathryn Hahn would even appear in a Marvel movie and skillfully weaponize a nerdy persona? - SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Sure, we all loved that moment when Lady Gaga sang “Shallow”, but let’s not forget another star was born when Henry Cavill got up off that tiled bathroom floor, doffed his suit jacket and reloaded his fists to jump back into one of the best fight sequences in film history. - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

Connecting the dots of the past with our present day mess of a country, Spike Lee ends his film on an unsubtle yet vital montage of pure rage. - BLACKKKLANSMAN

In a wonderful reversal to the original, the murderous Michael Myers looks out a backyard window to see Laurie Strode (a fierce Jamie Lee Curtis) standing amongst the hanging sheets. Who’s the monster now?!! - HALLOWEEN

A montage detailing the many prison escapes of our protagonist, an aging, lifelong bank robber (Robert Redford still displaying his undeniable charisma at 82), provides a wonderfully conflicted view of a man who must commit crimes in order to feel alive. - THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN

A bitter, outrageously dead-inside mother jogs on a treadmill, moving cynically forward in life despite having a missing child she barely noticed anyhow and a crumbling Russian society around her. - LOVELESS

“Did you just look at me?  Did you?  Look at me. LOOK AT ME!  HOW DARE YOU!  CLOSE YOUR EYES!” - THE FAVOURITE

Despite endlessly terrible scenes of tourists dancing and eating gelato, Clint Eastwood finds a magic power in having the real life heroes on that train play themselves as they thwart a terrorist attack. Although a failed experiment of a film, those 10 minutes felt real and raw and undeniable because of its stunt casting and astute directorial choices. - THE 15:17 TO PARIS

Smack dab in the middle of the movie, it ends.  Roll credits.  Oh wait.  Things didn’t go so swimmingly?  Let’s continue.  A hugely entertaining fake-out gives self-reflexive cinema a good name. - VICE

After a traumatic incident at a beach (a stunningly shot, hugely suspenseful scene with incredible sound design), a housekeeper looks out the window of a car with a sense of peace as the reflections from the window gorgeously whisk past her lovely face. - ROMA

In the male dominated world of gun-toting action films, it was refreshing to see a group of women, led by a soulful performance by Natalie Portman, lock and load and enter the Shimmer. - ANNIHILATION

A Russian Engineer named Andreyev (Paddy Considine) panics when ordered by Stalin to record a symphony which already occurred.  He quickly assembles a ragtag group of people to recreate the concert, telling this terrified assembly living under a murderous regime, “Don’t worry, nobody is going to get killed. I promise you. This is just a musical emergency.” Not a great film, but Armando Iannucci and company know their way around a scabrous line or two. - THE DEATH OF STALIN

Most people will cite the great single take outside a limo as its driven from a poor side of town to a wealthy side.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic piece of cinema, but my mind gravitated towards another moment.  A grieving widow lets her dog run loose in another widow’s apartment.  The puppy stops at a closet door and reacts to what’s behind it.  We know what it is, and she knows what it is even before we’re given visual confirmation.  A fantastic storytelling moment. - WIDOWS

Evan Peters, sitting in a car at a gas station, is joined by the actual person he’s portraying, melding narrative with documentary in such an original way. - AMERICAN ANIMALS

Although chock full of special effects in a genre I tend to find forgettable, Michael B. Jordan commanded attention in a simple, quiet scene inside a museum, finding danger and intelligence in every line. He was the REAL special effect of this film. - BLACK PANTHER

Scotty Bowers may be a creepy hoarder, but when you’re 95 and have no f*cks left to give, you’re gonna spill some tea about Hollywood Stars and we will soak it all up in this one-of-a-kind documentary - SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

The slowest moving conveyor belt of all time provides one of the most well-timed, hilarious payoffs of the year.  We need an award for Best Supporting Prop! - GAME NIGHT

Leslie Mann tries to quietly sneak out of her daughter’s Prom night hotel room but electrocutes herself behind the TV console in a delicious bit of physical comedy. - BLOCKERS

A mother desperate to track down her troubled young son gives drugs to an addict in return for more information, showing just how far she’s willing to go. - BEN IS BACK

A closeted up-and-coming movie star confesses to his “golly gee” midwestern wife that he’s not happy and can’t pretend anymore. We get a naked glimpse behind both of their veneers. It’s a stunning, hugely empathetic moment for characters we’ve respectively and heretofore dismissed as a sociopath and a rube. - THE HAPPYS

Alex Borstein’s lesbian character Susie Myerson from THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL has met her feature film match with Melissa McCarthy’s equally nihilistic performance as Lee Israel.  To see her jousting with Richard E. Grant in any random moment in this wonderful film is to experience acting heaven. I loved how their final moments together could have easily turned to mush, but by staying true to their salty characters, they ended things in a deliciously dark manner. - CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

A comedy duo enacts a favorite routine onstage at the risk of one of their’s health.  It’s scary, but the love and respect they have for each other shines through. - STAN & OLLIE

I’m sorry to say it gave me the “Made For TV” vibes, but it still found power when Nicole Kidman’s character busts her son out of an Ex-Gay Center, calling out its owner for his utter lack of qualifications. There’s nothing quite like a stifled, repressed woman finding her voice. - BOY ERASED

“I’m just like you” - says a privileged suburban teen as he bounds out of his McMansion and into a fancy SUV.  While I generally enjoyed the film, this tone deaf opening line had me futilely looking around for my big house and fancy car.  Sometimes a moment out of time is a wrongheaded one. - LOVE, SIMON

In a documentary full of insane twists and turns, the big moment for me came when we were treated to a clip from DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN. Madonna breezes past our smiling, tight jean-sporting identical triplets, the new “It Boys of New York”, the flush of newly-found fame written all over their faces long before their tragic fall. - THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

Say what you will about the endless 80s references, I want to live inside the swirling sequence which serves as an homage to THE SHINING. - READY PLAYER ONE

A Japanese woman dons a strange blonde wig and practices English and high fives with another ESL student, over-exaggerating her rounded open mouth as she speaks. - OH LUCY!

Constance Yu playing mah jongg slyly shows her deep wells of strength and strategic genius, nicely setting up a character who will surprise and charm us in equal measures. - CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Yes, it’s a pretty terrible movie, but there’s no denying the thrill of a certain pop legend’s long-awaited entrance by helicopter.  It caused my friend Dennis to say out loud, “F*ck yeah, it’s Cher!” - MAMMA MIA!: HERE WE GO AGAIN

In an otherwise forgettable film, Jodie Foster’s memorable gait as the “Hotel” Nurse made me happily forget Kevin Spacey’s from THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and for that, I thank her! - HOTEL ARTEMIS

A young boy named Stevie tries to impress a bunch of older skateboarders with a stunt which sends him through a hole in a roof and crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. - MID90S

Renee: I thought you might want a sneak peek of what’s to come.
      Ethan: I don’t know if you know what sneak peek means. You’re completely naked. - I FEEL PRETTY

Despite the gimmick of the movie seen entirely through laptop and smartphone footage, there’s electricity in the moment John Cho’s father character discovers his missing daughter has had a secret life. - SEARCHING

A dancer tries out a solo for a very strange company, unaware that each leap, spin or kick sends a trapped woman a floor below her into bone-crunching contortions.  It’s a scene you can almost feel. There’s something rotten in East Berlin! - SUSPIRIA

Sure, Emma Stone worked out a great side-eye in THE FAVOURITE, but has there ever been an actor who seems born to them more than Emily Blunt?  Still, my biggest emotional connection to this film came when Ben Wishaw sang “A Conversation”.  A beautiful, sweet lament. - MARY POPPINS RETURNS

The site of Michelle Pfeiffer dressed as an elderly woman, cane in hand, hobbling through the streets of New York in a desperate attempt to cash her late mother’s government checks, the score a cacophony of horns and percussion, gave me DRESSED TO KILL shivers. - WHERE IS KYRA?

Think of it as SHARP OBJECT’s UK Cousin, as we watch Moll (a searing Jessie Buckley) tap into female rage in all its messy, bloody glory in this feature length primal scream. - BEAST

Packed with punch and urgency, the opening sequence made you believe you were actually experiencing a WWII aerial combat.  Oh, and then it became a fun zombie gore-fest. - OVERLORD

A group of kids escape a gay conversion camp and pile into the back of a pickup truck.  Did they make the right decision?  Where do they go from here?  A wordless homage to the final scene in THE GRADUATE packed a punch. - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST

Blake Lively wearing clothes.  That is all. - A SIMPLE FAVOR

A meeting with the family of a man who got their daughter pregnant goes terribly wrong, resulting in a slew of insults and threats.  It’s a fully alive, oddly comical yet tragic sequence in a film which otherwise left me cold.  - IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Typically known for her impeccable image (before the reality show circus, of course), this pop icon lets down her guard and hilariously tears into Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul.  Had she been allowed to be more herself, her life might not have been as tragic. - WHITNEY

Glenn Close delivers the year’s best slow boil as the wife of a Nobel Prize winner who has secretly been his unheralded ghost writer all these years.  Until things grow shouty and overwritten in the third act, Close holds a master class in barely suppressed rage. - THE WIFE

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, intense tennis rivals, meet up at the airport after their fateful match, the looks between them offering up a touching blend of competitiveness and respect and which will lead to their unexpected, lifelong friendship. - BORG VS. McENROE

In a moment of much-needed image rehabilitation, Anne Hathaway, as the GOOP-like actress perfectly named Daphne Kluger, wins her way back into our hearts just by the way she reacts to a priceless necklace being wrapped around her neck.  Every shiver and glance in the mirror makes you love her in all her campy glory. - OCEAN’S 8

A woman gets pushed off a cliff and finds herself impaled on a tree branch, yet not only does it not stop her, she’s just getting started in this literal bloodbath of a feminist fantasy. - REVENGE

A man meets tragedy and finds himself in a wheelchair only to gain powers he never had before after undergoing an experimental procedure.  In a fight scene involving an antagonist and a kitchen knife, Logan Marshall-Green surprises himself with each display of brute force coming out of him, making for one of the most brutal yet winningly entertaining melees I’ve seen on screen all year…and don’t forget that kitchen knife.  It’s just the right button on this bit of ultraviolet slapstick. - UPGRADE

A young husband meets with a conflicted priest, and in a searing monologue, tells the man of the cloth that the world is such a hellscape, he’d rather his pregnant wife abort their baby than bring it up in such a terrible environment.  It’s the first jolt of many in this nihilistic yet strangely hopeful film. - FIRST REFORMED

Presidential candidate Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) confronts some press members who have staked out his home with the hope of catching him with a woman other than his wife.  He indignantly rails against them, claiming he had a right to privacy.  Oh, how times have changed. - THE FRONT RUNNER

Katja (Diane Kruger), a woman at the end of her rope, who has lost her family and confidence in the justice system, takes matters into her own hands in the literally explosive, inevitable, and crushing final scene. - IN THE FADE

Who knew that Hal Ashby had such a sincerely lovely relationship with his mentor, Norman Jewison?  It’s nice to know that sometimes successful people in the film business actually help out their younger charges. - HAL

I’m not sure I ever really wanted to know what it really felt like to sit in a fiery tin can on the way to the moon and back, but now I do.  It’s very well done, but I think I may need to puke.  - FIRST MAN

A young man with AIDS (Cory Michael Smith) sits with his mother (Virginia Madsen) in a car, unable to truly be honest with her.  The pain of it all comes across so clearly on their faces.  - 1985

An oversized candy cane weaponized to fight zombies at Christmas time in Scotland.  Oh, and it’s also a musical.  Just go! - ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

I saw it twice to make sure I truly hated it, and yep, I still did…but the opening sequence in the school, the terrorist attack on the beach, and Natalie Portman banging on the table to protest a diner manager’s request for a picture will stick with me.  Hopefully I will forget the other 100 minutes of this painfully unfocused, unfocused, pretentious mess. - VOX LUX

[dtphan824]

What happen with @stickydiljoe‘s The Chronicles Tokyo Night Meet Akihabara UDX?  What is Daikoku PA and how do you get there?  Part 5 will be about Joey Lee’s Chronicles Tokyo Night Meet and Daikoku PA. 

@yutaakaishi and @stickydiljoe figuring out what to do at Akihabara UDX Meet.

So what happen with Joey Lee’s The Chronicles Akihabara UDX Meet?  If you haven’t been following @stickydiljoe’s blogs, shame on you, but what had happened was… the meet was shut down before it even started.  The Chronicles has a huge following in Japan so if there was a meet, you needed to be there early…  The Akihabara UDX meet was set from 10PM to midnight on Saturday 1/14/17 and it didn’t help that the Super Street Fresh Tokyo Meet was on the local Tokyo news a few days before… (blaming Sam Du for this).  I did happen to get a few photos from Akihabara UDX…

The LEVEL one guys have some of the cleanest and lowest rides I’ve seen like this Mazda RX7 FC3S…

Joey, Yuta (back), and Abbitt at Akihabara UDX Meet.  Joey actually vlogged about what happen so check it out HERE

A wild Royal Origin Minh appears… 

I think this is the same ND Miata from the Super Street from Part 3….

If you’ve never been to Akihabara UDX parking garage, it’s known as the parking garage for Itasha or ‘anime-decaled’ cars…

Check out this AE86 Panda Trueno… exactly like the one from the Initial D…

You don’t ever see an Mitsubishi EVO V(?) in the states…

Joseph aka @shihtake finally meeting up @gaku_370z… 

Looks like a Datsun Sunny truck but different front… 

Gaku and Joseph still catching up next to Gaku’s 370Z

They would have the same NMD’s as well…

White R34 GTR at Akihabara UDX…

I really would’ve liked to stay a bit longer at Akihabara UDX, but Evan, Enrique, and Joseph were waiting outside parked on the street trying to get into the garage.   The garage had closed by 8:30 PM and the street had a bunch of cars parked to the side waiting to see where to go next.  The police had actually started telling these parked cars to move and that’s when Evan drove us to Daikoku Futo…

Even though I’ve been to Japan a few times, I’ve never been able to hit up Daikoku PA because I didn’t really know anyone with a car or didn’t want to bother anyone…

The drive to the Daikoku PA is pretty cool if you’re a fan of Wangan Midnight… Check out a clip of the arcade game HERE…

To get to Daikoku Futo, you need to a.) drive there yourself  b.) take a cab and risk getting stuck there c.) get a ride from someone in Tokyo.  Personally, I would recommend getting a ride. 

Luckily, Evan aka @wandering_texan was kind enough to take Enrique, Joseph, and I to Daikoku PA…  

We finally arrived to Daikoku PA (Parking Area) and it was unusually packed, more than usual according to Evan…

Evan and his RB powered Stagea Wagon… 

Daikoku PA is really dark, but you can get by with a fast prime lens.  I’m using a 35mm f1.4 lens and it barely passes good image quality because of the high ISO I’m at.  I’d recommend a camera and tripod setup but I like to shoot quick and travel light…

Maybe it’s the red color but this MK IV Supra JZA80 with Ridox kit on 20” Advan GT wheels caught my eye…

This JZA80 build is actually by Auto Garage HKY in Kanagawa Prefecture…

The problem with shooting shallow depth of field in low light is focusing… looks like my lens backfocused a bit here… 

A rear 3/4 view of the Ridox JZA80 Supra MKIV at Daikoku PA…

If you want to beat the terrible AF system on shallow DOF lenses, you can use any available light to focus on the subject like this R34 Sedan lowered on TE37’s…

Walking around you would see all types of stuff out of the norm… I honestly have no idea what this is but it looked like a sedan for important people… 

GTR R32 on BBS LM’s… 

R34 with Ted on top… 

Ted hanging on…

More R34’s rolling in… 

Just like car clubs or groups in the states, they have them in Japan too.  I found the 86/FRS/BRZ group… 

Another R34 GTR…

Of course I had to show even Itasha cars showed up at Daikoku PA… 

If there’s one place you have to go, I’d really recommend going to Daikoku PA in the evening… I mean check out all those subs.  They were playing some rad music at one point… 

Then I found these guys with the LED strips… 

Even though it was 30F or -1C ,  the atmosphere was really energetic thanks to the dancers, music, and lights…

Light show at Daikoku PA…

No words can describe…

I have no words to describe the set up of this car… 

Cars like this R34 GTR still rolling in… 

Definitely needs a few more screens… 

Joseph got thirsty while taking in the Daikoku PA experience…

Imagine all these vans and kei cars in a row blasting with 10+ subs each… my ears were done…

I mean Daikoku PA can be a romantic place to go to, right? 

Eventually, the patrol came by and asked for people to leave.  This was around 11PM and it seemed any and all car related meet spots were shut down as well… 

Evan dropped us off for the night in Odaiba where we barely made the last few trains back to our Airbnb…  Thanks for the ride bro!

Summary for car meets in Tokyo, I’d recommend for you to go to:

1.  RWB Meeting in Roppongi (Usually night before Tokyo Auto Salon) 2.  Super Street x Hardcore Japan Fresh Tokyo Meet (Usually announced when staff is in Japan) 3.  Joey Lee / Stickydiljoe’s The Chronicles meet (Randomly announced when he’s in Japan) 4.  Akihabara UDX parking garage (Itasha and other nice random cars) 5.  Daikoku PA / Umihotaru PA / Tatsumi PA (you will need rides to get here and there isn’t always a big turnout, but something interesting is always there)

Of course, there could be other meeting spots, but these are the biggest meet spots I’ve attended.  As always thanks for reading or skimming through.  If you have any questions, just hit me up.

http://www.danhphan.com http://www.danhphanphoto.wordpress.com http://www.instagram.com/dtphan

Gear: Nikon D750 Sigma 35mm f1.4

Journey to Tokyo: Part 5 – The Chronicles Tokyo Night Meet Akihabara UDX and Daikoku PA What happen with @stickydiljoe's The Chronicles Tokyo Night Meet Akihabara UDX?  What is Daikoku PA…

[josephlrushing]

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Camera Review: Great Photos, Good Videos, Giant Zoom

Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Note20 Ultra, and it packs a very interesting camera system. It’s similar to what Samsung offered on the Galaxy S20 Ultra earlier this year, but with a few key differences. Since I’ve been using the company’s latest flagship for a few days, I wanted to share my experience shooting photos (primarily) and videos. So what’s new, what’s different? Is it better, is it worse? Let’s dive in.

Hardware

The Note20 Ultra’s giant camera pod protrudes about as much as the S20 Ultra’s (2mm) but with a marginally smaller footprint. It’s also a lot more elegant, thanks to each lens featuring a visually striking circular accent. Gone is the gaudy 100x stencil next to the telephoto lens — that 100x zoom is barely usable on the S20 Ultra. Samsung only claims 50x zoom capability for the Note20 Ultra and doesn’t flaunt it.

You’ll find three cameras on the back of the Note20 Ultra — a 108MP main shooter, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto shooter. There’s also a 10MP punch-hole selfie camera in front. Samsung replaced the S20 Ultra’s fourth rear camera, a ToF (time-of-flight) sensor, with a laser autofocus module on the Note20 Ultra — presumably to improve AF (autofocus) performance, which was an issue on the S20 Ultra.

For the main shooter, the Note20 Ultra and S20 Ultra share Samsung’s massive (1/1.33-inch, 0.8-micron pixels) 108MP HM1 sensor, which is able to “bin” (combine) 3×3 groups of nine pixels into larger 2.4-micron pixels for better low-light performance. The resulting pictures are 12 megapixels, but each pixel is more light-sensitive. Both phones also share the same main f/1.8 lens with OIS (optical image stabilization) and phase-detection AF.

Note20 Ultra – click a photo to open the gallery.

The 12MP f/2.2 1.4-micron ultrawide camera is also identical on both handsets, with a 120-degree FoV (field-of-view), but no autofocus. Obviously, it’s ideal for wide-angle photography, but Samsung also uses this lens for its Super Steady Video mode. The Note20 Ultra’s 10MP f/2.2 1.22-micron front shooter features phase-detection AF and is identical to the selfie camera in the more affordable S20 and S20+.

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that instead of the S20 Ultra’s 48MP 4x telephoto shooter, the Note20 Ultra packs a 12MP 5x telephoto. Both are folded (periscope) lenses with OIS, but have different optical magnification and apertures (5x f/3.0 on the Note20 Ultra vs. 4x f/3.5 on the S20 Ultra). The Note20 Ultra also uses a 12MP 1.0-micron sensor instead of the S20 Ultra’s 48MP 0.8-micron setup.

That’s probably why the S20 Ultra can zoom up to 100x (not that you should) vs. 50x on the Note20 Ultra. Regardless, don’t let the numbers fool you. The S20 Ultra’s 48MP telephoto sensor outputs 12MP images by binning 4 pixels into one. It’s only at extreme digital magnifications that you’ll benefit from the additional pixels, and only when there’s enough light. Conversely, the Note20 Ultra’s faster f/3.0 lens gathers more light.

Overall, the extra optical magnification (5x vs. 4x) could give the Note20 Ultra’s telephoto camera the edge over the S20 Ultra’s — digital magnification just isn’t as viable. But otherwise, these are very similar camera systems that represent today’s state of the art.

Software and features

The Note20 Ultra’s camera app will be familiar to anyone who’s used a recent Android flagship or iPhone. It’s the same interface you’ll find on most Samsung phones with One UI, and the same feature set as the S20 Ultra —  including night mode, manual (Pro) mode, super slow-motion, portrait (Live Focus) video, and hyperlapse. What’s exclusive to the Note20 Ultra is the new Pro Video mode — more on this later.

Single Take also carries over from the S20 series (and is now also available on the S10, Note 10, and Z Flip handsets). It captures several photos and videos over the span of 10 seconds (the duration is adjustable) and uses AI to pick the best shots and clips, apply filters, and create a montage. It’s clever — if somewhat gimmicky. While it’s not unique to the Note20 Ultra, it’s worth mentioning, since it’s exclusive to Samsung.

Photos

Let’s not mince words: the Note20 Ultra takes great pictures. Obviously, you’d expect nothing less from a $1300 flagship, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The shooter on Google’s formidable $350 Pixel 4a generally captures more pleasing images, and still beats the Note20 Ultra in low light. That being said, I’m splitting hairs here. Samsung’s latest flagship is absolutely in the same league as Apple’s excellent iPhone 11 Pro.

Note20 Ultra telephoto (5x)

In daylight, the Note20 Ultra generally nails white balance and exposure both indoors and out, and it produces shots that look pleasantly saturated but still feel natural. There’s plenty of detail and dynamic range in these photos, without the oversharpening common to Samsung’s past handsets. By default, the main camera shoots at 12MP, but you can force it to take 108MP images if you want. It works well as long as there’s enough light.

Note20 Ultra zoom: ultrawide, main (1x, 2x), and telephoto (5x, 10x, 20x, 50x) – click a photo to open the gallery

The dedicated 5x 12MP telephoto is what sets the Note20 Ultra apart from most of the competition. I have access to several phones with folded (periscope) lenses, including Samsung’s S20 Ultra (4x 48MP), Huawei’s P40 Pro+ (10x 8MP), Oppo’s Find X2 Pro (5x 13MP), and Vivo’s X50 Pro (5x 8MP). Anything up to 10x zoom is going to look just fine with any of these cameras, but what happens beyond that?

Telephoto comparison: S20 Ultra vs. Note20 Ultra vs. P40 Pro+ at 10x, 20x, and 50x zoom – click a photo to open the gallery

  I decided to put the Note20 Ultra up against Samsung’s own S20 Ultra and Huawei’s P40 Pro+. As you can see, the photos look pretty good at 10x and quite decent at 20x, but they start getting crunchy at 50x. Overall, Huawei wins here thanks to its 10x telephoto and Leica optics. The P40 Pro+’s 8MP sensor is definitely running out of pixels at 50x, though. What’s more interesting, however, is that the Note20 Ultra does a slightly better job than the S20 Ultra.

Low light comparison: ultrawide, main (1x), and telephoto (5x) using auto vs. night mode – click a photo to open the gallery

The Note20 Ultra also takes nice pictures in low-light — even in full auto mode. Clearly, the ultrawide, telephoto, and selfie cameras benefit from night mode the most since their smaller aperture lenses gather less light than the main shooter. It’s also interesting that you can’t zoom past 10x in night mode. Regardless, I’m glad that Samsung made night mode available for each sensor since that’s not a given with other Android flagships.

It’s the same story when it comes to selfies. Here again, the Note20 Ultra holds its own. I’m impressed with Samsung’s selfie portrait mode (called Live Focus). It does a fine job of blurring the background without too many artifacts. Unfortunately, it only works with human faces, not animals or other objects. Then again, Live Focus on the main shooter works with pretty much anything — so your pet photos are covered.

Selfie comparison: auto vs. portrait mode – click a photo to open the gallery

Since the Note20 Ultra lacks a dedicated macro camera or autofocus on its ultrawide lens (which is how phones like the OnePlus 8 Pro snap closeup images), you can use 2x zoom and pull back to get the same effect. This even works in night mode. It’s also worth mentioning that with such a large main sensor (1/1.33-inch), the DoF (depth-of-field) is extremely shallow, which means closeup shots will often be partially out of focus.

Note20 Ultra main camera (macro)

Videos

The Note20 Ultra records stabilized video with stereo audio up to 8k 24fps, 4k 60fps, and 1080p 60fps with the rear cameras, and up to 4k 60fps and 1080p 60fps with the front shooter. But this comes with a lot of fine print. For example, you can only capture 8k or 60fps video with the main sensor. Maximum zoom is 6x at 8k, 10x at 60fps, and 20x otherwise. And you can’t zoom when recording video using the selfie camera.

Super Steady Video is limited to 1080p 30fps and lacks autofocus since it’s using the ultrawide lens. It works incredibly well as long as there’s enough light. The new Pro Video mode is similar to what LG and Sony have offered on some of their flagships. It supports up to 8k 24fps recording, includes a 21:9 (cinema) aspect ratio, and provides manual controls for everything from focus, to exposure, to white balance, to audio levels.

Samsung flagships usually shine at video recording, and the Note20 Ultra is no exception. The results are very good, but still don’t quite match what Apple brings to the table. As such, the iPhone 11 Pro is still the one to beat for video, despite being almost one year old.

Sample photos – click a photo to open the gallery

Verdict

It’s clear that Samsung’s done a great job with the cameras on the Note20 Ultra. This is absolutely one of today’s best flagship in terms of imaging performance, besting even the company’s own S20 Ultra by a very thin margin — thanks mostly to faster autofocus, a better telephoto, and that Pro Video mode. It’s exclusive to the Note20 Ultra, and my YouTube creator friends are just gonna love it.

But here’s the thing, if you can live without that awesome telephoto, the iPhone 11 (non-Pro) matches (photos) or surpasses (videos) the Note20 Ultra for $700. That’s about half the price. And if you don’t care as much about video recording and don’t mind giving up that sweet ultrawide, Google’s $350 Pixel 4a shoots better images than the Note20 Ultra. While most people aren’t cross-shopping these handsets, it’s food for thought.

  Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2020/08/18/samsung-galaxy-note20-ultra-camera-review-great-photos-good-videos-giant-zoom/

[jhzphotoy2]

Corey Arnold - (Arnold n.d.)

Visual:

-          Focus- The focal point of the image is the fisherman hence they are entirely in focus with the background out of focus, this creates some separation of the subject from their surroundings to draw the eye to them.

-          Light- The majority of highlights in the image are on the fishermen’s pants as they are bright and quite reflective this helps to further draw the eye to the subject, in terms of shadows there isn’t really that much in the photo except for the small amount cast by the railing in the background, the lighting overall is quite soft and most likely natural by the looks of the setting, this fact alongside the slightly off-kilter composition implies that the image is of a documentary genre and was taken in the moment.

-          Line- The image is full of straight lines created by the deck and side of the boat, their slight skew creates a sense that the surface the photographer and fisherman are on is moving slightly, this advances the idea that the photo was taken in the moment in documentary style.

-          Form- The fisherman in the photo appears 3-dimensional due to the shallower DOF separating him from the background and creating a sense of depth to the image.

-          Space- As I stated above there is a sense of depth created by the shallow DOF used, the DOF gives the viewer an idea of how far away the background is from the subject and so how much space is around him, Corey has also left the frame quite open with a good amount of negative space around the subject this helps to convey the whole ‘story’ and get a better idea of the setting of the image, in the one frame.

-          Texture- This photo due to where its set is ‘texture dense’ from the skate’s slimy skin to the rough steel of the boat side, the fisherman’s plastic wet-weather gear, the slippery wooden floor-boards all wet from sea-spray and maybe rain, this is portrayed intensely through the shine on the surfaces that has been captured in the photo.

-          Tone- The tonal range in the photo is quite shallow with there not being many overtly dark shadows, this is as a cause of the diffuse lighting conditions present when the photo was taken, the photo consists of quite a light tonal range, due to the small, light tonal range contrast between the subject and the background have had to have been created through different mediums i.e. the DOF and colour.

-          Colour- This photo relies very distinctly on colour with the fisherman’s wet-weather gear being bright florescent yellow, green and blue, these colours stand-out imperatively from the dull brown and grey background, creating contrast, making the subject standout and so drawing the viewers eye to him, without colour the image wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as the subject would quite possibly just blend in with the background.

-          Composition- It doesn’t look as if a whole lot of thought was put into the composition when the photo was taken from the looks of the; positioning of the subject – off-centre, the horizon line is slightly tilted and there isn’t a lot of space at the bottom the image/ in the foreground, this, although seeming disorderly could have been Corey’s attempt at giving the photo motion and/ or due to the fact the photo is of a documentary style where he was simply catching a passing moment for what it was and to give insight rather than for artistic purposes.

 Technical:

-          Lighting- The lighting in the image was definitely available daylight, this can be seen by way of the outdoor setting and the diffused natural character of the light, also the coolness of the light hints to the fact that it has been diffused through the clouds.

-          Aperture- The aperture used in capturing this photo I would say would have been a medium to low f-stop about an f/ 4 - f/6 to have achieved the shallower DOF where the subject’s whole body is in focus but the background is out of focus.

-          Shutter speed- The exposure time of the image would not have to have been long as the lighting conditions look ample for a correct exposure and the combined motion of the fisherman and the camera on the boat would have to have been frozen to obtain a sharp image, I would say it would have been around a 1/200 – 1/320s allowing in enough light and freezing any motion.

-          ISO- There is no visible noise or grain in the image so it can be said that a low ISO level was used, this is further proved by the fact that the sky in the photo is overcast which means the sunlight would be lighting it up and diffusing through it making the scene quite light, light enough to not need a high ISO.

-          White balance- The colour temperature of the photo is very neutral and very accurate I’d imagine to the what Corey would have been looking at when he took the photo, this is most likely testament to the accuracy of metering technology nowadays.

Context-

This photo titled ‘Rob and Skate’ depicts a fisherman holding up a skate, it was captured in the Aleutian Islands in Western Alaska as part of Corey’s series called ‘Aleutian Dreams’ which is a ‘collection of images from my journey through this wild and unforgiving frontier’ (Arnold n.d.). Due to him being out on the boat for long periods of time I would presume that he uses a DSLR camera to capture his works as it can hold far more photos than a roll of film. Corey has been working as a commercial fisherman for over 15 years which is why he made this series exploring what him and other fishermen face on a day to day basis, this photo being one of many, doing so. When I look at the image it makes me feel that sense of adventure I get every time I look at a photo of a faraway exotic location, one of desire to be there, to experience what the photographer is experiencing. It also gives makes me feel incredible respect for the people that risk their lives to conveniently put food on our tables. The Kaupapa of this image was to capture a moment in time in the life of a fisherman, possibly of how the fishermen keep it interesting when stuck on a boat for weeks or even months at a time.

Concepts-

As I have learnt from other photos, and is becoming more and more obvious as I research, colour is a particularly important part of photography and particularly important in creating aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching works. This photo like many of Corey’s others they follow a strong theme of being quite documentary focused, giving people at home look into the daily lives of him and other fisherpersons in that part of the world, and what they have to go through to put food on our tables. All of his photos do an incredible job of almost teleporting you to the place and telling you a story. Corey’s use of colour and DOF in his photo may be influential on the development of my work as it creates contrast that is not from lighting which could be particularly helpful in some situations when only using available light. I have learnt that good strong lighting is not essential for an image to be effective as it can be made up for through the use of colour or DOF, etc.

[sincerelykeptsecrets]

Aperture

What is Aperture?

Put most simply – Aperture is ‘the opening in the lens.’

When you hit the shutter release button of your camera a hole opens up that allows your cameras image sensor to catch a glimpse of the scene you’re capturing. The aperture you set impacts the size of that hole.

The larger the hole the more light that gets in – the smaller the hole the less light.

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Aperture is measured in ‘f-stops’

You’ll often see f-stops referred to at Digital Photography School as f/numbers. For example f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6,f/8,f/22 etc.

Moving from one f-stop to the next doubles or halves the size of the amount of opening in your lens (and the amount of light getting through).

Keep in mind that a change in shutter speed from one stop to the next doubles or halves the amount of light that gets in also. This means if you increase one and decrease the other you let the same amount of light in.

One thing that causes a lot of new photographers confusion is that large apertures (where lots of light gets through) are given f/stop smaller numbers and smaller apertures (where less light gets through) have larger f-stop numbers.

So f/2.8 is in fact a much larger aperture than f/22. It seems the wrong way around when you first hear it but you’ll get the hang of it.

This landscape image by Kalen Emsley was shot at f22 – as a large depth of field with both foreground and background sharp.

Depth of Field and Aperture

There are a number of results of changing the aperture of your shots that you’ll want to keep in mind as you consider your setting but the most noticeable one will be the depth of field that your shot will have.

Depth of Field (DOF) is that amount of your shot that will be in focus.

Large depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus whether it’s close to your camera or far away.

For example the landscape shot above has an aperture of f/22 and the result is that both the mountain in the background and the trees in the foreground remain in focus.

Small (or shallow) depth of field means that only part of the image will be in focus and the rest will be fuzzy (like in the portrait of the gentleman from Papua New Guinea below.

You’ll see in it that the subjects eyes are in focus but the background is blurred. Even her hair which is only a little behind his eyes and his nose which is only a little in front of his eyes are blurred.

This is a very shallow depth of field and was taken with an aperture of f2.8).

Aperture f2.8. Image by Trevor Cole.

Here’s one more example with an even wider aperture of f1.4 that leaves the flower in focus but everything else blurred.

Aperture has a big impact upon depth of field. Large aperture (remember it’s a smaller number) will decrease depth of field while small aperture (larger numbers) will give you larger depth of field.

It can be a little confusing at first but the way I remember it is that small numbers mean small DOF and large numbers mean large DOF.

Another example of large and small aperture

Let me illustrate this with two pictures I took earlier this week in my garden of two flowers.

The first picture on the left was taken with an aperture of f/22 and the second one was taken at f/2.8. The difference is quite obvious. The f/22 picture has both the flower and the bud in focus and you’re able to make out the shape of the fence and leaves in the background.

The f/2.8 shot on the right has the left flower in focus (or parts of it) but the depth of field is very shallow and the background is thrown out of focus and the bud to the right of the flower is also less in focus due to it being slightly further away from the camera when the shot was taken.

The best way to understand this topic is to get your camera out and do some experimenting.

Go outside and find a spot where you’ve got items close to you as well as far away and take a series of shots with different settings from the smallest setting to the largest.

You’ll quickly see the impact that it can have and the usefulness of being able to control aperture.

Some styles of photography require large depths of field (and small Apertures)

For example in most landscape photography you’ll see small aperture settings (large numbers) selected by photographers. This ensures that from the foreground to the horizon is relatively in focus.

On the other hand in portrait photography it can be very handy to have your subject perfectly in focus but to have a nice blurry background in order to ensure that your subject is the main focal point and that other elements in the shot are not distracting.

In this case you’d choose a large aperture (small number) to ensure a shallow depth of field.

Macro photographers tend to be big users of large apertures to ensure that the element of their subject that they are focusing in on totally captures the attention of the viewer of their images while the rest of the image is completely thrown out of focus.

[sailorrrvenus]

When Background is King: Shooting the St John’s International Busker Festival

I’m a photographer in St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and I’ve been shooting the St John’s International Busker Festival for the last 6 years. It’s not a paid gig — I do it for the fun and the challenge and to support the event.

I’ve made some friends there and have seen some of the best street performers in the world, and it’s a free event and I like that. An event the whole community can enjoy. I should add that these performers are not paid to perform and rely on donations. A five or ten dollar donation will help keep them performing and entertaining us!

Let There be Light, I Mean Background

Photographing an outdoor event can come with many options and some limitations. Usually, there are many angles to choose from but the lighting is pretty much out of your control. The sun is where it is, the clouds (I’d rather have flat lighting) are what they are; the show must go on. That being said if the sun is not where you’d like and if you are in a downtown urban area you may find light bouncing off the side of a building you can use.

Pancho Sandoval

As I became more familiar with this event I began to move around to try to find the angles I liked best. I was surprised when I realized that the lighting wasn’t the most important consideration. I found I was moving around to get a good angle, a good background. Funny because you know how they say photography is all about the light! Well not necessarily, not all about the light anyway.

Is that an Environmental Portrait?

I often shoot behind the performers looking back at the crowd — it’s like being backstage at a theater. I think having the audience in the photo adds to the atmosphere and throwing them out of focus allows the viewer to focus on the main act while also maintaining a sense of place. Is this an environmental portrait? I think so but I didn’t realize that until I started writing this piece!

Another reason I like this angle is that I’m trying to minimize distractions in the frame. I don’t like having utility poles, parking meters, or commercial signage in the background and do what I can to avoid those things. This certainly makes for a cleaner and more focused picture.

Sebastian ‘Seb’ Whipits

I remember at one event one of the buskers said to me “wouldn’t you get better photos our there?” while pointing towards the crowd? I must have said something like “I’m good here, thanks”. At the time I would have been shooting up against a blank building wall if I was in the crowd. I’d been through all that, I knew the angles I liked best.

One example is the photo of Pancho Sandoval. Here I am sitting behind the show opposite the audience with my back up against the side of a building. We are in a parking lot and I’m surrounded on three sides by 4 and 5 story buildings. The street and also the open sky is to my left. The audience is thrown out of focus just enough to be able to get a sense of their captivated faces while keeping the main focus on the performer.

Another example is the photo of Seb Whipits. If I were to shoot from the audience perspective in this photo I would be shooting with the blank side of a building as the backdrop. Also, I wanted to be able to see his flaming whips clearly so having a darker background relative to the whips helps the flames stand out more.

The Bang Bang Boys

Because the performers will most often be facing the audience shooting from behind or even adjacent to the performance will make it more difficult capturing the performers face. Sometimes a profile photo works or maybe a shot of them facing the crowd can be good. Timing is important here.

Kilted Colin

There are other technical aspects to consider here. A shallow depth-of-field to give your subject some separation from the background and focal length of the lens. I like using a short telephoto when I can, maybe an 85mm.

One important consideration here is to avoid getting a big patch of sky in the frame as the highlights created can be a major distraction. This is much easier to do with a telephoto lens. Exposure setting is also important and during daytime shooting outdoors there should be no problem getting a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action in front of you and a wide aperture for a shallow DOF goes hand-in-hand here.

Ernest Magnifico

Background is so important no matter what you shoot. We’re all seen the portraits where a pole sticks out of someone’s head or a tree branch seems to go in one ear and out the other. Many of us will look at these and get a good idea on the experience level of the photographer based on this and similar faux pas and it can make for a good laugh.

After years of doing this, the organizers and some of the buskers know who I am and they will often play it up for me during their performance. Makes for a great laugh all around.

Martika Daniels

In the photo of the amazing Martika Daniels, having the flames juxtaposed against a darker background helps to give greater impact to the act.

About the author: Brian Carey is a photographer based in St John’s, Newoundland, Canada. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can find more of Carey’s work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

source https://petapixel.com/2019/02/07/when-background-is-king-shooting-the-st-johns-international-busker-festival/

[pauldeckerus]

When Background is King: Shooting the St John’s International Busker Festival

I’m a photographer in St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and I’ve been shooting the St John’s International Busker Festival for the last 6 years. It’s not a paid gig — I do it for the fun and the challenge and to support the event.

I’ve made some friends there and have seen some of the best street performers in the world, and it’s a free event and I like that. An event the whole community can enjoy. I should add that these performers are not paid to perform and rely on donations. A five or ten dollar donation will help keep them performing and entertaining us!

Let There be Light, I Mean Background

Photographing an outdoor event can come with many options and some limitations. Usually, there are many angles to choose from but the lighting is pretty much out of your control. The sun is where it is, the clouds (I’d rather have flat lighting) are what they are; the show must go on. That being said if the sun is not where you’d like and if you are in a downtown urban area you may find light bouncing off the side of a building you can use.

Pancho Sandoval

As I became more familiar with this event I began to move around to try to find the angles I liked best. I was surprised when I realized that the lighting wasn’t the most important consideration. I found I was moving around to get a good angle, a good background. Funny because you know how they say photography is all about the light! Well not necessarily, not all about the light anyway.

Is that an Environmental Portrait?

I often shoot behind the performers looking back at the crowd — it’s like being backstage at a theater. I think having the audience in the photo adds to the atmosphere and throwing them out of focus allows the viewer to focus on the main act while also maintaining a sense of place. Is this an environmental portrait? I think so but I didn’t realize that until I started writing this piece!

Another reason I like this angle is that I’m trying to minimize distractions in the frame. I don’t like having utility poles, parking meters, or commercial signage in the background and do what I can to avoid those things. This certainly makes for a cleaner and more focused picture.

Sebastian ‘Seb’ Whipits

I remember at one event one of the buskers said to me “wouldn’t you get better photos our there?” while pointing towards the crowd? I must have said something like “I’m good here, thanks”. At the time I would have been shooting up against a blank building wall if I was in the crowd. I’d been through all that, I knew the angles I liked best.

One example is the photo of Pancho Sandoval. Here I am sitting behind the show opposite the audience with my back up against the side of a building. We are in a parking lot and I’m surrounded on three sides by 4 and 5 story buildings. The street and also the open sky is to my left. The audience is thrown out of focus just enough to be able to get a sense of their captivated faces while keeping the main focus on the performer.

Another example is the photo of Seb Whipits. If I were to shoot from the audience perspective in this photo I would be shooting with the blank side of a building as the backdrop. Also, I wanted to be able to see his flaming whips clearly so having a darker background relative to the whips helps the flames stand out more.

The Bang Bang Boys

Because the performers will most often be facing the audience shooting from behind or even adjacent to the performance will make it more difficult capturing the performers face. Sometimes a profile photo works or maybe a shot of them facing the crowd can be good. Timing is important here.

Kilted Colin

There are other technical aspects to consider here. A shallow depth-of-field to give your subject some separation from the background and focal length of the lens. I like using a short telephoto when I can, maybe an 85mm.

One important consideration here is to avoid getting a big patch of sky in the frame as the highlights created can be a major distraction. This is much easier to do with a telephoto lens. Exposure setting is also important and during daytime shooting outdoors there should be no problem getting a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action in front of you and a wide aperture for a shallow DOF goes hand-in-hand here.

Ernest Magnifico

Background is so important no matter what you shoot. We’re all seen the portraits where a pole sticks out of someone’s head or a tree branch seems to go in one ear and out the other. Many of us will look at these and get a good idea on the experience level of the photographer based on this and similar faux pas and it can make for a good laugh.

After years of doing this, the organizers and some of the buskers know who I am and they will often play it up for me during their performance. Makes for a great laugh all around.

Martika Daniels

In the photo of the amazing Martika Daniels, having the flames juxtaposed against a darker background helps to give greater impact to the act.

About the author: Brian Carey is a photographer based in St John’s, Newoundland, Canada. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. You can find more of Carey’s work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

from Photography News https://petapixel.com/2019/02/07/when-background-is-king-shooting-the-st-johns-international-busker-festival/