| Monday, July 13, 2009 |
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DamselFly
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Originally I have decided to post up a full-on photo session at the butterfly park, but unfortunately if I do so, I foresee pointless redundancy of possibly similar photos of what I have repeatedly posted here previously. Some people must be saying “what??? Butterfly again????” Many people have gotten rather sick of my typical butterflies, dragonflies and all the spiders I have shown before. Therefore I shall just select a few for this entry, particularly my favourites and some photos of insects I have not captured before. I hope this shall maintain a certain degree of freshness here.
LYNX SPIDER AGAINST THE SKY
After the unexpected session at Deer Park, I made my way just in time to meet up with the rest of the gang at Butterfly Park. LKM and Amstrong made it while mwky was missing in the rain that never happened so we had our little macro outing, with plenty of bugs hunting and application of “creative lighting system” (CLS). CLS practically refers to the usage of flash being fired off camera for more dramatic and improved lighting effect. Since Olympus cameras offer such a degree of flexibility, why not make use of this feature and get the best out of it in our photo session, right?
AMSTRONG IN ACTION
Amstrong just got his 35mm macro, and it was great seeing him making the best out of it already. The photo above tells a series of stories. In case you do not see the details (I am not expecting many to actually notice these things) here is a list for you on how the macro shot was performed:
1) Single-handed shooting. Since the other hand was holding the wireless flash, he has only one hand to hold the camera, thus shooting singe-handedly.
2) Full manual focus. Try large magnification say, 1 to 1, (or 100%) real life to lens magnification shooting with one hand. Believe me, even a few millimetres movement away from the focus zone, the entire subject is blurred beyond recognition.
3) No wireless capability. You may be stunned to hear this, but Amstrong was using an Olympus E-510, and it has no wireless remote control for Olympus wireless flash systems. Also, it is interesting to find that Olympus flash still fires wirelessly under slave mode, being triggered by the pop up flash on camera. There are limitations via this method, but it still works, and it works damned well if you know how to control it.
DAMSELFLY
4) DIY Flash Bouncer/Diffuser. Direct flash firing is a big no-no in most photography situations; hence a method to diffuse the flash or soften it is of absolute necessity. See the white piece of something sticking out from his flash unit? That awesome piece of devise is nothing more than a mere piece of thin white paper, being attached (with any simple, cheap method of attachment, eg, cello tape) onto the flash. Trust me, it was effective.
5) Getting close. See? The butterfly was so close to the lens, and yet it did not fly away. How did he manage to get so close without scaring it away? Skills I tell you. Skills. Who said 35mm is too short???
6) Passion. Obviously, if you are not passionate enough about doing something, you would not go great lengths to get what you want. If there was no passion to begin with, there would be no previous five pointers (1 to 5) before this. Sorry dude, simply just point and shoot and hoping your shot to come out just as nice by pure luck will not cut it in this manner.
PLAIN OLD BUTTER
COOKED BABY MANTIS
Sometimes it is not about how your equipments could perform and get the shot that you want, but more importantly, how much you want to make that shot happen. I believe in maximizing the potentials of the equipments that I currently have, and squeeze every bit of juice out of it until there is nothing left to squeeze before I move on to something better. No, I am not saying that I have realized the full potential of my camera, do not misunderstand me. In fact, to be honest I do think that there is so much more that my current system can offer me, and I am only dipping my feet into the shallow front of the huge river.
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posted by robin @ 8:03 PM
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| Saturday, July 11, 2009 |
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Oh Deer Dearest !!
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It has been one long week which passed so slowly it felt more like a dreadful month. There were plenty to do at work, and my lack of sleep due to unknown reasons just did not help much at all. Waking up early on Saturday like a Zombie to help settle an errand for a friend, I pondered whether I should jump right back onto my comfy bed after completing the task, or storm out with Ollie and my favourite lens (Zuiko 40-150mm F3.5-4.5) for a merry round of shutter therapy. My body was telling me to take it slow, but somehow my willpower overcame the accumulated exhaustion, hence the somehow-becoming-routine weekend shutter adventure resumes.
Note: I found this bird on my way to the park.
I actually made plans with Amstrong, Mwky and LKM (from mychiaroscuro.net) for a round of macro shooting at the Butterfly Park (again), but the session would take place at ungodly 3pm in the late afternoon. I had plenty of time in between my morning errand and the 3pm macro session, but my hands were already itching for some shutter action. Therefore, after a quick breakfast which resembled more like a heavy lunch, I made my way to the lake gardens, the area where all my usual previous photo hunts, such as Bird Park, Orchid Garden, Butterfly Park were at. I decided to take a stroll along the garden, and just snap along randomly whatever that caught my attention. Little did I know I have chanced upon something awesome !!
I have known that the Deer Park existed somewhere in this Lake Gardens, but the last time I visited it was closed down for some weird reasons. I had the impression that the place was gone for good, and never gave it much of a thought ever since. Even if it was opened, I thought the deers would resemble something I would find at the zoo, and nothing out of the ordinary would be gained from going into the park. I was glad that I proved myself so dead wrong this time. The park was very well alive, after minor renovations. I accidentally found it along my aimless walk-around the Lake Garden, and with Ollie in hand, how can I not go in with a couple of shots, right?
To my surprise the place was actually quite huge, a lot bigger than what I came to expect. And the numbers of deers there actually were more than three dozens in total, including the younger smaller ones. Also, the deers were all so healthy looking and seemed to beam in life under the glow of harsh afternoon sun. It was definitely the total opposite of what you would see at the zoo with very small limited fenced area, and the deers there were just boringly motionless and dull in expressions. Fortunately that was not the case in the Deer Park. I suspect that the deers could be very new, or they have been very well fed and taken care of.
The visitors are allowed to get really upclose to the deers, and even touch and pet them as you wish. There were breads on sale to be fed to the deers, and I was waiting patiently for the tourists to do just that. You see, this is the disadvantage of shooting alone. I only have my own two hands, and I cannot feed the deers while at the same time, taking photos of myself feeding the deers. Hence, I make use of the tourists feeding the oh so hungry looking deers and viola !!! I have got all the shots that I needed for that session.
You have no idea how friendly the deers were. They just carefully took off the pieces of food from the human hands, and did not even come close of biting the fingers. The scene of the feeding felt so surreal, as if the deers were so gentle and tame as domestic pets !! This was something wrong I believe, since deers were supposed to be wild animals, and belonged to the world where humans should not corrupt. This I am afraid is a reality we cannot escape, to ensure our survival, we humans consume everything around us, and we keep consuming and destroying the path we walk on until there is nothing left.
So what was the focus on this session in terms of photography?
1) Sharpness versus Bokeh
It was interesting to blend in the sharpness of the lens with the potential of bokeh it was able to produce. Other manufacturers (C and N) always boast on how much details their sensor can capture, but coupled with their entry level kit lens, those details just could not be resolved accordingly. Now, this is one undeniable truth about Olympus E-system, even the kit lens can produce awe-worthy sharpness, shooting at all range of focal length, even at full zoom and aperture full wide open. And who says Olympus can't produce good bokeh?
Forgive me for being so defensive, but sometimes I just cannot take the bashing from C or N worshippers who claim that their system is above everything else. Therefore in this session, I focused on getting the maximum sharpness, at full zoom most of the time. On the sideline, the creamy bokeh was nothing short of pleasurable.
2) Super FP Flash / High-Speed Sync flash
I know there are people who would swear by shooting without flash at all times, even at pitch dark situations. They proclaim that flash destroys the natural feel to the photo, and alters the colours and details in such a way that the world will come to an end if you still keep engaging your flash for your subsequent photographs. they doomed flash as evil and I just have had enough of such non-sense.
You know what? I use flash, even under bright sunlight. People must think that I am nuts. So bright what, why need flash? Won't your flash over expose your image? Or you think your flash is brighter than the sun?
Sometimes, if I defend myself in such technical manner, people will think I am talking to myself in my own language. On the other hand, if I do not defend myself at all, I do seem like I have lost my mind doing what I choose to do: eg shooting with flash under sunlight. It has become a lose-lose situation to me in whatever response that I voice up, but there are also times when it is best to just remain silent, and let the photographs, aka end results speak the truth. Let my photos do the justifications.
The reason why I use the flash is to combat the harshness of the afternoon sun. I cannot change how the sky would be, of course cloudy situation would work perfectly, but it was not the case so I had to shoot under super hot burning sun. This would create very harsh shadows all over the subjects, and also certain parts over-exposed. To balance out the bright and dark areas, proper use of flash can do the trick. Blending the flash and the bright sun light may not be easy, but once you start to delve into the concept of FP flash/high speed sync flash, you can create very dramatic and flattering outcomes. The results would be reduced shadows, and toned down harsh highlights, producing a more pleasing and balanced looking picture.
3) Getting in close
Note: This pigeon just appeared in front of me out of nowhere, no more than 1.5m away from my camera. So it was shot with my tele lens mercilessly.
If you have seen enough photographs from the National Geographic magazines, or any wildlife photography displays, the factor that got the viewers to go WHOAHHHHHH would be how close the photographers brought you to the wild animals. It was as if you can touch their fur, smell their breath and feel their sharp claws and teeth. of course, I was not prepared to get eaten alive by the deers. I pushed my lens as close as I could to the deer, and I originally had the concept of just filling the entire frame with one deer eye. Unfortunately my lens has its limit of magnification factor, thus what you saw in the pictures here are the closest I could get.
It was so much fun photographing the deers. Call me nuts, but I find joy in such things, and it does not matter what you say, but the deers were just so adorable.
The photography session has just started. Next on I met up with the Oly gang and we stormed into the Butterfly Park, and that shall be the story I am telling in the coming entry.
BBQ Deer Meat, anyone? I am hungry.
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| posted by robin @ 8:45 PM
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| Wednesday, July 08, 2009 |
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Beneath Red and Yellow Skin
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I was doing my usual random cruising along the Times Square, until I find something strikingly red and yellow. Yes I have been to Times Square for God knows how many times, and for those of you guys who are curious why I can visit such an ordinary place so frequently? The answers lie in the subjects directly beneath the striking red and yellow skin in this entry.
Trust me, they just pop out of nowhere. And the habit of me carrying a camera (even the small Lumix) everywhere I go to: is of extreme necessity. The best of things happen when you least expect them to. Better be prepared than regret later.
Gosh, it is only Wednesday and I can smell the weekend already. Is it me or is this week just freaking crawling too blardy slowly?
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| posted by robin @ 7:56 PM
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| Sunday, July 05, 2009 |
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Olympus E-P1 Lunch Gathering @ Mont' Kiara
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It was about a week ago that I received an invitation via the Olympus Malaysia official Facebook account, as well as an announcement on the mychiaroscuro.net (Olympus users forum) to an exclusive event in conjunction to the recent launching of the new breed of camera: Olympus Pen. I quickly sent in my RSVP and fortunately I could grabbed myself a place since it was only opened to the first 50 registrations. Free lunch gathering, being the first to touch and play with the new Olympus E-P1 and having the chance to be part of the unique and awesome group of Oly users, how can I say no? OLYMPUS PEN since 1959 E-P1
PANCAKE 17mm F2.8
UTTERLY SEXY BACK
A little introduction to the Olympus E-P1, for those of you who have not heard much of it yet. Basically, what makes DSLR so much more superior in picture quality in comparison to compact cameras? Why can't the most capable and most expensive compact camera match up eye to eye with even the lowest ranked entry level DSLR in the market now? There are primarily two main reasons:
1) Sensor size of DSLR is a lot bigger than the compact camera, and
2) Quality of the lens used, and the ability of interchanging lenses.
If you care about the image quality, you would definitely fork out more cash and go for DSLR. Nonetheless, there are many people out there who would really appreciate the light-weight and very portable size of compact camera, obviously for mobility solutions.
Olympus is smart enough to address this problem by constructing a camera the size of a compact, but with the full capabilities of producing image quality similar to a DSLR. How is this possible? By addressing the previous-mentioned two reasons:
1) slamming a DSLR sized super huge sensor into the tiny compact body, and
2) packing a lens mount allowing for interchanging of lenses, providing the benefits of using very high quality lens, far more superior than the "built in" lenses of other mere compacts.
This new creation is part of the Micro Four-Thirds system (a branch out my current DSLR E-System) and all that are being consolidated into one very interesting package: the new Olympus E-P1. The codename for this camera is PEN which pays homage to the highly successful film half frame camera system.
And I had the privilege to try it out first even before the camera hits the shelves of any camera shops!!!
Coolness, I dare emphasize.
SUCH A COMPACT SIZE
VERY SMALL IN HAND
LCD LIVE VIEW with ART FILTER
I went with a friend, Frederick who has just recently switched over from his pro-sumer camera to Olympus DSLR system, and thanks to Shivan who drove us all the way to the event. Amongst the crowd there were many new faces as well as old ones, many I recognized from the forum Mychiaroscuro.net which housed very strong Olympus fans and supporters. Brandon, whom I went shutter therapy with while I was in Kuching not too long ago happened to be in KL for the weekend, and was also there !! It was really great catching up with many friends and also, making new ones.
Before I jumped to my thoughts and impressions on the Olympus E-P1, there is one particular subject I must share with all of you.
Frederick has a DSLR with a kit lens 14-42mm which he got from a forum buy-sell deal, but unfortunately the deal did not come out with no flaws. There was a filter ring attached to the lens, which we failed to notice and it could not be removed by hand. We tried several methods to remove that filter ring, but we dare not force it open since the front element of the lens is extremely fragile. The thick filter ring being stuck on the front causes severe vignetting and cut-offs at image corners, which was very displeasing. Sticking on more filters such as close-ups or polarizers can aggravate the dark edge effect even more.
PEOPLE ARRIVING @ MARNALADE CAFE, MONT' KIARA
BRANDON EU from http://brandoneu.blogspot.com
MWKY Testing Out the E-P1
MYCHIAROSCURO.NET GANG
We spoke to Magdelene (one of the marketting staff) and she referred us to the technical personnel (sorry dude, forgot your name... I gotta train my head to remember names next time) and as we were explaining our problems with the stuck filter ring on the lens, I was half expecting him to say: hey our service department is closed now, please come back on Monday. Surprisingly, that was not the case !!
He grabbed the lens from us, and told us that he would see what he could do. In less than 15 minutes, he got back to us with the stuck ring filter completely removed !!! Problem was solved, there and then on the spot, with no charge or fees. With very genuine smile, and seriously guys... If this is not good customer service, and after-sales services, or whatever support services you guys call it out there, I do not know what good service is !!!! Super-darn unbelievably efficient. I am sure now Fred did not regret choosing Olympus after all. I have heard stories of friends in C and N and S having the need to send in their lenses for repair and took horribly WEEKS or even MONTHS, and we had our problem resolved in just... MINUTES.
Astonishing.
SCRUMPTIOUS BUFFET
Alright, lets move on to the attention of the day: Olympus E-P1.
The main specifications: 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS Sensor Two new kit lenses (14-42mm M.Zuiko and 17mm F2.8 Pancake) TruePic V image processor 3.0" LCD screen (fixed, 230k dot resolution) HD movies (720p) with stereo sound Linear PCM sound recording 3.0 fps sequential shooting Built-in IS with max. 4 EV steps efficiency Optional Adapters for all ZUIKO DIGITAL & OM lenses Newly developed GUI for easier operation via Live Control Automatic recognition of common scenes possible with i-Auto Dual control dials Face Detection & Shadow Adjustment Art Filters, multi-aspect ratios, multi exposure In-camera raw conversion (including application of Art Filters) Small & stylish design For full speficcations please go here. For professional preview and sample images, go to dpreview (click).
When I held it my hands, it felt really "dense". There was a reassuring weight on it, not heavy, but you can feel that there are components being packed in tight inside the camera, and the solid feel just screams confidence. The body is all metal in construction, with leather-like texture on the front finger-grip contact areas. The large LCD screen provided really good resolution, and it was the main image-finder of the camera. The buttons were plenty, but not clutters, with very strange never-seen before dials which worked pretty cool. The flash is absent from this model, hence if you do need flash, and I can tell you do really need one sooner or later, you will have to opt for an external flash unit. the front of the camera allows for lens interchanging, but so far Olympus has only produced two lenses: 17mm F2.8 Pancake, and 14-42mm standard zoom lens. There are other manufacturers supporting micro 4/3 system, and lenses from Panasonic are fully compatible with Olympus bodies too. Lots of flexibility here for future growth and expansion. FL50R FLASH on EP-1
FACE-DETECTION on FRED
I LOVE STYLE
There was this cool green light LED encircling the power button that is just so plain sexy. I tried the Autofocus, and it was really fast, considering I was shooting indoors with poor light conditions. It was quick to snap on focus, and exposures come out very pleasing. It took some time to get to the system since the layout is pretty much different, but this just needs a bit of time to get used to. There were full manual controls, such as PASM (Program, Aperture, Shutter and Manual auto-exposures) and many other creative control options. It simply packed in almost everything that the Olympus E-System DSLRs can do into that tiny piece of body. Very impressive, what the small E-P1 can actually deliver.
Image quality wise, it was hard to tell since I could not view it on my own computer screen. Nevertheless what we saw from the LCD preview, they turned out generally very good. Frederick pushed up the ISO setting to 2000, and as we zoomed in the image preview to spot the noise, we could hardly find any. Either this was due to the excellent noise control of the new JPEG processing engine, Truepic V, or simply due to high noise reduction by smudging of details, I could not tell just yet. But even so, being able to use ISO 2000 with such results was nothing short of stunning, for such a small camera !! This certainly puts Panasonic Lumix LX3 to shame. What good high ISO performance, wait till you see what this Olympus E-P1 can do. I sm not entirely sure but I do have a feeling it could even surpass my DSLR, E-520. No, I am not kidding.
Now there is one thing this camera can also do: High Definition (HD 720px) Video recording, with PCM Stereo sound. There was a short video presentation which was produced by one of Malaysia's Olympus prominent photograper, Sanjitpaal Singh. He went into one of the rainforest, stayed in there for 2 nights (or was it three) and shot videos of the natural enviromenment, with flowing fresh river water, lots of greenery, wildlife such as birds and insects, and of course some native people nearby. The video illustrated very impressive definition, and after the presentation, one of the audienced questioned Sanjit: "what lens did you use for that video recordings?" Sanjit's response was jaw-dropping worthy.... "It was the kit lens 14-42mm". For a moment, it was almost unbelieveable. But if you are an Olympus DSLR user, you will most definitely be well aware of how awesome the kit lens
can be.
ROBIN and E-P1
All in all, I do believe that this new breed of camera: the pioneer being the E-P1 can go really far, could have been revolutionary I dare say. Imagine the possibilities, if the cards are carefully played, this system can pose serious threats to compact cameras and even DSLRs. Nevertheless, this was not the original Olympus intentions, the marketing was strongly targeted towards the audience who lusts for more power and quality from their camera, but not willing to trade the compactness and lightweight off for the monstrous DSLR. Do bear in mind that this is just the first generation, I will see how things go from here.
Perhaps, if all is well, I might actually sell everything off, and migrate over from Four-Thirds to Micro Four-Thirds system.
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| posted by robin @ 2:20 PM
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buy buy buy