Deepavali: Festival of Lights, my Second Attempt

Happy Deepavali to all of my readers who celebrate the Festival of Light!

Last year, in conjunction with the Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm F1.8 lens review, I went to Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Temple at Jalan Ipoh for the Deepavali Eve, where the Hindu devotees would light up the whole temple with candles and oil lamps. I did have difficulties shooting that event, mainly with restrictions of the single focal length which happened to be my least favourite focal length to work with. This year, I was revisiting the temple to shoot the Deepavali Eve again, and this time with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the few M.Zuiko lenses that I do have now.

I consider myself very fortunate living in Malaysia, where there is a large Hindu Indian community that still practise the traditions and celebrate beautiful festivals such as Deepavali. In this occasion, the Hindus were dressed up in their traditional costumes and presented their best, which made the celebration such a colourful scene for photography. It was a celebration of joy and happiness, hence emotions and expressions were abundantly available as photography opportunities. 

If you were to ask any Olympus users 3  or more years ago, shooting in very dim light condition, many would have complained a few issues using the system, and I do admit to these shortcomings especially on slower focusing, as well as poorer high ISO noise handling in comparison to peer DSLR counterparts. In some conditions shooting this amazing Festival of Lights, it was near darkness with only available light from the not so brightly lit candles. So how did the OM-D and Olympus M.Zuiko lenses fare in this situation?

Lets see some photos first!

All images were taken with Olympus OM-D E-M5 and M.Zuiko lenses: 45mm F1.8 and 17mm F1.8 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F.8

17mm F1.8

As expected from the OM-D it performed very well. I turned off the AF Assist lamp, even when I was shooting in near darkness conditions, the camera still successfully locked focus and it did rather quickly with very minor hesitation. Who would have expected such focusing efficiency from a small camera, and surely from something that is not of a DSLR? In comparison with my E-5, I can confidently say that the E-M5 is almost superior in any way when it comes to focusing. (do take note that I am a single-AF shooter, I rarely use continuous AF). Looking at my set of photographs (I took about 400 images) I only had less than 10 miss-focused shots, and these shots were almost entirely my own fault mainly due to setting the focusing point at the wrong place or did not react quick enough before the subject moved away from the focal point. 

The focusing accuracy was stunningly reliable. In fact, if you have handled any DSLR before, shooting with fast primes at wide open aperture, you will notice the hit and miss issues are quite a common thing. The problem is exaggerated in full frame camera where the depth of field becomes razor thin. This is when the Contrast Detect AF from the mirrorless system surpasses the Phase Detect AF, the Contrast Detect solved the focus hit and miss issues entirely. The focus accuracy is so dead on accurate now that I almost wondered why I even bothered taking multiple shots of a similar subject, you know just in case. The habit was picked up when I was using the Sony A350 and A57, I can get 2 misses out of 5 shots taken, and that is an alarmingly high rate. While my Olympus E-5 suffered much less miss focusing issues, it also can in very rare occasion, miss focus, especially with slower lenses such as the Zuiko Digital 50mm F2 macro. 

There has always been that mindset that the smaller sensor sized systems will not perform on par with the APS-C sized cropped sensor, and small cameras will not outdo the larger sized DSLR. In the beginning of the micro 4/3 releases, that may be true, but the micro 4/3 system has evolved ever since. Considering that the mirrorless cameras are not limited by mechanical parts, and the fact that digital technology is advancing in greater pace than ever before, it can be observed that the Micro 4/3 system has made huge leaps and bounds, especially in the OM-D system. People can still argue that the larger sensor will hold more details, have better dynamic range, etc, but in serious shooting application, the main question is will the OM-D perform and deliver the results? 

Looking at the harsh shooting conditions in this particular session (extreme low light), when high ISO is crucial, the OM-D E-M5 performed admirably well. There was no hiccup, the operations were smooth, focusing was super fast and the images came out beautifully. The default auto-white balance engine was so good I almost did not have to do anything in post-processing. Now that with the electronic viewfinder, giving me the "What You See Is What You Get" live preview of the image even before I click the shutter button, I can ensure very accurate exposure balance. No matter how advanced your metering system is, shooting in such conditions, there is high chance of slight under or overexposure when  the lighting in the entire are was not even. 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm f1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

17mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm f1.8

This year I told myself to shoot MORE photographs. In my mind, I wanted quantity over quality. Yes I would still maintain the quality, but the objective for this particular shoot was to push myself to compose the shots with more variety, and present the event in a more "complete" manner. I wanted to show more photographs rather than just the few photographs that I wanted to shoot. It takes a lot more focus and energy to be alert at all times and continue to hunt for more and more photos in a single event. Now that I am not restricted to the 17mm focal length I am free to compose with my favourite lenses and shoot with my usual style and execution. 

Indeed the 45mm F1.8 took a lot more photographs than my other lenses, well, I think I shot almost 90% with the 45mm F1.8 lens actually. It was such a versatile lens to use. This is especially true when I was shooting the kids, if I moved any closer to them with wide angle lenses they refused to have their photos taken! Even at such young age they have developed awareness and also we have to recognize their comfort zone and personal space. Intruding their personal space, they would react, and most times they would simple walk away or turned their head away from the camera, almost instinctively. The extra working distance that the 45mm F1.8 worked perfectly in this condition, it allowed me sufficient comfortable space between my camera and subject and still get shots without annoying or tipping the kids off. Of course they knew their photos were taken but I guess at a certain distance away, they did not really care. 

After looking through the pile of photographs I have taken, the "YES!!! I got the shot" moment was not really there. I actually did better last year with the 17mm F1.8, though it was not my favourite focal length to use. Somehow, in terms of quality, I preferred my photographs from last year's shooting, and this actually come as a surprise even to myself. 

I should really reconsider my stance toward the 35mm classic focal length. Perhaps it was not that bad of a lens to use after all, and if used correctly, surely it can produce some really good shots. More items for me to explore and push myself further. More work to be done and I hope to improve from here onward. Discoveries must be followed up with appropriate action. 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8. Who says micro 4/3 system cannot produce shallow depth of field? Should have stopped down the aperture even more. 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

Every one dressed their best in Indian Traditional wear for this auspicious celebration, and this presented the best opportunity to create some portrait shots. The temple people were so friendly and warm toward us, and generously allowed their photos to be taken. 

This was very different than shooting my portraits on the street. Firstly, I needed to boost the ISO to so much higher, and lighting condition was not ideal. To solve some of the issues, I actually directed some of the shots, to move the subjects away from busy or distracting background, and to have them standing in locations with more even light distribution to avoid harsh and unwanted shadows on the faces. I did not want to use flash, because I wanted to preserve the ambient warm light which was quite beautiful actually. Of course the shots will not turn out as beautiful as studio lighting set-up shots, but hey, it was a fun shoot, so even if there were imperfections, seriously, who cares? If you get too serious with all the technicalities, you have less fun during the shoot, and that defeats the whole purpose of this outing. I did not shoot to compete, I did not shoot to win, I was not proving any point. I went out to shoot because I wanted to, and because I enjoyed it. Even if some of the shots have some technical inaccuracies, it does not matter, really. 

Being out there, immersing myself in such a beautiful celebration was a privilege and blessing in itself. Seeing all the happy, smiling expressions brought so much joy to myself, and being able to capture such overwhelmingly positive emotion was not something we can do on any other given day. 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

17mm F1.8

45mm f1.8

General Camera Setup:

Aperture Priority, ISO400-3200, adjusted depending on lighting condition, EV compensation adjusted based on my view through the EVF, metering was center-weighted, Auto-White Balance. Main lens (if you have not noticed) was 45mm f1.8, shot mostly wide open, for shallow depth of field and to take advantage of the wide aperture in low light shooting. Noise Filter set to LOW, considering many shots were taken at ISO1600 and higher. 

I know I have been asked countless times about my camera settings, it was VERY difficult for me to explain that there is no one magic setting that will automatically create good shots in ALL situations. I received so many emails asking me what is the optimized setting for their Olympus cameras, and in all honesty, I change my settings ALL the time to suit the shooting condition. Surely I cannot use the settings for my street shooting in this particular Deepavali shoot! Also when I am shooting insect macro I cannot use these settings as well!

Also one VERY VERY VERY important thing to note, in important shooting events, I always share my settings and setup on how to capture the shots. I have actually share ALMOST EVERYTHING on my blog and keep nothing to myself. I have shared all my macro shooting setup and techniques, and I even have a video taken while I was shooting macro. I have shared my street shooting techniques, how to approach strangers and how I normally set my camera, to my favourite lens choices when I am shooting on the street. I have also shared my philosophies and thoughts on the streets, on how I always went against the rules and I do not fit into the general street photography crowd. I have also shared my street black and white post-processing tips. All my photographs have their EXIF data intact, you may download them or use an EXIF viewer plug-in on your browser to view the EXIF data and actually know what shutter speed, ISO or aperture I use.

So you can imagine, after ALL my effort writing here over the span of years, when I still get email asking me "how to set the camera", I really, really want to say "please just use the search function on my blog" but that would show that I am arrogant and did not care enough to entertain to questions from my readers. 

If you are first time reader here, or very new to my blog, PLEASE use the search box at the top of side bar. 

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

45mm F1.8

I hope you have all enjoyed the shots from the Deepavali shooting. It was one of my most enjoyable photography outings, and I strongly encourage you to explore this event next year if you have not done so.

I was shooting with some friends, and they have also updated their blogs, you can view their photographs (Micro 4/3 shooters) and write-ups here:

Alexander Rudra http://skiesblues.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/lux-et-nox/

Carmen Hong http://www.carmenhong.com/2013/11/snaps-deepavali-festival-of-lights.html