A popular technique for getting a wide field of view but with a very shallow depth of field involves taking many photos and stitching them together – this “Brenizer Technique” is named for wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer. (He’s a bit of a strobist too!)

It’s not always practical or possible to stitch many photos together – so this photography and photoshop shortcut is a nice way to emulate this effect using only two images – without the hassle of stitching many photos together. Sorry about the screen capture this time, folks… it’s a little lo-fi.

Let’s recap:
1) Use a wider angle lens
2) Isolate a subject that also has a somewhat “distant” background
3) Take two frames – one focused on the subject and the other focused as close to the camera as possible
4) Bring both files into PhotoShop, align them, and blend them so the subject is in focus and the background is thrown out of focus

Honey-Do Lists and Photography – can they work together?

Frank the Tank from Old School knows a thing or two about a wild weekend for the wild american ex-bachelor. It must include a trip to the Home Depot – a staple of weekend Honey-Do lists.

Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

Sometimes life doesn’t leave as much time as we’d like for photography. That gap in time between one’s bachelor days and retirement can present a potential black hole of creativity  and opportunity needed to exercise one’s Photography muscles and shoot like a boss.Do you turn to exclusively photographing your cat and kids?

Hell no!

You take your camera to the Home Depot and give it hell!

Leica M9 + Summicron 35mm f/2 at Home Depot

I like having either a little mirrorless or Leica rangefinder camera with me when I go to photograph at stores or other places where a camera doesn’t quite fit in. Some dude with a big ass DSLR and a zoom lens raises suspicion at a big box retailer. Even moreso at Victoria’s Secret (I can only surmise… not by experience).

So for this trip – it was two things. 1) Leica M9 + Summicron 35mm f/2 and 2) A concept for some shots.

This concept was “form within pattern” – the challenge was to find pattern an repetition that had some second level of form through variation of pattern. Sure, it’s a little more abstract and lacks narrative… but the results do capture the place fairly well and were fun to capture.

I chose to shoot for black and white due to the terribad quality of the lighting that would require shooting at higher ISOs and just destroy the blue channel if I attempted to get nice colors.

[Show as slideshow]

How to guide – shooting in big box retailers:

• Bring a smaller camera if you have it. I prefer fixed lens – 24-50mm
• Give yourself an assignment – don’t just shoot carelessly
• When someone asks what you’re doing – say the spouse is home and you need to report back
• Take your time – wait for people to clear or for your shot to present itself
• Don’t be afraid to move things around a little if you have to
• Overexpose a little (1/2 stop) if you can – the lights are really awful and photos can result in one or more weak color channels
• Have a damn good excuse for why your “quick trip” to the Home Depot took 2 hours (grab some flowers on the way home!)

That’s all for now – happy shooting!

Shooting Leica Boss doesn’t always require holding a Leica camera. Even the Boss of Bosses knows that you can get Leica goodness from a number of camera bodies.

So the 90mm Summicron f/2 is an amazing tool. This is an early 1980′s Midland version. It’s compact, beautiful, sturdy, & deliberate. The problem is, on an M6 or M9 camera, the tiny and somewhat inaccurate frame lines and iffy focus (holy craptastic backfocus, Batman!) really hold this lens back in terms of shot reliability when the details matter.

Tree in a Ford Truck

With the Sony NEX-7, though, it’s fast and simple to get fine focus perfect and achieve those gorgeous, creamy narrow focus shots without any guesswork.

At a 1.5x field of view crop factor – the lens has a 135mm full-frame field of view equivalent. Comparison with the Canon 135L and 5D Mark II is certainly called for!

I never look at my NEX-7 files at 1:1 anymore. It’s useless. Now, I downsize to about a 16 megabyte file and properly sharpen. This takes away any nagging concern about noise and leaves a managebale file with plenty of pixels. More than I generally need.  There is a ton of detail in these photos, people. The Summicron 90mm is a BEAST when it comes to contrast, detail and rendering. Simply beautiful.

Roadside fruit stand

So what are my impressions of this combo?

• Summicron 90mm or even some of the f/2.8 Leitz lenses are an absolute STEAL these days… this won’t last
• Paired with the NEX-7, you can shoot with confidence – nailing fine focus and framing with the steadiness of a 3-point-of-contact shooting stance afforded by the EVF
• The pair is pretty epic – producing richly detailed files, wonderful textures, rich color and without a harsh contrast
• 90mm on APS-C bodies is one of those love/hate focal lengths (~135mm fullframe FOV equivalent). I happen to love it
• Strong recommend on this pair!

Heading back from a meeting in beautiful Buena NJ (home of Blackwater Pond Park and a big ass WAWA) I was happy to have my Leic M9 and Summicron 50mm f/2 in the passenger seat.

I knew that I was in a beautiful part of the state on a bright sunny day but had that nagging question “what do I take photos of?” Having a camera and no sense of purpose can leave you with bland photos. Creativity bears more fruit when focused.

Creating an impromptu “photo project” can quickly motivate and excite your photomojo. A project can be incredibly simple – I chose “Jersey Fresh” as my theme. “Jersey Fresh” is a logo and slogan that highlights the proud agricultural roots in the Garden State. Sure, it’s really broad for a theme, but gave me a clue as to where I might stop to take a photo and what I’d like it to convey.

Here’s a few images from the set.

What are some other ideas for mini projects you may try when exploring a new place or rediscovering a familiar one?

• Place X – a bug’s eye view
• Roadside eats in Place X
• Color-based themes
• Behind popular establishements / alleyways
• Fences
• Landscaping details
• Infrastructure details (great for the Leica black and white crowd)

Give it a go – next time you’re shooting without a cause. give yourself a bit of a unifying assignment or theme. You may be pleased with the results.

So, I like this photo. Let’s break it down a bit to see how a simple little “toss away” photo can still have a little bit of punch. Here’s the image:

1/400sec f/10 ISO 100

The photo was taken with the Sony NEX-7 and an M mount Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm f/4 (~32mm FF equiv) at 1/400 f/10 at ISO 100. It was taken through a tight chain link fence on a fairly overcast day in some pretty boring light… and really could have been a tosser. With careful cropping and framing , an image that is about A) Balance   B) Texture  C) Play between a strong diagonal and wandering curve  D) A modest “payoff” to a leading line. Let’s take a closer look…

First the original:

Here’s the breakdown:

• For simple photos like this, it takes subtle things to make an image work. While there is nothing terribly exciting in the image – there is a nice balance and harmony at play here
• The image in “anchored” by a series of strong horizontal lines that provide a sense of perspective and break the frame up a bit. They also help guide the viewer’s eye.
• The intersections of where the hose crosses the gaps in the sidewalk are natural “stops” along the path one takes into the photo. These are countered by the straight diagonal in the frame
• From a balance perspective – there isn’t a symmetry of form in the image. The strong diagonal “crack” in the cement is only slightly off-center right while the hose is predominantly in the left portion of the frame. At the same time, the upper left and right corners are almost perfectly symmetrical in shape – with the right side being a unique element (the pool / water)
• Is there a story in this photo? Not a special one – but a story does exist. The hose is wandering from the viewer’s perspective, across that strong diagonal and right into the pool in the upper corner. Exciting right?
• On it’s face – this image is about a hose going into a pool. That’s it. But ultimately, this is an image about shape and form, balance, texture – and having a clear path for a viewer with a small payoff at the end (hose made it to the pool… yay)

What’s the lesson here?

Every photo is “about” something. Once you break out of the pattern of forcing that “something” to be linked mostly to the face-value subject – you can begin to appreciate the qualities even the simplest image can have. Photos can be about color, texture, one thing not being like others in the frame, about light (or lack thereof).

So, consider giving some of your previously “rejected” photos a second chance – or take the time to see things in a scene that you may have otherwise overlooked.

Appreciate your photos – expand your view of phat your photos can be “about” and – of course – shoot Leica BOSS.  POW.

Jimmies status: Rustled

SnapSort.com is basically an aggregation site that loads camera stats into a database and “scores” them in relation to each other based on those stats. they rustle my Jimmies.

Users can then pit two cameras against each other and the database gnomes at SnapSort.com will tell you which camera is better. Here’s a little example for you, clearly indicating to the camera-buying public that the Canon S100 point and shoot outclasses the new Fuji X-Pro 1:

Clearly the S100 is a better camera. In the realm of utterly stupid comparisons, this site really takes the crown. Even the BOSS of BOSSES knows that photography is not simply the “application of technology” – but the general camera buying public actually uses sites like this to make decisions.

Why does it rustle my Jimmies?

When consumers make decisions based on the wrong information – and buy based on insiginificant specifications rather than innovation and performance… manufacturers get lazy – enthusiasts and pros get niched and marginalized, and we get increasingly lousy products. Having lousy products rustles my Jimmies.

For now, we are certainly in a time of amazing variation and consumer choice when it comes to digital cameras. There are dozens of different strategies out there that result in an amazing ecosystem of gear. There is Leica with the “we will give you less and charge you more” strategy and Pentax with the “who needs full frame (for now) when you can have a mirrorless designed by an artist?” or Sigma who dobled down on an amazing sensory technology that blows the traditional CMOS+Bayer Array out of the water.

The problem is, as Darwin takes over the evolution of camera development. the best technologies don’t survive, but the most profitable ones do. Manufacturers will find the right balance of low cost, mediocrity in performance and snazzy specifications to delight the general buying public – make a good buck, maintain mass appeal, and reduce the need to innovate.  Manufacturers do not want demand to focus on innovative and truly better products – they take a lot of R&D money to make. They would prefer the public to focus on lipstick and glitter.

The first mutant child of this process is the Nikon 1 system. A watered-down, spec-happy camera (save for the tiny itty bitty sensor) that may sadly be the future of camera development. Bu bu But it takes 1200fps video! Full time AF in movie mode! BLECH!

A Nikon the World Should Never Have Seen. No, we weren't punked.

So, SnapSort – I get it, you are trying to sell cameras, and creating a craptastic database of specs with an automated “ranking” system is good for traffic and affiliate sales… but encouraging this kind of thinking and buying will only come back to get us in the end.

End of rant

-LB

Ahhh, the beauty of mirrorless cameras… all that wonderful manual focus glass comes back to life. There are also quite a few amazing bargains out there to be had. Now that I have this one – I don’t mind sharing

Canon FD mount lenses represent some of the best bargains in the world in terms of optical quality and price. One gem in the lineup is the FD 28mm f/2.8.

Canon FD 28mm f/2.8

One reason it’s such a gem is the price. For $30-40.00 this lens can be yours.

The Canon FD lineup had a number of 28mm lenses – which are often overlooked in favor of the 24mm and 35mm focal lengths. There was no “L” series 28mm either, taking some of the enthusiast spotlight away from the lens. While a few versions exist with an f/2 maximum aperture, there happen to be some rubber bushings that can deteriorate over time and make focusing a hassle. The f/2.8 lenses do not appear to suffer such a fate.

So, here are a few impressions and important facts about the Canon FD 28mm f/2.8 in particular with the Sony NEX-7 that I tested it on:

• The full frame field of view equivalent on 1.5x crop sensors is 42mm. Incidentally, 42mm field of view is awesome as it’s just a little looser than 50mm and I think provides more natural perspective. On micro 4/3 systems, it has a 56mm field of view (which I find terribly awkward)
• The FD lens adapters have a rotating ring that opens and closes the aperture – you have to be mindful of this as you stop up and down using the aperture ring
• I get the sense that the lens is a shade shy of actually being f/2.8 – but it’s less than 1/3 a stop off
• There’s definitely some distortion, but it’s fairly simple. A quick nudge of a slider in Lightroom or any processing software makes it go bye-bye
• This is not a terribly high-contrast lens. I find it adequately sharp, nice and neutral, smooth bokeh, but not super high contrast. If you are using focus peaking for focus… put the level on HIGH for best results
• I am impressed with the resolution and rendering of this lens. For under $50, it’s actually pretty stellar

Take a look at the following images for a little taste…

Center crop at f/4. ISO 400.

Extreme corner at f/2.8 - pretty good for NEX-7

Center Crop at f/5.6 - sharp!

Well mannered, plenty of detail (processed image)

Holds fine detail, neutral colors

Stupid snapshot of my lunch

The 80's called... want their lens back

Is this lens a Leica 28mm Elmarit? No. Is it a Zeiss Biogon?  No.  But I must say, it beats the pants off of the Sony zooms and even gives their Zeiss 24mm a run for its money. It has a nice neutral rendering and will not overwhelm you with contrast. The sharpness is suprisingly good and can tackle 13×19″ prints without much trouble, particularly when stopped down even a little. It’s built like a tank, focuses smoothly and is a very useful focal length.

It’s just one of those lenses that almost anyone can afford… so how can you afford not to have it in your kit?

-LB

So, I have been transitioning to Adobe Lightroom 4. There are certainly a number of significant changes in the new version of Adobe’s image organization and “digital darkroom” software – but ultimately a few are not for the better. The updated “clarity” slider is one change that can hardly be called an improvement. No, folks. The new clarity slider is a bucket of fail. More after the video:

What is the clarity slider?

The clarity slider is a dynamic midtone contrast enhancement tool. It adds a little pop and zing to flat images without making significant overall contrast changes that can crush the shadows (make them exceedingly “black”) or clipping the highlight tones. It is a very popular and often abused slider in the Adobe RAW and Lightroom conversion world.

Typical "clarity enhanced" image

What changed?

So, in what appears to be an effort to “dumb down” some of the functions in ACR and Lightroom 4, Adobe “fixed” the clarity slider. With the LR3 (Process version 2010) clarity slider, as you really push the values towards “maximum clarity” you would start to see light fringing or halos around the edges in an image. That is generally a sign that you are going overboard. Adobe decided to help you go overboard and tweaked the effect to minimize these halos.

Why do I HATE the new clarity slider?

This new tweak sounds good – but for those of us who use clarity slider to add just a little pop and sizzle, there is a nasty side-effect of the new process that creeps in at even modest clarity settings. The tonality of the image rapidly changes, with shadows becoming desaturated and darkened. It’s awful. Here is an example. The first image is processed in LR4 as normal, with no clarity applied:

Original image - NO CLARITY APPLIED

The second image is the LR4 clarity slider applied (to a level of 45 out of a possible 100).  Look at the red wall and even the skin tones compared to the original. They have been completely changed – there is no pretending to have a natural looking image with this effect. Blech.

Lightroom 4 Clarity Slider Applied

Now, lets look at how the older LR3 (2010 Process) looks with the same amount of clarity applied:

Lightroom 3 Clarity applied - much better

With the 2010 process, you get that midtone contrast enhancement without all the gimmicky side effects. Shame on you, Adobe!  Sure, you can process am image in the 2010 process (DEVELOP module–>Camera Calibration –>Process: Adobe 2010) but then you miss out on the parts of LR4 that actually are improvements. It sucks.

A Plea to Adobe:

How can this be addressed? Well, Adobe still has the 2010 process algorithm… it’s right in LR4. Just please give us a checkbox beneath or beside the 2012 process clarity slider that allows us to use the tool using the legacy slider. PLEASE! IF you want to help bring 2010 clarity back – contact Adobe yourself using their “wish form”.  https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

What do you think about the new Lightroom 4 clarity slider?

I’ve slowly been evaluating some of my manual focus lenses with the NEX-7. It’s important to get a good feel for how a lens handles on a new camera body because the whole “previsualization” thing isn’t just a buzzword. It’s important to understand how depth of field, colors, overall rendering, sharpness at various apertures, lens flaws, etc. all work with the marriage of a camera and lens. Then you can intuitavely make decisions when it comes to shooting time without having to do much conscious thinking.

In particular, understanding how a lens shot wide open will behave is important. After all, it’s why photographers shell out the big bucks for interesting or quality glass. The “special” character of most lenses is most evident at the wider apertures and a digital sensor will have something to say about how the “look” is presented. Here is today’s shot with the Leica Summicron v3 50mm f/2  shot at wide-open in broad daylight on an awful blank-sky NJ day.

ISO 100 f/2.0 @ 1/3200sec

Overall impressions are that the NEX-7 sensor’s tendency at 100% borders on showing a little granularity or noise but there is tons and tons of detail, great color and finally a camera keeps up with my Leica glass! At 24 megapixels, I now only pixel peep at 50% – rarely at 100%. It just isn’t relevant to any format I print or display anymore.

There is some processing of this image of course, but the RAW file showed a little more contrast than I was expecting from the Summicron wide open and there was really plenty of “headspace” to pull some decent tones out of a completely blank sky. This was very impressive, actually. I was able to get an exposure with loads of tones in a dark foreground as well as pulling something out of a white, blank sky. Detail at the plane of focus is very good – with the sensor outperforming the lens here at ISO 100. See below for a center crop:

This is wide open with a 35+ year old lens that’s never been serviced. Not too shabby, Leica. The rendering is nice, the transitions from sharp focus to out of focus are smooth enough and there is plenty of resolving power. At web sizes it’s really amazing.  Look forward to shooting this combo more… and maybe compare to the Canon FDn 50mm f/1.4 (which is about $1,500 less than the Leica)

Want my layered .PSD file? (Rezied to 2500px for size reasons). Check the link below:

Layered .PSD File Leica 50mm and NEX-7

What do you think of the combo here?