Redefining Photography - Specifically Digital Photography

The traditional definition of Photography state the following;

Mirriam-Webster definition.

: the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or a CCD chip)

The Free Dictionary definition.

pho·tog·ra·phy  (f-tgr-f)

n.

1. The art or process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces.

2. The art, practice, or occupation of taking and printing photographs.

3. A body of photographs.

Yourdictionary Definition.

the art or process of producing images of objects upon a photosensitive surface (as film in a camera) by the chemical action of light or other radiant energy

Origin: photo- + -graphy

These definitions support the "accepted" notion that "the camera NEVER lies".

Today some people know that that was not the complete truth as many a great photographer MADE their images in the darkroom, including deleting and substituting unwanted objects, and even inserting "false" elements into photo`s that actually constituted fraud.  Such images were, because of the above "accepted" notion, even produced in Courts of Law as supporting evidence in finding people guilty, having them sentenced and even "legally" killed.

Even today in the mind of most people excellent photographs are created by a photographer using only a camera, maybe a tripod and flash.

UNFORTUNATELY this is about the furthest removed from the truth if ever there has been a "photographic truth".  The reason is simply because most Amateur (not the P-n-S type), Serious Amateur and mainly Pro or Semi- Pro Photographers do at least a minimum of manipulation of their photo`s.  Although this in many cases only include colour correction in some way it cannot be anymore defined in the strict terms that only the genius of the photographer with the camera as his only tools actually produced the "photo".  One reason is because most digital cameras already have some in-built image manipulation program that makes changes to the captured images.

Why this whole treatise?

Simply because recently two very high profile cases of FRAUD has been discovered and widely publicized.  These involved two prominent and "GREAT" photographers that pushed the "accepted minimum manipulation" to the level of producing images that we not the "truth".  In actual fact in one case this was not image manipulation but manipulation of the "element" which was a tame or trained fox .  IMHO this is NOT fraud but the Rules of the Competition stated that no tame or trained animals and the particular photographer should not have done this.

In the second case however an element(s) that was not even close to the locality was introduced and this certainly IS FRAUD.

Having made these statements it is important to take note of the fact there are "acceptable out-of-camera" techniques that are being applied by a great number of so-called Great/Good and even Mediocre photographers to ENHANCE and CHANGE the basic photo to a level that they would never have been able to accomplish with a camera only.

These include;

Sharpening ( bringing into sharper focus something that was not sharply focussed in the original photo) with Photo EDITING Software such as mainly Adobe Photoshop.

Creating "false" Depth of Field" by taking 2 or more images and then "stacking" these to create the ILLUSION that the PHOTOGRAPHER actually took the photo like that.  Now in my mind that is just as FRAUDULENT as the guy who put the object into the photo that was never there.

Changing White Balance afterwords in Software.  One "great photographer" made the following statement to me when asked about WB, "I always take in RAW and AUTO WB then just change it in Photoshop.

This is NO LESS FRAUD than what the "FRAUDULENT" photographer mentioned above did.

All Digital Photography Magazines actually PROMOTE these FRAUDULENT techniques.  Just look at the article on "Photoshop skills" in the July 2010 issue of Digital SLR photography where they insert a rainbow into an image and tout this as a skill to be mastered.  Then you blame the guy for putting a tiger or whatever into a photo.

So why then the big cabal about the FRAUDSTER?  IMHO more than the average so-called  photographers in this world are viewing these techniques as acceptable because it is touted my the Digital Photography Media as essential skills and thus ethically acceptable.

Dear sir/madam/etc THAT IS NOT PHOTOGRAPHY.  It may be called Imaging Art or something like that but IT IS NOT PHOTOGRAPHY.

Due to the "flawed" nature of digital sensors as well as the limitation of shape and size of sensors the only probable image manipulation that can be accepted as not altering the essence of a particular photo is colour correction and cropping. We know for example that no two digital cameras with the exact same settings of the exact same "scene" at precisely the same time will produce identical coloured or saturated images. 

Take note that the following two picture were taken "as-is" WITHOUT ANY MANIPULATION OF ANY TYPE SAVE THAT THE ONE IS THE ORIGINAL AND THE OTHER IS A CROPPED VERSION.

And guest what....  Although many a "photographer" advised me to crop the image I`ve had more requests for the UNALTERED PHOTO than the cropped one.

Cropped image.

Original image.

The reason for this is quite simply that the unaltered image place the trees more in context than the cropped version.

Olympus PEN E-P3 Awarded Silver Rating

PEN E-P3 from DPREVIEW

DPREVIEW Verdict!!!

The Olympus PEN E-P3 is in many ways the camera we always hoped Olympus would produce at this level. Fast, pleasant to shoot with, and undeniably stylish too, it produces excellent images with the minimum of fuss. However its ageing sensor is unable to quite keep up with the best-in-class at high ISOs.

Confirmation that OLYMPUS still have the punch :-)

Unfortunately I cannot have them all :-(

The DEATH of Olympus DSLR?

Can this REALLY be TRUE???

Complaining to a well known 3rd party lens manufacturer that their fast 500mm digital lens is not available for the 4/3rds mount, I received the following reply (verbatim quote)

"We will be making micro 4/3rds mount lenses eventually, but will not be making the 4/3rds fitment lenses anymore as there will be no more 4/3rds cameras in production."

 Strange happenings abound .......

Olympus TG-610 - You be the Judge

Herewith a few photo`s taken with the Olympus TG-610 from the Tough Series of Olympus cameras.

You be the judge. 

Please click on the photo for the correct size.

All the photo`s were resized.

OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
TG-610 Hand held
f 5.2
1/15 sec
ISO 100
No exposure compensation
Focal length 20mm

Metering mode = Pattern
Exposure program = Creative Program (biased toward depth of field)
WB = Auto
Post-processing = Crop only
Time of photo = 6:28 pm

OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
TG-610 Hand held

f 5.5
1/250 sec

ISO 80
No exposure compensation

Focal length 12mm

Metering mode = Pattern

Exposure program =Normal
WB = Auto
Post-processing = 1 Step Auto colour correction with Microsoft Office Picture Manager
Time of photo = 1:11 pm

OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
TG-610 Hand held

f 4.8
1/200 sec

ISO 80

No exposure compensation

Focal length 17mm

Metering mode = Pattern

Exposure program = Creative Program (biased to depth of field) Setting was "Macro"
WB = Auto
Post-processing = Crop only
Time of photo = 4:52 pm

OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
TG-610 Hand held

f 4.8
1/160 sec

ISO 80

No exposure compensation

Focal length 8mm

Metering mode = Pattern

Creative Program (biased to depth of field)WB = Auto
Post-processing = Crop only
Time of photo = 2:55 pm

Ansel Adams causing Collective Photographer`s BLOCK ????

Don`t know whether it is interesting or sad to more and more read  "What would Ansel Adams have done...."


Ansel Adams died on April 22, 1984.  That is 27 Years and 2 Months or more closely, at the time of this writing, about 9923 days ago.

Is it possible that NOT ONE photographer with the same or better abilities, insights and skills  can be or has been found since then?  Does it mean that he was the ONLY CREATIVE photographer ever?  If this is the case it really would be a very, very, very sad day for photography as an art or even as a routine occupation.

Although it may be said with confidence that most subjects and photographic situations that we found ourselves in today have already been experienced by other photographers, it does not mean that we have to always think what other people would have done in the same situation.  We are supposed to be individuals with our own skills, insights and creativity, thus we should be able to create unique images of "old" situations.

Maybe I understand it incorrectly.

Is it possible that by using the phrase "What would Ansel Adams have done...." that the proponents or slaves of the Great Mr Adams are trying to create COPY CATS or DUPLICATES of the said great photographer????

Or better still........  Is it because these proponents are experiencing photographer`s BLOCK or NEVER had ANY UNIQUE insights themselves?  If this is true I`ll help you by setting upon a book that may or may not be able to break your block and give you insight......

WHAT A SHAME HAS BEFALLEN US?????

Olympus E-PL2 - A Great Litle GEM !!!

This little camera defies anything I have ever experienced in a camera of any type !!!

In RED or BLACK.  

It is a GEM.

Although I`ve had this camera for a few weeks I was actually a bit overwhelmed by it.

Once I started studying the Concise Manual the realization that this little device is more than anyone can ever utilize to the full hit me with a shock :-)

If you`re looking for a FULL AUTOMATIC camera you have it !!!

If you`re looking for a FULL MANUAL camera you have it !!!

If you are looking for a camera that will outlive your imagination and creativity you have found it.

Once you have mastered the not so conventional controls, you will be delighted with it.

Now go out.  Buy one. And ENJOY!!!

Digital Photography - A REAL Revolution or just a Money Making Hoax?

Most people are like sheep.  They follow where it seems the main stream in anything goes.  It becomes the norm and then the truth.  Or does it?

In South Africa we had the saying "Lucky Strike cannot be bad for you as a million miners are smoking it and a million miners cannot ALL be wrong"

The same is true of digital photography.  Many millions of people are snapping away with the plethora of digital imaging devices so it MUST BE PHOTOGRAPHY !!!

Actually it is not.


If it was REAL PHOTOGRAPHY then Adobe Photoshop and so many other "PHOTOGRAPHIC" Software would not be needed to create an acceptable photograph.

In the good old days when most camera owners did not have access to darkrooms and photo manipulation devices there were photographers around the world that took the most stunning photographs that needed NO MANIPULATION to be classed as good or even excellent.

This is mostly not true of digital imaging.  Yes there are photographers out there that take excellent photographs with digital imaging devices, read camera, cellular phone, etc, but in 99% of the cases the images acquired by using digital imaging devices NEED manipulation of some sort to make it acceptable.  In actual fact most "serious photographers" out rightly condemn those that have not at least done some minor "photoshopping" or equivalent post-processing to their digital images.  So good "photoshopping" has become the norm and not GOOD photography :-(

The ONLY REAL BENEFIT of digital "photography" is that the user does not have to pay for really bad or deplorable images and that such people can do so immediately and painlessly.

So where does the "hoax" come in?  Easy really.  Now it is virtually possible for everyone to create unlimited bad digital images without having to fork out the money to pay for such images.  Thus the money that people would be loath to spend on bad images are now being spent on digital "cameras" creating a money making opportunity for the manufacturesrs of digital imaging devices such as cellular phones with lenses, GPSes with digital imaging capabilities and so on and so forth..........

Book Review - Photography & Birdwatching

Title:  The Birdwatcher`s Guide to Digital Photography
Author:  David Tipling
Publisher: ILEX Press
Pages: 143

As an Avid Birdwatcher, Avid Amateur Photographer and even more Avid Reader I decided to give this book a reading.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the quality of the book itself.  I tend to avoid shabby or cheap looking books as books mean a lot more to me than to most other people.

As indicated on this blog and above I`ve been in photography for a few years now meaning that I had to often refer back to the title to make sure that my review is not biased by a little bit too much knowledge.  Even so I gladly indicate that I learnt a lot about post-processing.

David writes in a easy going style that is just right for the Birdwatcher that want to upgrade from a "point-n-shoot" to more demanding bird photography.  This book is most definitely useful for the audience that David writes for and then a few others that want to upgrade their post-processing skills.

This book is also suitable for more advanced photographers that want to get into birdwatching or bird photography as it does give useful information about different types of birds and their behaviour.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes I surely would.

Olympus 2011 TIPA AWARDS !!!!!!

THE TIPA AWARDS

TIPA Awards are recognized as the most coveted photo and imaging awards worldwide.

Best D-SLR Expert: Olympus E-5

For a very reasonable price, the Olympus E-5 provides benefits that rival those found in some professional SLRs: complete weather-sealing, comprehensive functions, excellent responsiveness, 100% viewfinder, good noise control, dual CF/SD slots, built-in image stabilisation, all in a rugged magnesium-alloy body. Add to this Olympus' Dust Reduction System, which has proven to be among the most effective solutions in the market. The 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS sensor, combined with the 'TruePic V+' image engine produces images that rival competitors with substantially higher pixel counts.

Best Expert Compact Camera: Olympus XZ-1

The Olympus XZ-1 has one of the fastest zoom lenses in its class, the iZuiko f1.8-2.5 6.0-24mm (28-112mm equivalent angle of view in 35mm cameras.) Rather than succumb to the continuing Megapixel race, the light-reception area of each pixel of the 1/1.63-inch, 10 Megapixel CCD has been doubled. The XZ-1’s AF illuminator, Dual Image Stabilisation, Low-Light mode that automatically adjusts the ISO sensitivity up to ISO 3200 and the compact size all add up to an exciting “candid” camera that also offers advanced manual controls.

The information in this post comes from both the ADORAMA and TIPS AWARDS websites

A Bit on Duck Photography

Maybe not too exiting but this is what happened today (Sunday 1 May 2011) in my part of the World.

"The Early Bird Catches the Worm" that is how the saying goes.  But has anybody told YOU what bird that is because I can tell you that it is NOT a Yellow-Billed Duck in Africa :-)

As and avid "Golden Hour" photographer I headed out, just after 6 am, to the pond where I was going to take the best duck photo`s ever !!!!

On my way I got a nice sunrise.  Not too spectacular.  Not too shabby.

Arriving early I set up my Giottos tripod with the a Giottos MH7001 Ballhead strong enough to carry the E-3, ZUIKO 50mm - 200mm Pro zoom and a ZUIKO 2X converter.  Draped the lot in camouflage and settled down to wait.

And what a wait it turned out to be.  Bird photography, specially duck photography in the wild, is not for those without bag of patience :-/  As I was wearing a camo cape, made by my lovely wife, I started out standing.  Got tired of that and sat down eventually ending up horisontally on my back, listening to the Mourning Doves and a few other invisible feathered specimens.  After about 80 minutes the first yellow-billed duck made her appearance and true to the female form immediately started chatting.  I tried to get up but the movement, and maybe the absence of other ducks, was too much for her and she promptly left again.

I then decided to stand around not knowing that it would be another hour before two of the desired yellow-billed ducks eventually decided to turn up at the pond where yesterday I saw no less than 8 of them.

In the mean time I observed the wakening of dragonflies from their dewy slumber.  Quite amazing to say the least.  The seem to wake up in stages.  Then I was surrounded by a great number of them begging to be photographed.  Now you can imagine with my setup only ones that were like a little bit further away could be photographed.  Here is one that I like more than the others as it is not the "standard" view.

 

Here are a few photo`s from my happy ending "ordeal".  Must mention that they kept me busy for a while :-)

And THEN......

A nice and unsuspecting BONUS !!!!

Hope that you enjoy these.

ALL VISITORS - PLEASE COMPLETE OUR POLL

Which Photographer are YOU?

Free Image Copyright Name Integration with Olympus E-5 :-)

Olympus not only design and built excellent cameras they are on many fronts also the "innovators" like Live View that was immediately copied by the likes of Canon and Nikon.

Again it seems as if a little but profoundly important innovation has passed most (ALL?) reviewers of the E-5.

This is the ability to at the time of taking a picture your copyright details may be immediately embedded in the EXIF data of a photo.

It is possible to embed the photographer`s name and a copyrighted name into the camera which will subsequently be embedded in all the photos taken with that body.  The really nice thing here is that one has 63 characters spaces available to do this making it very easy to not have to enter cryptic names that one cannot remember yourself.  In my case I can enter my full name and surname with spaces and still have 48 characters left (including spaces) for a copyright name or description.  This is accomplished with 2 fields dedicated to "Artist Name"  and "Copyright Name"

Upon editing the image the data is automatically transferred to the "new" image.  The only time that this does not happen is with "image overlay" and with the "playback + multiple" operation.

Very useful I`d say ;-)

Some musings or ramblings on Digital Camera Choice and such

In the Good Old Days of Photography, well when was that?, it was much more easy to choose a camera and lenses than today. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, Olympus and a few others. Most lenses were “prime” and propriety with a few “pirate” lens makers such as Sigma, Tamron and Vivitar.

A serious photographer would not be seen dead with anything like a pirate or zoom lens.

All that has changed..........

Though a few camera manufacturers have fallen by the wayside and Sigma and Tamron has graduated beyond producing “pirate” lenses the choice of camera models have increased to such an extent that nobody can claim that there is not a model suitable for them.

Olympus alone currently offer 29 different camera bodies which include no less than 18 “Point-n-Shoot”, 5 Mirroless interchangeable bodies and 6 “current” DSLR bodies.

Bewildering to say the least.

On their website Olympus call their Point-n-Shoot models “Digital Cameras” and have 4 categories covering 18 different models. These sporting 3.6 X to 30 X Zoom, freeze proof, shock proof, crush proof, HD Video, up to 10 frames-per-second shooting, GPS, Dual Image stabilisation and Eye-fi compatible.

Image compiled from various sources.

The PEN bodies offer 5 variants with 7 Micro Four Thirds lenses and adapters for Four thirds lenses from the DSLR range to be used on the mirrorless bodies.

Image compiled from various sources.

Then, just to make matters worse, the DSLR E-Series offer 6 “current” bodies including the newest flagship model, the E-5. To suit about every pocket, added to this are 8 “Standard”, 7 “Pro” and 6 “Top Pro” lenses with increasing prices to match. The flagship E-5 DSLR Body with the flagship ZUIKO Digital ED f 2.8 300mm lens will require an investment of $8699.98

Image compiled from various sources.

As if all this is not bewildering enough, even for the average amateur, the post-processing possibilities that can be done on the pictures just taken, just boggle the mind. It seems as if digital photography has made photography more difficult rather than easier :-/

But...

There is help and support at hand.

The internet not only offer porn but luckily also so many photography tips and forums and user groups that photography becomes a field so vast that the preference and needs of any photographer from absolute novice to pro will find the answer to a “difficult” question without having to even leave their home :-)

Olympus E-5 DSLR Reviewed by DPREVIEW.COM

As I`m of the personal opinion that DPREVIEW Staff are biased towards Canon, Nikon and Adobe Photoshop the following verdict pronounced over the Olympus E-5 really surprised me.

Screen printed from DPREVIEW.COM and then cropped.

I would just like to know how many people actually use these so-called high ISO Settings.  In the "good old days" of photography very few photographers ventured above 400ASA unless they wanted a specific result such as "graininess".

or ...........

Maybe I`m wrong :-/

Might the following statement be true?  "People use high ISO settings just for the sake of using these because it is available and then complain about the result because we are a culture of "moaners"?

It seems to me that poor performance at higher ISO settings has replaced the megapixel debate as the choice of argument.  Just like with most software available only a fraction of the capabilities of a camera system is utilised and few photographers have the inclination or time to try and use most features on a routine basis.


My selfish tirade aside the verdict is still good and in the ball park with most other DSLR cameras out there.

My own verdict to follow soon.  BTW I AM biased TOWARDS OLYMPUS.

NEWS ! NEWS !! NEWS !!!

14th April 2011

I`m happy to inform you that I have received a free license from imatest to use their lens testing software for use on Olympus and Olympus Compatible Lenses.  These lenses will still only be used on OLYMPUS DSLR and OLYMPUS Mirrorless Bodies.


A GREAT THANK YOU to imatest

A worthy little book

Although I`ve been involved with cameras and photography since 1974 I still like to buy "basic" photography technique books.  Why?  Well as far as I`m concerned the basics never change regardless of whether it be traditional film or digital.  It is very relaxing to just page and brush up on these things when I have little time to confirm a technique or two.

Michael Freeman is one of those lucky buggers that take photo`s for Smithsonian Institute, Nat Geo etc and really has a wealth of experience and knowledge.  Hence the worthy little book that I`m writing about.  Yes he has written many books covering one aspect of photography only but it is impossible to take the whole library into the field.

As camera bags are made to carry cameras and equipment there is very little space for any unnecessary junk so Michael and Ilex Press came out with the PERFECT little companion for ME!!!

This worthy little book measure only 156mm x 120mm and is only 13mm thick.  Did I say only 13mm thick?  Well, well it is 13mm of pure GOLD and actually has 192 pages including the index.

Michael manages to cover no less than 73 topics under 6 headings.  A major feat in my opinion.

The headings are;

Preparation (6), On the Road (12), Appreciating Light (20), Subjects (11), Themes (17), Reference (7)

Just quickly looking for something to repeat here as an example brought the following;

"Although leaving something behind at home as fundamental as a battery charger may well seem disastrous on the day of arrival at your destination, in practice few things are irreplaceable.  Enter the world of workaround........"

Little gems like these are found on EVERY page of the book and I highly recommend any photographer to buy AND carry this book everywhere.  For me this is a MUST HAVE little book!!

ENJOY!!!!!!!


Useful buying and ordering information about the book.

Printed by ILEX Press

ISBN-10: 1905814739
ISBN-13: 978-1905814732

New Olympus mju 8010 Tough - An Opinion

The newish mju 8010 Tough is the replacement of my previous mju 8000 that was stolen while I was unconscious after a motorcycle accident.

The mju 8010 share the really solid feel of it`s predecessor.

Unfortunately it is hampered by a fatal flaw.  Focusing.  In landscape mode it has a problem when zooming in to compose.  In about 99% of cases it will not focus at all when zoom has been applied.  Even when seeking a "high contrast" place in the view it will not focus.  When then zooming out it will not focus again and has to be restarted.

The following photo`s will try to illustrate this.

The following photo disregard all rules of composition but was deliberately take as such to illustrate the "Focus Flaw" of the Olympus mju 8010 Tough.  It had to be taken this way as the next photo will illustrate in order to  be "cropped" to a correct composition.

















Here is the photo that was "planned".  Not really excellent in composition but it was the result of being completely frustrated by the "Focus Flaw" just ending up in taking the photo to contribute to this blog.














The result of the "cropping-for-composition" because of the "Focus Flaw"









The ideal composition that should have been able with zooming.








But as this is not usually a problem with the purpose of this camera I`ll continue using it as it gives fairly acceptable photo`s even at nigh and a super macro setting as the following photo`s illustrate.





This photo was taken in "Portrait" mode as the problem of the "Focus Flaw" would not allow this type of composition. The surreal colour is because of the surrounding water and the added effect of the overcast sky.













 
Same as the above for this photo.

















Frog taken at night in Super Macro with Light Assist  mode.  Actually is better than most illustrations used for identification in scientific books.