Photography

“That’s a cool photo.  What kind of camera do you have?”

This question drives me nuts.  Mind you, I like that someone’s admired a photo I’ve taken.  I don’t want to seem ungrateful.  But then again, what exactly should I be grateful for – Someone who’s implied that the photo was the result of a camera and not the person wielding it?

I am perfectly willing to admit that the cameras I’ve used over the years have each improved the technical capabilities of capturing an image; and that a significant part of any image I’ve captured has been due to the abilities of the camera at the time.

But I still like to humor myself with the idea that I’ve got something to do with the process.  And so that even if one did have the same camera as I, they still might not walk away with the same shot.

Maybe I’m just too sensitive.

I really like my Nikon Digital SLR (currently a D300) but from time-to-time, a smaller camera just comes in handy.

Even back in the days of film I always owned a smaller point-and-shoot (my favorite was the Olympus Stylus non-zoom), and when I moved to digital, the point-and-shoot was the obvious place to start.  Primarily I use the smaller camera for snapshots and these are the images that are less-likely to get printed out, and therefore don’t need the fine optics of the larger SLR.

I’ve owned several smaller point-and-shoot (p&s) digital cameras over the years and for the past few I’ve opted for a slightly larger footprint.  The small p&S is great for sticking in your pocket but the lenses often leave much to be desired (why I liked the Olympus film camera) and their controls are often buried behind menus.

Several years ago, before I owned a digital SLR, I was intrigued by the Canon G-series of cameras.  They’re more the size of rangefinder cameras and they have the same aesthetics and similar control layouts.  I thought this would be a great form-factor for a digital camera, but alas, the SLR has once again reigned supreme and has become the defacto pro-level (and ‘prosumer-’ level) camera design.

But, what I’ve found is that I no longer value the diminutive size of the point-and-shoot camera and prefer the control and handling of the larger ‘rangefinder’ style larger cameras.

So it is that I no longer carry around (or even purchase) small point-and-shoot cameras but instead backup my SLR with the larger Canon G-series.

My first was a Canon G7 (several generations past the G3 that originally cought my eye).  I used that camera for several trips and on many adventures before it succumbed to a spot on the image sensor.  With a relatively high repair cost looming, and a newer model (with RAW shooting mode) available, I made the switch to the latest G10 model.

The Canon G10 has not disappointed.  It’s about the same size as the older G7, the battery lasts as long or longer, the controls are even better laid out, and the image quality remains excellent.

The biggest complaint I have is the low-light capabilities of the camera.  Anything above ISO 400 is way too grainy.  Thankfully it has a relatively fast lens and some image stabilization so I can often work around that.  And, when compared to a point-and-shoot, it’s definitely no worse.

So this camera will continue to be my go-to-camera in situations where I don’t want to bring my hulking SLR – quick day trips, weekend jaunts, as a carry everywhere day-to-day or on vacations, and even backcountry trips where I don’t want the extra weight of the SLR.

I finally got around to posting a few images from 2009 onto PicsFromTrips.  I’ve been a bit of a slacker with photos this year – last year was such a big year photographically (lots of trips last year!) that I’m a little bit over-cooked at this point.

But, after a few slow months I’m revving up again.  Initially, my focus is going to be on printing – I haven’t done any printing for a while and I’ve got quite a few that I want to see in the flesh rather than on the screen.  Besides, I’ve got to hone those skills a bit.

For now though, I’ve brought the site up-to-date with many of the latest photos I’ve taken including some from some skiing in Tahoe, a pig-fest in Marin, and some goofy fun with Glo sticks.

Enjoy.

I first saw a demonstration of Microsoft’s photo-merging capabilities a couple of years ago – it’s pretty cool stuff.

CNN has used the latest version of Microsoft’s software (now called Photosynth) to capture ‘the moment’ that President Obama was sworn in as 44.

The controls are still a little clunky – it’s a bit hard to navigate around the scene – but try it out.  It’s definitely worth it.  And after you check out the inauguration, look at some of the other exampmles at the Photosynth site.

After a bit of a delay, I’ve finally gotten around to posting some images from my trip to Germany earlier this year.

In September, just as I accepted an offer for a new job, I took off to Germany for two weeks.  The trip started in Munich where I met up with Erica, a former coworker from my Intuit days.  Erica, Kathleen (Erica’s sister) and I then spent a few days hut-to-hut hiking in the Alps.

After an overnight train to Berlin, I met up with my father and the two of us visited some old friends throughout Germany: Eta in Berlin; Dieter in Bavaria; and Bill in Ludwigshafen.  We had a great time.

This is pretty wild.  When this originally aired I was still at work so I didn’t have the appreciation of seeing it live but if this YouTube clip survives the piracy police then enjoy.

It’s a clip from CNN where the anchor in the studio (in Atlanta, one would assume, though perhaps New York) is talking to a reporter in the field (in Chicago).  The reporter is being projected into the studio as a 3D representation (basically like a holographic image) rather than onto a video monitor.  It allows the anchor to interact more realistically with the reporter.

I guarantee this will take off.  Yes, it’s currently expensive and requires a large setup, so it’s not viable for any significant in-the-field reporting (I mean, why does the reporter need to be ‘in the field’ for this kind of report?  She could just as well be standing in the studio).  But as the technology improves it will be interesting to see how this will be implemented in other forms.

There are many examples of this kind of new technology being adapted for different uses – one of the better ones is the ‘Matrix’ effect (multiple still cameras around the subject all linked and timed to take photos for that cool avoiding bullets in slow-mo look) being used for professional sports – seeing the quarterback’s viewpoint from around the stadium is pretty cool.

I could easily see this hologram effect being used throughout the news media but think about international meetings or protected witnesses in a courtroom.  What about the medical field (think micro-cameras).  The uses of this are pretty interesting to contemplate.