World, distorted!

This is a shot made a few years ago with my compact Canon iXus 400, a small 400-million-pixels digital compact camera, so small, it is in my pocket most of the time, especially while traveling.

This shot was made in a mid spring day in a small town near Shanghai, China, a routined business trip I made to review some of my industrial design work. A Chinese supplier of mine, took me to this Chinese restaurant, along with my assistant and few others, and while setting down, the waiter removed the glasses on the table and place them by the window. While I sat down, I turned to look thru the window for an outdoor view and saw the townhouses image behind the drinking glasses, and I told myself, what a picture, and so I record it.

Everyday in life presented in front of us a rich amount of visual material, awaits our discovery. A compact digital camera, being small, just enough to make shot such as this becomes possible. Should I use a much larger DSLR or even medium format digital camera backs, I could not make this picture, due to the distance between the camera and the glasses - the limitation in optical design for lens to serve larger sensor, also due to the much limited depth of field that would not register enough sharpness, and the corresponding lens needed to reach this result.

A camera is a tool, its use is depend on the photographer, to capture the image such as this that otherwise difficult or not possible to do. This picture was exhibited in Thailand National Gallery, and among one of my most favorite captures.

Shadow works

When there is a light, there is the shadow. Shadow, which often defined as negative, but without it, positive lost its meaning. The balance between light and shadow is a study of many photographers' life time work, at least it is to me.

This picture, shot quite recently, with Canon 1Ds MK3 and EF 85/1.2L, is one of the example. I went on a very high key approach, wanted to blend the very fair skin Caucasian model, Dasha, into the background and to create a sense of motion, I have her jump and swing her head to create the hair movement, to result the picture presented here, a quite subtle approach and somewhat more focus on the dress she is wearing, the subject.

The shadow, which is very subtle, but just enough to present the sense of space, dimension and contrast to the entire presentation of comfortable, soft and light.

Reflection

This is a shot planed ahead of time to want to have the reflection as important element in the photograph. The only problem was that to get the desire reflection, I have to wait for the sun to set to the right angle, and not overly strong to overtaking the main subject: the model + the jewelry. And so you need to wait.

The reflection from the sun higher up will have a rather sharp sparkling, may take away the attention for the jewelry worn by the model; and if too low, will have a smaller reflection and become more distracting, also may cause a little lens flair. Not that I don't like lens flair at all, I just don't want it in this picture, but I could have been wrong anyway. Each photograph is a series of decisions to make it happen and the photographer has to decide it.

I made this picture in Ko Chang, an island situated in Siam Bay, the 2nd largest island in Thailand. Shot with a Sinar Hy6 camera attached with 33-million-pixels eMotion 75LV digital back, mounted with the Schneider AFD 80/2.8. The side light was a Bron-color light thru an umbrella, powered by a battery powered Verso A2.

Detail crop from the 100% image on the eye of the model, Elona.

Size Matters? You make the call!

Digital capture has allow many creative photography becomes less technical demand, easier and cheaper to achieve. What was once required only technical round-shot camera to capture, today, with digital stitch you can achieve the same result, and with careful set up and strong software experience, surpass what was possible before.

The digital capture also enable super large print becomes available at extremely high quality. What was once achievable only with very large camera, the 4X5, the 8X10 and even the much lager ones, can now be surpassed by multiple of stitches of smaller digital camera, and depend on how big the print is needed, the photographer can prepare ahead of time for the production of picture - although, and it is true, some may argue that there is still something, often, require single capture; but what digital presented to us is something, in fact lots of things not even possible before with film. The trade back is, in my perspective, less artistic process, but replaced with a more careful control production.

This picture was taken in Sichuan province, China, right after passed the Danba town, I arrive this spot and presented the view of the grand Tibetan Plateau. Shot with Hasselblad H3D39, with HC 100/2.2 lens, I mount the camera on my Seitz VR Drive, made 5 separate captures to stitch to achieve this final image, using RealViz. I could have use the wide angle lens really, but, I would not have achieve this compressed image of such picture size.

Summer comes closer

This is a recent shot for summer, a beautiful model from Belarus, Dasha, in Wolford swimsuit. Shot with Canon 1Ds Mark 3 camera and EF 50/1.2L lens. I increasingly use the normal lens more often, on either small DSLR or on medium format cameras, in such case, 80mm lens.

Rather than using the common short tele lens for shot like this, I found the normal lens will require the photographer to get closer to model, which works a lot better for more intimate shots.

Morning Sun

I was on a ferry from Surat Thani, a southern province of Thailand, to Samui Island. In the air conditioned cabin on board, the warmth of rising sun caused the condensation on the window, with a Leica M8 on my hand, mounted with my favorite Carl Zeiss Hologon 16/8 - originally designed for the famous Contax G and machined to fit on Leica M mount, I snap this picture at a very close distance. The Hologon faithfully recorded the minute detail of the condensation and the rising run through the window.

Luminous Green

A shot I took awhile ago and was on some of my computer as wallpaper.  I made this picture in the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden in Chiangmai, northern Thailand.  The afternoon sun cast some light thru the open wall just enough to light up the greens surrounding the flowers. Shot with Sony DSC-F828, a fine camera but unfortunately got stolen, but, fortunately survived by some images I have form it.