Cherry Blossoms, National Mall 2010

Yesterday was an unusually cold Spring day.  Despite overcast skies, I made this image from the National Park Service tents along the Tidal Basin.  Facing northeast, I chose a high vantage point to bring more green grass up on the horizon to contrast with the cherry flowers.

Canon G11, ISO 100, 1/100@f8.  38885490N 77036352W

Smithsonian Kite Festival 2010

Canon G11, ISO 100, 1/400@f8.  38.891158N 77.037647W

DBubble Guy, National Mall 2010

Felix Calderon has been making bubbles and entertaining thousands of people all over the globe for over 25 years.  Dozens of kids were swarming around him this past Saturday during the National Kite Festival on the Mall.  There's no charge for watching or popping nor are tips accepted.  He has constructed dozens of automatic bubble machines but prefers this one as it brings him closer to the those who enjoy his fun.  Unlike other high-tech toys, bubbles are fun break.  What's the best thing about bubbles?  Ask Felix.

Canon G11, ISO 100, 1/320@f8.  38.890782N 77.037865W.

2009 Presidential Inauguration

This image reminds me of the overall tone of our last inauguration.  While tens of thousands of people from all over the world flocked to the National Mall to witness the swearing in of Barak Obama, our 44th President, the massive sea of humanity was surprisingly quiet and calm.  No doubt, the early morning sub-zero wind chill had some effect, summed up by the lone security guard on the makeshift stage of the Lincoln Memorial.  Reserved anticipation gave way to gushing euphoric cheers following Obama's speech.

Instead of using Lightroom's vignette tool for this shot, I opted for the more flexible gradient mask, applying four separate gradients on each side of the frame to compensate for the uneven morning light.  The right side needed additional vignetting to burn the additional light.

Canon 20D, ISO 400, 1/800@f8.

B&H Photo and Video

Due to increased traffic to the site, I was solicited to link with B&H. At first, I hesitated to display any ads.  However, I have been ordering from the company for as long as I have been making images… 18 years!  B&H is not the cheapest, but when it comes to customer service and reliability, these guys are first-rate.

If you are ever in NYC - stop by the superstore.  It is truly a feast for a photographer/videographer/musician's eyes.

Tree Stand, Boquete, Panama 2007

Panama conjures beaches, fish and The Canal.  However, near the Costa Rica border, El Volcan and its environs are cool, lush and wooded.  While walking to a hot spring, I came across this stand of trees jutting into a field.  The light weaving through the trunks from the rise in the hill behind it drew my eye in.  Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/100@f9.

Chef Letort, Granja Natalia, Caracas 2007

Granja Natalia is a French treat of an eatery with a gallery of vistas of the Caribbean and rugged green Avila mountainside in Manzanare, Venezuela.  The food is first-rate and the staff even better. GN is a unforgettable afternoon getaway from Caracas headaches.  The wildflower-framed, Eucalyptus-scented grounds are immaculate and outdoor gazebos complement panoramic views. Spend a cool, open-air afternoon with some close friends - GN deserves a visit, regardless of the occasion.  Make reservations early and bring an extra set of kidneys for the 4x4 ride up and down the rutted Avila slopes.  Chef Letort is the lighthearted but dedicated five-star chef and GN proprietor.  Canon 20D, ISO 1600, 1/250@f8.

Cotton Husks, Williamsburg VA 2009

Nikon Coolpix P6000, ISO 64, 1/160@f5

Why I Like the Canon G11

I thought of reviewing this camera but then again with all of the reviews already out there, that would be pointless. Reviews and comments can get pretty nit picky, leaving the prospective buyer with trying to decide if some purple aberrations at 100x magnification matter. For a point-and-shoot camera, most of the super-technical geek stuff is irrelevant.

I like the G11 for two primary reasons. First is the overall image quality, especially up to ISO 800. This makes this particular camera a great backup to an SLR and an all-around do-it-all point-and shoot. Forget about no HD video. You're not going to shoot the next epic thriller on any point-and-shoot on HD and your parents or grandparents aren't going to care if Bobby is jumping out of the screen or not. Great still image quality, image sharpness and RAW capability top my list. In-camera image stabilization is a plus.

The second reason I like this camera is it's feel. It's solid and heavy. The ergonomics are great. All the necessary controls are right there, without needing to go to the menu, especially the exposure compensation wheel on the top left of the body. The wheels are knurled aluminum and detents feel solid. The rangefinder is great - put the G11 on Auto, close the flip-out view screen, and give it to a kid and see what happens. I personally like to get manual exposure and histogram set, close the screen and photograph people - there's more of a connection looking through a viewfinder instead of a video image. Guess it's a feel good factor.

Speaking of the screen, it can be folded away, protected from scratches. Used with a mini tripod, tilt it up to compose a shot and there you have it. No need to make onlookers think your listening for an oncoming train. Still, someone will eventually manhandle it, break it off and write a negative review that it's too cheaply built. It feels solid like the rest of the camera.

There are hordes of G series fans who swear by them. Despite it's hefty price tag, the sharp, low noise image the G11 delivers is exceptional.

Olives, Tuscany 2008

Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/6sec@f14.

Tuscany Sunset, 2008

Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/125@f16.

Fort Canon, Morro de Sao Paulo 2008

The dilapidated remnants of this Portuguese fort witnesses thousands of international tourists to Morro de Sao Paulo every year.  Until recently, there were no efforts to restore the ruins and erosion to the structure's north wall was encroaching the grass in the image foreground.  In October 2009,  the Brazilian Government allocated funds for restoration of various cultural heritage sites nationwide, including Morro. Restoration is expected to begin this year, 2010.  http://www.morrodesaopaulo.com.br/hs/cairu/

Canon 20D, ISO 100, various exposures (HDR) @f22.

Fourth Beach, Morro de Sao Paulo 2008

This image of a deserted Fourth Beach in March 2008 belies the natural beauty of Morro de Sao Paulo island in Brasil and a rare look at the sand ripples untouched by otherwise teeming tourists during high season.  Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/60@f22.

Third Beach, Morro de São Paulo 2008

Informal day laborers shuttle stone tiles, ship-to-shore.  The back-breaking work is still the only viable means to transport building materials to this tourist destination, favored by Brazilian and European vacationers alike.  Canon 20D, ISO 100, 1/200@f22

Jumping Around the Lightroom Develop Module

The right-hand side panel in LR is long and a pain to grab the mouse and scroll up or down for each tool. Instead, memorize (or use a cheat sheet) the shortcut keys for the tools. Each tool is numbered, starting with 1 for the Basic tools and 6 for Vignettes. Use CMD+X (being the number of the toolset) for Mac or CTL+X for Win. Also, remember that the LR Help Menu has a list of the most-used keyboard shortcuts that can be printed for quick reference.

Just One Shot

Today was one of those raw, end-of-winter days that keeps you inside wishing for Spring. I drove out to the Capitol to meet up with my good friend, Craig for some photographing around the monuments.  After I realized I didn't have his correct number, I headed back to the car but stopped to take this handheld HDR of the Capitol's east side;  perhaps because I didn't want to leave empty-handed or maybe it was the way the trees framed the image.  Regardless, it was nice to sit down to some quick post-processing tonight while my wife worked on some illustrations here in the basement.  I almost warmed up the image but it didn't fit the cold mood of the day, so I went for a cool, selenium blue... and no hypertoxic selenium to deal with!

Imagenomic Portraiture, Canon G11

After some mandatory fun in the Middle East, I'm back to resume more frequent posts. Prior to my departure several months ago, I tried a plugin for Adobe Lightroom - Imagenomic Portraiture.  With little tinkering beyond the default settings, all I can say is wow!  Portraiture is not a cheap plugin but if you want faces to look amazing, this is a great tool.  For the average shutterbug who cannot afford the cash for a professional makeup artist, studio and lighting setup, this will set you back a couple hundred and the results are, well, check out the snapshot of my daughter sneeking a scribble in my notebook.  This took about ten minutes of post-processing between LR and Portraiture.

As an aside, this was taken with a Canon G11, ISO 100, 1/40@F4.  I hadn't realized the quality of the images from a 13" MacBook screen until I viewed the images on a 24" calibrated monitor.  Another wow!  A future post will review the G11 in-depth.