CANON 1DX – MAKING THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

Posted in Equipment, France, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, People Photographs, Photographs, Reviews, Travel Photography, Uncategorized2 Comments

Paris has been the first opportunity I have had to shoot with Canon’s new 1DX multi-media powerhouse camera. I had only limited opportunity to test the camera before I departed for Europe because the camera arrived only a couple of days before my flight departed. With all the delays since its announcement in September last year I was having serious doubts whether Canon were going to deliver. I managed some initial tests to ensure there was no immediate problem with the camera and these proved very promising, with excellent results.

After two days in Paris and around 500 frames I can now report that the Canon 1DX has exceeded my expectations for low light and autofocus performance in every respect. One of the real highlights in Paris for anyone interested in history and architecture is its incredibly impressive cathedrals and churches. The sheer scale, grandeur, and majesty of Notre Dame, and others, make them wonderfully impressive subjects for photography. They can be hard to capture in their entirety as there is a fine balance between placing the structure in context and the creation of a mere postcard. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the challenge and I could happily spend many days prowling the streets and cobblestone alleys for new and different angles.

As impressive as the Cathedrals are externally, they are equally awe-inspiring on the inside. Unfortunately, all of them are extremely dark inside and tripod photography is forbidden (as is the use of flash – although, this last ‘law’ seems very poorly enforced) necessitating the use of high ISO photography to ensure sufficient shutter speeds and depth of field. It is not uncommon to have to push the ISO as high as 10,000 or even 25,600 in some cases to obtain 1/40th of a second at F4 in the darker areas.

This photograph was taken inside the Eglise Saint Eustache cathedral with the Canon 1DX and 17mm F4L TSE, handheld at ISO 6,400, 1/60thof a second, F 4.5. I want to emphasize that it was extremely dark inside the cathedral and that the light streaming through the stain glass windows was extremely hot. The dynamic range far exceeds the capabilities of any camera to record; yet the 1DX has managed to produce an excellent exposure without intervention from me. This photograph simply would not have been possible with such low noise with any previous camera I have owned or tested. The image has had only minimal post processing and noise reduction in Adobe Lightroom 4.1. There is virtually no appreciable noise of consequence in the RAW file, at least nothing that is not easily corrected with a small amount of noise reduction (a modest setting of 25 in Lightroom was used in this example to reduce the luminance noise grain – no color noise reduction was required). The results are simply astonishing and I am very much looking forward to the new opportunities created by the amazing capabilities of the 1DX. Although in this example I utilized the 17mm F4L TSE which is a manual focus lens I also shot several frames with the 24mm f1.4L MKII and 35mm F1.4L lenses, and in all cases the 1DX was able to immediately nail focus in near total darkness, center of frame. The era of shooting in the dark has truly arrived.Although street and city photography is not my preferred landscape, I have very much enjoyed my time in the city of romance and rate it as one of the most beautiful and charming cities I have visited.  There is a wavelength and ambience in Paris that I can immediately harmonize with. Its cobblestone streets are steeped in history and charm and this, combined with my love of the café culture, make it a city I could easily call home. I am looking forward to wandering its streets over the next few days before I head for Venice.

Au revoir for now…

Paris, Venice, Iceland and an Arctic Fox…

Posted in France, Iceland, Italy, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Workshops and Expeditions3 Comments

In a few days from now I am heading to Iceland for my 2012 Summer expedition. It has been well over a year since I was last in Iceland and I am very much looking forward to returning to its amazingly varied and ever changing landscape. Before I make my way to Iceland however, I am going to be spending some ‘quality time’ travelling through France and Italy with my better half. We will be spending a week in Paris, where I will be dragged kicking and screaming from landmark to landmark before we make our way (by car) through the French provincial countryside visiting some of the more famous wine regions on our way to the canals of Venice.

Now, I am normally not in the slightest bit interested in cities. I find them generally polluted, overcrowded and unpleasant places to be. I much prefer to be out in nature’s wilderness. However, I need to earn  a few brownie points and spend some time engaged in activities that my significant other finds appealing before I can escape to the wilds of Iceland. C’est la vie. Secretly, I am looking forward to some photography in the French countryside and around the canals of Venice (but don’t tell my wife!).

On arrival in Iceland I am going to spend a couple of days in Reyjkavic where I will meet up with my good friends Daniel, Martyn and Bruce before we make for the Snaefellsnes peninsula; which is an area of Iceland I have not yet visited. After spending a few days in the Snaefellsnes region we had been planning to head to Hornstrandir Nature reserve to photograph arctic foxes in the extreme northwestern part of Iceland (weather permitting). This is true expedition territory as no one lives there permanently  and it is quite easy to end up stranded there for days if the weather turns bad. At this stage the plan is to wait and see what the weather forecast is and to decide at the time if it is worth the risk. Since the region is so remote it is strictly camping only and all supplies must be carried with us. There is a ferry that travels to the area from Isafjordur and again weather permitting we were thinking of spending a day or two out at Latrabjarg which is one of the best places in Iceland to photograph Puffins. At this time of year the parents should be bringing the chicks fish in their beaks which would make for some excellent wildlife opportunities.In terms of equipment I am planning to take almost my entire line-up of cameras and lenses on this trip. With my wife in toe for the first part of the trip I can easily offload some of my gear into her carry on luggage if required. My compliment of cameras and lenses is going to include:

  • Canon EOS 1DX w/ Really Right Stuff mounting plate from a Canon 70-200mm F4L lens (the L bracket is not yet released for this camera)
  • Canon EOS 1DS MK3 w/ Really Right Stuff L Bracket
  • Canon 17mm F4L TSE Lens
  • Canon 24mm F1.4L MKII Lens
  • Canon 35mm F1.4L Lens
  • Canon 50mm F1.2L Lens
  • Canon 85mm F1.2L Lens
  • Canon 90mm F2.8 TSE Lens
  • Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS Lens w/ Really Right Stuff Mounting Plate
  • Canon 300mm F2.8L IS Lens w/ Really Right Stuff Mounting Plate
  • Canon 1.4 Tele-Converter MKII
  • Gitzo GT350 LSV 6X Carbon Fibre Tripod w/ Really Right BH55 Ball Head
  • MacBook Pro 15″ w/ 8 Gig RAM and 256 Gig SSD running Lightroom 4.1 and Photoshop CS6
  • Sufficient CF and SD Cards, Card Readers, Back-Up Hard Drives (2x IOMEGA dual Firewire 800 1TB Hard Drives), My LEE ND grad filter kit, Camera Batteries, Chargers, Lens cleaning equipment etc…
All of the above (excluding the tripod) will be stored in my Gura Gear Kiboko and Gura Gear Chobe camera bags and carried onto planes. I will check my tripod inside my Helly Hanson duffle roller bag. A year or so ago I would also likely have packed my pocket Canon S90 both as a back-up and for snapshots. However, the camera in my iPhone now serves this purpose and saves me a few grams of weight; whilst adding oodles of convenience.

This trip will be the maiden voyage for my new Canon 1DX camera; which Canon promised me on a handshake I would have before I left. Since it literally only arrived yesterday I was getting very nervous that they were actually going to deliver (especially after all the delays). Ideally, it would have been beneficial if the camera was delivered a week or so earlier so that I had an opportunity to at least put a few hundred frames on it under test. As it is I have not had time to do much more than shoot a few frames in the backyard and local park to ensure the camera is operating properly. My initial impressions are very positive (the new autofocus system and high ISO performance are truly phenomenal) and I have high hopes for the Canon 1DX. It has been a long time since it was announced back in September last year and I am now very keen to get out into the field to put it through its paces.

I plan to update my blog as regularly as possible throughout the trip and both Bruce and I will also be writing a blog for Moab paper of our experiences in Iceland. Bruce will be travelling with both Canon and Nikon equipment including a Canon 5DMKII and Nikon D800E with lenses for both, as well as a Leica M9 and a large selection of their very finest glass (including some rare and ‘little’ LEE ND graduated filters made specifically for Leica lenses). It is going to be very interesting to see how the little Leica performs in Iceland’s elements. My friend Martyn is bringing a 5D MK3, a 1DS MK3 and his Sony Nex all of which should add to the melting pot of brands and models on hand to compare and contrast. It should be a lot of fun.

See you in Paris.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD WORKSHOP OCTOBER 12th – 15th 2012 NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION

Posted in Australia, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Workshops and Expeditions2 Comments

I am very excited to announce a brand new photographic workshop to the icons of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria Australia. Perhaps best known for its mighty sea stacks at the iconic 12-Apostles, the Great Ocean Road is one of the worlds leading tourist attractions and is packed with fantastic photographic opportunities. Perhaps nowhere else in the world is there coastline as unique and spectacular as that found along this stretch of Victorian coastline.  Location highlights for this tour include Gibson’s Steps, the Twelve Apostles, London Bridge, Lochard Gorge, and Hopetoun Falls. We will also visit quite a few lesser known locations including a Californian Red Wood forest plantation, the shipwreck coast and Cape Otway lighthouse. If you are interested in improving your photography along the spectacular Great Ocean Road then now is the time to register. This expedition is strictly limited to a maximum of ten participants, plus leaders and places are reserved on a first come, first served basis. A copy of the information, registration and booking form can be downloaded HERE. This workshop is CPD accredited and points are accrued for AIPP members attending this workshop.

Battle of the Big Stoppers – LEE vs. HI-TECH Pro 10 Stop ND Filter Showdown

Posted in Equipment, News and Updates, Photographs, Reviews, Uncategorized15 Comments

The LEE 10 Stop Neutral Density Filter, which is affectionately known as ‘The Big Stopper’, has been a staple part of my filter and photographic kit since it was released by LEE back in 2010. I was fortunate to receive one of the very first production units and have subsequently found ten stops of neutral density extremely useful in the creation of dramatic landscape photographs. The ability to slow shutter speeds down to minutes instead of seconds can really add a lot of drama to fast moving clouds and flowing water. It’s addition to a photograph can often be the difference between the recording of something otherwise banal and the creation of something truly extraordinary.There are a number of different options from which to choose for photographers looking to add ten stops of Neutral Density filtration to their filter kit. As well as the LEE ‘Big Stopper’, there are options available from B+W, Sing Ray, Hoya and Hi-Tech (and there may well be more I am not aware of). Each of these is designed to achieve the same thing – provide ten stops of ‘neutral’ density (emphasis on ‘neutral’).  It turns out however, that at least one of these filters (sample as tested) is anything but ‘neutral’.*

One of the participants on my upcoming expedition to Iceland in a few weeks time recently contacted me and asked if I would mind doing some testing with them of 10 Stop ND filters before we leave. They had been experiencing a severe (and virtually uncorrectable) colour caste with their brand new Hi-Tech Pro and were concerned that the filter may be faulty. Never one to shy away from an invitation to play with camera gear I quickly agreed and we set up a time to test the LEE Big Stopper against the Hi-Tech 10 Stop ND filter in a head to head comparison. We also had a B+W 10 Stop screw in filter for the Leica M9 and took the opportunity to also compare it. For our subject we had to hand a factory car park – crude, but nevertheless convenient. The day was overcast so no shenanigans were required to obtain acceptable exposures.Control – No Filter White Balance as shot: 5350 +4LEE Big Stopper White Balance as shot: 6450 -4HiTech 10 Stop PRO Filter White Balance as shot: 7800 +80

In order to make the comparison fair we used the same camera and lens (my Canon 1DS MK3 21.1 mega pixel camera with a Zeiss 21mm lens on my Gitzo GT3530 LSV tripod with a  RRSBH55 ball head) to test both filters. Although its somewhat irrelevant the photographs were taken with the mirror locked up with 2 second self timer at F5.6. We then proceeded to take three photographs. The first is our control without any filter. The second is with the LEE Big Stopper in place and the third is with the Hi-Tech 10 Stop filter. The results are inarguable and consistently repeatable regardless of the exposure time or aperture. The LEE Big Stopper provides outstanding performance in terms of neutrality as can be seen in a direct comparison with the ‘control’ image. The Hi-Tech on the other hand is nothing short of a complete disaster. It is in fact more ‘blue’ than an equivalent exposure with the LEE Sky Blue Graduated filter and its performance is simply unacceptable. Even on the LCD screen on the back of the camera I could immediately see that there was a major problem with this filter.

In order to ensure that we were not actually seeing things or that something went wrong during our test we repeated the test with both a Leica M9 and Nikon D800E (each with an equivalent lens) with the same results. In both cases we used the same camera and lens for comparison and only ever varied the filter. I suspect that the particular sample we tested may have come from a bad batch and that there may well be others out there with defective copies.  Hi-Tech have subsequently offered to replace the filter (which was actually brand new and purchased less than a month ago).

As a side note, the LEE filter is glass (sometimes referred to as Black Glass or BG) and the Hi-Tech is resin and the procedure for adding neutral density to these surfaces is very different. Resin filters are dipped in a dye bath where as glass filters (according to my understanding) use a glazing process. In the case of the sample Hi-Tech we tested I suspect that something has gone wrong during the dye process giving the filter a blue caste. It is worth noting that LEE’s Graduated Neutral Density filters are also resin (as are Hi-Techs) and effectively exhibit no colour caste.

I also took this opportunity to test the new LEE 3 Stop Pro Glass Neutral Density filter I purchased last week and its performance proved excellent. It is well worth taking the time to test any new piece of photographic equipment before an expedition. Time invested before hand can save many hours of work and frustration down the line. In this case it has saved this participant what would have been many hours of possibly uncorrectable post production work.

* Footnote: In my experience all ten stop filters have some degree of colour caste. The idea however is to be as close to neutral as possible.

RETAIL THERAPY – PHOTOGRAPHER STYLE

Posted in Equipment, News and Updates, Reviews, Uncategorized7 Comments

I admit to being a complete shopaholic when it comes to photographic accessories. I just keep on buying different brands and models of ‘things’ until I finally settle on a product I am completely satisfied with. Online reviews are useful and aid me in making a purchase decision, but it is really my own use and experience in the field that ultimately determines my level of satisfaction with a product.

Being somewhat of a perfectionist, I get frustrated when a product comes up short of my expectations and convince myself that I can do better. This inevitably leads me to my next purchase. Camera bags and cold weather gloves for photography are two accessories that I have continually purchased in the quest for ultimate satisfaction. I finally reached the end of the camera bag road shopping spree when I purchased the Gura Gear Kiboko after my 2010 Iceland expedition. I had finally found the perfect camera bag for my needs. Gura Gear followed this in 2011 with the Chobe which solved my laptop and accessory bag dilemmas in one go. It is quite literally the perfect bag combination and I no longer feel the need to even visit the camera bag section of a photography store.

Kiboko

I feel I am also close to the end of my journey for cold weather photography gloves with the Helly Hanson sailing gloves I discovered late last year. I shot extensively in Antarctica with these gloves and found they provided a high degree of tactile feel for operating camera equipment while supplying sufficient warmth, making them (almost) ideal for my sort of photography. If someone would manufacture this glove in a waterproof (or even water-resistant) version I would be at the end of my search.

Outdoor clothing is part of my photographic accessories since I do the majority of my landscape and nature photography in remote locations and often in inclement weather. I have a cupboard full of inner and outer layer jackets which have been accumulated over a number of years from a wide range of manufacturers. I used to find it very difficult to walk into an outdoor clothing store and not walk out with a new jacket of some description. I believe I can lay the blame for this vice squarely at my father’s feet since I recall in my youth his tendency to purchase jackets on a more than regular basis. I have strong recollections of his cupboard being full of beautiful outdoor jackets and I guess it more than rubbed off on me. However, I think I finally cured myself of the ‘jacket addiction’ when I discovered the 66 North Eldgja mid layer jacket and their Gylmur eVent outer waterproof jacket and pants. This combination works for me – it’s extremely light-weight, breathable and waterproof. I have now worn this clothing from Iceland to Antarctica, Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand across a wide range of weather conditions and it has met my needs across all elements. I no longer feel the need to purchase anything else. (Although I did just order another Eldgja jacket because I like to have one to wear when the other is in the wash, so perhaps the addiction is not quite at an end yet!)

66 North Glymur eVent Jacket and Pants

This brings me to another product that has multiplied in my closet: Photography vests. My first photography vest was a Domke and it served me very well for many years before I finally caught it on one-too- many rural barbwire fences and it met a grizzly, though probably not untimely end. At the time I did not really consider any other options and simply purchased another one. It took me quite a long time to realize that I was never truly happy with the Domke. For starters, it’s made from cotton, which means when it gets wet (and it isn’t waterproof) it gets heavy (and it takes a long time to dry). Secondly, large lenses placed in the front pockets tend to dangle low and bang around the knees the moment I crouch down. And lastly, the Domke really isn’t very practical for travelling on and off airplanes as it draws too much attention to itself – it doesn’t actually scream ‘photographer – I’m carrying an overweight camera bag!’, but it certainly speaks in a loud voice and in today’s age of airport clamp-downs it is less than ideal.

Domke

In the search for a replacement for my Domke, last year I purchased an Xtrahand photo vest (somewhat in frustration) as I could not find anything else on the market that I thought would be suitable for field work. To be clear, I never had any intention of using this vest for anything but remote wilderness work. It is just too ‘tactical’ for any public appearance and it most definitely screams at the top of its lungs: ‘I’m a photographer with huge amounts of heavy equipment and I don’t mind looking like Rambo!‘ The Xtrahand vest is the ideal solution for the photographer walking into the wilderness who does not wish to carry a camera bag. It holds ridiculous amounts of photography equipment (and I do mean ridiculous) and manages to spread the load palatably on arduous hikes. It meets its design criteria perfectly. What I did not know at the time was that I prefer to carry my Kiboko camera bag rather than wear the vest. It’s just a personal preference based on my habit of dropping my backpack on the spur of the moment. Whilst the vest is easily removed, it was somewhat tiresome to put it back on and difficult to extract gear from when it was on the ground. I also prefer the layout of the Kiboko for my equipment.

XtraHand Photo Vest

Thus, the photo vest saga turned out to be one of those examples where I did not realize my needs until I had tried something different. After some months with the Xtrahand vest I became aware that it simply wasn’t for me and it has gathered dust alongside a multitude of camera bags and my Domke vest since. I am going to be clearing house over the coming weeks and many of these items will find their way to eBay where I hope they will meet someone else’s needs.

With my trip to Paris, Venice and Iceland now only a couple of weeks away, I visited my local photography store a few days ago to grab a coupe of last minute items, including yet another LEE Neutral Density filter (more on filters in another blog post, but I clearly also have some sort of addiction to purchasing filters) and other various small, but necessary accessories. As I am prone to do, I wandered the store (dangerous decision for a shopaholic like me) whilst the salesperson checked the items and totaled the bill.  Wandering up and down the aisles, my eyes were drawn to a vest made by Italian tripod company Manfrotto that I had read about over a year ago – The Pro Photo Vest. At the time, I remember reading that it had been designed specifically by photographers in conjunction with an Italian design company in Milan – it was stylish, understated (in photography vest terms) yet very practical looking – and I was told at the time that they were probably a good six months away from production and likely longer than that before they reached Australia. I subsequently put them out of my mind and had completely forgotten about them.

Manfrotto Pro Photo

Fifteen minutes later, after trying one on and getting my head around the typical Manfrotto price tag, I purchased one. What got me over the line was exactly what I recalled about the vest when I read about it more than a year ago – stylish, understated, and practical (incidentally those are three characteristics that my Gura Gear camera bags and 66 North clothing all have in common). Much like my beloved 66 North Eldgja jacket, it ‘just felt right’ the moment I slipped it on. I won’t wax lyrical about it here as clothing is a very personal item and really needs to be tried on to appreciate. Suffice to say, at this point I am quite excited with this new vest and very keen to test it out on my coming trip. There was never a question of the Xtrahand vest travelling to Paris, Italy and Iceland with me since the Gendarmes would be very quick to swoop on anyone sporting such a military style vest. I was also loathing the thought of taking the venerable Domke with me (yet again) and the thought of it getting wet in Iceland was giving me the shivers.   Now with the Manfrotto vest, I feel I have this problem licked and I am keen to see if this new accessory meets my expectations and needs. Given that it ticks my three boxes of stylish, understated, and practical, I have high hopes that it will.

Or, perhaps this will turn into yet another step in a jacket and vest addiction that will never go away!