Some of you may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet lately. This has been because a fellow list-member and I have been working hard atlaunching a new business venture. One aspect of this venture has been kept extremely quiet until now because of the E-3 information embargo and the dreaded NDA. Let's just say that there is a reason why I haven't gotten too excited about the D3. :) We've been diligently working on this new business launch for the past three months and the public notification has been timed to coincide withthe E-3 introduction.

The beginning fruit of this effort is now publicly available in a major writeup on the E-3's Development. This article includes information not found anywhere else. There are a number of other articles available for your reading too. In the spirit of full-disclosure, this site is a for-profit business venture with multiple opportunistic aspects to it.

Again, the major article of interest is the headline "E-3 Development Story". This is part 1 of a multi-part article and is a glimps intothe behind-the-scenes world of camera development.

http://www.zone-10.com

Ken Norton

The $1.00 digital camera

On a recent trip I shot film and digital side-by-side for the exact same shots. In most cases, the digital was fine, but the question is: How expensive of a film do you need to get?

The answer is rather suprising. You don't need to buy Velvia. You don't even need Portra or Provia. The answer is as close as the local Wal-Mart. Fujicolor ISO-100 speed print film. I even found it for the bargain price of $2.50 for four 24-exposure rolls. Processing costs me $1.76 per roll.

How does it compare to Digital? Well look here:

Obviously, these are heavily reduced images. There is little need to look at 100% crops because there is a fixation on the known differences. What I am showing here, is how a film image--even from the least expensive film option on the market is not only a good match to a very good digital sensor, but is arguably better in colors.

When scanned properly and attempts are made to "normalize" the images to typical use, it is clear that film is still viable today.

Panoramas - Shift Lens Style

Panoramic images have become a "norm" these days. With the ease of photomerging and the seemingly unlimited shooting potential of digital cameras, panoramics have become a "dime-a-dozen" commodity. However, there are some scenes that just demand to be presented in a panoramic style regardless of our own personal bias for or against it.

The common method of shooting a panoramic image is to take multiple pictures while rotating the camera slightly between each frame. We then merge these images together using the overlapping areas to blend, combine or otherwise slice and dice to get the seams to disappear. This is usually pretty easy, but most lenses have enough distortion to them (especially zooms) that the task can either be difficult or the image is compromised. In the above photograph (click on it to see a larger version), an additional issue is the fact that the shooting position is substantially below that of the subject, which would cause tremendous "leaning" inward of the mountains and the trees. Panoramics RARELY work well when the camera isn't perfectly level.

To get around these issues, I used the Olympus Zuiko 35mm Shift Lens for both perspective control AND for generating the multiple images. A rule-of-thumb regarding perspective control lenses is that when the film (sensor) plane and the object are parallel to each other, there will be no visible vertical convergence. With a shifting lens, we are able to slide the lens upward to raise the framing of the image to include our subject.

To create this panoramic, I shot FIVE images with the lens shifted far-left, mid-left, center, mid-right and far-right. Even though you can JUST get by with three images, I prefer five since it gives me much greater latitude in blending and merging options. As per usual with panoramics, you'll need to use manual-exposure mode to keep things matched up. Even at that, there will be a very slight exposure variance between exposures which are easy to correct.

I used Adobe Photoshop Elements to create the photomerge (however, the raw conversion on the files were performed in RawShooter Essentials) and I kept the merged elements in individual layers. If Photoshop hasn't already done so, make sure the CENTER image is on top, with the far-left and far-right images on the bottom. To match the exact exposure of each layer, click on underlying layer and open the Brightness/Contrast Dialog Box. This box opens with the brightness field active. just press the keyboard's up/down arrow buttons until the "line" between the layers disappear. Close and go to the next underlying layer (farther to the side) to repeat the process. ALWAYS work center out.

Once you have all of the layers matched up it is time to adjust the blend point. To make sure the layers are properly positioned, change the upper layer (ie. center image) to 50% visibility and then move the lower layer till the images line up correctly. Change the visibility back to 100%. Repeat for each underlying layer.

Adjusting the blend point is easier with a pen-tablet, like a Wacom. Regardless, you will use the eraser tool with a wide fuzzy penumbra. Click on the upper layer to edit it. Start erasing the edges of this layer to softly reveal the underlying layer. Objects can be worked around--there is no reason to work in a straight up/down line. Just artistly blend and reveal. Repeat for each overlapping layer, ALWAYS working from center out.

Save often. Now comes the critical point. Once you have all of the layers positioned and blended correctly, you can flatten the image. Save this flattened image as a NEW file. DO NOT overwrite your project--you might want to revisit it. This new file can now be sharpened, color adjusted and cropped to eliminate the rough edges.

The profile portrait of Mt. Rushmore's George Washington is an example of this editing method as well as use of the 35/shift lens on the Olympus E-1. By raising up the lens I was able to keep convergence from occuring and by using the shift lens for multiple parallel shots, this panoramic was able to be created.

Badlands Big Dipper

I just got back from a mini vacation with the family to South Dakota's Badlands. The above picture was taken our first night while camping in the Sage Creek Campground in the western end of the park. This was just over an hour after sunset and the sky was absolutely clear.

The photo was taken with the E-1 and 14-54 zoom lens. Conversion performed in RawShooter Essentials.

4/3 - The Dead-End System

Several years ago I was a loyal Olympus OM user that felt horribly betrayed by the discontinuance of the OM line. I had purchased a Minolta A1 as a "bridge camera" until price/performance of DSLRs became reasonable. (I still use my A1 for almost 50% of my shots).
Well, it came time to buy a DSLR. I loved the Minolta A1 as well as the Maxxim D7. Well, the D7D came out and I was all set to get it. But ended up getting a bargain-priced Olympus E-1 with 14-54. The 4/3 format was OBVIOUSLY a "dead-end", but the reliability of the camera was already becoming legendary. Minolta became Konica-Minolta and now Sony. If anything, the KM(S) direction was the "dead-end".

Is the 4/3 system a "dead-end"? Maybe, but in the meantime there are a slew of outstanding lenses available and with an OM adaptor, you can use some of the most legendary lenses ever made. I use about a half-dozen all the time, including the excellent Tokina AT-X 100-300/4 zoom which I picked up for around $150.

If 4/3 becomes a "dead-end", you can always sell it and move to something else. Meanwhile, with this "dead-end" system I am taking pictures, like this one, that have HUGE dynamic range requirements with great success.

Or like this one taken with a 25-year-old Zuiko 200/4:

Or this one which is an extremely high-contrast scene, taken with the E-1 with 14-54 zoom:

Meanwhile, giving me compatibility with the old lenses which are still used on film cameras (OM bodies) to produce images like this one (35/shift lens):

If it is a dead-end system, well, I guess we're all "terminal" anyway.

Curbing it - Living large with the OM-1

A guilty pleasure is what it really is--being able to get back to your roots and shoot with a manual camera, B&W film and a lowly 50mm lens. The Olympus Odyssey Camera was the camera of choice for this outing. Here, the subject is the shape of the bricks in this sidewalk as it meets the curving curb.

For some strange reason, I worried far less about exposure with the OM-1 than I do with my digital wonderbricks. You just keep that ol' needle somewhere between the brackets and just shoot. No chimping necessary to verify that the evaluative metering system has thought the same way you intended it to think. With the OM-1, it's all about the subject, with a modern camera, it's all about the process. I know, Moose will crucify me on this. ;)

The OM-1 was a fun camera to shoot. It just feels like getting into a classic sports car and letting the wind blow your hair. No fancy stereo, no neon ground-effects lights. Just four tires, an engine and the whine of a transmission.

B&W with the Retina 1A

This photograph was taken with an old Kodak Retina 1A on Ilford XP2 film. (click on the image to see a larger version). Image was scanned on a Nikon Coolscan V-ED and downsized in Photoshop Elements.

Throughout the roll of film, there is good shadow detail as well as excellent highlight range. The Ilford film has such outstanding dynamic range and even when overexposed by two stops is still fully usable. I was pleased with the Retina 1A, but encountered a halation issue beyond the edge of some of the frames which may be caused by the film pressure plate not holding the film securely against the mask.

How sharp is the lens? Very. The ultimate sharpness of the lens was not achievable due to defraction limitations. Most of the images had to be taken at F11 and overexposed because of the ISO 400 speed of the film and that the images were taken in bright midday sun. But of the F8 images, the sharpness is exceptiona.

Old cameras, like the Retina 1A, are very low cost, yet of high quality. Film is inexpensive and film scanners easily digitize the images. It's liberating to be able to shoot with a camera that has no metering system of any form.

Old-time pleasure

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting a couple rolls of XP2 in a beautiful OM-1 and a Kodak Retina 1A.To make matters even more simple, I used, for the very first time, a Zuiko 50/1.8. I used to own a 50/1.4 and currently have a 50/3.5, but I never used a 50/1.8 before. Yes, it's an oldie--silvernosed, low serial-number.

The sky was dynamic and I was shooting in a small town which time has passed by. On the Olympus, I did use a polarizer combined with a Red #25 to give the scenes a signature look. The Retina was a riot to shoot with. Exposures were easy to come up with--Sunny 16 -1 stop.

I'll be developing the film today and will be scanning a few shots over the next couple of days.What is interesting is how different I shoot when it's film vs digital. I hate to admit this, but I think I'm a far better photographer with film than digital.

Rescue the Boring

Recently I spent an evening photographing the Wittenberg Grange Hall north of Newton, Iowa. The above photograph was taken with the Olympus E-1 and processed straight with no modification in RawShooter. (click on image to see a larger version).

Unfortunately, the image doesn't do anything for me. The dynamic range was very extreme and attempts to compress it would probably result in a muddy image. I was playing around with the highlight contrast and fill light adjustment when I saw something unique happening. Ah, time to have a little fun.


One thing that suprised me was the extensive amount of detail hidden in the shadows. The detail in the weatherboarding is there and even the bricks are visible. To achieve this image, I moved the Fill Light to +100, Highlight Contrast to -100, Saturation to +80, Exposure Compensation to +.70, Shadow Contrast to +30, and some minor adjustments to the white-balance and tint.

This isn't a perfect image, but it does illustrate what you can do with an editor to breathe new life into an image destined to be deleted.

Sunrise along the Lake Superior shoreline

Porcupine Mountains State Park provides some amazingly diversified shorelines. The above photo (click on it to see a larger version) was taken about a kilometer west of Union Campground just prior to sunrise. The glowing sky eluminated the storm debris which was washed up all the way to the forest.

The photo was taken with the rising sun to my back. Camera setup was the Olympus OM-4, Zuiko 35/shift lens and tripod. I scanned the Kodak T400CN chromogenic film with the Nikon Coolscan V-ED with Vuescan version 8.4.29.

Where silver meets pixels

This photograph was taken along the Lake Superior shoreline at Porcupine State Park in Michigan. I used an OM-4 with the Zuiko 24/2.8

Film used for this picture is Kodak T400CN which is a chromogenic film. This film has been very difficult to use in the darkroom, but it scans exceptionally well. I scanned this with the latest version of Vuescan (8.4.29) on the Nikon Coolscan V-ED. The only editing was a slight amount of contrast enhancement, resizing and sharpening. (click on the image to see a larger version).

Exposure was determined using Multi-Spot Metering in Manual mode. I spot metered several spots in the sky as well as shadow locations. To preserve DOF, I first set my aperture to provide desired image sharpness and adjusted shutter-speed last. In the OM-4 viewfinder, there are marks in the exposure scale indicating +2 and -2 stops. I adjusted the shutter-speed to keep all the dots within these marks. If the exposure dots extend beyond the 4-stop range, it is necessary to determine which is more important to preserve--shadows or highlights. As highlights were most important in this case, with the sky and the birch bark, I would have made sure the dots didn't extend beyond the +2 mark.

T400CN does have an extensive toe and shoulder, which really gives us about 11-stops of usable dynamic range, so it isn't overly necessary to worry about over or under-exposing the film. But the scanning process is dynamic-range limited.

Regardess, the digitization process of film gives us a greater usable dynamic range, with a real toe and shoulder than a digital camera.

Vista and NVidia Dual Monitor Issues

We just got a brand new Toshiba laptop with the NVidia GeForce Go 7300 video card. The problem is that there is a major driver incompatibility between Microsoft Vista and this card. The system does not appear to support dual-monitors. This is a major problem since this computer is for use in displaying SongShow Plus.

When plugging in the external monitor or projector, the laptop would immediately output the screen to the external monitor and disable the laptop screen. No setting changes would bring it back and obviously screen spanning was not possible.

In the sytem's "Task Scheduler" there is a process called "TMM" located under the MobilePC category. This needs to be disabled. Once disabled the system will refrain from forcing a switch to the external monitor.

With TMM disabled, all of the multi-monitor features now function, albiet rather questionably. Vista is not an operating system quite ready for prime-time. I'm looking forward to updates to both Vista and the NVidia card.

OM-Series Viewfinder Diopter - The Minolta Option

The OM-4 and OM-3 lines of Olympus cameras have a built-in adjustable diopter for the viewfinder. For those of us who are a touch nearsighted, this is a fantastic feature. However, the older Olympus cameras don't have this feature. Optional diopters are available, however, they are as rare as hen's teeth.

Minolta made a set of rectangle-shape diopters which fit in the OM viewfinder. For example, here is one listed on that great auction site, 120133739594, identical to ones I use in my OM bodies.

You will want to use a touch of adhesive to hold it in place. Do not use SuperGlue, because the glue will damage the anti-reflective coating on the viewfinder elements. I've found that hot-glue works pretty well, without damaging anything.


This OM-2S looks a little rough, and my diopter a bit beat up, but this has been my workhorse camera for the past 20 years. I've reglued that thing more times that I can remember.

Wedding Proof Books and mixed formats

After each wedding I tend to take a few days before editing the pictures down. This way I have a chance to detach from the event and get a more balanced viewpoint of the images. I've tended to operate in this manner because emotional attachment precludes effective editing.

The bulk of the images for this wedding were taken with the Olympus E-1, but I also used the Minolta A1 and Olympus OM-2S for some shots. The pre-ceremony shots were all taken with the Minolta and OM-2S, while the E-1 was used almost exclusively for the ceremony with several OM-2S shots backing things up. Film choice was Portra 160NC. Had I realized how dark the evening in the forest was going to be, I would have loaded Portra 400NC instead. I mounted the 24/2.8 lens on the camera and zone focused it.

I recall the day when my OM-2S was considered "quiet". Compared to my E-1, the thing sounds like a tree falling. It's amazing how our expectations have changed. Yet, there is a simple pleasure in shooting with a camera that is so responsive and transparent to the image-making process.

As it turned out, there were only two film images which were used in the proof book, however, one of them made it to the cover! The 24/2.8 lens gave me a perspective that my 14-54 DZ on the E-1 couldn't. This points out, again, the need for a wide-angle zoom for the E-1.

The biggest issue that I battled with this wedding was the exposures. The background was so bright that I consistently underexposed the pictures. For the film images, this proved disastrous, but for the E-1 images, I was able to correct it pretty well in RawShooter during conversion. As the E-1 was shot at ISO 400, noise did come up some, but in the final prints it will still be fine. ISO 400 images from the E-1 are not too different than scanned Portra 160 films.

A couple of the silhouette shots converted to B&W very nicely. When using RawShooter for conversion, I desaturated the images, adjusted the highlight, shadow contrast and exposure sliders until it was "close" and then made wild swings to the white-balance settings until the skin-tones landed in the right "zone". For noise-removal, I used RawShooter's "Pattern Noise Reduction" turned all the way up. The resulting image is almost exactly like 35mm Tri-X. This, however, is with the E-1. The Minolta A1 requires similar, but slightly different tweeks--mostly with the inclusion of some "Color-Noise Reduction" and a touch of "Fill Light". The Minolta's "look" is more like Tmax than Tri-X in the skin tones.

Proof book assembly and ordering was totally performed in Miller's proofing ordering software. Total time for upload over my DSL connection was about 30 minutes. It took me three passes to narrow down the images for inclusion, about 20 minutes to batch process the images to JPEGs, a half hour to scan the Portra film as I only scanned the "keepers" and about 40 minutes to build the proof book.

Other than obvious exposure/contrast correction and WB adjustments, I leave all the color-correction to Miller's Lab. They do an excellent job and are far faster than I am.

The only adjustment I'm going to make for the next mixed-format wedding is the 100% conversion to Portra 160VC and Portra 400VC films. By the time I correct the E-1 images to the "look" I like, they are much closer to the VC films.

Weekend that was

Some weekends tend to be busy, others are insanely busy. Saturday started out staining the deck and ended up shooting a lovely outdoor wedding along a lakeshore. Sunday afternoon involved a portrait session and interior shoot.

For the wedding, I used mixed formats, shooting both digital and film. The bride was most appreciative of that since she has a definite bias towards film. Some people appreciate grain, I guess. :)

This week's photography activities will include sending in several big reprint orders, a proof-book order and the images which will be submitted to the state fair. I'm just glad that I don't have to print them myself--I'd never have a life.

The majority of the wedding pictures were taken with the E-1 with 14-54, but I did shoot duplicates of critical shots with Portra 160NC in the OM-2S, and also used the 200/4 and Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4. The above picture was taken with the Tokina.

Full-Frame Delayed Digital Capture

As much as I am a fan of the Olympus 4/3 system, there are times when the cropped-sensor is bothersome. Wide-angle shots, shift-lenses, bokeh and even pixel-density are issues. Of course, there are a few of us fume-breathers that maintain B&W darkrooms.

My solution is to utilize my legacy equipment and utilize the latest technologies and techniques in making it viable in today's workflow. The two cameras pictured here, the Olympus IS-3 and the OM-2S have been in my stable for a long time. The OM-2S was my first SLR which I purchased in 1986 and the IS-3 was purchased to replace a stolen IS-1 in the late '90s.

For years I primarily shot Fujichrome Velvia and Provia while using the Kodak professional print films for portraiture and wedding work. When Portra came out, I immediately adopted it and found 160NC and 400NC to my liking. Prior to the digital workflow, the VC films were too contrasty and saturated and I'd lose too much shadow and highlight detail in the proof prints. Kodak, however, has now revised the Portra films to scan better and work better in a digital workflow.

I have tested the new Portra films, and I believe what Kodak has promised, Kodak had delivered. The film is supurb. The NC films are very close to the color and tonality of my E-1 using Saturation CS2. The VC films are closer to CS3.

I scan the film using a Nikon Coolscan V-ED. If I shot primarily film, I would definitely invest in the 5000 with the roll-film adaptor. As it is, I can scan in strips of five and the Nikon scanning software is excellent and simplifies the workflow tremendously. It is no problem, whatsoever, to scan the negs straight to JPEGs that fit in with images digital camera images converted from RAW files.

I call this entire process "Delayed Digital Capture". The end result is still a digital image file, it's just that the file isn't created at the moment of exposure. The results speak for themselves. Instead of investing in a brand-new Full-Frame Digital camera from Canon and needing to reinvest in new lenses, I am able to slightly increase my per-shot incremental costs but as these photographs are almost always taken in conjunction with my regular digital-camera images, the wastage is low. Digital cameras are preferred most of the time, but for a certain percentage of my work, film has advantages.

I will continue this hybrid approach for a while yet. Both of my film cameras have advantages over any digital camera system and they still work well. Oh, and they have saved me untold thousands of dollars for capabilities that I rarely need.

Horrid work schedule

My apologies for the lack of content today. I'm in the midst of testing equipment for work. Lot's of interesting and fun stuff, but also on a very compressed deadline. I will write a post as soon as I can, probably yet today or tonight.

Choosing to learn

I was asked "what's the deal with all the Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 images? What about the rest of your kit?" Good question. There are several reasons:

1. It's a new lens to me. With anything new, there is going to be a bit of an infatuation with it. Isn't this normal behavior?

2. I'm struggling with the lens. It isn't quite fitting me right. What I am doing is forcing myself to use a tool until I'm either totally satisfied that it was a bum purchase or I've become adequately skilled in the usage of it.

3. I'm able to take pictures using the longer focal lengths that I wasn't able to before. There's been a lot of pent-up demand.

4. I haven't bothered telling you about the hundreds of other pictures taken with the 14-54 zoom as part of normal usage.

This reminds me of the story about the sea captain and his first-officer. The first-officer was an excellent seaman and took his job seriously. Upon return to home port he was going to be promoted to captain. However, one night he partied a little too hard and the next morning was still a bit off. The captain wrote in the log "First-officer drunk today." The first-officer pleaded with him to not do that as it would ruin his career. The captain responded "It's the truth, isn't it?" Several days later, the first-officer wrote in the log "Captain sober today."

Ribbit

My nine-year-old had a special photographic project to do for an upcoming event. This afforded us the opportunity to spend quality time together with the cameras. Since her project had a water theme, we sought out local ponds and streams.

She was using the Minolta A1 and I had the Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 mounted on the Olympus E-1. The scene around the pond was pretty good and she was taking some excellent photos. It is an incredible feeling to see your child excel and take an interest in something that means so much to yourself. We had a wonderful time. As we were walking along the edge of the water we heard a splash and looking down saw this frog. For the next ten minutes we photographed it getting closer and closer. Some of her shots were getting me a little embarrassed as she was doing such an excellent job.

I figured out what was going on--she was using the live-view displayof the A1 and was able to get right down to the water level. This was my clue--I was shooting from too high up.

Extending the Tokina all the way out to 300mm, I focused it as close as it would go. This picture resulted. (as usual, clicking on the image opens up a larger version). This is a good justification for the Olympus E-330. Live view with an articulating viewfinder would make these low-level shots much easier than sticking your ear in the mud.

Extreme Telephoto Flower Pictures

When we think of nature and flower pictures, "Macro" comes to mind. How close can we get to the subject? How BIG in the viewfinder can we make it? For that we invest in macro lenses, extension tubes and all sorts of other paraphenalia. However, there is another way.

These pictures were taken with the Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 zoom mounted on the Olympus E-1. For those not familiar with the E-system, it is a reduced frame system with the imaging sensor about 1/2 the size of a 35mm film camera. This means that the image is essentially "magnified" 2X over the equivelent focal length in our 35mm film cameras. The 100-300 zoom now becomes the equivelent of a 200-600 F4 zoom.



The top picture is of a young maple tree. During RAW conversion in RawShooter Essentials 2006, I altered the white-balance to emphasise the greans and turned the saturation to zero. The shadow and highlight contrasts were adjusted to achieve the tonal density curve I wanted. The focal length was set to around 250mm.

The second image is of a flowering bush that had this branch sticking through the railing slats of a foot-bridge. Focal length was all the way out to 300mm.



This final image is with the lens focused down all the way to the minimum focus-distance and at 300mm.

An extreme telephoto is usually not the typical tool used for photographing flowers, but it is useful some of the time.

The Disappointment of the "New Shiny"

I'll admit that I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that "if only I had a new xxxxx" I could be a better photographer. We all probably do. This week's adventure was using the newly acquired Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 zoom lens on the E-1 to photograph auto racing.

Before I go any further, let me just say this: This lens fills a gap in my coverage and has been much needed for a long time. The price of acquisition was low enough to not be an issue and I consider it a bargain at twice the cost. It has tremendous strengths, as well as a few weeknesses.
In auto racing, the typical problem facing most people is getting close enough to the action. Without being able to get trackside access the need for long lenses is desirable. However, in my case, I was able to get trackside access. This presents a couple of problems. One is being able to adjust focal lengths quickly and being able to handhold the camera.

My lenses I've been using have been the 14-54 DZ as well as a couple of old Zuikos, the 100/2.8 and the 200/4. Both of these old lenses are very good performers wide-open, contrasty and have lovely bokeh. They are also compact and lightweight. This last characteristic is probably the most useful feature.

I found it difficult to hold the Tokina steady. It just seemed a bit awkward to hold and get sharp images with. I know the lens WILL perform fine, the tests prove that, but getting it to perform is a function of how it is used. For the entire weekend I got only a handful of images that I'm truely satisfied with in terms of sharpness. And the bulk of those images were taken between 100 and 200mm. In comparison, the Zuikos yielded vast quantities of sharp images. The picture included with this post is one of the sharp ones. (Taken at 300mm, F5.6, handheld at night--maybe I'm expecting too much?)

On Saturday I mentioned to another photographer how I was struggling with the new lens and that I was tempted to come back on Sunday with my old ones. He discouraged me from doing so because what I most likely was suffering from was just getting used to the new lens. He was probably right and I did leave the old lenses home.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do the next race event. I'm tempted to bring my old lenses along just-in-case, but in the meantime, I probably should go photograph passing cars on the interstate to practice more.

At least the AT-X satisfies the "glass-envy" situation in the media center when the biggest lens I had was smaller than the smallest one they had.

Iowa Speedway, Part Three

This is the last installment from the Iowa Speedway weekend. The final race, pictured here, is of the NASCAR East and West championship series. The first picture is for Walt--37 was packing.

More passing action to the entrance of Turn Three. These pictures were taken with the E-1 and 14-54 Zoom.

Photographing from Turn Three. I wasn't very pleased with the tires sitting there and didn't like my options as far as "escape path" was concerned. A few minutes after this photograph was taken, a safety crew came by and shoo'd us out of the tires. Duh. Worse part is that any mass multicar accident on the backstretch would result in an impact right into that concrete barrier.

The catch-fence fully circles the track and there are several cutouts for photographers. Two cutouts are for television cameras and are quite long, but occupied by that huge lens pictured in the previous post. The rest of the cutouts have these nifty drop gates. They're just a touch small and you have to straddle the steel support braces for the SAFER barrier. When a car impacts the wall you feel it. A high-speed impact will move the barrier a foot or so. Those are styrofoam blocks between the steel wall and the supports.

This cutout was on the exit of Turn Four. The previous dayI got a few shots from here, but the debris was pelting me pretty bad because the cars were running a lower line and the tire bits had more of a chance to get up in the air. Sunday's race, they were usually right up against the wall (and hitting it too), so the debris blew a little bit differently. Still, my face was speckled. All shots here were taken while wearing safety sunglasses. The below shot was the final pass for the lead. Kevin Harvick (white car) and Joey Logano were dualing the entire race.

Oops. You can go two-wide and three-wide in the corners, but four-wide means that something ugly is going to happen.

Race winner, Joey Logano doing a Polish Victory Lap.

It was a fun and productive weekend. I got to try out the new Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 lens. Overall, it didn't do bad (as you can see in the above picture), but the number of "keepers" from it are limited. Most of the problem is due to the length and weight of the lens makes it harder to hold steady, but the push-pull zooming action means that you are constantly fighting focus. Most successful pictures from the weekend were taken with the 14-54.

When shooting with the 14-54, I used AF-C. Since the battery-grip was installed, the tracking/focus speed was spot-on. Rarely did the camera ever have a problem with focusing. Even when shooting from turn one, where there was a barrier between me and the action right up to where I would take the picture, the lens would snap into perfect focus the moment the panning motion cleared the barrier.

Iowa Speedway Action, Part Two

First of all, I want this lens. Do you think I can get an adaptor for it to fit my E-1?

The racing action was tight and aggressive. I started out at the outlet end of pit road where the next several images were taken.

Yes, this was the beginning of a serious wipeout. The yellow car dove in underneath the black car and couldn't make it stick. Around it went and a hard impact to the back end. He hit the wall at the apex of the turn--right where there is a cutout in the fence for photographers. I was out there earlier in the day and didn't quite feel comfortable in that spot. I think I've played my NASCAR racing games too much to want to hang out in some places.

SPAM!

Now for some racing action at the exit of Turn 4.

As the night progressed, I moseyed up to the spotter stand. I really can't say that I had many "keepers" up there.

The ASA race ran in three 50-lap segments. In-between the ASA segments they ran the truck race in two 25-lap segments. Excellent racing and the winner won by about six-inches. Yes, that brown truck is TowMater.

Now, for some sleep...

Iowa Speedway Action Part 1

I've survived the first set of practices and exclusively shot with the Tokina 100-300. It is a bit of a challenge to get used to a new lens when it's of this size and shape. Small wideangles are much easier to get to grips with--especially when chasing vehicles going 180 MPH.

I'm shooting RAW+JPG (1024x768 1:8) and uploading the JPEGS to this blog without any further editing--these are straight out of the camera.

Some of the best shots are through the cutouts in the fence on the turns.

A little bit of experimentation with the zoom function of the lens.

Weekend at the Races

Saturday and Sunday I will be out at the Iowa Speedway photographing the racing action there. The ASA Late Model Series and USST (United States Super Trucks) will hold races Saturday while Sunday is the NASCAR Grand National Featherlite Series race.

I will be testing a wireless communications network so I'll be photographing and posting updates to this blog and my on-line gallery during select times during the race weekend. I do have media credentials for full access. Please check back here during the weekend for updates from the speedway itself.

Primary camera system for the weekend is the brand new Canon 1d Mark III with a Nikon D2X and D2Hs as backups.

Not.

I'll be using the Olympus E-1 with my newly acquired Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 lens. It's not only a good setup, but it's completely paid for!

Ken

The Making of an Image - Leaf and Stream

"Leaf and Stream" is a photograph that I took several years ago visiting Snowdonia National Park in Wales. I was on a business trip to Birmingham and after the conference loaded my stuff up into the rental car and zipped over to the mountains. Snowdonia was on my shortlist of places to visit since seeing the terrain from a flight to Dublin.

A small river flows next to A470 and this photo was taken near Ganllwyd. As it was after sunset speed of operation was vital. At first I was photographing the riverscape with a wideange when this leaf was spotted sitting on the moss-covered rock. I mounted the Zuiko 100/2.8 to the Olympus OM-2S and placed the camera in Auto-exposure mode. The exposure is approximately 30 seconds long and the aperture probably around F8.

One hazard in making a time-exposure picture of flowing water is getting a loss of texture. The water, in this case, was full of bubbles so it created a nice movement to the image.

The Fujichrome Provia was scanned using the Nikon Coolscan V-ED and VueScan software. Cropping, spotting and tonal adjustments were performed in Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.

Delamination

I got a nice suprise Saturday when the Post Office delivered a package containing the Tokina AT-X 100-300 F4 zoom. It wasn't expected until Monday. I definitely wasn't complaining, though. Within minutes I gathered up my daughters and the cameras and we headed out to the prairie where there were some bison (buffalo) roaming about.

All of the bison were shedding fur, but a couple of them had that distinct "homeless" look about them.

Not trying to judge them for their appearance and obvious lack of proper hygene, we strove to get to know them a little better. Alas, no soup-kitchens out there--just a lot of grass. They seemed to be pretty content to roam. No, I won't get into whether or not they have to pay "roaming charges."

The Tokina performed remarkably well. This lens is contrasty and sharp (see test link in previous post). All three images in this post were taken with it. I did have some troubles with stabilizing the lens at first, but that's more a function of getting to know how the equipment balances in the hands. Today, I handheld the camera/lens without a monopod or tripod and was able to satisfactorily hold the rig steady enough to shoot at 1/500 without blurs.

I'm sure the bison will be much happier in the summertime heat once all that winter fur is shed. Too bad about the flies.