reframing the world one picture at a time
Travel photojournalism during Golden Week in Japan – it doesn’t get much better than this. Course date from 28 April to 3 May 2012, with very limited seats – content will be tailored to the participants – with options for flights departing Kuala Lumpur or accommodation + workshop only – please contact either me or George Wong at Leica ([email protected]) for more info! MT
Presenting a quick summary of all the non-obvious things I’ve learned in my years of shooting up close and personal.
Disclaimer: As with every other article in this series, I’m assuming you know the basics already.
Lange Datograph. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G
10: Watch your reflections! Every time I shoot something polished and reflective, I keep thinking of this viral internet meme called reflectoporn. Don’t google it. You have been warned.
Jaeger Le-Coultre Gyrotourbillon 2 tourbillon. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G with 72mm extension.
9: Use bellows or extension tubes to get more magnification. I’ve got both; remember you need to compensate exposure for light loss as your magnification increases. The Nikons do this automatically, but most other cameras don’t. Macro lenses and extension tubes/ bellows work great; make sure they’re high quality items because cheap ones will have non-planar mounts, and result in odd distortion. Note that some lenses won’t work with bellows or tubes because they either bring the focal point inside the rear element of the lens, or the lens design isn’t compatible because the focusing elements are internal.
There’s no way you’re getting the entire dragonfly in focus without focus stacking. And they don’t stay still for that long. Nikon D3, 105/2.8 VR + 1.4x TC
8: Diffraction vs. DoF: a tradeoff. Pick one. As you stop down more, your DoF increases; but go too far and you also start to lose resolution because of diffraction. Exactly when this kicks in depends on your focal length and the pixel pitch of your camera; on the D700 with a 60mm lens, it starts around f22 and becomes very noticeable by f32. There are a couple of solutions: use a shorter focal length – the 35 ASPH FLE gives me more DoF by f16; or use a tilt shift lens.
Ants are skittish. Don’t get too close. I’ve had bugs jump on my lens before. Nikon D200, 105/2.8 VR
7: Working distance is your friend. There’s more room for lighting, and less chance of disturbing the subject (especially for those of you who shoot small bugs or insects). For product shoots, since you’re further away, reflections are smaller – and thus require less retouching.
Speake-Marin Immortal Dragon. Nikon D700, Zeiss ZM 2.8/28 Biogon
6: Macro lenses are used for macro work for a reason. That’s because they’re optimized for near subject distances; the plane of focus is flat and they have correction for common aberrations (spherical, lateral CA, LoCA) especially close up. With a normal lens, as you get closer, the aberrations and distortions get more and more obvious – which is why you don’t want to use a normal lens and extension tubes. There are two exceptions: when you have no choice, and when using certain particular lenses. A good example is the Leica 35/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH FLE; who’d have thought a documentary/ reportage lens with a 70cm near focus limit performs spectacularly on a D700 with extension tubes?
Jaeger Le-Coultre Gyrotourbillon I. Nikon D700, Leica 35/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH FLE
5: Continuous light sources are good. Not for primary lighting, but for helping focus and composition. Better yet if you mirror your lighting position with the secondary lights. I use a pair of 120 LED video light panels.
Critical focus plane. Roger Dubuis MuchMore. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G + 36mm extension tube.
4: Use DOF preview to check your composition. DOF preview? Composition? How are there related? Simple: as you stop down, your composition changes again. And there’s a big difference between f2.8 and f22 at macro distances.
Sinn 556. This looked very different in the finder because almost nothing was in the plane of focus. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G
3: Clean your subject well! The better the lighting, the more uniform the subject texture, and the higher the magnification, the more dust you’re going to see. It’s much easier to clean the real object than try to do it in photoshop.
Lange Datograph. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G. Focus stack of 20 images with bellows and extension tubes. Magnification set, then camera moved on a rail. If I didn’t, the images wouldn’t align properly because they’d all be at different magnifications. The blue screws at left are about 0.5mm across.
2: Set magnification, not focus. What’s the difference? Each lens gives a certain magnification ratio for a particular focus distance; if you focus first (or only focus) then you’ll find the composition changing – especially at the borders – as the image snaps into focus. I decide how much of the subject I want to cover, and then move the camera to focus. This is especially important at high magnifications – I work all the way up to 6:1.
Speake-Marin SM2. A short exposure time stops the balance dead – and this thing rotates through 270 degrees eight times per second. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G + 72mm of extension tubes.
1: Keep your exposure times short. You’re going to be wondering how. I use a flash and the highest sync speed the camera supports; because you’re stopped down and at base ISO, 99.9% or more of the light comes from the flash. And flash times – even at maximum power – are less than 1/1000s usually. Lower power ratings are even faster – this is more than enough to stop camera shake even at very high magnifications. The upshot? I don’t use tripods; they’ve been relegated to holding my flashes! I value the freedom of composition given by handholding the rig. The one exception to this rule is when I need to do focus stacking. MT
Be creative. Girard Perregaux F1-047. Nikon D700, 60/2.8 G
More of my watch work can be seen here on flickr
House near Strakhov Cloister, Prague. Olympus E-PM1, 45/1.8
The title of this shot is a bit of a red herring: yes, there is a snowflake, but no, it isn’t really visible at this size. What drew me to this scene was the balance of color; the simple geometry of house and sky; the texture of the tan wall and the two little details (visible in the full size shot) – the snowflake decorations in the window, and the moon hanging low in the early morning sky. I suspect this would make a great large print, but I haven’t had a chance to find out yet. MT
Scarlet ibis. Nikon D200, AI 500/4 P
The focus of this post is on birding and wildlife: it’s something that every aspiring serious amateur photographer will probably try at least once, usually right after they purchase an enormous telephoto lens. Bragging rights are only good if you have the images to go along with the lens.
Cattle egret. Nikon D3, 400/2.8 VRII
10: Dress right, bring mosquito/ insect repellant, and carry a bottle of water and a hat. The environment where some animals live can be harsh and remote. You’re not going to be concentrating on the photography if you’re not comfortable.
Scarlet ibises. Nikon D3, 70-300VR
9: Pay attention to the time of day. There’s no wrong or right time to shoot, but there is good light and bad light. Bad light is flat and uninteresting, and doesn’t flatter your subject. Good light is always tangential and thus creates contrasts; better still, it can isolate your subject from the background. And if there’s plenty of it, that’s a bonus because you can use a higher shutter speed.
Eagle. Nikon D3, 300/2.8 VR + 1.4x
8: A sharp but noisy image is better than a noise-free but blur one. Unless your intention is to be artistic or atmospheric, it’s better to have grain than none but also no idea what the subject actually is. This goes for all subjects, and types of photography: if your subject and composition are strong enough, nobody is going to care that the shot is grainy – look at Robert Capa’s Normandy Beach landing photos.
Albino peacock. Nikon D3, 300/2.8 VR + 1.4x TC
7: Use single point continuous AF. Avoid the temptation to let the camera decide the AF point; it will almost never focus on the eyes, and certainly won’t be able to recognize animal faces (except perhaps some chimpanzees.) Continuous AF is necessary because your depth of field is razor thin; a little movement to and fro either by you or your subject can move focus dramatically.
A thoughtful scratch. Nikon D200, 300/2.8 VR + 1.4x TC
6: Shoot in bursts. Two reasons for this: action usually unfolds in a sequence, and the first image may not be the most interesting; secondly, if you’re using a borderline shutter speed, then the burst helps to negate the effects of your finger pushing the shutter (and also camera). The first and last shots will usually be blur, but the middle group will be sharp because you didn’t have to move your finger in between.
Stealth duck. Nikon D200, 300/2.8 VR + 1.4x TC
5: Focus on the eyes. With all living things, the eyes are the key to the soul. I can’t explain why, but everybody knows that a portrait with the subject looking at the camera is a lot more powerful than one where you just see the back of the person’s head. The same goes for wildlife. Better yet if you can get a catchlight in the pupil, be it the sun or a very small fill flash.
Caught in the act of lunch. Nikon D200, AI 500/4 P
4: Have support. I don’t mean a sherpa team or an agony aunt. The longer the lens, the more support you’re going to need. A 0.1 degree camera movement with a wide lens covering 100 degrees horizontally is going to produce 0.1% blur, which you can probably get away with on a small print; but an 0.1 degree camera movement with a 5 degree field of view – corresponding to a 500mm lens – is equivalent to a whopping 2% blur. That shot will be so bad it might as well be completely out of focus. A gimbal head and solid tripod legs are great, but not very mobile. What I prefer to do is use a stout carbon-fiber monopod and rest my arm on the top of the lens to tension the system; if I’ve got something convenient to lean on, then I’ll use a bean bag to support the lens. This gets worse as your lenses get longer – I normally used an old manual focus 500/4 with 1.4x converter on DX, meaning 1,050mm equivalent. Handheld, this is an impossible combination to aim and hold, let alone get a steady shot with. With the monopod technique, 1/50s was routinely possible.
Angry cassowary. Olympus E-410, Nikon AI 500/4 P + 1.4x TC
3: Know our subject. Do your research, learn behavioral patterns, feeding patterns and anything else such as favorite watering spots or trees; the more you know about your subject, the easier it will be to find it and go unnoticed. Also, identify rare or unusual behavior – further adding something unique to your image.
The bird with the sun hat. Canon 1D Mark III, 500/4 L IS
2: Patience, patience, patience. The rarer your subject, the longer it’s going to take for you to a) find it and b) get into a position where you can shoot it, or where it stays still for long enough for you to get a good image. Give up and call it a day only when you absolutely can’t stand waiting any longer; some of the most stunning wildlife images – think of the BBC Planet Earth series – were only captured after years of waiting.
Dancing flamingoes. Nikon D2H, 55-200/4-5.6 DX
1: Be ready and stay alert. Usually most interesting action happens in a split second; if you’re not ready with your settings fixed and your finger on the shutter, you’re going to miss it. This one seems to conflict with #2, but it really doesn’t; it’s what makes wildlife photography so difficult. Endless waiting, but the need to be vigilant. In the end though, the results pay off. MT
More of my nature and wildlife work can be seen here on flickr
…thank you, to all my followers, subscribers and anybody who’s left a comment or a favorite or shared a post. It’s been one week so far, and we’ve just about hit a thousand views – or should do by the end of today. Cheers! 🙂 MT
Lego Museum, Prague. Leica M9-P, 28/2.8 ASPH
I freely admit to having a fascination with Lego since a very young age. I’m pretty sure it’s because it gave the creative side of me an outlet, and the type A side of me a chance to solve problems and take on challenges which nobody else – or so I thought at the time – had done, for instance trying to build a working helicopter – which of course failed. I recently revisited it after a nearly 10 year hiatus – this time focusing on fully functional and mechanically accurate large scale cars. Part of the satisfaction for me was, and still is, being able to get around the limitations of the medium – no concentric shafts, for instance – to produce something that was still as accurate to reality as possible.
In many ways, building Lego is similar to photography. There are some technical rules and limitations, but for the most part, it’s entirely creative and up to you how you wish to follow them (or not). There are specialists, who only build one or two types of things. There are similarly dedicated online communities. It can consume a huge amount of time and money, especially if you decide to build a 12ft long aircraft carrier (I’ve seen it done) – I suppose the photographic equivalent would be going medium format digital. But above all, you get a sense of satisfaction from having created something that in all probability is both unique and will never be created again – but which still reflects your personality and personal style. (Assuming of course you’re not building a standard model from an instruction sheet).
It seems that these days, a large proportion of the sets sold are actually to adult enthusiasts. Maybe it’s because adults are wanting their childhoods back, but kids want to have Blackberries and iPads and want to grow up faster – little do they know what awaits them. Enjoy it while it lasts!
In the same way that I build very different models now to when I was five, I think I’d equip my kids with a camera as soon as they’re able to use one. It would be a very interesting exercise to see how their perspective on the world changes with age – what do they see when they’re 1 or 2 years old, vs twenty? Do I wish I’d had that opportunity? Absolutely. It’s the same reason that every year, I document life with my wife in a book – so we can look back and see how things have change twenty, thirty, forty years from now. It’s also insurance against Alzheimer’s.
I leave you with something I built a little while ago for the Porsche Club of Spain – a 917K.
For those interested, you can see some of my recent Lego Technic work here on MOCPages.
Photojournalism (hereafter PJ) and street photography go hand in hand: they’re about capturing a moment of life. PJ goes a bit further by adding a story to that moment; street can just be an aesthetically pleasing moment in and of itself. Both though require the photographer to be observant and ready. This is what works for me.
Disclaimer: As with every other article in this series, I’m assuming you know the basics already.
Protest Kabila, Prague. Leica M9-P, 28/2.8 ASPH
10: Watch your shutter speeds. You’re going to need more than 1/focal length – maybe 1/2x to be safe, or even 1/3x if you’re running and gunning. You’re moving, your subject is moving, and nothing is steady. Remember also that the higher the resolution your camera, the less forgiving it is of focus errors and camera shake.
Rain, London. Ricoh GRDIII
9: Small, nondescript cameras are best. They don’t draw attention to you – especially in the current day and age of everybody carrying a camera, nobody is going to take you seriously if you have a small black compact. You’d be surprised how much I get away with using the iPhone or Ricoh GR-Digital III. People simply don’t perceive it as threatening in the same way a pro DSLR and 70-200 might be. Compacts also give you more depth of field for a given aperture.
Morning paper, London. Ricoh GRDIII
8: Shoot wide and close. The perspective produces a stronger image; wide lenses are also more forgiving to focus errors and camera shake. And as a bonus, you get context in the frame as par for the course.
Learning English. London. Leica M8, 21/1.4
7: Anticipate and observe. To quote the Cartier-Bresson: pick the decisive moment. To do so, you need to be aware of everything around you; really look. Pay attention to the details. People are fairly predictable; it should be easy to spot if something out of the ordinary is about to happen. Anticipation of the action gives you a vital few seconds more to prepare and be in position, or have the camera out.
Bicycle, Kathmandu. Nikon D700, 24/1.4
6: Blend in. Act like you belong, dress nondescript, and nobody will pay you a second glance. It will make your job a lot easier. If you draw attention to yourself – be it by being uncertain or provocative – then people of course notice.
Oblivious. I was standing 3 feet in front of them. Canon IXUS 220HS
5: Always have the camera to hand. How are you going to get a quick shot off if the camera is in your bag? You should be able to get a shot in less than 5 seconds – sometimes your window is even shorter than that.
Trekking office, Kathmandu. Nikon D700, 85/1.4 G
4: In a real emergency, help. Yes, our duty as a PJ is to record, document, communicate and raise awareness about the events around you; you help by telling a story. But you don’t have to shoot all the time. Get your shot and then help out the people. Remember that at the end of the day, we’re all human.
Street party. They would need help the following morning. I didn’t stay that long. Nikon D700, 85/1.4 G
3: Practice, practice, practice. Use your camera until you’re fast and proficient; you should be able to visualize the frame and field of view without having to raise the camera to your eye. You should be able to set things by muscle memory and have a group of settings (if your camera supports this) that configures the camera to be ready to go.
Reflections. Leica X1
2: If spotted, acknowledge your subject. A friendly smile, a sincere nod – all of these things make people feel comfortable with your presence and make your life easy. You don’t have to stop and talk or explain what you’re doing if nobody is asking. Smile and move one. Done.
Smoking break. Olympus E-PM1, 45/1.8
1: Be confident. It is better to say sorry rather than ask permission and miss the shot. With that, go out and be productive. MT
Martial law, Kathmandu. Nikon D700, 24/1.4
See more of my photojournalism work here on flickr: click here
Because I couldn’t decide which shot I preferred, and because there are no rules saying I can’t post twice…
Evening silhouette. Olympus E-PM1, 45/1.8
I’ve added a full suite of social media buttons to each post, so please share articles you like with your friends! MT
Behind the scenes videos
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