It was the first time I ever set foot at the Kuala Lumpur Orchid & Hibiscus Garden. Since it was on a weekday, I got in for free. During the weekends or special holidays, there is an RM1 entry fee.
I needed some shutter therapy lately. The amount of stress at work is quite high, and a relaxing stroll in the gardens should be good to lessen the strain. It was a bright cloudy day, which in effect, produced the best lighting condition to shoot flower macros. This was a good thing, because for some unknown reason I left my FL-50R flash at home. The soft diffusion by the clouds meant that the sunlight was evenly spread out without any harsh shadows; thus, the need for fill-flash was moot.
The only lens I brought along the E-3 was the Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 macro lens. It proved to be more than enough for me to capture the beauty of the flowers in the gardens.
Upon entry, I was greeted with lush and bright colors of the orchids; white, red orange, purple and even green orchids! The richness of the colors brought in some therapeutic effect to my mind, body and soul. Throughout the entire trip I was immersed in the nature's beauty.
Indeed, such a beautiful creation, the flower is.
And it brought me great relief and satisfaction, too!
It was one of those lazy Sunday afternoons, where I was stuck with nothing to do.
Sitting down on the rattan chair, watching my decrepit garden slowly being overrun by weeds, I glazed on the barbecue grill. It had been a while since we had a cookout. Hmmm.. now, since I am thinking about it, maybe looking forward to have one before the month ends. At the bottom of a grill was the fan I use to flame the fire, and it's made of palm frond. The shape really looks like the playing cards "spades" insignia, that posed an idea for a photographic subject. Now that looked like something worthwhile to shoot.
50mm, f/2.8, 1/640s, ISO400, -0.3ev
I panned my E-3 with the Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro lens at various angles looking for interesting images. Many angles and composition later, I saw this effect. It looked cool. The palm wavy effect, coupled with fading of both ends of the fan created a dreamy yet eerie abstract. To add depth and tone, I positioned the fan's edge facing the lawn to compose the greenish fade out to the image. I was thinking of red, rather than green; however, I think not to change the color in post-process. I can live with that.
Aaaaahhh, life simple pleasures are sometimes just a click away. Never close your eyes for you might miss the beauty the world can give.
Weird as it may seem, but the E-5 has put back my lost Mojo recently. I feel reborn, with the new spur to create images with my E-3. Since I got the E-30, the E-3 got a rather 2nd class treatment. It spends most of its time in the dry box, only to be used as a backup for event shoots. It is simply because of the more superior E-30 image quality.
Somehow, the E-5 experience has breathed in new spirit into the E-3. I can't explain the sensation, but boy am I glad to shoot picturesque with the E-3 with greater purpose now!
Recently my 16-month young boy has been very active walking and climbing at anything in the house. I make a point to follow his movements using the E-3 and the Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro. The choice is simply due to portability and ergonomics.
50mm, f/2, 1/400s, ISO1600, -0.3ev
One instant time, I saw him playing with the day curtain. Without hesitation, I pressed the shutter to capture the glowing moment. I was amazed with the E-3's matrix metering to handle the strongbacklight and its rapid auto focus to tame the erratic 50mm lens.
Sometimes I have to ask myself that some things are meant to be simple. And this old workhorse has proven itself to be worthy again.
Oh, yea.... for those interested to buy my E-3, please contact me directly. It's on sale to finance my E-5 pursuit!
Well, I started the day early today. Drove off to a spot near my house to shoot sunrise. Ohhh... what luck, it was cloudy. I got to think of something else.
I went back to the house, and thought of doing some simple comparison with the E-3. No, it won't be the ISO thingy, nor the resolution thingy. We should know that in no way the E-3 can top E-5 in both categories, so I won't bother doing it. What I thought was, how about a test for Auto White Balance accuracy.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro
Auto White Balance, ISO100
E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro
Auto White Balance, ISO200
It was cloudy, and I always have this opinion that the E-3 Auto WB tends to be warm. I took a couple of shots, both with base ISO and tried to see what happened. Both cameras had the external WB sensor On. Voila!! To my eyes, the E-5 has better Auto WB for cloudy skies. This is good!! Now, when will the sky clear for sunlight shots?
Okay... it started to rain. Seems I am grounded for today; no point shooting in the rain as I did it yesterday. I guess some product shots of the E-5 was due.
As for the rest of the day, I will be doing some weekend errands. Let's see how to fit in the schedule for some more test shots.
Throughout the late morning and early afternoon was spent at Ikea. We got ourselves a pair of study desks for our kids. Well, that's done, oh ya, I didn't bring the E-5 along as Ikea don't like to see a photographer with a behemoth of a camera and lens running around its store.
Later in the afternoon, I sent my kid to tuition and had an hour or so of spare time. It is about time to test the video capabilities.
E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD
E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD
Dramatic Tone art filter, with S-AF at 4 different points
My observations are as follows:
Video is smooth with crisp details captured by the Zuiko lens.
When using Art Filter, expect lost of smoothness or details depending on the type of filter used.
Auto Focus in single mode works, with the adjustment of focus to the selected AF point (there are 11 to choose from) can be made by pressing the shutter button.
SWD lens have smooth CDAF action, with some subtly soft ticking noise captured by the microphone
Jitter is visible in locking focus for the 14-35mm f2.0 SWD lens. Non-SWD lens like the 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 mk11 does not exhibit visible jitter in locking focus.
AF seems to be very responsive in strong backlight and lowlight situations.
Done with the videos, I waited at the front entrance of my kid's tuition center. I saw the nice sunshine hiding, but waiting to reveal itself from the clouds. It's time...
Though it was raining in the morning, it turned to be uber hot in the afternoon. This is typical Malaysian weather. Looking at the sun, I remembered a long time ago during my days as a novice photographer. One of my many teachers taught me how to make the brightest star seen on Earth appear as a star! It was a two step approach; underexpose by 1 or 1.5 stops, and shoot small aperture f/16. Well, the real challenge to do this shot were the patience to wait for the clouds to clear, and the strong eye to withstand the bright sun!! I think I made like a dozen of shots, and this is the best I could get. By the way, by counting the rays, you can know the number of iris blades in the lens. In this case, there are 18 rays, thus 9 blades.
E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD
14mm, f/22, 1/250s, ISO100, -1.0ev
Wow.. I am beat!!
I just assembled my daughter's desk, and painted it pink. Now waiting it to dry before putting in the second coat.
I am not sure I have time to do some wireless flash shooting tonight.
For tomorrow, it will be a long day! Firstly, there's an open house and aqiqah invitation in Shah Alam in the morning; where I am expecting a lot of people to be there. Later in the afternoon, my son's kindy will be having the annual concert at a hall in USJ1.
What an eventful day tomorrow. I need to recharge the batteries, and not to forget myself!!
Let's have a piece of New York Cheesecake, and be merry.
Before I went to sleep, I managed to do some lowlight stuff. I set the exposure value at around 2.7EV, which was a room lit with two 60W tungsten bulbs. The subject distance from the lamp was about 5 feet.
The exposure is f/2, 1/20s, ISO1600. That is quite dark indeed. The AF seems to be very responsive.
I am now a very satisfied Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD user
The E-5 really does justice to both resolution and AF speed for this lens!!!
It has been a wet week recently here. The rain comes and goes without warning, and most of the time is the cats & dogs variety. A no-no for most cameras; however, glad I have the E-3 and SHG lenses in my drybox! It has been quite a while since I shot the E-3 and the Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F4.0 uber-wide angle lens.
The rain just stopped, but there were still drizzles flying around. The dark clouds were still lingering in the evening sky. I was itchy for some shots. Really in the mood for some serious photography. My mojo was back!
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F4.0
7mm, f/4, 1/400s, ISO200
But, I wouldn't want to use the E-30 come the sudden rain. E-3 should do it. What-the-hey!!! This archaic camera still works, albeit the recent announcement of the E-5. I was a bit worried the camera stopped working out of jealousy as I am lusting for the E-5 ever since the rumor came about.
I was lazy to go somewhere just for the sake of taking some nice photos. I told myself, what if I just walk around the corner of my neighborhood and take some interesting snaps. That was a thought, and I was glad I did it.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F4.0
7mm, f/4, 1/200s, ISO200
My son tagged along, but mostly he was on his own running across the empty road, zig-zagging his aeroplane run with great sound effect. He was minding his own business, and so did I. Both of us had a great quality time.
A few weeks back, my daughter's kindy held a sports day at the MPSJ sports complex.
It was drizzling with rain when we arrived there, and the event was delayed by up to nearly half an hour. Knowing that I had to shoot this in the open, I opted for the Olympus E-3 with the Zuiko Digital ED35-100mm f2.0 lens. The lens gave me the distance coverage I needed as there was a large crowd of parents and friends encircling the telematches. I couldn't get close enough!
Boys Brigade provided the marching tempo
The old Zuiko motor was able to track the fast marching
On your marks!!
Hard at work collecting the bumper crop.
A medal for the effort!
There's nothing much to say, except that shooting in an uncontrolled crowded situation is very tough. Gotta be fast to get the best location. In this type of shooting, location, location & location is very important!!
Also, notice the compression effect in the pictures. Thanks to the sole usage of the telephoto lens, the effect of people bunching up together within the frame is further magnified.
And my son had a blast too playing with the umbrella!
A shot of the Boulevard just in front of the Palace of Justice. At the end of the boulevard stands tall the Prime Minister's Office, if not so small thanks to the ultra-wide effect on the background.
I made a point to myself to use the Zuiko Digital ED7-14mm F4.0 more.
The morning was actually quite rainy, so I chose to use the Olympus E-3 as it was weather-sealed should rain to come during the middle of the shoot. The 7-14mm was weather-sealed, too.
Palace of Justice, cropped in 16:9
7mm, f/9, 1/200s, ISO100
Initially I did not know I would end up here at Putrajaya, but thinking logically that the 7-14mm would be more useful for many architectural and landscape shots, the national capital was the perfect location.
I was driving along the main road, and the Palace of Justice struck me. Since the town was virtually empty due to the long Eid Adha holiday weekend, only a couple of tourists and keen photographers were there. This was good for architectural shots! And a bonus; the sun suddenly appeared amongst the clouds to render the buildings with good light.
Shooting with an ultra-wide lens was very tricky. One thing that could really could screw things up were the perspective. It could easily be a nightmare if not done properly. For that shot, to keep the perspective in check, I used the E-3's focus markers and put the horizon along the 5 points. And I checked the 3 vertical markers with the building's pillars to ensure the perspective was correct. And all was done handheld, without any tripods or supporting gizmos. To get it right the first time, I held my breath to freeze my framing and quickly but calmly clicked the shutter.
The composition was heavy bottom, with half of the frame being the road. Well, I just cropped off the bottom.
Another thing, to get all in focus, it was very easy as the depth-of-field for such a wide lens with the 4/3 format was very huge. I just dialed in F/9.0 and it was more than enough.
Palace of Justice framed in the Putrajaya Holdings HQ main entrance
7mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s, ISO100
For both images, the sun was directly in the frame. This posed a problem in the Dynamic Range department. And, I chose not to use RAW, instead opted for the Superfine JPEG (which means the JPEG file is ultra huge, but not as huge as TIFF). The original file showed much shadows in the buildings' details; thus, I had to post-process the images using my trusty GIMP software.
Using tone mapping with Overlay settings at 40%, I used 3 layers duplicated on top of each other and merged them one-by-one. A bit of S-curve to enhance the shadows and highlights, and increased the saturation by 40 points did the trick (during the tone mapping, the colors faded).
One thing that ticked me off during the shoot. I was actually chased away by the security, claiming that this place was not for public shooting. I was aghast, and immediately responded that I am taxpayer, and these buildings were built using the people's money. I was not even inside the building, just outside within the corridors!
I was shocked, and immediately left the place. I managed to get a couple of great shots, but those were it!
A simple telephoto shot from about 20 feet. Using the maximum aperture and maximum zoom, I was able to have a shallow Depth-of-Field for a full body shot.
E-3 with Digital Zuiko ED35-100mm F2.0
100mm, f/2.0, 1/4000s, ISO200
The sunlight was on the left, and was quite high up around 11am. Nonetheless, the boy's subtle posture caught my eye. The pose was good for a composition. I just needed to wait for the boy to shift his head a bit to the right and endsured that his hair on the left did not cover the metal railing.
The story was simple, I tried to invoke a sense of loneliness using the optical isolation to accentuate the boy's body language.
Just a simple snapshot.. out of five frames, this one was just right.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED35-100mm F2.0
42mm, f/2, 1/100s, ISO1000,+0.3ev
Patience and anticipation for the shot is important. Just waiting for that cute baby gesture.
A bit of contrast push, and some medium level High Pass Filter sharpening.
I love the bokeh of the Zuiko Digital ED35-100mm f2.0 lens. This telephoto marvel just oozes quality in every optical aspect. But the bokeh for me just stood out, even at strong backlight source. There's no harsh spectral effect for this lens; that typically ruins many good lenses.
Seated about ten rows away from the stage posed no problem for the Zuiko Digital ED50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD lens. And the E-3 had no problem locking focus with the subject in strong backlighting, too.
What I loved most about the stage lighting was how the sunlight was controlled to illuminate the performers. The soft lighting provided exquisite shadow and highlight tones; thus, resulting in sublime colors to the already intricately designed costumes.
When I was on a trip to Bali early last year, I brought along the E-3, Zuiko Digital 11-22mm f2.8-3.5 and Zuiko Digital ED50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD in a small shoulder bag. It's just perfect, not too heavy for a couple of hours walking.
During one of the tour, we stopped at a seafood place at Jimbaran beach. While waiting for the sunset, I saw this image of the little girl sitting with a surfboard. I observed her actions for quite a while, before deciding to make the image. The light from the setting sun provided the rim light that I really liked, and without a moments notice I took the shot. Incidentally, that was the only shot!!
Yes, I have heard it many times. Olympus can't shoot low light. It's too noisy, it lacks dynamic range. Bla, bla, bla... the debates go on, and on.
It is funny, though. When it comes to clients, they don't know all this technical mumbo jumbo. What they want to see are great pictures showing the important moments of the event, and please don't make the CEO look stupid on stage.
In the end, what matters most to the client is the results. Please keep that in mind, and don't really worry about your "bad" Olympus camera!!!
Covering a corporate event is a mixed situation. There are occassions where it requires quick and rapid shooting, and there are situations when it is very laid back. It is similar to wedding photography, but in my opinion it is less stressful. Partly because the client is not very particular of the nitty gritty details.
It is important to keep in mind that to shoot corporate events, make sure there are enough batteries to keep things running. And please bring the fastest lens you have!!
In this particular event, the photographers were hit with a bombshell!!
Due to videography requirements (thanks to the live screen on stage), flash photography was prohibited!! Why was that? Simply because the screen will instantly show the flash in full feedback effect, similar to a Viper fighter scrambling out of the Battlestar Galactica's flight deck! That was very annoying.
One Nikon shooter was put out of commission because he was only using the 18-200 variant with a big SB-800 flash, not knowing about the no-flash ruling. At that moment, I had my Zuiko Digital 14-35mm f2.0 and 50mm f2.0 lenses. No problem at all. I later saw him shooting with the 50mm f1.8 lens. Not much for him to shoot, though.
In this shot, the CEO was making a strong point to the staff on key milestones and goals. The expression said it all. To be honest, I took multiple shots to ensure I got the right gesture to convey the story.
Corporate people are not very boring, actually. Most of the time they are very serious at what they do. This is no fault of them. However, they can be very funny with sharp, rapid quips. And, it is very important to capture the moment. All I can say that it is rare; so, it is better to be on your toes so as not to miss any of it!!
This shot made the whole auditorium broke into laughter. The picture was actually one of the senior executives, and this snap was a shot of him gasping for breath at a recent Iron Man event!
At the end of the day, everybody was happy. The staff was happy. The client was happy. I was happy!
I was approached to do a team shoot late last year. The client wanted a serious but cool corporate image. Since they were part of the Six Sigma Audit team, I understood the image they were looking for.
As for location, the company's training center lounge provided the perfect backdrop.
Prior to the shoot, I advised the team lead to get everybody up to character. This somehow helped a lot, as the when I arrived on location, they were all zoned in! All I needed was a setup of E-3, Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm f2.0 SWD and FL-50R. The situation was a bit of a mixed lighting, though. I had to think a bit about how to balance the shot.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD & FL-50R
20mm, f/2.5, 1/50s, ISO200, +0.7ev
I was looking at a 3-light-source setup. The flash provided the fill, along with the sunlight from the window with the ceiling downlights strongly eminating the indoor space.
It took me five minutes to asses the situation and decide what to do.
One way to balance the lights was to shoot bright. I had two options; pump up the flash or utilize the sunlight. Apparently, I chose to get the group to pose about 5 feet from the window sill. That solved the lighting situation. Yet, I still needed the flash to bump up the shadows a bit, as I did not want a flat-looking image. Yes, the catchlight in the eyes added more pop to the shot, too.
It was quite an easy job as everybody understood their role in the shoot. I took 3 shots, and the session ended within 10 minutes.
I am in a photography rut right now... actually not seriously shooting anything for the past three weeks! And, the dearth of inspiration has also made me not to bring my camera to the office.
Hmmm....
What has happened?
Well, I wouldn't know.
A bit jaded with it, maybe?
Or maybe a shift in interest. Recently I got myself a new toy in a form of a Bose Acoustic Wave system. I haven't been spending much time listening and playing music for such a long time. Maybe the photography rut is due to this shift. Possible?...
Oh, the thirst to savor the acoustic beauty has taken over my oversatiation of visual perfection. That make sense. Maybe my auditory system is sending different signals to my brain to partake a new enjoyment of the senses.
Ok, I can blabber what may be. But, the obvious thing is I am a dearth of inspiration. Even I passed an recent photo assignment to cover a corporate event.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 & EC-14
70mm, f/5, 1/250s, ISO800, FL-50R
It took me simple inspiration back then to produce this shot. This macro of the hibiscus was taken early 2008, and abstractly it shows a human form, sort of with arms wide open for a hug!
Ever since I went digital in 2004, I became self-aware about the existence of branded camera bags. In the days of my OMs, I just used any bag that I can find. School bag, shopping bag, any bag! The reason: those 70's tech design was so robust that I did not find a real necessity for such protection from bumps and drops. Digital, on the other hand, was very fragile.
My first "real" bag was the Lowepro Nova AW 1. Blue in color, I can fit my C-750UZ system with the FL-20 and WCON-07 lens & adapter, and even a Panasonic 3CCD camcorder, too. Nimble and small, this was perfect. I started to love these Lowepro bags, that I became a "worshipper" for a couple of years!!!
Among other Lowepros that I acquired throughout my time until late 2008 were the Nova AW 2 "Black", Slingshot 200 AW "Black", Fastpack 350 "Red", and a TLZ Mini "Black". I have to confess, these bags were purchased for a so-called different photoshoot situations. All had its strengths and weaknesses. Of all the bags, I loved the Nova AW 2. To me, it was a bag of all bags!!! Imagine that I could fit the E-510, ZD 11-22mm f2.8-3.5, ZD 14-54mm f2.8-3.5, ZD 50-200mm f2.8-3.5 and the FL-36 without the bag bulging in awkward points. That was really an ultra cool bag!!
I tried to like the Slingshot, but the single strap proved to be a burden for long walks due to its imbalance that disrupted my walking gait and posture. It just felt annoying after a while. The Fastpack was a total disappointment. It was not a serious photographers bag; more of a jack-of-all-trades type of bag. The TLZ? That was for my brief impromptu romance with the E-420.
Now here's the problem!
I changed my lens line in the later half last year. Somehow, SHG lenses required more real estate, and none of my bags could provide!! The Slingshot and Novas were sold off easily as these were popular bags. I still have the Fastpack and TLZ, though. (If you are interested in them, please let me know).
In January, I accidentally got hold of the E-30; which did not help my problem a bit...
What's next?
Enter my lust for Think Tank bags, particularly the Urban Disguise line. You see, I tend to carry my gear to work. And, the Lowepros screamed camera bag in an office environment, and I would only bring to office when there was an anticipated need such as office functions! I had to be more inconspicuous if I want to carry my gear anytime I like!! During the brief bag-less period, after I sold my Lowepros, I simply used my laptop bag!! Not a perfect solution, though as the lack of paddings and compartments meant the gear knocked each other out!
14mm, f/2.8, 1/2000s, ISO100, +0.7ev (wireless)
The TT UD35 fits the SHG Zuikos 7-100mm, E-3 with HLD4, E-30 and 2 FL units.
The Urban Disguise 35 to me is a masterpiece bag perfect for my need!!! Believe it or not, all my gear can fit in the bag, with some room to spare for a netbook!!! This bag looks like a typical executive bag, a bit thick on the side, though. Not a big deal, since I did not pack in the laptop (up to 15", not bad!); thus, a thinner profile.
After a couple of months using, I realized that the UD35 is not perfect for everything! It's just too big for a short photo stint, or for carrying my gear for leisure walks. In a casual environment, it screams laptop bag!!! Hmmmmm.... another conundrum!
If I were to only carry a body with a couple of lenses and a small flash, I was bagless!
So, yesterday in utter desperation, I went to my favorite shop in Ampang Park and simply told my predicament. I wanted a bag that did not scream camera or laptop bag. It should not be very brightly colored, too. It should look like a simple shoulder bag, but must not be bulky with padding. It must be very spacious! Spacious enough to handle an E-3 body with HLD-4 grip, at least 2 short lenses and a small flash! After close to 20 minutes, I settled for a Bagman Messenger. Though an old design, that did not bother me at all. When factor was primary, form was thrown into the drain.
Perfect!! Another perfect bag!! Now I have two perfect bags for each of its purpose!
A beautiful scene within the jungle trail; a hint of haze is imminent!
The Sumatran forest fires are a real hazard!
Malaysia is blessed with its tropical beauty be it on land or at sea. Malaysia is also blessed with the abundance of rain and precipitation throughout the year. These two conditions really make the E-3 and the Super High Grade Zuikos feel at home!
About a 20-minute drive from the city center to the east side lies the Forest Reserve Institute of Malaysia. The 486-acre facility is home for a plethora of scientific and academic activities for forest research and conservation. It is quite surprising that this little hamlet nestles just next to the hustle and bustle of city life; practically it just located mere hundreds of meters from the nearest main highway in Klang Valley!
The forest canopy high up!
The main attraction at FRIM is the Canopy Walk, which allows the visitors to traverse along the forest canopy along the 5-sectioned 15-meter pathways that is about 90 meters above ground!!! But, what luck for my party... it was raining by the time we reached the entrance. The gates was closed!!! And this was after a 15-minute hike up a steep hill!!! Boy, was I disappointed!
Racing down the hill to escape the heavy rain. Watch out for the slippery rocks!
As it was raining heavily, my E-3 and the Digital Zuiko ED7-14mm F4.0 was drenched. I was not ever worried one bit, as the superior weather-sealing for both camera and lens have surpassed many thunderstorms before!
A quick shot of the small waterfall, I was leaning on the biggest rock for support.
The In-body Image Stabilization system was awesome; shot in 1/2s!!
We had to rush down to the nearest camp shelter, which was a 500-meter descent across thick jungle and slippery and rocky slopes. Along the path, a small stream passes through that ends as a small waterfall near our camp shelter.
The whole party seeking refuge under the small shelter.
Well, we are scheduling another trip next week for the Canopy Walk, and the FRIM organizers will reschedule it as it was paid for already. This will be awesome, as I was told that in fair weather the skyline of KualaLumpur will be at its mercy!
There is an obligatory wedding that I have to do this coming weekend. I have to confess, I haven't shot weddings for quite a long time, actually the last was back in September. And, things have changed a lot, especially my gear.
Back then, my gear was more mobile and small. However, since last August I have been upgrading my lenses from High Grade F2.8-3.5 zooms to Super High Grade F2 zooms. The transition was rather quick, with the dual F2 zooms acquired by October. My rationalization into these lenses was more of need rather than want. I really need F2 aperture to cope with low lightings, and the shallow depth-of-field provided by F2 to F2.8 range is just exquisite for my workflow. I don't really need F1.4 for now, and maybe never.
The major penalty for large aperture is weight and size. But, with F2 aperture, I essentially have multiple prime lenses. And they are really great!! The promise of tele-centric design in the E-system philosophy also guarantees very good performance from wide open aperture to F11; this is just before diffraction kicks in. Well, this is superb because there's a lot aperture range that is highly usable for high quality output.
Around January of 2009, I added the E-30 body to my setup and later the Zuiko Digital ED7-14mm F4.0 ultra wide lens. With the already acquired Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro a couple of years ago, my dual-camera setup is complete.
Olympus E-30 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 & FL-50R
This will be the workhorse camera; thus the focus is on lightweight body and high powered flash unit
The wedding in discussion is my sister-in-law's. Yeah, you know what that means! Ultra-high expectations!!
The solemnization will be on Friday night, around 8.30pm, at my in-law's house. This is the most auspicious occasion for a Muslim wedding, all the focus will be on the bride and groom. It is a very closed event, with only family and closest friends and neighbours in attendance.
I will be in a very cramped situation to move around in such a small space; the main hall being about 18 feet wide with 20 feet long. Every other part of the house will be similar or smaller. Now, that's very challenging when you add another scores of people in attendance! It's like stuffed in a sardine can!!
Inevitably, that's the challenge for every wedding photographer in most situations. Unless the couple is from a well-off family, chances are it will be a cramped affair.
Luckily the next day will be a bit relaxed for me as the couple has engaged an official wedding photographer for the reception. This is the full blown event with many guests in attendance from both sides of the family. I will take a back seat approach and shoot a minimalist style. It's not good practice to be in the way of the official photographer. The good thing is the location will be at a community hall that provides seatings up to 300 guests. At least there's a lot of space for me to move around to silently snipe with my 35-100mm lens!!
Olympus E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED35-100mm F2.0, HLD-4 & FL-36R
This will be the backup camera, with the ZD ED7-14mm providing additional ultra-wide coverage.
My main concern is to optimize the system line-up to ensure my end-to-end workflow is not compromised in any circumstances. Selecting the combination of body, lens and flash is crucial so to ensure the shooting process is as fluid as possible. I did a few shooting scenarios in my house to simulate the scenes, and from the possible combinations I have arrived at the dual camera setup shown in the images above.
The other part of the workflow is definitely on the image parameters and post-processing requirements. In this instance, I have to synchronize all the shooting settings and parameters for both cameras to be identical so that the output will be consistent. For example, I will be shooting in Natural color mode with the Auto ISO setting maximum up to 3200. To combat the noise, I increase the Noise Filter setting from Low to Standard. Bottomline, I don't want to be bogged down with differing outputs and end up in front of the computer screen correcting hundreds of shots. These two activities are important to me. It ensures that my end-to-end workflow to be as smooth as possible.
To further cut a lot of post-processing time, I will be shooting in JPEG Large SuperFine that mimics TIFF-like output. The high accuracy of E-3 and E-30 Auto White Balance and skin tone colors also is the real strength. I do not have to shoot in RAW to be worried of inconsistent readings and outputs. JPEG workflows are much faster, too. This is great!!! Less memory space is used, more pictures can be taken.
Wedding photography is a hectic event, both during and after for the photographer. At the event, the photographer must be alert always for that once-in-a-lifetime moment. Most of the beautiful wedding images are emotionally charged; thus, shooting candid is the best way. Post-processing the images is another hectic event. The final presentation tells a lot about the wedding; and even the most sombre wedding can be presented into a quite happy occasion. The magic is in the hands of the photographer to convey the historic moment in the couple's lives.
The best way to achieve good results is to ensure the workflow works, and be prepared for anything. It's a wedding!! Enjoy!!!!!!
Ever wonder where the did I get the shot of the cat's eye for this blog? Here it is!
The cat at a mamak shop in Tesco Extra Shah Alam, back in October 2008. I was having a morning breakfast with two or three of our fellow "screw-screws" when this cat prowled under our table.
Having discussing about my newly acquired Zuiko Digital ED35-100mm F2.0 telephoto lens, I quickly snapped this image. The cat seemed to be amazed with the sheer size of the lens that it paused for a portrait shot.
I was going to fix my Serengeti Vedi sunglasses with the Stanley Microscrewdrivers that I thought of a simple macro shot.
The single light source from the window provided the lighting I needed for some subtle and sublime touchup using Orton Effect.
In monotonal subtleties.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro
50mm, f/4, 1/15s, ISO400, +0.3EV
The beauty of an In-body Image Stabilization system means that I had great control over low shutter speed for any lens, especially doing macros.
The 1/15s shutter speed with a 50mm means I was shooting at 2.7 stops of stabilization. Plus the magnification factor of close to 1:2, actually the stabilization was much more pronounced. It was greatly controlled!
This last picture did not have Orton Effect applied, just a simple Contrast Mask at 40% to tame the strong contrast.
E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50mm F2.0 Macro
50mm, f/4, 1/25s, ISO400, -2.3EV
Since the table was very dark, closer to -3EV, I had to override the meter accordingly to -2.3EV.
With three shots, the full detail of the microscrewdrivers were beautifully presented.
