A long exposure captures the clouds moving over the lights of the city of Sydney. Also visible is a berthed cruise ship, just to the right of the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Opera House and city

Cremorne Point, Sydney, New South Wales
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @43mm, 25 sec, f/8, ISO100

I recently came across some eBooks by Edward Verosky, a professional photographer who likes to teach people how to make pictures. I bought a few of his eBooks, as DPS was offering them at a discounted price, and have been quite impressed by the content.

"Taking Your Portraiture to the Next Level" is a 62-page eBook that provides some background information about portraiture and lighting styles, then dives into various creative techniques for achieving different types of portraits.
In each section, Edward provides photos to demonstrate the style and results he is referring to in the text, and numerous lighting diagrams are also included, to show the location of the light(s) and camera in relation to the subject.

A number of pages are dedicated to a chapter titled "Developing Your Own Style", where the author talks about the importance of developing your own style to set yourself apart from the crowd, rather than churning out photos that look just like everyone else's portraits.

Last week I was in NSW, visiting various customer sites. I went north up to Muswellbrook, and south down to Nowra. It was a very busy week, so I didn't get much of an opportunity to get out with my camera. There were a few days of rain, which further reduced the photography opportunities.

However, I managed to get out to City Beach in Wollongong late one afternoon, and here's one of the photos I took while walking along the beach.

City Beach

City Beach, Wollongong, NSW
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/250 sec, f/10, ISO100

Having just come from a site, I felt very overdressed in a long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and steel-capped boots, as almost everyone else on the beach was in boardshorts or a bikini!

This photo was taken looking southwards, and in the distance, you can see the Port Kembla Steelworks on the horizon (click the image to view a larger version).

Taken by resting my camera on a convenient railing, this 1.6 second exposure was shot at Circular Quay one evening late last year, when I was in Sydney for a few weeks for work.

Sydney Opera House

Circular Quay, Sydney, New South Wales
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @42mm, 1.6 sec, f/5, ISO250

While going through some photos taken last year in Sydney, I noticed that I had a few photos where I had managed to catch someone else's flash. Both photos were taken near the Sydney Opera House, looking towards Circular Key, overlooking the Opera Bar.

In this first photo, I was taking a photo of Circular Key, and managed to catch the flash of a lady who was taking a photo of her three seated friends.

first flash catch: crop of photo, showing the flash catch

first flash catch: photo straight out of the camera

About 5 minutes later, I managed to catch the flash from someone taking a photo of another group.

I have previously written about 35mm being a natural focal length on a crop-sensor Canon DSLR body, as it provides a focal length that's quite close to 50mm on a full-frame DSLR body.
Because I don't find the 50mm focal length of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 to be very natural on my 50D body, I bought a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens, and have been really enjoying it so far.



Here are some photos of the Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.

side view

front view

I've been going through some photos from last year, and processing some that I hadn't previously found the time to go through. Here's one of my favourite images taken in Sydney last year in October, shot from Bradley's Head, looking towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

cloud streaks over Sydney

Bradley's Head, Sydney, New South Wales
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @25mm, 25 sec, f/13, ISO100

I've cropped the image above (and other images from the same night) in a 2:1 aspect ratio, as it seems to suit these images, rather than having too much sky and water above and below the main subject.

Here's some more images from the same evening, showing the changing colours in the sky as the sun set below the horizon.

Some more wildflowers, photographed in Kings Park back in September.

unknown

Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @43mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5, ISO100

Tree Smokebush

Conospermum triplinervium

Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @24mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO100

In September, I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Derek and Kelly-lee. The weather was fantastic, and we had a great day, visiting a number of lovely locations for bridal photos after the church ceremony.
Here's a selection of photos from the day.

I spent several hours on Saturday afternoon, replacing the ribbon cable to the aperture diaphragm assembly in my Canon 17-85mm IS lens.



As mentioned in an earlier post, my Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens has been failing with "Err 99", and some testing indicated the aperture diaphragm assembly in the lens was failing under the following conditions:

• zoom was between 17mm and 24mm
• aperture was smaller than f/4

Apparently this is caused by broken connections in the ribbon flex cable to the aperture diaphragm assembly in the lens, and is a relatively common occurence with this lens.

I bought a replacement cable on eBay from these guys for approx AUD$12, with free shipping from Hong Kong, as I had decided to try repairing the lens myself.

new aperture ribbon cable

I'm not going to provide a step-by-step guide to disassembling the 17-85mm lens, as there are already a few such guides that I found useful:

• EFS 17-85mm IS f4-5.6 Err 01 Err 99
• Repair of an Canon EFs 17-85 IS lens

There are also some more photos from someone who completely disassembled their 17-85mm lens available here.

By following the above-mentioned guides, I was able to disassemble the lens, and replace the aperture cable. Here's a few photos showing various stages of disassembly.

In the recent school holidays (end of September), I took my two sons to Kings Park, to have a look at the wildflowers. There were lots of wildflowers, and we spent some time wandering through the flowerbeds, taking photos of wildflowers that each of us throught interesting.

Here's a few of the photos I took on that afternoon - but I'm only including photos of red flowers here. I'll include photos of some of the other flowers in a future blog post.

Nematolepis phebalioides

Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO100

This is the fifth article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.



This post provides descriptions of some lens terminology that many people take for granted, but are not be clearly understood by everyone, namely

• focal length
• angle of view
• field of view

I'll start with some definitions. Reference the diagram immediately below when reading these definitions.

field of view, angle of view and focal length (top view)

Focal Length

The focal length of a lens is the distance from the optical centre of the lens to the sensor (or film) when the lens is focused on an object at infinity.
The focal length is fixed for any lens, and doesn't change when the lens is mounted on different camera bodies.

The focal length of a lens is one of the key specifications of a lens. For example, the focal length of the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens ranges from 18mm to 55mm, depending on the zoom set by the lens' zoom ring. On the other hand, prime lenses such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, have a fixed focal length that cannot be varied (ie, 50mm).

This is the fourth article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.

The shutter speed is the length of time that the camera's shutter is open, ie, how long the camera's sensor is exposed to light through the lens.
While the aperture determines the size of the hole in the lens which allows light in, the camera's shutter is designed to accurately expose the camera's sensor to light for a specified amount of time.



This table (taken from the first article in this series on understanding your camera) provides a summary of the effect of varying the shutter speed:

impact of varying the shutter speed

A shorter shutter speed will reduce the amount of time that the shutter is open, and allows you to freeze motion, due to the image being exposed for a much shorter amount of time. Conversely, a longer shutter speed allows you to capture motion, because the image is being exposed for a longer time period, so any moving objects will have moved during the time the shutter was open.

Using longer shutter speeds can be a problem if you are hand-holding the camera, as you cannot hold the camera still for the duration of the exposure, and this will cause the image to blur due to the camera movement.

Another photo from the Lesmurdie Falls area, this time of a Eucalyptus flower. It was great wandering around, enjoying the many wildflowers.

purple eucalyptus flower

Lesmurdie Falls National Park, Lesmurdie, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @63mm, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO200

I'm in a predicament. My Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens is dying.

I purchased it brand new about 4.5 years ago, have taken many photos with it, and have found it to be a great general-purpose zoom lens. A couple of years ago, I bought a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens to replace it, but kept the 17-85mm for my children to use.



Last week, while on a photography road-trip with my two boys, my oldest son was using the 17-85mm lens on his Canon 350D camera. Focusing was fine, but any attempt to take a photo would result in the 350D showing "Err 99" on the LCD, and the camera had to be turned off and back on to clear the error.
"Err 99" is a generic catch-all error code on the 350D, and can mean almost anything (lensrentals.com have a great article on Err 99).

Trying the 17-85mm lens on a Canon 50D resulted in a more specific error: "Err 01 - Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts."
Not surprisingly, cleaning the lens contacts with a pencil eraser didn't do anything to resolve the error.

While geo-caching near Lesmurdie Falls earlier this week, I found this moth on an everlasting flower. The moth was happy to pose long enough for me to get some photos.

Moth and Everlasting Flower

Lesmurdie Falls National Park, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/1000 sec, f/4.5, ISO400

As far as I can tell, this flower is one of the many varieties from the Rhodanthe family.

A wire sculpture figurine, with Bondi Beach in the background.

All Wired Up

"Chaos and Order" by Barbara Licha, Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi 2009

Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @70mm, 1/2500 sec, f/4, ISO100

This photo was taken last year in October, at the Scultpure By The Sea exhibition at Bondi, Sydney.
This particular piece is titled "Chaos and Order", and is by Barbara Licha.

I was in Sydney for a few weeks for business, and on the weekend Igot together with a fellow photographer from OCAU, and spent an afternoon wandering around Bondi, and various other locations around Sydney.

This is the third article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.



Historically, ISO refers to the numerical scale used to measure the sensitivity of photographic film to light. Sensitive film (with a higher ISO rating) required less light to produce an image than less-sensitive film (with a lower ISO rating).

Several other scales were used in times past for measuring film sensitivity, but these were combined into a single standard, ISO 5800:1987, from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The ISO system is now also used to measure the sensitivity of the sensors in digital cameras, but it is now set digitally, with the camera adjusting the signal gain of the sensor to provide similar results as would be achieved with film of the same ISO rating.



This table (taken from the first article in this series on understanding your camera) provides a summary of the effect of varying the ISO:

impact of varying the ISO

Doubling the sensitivity of a digital camera's sensor (or doubling the sensitivity of photographic film) equates to doubling the ISO number, and doubling the sensitivity will require half the amount of light to achieve the same exposure.

The ISO ratings on cameras typically starts at ISO 100 (some start at ISO 50), and then continually doubles, as follows:

            100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, etc

Here's another photo from July, taken on the Worldwide Photo Walk in Perth.
This is St Mary's Cathedral, in East Perth. Major expansion and repair work was completed in December 2009, and was one of the final places we visited on the photowalk.

St Mary's Cathedral

East Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO100

I took this photo shortly after we left the Cathedral, as we were heading back to the car.
While the photo above is portrait orientation, I have also previously published a photo taken from almost the same spot in landscape orientation, and with a tighter crop.

A portrait of one of my nieces, shot at a family function a few months ago.

Allanah

Southern River, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, 1/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO500

After many months of rumours about the possible features and specifications for the Canon 60D, last week Canon officially announced the 60D.

Interestingly, the 60D features an articulated rear 3" LCD screen, something that is normally seen on lower-end cameras, rather than the prosumer models.

rear of the Canon 60D

photo by Canon

As expected, the 60D supports shooting video, thus filling the gap between the more expensive video-capable Canon 7D, and the cheaper Canon 550D (aka Rebel 2Ti).

An 18 megapixel sensor brings the 60D in-line with the 550D and 7D, although the shutter is only rated at 100,000 actuations, while the older 50D and the 7D's shutters are both rated at 150,000 actuations.

For a good comparison of the features of the 60D vs the older 50D, 550D (Rebel T2i) and the 7D, have a look at this CNET article.

I don't think the 60D is a very appealing upgrade for anyone currently using a 40D or 50D. The 60D has a slower shooting rate than the 40D and 50D, managing 5.3 frames per second, compared to the 6.3 frames per second of the 40D and 50D.
With the 60D's use of SDHC memory cards, anyone with a collection of compact flash cards will need to swap them out for some SDHC cards.
The AF micro-adjustment that was available in the 50D has been removed in the 60D, so has the flash sync socket, and the 60D's plastic body shell is slightly smaller than the 50D's magnesium alloy body.

top of the Canon 60D photo by Canon

front of the Canon 60D photo by Canon

I think Canon are positioning the new 60D as a suitable upgrade for people currently using a 500D (T1i) or 550D (T2i), as the 60D provides improved ISO sensitivity, faster frame rate, better autofocus points, and faster maximum shutter speed than the 500D/550D.

Photographers currently using a 30D, 40D or 50D are probably better off looking at the 7D or the 5D mark II as a suitable upgrade, rather than a relatively minor incremental upgrade to the 60D (and you won't lose AF micro-adjust, flash sync socket, CF card support, and a magnesium alloy body shell).

It's also worth noting that the 60D's remote shutter release socket uses an E3 connector (2.5mm stereo connector, as used on the 300D/350D/400D/450D/500D/550D/1000D), rather than the 3-pin N3 connector (as used on the 10D/20D/30D/40D/50D/5D/7D/1D). That's just another reason not to upgrade from a 50D to a 60D, as your wireless shutter releases won't work with a 60D.

The Canon 60D is expected to retail for approximately USD$1,099 or AUD$1,699, which is about where the 50D was originally priced.

For more information on the 60D, see:

• Canon's press release for the 60D
• Canon EOS 60D specifications on Canon's website
• Hands-on preview: Canon 60D delivers major changes over 50D at CNET
• Canon 60D Impressions on Gizmodo
• Canon EOS 60D on Wikipedia

This is the second article in a series on "understanding your camera" that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children.



In optical terms, the word "aperture" refers to a hole or an opening which light travels through.
In photography, the aperture simply refers to the diameter of the opening of a lens.

This table (from the first article in this series on understanding your camera) provides a summary of the effect of aperture:

impact of varying the aperture

Adjusting the aperture of a lens adjusts the diameter of the hole in the lens, thus controlling the amount of light that reaches the camera's sensor (or film). Setting a smaller aperture results in this hole being smaller, and thus allows less light onto the camera's sensor.

In photography, a stop is a unit used to measure ratios of light or exposure. Adjusting the aperture by one stop adjusts the amount of light passing through by a factor of two.

In other words, changing to a smaller aperture by one stop will reduce the amount of light by half, which means the size of the hole (the area) is reduced by half.

The series of photos below show the size of the hole set by the aperture blades on a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens, with the aperture decreasing a full stop between each image (the left image shows a large aperture, and moving to the right shows successively smaller aperture settings).

Last year, my oldest son Ashley won first prize in the "Plant and Animal Habitats" category for Years 4 to 7 of Chevron Australia's Focus Environment photography competition.

And earlier this week, we heard that he won in the student category in the Curtin University National Science Week photo competition, winning an Apple iPad 32GB Wifi as his prize.

Here is Ashley (aged 11) posing with the iPad that he won in the Curtin competition, displaying the winning photo on the iPad:

Ashley posing with his iPad and camera

The Maritime Museum and some cranes at Fremantle harbour provide some interesting silhouettes on the skyline just after sunset. This shot was taken from Bathers Beach.

harbour silhouettes

Bathers Beach, Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 3.2 sec, f/14, ISO100

Updated (25 August 2010) with pricing information.

(June 2011) If you are looking for information on the newer Phottix Strato II Multi Trigger, please have a look here.



The Strato 4-in-1 Trigger is a brand-new product from Phottix. It is a 2.4GHz 4-channel wireless flash trigger that can also be used as wired or wireless shutter release, and uses commonly-available AAA batteries.

Some of the key features that make this trigger appealing include remote flash wake-up capability, and a TTL pass-through hotshoe on the transmitter.
It's important to understand that the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger does NOT provide wireless TTL support. Any flashes triggered wirelessly by the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger must be in manual mode.

It can also be used as a wired or wireless remote shutter release, but it only provides fairly basic shutter release functionality.

Thanks to Phottix for providing a pre-release version of the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger (Canon-compatible version) for review purposes. They provided me with one transmitter, two receivers, and some PC Sync cables. Also thanks to Steve at Phottix for responding to my many questions about the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger.

While on a recent photowalk in Fremantle on a cold Saturday evening, a friend and myself went to a local cafe to grab some dinner and warm up.
When his cappuccino arrived, we both pulled out our cameras and started taking some shots of it!

Cappuccino

Fremantle, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/160 sec, f/2, ISO100

This is the first article in a series that I am writing as I teach camera basics and camera operation to my children, in particular to my 11 year old son who wants to buy his first DSLR. My children have been using cameras for a while (with some good results), but typically use full-auto mode, or rely on me to adjust the settings for them.

I thought it would be worthwhile to write a series of blog posts on this subject, to help other people who might be interested, and because one of the best ways to ensure you understand something is to try to explain it to others.



The exposure of a photo determines how dark or light a photo will be when it is captured by your camera's sensor (or film, if you are old-school).

There are three factors that affect the exposure of a photo:

• lens aperture
• shutter speed
• ISO

I'll briefly describe each of these (more detail on each in future blog posts), and how they work together to determine the exposure.

On Saturday, the third annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk took place. Two walks had been organised in Perth, with nearly 50 walkers for each.
I participated in one of the walks in Perth, and took my two oldest children (aged 10 and 11) with me, both with cameras of course ;-)

It was fantastic weather for a photowalk, and we enjoyed ourselves. Many people in Perth were wondering why there was a sudden influx of cameras in the city, with some interesting reactions, including a number of pedestrians insisting on posing for the cameras.

Photos from other participants in the various photowalks in Western Australia yesterday, as part of the Worldwide Photo Walk, can be seen in this flickr group.

Here is a selection of my photos from the walk - the full set can be seen in this photo gallery.

I see you!

Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO100

reflections

Perth, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/400 sec, f/5, ISO100

Colourful autumn leaves provide an interesting background to this closeup of a seedpod hanging from the branch of a Liquidambar styraciflua tree.

seed pod

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.2, ISO100

seed pod hanging around

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO100

50mm prime lenses are quite popular - and this is apparently because a 50mm lens provides a similar focal length to the human eye. Most lens manufacturers sell a cheap and fast 50mm lens, and I have previously reviewed the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, which retails for just USD$100.

My primary camera is a Canon 50D DSLR, and due to the size of its APS-C sensor, it has a 1.6x crop factor. This means a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera body has the same field-of-view as an 80mm lens on a full-frame camera body (ie, 50mm * 1.6 = 80mm).

While I like the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, I've found a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera body just a little too long, and started looking at slightly wider alternatives.

To achieve the equivalent field-of-view with an APS-C camera body that a 50mm lens has on a full-frame camera body, a lens with a focal length of around 31mm is required.
In the Canon lens range, there are a few options near this focal length, including various lenses at 24mm, 28mm and 35mm.

After keeping an eye on second-hand lenses on eBay, I managed to win a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens at a pretty good price.
A 35mm lens on an APS-C camera body results in almost same field-of-view as a 50mm lens on a full-frame body - giving the same field-of-view as a 56mm lens on a full-frame body.

Canon EF 35mm f/2 and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lenses

In the few weeks since buying the 35mm lens, it been the primary lens on my camera! I've been enjoying the focal length, and find it to provide a more natural field-of-view on my 50D than the 50mm lens.

I have already posted a few photos taken with the 35mm lens, and I'm intending to write a more comprehensive review of the 35mm f/2 lens in the near future.


Update (November 2010): I have now published a review of the Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.

Gum leaves, back-light by the sun.

gum leaves

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/320 sec, f/3.2, ISO100

Some yellow lichen provides a bright contrast against the dark bark of a branch. Taken while testing out the minimum focussing range of the Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.

a splash of yellow

Burswood, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO100

I received a parcel in the mail yesterday from Hong Kong, containing a brand new product from Phottix, the Strato 4-in-1 Trigger.

It's a 2.4GHz, 4 channel wireless remote that can be used as a wired shutter release, wireless shutter release, or a wireless flash trigger. Not only that, but it also supports pass-through ETTL to any flash or remote mounted on the hotshoe on top of the transmitter.

Phottix Strato 4-in-1 Trigger

The photo above shows how it can be used - with the Strato transmitter on the hotshoe of a Canon 350D, and a Canon 580EX flash on the hotshoe of the Strato transmitter.

The release date for the Phottix Strato 4-in-1 Trigger hasn't been set, so I can't say too much about it just yet, but stay tuned for a detailed review of it in the near future!

Some colleagues and myself wandered around in the park during lunchtime earlier this week, and I took my recently purchased Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.
Although we are well into winter, some of the trees are still showing plenty of autumn colours.

Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO100

Another photo from a recent trip to Adelaide, a panning shot of a bus early one morning.

This was taken with the only lens I took to Adelaide (and Sydney) a Canon EF 35mm f/2 prime lens that I recently won on eBay. So far, I've been happy with the results from this lens, and am intending to write a review of it in the near future.

bus blur

Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/15 sec, f/8, ISO100

Last week, I spent a couple of days in Adelaide for work. While walking from my hotel to a customer's office one morning, I had my camera out, and took some photos.

Rundle Mall is an interesting place to walk, with some unique features.
There's a huge pair of mirror balls 4m high, officially called "The Spheres", but more commonly known as the "Rundle Mall Balls" or "Mall's Balls".

Rundle Mall Balls

Rundle Mall, Adelaide, South Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 35mm f/2 @35mm, 1/100 sec, f/5, ISO320

Earlier today, Phottix announced the release of a new wireless flash trigger, called the Phottix Atlas.

The features of the Atlas include:

• each unit is a transceiver, and can function as a receiver or a transmitter
• can be used to trigger remote flashes or studio lights
• range of upto 100 metres
• supports sync speeds upto 1/250 second
• can trigger flashes via built-in female hotshoe, 3.5mm socket or 6.3mm socket
• compatible with PocketWizards
• can also be used as a wireless shutter release
• uses two AA batteries

I haven't been able to get my hands on an Atlas yet, but based on my experience with other Phottix accessories, I would expect the Atlas to be of comparable high quality build, with reliable triggering.


For more details on the Phottix Atlas, check out these links:

• Phottix Atlas press release
• Strobist on the Atlas
• Charles Verghese's Atlas review
• buy the Phottix Atlas

After recently reading about levitating photos on redbubble.com, I wanted to give it a try.
This afternoon, I pulled out my camera, tripod, and Plato remote shutter release, rounded up a couple of my kids, and had some fun in the back yard.

Let me know what you think of the "grungy" look I used in post-processing,

self-portrait

back yard at home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @24mm, 1/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO200

Taken from Bradley's Head, I like this view of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge lit up, as the last sunlight fades in the sky shortly after sunset.

Opera House and Harbour Bridge after dusk

Bradley's Head, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 50mm f/1.8 @50mm, 30 sec, f/9, ISO100

This photo was taken with the nifty-fifty lens (Canon 50mm f/1.8), a lens that is always fun to use, and typically provides sharp results.

A reader recently posted a comment on one of my earlier posts, saying he couldn't get his Phottix Aster (PT-V4) wireless flash trigger to trigger a flash when using his Canon 450D in liveview mode.

While I have done a lot of off-camera flash photography, I had never tried triggering a flash with my Canon 50D in liveview mode, and had no idea if there were any limitations.



Armed with my Canon 50D, a Canon 580EX flash, a few wireless flash triggers, and some PC sync cables, I did some testing in liveview mode.

Here are the results:

50D with Phottix Tetra wireless flash trigger	fails to trigger flash
50D with Phottix Aster wireless flash trigger	fails to trigger flash
flash directly connected to 50D pc sync socket	fails to trigger flash
50D with 580EX flash on hotshoe	successfully triggers flash
50D with Canon ST-E2 on hotshoe	successfully triggers flash

A quick look in the 50D manual provides some insight. It says the following about Silent Shooting mode when using liveview: In other words, with a Canon flash on the hotshoe, the camera will automatically change the Silent Shooting mode to "[Disable]" to ensure it can fire the flash. However, if a non-Canon device is attached to the camera (ie, a third-party flash trigger, or a PC sync cable), the camera will fail to trigger the flash if the Silent Shooting mode is not set to "[Disable]".

On the Canon 50D, "Silent Shooting" mode can be set in the "Live View function settings" menu.
After changing the Silent Shooting mode to "[Disable]", the 50D could successfully trigger a flash with the Phottix Tetra and the Phottix Aster while in liveview mode.

The third annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk is happening on Saturday 24 July 2010, and walker registrations opened yesterday.

Last year, over 32,000 people in over 900 locations around the globe participated - so now is the time to mark your diary for Saturday 24 July, and register for a photo walk.

A photowalk is a great way to walk around with other photographers, share tips and tricks, talk about gear, techniques and more, make new friends, and take photos. There is no requirement to have an expensive camera - anyone with a camera can participate.
For more info on the Worldwide Photo Walk, have a look at the FAQ, and for more info on photowalking have a look at Jeff Revell's Guide to Photowalking.

The timeline is as follows:

• May 24: Registration open for previous walk leaders
• June 1: New leader and walker registration opens
• July 24: PHOTO WALK!
• July 31: Deadline for submitting contest photos
• August 7: Deadline for local winner selections
• August 14: Grand Prize, Top 10 Honorable Mentions, and People's Choice winners announced

(Yes, that's right - there are prizes for photos taken on a photowalk on the day, if you chose to upload them for entry into the competition. You can see last year's winning photos here.)

Have a look at the Worldwide Photo Walk website to see if there is already a walk planned for your area, and sign up. There is no cost to participate in a walk on the day.

Each walk is limited to 50 people - and last year, there was only one walk in Perth, but this year there are already two walks registered for Perth (here and here).
Alternatively, you can sign up as a leader and plan a photo walk yourself on 24 July.

We are well into autumn, and this is clearly evident in the colour of the leaves on deciduous trees. I love the variety of bright colours in autumn leaves, and took some shots of the Chinese Tallowtree in our back yard yesterday.

Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @68mm, 1/1000 sec, f/3.5, ISO100

To a landscape photographer, knowing the time of sunrise and sunset is very important, as well as knowing the location of the sun on the horizon (it varies throughout the seasons). For many other photographers, knowning the location of the sun in the sky at any particular moment can be important, as it will determine the sunlight direction and shadows.

There are numerous applications available that can help photographers with this information, and I have provided a list of some of them below.
While there are many applications that will provide the sunrise and sunset times, I have restricted this list to applications that can also show the sun direction and elevation.

Website:	http://photoephemeris.com (for iPhone and iPad) http://stephentrainor.com/tools (for Desktop)
Platform:	Windows/Mac/Linux and iPhone
Cost:	for Desktop: free for iPhone and iPad: $9.49
Description:	This is map-centric sun and moon calculator, showing time and direction of sunrise and sunset, moonrise, moonset, phases of the mooon, as well as elevation above sea-level. It also allows you to see the direction of the sun and moon at any time during the day, all overlayed over Google Maps, and allows you to save multiple locations.
Images:	The Photographer's Ephemeris for Desktop

While gardening in the back yard recently, I grabbed some photos of my 6 year old son's dirty hands.

pulling weeds back yard at home, Western Australia Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO320

don't let the weeds get away! back yard at home, Western Australia Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO320

dirty hand

back yard at home, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 100mm f/2.8 macro @100mm, 1/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO250

This is one of my favourite images from my first photowalk, taken in the John Forrest National Park back in 2006. I had only recently bought my my first DSLR, a Canon 350D, and was experimenting with short DOF.

into the distance

John Forrest National Park, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @17mm, 1/800 sec, f/4, ISO100

It was a photowalk with a few guys from the OCAU photography forum, and as I lay down on the ground to capture this shot, one of the other guys took a photo of me lying down, and another guy took a photo of the guy taking a photo of me taking the above photo...

Getting a camera up in the air can provide for some interesting photography and video opportunities. Here's a few examples of aerial camera platforms that I've come across recently.



Eric Austin, from Texas, is a videographer who uses a Canon 7D attached to a remote-controlled helicopter to capture video from an aerial perspective.

Here's a video demonstrating the results he gets.

Aerial video with helivideo.com Our legacy video. from Heli Video Productions LLC on Vimeo.

You would want to make sure you're competent at flying an RC helicopter before trusting it to carry an expensive DSLR!



While Eric's rig is custom-built, another option is an off-the-shelf UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) from Dragan Fly.
They have a variety of UAV models, such as the cool 6-rotor DraganFlyer X6, which can take a variety of cameras, supports remote video links, and has various on-board sensors for its electronic flight stability.

These UAVs are not cheap, but they apparently are very easy to fly. It would be a lot of fun to have a UAV such as these, providing a very flexible platform for aerial photography or aerial HD video.

Check out the Dragan Fly website for more info.

Hiring camera gear to try it out before you buy it can be a great way to make sure you are buying gear that suits your requirements, rather than buying an expensive lens, only to find it doesn't quite meet your needs.


Camera gear can be expensive, particularly mid-high-end camera bodies and lenses. Before spending significant amounts of money on expensive items, how can you be sure that it is the right body or lens for you?

Online reviews on the web can be a useful source of information, and discussions in online forums can also be enlightening.
However, they typically will not provide specific information about how you intend to use the gear.

Here's a photo from Lake Seppings, located right near Middleton Beach in Albany. In October last year, it was so wet at the lake, that some parts of the boardwalk and path around the lake were under water, and we were unable to walk the whole way around the lake.

Lake Seppings, Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/30 sec, f/8, ISO100

I haven't been posting much in the last couple of weeks, because we're busy at home getting the walls painted, and new carpets in most of the house. Moving furniture, removing curtains and other fixtures...and then putting them back up after the paint is very time-consuming.



Phottix are having an Easter sale, with 10% off all purchases from the Phottix online store until 10 April 2010. To get your discount, be sure to specify "easter10" as the discount when you checkout.
If you have been meaning to buy some Phottix camera accessories, get your order in before 10 April!



Canon released updated firmware (version 2.0.3) for the 5D Mark II last month. One of the key features included in this firmware is more flexibility with video frame rates - something that many people have been clamouring for a while.

However, due to some issues with the 2.0.3 firmware, Canon withdrew it, and several days later, released version 2.0.4, which includes a fix for the issues identified in 2.0.3.
If you have a 5D Mark II and haven't yet updated your firmware, you can grab the firmware from Canon's web site.

For people with other Canon DSLR models, have a look at Canon's firmware page, and see if there's a newer version of firmware available for your camera.



I recently stumbled on a great list of photography cheat sheets that's worth taking a look at. It includes cheat sheets for portrait lighting, available light reference table, and more.



Some enterprising people have figured out how to connect a Nintendo DS to DSLR cameras, allowing the camera to be controlled by the DS. The project is known as Open Camera Control, and was originally done for taking multiple bracketing shots for HDR photography. However, a DS can provide a variety of camera control functions, depending on the software you install.

The project website claims it can be used to control almost any DSLR camera, as it connects to the camera via the shutter release cable port with some custom circuitry.

Some time ago, I asked how important are your photos to you?
Too many people do not consider the importance of backing up the photos stored on the hard drive of their computers, and have not bothered to implement any backup strategy.

This post provides some information about my backup strategy.



My backup strategy involves multiple backups, using a number of different backup mechanisms, and has evolved to suit my requirements.

Note that the strategy I'm describing suits my needs, but may not be appropriate for your backup needs.

After getting frustrated with a slow memory card reader for a number of years, I recently bought a SanDisk Extreme FireWire compact flash memory card reader, which is rated at 40 MB/s read and write performance.

I've always been happy with the SanDisk memory cards I've used in various cameras, and decided that a genuine SanDisk memory card reader would be a good option.



The SanDisk card reader comes well packaged, and with a clean design showing just a SanDisk logo on the top of the actual card reader, it looks very business-like.

Build quality is just what I would expect from SanDisk - the card reader is well-built, robust, with good quality cables, and clean styling.

While walking around Dove Lake, near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, we came across this wombat. He wasn't too concerned about all the people crowding around with their cameras, but just slowly continued on his way.

wombat

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 17-85mm IS @44mm, 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO200

When I saw the graffiti on this bamboo at the Perth Zoo, I had to stop and take a photo of it.

bamboo graffiti

Perth Zoo, Western Australia
Canon EOS 350D, 70-200mm f/4L @70mm, 1/25 sec, f/4, ISO200

If you ever visit Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, it's worth doing the walk around the lake.

There is some fantastic scenery as the track makes its way around the lake, and in some places, it's a wooden walkway bolted to the rock cliff, as shown in the photo below (with Cradle Mountain in the background).

walkway around Dove Lake

Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Canon EOS 350D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/25 sec, f/8, ISO200

Other sections of the track will take you through a temperate rainforest called the Ballroom Forest.

The walk is 6km, and takes approximately 2 hours (depending on how fit you are, how fast you walk, how frequently you stop to take photos, etc). It's a relatively easy walk, and is mostly flat.

Here are some photos from Michael and Kathryn's wedding, shot in December. It was a very hot day, but we had a lot of fun, despite the heat, and the two flower girls performed very well all day!

While in Sydney recently, some colleagues took me for a lunchtime walk through the national park that is located right behind our office.
It's part of Lane Cove National Park, and we walked through an area called Fairyland Park, which used to be an amusement park of sorts that closed in the 1970s.

Here's a few photos taken during that lunchtime walk.

leaves

Fairyland Park, North Ryde, NSW
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @15mm, 1/30 sec, f/4, ISO200

Last night, I returned home after two weeks in Sydney. It was a work-related trip, but I was hoping to get out with my camera, as I have done on previous trips to Sydney.
However, it was pretty wet, with a lot of rain during the time I was in Sydney, including rain for most of the weekend I was there.

wet roads ... and a bridge!

Sydney, NSW
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @22mm, 1/50 sec, f/6.3, ISO200

Despite the rain, I still spent some time wandering around the city on the weekend, and managed to get some photos.

The photo above shows a wet Sydney road, with the very recognisable structure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance.

There is a saying which states that the eyes are the window to a person's soul. It is important to know how to handle people's eyes in portrait photography, as the way the eyes are represented in a photo can make or break the photo.

For example, Steve McCurry's Afghan Girl photo, which appeared on the cover of the June 1984 National Geographic Magazine, was named "the most recognised photograph" in the history of the magazine. This was primarily due to her piercing sea-green eyes, staring straight at the camera, resulting in a very striking and appealing portrait.



With portrait photography, it is important to ensure the eyes are in focus. This is particularly important if shooting with a large aperture, when the depth-of-focus is small.
A portrait with the eyes in focus will have more impact, will be more appealing, and the eyes will help draw the viewer into the image.

Samantha

Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @70mm, 1/640 sec, f/4, ISO200

To ensure your camera focuses on the eyes, configure it to use only one focus point, and compose the shot with this focus point on the eyes, half-press the shutter button to focus, and then re-compose and take the photo.

I recently purchased a Yongnuo OC-E3a Canon TTL flash cable from Deal Extreme (an online store based in Hong Kong) for just USD$24.86, with free shipping.
The Yongnuo OC-E3a cable is less than one third of the cost of a genuine Canon OC-E3 cable, which retails for USD$69.95.



A TTL flash cable allows you to get your flash off your camera's hot shoe, while still maintaining full ETTL communications with the flash. This can be useful when using a flash bracket or light-stand to hold the flash, or even when using one hand to hold the flash away from the camera body.

It's not limited for use with flashes - you can use a TTL cable for mounting a Canon ST-E2 wireless transmitter remotely from the camera. This can be handy if you are using the ST-E2 to control one or more remote flashes wirelessly, but where the flashes are outside the forward-pointing optical transmission of the ST-E2 (ie, the flashes might be to the side, or even behind the camera, and without sufficient reflective surfaces to bounce the infrared signal from the ST-E2 to the remote flashes).



The Yongnuo cable is a clone of the genuine Canon OC-E3 TTL flash cable, but is significantly cheaper than the genuine article from Canon.

Yongnuo OC-E3a TTL flash cable

The old oil tanks at Albany's Whale World, which have been converted into mini movie theatres. Each of the movie theatres has a different short movie about the whaling station.

Whale World tanks

Whale World, Albany, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 10-22mm @10mm, 1/4000 sec, f/4, ISO250

The Canon ST-E2 is Canon's dedicated wireless flash transmitter, designed to be mounted on a camera's hot-shoe, and can trigger one or more Canon flashes wirelessly in E-TTL mode.

When mounted on a camera's hot-shoe, the Canon 580EX and 580EX II flashes can also be used as a master device for triggering and controlling multiple remote Canon flashes in E-TTL mode.

However, there are a number of differences in functionality between using a 580EX / 580EX II as a master, and using the ST-E2 as a master device, with advantages and disadvantages for both options.

The tables below summarise the differences between using a Canon ST-E2 or a Canon 580EX / 580EX II as a master flash trigger, with differences highlighted using a different background colour.
Details were sourced from Canon's technical specifications and user manuals, as well as the results of my own testing with the ST-E2 and 580EX II.

Here's another one from a sunset shoot last week at North Beach.
The colours in this particular photo were not very inspiring, but a black and white conversion provides a more striking result.

receeding waters

North Beach, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 70-200mm f/4L @70mm, 1/13 sec, f/22, ISO100

Yesterday evening, I met up with some fellow photographers at North Beach, to shoot the sunset from the beach, using the rocks to provide some foreground interest.

Here's a long exposure, taken about 30 minutes after sunset (click the image to view a larger version).

dusk at North Beach

North Beach, Western Australia
Canon EOS 50D, 24-70mm f/2.8L @24mm, 20 sec, f/16, ISO100

The Department of Environment and Conservation are using one of my photos (with permission) on a new sign at the Mangrove Bay bird-hide in the Cape Range National Park, near Exmouth, in the north-west of Western Australia.

The photo being used is a white-faced heron that I photographed at Sepentine Falls a few years ago.

If you're ever Mangrove Bay, be sure to check out the sign!

left half of the sign

right half of the sign

sign detail

Photos of the sign provided by the Department of Environment and Conservation, and used here with permission.

Here's an overview of all the photos that I blogged during 2009.
Click the thumbnail to go directly to the corresponding blog post.

Happy new year!

Here's the most visited tutorials, hacks, reviews and gear-related posts during 2009 (based on the number of page views between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2009, as reported by Google Analytics):

1. Faking Tilt-Shift - a Tutorial for Realistic Miniaturised Photos
2. Tag Your Camera
3. Review: Phottix Cleon II Wire/Wireless Remote Control Set
4. Review: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
5. A Cheap Clamp for Holding a Remote Flash
6. Review: Phottix Hero LiveView Wireless Remote
7. Review: Phottix Nikos Digital Timer Remote (TC-501)
8. Review: Phottix Plato 2.4GHz Wireless Remote
9. Canon 50D Remote Shutter Release
10. Yongnuo Remote Shutter Release - cheap but not too nasty
11. Canon N3 Connector Pinout and Wiring
12. Review: Phottix Tetra Wireless Flash Trigger (PT-04 II)
13. More on Tagging Your Camera
14. Making Bookmarks With Your Photos
15. Review: Phottix Cleon Wire/Wireless Remote Control Set
16. An Improved Clamp for Holding a Remote Flash
17. New Toy - Cokin Z-Pro ND Grad Filter Kit
18. Selling Photos For Publication - How Much Should You Charge?
19. Canon 50D - First Impressions
20. Canon 7D Announced