In Focus: Keep Your Eyes Open

As expats, when we arrive in a new place we are most often in tourist mode.  We happily visit those places that everyone goes to.  We see the things that everyone sees.  We take the pictures that everyone takes.  Sooner or later however, we reach a point where things start to look the same.  This is especially true in Korea.  We all have many pictures of temples, of markets, of food stalls on the side of the road.

In the course of our daily lives we tread the beaten path from home to work and back again.  On the weekends we often perpetuate a cycle of late nights and sleeping in.  We see the same things on a day-to-day basis and we feel the need to travel further to see and photograph something new and exciting.  So, where is the next challenge?

It may be closer than you think.

I was out walking one weekend a couple of weeks ago when I spied a small Buddhist shrine behind a couple of buildings.  Nothing unusual in that you might think, but it was a place I had been walking past almost every day for the last 2 years.  I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.  It hammered home the point that if we keep our eyes open there are great photographic opportunities all around us.

So keep a watchful eye out in the course of your daily commute.  Whether you walk, take the bus or whatever, pay attention.  You never know what new and interesting things are passing you by unnoticed.  Take a different route. Wander off the beaten track a little.  Go to the ‘old’ places, but use them as a starting point for perhaps navigating some back alleys and streets nearby. You will probably see some things you haven’t seen before, meet some interesting people and be presented with some unique and interesting photographic opportunities.  Visit the usual places at night, things look very different during the evening hours and are often inhabited by a very different kind people.

As an alternative, instead of looking for different things close to home, look at the things close to home in a different way.  Try a different lens.  A wide or ultra-wide lens makes a big difference to how we view the world and presents some unique photographic challenges.

The most important things are to keep your eyes open, be prepared to take a detour now and again, and to continue to take photos.

By Aaron Raisey

Winners from the last two weeks.

I’m going to deliver the latest winners via the blog here.  You can download the page if you wish.

View this document on Scribd

View this document on Scribd

Images: JPG vs RAW

If you have a digital camera, you are no doubt familiar with at least one of these types image file. Maybe you have wondered what the difference is and what the advantages of shooting in one format over the other are. Well there are advantages to both, and likewise, both have drawbacks. Lets try to answer a couple of questions and hopefully you can decide what’s right for you.
Q: JPG and RAW, what are they anyway?
A: JPG files are the de facto file format for images on the web. Almost all the images you see on the web and that people email to each other are JPG files. They are the ‘finished product’ – ready to share with family and friends and to upload to your web site.
RAW files are just that – raw. They are the image as the camera initially sees it. The file needs to be processed further by software to be able to be shared, printed or uploaded to the web.
All cameras can do this processing in-camera, preparing the JPG image ready to go.  Some cameras give you the option of doing it yourself at home on the computer.
Q: Does my camera save my pictures as RAW files, or JPG files?
A: Mid to low range point-and-shoot cameras only shoot JPG. If you have a top of the line point-and-shoot or a DSLR, you will likely be able to choose either or even both simultaneously.
Q: So, what are the pros and cons of RAW?
A: The big advantages of RAW are that it gives you another chance and more options. If, for example, you didn’t get the exposure quite right, you want some more contrast or if the white balance is off, you can adjust these (and many more) aspects of the image accurately and safely. The original file is never altered.
The major disadvantages of RAW are that they need special software and time. The appropriate software should be supplied when you purchase the camera, but you need to invest time in learning how to use it and time in front of the computer after every shoot to produce those JPG images to share.
RAW files are also big. If you are shooting a lot, or shooting action, memory cards fill up very quickly. At about 3-4 times the size of a comparable JPG image, storage can become an issue.
Q: What about JPG? Why would I shoot JPG?
A: JPG is easy. Just shoot and share. You don’t need specialized software to see the files and if you want to adjust your image, there are many image editing programs that are free and easy to use. However, JPG doesn’t give you the flexibility of adjustment that RAW does. Changing, for example, the exposure or white balance on a JPG file is more difficult and often produces results that aren’t satisfactory.
Q: My camera shoots both, but which kind of image is best for me?
A: That depends. If you have confidence that you can get the image right first time, or you can’t be bothered with learning new software and twiddling with images on your computer, then JPG might be best for you. Shoot RAW if you like the options it gives you in terms of the wide range of adjustments that can be successfully applied to your image and if you enjoy the time it takes.
Don’t forget though, good photographers produce good images irrespective of which type of file they choose to work with. The importance of file format takes a back seat to actually getting out there, shooting more, applying a critical eye to your results and getting out there again.

By Aaron Raisey

In Focus: Manual Focus Lenses

Lenses are expensive. If you are shooting using a DSLR, buying another lens or two becomes almost inevitable as your photography develops. Are there cheaper alternatives? Yes there are.

In the days before auto-everything, cameras had to be adjusted and set for action by hand. This is time consuming and inconvenient for most modern photographers, but left over from those days are many, many fine lenses. Can you imagine having a legendary name such as Takumar, Leica, or Carl Zeiss mounted on your camera?

So how do you get, for example, a 1950s screw-mount lens onto your DSLR? At first glance it’s like trying to fit square peg into a round hole. However, you can now get adapters specifically made for this purpose. It is possible to mount almost any lens onto almost any modern camera and the adapters can be removed and reused with other lenses. Certainly, there are many options available for the big two camera manufacturers.

Using a manual focus (MF) lens can be inconvenient at first. But with a little practice it gets much easier and becomes a lot of fun. Gaining focus requires the photographer to actually judge by eye that focus has been achieved. Contrast this with a modern AF lens where the camera focuses the lens for you. Because MF lenses don’t have electronics, the camera doesn’t know there’s a lens attached. Fortunately many adapters have an electronic chip that alerts the camera that a lens is mounted. Now the camera can give you a little assistance in the form of that familiar ‘beep’ when you have achieved focus.

On a modern DSLR a manual focus lens is most easily used in ‘AV’, or aperture priority mode. In this mode you set the desired aperture on the lens itself, focus manually and shoot. The camera adjusts the shutter speed to suit.

So what are the advantages? It seems like a lot of hassle, but like anything there are pros and cons. The big disadvantage is of course the need to focus manually, which takes a little more time, so MF lenses are a poor option for shooting action. However, there are many positive aspects, especially for the casual or hobbyist photographer. The lenses are cheaper than their modern counterparts, often much cheaper. It is possible to obtain lenses of comparable optical quality for a fraction of the price of those bought new. The lenses are also smaller and lighter than their modern equivalents and the build quality is generally superior – no plastic to be seen.

Manual focus lenses can be obtained in Korea, but the best places to buy them are at the big online stores and eBay. Adapters are difficult to find here, but again, there is a wide variety available online.

A good manual focus setup to start with would be an m42 screw-mount Super-Takumar (Pentax) 50mm f/1.4 lens with a chipped adapter. This combination would cost about $75 – $100 and give you performance on a par with any equivalent new lens today, not to mention better reliability and longevity. If you are looking for a new challenge in photography, or like the feeling that you are calling the shots more than the camera, I recommend giving it a try.

By Aaron Raisey
February 10th, 2009