Check out the headlight detailing.  

Car 16 

The V Turn 

Spectators 

Photography Adventure - Rally Race

The 100 Acre Woods / Trespassers Wil Rally Race was held in Salem, Missouri today (and yesterday but I only made it out there today. What a blast. In this race street legal rally cars race over gravel roads through the woods. I think this is my 4th year attending.

I've told you I'm primarily a wildlife photographer, so you may be wondering what my interest is in the rally race. Besides that it is a heck of a lot of fun, it is a fast action event. High speed photography is used in both rally races and wildlife photography. This is my first year using a 20D at the race, with an extreme high speed CF card.

First, you probably guessed you need to set a high shutter speed to freeze the action. Depending on your camera, you may also be able to set it to continuous rapid fire mode and tracking focus (AI Servo). If you are lucky and your camera has the runner icon on it, you can set all the high speed functions your camera is capable of simply by turning your mode wheel to the runner.

With all the functions set consider which lens you would like to use. I shot with the18-55, and took a few at 100mm with the 100-400 lens. My son Ben shot the 10D with the 28-135 lens. Note that the 18-55 lens will not fit the 10D. The 10D mirror doesn't allow enough room for the deep rear of the 18-55 lens. It is great on the 20D though. And really a wide angle is fine for most situations with cars, they are a large subject as opposed to birds. But in some rare cases the spectators can't get close enough to the cars for a short lens to give you the tight shots you might desire. Of course bringing a variety of lenses will serve you best in any situation.

Since these cars are driving incredibly fast on gravel roads: TIP: bring something to cover your equipment after each car passes to protect it from the shower of dust that follows the cars. Warranties don't cover sand and it can grind lens functions to a stand still, penetrate every nook and cranny, and in general ruin a camera. Tip: Use a polarizing filter. A polarizing filter reduces glare on water and glass. This enables you to see the drivers faces in the cars.

The cars in this race go by at speeds near 100 miles an hour, about a minute apart. They come out of the starting gate one minute apart and are timed for each stage. A program provides directions to each spectator area. Part of the fun is finding the spectator areas that are sometimes deep into the woods. One of today's was 4 miles deep into the woods on a small one lane gravel road. Tip: Drive a 4 wheel drive vehicle to the race. A short wheelbase will make it easier to turn around in the woods also.

We were lucky enough to get to watch them come out of the shoot, and catch them at three spectator sites. One of the sites had a turn that was a tight V. It was great watching them navigate that one.

A word about media card speed. When I was shooting with the 10D I didn't see much difference between the regular speed cards and my 12X card. Perhaps that was because the 10D wrote at the same speed for both. Today I saw a huge difference using the 20D with the Extreme (10 megabites a second read/9 mbs write) and the 12 X card. The Extreme card was incredibly fast with no noticeable lag whatsoever for reading or writing. When that card was full and I switched to my old 12X card, whoaaa nelly everything slowed down. With the Extreme card I could get 9 shots of a car going through a turn and then some. With the 12 x card I was lucky to get two shots. In all fairness though, I also swiched to the slower lens about the same time so that also affected the camera's shooting speed. I'll have to try this experiment again with the same lens.

A few notes on composition. Some of my favorite shots are the ones that get some expression on someone's face. Sure the cars are fun to, but a face or a thumbs up makes a shot. In this race spectators have the luxury of getting to talk to the drivers and navigators prior to their turn at the starting line. I took advantage of this and walked up to a few cars and asked the navigator to give us a thumbs up out of the gate. Those made for much better shots than the person looking down at maps or controls. Think ahead and you can create better shots with a bit of effort. Don't be afraid to talk to people. Most of them are cooperative and appreciate the attention. Especially people who are not afraid to get involved in a public display event.

When you are shooting the cars in action try to give them someplace to go, and leave room for the spray of gravel behind the car when feasible. That's why a wide angle from fairly close range is great. For those of you who haven't heard of the rule of thirds, it basically favors placing subjects in more interesting places than the center. Mentally place a tic tac toe board on the view, then place the subject at any cross point. For moving subjects I try to place them on a cross point to the left of center if they are moving to the right and vice versa. Of course at very high speeds what you try for and what you get aren't always the same thing.

Here are a few shots for your viewing pleasure.

Keep gettin' out there and having fun,
geopic

Is it Worth Repairing?

Before I delve into the repair topic, I have to tell you about my little photo adventures this week.
I like to walk my dog at the park in the morning. Most of the time I take my camera along just in case something worth shooting presents itself. Tip: Always take your camera with you. Tip: Don't take your camera with you if it will damage the camera (unless you can afford to buy a replacement) or get it stolen. Tip 1 is the rule unless Tip 2 over rides it. Having learned of some car break-ins in a nearby park recently, I decided to leave the camera at home until after the dog walk. On the way back from the park I saw several animals running around near the road ahead. I tried to figure out what they were but couldn't make it out yet. They were about the size of a large cat or a small cocker spaniel, but they only had two legs. As I got closer I realized that whatever these black eggs on stick legs were, they were powerful enough to stop huge dump trucks. Yup, the quarry trucks were making their morning deliveries but each one had to wait for the critters to clear the road. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the animals looked like black and white speckled chickens. They had white heads. Since I didn't have my camera along I took my dalmation home. I looked for the birds in my Audubon field guide but didn't find them. I did find a prairie chicken which looked similar, but was brown, not black. The book said the prairie chicken has been exterminated from much of it's range due to destruction of prairie lands. I was worried that the birds' home was disturbed by new quarry work so even though I thought they would probably be gone if I went back with the camera I gave it a shot. Luckily they were there. I counted 8 on one side of the road and 2 on the other. I got two shots of them before a car came up behind me and I had to move on. When I turned around and came back they were gone. Later, the pictures, although hurried and not great, helped us positively identify them as Guinea Fowl. Web searches found historical references to them back to Thomas Jefferson's time. The ones I saw may have been someone's pets or wild.

My other photoshoot this week was a portrait shooting of a famous worship rock star. Well, ok, he is locally famous, or will be someday. He's also a great photographer so I was glad to have the opportunity to learn from him. We went to a park and took a lot of pictures of Jon with his guitar in various poses. It was a cloudy day, so I set the ISO to 200 and the white balance to cloudy. I took some shots in portrait, some in auto, and some in aperature priority. We used the wide angle lens for all of them. Maybe I'll post one later if Jon is ok with it.

Now let's move to today's topic, Is it worth repairing??? That is one of the most common questions that comes across the counter at the camera store. First find out if the camera is still under warranty and if the problem is covered by the warranty. Most warranties don't cover droppage, water or sand damage (any kind of user abuse actually). Think about it, warranties are intended to cover you against a faulty product, not to cover you against accidents or user abuse. So take good care of your camera. There is a warranty called the ultimate that does cover droppage for film cameras though. Most cameras are covered for 1 year by the manufacturer. If you bought the extended warranty you may have 3 to 5 years of coverage. Tip: If the camera costs more than $200, buy the extended warranty. It's a small price to pay for the value received if your camera should fail. 8% of digital cameras fail in the first 3 years. That isn't a huge number, but if yours fails, you will wish you had bought the extended warranty. If you have lost your paperwork on the camera and don't know if you bought the warranty, go to the store where you bought it and ask for a copy of your receipt. You will need to send the receipt along with the camera if it goes in for repairs under warranty. Also, the receipt should have the camera serial number on it. That is how the manufacturer knows that the camera you are sending in is in fact the camera you bought on that receipt. If the store you bought it from doesn't put the serial number on receipts, shop at a reputable camera store in the future.

Should you repair it?
If it is under warranty and it is a warranty covered problem - YES
If it is a point and shoot film camera and it is no longer covered under warranty - NO, you can buy a new one for about the cost of the repair and repair shops are likely to turn you down anyway since they don't keep parts for old point and shoots.
If it is digital or an SLR (you can change the lenses) and is not covered under warranty - Maybe. The average repair cost for a film SLR is $150. The average repair cost for a digital camera is $300. If the repair cost is considerably less than the cost of a replacement, or if the camera has sentimental value consider doing the repair. Tip: If you repair one part, remember that the camera still has other old parts that might break, so if the camera is old it may be better to get a new one.


The camera store has been hoppin' this week. Our best seller has been the Pentax 750Z. This is a great little camera. It's a 7 megapixel, 5x optical zoom, with a flip screen. Lots of people want a small camera they can fit in their pocket but they also want a lot of zoom. Well "small" and "a lot of zoom" are mutually exclusive terms. That zoom has to go someplace so more zoom means a bigger camera. The 750Z is a good option though if small and zoom are your goal. A 5x zoom gives you 200mm of zoom. Not bad. The body of the 750z is bigger than a pocket camera, but not to big to fit in a purse or fanny pack. Another neat feature on this camera is the diopter that allows you to adjust the focus of the viewfinder. Inexpensive cameras don't have diopters. Come back later to learn more about what makes an inexpensive camera cheap and what makes an expensive camera worth more bucks.

TTFN,
geopic

Singing Sunflower WB light bulb setting 

Singing Sunflower 

Yellow Glow

One of the most common problems in indoor photography is yellow. Have you ever wondered why your indoor pictures look terribly yellow?

Cameras "see" or show, more colors from light than our eyes do. Probably because our eyes compensate automatically. Most common indoor tungsten lights give that yellow cast to everything.

There are a couple ways to avoid it. The easiest is to set your white balance setting to the lightbulb. If you aren't sure how to set your white balance, consult your owners manual. Most cameras have a button with WB on it, or it might be in the menu under white balance.

Let's talk a minute about the fully automatic setting. I'd estimate that 80% of my customers never take their camera out of fully automatic. That's fine if it is producing pictures that meet your needs. But I frequently hear statements like, "Why are my pictures coming out yellow, I had it on the fully automatic setting?" Remember that in fully automatic mode the camera is assessing the situation and guessing at what you want. It may not even set the settings the same way twice for the same situation. Every person has different opinions of what makes a great picture. The camera's guess may align with your desires, or it might miss the boat. There may be times when you need to turn that knob out of fully automatic and set a setting like White Balance to get the best outcome. So if you look for the white balance setting and can't find it, it might be because you are in fully automatic and in fully automatic the settings are set for you so it doesn't give you many choices. Try putting it in the P, AV, TV, or M mode and then look for your white balance setting. P = Program, AV or A = aperature priority (you set the aperature and the camera selects the speed), TV or S = Speed priority (you set the speed and the camera sets the aperature), and M = Manual (you set everything)

Don't let all the mode choices overwhelm you. Just try learning one thing at a time, like how to set the white balance to the lightbulb for indoor shots.

Another way to reduce the yellow effect is by using the flash. Flash does slow your camera down though while it waits for the flash to warm up.

The final way to prevent the yellow effect is with a filter. Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras, that allow you to change lenses, have threads on the front of the lens that lets you connect filters on the front. A filter is just a small piece of glass that goes on the front of the camera to produce various effects. The filter that removes yellow is called the 80A filter and looks blue. Tip: be sure to get the right size filter for your camera. If you aren't sure what size you need, bring your lenses with you when you go to the store to buy filters.

The yellow cast problem is the most common problem that internet vendors have. Especially salespeople who are taking pictures of jewelry. Try the white balance setting and if that doesn't work try the 80A filter or flash(es) to improve your pictures.

Here are some comparison pics for you.

geopic

Get the Red Out

My customers frequently need help with red-eye removal. Let's talk about what causes red-eye, how to get rid of it, and most importantly, how to keep it from happening in the first place.

The Cause

Red-eye is caused by the flash going into the eye, reflecting off the back of the eye, and bouncing straight back into the camera. The larger the pupil, the bigger the red-eye.

To Get Rid of It

Once you have it in your picture, there are a couple ways to remove it. If your picture is digital, you can remove it with digital editing software, like Photoshop. If you don't have a computer, you can take your memory card to a camera store and use their lobby machine to remove the red-eye. One draw back to doing this on some Picture Magic lobby machine is that the changes are only stored in the kiosk's temporary storage, not on your media. So each time you want a copy of that picture you would have to make the change again. So if you've got a home computer do it there.

If you have prints but no digital image or editing software, you can use a red-eye pen (available at camera stores), to physically remove the red-eye from each picture. These pens turn the red to black. They won't make a blue eye blue, but then neither do Picture Magic machines. For the most part that is ok because it is primarily the pupil you are changing. Black still looks better than red even if the red was over the iris also. But be very, very careful using these pens. You dab them with tiny bits at a time because if you go out of the eye area you can have a blob that ruins the picture. The other drawback to the pens is that the original negative still has red-eye.

Another way to remove red-eye is to scan the picture or negative into a computer (some camera stores offer this service), create a digital image of the picture, and edit it digitally as we discussed above.

Avoiding Red-eye to begin with

The best way to deal with red-eye is to avoid it when you take the picture to begin with. There are several approaches to this, use them all for the best effect.

First, remember that we said red-eye is caused when the FLASH bounces directly back to the camera. Lots of cameras are capable of compensating for low-light conditions and brightening up the shot without a flash. Especially some good digital cameras. I don't mean real low light conditions, but in regular room light. Try taking the picture without the flash and see how it turns out.

Second, note that I said it is caused when the flash bounces STRAIGHT back to the camera. If you need to use a flash, use it at an angle to avoid the light coming straight back into the camera. If your camera can use an add-on flash rather than the built in flash, the add-on is higher on the camera, or can be put off to the side using a flash chord or bracket, so it is worth the investment. Especially if you take a lot of indoor portraits.

Finally, many cameras have a red-eye reduction mode. This works better on some cameras than others, but is definitely worth using. In most cameras, Red-eye reduction mode is set by tapping on your flash button until you see the eyeball icon. Read your camera's instruction manual if you are having trouble finding how to set it. Tip: If you lost your camera's instruction manual, go to the manufacturers web site. Most of them have manuals on-line that you can print.

Also remember that when you are in red-eye reduction mode on your camera two things happen. One, the camera sends out a pre-flash flash. So be sure to tell your subjects not to close their eyes after the first flash. Second, it slows down your pictures. Cameras (whether they are digital or film) have to wait for the flash to warm up, so now in addition to the warm-up time there is extra time added with the pre-flash. It's still worth doing, just test it so you know what to expect and tell your subjects what to expect so they won't get impatient and get up and leave. Tip: Fresh batteries can speed up the flash warm-up time.

I hope you don't mind that I won't be posting any pics tonight. I don't get red-eye in my pics, and I'm sure you all know what it looks like anyway. Don't feel bad if you get it though, not all cameras are created equal and you do get what you pay for.

geopic

Two heads are better than one, or maybe not. 

I've got a secret 

Funny Pics

What makes a picture funny and why seek humor opportunities? Just ask Strongbad, I'm sure he could tell us.

One tip for finding funny photo opportunities applies to all photography, to get anything you have to get out there and find it. More specifically, go places where kids are and to off-the-wall events. You are more likely to get a funny shot at a monster truck rally than at a botanical garden, but it could happen anywhere. Keep your eyes open and anticipate reactions to the unusual.

I'm attaching a couple of my favorites. I'd love to see yours (funny pics I mean).

geopic

Moon Bridge 

Moon 1000 mm 

Moon over Mississippi 

Moon Bee Tree 

Shooting the Moon

When I left work today the clouds were amazing. They were big, white, fluffy, and broken up enough to allow plenty of sun through. I only had about an hour before the sun would set, so I had to move fast and settle on a location not to far away.

I live on the West side of the Mississippi which makes finding good vantage points for a sunset difficult. The city and powerlines clutter everything up when you look West, and looking East, well, that's not where the sun sets. But today I settled for looking East at sunset, knowing the setting sun would paint the clouds over the Mississippi.

Bee Tree Park was crowded with people enjoying the unseasonable 70+ degree weather. So I hiked a trail to a bluff that overlooks the river and set up. Using the tripod, I alternated between the wide angle and the 400mm. Trees on both sides added some framing. The moon was high against a blue sky, with colorful clouds beneath it, all underlined by the mighty Mississip.

As usual I shot numerous compositions and settings. The close up of the moon I liked the best was shot at a shutter speed of 1/250, aperature of 5.6 and an ISO of 100 with the 400 mm lens. The mistake a lot of people make when shooting the moon is to set up for a night shot, and they end up over exposing the moon leaving no detail. Remember that the moon is reflecting the sun so it is bright.

I'm including a couple previous shots of the moon taken with my 10D also. One is a black-and-white (converted to BW in photoshop), taken with a 1000mm mirror telescope lens. This one was taken at 1/45; ISO 100. This particular lens is a fixed aperature 11.

Finally the moon next to the Clarke Bridge, taken in West Alton Missouri was taken at a .5 shutter speed, av 5.6, ISO 100, 400 mm lens.

Moon River, wider than a mile...

Until next time, keep shooting.

geopic

St. Louis Panorama 

Geopic 

St. Louis Panorama

The destination for my most recent photoshoot was the top of the Arch in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It was a bright, clear, sunny day, which I hadn't given that much thought to at the time, but it turned out to be an excellent day for the task at hand. For readers who have not been up in the Arch before, I'll give a brief overview of the experience. If you've been there and don't care about the ride, skip ahead to the heading: At the TOP.

The ride:

First let me start by explaining that after 911, security was beefed up considerably at the Arch. So my first thoughts were on what I could get through security in a timely fashion. I wasn't sure if my backpack loaded down with equipment, lenses, wiring, etc. would dumbfound security staff and leave me standing waiting for them to figure out that everything was harmless. So I left the backpack in the jeep, and took my 20D, my 400 zoom lens, and my 18-55 wide angle. Always bring an extra batteries and memory cards for any photoshoot. I had been up in the arch a few times before and fully expected long lines and delays, so I wasn't thrilled about carrying the weight without the backpack. The backpack has straps that wrap around and hook in front, allowing me to hook my big lens with camera attached to these straps to take the weight off my neck. Without the backpack I just cradled the system in my arms. Tip: Take only what you need to avoid delays at security checkpoints.

Since it was a weekday, at about 1 pm, I was pleasantly pleased to discover that lines were non-existent. In my prior life as a technician for the Federal Reserve, I was only off on weekends so I was used to seeing lines outside the arch, waiting to get in, inside waiting to buy tickets and waiting to get on the tram after getting tickets. This day was all together different. Tip: go on a weekday, not a weekend. I got through security quickly. They told me to put my long coat in the basket rather than emptying pockets (which I had already emptied of all non-essentials to alleviate delays). The ticket counter had no line and the tram was leaving in 10 minutes.

Again, no line at the tram. There was a gal from Kodak taking pictures of families before going up if they wanted to buy one. I wondered if this was in case they never made it back down. Here is where the ride gets interesting. As a single person, the tram attendants assign you a car with someone else. I like this custom as it gives you a chance to meet other people. I was lucky to meet a young mom and her son, Griffith, who was celebrating his 5th birthday. I love kids so I was happy to meet this excited young man with blond hair and a big smile. I've noticed lots of kids seem to warm right up to me as well. I think it is just because I give them a warm smile. I don't think they get enough smiles from adults. Tip: smile at kids, it puts them at ease.

Once the riders coming down from the top exit the tram, you find a seat in the car. The cars are tiny, as is the door to get into them. You have to duck to keep from hitting your head. Inside the car is the shape of the inside of an egg, with 5 seats, two on each side and one against the back facing the door. Anyone with long legs should pick the one facing the door. I remember riding once with a French man who was very tall, kindof like jack the pumpkin king in "Night Before Christmas." He only fit in the seat facing the door.

As the egg ascends it rocks and jolts, realigning itself as it lurches through the curvature of the arch. Through the tram window all you can see is the inner bowels of the Arch. Cold bare cement, and an endless staircase (I'd hate to have to take that to the top). At the top you can free yourself from the egg and enjoy the 5 star restaurant. Just kidding. There's no restaurant at the top despite urban myths to the contrary.

At the TOP:

The Arch is shaped like a triangle with the point at the bottom, below the floor, and the wide flat part at the top. So there is a narrow floor, walls that slant outward from the floor toward the ceiling, and windows that slant toward the ground. The windows are wide horizontally, and have a deep windowsill in front of them. So people lean forward with elbows on the windowsill to see out the window and look down on the city. Inside the arch, when there are a lot of visitors, you see a row of behinds as everyone leans over the window sills to peer down. Tip: Don't bother with a large tripod at the Arch, there isn't room on the window sill to make it work, use a tabletop tripod or simply rest your camera on your coat or arm. Since the windowsill slants down from the window, you need something to raise the camera while providing stability.

Peering down yourself, on the West side you see the City of St. Louis, Missouri; on the East side you see the Mississippi river and Illinois. My primary goal of this trip was to get a picture of Busch Stadium. A new stadium is being built next to the old one, and I wanted to get a shot of the new one in progress while the old one is still a full circle. With my 400 mm lens I could get shots of half of the old stadium, and the flag on top. It was way longer than I needed, but I had fun zooming in on minutiae going on in the city: Sculptures on top of hotels, couples crossing streets hand in hand, a bicycle messenger facing a row of traffic at a light. Tips: Bring something to clean windows if you have to shoot through them, also use a polarizing filter (circular polarizer for autofocus lenses) to reduce glare on glass and water).

Switching to the 18-55 lens, I took numerous side by side shots from the south side of the city, featuring the stadium and old courthouse, to the northeast where the Edward Jones Dome dominates the cityscape. On the West side of the Arch a similar pan of shots netted the Poplar Street bridge, the Illinois farmlands, a high muddy river, the Casino, and the Eades Bridge to the North. Tips: Shoot with the same focal length to make panoramic stitching easier. Use the sky as an alignment guide, keeping a small amount of sky in each pic. Try to avoid putting key landmarks close to the edge of the picture, they could fall into a seam when stitching.

On the trip down I was paired with a young man from New York. I laughed heartily when he told me that in New York, you never want to be alone with a stranger even for 30 seconds. I welcomed him to St. Louis and told him I hope he enjoys his visit.

At ground level I shot the stainless steel of the Arch with the moon along side in a blue sky backdrop. My favorite shot of the day though was a people shot (rare for me since I am, believe it or not, primarily a wildlife photographer). I saw a man standing at the base of the North leg of the arch with his head tilted far back staring up at the curve of the arch. I also saw two other people approaching, one pushing a wheel chair. I wondered if the inevitable would happen and it did. All three (with the exception of the person in the wheel chair), stood for a moment with their heads tilted back staring up at the Arch. Boom, I saw it coming and was able to get the shot, even though they only held the pose for a moment. Tip: If you plan to use photos of people, take releases with you for them to sign. This is only important if they are key subjects, not if they are a face in a crowd.

Back home I loaded my images in, brought up photostitch, and stitched the city together. I was highly successful with most of the city, taken at the same focal length, but the Old Courthouse was to close to the edge (having framed the old courthouse and the stadium in the same shot) so I wasn't successful in getting that key component of the city to gracefully stitch in. Thus my prior tip. If you didn't use the same focal length for your shots you can adjust the focal lengths in Photostitch, but the minimum is 20mm, not 18. I had better success using 20 mm, the smallest possible than using higher focal lengths attempting to match my other shots. The best outcome came from pairing shots taken at the same focal length. I printed my cityscape on 8.5 x 11 paper and trimmed it to fit in a panoramic frame that is 4 inches high by 11 wide. The actual image is only 2 inches high so a white border of an inch is on top and bottom. This picture is now proudly displayed at the camera store I am assistant manager at. Creve Coeur Camera on Telegraph Road in St. Louis. Come by for a visit.

I hope my first attempt at blogging hasn't bored you and has provided some useful tips to help you on future photoshoots. Above all I hope my photography adventures will inspire you to get out and enjoy your camera.

Geopic