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[Images from the Id] What you see is not what you get. Part 2 – the Pinhole Camera

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Images from the Id – What you see is not what you get. Part 2 –  the Pinhole Camera

Cobblestone Road-001

This was the week to try to make a pinhole camera using my DSLR. I hadn’t even thought of this until last week and really got myself into it without much thinking it out. So it came down to what I learned and what I should have known.

The “Project”: Being a trained scientist, actually a Science Teacher, I can’t call this an experiment.

Equipment :

1. Nikon D7100- this is a high pixel, what Nikon calls a “DX” camera, meaning the image sensor is about 50% smaller that a 35 mm negative would be. As we will see, this is significant for a pinhole camera.

2. A stack of three extension tubes. If you like to take closeups buy a set of these as they allow you to focus any lens closer. These gave me a means to mount the “pinhole” on the camera. More hear later too.

3. Aluminum foil, something to make a pinhole in.

4. Tape to mount the Al foil (Remember Al is aluminum?) on the extension tube, Make sure it leaves no residue behind.

5. Tripod and cable release, I was still thinking 10 sec exposure from my college days.

6. Something to shoot, not easy around my house.

7. Slide rule, OK I’m not that old but I’ll bet I am the only one you know who can use one and has taught it. Well a leftover TI-86 will do. Ah OK, I used my iPhone.

Slide Rule images

Construction:

1. Take a piece of Al foil and tape it over the link, non-connection end (It doesn’t have all the little button sticking out) of the stack of extension tubes. Do worry just make sure you do not interfere with the connections and no light gets in around the foil.

2. This is the hard part, puncture as small of a pinhole you can in the center of the foil. Put one off center could be interesting if this works.

3. Mount the “pinhole” on the camera and set all the camera adjustments to Manual and ISO to the lowest- in my case 100.

Procedure- mount the “apparatus” on the tripod stick in the cable releases and point it at something out of doors.

Attempt 1 – 10 sec Oh my, That’s way over exposed and I am getting only the top of my bird feeder. Notice nothing about f-stop or focusing.

Further attempts about 2 seconds worked best outside and 35 sec. inside the house. Interesting very “Grainy”, low resolution and telephoto!

 

Pinhole-001-2Next week the explanation what you should have learned.

This week’s Photo

Cobblestone Road-001

“Cobblestone”, Saint Augustin, Florida. a wet street,  ISO 100; 1/10 shutter speed; f 7.1; 0 EV; 400/600 mm, Aperture priority; matrix metered. 20/30 mm, Cropped for composition; processed and sharpened in Lightroom 5.3. and Topaz plugins. This is one of my favorite Desktop Images

[Images from the Id] What you see is not what you get

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Images from the Id – What you see is not what you get. Part 1 the Pinhole Camera

Cannon-001

Who ever was the first person to utter the phrase “What you see is what you get” started one of the biggest lies to ever perpetuate itself through civilization. May be in the long run it does serve a purpose in taking the responsibility for careful mental decisions from the producer to the consumer but in the real world do you get what you see? We could debate issues as truth in lending and advertising but that will always be something everyone will talk about but no one will do anything about.

On the other hand in a photograph there is no debate about whether you get what you see or not. What you see is much more complicated than simply what is there in front of you. Seeing is complicated by the addition of perception or what your brain sees. The phrase “It’s in the eye of the beholder” could not be more true. Ten photographers take photographs of the same thing and will usually get 10 differently perceived images. We have different brains so we perceive differently. I have always wondered. Is the color I see as red is the same as that which you see or is it your purple?

The human eye is a wonder. It can see very large variations in contrast (the differences in brightness of areas of an image). It can, subconsciously, continually focus for a perception of infinite depth of field (until we get older and lose true close focusing). If you will remember the Depth of Field is the portion of a scene which is in focus nearer and farther from the lens. Two eye working together give us three-dimensional vision and depth perception. Although there are some newly invented cameras which attempt to match the eye in these respects, generally the camera fails to get close to the eye’s ability.

When I took my first formal photography course in college, the first project was to construct a pinhole camera (Yes this was a long time ago). This had several lessons: First – A pinhole is a lens with resolution limited only by the sizes of the pinhole, smaller is better and the diffraction of the light through the pinhole, bigger is better. As most things in life it’s a balance and you try to get the smallest hole possible. Second – The pinhole has infinite depth of field. Third – the focal length could be easily changed for telephoto or wide angle, introducing the Physics concept of the Inverse Square Law for light intensity. The usual exposure was about 10 sec. or more but the results were interesting and surprising.

Next step let’s see if we can do it with digital

This week’s Photo

“Cannon” Castillo de Marcos St. Augustine  Florida, ISO 100; 1/45 shutter speed; f 19; 0 EV; 70/105 mm, Aperture priority; spot metered. Cropped for composition; processed and sharpened in Lightroom 5.3. A small aperture was used to get the increase in depth of field

[Images from the Id] – Timing or In Search of the Eagle Part 2

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Images from the Id – Timing or In Search of the Eagle Part 2

Eagle 2-001

Now for the truth and the frustration.

Lesson – Bald Eagles are iconic. People have this preconceived idea as how they look. The Eagle does not reach its full “baldness” until its 4th year. This means a lot of eagles don’t look like what people thing they should look like. I wish someone would buy a picture of an immature baldy.

Lesson – Eagles mate for life and in many places don’t tend to nest where they winter, my lake =-(  They usually use the same nest each year and just re-build or add on to it. Photos of nesting eagles are near the top of the list for photos. Study the locals. Get on the “Birders” email list.

Lesson – Birders have different goals than photographers. Don’t be disappointed if you chase one of their leads and the bird is a small dot at 200 yards and sure it’s an eagle but… Last week, I spotted a Peregrine Falcon attacking a flock of crows way up there in the sky. I got a photo but just enough to identify it accurately. Someday…

Lesson – Feeding shots are the best, yellow talons outreaching out with the great fierce look, wings back and no nictitating membrane over the eye.

Lesson – Bald Eagles are equal opportunity feeder. They prefer fish but will eat some small mammals or even dead animals (Was Ben Franklin right in preferring the Turkey for our symbol?) Give the lambs and little children to the Golden Eagle not the Bald Eagle. Like many animals it is very important to expend the least amount of energy for a given amount of prey. It’s not laziness it’s just whether the energy used is less than energy eaten. Because of this they eat carrion, or more spectacularly, steal fish.

Lesson – Learn about your “prey” try to anticipate what it is going to do. Don’t waste your energy.

The Case Story – I and picked up one of my 80mm-400mm lens from the repair shop and they said there was nothing wrong with it, so I went to the lake to “test” it. Arriving I immediately went to the trees where the big guys usually hangout in. Nobody home. Went down to the dam tower, usually a good second choice. Nobody home. So it was down to the lake shore. There it was, soaring high above the lake, a beautiful mature Bald Eagle. I am 3 minutes from the parking lot. While driving and looking, not too hard in this park – no other cars that day, the Eagle starts showing some definite interest in the surface of the water, At 2 minutes from parking, it was obvious it was happening. Tuning the corner in to the boat launch/parking area, the Eagle begins its attack, 10 seconds. My brain is yelling, “Miss, miss, miss” Hoping it would re-attack; small chance of that. Then, ten feet from shore and where I would be in five seconds, I see a large carp get plucked by yellow talons and carried away to the distant trees. I don’t believe in luck but it’s hard to keep saying that I just need to get their more often. Another bird, another day.

This week’s Photo

“Mature Bald Eagle” Viera Wetlands Florida. Again as last week 9 am early, low light,  ISO 800; 1/6000 shutter speed; f 6.7; 0 EV; 400/600 mm, Aperture priority; spot metered. Cropped for composition; processed and sharpened in Lightroom 5.3. The only time I have been eye level with the eagle. Right time in right place? Well, almost. Right after my camera’s buffer filled, the eagle shot straight up in to the air attacking an Osprey carrying a fish. Very spectacular no body got the fish and this time I was 10 seconds early 😉

[Images from the Id] – Timing or In Search of the Eagle Part 1

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Images from the Id – Timing or In Search of the Eagle Part 1

Immature Eagle-001

This is a tale of frustration and success. It repeats itself over and over. Scenario – Every winter the Bald Eagle can be found in locations where it normally isn’t found during the breeding season. Locally, there is a reservoir where photographers have the chance of photographing the eagles at comparatively closer distances. This year I have seen 5-6 adults and 1 or 2 immature individuals.  Sunday morning, we arrived at the park at about 9 am usually eagles don’t have specific feeding or activity time like some birds. We wanted the good morning light but enough to use lower ISO settings.

Lesson – Something you need to understand is that the light for that special photographs is by far the best early in the morning or late in the day, stretching up to about 1-2 hour after sunrise or about 1-2 hour before sunset. This time varies with season. It lasts longer in the winter because of the low sun in northern locations. If you want “The Light” shoot early or late. Midday stinks.

Lesson – Don’t expect a great number of useable images. Too many branches in the way, birds just not doing anything. In the days of film portraits these were fine but now you get to a point where you already have 500 sitting eagles. You need activity and/or interaction. They have to be doing something even if it is just flying. We shot about 150 frames and probably only four I like. This where timing kicks in. If you are not in the right place at the right time and prepared you will miss it. The lucky shot is usually the results of hours of waiting, looking, experience and being in the right spot. There is no such thing as lucky shot just hard work.

Lesson – Camera setting. Use a camera which you can set on continuous servo. This allows the camera to continually focus and not “lock on”. For area use a fairly small spot focus or if you can 3D tracking. You need to experiment. Focusing is tough. Set the shutter rate to the fastest you have. You will through away a lot but you will see the second or third in a sequence will be the sharpest. It has to do with the mechanics of pressing the button. Keep shutter speed up yet be aware of problems of higher ISO. Learn your camera. Accurate focus and fast shutter speed make sharp photos.

Lesson – get close. A longer lens, 400 mm on DX DSLR is good. Walk closer, you probably scare them away but in some areas they have little fear of man and it is possible. Know your location. Don’t crop the image too much know your camera and software.

Next week: The Frustration

This week’s Photo

“Immature Bald Eagle” 9 am early, low light show the underside of the bird,  ISO 400; 1/2000 shutter speed; f 5.6; 1/2 EV over exposed for shadows; 400/600 mm, Aperture priority; spot metered. Cropped for composition; processed in Lightroom 5.3

[Images from the Id] – Ok so I bought it

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Images from the Id – Ok so I bought it

The Wall-001

I’ve been watching to much TV lately. I know it’s my choice and I am actualyl spending less time in front of the flat screen. We used to call it “The Tube”. Come to think about that might have been confusing to a resident of London. All of this mostly brainless excuse for communicating had one thing in common, Advertising. I have gotten a little tired the three point approach of selling me something I don’t want, something I don’t need and something I can’t afford. I think I have just opened Pandora’s Box (not the music streaming but related). Of all of the ideals, its seems we have become greed driven. It is the basis of our economy and an increasing number of individual approach to life with that motivation. Humans are herd carnivores, we do what everyone else does one way or another. We devour everything in our path from hamburgers to natural resources. It has nothing to do with what is right or wrong just consume, consume, consume. Advertising has help destroy our health and personal budgets. Credit has become ridiculous to supply the feeding frenzy. I can be just as bad. Nikon has a new camera only $6k, gee I could carpet the house for that but well…it’s a new camera…gee I have plenty on Visa. Drool. Drool. Pant. Pant. That D4s is sooo cool. That D4s does soooo much. I could… To keep it short I didn’t buy the camera because it flunk two of the three tenets of advertising, something I don’t need and something I can’t afford. There is something you should buy; Adobe Creative Cloud for Photographer at $9.99 per month IT IS A EXCEPTIONAL DEAL. but the special price ends soon. Buy on brethren. Does that sound like George Carlin

“The Wall” The titlephoto is a study of textures and patterns. It was taken at The Castillo de Marcos in Saint Augustine Florida.1/45 sec, EV no override, ISO 100,f 9.5, 29/43 mm, The Nikon D5100 was used to get a lower perspective. In this image processing and cropping in Lightroom 5.3 were quite significant because elf the strange perspective and angles of the bricks. Lightroom 5.3 has an automatic perspective correction and in THIS case it worked well. It is fun to work with because sometimes you get strange results. As with all RAW imaging sharpening and color are very important.

xThe Wall 2-001

“The Wall – Monochrome” this is the same image file but converted to black and white using Nik’s Silver Effects Pro 2, the most used for B&W conversation. A yellow filter was applied to bring out the warmer colors and darken the cooler. It is very important to use a good color file to get a good B&W.

[Images from the Id] – George Carlin Once Said….

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Images from the Id – George Carlin Once Said….

This week has been a treasure for bloggers- from the idiotic thinly veiled commercialism of Ellen Degeneres at the Academy awards and stretching the Samsung Ads to infinity to, in my case, the unwanted critical assessment of an image on Facebook. In the first case, I leave it to the individual. I found Degeneres’ performance, to say the least, sub-par for a host of a major award presentation. Don’t get me wrong, I still think she should have gotten The Best Actress Award for her performance as Dory. I don’t think anyone was better that year.

Maybe it is a new form of humor which I plainly don’t get. It is shallow and blatantly deifies the pseudo-gods in the audience. Watching her, “Samsunging” herself and the audience was a little like watching reruns of Dancing with the Stars for the fourth time, knowing the outcome. Watch out Apple here comes Ellen. Stuffing Harrison Ford with pizza had about as much interest as frying eggs in a super slick green skillet. I admit this could be a thing of personal taste ( I do like my green skillet) and we do not need to bring Bob Hope back from the grave but this  “new” style of comedy lacks depth and loses my interest quickly. I am sure the Good Morning America crew enjoyed giggling their way trough the show because they got a lot of (I was going to say “free” but I am sure it was payed for somehow) promotion but their show is pretty much the same. Remember what George Carlin said,”Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that” and I think I am average.

Awhile back at the fort, I fell into a “Facebook Trap”. A Facebook Trap is one of those things you do on Facebook and know you shouldn’t have. I have “friends” who tell the world their whole life. “I am going out of town for 2 weeks my house will be empty with no one home”. In my case I made the mistake of giving a critical opinion of an image a friend posted and “said” he wanted criticism. Don’t believe anything you read on Facebook, except ”I am going out of town for 2 weeks my house will be empty with no one home.” This guy is/was a friend and a professional photographer. We have had a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s work. Well, I wrecked that by not realizing this is Facebook. He really doesn’t want criticism in front of all of his “friends”. To make it short, I should have kept my “mouth “ shut. It ended up with my using scientific facts to support my stance how the type of light was impossible and he berating my use of science, which he inferred no one understood or believed. The point is don’t offer criticism. unless it is asked for and never on Facebook. Remember what George Carlin said,”Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that” and I think I am average.

This weeks Photos

Croc 1-001

Croc The title photo is pretty straight forward. It was taken at The Saint Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoo.1/350 sec, EV no override, ISO 200,f 5.6, 300/450 mm, Minimal processing and cropping in Lightroom 5.3

Lieutenant 1

Lieutenant – A 11X14 print of this won First Place this week in the Monochrome Category topic “People”. It was taken at Olustee Florida during the Same reenactment as last week’s photo.The challenge was the shadow of his hat. I used the camera’s flash at 50% as a fill flash to bring out his eyes. Processed in Lightroom 5.3 then Nik Silver Effects Pro 2 Antique Plate 2 for the effect. 1/90 sec, +1 EV, ISO 100, On camera flash 50%, f 8.0, 112/168 mm (Good for portraits), This was over exposed for the shadow and overall expose controlled in Lightroom 5.3 Use RAW files.

[Images from the Id]- So Why is the East Coast Two Hours late For Everything?

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Images from the Id – So Why is the East Coast Two Hours late For Everything?

If you are on the west coast this should say three hours late. OK, so this may not really be important but changing time zone when traveling and doing a photo shoot can be at the least irritating but watching network television is impossible. Normally, this would not bother me but this photo shoot corresponded with the Winter Olympics. I don’t  generally rotate my world around TV but the Olympics? Yeah I knew the outcomes of most of the interesting events but broadcasting them at 8 pm? That’s nuts to my Mountain Time biology. For photographers the “golden hour” lasts about an hour after sunrise or before sunset. In the winter it lasts a little longer because the sun is a little lower. This is not the only time to shoot but the results are amazing. Getting up at 5 am for five days straight after watching some addictive event on the tube until midnight became  a challenge. I could never figure out why local news came on at 11. It’s bad enough to lose two body hours. Arghh.

Then there are the airlines. We can thank the railroads for time zones but air travel has put it in a whole new perspective. Having a flight that takes 5 hours body time going east, takes 3 hours clock time. Coming home, the 5 hours become 7 and then Southwest adds its touch. We get up at 5 am, 3 am body time. EST, get to the Viera Wetlands more correctly called the Ritch Grissom Wetlands- http://spacecoasthiddengems.com/wildlife-encounters-articles/wildlife-encounter-of-central-brevard/who-was-rich-grissom.

This is a special place half way between Micco and the Orlando airport. We made four stops there this trip and found something special there each time. We got to the wetlands at 7 when it opened and the light was amazing, including a little ground fog. New birds we saw during our stops included the American Bittern, Crested Caracara ( a major goal this trip) and the Pileated Woodpecker (looks like Woody). With the nesting Great Blue Heron and Sand Hill Cranes, it is a don’t miss place.

We got to Orlando International at 1 pm (11), half hour in check-in, half hour at TSA. I was pre-screened (I should have bought a lottery ticket) my wife was not and took 10 minutes longer. Thank the gods that minutes don’t change with time zones. Going to the food court we munched on the munches we brought. At gate 121 one hour before take off we were told our plane has been taken to go to Pittsburgh and we needed to go to gate 23 in the other wing for a plane that would land in 50 minutes and it started to rain. I watched as our luggage sat on the tarmac only partially covered, getting soaked. Hours late the aircraft leaves the runway. The flight still takes 5 1/2 hours, my luggage and the coats inside are soaked. The box we had packed with gear arrived totally soaked and partially crushed. The good news was that amazingly the contents were not damaged. Biologically I am in total readjustment. We got settled at midnight or was it 2 am, I don’t know. That why this is a day late! I think I lost a whole day somewhere.

The week’s photo Ritch Grissom Wetlands at dawn.

Gator at Sunrise

Gator at Sunrise

This alligator is a challenge because of low light and facing the sun. The colors are the result of the time of day and it can vary with time exposure and direction. Each shot at this time requires consideration of all these factors and use of the LCD and histogram. Experience and practice doesn’t hurt

shot at 1/1000 sec, ISO 280, f-5.6,-1/2 ev., 92/138 mm Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5.3. No color adjustment.

[Images from the Id] – The North and South of It.

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Images from the Id – The North and South of It.

 

Olustee Horseman 2

It always a fun experience to learn history and what  happened during times that seem to be a long time ago. I had never spent much time considering the Civil War  but this week we spent two days shooting  the reenactment of the Battle of Olustee (Florida) on the 150th anniversary. Having one of those experiences. Being a Northerner, is a distinct disadvantage “down” here. It seems the North really did not win “The War Between the States”

Fourteen months before the War ended on February 20th 1864, 5500 Union forces battled 5200 Confederate forces in a 2 1/2 hour battle, leaving 1861 Union and 946 Confederate casualties. The Union’s goal was to control the railroad disrupting the food supply to Confederate troops, gain black recruits and organize a loyal state government. Three, ill prepared, USCT (designation for United States Colored Troops during the Civil War) regiments including the 54th Massachusetts led the march. The Union expected little were was filmed at this site with some of the re-enactors. The Union forces, losing the battle, retreated to Jacksonville for the remainder of the War.

Sitting on the Confederate side of the bleachers, I learned quite a bit. First: when you are in Northern Florida  there are a lot of Confederates. I kept my mouth shut most of the time. Second: The South won the war, see number one. Third: in reenactments the South always out numbers the North 2 to 1, the North was ill trained and used the black troops as “cannon fodder”. Fourth: The conditions and toll on life of the War.  A simulated leg amputation was, to say the least, eye opening.

I found the whole experience amazing. There were about 3000 re-enactors as mentioned mostly Confederate although there was a black Union group from Boston. I spent several hours just taking to the participants. I  made a special friends with Roger a Confederate Lieutenant Colonel, Chief of Staff, 1st Infantry Brigade Department of the Gulf C.S.A. His knowledge and presentation of his persona was flawless. embarrassing this Yankee with my lack of knowledge. The event was respectful and partly designed as a memorial to those who fell. I was greatly impressed.

Photographically it was a new challenge for me but using my experience and knowledge made it fun and easy. It’s important to set your camera up to make ISO adjustment easily, since you may need to keep your shutter speed up for the movement with a higher ISO or lower the ISO for quality. Aperture and depth of field is always a challenge and at these events with high shutter speeds some times the aperture needs to be as big as the lens has, my telephoto works well at f5 most of the time even though I may prefer f8. These are not easy shoots to do right and you must use your head first. White balance can be crazy. Shoot RAW! The early morning muster, with low sun, shadows fog can challenge anyone. Experiment and take shoot with varying settings.

Todays image. Olustee Union Horseman

1/500 sec, f 6.7,ISO 200, Spot metered for exposure, 420/280 mmHad to take in account speed of horse and shadow of the hat makes this a tough shot. No gun fire the rider would stop the horse to fire for a better shot

 

 

[Images from the Id] Of Monkeys , Apes and Men

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Images from the Id – Of Monkeys , Apes and Men

There are many types of monkeys. Some are important some are not. Some are big others are small. Some are psychological some are zoological (please pronounce that correctly with a “long o“ and not like in “you”,  although both are becoming but being a “Zoo – long-o-logy” major I was chewed out once for that. The place “Zoo” is different.) The physiological ones have again taken their toll. It is always sad when the monkey of drug abuse takes another person who is significant to our world. The creative artist is always under the pressure of his/her calling. Because their talent requires so much of them and their soul it seems they have a greater tendency to have the addiction, or is it just because they are more visible to the public and our attention is  centered on them. It is with great sadness when we lose another  of these artists who’s work we have much enjoyed and honored.

In biology there is something called Evolution. Some people think it should be debated and compared to the “Biblical” origins of species (different forms of life). The debate is totally unintelligent  and valueless. First, which creation story of the Bible do you argue? There are at least two and they are different. Second, like any well proven and demonstrated theory of science, Evolution has always changed to take in account any new discoveries that have been made. Enough said for their source. It is of interest that the theory of Darwin is not the same as the modern concept. In fact, giving Darwin the credit is totally wrong. Even in Darwin’s time, Alfred Russell  Wallace working half way around the world simultaneously and independently came up with a theory almost identical to Darwin’s. Even they weren’t the first. The Creationists disregard the work of Thomas Malthus’ on population sizes, reproductive rates and predation and Charles Lylle’s works on Geology time.  Comparing the creation myths of various cultures you find no such agreement or common sources.

A while back Bill Nye, the Science Guy, met  Ken Ham the founder of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky to debate, in front of  a sold-out audience, concerning whether or not the Earth is 6,000 or so years old. You’re kidding me! It would be more significant to debate whether toads cause warts. With toads there  “might be” at least some substantiation for both sides. A debate of Evolution only tends to legitimatize  a totally unsupportable position. It has always seemed strange to me how people can firmly believe that a television actually produces a picture and sound when the theories and science behind that has less proof than evolution.

Old Man-001Old Man of the Forrest –

This image was taken at the Albuquerque New Mexico Zoo the original Metadata 1/2000 sec, ISO 1600, f 5.6, Aperture priority 400/600mm. I probably should have decreased the shutter speed to 1/500 and the ISO to 400 but I was concerned with handholding that lens and it wasn’t a bright day.

Old Man of the Forrest

Old Man of the Forrest Print

The Print was processed in Adobe Lightroom 5.3 using Topaz plugins, Topaz PhotofxLab allows layering and doing a Pastel layer using Simplify Plugin and giving it a 36% opacity and a normal bend mode. The eyes were masked from the pastel layer to bring back their sharpness and exposure. The from Lightroom a 11X14 print was made. It won a second place in its first competition.