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By , 25/05/2010 11:11 am

A couple of weeks ago, The Straits Times published an issue with 3D images complete with 3D glasses. That got me interested in this project. I did a bit more research on the web and found a couple of visual artists who started shooting 3D portraits and published a book. All that was needed was a rig they constructed to mount 2 cameras at a distance equal to the human eyes. The software used was just Aperture and a compositing software called Nuke.

In theory it didn’t sound too complicated, just having the cameras’ shutter synced. But if the subject is still life, perhaps syncing is not the main problem. I’m not sure if the flashed were gelled to get the red/green effect or just using photoshop filters to do it. Or Nuke just does that for you. I gotta try this. Anyone interested to join me?

Here’s the link to their project called Stereo Portrait Project.

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By , 17/05/2010 12:08 am

Recently I found this series of images form my own family….of a few eras ago. They were residing on my mac after I scanned them a few months back. They look like they belong to a museum! This is so cool. I’m amazed at how preserved they look. I estimate the pictures of my grandma was taken when she was about 5 and that would mean that that photo would be approximately 90 years old! I guess I’m fortunate to have in possession these images from circa 1920s.

I love studying old photos. I love looking at the styling, props, posture, lighting, etc. I feel transported in time when I stare hard at them, imagining the shoot itself. Kind of like the scene from Dead Poets Society when Robin William’s character, Keating, was showing his boys some old photos and he says to them:

“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. [the students lean in] Listen, you hear it? [whispers in a raspy voice] Carpe — hear it? — Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

What also amazes me is the cameras at that time had long exposures. This was taken with a large format camera, pre-Cartier Bresson and his 35mm Leica days. So one had to practically sit still for minutes while the exposure is made. Can you imagine that happening now? It’s hard to get people to sit still for 1/60s. This is one of the reasons why people look they way they do. Unsmiling. You can’t hold that smile for minutes.

So I’m very fascinated with these images, a few of the many that I scanned. There’re still quite a few still waiting for me to retouch and restore. This will be my personal project for awhile.

My great grandparents and my grandma

My grandmother

My grandparents

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By , 11/05/2010 10:15 am

I’ve started using the 580EX II after one of 580 EX died on me. It was about time anyway, after 5 plus years and I don’t even know how many thousand flashes. Served me well. So the EX II is a recent addition to my arsenal but some things irritate me. In particular the missing wireless switch to toggle between master/slave shooting. Sure I understand the need to be weather resistant, hence the possible omission of the switch but it’s such a pain to not access this function easily. I’m sure other photographers use this a lot.

I came across this website with points on a wishlist I fully agree with. Right down to getting rid of the penguin in the manual (point 16). I’d love to know the reason behind the penguin in the first place. I’d also really love a built-in RF trigger so that I can place the ‘slaves’ anywhere I want. I have resorted to bouncing off the infra-red signal off a mirror to fire off a flash in the background before when there was no line of sight. With RF, I can leave the flashed in a softbox, behind the subject, heck in anywhere that makes a good image. And for goodness sake, allow me to trigger my studio strobes! Ok, maybe Canon may not sell that many other speedlites if that happens but photographers would love them for it.

So here’s the wishlist by Syl Arena.

Down with the penguin!

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By , 09/05/2010 5:32 pm

I had a laugh when I saw this picture. Once awhile, we’re allowed to be dissatisfied with how things are going at a shoot. Lighting’s off, angle’s off, things are not working as I’ve envisioned it. And so on and so forth. Liz took a picture of me at this particular instance when I felt that. I like this portrait..it’s emotional. Deep in thought and sulking a bit, I looked straight into the camera looking for answers and she took this picture. What was not working was the tight angle at this spa and beauty center, which had a lot of reflective surfaces where my lights could be seen everywhere.

The place was beautiful, so I wanted to bring out the character and the intrinsic designs so thoughtfully incorporated here. We were shooting a series of portraits of four employees for an advertisement. So in this place, the employee would pose with the different chemicals that are mixed for each customer. Pretty neat stuff considering it’s open for everyone to see and admire. In this shot, I used one key light to camera right, with a softbox, and one highlight to camera right also but behind the subject. Of course it didn’t work out. In the final shot, the highlight was left outside the room shooting through the glass. The final shot really worked.

We had a few rooms to shoot the portraits and one of them was a room designed to serve the guests tea. Liz was of course the lighting model of the day and here’s the test shot. One key light in a softbox and one highlight behind shooting through and umbrella, and making sure the vertical strips of wood had enough light to differentiate it from the back while throwing a bit of light on her. The final image was from a slightly different angle but an even stronger image.

What’s that blurry thing in front? This is what it looks like under the same lighting, taken by Liz

Image taken by Liz

Will post the images after the ad is released.

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By , 04/05/2010 4:58 pm

It has been a quiet April. It usually is every year. Towards the end of the month, I had a great time shooting Liam and Dawn’s wedding. It was a simple and intimate wedding at The Four Seasons Hotel. Everyone looked great and the closeness of both sides of the family was very refreshing. Dawn looked stunning in her kua and I think it’s great she did something different by not wearing the bridal dress. So it was the kua for the first march-in and then an evening gown for the second.

And more images below

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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More of such images can be found on my Actual Day Wedding Photography web page or in the Wedding Photography category of this blog.