Typical Venice Scene

No cars, motorcycles or any other kind of motorized vehicles...only boats and walking...I can get used to that...

Bangkok Terminal

When you have eight hours in a terminal, there is not much else to do...might as well take some photos...so I took this one.

A Dark Alley In The Colosseum

If you ever go to Rome in the summer, you will know the word, "crowded". The colosseum was no exception. The place was packed!! We had to wait in line for over an hour to just get a ticket, and then another hour to get into the place. So, what do I do when confronted with such crowds? I go where the crowds don't go...like this little back alley...it was cooler, no people, and made for a nice photo!

The Accordian Player

You'd see a lot of these musicians on the street in Rome. The difference is, at least from my perspective of street performers, they were GOOD. Really talented musicians playing on the streets...I am sure they made pretty good money too!

Milan Train Station

I only had about 10 seconds to get this shot. Tika and I were literally running to catch our train. As we were running, I passed this empty track, and thought, "wow, that would make a good photo"....my Leica was around my neck ready to go, so I stopped for 10 seconds and fired away 5 shots to later be processed as an HDR...it came out nice, don't ya think? We then RAN to our train, and caught it two minutes before it left. Talk about a photo fanatic...I think I am crazy.

HDR From A Single RAW Photo

In today's digital age of photography, post processing has become more and more important to create an image. It is still important to "see" what makes a good image, and to capture it in camera correctly with the proper exposure, focus and composition. Ansel Adams said that he would see the "print" in his mind before capturing an image, and then manipulate the image in his dark room to best create what he had envisioned. The same is true today.

I really like HDR photography. Part of the trick in creating a good HDR photo is being able to "see" what will make a good HDR image to start with. Most photographers walk right past really great subjects because they are not really "seeing" or they really don't know what to look for when snapping away with their camera. When I walk around with my camera, I am always looking for textures, colors, shapes and light...a combination of these things makes for good HDR subjects.

The photo below was processed as an HDR from a single RAW photo. I saw this scene while walking around Venice last week and immediately was able to "see" what my final print would look like...I noticed the different colored bricks in the wall, the wooden shudders, the orange curtains, the clothes hanging on the line, and the contrast between the two buildings. It was a good candidate for an HDR from a single RAW photo as the dynamic range between the shadow areas and highlights was not wide, and there was plenty of ambient light available. Below is what I had envisioned when I took the photo. I had to create my vision in my "digital darkroom"...the photo at the bottom is the "out of camera" shot I took...

If you were walking in Venice, would you have walked right by this wall without barely a glance?

This is the photo I envisioned before I took the shot...

This is the original photo straight from my camera before post processing...

Back From Italy...Thanks For Waiting !!

A GREAT trip, indeed...

Tika and I spent two weeks touring Rome, Florence, Siena, Cirque Terre and Venice. Rome and Venice were super crowded and hotter than Indonesia, but other than that, we had a fantastic trip, and I of course took tons of photos that I just started to edit today. I also started a diet...eating Italian ice cream and pasta every day doesn't really enhance the mid section...ha!!

Of course, this is the Colloseum...during the day, it was so crowded and so hot, I could not position myself anywhere to get a shot without three million other tourists in the photo...the solution? Wait till late at night. The sun did not set until after 9:00 pm, so after a long day of walking in the heat all over Rome, I ventured back after dinner to get this shot...Tika was not happy....her feet were hurting, and she was tired, but I just HAD to get this shot..it is rough traveling with a fanatic photographer, and she was a great trooper only complaining a few times while I set up my tripod and moved around at every conceivable angle to get my needed shots...

We missed our daughters, so two weeks was enough time away for our second honeymoon...great to be back home!!

Banana Market

This will be my last post for awhile as I am on vacation in Italy...

See you in about 10 days...don't leave me, OK?

Window and Crates

I got some strange looks from the kids that lived in this house as I snuck around to the side of their house to take a photo of their window. They asked me, "why do you want a photo of the side of our house?" I told them that they had the coolest side of a house I have ever seen. They shook their heads and thought I was just a crazy, bald, white guy.

HDR With The Leica M9

Since I like HDR (many Leica users don't like HDR, and that's ok), I was anxious to give it a try with my new M9. I must say that it performed brilliantly. I must admit, however, that the Nikon was faster. My old D300 would give me 5 shots per second whereas the Leica only gives me 2 shots per second. If you look at the photo below, you can see where I left the cars on the street unedited...I was going to fix that (will show you how in my upcoming tutorial), but wanted to leave it in to illustrate the slower speed of the Leica....you can actually see the 5 different exposures I used.

Where the Leica shines in comparison to my old D300 is the quality of each file. I had trouble with my D300, and the 12-24mm lens being sharp from edge to edge. I used the Leica 18mm Super Elmar lens for this shot, hand-held. Each photo was incredibly sharp from edge to edge...working with the files in Photoshop is just pure heaven. I couldn't be happier. The other great thing about the Leica is the lack of mirror. I have found myself on a few occasions hand-holding the camera at 1/8 of a second, and still getting a keeper. No way I could do that with the Nikon.

My First Shots With The Leica M9

Well, here they are...some of my first shots taken with my new M9. I gotta say, after using my Nikon for so many years, shooting with the Leica has a bit of a learning curve. It is almost like starting over again...you have to consciously think about your f-stop, shutter speed, and focusing. Nothing is automatic, so your true knowledge of photography must be applied when taking photos with the Leica.

Do I like it better? Well, YES!! I have TOTAL control now of my photographs. If they are out of focus, it is my fault...no longer can I blame the camera. With the Nikon, I would just compose, and shoot...but the camera would not always get it right in terms of what I wanted, and that was frustrating at times...with the Leica, I can focus where I want to focus, and I can set my f-stop for shallow or deep depth of field. Of course, I could always have had set my Nikon to complete manual, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of having all those bells and whistles that come with the Nikon. The Leica is just plain fun to shoot...I am really liking it, and starting to get the hang of it. I still can't focus very quickly, but I am getting better.

Anyway, below are five photos I took this morning of my two daughters...Kayla and Kelly. Kayla is my older daughter, and Kelly is my younger. I had to be quick with my focus because Kelly would not sit still for very long...it was a good way to practice my focusing skills.

I have only two lenses so far (which I traded most of my Nikon equipment for). I have the Leica 18mm Super Elmar and the Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton. I am loving both lenses, and these two lenses will be the ones I carry to Italy with me next month. All the shots below are taken with the 50mm at f2.0...they all had to be cropped as I am still getting used to composing with the finder (you don't look through the lens with the Leica). The frame lines are actually very accurate, but I still needed to crop for better compositions....I will get better at that as well. They were also treated in Adobe Light Room and a bit of Photoshop work...I have developed a certain style with my photos, and wanted to keep the same style with the Leica files.

The files from the Leica are outstanding...even after cropping, I still had huge files which can be printed large...it is an 18MP camera which has 6 million more pixels than my old D300 had...

Kayla...Leica M9, Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at f2.0

Kelly...Leica M9, Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at f2.0

Kayla and Kelly...Leica M9, Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at f2.0

Kelly...Leica M9, Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at f2.0

Kayla and Kelly...Leica M9, Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton at f2.0

My New Leica M9

Well, I did it...I took the plunge...I bought the new Leica M9 in Singapore. It did not come without it's price though. It is an extremely expensive camera, so I had to sell most all of my Nikon equipment in order to afford the camera. I still don't have a lens for the camera either...the Leica lenses are the world's best, but they are also the world's most expensive. I will buy two lenses for the camera this week (If I can sell what remains of my old Nikon stuff). I have yet to decide which lenses to buy, but will let you know later this week. I can't wait to go out and shoot with my new camera...I am sure it will be every good as it is supposed to be. I will be writing my review of the camera as soon as I get out and shoot with it...

So, stay tuned...

By the way, I have kept a few items from my old equipment...I kept my D70 and a couple of lenses as it is the camera I use underwater. If I ever get rich, I will sell the D70, and get the D700 and a new housing for my underwater stuff...but that is down the road...WAY down the road.

It was sad to see my D300, and some choice lenses go, but I am sure they would just sit and collect dust once I start using the M9...and I wouldn't be able to afford the M9 if it weren't for selling my old stuff...so, so long Nikon...till we meet again...