An Eye In The European Sky

If you have ever wanted to invade France but without having to join the German Army, now is your chance. You can do it with a camera, amongst friends, have a good time, and learn a great deal.

Eye In The Sky is a photographic company from Western Australia that is dedicated to providing photo tours of the Tarn region of southern France. Their current prospectus lists the next tour between April 28th and May 4th - when the spring should be making France into a landscape photographer's paradise.

The tours are run by Western Austalian Jon Davidson and his wife Jude, and this time you will have our favourite Rockingham photographer - Kingsley Klau - along to help your photo development.
The tour is packed with visits to ruins, monasteries, galleries, castles, chateaux, vineyards and restaurants. The thing is all-inclusive - you are not going to be shelling out Euros right, left, and center for transfers, meals and accommodation. It is the easy logistics approach to a wonderful time.

It's not just wonderful - it's useful. You'll get daily lessons as you travel from the professionals and learn the importance of Lightroom and Photoshop post production on your images.

But description without images is useless - the best way you can see the lay of the land and the sort of opportunities that you'll have is to go over to the website now and follow their planning links. It is a picture-rich site and well worth just ogling over.

 Go to:

eyeinthesky.com.au

or email:

 jon@eyeinthesky.com.au

The tours are not crowded - there will be ten people as well as the photographer guides. That means time to learn, space to move, a chance to soak up the wonders of the Cathar country.

Report From The Trenches - Manuel And The Canon - Part Five

Well, it has been a week since the motor sport workshop up at Barbagallo raceway, and you've been able to read some of the things that Manuel Goria told us about the techniques of shooting. Now here's the final bits of advice regarding the physical business of chasing cars.

a. Where do they race cars? At car race courses. Some are good places for pictures, and some are awful ( guess which category Barbagallo falls in...). When you are in the good looking place, show the good looking place a lot in the pictures. When you are in the dump, concentrate on the car and blur or fuzz out the backdrop. You may need to use a longer focal length for it. Get up high and get down low.

b. The race course organisers and the industry rely on photographers and videographers to advertise their events and draw money to the sport. But they can be strangely partisan when it comes to who gets access to the place. Video crews get more favour than still shooters in the pit areas.

c. Work is required - it is not just a case of plopping down at one point and watching automotive art pass in front of you. Manuel walks about 20 Km per race finding new positions and scenes of activity.

d. Get close to the fence. If you are lucky there will be a hole in it that you can see through, or at least enough image coming through wire mesh spaces to allow you to optically bypass it. Vertical fence elements are easier to avoid than horizontal ones. If someone would cut a hole in the barrier...

e. Lousy weather is always a possibility. Racing cars and wet weather are spectacular, even when they are racing safely. But the business of keeping the camera equipment operating is part of the problem for both manufacturers and users of professional equipment.

The expedients that others adopt - rain sleeves, ponchos, raincoats, housings, etc. are a nuisance to Manuel. He does without them. He is largely waterproof and has come to depend upon the higher-end Canon professional bodies and lenses to have a similar degree of water-resistance.

Other photographers in other divisions of the sport would do well to take note. Water penetration is one thing, dust and dirt strike is another. Anyone who has ever shot pictures at the speedway knows what I am talking about - a shower of gravel is bracing but no good for expensive gear. Likewise for  the shooters who do the drag races, burnout comps, and drift events. Our sensors are delicate things and there is a lot of particulate matter in the air in these situations. No wonder Manuel says that they have Canon and other makers' service representatives at the big car races to do sensor cleaning each time.

f. You think the cars are fast? Consider how fast the photographers have to be in reviewing, selecting, editing, and enhancing their images at the events to get them to the publisher's desk in time for consideration. The amateur has a week to produce a masterpiece - the artist a lifetime. Manuel and the rest of the workers get about a half hour after standing around all day in the sun or rain.

Better him than me...

Now for a final note on this event - a note from the point of view of a neutral observer*. I think the paying customers got fantastic value for their money this time.

Leave out the lunch and the give-aways and the chance to shoot with a zillion lenses and the free prints that Sheryl was offering for the best images of the day. ( Up to A2 if they wanted...). Leave out the special prices on Canon gear that Saul promised - and people could take him up on that for a week. Leave out the fact that the Porsche owners were pushing hundreds of thousands of dollars of toy cars around the track all day. The real value was Manuel.

He is a true professional in several ways. He is in a tough business. He can do that business to a high standard, repeatedly, and to order. He can profess - that means speaking and teaching his knowledge. And bless him, he does. No hiding back trade secrets for fear of people finding out how to take his job away. No mystery talk to make himself look exotic. Just plain speaking, well organised, and to the point. It was a pleasure to listen to him.

Note: I have no idea whether he is an award-winner, international icon, or superstar ambassador. We weren't told that. He was not covered in gold medals like a wine bottle or a North Korean general. He did not puff himself or his business nor ask us to subscribe to his politics, religion, or emotional state. He just showed us how to take good racing car photos.

That makes him the best photo lecturer I have seen in about thirty years.

*Not that neutral. I got lunch out of it...

Heading image: every one of those lens or body caps represents a photographer out there in the boiling sun taking pictures of race cars. Canon and Camera Electronic know how to have a good time.

Manuel Exposure For Motor Sport - Part Two

Pardon the pun - the professional photographer who delivered the Canon Australia Motor sport workshop is named Manuel Goria. He is a world traveller and a world worker in the business of illustration of motor sport - Formula One all over the place as well as other types of racing. That's him in the heading image before the heat started, pointing the way to the track.*

It is hard to report the entire lecture that Manuel gave in one web post - there were so many good practical points that he covered. Rather than cop out, I will take several days. Let's start with the equipment recommendations:

Not surprisingly, he recommended Canon. He uses the brand's large professional 1Dx cameras - several of them - and keeps long lenses on them. The Canon professional optics are second to none for this sort of precision and the agencies and editors who are concerned with his work are not going to be satisfied with sub-standard images. This is also tied in with the rapid autofocus response and shoot time available with the Canon professional bodies - Manuel frankly admits that there are some situations that are made for burst-shooting.

It might be funny to observe rivalries between major manufacturers that start arguments between user groups and enthusiasts - but it is no fun if your income and reputation depend upon the reliability of the goods. Canon gear works for Manuel, and he is prepared to say that it will work for the rest of us. Another philosophy - that of doing what you can with what you have, where you are - is also valid, but it may not get your images over the desk of a top-quality publication. Each of us must decide for ourselves.

But to today's points - Manuel sez:

a. For him, the most important focus point in a photo is the helmet of the driver. People look for people in pictures. ( That's not one of Manuel's shots - it's Jane Fangio in the Shuco Ferrari...)

b. For most occasions, a high shutter speed is best.

c. He must decide where the car is to be placed in the picture - it is generally the star attraction of the image. He uses a single AF focus point and moves it around frequently to allow it to place the exact focus.

d. Preconception of the picture is by far the best way to success - the backdrop will influence what people see in the car, so Manuel chooses the focal length of the lens to assist in the background rendering. It's not hit or miss.

e. Sharpness in a photo is essential to interest an editor and deliver the impact that a publication needs. There are many factors that influence it - positively and negatively.

On the plus side is the performance of a good Canon lens . But he must make sure that the exposure of the image does not blow out areas of highlights. When they are gone, the sharpness of the picture and the interest of the editor is gone as well. So he will deliberately underexpose each image and recollect the overall light levels in post-processing.

f. To get a consistent result through to the Lightroom program, Manuel will shoot most of his images with manual exposure of both aperture and shutter speed...and will also not allow the camera to take over with automatic ISO control. He aims to have the same levels in everything so that an overall master correction in Lightroom can be batched through the lot. It is a matter of time for him as he does not have the week's grace that an amateur may possess before results have to put forward. Professionals are under pressure - remember that when you envy them.

And having said that, please remember the professionalism of the other people that you see here in today's column:

a. Sheryl from Canon Australia who organises all the events for Canon in WA and Saul who organises events for Camera Electronics. By and large, when they are on the job, things work out pretty well as planned. They provided lunch, which is a good way of ensuring my affection.

b. Ernest, Beth, and the rest of the Camera Electronic staff who scurry about and do the work. Ernest is further distinguished by knowing how to fix things. This picture is of him doing his famous line from  ' Crocodile Cesar '..." That's not a lens - now THIS is a lens...".

So...tomorrow you learn how to see motor pictures that sell pictures to clients.

* to be fair, when the noise started, we knew where to look...

Heat, Cars, And Canon Cameras - Part One

Way back in 2014 Canon Australia and Camera Electronic hosted a workshop day at Barbagallo raceway to show enthusiasts how to take motor sport photographs. I attended and it was the noisiest day of my life apart from the battle of Waterloo. Well last Saturday they did it again, but this time with even bigger motors - this time it was not motorcycles, but full-sized Porsche sports cars.

It's not just a case of standing out there going deaf - the core of the day was comprised of a very professional presentation by a person who is a motor sport photographer. The target audience were enthusiasts who love race cars and who have an interest in the Canon brand...though there was no hard and fast rule that restricted attendance on the brand basis. There were, however some very trenchant points that could be made to tie the Canon brand to this form of photography - the speaker made them honestly, and showed images to back them up.

To set the scene, Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo is a large sporting complex with a twisting up-and-down race track set over it. The buildings that service this race track - car pits, tyre stores, mechanic's workshops, and catering facilities are pretty good, if a trifle basic. In any case they are far and away better than those provided by the old Caversham raceway. There is the basic problem, however, that the physical location and layout of the place makes it a bit of a journey to get to. It's out at the end of a pokey little road that only allows one way access. This is being corrected, as I see  major works on the road, but it is still in Wanneroo...and I am still in Bull Creek. If you live in Wanneroo, disregard my grumbling.

It was also hot as a griddle out there. The old Caversham raceway had more trees and was marginally cooler, if cruder. It is a trade off, and perhaps I should not even complain, as the Camera Electronic and Canon Australia always book out the air conditioned facility at McCracken house for these deals...and provide a good lunch. Hey, at least I have not had to spear a Tiger Snake to get back to the car at Barbagallo like I did at Caversham. And the Caversham hot dog of 1964 has been replaced with one that contains meat...

Okay, the day on the track was given over to a Porsche Owners Club. It reminded me of either a clinical conference or a minyan, but then I am a cynic at heart. The cars were gorgeous and of more variety that I expected - there was even a bathtub racer from the 50's or 60's out there, though I noted at the lunch interval that it drove off with more smoke coming out of the exhausts than it started with. Perhaps raced not wisely, but too well...

Never mind - the club required the drivers to walk over the course before they would let them drive it - a sensible way of approaching high speed driving. Then they sent them out in a big old slow snake of cars to suss out the way the thing feels. Then they released the cars in batches of 5 or 6 to build up speed and confidence. In the end - at the 2:00 o'clock mark - there were some who were circulating at quite respectable speeds indeed. They were noisy enough to disturb the photo analysis session that the lecturer conducted - but it still went ahead. And you'll find out more about that tomorrow!

Photoshop Vs Lightroom - The Battle Of The Mentors

Come to Shoot Photography in September of this year! See world-renowned photo mentors Adam Monk and Christopher Fulham slug it out file-to-file for the title of Adobe Heavyweight Champion!

Be chair-side as the referee steps back and they reach for the sliders! Cheer as the saturation goes wild! Gasp as the curve goes off the screen. Thrill to the sharpening!

This is one artistic RGB bloodbath you won't want to miss! Ring Shannon on 9228 8232 and get your tickets!

Thank you for reading this far into the column. Now we can reveal that Adam and Christopher are going to be teaching people about two entirely different Adobe products - Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop - and that they are going to be held on different dates and that they are not really going to be fighting with each other. The two programs are intended for different purposes - and while there can seem to be some overlap between them, they really address separate needs. But here is the interesting part:

You can really benefit by learning BOTH programs.

I have. Or, I should say, I flatter myself that I know enough of each program to do what I need to do. This may be so, but I suspect that I could do a great deal more if I knew a little more.

Lightroom helps me batch process things. It has ways of dealing with camera and lens distortions on a wide scale that are wonderful - I can wring some pretty good stuff out of old cameras. It does weddings and parties and lots of weblog images. If I was going to produce pictures without words, it is all I would need.

Photoshop goes further, but goes in smaller, more complex steps. It can put in words, take out annoying relatives, shift reality, and make large scale changes to the image. It can be artistic until people scream and wrench the mouse out of your hands. It has big time graphic power.

Both programs are state-of-the-art. Both are immediately accessible on a simple level, but both have deeper levels that reward exploration. Both are taught by Shoot mentors and you can access their expertise by ringing Shannon and booking a course. We're not talking millions here; either course cost $ 249...and they may be worth far more in a artistic terms for the instruction they give.

PS: Photo editing is traditionally done with bare knuckles, so be prepared...

Shoot Photography Lightroom with Adam Monk September 3

Shoot Photography Photoshop with Christopher Fulham September 6

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

Welcome to Ernest's World - the repair workshop at Camera Electronic. You will be amazed. You will be astounded. Try not to touch anything...

In particular, try not to touch the "Sony" charger that he has opened for repair on the workbench. We say "Sony" because that is what the white label on the top says, but there is no way in the world that this has ever been a Sony product.

Oh, it looks like it from the outside - there are the guide rails and the pins that accept a standard Sony lithium-ion battery, but when Ernest opened the casing the circuit board told a different story.

Look at the components - 1970's style resistors and capacitors. Look at the assembly of the parts on the board. They fit where they touch and they touch in very few places.

Look at the screw that holds the device together. If you think it looks like something that would normally secure an MDF cabinet, you could very well be right...

Ernest is not a man given to harsh judgements, but his verdict on this was "fire hazard".

Did this come from a reputable Sony dealer? I am betting it did not. It has the look and feel of eBay or a discount electrical shop. Someone was intrigued by the low price for it and either decided to sell it or buy it - when what they should have done is run out the door to avoid it.

Well, not for Camera Electronic. Our Sony IS Sony, and Sony are good. They stand by their equipment and by us...so if you are tempted to get that free shipping bargain from somewhere that need not be named, remember that you could well be getting the electrical surprise of your life.

Some Ernest Advice From The Workshop

I have been let into a few secrets by our senior technician regarding sensor cleaning for digital cameras. Here is a précis of the conversation held in the workshop. I have not included the bit about not scrubbing over the sensor with a steel wool Brillo pad as I figure nearly everyone will know that already. But here's some other thoughts:

Where do flies go in winter? If you have done pondering that, try this - where does sensor dust come from?

Okay, if you have removed the lens of your DSLR or mirror-less camera in the middle of a paddock at ploughing time or in the discharge path of a council mulcher, you may be forgiven for thinking that is the source of your troubles. Possibly, possibly. If you have not had such misfortune consider the other sources of contamination.

1. Lenses with open clearances and a considerable 'pumping 'action that operates upon zooming or focusing, dirt gets near moving section of lens, dirt gets drawn in, dirt gets distributed.

2. Your clean home is...full of cooking oil vapour as well as other sticky components. Also full of cloth lint and carpet fibres as well as dirt brought in from outside on you clothing. Run yourfinger over the top of a picture frame anywhere in the house. Pass inspection? If you think so, lick that finger. No? Thought so.

3. You get ready to change a lens and take the rear lens cap off the new one. You put it in your pocket, then change the lens, then recap the removed lens. With the cap that is now full of pocket lint. Guess where this goes and where it ends up next time you change. And ALL your rear lens caps are probably just as bad...

4. Way hay, let's go to the drag races. Or Barbagallo. Or the speedway. What is that drifting cloud of blue smoke composed of? Tyres. Guess which part of your camera it ends up on.

5. Spots in the viewfinder of your DSLR.? If they are not seen on Live View - and most times they are not - they are not affecting your sensor view or images.

6. On-board sensor cleaning mechanism not working? See No.2 above - you have glued the gunk to your sensor with just ordinary living. Time for a professional wet-solution clean to get off what a tiny piezo-shake will not shift. Not a home-swab-it-with-something-from-the-internet clean which is closer to the Brillo pad that you might think.

7. When I used to rip bones out of people's head for a living, I was required to do it with clean hands. The hospitals were surprisingly insistent upon this, and went to the extent of demanding that I wash not just to the wrist, but all the way up to the elbow for several minutes with strong soaps. Even though I rarely plunged my arm into the patients up to the elbow. The principle was to get cleanliness in a wide radius around where it was needed.

So also with cameras. No good just cleaning the sensor if the rest of the device looks like an ash-pit. And certainly no point in doing it if the back of the lens is a source of continued contamination. Clients - wise clients - would do well to bring their lenses in for cleaning and pay the extra impost to have the entire camera cleaned - it will extend the period of usability no end if the contamination loading is reduced all around.

And a final thought - but not from Ernest this time. I had been plagued with white spots on my images taken of dancers on a dark stage - particularly when flash illumination was used. Wide angle shots were the worst. I blamed the sensor and the curtains and the dancers and cruel fate...until I looked at the bits of dust that had accumulated on the inside of the UV filter that was screwed onto the 18-200mm lens. No wonder I had white spots - an 18mm lens firing at f:11 can see quite a lot close up to itself and if the dust has bright illumination against dark ground... so I removed the filter for inside shots and the spots disappeared.
Heading Image: Either sensor dust or flak..

http://cameraelectronic.com.au/repair.html