Heritage Singapore Flickr Exhibition@NLB

Heritage Singapore Flickr Exhibition@NLB
Originally uploaded by Edgedale

My very 1st exhibition which showcase 8 of my best creative work in public display at the National Library Board. Thanks to everyone in Yahoo! and Flickr Singapore. Special thanks goes to Miss Suzz. Without her, everyone's work will never ever be in display.

Total of about 15 of us got our photos printed in 8Rs and some were in 4Rs.

Exhibition started on the 2Aug till 10Aug 2008.

How to shoot F1 in Singapore GrandPrix Nite Street Race?

The best angle to catch the fast moving car like the formula 1 super cars will be camping over tight corner like a hairpin curve.

Reason for that will be;
There is no way for our semi-pro or prosumer camera to be able to capture it. Especially on a night street race. Try to shoot when cars are just on the mist of picking up it's speed on tight curves.

And also for our Singapore nite race, a good wide angle lens will do the work. Telephoto lens, if you are shooting from Padlock area or VIP Grandstand. Else, there willn't be a chance at all, as many amature photographers and car lovers will be crowding around the frontal view. Also, cages will be put up for safety reason.

I had did some recee on the tracks.

1. VIP and Lockpad sector




2. Pit Stop sector (Prohibit to all unless you are belong to a race team or crew)


3. Test shoot on a Go Kart on the padlock sector (Using 10mm-22mm)

Guidelines of Journalistic Photography

Have you wanted to do journalistic photography and yet do not know it's guidelines? The below article contain most guideline which many photojournalist used.

For more details, refer to the link below the guidelines.

1.0	True-to-Life And Utility-Enhancing Procedures
	The following digital image editing procedures are permitted to compensate for limitations and defects inherent in the digital photographic process, provided that the impact is to make the photograph more true-to-life (i.e. accurate):
	1.0.1	Color balancing/correction
	1.0.2	Burning
	1.0.3	Correction of lens distortion
	1.0.4	Despeckling
	1.0.5	Dodging
	1.0.6	File optimization
	1.0.7	Focus adjustments
	1.0.8	Glare elimination
	1.0.9	Overall lightening or darkening
	1.0.10	Red eye elimination
2.0	News/Editorial Images (Permissible Procedures)
	The following digital image editing procedures generally are permitted for news/editorial purposes, unless the nature of the publication requires images to be precisely representative of what was photographed.
	2.0.1	Cropping, darkening or focus-softening to reduce/eliminate superfluous material in a manner that preserves the context of the event.
	2.0.2	Enhancing an image, or part of an image, when it serves an investigative purpose. The use of enhancement techniques should be disclosed.
	2.0.3	Legally-required (or advisable) concealment of a subject's identity, done in an obvious way (e.g. pixilation).
	2.0.4	Adding realistic proportionate "motion" to moving objects. (Some commentators have taken exception to this guideline and argued that motion should not be "added" when it was not part of the image out of the camera. This point, in essence, is that the photographer and not the digital editor should determine whether to create an image with motion. The same issue arises with respect to the application of "fisheye effects" and other effects in image post-production. These important issues must be resolved between a photographer and his/her publication. A digital editor should respect whatever policy is communicated.)
3.0	News/Editorial Images (Impermissible Procedures)
	The following digital image editing procedures generally are not permitted for news/editorial purposes:
	3.0.1	Adding, removing or moving objects in such a way that the context of the event is altered.
	3.0.2	Age progression or regression (e.g. adding gray to hair).
	3.0.3	Changing a subject's facial expression, gestures, clothing, body parts or personal accessories.
	3.0.4	Retouching that enhances or reduces the apparent quality or desirability of an item, or the aesthetics of a place.
	3.0.5	Using "motion" to create a misleading impression that the subject is moving at a different speed than he/she/it was moving during the events.
	3.0.6	Using effects or color changes in such a manner that it is unclear whether the effects or color changes were applied through digital editing or were part of the original event that was being covered.
	3.0.7	Using any other digital editing procedure in a way that creates a misleading impression of the events, participants or context.
	3.0.8	In nature photographs, special care should be taken to represent animal and plant life in its actual environment, habitat and context (e.g. do not lighten a background to make it appear that a nocturnal animal is diurnal or place an animal in fabricated geographical settings).
	3.0.9	It is impermissible to manipulate a nature photo so as to create a false appearance that animals were associating with other animals (including humans), to group animals together in a manner that did not naturally occur or to increase the number of animals in a group.
	3.0.10	The enhancement of nature images for the purpose of investigation or viewability is permissible, provided the manipulation is incidental, obvious or specifically disclosed to the viewer.
	3.0.11	It is impermissible to represent a fabricated phenomenon as natural (e.g. adding a shooting star or rainbow).
	3.0.12	These procedures are impermissible whether accomplished through digital editing or physical editing ("mortising") of images.
4.0	Promotional Images For News Publications (Permissible Procedures)
	The following digital image editing procedures are permitted to achieve promotional objectives (e.g. on publication covers and introductory areas of an article) in a manner that is not misleading as to the events, participants or context:
	4.0.1	Modifications of image composition are disfavored and should be disclosed. The cropping of an image to exclude damage constitutes a modification.
	4.0.2	Cropping, rotation or image enhancement beyond the repair of after-acquired damage or deterioration (including contrast change) are substantive modifications of an image that should be applied to archival images only when necessary to achieve a proper archival purpose (e.g. analysis of a particular architectural feature) and in a manner that is consistent with the principles herein.
	4.0.3	Cropping of the secondary support, frame or vignettes in the original should be avoided when possible. Secondary supports, frames and vignettes should be considered an integral part of a photographic artifact and may carry valuable historical information, such as watermarks, signatures, stamps and studio names. A digital image of a secondary support, frame or vignette may be restored in a manner that is consistent with the photo restoration.
	4.0.4	Reference To Journalism Ethics: It is impermissible to modify a historical image in a manner that would violate ethics pertaining to manipulation of journalistic images. Reference is made to the "DigitalCustom Model Rules To Preserve The Integrity of Images For Journalistic Purposes" (Release Version #2.0, March 1, 2003)(available at www.digitalcustom.com).
	4.0.5	Skin and hair beautification.
	4.0.6	Title (or other text) overlays.
	4.0.7	The use of other digital editing procedures in a way that is not misleading as to the events, participants or context.
5.0	Promotional Images For News Publications (Impermissible Procedures)
	Same as 3.0.
6.0	Preservation of Source Materials and Ancillary Principles
	The original unedited file captured by the photographer (or scanned), and all files integrated into a composite picture, should be preserved as evidence of the extent of editing.
	6.0.1	The publication should designate one or more editors to decide ethical issues related to digital image editing procedures.
	6.0.2	Artists and technicians who perform digital image editing services that are subject to ethical guidelines should be provided with the guidelines, and be instructed promptly to disclose to the publication any known variance from the guidelines.
	6.0.3	Absent information to the contrary, a digital editor may assume that editing instructions received from a designated contact person at a publication are consistent with the publication's policies.
	6.0.4	These guidelines do not address the issue of who has discretion over journalistic image editing for a particular publication (e.g. the photographer, publisher, editor, reporter). The publication should make clear its policies in this regard.
	6.0.5	These guidelines are addressed only to journalistic images and are not intended to limit the procedures that might be applied to commercial images, artistic images or images for personal purposes.

Source from DigitalCustom
http://digitalcustom.com/howto/mediaguidelines.asp

EF400mm f5.6 L USM "Super Telephoto" Lens

Personally my first impression of this lens is rather light just like my EF200mm f2.8 L USM. There isn't any IS feature but when holding this lens, surprisingly i was able to shooting without any problem on a outdoor daytime shoot. It's image quality is stunning sharp with full details which make my sports photography for the recent surfing shoot turns out to be very satisfying. Not only it give me the range which I need, it's focusing speed is lightning fast too.

Compare having a extender of 2x on my EF70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM which give me the same range of 400mm, the picture quality was very poor.

I personally recommend of owning this lens as a robust light weighted sports lens to have.

My Long Absense

It's been quite a while since I update my journal. I was very busy with work and also my 2.5 weeks of NS reservist.

I will be providing more write up on photography, tips and tricks in coming weeks. Stay tune in here.

Thankyou for dropping by.

Photography Tips: Making full use of your gear and system

Shopping in a retail store, usually the salesman will recommend you with many good product like the exposedisc, filters or lenses or even the latest camera. As a commercial photographer, i do not blow my budget on any gear i will spend on. Take for example the exposedisc which cost about $200 plus for a 77mm diameter disc, where i can able to mimic something which did the same effect and cost me less than 2 buck.

Make use of what you have and what you own in your camera bag. Buy only things which you will always used. Buying a lens require many consideration factors, one wrong buys, and you will regret it. As for me, i never regret on any lens I bought. Because I know what kind of photography I will usually do in my field of work.

Buying a second hand lens from someone whom you never know or meet before is a risky thing. You don't know how he handle the lens or how he take care of the lens before he selling to you. Always check for loose parts and electronic contacts part and also most important, check for any fungus buildup inside lens elements and also the coating of the lens. I will say, buying at your own risk.

Photography Tips: Shooting with one focal length

To improve your level of photography, try to shoot have a photo assignment on your own or in your group. Force yourselves to limit to a single focal; ie, 50mm. In fact our eyes are looking at 50mm f/0.

It is good to restrict yourselves to a fixed lens like the 50mm, there is how you will learn to see things from the 3rd eye. I enjoy shooting from my 50mm f/1.8, because it not only give me a good bokeh of cause if you want a better bokeh, (a f/1.4 or a f/1.2 is far better) but it's does not have any image distortion. I like to shoot food and product with my trusty cheap plastic 50mm.

Have a small photo assignment of yourselves today. Get a prime lens and shoot at a interesting subject.

Happy shooting.