Another PEN Story

I'm still partial to the original.  And of course, Her Morning Elegance is my all time favorite.

Portrait - Noon

I LOVE JAM!

Portrait - 7am

Homeless man in downtown Phoenix on a summer Sunday.

Portraits

Of the 50 photos I've posted since July, only one features people - and that photo was a guest contribution. Portraits aren't my strength mostly because people shots are all about catching the perfect moment, which requires mind-numbing patience and luck.  However, I can't continue to deny the fact that wherever I find myself, people define the place as much as, if not more than, landmarks, food and scenery.  If I'm to do a city photo blog justice, I need to post people pics. 

For inspiration, I'll be hitting Phoenix Art Museum's newest exhibit "Face to Face: 150 Years of Photographic Portraiture". The exhibit runs from September 19, 2009 to January 10, 2010.  In honor of the exhibit, and as a tool to force myself to sit still and try people pics for a change, I'll post only portraits through November. 

For more information, see http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/exhibitionfacetoface.php.

Attainable Art

Praia Piquinia

by Christian Chaize

available at www.20x200.com

I'm a big fan of 20x200 - an innovative website built around the formula: 

(limited editions x low prices) + the internet = art for everyone

The website showcases original photography and prints twice a week.  Each work is available in limited quantities with prices starting at $20.  Check out their website at www.20x200.com.

Breathtaking Landscapes

Ahhh... if only I had half his talent.  I've fallen in love with Ron Niebrugge's blog.  He and his wife Janine travel the globe to capture some of the clearest and most stunning landscape and wildlife shots I've ever seen.  They have an  extensive portfolio of desert photos and many incredible shots of Phoenix Metro.    Check out  his blog at http://www.my-photo-blog.com/.

Link to his Arizona photos
Niebrugge Images' main web site

Her Morning Elegance

Another brilliant stop motion photography piece. 

Her Morning Elegance

Forum

Hope

by George Pallas

Here is a great little website - myfourthirds.com.  Four-thirds camera users can post shots for critique, share tips and ideas, and publish camera and equipment reviews.  The photo above was the winning entry on the site's July photo contest. 

Check it out at http://myfourthirds.com.

Wolf and Pig

Fun stop motion photography.

Inspiration for Olympus' Pen Story? See for yourself:

Wolf and Pig

Olympus PEN

The Olympus PEN E-P1 is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. It is Olympus' take on the micro four thirds format. Ahhhhh - it's so pretty. Just looking at it makes me want to safari, invest gobs of money on heritage Leica lenses and dive into perilous adventures. Check out the PEN story below - it's 3 entertaining minutes of stop motion photography.

Olympus PEN story

Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens (Silver Body/Black Lens)

Reviews:
DPR Review
Digital Camera HQ
Video review on CNET

Rejection

A few weeks ago, I submitted a batch of ten G1 shots to various microstock companies and fared much worse than I did with my old point and shoot shots. Of the ten, six were accepted, but only by bigstockphoto.com. The other microstocks were categorically brutal with their rejections.

Here's a critique of two of my rejected shots on the Shutterstock forum

There is some good news... to date, I've earned $3.75 on Shutterstock which pays $0.25/download - yeah!

Verdict

I've used the Panasonic DMC-G1 for 3 weeks now, so it's time to pass a verdict.

The most appealing feature for me is the camera's size and weight. The camera is not a burden to tote, so I've been able to carry it with me every day. I don't feel like I'm missing out on great photo opportunities - especially after happy hours when everything is golden. The electronic view finder is impressive, and I find myself using it 80 percent of the time. The large, articulating LCD gives a bright, beautiful view of my shots. The buttons and dials are intuitive only after investing an hour or so absorbing the manual. Picture quality is excellent... when I get it right.

On the con side, the G1 comes with a lousy manual. Also, extended exposure only goes up to 1 minute. What is up with that? I want to do some star track shots in the desert, and I'm sure 1 minute isn't enough time to capture any movement. There may be a way to lengthen this, but I haven't figured it out yet (given the lousy manual). Battery life is subpar as the EVF is a guzzler. Finally, the non-traditional, non-SLR status means that you don't get much respect in photography forums.

Despite the cons, I'm in love with this camera. It's small, it's fun, it's a daring new format, and it has ALL the features needed to learn the craft. Using it keeps me enthused and eager to learn.

Best detailed reviews:
dpreview
cameralabs - also has a nice video review
steves digicams

Best consumer reviews:
amazon :Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP Digital Camera with Lumix G Vario 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS Lens (Blue)

Experiment

On a whim I submitted some old point and shoot photos to several microstock agencies. Of the 16 I submitted, 12 were accepted by shutterstock, 13 by bigstockphoto, 1 by fotolia and 0 by the reviewers at dreamstime. The dreamstime rejection explanation: "Poor optical performance due to low lens quality, such as lens fringing, chromatic aberrations, uneven sharpness in focus area."

I don't really know what half of that means, but I took it as a dare - a little summer learning opportunity. So, I bought a Panasonic G1 assuming the 12-45mm kit and the 45-200mm lenses would be better than a point and shoot lens. I snagged a great Amazon deal on the blue camera kit and the 45-200mm lens - about $680 total. Here's the experiment, is it really the lens or is it the photographer? Will dreamstime accept something from a super-novice with better than point and shoot lenses?

The city scenes below were some of the first shots I took out of the box. They were also firsts on my 30 day trial of photoshop elements. Stay tuned... I'll post in a few months with new stock submission results.

Check out my Bigstockphoto gallery here
Check out my Shutterstock gallery here
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP Digital Camera with Lumix G Vario 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS Lens (Blue)

Adventures in Photography

I've been an avid point and shooter for years and recently graduated to a quasi-SLR - the Panasonic G1 - a micro four thirds camera. The micro four thirds format is fresh on the digital camera scene. It's defined by the lack of the internal mirror thereby eliminating the optical viewfinder. What results is a smaller and lighter camera body that accommodates interchangeable lenses. All but the first photo post will be shot with the G1.

A few notes on this blog before I get started:

First, there won't be much detail with each shot. My goal is to capture images that speak for themselves. I'll add links to place details with most posts. For places that require extra explanation, I'll post a description on my ramble and roam blog.

Second, I'm still figuring out the basics - composition, what all the dials and buttons mean, post processing, etc. I'm realizing that photography is a sport that taxes both pockets and patience, so bear with me.

Third, for this blog, I'll go with the Wikipedia definition of "Phoenix Metro".

Fourth, if you visited this blog looking for information on Phoenix, please don't feel cheated by the dearth of place info. on this site. I'll only post shots that, at the very least, give you a flavor of what it's like to be here. You can fill in the blanks with a quick google search or a good guide book. Of course, google and guide books are no substitute for the real thing. So, if you like what you see, come and visit.