Min Dof Photography

Tomorrow!

2007-08-22T19:45:00.000+02:00

New domain.

New template.

Still min DOF.

Stay tuned!

King size

2007-08-21T23:05:00.000+02:00

I got sick yesterday. So I went through my archives and found yet another retarded snap.

For the techies: taken with Canon 1D mkII and EF 85 1.8@f2.2.

1Ds mkIII and 40D announcements tomorrow?

2007-08-19T15:31:00.001+02:00

According to Amazon it sure looks like that! Specs like 21 mpix at 5fps, 3" LCD, integrated self-cleaning sensor unit and a lighter 1200g body (without the batteries) sure sound amazing. Priced at 7.990$. Full specs are available by clicking on the Amazon link.

The price of 40D is 1299.99$, full specs are also available on this link. Another great move from one of the major retailers, putting full specs and the price on their site before the announcement. I'm sure they'll get quite a few more buyers than they would if they waited until the announcement.

If this are the true specifications, Canon will make the competitors life (at least in prosumer class) a lot harder. It will again rise the bar higher, out of competitions reach. We'll see what Nikon will offer on Thursday the 24th, but if the rumoured D3 specifications are correct it will once again leap behind Canon. Good for Canon, bad for Nikon and the consumers, because prices won't start dropping.

Nikon D3 announced!!!

2007-08-19T11:12:00.000+02:00

A typical sunday post. Funny, amusing and not serious at all. A poster over at DPR forums posted that, and here's the complete post:

Monday, August 20th, 2007 (Tokyo) — Nikon Corp. of Japan this morning unveiled their newest digital SLR targeted toward professionals, the Nikon D3. But while Nikon maintains that the D3 is a groundbreaking development in the world of digital imaging, photographers and analysts alike seem to be scratching their heads.

"It's a brick, a frickin' brick," said an obviously agitated Tommy Hogan, professional photographer.

"Yes, it's a brick," admitted Nikon President, CEO and COO Michio Kariya. "However, research showed us that we were rapidly losing market share in the professional realm to Canon. Here at Nikon, we're not so prideful that we refuse to admit when we're wrong. If photographers want a camera like Canon offers, we'll build a camera like Canon offers. In this case, the brick was the closest we could come to achieving the ergonomics found in Canon's 5D."

Jerry Yamamoto, Nikon's Chief Designer, had a different take. "Today, it seems that more and more of our customers are using their gear to photograph brick walls. Nikon cameras have always been about transcending the equipment—the camera becoming part of your environment. It's easier to think artistically when you aren't using a tool that seems out of place. The brick design of the D3 is part of a move toward better fusion with the photographer's surroundings."

But the brick design isn't the only feature of the D3 that has left potential customers scratching their heads. The D3 will be Nikon's first digital SLR that prevents the user from changing lenses. "I don't get it," Nikon enthusiast Rory Bjornlett said. "How is that supposed to be a 'feature'?" Kariya had the answer.

"By shipping the D3 with the lens welded to the body, we've eliminated the sensor dust problem. In fact, we guarantee that you will never get dust on the sensor for the life of the camera. And now, you can order exactly the camera you want. Your D3 can be customized with a wide assortment of Nikon and even third-party lenses. Just tell us what you want, and we'll weld it to the camera and ship it to your door within a couple of weeks."

When asked for clarification about third-party lens options, Kariya pointed out that companies like Sigma and Tokina fill niches that Nikon doesn't have the time to bother with. "A few of our more demanding customers have been asking for a fast AF-S prime in the 30-35mm focal range. But this doesn't fit into our long-term plans. There are still three or four more consumer zooms in the 18-70mm focal range that we need to get to market before we can worry about a prime lens that only a few professionals and enthusiasts will ever use. Since Sigma offers such a lens now, we've decided to go ahead and offer it as a customization option for D3 customers. Maybe that will shut them up. This is off the record, right?"

Photographer and writer Rockwell Kenneth, an attendee at Nikon Corporation's D3 media event, was distressed to learn that all D3 lenses will only allow for manual focusing. "Getting rid of autofocus seems like a serious step backward. I can understand the less-is-more mentality, but this? Looks like I'm going to have to stock up on more D40s and 18-200 VRs. It's all you really need, anyway."

Nikon designer Jack Kogaku explained Nikon's reasoning behind removing autofocus. "We're trying to build a camera that can compete with the competition, and it's tough. We had our work cut out for us. Our moment of epiphany came when we received a shipment of Canon EOS 1D Mark IIIs. We quickly realized that manually focusing the D3 was just as fast as autofocusing the Mark III, and about 277% more accurate. Out with the old and in with the new, ya' know? Manual focus is the new black!"

Other improvements include better digital noise performance. "We've heard the complaints about the noise of Nikon cameras versus their Canon counterparts for a couple of years now," Kogaku said. "We've done our very best with the D40, D80, and D200 to provide better noise performance, and while I feel we succeeded, the public apparently disagrees. For this reason, we've completely removed the mirror from the D3. No mirror slap means no noise whatsoever. If you thought the D40 or D80 had low noise, wait 'til you hear this! The silence is deafening."

The removal of the mirror from the D3 means that users must frame the image using one of the two holes in the brick on either side of the lens. This design move by Nikon has also ignited debate over whether the D3 is an SLR at all.

"That's not an SLR, it's a rangefinder," insisted one indignant media correspondent who had flown in from the United States. But a source within Nikon who asked not to be named due to his corporate espionage activities on behalf of Leica disagreed passionately: "If that's a rangefinder, then my name isn't Wolfhausen!"

Missing from the announcement was Nikon's rumored full-frame digital SLR. "Foo-frame? What dat?" asked Nikon spokesman George Takiyama when the rumor was brought up. Several reporters tried to explain the term to Takiyama, at which point he said, "No Engleesh. Speaky Japanese." When a Japanese reporter pressed the issue in Takiyama's native language, he responded in English, "Oh, you never need do dat! No foo-frame 'cause no need foo-frame! We defy laws of pheesics. Canon no can do, so dey need foo-frame."

The D3 comes equipped with a convenient carry handle and hundreds of lens customization options. The camera will begin shipping next week, though widespread availability isn't expected until the end of next year. The estimated retail price of a D3 with a welded, manual focus Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 is $4995.
Filed by Jonathan P.

What's the point of exhibitons?

2007-08-19T01:23:00.000+02:00

I'm wondering for quite some time about that. Yeah I know, it should be a promotion for the photographer yada, yada...But can you really get noticed out of that countless exhibitions that are taking place around Slovenia? And with all the photo galleries and photoblogs that you can find on the web?!

A lot of people said I should have my own, independent exhibition. But I've never been fond of the idea. I'm not 100% sure why. Probably because, as you can see, I can't see the full promotional potential in it and on the other hand also because it's quite a project just organising it. You usually have to pay for all the expanses as well (prints, frames, food&drinks...).

Besides that, a decision about which photos are going to be on exhibition and also why, has to be made. What do you want to show people with them. Usually you come out with more than just one option, then you have to decide what's best to show people. I think that's more important than just showing your best photos.

I did participate on a few collective exhibitions and none of them, except one brought me promotion. The one that did, was the exhibition of the best polet covers. This was my last polet cover and also the last polet cover with a nude photo on it. And the only photo that was published on the cover twice. Ok, now we got to the part that brought me some promotion, that was (besides a few photo of me in the newspapers and on the TV) the article about the exhibition and the photo of the polet editor standing besides my photograph, which most of the people liked best.

But is this somehow measurable? I know quite a few photographers that are about my age or younger that had an independent exhibition or two. I don't think any of them got any real promotion, benefit of their exhibitions.

I'm going to wrap it up now. It's not a problem of organisation for me. I already talked about that around six month ago with an owner of a nice, with a tweak or two suitable for exhibitions, pub. Money is not an object as well. It's just that I don't see a clear benefit for me. I think I get more promotion from publishing my photos on magazine covers (and I get some promotion for publishing my photos on the web and in various magazines as well).

So tell me, what do you think about it? Are the exhibitions worth while, generally (for you, me, other photographers...)?

I really want to read your thoughts on that...

How much is your blog worth?

2007-08-18T09:13:00.000+02:00

Have you ever asked yourself that question? I didn't, but I immediately became interested when a friend of mine told me, my blog could be rated. Nowadays that you hear about major multinationals buying sites for millions or even billions of $ (Google bought youtube for 1.65 billion $), it makes you wonder what fraction of that could you possibly make, if there was a remote possibility someone wanted to acquire your blog.

Here's what mine is worth:

My blog is worth $20,323.44.
How much is your blog worth?

You can check out how much your blog is worth here.

.

Lens baby 3G preview

2007-08-15T21:01:00.000+02:00

I'm going to write the full review with more samples over on slo-foto.net, so I'm going to show you a few samples, so you can see what's the catch with this funny little lens. It's not only it's rather interesting appearance that draws attention, the results can be pretty interesting too. I confess, I didn't take enough time to master it, so I won't show you any masterpieces. I was to slow at manual focusing and sweet spot adjusting to make any good portraits, I missed all the interesting expressions, failed to capture the model's mood, energy etc. So what are you going to see below, is a visual presentation of what this lens can do. Pretty much an average test and tests usually include pretty boring pics...

Notice how everything white on the photos above and below gets blown to high heaven (eg blown out or as usually named it has a lot of hot spots). Nikon's JPG dynamic range really sucks. And it doesn't matter if it was taken with its flagship camera (D2Xs).In the lower photo the sweet spot is best represented.

If you look carefully and have a decent DOF knowledge, you'll see how this photo differs from those taken with regular lenses. Sneakers would be in the "DOF line" (90 degrees angle according to the lens, both vertically and horizontally)if it was taken with a normal lens. Here you can see what's in focus, eg where the sweet spot is

Blog monetizing

2007-08-12T19:09:00.001+02:00

I've started blogging and also tried to make some money out of it last year, december 15th to be exact. Untill yesterday, my only income was from Google's AdSense (which still represent most of the ads on my site). I did earn over 1.200$ in the last 8 months. Enough to buy me a Canon 30D. But that's just the beginning, my appetite is much bigger, bwahaha. So I decided to sign up to BidVertiser and AdBrite today.

Bidvertiser is a CPC (cost per click) based ad network, similar to Google AdSense. CPC means that you will get payed for all legitimate clicks on the ads that are displayed on your page. It's main advantage over AdSense is its low 10$ payout (via Paypal, meaning also it's not available for Slovenia). You can also get payed by check, you can get payed, when you reach 50$ (Google AdSense has 100$ payout level). You can sign up to BidVertiser by clicking on the banner in the left column, besides this post. EDIT: I've removed both banners (referral and text link ad), since it had performed poorly during the 4 day test period. I know that ad networks should be tested for a month or so, but 57c (I make more money with AdSense in a couple of hours) of revenue in 4 days is a waste of my ad space. Average CPC was only 4c, that's way less than what I make with Google Adsense.

AdBrite has a totally different concept of advertising. It's an internet ad marketplace. Anyone visiting your site can buy an ad directly on your site by clicking “Your Ad Here.” You’ll also be listed in the AdBrite marketplace, and represented by our busy in-house sales staff. You can set the pricing or you can choose the standard 5$ starting price point. That's 150$ per ad monthly and when your traffic increases as well as advertiser's interests revenues are rising progressively.

I'll be testing the following ad networks for a week or two and then report back to you. I think BidVertiser might be a good choice for me, as well as for practically all of the bloggers, who want to earn money with blogging. AdBright might be a bit more tricky and needs a lot of traffic to really work. Because advertisers (people who pay for advertising) are not inclined to pay for their ad placement on low-traffic sites. Only time will tell and time and traffic are the most important factors for succeeding with AdBright advertising.

Moving up to the next blogging level

2007-08-11T14:47:00.000+02:00

I've decided to make step up and move my blog on an independent server in the near future and it's going to be wordpress based. That also means I'm going to buy my own domain name. Why have I made a decision like that, you ask? Because I want my blog to look better, to provide a good user experience in not so many words, to make it more pleasant and professional.

The second reason to do it, is to increase my ad revenues. I've been doing pretty well so far, I've earned enough in the past 8 months to buy me a 30D (which I intend to buy in a month or so). With all the improvements I hope to gain on traffic, which leads to more cliks on the ads, that are displayed on my site, which ofcourse leads to higher revenues. I'll try adding a few ad networks and/or affiliate programs. Because like the Dot com mogul John Chow says, monetizing of a blog is way more than slapping on a couple of google ads. That's just the beginning.

When the migration to a url will be complete, I'll try to automatically redirect visitors to my new site. That way you won't have any trouble finding it, or following the links. And I'll still get traffic from numerous sites that are linking to my blog.

My first Ona Cover by Nikon

2007-08-07T17:43:00.000+02:00

D200+85 1.4.

Kesh peechka

2007-08-05T16:19:00.000+02:00

BLING, BLING! Euro bills get that special glow in her hands...

What a feeling!

Kesh Peechka's greatest joy...

She can never get enough of it...

And at the end, sponsor gets his reward:D

At the end let me just write, that Špela really got into her role. She was great, she has the passion, energy, that's definitely needed for this kind of sessions. And that's what most models lack - passion!

Another lensbaby snapshot&preview of today's session

2007-08-04T21:19:00.000+02:00

I'll post more from today's session tomorrow, I've got to run, because a friend of mine is throwing a bday party...

Lensbaby 3G

2007-08-02T22:58:00.000+02:00

I got it yesterday for a 10 day tryout. It's a very nice little lens, with a single glass element and a simple construction. One can be very creative with it. It also takes quite some time to get familiar with the focusing and sweet spot adjusting. I was practising today during coffee time, while I managed to get a few snapshots in focus, most were still OOF. And I thought MF lenses were tricky to use:). I still have a week to go, so I think I'll master the basics during that period and make a few interesting, if not creative, then at least abstract shots.

Both samples are taken at f2. Please overlook the colour imbalance, since it's not important for this samples:

It's sweet to be able to adjust the sweet spot:). But bokeh is awful:

3G is basically a 2G with a focus locking mechanism, which I don't find very useful for people shots. But it sure is useful for still art etc, when you have the time to lock and then fine focus/fine tune the sweet spot. If I was buying it, I'd probably go for the 2G version which is also around 50% cheaper.

Double dilemma

2007-07-29T22:08:00.000+02:00

I was just digging through my 1Ds mkII and 5D archive. To see, or perhaps better said, to convince myself that Full frame cameras just have that "must have" advantage for me (yeah I mean DOF and a few minor advantages). I think it's not enough to pay more than 3x the price of Canon 30D+Tamron 17-50 2.8 for Canon 5D+135 f2L+Tamron 28-75 2.8. Ok, that was the first half of dilemma. The other is the photo below. It wasn't good enough for first selection that I already posted on the blog - 1st session with Mina. But now it seems kinda interesting. Especially that look, expression on her face. You know, the kind of women expression, that we men can't seem to resolve sometimes...

And there's one more thing, that I just remember that I was thinking about during and after this session. There's still way too much DOF (at f1.8 ofcourse), when shooting full figure or from waist up. So, to hell with FF and paying over 300% more:).

EDIT 30.7.07 21:50: The photo was slightly altered (crop, sharpening).

Are you a risk taker?

2007-07-27T22:14:00.000+02:00

Do you do risky, sometimes stupid things in your life? Or when you're taking photos?

Here's one that would qualify. Taking portraits of the most unpredictable and dangerous big cat in Ljubljana ZOO with a 18 mm lens. She's the only one that I was afraid to cuttle (another risky thing to do, but I can't show you that). Image is ofcourse uncropped (most of you already know that because of visible wide angle distortion):

Greetings from Siberia

2007-07-26T17:43:00.000+02:00

I'm having a great time, a bit chilly though. But I guess that's better then living through a month lasting heat wave;).

Double rainbow!!!

2007-07-24T20:24:00.000+02:00

Hehe, I know you're not used to look at such cheesy shit on my blog, but I'm making an exception today. Besides that it feels right to be cheesy sometimes. Especially now, when I really don't have anything interesting to show you (I haven't had a session for a month or so now).

Anyway here it is:

Oh, it's supposed to be in colour, right?

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've also changed the template. I didn't find any flash templates that work with the new blogger and support google ads at the same time. There were some that work with the new blogger, but all of them hide all the page elements which is fine for all of the categories (labels, blogroll, archive etc) except for the ads, which must be shown on the main side if you want to earn a few bucks now and then. Tell me your thoughts on the colour combination and layout. You can paste a link to a nice template too;).

Ona cover

2007-07-17T19:20:00.000+02:00

My photo was published on the cover of today's Ona cover. The cover is not in the best condition, since it went through so many hands on today's set. And my scanner still sucks (colours are off etc). Anyway here it is, the gorgeous brunette on the cover is Tanja, click and click again to see complete sessions.

Camera manufacturers joined their forces

2007-07-13T17:59:00.000+02:00

Every company contributed the best component they have in store and this is what came out:D.

A few photos from saturday's wedding

2007-07-09T22:27:00.001+02:00

My mean man Fločo was the hair guy. I guess ya all should know the best hairdresser in town by now (retarded session or by this photo which is one of many on this blog)

When her hair was done, the make up artist started doing her thang

The end result:

Below you can see 2x2 similar photos. I've posted two different versions of each. Personally I can't decide which is best. I'll give both versions to the freshly married couple and let them decide.

Min DOF on weddings too? 4 sure, I'm no sellout:P.

Rok&Pika if you're reading this, I hope you're enjoying yourselves as much as possible. Have fun and cya in August.

A few 1D mkII snapshots

2007-07-05T23:22:00.000+02:00

I got Canon 1D mkII for a few days (I wanted to take 1Ds mkII, but an error ocurred yesterday and it wasn't repaired yet), so I took it for a spin, to set it up for saturday's wedding. I wanted FF because it's very usable for a backup with 50 mm lens on it and excellent for the romantic shots, because of thinner DOF. On the other hand, the focal lenght for closeups is better on 1D and you can get closer too (crop). I wanted a FF or a 1.6 crop (usable only as a backup). But neither was available. I'll have to do it with a compromise, I guess.

Anyway, a few pics of my dawgs:

Bad ass muthafucka, ain't he?

He couldn't concentrate on a game of strategy that we were playing because of my shutter pressing frenzy

Canon vs Nikon

2007-07-03T18:47:00.000+02:00

Now that I'm using both for quite some time, I think I'm qualified to give an opinion. My intention is not to flame any debates whatsoever. Just giving an opinion, that might help someone choosing the right system for his/her needs.

I'll start with Canon, which is the brand of the camera that I own. I've tested the whole lineup, so my opinion will be, more or less, based on the complete lineup, not on a single model. I use Nikon for my job assignments, lately I've been using Nikon almost exclusively. Note that this is entirely and absolutely MY OPINION, I'm not trying to write a review, be objective or politically correct.

Pros:
-excellent sensors, excellent high ISO performance (unbeatable when it comes to 5D and 1D mkIII), high dynamic range
-lots of lenses to choose from, practically all of the lenses come with USM (fast&silent focusing, exceptions are some lenses with micro USM). Mostly reasonably priced. Known for their excellent tele lenses
-Canon is in a league of its own when it comes to pro grade cameras. 1Ds mkII, 5D and 1D mkIII have no real competition
-control wheel on the back of X/XXD series is the best and fastest way to go over menues, for reviewing photos etc
-FF cameras. For all of those who need better DOF control and top notch image quality
-warmer out of the camera colours

Cons:
-flash system works better on Nikon. Not that accurate, prone to underexposing.
-entry level body design
-poor choice of sharp wide angle lenses (below 35 mm)

Nikon:
Pros:
-flash system works better than Canon's, I love the in camera hi-sync setting. So there's no need to switch it on the flash every single time X-sync is exceeded.
-better entry level body design
-better wide angle lenses
-two separate control wheels work great in M mode. On for the control of shutter speed and another for the aperture

Cons:
-the stupidest playback zoom mode I've ever seen (enter button, then you have to hold another and roll the control wheel)
-no AF-S prime lenses. I use 85 1.4 often (editorials, sessions, weddings...) and focusing is often to slow if you need to catch a moment. The good thing about it is that it's not too loud (but not even close to being silent either)
-no FF cameras, only crippled APS-C. That means less variety for the users
-noise control got better with the latest models (except for D2Xs, which is awful at ISO 800, which is the highest ISO setting anyway). But Nikon still doesn't have a good low light camera, with noise levels, that could compare with 5D, 1Ds mkII or 1D mkIII. For all those concert photographers and photo reporters.

Min DOFed big cats

2007-06-29T22:11:00.000+02:00

I dug these in my archive. All of the photo below were taken over a year ago. Since I bought Canon EF 85 1.8 I started taking practically all the photos with it. Even big cats portraits. Most people are taking photos of these majestic predators with super tele lenses. I had a different approach. I connected with this cats in a similar way that I do with my models. Ok, don't take this too seriously, you can't verbally communicate with animals. But one can establish a different kind of connection with them. And as a result you can get photos that are a bit different.

Yeah, that was the time that my Canon EF 75-300 USM became obsolete.

Can you see the alertness in his eyes? Yeah we were close, eye to eye.

Another up close and personal. The king himself...

Min Dof leopard

And even closer. He's totally phlegmatic

This one is not min DOF. But it's still taken with 85 1.8. Ain't she a thang of beauty? She's is definitely Miss Ljubljana ZOO.

And remember: every subject can be min DOFed!:P

Undecided

2007-06-28T19:41:00.000+02:00

About this shot. I can't make up my mind. One of those, that I can't put my finger on: is it good or bad...

What do you think? Please be honest, hypocrisy won't get me anywhere.

Minimalistic

2007-06-27T19:39:00.001+02:00

I hope you know, what you're looking at;).

One more (Nikon can do MIN DOF too)

2007-06-19T21:57:00.000+02:00

Tina's photo. I looked at it a few more times and it seemed pretty good to me. So I'm posting it.

I can't let you off the hook, before seeing this one. Nikon can do Min Dof too;). 85 mm, f1.6, ISO 400+1 stop:

First session with Tina

2007-06-17T22:45:00.000+02:00

Today was a first time for many things. Tina had a session for the first time in her life, I shot a session with D200 and 85 1.4 for the first time, that was our first session (doh:D).

I went more or less into details this time, these are more or less beauty photos:

Joining hobbies

2007-06-17T14:05:00.000+02:00

My boy S3to took his model plane for a flight today. And we've joined our hobbies. You know, the things we like to do the most in our lives (ok I earn my living with photography, but never the less I still love it). Ofcourse I didn't take in flight photos. Sport photography bores me to death. But I took a couple of snapshots in the field, here's one:

Taken with Nikon D200 and 85 1.4, I warmed the colours quite a bit (500 or 600K), to get a more pleasing end result. At least to me, I'm used to warmer Canon colours. A great combo, I'll shoot a session with it later this afternoon.

Shadow boxer II

2007-06-16T19:19:00.001+02:00

Another abstract from me. I don't know why. I'm in the "abstract" mood, I guess...

(tag: taken with Canon 350D and Canon EF 85 1.8).

Lips

2007-06-16T00:42:00.000+02:00

Fat. Juicy. Hot. Damn hot!

I guess everyone has fetishes of his own, lips are one of mine...

Shadow boxer

2007-06-15T20:22:00.001+02:00

Disks cleanup

2007-06-14T23:20:00.000+02:00

I've just made one. I got rid of hundreds of photos. I erased most of the photos that I haven't converted (from RAW). I think there's really no point in keeping the uninteresting and "out of the top 20 from a session" photos. Besides that, the less photos you have from a session, the better impression one gets, when he/she looks at the photos. At least I do.

I hope you're not as bored as he is after reading this post:):

I know I haven't posted any new session photos lately (huh, I had the last session on may 5th if I remember correctly). D200+85 1.4 are ready for action, all I need is a fresh model, to make it work;). So stay tuned;).

Over 100.000 visitors - I lied

2007-06-10T21:30:00.000+02:00

I've had over 150.000 visitors and over 190.000 pageviews. Here's a printscreen from google analytics page, which is known for it's accuracy.

From now on, multiply the visitor counter with approximately 1,5 and you'll get the correct number;).

Eva

2007-06-09T18:29:00.000+02:00

I went through the 85L train session aka Hip hop honey session again and found another interesting photo. I posted it also in a couple of web galleries and people seem to like it.

I hope you like it too (best viewed larger):

Watch out - dance show

2007-06-08T01:01:00.000+02:00

I got a call from a friend of mine that works for Pro dance studio, he asked me to shoot the event. I agreed. To be honest, it's not my cup of tea, but as a photographer nowadays, one can't be too picky.

Man, I'm glad I decided to go. The show was great, choreography was excellent. And very different. A dance show with handicapped people. People dancing with/on their wheelchairs. Very touching. Half of the people were crying at the end of the show.

Liberated

2000 frames per second

2007-06-07T18:58:00.000+02:00

Over 100.000 visitors!

2007-06-05T21:43:00.000+02:00

I'd say this is a cause for celebration. The first milestone passed. Cya at 1 mil;).

Get Crazy!

2007-06-04T22:42:00.000+02:00

That's the topic for today;):

Taken with Nikon D200 and 105 2.8 Micro. As you can see he's influenced by Jim Carrey (remember the mask?) and ICP. The first&only shot. That's what I like, to get it right the first time hehe.

Drugs are bad, mkay?

2007-06-01T19:39:00.001+02:00

Everyone is a photographer in these days...

2007-06-01T19:36:00.001+02:00

It fuckin' sux...

Why do I like this snapshot?

2007-06-01T19:07:00.000+02:00

Dunno, I just do...I hope your monitors are correctly calibrated.

85L@f1.2

Canon babe

2007-05-30T19:33:00.001+02:00

Taken last spring. It incorporates the two best things in the world. A beautiful girl (with a nice "haircut", don't you agree?:)) and a Canon.

I had to censor it, since adsense ("provider" of google ads that are on my blog) doesn't allow to post mature/pornographic content...

EDIT: It seems like some of you can't see the image. Here's the link: http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3020/img012901mr4.jpg

Without a worry in the world

2007-05-28T18:10:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I wish I was like him. Or even that I was him. Without a worry in the world. without the enormous stress I'm facing everyday lately...

A few more 85L snapshots

2007-05-21T22:17:00.001+02:00

I don't know why, but I like those photos in a strange way - as snapshots ofcourse. The first and main reason why I'm posting is, because I figured out you don't respond well to solely textual posts. I can understand why, after all this is a photo blog. So let's get down to it.

Yeah, that's me muthafuckaz (foto: Nikolaj Lukež). ISO 800+ 2 stops in rawshooter. Yeah baby, it's a Canon (check the post before this one, LOL):

Min dof+bokeh showoff

Sigma SD14 Hi-ISO sample

2007-05-19T22:35:00.000+02:00

Take a look at the crop. I guess the first words out of your mouth are going to be: what the fuck is that?!?

I friend of mine took this snapshot (ISO 1600) while he was playing with the camera:

Enlarge it, it gets worse:

Sigma SD14

2007-05-18T20:35:00.000+02:00

I just got it, so you can expect a few samples over the weekend. I'll do some on tomorrow's slo-foto workshop. And ofcourse I'll bother my friends and take a few session shots, if I'll have the time for it (yeah I work every day, even on Sunday).

I'm really looking forward to see whether foveon is just more or less a marketing trick or it really makes a difference. It's really a shame that Sigma doesn't make any fixed focal lenght portrait lenses (medium tele, 85 mm or so). I guess 18-50 2.8 macro will have to do.

First impressions: Nice big vewfinder, only 5 AF points crummed in the centre, dial with only relevant modes (P,A,S,M no P&S stupid modes eg night portrait etc), AF seems pretty fast in low light, AF assist lamp. I'll write more about IQ during the weekend. That's the most important thing anyway.

Visual interpretation of DOF

2007-05-16T23:41:00.000+02:00

DOF as in depth of field. To me the most important aspect of the technical part of photography. Even more important than bokeh and sharpness. That's why I love primes. And that's why I'll use primes 'till I die. Zooms are just necessary evil, I avoid using them whenever possible.

Visual interpretation of DOF taken with 350D and 85L II at f1.4 (enlarge it!):

A nice bokeh quote

2007-05-16T13:11:00.000+02:00

Taken from dpreview forums, I couldn't agree more:

Give me a world with no edges,
A happy space knowing nothing about outlines.
Grant me, please, the round joy
Of thoughtlessly floating on the blurred
Background of my photographs.

If someone doesn't get the picture, here's what I mean:

My 85 1.2L review published

2007-05-12T23:55:00.000+02:00

Complete review is available here www.slo-foto.net .

My 350D looks like new:)

2007-05-10T22:33:00.000+02:00

It has been cleaned and polished (Maxi Brill rox!). Sensor is finally dust free, the dust "build up" was impressive. But who'd notice that, if he/she uses f1.8 almost exclusively. Lately even f1.2 (unfortunately these good days are over). Finally studio shots won't be full of spots:). Ok I rarely shoot in the studio with my camera, but nevertheless it's nice to know, that if I'll shoot in the studio, I won't have to clone the dust spots away.

Canon 1D mkIII hands on preview

2007-05-09T20:52:00.000+02:00

Unfortunately a 5 minute preview. But enough to see the significant step forward, that Canon has made with this model. The size remains the same, while being a lot lighter. The specs don't show the real picture regarding the camera weight. It feels like it's half as light as its predecessor. They finally got rid of the clumsy controls, AF is even faster, now it's insanely fast. And the sound of the shutter at 10 fps is orgasmic.

When production model (this was pre-production) will be available, I'll do a complete test. I guess sometime in June...

I don't wanna return this kit tomorrow!

2007-05-06T20:07:00.000+02:00

Kit=Canon 1Ds mkII+85 1.2L II.

Photo: Andrej Jerše

Hip hop honey

2007-05-05T19:27:00.000+02:00

Canon 1Ds mkII+85 1.2L II. Fresh, straight out of the camera (through rawshooter ofcourse).

Micro DOF?

2007-05-04T09:18:00.000+02:00

Hell yeah! Coming on your computer screens this weekend.

Finally!

2007-05-02T21:07:00.000+02:00

A day with 85L and a model:D. Most of the shots are taken at ISO 800, since I noticed that when I was half way through the session. It was cloudy and I didn't find it weird to have such high shutter speeds, because I got used to having them at f1.2 (the first day I couldn't believe the difference and was checking ISO settings too). Ok it doesn't matter for web size anyway. You can still check the bokeh, colours, DOF and sharpness. But I feel a bit stupid nevertheless...

Ok, here are the photos, all of them straight out of rawshooter and all of them, except for the first one, are taken at f1.2:

EDIT: I've just done a few minor adjustments to this one...

A kiss for all my readers. Contrast is untouched. Colours are so saturated, that I add much less contrast in Rawshooter (shadow contrast also boosts colours), than with my 85 1.8, not to mention the 50 1.8, which has completely "washed" coulours compared to both 85's especially the L version.

f1.2, ISO 100+1 stop in rawshooter,1/2000

100% crop

Another day with 85L and without models

2007-05-01T16:26:00.000+02:00

Holidays sux! I ain't got no models. Everyone is on vacation, out of town. I hope I'll have more luck tomorrow, I hate to waste lens like this, since I have to return it next monday.

Anyway here's a snapshot of my father that I took while we were eating Chinese...@f1.2 ofcourse.

85 1.2L Bokeh teaser

2007-04-30T20:06:00.000+02:00

Would you believe me if I told you that there was a bike right behind his back?

I can't believe myself I took these shots:o. But I had to show you the bokeh that this peace of glass produces...

All Shots were taken with Canon 350D@f1.2.

Canon EF 85 1.2L II

2007-04-30T11:24:00.000+02:00

I got a new toy:D. In the next posts you'll see what min dof is really all about. And super creamy and smooth bokeh. Especially when I'm going to mount it on Canon 1Ds mkII, which I'll get on friday.

For now I have only those two snapshots (no time for PS etc):

Are you scared?:D It looks pretty frightening to me...

A bit fed up...

2007-04-26T19:46:00.000+02:00

With model photography. I'm glad for the first time in my life that a session is going to be postponed (from tomorrow to tuesday or wednesday). I've photographed so many girls this week (3 editorials with 5 girls and session with Brina which you've already seen), I usually have that many sessions in a month or two (or even more), not in a week.

But I do look forward to shot this session next week, I just need a few days off. Besides that, I'll probably get a real nice peace of glass next week, so I have another good reason for postponement of the session. I'll also get Canon 1Ds mkII again next weekend, so I'll have a killer combo for the next weekend if all goes according to plan. I'll keep you posted.

Brina

2007-04-24T19:44:00.000+02:00

A few pics from yesterday's session:

. . . . Hot

. . . . . Wild

. . . . . Beautiful

My dawgs (locked @f1.8)

2007-04-21T20:40:00.000+02:00

I wanted to take photos today. Badly. I felt an urge to have a session. I had a few ideas and a couple of locations to try. But I couldn't get a model, I contacted a bunch of girls. With no luck, a few were studying, one on a trip in Holland, one is sick and the last was outta town.

I said to myself: ok, no models for today, I'll bother my friends (what's not even remotely close to a session with a model ofcourse, but better than nothing).So I brought my camera with me when I went for a cup of coffee with my friends, but the midday sun ruined everything (I didn't even try to take any photos). After I spent the whole day outside, I finally got "lucky" and took a few shots of my friends just before the sunset.

This is it:
Who tha playa, ho

Trippin'

Don't fuck with me, esse

Ker se cenim

Models, models, models...

2007-04-18T18:50:00.000+02:00

I've decided to share this opinion with you. Since most of the people who read my blog are photographers or models, I think you'll find this post interesting. And also different from my previous posts, much more philosophical.
I don't have the time, nor the energy to translate this in english, but most of you, my dear readers, are slovenian anyway. This is the quote from the post I wrote on slo-foto.net on 22nd october 2006. And I still think the same way, my opinion about this matter is hard as concrete - now supported also by many commercial projects that we've had.

Quote:
Velikokrat se pogovarjamo o tem, kolko določena stvar, element ali člen fotografije vpliva na končni rezultat. Naprimer, koliko vpliva model s svojim znanjem in videzom na fotografijo in naprimer koliko fotograf s svojim znanjem, originalnostjo itd vpliva na to kakšen bo končen rezultat. Mnenja o razmerjih so zelo različna, od mnenj, da je vse na fotografu, do mnenj da je razmerje nekje 50/50, do naprimer pred kratkim v intervjuju časopisa Delo prebranemu odgovoru na ravno to vprašanje, ki je bilo zastavljeno Alešu Bravničarju, ki je rekel, da 70% fotografije naredi model. Sam dejansko menim, da je razmerje nekje 50/50. Ampak menim pa tudi, da z razvojem fotografa, torej s tem ko se nek fotograf izboljšuje, pridobiva na praksi in temu kaj dejansko hoče, raste tudi potreba po kvaliteti modela. Tako kot ne moreš dati na 1Ds mkII Canona EF 28-90, tako ne more nek odličen fotograf delati z brezveznim modelom (ok, to je že skrajni primer). Sem pa dejansko pri sebi opazil, da je res da pač s slabim modelom (čeprav lahko zelo dobro izgleda na videz), ne moreš narediti nekih presežkov (na lastnem nivoju, jasno). Ravno zadnje čase, sem imel dve taki punci. Obe sta bili lepi, a kaj ko ji 3x pokažeš neko pozo in je ne zadane. Ali ko ji razlagaš sproti kaj naj spremeni in ne zna oz iz nekega meni neznanega razloga noče (pa brez skrbi nisem zahteval nič takšnega, je šlo le za portret in nič kaj izzivalnega itd). S takimi se enostavno ne da delati kot je treba. Ker sem pa do zdaj že pofotografiral toliko deklet, da te razlike opazim in vidim, da to dejansko vpliva. Enkrat sem imel recimo tudi eno punco, ki je fotomodel, le na poizkusnem sešnu, kjer sem preveril če je primerna za portretno delavnico, ki smo jo imeli. Je bilo podobno, imela je super reference (fotomodel, bila je že na parih naslovnicah), ampak punca, kot prvo ni zgledala nič posebnega (prvi vtis vsakega, tukaj se ne da pomagati, sploh če pričakuješ nek fotomodel), potem je bila pa vsa anemična, brez energije, nič ni izžarevala itd. Skratka mrtva, kot bi fotografiral lutko. In totalno nezainteresirana že v tiste pol ure (sploh ne vem zakaj je potem prišla, no ja, najbrž zaradi zaslužka, kaj pa). Jasno sem ji povedal, da ni primerna za delavnico. Za kaj drugega bi najbrž bila, za delavnico, kjer se najdejo tako začetniki, kot taki, ki sicer imajo nekaj oz veliko znanja v fotografiji, nimajo pa izkušenj pri delu z modeli, za njih pa ne bi bila primerna, ker je tam potrebna tudi določena mera samoiniciativnosti, da zna sama kaj odpozirati, ker tisti pač nimajo idej, točno kaj bi recimo z modelom naredili. Za izkušene, pa pomojem v večini primerov tudi ne bi bila, razen če ima kdo željo fotografirati "ledeno kraljico". In dejansko, dober model potem vsem vrstam fotografov olajša delo, naprimer tudi kakšnemu začetniku, uspe z njo uspeti prav dobre fotografije. Sem opazil na naših delavnicah. In tudi pri sebi, še recimo pred dobrim letom, ko sem se sam udeležil dveh delavnic. Recimo poletno akt delavnico, ki je bila v Abitantih, kjer je bil model za akt odličen in mi kar izdatno olajšal delo, ker sem pač takrat prvič fotografiral akt, sicer sem imel par idej, ampak seveda premalo, s tem da kaj pozabiš, ko si kar malo nervozen, ko prvič nekaj takega fotkaš, zraven te pa še toliko ljudi gleda.
Torej da potegnem črto; sam mislim, da model igra prav tako vlogo kot fotograf, treba je vzpostaviti pravi odnos, lahko skoraj rečemo simbiozo, da se ve kaj kdo hoče in da vse skupaj poteka v prijetnem in sproščenem ozračju, da je komunikacija uspešna in da vsak zna opraviti svoj del. Sicer rezultati nikakor ne morejo biti optimalni in tudi pravega užitka ni pri delu. S tem ne mislim, na to da si morata brati misli (čeprav se mi je to že s kakšno, s katero sva večkrat fotkala, zgodilo). Ne. Velikokrat tudi s temi dobrimi modeli, pride do nesporazuma in naredi nekaj tretjega, kar pa ni nujno slabše, lahko je enako dobro ali celo boljše (rezultat na fotki zaradi poze, mimike...). Torej pomembna sta oba, kot sem nekoč slišal en izraz: fotografija je kot ples.

Enako je kar se tiče opreme. Oprema ni pomembna. Bullshit! S tem niti slučajno ne mislim reči, da oprema naredi fotografijo, a dajmo na stvar pogledati realno. Dobre športne fotografije ne moreš posneti s slabo opremo, kompakti odpadejo, enako poceni DSLRi in poceni oprema. Potrebuješ hiter AF in hitre objektive (pa tudi hiter rafal z velikim bufferjem marsikdaj). Makra ne moreš posneti, brez makro objektiva in dobrega portreta z recimo kompaktom (razen kakšne low key variante). Seveda je pa nujno potreben dober fotograf za fotoaparatom. Z idejo, vizijo, tehničnim znanjem, občutkom itd. Ampak eno brez drugega v mnogih zvrsteh fotografije ne gre. In z boljšim orodjem se lažje dela, kajne (vsaj do določene mere).

Straight outta my mailbox

2007-04-17T07:50:00.000+02:00

Into my scanner. Fresh Ona, I can still smell the ink:).

You can se the complete session with Mina here: http://peterbernik.blogspot.com/2007/02/1st-photosession-with-mina.html.

Victoria Beckham jeans commercial

2007-04-15T01:10:00.000+02:00

I've shot promo photos for Victoria Beckham Jeans back in February. They needed a life-size pasteboard puppet of this girl topless (shot from behind) and a photo for the posters. I'm not sure which one they chose (since I haven't been in the mall since it has been printed), so I'm showing you the one that is most interesting out of uninteresting (as usual when catalogue style photos are needed) commercial photos.

Session with Rosario Dawson

2007-04-14T13:29:00.000+02:00

Not! I'm just fuckin' with you:). But she sure looks like her, at least to me.

And another one from Tromostovje, the second part of the session (she doesn't remind me of Rosario on this one though). Fashion style lighting, I like the background on this one, colours and nice bokeh. I don't like this photo particularly, especially her facial expression is not what I wanted, but I explained why this part of the session was unsuccessful in the previous post. I'm showing it to you, because it differs from the others.

Session con chica latina

2007-04-09T20:50:00.000+02:00

Yes!!! I've finally made it. I had a session with a latina. Not just a latino looking girl. She's the real thing, she's partly Colombian. It was our first session, we rushed a bit, since we didn't have as much time as we planned, but I'm satisfied with the results. We planned to have 3 parts of the session. The warm up part, with choosing the best styling, the urban part in the center of Ljubljana and the playground part. We shot the first part as planned, for the second we made some photos, but we cut it short since some intrusive people ran into us (started taking photos with their cell-phones) and everyone was watching, so she wasn't relaxed. I'd need a whole team to make this part work, besides the assistant a body guard. We could make the third part as we planned, because there was so much people on the playground, there was a line for every slide, swing etc . So we shot the 3rd part on the stairs near the playground.

She reminds me of Rosario Dawson.

I don't have any photos to post:(

2007-04-07T22:06:00.000+02:00

It's been a week without posting. I didn't post anything, because I didn't want to bore you with uninteresting stuff, I haven't photographed anyone/anything interesting (who cares about table top photos etc). I was going to have a session today, but it was postponed, so I'm shooting with Tanja on monday.
Now that the weather is getting better, I'm also going to shoot more, so there'll be more photos to post. Outside. And the girls won't be dressed that much anymore:). Yeah! I'm starting to miss sessions that are taken outside, since I mostly work in the studio lately. Ok, I'll still do some of the nude sessions in the studio and I have to practise anyway. Because there's no time for practise, when you're working and absolutely no time for experiments (from which you can learn some interesting things).

Kiev

2007-03-31T09:19:00.000+02:00

I went to Kiev yesterday, for a one day trip. Not really a trip, since I was working, I had to take photographs of the people who were invited (mostly managers and a politician). We took off at 7.15 (the first time). We had to return because we had some technical problems, came back to Brnik and re-depart at around 10h. Because of that we missed the press conference and cut our lunch short (although we had more than enough time). After that we took a 20 min strawl on Lavra, got on the bus and drove to the airport.

Here are a few captured moments, most of them are taken through the (broken) windshield, so don't expect technical perfection (windows were dirty and as usual when shooting through the glass, I had problems with reflections and loss of sharpness - and I'd break the cheap kit lens if I had leaned it on the window, while the bus was driving).

One of the churches in Lavra

Fuck the traffic signs!:)

Ukranian Police patrol car. I must say ukranian officers do a great job directing the traffic (unlike Slovenian, which are mostly just interested in giving tickets for speeding etc, but do nothing to prevent traffic jams).

Car dealers even get their signs on traffic signs (it's logical, that's probably the only thing people give attention to).

The outcome of a "misunderstanding". Don't mess with Ukranian truckers. Respect the rule of the stronger.

Lada by Ferrari:). This one really sucks technically, but I had to show it to you.

Book for Andreja

2007-03-26T19:23:00.000+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I and Dean Dubokovič shot a book for Andreja Jernejčič. She runs a show Sijaj on TV Pika. As you can see she's not only beautiful, but also very photogenic and easy-going, so working with her was a joy (what I can't say for some famous - mostly "famous" ofcourse - models, miss something etc, with which we had a lot of sessions this month).

I took all the shots in D&D studio with Nikon D2Xs. Hell, I'm getting yellow:)...

Article about polet exhibition and my photograph

2007-03-24T21:52:00.000+01:00

My cover republished

2007-03-22T19:17:00.000+01:00

I've pretty much told you everything about it in the previous post, so I'm just posting the scan.

Now I'm off to the exhibition...

Erotica 4 exhibition: Polet covers

2007-03-20T22:39:00.000+01:00

After 5 years of publishing fine art nude photos on the cover of polet, the editor/management of Delo, decided to change the theme of their covers. So gallery Photon and polet decided to organise an "Erotic photography saloon". You've probably guessed by now, that I'm one of the authors of exhibited photographs (why else would I even bother with posting this news;).

You're welcome on grand opening of the exhibition on 22.3.2007 at 20h.

In the studio with my favourite model (part 1?)

2007-03-15T21:18:00.000+01:00

I had a studio session again, tried various types of lighting etc (testing, practising and learning). I couldn't believe everything went according to plan. I thought I was gonna have lots of problems with "non-conventional" lighting.

Tisa was great as always, so I made a few interesting photos and quite a lot of test photos. Here are some of both:

Lick it!

Freakin' out!

My latest ONA cover

2007-03-13T19:59:00.000+01:00

Here it is. Unfortunately I have a 5c scanner, so this is as good as it gets.

It looks like this originally:

Eva again

2007-03-12T19:13:00.000+01:00

I found another interesting photo from the first session. I didn't come in the top five last time, but I've posted it in a web gallery and people like it...

Here it is:

Studio

2007-03-06T22:21:00.000+01:00

I had to practise on studio photography (I'm a nOOb), because I'll start doing studio photography on (almost) daily basis. So I invited Eva in the studio, so that I could try a few lighting combinations. While it's pretty easy to get a standard soft lighting, it's hard to get something not too ordinary, without messing up something...

1st session with Eva

2007-03-03T21:05:00.000+01:00

We had a short session today and plan to have another in a studio next week. I must say, she was great, it's usually harder to make a good photo on the first session.

That's all folks.

Canon's striking blow to the competition

2007-02-22T13:26:00.000+01:00

Canon was expected to make the announcements today for one or more of Canon's new DSLRs. For now Canon announced only one new model, Canon 1D mkIII. It still has APS-H sized sensor (1.3x crop), but they bumped the resolution up to 10 mpix and frame rate to 10 fps. They also introduced a new (finally!) AF system with 19 cross type sensors and 63-zone exposure metering. The speculation regarding 3" live view monitor was also correct as well as dual DIGIC III (to be honest I didn't expect it). However the body stays the same, but they changed button layout and functions.

In my opinion, this is a striking blow for the competition, since it's not even half close. If Nikon won't announce D3H on PMA, it's going to loose quite a lot of pro market (most of photojournalists, sport&wildlife photographers).

Here's the official Canon press release:

Canon today sets new standards for professional photography with the launch of the EOS-1D Mark III. Delivering 10 frames per second at 10.1 Megapixels for a maximum burst of 110 Large JPEG images (30 in RAW), the EOS-1D Mark III replaces the EOS-1D Mark II N as the world’s fastest digital SLR. Dual “DIGIC III” processors drive the camera’s high speed, high resolution performance, and bring 14-bit image processing to the EOS series for the first time.

A ground-up redesign introduces a host of new features and advancements to Canon’s flagship EOS-1 series, including a 3.0” LCD with Live View mode, EOS Integrated Cleaning System, new auto focus system with 19 cross-type sensors, and 63-zone exposure metering. The camera’s APS-H size (28.1 x 18.7 mm) CMOS sensor enables a wider 100-3200 ISO range as standard, expandable to L:50 and H:6400.

“The EOS-1D Mark III represents a complete reappraisal of everything Canon has learned over the past 20 years of EOS development,” said Tsunemasa Ohara, Senior General Manager, Camera Development Center, Canon Inc. “In building this camera, we started with a blank canvas. Every facet of the photographic process has been refined, every design decision re-evaluated to bring us to this point: a camera that combines familiar EOS ergonomics with a vastly enhanced specification. Our engineers are overjoyed with the result.”

Key features

* 10.1 Megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor
* 10 fps continuous shooting for up to 110 frames
* Dual “DIGIC III” processors
* New auto focus system with 19 cross type sensors
* EOS Integrated Cleaning System
* ISO 3200 (expandable to H:6400)
* 3.0” LCD with Live View mode
* Wider, brighter viewfinder
* Picture Style1

The choice of professionals

The EOS-1D line has enjoyed massive popularity among the world’s leading sports, reportage and wildlife photographers, with international wire agencies AFP, Getty and Reuters choosing Canon for their photographers. “The people at Canon are great to work with because they listen to photographers. It’s their attention to detail and the pace of innovation that makes EOS the system of choice,” explained Stephen Munday, Director of Operations – Editorial, Getty Images.

Exceptional image quality

Canon’s dual “DIGIC III” processors deliver unprecedented levels of speed, responsiveness and image quality. Ready to shoot within 0.2 seconds of power on, the EOS-1D Mark III can capture and process over 100 Megapixels of image data per second, rapidly clearing the image buffer to allow up to 110 frames in one burst. Images are processed at 14 bits for a total colour depth of up to 16,384 tones per pixel, compared to 4,096 tones from 12 bit images.

The third generation CMOS sensor incorporates a new pixel design that works together with on-chip noise reduction circuitry to ensure high image quality at ISO 3200. The option to expand to H:6400 will benefit professionals working in news and sports locations where the use of flash is not permitted or desired.

Greater precision, more control

Canon has redesigned its auto focus system to include 19 cross-type sensors with sensitivity up to f/2.8, spread out across the AF area to better accommodate off-centre subjects. An additional 26 AF assist points are used to aid AF tracking for improved accuracy.

Responding to professional photographer requests, a dedicated AF button on the back of the camera allows users to instantly switch auto focus on or off while keeping their eye on the viewfinder. The viewfinder is now brighter and offers a wider angle of view. The camera’s new 63-zone metering system gives photographers greater level of control over exposure.

New LCD with Live View

The bright 3.0” LCD monitor provides 230K pixels resolution for precise framing and reviewing of shots. New to EOS, Live View mode enables photographers to frame without having to look through the viewfinder – particularly useful for shooting from awkward positions.

The menu system on the EOS-1D Mark III has been completely redesigned to take advantage of the LCD size – menus are easier to read and use. A choice of 57 custom functions gives photographers more options for customising camera settings to their daily working requirements. A new My Menu option allows photographers to store frequently used settings on a separate menu for faster access. Settings for new accessories such as the Speedlite 580EX II and Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 – also released today – can be controlled directly from the LCD.

Total reliability

The EOS-1D Mark III incorporates a range of practical enhancements for the working photographer. Shutter durability has been increased by 50% to 300,000 cycles. The body is protected by a magnesium alloy casing with dust and moisture resistant seals. The EOS Integrated Cleaning System provides further reliability by reducing sensor dust, minimising the need for manual cleaning on assignment. To avoid corruption of captured images, a warning appears on the LCD and an alarm sounds if the memory card door is opened while images are still being written. Interfaces include video out (for display in both NTSC and PAL formats) and USB 2.0.

Compatibility and accessories

Canon is marking today’s launch with the release of several additions to the professional EOS system:

* EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM – A fast, ultra wide-angle zoom lens delivering exceptional image quality throughout the aperture range.
* Speedlite 580EX II – An update of the Speedlite 580EX that offers weather resistance when attached to the EOS-1D Mark III.
* Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 – Smaller, lighter and more versatile than its predecessor, the WFT-E2 speeds up workflows by allowing photographers to transmit images wirelessly during the shoot.
* Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3 – Verifies the authenticity of images taken with the camera and supports image encryption for additional security.

Software

The EOS-1D Mark III is supplied with a comprehensive software suite to help the photographer’s workflow. This includes Digital Photo Professional (DPP), a powerful RAW converter that provides complete RAW image processing control.

DPP integrates with cameras features such as the Dust Delete Data and Picture Style. The camera also comes with EOS Utility, ImageBrowser/Zoom Browser and Photostitch.

Canon 16-35 2.8L USM preview

2007-02-21T21:06:00.000+01:00

I returned the lens today and I intend to post the review by the end of this week. As you can see I didn't go to Venice, the trip was canceled. I really looked forward to it, since I could really test the lens on a carnival with all those masks and interesting architecture. Instead of that I had to test it in Ljubljana, which was almost "maskless". To be honest I wouldn't even take this lens for the test if it weren't for Venice, because UWA lenses really don't interest me that much. Besides that I've decided that I'm going to test portrait primes almost exclusively.

I'm going to save you from all this talking and get straight to the photos, that I've taken today with my mean man Fločo. All of this in a few minutes. Models like this are really rare. They're priceless. His specialty is appearing retarded. And I'm laughing out loud again, when I'm viewing them...

This one just has to be enlarged!

Šta da vam kažem...

Snapshot with Canon 16-35 2.8L

2007-02-17T16:03:00.000+01:00

I took "my" new kit (Canon 1D mkII and Canon 16-35 f2.8L) with me to the local bar, where I met Blaž for a cup of coffee. I had to check the sharpness wide open and at f3.2, so I wouldn't mess up any shots tomorrow in Venice. As I suspected, it's pretty soft wide open, so I'll use it in the f3.5-f5.6 range most of the time. For min DOF shots, I'll take my 85 1.8 with me, which is razor sharp even when it's wide open.

Out of 4-5 shots, this one came out best. Lighting was interesting, so I boosted up contrast (yeah, the skin is intentionally overexposed:).

Trip to Venice

2007-02-16T17:22:00.000+01:00

I've equipped myself today for the trip to Venice on Sunday, where I'll be one of the mentors (every mentor helps/teaches a group of people that attended the workshop). I got Canon 16-35 2.8L (a short review will follow next week) and Canon 1D mkII. It's the time of carnival in Venice, which is known for its beautiful masks, besides the interesting architecture.

I just hope the weather will be nice, with no rain. There's at least one good side, if it's going to rain; my photo equipment is going to be 100% weather proof:).

15 minute balcony session

2007-02-14T15:10:00.000+01:00

I digged this session in my archive. Shots were taken in early October 2006, when my friend Matias was testing studio lighting in Kazina. After a few shots that I made inside with the 2 sofboxes he had, I got bored (I hate studio photography since you are stuck in one place) and shooting at f9 made me sick so I had to ran out on the balcony and make a f1.8 series with Andreja. I'm going to show you a lot of the photos I took, so you can get a picture of what we were shooting.

I started with my tiny Canon 50 1.8 at f2.5 (because it's not sharp below f2.5), the first 3 are made with it:

85 mm, f1.8:

Below you can see two 85 mm, f1.8 shots, with beautiful bokeh. Focused on the near eye:

Again 85 mm, f1,8 focused on the far eye:

Yeah that's me (reflection in the eye). Huge crop f3.5, 1/80 handheld and still sharp:

Please help me decide on the crop. The first one is the original capture, second is cropped:

This come out best of all in my opinion - yeah you've already seen it in another post. 85mm f1.8

EDIT(added at 16.00): I forgot about this "ninja style" photo. I took a few photos like this one, to focus on her beautiful eyes:

Experiment

2007-02-11T17:42:00.000+01:00

Today I went to the abandoned factory Rog with my friend Nikolaj. I planned on having a session there, so we went there to try a few improvised lighting setups, so I'd be ready for the session and wouldn't be loosing time with finding the right setup. Ok, setup is probably not the right word, since I only have a single Canon 430 EX flash unit and a 95 cm reflector. So we played around with different reflector positioning, bouncing the natural light from the reflector and flash from the ceiling or just flash of the reflector (in most cases). I hoped I'd be able to shoot with available light only in some parts of the factory, but unfortunately that wasn't possible. Besides that, my favourite prop was gone, a bed, a part of it really, made from wood and some kind of fabric, similar to velvet. I planned a big part of the session (with a female model, not with my friend:) around that bed. So I don't think I'm going to have a session there. What a shame, I was so happy, because I thought I found a great spot for my next session...

This shot was taken with the Canon 18-55 kit lens wide open (f3.5:)) and Canon 430 EX flash bounced off the reflector on the lower left and window light on the right:

Assistant

2007-02-08T13:46:00.000+01:00

Today I was assisting Ciril Jazbec, who's in my opinion one of the best Slovenian photographers. We were shooting portraits of talented, promising young actors, painters, web designers etc for one of the slovenian magazines. The session took place in an abandoned factory Rog in Ljubljana. The environment was awesome.
It was a great experience working with Ciril and watching him in action. I took only a few photos, since we were on a pretty tight schedule, so nothing special came out, I'm posting these two photos, so you can see the environment we worked in.

Full Frameless

2007-02-06T10:29:00.000+01:00

Yeah, Canon 1Ds mkII is gone. I had to return it yesterday. Damn, it was fun using it, I was doing real min DOF shots for the whole weekend. I plan on buying Canon 5/6D and Canon 135 f2L 'till the end of this year anyway. So sooner or later I'll own the min (or mean:) DOF machine and use it all the time, not just from time to time like now. I can't wait...

These are the last photos taken with it. It was on Sunday during the "coffee time". I took just a few shots and those two came out pretty interesting.

1st photosession with Mina

2007-02-03T19:57:00.000+01:00

I gotta say it was a good day. Session was great because I was working with the beauty and the beast. Mina was the beauty and the beast was Canon 1Ds mkII. It was pretty warm (12C) so she didn't freeze in that mini-skirt.

All the photos are straight from Rawshooter (we finished the session 3 hours ago), so no Photoshop postprocessing is done. I've taken all the shots, except of the first one (with 50 1.8) with Canon 85 1.8.

1Ds mkII and my "retarded" friend

2007-02-02T19:27:00.000+01:00

Lately I really enjoy taking these kind of photos. Relaxed, stupid and without any pressure on me (there sometimes is when I do something serious). Besides that it's really fun for me and my friends, we're laughing out our asses when we're reviewing the photos. Some of you that are reading this, are probably thinking that this is a waste of a 7000 euros camera. But it's not. It's not even mine, besides that I have a session tomorrow for the cover of ONA magazine.

All of the photos are taken with Canon 1DS mkII and Canon EF 85 1.8. Most of them are shot wide open, the rest in the f2-2.5 range.

Another, normal friend joined the "session"

And here's another I took right after I got the camera. Unfortunately battery was almost empty so I managed to take just a few shots

Slo-foto.net bowling party - part deux

2007-02-01T14:28:00.000+01:00

I've already posted the best from this party, now I'm posting the rest, so that people can see some more of their photos.

His style is wild:)

Adsense and a few tips for increasing revenues

2007-01-29T21:31:00.000+01:00

This post is going to be totally non-photographical, but still very useful to many of the visitors of my blog. As you can see, I've already put google ads on my blog, which are already bringing me revenue. I like adsense, because it's so easy to use. Once you've signed up and copy/pasted the code, all you have to do is wait for the commercial ads to work (at first public service ads will be displayed, for which you will not receive earnings), this may take up to 48 hours (it took less then 12 hours in my case). From then all you'll have to do, is to make your site interesting enough to get a lot of visitors and to keep them coming back.

A few tips that will increase revenues:
1. match every aspect of your AdSense ads to the theme of your website. What you want to do is remove the borders from your AdSense ads and match the background color of the ad to your website. Additionally, you want to match the color of the AdSense links to the rest of the links on your website plus choose an ad format that makes the ads look seamless
2. ad placement:
-the closer to the top of the page the better
-the closer the left of the page the better

Ofcourse there are many more tips floating on the web, I've written down just the most important ones. Besides that I'm pretty new to adsense and I'm still looking for ways to improve ad revenue myself.

Here's a link to the official Google adsense help center where you can get more detailed info o how to get started, everything about earnings, improving performance etc.

Slo-foto.net bowling party

2007-01-28T00:38:00.000+01:00

Slo-foto.net threw a party for it's 4th anniversary party tonight. We split into 3 teams of five players. A few of us was ofcourse busy taking photos between the rounds (after all it's a photo site anniversary). I wont bore you with text this time (besides that a bunch of people are waiting for the photos to be posted), let's get straight to the photos.

The only gal at the party

He really likes me:)

Again the only girl at the party, this time a bit more naughty:P

Doin' his thang

And another got in front of him

Finally someone took a photo of me:)

Canon 17-55 2.8 IS USM vs Canon 50 1.8 side to side comparison

2007-01-27T10:16:00.000+01:00

As I promised in the previous post, I'm going to post the comparison. As you can see 17-55 is sharper in most cases, especially when you take a look at the second set of comparison samples. There's a huge difference in the sharpness in the center. In the 1st set of samples 17-55 is a bit sharper in the third, where IS was turned on, 17-55 is sharper at f2.8 (center and border), but 50 1.8 is sharper at f5.6 (again center and border).

17-55 is always on the left side of the comparison photos. IS was turned off unless noticed otherwise.

Taken with 17-55 2.8, vignetting is visible

F2,8, 1/2000, 50 MM, ISO 100

F4, 1/1000, 50 MM, ISO 100

F5,6, 1/500, 50 MM, ISO 100

F8, 1/250, 50 MM, ISO 100

F2,8, 1/125, 50 MM, ISO 100

F4, 1/250, 50 MM, ISO 100

F5,6, 1/500, 50 MM, ISO 100

F8, 1/1000, 50 MM, ISO 100

IS turned on. I didn't have enough time to do a more detailed test on IS affect on sharpness (I had this lens for a week). But it seems it doesn't soften the image, if it does, the difference is minimal.

F2,8, 1/3200, 50 MM, ISO 100

F5,6, 1/800, 50 MM, ISO 100

Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM

2007-01-25T09:04:00.000+01:00

Canon introduced this lens on PMA 2006 and from then on, Canon APS-C sized camera users con choose one more standard zoom lens. Last year has been full of introductions of standard zoom lenses. Besides this one, Tamron introduced 17-50 2.8, Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 Macro (I've posted a review of this one in December) and 18-50 2.8 and Tokina 16-50 2.8 which is not on the shelves yet. But Canon 17-55 2.8 IS USM has at least two advantages already on paper. Image stabilisation and USM (ultra silent motor), which ensures very fast and near silent focusing and has a manual focus override. I don't know how it compares regarding image quality, but I seriously doubt any of the 3rd party lenses can really compete with it - but ofcourse I'm not saying this as a fact, because I haven't compared them side to side, I've really only tested Sigma 17-70 which really can't compare with the Canon's although it's a fine lens (but a completely different class anyway). Image quality (of 17-55) not only amazed me, but shocked me! After the first day of testing I got home and started viewing the photos that I took and I couldn't believe a standard zoom lens could be so sharp. It was damn sharp! Sharp across the aperture range (f2.8-8) I really couldn't tell the difference between f2.8 and f8 in the center (throughout the zoom range). And that is great, finally a zoom lens that is sharp wide open. On the borders the difference between f2.8 and f8 is visible, but after all it's a reduced image circle sized lens, made for APS-C only. so border to border sharpness at wide open aperture setting can't be expected. I think this lens is visibly sharper then its bigger EF WA brothers 16-35 2.8L and 17-40 f4L. Especially wide open, there's a big difference. I think it's a bit sharper then 24-70 2.8, but I should really compare them side by side to be sure of that. But I did compare it with 50 1.8 (which is a sharp lens in the f2.8-8 range). You'll be able to read more about that comparison in one of the next posts - there are just too many photos to post them all at once. One more thing that I noticed: sharpness is not that good at close distances (portraits etc). You'll be able to check that on your own from the samples I posted below.
Vignetting is visible at f2.8 (photos of the sky etc), otherwise it's well controlled. Bokeh is also good (for this focal range and aperture size) as well as contrast and colours.
As I mentioned before it has a very fast and almost silent USM drive (ring type), including full-time manual focusing (FTM). Front element does not rotate during focusing (it has internal focusing), so polarising filter can be used easily. Filter size is 77 mm.
By using IS you can gain 3 f stops (at cost of slower shutter speeds) it works for static objects. I managed to gain 4 stops, but this is very relative since it depends on many factors - the way you hold the camera, if you have shaky hands it doesn't help and at the end the proper breathing technique can help you achieve slower shutter speed (greater f stop gain). It has no 2nd mode for panning. There's no need for shutting down IS when the camera is on a tripod (it detects the lack of motion).

Built quality is good, but for the price you pay it could be better. Since it's not an L class lens it doesn't have magnesium alloy body and it's not protected against dust and humidity. It doesn't even come with a hood lens. I really think Canon do better for the price you pay.

Here are the samples, all the images are taken with Canon 350D, except for the last one, which is taken with 400D. The next post that is going to be posted by the end of this week (17-55 vs 50 1.8) all the images were captured with Canon 400D. IS was turned off, unless written otherwise.

17 mm, f2.8-8, center and border crops

f2.8, 1/1000, 17 mm, ISO 100

f4, 1/500, 17 mm, ISO 100

f5.6, 1/250, 17 mm, ISO 100

f8, 1/125, 17 mm, ISO 100

28 mm, f2.8-8, center and border crops

f2.8, 1/100, 28 mm, ISO 100

f4, 1/500, 28 mm, ISO 100

f5.6, 1/320, 28 mm, ISO 100

f8, 1/160, 28 mm, ISO 100

55 mm, f2.8-8, center and border crops

f2.8, 1/1000, 55 mm, ISO 100

f4, 1/640, 55 mm, ISO 100

f5.6, 1/320, 55 mm, ISO 100

f8, 1/125, 55 mm, ISO 100

IS test: f11, 1/8, 55 mm, ISO 100

Bokeh: f2.8, 1/800, 55 mm,ISO 100

Below are a few portraits, you can check the shaprness on the crops. It's not as good as on longer distances, but still adequate. You can check bokeh on this shots as well.

f2.8, 1/200, 52 mm,ISO 100, IS on

f2.8, 1/200, 52 mm,ISO 100, IS on

f2.8, 1/60, 51 mm, ISO 200, IS on, flash bounced of the ceiling

f3.5, 1/200, 53 mm, ISO 200, IS on

f2.8, 1/60, 55 mm, ISO 800, IS on, postprocessed

Pros:
-sharpness throughout the focal and aperture range
-very fast and almost silent AF
-colour&contrast
-IS performance

Cons:
-built quality could be better regarding the high price tag
-vignetting at f2.8

Pentax 70 2.4 DA - a few samples

2007-01-23T15:23:00.000+01:00

I've had this lens for a few days, mounted on Pentax k10d. The first impression was great, a very small and light, but very well built lens (metal). Filter size is just 49 mm, its size is 26x63 mm and it weights only 130 g (even lighter than Canon EF 50 1.8 which weighs 5 g more and is completely made out of plastic). It has also an integrated lens hood (or it it a screw on design, I'm not sure but it was already on a brand new lens). A joy to have for a walkaround lens, I personally don't like big, bulky, heavy equipment.

But when it comes to the image quality, all I can say is, that it's substandard for a fixed focal lenght. It's soft up to f3.5, so I've shot with it mostly on f4 (I usually never go above that, I mostly shoot in the f1.8-f2.8 with fast lenses). So I don't really see the point in buying a fast lens, which is not only soft wide open, but all the way up to (including) f3.5. Besides that it has the noisiest AF motor I've ever hear, pretty annoying. I didn't test it thoroughly, so I can't say much about colours, contrast and bokeh, although my first impression was that they were good.

And at the end we come to the price. It costs over 500 euros in Slovenia, what is in my opinion way too much for the image quality and AF it offers.

Lets get to the photos. All of the colour photos are unprocessed, I just added a bit of USM after resizing. The second and third photo also show low dynamic range of the Pentax k10d. All of the shots were taken in cloudy weather, so there were no harsh shadows/contrast transitions, so therefore blown out parts of the photo shouldn't occur. I never had such experiences with any of Canon (tested the whole lineup) or Nikon (I've mostly shot with D70) Cameras. It's a shame, because k10d is otherwise a nice camera, with a very competitive price (good value). Unfortunately I haven't had luck with the weather, so I had to use ISO 250-800 and AS too (but from what I've seen AS doesn't affect sharpness (much)).

f4, 1/60, ISO 400, AS on

f4, 1/60, ISO 250, AS on

f2.4, 1/100, ISO 800, AS on

Boring days

2007-01-22T10:19:00.000+01:00

What to do on those boring, cloudy, cold days...You can always go in a bar with your friends for a cup of coffee or a beer. And take your camera with you so you can amuse yourself and annoy your friends:D. Here are a couple of pics of my dawg S3to, still a part of my Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS test. It was mounted on a 400D - a funny combination, the lens is much bigger and a bit heavier then the camera (without battery grip).

This are the first two photos of him that I've taken. It's funny that they are the best (out of cca 10 shots). On sessions with models it's always the other way around. Yeah, this are candids and some friends get annoyed after a few shots, girls just warm up after a few (20-30) shots.

I got stood up

2007-01-20T15:14:00.000+01:00

Yeah, it had to happen to me too some day. Today was the day. And ofcourse it had to happen on a day that everything was planned, weather was nice and the model gorgeous. Murphy. And I'm an understandable person, if she'd at least call or send a sms, that she couldn't make it. It wouldn't be a problem. Ok it would be since the weather is going to be bad for quite some time now. But I would understand. However I can't understand one could be so hypocritical and without any guilt to turn off the phone. And she wanted to be a model (didn't make it although she looks really good), now I don't wonder why she didn't succeed (or at least get a few commercial to shoot etc) anymore.
I'm sorry to bother you with this shit, I promise my next posts will be better, more positive. And I'll be careful in the future (a good thing was we were supposed to shoot in Ljubljana, so at least I didn't drove on the other part of the country for nothing). But I also learned something from that bad experience, every experience (bad or good) is beneficial in some way.

Canon EF-S 17-55 2.8 IS teaser

2007-01-16T18:10:00.000+01:00

I got my hands on it today. My first impression is that it's by far the sharpest zoom lens in this range. I know it has the reputation for being ultra sharp, that's why I brought the Canon EF 50 1.8 with me to the city centre (mostly architectural photos), but didn't compare it - I plan to in the next few days. I think they are comparable at 50 mm, we'll see if my assumption is correct by the end of next week when I'll post a complete review, with 100% crops across the focal and aperture (f2.8-f8) range as well as IS tests.

center 100% crop: 17 mm, IS off, shutter speed: short enough;), ISO 100

100% crop: 55mm, IS on (I forgot to turn it off), f2.8, 1/200, ISO 100

Million dollar baby

2007-01-16T10:42:00.000+01:00

This is the last session that I had with Tisa. We shot that in Sepetember in (and near) an abandoned slaughterhouse. Unfortunately we couldn't do everything we planned, because Tisa was late and she didn't have her makeup done, so we had to do it on the location. We also skipped the second makeup (which I really needed for some photos, which we didn't take or we did, but they didn't come out as well) and shoot all the photos with only minimal make up (and some water sprinkled on her every few minutes). We rushed a bit, since we had only an hour left to shoot (I planned a two hour session), but in the end I think it came out good. Tisa showed all her talent and beauty, so we were pleased with the results and the feedback from my friends and in on-line galleries was very good. On the other hand it was a good experience too, because we were time-pressed - I'm sure the experience will be useful someday, when something will go wrong, something maybe even more important, something that will have to be done on that day (commercial shooting). I just think my job won't be as easy as with Tisa, because she knows what I want from her (we had many sessions), on a few occasions it seemed like she read my mind:).

Fločo the frog

2007-01-15T13:58:00.000+01:00

Yes, the best hairdresser in town again. While I was testing Pentax k10d and a couple of Pentax lenses we went for a cup of coffee in a local bar. He was in the mood for some stupid funny faces (come to think about it, he's always:). I took this shot with the Pentax 70 2.4 DA lens. I know the photo isn't good regarding lighting, although it was shot wide open at ISO 640 I had to use onboard flash. But the point of this photo is to bring a smile on your face not to show a technically perfect portrait. I hope I succeeded.

Another disappointment from Sigma

2007-01-14T15:01:00.000+01:00

I tested antoher Sigma lens yesterday in the ZOO, the 70-200 2.8 Macro. And it was just one more Sigma lens with frontfocus issues. I tested 9 Sigma lenses in the last few months and only 5 were without AF issues. Here's a short summary:
-18-200 for Canon: ok
-17-70 for Canon: ok
-50-150 for Canon: minimal frontfocus (but unusable at f2.8 in the 100-150 range on close focusing distance (headshots etc) - because of the shallow DOF, where frontfocus is more visible, image is unusable)
-10-20 for Canon: ok
-70 2.8 macro for Nikon: ok
-300 2.8 for Canon: frontfocus
-8 mm f3.5 circular fisheye for Canon: ok
-30 1.4 for Canon: weird AF issues (read the complete review for details, posted a week ago)
-70-200 2.8 Macro for Canon: frontfocus

It's really a shame that 70-200 2.8 Macro has frontfocus issues, because it's tack sharp at f3.2 (very few Sigma's are). Here are a couple of samples which came out ok (tested on Canon 350D):

f3.5. 1/500, ISO 200

100% crop from the photo above

f3.2

And this is the focus test. I focused on the line below number 50. Frontfocus is quite pronounced (f2.8, 200 mm):

Even more stuff to test:)

2007-01-13T12:54:00.000+01:00

Yeah, today I added two more leneses to the pile of equipment. The
two Sigma's mentioned in previous post (100-300 f4 and 70-200 2.8 Macro). Today is a beautiful day too (warm and cloudy, perfect for the test), so I'm going to the ZOO with my boy Luc. Ufff, I'm going to be late...Ups I forgot one of the Olympus boxes.