More Table-Top

A bit more table top photography.

Speak No Evil


Instruments of Fun


Tech spex: Bronica SQ-B, Zenzanon S 150mm f/3.5, Hasselblad Ixpress V96C, Bronica Auto Bellows S.

Product Photography

Between stuff at work, in-laws visiting and a change of hosting for my blog, it's been awhile since I've blogged. So here's a post for this month, and I'll follow up soon enough with some retrospective posts later on, especially since we had a super trip to Shanghai in August.

Here's some table-top macro photography I've been doing recently (today, in fact) for a retail outlet.

Tech spex: Bronica SQ-B, Zenzanon S 150mm f/3.5 @ ISO 50, f/16, 1/500s, Bronica Auto Bellows S, Bronica Bellows Hood S, Hasselblad Ixpress V96C digital back. 2x 180W strobes, 1x reflector

Try, try again

I had originally intended to write the "Try, try again" article for our 3rd newsletter, but when that started to overflow and grow into an entirely different kind of article altogether, I decided to let the writing take me where it would take me and instead ended up with "I, Anatopism" instead for the 3rd newsletter. This pushed "Try, try again" into Newsletter no 4, and once again, I needed to shoot a photo illustration for my article.

"Try, try again" was inspired by products like the Mac mini, which although seems like an entirely new, ground-breaking product, was actually the product of decades of trial and error on the part of Apple and NeXT Computer, proof that perseverance pays it's dividends eventually. Luckily, I happen to own a Mac mini myself, and it was a case of showing off the Mac mini the way it really shines - a depiction of all that computer power inside a casing that is smaller than many textbooks.

So with a few books duly arranged on the table top at work and unecessary background clutter cleared away, the photo below was shot and ultimately used to illustrate the article.

Tech spex: Nikon D80, Nikkor AF-S 18-135G DX lens, 2x 180W mains strobes

I, Anatopism

It's time for another newsletter which means another article and another photo illustration! This time, I needed a shot showing a Sony PSP and a UMD disc or 2. I actually, went through a number of different concepts in my head, but eventually settled on this setup as it was easier to do, requiring less setup.

Tech spex: Bronica SQ-B, AE Prism S, Auto Bellows S, PS 80mm f/2.8, Hasselblad Ixpress V96C, 2x 180W studio strobes, mirror lock-up, cable release.


Behind the scenes!

The Teabag Effect

We've just published our latest company newsletter, and for one of the articles, we needed a photo illustration of the different effects of steeping tea in different temperature water as a metaphor for how change percolates through an organisation. It was a perfect chance to put all the studio gear together and shoot!

Tech spex: Bronica SQ-B, PS 80mm f/2.8, Silvestri Hasselblad V adapter, Hasselblad Ixpress V96C
ISO 50, 1/500s, f/9.5; 2x 180W mains strobes, 1x 40x60cm softbox, 1x umbrella reflector, 2x black T-shirts

Linux Champions League

Here's an oldie but a goodie. Dug it out a few days ago when I was looking for old stuff to scan. It is also one of my first portrait shoots. The idea was to depict Muhammad as a kind of Linux Champion in the style of a Football star. So instead of a football under his arms, we places a laptop with the Tux wallpaper on the screen and the power cable running up his pants. Good thing there were no short circuits that night!

Tech spex: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon 80mm f/2.8 PS, Kodak T400CN rollfilm, metered with a Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, Nikon SB-28 on umbrella reflector, Nikon SB-22 flash on background with auto trigger.

Construction

Where there used to be a shanty town next to the condominium where we live, there is now construction, construction and more construction. The 2 low-cost apartments are now completed, which you see here as a night shot when they were still in construction over a year ago. Now there are 2 mid-range condominiums being built, and the open spaces are diminishing. Good? Bad? Lot's of dust and noise for sure!


Tech spex: Tight detail crop from 5x4 sheet on Fuji Provia 100F
Graflex Super Graphic, Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.7

Nikon D2X 12-megapixel Shoot-Out

My cousin Sam came over last night to conduct a 12-megapixel digital SLR shoot-out with the new Nikon D2X D-SLR. Shoot-out against what? Why, against my venerable Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, of course! Naturally, we didn't expect too much, since there should be no way that a US$5,000 camera can possibly be matched by a much cheaper US$1,500 camera.


Photo info: Nikon D70, Nikon AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 ED IF DX, Nikon SB-600 flash

All the tests were performed with the following lenses:

• Nikon AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 ED IF DX
• Nikon AF-D 60mm f/2.8 Micro
• Tamron SP 90 f/2.5 Manual Focus Adaptall (to test manual focus lens support on the D2X)

All test shots were performed with the camera on a Manfrotto tripod, self-timer shutter release and the same, identical lens fitted to the body being tested. Test subjects were a snail shell, some potpourri and the night-time landscape through our condo window. All images were shot as 12 megapixel JPEGs.

I won't go into too much detail or nitty gritty of the test as I think that is being covered already in very great detail on other sites, but my conclusions are:

• Not surprisingly, the D2X captures an extroardinary amount of detail, certainly much more than the S2 Pro.
• But, having said that, given that the S2 Pro is after all a 6 megapixel camera at heart, it did very well, the 12 megapixel JPEGs comparing very very well with the D2X JPEGs. The D2X JPEGs of course had that extra bit more cripsness and detail, but the S2 Pro produced a very respectable set of 12 megapixel JPEGs.
• D2X has a much more solid build and is infinitely more configurable and customisable. It is of course, much heavier. Heavier even than my Bronica RF645.
• Surprisingly, we experienced a little bit of focus hunting with the D2X, and none on the S2 Pro with our potpourri test subject. We would have expected it to have been the other way around.

Ultimate conclusion? If you have an S2 Pro already and are wondering whether it produces decent 12 megapixel images, the answer is definitely yes. Does it produce excellent 12 megapixel images like the D2X? No, of course not, but you do save a packet in the process.

Photo info: Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, Nikon AF-D 18-35mm ED IF, ISO 800

Superior Scanning

At long last, we are now able to get good scans of our medium format and large format negatives and slide films! Yahoo! To begin with, our first scan was of the 2 lovely transparencies shot of the Holy Rosary church in Brickfields, KL. They were shot on an unusually nice day with the Graflex Super Graphic 4 x 5 press camera and a few sheets of Kodak EPP 100 film. The result of that outing are the following 2 shots.





The scans were performed at 800 dpi, giving 11 megapixel output files. They are completely grain free (not to mention dust free) and very sharp indeed. I couldn't possibly ask for more. Just to give you a taste of how well the scanner performed and how good the 40 year old Kodak lens is, have a look at the following 2 100% crops taken from the first shot.





Lens: single coated Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.7

From Earth to the Heavens

After years of mostly hazy skies, it was a truly pleasant surprise and a real gift to see the beautiful clear sky that greeted us this morning. The sun was about to rise and there were just a few weak whisps of cloud in the sky, joined only by a single solitary morning star. How beautiful!


Info: Fuji S2 Pro, captured in RAW, ISO 200

One could literally see all the way, from Earth to the Heavens.

First Outing With Large Format Film

Not sure how well it went, but Sam and I went out to Bukit Gasing in PJ this morning, arriving at6:12am. He was there to shoot pictures for a freelance assignment he has, so I took the opportunity to see if I could shoot some nice sunrise on 4x5 colour slide film. As luck would have it, it was drizzling and cloud cover was 100%. Although the drizzling did stop and leave us enough time before sunrise to try our luck at some shots, we never did get to see the sun.

I had all the equipment that you see below squeezed into my LowePro rucksack. Missing from the picture is a 2nd film holder, which has already been sent off for processing and a tripod, which was carried separately.



No idea how well or badly the shots will turn out, but either way, it all counts towards learning to use large format effectively and become productive with it. Even loading the film was a bit of an experience! Key learnings from this morning’s session:

1. I need a better (sturdier) tripod, but I knew this already... and make sure you have a cable release.



2. When loading film holders, it is crucial that as part of the procedure, you remove ALL the dark slides from ALL holders first BEFORE beginning the loading process, regardless of whether you are loading in a dark room or a changing bag. This makes it easier to know which have been loaded and which ones have not. :D

3. Must remember to check out film characteristics BEFORE going out and using it!

The final image should look something like this ..



Sam in the undergrowth, taking his shots.