tunnel » Traverse Earth

The Creepy Red Light

May 242012

New Toys

Canon 7d

I grew more and more paranoid about having my camera break down on my first day in Iceland. So, I went through with my plans as stated on the My Gear page of this website and bought a Canon 7d. BH Photovideo came in particularly useful for this as I was able to go through their second hand department and save some cash. I have a lot of faith in their second hand department as they certify everything is in working order and even provide you with a new warranty.

I haven’t had time to get out with it yet, but will be adding a comparison of the 5d mk II and the 7d once I get a feel for it. Already, from fiddling around with it at home, it’s pretty clear it will be a good companion for my 5d mk II. I’ll be using the 7d for any action/wildlife photos going forward. It’s got a much higher frame per second rate in burst mode and the crop sensor has the effect of extending the reach on my 70-30mm lens.

Intervalometer

While I was at it, I bought myself a Canon Intervalometer. I’m a big fan of time lapse videos and this will make it easy. It’ll also make my long exposures easier as I won’t have to stand there watching for a 16 minute exposure to finish and close the shutter. In fact, as i write this my camera is producing my first time lapse for me. It’s sat pointed at a pair of ice cubes in a glass, snapping a photo every 45 seconds. Once I figure out how to stitch it together I’ll let you guys see how it came out. (the ice cube idea came from Ian Sheldon, here)

I know you’re all excited by the opportunnity to watch an ice cube melt, but that’s going to be a few days. To hold you over, take a look at these two great timelapse films that payed a part in inspiring my interest: Migration and The Mountain.

Today’s Photo: Creepy Red Light

I took this on my first trip to New York after discovering HDR. The inside-outside nature of the shot is great for HDR along with the details in the bricks. The red light was flashing on and off which I thought could add a pretty cool effect and I set about capturing it. I don’t know who decided to put a red light in this tunnel but it would have been pretty creepy if I’d encountered it at twilight; particularly as it was also buzzing for the moments it was on.

This light was an integral part of my shot. So, typically, as soon as I got set up it decided to turn off. I’m pretty sure it had a loose wire. I gave up and started to pack up. Then, it came back on again so I set up again. Guess what happened next…

Give up?

It turned off again!

By this point I was determined. I thought maybe it was on a motion sensor. I couldn’t see one and walked all over the place to no avail. I decided I’d wait 15 mins and then pack it in. About 5 minutes in it started flashing again and I got the shot.

Water Slide

Canada, Ontario, Travel No Responses »

May 112012

I found this on the side of a river in Grey County. There was a sign nearby saying what it used to be but I can’t quite remember. I have a feeling it was used to transport the output of power plant. Either way, it’s no longer in use now, a modern ruin. I liked the way the water rushed through it and the textures on the inside so set about taking a photo. Once again I found myself balanced on rocks with water rushing around my feet and tripod.

Prague Cable Car

Czech Republic, Europe, Prague, Travel 2 Responses »

Feb 272012

I wish I could tell you what this rather incredible building is called. Unfortunately, I have no idea and I’m in a bit of a rush as it’s my birthday and I’m on my way out for a beer – so don’t have time to google map it (Flanagan’s if anyone’s interested). 🙂

This photo was taken with my back to the East entrance of the Charles Bridge. I’ve got a bit of a fascination with figuring out how to include moving subjects in HDR photos at the moment. I know it’s possible to create HDR images from one RAW photo. However, the results are never as good as when you use multiple exposures. On top of that, I wanted everything to be sharp in this image. In order to do that a small aperture was required. So small that all the vehicles and people in the photo disappeared. So, how to get the moving cable car?

I shot the scene as I would normally, with a small aperture, and then switched it up, increase the aperture and bumping my ISO up considerably to freeze the tram as it barreled through the tunnel. I waited for one to come through and just used it to set the focus correctly. Then waited for the next one and fired away. Following this, I created an HDR image with the multiple exposures as usual, and then masked in the moving cable car. As a result, I’ve captured a moving object in true HDR while maintaining a nice wide depth of field.