Photo Movie - I Can Hear Hollywood Calling

I use Picasa 3 from Google to catalog my images. OK, OK I know I should be using Adobe Lightroom or another high end program, but until (or better yet if) I make money on this fairly expensive hobby I'll put my money on equipment like lenses and save a bit on other items. Come on, I still use Photoshop CS.

Anyway, like I was saying I use Picasa 3 (did I say it was free from Google?) to catalog my images. The other day I was playing around with the Movie app that's embedded in the program. Thought I would put together a movie of some of my images.

It's a very basic program somewhat similar to MS-Movie Maker, but a skinner version. It's uber easy and in a few minutes you have yourself a basic video clip. You can do some basic transitions and add in a music clip. No instructions needed.

I created a movie and downloaded it to my Blackberry to show to my friends and bore my work colleagues.

Bottomline, if you want a very basic but easy to use movie creator, check out Picasa 3 from Google. Did I mention it's free?

Motion Blur

Yes, but is it just a photo out of focus?

Most don't like images with motion blur. An image out of focus is often seen as just a poor photograph. However, I really like motion blur. I've experimented with motion blur, and whenever I'm out on a photoshoot I try to take a few shots with slower shutter speeds. Motion blur conveys motion (I know I'm stating the obvious) and the activity of life. However, done poorly and you're right, it's just an image out of focus.

The key to motion blur from my experience is to focus on a subject (or area in the scene) and then lock down AF. Shutter speed needs to be slower than 1/50 of a second in my experience. At night that is rarely a problem. During the day you may need to switch your camera to Speed priority or Manual. I always try to keep ISO as low as I can, but that's not always possible if you shoot at night like I tend to do. Whenever possible I set my camera to 100 ISO, and take a few sample shots. Sometimes I use auto-ISO at night and almost always use a tripod.

This image was taken on a really busy night. I had set up my camera on a tripod to take some street scenes. These 3 guys walked up and were just watching the activity pass by. I decided to focus on them with my camera set at F/4.5 so I could get the background blurry (in addition to the motion blur). ISO set at 400 with my Nikkor 18-135mm lens set at 38mm. Speed was 1/40 of a second.

This image of a young lady's backside was taken during the day. I had my camera on a tripod about 25 feet back from an intersection. I used a cable shutter release to minimize camera shake. This may seem a waste since the idea was to get a blurry picture. However, my goal was to get motion blur but as sharp of focus as possible on my subject. I set my camera at F/20 for a deep DOF, ISO 100 and my 18-135mm lens at 85mm. Speed was manually set at 1/20 of a second.


I took this photo last night while out on another photoshoot. I was packing my kit in my car across from a highrise. A couple were walking by across the street (they had just been arguing about something?) and I took a shot. They were a bit tipsy so they must have been hitting the clubs. I wanted to capture an image that conveyed the sense of unbalance. I had a Nikkor 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 VR mounted. This photo was shot at F/4.5 ISO at 200 and the focal length at 102mm. Speed was at 1/10 of a second which produced significant motion blur.

OK, these images would NEVER win an award, or end up on any one's must have list, but that's not the point. Shoot what you like, and I like motion blur.

From my experience if you want to get motion blur during the day you will need to set your camera to Speed priority. At night you can get away with Aperture priority. Speeds below 1/50 of a second will start producing motion blur. Below 1/10 of a second and I've found there is too much blur. Try to set your ISO as low as possible, but if you are a night owl like me you may need to use a higher ISO setting or auto-ISO. Anyway, shoot away ... I know I do.

Fast Glass

OK, I decided to finally purchase some faster lenses!

Since I switched to digital about 5 years ago I've used the traditional advance amateur lenses. I've relied on my Nikkor 18-70mm DX, 18-135mm DX and a recently purchased 70-300mm ED VR (replacing a non-VR version). I also use a Tokina 10-17mm AT-X DX Fisheye and a Tokina SD 12-24 AT-X DX wide angle lense. Except for a prime Nikkor F/1.8 50mm lens, none of my lenses are very fast. Most have F/3.5 at the fast end. I like to take lots of handheld street scene photograph and late night photoshoots. With my lenses I struggle with blur and/or noise unless I use a tripod.

I finally decided to buy a couple of F/2.8 lenses. I've been drooling over the F/2.8 Nikkor lenses, and have researched them for some time. Honestly, if it wasn't for the cost I would have only Nikkor lenses. Since I'm only an advance amateur I couldn't justify approximately $1,700 for a new Nikkor 70-200mm VR F/2.8, and the $1,000 plus cost of a shorter zoom lens with the same speed.

After much research and consideration I decided to purchase a Tamron SP AF70-200mm F/2.8 DI LD Macro, and an SP AF 28-75mm F2.8 XR Di LD Macro. Both were more in my price range, although I realize "you get what you pay for". So far I'm happy with the purchase. I purchased both at Roberts Camera. Both lenses combined were approximately $500 less than the Nikkor AF 70-200mm VR F/2.8. Again, if money wasn't an issue I would be a proud owner of two new Nikkors.

Here is the AF28-75mm lens. This will become my "keep on the camera" lens that I will use most of the time. I will regularly interchange this with my Nikkor 18-135mm lens for most of my shots. What I like about this lens is the F/2.8 speed, it's clean lines and it's sturdy build. Also, it has a slightly longer zoom range out to 75mm, although not a huge plus, but nice. I took some test shots and so far I like this lens.

The lens weighs in at 510g with a filter size of 67mm. The lens comes with a Bayonet type lens hood because the lens is IF.

The SP AF70-200mm F/2.8 Di LD Macro is a beast. It weighs in at about 1150g and is very sturdy. Its not as elegant as it's Nikkor higher end brother. The BIGGEST drawback is that it does not have VR, but please note my comment above about price. I took several test shots at different focal lengths and the lens shake isn't as bad as I expected. With the faster speed I am confident that I can use it in most hand held situations. I normally use a tripod with all my night photoshoots so this won't be an issue.

The lens comes with a huge bayonet type lens hood and a 77mm filter size. I really like the feel and the look of this lens when mounted. Also, if I ever get hassled in any of my late night photoshoots I can use the lens as a club...

So far, I'm really happy with these 2 lenses and I'll post a few shots using the lenses in the near future.

Hats off to Roberts Camera for helping me with these purchases. I knew what I was looking for and what I needed, so the sales guy let me do my thing. He provided help when I had a technical question and when I wanted to try out all the other F/2.8 lenses including the Nikkors.

Back Alleys at Night

I've always enjoyed late night photoshoots. I find that going out well after midnight is best as most people are in for the night and the streets empty. Something about the absence of people and the vail of darkness makes for interesting shots. Using a tripod and long exposures brings out intense colors of the night.

This was a hand held shot of a homeless man sleeping in an underpass. Shot with a Nikon D200 at ISO 1600, F/4.0, 1/25 speed. An 18-135mm Nikkor lense set at 31mm. Auto ISO was set on the camera.

This back alley image was shot using a tripod. Nikon D200 set at F/10, ISO 100, exposure at 18 seconds. My 18-135mm lens was set at 26mm.

Another alley shot set at F/10, ISO 100 using my tripod. Exposure was set at 30 seconds. My 18-135mm lens was set at 28mm. I took several shots of the alley with different exposures. I found that 30 seconds was the sweet spot.

This side street shot was shot using my prime 50mm F/1.8 lens. Very speedy. I set my camera at apeture priority (as I almost always do). ISO 100, F/11, exposure at 30 seconds.

Another image where I experimented with the exposure. I settled on 30 seconds which seems to be a good mix between capturing the right nighttime mood without the ambient light becoming too overpowering. I set my Nikon D200 at F/11, ISO 100, and my 18-135mm lens set at 40mm. Like most of my late night shots I used a tripod.

NYC Black & White

I was in New York City this past week. Decided to do a quick photoshoot of various street scenes. I started at 42nd Street at Broadway and walked down to 12th Street. The goal was to use motion blur, and attemp to catch the gritty nature of life in New York. The black and white was post processing using Photoshop channel mixer.

A bearded gentleman walking through a street market. This was shot using my 18-135mm lens set at 18mm. Nikon D200 set at apeture priority, ISO 100, F/4.

A street scene, motion blur shot outside The Strand near 12th Avenue in NYC. I was outside the store watching people walking by. There was one guy leaning against a phone booth for about 10 minutes reading a book. I focused on the guy reading the book and caught people walking by. My Nikon D200 set at apeture priority, F/11. I used a 18-135mm Nikkor lens set at 18mm. ISO at 100, speed at 1/10 of a second to get the motion blur.

It was getting late at night when I was heading back to Grand Central Station. I wanted to catch the motion blur of people walking across the street framed by headlights. A handheld shot just south of 30th street. This image was set at F/4, auto ISO of 200, 1/80th of a second. I used a Nikkor 50mm, F/1.8mm lens.