Power in Numbers

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70 - 300 VR
f/10 at 1/320
ISO 200

Back in May of 2009 someone hijacked my email account that controlled this blog and my Picassa account. I was very frustrated. It took me over a week to regain control and then someone tried to do it again but without success. As a result, I haven't posted anything for many months. I have decided that it is time to start writing and sharing my photos again.

The above photo was one of at least a hundred shots I took as I watched no less than 30 hummingbirds buzzing around a feeder on the grounds of our rented cabin near Mount Robson last June. In most of the shots the birds were too blurry or my framing included the ugly bright red plastic feeder. I do like this shot however. I think luck had a lot to do with its success.

Hummingbirds don't land often nor do they sit still for very long when they do. For this shot I pointed my camera near the feeder, pre-focused my lens, and waited for someone to enter the frame. Sometimes there is power in numbers. In this case I had numerous subjects flying in and out of view and I took as many shots as I could to try and ensure that at least one turned out well. I think I succeeded.

Bookends

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron 70 - 300
f/11 at 1/160
ISO 100

Burnaby Lake is a popular spot for recreational activities from jogging to bird watching. Almost every time I go I encounter other photographers. I am usually envious because most of them seem to have bigger and faster lenses than I do.

Lens envy aside, I have taken a few pictures with my less expensive slow lenses that I like. Canada Geese frequent the area and are usually good for a shot or two. This pair passed through an area where the water was reflecting a nice blue February sky.

White Crowned Sparrow

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70 – 300 VR
f/5.6 at 1/250
ISO 200
SB600 Speedlight

I spent many hours today trying to get a picture of a bird in the Rhododendron outside my living room window. I was completely unsuccessful. It was disappointing.

The plant was in full bloom and would have looked great with a visitor. I had set up a false backdrop and some flash units on stands. I waited and waited and no one showed up. Eventually it started to rain and I had to bring in my gear.

About a month ago I snapped a shot or two of a White Crowned Sparrow that was frequenting that same Rhododendron albeit not in bloom. I present it here in place of the one that I wish I got today.

Aquabus at Sunset

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 – 70 mm
f/4.8 at 1/125
ISO 400

There are two main reasons that this image is more than just a snapshot of the Aquabus joining Downtown Vancouver with Granville Island.

The first is the vantage point. Unless you work in an office tower or climb mountains regularly we don’t often get to look down on the world. Bridges are a great place where this can happen. This shot was taken from the Granville Street Bridge looking west.

The second thing that works well in this photo is the light. I purposefully went down at a time of day to try to catch a sunset. My initial subject of interest was the Burrard Street Bridge with the sun setting behind it. Unfortunately I didn't like the composition.

At one point I looked down and saw how nice the sun was reflecting off the water. I waited until the Aquabus entered the scene and snapped a couple of shots. This was the best one. The water almost looks like liquid gold.

Circles of Flame

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 – 70 mm
f/11 at 0.5s
ISO 800
SB600 Speedlight

This is still at the PNE and this is the same girl as in the previous photo. This time she is at ground level. Because I have never shot this type of subject in this type of environment before, I had no idea of what I should be doing technically with my camera settings. I had my ISO set to 800. The exposure settings I chose seemed to have underexposed the scene slightly and when I boost the brightness in post-production you can really see the noise in this image.

In some images this type of electronic noise simply ruins the photo. Does it here? Or, does it take on a grainy quality like high-speed film would? I could have eliminated this noise had I reset my ISO to 200 and opened up my lens to f/5.6 thereby retaining the same exposure.

The other mistake I made that evening was having weak batteries in my flash. I was shooting faster than they could recycle. This is one reason for the underexposed result. I wanted to use a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the flames then have the flash give a burst of light to freeze the action of the performer.

Given all my bad decisions, I still feel the image captures my interest. I like some of the background elements and the slight blur of the subject combined with the noise give it a dreamy quality.

Playing with Fire

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 18 – 70 mm
f/6.7 at 1/45
ISO 800
SB600 Speedlight

After taking pictures of the motorcycle stunt riders I stumbled upon some street performers doing things with fire. By this time it was completely dark. These guys were up on a small stage lit by some spotlights.

Because of the distance from me to the subject, I chose to up the ISO to 800 and use my speedlight. This of course meant I have a final image with a lot of noise but at least I have a final image worth viewing.

I also did a few time exposures to capture the movement of the flames but I was not that satisfied with the results. I will attend again this year and I will try again.

Fire Rider

Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon 70 – 300 VR
f/9.5 at 1/125
ISO 250

This was taken at the same time as the previous photograph. This guy just finished smoking the tires. The combination of the flames, the smoke, and his bike lying on the ground make for an intriguing photograph. I don’t have much more to say about this one.