Currently, there is an undercurrent of clever and artistic prose,  photography, and video  hidden among the customer product reviews on Amazon’s site. These “Customer Reviews” can be submitted by anyone who registers with Amazon as a customer. Near the end of January 2010 it came to my attention that we are in the midst of a groundswell of creativity and cleverness with regard to these reviews. A few of the products with fictitious and/or hysterically funny reviews include a laptop writing desk you attach to a steering wheel, dead rabbits, milk, and Bic pens.

Customers can also upload photos (shown as thumbnails below the main photo of the product on that product’s main Amazon page), which are apropos of the product, in many wonderful and twisted ways. For example, these are some of the photos included in the review of the writing desk.

Now, you would assume the pictures would tell the whole story regarding this ridiculous product, but no. Customers describe their experiences using it as a mobile bar, changing table for baby, and work surface for model ship building!

The “Raven”-esque review of Tuscan Milk by “Edgar” of “Baltimore” is beautifully written and worthy of national attention.  The review of rabbit meat “mistakenly” purchased as a children’s gift at Easter is pointed commentary on our gullible and litigious society (as is the Bic pen review by the dissatisfied customer who found the pen to only function as advertised if used in one hand, but not the other).

And then there was video! An astute consumer friend of mine steered me to the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt video review! Classic! If you’ve ever wondered who would actually wear a shirt like this, the review is a testimonial to the shirt’s power: “This video is living proof that you will get women, and fly.”

Certainly I don’t want to stem the tide of creativity by bringing Amazon’s attention to all this but it does beg the question, ‘who’s monitoring all the product reviews, videos,  and photographs people upload?’ Can I add a review easily? Are the products real (a gallon of milk for $67.99)? Why are some “reviewed” products featured in the “reviews”  of other products (product placement of Tuscan milk in the Three Wolf Moon review)? Are we on the verge of a conspiracy to overtake Madison Avenue? Are all the fake reviews written by one person, or a secret braintrust in some remote hideaway? What do the actual makers of these products think of the reviews, assuming they even know? Why am I going on and on about this? One thing is certain, there is no such thing as ‘bad’ advertising! If it brings attention to your product, it’s all good! Such creativity is sure to bring more traffic to Amazon’s site.

In conclusion, I’ve been wondering how to find the reviews that are worth reading. I haven’t searched them out myself–people send me the links (Special thanks to my astute observer friends, Tom, Patricia, and Mike). It seems just about everyone knows of one. How many are there? Dozens? Thousands?! So far, I’ve collected five. If you know of one, email me the link (via the “Contact” tab on this page) and I will compile a list for our collective enjoyment!

Photography Exhibit
by Ed Snyder

Exhibit Location:

Mugshots Coffeehouse
2100 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: 267.514.7145

(21st and Fairmount, across from Eastern State Penitentiary)

**Free Opening Reception: July 9, at 7 p.m.**

Ever come across some unexposed expired film? Instead of relegating it to a landfill somewhere, why not shoot it? You may be pleasantly surprised by the results!

Exhibit runs July 5 – August 1, 2009Old technologies never die when they get repurposed through artistic endeavor. I find new uses for outdated film, exploiting its degradation to give me a high-contrast effect not easily achieved in the exacting world of digital photography (to me this is more ecologically and artistically sound than burying the film in a landfill). Digging into antiquated film technology allows me to create some unpredictably unique imagery, especially when I shoot the film in a Holga (120mm toy plastic) camera and cross-process it. Often the colors shift and the world gets grainier—a virtual reality that I find more appealing than actual reality.

When does the “Decisive Moment” Happen?
Many great photographs were made in this manner, though not out of sheer luck. Usually, they’re pre-composed, i.e. the photographer was ready and waiting for the magic to happen. Whether a breaching whale or a baby staring directly at the camera, once you miss that fleeting moment, it’s gone forever. So important was the idea of the “Decisive Moment” that the great street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson wrote an entire book describing it!

Anatomy of the “Jaws” Image
Note the determined look on the man’s face, which is not incongruous with the background image painted on the wall of the building. You’ll agree that this juxtaposition makes the photograph. Was it planned? Not at all. But I had to be ready for it if it happened! Therefore, for this kind of street photography to be a success, there’s obviously more involved than just being in the right place at the right time. You need to pick a location, a background or setting with which to work. Then you hope something magical happens.

I choose this mural and shot several images as people passed by. I got lucky with this particular guy, who looks so determined and in a hurry. The fact that his jaw resembles that of the mural skull was an added bonus! I shot the image from my car window with a Canon Rebel XT DSLR with a 28-135mm lens zoomed all the way out. The photo is uncropped. I decided ahead of time that I wanted the mural in focus rather than the passersby, since I didn’t necessarily want the people to be recognizable. Therefore I switched the lens to manual focus and preset it for the mural. (The fact that I was using a zoom forced me to use critical focusing, as a long zoom’s depth of field can be very shallow.) To further blur the person, I used a relatively slow shutter speed, 1/30 second.

Now, you can try just the opposite in your own experimentation with such photojournalistic street photography. Pre-focus on something closer in order to get the passersby crisp, which will cause the background to blur (assuming you’re using a zoom). Either is acceptable. If you’re shooting close to your subject (a la Gary Winogrand), perhaps you can just shoot with a wide angle lens. This way, everything from maybe four feet to infinity will be in focus.

Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, and Brassai
Many great photographs were made by pre-composing a scene, then shooting at the decisive moment. For further illustration (and much better examples of the genre than I can provide), please see the works of master photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Brassai. As you look at their imagery, notice how much of the composition is provided by the background, as opposed to the supposed “subject.” Realize that a true artistic composition is just that, a whole composed of lesser parts. Would my photo of the walking man be of any interest at all if not for the background? Would the background hold its own as a still life? Probably not.

Finding Your Own Way To Shooting the “Decisive Moment”
The photographers mentioned above are famous for capturing street scenes in imaginative and highly artistic ways. Studying their work can help add a new dimension to your own photography.

Realize that while emulation may be a sincere form of praise, people who practice specific techniques (as these folks do a la Cartier-Bresson) may achieve sadly derivative results. It’s really best to study the masters then find your own way. It’s been said that photography is like writing. Everybody can do it, but almost nobody should. If you want something more than a snapshot, concentrate on composition. You’ll also notice that very few of the examples I’ve shown are in color. That’s because black and white adds artistic abstraction to almost any image; color tends to make almost everything look snapshoddy.

Practice with your Digital Camera

You can shoot weddings with your point-and-shoot digital camera, but you should really practice ahead of time. Take pictures of your friends, and get good at being quick-on-the-draw. The action at weddings (and especially receptions) happens quickly and you need to be ready. You can easily miss that once-in-a-lifetime moment if you’re busy fumbling trying to get the red-eye reduction to turn off (and just flash, darn it!). This happened to a friend of mine who missed the moment his son was handed his high school diploma on stage! So if you don’t agree with author Salman Rushdie that it cleanses the soul to accept defeat, better learn how to use that camera!

Positioning yourself for the Optimal Photograph

A key element in getting a great photo is timing. Whether you want candid or posed photos, the advantage is yours if you know ahead of time what events will take place and when. You can then physically position yourself for a good shot of people walking down the aisle, cutting the cake, etc. It’s also good practice to realize that there may be solemn moments (signing the katubah, exchanging vows) when you should keep your camera off! Many times the professional wedding photographer will reenact certain scenes with the participants after the ceremony. This is a great time for the novice photographer to hang out, get some photos, and learn a few things about positioning, lighting, and the equipment involved in the real deal.

Lighting

No camera is smart enough to take great pictures under all conditions. All automatic cameras take great photos outdoors in the bright sunlight. The wheels fall off when the light becomes more challenging, i.e., when it is relatively dim, like in a church or synagogue. That being the case, you must decide whether you want to use flash or make available-light photographs. Flash is best for natural-looking illumination and stopping action, but it may be a no-no during the ceremony. You should check with the celebrants beforehand. Available-light photography demands high light sensitivity (camera with ISO settings upwards of 1600) and white balance control. Most cameras can adjust white balance for fluorescent or tungsten light (to avoid the respective greenish and orangey hues).

Most digital point-and-shoots have a high ISO limit of 400. Also, these cameras tend to produce noisy mottled images at high ISO settings. Here’s an example of an available-light photo made with a point-and-shoot camera. Just not sensitive enough to bring out much detail in this dimly-lit scene at left. You could do some work on it in a photo-editing program and make it look better (at right), but do you really want to be bothered with all that post-processing work?

What kind of camera is best for wedding photography?

A digital SLR would be best because of its high ISO (light sensitivity of 1600 or 3200), and better image quality at high ISO settings. The drawback with a DSLR is that you can’t really have much more than what amounts to maybe a X4 zoom. Still, some form of image stabilization is preferred. Point-and-shoot cameras boast X10 zooms, but as you’ll see, there are drawbacks.

Zoom in for detail!
Everyone loves to do this since we can’t always be where the action is. However, a X10 zoom requires some sort of image stabilization in the camera. Otherwise, your available-light images can easily be blurred. You’ll always get a better shot if you just walk right up to the person or object and shoot without using the zoom.

Catching the Action at Weddings
Under available light, you’re much better off with a DSLR. At a high ISO setting, you can shoot with aperture wide open and relatively fast shutter speed, say 1/125 second. If you can use flash, point-and-shoots work fine, providing you know how to use the different flash modes. One way to make the most of the “walking down the aisle” action is to shoot the procession head-on. Motion is stopped much easier if the person is walking toward you than across your field of vision.

Outdoor Wedding Photography

In the spring and summer, there’s generally lots of sunlight, so the amateur wedding photographer is in much better shape lighting-wise. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind– unless you’re in the open sunlight, whites will look blue in the shade, and you may still need to shoot at as high an ISO. Also, as you can see that this photo (w10) would have been better if some fill-flash had been used. Post-wedding photos are often shot outdoors in some park. While the professional wedding photographer is positioning people and shooting away, feel free to shoot the scenes from behind the pro. That person is doing a lot of the work for you, but do stay out of the way—someone’s paying the photographer a lot of money by the hour!

In Summary

Don’t be shy or self-conscious about taking pictures at a wedding. Everyone expects to be photographed!

The alien life form the girl is holding happens to be an Egyptian hairless cat (a breed made popular as “Mr. Bigglesworth,” Austin Powers’ cat). I happened to walk into a pet supply shop last summer (which will forever puzzle historians, as I do not own a pet) and saw this creature slinking around (the cat, that is, not the girl). Amber, an employee, offered to hold the cat so I could get a photo. Always carry your camera—you never know when an opportunity might present itself! We went outside in the sunlight so I could use a slow ISO for a sharper image. The image was captured with a Canon Rebel XT armed with a Canon image stabilized 28 – 135 mm zoom.

Why Pet Photography is Easy

• For the most part, animals don’t require model releases.

• We don’t perceive them to have a “good” side, like people do.

• Most pets are cute, and therefore photogenic. Try to catch them doing something cute (like this chihuahua drinking water), and the cuteness factor increases exponentially.

• Unusual pets make for unusual photographs. Imagine my surprise when I saw this cockatoo sitting on the side view mirror of a pickup truck parked in a convenience store parking lot! Pet owners are usually quite proud of their pets and are often flattered when you ask to photograph them. You might possibly offer to email the owner a copy of the photo as a JPEG as a gesture of good will. Many owners like to have photos of their pets.

Why Pet Photography is Difficult

• Unless you’re photographing a well-trained beast with its human handler by its side, you’re not going to be able to control your subject very much. That’s why you need to know how to use your gear correctly and quickly. Animals move without much warning!

• Some pets may try to eat you. You might need to befriend the animal’s owner before you can get the photo you desire. Still, be careful—don’t poke the bear.

• If you’re after more than a snapshot, creating an artistic composition requires more skill. The image at left depicts a cat with sutures–post-cancer surgery—and its loving owner. When creating a black and white image, it helps to have a subject with varying contrast. This photo would have had nowhere near the impact had the cat been totally black. Dark haired or dark skinned animals are more challenging to photograph; lighting becomes critical for bringing out detail.

All the images you see here were captured with existing light. Flash and studio lighting are topics unto themselves.

8 MP SLR-like Fixed-lens Digital Camera

Buy from Amazon.com

So you’re looking for a camera more sophisticated than a pocket-sized point-and-shoot, but don’t want to deal with the big bucks and big size of an SLR? This camera may be for you. The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 falls into the category of mid-sized, fixed-lens digital cameras—a bit more camera than a pocket point-and-shoot, yet smaller than an SLR. Price-wise, the FZ30 falls between the two: around $500 for the FZ30S (silver body) and $900 for the FZ30K (black body).

Mid-sized Digital Cameras: Are They Worth the Money?
Before we get into the technicalities, let me just say a few things about this genre of camera. It’s very easy to be awestruck by the bells, whistles, and super-long zooms typical of these cameras. But at the end of the day, you’ve bought yourself either a huge glorified point-and-shoot, or a pseudo-SLR without the associated image quality and the flexibility if interchangeable lenses.

They’re tempting, let me tell you! I believe these cameras exist for two reasons:

1. It’s physically impossible to put a X12 zoom on a little pocket point-and-shoot.
2. It’s extremely expensive to get a DSLR with a X12 zoom.

Life is all about compromise, isn’t it?

Light Sensitivity and Image Quality
The other major technical difference between the mid-sized digitals and the other two types is the size of the image sensor. Mid-sized Digital Cameras have image sensors similar in size to point-and-shoots. Image sensors in DSLRs are much bigger, thereby producing greater light sensitivity and better image quality. This means, that with a DSLR, you can take pictures in dim light and overall, the resolution of all your images will be better.

Mid-sized digitals share a major drawback with digital point-and-shoots
Due to their small sized image sensor, these cameras seldom have light sensitivity greater than 400 ISO (a DSLR will be 1600 or more). Also because of the small image sensor, picture quality of these cameras is about the same as that of a point-and-shoot (inferior to that of a DSLR).

Comparing large image sensor pixel count to small image sensor pixel count
But wait—these days you can get digital point-and-shoot cameras as well as mid-sized digital cameras with 10 Megapixel resolution. Surely the images acquired by these cameras must be better than those shot with a lowly 7 Megapixel DSLR? Ah, the ad campaigns would certainly have you believing this, now wouldn’t they? Unfortunately this is comparing apples to oranges. It is simply incorrect to compare large image sensor pixel count to small image sensor pixel count! Partly because the actual pixels are bigger in an SLR-sized image sensor, they can hold more information and are more light-sensitive. So for instance, you would get better image quality with the 7.5 MP Panasonic DMC-L1K DSLR than you would with Panasonic’s 10.2 MP Panasonic DMC-LX2S point-and-shoot.

When considering the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 for purchase:
Aside from all that esoteric squitter above, there are a few more things to consider when contemplating this particular camera for purchase. They’re not necessarily good or bad, but they are worth noting:

• Being a crossover camera (between a point-and-shoot and an SLR), the FZ-30 shares some advantages of both. For instance, you get movie mode and a live view LCD display like a pocket camera, yet superior lens quality and manual focus like an SLR.

• The camera is relatively light, yet large and bulky.

• There are many preset auto exposure modes–like portrait, snow, and sports–typical of any automatic camera. However, the FZ-30 has some quirky modes, e.g. food, panning, starry sky, fireworks, and baby. Virtually useless, since if you really don’t understand how a camera works, and the best you can do to photograph fireworks is to flick to “Fireworks” mode, you’re sure to be disappointed.

• There is no power zoom; you have to rotate the lens barrel to change focal length.

• The X12 lens is equivalent to that of a 35 mm film lens having a 35 – 420mm zoom. This is an enormous focal range and is one of the FZ-30’s most tempting attributes. It’s a relatively fast lens (f2.8) and is made by Leica, one of the best lens makers in the known galaxy. However, we forget the old rule of thumb about hand-holding a camera. With a 50mm lens, we can effectively hand-hold at shutter speeds above 1/50 second (the inverse of the lens focal length). If we try to hand-hold it at a shutter speed of 1/30 second, it’s likely the camera will move during exposure and we blur the image.

With the zoom of the FZ-30 fully extended to 420mm, we can only effectively hand-hold the camera during exposures at shutter speeds above 1/420 second (the camera has a shutter speed of 1/400 second). Image stabilization helps somewhat, by allowing you to shoot at one or two shutter speeds slower, perhaps at 1/250 second). So unless you have the camera mounted to a tripod, you need to be aware of your shutter speed. Luckily, even in Auto mode, The FZ-30 displays aperture (f-stop) and shutter speed on the LCD display.

I’ve used the FZ-30K several times over the past couple years; here are the highs and lows in my opinion:

The Good

• The fast (f2.8) X12 Leica zoom lens is one of the highest quality lenses I’ve ever seen on a fixed-lens camera.

• The ability to manually focus the lens (through the LCD display) is very easy and highly useful. Quite unusual to be able to do this with anything less than a DSLR.

• The lens’ macro mode is simply a joy to use. It can focus down to an inch!

• Controls and menus are relatively easy to operate and navigate. For instance, if you’re in Manual mode, front and rear thumb wheels control aperture and shutter speed, with both displayed on the LCD. This is way easier than on any DSLR I’ve used (such control being next to impossible on most point-and-shoots).

• Monochrome (black and white) image capture is available.

• Camera has a hot shoe for a larger flash unit

• Flip down, rotating viewing screen

• “Mode I” stabilizer works, “Mode 2” makes no perceptible difference.

• Did you know that one of the advantages of having an exposure “Burst” mode is that it gives the camera’s auto-focus system a couple chances to get it right? Burst means a few rapid succession exposures are acquired during the time you hold the shutter release button down. Some cameras adjust their focus point for each exposure. So you can look at three nearly identical images, and pick the one that looks the sharpest!

The Bad

• Time lag exists between when you push the shutter release and the image is captured, but this is true of all non-SLR digital cameras.

• Time lag at power-up, same reason as above.

• Light sensitivity is only 400 ISO max.

• Unwieldy, due to its bulk. Difficult to single-handedly operate the FZ30’s controls.

• Relatively small 2 inch image display – many digital cameras today boast a larger 2.5 inch display.

You know, the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 is not an SLR. It pretends to be one, but don’t be fooled. Like a digital point-and-shoot, this camera is essentially a video camera with still image capture. That’s why there’s a time lag between when you push the shutter release and the image is captured. If this camera had greater light sensitivity (1600 ISO) and an SLR-sized image sensor, it would be a terrific camera. But there are always compromises—you’d pay an arm and a leg for a DSLR with this kind of a lens!

Someone said to me today, “Must be easy shooting statues–they don’t move.” While it’s true that they are immobile, this doesn’t necessarily make them easier to photograph than a hockey game. The character of statuary can change (or be made to change) dramatically with lighting, the seasons, and weather conditions. In fact, if you’ve shot the same statue once before, consider the fact that weathering and erosion can give statuary a whole new appeal, as will the presence of snow and rain.

Photographing Statuary

How do I Start?
Find a statue that interests you. While public parks, museums, and cemeteries are all good venues, I’ll restrict my writing to outdoor statuary, as indoor photography has its own set of challenges (most of which involve lighting and security personnel). By the way, did you know that back in the mid-1800s, there were no parks or museums in America? Around this time, the garden cemetery as sculpture garden came into being. Public parks, galleries, and museums came about later, due to the immense popularity of the Victorian garden cemetery as tourist destination!

Can I photograph any old statue or monument?
Well, not if it’s on private property. Sneaking a shot can be titillating, but if you’re not allowed to display or publish it, your excursion may have been a fool’s errand! If the statue is in a public area, it’s probably okay to shoot it. Also, do no harm. Don’t climb on the statue—you don’t want to break something and be arrested for vandalism. In an old abandoned cemetery, you wouldn’t think it would make a hill of beans difference. But this is not your hill, and these are not your beans.

What kind of camera should I use?
An SLR (whether it be film or digital) gives you the most flexibility, although you can use any camera. The operative phrase is that you know how to use the camera!

Should I use color or black and white?
Hey, Paul Simon was wrong! Everything do not look worse in black and white! In fact, if you’re just shooting the statue, black and white can give you some very interesting and abstract effects. Use this if you want to create a mood or make an artistic statement. Use color if you’re shooting snapshots.

How do I compose a meaningful image?
Okay, now we’re getting to the meat of the article. Allow time to compose and photograph your subject. Pick a good time of day if possible—shooting with the sun behind you provides better direct light on the statue than when it is directly overhead. Shooting at the edges of the day also provides you with nice shadow accents. So now let’s look at the art of composition.

Composing a Photograph

Whether you’re photographing statuary for documentation purposes, creating new art, using the statue as a backdrop for a family vacation photo, or simply because you think it’s cool, you probably don’t want your photo to look snap-shoddy. The famous French photographer Eugene Atget is best known for his artistic documentation of public statuary, which to me is just a series of good snapshots. So, regardless of the type of photo you’re shooting, there are two basic things to consider: lighting and composition.

Lighting
If you happen on a statue, your creativity will be somewhat constrained by the current lighting. Good photographers can make anything work, as long as they know how to operate the camera. Front lighting is best (sun behind you, the photographer); though a backlit statue can be dealt with too. The Eros and Psyche statue was front lit, with background in shadow. I exposed for (took a light meter reading off) the bright surface of the white marble statue, which grossly underexposed the background. This is the effect I wanted, as the background detail was distracting.

For a backlit statue, you have a wider variety of options:

• Expose for the bright areas of the scene and transform the statue into silhouette. Using your camera in Auto mode will normally give you this effect if most of the scene is bright.

• You can also expose for the darker statue and wash out the brighter background, which is what I did with the statue of the two angels at right.

• Another option is to illuminate your subject with fill flash, which will keep the background properly exposed and the statue properly illuminated.

Composition
When we talk about composition, we often forget that the lighting itself is a major compositional element! Both studio lighting and available light can create all kinds of moods. With outdoor statuary, we play the cards we’re dealt–you see the statue on vacation, you have 5 minutes to shoot it. So it’s lit from the side, deal with it. While the absence of light may be the absence of truth, shadows allow the viewer more latitude for their imagination.

How do I compose a meaningful image?

That’s really less subjective than you might think! Here are a few compositional pointers that apply to both snapshots as well as artistic photography:

• If you want your photo to be pretty as a postcard, stand farther back (or use a wide angle lens) and get some of the surrounding scenery in the frame. This also helps give a sense of scale to the statue.

• If you want to capture detail of the statue, get in closer. While you can always crop or enlarge a photo later, you image is generally of better quality if you shoot your original image the way you want the final print to be.

• Meter off the statue as a starting point, then for different effects, increase or decrease exposure to your liking.

• I shoot in Aperture Priority mode mostly, as I want to control my depth of field.

• Use Image Stabilization. Why bother? The statue isn’t moving. Well, no, but you are. Also consider using a tripod and slow exposure if you want a deep depth of field.

• Pick one: Line up a vertical element of the scene with the vertical frame in your viewfinder, or line up a horizontal element of the scene with the horizontal frame in your viewfinder. Either one will give your image the appearance of being “level.”

Don’t be a Fair-weather Photographer

In conclusion, if your attempt at statuary photography was less than stellar, consider coming back to it at a different time of day or under different lighting/weather conditions. The most mundane statue can be magically transformed into a work of art during a snowstorm!

One of the first entry-level digital SLRs available, the D70 was Nikon’s answer to Canon’s Digital Rebel (EOS 300D), the first under-$1000 consumer-grade SLR on the market. The D70 is currently a discontinued model, but the upgraded version, the D70S is still available. The D70 seies body is based on Nikon’s early professional grade DSLRs, all of which have bodies much larger than most other brand DSLRs on the market. So if you want a no-frills, high quality DSLR (and you have big hands), the D70S may be for you!

Why would I call the Nikon D70S a “no frills camera?”
I mean, for a thousand dollars, you expect some frills, right? Let me explain:

• Neither this camera nor the lenses normally sold with it have image stabilization. Not a big issue, unless you plan to use longer zooms. Most cameras and/or lenses today have image stabilization built in.

• This is not a whiz-bang, feature-loaded, digital point-and-shoot with movie mode. The D70S has none of that. Therefore, this review is more focused on other things which may be of interest to the advanced amateur photographer. Since the D70S shares most of its features and specs with other consumer-grade SLRs on the market (which you can get from Nikon’s website), these days I tend to think of such things as commodities. What concerns me most is what stands out about the camera and what differentiates the D70S from other DSLRs on the market. The D70S is a high quality, basic consumer-grade digital SLR with state-of-the art technology, circa 2005.

• The upgrades from the D70 are: slightly larger LCD viewing screen (2 inch), different menu layout, and more precise auto-focusing.

Cameras such as the D70S are often sold in kits.
The body comes with a cheap lens, battery and charger, Compact Flash memory card, and a carrying strap. Additionally, you may want to invest in a protective clear filter for the lens and a carrying case. The consumer-grade Nikon DSLRs kits typically include the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens (35mm film format equivalent is 27 to 82 mm). This lens can be purchased separately for about $115 (which should give you an idea of its quality).

Although the lens is extremely light and compact, you might want a better one (say, with higher quality optics or longer zoom range). A better choice would be the Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor zoom lens (35mm film format equivalent is 27 to 105 mm). This somewhat faster lens (f4.5 as opposed to f5.6) is of course more expensive, at around $300.

The D70S and Image Stabilization
As of this writing, Nikon does not make a DSLR with Vibration Reduction (Nikon’s term for image stabilization) built into the camera body. Neither of the above mentioned lenses have image stabilization, which is probably okay for their limited focal length. If you wanted something longer, say 80 – 200mm, you’d most likely want an image stabilized lens. Nikon sells such products, an example being the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor lens. A wide array of after-market (non-Nikon) lenses are available for the D70S.

When considering the Nikon D70S for purchase, here are a few things to think about:
• The fact that it’s only got 6 MP resolution should not deter you from this model. In this day and age, image quality has much more to do with optics and the image sensor/processor combination than it does with the number of megapixels. Unless you’re shooting RAW, a 6 MP JPEG image, for instance, is not going to look a lot different from a 10 MP image (all things equal).

• Because the body of Nikon’s D70S is so large, you can’t just let it hang by your side, whipping it up to your eye to catch that fast shot. Also, the controls are not positioned to allow quick single-handed use. Even though I have relatively large hands (XL glove size), I find it impossible to flick the camera on with my thumb, then adjust some of the settings with one hand. Most people would need both hands to handle this whopper.

• The body has no Image Stabilization (or Vibration Reduction, as Nikon calls it). If you want this, you must buy a lens with this feature. For what it’s worth, having this feature in the lens is supposedly more effective than having it in the body anyway. Image Stabilization is a complex issue, and it in no way guarantees a clear crisp photo! Click here to read more on this topic.

• No sensor dust-off feature. With interchangeable lenses, you risk getting dust inside the camera body. Dust on the image sensor shows up as spots on your image. Some cameras vibrate the sensor to shake dust off. While the D70S does not have this, it does allow you to lock the mirror up so you can remove the lens and blow any dust off the (highly fragile!) image sensor. For more info on this, please click here.

• This camera can use any Nikon auto-focus lens made, of which there are hundreds of varieties. No need to buy a new “digital” lens to go with this camera. A 10-year-old high quality lens designed for a Nikon film 35mm SLR will work just fine (doesn’t have to be a Nikon-brand lens). Which means that like any SLR (digital or film), you can buy the camera body separate from the lenses.

In my opinion, these are good and bad points of the Nikon D70:

The Good
• About the best thing I can say for the D70S is that it’s a good choice if you’ve got a lot of Nikon auto-focus lenses from your 35mm film shooting days.

• I’ve never been a big Nikon fan (I think the optical quality of their lenses is overrated), though I do appreciate the high quality of construction of their products.

The Bad
• Body’s too big–for me, anyway. Hold this camera before you buy it to see how comfortable it is in your hands.

• The D70S doesn’t do any type of monochrome image capture (B&W nor Sepia) in camera. You have to convert the color images to monochrome after capture with photo editing software. Though I prefer to capture in BW, he said sheepishly, this is theoretically a bad thing. Why?

• Shooting in color gives you more flexibility after capture– you can choose to use the shot in color, or you can convert it to monochrome. If you shoot in BW, you can’t go back later and add color!

• Most high-end photo editing software allows for more sophisticated conversion to BW than simply desaturating to greyscale. Hue saturation layers allow you to control how the different colors are converted to BW, similar to the effects produced using red, orange and yellow filters with B&W film.

An interesting trick to turn color to monochrome in the camera: shoot through a sepia filter! This works because a DSLR won’t auto-color compensate for the presence of the filter like most digital point-and-shoot cameras will.

• Relatively small (2 inch) image display – most DSLRs today boast a larger 2.5 inch display.

• As with everything I say in my reviews, this is purely subjective, but I much prefer the viewing screen and status panel (which displays such things as shutter speed and f-stop) to both be on the back of the camera. In some cameras (e.g. Nikon’s D40), it’s all together on the back viewing screen. The problem I have with the status panel on top of the D70 body is this: if I’m composing an image looking through the viewfinder, it’s much easier to check such things as shutter speed and f-stop if they’re on the display in front of me. With the D70S, I have to reposition myself so I can see the top display, then recompose. Annoys me!

In Conclusion…

(which may be two of the most beautiful words in the English language…) though Nikon made some improvements to the D70 with its D70S, Nikon’s newer (and smaller-bodied) models now give you more and better technology for your money.

Ed Snyder is having a show of his photography at St. Asaph Gallery, Feb. 17 – Mar. 16 2008.

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, Feb. 15, from 6 – 8 pm.

Twenty images spanning his 10-year study of cemetery statuary will be on display. The exhibit merges art and photography with society’s desire to come to terms with death and dying. The reception is free; there will be wine and snacks to lighten things up a bit.

St. Asaph church, attached to the gallery, is sort of a miniature gothic cathedral, complete with gargoyles and Tiffany stained glass windows! It’s located one block off City Avenue, near Belmont Ave. Please see the St. Asaph website for directions.

Thanks and hope to see you there!
Ed

What are the compositional elements of this photograph?

I made this image out the side window of my car while waiting for a light to change. The horizontal legs are part of a stationary statue, and these occupy the upper third of the frame. This helps us meet our compositional goal of the “Rule of Thirds.” The ladder truck and pedestrians helped balance the composition by placing themselves in the lower two-thirds of the frame! I happen to like the way the more distant pedestrian is slightly blurred—this gives a bit of depth to the image. Was there luck involved here? Of course. But you have to be well-practiced in the art of drive-by photography in order to take advantage of such situations.

What kind of camera do I need?

A fast one. Digitally, this means a DSLR rather than a point-and-shoot. The latter has too slow of a start-up and its shutter lag will cause you to miss many a shot. DSLRs are for the most part instant-on and have imperceptible shutter lag. I used a Canon Rebel XT DSLR with a Canon 28-135mm lens.

How about a long lens?

Well, yes, you’re doing candid photography so you want to be able to zoom in a bit. But be respectful of people. Privacy is not something that should be abused. See how the image above appears to be compressed? As if the objects in the scene are sandwiched on top of one another with little space between? This effect becomes more pronounced the longer the zoom. For drive-by shooting, you probably want something like a 80-200mm lens.

Shooting through glass

Auto focus is great when you need to shoot in a hurry (continuous auto focus is potentially better as it tracks the subject to keep it in focus as the camera or subject moves). However, auto focus systems will generally lock on to the object that’s closest to the camera. If you catch your car’s door frame in the viewfinder, that’s what will be in focus. If your windshield is dirty, it’ll focus on the dirt! One solution is to shoot out an open window. Another is to place your camera into “Mountain” mode, which is the sort of permanent landscape mode. This keeps the most distant objects in focus.

Safety First!

Don’t jeopardize the safety of your passenger(s), yourself, or anyone outside your vehicle. That said, you can always just shoot while waiting for a light or while pulled over to the side of the road.

What camera settings should I use?

Few cameras have a “Drive-By” choice as one of their automatic exposure settings. So what to use? I’ll typically use the highest ISO I can (given the amount of ambient light) so I can use a relatively fast shutter speed. If you shoot while driving, you probably want a shutter speed of at least 1/250 second. Subjects ahead of or behind you (moving in your direction) are easier to capture than subjects crossing in front of your camera. Note in the image above that the pedestrian moving away from the camera is more in focus than the one moving across my path. They may have been moving at the same speed, but their direction is key to freezing the action. I was shooting at a relatively slow shutter speed, as it wasn’t very bright out. My ISO was 1600, with the image-stabilized 28-135mm zoom fully extended.

Composing a Scene

They come at you fast and furious. Not only do you have to keep your camera set for the shot and within reach, but you have to be on the lookout for interesting subjects to photograph. Honestly, I shoot while I’m driving. Yeah, I know it’s unsafe, but great art comes from great pain, you know? I shot this at about 30 mph out a closed side window of my car, as I was driving over a bridge.

Practice!

You’ll shoot hundreds of images before you become adept at drive-by shooting. But you must practice with a familiar camera so that when a photo opportunity presents itself, you’re able to capture it!