What’s in the Bag? (17-40 f/4.0 L)

I feel very fortunate to have inspired a number of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to either pick up a camera and pursue photography a bit more deliberately, or to rekindle an old flame.  I intentionally did not use the phrase “take photography more seriously” because, I firmly believe it should not be taken too seriously.  Photography is a great joy and like anything else taken too seriously, can loose it’s sparkle if not approached with the freedom and expression the endeavor calls for.  Photography is a pursuit that should be a release for the creativity one desires to express and in doing so should be an avenue of great pleasure.
But this posting is not about the joys of photography.  In this post I intend to answer the question “what’s in the bag?”  More specifically, I will tell you what gear I use, the benefits and limitations of that gear, and how it helps me get the shots I see even before the viewfinder comes to my eye.
Before I open the bag, I think it is important to add a disclaimer to this discussion.  I have a whole bunch of really nice gear.  In fact, there are a number of people who make their living in photography that do not have such a well equipped kit.  I recognize my good fortune and do not take it lightly.  However, it is not the equipment that makes good photography.  It is the photographer. 
Before I built up my kit, I collected a very nice portfolio of shots taken with equipment much less capable.  If I were to post the best shots taken with my original canon EOS and kit lens alongside those taken with a $3000 body and $2000 lens, it would be difficult to judge from which camera the shot originated.
In summary, the best camera to have is the one you have in your hands when the stars align and a beautiful composition is begging you to click the shutter…even if it is the camera on your phone.
In this post, I will give a brief description of the camera body I use, and the shortest focal length lens I have.  In later posts I will work through the rest of the bag.
Canon 5D

I shoot with the Canon 5D digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex).  This camera was recently replaced by the Canon 5D Mark II and is no longer in production (yet still available, and a great value on the used market).  The principal advantage of the 5D is that it has a full frame sensor as opposed to the cropped frame sensors of the rest of the Canon line (with the exception of certain 1D models).  In terms everyone can understand, the sensor that captures the image on the Canon 5D is essentially the same size of a 35mm film negative.  Cropped sensor bodies use a smaller sensor meaning less physical space on which to capture the image.  The difference should be clear; the larger the sensor, the more information can be captured.  More detail, more color information, and greater light sensitivity.
For a full review of this body (or anything else in the canon line), I highly recommend going to The Digital Picture.com produced by Bryan Carnathan.  Bryan publishes some of the most thorough and well written reviews you will find.  For the Canon 5D, follow this link: 
www.the-digital-picture.com
/Reviews/Canon-EOS-5D-DSLR-Digital-Camera-Review.aspx

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM

This lens is the bottom of the Canon focal length zoom lens range.  This lens is an ultra-wide angle lens in the Canon L series.  There are other fixed focal length lenses that have a shorter focal length, but none among the zoom lenses.  At the shortest focal length, this lens can fit a great deal of real estate into the frame.  From a landscape perspective, the next three shots of a fishing village near Al Jadi, Oman (first two) and Hana Oman (third in the series) are examples of what this lens can do at the 17mm end of its range.



The next shot demonstrates one of the great applications of this lens.  The shot of this old car was taken about a foot from the front fender and was still able to cover essentially the entire car (and this shot was cropped a bet to eliminate some distracting elements on both the right and left sides).  IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE:  it is not a good idea to take close up shots of people using the 17mm end of the focal range.  Your subject will be very distorted, and not in a flattering way.  For instance, a headshot of a person will result in a photograph with a dramatically enlarged nose…not a good way to win points with your spouse.

The next two shots come from Bukha Oman.  Both these shots demonstrate the wonderful landscape photography that can be produced with this lens.


I also find this lens perfect for architecture photography.  The next series of shots are from the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  Most are taken at the 17mm end of the range, but a couple come from the longer end of the focal range.







I hoped you enjoyed this post.  In the next segment of “What’s in the Bag?” I will talk about the Canon 24-105mm f/4.0 L.  This is an indispensible lens that is attached to my camera more often than any other lens.  I also hope you enjoyed the photographs.
Saludos!
Craig

Why Black and White? Insufficient Color Information

In my post titled “Solitude” (April 28, 2009) I talked briefly about my decision criteria for processing a photo in black and white.  In that post I promised to talk more about my decision process.  I was also challenged by a good friend, Steve, to show some examples. 
In this post I will further explore the first question I apply in making a decision to consider converting a shot to black and white.  In the “Solitude” post, I said my first criteria was “does the color information in the shot add value to the final composition?” 
The first pair of shots, at the beginning of this post, are from the Supreme Petroleum Council Building in Abu Dhabi.  This example clearly shows a relevant decision point for the process of conversion to black and white.  The original shot has some brown tones in the concrete and a bit of blue in the slight area of exposed sky.
Had I decided to further crop this shot to eliminate the sky, there would be even less support for keeping this in color.  As a tangential point, there is good reason I did not further crop the shot.  I love this shot because it has a number of lines leading your eye through the shot.  You likely found yourself viewing this shot from left to right with the lines of the floors guiding you along to the right.  Then your eye would likely have started to explore what was going on vertically…and then being drawn once again from left to right.  Had I cropped out the sky and the stacking part of the building in the upper left of center, I would have lost some of the visual interest.
The second pair of shots is similar in that the prairie dog (from the Al Ain Zoo in the UAE) is nearly the same color as the ground it is standing on.  With respect to color, this shot is essentially a two tone photograph; the color adds very little information to the composition.


The next shot is unique because it was taken with a lens that brings one area of the shot into clear focus while increasingly blurring the rest of the shot as you move away from the center of focus.  Again note the amount of color information in the original, and the change that occurs in the transition to black and white.


The life ring and cleat shot was taken with a Lens Baby 3G.  If you have not seen this lens before, it looks like some sort of medieval torture device.  The unique appearance is complimented by even more unique results.  In a future post, I will feature shots taken exclusively with the lens baby.  If you are interested in this lens, or even better, the next generation Lens Baby Composer, check them out at www.lensbaby.com.  This is a terrifically fun lens and adds a whole new level of creativity to your photography.
The next shot is the cockpit of a decaying 1940-something Ford that sat alongside the road in Southern Maryland.  Except for the yellow hue in the dash gauges and the reddish tones in the wheel, there is very little color information – the choice to go black and white was easy and much more consistent with the era of the car.


The following shot comes from the lobby of the Solar Lab at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) in Boulder Colorado.  This shot is nearly black and white without any adjustment.  The only hint of color comes from the window below the dome letting in natural light to the lobby.  This is a fun shot because it is a unique piece of architecture and also because of the full tonal range, gradual transitions and the only occasional sharp edge.

Arguably, the next shot has sufficient color to make you wonder why I include it in the group of photographs considered to have too little color information to warrant a color shot.  To a certain extent, this is true.  However, the color is highly concentrated in a couple of areas including the top of the minaret, the grass around the mosque, and the green of the mosque dome.
By removing those few points of concentrated color, I think the shot becomes much more interesting.

The Washington Monument in Washington, DC during a snow storm leaves very little remaining color.  In this case, there is a slight yellow hue to the monument and because the shot was taken at some distance, the flags at the base show just specs of red and blue.  I find the black and white version much more interesting and consistent with the starkness of a menacing sky, barren trees, and snow covered ground.

The next shot takes us back out to Colorado and the National Renewable Energy Laboratories.  This shot features a wind turbine blade in the foreground, quickly followed by the mountain range, then domination by a dramatic sky.  The tiny bit of color comes primarily from the brown grass.  I find the drama of the sky much more compelling in black and white.  The bit of color in the dormant grass is not missed.


The next shot, “Storm over Lincoln,” combines the key elements of the Washington Monument in Snow with the NREL wind turbine shot.  The color is limited to the slight hue in the monument’s stone, and the dark green, nearly underexposed trees bordering the reflecting pool.  The entire scene is complimented by a dramatic and foreboding sky.  The sloping tree lines draw the observers eye to the Lincoln Monument, then up to the sky.


The next shot is of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial in front of the U.S. Capitol building.  The shot is interesting on a number of levels.  First, the stormy sky sets the scene for battle – a gloomy and threatening day as General Grant leads his troops, in this case, against the invaders of the national mall who have setup large tents and barbeque pits!
The only color of significance in the shot is the oxidation on the monument proper.  With the conversion to black and white, the green oxidized metal gains additional contrast and makes the shot more consistent over the tonal range of the composition.


The next shot is an interesting case.  The pair of Southern Maryland barns has sufficient color information with respect to the blue in the sky, the green grass, and the red of the barns themselves.  However, much of the barn is in the shade, and the color is very muted.  In this case, the color information was not sufficient in the area I wanted it.  The black and white version brings out much of the detail in the shadows and adds more interest to the shot.


For the final example, we return the camel races in Al Wathba UAE, just outside of Abu Dhabi.  Consistent with the theme of this post, there is very little color information in this shot.  The photograph is dominated by the fog with the subject just emerging and several other camels appearing as apparitions in the distance.  The only color information is the slight brown hue of the subject camel, and the dominant orange of the mechanical jockey.  In answering the question of sufficient color information, clearly this shot deserves to be black and white according to the criteria I use.  Additionally, I find the bright orange of the mechanical jockey to be distracting – the jockey is not the subject of the shot.


I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope I satisfied Steve’s request for some examples.  If you have any requests about any subject relating to photography, please send me a note at craigcorl@yahoo.com.  I am happy to respond.  I have plenty of subjects to write about, but would be particularly pleased to know I am helping someone understand something new about my passion.
Enjoy, and do something nice for someone today.
Craig