Category Archives: lightroom

Forces of progress

Shanghai financial district

I still have a few more photos from China that I want to share before my next trip begins on the 1st of February. This is a shot of two of the tallest buildings in China — part of Shanghai’s Pudong new development area. This area has sprung up from nothing in the last two decades and is now a symbol of both Shanghai and a changing China. Such a symbol that my main goal for this trip was to get a good, iconic skyline shot from across the river with the futuristic Pearl Tower and these other giant skyscrapers. More on that effort in the days to come but I’ll use this shot to talk about the shelf-life of Shanghai skyline photos.

In the guidebook I purchased just prior to my trip (published in 2005) photos of this area showed only the 88-story Jin Mao on the left. It was then the tallest building in China. The building on the right has since popped up — taller — and is now the tallest building in China. Great time to get some new, updated skyline shots, right? Surely that guidebook publisher is looking for new images when they go to reprint. But wait. Construction is already underway just blocks away for another new building that will eclipse both of these towers. Looks like my shots will be stale in a few months time, too.

Just as well. Even though it looks like a beautiful day in this shot, haze made getting a distant skyline shot difficult during my two days in Shanghai. I’ll post a few shots that I did manage to get during that time over the next couple of weeks but that twilight shot of sparkling towers reflected in the river just never came together for me. Flexibility is the name of the game, though. There’s always something to shoot.

Progress has also been affecting my life in other ways lately. I’ve recently updated all of my Adobe software to the CS4 versions. That would include Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Lightroom, Contribute… you get the picture. It’s always a little unnerving to update so much software all at one time — especially software that you depend on daily for your livelihood — and there have been a few hiccups but nothing insurmountable. It’s just that darned learning curve again.

Don’t get me wrong — I love to learn new things and I thrive on change — but there’s just a whole lot at once right now. Beyond the software, I’m still sorting out my new travel kit and the new D700 and D300 bodies. I finally decided it was time for a new bag, so I ordered a Think Tank Photo Airport Ultralight.

think tank bagThis bag weighs in at just over 2 pounds when empty so it adds very little to the carrying weight which is a major concern of mine, especially when getting through airports. The dimensions look good for the overhead bin and it has a very sleek outer surface that should avoid snagging as it gets stuffed in. I’ll typically still pack a small bag in my checked luggage that I can use on the street. Backpacks are great for getting all of your gear to a location, but they’re not so convenient when you’re trying to get to a lens fast on a busy Shanghai street. So far, I’m very impressed with this as a travel bag and look forward to putting it and all the other new stuff through their paces next month.

Seventeen days and counting until my 2009 travel year begins. I’d better start going through that 400+ page D700 manual.

More glorious yellow

Zhenjiang, China

Three monks at the Buddhist temple in Zhenjiang, China. Great faces, great color. How can you go wrong?

The packages I mentioned in my last post have arrived. Unfortunately, I’ve had little time for anything other than unpacking them. First among the new arrivals is a shiny new Nikon D700. I’ve waited a long time for a full-frame digital body from Nikon and the first thing I did was introduce her to my Nikkor 17-35mm. This had been a favorite lens of mine on my old film bodies and it’s good to have the wide end back. I think these two will be nearly inseparable.

An odd circumstance of pricing made it cheaper to buy the D700 with the 24-120 lens than without. It wouldn’t have been my first choice in a mid-range zoom but since it was basically free I could hardly say no. I’ll put it through its paces and see how it does. On the D300 it will be a crop factor similar to a 36-180 so if I carry it along with the 17-35 on the D700 I’d have most bases covered.

Part of my reasoning of going with the D300 and D700 is that their controls are arranged very similarly. When I was shooting with the D200 and D300 in China, I was constantly hitting the menu button on the 300 when meaning to hit the preview button (Nikon — stop moving buttons, please!). This would typically bring up the menu with “format card” highlighted which was particularly disconcerting. Anyway, while the two new bodies aren’t exactly the same, more similarity will help. As will their both having much better high ISO performance. I’ll post images and more thoughts when I get the chance to get these cameras into the field.

I should also mention that I added a Lensbaby Composer to the order. I borrowed a 2nd generation Lensbaby from my friend, Doug, when I went to the Gaspe last summer and had a ton of fun with it. The Composer is a little more rigid and controllable than the older models but I hope it will still be as enjoyable. I have to say my initial reaction was mixed. The build seems a little rough and the swivel clicks loudly when you first shift it from its current position. Maybe that will loosen up with use or I’ll get used to it. We’ll see.

The other major addition to the ol’ camera bag is a new iPhone. I’ve been nursing an ancient old cell phone for years but finally made the move to join the rest of the 21st century and now have a phone that can actually receive a text message! First reaction to this piece of gear is sheer joy. I can’t believe how sweet this piece of technology is. I’ve already hit the app store for a sunrise-sunset calculator called Focalware, too. I had something similar on an old Palm device and found it very useful. Nice to have that info handy again.

So much to experiment with in the coming days. Sure would be nice if the weather would cooperate with a nice day for shooting this week but it looks like it will be luxurious if it gets above freezing. Maybe we’ll get a good snow…

Tianning Temple

Tianning temple

I spotted this round window and incredible yellow wall at Tianning Temple in Changzhou, China, and waited for someone to walk by. No one did. I waited longer. Still no one. There were plenty of other things in the area to shoot so I walked on but kept my eye on the round window. Finally, I noticed a monk headed in the right direction and I literally ran back to my spot with just enough time to fire off this one shot. It’s not perfect, but I’ll take it given the circumstances.

I’ve neglected to mention that our old house sold. In fact, it was one month and three days from our first meeting with the realtor to closing and receiving the check. I think that’s pretty amazing. Not only is our workload now reduced by only having to care for one property in one town, but we’re also finally able to do some much needed upgrading of our business equipment. Some new hard drives arrived today and I also completed the adoption of my brother’s Nikon D300 that accompanied me to China last month (In fact, I shot this photo with it). More is arriving tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Performance in Zhouzhuang

I attended an evening performance in Zhouzhuang, China, not really knowing what to expect. I’ve been to a lot of community shows that depict their history through dance and song before and I hate to say that most had done nothing to get my hopes up for this one. Upon arrival at the outdoor performance area set amidst the canals that flow through the old town, my hopes rose. When the show began with an Olympic-opening-ceremony-like extravaganza — I left my seat and headed for a side railing where I could shoot. The next hour (was it more?) was a rush of light and color — truly incredible. I recorded what I could, but it doesn’t do the show justice. Here is a quieter moment that is better able to be conveyed in a still image.

Dancer with umbrella

And thanks to my brother, Bruce, for the loan of his D300. The extra high ISO performance was greatly appreciated!

Water town

zhouzhuang, china

Canal boats being put away for the night in Zhouzhuang, China. This town is very popular with tourists for its historic area criss-crossed by canals. Walk the sidewalks and narrow streets or take a boat ride. If you’re lucky, you might see a wedding boat like this one go by:

wedding boat

Even thick with tourists, it’s hard to deny the beauty of this place.

fisherman

Rush hour

bicycles

It’s hard to grasp just how many people there are in China. Cities of 6 million are practically considered small towns. This is the morning rush in Suzhou. Bicycles and scooters zipping everywhere — challenging cars and buses. It’s quite a sight and a whole lot of fun to shoot.

China and back again

man with kite

I apologize for another gap in my posts but I’ve been in China for the past week and have been unable to access my blog server. As of 2:00 a.m. this morning, I’m back and have plenty of catching up to do — sleep and otherwise. I’ll let this shot of a kite-flier in Shanghai suffice for now but be sure there is more coming over the next few days.