Video: What's In My Bag

He folks,

Just made a "what's in my bag" video recently because of the shift in gear I have done recently so this will be the most up to date gear.  It is all the same as my last gear review video however this is all of the gear I use.

Hope you like it,

Tom

Video: Gear Review

Hey Folks,

Currently I am selling two of my lenses and I have acquired two new big things for my kit.  So right now I have the most gear I will have in a while probably.  Because of this I decided to make a video of all my gear going over quickly some pro's/con's of them.  I hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

Video: http://youtu.be/sMzt-XTFA9A

Tom

D600 Initial Test

Hey,

So I got to use my new D600 in some real world shooting conditions compared to shots for my bookshelf of photography magazines.  After I got through the stills and video I did to test the camera out I will make an initial review of the camera.  I decided not to do an unboxing and review of the camera then because I don't feel those are super helpful since the reviewer just got it.  Also if you want the specs you can read them.

I will be making a video on youtube soon to discuss what I think so far.  What I will tell you is what I saw of the photos on the LCD, the photos were amazing.  The ISO abilities, assuming the photos look roughly the same on my computer, are unreal.  Obviously it blows my old D90 out of the water.  Stay posted for this video!

Tom

Very Exciting News!

Hey Folks,

Tom Houston Photography has gone FX.  So I have invested in a D600 which means I will be using a Full Frame camera as my main body now.  My D90 will be my backup and it is a cropped sensor or DX camera.

It is a big step and I am very excited to use this camera to see what it can do.  Once I have used it another to base more than initial thoughts on it, I will make a video review of it.  So stay posted for that!

Tom

Videos

Hey folks,

Just made a video on my initial thoughts of the 16-35mm f/4 VR wide angle zoom lens as well as my camera, the Nikon D90.  I hope these videos help and if you want me to cover anything just toss a comment below.

Photos: Cave Photo Shoot is Up!

Hey folks,

Just did a very interesting shoot in some cool caves and got some great photos.  I just posted them up on my site and you should check them out!  Here is one of the photos, hope you like it:

Portrait - 35mm f/1.8G

Check out the rest at www.tomhoustonphotography.ca!

Photos: Country Shoot

Hey,

All the country shoot photos are up!  You should go check them out, I got to shoot in some very cool locations with great models who had tons of energy.  You can check them out here!  They are in the new arrivals section for the next week or so.  Hope you like them and here are some of them:

Portrait - 85mm f/1.4 D

Portrait - 85mm f/1.4 D

Portrait - 85mm f/1.4 D

Stay posted for my next shoots!

Photos: Lock Shoot

Hey,

The rest of the photos are up now from my last sneak peek I posted.  Hope everyone liked them as much as I did.  I thought these were amazing photos are a great shoot.  So please go visit my site, www.tomhoustonphotography.ca and check them out!  Here is another photo that I really liked from the shoot:

Portrait - 17-55mm

Hope you like them!

Photos: Sneak Peek

Hey,

Just did an amazing shoot on tuesday, had a lot of fun and here is the sneak peek from the shoot.  Below is one of my favourite shots form the shoot and there are two others on my website at www.tomhoustonphotography.ca in the new arrivals gallery.  The model was great and did a very good job even though by the end of the shoot her heels were soaked from standing in puddles for most of it.  Really like these shots, hope you do too!

Portrait - 17-55mm

Don't forget to go see the other photos on my site and I hope you like them!

Photo: Composite

Hey,

Thought I would show this photo I did recently that made me laugh a little.  I was bored and it was very fun to plan/do.  I hope you like it.

Self Portrait(s)? - 17-55mm - Composite

Edited it together in Gimp.  It isn't perfect however I think it is good considering it is my third composite.

Hope you enjoy this!

Focus: Workflow

Hey,


So I thought I would do a quick-ish summary and walkthrough of how I edit my landscape photos.  More particularly my most recent waterfall shots at Inglis Falls.  I do pretty much the same type of things to my landscape photos but depending on the photo and exposure I tweak them all slightly differently but the same general gist.


I decided to use the waterfall shots since I used my timer on my camera which took multiple photos each time.  So I have multiple copies of pretty much the same shot, just the water looks slightly different in each one due to the water changing paths a little (no big deal).  And what better way to demonstrate the differences each of my edits do.


So first I will start with my unedited photo.  So this is straight out of the D90.

Unedited - Inglis Falls 

It is a good photo but I find it doesn't really catch the eye as much as it could.  Due to the long exposure, I think the colours fade just a little because it is a lot of light coming into the camera.  As well the photo is just a little lighter than I want it.  Not that I had the exposure off, or it was under or over exposed, just it is a little flat.

I do my editing in Aperture.  So if you have Aperture, thats great (go Mac) and if not that is okay since I am sure editing suits are all pretty much the same for what edits I am doing here.  So step one, I increase the contrast a little.  (On Aperture I upped it to 2.0)

Contrast - Inglis Falls

This helps catch the eye a little more since it a little darker, not as flat looking.  However you don't want to over do this (or any other edit for the most part) or else it will just look really fake.  As well, when you increase the contrast you lose a little detail in the dark regions of your photo so be careful.  If that is what you want, then by all means but personally I want landscapes to look like how I saw it.  That is why I love wide angle lenses since the photos don't look like a snap shot of it.  Anywho, back to the edits.  

The next two steps will help have the colours pop as well be more like how I saw them when I was perched on my rock taking the photos*.  So first I usually play with the saturation by increasing it a little. So the below photo is with contrast as well as and saturation increase. (Increase saturation to 1.1)

*(As I said in my post about these photos, I was with my friend who just purchased a D7000 so he took a shot I believe of me perched on my rock I had to climb onto to get these shots.  I will be writing a post about what one must do sometimes to get a "the shot." So it helped having my friend there to take a photo of me on my semi-sketchy rock in the river.)

Contrast + Saturation - Inglis Falls

Next to help with colour I increased the vibrancy a little which helps the colours be well, more vibrant (and for those who don't want the word used in it's def'n, the colours are more vivid and less dull).  (Increased the vibrancy to 1.0 I believe)

Contrast + Saturation + Vibrancy - Inglis Falls 

So with that, those are the main things I do to my landscapes to help them look a little more like how I saw it.  The D90/lens usually does a great job however in some cases these edits help a lot.  This was also a good example since the colours and over all image fades a little when you gather a lot of light when using slow shutter speeds, I find.  Using my macro lens I never touch the photos unless it is portraits.  So my frog's eye shot you may have seen (if not check it out), I didn't edit that at all.  No cropping or vibrancy, nothing.  However landscapes do sometimes need some work.  Before I was never one to really edit my photos however now I have learned to bring all my photos up to the same level and sometimes that means I have to do minor things to them.  When you put them all together, you can get one great shot.

Also I sometime burn or dodge photos (brighten/lighten) if certain areas would do better being darker or lighter.  I rarely do this because it usually looks bad (or I am bad at it) but I usually just stick to the contrast to control that.

So this is not the be-all-end all with editing but it is a few minor things you can do to make your photos pop a little more.

Update: Sneak Peek: Rachel Bond

Hey,

I was fortunate enough to work with Rachel Bond recently doing a country photo shoot.  We were worried about the rain however the bad weather held out until we were about to leave.  It was a great shoot and we had a lot of fun.  So here is a sneak peak of what we got:

Rachel Bond - Country Shoot - 50mm f/1.4

Rachel Bond - Country Shoot - 50mm f/1.4

I hope you enjoy these.  And just to note it was very difficult narrowing down what were the best photos to use from the shoot because there were many favourites.  I will toss up different photos on my Facebook Page just because there were so many great photos to choose from.  Stay posted for a link for when I put them up on Flickr.

How To: My Macro Shoot

How To: My Macro Shoot

I was wanting to take some photos so I went out and bought a Daisy to do some macro photography with.  This was the first time I have done "serious" in-door macro shoot and I like my results.  so I thought it would be helpful to explain how I got the shots that I did.

So the gear I used was:

- Camera (Captain obvious)
- Tripod
- Macro lens (105mm VR Macro f/2.8)
- SB-600 (Since I lack a Macro flash/ring)
- Light stand (To hold said flash)
- Wireless Shutter Release

- Stool
- Flower (Gerbera Daisy)
- Vase

So what did all that look like?  Well I decided to take a photo of the setup with my phone to show yeah.  However as I mentioned there, it was with my phone so sorry for the quality:

My Macro Shoot Setup

So I had my SB-600 left of camera pointed at the daisy which was mounted on my light stand.  The D90 with the 105mm VR Macro lens on my tripod.  I had a lamp lighting the flower however I had my flash set to overpower the lamp so it didn't effect my photo.  The lamp was just so I could see the flower so I could focus on it.

To the right side of the photo you can see the light getting by my black curtain which is what I used as a black background to get this effect:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

Where as I used my wall for the white background however it wasn't white enough for what I wanted so I used a sheet of printer paper.  So I held a sheet of printer paper behind the flower to get a white background as seen here:

Gerbera Daisy - 105mm VR Macro

As for other details, you mostly get the shots you want after experimenting.  I didn't really have an idea of certain photos I wanted, I just tried different angles, lighting and backgrounds.  As for camera settings, you have a lot more control over them inside than you do out in a garden.  I was continually changing my aperture and shutter speed to see what effect it had on that on the photos.  Usually I am restricted by aperture when I do shots outside since I want a very fast shutter speed to freeze any motion from wind or my hand shaking since I mostly shoot handheld.  Another tip I can give is keep checking your histogram to make sure nothing is too far off the left or right side.  As well it helps to have the most information in the centre of the histogram and as close to the top of the of the chart as possible without going off the top.  The larger the area in the histogram the more information in the photos usually.  

Also I just thought of one thing I did that was extra was I washed off some pollen of the petals.  I was doing some 1:1 shots so I wanted to make sure I didn't have extra pollen on the flower. 

I hope that helps and again any and all questions are welcome.  Just send me an e-mail at tomhouston7@gmail.com and I will gladly answer your questions.

Focus: Megapixels

Focus: Megapixels

I decided to write this from a question I got from my cousin.  He asked about upgrading cameras.  So I will go over one of the main selling points of a camera that a lot of people base choices on.  Common question is "how many megapixels does it have?"  First off, what is a megapixel? Lets start there.

A megapixel is one million pixels.  Mega is just a prefix for a number and a pixel is a really small square of light that makes up images on a sensor/screen.  So the more pixels you have effectively, the more detail and resolution you should have in your photos.  So if you have a lot of pixels you can have more detail and such.  However, how many is enough?  Using the new iPhone 4 as an example, they have more pixel detail in their screens than our eye can see.  So for example, the screen detail could get more pixels and better resolution but we wouldn't be able to tell.  So there is a limit for our eyes.

So what is a good number of Megapixels (MP)?  I would say between 10-12 MP will be just fine for your average shooter.  However with that said you can get great photos with less than 10 MP.  And if you are lucky enough to be shooting with lets say a D3X with 24.5 MP then I am sure you can get good photos too.  So next I should answer what do these MP's do for you?

Well they let you do two main things from my experience other than make for more or less resolution in your photos.  First, the more resolution you have, the more you can blow up your prints to larger sizes.  Second, the more resolution the photo, the more you can crop it and still have it be a good resolution.  With my D90 at 12.3 MP I believe, I can print out a 2'x3' print of a photo I took with my kit lens(18-105mm).  So I have this photo that is two by three feet framed above my bed:

Haida Gwaii Beach - 18-105mm

It wasn't that large of a file, between 2-3 mb.  So not a lot of detail but the print looks amazing.  So why are there cameras with more than 12 MP?  Well for two reasons I know of.  One, is you can print out even larger photos without even thinking about it looking bad from lack of resolution.  That is why the D3X has 24.5 MP.  You can print off a billboard and not break a sweat with that camera.  Do most people do this? No.  And the other reason is cropping.

Some people don't want to crop images because they think you should keep all your resolution you can.  And also it is usually a compositional issue if you are cropping.  Some believe that composing your image should be done at the time of the shot rather than after.  But if you start with a lot of detail then you will still have hopefully a lot of resolution left after you crop.  So having more MPs let you crop photos more.

So after a point, MP's don't matter a lot if you are not printing 8 foot prints or cropping your photos right down to nothing.  So if you are getting a new camera or upgrading, keep this in mind.  There are many other features to look for rather than megapixels.  

Hope this helps!

Focus: ISO. My Take On The "Exposure Triangle" Part III

Focus: ISO.  My Take On The "Exposure Triangle" Part III


So, first I will recap.  Part I covered aperture and how it effects exposure as well as shutter speed in part II. Now in Part III I will cover the third and final part of the triangle, ISO.  Once I am done with ISO, I will put them all together.


Now last but not least, ISO.  To be honest I have no idea what ISO stands for but do not fear, I know what it does.  So ISO is from the film days (not that they are gone but..) where ISO was the sensitivity or "speed" of the film.  So different film had different sensitivity to light which means different film would be better for different lighting situations.  ISO numbers that are low (100, 200) are not very sensitive to light so they would be used for a bright sunny day because it would take a lot of light to effect the film.  ISO speeds of 1600 and around there are very sensitive to light, so they would be good for dark situations because it does not take a lot of light to effect the film.


Now I am guessing for most of you reading this post are probably using a digital camera, so how does this effect you?  Well it is the same thing but a little more artificial since digital cameras have a sensor, not film. So ISO for the digital age is the same but you don't need to buy different film for different light now.  You can just go into your settings and turn up or down your ISO which increases and decreases the sensitivity to light.


So if you have your camera's ISO on 200, it will allow you to take well exposed photos during bright sunny days.  If you use ISO that is high like 1000-1600, you will have a very sensitive camera sensor that will be good for very dark situations.


Now before I put these all together... how does ISO effect you photos?  Just like aperture and shutter speed, ISO also has an effect on your photos.  Depending on your camera/film, the higher you crank your ISO, the more grain there is into your photos.  This grain is called "noise" because you can see all the pixels and it usually makes your photos not turn out so well.  To demonstrate noise I will bust out a old photo from a Weatherthans (Amazing band by the way) concert I was at when I had my old Point and Shoot camera:

The Weakerthans - Noisy Image Exmaple - P&S

So yes, that is a bad photo.  But I am posting it to demonstrate grain.  You can see all the pixels and it just isn't a great photo because of it.  This is what happens when there is not enough light so what my camera did was it automatically cranked up the ISO.  It was high enough that the photo had a lot of noise.  But it was a good concert!

Digital cameras these days are getting better and better at having minimal noise at higher ISO's.  My Nikon D90 is decent, but the D700 is known very well to be one of the best cameras in low light.  The new D3s can "shoot in the dark" or whatever the slogan was.  But they can, they can pick up light without noise from the environment that your naked eye would be hard pressed to see.  So depending on how current your camera's sensor is and the quality of it, you can have noise in your photos near ISO 1000 to 6400 haha, or never if you have a D3s.  But I am guessing if you have a D3s, you may not need to take advice from myself but if you are, I am honoured. 

So with ISO and noise, you just have to take photos at different ISO's and figure out what ISO your camera starts getting grainy.  I will quickly go over how it can be used.  So you increase your ISO if you need to keep your shutter speed and aperture fixed (or is you are already as wide as your lens can get).  So if it is dark and you need a fast shutter speed to capture action but also need a large DoF with a small aperture, then you are left with ISO to change to get a well exposed photo.  If you use a fast shutter speed and need a large DoF in a dark situation, you need to have a higher ISO to have a properly exposed photo usually.

So if you are doing star trails, or long exposure photography, having a low ISO is what to do so that your sensor is not sensitive to light which allows you to have longer shutter speeds.  If your shutter needs to be open to for a long time, you do not want your sensor to be sensitive to light or else it will look like you are being summoned to heaven again.  Also having some grain in your photos and some good post-processing (editing after) you can get a photo that looks like it was film.  This can be a desired look for some.  

Now to put it all together.  As I covered with the concert example, ISO can be used to brighten or darken a photo if you cannot use aperture of shutter speed.  So these three things are used to get the proper exposure of a photo.  So if your photos are too bright or too dark, these three things can help you depending on how you want your photo to look.  Personally I always leave my ISO at 200.  That is the lowest ISO my camera can do.  This allows me to not have any noise in any of my photos.  I rarely up my ISO because I do not want to risk noise in my photos.  But as I mentioned, if I cannot change my aperture or shutter speed more to get the right exposure, I will play with my ISO.

So depending on what you want to control in your photo, you use ISO, aperture or shutter speed to compensate for proper exposure to get the look you want in your photos.  I can't tell you how to have your camera settings for everything shot because each camera has different sensors and each lens has different apertures and every shot is different.  What I can tell you is to keep those three things in your head as you shoot.  If you are always practicing those things and actively thinking about how to control the light you will probably get better at taking photos.  

I hope my take on the exposure triangle helped in some way.  Sure you can read all of the basic foundation information for photography but you can't stop there.  You have to go out and practice.  Sometimes you only have a small amount of time to capture a great shot and you have to know your stuff to get the photo.  Sure sometimes you can take a couple of test shots before you get the one you are looking for but usually life goes easier if you can get it right the first or second time.  Saves you from taking a bunch of photos you know you are going to have to delete later.  Anywho, practice, practice and practice is what I am trying to say.

Hope that helps!  I will keep thinking up more helpful things to blog about.  I decided for me to help you better I will open up my e-mail for questions and ideas.  So you can e-mail me at tomhouston7@gmail.com if you have any questions for me on photography or an idea you want me to write a post about.  I will start checking that e-mail now to see if anyone has any questions or ideas they want me to cover.  Please don't hesitate to ask questions.  I was always asking questions on gear and photography knowledge and I still am to this day asking other photographers questions.  So thank you again for reading and I hope to hear from people now with photography questions, I hope I can help!

Thanks again,

Tom

P.S. Just made videos for understanding the exposure triangle and here is the one on ISO: http://youtu.be/h0V4SqBi6HU

Camera Review

Camera Review: Nikon D90


Update: Here is my video review of the Nikon D90 on my youtube channel:  http://youtu.be/mp4jBd6HAGM

This is the first and only camera I have had.  I have been using it for two years now and I love it.  It is a great camera for the price and I bought it when it first came out as well.  Now it is around $500 cheaper or so.  The build quality is good, it isn't weatherproofed or made from magnesium alloy however it is a sturdy camera.  I don't take it in the rain or drop my camera so those features are only if you are shooting in tricky situations.


One factor that a lot of people look for in a camera is how fast it can take photos.  The D90 has 4.5 fps which is very decent.  It doesn't sound like a machine guy but unless you are taking a lot of sports photography that isn't needed that I've found.  I always like dreaming about a faster camera however I don't need it.


The D90's ISO is 200-3200 which is decent I think.  After the release of the newer Nikon cameras with 100-6400 ISO, the D90's 200-3200 isn't that impressive anymore however the D90's still good.  I've done shots in low light and with the 18-105mm, which was a bit of a trouble.  That is why I invested in better and faster glass.  It is said to invest in glass instead of buying the newest camera which I agree with.  I also invested in a flash which is a very good investment which also helps add in light to help keep the ISO low.  I have found either a flash or fast glass is good enough to not risk getting noise in photos with the D90 in areas with bad lighting.


I have used a friend's canon as well as another smaller Nikon camera and I prefer the D90.  The size is nice because it isn't really small as well as it isn't big and heavy.  The ergonomics are good and I got the Nikon battery grip (MB-D80) for it so that it is easier for me to take portraits.  There were other reasons however I go over those when I review the MB-D80.  I do believe the D90 is a good size for a camera.


The buttons are in good places however they could be placed a little better.  However for a amateur camera like the D90, they are fine.  After using it for awhile it is not an issue.  The battery life is amazing.  The EN-EL3e battery has amazing battery life as well as the D90 is very efficient.


The HD video feature has not really been a great help to me personally.  I have taken one video of mountain sheep hopping up a rock face in Jasper, AB.  It wasn't that great of a video but it was something the pictures couldn't really capture.  But other than that video I haven't really used the D90 for a video camera.  The live view function also hasn't been a very useful feature.  Again I have maybe used it once or twice.


The 11 point AF system is very good.  More points could be useful however I have learned to make do with the 11 and their placement.  Personally I wouldn't know what to do with 51 AF points.  The D7000's 39 points could be good however with enough practice, 11 points isn't the end of the world.


The 12.3 mp is enough for any normal use for a photographer.  I have printed out two 2' x 3' photos and they look perfect for sharpness and clarity.


In conclusion, the D90 is a very very good camera where it sits in the Nikon line up.  Yes, it is 3 years old and the D7000 is better however the D90 still holds it's own.  The D90 is a very good camera for a starting photographer that knows they will continue doing photography.  I highly recommend this camera and I am very glad that I bought this as my first camera.


Side note: As mentioned I did buy the D90 almost 3 years ago so it is older now.  The D7000 is now at the price I got the D90 for.  So personally, if I did it over again right now, I would probably get the D7000.  However, this said... If you would rather save a couple hundred dollars and get the D90 and get a better lens or a flash or something, then that would be another very good idea.