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Tangents

review: Sony WX1

December 10, 2009

review: Sony WX1

Sony released the  Cybershot DSC-WX1 digital camera in August ’09 – a nifty little P&S camera for which they claimed unprecedented low-light capabilities.   This compact digital camera has a number of interesting features, of which one of the more interesting one  is the Sweep Panorama Mode.   It automatically stitches a panoramic image as you sweep the camera around in a near 180 degree angle.

In conjunction with Technorati and WeSay, Sony has launched a photo competition based on the Sweep Panorama feature.  They provided me with a WX1 to review and for promotion of the competition.

Sony WX1 Sweep Panorama Mode

Before we check out the rest of the spec, a little more about the Sweep Panorama feature.  It is simplicity itself to use.  You simply dial the camera to that setting, hit the shutter button, and sweep the camera around you in a steady motion.  That’s it.

Here are a few examples where I tried it out in New York.  Now, the obvious way to use this camera would be in a landscape mode, capturing a sweeping vista around you.  But in Manhattan, it just made sense to try the WX1 out in vertical mode.

I cropped the images here in a square format to post on the blog, so you will have to click through to the larger image to see the vertical sweep.

Times Square, New York
Here I captured a near-180-degree sweep overhead.  I started the capture looking South down Times Square, and swept the camera overhead and backwards to capture part of the buildings behind me.   Pretty wild!  Click through the image and see.

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bounce flash technique – mimicking soft window light ..

December 7, 2009

bounce flash photography technique – mimicking window light

The classic shot – a beautiful bride lit by soft window light.
That’s a yes on the beautiful bride – but it’s a solid no on the window light.
What you see there is on-camera flash.  (Which most likely won’t be a surprise to regular readers of the Tangents blog.)

This image is from a wedding this past weekend, and it makes a great example of how light, choice of lens, composition, angle and technique come together to make an image work. With a bit of post-processing added finally for that vintage feel.

Let’s look at the light first .. how I used on-camera bounce flash for my lighting here.

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lighting the wedding formals (part 3)

December 2, 2009

lighting the wedding formals

In the first of two postings on how I light the wedding formals, I showed how I use a single flashgun when photographing smaller formal groups indoors.  The equipment is relatively simple then – a single flashgun (Q-flash) and a large 60″ umbrella to give me good lighting.  The flashgun that I use for these, is a Q-flash.  Specifically the older T2 model since I only use them in manual mode here.  When I have a larger group I use two of these flashguns – each with an umbrella.  But more about that in a follow-up article coming up soon.

What I wanted to illustrate here is one of the  benefits of doing the formal portraits (indoors) with manual off-camera flash …  consistency.

Since the flash gives off a specific amount of light every time – it is manual flash after all and not TTL flash – and since the flash is on a stand, and therefore at a constant distance to your subject .. this means that your flash exposure will be consistent.  It will be consistent regardless of YOUR position.  You can move around.

This off-beat photograph of the bride and groom kissing, was a grab shot.  While I was on my knees in front of the bride, adjusting her dress, the groom leaned in for a kiss.  I grabbed my camera and as I lifted it to my eye, the groom playfully tried to block my shot.  And there it is.

Since my lights were set-up and exposure calculated for the manual off-camera flash, the exposure remained the same .. regardless of my being right up close to them.  My distance to the subject had no influence here.

Back to the basics briefly …

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favorite image of the week ..

December 1, 2009

My favorite image of the week is this one from a sequence taken during the romantic portrait session after a wedding.  The wedding took place in Florida, earlier on in November.  (It’s my favorite image of this week since I am only now catching up on a backlog of work.)   As a wedding photographer in New Jersey, it is quite a treat to do a destination wedding – someplace a little more exotic than the Garden State.

Not only was it a destination wedding in Florida, (timed with a flash photography workshop),  but this also happened to be the first time that I photographed a same-sex wedding.   And I felt particularly honored to have so much faith placed in me with a special event like this.

The reason why this image is my favorite is that it shows a wonderful couple together in a spontaneous moment.  It is  very much *them*, and I am sure their friends and family will instantly recognize this image as capturing the essence of who they are, and how they are.

This is where a lens like the 70-200mm f2.8 is essential .. it allows breathing space between you and your subjects.   The light is all available light.  No flash necessary with the soft early evening light.

But I did a little bit of work on the image in Photoshop, so let’s see how I got there ..

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