Posts Tagged ‘Nikon’

iPhone vs. DSLR in Early Morning – Tech Thursday

©TimeLine Media - Dulles Airport Main Terminal - Nikon D4

Earlier this week, I needed to bring my uncle to the airport for an early morning departure. With a 6:30 departure time, it was a VERY early morning for us. With the days being so long in the summer, I have not had the inspiration to get up before the sun. This is the best time to get landscape or architecture photos. Unfortunately this time was a little TOO early since the sky was still black as night, but I took advantage of the beautiful Main Terminal at Dulles International Airport to make photos of another landmark of the Washington, DC area. I tried making images with both the iPhone and my DSLR for comparison.

My father, an architect that had a great appreciation for clean, contemporary design, would always start to lecture as we approached this building. Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, the main terminal at Dulles is a panoramic structure of concrete and glass that echoes the air supporting the planes coming into and out of the airport. My dad would talk about the open concept interior, the rain management system that you do not even notice in the center of the airport, and the overall design that still looks modern even though it was designed in the 1950’s. The airport was just starting to wake up. There was minimal activity and traffic going into the terminal at 5AM in the morning. I found a nice spot in the Daily Garage closest to the main terminal. Walking to the top level to provides a nice clear view of the main terminal. Here is are the completely images from both uncropped, out of the camera:

Comparing iPhone Imaging

©TimeLine Media - Dulles Airport Main Terminal - iPhone
©TimeLine Media – Dulles Airport Main Terminal – iPhone
©TimeLine Media - Dulles Airport Main Terminal - Nikon D4
©TimeLine Media – Dulles Airport Main Terminal – Nikon D4


I was a little surprised at the results. The iPhone did remarkably well considering what I was asking it to do. I had put the exposure measurement cursor right in the middle of the terminal. The default image would have made the terminal overexposed without any detail. In this case the camera compensates for the large portion of the frame that was dark, or completely black. This image would be sufficient for using on Instagram or Facebook if you are just establishing where you were travelling.

Comparing DSLR Imaging

When I setup the DSLR, I put the camera right on the edge of the wall of the garage to stabilize the camera, and manually set the exposure. I wanted it to be similar – with the terminal not over exposed. With the controls that are available on the DSLR, I set the aperture down to f/11 so that the exposure time is increased to 5 seconds. This makes for some really cool light trails from the cars coming into the terminal! This is really the main difference between these two photos when zoomed out to their default views.

As expected, though, the iPhone image really loses when you zoom in to see any detail in the photo. These conditions are really pushing the limits of the tiny sensor in this camera which is best when used in bright conditions. When you zoom into the DSLR photo, you can also see some nice star-like flares in the lights on the tarmac behind the terminal. These are a result of the aperture of f/11 which is a much smaller opening than f/2.4 that the iPhone was using to try to get as much light into the camera. This example clearly shows a few of the features that a camera with full controls can get for you compared to point-and-shoot or smartphone cameras.

©TimeLine Media - Dulles Airport Main Terminal - iPhone
©TimeLine Media – Dulles Airport Main Terminal – iPhone
©TimeLine Media - Dulles Airport Main Terminal - Nikon D4
©TimeLine Media – Dulles Airport Main Terminal – Nikon D4

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703-864-8208

Working with Memory Cards – Tech Thursday

©TimeLine Media - ballroom dancer portraits

When photographing ballroom dance events, the action on the dance floor is the focus. Especially at a Showcase event where there are choreographed routines that are performed by solo couples, the action photos take priority over all the other photos of the day. Other photos that I make during the day include the decorations, the table centerpieces, and posed portraits. Some dancers like to have their photos taken while not under the pressure of being in front of the audience and judges during their routines. I can understand! You can face the camera exactly how you want to be angled, and you can hold lines perfectly for the camera which is difficult to do while dancing.

Event Workflow

©TimeLine Media - ballroom dancer portraits
©TimeLine Media – ballroom dancer portraits

This brings me to the point of the post today regarding memory cards. I took some photos off the floor of some couples at the event. In the hustle and bustle of the day, I did not download the card with these photo right away, and kept them in my Nikon D4. I then went back to photographing action with my other camera, a Nikon D700. When I started to run out of space on the card in the D700, I reached for the card in the D4 to continue shooting. One of the limitations of the older D700 is that this camera cannot display files created by the D4. It is also a good practice to format cards prior to using a new card to ensure that files are not corrupted when re-writing to a memory card. Well this is where my problem started. When I checked the D4 card in the D700, it said that there were no images on the card. So I reformatted the memory card before starting to use it in the D700. GONE! Of course, I did not discover this until yesterday as I was editing the photos from the event.

Sandisk-8GB-cards
©TimeLine Media – SanDisk Compact Flash cards

Is this still a common practice by photographers? Am I being too cautious by always reformatting cards prior to using them in a camera? If I had not done this to the card prior to shooting, I would likely still have the images. I am trying to see if any data recovery software could possibly get any of the images back, but I am not hopeful. Please let me know your thoughts on the subject!

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703-864-8208

Flower Still Life with Small Flash

©TimeLine Media - Day Lilly

If you have been following this blog, or my Instagram, I have been learning to use a new light modifier. Specifically they are the Rapid Box from Westcott. These new modifiers are specifically designed to work with small flash, or speedlights. They are very flexible to work with any size and brand of flash, and they setup very quickly.

Light Modifier

Online, I have seen photographers that have used these for portrait sessions. They seem to work very well, and I am anxious to try them out on some people photos, but in the mean time, I have been experimenting on using them with smaller subjects. The blooming spring flowers in my backyard were my first tries, and I have blogged about them here. The difference with the Rapid Box vs. the bare flash was clearly evident from the first photo. The light is diffused and spread nicely with the Rapid Box making hard shadows disappear when photographing sections of flowers that poke out from the centers, making the light seem like it is coming from the sun on an overcast day rather than from a speedlight only a foot away.

©TimeLine Media - Day Lilly
Day Lilly Flower ©TimeLine Media

The lightness of the softbox allows you to really put it in places that a standard softbox cannot go because of size or weight. Here is a behind the scenes photo of another shoot showing the camera position and the softbox setup:

©TimeLine Media - Rapid Box setup for flower shoot
©TimeLine Media – Rapid Box setup for flower shoot

The box is not in shooting position in this photo. I held the stand in my hand before taking the photo with the timer so I could see exactly where the light was going. It was a bit complicated, but the results are much better than what I could get without the flash.

Cameras LOVE light. To get better images, you need to have as much light on your sensor as you can get. The technology that they have built into these flashes is optimized to give you better images if they are set up correctly. They need practice to get them to work best, which is why I have been working with these on static subjects before I put them in front of people. If the flowers are any indication, I am confident that these boxes will work great. Stay tuned to find out!

©TimeLine Media - dark red lilly
©TimeLine Media – dark red lilly

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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