illadelph street photos

Our day and a half in Philadelphia went by quickly, but we saw a lot! I actually fell in love with the city -- full of stylish people, interesting & colorful streets, very neat attractions, and lots of charm, culture, and personality!

Here are some of my favorite shots. First we had breakfast in Reading Terminal Market. This was taken with my 50mm:

The man had some nice jams :) Also with the 50:


Here are two from Rittenhouse Square. Both were taken with my 85mm:



Of course, we toured Independence Hall (with the 50mm):


And there are a lot more, but I suppose these really are my favorites.

I was actually really pleased with how most of my photos turned out. Often when traveling, I am sometimes rushed, or anxious, or flustered, and I forget about some important settings, or don't bother to check the photos to make sure they turned out. Of course I had some of those this time, too, but most turned out as I expected them to. I consider that a win! and an improvement.

I was excited to explore a new city with my (still) new 5D. I do see a quality difference in the photos (compared to those taken with my 350D), and also a sort of "atmospheric" difference -- especially in the shot of the man in the market (first shot above) and the one of the guitar player in Rittenhouse Square. I am still very pleased with the performance of this camera. And actually, I didn't get that tired carrying around the extra-heavy cam all day on Saturday. I'm still really glad I made the decision to get the used 5D.

One interesting thing I noticed is this: I think I'd get more out of a 24mm than a 35mm -- I noticed when walking around the city (with tall buildings, narrow streets, &c.), and inside restaurants or other small shops, that I almost constantly needed a much wider angle. That is actually a good thing, because now maybe I'll move the 24L up on my wish list, ahead of the 35mm. I am kind of waiting for Canon to update the 35mm anyway, so it's not a bad thing. It is not so good, though, that the 24L is still $1700! I'll likely still be holding off on that purchase for a while.

A fun weekend!

5D classic

Have these two photos from yesterday morning. Tried out a used 5D at Caribou Coffee, and when I got home to look at my test photos, I thought these two were actually kind of neat-looking.

This one's at ISO 400 with my 85mm @ f/1.8, 1/2000 sec:
























I'm wondering which one looks better. This one was at ISO 1600 with the 85mm at f/1.8 and 1/8000 sec. (I was kind of testing ISOs.)






















I think the man stands out better in the second one, but I like the visible bank of windows on the first one --- I think it turned out better. Love the black and white conversion for these.

Some may say the "dark masses" on either side of the man are regrettable, but I like them. I think they, along with the B&W conversion, show a sense of isolation. Maybe I'm just trying to talk a crappy photo into being better, but it really does appeal to me.

As a side note, I tried out my sister-in-law's flash, and after reading my manual again, I don't think it works on my cam. Kind of a bummer. I also think I'll let my husband sell her 100-300mm lens. I might hold on to the 35-80mm for now.

Photojournalism, B&W

So, I ran across this website today about social documentary. I was looking at this photo series that a man in Illinois did on homeless people, all in black and white, and I was thinking that I needed to experiment more with B&W.

Usually I love the look. I think I read once that B&W is a good treatment to use if the color in the color version doesn't add anything to the story (or maybe is not particularly exciting). I also think B&W treatment adds a certain drama to a photo, but that's not to say that color photos can't be dramatic, because they absolutely can, of course. I would also hazard to guess that good B&W landscapes are fewer and further between than good B&W portraits, still life, etc. I'm sure most photographers would say that they consider applying B&W on a case-by-case basis.

I happened to take a few photos of my friends the other night at their house (they may soon resent being friends with me if I keep posting photos of them!) that I thought looked better with a black and white treatment. But I'll also post the color version for comparison.

B&W:






















And the color version:






















I liked B&W better for this photo for several reasons:

1. The color doesn't add anything.
2. In fact, I think the color detracts from the photo, partly because of that purple-ish TV glow resting on them.
3. I think M stands out more in the foreground in the B&W version.

I also want to experiment with treating some street photography in B&W. I'm thinking I might find it more appealing that way. There's something about a random street scene in color that looks like, well, a random street scene. For some reason (and I feel like this might be the mark of an amateur...?), a B&W street photograph looks more intentioned. Like it was meant to be.

Tried the 75-300 IS

Over the long weekend I went out picture-taking with my friend Katie, and we switched lenses for a while to see what the grass was like on the other side. She tried my 50 prime, and I tried her 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS.

It was my first time shooting with a lens with IS. I rather enjoyed the reach -- it was so strange and wonderful to be able to get up close and personal with people really far away. We called it the "paparazzi lens." We just went down to Old Town on a sunny day, and here's what I found.

All of the photos are at ISO 100. This was zoomed all the way to 300mm, at f/7.1. I like the bokeh in this shot (thanks to 300mm!):



























So we walked down to the waterfront, which was really busy since it was such a nice day. This little family was so cute. I love the mom looking at her guidebook magazine. Also zoomed to 300mm, f/7.1:
























Okay, last one. I like the idea of this photo. I do think it's bordering on the edge of creepy, though. And no, she's not in her house -- she's in a restaurant! The big seafood place down at the waterfront. So, it's kind of stalker-ish, but I like the idea that she's framed, literally, in a window frame.




Overall, I enjoyed using the lens. There were definitely lots of moments where I wanted a wider angle, but I did like the reach. It was amazing how close I could get. But that long reach really makes composition difficult. I'd see a nice scene on the other side of the street, and by the time I got the camera to my face, a car had pulled up and blocked my view. Or a bus. I found cars to be really annoying on this particular "shoot." I guess that's a potential problem with all street photography, but if I'd been using my 50mm, for example, I would have probably been shooting on my side of the street much more often. And actually, there were several instances when I was using my 50 but I still wanted a wider angle.

I'm still waiting for the Feb. 9 Canon announcements to decide what lens I'm getting next.

More street scenes

I tried my hand at "street" photography for a second time yesterday on my lunch break. Although, these photos should probably be categorized as "architecture" since they have few to no people actually in them :) I'm still scared to get in strangers' faces with my camera. The first photo below is one of the only ones with people in it. Settings are ISO 100, f/5:



















I liked the symmetry of the two figures on the L and the R. I would have taken the frame down to the sidewalk if I could have, but I was shooting with my 50mm, and when I backed up enough to get the sides and the top of the building in the frame, there were two parking meters right in the bottom center of the picture -- where the door is. So I cropped those out because they were ugly.

I also had no idea how the white of this building would look. I think I've done okay, but I don't really have much to go off of other than my own eye. As I said, I took these on my lunch break, so it was about noon, and the sun was high, clear sky. That light isn't excellent for most photography.

Here's another store front. There are some really interesting-looking (& colorful) buildings in Old Town. Settings are ISO 100, f/5:






















I think I may have gotten a little out of control when adjusting the red tones on this one. It's so hard to tell what a photo actually looks like when you're moving it from program to program, where colors are rendered differently. I had no idea what this would look like on the web.

Ah, well -- excuses, excuses, right? I processed all of these in Lightroom (the beta). I'm trying to remember to use Lightroom instead of DPP from now on because I want to decide if I'm going to buy the full version when the beta is yanked. I do like LR... I like the amount of control it gives you, even if that sometimes makes it difficult to know when to stop adjusting! And it has the "straighten" tool, which DPP doesn't offer for some reason. I use it a lot :)

Also, a Wish List update: I may have changed my mind about what lens I want next. I really want to replace that kit lens, no matter when I get a new camera body, so I might go for the EF 24-70 f2.8L next. It's currently $1,277 on Amazon.com. I'm hoping to get it before March if I do end up going to NYC.

First try at street photography

I took the metro in to see my cousin on Sunday. I took my camera and went with the intention of forcing myself to try some real street photography -- candids of people in the street, store fronts, etc. But it was so freezing outside that I could barely walk from one building to the next without my fingers falling off (had on the fingerless gloves to leave them free to manipulate camera settings).

So anyway, I compromised by taking some photos in the metro. Here's one of the only shots I took of actual people -- there's something intimidating about photographing people that you don't know at such a close distance. It'll take some getting used to. It's at ISO 800, f2:

It's a reflection in the window. I then saw an even better composition, from directly behind them, and moved back a row of seats to get the entire scene in the frame, then someone promptly sat down right behind them -- in the way. Guess that's another peril of street photography. Bummer.

I enjoy looking at street photography, so I'm going to try my hand at it again when it's not so cold outside. I'll probably take my camera with me to work occasionally and try some shooting down in Old Town on my lunch break or something. I anticipate Old Town being quite a lucrative location. We'll see. First I need to see some temperatures above freezing!