Editing of some photographs, and as I’m deleting dust, I realize they are birds…
I’ve been doing long exposure for too long…
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Category: Blogging
We woke up to a very foggy morning that had engulfed our area during the night.
With nothing pressing on my agenda, I got my kids off to school, packed my car with my photo gear, and headed off to try to capture some of this elusive weather.
Not knowing how long the fog would last, time was of the essence, but I also knew that I had to be careful on a day like today.
In the back of my head, I heard my inner voice, my wife and a recent conversation with Joe all going off, so I drove down to the mega-sporting goods store in Downingtown, looking for orange apparel, only to find a very limited inventory, and in only youth sizes.
Do I drive over to Exton? Or just head on out, being extremely careful?
Personally, I think I looked more like a bear, carrying a tripod, but that is another conversation…
I left the store, I jumped into my car, and headed north on Creek Rd, towards the boat launch area of Marsh Creek State Park.
As I drove along road, I could see areas of fog along the Brandywine that were beginning to thin out, and I begun to wonder if this day was going to be a bust of a trip, but I continued on.
When I turned on to N. Reeds Rd., and was looking over the horse pasture, and on to the lake, there was nothing but grey-white fog, and I knew I was going to have some fun!
I parked at the main lot at the bottom of the hill, where normally, the bumper of your car to the water is may be 40 feet, but now because of the drawdown and gradual slope to the ‘underwater’ terrain, the nearest lake water is easily over 100 feet away!
As I get out of the car, and I am packing my photography vest, getting ready for my walk, I can easily overhear three guys yelling between themselves about what to do about a boat.
I could not make it all out, but what I could, sounded was rather comical, and they where definitely making the best of it.
It is hard not to be amazed at this new landscape the 8 foot drawdown has revealed, and with the shallow slope of the southern launch area, the water seemed miles away.
The fog had receded a little bit, and condensed a little into a light mist, which would accumulate into water droplets when it hits such things as your lens.
It was not until I rounded the corner of the barbecuing point, did I realized why those three gentlemen had been so excited in their earlier conversations.
The launch ramp where normally one would back their boat down into the water, was now a mixture of sand, mud and rocks, and the water was well over 100 feet away.
No easy task, and the risk of getting your vehicle stuck was rather high.
The three gentlemen had used their truck to move their boat to the grassy area next to the launch.
From there, they dragged their boat over firmer sand and mud, and finally into the water!
Talk about dedicated fishers!
I continued north of the launch area, and rounded another small little point, where I saw a series of beautiful old tree stumps that had weathered over many years of being underwater, and now the roots look more like the tentacles of an squid.
As I continued to walk along the shoreline, I was greeted with forrest present-day fossils of shapes that were once living trees.
After some time of collecting more images, I finally reached the Chalfant Rd entrance to the park and proceeded along the coastline a little bit more, until I reached a very peculiar outcropping of rocks, that just made me stop.
It was very apparent that there was a layer structure to the rocks, but there also seems to be indication that the rock has bent. How?
This does not make sense, but it will be a good conversation with my wife later on tonight.
I turned around, and started back to the car, knowing that I had allot of image processing that I needed to start on…
Update
2012-Dec-17 – In doing my normal daily reading, I ran across these following links of interest at they relate to the Marsh Creek Lake/State Park water drawdown:
- Fishing Fever #40 … Marsh Creek Lake Draw Down
- Fish Habitat Improvement Plan Map – Marsh Creek Lake, Chester County
This Gordon’s Supply Company page, that shows the 2010 drawdown, as well as some historic images from the 1970s!
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My daughter and I, were just returning from dropping off my son a birthday party, and we were just getting out of the car and heading into the house.
As I was opening up the front door with my keys, I noticed out of the corner my eye something on the lawn, and a focused on the object.
I was startled to realize, that I was looking at an immature Red-tailed Hawk, standing in the middle my front yard, eating something.
I motioned to my daughter to get her attention, and then to be quiet, by putting my finger to my lips with one hand, and pointing to the direction of interest with my other hand.
Seconds later, there was this very quiet – “That’s cool!”
What was even more astonishing, was the bird did not seem to care at all about what was going on around it.
Cars drove up and down the street, people open and close doors, and dogs barked, which did draw some attention, but not what you would expect for a bird on the ground.
As Madison and I continued to look at the hawk, out of the corner of our eyes, we saw my wife’s vehicle coming down the hill, and as the van approached, Madison ran to warn my wife to be quiet.
I took this opportunity, to run into the house and grab my camera!
When I returned, Amy and Madison were watching the hawk, and I started to take pictures.
Again I was amazed with the docileness of the creature as it stood there and feed.
As I took more pictures, I soon realized that Madison had returned with her iPod, and was taking pictures, and I was able to direct her into taking pictures of me, taking pictures of the bird, and I soon returned the favor!
At one point, I was on my stomach, and I had crawled within about 8 feet of the hawk, with my 70-300 mm lens, and was able to get some really nice portraits of our bird.
After a few more minutes, I suggested that we go inside, and allow our friend to eat in peace.
As we walked into the house, Madison asked, “Can we call him ‘Mr. Hawking’?”
Updates
10/6/2012 – With some help from local bird photographers, Mike Mill, and his father, Mike Blue Mill, helped to identify this beautiful creature as an immature Red-tailed Hawk. One of the reasons that we were able to get so close was because it is so young, and does not know to fear humans.
Additional Images
– Andrew
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No, I am not searching for the TV Remote, this time…
But a for a new Remote for my photography work.
Back when I first purchased my Canon XTi in 2007, I also purchased both the
Remote Switch RS-60E3 and Wireless Remote Controller RC-1, and have used them various times over the years, but after seeing a couple of recent Posts on Facebook and Google+, the thoughts of looking for something new has begun.
In reading the Posts, I was also left with what kind? A dedicated stand-alone unit or connected to my iPod Touch, and did I want to be able to program the unit?
Dedicated Stand-alone
The first article that I read was on Stand-alone units, “6 top remote releases tested and rated” on photozz.com that got me thinking about upgrading my old Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3.
In reading the article, the Hähnel Giga T Pro II Remote Control is the top pick, and has a video on YouTube showing one the various features, and runs about $100 USD form various outlets.
Mobile connectivity
In my daily reading, I also spotted a Google+ post in which the author announced that they had just received their TriggerHappy, and was excited to try it out.
In following the thread, I was also made aware of the Triggertrap Mobile combination, so my researching began.
Making the Connection
In the case of the Hähnel Giga T Pro II, there are two parts, the wireless transmitter and the receiver that sits on the camera. The unit easily does remote triggering, interval, and long exposures, but does lack any direct HDR functionality.
With both TriggerHappy and Triggertrap, you need cable from the camera to the Control device (iOS (or Android)), and there is a significant range in price for cables.
Cables
To connect my iPod Touch, the cables from TriggerHappy (E3) would cost $49.95, while the Triggertrap’s would require two different cables, a Triggertrap Mobile Dongle ($9.99) and a CL-E3 Camera Cable ($9.99). The easy price winner is Triggertrap.
Software
The Trigger Happy Remote App on iTunes is Free, and is currently at v 1.0.2 (8/8/12), while the Triggertrap (v 1.2.0 (8/2/12)) is available in two versions: Free (limited to 3 trigger modes (Cable Release, vibration sensor and time-lapse) and the Full Premium version at $9.99 on iTunes. The winner here is Trigger Happy, how do you beat Free!
Interface
Both software applications seem to be able to perform Remote trigger, Bulb, time-lapse, plus HDR captures, which is something that I am very interested in.
When looking at the HDR controls, the TriggerHappy app seems to allow 1/3 step increments, which allows for finer control, while the Triggertrap seems limited to full stops, so the Edge here seems to be TriggerHappy.
The real separation between the two applications seems to be the various triggers that are available, and the edge in this case seems to be Triggertrap with 5 sensors (Sound, Shock/Vibration, Metal/Magnetic), 4 modes (HDR Time-lapse, Distance-lapse, Motion detection, Cable release and Star Trail), as well as Facial Recognition.
Conclusion
I like the wireless concept of the Hähnel Giga T Pro II, but the price and lack of HDR capabilities takes it out of consideration.
A big concern of mine, when looking at both these systems, is having to carry and connect my iPod Touch, which my not seem like allot, but when you are standing in 2-3 of water in a rushing stream/river, it could be an issue. I also have to wonder what to do during the winter, when the iPod might be exposed to colder temperatures.
Update – (8/10/12 @ 23:18) – In a response to my original Post, I have received info on the “RAP-B-121-UN7U The RAM Universal X-Grip Cell Phone Holder and Clamp” by TripodClamps.com, which looks like a very promising attachment for hold the iPod to my tripod. Thanks Marty Cohen!
The TriggerHappy does seem to support finer exposure controls, with the 1/3 stop settings, but basic HDR exposures should be able to compensate for that, if correctly bracketed.
With all that has been written above, it seems that at this point, the Triggertrap system would be the most versatile and cost efficient purchase, and will be purchased shortly after the posting of this blog entry.
As always, questions and comments are welcome and encouraged!
– Andrew
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Over the past couple of days, I have been exchanging phone calls with a potential Photo Restoration client, and today I finally got to met Eleanor and my new project, Michael Moran.
From what Eleanor had told me on the phone, was the original was 16×20 inches, mounted into a new wooden frame some years ago.
When Eleanor arrived, the picture was packaged in bubble wrap and a white garbage bag, being especially careful, since it had rained lightly earlier in the day.
As we sat and talked, I reiterated that it was not very common for people to get pictures done because of the expense and time involved, let alone an immigrant of the 1800s, and especially at a large size!
“I have a call into my brother to confirm that Michael Moran was from Ireland. He married Mary Hughes here in the States. Four children were born and 3 survived to adulthood (one of which was my grandmother). He became the Head Farmer for the Cassatt estate until he died of pneumonia.” – Eleanor
We chatted some more, and when Eleanor left, I knew I was in for a really good adventure with this Restoration project!
The first thing that I wanted to do, was document what I was doing, just encase I was confronted with some issue as I progressed.
Inspection
So, how was I going to get this thing apart?
Turing it over, I inspected how the internal frame was connected to the external picture, and I was able to find five (5) small nails holding the picture to the frame.
Thankfully, these nails were easily removed with a pair of needle-nose pliers and some careful tugs.
Once the exterior frame was separated from the interior one, the next element to be aware of was the large pane of glass, and when it was removed, and inspected more carefully, had several ripples as a sign of age.
It was also now possible to closely inspect the surface tears and map them to the backside of the frame.
Toward the middle of the image, there was this pair of tears, one going all the way through to the fiber of the cloth backing, and a strange blue mark:
and near the bottom of the image, there was this tear:
Note – You can double-click on the pictures to get a larger view of the damage.
Some of the damage appears to be simple cracks to the surface, along with other water stains.
When looking at the edges, there is noticeable damage to the cloth used to connect the images to the frame.
Scanning
I always have a concern when I am faced with a large print, especially of this size!
What also makes this digitization more challenging, is the fixed wood frame that the image is suspended on.
Most of the time, I encounter loose original prints that are not mounted, and with the condition of the cloth material, there was no way that I was going to remove this image from the frame for scanning.
The scanner I use, is an old Epson Perfection 4490 Photo, which I bought numerous years ago, and has a scanning bed of approximately 9×13 inches.
Another requirement of this project, was to scan the original to be Printed at 100%, which I knew was going to make for some very BIG files, but I had a plan, and hoped that my scanner was up for the task.
My solution, like many times before, was to break up the scan into four (4) sections: upper-left, upper-right, lower-left, and lower right, and then combine them into one image using Adobe Photoshop layers.
The final concern, and the most important, the scanners depth-of-field, which is exactly the same concept as with cameras, but with desktop scanners, the depth-of-field is very shallow, and the beveled lip on the edge of the scanner was not going to help, even if it was only 2-3 mm above the glass surface.
I lined up the first corner, leaving just a little break between the scanners capture edge and the edge of the print.
Once aligned, I placed a soft folded cloth on top, and then added some weights to gently and evenly press as much of the picture surface to the glass bed of the scanner as possible, and repeated three more times.
Photoshop
Once I had the four (4) quadrants scanned into 16-bit TIFF files, my next step was to combine the scans into one image, making absolutely sure that the images overlapped enough to mask out any softness that might have occurred during the scanning stage.
Thankfully, and once again, my Epson did not let me down!
Once combined, the final image is beginning to take shape.
From here, it is just taking the time to use the various tools within Photoshop to clean-up the various issues caused by cracks, rips, tears and water. For more information on how to handle these issues, please consult the various reference materials that are available on the internet.
Proof Image
After several hours of clean-up and tweaking, the proof image looks like this:
but remember, it is always the Client that has the final say!
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