Candid Russia

The tree is a remarkable thing.

Every other weekend tends to see me sitting down by the lake staring at this tree as it goes from season to season... It's so alone there... (I know I've really got to get some model work in soon) but me and that tree have got a relationship... when it rains and the storms blow outside I can see the tree bending on the banks, bowing under the pressure of natures assault.....




Imagine it flowing with green leaves and the sun riding over the lake. I am waiting for that picture... not long now.



Starting to mellow out... even thinking about getting a dog! I think it'll appreciate the tree too..

A new updated Isix has hit the market offering 7.4 mega pixels..
SD500 - new Canon


7.4 megapixel CCD
2.0-inch color TFT monitor
37-111mm (equal to.) F2.8 - 4.9, 3x optical zoom
640 x 480 movies at 30fps
Fast frame rate movies (320x240 pixels @ 60fps)
Print/Share button
New 'hold' feature
Nine scene selections
Custom white balance
Spot, center-weighted and evaluative metering
DIGIC II and iSAPS
9-point AiAF

I think 7.4 pixels may be just the job for the 'candid' folk out there..

I am a photo junkie now.... before I think was more of a photographer!

Digital media has set us apart.

When using film I feel like a photographer - more attentive, but when using digital, I feel like a junkie looking for a photo fix - Clint Eatwood on speed just firing them off at any would be target.

Why? Pyschological.... pyschosis... delusional...

Take two photographers. Aim them at the same object - one with digital and the other with film. Will there be a notable difference on an A3 poster. No!

The difference is in the process... it's almost romantic.. dabbling in the dark room as an image rises up from the chemical swell below you.. so maybe now we will relegate the film camera to those intimate moments. It's like playing an old record track on a Dansette - nostalgic.. yes... already. Now Photo Shop is the dark room and it's absolutely vital for creative juices.. some history on photoshop

All of the small holiday snap stores are dieing off as the first of the endangered species fade away. The corporate bodies are flexing their muscles as we devour the immediacy of the digital camera revolution.

Me, well, I was always up for a revolution, but this was more of an emancipation from romanticism by default...

Digital works better.... just promise yourself to avoid 'AUTO' and everything will be ok... you will be fine.... you will be a photographer - maybe an even better one than before....

NIKON has been sussed... and confess to two new digitals coming out soon! Great..

Both cameras have been designed to meet the requirements of the entry-level digital SLR user. The first will position itself as successor to the Nikon D70, offering an upgraded version to this highly commended D-SLR. The camera will incorporate the latest in Nikon technology, whilst retaining the functionality and quality which has come to be expected from the D70.

In addition to this, Nikon will be introducing a second D-SLR, specifically designed for consumers looking to upgrade from a digital compact to the next level of digital photography. The camera will be affordable and easy to use, perfect for the D-SLR beginner.

I hope we get more info soon - eyes peeled

I have a feeling I might be getting a nikon for the summer:-)

The Nokia N90 multimedia has a Carl Zeiss lens (oooohhh), 2 megapixel resolution (ahhhh), 20x digital zoom (for what exactly), auto focus, flash, macro mode and video capture.

The flip and twist N90, reminiscent of the Panasonic AV series, houses a RS-MMC card and its PictBridge-compatible, and Bluetooth-enabled for wireless printing.


The N90 is a bit Star trek for me, but worth a look at - expect it in three months - still, prefer a small compact but for covert operations could be very useful in clubs where cameras are banned..

I'm all for the suffering artiste within us, and some have labelled me with this title...

Photography is artistic afterall. How you approach photography is what really defines the role of the camera. Of course, the camera matters if you are are shooting for a magazine or planning to publish large prints. The camera DOES matter. However, if you are aiming to gain pleasure simply for yourself, then, I would say it does not. It's the photographer, either hobbyist or professional, who composes the picture from the depths of their minds eye.. or simply fires off that pefect shot. The fact is, we all see things differently. I am always heard saying, "you don't see it?".. and many don't because my mind sees things differently... regardless of the tool at hand it is what you compose that defines the moment.... never be ashamed of what you see.. frame it!

For example, I use three very different cameras for very different kinds of photography

A casio Exilim.

Why on earth would a person who calls himself a photographer buy a 'toy' hang around your neck gimmickie thing like that?

Well, here is one reason:



Do you see it?

I took this impromptu shot with the exilim. To me it underlines the need of such a camera - always at hand and always ready. I could have leapt on the floor and started crawling around, but, I fear the result would have been somewhat more colourful. It could have had more detail... more this... more that... but I ask you again... DO YOU SEE IT?

The Z2 is also useful with that 10X zoom... plodding along aimlessly one cold afternoon last month... I saw this:






Do you see it?




The EOS300D... the business as far as I am concerned used with a Sigma F4 5.6 11 lense.



Do you see it?


If you see only difference, then, you see technics where there should be something more of you and less of your camera...


D'arcy

The Canon EOS 300D.

After scouring the net for months I finally purchased a Cannon EOS 300D digital camera – black bodied model.

It cost me $1500 which included: a Sigma lens, standard EFS kit lens, battery grip handle, 128 mb disk, and a bag. I thought that was a good deal, especially as I am based in Moscow, Russia where customer service is a vicious rumour quickly dispelled by any self respecting shop assistant here..



I take pictures. I am not going to offer a mechanics view of the camera as you can get that over at numerous review sites. I’m just offering an opinion on a photographic tool I have chosen as part of my kit. I did not choose the Nikon D70 as the Cannon, for me, suited my needs perfectly, especially with the additional battery grip, which is important for when you’re hanging from ceilings as I do some days and just need that bit more grip. The D70, although with a sturdier body and some technical superiority, did not beat the EOS 300D on Image quality. I tried both… In fact, the EOS 300D and D70 both equaled the Cannon 10D’s in resolution. It’s a difficult decision to make, but mine was based on personal usage and at the end of the day the Canon suited me perfectly for portfolios, commercial and medium sized prints and offered the adaptability I needed.



Now ‘Elvira’ as I have named her is proving to be winning in the popularity stakes between girlfriend and photography. She always responds to my touch, pays for her own meals, never says no on Sundays and frankly speaking is not as ‘high maintenance’ attention wise. In fact, I am in lurve…

Ok – she’s a little bit tacky in places, but her curves turn alot of heads so kudos to cannon on designing a camera that looks the part aesthetically wherever your photography may take you. More to the point, you will find it actually is the PART in more ways than one, especially when you start experimenting (and investing) in new lenses. I just hope you’re not the jealous type because an endless amount of people want to taste her charms for themselves so guard her well from eager hands.



Firstly, it’s not all champagne and roses between me and Elvira: she slaps me around a little bit. The flash has a tendency to smack me in the nose at every over shoot. So if you are a bit Gonzalesed in the nose department you might want to invest in a viewer extension which might help you avoid some nose bleeds. You should also get to grips with Adobe immediately as that will be your dark room from now on. Canon provide an excellent elements adobe 2 and file transfer software.

Things I don’t like about the EOS 300D:

- the plastic body, although not being too bad at all, is still plastic and the grips should have been rubber
- the fact I can’t protect the display
- view finder is a bit small
- the flash hitting me in the nose
- can under expose with flash, but get a better flash or learn adobe
- the lack of PC sync for external strobes.
- flash as auto focus assist light, but you get used to it



Things I do Like about the EOS 300D:

- Resolution to equal a 10D
- Light weight body and essential battery hand grip
- The price!
- Superb 7 point auto focus really does the job in action photography
- It’s finally in BLACK
- ISO Selection to 1600
- Effective auto modes and enough freedom to be creative away from them
- Superb lense for $99 in the kit
- Excellent software to get your dark room up and running
- Excellent macro
- The shot-to-shot speed is very impressive - just fire away
- the camera's 1.6x focal length conversion factor - So that 18 - 55 mm lens is really 28.8 - 88 mm
- Ability to get Af/AFS lenses so I can grow



So, I eloped with Elvira for two score weeks. The results were profound.

The images on this site are all fond memories of Elvira and me romping around Moscow like children examining a secret garden of new found delights oblivious to the normality of the grim world surrounding us (getting bored yet). Isn’t that what photography is: you, a lense, and an eye for the world?

I love my Elvira and as I understand it she has a whole family just waiting to seduce you with her charms.

You will be consumed by your addiction.

D’arcy