First shots with my new ‘L’ glass.
My spanking new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM finally arrived from the USA last week, and at merely USD$50 more than the regular American price, fully shipped and insured. Thanks in part to an instant cashback from Canon, and a little shifty importing (thanks Linda).
So far, I've only been out shooting twice, and even then only for a short time. I find there's a bit of a learning curve with Image Stabilisation, but I absolutely love the lens and I'm glad I paid for IS despite the slight (but noticable) drop in sharpness. I can already tell it's going to leave me with a much higher percentage of usable shots, and the lacking sharpness is easily taken care of in Photoshop.
Needless to say, all the rave reviews are true, I just wish I could get an extra 100mm in the zoom range at f/2.8, for the weight... oh, and a pony.
Speaking of weight, it's as heavy as a bag full of rocks, but surprisingly comfortable to use with the tripod ring removed. Unfortunately it's impossible to use one-handed unless supported by a monopod, meaning that particularly precarious shooting positions which normally require gripping something with one hand for safety, are now... less safe. However, the length of the lens allows for some creative gripping options when using the environment to steady yourself, which is a huge plus for low-light work.
I'm really looking forward to doing something more serious with my new camera and lens, but in the mean time I believe it's customary to post a few cliché test shots of the 'getting to know you' phase.
I took my mother down to Dromana for lunch, yesterday. She was running a bit late, so say hello to her hibiscus.
Here's the obligatory but incredibly hackneyed shot of the cappuccino after lunch.
Finally, here's a quick portrait of my mother, with classic Eastern European moustache and all.
Dromana is a quaint little town with a great 'fish n chip' joint (the green one) and a couple of nice cafés. I thorougly recommend a visit next time you're 50 or 60 kilometers out of Melbourne in the wrong direction.
Anyway, this ends the trite shots of my first brief outing with my new lens. With any luck I'll get some time to shoot more of what I really enjoy, soon. Wish me good light ;)
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I’m jealous, that’s a beautiful lens. Živka isn’t so bad either.
Can’t wait so see what you can really do with it…and the lens.
How attentive of you! ;)
Tell you what, I’ll see if I can get her to start a site. I’ve heard there’s a killer geriatric market out there, just waiting to be tapped.
Wow, I hope she doesn’t read your blog, you dirty prick :P She’s a really nice woman. I’m sure she’d have a heart attack if you asked her that.
That’s a really nice portrait of her, too. I’d ask you to shoot me, except I’m not sure how you’d interpret that.
“killer geriatric market out there, just waiting to be tapped.” - mish
(A quote begging to be punned, so I’ll play along :) )
Well, I have been thinking of tapping some geriatrics.
The ones with colostomy bags are a real time saver.
Upon reflection it’s probably a better idea to just hit them with a Nigerian royalty scam ;) At least, cleaner.
L.O.L.
Speaking of which, did your mom get my email telling her about The Australian Office of Fair Trading? Her identity is too precious to be stolen.
I’d hate to see her end up with nada.
Wow, those are some beautiful pictures. I especially love the cappuccino shot.
Just a thought, though - any reason you’ve cut out portion of the target object in all three pictures?
Thanks Karthik
Yeah, coffee makes a great subject! Actually i’ve been meaning to post a few more, so I’ll have to get around to that ASAP.
I’ve never really articulated it, so I want to thank you for asking why I crop the way I do, because I’ve really enjoyed coming to terms with it directly in my mind before coming to write this.
Despite the above trend, I don’t always crop out chunks of my subject, but I definitely do have a preference towards framing that’s a little more awkward.
I think dead-center subjects can appear a little clinical, which is absolutely the right thing for stuff like product shots, or visual documentation, but most of my favourite shots of people or objects are a long way from clinical.
We’re all pretty much aware that a good photo will emphasise the most important part while de-emphasising extraneous information, right?… I suppose what I try to do is take that basic concept a step further - which I think makes the images a little bit less comfortable (and hence a bit more unusual), but I think the real reason is perhaps more practical than artistic.
Take that portrait of my mother for example. It was taken from an angle above her (she’s seated, and I’m standing) but you can’t really tell because of the crop. Her face isn’t pointed directly at the lens, but again, harder to deduce that because I’ve lopped off the top of her head.
If I hadn’t done that, you’d be looking at a large expanse of hair, which to me, does nothing to convey what’s important about a person’s face. Also, if I’d chosen to trade her hair for her neck/outfit the centre of the image would feature her forehead, instead of her expression.
I quite understand that It’s not everyone’s cup of coffee though, which leads me to the cappuccino shot. I had a wider shot of that available, so I thought I’d explain myself a little more visually.
Thanks again for asking, I really valued the experience of explaining that to myself. I hope you forgive me for answering in far too much detail.
Wow, extremely interesting - and you are right. Looking at the original, I’d have given more importance to the picture as a whole, rather than the coffee. The final version that you have, of course, emphasizes the importance of the coffee while de-emphasizing the coffee cup. Nice!
Color me impressed.
If you take it a step further. It may have been a coincidence/accident, but the cropping of each picture moves the eye from the lower/center left to the upper right and then out of the frame.
In the flower picture, I notice the stamen first and then am moved out of the frame by the broken petal.
In the coffee picture, I notice the froth first but when I notice the spoon it changes the dynamics…From the spoon I am moved quickly to the froth and out of the frame from the broken handle. (The angle is also exaggerated in the table.)
In the picture of your mother, the movement is there but it’s subtle…notice the angle of the earrings, glasses, smile, and amplified in the necklace. The pattern in the shirt, the texture of her face (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and the fluidity of her hair create enough interest that the large cropped sections seem insignificant.
That’s a really interesting observation, and while I wouldn’t have phrased it that way, I certainly recognise it as something I enjoy seeing in a photograph.
I think cropping part of the subject emphasises that this is just a portal that you’re looking through. When a photograph includes an entire isolated subject, there’s nothing to engage the imagination. What you see is all there is… but when you hide part of it, I think it makes the viewer quite aware that they’re only being shown a deliberate selection of a much bigger moment.
I actually think that’s what photography is about. It’s not so much what you see, but what you can imagine based on what you’ve been shown… and your comment relates directly to that, in that you’ve seen more in these photos than I could have imagined in the few seconds I was taking them.