National Geographic photo editor David Griffin’s inspiring talk at TED about how photography connects us to our world.
Hi-res versions available on the TED website.
If you missed the video of James Nachtwey’s 2007 TED Prize acceptance, check it out here. Simply amazing.
When I first saw photos taken with the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye over at Whateverland, one of my favorite photoblogs, I was instantly intrigued. I enjoy using wide-angle lenses and this one looked like a lot of fun. So a few weeks ago I rented the Sigma 4.5mm and headed out to Discovery Green in Houston and the local TAMU campus to see what it could do.
The Sigma 4.5mm f2.8 EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM lens offers a full 180 degree field of view (and an insanely long name) on digital cameras with APS-C (crop-factor) sensors. Having never used a fisheye lens before, I didn’t really know what to expect. It is a little disorienting to look though the viewfinder and see most of it black, with just a circle providing a view of what lays before you.
With everything in front of you in the frame, exposure and composition are tricky. The 180 degree view can confuse the camera’s meter if the frame has dramatic shift in light to dark. I had to constantly underexpose by almost a full stop to avoid blowing out the highlights when shooting outside. And with a lens this wide, you really have to get close to your subject to make it stand out. The lens does have a very close focusing distance (5.3 inches), allowing you to exaggerate the fisheye effect for items closest to the lens.
Exposure isn’t all that the lens’s ultra-wide POV affects. Sometimes focusing is a little difficult as well. When taking a photo with nothing prominent in the foreground, my camera had a tough time locking focus. This isn’t anything wrong with the lens’s focusing capability, just that the lens is so wide the camera has a tough time finding enough detail and contrast to lock focus. I’ve had the issue when using other ultra-wide lenses, like Canon’s 10-22mm. On my 20D, selecting the center focus point tends to increase my chances in these situations.
When there was enough contrast for the camera to auto focus, the HSM focus system performed admirably. This was the first time I’ve used a Sigma lens with HSM and it is a dramatic improvement over the non-HSM equipped Sigma lenses I’ve used in the past. My Sigma 70-300 APO sounds like it could wake the neighbors when it focuses (or tries to at least). Focusing with the 4.5mm fisheye is a much quieter affair. With HSM, I only had to worry about the 20D’s embarrassingly loud mirror slap drawing attention to my camera.
As you would expect, build quality is better than Sigma’s less expensive line of lenses. The 4.5mm is heavier than I expected it to be, and it feels solid with everything fitting together well. The focusing ring doesn’t wobble like some lenses (Canon EFS line, I’m talking to you). The matte finish is attractive and adds a little comfort to holding the lens.
On the negative side, fringing is common around the frame when in bright conditions and flare is something to be careful of. Illuminating the inside of the lens is all too easy. Most lenses take care of these issues with a lens hood, but since anything in front of the lens shows up in the frame, a hood isn’t a possibility.
I’m not someone who shoots focus charts or views my photos at 400%, but the images appear sharp with good color. I’ve linked to full-sized images converted to jpeg with no post processing so you can judge for yourself. Overall, I was impressed with the level of detail this lens could capture given how wide it is and how little of the frame it uses.
The Sigma 4.5mm fisheye is a lot of fun, but I can’t see myself wanting to have one all the time. I consider a lens this wide a novelty, even more so than a typical fisheye. Its interestingness comes from its unique perspective and isn’t something I would want to use on a regular basis. But if you’re looking to get the ‘peephole effect’ from a lens it is definitely worth checking out.
View the full-sized images taken with the Sigma 4.5mm lens over at Flickr, or download all of them at once in a zip file here (6.62MB).
I took the short drive to Houston to check out Discovery Green and play around with the Sigma 4.5mm circular fisheye lens. I should have a review of the lens sometime next week.
Long exposures with the Holga can be a little tricky. With just one shutter speed (1/125 or so) and one aperture (f13) doing anything with the standard mode is pretty much out of the question. Some models have a bulb mode, but since there is no meter it’s a guessing game when it comes to proper exposure length.
So I figured I would cheat and use the 20D to meter the scene. I set the 20D to f13, set the ISO to match the film speed, and framed the shot to match the Holga the best I could. Using the 20D’s meter, I set the proper shutter speed and fired off a test shot. If it looked good it was the one I wanted to use for the Holga.
Without a cable release for the Holga, I have to press and hold the shutter manually. I don’t have a watch either, so counting down the seconds is an inexact science. Essentially I just press the shutter and then count out the seconds in my head - one-one thousand, two-one thousand, etc - until time is up and I release the shutter. Not much to it.
I’ve only tried this once, but it works pretty well. The biggest issue is the camera shake due to the lack of a proper cable release.
Here is one of the better exposed shots from my first attempt. The exposure time was about four seconds.
Last Saturday our local photography group had access to a Lamborghini Diablo for a group photo shoot. This was a thrill since I spent a considerable portion of my teenage years drooling over cars in “Road & Track” and “Motor Trend” magazines. Mixing fast cars and photography is about as good as it gets.
After finding a parking lot with enough green grass nearby to provide a decent background, we started shooting. Cars like the Diablo aren’t exactly common around here, and we drew plenty of looks from passers-by wondering what we were doing with such an unusual car. I think someone asked if we were working on an ad.
Shooting cars can be a challenge. You really have to keep an eye out for harsh shadows and reflections that can spoil a shot. Since I like to use a wide-angle lens, I spent a lot of time crawling around the parking lot trying to keep my reflection out of the picture. Is there a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon? 
With another successful group shoot in the bag, I’m already curious to see what we come up with for the next outing.
I’m using my Holga on a more regular basis these days. It is nice to have a film camera for those times I don’t want to feel obligated to import and process images right away. I can just go out, take a few frames and repeat until the roll is finished.
And now that I have a scanner capable of digitizing the medium format negatives I can still share them online. I picked up a refurbished Epson 4490 from the Epson website for $98 shipped. A steal considering it costs almost $20 to have a single roll scanned at a local shop. So now I just pay about $1 for expired film and another $5 to develop the negatives. 
And I really get a kick out of the look the Holga produces. Yes, it isn’t difficult to reproduce in Photoshop, but sometimes I want to spend as little time behind the computer as possible.
After my current roll is finished, I plan to setup the Holga to take 35mm film, so I can get the cool “image over the sprocket hole” effect.
One of my favorite sources for Holga info is the Squarefrog website.
Thursday night several area photographers met up for what I hope becomes a regular gathering of photo geeks. The idea had been floating around over at Texas Photo Forum for awhile, but only last week did we have the people to actually make it happen. Seven of us met at Fox & Hound for food, drinks and photo talk. After dinner some of us decided to brave the cold and do some shooting.
One of the group members was able to get a friend of a friend to come out and be our subject for the last minute shoot. She was awesome and stuck it out though the 40 degree temperatures as we set everything up and started shooting. We were out there for almost two hours before calling it quits so we could get the feeling back in our hands and feet.
Only one of my images turned out well enough to post (critiques are encouraged), but it was a great learning experience. I’ve already made a mental checklist of things I need to do differently next time to get better results.
The best part is that it looks like we will be doing this type of thing on a regular basis. If you are in the B/CS area, check out Texas Photo Forum or the BCS Photographers Flickr group for more information on future meetups.
If you’re trying to fill the entertainment void created by the writer’s strike and lame reality TV, I recommend checking out "At Close Range with National Geographic." The one-hour documentary gives us a look into the personal and professional life of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore. It’s a must watch for photo geeks and National Geographic fans who want to better understand the dedication it takes to capture some of the worlds best images.