Peter Llewellyn Photography Blog

Monday of this week saw the harvest full moon. A tradition on Gabriola Island is for the local drummers to gather at Drumbeg Provincial Park shortly before sunset and to “drum in the full moon”. They do this each full moon throughout the summer and it can be quite a stirring event. I decided to photograph both the drummers and the rising moon which can be quite a challenge, while the moon hovers low in the sky many photographers opt for long exposures to get the effect they want, but are then very disappointed with the results, not realizing how rapidly the moon actually moves, especially in the early stages of it’s journey above the horizon.

Nikon D3, 105mm f2.8 lens, 1/20th @ f16, Fill flash at -2/3 stop to illuminate drummers, ISO 200
Mounted on Gitzo tripod with Arca Swiss ballhead

It is also very easy for the brightness of the moon to really fool the camera’s metering system, likewise if you continuing photographing until after darkness has set in the amount of the unlit part of your scene can render autoexposure totally useless. The beauty of digital of course is bracket, experiment, and read your histogram. Most people will overexpose the moon at their first attempt and it appears in the photo as a bright blob.

It is  difficult to give clear instructions for shooting lunar images as there are many variables, including the brightness of ambient light, if any, and the angle from the earth at which you are shooting. I usually make a couple of test shots with the camera set at aperture priority automatic, and dial in around 3 to 4 stops of underexposure, making sure I note the exposure the camera gives me. Then I take a look at the image on the camera’s screen and check out the histogram. Now I switch to maual exposure and fre away, regularly checking the image and histogram as the moon rises above the horizon.

A good starting point will be around 1/250th of a second, f16, and ISO 200. Do not be tempted to turn the ISO up - the moon is a bright object set against a dark background and you don’t want to introduce excessive noise into the dark areas.

Remember that long exposures will not work, given more than a couple of seconds you will be surprised how far the moon actually moves, especially as it is rising. Use a tripod, you cannot hand hold these shots, nad use a cable release if you have one. Use the longest lens you have otherwise the moon is going to appear more like a large star. If you are having difficulty focusing simply set your lens at infinity - I am pretty sure the moon is somewhere out at that setting!

A ‘correctly’ exposed moon shot retaining full detail in the craters
Nikon D3, 600mm lens with 1.7 x converter, 125th @ f16, ISO 200 mounted on Gitzo Tripod with Wimberley head tightly locked down and with a cable release to reduce vibration to a minimum

Unfortunately anyone who was interested in booking the Gauatemala Field Trip originally scheduled for January 2009 will be disappointed to learn thatthis trip has been unavoidably cancelled. I will be covering the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne during this period.

Photoshelter, the on-line personal photo archive site has announced the closure of it’s stock sales site, citing ‘difficulties in the stock photography business’. Personally I am finding sales of stock images are increasing, but the main difference is that I am selling to niche markets in which I am known and specialize, whereas Photoshelter and the likes are trying to compete with the big boys like Getty and Corbis and be a major player.

Unfortunately, there is a big difference. The major agencies have a system of quality control and provide top quality images from top quality photographers. Photoshelter accepts images from anyone wishing to pay the up front fees and are actually a ’storage’ company, providing photographers with an off-site back-up and possible sales portal for their images. Of course, not all photographes are very good at quality control on their own images, so when everyones images are combined into a sales portal a potential client is likely to find a considerable number of mediocre images in among the excellent photos available. Photo researchers do not have the time to sort through a pile of mediocre quality images to find the top quality image they want, so inevitably will go back to the major players, knowing they can find only quality images, very quickly.

Even the micro-stock agencies have strict quality control procedures in place, which is one of the secrets to their success.

Moral of the story - be your own worst critic when selecting images to be sent to an agency and choose your sales agents with care.

Adobe has announced that it’s latest version of the Creative Suite will be updated and available as Creative Suite 4 later this month. Availability is currently scheduled for September 23 2008.

The new software Suite will  include Photoshop 4 which will be available as a stand alone upgrade. The new versions have concentrated on speed, both in the workflow and actual program speed, improved integration between the various programs making up the Suite, and huge advances in 3D rendering, although this is likely to be the least important for readers of this blog.

To improve speed issue the new version of Photoshop makes use of the latest computer technology, particularly 64 bit processing and improved use of video cards. (Make sure your video card is good enough - poor video card performance is one of the major causes of slowdown in Apple Aperture so it is likely that this will also be the case in the new version of Photoshop if it is relying on video card performance).

Although not slated to be shipped at the same time as the new version a further enhancment that will shortly be available as an add-on will be the capability to tailory our menu items to show only those that you use. A big critisism of current versions of Photoshop is that it is such a huge program and most users utilize just a small proportion of it. Often the sheer size makes navigating to the areas you want to use difficult and time consuming - soon you will be able to show just the menu items you want.

In addition to the full-blown version of Photoshop there will be a new version of Adobe Elements and a new product, Photoshop Express. Photoshop Express will be an on-line product that will allow you to upload images to an Adobe web site and perform simple adjustments and manipulations and to then download, send, or store the results. This will be a free service that will give the user 5GB of on-line storage. It is aimed at the mass-market user such as cell phone users who will be able to upload images direct to the Adobe site from their phones.

The new version of Adobe Elements, version 7, still aimed at the hobbyist and amateur photographer, will remain basically a stripped down vesion of Photoshop, but with a number of new enhancements. These include an on-line storage of 5Gb and access to several on-line features not available direct within the program, including a range of templates, ideas, and how-to’s. In the future this may include a marketplace to allow your photos to be viewed and possibly sold on-line. Elements pricing will continue to be around $100

Further information and a podcst from Adobe on the new announcements can be found at http://creativesuitepodcast.com/index.php?post_id=375336

After being away on my Olympic assignment for a total of 21 days I am glad to now be back in Canada. My travel home went reasonably smoothly except that once again my Pelican equipment shipping box was opened on each leg of the journey by airport security services.

Now, in principal, I have no objection to the box being opened, but each item inside is carefully packed in foam to it’s assigned place. The total value of the gear inside the box is in the order of $35,000 and represents not only a considerable investment in money but also the means for me to continue my livelihood. Why is it then that the Hong Kong Authorities who opened the box carefully put everything back, exactly as I had packed it, yet the TSA authorities in the USA have a blatant disregard for one’s property and also pack a note inside the opened box stating that they accept no responsibility for damage or loss of contents that may be caused by their actions. After the TSA had opened the box everything was thrown back inside in a totally careless fashion and it is a wonder that everything survived the last flight intact

I believe this is totally unacceptable behaviour, yet what can you do? They provide no means of contacting them and accept no complaints. Unfortunately, typical American behaviour. To add insult to injuty on each of the last 6 occasins I have flown, not only has the box been opened, but every time the special TSA locks have either been totally destroyed or have been removed and not replaced. These locks are designed so that the TSA can open them using a special key, but obviously the use of the key is beyond the understanding of their operatives. Frankly, there is no point in purchasing these locks, you are wasting your money.

If anyone has been able to get any redress from the TSA I would love to hear from you.

I am writing my final blog of this Olympics from my hotel room where we are virtually locked in by Hurricane Nuri that will shortly make a direct hit on Hong Kong. As I am writing the TV is informing me that the hurricane is gaining strength and we are going from Hurricane warning 8 to 9 and may possibly go higher later today. The airport and all local transportation systems are closed down so there is little to do but wait it out. Not even possible to do any photos without risking damage to equipment as there is driving rain and anyway it would be almost impossible to hold a camera still or even remain standing.

The final horse has jumped at the 2008 Olympics, although the win by Canada’s Eric Lamaze was overshadowed by the doping scandal that broke yesterday.

Eric Lamaze (CAN) riding Hickstead, Individual jumping final

To everyones surprise, only 15 horses were so far tested, with four positive results, a very worrying percentage, which begs the question how many got away with it? The FEI needs to address this mater urgently otherwise our sport may be in danger of being dropped from the Olympics altogether. I have a feeling that we have not heard the last of this story.

Gold medalist Eric Lamaze (CAN), Individual jumping final

So, what did I learn from this Olympics?

1. The D3 is the greatest camera Nikon have ever produced, shooting flawlessly in difficult lighting conditions for 10,948 images. (All images available from www.horsesourcephotos.com)
2. The 200-400mm f4 lens is the most versatile telephoto zoom in the Nikon line-up and accounted for well over half of all the images made. Of the remainder most were shot on the 600mm f4 with small numbers on all my other lenses.
3. Equestrian riders and vets are stupid enough to think they can get away with doping horses.
4. Julian Hibbert (who I worked with for many years on the Times newspaper in London when I was shooting general sport and now works for Getty Images) loves photographing dressage. Other photographers in the media centre had a collection to send him for psychiatric analysis and therapy but then decided the money was better spent on beer.
5. For every member of the media there has been 10 volunteers who’s mission was to slow you down in getting from one place to another as much as possible.
6. The Chinese eat pork with almost everything, not good if you are a vegetarian like me. One must also be grateful that the FEI President, Princess Haya of Jordan, who is a Muslim, did not have to eat in the media restaurant or she would now be a very thin person.
7. The Chinese have been much better at organizing the Olympics than anyone thought possible - overall, despite the problems and irritations, this has been a very successful games.
8. I do not want to photograph a horse jumping a fence or prancing around the dressage ring for a very long time!

I certainly hope that you have enjoyed reading my posts from these Olympics. There is a chance that I may be back in sports photography and will attend the London Games, but working as a sports photographer for one of the major agencies. Watch this space!

I will of course still be running my workshops and field trips and look forward to perhaps seeing some of you in the future. I will make a couple more posts from Hong Kong, hurricane Nuri allowing, if I can get out and do some other photography before leaving on Monday.

In a sad turn of events this evening 4 riders have been suspended after horses tested positive for banned substances. If upheld this will affect at least the bronze medal winners.

Alexander Mc, Clin, FEI Secretary General, FEI Press conference to discuss doping suspensions of 4 riders

The riders involved are Chritian Ahlmann of Germany, Bernardo Alves of Brazil, Denis Lynch of Ireland and Tony Andre Hansen of Norway.

I cannot for the life of me understand how these people think they can get away with this behavior. In Hong Kong at the racecourse they have probably the most sophisticated drugs testing facility anywhere in the equestrian world. There is only one word to describe this behaviour - STUPID!

The weather has been kind to us up until now. Tonight it looks like it will be on with the rain covers for cameras and lenses as we are suddenly faced with oncoming Typhoon Nuri. Below is the warning just posted in the media centre - happy days!!

Cyclone warnings posted at Olympic venue

Tropical Cyclone Bulletin

Here is the latest Tropical Cyclone Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.

The Standby Signal, No. 1 is in force.

This means that a tropical cyclone now centred within about 800 kilometres of Hong Kong may affect us.

At 5 p.m., Typhoon Nuri was estimated to be about 340 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong (near 20.5 degrees north 116.8 degrees east) and is forecast to move west-northwest at about 14 kilometres per hour in the general direction of coastal Guangdong.

Nuri is moving closer to Hong Kong steadily. Winds will strengthen overnight. The Observatory will consider issuing the Strong Wind Signal No. 3 in the evening.

According to the present forecast track, Nuri will be rather close to Hong Kong tomorrow. Local winds will further strengthen and there will be squalls and heavy rain. The public should pay close attention to information on the typhoon issued by the Observatory.

(Precautionary Announcements with No. 1 Signal)

1. Some precautions against damage should be taken now, gutters and drains should be cleared of obstructions. Hinges, bolts, locks and shutters of windows and doors should be checked.

2. Since seas are rough and there are swells, you are advised to stay away from the shoreline and not to engage in water sports.

3. All small vessels including low power vessels and fishing vessels in open sea should seek shelter as soon as possible. Please take any precautions necessary for small vessels and secure them properly with moorings.

4. Listen to your radio, watch your TV or browse the Hong Kong Observatory’s web site for information on the tropical cyclone.

As I approach the final event of the equestrian Olympics I look back on what overall has been a very positive experience. Although of course, with any event of this size, there have been a few problems, some of which I have outlined in this blog, the organization, transportation system, information, volunteer system, etc. has really worked very well.

At times things have almost been too well organized, particularly the volunteers, who seem to be everywhere in great numbers, all very anxious to be of assistance. Unfortunately, when you are carrying a ton of camera gear and are trying to get from the photographers work room to the shooting positions, and have limited time to move, the excess of persons has been more of a hindrance than a help. I guess with so many people here they have tried to find a position for as many as possible.

I am looking forward to the next few days to be able to photograph a little more of the culture and ambiance of Hong Kong, without the pressure of meeting the long schedule and tight deadlines of the past two weeks. I am not returning to Canada until Monday so I hope the weather gods will be kind to me until then.

I will continue to post my activities over the next few days.

We are almost there, tonight was the individual dressage medals and I think I have finally got the hang of shooting this discipline. It only took me a total of 4185 dressage photos, and that is just the keepers. I must say I shan’t be sorry to not be shooting dressage for quite a while.

In a repeat of the good medal result from the last two Olympics, Dutch sweetheart Anky van Grunsven took the individual gold to hold off the challenge from the Germans. Isabell Werth was the the silver medalist, despite once again startling the crowd with a display of reversing and sideways movements that I don’t think are meant to be part of any dressage test. I think the judges must have been taking a short nap while this was going on as there was little if any reflection of this in her scores. It’s quite obvious that I just don’t understand the finer points of this sport!

Isabell Werth (GER) riding Satchmo performs an unscheduled movement but goes on to win the silver medal

Dutch photographer Jacob Mellisen chose to celebrate the victory by buying a round of beers for all in the photographers workroom, for which we were all grateful, that is except the Nikon technician who failed miserably in his attempt to catch the can tossed in his direction and ended up totally floored, luckily managing to keep all his teeth.

Anky van Grunsven (NED) riding Salinero, dressage freestyle, individual gold medalist

Gold Medalist, Anky van Grunsven (NED)

Tomorrow we have the luxury of a day off, so it is down to Kowloon and Hong Kong city to get the souvenier shopping done. By the way, if you see me on my return don’t ask if my new Rolex watch is genuine, because I’m not going to tell.