Daniel Schwabe's blog ^pro

Almost 2 years ago I bougth a Panasonic DMZ-FZ50, and upgrade from my small Canon SD 700 (which I still use occasionally) (see this post). I was quite happy with it, although I stilll could not take really good macros, and its low-light handling is not so good. Another drawback was its size, the same as an SLR.

About a year ago I could not resist and bought a Panasonic TZ5, to carry as a secondary camera, or when I could not carry the bigger and heavier FZ50. On some occasions, I would take the same picture using both, just to compare the quality.

Little by little, I ended up almost not using the bigger camera, as I could consistently get the same results using the smaller one. In addition, the TZ5 has a wider-angle lens, which comes in handy, especially when shooting indoors and buildings. On my last trip to Ireland I decided to take only the TZ5, and I must confess I did not really miss having the larger FZ50. So it looks like I will be using the FZ50 only on special occasions...

As far as the TZ5 is concerned, here are some of the pros and cons

Pros:

• Large and bright display
• Really nice lens - from wide angle to good tele (almost 400mm equiv. for 35mm format)
• Lots of exposure modes
• Can record video in full HD (although I have used this only once..)
• Good image quality (except for low-light situations using high ISO)
• Decent image stabilization for telephotos

Cons

• Display doesn't swivel like the FZ50
• The mode control disc on top gets easily rotated out of position, especially when inserting or extracting from the carrying pouch
• Macro mode harder to work with, and not so good as in the Canon
• Slow burst mode; not really usable for fast action shooting (e.g., sports)
• Quality not really usable above 400 ISO (except if you want to do some artistic processing)

So, for the time being, it looks like I'll only be carrying the TZ5 on my trips... you can check my photostream for the results ;-).

For those of you who also own either one of these cameras, let me know about your experience and impressions!

Every once in while someone posts a comment to one of my photos with a photo and a link of their own - occasionally even medium sized!

I personally feel that the only image in a photo page should be that photo. Posting another photo, even if somehow related, is like stealing "center stage", deviating the reader's attention from the photo to something else. In a way, it is like spamming - trying to attract people to go somewhere else instead of appreciating that photo. So when I want to include a reference, I simply post a normal text link (URL) to the relevant image.

When someone does this to one my photos, I write to them and try politely make them see my point and ask them to replace the photo. Most are quite understanding and I've never had any problems.

Recently, however, a person wrote to me saying that he really could not understand why would this kind of behaviour bother anybody. After I explained to him, he claimed to understand my point, but was reluctant to change his ways, since this was how he managed to drive traffic to his own pages, and that ws his main goal. In the end, I just deleted the comment altogether.

Having said this, I realize that part of the fun in participating in a social network is precisely the opportunity to INTERACT (i.e., bi-directional communication) with other people, and occasionally it makes sense to include images in the conversation. I find that blogging is perfect for this, as it allows you to make your statement, and other to comment at will, even posting their own images if they want to. This is one the things I really enjoy here in Ipernity.

So, to start the discussion, here is the question - how do you feel about this - does it bother you when someone posts their own picture (with a link) as a comment to your photo?

While discussing the issue of processing or not a photo on an earlier blog post, I touched upon the issue of how "faithful" (or not) a photo is to "the real thing". This has been an ongoing debate for some time already, pre-dating the era of digital photography, which only which only made the issues more evident.

As a photographer, I constantly interpret the world around me, and produce images that convey some perception to those who see them. They, in turn, re-interpret my image according to their own perceptions, biases and experiences. Sometimes I get the feeling that what I "saw" is what they "see", and somehow we seem to be communicating.

Occasionally, however, "reality" plays some tricks on us. Consider the picture below:

It is a beautiful building in Madrid, near Plaza de la Cebada. Is there anything unusual? you ask... This is the image page where you can see a larger version (I could not figure how to insert a direct link to the large size, sorry). Can you see it?

The entire left side is painted on!!! When I first looked at it (the building), I didn't notice anything. Then I saw the painted man on the balcony, which made me look again. And then I saw it, incredible!

So here we have an example of "reality manipulation", but NOT by the photographer ;-)!

Tell me what you think!

A friend of mine gave me this tip, which I'd like to share with all of you, photo enthusiasts.

Take a look at this sofware, which works with several browsers both on Windows and on the Mac:

www.piclens.com.

Try it on any page with several photos on it (e.g, your docs). Unfortunately it doesn't know Ipernity yet (so try other sites), but we should ask them to include Ipernity!

It's cool!

UPDATE: It has been renamed CoolIris, and now knows Ipernity - yay!

Hello all,

as you may know, January and February are the summer vacation months in the southern hemisphere. I have been away for the most part, travelling to the other side of the world (Australia)...

Because of intermitent Internet connection, I have not been able to keep up with my online friends, so please excuse my silence - it is not lack of interest!

I still have a huge backlog of pictures to process, and now I am starting to slowly process and upload them. As time permits, I will try to catch up with all the wonderful works you have all been happily churning away ;-).

I'll see you all online!

To all my friends at Ipernity, a Happy 2008, full of accomplishments and health to enjoy them!
Happy photographing!

I have finally started to upload photos taken with my new camera in September. You can see them in my Athens and Hydra albums.

It is a great camera, with an incredible amount of features and controls; I must confess I haven't managed to use most of the available features.

The greatest advantage for me has been the amazing lens, allowing 12x zoom (in fact, when shooting at 5M pixels, it can go up to 17x, almost 500mm!). Other useful features I have used are RAW image format, and auto-bracketing.

Although there have been reports that it shoots very noisy pictures at higher ISO settings, the one occasion I used it at above ISO200, the results were quite reasonable.

The one thing I have not yet managed to master too well is shooting macros, but I suspect it is more my shortcoming than the camera's...

I have shot many more pictures since then; I'll be posting in the near feature, and you can let me know what you think :-).

A friend of mine made a remark about the fact that many of my photos have some kind of (sometimes hidden) inner pattern; her remark was made about this image (it is harder to see in this small size...),but could be made about many others. (In particular, I'm not so enthusiastic about this image myself...)

Summer green

She was curious to know if I consciously look for these patterns, or not. This got me thinking about how do I take pictures - do I carefully plan each shot, or do I simply shoot away, hoping that eventually some of the shots come out good?

The way I normally take photos is to visually scan the surroundings, until something catches my eye. Then I start playing with it, sometimes carefully framing things, sometimes shooting quite rapidly (especially if it is some transitory situation where I have little control). But I almost never go out to shoot a specific image, even when I'm going to known places (e.g., monuments, tourist attractions, neighborhoods, etc...), and often end up picturing something completely different (e.g., walls and fixtures in museums), like in this (shot in the Museé D'Orsay)

Orsay wall detail I

Orsay Abstract VI

So I try to keep myself open to any opportunity that arises. However, some times I surprise myself at having captured more than what I consciously thought - I only really see it later while processing the photo. A recent example is this image, shot in the greek island of Hydra, near Athens

At first I thought this lady was simply looking at passers by, as the island is full of tourists walking about; this was a bright, colorful day. But then I noticed the framed photo inside the house, visible just to the left of her head. I immediately imagined that this must be her husband, perhaps already deceased - which would fit quite well with the expression of sadness and distance in her face, and the empty chair on her right... I have no way of telling if this is actually the case, but I feel the image is quite poignant, simbolically illustrating such sad periods in one's life - the loss of a dear one.

None of these considerations went through my mind when I took the picture, there was simply something that attracted me to the scene, and made me photograph it; only later did I see this hidden symbolism in it. Perhaps, at some unconscious level, I did see it, and I assume this is often the case with other images as well.

So my "take home lesson" is, let my subconscious mind free, it will see (in the sense of identifying) the images much better than if I try to consciously look for it. It is an exercise, which sometimes makes me annoying to be around (my wife complains constantly) just because I'm not "paying attention" to what others are saying or doing - I am in my own space, even if physically next to them. And I often wander around in unexpected directions, often different than everybody else (see this blog entry).

--- PS ---

The following quote  (thanks to Josie Soho)

"Art is a marriage of the conscious and the unconscious - Jean Cocteau"

summarizes well what I am trying to say (I photograph also as a way of artistic expression - see this discussion). Although I emphasized the unconscious part of the process, there is also a conscious part, which happens mostly post-facto, in the "digital darkroom".

So, here is my question to you - how do you photograph? Do you have similar experiences? Let me know!

With the advent of digital photography and Photoshop, it has become much easier to process and manipulate images. While darkroom processing, in the analog days, was a necessary step to actually get the images - be it in film or in print - digital technology allows for instant images.

I have heard many people argue that one should keep the photographs "as they come out of the camera", as if this was the "true", "pure" image, capturing "the real thing", and any sort of processing is actually distorting reality in some way. It is clear to me that using any camera always introduces some kind of processing, be it in the "analog" hardware of ealier cameras and film, or in the hardware/software combination in modern digital cameras. In other words, there is no such thing as "real" to begin with! While documentary photographers try to capture real happenings, we all know they can be as manipulated as any other kind of image. The belief in their authenticity relies much more in people's interpretation of the images than in the actual authenticity of the captured pixels. As Pedro Meyer puts it, “Face it, all photographs are and always have been the product of manipulating reality. They are simply interpretations of the photographer who made them,” (see his book The Real and the True: The Digital Photography of Pedro Meyer, or read a review for excellent discussions and further references on this debate)

[Update: I have since found this excellent article on Creativity, by Eddy Sethna. It is worth reading!]

So post processing a photo is like introducing one's own "authoring" into the image, in addition or in substitution of the camera's processing. To me, it is as an integral part of the creative experience as the actual shooting of the photo. The question remains, though, how much processing to do. Some will argue that fixing image properties such as contrast, sharpness, saturation, colors is OK, but removing or adding elements is not.

Personally, each image I make is my interpretation of a reality I lived, which I try to communicate to others. Sometimes I feel it to be quite "factual", but most of the time colored by my own memories, feelings, emotions, past and current experiences, either at the time I took the picture of at the time I am processing it. So if I feel I have to add or remove something, I will do it. I don't have any commitment to being "accurate" or "real".

Many of my photos play with these perceptions, showing how the eye can actually seem images that many would consider manipulations. This is especially true with reflections, as in this photo

I am constantly fascinated by these images, which are all around us, and many don't see them. Others may be actual manipulations - which I don't do very much - but in any case I don't think this is so relevant; what matters is the feeling, emotion, idea, or message being communicated.

In some sense, the message here is somewhat similar to the one in the famous Magritte's painting "La Trahison des Images (The Treachery of Images)", which bears the inscription "Ceci n'est pas une pipe"...

So, my friend, what is your opinion on this subject?

Groups to me will be a way to meet new people (and see new work) that don't already belong to my "extended" network. Whether they are awards, contests, etc..., I don't care. Let each group define their rules, each one can join according to his (or her) own tastes, likes and dislikes; there should be plenty of options, hopefully. And, if you are not happy, just create your own and see if you find similarly minded people!
As far as features are concerned, I hope Team Ipernity will keep the approach of allowing you to interact 1-on-1 as well as group wise. It is nice to be able to be notified that somebody answered a comment you have made without having to go back to the group thread or the specific picture to see it.
There are also many group management functionalities that can be useful (e.g., many provided by greasemonkey scripts) which could be directly incorporated in the site, but let's see how they have started to implement it.
And, once again, a big thanks to Team Ipernity!

I've been travelling for professional reasons for the past 2 weeks. My last trip was to Houston, Texas. Evidently, the first chance I had I went out to grab some pictures of skyscrapers and window reflections, which are all over the place there (I'll be posting some in the near future).

But here is an episode that made me wonder about the current mindset of some people in the US. I parked my car in a driveway of a building complex, so I could step out and get a good angle on a particularly interesting window reflection. Much to my surprise, one minute after I got out and started shooting, two security people came out of the adjacent building and asked me if I had permission to photograph the buildings (accross the street, mind you). Obviously I said I did not have, so the informed me that taking pictures was not allowed, and asked me to please step inside the building, where they proceeded to ask for my identification, called their supervisor because it was necessary to make an "unauthorized media incident report", the whole shebang. One of the officers informally told me that such rigor was due to 9/11 related fears of a repeat incident. They also asked me to delete the pictures I had taken.

So they wrote down all my id information (which is in Portuguese, but they had a hard time understanding that I am not Portuguese but Brazilian...), and told me, in front of a newly summoned Houston Police officer, that they would be filing this report. Then they were satisfied and said I was free to go. Before leaving, I inquired whether my offense was for taking pictures OF the property, of for doing so WITHIN the property, and they explained that it was the latter. If I stood in the public sidewalk there was nothing they could do. Of course, I immediately proceeded to walk out to another parking area outside the property, and took the pictures again.

While I was waiting to cross a traffic light (on foot, holding my camera), a foreman that was inside a maintenance truck came out and asked me if everything was ok, looking at my camera. I said yes, I was only waiting to cross the street. Then he asked me whether I was taking any pictures of wires/cables (he seemed to be doing some maintenance on them), and when I replied that I was only taking pictures of window reflections, and had no intrerest whatsoever in wires (to the contraty), he was satisfied and walked away.

Having come back from Europe, where I took thousands of pictures everywhere withouth being bothered once, I started wondering how sad it is that people have become so scared and paranoid in the US... things have definitely changed...

Has anybody had similar experiences?

Many people have posted comments and blog entries about similarities and differences between Ipernity and Flickr, and about general behaviour in such sites. While reading and sometimes also commenting on some, I've made a few observations, more rambling than any coherent line of thought.

First off, For me, both Ipernity and Flickr are about photography and sharing my passion about it with others. The nice thing about Ipernity is that it broadens this scope to other areas, so I have found I share additional passions with some of my contacts - which is always rewarding. However, I'm not so sure about sharing music of others that I like, least of it because of copyright issues that I don't want to bother with. But I have found incredible musicians (besides photographers) here - Ojisanjake, Adam Zilberman and joe are examples that come to mind), and it is an added pleasure to enjoy their artistry.

Ipernity still requires more initiative in order to get your pictures seen, in the absence of groups. I know, there are good and bad things about them, but one thing is undeniable - they provide a convenient forum to share photos, especially if you are focused on particular aspects, such as themes or techniques. The only reasonably effective way I have found to meet new people is either by looking up people who have visited my page (great feature!), or have made comments/faved my pictures. I also like to look at my "extended network" - my contacts' contacts.But this has become increasingly hard to do, given the exponential growth of the network. Either way, I have found that when I see a photo I like, it is either a contact or part of my extended network.

As far as the quality of comments and interactions, I have been very impressed with some of the blogs - the quality, humour, courage and deep honesty of many posts. Again, an added opportunity to know people better, and share more than photos.

Specifically about comments in photos, I don't see really much difference. Personally, I basically comment photos I like, and I always really mean what I say. If there are pictures of my contacts (or anyone) I don't particularly like or even dislike, I just don't think it is worth it to give negative feedback, even if polite. It is simply a matter of time - I have my hands full as it is with the good ones!
This doesn't mean I might not make a constructive criticism on a given photo, but it will be on one I already like - and the comment would be my (obviously personal) feeling on how one might improve it.
I am also constatly surprised at the variety of tastes in both Ipernity and Flickr. I have long tried to guess what people will like, as I have been wrong as many times as I have been right... So nowadays I simply post the ones I like and that I feel like sharing with others - and then enjoy the feedback when it happens.

Since I have not had the time to be so active in Ipernity (yet), most of the feedback I get is still in Flickr, but I plan to focus here more once groups are available. However, one thing is evident here - communication between members is much easier, and can flow in may different ways (witness this blog entry!).

I have chosen to post to Ipernity only those photos I have enjoyed taking, and I feel like sharing, from a photography or subject matter point of view. I tend not to post personal and family photos. because I simply assume that most people will not be interested in personal details, especially if the photo does not have any particular merit as a photograph. So I use a completely different site to share this kind of photos.

Overall, I get the feeling that the average quality of the photos I see here is much higher than in Flickr. Evidently, this is a biased sample, since here I basically see photos of my (extended) network, which, by construction, I'm more like to appreciate. But hey, I've got only so much time to spend, so it is in general a more pleasurable experience here than in Flickr, since I see more photos I like here, on the average.

I'm sure this community here is bound to evolve, and I'm hopeful it will be in a different direction than Flickr has evolved. If it will be better or not, only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm enjoying myself, and shooting away (photos, well understood ;-)).

During this last trip, I found myself in the position depicted below, in a photo taken by my daughter...

Me taking a picture

I sometimes get carried away trying to get the best angle on a scene or view...

Do you find yourself in similar situations?

Update: A friend pointed me to this page - hilarious: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/07/anything-for-perfect-shot.html

I just got back from a wonderful 3 week trip to Italy and France. We had only one morning of rain (which we spent at the Louvre anyway), beautiful weather the rest of the time. Sooo many nice photo opportunities, some of which you can already appreciate in my photostream, I have over a thousand photos now to sift through, process and post... and enjoy the memories while doing so! (THe problem, as usual, is finding the time!)

I'll be away for the coming 3 weeks on a trip to Italy and France... hopefully, I'll come back with nice photos...

After doing some research, this is the "bridge" model that seems the best...

Any feedback/experiences?

I'm thinking about getting a new camera... but here is my dilemma. I really love the Canon SD700 IS I currently use, it's small but quite versatile and powerful. Most of the shots in my  photostream were taken with it.

Back in the analog days I had a Pentax MX body, with several lenses, including a fantastic 35-205 zoom lens that I used most of the time (I also had a 28mm, a 50mm and a 105mm). Plus the tripod, filters, cables, the whole works. But the whole gear was cumbersome to carry arround, so I eventually stopped using it. By the time I got married and had kids, I was doing mostly "social" photos, and a point-and-shoot camera was more than enough. But the children grew up, and I resumed my old passion...

When I started taking pictures again, now in the digital era, I first started with low-end cameras (still took some nice pictures with them - e.g., my Porto shots), and moved up to the SD700. But I miss a couple of features, mostly a stonger telephoto lens, the ability to do bracketing automatically, and eventually being able to take raw format pictures.

But I'm not ready yet to go back to the full DSLR format, and shlepping all that equipment around. So I am considering getting a larger format, super tele camera such as the Canon S3 (now S5), or G7. There are equivalent models from Sony and Panasonic, among others.

My question is, does anyone have experience with this kind of camera? Any advice?

I would love to hear your feedback!

After some experimenting, I have decided to become Pro. Partly, because I believe the site developers are doing a very nice job, and they probably need any financial support they can get.

But besides this, I really like the environment here, and I want to be able to upload more stuff. I (foolishly) used up my entire 200Mb quote in my first batch upload, and now I find myself wanting to upload more and having to wait until next month :-(.

Since my Flickr pro account won't expire so soon, I think I will have to find what is a comfortable balance for me of involvement in both sites; I strongly suspect I will be spending increasingly more time here, but time will tell!