Maniac With Camera Blog: March 2010

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Thursday, March 18, 2010

You need to have fun sometimes...

I would have to say that some of my photography ventures into the avante-garde. Taking pictures of lights and other objects, just because they're there or the light is falling on them a certain way or just some stroke of "mad genius" (substitute "genius" with "fool") hits me.

Some may not understand "why" I took a certain photograph. Others may find it quaint. But to each their own. I shoot photography not because someone else likes it, but because I want to. An innate need to do something that can't be voiced other than by visual means. So if you like this: that's great. If you don't like this: Good for you too. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

I enjoy photography, it's a hobby as well as an occupation for me. Everyone sees the world through their own eyes. It just means that my perception differs from yours. There is no wrong way to do photography so long as the meaning of the image comes across if there is any "deep" meaning. You can even play around with exposure as long as you convey what you wanted to convey. That is the essence of photography.

Here are three pictures with no other meaning than: "I wanted to take a picture of whatever that was in the picture...so I did..."

© 2010 FalconRose Photography

As I said...there's really no meaning other than "I wanted to take this picture". And let me end this post on a note: If you're not enjoying photography anymore...THEN you're doing something wrong." Don't let anyone take the joy out of your photography. After all having fun behind the viewfinder is the most important thing.

Happy Shooting...

Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Perfect All-Weather Photographer's Jacket for Vancouver; Thanks Dad!

When my father passed away in December, I inherited many of his clothes that my mother felt would fit me. Of the many clothes that my father wore that she passed down, one of them would prove to be one of the most useful jackets that I have ever seen. This was an angler’s jacket; a fisherman’s jacket. When my father passed away, my mother gave me his "angler's jacket". He never went fishing...he wasn't a fisherman; he wore that jacket just once because my mother bought it for him and it was cold and wet. Then it got passed down to me after his death. And he didn't know it, but I'm going to be able to make great use out of this jacket.

With Vancouver’s rainy weather, it is not surprising that Vancouver is listed as one of the worst places to do photography in unless you have a weather resistant camera like a Nikon D200/300 or pro-grade D3/D3X camera. I think the Canons are also weather resistant as well, but I’m not as familiar with that brand as with my Nikon cameras.

Many people talk about photographer’s vests: those tacky looking vests that have dozens of pockets to put stuff into like batteries, memory card cases, AA battery cases for one's flash...etc etc etc, your remote trigger cords, filters (in their cases)...and what not. Well up here, a photographer’s vest isn’t enough with the copious amounts of rainfall that we get in the Lower Mainland (it’s raining right now as I write this).

As you can see from the photos, it's got all sorts of pockets on the interior for keeping the spare batteries warm on a cold day as well as exterior pockets for keeping other equipment on your person. That way then you don't have to take a huge day pack, you can get by with a camera bag that's lighter than usual, because your jacket's carrying the rest of your stuff.

The jacket exterior...

The two right pockets (exterior)

The two left pockets (exterior)

These next two sets of pockets are perfect for 2 batteries a piece. So frankly you could potentially have two batteries (EN-EL3s or BP-511s) or one EN-EL4a in each internal pocket (staying warm for use).

Interior pockets (left side)

Interior pockets (right side)

Thanks, Dad...I'll always be remembering you when I'm wearing this jacket during my outdoor shoots.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Central City Night Shots - January 05, 2008

I had the opportunity recently to take my Manfrotto 190XB up to Surrey Central Station and take some shots of the SFU Campus building (long exposures between 4 & 8 seconds). This made the building itself visible to some extent and I did enjoy the ability to be able to take those shots because then I was able to while away the hours between my arriving from Joyce Station at Surrey Central and the 321 arriving by taking photos.

This first shot shows the curve of the building really nicely which gives the building a nice open feel. The wide open rafters that you can somewhat see in the building also makes for a very airy view.

This second shot shows the westward side of SFU-Surrey Campus and shows a little of how the light plays with the angles of the building. I kinda feel fond of this shot because it's the first time I've actually taken a really long-exposure shot. I'd like to try at least a minute on my next nite architecture shot, but I find that it may cause a lot of glare in the lamps. I'm going to have to take a good hard look at this before I start doing this to make money because I do want to specialize in night-architecture photography.

Photos from the Archives #6

Welcome to Part 6 of my archived photos...the ones that I never got around to editing until now. This is the last archival post until I get some more edits done to my other archive photos.

Looking up Howe Street - Digital Watercolor

The View from Canada Place © 2007 FalconRose Photography

And there we are...that's all the photos that I have edited so far from the Archives.

Photos from the Archive #5

Welcome to Part 5 of my archived photos...the ones that I never got around to editing until now. Just a few more posts until I'm done.

Storm Clouds at Dusk © 2007 FalconRose Photography
(taken at Vanier Park)

Playtime at the Beach © 2007 FalconRose Photography

Definitely a bit cold that day.

Now here comes a whole series of Bald Eagle Shots which were shot at Vanier Park. This is where I wish I had that 400mm f/2.8 or 600mm f/4.

Bald Eagle at Kits Point # 3 © 2007 FalconRose Photography

There were several photographers clustered around the tree the nest was in, and that poor male bald eagle was pretty antsy. This next picture almost looks as if the eagle is asking "When are you idiots going to go away???"

Bald Eagle at Kits Point # 1 © 2007 FalconRose Photography (a black & white)

1 more post with 15 photos comin' up.

Photos from the Archive #4

Welcome to Part 4 of my archived photos...the ones that I never got around to editing until now. Unfortunately, there are more of them that I still haven't gotten around to editing yet. I guess I'm just a little lazy on that account...

The False Creek Water Taxi Turns© 2007 FalconRose Photography

Some other pictures of White Rock from when we went the last time.

Noisy damned seagull!

Yap Yap Yap © 2007 FalconRose Photography

White Seagull on Rock © 2007 FalconRose Photography
(don't know if it's the same seagull as the previous pic)

The White Rock © 2007 FalconRose Photography

Looking down White Rock Pier © 2007 FalconRose Photography

White Rock Pier © 2007 FalconRose Photography

Sailboat at Dusk © 2007 FalconRose Photography

The Amtrak Train © 2007 FalconRose Photography

(end White Rock Photos)

Watching the Storm Clouds Roll In © 2007 FalconRose Photography

Tranquil Pond © 2007 FalconRose Photography (a black & white)

With this post that means I've still got 2 more posts with the last being 15 photos.

Photos from the Archives #3

Welcome to Part 3 of my archived photos...the ones that I never got around to editing until now. These are still a part of the hard-drive. Unfortunately, there are more of them that I still haven't gotten around to editing yet.

Burrard at Night © 2007 FalconRose Photography

This was taken when I was coming home from my parents' place one evening, I decided to walk it over the Burrard Bridge. Decided to tweak it in "oils filter". Still looks like a photo though.

False Creek Water Taxi © 2007 FalconRose Photography

Well, folks, I'm going to be putting these up 10 at a time so that you don't have to scroll like mad through them to see them all. That means I've still got 3 more posts with the last being 15 photos.

For those of you snapping. Happy shooting.

Maniac With Camera Blog

This is my personal photography blog; the one that I keep separate from my corporate photography blog. This is where I keep everyday photography that I do. Whenever I go places I take my camera (either my DSLR or my point & shoot) with me. In that way, I have a way of documenting stuff at all times. Like it's said...people always wish that they had their camera with them when something happens. Well...if I keep my camera with me at all times, I'll never wish I had it when something does happen. ~ Hugo Chikamori, Maniac With Camera Blog Owner

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YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE, COPY, PUBLISH OR USE THE IMAGES OR ANY PART OF THE IMAGES IN ANY WAY WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER. YOU MAY NOT ALTER, MANIPULATE, ANY PART OF AN IMAGE WITHOUT CONSENT.

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Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and its ramifications world-wide, FalconRose Photography has ceased doing business with all American-based suppliers. FalconRose Photography will patronize Canadian suppliers and retailers of photographic equipment.

Also, this will result in sales of images to United States purchasers treated as if the purchase had taken place in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, and that all such provincial and federal sales taxes due will be paid by the purchaser (due to the complicated tax process involved, point of sale cannot be specified at location of purchaser.) Purchaser is responsible for payment of all US federal and state use-taxes as we will not be collecting those for the United States Government.

We are a small Canadian company and as such, we have had to take measures to protect ourselves (by removing all stain of US tax presence - being treated as a US taxable person; we are Canadian) from United States Taxation and its complicated methods of filing taxes under the United States Tax Code.

We are also boycotting any United States shooting locations and will proceed to shooting schedules in Canada only. Canada is a vast and beautiful country and there are plenty of places to photograph without having to step outside it. We look forward to continuing to bring beautiful images of Canada's wildlife and landscapes for your viewing pleasure.

Edit: upon further research into the confiscatory practices of the US Internal Revenue Service; FalconRose Photography recommends that any US based company requiring images refer to many of the talented photographers based in the United States. FalconRose Photography will not do business with US buyers.

I Do Not Critique Other Peoples' Images

I have had people ask me to critique their photos. Unfortunately, photography is a very subjective field. I don't like to give out critiques because invariably it involves "my opinion" which pretty much carries the same amount of weight as everyone else's - a very negligible weight.

I find that most photographers either want one of two things: They want me to a) praise them so that they don't feel bad about the photography that they are outputting. b) they want to be offended by minor criticism so that they can write the critiquer off as some hack photographer. So it doesn't matter how I give critique, it's a no-win situation.

If I am impressed by your photography, I will say so on my comments at your site: Flickr, 500px, or whereever you may be placing your photographs. If not, I will more than likely be silent. Remember the old adage of mothers everywhere? "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all."

Your photography is your photography, I cannot tell you whether or not it's good or not. If you wish instruction, I would suggest looking up a certified photography instructor. There are people out there who have dedicated their careers to training others. Unfortunately as a working photographer who is doing wildlife stock photography and getting his business off the ground, unfortunately, I do not have the time to do so on a gratis basis.

Above all, photography is essentially the way YOU see the world, not through being filtered by other people. So the only person who can really critique your images is yourself and if you are true to yourself, you will be the hardest critic of your own work.

The only people whom I've ever critiqued images or helped by instructing them on occasion are people whom I've gone personally to school with and they already know who they are on my friend's list on Facebook. So please do not send me your photos to critique, because invariably you will not hear from me.

About Me

Haruo Chikamori has been shooting photography in some shape or form since 1984 when his late father got him a Mamiya Sekor TL500 35mm manual focus SLR. Since then he has taught himself the basics of exposure, shutterspeed and aperture...and has progressed from the basics to running his own freelance photography business.

Hugo has had numerous cameras from point and shoot and SLR 35mm cameras to digital cameras (both point and shoot and DSLR). He now prefers to work with Nikon 35mm film and DSLR cameras.

Currently his photographic arsenal includes a Nikon D300s body, a Nikon D50 body, AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, AF 50mm f/1.8 D lens, a AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VRII lens and a Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4 D ED-IF II lens. He also has a SB-600 flash.

In the future, he hopes to get the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VRII lens, as well as a Nikon D700 FX (full-frame) body and a Nikon F6 (35mm film) body