First try at Photo-stitching

I have read about how it is possible to create ultra-high resolution images by stitching many images together previously, but I didn’t try it out because I didn’t have Photoshop or other similar imaging software. (My main imaging tool has been Nikon’s Capture NX 2.

Recently, I installed a demo version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 11, which comes with Adobe’s Photomerge tool, an automated photo-stitching function. You may watch a tutorial video by Adobe here, but all you really need is a bit of common sense.

PANORAMAS WITH A 90MM LENS? No problem! With Adobe’s excellent Photomerge, you can create 60-megapixel panoramic images like this quite easily!

So I found myself at Kumamoto Castle in Japan’s Kyushu island today, and found the perfect vantage point to take a wide-angle shot of the main castle building. The problem is, with my current Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera, I didn’t have a lens that was of the right focal length to get the perfect framing – the 18mm f2 (28mm equivalent on 35mm film) is too wide, and 60mm f2.4 (90mm equivalent) is too long.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 – My best camera yet!

I had been uninspired for the longest time, which to some extent explains the lack of updates here in recent months.

Sometimes, it really does take a new toy to reignite your passion for a hobby.

For me, it’s the Fujifilm X-Pro1 – a camera I had long considered out of my budget (despite my spendthrift tendencies), and with a sluggish AF, didn’t seem to worth the money. But it came into my radar again after I read that the latest firmware version has raised the AF speed to more acceptable levels.

Given that film was getting way too expensive to use, and that I felt the Ricoh GXR system has offered little to look forward to with no new lenses in the horizon, I decided to sell off all my existing camera gear on the local online photography forum Clubsnap to fund my transition to Fujifilm.

And I am so glad I did.

READY FOR PRIMETIME: My fully accessorised Fujifilm X-Pro1.

I chose the 18mm f2 and 60mm f2.4 to replicate my favourite lenses in my Nikon/Ricoh setup. The image quality of the 60mm is just stellar, and I daresay it rivals my Zeiss ZF 100mm f2 Makro-Planar. I intend to use it mainly for portraits, street photography and flowers, just as I did with my first “pro” lens, the Nikon AFS Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8. The 18mm, being wider, is great for general photography, and it's quite compact too. It's not as sharp as the 60mm, but sharpness isn't everything.

Well, I couldn't just stop there – the X-Pro1 is such a gorgeous camera and it deserves the right accessories to bring out its best. After endless hours of research online and a trip to the usual camera shops in Singapore, I finally managed to put together my ideal set of accessories for the camera.

My 2011 in pictures

2011 was certainly an eventful year, but I still can’t say for sure if I could call it a good year.

Work-wise, it was by far the toughest year since I started work. Had to deal with the disappointment and anguish of not getting the reports when I went to Japan to cover the March 11 disasters. Tougher though, was coping with the change to local news reporting, which has made work-life a little more colourful but infinitely more stressful. (I’m still debating if it was the right move)

PICTURE OF THE YEAR: The Workers’ Party’s historic capture of a GRC at the May 7 General Election is easily one of the biggest events of the year, and I had the privilege of witnessing and capturing the electrifying atmosphere that night. The real bonus was submitting it to my paper’s photo desk and having it selected for our front-page the following day. It doesn’t get bigger than that for me.

On the other hand, I think little has changed in terms of my personal life. Still dating the same (wonderful) Joanne, still hanging out with the same friends. Went on two holidays – both of which were to places I have visited before (Hong Kong and Tohoku, Japan).

As with the previous couple of years, I guess the bright spots are the good photos I managed to take during the course of the year. The May 7 General Election was arguably the biggest event of the year in Singapore – not just because of the result but also the socio-political changes it brought on, and I was glad I used my time off work to visit the various rallies, as well as the results announcement at Serangoon Stadium.

It starts with a mini project at Serangoon

Two weeks ago, I attended a four-day course on “Visual Journalism”. I had been looking forward to this course, because I have always been interested in visual design.

And I came away inspired to do more photographic work.

The course, which revolved around the effective use of photographs and graphics in print design, was conducted by Mr Peter Ong, a former journalist who now runs his own consultancy. He is a guru at newspaper and magazine design, and has worked with publications all over the world, including in China, India and South Africa. He writes a blog about media trends and his work here. 

A “No Peddling” sign at the old Serangoon Bus Interchange. Until I visited the place that day, I don’t think I had seen such a sign in Singapore! In a way I think it shows the age of the place.

On the last day of the course, we were assigned in groups of 4 to 5 people to do a simple report, with the use of graphics and photos. We had the whole morning to do it. My group was given the task of doing a photo essay on something around Serangoon Central.

Life Squared

Using the Ricoh GXR has been somewhat a liberating experience. While the image quality and response are not as good as a DSLR like my Nikon D40X, I have been using it quite a bit since I bought it on Aug 31. 

Being relatively compact, I can really bring it wherever I go. I enjoy shooting with the D40X but carrying it out always causes me a headache, since I seldom go out with shooting pictures as my sole objective. In the days before the GXR, I sometimes looked back fondly on the days when I was using my Sony point-and-shoot, which I could just stuff into any bag I was using.

Novice baker Joanne's blueberry muffins :)

Currently, I'm particularly enamoured of the GXR's ability to shoot in square format natively. Of course you can take any picture from any camera and just crop it in Photoshop, but shooting it in square format directly allows you to compose the pictures the way you want it to turn out, instead of as an afterthought/picture-salvaging effort on the computer. (The RAW files are recorded in square format too btw, so that's a potential downside)

Chanced upon the colour windmill display outside Ang Mo Kio Hub earlier this week.

The GXR's option to store 3 custom shooting settings on the mode dial (MY1, MY2 & MY3) make it easy to switch to square format on the fly. I've set MY2 and MY3 to square frame, in colour and sepia tone respectively. 

As mentioned earlier, the GXR is easy to carry about, and this makes it great as a camera to take pictures of daily life.

Mushrooms at West Coast Park.

Put the two attributes together and that's how I arrived at the Life Squared project:

Life Squared = Life X Life = Life in Squares

"Life X Life" is in part symbolic of my relationship with Joanne, who is of course a big part of my life now. ;) At the same time, I also think it encapsulates my goal of living life to the max. 

Joanne and I having a pleasant little picnic at West Coast Park. 

As for "Life in Squares", besides the aesthetic appeal and relatively freshness of square pictures, I recall my sergeant-major from my Officer Cadet days during National Service, who's well-remembered by my company mates for his frequent pep talks when he would tell us to "square" things away, by which he meant put things in proper order. 

I liked that guy. He was very enthusiastic (sometimes overly though) and actually brought some nice changes to the the company after he arrived. I shall continue squaring away my life. 

Joanne prepared quite a spread! Despite eating a Mac's meal before that (because we had to hide from the downpour when we first arrived at the park), I licked up every last crumb. 

More to come...

Anthem for the times

Despite my love of photography, there has only been an instance when I felt so moved by some photos that I felt like crying.

But in the case of music... I've been moved to tears before, and it wasn't just once. Perhaps I should have gone into music instead of photography?

A song I stumbled upon last weekend was Mr Children's Hanabi. I'm not one of their biggest fans, but there are a couple of songs from them I really liked: 旅立ちの唄 and 君が好き. I heard both of these while I was in Japan.

Hanabi means fireworks in Japanese, and from what I understand, the song is about seizing the moment and living and loving to the fullest. Perhaps just what I needed to move on. 

HANABI, Mr Children

作詞：Kazutoshi Sakurai 作曲：Kazutoshi Sakurai

どれくらいの値打ちがあるだろう?

僕が今生きているこの世界に

すべてが無意味だって思える

ちょっと疲れてんのかなぁ

手に入れたものと引き換えにして

切り捨てたいくつもの輝き

いちいち憂いていれるほど

平和な世の中じゃないし

一体どんな理想を描いたらいい?

どんな希望を抱き進んだらいい?

答えようもないその問いかけは

日常に葬られてく

君がいたらなんていうかなぁ

「暗い」と茶化して笑うのかなぁ

その柔らかな笑顔に触れて

僕の憂鬱が吹き飛んだらいいのに

決して捕まえることの出来ない

花火のような光だとしたって

もう一回　もう一回

もう一回　もう一回

僕はこの手を伸ばしたい

誰も皆　悲しみを抱いてる

だけど素敵な明日を願っている

臆病風に吹かれて　波風がたった世界を

どれだけ愛することができるだろう?

考えすぎで言葉に詰まる

自分の不器用さが嫌い

でも妙に器用に立ち振舞う自分は

それ以上に嫌い

笑っていても

泣いて過ごしても平等に時は流れる

未来が僕らを呼んでる

その声は今　君にも聞こえていますか?

さよならが迎えに来ることを

最初からわかっていたとしたって

もう一回　もう一回

もう一回　もう一回

何度でも君に逢いたい

めぐり逢えたことでこんなに

世界が美しく見えるなんて

想像さえもしていない　単純だって笑うかい?

君に心からありがとうを言うよ

滞らないように　揺れて流れて

透き通ってく水のような

心であれたら

逢いたくなったときの分まで

寂しくなったときの分まで

もう一回　もう一回

もう一回　もう一回

君を強く焼き付けたい

誰も皆　問題を抱えている

だけど素敵な明日を願っている

臆病風に吹かれて　波風がたった世界を

どれだけ愛することができるだろう?

もう一回　もう一回

もう一回　もう一回

I found a rough translation on Yahoo Answers, click here to see it!

© Lin Zhaowei, 2009.

  

A thing for swings

I love swings. There is something liberating about just flinging yourself into the air with your feet dangling, and watching the world spin around you.

I remember going to the neighbourhood public playground with my sister when we were both young, and the swing was probably my favourite structure. (Another fav was the merry-go-round) In those days, playgrounds were simple. They were built on sand. Structures were mostly made of metal and coated with a layer of paint. Usually there was a slide, a swing, a merry-go-round, a see-saw, a monkey bar and a few spring riders. Of these, the swing seems to be the one that is usually broken, perhaps because of rusting chains? We would go to the playground in the evening, when the air was cooler and run around for a hour or so, before we had to return home for dinner.

But as we grew older and entered primary school, I think the town councils (or whoever was in charge) began upgrading public playgrounds. For some reason they replaced the sandy playgrounds with those with rubber padded floorings, and perhaps for safety, swings were mostly taken off. In their place we have plastic all-in-one structures, which were still fun but never quite provide the same excitement as a simple swing.

I've missed them ever since, and everything time I spot a swing, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic and excited.

Which probably explains why I was quite thrilled  to find a swing — actually two — at a chalet resort on Pulau Ubin last week. I was there with some colleagues for an news-gathering exercise as part of our basic reporting course. "Wow, a swing!" I blurted out. My colleagues probably didn't notice. For a moment I just left aside what I was supposed to do — speak to the guy who runs the place — and just stood there gazed longingly at the swings.

I would have loved to jump on, but work beckoned. 
© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.

You may have noticed that one of my top 10 photos from my year in Japan was of a swing. Maybe I should do more work on this theme.

As I wrote this, a song came to mind. Sixpence None The Richer's Kiss me. I quite liked that song when I was in secondary school. The second stanza goes:

Kiss me down by the broken tree house
Swing me upon its hanging tire
Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map

Breezy. Just like those days on the swing.

It's funny how some old songs seem to be more meaningful when I listen to them again these days.

*************************

PS: For those interested in reading more about Pulau Ubin, I found a blog written by a guy who has been visiting it regularly to chill out and take pictures. While it's a not a serious archival project per se, it makes for a good introduction to many of the personalities, stories and attractions on one of Singapore's few non-urban escapes. Click here to check it out.

A Quote

To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. -- Emily Dickinson, Poet

Found this from a friend's blog. 

Another reminder to myself to live well. Halfway through Feb now, and I still haven't started on any of my planned photo projects.

Life magazine on Google Books!

I've never paid much attention to Google Books and the news about it, partly because I didn't think much of it they were doing was going to be legal.

But just a few minutes ago, I clicked on it for the first time, out of interest aroused by a story about France digitising its books with the help of Google.

And to my surprise, some issues of Life magazine, one of the most famous photojournalism magazines in the past, is available on the service!

You can check the available issues by clicking here.

Exciting times ahead...

A tiny photo room

I've just discovered that my favourite photographer I've found through flickr has a blog.

It's basically the same photos (with some exceptions) that she posts on flickr, but with fuller write-ups on her thoughts and inspiration behind the photos.

I'm so glad I can understand some Japanese.

Check it out here.

Going "full frame"

By some accident, I found myself the winner of an ebay auction for a Nikon F6 just over an hour ago.

Let me explain myself...

I bought my Nikon D40X when I was in Japan almost two years ago. Now, Japan is practically photography equipment heaven if you live in Tokyo, because there are so many branches of the two big chains, Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera around, and they display their camera gear freely for anyone to feel and try. The bigger stores, in particular, even had most of the Nikon and Canon lenses displayed for you to try as much as you like (without walking away with it, of course).

The camera bodies, though, where displayed in all the stores for trying, if I don't recall wrongly. The D300 and D3 didn't feel that impressive then, though their price tags were astronomical to me at that point of time.

That was the time when I first handled the Nikon F6. Even before I first picked it up (not sure when exactly, but it must have been early 2008), I was shocked by the price tag -- over 260,000 yen (about S$4k)??? For a film camera??? Isn't film already obsolete as hell??? Who would buy something like this???

Yet at the same time, I also thought to myself: once I become skilled enough in photography, film is where I would want to be. I'm not sure where I got that from, but it's always been at the back of my head. Getting the Nikon F6, which many believe will be Nikon's last film camera, will be a mark of my progress in photography.

On a certain level, I think I have learnt enough about using a camera to move on to that stage.

But there was another push factor -- I am certainly no master photographer yet. I have been spending many hours on the computer processing my photos over the past three or four years, perhaps a little more. I'd been doing that even when I only had my Sony point-and-shoot, which finally died on me when I was in Japan. And when I moved on to shooting in RAW and processing them in Capture NX 2, the time I need to process photos on my 4-year-old X41 got longer.

I already spend about 10 hours a day at work staring at the computer nowadays. Should I be doing the same thing when I'm home? In a way I had become a slave to the computer.

I guess I'll end here, I get ahead of myself. I need to go make payment for my F6 first.

In the meantime, take a look at this article. It's well worth a read, even for people who started out with digital like me.

The first time I almost cried when looking at photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyoroko/

初めて　ある写真を見ると　言葉にできなく　泣きほど　感動した。

Good Read

Stumbled across an interesting post on the Magnum blog. Basically two questions were asked to a bunch of Magnum photographers:

1. When did you first get excited about photography?
2. What advice would you give young photographers?

Reading advice like this once in a while is useful in helping one set a focus, I think. What I particularly like about this piece is that most of the answers are quite sincere.

Click here to view the post.