WANKEN - The blog of Shelby White » Photography

From the Weekend: Idaho Motocross Photos

Shelby White — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:51:57 +0000

These photos are of friend Cody Stanton on a track in Idaho. Prior to shooting these and as much as I hate to admit it, I hadn’t been out with my camera shooting for nearly a month. I guess that’s what happens when you get stuck working on the computer. These were all taken on my Canon 1D Mark II with the 70-200mm L and 17-40mm L lenses.

When sifting through the 900 or so images I shot, I couldn’t bring myself to edit them heavily. I was really just feeling the raw power and how it was more engaging than some over processed business such as the over used and abused Dave Hill style. It felt good to get out and shoot more and it’s about that time of year when I should get my photo portfolio online and do some more shooting like in the Helly Hansen Annual.

Kalle Gustafsson Photography

Shelby White — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:20:12 +0000

Kalle Gustafsson’s is a Swedish photographer whose work absolutely blows me away. The mood and proper use of sun flares makes me want to live in the world that is created by these photos. Seeing them also makes me want to start shooting more again.

Check out more on the photographers website.

Iceland Volcano Timelapse

Shelby White — Mon, 17 May 2010 07:43:57 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Time lapse sequences have always amazed me, partly because of the difficulty in producing them, but also that it’s a dynamic showcase of what goes on around us that we don’t see. The photographer who shot this time lapse—Sean Stiegemeier—said about his video:

So I saw all of these mediocre pictures of that volcano in Iceland nobody can pronounce the name of, so I figured I should go and do better. But the flights to get over took forever as expected (somewhat). 4 days after leaving I finally made it, but the weather was terrible for another 4. Just before leaving it got pretty good for about a day and a half and this is what I managed to get.

Sean shot this on a Canon 5d Mk II on a motorized dolly. I’d be curious to see the dolly set up he used. Eventually I would like to get into shooting timelapses like this one. See more of his videos on his Vimeo.

There Was Rain

Shelby White — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:58:03 +0000

I have a slew of links I’d like to share that are my go-to’s for inspiration on those rainy days and There was rain is one of them. The site–curated by Cory Gibbons–is a large collection of gorgeous photography and architectural works from people all over.

Make sure to hop on over to his site at Therewasrain.com.

Life Series: One minute of footage takes two years to make

Shelby White — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:32:22 +0000

So you know those time lapse sequences on the ever-so-amazing Planet Earth and the new LIFE series? This video, from the new LIFE series on BBC, shows how they make those epic time lapses. I’m still in awe every time I watch this video. The amount of room for error is huge here, yet they nail it perfectly. Ninety-five layers deep in what looked to be After Effects most certainly was difficult to work with.

The rigging that the crew used is also very cool. You can see in the video that they are shooting Nikon and using a large gliding dolly combined with an arm/crane to help with the fluid movement. They used a similar motion control setup when shooting the autumn mountain landscape, Japanese cherry blossoms in bloom and a sand storm in the Sahara (see them all here) the more well known of Planet Earth’s time lapses.

Video sourced from Wimp

Hipstamatic App Review Pt 1: The Interface

Shelby White — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:27:11 +0000

Hipstamatic Loading screen: “Wiping off lens, please wait.”

The latest and greatest new iPhone app capturing attention is Hipstamatic. The name is a little corny (apparently the real Hipstamatic was a toy camera back in the 80’s), but the app is nowhere near it. Hipstamatic brings with it a sleek interface and unpredictability, combined with a cross-processed and traditional film looks to each photo you take.

The first thing you notice when opening up this application is that the interface is built around the design of the traditional Holga. I think this is very cool and pretty nicely done compared to other photo apps. On top of the design, the ease of use is great. To change lenses, flashes or film, it just takes the swipe of the finger. Purchasing more of the features is very simple as well, but I guess what app isn’t?

The best part about Hipstamatic is that it’s somewhat unpredictable. Especially when you forget how each lens, film, and flash affect the photo. At first I was surprised at how quickly it processed each photo and then saved it. I came to find out that it was because the photos that it was processing were only 480px or so wide and not the full resolution. There is a feature in the settings that can be turned on to “print” larger, but when turning this on the “developing” time is substantially longer. I was also pleasantly surprised at how closely–in some cases–this app mimicked cross-processed film. Of course it still has some work to do to even get close to cross-processed film.

So far I really haven’t had any issues with Hipstamatic to speak of besides enlarging the viewfinder window. I also noticed that my lens/flash/film combination kept on resetting when the app quit on me, two minor issues to a great iPhone application. Overall it’s worth your dollar ninety-nine, two thumbs up to the creator of Hipstamatic.

Continue reading to see more screen shot images of the interface. You can also see the photos I took for my review of Hipstamatic in part 2 here.

From the Weekend: Olympic Peninsula

Shelby White — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:49:05 +0000

Sometimes I find it increasingly difficult to get away from working on stuff and take a break. This past weekend I managed to get away and go north from Seattle, out onto the Olympic Peninsula–all around fun trip. Excited to get out and start shooting more photos.

Canon 1d Mark IV: Nocturne + Sydney New years

Shelby White — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:34:35 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Both of the above videos were shot on Canon’s newest DSLR, the 1d Mark IV. The videos look incredible, but what is absolutely jaw-dropping about the first video, Nocturne by Vincent Laforet, is that it was shot at ISO 6400 for nearly the whole video–some of the scenes were shot at ISO 3200 but all scenes used natural light sources.

The quality coming from the new 1d Mark IV is stunning. Prior to the 5d Mark II and Nikon D90 I was not super thrilled about video on DSLR’s. The main reason was that I didn’t see its potential. Now that these video capabilities are so well refined, I’d love to get ahold of a new DSLR. Just one more thing to add to this years wish list.

Winter in Idaho

Shelby White — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:28:18 +0000

Every winter in Idaho is different. Some winters you see lots of snow and some you don’t see more than a few inches. Going into the trip I had envisioned another great black & white series like last years Winter in Black & White but instead here are an eclectic group of color photos from the trip.

Canon Announces EOS 1D Mark IV

Shelby White — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:05:19 +0000

The EOS-1D Mark IV is a high-speed performance beast with a 16-megapixel sensor, and Dual DIGIC 4 Processors. The camear shoots at 10 frames per second and is the second camera ever to have ISO expandable to 102400. This new camera also features 1080p HD video at selectable frame rates.

This has been the strangest release in Canon’s history. We–and I’m going to speak for a lot of photographers here when I say this–have been waiting and waiting for Canon to step up the 1d series and tonight they’ve done just that. The Canon 1D Mark IV is the newest and hottest camera on the market. It’s the release we’ve been waiting for–will you fancy for this camera or buy it? Comment here and tell us. Check out some of the details below.

Canon 1D Mark IV Key Features

* 16-megapixel APS-H (1.3x crop factor) CMOS sensor (4896 x 3264 pixels)
* Sensitivity range: ISO 100 to 12,800, expandable to ISO 50 and ISO 102,400
* Updated auto focus system with 39 cross-type sensors
* New, AI Servo II predictive auto focus
* 10 frames per second full resolution RAW
* Flash sync: 1/300th second
* HD video: 1080p at 30, 24, and 25 frames per second – 720p at 60 frames per second
* Manual video exposure control
* Optional stereo sound with microphone line-in
* Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors
* 14-bit analogue to digital conversion
* Three RAW modes (16, 9 and 4 megapixels)
* 3-inch, 920k Clear View II LCD display
* “Completely weather-resistant”
* Rugged, magnesium alloy chassis
* 100% coverage optical viewfinder
* 300,000-cycle shutter

Canon 1D Mark IV Availability

Amazon

The 1D Mark IV is scheduled to be available in late December. It’s gonna cost you your next three paychecks–the body is expected to be $4999.00. That’s up about $500 compared to the 1D Mark III price. But you have to expect that when you’re getting that much cameraz-a full HD video capable camera, and a super fast, pro dslr.

Check out these truly amazing samples from over at Vincent Laforet’s blog. He has been testing the camera for some time now.

Flame war debate: Canon Unveils EOS 7D

Shelby White — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:19:44 +0000

We wait and wait all year for the camera companies to release new cameras so we can desire the biggest and baddest. Just this morning Canon announced their new addition to the high-end camera line, the EOS 7d. Now, before we get into it here, lets list the facts/specs about the camera:

• 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor
• 1.6x Crop
• 8 frames per second continuous shooting
• 1080p HD video recording with manual controls
• 3.0 inch Clear View II LCD screen with 920,000 dots
• 19-point AF system (all cross-type)
• 1.0x magnification and 100% coverage viewfinder
• Wireless flash control
• Environmental sealing
• $1699 price tag (body only)

Read the full review here.

Now, what do you think.

Is this a camera that is fully worthy of a release at this point? Do you believe that Canon should have spent their time releasing or designing something else? If so, what and why?

Note: I’ve started the debate by this comment earlier this morning.

Creativity and Finding Interesting

Shelby White — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:59:49 +0000

For the last year I’ve been trying to define my style–not the style of my hair, although that may need work–but the style of the images that I create by rethinking how I make them. Rather than hopscotching over to the DSLR to get super clean, high-res images, I’m utilizing a much cheaper camera, the iPhone. Ultimately I’m dumping all of my resolution and settings.

The sacrifice is worth it for one reason:

When limited, you’re forced to be creative. In a search to find my style, the smaller camera makes me rethink what I’m shooting. The limitation empowers me with the requirement of creativity. The evidence is in the top left photo.

What do you see?

It is a normal light; the inner bulb and reflector. What I instinctively saw for a light, looked to me more like a skeleton. This is a prime example of finding interesting (taking ordinary things and turning them into interesting images). The next time you take a photo (if other than the family thanksgiving photo) try to find interesting for yourself. It will lead you on a daily hunt to create new photographs.

[continue reading to see more images]

The following four images are of found objects. Can you guess what each object is in the photo?

Photos in Review Part II

Shelby White — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:30:46 +0000

One of the most interesting, entertaining and helpful things for myself (and others) is to sit back and review work that I’ve (you’ve) done. Whether its a year old or 15 minutes fresh out of the camera–it doesn’t matter–it still deserves a second look. A few months ago I posted a review on a few images that weren’t instant favorites when I first saw them, but after a second and third time visiting them, I began to see different things that I liked about them. The review was a success, so much in fact, that I plan to use one of those images in my upcoming portfolio.

The different thoughts that friends and fellow photographers said about those first round images, had me thinking about continually revisiting old photos that at first weren’t “bangers”. I strongly suggest you try the same but for now, lets start these four photos on their review. Here are two very simple questions that I have for you and if you will, post a message down below answering in short:

Which image is your favorite and why?

Which image is your least favorite and why?

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Fourth of July: Typical Vs. Not so typical

Shelby White — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:57:22 +0000

In our lifetimes, we’ve been presented with fireworks and a joyous occasion of celebration during the Fourth of July. This has been the tradition for years. In the essence of capturing the moment and beauty of fireworks, I believe some moments are not being taken advantage of which ties us into the traditionally-typical firework photos vs the not so typical firework photos. The moments captured by many vs. the moments captured by few.

Every year around this time we see a slew of firework photographs being pushed online that look the same. We may see a few purple cows in the bunch (outstanding or remarkably interesting photos are purple cows) but the majority look very typical. As a stretch to find creativity, I changed the way I shot the fireworks this year in hopes to take not so typical photographs (last years typical photos).

Where do YOU draw the line with Typical vs Not So Typical?

I’ve opted to only post two photos. The first is a panorama of South Lake Union in Seattle looking towards Gasworks Park. The photo was taken from exactly here.

The second photo is quite different than I’ve seen the Fourth of July portrayed. I’m going to leave it up to you to decide which one fits the holiday the best and which set, last years or this years, wins the Not So Typical award.

Did you shoot this year? Feel free to link to your Firework images in the comments. For anyone wanting to know settings/meta info, look here.

UPDATE: Here is a link to some great not-so-typical firework photos from Getty/AP photographers.

Ten Cameras Every Photographer Wish They Had

Shelby White — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:12:17 +0000

If you’re a photographer, then chances are you’re wishing you had a new camera to play with. Yeah sure, your current one is just fine, but you want the next camera with that sleek new special gadget.

I think I may have found ten cameras that will solve your wants forever. Sure they are a little strange, but these cameras will produce such interesting results that you can’t go wrong. The only problem is that they’re limited in quantity, so getting your hands on them will be tough.

Continue reading to reveal the list.

So there you have it–the top ten plus one. Ok so maybe these cameras aren’t the hottest on the market, but they sure are the most unique off the market. Most of them were sold for detective works with the exception of the matchbox camera, which was specifically for spying on people.

Read more about these cameras on this article.