Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels

Last year, I had a chance to visit the cathedral of Los Angeles, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, which has amazing post-modern architecture.  Here are some photos I took (click on any photo for a higher-res version).

Choosing the Exposure for Dynamic Range

Over the weekend, we visited Knott's Berry Farm, one of the first theme parks in the U.S.  What I like about Knott's is that the lines are much shorter than those of Disneyland therefore we get to experience more rides within the same amount of time.  I also think Knott's has a more interesting variety of rides for young children like our 5-year old, and has more thrill rides (though not as many as Magic Mountain).  Although the production value is not as high as that of Disneyland, it is still quite high.

During our visit the heat was intense, reaching 95°F (35°C), just one degree below the all-time record of 96 for that area, and 10 degrees hotter than the average for this time of the year.  With the sun blazing overhead, the dynamic range was very wide.  I used two different exposure strategies to deal with the dynamic range.

Capturing Epic Sunrises and Sunsets

Epic sunrise or sunset shots -- the kind where the sky is ablaze with hues of red, yellow and lavender -- don't happen purely by luck.  We can't control the weather but we can pay attention to the kinds of conditions that are conducive to producing glorious sunrises and sunsets.  Here are some techniques I learned for capturing sunrises and sunsets.

How to Bend SpaceTime (Tokina 10-17 Fisheye Review and Usage Guide)

The lighthouse bends as the distant building looms overhead, like a scene from Inception

In this post, we discuss fisheyes in general and we review the Tokina 10-17 fisheye lens. First, I'll show comparisons between rectilinear ultrawide images and fisheye images. Second, we'll talk about fisheyes.  Third, I'll provide some samples of how fisheyes can be used (aside from 'funny' shots).  Finally, I'll discuss the Tokina 10-17.

Filters for Protecting Lenses: High-End vs. Budget vs. Dirt-Cheap

With digital photography, using filters to achieve special effects has become much less common, with the exception of neutral density filters, graduated ND filters, and circular polarizers.  The other exception, with some controversy, is the use of filters to protect lenses.  Typically, UV filters or sometimes skylight (warming) filters are used for this purpose.

In this post, we compare images from lenses without any filter, with a budget filter, and a high-end filter.  The filters I tested were:
(a) a high-end filter, the Hoya HD Hardened Glass 8-layer Multi-Coated Digital UV Filter, around $70 for 77mm.
(b) a budget filter, the Hoya skylight filter (standard version, not multi-coated), around $20 for 77mm.  Note: the skylight filter has a warming effect, so for purposes of this comparison, please take that into account as part of the filter design and not an inherent characteristic of budget filters.
I've also included a separate test for an ultra-cheap generic UV filter.

I tested the filters on two lenses:
(i) a flare-resistant lens, the Nikkor 24-70 2.8G on a Nikon D3; and
(ii) a lens that is [supposedly] susceptible to flare and ghosting, the Tokina 11-16 2.8 on a Fuji S5 Pro.
Both lenses use 77mm filters so I was able to use the same set of filters for the tests.

Hit the jump for the samples.

Lightroom 4.1 Defringe Tool

Have you downloaded Lightroom 4.1 yet?  If not, you're really missing out.  Check out this shot:

This was shot with a Tokina 10-17 fisheye.  I am working on a review of that lens but for now note that the Tokina fisheye is very susceptible to purple fringing and chromatic aberration:

Lightroom 4 includes a command to Remove Chromatic Aberration but Lightroom 4.1 takes this further and adds an additional tool for removing aberration: the Defringe tool.  It has an eyedropper and all you do is click on any purple or green fringe color.  Check this out:

Boom! Gone in just one click!

If you look closely there is a little bit of green fringing.  Just click the eyedropper a second time, this time on green fringing.

Now both purple and green fringing are gone.  Tokina should include a copy of LR 4.1 with every lens they sell! :)

Tokina 11-16: Ultrawide for Low Light Portraits

In this post, we review the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, a crop-sensor lens with a fast constant aperture and a reputation for sharpness.  Is it worth the extra cost?  Hit the jump for our review and samples.

EDIT: Added comments re chromatic aberration, ghosting and flare.