Lumen Dei – 2009
Over the last two weeks we photographed everything from grand mosques and monasteries to villagers in small rural one room houses. Over and over, the people we met welcomed us into their homes, lives and places of worship.
Here are two slideshows, one from Delhi, and one from Ladakh
New Delhi
Ladakh
Bye Bye India
This has been an extraordinary two weeks. I have laughed a lot, made some very good friends, and learned a great deal. The level of photographic talent in the group was truly inspiring.
We flew to Delhi this morning for connecting flights to five different continents. While it is sad to say goodbye to everyone, I [...]
Over The Himalayas
We spent the last 2 days on the Pakistani side of Kashmir in the Nubra valley. To get there we crossed an 18,000 foot pass in the Himalayas – the highest motorable road in the world.
While the scenery was similar (Karakorum mountains instead of Himalayas) the people looked much more Middle-eastern than those east of [...]
Rural Himalaya and Monastaries
We’ve spent the last few days in the rural Himalaya photographing monastaries and local villages. The landscapes are stunning and the people engaging. Photographically, it has been truly amazing.
Himalayas
I can’t believe it is such a short flight from the craziness of Delhi to the peace (and altitude) of the Himalayas. We are surrounded by 20,000 foot peaks – the scenery is spectacular.
We spent the first day aclimatizing and photohraphed monastaries today. Tomorrow we are off to rural Ladakh for a couple of [...]
Two days in the Muslim world
As a Christian, and a westerner, I was deeply apprehensive about spending time in the Muslim world.
CNN tells us that Muslims are scary, uneducated, and not to be trusted. The reality is that they are just like us. Sure, they dress differently, they have different customs, but they are, at their core, human.
Over the [...]
Lumen Dei – Day 1
Today was filled with challenges – harsh light, Muslim mosques, and the chaos that is Delhi. All this added up to a very stretching experience. Besides, there is nothing like hanging out with a group of really gifted photographers to push you to lift your game.
Postcard from Delhi
Today was the “get the cobwebs out” day. Four of us headed to a Sikh temple in the morning and a Muslim ruin in the afternoon. India truly is a magical place to photograph. The colors are vibrant, the people are friendly. What more could you want?
Here are a few images from today.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging
Back when we used to shoot slide film, any photograph we made could contain about 4 stops of light. Since many scenes contain a much higher light range than this, a common tool in any serious photographers bag was a Neutral Density filer. In the digital world, we have more options when we have scenes that contain more light than the sensor will capture.
Infinite Depth of Field
Digital photography opens up new possibilities for depth of field. While optical solutions such as Tilt & Shift lenses exist, there is a simple technique for merging multiple exposures into one image to create a practically unlimited depth of field.
The Lightroom Develop Module
A RAW image is a little like a negative from the film days. After you take a photograph, you need to develop it, color correct it, do contrast adjustments, etc. This all used to take place in a chemical filled darkroom. Today you use the Develop module in Adobe Lightoom.
D3x vs D3 noise comparison
After playing with my D3X for a few weeks it is clear that it’s noise characteristics are different to my D3. The question that comes to mind is, when do I shoot with my D3x and when should I pull out my D3.
There has been lots of pixel peeping noise analysis of the D3x [...]
Photo Gear – what I use and how I use it
If you take photography seriously, you eventualt end up with a bunch of gear. Much of it is heavy, all of it is expensive. The real trick for me has been figuring out what to take and what not to take on any given shoot. Here is a list of the gear I use as well as my standard shooting configurations.