Blog and White World

More Atlantic City shots!

2008-07-23T10:22:00.001-07:00

©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick

I'm having a problem with blogger...hope to have a few more shots up soon!

Random NYC street shot #20

2008-07-22T04:23:00.000-07:00

Exclusive! First photos taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

2008-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today Panasonic officially introduced its first meaningful entry into what I hereby dub the "Leica M wannabees" category, joining the Ricoh GX-1 Digital and Sigma SD-1. Their common theme? They all have optical viewfinders that attach via the flash shoe, and all feel like cameras that were designed by designers who allowed familiarity to photography to win over out-of-control engineering.

But do any of these cameras do digitally what I can do with my trusty Leica M3? Well...not really. But they're fun to play with and certainly cost a lot less than an M8.

So, on to the LX3. Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to take the camera for an informal spin on a boat ride around Manhattan, courtesy of the kind folks at Panasonic. You can read the news item, with all the specs and stuff, here. And now--a Blog and White World exclusive...here's what happens when a bunch of sun-baked photography writers, editors, PR people and Japanese bigwigs on the top deck of a cruise boat are photographed by a street photographer who's been shooting since 1976...

©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick

A very short review

While the camera says it has a manual focus setting, you have to go into menus to find it and use on-screen controls, which means you have to take your eye away from what's going on in front of you. I focused on 3 meters and let hyperfocal distance do the rest. Shutter lag is pronounced in AF, much less so in manual focus. However, there was a brief pause, and I missed some moments. Image quality was excellent, even at ISO 400 when most compacts start showing unacceptable noise. That's due to the larger-than-usaual 10MP sensor, which allows for the individual pixels to be made larger and capture more light.

So while it's no Leica, for around a 10th of the price of an M8 the Panasonic LX3 has a lot to offer and will likely give its two other closest competitors a good run for their money.

Random NYC street shot #19

2008-07-20T12:07:00.001-07:00

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Here's the final shot from my street test of the Ricoh Caplio GX100. The shutter, I must admit, reacted very fast, enabling me to get moments like this. One of the interesting features I tried out was the VF1 electronic vewifinder. It's interesting because it swivels from eye level to 90 degrees. I shot this with it set at about 45 degrees (hence the slightly lower POV) and it took quite a bit of getting used to. However, if you set the monitor live image view to just show the image without any information, you can see things pretty clearly.

Overall, I'd say this camera is a nice little camera, but because it requires relative manual settings (via button presses) rather than absolute settings (such as the focusing tab on a Leica M lens) and it has a high signal-noise ratio at higher ISOs, it falls short of the ideal digital street camera that I'm constantly looking for.

Random NYC street shot #18

2008-07-17T04:21:00.001-07:00

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Ricoh GX100 street test photo #3. After shooting a few dozen shots in auto-everything mode, I started using the camera's manual controls. Manual focus allowed me to shoot faster than AF, although the MF controls were not exact. Using the up/down buttons on the circular array of control buttons on the back of the camera allows you to focus in approximate increments. One press brings you from infinity down to 3 meters, then to 1 meter, then focuses in smaller increments down to 1cm. The longer you press, the more the focus changes, but it's not an exact science, and this was frustrating when shooting on the streets.

I ended up locking focus midway between 3 meters and 1 meter and let my rough estimate of the hyperfocal distance do the heavy lifting.

Random NYC street shot #17

2008-07-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Second of my Rcoh GX100 street test: I used Photoshop's adjust lighting > shadow contrast tool to lighten the shadow areas here, but despite the tricky lighting I think the Ricoh GX100's meter did a reasonable job. This is the last of my attempts to use the AF, which simply didn't react fast enough. The shutter does not lock up while focusing, which means shorter lag time but also means autofocusing is risky as it may not be done by the time your press the button all the way. Manual focus is better but takes some getting used to.

I also noticed that it takes a fairly light touch to trigger the shutter release--but there were times when I though I'd captured the shot but the shutter release never triggered. By the end of the day I was back to pressing the shutter release firmly.

I shot this at ISO 100, and while highlights look fine you can see a bit of grain in the shadow areas at full size.

"10 Things I Hate About Film"

2008-07-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

Is this guy serious?
Well...no, he isn't.

To quote...
"Film is a four-letter-word. It’s a hideous part of our photographic past, and we’ll be better off once it’s been eliminated from society. I’m ashamed to admit that I tried film once, but I quickly learned just how disgusting it really is and I’ve been clean ever since that occasion. Just take my word for it — FILM IS BAD (mmmkay). Here are ten things I hate about film..."

Read the rest of this brilliant blog post by Brian Auer!

Random NYC street shot #16

2008-07-15T09:30:00.001-07:00

I've been shooting lately with the Ricoh GX100 digital compact camera. (It has just been replaced by the GX200, which is only available in the US via Adorama.)

Over the next few days I'll be posting shots made with this model, and my thoughts.
© 2008 by Mason Resnick

I shot this at ISO 100--which is ideal for best overall image quality and fewest digital noise artifiacts but not ideal for street photography. The woman on the far left is slightly blurred in the original file. Hyperfocal distance saved this from being a blurry mess, since focus was on the person in the center of the frame, and not on the people right in front of me.

OTOH, the camera reacted fast, with nearly no lag time. Images were captured in 4:3 aspect ratio which I cropped down to 2:3. I had the 2:3 aspect ratio mask on when shooting so I was thinking in the narrower format.

Atlantic City Boardwalk Photos

2008-07-14T04:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been busy.

Here are some new shots...

©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick

More to come!

Random NYC street shot #15

2008-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Random NYC street shot #14

2008-07-03T05:31:00.000-07:00

Street photography in UK unofficially restricted by cops

2008-07-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

In a disturbing decision in the UK, local police can now stop street photographers from taking pictures for, basically, any reason.

While there is no legal justification for such action according to British law, the police may choose to stop someone from taking pictures as an "operational decision." A spokesman for the British Home Office told Freelance: UK that "it is for the chief constable to to ensure that officers and police community support officers are acting appropriately with regards to photography in public places,” and goes on to say that “decisions may be made locally to restrict photography, for example to protect children."

So, the bad news for my friends in the UK who have produced some of the most entertaining, thought-provoking and moving street photos in the world is that they may continue to do so at the risk of having their equipment confiscated and being arrested, and their right to free expression has been unofficially revoked.

The only good news is that more than a third of all Members of Parliament now back a petition on the right to take pictures in public places unchallenged by officials. The motion has recieved cross-party support. Let's hope that support continues to grow.

So good luck guys and, to quote a line from one of my all-time favorite police drama TV shows, Hill Street Blues, hey...be careful out there.

Why I Use A Mac...by Bill Gates

2008-07-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

In 2003, Bill Gates, who just retired from Microsoft, sent a scathing internal e-mail ranting about the user-unfriendliness of loading Moviemaker software (made by Microsoft) onto his Windows-based (made by Microsoft) PC. A Seattle-based radio pseronality named Dave Ross performed a dramatic reading of this e-mail in honor of Bill's retirement.

Imagine, Ross ponders, what American productivity would be like if Bill Gates had insisted on user friendliness in his own company's ubiquitus operating system. "We'd be going home at 2 PM instead of 6:30," he quips.

Sorry Dave, but the easier-to-use OS has been there all along. Maybe you've heard of it, it's called Apple Macintosh. I use it for everything, from writing Word docs to creating web sites in Dreamweaver to intensive image editing in Adobe Photoshop. I don't hear any emails from Steve Job complaining about his OS...

Hear the dramatic reading here:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/142032.asp

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

2008-07-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson's 100th birthday is coming up in 6 weeks, but I just discovered an early birthday present: Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, a web site that supports HCB's legacy. This includes announcing winners of the annual HCB award, exhibits of fellow-traveller photographers and artists, symposiums at the Paris-based organization, as well as newsletters and the ability to purchase HCB prints.

Anyone interested in black-and-white photography should visit this site and learn more about one of the giants of 20th century photography.

Random NYC street shot #13

2008-07-01T14:48:00.001-07:00

Random NYC street shot #12

2008-07-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Random NYC street shot #11

2008-06-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-23T14:29:00.001-07:00

Justice by non-sequitor

2008-06-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

Last year, Miami-based photographer Carlos Miller was arrested while photographing police, charged with disobeying a police order, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. A jury found Miller not guilty of the first two charges, but did convict him of "resisting arrest without violence," which sounds to me like a slap on the wrist. The prosecutor asked for 3 months probation.

Apparently the judge read the jury's verdict differently, and threw the book at Miller, sentencing him to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service, an anger management class (which the judge should probably be taking) and $540.50 in court costs. Then the judge went on to reveal his true bias, apparently telling Miller he should visit Arlington National Cemetary, where the "real hearoes" who fought for our freedom are buried. Now that's what I call justice by non-sequitor!

I really hope Carlos Miller will appeal the sentencing decision and get it overturned by a non-biased judge. If this judement is allowed to stand, it sets a legal precedent that could potentially be used against photojournalists and street photographers nationwide.

As one of the commenters in Carlos's blog--an ex cop--writes:
"I hope you prevail. I, for one, am tired of hearing the endless lament of “how difficult their job is.” As an ex-cop, I know all too well how many of them relish their “difficult” job. Thank God camera phones and amateur video are more pervasive nowadays. These are the best tools a free society has to insure our public servants endeavor to “protect and serve” rather than kicking the sh*! out of anyone they please."

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-20T12:18:00.001-07:00

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

Justice is served

2008-06-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

A street photographer is someone who photographs people in public places, looking for human interest, irony and humor becauase an inner muse compels them to. A paparazzo is someone who photographs celebrities and other public personalities in ways that will embarrass them and tries to sell those pictures for a lot of money.

I love street photography and support street photographers worldwide. Can't say the same for paparazzi. Now it turns out a paparazzo who got his foot run over by Britney Spears and sued her for damages has lost his case. The D.A. wrote "the only way the victim's foot could have been [run over] was by the victim placing it in that location." Of course he was standing there to get a salable shot.

Read the details.

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-15T06:43:00.000-07:00

Random NYC street shot

2008-06-14T19:57:00.001-07:00