Techno Cop

Aerial Photography

Two days ago, I was asked to do an aerial observation of several security convoys weaving through Manila traffic during rush hours. I did this as part of our preparations for the ASEAN Senior Ministers Meetings which will  be held in the Philippines from July 24 to August 2, 2007. Primarily, the purpose of the flight is to come up with measures to minimize the inconvenience to the riding public.

Below is an image of one of the security convoys weaving its way through EDSA.

Having done quite a few aerials before, I had to convince the pilots to fly anywhere between 10 am to 2pm. This is the best time for aerial photography since the sun is directly overhead thus minimizing unwanted shadows. The flight was planned for an 11 am take-off but did not materialize due to some minor problems in acquiring a flight clearance. However, we managed to take-off around 1145 am.

To say the least, I came prepared not only to focus on what was required but also to get some fancy aerial shots. Here are some of the things I had to do for this shoot:

1. The shoot must definitely be between 10 am to 2 pm, Check.
2. Chopper doors must be left open, Check, after some minor discussions with the pilot.
3. Gaffer tape all seatbelts to prevent accidental unbuckling (I find that this gives me an added confidence that I will not fall off thus allowing my mind to focus on the shoot) Check
4. Bring Canon 1DS camera set at 800 ISO and AV at its widest opening. This gives me a shutter speed of between 3000-4000 of a second thus eliminating camera shake. Check
5. Set the camera to shoot camera raw. Check
6. Bring extra CF card. Check
7. Bring one lens only Canon 28-135 IS which I find to be the most versatile when shooting aerials. The images from this shoot were shot between 28mm to 120mm. Check

      And below are the other images from the shoot. You can click on any image to view a slightly  bigger  version since the thumbs do not do justice to the actual photos. BTW, the images (32mb each) taken with the 1Ds could easily be printed at museum size.

Nothing fancy considering the slightly overcast condition when the pictures where taken.  All the raw images were processed and resized in Adobe Lightroom 1.1.

Special thanks to the crew of the PNP's Air Support Unit who had to violate some of their flying SOPs in order to accommodate my requirements.

Will I buy the iPhone - Redux?

For the record, this is by no means another iPhone bashing. I will just attempt to compare it with the smart phones that are already out in the market.

David Pogue of NYT recently came out with this very funny video of his hands on experience with the much hyped about Apple iPhone. Pogue gave the iPhone a definite thumbs up.

In my previous blog here, I documented the reasons why I will not buy the iPhone and why I decided to stick with my old and more powerful Dopod 838 pro. It has been 2 months since that blog and today, I have a new cellphone of choice- the Samsung i600.

The i600 was included in the side by side comparison released recently by Apple. However, it was surprising to note that the Dopod 838 Pro was not. So, I edited their post to suit exactly what I want to compare. You can click on the image to view a hi-res version.

 

Except for the thickness and eye candy, the Dopod still beats the iPhone which will be released anytime now. Again, I am basing my opinion on my own personal workflow. IHMO, Apple deliberately did not include the Dopod in their comparison precisely because the latter already has the same features except for its heft.

My must have features for my Smartphone of choice are QWERTY, wifi/3G, outlook sync, and ability to create documents on the fly. These features are now also available in my current Smartphone. Being a WM5 device, the i600 syncs very well with MS Outlook. Unlike the Dopod, documents can only be made in the i600 using the built in Notepad which to me is good enough. MS Office docs can only be viewed.

What I especially like is the i600's very slim design which is about the same as that of the iPhone. It easily fits inside my pocket without anyone noticing that I have a cellphone. The i600 is so thin it practically hugs the body when carried using the optional JAVOHolster.

Let us not even discuss the camera since we all know that, except for the Nokia N95 which has a 5 megapixel camera, most smart phones only add this as a token feature.

With that as a backdrop, I can still see people lining up for the iPhone. It is very attractive especially for Mac only users who never had to sync with Outlook or Microsoft Exchange. People who also have cellphones minus the Smartphone features I enumerated will also lust for the iPhone.  However, for current users of the Dopod 838 Pro, the Samsung i600 or Palm Treo, I doubt very much if they will even consider owning an iPhone. If you have already decided that the iPhone is for you, you should be ready to live with the following:

• It will cost you around $500 with a plan.
• It is currently available only with AT&T
• It will not be available in Asia until 2008
• You will have to put up with the problems inherent to all touch screen enabled phones.

The Verdict. Still no iPhone for me. I am still loving my Samsung i600 and it will continue to reside in my Sammy.

The Making of a Photograph

I always find the cliché "it is better to sweat in training than to bleed in battle" really works for me time and again in most everything that I do.

Two days ago, I was invited to an out of town shoot and did not have any idea what to expect. I actually only brought with me my N95 camera/phone and did not have any intention of doing any serious photo shoot.

As it turned out, my friend and photography mentor, IBARRA DERI, wanted me to participate in their exercise and asked me to actually shoot their invited model. He even handed me a Canon 5D with a 70-200 f2.8L IS lens to try.

As an experienced nature and landscape photographer, I know that glamour/fashion photography is a totally different discipline. But my L2RP training has given me the confidence that I can shoot anything when necessary given the right equipment. What came to mind right off was an online photography class exercise in 2002 where I had to shoot an egg from 25 different angles.

And so, with a borrowed camera in hand, I began jockeying for position with 12 other experienced fashion and wedding photographers from Club Camera Digital (CCD). Camera on AV set at F5.0, ISO 200 (a bit cloudy), and focus set to multi, I started shooting the egg, er, the model. Eyes on the lens, eyes to the right, show me those pouting lips, look to the left, you can hear everyone asking.

When the smoke has cleared, I shot a total of 29 frames for two different poses or about 15 frames per pose. It is a good thing that the other photographers were very kind to me as they did not push too hard trying to compose their own shots. Below is my keeper for the said event.

I haven't asked my mentor yet to comment on this picture but I am confident that I will make the grade. This only proves to show that my L2RP concept does work provided that one puts his heart into it.

By the way, the model is DANIELLA SEVILLA, a 16 year old student from British School Manila. Doesn't she remind you of an American actress married to…? You know who I am talking about.

1 out of 29 shots is not bad especially when compared to Bruce Weber's Pirelli 2003 Calendar shoot where he shot a total of 12,000 frames. That's 1 keeper out of every 1,000 shots. Not bad at all. 

Now, do I still have time for a career change? 

The Nokia N95 Carputer

Just recently, I, together with my partner ALLAN JARLOS, was commissioned to design a mobile office for a client.  Having done this before but using independent peripherals (i.e. fax, email, GPS, etc), we feel that technology has matured enough in order to set up a more streamlined and all-in-one mobile communication system. Basically, our client would like to have the following capabilities built in:

GPS navigation
Email and Internet browsing
Audio video teleconferencing
DVD and MP3 player
Wireless printing
Send and receive fax

Two weeks ago, after having completed our research, we narrowed down our carputer options into two: 1) using the Mac mini and; 2) the NOKIA N95. Since the latter is already out in the market, we decided to do that first while waiting for the other components needed to complete option 1.

NOKIA N95 Carputer

Owing to the computing power of the NOKIA N95, all we needed to do is to attach it to an LCD monitor to give it more screen real estate. We did our initial testing using a regular TV with RCA audio/video input. Then ALLAN decided to purchase the 7" Pioneer AVH-P6800.

The most difficult part of this project was the installation of the LCD monitor/DVD player to the dashboard of the car, which in this case is the Honda VTIS 2005. Once that was done, all we needed to do was to attach the N95 to the LCD using the cables that come as standard accessory for the N95. Below is a view of our Option 2 setup using the N95 connected to the dashboard.

All the carputer's features are accessed using the N95 handset. It is fairly easy to do once you master the standard N95 shortcuts. Taking the N95 out with you when you get off the car is very simple- just remove the LCD cable and away you go. Putting it back in is just the reverse with the N95 almost instantaneously detected by the LCD. All our text inputs (urls, email replies, etc) are currently done using the N95 standard keyboard.

The following are our shared observation for this setup:

1. The N95 is indeed not just a ubiquitous smart phone but a highly capable mobile computer. Except for the facsimile capabilities, which we should be able to figure out soon, this set up is able to handle all our requirements.
2. Although the Pioneer AVH-P6800 is a touch screen LCD, the touch screen interface does not work with the N95. In our setup, the system is controlled through the N95 handset itself.
3. The built-in navigation system, ASIAMAPS, is a joy to use. It interfaces flawlessly with the N95 which surprisingly seems to have a very sensitive GPS receiver. Even with the unit partially hidden under the dashboard, it can still constantly receive GPS data. In fact, I think it is just as sensitive if not better than my old standalone GARMIN GPSMap 60CSx with aerial antenna.
4. The N95 automatically shuts down any application once it detects an incoming call.  This is a completely hands-free system without the need for a Bluetooth headset. We can hear the voice of a caller through the vehicle's stock speakers while our voice is transmitted using the N95's built in and very sensitive microphone.
5. The setup is also able to handle video calls without any issues. We just needed to adjust the N95 to face ever so slightly towards us for the calling party to see us.
6. Email and web browsing is also flawless in this HSDPA phone provided that you use pre-saved browser bookmarks. This should get better as soon as we receive the Nokia wireless keyboard. We also plan to upgrade the N95 Office Suite which at present only allows viewing of excel, word, and PDF files.
7. The N95 has a fairly short battery life especially when multitasking. We managed to get only half days worth of battery life with the GPS and Internet constantly on. But this should be solved once we get our N95 cigarette lighter adapter.
8. This set up is very straightforward and very easy to accomplish for do-it-yourselfers.  For a minor fee, you could always find a car accessory shop to install it for you.  Once you have replaced your car's stereo head unit with LCD DVD player, the only other thing left to do is to hook it up to the N95 using the provided 3.5mm connector to RCA cables.

   Here's my personal take:

1. I still believe that a cheaper route could have been to use a regular touch screen LCD and not a complete stereo head unit such as the one we used here. We will confirm this as soon as the Lilliput 7" touch screen LCD arrives.
2. I love the N95's five megapixel camera so much that it has now become my everyday camera replacing the old Sony DSC P200. Well, it has to be especially with the high quality Carl Zeiss lens that it shoots with. The pictures above were taken with the N95 at fairly low light conditions and handheld. My only comment is that the pictures come out with a slight magenta cast. However, this is something very easy to correct in Photoshop. Besides, you will only need to do this for the images that you have selected as keepers.
3. Although the N95 is not at all sluggish even when multi-tasking, I still believe that our Option 1 (using a Mac mini) will be snappier. More on this in 2 weeks.

If you already own a NOKIA N95, try attaching it first to a regular TV, like what we did initially, then decide if it is worthy enough for your mobile office needs.

This is indeed convergence at its finest.

Happy carputing.

 

 

L2RP

In 2001, I decided to take up photography once more after being laid off for more than a decade. This was the year when I realized that digital photography and the internet will revolutionize the art. Revolutionize in the sense that what took the master photographers decades to accomplish could now be done in a matter of years given the proper approach.

I did some soul searching to find an answer to this question – what is it that makes me thrive in most of the things that I do? I was able to identify the following as some sort of a generic step by step method that I always go through:

LEARN & FORGET

RESEARCH & MENTORING

READ, LOOK, & SEE

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Looking back, I learned that I actually kept going around this four stage cycle, L2RP, every time I try to learn something new. This is exactly the same process I went through before deciding to 'switch' to MAC OS X. Here is how I apply the concept in photography.

1. LEARN & FORGET. I am talking here of basic photographic techniques. A week before I decided to buy my first digital camera, I bought my first photography book- Idiot's Photography Like A Pro. I found this book wanting in the sense that it did not satisfy my craving for more information about composition, the rule of thirds, color, tone, etc. So, I surfed the web looking for more advice from the "masters." I even enrolled in an online Photo School which had me taking pictures of an egg in 25 different angles. Another lesson entitled "the Cat's Eye," had me taking every picture at low level which made me sore for about a week. When I finally completed the online course, here is what my diploma says, "now that you have the basics of photography, forget all about them and just go out and take pictures that pleases you." Just like in driving, learn to trust your instinct.

2. RESEARCH & MENTORING. It is through research that I found out that a lot of amateur photographers could not afford the equipment they really want simply because they have splurged on cameras, accessories, software, etc. which they do not really need or found later to be wanting. The web is where you should start your research. I never buy any equipment without first reading the reviews on the web. Do your research first before reaching for your wallet. Also, you should not underestimate the value of your mentors. The best resource person in photography is someone who is already established in the craft. My mentors not only inspired my creativity but also saved me tons of time and money by pointing me towards the right direction.

3. READ, LOOK & SEE. Read photography books, magazines and look at tons of pictures to include posters and even billboards. With what you have learned in Stages 1 & 2, you will note that you will be looking at pictures with a more discerning eye. At this stage you are also armed with the necessary information to decide which equipment is right for you. Looking at pictures,  you  should find yourself studying their composition, color, tone and texture, the type of lighting used, etc. In the short period that I have been involved, I have collected quite a few books on photography. Now, seeing is a totally different ballgame. I must admit that this is one area that I still need a lot of work. Seeing photographically is a skill that allows you to see in your mind how a particular scene would look photographically even before raising your camera at eye level.

4. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. I must admit that a good number of my choice shots were as a result of luck. But as Ben Hogan aptly puts it about golf, "Golf is a game of luck. The more I practice, the luckier I get." Of late, I pride myself for being able to look at a scene and immediately say that that might make a good picture. Of course I am only right, maybe,   less than half of the time. But, I can say that I have improved my batting average tremendously over the years. I now find myself taking more time before I click that shutter. I attribute this improvement to constant practice. I consider this stage as the most important which could make or break one's photographic skills. It is also the stage where one could turn something good into something great.

I still consider myself as an advance amateur photographer in terms of the quality of images that I am presently capable of producing. Heck, in Lightroom, I only rate my 'portfolio' shots 3 stars when 5 stars is the highest. However, provided that I continue applying L2RP, I know that a 5 star rating is not that unreachable.