Posts from David de Groot

Gallery Showing - 19/2/2008 to 29/2/2008

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:34:41 +0000

Well I've finally made it happen.

Six of my landscapes are printed large and on display at the Esk Information Centre, Esk, Queensland.

So if you happen to be in the south east of Queensland and would like a nice drive in the country, pop out to Esk and drop in at the information centre (east end of town) to have a peek.

The shots chosen were:

(I have no idea how to make these images sit in a row rather than a column, if anyone knows, speak up)

110 film

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:00:37 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

Yesterday while rumaging through some boxes (nominally unpacking), I came across a pair of Lea's old 110 format cameras. One is a cheapy "Hanimex 110 . electonic flash" model but the other is somewhat more interesting, a "Minolta WeatherMatic A", waterproof camera.

I've shoved a battery in it and the flash works, but I have no 110 film cartidges. Anyone know a good place around Brisbane to source some (I'll take expired, in fact I'd prefer expired film) ?

Scanner Woes

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 01:15:34 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

Well after six years our aging HP flatbed scanner is rapidly showing signs of imminent death.

Thus I'll likely be in the market for a new one quite shortly. So, what I'm after is recommendations :)

Here's what I need:

A4 sized document scan in a flatbed configuration

35mm and maybe larger negative scanning abilities

High resolution for the negative scanner, preferrably multipass, 24 bit colour minimum

Must work with Windows AND Mac (OS X 10.4)

Added bonuses would be:

Works in Linux

Networkable (this would be very very handy)

Automatic document feeder

Duplex scanning

Those last two are just pure icing, it'd be nice, but I'm not going to pay a small fortune that could be better spent on camera gear for them :)

Portfolio!

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 12:58:13 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

So with much fanfare (well ok, not that much really) I hereby release my new Portfolio into the wild.

I've still yet to decide on a proper name (suggestions welcome) which will dictate the eventual domain it lives on, but for now, here it is.

www.degrootphotography.com.au

All comments welcome.

Canon EXIF info on Ipernity

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 04:28:59 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

Anyone else noticed that the 35mm equivalence value displayed by ipernity for Canon APS-C dSLRs (300d, 350d, 400d, 10d, 20d, 30d, 40d) appears to have the wrong multiplier.

The crop multiplier for these models is 1.6x, yet the values shown imply a multiplier of 4.Y x where Y varies considerably.

It's not really a big deal, just odd.

RedBubble

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 09:35:01 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

After some nudging from various people (Hi Nicole!), I've decided to do something with my photos and as such I'm giving RedBubble a try.

At the moment I've only got a few photos up there for sale, but if anyone feels they might want to purchase one that's not up there, let me know and I'll post it, or we can come to some other agreement.

Of Visiting Photographers and Photo Exhibitions

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 03:21:15 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

So this weekend a photographer friend of mine (Xenedis aka Johnno) is coming to Brisbane.

Conveniently, on the Friday night is Mr Magoo's exhibition, Paradigm Shift:

See flyer here.

So if anyone wants to come along and meet, and also see some pretty amazing photographic work in print, we'll be at:

440 Upper Edward St

Spring Hill

at about 6:30pm on the 7th of September.

Also over the weekend Johnno is available and keen to have people show him around Brisbane to see and photograph interesting things and people. Let me know if you're interested and available or see the Meetup thread hosted on flickr here.

Astronomical Events

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:47:44 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

On Aug 28th, there will be a total lunar eclipse, clearly visible at during the sensible hours of 6:51pm to 10:22pm.

And on the 14th of December (well 5th to 22nd) is the Geminid meteor shower.

More details of where to look soon.

As promised, the details on the Geminid shower:

Geminids (GEM)


Active:	December 7 —17
Maximum:	December 14; 16h45m UT (λ = 262°2) ± 2.3h
ZHR =	120
Radiant:	α = 112°; δ = +33°
Radiant drift:	see Table
v_∞ =	35 km/s
r =	2.6
TFC:	α = 087°; δ = +20° and
	α = 135°; δ = +49° before 23h local time
	α = 087°; δ = +20° and
	α = 129°; δ = +20° after 23h local time (β > 40° N)
	α = 120°; δ = -03° and
	α = 084°; δ = +10° (β < 40° N)
IFC:	α = 150°; δ = +20° and
	α = 060°; δ = +40° (β > 20° N)
	α = 135°; δ = -05° and
	α = 080°; δ = 00° (β < 20° N)

One of the finest, and probably the most reliable, of the major annual showers presently observable.

This year, the waxing crescent Moon will set by mid-evening across the globe on December 14 (the actual moonset timing is progressively later the further south you are), giving mostly dark skies for all observers, especially those in the northern hemisphere.

The Geminid radiant culminates around 2h local time, but well north of the equator it rises around sunset, and is at a usable elevation from the local evening hours onwards, while in the southern hemisphere, the radiant appears only around local midnight or so.

Even from more southerly sites, this is a splendid stream of often bright, medium-speed meteors, a rewarding sight for all watchers, whatever method they employ. The peak has shown slight signs of variability in its rates and timing in recent years, with the more reliably-observed maxima during the past two decades all having occurred within 2h20m of the time given above. The main predicted timing, coupled with moonset, favours places from central Asia eastwards across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska. An earlier or later timing would extend this best-visible zone some way eastwards or westwards respectively.

Some mass-sorting within the stream means the fainter telescopic meteors should be most abundant almost 1° of solar longitude (about one day) ahead of the visual maximum, with telescopic results indicating such meteors radiate from an elongated region, perhaps with three sub-centres. Further results on this topic would be useful.

Abbreviations and Tables

α, δ: Coordinates for a shower's radiant position, usually at maximum. α is right ascension, δ is declination. Radiants drift across the sky each day due to the Earth's own orbital motion around the Sun, and this must be allowed for using the details in Table 6 (page [add page number]) for nights away from the listed shower maxima.
r: The population index, a term computed from each shower's meteor magnitude distribution. r= 2.0 —2.5 is brighter than average, while r above 3.0 is fainter than average.
λ: Solar longitude, a precise measure of the Earth's position on its orbit which is not dependent on the vagaries of the calendar. All λ are given for the equinox 2000.0.
v_∞: Atmospheric or apparent meteoric velocity, given in km/s. Velocities range from about 11 km/s (very slow) to 72 km/s (very fast). 40 km/s is roughly medium speed.
ZHR: Zenithal Hourly Rate, a calculated maximum number of meteors an ideal observer would see in perfectly clear skies with the shower radiant overhead. This figure is given in terms of meteors per hour. Where meteor activity persisted at a high level for less than an hour, or where observing circumstances were very poor, an estimated ZHR (EZHR) is used, which is less accurate than the normal ZHR.
TFC and IFC: Suggested telescopic and still-imaging (including photographic) field centres respectively. β is the observer's latitude (“<” means “south of” and “>” means “north of”). Pairs of telescopic fields must be observed, alternating about every half hour, so that the positions of radiants can be defined. The exact choice of TFC or IFC depends on the observer's location and the elevation of the radiant. Note that the TFCs are also useful centres to use for video camera fields as well.

Lifted in whole from: www.imo.net/calendar/2007

QR does not like me...

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:30:21 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

Last night, on the way home, while sitting quietly at the front of the train I noticed we'd stopped between stations (just past Mitchelton). A short while later we started moving backwards and it was at this stage that we overheard the reason for the stop. Apparently, there was an oncoming train coming round the bend on the same track (the only track at this point in time), that we were on. There seems to have been a signal failure leading to our train being given the go-ahead while the other train was approaching.

Needless to say, we're all ok and survived the potential incident with only the 6 people closest to the drivers compartment knowing anything about it.

Skip forward to this morning. I get dropped off for the train at Ferny Grove, wait around only a couple of minutes for the next train to get it, and board the train. Just before it's time to pull out, the driver announces the train is now only going to Mitchelton (some 8km short of the city), and busses will run from there due to an accident (apparently there was a car accident somewhere and a car landed upside down on the tracks) on the line. I figure it's too soon to call Lea to pick me up as she never has her mobile on anyway, and resign to a long trip into town.

We made it to the next station and then sat there for 40 mins waiting for the signal to proceed. At the next stop (Grovely, two stops short of Mitchelton), it's announced the train isn't going any further and there will be busses from here. There wasn't. Usually what happens in these circumstances are dedicated busses waiting at the nearest bus stop for the train to come in. This wasn't the case this time. So I called Lea for a pickup. (eventually a bus did arrive, but it wasn't going into town, just Brookside, which would have meant a few bus hops to get to town).

So 2 hours late, I arrive at work. And now I face the prospect of yet another train trip home this arvo...hopefully uneventful.

Brisbane Meetup website

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:35:51 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

www.photo-meetup.org/

It's still in active development, but is now quite usable as an aggregation point for Brisbane photographers to share useful information and meetup ideas, events, etc.

So, if you're in Brisbane, or coming to Brisbane, wander over and check it out.

Film

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 04:08:04 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

I finished off the roll of Fujicolor 200 today by shooting some birds down in the botanic gardens. Afterwards I lugged all my gear across town (film body+300mm lens, digital body + 10-20 and 50mm lens, flash, etc and the tripod) to Ted's where I dropped it of for developing (develop only, I'll scan the negs later).

I also picked up a roll of Neopan Acros 100 and one of Ilford Delta 100 to try out (big photography weekend coming up this weekend).

15 mins later the film was developed and from a peek at the negs they all look good. :-)

I suppose that's the difference between when I shoot digital and when I shoot film. For digital I am usually happy with 10% good from a shoot, but with film I'm aiming for 90-100% and from this cursory look I reckon I've achieved that on this roll.

So it looks like I'll be firing up the negative scanner tonight to have a closer peek!

Interesting exhibition

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:59:51 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

After dropping in to Rainer's Camera House today (still no lens btw), I went for a wander and ended up at City Hall.

In the Brisbane Museum (the one on the left as you enter the building), there's a exhibition of Cook's three voyages of discovery, accompanied by some quite impressive panoramic photographs. The panoramas are printed in separate sheets and stitched by hanging them on the walls such that they all align.

It's an interesting effect, alas, no photographs of the installation as there's a sign expressly stating photography is forbidden for this exhibition.

Still worth dropping in for a peek if you're in downtown Brisbane as the prints are gorgeous (something one tends to forget in this day of online photography).

New Lens soon :)

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 03:58:22 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

So next month (actually in about 2 weeks) is my birthday and as such I'm being treated to a new lens.

I've decided to go for the Sigma 10-20mm ultra-wide angle lens which will pretty much replace the kit lens I have now (18-55mm but I have an EF 50/1.8). I dropped into Rainer's in town this morning, but they're all sold out and have a batch on back order (supposedly in next Tuesday). They're the cheapest supplier around for this lens ($649), even beating Photo Continental ($699) and easily beating Ted's ($749, but they will go down to $700 if pushed).

I did however, have a go of the Canon 10-22 while in the store this morning, but they're going for a titch over a grand, which is just way too expensive for this little black duck.

One curious aspect of Rainer's Camera House though is that (at least this morning), they insist you use one of their camera bodies (sans-CF card) to test the lens. This is somewhat annoying as I don't have an image to take away with me to scrutinize on screen. I'm thinking when I go back next time I'll take a laptop and do some remote captures directly to the hard disk and thus be able to pixel-peep in-store. Given Sigma's reputation for iffy quality control I want to make sure I get a good copy straight up.

Update - it came in on Thursday :)

Here's a sample:

Equipment and how I use it

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:36:24 +0000

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Bigoode posted about equipment recently and I figured I'd join the fun and post about my current gear.

Summary:

Canon 400D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-4.6 EX HSM
BG-E3 Battery Grip
Homemade remote (RS60-E3 equiv)
Canon 188A SpeedLite (circa ~1981)

Canon T-70

Canon FD 50mm f/1.8
Canon FD 300mm f/4
Tokina FD SZ-X 28-200mm f/3.5-5.3

Canon S2 IS

Raynox 0.66x wide angle converter
58mm and 52mm adapter tubes

My main camera is a Canon 400D (XTi in the US, KISS something-or-other in Japan). I bought the 18-55 kit and an EF 50mm f/1.8 lens at the same time, and took advantage of the cashback offer on a BG-E3 battery grip too. The battery grip makes this rather small SLR fairly comfortable and helps out greatly for portrait orientation shots.

I primarily use the 50mm lens as the picture quality is vastly better than the kit 18-55mm lens, although of late, I've pulled out the kit lens and used it wide with a polariser to obtain some fairly decent shots.

Next up (hopefully for my birthday next month) is the Sigma 10-20mm ultrawide. (UPDATE: I now have this lens)

Followed probably by a Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 or a decent SpeedLite, as the fixed direction Canon 188A SpeedLite I have (>20 years old and still working), is a bit limiting.

Additionally, I have a prosumer point and shoot - Canon S2 IS, which was my primary camera before upgrading to the 400D. It still gets used occasionally for macro work or long focal lengths (12x zoom, equiv of 432mm), and to shoot the odd shot movie (mostly for buyers of our puppies).

Then there's the film SLR. I have a Canon T-70 and am borrowing (semi-permanent loan?) a Canon FD 300mm f/4 lens for it. I also have a pair of Canon FD 50mm f/1.8's and a Tokina FD SZ-X 28-200mm f/3.5-5.3 but that latter lens is less than ideal on the quality stakes.

After watching the development of a roll of b&w film at Greg's place, I'm somewhat intrigued by the idea of home development, and may (finances allowing) try to start accumulating enough gear to do that myself.

As for what I shoot, well really whatever takes my fancy, although I have a prediliction towards portraits, landscape and night photography and nature/birding when I have the long lenses with me.

First impressions

nobody@ipernity.com (David de Groot) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:48:42 +0000

David de Groot has added a post:

I've had a bit of a play around here and my first impressions are fairly good.

The interface is familiar enough to be easy to get around without having to think too hard, and the additional features are nicely implemented (eg page customisations, geotagging, etc).

I've only got one major issue right now and that's the lack of IPTC/EXIF -> Title/Description upon upload. My workflow at the moment has me tagging, adding titles and descriptions via IPTC and EXIF metadata with either Lightroom or Photoshop before uploading. Flickr will use this information to populate the Title and Description fields on the photo, a real time-saver for me, but alas ipernity does not do this (yet).