Alpha 7R III

Think Outside the Box: Creative Photography with Arjun Menon

sneha — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 12:21:17 +0000

Think Outside the Box: Creative Photography with Arjun Menon

sneha Fri, 09/02/2022 - 17:51

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Distinguished commercial photographer Arjun Menon, known for his creativity in photography, has a lot of acclaim under his name. While he specialises in automobile and travel photography, his unique style in creating scenes from everyday household items has garnered a lot of attention and praise. The well-rounded photographer discusses his techniques, creative process, and camera settings on how he achieves his sleek-looking photos.

Despite his proficiency and experience, the professional photographer highlights that the challenges in photography are already integrated within the work. Each genre of photography has its own challenges, and photographers need to find solutions to address them.

“Different genres of photography come with their own specific challenges. For travel photography, it is of utmost importance that you consider the climatic conditions of your shoot days because it makes a world of difference in your final images. For example, heading to Antarctica in the summer will give you ample daylight imagery. However, in the winters, Aurora Australis occurs, and they can offer you an entirely different perspective since they are very rarely observed,” said Arjun.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II | 1/160sec | F9 | ISO 400

Different times of the year or month would mean witnessing a variety of natural environments. He shared that whenever he works with tourism boards, the campaigns are usually planned around the harvest season to avoid possible unfavourable weather conditions.

“Meanwhile, for automotive photography, since you are photographing massive subjects from cars to trucks, it is essential that location permissions are gotten in advance. For imagery with moving vehicles, it is essential to have the right shutter speed and depth of field to make sure that the subject is in focus, as well as ample motion blur in the environment. To get rid of unwanted reflections especially in urban environments, I prefer using a polariser,” he said.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II | 1/200sec | F10 | ISO 320

Another challenge he faces with automotive photography is shooting shiny metallic vehicles and capturing its colours accurately. Arjun mentioned that it takes a lot of time to carefully light up the vehicle in a way that the light source does not reflect on the car exterior. Since these are product images, it is important that the original colours of the vehicles are not tampered with. To ensure colour accuracy, he emphasises that having the correct white balance is crucial.

When working with brands, Arjun would also visually communicate the product benefit through visual storytelling. Composing the image with negative spacing allowed him to add in clouds in the frame in a surrealistic way later. “A high dynamic range image (HDRI) (using 360 images with 16-bit depth) of the environment allowed the direction and intensity of light to be recorded and included into 3D imaging software. This renders the flat images into a 3-dimensional model, allowing clouds with depth to be added into the scene. Once I have the perfect composition, finishing touches will be done in editing software and this results in a realistic end product. In this case, the clouds let us describe the product feature, which is a comfortable ride – which is a key selling proposition that the brand is proud of."

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 10sec | F8 | ISO 400

“This image was interesting to create. The first step was to determine the location and angle of the vehicle. This visual involved the use of an RGB light painting rig, a lot of flashlights, control over the physical location, and of course, a powerful camera. The lights are carefully placed on stands with honeycomb focus grids so that we can light up very specific areas of the machine to highlight its primary features,” Arjun explained.

“The aggressive body line, the grill and the tyres were some of the areas of concern. Once the test shots were done and the correct exposure was determined, the final exposure was taken. For this particular image, a long exposure and flash exposure image was combined to achieve this final look,” he added.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 1/100sec | F10 | ISO 160

In most of his automotive tracking shots, Arjun usually uses the 30 frames per second (FPS) burst mode. This particular image was shot at night at a real location, which, therefore, required the motion to be added post-production.

Comic book series

As an avid collector of action figures and a massive fan of comic books, and with the addition of his unique creativity, Arjun thought it ideal to tell comic book stories through his photographs. The idea came to him at the beginning of the pandemic, and since he was stuck at home, he experimented with household items and thought of how he could incorporate them into his home photography project.

“This unique photo series was a product of a few unique circumstances. While the world was restricted to being indoors during the COVID outbreak; being a creative photographer, I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to combine my composing skill set from travel photography, my lighting techniques from the automotive genre, creative art direction from my experience in set designing, and certainly my love for comic books.”

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II | 20sec | F22 | ISO 100

Arjun’s Batcave 2030 is shot at home; built from an action figure, scale models and tech scraps.

“'Batcave 2030' is my rendition of what a Batcave would evolve into in the future. It's more of a workshop and utility garage rather than a fancy looking display piece for all the cool gadgets. I would imagine Bruce being a maker and spending his time fixing and designing new gadgets here,” Arjun shared.

The creative photographer enjoys set designing, especially familiar sets from his favourite comic books and films. “I feel an environment plays an equal role in a scene much like a character itself. The set is designed with interesting looking, everyday props but carefully placed in a certain way so that they help enhance the narrative of the image,” he explained.

Since most of his comic book scenes are shot in a miniature format, he has the creative freedom to build extravagant, conceptual worlds. He starts with visualizing a scene, and then scouting his home for regular objects he could incorporate into his tiny fantasy world that will add interesting textures. The next step would be carefully piecing them all together. In this step, it is important that the angle and poses do not reveal the joints and screws of the action figures, while ensuring that the personality of the character is not lost.

For any added elements to the photo, Arjun picks his brain to deliver a more realistic effect. “I light the scene with the combination of constant light and flashes. For rain or haze effect I photograph hair spray or steam iron (smoke) with flash. I try to use techniques with minimum work on the post,” he said.

Giving regular items a creative purpose has provided Arjun with an interesting shift in perspective as it allowed him to create surrealistic worlds and scenarios right at the comfort of his home and share these fantastical scenes with the world.

Arjun’s creativity and his reliable Sony gears

With most of his work, Arjun has always entrusted his creative style with his go-to cameras, the Alpha 1 and Alpha 6600.

“While Sony is known for its exceptional noise performance in low light situations, and its dynamic range, I personally use my Alpha 1 and Alpha 6600 cameras for more than just these strengths. The Alpha 1, being a flagship hybrid camera, has enabled me to leverage its superior image quality for global advertising photo campaigns as well as professional documentary work that has been published in various mediums,” he said.

Modern Sony cameras are sturdy, compact and full of the latest features that form the ideal partner to perform and create, even in adverse conditions. According to Arjun, Sony's C-fast cards offer unbelievable data transfer rates, which is a huge advantage during commercial shoots with quick turnaround times.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 1/80sec | F9 | ISO 100

For photographing objects in fast motion, he relies on his Alpha 1’s high speed burst feature which allows him to photograph at 30 FPS. This ensures users do not miss a split-second moment whenever needed.

“My Sony Alpha cameras are an irreplaceable asset to bring my creative vision to life. They are to me what peanut butter is to jelly, and what Jai is to Veeru,” Arjun said.

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Keeping the Passion Alive

sneha — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 06:39:35 +0000

Keeping the Passion Alive

sneha Tue, 08/23/2022 - 12:09

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Many photographers saw their careers coming to a pause in recent years, but Nguyen Thanh Tung, a photographer from Vietnam, was able to navigate the challenge and kept his burning passion for photography through it all.

Hailing from Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen Thanh Tung spent most of his childhood in the countryside in his mother’s hometown in Rach Gia city in the Kien Gian province. His interest in photography stemmed from his time in university, and after graduation, he worked as a photographer for newspapers and magazines in Ho Chi Minh city. He was eventually hired by The Saigon Times and became one of their key photojournalists.

Alpha 7R III | FE 200-600mm F5.6 G OSS | 256mm | F5.6 | 1/250sec | ISO 500

In his spare time, he conducted professional photography training courses for young photographers, which further established his reputation in the photography community.

For Thanh Tung, photography is a special profession that requires one to take the first step into the world, absorb the sights and experiences, and be inspired creatively. "In the last 2 years, everything stopped. I could barely do anything, but I had never intended to stop or give up my passion. It was a time of unexpected upheaval and unprecedented experiences for many. I have faced constraints and limitations such as distance, frustrations and difficult times, but I know I will eventually get through them”.

Alpha 9 II | FE 85mm F1.4 GM | F1.4 | 1/250sec | ISO 160

Like the rest of us, the sudden pandemic-enforced isolation was tough on Thanh Tung. “Being constantly at home often made me feel useless. I could not let negativity fester forever, so I started occupying my mind with things like exercising, cleaning, growing plants on the balcony, taking care of the children and even watching movies to cope." On top of that, he also kept a habit of taking notes and commonplace photos of daily life from food, potted plants, and children reading books.

Eventually, everything became a subject for his photography. Photo-taking became a daily activity, which Thanh Tung shares on Facebook and with his circle of friends to endure the long days. To keep the negativities at bay, he would occupy himself by watching and learning from other photographers on YouTube.

RX10 II | 1/320sec | ISO 200

There are difficult days, but Thanh Tung discovered that by doing the little things, he is able to keep his passion aflame. "It is about observing, paying attention and staying sensitive to your surroundings. Creativity is all around us, happening in every moment. It is our role to witness and record them. This offers us perspective and an appreciation for things, which in turn motivates us to keep working. Passion is not doing it because you like it but having a goal and purpose for the work ⎯ be it from a short-term or long-term goal. Setbacks might slow me down; but eventually, I will achieve the outcome I set out for my photography projects," said an enthusiastic Thanh Tung.

No matter what challenges are thrown at him in his daily life, he soldiers on as work, to him, never ends. If he cannot work on compositions, he will pivot to other things such as building his portfolio, organising photos, or even managing his business' stock photos.

Although he remains as steadfast as ever, the lessons in the last few years are still fresh in his mind. Having learned from peers and drawing from years of professional experience, he is still as keen as ever to share his knowledge with others.

Alpha 7R II | FE 70-200mm F4 G | 70mm | F11 | 1/200sec | ISO 100

"Consider photography as a passion and hobby before turning it into a career. You should understand it well and equip yourself with knowledge and adapt to it according to your own abilities and capacity. Patience is what results in great work, and all it takes is the willingness to take photos of things happening around you every day," said Thanh Tung.

Upon reflection and with the world slowly opening up again, he has found life and health more precious than anything else. "To appreciate life, slow down, and live every day to the fullest is what I intend to do. I hope to travel to new places and record new experiences, as well as finish the projects I have placed on hold. I have two projects I am razor-focused on this year, and I plan to exhibit my "Wild Life In The City" and "Saigon Yesterday" soon," added a hopeful Thanh Tung.

Today, Thanh Tung is looking forward to sharing Vietnamese life through his photography. “I am excited to work on new projects on Vietnamese traditional culture, craft, villages and festivals soon, and I hope these projects – with their more graceful, meditative and simple tone – can help many find joy again after the hardships of the last couple of years,” he added.

For Thanh Tung, genuine emotions create masterpieces. He believes that a photograph should naturally capture the personality of the photographer.

Alpha 7 III | FE 70-200mm | 194mm | F16 | 4sec | ISO 100

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Turning the City into a Photographer’s Playground

Aysu — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 13:10:14 +0000

Turning the City into a Photographer’s Playground

Aysu Fri, 02/11/2022 - 18:40

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I have been extremely lucky growing up and learning photography on the streets of Paris. Big cities are fantastic places for street photography as there is so much going on and so many different types of buildings and locations. This gives you the opportunity to try different things and really learn your craft quickly.

For the latest few years I have been shooting not just in Paris, but cities around the world, at first with the Sony Alpha 6000, and now with the Alpha 7R III.

The City is a Playground

Cities are like a maze. I see every day as an opportunity, a new challenge of trying to find locations and capture scenes that haven’t been shot before. So, my first piece of advice is to simply enjoy the city and walking around it. Go and explore your town or city and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes.

When I think I have found a scene to photograph, I like to stop and take a second or two to observe what is going on before taking an image. I am looking for something magical; it may be a special light, or just something that really captures the mood and the atmosphere of the city at that particular time. The key, though, is stopping to look before shooting.

Don’t Shoot the Obvious

The most important thing for me is to try and reproduce the atmosphere, the energy, the DNA of a city. It is easy to shoot a picture-postcard image of a city like New York. You may get a good picture as a result, but we will have all seen such an image 1,000 times before. Instead, look for interesting compositions or colours to try and make your pictures original - add something of you own to each image.

One exercise to train yourself to explore a scene and find something different, is to take the obvious shot then simply move around the scene. Try shooting lower, higher, or look in the opposite direction. Try to find another image to take. Over time you will start to naturally look and find different compositions aside from the regular tourist images.

Timing Is Everything

Like any other genre of photography, light is incredibly important. I take a lot of images at sunrise and sunset. I really like to wake up early in the morning at, say, 5am or 6am to take the first light in the street. I enjoy shooting at this time, as the light is magical and there is almost nobody in the street.

One of the ways I like to introduce some atmosphere and magic is by shooting directly in to the sun. I like to play with the light and how it creates reflections, flare and star burst. Some people don’t like the effect and try to avoid it, but for me it really creates energy.

To find the best light, I will use apps that can track where the sun will be in the sky at different times of the day and then I will aim to be at the right space at the right time for the light. I still don’t know the exact image that I will take, but I will know that the light will be hitting a building or street at a certain angle and then the job for me is just to make the most of the affect it is creating.

Spend Quality Time on the Edit

I will spend almost the same amount of time editing as I will have spent out shooting - a full day of shooting will produce enough images for a full days’ worth of editing.

When editing, I concentrate on the contrast level to bring out the strong black and white tones and then turn my focus on the colour and the shape. I really like having orange hues in my images, so I will play with the images to bring this to the fore, but the key is identifying the colours you want to elevate and working to get the contrasts to a happy balance.

Give Yourself a Project

One thing I like to do is to set myself a project to try and create a series of images that work well together. I recently went to Singapore and set myself an architectural project. I changed my way of working, and used the FE 12-24mm f/4 G lens on my Alpha 7R III to shoot black and white abstract minimalist images. I looked for very minimalist compositions with lots of linear elements.

Having a project to work on helps to give you focus and a motive to push yourself and try something new, and become a better photographer.

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This article was originally published on sony.co.uk/alphauniverse

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Tips for Macro Photography

Aysu — Thu, 30 Dec 2021 06:48:48 +0000

Tips for Macro Photography

Aysu Thu, 12/30/2021 - 12:18

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Zebra Stripes To Manage Highlights

First Jensen sets her zebra stripes to keep control of the highlights in the frame. “If you have specular highlights in a macro photo, it absolutely can wreck it,” she says. Setting Zebra Stripes to 100+ in her menu, Jensen frames her shot, then adjusts exposure to see the zebra stripes in the viewfinder. “[I] expose it so I see the zebra stripes on my subject” she explains. “Then, I tick back the exposure until those zebra stripes go away. This ensures that I have a solid image, with everything important properly exposed.”

Focus Peaking And Manual Focus

More than anything else, absolute tack sharpness makes an impact in a macro photo. And the best macro photos often employ selective focus in the frame, letting some areas of the subject be soft and accentuating the sharpness in others. Jensen sets up Focus Peaking to get absolute control over the zone of focus in her macro photos. “This is critical. Macro photography uses manual focus, a lot. Manual focus can be extremely difficult, if you're looking through the viewfinder, or the LCD. So, focus peaking alerts you to the area that is sharply in focus. I like to set it to low, because it's actually more accurate.”

Everyone has a personal preference as to the peaking color and Jensen suggests changing it up based on the actual subject. “I often prefer, to use yellow,” she says. “If you're shooting red things, choose yellow. With a yellow subject, choose red. You want it to contrast as much as possible, so that you can see the focus peaking grazing across the frame."

Punch In For Critical Focus

Because tack sharpness is so essential in macro, Jensen has Focus Magnification mapped to a custom button for instant access. “Focus magnification is already on in the camera, but I like to map it to the C1 button,” she explains. Custom Button 1, by default, is set to White Balance. I change that to Focus Magnifier. This allows me to punch in, and get that focus peaking very precisely on the area, as I turn my focus ring.”

Autumn Leaves Isn’t Just For Autumn Leaves

Sony mirrorless cameras have a number of presets built into them, particularly for color control. For macro shooting, regardless of the season, Jensen uses the Autumn Leaves Creative Style. “First I set the color to Adobe RGB, and then I choose the Autumn Leaves in Creative Styles. It’s a great starting point for macro images. ” She continues, “Then I customize the Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness settings within the Autumn Leaves Creative Style based on the subject. Sometimes I have a very saturated subject, and I can tick the saturation back. Other times, I might have a washed out scene, and I'll increase the saturation. Saturation is one that I adjust most. I don't usually adjust sharpness too often.”

Warm Up With White Balance

The last of Jensen’s top five macro settings is White Balance. “Probably the most important thing that I do, is manage White Balance,” she says. “For my imagines, I absolutely love the Cloudy White Balance. I like warm images. I don't like cool images. Cloudy White Balance seems to play well with daylight images, interior images, and it actually works really well with both continuous lighting and strobes, as well. It gives just enough warmth, so the image doesn't seem cold and sterile, and also not too warm. I find the Shade setting to be over the top. For years, I custom white balanced, but I've been really happy with Cloudy. The people I've recommended it to, have been, as well.”

This article was originally published on alphauniverse.com

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The Night Lights of Singapore

Aysu — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:22:07 +0000

The Night Lights of Singapore

Aysu Tue, 12/28/2021 - 17:52

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Whilst for many of us an open top bus and a multilingual headset may be the best way to explore a new city, for Guillaume Ruchon a camera, a tripod and his two feet was all that he needed.

On his most recent trip to Singapore, he explains that the first thing he did when he arrived was to escape into the city streets with his camera and tripod in hand, “I decided to take my gear and my tripod to walk around the streets by night so I could fully discover the city”.

There was one area that Guillaume was quickly drawn to - the Marina, with its modern facades and bright lights - it was the perfect location to set down the legs of his tripod and start shooting.

“On other trips I would usually visit blogs or use Instagram to hunt out some of the best locations to photograph, but for this trip I wanted to just walk around the streets and observe”, he explains.

“I soon discovered that the architecture of Singapore is amazing!” he continued, “I mainly stayed around the Marina area because I wanted to capture the skyline, the Marina Bay Sands, the Supertree Grove and, of course, play with the reflections of the water.”

Whilst the destination may have been the age-old advice for getting the best images, when it comes to taking really great photos, it always comes down to capturing light.

“Light is absolutely key and a tripod is essential to keep your camera still, so you can capture long exposure” he explains, “there is also a decision to be made when it comes to white balance, as different light sources produce different coloured light.”

For Guillaume, the colours in a scene are another way we can express ourselves, “when it comes to telling a story within a single image we can change the feeling in an image depending on the warm or cool colours that we use when adjusting the white balance.”

Travelling to Singapore along with Guillaume was his trusty Sony Alpha 7R III, FE 16-35mm f/2.8 and 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lenses.

Guillaume says, “the FE 16-35 f/2.8 GM lens is my number one lens for architecture and landscapes. It’s not too wide and there is very low distortion. When zooming in to 35mm you can still shoot at f/2.8 and get excellent results in terms of sharpness and definition.”

Like many other photographers, the key reason for the Sony Alpha 7R III is the incredible 42.2 megapixel resolution. “I can’t live without it” says Guillaume “the detail is awesome for editing and also when cropping.”

With so much detail it can be tempting to set the highlights and shadows to -100 and +100 to show as much as possible, but Guillaume advises those starting out to learn how to use tone curves in your editing software to adjust the brightness and contrast. “It is much more creative than simply adjusting the highlights and shadows, but it also harder to learn how to use successfully”, he says.

The high resolution and dynamic range aren’t the only features of the Alpha 7R III that help when shooting cityscapes at night. “One thing that really helped me when shooting at night in Singapore was the 12.4x magnification”. For Guillaume it helps him to focus accurately in lowlight through the electronic viewfinder. “Using magnification in combination with Focus Peaking helps me to make doubly sure that my images are perfectly sharp and in focus.”

Every city presents a new opportunity for Guillaume to explore and take images at night, but isn’t there a risk of getting bored? “Haha, never!” he says, “the weather and seasons are always changing and lighting often does too. Of course, my pictures also change, as I evolve and change my style. There is always something new to discover!”

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G 系列全片幅標準變焦鏡頭

This article was originally published on sony.co.uk/alphauniverse

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Breaking gender norms one photo at a time with Sony's Alpha 7R III

Aysu — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 10:41:41 +0000

Breaking gender norms one photo at a time with Sony's Alpha 7R III

Aysu Tue, 12/28/2021 - 16:11

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Finding my calling

My photography journey began 20 years ago in high school when my father—a photography enthusiast—handed me his camera and encouraged me to take up a photography class.

Despite my initial teenage indifference to his suggestion, I ended up taking two photography classes in high school, which ignited a newfound love for the craft. My passion eventually spurred me to apply for the Photography and Imaging undergraduate degree at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. To my delight, I was accepted.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 33mm | 1/400 sec | f/3.2 | ISO 400

The four-year programme was before the advent of peak digital photography, where a five-megapixel digital camera was the best thing out there during my freshman year. I am thankful to be part of the generation that straddled both analog and digital equally.

Film isn’t free, and neither is paper nor a darkroom. These were important factors in my development as a photographer as I had to judiciously use film by evaluating which images were worth developing. Learning to print images in both colour and black and white effectively in a darkroom was fundamental too. Plus, there were no LCD screens on cameras back then. The ability to imagine the frames in my mind was crucial.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 47mm | 1/640sec | f/5 | ISO 320

Breaking into the industry

After graduation, I left New York and returned to Singapore to hone my craft in the travel and lifestyle industry. I gave myself five years to see where I’d land in the trade. I went on “portfolio” vacations and met photographers who have helped me along the way. More than a decade later, I’m still here with the same feeling of fulfilment in pursuing my chosen profession.

There is no particular type of photography that I shoot more often than others. It tends to be evenly spread across various genres of travel and lifestyle, food and drinks, portraits, interiors, and landscapes. I don’t adhere to many of the usual rules of photography in how I shoot either. Instead, I tend to break them such as shooting into the sun, having an affinity to shoot on a wide-open aperture and going tripod-free.

Alpha 7R III | FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS | 70mm | 1/250sec | f/6.3 | ISO 320

My ethos in photography

With that saying, I still do live by a few personal rules.

Firstly, I believe in photographing what speaks to you; what evokes your emotions—be it feelings of beauty, joy, sadness, or desire. I try to approach every shot from a fresh perspective, to do something different and to challenge myself technically and creatively. This sustains my passion for the craft.

Next, I believe in being informed and being well prepared before any shoot. I make the effort to know my subjects, survey the available angles, figure out the limitations, and always approach things with an open mind.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 43mm | 1/800sec | f/4 | ISO 400

Leaping into Sony’s mirrorless

Shooting with Sony’s Alpha 7R III definitely changed my shooting style. It is smaller in size than the DSLRs I used to shoot with, so it tends to be less intimidating to the subjects I’m photographing. Although the electronic viewfinder did take some getting used to in the beginning, I’m comfortable with it now.

What I love most about my Alpha 7R III is shooting with the Live View. Its responsive nature enables me to capture many angles that may not be possible when shooting with a DSLR, especially when photographing a scene from a higher vantage point in an area without a high ground to stand on.

Alpha 7R III | FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS | 90mm | 1/125sec | f/4 | ISO 400

The camera’s low-light capabilities also impressed me. Even when utilising high ISO in challenging low-light conditions, the image quality was left uncompromised.

When travelling is concerned, downsizing my equipment and commuting light take priority.

I am mainly a prime lens shooter with my Alpha 7R III. My favourites include Sony’s FE 55mm F1.8 ZA, FE 35mm F2.8 ZA, and FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS. With those three lenses, I can cover most of my assignment needs with minimal weight. Occasionally, I will supplement with Sony’s FE 24-70mm F2.8GM and FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS.

Foraying in a man’s world

The photography industry today is a completely different realm from a decade ago. The advancement of technology, the birth of social media and the accessibility of images have helped the art flourish.

It is still predominantly male, however.

Historically, photography is a trade that is assumed to be physically demanding (it is), technology and mechanically driven (it also is) and women are thought to lack physical strength and knowledge.

Alpha 7R III | FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS | 148mm | 1/160sec | f/2.8 | ISO 400

What encourages me is that that landscape is improving as more women are jumping into the trade through sheer determination, good work ethics and more than anything, churning out fantastic works. Creatives from all over the world are recognising the value and importance in portraying diverse work and, sometimes, as a woman, it is much easier to gain access for an assignment as we are deemed to be less “intimidating”.

The demanding side of the profession

For anyone hoping to pursue the trade, I encourage it but not without having immense discernment. It is not an easy profession. My particular field may look glamorous on the outside, where it paints a picture of travels around the world, meetings with famous personalities and experiences that are once in a lifetime.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 38mm | 1/250sec | f/3.5 | ISO 400

However, ask any photographer and they will tell you that our jobs can be far from glamorous. It is physically and mentally demanding. A lot of time is spent on the road, hotel-hopping for weeks on end, and the stress of meeting multiple tight deadlines to boot. Our personal and social lives also take a backseat.

Photography fatigue definitely happens, often after a long stretch of assignments without any time to decompress. Most recently for me, this was between October and December 2019, when a string of assignments took me to places such as Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Macau and New Zealand. When this happens, I shift my focus on one assignment at a time.

Live in the moment

Once I do get a bit of breathing room, I like to unwind by hiking up mountains, and being alone with nature and my thoughts. Wake up, eat, walk, sleep, repeat – life in this form is simple and ideal.

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 25mm | 1/25sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400

I can hit the reset button and re-evaluate what’s past, what’s important, what’s next and what’s keeping me stuck. Most of the time, truth be told, I don’t bring my camera. Sometimes, not everything needs to be photographed – just being present helps me be better for what comes next.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not reflect the opinions or views of Sony Singapore.

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Alpha 7R III

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FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS

G Master 全片幅遠攝變焦鏡頭

FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS

全片幅中望遠微距鏡頭

Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA

ZEISS 全片幅標準定焦鏡頭

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Food

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Portrait

Sony 400mm F2.8 G Master Field Test: The Polar Bears Of Churchill

Aysu — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 07:14:34 +0000

Sony 400mm F2.8 G Master Field Test: The Polar Bears Of Churchill

Aysu Tue, 12/28/2021 - 12:44

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Tips

Body Category

Alpha 7R III

Lens Category

FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS

From the moment it was announced, I’ve been looking forward to using the Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master. The lens set the photography world abuzz and, in my opinion, it established a new peak for what a super-telephoto prime should be. Over a full kilogram lighter than the competition, better weight distribution, three image stabilization modes, the fastest focus system ever – the list goes on and on. I knew the lens would be a game-changer, and I couldn't wait to take it out into the world for a hands-on test.

"For me the only way to really get a feel for a new piece of equipment is in the wild: inclement weather, fast moving subjects, and back of the mind desperation that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime shot." -Nate Luebbe (@nateinthewild)

Of course, it would have been easy to take a quick trip to my local boardwalk and fire off a few frames of seagulls and call it a day. But for me, the only way to really get a feel for a new piece of equipment is in the wild: inclement weather, fast moving subjects, and back of the mind desperation that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime shot. I can't judge a new piece of equipment until I've been faced with a wide variety of shooting environments and had to adapt on the fly. Thus hatched the plan of heading to Churchill, Manitoba for a week of photographing wildlife in the extreme conditions near the Arctic Circle. Nothing gets the blood pumping like being ground-level with the largest terrestrial carnivore on the planet, the polar bear, while also being under the thumb of a looming journalistic deadline. What can I say - I work better under pressure.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens. | 1/1600-sec., f/2.8, ISO 400

One of the most important aspects of wildlife photography is trying to convey the personality of the animals - a prospect that's nearly impossible from an elevated platform or secure enclosure. To truly capture a polar bear in the wild one needs to be on the ground with them; eye-to-eye, as they go about their daily duties. Finding other people willing to go for a long hike in polar bear country during peak feeding season proved to be a real challenge, and only one guide company in Manitoba offers ground-level experiences. The experts at Churchill Wild graciously agreed to work with me for this project at the Seal River Heritage Lodge right on the shore of the Hudson Bay. This is one of the first places the ocean freezes every year, drawing a convergence of polar bears excited to get out on the sea ice and hunt. Colloquially known as the Polar Bear Superhighway, the lodge made the perfect pushing off point for this expedition.

The Gear

Although the Sony α9 is widely spoken of as being the best body for wildlife photography, I chose to go with the Sony α7R III for this trip. My reasons were three-fold:

Polar bears in the autumn are famously lazy, so needing 20 frames per second of burst shooting seemed quite unlikely.

Since I was intentionally limiting myself to a single prime lens, I decided it would be best to shoot the subjects smaller in the frame and allow myself a bit more wiggle-room for cropping later on. The α7R III’s 42 megapixel resolution would give me a lot of post-processing options.

Polar bears are white. Snow is white. Arctic foxes are white. Arctic hares are white. With all this white-on-white action, I figured the higher pixel-density of the α7R III would give me just enough added sharpness to help differentiate the subject from the background.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens with 2X teleconverter. 1/3200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 640

Getting Set Up

The 400mm f/2.8 G Master has a ton of customization options, all of which are outlined on thousands of photography blogs around the internet, so there's no need for me to break down each one here. Instead, I'll focus on the ones I found most useful:

Focus Distance

The focus distance switch offers three settings:

7m - ∞
7m - 2.7m
Full (2.7m -∞)

This is supremely helpful, because having the lens hunt through an entire focus range from 2.7m out to infinity is inefficient and could cause missed shots. By selecting the expected range of the subject, I expedited the focus seeking and locked on to the subject much quicker which led to more keeper frames and much more fruitful photo sessions. Since this trip was centered on photographing 1,500 pound murder-machines with knife-fingers I kept the lens generally set to 7m-∞, because I figured if they were closer than 7 meters, I was going to have higher priorities in my life than finding a focus lock.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens. | 1/2500 sec., f/4.5, ISO 800

Full-Time DMF

One of the coolest features of this lens is the ability to fine-tune the focus point with the focus ring without manually switching off the AF (either on the lens or on the camera). This allowed me to let the camera’s autofocus identify a subject (often the bear’s black nose as it's quite prominent in a scene of white), and then turn the ring to fine-tune focus onto the eye. On my first day in Churchill, I switched this on and I didn't turn it off for the rest of the trip. Autofocus continues to function as it’s intended until you turn the focus ring, and then the camera and lens seamlessly relinquish control to you.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens. | 1/1600-sec., f/2.8, ISO 400

Image Stabilization

Since many of the best wildlife moments happen without any forewarning, I chose to forgo the tripod for the last few days of this trip, instead opting to shoot handheld to minimize my preparation time. Handholding a 400mm lens is no small feat. I was able to do this because of the reduced weight, the fact that since it’s designed for mirrorless Sony cameras, the 400mm’s balance point is much closer to the body than a DSLR’s 400mm, and because of the lens’ powerful image stabilization system. The image stabilization in particular was extremely effective and versatile. I found the only blurry photos in my catalog came from subject movement rather than stabilization issues.

Image Stabilization Modes  

- Fully stabilized

- Stabilization targeted towards panning shots and subjects moving laterally in the frame

- Advanced algorithm that provides optimal stabilization for dynamic and unpredictable subjects and fast motion

All three modes have their place so I won’t declare a distinct favorite here, but it’s worth noting that I found mode three to be most effective for hand-held shooting with unpredictable subjects. I was fortunate enough to have a few moments with a very fast arctic hare sprinting past me, and with the Optical Steady Shot switch set to mode two (for panning) the camera and lens not only kept a perfect focus lock on the hare, but the stabilization mechanics of the lens kept every single frame perfectly sharp.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens. | 1/2500-sec., f/2.8, ISO 320

At first glance it may not seem impressive to discuss tracking a bunny hopping through the snow, but consider that I was shooting handheld, wide open at f/2.8, white subject on white background, and that an arctic hare is smaller than a football and runs at nearly 40 mph. The revolutionary linear focus actuator drives the focusing element in this G Master lens nearly five times faster than the traditional rotational focus systems found in nearly every DSLR lens. For fast moving wildlife, these lightning-quick focus mechanics are indispensable.

Extended Reach

I mentioned that I was shooting with just a single prime lens, but I did hedge by using the Sony 1.4X and 2.0X teleconverters. Shooting with a telephoto prime can feel a bit restrictive, but in seconds I could convert the 400mm f/2.8 to a 560mm f/4.0 or an 800mm f/5.6, with no discernible loss of sharpness, contrast or color rendering. I found this especially helpful for subjects moving towards me (slowly), allowing me to comfortably transition from wider shots that show context in the landscape to beautiful portraits of the animals’ face and body. Teleconverters of course cut the maximum aperture, which would usually be a pretty significant drawback, but since this lens is an f/2.8, even the reduced light gathering from using the teleconverter is more than enough for any reasonable shooting scenario.

Since my days with Churchill Wild were entirely spent exploring the frozen tundra on foot, the light weight of the Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master + α7R III (a whopping four pounds lighter than a common DSLR alternative) saved me from some serious strain. By bringing teleconverters to extend my reach rather than a second lens further lightened my load and allowed us to cover significantly more ground each day - a massive bonus when trying to photograph rare wildlife in such vast wilderness.

Sony α7R III. Sony 400mm f/2.8 G Master lens with 2.0X teleconverter. 1/1600-sec., f/5.6, ISO 1000

The bottom line is that this is a premium lens for premium projects and the price tag reflects that. You’re paying for the lightest 400mm f/2.8 lens ever manufactured, with beautifully balanced internal elements, revolutionary focus mechanics and glass elements engineered to transmit the cleanest, sharpest images imaginable. Shooting with the α7R III, this lens had no trouble resolving a 42.4 MP sensor, and it’s clear that Sony built the 400mm G Master to be a lifelong investment. Since Sony is the world’s leading sensor maker, they’re able to design lenses for current and future sensor developments. I have no doubts that no matter what outlandish pixel counts or burst speeds the future may bring, this lens will be up to the task.

See more from Nate Luebbe at

This article was originally published on alphauniverse.com

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Article Theme

Bird/Wildlife

An Aerial Immersion: Shots From Above By Chris Burkard & Renan Ozturk

Aysu — Mon, 27 Dec 2021 13:51:20 +0000

An Aerial Immersion: Shots From Above By Chris Burkard & Renan Ozturk

Aysu Mon, 12/27/2021 - 19:21

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Body Category

Alpha 7R III

Lens Category

FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM

Video Name

Shots From Above: A Film By Chris Burkard & Renan Ozturk

Burkard, along with fellow Sony Artisan Renan Ozturk, loved the work that he was doing and, being the adventure-seeking photographers that they are, saw an opportunity for a project fully immersed in and connected to the environment. Armed with the α7R III and many, many layers of warm clothing, Burkard and Ozturk teamed up with Dahl-Bredine to document his endeavor and to capture a portrait of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado.

Sony α7R III. Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master lens. 1/500-sec., f/2.8, ISO 100

“Basically the ultralight trike is a three-wheeled flying contraption that's somewhere between a paraglider and a full-fixed winged airplane,” said Ozturk. “And what makes it so special is that you can shoot from all different directions out of it. Not just one open door. And you really feel immersed in the landscape and atmosphere that you're in. You can smell the earth. You're getting blasted by the wind. You're just sitting there, floating in the sky with this single little airplane seatbelt.”

Sony α7R III. 1/1600-sec., f/8

“You feel extremely vulnerable,” Burkard added. “You feel extremely exposed to all the elements, and that's a really different feeling, sometimes not the most comfortable. And I guess I felt like that was sort of the attraction, was when I was shooting in these landscapes I was like, wow, this is a totally different experience than being in a helicopter or a plane or a paraglider, because you have this 360-degree field of view, and you can take everything in, and you're moving slowly.”

They mounted the α7R III on a gimbal on the front of the ultralight trike, and had cameras on the sides of the wings to capture a timelapse. They also shot it handheld so they could really feature Berdine at work. The α7R III was the perfect camera for the project. It performed reliably with no battery issues in subzero temperatures, and the advanced frame rate and high-resolution delivered by the camera made it the top choice for capturing the kind of photos they wanted. The dynamic range and level of detail in the photos and 4K video footage are stunning.

"The α7R III is such a workhorse when it comes to the quality," said Burkard. "The reality is when you're filming up there, you don't really have the opportunity to futz around with something big. We needed something that could be nimble and allow us to move around and not be obstructing the view or obstructing the space."

Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master. 1/320-sec., f/2.8, ISO 200

Of course there are other ways to capture aerial photographs. Many people seem to be flying drones as a means of capturing them nowadays, and while it can be fun (if you know what you’re doing) and can produce some great shots, piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle while staring at a monitor isn’t exactly immersing yourself into the environment.

“As opposed to drones, you're not disconnected from what you're doing in an ultralight trike,” said Ozturk. “Each flight is something that you'll remember for the rest of your life. You'll notice little details and look around in all directions, and be able to create in a way that you can never do with a drone. And you're not fighting battery life. You've got a tank of fuel that will put you up there for four or more hours, until your frozen. You’re really working for it as opposed to sitting on the ground and looking into a monitor. So that makes it a lot more immersive and meaningful that way.”

“It felt really intimate, and I think that is what initially just got me so excited. It was kind of like, wow, this is a different way of seeing the earth than I've ever seen. And I immediately became attracted to it. That was easily my first foray, and it was something that really stuck with me,” said Burkard.

Sony α7R II. Sony 24-105mm f/4 G lens. 1/12-sec., f/4, ISO 5000

Chris Burkard and Renan Ozturk are Sony Artisans Of Imagery. See more about them here. Follow Chris Burkard on Instagram @chrisburkard and Renan Ozturk @renan_ozturk.

This article was originally published on alphauniverse.com

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Documentary/Events

Nature/Landscapes

Australia Street

sneha — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 05:40:54 +0000

Australia Street

sneha Wed, 11/10/2021 - 11:10

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Featured

Body Category

Alpha 7R III

Lens Category

FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM

Gallery

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 24 mm | 1 sec | F7.1 | ISO 200

Alpha 7R III | FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM | 24 mm | 1/25 sec | F2.8 | ISO 640

Amrita's Thoughts:

Despite being just a narrow pedestrian and vehicle lane on the map, Hosier Lane is a visual feast for photographers. Boasting vibrant and sophisticated Graffiti-style urban art, every inch of the wall is covered with coded messages and brilliant graphics. Staying as low as possible, I captured an admirer mesmerized by the graffiti artwork at Hosier Lane. Thanks to the FE 24-70mm F2.8 G Master len’s versatile spectrum of focal length, I could achieve my creative vision with ease. The incredible resolution of this Extreme Aspherical (XA) lens replicated the vibrant hues in the graffiti on the wall with precision. Photographing with this lens was a productive and rewarding affair thanks to its fast and precise autofocus capabilities.

An Exploration of Street Photography

Street photography reveals the intimate details of our daily lives. Through the innocuous interactions of passers-by, there are an infinite number of stories to be told. Captured with curiosity and wonder, a microcosm of your favourite city is now artfully preserved for posterity.

Featured

An Exploration of Street Photography

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Street Photography