The Phoblographer

So for the next two weeks, I will be simultaneously reviewing, working on a personal project and shooting with:

The Leica M7

The 50mm F1.4 Summilux

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 with LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Lens

Kodak BW 400 CN film

M Classics bag (Compact bag, not the M shown on the site)

All products except the film will be reviewed. I’m not going to say much about the personal project, just that it involves me as a Blind Photographer and that a couple of co-workers, Leica and the owner of M Classics Seth Levine know about it. Seth was kind enough to loan me this bag for the gig. It’s a really, really gorgeous bag that can even hold my Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lensnot attached while remaining compact, soft, elegant and discrete. The Compact bag is meant for smaller DSLRs like the Olympus OM-1. However, a Micro Four Thirds body can fit in there with little trouble. Hell, I could probably stuff four of them into here. Expect to see some really, really cool stuff.

Out of Focus

Story by Timothy O’Brian of Blind Photographers on July 30th, 2009.

I have had some trouble focusing recently. Not with concentrating (not more than usual anyway), but with my camera. Being visually impaired, I have to rely on my camera’s autofocus. Using manual focus requires that I can see the viewfinder. I use the viewfinder to compose (mostly), but definitely not to focus. Unfortunately, autofocus does not always save the day.

Over the last month or so, I have shot a baseball and two softball games. I had more than a few instances where I thought I was focusing on a player in the infield (the pitcher, batter or a runner), but the camera instead focused way off in the distance, usually the outfield fence. This ruined an unnecessary number of shots that would have otherwise been submitted to the paper. The photo editor commented to me about this, letting me know that he needed me to sort out this issue.

I had tried the different focus setting on my D40X, closest subject, dynamic and point. I had no luck whatsoever in getting consistent focus out of the camera. An unlikely rescue happened however. A young DC filmmaker came down for a visit to understand better the how photographic workflow is affected by visual impairment for an upcoming short film about (you guess it!) a blind photographer (follow news of The Blind Photographer movie on Twitter). I showed Isaiah, the producer, the raw results of the baseball assignment and explained the issue. He suggested a solution that seems to be quite widely known (except to me). Borrowing from an article, Turn Off Autofocus – Do it Yourself! on Photography Bay, by fellow visually-impaired photographer Chris Gampat, “As I’ve learned when shooting actresses in short films while in college, it’s best to zoom in the tightest you can, focus on the exact point that you want the shot to be, zoom all the way out and then recompose your shot. This way all the detail that you could possibly want to make your shot work will be available to you.” I have tried this out with great results. I zoom in on the subject (or on something of equal distance) and half-press the shutter to engage the autofocus. Then, I either hit the autofocus lock or turn the lens to autofocus mode as I have not yet fully mastered the autofocus lock yet. Success (most of the time).

Originally seen here.

Over at the Blind Photographer’s blog, I have a posting on what cameras a blind or visually impaired photographer can choose from to help them take pictures and reach their inner creativity despite what some may call for us, “a disability.” I personally see it as an advantage for me as I can see one way with my glasses on and another way without them. Amongst my choices are the Leica M9, Olympus EP-2, Panasonic GF-1, GH1, the Canon S90 and more. Head on over there for my reasons why. Also remember to please support The Phoblographer by please clicking the links and purchasing the items as we get a small portion of the monies spent.

Tim O’Brien of Blind Photographers weighed in on the Apple iPad the other day and made a good argument for it being of great use to the visually impaired photographer. What he essentially says in the posting is how he finds it difficult to use a camera’s LCD screen sometimes to preview his photos. He says the Apple iPad would be a great solution to this as one would be able to get immediate feedback from his/her photography and be able to share it with others. He mentions an obstacle though, and this is an obstacle that a lot of photographers saw with the release of the iPad and that is that there are no ports on the side of the device. However as Tim points out though according to the Apple iPad Spec Page there is a USB kit for camera connection solving this issue.

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If you want to get your photographs critiqued, there are sites on the web to help you. Whether you are a professional, amateur, enthusiast, semi-pro, etc there are ways to find out how to improve the quality of your work. Many of them are free and great resources to help you. Here is a list of some of the best places on the web to help you get your photos critiqued.

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