It's hardly a secret that the new third generation iPad is now out, and is making its way into the wild.  According to TNT's tracking system mine is now about 60 miles away from my house (so near and yet so far).  Yes I've taken another step into the Apple Ecosystem.  I simply could not resist the new display - I'm really looking forward to interacting with such a thing of beauty.  I'm very interested to see how my favourite images will look on such a high definition screen. Aside from that of course, I'm a bloke, so am simply looking forward to having something new and very shiny to play with.


"I simply could not resist the new display"

Much has been written about how the iPad can fit into a photographers workflow or provide some tools for the photographer in the field.  The iPad offers a fantastic means of displaying a portfolio of images to clients, friends and family when out and about.  There are countless apps for helping photographers either technically (for exposure settings, depth of field calculations), practically (such sunrise and sunset times), and editing.  It is this last point that I've pondering most of all - does the iPad provide a viable means of editing, tagging, sorting, rating photos when out in the field?  With great fanfare Apple launched iPhoto for iOS at the launch event.  Reviews are mixed - it seems an incredibly powerful and beautiful programme, but the lack of integration with either Aperture of iPhoto on Mac seems a criminal oversight. If you rate, keyword and edit images on the iPad surely these aspects should be preserved win synching with the Mac back at base?  Hopefully this is a 1.0 issue and will be resolved in a future update - otherwise I can't see myself being terribly excited by iPhoto for iOS.


"The lack of integration between iPhoto for iOS with either Aperture or iPhoto on the Mac seems a criminal oversight"

This is really what the iPad needs in my opinion.  A cut down iPhoto or Aperture that allows people to sort images, view on a large screen, rate, apply keywords, and mate do some simple editing that then synchs with the Mac version would be wonderful!  No need to carry a laptop on a shoot anymore.  Hopefully someone at Apple is listening.

Photostream will feature in my newly expanded ecosystem for sure.  Currently I have an iPhone 4 on which I shoot straight shots, and Hipstamatics mainly, and enjoy watching these push through photo stream to my MacBook Pro (Aperture).  My SLR pics are processed on my iMac and I do not push these to Photostream.  Simply - I delete many shots from my SLR after viewing in Aperture so it seems to not make sense to put these in the Cloud?  I may reconsider, but that seems sensible to me a the moment.  If I return from a trip with 1000 photos, that will fill the stream up in one download!

With the iPad - I'm really looking forward to having Photostream push all the pics taken on my iPhone 4 to the iPad.  This way I can use Snapseed (a favourite for filter / age effects) to edit iPhone 4 images on a much larger screen.  These, when saved, will get pushed back into the Photostream.  Very cool.

But what about actually getting images from my 5D MkII to the iPad when out in the field.  Annoyingly Apple turned down the current to the Camera Connection kit in iOS5 (so I've read) which means USB card readers which accept CF cards are no longer supported.  There are third party CF card readers that plug directly into the dock connector, but I've not guarantee these will work with the third generation iPad yet.  The best solution for SD card shooters seems to e Eye-Fi; a wifi enabled SD card that can tether wirelessly to the iPad and push images directly to it, and then into Camera roll.  Fantastic......with one small problem; there is no Eye-Fi enabled CF card!  I'm sure there'd be a reasonable market for them - so why can't the manufacturer produce one?


"Eye-Fi is fantastic.....with one small problem; there is no Eye-Fi enabled CF card!"

So at the moment I'm sitting at home waiting impatiently for my new toy like thousands (millions?) of others.  I know I'm going to love the iPad.  I'll subscribe to National Geographic magazine, I'll enjoy couch surfing and watching movies.  I'll love using Flipboard to browse things of interest and playing the odd game.  I plan to help teaching my three-year old to read with some suitable apps.  Airplay mirroring (I have an ATV 2) will be wonderful.  But quite how the iPad will fit into my photography life is not yet quite certain - but I'm sure there will be a series of experiments ahead that I'm going to enjoy, even if not all of them end up in success.

Right, time to check the TNT tracking website again - it's been at least 20 minutes since I last checked.......

Spring flowers with 500D close up dioptre

I've been using the 500D close up dioptre for a few years now and love the versatility and quality of results it produces.  This 500D is not to be confused with the EOS 500D camera body of the same name! Quite why Canon named to items the same is beyond me.  No, the 500D close up dioptre is a very high quality close up lens with two elements, designed to be attached to a telephoto lens to provide enhanced semi-macro capability.  It's not dead cheap (but is excellent value) and isn't always easy to get hold of but its a very versatile and portable addition to any kit bag for anyone wishing to provide some close up capability to their gear.

I have two dedicated macro lenses - the Sigma 105mm F/2.8EX and the mighty Canon MP-E65.  These are both excellent lenses, so it might be asked why I bother with the Canon 500D close up dioptre?  Well three reasons:

1. I actually love the versatility of the 500D when attached to a high quality telephoto lens (I use the Canon 70-200 F/4L IS).  This is because the combo can be used at any zoom setting on the Canon 70-200 F/4 which makes it very flexible. 
2. It is highly portable.  If I'm struggling for space and might want to take some close up shots (for example on holiday when I can't justify taking true macro gear) then it's ideal.  I always take my 70-200 anyway so with minimal additional space I can get macro capability
3. Because I use an excellently image stabilised lens with the 500D I can shoot at lower shutter speeds without camera shake.  Anyone who shoots macro will tell you that available light is a struggle - so any ability to reduce shutter speed while retaining sharpness is a huge boon

This wouldn't be much use if the 500D wasn't high quality - believe me though it is.  It's not quite on a par with a 100mm macro lens in terms of quality / sharpness but it really isn't that far off.  See some results I've posted on Flickr here.  It's not possible to get a true 1:1 macro, but then in most cases I don't require that.  It's my absolute favourite way of shooting flowers, which brings me to the main subject of this blogpost.  It must be stressed that the results will only be as good as the lens you attach it too.  I've not tried it with a lesser lens than the Canon 70-200 F/4L but it is common sense that results won't (can't) be good if used on a lens that isn't high quality to start with.  Also - you have to stop down (like with real macro) - best results are around the F/8 area (depth of field is still quite small but usually at F/8 there is enough natural light on a bright day to use a reasonably low ISO).

Spring is a great time in England for the flowers.  I was in Cambridge on Sunday and the weather was glorious, and out were popping the crocuses all along the backs near the colleges.  I've shot macro of crocuses many times before and wanted something a little different this year, so went for some very low angle shots (my cheek to the dirt!), attempting to get some natural backlighting by shooting into the sun.  I had fun, and got some results I was happy with.  I was a little less obsessed with absolute sharpness for these type of shots, and more interesting in the overall composition and lighting rendering.  The images are modestly processed in Aperture 3 - mainly to add some vibrancy and a little localised sharpening.

To start with, a more traditional shot.  I went to the shade of a tree as flower shots like this in full sunlight are not usually great as they are spooled by hard shadows.  Good sharpness from the 500D and 70-200 combo.

A cheek to the dirt shot (literally) attempting to get some sun glare in the backlighting.  Took a few shots to get this the way I wanted it.

Another similar shot with less pronounced glare.  This is nowhere near full magnification of the 500d / 70-200 combo. 

Another slightly more tradition shot again not at full magnification.  

An attempt to get lots of colour and layers of depth in the shot with some backlighting.  Had to overexposure this to get the effect I wanted.

Similar again

And a higher magnification shot (although again, not maximum macro).

Hong Kong

I love Hong Kong.  I'm not sure I'd like to live here, but I do enjoy my visits with work a lot.  As a photographer there is so much; from the glistening steel and glass of central to the dirty, colourful and fascinating "old Hong Kong" like Tai O, and Lei Yue Mun which I visited today for the first time.

As a seafood area it's a disturbing scene.  Where the hell does all the stuff come from?  As a diver it's more like an aquarium than a place to eat.  Really quite sad.

Anyway - some pictures.  I brought the 5D MkII this time with my three favourite lenses - Zeiss 35mm F/2, Canon 70-200mm F/4 IS and Tokina 16-28 F/2.8.  I used the Zeiss and 70-200 roughly equal amounts.

Massive post - over 50 pictures.  Processed on my work laptop using Picasa - hardly the best but does the job when I've travelling.  I'll have to  run them through Aperture when I get home.

The temple is Tin Hau - an interesting little temple with coils in incense hanging from the roof, similar to Man Mo on the island.