Messages

1

Lighting / Re: Can a (DSLR) flash cause permanent eye damage?

« on: June 08, 2013, 10:09:34 AM »

Well, i'd say after more than 2 years it can be considered quite permanent (even if minor).
But once again, it was handheld, so regular use with camera body regulating it and not held so closely and not focusing on it in the night should be fine...

Answer is plain and easy : yes, it can ! And I know the effects firsthand :-(

Some would say it looks like one of these Wile.E Coyote cartoon ... but recipe is easy... wanting to experiment with Photography can be tempting....
Take somebody who is a bit light sensitive (years in Texas with probably poor grade sunglasses didn't help), have fun at night with photo friends for a "lighpainting session" (ie. taking picts with lights effects at night), and fire a 430EX external flash at your face from 30-40cm below, and don't close your eyes ....
=> result is really cool "ghost like picture" like in the books (ie. your camera set on long exposure takes picts with 3 times your face for example if you move and redo it, just the face that was under flash exposure, rest of the body is invisible and you see the background thru ...), but better if you close your eyes and/or look up instead of looking in front or worst, low at your flash (like the first tries to see where to position it best, etc ...)
=> side effect after multiple attempts in the evening is darker spot in your eyes, showing "paler" zones when looking at lights (and having focus shift left/right) as if you had a water spot on the eye diffracting light a bit, and showing "greyer" areas when looking at uniform white wall (or blue sky) with high luminosity ...

Seeing dark spots after being exposed to a bright light is common, but its not permanent damage to your eyes.

2

Lighting / Re: Can a (DSLR) flash cause permanent eye damage?

« on: June 07, 2013, 03:13:06 PM »

Answer is plain and easy : yes, it can ! And I know the effects firsthand :-(

Some would say it looks like one of these Wile.E Coyote cartoon ... but recipe is easy... wanting to experiment with Photography can be tempting....
Take somebody who is a bit light sensitive (years in Texas with probably poor grade sunglasses didn't help), have fun at night with photo friends for a "lighpainting session" (ie. taking picts with lights effects at night), and fire a 430EX external flash at your face from 30-40cm below, and don't close your eyes ....
=> result is really cool "ghost like picture" like in the books (ie. your camera set on long exposure takes picts with 3 times your face for example if you move and redo it, just the face that was under flash exposure, rest of the body is invisible and you see the background thru ...), but better if you close your eyes and/or look up instead of looking in front or worst, low at your flash (like the first tries to see where to position it best, etc ...)
=> side effect after multiple attempts in the evening is darker spot in your eyes, showing "paler" zones when looking at lights (and having focus shift left/right) as if you had a water spot on the eye diffracting light a bit, and showing "greyer" areas when looking at uniform white wall (or blue sky) with high luminosity ...

3

Landscape / Re: Sunset landscape

« on: May 14, 2013, 07:24:10 PM »

Maybe a bit boring without too many items in the shot, but it was just us, the Rio, and the jungle in the back, on that evening in the Tigre Delta coming back to Buenos Aires ... i like the colors as if the sky was on fire (no touching it, it is straight out of the camera) and the quietness feeling of the small waves on the water ...

Paysages_Sunset_Tigre-Delta-Argentina_2009-04-09 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

4

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 07:07:24 PM »

Ah, a last word : don't forget your UWA (i didn't have my 10-22 at the time ... it was one of the reason why i bought it at the next opportunity) because of the buildings and panoramas, but also the Teles for the view points if you wanna isolate some points of interest ...

Sweden_Stockholm_Tre-Kronor-sunset_Fjallgatan_20090820_EOS40D_1777 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

5

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 07:02:23 PM »

To finish with, don't miss the views from the bridges or the terrasses with water everywhere ... Evert Taubes terrass behind Riddarholmskyrkan has some of the best view on the Stadshuset, and reverse there is a nice view from Stadshuset ... but also on the other side, Skeppsholmsbron has a great view on Gamla stan and the Palace (Kungliga Slottet)

Sweden_Stockholm_Stadshuset-from-Riddarholmen_sunset2_20090823_EOS40D_2249 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Riddarholmen-from-Stadshuset_20090821_EOS40D_1854 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Kungliga-slottet-from-Skeppsholmsbron_20090825_EOS40D_2385 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

6

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 06:55:38 PM »

But if you prefer more modern type of architecture, don't miss the Boffils Båge and the Söder torn in Södermalm, the amazing elevator Katarinahissen with view point in Slussen, or the "Pinnen" fountain on Sergels Torg in Norrmalm ... the TV tower can also be seen from far.

Sweden_Stockholm_Soder-Torn-Bofills-Bage_20090821_EOS40D_1814 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Katarinahissen-evening_20090817_EOS40D_1674 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Pinnen-Sergels-torg-night_20090827_EOS40D_2411 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Kaknastornet-from-Djurgarden_20090822_EOS40D_2037 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

7

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 06:48:01 PM »

For the old buildings, you will find really nice building fronts in Gamla Stan (old town), and some old shops signs giving a unique atmosphere ...

Sweden_Stockholm_Kornhamnstorg_20090817_EOS40D_1677 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Stortorgskallaren_20090817_EOS40D_1684 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

8

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 06:41:57 PM »

In terms of buildings, i love the old red wooden houses : i guess the most famous spot is on Södermalm, Lotsgatan, then Kåkar (which can be seen on the front of my Sofia Kyrka pict), and also the ones along the very unique wooden stairs down hill on Kvastmakatrappan (a bit after Lotsgatan, best seen from the opposite hill of Fåfängan)

Sweden_Stockholm_Lotsgatan3_20090820_EOS40D_1751 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Kvastmakartrappan_20090821_EOS40D_1799 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

9

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 06:34:25 PM »

As mentioned before, lots of churches (kyrka), which can be seen from far on the skyline ... My favorite one is Riddarholmskyrkan on Riddarholmen (with its cast iron spire looking like lace), then Tyska kyrka because of its pointy top (like Klara kyrka), and Sofia kyrka because of its size, material and location in the middle of a large park ...

Sweden_Stockholm_Riddarholmskyrkan_20090821_EOS40D_1820 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Tyska-kyrkan-evening_20090817_EOS40D_1681 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Sofia-kyrka-Kakar_20090821_EOS40D_1785 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

10

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: May 14, 2013, 06:22:32 PM »

Hi,
So regarding the high points of view on the Town Hall (Stadshuset) or the Old Town (Gamla stan) , my #1 choice would be Monteliusvägen, on Mariaberget (Södermalm), then #2 indeed Fjällgatan... Fåfängan would be #3 ...

Sweden_Stockholm_Stadshuset-from-Monteliusvagen_sunset3_20090824_EOS40D_2339 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Gamla-Stan-sunset2_Fjallgatan_20090820_EOS40D_1762 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

Sweden_Stockholm_Gamla-Stan_Fafangan_20090821_EOS40D_1801 par Julian_salsa, sur Flickr

11

Lenses / Re: EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x Announcement Tonight

« on: May 13, 2013, 06:01:54 PM »

Who pukes first, AmEx, Visa or MasterCard?

:-D
I've only been up to 4k on my Amex, but i guess if you setup your ceiling correctly it should be the last one to stand ... unfortunately that one is not a toy for me ...

For the ones looking for other torrents of rumors, lets switch the conversation to his "tiny" brother the 100-400/II probably more in my budget (and muscles) :-)

12

Animal Kingdom / Re: Wrong Photography Ethics?

« on: May 09, 2013, 05:32:46 PM »

My take is that it is OK to remove a few stuff when they were not supposed to be there, but not so much OK to add ... For example i hated that when Stockholm was full of contruction cranes all over the place and i couldn't take a pict without them ...

13

Street & City / Re: Stockholm, Sweden

« on: April 30, 2013, 04:34:08 AM »

Hi,
I've been there couple of times, especially in August 2009 when i was walking the city every evening for 2 weeks, after training sessions for my customer (basically one neighborhood per evening with a map in the pocket). Indeed great place for picts, even if i was more into colorfull sunsets than B&W, but you should also get great results out of it.
I will post some shots (building fronts / old wood houses / panoramic views with water / streets) next weekend, and put the locations / orientations with it.

14

Lenses / Re: Is it worth waiting for an upgrade to 24-105?

« on: February 17, 2012, 09:33:51 AM »

Not sure how soon this lens will get updated.  Not a perfect lens, but I think Canon is focusing on ranges, and with the 24-70 and the 70 - 200 they have a nice range, as well as the rumored 200 - 400 coming out as well...

So to me the 24 - 105 seems like an overlap lens.  Don't get me wrong, I use this lens a lot, but I don't see it being addressed anytime soon.

Well, my understanding of ranges was that it is the "light" and "not so speed hungry" kit that goes with the 100-400 ... meaning some would pick 3 pieces of 24-70 + 70-200 + extenders (or the 200-400 monster) if they look for f/2.8, and others who don't need to go down that much would be satisfied with the f/4 and get only 2 pieces of 24-105 and 100-400 ?
(it is basically my questioning as i am going to upgrade soon my glass to L, but at the same time trying to guess what would be my range when going to FF one day ...)

15

Canon General / Re: Headed to Paris with Camera Gear

« on: January 31, 2012, 08:30:08 AM »

Hi,

The Louvre is probably one of the most photog friendly place ... as long as you don't use flash, it's fine in most of the rooms (only temp exhibitions do not allow any picts).
Orsay has changed policy lately into a "strictly no photo policy" and got lots of complains (some special photog protests aka "flash mobs" ... not Speedlight, but "fast" protests...;-) )
Usually only small bags are allowed, aka purse or similar (so that you don't damage the art objects) ...
Inside churches in general, they often request no flash...
Build your visit list, check the museum/places websites before, and if you are unsure on some places, send me a private message in advance of your trip and i can check some for you.